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THE 
 
 LIFE AND LABORS 
 
 OF 
 
 ^ 
 
 REV, SAMUEL WORCESTER, D. D. 
 
 ' FORMER PASTOR OF THE TABERNACLE CHURCH, SALE31, MASS. 
 
 BY HIS SON, . 
 
 SAMUEL M. WORCESTER, D. D. 
 
 ( PRESENT PASTOR OF THE TABERNACLE CHURCH. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ) 
 
 B O S T O N: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CROCKER A^,\} BREWSTER, 
 47, Washington-street. 
 
 1852. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S52, 
 
 BY CROCKER AND BREWSTER, 
 
 In the Clerk's OfRce of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 v/ 
 
To MY Mother, 
 
 With gratitude to God, 
 
 for her many virtues, 
 
 and her " length of days j" 
 This Memorial of an endeared life, 
 
 IN HONOR OF " OUR LoRD JeSUS ChRIST, 
 
 of whom the whole family 
 
 IN HEAVEN and EARTH IS NAMED." 
 
 IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY AND 
 DUTIFULLY INSCRIBED 
 ♦ BY HER ELDEST SoN, 
 
 SAMUEL MELANCTHON WORCESTER. 
 Salem, Jan. 1, 1852. 
 
 v., ^-v -> ^'* 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction, vii-xii 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Nativity and Extraction. Sketches of Rev. William Worcester, of 
 Salisbury, iNIass. ; Mr. Samuel Worcester and Mr. Francis Wor- 
 cester, of Bradford, Mass. ; Rev. Francis Worcester, of Sand- 
 wich, Mass , and of Hollis, N. H. ; and Noah Worcester, Esq., of 
 Hollis, N. II. ; with illustrative references to events, persons, and 
 circumstances of their times respectively 1-SO 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Personal appearance. Dangerous sickness in infancy. Early indi- 
 cations of disposition and future character. General view of his 
 intellectual powers and tendencies. Family education. The elder 
 brothers and sisters. Fraternal and other reminiscences. Teaches 
 school. Revival of religion, 17S6. Hopeful conversion. Happy 
 impressions from the triumphant death of a sister. . . . 81-lOS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Desire of professional life. Resistance by his father. A student 
 at New Ipswich Academy. Oration before the Demosthenian 
 Society, llth of October, 1791. Enters Dartmouth College. 
 Feelings towards the Faculty. Surrounding influences. Joins the 
 Church of Salisbury, N. H. General spirit of character. A mar- 
 tial element. Pecuniary pressure. High standard of scholarship. 
 Tokensof esteem and respect. Correspondence. Fourth of July 
 Oration, 1795. Choice of profession. Valedictory, at Hanover. 108-149 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Studies for the ministry. State of the times. Residence at Wor- 
 cester. Correspondence. Palemon to Alexis. Teaches at Hollis. 
 Preceptor of the Academy at New Ipswich. Licensed to preach. 
 First Sermons. His manner in the pulpit. Prejudices in his 
 native town. Oration, Fourth of July, 179G. Leaves New Ips- 
 wich. Correspondence. Settlement at Fitchburg, Mass.. 149-203 
 A* 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Habits and modes of procedure, as a settled minister. Marriage. 
 Domestic management. Instruction of young men. Renewal of 
 covenant in the Church, with the adoption of new Articles of 
 Faith, &:c. Palemon to Alexis. Parental feelings and character. 
 Anecdote of the preaching of the brothers, Noah, Thomas, and 
 Samuel. Revival at Fitchburg. Revivals in many places. Mis- 
 sionary spirit promoted. Formation of the Massachusetts Mis- 
 sionary Society. Vindication of the truth, and of ministerial 
 rights. Oration on the death of Washington, &c., &c. . . 204-262 
 
 CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 Sermons on the punishment of the wicked. The " Fitchburg con- 
 troversy." Efforts of the legal voters of the town, to control the 
 pastor and the church. Mutual Council, June 22, ISOl. Ex parte 
 Council, Sept. 15, ISOl. Protest of the church. " Facts and 
 Documents," &c. Further measures of opposition. Proposals of 
 conciliation, &c. Second Ex parte Council. Council of advice to 
 the church. Third Ex parte Council. Second Mutual Council. 
 Farewell to Fitchburg 263-356 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Invited to preach at Salem. The Tabernacle Church. Movements 
 at Rowley and Fitchburg. Embarrassed question of duly. First 
 parental atlliction. Installation at Salem. Mass. Miss. Magazine. 
 Popular estimation of his preaching and devotional services. 
 Appointment at Dartmouth College. Revival. Death of his 
 eldest daughter. Committee of Advice, on the subject of Pro- 
 fessorship. Regard for the Pulpit. Burning of Sermons. So- 
 licitude for church members. Courses of Sermons and Lec- 
 tures. Occasional Sermons. Models of prayers. . . . 356-415 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Weekly meetings. Church discipline. Report on "disorderly 
 walk." Answers to questions of order and usage. Declaratory 
 Articles, and Correspondence respecting dismissions to Baptist 
 chnrches. Illustrations of Christian fellowship. Catholic and 
 noble spirit. Discourses on the Abraliamic Covenant. Failure 
 of health. Southern tour. Letters to Dr. Baldwin, in vin- 
 dication of Discourses, &c. Reflections on his birth-day, Nov. 
 }, 1S07. ............ 415-163 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Whatever reason may be assigned, the history of the Church 
 and of our country has been too little known among us, or too 
 little regarded. This remark applies to some, whose reputation 
 for general intelligence should denote '' a perfect understanding of 
 all things from the very first." We may thus explain the very 
 illusive views and erroneous opinions of many, as it respects 
 the introduction of the missionary element into the spirit and 
 character of our institutions and our times. 
 
 Some appear to be well satisfied, by doing honor to a few more 
 recent names. Others may find it sufficiently agreeable, to exult 
 in the advanced position, which it is our privilege to have reached. 
 It is not very strange, perhaps, since as compared with the early 
 part of the present century, the objects and anticipations of chris- 
 tian philanthropy have so entirely changed the prevailing habits 
 of thought and modes of expression. The minds of the people are 
 not now absorbed in watching the progress of the revolution in 
 France; nor is the word "march " applied, with a thrill of mili- 
 tary sensation, to every political and moral movement. At the 
 present day, the language of literature and popular eloquence has 
 not a more favorite or acceptable term, than the word Mission. 
 
 This is a truly auspicious token of progress in the right direc- 
 tion, and is of itself a volume in proof of such progress. But there 
 were "days of old," which are not now to be ''despised," as 
 "days of small things." And there is "a reconl on high," we 
 may be grateful to believe, which "Time's effacing fingers" can 
 never touch j and which it is wise in all to consider, if they would 
 
 " share a glorious pari " 
 
 in the recompense of " works of faith," and " labors of love," and 
 " afflictions accomplished in brethren," " of whom the world was 
 not worthy." 
 
Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the Protestant and Puritan settlement of New England, be- 
 fore the Jesuits had made the conquest of the territory, God's 
 hand is to be adoringly acknowledged, as also in preserving the 
 secret of the vast American continent, until the approaching strug- 
 gle of the Reformation. The enterprise of 1620 was not of human 
 device or worldly policy. From Him, who is "wonderful in coun- 
 sel and excellent in working," the sublime conception of a Com- 
 monwealth, to be founded in the North American wilderness by a 
 few exiled Puritans, must have originated. And by his favor only, 
 in sovereign election or preference, were those institutions estab- 
 lished by our forefathers, which, in less than fifty years from the 
 commencement of the Massachusetts Colony, afforded such occa- 
 sion for the admiring and rejoicing testimony of the fourth Presi- 
 dent of Harvard College : — " I look upon this as a little model of 
 the glorious kingdom of Christ on eaith. Christ reigns among us 
 in the Commonwealth, as w^ell as in the Church, and hath his 
 glorious interest involved in the good of both Societies respect- 
 ively."* 
 
 For a long period, America was to Christians of Europe, the 
 great field of missionary effort. It is even maintained, that the in- 
 spiring idea of Columbus was derived from the prophecies; and 
 that Isabella, his patron, made the conversion of the heathen an 
 object "paramount to all the rest." When our Fathers came 
 hither, these were all '■'•foreign parts :^^ it was all heathen ground. 
 Long after their coming, the churches in England were accus- 
 tomed to pray in their songs : — 
 
 " Dark America convert, 
 And every pagan land." 
 
 And in some places, these lines are still sung, strangely as they 
 sound to the ear of a New England man who may chance to bear 
 them. So vast is the change; so accustomed are we to our Chris- 
 tian institutions ; that we are all in danger of forgetting, that we 
 live upon the soil that has been rescued from Paganism. NeveVj 
 never should it be forgotten ! And never should it be forgotten, 
 that the settlement of New England was in reality, though not 
 in name, a Missionary Enterprise. Or, if any prefer to call it by 
 other terms, it may be called a Mission of Evangelical Coloniza- 
 tion; and it may be proclaimed in every language, as the sub- 
 limest mission of modern times. 
 
 * Election Sermon of Pres. Oakes, 1675. 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 Those persecuted and exiled Puritans had no such purpose in 
 coming hither, as has often been ascribed to thenn, even by some 
 of their favored descendants. It was not for political immunities, 
 nor republican institutions. In the "love of Christ constraining" 
 them, it was for the advancement of that Reformation, which, a 
 century after it had moved all Christendom, was still but in part 
 accomplished ; for they were not satisfied, that the " Prince of 
 Life " should only be acknowledged by the church, in his propheti- 
 cal and priestly oflices. It was, that as *' the Lord's freemen," 
 they might give him his kingly right, and thus be "complete 
 in him, which is the Head of all principality and power." It was, 
 that in the " liberty," " wherewiih the Son makes free," ihey 
 might enjoy the gospel, without "human mixtures and tempta- 
 tions ;" and worship in peace, " while worshipping in spirit and 
 in truth." It was for the holier and surer training of a consecrated 
 progeny, at the distance of a " nine hundred league ocean," from 
 the corruptions of the old world. And not least of all in their de- 
 sires and hopes, was the salvation of the benighted heathen, while 
 in every way which should be prepared before them, they would 
 toil and pray for the enlargement of the kingdom of " the Lord 
 of all." 
 
 These were their motives and ends in separating themselves 
 from the Church of England, which originally adopted the Refor- 
 mation from paramount purposes of state policy. Above all things, 
 it was in their hearts to call no man master, but to obey Him as 
 their King, whose inspired word was their sun, and whose atoning 
 blood was their eternal life. For this it was, that in the pure and 
 undying " love of their espousals," they " went after him in the 
 wilderness, in a land that was not sown." And in their own 
 graphic expression, it was in a " wilderness world," that they built 
 their habitations and their sanctuaries. For an object, holy and 
 sublime as ever angels celebrated, they lived here in hunger and 
 in cold, and toiled and watched in weariness and in painfulness j 
 where, when the bullock lowed, the wild beast answered him j 
 and where, at the rustling of a leaf, the fond mother clasped her 
 infant closer to her bosom. All the charters enjoined upon the 
 colonists the duty of instructing and christianizing the pagan abo- 
 rigines. The seal of the Massachusetts colony is a true exponent 
 of the aims and aspirations of our fathers. In expressive harmony 
 with their benignant desires, they adopted the figure of an aborig- 
 inal, with the memorable words of the ^' man of Macedonia." 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Nothing, therefore, was further from their hearts than the wish or 
 the thought of colonizing au immense " howling wilderness," and 
 redeeming it for "a goodly heritage," at the price of the blood of 
 the children of its forests and its streams. 
 
 If the venerated Robinson had occasion to write to the Governor 
 of Plymouth, — " that you had converted some, before you had 
 killed any," — it was not because these were wantonly destroyed, 
 or hunted down as "tawny and bloody salvages;" nor because 
 their moral ignorance and wretchedness were not distinct objects 
 of early and intense solicitude. In less than two years, one of the 
 Plymouth settlers was specially designated to promote the con- 
 version of the Indians; and as early as Dec. 1621, Elder Robert 
 Cushman made an appeal to his friends in England, in behalf of 
 " those poor heathen." In 1636, the Plymouth Colony provided 
 by law for the "preaching of the Gospel among them." 
 
 In the labors of Eliot, the Mayhews, and others of no less re- 
 nown, it may be, in heaven ; and in the contributions and personal 
 sacrifices of those, who out of their " deep poverty " sustained 
 them, — the first generation of New England furnished examples 
 of as pure missionary zeal, as has ever yet found a record or a 
 grateful notice in the uninspired annals of redemption. And to all 
 human appearance, far distant is the day, when the " thousand " 
 of thousands shall "become " as the "little one" was, and the 
 "strong nation " as " the small one," in the all-pervading and en- 
 nobling power of such zeal, for the salvation of the perishing. 
 
 The honor of the first plan in England for sending missionaries 
 to the heathen, has by mistake been given to that wonderful man, 
 whose character is now at last receiving a just and brilliant vindi- 
 cation, against the atrocious calumnies, which have prevailed for 
 two centuries. But the magnificent design of Cromwell, which 
 contemplated the establishment of a Council for the Protestant re- 
 ligioU; in opposition to the Jesuitical combination at Rome, and 
 which was intended to embrace the East and West Indies, in its 
 fourth department of operation, — was more than thirty years later, 
 than the manifesto of the Pilgrims, declaratory of the "great 
 hope and inward zeal they had, of laying some good foundation 
 for the propagation and advancement of the Gospel in these re- 
 mote parts of the world !" 
 
 A Society had been formed in England, and collections had 
 been taken, in aid of the missions of Eliot and his associates. It 
 is beyond a doubt, that the first settlers of New England were the 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 first Englishmen, who devised and executed a mission to llie 
 heathen ! 
 
 As early as 1G46, the Legislature of Massachusetts passed an 
 act for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians. From 
 that day onward, more or less of legislative provision has been 
 made for their religious instruction, as well as their social comfort. 
 And with all the changes that have passed over the "fathers" 
 and the "children's children," there never has been a time, when 
 they have not furnished some laborers in the heathen part of this 
 western world. 
 
 For almost two hundred years, the condition of our country and 
 the state of the world at large, very naturally defined, and, it may 
 not be too much to say, very prrperly circumscribed, the mission- 
 ary field of these churches. They were poor, and there were 
 "many adversaries." They may not have "done what they 
 could." But they did a great and marvellous work. And the 
 spread of the Gospel throughout the earth, was ever in the minds 
 and the supplications of many "faithful men in Christ Jesus." 
 
 To pray for the conversion of the whole world, in the concert of 
 prayer recommended, the year previous, by the churches of Scot- 
 land, was, in 1747, the dying injunction of David Brainerd to his 
 beloved Christian Indians. But the time had not really come, un- 
 til the last generation, when a Gordon Hall could reasonably be 
 expected to take up the mantle of Brainerd ; and leaving the hea- 
 then of our own territories, go forth to the far distant Gentiles. 
 And it is very wide from the truth, to assume or believe, that any 
 who first went from these shores to the heathen of the Oriental 
 continent and islands, or that any others, who, like Nettleton and 
 Mills, so ardently and early desired, without ever enjoying, a for- 
 eign field of personal toU avid trial, are entitled to an emblazoned 
 remembrance ; as if the conception of the arduous and glorious 
 work to which so many are now consecrated, had never entered 
 the minds of the fathers, who had not yet fallen asleep, or of 
 brethren in the Lord, who, in some domestic locality, were bear- 
 ing the burden and heat of the day. 
 
 Pre-eminent among these last was the revered and beloved 
 man, whose name is so inseparably and honorably identified with 
 the more recent and renowned developement of the spirit and 
 power of Am.erican Missions. 
 
 Considered by himself alone, it would be comparatively easy to 
 narrate the leading events of his life, and portray the lineaments 
 
Xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of his character. No one, perhaps, who has made a deep and in- 
 delible impression upon his contemporaries, ever had a more de- 
 cided individuality or a more independent personality, ft may 
 be equally true, that no one w^as ever more powerfully affected by 
 hereditary and posthumous influences. A Memoir of his life, 
 therefore, would be essentially incomplete, without some detailed 
 sketches of his godly ancestry ; and, in general also, a free if not 
 discursive reference or allusion to events and persons, whether of 
 the times in which he lived, or of the times before him. 
 
 It is now the entire period of a generation, since at the age of 
 fifty he rested from his labors. The common supposition is, that 
 he was then sixty, if not sixty-five or seventy years old. He lived 
 indeed to a great age, but his years were few. It was the space 
 which he filled, with somewhat also of his personal appearance, 
 that will fully account for the impression, that he died '•' an old 
 man and full of days." Other men also have accomplished so 
 much in a brief term of life, that the community and the world 
 think of them as prodigies. The literature and the familiar dis- 
 course of Christian lands, has yet to acknowledge with more ap- 
 propriate reverence, that there "is a God in history." 
 
 Most certainly there is a God in the lives of those, who are 
 created after his image in righteousness and true holiness. And 
 if there is a GoJ, that still " keepeth covenant " as with Abraham 
 and his seed^ the genealogy of a distinguished Servant of Christ, 
 will not often be found a dead letter of names, but an animated, 
 fragrant memorial of " good men and just." Such is the geneal- 
 ogy, which it is thought expedient to trace and illustrate, as no un- 
 important exposition of the native endowments and the inherent 
 characteristic tendencies of the subject of this Memoir. His an- 
 cestors were the arche-type of himself. 
 
 The memorials of no inconsiderable number of the worthies of 
 New England, are more ample and reliable, than those of any who 
 had preceded them in the work of founding nations and empires. 
 " The history of New England," it has been truly said, "has been 
 more entirely preserved, and better authenticated, from its first 
 settlement, than that of any other portion of tlie globe, of equal 
 magnitude and importance." And while a single word is often a 
 golden key to the treasures of the past, the eye of prophetic vision 
 may discern the most cheering signs of promise, in the lingering 
 rays of a resplendence, which not all 
 
 " Melts away into the light of heaven." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 KEY. SAMUEL WORCESTER, D. D. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Nativity and Extraction. Sketches of Rev. "William Worcester, of Salis- 
 bury, Mass ; Mr. Samuel Worcester and Mr. Francis Worcester, ot 
 Bradford, Mass.; Rev. Francis Worcester, of Sandwich, Mass., and of 
 HoUis, N. H.; and Noah Worcester, Esq., of Hollis, N. H; whh illus- 
 trative references to events, persons, and circumstances of their times 
 respectively. 
 
 •' They who never lookback to their ancestors, will never look forward to 
 posterity." — Burke. 
 
 In the retrospect of the half century, which has so 
 recently expired, an intelligent observer will not be 
 slow to appreciate the centennial and other com- 
 memorative celebrations. The most important of 
 these have been in om* New England, and have added 
 greatly to the renown and the influence of departed 
 worth. In some instances, also, a very unexpected, 
 but most welcome memorial of the forgotten or the 
 unknown, has been contributed by the orator of the 
 day, or the speakers at the festive board. 
 
 At a centennial celebration in 1831, it appeared 
 that there are but few, if any of the towns of New 
 England, more remarkable as the birth-place of emi- 
 1 
 
Z MEMOIR OF 
 
 nent ministers of the Gospel and of other professional 
 men, than Mollis, New Hampshire. This is an unpre- 
 tending, agricultural town, pleasantly situated on the 
 southern line of the State, — a few miles from the 
 junction of the Nashua with the pure waters of the 
 Mcrrimac from the White Mountains. A traveller 
 would notice with pleasure the general appearance of 
 the roads, farms, and dwellings. As a lover of the 
 beautiful, he would find much to admire in the scen- 
 ery. If, in the neat little village of the centre, he 
 should wish to learn something of " the ancient men," 
 whose memory is embalmed among the native inhab- 
 itants, he would be quite sure to hear the name, and be 
 directed to the former residence of Noah Worcester, 
 Esq. He would also be informed or reminded, that 
 among his sons were Dr. Noah Worcester of Brighton, 
 and Dr. Samuel Worcester, of Salem, Mass. 
 
 The subject of this Memoir was the fifth son in the 
 family. He was born Nov. 1, 1770. The principal 
 part of the first twenty years of his life he spent at 
 home, — faithfully obeying " the first commandment 
 with promise." But with a filial piety very strongly 
 marked in his earliest years, and in riper age a model, 
 even for the times when the honor of parents was so 
 universally sacred, — his godly ancestry was hardly 
 less dear to him than his immediate parentage. 
 During all his life, he loved to recognize the goodness 
 of God in his favored descent, through " devout men," 
 and " mothers in Israel," from the 
 
 Rev. William Worcester, of Salisbmy, Mass. 
 
 I. In the " Magnalia " of Mather, this self-denying 
 servant of Christ is enrolled as one of " the reverend, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 3 
 
 learnocl, and holy divines, arriving such from Europe 
 to America, by wliose evangelical ministry the 
 churches of New EnHand have b(*en illuminated." 
 There is no doubt that he came from Salisbury, in 
 England. But inquiries in the father-land have as 
 yet furnished no information, in respect to his nativity 
 or genealogy. He is known to have been liberally 
 educated, and to have been in the pastoral office, 
 when, with so many of the purest and best sons of 
 " dear England," he was compelled to become a fugi- 
 tive, flying from persecution and tyranny. It was 
 God that sent him to assist in laying broad and deep 
 the foundations of our goodly heritage ; as Joseph 
 was sent into Egypt, " to preserve a posterity in the 
 earth," and be the instrument " of a great deliverance." 
 
 The character which he sustained in his manhood 
 affords a safe presumption, that, " from a child he 
 had known the Holy Scriptui'es." His parental train- 
 ing was probably that of the most exemplary families 
 of the Puritans, in the latter part of the 16th century, — 
 the period when the faithful witnesses of the Reforma- 
 tion in England so restored the sanctity of the Sab- 
 bath, and, at the hazard of burning at the stake, 
 determined to serve God, according to " the truth and 
 simplicity of Christ." 
 
 " I have often wished," — the late Noah Worcester 
 once remarked to the wnriter, — " that I could know 
 who were our forefathers in England. But I have 
 been afraid, that we should find ourselves descended 
 from some of those bloody Norman barons ; and such 
 is my abhorrence of war, that I am contented to 
 remain in my present ignorance." There was a 
 Richard Worcester — he may have known — in the 
 retinue of Henry V., at the battle of Agincourt, 
 
4 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Oct., 1415. There is something of luar^ also, in the 
 very name of Worcester, — ^if cester is from the Roman 
 castra, or if the Saxon iveg-eara-ceaster, or iveogare- 
 ceaster^ or ivegeorna-ceaster^ signifies ivar-castle* But 
 the venerable apostle of peace — as he may justly be 
 called — appeared to have forgotten, that the family 
 coat of arms very plainly directs the genealogist to a 
 spiritual or sacramental, rather than to a martial or 
 baronial distinction. " The field is argent. Ten 
 
 TORTEAUXES,f FOUR, THREE, TWO AND ONE, WHICH ARE 
 
 SO MANY CAKES OF BREAD, AND SIGNIFIES THE FIRST 
 BEARER TO HAVE BEEN A PRIEST, OR SOME RELIGIOUS 
 PERSON ; OR ELSE ONE THAT HAD DONE MUCH FOR THE 
 CHURCH." 
 
 Of this device of heraldry, there is no extant 
 engi'aving, or any pictorial illustration. But a small 
 manuscript, handsomely \srritten, containing a copy of 
 the foregoing description and interpretation — without 
 date, or sign of origin — has been preserved, as the 
 oldest relic of family history, for " the name of Wor- 
 cester." While it agrees perfectly with the character 
 of the Rev. William Worcester, it doubtless was 
 intended to commemorate some one of his progeni- 
 tors, and perhaps one who sympathized with Wickliffe 
 and the other " Reformers before the Reformation." 
 However this may be, the pastor of Salisbury could 
 
 * Henry's England, vol. ii., p. 538. The name in Latin was written 
 Wigornia, or Vigornia. In the registries of Doomsday Book, it is written 
 Wirecestre. No such name appears in the famous " Roll of Battle Abbey,** 
 (NewEng. His. and Genl. Reg. vol. ii,) while various records or monuments 
 identify it, as existing among the Saxons, long before the landing of A\'il- 
 liam of Normandy, A. D. 10G6. There may, of course, be a mixture o^ 
 blood, as in other families ; but the progenitors of the Worcesters in New 
 England were Anglo-Saxon, rather than Anglo-Norman. 
 
 t May be- pronounced as if written tor-toox-es. Torteau, in Heraldry^ 
 signifies a red " roundel," or " circular spot." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. O 
 
 not have gone fartlier back than to his great-grand- 
 parents, to find a Romish ancestry; nor have counted 
 forty generations from the last of his forefathers, who 
 " did evil in the sight of the Lord after the abominations 
 of the heathen^* 
 
 From a recent search of an antiquarian, whose 
 intimate knowledge of the antiquities of Salisbury, 
 England, gives the highest value to his witness, it 
 would seem to be quite certain, that the Rev. William 
 Worcester was not a native of the city, from which 
 he emifi^rated to New Ens^land. " Of the Rev. Wil- 
 liam Worcester, I find no trace. Indeed I think Wor- 
 cester is not a Salisbury name."f It is not unlikely, 
 that, at the time he left for America, all the persons 
 who would have been interested to preserve a record 
 of his ecclesiastical or social relations, either accom- 
 panied him, or were scattered abroad, during the civil 
 war which almost immediately followed. 
 
 It is a family tradition, that two brothers came with 
 him to New England. One of these is supposed to 
 have died without issue. The other went to Con- 
 necticut, and became the head of several families, 
 who have written their name Wooster, Of these was 
 Gen. David Wooster, a revolutionary patriot and 
 
 * It should silence the most plausible arguments against the expediency 
 and duty of prosecuting the work of missions — simply to say to an objector : 
 " Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite." Eze. xvi. 3. 
 Forty generations only, or at most a few more, will carry us back to the 
 heathenism of our ancestors ; sixty generations will carry all the heathenism 
 now existing back to the heathenism of the days of Paul and the other 
 apostles ; and less than ninety more, or less than one hundred and fifty in 
 all, will reach the very beginning of all the idolatrous religions, which have 
 any name or shadow of a name in the history of the world. 
 
 t Henry Hatcher, Esq., to the Dean of Salisbury, in answer to inquiries 
 proposed by Hon. James Savage, Pres. of the Mass. His. Society, — Nov. 
 20, 1842. See a paper, communicated by Mr. Savage, Mass. His, Col- 
 lections, 3d Ser., vol. x., p. 138. 
 
 1* 
 
b MEMOIR OF 
 
 martjT ; and more recently, Rev. Benjamin Wooster,^ 
 of Fairfield, Vt., — who laid aside his shepherd's crook, 
 at the call of the state-militant, and, as commander of 
 a company of volunteers from his own parish, was 
 among the bravest at the battle of Plattsburg, on the 
 11th of Sept. 1814. 
 
 The clerical brother in Massachusetts, and the lay 
 brother in Connecticut, each placed himself in circum- 
 stances of great personal exposure ; and the former, 
 especially, encountered perils and hardships, which 
 required no small measure of natural and moral 
 com'age. If it had been written of them both, that 
 they were of more than common stature and muscular 
 development, it would not surprise those who have 
 seen any considerable number of their progeny. 
 What can now be ascertained in regard to them in 
 general, is suited to awaken an earnest desire for a 
 knowledge of their parentage and early education. 
 But as in regard to many others, associated with them 
 in that most honorable generation of New England 
 Puritans, there is too much reason to recall the words 
 of Goldsmith, when lamenting the scantiness of his 
 materials for his life of Parnell : " The dews of the 
 morning are past, and we vainly try to continue the 
 chase by the meridian splendor." 
 
 There is some ground to suppose, that they came 
 to New England, in 1637, or the year in which Crom- 
 well and others, who aftersvards wxre so prominent in 
 resisting the tyranny of Charles 1st., and in sustain- 
 ing the Commonwealth, — had purposed to embark for 
 the same asylum.* The spirit of emigration was now 
 
 * 1637. " A number of English Puritans embarked for America., to lay the 
 foundaiion of a government which might ensure them rehgious and ciAil 
 liberty. A proclamation was then issued to prevent such emigrations, in 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 7 
 
 greatly stimnlated by tlie intolerance of Archbishop 
 Laud, and the manifold grievances of evangelical 
 pastors and their adherents ; — while the most encour- 
 aging reports were received of the success of the 
 colonists, who had now begun to present to the w^orld 
 a noble organization, civil and religious. At least 
 twenty ships, with about 3000 emigrants, reached the 
 Salem or Massachusetts Colony, in 1638. Rev. Wil- 
 liam Worcester and family may have been in that 
 company. He must have arrived at this time, if not 
 as early as 1637 ; for, according to the best authorities, 
 it was in 1638, that he became the pastor of the church 
 in Salisbury."* 
 
 This was the eio^hteenth chiu'ch in the colony. The 
 town, — at first a part of the territory of Rowley and 
 called Colchester, — is the oldest in Massachusetts, on 
 the north bank of the Merrimac. When incorporated 
 in 1640, it took the name of Salisbury, either in honor 
 of the pastor, as may be conjectured ; or, because the 
 pastor was accompanied by a portion of his church in 
 England, and they together washed to preserve the asso- 
 ciations of the name of their former residence, as 
 among others Mr. Cotton had given an example in 
 Boston, and Mr. Rogers, — a grandson of the "proto- 
 martyr," — with his at Rowley.f 
 
 which were Sir Arthur Ilazelrig, John Hampden^ John Pym, and Oliver 
 Cromwell, who had resolved to abandon their country forever." — Universal 
 Chronologist and Historical Register, ^-c. Part I., pp. 599, GOO. 
 
 The same year the Jesuits were expelled from Japan, on account of a 
 conspiracy to seize the Government. 
 
 The same year, also, the Covenanters were actively organizing their 
 forces to defeat the eflbrts of Charles I., to impose upon Scotland the 
 English Church Establishment. 
 
 * His arrival was less than ten years after that of Iligg-inson and his 
 associates at Salem. 
 t A similar reason could scarcely be assigned for Charlestowfi. 
 
8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In May previous to the change of the name of the 
 town, he was admitted by the General Court, to the 
 privileges of a freeman of the Colony. A large num- 
 ber of others were admitted with him.* And from 
 this time, it may be added, the state of things in 
 England put an end to the rush of emigration. 
 While Cromwell was lord of the ascendant, as many 
 persons returned home, it has been said, as there were 
 who came to settle in the new world. 
 
 The ancient records of the church of Salisbury 
 having been lost, there are no means of ascertaining 
 the numbers or increase of the chm'ch, during the 
 ministry of the first pastor. There is evidence from 
 tradition, that the church was in general much united, 
 and the pastor highly respected and beloved. His 
 ministry left an enduring impression of his learning, 
 devotedness, wisdom, meekness, and patience. 
 
 He had much of that personal discipline, which, in 
 its appropriate effect, prepares a pastor to " weep with 
 them that weep," as well as to "rejoice with them 
 that do rejoice." He knew the occasion and import 
 of the word sympathy ; and had " learned what that 
 meaneth :" — " The heart knoweth his own bitterness : 
 and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." 
 
 After noticing " the town of Hampton, in the county 
 of Northfolk,"t Mr. Johnson, in the " Wonder-working 
 Providence of Sion's Saviour in New England," pro- 
 
 * Savage's Winthrop. 
 
 ■f Not the present Norfolk County, Mass. At the period, when Capt. 
 Edward Johnson, of Woburn, wrote the " Wonder-working Providence, 
 &c." or the History of New England, from 1628 to 1051, — all the towns 
 between the Merrimac and Piscataqua Rivers were included in one county, 
 which was named Northfolk or Norfolk, because of the geographical posi- 
 tion of this part of the colony. The people were the North-folhs , as those 
 of Suffolk, were South-folks. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 9 
 
 ceeds to "the planting the eighteenth church of Christ 
 at the town of Salsbury." 
 
 " For furtlior perfecting this wildernesse-work ; not 
 far from the Towne of Hampton was erected another 
 Towne called Salsbmy, being brought forth as Twins, 
 sometime contending for eldership ; * * * the sit- 
 uation of this Towne is very pleasant, were the rivers 
 navigable fiarre up, — the branches thereof abound in 
 faire and goodly meadowes with good store of stately 
 timber upon the uplands in many places . * ♦ * 
 the people joyned in church-relation or brotherhood, 
 nere about the time the other did, and have desired 
 and obtained the reverend and graciously godly, M. 
 Thomas Woster* to be their Pastor. 
 
 With mickle labor and distressed wants 
 
 Woster, thou hast in desart's depth remain'd 
 Thy chiefest dayes, Christ's Gospel there .to plant, 
 
 And water well, such toil shall yield great gaine. 
 O happy day I may Woster say, that I 
 
 Was singled out for this great work in hand ; 
 Christ by distresse doth gold for 's Temple try : 
 
 Thrice blest are they may in his Presence stand, 
 But more, thou art by him reserved yet, 
 
 To see on earth Christ's kingdom's exaltation ; 
 More yet, thou art by him prepared fit 
 
 To help it on, among our English Nation." 
 
 * Mr. Johnson evidently wrote much of his work from memory and gen- 
 eral impressions ; and was not minutely accurate in names and dales. It is 
 conjectured, that Thomas was the name of a brother of the pastor of Salis- 
 bury, whose name in the Records of the town was invariably written, Wil- 
 liam Worcester, it is so written in his will. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's date for the gathering of the church is 1639. He may have 
 been correct. But the weight of authority is decidedly in favor of 1638. 
 See Mass. His. Colls. 2 Series, vol. v. p. 242. Cols. Am. Stat. Asso. vol i., 
 p. 32. 
 
 Thomas Lechford, in his " Plaine Dealing, or Newes from New Eng- 
 land," published in London, 1611, — speaks also of the minister of SaUsbur)', 
 z& blaster Worster ; writing the name, doubtless, according to the mode of 
 pronunciation, which was probably then in use, and which is now generally 
 sanctioned by his descendants. At the present day, we have Worcester, 
 Worster, Wooster, and Woster, — the three last being variations or corrup- 
 tions of the first, and very naturally occasioned by the pronunciation of the 
 name, as if but of two syllables. At the time of the settlement of New 
 England, Worcester appe&.rs to have been the uniform orthography, in the 
 designation of the city and shire, the bishopric and earldom, so called in the 
 mother-country. — To commemorate the second battle of Worcester, in 1651, 
 
10 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The work, in which the pastor of Salisbury is thus 
 honorably mentioned, appears to have been completed, 
 in 1651, or just about two centuries since. The author 
 was one of the most estimable men in the Massachu- 
 setts Colony ; and his testimony in respect to character 
 was that of " a good man and a just." Of the mode 
 in which he was pleased to present the portraits of his 
 Christian heroes, he has spoken for himself : " And 
 now let no man be offended at the Author's rude 
 verse, penned of purpose to keepe in memory the 
 Names of such worthies as Christ made strong for 
 himselfe, in this unwonted work of his."* 
 
 In calling Mr. Worcester " the reverend and gra- 
 ciously godly," he was far from meaning to " give 
 flattering titles to man." The term " reverend" was 
 not used in New England, as a designation of minis- 
 terial office, until long afterwards. It was intended to 
 denote a truly devout and earnest minister of Christ, — 
 " sober, just, holy, temperate ; holding fast the faithful 
 word as he had been taught, that he might be able by 
 sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the 
 gainsayers." The same term is used in the Salisbury 
 Records, and with the same import of high respect 
 and esteem, after the pastor's decease. In other places 
 he is called Mister.-f 
 
 Cromwell was present at the launching of " a new freegot of the States, 
 carrying three-score pieces of ordnance, and called her the Worcester." — 
 Hees^ Cyclopedia. 
 
 * Mass. His. Colls , 2d Ser., vol ii., p. 69. 
 
 •) Mister, Master, or Magister, was the title of all educated men, — of 
 magistrates, school-teachers, and military officers above the rank of lieuten- 
 ant, &c. Hence a dilTiculty in determining the real profession or occupation of 
 some of the early fathers, e. g. whether a man was a lawyer or a physician. 
 " Reverend," as the title of an accredited clergyman, was adopted, perhaps, 
 for public convenience ; as well as because the general character of the 
 ministers who first received it did honor to the title. For about half a cen- 
 tury, " Goodman " was a common title for any one, who had not a claim to 
 be called Mister. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 11 
 
 The allusions to " the desart's depth,"* and to 
 " mickle labor and distressed wants," should be inter- 
 preted, in the most literal manner. The pastor of 
 Salisbmy had an undisputed pre-eminence among his 
 clerical brethren, in labors and privations. His worldly 
 circumstances, however, it is supposed, were improved, 
 in the latter years of his life. But in respect to wealth, 
 he must always have presented quite a contrast to his 
 excellent neighbor, Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley. f 
 
 In what is said of his " distresse," there may also 
 be some reference to the afflictions, which he had had 
 in the death of children, and of the wife that came 
 with him to New England. INIrs. Sarah Worcester 
 died in April, 1650, — leaving an infant, of less than 
 three months old. Before the end of the year, Mr. 
 Worcester was united in marriage with ]\Ii's. Rebecca 
 Hall, who was a lady of excellent parentage in Eng- 
 land, and much known and respected for her virtues.^ 
 
 In IVIi*. Johnson's notice of Salisbury, it is said : 
 " The people of this town have of late placed their 
 dwellings so much distanced the one from the other, 
 
 * An idea of distance, in those days, may be taken from an incident in 
 the gathering of the churches of Haverhill and Andover, in 1644. The 
 magistrates and ministers, who were notified to attend, desired that '■'■from 
 the remoteness of those toivns and the scarcity of houses,^'' the meeting might 
 be at Rowley. The desire was granted. The distance from Rowley to 
 Haverhill may have been six or eight miles ; that to Andover, ten or twelve • 
 f Christ for this work Rogers doth riches give^ 
 Rich graces fit his people for to feed, 
 Wealth to supply his wants whilst here he live, 
 Free thou receiv'st to serve his peoples need. 
 — " Wonder-ivorking, ^-c.'' Mass. His. Col. 2d Ser. Vol. vii.p. 13. 
 Mr. Rogers had a large estate to distribute by his will, at his decease. 
 
 X She had been twice married, before she became the consort of Rev. 
 Wm. Worcester. She married, for a fourth husband, Samuel Symonds. 
 who was Deputy Governor of the Colony. She died at Ipswich, July 
 21st., 1695, in the 79th year of her age. 
 
12 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that they are like to divide into tAVO churches." He 
 refers to the settlements in what was called " New 
 Town," — and is now known as Amesbmy. This re- 
 moval of a part of the inhabitants much increased the 
 labors of the pastor. It led also to some opposition 
 and resistance in the payment of his salary. The 
 subject was ultimately carried up to the General 
 Court ; and thus gave occasiop, providentially, for a 
 record of the sentiments of the most intelligent and 
 respectable men in the colony, in regard to the high 
 standing of the pastor. 
 
 It had been voted, that he receive £80, a year. In 
 opposition to some who were unwilling to pay their 
 proportion, the General Court, in 1658, ordered that 
 he be paid this sum. It was also decided by that 
 body, that " it is not expedient for Mr. Worcester to 
 travel once a month to preach (Sabbath) at New 
 Town, but that the people there should attend his 
 preaching at Old Town ; and those of New Town 
 should help pay his salary, until they are legally dis- 
 missed." The Court also say, that "they of New 
 Town should forbear to content themselves with pri- 
 vate help, whilst the Lord pleased to continue so 
 hriijrht a star in their candlestick.^^ 
 
 Among the papers of Dr. Worcester, very carefully 
 preserved, was a long letter fi-om Rev. Daniel Gould, 
 a worthy clergyman, who for a time supplied the pul- 
 pit of the fu'st chm'ch of Salisbury. A more recent 
 investigation fully confii'ms the ^vriter's statements 
 and opinions. 
 
 Salisbury^ Nov. 5th, 1810. 
 Rev. and Dear Sir : — 
 
 In compliance with your request, when I saw you 
 at Rev. ]Mi\ Huntington's, last September, at Topsfield, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 13 
 
 1 have examined the reeords of the Town and Pro- 
 prietors of Salisbiuy ; and have likewise made all the 
 inquiries I could, relative to your ven(Table ancestor, 
 IVIr. Worcester, formerly a minister in this town ; and 
 beg leave to lay before you the result of my incjuiries, 
 with such remarks as naturally occurred to my mind, 
 from the face and spirit of the records to which I have 
 had recourse, and also from tradition. 
 
 . I find that all that tract of land, lying in the neigh- 
 borhood of Merrimack, or Moonomick, as the Indians 
 called it, was gi-anted to be a plantation, unto iVIr. 
 Simon Bradstreet, IVIr. Daniel Dennison, Christopher 
 Ball, Samuel Winslow, and others, in the year 1638. 
 And at a General Court held at Boston, the 4tli day 
 of the 7th month, 1639, [it was decided that] Mr. 
 Ezekiel Roger's plantation shall be called Rowley ; 
 and the plantation beyond Merrimack river shall be 
 called Colchester. At a General Court held at Bos- 
 ton, the 7th day of the 8th m., 1640, Colchester is 
 henceforth to be called Salisbury. This gives us the 
 history of this town and to whom it was first granted. 
 But by whom, or by what means, and in what man- 
 ner, it was fii'st settled, we are not informed. I find, 
 however, records of births, as early as the year 1637 — 
 but no records of anything else until the year 1640, 
 when the town was incorporated. 
 
 I find their first Minister's name was William Wor- 
 cester.* But w^hen he was settled here, I find no 
 records to show, nor anything which leads to a con- 
 jecture. William Worcester is mentioned at the set- 
 tlement of the town ; and it appears, that, at all times, 
 he had his proportion of the lands, in the several 
 divisions of the Town lands, as a free commoner. 
 
 There is a meeting-house and a bell mentioned 
 
 * The writer's explicit statement on this point was occasioned by the 
 fact, that there was still a question in the family, whether the name was 
 William or Thomas. Dr. Worcester's brother Thomas received his name, 
 under the impression, that this was the true name of the ancestor at Salis- 
 bury, — an impression derived, probably, from the mistake of INIr. Johnson 
 in his history of New England, 
 
 2 
 
14 MEMOIR OF 
 
 nearly at the time of the incorporation of the town. 
 As early as 1642, the freemen voted to levy a tax for 
 Ml'. Worcester's maintenance, of <£27, for his half 
 year's salary last past, which is spoken of not as a 
 new, but as an old thing. He is frequently mentioned 
 from time to time, as it respects his salary, until the 
 y^ar 1659 or 1660. 
 
 [Details of various matters here follow.] 
 
 I find a record of the death of JVIr. "William Wor- 
 cester, in these words, viz. : " The reverend William 
 Worcester, pastor of the Church of Salisbury, de- 
 parted this Hfe, the 28th of the 8th Month, 1662." It 
 appears that he was minister here upwards of twenty 
 years. Of his age and the time of his ministry in this 
 town, I have found no account in the records, which I 
 have consulted. I have been told that the place where 
 his house stood, the cellar and some old bricks are still 
 visible. Lieut. Josiah French,* one of the descendants 
 of the family, informed me, that he knew the grave 
 where ]Mr. Worcester was bm'ied, as he had received 
 it from tradition. 
 
 I have learned, that he came from Cape Ann when 
 he came to this town. Possibly, something may be 
 obtained there, relative to your venerable ancestor, or 
 his posterity. It appears that yom* venerable ancestor 
 was learned in all the wisdom of Europe, and well 
 versed in divine knowledge. He was judicious, 
 benevolent, and pious ; an able minister of the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ ; and a gi'eat comfort to the people of 
 his charge. He animated and comforted them under 
 the many hardships, difficulties, and dangers, which 
 they had to encounter in settling a wild and inhospit- 
 able country, and also arising from a fierce and numer- 
 ous enemy, by whom he and his people were kept in 
 constant alarm.f He was a great promoter of the 
 
 * His father, Josiah French, married Mary Worcester, daughter of 
 Francis, and grand-daughter of Samuel, of Bradford, Nov. 10, 1736. 
 
 t Many facts might be given, in proof of what Mr. Gould here states : 
 e. g. — " Upon the warrant which went to Ip.swich, Rowlye, and Newberry, 
 to disarm Passaconamy, who lived by Merrimack, they sent forth 40 men 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 15 
 
 settling of this part of the country; and instead of 
 comphiining, was a pattern of patience in linnger and 
 cold, and of fortitude under poverty and danger, to 
 encourage his people. 
 
 During this time of danger and poverty, the inhab- 
 itants lived like the old ])atriarchs. They labored to 
 promote each other's best interests, and the good of 
 the whole. They conceded to each other, as is abund- 
 antly evident from their often exchanging lands, for 
 the sake of accommodating each other's farms. 
 Mutual benevolence seems to have prevailed among 
 them. They made a common interest of their neces- 
 sities and dangers, and did every thing to promote 
 peace and harmony. 
 
 It likewise appears, that they would support their 
 dignity and honor, and the authority which they exer- 
 cised for their protection and safety. They prevented 
 everything which had a tendency to irritate, and dis- 
 turb the peace of society. They made such laws and 
 regulations, from time to time, as they found neces- 
 sary. — It is left on record, that IVIr. Samuel Hall was 
 fined in open meeting 5s. for his abusive language 
 before the freemen, in open meeting, — which was : 
 " Ye are all lords, all moriarchs, your will must he your 
 laic, and such likeP 
 
 The only difficulty which seems to have occupied 
 their attention, during Mr. Worcester's ministry among 
 them, related to his support. Nothing appears, but 
 that they paid him promptly according to agreement, 
 and to his satisfaction ; for he never complained on 
 that account. His salary was various, sometimes 
 £50, and sometimes XGO, as extremes. But the man- 
 armed the next day, being- the Lord's day, but it rained all the day, as it had 
 done divers days before and also after, so that they could not go to his wig- 
 wam, but they came to his son's and took him, &c." — Winthrop''s Joztrnal^ 
 Mo. 7. 1642. 
 
 This movement to disarm the Indians was prompted by the suspicion of a 
 general conspiracy against the colonists. For many years, the able-bodied 
 men in the most exposed settlements, carried their guns and swords with 
 them to the house of God, on the Sabbath, and were always ready for aa 
 alarm. 
 
16 * MEMOIR OF 
 
 ner of raising it occupied their attention. Generally 
 they paid him by a tax, which was equally laid upon 
 each of the inhabitants, according to their ability. 
 
 With regard to the church government and the state 
 of religion in particular, we are not informed, as his 
 church records are lost or concealed. There are no 
 church records, until the time of Mr. Allen's ministry 
 in 1687. Suffice it to say, that we [have reason to] 
 conclude, that they were a wise, virtuous, benevolent, 
 and pious people ; and that they duly attended upon 
 the preaching and ordinances of the Gospel, duly and 
 properly exercised discipline in the church, and labored 
 to suppress vice, and immorality, and disorder, and 
 promote virtue, order, piety and religion among them, 
 according to the rules of the Gospel, in both church 
 and state. 
 
 Finally, it appears that IVIr. Worcester was one of 
 those who were willing to endure afflictions with the 
 people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of 
 Egypt. They deserve to be had in everlasting re- 
 membrance. Their names are precious, and ought to 
 be sought up and to be handed down to the latest 
 posterity, as the precious of the earth. They are 
 those to whom, under God, we are indebted for our 
 country, and for the high privileges we enjoy, as a 
 people, both civil and religious, which are greater than 
 those of any other nation on the face of the earth ; — 
 a consideration of which, I hope, will prepare us to 
 celebrate the approaching annual thanksgiving, which 
 is derived from their example, with a grateful acknowl- 
 edgment of the mercies of God to us, who is the 
 beneficent giver of every good and perfect gift. 
 
 Sir, you will be so obliging as to tender my sincere 
 regards to your lady, while you will accept of them 
 yourself; and while I subscribe myself your friend 
 and brother in the Lord, — 
 
 Daniel Gould. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Worcester. 
 
 It is all but impossible, after the lapse of two 
 hundred years, to appreciate such toils and endur- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 17 
 
 ances, as those which are briofly indicated in the fore- 
 going letter. The early inhabitants of New England 
 were not from the lower classes of society, and their 
 life had not been that of manual labor. A large num- 
 ber of those " first good men " were eminent scholars 
 of Oxford and Cambridge. Others were of families 
 occupying a social position, in which every worldly 
 advantage was enjoyed, or might be an object of hope 
 to the emulous and aspiring. " These forsooke a pow- 
 erfuU land, stately buildings, goodly Gardens, orchards, 
 yea, deare friends, and neere relations, to goe to a desart 
 wildernesse, thousands of leagues by sea, both turbu- 
 lent and dangerous. Many have travelled to see 
 famous cities, strong fortifications, &c., or in hope to 
 enjoy a settled habitation, where riches are attained 
 with ease. But here the only encouragements were 
 the laborious breaking up of bushy ground, with the 
 continued toyle of erecting houses, for themselves and 
 cattell, in this howling desart ; all which they under- 
 went with much cheerfulness, that they might enjoy 
 Christ and his ordinances in their primitive purity."* 
 
 The twenty-four years of William Worcester's min- 
 istry, in New England, were signalized by numerous 
 events, on each side of the Atlantic, which must have 
 deeply moved a heart like his. The celebrated " Thir- 
 ty Years War " between the Catholics and Protestants, 
 in Europe, terminated about t\vo years before his 
 death. In Scotland, the noble Covenanters, with the 
 indomitable resolution of John Knox, were resisting, 
 like true martyrs, the establishment of Episcopacy. 
 An open insurrection in 1638, with subsequent move- 
 ments, both in England and Scotland, gave employ- 
 
 * Wonder-working Providence, &c. 
 
 2* 
 
18 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ment enough to Charles I., without leaving any time 
 for an effective effort to subjugate the Puritanical 
 spirit of the New England Colonies.* Long before 
 he was beheaded, these had become real republics^ and 
 were immovably grounded and fixed in " the founda- 
 tions of many generations." Under the guidance of 
 their spiritual teachers, the first generation of New 
 England, while acting as members of Congi*egational 
 churches, and as freemen, administering affairs of 
 town, county, and colony, commenced that obedience 
 to law, and that general discipline of self-government, 
 which, in its progress, has made the American people 
 the mififhtiest embodiment that the world has ever 
 seen, of true constitutional liberty. 
 
 The " firm and perpetual league, offensive and 
 defensive," between " the United Colonies of New 
 England, viz. Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut 
 and New Haven," was duly consummated in 1643.f 
 The leading pastors of the churches, with the concur- 
 rence of the magistrates, completed the " Platform of 
 
 * At the period, when the bigotry and tyranny of Charles I. cost him his 
 life, the term Puritan was not always used with the same meaning. " The 
 appellation of Puritan was applied to three distinct parties ; which, though 
 united, were actuated by different views and motives. The Political Puri' 
 tans maintained the most exalted opinions of civil liberty ; the Puritans in 
 discipline were averse to the ceremonies and episcopal government of the 
 church; while the JDoc^rma/ Puritans rigidly defended the specidative sys- 
 tem of the early Reformers. In opposition to these were the Court Party^ 
 the Hierarchy, and the Arminians ; with this distinction, that the latter hav- 
 ing been introduced a few years previous, did not then [1629] comprehend 
 all those who were favorable to the church and monarchy." — Note by Editor 
 of M. St. Martinis Universal Chronologist and Elements of Gerieral History, 
 Part I., p. 592. 
 
 The Puritans of New England combined tlie characteristic peculiarities of 
 the " three di.^tinct parties" above-mentioned. 
 
 t The articles of the confederation of 1G43, were the pattern of the con- 
 federation, during the war of independence, and of the constitutional union 
 ©f the States, in 1769. 
 
8AMCEL WORCESTER. 
 
 19 
 
 Cliurcli Discipline," in llie Synod, at Cambridge, in 
 1648. Matters of cliurch and state were thus 
 definitely settled. Excepting the troubles with the 
 savages, the people were allowed " to lead a (piiet 
 and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty," until 
 after the restoration of Charles IL, in 1660. Mean- 
 while they were successfully cherishing and perfecting 
 the institutions of their unexampled freedom, in the 
 fear of God. 
 
 But before the pastor of Salisbury had finished his 
 course, the ministers were called to meet an unex- 
 pected crisis. According to the analogy of usage in 
 the old world, no person was allowed to exercise the 
 rights of a freeman, who was not a church member. 
 But as yet, none had been admitted as church mem- 
 bers, except such as gave evidence of a personal expe- 
 rience of the truths of the Gospel. This made a great 
 difference between New England and other parts of 
 Christendom. Many children had now come to man- 
 hood, and were not members of churches. Other 
 persons, who had emigrated to New England, were in 
 the same condition. Hence no small controversv had 
 been excited, when, in 1662, — the last year of Mr. 
 Worcester's life, — the third * Synod of INIassachusetts 
 
 * Just before his arrival, or in 1G37, \\ie first synod of pastors was held at 
 Cambridge. It was this, which, in the right use of the right means, so 
 remarkably settled the Autinomian question, in connection with which the 
 name of Mrs. Hutchinson became so famous. The same Synod very 
 effectually disposed of errors of doctrine, " to the number of eighty," which 
 individuals had invented or adopted, and were actively disseminating. 
 
 " It is well known to all our English Nation, that the most able-preaching 
 ministers of Christ were most pursued by the lording clergy, and those that 
 have spent all their dayes, even from a child, in searching the Scriptures, 
 the Lord Cliiist preparing them by his blessed Spirit for this very work. 
 * * Those errors which you have heard mentioned in a former 
 book, were so put to death, that they never have stood up in a living manner 
 
20 MEMOIR OF 
 
 was held, and, with much opposition, what has since 
 been known as the Half-icay Covenant was introduced. 
 By the sanction of that Synod, all persons who had 
 been baptised in infancy, were to be considered mem- 
 bers of the church to which their parents belonged ; 
 although they were not to be admitted to the Lord's 
 Table, without complying with such conditions, as 
 had been prescribed at the beginning. Those who 
 were thus formally recognized, might bring their chil- 
 dren also to receive the ordinance of baptism. 
 
 What particular part Mr. Worcester had in that 
 Synod, or whether he was numbered with the friends 
 or opposcrs of the Half-way Covenant, cannot now be 
 learned. The negative testimony is very decided, that 
 he could never have had any favor for such a palpable 
 innovation upon the order of the churches, — and for 
 which the reason of all others was that of political 
 expediency. The result of the doings of the Synod 
 of 1662 was submitted to the General Court, Oct. 8. 
 
 among us since, but sometimes like wizards to peepe and mutter out of 
 ground, fit for such people to resort unto, as will goe from the living to the 
 dead * * The framing of arguments in a scholar-like way, did, (the 
 Lord assisting) cleare up the truths of Christ more to the meanest capacity 
 in one hour, than could be clouded again in seaven yeare by the new notion 
 of any such, as boast so much of their unlettered knowledge." * ^ Won- 
 der-working Providence^ (J-c. Chap. vii. See also Hubbard's General History 
 of N. Eiiglavd, Chaps, xxxviii — xl. 
 
 " This delicate business was managed with great prudence and address. 
 No person was named as holding such errors ; no person was inquired after, 
 as the author of such opinions. Each error was recited, with only this short 
 remark, this is contrary to such and such texts, which were subjoined. The 
 result of the Synod was unanimous, and even Mr. Cotton [who had strong- 
 ly sympathised with Mrs. Hutchinson, and " who vjas not the least part of 
 the coi(7itri/,"\ freely declared, ' that he disrelished all those opinions and 
 expressions, as being some of them heretical, some of them blasphemous, 
 some of them erroneous, and all of them incongruous.' The victory was 
 as complete as the nature of the case admitted." — Morse and ParisWs New 
 Engla7id, Ch, xxi. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 21 
 
 At this timo, Mr. Worcoster was "setting his house in 
 order," in ;iidic'i[)atioii of a speculy departure to "the 
 rest whieh reinaineth to the people of God." 
 
 Of tlie "first good men, who were in tlie nctnal 
 exercise of the ministry when they left England, and 
 who were the instruments of settling churches here 
 according to the order of the Gospel," it was recorded 
 by one* wlio was well prepan^d to testify, — " I may 
 now write of all these old ministers, ' These all died 
 in the faith.'' " 
 
 It was thus that the Rev. Wm. Worcester rested 
 from his labors. The tranquillity of his soul in death 
 has been to his children's children a grateful evidence, 
 that before his departure, " he had this testimony, that 
 he pleased God." He had made his will, a short time 
 before his final hour. When he found that this was 
 very near, he requested, with the most perfect com- 
 posure, to see the tokens of the advance of death from 
 his extremities. " Uncover my feet ; let me see them ; 
 I fear not to die." — These were among the last words 
 which he uttered, as he fell asleep, glorifying the Lord 
 Jesus and " the power of his resurrection." 
 
 The day of his death, according to the record which 
 is correctly cited in the letter of Mr. Gould, was the 
 28th of October, (O. S.) 1662. His age could hardly 
 have been less than sixty years.f He was buried near 
 the entrance of the gTave-yard of the first settlers of 
 the town. If any monument was erected, it has long 
 since disappeared. A rough flat stone was laid over 
 
 * Mather's Magnalia. 
 
 t Rev. J, B. Felt, in his Notes to the List of the Congregational and 
 Presbyterian Ministers, who have been settled in the County of Essex, 
 Mass., from its first settlement to the year 1S34, — says : — " Mr. Worcester 
 deceased at an advanced age."' — Ain. Quarry Register, Vol. vii., p. 2G0. 
 
22 MEMOIR OF 
 
 his remains, to preserve them from the beasts of prey.* 
 And though many changes have passed over the 
 church and the town, the time has never been, when 
 some of the inhabitants have not pointed to the place 
 of his burial, as the grave of a godly minister, whose 
 brightest " record is on high."f 
 
 He has been less known to fame, than some of his 
 honored associates, whose locality was more favorable 
 for historic remembrance, or whose parishioners were 
 less harmonious among themselves, and less " diligent 
 in sowing the fruit of righteousness in peace." But he 
 was none the less beloved, or less useful, in the trying 
 services of the perilous out-post, where " he endured 
 hardness as a good soldier," " waxed valiant " in the 
 " good fight " and was " faithful unto death." 
 
 The old and tried ministers were now passing to 
 their celestial reward, in rapid succession. Their loss 
 was gi-eatly mourned, although the prosperity of the 
 college, which had been so dedicated to " Christ and 
 the Chm'ch," had removed all apprehension of defi- 
 ciency of means, for a competent supply of able and 
 evangelical pastors. The missionary spirit, encour- , 
 aged by the benevolence of kindred minds in England, 
 had also yielded some rich fruits, as an earnest for the 
 future. More than forty churches, with more than 
 seven thousand communicants, had been added, in less 
 than twenty-two years, after the gathering of the first 
 church of the Massachusetts colony, at Salem, 6th of 
 August, 1629.:j: Still there were those, who spoke and 
 wrote in a melancholy strain, as if the whole experi- 
 
 * The bodies of the dead were not nnfreqnently dug- up by the wolves, 
 t Evidence of this fact was personally obtained, August 11th, 1S51. 
 J In 1050, the white population of Massachusetts colony cannot have been 
 more than 20,000. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 23 
 
 merit of the New Eiisrl'.md colonists were about to 
 prove a most disastrous failure.* Tliis was not un- 
 natural, perhaps, in view of some events and occur- 
 rences ; and especially after the " act of uniformity," 
 by which nearly two thousand godly ministers of the 
 mother country were silenced in one day, and sub- 
 jected to the most cruel persecution-! 
 
 There were those, however, who were full of hope. 
 But not one, probably, had any imagination of the 
 ulterior results, which have already invested the very 
 least circumstance of the settlement and early history 
 of New England, with a peculiar moral dignity and 
 grandeur. And it is worthy of remark, for those par- 
 ticularly who are even now prone to look forward, 
 with more of despondency than of joy, that there has 
 been no period, since the days of the earliest fore- 
 fathers, when some of the most conspicuous observers 
 of " the signs of the times " have not sounded a wail- 
 ing note ; while a more scriptural, comprehensive, and 
 grateful interpretation of the will and pm'poses of 
 God has inspired their brethren, to sing aloud of his 
 wonderful works of loving kindness and faithfulness. 
 
 * " I tremble to think what will become of this glorious work, which we 
 have begun, when the ancients shall be gathered unto their fathers." — Rev. 
 Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley, — quoted, Morse and Parishes Neiv England, 
 Chap. XV. He died, Jan. 23, IGGO. See also a poem by Rev. Michael Wig- 
 glesworth, of Maiden, 1662, — in which he describes " New England planted, 
 prospered, declining, threatened, punished." — Christian Observatory, Vol, 
 IV., pp. 166—168. 
 
 t " Could we but go among Tartars, Turks, and heathens, and speak 
 their language," said Richard Baxter, " I should be but little troubled for 
 the silencing of ISOO ministers at once in England, nor for all the rest that 
 were cast out here, and in Scotland and in Ireland ; there being no employ- 
 ment in the world so desirable, in my eyes, as to labor for the winning o 
 such miserable souls, — which makes me greatly honor Mr. John Elliott, 
 the apostle of the Indians in New England, and whoever else have labored 
 in such a work." 
 
24 MEMOIR OF 
 
 II. Among the children and gi'and-children of the 
 " fathers," and not least of all among those, whose 
 fathers ministered at the altar, it was not difficult to 
 find a goodly number, in whom the parental heart had 
 the greatest of earthly joys. Some of these can be 
 identified, in the " gi-eat cloud of witnesses," that " the 
 mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting 
 upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto 
 children's children : To such as keep his covenant, 
 and to those that remember his commandments to do 
 them." 
 
 SAMUEL WORCESTER, 
 
 eldest son of Rev. William, may be regarded as an 
 example of the " freemen " or " free-commoners," who, 
 in private life, were most useful and honored in the 
 second generation of New England. He must have 
 been several years old, when his father came to Amer- 
 ica. Piously nm'tured amidst great hardships and 
 perils, there are very plain indications, that he " feared 
 the Lord from his youth," and " increased in wisdom, 
 and in favor with God and man." In his father's 
 " wiU and testament," he is noticed, as if the first- 
 born and greatly beloved. The blessing of a child of 
 promise descended upon him, as if an Isaac or an 
 Israel. He was one of those, to whom with a glow- 
 ing emphasis could have been applied the words of 
 the Hebrew song — " Blessed be our youth^ ivhich have 
 not made our old men ashamed.^^ * 
 
 It may increase the interest of some in these pre- 
 liminary sketches of Dr. Worcester's ancestry, to be 
 
 * From one of the songs, which are said to have been sung at the Feast 
 of Tabernacles. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 25 
 
 apprised, that this ancestor, whose name he bore, 
 appears to have exemplified some of the best and 
 most distinguishing traits of his own personal character. 
 The same traits, probably, were seen in the " reverend " 
 father ; but they were certainly in the son, of whom 
 more is particularly known, by family tradition. 
 
 He belonged to the generation, which, as a wiiole, 
 received more pious care than any other, that has fol- 
 lowed in New England. The period during which 
 the " old ministers " flourished, and which long pre- 
 ceded the worst effects of the " Half-way Covenant," 
 was in no respect, perhaps, so remarkable, as in the 
 consistent and earnest application of God's covenant 
 with Abraham, by Puritan fathers and mothers, on 
 both sides of the Atlantic. They deprecated as the 
 direst of curses, " a seed of evil-doers, children that 
 are corrupters." Hence their unceasing supplication, 
 that all who were " bone of their bones and flesh of 
 their flesh " might early be " born of God," and thus be 
 " sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." And 
 hence, also, in imitation of him whom the Most High 
 deigned to honor, as pre-eminently his friend,* they 
 were not backward to command their children and their 
 households after thern^ to keep the way of the Lord^ that 
 both parents and children might rejoice together, in the 
 largest experience of the promises to believers and 
 their offspring. 
 
 The pastors, generally, evinced a very active and 
 affectionate solicitvide for the rising generation. It 
 could have been said of more than one, as of Rogers, 
 of Rowley, that " he was a tree of knowledge, laden 
 with fruit, which the childi-en could reach. With the 
 
 * Isaiah xli : 8. 
 
26 MEMOIR OF 
 
 youth he took great pains, especially with those who 
 had been committed to him by their dying parents." 
 The aged John Higginson, of Salem, and William 
 Hubbard, of Ipswich, when daily expecting their " call 
 to that world, where to be is by far the best of all," 
 prayed " that God would raise up from time to time, 
 those who may be the happy instruments of bringing' 
 down the hearts of the parents into the children^ Such 
 doubtless was the frequent prayer of the pastors, 
 whom those venerated " old disciples " so long sur- 
 vived. 
 
 The influence, also, of the fore-mothers in forming 
 the character of their children, and in " raising up the 
 foundations " for the glory of the Savior, should have 
 an " everlasting remembrance." With a felicity of 
 expression seldom equalled, it was once said in a 
 commemorative Discourse at Plymouth : 
 
 " It was happy for our progenitors, that they brought 
 with them into the wilderness, the confidential associ- 
 ates of their domestic labors and domestic cares. 
 Throughout their arduous enterprise, they experienced 
 the inexpressible value of that conjugal friendship, 
 which no change of fortune can weaken or interrupt; 
 in which, ' tenderness is heightened by distress, and 
 attachment cemented by the tears of sorrow.' The 
 family society began with the civil and ecclesiastical 
 society. Family religion and order began with the 
 family society. To Him who had directed them in a 
 right way for themselves, for their little ones and for 
 all their substance, ' the saint, the father, the husband,' 
 was accustomed to ofier in the presence of his house- 
 hold, his daily and nightly sacrifice of praise. Regu- 
 lar and beautiful was the chm'ch, in which he who 
 ministered had only to place in order in the building, 
 those materials, which parents had previously formed 
 and adjusted to his house." * 
 
 * J. T. Kirkland, Dec. 22, 1S03. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 27 
 
 In sustaining the pastors, there were numerous 
 members of the churches, who were as steadfast and 
 efficient, as were Caleb and Joshua, in their co-opera- 
 tion with Moses and Aaron. Born of parents, who 
 w^ere each in " fellowship with the Father, and with 
 his Son Jesus Christ," dedicated in baptism with 
 strong confidence in "the love of the Spirit," and 
 thoroughly instructed in the doctrines, precepts, and 
 ordinances of the Gospel, a large number shone 
 brightly as " lights in the world." The theory of 
 Christian life, as taught by " the fathers," was the 
 simple " truth of God." Situated as they were, in 
 temporal privations and perils ; obliged to submit to 
 every hardship and encounter innumerable obstacles 
 to pecuniary advancement ; an immense work to be 
 done in the accomplishment of their purposes and 
 measurable realization of their hopes and their faith, — 
 their circumstances were highly suited to awaken the 
 general mass to no ordinary degi-ees of physical, 
 religious, and intellectual activity. The indomitable 
 energy of the men of that early period, is vibrating 
 yet in every pulsation of some millions of their reso- 
 lute and still advancing posterity. And if it had not 
 been for the church-meeting and the " town-meeting," 
 those high schools of self-discipline and civil obe- 
 dience, in which fathers and sons were taught together, 
 side by side, it could never have been proclaimed to 
 all nations by the mightiest voice of our American 
 Union, and of the whole world, — that " learned Ger- 
 many, fuller of ancient lore, than all the world beside," 
 and " Italy, where Cicero lived," " have not the power 
 of self-government, which a common town meeting, 
 with us, possesses." * 
 
 * " Yes, I say, that those persons who have g-one from our town-meetings 
 to dig gold in California, are more fit to make a Republican Government; 
 
28 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Plain mechanics have I known," said a writer in 
 1681, — " well-catechised and humble Christians, ex- 
 cellent in practical piety ; they kept their station ; did 
 not aspire to be preachers ; but for gifts of prayer, few 
 clergymen must come near them."* 
 
 The farmers cannot be supposed to have been infe- 
 rior to the " mechanics." Precisely such men, as just 
 described, were among the children and grand-children 
 of the Rev. William Worcester. No one of them, 
 however, has left " his mark " of superiority to his son 
 Samuel, who, at the time of his father's death, was 
 himself a father."! Want of means of support, and 
 the need at home of his labor, during his minority, 
 may have prevented him from studying for the pas- 
 toral office. But while in the occupation of " a tiller 
 of the ground," he was, perhaps, the instrument of no 
 less good, in the faithful services, which, in various 
 relations and responsibilities, he was enabled to per- 
 form. 
 
 Removing to Bradford, on the right bank of the 
 Merrimac, he was one of the leaders in arranging and 
 regulating the affairs of the new town. There were a 
 few settlers there, in 1649. But until about 1668, 
 there is no evidence of business, which was officially 
 
 than any body of men in Germany or Italy ; because they have learned this 
 one great lesson, that there is no security without law, and that, under the 
 circumstances in which they are placed, where there is no military authority 
 to cut their throats, there is no sovereign will but the will of the majority ; 
 that, therefore, if they remain, they must submit to that will." — Danid 
 Webster. See Address at Washington, July 4, 1S51. 
 
 * Mather's Magnalia, I, 220. 
 
 t William, son of Samuel, received " a silver-rimmed bowl," by the will 
 of his grand-parent. This " bowl," it is conjectured, was a kind oi heir-loom^ 
 to be transmitted from one generation to another. Its fate is not known. 
 It may have been destroyed or rendered worthless, in one of the fires to 
 which reference is made in the sequel of these sketches. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 29 
 
 committed to record.* At this time, the name of 
 Samuel Worcester, is found with those, who had a 
 general oversight of the public interests. He was 
 also a prominent member of the church ; and to the 
 time of his sudden and greatly lamented death, was 
 frequently called to offices of trust, which were the 
 unequivocal tokens of general confidence in his ability 
 and uprightness. 
 
 He was the first representative from Bradford, in 
 the General Court, and took his seat as a member of 
 this body, Jan. 1679-80. He was re-elected, and was 
 a member, at the time of his death, the year following. 
 At this period, it was the custom for towns to choose 
 representatives, who were men of the highest estima- 
 tion. At the time ]VIr. Worcester represented his 
 town, the state of public affairs demanded the coun- 
 sels of the wisest and best men, among all " that had 
 understanding of the times, to know what Israel 
 ought to do." 
 
 The first settlers of Bradford were obliged to have 
 their deadly weapons, in constant readiness for use. 
 No man could gather his harvest, or fell a tree for his 
 winter's hearth, without feeling himself liable to be 
 shot down by the marauding savage. " Fire-arms 
 and ammunition " were thus an item of some promi- 
 nence, in the " inventory of the estate of Samuel 
 Worcester, of Bradford," as prepared for the Judge of 
 Probate. And it was when he was in the full strength 
 of his manliness, that the hearts of all throughout the 
 
 * In the Record of" Marriages, Births and Deaths," in Bradford, the first 
 record of all is, — " Moses Wooster, son to Mr. Samuel Wooster, born iSth 
 Jan. 1670." In the records generally, the name is written Wooster or IVos- 
 ter. But among the members of the General Court, Jan., 1G79-S0, is 
 enrolled — Samuel Worcester. 
 
 3* 
 
30 MEMOIR OF 
 
 New England colonies were moved, " as the trees of 
 the wood are moved with the wind," by those terrible 
 desolations of blood and fire, in " Philip's w^ar," when 
 every " eleventh family was houseless, and every 
 eleventh soldier had sunk to his grave."* 
 
 The struggle for independence, a century later, will 
 bear no comparison with that of this period for the 
 very existence of the colonies.f There could have 
 been few, whose countenances did not speak the uni- 
 versal consternation, with a despondency bordering 
 upon utter despair. In every part of the settlements, 
 *' the ministers of the altar " w^ere publishing the w^ord 
 of the Lord: 
 
 " Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather 
 the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the 
 house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, 
 Alas for the day !" 
 
 All hope would have been extinguished, if there had 
 not been so many among the people, to cry mightily 
 unto God: 
 
 " Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of 
 thy name : and deliver us, and purge away our sins, 
 
 * The "eighty young men" who were slain Sept. 18, 1674, at Deerfield, or the 
 place since known as " Bloody Brook," were " the flower of Essex County." 
 
 j An estimate of population in New England in 1673, was 7S,416. — Colls. 
 Am. Stat. Asso.., I , p. 143. The number of men capable of bearing arms 
 may have been about 15,000. Other estimates have made these numbers a 
 third part less. At the time, therefore, of this conspiracy of the Indian 
 tribes for the entire extermination of the English, the heroic Sachem of 
 Pokanoket, in view of the number and spirit of his confederates, their mode 
 of warfare, their local situation within striking distance of so many towns or 
 settlements, upon which different bands could move simultaneously, in the 
 appalling fury of their blood-thirstiness, — was not without reasons for his 
 assurance of complete success. Such a conspiracy, with such a leader, 
 -would certainly have triumphed, thirty or even twenty years earlier, — unless 
 " the arm of the Lord " had interposed, and his angels had "fought from 
 heaven," and " the stars in their courses fought." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 31 
 
 for thy name's sake. Wherefore should the heathen 
 say, Where is their God ? let him be known among 
 the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood 
 of thy servants which is shed : Let the sighing of the 
 prisoner come before thee : according to the greatness 
 of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed 
 to die : And render unto our neighbors seven-fold into 
 their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have re- 
 proached thee, O Lord. So we thy people and sheep 
 of thy pasture will give thee thanks forever : we will 
 shew forth thy praise unto all generations." 
 
 Never was prayer more effectual, and never was the 
 help of God more reverently acknowledged.* 
 
 It was just at this period, that the French were 
 moving in Canada, to extend the power of France 
 over all the immense region of the northwest; and to 
 secure the dominion from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
 through the great lakes and rivers to the Gulf of 
 Mexico. But of their adventurous explorations, from 
 Montreal to Michigan, and from Michigan to the 
 Mississippi, the New England fathers, it is probable, 
 knew little or nothing. The plan, however, had seem- 
 ingly been laid, w^ith consummate sagacity, to obtain 
 the whole IVIississippi valley, for the cradle of the future 
 Catholic church of the North American continent.! 
 
 * 1674. " But the armies of Prayers, whh which he did in this calamitous 
 time; Ccshini tmidere et Misericordiam extorquere I The Lord had then many 
 true sons of Jacob in it., who wept and made supplication ; but this IsraeUte 
 indeed made a bright figure among them. And the successes of the Prayers 
 were so remarkable, * * * that when the war was over, he made 
 a collection of examples, &c., and published an Historical Discourse 
 concerning the Prevalency of Prayer." — " Remarkables of Dr. Inaease 
 Mather^'''' p. 76. He is stated to have given himself to prayer without ceas- 
 ing, for the death of Philip, and to have become perfectly sure of that event, 
 in 1675. 
 
 t " Father Hennepin" reached the " Meschasipi," at the mouth of the 
 Illinois river, in March, 16S0. See p. 118, of his curious and valuable work, 
 published in London, 1698, entitled, " A New Discovery of a vast country 
 in America, extending above four thousand miles, between New France 
 and New Mexico ; &c. &c." 
 
32 MEMOIR OF 
 
 So great was the impoverishment of the people from 
 the war, from the failure of harvests, from the ravages 
 of pestilence, from conflagi*ations, from \\Tecks of 
 shipping, and other calamities, that their distress 
 moved their friends across the ocean to an extra- 
 ordinary effort in their behalf. Relief was sent to 
 them from Ireland^ in Jan., 1677. The amomit dis- 
 tributed in Massachusetts alone was not less than 
 £363, — beside what was sent to other colonies; all of 
 which, with the necessary expenses, would make the 
 donation nearly or quite one thousand pounds^ and 
 fully equal, in proportion to numbers and means, to 
 what has been termed " the magnificent charity" of the 
 United States, during the famine of Lreland, in 1848.* 
 
 During these gloomiest years of New England's 
 history, the large family of IVIr. Samuel Worcester, at 
 Bradford, was " twice burnt out." In the first instance, 
 when the parents were away from home, their house 
 was consumed, with every thing in it, which was of 
 substantial value. Received kindly into the house of 
 a neighbor, they had just begun to rise from the calam- 
 ity, when another fire made them homeless. 
 
 * Nathaniel Mather, pastor of a church in Dubh'n, and brother of Increase 
 Mather, the pastor of the North Church in Boston, is supposed to have beea 
 forward in procuring- this donation. — See His. and Gen. Reg., Vol. II. 
 
 Rehef was also received from England, by the Christian Indians, whose 
 distress was peculiarly aggravated. There were some thousands of these, 
 living mostly in villages by themselves, and having- churches and schools, 
 which were quite flourishing. During the war, many were slaughtered by 
 their Pagan kindred, and their villages burned to the ground. They had 
 taken the advice of Eliot and other friends, and aimed to be strictly neutral. 
 But they were distrusted by some of the colonists, and treated by bodies of 
 armed men, as if auxiliaries or spies of the enemy. Outrages were com- 
 mitted upon them, hardly less atrocious than those perpetrated in Western 
 Pennsylvania and on the Muskingum, at the period of the American Revo- 
 lution — See KUofs Letters to II071. Robert Boyle, Mass. His. Colls., Vol. III. 
 Heckewelder^ s " Narrative of Missions of the United Brethren, (J-c." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 33 
 
 But the afllicted man, who as a husband and father 
 was called to sustain so heavy a burden of anxious 
 care, was one of those, who lived, looking upward, 
 and who " knew," that " in heaven" they " had a better, 
 an enduring substance." And happy might he account 
 himself, in comparison with many of his cosevals, 
 whose habitations were turned into bloody ashes, in 
 the darkness of midnight ; and light were his afllic- 
 tions, when contrasted with those of brethren in 
 the Lord, who were so inhumanly persecuted in the 
 valleys of Piedmont, and the high-lands of Scot- 
 land. 
 
 As a man, who in filial faith recognized the hand of 
 God, in each event of his life, he received some signal 
 tokens of the divine favor. One experience especially 
 was so remarkable, that it would seem never after- 
 wards to have been long absent froin his thoughts. 
 While moving some hay from a mow in his barn, he 
 suddenly slipped. He was rapidly gliding over the 
 edge, when he w^as stopped in an instant ; and was 
 enabled by an unseen hand, as he believed, to regain 
 a place of safety. After reaching the floor, he per- 
 ceived that a hay-fork^ witJi the prongs vpivard, was 
 standing directly beneath that part of the mow, w^here 
 he was sliding down ! 
 
 Such were the facts, as he testified them to his fam- 
 ily, and, doubtless, to many others. Whatever may 
 be the true interpretation, he felt himself, and taught 
 his children to feel, that his deliverance was super- 
 natural ; and should ever be ascribed to that covenant 
 God, whose angels are " all ministering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salva- 
 tion." The example of this devout man, particularly 
 in his filial watchfulness of the indications and inter- 
 
34 MExAIOIR OF 
 
 positions of God's providence, left an abiding impres- 
 sion upon his descendants.* 
 
 When about fifty years old, if not younger, he 
 finished his course. Early in January, 1680-1, he 
 was at Boston, in attendance at a special General 
 Court, which, by adjournment, was to meet Feb. 
 22d. Preferring to travel on foot, he reached that 
 part of Lynn, now called Saugus, on the evening of 
 Feb. 20th. He was unable to obtain accommodations 
 at the public house, and walked on to the house of a 
 friend, whose hospitality he had often enjoyed. The 
 next morning, Feb. 21st., he was discovered upon his 
 knees, in the middle of the road, and as in the act of 
 fervent prayer ! Mild and of brief duration must 
 have been his final struggles, — otherwise, it hardly 
 need be remarked, — he could not have remained in 
 the posture, in which he seemed to be uttering for his 
 last words, and in " perfect peace," — " Lord Jesus, 
 receive my spirit !"f 
 
 The friend, whose dwelling he had failed to reach, 
 took his body in charge, and performed every office of 
 affection and respect. The expenses of his bm'ial 
 were defrayed by those, whom he had represented in 
 the colonial legislature. 
 
 The death of such a man, in such circumstances, 
 would of course produce a profound sensation. To 
 his family, the bereavement was overwhelming. He 
 had eleven children, the youngest of whom was born 
 scarcely more than a single week before they heard his 
 last prayer at the family altar, and received the last 
 
 * An incident to be related in a subsequent page of this Memoir of one 
 of ihem, may recal this ancestor to memory. 
 
 t Wearied and chilled, probably, he had kneeled down to pray, and while 
 " continuing in prayer" gently " fell asleep." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 35 
 
 embrace of his parental love. Those, and those only, 
 who have had kindred aflliction, can understand either 
 the anguish or the solace of that widowed mother, 
 with her eleven fatherless children ! 
 
 In the situation in which the deceased had been 
 obliged to leave his family, nothing but an urgent 
 sense of duty could have constrained him to make the 
 effort, to be punctually in his place, as a member of 
 the General Com't. The subject which, more than 
 any other, had occupied the attention of this body, 
 just before and dm*ing his connection with it, was that 
 so naturally suggested by the manifold and accumu- 
 lated public calamities. The members were few, and 
 their deliberations evinced a conviction of moral re- 
 sponsibility, which, at the present day, is not generally 
 apparent in the multitudinous bodies, that have taken 
 their place. 
 
 It would have been inconsistent with former usages 
 and the prevailing spirit of the people, if the General 
 Court had not summoned the clergy to make inquisi- 
 tion, and give advice, in view of the evils which had 
 been brought upon the land. In May, 1679, a Synod, 
 commonly called the " Reforming Synod," was con- 
 vened by order of Court, to consider and answer the 
 questions, — 1st. What are the reasons that have pro- 
 voked the Lord to bring his judgments upon New 
 England? 2d. What is to be done so that these 
 evils may be removed ? 
 
 The answer to the first question drew forth expres- 
 sions of alarming degeneracy ; while the second ques- 
 tion was met, as might have been expected, without 
 any of that " fear of man," which " bringeth a snare." 
 
 In regard to the first point of inquiry, the Synod 
 had no hesitation in specifying a neglect of baptismal 
 
36 MEMOIR OF 
 
 obligations ; profaiieness ; desecration of the Sabbath ; 
 want of piety in heads of families ; intemperance and 
 lewdness, — temptations to which they could not but 
 see in certain indelicate modes of female apparel. 
 They referred, also, to dishonesty in traffic and un- 
 faithfulness to promises, and the ambitious worldliness 
 of individuals, who had removed to a distance from 
 churches, for the sake of more valuable farms or mer- 
 chandise ; forgetting, it was said, that, " when Lot left 
 Canaan and the church for better accommodations in 
 Sodom, God fired him out of ally* 
 
 The Synod enjoined upon all, " who were above 
 others" to " become every way exemplary ; " sum- 
 moned the people to declare " their adherence to the 
 faith and discipJine of their fathers ; " insisted upon 
 the importance of guarding against receiving unwor- 
 thy persons to church communion ; urged the necessity 
 of " a full supply of church officers, pastors, teachers 
 and ruling elders," and a competent support of the 
 same ; recommended an explicit renewal of covenant 
 in the churches, which implied a season of fasting and 
 humiliation ; and suggested other reformatory measures, 
 in the use of which the people might have reason to 
 -expect a removal of their calamities. 
 
 Very good effects followed the meeting of that 
 Synod. The churches generally renewed their cove- 
 nant. And as it would seem, in order that as far as 
 possible the members might be brought to the same 
 faith and practice, as " the fathers " professed and 
 sanctioned, the original Confession and Covenant of 
 the First Church in Salem, as formed Aug. 6, 1629, 
 were published for general circulation and adoption.f 
 
 * Magnalia, Vol. II. 
 
 t A singular and inexcusable error has been repeated, hundreds of limes, 
 in relation to the first covenant of this First Church. In 1G37, a special cove- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 37 
 
 Much abatement must be made from the earnest 
 language, which was employed by some good men of 
 that period, in portraying the character of the times. 
 The pious old people, wlio remembered the best things 
 of the earlier days, and forgot the worst, would not 
 unnaturally make assertions or accusations, which 
 (like some confessions in prayer) the historian and 
 the reader must not too strictly interpret. 
 
 Before 1680, there w^as unquestionably a very man- 
 ifest difference in the manners and morals of the popu- 
 lation, taken as a whole, and as compared with the 
 communities of 1640 ; when one might spend a year 
 in going from place to place, and " not see a drunkard, 
 or hear an oath, or see a beggar."* There may have 
 been some reaction of the strict enforcements of the 
 former generation ; but a prolific source of evil was 
 the irreligious example of immigrants from Europe, 
 and the fashionable gaiety and corruption, which had 
 such fearful ascendency in England, after the restora- 
 tion of Charles II. ; and which the " lovers of pleasure 
 more than the lovers of God," in the colonies, were 
 but too willing to imitate. 
 
 In doctrinal opinions, the professed faith of the 
 clergy was unchanged. At a meeting of a Synod in 
 May, 1680, the " confession of faith, consented to by 
 the Consfreorational churches of En£:land, which, ex- 
 
 nant was adopted, at the time when the church renewed the original cove- 
 nant of 1629. That special covenant of 1637 has since been pubHshed, by 
 Cotton Mather and others, as if adopted in 1629 ; aUhough the very pream- 
 ble refers to a previous covenant, and quotes the substance in due form '. 
 At the formation of the church, there was both a " Confession of Faith" and 
 a " Covenant." 
 
 * Statement of Thomas Lechford, who, with the prejudices of the 
 Church EstabUshmenl in England, resided here a few years previous to 
 1641. 
 
 4 
 
38 MEMOIR OF 
 
 cepting a few variations, was the same agreed to by 
 the reverend assembly at Westminster, and afterward, 
 by the General Assembly of Scotland, was approved, 
 with a few variations, as the faith of New England." 
 The Synod chose to affirm as their own the confes- 
 sions of faith adopted in Europe, " that so they might 
 not only with one heart, but with one mouth, glorify 
 God and our Lord Jesus Christ."* 
 
 Not a minister could have been ordained in any 
 church of the " fathers," unless he had been of " sound 
 or orthodox sentiments." Differing on minor points, 
 as they may have done, they preached every where 
 the same unalterable truths of evangelical theology.f 
 
 The fact was, that, with an indisputable falling 
 away in some marked respects, there was yet a large 
 majority of families, in which the memory and exam- 
 ple of " the fathers " were cherished with a sincere and 
 sacred veneration. And great as was the quantity of 
 tares which the " enemy " had sown, the wheat was 
 still able to grow for a harvest of " thirty " and " sixty," 
 if not " an hundred fold." 
 
 Whenever, in our own day, " they that fear the Lord, 
 speak often one to another" in the retired private 
 meetings of prayer and conference, — it is an infallible 
 proof, that the Holy Spirit has not been taken away 
 from the surrounding community, and an auspicious 
 token of a blessing to come. From the beginning of 
 
 * Mag-nalia, Vol. 11 Morse and Parish's His. N. E., pp. 2S6-8. 
 
 t It was to a few individuals among the laity, that Edward Johnson must 
 have referred, who, as early as 1654, liad published the fact, that, besides the 
 AntinoyniaiiSi Familists, Conformitants, and Seekers, " there were Arriayis 
 Arminians, and Quakers.^' It is not unlikely, however, that, before the 
 close of the century, some of the clergy had a strong leaning to the views 
 of Arminius, who, it has been shrewdly remarked, " was iw Aitninian I^'' — 
 See Bib. Hep. 1st. Series, Vol. I., Ajminianism. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 39 
 
 the colonial settlements, it had been common to sus- 
 tain such meetings. At some seasons, these were 
 multiplied or more frequently attended. Not far from 
 1680, or in the very time wiien the " degeneracy" from 
 the practices of " the fathers" was so much lamented, — 
 we find the statement of a writer, that " the country 
 still is full of those little meetings." There are those, 
 to whom this single item of history, is like opening a 
 window upon a verdant landscape, where the rains 
 have fallen, and the sun is shining, and the joy of 
 harvest will erelong awaken the song of the reaper. 
 Upon the whole, it may unhesitatingly be affirmed, 
 that, in no part of the Christian world, was there so 
 great encouragement for godly parents to hope for 
 spiritual blessings upon their " children's children." 
 
 In the " Magnalia," we have an " ecclesiastical map 
 of the country" for 1696. It affords conclusive wit- 
 ness of great religious advancement. And with good 
 reason did an aged saint of that period remark upon 
 his death-bed, — " Well, I am going to heaven, and I 
 will there tell the faithful, who are long since gone from 
 New England thither, that though they, who gathered 
 our churches are all dead and gone, — the churches are 
 still alive, with as numerous flocks of Christians, as 
 were ever among them." 
 
 III. Francis Worcester, son of Samuel, 
 
 lived also at Bradford. He was born in 1662. When 
 bereaved of his father, he was not too young to have 
 received permanent impressions from a piety, so marked 
 and memorable. In mental powers he was less gifted ; 
 but he was fond of reading, and made good use of 
 his means of improvement. 
 
 One of his sons, who long survived him, bequeathed 
 
40 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to his posterity, an affectionate tribute to his character, 
 in some familiar verses of family chronicle. Upon 
 the authority of filial witness, it can be said of him, 
 that he esteemed the Scriptures a treasure of wisdom, 
 more precious than all earthly riches. The Lord's day 
 was peculiarly his delight ; and in remembering to 
 keep it holy, he was as exemplary as any of the most 
 scrupulous of the Puritan fathers. " The house of 
 God" he reverenced as "the very gate of heaven." 
 At the sacramental table, he could " discern the Lord's 
 body," as is the privilege of those, who " know him, 
 and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship 
 of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his 
 death." 
 
 He was one who could discriminate gifts from 
 graces, and who could not be well satisfied with ser- 
 mons, in which the preacher did not give proof of per- 
 sonal or experimental knowledge of the " life hid with 
 Christ in God." For several years, at least, before his 
 death, he seems to have noticed in some preachers, 
 what he could not but consider very great defects in 
 their statements or apparent views, particularly in 
 regard to the nature, means, and evidences of regener- 
 tion. These were too vague and indefinite, if not 
 radically erroneous ; and failed to meet the earnest 
 demands of his own enlightened understanding. It is 
 not strange, therefore, that he greatly loved and hon- 
 ored all such, as seemed to him, theologically and 
 personally sound " in the faith once delivered to the 
 saints." Pious neighbors and acquaintances were 
 much endeared to him. The company and com- 
 munion of all, whom he regarded as his kindred in 
 Christ, he enjoyed with the liveliest emotions, and 
 especially in the last years of his life. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 41 
 
 As an inn-holder, he was a man, at whose house 
 the godly always found a fellow-traveller to a better 
 country. All who dealt with him in business, had 
 occasion to testify to his habits of "truth and jus- 
 tice. — " He loved," it is said, " to see a man, manly." 
 
 Of all others, his children had reason " to call him 
 blessed." He was " a kind and tender father," and 
 was none the less anxious for them, in consequence of 
 the frequent alarms from the near approach of the 
 murderous savages. These, in 1708, slaughtered a 
 hundred persons at Haverhill, within a very short dis- 
 tance of his home ; beside carrying away many 
 women and children, as captives. But such perils 
 were of far less account with him, than the vicious 
 and irreligious practices, which had been gaining 
 strength in the more populous towns, and were fast 
 spreading a baneful influence through the interior 
 settlements. 
 
 He was " faithful in all his house ;" holding fast 
 to the covenant with Abraham. His children heard 
 his daily prayers ; received his constant instructions 
 in the fear of the Lord ; and witnessed his shining 
 example of sincere and consistent godliness. On the 
 Sabbath, they were required to refrain from all words, 
 as well as deeds, which would savor in the least of 
 irreverence, levity, or worldliness. It gave him great 
 offence, to notice any deviation from the most hal- 
 lowed observance of the sacred hours. 
 
 In his family religion and in all his christian aims, 
 he was sustained by the sympathy and co-operation 
 of his pious wife. The same had doubtless been true 
 of his father and grandfather, but of whom in this 
 respect no such direct and reliable testimony has been 
 4* 
 
42 MEMOIR OF 
 
 obtained. His domestic relations were most happy. 
 And rigid, as some might regard him, in his faith and 
 his practice, he was of a cheerful temper, and very 
 agreeable as a companion. 
 
 In his opinion, it was of vast importance, that 
 Christians should appear to the world, as if they held 
 their faith, with a joy which the world can neither 
 give, nor take away. It was his aim, therefore, to 
 " live a pleasant, even life," as being most for the 
 honor of Christ; avoiding, on the one hand, all 
 melancholy and moroseness, while on the other, he set 
 his face like a flint, against a 
 
 " Jesting, joking, laughing way." 
 
 At the age of forty -three, he had a dangerous attack 
 of hemorrhage, from which he never entirely recovered. 
 He suffered repeatedly from the same cause, and was 
 thus obliged to confine himself to his house, much of 
 the time, for several years before his decease. He died 
 somewhat suddenly, from a distressing fever. His 
 house had long been set in order. — His evangelical 
 books, his chosen friends, and above all, his Bible, and 
 his nearness of communion with God, made his last 
 days the brightest in his " path of peace." — When he 
 thought his hour had come, his children were gathered 
 to his bed, that they might hearken to his dying coun- 
 sels, and be commended with their sorrowing mother 
 to Him, who hath said — " Leave thy fatherless children, 
 and let thy widows trust in me." — His strength held 
 out a few days more. On the night of his departure, 
 repeated prayers were offered in his room, by christian 
 friends, who rejoiced to be with him in his triumphs 
 over " the king of terrors." He died, Dec. 17, 1717. 
 And his last utterance — " My dear Redeemer''^ — was in 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 43 
 
 death the appropriate sign and seal of the life, which 
 he had lived by faith in the Son of God. 
 
 " The chamber where the good man meets his end, 
 Is privileged beyond the common wallcs 
 Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven." 
 
 The character of this humble and happy Christian 
 affords an instructive illustration of the kind and form 
 of piety, which many others also, at the close of the 
 17th and the commencement of the 18th century, were 
 endeavoring to preserve and perpetuate, that the exalted 
 purposes and most cherished wishes of the New Eng- 
 land fathers might not be frustrated and forgotten. 
 While living, they were " ready always to give an 
 answer to every man who asked a reason of the hope, 
 that was in" them; and when dead, they continued 
 to speak of " Jesus and the Resurrection." 
 
 IV. Rev. Francis Worcester, son of Francis, 
 
 of Bradford, was born, June 7, 1698. He was thus of 
 the fourth generation, in the direct line from the Rev. 
 William, of Salisbury, to the Rev. Samuel, of Salem. 
 It was his desire to associate his memory with that of 
 his venerated clerical ancestor, which, as much as any 
 other motive, may have induced him to restore the 
 orthography of the family name, which his father and 
 grandfather had not been desirous or careful to preserve. 
 Himself being witness, he was in very early child- 
 hood a subject of deep religious convictions. This 
 was a natural effect of the careful christian nurture, 
 with which he had been favored. He accuses himself 
 of having been a forward and wayward child, and 
 " vile " withal. 
 
 " My childhood's sins, I do bewail ; 
 For early they did much prevBil." 
 
44 MEMOIR OF 
 
 We must interpret him theologically. His auto- 
 biographical description of his religious experience, 
 accords in every line with what has so often been 
 related of the " law-work." . 
 
 " O sad the days and months I found, 
 When much despair beset me round." 
 
 Before he had any " rejoicing in hope," his convic- 
 tions had much subsided. In an alarming sickness, 
 he was again awakened. He saw himself, as never 
 before, a sinner, who must inevitably and justly perish, 
 if he did not find mercy of the Lord. 
 
 " God showed to me my wretched state ; 
 How that my sins were very great ; 
 God did his Son reveal to me ; 
 And by his Spirit drew me free." 
 
 After obtaining some relief, his exercises were of the 
 same nature, as those which the incomparable Bunyan 
 has so gi-aphically porti'ayed. With alternations of 
 joy and fear, light and darkness, he moved onward, 
 until established in a more even, uniform, and gen- 
 erally happy frame of spirit. — At times, his "joy in 
 God," and his views of the glory of Christ, were 
 thrilling and transporting. 
 
 " God gave to me a steady peace ; 
 I on his word did sweetly feast ; 
 His word was sweeter then to me, 
 Than honey-comb can ever be. 
 
 Then did I love God's word and day, 
 And did in secret love to pray ; 
 O this blest duty! O how sweet 
 la secret, Jesus there to meet. 
 
 God hath me fed with heaven's food ; 
 That is a sweet and blessed good : 
 Some tastes he hath sent down to me, 
 That make me long above to be." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 45 
 
 At the ago of twenty, and a short time before his 
 father's peaceful end, he made a profession of faith in 
 his father's God and Savionr. It was with " the 
 answer of a good conscience toward God," and not 
 in the manner, which had now become quite common, 
 particularly in the western part of Massachusetts, 
 where most of the ministers and churches accorded to 
 the doctrine of " the venerable' Stoddard," of Northamp- 
 ton, viz. " that unregenerate persons ought to partake 
 of the Lord's Supper." 
 
 The doctrine assumed, that the Lord's Supper is a 
 means of regeneration, and that it is " impossible to 
 distinguish the regenerate from the unregenerate, so 
 as to admit the former, and exclude the latter!" Un- 
 happily, this fallacious view of the subject was 
 adopted by some of the best ministers ; and the doc- 
 trine of Stoddard, whose godly sincerity was above 
 suspicion, spread rapidly, although chiefly, as would 
 be presumed, in those churches, which had followed 
 the recommendation of the misguided Synod of 1662. 
 So far as received, the responsibility relative to church- 
 membership was singularly changed. Instead of re- 
 quiring proof of fitness to partake of the Lord's Supper, 
 " the church was obliged to convict the applicant of a 
 scandalous life, or of heresy, or admit him to full 
 communion." 
 
 It has sometimes been said, as if a reliable tradition, 
 that Mr. Stoddard himself had had a religious expe- 
 rience, which would make a belief of his doctrine very 
 plausible, if not, in his own judgment, unquestionable. 
 He appears to have been fuUi/ persuaded in his own 
 mind. But it ought to be more generally understood, 
 that he was not the first of the New England clergy 
 
46 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to admit persons, to the Lord's table, without evidence 
 of piety.* 
 
 ]Mr. Stoddard was personally a decided Calvinist ; 
 but his system inevitably favored Arminianism, by 
 " teaching that the impenitent have something to do 
 before repentance^ as a means of obtaining saving 
 grace." The unregenerate communicant would of 
 course consider himself as in the way appointed for 
 his salvation. And assuming that it is impossible to 
 distinguish the really converted from the unconverted, 
 by any definite experience which could be described, 
 there would natm-ally be no very great disquietude of 
 conscience. 
 
 The new doctrine paralyzed effort for immediate 
 conversion. No awakenings were known in places, 
 which had previously been highly favored ; and many 
 partook of the sacramental elements, who " had a 
 name to live, but were dead." And that the disaster 
 was not more extensive and deplorable, is only to be 
 explained by the steadfast adherence of so large a 
 portion of the ministers and church members to " the 
 old paths," and " the good way " in which the fathers 
 " found rest for their souls." There were those in 
 large numbers, who protested against the assertion and 
 assumption, that regenerate persons cannot be dis- 
 
 * In the "Annals of Salem," (Vol. II., 591,) it is stated, that in " 1699, 
 Dec. 30., Messrs. Hig-ginson and Noyes [of the First Church] write to the 
 members of the Brattle- Street Church, in Boston, who had published a 
 declaration. They complain of this production, as too loose in doctrine, in 
 the ordinance of baptism, and in admission to the communion. They desire 
 its authors not to be promoters of schism." 
 
 Twenty years earlier, or in 1679, the Reforming Synod speak of the prac- 
 tice in question, as already so common, as to be justly accounted one of the 
 reasons for the judgments of God upon the people. — On this g-eneral sub- 
 ject of Stoddardeanism, see S. E. Dwight's " Life of Pres. Edwards," 
 Wisner's Ilist. Old South Ch. in Boston," Baird's " Religion in America," 
 New Englauder, Vol. IV. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER 47 
 
 tinguiyhcd from the unregencrate, with any such cer- 
 tainty or probability, as w^ould make a profession of 
 christian experience a suitable and just requirement, 
 for admission to the full privileges of church-mem- 
 bership. 
 
 It was the hope of Mr. Stoddard and other pastors 
 that great additions would be made to the churches. 
 The immediate effect of opening wide the door of 
 access to the Lord's table, may have been such as to 
 encourage them in their error. But it was soon 
 demonstrated, as it has been since, in other circum- 
 stances, particularly in connection with " Liberal Chris- 
 tianity," — that the more free and unrestricted the 
 terms of church-membership, the less, and still less 
 and less, will be the number of applications ; wiiile 
 the number of admissions is always likely to be mul- 
 tiplied, and not at all diminished, by a consistent and 
 strict adherence to the principles and practice of the 
 original churches of New England.* 
 
 There was certainly a marked decline of spiritual 
 religion, in the New England churches, from about 
 1700 to 1740. The admission of unconverted persons 
 to church -membership, tended, indubitably, to the set- 
 tlement of unconverted pastors. Such there were, it 
 is to be feared, and no inconsiderable number. They 
 were men of serious deportment, orthodox in profes- 
 sion and speculation, and carefully attentive to the 
 ordinary services of pastoral duty. But they were 
 
 * At the time of the great earthquake, in 1727, there was such a conster- 
 nation, that, in many places, the people were disposed to rush into the 
 churches in throngs. *' Very few came to me then," says Mr. Prince, of the 
 Old South Church, Boston, — " under deep convictions of sin, or with the 
 inquiry, ' What shall we do to be saved ;' but rather to signify that they had 
 such a sense of their duty to come to the Lord's lnhle^ that they dare not stay 
 away any longer?'' 
 
48 MEMOIR OF 
 
 not " ministers of the New Testament," as Barnabas 
 was, who was " a good man, and full of the Holy 
 Ghost, and of faith ;" and it could not be said of their 
 ministrations, that " much people were added unto the 
 Lord:' 
 
 Great anxiety was felt by some of the godly pastors 
 and lay brethren. Before Cotton Mather's death in 
 1728, the declension of vital piety was so extensive 
 and alarming, as to warrant the opinion, that, " in 
 forty years more, should it continue to make progress 
 as it had done, convulsions would ensue, in which 
 churches ivould he gathered out of churches^ The 
 declension was signally arrested ; but the experience 
 of Massachusetts, a century later, has proved that the 
 words of that distinguished divine were as true, as if 
 indited by " the spirit of prophecy." In his " Prog- 
 nostications of the future state of New England," he 
 refers us to the fate of the ancient town of Amy else, 
 in Italy, in which the inhabitants, after some false 
 alarms, were forbidden to believe any report of the 
 enemy's coming, and were in consequence easily over- 
 powered, when the enemy did come ; because no one 
 gave warning, or, if warning was given, no one pre- 
 pared himself for the battle. " Corruptions ivill grow 
 upon this land, and they will gain by silence. It will 
 be so invidious to speak of them, that no one will 
 dare do it, and the fate of Amyclse will be ours." 
 Was ever prediction more exactly fulfilled ? 
 
 The works of Emlyn, as well as of Whitby and 
 Taylor, had been imported, and their "leaven" had 
 begun to have its legitimate operation, in eastern 
 Massachusetts, for some years before the middle of 
 the last century. Something more than Ai'minianism 
 seems to have been suspected, in some instances ; 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 49 
 
 although no one of the pastors is known to have been 
 accused of being a Soeinian, or even an Arian. 
 There is indirect evidence also, that the examination 
 of candidates for settlement had become less thorough 
 and searching, than was safe for the churches.* 
 
 But as in other countries and other ages, so now in 
 New England, it was seen, in a remarkable manner, 
 
 that " WHEN THE ENEMY SHALL COME IN LIKE A FLOOD, 
 
 THE Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard 
 AGAINST HIM." All instrument of most formidable 
 opposition to the doctrine and practice of Stoddard, 
 and to all the most insiduous and dangerous cor- 
 ruptions of the evangelical system of " the fathers," 
 was raised up in his grand-son, Jonathan Edavards ; 
 who, as the greatest theologian and metaphysician of 
 his own age or any other, commenced his renowned 
 career in the very place, where his much respected 
 grand-parent had proclaimed and ably defended his 
 lamentable errors. 
 
 In 1734, he entered into the controversy, respecting 
 Arminianism, which had become very general in the 
 churches of that region. A course of sermons on justifi- 
 cation by faith, with kindred topics, such as tJie neces- 
 sity of the Spirit's influences, was blessed of God 
 with a marvellous accompanying of convictions and 
 conversions. A similar awakening or revival was 
 experienced elsewhere, both in Massachusetts and 
 Connecticut. " The work in Northampton was confined 
 
 * "July 9, 1730. A Committee was appointed in New North Church, 
 [late Dr. Parkman's] Boston, " to examine whoever might be a candidate for 
 settlement, concerning his christian principles, both doctrinal and dis- 
 ciplinary ;" and they say—-' Forasmuch as several important doctrines of 
 Christianity are vigorously opposed by Deists, Socinians, Arians., arid 
 Arminians, the Committee will particularly demand a most explicit confes- 
 sion of his faith." — Quoted in Result of Groton Cowicil, 1827. 
 
 5 
 
50 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to no class or age." " Ten persons above ninety, more 
 than fifty above forty years of age ; nearly thirty be- 
 tween ten and fourteen, and one of only four, became, 
 in the view of Mr. Edwards, subjects of renewing grace. 
 More than three hundred were added to the chm'ch." 
 
 A fearful shock was now given to the doctrine, that 
 the exercises of regenerate persons were not dis- 
 tinguishable from those of unregenerate. Several 
 hundreds of new converts, in different towns, had 
 such distinctive religious exercises, that they had not 
 the least hesitation in speaking of them, as matters of 
 fact in their consciousness, as much as any facts what- 
 soever. They could give a rational and most affecting 
 account of their conviction of sin, their struggle before 
 submission to God, their acceptance of Christ as the 
 Savior of the lost, and their subsequent trust or hope, 
 peace or joy, as believers in Jesus. Among these were 
 many persons of such acknowledged powers of intel- 
 lect, and of such indisputable eminence, that no man 
 could class them among the ignorant and the obscure. 
 
 Ministers were now called to very solemn search- 
 ings of heart, in regard to their own prospects of 
 acceptance at the judgment-seat of Christ. A new 
 encouragement was felt, in preaching the law and the 
 gospel, from the expectation that hearers would be 
 converted, and would be able to exhibit credible 
 evidence of having passed from death unto life. 
 Church members, also, could not all escape the ques- 
 tion so pungently asked by some in our own days, 
 " What reason have I to think myself a Christian ?" 
 
 jj* 
 
 * Intelligence of the revival in this coimtry arrested the attention of 
 a multitude in England and Scotland. Edwards wrote a narrative, under 
 the title of " Surprising Conversions," — which was published in London, 
 " with an Introduction by Drs. Watts and Guise." It was soon reprinted in 
 Boston, was extensively read, and exerted a powerful influeiice. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 51 
 
 In 1740, revivals commenced anew at Northampton, 
 Boston, and many other places, very nearly at the 
 same time, and spread within a year and a half 
 throughout all the English colonies. For some time, 
 there was most evidently a silent, powerful, and 
 sublime work of the Spirit of God. Whitefield 
 came, and preached like Peter on the day of Pente- 
 cost. Afterwards, the intemperate zeal of some 
 preachers, like Davenport, with excesses of various 
 kinds, gave occasion to open and violent contention 
 in some towns, and, perhaps, in none more unhappily 
 than in Boston. 
 
 Just in the hour of need, the great and good 
 Edwards applied his gigantic powers, in a searching 
 and refining operation, that all who would, might see 
 the difference between the precious and the vile. His 
 work, entitled " Thoughts on the Revival of Religion 
 in New England, and the way in which it ought to 
 be acknowledged and promoted," — begins and ends, 
 as if his soul had been bathing for years, in the " pure 
 river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out 
 of the throne of God and the Lamb." 
 
 The Rev. Francis Worcester was educated in the 
 belief of the same doctrines, as Edwards preached 
 with such effect at Northampton, and David Brainerd, 
 at the same time, among the Pagan Indians of New 
 Jersey. His experimental views of the Gospel were 
 in entire harmony with theirs. He was a Calvinist of 
 " the straitest sect ;" and his also was " the reproach 
 of Christ," in the contemptuous appellation of the 
 New Lights.* 
 
 * " New Lights " was a stigma, which some clergymen of high standing 
 did not scruple to use, in their opposition to the " Great Awakening." la 
 Germany, those who sympathized with such men, as Spener, Francke, 
 
52 MEMOIR OF 
 
 It was not his privilege to prepare for the ministry, 
 according to the usage, which from the first had 
 required a regular course of collegiate studies.* He 
 learned the trade of a blacksmith, and employed him- 
 self as such, until thirty-four years old. But his early 
 discipline under the parental roof, and his continued 
 exertions in acquiring the most useful knowledge, had 
 nourished and expanded " the power of thought." He 
 was thoroughly read in the Scriptures, and prompt in 
 his references and quotations. A diligent use had 
 been made of a good family library, for that day ; 
 and perhaps his " profiting appeared to all," quite as 
 
 Anton, Breithaupt, &c., had long been reproached as Pietists ; while in 
 England, the followers of Wesley, had been derided as Methodists., for the 
 same reasons, as gave such currency to the appellation, " New Lights," in 
 New England. 
 
 " Alas ! in how many places, even among Protestants," says the candid 
 and estimable Dr. Scott, " is a minister who inculcates the great doctrines 
 of Christianity, as stated at the Reformation, accused of preaching a new 
 religion^ and bringing strange things to the ears of the people! Indeed, 
 everything is neiv to the igjiorayit, as it is to a child, however long and ex- 
 tensively it has before been known : and such charges proclaim, either the 
 ignorance, or the enmity to the truth, of those who bring them." — Notes, 
 Hos. X : 11, 12. 
 
