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A LIFE'S RETROSPECT 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 Rev. Granville Moody, d. d. 
 
 (BRIGADIER GENERAL BY BREVET) 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 REV. SYLVESTER WEEKS, A. M. f D. D. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 
 CRANSTON AND STOWE 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HUNT AND EATON 
 
 1890. 
 
11 Z 
 
 7<h 
 
 Copyright by 
 
 CRANSTON & STOWE, 
 
 1890, 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THIS book is strictly an autobiography so far 
 as the writing and collecting of previously 
 printed matter is concerned. The name " Retro- 
 spect" is Dr. Moody's own selection for a title. 
 He quotes: "The retrospect of a life well spent 
 affords peace of mind in old age." 
 
 I have endeavored to arrange the subjects and 
 events in chronological order, but found some dif- 
 ficulty, and possibly did not in every case suc- 
 ceed. Many of the newspaper clippings were with- 
 out date. Dr. Moody, like Paul, was in the habit 
 of "going off at a word;" that is, the association 
 of ideas suggested something kindred to the sub- 
 ject in hand, and he turned aside from the direct 
 narrative to notice that, and, in some instances, 
 the two circumstances were far apart in point of 
 time. I have grouped together facts and incidents 
 of a similar nature, arranging them chronolog- 
 ically, as nearly as the data enabled me so to do. 
 The reports from charges, dreams, advocacy of 
 reforms, and prayers, illustrate this grouping of 
 kindred events. In the material furnished by Dr. 
 Moody there were a number of sermons and ad- 
 dresses, lectures and essays, which it was impos- 
 sible to embody in the limits of a single volume. 
 Enough, however, has been furnished to allow the 
 
 3 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 autobiographer to reveal his distinct personality, 
 and to demonstrate his interest in every religions, 
 moral, philanthropic, educational, and patriotic 
 subject before the people in the half century of 
 his active life ; and also to show his mode of 
 thought, manner of treatment, and his rhetorical 
 setting of his subjects. 
 
 He was verbose, without reduncancy. The 
 length of his literary productions, whether written 
 or spoken, was owing to the abundance of matter, 
 and was not a mere superfluity of words. He 
 was descended from generations of scholarly an- 
 cestors, graduates of Harvard, Dartmouth, and 
 other New England colleges. His father grad- 
 uated from Dartmouth in 1798, and became one 
 of the best educators of the period. Dr. Moody's 
 reading was classical, historical, solid ; his trained 
 memory was capacious, ready, and retentive. His 
 splendid physique gave him the physical qualifi- 
 cations as to presence and power of endurance 
 for an orator, while his well-modulated voice ena- 
 bled him to pass from the stentorian tone of 
 command to the depth of tender pathos, and the 
 play of his expressive features, lighting up his 
 countenance till it was all aglow with emotion, 
 intensified the impression, and fixed it indelibly 
 in the mind and heart of the hearer. He was 
 six feet four inches tall, with development in pro- 
 portion that was massive, without being adipose. I 
 have in my mind a picture like this. I asked him 
 to offer the closing prayer at an early Christmas 
 morning prayer-meeting in Ripley, in 1873. He 
 
Preface. 5 
 
 kneeled on his right knee, the left being at a 
 right angle, his hands resting on the top of his 
 heavy black cane with massive silver head, his 
 body erect, with the cape of his military overcoat 
 draping his shoulders ; his head, covered with luxu- 
 riant white hair, was a dome of vigorous thought, 
 while his speaking face was turned heavenward. 
 The pose was one for an artist. His prayer was 
 the language of one at ease with God, culmi- 
 nating in thanks for "the unutterable gift." 
 
 One familiar with the Miami Valley could trace 
 his itinerary by the doctrines he combated — Cal- 
 vinism at Oxford, Universalism at Montgomery 
 and West Chester, Socinianism at Franklin, Radi- 
 calism at Lebanon, and intemperance, Catholicism, 
 and disloyalty in Dayton, Springfield, Cincinnati, 
 and Piqua. And yet some of his dearest friends 
 were his antipodes in doctrine ; showing that his 
 antagonisms were not against persons, but against 
 systems of belief. Then, too, the subjects of his 
 communications to the Church papers indicate the 
 depth of his interest in the polity of the Church. 
 He wrote and spoke on the division of the Book 
 Concern, episcopacy, pewed churches, the pre- 
 siding eldership, and various phases of slavery. 
 
 His religious experience was deep, founded in 
 the Word of God ; the one word that impressed 
 me as I searched and classified his memoirs of 
 himself, was " authority." To duly constituted au- 
 thority — divine, ecclesiastical, or civil — he bowed 
 with unquestioning loyalty. His early training in 
 a pious house established him in the principles 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 of morality ; his prayerful and careful examination 
 in his youth of the doctrines of religion, with -the 
 Bible as the ultimate appeal, settled him immov- 
 ably in matters of faith ; his conversion, in which 
 he was Scripturally, thoroughly, and consciously 
 saved, was a genuine experience, affirming his mo- 
 rality, confirming his doctrine, and eminently 
 qualifying him to deliver his gospel message with 
 no reservations as to its adaptation to save. His 
 was a growing experience. At the close of his 
 itinerant ministry he wrote : 
 
 "From the memorable November 25, 1831, a 
 divine energy has been forming me, amid many 
 conflicts and various experiences, into a growing 
 conformity to God's perfect will ; and, upon the 
 whole review, I find that I have been putting off 
 the old man of covetousness, self-will, pride, and 
 self-indulgence, and have been putting on the new 
 character of humility, submission to God, and 
 love to God and to men, — to good men because 
 of their goodness, and commiseration, and pitying 
 love to the naturally degenerate portion of society, 
 who remain in the bonds of iniquity and in the 
 gall of bitterness, and strangers still to the cov- 
 enant of grace — recognized as those having no 
 hope, because without God in the world. 
 
 " I can also attest that the bud of regeneration, 
 the divine beginning of the new life, has blos- 
 somed and progressed and ripened into the fruit 
 unto holiness, with the assured prospect of ever- 
 lasting life. ... 
 
 "I can also attest that a life of devotional, self- 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 denying, and active piety has become more habitual 
 and delightful, and sin in any and every form, as 
 viewed in myself and in others, has become more 
 and more hateful and painful, deformed and hor- 
 rible, and vile and detestable and detested. . . . 
 My contemplations of the heavenly state are be- 
 coming more realizing ; my aspirations for it are 
 more fervent, and my desires for earthly things are 
 more moderate. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth 
 in me ; and the life I now live in the flesh is a life 
 of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave 
 himself for me, and to me as well. Thus, by faith 
 in Christ, my life has been a progressive life, has 
 been a life of religious decision, of care for my 
 own personal salvation, of devotional piety ; a life 
 of assurance of acceptance with God in Christ ; a 
 life of communion with the Holy Trinity, of up- 
 ward and onward tendencies, of cheerful submis- 
 sion to providential allotments, of laborious use- 
 fulness in persuading men to reformation that flows 
 from gospel salvation ; a life of patriotic devotion 
 to our country ; a life of active opposition to in- 
 temperance and Sabbath desecration ; and my 
 closing prayer for all my family is, that our sons 
 and daughters may walk by all these rules, and 
 mind the same things, and meet wife and self in 
 heaven." 
 
 He was a connecting link between the pioneer 
 and the present ministry in Ohio. He diligently 
 instructed the children in every pastoral charge ; 
 he observed and enjoined the quarterly fast ; he 
 urged and insisted upon attendance upon the 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 means of grace, of which he considered class- 
 meetings not the least. 
 
 At the session of his Conference in 1886 — I 
 quote from the Minutes — "a committee was ap- 
 pointed to examine and report upon the manu- 
 script autobiography of brother G. Mood}', as 
 requested by the Conference, and the following 
 brethren were so appointed : R. S. Rust, A. Lowrey, 
 C. H. Payne, William Herr, S. D. Clayton, A. B. 
 Leonard, and J. F. Marlay." Appointed on the 
 first day of the session, they reported on the fifth 
 day as follows : 
 
 "The Committee, to whom was referred the 
 manuscript autobiography of our venerable and 
 beloved brother, Rev. Granville Moody, D. D., 
 would respectfully report : 
 
 "1. We greatly rejoice in the presence of Dr. 
 Moody with us at this session of our conference, 
 and that we have been permitted to hear once 
 more on the floor of the Conference, and in the 
 devotional exercises of the session, the familiar 
 tones of a voice which we have been so long ac- 
 customed to follow as that of a born, tried, and 
 trusted leader. As a man evidently called of God 
 to take a leading part in public and ecclesiastical 
 affairs, and richly endowed by high qualities of 
 physical, intellectual, and spiritual manhood, Dr. 
 Moody has been a conspicuous and honored figure 
 in the most eventful period of our country's his- 
 tory ; a man distinguished above his fellows for 
 labors abundant in Church and State, whose 
 praise is not only in all the Churches, but which 
 
Preface. 
 
 9 
 
 also occupies a large place in the history of the 
 great Rebellion, in which he bore so noble a part 
 in defense of the Union. 
 
 u 2. We rejoice that in his enforced retirement 
 from active service, on account of impaired phys- 
 ical health, Dr. Moody has found time to collect 
 the facts and incidents of his long and useful life 
 in the form of an autobiography, which we have 
 examined as fully as our time would allow, and 
 which we take great pleasure in recommending for 
 publication by the Western Book Concern, as a 
 contribution of rare interest and value to our 
 denominational and biographical literature." 
 
 This report was signed by all the committee, 
 and was adopted by the Cincinnati Conference by 
 a rising vote. 
 
 On Sunday morning, May 29, 1887, Dr. Moody, 
 in company with his son, Charles P. Moody, was 
 going from his country residence to Jefferson, 
 Iowa, to preach a memorial sermon before the 
 George H. Thomas Post, No. 23, G. A. R. In 
 turning a corner a trace became detached ; this 
 allowed the breast-yoke to move forward, so that, 
 the carriage-pole falling, both occupants of the 
 carriage were hurled violently out. On the third 
 day pneumonia of a type defying medical skill 
 developed, and the end drew near. His life-long 
 familiarity with the Scriptures was manifested 
 during his closing days of life in his frequent 
 repetitions of the " exceeding great and precious 
 promises," which were as manna to his soul. He 
 looked forward to the goodly company awaiting 
 
io Preface. 
 
 him — bishops, ministers, and from the laity. He 
 alluded to the more than eight thousand who, 
 through his ministry, had been led to God ; many 
 of them would meet him. "Best of all who have 
 been with me on earth, Lizzie will meet me 
 there." A little later he uttered his last connected 
 sentence, repeatedly exclaiming: "On the tree! 
 on the tree I" At five minutes before six o'clock, 
 on Saturday, June 4, 1887, his spirit departed, 
 passing out of the Saturday night of earth into 
 the unending Sabbath of a blessed eternity. The 
 funeral services in the church at Mount Vernon 
 were participated by Revs. Dr. Heald, pastor ; 
 Luke Fish, A. K. Baird ; President W. F. King, of 
 Cornell College ; C. M. Sessions, I. W. Joyce, D. D. 
 (now bishop), Chaplain J. H. Lozier, and Captain 
 C. W. Kepler, of the G. A. R. Post. 
 
 Awaiting the resurrection of the just, his mor- 
 tal remains rest in the soil of the State he chose 
 for the home of his declining days, while his ran- 
 somed spirit sings with deeper fervor than earth 
 could know, his favorite : 
 
 " Thou art my soul's bright morning star, 
 And thou my rising sun." 
 
 We trust this Autobiography may be full of 
 pleasant reminiscences to the older readers, and an 
 inspiration and guide to the younger. 
 
 SYLVESTER WEEKS. 
 
 Cincinnati, September 3, 1889. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 
 
 Birth — Brothers and Sisters — Grandfather's House — Hard 
 Cider — Father's Literary Pursuits — Mother of Huguenot 
 Ancestry — " Boston Stone " — Maternal Grandmother — 
 " Uncle Ben " — Baron Mood}- and the Grant Family — Sketch 
 of Family, Page 21 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 BOYISH YEARS. 
 
 Childhood — Mother's Prayers — Memory at Four Years of 
 Age — Dr. Payson — Removal to Baltimore — Gay Street — Dr. 
 Inglis's Church — Family Sittings — William Wirt — Com- 
 munion Days — Catechization at Home — Father's Seminary — 
 Reminiscences in 1876 — The Author's Education — First 
 Cigar and Last, 30 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 YOUTH. 
 At Business — A Large Transaction for a Sixteen-year Old Boy — 
 Details thereof— First Adult Suit of Clothes— Farmer— 
 Josiah Chew — Prevalence of Intemperance — Dr. Lyman 
 Beecher's Six Sermons — Rev. Henry Slicer — The Author's 
 Unique Pledge — Step to Conversion, 40 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 WESTWARD HO! 
 
 A Surgical Operation — Religious Conviction — Leaving Home 
 for Ohio — Aunt Violet — Norwich, Ohio — Isaiah Brown — 
 Meets Rev. Levi P. Miller — Protracted Discussion on Theol- 
 ogy — Fletcher's Checks — Turning from Calvinism, . . 50 
 11 
 
12 Contents. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 CONVERSION. 
 
 Deepened Conviction by New Truth— "O Wretched Man" — 
 Aunt Violet's Charge comes up — Conversion — Witness of 
 the Spirit — Evidence of Adoption — Uniting with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, Page 65 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 LICENSED TO PREACH. 
 
 Joins the Church on Christmas — Will not sell Whisky — List 
 of Books and Time for Reading — Life of Jesse Lee — Call 
 to preach — Keeping a Branch Country Store — Classifying 
 Knowledge for a Ready Memory — First Sermon — Licensed 
 to Preach and recommended for the Traveling Connec- 
 tion — Cure for a Balky Horse, 78 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 ADMITTED INTO CONFERENCE. 
 
 Characteristic Letters from Father and Mother — Studies under 
 Rev. E. D. Roe, M. D. — Transfer of Business to Brother 
 William — Appointed to Springfield Circuit — First Text as 
 an Itinerant — William H. Raper — Father's Death — Lon- 
 don Circuit — McKendree Chapel, Fulton — Joseph Herron — 
 Marriage — Wife's Great Blessing — William Nast — Wesley 
 Chapel — General Conference of 1836 and Slavery, ... 89 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 CINCINNATI AND EESEWHERE. 
 
 Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati — Mr. and Mrs. William NefF— Illi- 
 nois Lands — Refusal to invest — Troy Circuit— Black Hawk, 
 a Horse and His History — Oxford — A Dangerous Ford of 
 the Miami River — Vanaken Wunder and Son, ...... 97 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 UNIVERSAEISM. 
 
 Miami Circuit — Days of Theological Debates — Two Hours on 
 Baptism in the Morning — Three Messengers give Timely 
 Warning — Three Hours in the Afternoon against Univer- 
 salism — The Result — Extempore Speaking, 108 
 
Contents. 13 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 AT OXFORD. 
 
 Oxford Station — Calvinism — Controversy at the Post-office — 
 Quotations from Confession of Faith — The Controversy- 
 Older than Calvin— Synod of Dort— Servetus— Catechism and 
 Directory of Worship — Free and Full Salvation, . Page 115 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 INCIDENTS IN ITINERANT LIFE. 
 Wesley Chapel — Job Dundee — His Occupation led Him to 
 Christ — Dr. Strickland — A Strange Story in Psychology — 
 Ripley— Pastoral Visiting— A Roadside Baptism— A Mud- 
 hole near Williamsburg— A Friendly Act to be repaid 
 by Another — The Answer thereto, 134 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 SABBATH-KEEPING. 
 
 On Observance of the Sabbath — Little Ben — Firing Up 
 with Split Wood and Prayer — A Long Session of Confer- 
 ence—Low Water and Ohio River Bars — Sunday Morn- 
 ing — A Bishop vacillating — Going Ashore — Mr. Ladely's 
 Welcome — Monday Morning Departure — Little Ben on a 
 Bar and distanced — A Sunburnt Bishop— The Sabbath 
 Observers reach Cincinnati first, 149 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM EARLY WRITINGS. 
 
 Putting on Christ — Negations — Fundamental Doctrines — The 
 Truth— Bereavements— The Word made Flesh— The Bible- 
 Experimental Knowledge, 157 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 REPORTS FROM VARIOUS CHARGES. 
 Fulton — Montgomery— Lancaster — Zanesville — Dedication of 
 McKendree, Fulton— Methodism in Columbus— Old-time 
 Hospitality at the Parsonage— Columbia Street, Spring- 
 field— Raper Chapel, Dayton— Appointments from 1833 to 
 1882— Record of Births, Deaths, and Marriages of Chil- 
 dren, 168 
 
14 Contents. 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 DRRAMS, PRESCIENCE, AND THE PRETERNATURAL. 
 
 Dreams: in Springfield in Reference to a Revival — At York 
 Street, Cincinnati, as to a Death One Hundred and Thirty 
 Miles Distant— An Ante-mortem Funeral Sermon Actually 
 used at the Funeral— Singular Impression at Camp Chase, 
 Anticipating the Escape of Rebel Prisoners — At Fairmount, 
 in Charity, PAGE 183 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 FURTHER INCIDENTS OF MINISTERIAL LIFE. 
 
 Duplicating a Wedding— Cowhiding a Minister — The Fighting 
 
 Parson and John Morgan's Chief of Staff — Muscular 
 
 Christianity at Camp Chase — Falling of the Flag at Camp 
 
 Chase — A Modern Gideon's Lamps — Students Enlisting, 200 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 
 Contrabands at Camp Chase— Ye can not serve Two Masters — 
 Testimonials as to Author's Treatment of Prisoners by 
 Rodgers, Steele, and Others— Articles in the Western 
 Christian Advocate on the Repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise .... 219 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 TEMPERANCE— EXTRACTS FROM PAPERS. 
 
 Temperance in Springfield — Dayton — Communication to the 
 Dayton Gazette— Reasons for Opposition to the Sale and 
 Use of Intoxicating Liquors, 231 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 A Soldier wounded at Franklin, Tennessee — Praying with and 
 for Him — His Recovery — Talk with Archbishop Purcell — 
 Andrew Johnson, Military Governor of Tennessee — Evacua- 
 tion of Nashville threatened — Prayer with the Governor by 
 Author — Stone River — Battle — Murfreesboro — Rebel Officer 
 shot — His Death — Prayers on Memorial-day at Spring Grove 
 Cemetery, Cincinnati, and at Arlington Heights, . . . 258 
 
Contents. 15 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 ADVOCACY OF REFORM AND LIBERTY. 
 
 Kossuth Meeting in Springfield — Anti-Nebraska Meeting in 
 Dayton — Against Romanism in Springfield, 1852-53 — The 
 Bible in the Schools — Roman Catholic Opposition, Page 281 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 COMBATING ERROR. 
 
 Spirit-rapping — Reasons for not being a Baptist — On the Use 
 of Tobacco — Deference to Morals in Political Action — 
 Camp-meetings and the Sabbath, 295 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 FRAGMENTS OF CEERICAE EIFE. 
 Corner-stone Laying at Ripley — Great Storm averted — Prevail- 
 ing Prayer — A Cincinnati Affray — Missionary Box mistaken 
 for an Infernal Machine — A Successful Change in Minis- 
 terial Relations — Isaac W. Joyce — Prayer over a " Sermon- 
 ette" — Judge Bellamy Storer 322 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 AS COEONEE OF A REGIMENT. 
 Enters the Army — Commissioned Colonel of the Seventy- 
 fourth Regiment, O. V. I. — Approval of Cincinnati Preach- 
 ers' Meeting — Appointed Commandant at Camp Chase — 
 Letter of Governor Tod— Sent to the Front — Author's Letter 
 to his Wife — Details of Camp-life and Battle — Letter to 
 the Book Agents — Deserters turned Back — Narrow Escape 
 from Wounds and Death — Major Lewis, Private Secretary 
 of President Jackson — Incidents — Seeking escaped Slaves — 
 Toilsome March — Son's Exhaustion — Franklin, Tennessee — 
 Brother G. V. Moody, of the Rebel Army, a Prisoner — 
 Preaches in Camp — Disabled by Exposure and Wounds — 
 Resigns from the Service — Promoted to Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral by Brevet, 336 
 
 Chrpter XXIV. 
 
 IN CIVIE EIFE. 
 Meeting of Citizens of Springfield on Washington's Birthday, 
 1863 — Address on the Occasion — Address at Ripley on the 
 
16 Contents. 
 
 Situation of Public Affairs, 1868 — Address on Memorial-day, 
 1881, at Washington C. H. — Address at Xenia, Ohio, at a 
 Reunion of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, .... Page 369 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 MORE FRAGMENTS OF CLERICAL EIFE. 
 Pocket picked, and Conviction of Thief — Pardon procured — 
 First Personal Acquaintance with Dr. J. V. Watson — Ap- 
 pointment to Piqua — Rebuilding Church — Thanksgiving- 
 day, 1863 — Patriotic News — Services interrupted — Address 
 on the Occasion — General Conference of 1864 — Interview 
 with President Lincoln — Address of the Conference and the 
 President's Reply — The Degree of Doctor of Divinity con- 
 ferred on the Author — Visit to Washington City — President 
 Lincoln on Emancipation — Appointed to Ripley — General 
 Conference of 1876 — Speech on Bishop's Address, . . 427 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 SUPERANNUATION. 
 
 Appointed to Jamestown — Semi-centennial Anniversary of 
 Entering the Ministry — A Daughter's Letter — How an Itin- 
 erant's Life appears to an Itinerant's Child — Asks for and 
 receives a Superannuated Relation to the Conference — Ad- 
 dress before Conference — Motion for Author to prepare 
 his Autobiography — Semi-centennial Sermon — Retirement 
 in Iowa — Reflections — Assurance of Divine Favor — Let- 
 ters of Sympathy and Regard — Golden Wedding — Sickness 
 and Death of Wife — Conclusion, 455 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 AN Introduction to any book written by Rev. Gran- 
 ville Mood}- would seem a superfluous task, and 
 it would be such were the work designed only for 
 the Methodists of Ohio, and especially for those now 
 well advanced in life. The same is true of the work 
 which sets forth his personal experiences, labors, and 
 observations. He was too well known to need intro- 
 duction, and the Methodist people who knew him 
 require no inducement to read what he has written 
 concerning himself, or with reference to the times in 
 which he lived. 
 
 It is difficult to realize that one so conspicuous and 
 impressive in his personality is gone from our midst, 
 and that only a volume remains to perpetuate his 
 memory, and in some degree to continue his influence 
 in the Church he served so long and so well. For 
 half a century and more he was a prominent partici- 
 pant in the affairs of Methodism, working with all 
 the energies of his enthusiastic nature for the up- 
 building of the kingdom of righteousness, and no one 
 who knew him will even suspect that he lacked a 
 single element of loyalty to God, to his Church, or to 
 his native land. What he believed, he believed, with 
 all his heart, and what he did, he did with his might. 
 
 He entered the ministry at a time when it was 
 
 2 17 
 
1 8 Introduction. 
 
 necessary for Methodists to "contend for the faith" 
 they professed, and to do it with an aggressiveness 
 that would, at the present day, seem intolerant and 
 offensive. Mr. Moody was not a man to be a spectator 
 in the presence of an emergency demanding positive 
 exertion to maintain what he believed to be the truth 
 of God. Hence, in early life, he prepared himself 
 thoroughly to defend the doctrines of his Church ; and 
 his preaching, without lacking elements of spiritual 
 power, was rich in theological thought and forceful 
 in polemic learning. He championed the cause he 
 espoused, and stood ready to measure swords with any 
 who crossed his path in the advocacy of Calvinism, 
 Unitariamsm, or Universalism. It was not merely 
 the impulsiveness of his nature that made Mr. Moody 
 active and prominent in the controversies of his day. 
 He possessed an intellect of wonderful activity and 
 force, an industry which was untiring, a heart that 
 burned with zeal for the truth and the right ; and, pos- 
 sibly, no one excelled him in pure dislike to all that 
 seemed dishonoring to God or the Church. It was not 
 in him to remain uninformed in the current thought of 
 his time, or to lack any knowledge available for the 
 defense of the positions his conscience approved. 
 
 It sometimes occurs that men of marked peculiari- 
 ties, or of extraordinary strength in given lines of 
 action, come to be so well known in those things 
 which distinguish them from others, that their general 
 ability to do the ordinary work of their calling is 
 scarcely appreciated. Mr. Moody was a man of 
 striking peculiarities, yet he was also well rounded 
 
Introduction. 19 
 
 and thoroughly capable, and eminently efficient in 
 every department of duty as a Christian minister 
 and pastor. While he became proficient as a speaker 
 and writer in the controversies which belonged to his 
 times, he developed large capacity for all the services 
 required at his hands, and neither the social nor spir- 
 itual interests of his charges suffered from neglect or 
 inattention. He sought to understand Methodism in 
 her inner life as well as in her doctrinal principles ; 
 and his allegiance to her ecclesiastical methods was far 
 from being a blind devotion to unappreciated tradi- 
 tions. With a generous love for all evangelical de- 
 nominations, and with a catholicity unknown to smaller 
 minds, he grasped the connectional system of Meth- 
 odism, made himself familiar with its forms and usages, 
 and gave to these an intelligent approval which car- 
 ried with it the warmth of his great soul. He was, 
 therefore, an ardent Methodist, while he despised 
 bigotry. 
 
 The following chapters will give a better idea of 
 the characteristics hinted at in the foregoing periods, 
 than could be given by further descriptive phrases in 
 the brief space allowed for this Introduction. He was 
 a man of great mind, great heart, great impulses, and 
 great intelligence ; and whatever may be said of his 
 peculiarities, it is not probable that any one will ever 
 think of him as other than a man of high purpose, 
 lofty aim, noble sentiment, pure thought, and honor- 
 able life. The record he has made, and the portraiture 
 here given, will be read and cherished by thousands 
 who admired him in life, and who will associate him 
 
20 Introduction. 
 
 in memory with the heroes of Methodism, as well as 
 with the heroes of the Nation. 
 
 The literature of the country and of the Church is 
 enriched by such a volume as this. Its perusal by 
 the young will enlarge the horizon of their thought, 
 and stimulate their desire to be loyal to God and to 
 every good work. It presents the thoughts and expe- 
 riences of one whose life was a success, and whose ex- 
 ample in study and zeal and work and sacrifice, as 
 well as in devotion and patriotism, may be imitated 
 
 with profit. 
 
 S. M. MERRII.lv. 
 Chicago, 1890. 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 Granville Moody 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 
 
 AN autobiography is the life of a person written 
 by himself. It is a delicate and difficult task 
 to write one's own history. It lays one open to 
 the charge of egotism or self-glorification. It 
 were better far if " every Johnson had his Bos- 
 well." But, then, every Boswell might be too 
 friendly to his Johnson, and, knowing his subject 
 but in part, and disposed to lionize his friend, he 
 might be suspected of partiality. 
 
 The subject of this autobiography was born in 
 Portland, Me., on January 2, 1812. His parents 
 were William and Harriet Brooks Moody. A family 
 legend is that his birth was accompanied with the 
 most violent storm that had broken on that ocean- 
 girt land within the memory of the oldest inhab- 
 itant. Whether " the prince of the power of the 
 air" had any agency in this tempest at this epoch 
 is not for me to determine. But as this juncture 
 marked also the beginning of the War of 18 12, I 
 came, and amid a rejoicing circle waked " ma- 
 ternal love, the word that sums all bliss." Family 
 
22 Granville Moody. 
 
 history speaks lovingly of my infancy, and of my 
 baptism when six weeks old — presented at God's 
 holy altar in the old frame church where the Rev. 
 Edward Payson, D. D., faithfully preached the 
 gospel of the Son of God to crowded audiences, 
 and solemnly administered the ordinances of bap- 
 tism and the Lord's Supper. There stood my 
 parents, and presented me to God, taking upon 
 themselves the parental obligations to "bring me 
 up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." 
 And doubly sure I am that never into holier hands 
 was infant form committed than when, from my 
 mother's bosom, my father's hands conveyed me to 
 the fond arms of him who stood in Jesus' place 
 and name and welcomed me to his kind and warm 
 embrace. Giving me back to my parents' arms 
 and hearts, he said: "This child is now the Lord's 
 by your act of consecration ; take it as his prop- 
 erty, and bring it up for God and, 'he will give you 
 your wages.' " He closed the service with a prayer 
 for parents and the child then baptized, and for 
 the children all, that they might make an unbroken 
 family in heaven. This is the authentic record 
 of that great hour in my early life when Pastor 
 Payson prayed for me and for the family in his 
 saintly style, with fullness of faith that God would 
 be my parents' God and the God of their children 
 after them. 
 
 My parents were of good New England stock, 
 pure Christians, believing in the Bible as a book 
 divinely inspired, containing the mind and will of 
 God in our salvation from sin and from its results, 
 
Infancy and Childhood. 23 
 
 revealing Jesus Christ as the great object of faith 
 and hope and love. To them were born seven 
 sons and four daughters, to wit : Harriet Peaslee, 
 John Brooks, William Henry, Louisa Brooks, Gran- 
 ville, Ellen, George V., Nathaniel Peaslee, Edward 
 Payson, Samuel Stillman, and Sarah Hudson. My 
 father was the sixth son of Humphrey Moody, 
 whose farm adjoined Haverhill on the Merrimac, 
 eighteen miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and 
 twenty-seven miles north of Boston. Six of my 
 father's brothers served as volunteers in the Rev- 
 olutionary War. My grandfather's house was 
 burned by the British in 1776, and the family 
 scattered. After peace was declared, the sons 
 gathered at the old homestead to rebuild. In 
 clearing away the rubbish, some one with his mat- 
 tock knocked off the neck of a cider-bottle, and 
 lifting it out of its sandy bed, imbibed the ancient 
 beverage, and gave notice of his luck. His fellow- 
 laborers found that the whole cellar floor was oc- 
 cupied by such bottles, the interstices and six 
 inches over the tops of the corks being covered 
 with sand. The debris of the dwelling falling 
 into the cellar had formed a seven years' covering. 
 It is also part of the story that within an hour 
 there could not be found a sober man on the 
 premises. The treasure was all exhumed and 
 distributed in quantities of a dozen or half-dozen 
 bottles to the veteran officers of the Revolutionary 
 War, Governor John Hancock sharing in the re- 
 sults of the discovery. 
 
 In 1632, twelve years after the Pilgrims landed, 
 
24 Granville Moody. 
 
 my great-great-grandfather, William Moody, wife, 
 and three sons, named Caleb, Joshua, and Samuel, 
 immigrated into Plymouth Colony from Scotland. 
 Humphrey Moody, my grandfather, was a large 
 land-holder in East Haverhill, and was much re- 
 spected as one of its best citizens. He married 
 Abigail, daughter of General Nathaniel Peaslee, 
 of Haverhill, who gave each of his children a 
 valuable farm. His word was law and gospel in 
 State and Church. Born and raised a Quaker, his 
 house was their home. He lived to be ninety 
 years old. He was known as a "Commoner," as 
 he held large bodies of land by public authority. 
 He represented his district in the Legislature. 
 He was a consistent and devout Christian, a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church for over sixty 
 years. His daughter was remarkable for her pre- 
 eminent mental powers, her extensive education, 
 and her great range of reading. Having read the 
 public library of Haverhill thoroughly, she then 
 undertook the same of the library of Boston. She 
 was regarded as the encyclopedia of her day. 
 She was a woman of great firmness of mind and 
 decision of character, and withal a real statesman, 
 her society being sought and her opinion highly 
 regarded by persons of the greatest distinction in 
 State affairs. She lived to the age of eighty-two 
 years in almost uninterrupted health and vigor, 
 erect and active as when in youth. After living 
 in widowhood for twenty-five years she married 
 General James Brickett, M. D. He was eminently 
 useful in the Revolutionary army as a physician, 
 
Infancy and Childhood. 25 
 
 and commanded a regiment at the battle of Bun- 
 ker Hill. 
 
 My father graduated at Dartmouth College 
 with all its honors. After graduation, he was em- 
 ployed as principal of the seminary in Portland, 
 Me. He was very successful as a teacher of navi- 
 gation, being especially expert in lunar calcula- 
 tions. In 1805 he engaged in the fur-trade; but 
 great depreciation in prices made his venture a 
 failure, and he returned to the principalship of the 
 seminary, in which he continued till 1816, when 
 he removed to Baltimore, Md., having been elected 
 president of the first female seminary in that place. 
 
 My mother's maiden name was Harriet Brooks, 
 daughter of Captain John Brooks, a native of South 
 Carolina, holding the office of captain in the Con- 
 tinental army during the Revolutionary War. 
 He was ordered to the military station in Salem, 
 Mass., where he made his home after peace was 
 declared. His ancestors came to South Carolina 
 with other Huguenots. My mother was one of 
 three children. She was born June 1, 1787, in 
 Boston, at the " Boston Stone " residence in the then 
 " South End." This stone was a landmark in the 
 original survey of town-lots. It was imported 
 from England as a paint-mill. It was a large, 
 square stone, having an excavated center about 
 two feet in diameter, into which a ball of stone, 
 of slightly smaller diameter, was placed. A mor- 
 tise six by six inches received an upright post, and 
 a sweep-pole was fitted to the top of this. A 
 horse, moving around in a circle, turned the stone, 
 
 3 
 
26 Granville Moody. 
 
 which was used for grinding paints in oil. While 
 I was attending the General Conference in Boston 
 as a delegate of the Cincinnati Conference I ap- 
 propriated an afternoon in hunting up this relic. 
 I found it built into the rear wall of a warehouse 
 on an oblique street, within one square of the 
 celebrated Cockerill church. The stone ball was 
 so built into the wall as to expose a projecting 
 disk, oblong in shape and standing six inches out 
 from the surface of the wall. On this disk an 
 eagle with outspread wings is depicted in gold- 
 leaf. My mother resided in the house then on 
 this spot till her marriage, March 28, 1803. 
 
 My maternal grandmother was Sarah Hathorn. 
 She was born after the death of her father, and 
 was brought up by her grandfather, Mr. Eustis, 
 of Salem, an eminently pious man, a member of 
 the Congregational Church. He fasted at regular 
 intervals, abstaining from even a cup of water 
 and the use of his pipe from sundown to sun- 
 down. He died at the age of ninety years, very 
 happy, saying: "All is peace and joy and hope." 
 
 My uncle Benjamin Moody was very tall, be- 
 ing six feet four and one-half inches high; and 
 withal remarkably muscular and active. He re- 
 tained his faculties when ninety years old. When 
 eighty-five he walked thirty-five miles in a day. 
 In the Revolutionary War> in a repulse of his com- 
 pany, he stood his ground, and went for the red- 
 coats with his clenched fists, knocking down fif- 
 teen men before he yielded. A platoon charged 
 on him with fixed bayonets; but a British officer 
 
Infancy and Childhood. 27 
 
 spurred in between the charging platoon and 
 Uncle Ben, and shouted: "Halt! Halt! So true a 
 man shall not be killed." For fifty years after, 
 when a man showed great valor, it was said: "He 
 fights like Ben Moody." He died at Landaff, 
 N. H., in 1850, aged ninety-six years. 
 
 In my father's valuable papers I find an item 
 of family antiquity. It is a transcript from the 
 Court of Heraldry in London. It purports to be 
 " The Coat of Arms of Baron Moody." It is a war- 
 rior, armed with a shield portraying the Holy 
 Cross, showing that he had been a Crusader. On 
 his head is a helmet, with the visor down; on the 
 summit of the helmet is a badger, couchant; be- 
 neath this a festooned roll of honor or scarf of 
 valor. Baron Moody was one of England's sturdy 
 men who combined to extort Magna Charta from 
 King John in 12 15. The badger denotes persist- 
 ency. Natural history asserts that he can not be 
 conquered; he may be killed, but never cowed. 
 
 This reminds me of an incident which oc- 
 curred in May, 1873. * happened to meet Jesse 
 Grant, the venerable father of General Ulysses S. 
 Grant. After salutations, the aged man said to 
 me: "Do you know that you and my son Ulysses 
 are blood relations?" I replied that I was aware 
 that our families were related, but did not know 
 how the kinship came about. He added: "Well, 
 my father, Noah Grant, married Margaret Moody, 
 of New Hampshire, and I am one of that family 
 of children. I named one of my daughters Mar- 
 garet Moody, to keep the maiden name of my 
 
28 Granville Moody. 
 
 mother in the family. Ulysses gets his persistence 
 from his grandmother. I never knew two persons 
 more alike than this grandmother and grandson. 
 Whatever he undertook to do, he did with all his 
 might; he always held on with great determina- 
 tion till it was finished. I have often thought 
 that I would tell you about this relationship when 
 I should meet you." I thanked him for the in- 
 formation, and told him of the " badger" and 
 its heraldic significance of persistency. 
 
 In a book published in Boston in 1847 ^v 
 Charles C. P. Moody, entitled "Biographical Sketch 
 of the Moody Family," a succinct account of eight- 
 een families named Moody is given, of whom ten 
 were clergymen. An interview which I had with 
 Daniel Webster shows the estimate he placed 
 upon the family. Being on my way to Boston in 
 1852 to attend the General Conference, having 
 some pending business in Washington, I called 
 on Ohio's favorite son, Hon. Thomas Corwin, then 
 Secretary of the Treasury. He suggested that we 
 call on the peerless Webster, Secretary of State. 
 Away we sped, and on entering the office, there 
 sat the grand man at his desk, a grand presence, — 
 sallow countenance; magnificent mouth ; broad and 
 massive and finely chiseled chin ; more than hu- 
 man eyes, at great width from each other, and 
 deeply set and of lustrous beaming ; an ample and 
 full bearing chest, agile limbs, and courtly feet. 
 All combined to make and mark a manly form, 
 befitting tabernacle of the mighty spiritual force 
 which inhabited that magnificent presence. His 
 
Infancy and Childhood. 29 
 
 dress was in rigid taste, — a mazarine-blue coat 
 with gold buttons, a buff vest, pantaloons of snowy 
 whiteness, white silk stockings, and well-fitting 
 shoes. I felt that I was in the presence of a great 
 man, may be the greatest in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Corwin advancing, said: "Good morning, 
 Mr. vSecretary! Allow me the pleasure of intro- 
 ducing my special friend and former pastor, Rev. 
 Granville Moody, of Springfield, Ohio." Mr. Web- 
 ster rose to his feet, erect, firm, self-poised, and 
 with extended hand and benignant smile, re- 
 sponded: "I am pleased, sir, to make your ac- 
 quaintance; but tell me whence you derive that 
 old New England name. That name does not be- 
 long to Ohio." "No, sir," I replied, "I am from 
 New England, name and all. I was born in Port- 
 land, Me., though my mother was a Boston lady." 
 "Then, sir," he said, "I claim you as one of our 
 Old Bay State men ; and let me congratulate you 
 on bearing one of New England's most ancient 
 and honored names — a name without which New 
 England's history, in Church and State, can not 
 be written." 
 
3° 
 
 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BOYISH YEARS. 
 
 MY memory dates back to about the first two 
 years of my age. I can distinctly recollect 
 my mother in her large easy-chair, seated with 
 her children arranged in a semicircle for cate- 
 chisation on the afternoon of Sabbath. As she 
 closed with devout and weeping prayer, I would 
 look up with wondering sympathy and listen to 
 her melting prayer, and cry myself because my 
 mother cried in prayer. Later a year, or when 
 I was three and a half years old, I distinctly re- 
 member this petition: "O, may I never raise a 
 babe or rear a child that shall be lost, but may 
 we make a family in heaven !" That form of 
 words holds precedence in my memory. 
 
 When four years of age I remember my father 
 addressing me whilst I was worrying myself trun- 
 dling the family wheelbarrow, saying: "Well, 
 Granville, how would you like to go with me out 
 on the wide ocean, and go by ship to Baltimore?" 
 My heart leaped for joy as the new idea pos- 
 sessed my mind, and I said: "O pa, let us go; it 
 will be so nice !" I remember how my father 
 stood and looked as we held this colloquy. I 
 remember the busy preparation and the family 
 talks and prayers connected with this enterprise. 
 
Boyish Years. 31 
 
 How clearly does Dr. Payson stand out before my 
 retrospective view! In his frequent pastoral visits 
 he had always some cheering word suited to my 
 tender years ; and his visits were received by my 
 parents with devout gladness and gratitude, and 
 seemly reverence for the reverend man, as though 
 his business were somehow divine. My parents' 
 regard for this holy man of God, with seeming 
 deference to his will, diffused a veneration which 
 environed and enthroned him in our estimation. 
 He was familiarly known and styled as "Payson, 
 the pastor." My father and mother would often 
 remind me and say : " My dear child, that is the 
 holy man by whom you were baptized when we 
 gave you to be the Lord's." 
 
 My memory is filled with the preparations for 
 our removal — the packing of furniture and boxes 
 and bales of carpeting. The day we left, Dr. Payson 
 was present, and engaged in prayer for the family, 
 with that particular unction which made each one 
 feel that he was committed to the gracious care 
 of the great Father, "without whom not a spar- 
 row falleth on the ground." At about one o'clock 
 we left the house together, Dr. Payson with us, 
 conducting me by the hand down to the wharf of 
 the finest ocean harbor on the whole Atlantic 
 coast. We went on board the Brutus, a large and 
 well-built brig, fit to battle with warring winds 
 and surging waves. This was in the early spring 
 of 1816. We had another season of brief prayer 
 in the cabin of the brig ; then all went up the 
 companion-way but myself. 
 