 * '' It had been as unnatural," said Ed. Johnson, " for a right New Eng- 
 land man to live without an able [i. e. a well educated and godlyj ministry, 
 as for a smith to work his iron without a fire." New England is immeasurably 
 indebted to such a ministry, as did not shrink from the discussion of the 
 highest or the deepest " mysteries " of divine science ; but has been ready 
 to encounter every objection of the candid or the " contentious,'' and vindi- 
 cate the cardinal doctrines of the " Westminster Confession," upon the 
 strictest principles and rules of evidence and logic, and with the most 
 thorough investigation of the facts, according to the Baconian method. 
 
 " You Scotch are a strange people. * * What good does all your 
 theology do you?" — " Independently altogether of religious considerations," 
 I repHed, " it has done for our people what all your societies for the Difiu- 
 sion of Useful Knowledge, and all your Penny and Saturday Magazines, 
 will never do for yours ; it has awakened their intellects, and taught them 
 how to think. The development of the popular mind in Scotland is a result 
 of its theology." — Hugh Mlller''s " First Impressions of England and its 
 People,''^ 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 53 
 
 plainly as that of many others, whose means -of intel- 
 lectual and moral culture were far greater. He has 
 recorded of himself, that it was no task " to give 
 attendance to reading ;" while his habitual preference 
 led lym to 
 
 " Such books as tended to give light 
 Into such thing's as are divine." 
 
 When once asked what commentaries he most used, 
 he answered, '^ the Bible. I make the Bible interpret 
 itself; one part explaining another part." Throughout 
 his life, he showed the profoundest reverence for the 
 unadulterated and unsophisticated instructions of the 
 Word of God.* He wielded the " sword of the 
 Spirit," with the fearless and unsparing energy of 
 a Boanerges. 
 
 An important means of his usefulness was derived 
 from his domestic relations. His wife was a pattern 
 of loveliness and godliness. A grand-daughter, who 
 deceased in 1850, well remembered her, as " a comely 
 woman, of great piety, and very affectionate." She 
 fulfilled, in every part, the inspired description of " the 
 woman that feareth the Lord." — " Her children arise 
 up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he 
 praiseth her." 
 
 At the time of her husband's license to preach, in 
 1732, they had been married twelve years, and had 
 four children. The objections which this circum- 
 stance alone would have pressed upon their minds, in 
 view of so great a change in their mode of life, and 
 certainly upon the minds of their relatives and friends, 
 
 * One folio volume of a valuable commentary on the Scriptures, which 
 he must have had from his father's library, and which bears the marks of 
 hard service, is now in sight at this present writing. 
 
 6* 
 
54 MEMOIR OF ■ 
 
 could not easily have been overcome. The subject 
 was under consideration, for several years, before he 
 resolved to go forward. 
 
 It is much to his credit, that he was duly authorized 
 to offer himself a candidate for settlement in the min- 
 istry. Without a diploma from Harvard or Yale, or 
 an equivalent, he could not have obtained license to 
 preach, unless the ecclesiastical body granting it, had 
 been decidedly of the opinion, that his abilities and 
 piety were sufficient to constitute an exception to the 
 common rule. It is thought, also, that the urgent 
 want of more preachers, who felt " the love of Christ 
 constraining," was a leading motive in changing his 
 occupation, when such an experiment was so extreme- 
 ly rare, if indeed it were not without example. StUl 
 he is not supposed to have thought lightly of his tal- 
 ents ; nor to have been unwilling to remember, that 
 he was the first of the family to wear the consecrated 
 mantle of his revered " forefather," of Salisbury. 
 
 He was ordained as pastor of the Second Church, 
 in Sandwich, Mass., in 1735 ; the year, it will be 
 noted, in which the Spirit of God was so manifested 
 at Northampton. The divine blessing attended his 
 earnest and ardent ministrations, in public and pri- 
 vate. In course of a few years, he was permitted to 
 receive into the church under his care, and from a 
 small community, upwards of a hundred, upon a pro- 
 fession of their faith in Christ, and as having " passed 
 from death unto life." 
 
 His greatest success was among that class of peo- 
 ple, it may be presumed, who thought little of classi- 
 cal learning, but more of the " unction," which testi- 
 fied the speaker's own sympathy with "the mind of 
 the Spirit." Like others since, they may have under- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 55 
 
 valued liberal studies and accomplishments ; but as 
 did thousands, at the same period, in America and in 
 Europe, they welcomed to their hearts the words of 
 salvation, though from lips "rude and unlettered."* 
 When hungering for " the bread of life," they had 
 stood before the accredited stewards " of the mysteries 
 of the kingdom;" and had gone away no better satis- 
 fied, than if "stones" had been given them. If to 
 such, an Edwards, or a Tennent ministered, it was as 
 if an angel had appeared. 
 
 In addition to unwearied labors among his own 
 people, at Sandwich, Rev. Francis Worcester preach- 
 ed in many other places, with evident tokens of the 
 blessing of God. "I loved to preach," he said, "both 
 night and day." During the period of the " Great 
 Awakening," few pastors could have enjoyed more, or 
 have given glory to God with a more fervent spirit. 
 Equally removed in his sentiments and practice, on 
 the one hand, from those who "offered sti'ange fire 
 unto the Lord," and on the other, from those who 
 more than doubted the desirableness of the Revival, 
 he enrolled his name among the signatures to " The 
 Testimony and Advice of an Assembly of Pastors of 
 Churches in New England, at a meeting in Boston, 
 July 7, 1743, — occasioned by the late happy Revival 
 of Religion in many parts of the land." His name 
 was there written, without any qualification as to " the 
 substance, scope, and end." f 
 
 * The cultivation of style, however, was not much an object of attention, 
 among the best educaXtii. —Divighfs Life of Edwards, p. 601. 
 
 t " The Great Awakening," &c., by Joseph Tracy. 
 
 Of the most respectable ministers in New England, New York, and New 
 Jersey, o?ie hundred a7id sixty uniliid m a public attestation to the genuine- 
 ness and purity of the Revival, in most places ; while they joined with Mr. 
 Edwards, in censuring and deploring those improprieties and excesses, 
 
56 MEMOIR OF 
 
 No inconsiderable part of that which now makes 
 the true glory of New England, and affords the 
 brightest promise of the world's hastening and ap- 
 proaching salvation, may confidently be ascribed to 
 "the demonstration of the Spirit and of power," in 
 that "happy Revival of Religion." Those who had 
 the best means of judging, it has been recorded, esti- 
 mated the number of true converts, as proved by their 
 subsequent lives, at 30,000, in New England alone, 
 when the whole population was but 300,000 ; beside 
 many thousands more among the Presbyterians of 
 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the more 
 southern settlements. A similar operation would add 
 to the churches in Massachusetts, within the next 
 three years, more than 90,000 persons, young and old, 
 and of such as would continue to sustain a christian 
 character ; and to the churches throughout the Union, 
 more than two millions I * No marvel, that Edwards 
 so rejoiced in the belief, that the millennium is to be- 
 gin in New England. Most cordially did he respond 
 to the proposal by the churches of Scotland, in 1746, 
 for a Concert of Prayer for the conversion of the world. 
 
 which had given the enemies of God much occasion to blaspheme. And of 
 about 175 churches in Massachusetts, at least one half were friendly to the 
 Revival ; while a large part of the rest should not be considered as in oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 * The heathen, in different parts of the country, shared largely in the 
 blessings of that remarkable visitation of the Spirit. See Notes, Wisner's 
 Hist. Old South, Sec. pp. 111-112. "Vast numbers of Indians have, to all 
 appearance, been called out of darkness into marvellous light" 
 
 Among other preparatives of the Revival, it is interesting, at the present 
 time, to know, that many thousands of bibles, tracts, and evangelical books, 
 had been distributed by a kind of coljwrtage, particularly in the colonies 
 south of New England. This work was done, chiefly, under the auspices 
 of the " Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," which originated in 
 169S ; and was formed, as Bishop Burnet observes, after the example of the 
 Dissenters, whose missionary labors and success in America had been no- 
 ticed by some pious clergymen with devout admiration. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 57 
 
 Some difficnlties having arisen in the Second 
 Chnrch, at Sandwich, as in other churches, — a Coun- 
 cil, in 1745,* advised the dismission of the pastor. 
 To Ihis advice, he acceded, and both the Council and 
 the Church commended him to the churches general- 
 ly, in a manner which was very grateful to his feel- 
 ings. 
 
 About a year afterwards, he removed to Exeter, 
 N. H., and subsequently to Plaistow. In 1750, he 
 took up his residence in Ilollis, which had then been 
 incorporated but fourteen years ; and had hardly 
 ceased to be " the forest of Nissitissit," from which in 
 times of peril and want, wives and mothers "left their 
 husbands and children, and rode to Andover, Woburn, 
 and Chelmsford, to procure sustenance for their fami- 
 lies, and returning, swam their horses over the Nashua, 
 in the stillness and darkness of night, f 
 
 The greater part of his time he employed in preach- 
 ing, as an evangelist, "wherever he thought that he 
 was called in providence.":]: He was in fact a home 
 missionary^ in the destitute parts of New Hampshire, 
 and in other sections of the country. His services 
 were the same, as those which, a half a century later, 
 
 *The year of the famous expedition to Louisburg, in which all classes of 
 the New England people took the deepest interest ; and none more than 
 the clergy and the most devout lay brethren, who regarded the issue as of 
 the greatest moment, in respect to their Protestant institutions, which had 
 cost so great a price, and which were now threatened with hopeless de- 
 struction, by the Jesuits and the Catholic power of France. It was the first 
 time, as some may not have known, that any considerable number of the 
 descendants of " the fathers," were directly exposed to the corrupting in- 
 fluence of the people of the old world. The moral habits oithe French did 
 no good to the New England troops. 
 
 t Centennial Address, Rev. Grant Powers. — The first family moved into 
 what is now called Hollis, in 1731. The whole population of the State, in 
 1730, was but 12,000. In 1749, it was nearly 30,000. 
 
 X Inscription upon the stone, which marks the place of his burial. 
 
58 MEMOIR OP 
 
 were performed under the direction of Missionary 
 Associations. He labored like Paul, "at his own 
 charges ;" and like the Apostle also received contribu- 
 tions, believing that "the laborer is worthy of his 
 hire," and that it is righteously ordained, that " they 
 who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel." * 
 
 He preached generally in some of the least favored 
 of all the new settlements, and continued there, for 
 several months at a time, and even a year. His health 
 was too precarious, for a permanent charge. He was 
 so constantly liable to attacks of the asthma, and 
 other maladies, that the labors of an evangelist were 
 all that he could attempt. And to these he may have 
 been specially inclined, from his intimate acquaint- 
 ance, and, according to his ability, his ardent co-ope- 
 ration with Whitefield. 
 
 He accompanied that extraordinary man, in several 
 preaching excursions. His acquaintance mth him 
 probably commenced, as early as 1740. When taken 
 suddenly ill, Whitefield said to him, with his accus- 
 tomed pleasantry ; — " Well, Worcester, you must go, 
 and somid your ' ram's horn ' ! " His friend obeyed, 
 and preached from Rev. 1. 7. " Behold he cometh with 
 clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also 
 that pierced him ; and all the kindreds of the earth 
 shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen." The 
 discourse was "terribly in earnest," — as was character- 
 
 * He was doing for the destitute in New England the same kind of be- 
 nevolent service, as that which was very extensively performed, in the 
 Middle and Southern Slates, by Presbyterian pastors and evangelists, who 
 were responsible to different Presbyteries and Synods. — The missions of 
 the Presbyterian churches, were of immense value, in establishing the in- 
 stitutions of the Gospel, South and West of New England. — Assembly's 
 Magazine^ 1805. 
 
 At this time, the Legislature of Massachusetts aided feeble churches, by 
 grants from the public treasury. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 59 
 
 istic of the proaclior, when warning of "the WTath to 
 come." Its efl'ect is reported to have been not a little 
 increased, by the simultaneous appearance of the 
 northern lights ; which, by their extraordinary bright- 
 ness, seemed to many a sure token, that the coming 
 of the Lord "in flaming fire" was "nigh at hand, even 
 at the door." 
 
 The date of this event has not been ascertained. 
 It is thought, however, to have been as late as Sep- 
 tember, 1770, — a week or two previous to the death 
 of Whitefield, at Newburyport. And it cannot but be 
 regarded as an interesting reminiscence, which thus 
 brings the grand-parent of the first Corresponding 
 Secretary of the American Board of Foreign Mis- 
 sions, into such a connection with that distinguished 
 herald of salvation, whose ministry was as " life to the 
 dead," to so many thousands in the North and the 
 South ; and whose powerful influence in the cause of 
 vital Christianity, was of incalculable effect, in pre- 
 paring the way for the domestic and foreign mission- 
 ary enterprises of the last and the present generation. 
 
 From the " Great Awakening," to the death of 
 Whitefield, in 1770, and onward for more than twenty 
 years, there was no general revival in the churches. 
 But in many places, there were " times of refreshing ;" 
 as we are now permitted to know, every year, more 
 definitely, from the historical sermons, centennial or 
 semi-centennial, or otherwise occasional., which have 
 become so common and are so worthy of public at- 
 tention. 
 
 Thus in 1763, there was a revival of religion in the 
 second parish in Ipswich,' Mass., under the ministry of 
 Rev. John Cleaveland, which " terminated in the hope- 
 ful conversion of more than one hundred souls." 
 
60 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Sometime in the month of October, (1763,) the 
 Rev. Francis Worcester came to preach to my people 
 one Sabbath, and I supplied his place. He came 
 early in the week, and preached several lectures be- 
 fore the Sabbath, and several after, and took his leave 
 of us with a lecture to young people ; and as their at- 
 tention was roused by his other discourses, several 
 things in this took svich fast hold of their consciences, 
 that they could not shake them off." * 
 
 Mr. Worcester is here mentioned, as if laboring 
 somewhere in the vicinity. It was probably in a part 
 of Beverly, called Montserrat, where he was long re- 
 membered with much interest, for his preaching and 
 his conversation. 
 
 Li numerous places, he left a strong impression of 
 his character, — more particularly his earnest, inde- 
 fatigable devotedness to the kingdom of Christ. His 
 conversational powers made him a pleasant compan- 
 ion, while his rich stores of christian experience im- 
 parted a peculiar charm to his familiar intercourse 
 with the friends of the Savior. For common, practi- 
 cal concerns of daily life, he was ever ready with en- 
 tertaining and instructive suggestions and anecdotes. 
 Many of his remarks were never forgotten ; but long 
 after he was dead, were referred to as maxims, or as 
 the reflections of a man of " sound wisdom and dis- 
 cretion." f 
 
 * Hist. Dis., Jan. 1, 1S15, by Rev. Robert Crowell. 
 
 t It must be more than eig'hty years, since he preached in Beverly. But 
 it is only a short time ago, that an elderly gentleman quoted a saying, which, 
 in his earlier life, had been repeated in his hearing by one who was then a 
 living witness ; and which, as originally applied, was doubtless called to 
 mind by an occasion, such as has not yet ceased to occur. " Old Mr. Wor- 
 cester used to say, that he had been about a great deal ; and according 
 to his observation of the slate of people, the \i:oman has the hardest part 
 ofitP' 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 61 
 
 At the time of his ]n*cachiiig with such marked ef- 
 fect, in Ipswich, he was sixty-live years old. For al- 
 most twenty years longer, he was employed in "the 
 work of an evangelist." It has been said of him ; that, 
 " wherever he went to preach, revivals followed." 
 
 He loved to go where a good work had begun. 
 A revival was his element. At Ipswich, the church 
 and congregation had been so much affected, by pre- 
 vious means and instrumentalities, that they were in 
 a very favorable state to hear his "rousing" dis- 
 courses. * 
 
 Until quite recently, there were still living some 
 "very aged men," who perfectly remembered his 
 preaching, and while he was an attendant of White- 
 field. One of these described him, as evidently infe- 
 rior to many in learning and taste, but as surpassed 
 by few in his spirit of piety, his zeal for the honor of 
 Christ, and his solemn, earnest, and pungent manifes- 
 tations of the truth to the conscience and the heart.f 
 Bold as a lion, and neither terrified nor disconcerted 
 by any man's presence, he was yet very affectionate 
 and tender in his exhortations and appeals. He had 
 great success in arresting the attention of the young. 
 They were very naturally atti'acted and affected, by 
 his personal appearance. In height and breadth of 
 frame, he presented the proportions of a commanding 
 
 * As a preparation for that revival, in 17G3, Mr. Cleaveland referred to an 
 *' agreement " of the church, in 1760. It was " agreed to spend one day every 
 quarter of the year, in a congregational fasting and praying for the outpo2ir- 
 ing of God's Spirit npon them, and upon all nations, agreeable to the concert 
 of prayer first entered into in Scotland, some years before ; and also to spend 
 part of a day, once a fortnight, in private religious conference ; which con- 
 ference was afterwards held once a week, and several at these meetings 
 appeared to be favored with a remarkable spirit of prayer for the rising 
 generation." 
 
 t Hon. Timothy Farrar, who died at HoUis, Feb. 21, 1S49, aged 101. 
 
 6 
 
62 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and majestic figure ; which, with the intellectual and 
 benignant cast of his eye and countenance generally, 
 added much to his power of address. 
 
 An intelligent mati'on, of nearly ninety years of age, 
 who in her youth sat under his preaching for a year, 
 and often saw him at her father's house, related of 
 him,* that " he was fond of talking of his family, his 
 children, and his grand-childi'en. He said, that there 
 were to be four ministers, gi*and-sons of his, in one 
 family." The prediction was verified to the letter. 
 But those grandsons were all young, and neither 
 could then have had a distinct purpose or prospect of 
 any other than an agricultural or mechanical calling. 
 The confidence, therefore, of the gi'and-parent, as thus 
 related, can only be explained by his discovery of 
 talents and tendencies in each of them, which, accord- 
 ing to his own example, might never be permanently 
 satisfied with such a mode of life.f 
 
 In his " 60th year," and when " confined in weak- 
 ness," he WTote a variety of " meditations in verse," 
 which were published in Boston, in 1759 and 1760. 
 They were written without much effort, and as if the 
 afflicted, but comforted sufferer, could thus obtain a 
 pleasant diversion of his mind, beside being useful, as 
 he hoped, to " christian friends." Some examples in 
 the foregoing pages, may render it quite superfluous 
 to remark, that his metre and rhymes are at best of 
 the order of Bunyan, or rather of " Tate and Brady ;" 
 and hence, in more recent days, have been remembered 
 in the family circle, like some of the less fortunate 
 
 * At Hardwick, Vt., Aug. 1848. 
 
 t The witness who has just been quoted, remarked concerning him, that 
 " he was a very large man, erect in his figure, of a noble presence, and ma- 
 jestic deportment. * * * He was reckoned very set in his own vjay, and 
 hard to turn from it. He meant to be right, and he meant to stick to it /" 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 63 
 
 stanzas of the unequalled Dr. Watts. In his " Songs 
 upon Death," there is much of the same sentiment, as 
 in Baxter's " Dying Thoughts," and " Saint's Rest." 
 Such works as that of Edwards on the " Aflections," 
 contain no better remedies for " soul complaints," than 
 he has quaintly given, in his " Cordials for the dear 
 Children of God, who mourn under the complaint for 
 want of faith ; the complaint of a hard heart ; the 
 complaint of a stubborn ivill; and the complaint for 
 ivant of love to God and ChristP One of his composi- 
 tions in the same style, was entitled, " Sabbath Pro- 
 fanity, (the most Crying Sin of New England ;) 
 Testified against, by way of Dialogue, Between a 
 Dying Man and his Friend. With a Song for Sab' 
 bath Breakers^ and a Song for Sleepers at meetings &c." 
 In soberness and in irony, he remonstrates against the 
 growing desecration of the Lord's-day. But it is very 
 noticeable, that all his accusations may be comprised 
 in one class of trespasses alone, — worldly thoughts and 
 discourse. — He rebukes and warns, as if his " righteous 
 soul " had been " vexed,^' like that of Lot in Sodom, 
 in seeing or knowing so much, that was at variance 
 with his own practice, and that of his forefathers. 
 
 In many passages, he refers to Arrninian doctrines, 
 as if they were becoming very prevalent, and ought to 
 be shunned and rebuked by all, who " loved the truth 
 and peace." — Arminianism was now very extensively 
 regarded, as having a- secret alliance with Arianismand 
 Socinianism. 
 
 His " Songs " so gratefully commemorative of his 
 forefathers, so ingenuously descriptive of himself, and 
 so piously admonitory to Ids descendants, were chiefly 
 written in that same '^ 60th year of his age," when he 
 felt, that he was soon to depart and be with Christ. 
 
64 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 They breathe a spirit of fervent faith, and of joy un- 
 speakable. It does not seem possible, that any " man 
 of God" could have ever had a more devout and ago- 
 nizing desire, for the piety and salvation of his chil- 
 dren, and of all his posterity. But he anticipated, 
 that some, if not many of them, would " err from the 
 truth," or through neglect of the "great salvation," 
 would " have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ 
 and of God." His recorded expostulations with such, 
 and his lamentations over them, would seem to be no 
 less scriptural, and scarcely less admonitory and 
 solemn, if they had fallen from the lips of one of " the 
 holy men of God," who " of old spake, as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Recovering his health, he "went about doing good," 
 in the manner already described, until he was al- 
 most eighty-five years old. — Ready and waiting to de- 
 part, he died, Oct. 14, 1783 ; and was gathered to his 
 burial, as one long prepared for "a crown of right- 
 eousness," " at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 
 
 One son, bearing the name of Samuel^ was drowned 
 in early manhood. Another son went to the military 
 post of Oswego, was taken captive, and died at Mon- 
 treal. Both of these were reputedly pious. — The eldest 
 son, Francis, lived at Plymouth, N. H. He had an 
 undisputed reputation for talents, was a prominent 
 citizen, and a worthy member and officer of the 
 church. — Noah, the youngest and only other, was to 
 his parents, all that his name imports, in its original 
 Hebrew significance. If they could have foreseen 
 their own condition, and his filial piety, they would 
 have exclaimed at his birth : " This same shall com- 
 fort us, concerning our work, and toil of our hands " 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 65 
 
 V. NoAii Worcester 
 
 was born at Sandwich, Mass., Oct. 4, 1735, and was 
 an active, enterprising youth, when his father, the 
 Rev. Francis, removed to Hollis. He had very small 
 advantages of education at school. But he had good 
 powers of mind, which, in imitation of his ancestors, 
 he well improved. The ministerial habits of his father, 
 in communion with whom he intimately lived, are also 
 to be remembered, as a quickening influence upon his 
 natural capacity and disposition. And far from being 
 the least worthy of record, is the nurture he received 
 from one of the best of mothers. 
 
 At the time when he came to his majority, the 
 fiercely conflicting interests of England and France 
 had produced such a state of things, throughout the 
 northern colonies, that, for " many long years, the 
 father had not cultivated his field in safety, nor had 
 the mother committed her infant charge to rest, but 
 with the most distressing apprehensions."* 
 
 Beside the cultivation of the farm, which his father 
 had put into his hands, upon conditions which de- 
 manded great industry, he followed the trade of a 
 shoe-maker. Like some others in the same occupa- 
 tions, who have risen to eminence and renown, he had 
 the desire and redeemed time, for extensive reading 
 and profitable reflectioii. So competent was he for 
 the discharge of public business, that he soon had 
 occasion to devote much of his time to the affairs of 
 the town. His punctuality was most scrupulous. He 
 delayed nothing, for simple convenience. In many 
 instances, it was enough for the people to know his 
 
 * Centennial Address at Hollis, 1831. 
 
66 MEMOIR OF 
 
 opinions or preferences, and they would give their 
 votes, as if from his judgment there could be no 
 reasonable appeal. And before thirty years of age, 
 he was respected in the town, as already one of " the 
 ancient men." There was unbounded confidence in 
 his wisdom and integrity. 
 
 For fifty-two years, he held the office of a Justice 
 of peace for the County of Hillsborough. He pre- 
 sided at many trials, and, in numerous cases of serious 
 and complicated strife, gave judgment with the hap- 
 piest effect. Such was his knowledge of the princi- 
 ples of government and law, that he was probably 
 better qualified, than any man of the town, to fill the 
 seat, with which he was honored, in the convention 
 that formed the Constitution of the State. 
 
 In the war of Independence he took an earnest part, 
 ready to lay down his life. When his domestic cir- 
 cumstances urgently demanded his presence at home, 
 he marched in mid-winter of 1775-6, at the head of a 
 company, for the re-inforcement of Washington, at 
 Cambridge. His eldest son, who then had little 
 thought of ever writing a " Solemn Review of the 
 Custom of War," was also in the army ; had been in 
 the thickest of the fight on Bunker Hill, and was after- 
 wards with the New Hampshire troops under Stark, 
 at Bennington. — His second son, Jesse, though but 
 fifteen years of age, was permitted to join the ex- 
 pedition to Ticondcroga, in 1776 ; and repeatedly 
 afterwards was enrolled among the indomitable " con- 
 tinentals." 
 
 But the father's heart had no congeniality for the 
 scenes of war. He was personally under arms, but 
 a few months. As the head of a family, as a magis- 
 trate, and as a leading member of the church, he had 
 
SATVniET. WORCRSTF.R. 67 
 
 abundant, and far more grateful employment. Plis 
 interest in the war was that of a strictly religious 
 patriotism, — the same wliieh induced many of the 
 clergy of the first reputation for talents and piety, to 
 attach themselves to their countrymen and brethren in 
 arms.* 
 
 Of the frugality, with which he and others lived in 
 those days of endurance, an effective description was 
 given by his son Jesse, at the Hollis celebration in 
 1831. " I was a stout lad before I had any thing like 
 a surtout, or a great coat, and I never owned a hat 
 worth more than a dollar, or wore any kind of boots, 
 until I had a family. * * * It was thought more 
 of, for my parents to have tea^ once a w^eek for break- 
 fast, [Sabbath morning] than it now is for some fami- 
 lies to have it three times a day. Spoon victuals was 
 the principal support." From this statement, it will 
 be seen, that the father was in very moderate pecu- 
 niary circumstances. But in this respect, he was but 
 one of the many. 
 
 He had professed religion, some considerable time 
 before his first marriage, which was in his 23d year. 
 Walking in the fear of God; unblemished in his 
 uprightness ; philanthropic in his views and aims ; 
 dignified, affable, courteous in his manners ; his 
 memory retentive, well-stored, and ready ; his utter- 
 ance prompt, fluent, agreeable, and impressive, — none 
 of his brethren in the church at Hollis, had more 
 ability to stand as " a pillar," and none of them all 
 was more serviceable to their pastor, in sustaining 
 meetings of social devotion and conference. 
 
 In the " gift" of prayer he much excelled ; and that 
 
 * President Dwight, and Dr. Samuel Spring served as chaplains, before 
 being sellled as pastors. 
 
68 
 
 MT^MOTR OF 
 
 the " grace" was in his heart, all that knew him most 
 sincerely believed. — His clerical friends, of whom he 
 had not a few, esteemed him " mighty in the Scriptures." 
 TJiese he was accustomed to search ; and pre-eminently 
 because they so " testify of Christ," in whose blood 
 was his only hope of final acceptance. An extended 
 manuscript, embodying the results " of his meditations 
 upon the life of Joseph, considered as a type of Christ, 
 wi'itten in a season of illness, when sixty-fom- years" 
 of age, revised and commended to his children, and 
 friends, under date July, 1799, — affords proof of a 
 very enlightened and intimate acquaintance with the 
 " mind of the Spirit," in the words of " the true God 
 and eternal life." In some parts, he shows a very 
 discriminating knowledge and sincere approval of the 
 sentiments of Hopkinsian Calvinists."* 
 
 After a discourse by a young preacher, who had 
 been assisted by him, while pursuing collegiate 
 studies, — he said to some friends," — " If that young 
 man shall continue to preach in this manner, all the 
 money which has been expended upon his education 
 will be worse than thrown away." And to his face, 
 he afterwards declared, that " Socrates or Cicero 
 would have preached as good a sermon." " Why," 
 said he, " for anything that you said, no one would 
 have ever imagined, that there is any such being in 
 the universe, as our Lord Jesus Christ." — This terrible 
 rebuke he uttered kindly, but truly. 
 
 After the publication of his son Noah's "Bible 
 News," in 1810, his mind was somewhat shaken for a 
 
 * Of the general state of the times, in respect to religious opinions, and 
 the progress of Arminianism and Arianism, from the close of the revolu- 
 tionary war, until after the beginning of the present century, some views 
 are reserved for a subsequent chapter. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 69 
 
 season, and he yielded to doubts of the strict Trinity 
 of the Godliead. It was natural for lilm to accord 
 much deference to the opinions and reasonings of a 
 son, in whose piety he had such an entire confidence, 
 and for whose intellect he cherished a very high 
 respect. It was his eldest son, his first-born, and 
 whose character for devoutness and " close walk with 
 God," had had no brighter example in the whole fami- 
 ly.* His son Thomas, also, united with Noah, in 
 adopting the theories of the " Bible News ;" which, 
 with other concurring influences, made a powerful 
 impression upon the aged parent's long established 
 religious sentiments, concerning the Father, Son and 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 But he lived to read the able vindication of the faith 
 of the forefathers, by his son Samuel, in 1815. And 
 in the closing years of his life, he appeared, in his 
 daily habits, and in the subjects and spirit of his con- 
 versation, as if his practical views of the controverted 
 points of the " great mystery of godliness," had under- 
 gone no essential change, in consequence of the very 
 
 * When Noah had been in the ministry but a few years, he wrote thus to 
 his father. " I wish, Dear Sir, if you should think it proper, to have you 
 write me by Thomas, and give me some account of the state of your own 
 mind, and your progress in holiness. I cannot say, that I am free from 
 concern for you, lest through the multiplicity of business and the cares of 
 this world, you lose much of the comfort that is to be enjoyed, in a close 
 walk with God. O how important, that the professors of godliness should 
 live in the exercise of a Godlike temper! How important for themselves, 
 and how important with regard to sinners, who are in a Christless state. 
 Sometimes when I am closely attending to the nature of godHness, and 
 realize that to be godly is to be like God, in the temper of our hearts, I am 
 led almost to scruple myself and every body else. Surely there is but little 
 of the conduct of professors, that will pass for godliness, when Christ shall 
 sit as a refiner, and separate the gold from the dross. It is a great thing to 
 live for eternity. — 
 
 From your unworthy son, 
 
 Noah Worcester." 
 
70 ' MEMOIR OF 
 
 plausible and sincere, but very deceptive and dangerous 
 speculations in regard to the Sonship of Christ, to 
 which the earnest attention of his declining age had 
 previously been drawn. — At no time was his mind 
 clouded or disturbed, concerning his early and decided 
 convictions of the truth and immeasurable importance 
 of the other evangelical doctrines. 
 
 No characteristic of his piety was more prominent, 
 than his holy remembrance of the Sabbath, — in which 
 he but followed in the steps of those who had gone 
 before ; — unless it was his constant recognition of 
 providence, for which also a succession of examples 
 \iad been given him, by his progenitors. He truly 
 " acknowledged God in all his ways," and it was once 
 remarked by him to a grandson, as the result of long 
 observation, — that he " had never known any one to 
 make great attainments in spiritual life, who was not 
 accustomed very specially to mark the providence of 
 God toicards himself P 
 
 By two mari'iages, he was the father of 16 children ; 
 ten of whom lived to have families. The sons who 
 gave such celebrity to their name were all children by 
 his first marriage. He was very strict, and very suc- 
 cessful, as a parent, who, conscientiously and in love, 
 " commanded his household," that they should " keep the 
 way of the Lord ;" until severe visitations of hypo- 
 chondria, combining with other causes, or circum- 
 stances, occasioned an unfavorable relaxation of the 
 firmness and perseverance of his earlier management. 
 His children were very dear to him, and his heart was 
 often burdened to agony, that every one of them, and 
 all that should be born of them, might fear the Lord 
 their God, and work the righteousness of faith. In 
 his family prayers, which abounded in scriptural 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 71 
 
 allusions, and \yoYO often singnlarly original and feli- 
 citous, never formal, monotonous, or in pln-aseology 
 stereotyped, there was one petition, wliieh, in some 
 mode, would almost invariably be heard : " Ihat cove- 
 7ia?H blessing's might descend vpon his posterity^ down to 
 the end of time. ^'' 
 
 " In the last years of his life," — according to a brief, 
 and very just obituary notice of his character,* — " he 
 was eminent for equanimity and cheerfulness of tem- 
 per, and for patience under the trials he was called to 
 endure. He retained his mental faculties in a remark- 
 able manner, and possessing an uncommonly retentive 
 memory, he had a fresh recollection of the events of 
 his early life, and was a very cheerful and pleasing 
 companion. He had long contemplated his dissolu- 
 tion, not only wdth composure but with the animating 
 hopes of the Christian. Several of his last years were 
 doubtless among the happiest of his life." 
 
 An exti-act from a letter of Mrs. D. W. Loomis, a 
 grand-daughter, written in answer to some inquiries, 
 and not with an expectation of its being published, is 
 perhaps the more valuable. 
 
 " Ilardivick, Vt.^ Jan. 15, 1848. 
 
 My dear Cousin : — 
 
 * * * Of our venerated grandfather Noah, I 
 retain the most vivid and pleasant recollections ; 
 having always lived in the same house with him, from 
 my birth till his death, when I was tw^enty-one. My 
 earliest recollections of him are happy, — as a being of 
 superior goodness, to whom I was always accustomed 
 to flee for refuge and protection, in any apprehended 
 danger, — as in a thunder-storm ; confidently believing 
 that he was so good, nothing could hurt me, if I were 
 near him. It was his general practice, I remember, to 
 
 * By J. E. Worcester, L. L. D. 
 
72 MEMOIR OF 
 
 sit an hour, from about seven to eight o'clock in the 
 long evenings, in our family ; and when we heard his 
 footstep and his cane in the passage, my father always 
 rose from his great arm-chair, which he occupied in 
 the corner, and reverently set it out for his father, — and 
 we were all expected to be quiet and attentive. His 
 conversation was interesting and instructive, abound- 
 ing in anecdotes of the time when he was young, — of 
 the scenes of the revolutionary war, — of individual 
 characters, and of general history. I well remember 
 questions which my eldest brother Jesse proposed to 
 him on this latter subject, — such as, 'whether he sup- 
 posed Cyrus was a good man ? ' &c. I thought in 
 those days, that he knew almost everything^ and I noiv 
 think, that his knowledge of general history must have 
 been somewhat extensive, as I remember he was a 
 great reader. I remember, too, many discussions on 
 theological subjects, which he used to have with gen- 
 tlemen, members of the church and others, who were 
 visiting at his house, in which I thought that he, of 
 course, was always right. Above all, I remember him 
 as a man of prayer. While he lived, our family were 
 always present, in my father's absence, and always 
 remembered in his family devotions ; and these were 
 never intermitted^ either in health or in sickness. He 
 had two seasons of severe sickness, from which he was 
 not expected to recover, before his final one ; and in 
 all these, while he was able to be lifted from his bed, 
 and placed in his great arm-chair, he worshipped like 
 Jacob, ' leaning on the top of his staff.' When unable 
 to do this, he was bolstered up in bed, and supported 
 on pillows, he ' bowed himself on the bed's head,' and 
 commended himself, his family, and all his posterity, 
 to his covenant-keeping God. This was the morning 
 before his death, and I shall never forget that prayer. 
 His gi'and-cliildren, who were present, were one by 
 one, called to his bedside, and exhorted and admon- 
 ished. Ble^ I remember, he exhorted, not too confi- 
 dently to trust to a hope I had just begun to indulge. 
 ' If your hope is a good one,' said he, ' you will find 
 you have just begun a warfare, not ended it.' I think 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 73 
 
 he said, ' I shall never be any better, but I feel no anx- 
 iety for the result. My fathers' God is the God, who 
 has led nie all my life lonc^, — even to hoar hairs has 
 he carried me, and I am ready to go whenever he calls 
 me.' I watched with him, with another woman, the 
 following night, and he retained full possessibn of his 
 powers, till the last ; and departed just as the day 
 besfan to dawn. 
 
 His habit of secret prayer was very affecting to me 
 in my youth. I observed, that he always went directly 
 from his family devotion in the evening, to the barn. I 
 long wondered why. The gate by which he entered, 
 opened with a creaking sound, and I constantly heard 
 it, and knew it was grand-father ; and often marvelled 
 why he went there, especially in the cold winter nights. 
 Uncle J., it seems, noticed and wondered too ; and 
 at last to gratify his curiosity, secreted himself near 
 his place of retirement, and heard himself prayed for^ 
 with an earnestness and importunity which affected 
 him deeply for a time. This he told himself, with a 
 tearful eye, and quivering lip. 
 
 As the natural result of this habit of constant com- 
 munion with God, his spirit grew more mellow and ripe 
 for heaven. This was noticed and remarked on by many. 
 He was constitutionally subject to nervous depression, 
 or hypochondria, w4iich used to produce irritation and 
 peevishness, and impatience of contradiction. But in 
 his latter years, he was always cheerful and serene. 
 Nothing discomposed him, though he had much to try 
 him. 
 
 I remember to have heard brother Joseph once speak 
 to him, of the great change in his spirit, in bearing 
 provocation. * This never grew in my nature's gar- 
 den,' he replied. 
 
 Mr. Gould, one of his brethren in the church, spoke 
 of this change after his death, and remarked, that, ' like 
 the sun, he grew larger at his setting.' " * * * * 
 
 "With good reason, has the question been asked, " Is 
 there any fact more prominent than all others in the 
 7 
 
74 MEMOIR OF 
 
 biogi-aphies of learned and pious men, than this — tliat 
 they were blessed with intelligent and virtuous parents, 
 and especially mothers ? " 
 
 " My father," says ]\Irs. L., " I knew, always felt that 
 he, and all his own brothers and sisters, were quite as 
 much indebted to their 7nother, as to their father, for 
 what was ' pure and lovely and of good report ' in their 
 characters. He took great pains to impress on his 
 children a deep sense of her moral worth." IVIrs. Sa- 
 rah W. Fox, who outlived all those brothers, "well 
 remembered her pious counsels, although but eight 
 years old, when she died ; and that as she grew older, 
 many people had said to her, that no woman in Hollis 
 had ever been so deeply and generally lamented." 
 
 JVIr. Abraham Taylor, her father, was one of the 
 first four settlers of Hollis. He was a man of great 
 energy and public spirit. As a professing Christian, 
 he permitted none to be in advance of him, in en- 
 deavors to promote every good word and work. — His 
 efficiency in erecting a house of God, and in securing 
 the regular administration of the ordinances of the 
 Gospel, gave him a high distinction among the bene- 
 factors of the community, in the midst of which he 
 found an early grave. His widow long survived him, 
 " a widow indeed," — universally beloved. 
 
 With " a good understanding and a beautiful coun- 
 tenance," Lydia, their favored daughter, united the 
 highest grace of the female character, — the loveliness 
 of devoted love to Christ. It is but a simple, unvar- 
 nished record of the testimony of many witnesses, 
 when it is said of her, in a word, that she was every- 
 thing to her husband and children, which could be 
 desired in a wife and mother. A model of maternal 
 fidelity, " her childi'en called her blessed ; " and through 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 75 
 
 therrij the blessing of many ready to perish, has been 
 hers also. 
 
 Her interest for her children was one of the most 
 prominent features of her Christian character. She was 
 assiduous in the use of all her means, to "bring them 
 up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Much 
 of that instruction, which is now given in primary 
 schools, was imparted to them by herself, amidst her 
 many labors and cares. And on the Sabbath after- 
 noon, particularly, it was her practice to gather all her 
 children around her, that she might teach them the 
 Assembly's Catechism, and give them other lessons of 
 heavenly counsel.* 
 
 She died suddenly, July 6, 1772. From a casualty 
 which had befallen her, she had a strong persuasion, 
 that her anticipated confinement would be, as it proved, 
 the period of her days. — Night after night, she rose 
 from her pillow, and with folded arms walked the floor 
 of her chamber, or fell upon her knees, as if in an agony, 
 which could find no relief, but in " the effectual, fervent 
 prayer of the righteous." Those who knew most inti- 
 mately the burdened longings of her spirit, were often 
 reminded after her death, of a prayer which she so 
 earnestly repeated : " O that one of my sons may be 
 a minister of the Gospel I " 
 
 It is not supposed, that he who had the name of 
 Hannah's child of answered prayer, had been selected or 
 designated, as her special offering for the sacred office. 
 
 * " I believe that if Christianity should be compelled to flee from the man- 
 sions of the great, the academies of the philosophers, the hails of legislators, 
 or the throng of busy men, we should find her last and purest retreat with 
 woman at the fireside ; her last aliar would be the female heart ; her last 
 audience would be the children gathered around the knees of a mother ; her 
 last sacrifice, the secret prayer, escaping in silence, from her lips, and heard, 
 perhaps, only at tlie throne of God." — J. S. Buckminster. 
 
76 MEMOIR OF 
 
 She had already heard the voice of her eldest son, then 
 in his fourteenth year, leading in the devotions of the 
 family. And her thoughts would very naturally have 
 dwelt upon her first-born, who gave so much promise 
 of future excellence. But her prayer was heard, far 
 beyond all that she asked or thought. And the little 
 one, who, in those hours when eternity was so near, 
 would be peculiarly an object of her maternal solicitude, 
 was destined by her covenant God, to fulfill the largest 
 desire of her heart. 
 
 It is very questionable, if there ever was a family, in 
 which the salutary influence of a departed mother was 
 more pervading and permanent. Those who were of 
 age to partake of her instructions and be eye-witnesses 
 of her worth ; and those who were too young to know 
 of her, except as they were informed, and as they felt 
 her blessing, as " the dew of Hermon," or " the small 
 rain upon the tender herb,'^ — were all alike accustomed, 
 after they became heads of families, to speak of her to 
 their children, as if that mother's loveliness and godli- 
 ness were embalmed in their bosoms, with an undying 
 endearment and gratitude. 
 
 Many were the changes, both joyous and grievous, 
 which passed over her husband, before he finished his 
 pilgrimage. It was his delight to see bis children and 
 grand-children, and to hear of their welfare. Four of 
 his sons and one son-in-law, were in the ministry. He 
 had carefully noted in the leaves of his Family Bible, 
 the dates of their ordination. Before he died, Aug. 
 13, 1817, having nearly completed his eighty-second 
 year, — he had noted also the natal day of seventy* 
 seven grand-children.* 
 
 * Eighteen grand children were born after his decease ; and of the nin©- 
 ty-five in all, ninety 'four were born to six sons and two daughters. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 77 
 
 In the record of his Family Biblo, he says : " Sept. 
 1798. I had eighteen chihlren of my own and by 
 marriage, at my table !" As they were then known 
 and located, they were the Rev. Noah Worcester and 
 wife, of Thornton, N. H. ; Mr. Jesse Worcester and 
 wife, of Hollis ; Mr. John Fox and wife, of Hebron 
 Mr. Leonard Worcester and wife, of Worcester, Mass. 
 Rev. Thomas Worcester and wife, of Salisbury, N. H. 
 Rev. Samuel Worcester and wife, of Fitchburg, Mass. 
 Mr. David Smith and wife, of Hollis ; and Ebenezer, 
 Hannah, David, and James Worcester, who were all 
 in their minority. It was a joyous meeting and a 
 rare spectacle. There were several attempts at such a 
 family meeting, during the nineteen years following; 
 but the venerated sire never- again had the happiness 
 of seeing all his children " at his table, at one time." 
 Ten years later, they were all living, but one ; and 
 two of them had left their secular calling for the min- 
 istry. They were now, as a family, far more known. 
 
 One part of their exercises and recreations, at the 
 family gatherings, was that of sacred music. They 
 were nearly all excellent singers, and some of them 
 were players on instruments. And such a choir as 
 they made, it would be worth a long jom'ney to see 
 and to hear. A favorite hymn was that beginning, — 
 " All hail the power of Jesus' name ;" — ^which, of 
 course, they sung in the good old tune of " Corona- 
 tion." While promenading the floor of a large room, 
 in single file, those brothers sustaining their different 
 parts, and accompanied by a few younger voices of 
 the surrounding group, would swell the choral — 
 " Crown him Lord of all," — with a burst of melody, 
 which reverberates still in thrilling remembrance. 
 
78 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Only one of the children of the grateful sire now 
 remains among the living;* and two only of his chil- 
 dren by marriage,! who had the pleasure of partici- 
 pating in those animated scenes. 
 
 Of his descendants, seventeen have regularly grad- 
 uated at college ;f nearly half of whom entered the 
 ministry. Six others have been in the sacred office. 
 Among those who died early, were some of the most 
 gifted and promising. The survivors are many. They 
 are represented in all the professions, and in the walks 
 of general literature, as well as in agriculture, the use- 
 ful arts, and mercantile pursuits, — in almost every part 
 of the land, from Maine to Arkansas. 
 
 Much more might have been said of the trials of 
 the last of their ancestors, in common, — Noah Wor- 
 cester, of Hollis. There were times when the words 
 of Eliphaz, if addressed to him, would have seemed 
 not to be " fitly spoken." But would they not have 
 been most true ? — 
 
 " Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth ; 
 therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Al- 
 mighty ; for he maketh sore, and bindeth up : he 
 woundeth, and his hands make whole. * * In war he 
 shall redeem thee from the power of the sword. Thou 
 shalt be hid from the scourere of the tons^uc : neither 
 shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 
 * * * Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be 
 great, [thy posterity numerous,] and thine offspring as 
 the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave 
 in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his 
 season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is ; hear it, 
 and know thou it for thy good." 
 
 * Mrs. Hannah Ireland, of Dnnbarton, N. H. 
 
 f The widows of ilie Rev. Thomas, and the Rev. Samuel Worcester. 
 
 J In the Connecticut family of " Wooster," there were five graduates of 
 Yale College, from 173S to 1790. But the first name of " Worcester," upon 
 a College Catalogue, is that of Samuel, at Dartmouth, 1795. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 79 
 
 Snch was the New Enc^larid ancestry of the Rev. 
 Samuel Worcester, D. D. Such were the fathers and 
 the mothers, whom, from his infancy, he was tanglit 
 to lionor, and, with a holy zeal by the grace of God, 
 to emulate. One and the same character, essentially, 
 has appeared, from the first to the last in the five gen- 
 erations. In different degrees, and not unmingled 
 with evil, nor unmarred by blemishes, w^hich were per- 
 sonally lamented, there may be ascribed to each an 
 enlightened belief in God and his Word ; a confiding 
 recognition of his Providence, in all things ; a fervent 
 spirit and a constant habit of devotion ; an undeviat- 
 ing reverence for the Sabbath and every institution of 
 the Gospel ; an irreproachable veracity and honesty ; 
 an erect manliness and an undaunted moral courage ; 
 with an inflexible adherence to convictions of duty, 
 and a benevolent forwardness to multiply and extend, 
 in every appropriate and practicable manner, the 
 " glory and virtue " " of the Church of God, which he 
 hath purchased with his own blood." 
 
 From facts that have been brought to light, as inci- 
 dental results of a course of inquiry relative to one 
 line only, it is quite certain, that other lines from the 
 same forefather, at Salisbury, would furnish examples 
 of similar godliness, in successive generations. And 
 extraordinary as at the present day it may seem, it is 
 believed to be strictly true, that, when the subject of 
 the Memoir before us, was in the tender years of his 
 childhood, he could not, in the whole circle of his own 
 parental relationship, have put his eye upon a single 
 individual, who had come to mature manhood, with- 
 out a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, as the aton- 
 ing and Almighty Savior of the world ! 
 
 But in all this, and in more also, which is yet to be 
 
 ii 
 
80 MEMOIR OF 
 
 presented in a nearer view of the influences of ances- 
 try and of family, there were others of his generation — 
 the sixth from the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Puri- 
 tans of New England, — ^Yho were no less favored by 
 traditionary and living examples of "the excellency of 
 the knowledge of Christ," and of " the mercy of the 
 Lord upon them that fear him." There are other 
 families, and the number cannot be small, from whose 
 genealogies a corresponding witness could be obtain- 
 ed, in illustration and confirmation of the promises of 
 God "to such as keep his covenant." 
 
 Would that all had been such ! And would that 
 none of "the children's children" of such, were now 
 giving occasion to be reminded, and to be admonished 
 never to forget, that, from the- beneficent ordinance of 
 Him, to whom all the glory belongs, a New England 
 was originated by self-denial for Christ's supremacy ; 
 implicit reliance upon the witness of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, to the utter exclusion of all "philosophy and 
 vain deceit;" a well-educated and truly pious minis- 
 try, who " shunned not to declare the whole counsel of 
 God ;" sound Calvinistic doctrine, fearlessly addressed 
 to the understanding and the conscience ; prayer with- 
 out ceasing, like that at Bethel, at Carmel, and in 
 "the upper room" at Jerusalem; family religion, with 
 a confiding, grateful self-application of the Abrahamic 
 covenant; fraternal or congregational independence 
 of the churches ; universal instruction, literary and 
 Christian; and the remembrance of the Lord's-day, 
 according to the Fourth Commandment, in its origi- 
 nal import, and as written by the "finger of God," for 
 an everlasting statute and memorial ! 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 81 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Personal appearance. Dangerous sickness in infancy. Early indications of 
 disposition and future character. General view of his intellectual powers 
 and tendencies. Family education. The elder brothers and sisters. Fra- 
 ternal and other reminiscences. Teaches school. Revival of religion, 
 17SG. Hopeful conversion. Happy impressions from the triumphant 
 death of a sister. 
 
 " We delight to find in the early lives of eminent men some glimpses of the 
 future, some indications of their after greatness. * * We see every day 
 how anxiously men look for individual traits in the childhood of great men." 
 —Neander. 
 
 The results of the most fortunate training depend 
 greatly upon original endowments. There are quar- 
 ries of marble, upon which the sculptor would not look, 
 for a moment. He who ordained the heavens to de- 
 clare his glory, has established such a connection of 
 affinities or correspondencies between the material and 
 the immaterial of our complex organization, that our 
 judgments of intellect and character are involuntarily 
 affected, by the countenance and the frame of the ex- 
 ternal man. And is there not an important influence 
 upon an individual himself, from advantages or disad- 
 vantages of person ? 
 
 If a youth has grown faster than the average of his 
 coevals, more is always expected of him. In general, 
 he is constrained to attempt the more. And whoever, 
 at his entrance into the arena of public life, has an 
 acknowledged superiority of physical structure, can 
 hardly be unconscious of a reflex operation upon his 
 feelings and efforts, his motives and his manners. 
 
 In all which, at a glance, instinctively inspires re- 
 spect, or which, upon more close observation, is suited 
 
82 MEMOIR OP 
 
 to conciliate warm esteem, Dr. Worcester, from his 
 youth upward, was eminently favored. It was his 
 privilege to inherit from his ancestry " a bodily pre- 
 sence," which was "strong" and commanding, — never 
 " weak," even when " compassed with infirmity ; " and 
 which, having contributed its full measure in the for- 
 mation of his character, was afterwards inseparably 
 associated in the minds of thousands, with that power 
 of influence, which was always the most indisputable, 
 when most resisted or assailed. 
 
 In features and expression of countenance. Dr. Wor- 
 cester very strikingly resembled his honored mother. 
 At the age of twenty, he was recognized as her son, by 
 a friend, who greatly revered her memory ; who had 
 never before seen him, unless when he was an infant ; 
 and who, at the time and in the place, had not the 
 smallest reason to suspect his parentage, except the 
 maternal likeness. 
 
 When thus agreeably recognized, he had reached 
 the full stature of his father, which, like that of his 
 grandfather, was six feet. He was then somewhat 
 slender, but firm, erect, and athletic. He was never 
 corpulent ; although at one time he feared that he might 
 be. When in his full manhood, his finely-turned head, 
 his broad chest, stately movement, fair complexion, 
 benignant smile, and thoughtful, earnest brow, made 
 him an object of marked attention to strangers. 
 
 He had been settled at Fitchburg, but five years, 
 and was not yet thirty-two years old, when he preached 
 as a candidate, at the Tabernacle, in Salem. It has 
 often been pleasantly told of him, that, while walking 
 with a friend, at a regimental parade, his military 
 bearing attracted the eyes of many, and he was really 
 taken for " one of the old continental officers." For 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 83 
 
 about six years, he had worn a tri-coriicrcd hat, with 
 his hair in a lengthened cue behind;* whieh, with 
 small-cK)ihes, shoes with buekles, and, perhaps, gai- 
 ters, in the style of the old provincial clergy, made the 
 difference of at least a score of years, in aid of the 
 characteristic dignity of his person. 
 
 The miniature accompanying this volume, is from 
 an admirable portrait, which was taken of him, when 
 he was about forty-seven years old.f It is not easy for 
 most persons, to conceive of the original as so young 
 a man. Like others of his family, he had a maturity 
 of growth which is uncommon, and what may be 
 termed a precocity of venerableness. If he had died at 
 forty, instead of fifty, his endeared associate, Mr. Evarts, 
 might still have spoken as he did, of his " revered form." 
 
 When very young, however, it was quite improba- 
 ble, that he would ever attain to the stature and good- 
 ly proportions of his ancestors. About a year previous 
 to the death of his mother, and when he was but six 
 or eight months old, he was so dangerously ill, that, for 
 more than two wxeks, there w^as no hope for his life. 
 
 The father was early conscious of a very strong 
 affection for this son. He has been heard to say, that, 
 if he had any more of interest in Samuel than in either 
 of his other children, which, perhaps, was true, there 
 was one special reason, " He felt, that he had received 
 him a second time from the hand of God." 
 
 It was several years before the son became healthy. 
 
 * He afterwards wore his hair in rolls, or tied up in papers, neatly pre- 
 pared, until ISII, ■while on a journey to attend a meeting of the General 
 Assembly, at Philadelphia. His appearance without the " long hair " which 
 he had worn, in opposition to Paul's views of decorum, occasioned some 
 stir ; as some of the people thought it a sign that he had becorne a Preshyte- 
 rian. 
 
 t By S. F. Morse, Esq., who is now so celebrated by the magnetic tel- 
 egraph. 
 
84 MEMOIR OF 
 
 He needed and received much kind attention from his 
 new mother. But her cares were many, and there was 
 occasion for the aid of his eldest sister, who, with her 
 mother's name, partook largely of her spirit. Ever 
 watchful and ready to promote the happiness of all in 
 the family, she greatly loved the brother, who so re- 
 minded her of the departed, and whose feebleness and 
 amiableness enlisted her most affectionate sympathies. 
 She taught him, as a mother, his earliest lessons ; sung 
 to him the soothing and cheering songs of the " pure 
 in heart;" counselled him, and prayed for him, as if 
 her joy on earth could never be consummated, until 
 she had evidence that he was truly a child of God. 
 
 Her interest in his improvement and happiness was 
 of incalculable value, when his disposition was so lia- 
 ble to suffer from the effects of bodily infirmity. To 
 her he was indebted, as he often testified, for his first 
 religious impressions. And without question, the 
 more amiable traits of his earlier and riper years, were 
 much to be attributed to her gentleness and watchful- 
 ness ; not least of all to those constant melodies of her 
 sweet voice and spirit. 
 
 To this estimable sister, he became exceedingly at- 
 tached. " When I was a little boy," he is remembered to 
 have said, — " I have laid for hours, and cried, when I 
 heard her groan in the night, with a severe tooth-ache; 
 and I have covered up my head with the bed-clothes, 
 for I knew she would feel so much worse, if she were 
 to hear me." 
 
 Such was the amiableness of his childhood, and the 
 sympathetic tenderness of his sensibility. He made 
 friends of all, by the mildness of his temper, his 
 thoughtful activity, and his varied exertions to excel. 
 When at play on the floor, he exhibited the germ of 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 85 
 
 tliosc Imbits of deliberation, and forecast, of i)atience 
 ill application, and of fortitude under diseourai^etncnts, 
 which so broadly marked the character of his public 
 life. " If he was amusing himself with toys," it has 
 been related, " or anything else which commonly occu- 
 pies the attention of children, and could not imme- 
 diately suit them to his taste, he would not become 
 passionate, and throw them away, as most children 
 do ; but sit down, and patiently work upon them, until 
 he made them please his mind." 
 
 From a child he was fond of a book ; as much, per- 
 haps, as any of the family. He had a superior mem- 
 ory, and acquired knowledge with ease. His apprehen- 
 sions were quick, but considerate ; and the bias of his 
 mind that of deep reflection and logical argument. 
 As he grew in years, his range of reading was not ex- 
 tended or miscellaneous enough, to expose him to any 
 great temptations of rapidity and superficialness. In 
 original imaginative talent, he was by no means want- 
 ing ; and his poetic vein enabled him, during his aca- 
 demic and collegiate studies, to produce very tolerable 
 lyrics, and some quite successful dramatic imitations. 
 
 Naturally, he was not at all deficient in animal 
 spirits, nor disinclined to merriment. He laughed 
 heartily at the ludicrous. And with a dry humor and 
 a ready wit, he was not slow, in his boyhood, nor at 
 times in his manhood, to make others laugh no less 
 heartily. If he could play hard, he could labor and 
 study the harder. — And no better proof could be given 
 of his kindliness of disposition, than his generous treat- 
 ment of his associates, and his cautious indulgence of 
 a power of satire and sarcasm, which he was seen to 
 possess, at a very early period of his intellectual devel- 
 opment. 
 
 8 
 
86 MEMOIR OP 
 
 He had a delicate ear for music, vocal and instru- 
 mental. It was a delight to him to sing, and he early 
 became a distinguished proficient in the art. His 
 brother Noah had learned to play the fife, so that he 
 was "fife-major" at Bennington. He himself learned 
 also, and when but a youth performed to great accep- 
 tance, in the military companies of his native town. 
 There are those living who saw him frequently, when 
 he appeared, as a musician of the citizen soldiery. 
 After he had been settled in Salem, some years, a fife 
 was once put into his hands, for a trial of his powers. 
 It was, perhaps, while he was teaching a singing- 
 school. He could still make good music, but pleasant- 
 ly apologized for doing no better, by saying that his 
 " fingers were not as nimble as formerly." 
 
 Thomas, the next older to Samuel, always claimed 
 the place of seniority. But they grew up side by side, 
 each profiting the other, by their congenialities and 
 their diversities. Thomas partook largely of the fluency 
 and fire of his paternal grand-father ; was nervously 
 predisposed, and a little too impatient in difficulties ; 
 was prompt, industrious, and successful as a self- 
 taught scholar ; and was very graceful in manner, affa- 
 ble, and companionable. He was naturally eloquent, 
 and in some respects surpassed each of his brothers, 
 as a popular speaker, while less profound or meta- 
 physical than cither of them. His voice was like a 
 clarion. 
 
 Leonard lived with a maternal uncle, four years, 
 after his mother's death ; and in his eighteenth year 
 became an apprentice of Isaiah Thomas^ at Worces- 
 ter. Though perhaps not so active or mature in his 
 boyhood, as some of the others, he had a gifted mind, 
 which, during his apprenticeship, both concealed itself 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 87 
 
 and revealed itself, after the example of Franklin, in 
 the types of the printing ollice. He was a most duti- 
 ful son, a brother beloved, and his example in youth 
 was such, as nourished no thorns for the pillow of his 
 hoary head. 
 
 Noah and Jesse, the two eldest of the five brothers, 
 were quick to learn, forward, emulous, and irreproach- 
 able. In the father's and grand-father's absence, Noah 
 led in family prayer, when but thirteen years old. — 
 The other sons were called upon in like manner, in 
 their youth, to maintain the family religion. They 
 were all taught to feel, that as a matter of course, they 
 must fear God, and devoutly honor his Name. And 
 long before they had become members of any church, 
 by a profession of faith, and before they indulged any 
 hope of themselves as inwardly renewed by the grace 
 of God, they did not decline, when requested to lead 
 the family in prayer, and to give thanks " in the break- 
 ing " of their " daily bread." Such was the custom in 
 families, which perpetuated the covenant godliness of 
 the fathers of New England. 
 
 In a very reserved and brief auto-biographical sketch 
 of his life, for the private eye of his children and grand- 
 children, Leonard remarks : — 
 
 " Soon after my grand-father's death, when I w^as in 
 my seventeenth year, my father, having occasion to be 
 from home some days, and being unwilling that fam- 
 ily worship should be intermitted, enjoined it upon me, 
 as the oldest male member of the family at home, to 
 lead in family worship, during his absence ; to which 
 I consented, and continued to do so, whenever he was 
 absent, so long as I remained in the family. It was, 
 however, at that time, at least it was at Hollis, no un- 
 common thing for family worship, to be regularly 
 maintained by those, who did not make a public pro- 
 fession of religion." 
 
88 MEMOIR OF 
 
 A similar testimony might have been given by- 
 Thomas and Samuel ; each having been called in like 
 manner to the same service. 
 
 Noah said of himself, when speaking of parents and 
 grand-parents, in respect to religious instruction : — 
 " All united to make early and deep impression on my 
 mind in favor of religion, and against vice ; and in 
 those efforts they were so far successful, that my reli- 
 gious impressions were of the earliest date of anything 
 I can remember, excepting a burn which I received, 
 when I was about two years old." So conscientious 
 was he, that he was exceedingly distressed, at five 
 years old, in feeling " that he had been guilty of false-, 
 hood, In asserting as a fact what had been told him, 
 without his knowing it to be true ; " and experienced 
 an indescribable " relief in hearing the difference be- 
 tween an unintentional departure from truth, and a 
 design to deceive, explained to him."* The same 
 conscientiousness was characteristic of those younger. 
 
 The education of the brothers, as of the sisters, was 
 almost wholly at their own home. In the winter of 
 1776-7, before his second enlistment in the army, Noah 
 boarded in Ihe family of his uncle Francis, at Ply- 
 mouth, N. H., and tried the experiment of a school- 
 teacher. 
 
 " In course of that winter," he said, " I probably ac- 
 quired more useful knowledge, than I had ever before 
 done in any two winters by going to school. * * * 
 
 * He did not make a profession of religion, until twenty-four years of age. 
 He united with the Church in Thornton, in 17b2, — and in 17&6, was ordained 
 the pastor of the Church. 
 
 Jesse did not make a profession, until twenty years afterwards. In a revi- 
 val in Hollis, in 1S02, he joined the Church. His wife al^o joined at the 
 8ame lime. On the same day, they presented twelve children, six sons and 
 8ix daughters, — for baptism ! 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 89 
 
 About this time I procured a dictionary, which was 
 the first I ever had the privilege of perusing, though I 
 was then in my eighteenth year." 
 
 " I have no recollection," said Jesse, " of having been 
 taught to read by any female, unless it was my mother 
 or grand-mother. I never heard a lesson given in Eng- 
 lish Grammar or geography, when I came into a mas- 
 ter's school; and in respect to books, if we except the 
 Biblc^ — the spelling-book, the psalter, and the primer 
 were more than scholars generally possessed." * 
 
 Limited as were their means of literary culture, they 
 made progress which cannot but be considered remark- 
 able, as it was laudable. To be manly beyond what was 
 expected of their age ; to attempt much, and not think 
 it marvellous to do more ; to increase constantly in 
 knowledge, and make the most of their opportunities, 
 was the progressive and the unquenchable spirit of their 
 youth. It would have required a long day for any 
 teacher of arithmetic, to propose a question, which they 
 could not have answered, as they mused in concert 
 upon their pillow, by night. With Noah's tongue for 
 a pencil, and Jesse's memory for the slate, a most in- 
 tricate problem was thus solved, to the astonishment 
 of a teacher, who had found it too hard for himself. 
 
 The pen was in daily use before them. The father 
 had much writing to do, in his business as a magis- 
 trate ; and the grandfather, when not abroad in his 
 tours of preaching, was fond of his study-table. Very 
 early, as a natural consequence, the younger mem- 
 bers of the family, both male and female, exercised 
 
 * The " primer " was the old New England primer, containing the lines 
 of John Rogers, with sundry wholesome counsels, as the warning to youth ; 
 in addition to the Westminster Catechism, in the memory and belief of all 
 of which, these sons of Noah Worcester were carefully educated. 
 
 8* 
 
90 MEMOIR OP 
 
 their powers of imitation, in copying and composing. 
 They were all ivr iters. 
 
 It was their advantage, also, to live remote from 
 those scenes of gaiety and dissipation, which have 
 proved so fatal to a multitude of youth. They were 
 but little exposed to the "evil co^nmunications," 
 which so often in the city "corrupt good manners." 
 Free from every stain of vice, and always affected by 
 a deep sense of accountableness, they were ever ready 
 to receive instruction, and to search for knowledge, as 
 for hid treasure. 
 
 When their grandfather Francis was at home, he 
 had always something to excite the reflective and 
 emotional powders of those youth, or lads, for whom 
 he had predicted what so truly was fulfilled. Fresh 
 and stirring intelligence from divers sources, in that 
 eventful age of the Revolution ; new ideas and old, 
 theological, historical, political — mingled and sifted, 
 approved or rejected, — ^would not often allow the 
 members of that family circle, to pass an hour of list- 
 less inactivity. On some evening, by the glaring light, 
 perhaps, of a pine-knot fire, might have been witnessed 
 a scene for a painter. There, for example, was ma- 
 jestic, portly, dignified, and somewhat self-complacent 
 old age, filling the great arm-chair, with an acknowl- 
 edged title to arbitrate ; middle age, erect, intelligent, 
 with "a large roundabout sense," eager enough, if not 
 more, to gi-apple with the logic or metaphysics of any 
 subject, and disposed to demand a reason for every- 
 thing, not intuitively true ; robust youth, just from the 
 army, in full buoyancy of spirits, reverencing old-age, 
 and honoring middle-age, but not backward to ask 
 questions, wdiich might not so easily be answered ; 
 and bright-faced childhood, with blue gazing eye, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 91 
 
 hearkening car, and pereliance ilic lips not shut, nor 
 always silent; — to say notliing of other members and 
 characteristics of a group, in the midst of which edu- 
 cation was in progress, that was ultimately to move 
 the thoughts, and artect the destinies of many thou- 
 sands, in both hemispheres. 
 
 Such, in brief, was the general order of that family, 
 that those men who became distinguished far beyond 
 the most of their contemporaries, — thousands of w^hom 
 had incomparably greater means of mental cultiva- 
 tion, — ^^vere constantly reminded, that it is the duty of 
 every one, to become as conspicuous for influence and 
 usefulness, as his talents and privileges will allow. 
 And while they were taught to labor with the hands, 
 most diligently and vigorously, it never entered their 
 hearts to conceive, that it was the chief concern of 
 upright, honest farmers and cordwainers, to plant 
 Indian corn in spring, and harvest it in autumn ; — to 
 cut hay in summer, and fell trees in winter; — and 
 withal to make good shoes in a rainy day, or in the 
 "time of snow." — As husbandmen, they w^ere not of 
 those " whose talk is wholly about cattle ;" but of such 
 as had " understanding of the times." 
 
 A legitimate eftect of their discipline would be, to 
 make them clear thinkers, and able reasoners. Such 
 they were indisputably. What they knew, they knew 
 for themselves, and for others. By the tongue, and 
 with the pen, they could communicate their ideas, 
 with an intelligibleness, which was transparent, and a 
 point and energy, which it was difficult to withstand. 
 With little or no other instruction than that of their 
 home, except during the few weeks in the winter sea- 
 son, and with scarcely any school-book in addition to 
 the Bible, — they were able, before the end of their 
 
92 MEMOIR OF 
 
 minority, to write essays or addresses, which, for good 
 sense, force of reasoning, and propriety of language, 
 chiefly drawn from the Saxon etymologies, — would 
 not materially suffer by comparison, with the more 
 elegant compositions of the best scholars at our col- 
 leges. 
 
 So far were they all self-made men, that, like others 
 of the same order, who have been celebrated, they 
 were not unconscious of their abilities. But accus- 
 tomed as they were to a high self-respect, their exem- 
 plary submission to parental authority, and deference 
 to the aged, rendered them most careful of the pro- 
 prieties of good manners, and most courteous in all 
 their deportment. They were all keenly sensitive, 
 when they encountered contradiction, or any kind of 
 opposition. Still, it is not often, that with as much 
 constitutional excitability, there is seen as much self- 
 control, or self-mastery; nor as much of true polite- 
 ness, in the sense of Dr. Witherspoon, — ^'•real kindness 
 kindly expressed.''^ 
 
 In no one of them was the ascendency over their 
 passions and feelings more complete, than in the 
 youngest. If he was ever angry, he was in general so 
 angry, as not to speak a word. When his feelings 
 were wounded, a flush would instantaneously pass 
 over his face ; and he would wisely consider whether 
 or not to break silence. From his childhood onward 
 to the end of his days, his quick perception of a very 
 small degree of offence against good taste, or good 
 manners, would display itself in a delicate scarlet 
 tinge of countenance ; but which had not heat enough, 
 in most cases, to reveal its presence to himself. 
 
 The tendencies of such a diseii)line, as has been de- 
 scribed, were not in every respect auspicious or safe. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 93 
 
 From the liubit of scrutinizin<T all points, and of rea- 
 soning u})on all questions, it should not be accounted 
 marvellous, if, before the end, some should uncon- 
 sciously "lean to their own understanding." Thus 
 the eldest of them, who in subsequent life arrested so 
 much attention by his speculations uj)on the myste- 
 ries of the Godhead, ^^Tote of himself, that, " from his 
 childhood he had been much in the habit of reflection 
 and inquiry." "Probably I was too much inclined," 
 he adds, " to argument and disputation, on various 
 subjects. I think I was not more than twelve years 
 old, wiien this propensity was mentioned to me as 
 one of my faults. Though the propensity was, doubt- 
 less, in some instances imprudently indulged, it was 
 probably a means of my advancement in knowledge." 
 There are those who have thought, that, if his mind 
 had been subjected to a more enlarged discipline, be- 
 fore he entered the ministry, he would probably have 
 continued as steadfast in his attachment to the mode 
 of his early faith, as did the subject of this memoir. 
 
 These free references have been made to the older 
 brothers of Dr. Worcester, because, previous to the 
 age of twenty, their advantages and disadvantages of 
 training were substantially the same. He was very 
 much like them in native endow^ments, constitutional 
 and moral dispositions. Inferior to neither of them, 
 in native powers, he was greatly profited by their en- 
 com*aging example. And when at last he resolved, 
 that he would, if possible, have the advantages of a 
 course of collegiate study, he found the brothers all 
 ready to aid him, so far as their limited means would 
 allow. 
 
 No one of them could have written his early biog- 
 raphy so well as Thomas, who survived him ten years. 
 
94 MEMOIR OF 
 
 It was afterwards thought desirable to obtain in a 
 definite and permanent form, some of the personal 
 recollections, which the remaining brothers might 
 have, concerning the childhood and youth of him, who 
 was the first to be gathered to his fathers, — and of 
 whom some memorial might be attempted at a future 
 day. These were providentially secured. 
 
 " Hollis, April 20, 1832. 
 My dear Kinsman, — 
 
 * * * * I well remember the day of his birth : and 
 that when about six or eight months old, he had a 
 long and very dangerous sickness, so that for a num- 
 ber of weeks there appeared very little prospect of his 
 recovery. One Sabbath his eyes were closed for dead. 
 For a long time, perhaps two or three years, he con- 
 tinued feeble. After this he became healthy, and as 
 robust generally as any one of the family ; until after 
 he entered college, and injured his health by too close 
 application to study. 
 
 At the commencement of the revolutionary war, 
 brother Noah, being in his seventeenth year, enlisted, 
 and was gone a soldier until February. I was four- 
 teen, the 30th of April, 1775. Brother Thomas was 
 in his seventh, and brother Samuel in his fifth year. 
 About the first of December, my father went to Cam- 
 bridge, commandeT of a company, for two months. 
 At the time, my mother had her second William, who 
 was about two months old. He was soon taken sick, 
 and died Jan. 17. The maid who. lived in the family, 
 had the fever ; and my grandfather, who was very 
 much afflicted with the asthma and other complaints, 
 so that we were obliged to keep three fires constantly 
 by day, and much of the time two by night. My 
 brother Leonard was at this time living from home, 
 at his uncle Taylor's, in Ashby. We were so desti- 
 tute of fuel, that I well remember to have had the 
 oxen yoked, to get up some to last over night, when 
 the company marched from the door. — Thus I was 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 95 
 
 left with my two brothers, the one of seven, and the 
 other of five years old. I gave for their part to clean 
 the barn, and to cut and carry in the small wood for 
 the fires ; and they performed their part wonderfnlly. 
 
 The next July, [1770,] I went a soldier to Ticondcr- 
 oga, at the age of fifteen, and became so interc.'sted 
 and engaged in the cause of my country, that iriy 
 memory serves me but poorly respecting what I now 
 wish to call to mind, for several years, during which I 
 was a soldier a number of times. 
 
 In the autumn of 1782, I returned to Hollis from 
 Thornton, where I had been laboring'. Your father 
 came in company with me. I travelled from Plymouth 
 to Hollis, eighty miles, in two days. Your father came 
 on six miles, the afternoon before. I set out the next 
 morning. In perhaps twenty-five miles, I overtook 
 him, and proceeded on to Concord ; so that he travel- 
 led about thirty-six miles that day ! The next day, 
 he became some lame. Left him in Bedford, and sent 
 a lad and horse, the next morning, to meet him. This 
 was before he was twelve years old. 
 
 Perhaps his natural disposition and temper when 
 young, was more mild and amiable than that of any 
 other of the family. He was also very active, dili- 
 gent, and laborious. My father pretty early made up 
 his mind, to settle him at home; and perhaps he sel- 
 dom if ever met with a greater disappointment, than 
 when he found he must give up that idea. 
 
 He commenced school-keeping, at seventeen. He 
 taught the first winter, at Lyndeboro' ; and gave good 
 satisfaction ; and never failed of so doing in a school 
 ever after, to my knowledge. — He was, I think, in his 
 twenty-first year, when he began to prepare for col- 
 lege. A part of the time, he was at New Ipswich, 
 and had Mr. Hubbard, [afterwards Prof. Hubbard, of 
 Dartmouth College,] for his instructor. I believe also 
 that a part of the time, he was with Dr. Wood, of 
 Boscawen. 
 
 He must have been very industrious and frugal, to 
 have succeeded as well as he did, with the means he 
 had. My father's circumstances were so straitened, 
 
96 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that the sum of $88 80,* was all that he possessed to 
 do for each of his children ; and if in any case he 
 helped one more, the one so favored was to refund 
 the same. As executor of my father's will, a note 
 came into my hands, signed by Samuel Worcester, on 
 which were many endorsements, and some balance 
 still due. From all circumstances which have come 
 to my knowledge, I believe it was my father's aim, 
 to be as particular with him, as with his other chil- 
 dren. 
 
 After my return to Hollis, in 1795, having been ab- 
 sent ten years, I was conversing with a man, who 
 had worked in my father's shop, and labored on the 
 farm abundantly with my younger brothers. Refer- 
 ring to their dispositions, he spoke in high terms of 
 Samuel. ' He seldom or never saw him angry, or in 
 a fret, let what would happen. If they ever got into 
 a difficulty with a team, or in any other way, he was 
 sure to be mild and good natured, and have some 
 humorous turn, appearing always disposed to make 
 the best of it.' And from my own observation, I be- 
 lieve this a fair representation of his character in his 
 youthful days. He was very pleasant, and somewhat 
 humorous, and well calculated to gain the good will 
 of his associates. While he followed laboring on the 
 farm, very few of his years were able to do more. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Yours, with much esteem, 
 
 Jesse Worcester." 
 
 The foregoing was enclosed in a letter to the eldest 
 brother. 
 
 " Brighton, April 25, 1832. 
 
 My dear Nephew, — . 
 
 * * * * I well recollect the dangerous sickness of 
 your father, in his infancy, which my brother Jesse has 
 mentioned. Among other maladies, he had alarming 
 fits ; to which I recollect the doctor applied the name 
 
 * X20. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 97 
 
 of "black fits." I think it was not less than twenty 
 days, tliat his death was daily expected. His recovery 
 seemed to astonish those, wlio had witn(;ssed his con- 
 dition, like a species of resurrection from the dead. 
 
 In supposing that yovir father had a better natural 
 temper than any of the other children, I think Jesse is 
 correct. AH the Worcesters, however, that I have 
 known, possessed passions which were easily excited. 
 It was so with your father; but less so than with many 
 others ; or the difterence w^as occasioned by his ac- 
 quiring early better self-government, than others pos- 
 sessed. 
 
 Brother J. has mentioned, that your father lived for 
 a time with me, at Thornton, and returned to HoUis, 
 prior to the close of his twelfth year. I think it was 
 about fifteen months, that he resided in my family. I 
 had more opportunity to know him then, than in 
 any other year of his life. He was then amiable and 
 intelligent ; and though he was fond of amusement, he 
 was good to labor, and apt for learning. I then taught 
 a school in the winter season. He attended the school, 
 and was one of my best scholars, and probably the 
 very best of his age. 
 
 After I was settled in the ministry, my brothers 
 Thomas and Samuel came together to Thornton, to 
 visit me. I think it was the winter, after Samuel 
 was seventeen years of age. There was at that time 
 unusual attention to religion in Thornton. It had 
 recently been so at Hollis. The brothers appeared 
 to be prepared to rejoice in what was going on in 
 Thornton. If I mistake not, Thomas had then recent- 
 ly joined the Church in Hollis. Samuel was not with- 
 out hope, that he had experienced something of spiri- 
 tual life ; but his fears were so great, that he neglected 
 to make a public profession of religion, and it was 
 protracted to the time of his joining the Church at 
 Salisbury. 
 
 Unless your father has left some information in 
 writing, I doubt whether any one can inform you re- 
 specting his particular views or hopes, in seeking a 
 college education. At that period of his life, I thought 
 9 
 
98 MEMOIR OF 
 
 him to be of a reserved turn, as to communicating to 
 others his feelings, his hopes, his purposes, or his pros- 
 pects. My father, and brother Jesse, thought of him 
 as I did, in this particular. 
 
 In his junior year at college, he visited me, and I 
 think he then gave me to understand, that he had not 
 resolved on what profession he should adopt ; and that 
 he thought it best, in general, for students not to de- 
 cide that question, until they have nearly completed 
 their studies. * * * * Your affectionate Uncle, 
 
 N. Worcester." 
 
 To these letters may be added some reminiscences 
 
 of the Rev. Stephen Farley, chiefly communicated 
 
 under date, 
 
 « Hampton Falls, Feb. 5, 1839. 
 Dear Sir, — 
 
 * * * * Shall I give you a sketch of what was called 
 up from the misty deep of reminiscence ? — There was 
 before me the old, unpainted, unclapboarded school- 
 house, in Hollis, which disappeared forty-five years 
 ago, and gave place to the new one, now in its turn 
 grown old. In its interior, on the right, were four 
 benches for the young misses ; on the left, five, for 
 young masters ; the fifth, projecting forward, and much 
 broader than the others, occupied by the large masters. 
 There sat your father, clad in gray home-made broad- 
 cloth, — generally using his pen. A number of Bibles 
 were lying on the bench, which were nearly the only 
 books then used in school, both for reading and spell- 
 ins:. The first class read in the historical books of the 
 Old Testament, and the other in the New. There 
 were but two classes in the school. The words put 
 out to be spelled, were selected at random from all 
 parts of the Bible. 
 
 This I think was in 1787, or 1788. Your father was 
 then seventeen years old ; ten years in advance of my 
 own age. He, however, soon left the school, but your 
 mother continued in it, eight or ten years after, and as 
 long as I did myself. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 99 
 
 And I romember your father, not only whon in 
 school, but also when, on the cold winter niornino^s, 
 with axe under arm, in order to secure his fingers from 
 the frost, he hastened to the wood-lot, for the purpose 
 of felling trees, which, during the course of the d;iy, 
 were brought home by the teams. 
 
 Aliout the time he left school, your father and mine, 
 I remember, were employed in repairing a long line of 
 undivided fence, on ' Mount Ratmatat,' so called ; and 
 your uncle Thomas, coming to them, said, — ' Why, 
 you have not gone ahead far ! ' To which your father 
 replied, — ''Ah ! — ice have had something^ to do : ' mean- 
 ing that the fence which they had gone over, needed 
 to have much done to it. 
 
 At another time, near this period, your father and 
 mine were ploughing, in my father's ground, having 
 united their teams, for the purpose of turning over a 
 plat of sward-land ; and intending to finish the piece, 
 some one who came along, remarked, ' You will hard- 
 ly finish it, this afternoon.' Your father promptly re- 
 plied : * Tliere will be a moon vp, after the sun has 
 gone doivn ! ' 
 
 I mention these little incidents, in proof that your 
 father in his youth, notwithstanding his remarkable 
 characteristic sedateness and sobriety, was ready, as 
 occasion offered, to make spirited and sprightly ob- 
 servations. But the most interesting reminiscence of 
 him, belonging to this period, is that of his figure, yet 
 distinctly retained in my mind, as he once sat in the 
 family gallery pew, on the Sabbath, in the old meet- 
 ing-house, with his face fixed, bending forward, his 
 eyes intent upon the minister, eagerly drinking in every 
 sentiment, that, by the closest attention, could be 
 gathered from the feeble and fi'agmentary sentences 
 of our ffood old minister. 
 
 Mr. Emerson had been a Whitefieldian Boanerges. 
 But he was now fairly, and rather prematurely, super- 
 annuated. The fires, which once kindled and burned 
 so vividly, were now, (except a few occasional corus- 
 cations which told what he once was,) asleep in the 
 ashes of decrepitude and second childhood. With the 
 
100 MEMOIR OP 
 
 decay of an efficient ministry, religion itself, except iii 
 its habits and C2istoms^ had also decayed. There was 
 no manifest and lively piety among the young people. 
 They all attended meeting. They did it from habit. 
 But none of them made profession of religion, except 
 your uncle Thomas. And your father was near doing 
 it, at the same time. He did not, however, join the 
 Church, until the winter of 1793 or 1794, and then at 
 Salisbury, the Church of which your uncle T. was 
 pastor. It was not, therefore, because religion was 
 fashionable, or because he had companions to encour- 
 age him in it, that your father was one of the few, who 
 * feared the Lord from their youth.' 
 
 I remember, that he played the fife, on military days ; 
 and especially on one very memorable and saddening 
 occasion. It was the funeral of Lieut. Ralph Emer- 
 son, who was instantly killed on the parade, by the 
 accidental discharge of a cannon, in Oct. 1790. He 
 was buried * under arms,' with military honors ; S. 
 Worcester leading the music of the fife, and A. Love- 
 joy, that of the drum. The music was often spoken of 
 afterwards, as being very expressively mournful, and in 
 perfect keeping with the awful solemnity of the scene. 
 
 I remember a little incident in respect to that un- 
 fortunate cannon, some two years afterwards. I saw 
 your father, then a student, try his strength^ at Ufliyig 
 the heavy end of it. Not seeming to be much in earn- 
 est, at the first attempt, keeping his cane in his hand, 
 the cannon did not rise. But, putting his cane under 
 his left arm, he made a serious effort, and succeeded in 
 it. — I mention this, also, as indicative, that, notwith- 
 standing his habitual gravity, which some thought be- 
 came an infirmity to him, he did not feel^ or affect a 
 dignity^ which kept him aloof from youthful pleasan- 
 tries and emulations. 
 
 He must, I think, have kept school, in the winters of 
 1788, and 1789 ; but I remember nothing. In 1790, 
 he kept the school at the North Corner. He boarded 
 at home, and consequently must have walked, night 
 and morning, the distance of two miles. I remember 
 meeting him, as we, each, were coming and going to 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 101 
 
 school ; he to teach and I to learn. — Mr. Adams kept 
 the Centre school. He introduced dialogue-speaking, 
 for the first time, into Hollis. Your father took a 
 part in this thing, and figured well in Beverly and 
 Myrtle, and Gen. Walsingham. An exhil)ition at the 
 close of the school went ofl* so well, that the larger 
 scholars proceeded on in the same line, got up an ex- 
 hibition among themselves, on a much larger scale, and 
 with perfect success. In this, the master-spirit, both 
 as to management and action, was S. Worcester." 
 
 He had, at this period, and for a long time after- 
 wards, a very strong interest in the drama. Whatever 
 served to give him a knowledge of human character, 
 whether in the inventions of fiction or the narratives of 
 fact, commanded his very best powers of attention and 
 reflection. In his youth, he read much of history, and 
 became eminent for his knowledge of men and events 
 of former days. As a student of modern history, he 
 greatly excelled, throughout his public life. 
 
 It will have been noticed, that he first taught school, 
 at seventeen years of age. His qualifications were put 
 to a trying test ; particularly his power in discipline. 
 He was accustomed to open his school with prayer. 
 One of the oldest scholars treated the exercise with 
 great irreverence. The youthful teacher was grieved, 
 but not disconcerted. He immediately addressed the 
 young man, and the school, in such a mode of appeal, 
 as was most unexpected and decisive. An eye-wit- 
 ness is said to have been at once struck with the 
 thought, that he was destined to become no ordinary 
 man. 
 
 When he first taught in his native town, a scholar, 
 who had been for some years in the same school with 
 himself, but had been notorious for idleness and mis- 
 chief, and was hardly able to read, very early seized 
 9* 
 
102 MEMOIR OF 
 
 an opportunity to show his contempt. He was older 
 than his teacher. Yielding to a request to remain af- 
 ter the rest were dismissed, but with no very favorable 
 feelings or honorable purposes, he was most kindly 
 exhorted to consider his neglect of study, his insubor- 
 dination, the importance of improving his present 
 means of instruction, and of recovering the lost respect 
 of his associates. The tears flowed freely, and as a 
 result he made as good proficiency, and was as exem- 
 plary, as any one belonging to the school. Dr. Wor- 
 cester related the anecdote to a friend, some years af- 
 terwards, as if the remembrance of it was peculiarly 
 grateful to his feelings. 
 
 Although he prayed in his school, and had been ac- 
 customed to pray at the domestic altar, in the ab- 
 sence and in the presence of his father, it was not be- 
 cause he professed, or thought himself to be, a Chris- 
 tian. He joined a society of young men in the town, 
 which was designed to promote intellectual and moral 
 improvement. The meetings were held on Sabbath 
 evenings ; and as the rule was, he in his turn con- 
 ducted the devotional service. This he did, as did 
 others, who were not members of the Chm'ch, nor re- 
 putedly pious. 
 
 The " unusual attention to religion " of which men- 
 tion has been made, occurred in 1786, the year pre- 
 vious to his first experiment in teaching. The Church 
 in his native town, being much quickened, he and his 
 brother Thomas were both deeply affected. Leonard 
 also, at Worcester, was at the same time earnestly 
 seeking the Lord. It was a period of '•'' awakening''^ 
 in a large number of the Churches, which was doubt- 
 less connected with the increase of earnest prayer 
 among the people of God, in those years of political 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 103 
 
 and financial embarrassmont, and general distress, be- 
 tween the IVace of 1783, and the adoption of the Fed- 
 eral Constitution, in 1788. 
 
 Under date of Lord's day. May 28, 1786, Miss Ly- 
 dia Worcester wrote in her Diary : — 
 
 " I was still confined from public worship by weak- 
 ness, but enjoyed some freedom in reading, and in 
 meditating upon divine things. Was much rejoiced 
 to hear of tlic icondcrfid revival of religion in many 
 places* I longed and prayed, that the heavenly shower 
 might reach this sinful town, and seemed to have more 
 hopes that it would. The Lord grant, that it may 
 spread throughout the land, and that all the people 
 may praise the name of the Lord." 
 
 There were hundreds of revivals, and in some 
 Churches a succession, at short intervals. But partly 
 because there was no such wonderful operation as in 
 the Great Awakening, and partly, if not chiefly, be- 
 cause there were no magazines or other publications, 
 to diffuse religious intelligence, — the records or memo- 
 rials of numerous and delightful visitations of the 
 Spirit, were private rather than public, and known 
 only to a very limited extent. * 
 
 The New York Theological Magazine began, July, 
 1795. It was devoted chiefly to doctrinal discussions, 
 but contained some religious and missionary intelli- 
 gence. But it was not until the last year of the cen- 
 tury^ that any American periodical existed, which was 
 designed especially to convey such intelligence. The 
 Neiv York Missionary Magazine and Repository of 
 Religious Intelligence^ began Jan. 1, 1800. In the " In- 
 troduction," it is said, — " Many serious persons have 
 
 * This statement will surprise those who have so often heard, that there 
 were few or no revivals, from the period of 17-10-3, until about 1101. 
 
104 MEMOIR OF 
 
 lately expressed a regret, that no publication, devoted to 
 the conveyance of religious intelligence, existed in the 
 United States. While the presses throughout the 
 Union are teeming with literary and political journals, 
 they have lamented that no convenient medium is 
 found, for conveying to the public information relative 
 to the state of the Church, and the prosperity or de- 
 cline of that kingdom, whose interests they esteem 
 more important than those of any temporal sovereign- 
 ty. This deficiency is the more to be regretted, as, 
 from the scattered state of our American churches, 
 over an immense territory, communication between 
 them is rendered difficult, if not next to impracticable, 
 by any ordinary means. Hence it is, that the state of 
 religion in one part of our country is rarely known to 
 those residing' in another. The most illustrious triumphs 
 of grace are heard of only in a small circle : and some 
 of the most interesting articles of information, respect- 
 ing the displays of Divine power in the conversion of 
 sinners, and the promulgation of evangelical truth 
 among the heathen in our oivn land, have been alto- 
 gether unknown among ourselves, until they reached 
 us through the medium of foreign publications." — 
 What an amazing contrast to oiu* present means of 
 receiving and diffusing intelligence! 
 
 The pious sister, whose Diary has just been quoted, 
 soon had the delight of recording the different stages 
 of an interesting work of God in the Church at Hollis, 
 and in which her father's family very specially par- 
 ticipated. Sept. 25, 1786, she \\Tote to her brother 
 Leonard : — 
 
 * * * * u I have the happiness, dear brother, to in- 
 form you, that through the free, unmerited mercy of 
 an all-gracious God, we have a prospect of a happy 
 
SAMUEL ^VORCESTER. . 105 
 
 reformation in this placo. It b('gan to increase soon 
 after you was here. At first, it was })nt small ; but it 
 has b(MMi fi^radually increasing, until I believe there are 
 in this town more than a hundred people, chiefly young 
 persons, under the convicting influence of the Holy 
 Spirit. We have often two or three lectures in a 
 week, and have had seven or eight different ministers 
 to preach here, this summer. People in general seem 
 to be very attentive to the preached word, and God 
 seems wonderfully to assist and strengthen our rever- 
 end pastor, in the abundant labors to which he is 
 called. Methinks you are anxious to know whether 
 any of your dear friends have been convinced of their 
 lost estate, in this day of gi'ace and mercy. Blessed 
 be God, I have the satisfaction to inform you, that 
 our dear brothers Thomas and Samuel have both met 
 with a savins; cliansre, Thomas was several months in 
 great darkness, but has seemed to be very comfortable, 
 for some days past, and hopes that God has set his 
 soul at liberty. Samuel is yet in darkness in respect 
 to his state ; but I can't but hope he has really a prin- 
 ciple of grace implanted in him. Although he has not 
 yet the evidence of it to himself, he appears to be very 
 humble and submissive, and greatly afraid of deceiv- 
 ing himself And now, dear brother, are you not ready 
 to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, for his goodness, 
 and for his wonderful works to the children of men ! ' " 
 
 m * * * 
 
 In answer to this letter, that dear brother responded, 
 "rejoicing in hope," that he had recently passed out 
 of great darkness into the " light of life." * 
 
 October 25th, the sister again wrote him, and in 
 such terms of satisfaction and gratitude, as the occa- 
 sion would naturally lead her to use. 
 
 * He joined the First Church, in Worcester, in the autumn of 17S6. He 
 was in his twentieth year ; was the youngest member, and by ten years the 
 youngePt 7nale member. In a very few years, he was made one of the dea- 
 cons of the Church. 
 
106 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " The reformation seems," she says, " to increase 
 gradually. There are but few yet brought into the light. 
 Several are almost in despair, — a distressing state to 
 be in, as all know, who have had the experience of it. 
 Thomas, I expect, will make a profession next Lord's 
 day. Samuel still remains doubtful in his mind, hav- 
 ing at times gi'cat fears in regard to his state. God 
 grant, we may none of us deceive ourselves with a 
 false hope ; but that we may all be built upon the 
 Rock Christ, that sure foundation which will never 
 fail ! " * 
 
 Thirty-five years after these interesting events, Rev. 
 Thomas Worcester thus answered some inquiries of 
 Rev. E. Cornelius : — 
 
 " Salisbury, K K, July 13, 1821. 
 
 Reverend and dear Sir, — 
 
 IVIy brother of Peacham has informed me, that you 
 desired that I would send you some information in 
 respect to the religious experience of my dear deceased 
 brother Samuel ; and the time when he united with 
 the Church in this place. In the year 1786, when my 
 beloved brother was in the sixteenth year of his age, 
 there was some revival of religion in Hollis, the place 
 of our nativity, in which, as we have ever since hoped, 
 my brother with myself had a saving share. As to the 
 awakening, conviction, and conversion of my brother, I 
 remember nothing extraordinary. It was apparently, 
 if I may so say, by ' a still small voice,' that he was 
 led to see, that he was entirely without the love of 
 God in him ; to feel his dependence upon the free grace 
 of God, for regeneration, pardon, and eternal life ; and 
 brought to receive Christ Jesus the Lord as his chosen 
 and beloved Savior. He had been, I think, under se- 
 rious and gradually increasing religious impressions, 
 
 * From her Diary, it also appears, that at the close of the " lectures," it 
 was common for all to remain, who desired special and personal instruction. 
 She mentions, Sept. 9th, that, " after- meeting, above fifty persons met to- 
 gether, under concern for their precious souls." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 107 
 
 as much as five or six months, bofore lie dared to liope, 
 that a saviii«jf work was wrought in liim. As near as 
 I can remember, the first time that he expressed tome 
 or to any one, any liope that he had passed from death 
 unto life, was a little after I had united wi1h the 
 Church in Hollis, which was on the 12th of Novem- 
 ber, 1786, when my brother had entered a few days 
 into his seventeenth year. He had, however, so much 
 fear attending his hope, that he was prevented from 
 making a public profession of religion, for several 
 years." 
 
 When the writer of the foregoing united himself 
 with the Church, at Hollis, in imitation of his godly 
 fore-fathers, it would have added greatly to his inter- 
 est in the solemn transaction, if his younger brother 
 could have been associated with him. But none could 
 have given praise with a purer or more fervent mel- 
 ody of heart, than the devout sister who had so loved 
 them both. Hundreds of times had they heard, and 
 often had accompanied w4th their own voices, her 
 favorite strain : — 
 
 " There's nothing round this spacious earth, 
 That suits my large desire ; 
 To boundless joy and solid mirth, 
 My nobler thoughts aspire. 
 ***** 
 
 Had I the pinions of a dove, 
 
 I'd climb the heavenly road ; 
 There sits my Savior dressed in love, 
 
 And there my smiling God." 
 
 These, with the other stanzas of the hymn, (Watts, 
 Hy. 10. B. XL) were sung at her request by a large cir- 
 cle around her dying bed, in January, 1789. And her 
 own voice, clear and powerful almost as ever, sounded 
 forth every line, as if the triumphant requiem of her 
 departing spirit. 
 
 The brother, who had loved her in return with an 
 
108 MEMOIR OF 
 
 affection, which is seldom exceeded, was now in his 
 nineteenth year. It was with emotions miwonted and 
 unutterable, that he listened to her farewell charge, 
 and witnessed the blessedness of such a dying Chris- 
 tian. For a long time afterwards, he often spoke of 
 the death of his beloved sister Lydia ; and as if he had 
 never until then had any conception of the unspeak- 
 able value of an interest in Christ. All his views of 
 the attractions of the cross, and " the beauty " to be 
 " admired " in the Savior of sinners, were illuminated 
 as by a transfigm-ation. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Desire of professional life. Resistance by his father. A student at New 
 Ipswich Academy. Oration before the Demosthenian Society, 11th of 
 October, 1791. Enters Dartmouth College. Feelings towards the Facul- 
 ty. Surrounding influences. Joins the Church of Salisbury, N. H. Gen- 
 eral spirit of character. A martial element. Pecuniary pressure. High 
 standard of scholarship. Tokensof esteem and respect. Correspondence. 
 Fourth of July Oration, 1795. Choice of profession. Valedictory, at 
 Hanover. 
 
 " Every one shall consider it the main end of his life and studies, to know 
 God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life." — The first law in the college 
 code of Harvard, respecting the students., in 1642. 
 
 " EXCELSIOR." 
 
 Dr. Worcester's four elder brothers were so settled 
 in life, or had so decided upon their calling, before 
 1790, that the father naturally looked to him as the 
 son, who should be his partner and successor at the 
 homestead. He was well aware of his fatlier's plans. 
 His brother Noah had yielded to the solicitations of 
 the people of Thornton, and, having obtained license 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 109 
 
 to preach, was ably sustaining himself as their pastor. 
 His brotlier Thomas was encouraged to follow his ex- 
 ample, in entering the ministry. So intimate were his 
 relations to the latter, that it would have been very 
 strange, if he had not inquired of himself, whether he 
 too must not go forward in the same direction, unless 
 the great demand for jurists and attorneys had led his 
 thoughts to the bar, rather than the pulpit. 
 
 The duty of preparing himself for a profession was 
 not a new subject, when his attention was called to it, 
 by the late Prof. Adams, of Dartmouth College, who 
 was then a student, and boarded in his father's family, 
 while teaching school, in Hollis. This gentleman had 
 discovered his superior talents. Beside other consider- 
 ations, a powerful motive was addressed to him from 
 the encouragements, which, under the new Constitu- 
 tion, were afforded by the prospects of the country, to 
 all young men of good abilities and character, who 
 might be disposed to look for eminence at the bar, or 
 distinguished usefulness in the ministry. His teach- 
 er's arguments and his own inclinations were alike 
 irresistible ; and the purpose was formed, to leave the 
 pursuits of husbandry for some one of the professions, 
 if life and health should be spared. Much as he had 
 excelled, in labors upon the farm, it is very true, as he 
 said of himself, some years afterwards : — '^ I never was 
 made for a farmer.''^ — When he had become the pastor 
 of a country parish, his domestic habits indicated not 
 the least relish for agricultural toils or recreations. 
 
 When the father became apprized of his son's de- 
 terminations, he could not speak peaceably upon the 
 subject. All his favorite plans were to be crushed, — 
 if those determinations should be carried into effect. 
 His son was so athletic, and so faithful, that the pecu* 
 10 
 
110 MEMOIR OF 
 
 niary loss of his services was of no small account in 
 the estimation of the parent, who had many anxious 
 cares in his straitened circumstances, and who was 
 not seldom assailed by the legion of hypochondria. — 
 " Why," said he, " Samuel is worth more to me, than 
 any two men^ that I could hire I " The statement no 
 one could have controverted, who knew of the son, 
 that he could accomplish a good day's work at mow- 
 ing, before breakfast. 
 
 But the father had a still gi'eater loss in anticipa- 
 tion, in being deprived of his son's dutiful attentions 
 and agreeable society. This undoubtedly "was the 
 reason of all others, for his resistance of his son's wish- 
 es. So morbid were his feelings, that he could not pa- 
 tiently endure the sight of a book in the son's hands, 
 when resting an hour at noon, from the labors of the 
 field ; and the son was obliged to indulge his ardent 
 desire of intellectual progi'ess, by stealing away to a 
 neighboring shop, where he privately kept some of his 
 books. And when at last, it was known to be a fixed 
 point witli him, to leave the farm, at the age of twen- 
 ty-one, he could not earlier, — the father's morbid ex- 
 citement could only be allayed, by a pledge of his son 
 Jesse, to make arrangements for a disposal of his farm 
 in Bedford, and ere long assume the filial cares and 
 responsibilities, which had been designed for his 
 brother Samuel. How little was then ima^jjlned of the 
 future ! 
 
 The legal rights of the father were strictly respected. 
 The son gave his note of hand, in consideration of his 
 absence of six months before his minority expired. 
 To reconcile his father still more to the disappoint- 
 ment, he came home in the season of haying and 
 harvest. With his own hands, he is said to have cut 
 forty tons of hay, — in that summer of 1791 1 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. Ill 
 
 When he left home to become a member of New 
 Ipswich Academy, he was hardly able to appear in 
 decent apparel. For the payment of his board, and 
 for other expenses, he was obliged to trust in the favor 
 of Providence, towards his purposes and eflbrts. He 
 had determined upon a profession, but not as yet upon 
 a collegiate course. It was happy for him, that he was 
 led to the dwelling of Deacon Isaac Appleton.* 
 
 Writing to this gentleman, from Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, April 26th, 1795, he says : — 
 
 "Believe me. Sir, I have not forgotten yourself or 
 your family. I still cherish a grateful remembrance 
 of the kindness I have experienced at your hands and 
 at your house. I especially remember the solicitude 
 you manifested for my success in the pursuit of learn- 
 ing, and the interest you appeared to take in whatever 
 concerned my welfare and my usefulness in life. It 
 was under your hospitable roof, that I iriade my first 
 essays in my literar}^ career. It was then that I first 
 came to a determination of prosecuting a classical 
 education. — I shall never forget the place ; it is dear as 
 that of my nativity. I had almost said, it is the birth" 
 place of my mind.^^ 
 
 Deacon Appleton soon became very fond of him, 
 and used to have much conversation with him on va- 
 rious subjects, — among others, the peculiar points in 
 the theological speculations of Hopkins. It is remem- 
 bered by those who heard them converse, that they ap- 
 peared to think alike in theology, and to concur, in 
 general, in the views of the Newport divine. JVIr. Ap- 
 pleton had three sons, who had obtained, or were ex- 
 pecting a liberal education. And he was intensely 
 
 * Father of Samuel and Nathan Appleton, of Boston, so well known for 
 their success in business and their muaiiicence. He died at N. Ipswich, 
 Feb. 26, 1806, aged 74. 
 
112 MEMOIR OP 
 
 desirous, that his young friend should also fit himself 
 for college. He therefore reasoned with him, in regard 
 to ai] the difficulties, which he might have to over- 
 come, and encouraged him to expect ultimate and en- 
 tire success. Ever afterwards he watched his pro- 
 gress, and to the close of life admired his intellectual 
 and religious character. — The same opinions and feel- 
 ings respecting his industrious pupil, were cherished 
 by his accomplished teacher, John Hubbard, under 
 whose " able instruction New Ipswich Academy soon 
 rose to distinction, and became the favorite of the 
 public." * 
 
 " His first recitation in Latin Grammar is said to have 
 astonished his preceptor ; exceeding as four to one the 
 prescribed task." He soon outstripped those, who 
 had commenced several months, and even years, before 
 him. The ingenuous witness of a classmate at the 
 academy, and afterwards at college, — intended only 
 for the eye of friends, and which has very unexpect- 
 edly been communicated, — is a vivid and very agree- 
 able sketch of him as a student, at the beginning of 
 his course : — 
 
 "Oc^. 7, 1791. Ever since [I left the class in which 
 I first studied,] I have had company, a young man by 
 the name of Samuel Worcester, son of Esq. W., of 
 HoUis. Though, to use your own language, I bave 
 shaped my course for the port of fame and spread my 
 sails open to the strongest gales of ambition, I made 
 haste as fast as possible ; yet it is not in my power to 
 leave him. He is about of my standing in Latin, but 
 has greatly the advantage of me in the cultivation of 
 his memory, and was much better read in English than 
 myself. We have read six books in Virgil, and seven 
 
 * Rev. Dr. Parish's Eulogy, ISlO.— Qttar. Reg. Am. Ed. vol. IV, p. 327. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 113 
 
 in Cicero's Orations. lie had not much the superior- 
 ity over me in Latin. We bej^an our Greek, about 
 the first of September. This was entirely new to me. 
 He had the advantage of being able to read it. He 
 has improved u})on this advantage, and fairly outdone 
 me. I am scarce able to get my recitations with 
 him. * * * 
 
 You ask me if I have formed any agreeable ac- 
 quaintances with the scholars, and find their company 
 improving. * * * ]\Jr. Worcester, whom I have 
 mentioned, commands as much of my love and esteem, 
 as any one ; perhaps because I have a better acquain- 
 tance with him. He is a person, I believe, possessed 
 of every manly talent, and capable of the sincerest 
 friendship ; and though like myself he is not so ready 
 an accountant as some, in the small change of Ches- 
 terfield, yet in my sense of the word, he is a gentleman, 
 because he regulates his life by the principles of virtue 
 and honor. He possesses a fine disposition and na- 
 tural good abilities, and is already well informed by 
 reading and observation." * 
 
 Some extracts from a manuscript oration, delivered 
 before the Demosthenian Society, Oct. 11th 1791, — 
 which was just at the close of his twenty-first year, 
 and when he had enjoyed but a few months of academic 
 instruction, — ^will indicate the proficiency which he 
 had made, while an agricultm-al youth. They reveal 
 
 * To S. H., a friend in Wrentham, Mass. The writer was afterwards • 
 known as David Everett, Esq. He married a daughter of Deacon Apple- 
 ton. He was a fine scholar in the languages; studied law; distinguished 
 himself as an editor, in Boston ; died in Marietta, Ohio, Dec. 21, 1S13. It 
 was he, and not the distinguished Edward Everett, who was the author of 
 th.e declamation, so familiar to all school-boys : 
 
 " You'd scarce expect one of my age 
 To speak in public on the stage," &c. 
 
 This was spoken the first time by E. H. Farrar, when seven years old, and 
 for whom it was expressly written. As now printed, " Massadmsettt " has 
 been substituted for " New Hampshire," and " any sister State " for " Fed- 
 eral Stale." 
 
 10* 
 
114 MEMOIR OF 
 
 also his sentiments and aspirations, in the prospect 
 which was then presented to his view. He was one 
 of the founders of the Society. 
 
 " The rise and fall of States and Empires, wars and 
 tragic scenes, together with the progress and happy 
 effects of literature, all which are but circumstances 
 relating to men, have, for many ages, furnished matter 
 for the stage among most nations. If these are sub- 
 jects of sufficient importance to command our atten- 
 tion ; if by these we are not only amused, but even 
 benefited and improved ; of what vast consequence, 
 then, must man's self be considered ? How interested 
 must we feel when that is our theme ? Indeed, if we 
 but cast our eyes around upon creation, and observe 
 the amazing disparity between man and every object 
 which sti'ikes our senses, to what a sublime height in 
 the scale of being must he arise in our view ! We see 
 the brutal tribes subjected to servitude, without the 
 prospect of emancipation. We see them enveloped in 
 ignorance, and destitute of means and abilities for im- 
 provement. Being, in a manner, devoid of faculties 
 for contemplation and reflection, we see them confined 
 to present circumstances for happiness. In fine, we 
 see their passions servile, their pursuits insipid, their 
 existence momentary, and their happiness to consist 
 in the privation of misery. Far otherwise is man. 
 This noble being we find every way calculated for 
 dignity and happiness. Even at first view, he sur- 
 passes the brute creation in form erect and graceful 
 mien. But how infinitely farther does he ti'anscend 
 it, in mental powers and intrinsic excellence I We 
 find implanted in his breast those social feelings, which 
 form the heart for friendship — friendship, from which 
 delicious fount we quaff" pleasures the most refined. 
 We find him endowed with faculties for contempla- 
 tion, a never failing source of intellectual happiness. 
 Fraught with ideas of greatness, he spurns subjection 
 and greatly owns no lord on earth. Not confined to 
 earthly toys, he aspkes to glory, honor, and immor- 
 taUty." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 115 
 
 He next describes the powers of the human mind, 
 and illustrates the "subserviency of all Nature to the 
 purposes of man." In this part of the " oration," he 
 draws some florid pictures, like that of " vernal May 
 clothing the mazy landscape with her verdant carpet, 
 and adorning the wide champaign with that roseate 
 pageantry, whose ambrosial fragrance diffused through 
 the air, exhilarates every sense." 
 