32 Granville Moody. 
 
 While the passengers were waving their 
 " adieus" with white handkerchiefs to the friends 
 they left behind, the brig cast off her hawsers and 
 swung out on Casco Bay, beautiful with its nu- 
 merous islands — some say three hundred and sixty- 
 five in all. I found a door open into the bread- 
 room, and, climbing up to a small, open win- 
 dow, was amused with the rushing waves made 
 by the brig, which was now under strong headway, 
 east by south, under a stiff breeze. The hissing, 
 boiling waves, with thousands of little water- 
 flowers gleaming in the billowy current, amused 
 me with the entire novelty for awhile ; then look- 
 ing around, I espied a barrel of ship-bread, each 
 biscuit about the size of a large dinner-plate, and 
 about the same thickness. These I commenced 
 throwing out of the little window, one after 
 another, till I could see a straight line of them a 
 mile long, rising and falling on the intervening 
 waves, to my great wonder and delight. Mean- 
 while all on deck were surprised at this appear- 
 ance on the ocean wave, probably concluding that 
 the brig' was pursued by circular fishes, unknown 
 before. While all were in wonderment, the mate 
 leaned over the stern of the vessel to ascertain 
 more accurately the nature of the phenomenon, 
 when his eye saw that they were ship-biscuit thrown 
 out of the bread-room by some agency. He ran 
 down the companion-way and came upon me with 
 fury beaming in his eyes and countenance. He 
 seized me with his brawny hands and uttered 
 a most profane oath, the first I had ever heard, 
 
Boyish Years. 33 
 
 and said : " You little rascal, if I catch you at this 
 again, I '11 pitch you right out of that window." 
 Locking the door, he rushed up-stairs and reported 
 progress, leaving me to my reflections. The hor- 
 rible profanity of the mate made me shudder with 
 affright, and left such an alarming impression 
 upon my mind as was profitable to me during all 
 my after life. 
 
 After a stormy trip, we gladly entered Chesa- 
 peake Bay, and beat our way two hundred miles 
 amid scenes of beauty on either shore till we were 
 safely landed at our journey's end. Our house 
 was on Gay Street, corner of Orange Alley. Here, 
 too, we found the holy Sabbath-day. Dr. Inglis's 
 church, on the corner of Lexington and Broad- 
 way, had two steeples, galleries around three sides, 
 and in the end opposite the pulpit was a massive 
 pipe-organ. The back of the pulpit was hung 
 with heavy maroon drapery in dark folds, for 
 twenty-five or thirty feet. The pulpit was reached 
 by two long flights of stairs. Our pew was No. 
 61, immediately in the rear of the one occupied 
 by William Wirt, the great lawyer of Baltimore. 
 Mother sat next the wall, then sister Harriet, 
 then brothers Brooks and William, sister Louisa, 
 myself — my father next the aisle. Worship was 
 very exact and formal, 
 
 " While through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault 
 The pealing anthem swelled the notes of praise." 
 
 I can furnish but a slight description of Dr. 
 Inglis. His sermons were far above, out of the 
 
34 Granville Moody. 
 
 range of my thought, but his general bearing was 
 impressive, his appearance dignified, his manner- 
 ism clerical ; and yet I have no clear recollections 
 of him or of* his services. Once a quarter the 
 long communion-tables, about fifteen inches wide, 
 and covered with snow-white linen, w r ere ex- 
 tended in the wide aisles, and across in front of 
 the pulpit, and the Lord's Supper was observed. 
 Mother sat on that Sabbath next to father, so 
 as to be able to accompany him to the table 
 easily. These services were very solemn and 
 affecting to my mind. The nature of the holy 
 communion was explained to us in our regular 
 catechisation at home by father and mother on 
 Sabbath afternoons. 
 
 My father's school was the first female semi- 
 nary ever established in Baltimore. He presided 
 over it for sixteen years. It was his lot to fur- 
 nish the means of education to the first families 
 in this growing city. He was very methodical, 
 giving the weekly reports of presence, conduct, 
 and lessons in a neatly printed book, furnished by 
 hiin, signed "William Moody," and to be coun- 
 tersigned by the parents. It was issued every 
 Friday afternoon, to be returned every Monday 
 morning. The school was opened every morning 
 with Bible-reading and extempore prayer. . Every 
 Monday morning each scholar was required to 
 state whom she had heard preach, the text used, 
 and the impressions left by the services. This 
 w r as followed by appropriate exhortation. My sis- 
 ter Harriet taught French, Algebra, and Belles- 
 
Boyish Years. 35 
 
 lettres. The tuition was twelve dollars and fifty 
 cents and fifteen dollars a quarter. 
 
 My father was a large and comely man, per- 
 fectly healthy, of a social and lively turn of mind and 
 manners, scholarly and sedate, apt to teach, and 
 with the art of good government. Much was said 
 of his Friday afternoon exercises, in which the 
 entire week's work was briefly reviewed, and a 
 parting admonition in an address from five to 
 seven minutes long was given. At the dismissal, 
 father, standing at the door, gave each student her 
 book, to be returned on Monday. 
 
 During my attendance as delegate from the 
 Cincinnati Conference to the General Conference, 
 held in Baltimore in 1876, numerous ladies, who 
 had received their education from my father, sought 
 my acquaintance. They accosted me joyously, 
 and I was greeted with remarks like these : " Why, 
 Granville, is this you? I went to seminary to 
 your father. What a great, noble man he was! 
 How like my own father he seemed to me ! I am 
 so much indebted to your father, and so glad to 
 meet you. But few of the clergy of this city ex- 
 erted a wider influence than your honored father, 
 and an influence is still spreading in this com- 
 munity through heads of families, who from him 
 learned the value of true religion. He regarded 
 it as of paramount and permanent importance. 
 Surely he was a public blessing to the highest 
 good of this city during the years that he was our 
 preceptor." My own education was obtained 
 partly from my father. I spent a year in "The 
 
36 Granville Moody. 
 
 Lancasterian School." I attended a school for 
 boys taught by Mr. Johnson. I was for a time a 
 pupil in the Classical School of Rev. Dr. Gibson, 
 pastor of a Scotch Presbyterian Church of u the 
 most straitest sect." He believed and taught that 
 the Psalms of the Bible alone should be used in 
 social and public worship ; though surely neither 
 Sternhold's nor Rouse's version could claim in- 
 spiration in its ill-joined couplets. I studied Latin 
 under Dr. Gibson ; his Scotch dialect gave dead 
 Latin a queer living utterance. 
 
 I attended Sabbath-school in our church regu- 
 larly, and had the good fortune to belong to a class 
 taught by Mr. John Chambers. His sole object 
 seemed to be to produce such a change of mind 
 in us as would lead us to choose Christ as our 
 Savior as he is presented in the Bible, having the 
 wisdom of a prophet, the sanctity of a priest, 
 offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and the 
 authority of a king to rule all within us to his 
 glory and our good. Single-minded man! How 
 much am I indebted to him for his assiduous toil 
 in my behalf! He became a distinguished clergy- 
 man, located in Philadelphia, where the name of 
 John Chambers became a tower of strength. 
 
 My school-boy days were very interesting times. 
 In autumn I spent my Saturdays in the country, 
 nutting, roaming through fruit-laden orchards, 
 drinking cider as it gushed from the press, hunting 
 rabbits and squirrels, playing in the vicinity of 
 Fort McHenry. In winter I coasted down the high 
 hill where the court-house stood, debouching into 
 
Boyish Years. 37 
 
 Monument Square, in the center of which stood 
 the monument in memory of the heroic dead who 
 fell in the battle of North Point. Their names 
 environ, diagonally, the shaft. In summer we 
 boys would run from school, on its dismission at 
 four P. M., to the rafts in the Patapsco River, and 
 by scores and hundreds would bathe, diving from 
 rafts and from spring-boards into water from 
 twelve to eighteen feet deep, going to the bottom, 
 and bringing up a handful of gravel as proof that 
 we had reached the bottom. At five o'clock the 
 large steamboat would cast off from Bowley's 
 wharf. By the time it reached us, the boat would 
 be under full headway, with the waves running 
 high on the larboard and starboard sides. We 
 boys, in rows just outside the steamer's run, would 
 swim into the billowy flood abaft the ponderous, 
 thundering wheels, be caught to the summit of 
 the tossing waves, and whirled into their depths, 
 and thus luxuriously would ride to the wonder 
 and delight of the passengers. 
 
 One day my mother sent me to Bowley's wharf 
 to my oldest brother John, requesting him to buy 
 and send home by me six chickens. While he was 
 out after the chickens, I walked about the whole- 
 sale commission-house in which he was book- 
 keeper. Twenty or more dealers in cigars, col- 
 lected by an advertisement of the arrival of a 
 large invoice of cigars direct from Cuba, were ex- 
 amining the lot, and all were smoking. I asked 
 the proprietor if I might have a cigar. He 
 promptly and smilingly said, "Yes," and handed 
 
38 Granville Moody. 
 
 me five. I lighted one, and commenced puffing 
 away. My brother returned, and started me home 
 with three chickens in each hand. As I went 
 smoking along, the cigar did its work, and I was 
 intoxicated as with rum ; my brain reeled, the pave- 
 ment came up into my face, my legs twisted, I 
 staggered to and fro, and at last fell to the 
 left upon three chickens, which screeched and 
 cackled, while the people laughed, and I got 
 up and staggered on. I fell to the right on 
 the other three chickens, which in their turn 
 screeched and cackled. Thus annoyed, I wor- 
 ried along, smoking incessantly, till I reached 
 home; when, giving the terrified fowls to our 
 colored woman, I crept between the rose-bushes and 
 the fence, and vomited most immoderately. The 
 colored woman reported me to mother, who came 
 out and said: " Granville ! come out of there imme- 
 diately." She and the woman took me up-stairs, 
 and laid me on the bed, and mother questioned me 
 very closely. "Where have you been? What 
 have you eaten? Have you drunk any liquor?" 
 To all of which I said, " No, ma 'am." " Have you 
 fallen down ? How did you muddy your clothes so ? 
 Has anybody hit you ?" "No, ma'am." "Well, 
 what is the cause of all this sickness?" I re- 
 plied: "Mr. Read gave me some Cuba cigars, and 
 I smoked one, and it made me sick!" This solu- 
 tion of my difficulty relieved my mother's mind, 
 and she went to the medicine-chest and returned 
 with a table-spoonful of ground mustard and a 
 tea-spoonful of salt dissolved in warm water. This 
 
Boyish Years. 39 
 
 administered, my nausea was temporarily increased, 
 but ultimately removed. 
 
 I was so effectually cured of the use of tobacco 
 by this illness and mortification that the cure 
 lasted a life-time. I recollect a tobacconist's sign 
 in Baltimore: 
 
 "We all agree the weed to use; 
 One smokes, one snuffs, another chews." 
 
 But since that homeward reeling I have never 
 smoked, nor snuffed, nor chewed the nerve-destroy- 
 ing weed. 
 
4<d Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 YOUTH. 
 
 AFTER my school-boy days, my parents put me 
 into the employ of Howard & Jackson, com- 
 mission merchants, 225 Main Street, Baltimore. 
 I was the youngest clerk in the house. The busi- 
 ness was in dry-goods and wool. The firm were 
 agents of numerous cotton and woolen mills of 
 New England. A large wholesale trade was car- 
 ried on with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
 Ohio, and Tennessee, by means of six-horse 
 wagons. I served in the store and counting-room — 
 copied all business letters into the letter-book ; at- 
 tended to all post-office business; carried hundreds 
 of thousands of dollars to and from three banks; 
 received and aided in packing hundreds of thou- 
 sands of pounds of assorted wools, under the di- 
 rection of Mr. Whitmarsh, an old Englishman, 
 who could close his eyes, grasp a fleece of wool, 
 and tell you its strain. 
 
 One morning by six o'clock I had opened the 
 store and swept it. While sweeping the pave- 
 ment I was accosted by Mr. Thomas Tenant, a 
 merchant, who kept six ships and brigs afloat, and 
 with whom I was acquainted through collecting 
 my father's seminary bills for the tuition of his 
 daughter. " Granville," said he, " when will Shaw, 
 Tiffany & Co. open for business?'* Their house 
 
Youth. 41 
 
 was directly opposite ours ; their business was large 
 and well-established. "I am disappointed," he 
 said, "in getting flour of a desired brand, and I 
 want to get three-quarter shirtings and one and one- 
 quarter and one-yard muslins to finish the lading 
 of one of my ships for a South American port, to 
 sail at twelve o'clock noon to-day. I wish they 
 were open." I replied: "O, they have made their 
 pile, and won't be open before nine o'clock. You 
 had better deal with this house. We are com- 
 mission agents of many New England factories. 
 Just step in, Mr. Tenant, and look at our stock; 
 please do." He came in, and I turned and locked 
 the front door, saying: "Our baled goods are in 
 the rear warehouse. This way, please." 
 
 I showed him hundreds of bales of just such 
 goods as he had called for, piled up to the ceiling 
 in lengthened rows. He was delighted, and the 
 more so as I opened a bale of each kind for him 
 to examine. "Granville," he said, "your firm is 
 absent just as Shaw, Tiffany & Co. are." "What 
 of that?" said I. "I can sell you these goods as 
 cheap as they could or would if they were pres- 
 ent." "O no." "Yes," I replied, " I can. You 
 see they do not own a bale themselves; they are 
 commission merchants; they get so much per 
 cent for selling, and are limited as to price. The 
 owners write, ' Get so much for three-quarter goods 
 or hold,' and so of all the rest. I am invoice clerk, 
 and I will show you the invoices and the limita- 
 tions, and will sell you all you need on manu- 
 facturers' limits; and that, sir, is all the firm 
 
 4 
 
42 Granville Moody. 
 
 could do were they here. If they sell for less, 
 they must make good the difference." "L,et me 
 see your invoices," he said. We went into the 
 counting-room, and he found as I had said. " Now," 
 said he, "if I take all you have, for cash, will 
 you agree to deliver them at my wharf at Fell's 
 Point, three miles from here, by half-past eleven 
 o'clock A. M.,withoutfail?" u Yes,sir." "Agreed," 
 said Mr. Tenant; "you deliver them, get my cap- 
 tain's receipt for them as in good order and well- 
 conditioned for shipping, bring the bill and receipt 
 to my office in the custom-house, and I will pay 
 you the cash." 
 
 I hired four colored men, and had them pile 
 the goods four and five bales high along the 
 front doors. I hired drays in numbers sufficient 
 to transport them, and had the bales checked off 
 as loaded. The book-keeper and the partners in 
 succession came to the store and questioned as to 
 the meaning of that array of goods on the side- 
 walk. They were pleased with the transaction. I 
 told them that if they did not get around sooner, 
 I would sell them clean out some day. At the 
 wharf I suggested to the captain that, as the 
 goods had been classified and loaded accordingly, 
 he could examine them on the drays before bulk 
 was broken. He accepted the suggestion, and 
 asked me on board to get my clearance. I car- 
 ried the papers to Mr. Tenant, and received his 
 check on the United States Bank for $14,730. This 
 operation took place when I was sixteen years old. 
 About a fortnight thereafter, Mr. Jackson, the 
 
Youth. 
 
 43 
 
 junior member of the firm, said to me: "Gran- 
 ville, what color would you prefer for a suit of 
 clothes? We intend it as a present for that clever 
 transaction of yours." I left the question of color 
 to his judgment. He selected blue, and gave me 
 an order to a first-class tailor for the making. 
 The next Sabbath I wore my suit, the first long- 
 tailed coat I had ever worn, till then having worn 
 only roundabouts. 
 
 About this time my father, who was still plod- 
 ding along as Preceptor Moody, educating and 
 supporting his family of seven sons and four 
 daughters, sold the interest which my mother still 
 held in the Boston Stone house, and invested the 
 proceeds in a farm, which was located four miles 
 from Baltimore, and adjoining the village of Hooks- 
 town. This country-seat my father called " Hav- 
 erhill Park," in memory of his native place. The 
 farm was well equipped. The house was ap- 
 proached by a carriage-way lined with cedar and 
 cherry trees, planted alternately. The fencing 
 was cedar posts and chestnut rails, which material, 
 a man said, "would last forever, for his grand- 
 father tried it twice." There were seventy pear- 
 trees on the place. Many of them the former 
 owner, a Frenchman, had imported from France. 
 Shortly after the purchase, I left the commission- 
 house and began farm-life. My father went daily 
 to the seminary, leaving the farm to me and Jo- 
 siah Chew, a slave belonging to Mrs. Chew. My 
 father hired him at fifteen dollars a month, and 
 Josiah at the end of each month claimed his 
 
44 Granville Moody. 
 
 wages, and taking one of the horses, Saturday 
 afternoon, carried his silver to his mistress, and re- 
 turned Monday morning with her receipt. He 
 was an extraordinary man, about forty years old, 
 and well skilled in practical farming; and, as I 
 knew nothing about it, I deferred to his superior 
 knowledge, and he taught me. I have often felt 
 duly thankful that God in his providence gave me 
 my education in farming under Josiah Chew. I 
 am indebted to him for much wise counsel and 
 many sage utterances. He was honorable and 
 temperate, with habits of patient industry, enter- 
 prise, and reliability. His Christian character and 
 example were profitable to me. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Intemperance, if not universal, was the general 
 habit in those days. Hard cider was legal tender. 
 Monongahela whisky was the one thing needful. 
 Jamaica rum, Holland gin, and Port, Madeira, and 
 Malaga wines were common as household words. 
 Ale and beer were used freely. My father bought 
 whisky for his hands by the barrel, and each hand 
 had his pint-flask, with a spread-eagle on one side 
 and the star-spangled banner on the other. I as 
 regularly filled up three such flasks out of our store- 
 room as the morning came, and put them out on 
 the window-sill. I also filled my own flask with 
 cherry-bounce, sweetened with sugar. The drink- 
 ing customs of society were terrible. The abnor- 
 mal appetite became imperative, and the nation 
 was given up to this social pot-vice. Cause will 
 have its effects, and the usual effects were almost 
 
Youth. 45 
 
 omnipresent. It was so in my own case, and, 
 though my father was an abstemious man, and 
 I never saw him affected with liquor, yet he took 
 three small wine-glasses a day from his liquor- 
 case, which sat on the center of the sideboard. 
 He carried its key on his bunch of keys, and 
 when visitors were in the house he would invite 
 them to the sideboard for the social glass. But 
 I was not thus abstemious; and when Josiah 
 would perceive that I had imbibed too freely he 
 would propose extra exertion, and so sweat it out 
 of me before the dinner or supper hour would call 
 me into the presence of my parents and my band 
 of sisters. 
 
 About this time Dr. Lyman Beecher preached 
 and published his " six sermons" on Intemper- 
 ance, which sounded an alarm in God's holy 
 mountain, and attention was called to the alarm- 
 ing fact that we were indeed a nation of drunk- 
 ards. The Methodist Episcopal Church, through 
 her ubiquitous ministry, sounded the alarm. Word 
 was spread through our neighborhood that Rev. 
 Henry Slicer would preach against dram-drinking 
 in the Methodist church in Hookstown, next Sab- 
 bath, at half-past two P. M. I resolved to hear 
 him. I had made many objections to going into 
 Baltimore to church for many months before this 
 epoch ; but this Sabbath I directed Clem to saddle 
 "Rock," and have him at the persimmon-tree in 
 the back yard at two o'clock. I wended my way 
 to the "Stone Church." A crowd was in attend- 
 ance. I got a sitting two seats from the door, and 
 
46 Granville Moody. 
 
 waited developments. A young man arose in the 
 pulpit, dressed in the Methodist garb of the period. 
 He was a splendid specimen of a man — about five 
 feet ten or eleven inches high, about one hundred 
 and ninety pounds weight, fine, florid complexion, 
 flaxen hair, his body round and well shaped as 
 could be, with ample breast. He was straight and 
 erect as an Indian chief. He had gentlemanly 
 manners, amenity of address, and a fairly mod- 
 ulated voice. He announced as his text: "And as 
 he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and 
 judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, 
 Go thy way for this time; when I have a con- 
 venient season I will call for thee." (Acts xxiv, 25.) 
 After appropriate unfolding of the text, he said: 
 "Temperance was one-third of Paul's preaching 
 before Felix; but had he lived in our times he 
 would have made it the warp and woof of his 
 discourse." He then showed up the drinking 
 habits of the then present times, the statistics 
 of the subject, the shameless practices which pre- 
 vailed, the dire results, the desolations of heart 
 and hope and home ; the ruinous effects to the 
 body, the mind, and the estate ; the ruin rum had 
 wrought in all classes, in Church, and in the 
 world; the abuse of the social feeling, the desola- 
 tions in married life ; the degraded husband, the 
 disappointed wife, the hapless and to-be-pitied 
 children; the utterances of the Bible on this sin 
 of sins, and the thousands in haggard plight and 
 form that make the procession which is filled up 
 at this end as rapidly as the advancing column 
 
Youth. 47 
 
 passes into perdition, while God says: "No drunk- 
 ard hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God." 
 I became isolated from the crowd, engrossed 
 with the potency of the subject, convinced of the 
 truth of every word he said ; and when he painted 
 the progressiveness of the vice and its association 
 with other vices, his words had confirmation in 
 my own experience. As he went forward and 
 pointed out the outcome, I was convinced that it 
 would be also true to the culmination of its hor- 
 rible sequences. When he said these could all be 
 obviated by the understanding and use of one 
 word of seven letters — namely, "Abstain; who 
 will say, ' I pledge myself totally to abstain ?' who 
 will say, 'I will?'" — my quivering soul said, "I 
 will!" Not waiting for the conclusion of the ser- 
 mon, I left the house and chose the woods route 
 home, meditating on the burning words I had just 
 heard. I thought to a conclusion, and resolved 
 to clinch my resolution, and called Clem into the 
 family-room, and told him what I had just heard. 
 I said : " Now, Clem, I am going to quit ; you 
 may do as you please. I will fill your flask if you 
 wish it; but, as for myself, I have quit." Taking 
 up my father's Bible that lay on the stand, I said : 
 "Clem, you see this book, which I believe to be 
 the Book of God, and filled with promises for the 
 obedient and curses for the disobedient. And 
 now, Clem," turning the leaves from Genesis to 
 Revelation, "bear me witness that I here vow 
 to give up all of God's promises, and incur the 
 evil of God's curse upon me, if I let one drop of 
 
48 Granville Moody. 
 
 any kind of intoxicating liquors pass my lips for 
 three months ; and, then, if I find that I get 
 along as well without liquor as with it, in view 
 of the appetite it creates and the habits it forms, 
 I pledge myself to abstain all the days of my life. 
 So help me God. Amen." I closed the Bible 
 and struck the book again, and said : "So help 
 me God. Amen !" 
 
 The negro's eyes popped open like dogwood 
 blossoms, and in piteous tones he said : " My Lor', 
 Massa Granville, dat is awful ! Never heard a 
 man swear hisself away dat a-way before. My 
 God! I would not see you take one drop after that 
 ar' swearing off, not for all this world !" As he 
 went back to the kitchen, he kept on with similar 
 expressions: "Massa Granville done gone now 
 forever if he touch a single drop ! My Lor', dat 's 
 the hardest swearing I ever heard ! No hope for 
 him on that platform, sure." I listened to Clem's 
 remarks, and they rolled in on my soul to an un- 
 expected degree, and made me feel that I had 
 passed "the Rubicon," and that naught remained 
 but liberty or "the perdition of ungodly men." 
 
 I went to the barn, on the gable end of which 
 swung the large gate that opened out to the cen- 
 tral road. I wheeled a double-sided cart up to 
 the barn, and, mounting to the top of the side- 
 board, with a big nail I inscribed on the white- 
 washed barn, in characters twenty inches long, 
 "24th of April." That was to me the token of 
 the covenant I had made with God, and was to 
 be the memorial of that engagement. 
 
Youth. 49 
 
 O, what a trial I endured for about six weeks ! 
 My total abstinence left me to wrestle with the 
 thirst for the ruinous draught. My remedy was 
 to go into the milk-house and drink a pint of 
 sweet cream or morning's milk from three to six 
 times a day. But I conquered the intrenched foe 
 by the force of my awful oath. I should have 
 relapsed from a mere promise a score of times. 
 How much better I felt as I kept the pledge for 
 three months — May, June, July 24th, the three 
 hardest farming months; but I got through, and 
 ratified the covenant for life ; yes, for my life to 
 the end. Total abstinence from all intoxicating 
 drinks as a beverage — a Rechabite unto the Lord ! 
 Amen and amen. 
 
 In making and keeping this pledge I u built 
 better than I knew;" for, as it was followed by my 
 blessed conversion and self-consecration to God, it 
 marked an epoch in my whole history and life. 
 
 5 
 
50 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WESTWARD HO! 
 
 IN the summer of 1829 m Y mother, putting 
 her hand on my right shoulder as I sat on 
 the porch, discovered there a tumor about the 
 size of an acorn. In the fall I noticed that it was 
 enlarging with great rapidity. We called in a 
 physician, who pronounced it " osteo-sarcoma;" 
 and Dr. Smith, professor of surgery in the Uni- 
 versity of Maryland, advised a surgical operation, 
 to which I was very averse. Treatment, internal 
 and local, failed to arrest its development, and in 
 two months it doubled in size. The doctor ad- 
 vised me to call on a gentleman of Baltimore 
 similarly affected, and be governed by what he 
 said in the case. He had consulted surgeons in 
 Philadelphia, New York, Boston, London, Paris, 
 and Berlin, all of whom had advised the knife ; 
 but he, disregarding their advice, was now beyond 
 that help. Failing to see him, I consented to fol- 
 low the advice of his wife, who had, with moth- 
 erly tenderness and delicacy, examined my shoul- 
 der and pronounced the trouble the same as that 
 of her husband. In his case surgery was hope- 
 less, and he was undergoing sleepless nights and 
 agonies inexpressible. The surgeon was pleased 
 with my decision, and appointed the following 
 
Westward Ho! 51 
 
 Thursday as the time for the operation. He 
 brought with him several physicians and the senior 
 class from the university. I saw the preparation ; 
 an old carpet spread above the center of the room, 
 a tub of warm water, a roll of towels, lint, ban- 
 dages, and the polished instruments. There were 
 no anaesthetics in use at that time ; so that, as I 
 was seated on a chair, naked to my waist, a doc- 
 tor knelt on each side of me, with one arm about 
 my waist and the other holding one of my arms. 
 The cutting was as if the surgeon was using a 
 red-hot instrument, and the sawing of the bone 
 was torture, indeed. When the wound was dressed 
 Dr. Smith showed me what he had removed, and 
 congratulated me on being a sound man. In two 
 months I was well, and I have had no trouble 
 with that shoulder since. 
 
 About this time I began to feel a deeper 
 interest in family devotions, which were observed 
 with regularity by my father. His precision of 
 expression, devout manner and spirit, and his 
 spotless life, gave emphasis to the worship, at 
 which I was always present. Father's table devo- 
 tions were very impressive and instructive, well 
 calculated to keep alive a sense of God and relig- 
 ious obligation. His bland and courteous man- 
 ners, and all the sweet civilities of life, tended to 
 make religion appear attractive and to be a 
 reasonable service. 
 
 On Sabbath afternoons he seemed to enjoy the 
 sacred rest of God's holy day, calling "the Sab- 
 bath a delight," and practically honoring it by 
 
52 Granville Moody. 
 
 turning his feet away from the paths of those who 
 desecrated the hours of this day of the Lord. 
 I think no one ever came nearer fulfilling the 
 description of acceptable worshipers, as described in 
 Isaiah lviii, 13, 14, than my honored parents. My 
 father had a melodious voice, and I often hear echoes 
 of his Sabbath afternoon soliloquies, uttered in in- 
 toned and measured notes, the originals of which 
 I can not find. He was a Puritan of the Puritans 
 by constitution and by education, in manner and 
 in habits. In 1834, in autumn's somber hours, he 
 passed away peacefully and expectantly, responding 
 to mother's query when he neared his mortal hour: 
 u Mr. Moody, what are your feelings and prospects 
 now ?" u O Harriet, it is all well with me now. I 
 have trusted Christ; I must trust Christ; I can 
 trust Christ; and I do trust Christ; and I know 
 whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is 
 able to keep that which I have committed unto him 
 against that day. But O, Harriet, what will you 
 do? I leave you and your fatherless children to 
 God. A Judge of the widow and a Father to the 
 fatherless is God in his holy habitation." 
 
 Some fifty rods south-west from my father's 
 house, in a very humble cabin, situated on a portion 
 of land of fifteen acres, belonging to Ned Griffen, 
 there lived two superannuated negro slaves, named 
 Uncle Jim and Aunt Violet, whom we all visited 
 in leisure hours. Uncle Jim was a " tooth-ache 
 doctor," a burly, cranky old man. He used 
 to interest us children with stories of slavery 
 and slaveholders, and how he suffered ; and he 
 
Westward Ho! 53 
 
 accounted for the loss of his front teeth, above and 
 below, by saying that they were knocked out by 
 his master's blows with his heavy hickory cane. 
 "He would have his plantation-bell rung before 
 sunrise," thus he went on, "and then come out on 
 his porch, and clear his throat three times; then 
 woe to the man or woman who was not up and 
 at work. ' Come here,' he would say; and he fol- 
 lowed his words with blows right in your face or 
 mouth, and the teeth would fly or go down your 
 throat. O, he was a bad man! He would work 
 his slaves on Sunday. One time, on turning the 
 mule-teams out of a wheat-field which he had 
 sown on Sunday, he said, with oaths, that he would 
 have the best yield off that field of any in the 
 county; and, sure enough, he had the biggest 
 crop I ever saw — thirty-five bushels to the acre. 
 Wasn't that strange?" Jim was a good farmer. 
 He made every edge cut. He would buy a horse 
 for five to ten dollars, work him hard, feed him 
 nine ears of corn a day, and when he died, as he 
 soon did, Jim made his complaint to his neighbors, 
 who would make up a similar sum for him, and 
 he would reinvest. 
 
 His wife, Aunt Violet, was a jewel. She was 
 seventy or seventy-five years old. She had been 
 the body-servant of Madame Hollingsworth, of 
 whom she had no complaints to make, and of 
 whom she was proud to speak in the highest 
 terms of commendation. The mistress died, and 
 the younger members of the family, who were 
 wild and careless, " quit-claimed" their interests 
 
54 Granville Moody. 
 
 in her, and she married Uncle Jim, and Ned Grif- 
 fen gave the old couple those fifteen acres during 
 their life-time. Aunt Violet always washed for my 
 mother on Monday. She was a Methodist, and at 
 her work sang Methodist hymns with a charming 
 voice. Her conduct was such that everybody 
 said she was a Christian. I heard her say one 
 Monday morning, on looking at the big basket of 
 clothes: "Massa Jesus and I has got a big job be- 
 fore us, but we '11 be good for it;" and she sang: 
 
 "'Jesus all the day long 
 Is my joy and my song.' 
 
 Blessed Jesus! He is here. He makes me 
 happy now. Jesus and I can get through it, sure. 
 Glory! Hallelujah!" 
 
 She would stand in the center of the gallery 
 in Hookstown church, at love-feast, and narrate 
 her experience; profess that she had had her 
 heart cleansed and perfected in love, and then she 
 would sing: 
 
 "Arise, my soul, arise! 
 
 Shake off thy guilty fears." 
 
 My mother believed in Aunt Violet's deep and 
 consistent piety, and being a member of the Bible 
 Society, and charged with seeing that every house 
 that would receive it should have a copy of the 
 Bible, she procured a large Bible and presented it 
 to Aunt Violet. She kept it wrapped in a snowy 
 towel, and deposited in her ample chest. When 
 young or old would visit her she would take out 
 the Bible, and, with a sweet smile, say: " My Heav- 
 enly Father has sent Aunt Violet a big letter, but 
 
Westward Ho! 55 
 
 she can not read a word of all this letter; now 
 won't yon read a portion for me, that I may hear 
 what Great Master says to me?" Who could re- 
 fuse a request so uttered by the holy woman? She 
 was as polite as she was pious. Every time I 
 visited her, she would bring out her Bible. While 
 I was reading she would sit and pray and praise 
 the Lord. She would draw in her breath, hearing 
 as if by inspiration. I would feel strangely af- 
 fected, so that I dreaded this ordeal. My lips 
 would quiver and my tears flow. I would be so 
 filled with emotion that I would have to stop 
 reading. I would then select some historical or 
 genealogical portion ; but before I knew it I would 
 feel the strange emotions again, produced by the 
 sacred Word. By the fervent prayers of Aunt 
 Violet, the Holy Spirit would take of the things 
 of Christ, and show them unto me. 
 
 Now came the crucial test. My brother John 
 had married and moved to Norwich, Muskingum 
 County, Ohio, and entered into merchandising. 
 He wrote to me and my parents, inviting me to 
 spend a year in his store; that he would start a 
 good store in the country at an eligible site, make 
 me a partner, and we would both do well. 
 
 It was so arranged, and I was to start on Mon- 
 day, August 31, 1 83 1. The morning came; break- 
 fast was over ; family prayers followed, in which 
 my father led, and asked God's blessing upon the 
 enterprise, and implored his blessing upon me in 
 particular, praying that God would say unto me: 
 "Wilt thou not say unto me at this time, My 
 
56 Granville Moody. 
 
 Father, thou art the guide of my youth?" Then, 
 pronouncing his blessing upon me, we all arose. 
 Mother kissed me good-bye, and my sisters, Har- 
 riet, Louisa, Ellen, and Sarah, gave me the sweet 
 parting kiss. Josiah Chew and all the servants 
 bade me good-bye, whilst " Kitty," a smart gray 
 mare, stood chewing her bit and stamping her 
 feet, anxious to be released. I went out and ad- 
 justed my saddle-bags, and was about to mount, 
 when I remembered Uncle Jim and Aunt Violet. 
 I said: "I must not forget them; I '11 run up and 
 say good-bye." 
 
 I found them at the table, eating their break- 
 fast. Everything was in perfect neatness and 
 order. I broke in, saying: " Well, Uncle Jim and 
 Aunt Violet, I am just starting to go to Ohio, and 
 I came up to bid you good-bye." " Good-bye, 
 young Massa Granville," said Uncle Jim. Aunt 
 Violet rose from the table, and I extended my 
 hand and said : " Good-bye, Aunt Violet ; good-bye." 
 She took my hand in hers, and held it. I backed 
 out of the cabin door, and she followed me into 
 the yard, and we stopped. Holding on to my 
 hand, she said : " Young Master, I must speak to 
 you. I hope you will kindly receive what I am 
 going to say to you now. You is going far, far 
 away, and this may be the last chance to speak to 
 you. You has been well raised. Your father and 
 mother are good Christian people. They have 
 set you a good example; have prayed for and 
 with you every night and morning; have taken 
 you to Church and Sabbath-school, and taught 
 
Westward Ho! 57 
 
 you the catechism of your people's Church ; and 
 yet, notwithstanding all this, you has steadily gone 
 on in your wicked ways; and now I fear you is 
 worse and further from God and salvation and 
 hope than ever you was before. And now you is 
 going to leave all these good influences, and going 
 away out to de West, 'way beyond de mountains, 
 and among a people that do n't care for God nor 
 for your soul. O, what will become of you, young 
 master? Besides all this, God's Holy Spirit has 
 done his office on your heart powerfully, I know. 
 When I used to ask you to read my Bible, which 
 your precious mother gave me for my own, while 
 you read I prayed that it might do you good as 
 well as me, and I often saw how the truth of Jesus 
 would affect you, and your voice would fail you, 
 and your lips would tremble, and your eyes over- 
 flow with tears. I was praying that God would 
 use his own word by his present Spirit to convince 
 you of sin, and to give you conviction in order to 
 your conversion. But you resisted de Holy Spirit; 
 and oftentimes, when you was swearing at the 
 hands or the horses, I has drapped right down upon 
 my knees wherever I mought have been, and 
 prayed for you, dat de Lord would not lay these 
 things to your charge, but give you repentance 
 unto life not to be repented of. But you have 
 grown worse and worse, and now you are further 
 off from God than ever you was before, and are 
 going away, like the prodigal son, into a far-off 
 country. O yes, young master ; the Holy Spirit 
 has done his duty with you, and called you to re- 
 
58 Granville Moody. 
 
 pentance, and I have felt his presence with the 
 Word you so often read for me. I did hope it 
 might do you good, and cause you to turn to de 
 Lord and seek salvation from de reigning power 
 of sin to newness of a holy life." 
 
 All this time she held me by my right hand, 
 and became wonderfully earnest. She swayed her 
 person up and down, right and left, while streams 
 of tears attested her holy agony for my welfare. 
 Her arm was bare to her shoulder, and a neat 
 little white band, an inch wide, contrasted strangely 
 with the jet-black skin of her sinewy arms with 
 large veins, which seemed leaping with the ex- 
 citement she felt and showed, as she pleaded 
 with me to submit myself to God and begin a 
 new life. At length she let go of my hand, and 
 raised her long black arm toward the skies, and said : 
 u Young master, I has done my duty for the last 
 time. And now," she said, standing with that 
 long black arm extended, "and now let me charge 
 you, Master Granville, do n't you meet me at the 
 judgment-seat of Christ in an unconverted state; 
 for if you do, Aunt Violet must there appear as a 
 swift witness against you. The Holy Ghost has 
 done his work on your heart a many a time ; and 
 now I say to you, Don't, O don't go on in sin. 
 Do n't live and die in your sins ; for if you do, 
 you will make it necessary for Aunt Violet to come 
 out against you there as a witness in that great 
 day. De Lord lead you to repentance and salva- 
 tion, and no one will be more glad than Old Aunt 
 Violet will be to hear of your choosing the good 
 
Westward Ho! 59 
 
 part, which shall not be taken away from you. 
 Farewell, young master, farewell." 
 
 There I stood like a culprit before this Neme- 
 sis, this voice of God. As sentence followed sen- 
 tence, and appeal followed appeal, and my con- 
 science attested the truth of every charge, my 
 mouth was stopped. I was appalled, and shrank 
 from her earnestness. Her most eloquent appeal 
 convinced me that God was speaking through her 
 to me. How I got away from the breezy shade 
 of the peach-tree, beneath which we both stood, 
 while sunlight struggled through the leaves, I can 
 never tell; but I was most powerfully convinced 
 of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come; 
 and, like Felix, I trembled with dismay, and went 
 along that string of fencing with far different 
 feelings than when I went up half an hour before. 
 I said nothing to my parents of what had oc- 
 curred, but mounted my horse and left, with my 
 parents' benison and my sisters' weeping faces and 
 utterances of good-bye. As I rode along the pike 
 to Hookstown, I cast weary, longing, lingering 
 looks behind. The arrows of the Almighty were 
 sticking fast within me, and tall, gaunt, gesturing, 
 warning Aunt Violet stood before my vision. Her 
 closing words, " Do n't meet me at the judgment- 
 seat of Christ, or Aunt Violet will be compelled 
 to appear as a swift witness against you there," 
 rung like the knell of destiny in my ears. I tried 
 to reason away the spell that rested upon me ; but 
 that tall, gaunt, figure, and that lifted and ex- 
 tended black arm pointing upward "would not 
 
60 Granville Moody. 
 
 down." Aunt Violet was a Christian ; her char- 
 acter was her own, and her reputation was coin- 
 cident with it. There was a gentleness and gen- 
 tility in her mien, and a pathos, a power of 
 persuasion and eloquence and point in her, that was 
 admirable and potent ; and, withal, there was the 
 presence of the same Spirit that aided Paul in 
 preaching to L,ydia and the jailer and Felix and 
 Agrippa. My conscience echoing her words of 
 truth and soberness, I could not reason away the 
 feelings that swayed my bosom. 
 
 I arrived at my destination on my ninth day 
 from home, September 8th. My trip across the 
 Alleghany Mountains was delightful. What alti- 
 tudes! What ranges of vision, mountain slopes, 
 gurgling rills, rivulets, and rivers ! The National 
 Road has been superseded by the railroads, the 
 great wagons and stage-coaches as well. The 
 taverns, with their six-foot long grates ; rooms 
 filled with wagoners and travelers ; their vast table 
 comforts of mountain-mutton, corn-bread, hominy, 
 venison, bear-meat, pheasants, partridges, and wild 
 turkeys; stables brimming with mountain-oats, — 
 these are all of the past. 
 
 Norwich, O., was the Mecca of my hopes. It 
 was a town of less than a thousand inhabitants. 
 My brother welcomed me, and I set to work at 
 once with a will to learn the business. The first 
 Sabbath came, and I went to the Presbyterian 
 Church. A great crowd of people was there, and 
 the regular pastor conducted services in an aus- 
 tere, dogmatic, and self-sufficient manner. He 
 
Westward Ho! 6i 
 
 preached a rigid Calvinistic sermon. Intermission 
 for an hour was announced, and then followed 
 another sermon. The membership partook of the 
 austerity of their pastor ; and, stranger though I 
 was, no one spoke to me. I felt like a stranger 
 among strangers, and fastening to them seemed 
 like anchoring to the north side of an iceberg, 
 where gloom and shadow abide. 
 
 In my awakened state of alarm and concern I 
 had, before coming to Norwich, settled down upon 
 a purpose to forsake a sinful life, and "cease to do 
 evil and learn to do well." Under all my pre- 
 vious training, and especially under the close 
 personal exhortation of Aunt Violet, I was among 
 the class of persons who are said to be "prepared 
 for the Lord." My morality was unexceptionable 
 to the people of Norwich, and I was looking for 
 the open door. 
 
 The next Sabbath was the regular preaching- 
 day in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. 
 John W. Gilbert was preacher in charge, and 
 Rev. Levi P. Miller junior preacher. The junior 
 preacher was to officiate, and I went to hear him. 
 He was as "one that hath a pleasant voice, and 
 can play well upon an instrument." His preach- 
 ing was evangelical, instructive, and consoling. 
 He was a Barnabas, a son of consolation, very 
 amiable in spirit and winning in address. At 
 the close of the meeting the people shook hands 
 with me, gave me kind looks, and said, "Come 
 again." The superintendent of the Sunday-school 
 invited me to attend his school at two P. M., which 
 
62 Granville Moody. 
 
 I did, having been used to Sunday-school from 
 my early childhood. I was assigned to teach a 
 vacant class, and thus was harnessed and put to 
 work at once. A few weeks passed, crowded with 
 business six days and Church-work nearly all day 
 Sunday ; yet my heart was burdened and longing 
 for the pardoning voice of a forgiving God — long- 
 ing for a deliverance of my soul from the burden 
 of condemnation and the bondage of my corrup- 
 tion into the glorious liberty of the sons of the 
 Lord God Almighty. 
 
 There was one member for whom I conceived 
 the highest regard. I reverenced his godly char- 
 acter. This was Isaiah Brown. When he spoke 
 in meeting, it was in the demonstration of the 
 Spirit and with power. When he prayed, it seemed 
 to me that he was talking with God. When he 
 sang, he seemed to be making melody in his heart 
 to the Lord, whilst he spoke to the people in 
 psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. He always 
 became unspeakably happy in singing the hymn 
 beginning, 
 
 " My God, the spring of all my joys." 
 
 He was an illiterate man, a cooper by trade, 
 yet he wore Jehovah's seal upon his brow. With 
 tearful eyes and uplifted countenance, all illumi- 
 nated by the Holy Spirit, he would close the hymn 
 in ecstasies. 
 
 About the first week in October my brother's 
 wife, who was a Baltimore Methodist, invited the 
 junior preacher to take tea with her family. After 
 
Westward Ho! 63 
 
 supper was over, my brother attended the store, 
 leaving us three together. Conversation followed 
 about Methodism, to which I was a stranger, hav- 
 ing been raised after the straitest sect of New 
 England Congregationalism, with the very highest 
 regard for and deference to the "Saybrook Plat- 
 form," a rigid Calvinistic body of divinity. We 
 both soon had our hands full. Feeling an obliga- 
 tion to the faith of my ancestors, I set my 
 squadrons on the field in the five points of Calvin- 
 ism, — unconditional election, particular redemp- 
 tion, total depravity, grace irresistible, and perse- 
 verance of the saints. I had the answers of the 
 catechism at my tongue's end. I had also in 
 memory the Confession of Faith, with its formu- 
 lated doctrines and supposed proofs, cited by the 
 Westminster divines; so that I had the advan- 
 tage of the preacher, who had not been trained 
 Calvinistically or polemically. The disputation 
 lasted till two o'clock in the morning. On his 
 leaving for his lodgings, sister Mary said : " Well, 
 Brother Granville, you need not think to get 
 Brother Miller to adopt your notions, for he has 
 been brought up a Methodist, and has been received 
 into the conference." "Now, sister Mary," said 
 I, "just change the terms and your remarks will 
 apply to me as well, except the conference. I do 
 not think he answered one of my arguments ; 
 do you ?" 
 
 The latter part of the week Brother Miller, 
 with smiling countenance, calling me " Bub," said : 
 " Will you read a book on the subjects we talked 
 
64 Granville Moody. 
 
 about nearly all night, without reaching any con- 
 clusions?" "Certainly I will. What is the name 
 of the book?" '"Fletcher's Checks.' They are 
 checks to the system of doctrine you defended so 
 zealously," he replied. Said I: "I should like to 
 see any one attempt to check the faith once deliv- 
 ered to the saints. I will read carefully, and write 
 you a reply." In the evening he handed me a 
 large book marked Vol. I, of four volumes. I 
 thought that "Fletcher's Checks" was a two- 
 penny pamphlet, and I was not prepared to face 
 so formidable a work. The books I had had ac- 
 cess to were in favor of Calvinism. I had never 
 heard of Fletcher or any of the representative 
 men of Methodism. I took the book, and read and 
 read, and pondered much, and reasoned as well as 
 I could. I borrowed the remaining volumes, and 
 compared the several teachings with the Bible. 
 I recollect my mental processes as one morning I 
 sat sideways to the counter and closed my eyes, 
 comparing the truth of God with " the hoary faith 
 of my ancestors." Taking up " Fletcher's Checks," 
 I said: "This man is right in his views on all 
 the five points of Calvinism, and I now believe 
 with him in conditional election of believers in 
 Christ to salvation ; universal atonement in Christ 
 for every child of man ; a graciously alleviated 
 depravity ; grace resistible, but not resisted by 
 the saved ; the amissibility of grace." Thus was 
 I brought out of Calvinism by being placed in 
 contact with the master mind of Methodism. 
 
 I bless God that I ever read Fletcher's works, 
 
Westward Ho ! 65 
 
 so clear, cogent, and conclusive. Rev. Levi P. 
 Miller was always afterwards my warm personal 
 friend. He labored till old age arrested him, 
 when he had to retire from the conference. Plow- 
 ing corn on his little farm, he ran a broken bone 
 into his foot ; lockjaw developed, then death. We 
 
 shall meet in heaven. 
 
 6 
 
66 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONVERSION. 
 
 THE reception of this new mode of thought of 
 God, of man, of morals, of immortality, was 
 the means of bringing me into the spirit of bond- 
 age to fear. The logic of Calvinism had its effect 
 upon my mind and heart, my hopes and fears as 
 well. I reasoned thus: "I am one of the elect, or 
 I am one of the reprobates. If I am one of the 
 elect, in God's time and in due time I shall have 
 that effectual calling of which I have learned in 
 the Catechism, even that work of God on and in 
 my heart by which I shall be persuaded and en- 
 abled to accept Christ as offered to me in the 
 Gospel. I shall, under a sight and sense of my 
 sins, have Christ revealed to me as my Savior; 
 for thus all the elect are brought in. Neither are 
 any others redeemed, called, justified, or regen- 
 erated, but the elect only. When God wants me 
 converted, he will visit me with his effectual call- 
 ing. If I am one of the reprobate, I shall be lost, 
 do what I may ; for none but the elect shall be 
 visited with effectual calling. All others are 
 passed by, and ordained to wrath for their sins, 
 to the praise of God's glorious justice. So, elect 
 or reprobate, my case is fixed by the universal 
 divine agency of God and his all-embracing decrees." 
 Thus, tempest-tossed and not comforted, I was 
 
Conversion. 67 
 
 driven from reef to rock. The five points of 
 Calvinism seemed how to be reduced, by the irref- 
 ragable logic of John Fletcher, into a quintet of 
 endless jargon, confusion worse confounded. I 
 was led into the faith of the Arminian Remon- 
 strants. The counterpart of the five points of 
 Calvinism now appeared to me to be the common 
 salvation. These doctrines, new to me, had the 
 effect of answering my every objection. They 
 laid my guilt and ill-desert at my own door; 
 placed God on the throne in his own glorious per- 
 fections, all complete; placed me at the footstool 
 of his mercy, commanding me to "behold the 
 Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
 world." Eternal life is communicable to all on 
 the same terms. These wondrous and harmonious 
 truths were the burden of the gospel messages 
 which greeted my willing ears from Sabbath to 
 Sabbath. They were made prominent in the 
 Sunday-school. These exceeding great and pre- 
 cious promises were reduced to the test of ex- 
 perience in the lively members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Norwich, and in all the 
 region round about. They were the themes of 
 thought spread on the truth-illumined pages of 
 the newspapers of the Church, the "Advocates" 
 of Christianity. 
 
 One night I had attended a called meeting of 
 the officers and teachers of the Sunday-school. 
 The subject for consideration was: "By what 
 means may we lead our scholars to Christ, and 
 secure their salvation?" Much was said that was 
 
68 Granville Moody. 
 
 good and wise. At the close, I walked homeward 
 with Isaiah Brown. He said to me: ''Brother 
 Moody, we ought indeed to labor with our pupils 
 so that their conversion may be secured." I 
 thought, Now is my opportunity to secure the 
 sympathy of this good man, and I promptly said: 
 "Mr. Brown, I more need such instruction and 
 influence to secure my own conversion; for I am 
 myself in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds 
 of iniquity, and my heart is not" right in the sight 
 of God, and therefore I have neither part nor lot 
 in this matter. Will you not pray to the Lord that 
 he will take away my heart of stone, and give me 
 a heart of flesh?" He raised both hands and 
 said: "Why, Brother Moody, I thought that in- 
 deed you were already a Christian. Be sure I 
 will pray for you at least three times a day — at 
 six A. M., and one and six P. M. You may be 
 assured I will be in my closet and upon my knees 
 in prayer to God for you by name ; be sure I will, 
 and you do the same for yourself." I requested 
 him to keep this secret, and said if I found the 
 Lord I would confess him before men. 
 
 Business w r as very brisk; but never did the 
 pressure of my sin-burdened soul cease. My lan- 
 guage was : " O that I knew where I might find 
 God ! I would order my cause before him ; I 
 would fill my mouth with arguments; I would 
 wait for my sentence from my Judge." I felt 
 the guilt of my sin, my desert of punishment for 
 my iniquities, which were great. I bewailed my 
 depravity, and mourned over my prevalent dispo- 
 
Conversion. 69 
 
 sition to sin against God, which mastered my mind 
 and ruled in my evil heart of unbelief in departing 
 from the living God. I daily found a warfare, such 
 as that described in Romans vii. " O wretched man 
 that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death?" was my anxious cry, my utmost and all- 
 engrossing solicitude, and almost despairing outcry. 
 Sometimes hope inspired my soul, and then I al- 
 most feared that peradventure I had passed the 
 limits of God's grace, and my sins had justly 
 separated between me and my God. Truly this 
 was the spirit of bondage to fear, and such bond- 
 age and such fear of a God who is to the un- 
 pardoned and unaccepted only as a consuming 
 fire. Thus did it please the Lord to bruise me, to 
 put me to grief. Truly all his waves passed over 
 me. I found trouble and sorrow; then called I 
 upon the Lord : O Lord, I beseech thee deliver my 
 soul from this burden of condemnation, and from 
 this bondage of corruption, and enable me to flee 
 from this damnation of hell. But God saw it best 
 for this agony of sorrow to continue for about three 
 weeks ere the joy of his salvation came into my 
 soul. Fast bound with the bonds of iniquity, my 
 heart not right in the sight of God, and not right 
 in my own sight, how I watched for the light of 
 the morning of salvation ! O, how I sighed for the 
 coming Deliverer and the deliverance ! Frequent, 
 vivid recollections of my parting interview with 
 Aunt Violet came up, — her entirely unexpected 
 meeting with me ; her kind solicitude for my spir- 
 itual welfare; her calling my sins to our mutual 
 
jo Granville Moody. 
 
 remembrance; her allusion to my pious parents 
 and their care for my spiritual interests ; the morn- 
 ing and evening family worship ; her reference to 
 the effect of the reading of her own Bible by me 
 to her, in answer to her concurrent prayer for my 
 welfare; her assigning the convictions I had felt 
 to the Holy Spirit; and her final charge : " Young 
 master, do n't meet me at the judgment-seat of 
 Christ in an unconverted state; if you do, Aunt 
 Violet must appear a swift witness against you 
 there." Hers was a message from God, per- 
 formed not perfunctorily, but as if immediately 
 moved of the Spirit to speak to me, and it proved 
 the power of God to my salvation. 
 
 Thus week by week sped on, I visiting Brother 
 Brown in his shop. Busily engaged, I can see 
 him now, with stalwart form, sinewy arm, placid 
 countenance, beaming eye, and ready tongue 
 to speak a word to a weary one, as I sat beside 
 him and listened to his instructive voice showing 
 me the way of salvation. Thanksgiving-day came 
 on November 25th, in 1831. The Methodists, ac- 
 cording to their custom, held their prayer-meeting 
 on Thursday evening. I attended. There was 
 a goodly number present, and the services were 
 devout and cheery to the Church ; but my spirit 
 was in dissonance with theirs. Fierce trials were 
 upon me. Doubts and fear prevailed, and I was 
 in a perplexed state of mind, and far from God. 
 It seemed to me to be the hour of darkness and 
 the power of the evil one. I had sought the Lord 
 for nearly three months; I had ceased to do evil, 
 
Conversion. 71 
 
 and had tried to do well; but no peace, rather 
 waning hope and distraction of mind. A broken 
 law, with its soul-withering curse; a reproving 
 conscience, which would not rest ; bondage through 
 fear of death ; an apprehension of fiery indigna- 
 tion beyond the grave, — these, like dreadful cata- 
 racts, poured wrath and misery upon me ; while 
 divine knowledge, heavenly peace, gospel purity, 
 the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, and 
 blooming hopes, like celestial fountains, commu- 
 nicated streams of joy and gladness to the souls 
 of the peaceful worshipers that evening. Strange 
 contrast between them and my poor desolate, 
 agitated soul ! 
 
 The assembly was dismissed, but I lingered in 
 one of the back seats of the church. Six brethren 
 tarried, and gathered around the stove in cheer- 
 ful conversation. I left my seat, and walked up 
 to the group, composed of Isaiah Brown, Israel 
 and Enos Jennings, Lewis Virden, Israel Putnam, 
 and Rev. E. D. Roe. They each shook hands 
 with me, and one of them said : "We had a good 
 meeting this evening, Brother Moody." I replied : 
 "I am glad you enjoyed it; but it has been a most 
 unhappy time for me." Brother Brown then told 
 them that I had been seeking religion for a num- 
 ber of months. O, how it shocked me, that this 
 man, whom I thought to be the best man I 
 had ever known, to whom I had committed my 
 secret, which he promised to keep, should now 
 tell it to these brethren without my consent! 
 Satan took advantage of me, and I turned upon 
 
72 Granville Moody. 
 
 my heel and went toward the door, thinking, with 
 Jonah, that I did well to be angry. A sudden 
 and strong impression came upon me to return 
 and ask the brethren to pray for me. I obeyed 
 the impulse, and, extending my hand to Mr. Brown, 
 asked him to pray for me, bursting into tears as I 
 spoke. He assured me that he had been praying 
 for me since the evening I had disclosed to him 
 my state of mind. But I said: "I want you to 
 pray for me here and now." He prayed, and such 
 a prayer I have seldom heard before or since. 
 The darkness darker seemed, and I asked Brother 
 Israel Jennings to pray. While he and the other 
 brethren, whom I called on in succession, prayed, 
 I agonized in prayer ; but the distance between 
 God and me seemed to increase. Then I called 
 on them in rotation again, till twelve prayers were 
 offered, while the heavens became as iron above 
 me. Then Brother Brown said: " Brother Moody, 
 the fire has gone out, and all the candles but one, 
 and it will soon expire ; let us go home." I looked, 
 and lo ! there was one faint candle, with blackened 
 wick two inches long; the unplastered walls ab- 
 sorbed the glimmering rays, and the ceiling, dark 
 with coal-smoke, reflected no ray of light; and I 
 was but the deeper impressed with the gloominess 
 of my situation. I then prayed myself, telling the 
 Lord all my heart-rending woe, my anguish and 
 distress, and pleaded the all-availing name of 
 Jesus as my only plea, and as my exclusive trust 
 and hope: " Lord, I believe in Jesus Christ. O, 
 help my unbelief! O, look upon the face of thine 
 
Conversion. 73 
 
 Anointed, and then look upon me with eyes of 
 love, and give me the smile of acceptance, which 
 shall seal thy salvation to my soul. O, reach 
 down thy powerful hand, and take me from this 
 horrible pit in which I am, and from the miry 
 clay, and set my feet upon the rock, and put the 
 new song into my mouth. For Jesus' sake I ask." 
 Joy and peace now pervaded my soul. I felt 
 I had experienced a great change, being trans- 
 lated from the kingdom and power of darkness 
 into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The breth- 
 ren were glad, and, grasping my hand, they said : 
 "You are through now, glory to God! You are 
 through now." I said: "Yes, I hope so." One 
 of them said : "You hope so ! Why, brother, you 
 may know your sins forgiven, and that your name 
 is written in the Lamb's book of life." "Yes," 
 said Israel Jennings, " for thirty years I have had 
 the Spirit of God's Son bearing witness with my 
 spirit that I am born of God, and therefore I cry, 
 'Abba, Father!'" As we walked homeward over 
 the crisp snow, the moon shining from a cloudless 
 sky into our faces, I asked each of the others the 
 momentous question answered by Mr. Jennings, and 
 received substantially the same reply. One said : 
 "When you get home, look at Romans viii, 14, 16 ; 
 and Galatians iv, 6." I read the passages, and 
 found : " For as many as are led by the Spirit 
 of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit 
 itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are 
 the children of God;" "And because ye are sons, 
 God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your 
 
 7 
 
74 Granville Moody. 
 
 hearts, crying, Abba, Father." "Wonderful! won- 
 derful ! wonderful!" I exclaimed. u I '11 seek this 
 blessing for myself." Then, kneeling at my bed- 
 side, I prayed as I never prayed before. Extin- 
 guishing the candle, I retired to my pillow. The 
 bright moonlight stole a glance into the room as I 
 thought upon the texts, which spread forth like 
 vast prairie scenes, and rose up like mountain 
 ranges ; and, feeling an undefinable spirit of peace 
 and reconciliation, I fell asleep in Jesus — safe. 
 
 The next morning I was up before sunrise, 
 and knelt and prayed without sensible emotion. I 
 went to the barn to feed three horses we were 
 fattening to send to the Baltimore market. I 
 stepped into the oat-bin, six feet wide by eight 
 feet long, containing at the time about eighty 
 bushels of oats, about two feet deep at the front 
 and sloping up to eight or nine feet deep at 
 the back. I filled the half-bushel and turned to 
 go, when I felt inclined to kneel and ask for the 
 blessing of assurance of which the six brethren 
 spoke, and which I found portrayed in Romans 
 and Galatians as the new birthright of the sons 
 of God. I threw down the half-bushel and knelt 
 in the oats to pray for the promised blessing of 
 the Holy Spirit's attestation that I was also a 
 child of God by " the washing of regeneration and 
 renewing of the Holy Spirit shed upon me abun- 
 dantly through Jesus Christ, my Savior ; that be- 
 ing justified by his grace I should be made an 
 heir according to the hope of eternal life." Kneel- 
 ing down in the yielding oats, before I stopped 
 
Conversion. 75 
 
 sinking I stretched out both my hands, and lifted 
 my face towards heaven ; but before my thoughts 
 could form themselves into prayer, the bless- 
 ing came down upon me, and within and through 
 and around me, like a cataract of light and love 
 and power and joy and peace and brightness 
 and glory. It seemed to me as if the sun had 
 shed forth an effluence of grace and glory, and 
 that the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, 
 was near; and that, of his fullness, I received 
 grace for grace. It came like rolling billows from 
 above, and swept me with lightning-like rapidity, 
 shedding abroad the love of God in my heart, till 
 I comprehended with all saints what is the breadth 
 and length and depth and height, and was 
 made to know the love of Christ which passeth 
 knowledge, and was filled with all the fullness of 
 God. Then the eyes of my understanding were 
 enlightened to know what is the hope of this call- 
 ing, and what the riches of Christ's inheritance in 
 the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness 
 of his power to usward who believe— the fullness 
 of him that filleth all in all. Being renewed unto 
 repentance unto life, that quickening Spirit was 
 poured out upon me from on high, and I was 
 made partaker of the Holy Ghost, and tasted the 
 good Word of God and the powers of the world 
 to come, and received the blessing from God, good 
 measure, pressed down, and shaken together and 
 running over. 
 
 "Of my Savior possessed, 
 I was perfectly blessed." 
 
76 Granville Moody. 
 
 My soul dilated itself beyond its ordinary ca- 
 pacity, and expanded to receive this tide of joy 
 which filled and overwhelmed it. 
 
 Nor was this illapse of grace a merely mo- 
 mentary glare. It was not 
 
 " Like lightning o'er the midnight sky, 
 Which makes the darkness darker seem;" 
 
 but rather, "His going forth was prepared as the 
 morning; and he came unto me as the rain, as 
 the latter and former rain unto the earth." This 
 heavenly visitation lasted from six to ten A. M., 
 in one effulgent outpouring of the Holy Ghost. 
 Breakfast hour came and passed unnoted. The 
 store was obliterated from my mind. Several 
 times my unconverted brother John came down 
 to the stable, as I was afterwards informed, and 
 found me in my rapturous amaze, or pleading 
 with God to awaken him also, and make him par- 
 taker of like precious grace. At about ten o'clock 
 my wise and compassionate Father, in very great 
 condescension to my weakness, graciously drew a 
 veil over glories too dazzling for mortal eyes long 
 to sustain, and left me in the enjoyment of the 
 peace that passeth all understanding. " Glory be 
 to the Father and to the v Son and to the Holy Ghost ! 
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall 
 be, world without end. Amen." 
 
 The next week I wrote to my parents, telling 
 them what I had experienced, and asking their 
 approval of my choice of membership in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. They responded, 
 grateful to God for his rich mercy to me, saying, 
 
Conversion. 
 
 77 
 
 in their joint letter, that whilst they much pre- 
 ferred that I should unite with the Presbyterian 
 Church, as doctrinally the Church of my ancestors 
 for centuries, and the Church in which I was con- 
 secrated to God in holy baptism, yet still, if I 
 felt it would suit me better to be a Methodist, 
 they could and would not interpose any serious 
 objections, as they believed that "Christ had 
 many of his beloved and saved ones, who were 
 his true followers, though not following Christ 
 with us; and that this was specially true of the 
 Methodist Church, in which communion many of 
 the Lord's elect were doubtless found." 
 
 In my mother's letter a singular case was re- 
 corded. She wrote that on Thanksgiving-day she 
 sat up quite late alone in the family-room, all 
 having retired. As she sat knitting by the dying 
 embers of the fire, musing, meditating, and pray- 
 ing, she felt mysteriously that one of her children 
 was just saved ; it was strangely revealed to her 
 at that hour, and she rejoiced with exceeding 
 gladness. 
 
78 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LICENSED TO PREACH. 
 
 SHORTLY after my conversion I was invited to 
 the residence of the gentlemanly proprietor 
 of the tavern to spend an evening with a party 
 of young people. I accepted the invitation, and 
 spent a pleasant evening, socially. At nine o'clock 
 a sumptuous supper was enjoyed, and at ten a 
 fiddler appeared and began to twang his strings 
 in dancing strains, and the young men chose part- 
 ners for the giddy dance. I quietly went out of 
 the room and left the house, reminded by Scripture 
 to "flee youthful lusts." I thus escaped a well- 
 circumstanced sin. Self-denial must come to the 
 front in the Christian life. When we will as God 
 wills, and do as God admonishes, we are safe. 
 The golden-mouthed Chrysostom, when asked, 
 "What is the first element in Christianity ?" re- 
 sponded, "Self-denial." "What is the second?" 
 "Self-denial." "What is the third?" he still an- 
 swered, " Self-denial." 
 
 On Christmas, 1831, the second quarterly 
 meeting for Norwich Circuit was held in Norwich. 
 At the close of the love-feast on Sabbath morn- 
 ing I united with the Church, securing the aid of 
 Isaiah Brown to go forward with me ; but when 
 I had taken two or three steps, all trepidation left 
 
Licensed to Preach. 79 
 
 me, and I walked firmly and joyously forward, and 
 gave my name to Rev. John W. Gilbert. The 
 brethren rushed up around me with congratula- 
 tions and rejoicings, and welcomed me into the 
 communion of saints. I was now publicly com- 
 mitted to my course as a member of the Church. 
 
 In the assemblage of all spiritual blessings I 
 lived, and in the prompt discharge of every duty 
 I delighted. My walk was close with God. I 
 was filled with all joy and peace in believing, and 
 abounded in hope by the power of the Holy 
 Spirit. I had then no thought of preaching the 
 gospel. I was prompt at Sabbath-school as a 
 teacher, steady in my attendance at class, always 
 present in prayer-meeting — praying when called 
 on. I delighted in public worship, and found 
 supreme delight in attending upon the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 I had told my brother, in whose store I was 
 employed, that I could not sell whisky to any 
 one; that part of the business I must decline 
 doing, though all the stores in the town sold it and 
 treated their customers freely. He made no ob- 
 jections to releasing me from that part of the 
 business. 
 
 I studied about forty pages a day. I read 
 Wesley's sermons and works, Watson's "Insti- 
 tutes," Fletcher's works, Dr. Adam Clarke, Bur- 
 der's "Village Sermons," and the lives of Hester 
 Ann Rogers and Jesse Lee. My plan was to rise 
 early — say, five o'clock in the winter and four the 
 rest of the year. As business did not begin till nine 
 
80 Granville Moody. 
 
 o'clock, I had several of the best hours of the day 
 for careful reading. Some time in January, 1832, 
 as I closed the reading of the last page of the 
 "Life of Jesse Lee," a seemingly audible voice 
 said, in mandatory and emphatic tones, to my in- 
 ner consciousness : " Go and do thou likewise." 
 I was so impressed that I looked up and around 
 reverently, when the utterance was repeated with 
 words of thrilling and encouraging, persuasive, 
 impelling power, conveying their divinity in tones 
 and emphasis, though not through verbal or audi- 
 ble characters, yet with a convincing influence, 
 impelling the conviction that God himself had 
 spoken to me with authority and force. I paused 
 in wondrous amazement and consternation, think- 
 ing intensely of saying: "Send by whom thou 
 wilt send, but send not me, O Lord." But these 
 thoughts and emotions were evanescent, and sat 
 silent on my tongue. The sober second thought 
 prevailed, and I responded : " Be it unto me even 
 as thou hast said. Behold the servant of the 
 Lord." Instantly a gracious and glorious illapse 
 of the Holy Spirit came upon me like a heavenly 
 baptism. I was alone in the store. There I made 
 a covenant with the Lord, and consecrated to him 
 all that I was and had. 
 
 That divine vocation was my commencement- 
 day. I found my place at once. I vowed to 
 make everything subservient to this one great 
 business of my new nature. This secret of the 
 Lord I sacredly kept, believing that in due season 
 the Church would issue a corresponding call, and 
 
Licensed to Preach. 8i 
 
 these two calls would be my warrant for entering 
 and remaining in the ministry. My walk was 
 closer with God from that blessed hour. I looked 
 forward to my work in the ministry. O, how 
 carefully I watched over myself! I daily re- 
 newed my consecration to the Lord, who seemed 
 to me as the God who maketh his mind known 
 to those who walk with him. How precious did 
 his Word become to my inquiring mind! I had 
 been brought up in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord. I had my memory stored with Holy 
 Writ at home, and by the plan in vogue in Sab- 
 bath-schools, of giving one blue ticket for com- 
 mitting ten verses of the Bible to memory, a 
 white ticket for each hundred verses, and a red 
 ticket for every thousand verses. In my ministry 
 I found great aid from my early trained memory 
 and familiarity with the Word of Christ, which 
 dwelt in me mightily. In those blessed days I 
 fasted every Friday. I found this practice very 
 strengthening to my soul, and I advanced steadily 
 in the divine life. 
 
 As spring advanced, my brother and I were on 
 the lookout for a proper position for a country 
 store. We found such a site at Wade's farm, 
 eight miles from Norwich. I boarded at the farm. 
 The domestic circle was made up of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wade and their daughter, with her husband and 
 flaxen-haired little girl. They were members of 
 the Lutheran Church. They were plain, honest, 
 Christian people, in a log-cabin home. Here I 
 prosecuted my theological studies. My happiest 
 
82 Granville Moody. 
 
 days were the rainy days of winter, when custom- 
 ers were fewest and I had time to study. I 
 had made it a rule to say the Lord's Prayer at 
 my bedside ; then, as soon as dressed, to go over 
 and start a fire at the store; sweep out, and sit 
 down to read till breakfast. I studied divinity 
 without temptations to evil, or trials to cross me, 
 or diversions to distract my mind from the con- 
 stantly widening circle of religious thought. I 
 now studied from sixty to eighty pages a day. 
 Ever and anon I would meditate on what I had 
 studied, and try to restate it in my own language. 
 I would walk my store-room, classifying what I 
 had learned as facts, doctrines, precepts, prohibi- 
 tions, sanctions, rewards, punishments. Thus I 
 trained my memory to tenacity, committing to it 
 as to a store-house. 
 
 Sitting one afternoon (Thursday, February 28, 
 1832,) at the front of my store, reading Fletcher's 
 " Checks," I noticed a stalwart man riding up the 
 road on horseback. He was seated on top of a 
 two-bushel bag of wheat. He was dressed in 
 homespun, with overcoat and cape, and wore a 
 broad-brim hat. Riding up to where I sat, he 
 said, as one having authority: " Young man, the 
 Master has need of you for other work than store- 
 keeping. I have an appointment next Sabbath at 
 Spry's meeting-house, nine miles south-east of 
 here, and I wish you to meet me there at ten 
 o'clock in the morning and exhort after I have 
 preached a little while. My name is Samuel 
 Steadman, a local preacher in the Methodist 
 
Licensed to Preach. 83 
 
 Church, and a farmer in this township. The Lord 
 of the harvest has work for you to do. I am on 
 my way to mill. Now you go into your store, 
 close the door, and get down on your knees, and 
 lay what I have said to you before the Lord in 
 prayer; see what he will say to you, and I will 
 stop on my way home and get your decision." I 
 asked him for his authority for such a salutation, 
 as he was an entire stranger to ine. He made 
 the laconic reply: "I know all about you, young 
 man. Now mark my word, and let me know 
 what is your mind after praying for divine di- 
 rection." Without further conversation, he rode 
 away, and I did as he told me. My soul was 
 stirred within me, and God's baptism came upon 
 me wonderfully, accompanied with the impression: 
 "Go with him, nothing doubting; for I am with 
 you alway, even to the end." O, how my soul 
 did rejoice and magnify the Lord ! Yet I re- 
 joiced with trembling. I made up my mind to 
 go with the man. I could at least relate my ex- 
 perience, and tell to sinners what a dear Savior 
 I had found. Mr. Steadman returning, I told him 
 that I would meet him at the time and place. 
 
 I started, but, having gone a short distance, I 
 turned into the woods, and prayed to God that if 
 he had indeed called me to the work of the min- 
 istry he would give me knowledge of his will by 
 a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Immediately the 
 baptism came upon me, and I arose refreshed in 
 spirit. I rode rapidly about a mile, when temp- 
 tation came again, about running before I was 
 
84 Granville Moody. 
 
 called, and I was again on my knees, apologizing 
 to the Lord for my temerity in presuming that 
 the Head of the Church would call one so recently 
 converted, who knew so little and needed to know 
 so much, and whose opportunities in preparation 
 had been so small. At the next mile something 
 said: "How can you dare stand up as a minister 
 of the mysteries of the Gospel, when other men 
 find it needful to spend years in college and a 
 theological seminary ere they venture to stand up 
 for Jesus before his wily foes?" I prayed, and re- 
 ceived such a copious baptism of the Holy Ghost, 
 descending from on high, that my heart was won- 
 derfully enlarged and filled with God. Eight or 
 ten times I stopped and communed with God 
 about entering upon the work of the ministry. 
 Within a mile or less of the Church I prayed the 
 last time; it was a sweet communion with the 
 Father of my spirit, and was accompanied by a 
 full surrender of my soul and body and being to 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God, for 
 his work and will. This was followed by a fuller 
 communion. 
 
 I reached the church twenty minutes after ten, 
 and found that Mr. Steadman, usually punctual, 
 had not arrived. When he came we entered the 
 pulpit, and as we knelt for silent prayer, I made 
 an entire surrender of myself to God, to walk 
 before him while I lived and to bless him when I 
 died. The covenant was confirmed in an instant, 
 and when I arose to my seat the anointing of the 
 Holy Spirit sweetly assured me of acceptance^ 
 
Licensed to Preach. 85 
 
 assistance, and success. After the introductory 
 services by Mr. Steadman, I spoke about twenty- 
 five minutes, and gave out a hymn. 
 
 A fair opening had been made on my life work. 
 A divine voice seemed whispering: " Fear not, for I 
 am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. 
 I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee. I will 
 make crooked places straight, and rough places 
 smooth. I will be with thee in trouble. When 
 thou passest through the fires, they shall not kin- 
 dle upon thee." I went home that afternoon, 
 wondering at the love that crowned me with lov- 
 ing-kindness and tender mercy. 
 
 I heard that my service was very acceptable; 
 and months afterward, when my name was pre- 
 sented to the quarterly conference for a license to 
 preach, Mr. Spry said: "I heard this young man 
 preach his first sermon at our meeting-house, and 
 I shall vote with both hands for his license as a 
 local preacher. I hope I shall have the privilege 
 of voting in the affirmative for his recommenda- 
 tion to the annual conference as a suitable person 
 to be received on trial into the traveling con- 
 nection." I received the license ; and was at 
 the same time recommended to the Ohio Annual 
 Conference, to be held in Cincinnati, August 
 21, 1833. 
 
 I had found my place. I rejoiced in my call- 
 ing, and with a new zest set about giving all 
 diligence to get a readiness for my great voca- 
 tion. I had three appointments — twelve, eight, 
 and six miles away. I wrote a sermon every week, 
 
86 Granville Moody. 
 
 committed it to memory, and then prepared a 
 brief of about four pages, the size of my Testa- 
 ment, to which I pinned it. I always wound up 
 with an off-hand exhortation to attention, to re- 
 pentance, to prayer, to confession to God, to faith 
 in Christ, and profession before many witnesses. 
 
 At this time I was engaged in packing butter 
 for the city market. My cooper was a jovial man. 
 One week he came with his wares, and I did not 
 see a fifty-pound keg that I stood in pressing need 
 of. Accosting him earnestly about it, he said 
 quietly: "Judge nothing before the time." Start- 
 ing the hoops of a barrel and taking out the head 
 revealed the smaller vessel. I took occasion to ex- 
 hort him to be in like manner "in Christ;" that 
 if found savingly united to Christ by faith, and 
 so remaining to the end, he should be saved. 
 Some years after this I attended a quarterly 
 meeting on Norwich Circuit, and this man arose 
 and said : " Hearing that Rev. Granville Moody 
 was to be at this meeting, I came to tell him that 
 his fidelity to me, and especially his remarks 
 about being in Christ as the little firkin was in 
 the larger vessel, resulted in my spiritual regen- 
 eration. As a believer I entered into Christ, and, 
 abiding in him by faith, I am saved with the 
 power of an endless life." 
 
 In the spring of 1832, Mr. and Miss Ridgely, 
 brother and sister of Mrs. John B. Moody, visited 
 her. They came in their own carriage, drawn by 
 two large, well-broken horses. They visited Cin- 
 cinnati by stage. During their absence I went to 
 
Licensed to Preach. 87 
 
 Norwich, and my horse took sick. It was neces- 
 sary for me to return to the country store with 
 seven or eight hundred pounds of freight. I took 
 one of Mr. Ridgely's team, and started. At the 
 first hill the horse refused to work, and acted quite 
 ugly. I was alone. I used all my skill in vain to 
 get the horse to pull a pound. He was very rest- 
 ive ; he made a clean balk, and I was getting rest- 
 ive too. Al^at once I tried a new plan with him. 
 I knelt down and told the Lord my dilemma, 
 what I feared if the horse still proved obstinate ; 
 that I knew what I could do with the horse, but 
 it might prove hazardous if I was compelled to en- 
 force discipline. I might succeed, but at the loss 
 of my religion. "Now, Lord, please interfere and 
 make this horse obedient, and save me from the 
 necessity of compelling him. Help me in this 
 emergency, for Jesus' sake. Amen." I arose from 
 my knees, took hold of the lines, and started the 
 horse with a word. He went up the hill will- 
 ingly, and I gave him a good rest on the summit. 
 For the eight miles he went up hill and down. 
 Prayer is mighty, and does prevail. I believe 
 this was the prayer of faith which God ever de- 
 lights to honor. This horse had never worked 
 alone before. 
 
 Late in August I attended a camp-meeting 
 held for Norwich Circuit, I heard L. L. Hamline, 
 Leroy Swormstedt, and other noted men of the 
 period preach. A collection was taken up to pay 
 deficiencies in the allowance of the preachers. 
 I gave two or three times, in all about three 
 
88 Granvillk Moody. 
 
 dollars and fifty cents, all the money I had with 
 me. In consequence I and my horse fasted for 
 the day, but the preaching was of a high order, 
 and I presume it did me all the more good for 
 my enforced fasting, 
 
Admitted into Conference. 89 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 admitted into conference. 
 
 THE sympathy and approval ot my parents, in 
 reference to the work to which I was called, 
 are shown by this joint letter: 
 
 Baltimore, November 6, 1832. 
 Dear Son Granville, — We received your affec- 
 tionate letter of the 28th ult., and were all pleased to see 
 your ardor and zeal in this best of all occupations — this 
 striving to do good. We believe that our good Lord has, 
 in his abundant grace, given you a desire to become 
 his faithful servant. And now, my son, take a word 
 or two of parental advice; and may our great and 
 good Parent help us to give a word in season to you! 
 You must surely feel, and others must see, your abso- 
 lute want of more mature and better digested human 
 learning; and we have talked and thought the matter 
 through/and come to the conclusion that you had bet- 
 ter spend one year at least in some pious and re- 
 spectable college before you take your riding habili- 
 ments and assume that sacred office. Now, if you 
 determine to keep on in your present business till 
 August — reading and studying and exhorting, and 
 thus strengthening both talents and memory, confi- 
 dence and piety — you will then be prepared to enter 
 college, and there to make the most of your priv- 
 ileges. And we, by that time, most probably, shall 
 receive another payment from our purchaser, and 
 be thus enabled to give you that assistance you will 
 need. . . . 
 
 8 
 
90 Granville Moody. 
 
 Now, my son, be assured of my prayers, and of 
 the increasing interest and affections of your father, 
 
 William Moody. 
 
 Baltimore, November 7th. 
 
 My Dear Child, — It was with no ordinary feel- 
 ings of joy and happiness that I received your last 
 letter, but with feelings overwhelmed with thankful- 
 ness, humility, and praise to our covenant-keeping 
 God for what he has done for you. I trust it is He 
 that has led your mind to the choice of your future 
 course in life. It is a great and glorious work to 
 which you essay to put your hands ; and O, that your 
 whole heart, soul, and mind may be engaged in it, 
 and that the great Head of the Church may set you 
 apart entirely for himself and his cause in the world, 
 is the hearty prayer of your mother; that you may 
 ever have such a strong desire for the glory of God 
 and love of souls as will lead you to be willing to 
 make every sacrifice and be willing to spend and be 
 spent in the service of so good a master as the Lord 
 Jesus, who saith he requireth none to go a warfare 
 at his own charges ! 
 
 My dear son, for more than twenty years, at times, 
 I have been praying that God would condescend, un- 
 worthy as I am of such a blessing, to take one of my 
 sons, if no more, to proclaim his glorious gospel to a 
 dying world. But for the last two or three years be- 
 fore your sister's conversion I had become so dis- 
 couraged I could but seldom pray with fervency for 
 your conversion; but whenever I saw a youth stand- 
 ing up as an ambassador for Jesus, my mind always 
 led me to beseech God to remember my boys for good, 
 and take one of them to serve him in his Church ; and 
 now it seems the Lord is answering my petitions. O 
 that I may feel humble under a sense of his great 
 
Admitted into Conference. 91 
 
 goodness, and remember what God saith, "Not for your 
 sake do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto 
 you, but for my great name's sake and for my oath's 
 sake!" for God hath said there shall be a fulfillment 
 of the desires of those that put their trust in the 
 Lord. " To trust in the Lord is better than to put 
 confidence in princes." It is the believer's privilege 
 and duty to trust in God at all times. 
 
 You speak of dark seasons; hard strugglings. Well 
 you may, when you have three great enemies to con- 
 tend with; but, thanks be to God, more are they that 
 are for you than they that are against you. Resist 
 Satan, and he will flee from you; live near to God, 
 Very much is lost of real happiness by loving this 
 world and the things of it too much. Pray for your 
 mother, that she maybe weaned more and more from this 
 dying world, and set her affections on things above. . . 
 Write as soon as you have made up your mind about 
 spending a year at some theological seminary. I ad- 
 vise you to do it by all means. Do n't think about the 
 expense. I shall look upon it as money well laid out. . . . 
 
 Your brothers and sisters all desire to be kindly 
 remembered to you all. Your ever affectionate mother, 
 
 Harriet Moody. 
 
 Through 1832 I remained in the store, study- 
 ing religious books belonging to Rev. E. D. Roe, 
 then keeping store in Norwich, with whom and 
 wife and her daughter, Miss Davenport, I formed 
 an interesting and improving acquaintance. He 
 was especially a valuable friend to me, taking charge 
 of my theological studies, loaning me the standard 
 Methodist books. I owe much to his wise care. The 
 daughter subsequently became the wife of Cyrus 
 Bropks, of the Ohio Conference, later of Minnesota. 
 
92 Granville Moody. 
 
 My brother William, of New York, was invited 
 by brother John to take my place in the store, 
 and about the middle of August, 1833, m Y share 
 was transferred. I settled up all accounts ; 
 and, free from debt, owning a horse, saddle, and 
 bridle, trunk, clothing, and books, I was prepared 
 for the approaching conference, which met in Cin- 
 cinnati, August 21st. I was received on trial as 
 an itinerant preacher, etc. The first week in 
 September official notice was sent to me of my ap- 
 pointment as junior preacher on Springfield Cir- 
 cuit, with Joshua Boucher as preacher in charge. 
 Leaving Norwich on Tuesday, I reached Columbus, 
 took lodging at the tavern, and, after supper, 
 found my way to the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 in charge of Russel Bigelow. Without making 
 myself known to him, I was all eye and ear and 
 memory for the occasion. He looked inquisitively 
 at me ; but, as we had never met, I was relieved 
 from any service, much to my gratification. He 
 began the service by reading about ten verses of 
 Scripture, and then gave out a hymn. This wry- 
 mouthed, one-sided man, with every physical dis- 
 advantage, was wondrously talented and accom- 
 plished. He impressed me as a man of rare 
 abilities. T wonder not at the unsophisticated 
 boy who listened to his entrancing eloquence and 
 fervent appeals, and said to his mother: "What 
 would be the effect if Brother Bigelow could talk 
 out of both sides of his mouth as other preach- 
 ers do?" 
 
 The next day I reached Springfield, and was 
 
Admitted into Conference. 93 
 
 hospitably entertained by Brother Bretney. Sat- 
 urday afternoon I started to South Charleston, 
 where I made my commencement as a traveling 
 preacher. My first text was: "For if, when we 
 were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the 
 death of his Son; much more being reconciled, we 
 shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but 
 we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 by whom we have now received the atonement." 
 William H. Raper was my presiding elder, and in 
 him I found an abiding friend. I had a year of 
 great happiness. 
 
 On Monday of the conference session, held the 
 next year (1834), I received a letter from my 
 mother announcing the death of my father, and 
 requesting my return temporarily. I was re- 
 leased and went by stage to Baltimore, and found 
 my widowed mother bowed down with this press- 
 ure of grief. My father was ill but three days, 
 but the sudden attack found him in a state of 
 habitual readiness. He was graciously prepared 
 for an exchange of worlds. 
 
 Returning to Springfield, I finished out the 
 year on London Circuit, so that for six months 
 there were three preachers ; but there was territory 
 and work for all three. 
 