 After a strain of just and indignant comment upon 
 the apparent views of life, among various classes of 
 " earth-born souls, who aim at nothing higher in the 
 scale of being, than barely to exist, exempt from pain," 
 he proceeds : 
 
 *• Is it for these all nature keeps in motion ? Are 
 these the beings we deem the most dignified and 
 happy of created existence ? Shall we call these 7nen ? 
 Debasing thought ! No : let us rather denominate them 
 the refuse of being and dregs of human nature ; who, 
 though they may share the common bounties of na- 
 ture, can by no means lay claim to a participation in 
 the dignity nor even the refined happiness of man. 
 But it is he who feels the dignity of human nature 
 and the importance of his existence — who, far from 
 confining his ideas of happiness to the narrow sphere 
 of his own enjoyments, comprises in his extensive 
 wish the happiness of all sensitive existence, and con- 
 sequently deems it his highest felicity to administer 
 the balm of consolation to the dejected, to wipe the 
 falling tear from the eye of the disconsolate, to extend 
 the hand of charity to the indigent. In a word, to 
 contribute as much as in him lies to the happiness 
 of all, and to commiserate the distresses he cannot re- 
 lieve. He who to every virtue joins his ardent en- 
 deavors to excel, in whatever is truly great. This is 
 he whom we celebrate as the glory of this lower crea- 
 tion and noblest w^ork of Deity. At the representation 
 of such a character, whose bosom glows not with the 
 most sublime ideas ? Conscious of his high preroga- 
 
116 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tive, Avho would not glory in the appellation of man, 
 and who is not animated to the most spirited exertion 
 to maintain his dignity ? And we, my friends, for 
 such I esteem my fellow-students, especially of the 
 Dcmosthenian Society, what an animating prospect 
 have we before us ? We see ivhat we may he ; but npon 
 onr exertion depends ivhat we shall be. By this we 
 are to determine whether to be brutes or men ; wheth- 
 er to grovel as insects, or soar as Angels ; whether our 
 names shall be buried in oblivion, or rise, to immortal 
 fame. And since this is the time in which we are to 
 lay the foundation of our characters, have we not the 
 most cogent incentives to assiduity in our studies and 
 regularity in our conduct ? Have we not the voice of 
 our country, of reason, and of interest, to stimulate, 
 and fame, with her lam-el wi'eath, in connection with 
 most consummate intellectual happiness, to allure us ? 
 Whose mind is so servile, as not to behold with ad- 
 niiration the achievements of a Franklin and a Wash- 
 ington, who, by their noble efforts have ensured a two- 
 fold immortality ? But are we to esteem them as ob- 
 jects of admiration only ? Shall we look upon them, 
 as an order of beings diverse from man ? Ought we 
 not rather to view them, as characters for imitation, 
 and resolve to reach the goal, to which they have ar- 
 rived ? Yes ; as men we esteem them, and as men 
 we may emulate them. Their titles and posts of honor, 
 which are at best but appendages of greatness, are, 
 perhaps, what we are not to expect ; but to rival them 
 in the essential is our prerogative. True greatness 
 is not confined to local preferments ; but he who con- 
 ducts with propriety in the station which he sustains, 
 is truly a great and respectable character. To con- 
 firm this, witness the honorable gentlemen we are 
 happy to acknowledge, as the Trustees of this flour- 
 ishing Seminary and guardians of this Society, and 
 for whose favor we now return our warmest thanks. 
 Witness our worthy Instructor, at the mention of 
 whose name every student feels in his breast a thrill 
 of pleasure and the glow of gratitude. To these we 
 deem it no compliment to ascribe the appellation of 
 Man, in its strictest sense. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 117 
 
 Wc arc at present to consider onrselves as students, 
 and as such let us strive to excel. Let us, by the most 
 intense application, endeavor to investif^ate the mazes 
 of science, to dissij)ate the clouds of ignorance from 
 our minds, and to eradicate error and superstition from 
 the human breast. Let Benevolence and Emulation 
 influence, and let Reason and Virtue regulate our 
 conduct ; that we may procure respectability as a So- 
 ciety, honor and esteem as individuals, and as Immor- 
 tals, Glory and eternal Felicity." 
 
 This " oration " is the first of the author's composi- 
 tions, which he took pains to preserve. During the 
 winter following, he taught school. After this, he 
 studied a short time at Boscawen, under the guidance 
 of the late Rev. Dr. Wood, and entered Dartmouth 
 College, in the Summer Term of 1792 ; thus joining 
 the Class, which entered four months only after he be- 
 gan to prepare. " He flung a Greek Testament through 
 the College^ and in he wentj'' — said a college contem- 
 porary, in reference to his rapidity of progress. 
 
 For this progress, however, he paid a great price. 
 He impaired his health to such a degree, that entire 
 recovery seemed never to be practicable. In the sum- 
 mer of 1815, he was visited by a student of Phillips 
 Academy, Andover, — in whom, as a relative, and in 
 much poverty an aspirant for education, he took a 
 kind interest, as he did in all promising young men. 
 " He referred to his own broken health, and said, that 
 he laid the foundation of all his subsequent infirmi- 
 ties in the first year of his academical studies ; and 
 added with emphasis, I now charge you not to do it." 
 
 With such evidences of a mind capable of improve- 
 ment, it is not strange, that he should have received 
 much applause, and very flattering encouragements. 
 Still, such was his indigence, and such the inevitable 
 
118 MEMOIR OP 
 
 pecuniary embarrassments to be encountered, that his 
 determination to go forward was no doubtful presage 
 of his future eminence. 
 
 On his way to college, he visited his sister, Mrs. 
 Sarah W. Fox. She then resided in Hebron, N. H. 
 While conversing with her, he said : " O sister, you 
 do not know what trials I have had, in getting away 
 from home, for my education." His heart was full. 
 " And what," she inquired, — " will you do with your 
 education, when you have got it?" — " I think I shall 
 be a lawyer." " I hope," she replied, " that you will 
 do something better with your education than that .'" 
 
 It was not until the last weeks of his course at 
 Hanover, that he decided to devote himself to the 
 ministry of the Gospel. His reasonings upon the pro- 
 fession of law, as a means of usefulness to men of 
 high moral and religious character, were very similar 
 to those of his estimable friend Jeremiah Evarts, Esq.* 
 He felt, that pious lawyers were gi-eatly needed ; and 
 that some who were eminently qualified for the pulpit, 
 mififht render as efficient service to the interests of the 
 church, if they should consecrate their talents to an 
 honest, magnanimous, and christian exposition and 
 application of the principles of jurisprudence. The 
 image of the counsellor and the judge, which he and 
 Evarts had conceived as the model of their aspira- 
 tions, has had a most perfect embodiment of univer- 
 sally admired reality, in the late Hon. Samuel Hub- 
 bard. 
 
 A benevolent regard for the welfare of his fellow 
 men mingled with all his aims and hopes. But as 
 yet he had not the faintest glimpse of the exalted 
 work of philanthropy, for which he was now preparing, 
 
 * Life of Evarts, pp 37—13. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 119 
 
 according to tlic iiiisocii purposes of ilie " Father of 
 lights," who Jiath given to the Son of his love, the 
 heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for his possession. 
 
 It was quite an event in the family history, when 
 Dr. Worcester was numbered among the students of 
 Dartmouth College. He was the first of the known 
 descendants of the venerable minister of Salisbury, to 
 avail himself of the advantages of a liberal education. 
 The year before he entered, however, his eldest brother 
 received the honorary degree of A. M. from Dart- 
 mouth, and subsequently his brothers Thomas and 
 Leonard, were noticed in a similar manner, — the lat- 
 ter by the University of Vermont. 
 
 It is remembered by a college contemporary, that 
 he attracted some special attention, by the reddish 
 color of his home-made coat ; which also was not cut 
 in the newest fashion, or from the largest pattern. 
 There were those who derived no little amusement 
 from his inelegant costume ; but soon joined with 
 others, in the warmest expressions of respect and es- 
 teem. 
 
 When he entered college, the students were much 
 disposed to speak evil of the Faculty. It seemed to 
 him very singular, that members of the Junior and 
 Senior classes should visit Sophomores and Fresh- 
 men, and labor to instill into their minds prejudices of 
 hatred and contempt, for some of the permanent offi- 
 cers. They, however, had poor success wdth him. 
 He had been too carefully trained to subordination, 
 and had too much of readiness to appreciate substan- 
 tial merit and good intentions. It was not in him, as 
 is far too frequent with undergraduates, to lay aside 
 
120 MEMOIR OF 
 
 all the maxims and rules of good breeding and com- 
 mon-sense, for the sake of opposing or embarrassing 
 the regulations of the institution, which they have 
 promised to obey. He resolved to think as highly as 
 he honestly could, of his instructors and governors, 
 and to be controlled in his opinions, by no tradition- 
 ary gossip of the disaffected and disorganizing. " I 
 found when I came to recite to the different officers, 
 that those who were the most able and most faithful 
 in their departments, were the most unpopular ; and 
 that, really, those were the most worthy of respect, of 
 whom I had heard the most evil." * 
 
 As the College was established in the latter part of 
 1770, he may have had a pleasant thought of the co- 
 incidence between his own age and that of his Alma 
 Mater. And whether or not it was then apparent to 
 himself, he had reason to mark the guiding hand 
 which led him to Dartmouth. 
 
 The College had acquired a very respectable stand- 
 ing, as a literary institution. But it was its religious 
 history, which had secured for it an especial favor. 
 It could not boast of an antiquity or of resources, like 
 those of Harvard, or Yale ; but its origin and purpose 
 were as evangelical and philanthropic, and the cir- 
 cumstances of its establishment as memorable, as 
 those of any institution of our country.f 
 
 * Remarks made to his son, when about to join the Freshman Class, at 
 Harvard College, in 1S18. 
 
 t " The remote cause of its organization/' it has been intelligently said, 
 " lies back in the great revival of religion, which pervaded nearly the whole 
 of New England in the year 1740 and following : the spirit and principles of 
 a truly primitive and apostolic religion were awakened and called forth from 
 the grave, in which they had slept for nearly half a century, in an expansion 
 of views, a warmth of soul, a self-denial, a boldness and enterprise for the 
 glory of God, and the enlargement of Zion, both in the bosoms of individ- 
 uals and churches, such as had not been witnessed since the days of Eliot 
 and the Mayhews."— -Qwar. Reg. A. E. Soc. vol. Lx. p. 177. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 121 
 
 With a zeal like tliat of Brainrrd, Rev. Eleazer 
 Wheelock, of Lebanon, Conn., extended his labors to 
 the instruetion of Indian youth. His sehool, opened 
 in 1748, gi'ew into mueh notoriety. But the measures 
 which he took to increase its efficiency and useful- 
 ness, led to his removal with his scholars to Hanover, 
 where he located the " Moor School," and superin- 
 tended also the establishment of the College. The 
 journey through such a wilderness as was then en- 
 countered, and the toils and privations which were en- 
 dured by that worthy man, entitle him to a very hon- 
 orable place, among the true sons and noblest bene- 
 factors of New England. 
 
 He left his parish in Lebanon, in the spring of 1769, 
 and in the midst of a revival. It was with a genuine 
 revival spirit in his bosom, that he erected his log 
 cabin, for a president's house, and the rude buildings 
 for the accommodation of the students. God was 
 with him, and with them also. — The doors of the col- 
 lege were hardly opened, before the whole place was 
 visited with delightful influences of the " Spirit of 
 promise." In 1775, another season of revival was en- 
 joyed, both in the college and the village, — which 
 greatly animated his heart. 
 
 Again in 1781-2, tssro years after his decease, " a 
 revival occurred, of uncommon purity, extent, and 
 power, under the ministry of Prof. 'Ripley, who inher- 
 ited the spirit, and followed up the labors of President 
 Wheelock." " Under the labors of Prof. Smith," " the 
 year 1788 was signalized by another season of deep 
 and pervading religious interest in the college." 
 " From that period till the year 1805, neither the 
 records of the church, nor the recollection of indi- 
 viduals, furnish information of any special religious 
 influence." 
 
 11 
 
122 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Of the classmates of Dr. Worcester, no one has been 
 more known or respected, than the waiter of the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 " North Brookjield, Nov. 15, 1848. 
 
 Rev. and dear Sii', — 
 
 * * * Religion was a subject very mnch neglect- 
 ed in college, while I was a member, — no signs of a re- 
 vival at any time, — no apparent seriousness amongst 
 the great mass of college students ; I did not hear the 
 question asked by any one, — ' What must I do to be 
 saved ? ' Five or six years before I entered college, 
 there was much attention and many converts, as I was 
 informed, amongst the students and in the village. 
 But noio very little was said upon the subject of reli- 
 gion, in any way whatever. Occasionally in conver- 
 sation religious opinions would be advanced by indi- 
 viduals ; but not so generally as to give a theological 
 character to the college, so far as formed by the stu- 
 dents. So far, however, as the more serious and re- 
 spectable part of my class, and those three classes im- 
 mediately before me, were concerned, they were ortho- 
 dox. This too was the reputed character of the college, 
 derived from the earlier and the then present officers 
 of the institution. But I never heard them say anything 
 on Christian doctrine, not even Prof. Smith, who was 
 our constant preacher, from which I could readily learn 
 their distinguishing theological opinions. Doctrinal 
 discourses we rarely or never heard, unless from Dr. 
 Burton, or some stranger. According to my recollec- 
 tion, the w4iole moral and religious atmosphere was 
 unfavorable to grorwth in gi'ace, and religious impres- 
 sions on the unrenewed heart. 
 
 There might have been six in my class, who were 
 hopefully pious, not more than four, including your 
 father, that had professed religion, — and not more than 
 twenty in all the four classes, when I was freshman, — 
 twenty out of one hundred and fifty. 
 
 Your father was more advanced in years than most 
 of his class, and more mature in intellect, and better 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER, 123 
 
 acquainted with theology than any other member. 
 His examph', so far as I know, was worthy of imita- 
 tion, and did honor to himself as a man, and to the 
 cause of Christ, as a Christian. He was uniformly 
 and very much respected to the close of his college life. 
 He took no part in the follies of young students, and 
 never descended to any thing unmanly or improper, 
 while he was kind and complaisant, and took part 
 in the pleasantries of others. 
 
 I believe that he was absent every winter, teaching 
 school, which laid him under some disadvantage in re- 
 spect to his progress in some branches of study. He 
 was a general scholar, excelling in no particular 
 branch, except in history and English composition. As 
 a writer, he far excelled any in his class. His oration 
 on the fourth of July, 1794, or 1795, will evidently 
 show, that, at that day, he was no mean man. He 
 wielded a pen of no ordinary power, for an under- 
 graduate. If you have not that oration, I wish I could 
 tell you where you can find it. 
 
 Some of his class complained that he did not asso- 
 ciate with his clasmates, as others did, and imputed it 
 to something wrong in his feelings. Without the need 
 of any such imputation, I can account for his course, 
 by believing him when at college a closer student than 
 most ; and that his most intimate acquaintances, be- 
 fore he entered college, were members of the forward 
 classes ; and it was perfectly natural for him, to cher- 
 ish and strengthen those former friendships, which 
 were stronger and dearer than any he could form in 
 his class, where most had been strangers. 
 
 Your father had no small share of facetiousness, but 
 never indulged it to the wounding of others' feelings, or 
 the sacrifice of Christian character, courtesy, or propri- 
 ety of conduct. His intercourse with his friends was 
 always pleasant and edifying. When at a certain 
 time w^e were dining at a friend's house, with other 
 company, before the pie-plant was in much use, the 
 gentleman of the house inquired of a young man at 
 the table, whether he would take some rhubarb ? 
 ' Rhubarb, Sir I ' hesitating whether to accept it. Your 
 
124 MEMOIR OF 
 
 father very pleasantly said to his young friend, ' Don^t 
 be afraid of it, my brother, I think it will do you no 
 harm.' 
 
 After all I have put upon this sheet, I may not have 
 communicated anything to answer in any good meas- 
 ure, your expectations. 
 
 Yours, with much affection and respect, 
 
 Thomas Snell. 
 
 While there was no revival, at Hanover, when Dr. 
 Worcester was in college, the students were mostly 
 from families or social connections, which were favor- 
 able to right views of Christian doctrine and practice. 
 The danger from skeptical speculations or from " a 
 dead orthodoxy " was very much less, than in either of 
 the older New England colleges. And although there 
 was no remarkable season of religious awakening, for 
 seventeen years, after 1788, the classes of Dartmouth 
 furnished a very large proportion of the most evangel- 
 ical and most useful of the ministers of New England. 
 
 With his room-mate, — since honorably known as 
 Luther Jewett, M. D., who is still living at St. Johns- 
 bury, Vt., — Dr. Worcester was accustomed to unite in 
 morning and evening prayer, from the time he entered 
 college. In the autumn previous, his brother Thomas 
 had been settled at Salisbury, N. H. ; * and a revival 
 
 * Thomas, when nearly twenty-one years old, had gone to work upon the 
 farm of Noah, at Thornton, in the fall of 17&0. It was the desire of the lat- 
 ter to be wholly engaged in the ministry. But it soon appeared, that the 
 ministry had more attractions for this brother also; and with a preparation 
 quite imperfect, he was introduced to the pulpit. Considerable objection 
 was made by the Ordaining Council, on the ground, that be had not been 
 liberally educated. — Much time had been consumed. " Mr. Moderator," 
 said the father of Daniel Webster, — " we chose this young man, Sir, to be 
 our minister. AVe were satisfied with him. We felt competmt to choose for 
 ourselves. We invited this Council, Sir, to ordain him. But if you don't see 
 fit to do it, we shall call a Council that unll! " This speech, with a lisp in 
 the utterance, but with a determined emphasis, was as effective as aoy 
 speech, ever delivered by the son. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 125 
 
 commenced in that place, very near the time of his 
 going to Hanover. With this brother, he kept up a 
 constant correspondence, and received from him valu- 
 able aid, in things temporal and spiritual. 
 
 He went to board in his family, in the winter of 
 1792-3, while he taught a school. 
 
 " In view of the fruits of the revival," the summer 
 and autumn preceding, — said his brother, — "his heart 
 was warmed, and he obtained such additional evidence 
 of his vital union to Christ, and such a deep sense of 
 the great importance of the duty of making a profes- 
 sion of religion, that he could no longer refrain from 
 owning Christ before men. Accordingly, at a meeting 
 of a number of the members of this Church, at my 
 house, he offered himself for examination, in respect 
 to the reason of the hope which was in him. And 
 having fully satisfied the brethren, that he was a fit 
 subject to partake of the children's bread, he, with a 
 considerable number of others, joined with this Church 
 in solemn covenant, on the 18th day of February, 1793. 
 And to the great satisfaction of all the serious people, 
 his relation to this Church continued, until the time of 
 his ordination at Fitchburg.' 
 
 jj * 
 
 When he offered himself for admission to the 
 Church, he is said to have stated, that he now regard- 
 ed it his duty and privilege to own God by a profes- 
 sion of faith in Christ. He had not before felt that he 
 could take upon himself the vows of a covenant ; and 
 still considered himself unworthy of a place among the 
 professed people of God. But if they could consis- 
 tently receive him, he should endeavor, through the 
 
 * Letter to Rev. E. Cornelius, July 13, 1S21. 
 
 Seventeen others united with the Church, on that day. An eye-witness, 
 has recently described the scene, as having been peculiarly impressive, from 
 the appearance of the pastor's brother, upon whom many eyes were fixed 
 with the deepest interest. 
 
 11* 
 
126 MEMOIR OF 
 
 aid of divine grace, to live in some measure according 
 to the obligations, which he then proposed to recog- 
 nize. 
 
 " Our hearts were knit together," said the brother, 
 who joyfully welcomed him to the table of the Lord. 
 *' His countenance beamed with a heavenly expres- 
 sion. A beautiful temper was habitually manifested ; 
 and he daily unfolded more and more of meekness 
 and loveliness." 
 
 One of the earliest evidences of a greater degree of 
 decision of religious character, was the apparent pleas- 
 ure which he took, in visiting serious and devout peo- 
 ple, and in conversing with them upon personal piety. 
 When his brother found him thus interested, the cir- 
 cumstance was very gratefully marked. But so habit- 
 uated had he been to a reserved manner, concerning 
 his own religious feelings, that it evidently required a 
 great effort to open his heart, except to a very few, and 
 perhaps also to these. He had sustained a serious 
 loss, as have many others, from not taking more fre- 
 quent counsel of the kindred in Christ, in the fullest 
 interchange of the sentiments and emotions of a pure 
 and endearing fellowship. 
 
 He spent much of his time in vacations, at Salis- 
 bury. He loved to be in the society of his brother ; 
 and had great enjoyment of the scenery. From the 
 window of the chamber, which he commonly occupied, 
 he had one of the finest views of Kearsarge, the noble 
 summits of which are but a few miles distant ; while 
 towards every point of the horizon, the eye may be re- 
 galed with objects of beauty and grandeur, in the vari- 
 egated landscape. 
 
 In some one of his visits at Salisbury, an incident 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 127 
 
 occurred, which gives an example of what his brother 
 called " a beautiful temper." — There was a military 
 organization of a large part of the students, while he 
 was at college. He took a lively interest in this, as 
 did many others, who, in the disturbed state of Europe 
 and of the foreign relations of our young republic, 
 would not have been surprised, if the opposition to 
 Washington's conservative policy had precipitated 
 the nation, into all the hazards and horrors of a despe- 
 rate appeal to arms. For the benefit of his health, and 
 for improvement in the discipline of the corps, he oc- 
 casionally went into a hall, and exercised. This gave 
 offence to some members of the Church, who re- 
 proached him rather sharply. It is not unlikely, that 
 they accused him of ambition and self-consequence ; 
 not understanding his real feelings, or appreciating his 
 true motives. When he heard of what had been said, 
 he did not treat the complaint, as if the effect of nar- 
 row prejudice, or an ignorant scrupulosity. It was not 
 in his heart to say, " Why is my liberty judged of an- 
 other man's conscience ? " But he meekly observed, — 
 " If it is offensive to any one, I will do so no more." The 
 complainants were afterwards much ashamed ; while 
 others were no less gratified with the increasing evi- 
 dences, that he "loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sin- 
 cerity." 
 
 In the military corps, to which allusion has just been 
 made, he held one of the highest offices ; and as was 
 characteristic of him, he excelled in the station. In 
 common with mankind at large, and as the son of a 
 revolutionary patriot and soldier, he was quite enough 
 susceptible of the " magic poetry of war." Even in 
 his valedictory oration, he took a view of war, histori- 
 cally, which was much in accordance with the sympa- 
 thies of the age. Until the millennial period shall come, 
 
128 MEMOIR OF 
 
 wars, as he then contended, may be permitted, as judg- 
 ments upon guilty nations, and as powerful, if not in- 
 dispensable remedies for corrupt and diseased states of 
 society. The internal evidence is quite conclusive, 
 that he did not at all design to vindicate or eulogize 
 the spirit of ivar^ which was then so predominant and 
 universal ; — but rather to entertain the assembly with 
 some novel and original views, from extended histori- 
 cal surveys ; by which the philanthropist and the 
 Christian might measurably assuage their griefs, while 
 contemplating the atrocities and miseries, which fol- 
 low in the train of this direst " scourge of God." * 
 
 When near the close of the second war with Great 
 Britain, Dr. Noah Worcester published anonymously 
 his " Solemn Review of the Custom of War," — a pam- 
 phlet which has since been translated into all the great 
 languages of Europe, — there was no small difficulty in 
 finding a publisher.f But the writer had few acquain- 
 tances or friends, who then sympathized more cordial- 
 ly with him, in his pacific principles, than the brother, 
 whom less than twenty years before, he heard pro- 
 nounce the oration, on the " Advantages of War." 
 Yet, it may as well be added in this connection, that 
 brother was intensely interested in the war of England 
 and the allies against Napoleon, which he believed to 
 be most righteous and unavoidable. — " If there must 
 be fighting," he once said, after the news of a great 
 battle in Spain, " I should like to have Wellington 
 
 * And it should not be forgotten, that, fronn the earliest times of New 
 England, the troops raised for defence or for conquest, had never been al- 
 lowed such indulgences of immorality and impiety, as were so flagrantly 
 characteristic of European armies. Some of the most devout men were in 
 the ranks of the soldiery, while some of the best ministers olTiciated as chap- 
 lains. 
 
 i Published by Hilliard & Metcalf, Cambridge,— the week in which the 
 treaty of Ghent was signed. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 129 
 
 meet Napoleon^ each with about a Imiulrcd tlionsand 
 men; that we miglit see which would have the mas- 
 tery." His feelings may be inferred, after the intelli- 
 gence of the battle of Waterloo. 
 
 These references to the martial element in Dr. Wor- 
 cester, are all but essential to a right apprehension of 
 the constitutional ingredients of his character. United 
 with no common degrees of amiableness and benevo- 
 lence, there was a natural boldness, a decision of pur- 
 pose, a spontaneous majesty of feeling, as if he had 
 been born to exert a commanding influence over the 
 minds of his fellow men. While in college, and in 
 his subsequent career, those who were much older than 
 himself, always treated him, as if he had every claim 
 to the prerogatives of seniority. Yet he ever gained 
 the love of children ; and those who knew little or 
 nothing more of him, than from seeing him waUv in 
 the streets of Salem, retained a pleasing remembrance 
 of the " the mild dignity " of his person and manner. 
 
 He suffered greatly from his unwearied diligence, 
 and the too sudden transition from an active to a se- 
 dentary life. His studies were much interrupted also, 
 and embarrassed, by the necessity of teaching school 
 to defray his expenses. His father could aid him but 
 little. His brother at Salisbury was deeply sensible 
 from his own experience, of the desirableness of a col- 
 legiate education ; and was so situated, that he could 
 do more, than any of the brothers, in lightening the 
 burdens, which often weighed heavily upon his spirits. 
 He faltered not, but pressed onward in hope. In their 
 poverty, it should encourage young men of talent and 
 high aims to know, that, without any relief from char- 
 itable associations, he, like others, before and since, 
 was able to surmount all obstacles. 
 
130 MEMOIR OP 
 
 While " a general scholar," as remarked by Dr. 
 Siiell, he was thorough in whatever he studied. He 
 was no pretender of scholarship, — no fopling of belles- 
 lettres. What he appeared to know, he knew more 
 abundantly than he appeared ; as could easily be de- 
 monstrated, if any were disposed to urge him to a de- 
 fence of a sentiment or doctrine, which he had pro- 
 pounded as his own. 
 
 Having before him a conception of scholarship, 
 somewhat according to the Roman orator's idea of the 
 aliqnid immensum^ infimtumque^ he was incessant in his 
 intellectual toils. And at every step of his ascending 
 progress, he acquired fresh ardor for new exertion, 
 while his " Excelsior " was farther and farther above 
 him. 
 
 When speaking to a youth, who was just entering 
 college, and in whose welfare he had a father's own 
 interest, he freely remarked, — " When I joined my 
 class at Dartmouth, it was my determination to 
 take as high a standing, as I could, consistently with 
 the preservation of my health." It was one of his 
 avowed sentiments, at a later period, and it undoubt- 
 edly was deeply seated among his early practical prin- 
 ciples, that, while men should never act, as if to gain 
 honors were the object of desire and effort, yet no 
 one should shrink from honors, which are justly his 
 due. And as he considered it a sacred obligation, to 
 make the most of his talents and opportunities, he did 
 with his might, whatever he undertook. 
 
 He was one day recreating himself at his favorite 
 game of ball. His activity and dexterity were so con- 
 spicuous, that, a gentleman, who was a stranger in the 
 place, eagerly inquired of an elderly man among the 
 spectators, " Who is that ? " " That's Worcester. And 
 just as you see him now, you may see him in every- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 131 
 
 thing. He is always at the head; let him be where he 
 wilJ." 
 
 His regular class performances, as well as his more 
 elaborate special eilorts, were less remarkable for 
 sprightliness of fancy, brilliancy of imagination, or 
 ease and grace in the structure of sentences, than for 
 sound thought, severe logic, and sterling sense. His 
 forensic discussions of " hard questions," in metaphys- 
 ics, politics, and theology, were certainly well adapted 
 to make a strong impression of his intellect and his 
 industry. It is very likely, that, in immediate connec- 
 tion with some of these, it was said of him at college, 
 by some enthusiastic admirer of his powers, — " an em- 
 pire might rest upon the shoulders of Worcester^ with- 
 out tottering ! " 
 
 It is questionable, wiiether any under-graduate was 
 ever more respected, by fellow-students and officers. 
 His class once assembled for recitation ; but no officer 
 was in the chair. It w^as voted to proceed as usual ; 
 — a member of the class presiding. The incumbent 
 of the chair was adroitly displaced by some, who were 
 lovers of merriment, and was laid awkwardly upon the 
 floor, amidst shouts of the ridiculous. Another and 
 another shared a similar destiny. " I move," said one, 
 " that Worcester take the chair." The vote being de- 
 clared, he walked to the chair and took his seat. The 
 recitation proceeded in due order, as at other times. 
 
 It was in his senior year, or July 4, 1795, that he 
 delivered the oration, to which a reference has been 
 made by his classmate. Dr. Snell. It has been de- 
 scribed, as " an uncommon specimen of just thought 
 and splendid diction, in the Johnsonian style."* 
 
 * It was printed by request, under the title of—" An Oration Delivered, at 
 the Colleg-e Chapel, on the Aniversary of American Independence, July 
 Fourth, 179-5. By Samuel Worcester, Member of the Senior Class, in 
 Dartmouth University," &c. 
 
132 MEMOIR OF 
 
 How far this remark was correct, or what might 
 otherwise be said, may now be seen in the oration it- 
 self, which is here inserted, without abridgment or 
 alteration. It should be borne in mind, that it was 
 delivered, when the author had been only four years 
 and two months, from the labors of the farm ; and that 
 he had previously enjoyed no other literary advantages, 
 than those which have been described. As compared 
 with his oration, at New Ipswich Academy, Oct. 11th, 
 1791, it shows the progress of his mind, in various as- 
 pects ; while it is not without value, as a popular ex- 
 pression of pati'iotic sentiment and feeling, nineteen 
 years after the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 " The universe consists of a vast gi-adation of be- 
 ings. From the lowest instinct to the highest created 
 intelligence are intermediate orders, in a regularly 
 graduated succession ; each order constituting a distinct 
 link in the gi'eat chain, and altogether composing one 
 stupendous, systematic whole. At the head of this 
 gradation, on earth, is man. Raised by the fiat of 
 Omnipotence to pre-eminence in this lower creation, 
 he is invested with a dominion over ah the tribes of 
 animated nature. Earth, ah', and sea, with all through- 
 out this wide domain, lay their homage at his feet, and 
 move in subserviency to his purposes. The whole 
 race, however, occupies but a single grade in the gen- 
 eral scale ; and they drop from the all-creative Hand 
 into a state of perfect equality. Every individual, 
 upon whom the God of nature has impressed the stamp 
 of humanity, is entitled to all the rights and preroga- 
 tives of man. All, therefore, being naturally in a state 
 of equal freedom and independence, ought to regard 
 each other, as brethren, and fellow-sovereigns of the 
 world. 
 
 Yet such has been the prevalence of ambition, such 
 the lust of domination, that man has, time immemo- 
 rial, invaded the rights of man, assumed prerogatives, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 133 
 
 in defiance of the laws of nature, and arrof]^ated a sove- 
 reignty over his fellows; a sovereiij^nty, which belongs 
 only to the Sui)reme Governor of the nniver.se. Jh^nce 
 originated imaginary gradations among men, — hence 
 the distinetions, lords and vassals, masters and slaves; 
 hence the doctrine of servile submission of the many 
 to the few. 
 
 This assumption of power, this violent invasion of 
 imprescriptible rights, laid, at an early period, a found- 
 ation for all the revolutions, which, dm*ing the pro- 
 gress of humanity, have deranged the features of the 
 social and political world. Nature has made provision 
 against the violation of her laws, and the confusion of 
 her system, by inspiring her whole ofl'spring with in- 
 vincible abhori'ence of degi'adation from the rank, in 
 which she has placed them. Usurpers, therefore, have, 
 in all ages, met with opposition ; an opposition found- 
 ed on the eternal principles of right, and the feelings 
 of the human heart. Ever since the standard of tyran- 
 ny w^as erected on the plains of Shinar, the contest be- 
 tween right and prerogative has been agitated, with 
 unremitting violence and devastation. This contest 
 has involved the most tragical scenes, which have ever 
 been exhibited on the theatre of nations. By this, the 
 garden of natm-e has been converted into a field of 
 blood ! 
 
 To support their usurpation, and advance the cause 
 of arbitrary sway, the despots of the world have ex- 
 hausted all the resources of artifice, as well as force. 
 Too w^ell have they know^n, that science and the relig- 
 ion, which is delineated in the volumes of nature and 
 revelation, ever range themselves under the banners of 
 liberty ; and that ignorance and superstition furnish 
 the ground, upon which the foundations of tyranny are 
 consolidated. Hence they have employed every pos- 
 sible means to darken and terrify the w^orld. The 
 mysteries of paganism, the doctrines of the Koran, 
 and the thunders of the conclave, have been plied, as 
 engines of despotism, till mankind was reduced to a 
 state of meanness and servility, infinitely below the 
 dignity of the human character, and the way prepared 
 
 12 
 
134 MEMOIR OF 
 
 for the establishment of the tyrannica] system, in a 
 great part of the globe. 
 
 The grand contest between right and prerogative 
 commenced in the regions of the east. Asia, first in 
 everything, was first to embrace the shackles of slav- 
 ery. For ages, convulsed and distracted by perpetual 
 sti'uggles, she at length gave over the conti'oversy, and 
 bowed to the enormous weight of consolidated empire. 
 Africa was next prostrated at the foot of ambition, and 
 forced to resign her rights and liberties into the hands 
 of petty tyrants and usurpers. The fate of Europe 
 was stamped at the passage of the Rubicon. Here 
 we may fix a memorable epoch in the history of des- 
 potism. It is easy to see, that all the revolutions, 
 which took place, and all the scenes, which were acted 
 upon the European theatre, subsequent to the extinc- 
 tion of Roman liberty, compose one connected series 
 of events, which paved the way for the consolidation 
 of a refined tyrannical system, in that quarter of the 
 globe. This was a system, which, by cementing a co- 
 alition of despots, and artfully balancing their respec- 
 tive powers, embraced all the advantages, and rejected 
 all the disadvantages, of the unwieldy empires of Asia, 
 and the petty regencies of Africa. This system was 
 consummated in the last century, and continued un- 
 impaired, till a late period in the present. 
 
 Thus was tyranny established in three quarters of 
 the globe. Asia, Africa, and Europe, sunk under the 
 weight of oppression, and exhibited a dreary devasta- 
 tion of humanity. The Genius of Liberty, exiled from 
 the eastern continent, sought an asylum in the wilds 
 of the new world. Even here, however, the celestial 
 fugitive found but a narrow residence ; for already had 
 the Colossus of tyranny bestrid the Atlantic, and se- 
 cured a footing near the western sun. The Anglo- 
 Americans alone, of the civilized world, retained the 
 spirit and sentiments of a free people, and they alone 
 promised adherence to the standard of liberty. 
 
 Britain, at this time, held an eminent rank among 
 the nations of the earth, — Britain, the land of our 
 fathers' sepulchres, the birth-place of fi'eemen, — the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 135 
 
 pretended friend and advoeatc of liberty ; Init the ver- 
 iest chani[)i()n of tlie cause of tyranny. Raised by a 
 loni2^ series of jirosperity to the empire of the main, she 
 affected to waft the terror of her arms to the remotest 
 reabns, and awe the world to submission. FJusiied 
 with recent conquest, and ])bimed with laurels, won 
 by her prowess from the combined powers of France 
 and Spain, she assumed the nod of universal decision, 
 and grasped at the power paramount on both sides the 
 Atlantic. As from this giddy pinnacle of false glory 
 she looked round on the world, she cast an indignant 
 eye on a people, who presumed to set bounds to her 
 ambition, and hold in check the tide of oppression. 
 Her American colonies, though steady in their alle- 
 giance to the parent state, had never relinquished the 
 rights of man, nor bowed the knee to the Baal of ty- 
 ranny. Notwithstanding, therefore, their loyalty, and 
 their zeal for the glory of her empire, she regarded her 
 sentiments, as dangerous to her boasted prerogative ; 
 and the spirited language of freemen gave her more 
 disturbance, than could the whole artillery of Europe 
 united against her. She anxiously eyed the sacred 
 flame, w4iich they kept burning upon the altar of free- 
 dom, and foresaw, that, unless speedily extinguished, 
 it would consume the pillars of her own grandeur, and 
 even the fabric of despotism. Britain, in fine, regard- 
 ed her colonies, as the sole guardians of the celestial 
 standard, as the forlorn corps de reserve of the cause 
 of liberty and equal rights, and presumed, that to bring 
 them to her feet would at once place her own glory 
 beyond the region of danger, terminate, forever, the 
 contest between right and prerogative, and establish 
 the tyrannical system upon a basis never more to be 
 shaken. For this purpose, she roused and summoned 
 her whole might. To this point she directed all the 
 politics of her cabinet, all the resources of her finances, 
 and the whole force of her armament. Well collected 
 and prepared, she raised her arm to deal the tremend- 
 ous stroke, w^liich was, at once, to decide the fate of 
 the world. 
 
 This was a crisis. The colonists were struck w^ith 
 
136 MEMOIR OP 
 
 consternation, — the Genius of Liberty lifted herself 
 from the earth, on the point to revisit her native skies, 
 — Europe beheld with amazement, — the eyes of the 
 universe were fixed on the scene, — and nature was 
 anxious for the event ! — Let them he sovereig-n states, 
 said a voice from Heaven ! — Let them be sovereign 
 states^ re-echoed the Colonial Congress I — The voice 
 reverberated through the world, and nature felt relief. 
 The celestial genius re-alighted upon the earth, and re- 
 animated freemen rallied, in crowds, around her stand- 
 ard. Under her banners, and the auspices of Heaven, 
 they arrested the blow — they triumphed, they confirmed 
 their independence. Thus the pride of Britain was 
 humbled — thus the efforts of tyi'anny were baffled — 
 thus the towering hopes of despots were blasted — ^thus 
 the rights of nature were vindicated ! 
 
 This, my fellow citizens, is the anniversary of that 
 eventful day, which declared the Independence and 
 sovereignty of United Columbia — this is the day which 
 arrested despotism, and made a decisive stand for the 
 liberties of man — this is the day, which opened to the 
 intelligent universe a new and glorious succession of 
 events — ^this is the natal day of the regenerated world! 
 The transactions of the 4th of July, 1776, are register- 
 ed in the archives of Heaven, and their influence, in 
 the affairs of nations, will be felt through the revolution 
 of ages. The voice which this day proclaimed these 
 States independent, shook the political world to the 
 centre — the shackles were loosened from the human 
 mind — the bulwarks of despotism were levelled with 
 the ground — thrones tottered on their bases — and the 
 Dagon of tyranny fell, prostrate, before the altar of 
 Liberty. 
 
 Americans I the declaration of Independence was the 
 salvation of our country. It was this, which blew 
 into a flame the almost smothered embers of freedom, 
 and roused, from the vale of despondence, the genius 
 of Columbia. It was this, which wrested us from the 
 grasp of tyranny, from the iron hand of oppression, and 
 promoted us to an eminent rank among the nations of 
 the earth. This is the first link in a grand chain of 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 137 
 
 event?, which issued in tlic cst;i])lishmont of a consti- 
 tution, whicli conil)incs Ihc wis(h)m of ai^es, which se- 
 cures to us tlie rii^lits, the privih'i^es, and llie bh^ssings 
 of a free people ; and, under which, this federal rejMiblic 
 is ra|)idly ascending the heights of ])olitical importance 
 and national glory. 
 
 Can any thing be wanting to awaken our sensi])ility 
 to the blessings we enjoy, as the fruits of our freedom 
 and Independence ? Cast an eye over the world; look 
 at Asia, at Africa, at a great part of Europe, and 
 America. What a prospect rises to our view ! A 
 scene of oppression — a waste of humanity — a ravage of 
 nature — a world of slaves. Ye ministers of benevo- 
 lence, draw the veil. But turn, my fellow citizens, to 
 a brighter scene — turn home ! Survey these favorite 
 States — this pleasant land of liberty — this fairest dis- 
 trict of creation. See here a race of men, a commu- 
 nity of freemen, a band of brothers, united upon the 
 principles of equality, by the bonds of nature, of so- 
 ciety, and of benevolence. Here is happiness — here 
 is dignity, here is sublimity of character! Here be- 
 nignant Nature smiles on her work, and rejoices in the 
 advancement of her offspring. Here the day is active, 
 and the night secure ; while, borne o'er the turrets of 
 this western world, on the shadowy fleecings of the sky, 
 Peace beams a diffusive radiance on the scene, and 
 sheds her kindly influence into every soul. Here the 
 forest becomes a luxuriant field, the desert assumes the 
 blooming aspect of Eden, and the crude materials of 
 nature are wrought into articles of use, convenience, and 
 elegance ; while Commerce, from every distant shore, 
 rolls to our ports her golden tides, which flow in am- 
 ple streams throughout the land. See here the bright 
 fields of Science, trodden by the frequent foot of Genius, 
 and the flowery heights of Parnassus, thronged by the 
 votaries of the Muses ; while even the peasant lights 
 his flambeau at the hallow^ed shrine of Philosophy, and 
 the meanest religionist burns incense, upon his own 
 altar, to the God of nature. 
 
 The transactions of this day are not, however, con- 
 fined, in their happy effects, to our nation, nor to our 
 
 12* 
 
138 MEMOIR OP 
 
 age. United Columbia is but a miniature of what tho 
 world shall shortly be. Already have the beams of phi- 
 losophy irradiated the political horizon of the eastern 
 world ; there the public mind begins to emerge from 
 the gloom in which it has long been enveloped, and to 
 expatiate in regions more bright and more congenial 
 to its nature. A spark, wafted from this land of 
 freedom, has enkindled the flame beyond the Atlantic. 
 Liberty has again erected her standard on the shores of 
 Europe, and, from the brow of the rampart, demands a 
 re-establishment, in that quarter of the globe. The po- 
 tent voice, like that, which ran through the regions of 
 primaeval chaos, has, from the confused elements of hu- 
 man nature, called forth myriads of embattled freemen 
 to assert her cause. These, with the impetuosity of a 
 torrent, rush upon the empire of despotism and sweep 
 thrones, dignities, and distinctions, into one general 
 ruin. In vain does the world rise in arms against 
 them. Where is the monarchy of France, where the 
 despotic race of the Capets? Where is the aristocracy 
 of Holland ? Where the tyranny of the house of Or- 
 ange ? Where are the impregnable fortresses of Flan- 
 ders ? Where the ancient boundaries of Spain and of 
 the German empire ? Nay, where is the threatening 
 front and the boasted arm of tyrannical coalition f 
 And still the tocsin sounds — still the flame rages — 
 still liberty is rnpunted in the car of victory. And 
 thus shall it be, till tyranny has measured back the 
 course, by which it advanced over the globe, and till 
 the tree of liberty be planted in the place of every 
 throne in the universe. The subversion of the Gallic 
 monarchy, the abolition of Belgic aristocracy, and the 
 general convulsion of Europe, are but a prelude to the 
 final catastrophe of the tyrannical system. Scene 
 opens after scene, in great and rapid succession. The 
 grand consummation is at hand — the conflagration of 
 the political world ; that conflagration, which this day 
 enkindl(^d, and from its ashes is arising a new and more 
 glorious fabric — a fabric founded on the eternal prin- 
 ciples of virtue and of reason. 
 
 Hail the auspicious day ! Well may it be celebrated 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 139 
 
 as the festival of man, as tlie jubilee of nations. So 
 long as virtue shall warm th(" patriot, so long as be- 
 nevolence shall enliven the universe, so long may the 
 FOURTF[ OF JULY be solemuizecl, as a sacred anniversary, 
 througliout the world. This day let creation assume 
 her brightest glories. May those morning stars, which 
 sang the birth of time, with sweetest music, usher in 
 the dawn : may the slowly advancing Sun, as he trav- 
 erses the concave of heaven, diffuse his mildest in- 
 fluence, and light all nature into smiles, while every 
 land breaks forth in songs of joy ! 
 
 It is for us, Americans ! it is for us, as the eldest 
 brothers of freemen, to lead, in the solemnities of this 
 day. Proclaim it, then, sacred to virtue, to patriotism, 
 and to the rights of nature! Display the ensigns of 
 freedom, rear the triumphal arch, blaze upon the re- 
 gions of despotism, in all the majesty of a free people ! 
 Throw wide the portals of Liberty, throng her sacred 
 temple, — renew the solemn vows at her altar, and 
 swear eternal fidelity to the laws of nature, and the 
 rights of man I Rehearse the history of American In- 
 dependence. Hail the rising Republics of Europe, and 
 announce to the world the prevalence of reason, the tri- 
 umphs of freedom, and the downfall of tyranny ! Bril- 
 liancy and exultation become the day! But, while 
 each soul dilates with joy — while every bosom glows 
 with the patriotic flame, and every tongue pronounces 
 a health and fraternity to the world, let grateful an- 
 thems, to the God of reason, fill earth wnth harmony, 
 till seraphs catch the rapturous song ! Nor let us, on this 
 joyous occasion, forget that our Independence was 
 sealed by the blood of thousands of our fathers and our 
 brethren. Sacred be the memory of Warren, of Mont- 
 gomery, and of all, who bled in their country's cause 
 — this day will we celebrate their virtues and recount 
 their achievements — this day will w^e rear monuments 
 to eternize their fame and enshrine their ashes in our 
 inmost bosoms. And the still surviving patriots, who, 
 either in the cabinet or in the field, asserted and 
 maintained the rights of man and the Independence 
 of these States, shall this day be honored, as the sa- 
 
140 MEMOIR OF 
 
 viours and defenders of their country, and as the 
 ornaments of human nature. Especially, let the man, 
 who in war was our shield, and in peace becomes our 
 guardian and glory, this day, renewedly receive the 
 united acknowledgments of his grateful country. It 
 was virtue like his, my fellow citizens, which ensured 
 success, in the arduous struggle for Liberty and Inde- 
 pendence ; and such virtue alone can perpetuate the 
 blessings of our Federal Union, and support that con- 
 stitution, which is the Palladium of our political exist- 
 ence. Let us, then, rouse into activity all that is great, 
 all that is noble, all that is patriotic in man. Let vir- 
 tue be the stability of our Republic, and patriotism 
 the bond of our political union. Let us prize, as in- 
 valuable, the privileges of a free people, and hold, as 
 inviolable, the principles of a free government. While 
 we maintain that vigilance and that spirit of free in- 
 vestigation, which have ever been the guardians of 
 American Liberty, let us, at the same time, cultivate a 
 reverence for the laws and the constituted authorities ; 
 and detested be the wretch, who would heap unreason- 
 able odium upon the public functionaries, invidiously 
 destroy the influence of merit, or wantonly hurl the 
 fire-brand of discord into the bosom of his country. 
 While we enter, warmly, into the cause of humanity, 
 and rejoice in the success of our brethren in arms, for 
 the rights of nature, let us be just and benevolent to aU 
 nations, and remember, that even the savages of the 
 wilderness are members, with us, of the great family 
 of man. And, while, w^ith open arms, our Federal 
 Republic invites, to her bosom, the disti'essed of all na- 
 tions, and promises an asylum from the sword, perse- 
 cution, and oppression ; — shall an unransomed American 
 groan under the bloody scourge of a barbarous Alge- 
 rine, or an unfortunate African drag the chains of 
 slavery, in the very sanctuary of freedom? Nature 
 remonstrates, and Nature will vindicate her ricrhts. 
 
 Americans I we are elevated upon the high places of 
 liberty — a monument to all nations, of the natural 
 rights of man, and the attainable sublimity of the hu- 
 man character ; and, forbid it, Heaven I it should ever 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 141 
 
 be said of these Confedoratod States, tliey oncp were in- 
 depiMKJeiit, they once were virtuous, they once were free. 
 Forever may we support the majesty of a free people; 
 forever may despots tremble at the Ameriean name I 
 INIay we escape the disasters, which have befahen the 
 Repu])lics of ancient and modern times, and transmit, 
 inviolate, to remotest posterity, our birthright among 
 rec^enerated nations. And while, aloof from the din 
 of battle, and the ravas^e of war, we survey the awful 
 condict between republicans and despots; wdiile we 
 see kings hurled from their thrones, kingdoms torn 
 up by the roots, and empires swept from the stage; 
 may we rejoice in the ra})id progress of reason, and 
 the consequent emancipation of man, and gratefully 
 anticipate the day, when war and tyranny, with all 
 their horrors, shall cease from the earth, and when un- 
 interrupted peace, benevolence, and happiness, shall 
 prevail, under the glorious reign of Immanuel, 
 throughout the Universal Republic of the Confederated 
 World! 
 
 An oration also before the Society of " Social 
 Friends," was of high order. It was a masterly effort 
 of sound reasoning and dignified discussion. 
 
 It was Dr. Worcester's aim at college, to cultivate 
 all his powers, so that, as far as practicable, he might 
 enter upon professional studies, with a mind well 
 balanced and well furnished. He studied history ; 
 read general literature ; wrote sonnets, odes, and other 
 metrical compositions ; cherished and improved his 
 taste for music ; corresponded not only wdth relatives, 
 but with others, who, from his respect, his particular 
 friendship, or his more tender sentiments, received 
 from him, occasionally at least, something more intel- 
 lectual and literary, than the ordinary epistles of a 
 college student. In the few examples which remain, 
 it is apparent, that he sought to be familiar as well as 
 
142 MEMOIR OF 
 
 dignified, and no less playful, than sober and philo- 
 sophical. 
 
 But in efforts to acquire an easy and unlabored ele- 
 gance of style, his success was incomplete ; although 
 his proficiency has not often been exceeded. He had 
 to contend with difficulties, which others have known, 
 who like himself had not breathed a literary atmo- 
 sphere, from their childhood. His manner of writing 
 accorded well with the manly and majestic move- 
 ments of his intellect ; but could not be taken as a 
 model of naturalness and unaffected gracefulness. In 
 using his pen at college, and, in general, afterwards, 
 he wrote, as if mindful of his standard of high schol- 
 arship, and fully sensible of the weight of a reputa- 
 tion, which, at all times, he conceived it to be his 
 duty to sustain, and which, for the noblest ends of 
 life, he desired to increase. Rhetorically examined, 
 he appeared to the best advantage, when obliged to 
 write within a limited time, for an important occa- 
 sion. When excited or pressed, as in controversy, or 
 when pouring out his very heart in appeals for the be- 
 nighted and the perishing, the candor of the most re- 
 fined and rigid criticism, had nothing to say, but in 
 unqualified praise. 
 
 From the time of his joining the church at Salis- 
 bury, to his decision to enter the ministry, little can 
 now be learned of his religious exercises. He was 
 probably too zealous as a scholar, to be eminent as a 
 Christian. But his principles were established. His 
 influence was ever open and decided, in favor of that 
 mode of faith, which Dartmouth College was founded 
 to promote, and which his ancestors had so worthily 
 upheld. And this alone was an evidence of his vital 
 soundness in evangelical views and purposes ; for he 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 143 
 
 took his religious j)osiiioii before Ihe world, at a time 
 when many eminent men in the pn]i)it, and in all 
 places of influence, were very far from being cordial 
 friends of the theology of " the fathers ;" and when a 
 large number of aspiring youth in all the institutions 
 of learning, were much too wise in their " ow^n con- 
 ceit," and not a little contaminated and bewildered by 
 the atheistical folly and madness of the French repub- 
 lic of 1789. 
 
 He could not but feel the claims of the christian 
 ministry. And it is believed by those competent to 
 judge, that long before he graduated, the bias of his 
 will was secretly gathering the power, which at last 
 was decisive. His brother Noah's success at Thorn- 
 ton, and his brother Thomas's peculiarly happy rela- 
 tions to the people of his charge, at Salisbury, would 
 naturally unite with ancestral recollections, in urging 
 a consecration to the work of a good minister of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Dec. 18, 1794, he WTote a playful epistle to his ab- 
 sent room-mate, w4iich he closed with this abrupt 
 transition : 
 
 " Friend Jewett, about eight months will launch us 
 into the wide world ; a new scene will then open be- 
 fore us. What ? I forbear. Yom' imagination 
 
 will supply thought." 
 
 In another part of the letter to Dea. Isaac Apple- 
 ton, April 26, 1795, he says : 
 
 " Since I entered college, I have met with many 
 perplexities, embarrassments, and discouragements, 
 which at times have almost overpow^ered my resolu- 
 tion. I have been obliged to fight up against the per- 
 versities of fortune, and for awhile even against the 
 parental inclination. But encouraged by the patrons 
 
144 MEMOIR OP 
 
 of science and of virtue, among whom I must do my- 
 self the justice to make honorable mention of your 
 name, I have made head thus far; nor do I regret that 
 I entered upon this career. My father is reconciled ; 
 and my circumstances, though somewhat embarrassed, 
 are not the worst. I believe I shall get through col- 
 lege — but what then ? This is an important question, 
 which I cannot at present answer decidedly. I wish, 
 however, that my friends, and the friends of mankind, 
 may realize their most sanguine expectations respect- 
 ing my future usefulness." 
 
 Less than t^vo weeks afterwards, he wrote to his 
 brother Leonard, at Worcester : 
 
 " Dartmouth Colleg-e, May 7, 1795. 
 Dear Brother, — 
 
 I hope that in some future time, I shall be in a situ- 
 ation more favorable than this to a regular coitcs- 
 pondence with my friends. A word from a friend is 
 always a cordial to my heart — but month after month 
 passes by, without handing me a single letter — nay, 
 sometimes without so much as whispering that my 
 friends are alive. And it is very seldom, that I have 
 opportunity of transmitting a fine to any place but 
 Salisbury. Almost every place, however, has its con- 
 veniences and its inconveniences, and every situation 
 in life its advantages and disadvantages, things agree- 
 able and disagreeable. Time has almost rolled me 
 out of college. I must soon step forth into the world, 
 and by divine permission, commence an actor on the 
 public stage. What part I am to perform, and where 
 the scene of my action is to be laid, is yet uncertain. 
 I sometimes indulge anxiety — but on the whole I wish 
 not to penetrate into the secrets of futurity, or to di'aw 
 aside the veil, with which Providence kindly conceals 
 from my view its purposes respecting the scenes which 
 await me in life. Hitherto I have been in a good 
 measure prosperous in my pursuits — my literary ca- 
 reer has been marked with circumstances, which I con- 
 template with complacency — and at present I have no 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 145 
 
 reason to complain that Providence is uiildiid — orthat, 
 with respect to my own merit, the world is unjust. 
 I can, therefore, most cheerfully trust myself in their 
 hands ; and am confident, that so long as I live for my 
 friends, for my fellow-men, and for my God, my busi- 
 ness will be delightful, my situation favorable, and my 
 reward bountiful. 
 
 I am not fully determined, whether to enter upon a 
 professional study immediately after leaving college, 
 or to go into some productive business for a while, in 
 order to clear off' my pecuniary arrearages. The latter 
 ap})ears to me at present the more eligible course, pro- 
 vided I could find an employment sufficiently gainful. 
 School-keeping is the most common business for those 
 in my circumstances ; but school-keeping holds out 
 but small encouragement, excepting rare instances. 
 Be so kind as to favor me with your advice in this 
 matter, and communicate whatever you think may be 
 for my advantage. 
 
 I have not yet been able to learn particulars respect- 
 ing your controversy with Messrs. Bancroft^ Tucker^ 
 and Thomas — I wish for more in detail. * * * * 
 
 I intend a visit to brother Noah and sister Fox, in 
 about four weeks — expect not to be at Hollis, till after 
 examination, which may be about the middle of July. 
 Shall find it necessary to be pretty industi'ious, as I 
 have laid out considerable reading, and have moreover 
 three orations to write before Commencement. 
 
 We have had some disturbances in Collesre this 
 term. Two have been expelled — one suspended for 
 six months — one publicly admonished — one has made 
 a public confession, and several others have confessed 
 more privately — all members of the Junior class. The 
 affair is complicated — I cannot therefore in this give 
 you a just statement. The friends of order rejoice, 
 that government has assumed energy and decision — 
 the high and spunky are altogether crest-fallen, the 
 storm has subsided, and the prospect is favorable. 
 
 With most affectionate regard for my sister and 
 yourself, I am your brother, Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Ml'. Leonard Worcester." 
 
 13 
 
146 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The question of his future course was now evi- 
 dently the gi'eat subject of his private meditations. 
 A letter to his brother Jesse passes, by a very sudden 
 transition, from sundry matters of pleasantry, to the 
 theme upon which he had so recently written with 
 such solicitude, to his brother Leonard, and to his 
 much esteemed " patron " at New Ipswich. 
 
 " Dartmouth College, May 25, 1795. 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 I have been wishing for an opportunity to send you 
 a letter, but none before this has offered. You have 
 doubtless been curious, if not anxious, to learn the his- 
 tory of my journey, and of the circumstances relative 
 to it. Were I to adopt the language of romance, and 
 dwell upon every incident with the enthusiasm of a 
 novelist, I might no doubt swell my adventm*e into as 
 great importance, as any in the whole life of Don 
 Quixotte. But I prefer the simple style of narration. 
 My horse, you know, was very lame, the ways ex- 
 tremely bad, and my spirits at ebb-tide mark. The 
 first night I lodged at McGaa's, the next at Concord, 
 the next at Salisbury, the next at Grafton, and the 
 next at Dartmouth. The first night, was very gloomy ; 
 the second, found friends and took coui'age ; the third, 
 was in pretty good spirits ; the fourth, dull, dull, dull ; 
 the fifth, was all life, was all soul! As I journeyed, I 
 was sometimes mounted, and sometimes in the mud — 
 some of the time lively and some of the time dull — 
 sometimes petulant and sometimes pitiful. My horse 
 hobbled along at a miserable rate, but quite as well as 
 expected. All the world gazed out at the window as 
 I passed by, and said, ' La I — see that fellow upon a 
 lame horse I' This last circumstance, you will easily 
 believe, administered neither oil nor ivine to my icound' 
 ed pride. However, although it was not a cordial, it 
 may possibly have produced some good efiect as a 
 medicine. 
 
 I rode on to the plain with a slow, limping, and 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 147 
 
 raolaiK'lioly pace ; but no sooner had I alighted, tliaii 
 I was surrounded with friends and class-mates, who 
 gave my hand such a cordial shake, and poured into 
 my bosom such warm eilusions of friendly joy, lliat I 
 in an instant forgot all my disappointments, fatigues, 
 and glooms. I pretty soon paid my respects to the 
 President, and found him all complacency. I next 
 went home with my horse, accompanied with several 
 of my friends, some of whom were witnesses to my 
 contract, and without much difficulty got clear of any 
 pecuniary compensation to the owner. On the whole, 
 I am rather glad than sorry, that I came on no sooner; 
 for I believe that I improved my time to as good ad- 
 vantage at home, as I could have done here, in the 
 then state of the college ; and besides it saved me 
 some expense. Living is dearer here now than it has 
 been, since I have been in college ; — provisions are not 
 so plentiful as usual, and the General Court, you 
 know, must live. 
 
 I am soon, my dear brother, to be thrown out into 
 the wide world, and what shall I then do ? This is a 
 question which occurs to me every day ; and it is most 
 certainly a question of vast importance. On its de- 
 cision depend my usefulness, my reputation, and my 
 happiness in life. But I am at present in a gi-eat and 
 interesting quandary. I have no gi*eat desire, however, 
 to penetrate the arcana of futurity, or to draw aside 
 the veil with which Providence kindly conceals its de- 
 signs from the eye of forestalling curiosity. Sure I 
 am, that if I live for my friends, for my country, and 
 for my God, I shall not fail of being both useful and 
 happy, into w^hatever line or profession my life may 
 be drawn. 
 
 We have had a pretty turbulent season of it at col- 
 lege this term. Upon this I have detailed some par- 
 ticulars in my letter to our honored father. 
 
 I shall probably be at Hollis, about the middle of 
 July. I shall find it necessary to be very industrious 
 this summer, for besides a large lot of reading, which 
 I wish to traverse, and my usual college exercises, I 
 have three orations to prepare before Commencement — 
 
148 MEMOIR OF 
 
 one for 4th of July, one for the anniversary exhibition 
 of the Social Friends, and the Valedictory oration for 
 my class. My health is still a check upon my ambi- 
 tion. — I have bespoken lodgings for you at Commence- 
 ment. Come and occupy them. 
 
 My tenderest regards to yourself, to my sister, and 
 to your whole family. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 His state of mind 'wdthin a month of Commence- 
 ment can be given in his own words. 
 
 « Hollis, My 20, 1795. 
 My dear brother, — 
 
 The bearer of this is waiting. The proposals stated 
 in yours of May, demand my gTateful acknowledg- 
 ments and deliberate consideration. My present de- 
 termination is not to hurry into any profession. 
 Should a favorable birth in the line of school-keeping 
 offer itself, I hold myself in readiness to embrace it ; 
 if not, I propose to enter immediately after Commence- 
 ment upon professional studies, most probably in the 
 line of Divinity. Parson Austin is a gentleman, high 
 in my estimation. I think I could study witli him, 
 with great satisfaction and to good advantage : in my 
 present views, no place ^vould suit me better than 
 Worcester, for my residence during the term of my 
 pupilage. If therefore all things may be made con- 
 venient, I shall most gladly close with your offer. 
 Our friends, so far as I know, are ^vell. 
 
 My most affectionate regards to yourself and my 
 sister. 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Ml'. Leonard Worcester." 
 
 At Commencement, he received from a Counsellor 
 in Maine, a very eligible offer of a place, as a student 
 at law ; which, however, he was now prepared to de- 
 cline. His brothers were present when he graduated, 
 and rejoiced with him in the honors, which were 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 149 
 
 showered upon lihn, at the comi)letion of his studies 
 at Hanover. His Valedictory Oration exhibited the 
 same power, as had been so much admired in his pre- 
 vious performances. But amidst all the scenes of his 
 brilliant success, he might now, in the prospects of the 
 future, have received the classical benediction : 
 
 I, decus, i, nostrum, melioribus ulere fatis. 
 
 As a Christian, however, he had many solicitudes. 
 Already he had begun to feel, in no ordinary degree, 
 as is believed, the constraining influence of a senti- 
 ment, wdiich may here be recorded from his paternal 
 instructions : " Every honor received from man, is to 
 be remembered, as increasing the recipient's obliga- 
 tions to God." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Studies for the ministry. State of the times. Residence at Worcester. 
 Correspondence. Palemon to Alexis. Teaches at Hollis. Preceptor of 
 the Academy at New Ipswich. Licensed to preach. First Sermons. 
 His manner in the pulpit. Prejudices in his native town. Oration, 
 Fourth of July, 1796. Leaves New Ipswich. Correspondence. Settle- 
 ment at Fitchburg, Mass. 
 
 This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desirelh 
 a good work. 
 
 In a few weeks after leaving college, Dr. Worcester 
 placed himself under the guidance of Rev. Samuel 
 Austin, pastor of the First Church, in Worcester. He 
 had now completed nearly one half of his life. 
 
 Pious young men in the colleges, or preparing for 
 the ministry, were far from being numerous. But his 
 13* 
 
150 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Alma Mater, in twenty-five years, had sent forth more 
 than one hundred and seventy, who became settled 
 pastors, the most of whom were evangelical. " Ed- 
 wards on the Will " was a classic at Dartmouth, dur- 
 ing his college course ; and had its influence in form- 
 ing the sentiments and character of the students. But 
 his own theological opinions were mainly settled and 
 systematized, before he entered college. And it is not 
 known or supposed, that he had the slightest hesita- 
 tion, in deciding upon " the form of sound w^ords," 
 which, in all essential points, it was his duty to qual- 
 ify himself to vindicate and promote. 
 
 But it was an epoch of great political and religious 
 commotion, throughout Christendom. In the Ameri- 
 can republic, " federalism" and " democracy " were ar- 
 rayed in determined conflict. Washington, in all his 
 glory of virtue, could hardly hold the helm of state. 
 And such was the aspect of affairs in Europe, from 
 the sanguinary and most appalling developments of 
 atheism and ungodliness in Paris' and all France, 
 that politics engrossed a large share of the attention 
 of the American clergy. Most of these were staunch 
 federalists. The sermons, orations, and essays of Rev. 
 Noah Worcester, and his younger brothers, were 
 among the most prominent of the day, and were all in 
 fervid harmony with the sentiments of Fisher Ames, 
 in his celebrated Speech on the British Treaty, April 
 26, 1796. The political creed of the father and sons, 
 as represented by Hamilton and Washington, had 
 now given to each of them a most decided political 
 character, which continued through all the subsequent 
 events of their history. 
 
 A considerable portion of the New England clergy 
 were sound or orthodox divines. Nearly all of them 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. lol 
 
 had been liberally educated. Bellamy, Smalley, West, 
 Edwards tlie younger, with many others, beside Hop- 
 kins,* and the young " sage of Franklin," were more 
 than enough to prevent all the churches from relapsing 
 into " a doctrinal lethargy." And though the interests 
 of vital religion had sadly languished or otherwise 
 sufl'ered, during the war which annihilated the French 
 power in North America, and the subsequent struggle 
 of the Colonies for independence ; yet the majority of 
 the churches were blessed of God with pastors, who 
 honestly professed to be Calvinistic. A highly re- 
 spectable number were willing to be known as Hop- 
 kinsians. Others preferred to be called, as they really 
 were, " moderate " Calvinists ; having no favor for Ar- 
 minians, who were not few, as commonly believed and 
 reported. These last would have been disowned by 
 the old professor of divinity at Leyden, whose system, 
 however, the patriarchal and learned Robinson pro- 
 nounced — " that grand choak-iveed of true Christian- 
 ity.^'' They were not like the Wesleyans, who recog- 
 nized the supernatural work of the S])irit in renewing 
 the heart, and who were in ecstacies in seasons of re- 
 vival. They made light of experimental godliness, as 
 if enthusiasm or delusion. They were too well satis- 
 fied with the appearance of good morals, and reverent 
 attendance npon public worship. If they could pre- 
 serve peace in their parishes, though it were like the 
 stillness of the rivers of mid-winter, they conceived, 
 as it would seem, that they had attained a most im- 
 portant end of their ministiy, and might die in hope 
 of the recompense of good and faithful servants. 
 
 * The first edition of Hopkins' System of Divinity was published at Bos- 
 ton, in 17y3. The remark needs quaUfication, but not without reason has it 
 been said, that " Ilopkinsianism in Massachusetts saved the church." 
 
152 MEMOIR OF 
 
 It cannot now be a question, that some of these, 
 the really as well as reputedly Arminian portion of 
 the clergy, were Arians, Socinians, or Unitarians. 
 They spoke of Jesus, as the Son of God, and called 
 him divine ; but thought it would be " robbery," if he 
 should be accounted " equal with God." A part of 
 the class of ministers, usually styled Arminian, repell- 
 ed the name, and would never have assented to the 
 views of Faustus Socinus ; while others needed only 
 a change of circumstances, to bring them into open 
 fellowship with Humanitarians, even of the lowest 
 degree. There were strenuous efforts to persuade the 
 community, that the doctrines of the Bible are but of 
 speculative importance, and that almost any differ- 
 ences of belief are entirely consistent with real and 
 acceptable piety. In short, a liberality was advocated 
 and demanded, which would be enough to " liberalize 
 away all true religion." 
 
 " The fathers " and their immediate offspring were 
 perfectly well acquainted with the opinions of Arius 
 and Socinus ; and sometimes spoke, as if they had 
 fears of their introduction into New England. It has 
 been said, that " there was no infidel known in the 
 country, for one hundred and fifty years." The same 
 was true of the advocates of what is now known as 
 Unitarianism. Dr. Freeman, of King's Chapel, Bos- 
 ton, was the first to avow himself a Unitarian ; and 
 he was settled in 1785.* 
 
 * Dr. Morse was settled at Charlestown in 17S0. In the Introduction of 
 his " Appeal," cSce , he says : " During the last half of the year, I was insid- 
 iojishj sounded, as to my sentiments concerning- the doctrine of the Trinity ; 
 and subsequently gave serious offence to some of my brethren in the min- 
 istry, by preaching a course of sermons on the subject, at the Thursday lec- 
 ture." In 1790, extracts from Emlyn's Inquiry, a thoroughly Unitarian 
 work, were republished in Boston. The work first appeared in the Colo- 
 nies, in an American edition, in 175G ; at whose special desire is not known. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 153 
 
 111 the opinion of Dr. Morse, the all-engrossinfi; sub- 
 jects connected with the French Revolution, delayed, 
 for some years, the disclosure of the Unitarianism of 
 Boston and other parts of Massachusetts. The very 
 fact, however, that this was not openly and honestly 
 avowed, until long after its existence, is of itself a 
 witness of the predominant bias of the community, in 
 support of Trinitarian and Calvinistic sentiments. 
 To some extent at least, as it has been truly affirmed, 
 the " tares were sown, while men slept." * But there 
 were watchmen, whose trumpet gave no uncertain 
 sound. And the impression was so fixed, that Socin- 
 ianism or Arianism was disguised under the most 
 popular teachings of Arminian pulpits, that Calvin- 
 ists, both of the clergy and laity, did not hesitate to 
 speak, as if the fact were indisputable. 
 
 In the latter part of 1794, Leonard Worcester, in 
 whose family his brother Samuel lived, while studying 
 with Dr. Austin, adventured, as a humble layman, to 
 address a series of letters to Dr. Bancroft, of the new 
 Society, on the subject of his misrepresentations of 
 Calvinism. In one part of the pamphlet, which was 
 printed early in 1795, he says : 
 
 " The two schemes of religious sentiments, which 
 appear the most extensively to divide the protestant 
 part of the christian church, are Socinianism or Ai*ian- 
 ism, and Calvinism. The former of those schemes 
 has, very extensively, if not very generally, taken the 
 place of Arminianism : and is, perhaps, rapidly paving 
 the way to be succeeded by the spread of Infidelity. 
 
 *Just as Unitarianism arose in the Presbyterian churches of Ireland, 
 England, France, Switzerland, and Holland. It secured its ground, before 
 it was avowed ; and thus neither Congregational discipline, nor any other, 
 could be available to keep it out. But it may be added, if it had not been for 
 Congregationalism, the churches in Massachusetts would have been in a 
 fiir worse condition, to meet the crisis which was fast coming. 
 
154 MEMOIR OF 
 
 This is rendered at least probable, by the considera- 
 tion, that avowed Deists find no difficulty in applaud- 
 ing the public discourses of Socinian and Arian 
 preachers. The sentiments of Socinians or Arians, 
 and those of Calvinists, are so directly opposed to each 
 other, that if both, or either, of tlie parties, preserve 
 consistency, no room can be found for scriptural 
 christian communion. For, nothing can be more 
 plain, than that, of two opposite schemes of senti- 
 ments, one or the other must be essentiaUy WTong.' 
 
 
 There are not many among us, who seem to be 
 aware, that such charges were brought against Armin- 
 ians, so long before the new order of things at Har- 
 vard College and the crisis of 1815, — when conceal- 
 ment of Unitarianism was no longer practicable. On 
 the other hand, the defection of the churches from the 
 spiritual standard of " the fathers," has been thought 
 to have been far greater and more extensive, than a 
 more full investigation of the history of those times 
 will allow us to believe. We may easily draw a dark 
 picture, from the lax style of preaching in some of 
 the most popular pulpits ; the discontinuance of 
 prayer-meetings, conferences, and other means of con- 
 version and personal religious culture, in many places ; 
 the comparatively small number of young members of 
 churches ; the abounding prevalence of vain and vic- 
 ious amusements, with a rapid increase of habits of 
 intemperance ; and the exultation of the enemies of 
 the truth, in the assured hope of the speedy triumph 
 of infidelity, over the hallowed faith of Protestant as 
 well as Catholic Christendom. There were examples 
 of the godly, who felt like Elijah, when he fled from 
 Jezebel, or like Lot in Sodom. 
 
 But amidst the clouds of that day, which has some- 
 times been described as if it were very dark twilight, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 155 
 
 at the brightest, the sun frequently shone out, in en- 
 livening resplendence. " They that feared the Lord, 
 spake often to one another." They searched the Scrip- 
 tures, and found prophecies and promises of joy and 
 gladness, which were utterly incompatible with the 
 idea, that Christianity w^as about to become an obso- 
 lete system. Strengthened in their persuasion, that 
 " the foundations of the righteous " were not " de- 
 stroyed," although " all the foundations of the earth " 
 might seem to be " out of course," — they united in a 
 concert of supplication, on both sides the Atlantic, for 
 the outpom'i ng of the Spirit, the discomfiture of the 
 foes of the Church, and the enlargement of Zion over 
 all the earth, even to " the uttermost parts of the sea." 
 The divine blessing followed this redoubled fervor of 
 prayer and zeal for the glory of the Prince of Life. 
 
 There was a cheering earnest of the multiplied and 
 powerful revivals, which were soon enjoyed. And 
 while the religious wants of the new settlements, 
 which in an unexampled manner were now extending 
 into the wilderness, awakened the anxious sympathies 
 of those, who feared that a godless race w^ould there 
 be nm'tured, — a mighty impulse was given to the mis- 
 sionary spirit of the evangelical clergy and laity. 
 Plans for new associations, like the missionary socie- 
 ties of Connecticut, New York, and JNIassachusetts, 
 were soon in agitation ; and in these were to be 
 trained the men, who should form and establish the 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign INIis- 
 sions. 
 
 Christians in New England and the other States 
 found themselves drawn into closer union and com- 
 munion with their kindred across the waters. Through 
 the pages of the London Evangelical Magazine, the 
 
156 MEMOIR OP 
 
 enlightened missionary zeal of Dr. Haweis and his 
 associates, enkindled or nourished congenial fires in 
 different parts of oiu: land. It was by that publica- 
 tion, in an eminent degree, that the way was opened 
 for the London Missionary Society, which was organ- 
 ized in the very month, when Dr. Worcester com- 
 menced his studies for the ministry. — After he had 
 come into public life, he was led to consider the day 
 of its institution — the twenty-first day of September^ 
 seventeen hundred and ninety-five^ — as one of the most 
 memorable in the modern history of the Church.* 
 
 It will readily be seen from this review of the state 
 of the times — upon which an instructive volume might 
 be written, — that there were many circumstances pe- 
 culiarly adapted to stimulate such a mind, as Dr. 
 Worcester's. He could hardly have been better sit- 
 uated, than while under the theological and pastoral 
 instructions of Dr. Austin. With good reason he had 
 conceived a very high respect for his teacher. His 
 first impressions were fully realized ; and both the 
 student and instructor were mutually satisfied. In 
 truth, however, the distance between them was very 
 rapidly diminished. 
 
 Dr. Austin had studied with Dr. Jonathan Edwards, 
 when settled at New Haven ; whose house was infe- 
 rior to none, as a school of divinity, in the times 
 when Theological Seminaries were unknown in the 
 land. Dr. Edwards had a series of questions for his 
 students, embracing the great topics of Christian 
 Theology, and prepared in the happiest manner of his 
 
 * The English Baptist Missionary Society was formed in 1702, or the 
 year when he entered college ; having been preceded by the eloquent and 
 irresistible exhortation of Carey: "Expect great things fkom God; 
 
 ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER* 157 
 
 remarkably logical intellect.* From the subjects of a 
 series of dissertations, which Dr. Worcester wrote, it 
 may be presumed, that Dr. Austin furnished him with 
 a copy of those questions ;f while it is very certain, 
 that he was brought into very close connection and 
 communiou with the mighty minds of the Edwardses, 
 father and son. In the brief period of four months, 
 which was all the time that he spent at Worcester, 
 the outlines of his ministerial character were strongly 
 and permanently defined and fixed. And in much 
 less than a single year, the sermons which he wrote, 
 were those of " a workman that needeth not to be 
 ashamed." 
 
 It was no small advantage, in many respects, that, 
 w^hile at Worcester, he could board with his excellent 
 brother Leonard. This brother's standard of piety 
 was of the purest cast ; and as an editor of a weekly 
 paper, he was conversant with all the stirring events 
 of the day. The younger brother received from him 
 the kindest fraternal offices ; but, as w^as characteristic 
 of the family, he chose to work his own way into his 
 profession, with as little dependence as possible, upon 
 gratuitous assistance. He accordingly took a school 
 in Hollis, for the winter of 179-5-6; intending to re- 
 turn to Worcester the ensuing spring. It was other- 
 wise ordered, for his discipline. 
 
 The friendships, which he had formed in college, 
 were cherished with an uncommon faithfulness. With 
 his room-mate particularly, he maintained a very af- 
 fectionate and profitable correspondence. And that 
 
 * In reasonings it is well understood, that the younger Edwards was even 
 superior to "the prince of" divines," — as Chalmers styled the father. 
 
 t This is known to have been done by another eminent pupil of the same 
 teacher, — Rev. Asahel Hooker, of Farmington, Conn., who had the privi- 
 lege of instructing such men as Drs. Woodbridge, Tyler, and Humphrey. 
 
 14 
 
158 MEMOIR OF 
 
 higher benefits might be secured, than those merely of 
 social and fraternal intercourse, he sought to induce 
 two others to join him and his friend Jewett, in a 
 novel experiment of epistolary writing ; of which no 
 better idea can be given, than that it appears to have 
 been intended to answer the same general purpose for 
 themselves privately, as is now so extensively accom- 
 plished for the public, by the "correspondence" of the 
 leading newspapers of our day. — These four class- 
 mates wrote to each other, under fictitious signatures. 
 A few of the Numbers of " Palemon " will show what 
 was attempted by the projector of the experiment. 
 But he never had the time at command, to realize his 
 own conception of the expected advantage. — It may 
 be pleasant, also, to compare " Palemon to Alexis,*' 
 with " S. Worcester to Luther Jewett," in the unre- 
 served freedom of his ordinary style of letter-writing. 
 
 To Mr, Luther Jewett 
 
 " Worcester^ Nov. 3, 1795. 
 My Friend, — 
 
 I know your candor and friendship have engaged 
 you to cast about for every possible apology, and am 
 conscious to myself of not having acted an unfriendly 
 part ; yet I cannot but feel sensible regi-et, that I have 
 been obliged so long to delay an answer to yom* favor 
 of the 27th September. 
 
 ******** 
 
 You expressed some concern, in the cover to your 
 above-mentioned letter, lest it should appear, that 
 some imprudences had escaped your pen ; but be sure, 
 I found nothing but the grateful language of an in- 
 genuous heart. Your remarks were friendly, judicious, 
 and important. The present is a day of inquiry, of 
 controversy, and of licentious speculation ; the chris- 
 tian world is divided and subdivided into sects and 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 159 
 
 denominations almost innumerable ; yet numerous as 
 they are, there is scarce a scheme of sentiments ex- 
 tant, wliich is not advocated by champions who wield 
 the pen of controversy with dexterity and effect. 
 What confidence then can we repose in the opinion 
 of " great men ;" — whom shall we set up as the stand- 
 ard; — whom shall we call father? — "To the law and 
 to the testimony " — here and here only can we fmd 
 authorities, on which we may repose securely. 
 
 You know, my friend, the outlines of my scheme of 
 theological sentiments. I have not yet seen occasion 
 to alter essentially. I shall doubtless be called a Hop- 
 kinsian ; yet certainly I know no man, with whom I 
 fully accord in opinion. You wish me to " adopt Hop- 
 kinsian arguments, but Arminian manners." I trust, 
 I am not altosjether an idle observer of the different 
 manners, exhibited by gentlemen of the cloth, of dif- 
 ferent persuasions ; neither am I insensible of the in- 
 fluence of manners, especially with the great body of 
 the common people. I cannot say, that I am alto- 
 gether well pleased with the manners of the Hopkin- 
 sian clergy ; but you will excuse it, if I differ so much 
 from you, as to think them at least as unexceptiona- 
 ble as those of the Arminians. A rigid austerity of 
 manners has something in it forbidding and disgust- 
 ing ; and is, I think, by no means well calculated to 
 recommend the mild doctrines and tender sentiments 
 of our divine Master. But that levity of manners, 
 which but too evidently characterizes the Arminian 
 clergy, appears to me directly calculated to destroy 
 every sentiment of respect for religion in its ministers. 
 I am fully persuaded, that genuine urbanity is essen- 
 tial to the perfection of the clerical character. A cler- 
 gyman ought to be a gentleman. Do we find no gen- 
 tlemen among the Hopkinsians ? Must we look to 
 the Arminians for a model ? I think not. If the 
 Hopkinsians, as a body, are too austere ; are not the 
 Arminians too loose ? 
 
 " I venerate the man, whose heart is warm, 
 
 Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and tvhose life 
 
 Coincident, exhibit lucid proof, 
 
 That he is honest in the sacred cause." 
 
160 MEMOIR OF 
 
 I find that I have not afforded myself room nor 
 time, to write half so much as I wish ; but hope to 
 write again soon. 
 
 Yours, most cordially, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 " Nov. 4, 1795. 
 Friend Luther, — 
 
 Yours of the 1st instant has this moment come to 
 hand. I am glad to meet with you in so pleasant a 
 mood. Your raillery has a good effect upon my spirits, 
 and produces a very pleasing agitation in that corn- 
 pages of attractive centres^ my brain. But by the by, 
 I suspect you have not adopted the Priestleian scheme ; 
 otherwise you could not have supposed, that either 
 you or myself must be so great a heterocl — , I dont 
 know whether it is y or ite^ in nature, as is suggested 
 in your letter. — But to the point ; — you may be sure 
 that I will " bring my thoughts to mortal concerns," 
 whenever I can by so doing oblige a friend ; and 
 therefore without any metaphysical subtleties, or ab- 
 stract speculations, I answer, it is clearly and sincerely 
 my opinion, not barely my opinion either, but it is a 
 provable, (I dont know as there is such a word in the 
 Dictionary, but there ought to be,) certainty, that it has 
 been the uniform practice of myself, and of all good 
 and orthodox pedagogues, within the circle of my ac- 
 quaintance, to reckon five and a half days to one week, 
 four weeks to one month, and three months to one 
 quarter, school-time. And I most earnestly recommend 
 it to you, as you regard the character of a good and 
 accepted brother of the honorable fraternity (I know 
 this is to you an opprobrious term, but I dont think of 
 any better) of pedagogues, to contend zealously for their 
 rights, and not to depart //*o;?z the good old way. 
 Yours, affectionately, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 Write every week and I 
 
 Mr. Luther Jewett. You will excuse the supernu- 
 merary t. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 161 
 
 Mr. Lutlicr Jewett. 
 
 " Worcester^ Dec. 5, 1795. 
 My Friend, — 
 
 I am almost dead. I have been attendin<]^ the long 
 
 expected trial of tlie cause of the Rev. ]VIr. C , 
 
 versus his cidevant parish in Sutton, till I am tired 
 out and out. You have doubtless heard something of 
 the merits of the cause, and most probably have made 
 up something of a judgment upon it: but I presume 
 the half has not been told you. I assure you it was 
 the most complicated and perplexing aflair, I ever at- 
 tended to. I was, however, not at a loss in my mind, 
 how I should have given the verdict; but the jury 
 have determined it against me. Perhaps they are 
 right; but I think they are wrong. I am fully of 
 opinion, how^ever, that Mr. C. ought not to have ap- 
 pealed to Caesar. A clergyman figures but poorly in 
 a Court of Justice. But I wave the matter. 
 
 Yours of the 28th ult, I received very gratefully. 
 Everett, you say, soars and grasps. So let him do. 
 Let those be great who will ; perhaps, however, he 
 may sometimes stoop to converse with such pigmy 
 mortals as you and me. Be this as it may, it need 
 make no derangement in our general plan ; we can do 
 something, if nobody else should join us. Your que- 
 ries, I answer in the affirmative. Your letter is to the 
 point ; not so very stiff either. We must be careful 
 to have room for improvement, lest w^e should grow 
 discouraged. I intend to write once before I leave 
 this place ; but as I am about winding up my time 
 here for this season, I can promise nothing certain. 
 You are going to Boston ; that will be a good post of 
 observation, for " Boston folks are full of notions." 
 Whatever may be the case with posterity, for pinge- 
 mus in aetenum, I expect to be a gainer by this busi- 
 ness. For I shall not only have the amusement and 
 improvement, which your letters will afford ; but I 
 shall feel myself obliged to do something for the 
 amusement and improvement of others. And what 
 
 14* 
 
162 MEMOIR OP 
 
 we are obliged to do, we can do. You will leave 
 Lancaster, about the time that I shall be on my way 
 to Hollis. Perhaps I shall see you, and perhaps not. 
 Let me know precisely what time you will change 
 your place of residence ; perhaps it may have some 
 influence in governing my movements ; for I wish to 
 see you, if possible. 
 
 Chauncy has almost turned your brain. Read Dr. 
 Edwards, and he will bring you to a proper bearing. 
 Chauncy was certainly an ingenious writer ; I confess 
 he perplexed me. But his works beam darkness 
 rather than light ; his system cannot stand. If it can, 
 I am safe ; if it cannot, how wofully must some be 
 disappointed. 
 
 Yours, unfeignedly, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 iVb. L 
 
 « Worcester, Dec. 24, 1795. 
 My dear Alexis, — 
 
 JNIy business and character are such as, you very 
 well know, will not introduce me into company of all 
 kinds ; and of course it is not to be expected that I 
 should be initiated into all the mysteries of custom and 
 fashion. To this, indeed, I advance no pretensions. 
 Yet I hold it as certain, that every one, who means to 
 make head in the world, and to render himself emi- 
 nently useful in any public station, ought to be an 
 attentive observer of men and manners. During my 
 short residence in this place, I have considered myself 
 rather as a spectator, than as an actor in the scenes of 
 the village. From what I have seen and otherwise 
 learned, I believe Worcester to be in as flourishing a 
 state, as any town or village within my knowledge. 
 The people are generally industrious and economical. 
 An idle person is seldom to be found, and sure to be 
 regarded as infamous and contemptible. Of course, 
 scenes of riot, frolic, and dissipation are here very rare. 
 Gentlemen of the first families are men of business in 
 some laudable and productive occupation ; and ladies 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 1G3 
 
 of the first quality are not ashamed of industry. Those 
 of any reputation among the k)\ver chisses, will emu- 
 late the example of their superiors. Every tiling 
 ineom})atible with business is therefore disreputable, 
 and the pernieious effects of idleness are scarcely dis- 
 cernible. 
 
 No })lace is wholly exempt from animosity and col- 
 lision, and in this, two causes have especially operated 
 to })romote them ; the splendor of the street^ and the 
 existence of two parishes of very ditlerent religious 
 persuasions. So long as shadows are of more account 
 than substances, and reality is less regarded than show, 
 none will be willing that others should appear better 
 than themselves. No w^onder, then, that those without 
 the street should look upon those within, with some 
 degree of envious obliquity ; and no wonder that the 
 town Grammar School, which might have added 
 something to the street, w^as hauled into an obscure 
 corner, about two miles from the centre of business 
 and population. And no one, almost, knows so little 
 of rehgious controversy as to be ignorant of its un- 
 happy eftects in neighborhood and society. It is 
 especially to be expected, that animosity will rise 
 high, w^iere the ground of dissension is of a nature so 
 serious as it is here. Mr. Austin, the pastor of the 
 First Church in this place, is what they call an IIop- 
 kinsian, among Calvinists. His church is built upon 
 a thoroughly Calvinistic creed ; and the most of his 
 Society are very friendly to the Hopkinsian sentiments. 
 Mr. Bancroft of the other church, is an Arian, Socinian, 
 or Deist. The first formation of his church was siniru- 
 lar. When it was determined to erect a new parish, 
 and to settle Mr. Bancroft in the ministry, there was 
 no church found in the Society. What tlien was to 
 be done? How could a minister be regularly settled 
 without a church ? He could not : a church must be 
 formed. A meeting was appointed for the purpose; a 
 sermon was preached by Mr. Bancroft on the occasion ; 
 at the close of the exercise, a paper ada})ted to the 
 design was produced ; and such as were dis})osed to 
 subscribe, became church members, sans ceremonie ! 
 
164 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Some of all descriptions subscribed ; and a church was 
 formed, upon a creed, in which the only article of faith 
 is the authenticity of the Scriptures. This proceeding 
 was thought by the old standing church to be irregular ; 
 consequently the newly formed ecclesiastical society 
 was not received into christian fellowship, as a sister 
 church : nor is it to this day acknowledged as a member 
 of the body of Christ, by Mr. Austin and his society. 
 The controversy is, therefore, serious, and has been 
 as^itated with considerable warmth. Yet all this not- 
 withstanding, there is as much harmony, friendship, 
 and good neighborhood here, as in any place I ever 
 resided in ; and the people are, generally speaking, 
 peaceable, courteous, and obliging. Something more 
 particularly in point, on manners and customs, I will 
 give you in my next. 
 
 Yours, most cordially, 
 
 Palemon." 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 " Hollis, Jan, 16, 1796. 
 My dear Alexis, — 
 
 In my last I made some general observations on the 
 town of Worcester, in which I wrote. I shall in this 
 lay the scene in the same place. 
 
 Visiting in Worcester, as in many other places, is 
 attended with considerable formality and punctilious 
 ceremony. When a visit is in contemplation, billets 
 are sent, either from the visitants to the visitees, filled 
 with compliments, and communicating their intention 
 of calling, if agreeable ; or from the latter to the former, 
 requesting the privilege of waiting upon them. Their 
 visits are commonly in the afternoon, beginning at sun 
 about two hours high, and ending at evening fall. 
 Sometimes the ladies are accompanied by gentlemen 
 to the house, but more commonly are not. Yet when 
 they are not, gentlemen often call in soon enough to 
 take tea, and gallant them home. And when this fails, 
 w*hich indeed is not unfrcquently, the gentlemen at the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 165 
 
 house where the visit is made, are under indispensable 
 obligations to see the ladies safely vntliin the doors of 
 their respeetive houses. These visits, if I may judge 
 of the whole from a few which I have attended, are 
 not altogether dull and insipid; but are enlivened by 
 conversation in which is mingled a good degree of 
 sprightliness of thought, pleasantry, and good nature. 
 The common to])ics, however, are, perhaps, rather 
 trivial and uninteresting; not much calculated either 
 to mend the heart, or to improve the understanding. 
 Tea is generally brought forward about sunset, or 
 perhaps a little before, and the company are served by 
 a waiter, who is commonly a lad, either black or white, 
 about 8, 10, or 12 years old. Green teas have almost 
 wholly superseded the use of Bohea; and two cups at 
 a time supplies. 
 
 Besides these set, ceremonious visits, however, 
 there are others more neighborly, more friendly, and, 
 if I mistake not, more contributive to happiness and 
 improvement. 
 
 Dancing can hardly be considered as one of the 
 principal diversions among the first company ; but by 
 the lower sort it is practised abundantly. Gentlemen 
 and ladies frequently collect in small circles, and spend 
 an evening mostly in conversation. Sometimes con- 
 versation, however, gives place to other amusements, 
 among the principal of which, are games at cards, 
 chess, and dice. 
 
 Gentlemen are not w^anting in their attentions to 
 the ladies ; nor are the ladies backward in receiving 
 them. But when walking together, especially in the 
 day time, a gentleman seldom offers his arm to a 
 lady. 
 
 Yours, most cordially, 
 
 Palemon." 
 
 To Mr. Luther Jewett. 
 
 " HoUis, Feb, 1st, 1796. 
 My dear Friend, — 
 
 Though I ^Tote soon after my arrival here, I found 
 no safe conveyance for a letter to you, and till now 
 
166 MEMOIR OF 
 
 have not ventured to lavnch one for Boston, lest it 
 should be cast away. Yours, of 30th December, I 
 have received, and was glad to find that the din of 
 Boston had not turned your brains, nor a residence in 
 the Town exalted you above the region of friendship. 
 My health is better than when I wrote you last. My 
 business is arduous, but, had I benevolence enough, it 
 would be pleasing. It is certainly much better, in a 
 school, to act the friendly guardian, than the jealous 
 tyrant ; to establish an authority in the affections of 
 the pupil, than in the fears. If I mistake not, my 
 scholars obey from love, and this obedience is so 
 prompt and cheerful, that it keeps my bosom in almost 
 a continual thrill of affectionate pleasure. 
 
 I enclose you a letter, which I wrote at Worcester, 
 the contents of it I have almost forsfotten. I fear vou 
 will think it hardly within the limits of our design ; 
 but I will endeavor to be more pertinent in future. I 
 have another by me, but for certain reasons I think it 
 expedient to reserve it for another conveyance. Thank 
 you for the perusal of your letter from our good friend 
 Noyes. He is a good Society man, as we both know ; 
 and I think it likely it would be well to initiate him 
 as a member with us, in toto privilegio. As for Everett, 
 I hope he will not destroy himself, by venturing too 
 high in an aerial balloon. He certainly has talents for 
 usefulness, and I wish he may not reserve them for 
 such occasions, as he will never find. It is best to 
 improve the present, and not embark all for futurity. 
 
 I believe you will be surprised, when I tell you, that 
 I expect to succeed Mr. Hubbard in the preceptorship 
 of New Ipswich Academy, unless, indeed I should 
 finally prefer a situation in that of Hallo well. Tell 
 me, Luther, how shall I figure after Mr. H.? The 
 enclosed letter to Hallowell, I commit to your care. 
 Be so obliging, as to give it a conveyance by the 
 earliest mail, and set down the postage to my account. 
 And moreover I expect an answer through the me- 
 dium of the Post Oifice, as soon as a return can be 
 made. How soon that may be, you will be able to 
 ascertain. Will you give yourself the trouble to call at 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 1G7 
 
 the OfTict^, and if any letter should arrive, forward it as 
 soon as possible. I am sensible, I lay a })retty heavy 
 tax upon IViendshi}), but if I am not wrong in the 
 invoice, it will not straiten you extremely. 
 
 Write as often as you can send, and I will endeavor 
 to do the same. 
 
 Yours, in sincerity. 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 " HoIIis, Feb. 2Dth, 1796. 
 My Friend, — 
 
 Mr. Smith, junior pastor of the Church in this place, 
 is wdiat they call a Hopkinsian. He is high in the 
 esteem and aflections of a large part of his parish- 
 ioners ; but has many violent opposers, on account of 
 his sentiments. Some, I believe, oppose his sentiments 
 understandingly ; but the more part raise a hue and 
 cry against Hopkinsianism, wdiile they know nothing 
 of the first principles of the system. The points of 
 doctrine, which, when insisted on, create the greatest 
 uneasiness, are those of impartial or disinterested 
 benevolence, personal election, total moral depravity, 
 universal preordination, and efficient divine influence 
 in the production of human volition. Upon these 
 points of doctrine, Mr. Smith, as well as many others 
 of his brethren in persuasion, treat frequently and 
 elaborately. Perhaps they are dwelt upon too much ; 
 certain it is, they occasion w^arm controversies or loud 
 murmurings in this quarter of the country, whenever 
 they are preached. 
 
 Most of the clergymen in this vicinity are what may 
 be called modern or moderate Calvinists. They de- 
 claim loudly against Hopkinsianism and its advocates ; 
 nor, indeed, are Hopkinsians wanting in retort and 
 pointed animadversion. And, what is truly ridiculous, 
 each party endeavors to fasten upon the other, the 
 o]iprobrious charge of Arminianism. • It is, perhaps, 
 dilficult to ascertain the scheme of sentiments which 
 
168 MEMOIR OP 
 
 the modern Calvinists Avould wish to maintain. Hos- 
 tility on their part seems to be rather offensive than 
 defensive. They do not so much contend for any 
 tenets of their own, as ag-ainst those of their antagonists. 
 They profess, indeed, to be Calvinists, yet they vio- 
 lently o})pose the doctrines enmiierated above. If 
 there be any sentiment for which they contend, it is 
 this, — that all kinds of sentiment are equally com- 
 patible with the christian character. They talk much 
 of Catholicism, for which they profess to be great 
 sticklers ; and labor by all means to fix upon the Hop- 
 kinsians the imputation of illiberality and bigotry. 
 
 Yours, in friendship, 
 
 Palemon." 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 " Hollis, March 17th, 1796. 
 My dear friend, — 
 
 I have been for several weeks in this place, employed 
 in the business of school-keeping. My wages are at 
 the rate of nineteen dollars a month, inclusive of my 
 board, which is reckoned at about seven shillings and 
 six pence per week. Small encouragement indeed ; 
 yet I am considered as a high priced master. Many, 
 if not most, of the school districts in this and the 
 neighboring towns are furnished with masters, at not 
 more than fourteen or fifteen dollars a month. Not- 
 withstanding the smallness of their stipends, however, 
 school-masters are, ex officio, regarded with consider- 
 able attention and respect; and their business is con- 
 sidered reputable. But if I mistake not, the reputation 
 of their business, and the respect annexed to their office, 
 are much on the decline. Perhaps the principal rea- 
 son of this may be the countenance and encourage- 
 ment, which are given to illiterate upstart pedagogues. 
 The branches attended to in my school are Reading, 
 Writing, English Grammar, Arithmetic, and Geogra- 
 phy. The books most in use are, Webster's Ameri- 
 can Spelling Book, Bingham's Young Lady's Acci- 
 dence, Pike's Arithmetic, abridged, Morse's American 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 169 
 
 Geography, and Guthrie's Geographical Grammar. 
 These, exce})ting tlie last or two last, (for Geogra))liy 
 has not generally obtained as a common school study) 
 are books much in vogue ; not in this town only, but 
 in the vicinity, and, I believe, throughout this State. 
 
 The Bible, also, is yet retained as a school book. 
 Besides instructing in the several branches abovemen- 
 tioned, it is expected, that the school-master will be 
 attentive to the morals and manners of his })upil3. 
 Catechising in the first principles of the Christian 
 religion, is in these parts considered an indispensable 
 school exercise. The Assembly's Shorter Catechism 
 is, therefore, taught in the school, weekly, on Satur- 
 days. And it is a common practice for Masters to 
 open their schools in the morning, and close them at 
 evening with prayer. This practice, however, seems 
 to be OTowins: into disuse. 
 
 The education of youth is a business highly interest- 
 ing and important. Let us, my friend, encourage and 
 promote it, to the best of our influence. 
 
 Palemon." 
 
 In his school at HoUis, he had some classes upon 
 which he bestow^ed unusual attention. He taught, as 
 if the employment was his delight ; and not as if his 
 leading object was to gain his monthly stipend. In 
 sacred music, also, he gave evening lessons. And 
 accounting his ministerial studies among his avoca- 
 tions, he was employed too assiduously for the safety 
 of his health. 
 
 Accepting the charge of New Ipswich Academy, 
 early in the spring of 1796, he entered upon the duties 
 with his accustomed elevation of purpose and plan. 
 He now found himself surrounded by many congenial 
 acquaintances and friends, w^ho rendered him every 
 attention of respect and esteem. Visiting was very 
 common, and he was obliged to give more of his time 
 15 
 
170 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to sociability, than he could well afford, when expect- 
 ing so soon to apply for license to preach ; yet, if he 
 had not been constrained to take the relaxation, which 
 was so kindly forced upon him, he would hardly have 
 endured as well as he did, the severe study to which 
 he subjected himself. — His industry and exertions 
 were quite too much for a constitution, which had 
 been so violently shattered, during his college course. 
 There were times when he was completely prostrated. 
 A nervous head-ache, so distressing and bewildering, 
 as even to affect the exercise of his reason, occasion- 
 ally compelled him to suspend all labor ; and made 
 him the object of very special attention from one, who 
 now above all others had an interest in his health and 
 happiness, and who at his desire had come to New 
 Ipswich, to enjoy the advantages of the Academy. 
 
 In succeeding a Preceptor, so popular as* his prede- 
 cessor had been, he had no unaffected misgivings. 
 But no one better than himself could have sat for the 
 portrait : 
 
 " His eye was meek and gentle ; and a smile 
 
 Played on his lips, and in his speech was heard 
 
 Paternal sweetness, dignity and love. 
 
 The occupation dearest to his heart 
 
 Was to encourage goodness. Learning grew 
 
 Beneath his care."* 
 
 He was beloved by all his pupils, and gave no oc- 
 casion for any other remarks, than those of cordial es- 
 teem. Beside the regular instructions of school-hours, 
 he invited all his pupils to visit him, at his private 
 room, where he used to answer their various questions, 
 in the most familiar manner, — encouraging the very 
 youngest to make any kind of inquiries which might 
 
 * Applied to Prof. Hubbard, of Dartmouth College, — the first Preceptor 
 of New Ipswich Academy. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 171 
 
 occur to them. He was greatly interested in explain- 
 ing "the globes," and illustrating every study, so that 
 each of his scholars might have definite and practical 
 views of geography, grammar, &c. He is remembered 
 by those, who yet survive, with feelings of love and 
 veneration, which no changes can ever remove. 
 
 It has been suggested by one of them,* that the in- 
 fluence of his accomplished predecessor and also of 
 the pastor of the church. Rev. S. Farrar, was proba- 
 bly very advantageous to him, in the formation of his 
 public character. 
 
 Writing to his friend Jewett, April 26th, he says : 
 " My school as yet is small, but my prospects are not 
 altogether discouraging. Perhaps I may be in orders 
 soon ; but how soon I cannot tell." 
 
 He was " in orders," so as to preach in the summer. 
 At the very outset of his ministerial work, he was 
 careful to adopt the dignified manners, which, as he 
 felt, well became his office. His brother Thomas had 
 preceded him, in the use of " the bands," and some 
 other badges, by which the clergymen of that day 
 sought to increase the influence of their calling. He 
 followed the example, which he had had at Salisbury 
 and in other places. And thus, perhaps, he innocently 
 gave occasion for some remarks, as if he thought rather 
 too highly of his own personal consequence. 
 
 His first sermon was from the words : " Rejoice 
 evermore." 1 Thes. v. 16. — It was preached at New 
 Ipswich, according to his own memorandum, — " Sun- 
 day, July 24, 1796." — There is a rich vein of scriptural 
 sentiment, running through the whole; and which 
 may, doubtless, be considered as reflecting the image 
 
 * Hon. T. Farrar, whose uncle, the Rev. Mr. Farrar, was thoroughly 
 evangelical in his sentiments, according to the standard of Edwards. 
 
172 MEMOIR OP 
 
 of his own prevailing cheerfulness of spirit. He was 
 never a gloomy Christian or a desponding preacher. 
 
 " In the prosecution of our subject," he says, " we 
 shall 
 
 I. Endeavor to show, that it is a duty particularly 
 enjoined upon the people of God to be joyful. 
 
 II. Offer some reasons why Christians should re- 
 joice evermore. And 
 
 III. Shut vp the subject with some practical infer- 
 ences and reflections." * 
 
 The second sermon was from Ezekiel xviii. 31. — 
 " Why will ye die ?" Written as it was, in less than 
 ten months after he graduated, it would be pronounced 
 by the critical a very successful production. But a 
 more elaborate, more intellectual effort was made in 
 his third discourse, according to his mark, and which 
 required both parts of the day, for its delivery. It was 
 on the favorite subject of Hopkinsians, — " disinterested 
 benevolence." The three subjects of his first sermons 
 were, by an undesigned coincidence no doubt, a very 
 characteristic expression of the feelings of his heart. 
 The sentiments, to which he gave an earnest utter- 
 ance, were those which he cherished to the latest hour 
 of his life. 
 
 " I heard him the first Sabbath, at Brookline," says 
 an impartial witness. " It was, I believe, the second 
 time he ascended the pulpit. His sermon was an 
 
 * The reader may not have needed the italics in the third division, to 
 catch his eye, and fasten it upon the phrase, which was probably used in 
 this sermon only. It was, perhaps, borrowed from the passage — " shut iip 
 unto the faith,'''' (Jcc, and may have been thought to have the merit of origi- 
 nahty. To such errors of taste, the greatest minds are most liable. In a 
 young man, they are often among the brightest signs of promise. They are 
 the experiments of a laudable emulation, which most effectually lead to 
 purer forms of literary excellence. It is not the wisest criticism, which is 
 prompt to make a man " an offender for a word." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 173 
 
 illustration of tlie text, — ' Love is the falfilling of the 
 law.' The whole performance was in the style and 
 manner of a solid divine ; not captivating to the com- 
 mon mass, but a feast to those who had understand- 
 ing to a})preciate what was set before them. — Some 
 thought his manner in the pulpit was affected; others 
 said, * It is his natural way,' to which it was once 
 replied, ' Then I would not have a natural way.' 
 This impression, however, wore off, as people became 
 accustomed to him." 
 
 The peculiarity of his manner has been tlius de- 
 scribed. " It commenced by lifting up the eyes and 
 chin, including a slight throwing back of the head ; 
 accompanying this a small smack of the lips ; then a 
 straightening of the arms, throwing open of the right 
 hand, sometimes, also, of the left, with an inward and 
 backward motion of the fingers. Sometimes a part 
 of this, but not the whole. He was probably uncon- 
 scious of it himself. His people at Salem made no 
 account of it ; but there were those in his native town 
 to whom it was exceedingly offensive." 
 
 This description, although very true as a part of the 
 likeness, yet more resembles a portrait, in which are 
 seen in bold relief all the less agreeable features of the 
 original, but none of the expression of the marked 
 countenance. It should be understood, as applicable 
 to Dr. Worcester, less and less, after he became famil- 
 iar with the pulpit. " His people at Salem made no 
 account of " the peculiarity described ; and for the 
 very sufficient reason, that little or nothing of it was 
 observed, in comparison with qualities, which always 
 gained their attention, and repaid their profoundest 
 silence. 
 
 His voice was not powerful, or orotund, but mild 
 15* 
 
174 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and pleasant ; and his tones were those of benevolent, 
 affectionate, fervent sincerity. When he commenced 
 his public life, he undoubtedly Avas emulous of dis- 
 tinction in each branch of rhetorical culture. There 
 was an evident effort in his speaking, which was a 
 serious fault. In Dr. Austin, he had a good example 
 of manly and effective oratory ; but his own natural 
 gifts were in this respect much inferior to those of his 
 eloquent teacher. It is doubtful, if he ever had any 
 very particular aid, of the right kind, in direct elocu- 
 tionary discipline. And so long had he been inured 
 to hard agricultural toils, that it was much more diffi- 
 cult to acquire an easy and graceful command of his 
 person, for the happiest effect of public speaking. 
 
 In conversation and in extemporaneous efforts, gen- 
 erally, he had more or less of hesitancy, which was 
 not " natural ;" but, as is believed, was rather the con- 
 sequence of an early purpose to choose out the best 
 of " acceptable words," and of his nice discrimination 
 of the less obvious differences of significance. If he 
 had not been so studious of accuracy and elegance, 
 he might have been more fluent; as was abundantly 
 manifest in his more familiar conversational moods, 
 and his more excited and ardent exertions, as an ec- 
 clesiastical counsellor or debater. If there be any 
 charm in the " negligent grandeur of genius," not the 
 least of it was ever seen in him. 
 
 He was modest, but not diffident, or self-distrustful. 
 Fully aware as he was of m^aterial deficiencies in the 
 attractions of oratory, he was yet collected and unem- 
 barrassed. Of action he was very sparing. And 
 whatever he may have had of stiffness or awkward- 
 ness at the beginning, the time came, when the wave 
 of his hand, or the elevation of a finger, spoke with an 
 unutterable expressiveness. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 175 
 
 One excellence he had in no common degree ; that 
 of distinctness. With a very moderate volume of 
 sound, he could be perfeclly heard by a very large as- 
 sembly. And combined with distinctness, was a mode 
 of pronunciation, which was rigidly conformed to the 
 standard of reputable and refined usage. 
 
 His frequent debility may have had some effect 
 upon his manner in the pulpit and elsewhere. To the 
 end of his life, perhaps, a stranger would almost al- 
 ways feel, that, for some cause, occasional or constant, 
 it was not so easy for him to speak, as for many 
 others. And his talents as a writer and reasoner, so 
 much eclipsed all his claims as an orator, that, ab- 
 sorbed in the subject of his discourse, the candid 
 hearer soon forgot that there was anything else before 
 him or around him, than the subject and the dis- 
 course. 
 
 That " a prophet is not without honor, save in his 
 own country, and in his own house," there is the high- 
 est authority for believing, as a general law of per- 
 sonal reputation. And it is true, as would be inferred 
 from the testimony above cited, that Dr. Worcester 
 never was so popular at Hollis, as in other ])laces. In 
 fact, he was not as acceptable in the pulpit of his 
 native town, as either of his brothers. He was longer 
 at home, and while at home, he was more prominent 
 in his attainments and aspirations, and thus more an 
 object of that kind of notice, which so naturally ex- 
 cites the feelings of jealousy and envy. He was ac- 
 cused of a dcgi'ce of self-esteem, which had no place 
 in his consciousness. There were a few verv amia- 
 ble and pious persons, who deceived themselves re- 
 specting his real character, and for a time were ac- 
 customed to speak of him in terms, which they after- 
 
176 MEMOIR OP 
 
 wards found occasion to lament. There were those, 
 however, whose prejudices were not softened, but 
 rather hardened by the course, which, some ten or 
 twelve years after he began to preach, he felt obliged 
 to pursue, in reference to certain vexed cases in the 
 Church at Hollis, upon which his judgment did not at 
 all harmonize with theirs, or at least, with their feel- 
 ings. And it was necessary that he should die even, 
 before he could receive from some the justice and the 
 honor, which were his due. 
 
 He preached in the place of his " own home," very 
 soon after he " ascended the pulpit." One who be- 
 came a devoted friend, and was most grateful to re- 
 cognize him as her pastor, at Salem, was then resid- 
 ing in Hollis. 
 
 " When I saw him walking over the common, to- 
 wards the meeting-house, in company with Mr. Smith, 
 I suspected that he was going to preach. I knew not 
 what to do ; I felt so badly. If it had not been for the 
 appearance, I should have left the house, before he 
 came in. But I thought it best to stay. — The spirit- 
 uality of his prayer almost entirely removed my preju- 
 dices against him. But his sermon, from the text — 
 * So Naaman went away in a rage,' — completely melted 
 me dcncn. I never afterwards had any doubts of his 
 humility."* 
 
 The effect was like that, which prompted a kindred 
 spirit, at a later day, to testify of him : — " No minister 
 would ever lead me like him, to humble myself before 
 God I" 
 
 At New Ipswich, he was at this time as much es- 
 teemed and applauded, as his warmest self-love could 
 
 * The devout woman, who, in 1S34, related this reminiscence with a 
 moistened eye, had become his sister-in-law, in ISJO, by being- married to 
 his brother Leonard. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 177 
 
 have desired. The people had the hii^hest confidence 
 in him as a Christian, and delighted to do honor to 
 his abilities and worth. He is there remembered by 
 the aged, as if an early acquaintance with liini was 
 among the happiest of recollections. 
 