 My third annual appointment, in 1835, was to 
 McKendree Chapel, in the town of Fulton, now a 
 part of Cincinnati. I went from Columbus by 
 stage-coach, reaching my appointment September 
 14, 1835. I was domiciled at the residence of 
 Brother Joseph Herron, a principal in the public 
 
94 Granville Moody. 
 
 schools ; eminent as a teacher, a friend, and as an 
 official member of the Church. He was an Is- 
 raelite indeed, in whom there was no guile. He 
 was afterward principal of Herron's Seminary, in 
 Cincinnati, and to the day of his death was a 
 noble educator of youth. His wife, a Christian 
 lady, his son James, and daughter Lucy, made up 
 the family. I boarded with them the first of the 
 year; and, as my allowance was small, Mr. Her- 
 ron and I opened a night-school, four evenings in 
 the week, in the basement of the church. We 
 had a full and flourishing school, and the financial 
 results were very satisfactory, and helped me much 
 in getting ready for housekeeping the first Monday 
 in May, 1836. 
 
 On January 19th of that year I married Miss 
 Lucretia Elizabeth, daughter of William H. and 
 Elizabeth Harris, at their home, four miles east of 
 Springfield, O. The marriage ceremony was per- 
 formed by Joshua Boucher. She was a holy 
 woman of God. Her first appointment as a min- 
 ister's wife was to Fulton. 
 
 Shortly after our wedding, my wife, having 
 entered upon her duties in the Church, found and 
 felt her need of more grace to fit her for the holy 
 services of a minister's wife. She sought, found, 
 and professed the blessing of holiness of heart 
 so freely promised to believers in Christ. She 
 meekly, confidently, and joyfully confessed what 
 grace had done for her, and ever afterward made 
 the good confession of purity of heart by faith in 
 our all-sufficient Savior. 
 
Admitted into Conference. 95 
 
 This year in Fulton is redolent in our memo- 
 ries, having the odor of salvation to ourselves 
 and more than a hundred others, who pressed into 
 the kingdom. The names of Hazen, Morris, 
 Smith, Gordon, Lithebury, Ready, Weeks, Sacker, 
 Lehmanowsky, and hundreds of others, rise from 
 the mists of memory. During this year I be- 
 came acquainted with William Nast, who labored 
 as German missionary in Cincinnati, under much 
 obloquy and the bitter persecution of the Roman 
 Church. As he patiently wended his way from 
 house to house, preaching Christ and him cru- 
 cified, the vilest epithets were heaped upon him. 
 After about a year he gathered the nucleus of 
 a Church. I transferred to him Brother and 
 Sister Sacker, Brother Lehmanowsky and wife, 
 and others, who became members of the first class 
 of German Methodists. At the house of Amos 
 Wheeler, in Fulton, I performed the marriage 
 ceremony between Dr. Nast and his bride, Miss 
 Eliza McDowell. She studied German after their 
 marriage, and took her children to Germany for 
 their education when they became old enough for 
 training. 
 
 My fourth appointment (1836) was Wesley 
 Chapel and New Street, Cincinnati — W. H. Raper, 
 preacher in charge, and William B. Christie, pre- 
 siding elder. Wesley Chapel was the parent 
 Church in the city, and had the largest building 
 in Ohio Methodism. I trembled at my appoint- 
 ment in view of my incompetency, but rejoiced 
 in God as my support and aid, and confided in 
 
96 Granville Moody. 
 
 Brother Raper as an eminent pastor and divine. 
 We shared a large brick house with L. L. Ham- 
 line and wife, with whom we formed pleasant and 
 profitable acquaintance. We had a laborious year, 
 but a glorious revival of religion, and many scores 
 were added to the Church. I recall the names 
 of Josiah Lawrence, Christopher Smith, Robert 
 Richardson, Sacker Nelson, N. W. Thomas, Will- 
 iam Neff, James Ewan, Benjamin Urner, Benja- 
 min Stewart, Morris Sharp, and William Wood. 
 
 The General Conference was held in W T esley 
 Chapel, in May, 1836. One of the delegates, 
 Orange Scott, had attended an Abolition meeting 
 during the session of that conference. I can see 
 him walk out into the central aisle in response to 
 allegations made against him and others for attend- 
 ing such a meeting at such a time. His defense 
 made a deep impression on me in favor of Aboli- 
 tionism, and the speeches of Southern men, such 
 as William Capers and William Winans, affected 
 me most unfavorably against the peculiar institu- 
 tion of slaveholding, as an obligarchy founded in 
 wrong. 
 
Cincinnati. 
 
 97 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CINCINNATI AND ELSEWHERE. 
 
 " TVT^ ^ oot °^ ^ an( ^ ^° * possess." On an autumn 
 -L-* evening of 1837 my wife and self happened 
 to be the guests of William NefF and wife. Mr. 
 and Mrs. NefF were of the excellent of the earth. 
 Her name was Clifford, and she was a daughter 
 of General Wayne, of South Carolina. They were 
 among the wealthiest of the families in Cincin- 
 nati. We enjoyed their acquaintance, friendship, 
 and society, and received many substantial tokens 
 of their regard. 
 
 On the evening referred to, at about half-past 
 eight o'clock, the door-bell rang out merrily, and 
 the servant announced "Mr. Urner." He was 
 dusty and soiled, as he had just arrived by public 
 stage from Illinois, where he had spent two or 
 three months as the head clerk of Mr. NefF, en- 
 tering government lands for his employer in 
 Champaign, Piatt, and Sangamon Counties. The 
 entry amounted to hundreds of thousands of acres 
 of the best land, prairie and timber, in Illinois. 
 After a conference of two hours in the back parlor, 
 Mr. Urner excused himself, and Mr. NefF, enter- 
 ing the front parlor, smiling, said: "I suppose 
 you have been amused at our interest in our re- 
 cently entered lands ; and now, Brother Moody, I 
 
98 Granville Moody. 
 
 will atone for my absence this evening by the fol- 
 lowing proposition :" I will sell you a section — that 
 is, six hundred and forty acres — of my recent pur- 
 chase at precisely what they cost me — that is, 
 one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre — not 
 adding anything for costs of entry ; and you can 
 take whatever time you please to pay it ; say, 
 three, six, nine, or twelve years, with interest 
 at six per cent. I will take your mortgage on the 
 section you choose ; or, if you please, we will 
 let Mr. Urner make the best selection for you that 
 he can. You can pay in any sums, from five 
 dollars, upward. I will indorse the payment on 
 the mortgage and send you a receipt. In the course 
 of seven to ten years you can pay the price of the 
 whole section, and have an inheritance for your 
 old age which will be very valuable." 
 
 I thanked him heartily for his considerate and 
 generous offer, and told him that we would con- 
 sider it, and report to him in three days. "Well, 
 well," said he, "you are welcome to the section, 
 and I will instruct Mr. Urner to make you a good 
 selection." Three days afterward I saw Mr. Neff, 
 and reported our determination not to embarrass 
 ourselves with such an indebtedness, though ap- 
 preciating his kind and liberal intentions. He was 
 much surprised, but we were afraid of pecuniary 
 embarrassment. We thought, "out of debt out 
 of danger ;" and a Methodist preacher's allowance 
 in those days was very limited, and we dreaded 
 any hindrance to our ministerial vocation. Those 
 lands are now worth from forty to sixty dollars an 
 
Troy Circuit. 
 
 99 
 
 acre ; but I negatived the proposition in the fear 
 of the Lord, lest I should be embarrassed in the 
 work of the ministry. I gratefully remembered 
 Brother and Sister Neff by naming our daughter 
 Clifford Neff Moody. 
 
 In 1838 I was traveling Troy Circuit, with 
 Joshua Boucher as preacher in charge, and resided 
 in Troy. My wife was on a visit to her father, 
 near Springfield. The month was May. On Mon- 
 day, after dinner, I was in the saddle to visit the 
 Harrises on Buck Creek, and my widowed mother, 
 then living in Springfield. Just a little way from 
 a turn of the road I saw a group of two men, one 
 woman, and three or four girls and boys, and a 
 mare and her colt. The halter was in the hand 
 of one of the men ; and as I approached I heard 
 loud talk from the man who held the mare by the 
 halter, and earnest talk from the other man. As 
 I came nearer I saw the woman, babe in arms, 
 wiping her tears, and heard her say: "What can 
 we do with our corn-crop if you take away the 
 mare? Why can't you take the colt?" "Why," 
 said the man, still holding the halter, "I can't 
 get twenty-three dollars for that colt, with its 
 crippled shoulder. I am compelled officially to 
 take what I can make twenty-three dollars out 
 of; I could not get ten dollars for that colt." The 
 woman and children were weeping ; and the man, 
 declaring his inability to make his crop without 
 the animal, had tears flow adown his manly 
 cheek. I rode up and halted in the ring of the 
 assembly, and said: "Why, what is the matter 
 
ioo Granville Moody. 
 
 here ?" The sheriff, still holding on to the halter, 
 said : " In due process of law, sir, I have seized 
 this mare in legal action for debt against this 
 man, and he and his wife want me to leave her 
 and take this scrawny, shoulder-crippled colt for 
 the debt. This would trammel me, in giving up 
 good property which I have found to be his. Out 
 of the sale of the colt I could not realize ten 
 dollars at the utmost; and so, you see, I would 
 not be doing my duty as an officer, and it would 
 make me liable for the deficit. I can't do busi- 
 ness in that way." 
 
 I saw the force of his reasoning, and pulling 
 out my pocket-book, I handed the officer twenty- 
 three dollars, and said to him: "Here's your 
 money ; take that rope off the mare and return her 
 to her owner, and put the halter on the colt, and 
 give it to me, and that will settle all this trouble, 
 if you are all agreed." The sheriff was pleased, 
 the farmer and his wife were delighted, the chil- 
 dren were glad, and, unknown by any of them, I 
 rode off leading my colt, which limped along vi- 
 vaciously, and in an hour I reached Springfield, 
 where I sojourned for the night; and the next day 
 I went on to my father-in-law's residence, which 
 I reached about noon. Father Harris and his 
 seven sons were at the house, and came out to 
 see my new purchase. They agreed that I had 
 given twice the value of him ; and Father Harris 
 remarked that as a charitable operation it might 
 do very well, and told me to turn him into the 
 west pasture. My wife was glad for the poor 
 
Oxford. ioi 
 
 woman's sake, that her family were helped along 
 so well in securing the season's crop. 
 
 The colt was turned into good pasture, through 
 which Buck Creek flowed ; and, as we frequently 
 visited home during the next three years, we were 
 pleased to see him develop into a large, strong 
 horse. Some three years after I was appointed 
 to Oxford, the seat of Miami university. Rev. 
 George Junkin, president of the university, ar- 
 rived on the same day, a Thursday in 1840; and 
 we both began services the same Sabbath. I first 
 hitched the colt up to an old-fashioned gig, for 
 which I had traded L. L. Hamline a modern-built 
 sulky. The young horse worked right along to 
 the gig, in which wife and I and baby Clifford 
 made our debut into Oxford. We were hospita- 
 ably entertained by that prince of hospitality, Mr. 
 Townsend Payton, whose hospitable home and 
 wife and sons and daughters were the representa- 
 tives of old Virginia manners and of old Virginia 
 hospitality, which I never afterward saw excelled 
 in all my varied experience. 
 
 That year and the next were replete with re- 
 vival interest. Scores and hundreds were added 
 to the Church. Two young men, sons of an 
 elderly farmer, were added to the Church in the 
 winter of 1840. They gave satisfactory evidence 
 of their being born of the Spirit. The following 
 spring they both took sick, and the elder died in 
 the triumphs of faith in Jesus Christ. The 
 younger lingered long, but recovered. I visited 
 them in their sickness regularly, and preached 
 
102 Granville Moody. 
 
 the funeral sermon of the one that died. One 
 day in May I visited the family during the con- 
 valescence of the surviving son, and after din- 
 ner and prayer with the family, the gentleman 
 said : u Brother Moody, let us go to visit a sick 
 man in the neighborhood, who will die, I fear, 
 without religion." I bade the family "good-bye;" 
 and on the way to the stable the brother said : 
 " Brother Moody, I and my family feel greatly in- 
 debted to you for your labors with our sons and 
 with ourselves, and especially for your influence 
 over our deceased son. I wish to give you a 
 token of our gratitude for your faithfulness with 
 our sons, resulting in their happy conversion — 
 and one of them is in heaven now. I have no- 
 ticed that you are ill mounted ; the horse you ride 
 is not a good saddle-horse at all. He is a rough 
 farm-horse, and rides clumsily. I have, I sup- 
 pose, the best horse in this county, five years old, 
 a dappled gray of high blood, splendid action, as 
 good under the saddle as he is superior in harness, 
 and high spirited. I sold him to my son-in-law 
 for one hundred and fifty dollars, and the next 
 day I took his money back to him and told him I 
 could not part with Black Hawk for money, and 
 must have him back. The horse-buyers have been 
 after me many times to get him, but I have re- 
 fused them. And now I want you to have this 
 horse. I will put your saddle on my horse, and 
 you take him and welcome, as a free gift. I will 
 keep your horse, and you need not tell anybody 
 how we traded ; and, if you should ever want to 
 
Oxford. 
 
 io 3 
 
 trade back, just bring Black Hawk and take 
 yours away." 
 
 I could hardly believe my eyes or ears. I 
 said to myself: "This is the Lord's doing; it is 
 marvelous in our eyes. Here God has returned 
 the twenty-three dollars I gave for the colt more 
 than seven-fold ; yes, more than ten times over 
 has the Lord reimbursed me for the relief I gave 
 that poor family the day that I bought their ^colt. 
 Amen ! Ebenezer ! hallelujah ! Do minus provide- 
 bit!" I went to see the sick man with my friend, 
 and rode to Oxford delightfully, hitched the new 
 horse to my gig, and drove down the street. 
 Many who knew the horse and horseman, too, 
 came out and asked me : " Where did you get 
 that horse? That is the best horse in Butler 
 County." 
 
 While I was pastor of the Church in Oxford, 
 I learned that a debate on " Universalism " was to 
 take place in Cincinnati between Rev. Dr. Rice, 
 of the Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Mr. Pin- 
 gree, editor of the Universalist paper, the Star in 
 the West. I started on Monday morning with my 
 wife and Clifford, who was then about ten months 
 old. We went seven miles over a dirt road, on 
 which there had been heavy rains. My horse and 
 gig were very muddy, and so I concluded to ford 
 the Miami River instead of going over on the 
 bridge. I met a man, who assured me that the 
 river was perfectly fordable, and directed me to go 
 straight across above the bridge. 
 
 I entered the swollen stream and, within three 
 
104 Granville Moody. 
 
 rods from the shore, the water was over the horse's 
 neck, and he swimming ; the gig was submerged 
 up to my waistcoat pockets ; my wife was hold- 
 ing the baby above the water. The wild flood of 
 waters was proudly sweeping downward; our 
 trunk of clothing was in the water. " Steady, 
 Black Hawk! steady ! steady !" so my voice 
 cheered the noble horse as he rolled in the 
 surging flood, snorting defiance to its current. 
 " Steady, Black Hawk ! steady, my boy !" Circling 
 up stream he breasted the turn, passed the critical 
 point, and safely landed us at the place where we 
 entered. He struggled like a modern Bucephalus ; 
 all I could see of him while in the wrathful cur- 
 rent was his head and half of his stretched-out 
 neck. As he came out on dry land I jumped out 
 of the gig, and hugged and caressed the noble 
 animal that had just saved us from a watery grave. 
 There sat my wife, pale as death. She was clasp- 
 ing little Clifford, who, with her, had lately escaped 
 such imminent danger. I thanked God for his 
 help in this emergency. I thanked Black Hawk 
 for his gallant conduct in this unexpected struggle 
 where life or death was the stake. As he stood 
 wave-washed, I gazed on his every muscle, so lately 
 strained to their utmost to save me and my family 
 from the overwhelming flood. I gloried in his 
 strength and sagacity and suasibility and quick- 
 ened sense in the presence of danger. I after- 
 ward sold him to Rev. William Simmons, and 
 thus four years were added to his "ministerial 
 life," under a presiding elder. 
 
Ripley District. 105 
 
 While I was stationed at McKendree Chapel 
 I became acquainted with a noble Methodist man 
 named Vanaken Wunder. He was a butcher by 
 trade, and a worthy and influential member of 
 Wesley Chapel. I received from him many tokens 
 of kindly regard. This good-will had its con- 
 tinued growth for forty years and was perpetuated 
 in his family in their generations. During my 
 pastorate in York Street, Cincinnati, in 1872-3, I 
 became acquainted with the sister-in-law of Mr. 
 Vanaken Wunder, Jr. She was an invalid. I 
 visited her during a protracted illness, and led her 
 to Christ, in whom she believed to the saving of 
 her soul. She finally died in peace, and hope, 
 and Christian joy. I preached her funeral sermon, 
 and attended her burial. 
 
 At the close of this pastorate in 1873, I was 
 appointed presiding elder of Ripley District. 
 Peculiar circumstances made me impecunious at 
 this time, and I found it difficult to furnish 
 myself with the equipments necessary for a pre- 
 siding elder. I had procured a nearly new buggy 
 and harness ; but was as yet destitute of a suitable 
 horse. Whilst ruminating lugubriously, and per- 
 chance saying, "A horse, a horse! my kingdom 
 for a horse !" we unexpectedly received an invita- 
 tion to spend the evening with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wunder. We accepted the invitation with thanks, 
 and worked away packing up our household stuff, 
 with many a sidelong glance into the immediate 
 future, which had for us no ray of light for a 
 horse, nor indeed any prospect of means with 
 
106 Granville Moody. 
 
 which to purchase one. Evening came, and wife 
 and I locked up our house, and wearily went our 
 way to Mr. Wunder's. We found his wife and 
 their bright boy, about eight years old, attentive, 
 and bent on making us feel free and entirely at 
 home. In about an hour, Mr. Wunder appeared 
 in full dress, reminding me of an aldermanic 
 Englishman at home. Indeed, he was a Cincinnati 
 alderman. We were elegantly entertained, and at 
 his well-filled table, which gave signs of all good 
 cheer in variety and abundance, we enjoyed true 
 hospitality. Our hard day's work in packing 
 furniture gave an edge to our appetite, and his 
 cheerful company, and his quiet wife's gentle 
 manners, and their evident good-will to us, en- 
 hanced the happiness of the occasion. 
 
 After supper I asked him if we should engage 
 in religious service. He responded, "Yes," and 
 laid his large Bible on the stand. I read a 
 chapter, sang a hymn, and led in prayer, and in- 
 voked on him and his God's blessing, while we 
 renewed the consecration of ourselves to God. At 
 the close of worship he and she left the room, 
 and wife and I and the beautiful boy had every- 
 thing our own way. On their return he began 
 conversation by inquiring how and when we 
 would go to our new field of labor. I replied 
 that we would leave Cincinnati, at four P. M. next 
 day on the steamer Fleetwood, and reach Ripley 
 the same evening. He said that he knew all 
 abotit my district, having bought and driven from 
 all parts of it, cattle, sheep, and hogs, and added : 
 
Ripley District. 107 
 
 "You will need a first-rate horse to carry you on 
 that large district. I have," he went on, u a first- 
 rate, full blood mare of the Morgan breed, good in 
 harness, and a remarkable animal under the 
 saddle. She is five years old, large, and very 
 active. If you will accept her as a present, I will 
 find great pleasure in presenting her to you, and 
 all the more gratefully in view of your kind atten- 
 tions as pastor and minister to my wife's deceased 
 sister, for which we feel truly grateful. The horse 
 is in pasture a mile back of Covington. If you 
 will take her I will have her brought to the 
 Fleetwood, and you can use her next Saturday to 
 go to your first appointment." 
 
 I was perfectly surprised, and entirely relieved 
 by such unexpected good-will. I had not said a 
 word about my perplexities in the matter of a 
 horse, nor did Mr. Wunder know of my neces- 
 sities. But God knew all, and relieved, and 
 opened an effectual door for my deliverance. I 
 thanked my benefactor, with tears in my eyes. 
 His wife shared his joy, and seemed to enjoy our 
 surprise and gratitude. 
 
 For four successive years this animal never 
 missed an appointment. With me she shared all 
 the labors of travel, always on time, always ready, 
 always willing. She endeared herself to me and 
 mine. If there is a future for animals, I shall be 
 glad to meet Nelly there. 
 
io8 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 "He who of old would rend the oak, 
 Dreamed not of the rebound." 
 
 "Tl 7HILB I was pastor of Miami Circuit, in 
 " 1839, with Levi P. Miller as my colleague, 
 I resided in Montgomery, O., in the mansion of 
 Hon. Alexander Duncan, who was absent most 
 of the year in Washington, being a member of 
 Congress. 
 
 I had many conflicts with the Universalists, of 
 whom there was a large number on the circuit ; 
 also many debates with the Baptists. One Sab- 
 bath I preached, six miles south-west of West 
 Chester, a sermon which occupied two hours, on 
 the subjects and mode of baptism. Repairing to 
 the house of a brother, I requested the family not 
 to prepare dinner for me, as I should be late for 
 my appointment at West Chester if I waited for 
 a regular dinner, but to give me two bowls of the 
 morning's milk, and to give my horse a gallon of 
 oats. I was soon through with my dinner and in 
 saddle, with a lively headway. As I approached 
 the village I saw a triplet of horsemen bounding 
 toward me, and we soon met. They proved to be 
 two brothers Conrey, and another member of the 
 West Chester society. They reined up their 
 
Universalism. 109 
 
 panting steeds and said: "Brother Moody, there 
 is the utmost excitement in West Chester. The 
 town is all alive, and everybody is astir and 
 anxious for you to come. We were advised to 
 ride and notify you that the notable Robert Smith, 
 the great Universalist preacher, is in town, and 
 preached a powerful Universalist sermon this 
 morning ; and at its close he said : ' I learn that 
 Rev. Granville Moody is to preach in this town at 
 half past two o'clock, P. M., to-day. He has much 
 to say throughout this county against Universal- 
 ism, I am informed. He knows me. He attended 
 a debate I had with a Campbellite preacher in 
 Sharonville, south of here. I will now prophesy 
 that he will not open his mouth against Univer- 
 salism in any way in my presence ; but will, when 
 he sees me in the audience, be "as mild as a suck- 
 ing dove," and will preach on some theme that 
 will lead him far away from Universalism. He 
 knows me too well to venture one sentence, 
 directly or indirectly, against Universalism. Just 
 meet me this afternoon, and see that he will not 
 attack this faith once delivered to the saints. His 
 craft will be to preach on some biographic or 
 historic subject, and Universalism will not be 
 assailed. He will not touch it with tongue or 
 tongs. I know him well, and Universalism will 
 go scot-free to-day. I shall take a seat directly in 
 front of him, and when he sees me he will be as 
 mum as a mouse. Come to the Methodist Church 
 this afternoon, and see if I am not a prophet.'" 
 I replied to the brethren that I had preached 
 
no Granville Moody. 
 
 over two hours on baptism that morning, and felt 
 too much exhausted to preach at any length, and 
 would just notice him politely and invite him to 
 debate the next Tuesday morning at ten o'clock. 
 They objected that it was harvest-time, and that 
 everybody would be busy during the week, and 
 that what was done must be done that afternoon. 
 I again pleaded my exhaustion after the excessive 
 labors of the morning, and said I would explain 
 all, and that we could have the debate early in 
 the fall. They said that now is the accepted 
 time ; and if for any reason I did not then reply, 
 the result would be disastrous. I told them that 
 we preachers must sit together in the pulpit ; that 
 Brother Conrey must pray, and that we should see 
 what we should see in the outcome. 
 
 We went to the church, and lo ! each window 
 was entirely cleared of both sashes, the house was 
 packed full of people, and a crowd surrounded 
 the house from ten to fifteen feet wide, and it was 
 actually with difficulty that we could reach the 
 pulpit. Within six feet of it sat the Universalist 
 preacher, large and portly, and as brave as any 
 man. His morning sermon and personal notice 
 of me'as a preacher had excited the two Churches, 
 Methodist and Presbyterian, and had gathered 
 nearly the town and township for the occasion. 
 I had not yet determined to notice him, but knelt 
 down for private prayer and said, "Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" I received a short, 
 sharp, encouraging response that seemed like 
 three definitive sentences : "I am with you always ; 
 
Universalism. Ill 
 
 fear not. Open thy mouth ; I will fill it." I re- 
 sponded : " Bbenezer ! Hallelujah !" 
 
 I arose with fearless heart and whispered to 
 Brother Conrey : "You pray. I will attack him." 
 To the congregation I said : " Let us pray. Brother 
 Conrey will be our mouth to God." And such an 
 agonizing prayer as that man uttered ! It was 
 devout, appropriate, fervent, effectual, and availed 
 much. I recollect some petitions: u Be with our 
 youthful pastor this day. May he lay off Saul's 
 armor, and, with five smooth stones from Siloa's 
 brook, may he successfully attack this modern 
 Goliath of Gath. Clear his eye and nerve his 
 arm, and may the sword of the Lord and of 
 Gideon do wondrous execution here to-day. Blow 
 out the false alluring lights of hell, that voyagers 
 on this rocky reef may keep aloof from the mael- 
 strom and coast of perdition, and cross the Pacific 
 Ocean of gospel grace, and land on the far-off, 
 flowery shore, where the Captain of our salvation 
 receives believing men to the Eden of love." 
 
 The people were carried away from formalism, 
 and Baptists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians joined 
 in long and loud amens with Methodists. I then 
 requested the congregation to unite in sacred song, 
 and announced an appropriate hymn. I laid the 
 Bible on the side of the pulpit and remarked 
 that the subject of the present discourse would 
 not be found in these lively oracles divine ; but 
 would be found in the Apocrypha of Robert 
 Smith, who in this morning's sermon declared 
 that Mr. Moody would not dare to say one word 
 
ii2 Granville Moody. 
 
 against Universalism in his presence. Shades of 
 the mighty heretics of ancient and modern times, 
 well may ye stand aghast in such a presence as 
 Robert Smith ! In his peerless presence language 
 is impotent. But who, and what of this mighty 
 man of renowu ? Alas ! he is but one of the 
 fifteen hundred millions of our apostate race. 
 There were myriads before him, and myriads 
 beside him, and myriads shall succeed him. Who 
 is he? But one of the fallen race of Adam, 
 whose inherited humanity has been degraded by 
 the man "whose guilty fall corrupts his race, and 
 taints us all." 
 
 The sermon was mainly a presentation of the 
 statements of Scripture concerning the future life, 
 with the conclusion that necessarily follows ; the 
 denunciations of God against sin, from that of the 
 angels which kept not their first estate to that of 
 the last apostate soul of Adam's race. No words 
 can be coined more explicit than those of Christ, 
 when he refers to the awards of the great day: 
 " These shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
 but the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 O Universalism, how have your abettors ram- 
 bled ruthlessly away from the truth as it is in 
 Jesus ! It is the new edition of Satan's earliest 
 lie, uttered to Adam and Eve, for their unbelief, 
 and by this false statement removed them from 
 their first estate, and brought death into the world 
 and all our woe as well. "Ye shall not surely 
 die," is still the arch-deceiver's lie. 
 
 The attention of the audience was unflagging 
 
Universalism. 113 
 
 throughout all the discourse. I felt a conscious- 
 ness of divine approval, and that I was helped in 
 presenting the truth as it is in Jesus. A divine 
 unction was upon me, and I spoke in demonstra- 
 tion of the Spirit and with power from on high. 
 I believe reverently that God was present, giving 
 testimony to the words of truth and soberness. I 
 spoke as a dying man to dying men. 
 
 I invited Mr. Smith to reply ; but he declined 
 on account of the lateness of the hour, nor could 
 he meet me in debate on Tuesday ; and having a 
 ministerial engagement at a distance, he could not 
 say when he could reply to the discourse he had 
 just heard. 
 
 I served the remaining months till conference, 
 when I was appointed to Oxford. At this place 
 I met Mr. Smith, about two months after getting 
 settled. He drove up to the parsonage door, and 
 was fastening his horse when I saw and recog- 
 nized him. I said to my wife: " Lizzie! there is 
 that Universalist preacher I preached against in 
 West Chester. I suspect he has come to have a 
 debate with me here. But it is well; 'let the 
 hardest fend off.' " I went out to him and shook 
 hands, walked into the parsonage with him, and 
 introduced him to my wife. He thanked me for 
 my kind and faithful treatment of him at the time 
 I preached against him, and for my successful 
 attack on Universalism. "Yes, sir," he said, 
 "that sermon was the most puissant assault that 
 I had ever met during all the years of my life as 
 a Universalist preacher. You carried your line 
 
ii4 Granville Moody. 
 
 of argument triumphantly over the basal ranges 
 of Universalism as I had never heard it done 
 before, and I met a Waterloo defeat, such as I had 
 never expected to meet. When you concluded I 
 was defeated, horse, foot, and dragoon. I have 
 renounced Universalism, and came to see you 
 to-day to ask you, as a favor, that you give me the 
 outlines of that argument, which I wish to put 
 into a book I am publishing on the grounds of 
 my change of opinions." I told him I had not a 
 single line of all I said that day on Universalism. 
 I had almost concluded not to say one word that 
 afternoon on the subject of Universalism ; but my 
 irresolution vanished on hearing that powerful 
 prayer of Brother Conrey. He said he remem- 
 bered that prayer, that it was the key-note of suc- 
 cess. I added : " Well, I made up my mind to 
 attack Universalism while I was on my knees in 
 private prayer. The whole affair was extempora- 
 neous ; your request for a copy is an impossibility, 
 I had not one written line, and it vanished with 
 the breath that gave it birth. I have not a frag- 
 ment of that sermon to hand you." 
 
 He said he had held scores of debates, East and 
 West, but had never had such an attack as that. 
 He united with the followers of Alexander Camp- 
 bell. I replied to the surprise he manifested on 
 being told that the discourse was extemporaneous : 
 
 "If you shall speak or preach extempore, 
 You may be less correct, but much more free ; 
 New thoughts will spring up as you pass along, 
 And honest zeal for many faults atone." 
 
At Oxford. 115 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AT OXFORD. 
 
 ABOUT the third Thursday in September, 
 1840, I came to the pastorate of Oxford Sta- 
 tion. President George Junkin was elected a 
 few months previously to Miami University, and 
 reached Oxford the same day that I did. He 
 preached his first sermon at the Associate Re- 
 formed Church, of which Mr. Claybaugh was pas- 
 tor, the ensuing Sabbath afternoon. A notice of the 
 service, with invitation to attend Dr. Junkin's ini- 
 tiatory service, was furnished to the Methodist, and, 
 we presume, to all the Churches in Oxford. I gave 
 out the notice with pleasure, and urged all our 
 congregation to go and hear the Doctor's sermon 
 at half-past two P. M. 
 
 I went at the hour, finding a densely crowded 
 audience, but succeeded in getting a sitting 
 in the third pew from the door. Dr. Junkin 
 had the unenviable sobriquet of " Heresy Hun- 
 ter," and he signalized his debut on this occasion 
 by an^onslaught on Methodism. "I saw," he said, 
 "diagonally opposite this building a Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, where, I presume, the doctrines 
 of John Wesley are dispensed itinerantly, and you 
 will hear the possibility and danger of a child of 
 God backsliding, and so becoming a child of Satan ; 
 
n6 Granville Moody. 
 
 an heir of grace and glory losing both by back- 
 sliding ; a child of God and an heir of glory laps- 
 ing into the character and condition and doom of 
 an apostate ; a regenerated man liable to final and 
 fatal degeneration ! No, my dear friends, we have 
 not so learned Christ nor Christianity. Neither 
 the craft nor malice of Satan and all his hosts is 
 able to pluck a sonl away from Christ, nor drive 
 saints to their undoing. But such crudities in 
 logic and theology will have their day. In pass- 
 ing through your noble State I spent a day or two 
 in its capital, and was pleased to notice the ample 
 provision made for the infirm in mind." 
 
 I restrained my feelings till the close of the 
 meeting, and just as the terminal words of the 
 benediction were uttered, I stepped out into the 
 aisle and said: " Dr. Junkin, I invite you and this 
 audience to the Methodist Church, in this place, 
 to hear my reply to the attack at this hour on its 
 well-known theological tenets, the possibility and 
 danger of a saint's total apostasy from a state of 
 grace. As Paul saith : ' Take heed, brethren, lest 
 there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, 
 in departing from the living God ; for we are 
 made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning 
 of our confidence steadfast to the end.' This 
 Sabbath evening, if you please, Dr. Junkin, and 
 this audience." 
 
 I went to my study, having told my wife to ex- 
 cuse me to all callers, and at half-past six P. M. to 
 have a cup of tea and some toast ready for me. 
 What an afternoon was that of devout and confid- 
 
At Oxford. 117 
 
 ing prayer for divine direction and illumination and 
 aid! I prayed: "O Lord, give me a text and di- 
 vine direction. Lay thine hand upon me, so that, 
 speaking, I may speak only as the oracles of God." 
 The text I selected was Colossians i, 19-23: "For 
 it pleased the Father that in him should all full- 
 ness dwell ; and, having made peace through the 
 blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things 
 unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be 
 things in earth or things in heaven. And you, 
 that were sometime alienated and enemies in your 
 mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 
 in the body of his flesh through death, to present 
 you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in 
 his sight : if ye continue in the faith grounded 
 and settled, and be not moved away from the 
 hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and 
 which was preached to every creature which 
 is under heaven ; whereof I Paul am made a 
 minister." 
 
 The excitement in the town was intense. It 
 was a bland and moonlit evening. The weather 
 was favorable. The brethren were all alert for 
 the general accommodation. They took all the 
 bottom and top windows out of the frames, so 
 that the people could better see and hear. By 
 preaching-time the house was completely filled, 
 and a multitude outside, double that within, had 
 assembled to hear the young preacher against the 
 old war-horse on the topic of Wesleyan versus 
 Calvinistic theology. 
 
 The devotional services having been completed, 
 
n8 Granville Moody. 
 
 I proceeded from the foregoing text to present the 
 gospel themes stated : 
 
 First. All fullness for saving purposes is found 
 in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Second. Believers are to be presented holy and 
 unblamable in his sight. 
 
 Third. The gravamen specified : " If ye con- 
 tinue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be 
 not moved away from the hope of the gospel" as 
 preached by the apostle. 
 
 The labor of the evening was bestowed upon 
 the third division of the subject : i. Continuance in 
 the faith required as the condition of success ; 
 2. Not being moved away from the hope of the gos- 
 pel enjoined ; 3. The possibility of total and final 
 apostasy to perdition ; or the danger of total relin- 
 quishment of religion by a final departure from 
 the living God. 
 
 This last was the case with the apostatizing 
 angels ; they departed from the living God by 
 sinning. Jude adduces this apostasy as our warn- 
 ing: "And the angels which kept not their first 
 estate, but left their own habitation, he hath re- 
 served in everlasting chains under darkness, unto 
 the judgment of the great day ;" and that judg- 
 ment is to a ruin complete and eternal. "De- 
 part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre- 
 pared for the devil and his angels," is the doom 
 of the condemned of earth. These once holy 
 angels sinned against God during their proba- 
 tionary state, and were cast out of heaven under 
 the abiding and withering curse of a sin-hating 
 
At Oxford. 119 
 
 God. Their first estate was a holy one. They, in 
 common with all the angelic hosts, were limited 
 in their locomotion, and by the fiat of Jehovah 
 were confined to their specified' apartments as the 
 test of their obedience. The command was, 
 "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." God 
 was pleased to put these lofty beings, with aston- 
 ishing powers of locomotion, on the bounds. 
 "Stay here," he said, "nor cross those lines into 
 the circumjacent regions, till I see fit to give you 
 the bounds of the universe for the range of your 
 curiosity and adventure, as your reward. Your 
 submission to this, my limitation, shall be the test 
 of your submission to my rightful sovereignty." 
 Lucifer, the son of the morning, at length ques- 
 tioned the right of such restriction : "What ! must 
 we be cabined, cribbed, confined to these diminu- 
 tive restrictions, and limited to these domains of 
 restricted commerce ? What harm can come from 
 the unlimited use of these bright wings of ours? 
 'Tis blank and purblind abuse of our rights to in- 
 terpose with such tyranny, and expect our blind 
 obedience to his fiat. And see afar what shining 
 zones and starry scenes ; and see yon bright forms 
 of light and beauty ; and list, ay, listen to their songs 
 of rapturous joy, transcending ours afar. I am 
 going." A spirit of wild disregard for God sprang 
 up, and spread along the hosts, till one-third of the 
 number joined in the dread revolt. A mighty mul- 
 titude against the supremacy of heaven ; angels 
 who kept not their first estate, but left their own 
 habitation. 
 
120 Granville Moody. 
 
 This is the inspired record of that great apos- 
 tasy ; and we have the warrant of the Word of in- 
 spiration to cite these backsliding angels as a 
 warning against the crime of high-handed apos- 
 tates. I but follow the practice of inspiration in 
 adducing this instance of apostasy from God and 
 holiness and heaven. This obedience to God was 
 the ground of the election of that portion of the 
 angels known as "the elect angels," referred to 
 by Paul when he said to Timothy: "I charge 
 thee, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 the elect angels, that thou observe these things." 
 
 We see this doctrine in 2 Chronicles xv, 2 : 
 "The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; 
 and if ye seek him he will be found of you ; but 
 if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." We hear 
 David in his adress to Solomon say: "And thou, 
 Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy 
 father, and serve him with a perfect heart and 
 with a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all 
 hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of 
 the thoughts ; if thou seek him, he will be found 
 of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee 
 off for ever." In Ezekiel xviii, 24-26: "But 
 when the righteous man turneth away from his 
 righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth 
 according to all the abominations that the wicked 
 man doeth, shall he live? All his righteous- 
 ness that he hath done shall not be mentioned ; 
 in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his 
 sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 
 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. 
 
At Oxford. 121 
 
 Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not my way 
 equal ? are not your ways unequal ? When a 
 righteous man turneth away from his righteous- 
 ness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them ; 
 for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." 
 In the thirtieth verse: "Therefore will I judge 
 you, O house of Israel, every one according to his 
 ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn 
 yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity 
 shall not be your ruin." Verse 32 : " For I have no 
 pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the 
 Lord God ; wherefore turn yourselves and live." 
 
 In Matthew v, 13, Christ says of his own 
 peculiar people: "Ye are the salt of the earth; 
 but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall 
 it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, 
 but to be cast out, and to be trodden under the 
 foot of men." Thus salt may lose its saltness, 
 and then wherewith shall it be salted again? It 
 is to be cast out. Maundrell, the traveler, speaks 
 of vast beds and ridges and jetties of rock-salt, 
 that had become sharply crystallized ; but had lost 
 the last vestige of saline qualities, and were good 
 for nothing but to be cast out on slippery places, 
 in icy times to be trodden under feet of men, to 
 keep them from falling. Christ knew of no means 
 of restoring the saltness. We may say by Christ's 
 authority as Mr. Wesley does in the hymn : 
 
 "Ah! Lord, with trembling I confess, 
 A gracious soul may fall from grace; 
 The salt may lose its seasoning power, 
 And never, never find it more. 
 
122 Granville Moody. 
 
 Lest that my fearful state may be, 
 Each moment knit my soul to thee; 
 And lead me to the mount above, 
 Through the low vale of humble love." 
 
 In Matthew xviii, we find the instructive 
 histories of the debtor who owed ten thousand 
 talents, but whose compassionate creditor, when 
 the debtor owned the debt, loosed him and for- 
 gave him the debt. This same pardoned debtor 
 went out and laid hands on his fellow-servant, who 
 owed him one hundred pence, and took him by the 
 throat, saying: "Pay me that thou owest. And 
 his fellow-servant said, Have patience with me, 
 and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but 
 went and cast him into prison, till he should pay 
 the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what 
 was done, they were very sorry, and came and told 
 unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, 
 after that he had called him, said unto him, . . . 
 I forgave thee all that debt, . . . shouldest not 
 thou also have had compassion on thy fellow- 
 servant, even as I had pity on thee ? And his lord 
 was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, 
 till he should pay all that was due unto him. So 
 likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, 
 if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his 
 brother his trespasses." Our moral debt is legally 
 due, but graciously remitted ; but when we act 
 unbecomingly, the rightful claim is justly as well 
 as legally due, and we will be delivered to the 
 tormentors, till we shall pay all. Thus our gra- 
 cious pardon will be revoked if our subsequent 
 
At Oxford. 123 
 
 conduct to our debtors be at variance with the 
 forgiving spirit that had released us. 
 
 Final apostasy is possible ; for a man forgiven, 
 renewed, and adopted, may fall away, come into 
 condemnation again, and die therein, and thus 
 become a castaway, — 1 Corinthians, ix, 27 : " But I 
 keep my body under, and bring it into subjection ; 
 lest that by any means, when I have preached to 
 others, I myself should be a castaway." Thus 
 Saint Paul declared the danger of total and final 
 apostasy from Christ in his own case ; and if 
 apostasy was possible to him, surely it is to us 
 also. In 2 Peter ii, 21 : "For it had been better 
 for them not to have known the way of righteous- 
 ness, than, after they had known it, to turn from 
 the holy commandment delivered unto them." 
 
 Thus we find Ezekiel, Paul, and Peter, all 
 agreeing in terms unequivocal and definite to the 
 possibility and danger of total and final apostasy 
 from Christ. "Therefore, let him that thinketh he 
 standeth, take heed lest he fall." 
 
 The epistle to the Hebrews is, as a whole, 
 an inspired argument and warning against the 
 lapse of real Christians from their state in grace 
 to an apostasy, complete and final, from Christ 
 and Christianity. The epistle teaches that real 
 Christians may renounce Christ and the hopes of 
 Christianity, and measure back their steps to the 
 broad road that leads to destruction. In chapter 
 vi, 4-6, it is written: "For it is impossible for 
 those who were once enlightened, and have tasted 
 of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of 
 
124 Granville Moody. 
 
 the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of 
 God, and the powers of the world to come, and 
 have fallen away, to renew them again unto re- 
 pentance ; seeing they crucify to themselves the 
 Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." 
 Dr. McKnight, a celebrated Calvinistic commen- 
 tator, gives this rendering in the sixth verse, 
 boldly affirming that there is no "if" in the origi- 
 nal, and that the English should appear, "and 
 have fallen away." 
 