 His intercourse with his pupils and with all others, 
 was so instructive and entertaining, that his company 
 was much valued. He was usually in a cheerful and 
 happy frame of spirit, and disposed to avail himself 
 of the opportunities, which his situation amply afford- 
 ed him, for cultivating the social affections. Some of 
 his letters at this period, and his more elaborate com- 
 positions, have a mellowness and tenderness — an unc- 
 tion of persuasive sentiment, — which may have been 
 somewhat promoted by his debilitated state of health ; 
 while receiving, on every hand, the most grateful and 
 animating tokens of respect and love. Witness, for 
 example, a letter to his brother, who took the place at 
 Hollis, which had been intended for himself, and who 
 was subject to depression and melancholy. 
 
 " New Ipswich, 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 I wrote you a letter three or four weeks ago ; but as 
 INIr. Farrar failed of attending the Association, I was 
 disappointed in the expected conveyance. I was eager 
 to avail myself of the earliest opportunity to bring you 
 under an obligation, or at least to give you provoca- 
 tion, to write to me. For, from your verbal, but more 
 especially, from your practical, confessions, I am much 
 inclined to think, that you have contracted too great 
 an aversion to writing letters, and are too backward 
 in supporting a correspondence with your brothers. 
 I do not impute it to the want of friendly and frater- 
 nal affection. No : by no means. I do believe, and 
 / hve to believe, that you are richly possessed of the 
 heart and the feelings of a brother — that heart and 
 
178 MEMOIR OP 
 
 those feelings, which, if allowed to dictate to the pen, 
 would prove a source of the purest pleasure to your- 
 self, and your friends. And therefore it is, that I wish 
 you to write. It is certainly a pity, that the best sen- 
 timents should burn out upon the socket within your 
 own bosom. Let them animate the epistolary page, 
 and they will do good ; they will warm into life all 
 that is generous and fraternal in the circle of our 
 brotherhood, and give the consanguined fluid, which 
 runs in our veins, a brisker circulation through the 
 heart. I know your excuses for not ^^Titing more ; 
 but pardon me if I cannot admit them. True you are 
 involved in the cares of a family, and the businesses 
 of the world ; but I would not say that you are too 
 much so. Yet certainly you are, if you have no time 
 left for anything else. This, however, is not the bur- 
 den of your apologies. There is another thing which 
 you urge ; and the urging of which has given me pain. 
 Have you a brother in the world, who thinks meanly 
 of you, on account of your natural abilities, your ac- 
 quirements, or your condition in life ? I presume you 
 have not. If you have, I certainly am not he. Your 
 notions of inability and inferiority are groundless, and 
 ought to be discarded. They betray you into unrea- 
 sonable suspicions, and create many disagreeable sen- 
 sations. They deceive you, they impose upon you ; 
 and that to the painful regret of some, and I believe I 
 may say all, of your friends, by whom it has been dis- 
 covered. Be entreated to dismiss them, and resume 
 the place, which your birthright allows you, among 
 the members of our common family. 
 
 My school is small as yet, but in a growing state. 
 I have it in contemplation, to offer myself for license, 
 sometime in the' course of the summer : perhaps in 
 July. What is to be my success, time must disclose. 
 
 You will excuse the freedom, which I have indulged 
 in this letter ; and be pleased to give it such an an- 
 swer as you think it may deserve. 
 
 With cordial regards for my sister, and your whole 
 family, I am your affectionate brother, 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Mr. Jesse Worcester." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 179 
 
 This fraternal letter was probably written, about 
 the time, when he was invited to deliver an oration, at 
 the twentieth Anniversary of Independence. The cit- 
 izens of New Ipswich took measures for a brilliant 
 civic and military display of their patriotism, and had 
 no fears of disappointment, when the speaker of their 
 choice was ready to address them. There were not 
 many places in New Hampshire, or in any part of the 
 interior of all New England, where, within the same 
 territorial limits, so great a number of well educated 
 people of both sexes could have been convened on 
 that Fourth of July, 1796. And the orator of the day 
 may have had some remembrance, that it was now 
 but the fifth summer^ since he had wielded the scythe 
 and the sickle. 
 
 He began with an original and beautiful analysis of 
 the nature and true end of commemorative celebra- 
 tions ; from which it was natural to remind the large 
 and very intelligent concourse of his fellow-citizens, 
 that the occasion imposed upon the orator of the day 
 a responsibility, of which none could be more unaf- 
 fectedly sensible than himself. Li a statesman-like 
 and christian manner he then reviewed the political 
 and moral grounds of the Declaration of American 
 Lidependence. And although entirely prepared, both 
 in himself and " audience meet," he must have taken 
 all by surprise, when he so suddenly and happily turn- 
 ed the onw^ard course of his glowing discussion of the 
 principles and obligations of our national freedom. 
 
 " Citizens of Columbia, — 
 
 You glory in your Independence, you glory in your 
 liberties, you glory in your republican spirit. And 
 well you may ; for they have raised you to a pitch of 
 happiness, and an elevation of character, un]iarallcled 
 
180 MEMOIR OF 
 
 in the history of nations. You cannot place too highly 
 in estimation the privileges you possess ; you cannot 
 regard, with too lively a sensibility, the liberties you 
 enjoy; neither can you commemorate, with emotions 
 too grateful, or eclat too exultant, the great events, 
 which brought you to this state. 
 
 But let it be remembered, that glorying, rejoicing, 
 and commemorating, are not the whole duty of a re- 
 publican people. Heaven has suspended the happiness 
 and character of man, in every state, upon unremitting 
 and well-directed exertion ; and in proportion as the 
 condition is more elevated and happy, the requisite 
 exertion becomes more strenuous, assiduous, and 
 direct. While, therefore, we exult in the privileges 
 and blessings, which distinguish us a people, from 
 every nation under heaven, we virtually acknowledge, 
 that our every best effort is due for their security and 
 perpetuation. 
 
 The history of the world is replete with evidence, 
 that liberty, though dearest of every thing to the hu- 
 man heart, is of every thing the most liable to suffer 
 from supine negligence, or wanton abuse of men. 
 Look at the republics of antiquity ; look at those of 
 modern times. Look, and triumph ; look, and tremble. 
 Triumph, that all their glory is ours, and tremble, lest 
 their fate should also be ours. 
 
 As a constitution, founded on " free and benevolent 
 principles," was the gi'and object of the revolution, and 
 is that, in which our Independence was gloriously 
 consummated ; so is it the grand bulwark of the rights, 
 liberties, and blessings, which we now enjoy, and 
 which we justly hold so dear. The constitution, under 
 which our Federal system is organized, is the sacred 
 palladium of all our national prosperity and glory. 
 Preserve this inviolate, and all is secure ; let this be 
 subverted, and all is lost. So long as we are governed 
 by this, we have all the freedom, which, as good citi- 
 zens, we can desire ; but so soon as the supremacy of 
 this is prostrated, we are no longer a free people. 
 
 I say so long as we are governed by the consti- 
 tution ; for governed by it we must be, or the so- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 181 
 
 cial tie is dissolved, and our republican state at an 
 end. 
 
 Nor let it be Ihoumdit, Ihat submission to constitu- 
 tional authority is incompatible with the cliaracter of 
 independent freemen ; for that is but ac([uiescence, if I 
 may so say, in our own best will. We have chosen 
 not to range at large in the wild province's of nature ; 
 we have chosen society, which is, beyond doul)t, the 
 state designed by Heaven for man ; and we have bound 
 ourselves to the observance of such laws and govern- 
 mental institutions, as may result from the general 
 sentiment. And in all this, have we not acted as freely 
 and as independently, as it is possible for a people to 
 act? Is not the constitution the result of our most 
 enlightened reason, and the object of our most delib- 
 erate choice ? And are we not bound in obedience to 
 it, by obligations, as sacred as the first laws of morali- 
 ty, and as commanding as the supreme sanctions of 
 nature ? 
 
 But is the constitution, like the laws of the Medes 
 and Persians, irreversibly fixed, and unalterable ? And 
 are we bound to abide it, in all its eftects, however in- 
 jurious it may prove in.its operation ? This is by no 
 means pretended. Although we believe it an incom- 
 parable monument of the wisdom of man ; yet, like 
 everything else human, it is unquestionably stamped 
 with the mark of imperfection. It certainly is not 
 sacred beyond the touch of scrutiny or reform. Not 
 only is it the right of the people to examine it for al- 
 teration or amendment ; but it is their indispensable 
 duty to remedy, so far as may be practicable, every in- 
 convenience, which it may be found to involve. And the 
 constitution itself has not only made provision for this, 
 but has marked out the way, by which it may be 
 done. But so long as it remains unaltered, it is to be 
 regarded as the best possible expression of the public 
 will ; and, as such, it is inviolable. Every attempt, 
 therefore, to subvert its principles, to unnerve its ener- 
 gy, or to obstruct its operation, is an infringement on 
 the rights of community, and a treason against the 
 16 
 
182 MEMOIR OF 
 
 sovereignty of the States, which ought to be crushed 
 by the people en masse. 
 
 Virtue and knowledge are the two main pillars, by 
 which a government, like ours, can be supported. Let 
 either of these fail, and the whole must fall, inevitably, 
 to the ground. As the great object of the social con- 
 nection is general happiness, it is plainly a fundamen- 
 tal maxim, that a smaller good must give place to a 
 greater, and that private emolument must be holden 
 in subordination to public interest. To deviate, prac- 
 tically, from this maxim, is to contravene the very 
 principle of the republican state ; and to practise in 
 conformity with it, is to be, in an eminent degree, vir- 
 tuous. 
 
 Under our free constitution, every man of talents 
 and ambition embraces, within the compass of his 
 hopes, the highest places in the state. Some, how- 
 ever, must be disappointed. And as ambition, in a 
 mind not fortified with virtue, can but illy brook the 
 mortification of a disappointment, it is naturally led 
 to meditate the overthrow of a successful rival, what- 
 soever consequences it may involve. Hence, slan- 
 derous surmises against men in place are industriously 
 circulated, and under the show of ' exclusive patriot- 
 ism,' clamor and cabal against measures of govern- 
 ment are wantonly fomented. The public is taught 
 to believe its ' servants ' to be unfaithful or incompe- 
 tent ; violent parties, in continual succession, are 
 formed in the state ; and the people, harassed and dis- 
 tracted with endless jealousies and apprehensions, 
 lose, at length, all confidence in the government, and, 
 of course, all respect for its laws. Unbounded licen- 
 tiousness then prevails, and anarchy, the worst species 
 of despotism, inevitably ensues. 
 
 The only security against this fatal declension of 
 things is a general difl'usion of knowledge. Knowl- 
 edge will convince men that virtue is essential to the 
 existence of the republican state. It will enable them 
 to discover in what true republicanism consists, and 
 what are the privileges, which belong to the citizen. 
 It wiU show them, that if power has its boundaries ou 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 183 
 
 the one hand, liberty has its limits on the other. And, 
 a foe eciually to tyranny and lieentionsness, it will 
 serve as a raitlilul sentinel over the desii^ns of ambition 
 within the government, and the intrigues of faetion 
 without. 
 
 Contidenee in government, and acquiescence in 
 constitutional administration, are among the first of 
 the republican duties, and absolutely essential to the 
 well-being of a free state. The best form of govern- 
 ment, ever conceived by man, can avail nothing, as to 
 the great objects of the social connection, unless it be 
 carried into eflcctive operation. In order to this, its 
 administration must be entrusted somewhere, and 
 there must be subordination in the state. There must 
 be a supreme power concentrated, there must be offi- 
 cers in the several departments, invested with the 
 authority of the constitution, and to these the people 
 must confide the management of the commonwealth ; 
 or the whole business of government is but a solemn 
 farce. 
 
 Government is a machinery, the whole beauty of 
 which consists in its adaptedness to utility ; and to 
 love a government is to love its genuine effects. It is 
 preposterous, therefore, for men to pretend an attach- 
 ment to the constitution itself, so long as they are op- 
 posed to every principle of it in operation ; so long as 
 they are assiduously endeavoring to destroy its influ- 
 ence, by spreading the mania of disaffection through 
 the public mind, by arrogantly arraigning every meas- 
 ure of administration, and by a perpetual cry of ' tyranny 
 and aristocracy ' against men in the discharge of their 
 official duties. 
 
 To oppose the proper exercise of constitutional 
 authority, is, virtually, to oppose the constitution it- 
 self. 
 
 It were easy to raise clamors and complaints against 
 the best administration of the best government, which 
 ever existed ; and factious men know this to be the 
 most eftectual way to sap the foundations of the 
 state, and to throw the political system into ruins. 
 
 The popular mind is always in a high degree in- 
 
184 MEMOIR OP 
 
 flammable ; and certain words, pronounced with a cer- 
 tain tone or emphasis, are usually sufficient to kindle 
 it into a blaze. Tell the people that they are free, that 
 they are independent, that they have all the power in 
 their own hands, and they will be pleased, they will 
 love you, they will believe you. Then but point the 
 finger, or cast an oblique glance, at a man in power, 
 or a measure of government, and, with one voice, they 
 will cry out, ' Tyranny ! Aristocracy ! Oppression ! 
 Down avith administration ! ' But this is not the 
 way to preserve the republican state ; and the man who 
 would practise thus, ought to be branded as an enemy 
 to his country. 
 
 It is of dangerous tendency to tell the people they 
 are free ; unless you tell them at the same time, in what 
 freedom consists. The multitude stops not to delib- 
 erate, it acts from the impulse of the moment, and, 
 therefore, extremities excepted, ought never to be ad- 
 dressed with inflammatory harangues. 
 
 Let it not be supposed, that the speaker would in- 
 culcate implicit confidence in public officers, or uncon- 
 ditional submission to measures of administi-ation. 
 Far be it from his heart. This only is contended, that 
 none ought to be elected into office, in whom the peo- 
 ple have not confidence, that they will be faithful to 
 the public interest, and competent to the duties of their 
 trust; that while in office, they should be respected, 
 not as the menial ' servants of the people,' but as the 
 representatives of the nation, and promptly supported 
 in the exercise of their respective functions ; and that 
 so long as they continue to ' deserve well of their coun- 
 try,' their characters should be regarded as sacred, and 
 their services should be rewarded with the ingenuous 
 affiance and the lively gratitude of the nation. 
 
 The right of election is the most important of any, 
 which a people can enjoy. It in fact involves every- 
 thing, which appertains to the free citizen. It is in 
 the exercise of this right only, that the people can feel 
 and act as sovereigns ; for as soon as they have elected 
 their officers into place, they step, as it were, into the 
 subject, and have nothing further to do with the gov- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 185 
 
 eminent, so long as const iintioiuilly administered, but 
 to strengthen its iniluence and submit to its 0[)eration. 
 
 It is farcical for the people to tliink, either by pop- 
 ular meetings or otherwise, to dictate measures to men 
 in oliice, or to take any share, either in legislation or 
 administration. They may petition and memorialize, 
 and that in the most forcible manner ; yet have they no 
 right to expect, that their ' servants ' should act aside 
 from their own judgment of what is right, even should 
 the popular voice be, unitedly, against them. Public 
 functionaries, in every department, taking the consti- 
 tution and laws of the land for their guide, must act 
 independently, according to tlieir own best sense of 
 the right and the fit, or their oaths of ofiice are viola- 
 ted, and all, but the bare name, of a representative 
 government is at once destroyed. 
 
 Every citizen, therefore, who glories in the character 
 of a freeman, must feel the importance of exercising 
 his right of suffrage, with discretion and with dignity. 
 The character of candidates for offices of trust ought 
 to be canvassed with the most dispassionate scrutiny. 
 Every party consideration, every personal prejudice, 
 and every interested bias, is to be utterly excluded from 
 the business of elections ; and the only inquiry should 
 be ' which is the man, who will fill the place to the 
 greatest public advantage ? ' 
 
 Forbid it. Heaven, that, on this sacred anniversary, 
 a public orator should suggest a sentiment to the pre- 
 judice of virtue or of worth. Perish the tongue, which 
 would cast the smallest blot on the lustre of patriot- 
 ism. Perish, forever, the hand, which would pluck a 
 single laurel from the brow of merit I But it is a truth, 
 w4iich, at a time like the present, ought not to be sup- 
 pressed, that violent enmity against tyranny is not an 
 unequivocal indication of warm friendship for rational 
 liberty. Neither is it invariably true, that he, who is 
 the most zealous in promoting a revolution in favor of 
 a free government, is also the most firm in supporting 
 that government, when once established. There are 
 men, dexterous at demolishing, who have no skill in 
 building. And there are men, who delight in perpet- 
 16* 
 
186 MEMOIR OP 
 
 ual revolution, who have ends to answer by the des- 
 truction of the existing system, whatever it may be, 
 and whose principal design is to erect their own in- 
 terest and aggrandizement on the ruins of the state. 
 
 I venerate the patriots of seventy-five ; I venerate 
 those, who stood forward in the contest with Great 
 Britain, and I venerate the men, Avho are, at this day, 
 truly engaged for the liberties of ' the people.' Yet I 
 dare believe, that some, not to say many, who distin- 
 guished themselves by their zeal and activity for the 
 revolution, who were ready to spend their fortunes and 
 spill their lives in the cau.se of Independence, who still 
 retain such an enmity to the British nation, that they 
 would willingly see their island sinking, ' like a mill- 
 stone,' in the depths of the sea, and who, on every oc- 
 casion, talk it ' independently ' and vociferously for 
 Miberty,' 'equality,' and 'democratic republicanism,' 
 are, nevci-theless, enemies to the very principles of the 
 constitution, enemies to every system of regular gov- 
 ernment, enemies to the best characters and best inter- 
 ests of their country ; and therefore not only unfit for 
 any office of trust in the state, but of dangerous influ- 
 ence to the community, even in their individual capa- 
 city. 
 
 Citizens of America, are we to be duped by clamor 
 and declamation ? Are we to be governed by faction 
 and cabal ? Are we to believe, that the heat of the 
 revolution was the time, and the only time, ' to try 
 men's souls ; ' and that every man, who was then a 
 warm whig, is now a true patriot ? Are we to believe, 
 that hatred against Britain, is the same thing as love 
 for our own country ; and that he, who is loudest in 
 clamor against British connections, is warmest at 
 heart for our republican state ? Are we to believe, 
 that, because we have preserved a neutrality, during 
 the belligerency of Europe, our government is, there- 
 fore, wholly corrupt ; and that he, who does not join 
 in execrating every measure of administration, and 
 in denouncing every oUficer in place, is, certainly, a 
 ' tory,' an ' aristocrat,' an enemy to the rights of ' the 
 people ? ' 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 187 
 
 Have wc not already soen and fdt the pernicious 
 eftbcts of doctrines like these? Have we not seen the 
 firebrands of sedition plentifully scattered in every dis- 
 trict of our country ? Have we not seen associations, 
 formed in ditlerent parts of the community, for the 
 manifest purpose of counteracting the inlluence of 
 government, and of destroying all coniidcnee in ad- 
 ministration ? 
 
 * Ten thousand fools, knaves, cowards, lumped together, 
 Become all wise, all righteous, and almighty.' 
 
 Have w^e not seen the demon of faction rearing his 
 head, and, with hideous aspect, threatening to trample 
 in the dust all authority and all law ? Have we not seen 
 the best characters in the commonwealth, the boast 
 of the nation and the pillars of the state, overwhelmed 
 with torrenfs of obloquy and abuse ? Have w^e not 
 seen the daring, sacrilegious hand stretched forth to 
 rifle of its laurels that venerable brow, which nations 
 have been emulous to crown, and which ages will por- 
 tray with irradiations of glory ? Have we not seen 
 our national honor tottering on the brink of ruin, and 
 our federal system just ready to be wrecked in the 
 vortex of party? Have we not seen our political hor- 
 izon gathering blackness, low^ering, and thickening 
 into a tempest, just ready to burst over our heads with 
 
 tenfold horror ? Have we not seen But I forbear. 
 
 The storm is blown over, the clouds are dispersed, and 
 the sun shines forth in meridian splendor. 
 
 And, my fellow-citizens, while we rejoice in the 
 present happy state and prospects of our country, let 
 us unite in grateful acknowledgments to those firm 
 supporters of the constitution, and of the rights of na- 
 tions, who have greatly stemmed the torrent of faction, 
 baffled the designs of party, and, under the auspices of 
 Heaven, saved our nation from infamy, from anarchy, 
 and from war. 
 
 Favored, thrice-favored land I Asylum of peace, 
 liberty and happiness I Long mayest thou continue 
 the glory of nations and the admiration of the world. 
 May genial seasons crown thy fields ; may prosperous 
 
188 MEMOIR OP 
 
 breezes fill thy sails ; may radiant sciences illumine 
 thy paths ; may universal love felicitate thy times ; 
 may the smiles of thy daughters warm the heart to 
 virtue ; may the exertions of thy sons be directed to 
 true glory ; and may all thy children unite, in senti- 
 ment and effort, for the great interests of humanity, 
 till this scene of things shall be shut, and latest time 
 shall lapse into vast eternity." 
 
 If the citizens of New Ipswich and vicinity extolled 
 this oration, as extraordinary and most felicitous, 
 there are those, who, after the lapse of fifty-five years, 
 heartily concur in their admiring judgment. And if 
 it had been repeated on the very last — the seventy- 
 fifth — anniversary of our existence as a sovereign peo- 
 ple, — how few sentences would it have been necessary 
 to erase or modify, that it might have received from a 
 similar assembly a similar tribute of applause ! What 
 in principle and spirit could have been more appro- 
 priate, in respect to existing political divisions and 
 dissensions I 
 
 To Mr. Luther Jeivett. 
 
 " New Ipsivich, Nov, 8, 1796. 
 My dear Friend, — 
 
 * * * * Since I v^Tote you last, my health has 
 been mending considerably ; and it is at present in a 
 flattering state. If you have not already consulted 
 physical skill for my benefit ; perhaps it may be well 
 to defer it, at least for a while, till I write you again. 
 I submit the matter, however, to your discretion, to do 
 as you think most expedient. 
 
 The last Sabbath completed my term of engage- 
 ment at Pelham, and the next I am to begin at Fitch- 
 burg. And the engagements, into which I have al- 
 ready entered, will about carry me through the winter. 
 After I shall have done at Fitchburg, I have a term to 
 supply at Milford, then a term again at Pelham, and 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 189 
 
 thon a form at Mothuon. I spoak mnoh easier than I 
 did when I first boii^an to preach; and find my bnsi- 
 ness more and more ac^recable. The work is impor- 
 tant : ' The harvest is great, bnt the lal)orers ' are com- 
 paratively, ' few.' How I shall succeed, is known 
 only to Him^ in wdiose canse I have professedly en- 
 gaged, and in whose strength I trust I have come forth. 
 But I feel happy in the assurance, that I have your 
 best wdshes and most fervent prayers, together with 
 those of my other friends, and of all the friends of 
 Zion, for my success. 
 
 Last Friday, as I was on my way to Pelham, T rode 
 with Z***** to HoUis. The evening next preceding I 
 waited upon her to Deacon Adams', where w^e both 
 spent the evening, and she spent the night, very hap- 
 pily, in company wdth B****. I need not tell you the 
 reason, why I was prepared to entertain sentiments 
 particularly friendly to her ; nor will you be surprised 
 to hear that Z***** regarded her as a sister, upon the 
 first acquaintance, nay, even before she saw her. Give 
 me the opportunity to hand her some more of your 
 letters, for it will do me good. 
 
 Yours, most cordially, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 To Mr. lAither Jeivett 
 
 " Neiv Ipswich, Nov. 28, 1796. 
 My dear Friend, — 
 
 I had but this moment knowledge of Mr. Crosby's 
 going to Boston ; so that I have time only to intro- 
 duce to your acquaintance my last Independence Ora- 
 tion. You may suppose that I regard it with all the 
 fondness of a parent, and, therefore, have some solici- 
 tude that it should make its way in the world under 
 favorable auspices. The printer has not done by it 
 very well. He kept it a long time in his press, or 
 rather in his office, and at length handed it out incor- 
 rect. I have marked the errors in the copy which I 
 send to you ; and wish you to be so kind as to correct 
 them, wdierever you meet with other copies. 
 
190 MEMOIR OP 
 
 I have been told, with an air of confidence, that the 
 Oration would be re-printed in Boston ; this, however, 
 I hardly expect. But should you learn, that such a 
 thing is likely to happen, you will take that part in 
 the business which friendship dictates. 
 
 I spent an evening last week with the good B****, 
 which I found not much otherwise than spending one 
 with yourself. — Another letter, as soon as possible. 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 Dr. Worcester's enfeebled health and his ulterior 
 plans, constrained him to resign his office as Preceptor 
 at New Ipswich, after holding it with great success, 
 about eight months. He returned to his native place ; 
 pursued his studies ; wrote sermons ; and supplied 
 pulpits, in person, and by exchange, availing himself 
 of the great kindness of the pastor at Hollis.* He 
 again taught school there, during the winter of 1796-7 ; 
 and formed a class of young ladies, in Geography, 
 Astronomy, History, and Chronology. " They Were 
 fine scholars, acquitted themselves most honorably, 
 and gave an eclat to his school, at the close of which 
 was an exhibition of a tragedy and a comedy, and 
 many smaller pieces — which went off very well." 
 
 At an exhibition in the Academy of New Ipswich, 
 in October previous, he seems to have made quite an 
 exertion to prepare his pupils for a comic and tragic 
 entertainment of the patrons and spectators. — In thus 
 gratifying himself and the eager relish of many for the 
 pleasures of the drama, he indicated a trait of charac- 
 ter, of which none but his most intimate friends were 
 fully aware, and which sometimes exposed him to the 
 imputation of inconsistency. Descended as he was 
 
 * " I rode over four hundred miles," said the late Rev. E Smith, of Hol- 
 lis,—" to help him, in supplying puli.its, before he was settled." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 101 
 
 from Puritans of " the straitest sect," and most cor- 
 •dially reverent to their memory and example, lie was 
 yet always ready to consider every subject and ()])ject 
 upon its own intrinsic merits. He would not, for ex- 
 ample, reprobate a practice or disallow an indulgcnice, 
 simply because it had been generally reprobated, or 
 disallowed by those of his own religious denomina- 
 tion. Whatever of amusement could be granted to 
 the young, or entertainment to the older, without en- 
 dangering good manners and good morals, or inter- 
 fering with the duties of " religion, pvirc and undefiled," 
 he was willing to grant, and, so far as consistent, to 
 promote. But it is needless to add, that his most 
 liberal toleration of the loveof excitement and of mirth, 
 never obtained from him any sanction of " the theatre," 
 as the theatre has always proved itself to be. 
 
 His opinions of balls, dancing at fashionable par- 
 ties, and the like, may be inferred from a remark, 
 when he had come to be a father. — " I should have no 
 objection to my children's attending a dancing-school, 
 if I could be sure, that they would never dance any 
 where else !" And his views of the influence of recre- 
 ation, in aiding the best development of the mental 
 powers of children and youth, may be also inferred 
 from another remark, in answer to an instructer, who 
 had complained to him of the fondness of one of his 
 sons for something else than " much study." — Conced- 
 ing, that there might be some reason for the com- 
 plaint, he did not appear to be greatly troubled. He 
 disapproved of hard lessons for study out of school. 
 " And the longer I live, the more satisfied I am, that 
 there is a great deal of sound sense in the old adage, — 
 
 All work and no play, 
 Makes Jack a dull boy." 
 
192 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In the spring and summer of 1797, he was as labo- 
 riously occupied, as his health would permit. He was. 
 much abroad, and to save time, frequently rode after 
 dark, to fulfill his appointments. In bad roads, in 
 storms, and in all changes of elements, he was not 
 easily disquieted. His confidence in his skill in horse- 
 manship bordered upon recklessness. He was fond of 
 managing an animal, that scarcely any one else could 
 approach. As might have been expected, he had ex- 
 perience of some exciting and amusing incidents. 
 But the mercurial temper of one of the creatures used 
 by him, at this period of his life, once at least caused 
 a very serious train of reflection. Returning from 
 Pelham, in a very dark evening, he was plunged into 
 the Merrimac, by a leap of his horse, as the boat 
 neared the bank ; and when he felt his feet upon 
 solid ground, knew not how he had obtained deliv- 
 erance. 
 
 As soon as it became known, that he was a candi- 
 date for settlement, simultaneous and urgent applica- 
 tions were made to him, by several very eligible par- 
 ishes. Candidates of an undisputed evangelical order, 
 and of distinguished abilities, were so few, that there 
 was occasionally a spirited competition in bidding for 
 the choice. An elder, byt not a ministerial brother of 
 Dr. W. was much concerned for him, lest he should 
 be unable to sustain the rank to which he had been 
 elevated by the public voice. 
 
 He received an unanimous invitation to settle in 
 Pelham, N. H., while, at Fitchburg, Mass., a vigorous 
 movement of a part of the church and society, was 
 aimed to prevent his acceptance of his first formal 
 call, and to persuade him to comply with similar 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 193 
 
 wishes ill their own behalf.* The harmony of the 
 people of Pelham, with other circumstances, opened 
 to his view a most delightful prospect. His inclina- 
 tion, therefore, was very strong for an affirmative an- 
 swer to their call. 
 
 On the other hand, the objections which some would 
 have deemed conclusive against the call from Fitch- 
 burg, were to him very weighty arguments in favor. 
 He knew that an arduous work must there be done, 
 and that grievous trials might be anticipated, as inev- 
 itable. There were no "Articles of Faith," distinct 
 from the Covenant of the church, which was also one 
 of the " half-way " covenants ; and so indefinite in its 
 terms, as to satisfy those, who accounted all modes of 
 faith alike acceptable to God. The expression of a 
 wish to be admitted to all the privileges of church- 
 membership, was all that was necessary. And it is 
 painful to add, but the sequel of events demands the 
 statement, that among the members were some avow- 
 ed Universalists, reputed Deists, and notoriously in- 
 temperate persons, beside others who gave no satis- 
 
 * In a recent sketch of the " History of Fitchburg-," there are several im- 
 portant errors, relative to the settlement, ice, of Dr. Worcester. It would 
 appear from this " History," that the town took the lead in the " call," and 
 in fact gave it, the church concurring. — But a careful examination of the 
 Records of the town, and those of the church, gives the true state of the 
 case. Meetings of the church and of the town had been warned, to be held 
 on the same day. The church at first voted to invite Mr. Noyes, to become 
 their pastor. The town voted against concurrence with the church ; but 
 by vote of 43 to 24, signified their " willingness to settle Mr. Samuel Wor- 
 cester "' — During a short adjournment of the town-meeting, the church 
 voted to give a call to the candidate, who W'as thus seen to have the decided 
 preference of the town. Their vote was communicated, at the meeting of 
 the town, held by adjournment ; whereupon the town, in a formal manner, 
 voted to concur with the chiirch, in extending an invitation of settlement to 
 Mr. Worcester. Thus the title of tlie church to precedence, in calling the 
 pastor, was distinctly recognized, according to ancient and still accredited 
 usage. 
 
 17 
 
194 MEMOIR OP 
 
 factory evidence, that they had ever been converted to 
 Christ. Perhaps no church in Massachusetts furnish- 
 ed a sadder proof of the lamentable results of the 
 "half-way" scheme, and of the doctrine of Stoddard, 
 which had become so extensively consociated with it, 
 and which, as far as it was adopted, was evil and 
 " only evil continually." 
 
 Beside other unfavorable circumstances, there was 
 an unhappy division in the town, occasioned by the 
 location of the meeting-house. The controversy upon 
 this subject, seriously threatened to defeat all endeav- 
 ors to promote unity, prosperity, and peace. And 
 further, the laws of the Commonwealth, as then ex- 
 isting and administered, gave every legal voter in the 
 town a title to act as a member of the parish, whether 
 or not he attended public worship, or paid for its 
 maintenance ; and hence a party disaffected towards 
 a godly minister, had a power at their disposal, which 
 they were not often slow to employ.* 
 
 In the church of Fitchburg, however, there were 
 godly men and women, like the Simeon and Anna 
 who waited for the consolation of Israel. And there 
 were members of the congregation, in whose general 
 character there was much to praise, and among whom, 
 more particularly the younger part, a faithful pastor 
 might hope to find bright jewels for a crown of rejoic- 
 ing. These and the majority of the inhabitants gave 
 no countenance to certain " lewd feUows of the baser 
 
 * The town was incorporated in 1764. The predecessor of Dr. Worces- 
 ter was a half-brother of Rev. Mr. Payson, of Ringe, N. H., and had been 
 laid aside from the ministry, by the calamity of mental alienation. For some 
 years, if not from the first, the general state of things had not been favorable 
 to the hopes of pious people. The population in 1797 was not more, proba- 
 bly, than a fifth part as great as at present ; and the town has now a charac- 
 ter and importance, such as then could have been anticipated by none. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 195 
 
 sort," who wore to be foniul wifliin llieir liiriits, as in 
 too many othor towns, where Arminianisrn, now wax- 
 ing worse and worse, with Universalism, then of re- 
 cent importation, and infidelity, bold and impudent 
 from the imagined death-struggle of Bible religion, 
 often gathered together for Bacehanalian orgies around 
 the intoxicating bowl.* 
 
 Such on the whole was the state of things, that Dr. 
 Worcester would have promptly declined a settlement 
 at Fitchburg, if the church had not " voted unani- 
 mously, to discontinue the practice of admitting peo- 
 ple to covenant for baptism, when they did not con- 
 sider themselves qualified for full communion." He 
 was informed, also, by responsible persons, that " it 
 had been long in contemplation to revise the Church 
 Covenant ; and that a revisal would undoubtedly take 
 place, immediately after the ordination of a pastor." 
 
 Confiding in his talents, his judgment, and discre- 
 tion, and in hope of the change which might be 
 wrought in the town and vicinity, some of his clerical 
 friends, such as Dr. Austin, urged his acceptance of 
 the call. But others of his friends were not easily 
 persuaded, that it could be his duty. Much in doubt 
 and greatly perplexed, he earnestly sought counsel 
 from on high. While hesitating, he decided in the 
 negative, and \vrote an answer accordingly. He laid 
 it by, but not, as is supposed, for reconsideration. 
 
 * And this picture will certainly not be considered as unduly colored, 
 when it is added, that but a short time before Dr. Worcester's settlement, 
 there was a mock celebration of the Lord's Supper. It was in the night. 
 Amidst the scene of shocking: hilarity and impiety, a young man, wrapped 
 in a sheet, and disguised by a frightful mask, suddenly presented himself. 
 There was an instantaneous uproar of consternation. The hall was cleared, 
 as fast as the revellers could push one another down the stairs. Never wa« 
 a panic created, with a more decisive effect. 
 
196 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Riding abroad, a new view of the question was sud- 
 denly suggested, and his decision was forthwith re- 
 versed. The truth was, doubtless, that the arguments, 
 afhrmative and negative, were so nearly balanced, 
 that it Avas almost impossible for him to determine the 
 preponderance. He had considered the subject, day 
 and night, with an exhausting solicitude ; wishing 
 most devoutly to learn what the Supreme Disposer of 
 all thinsrs would have him do. And as not unfre- 
 quently happens in a change of scene, his harassed 
 mind recovered its wonted elasticity, and was quali- 
 fied for its best thoughts and wisest judgments. 
 
 His final decision, though sudden, was by no means 
 hasty. He had such ample preparation for it, that in 
 the event he had no ground for regret or self-reproach. 
 He felt relieved, and was happy in the prevailing as- 
 surance, that the path of his duty was plain. When 
 speaking of it, at a later day, — " I never repented," he 
 said to a friend, " after I made up my mind to go : 
 notwithstanding all my trials." The remark was per- 
 fectly in character. There were moments, when his 
 mind seemed to come to its conclusions, with the ra- 
 pidity of lightning ; and the conclusions thus formed 
 were as just, as any upon which he had taken the 
 longest time to deliberate. Generally, he suspended 
 his decision in difficult cases, as long as he consistent- 
 ly could. But what he avowed as his firm conviction, 
 was usually as clear to his own view, as a demonstra- 
 tion or an axiom in geometry. 
 
 " Fitchburg, July 22, 1797. 
 
 My Brethren and fellow candidates for immortality, — 
 
 The relation between pastor and church, or between 
 minister and people, is a relation than which there is 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. » 197 
 
 none in its nature more solemn, or in its consequences 
 more inij^ortaiit, on this side eternity. 
 
 The true minister of the gospel is the ambassador 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, sent to negotiate between 
 God and man the great concerns of judgment and of 
 mercy- He has it in solemn charge from liis Lord 
 and Master, to declare the whole counsel of God, and 
 to keep back nothing, which may be profitable to the 
 people, whether they will hear, or whether they will 
 forbear. And if he obtain grace to be faithful in the 
 great business of his embassy, it is to be hoped he 
 will have many souls, as seals of his ministry, and as 
 a crown of rejoicing in the presence of his God. Or, 
 even though Israel be not gathered, still shall he be 
 glorious in the eyes of the Lord. But if, on the con- 
 trary, he handle the words of the Lord deceitfully, and 
 prove unfaithful to God, and to the souls of his 
 charge, the blood of those, who may perish forever 
 through his unfaithfulness, will unquestionably be re- 
 quired, with rigor, at his hands. 
 
 Such being the office and the duty of the true gos- 
 pel minister, it is of infinite consequence to any peo- 
 ple, that they receive and treat him as they ought. 
 If he bear the unequivocal credentials of his mission, 
 whatever they do to him as Christ's ambassador, they 
 do indirectly at least, to Christ himself. " He that 
 receiveth you, receiveth me ; and he that despiseth 
 you, despiseth me." And they ought to bear it in 
 solemn remembrance, that the faithful minister is unto 
 God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, 
 and in them that perish ; to the one he is a savor of 
 death unto death, and to the other, he is a savor of 
 life unto life. 
 
 The matter, therefore, of calling, or of accepting a 
 call, to settle in the work of the gospel ministry, is a 
 matter which always demands the most serious and 
 the most prayerful deliberation. For it is a matter 
 which looks forward to consequences, as solemn as the 
 judgment, and as lasting as eternity. 
 
 Deeply impressed with considerations like these, I 
 
 17* 
 
198 ^ MEMOIR OF 
 
 have thonght it not well to be hasty in answering the 
 call, with which you, my brethren and friends, have 
 seen meet to present me. Is this the part of his vine- 
 yard, in which my Lord and Master has called me to 
 labor? Is this the flock, over which the Holy Ghost 
 will make me an overseer ? Is there a prospect of 
 my being more extensively useful here, than in any 
 other place ? 
 
 These are questions, which have pressed on my 
 mind with inconceivable weight ; and they are ques- 
 tions, I may add, which in my situation, have been 
 embarrassed with almost insolvable difficulties. 
 
 At length, however, although my path of duty ap- 
 pears not altogether so plain as I could wish, I feel 
 myself under a prevailing persuasion, that the voice 
 of Providence concurs with your call. Constrained, 
 therefore, as I am, by a sense of duty, to give you an 
 affirmative answer, I now in this solemn manner, de- 
 clare my acceptance of your call, and my willingness 
 to take upon myself in the usual way the oversight 
 of this church, and the charge of this people, as soon 
 as God in his providence may render it expedient. 
 I must, nevertheless, reserve to myself the liberty of 
 holding two Sabbaths in every year, as exempt from 
 the contract, that I may spend them as occasion may 
 require. 
 
 This answer, my brethren and fellow immortals, 
 I give you with a trembling heart. I feel in some 
 measure my insufficiency for the arduous task, which 
 I contemplate as before me ; and am ready to cry 
 out, — " Who is sufficient for these things ?" There is 
 great encouragement, however, to be dra\vn from this 
 gracious assurance of our Lord : " Lo, I am with you 
 always, even unto the end of the world." And may I 
 not trust, that your prayers will ever mingle with 
 mine before the throne of grace, that God would smile 
 on these our solemn transactions, and make them sub- 
 servient to the furtherance of your salvation, and to 
 the glory of his own holy name. 
 
 Pray for me, my brethren, pray for yourselves, and 
 pray for the enlargement of Zion. To God, I trust, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 199 
 
 we have looked for direction, and with God let us 
 leave the event. 
 
 Yours, in the fellowship and service of the Gospel, 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 To the C/uffch and people of Fitchburg',''^ 
 
 Mr. Luther Jcivett. 
 
 " Fitchhurg, Aug;. 10///, 1797. 
 My dear Friend, — 
 
 A letter from Z. F., this week, informs me that her 
 last from B. A. contained the disagreeable intelligence, 
 that you were lately at New Ipswich, on a tour from 
 Boston to your father's house, for the purpose of re- 
 cruiting your health. The news touched me. I feel 
 anxious to know something more particularly. And in 
 some hope that this letter may find you at New Ips- 
 wich, I hasten to forward it thither. 
 
 Do inform me, as soon as may be, how it is with 
 you in every respect. I conclude you have been una- 
 ble to write much, else you certainly would have writ- 
 ten me before now. Surely, I need not tell you the 
 concern I feel for your health, and for your general 
 welfare. 
 
 For myself, I am here ; and here, perhaps, I may be 
 fixed for life. You have, doubtless, heard how it has 
 been with me, for some time past, with regard to calls, 
 and what answers I have returned to them. AVhat is 
 to be my lot in this place, God only knows, and tiuie 
 only must declare. The aspect of things here, at pre- 
 sent, is at least as promising for good, as it ever has 
 been since my first acquaintance among this people. 
 It was here as in most other places ; violent and invet- 
 erate prejudices reigned predominant in the minds of 
 by far the greater part. They were determined never 
 to like a Hopkinsian. And I need not tell you what 
 difficulties I have had to encounter, and under what 
 disadvantages I have had to labor. But I believe their 
 prejudices are, by this time, in a good measure de- 
 
200 MEMOIR OF 
 
 stroyed. They begin to think, that a Hopkinsian is 
 not that dreadful creature they had contemplated. At 
 least they hear with more candor, and reason with 
 more coohiess. Their union is now pretty good, and 
 is supposed to be every day increasing and strength- 
 ening. Some, however, to the number of three or 
 four, oppose with warmth and obstinacy. 
 
 Our Sabbath day assemblies are apparently more 
 and more attentive and solemn ; and some few, as I 
 hope, are pretty thoroughly pricked in their hearts. — 
 Praised be God, if he have been pleased to make me 
 the instrument of any good to this people, or even to 
 a single soul. Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, 
 but He alone can give the increase. 
 
 My work is arduous ; but it is pleasing and impor- 
 tant. 
 
 The day for my ordination is not yet appointed ; 
 and whether it will be in the latter part of September, 
 or in the former part of October, is at present uncer- 
 tain. 
 
 Will you not find it convenient to come this way 
 and make me a visit, before you return to Boston ? I 
 wish to converse with you about many things, and es- 
 pecially about one. Perhaps you are otherwise deter- 
 mined ; but I need not tell you how agreeable it would 
 be to me, that you should sit down in this place. 
 What the prospect will be, by the time you wish to 
 settle in business, I cannot say ; but if I calculate 
 rightly, it will be pretty good. Come here and see 
 me, that I may tell you more about it. 
 
 I have a great deal to do, and many pressing avo- 
 cations distract my attention. I have even stolen the 
 time for writing this letter ; but I trust the occasion 
 will justify the deed. 
 
 By our friendship^ I conjure you, write, or come and 
 see me, as soon as you can. 
 
 While on our way, through life's deep maze we hold, 
 Seasons roll on, and new scenes still unfold. 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 201 
 
 Dr. Worcester's view of the relation of a pastor to 
 the eluireh over wliicli he is phieed, as compared with 
 the church with which he was previously connected, 
 or the " Chnrch general," may be inferred from a vote 
 of the chm'ch in Fitchburg, on the day previous to 
 his ordination. " In virtue of a letter of dismission 
 from the church of Christ in Salisbury, at his request, 
 the church voted to receive Mr. Samuel Worcester 
 to their number and Christian fellowship." 
 
 September 27, 1797, was the day of ordination. The 
 sermon was preached by Dr. Austin, on " the nature, 
 extent, and importance of the duty, binding on the 
 Christian minister^ divinely commissioned to bear the 
 warnings of God to men." The preacher thoroughly 
 understood the circumstances of the occasion, as well 
 as " the signs of the times." He lifted up his power- 
 ful voice, like one accustomed to " cry aloud and spare 
 not." 
 
 His address to the pastor elect implied, it will be 
 seen, a more than usual degree of confidence, that he 
 would " be valiant for the truth," and " endure hard- 
 ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 
 
 " The audience will permit me, first to address a few 
 words to my young friend, the pastor elect. 
 
 My very dear Brother, — 
 To the tender part I take in your personal concern- 
 ments, of this day, you are not a stranger. Our hearts 
 have reciprocated the mutual affection of brotherly 
 love. Agreeing, generally at least, in the same Chris- 
 tian sentiments, devoted to the same Divine Master, 
 and joint partakers in the same efforts, we cannot but 
 share in each other's circumstances, and prospects. I 
 am not, on this occasion, my brother, and before this 
 discerning auditory, to compliment you, on any 
 ground. I am not to speak, in the ears of these men. 
 
202 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the language of adulation ; but that of soberness, and 
 good counsel. K God has given you any promising 
 qualifications, to him belongs the glory, and to him 
 their use. You and I should never forget, that we are, 
 by nature, children of wrath, even as others ; that we 
 are encompassed with infirmities ; and have nothing, 
 whereof to glory before God. How much do we need 
 the constant influx of the Holy Spirit, to enlarge our 
 hearts in all liberal desires, and prompt us onward, 
 through every discouragement, to growing zeal in our 
 Lord's service ! To you our subject applies, with pe- 
 culiar solemnity, this day. To you our common Fa- 
 ther speaks, — ' So thou, O son of man, I have set thee 
 a watchman unto the House of Israel ; therefore, thou 
 shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from 
 me.' You have your commission. You must fulfill it. 
 Wo be unto you, if you preach not the Gospel faith- 
 fully. Wo be unto you, if any temptations lead you 
 to betray the sacred deposit. You have put on the 
 harness, my brother ; never, never put it off. Give no 
 place to the devil. Retreat not for one moment. Main- 
 tain your ground, as a good soldier, in the battles of 
 the Lord. You need not a miraculous illapse of di- 
 vine light, to furnish you with a foresight of innumera- 
 ble trials. ' But, let none of these things move you. 
 Neither, may you count your own life dear unto you, 
 so that you may finish your course with joy, and the 
 ministry which you this day receive of the Lord Jesus, 
 to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.' You love 
 this people. You will love, and you must love them. 
 Under the influence of this love, you must be to them 
 a faithful shepherd. You must bear the warnings of 
 God to them, opening to their minds just views of the 
 divine character, government, and law ; of the nature 
 of sin ; of their total depravity, antecedent to regene- 
 rating grace ; of the tremendous misery, to which the 
 impenitent are constantly exposed. It will behove 
 you to exhibit to them, also, the single way of escape ; 
 to press them with the feeling of absolute dependence ; 
 and to strip them of all excuse, while they refuse to 
 yield to the claims of their JNIaker. This service you 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 203 
 
 will perform, on all fit occasions, from house to house, 
 as well as from the pulpit, willi bleeding tenderness 
 for the salvation of their immortal souls, and with 
 habitual prayer to him, whose promise is, ' Lo I am 
 with you always, even unto the end of the world.' 
 Brother, you are a dying man. Shortly, your connec- 
 tion with this people will be dissolved ; and you will 
 meet them at the tribunal of the Holy Redeemer. 
 Look around upon them, and think how precious their 
 souls are. Can you bear to think of hearing one of 
 them, outside of the shut door, crying in despair, 
 ' Lord, Lord, open to me ? ' Then be faithful to them 
 all ; and persevere to the death. It is probable, that 
 there will be many nominal ministers at the left hand 
 of Christ, at his appearing ; as there are always false 
 Christs, and false prophets, to deceive, if it were 
 possible, even to the elect. Take heed, then ; it is my 
 fraternal and concluding entreaty. Take heed unto 
 thyself, and to thy ministry, that thou mayest save 
 thyself, and them who hear thee." 
 
 This address was from heart to heart, awakening 
 '' thoughts " which 
 
 * * * "do often lie too deep for tears." 
 
 And if when the speaker had added to it his solemn 
 charge to the church and society, the emotions of 
 all could have been revealed, or the disclosures of a 
 few months afterwards could have then been foreseen, 
 the new pastor would have received, as he did, the cor- 
 dial expression of the best wishes of his numerous 
 friends, but their cheering congratulations would have 
 been reserved for another and a very different day ! 
 
204 MEMOIR OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Habits and modes of procedure, as a settled minister. Marriage. Domestic 
 manag-ement. Instruction of young men. Renewal of covenant in the 
 Church, with the adoption of new Articles of Faith, &c. Palemon to 
 Alexis Parental feelings and character. Anecdote of the preaching of 
 the brothers, Noah, Thomas, and Samuel. Revival at Fitchburg. Revi- 
 vals in many places. Missionary spirit promoted. Formation of the Mas- 
 sachusetts ]Missionary Society. Vindication of the truth, and of ministerial 
 rights. Oration on the death of Washmgton, &c , &c. 
 
 " I say the pulpit, (in the sober use 
 Of its legitimate, peculiar powers,) 
 Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand, 
 The most important and efl'ectual guard, 
 Support, and ornament, of virtue's cause." 
 
 In his first sermon, after his orclination. Dr. Worces- 
 ter spoke of himself as one of those, who were re- 
 proachfully styled Hopkinsians, or Hopkinsian Cal- 
 vinists. As a candidate he had honestly preached his 
 personal views of doctrine, leaving his hearers to give 
 their own name to his theological sentiments and af- 
 finities. He would no more have concealed these, 
 than he would have committed perjury. But he had 
 to deal with different classes of hearers. There were 
 those who cordially agreed with him, while many knew 
 little or nothing of Hopkinsianism, so called, " save 
 only that it was everywhere spoken against;" others 
 who but needed to be " taught more perfectly " what 
 was truly denoted by the term, in order to be disabused 
 of violent prejudices ; while others still would be satis- 
 fied with nothing, but " another Gospel, which is not 
 another." * And as in times more recent, the best 
 
 * The profaneness and ribaldry of a portion of these last, when speaking 
 of the sentiments preached in the pulpit of Fitchburg, were shocking in the 
 extreme. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 205 
 
 means of withstanding evangelical religion has been 
 found by some, in a hideous earicature of Calvinism, 
 there were those of highly respectable position, who 
 then understood, and also used, far too often, tliis un- 
 manly and dishonorable device of polemical warfare. 
 
 The orthodoxy of the new pastor was so much at 
 variance with the principles and habits of many in- 
 habitants of the town — among these some families of 
 leading inlluence, — that it would have been impossi- 
 ble to obtain so large a vote as was given for his set- 
 tlement, if it had not been for his high reputation as a 
 scholar. Fully sensible of his own liability and that 
 of his particular friends, to be watched at every point, he 
 proceeded with great carefulness, yet with a straight- 
 forward purpose to " quit himself like a man," and " a 
 man of God ; " — treating all persons kindly and cour- 
 teously, addressing sound argument and affectionate 
 appeal to every one, so that the " enemies of all right- 
 eousness " might not be " able to resist the wisdom 
 and the spirit by which he spake." 
 
 Courageous as he naturally was, he was strongly 
 disinclined to every form of ecclesiastical controversy. 
 He was ready for any sacrifice of merely personal feel- 
 ing, rather than be entangled in the meshes of strife. 
 Such, however, were his convictions of truth and duty, 
 that he could not " shun to declare the whole counsel 
 of God," " giving to every man a portion in due sea- 
 son." Such, in general, was the condition of the 
 church and the town, that he had a work before him, 
 which was like that of turning a rocky wilderness into 
 fruitful fields and blooming gardens. 
 
 It was a frequent saying of a godly man, who loved 
 him as his very soul, — " Mr. Worcester was the first 
 here, that tore up the turf I " 
 18 
 
206 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Not inattentive to the calls upon him for parochial 
 visits, he made his pulpit the first object of his care. 
 He believed it to be an imperative part of the will of 
 his Master, and indispensable to his highest useful- 
 ness, that he should be a " scribe instructed unto the 
 kingdom of Heaven," who " is like unto a man that is 
 an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure 
 things new and old." 
 
 To study, was but little " weariness " of the spirit, 
 however much it was to the weakness of the flesh. 
 And while there is no end to " the making of many 
 books," and much less of " making many " sermons^ 
 he gave himself, day and night, to his preparations for 
 the Sabbath, as if resolved to do his best, both in the 
 quality and number of his discourses. 
 
 He never went to his work, as if he would gladly 
 be excused. His study was a " loved retreat ; " and 
 he lived in it, as if it was life to be there. The exer- 
 cise and relaxation which he took, were, in general, 
 more as if a toil or an endurance ; while his intense 
 application was relished as a pastime. Thus was he, 
 at the beginning, and thus always afterwards. But 
 while a hard student, his heart " grew liquid," more 
 and more ; for he was a scholar at the foot of the cross. 
 
 His sermons were usually written out, and made a 
 fair manuscript. Occasionally, he preached from skel- 
 etons ; but not without his accustomed carefulness, in 
 logical method and rhetorical accuracy. In some in- 
 stances, at Fitchburg, he committed sermons to mem- 
 ory. The task was easier than it would be for most 
 ministers ; but the comparative effect, he soon thought, 
 did not compensate for the exertion. 
 
 Previous to his settlement, he had written but few 
 sermons. It is, therefore, no uncertain proof of his 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 207 
 
 diligence, that when he had been settled a year and a 
 half, his sermons had reached the luinilxT 134; and in 
 April 1800, or two years and a half after his settle- 
 ment, a sermon bears the number 224. — Some of these 
 were double sermons, numbered only as if single. 
 
 It will be seen at once, that if he studied the sub- 
 jects of his sermons, and wrote with care, as he most 
 certainly did, he could have found little time, that he 
 could have considered intervals of leisure. And that 
 he could have written so much, is the more remarka- 
 ble, as his attention to other labors was so manifold 
 and incessant, that these alone would seem more than 
 enough for any one man's employment. As he had 
 been before, so now he was industrious to a fault. In 
 "redeeming time," it might have been said of him, 
 that he was " righteous overmuch." But, truly, the 
 days were evil. 
 
 There was a great variety in his ministrations. His 
 sermons differed much from those of most of the clergy 
 in the immediate neighborhood ; even of some with 
 whom he thought it best to cultivate the fellowship of 
 exchanges. 
 
 His doctrinal sermons were practical, and his prac- 
 tical sermons were doctrinal. He had such a knowl- 
 edge of men as they are, and lived so much as in 
 closest contact with their thoughts and intents, that 
 he could not be satisfied with any mode of discussion, 
 which did not bear upon the affections, the conscience, 
 and the will, with a powerful concentration of impor- 
 tant truth. He studied the Scriptures, so as to be 
 always ready with his " infallible proofs " of w^hat he 
 preached, as the truth of God. And his texts were 
 seldom, or never, as mottoes only, or words of accom- 
 modation ; but they w^cre to his sermons, like the 
 
208 MEMOIR OF 
 
 mountain springs to the streams that are never 
 dry. 
 
 He bestowed great labor upon the plan of a sermon ; 
 distributing his matter under appropriate general 
 heads, and marking specifically the minuter affinities 
 of a just classification. In the selection of subjects 
 adapted to the wants of his people and the state of 
 the times, and in the disposition of the parts and top- 
 ics of a discourse, according to the best models, few 
 preachers have excelled him. 
 
 His style in the pulpit was neat, and elegant, in the 
 proper sense of the term ; but chiefly marked by per- 
 spicuity, precision, and strength. For exactness and 
 strict congi'uity of thought and language, he gave the 
 preference to certain words, which, at least, all the 
 children could not have understood ; and which those 
 of " larger growth " might have need or inducement to 
 search out diligently. But words of this character 
 were so few, or were so used, as not to obscure his 
 meaning to an attentive hearer, of common intelli- 
 gence ; or to be questionable, except to the uncandid 
 and censorious. — Some who thought him verbose and 
 diffuse, were always brought to a stand, when asked 
 to alter a given sentence, so as to retain the exact idea 
 intended, but omitting a part of the writer's own ex- 
 pression. 
 
 One of the surest tokens of his excellence as a preach- 
 er was the attention of the children and youth to his 
 sermons, as well as to his catechetical instructions. 
 There are living witnesses, who have much pleasure 
 in remembering how interested they were, in their 
 early days, when they heard him preach, even his most 
 elevated and elaborate discourses. They could always 
 find something, which they at least thought that they 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 209 
 
 iindorstood ; while his manner alone left upon their 
 tender hearts a serious and salutary impression. He 
 preached to them, at times, in a whole discourse, and 
 with very happy etrect. He often addressed them, in the 
 application of his other sermons ; as if he would have 
 them feel, that he was always preaching to the young, 
 as well as to the old. 
 
 His care of the children was very constant and af- 
 fectionate, in every way by which he could gain influ- 
 ence over them, both for their mental and s})iritaal cul- 
 ture. When he saw them at their homes, or met them 
 in the road, he would call them to him, as to a father; 
 and what he said to them, as he put his hand upon 
 their heads, and smiled into their delighted faces, or 
 exchanged a sweet salutation of the lips, many of them 
 so laid up in their hearts, that the years of more thg.n 
 half a century have not effaced the memory. 
 
 When at their meetings to recite the catechism, any 
 of them were restive and unquiet, he would not speak 
 to them, as if he were displeased or excited. — But in 
 the mildest manner and most winning, he would say : 
 <' My little children^ you ivill all try to be as still as you 
 possibly can beP He never thus spoke in vain. — " We 
 all loved him," says one of the survivors, " and we 
 feared him, too." The remark must be understood, as 
 particularly applicable to the children of the parents 
 who loved him. 
 
 He devoted much time to the common schools of 
 the town, and gave great impulse to popular education 
 among all classes ; believing that the intellectual ad- 
 vancement of the rising generation was most intimate- 
 ly connected with his own highest usefulness as their 
 pastor. — He also opened a chamber in his own house, 
 as a school-room, in which he taught some of the older 
 18* 
 
210 MEMOIR OF 
 
 youth, in studies not pursued in the schools of the 
 town. Several were qualified by him to be teachers, 
 who, in their own town, or elsewhere, did much to 
 raise the standard of common school instruction. 
 
 A singing-school he also taught ; and was unwearied 
 in encouraging all, who had an ear and voice for sa- 
 cred music, to cultivate their talents. He would meet 
 the members of the choir, from time to time, and give 
 them the benefit of his fine taste and skill. Especially 
 would he assist them, when any extraordinary occa- 
 sion called for an anthem, and other appropriate selec- 
 tions of psalmody. 
 
 In church-meetings, in conference-meetings, in week- 
 ly lectures, in social visiting, — in short, in all modes 
 of access to the minds of his people, he was indefati- 
 gable in efforts for their improvement, happiness, and 
 usefulness. 
 
 He adhered through life to the general system of 
 doctrines w^ith which he began his ministry ; as well 
 as to his early habits of elevated and thoroughly 
 studied style of preaching. Still, his sermons at Fitch- 
 burg were more uniformly cast in the distinctive Hop- 
 kinsian mould, than those written at Salem. Grow- 
 ing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; increasingly susceptible of the tender and 
 melting attractions of the cross, — the atonement be- 
 came to him, theoretically and practically, the " all 
 IN ALL " of the glorious Gospel of the grace of God. 
 And hence it was his special delight to preach Christ 
 AND him crucified; and as his heart went forth in the 
 expanded charities, which embraced the whole world's 
 evangelization, he gave less and less prominence, and 
 less and less space, to those statements and discussions 
 of dogmatic and metaphysical theology, which entered 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 211 
 
 largely into his earlier ministrations, and for which 
 there was then a most urgent demand, lliroughout 
 New England.* 
 
 Ill the month of October, after his ordination, Dr. 
 Worcester was united in marriac^e with Miss Zervia 
 Fox, of IloUis. She was eight years younger than 
 himself, and was a pupil in several of the schools, 
 which he had taught. Her father, Dr. Jonathan Fox, 
 who was a pious physician, very highly respected, died 
 at an early age. She received from her mother, the 
 instructions, with the example of one, who sought to 
 bring up her children in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord. — In the kind providence of God, she was 
 spared to her husband, a "helpmate," indeed, through 
 the whole period of his public life ; ministering to him 
 most faithfully in all the offices of their sacred and 
 endeared relation. Of his own feelings as a husband 
 and father, illustrations can be given. But of herself, 
 as she still survives, no more is permitted to be said in 
 this place. 
 
 The letter which follows was superscribed, " Deacon 
 Leonard Worcester, Worcester." It was dated. Fitch- 
 burg, 7th Feb., 1798. 
 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 Till this dav, I have not heard a word from Worces- 
 ter, since I saw Mr. Austin. I congratulate you, with 
 
 * Dr. Worcester probably never adopted any article of belief, called Hop- 
 kinsianism, unless it was such as had been already recognized as a part of 
 Ihe theology of Edwards, or was a legitimate, and not an ultra inference 
 from well established facts and principles. And tiie vitality of IIopki<ianism, 
 as received by divines of his order, has, within lifiy years j'ast, so pervaded 
 Ihe orthodoxy of New England, and that too, so silently and imj)erceptibly , 
 that there are hundreds of very good Hopkinsian ministers, who may never 
 have given any more particular attention to Hopkins's '• System of Divinity," 
 than to the " Aphorisms " of Confucius. 
 
212 MEMOIR OF 
 
 warmest cordiality, on the pleasure with which you 
 embrace another babe — another son. May Heaven, 
 from whose benignant hand you received the dear 
 pledge, make it a comfort to you, and a blessing to 
 the world.* May it heal the ivonnd, as yet, perhaps, 
 bleeding, in the bosom of its parents. I am rejoiced 
 to hear that my sister is so comfortable. How tender 
 must be your feelings — how ardent your gratitude I — 
 But we have a brother who claims our sympathy. — 
 When presenting, and receiving fraternal congratula- 
 tions, the spontaneous tear reminds us of him; f and the 
 fervent aspiration escapes from the heart. His God, 
 however, lives. 
 
 For a considerable part of the time, since we re- 
 moved, your sister, (if you will please to acknowledge 
 the relation,) has not been favored with her usual state 
 of health. She is still unwell. 
 
 Either next week, or the week after next, is the time 
 on which I fixed, more than two months ago, for a 
 ride to Worcester. But upon that time, I have not as 
 yet been able to lay my hand. Like happiness, when 
 pursued through the streets of this world, it seems just 
 before me, but is not to be overtaken. Hope, however, 
 still remains. 
 
 What have you done about ordination sermons ? I 
 expected to have seen Mr. Hall, on his return from 
 Sutton. But as he returned another way, and sent me 
 no intelligence, I have been quite at a loss with respect 
 to the charge and right hand. I have transiently heard, 
 however, that the sermons are out. I hope that this 
 is the case. And if it be, will you please to send me 
 a hundred or two by brother Smith ? 
 
 My father wishes me to write concerning David! I 
 need not give the history of the unhappy aftliir which 
 renders him, at present, an object of parental solici- 
 tude. — If I rightly judge, it is my father's desire, that 
 you would take him for a time, and that afterward he 
 
 * It has been even so. That Hllle son was baptized — Samuel Austin 
 Worcester. 
 
 t Their brother Noah had recently been bereaved of his inestimable wife. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 213 
 
 should live with me. The particular reason, why ho 
 wishes David to live with yon, is, that hv. thinks, that 
 with you he would be more likely to be kc^pt in busi- 
 ness, and have fewer temptations. And tiu; reason, 
 why he wishes him to live with me, is, that he may 
 be in the way of an education. My father seemed 
 aware, that it could not be very agreeable to you to 
 take him. It is a solicitous atfair ; and for myself, I 
 feel ready to agree to what shall, on tin; whole, be 
 thought best. David is naturally a bright ])C)y. Mr. 
 Smith can give you more particular information, and 
 to him I refer you for the rest* 
 
 Your sister joins in congratulations, and good 
 wishes, with your affectionate brother, 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 IVIr. Leonard Worcester." 
 
 In the management of his dom.estic affairs, he was 
 mindful of the importance of having his house in 
 order, and of giving his parishioners a good example. 
 He spent little time, however, upon his worldly inter- 
 ests. Not even his garden had much more of his at- 
 tention, than if it had been supposed capable of tak- 
 ing thought for itself. It seemed as if he felt, that his 
 salary should support him, without any sweat of his 
 brow in sowing or reaping.f He was obliged to live 
 frugally, that he might be just, and " owe no man any 
 thing," beyond his means, as well as his intentions to 
 pay. But he was so " given to hospitality," that his 
 guests loved to see him again at his own table. He 
 was high-minded and generous, in all his pecuniary 
 transactions ; and- as far as the farthest, from covet- 
 
 *This was a half-brother, who, after a short season of youtliful irregular- 
 ity, gave promise of aa excellent character in manhood, and, perliaps, of 
 distinction. Bui he died suddenly, at the age of twenty three. lie was 
 much beloved and lamented. 
 
 + He was to receive $333 33, for salary, with the use of some land, worth, 
 perhaps, a hundred more. 
 
214 MEMOIR OF 
 
 oiisness, or any form of calculating selfishness. A 
 mean action would have been as revolting to his feel- 
 ings, as a petty larceny. Irreproachable in the morals 
 of good manners, and the manners of good morals, 
 none could " find occasion against " him, " except con- 
 cerning the law of his God." 
 
 His preaching was thus enforced by his daily walk 
 and conversation. Whatever he inculcated upon 
 others, it was his evident purpose to do himself. Of 
 his secret communion with God, his people, of course, 
 would know little, if anything, except as he was seen 
 to be " rewarded openly." But he was a man, who 
 led others in prayer, with no common "unction from 
 the Holy One ;" and there was no occasion to inquire, 
 if he " entered his closet." — In no duty of his private 
 life was he more faithful, than in his devout observ- 
 ance of holy time. He was in this a pattern for all. 
 And before the sun went down on Saturday evening, 
 the hour of "preparation" in his family had fully 
 come. 
 
 To the regular labors of the ministry. Dr. Worces- 
 ter added the instruction of a few young men ; princi- 
 pally of those who were fitting for college. As they 
 boarded in his family, he hoped to derive a pecuniary 
 benefit, which, with his limited salary, was much 
 needed. He wished also not to lose his acquaintance 
 with the classic languages. At the same time, he felt 
 as the highest motive, the hope of doing the greater 
 service to the Church and the world. 
 
 A . " Filchhur^, April 9, 1798. 
 
 My dear brffi>er, — 
 
 I am this moment informed, by Mr. F****, that he 
 is fifoinfi: this afternoon to Worcester. Mr. F. is re- 
 siding with me, at present, as a student. He has, for 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 215 
 
 some time, been studying with a design to prosecute 
 a puhlie education. ]]ut as his finances are low, and 
 he considerably advanced in years, he has now aban- 
 doned the design of a public education, and has placed 
 himself here, to be directed and assisted in his studies 
 by me. The profession of divinity is his object; and 
 it is with regard to this, that his studies are to be di- 
 rected. ' Has my brother, then, become a theological 
 preceptor ?' No. — I expect only to prc])are Mr. F. to 
 pursue the study of divinity, under the direction of a 
 more skilful instructor. I said 'to prepare him for the 
 study of divinity :' but I fear, indeed, that he has not, 
 as yet, that necessary pre-requisite, which it is the 
 prerogative of the Divine Spirit, solely, to give. If 
 he continues with me, however, I must direct his at- 
 tention, in a variety of studies; and among the rest, 
 in the reading of some theological books. If you 
 could procure from INIr. Austin for me the loan of Dr. 
 Clarke, on the Being and Attributes of God, it would 
 be an obligement, I suppose, to Mr. F. and to my- 
 self.* 
 
 I shall return you, by this conveyance, the volume of 
 Sermons, which I have kept too long. I think it an 
 excellent volume ; its words are like goads. If it be 
 convenient, will you be so kind as to send me Newton 
 on the Prophecies ? If you cannot send that, please 
 to send me the book, which you want me to read 
 most. 
 
 The renewal of our chvirch covenant is contemplat- 
 ed, as an immediate object. It is an important and 
 solemn affair. I have endeavored, by subjects chosen 
 for the purpose, to prepare the minds of the brethren, 
 in some measure, for the business. But how I shall 
 succeed in establishing a covenant and confession, 
 which will answer my feelings, is matter of uncer- 
 tainty. Indeed I am not without my fears. The 
 
 * The young- man remained wiih Dr. Worcester but a short time, and 
 afterwards became a Universalist preacher. But there were others, hke the 
 eminent Samuel Shatiuck, M. D., of Boston, upon whom he could after- 
 wards look with much pleasure, and who remembered him with most cor- 
 dial respect and gratitude. 
 
216 MEMOIR OF 
 
 great Head of the Church, however, will order the 
 matter, as will be most for his glory. And to his di- 
 rection I would wish, submissively, to refer it. Write 
 me, if you have leisure, what your feelings would be, 
 with regard to setting the doors of the church open to 
 professed Universalists ! 
 
 Mr. F. is in haste. If you have by you a copy of 
 your church covenant and confession of faith, be so 
 kind as to send it by the bearer. 
 
 Accept our usual salutations — respects to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Austin. 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Mr. Leonard Worcester." 
 
 Early in the spring of 1798, the contemplated re- 
 visal of the covenant was brought forward in regular 
 church-meeting. The vote for revisa] was unanimous* 
 A committee was appointed to prepare a revised form; 
 and with them it was left, discretionarily, whether to 
 prepare a confession of faith, distinct from the cove- 
 nant, or to exhibit both in one. A revised form was 
 soon prepared by the committee, and submitted to the 
 church. But it met with opposition. The Universal- 
 ists in the church, and some others, raised clamors 
 against it, and used their utmost exertions to prevent 
 its adoption. It was deemed prudent not to push the 
 matter hastily ; but to give time, and to use all proper 
 means to conciliate and harmonize. At length, how- 
 ever, Sept. 11, 1798, the revised form of covenant and 
 distinct articles of faith were received and established 
 in the church. The " Articles" are inserted here, that 
 the pastor's own " faith " may have a distinct and 
 explicit witness, in this Memoir of his life. 
 
 * It is not to be supposed, that all the members were present. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 217 
 
 Doctrine of Failh.* 
 
 Art. 1. Yoii believe, that there is but one God ; 
 the sole Creator, Preserver, and moral Govenor of the 
 universe; a being of infinite power, wisdom, justice, 
 goodness and truth ; the self-existent, independent, and 
 unehancfeable fountain of sjood. 
 
 Art. 2. You believe, that the scriptures of the Old 
 and New Testament were given by inspiration of God ; 
 that they contain a complete and harmonious system 
 of divine truth ; and are our only and perfect rule of 
 doctrinal belief and religious practice. 
 
 Art. 3. You believe, that according to the Scrip- 
 tures, there are, in the unity of the Godhead, a Trinity 
 of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; that these 
 three persons are in essence one, and in all divine at- 
 tributes equal. 
 
 Art. 4. Yon believe, that the one Supreme God 
 has made all things for himself; that known unto him 
 are all his works from the beginning ; and that he 
 governs all things according to the holy and unchang- 
 ing counsels of his own will. 
 
 Art. 5. You believe, that the divine lav/, and the 
 principles, and administration of the divine govern- 
 ment, are perfectly holy, and just, and good. 
 
 Art. 6. You believe, that the first parents of the 
 human race, were originally holy in the image of God ; 
 and that they fell from their original state, by volun- 
 tarily transgressing the divine command in the article 
 of forbidden fruit. 
 
 Art. 7. You believe, that in consequence of the 
 first apostacy, the heart of man in his natural state is 
 enmity against God, fully set to do evil, dead in tres- 
 passes and sins. 
 
 Art. 8. You believe, that Christ the Son of God, 
 equal with the Father, has, by his obedience, suffer- 
 ings, and blood, made infinite atonement for sin ; that 
 
 * This Confession of Faith appears to have been formcfl by the pastor, 
 from a document wliich he is supposed to have drawn up Ibr his own pri- 
 vate use, when heensed to preach, or at his ordiaation. 
 
 19 
 
218 MEMOIR OP 
 
 he is the only Redeemer of sinners ; and that all who 
 are saved, will be indebted, altogether, to the sovereign 
 grace of God through his atonement. 
 
 Art. 9. Yon believe, although the invitation of the 
 gospel be such, that whosoever will may take of the 
 water of life freely ; yet so great is the enmity of the 
 carnal mind against God and the gospel, that no man 
 can come to Christ, except the Father, by the special 
 regenerating influence of his Holy Spirit draw him. 
 
 Art. 10. You believe, that those, who embrace the 
 gospel, were chosen in Christ to salvation before the 
 world began ; and that they are saved, not by works 
 of righteousness which they have done, but according 
 to the distinguishing mercy of God, by the washing 
 of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Art. 11. You believe, that for those, who once be- 
 lieve in Christ, there is no condemnation, but they will 
 be kept by the mighty power of God through faith 
 unto salvation. 
 
 Art. 12. You believe, that there will be a general 
 resurrection of the bodies, both of the just and of the 
 unjust. 
 
 Art. 13. You believe, that all mankind must one 
 day stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to re- 
 ceive a sentence of just and final retribution, accord- 
 ing to their respective works ; and that from the judg- 
 ment-seat, the wicked will go away into everlasting 
 punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. 
 
 Art. 14. You believe, that Christ has a visible 
 church in the world, into which none, in the sight of 
 God, but real believers, and none, in the sight of men, 
 but visible believers, have right of admission. 
 
 Art. 15. You believe, that the sacraments of the 
 New Testament are baptism and the Lord's supper ; 
 that believers of regular church standing only can con- 
 sistently partake of the holy supper ; and that visible 
 believers with their households only can be consist- 
 ently admitted to the ordinance of baptism. 
 
 The covenant was no " half-way covenant ;" and 
 whatever difficulties were apprehended in introducing 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 219 
 
 and establishing the "Doctrine of faith," the pastor 
 does not seem to liave been niueli disquieted. He 
 made all his arrangements, as if expecting a perma- 
 nent abode at Fitchburg. He built a house, and with 
 such resources as he could command, took counsel for 
 his household, not as one, that anticipated a prema- 
 ture or near departure.* 
 
 In so doing, he had. the concurrence of his warm 
 friends, who forsook him not in the days of his trial. 
 No better friends did any pastor ever find, than some 
 whom he there had the happiness to enjoy. 
 
 He was a constant observer of public affairs, and 
 did not feel that he was in any sense disfranchised, 
 because of his relation to " the kingdom " which " is 
 not of this world." — Some of the results of his politi- 
 cal " musing " may be seen in a remembrance of his 
 friend " Alexis." This is the last of " Palemon ;" and 
 is most plainly an effort^ towards an agreeable episode 
 in the serious epic, which he had commenced. 
 
 To Alexis, 
 
 "J;//y, 1798. 
 My Friend, — 
 
 When we look into the history of republics, whether 
 ancient or modern, we find them all to have been ob- 
 noxious to the rage of faction, or at least, to the mania 
 of party disaffection. The same is the fate of our own 
 dear country. I shall not undertake to give in this 
 letter, a history of the party spirit, which is at this 
 day so prevalent, and in many instances outrageous 
 
 * Ministers were settled for life, and not with the clause of the " six 
 months' notice," in the contract ; but he might not have objected, as some 
 have, to the innovation upon the ancient usag-e. Twenty years afterwards, 
 when asked his opinion upon the propriety of such a mode of settlement, he 
 pleasantly answered : " Well, I do not know : so)ne horses stand best, with- 
 out tyi7ig r' 
 
220 MExMOIR OF 
 
 among us. A remark, however, upon the influence of 
 the press on this spirit, may not be unacceptable. As 
 it has been my lot, within a few years, to reside for a 
 longer or shorter time, in different parts of Massachu- 
 setts and New Hampshire, I have had considerable 
 opportunity to notice the opposite political opinions, 
 which obtain in places where different public papers 
 have circulation. Two papers printed at Boston, 
 * The Columbian Centinel,' and ' The Independent 
 Chronicle,' seem to have taken the lead, among these 
 vehicles of political information, and fomenters of par- 
 ty spirit. ' The Centinel ' is what is called a Federal, 
 or by some, an aristocratic paper. ' The Chronicle ' 
 is anti-Federal or Jacobinic. In towns or districts, in 
 which the Centinel, or papers of the same political 
 stamp, have pretty general reception, the people are 
 federal, or strongly in favor with the existing Federal 
 Government, and with the leading measures of admin- 
 istration. On the other hand, in those portions of the 
 country, where the Chronicle has circulation, the peo- 
 ple are opposed to the government, or at least to the 
 admistration. I have found it indeed, to have been 
 almost invariably the case, that the man who has been 
 in the habit of reading the Chronicle, or a paper of the 
 same description, as his principal source of political 
 information, has enlisted himself under the banner of 
 what is usually termed Jacobinical opposition ; while 
 those who have not been under the influence of such 
 papers, are as invariably well contented with the gov- 
 ernment, and well affected towards administration. A 
 man's political sentiments, or party standing, may be 
 known, generally^ to be sure, by the public paper which 
 he reads, or rather has been in the habit of reading. 
 This you may say is nothing remarkal)le. A man 
 would doubtless choose the paper, which best accords 
 with his own feelings and views. Be it so. It is a 
 fact, however, which I have found none disposed to 
 deny, that, as a general case, peojile have not first 
 formed their political opinions, and of course, taken 
 their sides ^ and afterwards chosen their paper accord- 
 ingly ; but have formed their opinions, and derived 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 221 
 
 their feelings from tltelr papers ^ in the first in- 
 stance. 
 
 The two papers above specified, had opened to 
 themselves an extensive circulation, anterior to the 
 rise of the existing party spirit; at least, before it had 
 taken the direction which it now holds. After they 
 declared in opposition to each other, they were still re- 
 ceived and read, within their respective established 
 circles, and from them the people imbibed their politi- 
 cal notions and party spirit. I say ' from them,'' not 
 however, from the Centinel and Chronicle only, but 
 from them, and others of their respective complexion. 
 
 As it has been in this section of the Union ; so also 
 has it been, as is thought, throughout the whole. Pub- 
 lic papers have been made the engines of party, and 
 have respectively shaped the political opinions and 
 characters of their readers, according to their own 
 model. Especially has this been the case, in regard 
 to those in opposition. The mass of the people are, 
 perhaps generally, disposed to be quiet under their 
 government, if not extremel// oppressive ; unless their 
 feelings and passions be excited and influenced, by 
 factious harangues or publications. Hence those more 
 especially, who are found in opposition, have doubt- 
 less been moulded into their present temper, principal- 
 ly by the influences of the public papers, which they 
 have read. 
 
 What will be the issue of the. party effervescence, 
 now increasing through the state, I will not undertake 
 to predict ; but may that auspicious providence, w^hich 
 has hitherto attended on our national concernments, 
 attend them still, and preserve us from every destruc- 
 tive calamity. 
 
 Yours, most affectionately, 
 
 Palemon." 
 
 August 2d, he wrote to his friend Jewett a brief let- 
 ter, apologizing for his expected absence at the ap- 
 proaching Commencement, which to his class was the 
 time for the " Second Degree." But he had first of all 
 
 19* 
 
222 MEMOIR OP 
 
 to commnnicate the joy which had that day been af- 
 forded, by the " present of a lovely daughter. Thanks 
 be to that God, from whose hand we receive every 
 blessing." 
 
 This daughter was born, Aug. 1. — On the Sabbath 
 following, as w^as the custom of the Puritan fathers, he 
 gave public thanks for the token of divine favor. And 
 on the same Sabbath, or Aug. 5th, the little one was 
 carried to the house of God, that it might be dedicated 
 to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, — in the ordi- 
 nance, which the father ever administered with im- 
 pressive solemnity.* And those who ever saw him 
 
 * As the former seal of the covenant was appointed for the eighth day., it 
 was his desire that his children should be baptized, as nearly at the same age 
 as might be practicable, in a service on the Lord's day. He always spoke 
 against the delay of infant baptism ; believing it more important that the child 
 should be dedicated publicly at an early opportunity, than that both the pa- 
 rents should be present. 
 
 "1738. Oct. 15. (Sunday.) We baptized our child, John." The child 
 was born the day previous. " J740, Kov. 16. (Sunday.) We baptized our 
 daughter by the name of Sarah: " born Nov. 14. — '■'■ JournaV of Rev. Thos. 
 Smith, of Portland. 
 
 For similar baptisms,, see Appendix, p. 702, DwighCs Life of President 
 Edwards. 
 
 But such instances as the following were not uncommon : — " In the year 
 before his death, Mr. Willard baptized in the church standing in this place, 
 the. celebrated Benjamin Franklin, on 17th January, 17U6, the very day of 
 his birth, who was born in a house directly opposite to the front part of this 
 church." — Dr. John Pierce's Pllection Sermon., delivered in the Old South 
 Church, Bostoji, 1&49, p. 39. 
 
 A clergyman now living, who thus early baptized his first child, assigned 
 as his reason, that " whatever is a duty cannot be dout too soon .' " 
 
 Dr. Worcester's practice in " Family Government '• accorded very nearly 
 with the " Rules " drawn up by Rev. Michael Wigglesworlh, of Maiden, 
 who died June 10, 170-5, in the seventy-fourth j-ear of his age. '' First Rule. 
 It is the duty of parents to endeavor to bring their children within the com- 
 pass of the covenant. Here let them, 1. Labor to be in covenant with God 
 themselves, who will entertain theirs with them. 2. Present tliem to bap- 
 tism, (the seal of the covenant,) with convenient speed. 3. Give them good 
 names," &c., &c, " Wigglesworth PapersP — Chr. Obsry, vol. IV, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 223 
 
 hold a cliilcl of his own, as \ni applied 11h^ baptismal 
 seal, could not soon forget the aUbcting tenderness of 
 his voice and his countenance. 
 
 To the mother's name, he joined Fidelia, when he 
 baptized that " lovely daughter," of whom hv wrote to 
 many friends. While in college, he was quite partial 
 'to the signature of FIDELIO. Some " words " were 
 to him as "things," and some names were exponents 
 or symbols of associations, remembrances, or congeni- 
 alities, which he was most happy to renew and per- 
 petuate. His second daughter, born less than two 
 years after the first, he called Lydia Lucretia. She 
 thus bore the name of that sister, whom he so much 
 loved, and the mother whose memory was like a vis- 
 ion of heaven ; while she would also remind him of the 
 character of a woman, most admired of all, whose vir- 
 tues have been celebrated by classic history. — And 
 when in no wise unwilling, that his own name should 
 be asked and granted for his eldest son, born Sept. 4, 
 1801, in the same rural village, he gratified himself, 
 most of all, by a tribute to Melancthon ; — who, among 
 the greatest of the Reformers, was, in his maturest es- 
 timation, the nearest of a kindred spirit to the disciple, 
 that leaned upon the bosom of his Lord. 
 
 His other children all received names, by which he 
 .testified his regard for relatives or special friends. In 
 some instances, he appeared to consider the question 
 of a choice between different names as of very serious 
 importance. In 1810, on the morning of the Sabbath 
 when his third son was to be baptized, he remarked 
 with very great earnestness and tenderness, — " I have 
 been hesitating much what it is my duty to call him. 
 My mind, however, has been about equally divided 
 between Joseph Addison and John Norris. — He fixed 
 
224 MEMOIR OF 
 
 upon the latter, and for reasons which may be obvious 
 in the sequel. He felt, that " he who bears an honored 
 name has an additional incentive to virtuous deeds 
 and noble aims."* 
 
 Fond of children ; anxious that his own should con- 
 fide in him implicitly, — he began, in the outset of his 
 experience as a parent, a system of treatment, which 
 he steadily maintained, until with a sweet farewell, he 
 turned away his eyes from the six, that had been 
 spared from his eleven.f Sooner than most parents, and 
 those who mean to lose no time, he felt that an impor- 
 tant work was to be accomplished, in " training them 
 in the way they should go." He had one or more se- 
 rious struggles for the mastery ; but brought them all 
 under his control, and, generally, before they were old 
 enough to know how it was done. He did not much 
 use " the rod," — literally the rod^ never. But there was 
 a virtue in his hand^ which, with few exceptions, after- 
 wards made his uplifted finger alone suffice. 
 
 In some instances of the discipline of his children, 
 in their early age, he might have been thought severe. 
 But there was a " goodness " mingled with the " sever- 
 ity," which always overcame them in the end. And 
 he never permitted a child, who was under correction, 
 to pass out of his hands, until there was the appear- 
 ance of entire submission. The witness of a relative 
 may be taken, as uniformly applicable to his course, 
 from first to last. 
 
 * Not one of his father's sixteen children had a double name. Such names, 
 some may not know, were not at all common, until after the Revolution. 
 
 t " If I could have my choice,'" he said, " I should prefer to have the 
 larger number of daughters. I believe it is easier to train them for useful- 
 ness, and they are more likely to be devoted to the Savior." There were 
 born to him, four sons and seven daughters. Two sons and three daughters 
 died young. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 225 
 
 " I used to admire his patornnl cliaraetor. I ihonght 
 him very fond of his chilchvii, and used to feel a sym- 
 pathy for him, that he had so httlc leisure to give to 
 them, when he enjoyed that little so mueh. How af- 
 fectionately he would take E or A in his arms, 
 
 and take a few turns with them, before i^oinj^ up to his 
 study, when he came in from abroad I Nothing es- 
 caped his notice when w^ith them. I remember one 
 morning, * * * who was generally very gentle and 
 pleasant, became very irritable while I was dressing 
 her hair. This continued during breakfast, and was 
 checked by him, but not subdued. This irritability 
 broke out again, while he was reading for prayers ; 
 w^hen laying aside the great Bible, he took her from 
 her mother ; corrected her, reducing her to instant and 
 complete submission, and returned her to her mother. 
 After prayers, he took her again, on his knee, went 
 over mildly and gently the events of the morning; 
 showing her that he had noticed everything; and 
 pointed out to her wherein she had erred in her con- 
 duct and temper, until her spirit seemed perfectly pen- 
 itent and subdued. I listened with admiration. Oh I 
 what a father, thought 1 1 " 
 
 He watched the very first indications of character in 
 his first-born, and in each of the others, so as to predict 
 concerning some of them, what came to pass, although 
 the prediction appeared very singular and very doubt- 
 ful. He was not eager to draw out their minds before 
 the time, but he had great pleasure in analyzing their 
 intellectual tendencies. As early as he could, he w^ould 
 ascertain, if they had an ear and a voice, for the melo- 
 dies of sacred song. And when overwhelmed with 
 exhausting labors, he would sit dowm, in a morning 
 hour, to teach them their " letters," or some other les- 
 son, by which he could discern or prove their capabil- 
 ities.* 
 
 * Before going to his study, one beautiful morning, he sat down for an 
 experiment of this kind upon the Uttle daughter, who was the subject of the 
 
226 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "Wliile careful not to encumber or unduly stimulate 
 the mind, he was yet desirous of having his children 
 advance steadily, and learn something every day. He 
 was not afraid of putting them under early responsi- 
 bilities ; as if remembering what services had been 
 performed by himself, in his childhood and youth. He 
 did not talk as much with them, as many other fathers 
 do with their children. But his words were to the 
 point and the purpose. And of all their impressions 
 and recollections of him, the very first would be, that 
 he was a good man, who could say with the apostle, 
 " I have no greater joy, than to hear that my children 
 walk in truth." 
 
 At the family meeting in Hollis, in September 
 of this year, 1798, to which allusion was made, in 
 the sketches of Noah Worcester, Esq., there was one 
 incident, which has often been mentioned with a 
 lively interest. The brothers, who had entered the 
 ministry, kept a Sabbath, at Hollis. — Noah preached 
 in the forenoon ; Thomas in the afternoon ; and Sam- 
 uel, at a third service. " The sermons," according to 
 a living witness, " were each characteristic of its au- 
 thor. Noah's was plain and strong ; Thomas's easy 
 and taking, from John vii. 37 ; Samuel's scholastic 
 and profound. Hearers differed in opinion, as to which 
 
 discipline, which has been described, and who, as he was surprised to find, 
 had begun her alphabet. He proceeded along from A to P, obtaining cor- 
 rect answers, the greater part of the way. Pointing with his pencil to Q, he 
 said, — " And what is that ? " — Never having heard, the hopeful pupil looked at 
 the letter, twisting and pressing her lips, as he himself unconsciously some- 
 times did. She suddenly sprung, as if with an eureka^ like that of the old philos- 
 opher, and clapping her hands, exclaimed, — "O.' dat he O, vAdatailto himP'' 
 The exhilarating convulsion of the father's dignity, was as good for his 
 health, as the shock of his morning shower-bath, and far more grateful, to 
 say the least, than the pcjyjn-r, with which, by medical advice, he was then 
 accustomed to sprinkle his cup of coflee. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 227 
 
 performance was the best; but they all agreed in one 
 point, that Noah Worcester, Esq., was a very fortu- 
 nate man, to be the father of such an unrivalled trium- 
 virate of sons."* 
 
 Dr. Lilt her Jeiuett. 
 
 « Fitchhurg, Jan. 2, 1799. 
 My very dear friend, — 
 
 I grow more and more sensible of being very unhap- 
 pily located, in regard to my friends. So completely 
 shut out am I from their circle, as extremely seldom to 
 receive, and equally seldom directly to convey, a letter. 
 
 Since you saw me, I have passed through many in- 
 teresting scenes and changes. I have become a Hus- 
 band, a Parent, a Pater-familiaSj in my own house. 
 These several relations bring with them new duties 
 and new cares, new anxieties, and new enjoyments. 
 They throw one upon a new scene of action, and 
 clothe him with a new set of feelings and habits ; and 
 they call into exercise all that is tender, noble, and ex- 
 cellent in the human composition. God gi'ant I 
 may sustain them, with increasing pleasure, useful- 
 ness, and virtue ; and that in due time you may derive 
 from them more than your fondest expectations antici- 
 pate. 
 
 Have you read Robinson's Proofs of a Conspiracy 
 against the Religions and Governments of Europe, 
 and the Abbe Barueil's Memoirs of Jacobinism ? If 
 not, get them as soon as you can. They must engage 
 the attention — as must the great scenes, indeed, which 
 are opening in such rapid succession, on the broad 
 theatre of the world, — equally of the philosopher, the 
 
 ^Leonard did not leave his printing office, until the year following. If the 
 five own brothers, who were all at that family meeting, had been seated in 
 the order of age, he would have had the place in the centre. And this place 
 he was filled to occupy, by his stature of six feet, three inches. As the father 
 and sons, with their wives, walked to the meeting-house, in the order of 
 age; they were a spectacle for the eyes of many. 
 
228 MEMOIR OF 
 
 politician, and the divine. After reading those books, 
 we cease from wonder and astonishment at enormities, 
 which before, we thought human nature incapable of 
 committing. I conceive the grand maxim of lUumina- 
 tism, viz., that ' The preponderancy of good to the ul- 
 timate result, consecrates or justifies all the means, 
 which may be used in obtaining it,' — to be the maxim, 
 by which the ruling powers in France are governed, in 
 all their measures. 
 
 But He who is Governor among the nations will 
 soon ' punish the fruit of their stout heart, and the 
 glory of their high looks.' 
 
 Accept our most affectionate regards and best 
 wishes. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 Soon after the date of this letter, the hearts of sin- 
 cere believers, at Fitchburg, were made glad and grate- 
 ful, by the multiplied cases of awakening and conver- 
 sion. But a most virulent opposition was aroused. 
 Some of the inhabitants had never seen, and never 
 wished to see the work of God, " on this fashion." Not 
 the least of the occasions of offence and denouncing 
 clamor, was the circumstance, that, as in many places 
 at the time of the Great Awakening, members of the 
 church were among the happiest subjects of the revival. 
 
 From twelve to twenty heads of families were of 
 this class, — openly declaring, that they had never before 
 had any witness of being " born again." They, of 
 course, were not " added to the church," like others, 
 and hence the fruits of the harvest did not appear nu' 
 inericalhj^ as in ordinary cases at the present day. But 
 none afforded more joy to the pastor, than these con- 
 verted church-members ; and none, probably, were 
 more instrumental in saving others. 
 
 He had been ordained but a short time, before his 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 229 
 
 preaching occasioned a deep solicitude in llie minds 
 of a portion of the church. When a comnuuiion sea- 
 son was approaching, they were in great distress. 
 They trembled to eat and drink at tlie Lord's table, 
 and they dared not stay away. A great eflect was 
 also produced by the discussions and the devotional 
 services, preparatory to a renewal of covenant. There 
 was never, it would seem, in any town of New Eng- 
 land, an example of a revival, which more truly and 
 strikingly bcg'an, and was carried on in the church. 
 
 It is painful to add, that, in all probability also, a 
 more bitter and malignant spirit was never manifested 
 by opposers. Disgraceful and despicable measures of 
 annoyance were devised. Even the pastor and his 
 family were treated by some, with a disrespect and in- 
 sult, which would now be scarcely credible. But the 
 most grievous were his trials from "false brethren," 
 who either openly led, or fully sanctioned, the general 
 course of the opposers of the revival and of the truth of 
 God. From among these a society or league was formed, 
 upon the basis of a " Universalian Compact," in order 
 to withstand, more effectually, the doctrines of the 
 Gospel, which were so hated and execrated under the 
 name of Hopkinsianism, or the interchangeable and 
 blasphemous appellation of " hell-fire.^'' 
 
 As in the character of the opposition generally, there 
 was a manifest counterpart of the enmities and conspi- 
 racies of the Jews against Christ and the apostles, — so 
 the saying of the Master was here fuKilled : "lam come 
 to set a man at variance against his father, and the 
 daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law 
 against her mother-in-law." — Still the revival went for- 
 ward. And the experience of the pastor was invaluable, 
 20 
 
230 MEMOIR OF 
 
 in respect to his advancement in piety, and the in- 
 crease of his power as an instrument of the Lord. 
 
 From 1797 and onward, so many revivals were en- 
 joyed in the churches, that an eminent minister in 
 Connecticut, as he stood at his door, could count up- 
 wards of seventy contiguous congregations, which all 
 had participated in the outpouring from the gracious 
 presence of the Lord. In different parts of New Eng- 
 land, there were hundreds of ministers, whose hearts 
 were gladdened by this great "refreshing." Some of 
 them had personal recollections of the awakening of 
 1740, with which they gratefully compared the present 
 auspicious visitation. Many had received, in for- 
 mer instances, a rich experience in Him who " giveth 
 the increase." Some who were in the vigor of man- 
 hood, had seen the promise of the Spirit, like " the 
 small rain upon the tender herb," but never before as a 
 " mighty rushing wind." Others knew of revivals chief- 
 ly from records, which were fast growing old, and going 
 to decay. But when it is remembered, that there were 
 so many churches ready for the wondrous ministra- 
 tion of the Spirit, and so many pastors qualified to act 
 as co-workers with " the Lord of the harvest," he who 
 writes the history of the Puritans of New England, 
 may have ample evidence if he will but find it, that, in 
 the fifty or more years previous to the close of the 
 eighteenth century, by far the larger part of churches 
 and ministers were of one mind and spirit with " the 
 fathers," in their doctrinal and practical religion. 
 
 In the midst of these revivals, as has been already 
 intimated, the spirit of missions, as a legitimate con- 
 sequence, received a new and powerful impulse. This 
 spirit which has always existed in greater or less de- 
 gree, from the very fnst planting of the New England 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 231 
 
 chiirchos, would niiqnostiona])ly have boon greatly 
 promoted by orp^anizatioris or societies, distinct from 
 churches. After such orc^anizations had been formed 
 in England, Scotland and elsewhere, many pastors 
 and church-members in this country contributed to 
 their support. At different times, also, before the Rev- 
 olution, there were attempts to form associations for 
 the spread of the Gospel among the heathen, which 
 should be independent of all foreign Societies. But 
 these were not encouraged by the royal authority ; 
 and acts of incorporation by the colonial legislatures 
 could not have the seal of the crown. Thus when, in 
 1762, divers very respectable citizens of Salem and 
 other towns obtained an Act from the Massachusetts 
 General Court, incorporating them as an association 
 for spreading the Gospel among the Indians of North 
 America, the King declined to give it his sanction,* 
 
 *One of the leaders in this movement was Edward Kitchen, Esq., a promi- 
 nent member of the church, now called the Tabernacle Church The sup- 
 posed reason for denying the royal patronage to Colonial Missionary Socie- 
 ties, is correctly stated by Mr. Felt, in his Annals of Salem, Vol. II., p. 601. 
 " Such denial seems to have been exercised for the purpose of letting a 
 missionary society in England have unobstructed course in our country, and 
 thus more fully promote the cause of Episcopacy." 
 
 In a letter of Jonathan Edwards to Rev. Mr. Erskine, of Scotland, dated 
 Northampton, Oct. 14, 174S, it is said : " It is a thing, that has a favorable 
 aspect on the design of propagating the Gospel among the Indians, that 
 many of late have been remarkably spirited to promote it, and liberally to 
 open their hands in order to it. Mr. Brainerd's going to Boston before his 
 death, and people there having some acquaintance with him, and with his 
 labors and success among the Indians, gave occasion to a considerable 
 number of men in Boston, men of good substance and of the best character, 
 to form themselv^es into a Charital)le Society, that by their joint endeavors 
 and contributions, they might promote the instruction and spiritual good of 
 the Indians ; who have done some very liberal things for the Indians in 
 New Jersey, and also for the Six Nations. The people of Norlhamptoa 
 have also had their hearts remarkably opened, to contribute to the mainte- 
 nance of Mr. Spencer's Interpreter; and one individual at Springfield has 
 been moved to devote a considerable part of his estate, to promote the 
 propagation of the Gospel among the Six Nations." — DwigJu's Lifc,i^-c., 
 pp. 269-70. 
 
232 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In 1787, a " Society for Propagating the Gospel 
 among the Indians and others in North America " was 
 incorporated by the Legislature of Massachusetts. It 
 was directly occasioned by a commission, which some 
 gentlemen had received from the " Society for Propa- 
 gating Christian Knowledge," in Scotland, — author- 
 izing them to act as Commissioners. In 1789, the 
 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church " passed 
 an order, requiring the churches under their care to 
 take up collections for a Missionary Fund." A mis- 
 sion from this Church to Africa had been contemplated 
 in 1774, — ^the same year in which the Connecticut 
 General Association resolved to send missionaries to 
 the northern and western wilderness. In 1780, two 
 missionaries were sent from Hartford County, to labor 
 in Vermont ; and in 1798, the General Association 
 formed themselves into the Missionary Society of Con- 
 necticut. The New York Missionary Society, " for 
 sending the Gospel to the frontier settlements, and 
 among the Indian tribes in the United States," pre- 
 ceded this last, being formed Nov. 1, 1796.* 
 
 The New York Theological Magazine, from its 
 commencement in 1795, diffused much missionary in- 
 telligence. As Dr. Worcester's brothers Noah and 
 Thomas contributed to its pages, he would of course 
 
 * Baird's Religion in America, p. 277. Gen. Assem. Mag. Vol. I. Am. 
 Ed. Soc. Quar Regr. Vol. II. N. Y. Miss. Mag Vol. I. See a Report of 
 the vi^it of Drs. Morse and Belknap, to the Oneidas, &c., in 1796,— Mass. 
 His. Coll. Vol. V — VI, First Series. — Those Indians were then much far- 
 ther from Boston, than the Cherokees now are, west of the Mississippi. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Kirkland, a devoted missionary to the Oneidas, was father 
 of J. T. Kirkland, D. D., late President of Harvard University. When the 
 son was ordained pastor of Summer- Street Church, Boston, in 1794, the 
 venerable parent charged him in the presence of the people, as if he trem- 
 bled for the future. " O never rob him of his glory, who is God-man, 
 Mediator; never deny the Lord who hath bought you I" 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 233 
 
 be a constant reader. The London Evani^elieal Mag- 
 azine lie eould see occasionally ; and thus the exciting 
 journals of the missionaries in tlie South Seas, in 
 Afric'.i, and in the far East, were imparting a genial 
 impulse to his benevolent sympathies. With his 
 home in the hill-countrv of the interior of Massachu- 
 setts, his spirit went often abroad, as he remembered 
 the savins: of his Master: " The field is the world."* 
 
 Before he left college, a concert of prayer for the 
 conversion of the world was sustained in his native 
 town, and in many other places. And having received 
 a fresh anointing from the Lord in the blessing upon 
 his ministry, the Gospel had become to him so truly 
 the word of a "quickening Spirit," that he was most 
 willing and anxious "to spend and be spent" for the 
 name of the Lord Jesus. It was his delight to " lend 
 his assistance to every wheel in motion, designed to 
 ameliorate the condition of man ;" and one of the first 
 to move in any new enterprise or labor of christian 
 faith and love. 
 
 Thus at the formation of the Mass. Miss. Society, 
 in May, 1799, he was found ready to do all in his 
 power, to advance the object of the institution. He 
 had been less than two years in the ministry, and, of 
 
 * " The letters of Melville Home were blessed, first to excite reading 
 Christians to remember their faults, in not having before united their exer- 
 tions for the souls of their fellow-men. The unexpected union and zeal that 
 attended the forming of the London Missionary Society, was another prom- 
 inent event in this connection. We well remember the interest we took in 
 the Ship Duff, freighted with missionaries to the Islands, lately discovered 
 by the enterprising Cook. With attention, we have read the accounts of 
 Carey and others, instructing the superstitious Hindoos to leave their castes, 
 and to believe in Jesus of Nazareth. With a lively interest we have follow- 
 ed the journals of Vanderkemp and Kircherer, near the Cape of Good 
 Hope, preaching Jesus to the willing Hottentots, who have been considered 
 among the most abject of the human race. — Dickinsoii's Sermon, before the 
 Mass. Miss. Society, May 28, ISll. 
 
 20* 
 
234 MEMOIR OF 
 
 course, liad not yet taken his place, in public estima- 
 tion, with Spring, Emmons, Austin, and others, who 
 " seemed to be pillars ;" and upon whom the friends 
 of the movement naturally leaned. But he had his 
 full part in the preparatory deliberations. In a very 
 short time, by a change of local position, and from 
 other causes, he became the leading spirit of the wor- 
 thy brotherhood, wiiose anniversary was hailed as the 
 " feast of tabernacles." 
 
 There is an unwTitten history of the preliminary 
 proceedings, which deserves a notice beyond the limits 
 of a few sentences or paragraphs ; for it was this Society 
 and that of kindred character, in Connecticut, from 
 which came the men and the organization of the 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
 sions. And in the same revivals, which gave birth to 
 these Societies, the mother of Samuel J. IVIills was 
 wrestling with the Angel of the Covenant, for the 
 conversion of that child of many missionarij prayers. 
 
 Rev. Joshua Spaulding, pastor of the Tabernacle 
 Church, in Salem, and as such the predecessor of Dr. 
 Worcester, was at the head of all others, in the exer- 
 tions, which immediately led to the formation of the 
 Mass. Miss. Society. " We must have," he proclaim- 
 ed to his clerical and lay brethren, — " we must have 
 missionaries to go out into the highw^ays, all around 
 us and among us. We want a missionary in Marble- 
 head; and we need to send missionaries into Boston .'"* 
 
 *The Old South Church alone, among the Congregational churches, 
 could be relied upon as evangelical. And this, in the opinion of many, 
 hardly had breath enough for life. Two Baptist churches had a great influ- 
 ence in sustaining vital piety. 
 
 Mr. Spaulding had less influence, for several reasons, than he would 
 Qtherwise have had. lie was an eccentric, though a truly godly man. In 
 his poUilcs, he was a violent anti-federalist ; and most of the clergy were 
 
SAMUEL "WORCESTER. 235 
 
 At the Massachusetts anniversary of elcT-tion, in 
 1797, tliere was a consultation upon the subject of a 
 new ori^anization for the spread of the Gospel; but 
 nothing was done, except to agree upon further in- 
 quiry and a renewal of consultation, the next year. — 
 In 1798, a more formal meeting was held. Some of 
 the most influential pastors opposed Mr. Spaulding, 
 and such as more or less agreed with him, in his views 
 of the desirableness of missions at our own doors, to 
 "strengthen the things which remained and were 
 ready to die." The project was even derided by some, 
 as unnecessary or preposterous ; while others stated 
 their objections, as if wishing for more light, and by 
 no means "fierce for moderation." 
 
 There was an honest and serious apprehension of 
 failure, from the unpopularity of any measures, which 
 implied, that, in the very heart of New England, there 
 were waste places and desolations. It is this, doubt- 
 less, to which Dr. Samuel Spring referred in his jMis- 
 sionary Sermon, May, 1802 : 
 
 " Though encouraged and even pressed by devout, 
 praying characters to form a Missionary Society, sev- 
 eral years before it was instituted, yet we trembled 
 and hesitated and paused and postponed the object 
 repeatedly, lest our number and itifluence mig/it prove 
 inadequate to the honorable execution of the design. 
 But in consequence of the example of others, and the 
 opening field of usefulness, with confidence in the di- 
 vine promise and support, we formed the Society, and 
 marked out our missionary ground." 
 
 thus opposed to him. But he had also adopted MiUevarian views of the 
 coniins: of Clirist, and his jiRleinent was deemed unsafe. — Still lie did uiure 
 at this lime tliau any oilier individual, to constrain his brelliren in Massachu- 
 setts, to move forward in the cause of evangelization. But of this fact no 
 more has seemed to be known, than of the origin of the Am. Home Miss. 
 Society, in l&i25, from the appeals of Rev. Aaron Foster, now of E. Charle- 
 mont, Mass , and then a member of the Senior Class, at Andover. 
 
236 MEMOIR OP 
 
 In May, 1799, a plan having been so devised, as to 
 make the proposed Association appear before the 
 world, as instituted upon a much broader basis, than 
 that of home missions, a sufficient number of the more 
 eminent ministers, chiefly those known as Hopkinsian* 
 were induced to assume the responsibility of the new 
 undertaking. The constitution adopted. May 28, 1799, 
 declares, that " the object of this Society is to diffuse 
 the knovAedge of the Gospel among" the heathens^ as 
 well as other people in the remote parts of our country^ 
 ivhere Christ is seldom or never pre ached. ^^ 
 
 " Where Christ is seldom or never preached ?" inquired 
 Mr. Spaulding. " If that is your object, you should send 
 
 * It is worthy of note, that the great missionary organizations of these 
 latter days were formed, as they are now sustained, by men whose theology 
 has been often represented, as utterly inconsistent with the labors of true 
 christian beneficence. And in truth, it must be admitted, that some Hop- 
 kinsians appear to have been in a stale of mind, like that of Andrew Fuller, 
 before he saw •' the way of God more perfectly." " 17S0. Aug. 30. I found 
 my soul drawn out in love to poor souls, while reading Millar's account of 
 Eliot's labors among the North American Indians, and their efl'ect on these 
 poor barbarous savages. I found als^o a suspicion, that we shackle ourselves 
 loo much in our addresses to sinners ; that we have bewildered and lost 
 ourselves, by taking the decrees of God as rules of action. Surely Peter 
 and Paul never felt such scruples in their addresses as we do. They ad- 
 dressed their hearers as men — fallen men ; as we should warn and admon- 
 ish persons who were blind, and on the brink of some dreadful precipice. 
 Their work seemed plain before them. O that mine might be so before 
 me !" Upon this his biographer, Dr. Ryland, remarks : " Here we see the 
 first workings of compassionate feelings of heart, which at length led him 
 so happily out of the entanglements of False Calvinism, and excited him to 
 such exertions for the salvation of the heathen." — Mems. of Fuller^ eh. IV. 
 
 The mi:«take of Fuller was, in " taking the decrees of God as rules of ac- 
 tion.'''' The precepts of God, but not his decrees or purposes, are the " rules 
 OF ACTION." Thus the apostles had no " scruples " in addressing men, as 
 they did. And thus Paul, having said — " there shall be no loss of any man's 
 life among you, but of the ship," could also say, — " Except these abide in 
 the ship, ye cannot be saved." The consistency of the two sayings is to 
 some as much a problem, as the question concerning Christ, as being the 
 Son of David : *' How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, (5cc.? Matt, 
 xxii. 43-45. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 237 
 
 missionaries to Boslon! There, certainly, Christ is 
 seldom or never preached." 
 
 It is noticeable, that his idea of cil// missions has 
 now been adopted, with great interest and effect. But 
 the Mass. Miss. Society, which owed its origin as 
 much or more to him, than to any other single indi- 
 vidual, could never have been formed, but with the 
 distinct contemplation of a much more extended cir- 
 cumference for a field of labor. 
 
 The first address of the Society, " to all who are de- 
 sirous of the spread of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ," breathes the genuine spirit of the charge from 
 Mount Olivet. Recognizing " the glorious Gospel of 
 Christ as the adequate and only medium of recover- 
 ing lost sinners to God and happiness," and respond- 
 ing to " the grand commission which Christ gave to 
 his primitive disciples," the address " entreats " all 
 " christian brethren, in view of their immense indebt- 
 edness to redeeming grace, their solemn covenant 
 vows, their accountability and their hopes, to cast. the 
 eye of attentive observation upon the condition of 
 thousands and millions of our guilty race, in other 
 countries and in our own, particularly among the hea- 
 then tribes, and on the frontiers of the United States, 
 forming a vast line of new settlements, peculiarly em- 
 barrassed with respect to their religious interests and 
 local circumstances ; and ask whether, when their 
 danger is so great, when their spiritual wants are so 
 urgent, when there is so much zeal on the part of 
 wickedness, infidelity, and atheism, counteracting the 
 Gospel — there be not reason to put forth every exer- 
 tion for the spread of that precious Gospel, which is 
 the grand charter of our eternal inheritance." 
 
 The Society was thus brought into the closest aflin- 
 
238 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ity and fellowship with others in Great Britain. 
 Establishments precisely similar to those now sustain- 
 ed by the American Board of Com. for For. Missions, 
 might have been organized and cherished, in the 
 strictest accordance with the pm*pose of the Mass. 
 Miss. Society. And the simple fact is, that it was 
 not until long after the Amer. Board of Com. for For. 
 Missions was formed, that this Society and others, 
 which are now purely home societies, became such, or 
 were understood to be such, in the present acceptation 
 of the term. By a missionary society, was meant an 
 association to spread the Gospel through all the world, 
 by preaching it in any accessible region or place, 
 where " Christ is seldom or never preached." And 
 the Mass. Miss. Society, was a society of Blassachu- 
 setts missionary men; not a missionary society for 
 Massachusetts ! 
 
 In 1804, the constitution of the society was modi- 
 fied, so that the article defining the object was made 
 to read : — " The object of the society is, to diffuse the 
 Gospel among the people of the newly settled and 
 remote parts of our country, among the Indians of the 
 country, and through more distant regions of the earthy 
 as circumstances shall invite, and the ability of the 
 society shall admit." And if the men could have 
 been had, and the money could have been obtained, 
 missionaries might have been sent by the Mass. Miss. 
 Society to Bombay, Ceylon, or the Sandwich Islands, 
 just as constitutionallij as they were afterwards sent by 
 the Amer. Board of Com. for For. Missions. — It may 
 be added, that the Mass. Miss. Society was made di- 
 rectly subservient to the plans of this great organiza- 
 tion. Its affairs were conducted with such exclusive 
 reference to remote localities, and general objects em- 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 239 
 
 braced in the spread of the Cospe], that a "Domestic 
 Missionary Society " was found necessary for the 
 wants of jNIassacliusetts. — This Society was merged 
 in the Mass. Miss. Society, when the latter became 
 what it now is, strictly domestic^ as having no mis- 
 sionaries among the heathen. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Austin was tlie first Secretary. Dr. 
 Emmons very reluctantly accepted the office of Presi- 
 dent. He was almost " taken by force." Dr. Spring 
 had many doubts and fears. Rev. Messrs. Niles, of 
 Abington, Dickinson, of Ilolliston, Alexander, of Men- 
 don, Barker of Middleboro', were fully decided, as were 
 others like the subject of this Memoir, — with a few 
 such laymen as John Simpkins, Esq., of Boston, John 
 Punch ard, Esq., of Salem, and Leonard Worcester, of 
 Worcester. At a private house, these " with one ac- 
 cord " continued in prayer and deliberation, on a mem- 
 orable night, until a later hour than Paul preached at 
 Troas. It was past midnight, when they had settled 
 the question of forming a society.* 
 
 The first mission projected, was that of a settled 
 minister, and of a candidate, to the region between 
 Whitestown and the Genessee River. And in the 
 view of the first Directors or Trustees, so much was it 
 the " day of small things," that, at their meeting, July 
 
 * And the most of them then made themselves as comfortable as they 
 could, in accommodations upon the floor, until the morning I 
 
 The names of the first signers of the Constitution, were David Sanford, 
 Daniel Hopkins, Nathaniel Emmons, Ezra Wild, Samuel Niles, Samuel 
 Spring, Joseph Barker, John Crane, Samuel Austin, Joshua Spaulding, 
 Timothy Dickinson, Jacob Norton, Jonathan Strong, Peter Sanborn, John 
 H. Stevens, Paul Litchfield, Eli Smith, Samuel Mead, Eliphalet Gillett, 
 Freegrace Reynolds, Titus Theodore Barton, Andrew Beattie, Jonathan 
 Powers, Daniel Hardy, Jr., Charles Collin, Jr., John Simpkins, Isaac 
 Tompkins, John Wait, Leonard Woods, Elijah Parish, Samuel A\'orcesler, 
 Leonard Worcester, George Odiorne, Kendal Kittredge, Jedediah Morse, 
 Nicholas Pike, Calvin Park, Jonathan Homer, John Puuchard, &C., &:c. 
 
240 MEMOIR OF 
 
 15, they voted thanks to their Treasurer for the gener^ 
 ous deposit of ten dollars for the use of the society ! " 
 
 At the next anniversary, however, the funds had in- 
 creased to more than one thousand dollars ; and it was 
 quite apparent, that the chief difficulty would be in 
 finding suitable men to engage as missionaries. There 
 were vacant pulpits for all those, who were qualified 
 for missionary service ; and the churches could seldom 
 be found willing to spare their pastors, even for a term 
 of three months. Besides, the active friends of Zion 
 in eastern Massachusetts, and in New England at large, 
 had but a small share of this world's goods. They 
 might have recurred, not unaptly, to the words of 
 Peter : " Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I 
 have give I thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Na- 
 zareth, rise up and walk." 
 
 In Boston itself, the capital of the descendants of 
 " the fathers " and of the Pilgrims, so little interest was 
 manifested in the objects and meetings of the Massa- 
 chusetts Missionary Society, for some years after its 
 formation, that the question was distinctly entertained 
 by some of the members, whether the anniversary 
 should not be held in Salem. The reasons for thus 
 honoring Salem, were good and sufficient. In antici- 
 pation, it may here be mentioned, that it was in Sa- 
 lem, in June 1803, that the first Number of the Massa- 
 chusetts Missionary Magazine was edited and pub- 
 lished. 
 
 It had the same foreign missionary spirit and gen- 
 eral character, that may now be seen in the Mis- 
 sionary Herald. But if any one would see an amaz- 
 ing contrast, and a most cheering demonstration of an 
 immense progress, let him read some of the last num- 
 bers of the Herald of the A. B. C. F. M., and some 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 241 
 
 of the first of the M;igaziiic of the Massachusetts Mis- 
 sionary Society. And let him coinj)are, also, the Mas- 
 sachusetts Missionary Society, in 1801, with its two 
 or three missionaries, a part of the year, with the pre- 
 sent American Home Missionary Society, in ISol, 
 with its more than one thousand missionaries from 
 the Aroostook, to Oregon and California ! 
 
 Dr. "Worcester returned home from the meetings, at 
 Boston, during the election week of 1799, much re- 
 freshed and animated by his intercourse with breth- 
 ren, and the prospective results of their consultations. 
 He had been declining in health. For some time, his 
 studies and labors had been interrupted by general de- 
 bility and frequent prostration of his nervous system. 
 But his reputation gained rapidly, and no young min- 
 ister of New England has ever been known at so early 
 an age, to command higher respect for weight of char- 
 acter. 
 
 From a goodly majority of those, who were proper- 
 ly the people of his charge, he was honored with every 
 mark of confidence and esteem, which any pastor could 
 reasonably expect. Very grateful, and somewhat un- 
 common, were the tokens of regard from the younger 
 members of his congregation. And with a large por- 
 tion of the church, he enjoyed the fellowship of saints, 
 in no doubtful " earnest " of the communion in celes- 
 tial glory. The Lord was manifestly " working with " 
 him, and " confirming the word w^ith signs " of life 
 eternal to the " dead in trespasses and sins." 
 
 But to those in his congregation, and more in the 
 town, who " loved darkness rather than light," his clear 
 and pungent exhibitions of " the truth " were as the 
 21 
 
242 ' MEMOIR OP 
 
 piercings of a sword. Some of the Universalist mem- 
 bers of the church were busily engaged in igniting all 
 the combustibles of infidelity and immorality, within 
 the limits of the town. They addressed themselves, 
 also, to the sympathies of such neighboring ministers 
 and church-members, as had no favor for Calvinism, 
 and with whom spiritual regeneration was sheer en- 
 thusiasm, or hypocritical pretence. 
 
 The adoption of the revised Articles and Covenant, 
 led to some efforts of Christian fidelity, to reclaim 
 *' those that were out of the way." Some who were 
 living in neglect of public and family worship ; or who 
 by other violations of covenant were justly disciplina- 
 ble, were expostulated with by their brethren. No 
 case, however, was yet piu-sued through the successive 
 stages of " dealing '^ to excommunication. But an 
 uneasiness was created, and much available occasion 
 afforded to organize a strong and embittered resistance 
 to the reformed administration of the government of 
 the church. In general, the state of things was very 
 much the same, as at Northampton, in 1749, — or just 
 half a century earlier, — ^when Edwards took his mem- 
 orable stand against the admission of members to the 
 church, who gave no evidence of real conversion. 
 
 Early in June, and but a few days after the pleasant 
 scenes in Boston, one of the leaders of the opposition 
 contrived a meeting for Universalists, in Fitchburg, 
 and the neighboring towns, to hear a discom'se from a 
 notorious hierophant of their delusive and destructive 
 sentiments. The whole contrivance was managed so 
 secretly, that the pastor of the church knew nothing of 
 the meeting, until he saw the people gathering towards 
 the house of worship.* He went himself, and sat in 
 
 * The key, which was usually kept m the entry of his house, had been 
 taken by stealth. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 243 
 
 his family pew. Tlic preacher took for his text : " And 
 to yon, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord 
 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty 
 angels, in llaming fire taking vengeance on them that 
 know not God," &c. &c. (2 Thes. chap. 1.) He ex- 
 pounded the term " vengeance," as meaning the fer- 
 vency of GocVs love ; and in like manner disposed of 
 all the other terms, by which the apostle had spoken 
 of " everlasting destruction I " Having concluded, he 
 remarked to the assembly, that he had now endeavored 
 to give them his ideas of the truth ; but if there was 
 any person w^ho wished to say anything, liberty was 
 now given. Dr. Worcester instantly rose, and said, — 
 " If the preacher will come down upon the pulpit 
 stairs, I should like to ask him two or three questions." 
 He complied with the request, and was asked, — " By 
 what authority. Sir, have you entered my pulpit ? " — 
 Somewhat disconcerted, he answered, — " By your con- 
 sent." — " I never gave consent ; I never knew anything- 
 of this meetings until the people began to assemble," — 
 was the emphatic reply. At that instant, a voice* 
 was heard from the choir : — " You lie, ]Mr. Worcester I " 
 Amidst the confusion which now began, the pastor, 
 after a very dignified and impressive comment upon 
 such an astounding outrage, invited the assembly to 
 remain a little longer, and attend to an exposition 
 which he would give of a chapter in the New Testa- 
 ment. He then read and expounded the Epistle of 
 Jucle. It is not probable, that those words of fearful 
 rebuke of " certain men crept in unawares, * * ungodly 
 men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness," 
 were ever brought to bear upon any assembly, with a 
 
 * From one whose own falsehood was now exposed. But he was not 
 one of the citizens of the place. 
 
244 MEMOIR OP 
 
 more direct, and scorching application. The effect 
 was indescribable. 
 
 Promptly after his pulpit had been so occupied, and, 
 as he felt, desecrated and defiled, the regular incum- 
 bent delivered a discourse from the words, " That we, 
 henceforth, be no more children, tossed to and fro, and 
 earned about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight 
 of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in 
 wait to deceive." 
 
 He first showed, that " it is a primary object of the 
 propagators of error, to bring the true doctrines of the 
 Gospel into contempt." And in illustrating the point, 
 he reminded his hearers of the course recently pursued. 
 
 " Those of you, my hearers, who were present on the 
 occasion, recollect very well, that the method of seduc- 
 tion now under consideration, was lately put in prac- 
 tice, in a public performance in this place. Instead of 
 argument and serious address, vehement declamation, 
 and even ridicule, were adopted, with an obvious de- 
 sign to bring the great truths of the Gospel, as holden 
 by Orthodox Christians in all ages, into public de- 
 rision. And answerable to the worthy intention, in 
 such as were prepared for the purpose, a levity very 
 unbecoming the house and worship of God, to say the 
 least, was excited. By this means, gross and inde- 
 cent as it was, the speaker, in a very few minutes, ef- 
 fected more, no doubt, in some particular minds, than 
 he could have done in a day, by serious and rational 
 discussion. With many, it is a much easier matter to 
 laugh, than to reason. But if they can be made to 
 laugh at any doctrine, it answers about the same pur- 
 pose, as if they had been reasoned or argued out of it. 
 Having once made it an object of their merriment, they 
 afterwards hold it in contempt ; or at least, care not to 
 admit it, as a serious article of their creed. And this 
 is exactly what is aimed at, by those who practice this 
 method of seduction. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 245 
 
 But an honest man, my hrnrors, a man who is seri- 
 ous in the serious cause of truth, would never stoop to 
 this. In a discourse upon the great things of religion, 
 a discourse in which a question of no less magnitude 
 and concernment, than that of eternal damnation is 
 involved, you will never hear him use ridicule instead 
 of arcrument, or vehement declamation instead of seri- 
 ous address. He will never attempt to excite your 
 laughter, instead of convincing your consciences. 
 
 2. Deceivers generally address themselves to the 
 passions, rather than to the understanding. * * * 
 
 3. Deceivers will very commonly endeavor to con- 
 found, and carry you away with a multitude of words ; 
 with noisy, incoherent declamation. ***** 
 
 4. Nearly allied to what has now been brought into 
 view, is another artifice, commonly made use of by 
 heretical deceivers. They affect to disclaim all depen- 
 dence upon human reasoning, and attend wholly to 
 the Scripture. Hence, if you undertake to show, by 
 the connection and analogy of Scripture, that texts 
 which they adduce are not to their purpose, they will 
 not attend to your argument, but make a great show of 
 insisting upon a plain — ' Thus saith the Lord I' This 
 is a very artful method to make people think, that they 
 have a great regard for the Scripture, and that they 
 draw their doctrines wholly from that source. This 
 they were taught by their father, the Devil. He quoted 
 passages of Scripture, that he might tempt and deceive 
 Christ ; and if he transform himself into an angel of 
 light, no marvel, says the apostle, if his ministers do 
 likewise. 
 
 Again. They affect to be pleading for the character 
 of God. Thus did the false prophets of ancient times. 
 They accused Isaiah of uttering things injurious to the 
 divine character, and raised such a clamor against 
 him, that at length he was sawn asunder, as an im- 
 pious blasphemer. The same clamor w^as raised 
 against Christ by those, who, when he was on earth, 
 opposed his doctrines. And the same clamor has been 
 raised by infidels and heretics against the orthodox 
 doctrines of the Church, in all ages. Especially is it 
 
 20* 
 
246 MEMOIR OF 
 
 thus at the present day. Infidels, Socinians, and Uni- 
 versalists, all join in the cry, that the orthodox scheme 
 of Christianity is repugnant to the benevolence of the 
 divine nature. Theirs is a scheme on which they all 
 loudly and vehemently declaim, while they in their 
 several ways affect great zeal for the Church of God, 
 which, as they pretend, is so grievously injured. And 
 this sheer artifice has, with many, no doubt, very great 
 influence. 
 
 As they affectedly plead for the benevolence of Dei- 
 ty, so also do they aftect to be exceedingly benevolent., 
 themselves. No people pretend to greater benevolence 
 than Deists, unless, indeed, they be the Universalists. 
 They all pretend to have a great concern for the hap- 
 piness of their fellow-men, and affect to pity those poor 
 unhappy creatures, who are so chained down by pre- 
 judice, ignorance, or the force of education, as not like 
 them, to throw off, what they are pleased to call, the 
 shackles of superstition and bigotry. And they take 
 care to express a very strong hope and confident opin- 
 ion, that mankind will soon be so enlightened, as to 
 see as they see, and enjoy the liberty which they en- 
 joy. ' Oh, I have no concern,' says the Deist, ' but that 
 you will all very soon get rid of your superstitious no- 
 tions, and become Deists.' And so says the Universa- 
 list, ' I am not at all concerned but that you will all 
 very soon become Universalists.' Artifices like these 
 are designed to make people believe, that they are very 
 sincere, and with weak and ignorant people, have of- 
 tentimes a mighty effect. They zealoushj affect you^ 
 hut not ivetl ; yea^ they loould exclude yoii^ that ye might 
 affect them. For such are false apostles^ deceitful ivork- 
 ers, transforming' themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
 And no marvel ; for Satan himself is transformed into 
 an angel of light. 
 
 I have taken the liberty, my hearers, to bring into 
 view the pretences of a man, who lias lately been 
 among you in the character of a preacher. Although 
 I could hardly consider him, or his preaching, as of 
 sufficient consequence to demand so much attention ; 
 yet as he had furnished me with so fair an occasion 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 247 
 
 for exposing the artful practieos, the. slrifj^ht and cvn- 
 ni/iif' cni/fificss of those vho lie in vudt to deceive you, I 
 thouglit it my duty as a watchman upon these walls, 
 to improve, though in weakness, the occasion thus of- 
 fered. On hearing him for myself, I confess, it appeared 
 to me scarcely necessary to say anything to refute him. 
 For his discourse was so glaringly absurd, as evident- 
 ly to carry its own confutation on the very front of it. It 
 w^as thought advisable, however, to ask him a number 
 of questions, for the purpose of bringing him out, and 
 showing him in his full length. This was accordingly 
 done ; and it was imagined sutTicient to do aw^ay every 
 unfavorable impression, which he might have made 
 upon any minds. But to my regret, I understand, that 
 there are some, who are more or less carried away with 
 him. With such I do not expect that anything, which 
 can be addressed to their reason, will be of any avail ; 
 for it must be exceedingly evident, that their reason is 
 allow^ed to take but very little, if any, part in the affair. 
 I shall take the liberty, however, brielly to state 
 some of the ideas which were advanced by their 
 preacher, that they may look at them once more, and 
 that others, too, may judge. — In answer to questions 
 which were put to him publicly, he said, that ' God 
 has nothing to do in the punishment of sinners ;' — 
 ' they are punished by themselves only,' — that ' the 
 covenant which was made with Adam was a bad one, 
 and was, therefore, disannulled,' — that ' the divine law 
 under which men now are, has no penalty annexed, 
 and threatens no punishment,' — that ' there will be no 
 future day of general judgment,' — that ' God never was 
 displeased with his creatures, nor ever can be,' — that 
 ' he never cursed or damned any of his creatures, 
 but must and will bless them, and only bless them,' — 
 that 'there was never any need of sacrifice or atone- 
 ment, to make a propitiation to God for sin,' — and that 
 ' the Son of God suffered and died, not to make atone- 
 ment for sin, but barely to seal a testimony to the 
 truth, and to convince mankind that God is not dis- 
 pleased with them, — mankind think that God is dis- 
 pleased with them for their conduct, and could not 
 
248 MEMOIR OP 
 
 have been convinced of the contrary, by any other 
 means than the death of God's son! ' 
 
 I might proceed. But what has here been stated, 
 may suffice as a specimen of the whole. I cannot be 
 suspected of designed misrepresentation, for there were 
 many present to hear ; and I think I have not mis- 
 stated. Now suffer me to ask, if there be any of his 
 disciples present, whether you are prepared to subscribe 
 to these doctrines. Some of you have called them 
 good news. But do you believe them to be the Gos- 
 pel of Christ? Are they holy docti'ines, — doctrines 
 which lead to a holy life ? Do you find yourselves in- 
 fluenced by them to attend more seriously to religion, 
 to repent of your sins, and to w^alk humbly with God, 
 in a course of holy obedience to his commandments? 
 Do you believe, that these are the doctrines which Christ 
 preached, and for which he was persecuted to the 
 cross ; the doctrines which the apostles preached, and 
 which had such a powerful effect in pricking sinners 
 to the heart, making them cry out. Men and brethren^ 
 irhat shall we do^ and finally turning them from their 
 vicious and sinful courses into the way of a holy and 
 religious life ? 
 
 Perhaps you will say, — ' we do not know whether 
 all which he advances is true ; but still, on the whole, 
 we liked the man and his preaching.' Be it so. But 
 if these doctrines, which are here stated from him, be 
 not true, are they not then fundamental error? Do 
 they not go to the total subversion of the Gospel ? — If 
 it be true, that sinners are really under the displeasure 
 of God and the curse of his law ; and if Christ suffered 
 and bled for the special purpose of making atonement 
 for their sins, then would it not be a total subversion 
 of the very foundation of the Gospel to say, that ' God 
 never was displeased with his creatures, and that 
 Christ died, not to make atonement for their sins, but 
 to seal a testimony to the truth, and convince them 
 that God was not displeased with them ?' — For myself, I 
 hesitate not to say, that I have quite as good an opinion 
 of an open and avowed infidel, as I can have of the 
 man, who will avow sentiments like these ; and that I 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 219 
 
 believe these sentiments to be even more dnnc^erous 
 and licentious in their tendency, than dowiiric^ht Deism. 
 Yet this is the man, to whom I was called upon to £rive 
 the right hand of feUowsiiii), as with me a lVlh)w-la- 
 borer in the vineyard of Christ! Be oflended who may, 
 — I alllrm, that, as are his sentiments, so is his charac- 
 ter — notoriously vile, licentious, and infamous. This 
 is no slander; it is what I am ready, if called upon, to 
 prove; and I mention it for the sake only of exposing 
 to your view, the unreasonableness and folly of run- 
 ning after every creature that comes along, and bid- 
 ding him ' God speed.' 
 
 You will allow me to talk plainly, for you have con- 
 strained me ; the occasion requires it, and gives me full 
 liberty. I wish not to offend, unless such truths, as I 
 think to be important to be held, are offensive. I am 
 aware, that I have already been censured and re- 
 proached ; but this does not move me. I have made 
 up my mind to meet, without dismay, any censures and 
 reproaches which are incurred, by a faithful discharge 
 of my duty, and I thank my God, they do not hurt 
 me. 
 
 It is but a few months ago, my friends, that you 
 were bidding ' God speed' to a man, who had never 
 any regular introduction into the ministry; who was 
 not even a professor of Christianity ; and whom none 
 of you could suspect of having any deep or serious 
 concern for the cause of truth or religion. And now 
 you have renewed the solemn mockery with one of 
 still worse character. Thus you " suffer fools gladly." I 
 do not mention this for the sake of reproaching you — 
 far be it from my heart — but for the sake of bringing 
 you, if possible, to a serious consideration. I beg you 
 to pause for a moment, and solemnly to reflect upon 
 the matter. 
 
 Do you believe such persons to be the real ambas- 
 sadors of the Lord Jesus Christ, sent forth with the 
 messages of grace, to bring men in Christ to become 
 reconciled to God? Do you believe, that Christ owns 
 and acknowledo^es them as his ministers? Is it thus, 
 that you esteem the sacred and solemn institutions oi 
 
250 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the Gospel ministry ? Is it thus, that you choose to 
 manifest your regard for Christ and his divine institu- 
 tions ? Suffer me to ask, what were your views ? Per- 
 haps they were to show your dislike and disrespect to 
 your own minister. Be it so ; you have not injured 
 him at all. He has no complaint to make against you 
 as it respects himself; the Lord judge between him and 
 you. 
 
 In thus running after unauthorized teachers and 
 doctrines, have you any serious regard to the honor of 
 God and religion, or any serious regard to the spiritual 
 good of your own souls ? Do you find, or wish to 
 find, that they impress upon your minds a deep sense 
 of the importance of a holy religious life, of immediate 
 repentance, and of devotedness to the service of God ? 
 Or is it not the case, that you have itching ears to turn 
 away from the truth, and be turned unto fables, that 
 you may put yourselves at ease in a state of impeni- 
 tency and ungodliness ? — I doubt not, that some of 
 you will say, that you have a right to hear such 
 preachers as you please. But will you pause and con- 
 sider of this a moment ? Has not Christ expressly ad- 
 monished you to beware of false teachers, and by his 
 holy apostles to mark those who cause divisions and 
 offences, contrary to the docti'ines which you have re- 
 ceived, and avoid them ? Is not the Bible full of the 
 most solemn warnings against false teachers and false 
 doctrines; and in respect to disorderly and irregular 
 practices, which affect sacred institutions ? And is it 
 thus, that you choose to show your regard to the warn- 
 ing voice of God ? Will you wantonly fly in the face 
 of divine admonitions ? 
 
 You wish, no doubt, to find out some way in which 
 to get rid of the force of those hard and disagreeable 
 doctrines, which you cannot endure I But what, my 
 friends, do you expect to gain by this ? Do you ex- 
 pect to make your condition any better, in reality ? 
 If by any means you should bring yourselves to dis- 
 believe the great truths of the Gospel, and thus rid 
 yourselves, for the moment, of the trouble which they 
 give you, — can you expect to alter the nature of those 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 2'31 
 
 truths, and finally to escape from tliuir force? By 
 making yourselves believe, that all men will be saved, 
 do you expect to alter the eternal trutli of Jehovah, — 
 ' He that believeth not, shall be damned ? ' By mak- 
 ing yourselves believe, that God cannot be displeased 
 with his creatures, do you expect to do away the force 
 of that solemn declaration of Truth himself, — ' lie that 
 believeth not the Son is condemned already, and the 
 wrath of God abideth on him ? ' No, my friends. No. 
 Hear what the Lord says, — 'Behold, all ye that kin- 
 dle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks ; 
 walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye 
 have kindled ; This shall ye have at mine hand, ye 
 shall lie down in sorrow.' Of what avail, then, are all 
 the pains which you take to deceive yourselves and to 
 be deceived ? What, if in the end, all those doctrines, 
 which you so much oppose, prove true, and you be 
 found with a lie in your right hand ? ' Judgment will 
 assuredly be laid to the line and righteousness to the 
 plummet, and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of 
 lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding places.' 
 
 Be entreated, then, I conjure you, to lay aside, for a 
 little season, your prejudices and bitter feelings, and 
 think seriously and solemnly upon these things. But a 
 little while, my friends, and you and I shall stand before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ. If you will forbear your 
 resentment and reproaches till that solemn period, you 
 have my consent, that then you may load me with as 
 much odium and reproach for my plain and faithful 
 dealing this day, as you shall then think best. Suffer 
 me to address you individually, in the language of 
 Scripture, — ' If thou wilt be wise, thou shalt be wise 
 for thyself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear 
 it' 
 
 A word to those of you, my friends, whose minds 
 are in some measure religiously impressed. On your 
 account partly, at least, it cannot be doubted, the de- 
 ceiver was brought down among us. It was an effort 
 of Satan and his partisans to divert your attention, 
 and throw you back into your former state of carnal 
 ease and security. Satan is evidently alarmed for his 
 
252 MEMOIR OF 
 
 reign in this place. He feels that his interest is in 
 danger, and is making his utmost exertions, and rous- 
 ing his votaries to do the same, that he may maintain 
 his ground. But thanks to sovereign mercy, his limits 
 are prescribed, and beyond them he cannot pass. It 
 is matter of rejoicing, that so far as has been learned, 
 you continue unmoved ; and the effort which has been 
 made, has produced a very different effect from what 
 was intended. Thus it will ever be ; the head of the 
 serpent will be broken. God has evidently begun a 
 good work among us, and I trust in his sovereign 
 grace, that he will carry it on, in spite of the rage and 
 opposition of earth and hell. Be not dismayed or dis- 
 couraged, my friends, for God shall bruise Satan under 
 your feet shortly ; and ' to hinri that overcometh,' says 
 the great Captain of Salvation, ' will I grant to sit 
 with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and 
 am set down with my Father on his throne.' 
 
 ]\Iy brethren and friends, it is a matter of very ex- 
 tensive notoriety, that, not many years ago, a spirit of 
 infidelity was alarmingly prevailing in this place. For 
 some little time since, however, it has seemed to dis- 
 appear. But what has become of it ? Is it extinct ? 
 Or has it only assumed another form ? It is very well 
 known, that Deists have no controversy with Univer- 
 salists. But is the spirit of infidelity, after having as- 
 sumed the name of Universalism, less hostile to the 
 truth and religion of the Gospel, than it was before ? 
 Or does it assume this name, only for the sake of car- 
 rying on its opposition to the true Gospel with less 
 odium, but still greater success ? Let facts, which 
 have recently transpired, be allowed to testify. Your 
 eyes, it is believed, are by this time, generally, opened. 
 You cannot easily suspect that spirit of being very 
 friendly to truth and religion, which is so little scru- 
 pulous with regard to the means and the character, 
 which it countenances and employs in its service. 
 
 I have repeatedly taken occasion to represent Univer- 
 salism, as a heresy of the most dangerous and licen- 
 tious tendency ; as such, I believe it is universally re- 
 garded by the friends of the truth as it is in Jesus, and 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 2o3 
 
 such yoii will now believe it to be. I do not under- 
 take to say, but that some honest people may be led 
 away in their simplicity, by sleiirht and cnnniii<^ erafti- 
 ■ ness, and be far e^one, for a while, in this heresy. — 
 But it is a fact which cannot be denied, even by its 
 friends, that wherever it prevails, it is chiefly among 
 the most loose and licentious in principle and prac- 
 tice, — at least among such as were never suspected of 
 any very serious regard for religion. Unless you can 
 believe, therefore, that the licentious and irreligious 
 are the most likely to embrace the truth, you cannot 
 believe Universalism to be true. Nay, unless you can 
 believe, that the doctrines of the Gospel, instead of 
 calling men to a holy and religious life, throw off their 
 restraints, and grant them still greater indulgences in 
 ungodliness, you cannot believe, that the preacher, 
 who was so lately among you, preached in the name 
 of Christ and his apostles, or that his disciples are 
 such, as were the primitive converts to Christianity. 
 
 Having your eyes thus opened, I trust, that you will 
 be " no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried 
 about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of 
 men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait 
 to deceive." Remember the solemn imprecation of the 
 apostle Paul, — ' Though we, or an angel from heaven, 
 preach any other Gospel unto you, than that which we 
 have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we 
 said before, so say I now again, If any man preach 
 any other Gospel unto you, than that ye have receiv- 
 ed, let him be accursed.' — And the injunction of the 
 apostle John : ' If there come any unto you, and bring 
 not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, 
 neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him 
 God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds.' — ' Wo unto 
 the world, because of offences ! for it must needs be 
 that offences come ; but wo to that man by whom 
 the offence cometh !' ' There must be also heresies 
 among you, that they which are approved, may be 
 made manifest.' But 'blessed is he that watcheth, 
 and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and 
 they see his shame.' " 
 22 
 
254 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Thus did the insulted pastor vindicate his office and 
 the truth. He was now fast approaching a compli- 
 cated series of ecclesiastical struggles. The time was 
 at hand, when an exposure was to be made of the sad 
 declension and defection of many churches, which still 
 claimed to be in fellowship upon the doctrinal and 
 ecclesiastical basis of the Platform of 1648, and the 
 Confession of 1680. The practical results of the un- 
 toward alliance between Church and State, were also 
 to be exhibited. And the church in Fitchburg, under 
 the guidance of a pastor, endowed with gifts and 
 graces for the purpose, had been destined to lead the 
 way, in the painful, but happy deliverance of the true 
 churches of " the fathers," from civil bondage on the 
 one hand, and formalism and corruption on the other. 
 
 From the controversy, which was now so inevita- 
 ble, Dr. Worcester would gladly have retired. When 
 he saw himself made the especial mark of the assail- 
 ants, he signified to some of his friends his preference 
 to leave the ground. He was even anxious to be dis- 
 missed : so much so, that they could not refrain from 
 suspecting, and from intimating to him, that he did 
 not sufficiently regard their welfare. He concluded to 
 await the clearer indications of the divine will. His 
 resolution was the more fortified, as his opposers, and 
 the malcontents generally, became violent and out- 
 rageous in their measures and menaces. — He was not 
 to be intimidated or coerced. Ready to depart in a 
 regular manner, at the earliest moment of propriety, 
 he could respond to every experiment upon his firm- 
 ness, — " Should such a man as I flee ?" 
 
 In his accumulating trials, he exceedingly felt his 
 personal loss, in the removal of his brother Leonard 
 to Peacham, Vt. It was a great disappointment to 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 255 
 
 him, not to bo able to assist in the services of that 
 brother's ordination.* 
 
 « FUchburg-, Oct, 17, 1799. 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 It is with singular regret, that I relinquish the hope 
 of being present at your ordination — a hope, which I 
 have hitherto cherished with peculiar fondness. But 
 I must bow in submission to the voice of a sovereign 
 and holy Providence. My father, whom I expect to 
 be the bearer of this, will inform you of my condition. 
 
 The scene before you, my brother, is peculiarly in- 
 teresting and trying. It must awaken feelings, to 
 which you have heretofore been a stranger ; and give 
 you a more impressive sense, than you have ever be- 
 fore had, of what is contained in the apostolic exclam- 
 ation, ' Who is sufficient for these things.^ But thanks 
 be to God, there is One, whose grace is sufficient ; 
 and of his fulness — it is my fervent aspiration, — may 
 you abundantly receive, and grace for grace, that you 
 may be enabled to sustain the weighty and solemn 
 charge, w^iich you are about to take upon you. 
 
 Though absent in body, I shall be present in spirit, 
 and with rapture bid you welcome into the vineyard 
 of our common Lord. Welcome to a participation in 
 the labors and honors, the anxieties and consolations, 
 the reproaches and the triumphs, of the christian min- 
 istry. O my brother, gird up the loins of your mind, 
 and be strong, in the Lord. And being yourself the 
 faithful minister^ may you ere long know, that as there 
 
 * When Leonard was considering the question of entering the ministry, 
 he had to rely mainly upon his own convictions of the will of Providence. 
 The brothers Noah and Thomas were disposed rather to discourage him, in 
 consequence of his age, his family, and his great usefulness at Worcester. 
 But his brother at Fitchburg, although not prepared at first to speak decid- 
 edly, favored his plans, and was willing to confide in his judgment. He 
 had made great attainments, in course of the ten years after he became of 
 age ; and highly as he was estimated, he was found in the pulpit to be far in 
 advance of many, who had enjoyed the best means of a liberal education. 
 Few pastors of New England ever had a more honored ministry. He was 
 ordained, Oct. 30, 1799. 
 
256 MEMOIR OF 
 
 are no sorrows like his sorrows, so are there no joys 
 like his joys. 
 
 Unable to write more — I can only add an assurance, 
 that you have a brother, who will never forget you, in 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Mr. Leonard Worcester." 
 
 Dr. Luther Jewett 
 
 " Fitchburg-, Oct. 21, 1799. 
 My dear friend, — 
 
 I have lately received your much esteemed favor of 
 Aug. 23d, by which I learn, that you have forwarded 
 three letters, since you saw me, but have received none 
 in return. Our correspondence is certainly attended 
 with great infelicity. I have received but one of yours, 
 besides that of 23d Aug. I wrote and sent off one, if 
 I rightly remember, in the latter part of May. Be- 
 sides that, I have forwarded none. I fear that I can 
 frame no apology satisfactory to my own feelings ; but 
 must acknowledge a criminal negligence. For neither 
 want of health, nor the want of direct conveyance, can 
 fully satisfy the imparcloning severity of friendship ! 
 I should exceedingly regret the discontinuance of our 
 correspondence ; and am pleased with your proposal. 
 There is a Post- Office in Leominster, from which I 
 could receive letters any week. 
 
 You express a very kind solicitude for my health 
 and prosperity. I have been more unwell than is 
 usual for me, for the most of the time since the first 
 of June. In July, I was obliged to make a tour for 
 my health, by which it was in some measure recruited; 
 and I was afterwards on the mending hand, till three 
 or four weeks ago, when, in consequence of a cold, an 
 abcess began to form on the lower part of my face. 
 It has been a terrible sore, but is at present in a good 
 way ; and as it has discharged pretty copiously, I hope 
 it will be for my better health. My confinement at 
 this time is peculiarly unhappy, as it prevents my at- 
 tending the ordination of my brother at Peacham. 
 
SAMUEL. WORCESTER. 257 
 
 Had I boon ahlo to ^o to the ordination, as I ardently 
 wished, I .should have made it in my way to visit my 
 brothers and friends on Merrimack River, on my jour- 
 ney up, and should certainly have cahed on you, in 
 my return. J3ut of all the happiness, which I had so 
 fondly anticipated, I am providentially deprived. I 
 must stay and learn resignation, and a better disci- 
 pline of my hopes and desires at home. An important 
 lesson, you will say, truly — and worth the staying at 
 home all winter to learn. 
 
 There is a hopeful and prevailing seriousness, at 
 present, among my people. I am frequently called 
 upon by persons, who wish to converse on the subject 
 of their spiritual and eternal concerns : and many of 
 my hours, every week, are happily spent in this way. 
 Still, however, there are many adversaries. 
 
 I rejoice to hear of your health and well-doing. 
 God Almighty bless thee, my friend. 
 
 Mrs. Worcester has your lady in very affectionate 
 remembrance. — As the gentleman by whom I shall 
 forward this to Newfane, is now waiting — I fear im- 
 patiently, — I must hasten to a conclusion. Send me 
 another letter by the first westerly wind. I must be- 
 lieve you to have some skill in your profession, for 
 your cordials always do me good. 
 
 Yours, with unabating friendship, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 When, in Feb. 1800, the life and character of the 
 departed Washington, were the theme of thousands 
 of eulogies, an Oration by the pastor of Fitchburg 
 was well received. Although hastily prepared, and in 
 much weakness, it was thought worthy of publication. 
 It could be applauded even by his sectarian adversa- 
 ries, as Washington himself could be extolled to the 
 highest heaven, by the very men, who, as political 
 enemies, had done so much to bring his hoary head in 
 sorrow, to the repose of his ashes in the tomb of 
 
 Mount Vernon. 
 22* 
 
258 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Rev. Leonard Worcester. 
 
 " HoUis, June 6, 1800. 
 
 ') 
 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 Yours, by favor of Mr. Goss, I have been so happy 
 as to receive. It was refreshing as tlie deiu of Hermon, 
 I need not tell you with what painful sensations I 
 contemplate the immense distance, which separates 
 between me, and the congenial brother, whose prox- 
 imity, I once considered as the most agreeable circum- 
 stance of my local situation, and in whose society, I 
 had so fondly hoped to share largely in the endearing 
 comforts of fraternal friendship. But God is wise and 
 good ; and in the allotment of his providence, I would 
 submissively acquiesce. I trust, that Peacham is the 
 place, in which, instrumentally, you are to do much 
 for that beloved kingdom, in which, if our hearts be 
 right, all our most ardent desires are united. 
 
 I am rejoiced to hear, that God has begun a gra- 
 cious work, in your neighborhood. I pray it may go 
 on and prosper, until the moimtains, all around you, 
 break forth into singing, and the irilderness shall re- 
 joice, and blossom as the rose. O, my brother, God 
 hath not forgotten Zion. He is mindful of his prom- 
 ise, — ' When the enemy cometh in like a flood, the 
 Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.* 
 We have good news from many places. At Abington 
 and in the vicinity, the divine power and grace are 
 gloriously triumphant indeed ; and the work at Yale 
 College must certainly be considered as an eminent 
 token of good to the church.* 
 
 * Dr. Dwighl became President of Yale College, in the autumn of the 
 year, when Dr. W. graduated. In 1797, he delivered two admirable Bac- 
 calaurate Discourses, on " the Nature and Danger of Infidel Philosophy." 
 These were published in 179S, and, wherever read, could not but exert a 
 most salutary iiilluence, when so many, both of the educated and uneducat- 
 ed classes, were becoming infatuated by the sophistries and " abominable 
 works" of "the fool," who "hath said in his heart — no God." A vast 
 change was wrought in the opinions of young men in Yale College. In a 
 short period, the roaring tide of infidelity there was eflectually turned ; and 
 revealed religion was invested with dignity and glory, in the eyes of those 
 who had before regarded it with scorn. It is to this " work " more particu- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 2''j9 
 
 Our Missionary Society is in a flonrisliing state. 
 The number of members amounts to upwards of 120 ; 
 and the money already in the hands of the; treasurer, 
 to about $1,0'')0. Let us pray to the Lord of tlie har- 
 vest, that he will raise up laborers for the injj)()rtant 
 work. 
 
 I have this week attended election at Concord. 
 * You know the man,' who preached, 'and his commu- 
 nications.' I therefore need tell you no more than 
 that his sermon was, in my opinion, a good one for 
 him* A copy of it is left for the press. 
 
 At Fitchburg, I do not know, that any very con- 
 siderable alteration has taken place, since I had the 
 happiness to see you there. Some serious attention 
 to religion continues to be visible; but I find it is 
 rather abating. Eflbrts are still making to propagate 
 the doctrine of universal salvation ; preachers for the 
 purpose are from time to time admitted into the town ; 
 and a considerable number, especially of the upper 
 part of the town people, attend upon their preaching. 
 To counteract their influence, I have thought it expe- 
 dient to attend pretty largely to the doctrine of eternal 
 punishment ; and accordingly have preached three 
 
 larly, that Dr. W. is supposed to refer in the above letter. According' to 
 Prof. Goodrich's " Narrative of Revivals of Rehgion in Yale College," &c., 
 (Q«. Reg. Am. Ed. Soc.) there were "instances of conversion, marked 
 with the same strong- impressions of truth, as were common at that day," 
 [in the revivals at the close of the century ;] but after Dr. Dwiglit had suc- 
 ceeded Pres. Stiles, it was not until 1S02, that there was a revival, which 
 has been recorded as "a memorable dispensation."' — If Dr. Dwight had 
 been at Harvard College, what a difference might have been made, in the 
 religious history of Massachusetts, during the present century I 
 
 * Just before their brother Noah preached the New Hanips^hire Election 
 Sermon, he thus wrote himself to Leonard : — " There has been a Jacobinic 
 bustle in our State, with a view to exclude Governor Gilman from his olfice. 
 Bui it is now pretty certain, that the object of his enemies will not be ob- 
 tained. The progress of vice and the spirit of faction give us reason to fear, 
 that, as a nation, ice have seen oicr best days. It is truly lamentable, that 
 gray hairs shon/d be seeyi so early iifon our national existence.' And the 
 friends of God and of Government are loudly called upon, to exert them- 
 selves for the safety of the nation." Those " ^raj/ /iaiV,s," — now in Cali- 
 fornia ? 
 
260 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Sabbaths on the subject, from this text, ' The fear of 
 the ivicked^ it shall come vpon him.'' The sermons were 
 thought by some to be very convincing; and it is pos- 
 sible, that, in due time, they may appear from the 
 press. 
 
 I thank you for your Oration ; and wish it were in 
 my power to send you as g-ood a one in return. And, 
 therefore, since there is a willing mand, you will be 
 pleased to accept, according to what I have, and not 
 according to what I have not. If it do not answer 
 your expectations, it may serve to correct a mistake, 
 and to convince you of the impropriety of judging of 
 a performance before you have seen it. 
 
 In regard to visiting at Peacham, I can say nothing 
 with certainty, only that inclination is not wanting. 
 I think it will not be convenient for me to attend 
 Commencement. And as I wish, if it may be con- 
 sistent, to take your sister with me, when I visit in 
 your quarter, the probability is, that you will not see 
 me before winter. 
 
 We have an affectionate remembrance of our dear 
 sister. 
 
 Your brother, as always, 
 
 Samuel Worcester.'^ 
 
 , Dr. Luther Jewett. 
 
 " HoUis, June 6, 1800. 
 My dear Friend, — 
 
 Yours of 20th April, I have been so happy as to re- 
 ceive. I need not tell you with what feelings of re- 
 gret, I contemplate the immense distance, which sepa- 
 rates between me, and the friend,, ichom I rep^ard as a 
 brother^ and in corresponding with whom, I had fond- 
 ly hoped to receive so much pleasure and improve- 
 ment. But He, by whom the bounds of our habita- 
 tion are determined, is wise and good. I trust your 
 removal, disagreeable as it is to me, on personal con- 
 siderations, will be on the whole, for the furtherance 
 of your own interest and happiness, and of the good 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 261 
 
 of the community. — I am sensibly tonchod with the 
 unliappy and alllictive occurrences, which you have 
 lately experienced. A place exempt from disappoint- 
 ment, disaster, and sorrow, I ])resume, my friend, you 
 do not expect to find in this world. Yet this world, 
 no doubt, is a good one, being perfectly adapted to 
 answer the purposes of our present existence ; and it 
 is subservient to our moral improvement, and our 
 future well-being. Happy should we be, would we 
 learn to meet every event with equanimity, and habit- 
 ually to derive our chief comfort from sources, beyond 
 the reach of casualty and disappointment. 
 
 My health is, at present, in quite as good a state 
 as usual. My family is here with me, on a visit, all 
 well. In regard to my situation among my people, 
 nothing very noticeable has transpired, since I had 
 the pleasure of seeing you at my house. You are not 
 unapprized, that I always hold myself in readiness for 
 a removal. I know not why it is ; but although I 
 contemplate a removal as no improbable event, it 
 gives me no disquietude. 
 
 I saw your brother Adams at Leicester, about three 
 weeks ago — he and his family were well. 
 
 The Oration which accompanies this, you will be 
 pleased to accept. If it were a great deal better, you 
 should be quite as welcome to it. 
 
 From the coldness and dulness of this letter, I be- 
 lieve you will be induced to think, that a chilling frost 
 has gathered around my heart. But need I apologize, 
 my friend, to you ? Having returned this evening 
 from election at Concord, I find myself exceedingly 
 fatigued, and my spirits very languid. My letter will 
 be called for, early in the morning. You may expect 
 another letter from me, soon as opportunity presents. 
 I know you will write as often as possible. 
 
 Mrs. Worcester has an affectionate remembrance of 
 Mrs. Jewett. My respects you will make acceptable 
 to her. 
 
 Yours, with unabating affection, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
262 MEMOIR OF 
 
 His political sentiments again had an utterance, on 
 the ensuing 4th of July. At that time, he poured out 
 a strain of argumentative, and indignant protestation 
 against the doctrines of the " Illuminati,^^ or the infidel, 
 impudent, and pestilent pretensions of the devotees of 
 the French republic ; which, already in the hands of 
 the First Consul, was about to give entire place to the 
 military despotism of the imperial eagles. It was a 
 subject upon which he had read very thoughtfully, 
 and which he had ample resources to illustrate. Not 
 many of our statesmen had more knowledge of modern 
 history, or were any better qualified to impart counsel, 
 at such a crisis. 
 
 But it is our privilege to know, that the apprehen- 
 sions which he and so many others felt, were never 
 realized. The Supreme Ruler of all things had pur- 
 poses to accomplish, of which, agreeably to past 
 methods of his will, only ivicked men can be employed 
 as leading instruments. Not improbably, our own po- 
 litical institutions needed modification, and some great 
 changes, which were not contemplated in the primary 
 ideal of the purest and most patriotic Federalism ; 
 while in the old world, nation must of necessity be 
 dashed against nation, and revolution succeed revolu- 
 tion, until the time of the end. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 2G3 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Sermons on ihe punishment of the wicked. The " Fitchburg controversy." 
 Eflbrts of the legal voters of the town, to control the pastor and the church. 
 Mutual Council, June 22, ISOl. Ex parte Council, Sept. 15, l&Ol. Protest 
 of the church. " Facts and Documents," &c. Further measures of oppo- 
 sition. Proposals of conciliation, (fcc. Second ex parte Council. Council 
 of advice to the church. Third Ex parte Council. Second Mutual Coun- 
 cil. Farewell to Filchburg. 
 
 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common sal- 
 vation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye 
 should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the 
 saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of 
 old ordained unto this condemnation, ungodly men. turning the grace of our 
 God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. * * * Wo unto them ! 
 
 Early in the year 1800, Dr. Worcester gave a more 
 particular attention to the doctrine of " eternal judg- 
 ment," which was so generally controverted and denied 
 by his opposers. He preached and published " Six 
 Sermons," on this subject. It was his purpose to re- 
 fute the popular arguments and objections of Univer- 
 salists, — with many of which he had become familiar, 
 by the developments of the opposition to the truth, at 
 Fitchburg. 
 
 " Observing, with deep concern, the efforts which 
 were making, to propagate the doctrine of universal 
 salvation, among the people of his particular charge ; 
 the author had, for some time, felt it to be a duty, in- 
 cumbent on him, to use his endeavors to counteract 
 those efforts, and to prevent the spread of what he con- 
 siders a most dangerous delusion. With this view, 
 the discourses, here respectfully presented to the pub- 
 lic, were written and delivered ; with the same view, 
 and in compliance with particular request, they are 
 
264 MEMOIR OP 
 
 now published from the press. They claim no com- 
 parison with the excellent publications, previously ex- 
 tant, on the same general subject. A hope is, how- 
 ever, indulged, that since they may fall into the hands 
 of some, who may want opportunity or inclination, to 
 peruse the more elaborate and voluminous productions 
 of an Edwards or a Strong, they will not be totally 
 useless. 
 
 As these discoui:ses were designed to meet and ex- 
 plode the popular universalism, some things are in- 
 sisted on, which, to those whose knowledge of the 
 Universalian scheme is derived wholly from books, may 
 appear unimportant. 
 
 The facility, with which Universalism, in its various 
 and perpetually varying forms, is propagated, is owing 
 in a great measure, it is believed, to the very lax senti- 
 ments, and the defective conceptions of the depraved 
 state of mankind, and of the nature and importance 
 of real Christianity, — which are extensively prevailing. 
 Let it be believed, that the depravity of human nature 
 is but a slight infirmity, not hereditary, but contracted ; 
 that religion consists chiefly in charity and civility to 
 mankind, and the power of godliness is a mere delu- 
 sion ; that a person's religious opinions are of no ma- 
 terial consequence, provided he be sincere; in one 
 word, that, bating some slight shades of difference in 
 external character, men of all classes and descriptions 
 are in a moral estimation, very much alike : — Let this 
 be believed, and there remains but a very small step to 
 complete Universalism. Hence, it was conceived to be 
 of primary importance, that the axe be laid to the root 
 of the tree ; that the native moral condition of man- 
 kind, and the grand distinction between the righteous 
 and the wicked, in regard both to the state of their 
 hearts, and the relations they bear to God, his law, and 
 his kingdom, be clearly exhibited, in the true light of 
 Scripture. This may suffice to apologize, if apology 
 be needful, for the introduction of some leading arti- 
 cles, which, though they may appear not to bear so 
 directly on the grand point in question, are, however, 
 the foundation of the whole connected series of argu- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 265 
 
 ment, and will, therefore, be attended to, it is hoped, 
 with ^rcat seriousness and candor. 
 Fiichburg', 21lli October, IbOO." * 
 
 The text which he chose for this course of sermons, 
 is the declaration in Prov. x. 24. — Tni: fear of the 
 
 WICKED, IT SHALL COME UPON HIM. TilC doctrinC is, 
 
 that "the wicked will be punished with niisery after 
 death ; and their punishment will be endless." The 
 two propositions which are embraced in the doctrine, 
 as thus stated, are considered separately, the former in 
 the first and second sermons, and the latter in the third 
 and fourth. In the fifth and sixth, the preacher " at- 
 tempts some improvement of the subject." 
 
 The proof of the first proposition, viz., — " The wick- 
 ed will be punished with misery after death," — is " ar- 
 ranged under several distinct articles." 
 
 " 1. There is, according to the Scriptures, a great 
 and essential diflerence, between the righteous and the 
 wicked. 
 
 2. The great and holy God, as represented in the 
 Scriptures, has very different feelings towards the right- 
 eous, from what he has towards the wicked. 
 
 3. The Scriptures assure us, that the righteous are 
 in a pardoned or justified state ; but the wicked in a 
 state of condemnation, under the curse of the divine 
 
 law. 
 
 4. The Scriptures promise safety and peace to the 
 righteous ; but declare, that a punishment the most 
 tremendous awaits the wicked. 
 
 5. The Scriptures represent the death of the right- 
 eous, as being happy ; but the death of the wicked as 
 being terrible. 
 
 6. It is very explicitly revealed in the Scriptures, 
 
 * " Preface'' to " Six Sermons, on the Doctrine of Future Tunishment. 
 By Samuel Worcester, A.M., Pastor of the Church in Fiichburg,&c. IbOO." 
 IS mo. pp. 150. 
 
 23 
 
266 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that, although the righteous be happy, the wicked are 
 miserable, in the invisible world of spirits." 
 
 The argument, then, it will be perceived, is that of 
 the revealed testimony of " a just God, and a Savior." 
 The passages of Scripture which are cited, and more 
 or less critically examined and expounded, constitute 
 a chain of perfect moral demonstration. The same re- 
 mark is equally applicable to the " proof" of the second 
 proposition, viz., " That the future punishment of the 
 wicked will continue, duration without end." 
 
 " 1. It appears from the Scriptures, that there will 
 be a tremendous distinction between the righteous and 
 the wicked, in the day of general resurrection. 
 
 2. The wicked will be separated, and awfully dis- 
 tinguished, from the righteous, in the general judg- 
 ment. 
 
 3. The Spirit of inspiration speaks of the scenes, 
 which are to take place, at the end of the present 
 world, viz., the general resurrection and judgment, in 
 such a manner as to lead us into the conclusion, that, 
 by them the scene of Providence, respecting men, as 
 candidates for future or eternal reward, will be closed, 
 and that afterwards there will be no probation. 
 
 4. The wicked, who fall under the sentence of con- 
 demnation, in the last great day, will never obtain a 
 part in Christ's salvation. 
 
 5. The Scriptures, instead of warranting the opin- 
 ion or hope, that the future punishment of the wicked 
 will sometime come to an end, assure us in language 
 than which none could be plainer, or stronger, that it 
 will never cease. 
 
 Inference I. From what has been offered in the 
 preceding discourses, it is obvious to infer, that the 
 Scriptures, on a fair construction, give no support to 
 the doctrine of universal salvation." 
 
 The whole of sermon V. is appropriated to this 
 point alone. In sermon VI. the preacher begins with 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 207 
 
 Infcroncc TT. Tho eternal damnation * of the wick- 
 ed is not incompatible with justice. 
 
 Inference 111. The eternal damnation of the finally 
 im])enitent is not incompatil)le with goodness. 
 
 Inference IV. The fiitnre punishment of the wicked 
 is not designed for their personal good. 
 
 Inference V. The doctrine of eternal punishment, 
 so far from obscuring, eminently illustrates the glory 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 Inference VI. A cordial belief and acquiescence in 
 the doctrine of eternal punishment, is no indication of 
 the want of true benevolence. 
 
 Inference VIL The doctrine of universal salvation, 
 in whatever form, is, in its tendency and general inllu- 
 ence, most dangerous and pernicious. 
 
 The manifold objections of the ablest advocates of 
 the doctrine of universal salvation are fairly met, from 
 the Scriptures and from right reason. The discussion 
 throughout is elevated, dignified, earnest, and solemn. 
 There is a seeming determination to avoid everything, 
 in spirit and style, which might offer any plausible 
 occasion of offence to those whose false refuges were 
 so assailed by " the weapons," which are " mighty 
 through God to the pulling down of strong holds." 
 
 In sermon 11. the preacher says, — 
 
 " Some, in the present age of licentious speculation, 
 have labored to make themselves and others believe, 
 that there is no hell, beside what people endure in the 
 present life from the lashes and stings of a guilty con- 
 science. With equal reason might we suppose there 
 is no heaven, beside what is enjoyed in this world, in 
 the plaudits of an approving conscience, and in com- 
 fortable reflections. The Scriptures reveal a hell, pre- 
 
 * This word, and those of kindred nature, Dr. W. did not refrain from 
 using in the proper place, but was accustomed to utter them with a lone of 
 deep f jlemnity, blended with sorrow ; and not with the lluency and harsh- 
 ness of the tones of denunciation or invective, "as the manner of some is." 
 
268 MEMOIR OP 
 
 pared in the invisible world for the wicked, as clearly 
 as a heaven, prepared for the righteous ; and we have 
 as much reason to believe the one a reality as the 
 other. The passage, now in view, is clear and conclu- 
 sive on this point. The rich man died, and the next 
 thing heard of him, in Iiell he lifted up his eyes being 
 in torment. * * * * . * 
 
 Before w^e come to a close of this discourse, it may 
 be expedient to take notice of a newly invented notion, 
 which may possibly come forward, in the form of an 
 objection, against the conclusiveness of what has been 
 delivered. 
 
 It is said by Dr. Joseph Huntington* and his disci- 
 ples, that all the terror which the Bible denounces is 
 the voice of the law, and all the peace and good news, 
 which it proclaims, the voice of the Gospel. ' We find 
 the law and Gospel displayed side by side through the 
 whole. The law everywhere sounds with awful terror 
 in accents of pure justice, towards man, without a Sa- 
 vior. The Gospel is all mere news, good news, glad 
 tidings through a Mediator. — The law tells what man 
 deserves in his own personal character ; the Gospel, 
 what the Son of man, the Son of God deserves.' f ' The 
 voice of the whole law and the voice of the Gospel are 
 exceedingly distinct and diametrically opposite.' J The 
 grand position, if I do not mistake it, is this : ' Though 
 the voice of the law thunder with awful terror, through 
 the whole Bible, denouncing everlasting destruction, 
 yet the Gospel sounds, at the same time, in the mild 
 accents of mercy, proclaiming peace and eternal sal- 
 vation, to all mankind. When the law says, ye shall 
 surely die, the Gospel says, ye shall not surely die ! § 
 Hence, the law and Gospel are in diametrical opposi- 
 tion, the one to the other. But the voice of the Gos- 
 
 ♦ Of Coventry, Conn. He died in 1795. After his death, his work, " pre- 
 posterously styled" Calvinism Impjoved^was made public. Il was answered 
 by Rev. N. Strong, D. D , of Hartford, in 179(3, — the same year in which it 
 appeared. 
 
 t " Calvinism Improved, p. 32." } " Ibid, p. 43." 
 
 ^ " Compare Gen. iii. 4 with chap. ii. 17." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 269 
 
 pel will provail, the law will be arrested in process, 
 and all mankind will be saved.'* All this, it should 
 be remembered, though it be confessedly th(i main pil- 
 lar of the Iluntinglonian scheme, is naked assrrfion^ 
 without a single argument to support it. — But, should 
 it be granted, which, however, is not true, that all the 
 terror, which the Bible denounces is the voice of the 
 law, and all the peace which it proclaims, the voice of 
 the Gospel; what does this go to prove? Upon this 
 hypothesis, the law speaks to sinners, and the Gospel 
 to saints, only, for the Bil)le, as we have shown at 
 large, everywhere speaks peace to the righteous ; but 
 terror to the wicked. But if the law and Gospel run 
 side by side, f as it is so confidently asserted, the one 
 denouncing wrath, and the other proclaiming peace, to 
 all mankind; why should this distinction, between the 
 righteous and the wicked, be so scrupulously marked 
 and so constantly exhibited, in every part of the sacred 
 volume ? Why should not the Bible speak terror, in 
 the language of the law, and peace in the language of 
 the Gospel, to all, without any discrimination of charac- 
 ter ? Dr. Huntinsrton makes the difference in the moral 
 character of men, in this world, exceedingly small ; 
 and immediately after death, according to his scheme, 
 
 * " If the law and Gospel be diametrically opposite, we certainly want more 
 substantial proof, than any furnished by Dr. Huntington, that the law will 
 not ultimately prevail, and all mankind be damned." 
 
 t " That ' the law and Gospel are displayed side by side/ is doubtless true 
 in a certain sense, but not in the sense of Dr. Huntington. Instead of being 
 diametrically opposite they are perfectly harmonious. Christ says, Think not 
 that 1 am come to destroy the law, or the prophets ; I am not come to de- 
 stroy, but to fulfill. It is ditricult, perhaps, to conceive of a greater absurdity, 
 in a governmental view, than Dr. Huntington's notion of law and Gospel. — A 
 law is enacted by the sovereign authority of the United States, which ex- 
 pressly threatens death to every transgressor ; but at the same time, and by 
 the same authority, it is promulgated, that every transgressor of that law shall 
 certainly be pardoned and restored to the favor and protection of the govern- 
 ment. Now, I ask, of what force is the law? Will it impose the least re- 
 straint, or operate with the least efficacy to deter from the crime, which it 
 contemplates ? On the contrary ; will not the law, and the authority, by 
 which it was enacted, be trampled in the dust, with the most wanton hcea- 
 tiousness and contempt ! " 
 
 23* 
 
270 MEMOIR OP 
 
 they are all to be perfectly holy and happy. But if so, 
 . the question is repeated, why should not the law 
 thunder terror, and the Gospel proclaim peace, in the 
 ears of all alike ? If, indeed there might be some lit- 
 tle difference in the language, which the Bible holds 
 towards the righteous and the wicked, while they con- 
 tinue in the present state ; still what reason can be 
 imagined, why their condition should be represented, 
 as so extremely different, in the future and invisible 
 world? Why should Christ show us Lazarus, in 
 Abraham's bosom, and Dives in hell ? If the doctor's 
 theory be just, the law must thunder its terror in the 
 ears of Lazarus, as well as in the ears of Dives ; and 
 the Gospel proclaims peace, as well to the one as to 
 the other. Why then did not Christ show us both 
 Lazarus and Dives, at once, in Abraham's bosom and 
 in hell ? Certainly, upon this hypothesis, there must 
 have been the same propriety, in placing Dives in 
 Abraham's bosom, as in placing Lazarus there ; and 
 the same propriety, in placing Lazarus in hell, as in 
 placing Dives there. Upon this hypothesis, moreover, 
 in the place of saying to the iinhelieving Jews, There 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall 
 see Abraham^ and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets 
 V in the kingdom of God, and t/ou yourselves thrust out ; 
 Christ might with equal propriety have said to his dis- 
 ciples, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, 
 when ye shall see Cain, and Pharaoh, and Aliab, and 
 all the false prophets in the kingdom of God, and you 
 yourselves thrust out. Instead of representing the 
 wicked inhabitants of the old world, and of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, as confined in hell, reserved in chains 
 of darkness unto the day of judgment to be punished, 
 and set forth as ensamples to those that after should 
 live ungodly ; St. Peter, and St. Jude, might, with 
 equal propriety, have represented all the ancient saints 
 and prophets under the same awful circumstances. In 
 a word, upon this hypothesis, the passage formerly 
 quoted from the third chapter of Isaiah, and all simi- 
 lar promises and threatenings, throughout the Bible, 
 might be reversed, and yet speak a language as agree- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 271 
 
 able to trill li, as they do in their present form. ' Say 
 ye to the irirkcd^ it shall be ircll vilJi him: Wo, to tlie 
 rig'litcoKS^ it shall be ill icith liim!' 
 
 But, not to pursue further into this region of a])surd- 
 ity and illusion, it may be suiiicient to remark, that the 
 doetor's whole theory rests on the supposition, that all 
 mankind are of the same moral eharaeter, and in the 
 same moral state. Hence, if there be an essential dif- 
 ference between the righteous and the wicked, and if 
 there be that ditference which we have displayed, in 
 the language, w^hich the Scriptures hold tow^ards these 
 two distinct classes of mankind, the Huntington 
 scheme has no foundation in truth." 
 
 Mr. "Winchester is noticed, several times, as for ex- 
 ample, in sermon VI. 
 
 " It is argued by Mr. Winchester * and others, that 
 sin cannot be an infinite evil, because it is the act of 
 di finite agent. But merely its being the act of a finite 
 agent determines nothing, in regard to its criminality. 
 If, as Mr. Winchester asserts, ' actions must take their 
 denomination from the actors^ and not from the ob- 
 jects,' it w^ill follow inevitably, that all the actions of 
 the same actor must be equally criminal. But who 
 will admit this ? Some actions of the same finite 
 agent are not criminal in any degree ; and some, which 
 are criminal, are much less so than others. 
 
 Here it may be objected : If every sin be infinitely 
 criminal, how can one sin be more criminal than an- 
 other? To this it may be answered. — If a cord be in- 
 finitely extended, it is an infinite cord ; for it has one 
 infinite dimension. But another cord, infmitely ex- 
 tended, may be much thicker, or larger, than the first, 
 and yet be only an infinite cord. So, also, one sin 
 
 * Elhanan Winchester became a preacher of Universal Salvation, in Phil- 
 adelphia, in 17S1. He died in 1797, aged 45. Hi.-? system was much the 
 same as that of Chauncey. He held the doctrine of" Restoration," but not 
 upon the same grounds as Murray, who came to the Colonies, in 1770,— 
 preached in various places, and died in Boston, in 1S15. 
 
272 MEMOIR OP 
 
 may be infinite in one sense, and that such a sense as 
 to deserve an endless punishment : and yet another sin 
 be much greater, and of course, deserve a punishment 
 much greater in defj^ree^ though not in duration. 
 
 The fallacy of Mr. Winchester's reasoning, in oppo- 
 sition to the infinity of sin, lies in this, — he contem- 
 plates the act<) instead of the criminaUt}j of the act. But 
 the act is one thing, and the criminaliti/ of it is another. 
 We do not suppose, that the act itself is, in strictness, 
 infinite. But, we say, that, as it is an offence against 
 a God of infinite worthiness and glory, as it is a viola- 
 tion of infinite obligations, and as it opposes and seeks 
 to destroy infinite good, it must be infinitely evil or 
 criminal. But if it be infinitely criminal, it certainly 
 deserves a punishment, in some sense, infinite. Hence, 
 as the sinner cannot endure a punishment, in any sense 
 infinite, in a limited period, it clearly follows, that he 
 ra^y justly be punished eternally. 
 
 But even could it not be made to appear, that the 
 sins committed deserve an endless punishment, there 
 is still another ground on which the justice of God, in 
 punishing the sinner forever, maybe vindicated. There 
 can be no injustice in suffering the sinner to go on in 
 sin, and punishing him continually, dLwd forever^ as he 
 sins. ****** 
 
 Dr. Chauncey, * Mr. Winchester, and all the Univer- 
 
 * Rev. Chas. Chauncey, D. D., ordained pastor of the First Church, Boston, 
 Oct. 25, 1727. — died, Feb. JO, 17^7, aged 82; ivho inobabbj did jnore than any 
 other individual to transform the rtligioxis character of Boston and the sur- 
 roundivg region.^^ — Wisners History, ''■Old Southp p. 44. 
 
 He wrote vigorously against the Great Aioakening. '• To him, among all 
 the eminent divines of New England, belongs the unhappy pre-eminence of 
 having been the first to lake the spirit of doubt to his bosom. He was said 
 to question the consciousness of the soul between death and the resurrec- 
 tion ; he wrote in his latter days against the eternity of retribution ; and he 
 nourished that sarcastic hostility to the sentiments of past ages and the deter- 
 minations of venerable bodies on doctrine, which, like a light troop of scouts, 
 precede the main assault, and explore the danger. Deeply significant was 
 his passing sneer against the Honioousianity of the Xicene Council." — Pages 
 from the Ecct. His. of N. E dining the century hetiveen 1740 and 1S40, p. 25. 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Stiles, May 6, 17GS, he refers to "a finished quarto vol- 
 ume," which had " lain by for some years," — *' written with too much free- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 273 
 
 salists, on the puvfi^atorial schemo, mako a pompous 
 parade of laiic^nnge to set forth the divine mercy 
 and c^raee, \vhieh, accordiiiiT^ lo their doctrine, is 
 displayed in the GospeL Tliey would have it be- 
 lieved, that the doctrine of the Rcstoratiun f^ives a 
 vastly higher conception of these amiable attributes 
 of the divine nature, than what is given by the ortho- 
 dox doctrine. But is this the truth of the fact? This 
 class of Universalists hold, that some of mankind will 
 be pardoned, in the present life, and at death pass im- 
 mediately into a state of perfect blessedness ; and that 
 the rest dying in their sins, will be punished in the 
 future world, according; to their deserts. IVe also be- 
 lieve, that some of mankind will be pardoned, and 
 justified in this life, and at death be made perfectly 
 blessed ; and that the rest dying impenitent, will be 
 punished, in the future world, according^ to their deserts. 
 Where, then, is the great difference between the two 
 schemes ? It lies, fundamentally, in this. We believe 
 sin to be so great an evil as to deserve an endless pun- 
 ishment ; but thej/ hold sin to be so small an evil, as to 
 deserve but a limited punishment. Where, then, is the 
 superior display of mercy^ which they so pompously 
 proclaim ? Certainly, there is not, upon their scheme, 
 a greater display of mercy and grace, in the salvation 
 of those, who are pardoned and justified, in this life, 
 than there is upon ours. According to our doctrine, 
 those who are pardoned and saved, receive the pardon 
 of crimes of infinite demerit, and are saved from end- 
 
 dom to admit of a publication in this country. Some of my friends who have 
 seen it, liave desired I would send it home [to England?] for publication, and 
 to have it printed without a name- I question whether it will ever see the 
 light till after my death, and I am not yet determined whether to permit its 
 being then printed, or to order its being committed to the flames. It is a 
 work that cost me much thought and a great deal of hard labor. It is upon 
 a most interesting subject." — Mass. His. Coll. 1 series, vol. 10, p. 163. 
 
 His work, " The Salvation of all Men," &;c., was published anonymously ; 
 but " I am informed,'' says Dr. Edwards, in the Preface of his admirable 
 Answer, — " that he and his most intimate friends have made no secret of 
 the author's name." — Neiv Haven, June 29, A. D., 17S9. 
 
 Dr. C. wir'hed Paradise Lost translated into prose, that he might under- 
 stand it '.— Tiidor's Life of Otis ^ p. 149. 
 
274 MEMOIR OP 
 
 less misery : But according to their doctrine, those who 
 are pardoned and saved, receive the pardon of crimes 
 of small demerit, and are saved from only a temporary 
 punishment. There is, therefore, according to our 
 doctrine, an infinitely greater display of grace and 
 mercy, in the pardon and salvation of a single sinner^ 
 than there would be upon theirs, in the pardon and 
 salvation of all the unnumbered millions of the human 
 race. For the grace and mercy displayed must bear a 
 proportion to the greatness of the sins pardoned, and 
 of the punishment remitted.* 
 
 Is it, then, towards those who die impenitent, that 
 the mercy and grace, so much celebrated by the Uni- 
 versalists, is displayed ? Is there any display of divine 
 gi'ace and mercy, in forbearing to punish them, after 
 they have suffered according to their deserts ? Reason 
 and common sense answer, no. Why, then, so much 
 pompous and pathetic declamation on the subject of 
 grace and mercy? Why not talk in plain and honest 
 language, and say, ' Sin is but a small evil, a mere 
 ^privation,'' ' an act of a ivorm,'' and deserves but a small 
 punishment : Therefore, however you may live in the 
 world, you may be sure of perfect happiness hereafter, 
 for God cannot, injustice, punish you eternally.' This 
 is the Universalian Gospel, stripped of its tinsel and 
 glare, and exhibited in its true form. But what is there 
 in this Gospel, of mercy and grace ? Are not mercy 
 and grace, and Christ, totally out of the question, and 
 out of sight ? 
 
 True, indeed, we are told, that all will be saved, 
 through the merits of Christ. Shall we look, for a mo- 
 
 * " Upon the Universalian theory, all sins of the whole human race put 
 together, would not amount, in the total sum, to infinite; neither would the 
 punishment, which they deserve, even allowing' each one to deserve a pun- 
 ishment drawn out to 'ages of ages,' be equal in the aggregate whole to the 
 endless punishment of a single individual. Hence, according to their doc- 
 trine, were all the millions of mankind pardoned and saved, without any 
 punishment, there would not be so much forgiven them, as according to our 
 doctrine, is forgiven a single redeemed sinner. Nay, it would fall infinitely 
 ehort ; for between finite and infinite, there is always an infinite dispropor- 
 tion." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 275 
 
 meat, at this? Sinners, wlit) die impenitent, ;;wm.s7/c(Z 
 according' fo their deserts; and yet, afterwards, saved 
 by the merits of the crucified Redeemer ! Is it here, 
 then, at length, that the ' unparalleled <!;race and mercijj 
 so loudly ])roelainied by Universalists, is to be found ? 
 Is it, in demanding the blood of Innnanuel^ as an ad- 
 ditional atonement, after punishinf^ sinners as mucli as 
 thcji deserve^ that the divine mercij and g;race are so 
 illustriously displayed ? If this be mercy and grace, 
 what, then, is wanton injustice and cruelty ! 
 
 On the whole, the tumid and impassioned deelama- 
 tion of Universalists, on the subject of divine mercy 
 and erace is all a mere farce. For according: to their 
 doctrine, those who die in their sins will not be re- 
 leased from punishment, until they have paid the last 
 mite; and even those who are pardoned in this life, 
 and admitted, at death, to immediate happiness, are 
 saved, not from the vengeance of eternal fire^ but mere- 
 ly from a punishment, not only temporary in its contin- 
 uance, but designed as a ' merciful and salutary disci- 
 pline^^ for the good of the sufferers. In all this, there 
 is not the least appearance of divine mercy and grace. 
 While the doctrine of eternal punishment gives the 
 highest possible conception of the infinite mercy and 
 grace of Jehovah^ displayed in the work of redemption, 
 and in the salvation of the redeemed ; every scheme of 
 Universalism presents a partial and false exhibition of 
 the divine character, and totally obscures the glory of 
 the Gospel." 
 
 The closing address, and appeals to different classes 
 of hearers, were such as would be expected from the 
 preacher and the occasion. In the " Appendix " to the 
 Sermons, as published, there is " a concise view of the 
 more noticeable Scripture marks, by which false teach- 
 ers are distinguished," in order that it might be " de- 
 termined, correctly, to whom the character of false 
 teacher or deceiver belongs," — " the preachers of eternal 
 pu7iishme)itj^ or those who say, — Ye shall not surely 
 
276 MEMOIR OF 
 
 die ! There is also a comparison of the doctrines of 
 Deists and Universalists, from which it appears con- 
 clusively, that the latter " build on a foundation, com- 
 pletely Deistical ; and for them to talk of mercy, 
 grace, or Christ, is idle, preposterous, illusive." 
 
 " Deists have told us, long ago, that sin does not de- 
 serve an endless punishment ; that a God of infinite 
 goodness cannot punish eternally ; and that all man- 
 kind must be finally happy. Is not this the Universa- 
 lian doctrine ? 
 
 Deists have told us, long ago, that men will be treat- 
 ed according to their deserts ; that virtue will be re- 
 warded and vice will be punished. Universalists tell 
 us the same. Deists, however, have not been agreed 
 among themselves, respecting the punishment of sin. 
 Some of them have supposed, that the wicked receive 
 all their punishment as they go along; others have 
 supposed there may be some punishment after death : 
 But the greater part of them have left this matter in a 
 state of obscurity. It is thus also with Universalists. 
 Some of them hold, that sinners receive all their pun- 
 ishment as they pass along through life ; others sup- 
 pose that there will be a state of punishment in the 
 future world ; but most of them appear to be in a state 
 of doubt and uncertainty, and will not answer the 
 plain question, whether they believe in any punish- 
 ment after death, or not. 
 
 Deists have, long ago, denied and derided the power 
 of godliness, or experimental religion, as delusion, su- 
 perstition, and fanaticism ; and have rejected and 
 jeered the idea, that there is any essential difference 
 between the righteous and the wicked, or, that there 
 are any in the world, whom God acknowledges and 
 loves, as his peculiar people. Do not Universalists do 
 the same ? 
 
 Deists have, long ago, told us, that it is of little or 
 no consequence, what a man's religion, or religious 
 sentiments be, provided he be sincere in his way. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 277 
 
 Universalists, notwithstanding all their zeal for prose- 
 lyting, tell us the same. 
 
 Deists deny the divine authority of the Scripture, 
 principally, it is believed, because they suj)pose the 
 Scriptures to teach the doctrine of eternal punishment, 
 and the necessity of a holy life, in order to a happy im- 
 mortality. Universalists profess, indeed, to believe in 
 revelation. They deny, however, many of them, if 
 not all, that the whole Bible is the word of God ; and, 
 like the Deists, delight in representing the Scripture, 
 as being, in some parts of it, contradictory, frivolous, 
 and absurd. It is customary with them to draw into 
 question the divine authority of any particular text, 
 which lies as an inseparable obstruction to their scheme; 
 and some of them honestly declare, that if they believed 
 the Bible does not teach the doctrine of universal sal- 
 vation, they would not receive it as a revelation from 
 God. 
 
 The author has been constrained to make these re- 
 marks, by a sense of justice to the cause of truth. As 
 they are made in the spirit of seriousness and candor ; 
 he earnestly entreats for them a serious and candid 
 consideration." 
 
 These Sermons of Dr. Worcester, on Future Pun- 
 ishment, gave very great satisfaction to his friends, 
 and extended his reputation, as an able theologian and 
 powerful wTiter. They established many minds, which 
 had been unsettled, and greatly assisted him in his 
 private parochial labors.* Meanwhile, his opposers 
 wxre not any less active or unscrupulous than before, 
 in efforts and expedients to compel him to resign his 
 charge. The consequent state of things, it is not easy 
 to describe, without a citation of documents, and those 
 details, in which general readers have but little interest. 
 
 * Those who should now read them carefully, would find that the TJni- 
 versalism which he withstood in 1S00--1, has changed but little ; although 
 that form which now prevails most, has beea erroneously represented, as 
 having no earlier date than ISlS. 
 
 24 
 
278 MEMOIR OF 
 
 But as a part of the ecclesiastical history of New 
 England, the " Fitchburg Controversy " should not 
 soon be forgotten. It is memorable, as disclosing in 
 its progress the first organized scheme in Massachusetts^ 
 to subject the church to the will of the toivn, or parish, in 
 all matters relating to the settlement and dismission of 
 pastors. 
 
 The alleged wi'ongs of several excommunicated per- 
 sons, were made the pretext by themselves and others, 
 for a recourse to their legal rights as citizens. And if 
 the excommunicated could not regain their church 
 standing, by ecclesiastical means, it appears, unhappily, 
 to have been resolved, that, by the votes of the town, 
 the pastor should be made a sacrifice to their resent' 
 ments, under the name of their rights. 
 
 The new form of covenant which had been adopted, 
 was not in the least designed to abridge the privileges 
 of any member of the church ; and no offending mem- 
 ber was made a subject of discipline, on account of 
 any specification, by which the new covenant differed 
 from the old. The new covenant was this : 
 
 " You do now in the presence of God, 
 
 angels, and men, avouch the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost to be your God ; the supreme object 
 of your soul, and your chosen portion forever. You 
 cordially acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, in all his 
 mediatorial offices, prophet, priest and king, as your 
 only Savior and final Judge : And choose the Holy Ghost 
 as your Sanctifier, Comforter, and Guide. You humbly 
 and cheerfully devote your whole self, soul and body 
 to God in the everlasting covenant of grace; consecrate 
 all your powers and faculties to his service and glory ; 
 and promise through the help of divine grace, with- 
 out which you can do nothing, that you will give 
 diligent heed to his word and ordinances, and to the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 279 
 
 motions of his Spirit; that you will scc'k, in all things, 
 the honor of his name and the interest of his kingdom ; 
 and that heneeforth, denying all ungodliness and every 
 worldly lust, you will live soberly, righteously and 
 godlily, even till death. And you join yourself cordi- 
 ally to this as a true church of Christ; unreservedly 
 engaging to submit to its discipline, so far as comfort- 
 able to the rules of the gospel, and solemnly covenant- 
 ing to strive, as much as in you lies, for its gospel 
 peace, edification, and purity; and to walk with its 
 members, in all memberlike love, faithfulness, watch- 
 fulness, circumspection, meekness, and sobriety." 
 
 " It was intended, indeed, that the new form should 
 be used in the future admission of members. Still, it 
 was not considered as an absolutely indispensable 
 term of admission, that the candidate should consent 
 to every article in the doctrine of faith. If any person, 
 offering himself as a candidate for the communion of 
 the church, should have his doubts, respecting any 
 article of our faith, he would not be, immediately^ ad- 
 mitted ; but, if there were nothing beside, in the way 
 of his immediate admission, he would be requested to 
 stand, for a season, on probation. In the mean time, it 
 would be considered as the duty of the brethren, and of 
 the pastor especially, to endeavor, by all proper means, 
 to remove his doubts, and to enlighten him more 
 fully into the doctrine of Christ. But, if after stand- 
 ing for a suitable time, on this probationary footing, it 
 should appear, that the difficulties in his mind, though 
 not fully obviated, do not result from enmity to the 
 truth, but from some other cause, and that he is really 
 a subject of the true christian temper, the article, in 
 question, would be dispensed with, in his favor, and 
 he admitted accordinsr to his desire : For it ivas never 
 designed to exclude any from our communion^ icho ap- 
 pear to he the real subjects of experimental religion. 
 This is with us a principle, in regard to the admission 
 of members ; and this liberal principle was occasion- 
 
280 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ally explained, while the articles of faith were under 
 consideration, and after they were adopted." * 
 
 All explanations and efforts of conciliation were 
 fruitless, in respect to some members. During the 
 winter next succeeding the introduction of the new 
 forms of admission to the Church, the opposing party 
 gained fast in numbers and influence, and were quite 
 sanguine of success in abrogating what had been done. 
 But their hopes withered in the spring, just at the 
 time, when the church was visited with a refreshing 
 from on high. 
 
 " In this work of grace, the Clinrch shared its full 
 proportion. Several of the members, impressed with a 
 solemn conviction, that they had only a name to live, 
 and that, Avhen they joined the church, they were to- 
 tally unacquainted with the power of religion, were led 
 to inquire, with deep anxiety. What they should do to 
 be saved. These, the most of them at least, obtained, 
 afterwards, a comfortable hope. Others of the church, 
 who had been for a length of time, in a cold or luke- 
 warm state, were awakened and enlivened ; and receiv- 
 ed, as we trust, fresh anointings of the Spirit of grace. 
 
 By this gracious work of God, the church, as might 
 well be expected, was greatly strengthened and con- 
 firmed. Not only ^vere there considerable accessions 
 of new members ; but a large proportion of those, for- 
 merly in the church, who had appeared in the opposing 
 minority, were brought over, one after another, and 
 became decided and firm supporters of the new order 
 of things. We wish not to introduce any invidious 
 remarks, but it is a truth, which we feel ourselves 
 
 * Slatement by Dr. Worcester, in his pamphlet, entitled, — " Facts and 
 Documents, exhibiting- a Summary View of the Ecclesiastical Affairs, lately 
 transacted in Fitchburg-; together with some Strictures on the Result of a 
 late Party Council, in said town, and General Observations ; the whole 
 designed to vindicate the rights of the churches, and to illustrate the subject 
 and enforce the importance of Christian Discipline, (Sec, January 1&Q2." 
 
 pp. lis. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 281 
 
 bonnd to doclarc, tliat, so far as we know, not a sinsfle 
 iml'u'ichial of those, irhcf/tcr in the church or 07it of it, 
 trho hare been sid)jects of the relii^ious airakenin<^, or 
 have appeared in any measure to favor the work, has 
 continued in opposition to the new forms. 
 
 Still, however, the Universa/ists, and a few others 
 under their influence, continued in opposition ; and in 
 proportion as their strength in the church decreased, 
 their enmity appeared to increase. The// alloived them- 
 selves to speak lig'htlij and reproachfidJi/ of the reli^'ions 
 aicakeninfr, and of the known subjects of it; and in but 
 too many instances and ways, used their endeavors to 
 check and suppress a work, by which the church was 
 continually gaining strength. Among other means, 
 used for this obvious purpose, Universalian teachers 
 were introduced and encouraged ; and great exertions 
 were made to divert the attention of the people from 
 things of a more solemn and impressive import, and to 
 srain their ears to the delusive sons: of Universalism, 
 And so gi-eat was the success, which for a while at- 
 tended these efforts, that the more sanguine in the 
 cause, did not hesitate to boast, at one period, that 
 more than half the people in this town were Univer- 
 salists ; and the friends of truth and religion were not 
 without serious apprehensions, that this boasting was 
 but too solidly founded. 
 
 Meanwhile, discontents of different kinds, and on 
 various accounts, prevailed in this place. Some were 
 disaffected with what had been done to promote the 
 better order and discipline of the church; some with 
 the public ministry of the pastor; and these discontents 
 appeared to be very much inflamed, by the serious atten- 
 tion to religion among- us. It is particularly to be 
 noticed, also, that old animosities and prejudices, 
 originally engendered by long and ardent contests, 
 respecting a parish in the westerly part of the town, 
 and respecting the placing of a new meeting-house, 
 continued to operate; and were occasionally fomented 
 and blown into a flame, by passing occurrences. 
 Owing to these several causes, the town was most 
 
 24* 
 
282 MEMOIR OF 
 
 •unhappily split into parties, and was, from time to 
 time, in a very tumultuous and distracted state." 
 
 Early in the year 1800, the brethren of the Church 
 proceeded with all due tenderness, and in a strictly 
 Congregational and Scriptural manner, to deal with 
 five or six members, who had set the covenant, the 
 church, and the pastor, at defiance ; and whose several 
 cases of disciplinable offence, would now be acknowl- 
 edged in any evangelical church, to be most palpable, 
 if not flagrant. They could here be particularly stated. 
 Those who were subjected to discipline, were, in the 
 course of a few months or a year, cut off or suspended. 
 A part of them ivere already members of the " Fitch- 
 burg Universal Christian Society," which embraced 
 all descriptions of disaffected persons, claiming, by a 
 vote of the town, an exemption from ministerial taxes. 
 
 April 17, 1801, it was voted by the Church, " That 
 it be henceforth a standing order of the Church, that 
 no known Universalist shall be admitted to the privi- 
 lege of occasionally communing with us, in the holy 
 ordinance of the Lord's Supper." Every action of this 
 kind was a new occasion of excitement. The cry of 
 Hopkins ianism, bigotry, intolerance, oppression, waxed 
 louder and louder. Even the very children in some 
 families became so accustomed to hear the word 
 " HopkinsiaUj^ pronounced in tones of bitter reproach 
 and reviling, that they would employ it in their petty 
 strifes and bickerings, as one of the very worst of Aarc? 
 names to characterize an object of their resentment.* 
 
 The Records of the Church, for the vear 1801, 
 contain some letters of admonition from the pen of 
 
 * For some year.s after this time, it was common among the school-boys, 
 to say — Yu7(. are a Ilopiiiisian ; meaning: the same, as, yoic are a contemptible 
 feUoxv. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 283 
 
 the pastor, wliich arc eminently Christian and apos- 
 tolical. 
 
 All manner of representations and misrej)resenta- 
 tions went forth, and indefatigable means were em- 
 ployed, to inflame the daily increasing opposition. 
 A considerable number of persons in the vicinity, were 
 ready to sympathize with the opposers of the pastor of 
 Fitchburg ; while some, who were themselves members 
 of Arminian churches, frequently went to hear him, on 
 the Sabbath, and at other times, — so refreshing to 
 their hearts were his ministrations in the Lord. 
 
 The dilHculties were aggravated by the conduct of 
 the people, in the westerly part of the town. These, 
 having long wished to be united with others "in the 
 contiguous corners of Westminister, Ashburnham, and 
 Ashby," by "incorporation as a distinct town, or at 
 least a distinct parish," had met with opposition from 
 the town ; and had become greatly incensed. INIany 
 came forward with a request for " the use of the meet- 
 ing-house, a part of the time, proportioned to their 
 taxes." This movement was popular with " the mal- 
 contents of all classes." Hence their request was 
 ultimately granted. The use of the house was 
 apportioned among four Societies, viz : The petitioners, 
 the Baptist Society, the " Fitchburg Universal Chris- 
 tian Society," and the regular Congregational Society. 
 
 The apportionment to this last was but seventeen 
 
 Sabbaths. 
 
 " Things were, by this time, in a most entangled 
 and tumultuous state ; and exhibited to the serious and 
 reflecting mind the most melancholy prospect. Revo- 
 lution succeeded revolution, in the most rapid succes- 
 sion ; and what would eventually be the issue, was 
 beyond human calculation. At length, after many 
 
284 MEMOIR OP 
 
 things, done and undone, the town, by a major vote,* 
 declared it to be their mind, that a dissolution of their 
 contract, with the pastor, would be for the peace and 
 happiness of the town. Of this vote the pastor re- 
 ceived a formal notification, accompanied with a re- 
 quest for an answer. After some time taken for con- 
 sideration and advice, the pastor laid the matter before 
 the church ; and, in a formal manner requested the 
 church to join him, in measures for a regular dismis- 
 sion. The church, unwilling that the pastor should 
 leave them, were exceeding reluctant to do any thing, 
 which looked towards his dismission, even so much as 
 to refer the matter to a council, At length, however, 
 the pastor obtained the consent of the church, that he 
 should return the following answer to the town. 
 
 Friends and Fellow-citizens, 
 
 At the hands of a committee, appointed for the pur- 
 pose, I received, not long since, the copy of a vote, 
 stated to have been passed at a legal meeting of the 
 town of Fitchburg, on Monday, 6th ultimo ; and pur- 
 porting, that the inhabitants of said town think it 
 w^ould be for their peace and happiness, to dissolve the 
 contract with me as their minister, in the manner 
 specified in the said contract. As the matter was thus 
 laid before me, I have attended to it, as I trust, with a 
 deliberation, seriousness, and candor, suited in some 
 measure to its solemnity and moment. I have, also, 
 laid it before the church ; and, notwithstanding their 
 reluctance and deep regret, have, at length, obtained 
 their consent to the following proposals, which I now 
 beg leave to submit. 
 
 1. A Council, consisting of five churches, and mu- 
 tually chosen, in the regular ecclesiastical manner, shall 
 be called, as soon as convenient, to assist with their 
 advice ; and co-operate, if they shall judge it suitable, 
 in my regular dismission : The expense of the 
 Council to be defrayed by the town, as in such cases 
 is usual. 
 
 * " People, professedly of other denominations, and exempted, by certifi- 
 cate, f^pin taxes to ihe Congre^iional ministry, were allowed to vote on 
 this occasiou." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 285 
 
 2. Ifthotown have any allcij^atioiis to lay before 
 the Council against me, they shall fairly state tliein to 
 me, in writing, at least ten days ])ri()r to the sitting of 
 the Council; and if no alh'gations h(; thus stated, it 
 shall be understood, that the town have nothing, par- 
 ticularly injurious to my ministerial or christian charac- 
 ter to allege against me. 
 
 3. The civil contract, between the town and me, as 
 their minister, shall remain in force, until the })astoral 
 relation be regularly dissolved. 
 
 If the town agree to these proposals, I shall hold 
 myself bound to abide by them, and shall govern my- 
 self accordingly. 
 
 Men and Brethren, 
 
 I cannot persuade myself to conclude this paper, 
 without expressing to you the deep concern, with 
 which I have observed the operations and effects of the 
 spirit of party, contention, and disorder in this place ; 
 a spirit, which, though it may have taken a different 
 direction since, had, however, been prevalent, and in 
 awful progress, long before I came among you ; and 
 which, if not suppressed or restrained, is likely to prove 
 the ruin of this town. For myself, I think I have had, 
 and still have, an ardent desire for your highest good; 
 " seeking' not yoiirs^ but you^ and vnUing' to spend and be 
 spent for you^ fJioKgh f/ie more abiindautly I might love 
 you., the less I might be lovedP But, if in any measure 
 or respect, I have been the blameable cause of the pres- 
 ent unhappy state of things among you, I sincerely 
 wish I may be convinced of it, and deeply humbled 
 before the all-seeing God for it. And I most earnestly 
 and affectionately recommend it to all, seriously to 
 consider the ])art, which they have taken, in promoting 
 the present difficulties, and the motives, by which they 
 have been actuated. The dismission of a minister is 
 certainly a most solemn affair ; and every thing relative 
 to it, ought always to be conducted wdth the greatest 
 deliberation, regularity, and seriousness. Tumult and 
 disorder but illy become transactions of this solemn 
 nature, and momentous consequence. Let us all, then, 
 
286 MEMOIR OF 
 
 bear in remembrance, that we act under the eye of 
 that God, whose honor is deeply concerned, and before 
 whose awful, and enlightened tribunal, we are soon to 
 be summoned together for final audit, and everlasting 
 retribution. Samuel Worcester. 
 
 Fitchburg-, Mcnj 23, 1801." 
 
 " To these proposals the town acceded ; and a Coun- 
 cil, mutually chosen by the pastor and church, was 
 accordingly called. The following was their result : 
 
 Although a spirit of division and separation appears 
 to have been most unhappily prevalent, among the 
 people of Fitchburg, in consequence of which the situ- 
 ation of their reverend pastor is rendered very uncom- 
 fortable, and the prospects of his usefulness among 
 them are greatly impaired ; yet, taking into considera- 
 tion the continuing, and even increasing, attachment 
 of the church to Mr. Worcester, the union which sub- 
 sists among those, who have not separated themselves 
 to other denominations, and the cheerful readiness of 
 Mr. Worcester's friends, expressed by the committee 
 of the church, to submit to the increased burden of his 
 support ; we cannot conceive, that it will be promo- 
 tive of the interests of religion in general, or the wel- 
 fare of this particular society, that Mr. Worcester's 
 patoral relation to them should be dissolved : and we 
 feel ourselves bound to recommend to Mr. Worcester, 
 that he submit still longer to the inconveniencies of 
 his situation ; trusting in that God, who can change 
 our darkest prospects, and increase the consolations of 
 his suffering servants, in proportion to their trials. 
 
 We have not been inattentive to the fair prospects, 
 which invite Mr. Worcester's removal, and the sacri- 
 fice which he is called to make, by a compliance with 
 this result ; yet, believing that the greatest good, in 
 his view, is the interests of religion, we doubt not his 
 ready compliance with what we now unitedly recom- 
 mend to him, as the path of duty. 
 
 We are not insensible, that this result is very differ- 
 ent from the expectations of many ; but we persuade 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 287 
 
 ourselves the propriety of it will be obvious to those, 
 who take a serious view of the resjx'cfable numbers 
 of tills ehureh, warmly attaehed to Mr. Worcester, 
 and llie eonsidenible majority of those, yet forming 
 the Congregational Society in this place, who secrn 
 desirous of his continuance with them : it b(;ing evi- 
 dent from written statements, that, from the ruunber of 
 one hundred and eighty-five voters, there are seventy, 
 who have expressly, and by name, manifested a desire 
 that Mr. Worcester should tarry with them ; and that 
 lifty-two have withdrawn under a compact for the sup- 
 port of universal teachers; leaving a remainder of 
 sixty-three, some of whom are of diflerent denomina- 
 tions, and the remainder, at least many of them, have 
 not expressed their sentiments. 
 
 While we cannot but express our tender sympathy 
 with the reverend Pastor of this church, under the 
 weight of so formidable, and as we think, so unrea- 
 sonable and unchristian, an opposition, as exists in 
 this place, to him and his ministry ; we are extremely 
 happy to find, that he is exonerated, even by the united 
 testimony of his opposers, from all imputations of irre- 
 ligious and immoral conduct; that his discharge of 
 the duties of the christian ministry has been apparent- 
 ly so faithful and so faultless ; and that, while he has 
 been officially set for the defence of the Gospel, he has 
 contended so earnestly, and, for aught that appears to 
 the contrary, so discreetly, for the faith once delivered 
 to the saints. We most earnestly supplicate for him 
 the anointings of divine grace, the consolations of 
 habitual communion with his ever-present Redeemer, 
 such acceptance with the people of this town, as wdll 
 render his services extensively useful, and a happy 
 preparation for a triumphant exchange of the afilic- 
 tions of this state of trial, for the joys of a better world. 
 We are confident, that he w^ill not shrink from the 
 painful labors, or be removed from the firm and inllex- 
 ible defence, of "the glorious Gospel of Christ, to what- 
 ever confiicts he may be reduced, in this day of grow- 
 ing scepticism and infidelity ; and that he will con- 
 tinue stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the 
 
288 MEMOIR OF 
 
 work of the Lord, under the strong assurance, that his 
 labors shall not be in vain in the Lord. 
 
 The Council are exceedingly happy to find this 
 church, as a branch of the kingdom of our dear Lord, 
 so apparently established in the faith ; so united, so 
 affectionate, and so faithful, in holding fast the word 
 of truth, and maintaining the all important concern of 
 the disciplinary purity of Christ's house. We con- 
 gratulate them on the pleasing symptoms of the pre- 
 sence of God with them, by which they are influenced 
 to arise and trim their lamps, and to stand, as a part 
 of the hosts of the Lord, in opposition to that flood of 
 demoralization and error, which threatens to inundate 
 the land. We exhort them to put on bowels of mer- 
 cies towards those, whose efforts are directed, or seem 
 to be directed, to weaken their christian hopes, and to 
 betray them into a dereliction of gospel truth and 
 gospel zeal ; to be meek and inoffensive in all their 
 ways ; and to glorify God, in their bodies and in their 
 spirits, which are his. 
 
 As the Council cannot discern any justifiable rea- 
 son, why so large a portion of the people of this town 
 should become disaffected to the ministry of the Rev. 
 Mr. Worcester; as nothingwhatever is alleged against 
 his personal character or ministerial respectability ; as 
 it is not made evident that the current of his preach- 
 ing is the exhibition of any other doctrines than those, 
 which he was understood to hold, at the time of his 
 ordination, and which are established in the platform 
 of the generality of the New England churches, and 
 the formulas of most protestant churches in America 
 and Europe ; we beg of them seriously to deliberate, 
 whether they can justify their alienation, under the 
 eye of the Sovereign of the world ; whether it really 
 promises to issue in the harmony and happiness of the 
 town — in the advancement of true reliirion here, or 
 the augmentation of any well formed hopes of future 
 
 glory- 
 Though it is not the province of the Council to de- 
 termine any legal questions, respecting any property, 
 which is deemed common, and they have no inclina- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 289 
 
 tion to intorforo with any of the civil or rcliii^ions rights 
 of any iiulividnals or bodies; yet they b('<^ leave to 
 suggc^st, that they are of 0])iiiion, that tin; church 
 oiifi^ht not to be denied those accommodations for the 
 celebration of such ordinary acts of worsliip and duty, 
 as have been considered as essential to its existence 
 and pros])erity from its first foundation. The Council 
 cannot give any countenance to those irregular and 
 equivocal measures, which appear to have been adopt- 
 ed to strip the church of its privileges in this respect, 
 and to take from them a pastor, so apparently dear to 
 them. We hope that so unhappy a precedent will 
 not be drawn into general indulgence. We beg for 
 the best prosperity of this church and town ; and 
 commend you, brethren and friends, to God and the 
 word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and 
 to give you an inheritance, among all them that are 
 sanctified. 
 
 Voted, unanimously ; except that one member of the 
 Council hesitated with respect to the expediency of 
 IVIr. Worcester's continuance in this place. 
 
 John Cushing, Moderator. 
 A true copy — Attest, 
 
 Seth Pays on, Scribed 
 
 " Of this result, though different from his previous 
 expectations and wishes, the pastor expressed his ac- 
 ceptance. It was, also, in a formal manner, accepted 
 by the church, and by the town. In the town, how- 
 ever, many were dissatisfied ; and none perhaps more 
 so, than those, ivho had been excommunicated from the 
 church, and ivhose cases had been summarily stated ta 
 the Counciiy* 
 
 Inflammatory reports went abroad, and were " cir- 
 culated with the greatest industry and assurance,"^^ as 
 
 * The Council consisted of Rev. Messrs. Cushing, of Ashburnhara, Lee, 
 of Royalston, Payson, of Rindge, Austin, of Worcester, and Hill, of Mason, — 
 with the delegates of their respective churches. It was convened, Juna 
 22, l&Ol. 
 
 25 
 
290 MEMOIR OF 
 
 if the church in Fitchburg had been guilty of the 
 most wanton oppression and tyranny, in the discipline 
 by which some of the members had been suspended 
 or excommunicated. 
 
 It was said of these last, that they " were cut off, 
 because they ivould not subscribe to the new forms of the 
 church. Than this report nothing could be more false 
 and calumnious. We solemnly aver, that we never 
 had the least inclination to discipline any of our breth- 
 ren, or to abridge them of their church privileges, in 
 the least iota, on account of their dissenting from us, 
 in regard to the new forms. There are three or four 
 in the church now, who have never subscribed or con- 
 sented to our revised form of covenant and articles of 
 faith ; but as they walk orderly with us, they are in 
 the full enjoyment of all church privileges, and we 
 know of no inclination, in any one, to call them to an 
 account for dissenting. Li one word, we never have 
 used, or thought of using, any compulsory measures, 
 with any, who differed in opinion from us, in regard 
 to the revisal of our covenant ; but have used great 
 carefulness and pains to conciliate their minds, and to 
 persuade them to walk peaceably and regularly with 
 us. 
 
 In regard to Universalism, indeed, we have no dis- 
 position to dissemble, that, in our view, it is a most 
 dangerous, and censurable heresy ; and that it is high- 
 ly important, the churches of Christ should bear their 
 public, solemn, and decided testimony against it. A 
 conviction of this, however, has been impressed on 
 our minds, chiefly by ivhat ive have lately seen of its 
 spirit and effects. And we are fully in the belief, that 
 had even the Universalists. in this church, walked with 
 us, in any good measure decently and orderly, we 
 should never have inflicted any censure upon them, 
 on account of their sentiments. 
 
 We were not unwilling to live and walk peaceably, 
 with our dissenting brethren ; but they would not walk 
 peaceably and regularly with us. And it was for 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 291 
 
 their disordorly conduct, their ncfrlect of sacred duty, 
 their (laj^raiit violation of covenant cni^af^enients, ag- 
 gravated by the unchristian temjier, which they man- 
 ifested, that we cut thein off from our christian society 
 and communion." 
 
 During the year, between the latter part of June 
 1801, and that of June 1802, there was one continued 
 succession and complication of movements in the 
 warfare against the pastor and the church. No less 
 than three ex parte councils were convened. Proba- 
 bly, not a week passed, if a single day, when some- 
 thing was not devised or attempted, in public, or in 
 private, to aggravate the existing unhappy dissen- 
 sions, and render all overtures of christian conciliation 
 and pacification utterly useless, and even worse than 
 in vain. Such a state of things has no precedent, in 
 the previous history of New England ; and it would 
 not be easy to cite a parallel from any of the most 
 violent ecclesiastical conflicts of more recent days. 
 
 By the middle of August, a plan was fully matured 
 to carry a measure wdth the forms of ecclesiastical 
 sanction, — by which the church of Fitchhurg' itself 
 should virtually be excommunicated^ and the excommu- 
 nicated of the church should be enabled to take the 
 place of the church, in the legal relations of the town 
 to the minister. Such a high-handed operation could 
 never have been undertaken, without pledges of as- 
 sistance from clerical counsellors^ whose reputed abili- 
 ties and general standing would have much influence 
 in favor of any decision, which they might see fit to 
 promulgate in a Council, however ex parte^ or Jesuiti- 
 cal, — unauthorized by truth, or dangerous to the " lib- 
 erty of the children of God." 
 
292 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " To many, as before stated," says the iiaiTative of 
 the pastor in his " Facts and Documents," &c. ; the 
 result of the Council of the 22d of June was very dis- 
 satisfactory. They were still determined to procure, 
 by some means, the removal of the pastor, and the 
 overthrow of the established order of this church. 
 Manifestly with this view more than any other, the 
 excommunicants, bij and loith advice^ projected another 
 Council. Their plan was to get a Council to estab- 
 lish tkem^ as the first church in Fitchburg ;* and, then, 
 it was supposed the accomplishment of their ultimate 
 design would be easy. Apprized of our sentiments, 
 respecting the impropriety of joining with excommu- 
 nicants, they forwarded a request to us to join with 
 them in calling a Council ; in the full expectation, no 
 doubt, that the request would be refused, and that, 
 then, they would have a plausible pretext for calling 
 a Council, ex parte ^ the thing which they welshed." 
 
 The church could not grant such a request of a 
 Committee of the five excommunicated, because, as 
 stated to them by the pastor, — " We know of no rule 
 in the Gospel^ no provision in the p)latform^ no precedent 
 in the usage of the churches^ which will authorize, or 
 warrant a church to join with excommunicated per- 
 sons in calling a council. There would be an impro- 
 priety in our granting your request, on its present 
 basis. This I state as being, so far as I can collect it, 
 the sense of this church. It is also the sense of many 
 respectable characters, clergymen and private Chris- 
 tians, with whom I have taken opportunity to confer 
 on the subject." 
 
 To this statement of the pastor, in his letter to one 
 of the Committee, Aug. 18, 1801, it was added : 
 
 * " We^ they pretended, had formed a new church, because we had revised 
 the covenant ; and, as they had never consented to the revised furm, they 
 were to be considered as the old church. '^^ 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 293 
 
 " I, therefore, suggerit to you, whether you may not 
 have all, which you consider, as matters of grievance, 
 brought to an impartial hearing, through the medium 
 of those members of the c/nwe/t^ who are with you in 
 this business. If there be any, in the ehurc/i, as it is 
 intimated there are, who are dissatisfied with the pro- 
 ceedings of the church, respecting you, as well as re- 
 specting themselves, they can bring the whole matter 
 before a Council ; and when once it is brought for- 
 ward, you will, doubtless, be admitted, by the Coun- 
 cil, to speak for yourselves. I am candid when I say, 
 that, to me, the method, here suggested, appears the 
 most eligible, even for you. It will not be chargeable 
 with the impropriety, attached to the method, which 
 you seem to have adopted ; and you would have all 
 the opportunity for statements to the Council, which 
 you could wish. 
 
 If this method should not appear eligible to you, I 
 would further suggest, that we should recognize, as 
 proper, what is called the third ivay of communion^ 
 pointed out in the platform ; and should be willing to 
 submit our proceedings to the review of any sister 
 churches, who should wish, in this vmy^ to examine 
 them. Satisfied in our consciences of the rectitude of 
 our intentions, and believing that we have proceeded 
 according to the rules of the Gospel, we rather invite, 
 than shun, fair and regular examination," &c. 
 
 It may surprise some, that there was " no precedent 
 knoivn in the usage of the churches^ to authorize or 
 warrant a church to join with excommunicated per- 
 sons in calling a council." This was said, advisedly. 
 And the fact is to be explained in part, by the very 
 common neglect of discipline in the churches ; but 
 chiefly by the difficulty of finding a proper case for an 
 ex parte council, when those called should sacredly 
 regard the limitations and rules, which had been pre- 
 scribed in the " Ratio Disciplinae of the New England 
 
 25* 
 
294 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Brethren," as the accredited " usage of the churches," 
 in respect to such councils. 
 
 At the time of the Fitchburg controversy, an alarm 
 appears to have been created, by the prospect of a re- 
 sort to ex parte councils, by the Arminians and Arians, 
 to hold in check, or to over-awe the spirit of doctrine 
 and of discipline, which was now manifesting itself to 
 their especial dissatisfaction. And as yet the author- 
 ity of these councils, as a substitute for the process by 
 " the third way of communion," was so questionable, 
 that Dr. Worcester did not hesitate to resist " the usage 
 of the churches " in this particular, as alike " repug- 
 nant to both Scripture and Platform." He reasoned 
 with great force against ex parte councils, of every de- 
 scription and in any circumstances. 
 
 The standing of excommunicated persons, also, 
 would seem not to have been so wxll defined, that, 
 while they might be permitted to have part in a mu- 
 tual council, they were not by any means thus recog- 
 nized, as having the same rights, as before they were 
 separated from the church. In several respects, the 
 practical principles of ecclesiastical procedure were 
 quite unsettled and indeterminate. 
 
 A more extended field of observation, and not un- 
 likely an experience less personal to himself, recon- 
 ciled Dr. Worcester, at a later day, to " the usage," 
 which, in his earliest investigations of the sul)ject, he 
 considered a dangerous innovation upon the Plat- 
 form, and unwarranted by the Scriptures. He so far 
 modified his opinions, as to admit, that, in an ex- 
 treme case, and such only as can but seldom occur, 
 it may be justifiable for individuals to appeal to an 
 ex parte council ; provided, however, that there must 
 always be a rigorous adherence to " the usage of the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 295 
 
 churches," as described by Mather.* Such a case 
 there icas not at Fitchburg, in 1801. And the merits 
 of the controversy were unatlected by the (juestion, 
 whether an ex parte council has authority to review 
 the proceedings of a church. 
 
 To the pastor's letter, Aug. 18th, one of the " injured 
 brethren," as they styled themselves, replied, — " We 
 cannot, with propriety, shift the ground we have taken, 
 but are willing to wait your decisive answer, till the 
 20th of this instant." An answer was returned, Aug. 
 25th, unanimously refusing the request of the excommu- 
 nicated, and ably vindicating the refusal. The substance 
 of the document was, in a few weeks, embodied in a 
 " solemn protest " against the jurisdiction of an Ex- 
 parte Council, — the first of the series, — which assem- 
 bled at the call or desire of the excommunicated, and 
 agreeably to their plan of operations. 
 
 " FUchbiirg', Sept, 14, 1801. 
 
 Reverend and Respected,! — 
 
 Having learned, tlioiig-h not from any official or regu- 
 lar notification, that by virtue of letters missive, from 
 certain individuals, you are expected to form a council 
 
 * Ratio Disciplinae, &c., in 1726. 
 
 Some years alter Dr. W. was settled in Salem, he once gave advice to 
 the Tabernacle Cluirch. to comply with a request for an attendance in an Ex- 
 parte Council. When reminded of his own anlliority against such councils, 
 he pleasantly responded — " It would be very hard, if avian icere not allowed 
 to grow wiser, as he grovjs older?- — The Tabernacle Church, it may here be 
 mentioned, originated in a division of the First Church, in consequence of a 
 process of disci|»line, according to "The Third Way,'" &:c., in 173-4-5. In 
 those days, the deci.sion of a council could be enforced by law. 
 