 "He that despised Moses' law died without 
 mercy under two or three witnesses ; of how much 
 sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought 
 worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of 
 God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, 
 wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and 
 hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace ? . . . 
 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God." "Now the just shall live by faith, 
 but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no 
 pleasure in him. But we are not of them that 
 draw back unto perdition, but of them that be- 
 lieve to the saving of the soul." "Looking dili- 
 gently lest any man fail of the grace of God ; 
 lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble 
 you, and thereby many be defiled." " See that ye 
 refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped 
 not who refused him that spake on earth, much 
 more shall not we escape, if we turn away from 
 him that speaketh from heaven : . . . where- 
 fore we receiving a kingdom which can not be 
 moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve 
 
At Oxford. 125 
 
 God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear; 
 for our God is a consuming fire." 
 
 Peter (Second Epistle i, 9) saith: "But he that 
 lacketh these things is blind, and can not see afar 
 off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from 
 his old sins;" and ii, 20, 21 : "For if, after they 
 have escaped the pollutions of the world through 
 the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus 
 Christ, they are again entangled therein, and over- 
 come, the latter end is worse with them than the 
 beginning. For it had been better for them not 
 to have known the way of righteousness, than, 
 after they have known it, to turn from the holy 
 commandment delivered unto them." In chapter 
 iii, 17: "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know 
 these things before, beware lest ye also, being led 
 away with the error of the wicked, fall from your 
 own steadfastness." Thus plainly does inspired 
 Peter teach the doctrine and the facts of apostasy 
 from Christ in the most positive manner. In vain 
 does an uninspired man deny the danger of a 
 saint's apostasy from Christ, with these plain 
 declarations of the Bible. 
 
 John, in his Second Epistle, eighth verse, saith 
 to the elect lady and her children, whom he loved 
 in the truth: "Look to yourselves, that we lose 
 not those things which we have wrought, but that 
 we receive a full reward." So there was danger 
 of losing the religion they had. In the final 
 utterances of Jesus Christ in Revelation, he de- 
 clares : "And if any man shall take away from the 
 words of the book of this prophecy, God shall 
 
126 Granville Moody. 
 
 take away his part out of the book of life, and out 
 of the holy city, and from the things which are 
 written in this book. He which justifieth, saith, 
 Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, 
 Eord Jesus." 
 
 This sermon, delivered promptly in the even- 
 ing of the day on which Dr. Junkin made his 
 ruthless attack on Methodism, had its designed 
 effect in Oxford, and was followed by successive 
 sermons from the Methodist pulpit for the ensu- 
 ing two years. The Calvinists were alarmed and 
 aroused as never known to be before, and every 
 pulpit in the town was alive with polemic the- 
 ology, and the young students shared in the gen- 
 eral excitement. 
 
 On Saturday forenoon I went to the post-office, 
 and had to wait for the distribution of a large 
 mail. Scores of students were assembled there, 
 and the faculty of the college were generally 
 present. Mr. William Y. Patton, of Mississippi, a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 a student in the senior class of the university, 
 was in the company. Addressing one of the pro- 
 fessors of the university, he said : " Professor, 
 please re-state your argument from the foreknowl- 
 edge of God, which you used before the class 
 yesterday morning, to Brother Moody." The pro- 
 fessor seemed reluctant, but Mr. Patton insisted ; 
 and there, in the presence of two hundred or three 
 hundred persons, a debate commenced, which 
 lasted till nearly twelve o'clock, noon. He in- 
 sisted that Calvinism was not rightly presented, 
 
At Oxford. 127 
 
 and I quoted: "By the decree of God, for the 
 manifestation of his glory, some men and angels 
 are predestined to everlasting life, and others 
 foreordained to everlasting death. Those angels 
 and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are 
 particularly and unchangeably designed, and their 
 number is so certain and definite that it can not 
 be either increased or diminished. Those of man- 
 kind that are predestinated unto life, God, before 
 the foundation of the world was laid, according 
 to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the 
 secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath 
 chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of his 
 own free grace and love, without any foresight of 
 faith or good works, or perseverance in either 
 of them or any other thing in the creature, as 
 conditions or causes moving him thereunto ; and 
 all to the praise of his glorious grace. As God 
 hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he 
 foreordained all the means thereunto. Where- 
 fore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, 
 are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto 
 faith in Christ, by his Spirit working in due season, 
 are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his 
 power, through faith unto salvation. Neither are 
 any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, 
 justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the 
 elect only.' , 
 
 The professor affected to be horrified at these 
 quotations, denied that the Confession of Faith 
 contained any such statements, charged it to our 
 ignorance or prejudice that we imputed such doc- 
 
128 Granville Moody. 
 
 trines to them. I instantly requested Mr. Patten 
 to go to President Junkin and get a Confession of 
 Faith. Being fleet of foot, he went to the college 
 and brought from President Junkin the book. We 
 selected a committee of reference, composed of 
 Lawyer Mayo and two others, to whom the Con- 
 fession of Faith was committed, and, after stating 
 my quotation, I turned to the well-known article, 
 and found that my recollection of it was perfect, 
 and called the attention of the committee to it, 
 and they fully agreed, and stated that I had ex- 
 actly quoted said article, word for word, and to the 
 confusion of Calvinism, and to the triumph of 
 truth. My victory was complete and positive, and 
 the effect was glorious. 
 
 The Presbyterians then sent off, and bought a 
 large box of " Annan's Difficulties of Arminian 
 Methodism," and circulated them. I then pub- 
 lished an edition of five hundred copies of the 
 " Dagon of Calvinism," which wrought effectually 
 in favor of the truth. 
 
 In the United States there are about fifty sects 
 which profess to take the Bible as a sufficient 
 rule of faith and practice. Those called Protest- 
 ants are about equally divided into Calvinists and 
 Free-willers. Both systems of doctrine held by 
 them were formulated and adopted about the 
 time of the Reformation. Since that time there has 
 been but little progress in theological knowledge 
 except as expressed, from time to time, by numer- 
 ous secessions from old bodies, and the adoption 
 of reformed creeds. These new movements, which 
 
At Oxford. 
 
 129 
 
 are the foot-prints of progress, have been invariably 
 denounced by the adherents of old ideas as heret- 
 ical, dangerous, and soul-destroying, but were, in 
 fact, the means of preserving and perpetuating the 
 Christian religion upon the earth. Luther, born in 
 1483, Calvin in 1509, Arminius in 1560, debated 
 these subjects fully. However, the doctrines bear- 
 ing the names of Arminianism and Calvinism di- 
 vided men hundreds of years before Calvin or Ar- 
 minius existed. 
 
 Fatalism and predestination, considered in their 
 alleged effects on man's will and action, are sub- 
 stantially the same thing. Aristotle, who died five 
 hundred years before Christ's incarnation, taught 
 the doctrine of fatalism. The Pharisees were 
 mainly predestinarians. Mohammed taught his 
 disciplest he same doctrine ; namely, that whatso- 
 ever happens in this life was predestined and 
 irrevocably fixed by the Supreme Power. This 
 doctrine, as applied to the Christian system by 
 John Calvin, is as follows : " Predestination we call 
 the eternal decree of God, by which he hath de- 
 termined, in himself, what he would have be- 
 come of every individual of mankind. For they 
 are not all created with a similar destiny ; but 
 eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal 
 damnation for others. Every man, therefore, 
 being created for one or the other of these ends, 
 we say he is predestined either to life or death." 
 Again, in speaking of total depravity, inherited 
 from Adam, and our accountability, he says: 
 " Nevertheless we derive from Adam not only the 
 
i3° 
 
 Granville Moody. 
 
 punishment, but also the pollution of sin, to which 
 punishment is justly due." 
 
 Of the five points of Calvinism, as adopted by 
 the Synod of Dort, an expounder says : " Election 
 is the immutable purpose of God, by which, be- 
 fore the foundations of the earth were laid, God 
 chose out of the whole human race a certain num- 
 ber of men, neither better nor worse than others, 
 to salvation in Christ, whom he had, even from 
 eternity, constituted head of all the elect." After 
 paying an eloquent tribute to the sufficiency of 
 Christ's atonement, to expiate the sin of the whole, 
 this commentator observes: "God willed that 
 Christ, through the blood of the cross, should ef- 
 ficiently redeem all those, and those only, who 
 were from all eternity chosen to salvation ;" " God 
 does not take away his Spirit wholly from his 
 own elect, even in lamentable falls ; nor permits 
 them to decline from the grace of adoption and 
 justification. " 
 
 The foregoing are the peculiar doctrines of 
 those Christians known as Calvinists, and, no 
 doubt, they are theoretically and honestly enter- 
 tained ; but, viewed from a practical stand-point, 
 it is certain nobody believes them, simply because 
 such ideas are not practical. If the elect fall 
 into sin, as is admitted, like reprobates or com- 
 mon sinners, no one can possibly tell who those 
 predestined to eternal life are. Further, men, by 
 virtue of their natural and moral instincts, gen- 
 erally take a very hopeful view of their own 
 chances of heaven through the Divine mercy. 
 
At Oxford. 131 
 
 All have noticed how hopeful parents are of the 
 salvation of their own families or relatives, even 
 when in death they left no proof of having found 
 Christ. Possibly some might allow that their 
 neighbors or neighbors' children had gone to hell 
 as predestinated reprobates, but they have not the 
 slightest notion of making their own bed in that 
 horrible place, nor of assigning their own families 
 to the pit! 
 
 Neither do Calvinists act on that principle in 
 their daily conduct and dealing with their fellow- 
 men. They feel and confess by their acts that 
 they are responsible to God and the laws of so- 
 ciety for their voluntary acts of right and wrong. 
 They seldom, if ever, set up the plea in extenuation 
 of their misdoings that God predestinated them 
 from all eternity ; therefore, but few ever believed 
 Calvinism in a practical sense. 
 
 John Calvin did not believe it. Michael Ser- 
 vetus, the Antitrinitarian, was born in 1500 A. D. 
 His rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity greatly 
 incensed the Papists and Calvinists. He escaped 
 the vengeance of the priests of Rome ; but the Cal- 
 vinists caught him passing through Geneva, and 
 burnt him alive, on the 27th of November, 1553. 
 Calvin was then supreme at Geneva, and his sec- 
 retary drew up the charges and appeared as the 
 principal witness. Now, if Calvin had believed 
 his own doctrine, he never could have given his 
 consent to the burning of Servetus as a heretic, 
 when it had been predestinated from all eternity 
 that he should be such. 
 
132 Granville Moody. 
 
 In the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church 
 in the United States of America, containing the 
 " Confession of Faith, the Catechisms, and the 
 Directory for the Worship of God," you may find 
 the following, and you may easily discern the fur- 
 ther points of difference between Methodism and 
 Calvinism : 
 
 u God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise 
 and holy counsel of his own will, freely and un- 
 changeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass, yet 
 so as thereby neither is God the author of sin, 
 nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, 
 nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes 
 taken away, but rather established. Although 
 God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass 
 upon all supposed conditions, yet he hath not de- 
 creed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or 
 as that which could come to pass upon such condi- 
 tions." Having disposed of the elect, the language 
 proceeds : " The rest of mankind God was pleased, 
 according to the unsearchable counsel of his own 
 will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy 
 as he pleaseth, for the glory of his soverign power 
 over his creatures, to pass by, and to ordain them 
 to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise 
 of his glorious justice. 
 
 Every minister in the Presbyterian Church 
 before being licensed to preach, every ruling elder 
 and every deacon before entering upon the duties 
 of his office, is required to give an affirmative an- 
 swer to the following, among other questions: 
 " Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confes- 
 
At Oxford. 133 
 
 sion of Faith of tins Church, as containing the 
 system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ?" 
 The foregoing statements of distinctive doc- 
 trine may be safely set down as the peculiar doc- 
 trine of the Presbyterian Church. These are not 
 the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; 
 this is plain and positive and well known. We 
 preach a free, a full, an increasing and abounding 
 and attested salvation to every son and daughter 
 of fallen Adam, through the second Adam, who 
 is " the way, the truth, and the life." 
 
134 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INCIDENTS IN ITINERANT LIFE. 
 
 IT was the rule at Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, 
 when I was stationed there, for one of the 
 pastors to be present in the Church office from nine 
 A. M. to eleven A. M., to attend on calls. One 
 morning a shrewd old negro, named Job Dundee, 
 called in and sat awhile. He was a remarkable 
 man, and a power in the Church. I said to him : 
 "Uncle Job, how came you to be a Methodist 
 Christian?" "Well, sar," said he, "I'll tell you. 
 You see I bought a forty-acre lot of land down 
 the river here, and I put up a smart log-cabin, and 
 cleared about thirty acres. I had a ten-acre field 
 left, which I kept for a hog-lot, as it was nearly 
 covered with heavy hickory and oak and beech 
 trees. I kept my hogs there, and in the fall I 
 would cut up my corn in the stalk, and throw it 
 over the fence, and the hogs would eat stalks 
 and all ; and they would ravage among the pea- 
 vines ; the nuts would fall from the trees, and 
 they would eat up the fallen acorns and nuts ; and 
 with this variety of feed, if you ever saw hogs 
 grow, mine did. One beautiful Sabbath morning 
 I went out to see my hogs, and they were busy, 
 and I was counting how much they would average 
 me by killing-time, about Christmas. I averaged 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 135 
 
 them at about two hundred and sixty-five pounds 
 a head. As I sat and watched them, I noticed 
 they never once looked up to the trees to see 
 where their feed came from, but kept their heads 
 and eyes down on the ground ; and presently 
 something said to me: 'Job Dundee, ain't you 
 just like them 'ar stupid swine out yander? You 
 have been eating and drinking and roaming and 
 sleeping, and never once looked up to heaven, and 
 to your great and gracious God, to see where your 
 blessings came from. Just like them stupid hogs, 
 you live on God's goodness ; but you never look 
 up to your Father in heaven to think where your 
 daily blessings come from. I remember a hymn 
 which says : 
 
 * Fools never lift their thoughts so high; 
 Like brutes they live, like brutes they die.' 
 
 "Conviction of sin came, and conviction that 
 I more resembled the stupid, willful, rooting hog 
 than a man made in the image of God. I felt 
 humbled and alarmed, and convinced of sin, and 
 especially of ingratitude. I seemed to hear a 
 voice saying : ' The ox knoweth his owner, and 
 the ass his master's crib ; but Israel doth not 
 know, my people doth not consider.' 'By God we 
 live and move and have our being, and it is 
 reasonable and right that we should live to Him 
 by whom we live.' 
 
 "My mind condemned me, my conscience 
 accused me. I got down off the fence, and down 
 by the lowest rail I bowed myself before God 
 that blessed Sabbath morning, and felt and 
 
136 Granville Moody. 
 
 acknowledged my badness of heart, and selfish con- 
 dition, and guiltiness before him in whom we live. 
 I bewailed my stupidity and swinishness, that had 
 made me, like the hog, to go with my eyes on the 
 earth, in search of earthly good, while forgetting 
 God, my Maker. I saw myself as I had never 
 seen myself before. I repented of all my sins, 
 asked forgiveness for Jesus' sake ; I looked up, and 
 was forgiven. I became a new creature ; old 
 things had passed away ; behold ! all things had 
 become new. I had a new God ; a new hope ; a 
 new rule of life ; a new class of feelings. I found 
 a new way ; and for more than thirty years I have 
 lived on the heavenly manna. I love the ever- 
 living God, in whom and to whom I live." 
 
 During this narration his whole body was in 
 motion with his soul. His dark countenance was 
 all aglow with celestial light. Tears of joy 
 mingled with his enraptured speech, and I greatly 
 enjoyed the recital of his transition from his 
 natural state. He went away rejoicing in hope 
 of the glory of God. He has passed away, to join 
 the general assembly and Church of the first-born, 
 whose names are written in heaven. 
 
 During my second pastorate in Fulton, in 1844, 
 a strange occurrence took place. My wife's long 
 and severe illness required me to go to several 
 strange places. One of these was a bakery on the 
 corner of Fifth and Sycamore Streets, with a door 
 opening into each street. By direction of our 
 family physician I went to this bakery for Boston 
 crackers. Whilst standing at the counter, Dr. 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 137 
 
 Strickland was standing in the area of the room. 
 Having made my purchase, as we went to the 
 door he told me that a lady stopped and looked 
 at me intently, then went around to the other 
 door and looked earnestly again, as if she were 
 acquainted and wanted to speak to me. " There 
 she goes up Sycamore Street," said he, pointing 
 to her. "That is she, dressed in black; she has 
 stopped and is looking back at you. She seems 
 to know you. She is coming back." 
 
 By this time she approached near enough to 
 speak, and asked me if I was a preacher ; and if 
 I preached in a brick church, with an elevated 
 causeway at the end of the church, by which the 
 congregation enter and retire from it. Had the 
 church one center aisle, with large pews on the 
 right and left ? Was the pulpit shaped like a 
 half-circle, with a large altar surrounding it? Did 
 you have a great revival meeting last winter, and 
 have many joined your Church ? I answered her 
 affirmatively, telling her we had between one 
 hundred and two hundred unite with Church 
 during the meeting. 
 
 She then asked me what business I had in that 
 corner bakery, where liquors were sold. I ex- 
 plained that they baked the best bread of that 
 kind in the city, and that, by direction of my family 
 physician, I was there making my purchase. 
 Then she said: u You are the very man I have 
 looked for in every pulpit in this city for three 
 months ; bnt I have sought in vain, till I hap- 
 pened to see you standing at the counter of this 
 
 12 
 
138 Granville Moody. 
 
 coffee-house-bakery, and I could not account for 
 your being in such a place after seeing you stand in 
 the pulpit as a preacher of the gospel, and leading 
 so many into the way of God. O, it is you, sir, 
 that I saw in the long brick church, preaching 
 Christ Jesus the Lord. 
 
 " I was asking for the true and right ways of 
 the Lord. I searched the Bible. I went to hear 
 the different preachers preach. I prayed for God 
 to guide me aright, but all was in vain. I took 
 sick and lay for three or four weeks, and then 
 died, and was conveyed to that holy, happy place 
 called heaven, where I saw Christ enthroned in 
 glory unseen on earth. I approached the throne 
 of grace and glory, and God in Christ spoke in 
 peace to me, and said: 'You must stay here a 
 short time, and then return to earth, and tell some 
 of the things you have seen and heard here, and 
 some things you must be silent about, of which 
 you will be warned by the Holy Spirit.' I re- 
 mained in heaven about two days, seeing and 
 hearing much about Emmanuel and the nature and 
 mysteries of the kingdom, in words unlawful to be 
 uttered upon earth. At this time I asked my 
 angelic conductor : ( Who, in yonder world, called 
 earth, is preaching the truth? for there are so 
 many kinds of preachers and various kinds of 
 gospel; who is right?' 
 
 " And the angel said : c Let us go to Jesus 
 Christ, the Lord, and he will tell us all about 
 it, if it is best and right for you to know.' So 
 we approached the throne, and my conductor 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 139 
 
 stated my wish, and the Lord, with a benignant 
 smile, said : ' Go with her to earth, and let her 
 hear the gospel preached in its purity and fullness, 
 and return here to join the chorus of the skies.' 
 
 " The angel guide bowed in reverence, as I 
 also did, and we departed ; and, with speed un- 
 known before, we came into the atmosphere of 
 earth, and approached a lighted city, and went by 
 a stream of water, and came to a place where a 
 great hill spread back from a beautiful river. We 
 sped along the banks of the river, and went down 
 a causeway and along a narrow bridge, and en- 
 tered the gable end of a house crowded with people, 
 and there in the pulpit, you, sir, stood and preached 
 the gospel of Jesus Christ. You then urged your 
 hearers to come to Jesus, with the prayer of pen- 
 itence to obtain mercy and find grace to help 
 in every time of need. You then asked the Church 
 to sing, and invited mourners to the altar, and 
 they came by scores — men, women, and children, 
 young and old — and knelt and prayed, and ago- 
 nized with God in prayer. 
 
 " You then declared that the happy gates of gos- 
 pel grace stand open, free and wide, and urged 
 every one to part with Satan and his sins, and 
 avouch the Lord to be his God. The people 
 rushed forward and joined the Church, and sealed 
 themselves unto the Lord, and were graciously re- 
 ceived, and sealed with baptisms of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " It was now late in the evening. The congre- 
 gation was dismissed, chiefly with solemn, smiling 
 faces. My angel conductor and I returned to 
 
140 Granville Moody. 
 
 heaven to relate what we had seen and heard, and 
 there was joy in heaven over the tidings of souls 
 renewed and sins forgiven. Now, I have told 
 you all that happened at your Church that night ; 
 are these things so ?" 
 
 I replied : " Madam, yes, they are. We have 
 enjoyed multiplied seasons of like precious and 
 abounding grace. I will give you directions how 
 to find our church. I want you to come up next 
 Sabbath, and see if you can recognize the place of 
 worship." I then wrote on a card a description 
 of the way, and invited the woman to come at 
 nine o'clock and attend class-meeting, and then, 
 at half past ten o'clock A. M., hear me preach. 
 
 Next Sabbath morning I was watching for her, 
 and went down street to meet her. She met me 
 with a solemn smile, saying : "I was here before. 
 These are the very steps we went down the side- 
 hill. There is the causeway to the gable-end of 
 the church ; there is the doorway we passed into 
 the church." When I opened the church-door, 
 the woman stopped, saying : " This is the very 
 place we came to ; there is the half-round pulpit, 
 the central aisle ; all is exactly as I told you when 
 I saw you in Cincinnati at the bakery with Dr. 
 Strickland." 
 
 We went to the parsonage, then to the church, 
 then home to dinner, and talked the whole matter 
 over with wonder, love, and praise. The woman's 
 husband had objected to the burial of her body 
 when she was supposed to be dead, on account 
 of its remaining warmth ; and after an apparent 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 141' 
 
 absence of her soul from it for two or three days, 
 she came out of her trance, and related the oc- 
 currences to me and to Dr. Strickland, who was 
 as much surprised as I was myself at these details. 
 
 In September, 1866, I was appointed pastor of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ripley, Ohio. 
 I arrived, was settled, and began pastoral work by 
 the middle of the month. I at once commenced 
 making pastoral calls, using my class-leaders as 
 guides. One of them, named Campbell Howard, 
 the leader of the class which met at noon on Sun- 
 days, was a man eminent for character and prac- 
 tical piety and godliness, a strictly exemplary 
 man. We commenced the pastoral visitation of 
 his large class, the members of which lived in the 
 country within a radius of three miles around 
 Ripley, and the visits employed us nearly three 
 days. 
 
 About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 
 second day's visitation, we came to a halt at a 
 large gate, about a mile and a half from town, 
 and Brother Howard said : " We have a member 
 living up this private road on yonder hill-top ; 
 but I do not know that it will do any good to 
 visit him, as he has not attended class for six 
 months ; and he is out with us, because I dunned 
 him for five dollars due on last year's quarterage. 
 He quit attending Church, and, I fear, does not 
 care much for religion now." I replied : " He is 
 the very man we need to see ; let us go. I am 
 sent specially to the lost sheep of the house 
 of Israel." He smiled approval, opened the gate, 
 
142 Granville Moody. 
 
 and drove into the open field, which extended 
 back from the turnpike, and commenced ascending 
 the steep hill. We soon had to fasten our horses 
 to a tree, and climb the hill afoot. We followed 
 the margin of a meandering rivulet, that found 
 its devious course adown the steep declivities of 
 the farm. 
 
 As we were wending our way along, we saw 
 in the road ahead of us a group made up of a 
 man, a woman, and three small children, the young- 
 est carried by the mother, while the father, with 
 wearied steps, carried a bag of potatoes. They 
 had stopped on our approach, and Brother How- 
 ard, in an undertone, told me that the man was 
 the son of the old gentleman we were going to 
 visit, that those with him were his wife and chil- 
 dren, and that they had just moved in from Indi- 
 ana. The man had been sick for a long time in 
 Indiana, and they were in very poor circumstances. 
 I said that we might do them good in their troubles. 
 Brother Howard introduced me, and I spoke 
 kindly to the man and his wife, asking the names 
 of their children, and said : " I hope you have the 
 comfort and strength of real Christians in your 
 hearts to aid you in bearing the ills that flesh is 
 heir to." They answered that they were not Chris- 
 tians, and the wife added : " I have often thought 
 it would be better for us both, and for our children 
 with us, if we were true Christians." "Well," 
 said I, " what hinders your becoming Christians 
 right here and now ? God is willing. Christ is a 
 precious Savior for you. The Holy Spirit waits 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 143 
 
 to enter in. Here is the class-leader, Brother 
 Howard ; I am the pastor of the Church in Ripley, 
 and here is this rippling mountain current, with 
 its pure and sparkling waters for your baptism, 
 and equally for your children. Just here and now 
 repent, believe, obey, and be at peace with God, 
 and go down to your house with the gospel's 
 double blessing, pardon, and holiness — a fivefold 
 blessing. Indeed, I can promise you, here and 
 hereafter, pardon for all the past ; a new heart and 
 a right spirit ; an assured sense of God's favor 
 and blessing ; providential guidance, living, and 
 dying a good hope through grace ; and, after 
 death, the plenitude of heaven. Now, why not 
 give yourselves to God right here and now, and 
 consecrate yourselves, and your children with you, 
 to be the Lord's forever, and claim and have him 
 as your God in Christ forever? Amen." 
 
 At the close of this gospel overture the woman 
 was in tears, and said : " I wish he would do so. It 
 is right we should, and I am so glad we may. We 
 ought to have done so long before now, and I be- 
 lieve it would be best and the right thing to do." 
 "What!" said the husband, "out here? Let us 
 wait till some Sunday, and join the Church then." 
 "What!" said I, "when God says: < To-day, if ye 
 will hear his voice ;■' * Now is the accepted time ; 
 behold, now is the day of salvation ?' To-day, 
 and here, and now, repent, believe, obey, and be 
 at peace with God." The tears rolled down both 
 their faces, and I continued : " Here is the pure, 
 rippling water, saying, 'Come, believe, obey, and 
 
144 Granville Moody. 
 
 be at peace with God.'" He said: "We will." 
 I directed the mother to give her sleeping babe to 
 the class-leader, and they came and knelt down 
 by the glad, laughing waters, and sealed their cov- 
 enant with God, having the answer of a good con- 
 science, and their bodies washed with pure water. 
 
 I recited the service for baptism from memory, 
 and both parties responded appropriately. Stand- 
 ing beside the rapidly running stream, which 
 seemed delighted with its part of the service in 
 supplying the sacramental water, I asked them, 
 individually and jointly, the questions in the bap- 
 tismal covenant. I baptized them in the name of 
 the Holy Trinity, closing with the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 They arose with Jehovah's shining seal of bap- 
 tismal waters upon them, and we gave them the 
 right hand of Christian fellowship. Then I quoted, 
 "The promise is unto you and your children;" 
 and asked them, "Will you present your house- 
 hold to the Lord?" They gladly agreed together 
 to do so. I knelt down by the running stream, 
 after having repeated from memory the formula 
 for infant baptism. I received the children into 
 my arms, and naming each child after the name 
 given by the parents, I baptized them in the 
 name of the Holy Trinity, and added: "The 
 Lord receive and bless and save and remember 
 this solemn service in all succeeding years." The 
 name given to the baby was Ulysses Grant, and 
 I prayed: "May this child 'fight it out on this 
 line, if it takes all his summers' and all his 
 years." I called on Brother Howard to conclude 
 
Incidents in Itinerant l,ife. 145 
 
 the service with prayer ; and then, pronouncing 
 the apostolic benediction, I dismissed the company. 
 
 The baptized family resumed their journey 
 down the hill, and we went up the hill to the 
 house of the father and mother, to whom we re- 
 ported in detail what the son and his wife had 
 done, and how their children all were baptized 
 into the Church of God. The father was sur- 
 prised, delighted, and deeply affected at what had 
 occurred. He wept and rejoiced, and repented 
 too ; and pledged us to resume his duties in the 
 Church, and start afresh for heaven. He prom- 
 ised, with a full and penitent heart, to co-operate 
 in the good work begun in his son's family. He 
 kept his promise faithfully and persistently to the 
 day of his death, some years afterward. 
 
 The next Sabbath the young man was present 
 at the church, and himself and wife united 
 therewith. 
 
 In the winter of 1875 I left Ripley one Friday 
 morning to attend the second quarterly meeting 
 for Williamsburg Station. The weather was very 
 inclement, and I was encompassed with blankets, 
 coverlets, and India-rubber clothes in abundance. 
 At a certain point I turned off from the turnpike 
 into a mud road. I soon discovered a mud-hole 
 in the center of the road, and thought I could 
 pass it on the left ; but the horse, shying from the 
 left, plunged the right wheel into the hole, which 
 proved to be two feet deep, the wheel sinking up 
 to the hub, and the buggy careened. 
 
 The horse became very much excited and 
 
146 Granville Moody. 
 
 restive, while I was so bound up in wraps that it 
 required great exertion to extricate myself. For- 
 tunately I succeeded in doing this, and leaped 
 out, sinking in the mud to my knees, and then 
 to my hips. I took the horse by the bit, when a 
 man and boy came along. We unloosed the har- 
 ness and righted up the buggy. 
 
 After getting the horse into the shafts, and 
 myself back into the buggy, I asked the man what 
 I should pay him for the assistance he had ren- 
 dered. His reply was remarkable : " When you find 
 any other man in trouble, help him out as I have 
 helped you, and that will square the account." I 
 commended the Christian sentiment expressed, 
 and thanking him for the sentiment, I also thanked 
 him warmly for the assistance he had just ren- 
 dered me. I asked him: "Are you a Christian?" 
 "No," he replied, "I am not, and never expect 
 to be." I preached Jesus and his salvation to him 
 so earnestly, that he inquired: "Who are you?" 
 I replied: "I am a Methodist preacher, now pre- 
 siding elder of this Ripley District, and am on my 
 way to Williamsburg to hold the second quarterly 
 meeting for that station." "What," said he, "are 
 you Granville Moody?" "I am," said I. "Well, 
 I have heard so much about you that I am glad 
 to see you." I hoped that we should both rejoice 
 that we had formed each other's acquaintance. 
 
 I then proposed that we join in united prayer 
 at six A. M., and at one P. M. and at six P. M. for a 
 five minutes' prayer till we should meet again three 
 months hence. I urged him to agree to this 
 
Incidents in Itinerant Life. 147 
 
 arrangement. I wept, and he wept, and said : "I 
 will." I said: u Thank God for that promise, and 
 let us now pray before we part." I prayed that this 
 strange interview might result in his speedy con- 
 version. His face was covered with tears when I 
 closed. I pronounced the benediction upon him, 
 and we parted. I learned afterward that this man 
 was the terror of the whole county, a pugilist, and 
 a hard case that everybody was afraid of, and that 
 there was small ground to hope for his conversion. 
 I requested the Church, at the quarterly meeting, to 
 pray to God for the man's awakening, conversion, 
 and salvation. I engaged as many as I could in- 
 terest in the man that helped me, that God would 
 help him who so timely assisted his servant in 
 in his distress. 
 
 Some three months afterward as I was passing 
 through that neighborhood in my buggy, I met the 
 man, and our recognition was mutual. What an 
 experience he had to relate ! He said that the 
 next evening he went to a protracted meeting, 
 and related at the close of the meeting, to the 
 congregation, what had happened in the way, and 
 requested an interest in the prayers of that con- 
 gregation, then and there. He kneeled at the 
 mourners' bench, and in a short time the prayers 
 of all for his salvation were answered. He joined 
 the Church ; his wife was converted, and also 
 united with the Church. His daughters shared in 
 the abounding grace, and the revival in the neigh- 
 borhood spread till scores were converted and 
 added to the Church. He told me of what God 
 
148 Granville Moody. 
 
 had done for his soul, and insisted that my mishap 
 in being upset in the road was the means of 
 setting him up with the people of God. He re- 
 joiced that he had met me in my adversity; it had 
 proved a means of grace to his soul. Glory be to 
 the wonder-working God, who brings good out 
 of evil ! 
 
Sabbath-Keeping. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SABBATH-KEEPING. 
 
 AT the close of my second term of service in 
 Fulton, the brethren from all parts of the 
 conference wrote me to charter a light-draught 
 steamer to take them from Cincinnati to Marietta, 
 the place selected for the session of the Ohio Con- 
 ference. I made a contract with the owners of 
 the Little Ben to take one hundred preachers from 
 Cincinnati to Marietta and intermediate points 
 and return, at certain rates ; to leave Cincinnati at 
 nine A. M., on Tuesday, the last week in August. 
 
 At early dawn of the day on which conference 
 was to open, we were forty or fifty miles below 
 Marietta. I asked the captain when he could 
 land us at our destination. He replied : " Not before 
 half past ten or eleven o'clock." I asked if that 
 was the best he could do, and was told it was, 
 unless we could make some arrangement with the 
 engineer to increase the speed of the boat. 
 
 I took the hint, and went to the engineer and 
 asked him if he could increase the speed of the 
 boat so that we might reach Marietta by nine 
 o'clock. He informed me that he could by raising 
 the pressure of steam some ten or twenty pounds, 
 but that it would incur a risk of explosion. It 
 would also require the splitting of wood to feed the 
 
150 Granville Moody. 
 
 furnaces. The additional expense would be about 
 fifty dollars. "Will you put us there by nine 
 o'clock for an additional fifty dollars?" He an- 
 swered affirmatively, and I went up-stairs to con- 
 sult with the brethren and raise the amount. 
 
 Bishop Soule was among the first to agree to 
 the proposition. As each preacher handed in the 
 fifty cents needed from him, he also made a pledge 
 to pray for safety. I went down and told the en- 
 gineer the result. Soon a strange elasticity was 
 observed in the movements of our steamer. We 
 raised waves twice the former size on the star- 
 board and port. Little Bat seemed instinct with 
 life and rolled ahead. At eight-forty-five we made 
 the landing, and, wending our way to the church, 
 were in time for the opening services. 
 
 This was a. stormy conference. The recent 
 action of the General Conference (1844), in request- 
 ing, or rather requiring, Bishop Andrew to cease 
 his episcopal services till the embarrassments 
 growing out of his relation to slavery should cease, 
 produced much excitement. The session was pro- 
 longed till Friday of the second week. 
 
 In returning from conference the steamer got 
 aground, and we were on a bar all Friday night. 
 All hands were up early to get the steamer afloat. 
 After ineffectual efforts, the officers and crew unani- 
 mously elected me captain to get the steamboat 
 afloat. I agreed to take charge on condition that 
 there be no profane swearing. I got two scows from 
 the adjacent shore, and unloaded the cargo and 
 about one hundred passengers into them ; planted 
 
Sabbath-Keeping. 151 
 
 spars on her opposite bows, and, by means of the 
 capstan, lifted the bow, started the wheels, and by 
 so combining these forces, hove the boat into 
 deeper water. We reloaded the steamboat, dis- 
 pensed with the scows, and, going about a mile 
 below Guyandotte, we made fast to the shore. I 
 received a vote of thanks from the crew and pas- 
 sengers for my management. 
 
 I arose early next morning, the Sabbath, and 
 was suprised to find steam up, and preparations 
 being made to get under way. I went to the cap- 
 tain and protested against traveling on the holy 
 Sabbath-day. He insisted on going, and I resisted, 
 claiming that I had chartered the steamboat to 
 and from conference ; that we had, by bad steer- 
 age, lost a day, and that we, as Christian minis- 
 ters, protested against being compelled to break 
 the holy day of the Lord by doing ordinary work 
 therein. 
 
 A Jew took sides with the captain, and insisted 
 on going forward. I remarked to George W. 
 Walker that this man had not in any way kept or 
 sought to keep Saturday, his own Jewish Sabbath- 
 day, and now he wanted us to be compelled to 
 break the Lord's-day, and, withal, that I saw him 
 eating slice after slice of ham yesterday as I sat 
 opposite him at table, and that a hog-eating Jew 
 was a poor counselor, and a worse example for 
 Christian ministers to follow. He did not keep 
 his own Sabbath on yesterday, and now comes 
 demanding that a steamboat, with one hundred 
 Christian ministers on her, shall break the Sab- 
 
152 Granville Moody. 
 
 bath of the Lord our Savior. "No," said I, "let 
 us not yield to this Christ-despising Jew, and 
 break God's law of the Sabbath that was made for 
 man, and to be kept holy in all our dwellings." 
 " No," said the now sainted George W. Walker, 
 " I shall not remain on board this steamboat if its 
 owners persist in breaking the Lord's-day of rest 
 by running it to-day." 
 
 Bishop Waugh came to me and said : " What 
 are you going to do if the captain insists on mak- 
 ing the trip to-day?" " Do?" said I, " why, I shall 
 insist on being set ashore." " Good !" said the 
 bishop ; " I '11 go ashore with you." He got his 
 trunk out of his room into the cabin. Just 
 then Bishop Soule came and took Bishop Waugh 
 into his state-room. Shortly after, Bishop Waugh 
 came to me and said : " Brother Moody, I believe I 
 will not leave the boat this morning; we are 
 providentially detained." "And so you will vol- 
 untarily travel on the Sabbath, because a steers- 
 man, maybe with a glass too much ahead, de- 
 tained the steamer till Sabbath morning? Do as 
 you are advised ; but as for me, I shall keep the Sab- 
 bath of the Lord, and leave this Sabbath-breaking 
 steamboat, captain, and crew." 
 
 And so we did. Some ten or twelve ministers 
 asked to be set ashore. The captain, when ten 
 or eleven had gone over the "narrow way," 
 turned the other side of the plank up, which was 
 so greasy from having bacon handled over it that 
 I could not walk the plank without slipping on 
 its greasy surface. While the captain was hal- 
 
Sabbath-Keeping. 153 
 
 loing, I went to the furnace, and holding a silver 
 quarter of a dollar to the black fireman told him 
 to throw a large bucket of ashes on the greasy 
 way. He did it with such precision and swiftness 
 as made walking safe, and trunk in hand I 
 descended the way of holiness, safely reached the 
 shore, and received the congratulations of my com- 
 rades who had preceded me. We piled our trunks 
 upon the beach, clambered up the banks, and the 
 steamer rang her bell and went on her way. 
 
 We saw a fair country spreading around, a 
 large brick house on a gentle eminence, and 
 wended our way to it. As we approached the 
 spacious house, we saw its owner, a courtly gen- 
 tleman, approaching us. When he came within 
 hailing distance, he removed his large white hat, 
 and bowed, and said : " Gentlemen, I bid you 
 welcome to the hospitalities of my home. My 
 name is Ladely. You are welcome to my prem- 
 ises." George W. Walker then addressed him, 
 saying: "We are Methodist preachers of the Ohio 
 Conference, which has just closed its session in 
 Marietta. Our steamer met with a mishap, and 
 we were all Saturday regaining the channel, and 
 were laid up here yesterday in the evening. This 
 morning the captain fired up, and, after an early 
 breakfast, insisted on starting; but governed by 
 our principles, which forbid traveling on the 
 Lord's-day, we left the Sabbath-breaking steam- 
 boat, and so are here." 
 
 Smiles and tears mingled in his counte- 
 nance. "Welcome! welcome! welcome! Brethren 
 
154 Granville Moody. 
 
 beloved in the Lord, I welcome you each and all 
 to my heart and home. I also am a Methodist, 
 and shall rejoice to shelter you." 
 
 After introducing us to his family, he said : 
 "It is but half after eight o'clock, and we shall 
 be delighted to hear you preach. For expediting 
 business, let me preside as bishop, and you will 
 aid me in making the appointments for the day. 
 There will be two places in Guyandotte. I will 
 recommend Walker and Moody to them ; to a 
 country appointment in a large church, Brother 
 Gassner; to the academy, William Herr." 
 
 Thus we were assigned, and, stepping to the 
 door, he called his colored man, who quickly re- 
 sponded, as "the King's business requires haste." 
 "Dick," he said, "you go to Guyandotte with this 
 appointment to our preacher. Pompey, you go 
 with this appointment to the country church. 
 Abraham, you take this appointment to the 
 academy. Tell in each place that divine worship 
 and preaching by Ohio preachers will begin at 
 half-past ten o'clock this morning. Now hurry, 
 boys, and tell the preachers, if they please, to 
 invite and urge all their people to meet here this 
 evening for a mass-meeting." We were requested 
 to announce meetings at three P. M. and at half- 
 past seven P. M., at Representative Ladely's. 
 
 We each had a pleasant day with our stranger 
 friends ; but the evening meeting was a huge one. 
 The ample house-lot held hundreds of orderly 
 listeners, and a multitude of Negroes came to hear 
 the Ohio preachers who honored God in keeping 
 
Sabbath-Keeping. 
 
 155 
 
 his Sabbath holy. After two or three addresses 
 by two or three of us, we turned the service into 
 an experience-meeting, and white and yellow and 
 black people mingled their recitals of what grace 
 had wrought in their souls, and the good hope all 
 entertained through grace. It was indeed good to 
 be there. I have no doubt that God was there, 
 and abundantly blessed the visitors and the 
 visited. 
 
 After a night of refreshing sleep we were 
 called up to an early breakfast, so that we could 
 get on the Dinkey, a small boat drawing but one 
 foot of water. Congressman Ladely had detailed 
 one of his slaves to go out and watch the arrival 
 of the boat, and had sent our baggage down to 
 the landing. We had a delightful season of family 
 worship, and then, with hearty relish, broke our 
 fast of the night with thankfulness of heart, and 
 went on our way rejoicing. 
 
 We were perfectly satisfied with our choice 
 and acts that beautiful September morning;, when, 
 presto, what is this? Here, out of the channel and 
 fast on a sand-bar, lay our Sabbath-breaking, God- 
 defying, reckless Little Ben, her guards crowded 
 with Bishop Soule and about seventy Methodist 
 preachers going home from conference, but now 
 stalled in their Sabbath -breaking Little Ben. We 
 passed within a rod of their side, but passed in 
 silence. In their lugubrious countenances they 
 seemed to give utterance to the monitory apo- 
 thegm, "The way of the transgressor is hard." 
 Bishop Waugh had left the Little Ben and taken 
 
156 Granville Moody. 
 
 an open boat to go to Portsmouth and preach in 
 the evening ; but he found the sun and its reflec- 
 tion on the waters of the Ohio so severe, that his 
 skin was much scorched, and he appeared before 
 the audience in poor plight for preaching. 
 