 If a full and fair history of Ex-parte Councils could be written, it might 
 appear that they have done more evil, incalculably, than would have ever 
 been experienced, if they had been utterly repudiated, from the beginning, 
 hitherto. 
 
 t Not — Reverend and Beloved. Dr. W. was in the habit of using terms 
 of courtesy, which he could also use in godly sincerity. 
 
296 MEMOIR OP 
 
 in this place, on Tuesday, Sept. 15th, current, for pur- 
 poses which deeply concern us; we, the Church of 
 Christ in Fitchburg, beg leave respectfully to present 
 our solemn Protest, against your proceeding, as a 
 council, to take cognizance of any of our conduct or 
 concerns. As a basis of this protest, we offer the fol- 
 lowing things. 
 
 1. We hold it, as a principle, that individuals can- 
 not, of right, in any cases, and especially in cases 
 touching the interior polity and discipline of a churchy 
 convoke an ecclesiastical council. As we conceive, 
 the right of convoking ecclesiastical councils belongs 
 to churches only ; and we have neither precept nor ex- 
 ample in the Christian code, nor provision in the Con- 
 gregational platform, for this right to be exercised by 
 private individuals. Indeed, a council, convoked by 
 individuals, cannot, with any propriety, in our opinion, 
 be called an ecclesiastical council^ nor have a right to 
 take cognizance of any ecclesiastical cases. 
 
 It is a fundamental principle in the constitution of 
 Congregational churches, that every reg-ular parochial 
 church, ^ has sufficient authority, vnthin itself, immediate^ 
 ly derived from Christ, for the government of itself in 
 all cases ecclesiastical.^ (Mather.) This we believe 
 to be according to the Gospel. It is not to any num- 
 ber of churches, consociated or combined, it is not to 
 any council or synod, but to each and every regular 
 Gospel church, in its distinct capacity, that Christ has 
 delivered ' the keys of the kingdom.' And we can 
 find nothing in the Christian Scriptures, which will 
 authorize or warrant any one church to interfere in the 
 discipline, or internal polity of another, (unless it be in 
 the way of regular admonition;) or any number of 
 churches, any council or synod, to interfere in the in- 
 terior concerns of an individual church. 
 
 But, if individuals have a right to call a council, and 
 the council, so called, have a right to take cognizance 
 of our internal concerns, we are in a state of depen- 
 dence, the most degrading and deplorable. We are 
 dependent on the will and caprice of every unruly 
 member, who can fmd churches disposed to espouse 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 297 
 
 his canso, and suited to answer his purposes. We are 
 liable to be (Mnl)arrassed and controlled, in all our 
 measures, ])y clnnxhes the most diverse from ns, in doc- 
 trine and discipline ; for it is precisely to such church- 
 es, that disallected individuals will have recourse for 
 counsel and assistance. In a word, we are liable to 
 be obstructed and harassed, upon all occasions, and to 
 be brought into complete bondage, by every turbulent 
 and revengeful spirit. 
 
 To admit that individuals have a right to convoke 
 a council to take cognizance of the affairs of a church, 
 to w^iicli they may belong, or have belonged, is to 
 place the minority in the church, however small, upon 
 equal ground with the majority. Nay, for individuals 
 to call a council, and arraign the church before it, is to 
 exercise a power, even greater than a whole church 
 can exercise : For no one church can arraign another 
 church before a council. It also supposes an ecclesi- 
 astical judicatory, superior to the church, to which they 
 have right of appeal ; and by which the decisions of 
 the church may be overruled, or reversed. But, how 
 repugnant is this to both Scripture and Platform ! 
 
 K we be told, that the convening of councils, at the 
 request of individuals, is agreeable to the usage of the 
 churches, we have only to reply, that the usage of the 
 churches is, with us, no authority, any further than it 
 is warranted by the laws of Christ.* 
 
 2. If it were admitted, that individuals, while re- 
 taining their church standing', may convoke an ecclesi- 
 astical council, still we should maintain, that exconi- 
 municafcd persons have no such right. 
 
 Individuals, when excommunicated, are totally cut 
 off from all the rights and privileges attached to church 
 membership. Hence, should it be granted to be a 
 right, or privilege, belonging to individual church 
 members, to convoke a council, it could not be recog- 
 nized as belonging to excommunicants. In the simple 
 
 * In course of the controversy, it was argfued, that, if churches are not in- 
 fallihle^ but are liable to err, and to do injustice, the same is true of councils, 
 li' churches are liable \o prejudice, so also are councils. 
 
298 MEMOIR OP 
 
 act of complying with the request of the excommnni- 
 cated persons for a council, churches take a part in 
 direct opposition to the church, by whom the censure 
 of excommunication was passed, and become parties in 
 the business. This church, by the censure of excom- 
 munication, declare certain individuals to be totally 
 unworthy, and disfranchised, of all church privileges. 
 But, by sending elders and messengers to act in coun- 
 cil, at their request, other churches declare these same 
 individuals to be still endowed, at least with the svp- 
 posednghi^ attached to church membership, of convok- 
 ing a council. Thus, in the face of the world, they 
 set aside our decision, at least in part; and virtually 
 declare us incompetent, as a church, to the purposes 
 of self-government, and to the discipline of our own 
 members. 
 
 Here we are constrained to ask, By what authority 
 may other churches, in this manner, counteract, and 
 make void, our disciplinary proceedings ; and on the 
 hare representation of the delinquent^ take such a step, 
 for the firsts as cannot fail to make a strong impression 
 on the uninformed, or misinformed, public mind, to our 
 disadvantage ? Is this agreeable to the spirit of the 
 Gospel ? Is it the part of ti-ue Christian charity^ or 
 sisterly communion ? — Is it Catholicism ? 
 
 If from any representation made to them, our sister 
 churches apprehend, that we do not walk orderly, 
 according to the laws of Christ; ought they not to 
 forbear their censures, until, in Si more private^ friendli/, 
 and Christian way, they have obtained some explana- 
 tions and statements //'o^^i t(s ? 
 
 We will not dissemble, that we feel ourselves in- 
 jured ; and that we consider the granting of a council, 
 at the request of individuals excommunicated by us, 
 and as we believe, according to the laws of Christ, an 
 unwarrantable, and unprecedented invasion of our liber- 
 ties and rii2^hts as a Christian church. And we must 
 be permitted to ask further. Have we as a church of 
 Christ, or have we not, the right of judging, indepen- 
 dently^ of the qualifications of our own members ? Or 
 have other churches a right to interfere in this busi- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 299 
 
 ness ? If other cliurchos have a right to say whom we 
 shall retain in onr eonnnnnion, have they not, also, a 
 right to say whom we shall receive ? And, if so, are we 
 not in a state of com))lete bondage? Has not the same 
 cJiurch ir/iic/i admits individuals (o the privileges of nieni' 
 bers, a right, also, to cut tliem off from the same privi- 
 leges, ivhenever it shall judge them to be forfeited ? If 
 this be a right which belongs to every Church of 
 Christ, then, before other churches have anything to 
 do, in the way of council and communion, with those 
 whom we have excommunicated, ought tlieij not, in a 
 REGULAR AND FORMAL MANNER, to declare vs vnworthyto 
 exercise the rights of a Christian church, and no longer 
 
 IN THEIR FELLOWSHIP? 
 
 If it be said, that those who have applied for a coun- 
 cil, in this instance, are not all excommunicated persons, 
 we reply in one word, that, in the most explicit man- 
 ner, we have manifested our willingness to join in a 
 mutual council, with any of our members, who feel dis- 
 satisfied ivith any of onr measures. 
 
 3. If, after all, it should be admitted, that in ordi- 
 nary cases, even excommunicants have a right to con- 
 voke a council, before which to arraign the conduct of 
 the church ; still we should insist, that those from 
 whom you received letters, in the present instance, 
 cannot, with any consistency, be considered as hold- 
 ing that right. By their own act they have cut them- 
 selves off, completely, from all rights and privileges 
 in regular Congregational churches. They have, in an 
 open and formal manner, gone out from us, and de- 
 clared, that they are not of us. In open contempt of 
 our communion, and of their vows, they have joined 
 themselves to another, and what we consider, a most 
 heretical denomination, and entered themselves under 
 the bonds of a solemn compact to support and pro- 
 mote it. Nor have they as yet manifested the least 
 disposition to return to us, or to the faith, and order of 
 Orthodox or regular Congregational churches. So far 
 from it, they still stand pledged, (by compact,) not to 
 return ; and even in the interval, while they were seek- 
 ing a council, they were promoting the most disorgan- 
 
300 MEMOIR OF 
 
 izing measures for the furtherance, ostensibly, of their 
 separate society. 
 
 Now, we beg leave to ask, With what consistency 
 can they apply for a council to Congi*egational church- 
 es ? If they want a council for any purpose, why do 
 they not apply to their own sect ? Perhaps they wish 
 for the patronage of Congregational ministers and 
 churches. Possibly, they even imagine^ that Congre- 
 gational churches and ministers have become so lax, in 
 doctrine, discipline, and manners, as to he prepared to 
 countenance and sanction the most lieretical opinions and 
 the most disorderly practices ! But will Congregation- 
 al ministers and churches cherish this idea ; and by an 
 act the most public and solemn, give it authenticity ? 
 
 Finally : If it might be at any time, suitable for 
 churches to comply with a request for a council, from 
 persons under the peculiar circumstances of those now 
 in question ; yet the present is, in our view, a most 
 unhappy time for such a precedent. — The awful spirit 
 which is prevalent and in progress, at the present day, 
 is well known, — a spirit, disposed to trample on all 
 order and authority, civil and ecclesiastical, and to in- 
 troduce unbounded licentiousness and confusion into 
 church and state. 
 
 We deeply regret, that, in justice to ourselves, and 
 to the injured cause of truth, order, and religion, in 
 this place, we are obliged to state, that this spirit has 
 been most conspicuous in the conduct of those who 
 have called for a council, on this occasion. And will 
 the Churches of Christ, even in New England, coun- 
 tenance and encourage such a spirit ? Will they tame- 
 ly suffer their walls to be thrown down, and their most 
 sacred privileges to be trodden under foot ? We en- 
 treat it may be seriously considered, whether a com- 
 pliance with the wishes of these people will not open 
 a scene of endless disorder and confusion in the 
 churches ? 
 
 Such are the principal reasons, on- which we ground 
 our protest against a council, called in the manner, 
 and under the circumstances, of the present instance. 
 It is not because we dread tiic light, that we enter this 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 301 
 
 protest. No, gciilomcn, we do not fear the lii^^ht. On 
 the contniiy, nio.st gladly should we embrace a fair 
 and ])r()|)er occasion to lay the whole scene of our con- 
 duct before the world ; for we feel an unabating con- 
 fidence, that, in that event, we should stand justified 
 ill the sight of all impartial judges. And we hesitate 
 not to declare it as our charitable ojDinion, that had 
 our sister churches been well informed of circum- 
 stances, they would not have complied with this re- 
 quest for a council. 
 
 However, if any of the reverend and respected gen- 
 tlemen, elders or messengers, convoked on this occa- 
 sion, will apply to us in the capacity of private Chris- 
 tian brethren, and on their own behalf, for any infor- 
 mation or explanation, we are disposed to treat them 
 with all respectful attention, and to communicate on 
 any subject freely. Though we assert our indepen- 
 dence in regard to internal polity and discipline, and 
 do not acknowledge the right of councils, called by in- 
 dividuals, nor of any other judicatory, whatever, to in- 
 terfere in our interior concerns ; we still acknowledge 
 the communion of the churches, and particularly the 
 right of communion, in what is called the third way. 
 If any of our sister churches be dissatisfied with our 
 doctrine, discipline, or manners, we shall receive it 
 very kindly, if, in the regular Gospel^ and sister It/ ivai/, 
 they should admonish us of our wrong, and endeavor 
 to reclaim us from our wandering, and re-establish us 
 in the right. And if, after a regular process of admoni- 
 tion, we be found incorrigible or irreclaimable, they 
 will doubtless have a right to reject us from their com- 
 munion. Then, also, and not till then, as we conceive, 
 may they of right attend to any whom we have ex- 
 communicated ; and if they judge them to be qualified, 
 admit them, not by aet of council, indeed, but in the re- 
 gular ecclesiastical manner, to their Christian commu- 
 nion. 
 
 In church-meeting, voted unanimously. 
 
 Signed by the Committee." 
 
 26 
 
302 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " After the reading of the protest, a short pause en- 
 sued. At length a member of the council rose, and 
 observed, that in this land of liberty^ our free constitU' 
 Hon alloivs citizens the right of appeal from a lower to 
 a higher judicatory, and in his view the protest did 
 not do aioay that right* The gentleman dilated upon 
 this idea, adverted to what is practiced in our civil 
 courts, and even in courts-martial, and concluded with 
 an expression of his opinion, that the council might 
 proceed to a hearing. To him all the council gave 
 heed, and accordingly proceeded. 
 
 We forbear to give a detail of what passed in the 
 public hearing, and shall only observe in the general, 
 that the party were admitted as witnesses in their own 
 cases, that their mutilated representations were, ap- 
 parently, received, without any abatements, as just 
 and true, and that to others, besides the members of 
 the church present, the whole had but too much the 
 appearance of a mere forensic show." f 
 
 If it had not been for the misapplied talent and tact 
 of one member alone, it is quite presumable, that a 
 majority would have voted to dissolve the council, in 
 a very short half day, after the presentation of such a 
 Protest. In truth, with all the open and the concealed 
 hostility, which existed against " the docti'ine of faith," 
 and the exercise of discipline for the purifying of the 
 church of Fitchburg, it is very doubtful if such an Ex' 
 parte Council could have ever been convened ; — unless 
 there had been an unwearied effort of management^ and 
 
 * " Query. Are the laws of Christ repealed — or {^ our free constitution our 
 rule, in ecclesiastical cases, ' iyi this land of liberty ? ' " 
 
 t Writing to one of his brothers, Sept. 14, the day previous to the meeting 
 of the Ex-parte Council, the venerable father of Dr. W. spoke of the council, 
 the supposed object, and the expected members. " Your brother says, he 
 don't fear them any more than so many emmets. He wishes the council to 
 gratify the desires of the excommunicated, and embody them in a church. 
 He thinks it will be an effectual means to separate the iron and clay in the 
 image. This ke wishes for." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 803 
 
 also, it is to be feared, not a little of tlie dissembling 
 and eollusion, which can poorly stand the ordeal of 
 
 THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT DAY. 
 
 As it was, the council were evidently embarrassed 
 and greatly perplexed. They could not be persuaded to 
 do for the excommunicated, what most of all was de- 
 sired and expected, viz., to recog-nize tJicm as the Clnirch 
 of Fitcliburg; ; or, at the least, to give them a church 
 standing, of wiiich they could take advantage, as citi- 
 zens^ in their purpose to annul the legal contract with 
 the pastor, and coerce him to a removal. This was a 
 sore disappointment, after so much of boastful antici- 
 pation and taunting menace.* 
 
 In the words of the Scripture, it may be " an in- 
 strvction and an astonishment^^'' to contrast the Result 
 of the Ex'parte Council of Sept. 15th, with that of the 
 Mutual Council of June 22d. It will be borne in 
 mind, that all the matters in dispute had really been 
 considered by that Mutual Council, less than three 
 months before ! 
 
 The Ex-parte Council consisted of the church in 
 Leominster, Rev. Francis Gardner, with two dele- 
 gates; church in Shirley, Rev. Phinehas Whitney, and 
 delegate ; church in Billerica, Henry Cumings, D. D.,f 
 and two delegates ; church in Bolton, Rev. Phinehas 
 Wright, and two delegates ; and church in Lancaster, 
 
 *" Manifestly leagued together and feeling: strong in the party which, 
 supported ihem out of the church, they placed the authority of the church at 
 defiance, and contemned the church itself and all its proceedings.'" " When 
 a brother, with tears in his eyes, and in a manner the most moving, addressed 
 Mr. D. upon his case, entreated him to manifest a diflerent disposition, and 
 expressed how hard il would be for a church to proceed against him, as, if 
 he continued obstinate, they would be obliged to do ; he only replied, in a 
 very sarcastic and menacing tone, ' / giiess you, vjillfind it hard, bt-fore it is 
 done with ! ' " Ex uno, disce omnes. 
 
 t A native of Mollis, and a man of undisputed ability. Dr. Worcester's 
 father had known him, " when a young preacher." See above, p. GS. 
 
304 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Rev. Nathaniel Thayer, and delegate. — " They unan- 
 imously accepted the following Result. 
 
 It is our settled opinion, that the aggrieved of any 
 church, whether under temporary suspension, or ex- 
 communication, if they think themselves unjustly cen- 
 sured, may, with great propriety, apply to the church 
 to join them in the choice of a IVIutual Council to 
 judge between them. If the church refuse to comply 
 with such request, it is reasonable and agreeable to 
 the common usages of these churches, for the aggrieved 
 to call a party council to take their case under consid- 
 eration and give their judgment and advice.* Upon 
 this ground, we have complied with the call of the 
 censured and excommunicated members, in this place. 
 Could a mutual council have been obtained in the 
 usual way, or in any other way which would have al- 
 lowed them an equal voice in the choice, and placed 
 them upon equal ground as a complaining party, we 
 should gladly have excused ourselves from the present 
 trouble, f 
 
 * In his "plain and candid Strictures upon this extraordinary result," Dr. 
 
 W. inquires : — 
 
 " If every regular Gospel church be instituted, by the laws of Christ, a 
 proper judicatoiy^ and have received from him authority to decide, nllimately^ 
 in all cases of diiicipline,ari>irig: within its own pale, and there be no provision 
 anywhere made for an appeal from the church, or for the interference of 
 councils, in disciplinary cases ; is it ' reasonable ' for suspended and excono- 
 municaled individuals to disreg-ard the decisions of the church, and to call a 
 ' party council ' to ' lake their case under consideration, and," in the authori- 
 tative manner of the present instance, ' to give iheir jH(/o-nie7it and advice? ' 
 Is it ' reast>nal)le ' to appeal from dijiidicatory^ properly atid ferrfilly co7istitiited, 
 Xodi self-created trihinnil? Is it ' reasonable ' to disrcfiard the authority, and 
 make void the institutions of Christ, and to teach and observe, for rules of 
 discipline, the opinions of men ? Is this ' agreeable to the common visages of 
 these cluuchcs i ' " 
 
 t " If the venerable council really wished to 'excuse themselves from the 
 trouble ' of attemiing to the business, and to have it referred to a ' »2?//?ioZ 
 coxinciV what could they wish for more, in favor of their ' party,' than what 
 •was repeatedly ollered ? It will be observed, that the ' party,' in favor of 
 ■which this declaration was made, included, not onlv the exronuntDii cants, 
 but, also, the suspfuded members of the church^iclio xoere witli tliem, andichom 
 we offered, and even expressed a desire., to join in a ' mutual coiaicil.'' To the 
 party, therefore, as a 'party,'' we offered the privilege of '■an equal voice in 
 the choice, and equal grojind as complainants.'' This was. pt rhaj)S. too much 
 for our own con.-«islency, and for the views of the council. We think, how- 
 ever, the venerable council might, with great propriety, ' have excused litem' 
 selves from the trouble.^' of this remarkable declaration.'^ 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 305 
 
 We are very sensible that they who form their jndg- 
 ment, upon hearing a j^arty in their own cause, are 
 under great disadvantages, and liable to mistakes, after 
 all their endeavors to obtain light and evidence.* 
 What the complexion of our result, respecting the ex- 
 communicated members, would have be(Mi, had the 
 church been disposed to give us what light they were 
 able, we cannot say. We shall honestly express our 
 minds, according to our view of the case, after attend- 
 ing to the statements that have been laid before us, in 
 the votes of the church, and from those we have had 
 from the representations of the aggrieved in public. 
 
 Although it is our firm belief, that a diversity of 
 sentiment, in regard to points, about which Christians 
 equally good and learned disagree,! ought not to 
 be made a ground of censure, yet we are far from sup- 
 posing the aggrieved are not culpable in any instances. 
 But considering circumstances, viewing them with an 
 eye of candor, and making reasonable allowances for 
 the infirmities of human nature, they do not ap- 
 pear to us to have merited the severe censure, which 
 has been inflicted. J 
 
 * " Not only was the ' party heard in their own cause,' biU hy judges of 
 their ovn choosing, and in a manner agreeable to their own mind! " 
 
 t " If. ill this sentence, the council had reference, as doubtless they had, 
 to the cases immediately in view, their meaiiins: must be, that ' Christians, 
 equally good and learned, disaarree in their sentiments,' respecting 'future 
 punishment ;' and that no sentiment, res-peciing- this point, ought to be made 
 a ground of censure. For so far as sentiment was, in any measure, in ques- 
 tion, in the present cases, it was the Universalian sentiment. In this public 
 and solemn manner, then, have this venerable council taken Universalism 
 under their protecting and fo-terino^ wing I Tlirougliout the whole of this 
 result there is not the least di-approbalion of the sentiment, either expressed 
 or im()lied ; but from the whole, not only of the result, but of the public hear- 
 ing, it appears, that they consider Universalism, at least innoxious and inno- 
 cent if not true ; and are willing to extend their patronage over it, and to 
 cherish it in their bosom. If it were before believed, that these gentlemen 
 were nut opposed to Univer>alism ; it was hardly expected, that they would 
 yet, in so open and solemn a manner, declare themselves its advocates and 
 patrons. 
 
 Are the churches of Christ, then, to admit the infidel doctrine, that it is no 
 matter what a man's religious sentiments are, or whether he have any or 
 none ; and lo cherish, in their bosoms, Sociniavism, Universalism,?ind even, 
 perhaps. Deism, as soon as they become popular, a7id obtain the patronage 
 of git-at names? If so, what is to be done with the solemn premonitions 
 and warnings of Christ and his apostles, respecting error? And how are 
 the chnrchf s to answer their proper character and design, as ' the light of the 
 worlfL' and 'the pillar and ground of the trt'th.' " 
 
 I " So, then, the nedecl of family religion and public worship, the neglect 
 
 26* 
 
806 MEMOIR OP 
 
 As members of civil society, their characters appear 
 fair, and some have merited respect and esteem, for 
 exemplary and useful lives.* Justice, also, obliges us 
 to observe in their favor, that they have not been 
 charged with a violation of their first covenant, by 
 which only they consider themselves as bound, and by 
 which onl}'- they think it reasonable to be tried, f 
 
 We do not approve of their signing the compact, J 
 
 of the special ordinances of Christ's house, the promoting of ' divisions and 
 ofleiices contrary to sound doctrine,' and to the gospel order of the churches, 
 the most open and flaijrant violations of covenant engagements, are to be 
 charitably impaled to the innocent ' infirmities of human nature,' and passed 
 over in silence I Plow grateful must not the unruly and disobedient, in every 
 place, feel, for such powerful advocacy! But is it not a solemn affair, thus 
 lo '■ stre7igtlien tlie hands uf the wicktdj that they should not return from their 
 wicked trays ? ' " 
 
 * " Here we have the ^ro7f?id, we suppose, on which the venerable coun- 
 cil rested their result. Because some of their party were of some repute 
 and pojmlar/ty, in the world, they judged them all proper characters for a 
 standing in the Church of Christ. This was evidently the ground, on which 
 they proceeded, m the public hearing. One of the reverend members of the 
 council, inquired, and in a manner as if it were of great importance in the 
 case, whether one of the party had not heretofore been a selectman or town 
 clerks And this, we think, may be fairly exhibited, as a specimen of the 
 kind of evidence, which they seemed most to seek, and on which they ap- 
 parently placed the greatest stress. The church hid expressed their opinion 
 of the religious character of those people, by the censures iiiUicted on 
 them ; but, regardless of the opinion of the church, and apparently regardless 
 of religions character, the council seemed chietly concerned to know the 
 civil, or popular characters which they sustained in the world. But is this, 
 then, the ground on which churches are to proceed in judging of the qualifi- 
 cations of their members ? ' As members of civil socifty^'' have not the char- 
 acters of maiiy c?(?/>i5 ' appeared to be fair,' — and have not ' some of them 
 inerited respect and esteem,' for what are generally reputed in the world, as 
 * exemplary and useful lives ? '" 
 
 t " Must not people be in a very sirigidar siti(atio)i, when ^justice obliges' 
 their advocates, ' to observe ' that ' in their favor,' tchirh has no foundation 
 in truth! We assert, that those people tvere ' cliarged with a violation of 
 tlicir first cove7iant.^ The church never considered them ' as hound ' by any 
 other covenant, and never thought of 'trying' by any other, than what the 
 venerable council //ere call their ' first covenant.' This we constantly de- 
 clared lo the censured people, while dealing with them; and the committee 
 of the church su|)po?ed the matter was explained, with sufficient clearness, 
 to the gentlemen of the council, in the time of the conference." 
 
 J" They did not disapprove of their being Universalists, nor of their using 
 their endeavors to promote I'niversalian teachers, and the s|)read of Uni- 
 versalism, nor of their leaving the slated worship of the church, to attend 
 upon Universalian preaching ; and they even declare, that they ' should not 
 consider it as dixjrderly, or a bad precedent, for any regular minister lo ad- 
 minister sacred ordinances to them, in their own town ' ^Vhy, then, should 
 they disapprove of their signing a ' compact ' for their belter regulation ? 
 The compact has. indeed been a snare to them, and proved a hindrance to 
 the accompli-ihment of their designs against the pastor and the church : 
 but could It be on this account, thail the venerable council did not approve 
 of their signing it?" 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 307 
 
 as it is called, nor of the instance of ofTorinc^ a child 
 for baptism, at the west meeting-honse. And as we 
 consider family worship an im])ortant duty, we wish 
 any who have ni^gleeted it, but j)rofess a sense of the 
 importance of ])rayer in general, seriously to review 
 the grounds of their past omission.* 
 
 \Vhilst we are far from justifying the above in- 
 stances of conduct, and some others with which the 
 aggrieved may be chargeable, yet when we consider 
 excuses and apologies which they have made, together 
 with their ideas of their singular situation under the 
 new covenant and order of things, which have lately 
 been introduced into the church, we do not think any 
 of them culpable to such a degree as to exclude them 
 from christian communion in gospel ordinances.! 
 
 Until they can obtain a mutual council, equally 
 chosen by the church and themselves, before whom 
 both parties can stand on even ground, we think that 
 other churches may reasonably admit them to the en- 
 joyment of christian privileges, without any infringe- 
 ment of the rights of particular churches, who are 
 
 * " The sentiments, respecting prayer, of the particular person, here ob- 
 viously alluded to, are c'oni]>lelely deistical. TJie b/east, he says, is the 
 ' closet ;' and when any one feels disposed to pray, he may pray : but to ob- 
 serve stated seasons v( prayer, and, especially, to pray betore others, is, ac- 
 cording to his represenlalion, totally pharisaical and preposterous. In this 
 way it is, that he ' prt)fesses a sense of the importance o( prayer in general.' 
 And these, h\^ proiessed sentiments, respecting prayer, appeared evidently, 
 as we think, to be admiited by the council, in the lime of ilie public hearing, 
 and are here alluded to in the result, as an excuse, or palliation of his neg- 
 lect of family worship." 
 
 t" What, then, was 'their peculiar situation?' Only this: they were a 
 minority in the church, and, therefore, could not govern the church accord- 
 ing to their plea>ure ; and they were under the necessity, also, of worship- 
 ping and communing, unless they at)senled from our \vt)rsliip and com- 
 munion, with people, who had a little more explicitly, than before, jjrofessed 
 their belief in the Calvinian doctrines, and tlieir obligations to walk in all 
 respects agreeably to the holy precepts of the gospel. This was 'their pe- 
 culiar situation.' And their being in this situation is admilied, by the coun- 
 cil, as an excuse for their neglect of family and public worship, lor their ab- 
 senting themselves from the visible communion of the church, for their em- 
 bracing and endeavoriiiir to promote Universalian sentiments and teachers, 
 if, indeed in the view of the council, this needed any excuse, and for their 
 going out from us and joining a society, manifestly formed in opposition to 
 us. In one word, as we were Ca/rhiists, and they were, ou (hot account, 
 opposed to us, the venerable council could easily e.\cuse all the irregulari- 
 ties of their conduct ; and. notwithstanding some things, too glarin;r to be 
 publicly approved, could freely open to them the bosom of their t)wn fellow- 
 ship, and recommend ihein, also, to the fellowship of other churches I"' 
 
308 MEMOIR OF 
 
 obliged to act according to their ideas and sense of 
 duty, although they are liable to mistakes as well as 
 private members.* 
 
 We also add, that until such a council can be ob- 
 tained, as it may be inconvenient for the aggrieved to 
 repair to distant churches, we shall not view it as dis- 
 orderly or a bad precedent, for any regular minister 
 to administer the ordinances to them in their own 
 town.f 
 
 We most sincerely lament the unhappy differences, 
 which have taken place among christian professors in 
 this town, whereby several have been excluded from 
 christian fellowship. 
 
 We earnestly recommend to the censured brethren, 
 whose case we have had under consideration, seriously 
 to inquire by what spirit they have been actuated, 
 and to rectify whatever they may find to have been 
 amiss, either in their temper or conduct, which may 
 have contributed to bring them into their present 
 melancholy situation ; and in the exercise of christian 
 candor towards those, who differ from them in specu- 
 lative sentiments, to use all suitable means consistent 
 w^ith their rights, as private Christians, to bring about 
 a reconciliation, with the church, that they may again 
 
 *" Here the council have informed us, in language, more explicit, per- 
 haps, than before, that they consider the disciplinary proceedings of the 
 church, as of no validity, Is not this a matter of very deep concernment, to 
 all those churches, which wish to maintain any regular discipline? Where 
 shall we hud a law^ of Christ constituting a council, an ex parte council, a 
 paramoimt judicatory, with authority thus to ' lord it over God's heritage?' 
 And is it, then, ' reas^onahle ' for other churches totally to disregard our de- 
 cisions, respecting: offenders ; and in opposition to us. to admit our suspend- 
 ed and excommunicated members to the enjoyment of christian privileges? 
 Is this no ' infringement of our rights as a particular church V " 
 
 t" Perhaps the council, in this sentence, had not reference to gospel or- 
 der. but merely to civile or social order. But what would they think, should 
 elders and mes>engers from Calvinistic churches, go into their societies, 
 and take a numlier of malcontented people under their patronage, and with- 
 out any more reirularity or formahty, than what has been observed here, 
 express llieir readiness to admit them to their fellowship, and even recom- 
 mend it to ' rejiuhir niini>lers, to administer sacred ordinances to theui in 
 their own town?' Would they ' not think it disorderly and a bad precedent?' 
 What could have a greater, or more direct tendency, than such a procedure, 
 to promote disorder, confusion, and every evil work in society? — But we 
 
 ARE A CaLVIMSTIC CHURCH ; AND, THERKFORE, NOTH I NG ISTOBE'CON- 
 SIDERRD AS DISORDKRUY OR A BAD PRECEDENT,' WHICH TENDS TO WEAKEN 
 OUR HANDS, TO liNTERRUi'X OUR PEACE, AND TO BEAR US DOWiN !" 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 309 
 
 know by joyful cxpcriciu'C 'how <rood and pleasant it 
 is for bri'liiR'n to dwell togctlicr in unity.'* 
 
 May the (u)d of love and peaee bestow his benedic- 
 tion upon his ehurch and people in this town, and in- 
 spire all parties with that charity, which (lis|)laying 
 itself in actions, as well as words, is the distinguish- 
 ing characteristic of the disciples of the meek and 
 lowly Jesus. 
 
 Francis Gardner, Moderator, 
 
 Nathl. Thayer, Scribc.^^ 
 
 By this Result, the Council may have satisfied 
 themselves, about as little as they did their "i/ywrecZ 
 brethrefi,''^ who anticipated so much more, than " good 
 words and fair speeches " to " deceive the hearts of the 
 simple." The church was unharmed and undismayed. 
 When there the men, whose coming had been preceded 
 by a great flourish of trumpets, had not found it so 
 
 * *' In one sense, indeed, all religious sentiments are ' speculative.' But 
 by ' speculative senliinenls,' as the phrase is commonly used, we under- 
 stand such s^enliiTients as are of no practical importance or ivfiaence. This, 
 we think, is ui douhiedly the meaning, which the council intended should 
 be affixed to the phrase. 
 
 It is then, in the view of the council, of no practical importance, what a 
 man's sentiments be. respecting future punishment ; whether he believe 
 that all men will be saved, or that the WMcked will be ' punished with ever- 
 lasting-destruction.' What sentmients, then, respecting things of a relig- 
 ious nature, and of the future world, are not merely ' speculative ?" What 
 gentiuienis are to be considered, as of any practical importance or influence ? 
 The different seniiments, respectmg human depraviiy. regenerition, and 
 the nature of true holiness, the Divinity of the Redeemer, atonement and 
 justification, and the divine purposes, are often represented, as merely 
 ' .<t/7fc?^/fl//i'e .*/^;;//«w^?/<t ' and ' .AIET.1PH YSICAL SiiBTiLTi KS.' But this is the 
 first time, we have heard the diflerent seiUiments, respecting future punish- 
 ment, represented in this manner. If the different senluuenls, respecting all 
 these subjects, be merely 'speculative;' are not the diflerent sentiments, 
 respeclinif the divinity and truth of the Scriptures, also, merely ' specula- 
 tive?' If it be of no practical importance, or influence, what our sentiments 
 be, respectino- any of the great subjects or doctrines of revelation ; of what 
 practical importance can it be, whether we believe in revelation, or not ? 
 Of what mighty im|)ortance can it l)e, merely to believe, that there is such a 
 thing as revelaiion ; when it is of no importance what we believe concern- 
 ing the great points, on which it treats ? — Does not this muthni ' catJiulicism^^ 
 this boasted ' lihcrolity of seiitimeyit,'' ^o \)0\)\\\PiT in the present age, lead di- 
 rectly to DEISM ? — N'ly. is it 7iot itsel/THK very essence of infidelity ?— - 
 No wonder, then, that Deists and professed Chtistians, of these liberal senti- 
 vietits, can meet to^ellier. on harmonious ground, and unite in their opposi- 
 tion to experimeuial religion, and the truth as it is in Jesus I'' 
 
310 MEMOIR OF 
 
 easy to achieve a triumph. Some were there, who 
 cared not to be there again. The issue of the encoun- 
 ter of " Ario-Arminianism," Universalism, and Deism, 
 with " the faith once delivered to the saints," as thus 
 far visible, — inspired the persecuted church and ag- 
 grieved pastor with new confidence in the power of 
 truth and the " armor of God," to enable them " to 
 withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to 
 STAND." The pastor was never in his life more firm 
 and unmoved. He was cheered by the best sympa- 
 thies and the unceasing prayers of his devoted friends. 
 His true and faithful brethren in the ministry, far and 
 near, regarded him as an example and a spectacle, of 
 which they could speak to one another, in no measur- 
 ed terms of cordial and grateful admiration. 
 
 Foiled in their purposes against the pastor of the 
 church, and mortified that the Result of the ex parte 
 council so palpably "profited nothing," the excommu- 
 nicated and their coadjutors resolved to try the virtue 
 of another expedient. As members of the " Fitchburg 
 Universal Christian Society," the leaders among them 
 could claim a right by vote of the town, to use the 
 meeting-house, a certain number of Sabbaths in a 
 year,^ — a vote which hitherto had been " a dead letter." 
 Oct. 20th, they " unanimously rejected the proposi- 
 tions made by a number of persons from the Rev. 
 Samuel Worcester's Society [church ?], and offered the 
 Rev. Samuel Worcester's Society the following reso- 
 lutions, viz. Taking into consideration the unhappy 
 situation of the town, and sincerely wishing, that a 
 union may be brought about, we say, 1st. That un- 
 less you agree that the contract between the Rev. 
 Samuel Worcester and the town shall be dissolved ; 
 after three Sabbaths next ensuing, we shall positively 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 311 
 
 assert our rit^ht in the meeting-house, and use it in 
 future a<i:reeable to the vote of the town. 
 
 2d. If you comj^ly with the above, you may be as- 
 sured that our compact will be dissolved, and that we 
 will meet you on equal ground, in candidatiiig for 
 another Congregational minister. 
 
 Voted, to choose a committee, to present the above 
 to the Rev. Samuel Worcester's Society, and to re- 
 ceive proposals, if there be any offered." 
 
 A copy of this vote, with the record of other pro- 
 ceedings of the meeting, was sent by the clerk, " to the 
 Rev. Samuel Worcester, to be communicated." The 
 notice which it received, will need no explanation or 
 comment. 
 
 " Fitchburg', Oct. 26, 1801. 
 Gentlemen, — 
 
 The enclosed document, purporting to come from a 
 Society of Universalists in Fitchburg, through the 
 medium of their clerk, was forwarded to me under a 
 sealed cover. It was directed to me, as you will per- 
 ceive, ' to be communicated ;' and, if I understand it, 
 was desired to be communicated to the ' Societij^^ of 
 which I am the minister or public teacher. If I com- 
 ply with the request, therefore, I must communicate it 
 to the toivn of FitcJiburg ; excepting those, however, 
 who are in a regular and legal way, exempted from 
 ministerial taxes. Accordingly, though I know not 
 why it should have been committed to my hands, yet 
 being willing to oblige, I beg leave to transmit it to 
 you, as the proper medium, through which it should 
 be ' communicated ' to the town, — or ' Society,' of 
 which I am the minister ; and you will be pleased to 
 take such measures for its ultimate communication, 
 as your wisdom shall dictate. 
 
 You will observe, that the Society from wliich this 
 document purports to come, express a determination 
 to ' assert their right in the meeting-house ;' unless a 
 
312 MEMOIR OF 
 
 certain condition be complied with, on the part of the 
 town. What their right in the meeting-house is, I 
 shall not undertake to say ; I have understood, indeed, 
 that by virtue of a vote of the town, some who have 
 assumed the name of the Fitchburg Universal Chris- 
 tian Society claim a right to the exclusive use of the 
 meeting-house, for a certain proportion of the Sab- 
 baths of every year. If this be the case, and the 
 meeting-house be appropriated accordingly, I shall 
 confide in the honor and good faith of the town, that 
 they will either notify me in a regular manner, that I 
 am discharged from ministerial services, or else pro- 
 vide some other proper and convenient place for wor- 
 ship, during the time that the meeting-house shall be 
 occupied by Universalists, or Separatists, of any other 
 denomination. As to a dissolution of the contract 
 between me and the town, mention of which is made 
 in the enclosed communication, I need not inform you, 
 that, several months ago, the tDwn signified to me 
 their wish, that the contract might be dissolved. I 
 was also myself, notwithstanding any thing which has 
 been said to the contrary, sincerely desirous for the 
 same. The matter was, however, according to con- 
 tract, and mutual agreement, referred to a Council. 
 But the Council did not advise to a dissolution, but 
 to my continuance in my present ministerial relation. 
 This result, though difierent from previous expecta- 
 tion, was, however, formally accepted, by all parties 
 properly concerned. Hence, so far as I am informed, 
 the last act of the town, relative to my dismission, was 
 an expression of their minds, that it was not best, that 
 a dismission should take place, but that I should still 
 continue as their minister, according to contract. If 
 the town have since altered their minds, and do not 
 wish me to continue, they will regularly notify me ac- 
 cordingly. For myself, I hold myself, with all sub- 
 mission, entirely at disposal ; ready to serve the town 
 still longer, or to take a dismission in a regular way, 
 as shall be thought most expedient, by those whose 
 proper business it is to act upon the question. It may 
 not be unsuitable, however, for me to express it, as 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 313 
 
 my serious opinion, that excludini^^ me from the meet- 
 ing-house, for any part of the time, or any other irreg- 
 ular proceeding, will have no tendency to restore union 
 and peace to the town, either by dismission or other- 
 wise. 
 
 With sincere assurances, that no one wishes for the 
 good of this town, more ardently than myself, and 
 that I am ready to make almost any personal sacri- 
 fices for this object, 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, with great respect, 
 
 your obedient, humble servant, 
 
 Samuel Worcester. 
 
 TJie Gentlemen Selectmen of the Town of Fitchhurg: 
 to he communicated^ if they shall think it proper P 
 
 Such a reference of their communication, the mem- 
 bers of the " Universal Christian Society " had hardly 
 expected. It was one of the incidents of the contro- 
 versy, which occasioned more smiles than tears. And 
 justice requires the suggestion, that the opposers of 
 Dr. Worcester evidently felt themselves to be con- 
 tending " at fearful odds ;" and not uncharitably, it 
 might have been said of them, as perhaps it was, that, 
 " like the heath in the desert," they " shall not see 
 when good cometh."* 
 
 It may well be supposed, that the father and broth- 
 ers of Dr. Worcester would be deeply interested in the 
 affairs of Fitchburg. They were " swift to hear " and 
 not " slow to speak." 
 
 * So often were they ensnared by their own devices, that, as Dr. W, re- 
 marked to one of his theological students, some years afierwards, — "they 
 were afraid to accept of the plainest proposition ; imagining," as he pleas- 
 antly added, " that their minister was near about a witch.^^ 
 
 27 
 
314 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Mr. Jesse Worcester. 
 
 ' " Fitchburg, Nov. 21, 1801, 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 The present prospect is, that peace will be settled 
 between France and England, before it will be in this 
 town. Another meeting has been holden this week, 
 at which votes were passed relative to my dismission, 
 similar to those which were passed last April, There 
 appears, however, to be a little more moderation of 
 temper, and regularity of proceeding. People appear 
 to be convinced, that as I came in by order, I must go 
 out by order. At my recommendation, a committee 
 has been appointed, selected from the different parties, 
 to confer together upon the existing state of things, 
 and to attempt some terms of agreement. What will 
 be the issue of the business can hardly be conjectured. 
 We must leave it with Him, who orders all things 
 wisely. * * * 
 
 I have been for about a fortnight very deeply en- 
 gaged, in preparing a statement of facts and docu- 
 ments, respecting our ecclesiastical affairs, together 
 with some strictures on the result of the ex parte 
 council. The whole will make a book of eighty or 
 ninety pages. The manuscript is nearly completed. 
 If we publish, it will make a smoke, and perhaps, some 
 fire. But, let it burn ; there are proper combustibles m 
 sufficient quantity. 
 
 Frequent visits from you would be very comforta- 
 ble for me, in these ' troublous times.' Our affec- 
 tionate regards to our dear sister and love to your 
 children. I have written so much of late, that I am 
 attended with a considerable weakness at my stomach. 
 Owing to that, and to the want of time, I am unable 
 to wi'ite to my father, who will be pleased to excuse 
 me, and accept our most dutiful respects. Let us aJl, 
 my brother, be prepared to meet the events and scenes 
 which await us. 
 
 Your very affectionate brother, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 315 
 
 Of the proceedings of the town, in November, the 
 public were informed by "the book" of "facts and 
 documents," a few months afterwards. It had become 
 necessary to correct many false and calumnious re- 
 ports ; while a higher motive w^as that of imperative 
 duty, in " the cause" which "is not of a private or 
 local, but of a public and general nature," and " in the 
 issue of which ail the real friends of the Gospel" were 
 " deeply concerned." 
 
 " In addition to the vote for dividing]: the meetinor- 
 house," said Dr. Worcester, in his statement to the 
 public, — " it was voted, that all who would give in 
 their names to the Town Clerk, as having separated 
 themselves from me, and joined any other society or 
 denomination, should be exempted from ministerial 
 taxes. It is worthy, perhaps, of particular remark, 
 that in these^ and all the subsequent votes respecting- my 
 dismission^ people^ loho had never been considered as 
 belonging to my society^ who had never attended upon 
 my ministry^ nor paid to my support^ were alloived to 
 vote* 
 
 It appears to have been the expectation, that these 
 measures, would have induced me, immediately and 
 without formality, to quit this place. These, it is 
 supposed, are the measures, to which the venerable 
 council of the 22d of June allude, when they say, 
 " The council cannot give any countenance to those 
 irregular and equivocal measures^ which appear to 
 have been adopted to strip the church of its privileges, 
 and to take from them a pastor apparently so dear to 
 them." Those who withdrew were either Universal- 
 
 * " It is well understood, that, v.^lioever may be the minister in this place, 
 the people in the westerly part of the town are determined to bear no part 
 in his support. And, though they have acted in confederacy with those, 
 who have been pushing for my removal, in the other parts of the town, and 
 by their numbers have given a superiority to the opposition, they have had 
 their separate ends to accomplish." They asked for the use of the meeting- 
 house, a part of the time, " with a design to bring the town to terms." 
 
316 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ists, or they were not. If they were really Universal- 
 ists, and separated themselves upon principle, and for 
 conscience sake, it might be supposed improper for 
 them afterwards, to come forward, as they did, and act 
 in town meeting upon ministerial concerns. If they 
 were not Universalists, their conduct in joining a Uni- 
 versal Society, and solemnly obligating themselves to 
 support and promote it, might be thought difficult to 
 reconcile with a proper regard for good order In socie- 
 ty, and any well established religious principle. 
 • Although the measures now in vie\v, instead of an- 
 swering their expectations, proved a hindrance to the 
 accomplishment of the designs of the opposition, yet 
 the same, or similar, measures were afterwards re- 
 newed. 
 
 Some time after the vote for accepting the result of 
 the council ^^as obtained in the town, another town 
 meeting was called, at which a vote for dividing the 
 meeting-house, according to the former manner was 
 passed. But as that did not answer their purposes, 
 another meeting was called, on the 17th of November, 
 at which a committee of the town was appointed to 
 wait upon me, and with me to agree upon a council 
 in order for a dismission. It is particularly to be ob- 
 served, that it was the intention totally to exclude the 
 churchy in its proper capacity^ from any part in the 
 choice of the contemplated council ; and this intention 
 was expressed in town meeting, in the most pointed 
 manner. 
 
 In the interim, however, between the town meeting 
 and my conference with the town's committee, a 
 meeting of the church was holden, at which a com- 
 mittee was appointed to be Avith me, and assist in the 
 conference. When we came together, we disagreed 
 very much in our construction of the following article 
 in the terms of my settlement. 
 
 * If it should so happen in the course of his (Mr. 
 Worcester's) ministry in Fitchburg, that diificulty 
 should arise on his part, which should prove a griev- 
 ance to tJiis chnrch and people, which may give, m their 
 opinion^ just occasion for complaint against him, pre- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 317 
 
 judicial to the peace and liappiness of this church and 
 people^ ihi'y shall have a rii^^ht to dismiss hirn from his 
 pastoral relation to this church and people^ with the ad- 
 vice of a mutual council.'' 
 
 The ditlerence arose respecting the meaning of the 
 phrase, '-church and peopled By the committee of the 
 church and myself, this phrase was understood to mean 
 the ' cluirch,' in its proper ecclesiastical capacitij^ and 
 the inhabitants of the town, in their civil capacity. 
 This is the sense in which I always understood the 
 terms of my settlement; and never, until the commence- 
 ment of the present unhappy contest, did I suppose, 
 that they either were, or could be, otherwise under- 
 stood. But the committee of the town insisted, that 
 the phrase in question should be understood to mean 
 only the inhabitants of the town, including the mem- 
 bers of the church, in the capacity of mere citizens. 
 This, it will be seen, was a difference of very material 
 consequence. 
 
 By the committee of the church and myself, it was 
 supposed, that the state of things, contemplated in the 
 terms of settlement, when a council should be called, 
 had not yet arrived. For nothing, on my part, had 
 taken place, which, by ' this church^ was considered as 
 * a grievance.^ But, although I did not consider my- 
 self bound by the terms of settlement, to consent to a 
 council, yet I was willing, and even desirous, that an- 
 other council should be called, provided the church 
 might be admitted to its right in the choice. But here 
 was the grand difficulty. The town's committee would 
 not recognize the right of the church, in its proper ca- 
 pacity, to any part in the business. This was, in my 
 view, a matter of no small consequence. I considered 
 my pastoral relation to this church as of a nature the 
 most solemn and sacred ; and did not hold myself at 
 liberty to come to an agreement with the town, to the 
 total and pointed exclusion of the church, and even in 
 opposition to it, for a council, in order for a dissolution 
 of that relation. I felt myself bound, indeed, firmly to 
 resist the proposition : And this more especially, as 
 there had been manifested, by the leaders in the oppo- 
 
 27* 
 
318 MEMOIR OP 
 
 sition, a determined spirit to break down the distinc- 
 tion between the church and the town, and to strip the 
 church totally of its privileges and rights. I could not 
 consent to the establishment of a precedent of a ten- 
 dency, in my view, so threatening to general religious 
 order ; but felt it incumbent on me, as a watchman on 
 the walls of Zion, to stand in the breach, and maintain 
 the rights and privileges of the church, to the last ex- 
 tremity. 
 
 After a great deal said on the subject, it was pro- 
 posed, and, as I thought, established, as a preliminary, 
 that one of the churches, of which the council might 
 consist, should be agreed upon between the committee 
 of the town, the committee of the church, and myself; 
 that one half of the rest should be mutually agreed 
 upon between the two committees ; and that the other 
 half should be left to my choice.* Upon this principle 
 an attempt was made for the choice of a council. The 
 odd church was agi*eed upon ; and hence, so far as de- 
 pended npon me, the business was settled. But the two 
 committees could not come to an agreement, respect- 
 ing their part of the council. The committee of the 
 church consented, indeed, to one church nominated ou 
 the part of the towu ; f but the town's committee would 
 not consent to any nominated on the part of the church. 
 Hence, w^e failed of having a council ; and the failure 
 was wholly to be charged, as 1 think, upon the com- 
 mittee of the town. J It will not be denied, that I 
 manifested a strong desire, and labored long and earn- 
 estly to bring about an agreement between the two 
 committees, and expressed great regret when I found 
 it was not likely to obtain. When all hope of an 
 
 * " Although it was supposed by the church and me, that the right of call- 
 ing a council resided properly in the church ; yet as circumstances were, we 
 thought there might be a propriety in giving the town a voice in the choice, 
 and we wished to proceed on the most conciliatory grounds." 
 
 t " It was proposed that the council shouldconsist of five churches; hence, 
 one church only was now wanting." 
 
 J " I have since, indeed, been informed by some of the town's committee, 
 that they had no intention to come to an agreeuient in a council, upon the 
 proposed principle, u-lnrli allowed the cliiirch, i7i its propf^r capacity, apart ni 
 the choice ; and that they proceeded as far as they did in the business, only 
 to make trial, as they expressed it, of llie condescension of the church." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 319 
 
 agrcomcMit wa,s extinc^nishod, with tlie consent of the 
 committee ©f the cluncli, I luunh'd to the town's com- 
 mittee a pjiper, of which the following is ii copy, pre- 
 sented to the town. 
 
 'In consequence of an apj^lication from the town of 
 Fitchburi2^, throni^li the medium of a conunittee, ap- 
 pointed to conf(M* with me relative to a council for my 
 dismission, I oiler the following proposals. 
 
 1. A council shall be called in the regular ecclesi- 
 astical maimer. If there can be such an understand- 
 ing between the town and the chnrch, as that the 
 choice of the council may be satisfactory to the town, 
 it will be a circumstance very agreeable to me. 
 
 2. To the council it shall be submitted, whether it 
 be expedient for a dismission to take place ; and if it 
 be, upon what terms, due regard being had to the con- 
 tract. 
 
 3. If any allegations are to be brought against me 
 before the council, they shall be fairly exhibited to me, 
 in writing, at least fourteen days prior to the session 
 of the council. It shall be particularly understood, 
 that I shrink not from the fullest investigation both of 
 my sentiments and conduct.' 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding all which had l^een said and 
 done, at the very meeting at which these proposals 
 were presented, the following vote was passed in the 
 town: — ' That this town have used their endeavors to 
 obtain a mutual council, agreeable to the true intent 
 of the contract entered into between them and the Rev. 
 Samuel Worcester, as expressed in the same contract, 
 and being unable to obtain the same, bi/ reason of his 
 declension or refusal, they now declare, that they con- 
 sider the contract for his support dissolved, and that 
 they have no right to, nor occasion for his services, as 
 a minister, teacher, or public instructor in this town, 
 and that they have a right to employ any other ))reach- 
 er, or public instructor, whenever the town shall think 
 it proper so to do.' 
 
 After the passing of this extraordinary vote, another 
 
320 MEMOIR OF 
 
 meeting was warned upon the spot, hut at least half an 
 hour posterior to the time appointed for it t^ be holden, 
 at which votes were passed for debarring me from the 
 meeting-house, and appointing a committee to supply 
 the desk with candidates. 
 
 These transactions of the town, are in my view, so 
 irregular and invalid, that I should have supposed it 
 most suitable to let them pass away in silence, were it 
 not that they appear to be seriously and zealously ad- 
 vocated, by people of some weight and influence. The 
 gentlemen of the late ex-parte council, in particular, 
 appear to be deeply interested in the support of these 
 measures. Whether they were previously consulted 
 respecting them, or not, it is a matter of notoriety, that, 
 since their adoption, some of these gentlemen have 
 taken a very decided and active part, with the promo- 
 ters of the measures, and have been warmly engaged 
 to assist them in procuring candidates. It is not with- 
 out the deepest regret, that I find myself obliged to 
 notice anything which has the appearance of irregular- 
 ity, in the conduct of gentlemen, whose characters I 
 have have been accustomed so highly to respect and 
 revere ; and the part which they have taken in this 
 business, I would gladly impute to erroneous or defec- 
 tive information, rather than to the influence of strong 
 prejudice, and a spirit of opposition to Calvinistic doc- 
 trine. However, by what they have done, they have 
 given to a contest, which might otherw^ise have been 
 merely local, and of no considerable interest to the 
 public, a very unexpected and unhappy extent. 
 
 It will be seen, that the grand point, at present in 
 dispute, between my opposers and me, is, ivhether a 
 church, in its proper ecclesiastical capacity, have a right 
 to a voice, in regard to the dismission of a minister. 
 It is upon the assumed principle, that a church has no 
 such right, that my opposers have proceeded in their 
 late transactions. Because I did not consent to join 
 with them, to the exclusion of the church, and in op- 
 position to it, in the choice of a council for my dismis- 
 sion, they have proceeded to pass a vote, which they 
 profess to consider, as amounting to a dismission. But 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 321 
 
 the principle here assumed is so repnc^nant to long es- 
 tablished usage, so hostile to all religions order, and so 
 incompatible with the nature and solemnity of the pas- 
 toral relation, that barely stating it may be sullicient 
 for its explosion. 
 
 If it be supposed, that, although as a general thing, 
 a town cannot, without council or church, dismiss a 
 regularly ordained minister ; yet the terms of my settle- 
 ment are such, that, in the present instance, they may ; 
 the supposition must be totally destitute of solid foun- 
 dation. The terms of my settlement, instead of war- 
 ranting such a procedure, are explicitly against it. I 
 was called and ordained to the pastoral charge of this 
 church and people, in the usual ecclesiastical manner. 
 In my call and ordination, the church was allowed the 
 exercise of its proper rights; and throughout the writ- 
 ten terms of my settlement, the church is explicitly re- 
 cognized. 
 
 Possibly it will be said, that the vote of the town 
 was not intended to dismiss me from my pastoral rela- 
 tion, but only to dissolve the civil contract. While 
 the business was in train, it was, indeed, the constant 
 declaration of my opposers. that they cared nothing 
 about the pastoral relation, and had nothing to do with 
 it; a dissolution of the civil contract was all they 
 wished to accomplish. It is, also, true, that the vote 
 of the town makes no mention of the pastoral relation^ 
 but only of ' the contract for my support.^ And, therefore, 
 were it even admitted, that the town has a right with- 
 out the voice of churcli or council, to dismiss me from 
 my pastoral office, the vote in question could hardly 
 be considered as effecting such a dimission. INIy op- 
 posers, however, do, at present, pretend to consider 
 me, as to all intents and purposes, dismissed by that 
 vote. And if I be not dismissed from my pastoral re- 
 lation, with what propriety can the gentlemen of the 
 ex-parte council so earnestly recommend it to candi- 
 dates to come into this place ? Those gentlemen either 
 consider me as regularly dismissed^ or they do not. If 
 they consider me as regularly dismissed, then they 
 must admit the new and absurd doctrine, that a town. 
 
322 MEMOIR OP 
 
 * 
 
 exclusively of the church, can dismiss a regularly or- 
 dained minister, from his sacred office. If they do not 
 consider me as regularly dismissed, I must leave it 
 with them to reconcile their conduct with ecclesiasti- 
 cal propriety and order. 
 
 In regard to ' the contract for my support,' it cannot, 
 as I conceive, be dissolved, by an?/ vote of the toivn, so 
 long as the pastoral relation continues ; for it is on the 
 basis of the pastoral relation, that the civil contract is ex- 
 plicitly grovmded. It is noticeable, that the above cited 
 article in my terms of settlement, about the meaning 
 of which there is a disagreement between my opposers 
 and me, and on the ground of which they pretend to 
 justify their late proceedings, makes provision for a 
 dismission from my pastoral relation, but none for a 
 dissolution of the contract for my support. But in re- 
 gard to this contract, the first and last articles in the 
 terms of my settlement are very explicit. The first 
 article is this, — ' That Mr. Worcester be settled upon 
 a salary only for his support, while he continues with 
 us in the work of the ministry, in a pastoral relation.^ 
 In the last article it is said, — ' In case Mr. Worcester 
 shall take his dismission, or be dismissed from his min- 
 isterial relation to the church and people of Fitchburg^ 
 THEN the civil contract shall be dissolved,'' i^c. 
 
 Now, without further comment, I submit to the 
 judgment of the candid and judicious, whether the pro- 
 ceedings of the town have been regular; whether the 
 vote particularly under consideration, ought to be con- 
 sidered as effecting, either a dismission from my pas- 
 toral office, or a dissolution of the contract for my sup- 
 port ; and, finally, whether gentlemen can be justified 
 in recommending candidates to this desk, and even 
 coming' themselves to lead the way into it. 
 
 Although it may be a given point, that I am not 
 regularly dismissed, and that the contract for my sup- 
 port is still in force ; there are people, I am sensible, 
 who will nevertheless blame me, for continuing in this 
 place ; and impute my continuance here, to obstinacy, 
 to a disposition for contention, or at least to impru- 
 dence. To this I feel deeply concerned to reply. Be 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 323 
 
 my character, in other respects what it may, those who 
 have known me best, in the difl'erent scenes of my life, 
 have never suspected me, I believe, of possessing a dis- 
 position for contention. Before I settled in the minis- 
 try, it was my fixed determination never to have a 
 ministerial contest with any people, if it could possi- 
 bly be avoided ; but to take a dismission, if they should 
 desire it, as soon, as consistently with duty and order, 
 it could be obtained. In that determination I have 
 since remained stedfast. There are not wanting those, 
 who can bear me witness, that some time anterior to 
 anything done in this town, with a view to my removal, 
 as there was very considerable uneasiness manifested, 
 and the spirit of party contention^ which had for years 
 been unliappily prevalent in this place^ appeared to be con- 
 centrating its force against me ; I had it in serious con- 
 templation, to ask for a dismission, that I might avoid 
 the storm, so evidently gathering. But from this I 
 was earnestly dissuaded. To all my friends it is well 
 know^n, that from the moment the town manifested an 
 intention to remove me, I shrunk with horror from the 
 thought of maintaining a contest, and was resolved to 
 take a dismission, as soon as it could be regularly ob- 
 tained. This was so manifest to this church, and 
 made so strong an impression on their minds, that they 
 were ready to suspect me of not having a proper sense 
 of the solemn and endearing relation to them, which I 
 sustained, and in a measure to withdraw their confi- 
 dence, if not their affection, from me. To the council 
 of the 22d of June, I expressed in public, and more espe- 
 daily in a private audience^ my desire for a dismission, 
 in the strongest terms. And from the result of that 
 council it must be sufficiently evident, that they were 
 deeply sensible, that, in recommending my continuance 
 here, they made a sacrifice of my inclinations and per- 
 sonal interest, to the general, and infinitely higher, in- 
 terests of truth, religion, and order. 
 
 Ignorant, indeed, of circumstances, must that person 
 be, who can suppose that my situation in this place is 
 desirable ; or that I can have any inducements, of a 
 private or worldly nature, to continue here. I have 
 
324 MEMOIR OF 
 
 not, however, felt myself at liberty to sacrifice the es- 
 sential interests of religion and order, to personal ease, 
 interest, or popularity : and^ as I have had no opportu- 
 nity to leave this place, ivithout such a sacrifice, I have 
 felt myself bound to continue. At present I hold my- 
 self entirely at disposal. If, by any personal sacrifices 
 in my power to make, whether in going or staying, 
 union, order, and peace might be restored to this peo- 
 ple, on Christian principles, it would be a consumma- 
 tion of the most ardent wishes of my heart. 
 January 27, 1802." 
 
 The notes accompanying the Result of the Ex-parte 
 Council of Sept. 15, 1801, as here published, will in- 
 dicate the character of the " Strictures ; " but the 
 searching operation of the reviewer is but partially seen, 
 in such abridgments and fragments of the original. In 
 his " General Observations," he appears to great ad- 
 vantage. He begins with the remark : — " The whole 
 of what has been exhibited shows, we think, in a strong 
 light, the present lamentable state of the Congrega- 
 tional Churches, in this part of New England." This 
 
 remark he enforces, with great vigor and pungency. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " If there be churches and ministers, who, symbol- 
 ized completely with the world, and determined to 
 reduce all others to their own level, are ready, upon 
 every occasion, to combine influence and effort with 
 those who are without and with the disaffected within, 
 to suppress Gospel order and discipline ; what can a 
 single church do ? Do ? — It can stand. And if it hold 
 fast and be faithful, it will stand ; for God will hold it 
 up. But its struggle must be arduous and })ainful, in- 
 deed. An open enemy, upon his own ground, is but 
 little to be dreaded, in comparison with professed 
 friends and allies, within the lines, who in the hour of 
 battle will betray the cause, and join the hostile stand- 
 ard. And can it be, ought it to be dissembled, that, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 325 
 
 that ill the present state of thini^s, a church, wliich 
 wishes to maintain tlie ])nrity and order, the doctrine 
 and discipline of the Gospel, has inlinitely more to fear 
 from those, irho^ occordin^' to profession^ oiii^ht to be 
 more tlian conniion friends and allies, than from 
 the whole host of openly avowed inlidels, and all the 
 rest of the world combined. 
 
 2. The nature and tendency of that charity, Cathol- 
 icism, or liberality of sentiment, at the present so pop- 
 ular, are here made manifest. 
 
 The ancient story of Falsehood having stolen the 
 attire of Truth, is more than a mere fable. It has ever 
 been the artifice of error and corru))tion to palm them- 
 selves upon the too easily deceived world, under the 
 cover of names of fair and flattering import. What 
 more captivating names than charity, Catliolicism, lib- 
 erality ? How^ melodious their accent to every ear ? 
 These are the favorite names of the day — the present 
 boast of the world. Calvinists and Hopkinsians aside, 
 the rest of the world, if credit be due to common fame, 
 are all united in the bonds of sweetest charitv. But 
 what is this popular thing called charity ? Shall we 
 be charged with profanation, if we venture to lift the 
 veil, and show it, naked, in its true form ? 
 
 ' It is no matter what any one believes, or what he 
 does not believe ; if his religious opinions be such as 
 to satisfy himself, others ought to be satisfied. If, 'as 
 a member of civil society, his character appear to be 
 fair,' that is sufficient ; and he ought to be acknowl- 
 edged and embraced, as a good man and a Christian, 
 without further inquiry. This is the prevailing senti- 
 ment. This the popular charity. Any one who ad- 
 mits this, is a charitable and liberal man ; any one 
 who does not, is an uncharitable, illiberal bigot. But 
 is this indeed — charity? Is this the lovely thing de- 
 scribed by the pen of an apostle, as the most ' excel- 
 lent' of the Christian graces ? Is it ' the peculiar char- 
 acteristic of the disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus,' 
 is it the perfection of Christianity, to regard all reli- 
 gious sentiments, or doctrines, with indiilerency, or 
 equal com])lacency ? If so, then the less we esteem 
 28 
 
326 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the Gospel, the less attachment we have to it, the bet- 
 ter Christians we are. To esteem any other doctrine 
 as good as the true doctrines of the Gospel ; or, in 
 other words, to feel totally indifferent, respecting Chris- 
 tianity, is the consummation of the Christian charac- 
 ter! How much to be regi'ctted it is, that the primi- 
 tive confessors and martyrs did not better understand 
 the genius of Christianity ! What a pity that they 
 were so illiberal and uncharitable, as to think no other 
 way as good as their own ; so bigoted as to seal the 
 doctrines, in which ///^'^ believed, with their blood? 
 How emphatically just, though in a sense, different, 
 perhaps, from what has generally been conceived, are 
 the words of St. Paul ? — ' Tliovg'h I give my body to be 
 
 burned^ and have not charity^ it profiteth me fiothing-J * 
 
 ****** 
 
 Is it not deeply to be lamented that this absurd and 
 wicked thing, this first-born of infidelity and scepti-* 
 cism, should be allowed to bear off the name, and to 
 occupy the place of the first of Christian graces ? 
 Among all the pernicious sentiments now prevailing 
 in the world, is there one more preposterous in its na- 
 ture, or more mischievous in its tendency, than the 
 sentiment under consideration ? " 
 
 On the subject of the " communion of the churches," 
 after a summary view of "the primitive churches of 
 New England," as having both their "platform of doc- 
 trine " and " their platform of discipline," and a " gen- 
 eral agreement in doctrine, as well as discipline," for 
 
 * " It is a very common ihing- for people who, for certain reasons, choose 
 to be ihonghl friendly to Ccilvinif^m. to rai.-e aloud and bitter cry asainst 
 Ilop/iijisiaj/s and HopkijisiayiisTii ; when in trulli, \\.\^ tlie fuiidamejital doc- 
 trines of the Calvinistic scheme again^t which their enmity and their clamor 
 is directed. This is, in some instances, the ynhtake, in others, the artifice of 
 the age The genuine doctrines of the Calvinian system are called by the 
 fnghiful name o{' Ilupki^isiavism, and llio>e who hold to tlie>e doctrnies. are 
 called Hopkivsiaiis ; while those who are totally oppost-d to the verv linida- 
 rnentalt of Calvinism, as>nme and btar off tiie more popular name of Calvin- 
 ists. They call themselves, indeed, wo^/^-rtfie or w<o</e/?t C(ih'/ii/xt.s, But. as 
 people should not be deceived by names, would Ihev not do well <arcfully to 
 consider, whether many, if not the most, ot" those, who novvassunie the name 
 of nivderatc^ or modern CafvDiists, he not, in reality, /l/;«/?tia7is, — or rather 
 Arians, or Socinians^ or even Umversalisls, m disguise ?" 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 327 
 
 "the basis on wbicli Ihclr communion was established," 
 it is adirmed to be " worthy of serious consideration, 
 whether the present nominal feUowship of these 
 churches, be not upon a footing totally unscriptural 
 and indefensible I" 
 
 " If churches be at total disagreement with respect 
 both to ecclesiastical order and discipline, and to the 
 very fundamentals of Christian doctrine, is there any 
 proper foundation for communion ? And is there not 
 such a disagreement, actually existing among Congre- 
 gational churches ? 
 
 That the churches are widely diverse, in regard both 
 to doctrine and discipline, is a fact no less notorious, 
 than melancholy. It is equally notorious, that the 
 grand line of distinction is between those churches, 
 which hold to the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, 
 as understood by Calvinists, and those which deny 
 them : Or, in other words, between churches funda- 
 mentally Calvinistlc, and those upon the Ario-Armin- 
 ian, or Socinian scheme. On each side of this line, 
 there may be, and doubtless are, different shades of 
 opinion, respecting points of less consequence, but not 
 of a fundamental nature. But are not Calvinism, and 
 Ario-Arminianism essentially diverse? 
 
 According to the Calvinian scheme, the doctrine of 
 the total moral depravity of human nature, and of re- 
 generation, by the sovereign agency of the Holy Spirit, 
 the doctrine of the real Deity of the Redeemer, and of 
 justification on the ground^ exclusively^ of his atonement 
 and righteousness^ and the doctrine of personal election 
 to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and 
 belief of the truth, lie in the very foundation of the 
 gospel scheme. But by Ario-Arminians and Socin- 
 ians these Cardinal doctrines are all rejected. Through- 
 out the fundamentals of the gospel, almost, if not 
 totally, what we affirm, they deny. If, therefore, the 
 doctrines, holden by Calvinists, be the true gospel; are 
 not Arianism and Socinianism completely 'another 
 gospel V — And are not the churches, on these two dif- 
 
328 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ferent schemes, almost as diverse, in regard to discip- 
 line, as in regard to doctrine ? 
 
 Where, then, is there any proper or solid basis for 
 fellowship? ' What communion hath light with dark- 
 ness V If visible communion be, indeed, maintained, 
 between churches so totally div^erse ; can there be the 
 exercise of /r^/e Christian fe/loivship ? Is not Xh\s visible 
 communion a mere shadow ? And if so ; what sub- 
 stantial good can there be in it? Of what benefit 
 can it be to maintain the form of communion, where 
 there is no re alii// ? 
 
 That a strict and cordial union and communion 
 might obtain among the churches of Christ, is certainly 
 * a consummation most devoutly to be wished.' At 
 all times, and especially, in times of abounding in- 
 fidelity, like the present, it is of high importance, that 
 aU the friends of the gospel, waving their little differ- 
 ences, should draw together, into close and firm 
 phalanx, in defence and support of the common cause. 
 This was, unquestionably, one main design of the con- 
 sociation and communion of the Congregational 
 churches, originally established. It was intended that 
 these churches should mutually strengthen each other's 
 hands, unite their efforts in the cause of truth and 
 religion, and assist each other in the maintenance of 
 evang-elical order and discipline. But how are these 
 important purposes to be answered, by the professed 
 communion of Calvinistic, w^th Ario-Arminian and 
 Socinian churches? Do Arians and Socinians really 
 strengthen our hands against the adversaries of the 
 gospel ? Do they aid us in support of the cause of 
 evangelical truth and religion ; and in the maintenance 
 of ecclesiastical order and discipline ? Do they not 
 rather hang as a dead weight upon our efforts? 
 
 What can truth gain by an alliance with error? Is 
 it not manifest, that by such an alliance, the cause of 
 truth is always weakened, and the cause of error 
 strengthened ? In one word, is not the ])resent, indis- 
 criminate communion of these churches a snare and a 
 trap ? Does it not bind Calvinistic churches, hand and 
 foot, and give their adversaries the greatest possible 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 329 
 
 advnnln^o ac^ainRt Ihom ? WIkmi Mho adversaries of 
 Judah and l^ciijainiii came to Zenil)l)al)ul, and to the 
 chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build 
 until you^for we seek your God^ as ye do f was not the 
 answer mac:nanimons, and full of instruction, ' Ye have 
 not li it/a;' to do with ns to build an house unto our God; 
 hut we ourselves together ivill build unto the Lord God 
 of Israel r* 
 
 4. If such, as has been exiiibited, be the state of 
 things in the churches, is it not important, that some 
 attempt be made for a reformation? 
 
 Is it not of the highest consequence to the great in- 
 terests of Christ's kingdom, that gospel order and dis- 
 cipline be maintained in the churches? Are not the 
 churches ' a city set upon an hilt?^ Are they not de- 
 sign(Kl to be '•the light of the worlds — the salt of the 
 earth., — the ground and pillar of the truth. ?' How exten- 
 sively pernicious, then, must be the effects and conse- 
 quences of their general laxity and corruption ? If the 
 city upon the hill be corrupt ; what is to be expected, 
 but that unbounded corruption will spread all around 
 it? If the light of the Avorld become darkness ; ^ how 
 great must be that darkness ?' If the salt of the earth 
 lose its savor, 'wherewithal shall it be salted;' or 
 what shall preserve it from total putrescence and dis- 
 solution ? If the pillar and ground of the truth be 
 overborne and carried down in the torrent of error; 
 what shall withstand, or hold in check, the wi^le- 
 spreading inundation ? Is there any thing, in fine, 
 which bears so threatening an aspect, on the general 
 
 * " Ts it not worthy of serious consideration, that, in rearard \o communion, 
 Calvinistic churches do not stand on even jjround with Arian and Socinian 
 churches? As Arians and Socinians totally deny experimtiital rtdgion , and 
 professedly rejrard it as a mailer of iiiclili'erency what people's religious 
 opinions are ; they may, wilh great propriety, exteud their conimunion to 
 Calvini.stic churches, unless, indeed, the members of Calvinislic churches be 
 scand.i!ou<ly immoral. But as Calvinisls believe in experimental religion, 
 and professedly make the visibility of it a term of admission to their churches ; 
 with what propriety can they extend communion to such churches as totally 
 disown and discard it? If Calvinislic churches, in the admission of members, 
 go on llie principle of receiving such only as give evidence of being the sub- 
 jects of a gracious renovation ; with what consistency can they extend com- 
 munmu to churches, which not only do not profess to go on this principle, 
 but even dtiiy the necessity and reality uj'suck a change .'*" 
 
 28* 
 
830 MEMOIR OF 
 
 cause of Christianity, as the present siipineness, and 
 laxity of the churches ? Infidelity, indeed, is spreading 
 with awful rapidity, and errors of the most licentious 
 tendency, together with their consequent depravation 
 of morals, are extensively prevailing. Still, what should 
 we have to fear from the abounding of infidelity and 
 error, with all their hideous concomitants, did only the 
 churches hold fast the faithful word, maintain the order 
 and discipline of the gospel, display that evangelical 
 purity, which ought to characterize the visible body of 
 Christ, and stand together, as 'an army with banners,' 
 in defence and support of the common cause ? But if 
 the professed churches of Christ, instead of making a 
 firm stand, and maintaining their proper gi'ound, treach- 
 erously, or pusillanimously, desert the cause, meet and 
 shake hands with the enemy, and accommodate, in all 
 respects, to their wishes, what have we not to fear ? 
 
 But, even in this age of declension and corruption, 
 are there not some, are there not many churches, which 
 feel the importance of contending earnestly for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints, and of maintaining 
 the divinely prescribed order and discipline of Christ's 
 house? And, if there be such, is it not of high im- 
 portance, that they ' come ont^ and be separate^ and 
 touch 710 more the unclean thing V Is it not important, 
 that a general understanding should take place among 
 them, and that measures should be taken to consoli- 
 date their union, and to combine and animate their 
 Christian exertions ; that the whole body, being fitly 
 joined together and compacted, may increase unto the 
 edifying of itself in love, in faith and in gospel order ? 
 
 It is not our business, doubtless, neither do we feel 
 ourselves competent to prescribe what ought to be 
 done ; but that something ought to be done, we sensibly 
 feel. We have assurance, also, that in this sentiment 
 we are not alone. We, therefore, beg leave, with diffi- 
 dence to suggest, whether the existing state of things 
 does not require the convocation of a general synod of 
 Calvinistic churches, to consult and determine upon 
 such measures, as it may be suitable to recommend, 
 for their common support and sccmity, and for the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 331 
 
 promoti(Mi, gcncrnlly, of evangelical Inilli, order, and 
 diseipline." 
 
 Such was the state of the Calvinistic Clnirclies " in 
 this part of New England," at the beginning of the 
 present century, that great benefits might have resulted 
 from the " Convocation," which was thus suggested, 
 or recommended. But the main object was in a good 
 measure accomplished. The appeal of the church and 
 pastor of Fitchburg went out, far and wide, and, in 
 many places, must have caused "great searchings of 
 heart." And the day was hastened, by some years at 
 least, when the churches, which "the fathers " would 
 own, stood forth in their true position, and ^' churches ^^ 
 were ''^gathered out of churches,''^ to the glory of the 
 " Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave 
 himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
 iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
 zealous of good works." 
 
 Various, but ineflfectual means were used by the 
 church, to induce those of their brethren, who were 
 repeatedly " dissatisfied," to unite in calling a mutual 
 council, to be composed of members, who had not been 
 in either of the councils of June and September pre- 
 vious, and who should take cognizance of every matter 
 in dispute ; those who had been cut off, or otherwise 
 disciplined, being allowed a full representation of their 
 complaints, through "the dissatisfied brethren." These 
 were but very few. And they would not agree to any 
 proposals for a mutual council, unless the excommuni- 
 cants should have a voice in choosing the council, and 
 be recognized in their own persons, precisely, or vir- 
 tually, as if the church had not adjudicated upon their 
 cases. It was, moreover, insisted, " that Mr. Worces- 
 ter shall take a dismission from his church." To this 
 
332 MEMOIR OF 
 
 last condition, he himself had not the slightest objec- 
 tion, except that which arose from the wishes of his 
 friends. 
 
 Feb. 16, 1802, the Chm'ch voted to call a Council 
 for advice. The Council met, during the month fol- 
 lowing, and spent ten days in deliberation. — A most 
 thorough hearing was given to all persons, who had 
 any statements or accusations to make. Such pastors 
 as Emmons, of Franklin, Spring, of Newburyport, San- 
 ford, of Medway, and Payson, of Rindge, were mem- 
 bers of this Council. The Result, March 19th, entire- 
 ly vindicated the pastor and the church, against all 
 imputations and complaints, and with expressions of 
 the most affectionate sympathy, ratified their doings. 
 While they declined taking the responsibility of con- 
 curring in the proposal of the pastor to resign his 
 charge, they were in favor of a reference of all matters 
 in controversy to a mutual council, if by any means 
 such a council could be had ; it being understood, 
 that at the time of the session of such a council, the 
 pastoral relation would be dissolved.* 
 
 Another Ex parte Council, by request of " the dis- 
 satisfied," was in session at the same time. It was 
 the same in leading members and spirit, as that of the 
 previous September. And the Result, as in the for- 
 mer instance, was w^ell devised to "make the hearts of 
 the righteous sad," by " strengthening the hands of the 
 wicked." " We offer them," i. e. the excommunicated^ 
 " the privilege of christian communion with us, and 
 
 * Some amusing:, as well as painful incidents occurred. One of the most 
 influential c-itizens and an active opposer of the church, was questioned by 
 the Council, respecting his motives in signing the " Universalian Compact." 
 After disclaiming some motives, he said, that he "was for love and good- 
 will to all men." — " How happened it, then," inquired Rev. Mr. Sanford, 
 " that you should overlook Mr. Worcester?'" 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 333 
 
 recommoiid Ihciii to the fcUowrihip of sistor church- 
 
 es." 
 
 March 26th, the Church made another and very 
 special attempt, in terms the most kind and concilia- 
 tory, to eflect, if possibk), a settlement of all dillicul- 
 ties. A mutual council was again jiroposed, the dis- 
 satisfied brethreu choosing the same number of mem- 
 bers of it, as the Church, and both parties to unite 
 in choosing, or in referring the choice of "the odd 
 church," by which a majority might be made for a 
 Result. 
 
 After hearing the Report of their Committee of 
 conference with the dissatisfied, the Church voted, 
 April Slst, — "that there is no prospect of obtaining a 
 mutual council with our dissatisfied brethren, on 
 christian principles ; that we have conceded as far as 
 in duty we can do ; and have no farther proposals to 
 make in regard to a council." — " The dissatisfied," as 
 they were assured most kindly and truly, could avail 
 themselves of all the aid, which "the excommunicated" 
 might aflbrd them, in preparing business for the coun- 
 cil. But to acknowledge " the excommunicated," as 
 if members in regular standing, was impossible. 
 
 It was now, as the pastor conceived, better for him 
 and for the people, that, having thus far maintained 
 the cause of the Church, and the rights and interests 
 of the Congregational churches generally, he should 
 close his ministry among them, and bid them farewell. 
 But the Church, by a great majority, icould not con- 
 sent to paTt with a pastor, whom they so loved and 
 revered. A numerous portion of the congregation 
 also adhered to him, in a manner mutually honorable. 
 Hence he was, at times, in a most distressing and 
 harassing perplexity. But, in general, he was quietly 
 
.334 MEMOIR OF 
 
 waiting the clear and decisive indications of the will 
 of Providence. 
 
 Rev. Leonard Worcester. 
 
 " Fitchburg-, May 21, 1802. 
 My dear brother, — 
 
 I, this evening, received your very grateful favor of 
 the 24th ult., and as I received at the same time in- 
 formation, that my father expects to set out on a tour 
 to the northward next Monday morning, I cannot con- 
 tent myself without writing you a line, although at a 
 late and weary hour. * * * 
 
 As to the result of our late council, my father will 
 be able to give you full information. They left me 
 still in the ^ thorn hedg-e,'' and whether I shall ever be 
 extricated from it, until removed from this sublunary 
 scene, is at present very doubtful. A plan is in pro- 
 gress for the support of the Gospel here, without an 
 assessment on the town. It evidently strikes the op- 
 position with dismay, and perplexes their councils. 
 What will be the issue, I hardly dare to predict ; but 
 the hopes of my friends are high. — Is it owing, my 
 brother, to insensibility, to a stoical apathy, that I can 
 so easily reconcile myself to scenes and circumstances, 
 which I once thought I could never endure ? If it be 
 not; it it be owing to a temper, disciplined in the 
 school of Christ, O may I never lose this temper, nor 
 cease to give praise to Him who gave it I 
 
 I regret, that I have not on hand one of my books, in 
 full binding, to send you, but such as I can send, you 
 will be pleased to accept. I have this day been in- 
 formed, that Dr. Cumings is preparing an answer to it. 
 The answer I wish to see. Shall I be able to main- 
 tain a controversy with the Dr. ? The cause, I believe, 
 is good ; and standing on the ground I do, I have but 
 little dread even of Dr. Cumings.* 
 
 * There was a pamphlet published, but Dr. W. never deemed it worthy 
 of any reply. It is noticed in the Monthly Anthology, Dec. Ib04. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 335 
 
 Our most afTectionato regards to our doar sister, and 
 your lovely little eliildren. When at the throne of 
 mercy, you will not forget 
 
 Your very all'ectionate friend and brother, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 The " plan " suggested in the foregoing, gave occa- 
 sion for a formal offer by the pastor, to relinquish the 
 contract for his support; with a request that a Com- 
 mittee of the town should be appointed, to arrange 
 with him for a settlement of all arrearages. But the 
 offer was not accepted, because, undoubtedly, his op- 
 posers could not be pacified, so long as he should re- 
 tain a pastoral charge in the town. 
 
 Still another Ex parte Council, in opposition to the 
 Church and pastor, was convened the 24th of June. 
 In anticipation of proceedings to recognize " the ex- 
 communicated " and others, as a church, or rather as 
 the church of the town,* a Committee was appointed 
 to present a remonsti'ance. During the session of the 
 Council, the Committee renewed the proposal of 
 March 26th. It was now accepted. A mutual coun- 
 cil was agreed upon, and the pastor was dismissed, 
 Sept. 8th. 
 
 Thus, notwithstanding the votes of the town, divid- 
 ing the house of worship between different societies, 
 with the reiterated threats of the " Universal Christian 
 Society," to take possession of his pulpit, for the num- 
 ber of Sabbaths allowed them ; and notwithstanding 
 
 * The probable course would have been, to recognize those as the church 
 of Fitchburg, however (aw in number, wiio would signify their adoption of 
 the covenant, which had been superceded by "the new form." It was 
 thus, sul)^itantially, that an extraordinary attempt was made, in 1S17, to 
 fabricate a church for the town of Princeton, — Drs. Bancroft and Thayer 
 taking the lead in the movement. See " Review of the Result of an Eccle- 
 siastical Council," &;c. Pan. and Miss. ]\lag., June 1S17. 
 
336 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the vote, explicitly declaring " the conti-act for his sup- 
 port dissolved " — with other measures, of a correspond- 
 ing character, — he retained his pulpit to the last, and 
 received his salary, according to the terras of his set- 
 tlement, until, in due order and form, and agreeably to 
 his own wishes, he ceased to be the pastor of the 
 church and the minister of the town of Fitchburg ! 
 
 A very large assembly, composed of friends and 
 foes of the Gospel and the preacher, from all parts of 
 Fitchburg and the neighboring towns, was convened, 
 to hear the Farewell, which was delivered, Aug. 29, 
 1802. Expectations were of course various, but they 
 were intense in all. It has been represented as an in- 
 describably solemn and sorrowful scene — especially in 
 the afternoon, — when the different classes of his hearers 
 were so directly and personally addressed. No faith- 
 ful minister of the Crucified could ever have an- 
 nounced for his text, with a more significant and af- 
 fectionate, godly sincerity, — those words, which he 
 cited from the farewell address of Paul, at Miletus : 
 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the 
 counsel of God. Acts xx. 27. 
 
 After explaining, in his best manner, — " what is in- 
 cluded in a full and faithful declaration of the Gospel," 
 he showed, that, " for the ministers of Christ to make " 
 such a " declaration," is " highly " and " infinitely im- 
 portant ; as it respects those, to ivhom they are sent — 
 as it respects the divine kingdom and glonj — and as it 
 respects themselves.''^ In the " Improvement," he re- 
 marked, 1. " The preaching of the Gospel ought to be 
 regarded by all, as a most solemn and important work. 
 * * * * 2. It is of very great importanqe for people 
 cordially to embrace the true doctrines of the Gospel. 
 
 « « * « 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 337 
 
 We cannot, ])orliaps, conceive a greater absurdity, 
 than to suppose that a man's religious oj)inions do not 
 affect his religious character; or that Ikj may be a 
 good Christian, and yet not believe in the doctrines of 
 Christ. A man's o))inions will always, in a greater or 
 less degree, inlluence his conduct, and shape his char- 
 acter ; and, if his religious opinions be fundamentally 
 erroneous, his religious character must be essentially 
 defective. If a man believe, thy-t he may place some 
 dependence, for acceptance with God and eternal life, 
 on his own merit or goodness, how can he have that 
 exclusive dependence on the merits of the Redeemer, 
 which the Gospel declares necessary to salvation ? 
 If a man disbelieve the depravity of the human heart, 
 and the necessity of regeneration, will he not suppose 
 an external reformation sufficient, and seek for nothing 
 further ? But if a real change of heart be necessary 
 to salvation, must it not be dangerous, must it not be 
 fatal, for a man to suppose his state to be good, and, 
 accordingly, place himself at ease, while the subject 
 only of an external reformation ? If a man believe 
 the Lord Jesus Christ to be only a mere creature, can 
 he repose that ultimate, unlimited trust in him, and 
 render him that homage and worship, which the Gos- 
 pel requires ? Is it, in a word, a matter of indiffer- 
 ence, whether we believe the Savior of the world to be 
 very God, or only a mere creature, and treat him ac- 
 cordingly ? 
 
 Some people believe, that, without evangelical re- 
 pentance, faith, and holiness of heart and life, we must 
 die without hope, and be miserable for eternity. 
 Others suppose, that, however irreligiously, or vicious- 
 ly, we may live in this world, we shall certainly be 
 happy in the world to come. Now, is it of no conse- 
 quence which of these opposite opinions we entertain? 
 Is our belief of the one, or the other, likely to have no 
 influence on our conduct or character ?"**** 
 
 3. It is infinitely important, that people choose for 
 
 themselves a minister, who will faithfully declare all 
 
 the counsel of God. 
 
 29 
 
338 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In illustrating this topic, " two or three general 
 characters for contemplation" were "presented," 
 w^hich were quite 3.s particular, as general; and which 
 may now be taken as veritable and life-like portraits 
 of the Congregational clergy of Massachusetts, at the 
 beginning of this 19th century. 
 
 " Catholicus has the charge of a people, in the pro- 
 fessed character of a christian minister. But Catholi- 
 cus has imbibed the liberal notions of the age. Re- 
 garding it as a matter of no consequence, what people 
 believe, he inculcates no doctrines as important; but 
 if he exhibit any doctrine, distinctly, he is careful to 
 leave an impression on the minds of his people, that, 
 if they believe it, it is ^vell, if not, as well. Those, 
 who contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to 
 the saints, he represents as rigid and bigoted. Con- 
 cealing, or disguising, his own religious sentiments, 
 if, indeed, he have any, he uses no endeavors to indoc- 
 trinate his people. His public discourses are mere 
 moral lectures, or popular harangues, in which the pe- 
 culiar doctrines of the Gospel are either winked out 
 of sight, or only brought into view to show, that they 
 are either false, controvertible, or of no importance. 
 Such is the ministerial character of Catholicus. He 
 is a popular man, and the world loves and caresses 
 him. 
 
 Cephas is, also, a minister of the Gospel ; but of a 
 character somewhat different from Catholicus. Be- 
 lieving truth to be important, he views with concern 
 the prevalence of errors, subversive of the Gospel, and 
 ruinous to the eternal interests of mankind. But, 
 knowing the pure doctrines of Christ to be unpopular, 
 and the faithful preaching of them, likely to incur 
 odium and reproach, he excuses himself from the un- 
 grateful task. If he preach particular doctrines, it is 
 in a manner, so general and undistinguisliing, that 
 his people shall not clearly understand what he means ; 
 and some, which are more peculiarly offensive and un- 
 popular, he keeps totally out of sight. Thus, aiming 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 339 
 
 to ploasc mon, and droading IIk; frowns and contume- 
 ly of the world, he makes but a partial, and disguised, 
 declaration of the counsel of CJod. Doctrines, in his 
 view, of everlasting importance, he dares not distinctly 
 to inculcate; and errors, of a tend(Micy the most ruin- 
 ous, he dares not opiMily and decidedly to impugn. 
 
 Eusebius is a minister of a still dillerent character. 
 He has a serious and settled belief in the doctrines of 
 the Gospel; and views them of the highest importance 
 to the everlasting interests of mankind. Though he 
 knows them to be unpopular, and crossing to the feel- 
 ings of the depraved heart, he cannot forbear to preach 
 them. His ardent zeal for the cause of his divine 
 INIaster, and his aftectionate concern for his dear peo- 
 ple, whose eternal interests are di'pending, raise him 
 above the dread of popular opprobrium. He stands 
 forth, courageously, in the cause of truth. He incul- 
 cates the doctrines and precepts of the Gospel, in a 
 clear and distinguishing manner; and labors, with all 
 his ability, to impress, on the minds of his people, a 
 conviction of their infinite and everlasting importance. 
 In a word, he shuns not to declare all the counsel of 
 God. Bearing his public testimony against prevalent 
 errors, in his view, pernicious, he faithfully preaches 
 w'hat he believes to be the truth, and, in the most 
 solemn and affectionate manner, warns his people of 
 the danger of rejecting it. 
 
 These several characters are exhibited, my hearers, 
 for your serious contemplation. Judge, for yourselves, 
 which of them approaches nearest the apostolic model. 
 Which of them resembles most the character of Paul? 
 Should you choose, for j^our minister, such a charac- 
 ter as Catholicus, would you not be guilty of trifling 
 with a most sacred institution ; and of entailing, upon 
 yourselves and your children, the most fatal ignorance 
 of the Gospel ? Were not the people of Israel, who 
 chose the false prophets, because they preached smooth 
 things, and discarded the prophets of the Lord, who 
 faithfully declared the truth, exceedingly unwise, and 
 exceedingly criminal ? And if people, under the Gos- 
 pel, conduct in a similar manner, must not their folly 
 
340 MEMOIR OF 
 
 be more conspiciioiis, and their criminality rise higher, 
 in proportion, as their light is greater ? 
 
 4. It is most unreasonable and criminal for people 
 to be offended, and to reject a minister, because he is 
 faithful, and does not shun to declare unto them all 
 the counsel of God. * * * * 5. Ministers, and their 
 people, will have a solemn meeting, at the bar of their 
 common Judge, in the last great day." 
 
 In the design and plan of the speaker, all that had 
 been said, and with overwhelming effect, was but pre- 
 liminary and preparatory to this, the concluding part 
 of the discourse. Standing, as if at the judgment-seat 
 of Christ, he calls upon all in the crowded congrega- 
 tion before him, to contemplate the contrast of the 
 revelations and the retributions of character, for " the 
 faithful," and for " the unfaithful minister." 
 
 * * * " If it will be terrible for an unfaithful minis- 
 ter, to meet, at the bar of God, his people, who, 
 through his unfaithfulness, are found on the left hand 
 of their Judge, and whose blood will be required at 
 his hands ; will it not also be terrible for people to 
 meet, in that solemn and decisive day, a faithful min- 
 ister, whom they have rejected; whose warnings they 
 have disregarded, whose counsels, reproofs, and affec- 
 tionate entreaties, they have contumeliously slighted ? 
 Their mouths will be completely stopped. The truth 
 was placed before them, but they would not receive it; 
 the warnings of God were faithfully delivered, but 
 they would not regard them : the terms of life were 
 clearly stated, but they would not embrace them. 
 Terrible, indeed, then, must be their doom. That will 
 come upon them which is spoken of in the prophets; 
 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish I 
 
 The subject, my brethren, which we have been, this 
 day, contemplating, must have a very pc^rtinent, a very 
 forcible, application, both to you and to me, on the 
 present solemn occasion. For the space of about five 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 341 
 
 yofirs, I liavo boon amoiii^ yon in the profosscd charac- 
 tor of a ininistor of Christ. Hut it a])j)oars to hv. the 
 will of Iliin, in whoso hands are all onr times, that I 
 sliould continue anionic yon no loniror. This is, jn-ob- 
 ably, the hist time, that I shall ever, as your pastor, 
 achlress you on the momentous concerns of your souls. 
 On this interesting occasion, if we be not totally des- 
 titute of' sensibility, onr hearts must be solemnly af- 
 fected, and onr minds must be occupied, w^ith the 
 most serious reflections. It behoves both you and me, 
 solemnly to review the period of my ministry here, 
 with reference to the present state of our souls, and 
 to eternity. How have I preached ? How have you 
 heard? Have I faithfully declared unto you the truth; 
 and have you cordially received it ? These are inter- 
 roc:atories of infinite moment. 
 
 For myself, I cannot attend to this subject, my hear- 
 ers, but with a trembling heart. I have been placed 
 here as a watchman, to watch for your souls, as one 
 who must give an account. Is the account, this day, 
 to be closed, and sealed up for the judgment ; then to 
 be opened in the presence of the assembled universe? 
 How solemn, how affecting, is the thought! Will the 
 blood of any of your souls, perishing, forever, through 
 my unfaithfulness, be required at my hands ? — I have 
 reason for deep humiliation before God, and before 
 you, my dear people, for my numerous short comings, 
 in the duties of the christian ministry among you. 
 I have reason to be humbled, that I have not been 
 more zealous, affectionate and faithful, in preaching 
 and conversation, warning every man, and teaching 
 every man ; more abundant in labors, in watchings, 
 in supplications; more exemplary, and more manifest- 
 ly concerned, and engaged, for the kingdom of the 
 Redeemer, and the salvation of your souls. Deeply 
 sensible of this, wherein I have done wrong, or failed 
 in duty, I sincerely ask forgiveness of you all. And 
 while I bend the knee to the Father of all mercies, im- 
 ploring his forgiveness, it "is my earnest prayer, that no 
 imprudencies, errors, or deficiencies of mine, may prove 
 eventually injurious to your eternal interests. 
 29* 
 
342 MEMOIR OF 
 
 But, on a serious and solemn review of my ministry, 
 sensible as I am of many and great deficiencies, I can- 
 not accuse myself of having knowingly concealed, or 
 disguised, the truth, or shunned to declare unto you 
 all the counsel of God. If not deceived, I have aimed 
 to be plain and faithful, in my discourses, both public 
 and private; not as many who corrupt the word of 
 God, but, by demonstration of the truth, commending 
 myself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 
 Are you not, my dear people, witnesses for me, that 
 this has appeared to be the case ? In the awful pre- 
 sence of the omniscient God, may I not make a solemn 
 appeal to your consciences, whether, with all my im- 
 perfections, it have not appeared to be my aim, faith- 
 fully to declare unto you the truth, and to keep back 
 nothing, which might be profitable unto you ? 
 
 During the term of my ministry among you, have 
 you not, my hearers, received many solemn and faithful 
 warning-^, and many earnest and affectionate calls ? 
 Have not the doctrines and precepts of the gospel been 
 clearly set before you; and their infinite importance, 
 as they respect your salvation, earnestly urged ? Have 
 you not, from time to time, been conducted to mount 
 Sinai, that, solemnly impressed, with a view of the 
 awful majesty of God, and the terrors of his law, you 
 might be awakened from your security, and impelled 
 earnestly to inquire, how you might escape from the 
 wrath to come ? And, thence conducted to Calvary, 
 have you not been presented ^vith a view of the Savior, 
 bleeding and dying for you ; that, beholding the love 
 of God, thus affectingly manifested, your hearts might 
 be melted into penitent tenderness, and turned to ac- 
 cept his tendered mercy? Assured, that now is the 
 accepted time, the day of salvation, have you not been 
 faithfully warned of the danger of delaying repentance, 
 and of the aggravated condemnation, which awaits 
 you, if, despising the terrors, and spurning the mercy, 
 of the Lord, you die in your sins ? — And how have you 
 improved? Have you cordially obeyed the truth? 
 Awakened by the terrors of the Lord, and moved and 
 melted by his love, have you dutifully heard his warn- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 843 
 
 ings, and ponitcntly received ilie messages of his 
 gi'ace ? 
 
 I am bound to give thanks to the God and Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, for the 
 reason we have to believe, tliat you have not all re- 
 ceived the grace of God iu vain. A. goodly number, 
 it is hoped, have been brought to repentance, and to 
 the acUnowledgment of the truth ; and others who 
 were before in Christ, quickened and advanced in the 
 Christian life. And with respect to such, my earnest 
 and atlectionate prayer to God is, that your love may 
 abound, yet more and more, in knowledge and in all 
 judgmenif ; that ye may approve things that are excel- 
 lent, that ye may be sincere, and without offence, till 
 the day of Christ ; being filled with the fruits of right- 
 eousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory 
 and praise of God : That if, after having preached to 
 others, I myself should not be a castaway, ye may be 
 my joy, and crown of rejoicing, in that day. 
 
 But, alas! my hearers, are there not many of you, 
 who have never yet obeyed the Gospel ; never received 
 the love of the truth ; never become the subjects of 
 evangelical re}:)entance, faith, and new obedience ? 
 How atfecting, how alarming, is your state I If you 
 continue in your present state, if you persist in. reject- 
 ing the counsel of God, must you not perish forever, 
 and your final condemnation be tremendously aggra- 
 vated ? If the preached Gospel do not prove a savor 
 of life unto life, will it not assuredly, prove a savor of 
 death unto death, to your souls ? What excuse will 
 you plead, when you come to the bar of God ? Can 
 you plead, that the truth has not been declared unto 
 you ; or that you have not been faithfully and atlec- 
 tionately warned ? Believe me, my dear fellow-candi- 
 dates for eternity, I am pained, I am distressed, for 
 you. After five years preaching to you, and watching 
 for your souls, must I, can I, leave you in a state of 
 unbelief, and instantly exposed to everlasting burn- 
 ings ! Must all the solemn truths, and warnings, 
 which, in the name of the Lord, I have delivered unto 
 you, serve only to augment your guilt and render more 
 
344 MEMOIR OF 
 
 terrible your final doom! Must I meet you in your 
 present dreadful state, before the judgment-seat of 
 Christ! O, will you not to-day, even now at the last, 
 hearken to entreaty, become obedient to the Gospel, 
 and live ? 
 
 Some of you, it is believed, have a friendly regard 
 for your minister, and are deeply afflicted in the pros- 
 pect of his removal. Your friendship affects him, and 
 has made an impression on his heart, which time shall 
 never erase. But to see you submit to the Gospel, 
 and, weeping, like Mary at the feet of Jesus, manifest 
 unfeigned repentance and love to God, would give 
 him infinitely higher satisfaction, than any testimoni- 
 als, however dear, of your friendly affection, personal- 
 ly, to him. Will you not, then, yield to this, his last, 
 his most earnest and most affectionate entreaty, and 
 now, without delay, repent and give your hearts to 
 God ? This, be assured, would more than make up 
 any supposed loss you may sustain by the removal of 
 your minister. It would make your salvation, your 
 eternal interests, secure. It would be an unfailing 
 source of consolation to you, amidst all the trials of 
 this chequered state, and fit you for a happy and joy- 
 ful meeting in the last great day. 
 
 Others of you, instead of being afflicted, are rejoiced, 
 no doubt, in the present immediate prospect. But, 
 suffer it to be asked, why do you rejoice ? Is it be- 
 cause your minister has not been faithful ? Or is it 
 because he has been more faithful, than you wished 
 him to be ? The question is to you, of infinite moment. 
 If it be because your minister has been unfaithful, has 
 handled the word of the Lord deceitfully, and daubed 
 with untempered mortar, your rejoicing, no doubt, is 
 on justifiable ground. But if it be, on the contrary, 
 because he has been enabled to be, in a measure, faith- 
 ful, declaring unto you the truth and the warnings of 
 God, and teaching you the difference between tlie clean 
 and the unclean, the precious and the vile, your pre- 
 sent exultation will be of short continuance, and your 
 joy will be turned into sorrow, in the latter end. Do 
 not suffer yourselves to be deceived with the vain im- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 345 
 
 agination, that, by the removal of yon minister you 
 will get rid of painful trntli. The world is full of 
 change, l)nt tnUh is eternal, and not one of God's words 
 shall ever fall to the groniid. If it be a trnth, that, 
 excejit a man be born again, he cannot enter the king- 
 dom of God, this, whether you have it preached to you 
 or not, will forever remain a truth ; and nnless you 
 become the subjects of this all-important change, you 
 will, forever, be excluded from God's kingdom and pre- 
 sence. If it be a truth, that, in the dispensations of 
 his grace, God is a sovereign, having mercy on whom 
 he will have mercy, and hardening whom he will, it 
 will always remain a truth ; and though you may not 
 hear it preached, unless you become cordially recon- 
 ciled to it, you never will obtain true hap})iness and 
 peace, as long as God shall reign. If it be a truth, that 
 all who die impenitent, will be punished with everlast- 
 ing destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and 
 from the glory of his power, this, also, will forever 
 remain a truth ; and whether you hear it preached or 
 not, whether you believe it not, except you repent, you 
 must soon lie down in sorrow, for eternity. You will, 
 therefore, gain nothing in the end, by the removal of a 
 minister, who preaches painful truth. If you imagine, 
 that, having gotten your minister out of the way, you 
 will then be able to crash the cause of truth and religion 
 in this place, you are still deceived. God will enable 
 his friends to maintain his cause. Wherefore, I beseech 
 you, let the advice of Gamaliel be acceptable unto 
 you : refrain from these men, and let them alone. For 
 if this counsel, or this work, be of men, it will come to 
 naught ; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, 
 lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Will 
 you not be entreated, at this interesting period, to 
 pause, and give yourselves time for serious reflection ? 
 Are you sure, that, in opposing this church, and strip- 
 ping them of their pastor, you are doing God service? 
 Have you not, rather, reason to tremble, lest you be 
 found guilty of cruelly grieving and o))])ressing his 
 people ? Has not God assured his peo]:)le, that he that 
 toucheth them, toucheth the apple of his eye ? And 
 
346 MEMOIR OF 
 
 will he not avenge his own elect, who cry day and 
 night unto him, though he bear long I O be warned, 
 I entreat you ; throw down your arms, and embrace 
 the truth. Become the penitent, meek, and humble 
 disciples of him who prayed upon the cross. Father 
 forgive them, for they know not what they do. You 
 have been a part of my ministerial charge; your wel- 
 fare is dear to me, your souls are precious ; and be- 
 lieve me, I have a feeling for you, an affectionate yearn- 
 ing of heart, for your salvation, Avhich words cannot 
 express. Wherever I may go, whatever may be my 
 lot in life, God forbid, that I should ever cease to bear 
 you on my heart, and to pray for you. 
 
 Dear Youth, 
 
 Since I have been in this place, I trust I have not 
 failed to impress your minds with a conviction, that I 
 have had a tender concern, particularly, for you. I 
 have frequently addressed you from this desk, and, 
 from time to time, in a less public manner, on the con- 
 cerns of your souls. And I have had the satisfaction 
 to observe, that, generally, you have listened to my ad- 
 dresses with a pleasing and promising degree of seri- 
 ous attention. But what, dear youth, has been your 
 improvement? Have you laid up instruction in your 
 hearts ? Have you dutifully hearkened to the Savior, 
 who died for you? Have you repented of you sins, 
 and given your hearts to God ? Have you believed 
 in Christ, and become the Lambs of his Hock ? Some 
 of you, I trust, have. And, O, may you never forget 
 the distinguishing kindness and mercy of God, who has 
 made you to know, and to rejoice in his salvation. 
 And may the great Shepherd of Israel gather you in 
 his arms, and carry you in his bosom, through all the 
 dangerous scenes of this tempting and hostile world, 
 safe to his heavenly mansions. But are not many of 
 you still in your sins ; still impenitent, and estranged 
 from God ? Unhappy youth, how long will you refuse 
 to hearken to Christ ? How long will you give your 
 hearts to vanity, and walk in the ways of death ? Is 
 it not time to repent, and return unto God ? Will you 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 34/ 
 
 hate inslrnction and despise reproof? O, do yon not 
 know what the end of tins must be ? After this day, 
 my yonnjT friends, you will, probably, Iiear nie preaeh to 
 you no more. Will you not, then, hearken to this last 
 address of your minister, who loves you, and has earn- 
 estl}' soui^ht your good ? Recall to mind, I entreat you, 
 the counsels, the warnings, and instructions, which 
 you have received, and ponder them seriously in your 
 hearts. Remember, that life is short and uncertain. 
 Though young, you may suddenly die. Delay not re- 
 ligion ; for a more convenient season than the present, 
 will never come. Forsake the vanities of youth ; shun 
 the errors and the vices of the world. Cease to hear 
 the instruction, which causeth to err from the ways of 
 wisdom; and if sinners entice you, consent not. Re- 
 member, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise ; 
 but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Dread, 
 worse than the pestilence, the company of those who 
 make a mock at religion. I leave you, dear youth, 
 surrounded with snares and dangers ; but I leave you 
 in the hand of God. Make him your friend, and you 
 will be safe, for time and for eternity.* 
 
 Beloved Brethren and Sisters of this Church, 
 
 The kingdom of our Lord, in this world, is, at pre- 
 sent, a kingdom of patience; and every day's experi- 
 ence is suited to teach us, that we must, through much 
 tribulation, enter into that rest, which remaineth for 
 those, who inherit the promises. You have had a long 
 and painful scene of trial and of conflict ; you have sus- 
 tained a great fight of affliction. But, beloved, count 
 it not strange concerning the fiery trial, wdiich is to try 
 you, as if some strange thing had happened unto you. 
 Have not your brethren, the faithful friends of the 
 cross, and disciples of our Lord, who have gone before 
 you, experienced similar trials ? Did not the blessed 
 com})any, who now surround the throne of God, 
 clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands, come 
 
 * In years afierwarcis, quite a number who came forward to profess their 
 faith in Christ, referred back to the ministry of Dr. Worcester, for iheir first 
 awakening. 
 
348 MEMOIR OP 
 
 out of gi'eat tribulation ? And will you, then, indulge 
 despondency, and let your hearts fail you ? Ought you 
 not, rather, to count it all joy, that you are found worthy 
 to sutfer for the name of Jesus ? The present, you doubt- 
 less consider, as a cloudy and dark day. But, let not 
 your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Jeho- 
 vah still reigns upon the holy hill of Zion. He will 
 make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remain- 
 der of wrath, he will restrain. Fear not, he says, for I 
 am with you; be not afraid, for I am your God. On- 
 ly trust in him, and he will deliver you, and comfort 
 your hearts. He, who could open to his ancient cho- 
 sen tribes, a way through the sea, has, sm-ely, power 
 to save, and to relieve his people, in the most dis- 
 tressing circumstances. His church is built upon a 
 rock, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against 
 it. 
 
 Extraordinary trials, my brethren, call for extraordi^ 
 nary faith, and Christian exertion. It is in scenes of dif- 
 ficulty, of danger, of severe conflict, that the Christian 
 character shines with the brightest lusti'e. You have, 
 now, an opportunity to display all the amiable and 
 heroic virtues of the soldiers of Christ. And will you 
 not improve it ? Will you give up the cause, for which 
 you have so long and so ardently struggled ? Is it not 
 the cause of truth, the cause of religion, the cause of 
 God ? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if 
 it be yet in vain? No, my brethren, you must never 
 be weary in well-doing, but must hold on, and hold 
 out, and endure unto the end. On you, chiefly, it de- 
 pends, whether the Gospel of Christ shall be supported 
 in this place. In your fidelity, therefore, and persever- 
 ing exertions, not only your own eternal interests, but 
 the eternal interests of your children, your friends, and 
 neighbors, and multitudes around you, are deeply con- 
 cerned. And will you, then, consider any exertions, 
 any sufferings, any sacrifices, too great ? Does proper- 
 ty ever appear so truly valuable, as when it may be 
 used in promoting the everlasting salvation of immor- 
 tal souls ? 
 
 Beware, my brethren, that you be not removed from 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 349 
 
 the foniidation of the Gospel. Cherish yonr present 
 est.iblishineiit, as, niukn' (lod, the sheet anchor of your 
 dearest ho))es, in this world, for yourselves, and your 
 ehihh'en. Carefidly maintain the order and discii)line 
 of Cln'ist's house. Achnonished by the perik)us scenes 
 throui^h which you have passed, be careful in your ex- 
 aminations, before you admit to the sacred privileges 
 of your body. See that ye fall not out by the way. 
 Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond 
 of peace. Put on, as the elect of God, holy and be- 
 loved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of 
 mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one an- 
 other, and forgiving one another. If it be possible, as 
 much as in you lies, live peaceably with all men. While 
 you contend earnestly for the faith, once delivered to 
 the saints, let nothing be done through strife and vain 
 glory. Maintain a constant sense of your dependence 
 on divine aid, and pray without ceasing. Take to 
 yourselves the whole armor of God, that ye may be 
 able to stand in the evil day. Be steadfast, immovea- 
 ble, always abounding in the work of the Lord. 
 
 Never, beloved, shall I forget your affectionate kind- 
 ness to me. May the Lord reward you seven fold. 
 Never shall I forget the solemn, happy days, when we 
 took sweet counsel together, and went to the house, 
 and to the table of the Lord, in company. May the 
 God of all grace comfort your hearts, in all your tribu- 
 lations ; and in due time favor you with a pastor, who 
 w^ll care for you, and feed you in green pastures, by 
 the side of still waters. But, by the blood of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by the wx)rth of immortal souls, 
 I conjure you never to consent to the settlement of a 
 minister over you, who, you have not good reason to 
 think, w^ill faithfully declare unto you all the counsel 
 of God. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, 
 and to the word of his grace, wdiich is able to build 
 you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them 
 that are sanctilied. 
 
 My fellow-travellers to eternity, with what rapidity 
 do days, and months, and years, roll off I How soon 
 shall we have done with this world, and all its fiuctu- 
 30 
 
350 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ating scenes! How soon shall we see the heavens on 
 fire, the elements melting with fervent heat, and the 
 Lord descending to judgment! How soon shall we 
 stand together, before his awful and enlightened tribu- 
 nal I Expecting to meet you there, and fervently pray- 
 ing, that, of his infinite mercy we may be found wor- 
 thy to stand, in that day, on his right hand, I bid you 
 all, my brethren and friends, an affectionate — Fare- 
 weU." 
 
 Such a " Farewell " was too much for those, whose 
 mode of religious sentiment and sectarian or party in- 
 terests had arrayed them as his enemies. They had 
 little realized, that they were his enemies, because "the 
 enemies of the cross of Christ." And whether or not 
 they now knew what they had been doing, they wept 
 freely with all the multitude ; so that a sti-anger would 
 have found it impossible to distinguish them from the 
 preacher's sincerest friends. — But those who were in- 
 deed his friends, and most of all because in "charity " 
 so pure, and with a life so irreproachable, he had been 
 " bold," as Paul, " to speak the Gospel of God," — wept 
 for themselves and their children, as if never to be com- 
 forted, when they took the parting hand of his manli- 
 ness, and received the benediction of that warm and 
 tender heart, upon which the memorials of their confi- 
 dence and love were " set as a seal," forever. 
 
 It was his heart, which, by the grace of God, made 
 him the man that he was. " I never kneiv a heart like 
 his, in all 7nu experience of men," is the living witness 
 of one, who, for the last eighteen years of his life, knew 
 him most intimately, as " a brother beloved " above all 
 his brethren, and who now, in his venerable age, can 
 never mention his name, but with an expression of un- 
 utterable esteem and reverence. 
 
 Some of Dr. Worcester's friends at Fitchburg, could 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 351 
 
 not summon fortitude enoun^h, to hear him preach, the 
 last time, as their pastor. And among those, who did 
 not agree wnth him in liis doctrinal views, and even 
 professed to have no faith in a revelation from God, 
 there were some w^ho had no sympathy with the move- 
 ment of his opposers, and did not hesitate to condemn a 
 course of proceedings, by which the town had been 
 deprived of the influence of a man, whose interest in 
 the education of the children and youth, was so pro- 
 motive of the intelligence, industry, enterprise, good 
 morals, and general respectability of the inhabitants. 
 
 It has been said, also, that some individuals who 
 took an active part in those proceedings, afterwards 
 deplored their conduct, with apparent penitence and 
 contrition ; as has not seldom been true of the adver- 
 saries and persecutors of Christ's ministers.* 
 
 The clerical opposers of Dr. Worcester persuaded 
 themselves, doubtless, that they were contending 
 against him and the church of Fitchburg, in defence 
 of Christian liberty^ and in rebuke of enthusiasm, big- 
 otry, and intolerance ! They were not the first, nor the 
 last, who have done the like. In 1752, Rev. Thomas 
 Gillespie, of Carnock, in Scotland, was deposed from 
 the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, by the General 
 Assembly, because he had " declined to act in a forced 
 settlement of a minister, over a congregation that had 
 not chosen him as their pastor." In a letter of cheer- 
 ing sympathy, the great Edwards remarks : — 
 
 " This proceeding gives reason to suspect, that the 
 
 * See " Life of Edwards," pp. 421 — 7, the remarkable confession of Jo- 
 seph Halley, Esq , who was one of the most distinguished men of Western 
 Massachusetts, and who headed the opposition of the Northampton Church 
 against Edwards, in his eflbrts to restore the usages of the church, which 
 had been supplanted '-by the lax method oi admission," accorduig to the 
 doclriue of Stoddard. 
 
352 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Church of Scotland, which was once so famous, is not 
 what it once was. It appears probable to me, at this 
 distance, that there is something else at the bottom, 
 besides a zeal to uphold the authority of the church. 
 Perhaps some of the clergy of the Church of Scotland 
 have their minds secretly infected with those lax prin- 
 ciples of the new divinity, and have imbibed the lib- 
 eral doctrines, as they are accounted, which are much 
 in vogue at the present day, and so contrary to the 
 strict, mysterious, spiritual, soul-humbling principles 
 of our forefathers. I have observed that these modern 
 fashionable opinions, however called noble and liberal, 
 are commonly attended, not only with a haughty con- 
 tempt, but an inward malignant bitterness of heart, 
 towards all the zealous professors and defenders of the 
 contrary principles, that do so nearly concern the vi- 
 tals of religion, and the power of experimental godli- 
 ness. This, be sure, has been the case in this land. I 
 have known many gentlemen, (especially in the min- 
 istry) tainted Avith these principles ; who, though none 
 seem to be such warm advocates as they, for liberty 
 and freedom of thought, or condemn a narrow and per- 
 secuting spirit so much as they ; yet, in the course of 
 things, have made it manifest that they themselves had 
 no small share of a persecuting spirit. They were, in- 
 deed, against anybody's restraining their liberties, and 
 pretending to control them in their thinking and pro- 
 fessing as they please ; and that is what they mean, 
 truly, when they plead for liberty. But they bear that 
 inward enmity of spirit towards those others mention- 
 ed, that, if they see an opportunity to persecute them 
 under some good cloak, and with some false pretext, 
 they will eagerly embrace it, and proceed with great 
 severity and vehemence. Thus far, if the truth were 
 known, it would appear, that some of your most stren- 
 uous persecutors hate you much more for something 
 else, than they do for your not obeying the orders of 
 the General Assembly. I do not pretend to know how 
 the case is. I only speak from what I have seen and 
 found, here in America, in cases somewhat similar. 
 However, it is beyond doubt, that this proceeding will 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 353 
 
 stand on the rocortls of future time, for the lasting re- 
 proach of your persecutors ; and your conduct, for 
 which you have sullered, will be to your lasting honor 
 in the Church of God." * 
 
 Somewhat more than two years earlier, July 5, 1750, 
 Edwards said, in a letter to Rev. Mr. Erskine, — " The 
 Scriptures often lead us to judge of true religion, and 
 the gracious sincerity of professors, by the genius, the 
 temper and spirit, of their religion : James iii. 17. 
 Eph. V. 9. Gal. v. 19-25. &c. &c. I have been greatly 
 grieved at a spirit of censoriousness ; hut yet I heartily 
 ivish, that some sorts of charily iv ere utterly abolishedJ^ 
 
 In the controversy between the church and town of 
 Fitchburg, Dr. Worcester did far more than lay " the 
 foundation of all that pre-eminence, to which he after- 
 wards attained on the subject of ecclesiastical gov- 
 ernment, and the order of the churches." His reputa- 
 tion for theological learning, sound discretion, contro- 
 versial power, and christian heroism, went forth " as 
 the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a 
 morning without clouds." 
 
 His manner in this controversy was the exponent of 
 his principles. He was too ingenuous and magnani- 
 mous, to have recourse to management; and "none of 
 his" was the misnamed prudence^ which so easily 
 lapses, on the one hand or the other, into duplicity 
 and evasion, and so frequently, through fear or favor, 
 
 ♦ Can it be doubted, that the Secession of the Free Church of Scotland, 
 which, almost a century later, ha» tilled the world with its renown, is to be 
 traced directly back, for someihing more than antecedence, to the noble tes- 
 timony of the martyr-like Thomas Gillespie? " When called to the bar, to 
 receive his sentence, he replied — ' Moderator, I receive this sentence of the 
 General Assembly, with reverence and awe. But I rejoice, that it is given 
 to me, on the behalf of Christ, act only to believe on his name, but to sufl'er 
 for his sake.' " 
 
 80* 
 
354 MEMOIR OF 
 
 seeks the refuges of non-committal. He made straight 
 paths for his feet, and walked right onward in his in- 
 tegrity. Incapable of denying a truth as of affirming 
 a. falsehood, he allowed himself in no concealment of 
 facts, and in no misstatements, whatever the oppor- 
 tunity or the temptation. But when compelled by ir- 
 resistible conviction of duty, to meet an antagonist, 
 he had the sagacity to perceive, with the strength to 
 take and to hold, every honest and honorable advan- 
 tage in his cause, his position^ and his resources. He 
 wrote with the unction of an earnest personal faith. 
 When plain and pungent, he was neither uncourteous 
 nor uncandid. If he was severe^ he did not " dip his 
 pen in gall." His severity was but the ardency of 
 his love of the truth, and the just expression of his 
 alarms for the consequences of error, to errorists them- 
 selves. 
 
 If he had chosen to remain at Fitchburg, he could 
 have baffled all the machinations of his opposers, so 
 far as these were aimed to effect his removal. His 
 health alone would have been a sufficient reason for a 
 change of his residence and sphere of labor. But he 
 felt assured, from other signs and leadings of Provi- 
 dence, to which he hourly looked, that his ]Master was 
 now directing him to some other part of the vineyard ; 
 and he could await the future, without solicitude, 
 "rejoicing in the Lord always." 
 
 An eminent clergyman, who had been familiar with 
 his arduous trials, testified of him, as he was about 
 retiring from the scene : " I never knew a young man, 
 that I believe could have managed such a controversy, 
 with so much ability and propriety, and with so little 
 of error." 
 
 " A few bold hearts joined with him," says one of 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 355 
 
 the ablest writers* of the present day, — after reviewing 
 the facts of this controversy; — " Dr. Morse, of Charles- 
 town, Dr. Spring, of Newburyport, and others, all gone 
 with him to the rewards of christian fidelity and hero- 
 ism ; and thongli the struggle was long, and fierce, 
 the victory was complete. < No Union with Error' 
 was the watch-word ; it was caught up and echoed 
 from pulpit to ])ulpit through New England, till the 
 separation was made, and the Gospel again had free 
 course and was glorified. That was the Great Crisis 
 in the history of the Congregational churches, beyond 
 any thing since they were planted on our shores; 
 Samuel Worcester was raised up for the exigency ; 
 he struck out the true measures ; he carried them for- 
 ward to successful and glorious issue; and revered as 
 he is, and should be, for his self-sacrificing life and 
 premature death, in the cause of Foreign Missions, 
 his true title should be, " The Liberator of the 
 CoxXGREgational Churches of Neav England." 
 
 Among the evangelical clergy, as w^ell as laity of the 
 passing generation, there are those, probably, who 
 have been but little aware of the services, which, here 
 at home and in the midst of the sepulchres of "the 
 fathers," the first Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. was 
 enabled to perform, for the purifying and " edifying of 
 the body of Christ." — Such maybe surprised, and may 
 somewhat demur, before they are prepared to respond 
 a hearty concurrence in the foregoing eulogium. Per- 
 haps, they may need a more enlightened acquaintance 
 with the history of our churches in New England. 
 And perhaps also they are themselves of the number — 
 the thousands and thousands of thousands — who, in 
 the results of the controversy, at Fitch burg, as in 
 
 * Rev. Henry Wood, Cong. Journal, Concord, N. II., April 30, 1S16. 
 
356 MEMOIR OF 
 
 those of the controversy at Northampton, will forever 
 
 " SING UNTO THE LoRD, AND GIVE THANKS AT THE RE- 
 MEMBRANCE OF HIS HOLINESS I" 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Invited to preach at Salem. The Tabernacle Church. Movements at 
 Rowley and Fitchburg. Embarrassed question of duly. First parental 
 alfliction. Listallaiioa at Salem. Mai^s. Miss. Magazine. Popular esti- 
 mation of his preaching and devotional services. Appointment at Dart- 
 mouth College. Revival. Death of his eldest daughter. Committee of 
 Advice, on the subject of Professorship. Regard for the Pulpit. Burn- 
 ing of Sermons. Solicitude for church members. Courses of Sermons 
 and Lectures. Occasional Sermons. Models of prayers. 
 
 In Judah is God known ; his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is 
 his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion. ... In all thy ways ac- 
 knowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 
 
 Previous to his dismission from Fitchbnrg, Dr. 
 Worcester had visited Salem, during the session of a 
 council, in the case of the Rev. Joshua Spaulding, — 
 that he might confer with members of the council, 
 relative to his own affairs. He there became very fa- 
 vorably known to a few influential members of the 
 Tabernacle Church, who secretly determined, that, if 
 he and their own pastor should be dismissed, they 
 would take prompt measures to obtain him for the 
 Tabernacle. 
 
 In July, a rumor came to Salem, that the pastor of 
 Fitchburg would soon be released. A messenger was 
 dispatched, not without a studied concealment of his 
 purpose, to forestall his services, as a candidate. Just 
 after the messenger entered the town, he met one of 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 357 
 
 the inlmbitcints, and, apparently, a man of standing. 
 He beti;an a conversation with liini, and intimated, 
 that he was desirous of finding a suitable minister for 
 the society \\i ill which he was connected. "Why," 
 said he, " I dont like the doctrine of Mr. Worcester. 
 But he is a man of talents, a good scholar, and a gen- 
 tleman. And if you like his doctrine^ you will like 
 him. You can't do any better, if you like his doctrine. 
 Bwi Idon'tr 
 
 The inquirer was no less in earnest to eflect his 
 purpose. Highly gratified with his visit, he returned 
 home without any pledges, yet not without hope, that 
 his next pastor would be the man, who, at Salem, in 
 a single conversation on the principles of church gov- 
 ernment, had completely won his confidence. 
 
 The founders of the Tabernacle Church were origi- 
 nally a part of the First Church in Salem, — the first 
 in the Massachusetts Colony. The pastor. Rev. John 
 Fisk, with a majority of the members, having been 
 cut off from the fellowship of sister churches, by a pro- 
 cess of discipline, admirably conducted according to 
 the Third Way of Communion^ a new society was con- 
 stituted, and a house of worship erected. Not sub- 
 mitting to any new organization as a church, or being, 
 formally recognized, they called themselves, and, for 
 twenty-seven years, claimed to be, the First Church in 
 Salem. Suitable confession was ere long made, and 
 the censure of the churches was regularly removed. 
 And as history must now be written, those, who had 
 been obliged to take a new ecclesiastical standing, 
 became, in the providence of God, a church to " con- 
 tend earnestly for the faith," when the original church 
 could no longer endure the "sound doctrine" of the 
 forefathers. 
 
358 MEMOIR OP 
 
 The dispute with Mr. Fisk, in which the minority 
 of tlie church justly succeeded, is not known to have 
 had any direct reference to his sentiments. His suc- 
 cessor, Rev. Dudley Leavitt, participated in the spirit 
 of the Great Awakening; and by many in the town 
 and neighborhood, at his settlement in 1745, was re- 
 proached as a " New Light." He exerted a very salu- 
 tary influence. Dr. Whitaker, a man of powerful tal- 
 ents, and an earnest advocate of Hopkinsian views, 
 followed Rev. J. Huntington, whose brief ministry after 
 that of Mr. Leavitt, had left a delightful impression of 
 his loveliness and fervent piety. In 1784, Dr. Whita- 
 ker was deposed. Mr. Spaulding succeeded him, and 
 the church rapidly recovered from a sad and melan- 
 choly depression.* And although there had been diffi- 
 culties, which had resulted in his dismission, such, on 
 the whole, was the prospect of usefulness for tlie right 
 kind of preacher and pastor, who should take his place, 
 that the members of the church could make a very 
 urgent appeal to the man of their choice. 
 
 There were, at this time, five Congregational 
 churches in Salem. Beside the Tabernacle, the South 
 Church only, which originated in a secession from it, 
 during the ministry of Dr. Whitaker, — could be called 
 Calvinistic. Of the pastors of the other churches, two 
 would be thought more nearly to resemble " Cephas,^^ 
 than " Eusebius ;" while the third had as much of 
 *' CathoIicuSy^ as had been claimed by any accredited 
 
 * The house of worship was burned down, in 1774. The present house is 
 the oldest in the city, having been dedicated in 1777. It was built upon the 
 model of VVhilefield's Tabernacle in London, and received its name in honor 
 of his memory. Whitefield preached for Dr. Whitaker, Sept. 5, 1770, — less 
 than four weeks before his death. 
 
 The church took the name of Third Church, in 1763, which, after 17S6, 
 gave place to the name of the house of worship. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 359 
 
 minister in the county of Essex, if not in the whole 
 country. — There was a small Episcopal Cliurch, and 
 as yet no other religious organization, except a Socie- 
 ty of Friends or Quakers. 
 
 Dr. Worcester was in no haste to be re-settled. lie 
 desired a part of the vineyard, in which he could spend 
 and be spent, as a quiet and diligent husbandman, 
 who could reap his harvests in peace, and not be 
 obliged to be in full armor, and incessantly watching, 
 as a soldier in an enemy's country. His heart yearned 
 for repose. — And w^ell aware, that the circumstances 
 of difficulty, w^hich occasioned the resignation of Mr. 
 Spaulding,* were in no respect similar to those by 
 w^hich he himself had been oppressed and affiicted, he 
 yet found it not very pleasant to think of connecting 
 himself with a church and society, w^hich had been so 
 seriously involved in a controversy wdtli their late 
 minister. 
 
 His friends at Fitchburg did every thing in their 
 power, to prevent his leaving them. They clung to 
 him, as if the separation would be like tearing, not a 
 limb, but the head from the body. And scarcely had 
 he been dismissed, before the church in Rowley ap- 
 prized him of their strong desires, that he would oc- 
 cupy their pulpit, at the earliest day ; while similar 
 expressions w^ere communicated from other places. 
 He was now entering new scenes, and those in which 
 his character w^as show^n in new forms of develope- 
 ment. 
 
 * It was simply a diflerence between the pastor and the church, on the 
 subject of church government. After a very happy union, for some tifieen 
 years, the pastor claimed the right to negative the voles of the brethren. 
 After his dismission, he became openly a Presbyterian. 
 
360 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Mrs. Zervia Worcester. 
 
 « Salem, Sept. 22, 1802. 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 By the kindness of Providence, my journey from 
 Hollis to this place was prosperous. * * * Arrived 
 at Mr. Barton's, about 11 o'clock ; found their little 
 daughter, a beautiful child, about two years old, very 
 sick of the scarlet fever; parents very anxious and 
 deeply afllicted ; could not but take part in their sor- 
 row, nor leave them without tender concern. May the 
 Father of mercies comfort them. — Rode from Tewks- 
 bury about two o'clock, and made no considerable 
 stop, until about seven in the evening, very much fa- 
 tigued, I arrived at Mi*. Pickard's, in Rowley. Found 
 Rowley people in eager and anxious expectation. 
 They were very sorry for my engagement at Salem ; 
 and would hardly forgive Mr. Punchard for stealing a 
 march. They expressed a concern, lest I should pre- 
 fer Salem to Rowley; appeared hospitable, kind, and 
 affectionate, and lamented, that, owing to the shortness 
 of my stay, and the fogginess of the weather, I could 
 not see more of the parish, before I left it for this place. 
 I engaged to supply them, four Sabbaths, after the 
 expiration of my present term here. 
 
 Friday, about 10 o'clock, left Rowley, and passing 
 through Ipswich, Hamilton, and Wenham, an exceed- 
 ingly pleasant road, arrived between twelve and one, 
 at my friend, Mr. Dow's, in Beverly. With him I 
 passed very agreeably the afternoon, until about five 
 o'clock ; when I took my horse and rode into town. 
 Here I was very cordially received ; and have since 
 been treated with great attention. I lodge with elder 
 Safford, a very worthy, serious, and agreeable man ; 
 and have every accommodation which I could wish. 
 On the Sabbath, I preached to a large and very at- 
 tentive assembly ; and, at particular request, gave a 
 third sermon in the evening, to an assembly still larger 
 than what m(^t in the day time. — On Sabbath morn- 
 ing, I was called to visit a woman, a sister of this 
 church, who was dying of the dysentery, — a disease 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 361 
 
 which is (juite prevah^ut in the easterly part of the 
 town. She was abk* to speak, and sp()k(» very com- 
 fortably indeed. Monday, at five o'clock, P. M., I at- 
 tended her funeral. 
 
 On Monday evening, attended a church-meeting. 
 Most of the brethren and sisters were together, and 
 their a])pearance was exceedingly agreeable. Last 
 evening, I attended a conference. There is no special 
 seriousness, but people are attentive. — Since I have 
 been in town, I have visited at a good many places ; 
 and am very much pleased with the people. There is 
 religion here ; and a great field for usefulness. I have 
 this morning been particularly requested by the Com- 
 mittee, to hold myself, in a special sense, as a candi- 
 date for settlement in this place ; and to keep myself 
 free from any further engagements elsewhere. I hesi- 
 tated upon the subject. This is undoubtedly one of 
 the most important stands in the Commonwealth. 
 The Society is very large, and if they get a man of 
 talents and popularity, is likely to be greatly increased. 
 The labor will be great, and the probable influence 
 very extensive. I feel myself unequal to the situation. 
 However, I have consented to the request of the Com- 
 mittee, so far as not to enter myself under any further 
 engagements, until my present term is expired. 
 
 How soon I shall see you, is uncertain, but proba- 
 bly as soon as I proposed. Write to me when you 
 can, and let me know how it fares with yourself, and 
 with the three dear little pledges of our mutual affec- 
 tion. Tell them that papa loves them, and will come 
 and see them before long. Will you not have leisure 
 to pay particular attention to the little girls, to teach 
 them to read, and to commit some good things to 
 memory ? Their early education is infinitely impor- 
 tant. My love to all friends. 
 
 Yours, most affectionately, 
 
 Samuel Worcester.^^ 
 
 31 
 
362 MEMOIR OP 
 
 " Sale^n, Sept 30, 1802. 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 My last letter might awaken, perhaps, some concern, 
 which I wish as soon as possible to dissipate. I have 
 been indeed very unwell, and have had, as it is 
 thought, a hard escape from a fever. * * * * 
 
 I am better ; and as the weather is very fine, I pro- 
 pose to ride out this afternoon to Marblehead. 
 
 This moment Capt. Tenney called and handed your 
 letter. It is a cordial, it is like balm. Oh, how good 
 the Lord is ! How can we forget his kindnesses ! I 
 am aware, that your situation must be attended with 
 many disagreeable circumstances ; but we must hope 
 in that Providence we have always found kind, for 
 better days. — Where our lot will be cast, is known to 
 Him only, whose wisdom directs all events. Perhaps 
 it may be well to cultivate, in the present interim, a 
 taste for a style of living somewhat different from 
 what we have been accustomed to heretofore. 
 
 My time is just gone. Mr. Punchard, who will ride 
 with me this afternoon, will be waiting. 
 
 Tell Fidelia and Lucretia, papa loves them a great 
 deal ; says they must be good little girls ; do as their 
 mama bids them, and he will come and see them in a 
 few days. Habituate them as much as possible to 
 neatness and cleanliness ; let no little girls go before 
 them, in any thing which is pretty. Love and duty 
 to aU. 
 
 Yours, with sincere affection, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the usages of the Taber- 
 nacle Church, to which objections have been made, 
 but which originated in a painful experience. In 
 1786, soon after Mr. Spaulding's settlement, the 
 Church adopted their present " Articles " of govern- 
 ment and discipline. The 16th is this : 
 
 " To prevent as much as possible any unconverted 
 minister ever having charge of this church, we think 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER.* 363 
 
 it necessary, that snch persons as may be set over us 
 in the Lord, should give tlio church a particuhir ac- 
 count of what God has done for them, by a work of 
 grace upon their hearts, and sign tlie artich's of the 
 church, before ordination to the i)astoral oflice over 
 it." 
 
 Dr.- Worcester was the first candidate who complied 
 with the precautionary requisition. It was at a meet- 
 ing, Nov. 22. " The church unanimously expressed 
 their satisfaction with his relation of religious expe- 
 rience." At an adjourned meeting, on the 23d, they 
 voted, one dissentient only, to give him a call to be 
 their pastor. The proprietors of the house of worship 
 concurred unanimously. 
 
 Rev. Leonard Worcester. 
 
 " Hollis, Dec. 9, 1802. 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 I was called hither, last week, to attend to my fam- 
 ily. Two of my children were very sick, Lucretia of 
 a fever, and Samuel of a weakness brought on by va- 
 rious concurring causes. But a merciful Providence 
 has vouchsafed relief, and they both appear, at present, 
 to be in a hopeful way of recovery. Truly, the Lord 
 is good, and his mercy endureth forever. The letter, 
 giving information of the sickness of my children, 
 found me at Newburyport, where I was on a visit with 
 your sister. 
 
 Of my present situation and prospects I can give 
 you but a sketch. — The church in Fitchburg have late- 
 ly proceeded to give me a formal call to return to 
 them.* As an encouragement they have voted to give 
 
 * The church thus "proceeded," on the 26ih of October. The plan was 
 to support the Gospel, by an association independent of the town. In the 
 ensuing s()ring, it was voted to have a candidate wilh the town, as if no dif- 
 ficuliy liad occurred. But in November, lb03, it was voted by the church, and 
 those who associated wilh them for the worship of God, to choose a commit- 
 
364 * MEMOIR OF 
 
 me my former salary of $333,33, with the addition of 
 twenty-five cords of w^ood annually, and have procured 
 subscriptions to the amount of seven or eight hundred 
 dollars, as a settlement. This, considering circum- 
 stances, is certainly generous. They flatter themselves, 
 that, should I return, opposition will, in a great mea- 
 sure, die away, and the town be restored to a tolerable 
 state of peace ; but should -not their expectations in 
 this regard be realized, they are determined to support 
 the Gospel themselves, receiving only such assistance 
 as may voluntarily be contributed. 
 
 At the Tabernacle, in Salem, I have met with unex- 
 pected acceptance. The week before last the church 
 unanimously voted to present me an invitation to set- 
 tle with them. The society was to meet yesterday ; 
 and it was expected that the unanimity Avould be as 
 perfect in the society as it was in the church. Whether 
 this expectation were well founded, the event has de- 
 termined. After one Sabbath more at Salem, I am to 
 return to Rowley, where a strong disposition is mani- 
 fested to proceed to a call, any previous calls notwith- 
 standing ; but I think I shall prevail on them to desist 
 from their purpose. 
 
 You will easily conceive that I am placed in a situ- 
 ation not a little perplexing, critical, and trying. The 
 call from the church in Fitchburg is not to be treated 
 
 tee to provide a candidate. A new meeting-house was soon afterwards 
 erected, amidst great opposition. Rev. T. T. Barton was settled, in 1504. 
 In 1S14, Mr. B. having been dismissed for sometime, a union was effected 
 between the new and the old organization, at the request of the latter. When 
 Dr. W. heard of this, he said to one of his tried friends, — " How could the 
 brethren of the church have ever consented to such a measure? You can 
 no more unite with those people, than light and darkness can be one ! " 
 
 The Rev. William Eaton, was settled over both parlies, in 1815; and the 
 form of union continued until 1S23, when he was dismissed, and a new 
 separation took pUice, the consequences of which have been decidedly ad- 
 vantageous to the peace and general welfare of the town. The Calvinistic 
 Congregational Church, of which Rev. E. W. Billiard is now pastor, con- 
 tains the principal part of the families of the friends and adherents of Dr. 
 Worcester. There have been no members of the church more stable than 
 those, who, under his ministry, were " estabUslied in the truth." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 365 
 
 with lightness. There is certainly an interest there 
 worthy of attention, and many things present them- 
 selves to my miiid, as strong inchieements to return. 
 But there are obstacles, which, if not totally insur- 
 mountable, are at least exceedingly difficult to sur- 
 mount. On the whole, it is a tender business. 
 
 Salem presents an important object. The society is 
 now very large, and the number of those, belonging to 
 others societies, who are disposed to hear, very con- 
 siderable. It is supposed, that I have more than once 
 preached to an assembly of two thousand people. 
 For some unaccountable reason the town, generally, 
 manifest a strong desire for my settlement there. 
 Viewed in all respects, the Tabernacle is considered 
 by those who are acquainted with it, as one of the most 
 important stands in the Commonwealth. But there 
 are obstacles to my settling. Not only will the requisite 
 labor be immense, but what is of much higher con- 
 sideration is, I doubt whether I am the proper person 
 for a post so important and arduous. Though the 
 odium and reproach drawn upon it by Mr. Spaulding, 
 seem to be at present in a good measure done away ; yet 
 to maintain the great cause there, with any desirable 
 share of respectability, will require the exertion of tal- 
 ents, and the exercise of virtues, which, I fear, I do 
 not possess. 
 
 I speak after the manner of men. I know God hath 
 chosen the weak things of the world to confound the 
 mighty. But this, I think, will not warrant us confi- 
 dently to advance to a post, to which we are not com- 
 petent. Write to me, dear brother, as soon as you 
 can. A letter directed to Salem will find me. Give 
 your opinion and advice freely. But especially have 
 me in constant remembrance in your addresses to the 
 fountain of grace and of wisdom. Assure our dear 
 sister of a share in our most aflfectionate remembrances. 
 Accept my thanks for your ^ood sermon. And believe 
 me to be, yours in fraternal love. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 31* 
 
366 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Mrs. Zervia Worcester. 
 
 ''Salem, Dec. 29, 1802. 
 
 My dearest Zervia, — 
 
 I have but a single moment ; for Mr. M. is waiting 
 in the rain. I came here yesterday. Expect to preach 
 here the next Sabbath, — at Rowley, the Sabbath after. 
 At Rowley, they seem determined to proceed to a call 
 at all adventm'es. The greatest engagedness is mani- 
 fested. You will easily conceive, that my mind is 
 overwhelmed. Sleep has almost departed from my 
 bed. Unite your prayers with mine for divine support, 
 light, and direction, and especially for prudence and 
 humility. My situation was never, perhaps, so criti- 
 cal and trying. 
 
 Possibly I may see you next week, but do not reck- 
 on much upon it, for it is very uncertain. 
 
 Embrace the dear children for me, and assure them 
 of my love. You will spare no pains in their educa- 
 tion. 
 
 Love and respects to all friends. 
 
 Sincerely and affectionately yours, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 In a letter of January 7, 1803, he says, — " My mind 
 is still fluctuating. May God dispose of me as he 
 pleases." A few weeks afterwards, he was called sud- 
 denly to HoUis, by intelligence of the dangerous sick- 
 ness of his second daughter. She died in his arms, 
 but never in his heart. 
 
 ''Salem, FeZ^. 16, 1803. 
 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 At the earnest solicitation of Mr. Haywood, I tar- 
 ried with him on the day 1 left HoUis, until after din- 
 ner. I arrived at Tewksbury, about sunset. At brother 
 Barton's, 1 found a strange satisfaction. They knew 
 what it was to bury a child. Tiiey could weep with 
 me, and administer the balm of sympathy to my 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 3G7 
 
 wonndi'd heart. It was incUM^l a tender scene ; my 
 alllictioii seeiiK'd to call up their sorrow afresh. O, 
 my dear, the wound now o])ened will never be closed; 
 we shall carry it to the grave. I feel it niort^ and more. 
 I trust I am not without support and consolation. 
 There is comfort in considering, that (Jod has done it. 
 There is unspeakable ha])piness in the feeling of sub- 
 mission to his holy will. It is all right. I know, I 
 feel it to be so. 
 
 But the pleasant, the lovely Lucretia — my swim- 
 ming eyes will hardly permit me to write her name, — 
 her dear image is constantly present with me, whether 
 waking or sleeping. How pleasant her looks, — with 
 what endearing fondness does she pronounce Papa! — 
 A thousand tender recollections overwhelm my heart, 
 and ere I am aware, the flowing tear steals down my 
 cheek. O, my dear, I think of you ; I think of Fide- 
 lia and Samuel, with a feeling, a melancholy tender- 
 ness, till now unexperienced. How often does my 
 heart rise to the Father of mercies, and God of all 
 consolation, that he would surround you with his sup- 
 porting and comforting presence, — that he would bless 
 the dear children, — and that he would have my little, 
 afflicted, broken family, from whom I am so painfully 
 absent, in his holy and merciful keeping. 
 
 On Friday, the day after I left you, I attended the 
 funeral of the Rev. Mr. Prentiss, of Reading. It was 
 to me a solemn scene. On Friday, the week before, 
 the remains of the Rev. Mr. Robie, of Lynn, were com- 
 mitted to the tomb. How many and how solemn are 
 the admonitions we receive I God grant us grace 
 wisely to improve them. 
 
 I arrived in town about seven o'clock on Friday 
 evening, and met with a very welcome and sympa- 
 thetic reception. The people here had been in a state 
 of great solicitude. They got the first news of our af- 
 fliction, on the Monday preceding my arrival. Had 
 they not received it that day, some of tliern, it appears, 
 would have set out on Tuesday, for Ilollis. There is 
 here no discoverable alteration, unless it be an in- 
 creased attachment and an increased anxiety respect- 
 
368 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ing my final answer. O, why is it, that so unworthy 
 a creature should experience so much kindness, and 
 receive so many and so great testimonials of Christian 
 affection and esteem ? Surely I am nothing, and the 
 praise is due to God. O, that he would make me 
 humble and faithful in his service, and show me in 
 what part of his vineyard he would have me labor. 
 Mr. Smith, of Salem, N. H., came to see me on Mon- 
 day, preached a lecture at the vestry in the evening, 
 and tarried with me till the next morning. His com- 
 pany was a comfort. I received a letter from brother 
 Leonard ; all well. You are remembered with affec- 
 tion. 
 
 Absence from you at this period, is uncommonly 
 painful. I hope, however, you are not without com- 
 fort. God grant his sanctifying influences to us both, 
 that our present grievous affliction may do us good. 
 We need correction ; let us dutifully submit to it. Let 
 us live nearer to God, and set our affections more on 
 things above. Let us pray more fervently for one an- 
 other, and for our dear little ones. Devoting them to 
 God, enjoying them as his, let us bring them up for 
 him, as long as he is pleased to lend them to us. But 
 a little while more, and we shall have done with this 
 vale of tears. O, let it be our daily business to pre- 
 pare for a better world. May we not indulge the hope 
 that Lucretia has gone before us, and if we be found 
 worthy, will, ere long, welcome us to a participation 
 of heavenly joys! Love to all friends. 
 Yours, most afTectionately, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 Lucretia, and not Lydia^ was the name by which 
 this little daughter was usually called in his family. It 
 was the same with his second Lydia Lucretia, who 
 also died at an early age. Another daughter, who, it 
 has often been said, more resembles him, than any of 
 his children, received the name of Elizabeth Lydia. 
 But neither was ever called Lydia, as the common dis- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 369 
 
 tinctivo name; and for the reason, probably, that, 
 while it was a grateful satisfaction to lh(; father, to 
 think of the name of Lydia, as borne l^y one of his own 
 beloved chikh-en, there w^as so much of liallowed ten- 
 derness in the memory of his endeared sister, and re- 
 vered mother, that he chose another name for the famil- 
 iar sound of his own voice, and that of other members 
 of the domestic circle. He was the more afllicted by 
 the death of his first Lydia Lucretia, because of the 
 exceeding beauty of " her innocent age," and the glow- 
 ing expectations, which others as well as himself, had 
 formed, of her character of mind and heart, in future 
 years. 
 
 ''Salem, March 22, 1803. 
 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 On my way down, I stopped at Tewksbury, — wrote 
 my answer there to the Tabernacle Church, and send- 
 ing it forward by Mr. Barton, stayed and preached for 
 him on the Sabbath. The Monday following, I ar- 
 rived in town, and was received with great joy. * * * 
 
 March 24. Your letter has produced in my mind the 
 mingled emotions of joy and grief. Blessed forever 
 be the Father of mercies, for all his goodness to me 
 and my family. O, may he who comforted INIartha 
 and Mary, in their affliction, comfort your heart, and 
 sanctify unto us both, all our bereavements and trials. 
 He knows how we mourn, and into his bosom let us 
 pour our wounded hearts. 
 
 I shall see you before installation, if possible, but 
 there is still an uncertainty about it. 
 
 Love and respects, as usual. In haste, 
 
 Yours. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 His theological teacher and warm friend. Dr. Austin, 
 preached the Sermon, at his installation, on the 20th 
 of April. It was an able and characteristic exposition 
 
370 MEMOIR OP 
 
 of the sentiment, " TJiat it ought to be viewed^ as an 
 indispensable and primary duty of the preachers of the 
 Gospel^ to diffuse correct information respecting Gody 
 A very deep impression was made ; not least of all by 
 the address to the Pastor elect.* 
 
 " The greatest solemnity was observed in the au- 
 dience, and the general wishes were for the union and 
 peace of that numerous society,! of which Mr. Wor- 
 cester has accepted the charge. The society did them- 
 selves honor in the generous preparations for the 
 Council and strangers, and in all the services had the 
 cheerful concurrence of the inhabitants."^ 
 
 * " You have, like your Master, borne the cross, and suffered the shame. 
 You have passed through the ordeal of whispering satire, of the embiitered 
 machinations of false brethren, and the more open assaults of those, who 
 had the fortitude to be more generously your enemies." &c. 
 
 Dr. Austin's text was in Acts xvii, 23. In a note to the Sermon, he says, 
 " It is, in the author's view, an extraordinary phenomenon in the moral 
 world, to see a learned man stand up in the pulpit, as one who is set for the 
 defence of the gospel, and tell his auditory, that there are no essential truths 
 to be bel'eved in order to a man's becoming a good christian, but such as 
 are acceded to by all parties ; that all attempts to explain the capital doctrines 
 of Christianity, turn out to be a mere jumble of hard words, and unmtelligible 
 phrases; and that the wisest way in the world is to content ourselves with 
 knowing what every heathen knows perfectly well already, that if we have 
 done wrong we must be sorry for it. By this sort of preaching the intelligent 
 hearer is reduced to these two alternatives, either he must algure his under- 
 standing and take the gospel upon trust, or search into the interior structure 
 of Christianity and become an infidel. How long shall this severest satire 
 upon the scheme of divine revelation continue to torture us from the pulpit? 
 To place the doctrines of Christianity in regard to their intelligil)leness upon 
 a level with the Eleusynian mysteries, is surely the worst of arguments to 
 prove its inspiration." 
 
 t The population of Salem, in ISOO, was 9457 ; in 1765, 4427 ; and 6700, in 
 17S6, In 1771, Dr. Whitaker recorded this "numerous Society, as " 3S0 
 families and 1905 souls ;" or more than one third part of the inhabitants. At 
 Dr. Worcester's settlement, there were probably three fourths as many, as 
 in 1771. The Society has now, in 1851, about an eleventh part of a popula- 
 tion, exceeding 20,000. Communicants, 413 : 176, in 1771. 
 
 X Salem Gazette, April 22nd. " The introductory prayer was by the Rev. 
 Samuel Spring, of Newburyporl. An excellent sermon was delivered by 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 371 
 
 The limtliers Leonard and Thomas added nauch to 
 the interest of the installing services. The latter re- 
 marked to a member of the church, who was among 
 the most pleased and elated, — " I should not feel, that 
 I could go away in peace, and leave my brother with 
 you, w^ere it not for the trials which he has had at 
 Fitchburg. He is a scholar, and I know he will be 
 respected anywiiere. But I should tremble for him, in 
 such flattering circumstances, if I did not believe, that 
 the influence of the trials which he has had to pass 
 through, will serve to keep him humble." 
 
 Thus was consummated, in the thirty-third year of 
 his age, the second pastoral relation of Dr. Worcester ; 
 and thus commenced the most prosperous and happy 
 administration of the Tabernacle Church, from its es- 
 tablishment in 1735. There was, indeed, "great joy 
 among the people " of his own charge ; and the "cheer- 
 ful concurrence " of so many others, in their choice of 
 a pastor, was marked, as highly auspicious. The feel- 
 ing of satisfaction, it may be said, w^as universal.* 
 
 the Rev. Samuel Austin, of Worcester. The installing prayer was from 
 Rev. Samuel Niles, of Abington, and the charge from Rev. Mr. Hopkins, of 
 this town. A Brother of the Candidate installed, gave him the hand of fel- 
 lowship, and his Father closed the solemnities with prayer." His brother 
 Leonard thus appears to have been taken by some, for the '•'father .'" 
 
 * Notwithstanding what was written by a friend of Mr. Hazlitt and Mr. 
 Belsham, ropecling the state of religious opinions in Salem, at the time of 
 Dr. Freeman's avowal of Unitarianism, in 1787. — " Many other churches 
 might be mentioned, [beside 'Old Hingham' &c.] from which the Calvinis- 
 tic gloom is gradually dispersing. But I must particularly notice Salem. 
 There was there one [?J thoroughdox [?] congregation, which was not in a 
 very flourishing state. There were also three large congregations, where 
 Unitarian ministers were generally [?] heard with acceptance. One of these, 
 indeed, became wholly Unitarian in a little time, through the fearless and in- 
 defatigable labors of Mr Bentley, a very learned man, and an unbiassed and 
 strenuous advocate for what appeared to him to be the good word of truth, 
 according to the Gospel. The two others were mostly [?] Arians. Mr. 
 Barnard, an hospitable, open-hearted man, who readily entered into the cir- 
 cumstances of the stranger, was the minister of the second of these churches, 
 
372 MEMOIR OF 
 
 It was in this same month, as some may be 
 pleased to know, that Jeremiah Evarts took charge of 
 the Academy, in Peacham, Vt., and became an in- 
 mate of the family of Rev. Leonard Worcester. It 
 was one of the ways in which Providence was prepar- 
 ing him, to be associated so fraternally with the brother 
 at Salem, in the greatest benevolent enterprises of their 
 times and om' own. 
 
 And in this same year, 1803, Dr. Channing com- 
 menced his " brilliant ministry " in Boston, expecting, 
 no doubt, an entire change in the predominant faith of 
 New England, through the gradual progress of " liberal 
 sentiments." But it is not very probable, that he had 
 any idea of such an aggressive resistance of those sen- 
 timents, as that of 1815, when his " ardent sensibili- 
 ties " were so much aroused by ]\Ir. Evarts's " great 
 plainness of speech," in the Panoplist " Review of 
 American Unitarianism ; " and when drawing his bow, 
 somewhat violently, and not a little " at a venture," he 
 suddenly found himself in the open field, face to face, 
 with " no unequal antagonist," in the equally aroused 
 pastor of the Tabernacle. 
 
 On the day after his installation. Dr. Yv^orcester 
 preached a sermon, at the dedication of a house of 
 
 and had so well instructed his flock, that nothing was offensive to them which 
 appeared to flow from an honest mind. Mr. Darby, a rich merchant, ren- 
 dered the third respectable, by his courteous and bountiful disposition. Our 
 friend often preached to these congregations, and was treated with civility 
 by them all." — Monthly Kep^y.^ vol. Ill, quoted iw Spirit of the Pilgrims, vol. 
 Ill, pp. GG7-8. 
 
 By the same gossiping writer it was said, — " There is every reason to pre- 
 dict, that, in thirty or forty years more, the whole of Massachusetts will be 
 Unitarian." It is now " more " i\is.x\ fifty, or sixty years ! 
 
 " 17&6. About this time Mr. Ilazlitt, a stranger, supplies the pulpit of the 
 First Church, the pastor being on a journey. In one of his sermons, before 
 the North Parish, he openly disavowed his belief in the doctrine of the Tri- 
 nity, much to the surprise of liis hearers." — Fdfs Afuials, ^c, vol 11^ p. 605. 
 
SaXIUEL WORCESTER. 373 
 
 worship, for the Third Cuiigrcgatioiuil Church, in 
 Rowley. It was from I Kings v : 27. lie was heard 
 with much favor, and, at the request of the society, the 
 sermon was published. 
 
 The subject of his Inaugural Sermon, April 2 1th, 
 was, — " The g-reat importance, that the ivord preached 
 by the ministers of Christ, be received in a proper man- 
 mer by those to whom it is preached,''^ — suggested by 
 Acts xvii: 11,12 — " These were more noble than those 
 in Thessalonica, in that they received the word," &c. 
 The views which he presented, were a very appropri- 
 ate introduction of the personal references, suited to 
 the occasion. 
 
 " Since last I addressed you from this sacred desk, 
 we have passed through one of the most solemn and 
 eventful scenes, which ever takes place on this side 
 eternity. You have received from God, as we trust, a 
 minister of the Gospel ; and I, from the same God, 
 have received the charge of a people. I have been 
 made, by the Holy Ghost, an overseer of this flock in 
 the Lord. This is to me an occurrence of infinite 
 moment. I need not assure you, that the charge which 
 I have received, lies heavy upon my heart. Expe- 
 rienced, as in some measure I am, in the afllictions of 
 the Gospel, and in the difficulties attending a faithful 
 discharge of the christian ministry; pleasant and agree- 
 able as the present aspect of things is, I dare not al- 
 low myself to look forward into future life, with any 
 raised expectations of temporal prosperity or happi- 
 ness. But it is of little consequence what befalls me, 
 provided that you, my dear friends, may but be saved. 
 May I but be found faithful, and may you but be sav- 
 ingly benefitted by my ministry, I will rejoice in any 
 event. 
 
 As you have received me, in the character of an am- 
 bassador from the Lord of life and glory, you will be 
 pleased to bear it in constant remembrance, that in this 
 
 32 
 
374 MEMOIR OF 
 
 capacity I am to act, not in my own name, but in the 
 name of Him by whom I am sent. In all my official 
 transactions among you, I am to be considered as act- 
 ing, not for myself, but for the Great Head of the 
 Church, whose minister I am. You will be pleased 
 to remember, moreover, that there is the most solemn 
 responsibility attached to my office. It is written, — 
 " Cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord deceit- 
 fully." And perhaps there will not be a more awful 
 reckoning, in the great and decisive day of the judg- 
 ment, than that of an unfaithful minister of the Gospel ! 
 
 You will ever bear it in mind, that as an ambassa- 
 dor of the Lord Jesus Christ, to treat with you on the 
 most solemn and momentous concerns, I am fur- 
 nished w4th my instructions, and these instructions are 
 contained in the sacred Scriptures. The Bible entire 
 is my only warrant, my only guide, in all my official 
 transactions ; in all the various business of my sacred 
 mission. According to the Bible I am to live ; accord- 
 ing to the Bible I am to preach. According to the 
 Bible I am to reprove, to rebuke, and to exhort, warn- 
 ing every man and teaching every man. According 
 to the Bible I am to manage the holy discipline, and 
 to administer the sacred ordinances of Christ's house. 
 According to the Bible, in a word, I am to negotiate 
 with you, in the name of the gi-eat King, my master, 
 the all-important concerns of your eternal salvation. 
 
 You will, therefore, never require me, you will never 
 indeed wish me, to deviate in the least, from my direc- 
 tions in this sacred volume. In preaching to you the 
 Gospel, you will never require me to keep back any- 
 thing which may be profitable unto you ; or to shun to 
 declare all the counsel of God. You will never require 
 me to lower down the majesty of the divine character, 
 nor to sacrifice the rights of the divine government, 
 nor to promise you life upon other terms than what the 
 Gospel proposes. You will allow me faithfully to de- 
 lineate your characters, as they are represented in the 
 Scriptures, and to declare to you freely the only and 
 indispensable terms, on which you may obtain recon- 
 ciliation and peace with God. You will allow me to 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 375 
 
 make a distijiction between the ri<Thteons and the 
 wicked, between him that feareth (xod and him that 
 feareth him not; and to ])rochiini not only the accej)t- 
 able year of the Lord, but also the day of vengeance of 
 our God. 
 
 Upon my public ministrations, you will ever attend 
 with seriousness and candor. Holding yourselves open 
 to conviction, willing to be brought to the light that 
 your deeds may be reproved, you will never reject any 
 doctrine or sentiment I may deliver, or blame me for 
 delivering it, until you are clearly convinced, on im- 
 partial and thorough investigation, that it is doctrine 
 not warranted by the Scriptures. But if doctrines are 
 delivered Avhich contravene your preconceived opin- 
 ions, or which grate upon your feelings, you will, like 
 the noble Bereans, search the Scriptures daily whether 
 they be so. And never on any occasion will you be 
 so unjust to yourselves, as to speak against me or my 
 preaching, until you have ingenuously waited upon me 
 for free and friendly conversation, and given me a free 
 opportunity, if possible, to satisfy your minds. My 
 doors shall ever be open to receive you ; and it will be 
 my greatest pleasure to attend to your difficulties, to 
 answer your inquiries, and to give you every satisfac- 
 tion, when convinced of my error or fault. 
 
 On the whole, you will regard me when preaching 
 the Gospel, as a steward of the mysteries of God, and 
 as the Lord's watchman unto this his Israel. You will 
 never wish me to cry peace, peace, when there is no 
 peace, nor to daub with untempered mortar ; but faith- 
 fully to warn the wicked, as well as to comfort the 
 righteous ; and so to divide the word of truth, as to 
 give every one his portion in due season. 
 
 As pastor of this church, you will wish me to be 
 faithful in the house of God ; never relaxing the rules 
 of evangelical discipline, out of compliance or partial- 
 ity to any, nor administering the sacred ordinances in 
 any other way, nor to any other subjects, than what 
 the Gospel designates. For in this, as in everything 
 else, I can act in the name, and by the authority only 
 of my Lord and Master. 
 
376 MEMOIR OP 
 
 In my private walks and social intercourse with you, 
 you will wish me to be blameless as becomes the min- 
 ister of Christ ; never prostituting my character, nor 
 sacrificing the dignity of my office to customs of the 
 world. And you will expect me also to reprove, re- 
 buke, and exhort, as occasion may offer, with all meek- 
 ness and mildness, long-suffering and doctrine. 
 
 My relation to you, my dear brethren and friends, is 
 inconceivably solemn and interesting. It involves 
 consequences infinitely momentous, and eternally last- 
 ing, both as it respects me, and as it respects you. 
 The weight of duty and responsibility devolving on 
 me is immense. Who is sufficient for these things ? 
 Brethren pray for me. 
 
 To you, my dear people, is my character and my hap- 
 piness, for this life, in a great measure committed. I 
 feel that I 'shall need your utmost candor, tenderness, 
 and benevolence. And as my lot is now cast among 
 you, I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's 
 sake, and by the love of the Spirit, to deal kindly and 
 truly with my Master, and with me for his sake. Ex- 
 pect not perfection in a fellow-worm; but remember 
 that you have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the 
 excellency of the power may be of God. 
 
 Bear it in remembrance, that the great object of my 
 mission to you is the salvation, the everlasting salva- 
 tion of your souls. This is the object of my mission, 
 and this, suffer me to assure you, is the most ardent 
 desire of my heart. Take heed, therefore, that you re- 
 ceive not the grace of God in vain. Remember, that, 
 if I am to watch as one who must give account, so 
 also for the manner in which you receive and improve 
 the preached Gospel, you jnust account at the last 
 great day. And as you receive and improve it 
 rightly or not, your eternal state will be determined. 
 Let me then entreat you to give a strict and conscien- 
 tious attendance in the house of God ; and never suf- 
 fer yourselves to fall into habits of negligence and 
 sloth on the Lord's day. Never sufier me to preach to 
 these ivalls ; but let me, I entreat you, be favored with 
 your attendance, and with your solemn attention, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 377 
 
 wliencvor I declare in this place the messages of God. 
 Lay feelingly to heart the aggravated guilt, whicii 
 must attend an abuse of that exhibition of Almighty 
 love, which is addressed to you in the Gospel. Re- 
 member, that he that believeth shall be saved, and he 
 that believeth not, shall be damned. 
 
 Welcome, then, I entreat you, the Gospel of the 
 grace of God, dutifully receive its instructions, and 
 submit to its terms, and let its holy doctrines and pre- 
 cepts have constant control over all your views, feel- 
 ings, and conduct. Let your ears, your understand- 
 ings, your hearts, be open to the reception of the truth 
 as it is in Jesus. 
 
 Need I tell you. that as your servant for Jesus' sake, 
 I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though 
 the more I may love you, the less I may be loved. K 
 there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ., if any 
 comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any 
 bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like- 
 minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of 
 one mind. 
 
 Finally, brethren, pray for me, and pray for your- 
 selves. For me, that a great door and effectual may 
 be opened before me ; that I may be filled with the 
 Spirit of God ; obtain grace to be faithful as the min- 
 ister of Christ, and to come to you, from time to time, 
 in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace. 
 And pray for yourselves, that the spirit of grace and 
 supplication may be poured out abundantly upon you, 
 and upon your children ; that no root of bitterness 
 springing up may trouble you ; that nothing may hin- 
 der the success of the Gospel ministry in this place ; 
 and that this gracious dispensation may continually 
 prove a savor of life unto life. And may God grant, 
 that we all, both he who sows, and they who reap, may 
 at last meet together, and rejoice together in his king- 
 dom I " 
 
 On the Sabbath following, or May 1st, Dr. Worces- 
 ter preached an animated missionary sermon, — it be- 
 ing the time for a collection in aid of the Mass. INIis- 
 32* 
 
378 MEMOIR OF 
 
 sionary Society. It was made very evident, that he 
 was aiming to be a missionary minister for the world, 
 while not neglectful of any reasonable service, among 
 the people of his immediate charge. After a vivid 
 picture of the deplorable condition of the greater part 
 of " the eight hundred millions of human inhabitants 
 which the earth " was then " computed to contain," — 
 and which was not to be " regarded only as a subject 
 for lamentable and unavailing tears," — he proceeded, 
 with a glowing spirit, to the encouragements afforded 
 by recent exertions of Christians, and their increasing 
 obligations, " to do good and to communicate," agree- 
 ably to the words of his text, (Heb. xiii : 16,) and the 
 commandment of the Savior, — " Go, teach all na- 
 tions." 
 
 The anniversary of the society was held on the 24th 
 and 25th of the month, when he was appointed one of 
 the editors of the magazine, which was about to be 
 issued. TJiirteen clergymen had been designated, the 
 year previous, to publish a monthly periodical for the 
 society ; but not a page had been seen, until Dr. Wor- 
 cester was called to fill a vacancy in the editorial com- 
 mittee. In June, and at Salem, the first Number was 
 printed, — the new member of the committee taking the 
 heaviest share of the labor of preparation and circula- 
 tion. A long article of " Missionary Intelligence," 
 contains a portion of his missionary sermon, May 1st. 
 From this time — through five volumes, — until the 
 union of the Magazine with the Panoplist, June 1808, 
 his editorial labors were continued ; and without them, 
 it is questionable whether the work would have been 
 sustained.* 
 
 * Dr. Austin, the first Secretary of the Society, and Dr. Spring, were 
 among the most frequent contributors to the work. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 379 
 
 Ardently engaged as he now was, in forwarding 
 every ])art of the means and end of the Massachusetts 
 Missionary Society, Dr. Worcester devoted himself 
 ehielly to the duties of his pastoral office. The Taber- 
 nacle pulpit became such an attraction, that the value 
 of seats in the house rose to a higher mark, than had 
 ever been known. And, although there was a strong 
 and confident effort, to draw off a portion of the con- 
 gregation, to the former pastor, in a new enterprise — 
 the establishment of the " Branch Church," * — the peo- 
 ple of the old society were conscious of no diminu- 
 tion of numbers or strength. 
 
 Mr. Spaulding could speak as boldly as any man, 
 "disputing and persuading the things concerning the 
 kingdom of God." His words had often been " in dem- 
 onstration of the Spirit and of power." But for sev- 
 eral years before his dismission, he had entered largely 
 into prophetical mysteries, and had preached his " Mil- 
 lenarian " expositions, with great enthusiasm, frequen- 
 cy, and vehemence. He also discoursed much of his 
 " Divine Theory," which as heard, and since published, 
 he did not expect many to understand, until a future 
 age; and which, it has been more than doubted, 
 whether he vmderstood any better himself, than if he 
 had been thinking and speaking "in an unknown 
 tongue." 
 
 After such discussions, and particularly after the 
 long and painful dispute, concerning his claim to 
 negative the voice of the brethren, — far the more pain- 
 ful, because he had been so much beloved, and his 
 sincerity and integrity were so unquestionable, — it 
 
 * Formed Dec. 29, 1803. Became Presbyterian, in 1815, and reassumed 
 Congregationalism in 1S2S. It was called '' The First Presbyterian Church, 
 in Salem," in 1S24 ; but, in 182S, look the name ol" Howard Street." 
 
380 MEMOIR OF 
 
 was accounted a luxury to listen to discourses, so defi- 
 nite and timely in subject, so distinct and luminous 
 in method, so logical and convincing in argument, so 
 persuasive in application, as those of his successor. 
 
 All were struck with the modesty of Dr. Worces- 
 ter's manner, as contrasted with the power of his 
 thoughts ; especially when he put forth his strength. 
 Upon some subjects, he, of course, did not expend his 
 best energies. He needed to be roused for the pulpit, 
 as also for conversation ; in which many might often 
 have felt themselves his equal or superior, who very 
 soon might see, that they had committed a grand mis- 
 take. One of his professional hearers compared his 
 " reasoning to a large wheel, which revolved with pro- 
 digious power, and so put its adjunct machinery into 
 operation, that every turn it made, it came nearer and 
 nearer to the completion of its work, — with pleasure 
 and admiration to the spectators." 
 
 While all his sermons were instructive, his great 
 strength required a great pressure. He could summon 
 it, as did the son of Manoah, when he smote the Phil- 
 istines, after they had " come up and burnt his wife, 
 and her father with fire." 
 
 It would have been strange, if at the beginning of 
 his ministry in Salem, he had not aimed to do his 
 best, and to make the most favorable impression upon 
 those in the surrounding community, whose sympa- 
 thies" gave a decided preference to the Arminian, or 
 <' liberal" expositions of doctrine. Educated men and 
 others, claiming to be in the highest ranks of social 
 position and influence, were affected by the personal 
 character and the ministrations of Dr. Worcester, as 
 no other man in Salem, or elsewhere, had affected them. 
 It was too obvious to escape notice, that the tone of 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 
 
 381 
 
 remark upon his distinctive sentiments was more 
 moderate, kind, and respectful. It was seen and felt, 
 that the ^'' otihndo.rij''^ of the Bible, as Ik; preached it 
 and exemplilied it, is neither incompatible with good 
 taste nor good sense, enlightened reason nor eminent 
 scholarship ; and that, in its true and legitimate fruits, 
 it is not at all the "«;'7oo«///" Calvinism, which they 
 had been accustomed to dread, as they would the con- 
 tagion of a pestilence. And it was for the marked 
 advantage of the cause of evangelical and experi- 
 mental religion in Salem and the vicinity, from the 
 very first months of Dr. Worcester's labors at the 
 Tabernacle, as it has been ever since, that " the doc- 
 trine according to godliness," as held by our New 
 England forefathers, was commended to every man's 
 conscience, from the Scriptures both of the New and 
 the Old Testament ; without the least measure of rant 
 or rhapsody, declamation or denunciation, but with 
 indisputable power of argument, and universally ac- 
 knowledged delicacy and refinement of taste. 
 
 In his first ministrations in Salem, and certainly no 
 less afterwards, strangers and casual hearers were as 
 much arrested by his mode of prayer, as by his style 
 of preaching. His addresses to the Throne of Grace 
 were always solemn and fervent, abounding in the 
 richest scriptural expression or allusion, and impres- 
 sively adapted to the particular scenes, situations, and 
 circumstances of those, for whom with the " giving of 
 thanks," he "made supplications, prayers, interces- 
 sions." But he was generally slow, and his utterance 
 hesitating, rather than fluent ; sometimes seemingly 
 waiting for the right word to come to its place. 
 It was more than once or thrice suggested to him, that 
 he might not be aware how long he was engaged in 
 
382 MEMOIR OP 
 
 what is usually called " the long prayer^ He was 
 grieved. His patience was disquieted. It was a 
 thought that distressed him greatly, that any of his 
 people should be wearied by his devotional services ; 
 such was his own habitual conception of the privilege 
 and efficacy of prayer, and its exalted dignity and 
 grandeur, as a part of the solemnities of public wor- 
 ship. He could not have been conscious, that thirty- 
 five, or even forty minutes had sometimes \)^^?>e A away, 
 when not more than half the number would have been 
 prescribed by himself, as a reasonable or appropriate 
 limit.* — While never otherwise than elevated, copious, 
 and earnest, there were many seasons when all would 
 say in their hearts, — " How dreadful is this place I" 
 And not unfrequently did he seem to ascend like Mo- 
 ses, to the very summit of the Mount, and commune 
 with the Holy One of Israel, as did that man of God, 
 when he had left all the children of Israel in the plain 
 below. 
 
 Somewhat less than half a year from the time of his 
 installation, he was considerably disturbed, while his 
 people were greatly excited — many of them irritated^ — 
 by his appointment to the Professorship of Divinity, 
 at Dartmouth College. He had been consulted earlier 
 than they had known ; and had treated the subject 
 with his wonted carefulness. His impressions and 
 feelings were freely spoken to his brother at Peacham, 
 
 * His brother Noah was more free in his utterance. He once prayed, at 
 an ordination, for a lohole hoar ; and yet never repeated a sentiment or an 
 expression I — In those days, it was more common to see a person standing 
 in the time of sermon, than to see one silting in prayer. The posture of 
 sitting, at such a time, would have been taken at once, as a token of sudden 
 illness, except in cases of very aged people, and those of known chronic 
 infirmity ; or would have been considered an inexcusable indecorum, as 
 well as a sin of gross irreverence. Hence, some would stand, lest they 
 should excite alarm by sitting I 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 383 
 
 who was ihc first to communicate the wishes of a part 
 of the Trustees, among whom there was not an entire 
 concurrence of theok)gical predilections. 
 
 Rev. Leonard Worcester'. 
 
 " Salem, Jul// 20, 1803. 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 Your favor, written at the instance of Judge Niles, 
 I received this morning. But what shall I say, in re- 
 gard to the object in question ? In the first place, I 
 will say, that, in my mind, there is not the least proba- 
 bility, should an attempt be made, such as Judge Niles 
 proposes, that it would succeed. I am known, or sup- 
 posed, to have too much decision about me, on certain 
 theological ground, for the views of the Trustees of 
 Dartmouth University. In the second place, I never 
 feel myself prepared to determine with respect to any 
 object, and especially one of such magnitude as that 
 now presented, until it be placed in full view. In de- 
 termining what is duty, in cases of this nature, many 
 circumstances are to be taken into consideration. 
 
 Questions, relative to settling as a minister in any 
 particular place, or relative to accepting an appoint- 
 ment to any important ofl^ce, are almost always placed 
 in a very different light, after the call is given, or the 
 election declared, from any in which they can be pre- 
 viously contemplated. This I have found by expe- 
 rience. I cannot, therefore, feel myself at liberty to 
 say positively, either yes, or no, to the question indi- 
 rectly proposed, in the present case. Leaving the 
 question of personal qualification out of the account, 
 in the improbable event of my election to the impor- 
 tant office in view, I conceive, that I should be placed 
 in a very embarrassed state of mind. My present 
 situation, is, in many respects, very agreeable and 
 very important. The least suggestion of my removal 
 would be, in their present state of feeling, like a thun- 
 der-clap to this people ; and, if it would not savor too 
 much of vanity, I might say, to this vicinif//. 
 
384 MEMOIR OF 
 
 But, it will not always be, as it is now. You know, 
 my brother, and I know, that the public opinion re- 
 specting my talents and acquirements has always 
 been a great deal too high ; a circumstance, which has 
 been to me a most fruitful source of solicitude. But 
 not to digress ; I am free to acknowledge to you, that, 
 were there no circumstances to render my acceptance 
 of it inconsistent, the office of Theological Professor 
 would not be very repugnant to my personal inclina- 
 tions. I am fond of retirement and study ; and, if I 
 do not misjudge, am, by nature or by habit, better 
 fitted to excel, as a theological lecturer, than as the 
 pastor of a parish. On the whole, I can only say, 
 that, in my present view, an attempt to secure my 
 election would be totally abortive ; and, in the event 
 of an election, my acceptance would be very doubtful, 
 perhaps I should say improbable. 
 
 Please to inform Judge Niles, that I have a grateful 
 sense of his respectful sentiments. * * * 
 
 No news, unless it be that INIr. Emerson's ordination 
 at Beverly is appointed to be on the 21st September. 
 All well at Hollis. * * * 
 
 Our best love to yourself and friends. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 After the election, one of the Trustees of the Col- 
 lege came to urge his acceptance of the office. A few 
 of the members of the church were invited to a con- 
 sultation with him, at the pastor's study. They could 
 ill keep their patience, so as to speak peaceably. — 
 " You must consider," said one of them to Rev. Mr. 
 Merrill, (of Middlebury, Vt.,) " that it is no easy thing 
 for us, to obtain such a minister, as we need in this 
 place." — " Easier much^^^ he replied, " than for us to 
 find a suitable man for Professor of Divinitv, at Dart- 
 mouth College." 
 
 The question, as now submitted to Dr. Worcester, 
 was in truth the most perplexing, which he had ever 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 385 
 
 been called to decide. lie stipulated for the largest 
 allowance of time, before deciding ; not by any means 
 sure, that he should not be constrained to answer af- 
 firmatively. His friends almost insisted, that he should 
 decline the appointment forthwith. But he felt, that 
 they were not disinterested judges in the case. He 
 gave them to understand, that he had no desire to 
 leave Salem; wished only to know what God would 
 direct ; and, meanwhile, preferred that they should 
 labor together, and make the most of the promising 
 appearances of spiritual ingathering. 
 
 Rev, Leonard Worcester, 
 
 " Salem, Dec. 14, 1803. 
 Dear Brother, — 
 
 The product of your ' dull epistolary pen,' of the 8th 
 ultimo, has at length come to hand. You have some 
 reason, I acknowledge, to suppose my pen to be in a 
 condition not very good. I will not undertake a justi- 
 fication of my neglect; for it is not to be justified. 
 Li what follows, however, you may possibly find some 
 apology for me. It has pleased Him, with whom is 
 the residue of the Spirit, and who is a Sovereign in 
 all his dispensations, to favor my society with a sprink- 
 ling-, (perhaps I ought not to use so diminutive a 
 word,) — of gracious influences. It is now three or 
 four months, since the first instances of awakening ap- 
 peared. The work has been spreading rather slowdy ; 
 but at present appears to be on a more rapid increase. 
 We have between twenty and thirty very hopeful 
 cases ; and about as many more are known to be now 
 under pretty pungent convictions. Our meetings are 
 very full and very solemn, and both in fulness and 
 solemnity are w^eekly increasing. 
 
 My labors are great. Besides a lecture pretty con- 
 stantly on Sabbath evening, I have a weekly lecture 
 and three other weekly meetings. In addition to these , 
 
 33 
 
386 MEMOIR OP 
 
 as we are visited with a fever, which is very prevalent, 
 I have from ten to fifteen notes on a Sabbath, which 
 require visits ; and, to close the account, the attention 
 which I am obliged to give to the Magazine is not in- 
 considerable. You will judge for yourself, whether I 
 have much leisure to use my ' epistolary pen,' even 
 though called upon by the best of brothers. 
 
 With this I shall forward, according to direction, 
 two copies of each of the first seven numbers of the 
 M. M. Magazine. We have lately, however, made a 
 deposit for the Magazines with Mr. Lang, at Hano- 
 ver, near the College. Perhaps you will find it less 
 expensive to get them there in future ; as the price at 
 Hanover will be no higher, than it is here. Please to 
 communicate this intelligence in your region. The 
 Magazine succeeds beyond expectation ; but you will 
 be pleased to receive it as general orders^ that the 
 ' coiys de reserve ' come forward to action, imme- 
 diately I 
 
 Should I tell you how my mind stands in regard to 
 my late appointment, you would know more than I 
 deem it proper for any of my friends at present to 
 know. My answer will probably not be given before 
 spring. 
 
 Our most affectionate remembrances. 
 
 Samuel Worcester.'^ 
 
 As intimated in the letter above, he visited much 
 among his people. He was gladdened by their joys, 
 and made sad by their sori'ows. If they respected and 
 revered him, as he stood in the sanctuary, they loved 
 him as a man and a friend, the more they saw of him, 
 at their fire-sides, and in the chamber of sickness and 
 bereavement. His interest in their trials was gratefully 
 reciprocated; and never more than when himself called 
 into special affliction. The hand of God touched him 
 again, and with a still heavier weight, than when he 
 first, and so recently, mourned as a father. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 387 
 
 His family attachments were very strong. It was 
 his practice to write to some of his near relatives, in 
 their respective places of residence, whenever he was 
 thus afllicted. But no one so carefully preserved all 
 his letters, as the brother whose files have been found 
 so serviceable. 
 
 Rev, Leonard Worcester. 
 
 " Sale7n, Jan. 31, 1804. 
 My dear brother, — 
 
 The Sovereign Dispenser of mercies and afflictions, 
 all whose counsels and works are perfect, has seen it 
 needful, that we should experience still further correc- 
 tion. He has smitten us again. He has smitten us 
 with a sudden and most grievous stroke. He has 
 taken away from us our only daughter, our dear Zervia 
 Fidelia ! For several days she had been unwell ; but 
 she had gotten relief, and, on Friday last, was lively 
 and brisk at her play. On the evening of the same 
 day, we perceived that she had renewed her cold, and 
 during the night were attentive to her, administering 
 such things, as we supposed suitable. On Saturday 
 morning, she appeared to be better, and during the 
 forenoon sat up and amused herself with her little 
 things. About noon, we discovered an alteration for 
 the worse ; our physician came in and confirmed our 
 apprehensions of the quinsy. 
 
 In the evening, he thought her symptoms less threat- 
 ening. She continued with very little alteration, until 
 some time past midnight, when we perceived her 
 breathing to grow worse. Two physicians were called 
 in. She was put into a warm bath, was bled, and 
 had every means used which the skill of the physicians 
 could suggest. But her bounds were set ; her disorder 
 hastened with amazing rapidity to its fatal crisis ; and 
 about six o'clock on Sabbath morning, she expired! 
 Thus were all our fond hopes and expectations, res- 
 pecting the dear object of our first parental affections, 
 cut off in a moment I Thus transient and delusory 
 
388 MEMOIR OP 
 
 are all our hopes of earthly bliss! Our poor little 
 Samuel is now left alone. How long the sovereign 
 Giver of all our blessings has determined, that we 
 should enjoy him, we know not. But sure I am, I 
 feel at present, that no dependence is to be placed on 
 anything here below. It is right it should be so ; I 
 think I feel it to be right. My only ground of support 
 and consolation is, that all things are in the hands of 
 inhnite Wisdom, who knows better what is s^ood for 
 us, than we ourselves do. Had I not this confidence, 
 the shock, I have now sustained, would be insupport- 
 able. 
 
 Pray for us, my dear brother, and accept for your- 
 self, our dear sister and your children, the assurances 
 of our most affectionate love. 
 
 Your afflicted brother, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 In his preaching, during this period, as in other 
 seasons of revival, he was careful to exhibit in bold 
 relief, the perfections and law of God, and the utter 
 guilt and hopelessness of the condition of the impeni- 
 tent, except as they should humble themselves at the 
 cross of Christ. Before giving counsel to the anxious, 
 he sought to know their precise state of mind ; for ex- 
 ample, lohy they were troubled and what they desired 
 to obtain. Though faithful and searching, he was 
 always gentle and affectionate. He ventm-ed upon no 
 experiments of harshness ; believing that sinners are 
 more likely to be c?ra^^?^, than driven^inio the kingdom 
 of Christ. Such was his uniform manner. As he 
 began, at Fitchburg ; so he finished, at Salem. 
 
 " I wish so to preach," he remarked to a friend, " that 
 my impenitent hearers shall at least be convinced, that 
 I have a sincere love for their souls, and that my 
 greatest desire is for their salvation." And alluding 
 to some church-members, who were quite too forward 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 389 
 
 in conversation with awakened persons, — " I wonder 
 how they can be so ! It appears to me a most solemn 
 responsibility for any one to take, when he attempts to 
 guide a soul, that is under the operation of the Spirit. 
 For my part, I never so feel my incompetency and my 
 dependence, as in such circumstances. — I tremble, lest 
 I should, in some way, come between the work of the 
 Spirit and the designed effect."* And those who 
 claimed to be teachers and leaders, he could not al- 
 ways trust In 1816, he brought many tears from the 
 eyes of a certain evanglist, one of the forerunners, in 
 the use of what have since been called " new mea- 
 sures ;" and whom, he kindly but thoroughly admon- 
 ished, because in his zeal for revivals, he had dis- 
 paraged the regular means of grace, and could see no 
 signs of promise, but in passionate emotion and com- 
 motion. 
 
 While a most ardent co-worker, in God's method of 
 reviving his work, he was peculiarly anxious, in the 
 revival of 1803-4, that no enthusiasm or extravagance 
 of any kind should give the enemy an occasion to 
 blaspheme. And, perhaps, in the beginning of the 
 present century, there was no community in New Eng- 
 land, in which it w^as more important, that a genuine 
 revival of religion should be seen in its legitimate 
 *' power of God unto salvation." Nearly one hundred 
 were, at this time, added to the church. 
 
 The minds of the people had been somewhat quiet- 
 
 * " I can think of no responsibility out of the pulpit, so great, as that of 
 guiding anxious souls to Christ. What a fearful thing to direct them wrong ! 
 And what deep knowledge of the plan of salvation and the windings of the 
 human heart, does it require, to direct them right ; to silence their objections ; 
 to drive them from their false refuges, and to bring them, despairing of help 
 from every other quarter, to the foot of the cross V'—Dr, Humphrey's Pastoral 
 Letters. 
 
 33* 
 
390 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ed, in regard to the appointment by the Trustees of 
 Dartmouth College ; yet were kept in suspense, so long 
 as their pastor withheld his formal decision. He at 
 last obtained the consent of the church to unite with 
 him, in calling a meeting of ministerial brethren, as a 
 committee of advice, to whom the whole subject might 
 be referred, with the understanding, that he would 
 abide the result of their consultations. 
 
 The Committee met in June. Rev. Noah Worces- 
 ter appeared before them, on behalf of the College, and 
 urgently pressed the claims of the Trustees and the 
 numerous friends of the institution. He was con- 
 scientiously of the opinion, that the Church ought to 
 release his brother, — great as might be the sacrifice of 
 feeling and expectation. It was argued, mainly, — that 
 it was very difficult to find a competent man, to fill 
 the office of Professor of Divinity ; that the office was 
 of paramount importance to that of pastor of a church ; 
 that the appointment of Mr. Worcester had given great 
 satisfaction; and that the guardians of the College 
 would be much discouraged, while great numbers in 
 the community would exceedingly regret a failure to 
 " secure his services. It should also be known, that 
 there was a confidential intimation, that, if the office 
 were accepted, he might expect, at no distant day, to 
 be elevated to the presidency of the College. 
 
 It was answered by the Committee of the Church, 
 that their pastor's present sphere of usefulness was 
 most ample ; that the evident smiles of Providence 
 rested upon his labors ; that his removal would be 
 severely felt in the town and the region, as well as 
 among his own people ; and that, after so short a set- 
 tlement, and after so long a period of previous trials in 
 the Church and Society, it was far too much, even for 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 391 
 
 the guardians of so important an institution of learn- 
 ing and religion, to expect a relinquishment of their 
 claims. 
 
 The Committee of ministerial brethren unanimous- 
 ly decided, that it was not expedient for him to accept 
 the appointment. In this decision, he acquiesced, as 
 if the plain intimation of the divine will. 
 
 After he had rested from all his labors, it w^as said 
 of him, in respect to this part of his life ; — " Never did 
 a man act with a more conscientious regard to the 
 will of God, than your pastor, in declining this invita- 
 tion. In a conversation held with him, but a few 
 weeks previous to his final departure from us, the 
 speaker well recollects his referring to this instance in 
 his history, as illustrating a principle, which, he said, 
 had ever been the rule of his conduct. ' I cast my- 
 self,' said he, ' upon Providence, leaving it to the 
 Committee, who were called upon the occasion, to say, 
 after receiving all the light which could be thrown 
 upon the subject, whether I should go, or whether I 
 should remain. And having left it there,' he added, 'I 
 know not that I felt the least anxiety for the result, 
 either before, or after it was made known.' "* 
 
 He was afterwards repeatedly solicited to accept of 
 the highest office in our literary institutions ; but de- 
 clined every offer of appointment. He hardly thought 
 it necessary to inquire concerning his duty, in any 
 other circumstances like those just reviewed. 
 
 In each succeeding year, it was still more evident, 
 that Dr. Worcester loved the Tabernacle pulpit as his 
 very life. Whatever was the state of his health or the 
 pressure of his engagements, he could not allow him- 
 self to enter it, with a merely impulsive or unhnished 
 
 * Rev. E. Cornelius' Sermons, tS:c. 
 
892 MEMOIR OF 
 
 preparation. At Salem, as before in Fitchburg, he 
 never permitted any duties as a pastor, to take pre- 
 cedence of his labors as a preacher. He considered it 
 a breach of trust, and disrespectful to a congregation, 
 to claim their attention to hasty and undigested dis- 
 cussions, expositions, or exhortations. He magnified 
 his office, as commissioned from above, to elevate the 
 mass of mind around him, and contribute, in a pre- 
 eminent degree, to the development of that sym- 
 metrical and finished mode of character, by which the 
 world has the most perfect demonstration, that 
 
 " The Christian is the highest style of man." 
 
 In a Sermon, at the ordination of Rev. David Jewett, 
 Oct. 30, 1805, he remarked, " that a people must be 
 very unwise, if they be unwilling that their minister 
 should study, and \VTite his public discourses." 
 
 " If divine knowledge be of such vast importance, it 
 is certainly very important, that the discourses from 
 the desk be as clear, coherent, and instructive, as pos- 
 sible. But it will be conceded on all hands, that al- 
 most any minister may, by study and writing, prepare 
 more instructive discourses, than he has any right to 
 expect he shall be able to deliver, without this pre- 
 paration. It is also worthy of consideration, that 
 there is no other way, in which a minister can make 
 so great progress in divine knowledge, or enrich his 
 own mind so fast, as by that kind of study and exer- 
 cise, which he must use in WTiting his discourses. 
 
 Almost any man, no doubt, of tolerable abilities, 
 and acquaintance with the Scriptures, may stand forth, 
 and without any previous study, utter for half an hour, 
 or an hour, very good things. But could he not, 
 probably, have delivered a more insti'uctive and useful 
 discourse, had he prepared, by previous study, and 
 writing, for the occasion? It is a further question of 
 still higher consideration, whether any man, if he 
 neglect study and writing, and Sabbath after Sabbath, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 393 
 
 depend upon his thon2:hts at the moment, for his pub- 
 lic discourses, will be liUely, for a course of months and 
 years, to bring forth from his treasures things neio and 
 oh/, and coninuuiicate as much instruction to his peo- 
 ple, as if he had accustomed himself studiously to write 
 his discourses. The question is not, whether a man 
 can preach without writing, for almost any one may 
 do this ; but can he preach as well, and for a course of 
 months and years, be as useful to his people, without 
 writing as with it? 
 
 Some, who are in the practice of writing their ser- 
 mons and some who are not, we have reason to hope 
 and believe, arc true ministers of Christ, and as such 
 are owned by him and blest. On the other hand, there 
 is reason to fear and believe, that some, who are in 
 the practice of writing, and some who are not, have 
 never been sent by Christ, and will never be acknow- 
 ledged by him. Certain it is, that some of the most 
 zealous and popular preachers without writing, have 
 turned out in the end the most notorious impostors. 
 Writing, therefore, is no evidence, that the preacher is 
 not a true minister of Christ; nor is preaching without 
 waiting, any evidence that he is. 
 
 In reply to those mistaken people, who suppose that 
 if a minister preach w^ithout writing, he can only de- 
 liver what is immediately dictated to him by the Spirit 
 of God ; not to mention again that the days of special 
 inspiration are past; it may suffice to ask. Why may 
 not a minister have the assistance of the Divine Spirit 
 when deliberately, and prayerfully, preparing his ser- 
 mons in his study, as well as when delivering them 
 extemporaneously from the desk ? 
 
 It is even pretended, indeed, by some, that delivering 
 sermons by note is not preaching. But what is preach- 
 ing, but publishing, or publicly declaring, the gospel ? 
 And is not he the best preacher, whether with, or with- 
 out notes, who declares the Gospel in the most clear, 
 instructive, forcible, and impressive manner? I re- 
 member but one place in the Scriptures, where preach- 
 ing is mentioned, in such a manner as certainly to de- 
 termine, whether it were done by reading, or without 
 
394 MEMOIR OP 
 
 book : that is in the fifteenth of Acts, where we are told, 
 that Moses hath of old time, in every city, them that 
 PREACH him, being' read every sabbath day in the syna- 
 gogue. 
 
 If the minister will commit what he has written to 
 his memory, or prepare himself well by previous study 
 without writing, it must be acknowledged, that, in 
 respect to the delivery of his discourses, he may find 
 an advantage. Every minister, however, ought so far 
 to know himself, and his gifts, as to judge, with some 
 correctness, in what way he is likely to be on the 
 whole, the most useful to his people ; and that way, 
 without conferring with flesh and blood, he ought con- 
 scientiously to pursue. And though at times he may 
 find it necessary to perform his public services, with- 
 out much previous study ; yet he ought never to forget, 
 that the Lord hath required beaten oil for the use of 
 his sanctuary." 
 
 His Sermons, at Fitchburg, were about four hundred. 
 As before stated, he wrote them with much attention 
 to every quality, both of matter and of style. Great 
 as was his temptation to draw upon them, seven or 
 eight years had passed away, before the temptation 
 had become very troublesome. At length, however, 
 he saw, as he thought, that he was in serious danger 
 from this source. He gathered all those Sermons to- 
 gether, and reserving but a small parcel, he committed 
 the rest to the flames ! 
 
 When interrogated upon the wisdom of this sacri- 
 fice, he answered very seriously : " I found, that I was 
 making crutches of them." It was said to him, " I am 
 afraid that you have put out a great deal of light;" — 
 to which he facetiously responded; " I suspect that the 
 illumination of the kitchen was as great, as would 
 have been given to others." 
 
 Like the apostles, he was no less solicitous, that 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 395 
 
 church-members should grow in grace, and adorn their 
 profession, than that the impenitent should be awak- 
 ened. Many of his best sermons were composed, as if 
 in prayer upon his knees in their especial behalf. 
 There were times when his "rod" was felt; but it was 
 ever applied " in love." — It was not in him ever to 
 address church-members, with upbraiding and crimi- 
 nation, as if deserving to be scourged, to the great 
 pleasure of the rest of the congregation. He felt at 
 liberty to speak to them, when in their own regular 
 meeting, as he would not in a promiscuous assembly. 
 Keenly sensitive to every injury inflicted upon the 
 Church as a body, by the reproachful conduct of indi- 
 viduals, he exhorted and warned with all long-suffering. 
 But " to feed the church of God" was his delight. 
 
 His private admonitions were not withheld, in ap- 
 propriate circumstances. Much was done for "reproof" 
 and for " correction," as well as "doctrine" and " in- 
 struction in righteousness," at the regular lectures, pre- 
 paratory to the Lord's Supper, which was administered 
 on the first Sabbath of each month.* In these, in ser- 
 mons immediately preceding the administration of the 
 ordinance, and in his extemporaneous addresses at the 
 table of communion, there was usually an unction of 
 solemn tenderness, as if he had just been baptized 
 afresh, into the spirit of the dying Redeemer. 
 
 Let the subject of his discourse, however, be what 
 it might, he seldom preached, without a word in sea- 
 son for every one, whether of the Church or the Con- 
 gregation. And it is worthy of particular remark, 
 that he was accustomed to watch his people, in regard 
 
 * This custom in the Salem churches began, doubtless, in the First 
 Church. " 1660, Sept. 10. It is agreed that the Lord's Supper be observed 
 once a moiwhr— Annals of Salem, Vol. II. p. 583. 
 
896 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to attentiveness ; and his hopes of the conversion of 
 the impenitent were much affected by his observation 
 of their habits in this respect. He anticipated a stable 
 and consistent piety, from those who had been wake- 
 ful and serious hearers, before professing to have passed 
 from death unto life. And he placed more reliance 
 upon tokens of uniform, habitual interest in the ser- 
 vices of the sanctuary, as affording evidence of a heart 
 " sound in the faith," than upon any of the most fluent 
 and confident professions 
 
 " Of inward joys and sins forgiven," 
 
 Beside miscellaneous preaching, he delivered 
 courses of sermons, so as to present important subjects 
 in their mutual connections. He also delivered sev- 
 eral series of lectures, chiefly historical and ex- 
 pository, but doctrinal, preceptive, or otherwise, as 
 seemed most pertinent to the passage of Scripture, 
 which came before him in the order of his plan. 
 
 At the opening of the year 1806, he commenced a 
 course of such lectures, upon Genesis. He had sus- 
 tained a lecture on Sabbath evenings, preaching as 
 often as he could ; not for his own people, but for 
 others, as the circumstances then were. It was his 
 decided judgment, and often expressed, that two ser- 
 mons on the Sabbath are as much as any person can 
 ordinarily hear to good profit. He, therefore, rather 
 discouraged his own people from attending his " Third 
 Services." 
 
 His lectures on Genesis drew crowds to the Taber- 
 nacle. The aisles of the commodious edifice were 
 often filled by persons, who stood quietly and patient- 
 ly to the end of the service. These were of every rank 
 in society, and of all varieties of religious belief. In 
 every part of Salem, the aged can now be found, whose 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 397 
 
 remembrances of "Dr. Worcester's Sabbath evening 
 Lectures on Genesis" are fresh and bright as the morn- 
 ing. The hearer was often surprised or amazed, at wliat 
 was disclosed to him from the chapters, wliich he had 
 r^ad again and again, without imagining, that any 
 such instruction was there. The effect was very hap- 
 py upon all classes, in drawing attention to the Scrip- 
 tures ; enhancing the value of the " things written 
 aforetime ; " inspiring reverence for every message, in 
 the name of the Lord ; awakening the anxious concern 
 of the careless and thoughtless ; and assisting believers 
 more effectually to vindicate the ways of God, and 
 " hold forth the word of life." 
 
 Accompanying the lectures on Genesis, was a course 
 on Matthew, extending to eighty and upwards, and 
 commonly preached on Sabbath morning. The sub- 
 stance of the four Gospels in harmony, was embraced 
 in the plan of this series. Prepared with much labor, 
 these lectures were very profitable. They were the 
 more valued, perhaps, because commentaries and other 
 works illustrative of the Scriptures were comparative- 
 ly few, and were found but in a small number of fam- 
 ilies. 
 
 Twenty lectures upon the Acts of the Apostles, or 
 " the principal Facts in the Apostolic History," suc- 
 ceeded those upon the Gospel by Matthew. This 
 course was more elaborate and finished, than either of 
 the others. In the volume of sermons published after 
 the preacher's decease, there is an example, from the 
 words, — And a cloud received him out of their sight. 
 This same lecture or sermon he preached at the chapel 
 of the Theological Seminary, Andover, in one of the 
 last years of his life, and when his health was greatly 
 impaired. To many of the young men of the semina- 
 34 
 
398 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ry, it was the first time, that they had ever heard his 
 voice. There are some whose eye may fall upon these 
 sketches. If so, they will recall the impressions of the 
 scene, as one in which they never looked upon a man 
 of God with more reverence, nor realized more deeply 
 the sublime anticipations of the Christian faith. 
 
 In one of the lectures of this course, in 1812, — that 
 upon " the martyrdom of Stephen," — the opportunity 
 was seized, to portray the spirit of that kind of demo- 
 cracy, which had just been exemplified by the murder- 
 ers of General Lingan, at Baltimore. The audience 
 were electrified by the impassioned tones of his right- 
 eous condemnation, hurled like thunderbolts, upon the 
 atrocious assassins, and their instigating or sympa- 
 thizing accomplices. 
 
 Several years after he was installed, he introduced 
 the custom of an invocation, with reading of the Scrip- 
 tures,* at the morning exercises of public worship. He 
 so read the Scriptures, that an unexpected emphasis, 
 or a significant modulation of his voice would uncover 
 a mine of " hid treasure ! " " How much he makes out 
 of the Bible 1 " 
 
 " I thought," said one, " that the minister who 
 preached the most Bible, was the best minister for 
 me. I had attended meeting in several places, both in 
 Boston and Salem. When I heard yom* father, I used 
 
 * The present pastor, immediately after his settlement, in 1S34, introduced 
 the reading of the Scriptures, at the Tabernacle, as an invariable part of ev- 
 ery public service. And he is of opinion, that no exercise of public 
 worship is more important, or more instructive and impressive, when so per- 
 formed, that the hearer is not tempted to say, — " Under standest thou tvhat 
 ihoii readest ? " 
 
 " Our fathers long abstained from the commendable practice of reading 
 the Scriptures at public worship, to be, in this respect as in others, as diller- 
 ent as possible from the Church of England, which requires the Scriptures to 
 be read, ^niX prescribes the portions for every seiviceJ'' — History of Old South, 
 pp. 105, 6. 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 399 
 
 to go home, and what I could recollect of the pas- 
 sages quoted in the sermon, I would compare with the 
 Bible, myself, to see if they had been quoted correctly. 
 I became fully convinced, that he preached more ex- 
 actly according to the Scriptures, than any other min- 
 ister, whom I had the opportunity to hear. And I never 
 heard any sermons, which I can now so well remem- 
 ber. There is a thread between him and me^ that will 
 not be severed while I am in this world. I do not 
 know how it may be, at the judgment." 
 
 The apparent effect of his ministrations, in leading 
 to the conversion of his hearers, was at no time great- 
 er, than in the period, when he was most employed in 
 searching and expounding the Scriptures. There were 
 several seasons of revival, with but short intervals, the 
 most memorable of which, after 1804, were from 1807 
 to 1808, and from 1810 to 1811 ;— during which he 
 was eminently blessed in his personal exertions. Of 
 those who became members of the Tabernacle Church, 
 were some from families of other congregations, and 
 from fashionable circles, — who had found it " a cross " 
 indeed, even to number themselves among the tran- 
 sient hearers of an orthodox minister ! 
 
 The frequent use of his pen in the Missionary Mag- 
 azine, and afterwards in the Magazine and Panoplist 
 united, was no detriment to his preaching. In his 
 " Occasional Sermons," as on Fast or Thanksgiving 
 days, or at ordinations, and meetings of benevolent 
 societies, he always tasked himself cheerfully, and thus 
 recruited his intellectual vigor. He could not have 
 endured the constant and often intense exertions of his 
 powers, but for the pleasure from the excitement. 
 
 In a review by Mr. Evarts, in 1814, it was said : — 
 " The author of this sermon has published several 
 occasional discourses, within a few years past. All, 
 
400 MEMOIR OP 
 
 which have come to our hands, (and we believe that 
 we have read alj that have been published,) abound in 
 good sense, in seriousness, and in a happy combina- 
 tion of doctrinal and practical instruction. They are 
 evidently the production of a vigorous mind, which is 
 deeply and habitually impressed with the responsibil- 
 ity of the ministerial office, and solemnly intent upon 
 the discharge of its duties." 
 
 This critique of a writer, who weighed his words, 
 and who never indulged his pen in a flourish of com- 
 pliment, even for his best friends, is as correct a de- 
 scription as could be given, of Dr. Worcester's general 
 character in sermonizing, whether upon common or 
 special occasions. 
 
 At conference meetings, his extemporaneous powers 
 were freely trusted. In expository discourses, he re- 
 lied, in part, upon brief notes ; but seldom, at other 
 times. In one instance, having inadvertently left his 
 sermon in his study, he apprized his congregation of 
 the awkward predicament in which he found himself. 
 He asked their indulgence, while he should offer some 
 remarks upon a passage of Scripture, which he would 
 make the theme of their present meditations. In the 
 afternoon, he repeated the experiment ; suggesting as 
 an apology, that the sermon which he had forgotten to 
 take in the morning, was designed for both parts of 
 the day. 
 
 His hearers were not very cautious in saying to him- 
 self, that they should not be troubled, if the like acci- 
 dent of inadvertence should more frequently occur.* 
 
 * At Newburyport, Dr. Spring was about to omit a Preparatory Lecture, 
 on account of illness. Rev. Philip Melancthon Wlielpley, from New York, 
 reached his house, just before the hour appointed for the service. " icannot 
 preach," he replied, when told that his coming: was peculiarly providential. 
 '' I have left all my sermons at Charlestown." " What I " exclaimed Dr. S. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 401 
 
 No one knew better than himself, that he who can 
 do well, extemporaneously, can do better by premedi- 
 itation, provided he is a man of really respectable re- 
 sources, natural and acquired. In seizing the spirit of 
 an occasion, he excelled ; yet was always glad of time 
 to " bring forth out of his treasure things new and old." 
 When other men, far inferior, would have relied upon 
 the suggestions and feelings of the hour or the moment, 
 and when he himself, if constrained thus to do, could 
 perform his part to entire acceptance, — it seems to 
 have been his uniform practice, to anticipate by reflec- 
 tion, with pen in hand, all public efforts of addresses, 
 and even services of devotion in which the happiest 
 effect would depend upon pertinency of thought and 
 expression. He may be said to have had a " liturgy " 
 of his own, which, however, he could use without any 
 danger of promoting " lethargy of piety," in himself or 
 any one else. 
 
 Take as an example, the original of a prayer at a 
 town-meeting, in the highest excitement of the federal 
 and democratic parties, previous to the second war 
 with Great Britain. 
 
 " Almighty God and everlasting Father, we ac- 
 knowledge and adore Thee as the Maker, and the 
 rightful Sovereign of all worlds ; the blessed and 
 only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, 
 who only hast immortality, dwelling in the light which 
 no man can approach unto. We render unto Thee 
 devout homage and praise for the infinitude and glory 
 of thy nature, thy perfections, and thy works. Thou 
 hast made of one blood all the nations of men, for to 
 dwell on all the face of the earth ; and hast determin- 
 
 " And did you leave your brains there ? " It was soon proved, that he had a 
 sermon with him. — Dr. Worcester would never excuse himself from doing 
 what he could, when taken by surprise in a call for a sermon or address. 
 
 34* 
 
402 MEMOIR OP 
 
 ed the times before appointed, and the bounds of their 
 habitation. Dominion and fear are with Thee, and 
 Thou art Governor among the nations. Thine, O 
 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, 
 and the victory, and the majesty ; for all that is in the 
 heaven and in the earth is thine. Both riches and 
 honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all ; and in 
 thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is 
 to make great, and to give strength unto all. 
 
 We bless Thee, O Lord, for the infinite clemency and 
 mercy, which Thou hast so gloriously displayed in the 
 administration of thy government over this revolted 
 and rebellious world ; that, through the gracious medi- 
 ation of thine own Son, Thou hast caused proclamation 
 to be made from heaven, of peace on earth and good 
 will towards men ; and that in him Thou art recon- 
 ciling the w^orld unto Thyself, and conferring upon 
 those who penitently accept thine offered peace, all the 
 privileges and blessings of thine eternal kingdom. We 
 thank Thee that the light of the glorious Gospel of thy 
 grace has been so extensively diifused ; that under its 
 Benign influence the condition of mankind has been in 
 so high a degree meliorated ; and that assurance is 
 given us in thine holy oracles, that this heavenly light 
 shall continue to spread, until all the nations shall be 
 blest with its healing beams. 
 
 We bless Thee, O thou Preserver of men, for the pe- 
 culiar favor which Thou hast shown unto our nation ; 
 for the good and pleasant land which thou hast so 
 kindly allotted unto us ; for the many signal interposi- 
 tions of thy providence in our behalf, in the times that 
 have passed over us ; for the rank which Thou hast given 
 us among the sovereign ajid independent nations of 
 the earth ; for the happy constitutions of government, 
 which under thy merciful auspices, have been estab- 
 lished for the security and preservation of our liberties 
 and rights ; for the institutions of religion and litera- 
 ture, with which we are so eminently favored ; and for 
 all the various and multi|)lied blessings with which, as 
 a nation and as individuals, we are so richly endowed. 
 
 We thank Thee, Father of mercies, for the favorable 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 403 
 
 circumstancos under which we are assomljh'd before 
 Thee, on this important occasion; and for the nnnier- 
 ous testimonials of thine infinite goodness, with which 
 we are here surrounded. From thy glorious high 
 throne in the heavens, look down upon us, we beseech 
 Thee, with infinite benignity and mercy. For the 
 sake of our gracious Redeemer pardon our manifold 
 offences, deeply penetrate our hearts with the senti- 
 ments of genuine contrition, and animate our minds 
 with those glorious hopes and those elevated views, 
 which the Gospel alone can inspire. 
 
 Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, thy gracious benedic- 
 tion on the citizens of this town, this day called to- 
 gether, for the purpose of transacting tlieir annual 
 municipal concerns. Duly appreciating tlieir high 
 privileges as freemen, and gratefully sensible of their 
 obligations to Thee for their invaluable inheritance, 
 may they exercise their rights with calm discretion and 
 with magnanimous integrity, unmindful of party, un- 
 influenced by passion, unswayed by any sinister bias. 
 May all their suffrages be impartially and worthily be- 
 stowed ; may all their measures be well advised, and 
 conducive to the promotion of their common interests ; 
 and, in all their proceedings this day, may they act in 
 thy fear, and as a band of brothers united for the public 
 good. May those to whom shall be intrusted the civil 
 and financial concerns of the town ; those to whom 
 shall be committed the oversight of the public charities ; 
 those who shall be superintendents of the means of 
 education ; and all who may this day be elected to of- 
 fices or places of trust and responsibility, from the 
 highest to the lowest, be men fearing God and hating 
 covetousness, competent to their stations, and benevo- 
 lent to their fellow-men ; and may they fulfill their re- 
 spective duties, with honor to themselves, with advan- 
 tage to the community, and with due regard to the 
 glory of thy great Name. 
 
 Bless, we beseech Thee, this favored town at large. 
 May it be a city of peace, and a dwelling-place of 
 righteousness and truth. Under thy fostering care, it 
 has enjoyed a long period of prosperity, and has in- 
 
404 MEMOIR OP 
 
 creased in population, in wealth, and in the various 
 accommodations of life. INIay it still continue to en- 
 joy thy beneficent smiles upon all its interests and 
 concerns. May the churches be blest with the dews 
 of celestial influence, and flourish as the garden of 
 God. May the ministers be richly endowed with all 
 the graces of thy Spirit, and be pastors according to 
 thine heart, who shall feed their respective flocks with 
 knowledge and understanding. May the magistracy 
 be wise and faithful, a terror to evil doers and a praise 
 to them that do well; and may the people lead quiet 
 and peaceable and industrious lives in all godliness 
 and honesty, — the rich not oppressing the poor, and the 
 poor not envying the rich, — but all, as members of one 
 common family, harmoniously and cheerfully fulfilling 
 the duties of their respective conditions and callings. 
 
 May our general health be precious in thy sight. 
 May our commerce be relieved from its embarrass- 
 ments. May our hands be sufficient for us and find 
 sufficient employment in our various useful occupa- 
 tions, and may our dwellings be crowned with plenty, 
 and with all the pure enjoyments of social and domes- 
 tic life, and there be no complaining in our streets. 
 May our sons be as plants grown up in their youth, 
 and our daughters as corner-stones, polished after the 
 similitude of a palace ; and may all our precious means 
 of education, of morality, of religion, and of happiness, 
 be thankfully improved and beneficently prospered. 
 
 Bless the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 the Council, the two houses of the General Court, and 
 all the judges and magistrates of this Commonwealth. 
 May they all be endued with true wisdom and benev- 
 olence, and, in their respective offices and stations, ex- 
 ecute their various trusts, and fulfill their various du- 
 ties, with fidelity and ability. And may the citizens 
 at large be well informed in the duties of their situa- 
 tions; use their liberties and privileges both civil and 
 religious, as not abusing them ; and enjoy thy blessing 
 upon all their true interests and laudable pursuits. 
 
 Bless the President, and Vice-President of these 
 United States, the heads of the executive departments, 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 405 
 
 the Judges of onr national Courts, the members of onr 
 national Legislature, and all subordinate oflicers, under 
 our general government. May lliey all enjoy thy sjx'cial 
 favor, and all be com])etent and iaithful to the trusts re- 
 posed in them. In this day of alarm and rebuke, in this 
 awfully eventful crisis of the world, may those who have 
 the management of our national allairs, have a good un- 
 derstandincf of our national intcn-ests. Feeling all the 
 weight of their high responsibility, surveying the as- 
 pects of the times with a clear and comprehensive 
 view, and discerning where the safety and the welfare 
 of the nation lie, may they be in all respects equal to 
 the momentous conjuncture ; and magnanimously uni- 
 ting for the public good, may all their deliberations 
 and measures be guided by a just and liberal and en- 
 lightened policy." 
 
 The preparation for a prayer in the Supreme Judi- 
 cial Court, during the same period, has a conclusion 
 very similar to the preceding. The introduction is 
 considerably varied, but analogous. The other parts 
 are, as follows : — 
 
 " Vouchsafe thy presence, O God, with the court of 
 civil and criminal judicature here convened. As it 
 has been instituted for the maintenance and distribu- 
 tion of justice, and for the security and promotion of 
 the rights and interests of individuals, and of the 
 community ; may it evermore be so favored with thy 
 protection, guidance and blessing, as fully to answer 
 the great purposes of its institution. 
 
 Bless, we beseech Thee, thy servants, who hold in 
 this court the high and sacred seat of justice. Inspire 
 them with the true spirit of their station, and hold 
 them in the right hand of thy faithfulness and mercy. 
 Remembering that Thou standest in the congregation 
 of the mighty, and judgest among the gods, may they 
 hold the scales of justice with an even hand, and al- 
 ways be disposed to sustain the righteous cause. Fear- 
 ing God and hating covctousness, may they be a ter- 
 
406 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well. 
 May their lives and health be precious in thy sight; 
 and having served thee and this generation, according 
 to thy will, may they sit hereafter in high seats of glo- 
 ry in thine everlasting kingdom. 
 
 Bless thy servants, who occupy here the bar of legal 
 counsel. Impressed with a religious veneration of thy 
 great and holy name, and with a profound respect for 
 the sacred principles of truth and right, may they ac- 
 quit themselves in all their professional duties, mth 
 fidelity to their clients, with equity towards all con- 
 cerned, with credit to themselves, and with advantage 
 to the cause of justice. 
 
 May those who here represent their country, in the 
 capacity of jurors, be favored with thy especial bless- 
 ing. Duly considering the high estimation in which 
 the privilege of trial by jury is justly holden by their 
 fellow-creatures, may they fear the oath of God which 
 is upon them, and in no instance betray the just con- 
 fidence, which is reposed in them. To every question 
 which may come before them, may they attend with 
 diligence and impartiality, and upon every cause which 
 shall go to them, may they give a firm and righteous 
 verdict. 
 
 May all who may appear before this court as wit- 
 nesses and suitors, have it in constant and solemn re- 
 membrance, that the false witness, and he that doeth 
 wrong to his neighbor, is an utter abhorrence in thine 
 holy sight; and that the day is at hand, when Thou 
 wilt bring every work into judgment, and every secret 
 thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. And of 
 the solemnities of that august and awful day, when the 
 secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest; when all 
 our thoughts and actions shall be disclosed in their 
 true light, to the view of assembled worlds ; and when 
 we shall receive from the Judge of all the earth a just 
 and irrevocable sentence of retribution, according to 
 our works, — may we all, O God, be solemnly reminded 
 by the occasion on which we are now convened ! In 
 view of that solemn scene, may we all, in our several 
 stations, ever live, and ever act, that when it shall ar- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 407 
 
 rive, wc may be so lmj)j)y as to meet our Judge, and 
 receive, though grac(*, the rewards of the righteous in 
 thine heavenly kingdom." &cc. 
 
 Another example was occasioned by the public ex- 
 amination of a classical school. 
 
 " O Thou, in whom all goodness dwells, from whom 
 all beings derive their existence, and on whom the 
 wdiole universe depends for life and light, for improve- 
 ment and happiness : we adore Thee as the Father of 
 cm' spirits, the fountain of our mercies, and the rock 
 of our hopes. We bless thy name, that among the 
 unnumbered orders of beings, which Thou hast created 
 for thy glory and thy praise. Thou hast been pleased 
 to allot to mankind so high and distinguished a rank ; 
 that Thou hast endowed us with rational and moral 
 and social powers, and made us capable of endless 
 improvement in knowledge, in worth, and in happi- 
 ness. We would gratefully rejoice before Thee in all 
 thy glorious works, and in all the displays which Thou 
 hast made before us, of thine unbounded goodness. 
 We would render Thee praise in the highest, that, 
 notwithstanding the guilt of our fallen state, there is 
 peace on earth and good will towards men ; that Thou 
 hast sent thy Son into the world, to redeem and save 
 us from wi'ath, to recover us from the ruins of the 
 apostacy, and to raise us to glory, to honor, and im- 
 mortality. We thank Thee, O Lord, for the numerous 
 and various blessings, spiritual and temporal, wiiich, 
 through the divine Mediator Thou hast so gi-aciously 
 conferred upon the world of mankind at large ; and 
 particularly for those of which we and our children 
 •are the favored partakers. We thank Thee for thy 
 distinguishing beneficence and mercy to our forefathers, 
 of which we have so many precious memorials ; and 
 for the fair and rich inheritance, which, from them 
 under thy gracious Providence, has been transmitted 
 to us their posterity ; for the abundant supply which 
 Thou hast furnished to us of the primary supports and 
 comforts of life; for the invaluable institutions and 
 
408 MEMOIR OF 
 
 privileges, civil, literary, and religious, with which we 
 are blessed ; and for all the advantages granted to us 
 for the best enjoyments, and the best attainments, of 
 which our natures are capable. Verily, O God, the 
 lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and we have 
 a goodly heritage : and our obligations of gratitude to 
 Thee, the Fountain of all good, are high and everlast- 
 ing. O may we be gratefully sensible to all our ob- 
 ligations ; may we duly estimate, and wisely improve 
 the various and numberless blessings which we enjoy; 
 and, in our lives and our character, may we show forth 
 the praises of thy goodness and thy grace. 
 
 We thank Thee, Father of mercies, for the agreeable 
 circumstances of this pleasant occasion : an occasion, 
 so deeply interesting to parental affections, and the 
 best feelings and hopes of humanity. We have seen 
 with high satisfaction, the specimens now exhibited 
 of youthful improvement, so creditable to the youths 
 themselves, and to their instructors ; and would notice 
 with devout gratitude the fair promise which they give, 
 of future character and usefulness. We would thank- 
 fully rejoice before Thee, O God, that under thy be- 
 neficent Providence our rising offspring are allowed 
 the enjoyment of advantages of education, even great- 
 er than those with which their parents were favored ; 
 and that we have opportunity, from time to time, to 
 witness the pleasing fruits of the advantages they 
 enjoy. 
 
 And now, O Lord our God, our eyes and our desires 
 are still unto Thee, in behalf of ourselves and of our 
 children ; for upon Thee are we still dependent for 
 every good and perfect gift. Most humbly and fer- 
 vently would we commend unto Thee, this school for 
 the instruction of youth. Let it ever, we beseech 
 Tlice, be under thy gracious direction, and thy foster- 
 ing care. May the choicest of thy blessings rest upon 
 it, and may it abundantly answer the highest hopes 
 and expectations of its founders and patrons. May it 
 long be continued a fruitful seminary, not only of the 
 rudiments of useful knowledge, but also of the prin- 
 ciples of virtue, of religion, and of everything amiable 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 409 
 
 and excellent in the Imnian clianieter. Bless thy ser- 
 vant, the present instruetor of this school. May his 
 life, and his continued and increasing usefulness, be 
 precious in thy sight. May he find great satisfaction 
 in the faitliful discharge of the cares and duties of his 
 interesting station, and in the good conduct and im- 
 provement of the youths committed to his direction 
 and tuition. And may he enjoy the best of all rewards, 
 in the approbation of his employers, his conscience, 
 and his God. 
 