 Our boat reached Portsmouth in due time to 
 take the regular packet for Cincinnati at six P. M. 
 the same evening ; and thus we, Sabbath-keeping 
 Christians, beat the Sabbath-breaking Christians, 
 and got to Cincinnati a long time ahead of them, 
 and found that all is well that ends well. "The 
 end crowns the action." 
 
 Religion always ends well. Whatever diffi- 
 culties may be met with in the way, the end is 
 best. The general truth is abundantly verified 
 that "wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and all her paths are peace." Religion is true 
 wisdom. 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 157 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 extracts from early writings. 
 
 PUTTING ON CHRIST. 
 
 IN order to put on Christ, we must put off the old 
 man, or nature, which is corrupt by deceitful lusts. 
 Our old habits are like a filthy, tattered garment. 
 Christ will not impart the righteousness which is by 
 faith till, like Bartimeus, we cast away our garment, 
 and come to him for clean garments. If we could 
 put on the new and clean garment over the old and 
 filthy one, how then could we get the old garment off? 
 Christ will not have concord with Belial. " If any 
 man be in Christ he is a new creature." He is a 
 Christian, and "a Christian is the highest style of 
 man." He has a new God, a new rule of action, a 
 new object of pursuit, a new nature, a new heart, 
 a new name, a new road, a living way, new com- 
 panions, new desires, hopes, fears, aversions, anxieties, 
 and determinations ; and, if faithful, he shall have, as 
 a residence, a mansion in the house of God in the 
 New Jerusalem. — May 23, 1839. 
 
 negations. 
 
 Positive terms may be understood in different de- 
 grees of latitude. But this is impossible concerning 
 negative terms, inasmuch as a negative admits of no 
 degrees. Thus the exclusion of the impenitent unbe- 
 liever is expressed in the strongest negative terms, — ■ 
 " They shall not taste of my supper;" "not enter into 
 
158 Granville Moody. 
 
 my rest;" "hath not life;" "shall not see life;" 
 "their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched." 
 Now annex the positive terms, — " Shall be damned ;" 
 " shall be destroyed with everlasting destruction ;" 
 "shall be ill with the wicked;" "torment shall ascend 
 up forever and ever;" and you have the whole case 
 strongly stated by Him who can not lie. Future pun- 
 ishment in eternal succession is as plainly revealed as 
 future joy, and in the same way, in endless dura- 
 tion. — May 24., 1839. 
 
 FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES. 
 
 Faith in the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ 
 by all who have heard the gospel, appears from the 
 Word of God to be fundamental, necessary " causa 
 sine qua non" in the Christian religion. For if Christ 
 is set forth as a propitiation through faith in his 
 blood, then faith in his blood is fundamental ; and, as 
 the text speaks of him as a propitiation, then faith 
 must have reference to him in that character. How 
 can this exist in a person who denies the atonement, 
 and considers the death, the blood of Christ, merely 
 exemplary or as that of a martyr? 
 
 We are said to be justified by that faith of which 
 he is the object ; and if the conceptions of the Socin- 
 ians of that object are essentially different from ours, 
 then their faith must be as different, and ours or theirs 
 essentially defective or erroneous. If God's plan of 
 saving sinners requires a cordial acceptance of Christ 
 as the propitiation for the sins of the world; if we 
 have redemption in his blood by faith therein ; if look- 
 ing to Christ as crucified is a condition of cure ac- 
 cording to Christ's own teaching when he refers to the 
 brazen serpent, — then they who reject deliberately and 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 159 
 
 habitually every idea of vicarious atonement can not 
 be saved in that way. 
 
 Christ is said to be the end of the law for righteous- 
 ness to every one that believe th. Then justification 
 is the result of faith in Christ as the great antitype 
 of the legal sacrifices and ceremonies. He was our 
 vicar to die for us ; not only for our good, but in our 
 place and as our victim. How else could he have 
 fulfilled those types ? We are assured from the New 
 Testament, especially by the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 that the daily and annual sacrifices offered by the 
 Jews were typical of Christ ; but if they typified him at 
 all, it must have been in his death ; and if they typified 
 anything in his death, it must have been the atone- 
 ment which he made. They could not typify in him 
 the death of a martyr, sealing his doctrine with his 
 blood, or an example. These are true as far as they 
 go, but they do net go far enough. " He was wounded 
 for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities ; the 
 chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his 
 stripes we are healed." Thus by him we receive the 
 atonement. How, then, can those be benefited by 
 Christ as the Lamb slain, an offering for sin, who deny 
 the atonement and reject the atoning blooddi vine? 
 
 the truth. 
 
 God says : " Buy the truth, and sell it not." Buy 
 it, cost what it may. If it cost thee toil and labor, buy 
 it. If thou must sacrifice ease and emolument, buy it- 
 If thou give the world in exchange, buy it. If it cost 
 thee thy life, still buy the truth ; thou wilt be an in- 
 finite gainer. Sell it not on any conditions ; thou wilt 
 be a loser though a universe were received in ex- 
 change ; "for what shall it profit a man if he shall 
 
160 Granville Moody. 
 
 gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Even 
 a heathen hath said, "No evil man is happy;" and a 
 greater than Cicero has said, " There is no peace to 
 the wicked." 
 
 BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 Bereavements are sometimes rendered peculiarly 
 afflictive by the consideration that our sins have been 
 the cause of the decease of those dear to us, and by 
 conscience we are compelled to put that interpretation 
 on the occurrence recorded in i Kings xvii, 18 ; 
 viz., " to bring our sins to remembrance." We look 
 on the beloved dead whom we have pierced and slain, 
 whom we have neglected or treated with cold and in- 
 different behaviour, and no marvel that we mourn bit- 
 terly whilst we exclaim, " What have I done ?" 
 
 Ofttimes what we call bereavements are invest- 
 ments in heaven, transferred there by our Heavenly 
 Father, who cares for us and evinces his concern for 
 our weal, by storing up treasure for us in heaven, in- 
 asmuch as we are so negligent in this important matter. 
 Heaven is richer by those removals which cause us so 
 much pain, and earth is intentionally impoverished in 
 order to displace our affections from its mutable joys, 
 and induce us to look at those things which are above, 
 where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Our 
 earthly adhesions are broken or dissolved, so as to 
 wean our hearts from earthly things, and produce in us 
 the spirit of pilgrims and sojourners, declaring plainly 
 that " here we have no continuing city, but we seek 
 one to come that hath foundations, whose builder and 
 maker is God." 
 
 Thus are we prepared to say, " What have I here? 
 What do I here? Give me food to eat and raiment 
 to put on, and be with me in the way that I go, so that 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 161 
 
 I come to my Father's house in peace, and the Lord 
 shall be my God." 
 
 " When Heaven would set our spirits free, 
 And earth's enchantments end, 
 It takes the most effectual way, 
 And robs us of a friend." 
 
 Speaking politically, the departure of those who 
 are in Christ is a removal of the deposits from the 
 bank of earth to the safe inclosures of heaven, to 
 be disbursed to us as we shall need when mortality 
 shall be swallowed up of life. They are not lost, but 
 gone before ; and could their voices be heard from on 
 high, they would exhort us to follow them up the 
 shining way to see the glories unseen by mortal eyes, 
 and enjoy the felicities of our Father's house. They, 
 in supereminence of beatific vision, enjoy the pres- 
 ence of their Lord, whilst onward, in the dateless and 
 irrevoluble circle of eternity, the river of God's pleasure 
 rolls, supplying immortal pleasures for the honored 
 sons of God. Shall we, then, hang our harps upon the 
 willows, and our heads like bulrushes, and mourn for 
 their decease, when we know that they have died to 
 live ? They live above, and have received their golden 
 harps, strung and tuned for endless years, and are pour- 
 ing forth the full, free, melodious notes, which angels 
 use in honor of their God. Rather let us, by holy as- 
 piration and spiritual musings, enkindle our affections 
 till they burst in songs of praise to enliven our heaven- 
 ward pilgrimage, and thus make the services of earth 
 a prelude to those holier exercises which shall engage 
 our enlarged capacities when we shall see Him as he is. 
 
 Our friends, our relatives, have gone — whither ? To 
 their Father and our Father. We remember their 
 love, dear before, but O, how much dearer now ! 
 
1 62 Granville Moody. 
 
 Could we see them, we should love them more than we 
 did, more than we do. They are freed from all imper- 
 fection, and adorned with the splendors of the skies ; 
 they, with radiant glories, reflect the luster of the cen- 
 tral sun, high in the climes of bliss. My own dear 
 babe is there, my first-born,. my lovely Ellen; freed 
 from pain and free from the pollutions of the world ; 
 warbling the praises of her father's God ; caroling the 
 glories of the satisfying portion of her mother's saintly 
 spirit; waiting, according to the intelligence received 
 from heaven's King, to welcome us into the everlast- 
 ing habitations. Come, death and some celestial band, 
 to guide us upon high! 
 
 Early in my ministerial life I was called to be the 
 stay and support of a widowed mother, who was 
 mourning the loss of the best of husbands, the kindest 
 of fathers. With anguished heart and weeping eyes, 
 and womanly eloquence of grief, she told the tale of 
 woe, but mourned not as those who have no hope. 
 My father, William Moody, lived a life of faith, and to 
 Christian precept added the influence of a holy life. 
 Beloved by his family, respected in the world, honored 
 in the Church, he passed the term of his sojourning here 
 in humble love and filial fear. For him the grave had 
 no terrors, eternity no alarms. With an Abrahamic 
 faith, he resigned his all to God- When asked by my 
 dear mother whether light shone upon his path, he 
 replied with heroic calmness, although in the height 
 of the last conflict with the last enemy, " Harriet, I 
 have trusted Christ ; I must trust Christ ; I do trust 
 Christ;" and calmly rendered up his life at the com- 
 mand of God. 
 
 My brother, Edward Payson Moody, died at the 
 age of nine years, and gave us satisfactory evidence 
 that he sleeps in Jesus. Lately sister Ellen (Mrs. 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 163 
 
 Holliday) lost her babe, her boy, her only child; 
 Brother William has five babes in glory ; many have 
 gone. We are going, like clouds driven by the steady 
 wind. Rapidly we are hastening from horizon to 
 horizon, and soon, away from the gaze of mortals hur- 
 ried, we shall enter the boundless expanse of eternity, 
 the horizonless range of being, with immutable char- 
 acter, corresponding to the permanent institutions of 
 successive duration. Great God, forbid that any of us, 
 as clouds without water carried about of winds, or 
 wandering stars, should be hurried to the blackness of 
 darkness forever ! 
 
 " Then soon or late, o'er life's rough sea 
 By storms and tempests driven, 
 O may we meet, no wanderer lost, 
 A family in heaven !" 
 
 I have stood by the bedside of the Christian when 
 death was feeling for his heart-strings; when the long- 
 loved scenes of his life were retiring, proclaiming their 
 emptiness when the world, the hollow-hearted world, 
 owned itself to be a bruised, broken reed ; and the 
 physician was there, his rigid, set features showing 
 with how much fortitude he had taken his stand against 
 diseases, the van of death, and disputed every inch of 
 territory with the ruthless invader, but all in vain. 
 Baffled, disappointed, conquered, he grounds his arms 
 and yields his patient, though reluctantly. And there 
 were friends and family connections ; and there, too, 
 was the frail form of her who, in early life, by the now 
 dying man, was led to the altar, and there promised 
 to love, obey, and keep him in sickness as in health, 
 and forsaking all others to cleave to him till death 
 should them part. Faithfully she kept her plighted 
 vows, and through storm and calm, and joys and sor- 
 rows, she has accompanied him ; and, like the vine, the 
 
164 Granville Moody. 
 
 fruitful vine, she embraced him for weal or woe, for 
 better or for worse. The tendrils of her affections en- 
 twined themselves around the boughs of his more 
 rugged nature. The evergreen of her love, alike in 
 winter and in spring, adorned him most enviably, 
 clinging to him alike in the spring of life and when 
 wintry winds prevailed. When others, like neighboring 
 trees, stretched forth the hand of welcome, and wooed 
 her thence, she, with unchecked affections, clasped 
 him closer, still his wife, the light of his eyes, his solace 
 amid sorrows. 
 
 Yes, I have seen her at his dying bed. Her heart, 
 filled by its trembling fears, o'erflows in lamentations 
 and mourning and woe. She embraces the loved 
 form, though the seal of death is there. She lays her 
 fainting head on the heaving bosom of the dying man, 
 and holds strange converse with his fluttering spirit. 
 His eyes would fain kindle into the soft effulgence 
 of reciprocated love, but they fail. He lays his hand 
 upon her throbbing head, his tongue fails to supply 
 the vehicle of thought or love; but, still as the grave, 
 as though under its silent solemn influences, whilst 
 his frame shakes and his limbs tremble with the chills 
 of death, he embraces her and imprints, with lips quiv- 
 ering in agony, as first in life's fair morn, so now 
 in life's decline, the pledge of heart-felt love. His bless- 
 ing, like the dew of heaven, rests upon his children, 
 whilst his speaking eye and faltering tongue, and 
 every action, say, Meet me in heaven. 
 
 Yes, I have witnessed such scenes. I have, as a 
 minister of the gospel, administered the stimulating 
 cordials of God's promises. I have seen death con- 
 quered in the conflict, or held at bay by the majesty 
 of holiness. I have seen the believer walk, not fly 
 nor run, but walk as though he were in an eastern 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 165 
 
 spice-grove, through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 devoid of fear. We have sung the songs of Zion, the 
 songs of deliverance here in the strangest part of the 
 strange land, till all the regions were vocal with the 
 re-echoed notes of triumph. And between the music 
 of both worlds the holy spirit took its upward flight. 
 The abundant entrance thus administered into the 
 mansions of glory illuminated, as it were with heaven's 
 own radiance, the favored apartment, and we felt that 
 " God was not far from every one of us." 
 
 " Such the prospects that arise 
 To the dying Christian's eyes ; 
 Such the glorious vista faith 
 Opens through the shades of death." 
 
 — Montgomery, October, 29, /8jg, 
 
 THE WORD MADE FLESH. 
 
 Should it be asked why Christ is called the 
 "Word," the proper answer seems to be, that as a 
 thought or conception of the understanding is com- 
 municated by words, so is the divine will made known 
 by Jesus Christ to man. He is the offspring and 
 emanation of the eternal mind, a promanation pure 
 and undivided, like that of light, which is the proper 
 issue of the sun, and yet coeval with its parent orb. 
 Since the sun can not be supposed, by the most exact 
 and philosophical imagination, to exist a moment 
 without emitting light, — and if one were eternal, the 
 other, though strictly and properly produced by it, 
 would be as strictly and properly coeternal with it, — 
 so Jesus Christ is styled the only begotten of the 
 Father, the brightness of the Father's glory, the 
 express image of his person; according to a more 
 literal rendering, "the outbeaming of the Father's 
 glory-" 
 
1 66 Granville Moody. 
 
 As its regards the figurative allusion of the writer 
 of this text, we may observe that, as to the sun, it has 
 an inherent splendor and a proceeding splendor ; the 
 latter is not only of, or from, the former, but of the 
 same nature identically ; and also was in the inherent 
 splendor as well as now that it hath proceeded from 
 it, it is the proceeding splendor. Had the inherent 
 splendor been eternal, the proceeding splendor would 
 likewise have been eternal. So Jesus is, according to 
 the Nicaean creed adopted in the primitive and purest 
 ages of Christianity, " God of God; very God of very 
 God; begotten, not made; of one substance, power, and 
 glory with the Father; Light of Light." As we can 
 not know the mind of man but by speech, nor see the 
 sun but by his emitted light, so no man knoweth the 
 Father but the Son and he to whom he will reveal 
 Him. — October, 1839. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 The great Jehovah has spoken to man. He has 
 revealed his will. His word is for a lamp to our feet, 
 a light to our path. It contains the only and suffi- 
 cient rule of faith and practice. It is able to make us 
 wise unto salvation. How invaluable, then ! Its worth 
 is countless. Dark, dreary, and cheerless must be the 
 condition of those who enjoy not its light. It is diffi- 
 cult even to conceive their destitution. 
 
 We have contemplated man as a weary, way-worn 
 traveler, without a guide, whose pathway is dark and 
 dismal as the wing of the angel of despair, — sur- 
 rounded by snares, exposed to dangers, seductive in- 
 fluences breathing around him, no kind guiding hand, 
 no light beaming on his way, and beguiled by the 
 adversary, the deceiver. As a voyager on life's tem- 
 pestuous sea, he has no pilot, compass, or chart. The 
 
Extracts from Early Writings. 167 
 
 sea he navigates is full of dangers ; hidden rocks and 
 treacherous whirlpools are on every side. The cur- 
 tains of midnight envelop his gloom. The storm is 
 up. The wing of the tempest sweeps onward with 
 fury. That bird alone, whose birthplace was the habi- 
 tation of storms, whose cradle-bed was the bannered 
 clouds of heaven, rides in the wild and universal dis- 
 order which prevails. 
 
 Such is man's condition without the influences of 
 divine revelation. Thanks be to God for this un- 
 speakable gift, a guide for the Christian to 
 
 " The home of the Father above, 
 The palace of angels and God!" 
 
 It is at once pilot, chart, and compass, by which we 
 may navigate safely the dangerous sea of life. It is 
 the star which lends its steady light to the darkness 
 of our way. It is the glorious beacon-light, kindled 
 by Jehovah himself, to conduct man's frail and storm- 
 stossed bark to the haven of endless rest. May its 
 light rejoice every habitation and every heart ! — Mont- 
 gomery, July 22, 1840. 
 
 Experimental knowledge is theoretical knowledge 
 applied and acted upon. For instance, the woman 
 who had been diseased twelve years, said within her- 
 self, "If I may but touch;" this was her opinion. 
 She came and touched his garment, and felt in her 
 body that she was healed; this was her experience. 
 So the sinner hears of Christ, forms an opinion of his 
 ability and willingness to save ; he lays hold upon the 
 hope set before him, and obtains a knowledge of salva- 
 tion by the remission of sins. 
 
 I would rather suffer for speaking the truth than 
 that the truth should suffer in consequence of my not 
 speaking. 
 
168 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 REPORTS FROM VARIOUS CHARGES. 
 
 Fulton, Feb. 29, i8j6. — Gratitude constrains me 
 to announce to the friends of Jesus, that we have 
 been favored with his presence, I may say almost 
 uninterruptedly, since the 20th of September. Since 
 then we have had between ninety and ninety-five 
 applications for a probationary relation to the 
 Church. Many have experienced religion, and 
 the work is progressing. But the best of all is, 
 God is with us as a refiner and purifier. Since 
 last Monday eve, four of our members (one a class- 
 leader) have obtained the blessing of sanctifica- 
 tion, and are now the living witnesses of Jesus 
 that sin is all destroyed. Last night between 
 twenty-five and thirty of our members presented 
 themselves at the altar as candidates for this great 
 salvation ; and with strong crying, and tears, and 
 groanings which could not be uttered, waited for 
 the descent of the Holy Ghost. It was a glori- 
 ous time. We felt that God was not far from 
 every one of us; and, glory to his name, he left 
 his bessings behind him. Two found that their 
 hallowing Lord had wrought a perfect cure, and 
 we believe that many are stepping into the pool. 
 
 Montgomery, April 2, 1840. — West Chester Cir- 
 cuit has been favored with a gracious outpouring 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 169 
 
 of the Spirit. As the result of a series of pro- 
 tracted meetings, about one hundred and eighty 
 names have been received. The work is advanc- 
 ing steadily. Our congregations have been in- 
 creasing. Many are counting the cost, whose 
 names we expect soon to enroll as followers of the 
 Lamb. The diversity of sentiment on religious 
 subjects, which exists in this region so extensively, 
 has much retarded the progress of the gospel. 
 Truth has to contend with nearly every grade of 
 error and delusion, from Calvinism down to Uni- 
 versalism ; but truth is mighty, and is prevailing. 
 
 Lancaster, December 16, 184.7. — We have been 
 favored with a revival in this charge. The altar 
 of prayer has been surrounded, night after night, 
 with awakened persons seeking religion. Souls 
 have been converted every evening. Many are 
 seeking the blessing of perfect love. 
 
 Zanesville, Feb. ij, 1850. — The Seventh Street 
 charge is in the midst of a glorious revival. This 
 work of grace was decidedly developed about six 
 weeks since, and has steadily progressed in in- 
 terest ; and, I think, the prospect has never been 
 so good for a general work as at present. The 
 membership have been quickened by the spirit of 
 grace, many backsliders have been reclaimed, the 
 deep-seated carelessness of the impenitent has 
 been disturbed, and a general seriousness pervades 
 the overflowing congregations which crowd the 
 spacious church in this charge. Our beloved pre- 
 siding elder, the venerable Jacob Young, has 
 abounded in labors with us ; his solemn sermons, 
 
170 Granville Moody. 
 
 agonizing prayers, fervent expostulations, and 
 faithful exhortations, we believe, will not soon be 
 forgotten. Long may his valuable life be spared ! 
 The altar has been crowded, night after night, 
 with penitent persons, as also the pews in front of 
 the altar, while ever and anon the shout of victory 
 ascended from those who found deliverance through 
 the blood of the Lamb. We have received an ac- 
 cession of one hundred and twenty-two to the 
 station — some twelve or fifteen of them by cer- 
 tificate — the rest on trial. These persons are of 
 a class that promise great usefulness to the Church. 
 We think you will hear from us again soon. 
 
 March 18, 1850. — About a month ago, we had 
 the pleasure of reporting the progress of a blessed 
 revival of religious interest in this station, at the 
 close of which we said : " We think you will hear 
 from us again soon." Thank God, that expectation 
 has been realized ! The meeting has been pro- 
 tracted, nearly without interruption, till the pres- 
 ent time. The altar has been surrounded with 
 inquiring souls, and " the hand of the Lord was 
 present to heal." Upward of forty persons have 
 been added to the Church since our last report, 
 making, in all, some one hundred and sixty, with 
 a fair prospect still. As a society, we feel the 
 vast responsibility that rests upon us, and rejoice 
 with trembling. O, that we may be kept from 
 the evil that is in the world ! 
 
 Zanesville, O., April jo, 1851. — We have just 
 closed the labors of our third quarterly meeting. 
 It was, indeed, a time of interest and profit ; and 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 171 
 
 now that the time of our departure from this sta- 
 tion is approaching, we deem it proper, with pro- 
 found gratitude to God, to report progress, and 
 state the results of the labors of the Church in 
 this charge during our pastoral connection with it. 
 Since last November there have been two hun- 
 dred and twenty-six applications for membership, 
 one hundred and ninety-four on trial, and thirty- 
 two by certificate — most of whom have been 
 received and classed ; which, with the one hun- 
 dred and eighty-three received during our first 
 year in this charge make, within the last eighteen 
 months, the total of four hundred and nine acces- 
 sions to the Church. 
 
 The revival has brought a great number of 
 young men into our communion, greatly increas- 
 ing the- strength of this charge, and they still 
 promise great usefulness in this arm of the army. 
 I have found the membership emphatically a 
 working people, gladly co-operating with us in all 
 the holy enterprises of the Church ; and our ap- 
 proaching separation, by the limitation of our 
 economy, fills our hearts with sorrow. "We have 
 them in our hearts, to live and die with them ;" 
 for, take them all in all, we fear that "we ne'er 
 shall look upon their like again." The religious 
 instruction of children has not been overlooked. 
 We catechise them on the afternoon of each Sat- 
 urday ; and our Sabbath-school is in full tide of 
 successful operation — from two hundred and sev- 
 enty to three hundred children in attendance, 
 under the care of an efficient corps of thirty-five 
 
172 Granville Moody. 
 
 teachers, most of whom are truly pious and enthu- 
 siastically devoted to the work. 
 
 We yet look for a large harvest from this fruit- 
 ful field, although we regret that so few children 
 have been gathered into the fold of Christ during 
 the gracious visitation of the Church. In addi- 
 tion to our Sabbath services, we have a gen- 
 eral class-meeting on Monday evening, preaching 
 Wednesday evening, prayer-meeting on Friday 
 evening of each week, all of which are well at- 
 tended ; and by this steady drill we hope to train 
 up these volunteers to be intelligent, consistent, 
 and efficient disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 With increasing confidence in the heaven-honored 
 union of u free grace and free seats," and all the 
 appliances and means of our beloved Methodism, 
 as set forth in her admirable Discipline, we remain 
 your fellow-laborer in the kingdom of God. 
 
 DEDICATION AT FULTON. 
 
 We had the pleasure of attending the dedication 
 of the new and beautiful chapel in Fulton, of which 
 Rev. G. Moody is pastor. The corner-stone was laid 
 about June ist. Our expectations were more than 
 realized ; and we had a demonstration of the benevo- 
 lent enterprise of the Fulton Methodists, than whom 
 a more united, pious, devoted, and liberal member- 
 ship can not be found. The chapel occupies a cen- 
 tral and commanding position, and is unsurpassed for 
 neatness and convenience by any church in the city. 
 Though large, it was filled to overflowing. . 
 
 The dedication sermon was preached by Rev. G. 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 173 
 
 W. Walker, from Luke i, 33, which was listened to 
 with great interest; and, as an evidence of its effect 
 upon the hearers, a collection was taken up amounting 
 to one thousand dollars. The sermon was spoken of 
 as one of Brother Walker's happiest efforts. In the 
 afternoon an appropriate and interesting sermon was 
 preached by Rev. J. T. Mitchell, and the sacraments 
 of the Church were administered by the pastor. Rev. 
 W. P. Strickland conducted the evening services, dur- 
 ing which the Church received a heavenly baptism. 
 It was, indeed, a time of refreshing from the presence 
 of the Iyord. 
 
 Every pious heart seemed filled to overflowing, 
 and one general shout of praise and triumph went up 
 to God. A more unequivocal divine approbation we 
 never felt or witnessed. Thirteen persons, seven of 
 whom were young men in the vigor of life, presented 
 themselves for membership. The language of the 
 poet, as it swelled out from the full hearts of lion's 
 worshipers on that occasion, never appeared more 
 impressive : 
 
 "These temples of thy grace, 
 How beautiful they stand, 
 The honor of our native place, 
 The bulwarks of our land !" 
 
 The prospects of this station are highly flattering, 
 and we anticipate great success the ensuing confer- 
 ence year. Visitor. 
 
 Cincinnati, 1844. 
 
 METHODISM IN COLUMBUS. 
 
 In 1845, Granville Moody had a time of prosperity, 
 and at the end of his first year reported six hundred 
 and forty-four members. He led in the effort to or- 
 
174 Granville Moody. 
 
 ganize a second Church. Mr. William Neil gave an 
 eligible lot ; a church was built, and christened Wes- 
 ley Chapel. During 1846, Brother Moody arranged for 
 the division of Town Street membership into two 
 bands, representing six hundred members to be di- 
 vided. — T., in Western Christian Advocate. 
 
 On our arrival at Columbus at eleven o'clock P. M., 
 July 29, 1845, we found excellent accommodations at 
 the Neil House, the mammoth house of the West — 
 an immense pile of buildings, overshadowing all others 
 in the capital of our State. Mr. Neil has lately gen- 
 erously donated to the Methodist Episcopal Church a 
 lot on High Street, on which we notice the founda- 
 tions of the new church, so much needed in Colum- 
 bus. We pray that God may bless him and his family. 
 This is true patriotism. "He loveth our nation and 
 hath built us a synagogue," was spoken to the credit of 
 one gf old time. Before we had finished the duties of 
 our morning habiliments (which do not require much 
 time for us), our old friend Moody roused us by his 
 importunate rap, rap, rap, at our door, and insisted 
 that our traveling companion, Brother S. Williams,^ 
 Esq., and myself should breakfast at the parsonage. 
 And very soon we found ourselves comfortably seated 
 in the parsonage parlor, and greeted so heartily by 
 Sister Moody that we felt ourself entirely at home, 
 enjoying a Methodist preacher's welcome. Columbus 
 contains about ten thousand inhabitants, and is really 
 a thriving place. . . . Brother Moody's labors 
 have been greatly blessed during the last year, so that, 
 through the instrumentality of his labors, the Church 
 has grown in grace and in numbers. — Charles Elliott, 
 Editor IV. C. Advocate. 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 175 
 
 Springfield, March ^, J'^SJ- — The present con- 
 ference year in Columbia Street charge, as the 
 past, has been marked with great interest. The 
 Word of God, which we have been permitted to 
 bear to this people, has not returned void, but 
 has accomplished that whereunto it was sent. 
 About six weeks since, we noticed special indica- 
 tions of a revival ; the faith of the Church waxed 
 strong, and their supplications were fervent, im- 
 portunate, and, of course, effectual. We can not 
 say there was no excitement ; this, to minds con- 
 cerned upon subjects of such solemnity, sublimity, 
 and paramount importance as religion presents, 
 were, indeed, impossible. The truths of revela- 
 tion, applied by the Holy Spirit, stirred the dan- 
 gerous slumber of careless sinners. There was a 
 deep moving of the mental waters, a tumultuous 
 invasion of conscience by the lashing waves of 
 conviction, exhibiting, in Pentecostal type, the 
 presence and power of the Spirit. We know that 
 the work was of God, that, in truth, he was re- 
 vealed in solemn majesty and matchless grace, and 
 strong hearts bowed at his presence ; the counte- 
 nances of the people seemed to gather blackness ; 
 sinners in Zion were afraid ; fearfulness surprised 
 them, while their hearts meditated terror, and every 
 action said: " Who among us shall dwell with the 
 devouring fire; who among us shall dwell with 
 everlasting burnings?" The altar of prayer has 
 been thronged with penitent persons; last Sab- 
 bath day more than forty were at the altar, and 
 in the evening of the same day, thirty-five kneeled 
 
176 Granville Moody. 
 
 at the favored spot, while the Church, with one 
 accord, surrounded them, as with a wall of warm 
 hearts in unison of prayer, and from that altar 
 scores have arisen to rejoice in boundless Mercy's 
 pardoning love. 
 
 One hundred and forty have been added to the 
 Church, and even a larger number have chosen 
 the good part which shall not be taken away from 
 them. The religious influence has extended into 
 our sister Churches, and their labors are being 
 crowned with success. Since the opening of the 
 present week, there are encouraging indications in 
 the High Street charge, under Brother Weakley's 
 labors. 
 
 Dayton, December 14, 1854. — For the last six 
 weeks the spirit of grace has descended on Raper 
 Chapel charge, like showers that water the earth. 
 We found that the Church had a mind to work ; 
 and to work we went, the Lord working with us 
 mightily, and we are graciously permitted to an- 
 nounce a revival in progress. There has been a 
 general quickening of believers, and an awaken- 
 ing influence upon the unregenerate, with an in- 
 tense desire to hear the word of life, so much so, 
 that our commodious chapel is filled to overflow- 
 ing, many being unable to find seats. The altar 
 of prayer has been approached, night after night, 
 by penitent souls, and many have found peace in 
 believing. The cases of conversion have been as 
 strongly marked as any I ever witnessed. Be- 
 tween fifty and sixty persons have been added to 
 the charge since the first of November. The 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 177 
 
 field is indeed " white to the harvest," and we 
 hope for a glorious ingathering to this fold during 
 the winter. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS FROM 1833 TO 1882. 
 
 1833-34. — Springfield Circuit, Joshua Boucher 
 preacher in charge ; William H. Raper, presiding 
 elder. 
 
 1834-35. — London Circuit, with the same col- 
 leagues. My father, William Moody, died in Bal- 
 timore, Md., in September of this year. 
 
 1835-36. — Fulton, Leroy Swormstedt, presiding 
 elder. Favored with large revival influences from 
 on high during this year. The Lord was with me 
 day by day. Glory be to his name! January 19, 
 1836, married Miss Lucre tia Elizabeth Harris, 
 eldest daughter of Mr. William Hickman Harris 
 and Elizabeth, his wife, at their home, four miles 
 east of Springfield, Clarke County, Ohio, Joshua 
 Boucher performing the nuptial ceremony. 
 
 1836-37. — Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, as junior 
 preacher ; W. H. Raper was preacher in charge. 
 We enjoyed great success in the charge. J. N. 
 Maffitt spent one month with us. 
 
 1837-38. — Troy Circuit, J. Boucher in charge ; 
 George W. Walker, presiding elder. Had a 
 glorious revival of religion, and large ingather- 
 ings in Troy, Palmer Chapel, New Carlisle, and 
 Grafton Chapel. Elizabeth Ellen Moody was 
 born August 17, 1838. 
 
 1838-39. — Junior preacher on Franklin Circuit, 
 with George W. Maley, preacher in charge. We 
 
178 Granville Moody. 
 
 had a glorious revival in Franklin — one hundred 
 and twenty added to the Church, and many addi- 
 tions at other points. Elizabeth Eilen Moody died 
 December 56, 1838. 
 
 1839-40. — Miami Circuit, Levi P. Miller, 
 preacher in charge. Resided in Montgomery, 
 Hamilton County, in the mansion of Alexander 
 Duncan. Clifford NefF Moody was born in Dr. 
 Duncan's house, April 25, 1840. Had many con- 
 flicts with Baptists on immersion, and with Uni- 
 versalists. Glorious meetings in many places on 
 this charge. Zion was built up in troublous times. 
 
 1840-42. — Oxford Station, Geo. W. Walker, 
 presiding elder. Here Dr. Junkin attacked Meth- 
 odism in his inaugural address as president of 
 Miami University. I replied, and a controversy 
 on Calvinism ensued, which proved of benefit to 
 Methodism. 
 
 1842-43. — Lebanon Station, Geo. W. Walker, 
 presiding elder. William Hickman Harris Moody 
 was born November 14, 1842. Many worthy mem- 
 bers in this Church. 
 
 1843-45. — I was appointed preacher in charge 
 of Fulton Station ; built a large new church here, 
 which was called McKendree Chapel. We were 
 favored with a glorious revival of religion these 
 two years. 
 
 1845-47. — Columbus Station, Robert O. Spen- 
 cer, presiding elder. Here a large church was 
 built during my pastorate. We had a gracious 
 revival of religion, and many members were added 
 to the Church. Glory be to God. 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 179 
 
 1847-49. — Lancaster Station, John W. Clark, 
 presiding elder. Harriet Elizabeth Moody born 
 November 5, 1847. We were blessed with a glo- 
 rious revival, and many joined to the Lord and 
 to the Church. 
 
 1849-51. — Zanesville, Jacob Young, presiding 
 elder. Here we had a glorious revival, and mul- 
 titudes were added to the Church, such as shall 
 be saved. Glory be to God ! 
 
 1851-53. — Springfield, Michael Marlay, presid- 
 ing elder. Mary Ellen Moody born March 10, 
 1852. Delegate* to the General Conference held 
 in Boston, May, 1852. Glorious revival both years. 
 
 1853-55. — Raper Chapel, Dayton, same pre- 
 siding elder. Granville Moody, Jr., was born 
 July 2, 1854. Here revival followed revival, and, 
 the Church, walking in the fear of the Lord and 
 the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was edified and 
 multiplied. 
 
 1855-57. — Xenia. Here we were again blessed 
 with revival influences, and the Church was in- 
 creased in numbers and graces. Charles Payson 
 Moody was born May 20, 1857. 
 
 1857-59. — Piqua. Greene Street charge. Very 
 pleasant and profitable years. Revivals both win- 
 ters. Delegate to the General Conference held at 
 Buffalo, N. Y., i860. 
 
 1859-60. — Urbana. Enjoyed a great revival 
 here. Rev. (now Bishop) William Taylor spent a 
 month with me. His presence was a great bless- 
 ing to us all. 
 
 1860-61. — Cincinnati. Morris Chapel. 
 
180 Granville Moody. 
 
 In 1 86 1 I was transferred into the volunteer 
 army of the United States, and was appointed by 
 the special agency of Governor Dennison to the 
 command of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio 
 Volunteer Infantry, as colonel, with Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Alexander Von Schrader ; and Alexander 
 S. Ballard, Major; with Captains Thomas C. Bell, 
 Stephen A. Bassford, Samuel T. Owens, Austin 
 McDowell, Joseph Fisher, Walter Crook, Albion 
 W. Bostwick, Robert P. Findley, Joseph H. 
 Ballard, Patrick Dwyer ; Rev. Samuel Marshall, 
 a Baptist clergyman, as chaplain/ Between Chap- 
 lain Marshall and myself the purest and strongest 
 Christian friendship sprang up, and grew with our 
 growth and strengthened with our strength ; it 
 was like to that of David and Jonathan. Blessed 
 man ! His mortal remains -repose in the cemetery 
 near Jamestown, Ohio. Peace to his sleeping dust ! 
 
 In May, 1863, I was reluctantly compelled by 
 severe illness to resign my commission as colonel 
 commanding the Seventy-fourth Regiment. The 
 surgeons informed me that my case was hopeless 
 if I remained in the army. 
 
 In 1864 I was appointed presiding elder of the 
 Cincinnati District, as successor of Rev. John T. 
 Mitchell, deceased. Delegate to the General Con- 
 ference held in Philadelphia in May, 1864. 
 
 1865-67. — Piqua. I had a gracious and glori- 
 ous revival of religion, and rebuilt the church 
 edifice, raising the whole massive structure by 
 screws some six feet ; adding a large building on 
 the rear of the church. 
 
Reports from Various Charges. 181 
 
 Whilst here, my daughter, Clifford Neff, was 
 married to Lieutenant-Commander Joseph Fyffe, 
 of the United States Navy, August 17, 1865. 
 
 1867-69. — Ripley. Had a glorious revival 
 here. A new church was commenced, which, 
 when finished, cost $32,000. 
 
 1869-72. — Stationed in Newport, Ky. I found 
 the new Church greatly in debt* devised a suc- 
 cessful plan for extinguishing the Church debt, 
 and was favored with several distinct revivals of 
 religion. While in this charge my daughter, 
 Harriet Elizabeth, was married to Mr. O. J. Rowe, 
 of Binghamton, N. Y. 
 
 1872-74. — York Street, Cincinnati. In this 
 charge were many of the excellent of the earth. 
 
 1874-78. — I was appointed presiding elder 
 of Ripley District, a most valuable field of minis- 
 terial labor. We were highly favored with times 
 of refreshing from the presence of the Lord and 
 the ingathering of hundreds of souls into the fold 
 of Jesus. In this broad field of labor, which was 
 one hundred miles in length and forty miles 
 broad, there was not one mile of railway. Dele- 
 gate to the General Conference held in Baltimore 
 in May, 1876. 
 
 Mary Ellen, our third daughter, was married 
 to Rev. Professor Hugh Boyd, of Cornell College, 
 Mt. Vernon, la., August 20, 1874. 
 
 Granville Moody, Jr., and Miss Jennie Parkisson, 
 only daughter of Mr. William Kenton Parkisson, 
 of Jasper County, Indiana, were married by me 
 in her father's residence, January 19, 1876. 
 
182 Granville Moody. 
 
 1878-79. — Middletown. I here found an ad- 
 mirable, intelligent, and united membership, full 
 of faith, hope, and love, and ready for every good 
 work. Peace be to this Church ! I love it much. 
 
 1879-81. — Hamilton. This charge is very 
 large in membership, and I sincerely endeavored 
 to form a second charge, but without success. 
 
 I here formed the acquaintance of Judge 
 Hume and his family. They very frequently 
 attended my ministry, and I entertain the highest 
 respect for them, one and all. He was a decided 
 Democrat, and I was a decided Republican ; but 
 our friendship was like unto that which existed 
 between David and Jonathan. At the last con- 
 ference session held in Hamilton, wife and self 
 were the invited guests of Judge Hume, and a most 
 pleasant week we spent at his mansion. God 
 grant us a happy meeting in the mansions of the 
 skies ! 
 
 Charles Payson, my youngest son, and Miss Ida 
 Parkisson, daughter of Mr. Addison Parkisson, all 
 of Jasper County, Ind., were married by me at 
 the residence of the bride's father, September, 
 17, 1879. 
 
 1881-83. — Stationed at Jamestown. My health 
 failing in the last third of my second conference 
 year, I deemed it best to ask the conference foe a 
 change of relation from that of effective to that 
 of superannuated. 
 
 My request was granted, and I removed to Mt. 
 Vernon, Iowa, to reside with my daughter Mary 
 and her husband, Professor Boyd. 
 
The Preternatural. 183 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DREAMS, PRESCIENCE, AND THE PRETERNATURAL. 
 
 AT the commencement of my second term of 
 pastoral service in Springfield, I related at 
 the breakfast-table a strange dream I had the 
 night before. I dreamed that I had preached a 
 sermon to the Church on early and persistent 
 sympathy with sinful persons — the aged, the mid- 
 dle-aged, the young — with direct and special efforts 
 to induce them to think upon their ways, and 
 make haste and delay not the great task of repent- 
 ance toward God ; and then persistent faith in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ as "the way, the truth, and the 
 life." I asked and urged sinful persons to come 
 to the altar of prayer, saying, with David : "I will 
 go to the altar of God ; I will wait and see what 
 he will say to me." When I said, "Shall I not 
 this evening hear some one say, by appropriate 
 action, if not in words : 
 
 'I can but perish if I go, 
 I am resolved to try ; 
 For if I stay away I know, 
 I must forever die ?' 
 
 lo ! a little girl of twelve, neatly but yet poorly 
 dressed, came forward to the altar and knelt 
 down. The membership, generally, took up their 
 overcoats and wraps, and were about to take their 
 
184 Granville Moody. 
 
 departure, leaving the poor little girl at the altar 
 of prayer, with but a small portion of the Church 
 to remain and pray with and for her. 
 
 I noticed the movement, and expostulated with 
 them, and reminded them that the minimum might 
 become the maximum if they stayed and prayed 
 with this little girl ; and reminded them that they 
 who were faithful in that which is least, would as- 
 suredly be faithful in greater things. " Come, breth- 
 ren and sisters," I said, "stop and turn to God's 
 altar, and mingle your tears with this solitary 
 mourner. Christ is now saying to us : ' He that is 
 faithful over a few things, I will make him ruler 
 over many things.' Come, brethren and sisters, 
 tarry and mingle your sympathies, and pour out 
 your prayers faithfully with this one child, the 
 first to seek our sympathies and ask our prayers. 
 God will bless your labors with an altar crowded 
 with seekers of religion, and the Church shall 
 right speedily be called upon to rejoice over souls 
 renewed and sins forgiven." 
 