 Bless, we humbly beseech Thee, the dear youths, 
 the members of this school ; and have them evermore 
 in thy holy and parental keeping. Secure them, from 
 the numberless evils to w^hich they are exposed in this 
 evil world ; and may their lives, their health, their char- 
 acters, and their best interests, be objects of thy most 
 gracious attention and care. May they duly appreci- 
 ate the precious advantages for education with which 
 they are favored ; and learn to be thankful for them to 
 their parents and to Thee. May they be diligent and 
 successful in their studies, modest and respectful in 
 their manners, and regular and amiable in all their 
 conduct. May they early be impressed with the great 
 principles of the Gospel ; and, instructed that the fear 
 of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, may they re- 
 member Thee their Creator, in the days of their 
 youth ; give their hearts to Thee ; and so walk in thy 
 commandments, as to know that the ways of wisdom 
 are pleasantness and all her paths peace. As they 
 increase in stature, may they increase also in wisdom 
 and knowledge, in virtue and piety, and in favor with 
 God and man ; and under the cultivation bestowed 
 upon them, may they in all respects so improve, as to 
 be prepared to come forward into life, with great honor 
 to themselves, great credit to their families, and great 
 usefulness to society. INIay their lives be long and 
 happy ; and, all their days on earth, may they love 
 their God and Savior, be prepared for all duties, and 
 for immortality and glory. 
 
 May the parents of these youths be remembered of 
 Thee for good. May their houses be established on 
 
 35 
 
410 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the sure foundations of thine everlasting covenant, and 
 be endowed with every blessing. 
 
 We ask thy needful benediction, O God, upon all 
 the schools, both public and private, in this town. 
 Well regulated and instructed, and abundantly en- 
 dowed with thy grace, may they prove the richest 
 blessings to all our children and youth, and to the 
 community at large ; and may the rising generations 
 of this people be kept in th)^ fear, and grow up before 
 Thee for praise and honor and glory." * 
 
 Having been called upon to express thanks at a 
 public dinner, a stranger of distinction was much 
 struck with the manner of the service ; and at the close 
 whispered, in a quick under-tone to Judge P. of the 
 Supreme Court, — " Very correct ! Very correct .'" — 
 " Always so," was the instant and hearty reply. It is 
 not improbable, that, in anticipation of that very ser- 
 vice, the " pen " had some share in the " correctness " 
 of the " tongue." I^or some occasion of the kind, a 
 model like this had been fashioned : 
 
 " Beneficent Parent of the universe, we bless thy 
 name for the riches of thine infinite goodness, so gra- 
 ciously and abundantly shown to mankind ; and, par- 
 ticularly, for the distinguished privileges and blessings 
 which we enjoy, under the glorious Gospel of thy Son, 
 and under those invaluable institutions, civil and re- 
 ligious, which in thy merciful providence Thou hast 
 granted unto us. We thank Thee for the favorable 
 circumstances, under which we have now been per- 
 mitted to sit down to this table of thy bounty, so 
 richly furnished for our refreshment and repast. By 
 these fruits of thy goodness, of w^hich we daily partake, 
 
 * A beautiful form of " Prayer for Sabbath Schools" was furnished by 
 Dr. Worcester for the American Edition of Jay's Family Prayers. It was 
 at the request of his friend and parishioner, Mr. Henry Whipple, who had 
 his cordial approval in publishing that valuable work. See pp. 293-4, of the 
 edition by M. W. Dodd, 1S50. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 411 
 
 may we be led np in c^ratitude and love to the glo- 
 rious Fountain of all good, that we may seek and ob- 
 tain the infuiitely higher enjoyments of an immortal 
 life. Bless, we beseeeh Thee, thy servants present, 
 entrusted with the important concerns of this town; 
 and let theirs be the satisfaction and the reward of 
 good and faithful servants," &c. 
 
 No such models or castings of preparation, for the 
 ordinary exercises of public worship, or for any other 
 occasions than such as were more or less extra- 
 ordinary, were found among the private papers of Dr. 
 Worcester. It is most likely that he had some, in his 
 earlier ministrations ; or that, at difierent times, he 
 gave his attention specially to the responsibilities of 
 prayer in public. It was by diligent and devout pre- 
 meditation, or by "making the proper subjects of 
 prayer, a business of serious reflection," that he ac- 
 quired his pre-eminent ability in conducting services 
 of devotion, of whatever kind and in whatever place.* 
 And lest, from examining the models here presented, 
 any should suppose, that he would sometimes seem 
 artificial.) or mechanical.^ it may be affirmed in the most 
 unqualified terms, that there was no such appear- 
 ance. 
 
 * " I advise yon to make the proper subjects of prayer, a business of se- 
 rious reflection. Go, first of all, to the Bible, the great store-house of devo- 
 tional thoughts ; and next, to such spiritual writers as Flavel, Owen, Bax- 
 ter, Watts, and, (instar omnium, for this purpose,) Henry." * * * '• Orton 
 says, that while he thinks premeditation to be proper as to general drift of 
 prayer, he had for many years left off the exact attention to method, which 
 he used to practise ; endeavoring only to have his mind, before engaging in 
 the exercise, deeply impressed with the solemn truths of religion. The 
 same course, he says, was adopted by Dr. Scott, one of the wisest and de- 
 voutest men of his acquaintance." — Dr. Porter s Lectures., on Homiletics, 6fe. 
 pp. 304-5. To the admirable counsels of the devout Dr. Porter to the stu- 
 dents at Andover, his warm friend Dr. W., would have given his heartiest 
 approval. 
 
412 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In using such preparations, while his strong memory 
 would retain very much, both of sentiments and sen- 
 tences, he probably condensed some parts, and other- 
 wise freely deviated from the written formula or model, 
 which might have been found among the papers of his 
 " closet." Every word was so uttered, that his " heart" 
 would appear to be most fervently engaged, "inditing 
 a good matter ;" and not a suspicion be awakened, 
 that he himself might have responded : " I speak of 
 the things which I have made touching the King ; my 
 tongue is the pen of a ready writer." (Ps. xlv. 1.) 
 
 One eminent advantage of such habits of prepara- 
 tion, was, that, with or without time, he was semper 
 paraUis^ always in readiness. He could extemporize^ 
 at any moment, to the edification of any assembly, 
 where there was a call for his voice. When at an ex- 
 amination of a school, a clergyman had failed of be- 
 ing present to address the scholars and their friends, 
 he promptly came forward and filled the vacant place. 
 A gentleman, who was bitterly opposed to his relig- 
 ious sentiments, was so moved that he could not con- 
 tain himself. " I do not believe," said he, "that there 
 is another man in the community, who, when called 
 upon in like manner, could have made such an appro- 
 priate and admirable address.' 
 
 5J* 
 
 * A similar efTect was produced by what was called an off-hand speech, 
 at a Masonic celebration ; and wiiich, it is supposed, was purely an unpre- 
 meditated effort. 
 
 The most renowned orators, it is well known, have prepared their best 
 passages, in private study. Some sallies even of wit or repartee, which were 
 thought, at the time, to be the instantaneous scintillations of genius, have 
 been afterwards traced to memoranda, which must have been made, for at 
 least half a score of years, and perhaps longer. Thus was it with Sheri- 
 dan's reply to Dundas, in the House of Commons : " The Right Honorable 
 gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for 
 his facts." — Moore^s Life of Skeridan, vol. H. pp. 275-6. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 413 
 
 In any place of discussion or debate, he was never 
 silent, where he ought to speak." As a debater, he 
 showed himself in greater strength, than as a preacher. 
 It was truly written of him, that, before some councils, 
 "he delivered speeches of several hours' length, which 
 astonished his hearers. They were specimens of con- 
 nected thought, force of argument, and command of 
 language, which are seldom rivalled even in courts of 
 judicature and legislative assemblies."* 
 
 Sometimes he re-wrote ; but not generally. At Sa- 
 lem, he did not often do much in making sermons, un- 
 til the last two days of the week, the niglits included ; 
 and he then, under a pressure, could prepare for three 
 services. He had many plans of sermons, which at 
 some period of his ministry he had constructed, — very 
 much after the manner of " Simeon's Skeletons." 
 These were a great assistance to him. But he could 
 not have accomplished a tithe of w^hat he did, as a 
 preacher, if he had not habituated himself to an in- 
 dustry, which no man could prosecute, and have 
 *' length of days." As a natural consequence of studies, 
 late at night,, " the number of his months " was " cut 
 off in the midst," and " cut off with pining sickness.'* 
 
 All his reading and observation, he turned to ac- 
 count, as a public teacher. Nothing escaped him, in 
 the events of national or local, general or private in- 
 terest. He attempted no journal of his feelings ; but 
 he kept brief memoranda of whatever might be of ad- 
 vantage, in his preaching, his conference-meetings, his 
 catechetical exercises, or his visits. Thus, if a little 
 boy was drowned, whether or not of his own congre- 
 gation, he made a record of the fact, with nearly the 
 
 * Rev. S. Farley, in " The Dartmouth," Sept, 1843. 
 
 35* 
 
414 MEMOIR OP 
 
 same particularity, as he noted the astounding duel 
 and self-destruction of Alexander Hamilton, — a 
 statesman, for whose political character he had great, 
 admiration. 
 
 His diligence and discrimination, from his youth 
 upward, as an observer of manners, habits, and the 
 varied characteristics of his fellow-men, will explain 
 much of his success in adapting his instructions to the 
 wants of his own people, and of the community. 
 There was no stereotyped repetition or sameness, in 
 his preaching, prayers, or exhortations. He sought 
 and secured variety, without affecting to be original ; 
 or condescending to any device, for a momentary or 
 ephemeral impression. He dealt sparingly in com- 
 mon-places, and never in " impalpable generalities." 
 For every paragraph, or line, or word, in his mature 
 writings, he could have assigned a motive, or purpose, 
 of solid, substantial utility. 
 
 It may be said with assurance, that he wrote noth- 
 ing and spoke nothing, for the display of his abilities, 
 like an aspirant of honor, whose end is gained, when 
 the applause is won. His unremitted aim to do ivell 
 in his sacred calling, was that of a faithful servant of 
 Christ, — not proud of the livery of his station, or of the 
 "marks "that he "bore," — but always mindful, that 
 "every one of us shall give account of himself to 
 God." 
 
 Knowing " the offence of the cross," he was studious 
 in all things, that through him this " offence " should 
 not be aggravated in the "carnal mind" of the " wise 
 of the world," by his actual or apparent disregard of 
 the laws of good taste, or of any of those attractions 
 of style, in which the original Scriptures so far trans- 
 cend the literature of all nations. Whatever he may 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 415 
 
 have cultivated of " excellency of speech," therefore, 
 was in his own aims and ends, for "the furtlierance of 
 the Gos[)el ;" — and from liis just conceptions of the 
 beauty of its holiness and love, as infinitely worthy of 
 the richest and the purest oll'erings of human genius, 
 learning, and relinement. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Weekly meetings. Church disciphne. Report on "disorderly walk." 
 Answer to questions of order and usag-e. Declaratory Articles, and Cor- 
 respondence respecting- dismissions to Baptist chnrches. Illustraiions of 
 Christian fellowship. Catholic and noble spirit. Discourses on the Ai)ra- 
 hamic Covenant. Failure of health. Southern tour. Letters to Dr. 
 Baldwin, in vindication of Discourses, &c. Reflections on his birth-day, 
 Nov. 1, 1S07. 
 
 Let all things be done decently and in order. * * Now I beseech you, 
 brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
 thing, and tliat there be no divisions among you. * * Is Christ divided ? 
 * * I baptized Crispus and Gains. * * I baptized also the household 
 of Stephanus. * * Christ sent me not to baptize, but to rRtACH the 
 Gospel. 
 
 In addition to the regular services of the sanctuary, 
 with an evening Lecture on alternate Sabbaths, Dr. 
 Worcester usually attended two meetings during the 
 week. One was for the church exclusively. In this 
 he spent much time in expounding the Scriptures ; 
 calling upon the brethren for remarks or inquiries. 
 They also assisted him by taking part in prayer and 
 exhortation. After the opening of a meeting, he 
 would often say, — " Brethren, have you any subject ?" 
 It was a great pleasure to him, to see the working of 
 their various minds upon passages of the Bible, and 
 
416 MEMOIR OF 
 
 upon questions of christian duty. If they propounded 
 inquiries for his more special determination, he usually 
 contrived to ascertain their own views, before he gave 
 a definitive answer. " I have been often indebted to 
 my brethren," he said, "for some of my best thoughts." 
 
 Much time was given to familiar and practical re- 
 mark upon portions of the Scriptures, at the other 
 meetings. If there was more than common attention 
 among the unconverted, familiar discourses would be 
 preached, or such other mode of instruction adopted, 
 as the circumstances would seem to require. 
 
 These meetings were sometimes attended by tran- 
 sient visiters in Salem, and by persons of other relig- 
 ious societies. Among them were those, who after- 
 wards gave thanks to God, that they were ever led 
 into the vestiy of the Tabernacle. Influenced by cu- 
 riosity, or courtesy to a friend, they had placed them- 
 selves, where most unexpectedly they had become in- 
 terested, as never before, in the gi'cat question of per- 
 sonal salvation. Of many more than one, it may be 
 said, — " The Lord shall count when he wiiteth up the 
 people, that this man was born there." 
 
 In the business of the Church, as in cases of disci- 
 pline, which would, of course, change the character of 
 the regular church-meeting. Dr. Worcester often sur- 
 prised his most intimate friends by his felicitous ap- 
 plications of principles and rules, and excited their 
 wonder by his patience and forbearance, when breth- 
 ren were slow to see " eye to eye." — Upon no part of 
 church action did he insist more inflexibly, than the 
 observance of the rule in the 18th of Matthew, in all 
 preliminary proceedings of discipline, whether the of- 
 fence was of a private or public nature. He did not 
 allow, that a public oflence could be settled by indi- 
 
SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 417 
 
 viduals in private, but tlioiight tliat there is more hope 
 of rechiiiniiig an oii'ender, although he may know, 
 that the brethren wlio takt; " the first steps," are in- 
 tending to "tell tlie ehurch " the whole case, and sub- 
 mit it to their adjudication, even when in their judg- 
 ment he is truly penitent. In thus rigidly applying 
 the rule of our Savior, which certainly relates to cases 
 of private offence, Dr. Worcester was doubtless gov- 
 erned by his characteristic desire of adhering, as much 
 as possible, to scriptural directions and examples. 
 And he had never met with a case, in actual expe- 
 rience, where, if the rule should be required, there 
 could be no proper action of the church, to wipe off 
 a great reproach, — for instance, if a flagrant offender 
 had fled the country ; not to mention other cases, in 
 which a recourse to the private •' steps " could be little 
 else than idle and nugatory.* 
 
 He was well supported by the church, in all the 
 measures which he deliberately recommended. But 
 he was no stranger to severe trials of opposition. 
 Some who opposed him, were quite as much in favor 
 
 * At a meeting of the Church, Nov. 22, ISoO, it was voted to amend the 
 3d article, as follows : — That in ease the oflence is of a public nature, and no 
 one member more than any other has reason to consider himself oflended or 
 ag-grieved, — the pastor or any of the brethren may call the attention of the 
 church to the ca.se, and it shall not be deemed necessary, that the com- 
 plainant shall have previously proceeded according to the direction in the 
 ISth of Matthew. But in cases of public ollence, no less than of personal, 
 the spirit of that direction is to be sacredly regarded. 
 
 The offending member shall also, when it is practicable, have notice of 
 the intention of the church to adjudicate upon his case, at least two weeks 
 before the time appointed for the adjudication. If, however, the oflence be 
 notorious, and such as to do evident injury to the cause of truth and right- 
 eousness by delay of discipline , and if, also, by reason of distance or any 
 other cause, the oflijnding member is not accessible to the church, — then is 
 it to be understood, that the action of the church shall not be hindered by 
 the absence of such member, or by his not receiving such notice, as is other- 
 wise to be required. 
 
418 MEMOIR OF 
 
 of their own personal consequence, as they were dis- 
 trustful of his judgment. There were a few, who af- 
 fected to feel very serious apprehension, that the pas- 
 tor would acquire too much power, as the " ruler " of 
 the body. And though he never yet had abridged any 
 one's liberties, or encroached upon any one's rights, 
 they took a course of general procedure, as if he ought 
 to be vmtched very carefully, and often resisted, lest at 
 some time he should abuse his great influence, and 
 attempt to " lord it over God's heritage." 
 
 No pastor ever presided in a church, with a better 
 combination of dignity and of unaffected condescen- 
 sion to infirmities or perversities. He allowed every 
 brother his place, his title to be heard fully, and his ut- 
 most right of individual preference, whether in the 
 minority or the majority. But the fact, that, in all in- 
 stances, in which he deemed the action of the church 
 to be of material consequence, he succeeded in the 
 end, mainly according to his wishes, was one very 
 palpable occasion of the fear in some minds, that his 
 sway over the body might eventually savor more of 
 the monarchical than the democratic. The members, 
 who discovered the most of this fear, were of the de- 
 mocratic party ; while their pastor was a federalist of 
 the straitest sect. 
 
 In some circumstances, members of the church ex- 
 posed themselves to his very pointed admonition, for 
 their violations of order, and their personal allusions 
 to the moderator. He claimed, that the chair should 
 ever be treated with respect. He would not, there- 
 fore, silently pass unnoticed and unrebuked any mark- 
 ed trespass upon the rules of order or the courtesies of 
 strict decorum, either as to himself or to any of the 
 brethren. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 419 
 
 He was never precipitate in any of his recommend- 
 ations, always desiring to have every measure thor- 
 oughly, but candidly, examined. One secret of his 
 success, as the Moderator of the Church was his 
 patience. When he could have had a strong vote 
 upon a question, agreeably to his wishes, he often 
 suggested a postponement of final action. Ills pur- 
 poses were thus most eflectually and happily accom- 
 plished bf/ delaij. 
 
 Wlien questions of church polity seemed to be of 
 more than usual interest or importance, they were 
 made the subject of careful and elaborate discussion 
 in the pulpit. In this manner, the pastor enlightened 
 the minds of his people generally, relative to the fun- 
 damental principles of ecclesiastical order. Some of 
 his most able and interesting discourses, were occa- 
 sioned by the administration of church discipline. 
 And so steadfastly did the pastor pursue his design of 
 establishing the church, upon the soundest principles 
 and most exact procedure of an efficient Congrega- 
 tionalism ; so powerful were the arguments by which 
 he enforced the measures, which he deemed expedient 
 or necessary for the welfare of a church, as an organ- 
 ized body ; so judicious was the method, by which in- 
 dividuals were led to contemplate some old usages as 
 abuses, and new modes as a " more excellent way ;" — 
 that, in a comparatively brief period, he had the satis- 
 faction of seeing such a provision made, for ordinary 
 and extraordinary liabilities of action, as to render it 
 altogether improbable, that in any contingency, there 
 would be occasion for a new rule or precedent. 
 
 In course of his ministry in Salem, there were some 
 processes of discipline, in which his decisions were 
 distinguished by all those characteristics, which have 
 
420 MExMOIR OF 
 
 given renown to the ablest judges on the bench of law 
 and justice. But for obvious reasons, it would be in- 
 admissible to cite the cases, by which these remarks 
 could be fully verified. Instead of such illustrations, 
 a document from his pen on the subject of " disorderly 
 walk," may here be presented. 
 
 " The Committee, to whom was referred the ques- 
 tion, ' What is the duty of the church in regard to 
 members who break the church covenant?' — submit 
 the following as their report. 
 
 In order to a clear view of this subject, it seems re- 
 quisite to recur to first principles. 
 
 Covenants are never to be lightly regarded. A cov- 
 enant is a compact, contract, or agreement, in which 
 a proposition held out by one party is accepted by 
 another, and both are sacredly bound, on the pledge of 
 mutual good faith, to the performance of the respec- 
 tive stipulations. ' Brethren,' says the apostle to the 
 Galatians, ' though it be but a man's covenant, yet if 
 it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth there- 
 unto.' A simple promise is to be held sacred ; a cov- 
 enant is still more sacred : the breach of a simple 
 promise is an immorality — is falsehood, is perfidy ; 
 the breach of a covenant is a greater immorality — is 
 falsehood, is perfidy of a more heinous character, in 
 proportion as the faith violated by it was more solemn- 
 ly pledged, and the injury done is greater. Accord- 
 ingly, when the apostle would give a strong view of 
 the great wickedness of the perilous times of the last 
 days, he mentions, among other enormities, that men 
 will be 'truce,' or covenant 'breakers.' 
 
 If covenants merely temporal or secular are to be 
 held inviolable ; how much more covenants of a spir- 
 itual or religious nature ? Of all the covenants into 
 which men can enter, none can have a higher degree 
 of sacredness than the covenant of a church. 
 
 The church state is an institution of Christ, design- 
 ed for most im})ortant ends. It is designed for the 
 regular administration of his holy ordinances, for the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 421 
 
 benefit In many impt)rl:inl respects of his people, for 
 light and conviction to the world, and lor the mainte- 
 nance and advancement of his cause. The church is 
 'the ])illar and ground of the truth.' It is not enough 
 that men be Christians; Christ recjuires that his peo- 
 ple should associjj-te in a church state, and in that state 
 so deport themselves, that the body, being iitly joined 
 together and compacted, may increase, unto the edi- 
 fying of itself in love. There can be no church, how- 
 ever, without a covenant ; the very existence of a 
 church supposes a covenant ; it is, indeed, by a cove- 
 nant or sacred agreement, in which ])drsons professing 
 godliness solemnly give themselves first to the Lord, 
 and then to one another, for the observance of the or- 
 dinances of Christ in the same society, that a church 
 is constituted. In the church covenant, avouching the 
 Lord Jehovah to be our God, and ourselves to be his 
 people, we solemnly give up ourselves to him, and en- 
 gage to walk together before him in the faith and or- 
 der of the Gospel, according to the directions of his 
 Word ; and we also give up ourselves to one another 
 in the Lord, solemnly engaging to walk with each 
 other in holy fellowship, to watch over each other in 
 the spirit of christian charity, meekness, and faithful- 
 ness, and humbly to submit ourselves to the discipline 
 and government of Christ in his church, for our mu- 
 tual benefit and for the glory of Christ. All this is 
 either distinctly expressed or clearly implied, in every 
 church covenant; the obligations thus induced are 
 certainly of the most sacred kind ; and these obliga- 
 tions every person, on joining a church, takes upon 
 himself in the presence of God, angels, and men, with 
 all the solemnity of an oath. This covenant, with all 
 its solemnities, the church propounds to individuals ; 
 to this covenant all who become members consent, 
 and in regard to the obligations of it, swear fidelity 
 to God, to the church, and to every member of the 
 church. 
 
 Every breach of this covenant, tlierefore, must be 
 viewed in a very serious light ; for it is of the nature 
 
 36 
 
422 MEMOIR OF 
 
 of perjury ; it is a violation of sworn faith to God, to 
 the church, and to every individual member. This 
 surely is sin ; sin against God and men ; sin, the evil 
 and guilt of which, though of different degrees, accord- 
 ing to the extent of the breach committed, and the 
 aggravations attending it, yet in no case can be 
 small. 
 
 Such being the nature and character of a breach of 
 the church covenant, a person chargeable with this 
 sin is most clearly amenable, not only to God, but 
 also to the church. If the breach be of such a kind as 
 to be manifest, the church is bound to take serious 
 notice of it ; — ^bound in fidelity to Christ, the head, in 
 fidelity to herself as a body, in fidelity to each indi- 
 vidual member, and in fidelity particularly to the of- 
 fender. If a manifest breach of covenant be suffered 
 to pass without due notice, the tendency of it must be 
 to bring the covenant into disesteem and contempt as 
 an unholy thing, to weaken and dissolve the sacred 
 ties by which the church is bound together and com- 
 pacted, to frustrate the holy and important ends for 
 which the church state was divinely instituted, and to 
 produce darkness, confusion, and every evil work. 
 
 Offences, however, which are properly cognizable 
 by the church, may be of different degrees of flagrancy 
 and guilt, and accordingly require to be differently 
 treated ; and though every such offence, if rightly 
 treated, and satisfaction be not made, must ultimately 
 issue in the separation of the offender from the com- 
 munion of the church; yet the entire process of the 
 church should doubtless be more strongly expressive 
 of disapprobation in one case, than in another less 
 strongly marked with guilt. Though an offence com- 
 mitted by a true Christian is not less sinful, nor less 
 censurable, than a similar offence committed by a false 
 professor ; and though an offender, who, notwith- 
 standing his ofl'ence, may on the whole be supposed 
 by the church to be a subject of grace, if he do not 
 make satisfaction, must be separated from the church ; 
 yet the process of the church may be expressive of dif- 
 ferent feelings towards such an one, from what should 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 423 
 
 be expressed towards one who makes it flagrantly 
 manifest, that he is utterly graceless. A diflrrence of 
 this kind seems to be clearly indicated, in difl'erent 
 apostolical directions. According to these directions, 
 some are to be delivered unto Satan, for the destruc- 
 tion of the flesh, others are to be ])ointe(lly rejected, as 
 subverted and self-condemned; while from others, the 
 church is simply to withdraw. 
 
 This general principle is applicable, no doubt, to 
 breaches of covenant. As every kind of sin, commit- 
 ted by a church member, is in some sense a violation 
 of the church covenant, some breaches of the cove- 
 nant may require the highest expressions of the 
 church's disapprobation and abhorrence, while others 
 should be treated with expressions of a milder char- 
 acter. 
 
 Those from whom the church are commanded only 
 to withdraw, are characterized as persons wdio walk 
 disorderly. The original word rendered disorderly is 
 a military term, and is primarily applicable to sol- 
 diers who quit their ranks, desert their posts, or will 
 not submit to the rules and orders of the army ; and 
 hence, in the church, it seems to be particularly appli- 
 cable to such as walk in violation of the rules and 
 covenant of the church, but whose characters in other 
 respects are not manifestly immoral or reprehensible. 
 If, indeed, a member renounce the church, its com- 
 munion and ordinances, he walks disorderly to a very 
 great extent. He breaks and casts off the whole 
 church covenant at once ; quits his ranks and deserts 
 his post entirely ; and utterly withdraws himself from 
 all the solemn obligations of membership. This can- 
 not be a light offence against the church ; nor can it, 
 unless the church is manifestly removed from the 
 foundation of the apostles and prophets, or so corrupt 
 as not to be a church of Christ, be a small sin against 
 God. Yet, even in regard to such a person, the cir- 
 cumstances of the case may be such as to render a 
 simple, though solemn, withdrawment from him, on 
 the part of the church, the proper procedure. 
 
 These views of the subject at large, the committee 
 
424 MEMOIR OF 
 
 would respectfully recommend to the serious consider- 
 ation of the church ; and particularly submit it as 
 their opinion, that in regard to members who mani- 
 festly break the church covenant, but with no special 
 ofiensiveness of temper or deportm.ent, it is the duty 
 of the church, after proper admonition and due long- 
 sufiering, solemnly to Avithdraw from them, according 
 to the injunction in 2 Thess. iii. 6, and the exhortation 
 in Rom. xvi. 17. 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 At different periods of his ministry in Salem, Dr. 
 Worcester wrote many letters in answer to questions 
 of church order and congregational usage. He kept 
 no copies of such letters ; but a few have been furnish- 
 ed for these pages. 
 
 " Should baptism always be administered in pub- 
 lic ?" Answer : 
 
 "I know of nothing in the divine word, which re- 
 quires baptism to be administered publicly rather than 
 privately. Still, there are obvious reasons, why it 
 should generally be administered publicly. It is an 
 ordinance belonging to the church, in which the whole 
 body has an interest and a fellowship, and in which 
 they should unitedly act in the way of faith and prayer; 
 the public administration also gives solemnity and im- 
 portance to the transaction, tending to impress the 
 minds of the parents, to edify and quicken the church, 
 and to arrest the attention and convince the minds of 
 others. These are no light reasons for a public ad- 
 ministration. Still it is lawful, and, in some instances, 
 no doubt, expedient to administer privately. 
 
 I have done it in a few instances : in cases of sick- 
 ness or feeble health ; of inconvenience on account of 
 poverty in fitting a fainily of children for a decent 
 public appearance ; of difficulty on account of turbu- 
 lence of disposition ; in one instance in which the 
 churlish unbelieving husband was willing to allow the 
 child to be baptized at home, but not to be carried to 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 425 
 
 meeting; and in one instance of an illegitimate child, 
 in which the circumstances might occasion re})roach, 
 or scandal, if the administration were ]mblic, though 
 the duty of baptizing w^as clear in the judgment of 
 christian charity. I do not recollect an instance, which 
 does not fall under one or other of these peculiarities 
 of circumstance. From your statement of your case, 
 I think I should converse kindly on the subject, and 
 let my views of the desirableness and importance of a 
 public administration be understood. But if the pa- 
 rents plead the ill health, or turbulence of the child, 
 and are urgent for a private administration, I should 
 comply." 
 
 A member of a church, being suspected of a tres- 
 pass, and much reproached by " common fame," re- 
 fused to say to his brethren, w^hether he was guilty or 
 not guilty. The pastor anxiously inquired, " What is 
 the duty of the Church ?" Answer : 
 
 " Your case must be a very trying one. From your 
 statement, I should suppose it was certainly incumbent 
 on the church to attend to the case, and do what they 
 could, to wipe off the reproach. The rule of law, that 
 no one shall be required to give evidence against him- 
 self, does not, I suppose, hold in all its extent, at the 
 bar of the church. Christians are to confess their faults 
 one to another. When one member of the church 
 suffers, all the members suffer. When a member has 
 incurred the reproach of having fallen into scandalous 
 sin, he owes it to himself, to the church, to the cause 
 of religion, to wipe off the reproach, by a penitent con- 
 fession, if he is guilty ; or, by doing what he can, to 
 clear himself to the satisfaction of his brethren and to 
 the conviction of the world, if he is innocent. 
 
 If your suspected brother should 'declare his inno- 
 cence,' and there be not proof to convict him of guilt, 
 I do not see that you would be justified, in refusing to 
 restore him to fellowship. If he perseveres in saying 
 nothing, neither pleading guilty, nor not guilty, neither 
 
 36* 
 
426 MEMOIR OF 
 
 confessing nor denying, and you have not evidence to 
 convict him, but circumstances still continue suspicious 
 and reproachful, I think it would be right and ex- 
 pedient to place him in a state of suspension, and hold 
 the case open to further investigation and review. 
 Probably, it will ere long be made manifest, whether 
 he ought to be restored, or to be put away." 
 
 On " Admonition." 
 
 " In regard to 'admonition^ the practice of the New 
 England Churches is extremely various. I take it for 
 granted, that the ' offending brother,' is supposed to 
 have been brought to the bar of the church, and found 
 to be an offender. If he immediately show true peni- 
 tence, and make satisfactory confession, formal admo- 
 nition is superseded. If he do not, what is the church 
 to do ? Some say, proceed directly to excommunica- 
 tion ; this being the most solemn and impressive, and 
 therefore the best and kindest admonition. Others say, 
 not so : but show forbearance, and use admonition of 
 a gentle kind. Of these last, some admonish by a 
 letter, written and signed by the pastor, or by a com- 
 mittee of the Church. Some send a committee to ad- 
 monish viva voce ; and others require the admonition 
 to be administered in the presence of the Church. I 
 cannot say, which of these forms is the most general. 
 We have used them all, according to circumstances, or 
 as in our judgment one of them would be likely to 
 have a better etfect than another. 
 
 In my o})inion it is best, that a Church should not 
 be tied up to any precise form of admonition. — ' If he 
 neglect to liear the Church, let him be ' &c. This 
 evidently purports, that the Church, after finding the 
 person guilty, is to use means to convince him, and 
 bring him to repentance : but the manner and form are 
 left to discretion. It should be the aim of the Church 
 to proceed in the way, which is the most likely to have 
 the best effect; and in dilFerent cases, circumstances 
 will indicate ^U^rent modes of treatment. The 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 427 
 
 Church, I tliink, should use its wise and fiiilhful dis- 
 cretion ill every case. 
 
 It is, ill my opinion, ' desirable that the members of 
 the Church should be acquainted with what is done 
 in the way of discipline.' Admonition, in either of the 
 specified forms, is j^roperly a c/mrrh act; and if it be 
 so administered, that the Church do not generally 
 know of it at the time, yet it will be easily communi- 
 cated, and an understanding will be very much a 
 matter of course. 
 
 With us an offender, while under admonition, is in 
 a state of suspension ; and if he do not give satisfac- 
 tion, after a season of probation, longer or shorter ac- 
 cording to circumstances, he is formally and in a 
 solemn manner put away. We never admonish, or 
 perform any act of discipline, in the presence of the 
 Coiigreg'ation.''^ 
 
 In some orthodox churches, the " Half-way Cove- 
 nant" was continued, long after Dr. Worcester's settle- 
 ment in Salem.* A case of difficulty arose in the 
 mind of a pastor, respecting a man who had owned 
 the covenant and confession of the Church, so as to 
 have his children baptized. He had some doubts, upon 
 points of doctrine, but manifested a good spirit. After 
 Dr. Worcester had been consulted, he was admitted to 
 full communion. And it is pleasant to add, that " he 
 proved to be a very excellent christian." 
 
 Answer to inquiries, relative to the qnalijication of 
 candidates for admission to the Lord^s table : 
 
 " I do not wonder, that you and your church are 
 somewhat perplexed with the case. To my own mind, 
 it presents itself in rather a dubious light. From the 
 short consideration, however, which I have given it, 
 
 * In 1771, there were eighty-six members of the Tabernacle Church, who 
 were not in full communion ; and were recorded, as '■'having renewed their 
 covenant only J'' 
 
428 MEMOIR OP 
 
 my impression on the whole is favorable to the appli- 
 cant and to his admission. Unquestionably, 'evi- 
 dence of a new heart ought ' in all cases to be ' re- 
 quired.' This evidence, however, is, in different cases, 
 exceedingly various in its degrees, forms, and aspects. 
 The observation, which 1 have made durins: nineteen 
 years ministry, and upon the results of four consider- 
 able revivals, has taught me to lay much less stress 
 upon a relation of striking- experiences, than formerly 
 I did. I have had occasion to weep over the apostacy 
 of individuals, who could utter themselves to the as- 
 tonishment of all who heard them, on the subject of 
 the depravity of their hearts, the greatness of their sins, 
 the terrors of the Lord, — of a sense of his justice, of 
 their repentance, submission, and joy. I have found, 
 on the other hand, cause of great thankfulness to God, 
 on account of individuals, who could give no such re- 
 lation of experiences ; who seemed, indeed, at the time 
 of examination, to have known but little of their hearts, 
 to have felt but little of conviction, and to have been 
 scarcely able to tell how or when they became reli- 
 gious ; and concerning whom I had many and great 
 fears, foj* want of clearer and more decided evidence of 
 their gracious renewal. Several of the most exemplary, 
 decided, zealous, and valuable members of my church, 
 were of this description ; and what is remarkable, I 
 have had no case of this kind which has turned out 
 badly. It may be to the purpose also to remark, that 
 most of these cases have been of persons, whose re- 
 ligious education had been lax, — who had not been 
 accustomed to distinguishing instruction in the doc- 
 trines of the Gospel ! 
 
 Does the man assent and consent to the leading 
 doctrines of the Gospel, and to your views of the ne- 
 cessity and nature of experimental religion ? Does he 
 appear to be sincerely humble and devout ? Does he 
 manifest love to God; faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 even in his blood; love to his people and his cause, 
 and a desire to walk in his ordinances and to adorn 
 his doctrine ? In a word, does he on the whole ap- 
 pear to be sincerely ' for Christ V If so, though neither 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 429 
 
 you nor he can fell how he came to be so, I think you 
 would do rii^ht to receive him : (ind more csjjcrially as 
 he is already in covenant. This I should certainly re- 
 gard as a reason for admitting to full comumnion, on 
 less evidence than should be recjuired in another case; 
 not because the person is more likely to be sincerely 
 pious; but because great caution should be used, not 
 to hinder him from fulfilling his covenant engage- 
 ments." 
 
 As a Congregationalist, w^ell instructed and far bet- 
 ter than he would have been, if such a necessity had 
 not been laid upon him, at Fitchburg, Dr. Worcester 
 had very successfully begun a course of measures, 
 which were suited to make the Tabernacle Church a 
 light to all around, by its order and purity. He had 
 introduced such rules of procedure, as gave the busi- 
 ness of the church all the regularity of a court of law. 
 But after the gathering of the First Baptist Church, in 
 Salem, during the year 1804, a question arose, rela- 
 tive to the propriety of granting letters of dismission, 
 to two or three members who washed to join that 
 church. Hence the " Declaratory Articles," adopt- 
 ed by the Tabernacle Church, Jan. 7, 1805. 
 
 " As some unhappy irregularities have lately been 
 committed, on the part of members of this church, in 
 relation to the Baptist Communion ; in order to pre- 
 vent the occurrence in future of any such or similar ir- 
 regularities, and to provide, as far as possible, against 
 any misunderstanding, or collision with our Baptist 
 brethren : — We, the Tabernacle Church of Christ, in 
 Salem, after due deliberation, think it proper to adopt 
 the following Declaratory Articles^ as formal expres- 
 sions of our views, respecting our Baptist brethren, and 
 as standing regulations to be, by us as a body, and as 
 individual members, sacredly observed. 
 
 I. Although, in the opinion of this church, our 
 
430 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Baptist brethren, in denying baptism to the infant seed 
 of believers, and in holding immersion to be the 
 mode, and the only mode of Christian baptism, are 
 really in an error of very serious consequences, and 
 against which it is our duty to bear our solemn and 
 decided testimony ; yet we charitably view it to be an 
 error of such a nature, as is not altogether incompati- 
 ble, either with Christian sincerity, or with a Christian 
 church state. 
 
 II. We wish to be understood, that on our part we 
 are perfectly disposed to meet regular Baptist Church- 
 es, and we cordially invite them, their elders, and 
 members, to meet us, on the ingenuous and brotherly 
 ground, not o'nly of Christian charity, but of recipro- 
 cal Christian communion, such as obtains between 
 churches of the same order and denomination. And 
 if they refuse to meet us on this desirable ground ; 
 though faithful to ourselves, to our sentiments, and 
 general connection, yet we deem it incumbent on us, 
 as the part of charity and duty, to refrain from all un- 
 brotherly interference, whether open or covert, with 
 them ; and as much as in us lies, to cultivate with 
 them the relations of Christian affection, harmony, and 
 peace. 
 
 III. As true Christian believers are all baptized by 
 one Spirit into one body^ those of our Baptist brethren, 
 who renounce the communion of regular Pedobaptist 
 churches and professors, merely on account of a differ- 
 ence acknowledgedly conscientious, respecting exter- 
 nal or symbolical baptism, we are constrained to con- 
 sider, as acting a part wholly repugnant to the spirit 
 of that charity, which is the bond of perfectness, and 
 grievously wounding to Christ in the house of his 
 friends. 
 
 IV. As any and every attempt, on the part of Bap- 
 tists, to seduce the members of this church from their 
 fidelity to us, or by any means to persuade or induce 
 them, to withdraw from our communion ; and thus not 
 only perjuriously to violate, but also to renounce their 
 solemn covenant with us, is in our view in a high de- 
 gree disorderly and unchristian ; so, for any of our 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 431 
 
 members to invite or encourage such seduction or per- 
 suasion, we view to be altogether unjust iliable, and 
 incompatible with their sacred vows. 
 
 V. If at any time any member of this church have 
 serious doubts, or conscientious scruples respecting 
 baptism, as practised by us, we hold it to be the sacred 
 covenant duty of such member, in a free and christian 
 manner to communicate such doubts and scruples to 
 us ; and to give us fair o))portunity to use our brother- 
 ly endeavors to remove them, — previously to any ap- 
 plication, or even intimation to Baptists, on the suId- 
 ject. 
 
 VI. If any member of this church, after free com- 
 munication with us, as specified in the preceding ar- 
 ticle, and proper time taken deliberately and prayer- 
 fully to consider the subject, shall still be dissatisiied 
 respecting his or her baptism, and believe it to be a 
 duty to be baptized in the Baptist way, — it does not 
 become us to bind or restrain the consciences of any. 
 We think ourselves in charity bound, in such a case, to 
 indulge a brother, or sister, in a regular application for 
 baptism to any regular administrator: provided, such 
 a brother or sister will either continue in particular re- 
 lation to us, or not utterly renounce our covenant and 
 conmiunion. But w^e conceive it to be utterly incom- 
 patible with the sacred nature of our solemn vows, and 
 with the fidelity which w^e owe to the Great Hea(J of 
 the Church, to sanction, by any formal act of our own, 
 a renunciation on the part of any of our members, of 
 our covenant and special communion." 
 
 Jan. 9. The first pastor of the new church, — since 
 so extensively known as the Rev. Lucius Bolles, D. D., 
 Cor. Sec. of the American Baptist Board of Foreign 
 Missions, — ^was ordained, and the services were held in 
 the Tabernacle. Soon afterwards, Dr. Worcester ad- 
 dressed him a friendly note, enclosing a copy of the 
 Articles. 
 
432 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Rev. Lucius BoUes. 
 
 ''Salem, Jan. 17, 1805. 
 Rev. and dear -Sir, — 
 
 I take leave to transmit to you the enclosed ' Arti' 
 cles, lately adopted by the Tabernacle Church. In 
 taking the ground we have thus formally marked out, 
 we have been deliberate, and have been influenced, I 
 trust, by the spirit of Christian fidelity and candor.— 
 M. M., a sister of this church, has had the offer of a 
 letter of dismission, in conformity with these Ai'ticles ; 
 and you will readily perceive how difficult it would be 
 for us, to justify our act to our own consciences, should 
 we grant her a letter upon any other principle. Should 
 one of your sisters, dear Sir, come forward and declare 
 to you, that she could no longer consider you as a 
 Church of Christ, that she regarded the covenant vows, 
 which, in connection with you, she had publicly made 
 to God, as a mere nullity; and, accordingly, should go 
 out from you, renouncing and declaring her intention 
 utterly to renounce your communion and worship ; 
 would you not find some difficulty in the way of grant- 
 ing her a letter of dismission, as a member of your 
 body in regular standing ? Would you not immedi- 
 ately perceive, that, in granting a dismission in such 
 a case, you would not only pass over, as no irregular- 
 ity or oftence, an utter renunciation of the most sacred 
 and solemn vows ; but even testify your approval of 
 such a renunciation, and by a formal act of your own, 
 ratify and confirm it ? — Our covenant we hold sacred ; 
 and we frankly confess, that we believe it to be alto- 
 gether a mistaken idea, that, in order to be a consis- 
 tent Baptist, a person must nullify the covenants, and 
 refuse the communion of Pedobaptist churches. 
 
 I embrace this opportunity to give you assurance of 
 my high satisfaction in the choice made of a pastor, 
 by the Baptist Church in this place ; and of my sincere 
 disposition to cultivate with you the most perfect har- 
 mony and friendship. AVith sentiments of respect, 
 I am. Reverend and dear Sir, 
 
 Yours, in the hope of the Gospel, 
 
 Samuel Worcester, Pastor," &c. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 433 
 
 The answer, acknowled^ini^ the reception of the 
 Articles, «k:c., was really controversial, although the 
 writer disclaimed the iiitenti(3n of controversy, and 
 " reciprocated all the affectionate feelings expressed to- 
 wards " him by the pastor of the Tabernacle ; — " wish- 
 ing," also, that his " labors might be abundantly 
 blessed in winning souls to the Redeemer's interest." 
 A reply was made, which, while unexceptionable in 
 manner and spirit, was " weighty and powerful " in 
 defence of the Ai'ticles, and in refutation of the objec- 
 tions, both general and particular, which had been 
 urged against them.* 
 
 Note from Rev. Mr. BoUes. 
 
 " Mr. BoUes presents his compliments to the Rev. 
 Mr. Worcester, and thanks him for his letter of the 
 second instant; but feels indisposed, at present, to de- 
 part from the original intention expressed in his first ^ 
 and become an epistolary disputant. 
 
 Mr. B. will cheerfully receive Mr. Worcester, at his 
 lodgings, or will wait upon him, at his own house, (if 
 requested for that purpose,) and converse upon the 
 subject of the correspondence. 
 
 Salem, March 30, 1805." 
 
 Answer to the preceding Note. 
 
 " Mr. Worcester returns his compliments to the Rev. 
 Mr. BoUes, thanks him for his politeness, and assures 
 him, that there is not the least disposition, on Mr. W.'s 
 part, to engage in an epistolary dispute. It has been 
 with equal regret and surprise, that Mr. W. has learned 
 that his communications to Mr. BoUes have been un- 
 kindly received, and unfavorably spoken of; if not by 
 
 * But the reply should be rearl in connection with the " answer," which 
 occasioned it ; and to publish this might be thought a matter of doubtfu[ 
 propriety. 
 
 37 
 
434 MEMOIR OF 
 
 JNIr. BolJes himself, at least by some of his friends. 
 Nothing was less intended or less expected. No com- 
 munications would have been made, had there not 
 been special occasion for them ; and the communica- 
 tions which were made, were intended not to create 
 misunderstandings and animosities, but to remove and 
 prevent them. Mr. W. has no idea, that an open, in- 
 genuous expression of sentiments and views is in the 
 least incompatible with the most friendly disposition, 
 or with the maintenance of the most friendly inter- 
 course, and the most peaceable state. He believes, 
 that wherein Christian brethren sentimentally disa- 
 gree, it is desirable, that they should understand 
 each other perfectly ; and with this perfect understand- 
 ing, mutually display the amiable spirit of Christian 
 candor, and forbearance, and charity. And he hopes, 
 that however fralik he may be in expressing his senti- 
 ments, or firm in maintaining them, he shall never be 
 found to manifest towards his Baptist brethren a con- 
 temptuous, unfriendly, or unbrotherly disposition. 
 
 Mr. Worcester has no particular wish, and no un- 
 willingness to converse with Mr. BoUes ' on the sub- 
 ject of the correspondence ; ' but he will be happy to 
 wait on Mr. Bolles, whenever ]\L\ Bolles shall make it 
 convenient to give him the pleasm*e. 
 
 Sale?)!, April 1, 1805.*" 
 
 This " Note " is conceived to be of some importance, 
 as showing the spirit and principles of the writer, in 
 his public course, not only on the subject of baptism, 
 in its varied relations, but other subjects, in regard to 
 which he was constrained to oppose the doctrines or 
 statements of others. It was in his judgment, the 
 " more excellent way " for Christian brethren, when 
 they " sentimentally disagree," or when any collision 
 whatever occurs, — to have " an open, ingenuous ex- 
 pression of sentiments and views." He could not al- 
 low, that such an expression "is in the least incom- 
 
SAAIUEL WORCESTER. 43'3 
 
 patiblc with the most friendly disposition, or with the 
 maintenance of the most friendly intercourse, and the 
 most peaceable state." Was he not correct ? And 
 how lamentable, then, it is, that brethren of the same 
 denomination, as well as those of different denomina- 
 tions, are so often ready to consider the kindest efforts 
 to adjust differences, as if the undoubted work of a 
 lover of controversy for its own sake, and a destroyer 
 of peace, for no imaginable end, but his own pleasure 
 in "stirring up strife." And the more decisive the 
 witness of his facts, and the more unanswerable the 
 logic of his arguments, the greater, it would seem, is 
 the offence which he commits ! 
 
 The new Congregational " Branch Church " origi- 
 nated in a disagreement of brethren, upon certain 
 questions, before Dr. Worcester came to Salem. Hon- 
 estly sustaining the views of the Tabernacle Church, 
 yet most anxious to have the best understanding with 
 IJie pastor and brethren of the other church, he was, 
 for years, personally odious to some of those brethren ; 
 and was the object of imputations, for which there 
 really was no more foundation in truth, and no more 
 warrant in Christian love, than Diotrephes had for 
 " prating with malicious words against " the beloved 
 disciple. And it would not be right to conceal the 
 fact, that, at several periods more particularly, there 
 were those in Salem and other places, who accused 
 him of a spirit, which had not the least place in his 
 heart, and ascribed to him intentions and motives, 
 which were the very opposite of the true. 
 
 It affords the purest gratification to be able to state, 
 that, although for a time the occasions of excited feel- 
 ing between the Tabernacle and First Baptist Church- 
 es, rather increased than diminished ; yet, ultimately, 
 
436 MEMOIR OP 
 
 the pastors could exchange with each other, as breth- 
 ren in the Lord, without any apprehension of being 
 unwelcome in each other's pulpits respectively. It 
 may be further said, that the same friendly inter- 
 course has been continued ; and all the good results, 
 which Dr. Worcester anticipated from the formation 
 of the First Baptist Church, have been more than real- 
 ized. 
 
 Rev, Leonard Worcester, 
 
 « Salem, Feb. 25, 1805. 
 My dear Brother, — 
 
 Yours of the 21st ult. came duly to hand. It is al- 
 ways with the most lively interest and pleasure that I 
 hear of your welfare, and of the welfare of your dear 
 family. Since you were at Salem, my health has been 
 so much impaired, that I have been obliged to discon- 
 tinue some of my extra services, and even my ordina- 
 ry services I have been in some instances unable to 
 perform. At present, however, I enjoy in common 
 with my family, a very comfortable state. On the 5th 
 of November we received from the Fountain of bless- 
 ings another daughter. Her name is Zervia Fidelia, 
 At present she is a lovely, promising babe ; but we 
 have painful reasons not to forget, that she is not our 
 own ! 
 
 We heard from Hollis last week — all well. As for 
 news of an interesting nature, I have none. We have 
 a Baptist minister settled in this town — a very prom- 
 ising young man. Mr. Spauldi ng is here, but not yet 
 installed. Mr. Emerson has answered the call of ^Ir. 
 Hopkins' chvirch, in tlie affirmative. You will perhaps 
 wish to know, whether the changes and new things 
 which have taken place have emptied the Tabernacle. 
 Not quite. About half a dozen families, of little con- 
 sequence to the society, have gone to the Baptists ; and 
 two or three to Mr. Spaulding's " BranchJ^ Their 
 places, however, were immediately supplied; and sev- 
 eral families, who have been waiting for room, in the 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 437 
 
 expeetntioii that more would go away, scorn at pre- 
 sent likely to be disaj^poiiited. In a word, the stabil- 
 ity of the Tab(M'nacle Society has been hitherto not 
 less astonishing than pleasing. How Mr. H[)aulding 
 will succeed, I dare not conjecture. The general re- 
 mark, is, that his prospects are beyond all expectation, 
 dark and discouraging. He says himself, that he came 
 here to die. 
 
 He who gave to the ocean his decree, that the waters 
 should not pass his commandment, will say to the 
 tempestuous sea of democracy, — " Hitherto shalt thou 
 come, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." In 
 this confidence it becomes us to remain unmoved, and 
 await the awful crisis ! In this Commonwealth every 
 exertion is making to prevent the re-election of our 
 worthy Governor ; what will be the issue time must 
 disclose. You have doubtless seen by the papers, 
 what a figure Mr. Jefferson has made in our State 
 Leofislature. 
 
 Give our love to our dear sister, and to the children ; 
 and accept a generous share of it for yourself. 
 Yours, in the bonds of fraternal aifection, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 On the 24th of April, Dr. Worcester, in giving the 
 right hand of fellowship, at the ordination of the pre- 
 sent senior pastor of the South Church, — Rev. Dr. 
 Emerson, — began with observations upon " true fel- 
 lowship," as " founded in true benevolence," and as 
 being " the bond and perfection of the universe." — In a 
 direct address to the colleague pastor elect, he in- 
 quired : — 
 
 " Is it possible, my brother, that the friends and dis- 
 ciples of the meek and benevolent Redeemer, should 
 ever be at variance among themselves ? Is it possible, 
 that there should be animosities and feuds among the 
 ministers and subjects of the " Prince of Peace ? " — 
 Alas ! we have the most melancholy proofs, that it is 
 
 37* 
 
438 MEMOIR OF 
 
 possible. Look around upon the Christian world. 
 How many different parties, and names, and interests, 
 every where prevail I By a bigoted zeal for modes and 
 forms, by a misplaced stress upon points of but small 
 comparative importance, by partial attachments and 
 ardent competitions, — brother is separated from broth- 
 er, minister from minister, church from church. The 
 bonds of fellowship are broken, and the blood of the 
 Redeemer is violated ; peace is driven from her proper 
 dwelling, charity weeps over the affecting scene, and 
 the enemy rejoices. Is it thus, that Christians are to 
 convince the world of the excellency of the Gospel ? 
 Is it thus, that they are to promote the honor and the 
 kingdom of their common Savior and Lord ? 
 
 My dear Sir, let there be no strife between me and 
 thee, and between my people and thy people ; for we 
 are brethren. Let us never forget, that there is one 
 body and one spirit, even as we are called in one hope 
 of our calling. Let it be our care to heal, as far as 
 possible, the bleeding wounds in the body of Christ. 
 Let it be our endeavor, to display the true spirit of the 
 Gospel, to cultivate Christian affection, harmony, and 
 peace, and to promote among all who love our Lord 
 Jesus, that charity which suffereth long and is kind, 
 and which is the bond of perfectness. 
 
 God Almighty bless thee, my brother. May your 
 ministry be long, successful, and happy. As your la- 
 bors and your trials abound, so may your consolations 
 also abound. May you obtain grace of the Lord to 
 be faithful unto death ; and then may you receive the 
 crown of life." * 
 
 With the " Branch Church," the Tabernacle de- 
 clined " a free interchange of offices of fellowship ;" 
 and the pastor, of course, could not preach in " a free 
 interchange of pulpits," so long as certain "obstacles" 
 were " in the way," which, as he and the brethren "re- 
 
 * Some historic incidents and circumstances, which would be suggested 
 to many, probably gave additional eflect to this high-minded expressioa of 
 unfeigned brotherly kindness. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTKR. 439 
 
 peatedly exprepsed," "might be in the true spirit of 
 the Gospel removed." In a communication to the 
 Branch Church, it was said : 
 
 " While according to an Article of our Church 
 Code, referring to 15th ch. of the Cambridge l^lat- 
 form, we are ready to hold communion with all the 
 churches of Christ, in all things in which we are mu- 
 tually agreed, so far as there shall be o})portunity ; yet 
 we do not feel ourselves bound, without any discretion 
 in the case, to exercise acts of fellowship, of all kinds, 
 with every body of professed Christians, which has 
 been recognized by a council, as a church of Christ, 
 or even as a Congregational Church. As we are con- 
 fident, that such an extension of the principle of fel- 
 lowship, was not within the contemplation of the fra- 
 mers of the Cambridge Platform, and has never been 
 practically recognized by the generality of Congrega- 
 tional churches ; so we believe it is not warranted by 
 the word of God ; but is obviously incompatible with 
 the power, which Christ has delegated to the churches, 
 and with the sacred obligations on them severally, to 
 let their light shine, to prove all things, to hold fast 
 that which is good, to contend earnestly for the faith 
 once delivered to the saints, and generally to maintain 
 the purity of the christian profession. 
 
 The gi'and distinctive principle of Congregational- 
 ism is, that, according to the law of Christ, each par- 
 ticular church is vested with power in itself to admit 
 members to its communion and to exclude them from 
 it, and to exercise all the functions of discipline re- 
 quisite for the preservation of its order and purity. 
 But this principle might be subverted, or rendered a 
 mere nullity, were the rule which is set up in the com- 
 munication from the Branch Church, to be carried into 
 general practice. For according to this rule,* Councils 
 
 * It was contended, that the Branch Church had " ?l formal standi ng^^ by 
 the recog-nition of a Council ; and that this was sufncient as a claim of fellow- 
 ship, " in common with all or any one of the churches of our cong-reg-ational 
 order, however great the diflerences, either in belief or praclicc!" Such a 
 
440 MEMOIR OF 
 
 must have a paramount control of the churches, and 
 power to determine not only with what churches, but 
 also with what individuals a particular church shall 
 have communion. According to this rule, if a person 
 excommunicated from this Church, were, by advice of 
 Council, to be received into the Branch Church, we 
 should be obliged still to hold communion with the 
 Branch Church, and of course, icith the person irhom 
 we had excommunicated ; and, therefore, should that 
 same person be commended back to us by the Branch 
 Church, we should be obliged to receive him, although 
 we might have the fullest evidence, that our censure 
 upon him was just, and that he is not a proper subject 
 of our christian communion. 
 
 We have known an instance, indeed, in which a 
 body, composed principally of persons excommunicated 
 from a particular church, has been recognized by a 
 council, as a church of Christ ; but with that corrupt 
 body and all its members according to the rule set up 
 by the Branch Church, the Church from whose com- 
 munion those persons were cut off', and all the churches 
 in the vicinity, must now hold communion. This, we 
 say, is subversive of the fundamental principle of 
 Congregationalism; and therefore utterly incompatible 
 with Platform and Scripture. We can by no means 
 admit, that genuine Congregationalism involves prin- 
 ciples, so obviously destructive of each other ; and from 
 which the state of things deplored by the Branch 
 Church must necessarily result. 
 
 While, therefore, we admit, and wish to maintain 
 the Scriptural principle of communion among church- 
 es ; we also hold, that this principle allows to each 
 particular church the exercise of a prudent and faith- 
 ful discretion, in regard to its communion with others. 
 We believe, also, that withholding fellowship from a 
 
 claim as this, Dr. W. utterly denied. — Other points of variance need not here 
 be introduced. It was ten or twelve years, before there was even the form 
 of an adjustment of existing differences, so that the usual "interchange of 
 fellowship " of Congregational churches could begin. Dr. W.'s elforls to 
 accomplish a full and cordial adjustment, were, for a long lime, entirely 
 without success. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 411 
 
 new churcli is a very difTercnt thinc^, from actually 
 withdrawing from an old one; the latter carries in it. a 
 positive censure, while the former may impart no more 
 than a mere want of information or explanation/' * * * 
 
 In this connexion, it may be mentioned, that, from 
 a very early day after his settlement in Salem, Dr. 
 Worcester had manifested towards Coni?ren:ational 
 churches and pastors, the utmost liberality of fellow- 
 ship, which would be consistent with fundamental 
 principles of Christian doctrine and practice. He ex- 
 changed with the pastors of the First and the North 
 Churches, although these were known to be more Ar- 
 minian than Calvinistic. But as at Fitchburg, he 
 could occasionally interchange labors with clergymen 
 of the class of " Cephas," so he did at Salem ; until the 
 time came, when few were to be found, except in the 
 class of " Eu^ebius," or in that of " Catholicus." 
 
 And as he felt that there was an urgent need of 
 combining all the available strength of those, who 
 were " one in Christ Jesus," he sincerely rejoiced in 
 any accession to the cause of vital piety, under whatever 
 denominational name. Any indications of increasing 
 spirituality in the Episcopal churches, he hailed with 
 very special pleasure. And in demonstration of his truly 
 Catholic spirit — heaven-wide from all bigotry and bit- 
 terness of sect or party, — he gave the aid of his sym- 
 pathy and services to a small company of Baptists, 
 who were endeavoring to establish public worship and 
 the ordinances of the Gospel, in a neighboring locality, 
 where Christians were few and these nearly all Bap- 
 tists. It was shortly after his controversial Letters to 
 Dr. Baldwin. And such was his solicitude for the 
 success of the little band of Baptists, at Danvers, New 
 Mills, that, when feeble, or weary and worn, he went 
 
442 MEMOIR OP 
 
 and held evening meetings, for their encouragement 
 and enlargement. He would not have been willing to 
 countenance any Congregational interference. What 
 he there did, was gratefully appreciated and never for- 
 gotten by those, who lived to rejoice in the success of 
 their self-denying exertions. 
 
 In the summer of 1805, different circumstances hav- 
 ing contributed to make the subject of baptism a topic 
 of incessant inquiry and dispute, he thought it best to 
 exhibit to his own people his views of all the points 
 at issue, in one connected, complete, and conclusive 
 presentation. He preached " Two Discourses, on the 
 Perpetuity and Provision of God's gracious Covenant 
 with Abraham and his Seed." These were unani- 
 mously and earnestly requested for the press, by a vote 
 of the church ; and were printed, with some enlarge- 
 ment* probably, and with the addition of notes, which 
 were found, by those who differed from the doctrine of 
 the Discourses, to be quite as unmanageable, as any 
 part of the regular and elaborate argument from the 
 word of God, the voice of history, and the counsels of 
 enlightened reason. 
 
 It would be a vain attempt to do justice to these 
 Discourses, by extracts for which space can here be 
 afforded. The substance was very faithfully repre- 
 sented in a synopsis of the argument and inferences, — 
 prepared, it is supposed, by Dr. Austin, — and publish- 
 ed in the Mass. Miss. Magazine, April, 1808. 
 
 " The subject of the discourses is the ancient cove- 
 nant of Jehovah with his church. A subject, so im- 
 portant at all times, in a peculiar manner calls the at- 
 tention of good men at the present time. 
 
 * They made a pamphlet of 79 full pages 8vo., and were each longer than 
 two of his common sermons. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 443 
 
 The text selected by iNIr. Worcester, is Gal. iii. 29. 
 And if ije he ChrisCs^ then are ye Abraham^ s seed.) and 
 heirs, accorditii^ to the promise. After a pertinent in- 
 troduction, in which the connection of the text is care- 
 fully explained and elucidated, this very natural and 
 important doctrine is deduced, viz. In God's cove- 
 nant of promise with Abraham, provision was made 
 for the continuance of the church formed by it, and 
 thus for the transmission of the privileges and bles- 
 sings contained in it, from generation to generation, 
 down to the close of time. 
 
 This doctrine is considered under two general 
 heads. 
 
 I. That the covenant, which was made with Abra- 
 ham, and by which the church was formed in his fam- 
 ily, was intended to be perpetual, or to continue 
 throughout all generations. 
 
 II. To show more particularly what provision was 
 made in the covenant for the continuance of the 
 church, and the transmission of the blessings contained 
 in it. 
 
 The perpetuity of God's gracious covenant, its con- 
 tinuance under successive dispensations, through all 
 ages, is undoubtedly a doctrine of the first importance. 
 On this depend the blessings and privileges, the com- 
 forts and hopes of the church. With this truth, Mr. 
 Worcester seems deeply impressed, and upon it has 
 bestowed most serious attention. 
 
 The argmnents by which he establishes his first 
 general head, he has arranged under five distinct 
 topics. 
 
 1. ' By the'covenant made with Abraham, he was 
 constituted the father of all them that believe.' If by 
 virtue of the covenant Abraham is the father of all be- 
 lievers in every age and country, then the covenant 
 must continue through every age. 
 
 2. ' The covenant established with Abraham and 
 his seed, comprised all the blessings and privileges 
 ever promised to believers, and to the church.' 
 
 To abrogate this covenant, therefore, would be to 
 abrogate the grand charter of all the blessings, privi- 
 
444 MEMOIR OF 
 
 leges and hopes of God's people. To abolish the 
 church formed in the house of Abraham, would be to 
 abolish the kingdom of the Messiah. 
 
 3. ' The covenant made with Abraham and his seed, 
 is the covenant of which, in the New Testament, 
 Christ is said to be the Mediator, and which is desig- 
 nated as the covenant to be established with the 
 church in the days of the Gospel.' This covenant 
 with Abraham must, therefore, be as permanent as the 
 Gospel church. 
 
 4. ' The church under the Gospel, is uniformly in 
 the Scriptures represented as being the same church, 
 or a continuance of the same, which was formed in 
 the family of Abraham. As a tree grafted is the same 
 as before ; the roots, the trunk, the tree, are the same ; 
 so the church of God is the same under every dispen- 
 sation. The covenant, therefore, is perpetual. 
 
 5. ' The covenant made with Abraham is expressly 
 declared to be an everlasting and perpetual covenant, 
 a covenant to continue throughout all generations.' 
 These arguments are handled at considerable length, 
 with a perspicuity, a force, and persuasiveness, not 
 common in subjects of this nature. 
 
 Under his second general head, Mr. W. undertakes 
 to show ' what was the provision made in the Abra- 
 hamic covenant for the continuance of the church 
 fol'med by it, and the transmission of the blessings 
 contained in it.' This provision is found, he supposes, 
 in the two grand promises variously expressed and at 
 different times unfolded, ' I will be a God unto thee 
 and to thy seed after thee.' And, ' in thy seed shall 
 all the nations of the earth be blessed.' 
 
 ' The promise or proposal of God to Abraham was, 
 to be a God, not only to him^ but to his seed. The 
 same was his promise to Isaac, the same to Jacob, 
 and so down from generation to generation. In this 
 line of natural descent were the blessins^s of the cove- 
 nant to be transmitted.' Not that alh who were chil- 
 dren according to the flesh, were certainly heirs of all 
 covenant blessings ; but the children of the promise^ 
 those who should truly in faith be given to God, and 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. , 445 
 
 brought up for liim, were to be counted for the seed. 
 Grace sliould be given, so that a holy seed should be 
 preserved, from generation to generation, in the church. 
 While the promise of the covenant had primary respect 
 to Abraham's natural ])ostcrity, yet Abraham was made 
 the father of manij nations. * In him and in his seed 
 all the families of the cartli should be blessed.' Though 
 the church was to be continued in the line of natural 
 descent, yet provision was made for the adoption, in- 
 corporation, or ingrafting of other individuals, fami- 
 lies, and nations. Under the former dispensation, 
 
 * strangers ' of different nations w^ere admitted to the 
 privileges of Israelites ; on the introduction of the 
 gospel dispensation. Gentile believers by hundreds, 
 and thousands, and myriads, were admitted to the 
 same covenant, and became fellow-heirs, and of the 
 same body, and partakers of the same promise in 
 Christ by the Gospel.' Guests, before invited, were 
 excluded from the society, and new ones were admit- 
 ted. Old branches were broken off, and new ones 
 grafted in. Such has been, such is the church, and so 
 it w^ill continue. 
 
 Such is a brief view of what Mr. W. has given as 
 
 * the provision of the covenant.' 
 
 In the ' Improvement,' Mr. Worcester first leads us 
 
 * to a grateful and devout contemplation of the great 
 designs, the gradual progress, and the ultimate exten- 
 sion and glory of the church of God.' He next shows 
 that the gracious covenant of God is never in reality 
 established with any but true believers ; in the third 
 place, he infers the 'high and everlasting importance 
 of a cordial and obedient belief in all which God has 
 promised ' in this covenant. 
 
 Having thus prepared the way, Mr. W. infers 
 fourthly, 'that for believing parents to. give up their 
 children to God in baptism is a great and important 
 
 duty.' 
 
 Under this inference it is shown, that, as the ancient 
 covenant and church of God were contiinied under the 
 present dispensation, and as baptism has now by 
 
 38 
 
446 . MEMOIR OF 
 
 divine appointment taken the place of circumcision, it 
 therefore follows, conclusively, that as children were 
 anciently admitted to the seal of the covenant in the 
 form of circumcision, so they are now to be admitted 
 to the same seal in the form of baptism. This infer- 
 ence, so evident and conclusive, Mr. W. strengthens 
 by collateral proofs from the New Testament, and by 
 a historical view of the practice in the first ages of the 
 church. With earnestness and christian zeal he thus 
 enforces the duty. 
 
 Next follows a reflection concerning the mode of 
 baptism, in which by arguments irresistible he shows, 
 that sprinkling is valid and scriptural. 
 
 In the remaining part of the Improvement, he 
 sti'ongly enforces the serious duty of every church re- 
 specting their baptized children. He gives an impres- 
 sive view of God's infinite wisdom and grace, mani- 
 fested in his covenant with the Church, and forcibly 
 urges all, who are set for the defence of the Gospel, to 
 maintain the spirit and principles of this gracious 
 covenant." 
 
 The scriptural doctrine of the covenant with Abra- 
 ham, as illustrated in the first of these Discourses, 
 would seem to be decisive of the whole matter in con- 
 troversy.* In the second, all the practical questions 
 of any importance are stated and fairly considered. 
 And they are answered, as in'efutably, as from the na- 
 ture of the subject and the laws of moral evidence, it 
 could justly be expected, that any such questions 
 should ever be answered. More recent investigations 
 have brought additional proofs in confirmation of Dr. 
 Worcester's positions ; and the idea of baptism, as an 
 emblem of purification., has recently been so exhibited, 
 as to make " assurance doubly sure," with those who 
 
 * There is a similar view of God's covenant with Abraham, in an excel- 
 lent Sermon by the late Rev. Henry White, D. D. Prof. Union Theol. Sem. 
 New York. Am. National Preacher, Nov. 1S46. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 447 
 
 wholly deny the popular assumptions and assertions of 
 Baptists, respecting the meaning of baptism in the 
 New Testament. 
 
 In regard to the duty "of believing parents to give 
 their children to God, in baptism," the argument is 
 conducted with great ability. Baptism is shown to 
 have taken the place of circumcision. And "as the 
 outward seal of the covenant was originally required 
 to be administered to the infant seed; so, unless it has 
 been expressly prohibited^ it is still to be administered 
 to them." Such a prohibition is no where to be found. 
 " As there was under the former dispensation an ex- 
 press precept for administering the seal of the cove- 
 nant to the infant seed of the church ; that precept, 
 varying only as the seal is varied, still remains in 
 force, unless it have been expressly repealed. It is ar- 
 rogance, therefore, to demand, for we have no right to 
 expect, an explicit renewal of this precept to be found 
 in the New Testament, any more than the precept for 
 the observance of the Sabbath." "Whatever distinc- 
 tions were formerly made, we are assured by. the apos- 
 tle, that, in respect to the privileges of the covenant, 
 there is to be no longer any distinction ; for in Christ 
 Jesus there is neither male nor female P 
 
 " It is not incumbent on us to show, that the pre- 
 cept for administering the appointed seal of the cove- 
 nant to the infant seed of the church has not been 
 repealed ; but it is indispensably incumbent on those 
 wlio deny infant baptism, to show in the clearest 
 manner, that it has been repealed. For a precept, 
 once in force, and not limited to any certain period, 
 is ever afterwards to be considered as in force, unless 
 known to have been repealed, by the same authority 
 by which it was given. 
 
 There is not, however, in the whole word of God, 
 
448 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the least intimation, that this precept has ever been re- 
 pealed ; there is not in the whole word of God the 
 least intimation, that the seal of the covenant is not, 
 under the present dispensation, as it was under the 
 former, to be applied to the children of the church. 
 
 Neither the commission, given to the apostles. Go 
 and teach all nations^ baptizing thern^ nor the exhorta- 
 tion addressed by them to the people. Repent and be 
 baptized^ comes near to touch the point in question,' 
 Neither the one nor the other goes to prove any thing 
 further, than that those, who have not received bap- 
 tism, must not only believe, but be baptized, in order 
 to a regular standing in the visible church of God. 
 It was precisely thus under the former dispensation. 
 Those who had never been circumcised Vv^ere required 
 to be circumcised, in order to their regular standing in 
 the church. But whenever parents who had never 
 been circumcised, were admitted to the church, they 
 were not only circumcised themselves, but were after- 
 wards required to offer their children in the same seal- 
 ing ordinance. 
 
 Had the seal of the covenant never been altered, the 
 commission, given to the apostles, would have been,, 
 Go and teach all nations^ circumcising them ; and their 
 exhortation to those who had never received circum- 
 cision, would have been. Repent and be circumcised ; 
 for the promise is to you and to your children. But 
 had the case been thus, who would ever have imagin- 
 ed, that there w^as any thing, either in the commission, 
 or exhortation, like an intimation that children were 
 no lons^er to receive the seal of the covenant. The 
 real case, however, is substantially the same. Those 
 who have never received baptism, are required not 
 only to believe, but also be baptized, in order to their 
 regular standing in the church ; but having been regu- 
 larly admitted, they are to offer their children also in 
 baptism, as formerly they were required to offer them 
 in circumcision. P'or the promise is now the same 
 that it formerly was, to be a God not only to them, 
 but also to their seed after them ; and on the ground 
 of this promise, parents are still requii'ed, as formerly 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 449 
 
 they were, believinp^ly to give up, not only themselves, 
 but tlieir children also, to the Lord."* 
 
 From the manner in which Christ received and 
 blessed " little children," from the baptism of " whole 
 households " by the apostles ; and from the proofs of 
 infant baptism, as "the universal practice of the 
 Church, in the ages immediately succeeding the 
 apostles," — in connexion with the fact, that, " for more 
 than three thousand years, the seal of the covenant 
 [either circumcision or baptism] was universally ap- 
 plied to the children of the church, no one forbidding 
 it," — the just inference is, that the great and important 
 duty of believers, to give their children to God in bap- 
 tism, is not in the least invalidated, although " during 
 the last three hundred years, there have been some in 
 the different parts of Christendom, who have forbidden 
 little children to be brought to Christ, and denied the 
 application of the seal of the covenant to them." 
 
 In an extended note on this part of the second Dis- 
 course, the Author adduces " testimony " which is 
 " impregnable," in regard to the practice of " infant 
 baptism." 
 
 * " It is no small infelicity, attending the arguments of the antipedobap- 
 tists, that they go wide of the point, to which they are professedly directed. 
 When they would prove that the Abrahamic covenant has ceased, the ar- 
 guments advanced only go to show, that the Mosaic law, or Sinai covenant, 
 is abolished ; which we, as well as they, admit and believe. And when they 
 would prove, that the infant seed of the church ought not to be baptized, 
 the arguments adduced only go to shew, that believers, who have never 
 received baptism, ought to be baptized ; which we, as well as they, admit 
 and believe. But, as when it is shown that the Mosaic law, or Sinai cove- 
 nant, is aboliehed, nothing is done towards proving that the Abrahamic 
 covenant has ceased ; so when it is shown that believers, who have never 
 received baptism, ought to be baptized, nothing is done towards proving that 
 the infant seed of the church ought not to be baptized. Nothing more is 
 done, in either case, towards proving the point in question, than would be 
 done towards proving that female members of the church are not to be ad- 
 mitted to the Lord's Supper, should it only be shown that male meml>ers are 
 to be admitted. Yet wide as these arguments go of the points to be proved, 
 they are urged and repeated with as much assurance, as if they were per- 
 tinent and conclusive ; and with weak, unstable, and uadiscerning minds, 
 they have but too often their intended eflect." 
 
 38* 
 
450 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " As there was no dispute about baptism in the first 
 ages of Christianity, it should not be expected that 
 much would be found, particularly on the subject, in 
 the writings of those ages. But because there is 
 nothing directly on the subject, either for or against 
 infant baptism, in the fragments wiiich have come 
 down to us, of the writings of the first century, the 
 antipedobaptists, with an assurance peculiar to them- 
 selves, have undertaken to assert^ not to prove ^ that 
 during the first century, infant baptism ivas not prac- 
 tised in the church. With equal propriety we might 
 assert, even had we no proof to support our assertion, 
 that it ivas practised universally. But we are not re- 
 duced to this extremity. The sacred truth is, there is 
 as much evidence, as, from the state of the case, could 
 reasonably be expected, that during the first century, 
 and for several succeeding ages, infant baptism was 
 practised in the church, universally, and without con- 
 tradiction or question. 
 
 In the writings of Clemens Romanus and Hermes 
 Pastor, both contemporaries with the apostles, and 
 both mentioned by Paul, the former in his epistle to 
 the Phillipians, and the latter in his epistle to the Ro- 
 mans, passages are extant, which by fair implication 
 prove the practice of infant baptism in their day. 
 Justin INIartyr and Irenaeus, the former of whom was 
 born within three or four years after the death of the 
 apostle John, and the latter of whom was the disciple 
 of Polycarp, the bishop or angel of the church of 
 Smyrna, to whom John, in the Revelation, addressed 
 his epistle, are more particular and clear, to the same 
 purpose. Tertullian, who was about eleven years old 
 when Polycarp died, and was many years contempo- 
 rary with L'enaeus ; and Origen, who was contempo- 
 rary with Tertullian, are direct and explicit on the 
 subject. Speaking of the moral pollution of infants, 
 Origen says, ' What is the reason, that, whereas the 
 baptism of the church is given for forgiveness, infants 
 also, by the usage of the church, are baptized; when 
 if there were nothing in infants, which wanted for- 
 giveness or mercy, baptism would be needless to them.' 
 
SAMUEL "WORCESTER. 4-51 
 
 Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who suffered martyrdom 
 for the Christian faith, only about five years after the 
 death of Origen, was president of a council, which, 
 consisted of sixty -six bishops, or pastors of churches, 
 and which delivered an unanimous opinion, ' that the 
 baptism of infants was not to be deferred,' as some 
 supposed it should be, ' to the eighth day, but might 
 be given to them any time before.' Gregory Nazian- 
 zen, Basil, Ambrose, Chrysostom, and Jerome, all of 
 whom flourished within about a hundred years of 
 Origen and Cyprian, are all explicit on the subject; 
 explain the design of infant baptism, mention it as 
 coming in the place of circumcision, and speak of it 
 as the universal and undisputed practice of the church. 
 
 Austin, who was contemporary with some of these 
 last, and who flourished only about two hundred and 
 eighty years after the apostles, in a controversy with 
 Pelagius, alleged the practice of infant baptism, in 
 proof of the doctrine of original sin. ' Why are in- 
 fants,' says he, ' baptized for the remission of sin, if 
 they have none? Infant baptism the ivhoJe diurch 
 practices ; it was not instituted by councils, but was 
 EVER IN USE.' Pelagius, whose interest it was to set 
 this argument aside, was so far from denying the al- 
 leged fact, that, in reply to the suggestion of some 
 that by denying original sin, he denied the right of 
 infants to baptism, he utterly discards the idea, and 
 affirms, ' that he never heard of any, not even the most 
 impious heretic, who denied baptism to infants.' This 
 testimony is impregnable. Pelagius was a man of great 
 reading, and had travelled extensively. He was born in 
 Britain, resided some time at Rome, and made the tour 
 of the Christianized parts of Africa and Asia, by the 
 way of Egypt and Jerusalem. Yet in the whole of his 
 reading and of his travels, he never read or heard of any, 
 who denied the divine institution of infant baptism.' 
 
 From this period, the matter is clear beyond dispute. 
 Dr. Gill, himself, one of the most learned of the anti- 
 pedobaptist writers, acknowledges that 'infant bap- 
 tism was the practice of the church, universally, from 
 the third to the eleventh century.' 
 
452 MEMOIR OF 
 
 * For the first four hundred years,' says Dr. 
 Wall, in his History of infant Baptism, ' there appears 
 only one man, Tertullian, that advised the delay of 
 infant baptism, in some cases ; and one Gregory, who 
 did perhaps practice such delay, in the case of his own 
 children ; but no society, so thinking or so practising, 
 nor one man so saying, that it was unlawful to bap- 
 tize infants. In the next seven hundred years, there 
 is not so much as one man to be found, that either 
 spoke or practised such delay, but all the contrary. 
 And when about the year eleven hundred and thirty, 
 one sect among the Waldenses declared against the 
 baptizing of infants, as being incapable of salvation ; 
 the main body of that people rejected their opinion. 
 And the sect that still held to it^ quickly diuindled away 
 and disappeared. And there was nothing- more heard 
 of holding- that tenet, till the year fifteen hundred 
 and twenty-two.' In confirmation of this statement 
 it may be proper to observe, that Mr. Whiston, a man 
 eminent in literature, who for certain reasons left the 
 communion of the established church of England, and 
 went over to the antipaedobaptists, frankly declares, 
 that Dr. Wall's History of Infant Baptism, as to the 
 facts, appeared to him most accurately done, and might 
 be depended upon by the Baptists themselves. 
 
 The unprejudiced reader will now judge with how 
 much candor and truth, an attempt has been made in 
 some late publications, to make the milearned and un- 
 stable believe, that the practice of infant baptism had 
 its rise in the dark ages, under the influence of popery. 
 To give countenance to this attempt, some passages 
 have been quoted from Walafrid Strabo, in which he 
 has represented the doctrine of original sin, and the 
 doctrine of infant baptism, as having their origin about 
 the time of St. Austin. But the representations of 
 Strabo, a man of but little reading, but of great affec- 
 tation to say something new, who wrote, about the 
 middle of the eighth century, in the very midst of the 
 Gothic darkness, as they go directly in the face of the 
 primitive fathers of the church, are surely entitled to 
 very little regard. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 4'33 
 
 As to the assertion in ' A IMiiiiatnre History of the 
 Baptists,' that 'the Waldenses, Wickliflites, and Huss- 
 ites were Baptists,' it may sullice to say, there is suf- 
 ficient evidence that it has no foundation in truth. 
 The sentiments holden by them with respect to the 
 church, as stated by Dr. IMoslieim, are also liolden by 
 many of the pcdobuplist churches of the present day. 
 And the same reasoning, if reasoning it must be calhnl, 
 by which it was supposed to be ])roved, that the Wal- 
 denses, Wickliilites, Hussites, and other witnesses for 
 the truth in the dark ages, were antipedobaptists, 
 would equally prove that the Tabernacle Church are 
 antipedobaptists. This the writer of " A Miniature 
 History ' has himself been brought to acknowledge." 
 
 After what had been shown, relative to the mode of 
 baptism, the preacher might well be allowed to say, 
 that " the fair and invincible conclusion is, that sprink- 
 ling or affusion is Scriptural and valid." " We have 
 no evidence in the Scriptures, that, in the days of 
 Christ and his apostles, any person was baptized, by 
 dipping or immersion." 
 
 With some remarks upon the word haptizo^ which 
 of itself " determines nothing, in respect to the particu- 
 lar mode, in which water is to be applied in baptism ; " 
 with remarks also upon " going down into the water 
 and coming up out of the water," in which expressions 
 " the original particles are as properly, and much more 
 commonly rendered to and from^^ " I think it will ap- 
 pear," he says, " upon a candid and attentive consider- 
 ation of the several accounts of baptisms, recorded in 
 the Scriptures, that those baptisms were performed in 
 the most easy and convenient modey * 
 
 * On the meaning- of the word baptizo, see the invaluable Lexicon of Dr. 
 Kobinson, ed. 1&50. See also Articles of Prof. Stuart, E. Beeclier, D. D., 
 &c., Am. Bib. Repository. — In a note by Dr. W., a reference is made tom- 
 7nersions in early times, of persons naked^ &c., to trine immersions, &c. It 
 
454 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " To accommodate the people, who flocked by hun- 
 dreds and by thousands to his baptism, which, how- 
 ever, was not the Christian baptism, John chose for the 
 scene of his ministry, a situation at Enon, and another 
 by the river Jordan, where the multitude and their beasts 
 might find water for their refreshment ; and, when as- 
 sembled upon the banks of the Jordan, the most con-. 
 venient way would be for them to go down to the 
 brink of the water, and there be baptized by affusion 
 or sprinkling. But on the day of Pentecost, when 
 three thousand were baptized in a very short time, 
 they were at the temple, in the midst of Jerusalem ; 
 where the most convenient, if not the only way would 
 be, to have water brought in a basin, or some other 
 vessel, and baptize them in the same mode. As Philip^ 
 and the Eunuch were travelling on the road from Jeru- 
 salem to Gaza, where, as travellers assure us, there 
 was no river, or body of water, sufficient for the pur- 
 pose of immersion ; the way most convenient for them 
 was to alight from the chariot, and step down to the 
 small rivulet which presented, and there solemnize the 
 ordinance. But as Paul was at the house of Judas, in 
 Damascus, and as Cornelius and the jailor, were at 
 home ; the most convenient way for them, and indeed, 
 the only way for Paul and the jailor, was, to have 
 water brought, and to be baptized in their respective 
 houses. 
 
 In no single instance, is there the least intimation 
 of leaving the place of worship, wherever it might be, 
 and going away to a river, or a pond, for the purpose 
 of baptism ; and, therefore, for such a practice there is 
 no Scripture warrant. 
 
 The two passages of the apostle, in which the term 
 buried, is used in connection with the term baptism^ 
 determine nothing, as I have heretofore shown at 
 
 is asked, — " How can the anabaptists be sure, that their manner of baptizing 
 is scriptural and valid? Why do they not baptize in the manner of those 
 •who baptized by immersion in former times ? " * * " But is it not a cross to 
 go into the water? A serious question. But in reply, with the mo:>t per- 
 fect candor we ask, was it a cross to the J'ldaizing Christians to be circum- 
 cised ? Is it a cross in the Christian sense, to do anything, which will help 
 to make a fair sltow intJieJiesh^ — Gal. vi : 12." 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 455 
 
 largo,* and as has often been shown, in respect to the 
 mode of baptism. They oiler no more reason why, at 
 the time of our baptism, we should be burled^ than 
 why we Should be j/hin/cd, and circumcised^ and cruci- 
 fied. Tliey deseribe the effects of the baptism of the 
 Holy Spirit, but have no respect to the mode of the 
 external ordinance. 
 
 As baptism is not designed to commemorate the 
 death of Christ, which is the special design of the holy 
 supper; but to represent the application of his blood 
 for our justification, or the renovation of the heart, by 
 the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit ; is it not 
 plain, that sprinkling is a mode, much more properly 
 significant, than dipping? In reference to the appli- 
 cation of the blood of Christ, we never read of dipping, 
 or immersing ; but constantly of sprinkling or pour- 
 ing. Ye are covie to the blood of sprinkling. A7id 
 SPRINKLING of the blood of Christ. I ivill pour out my 
 Spirit upon allfiesh. I icill sprinkle clean ivater vpon 
 you^ and ye shcdl be clean. So shall he (Christ) sprin- 
 kle, not dip, many nations. Such are the uniform re- 
 presentations of Scripture. 
 
 And, my brethren, is it not more congenial with the 
 simplicity of the Gospel, is it not more compatible 
 with every idea of propriety and decency, is it not 
 more conducive to religious order and solemnity, to 
 perform the sacred rite of baptism in the house of God, 
 where he has appointed in a more special manner to 
 meet his church, and where the most solemn rites of 
 his worship are performed; than to leave these hal- 
 lowed courts, and this impressive scene of silent so- 
 lemnity and devotion, and with great inconvenience, 
 great parade, and perhaps, great tumult, go abroad for 
 the administration of the ordinance, to a river or pond?" 
 
 * " See Mass. Miss. Magazine, Vol. II, No. 8, p. 315." The reference 
 here is to an exposition of Rom. vi : 3, 4, and an exposure of the fallacy of 
 the argument of Baptists, from the words, " buried with liim by baptism iyito 
 deathP It is noticeable, that the article was published, the very month in which 
 the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Salem was ordained in tlie Taber- 
 nacle. — In the same volume may be found answers to questions of church 
 order, under Dr. W.'s signature of Silvauus. 
 
456 MEMOIR OF 
 
 These Discourses produced a gi'cat sensation. They 
 were lauded in the sti'ongest terms, by those who re- 
 ceived the doctrine of the author, as the truth of God. 
 They were regarded as perfectly conclusive, upon ev- 
 ery point involved in the main issue. And it is the 
 opinion of many competent judges, that there has not 
 since been published any treatise on the subject, which 
 in the same space embodies so much, and on the 
 whole is so well calculated to satisfy reasonable and 
 candid minds, in all classes of the community. 
 
 But there were those who felt very differently, both 
 as respects the merits of the discourses and the inten- 
 tions of the preacher. Many in the Baptist denomina- 
 tion could not be persuaded, that his exposition and 
 defence of the Abrahamic Covenant, in such point- 
 blank opposition to their sentiments, had been prompt- 
 ed by his desire of instructing his own people, and 
 fortifying them against errors to which they were then 
 peculiarly exposed. They could not have understood 
 his feelings, as a Christian parent, as well as a pastor 
 and a watchman, to whom the doctrine for which he 
 contended, was one of the most precious to his per- 
 sonal hopes, in public and private life. 
 
 There had been, during about twenty years previous, 
 quite a number of Controversial Sermons, or treatises, 
 on the subject of Baptism. But until these discourses by 
 Dr. Worcester, nothing appears to have so aroused the 
 leading advocates of " immersion " as the only bap- 
 tism, — warranted only upon a profession of Christian 
 experience, — and of Baptist Churches, as being the 
 only regular Churches of Christ, according to the New 
 Testament. While an edition of a thousand copies 
 was rapidly passing off, it was rumored, that more than 
 one stringent review was in preparation. Remarks 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 4'57 
 
 were not nncommon, as if 1lio pastor of tlic Taberna- 
 cle iniiT^lit better have been asleep, than to have ex- 
 posed himself to the castigalion and the mortification 
 in store for him. 
 
 In a letter to his brother Leonard, Oct. 13, 1806, he 
 says : — " My sermons are now all gone, and have been 
 gone for six months. Not less than two or three hun- 
 dred have been called for, since I had not one to spare. 
 I propose to reprint; and have only been w^aiting to 
 see what M******, or Dr. Baldwin, or both would have 
 to say, as I have been informed, that both were 
 about to say something. But I shall not wait for 
 them much longer ; but commit the sermons to press 
 very soon, and when they are out, will send you some, 
 unless you forbid me." 
 
 To his brother, at Hollis, he wrote, Dec. 29th : — 
 " Dr. Baldiviti^s Book is out. He has honored me 
 with a large share of his notice, which will require 
 from me a grateful return. My obligations to him, I 
 hope soon to discharge." 
 
 Early in 1807, as is evident from his daily memoran' 
 da, he had begun a Series of " Letters to the Rev. 
 Thomas Baldwin, D. D., of Boston, on his Book, en- 
 titled the Baptism of Believers only, and the Particu- 
 lar Communion of the Baptist Churches, explained 
 and vindicated." His health now required so much 
 of his care, that the plan of " Letters " was very wise- 
 ly adopted. He could w^rite them, from time to time, 
 and the pleasant freedom of the epistolary style, while 
 alleviating the labor of composition, w^as better fitted 
 to interest and profit the majority of readers. There is 
 in each of the " Twenty-Four," an apparent conscious- 
 ness of entire mastery of the subject ; and an air of 
 ease and unconcern, w^ith perfect self-control and good 
 
 39 
 
458 MEMOIR OF 
 
 humor ; — albeit there are somewhat frequent passages, 
 which not very obscurely, or vagueJy, express " the 
 faithful severity of truth," and admonish his assailants, 
 that a more " prudent husbandry " of their " resources " 
 would have been wise. 
 
 His labors, for three years, had been too exciting and 
 arduous. His friends took alarm. Before he had fin- 
 ished his reply to Dr. Baldwin, the bronchitis had over- 
 powered his voice, and he was compelled to intermit 
 his labors, much oftener than was agreeable. At last, 
 leaving all behind, that he well could, he sought respite 
 and relief in a Southern tour. He now formed the per- 
 sonal acquaintance of Pres. D wight, and other distin- 
 tinguished men, south of Massachusetts, with whom 
 he afterwards interchanged hospitalities, and was asso- 
 ciated in important public operations. In his letters 
 to his family, he speaks of the situations and scenes 
 through which he was passing, as if freely yielding 
 himself to the impressions of novelty and high gratifi- 
 cation, and as if describing them at his own fire-side, 
 when walking the floor, with his youngest child in his 
 arms. Little did he know what he was afterwards to 
 enjoy, in the society of " a Mr. Evarts, an excellent 
 young gentleman I " 
 
 In his first letter, he speaks of " attempting to make 
 one prayer at the Communion-table," in Providence. 
 " But I spoke with so much difl^iculty, as to be painful 
 to those who heard me, and distressing to myself." 
 
 Mrs. Zervia Worcester. 
 ^'-New York^ Saturday 710011, June 13, 1807. 
 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 From my arrival at New Haven, until nine o'clock 
 on Thursday evening, I passed my time there with 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 459 
 
 groat satisfaction. My lodc^iri^s were at O^den's Cof- 
 fee Ilonso, l)ut I kept tlien; but little. Dr. Dwight, to 
 whom I had letters of introduction, received me with 
 great cordiality, and showed me much politeness. Be- 
 sides giving me his couipanyand conversation for two 
 or three hours, and inviting mc^ to tea, he introduced 
 me to the Professors of the University, and along with 
 them showed the college buildings, library, philosophi- 
 cal apparatus, chemical laboratory, &c., with which, 
 and the accompanying, I was highly entertained. I 
 found also a good Mr. Austin, brother of Mr. Austin 
 of jj Worcester, who abounded with kindness ; and a 
 Mr. Evarts, an excellent young gentleman, now an at- 
 torney at law, with whom I formed a very pleasing ac- 
 quaintance, three years ago, at Peacham, where he 
 then resided, as Preceptor of the Academy in that 
 place, and boarded in my brother's family. In com- 
 pany with Mr. Evarts, I viewed the city, and rode about 
 two miles out to a gun factory, which Dr. Dwight re- 
 commended to me to see, and in viewing which I was 
 gratified with a most admirable display of mechanical 
 ingenuity. 
 
 New Haven is very pleasantly situated at the head 
 of a bay, which opens into Long Island Sound. The 
 site of the city is sufficiently level, rising however, by a 
 very gentle ascent from the water. It is laid out into reg- 
 ular squares ; the streets straight and wide, and almost 
 all of them ornamented with rows of trees ; the houses, 
 though mostly but two stories, are neat, and some of 
 them elegant; and the public buildings, the colleges, 
 court-house, and churches well situated and handsome. 
 The new burying-ground, a description of which I 
 hope to have opportunity to give you with living voice, 
 exceeds anything of the kind, probably, in the world. 
 New Haven, in fine, take it all in all, is a beautiful lit- 
 tle city. With the character and manners of the peo- 
 ple, I have yet had opportunity to become but little 
 acquainted ; but so far as I could observe, I was agree- 
 ably impressed. In the city, there are two Congrega- 
 tional societies, one Episcopal and one Methodist 
 society. No special attention to religion is manifest- 
 
460 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ed either at New Haven, or any place in my route, 
 excepting New London, where there have been lately 
 from twenty to thirty added to the church, within a 
 short time past, and several are at present under very 
 solemn impressions. 
 
 At nine o'clock on Thursday evening, I embarked 
 on board the Cornelia packet for this port ; but the 
 tide would not admit of leavins: the harbor until about 
 eleven ; and then the wind, during the rest of the night 
 and the forenoon of Friday, was so light and unfavor- 
 able, that we made head but very slowly. About noon, 
 the wind became more fresh and fair, and we came on 
 within about nine miles of this city, by nine o'clock 
 last evening ; but as it was not then safe to pass the 
 celebrated narrows, called Hell Gate^ anchor was cast, 
 and we slept again on board. At six o'clock this 
 morning, we landed in this city. 
 
 I had here no acquaintances, excepting Captain 
 Clough, and a Mi*. Dodge, who has repeatedly attend- 
 ed our meeting at Salem. The captain is very oblig- 
 ing, but much engaged in preparing for sea. Mr. 
 Dodge, who is a very respectable merchant, a most 
 amiable man, and a warm-hearted Christian, and on 
 very intimate terms with some of the first ministers of 
 the city, is all cordiality and attention. Of the clergy- 
 men, I have yet seen only Dr. Miller, and I propose to 
 form an acquaintance with them as far as my stay 
 here will permit. How long I shall stay here is some- 
 what uncertain, but probably not more than four or 
 five days. On the passage, I was not at all sea-sick, 
 but by the sudden change of the weather I took some 
 cold, and the cold easterly winds affected my lungs con- 
 siderably ; I yet hope, however, that my tour will ulti- 
 mately prove beneficial ; but the Lord will order all 
 things well. With complaints similar to mine, many 
 ministers are at present aillictcd; not less than ten or 
 twelve instances have come to my knowledge, since I 
 left Salem. The cry this way is, ' What is to become 
 of the ministers ? Are they all to lose their voices ?' 
 But he who walks in the midst of the golden candle- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 461 
 
 sticks, and holds the stars in his right hand, knows 
 best what to do with thein I 
 
 At present, I can only add my most artbctionate re- 
 membrances of Salem, ofVer my most fervent prayers 
 for my family and my people, and subscribe myself, 
 
 Yours, witli great tenderness, 
 
 Samuel Worcestek.'* 
 
 Returning home, he entered with great zest into the 
 plans of the Rev. Gideon Blackburn, D. D., of Ten- 
 nessee, who visited him in reference to his schools 
 among the Cherokees, and of whom more is hereafter 
 to be said. In a letter to his brother, at HoUis, on the 
 9th of July, he remarks : " INIy health is yet so feeble, 
 that I can write but little. How it will turn with me, 
 in the season of dog days, is quite uncertain. I am 
 not without my concern : but my times are in God's 
 hands, and my prayer is, that I may be prepared for 
 his will." 
 
 His heart learned new lessons of life, by the trying 
 experience of his bodily infirmities ; and the anxieties 
 and afflictions occasioned by sickness and death, in 
 the circle of near relatives. 
 
 Mrs. Zervia Worcester. 
 
 " HoIIis, Aug-. 3, 1807. 
 My dear Zervia, — 
 
 Every day's experience is calculated to teach us, that 
 our present state is a vale of tears. As we pass along 
 in life, afflictions multiply upon us; and as we know 
 not what a day may bring forth, so we often meet with 
 unexpected strokes. Our solicitude has of late been 
 so much awake for our brother, in his severe sickness, 
 that we have hardly, perhaps, thought, that any of the 
 rest of our friends were in danger. But alas! how 
 little do we at any time know, who of our friendis is 
 first to be taken from us. On my arrival here on Thurs- 
 
 39* 
 
462 MEMOIR OP 
 
 day evening, I found Deacon Conant* to be very un- 
 well. ***** On Saturday morning he took medicine, 
 which operated very freely, and nothing more unfavor- 
 able appeared in his case, until about two o'clock in 
 the afternoon. At that time he was taken in great dis- 
 tress. * * * He breathed with great difficulty, and lay in 
 a cold and death-like sweat, until about two o'clock 
 next morning, ivhen he expired^ and., as vje would hope., 
 breathed out his soid into the bosom of the Savior. 
 
 * * * O that these trials may be sanctified to us all I 
 The Lord is wise and good, and all his judgments are 
 right. Our brother is at present in a very favorable 
 and hopeful way. Jesse has just arrived, and I am 
 concerned to hear bv him, that you were more unwell, 
 when he came away, than you were the morning I left 
 home. I wish to stay with our bereaved friends here, 
 a day or two longer, but, if Providence permit, shall 
 return to Salem in the course of this week. My love 
 to the children, and all friends. Poor Samuel will 
 mourn the loss of his grand-pa' Conant ! 
 
 Most affectionately. Yours, 
 
 Samuel Worcester." 
 
 Sept. 8th, he made a minute of his letters to Dr. 
 Baldwin, as " completed/'f 
 
 In the article of the Mass. Miss. Magazine, from 
 which citations have already been made, is a synopsis 
 of the " Letters," in the same manner as that of the 
 '' Discourses." 
 
 *' After the first publication of Mr. Worcester's ser- 
 mons. Dr. Baldwin published a book in which he was 
 pretty free with his remarks on INIr. Worcester's ser- 
 mons. This led Mr. W. to reply in a number of Let- 
 ters. The most material things which have the name 
 or semblance of argument in the Dr.'s book, Mr. W. 
 has arranged under their proper heads ; he has ex- 
 
 * Falher-in-law of Mrs. W., and very fond of her children. 
 
 t They were issued separately, Svo. pp. 154, and also in a volume with 
 a revised edition of the Discourses. 
 
f« 
 
 SAMUEL AVORCESTER. 463 
 
 aminod them with patience, and confuted them by 
 sound arguments. By this he has also strengthened, 
 and if possible more completely established the doctrine 
 of his two discourses. 
 
 In his strictures upon the two discourses, Dr. B. 
 attempts to set up a distinction between a covenant 
 supposed to be made with Abraham, ' when he was 
 called to leave his country and kindred, to go and so- 
 journ in a strange land,' and what he chooses to call 
 ' the covenant of circumcision.' He fuUv admits that 
 the great promise made to Abraham at the time of his 
 call was the gospel, as then preached, and comprised 
 the Messiah and all the blessings of liis kingdom ; but 
 he denies, that that promise was comprised in the 
 covenant afterwards made with Abraham and his 
 seed, and sealed with the sign of circumcision. "Hence 
 he concludes, that Mr. W. had totally mistaken the 
 promise contained in his text, that his text does not 
 support his doctrine, and that his discourses are with- 
 out foundation. He might as well have said, that, be- 
 cause the top of the spire is not gold^ therefore the 
 foundation of the temple is sand. It shows that a man 
 is not a good composer of sermons, if his text does not 
 contain his doctrine; but it does not prove the doc- 
 trine may not be true: but even this ground on which 
 Dr. Baldwin erects his citadel is found untenable. Mr. 
 Worcester fairly secures his text, shows there is no 
 such distinction of covenants, but that all the gracious 
 promises made to Abraham were included in the 
 covenant, established with him and his seed, when he 
 received the sign of circumcision. Mr. W. has done 
 this by again considering the connection of the text ; 
 by a luminous recurrence to the first promise of grace 
 in Paradise, supposed to be for substance the same 
 with the great promise made to Abraham, and the sure 
 foundation of the church ; by a solemn and impressive 
 review of God's covenant transactions with Abraham; 
 by a close and particular survey of the covenant itself, 
 comparing it with many important passages in the 
 Old and New Testament, and by a victorious exposure 
 of the anti-pedobaptist construction of the one seed, 
 
464 MEMOIR OP 
 
 which is Christ. These, in their order, make the sub- 
 jects of his ' Letters,' from the second to the seventh, 
 inclusive." 
 
 After describing the course of argument in the suc- 
 ceeding letters, in which it is " shown, that, according 
 to Dr. B.'s own concession the anti-pedobaptist theory 
 must fall ;" that " the idea of two churches, a Hebrew 
 and Christian, is absurd, and highly injurious to the 
 honor of religion and the cause of God ;" " that chil- 
 dren now hold the same covenant relation to the 
 church, which they anciently held," &c.; it is further 
 said: 
 
 " The 23d letter repels the charges of Dr. B. in a 
 manly and dispassionate style, which, if arguments or 
 facts could avail, we should think, would go far to- 
 wai'ds making the Doctor repent that he is an author. 
 The last letter, which considers the high claims and 
 pretensions of the Baptists, is a series of pathetic ex- 
 postulations, in a strain of impressive eloquence. — Con- 
 cerning the manner in which Mr. Worcester has ex- 
 ecuted his work, we have little to add. His style is 
 correct, perspicuous, forcible, and harmonious. The 
 spirit of the w^ork is serious. He never wanders from 
 his subject, is never dull ; but often is animated, and 
 like a mighty wind bears down all before him. A 
 tender concern for divine truth, and deep solicitude for 
 the welfare of true religion, is manifested through the 
 whole work, which must recommend it to every candid 
 reader." 
 
 The writer of this notice was more careful of terms 
 of commendation, than he probably would have been, 
 if the author of the Discourses and Letters had not 
 been known to be one of the associated editors of the 
 Magazine. As the reader would infer. Dr. Worcester 
 maintained the positions and conclusions of his Dis- 
 courses, without the smallest retraction, or modifica- 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 
 
 465 
 
 tion. If any should now tlilnk, that he might have 
 spared some measure of his searching and probing 
 operation, they might think otlierwise, if they better 
 knew the circumstances, and, more especially, if they 
 had ever been obliged to have part in a controversial 
 discussion, in which they had been grossly misrepre- 
 sented, and otherwise maltreated. And every one 
 would concede, that, in some of his closer and more 
 caustic strictures upon Dr. Baldwin's book,* and in 
 the mingled pleasantry and sense of loathing, with 
 which another writer is handled, no ordinary talents 
 are indicated, for the argumentum ad hominem and the 
 reductio ad absiirdum. It is certain, that " his reputa- 
 tion was advanced by the part, which he took in the 
 discussion." And some at least, who are now in the 
 Congregational ministry, feel themselves under great 
 obligations for the aid, which they have received from 
 his Discourses and Letters on Baptism.f 
 
 " Truth, indeed, must be exhibited ; misrepresenta- 
 tion must be corrected ; argument must be applied ; 
 fallacy must be exposed ; and error must be exploded. 
 But a wide difference there certainly is, though but too 
 often unobserved, between the faithful severity of 
 truth, and the passionate asperity of prejudice ; be- 
 tween serious animadversion, and opprobrious invec- 
 tive ; between a solemn representation of fact, and 
 railing accusation. And if mild and dignified irony, 
 or satire, be occasionally admissible; it certainly but 
 ill becomes the Christian disputant to descend to low 
 and indiscriminate ridicule. 
 
 * " I call use the whip, upon occasion," he remarked, in reply to the com- 
 ments of a friend upon some passages in the Letters. Some thought, that 
 he could make a feather, if he pleased, cut like a two-edged sword. 
 
 t " Do you remember," said a worthy clergyman, in INIaine, a few weeks 
 since, — "what your father said of the Covenant of God with Abraham? 
 ' It is the GRAND CHARTER of all our blessings in the Gospel I' I should 
 have been a Baptist, if it had not been for those Discourses and Lellers." 
 
466 MEMOIR OP 
 
 These, Sir, are my present impressions ; and under 
 these impressions, I hope, undeviatingly, to conduct 
 my part of this serious dispute. But I exceedingly 
 regret, that in the course of these Letters, some things 
 will unavoidably fall in my way, which cannot, I am 
 afraid, be justly noticed, without offence. I ask it, 
 however, as a piece of justice, not to be blamed, or 
 charged with undue severity, for any fair and neces- 
 sary representation, however disagreeable, or unpleas- 
 ant, the thing represented may be. * * * 
 
 To 'invite you to the contest,' as you have been 
 pleased to intimate, was certainly far from my inten- 
 tion. To instruct and establish the people of my 
 charge, in what I then believed, and still believe, to be 
 important truth, and to fortify their minds against the 
 influence of what I then believed, and still believe, to 
 be hnrtful error, was the honest design of my Dis- 
 courses ; which were written and delivered, without 
 any view to a publication from the press. 
 
 That great exertions have been made to raise a 
 prejudice against me, for the part which I have felt it 
 my duty to take, in this common cause, I am fully 
 apprized ; and I certainly have no pretensions to a 
 stoical indifference, either to the displeasure of oppo- 
 nents, or to the uncomfortable feelings of honest, but 
 unstable, or misjudging friends. My duty, however, 
 I must fulfill ; and if any thing is to be done for the 
 cause of truth, and for the kingdom of the Redeemer, 
 no considerations, of a nature personal to myself, are 
 to deter me from the attempt." 
 
 The last Letter relates particularly to the assertion 
 of one of his assailants, — " that Mr. Worcester, from 
 beginning to end of his Sermons, has been pleading 
 the cause, and for the church and ordinance of Anti- 
 christ ;" that " he is within the limits of Antichrist's 
 Church," &c. ; and that " anti-pcdobaptists have al- 
 ways DENIED, that the pedobaptisf church is the true 
 gospel church^^ &c. A single paragraph will denote 
 the character of the answer. 
 
SAMUEL WORCESTER. 407 
 
 " Wlicre, Sir, was your dcMiominaiion, wliore your 
 anti-|)('(K)haptist cluirch, dnriiifi^ the four llioiisaud 
 years, which prece(U'd the corniiic^ of the Messiah? 
 Bv your own confession it was not in existence. — 
 Where was yonr anti-pedoba])tist church, in the prim- 
 itive ages after Christ, when no one w^as ever known, 
 or heard of, who denied Infant Baptism ? By the tes- 
 timony of the fatliers, it is plain, it was not in exist- 
 ence. Where was your anti-})edobaptist church, from 
 the fourth to the eleventh century, w^hen according to 
 the confession of your own Dr. Gill, ' not a single in- 
 stance was to be found of an opposer of Infant Bap- 
 tism V Evidently it was not in existence. — Where 
 was your anti-pedobaptist church, in the days of the 
 Reformation, when Luther and Melancthon, Calvin 
 and Zuinglius, with their faithful and intrepid coadju- 
 tors, beat down the bulwarks of Antichrist, and carried 
 terror and dismay to the very seat of the Beast? Alas ! 
 it began to make its appearance a few years after the 
 Reformation commenced, and immediately arrayed it- 
 self in the most troublesome opposition to the great 
 body of the Reformers. — Where was your anti-pedo- 
 baptist church, in the times of the bloody persecutions, 
 succeeding the Reformation, when millions of faithful 
 confessors, in difierent parts of Europe, laid down their 
 lives, for the ivord of God., and for the testimony of 
 Jesus Christ ? But little, indeed, was known of it, to 
 its credit ; but little did it share in the distinguished 
 honors of the Cross. — Where, in fine, was your anti- 
 pedobaptist church, when our pious and venerable an- 
 cestors abandoned their native country, and surmount- 
 ing all the difficulties of the ocean, and of the wilder- 
 ness, heroically planted the standard of the Cross in 
 this new world ? In that glorious enterprise it had no 
 share." 
 
 In the autumn, he went upon a northern tour, visit- 
 ing his brothers and other relatives, in New Hamp- 
 shire and Vermont. As is too common in such cir- 
 cumstances, he was continually beset with applica- 
 
3 
 
 468 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tions to preach, or perform some other service. His 
 love for his calling would not allow him to say No, if 
 he had any strength left, to say Yes. 
 
 Of himself personally he said little, in any place or 
 situation. A few words sometimes escaped him. It 
 was seldom, that he wrote any reflection upon his own 
 life or purposes, although living very fast. Among 
 many hundreds of brief records, from day to day, one 
 prominent and significant exception appears, Nov. 1, 
 1807. — " Expounded Mat. vii. 13, 14. Afternoon, Mat. 
 vii. 15-20. Funeral. — This day, 37 years old I My 
 days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle I" 
 
 With the Savior's words, expounded on that Sab- 
 bath and that anniversary of tender and admonitory 
 recollections and emotions, this volume of the Memoir 
 of his Life will now be closed. " Enter ye in at the 
 strait gate : for wide is the gate, and broad is the way 
 that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which 
 go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow 
 is the way, which leadeth unto life : and few there be 
 that find it. — Beware of false prophets, which come to 
 you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are raven- 
 ing wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do 
 men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? Even 
 so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a 
 corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree 
 cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree 
 bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not 
 forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them I" 
 
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 ^ 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 
 0040277038 
 
 9;.V.B9 
 
 V. 1