 In my dream I saw the whole Church return 
 to the altar, and each made the cause of the little 
 girl his own ; and speedily the loosened current 
 of salvation came down from above. The little 
 girl was converted, and the whole Church was 
 blessed. A great revival followed ; scores and 
 hundreds were added to the Church. 
 
 I awaked from my slumbers, and lo ! it was but 
 a dream. My family and Miss Sarah Y. Millis 
 noted the dream, as I told it, with interest and 
 queries of mind. 
 
The Preternatural. 185 
 
 Monday evening came ; the meeting was large, 
 and the foregoing scenes were all really enacted 
 with wonderful regularity. The youthful, soli- 
 tary mourner was at the altar; the Church re- 
 tired ; the pastor halted them, repeating the fore- 
 going expostulation ; they returned to duty ; the 
 juvenile penitent found acceptance, verifying the 
 promise : " I love them that love me, and they 
 that seek me early shall find me." The next 
 evening there were six at the altar, the third 
 evening nine, the fourth thirteen; and so on till 
 nearly two hundred souls had fled for refuge and 
 laid hold on the hope set before them in the gospel. 
 On returning home that first Monday evening 
 Miss Millis and my wife accosted me on entering 
 the parsonage, saying: "Your dream, related at 
 the breakfast-table, has been fulfilled literally. 
 You told this morning just what we saw and 
 heard at Church this evening." 
 
 The secret of the Lord is with them that 
 fear him, and he will show them his covenant. 
 Amen. 
 
 While I was the pastor of York Street Church, 
 Cincinnati, in 1872-3, a singular and unaccount- 
 able occurrence took place. I dreamed that Mrs. 
 Williams, wife of Professor W. G. Williams, of 
 the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, O., had 
 died the past night in Delaware. At the break- 
 fast-table I told my wife and daughter Mary that 
 I dreamed I was going along the street in front 
 of the residence of Professor Williams, in Dela- 
 ware, and saw Professors Williams and Whitlock 
 
 16 
 
1 86 Granville Moody. 
 
 walking with locked arms, and looking very sad. 
 I accosted them with the phrase: "Why, you are 
 out early this morning." " Yes," replied Professor 
 Whitlock, "we are astir early. Professor Will- 
 iams's wife died this morning, and we are astir early 
 to arrange for the burial." I stood astonished, 
 and asked in reference to her death and disease, 
 and said to Professor Williams: "I sympathize 
 with you, Professor, but we do not sorrow as 
 others who have no hope ; for if we believe that 
 Jesus died and rose again, even so also them which 
 sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. The 
 dead in Christ shall rise first ; so shall we ever be 
 with the Lord." My daughter said: "I will 
 go around to Mr. Davis's [the brother of Mrs. 
 Williams], and see if tjiey have heard anything 
 from her." She went, and at the door of the 
 brother's house met a messenger with a telegram 
 in his hand, announcing the death as having oc- 
 curred the past night. Mary returned with the 
 intelligence, and I repaired to the residence of the 
 brother, and narrated my dream as I had to my 
 wife and family. 
 
 During my pastorate in 1850, I became ac- 
 quainted with Squire A. His wife and three 
 daughters were members of my charge. He had 
 been a magistrate of the city for a number of 
 years, and prominent as a politician. Going down 
 Main Street the day after the repeal of the Mis- 
 souri Compromise, I met the stalwart squire at 
 his office door, and he accosted me with the in- 
 quiry, "What do you think of the abrogation of 
 
The Preternatural. 187 
 
 the Missouri Compromise, and the Dred Scott 
 Decision?" I replied, disapproving both, and 
 added: "'Whom the gods intend to destroy they 
 first make mad.' This is the beginning of the 
 end of the huge system of American slavery." 
 "Why, those are my sentiments precisely, par- 
 son ; give me your hand." I found myself alone 
 with this singular and eminent man of the law 
 and acknowledged leader of his party. He was 
 sixty-eight years old, had chronic asthma and 
 enlargement of the heart. A sudden concern 
 came over me like a divine impression of duty, 
 and I said : " Squire, what about your soul and 
 its safety and preparation for the change of death ?" 
 "Well, parson, I don't know much about those 
 questions ; indeed I do n't." " Well, you are the 
 main one to know the things that make for 
 your peace. One of these days your laboring 
 lungs will subside, and if I attend your obsequies 
 what can I say about your soul and your future 
 condition?" "O," said the magistrate, "you will 
 have nothing to do on that occasion ; for years 
 before I came to this city I selected Rev. Samuel 
 Cox to attend my obsequies." "Well, I am glad 
 that you have taken forethought about your fu- 
 neral, and selected your minister. But what will 
 he be warranted to say on that occasion? Let us 
 attend those obsequies ; let us attend that not 
 far-off funeral, and see and hear. Behold that 
 gloomy hearse, with nodding plumes, betokening 
 death's victory. See the long, lingering array of 
 carriages, occupying two full squares ! Let us go 
 
188 Granville Moody. 
 
 into the house, not by the front entrance, that is 
 blocked by the crowd, but by the side avenue 
 approach. We are in: all the avenues are occu- 
 pied, all spaces filled. A minute's long lapse of 
 silence ! We look around. There, nearest to the 
 coffin, sits the lonely widow, and your daughters 
 and their husbands in line about it. There are 
 your friends in the legal and medical profes- 
 sions, and civic officers, merchants, bankers, men, 
 women, and children, all grave-looking and mute 
 as the obelisk. Parson Cox arises and says : ' Let 
 us join in singing, 
 
 " Hark ! from the tombs, a doleful sound ; 
 My ears, attend the cry !" ' 
 
 Then, after prayer, with open Bible in hand, he 
 reads Bccl. xii, 5. He speaks of: 1. Man's death; 
 2. The consequences of death ; 3. The preparation 
 needed for a safe and happy departure: then he 
 follows with personal remarks, — The deceased has 
 lived to nearly the limit of human existence. He 
 has lived in our midst, as a citizen, to old age. 
 He was a public officer of ability and worth. His 
 family are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He was not in communion with any 
 branch of Christ's Church. This we deeply re- 
 gret. We know that he was lovingly called to a 
 profession of godliness, but he failed to make such 
 profession ; and fidelity compels us to say that he 
 never gave evidence of his faith in Christ, nor his 
 hope of heaven, and thus he passed away from 
 us without making any confession of personal 
 faith in Christ or hope in God. My friends, let 
 
The Preternatural. 189 
 
 us imitate all that was praiseworthy in our de- 
 parted friend, and avoid all that was the opposite 
 in his career, and timely flee for refuge, and lay 
 hold on the hope that is now set before us, by 
 faith in Christ Jesus, our Savior. And so ends 
 the scene at the house. 
 
 "Now, suppose Brother Cox should say : 'We 
 are happy to be permitted to say that, so long 
 before his death, he made public profession of " re- 
 pentance towards God, and faith in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. " On such a date he sought refuge 
 in the Church, by joining it in full sincerity, and 
 continued onward and upward in a course of pro- 
 gressive holiness and hope, till he " passed through 
 glory's morning gate and entered paradise." ' How 
 glorious would such a close of life appear! — like 
 the morning-star, which goes not down, but melts 
 away in the light of heaven. Would not that be 
 a glorious consummation, devoutly to be wished?" 
 
 He replied: "What Church shall I join?" 
 "Why," said I, "take your choice. There is 
 the Methodist Church." "O, that is too far 
 away from my home ; it would tire me out to 
 walk so far." " Well, join the Presbyterian 
 Church." " What ! and climb that long flight of 
 steps, and listen to Calvinism, which teaches me 
 that only the elect get religion? They get it be- 
 cause they can 't help it. If they get it, they never 
 lose it ; if they lose it, they never had it ; and if 
 they get it, they do n't know it, for they only hope 
 they have got it. No ; it is a bundle of contradic- 
 tions ; I would not be bothered with its absurdi- 
 
190 Granville Moody. 
 
 ties." "Well, there is the Baptist Church." "No, 
 sir, never. I should have all the crudities of Calvin- 
 ism to swallow, and then have to be ducked down 
 in the river, or in a tank to be baptized. I believe 
 in baptism by aspersion. The true baptism comes 
 down from above." "Well, then, here is the 
 Episcopal Church." " Pshaw ! That is only a few 
 removes from popery. I could almost as well take 
 stock in popery at once. I guess I am the first 
 man that has ever heard his own funeral sermon 
 preached to him before his death." 
 
 I replied : " The prudent man foreseeth the evil, 
 and hideth himself. Christ received, confessed, 
 and obeyed, will be to you wisdom, righteousness, 
 sanctification, and redemption." 
 
 He went down street and told his friends that I 
 had preached his funeral sermon to him that morn- 
 ing. Time rolled away, and brought autumn and 
 winter in their season. One Sabbath morning his 
 
 married daughter, Mrs. , came to town in her 
 
 carriage, and put up at her father's home as usual, 
 and he went out and took the horse to the stable. 
 After sermon and class-meeting, she returned to 
 dinner, and shortly after dinner asked her father 
 to get her horse and carriage. He did so, and saw 
 her get in the carriage and drive away. He went 
 into the house, and sat down in a large chair, say- 
 ing: "Daughter must bring some one with her 
 that can harness her horse for her, for I can not do 
 it ; it is too much for my feebleness. I can not do 
 it again." Uttering these words he struggled for 
 breath, fell forward, and died. 
 
The Preternatural. 191 
 
 Great excitement prevailed. A costly prepara- 
 tion for the funeral followed, and on Tuesday the 
 funeral took place. I went to the front door, but 
 it was obstructed by the crowd inside. I was ad- 
 mitted at the side entrance. Strangely every 
 thing looked, as if I had seen and heard all before. 
 Parson Cox arose, shook his head violently, as 
 was his wont, read the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, 
 then gave out the hymn, " Hark! from the tombs a 
 doleful sound," and announced as his text, " Man 
 goeth to his long home, and the mourners go 
 about the streets !" Then he spoke as already de- 
 scribed, word for word. Sentence after sentence 
 were uttered just as I had used them months be- 
 fore in my office-talk with the deceased. It 
 seemed like an echo of the language used by me ; 
 or, rather, the very words I employed so long 
 before were spoken by Brother Cox at this funeral 
 service with singular exactness. I was impressed, 
 astonished, alarmed at their utter identity, as so 
 singularly reproduced by Brother Cox, though he 
 was not present at the office, nor had I in any way 
 communicated the conversation to him. Brother 
 Cox called on me to close the service with prayer, 
 which I .did. The procession was formed, and we 
 deposited the massive coffin in its last resting- 
 place, with the formula of the Burial Service. 
 
 Let us so live that we may depart this life as 
 the setting sun disappears through a radiant sun- 
 set, and pass the portals of immortality full-orbed, 
 in glorious effulgence. 
 
 While I was commandant at Camp Chase, four 
 
192 Granville Moody. 
 
 miles west of Columbus, O., the following occur- 
 rence took place, inexplicable without providential 
 action. A high officer in the general government 
 appeared one afternoon at head-quarters, and spent 
 a pleasant social hour. I had just received by ex- 
 press, in a nice round cheese-box twenty inches 
 diameter, a fragrant and luscious loaf-cake, thickly 
 covered over with frosting, and " E Pluribus Unum " 
 in raised and ornamental letters across the center. 
 It came from a lady in La Porte, Ind., the wife of 
 the post-quartermaster of Camp Chase, between 
 whom and myself an acquaintance had ripened 
 into warmest friendship, and his wife had sent me 
 this luxurious pound-cake. I gave General B. 
 the history of the cake, and said, " We will now 
 pay our compliments to the kind benefactress, and 
 try her fine cake ;" and we were soon enjoying it, 
 when suddenly an urgent impression cafhe upon 
 my mind in these words, "Go immediately to 
 Prison No. 3 ; you are needed there." I asked the 
 general to excuse me, saying : " I must go to prison 
 No. 3. Please remain in the office ; I will be back 
 in fifteen minutes. Enjoy the cake. I feel that I 
 must be there immediately." 
 
 I left, and hurried over the walk to the prison, 
 entered the office, and went into the inner office, 
 where a door-keeper is always on duty. " How 
 are you Mr. D. ; is all well here ?" " Yes, sir, all is 
 well." At that moment a rap was heard on the side 
 of the prison-door. The officer went to the door, 
 and hailed, " Who comes there ?" The answer was 
 given, "John Z., a stationery-peddler, with a pass." 
 
The Preternatural. 193 
 
 The door was opened, and a fine-looking man, 
 with manners far superior to those which belong 
 to an ordinary stationery-peddler, appeared with a 
 nice suit of entirely new clothes upon him, hair 
 closely cropped, clean-shaved; a new basket on 
 his arm filled with letter-paper, envelopes, stamps, 
 pens, ink, and red blotting-paper, stamped envel- 
 opes, a postal almanac, and regular outfit of a 
 small peddling stationer. 
 
 I examined all these things hurriedly, and he 
 remarked: " These things are salable to prisoners, 
 you know;" and he thrust forth a pass into prisons 
 in Camp Chase, signed by David Tod, Governor of 
 Ohio. I examined the pass and found, " If approved 
 by Colonel Granville Moody, Commander of U. S. 
 Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio." Said I: 
 "Why was not this pass signed by Colonel 
 Moody?" His reply was so hurried and confused 
 that he betrayed himself. I said : " You are under 
 arrest, sir." I called a guard, and marched him 
 down to head-quarters, where he was incarcerated 
 in a ten by twelve lock-up. I sent the prison's 
 head man, who called the roll of prisoners every 
 morning and evening, to see and examine the man. 
 He soon after came out smiling, and said : " Colonel, 
 that man is General L., the worst man to have 
 gotten out for all the country. It is well you 
 arrested him as you did." My friend, whom 
 I had left in charge of the cake, was delighted 
 with my adventure and success, when he learned 
 the rank of the officer whose escape came so near 
 proving an accomplished fact. I went to the 
 
 17 
 
194 Granville Moody. 
 
 little lock-up, and addressed my prisoner, and re- 
 marked that Burns had said long before : 
 
 " • For care and trouble set your mind, 
 Even when your end's attained; 
 For all your schemes may come to naught, 
 When every nerve is strained.' 
 
 There is strategy in war, and I will have to keep 
 you in this small prison till next Thursday, when 
 I will go with you to Johnson's Island, near San- 
 dusky, where you will have the benefit of lake air." 
 He expostulated in a gentlemanly way, and asked 
 me to suppose a change of cases — myself in a South- 
 ern prison, making every effort for life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness. " Yes, yes," I said ; 
 " but there 's many a slip between the cup and the 
 lip ; and I think it best for yourself, and for us, to 
 keep you quiet till times change for the better 
 for all parties in the premises." "Pray tell me, 
 Colonel," he said, "how you happened to come into 
 Prison No. 3 just at that instant of time?" I 
 could have told him, but declined. 
 
 General B., whom I left with the cake, so 
 unceremoniously, deemed the impression on my 
 mind, so immediate and peremptory and definite, 
 a wonder of wonders, an insoluble myth. But " a 
 God admitted, every mystery ends." "To God's 
 presence oft we owe the presence of our mind." 
 
 While I was pastor of Morris Chapel, Cin- 
 cinnati, there was a man whom we will call 
 Blank, living in the domestic department of the 
 Baptist Theological Seminary at Fairmount. It 
 was summer, and the students had left college for 
 
The Preternatural. 195 
 
 their vacation, and the premises were in charge of 
 Brother Blank and his wife. There were in the 
 family three children, and the father of Mr. Blank, 
 whose years were marked with the infirmities of an 
 octogenarian, and he was an object of incessant 
 care. It was during the opening months of the 
 War of the Rebellion, when there was great strin- 
 gency in financial affairs. One Saturday I was 
 specially engaged in completing my sermons for 
 Sabbath, and hastened immediately after dinner 
 to my study, and seized my pen, when I was ar- 
 rested by an imperative impression, saying to me : 
 " Go to Fairmount and pastorally visit your 
 Brother Blank, as he is in needy circumstances." 
 The " still, small voice " spoke so positively that I 
 was greatly impressed. But as I was so much 
 behind-hand in pulpit preparation, I resumed my 
 sermon, and the words were precisely and emphat- 
 ically repeated. I became excited, and arose from 
 the desk and looked around inquiringly, when the 
 direction was clearly repeated the third time, and 
 I put on my coat and started to Fairmount. I 
 went up the steep of the hill, where the college 
 stood, with its impracticable task of teaching that 
 baptizo invariably means " immerse." I had 
 walked two miles that sultry Saturday afternoon, 
 berating myself for such a wild-goose chase from 
 such an ambiguous oracle. I went into the spa- 
 cious hall, and knocked at several doors, but with 
 no response till I came to the last door on the 
 right hand, which was opened to my knock. I 
 found Sister Blank and her three children hale 
 
196 Granville Moody. 
 
 and hearty, and, at the further end of the neatly 
 furnished room, sat in repose a white-haired, ven- 
 erable man, who, rising, addressed me with native 
 civility, and asked me to be seated. Everything 
 was tidy, and nothing in the appearance of the 
 apartment betrayed any symptom of want or emer- 
 gency. After an hour's conversation, in which 
 there was no expression of need, want, or distress 
 that I could aid, and after prayer with and for 
 them and the absent head of the interesting circle, 
 I arose and bade them good-bye. 
 
 Sister Blank followed me into the hall, and 
 out of the south door on to the grassy plat, and be- 
 neath the deep shade of the trees, and as we walked 
 along I said: "Sister Blank, has Brother Blank 
 work nowadays, and is he getting along comfort- 
 ably in these trying times?" She burst into tears 
 and said: "O, Brother Moody, these are the hard- 
 est times we ever passed through. Mr. Blank is 
 in great distress. This morning our grocer told 
 him that he must settle his bill, as he could not 
 trust him any longer. Then he went to another 
 grocer and asked for credit for a bill of groceries, 
 and then to a third, and was refused credit in 
 every case. It is so hard. My children need food, 
 and my father-in-law, now eighty years of age, is 
 entirely dependent upon us, and we have not the 
 means to get supper for the family this evening ; 
 and what shall we do for all of the Sabbath-day? 
 We have no food in the house. I am so ashamed 
 to speak of these things, but I can not help it. 
 My husband is nearly distracted, and greatly dis- 
 
The Preternatural. 197 
 
 couraged. I should not have told you these things, 
 but you asked me so plainly, that I could only tell 
 you all as I have." She hardly suppressed her 
 sobbing with the narration of her heart-felt woes. 
 
 I felt for my pocket-book, as with weeping, I 
 said : " I see through it all ; I do, I do. How much 
 will suffice you till next week?" She said : " O, 
 I do not know." 
 
 I emptied my pocket-book, which contained 
 only seven dollars, and gave them to her. She was 
 so relieved and grateful and thankful, that if I had 
 had twenty dollars she would have assuredly got 
 them all. I told her to tell her husband to come 
 to the parsonage at seven o'clock Monday morn- 
 ing, and I would try to get him employment 
 where he would get good wages. I went down the 
 declivity with a glad heart and free, rejoicing that 
 God is so near to us, and that he had so won- 
 drously revealed himself to me in my study, say- 
 ing audibly to my spiritual ear or my actual 
 hearing, as the reader may choose, giving the 
 knowledge of immediate duty to relieve one of his 
 suffering saints. 
 
 The next day the father, mother, and two 
 children attended Morris Chapel, the parents look- 
 ing very solemn and thoughtful. After the bene- 
 diction, I went from the pulpit to the pew where 
 they were waiting to speak with me. As I shook 
 hands with them Brother Blank asked how I 
 knew of his embarrassment, and how it was that 
 I came so opportunely to his house the day be- 
 fore. I told him as written above, and he said : 
 
198 Granville Moody. 
 
 "And is that so, Brother Moody? Does God take 
 such knowledge and care of us as that? I shall 
 never doubt his loving-kindness any more." I 
 responded : 
 
 "Just in the last distressing hour 
 The Lord proclaims his saving power ; 
 The mount of danger is the place 
 Where we shall see surprising grace." 
 
 Next morning he came to the parsonage. I 
 told him to cheer up and look bright, for God had 
 singularly stirred me up in his behalf, and a good 
 beginning is encouraging to expect a glorious 
 ending. I introduced him to Brother Royer, who 
 said he could not take another hand, as he had dis- 
 missed ten last Saturday night, and should dismiss 
 fifteen or twenty more by next Saturday night. We 
 went up-stairs to see his invalid wife. She listened 
 with interest to my recital of the case, and handed 
 me five dollars for Mrs. Blank. When I told her 
 that her husband could not employ my man in 
 his factory, she motioned me to go into the front 
 room. I soon heard a loving and lively contro- 
 versy about employing Mr. Blank. Presently he 
 came into the front room, saying : " My wife has 
 got her head set on my employing your man in the 
 factory. Come, let us go down and see the foreman, 
 and find out what can be done." He reported a 
 man going into the army the next day, and told 
 me to send Mr. Blank to fill his place. He worked 
 a year in the factory, then joined my regiment, 
 the Seventy-fourth Ohio Infantry, did good serv- 
 ice as an aid to the physicians and surgeons, and 
 
The Preternatural. 199 
 
 was then placed in command of a colored regi- 
 ment as its colonel. He went to the field, did 
 good service for his country, and returned to 
 the peaceful walks of life at the conclusion of 
 the war. 
 
2oo Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FURTHER INCIDENTS OF MINISTERIAL LIFE. 
 
 DURING my pastorate in Zanesville a young 
 Frenchman, a Roman Catholic, became in- 
 terested in a young lady, a member of my charge, 
 attended Church services with her, and at length 
 called on me to perform the marriage ceremony 
 at the parsonage. About six weeks afterward 
 he came to my study and made known that the 
 current of true love had not flowed as it com- 
 menced. He said : 
 
 " Reverend sir, I want to talk with you a little. 
 If you came to my shop [he was a journeyman 
 bootmaker], and engaged my services to make you 
 a pair of boots, and I made them, and in a few 
 weeks they ripped, the sole from the upper, and 
 you returned them, I would, without delay, take 
 the boots and mend the rent." 
 
 "Well, sir," said I, "that would be only fair, 
 as I should have bought the boots for service." 
 
 "That is right, as you say," he answered. 
 "Now, you may remember that, six or seven 
 weeks ago, I employed you to marry me and Miss 
 Elizabeth A. I was greatly pleased with her for 
 about three weeks. We took a small but neat 
 house, which I furnished comfortably and well. 
 She soon began to neglect her house and personal 
 
Further Incidents. 201 
 
 appearance. I go home to dinner, and she is at 
 her mother's. I find the house untidy ; there will 
 be no fire ; and when I have taken a fellow- work- 
 man home with me to dinner, we have found the 
 house unswept, the bed unmade, and her clothes 
 slatternly upon her. I have been mortified by 
 her appearance and the condition of the house ; 
 and when I spoke to her about it, she an- 
 swered me shortly, and threatened to go home — 
 and actually did go to her mother's. Now, sir, 
 what shall I do ? I am disappointed very much, I 
 assure you, and come seeking your advice and 
 agency in the case." 
 
 I asked him if he loved her, and he said with 
 all his heart, and that if she would do as. she did 
 at first, he would be the happiest of men. 
 
 "Well, well," said I, u you come here this 
 afternoon at half-past two o'clock. I will see her 
 and have her here to meet you. We will act and 
 hope for the best, and may be we can get your 
 ripped boot mended." 
 
 I went right away to her mother's house, and 
 found her in great distress. I told her kindly of 
 his complaints. She, with tears, confessed her 
 fault. Her mother seconded all my remarks, and 
 wondered if he would take her back. I assured 
 her that if she would promise better behavior he 
 would receive her graciously, and be a loving 
 husband to her. This was like good news from a far 
 country, and she promised thorough amendment. 
 I arranged for her to come to the parsonage at 
 two o'clock P. M. She came, and I left her in 
 
202 Granville Moody. 
 
 the parlor with my faithful wife, who counseled 
 her wisely and lovingly. At half-past two o'clock 
 the door-bell rang. I went gladly to the door, 
 and there was my Frenchman, who asked eagerly 
 if his wife was there. I took him into the parlor. 
 He shook hands with his wife, who seemed very 
 glad to meet him. He was as polite as the veriest 
 Frenchman. I said: "Let us pray." We all 
 knelt down, and I led in prayer ; and then called 
 on Mrs. Moody to pray for the newly married 
 couple. She prayed, with nicest discrimination 
 and tenderness and hope, for a reunion. We 
 arose to our feet bettered by God's answer to our 
 well-meant endeavors to restore peace to these 
 disturbed hearts. "Now," said I, "Mr. G., you 
 will open the way in this effort at reconciliation 
 by telling us all the ills of these mishaps." He 
 proceeded very carefully, and with tearful ten- 
 derness, and she assented to what he said. Then 
 she, with womanly sweetness, confessed her err- 
 ings, asked his pardon, and promised amendment 
 for the future. I rejoiced at the prospect of a 
 peaceful settlement, and told them to stand up 
 and be married over again. I went through the 
 entire ritual, making them repeat after me: "I, 
 M, take thee, N, to be my wedded wife, to have 
 and to hold from this day, forward; for better, for 
 worse ; for richer, for poorer ; in sickness and in 
 health, to love and to cherish till death do us part, 
 according to God's holy ordinance ; and thereto I 
 pledge thee my troth." " I, N, take thee, M, to 
 be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from 
 
Further Incidents. 203 
 
 this day forward, for better, for worse; for richer, 
 for poorer ; in sickness and in health, to love, 
 cherish, and obey till death do ns part, according 
 to God's holy ordinance ; and thereto I give thee 
 my troth." 
 
 Another prayer followed — God's pardon and 
 blessing were implored. They were doubly mar- 
 ried, under better auspices. We arose. They 
 mutually kissed each other. I pronounced the 
 apostolic benediction, and they went forth to a 
 newness of life in the holy bands of matrimony — 
 she a better wife, he a better husband. They 
 lived a happier life than either of them had 
 dreamed before. 
 
 This bride was a daughter of a widow, who 
 had spoiled her by indulgence in the careless 
 habits of a listless life, which ill qualified her for 
 the grave realities of a wife, and stewardess of 
 family obligations. Truly, 
 
 " The kindest and the happiest pair 
 Have oft occasion to forbear, 
 And something, every day they live, 
 To pity, and perhaps forgive." 
 
 We take the following incident concerning the 
 " Cowhiding of a Minister," from the Columbian 
 and Great West. We give the story as there 
 written : 
 
 " The incident we are about to relate, occurred a 
 few years since, in the northern part of Ohio. What- 
 ever the defects of the sketch, it possesses at least one 
 merit — that of truthfulness. Among the distinguished 
 members of the clergy in the Buckeye State, the Rev. 
 
204 Granville Moody. 
 
 Dr. Moody, of the Methodist persuasion, justly holds 
 a prominent position. As a man, possessing a gen- 
 erous amount of native talent, aided by untiring in- 
 dustry, enterprise, and boldness, he is celebrated, not 
 only among those of his own faith, but among all de- 
 nominations of Christians. Among the leading traits 
 of his character, a strong will and a rather diminutive 
 development of what phrenologists call reverence 
 have become so universally known as to be consid- 
 ered mere eccentricities, and often prevent acts of his 
 from attracting notice, while in other members of his 
 peaceful and self-denying profession they would ex- 
 cite universal wonder. 
 
 " At the time of which we write he was the pas- 
 tor of a large and wealthy Church, in a town which 
 shall be nameless. He was almost idolized by the 
 people, and in many respects occupied a most pleas- 
 ant and enviable position. But there were some draw- 
 backs to his satisfaction, and not the least important 
 of these was the circumstance that some of his Church 
 members differed from him, both theoretically and prac- 
 tically, on a subject of considerable magnitude. This 
 was nothing more or less than the sale and use of 
 ardent spirits. 
 
 " But little had been accomplished in the move- 
 ment for a temperance reform, and the agitation of 
 the subject had only just commenced ; but Dr. M. had 
 become thoroughly convinced that intoxicating bev- 
 erages were unnecessary and hurtful, and the traffic 
 in them a wrong and an injustice. Having come to 
 this conclusion, he was not the man to sit idly down 
 and expect to work a reformation, without making use 
 of the natural means to produce such a result. 
 
 "Several members of his own Church were en- 
 
Further Incidents. 205 
 
 gaged in the traffic, and he immediately turned his 
 attention to them. By reasoning with them in his 
 own earnest and forcible manner, he soon succeeded 
 in persuading them all to renounce the pernicious 
 traffic. 
 
 "We said all; but the statement is too sweeping, 
 for there was one exception. Brother Jones was a 
 crabbed, self-willed old grocer, who, though he had 
 been a member of that Church for many years, never- 
 theless had the reputation of being very far from in- 
 different to the vanities of this world. And now, when 
 the pastor endeavored to persuade him to give up the 
 traffic in spirits, all his efforts proved futile. He de- 
 fended himself sturdily on the broad principle that it 
 was no worse now than it always had been ; that the 
 laws of the land gave him permission to sell liquor ; 
 that he had done it for years, and would continue 
 to do so as long as he saw fit. 
 
 " Dr. M., however, was not a man to be easily 
 balked when his heart was once set on an object ; so 
 when he found all attempts to reason with this black 
 sheep of his flock proving fruitless, he took more de- 
 cided measures. He presented the case to the other 
 members of his Church, and, in a short time, Brother 
 Jones was given to understand, in very plain terms, 
 that, unless he saw fit to comply with the wishes of 
 the pastor and the body to which he belonged, official 
 notice would be taken of the matter at once. Some- 
 what alarmed at this, Brother Jones finally relented, 
 and promised faithfully that, for all time to come, he 
 would abstain from his traffic in the liquid fires. And, 
 for a time, he kept his promise, and was looked upon 
 as a reformed man. 
 
 " But the love of lucre proved too strong for the 
 Christian grocer, and, in a few months, he had so far 
 
206 Granville Moody. 
 
 disregarded his promise as to deal out bad brandy and 
 worse whisky, at three cents a glass, with more gusto 
 than ever. The Church, after rinding all further remon 
 strance useless, took immediate cognizance of the 
 matter, and excommunicated him at once. Then, for 
 the first time, Brother Jones began to be convinced 
 that he had been a little too hasty for his own good. 
 Like a great many other men, he had found his 
 Church connection an excellent thing for covering his 
 various derelictions from the right path, and when 
 this cloak was stripped off, and his character was ex- 
 posed in its native hue, with no such protection, he 
 soon found his moral credit decidedly below par. 
 Thereupon he waxed exceeding wroth, and, judging 
 correctly that Dr. M. had been the direct cause of what 
 he termed his persecution, he thereupon determined 
 to visit vengeance upon his reverend and devoted 
 head. 
 
 " His disgrace was universally known, and he de- 
 termined that his revenge also should be public. He, 
 therefore, invited a large number of his friends to be 
 at his grocery on a certain evening, assuring them 
 that it was his intention, then and there, to bestow 
 upon the minister a severe bodily chastisement. The 
 evening came, and so did they, anxious, as the great 
 public ever is, to be present on all exciting occasions. 
 When the grocery was pretty well crowded, a mes- 
 senger was dispatched to Dr. M., soliciting his pres- 
 ence at once on business of the utmost importance. 
 Five minutes had not elapsed when the messenger re- 
 turned, and with him the good parson, wondering if 
 the erring brother had relented once more. The 
 moment they entered, the indignant Jones locked the 
 door behind them, drew himself up to his full height 
 (about four-feet-six), and addressed the minister in 
 
Further Incidents. 207 
 
 the most imperious tone : ' Dr. Moody, I am an ill- 
 used man, and you know it. I am vilely persecuted, 
 sir, and you are at the bottom of it all. Now, sir, I 
 have brought you here to-night to show you that you 
 can not do this with impunity.' 
 
 " ' Brother Jones,' began the parson. 
 "'Do n't brother me, sir,' interrupted that fiery in- 
 dividual. ' I say I have brought you here to-night to 
 teach you a lesson, sir ; to rebuke you, sir ; in short, I 
 intend to cowhide you, sir.' 
 
 " And, suiting the action to the word, the excited 
 member of the Jones family immediately produced a 
 cowhide, and began to approach nearer to his clerical 
 opponent. 
 
 " 'Brother Jones,' said Dr. M., with a good deal of 
 decision, but with the utmost nonchalance. 
 
 " ' Sir?' 
 
 " ' Did I understand you to speak of cowhiding me?' 
 
 "'Certainly, you did, sir; and you will soon hear 
 something more than mere words.' 
 
 '"Brother Jones.' 
 
 "'Sir?' 
 
 " ' Do n't do it.' 
 
 " ' And why not, sir?' asked Jones, in a perfect tor- 
 nado of rage. 
 
 "'You know we Methodists believe in the possi- 
 bility of falling from grace.' 
 
 "'Well, sir?' 
 
 " ' Well, Brother Jones, if you strike me with that 
 cowhide, it is very likely that I shall fall from grace ;' 
 and the parson drew up about six-feet-four of as well- 
 made frame as can easily be found, and looked down 
 on his diminutive opponent with the air of a man who 
 meant what he said. 
 
 " ' W-h w-h-y, Doctor,' stammered Jones, taken all 
 
208 Granville Moody. 
 
 aback. ' You surely do n't intend to say that you 'd 
 
 fight?' 
 
 " 'I say nothing about that,' replied Dr. M., 'but I 
 
 do say, Brother Jones, that if you strike me a single 
 
 blow, I shall be very likely to fall from grace ; and if I 
 
 do fall from grace, you will certainly be the worst 
 
 whipped man ever seen in the State of Ohio.' 
 
 "Jones didn't carry out his threats; he repented 
 
 immediately; so the Doctor had no occasion to fall 
 
 from grace. Poor Jones ! To this day he is ready to 
 
 die with shame if you ask him, ' Who whipped the 
 
 minister?' " 
 
 The next incident is entitled " The Fighting 
 Parson," and is clipped from the D ay to ji Journal : 
 
 " Colonel Allston, John Morgan's chief of staff, has 
 been paroled, and is wending his way south. The 
 Columbus Journal published a story about him, which 
 goes to show that he is a repentant rebel. ' He spoke 
 in desponding terms of the rebel cause,' said our con- 
 temporary, but that ' the rebels regard the success of 
 the peace-men of the Vallandigham school as their 
 only hope of being victorious. He looked upon Val- 
 landigham as a true friend of the rebels, and would 
 hail his election as a promising indication of a speedy 
 termination of the war, by the withdrawal of our 
 armies from the rebel States.' This rebel, Colonel 
 Allston, decorated in secesh uniform, cut a large swath 
 in Columbus before he left on Wednesday,, and no- 
 body rebuked him ; but on his way to Zanesville, via 
 the Central Ohio Railroad, he fell into the hands of 
 one of the faithful. The incident was described to us 
 by an eye-witness. 
 
 "Colonel Allston sat with a brawny Copperhead 
 on one side of the car, vomiting out treason, which his 
 
Further Incidents. 209 
 
 fellow- traitor meekly accepted. Colonel Granville 
 Moody, with his daughter, sat opposite him reading 
 a newspaper. Colonel M. was restive, but restrained 
 himself for some time. At last the rebel colonel, in 
 full rebel uniform, who talked loudly and defiantly, 
 evidently desirous to attract attention, said that it was 
 'the duty of the peace Democrats to elect Vallandig- 
 ham. It was necessary to save them from Lincoln's 
 cursed tyranny. It was the most damnable tyranny on 
 the face of the earth. Three months hence you people 
 of the North will appeal to us [rebels], suppliantly, to 
 come up and rescue you from Lincoln's despotism.' 
 
 "Hardly was the sentence concluded, when Colonel 
 Moody, flaming with indignation, dashed his paper to 
 the floor, sprang across the car, seized the insolent 
 rebel by the throat, and thrusting his knuckles into 
 his face, hissed through his teeth: 'You infamous 
 scoundrel ! how dare you insult my government with 
 your treason ? How dare you pollute this atmosphere 
 with your insults to my country ? Shut your mouth, 
 or I '11 crush every bone in your infernal body.' Then 
 the colonel seized the rebel with force enough almost 
 to raise him from his seat, and, with considerable 
 trepidation, he stammered, 'I '11 — I '11 stop.' 
 
 " ' Stop now, or I '11 throw you out of the window. 
 I know your rights as a paroled prisoner; you are 
 under the protection of the government. That does 
 not authorize you to abuse and insult it. You 
 have abused your privilege. No man in rebel uniform 
 shall abuse my government in my hearing without 
 paying the penalty of his insolence.' 
 
 " By this time Allston's big copperhead friend at- 
 tempted to say something. 'Not a word from you!' 
 cried Colonel M. 'You miserable copperhead, you sat 
 here and listened to this rebel's treason without 
 
 16 
 
210 Granville Moody. 
 
 resenting it. If you had a grain of manhood you would 
 have saved me the necessity of interfering. Not a word 
 from you, or I '11 take you in hand. You are meaner 
 than this rebel. You have all the instincts of a traitor, 
 without the courage of a rebel.' That settled the fel- 
 low, and he subsided. A third attempted to interpose, 
 and was summarily disposed of in a similar man- 
 ner. The rebel colonel sank back into his seat and 
 endeavored to look composed, but his mind was evi- 
 dently ill at ease. Colonel Moody was right. He 
 shed his blood for his country ; he knew that a paroled 
 rebel had no right to insult the government which 
 protected him, and justly felt it his duty to teach the 
 villain a lesson he would not forget." 
 
 I give in this connection an incident illustra- 
 tive of muscular Christianity at Camp Chase. Dur- 
 ing the year 1862 I was in command of the camp, 
 having under my supervision six thousand rebel 
 prisoners, composed of generals, colonels, majors, 
 captains, and privates. There was a large space 
 of the camp set apart for rebels, surrounded with 
 a stockade twelve feet high, and sufficiently under 
 guard to control their Southern feelings. 
 
 One beautiful afternoon a splendid carriage, 
 drawn by a magnificent pair of prancing horses, 
 driven by a servant in livery, was seen to enter 
 the camp and approach the rebel stockade. In a 
 few moments the gates were thrown open, and 
 the carriage was about to enter, when the move- 
 ment attracted my attention, and I immediately 
 ordered a halt, and demanded by what authority 
 those gates were opened. " By my authority," 
 
Further Incidents. 211 
 
 saic a richly dressed lady within the carriage. 
 u And who gave yon your authority ?" " Governor 
 Tod." "Please let me see it," said I. The pass 
 read : " Permit the bearer to enter Camp Chase 
 and visit prisoners, provided it meets with the ap- 
 probation of the commanding officer." I read the 
 pass, and said: "Governor Tod has no authority 
 whatever to pass you into this camp, because it is a 
 national, and not a State camp. It is true that 
 we respect the authority of Governor Tod, and 
 treat his requests with due courtesy ; but he says 
 to admit you if it meets my approbation, and why 
 was not this request sent to head-quarters ?" " Be- 
 cause I did not see fit to send it to you," was the 
 reply. "Then," said I to the coachman, "drive 
 out. You will not be permitted to remain." He 
 moved slowly, and pretended he could not turn 
 round, when I ordered the men to drop their guns, 
 and take hold of the bits of the horses and back 
 the carriage out — which was speedily done. 
 
 "I will report you to Governor Tod," said the 
 voice of the lady; "for you are not fit for the po- 
 sition you occupy ; and I will see that you are 
 removed and properly punished for insulting a 
 lady." I found out that Mrs. Judge T. had, for a 
 month, been visiting rebel prisoners and supplying 
 them with the choicest of luxuries, and on this 
 occasion her carriage was filled with supplies to 
 bless the hearts of those with whom she was in 
 sympathy. I said to her: "Madam, you not only 
 came here, and by your supposed authority risked 
 the escape of all these prisoners, who are but ill- 
 
212 Granville Moody. 
 
 guarded with the small force now in camp, but 
 you have been providing rebels with aid and sym- 
 pathy, when there are one hundred and fifty sick 
 and dying soldiers in our own hospital who would 
 gladly receive those delicacies in your carriage, 
 and would rise up and call your name blessed." 
 The only reply was: "You are no gentleman, and 
 I will report your conduct ;" and, with the speed of 
 the wind, the coachman hurried her away to the 
 capital, maddened with rage. As soon as she left 
 I demanded: "Who ordered these gates to be 
 opened?" The officer in charge replied that he 
 did. I demanded the surrender of his sword, and 
 sent him under charges to head-quarters. 
 
 In a very short time a courier arrived in haste 
 from Governor Tod to me, asking me to come at 
 once to the city — to which request I immediately 
 gave heed. I found Governor Tod and General 
 Buckingham, adjutant-general of Ohio, awaiting 
 my coming, and we immediately retired to a pri- 
 vate room in the capitol to hold a council of war. 
 The door was closed, and Governor Tod said to 
 me: "We sent for you because there is trouble. 
 Mrs. Judge T. has brought an account of a ter- 
 rible insult you gave her in commanding her to 
 leave Camp Chase this afternoon ; and her hus- 
 band is very, very angry, and swears that he will 
 shoot you on sight. Now let us hear from you 
 the facts just as they occurred, as we have only 
 heard the statement of Judge T." I, with pre- 
 cision and accuracy, gave every detail, even to 
 the particulars of the conversation, and spoke of 
 
Further Incidents. 213 
 
 my urging her to give her delicacies to the sick 
 in the hospital, with such earnestness that, during 
 the recital of the plea, Governor Tod shed tears. 
 After hearing my statement, he said with empha- 
 sis : "Colonel Moody, you were exactly right, and 
 I do not see how you could have done otherwise." 
 General Buckingham said : " If Colonel Moody 
 had done otherwise, I should have reported him as 
 derelict in duty, and insisted on his removal." 
 "But," continued the governor, "T. is exceed- 
 ingly wroth, and swears that no street or sidewalk 
 is large enough to hold you both, and that he will 
 kill you at sight." I showed him my brace of six- 
 shooters, and said: "Governor Tod, I keep these 
 for dogs, and these are dog-days." 
 
 The next morning, early, I went into the city 
 and met a friend, who took me into his carriage. 
 He said : " Colonel Moody, the whole city is in com- 
 motion and whirl of excitement at your reported 
 treatment o£ Mrs. T. yesterday, and report says 
 that Judge T. is determined to kill you ; while the 
 Democrats are white with pent-up wrath." I had 
 never seen Judge T., and while this conversation 
 was going on the friend pointed him out to me. 
 I immediately took the lines out of the hands of 
 my friend and drove into the presence of Judge 
 T., who was reading letters in front of the post- 
 office. I stood before him, and looked him in the 
 eye. As he saw me he turned white, then red in a 
 moment, so perturbed was his flow of thought ; 
 and, excusing himself to some friends, he imme- 
 diately started to the State-house, whither I fol- 
 
214 Granville Moody. 
 
 lowed him at once, and showed myself willing to 
 be shot at by the man who had shaken the city 
 of Columbus by his threats of dire vengeance. 
 Three times he escaped my eye as I followed 
 after him, and that is all the effort he has ever 
 made to kill me from that day to this. 
 
 The opposition papers and rebel sympathizers 
 did their best to make political capital out of this 
 incident; but I had the approving evidence of my 
 own conscience in the discharge of duty, and my 
 commanding officer sanctioned all that I did as 
 just and right. 
 
 The large flag of the United States had floated 
 in apparent safety in the north-east corner of 
 Camp Chase till the spring of 1861, when a violent, 
 whirling wind enwrapped it in its unseen folds, 
 and down it came, hanging and clinging around 
 the staff, which was broken off fifty or sixty feet 
 from the ground. This accident called forth the 
 jubilant hurrahs of the imprisoned rebels, and 
 they laughed and danced, and prophesied that it 
 was a type of the destiny of the accursed Re- 
 public. " Down with the flag ! God is on our side ! 
 The winds, in their courses, fight against this 
 abhorred flag!" The secesh preachers mouthed 
 it into a prolepsis of the fall of the Republic — the 
 ruin of which was hereby foreshadowed. " So let 
 every banner of Stars and Stripes fall and fade and 
 perish and pass away. Hurrah for the Stars and 
 Bars!" Meanwhile, forgetting the limit of nine 
 feet from the walls of the wooden fencing, their 
 buoyant, boastful spirit overleaped all boundaries, 
 
Further Incidents. 215 
 
 and they rejoiced that the whirlwinds of heaven 
 joined them in warring against the Stars and 
 Stripes. " Hurrah for Jeff Davis and the Confed- 
 eracy!" they shouted. 
 
 The tumult was increasing, and some one came 
 into my office, which was just opposite the fallen 
 flag, and called me out. I ran to the flag and 
 called the reserved guards to follow me, which 
 they did promptly ; and when I reached the sum- 
 mit of the fence on the guard-route, there were 
 from three to four hundred men within three to five 
 feet of the fence, and every mouth was opened 
 with objurgations on the fallen flag. I cried out : 
 u Go to your limits beyond the fence, and cease 
 your insults to the flag of the free !" They 
 shouted only the more, and heaped their insults 
 on the flag. I ordered silence, and bade them re- 
 member they were largely outside their limits. 
 " Retire at once to your limits or take the conse- 
 quences ! March at once !" Not one obeyed the 
 orders, but they heaped derisions on the fallen 
 flag. I shouted : " Guards ! ready ! aim !" The 
 guards, in almost solid phalanx, leveled their 
 rifles, when the crowd, seeing the possible conse- 
 quences, started back to their tents, each one 
 shouting to the other: "Run, run! run for your 
 lives, men, run ;" and run they did, till not a rebel 
 could be seen in the whole yards. "Guards, re- 
 cover arms ! shoulder arms ! order arms ! rest !" 
 The carpenters were called out, flag-poles were 
 fitted and bands applied ; and, in less than an 
 hour, the flag-staff was repaired and the old 
 
216 Granville Moody. 
 
 " beauty and glory" was bent on it afresh, amid 
 the cheering of hundreds of patriotic voices. 
 
 After the battle of Bull Run there was a 
 requisition made on the military at Camp Chase, 
 which left the guard over six thousand prisoners 
 entirely inadequate. This was speedily known 
 among the prisoners, and their expectations and 
 schemes for breaking out were developed to their 
 slaves, who were interested in our cause whilst 
 in the employment of their masters in the prison. 
 We found it to our interest to leave their former 
 slaves in their employment for awhile ; for thus it 
 was " a wheel working within a wheel," and work- 
 ing for cur good by way of espionage. These 
 slaves knew all the plans of the officers, and 
 we were speedily apprised of their schemes and 
 projects. 
 
 The morning the regiments left for the field of 
 active service we were duly informed of their 
 plans for escape. We had not more than sixty 
 soldiers left for guard duty, and many of these 
 were invalids. I called for my horse, and was 
 soon closeted with Governor Tod and staff in con- 
 sultation. I represented the condition of things in 
 the camp, the expectation of the rebel officers to 
 make an effort to escape that night, and the ne- 
 cessity of re-enforcing the defenses. The result 
 was, the governor wrote to Colonel Carrington, 
 of the Eighteenth Regiment of United States 
 regular troops, who was about sixteen miles dis- 
 tant, to come by forced march to re-enforce the 
 prison camp-guard. Meanwhile volunteer guards 
 
Further Incidents. 
 
 217 
 
 were sent from Columbus to serve one night. I 
 also procured over two hundred new lanterns to 
 be suspended as an auxiliary force on the summit 
 of the prison fences, to afford superior illumina- 
 tion. I organized skeleton regiments, with three 
 to five officers to each company, to march into 
 camp at about eight o'clock P. M., in company 
 distance, with colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and 
 major, who were to form regiments and march 
 them into camp under orders, as if whole compa- 
 nies were in line, and to come to head-quarters ; 
 and, after salutes of officers, be assigned to quar- 
 ters near the walls of the prisons. 
 
 These orders were carried out to the letter, 
 and the impression that our guard-line was largely 
 re-enforced was made on the minds of the pris- 
 oners. Two imaginary re-enforcements of our 
 guard officers and men were effectually made dur- 
 ing the dense darkness of that fearful night. 
 Every officer, sutler, and private was put into 
 requisition. About two o'clock A. M., Colonel 
 Carrington arrived with about three hundred regu- 
 lar soldiers, and by four A. M. they were in posi- 
 tion on the platforms around the summit of our 
 prison fences; and, when daylight dawned, they 
 were seen by the prisoners, to their discomfiture. 
 
 Colonel Carrington kept up the Regular Army 
 regulations and discipline, and thus an outbreak 
 was prevented by prevision. Forewarned, we were 
 forearmed. The good will of the Negroes to the 
 government was shown. They were imprisoned 
 temporarily with their masters, with whom they 
 
 19 
 
218 Granville Moody. 
 
 were taken and holden. Their good-will served 
 us many a good turn in times of war. Some per- 
 sons, who did not understand all things, animad- 
 verted on the confinement of the slaves of the 
 captured secessionists with their masters, little 
 knowing what allies these slaves were to us. In 
 a short time the government gave to these men 
 their liberty, and furnished them with good homes. 
 I sent them east, west, south, and north in 
 Ohio, free. 
 
 At this time, nearly all the students in the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University, realizing the Nation's 
 need of all her sons on the battle line, left the 
 college in Delaware, Ohio, and came to our camp 
 and volunteered in the National service. Rev. 
 Frederick Merrick, president of the university, 
 came to me in Camp Chase to get my influence 
 for their return to college. But I declined, stat- 
 ing it to be the bounden duty of every student 
 to take his part in the great struggle, and I ad- 
 vised him to volunteer as chaplain, and go to the 
 battle-field with his patriotic students. He was a 
 true patriot, but deemed it his duty to take care 
 of the students officially. 
 
Views on Slavery. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 
 
 THE following extracts, the first relating to the 
 contrabands at Camp Chase, will give the 
 reader my views on the great question of human 
 bondage. They are clipped from the papers of 
 the period, and are inserted in this place because 
 of the interest which has always attached to the 
 subject : 
 
 No small measure of indignation was aroused in 
 the public mind, in relation to the status of the " col- 
 ored population " held in confinement at Camp Chase. 
 The committee of the Senate, in their report upon the 
 subject, propounded the inquiry, " Why are those 
 Negroes there at all?" And the question was certainly 
 a most appropriate one. It turned out, upon investi- 
 gation, however, that they were placed there as pris- 
 oners of war — a position as dignified as that enjoyed 
 by their masters. It was shown that the Negroes 
 were taken as participants in the rebel cause, some 
 with arms in their hands against our loyal troops, and 
 against our flag, others aiding their rebel masters in 
 camp duty. This being the case, they were sent by 
 General Halleck to Camp Chase in the same category as 
 their masters were ; namely, as prisoners of war taken 
 in battle. General Halleck made no distinction in com- 
 plexion ; but, from " snowy white to sooty," consigned 
 all thus captured to the military prison. The com- 
 mandant of the post, Colonel Moody, received them, 
 
220 Granville Moody. 
 
 not as servants of the white men whom they accom- 
 panied, but as persons consigned to his military charge 
 in the capacity of prisoners, by virtue of the orders 
 of his chief-in-command. When placed together in 
 the camp prison, the haughty Secesh, too shiftless to 
 wait upon themselves, incontinently fell back upon 
 their usual assumption of otium cum dignitate, requir- 
 ing the Negroes to serve them. This it had been 
 their custom to do, several of them having been, in- 
 deed, the slaves of some of these officers. 
 
 But to this position of affairs Colonel Moody gave 
 no assent. To show this, we need but refer to his 
 orders concerning them ; for, when finding need of an 
 additional force in his hospital for washing, nursing, 
 and caring for the sick generally, he respected the 
 convenience of these prison gentry so little as to issue 
 an order to his post surgeon to detail from the prison 
 all the Negro men he might need for that purpose. 
 This he did, because of their being experienced in 
 such personal service, and without the smallest 
 regard to, or even a thought of, their being under 
 any claim to service upon the insolent Secesh of the 
 prison. 
 
 Again, when Colonel Moody received an order from 
 the War Department ; to forward some fifty of these 
 Secesh officers to Fort Warren, under the guard of a 
 United States officer sent for that purpose, he made out 
 the list in conformity with the order, and issued the 
 necessary marching orders. And, behold, when these 
 Fort Warren gentry came forth from their prison, 
 Colonel Moody was surprised to find a number of 
 Negroes marching in the rear of their white fellow- 
 prisoners of the Secesh persuasion, and each Negro 
 carrying trunk, valise, carpet-sack, etc., for these top- 
 loftical masters, who seemed to be quite unaware that 
 
Views on Slavery. 221 
 
 they were not in Secessia. But Colonel Moody speed- 
 ily dispelled their delusion on this subject. The line 
 was at halt, and, in a voice of sternest tone, he de- 
 manded : " What are those Negro men in the line for?" 
 He was insolently told by the Secesh that the Negroes 
 were their servants, and were to carry their baggage. 
 " No, sir," shouted Colonel Moody. " We recognize 
 no such relations here, nor in this country. You have 
 no such claim to them, nor to their service." Then, 
 turning to the Negroes, he ordered them at once to 
 lay down the baggage, and clear out of the line. The 
 Negroes hesitated, looking alternately at him and at 
 Secesh, as if studying which to obey. Seeing their hesi- 
 tation, Colonel Moody shouted, in tones that left no 
 doubt as to which had better be obeyed, " Throw down 
 that baggage, and clear the line, every one of you!" 
 and at the same time ordered an officer and a squad of 
 soldiers to see his order executed, and march the 
 Negroes back to prison. This was promptly done, 
 and the Secesh were allowed the high privilege of get- 
 ting their trunks and other traps to the railroad station 
 in such manner as best they could. Also, when the 
 Negroes were detailed to hospital set vice, a Secesh, 
 Colonel Hanson, offered to furnish the money for ail 
 officer to hire a man for such service, so that his man, 
 "Jim," might be left for waiting on himself; but this 
 Colonel Moody absolutely refused. 
 
 The subject received a stormy ventilation in the 
 Ohio House of Representatives — a kind of March 
 wind to usher in the first of April. But whatever may 
 have been the fact about "permitting" slavery to 
 exist at Camp Chase, as the Senate's resolution says, we 
 do not see how it could be charged upon Colonel Moody. 
 He simply received the men, black and white, from 
 his superior officer. He kept them in prison alike. 
 
222 Granville Moody. 
 
 If he detailed the blacks to serve for the hospital, it 
 was because they knew better than their masters did 
 how to make themselves useful ; and on every occa- 
 sion, where such claim arose, he sternly and peremp- 
 torily refused all recognition of its validity. We 
 think the statements, made by the officers of his regi- 
 ment, published in our legislative column, show all 
 this abundantly. Mr. Cook, Republican, spoke about 
 an hour on the question, arguing, at length, that there 
 was no slavery in Camp Chase, and that injustice was 
 done Colonel Moody as commandant of the camp, and 
 not only to him, but the Secretary of War and the 
 President himself. To sustain his positions, he read the 
 following communications, furnished him by Colonel 
 Moody. The colonel himself was present. He was 
 anxious to establish the iact that he in no way winked 
 at slavery in the performance of his duties, and the 
 communications below go far to establish this state- 
 ment : 
 
 Camp Chase, March 30, 1862. 
 
 Some three weeks since, I was present at an interview 
 between Colonel Moody, commandant at this post, and one 
 of the prisoners released on parole. During the conversation 
 the inquiry was made, whether there would be any distinction 
 drawn between the Negroes and the other prisoners. Colonel 
 Moody replied that they were all alike prisoners of war, and 
 would be so considered by him; that the same influence that 
 would procure admittance to visit the white occupants of the 
 prison, would also be necessary to hold communication with 
 the black. I have also, both before and since the period re- 
 ferred to. heard Colonel Moody, in answer to similar inquiries, 
 make substantially the same reply. 
 
 James Rodgers, 
 
 Post Sergeant Major. 
 
 Camp Chase, March 30, 1862. 
 Some three weeks ago I removed some sick from the pris- 
 ons, and had them placed in a temporary hospital under guard. 
 
Views on Slavery. 223 
 
 The orders I received from Colonel Moody were to detail such 
 colored men as might be needed for cooks, nurses, or to at- 
 tend to any services needed for the health and comfort of the 
 prisoners. Several times I have been told, " That boy belongs 
 to me ; I need him to wait on me ;" but in opposition to all 
 their remonstrances, my details were always carried out ; 
 and they were given to understand that their claim to prop- 
 erty in man was not recognized here by Colonel Moody, the 
 commander of the post. E. W. STEELE, 
 
 Assistant Surgeon, 74th Regiment. 
 
 Camp Chase, March 31, 1862. 
 Since my connection with the prisoners confined at Camp 
 Chase, I have never recognized, either directly or indirectly, 
 the right of property in man; all prisoners have been held 
 on equal footing, regardless of color. Colonel Moody has 
 never, to my knowledge, recognized the right of one man to 
 hold another as his slave. Governor Tod ordered me to de- 
 tail any of the blacks that I chose to attend to any hospital 
 duty, pertaining to their own sick ; and, to my certain knowl- 
 edge, Colonel Moody has peremptorily refused to give Colonel 
 Hanson, a prisoner sent from here to Fort Warren, the priv- 
 ilege of taking his Negroes with him, as either servants or 
 slaves; and has constantly and positively ignored the rela- 
 tion at this post. A. S. Baeeard, 
 
 Major 74th Regiment, and Superintendent of Prison. 
 
 I consider the above statement a perfectly true one. 
 Aeex. Von Schrader, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, 74th Regiment. 
 
 Camp Chase, March 30, 1862. 
 Some three weeks since, Colonel G. Moody, commandant of 
 this post, issued to me authority to employ any or all of the 
 colored men, as prisoners of this camp, as nurses or attend- 
 ants in any of the hospitals, or in any service connected with 
 the sanitary duties of the prisoners of this camp ; and on pre- 
 senting a proposition from Mr. Hayes (major) to hire a man 
 at his expense, in order that he might retain the services of 
 his own, said proposition was promptly pronounced inadmis-_ 
 sible and illegitimate, by the commanding colonel. 
 
 George W. Maris, 
 Post Surgeon, Camp Cliase. 
 
224 Granville Moody. 
 
 The following article was contributed by me 
 to the Western Christian Advocate in 1854. ^ * s 
 reproduced without abbreviation or material 
 change : 
 
 By this time your readers are aware that the Ne- 
 braska Bill, involving the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise, by which slavery was forever prohibited 
 north of 36 ° 30' north latitude, has passed the House 
 of Representatives ; their amendments have been 
 agreed to by the Senate, and this degrading outrage is 
 consummated, and is now the law of the land. It is, 
 indeed, a most significant coincidence, that this bill of 
 abominations was only completed on Friday, May 26th — 
 the day of the great solar eclipse — and the day, too, 
 when the sun of our Republic was shorn of its glory, 
 and a portentous gloom spread all over the land. 
 Nevertheless, we will find hope in the fact that the 
 obscuration was but partial and temporary ; and sure 
 as Jehovah reigns, the sad eclipse of the sun of liberty 
 shall be but temporary ; it shall emerge from the dark- 
 ness, and shine with increased luster. 
 
 But the deed is done, and the foes of human free- 
 dom are indulging in exultant joy. The heartless 
 slave-dealer calculates the great increase in the price 
 of slaves, now that the barrier is removed, which pre- 
 vented his soul-traffic on that virgin soil consecrated 
 to freedom. The heavy, reluctant reverberations of 
 one hundred cannons, consecrated to the defense of 
 liberty, are forced to give utterance to this triumph 
 of tyrants ; and, fired near the White House, they jar 
 harshly on the nerves of freedom. O, I see the genius 
 of liberty, 
 
 " In grief and sorrow bent, 
 As o'er some ruined monument," 
 
Views on Slavery. 225 
 
 with gloom on her brow, and tears in her eye, with 
 anguished spirit and with anxious mien, mourning 
 over this dire calamity, yet calling imploringly and 
 hopefully to her votaries for help in this time of need. 
 And now, betrayed, derided, insulted, what shall we 
 do? Shall we fulfill the cherished predictions of 
 Stephen Arnold Douglas, that the North shall ac- 
 quiesce ? Shall we bow down, and, spaniel-like, lick 
 the foot that kicks us? No, no; never! 
 
 A short time after the passage of the Missouri 
 Compromise Act of 1820, the late John Randolph, of 
 Roanoke, Virginia, used the following language on 
 the floor of Congress : " We, of the South, know 
 what we are doing. We are always united, from the 
 Ohio to Florida, and we can always unite, and you 
 of the North are divided. We have conquered you 
 once — in the recent admission of Missouri with 
 slavery — and we can and will conquer you again. 
 Ay, gentlemen, we have driven you to the wall, 
 and when we have you there, we mean to keep you 
 there, and nail you down like base money." This 
 prediction has been but too fully realized, and the 
 North is driven again to the wall, and, that, too, by 
 the perfidy of Northen men ! And will they ' ' keep 
 us there?" Will the Free States submit? If they 
 do, they deserve to be slaves. But this remains to be 
 seen. As yet, the Free States are scarcely aware of 
 the evils involved in this bill of abominations, which 
 maketh desolate the hearts and hopes of millions. It 
 is the modern Pandora's box. Nor is hope found at 
 the bottom. 
 
 This bill is so shaped as to apply the principle 
 of Congressional non-intervention, as it respects slav- 
 ery, not merely to Nebraska and Kansas, but equally 
 
226 Granville Moody. 
 
 to the Territories of Minnesota, Oregon, and Washing- 
 ton, to the States of Iowa and California, both of which 
 now contain a limited number of slaves, and also to 
 the States north-west of the Ohio River, hitherto pro- 
 tected by the Ordinance of 1787. 
 
 If it be held that the legislation of 1850 " rendered 
 inoperative" the Missouri Compromise Act, for the 
 same reason these principles must be held to have ren- 
 dered inoperative the Ordinance of 1787, relative to 
 the territory north-west of the Ohio River. Indeed, 
 the terms in which this new doctrine of Congressional 
 non-intervention is announced, are such as to indicate 
 an unlimited application of it. It sweeps away all 
 former limits to slavery, and proclaims liberty to ex- 
 tend slavery in every direction ; and if the Free 
 States submit, as they have submitted to the aggres- 
 sions of the slave-power, and yield, even seemingly, to 
 the doctrine that has gained the sanction of a Con- 
 gressional enactment, it will be regarded by the South 
 as an invitation to extend the sway of slavery over 
 the whole North. If we allow them to destroy or 
 possess the outworks, they will consider it a virtual 
 assent to occupy the citadel. 
 
 The passage of the Nebraska Bill, says the Union, 
 "is necessary to prepare the Northern mind for the 
 thick-coming events of the future — the acquisition of 
 Cuba," and a portion of Mexico at least; and the 
 same flagrant perfidy which has forced this measure 
 through Congress will be relied upon to give success 
 to the warlike measures already intimated and initiated 
 by the President and Senate. Thus we may see the 
 scope and scale of the aggressive slave power. 
 
 But the Nebraska Bill is not our only danger. 
 There is an organized and determined effort to have 
 
Views on Slavery. 227 
 
 "property in man " placed upon the same basis as any 
 other property. Having gained such a recognition 
 under the Constitution of the United States, they ex- 
 pect to be able to hold slaves in all the Territories, 
 and to be able to carry them with them into any 
 of the States at pleasure, without any forfeiture of 
 property in them. 
 
 Hitherto the decisions of the United States courts 
 have been, that property in slaves is dependent on 
 local positive laws, and that the title is invalidated the 
 moment the slave is taken by his master, or permitted 
 to go, beyond the jurisdiction of those laws. But Mr. 
 Calhoun, and all of his school, claimed that what the 
 Constitution of the United States recognized as prop- 
 erty in one State was, in law and equity, property in 
 every State and everywhere under the national juris- 
 diction. This doctrine is becoming common at the 
 South, and is advocated by many at the North. 
 
 In the Lemmon case, which is now before the Su- 
 preme Court, slaveholders expect to get an indorse- 
 ment of this doctrine, and there is danger that they 
 will succeed; a majority of the judges are from the 
 slave States, as is usual in the distribution of power ; 
 and when they are removed by death, their places are 
 sure to be supplied by the most pro-slavery men that 
 can be found ; and, after the astonishing and unparal- 
 leled and unjust decision given against the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and in favor of the South, by this 
 pro-slavery court, what have we to hope for from them ? 
 It is more than probable that a majority of that court 
 will assert the right of the master to hold his slaves 
 in any territory of the nation, and in transitu in any 
 State ; and when this is decided we shall be powerless 
 to resist except by a civil revolution. There is no 
 
228 Granville Moody. 
 
 appeal from the decision of the United States courts 
 but to arms. The alternative, then, will be abject 
 submission or a resort to arms in defense of justice and 
 liberty. 
 
 The passage of the Nebraska Bill amounts to a 
 dissolution of the compact by which, hitherto, slavery 
 and freedom have affected to divide the land. Hence- 
 forth there can be no compromise between them as 
 between equals ; the one must be as abject and subject 
 as the other will be supreme and dictatorial. 
 
 It rests with the North to resist or submit, to sink 
 basely down into the condition and attitude of a con- 
 quered province, or to rise in its strength, and by stern 
 and steady demand for the repeal of the Nebraska 
 Bill, or its equivalent, restore the landmarks of free- 
 dom which our fathers set up, and thus regain their 
 rights and their rightful portion. The North can do 
 it if they will; they will do it if they can — united 
 they will be invincible. 
 
 One thing is certain, the hitherto existing re- 
 gard for compromise measures in the North will be 
 destroyed by recent movements of the slave party, 
 which has repudiated its own compact with the quid 
 pro quo in their possession, and as basely, too, as Mis- 
 sissippi repudiated her State debt; and, though the 
 South has gained the Nebraska Bill, it has lost its 
 honor, and sacrificed its plighted faith most flagrantly ; 
 and it is and will be understood that confidence can 
 not longer be reposed in Southern honor and integrity, 
 and thus their gain is an emphatic loss. 
 
 Nor let the South, after destroying this first-born 
 of all the measures of conciliation, and having estab- 
 lished slavery in all the territory allotted to her by 
 her own measure of 1820, imagine for one moment 
 that the North will adhere to the measures of recent 
 
Views on Slavery. 229 
 
 date which recognize that first restriction, now that 
 the South have annulled it for their own benefit. They 
 will erelong find out that the repeal of the Missouri 
 Compromise is the virtual repeal of the whole series 
 of measures, and we are thereby absolved from all 
 further obligations to observe them, on the principle 
 that the failure of one party to a contract to meet its 
 obligations, works an honorable release to the party of 
 the other part from its cognate obligations. This is 
 the end of the existing compromises, and will be the 
 barrier to all future ones. 
 
 And now for stern, united, persistent action against 
 this common foe. We must ignore mere party and 
 political interests, which are not of vital importance. 
 The action of the South makes this a question of para- 
 mount importance to us, and we must combine and 
 array a party of freemen as terrible to tyrants as an 
 army with banners. We must turn a deaf ear to all 
 the doctors of divinity who teach us to obey the be- 
 hests of those "who frame iniquity by a law," rather 
 than obey conscience, reason, and the Word of God ; 
 we must show Douglas that clergymen are not dolts, nor 
 are they to be gagged or intimidated in the holy cause 
 of human rights. Christians must show their devo- 
 tion to truth and principle to be supreme ; and though 
 another Daniel Webster should appear to compel sub- 
 mission to the Nebraska outrage, as he did to the Fugi- 
 tive-slave L,aw, we must say: Avaunt, begone ! and 
 show the slave power and the slave-catcher that that 
 odious Fugitive-slave Law is henceforth "inopera- 
 tive ;" that the Sonth has released us from its inhu- 
 man provisions, and that the panting fugitive, who 
 implores our aid will find that "we hold these truths 
 to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ; 
 that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
 
230 Granville Moody. 
 
 inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness." 
 
 We thank the South for uniting the North at last ; 
 and now let us aid the freedom-loving emigrant, em- 
 powered as he is to vote, to Nebraska ; make it mis- 
 sionary ground; form a Methodist conference there 
 forthwith. Let all the Churches do likewise ; circulate 
 anti slavery tracts, and the oppressors will be appalled 
 at the terrible reaction which shall overwhelm them 
 and their schemes in a signal defeat. 
 
Temperance. 231 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TEMPERANCE— EXTRACTS FROM PAPERS. 
 From a Springfield Paper (1851). 
 
 THE meeting of the Temperance Alliance on Mon- 
 day evening, at the Columbia Street Church, was 
 numerously attended. Rev. Granville Moody deliv- 
 ered an able address on the subject of intemperance 
 and its appropriate remedy, the enactment of a law- 
 similar in its provisions to the Maine Law, embracing 
 the principles of seizure and confiscation. His blows 
 against this monster vice were given with a stalwart 
 arm and hearty good- will; for whatever Mr. Moody 
 finds to do, he does with all his might. His address 
 embodied a vast amount of statistical facts, showing 
 the destructive effects of intemperance on the indi- 
 vidual and society, physically, morally, and pecun- 
 iarily; and argued with great force the right of so- 
 ciety to abate the traffic in liquor as a beverage, on 
 the same grounds that obscene books and pictures, 
 and the apparatus of the gambler are doomed to 
 destruction ; the right to protect itself against all 
 nuisances that endanger its health or corrupt its 
 morals. 
 
 By vote of the alliance the address was ordered to 
 be printed, when all will have an opportunity of 
 reading it for themselves. 
 
 From the "Gazette," Dayton (1854). 
 
 Mr. Editor, — We were much amused by the silly 
 communication of "J. S.," which appeared in the 
 
232 Granville Moody. 
 
 Empire of the 7th inst. He seems to be specially dis- 
 turbed by the speeches made by two of our city clergy 
 in favor of an effective appliance of the new liquor law. 
 He says : "The whole tone and tenor of their speeches 
 were counsel, advice, and persuasion to temperance 
 men, and to members of their Churches especially, to 
 do things which, if done, must bring down upon those 
 who do them the contempt and scorn of all who de- 
 spise mean and dishonest actions." Again he says : 
 "They would have their followers degrade themselves 
 by becoming public informers for vengeance or from 
 prejudice" And so intent is this unscrupulous writer 
 in urging this allegation, that he repeats it in the last 
 paragraph, and says that "he merely wishes to call 
 attention to the fact that the preachers are inducing 
 their followers to become public informers for venge- 
 ance or from prejudice." He also says: "Since the 
 formation of government, public informers for venge- 
 a7ice or prejudice have occupied the same social 
 position as hangmen." And he asks, as though his 
 conscience yet twinged or his prudence supplicated to 
 be heard: "Could mortal man believe it?" No, no, 
 Mr. J. S. ; moderate your hopes ; restrain your expecta- 
 tions. We assure you that you can not find mortal or 
 immortal man to believe your senseless charge that 
 these naughty preachers instigated their followers 
 against you or your kith and kin, either "for venge- 
 ance or from prejudice ;" and your threefold repeti- 
 tion of this charge in one short article, that they urged 
 them to it "for vengeance or from prejudice" shows 
 that you were afraid no one would believe it ; and 
 you seem to have proceeded on the maxim, "Throw 
 enough mud, some may stick." 
 
 And, pray, why are the clergy charged with acting, 
 and with actuating others, from the silliness of preju- 
 
Temperance. 233 
 
 dice or the savagism of revenge? Why this fierce 
 and slanderous attack on the clergy? Why this at- 
 tempt to call down public odium upon them ? What 
 have they done under the derangement of prejudice 
 or the savagism of revenge? What if they did "ad- 
 vise, counsel, and persuade" their fellow-citizens to 
 the appliance and enforcement of this wholesome and 
 benevolent law (as far as it goes), enacted by the po- 
 litical friends of J. S. for the suppression of intem- 
 perance, that greatest source of social and moral evil 
 and ruin in our midst? 
 
 Could clergymen be the friends of society, in this 
 matter of vital interest, and remain silent ? Are they 
 not expected to be conservators of public morals? 
 Has it come to this, that honor, uprightness, and dig- 
 nity require them, or any others, to take the side of 
 
 the makers or venders of the accursed thing? Is it 
 
 > 
 
 not sickening, too, to find men, pretending even to a 
 moiety of common sense or morals, coming up to the 
 aid of intemperance ? 
 
 This hasty writer, it seems, could not elevate his 
 thoughts to the conception of higher and nobler mo- 
 tives, as actuating temperance men, than " revenge or 
 prejudice !" Has he only studied the influence of mo- 
 tives with which he is most familiar? Does he judge 
 others by himself? Alas ! has the traffic in and use 
 of intoxicating liquors so stultified his mind, and de- 
 based his heart already, that "revenge or prejudice" 
 is the only conceivable alternative to him ? Could he 
 not, by a more determined effort, rise to the conception 
 of better motives for the conduct of those who are en- 
 gaged in the benign and philanthropic cause of tem- 
 perance ? According to this sapient correspondent, 
 temperance men are guilty of " revenge and prejudice" 
 when engaged in a cause which requires a self-sacrific- 
 
234 Granville Moody. 
 
 ing spirit of active benevolence in staying an evil 
 which ever leaves want and wretchedness in the track 
 of its desolating course. We most promptly and posi- 
 tively disclaim such unworthy motives, and affirm, 
 and every one present at the time will attest, that no 
 such sentiment was even hinted at, much fess avowed, 
 and the statements of J. S. concerning them are en- 
 tirely gratuitous. 
 
 By the way, was it the fifth resolution which re- 
 gards with disapprobation the sale of beer, ale, etc., as 
 beverages, which has called out J. S.? Does he cry out 
 "because his craft is in danger?" Ah! Demetrius, thy 
 speech betrayeth thee. This certainly is an age of 
 progress ! It is amusing to hear a liquor-dealer charg- 
 ing clergymen with being " miserable if peace or hap- 
 piness prevail in a neighborhood for a month," when 
 it is notorious that peace and happiness can not exist 
 for a single day where intemperance prevails. To 
 such we may say in the language of inspiration : 
 " What hast thou to do with peace ?" " Who hath 
 woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? 
 Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without 
 cause ? Who hath redness of eyes ? They that tarry 
 long at the wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine." 
 
 But perchance J. S. acted on the policy of the pur- 
 sued thief, who ran in order to divert attention, and 
 exclaimed as he ran: "Stop thief, stop thief!" But 
 how are we to understand J. S. ? Does he wish to 
 appear before the public as the advocate and defender 
 of all the woes and wretchedness and misery and 
 wickedness of intemperance ? Does he indeed riot in 
 the tears of broken-hearted wives and more than 
 orphaned children ? Has he lost sight of the drunkard 
 in the gutter? Has he, and have his coadjutors closed 
 their eyes to the cry of crime? Have oppressive 
 
Temperance. 235 
 
 taxes, and crowded almshouses, and crowded jails, 
 and crowded penitentiaries, and the dark gallows with 
 its swinging victims, all failed to impress his mind 
 and their minds with the inconceivable and unmiti- 
 gated evils of the wrong he defends ? Has petty 
 gain blinded the mind, hardened the heart, seared the 
 conscience, blasted the finer sensibilities and sympa- 
 thies of the souls of the dealers in this accursed thing, 
 and even brought J. S. out as their voluntary ad- 
 vocate? This charge I do not make against him, but 
 I am at a loss to know how he can be exonerated 
 from the blame of endeavoring to hinder those whose 
 only aim is to remove these evils from society. "Be 
 not partakers of other men's sins." 
 
 In conclusion, let me ask, Are these sentiments 
 and feelings avowed by J. S., so nearly allied to the 
 spirit that conceived and consummated the Nebraska 
 outrage, which, despising the solemnities of a national 
 compact and compromise, and disregarding the original 
 design of this government, which was to establish 
 liberty and justice, endeavors to open wide the door 
 under the sanctions of our republican government, 
 for the purpose of flooding this land of liberty with 
 all the horrors and wrongs of slavery? Is J. S. striv- 
 ing to shield and promote intemperance in our midst, 
 and slavery in our land, with such determined zeal, 
 that any efforts made against these pet curses of com- 
 munity wake up his indignation in defense of both ? 
 Alas! 'tis said that "the vices go in groups." But it 
 may be that the influence of association and one- 
 ness of principle are leading him in the wake of the 
 politicians who decry the efforts of the friends of lib- 
 erty and morals, and decry clergymen in particular 
 (and some men are constitutionally apish). If so, the 
 conflict will not terminate very soon, and their vainly 
 
236 Granville Moody. 
 
 sought victory will furnish the modern illustration of 
 the work of Sisyphus. 
 
 On the subject of the office and work of the pulpit, 
 I recommend to J. S. th*e consideration of the senti- 
 ment uttered by that correct and nohle-minded poet, 
 Cowper : 
 
 " The pulpit 
 
 Must stand acknowledged, whilst the world shall stand, 
 
 The most important and effectual guard, 
 
 Support, and ornament of virtue's cause." 
 
 We are at a loss to determine whether the bad 
 spirit or the bad spelling, the bad sense or the bad 
 syntax, of the communication of J. S. bears the palm. 
 Either the typographers have done him great injustice, 
 or he ought to sue his school-master for his education. 
 But we must be lenient on this point, as he promises 
 not "to throw open the sacerdotal robes of clerical 
 ignorance." 
 
 We confess a little curiosity to know who this J. S. 
 is. Some say he is from Pennsylvania, having im- 
 ported himself to this city at a heavy expense, to 
 assume the post of head secretary to a bag of malt. 
 Of this, however, we have no certain knowledge, and 
 are left to judge his personality from his initials. For 
 what, then, do the letters J. S., stand? If for a name, it 
 might be John Smith; but we are not disposed to slan- 
 der that respectable individual by the supposition. We 
 prefer to suppose that the initials J. S. stand for terms 
 merely descriptive of a class, the Jug-Suckers. For 
 the present we bid them and their champion adieu. 
 
 M. 
 
 Mr. Editor, — We noticed a second communica- 
 tion from J. S. in the Empire of the 16th inst., upon 
 which we would make a few remarks, not that we 
 
Temperance. 237 
 
 deem his article worthy of attention further than 
 this; in meeting J. S. we virtually meet the whole 
 force of the liquor interest in this city, and are afforded 
 an opportunity of speaking to the public upon the 
 subject of temperance, and because he has been 
 made to occupy the nadir as the medium of the 
 bad logic and worse business of the liquor vend- 
 ers. It is really afflicting to see him wiithe under the 
 logic which proves him to be utterly reckless in 
 charging temperance men with " acting from prejudice 
 or revenge" whilst endeavoring to bring the arm of 
 the law to bear upon drinking-houses, declared by the 
 political associates of J. S. to be public nuisances, and 
 for the abatement of which they have made legal pro- 
 vision, whilst J. S. appears at the portals as their 
 zealous defender. "The wounded bird will flutter." 
 
 But J. S. very promptly leaves this absurd posi- 
 tion, and informs us of the existence of brothels and 
 gambling establishments in our ward and city, and 
 seemingly banters us to plant our batteries against 
 those great evils. We think that by planting our bat- 
 tery against intemperance we most effectually destroy 
 all these and many associated vices. Intemperance, as 
 it destroys all the tender sensibilities of {he heart, 
 banishes the native modesty of our nature, removes 
 the sense of shame, increases the desire for mere 
 sensual indulgences and selfish gratifications, opens 
 the door for all the vices which drown the world in 
 woe, and changes man into a demon of mischief and a 
 demon of personal misery, should call forth our most 
 vigorous opposition. What, indeed, is left of virtue 
 or happiness to the inebriate ? Who can follow him 
 anywhere in society, especially to the associations of 
 domestic life, without being shocked at every step, 
 
238 Granville Moody. 
 
 and, if the observer is capable of sympathy, without 
 having his heart oppressed with anguish, where, in- 
 stead of the affectionate husband and kind father, or 
 dutiful son or loving brother, he only meets the be- 
 sotted drunkard, the merciless tyrant, the wreck of 
 every virtue and of every endearing tie ? 
 
 But what does J. S. really wish ? Does he wish 
 to come out and directly tell us that he is the ad- 
 vocate of drunkards and intemperance ? or that those 
 who make drunkards should not be brought out of 
 their retreats, and their efforts prevented, because, 
 forsooth, they are the friends of society and the 
 benefactors of mankind? The principle involved in 
 his anathemas upon those who would apply the 
 liquor law would prevent the application and execu- 
 tion of all law. 
 
 He does not tell us this plainly, but indirectly at 
 least ; and, though it is right to arrest a man who 
 steals our property, or who has broken into our houses 
 at night, endangering our lives, or the man who coun- 
 terfeits the public currency or coin, or the man who, 
 in our markets, sells unwholesome meat, yet, ac- 
 cording to J. S., nothing but "revenge or prejudice" 
 can possibly induce us to oppose strenuously practices 
 which produce, directly or indirectly, nearly all those 
 cases of crime which crowd the criminal docket of 
 this and every other county in Ohio. And, indeed, 
 the thief and the burglar and the counterfeiter, and 
 the butcher who sells diseased meat in our mar- 
 kets, are as thoroughly shielded by the arguments of 
 J. S. as the man who violates the liquor law. Each 
 of these offenders might cry out with J. S. against 
 those who would maintain the law of the State against 
 them. "O, you are mischief-makers, you are inform- 
 ers ' for prejudice or from revenge,' you belong to the 
 
Temperance. 239 
 
 class of hangmen ;" and they would be as likely to do 
 so as J. S. and the men he defends ; for 
 
 "No rogue e'er felt the halter draw 
 With good opinion of the law ; 
 Or held the statute orthodox 
 With love of justice, in the stocks." 
 
 Thus we are shut up to the conclusion that J. S., 
 dissatisfied with the legislation which "provides against 
 the evils arising from the liquor-traffic," hopes to make 
 it inoperative by deterring our citizens from applying 
 it, as also all future legislation and efforts of the kind; 
 and thus does he lend his influence to sustain the 
 cause of intemperance, and his measures, harmless only 
 from their impotency, if completely successful, would 
 convert our great nation into a nation of drunkards." 
 
 But J. S. insists upon our making an attack upon 
 the brothels and gambling-hells which, he informs us, 
 do really exist in our ward and city, and he makes 
 earnest inquiry, Why do we not attend to these ? We 
 answer, first : Suppose we should, would not J. S. hurl 
 his anathemas upon us as "informers for prejudice or 
 from revenge," and assail us as " mischief-makers," 
 "disturbers of the peace," and endeavor to make us 
 "odious as spies and hangmen?" For this is the 
 broad position he has taken in his articles, and con- 
 sistency would require him to do so ; and if decency 
 would not allow him to defend brothels and gambling 
 as he has defended grog-shops and drinking-houses, 
 some other staunch defender of these " pet curses " 
 could adopt the language of J. S., and with as much 
 propriety too, as in the cause he advocates. 
 
 We answer, secondly : That the removal of the 
 facilities for intemperance is the most effectual, and 
 almost the only, way of reaching those nuisances 
 of which he speaks, and which are directly sustained 
 
240 Granville Moody. 
 
 by the makers and venders of intoxicating liquors; 
 nuisances which could not exist under the influence 
 of temperance ; nuisances which live, move, and have 
 their birth and being in the legally declared nuisance 
 of intemperance, on whose citadel J. S. stands sen- 
 tinel. Hence the outcry of Demetrius and his fellow- 
 craftsmen, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," when- 
 ever this mercenary and soul-destroying craft is as- 
 sailed ; and, indeed, J. S. unwittingly concedes our 
 whole argument, for he tells us that gamblers in this 
 city have posted on the walls of one of their rooms the 
 following motto: "Let him drink and forget his pov- 
 erty, and remember his misery no more." He also 
 says that "professional gamblers do not drink; they 
 are too wide awake for that — only their victims drink ;" 
 and, therefore, the motto was intended for them. Ah, 
 murder will out. J. S. states here that gamblers de- 
 pend on intemperance for their success — fatal admis- 
 sion, "only their victims drink." Well, then, if their 
 success depends on intemperance, shall we not then 
 most effectually prevent the success of gamblers ? Out 
 of thine own mouth, J. S., we find the vindication of 
 our course in endeavoring to circumvent the prolific 
 crime of intemperance. Verily, as gamblers depend 
 on intemperance for their success, they will, no doubt* 
 feel much indebted to J. S. for opposing those who 
 would stay the devastating tide of intemperance by 
 which their business thrives. 
 
 From this concession it does appear that the better 
 judgment of J. S. has not entirely submitted to the 
 injurious and destructive claims of the cause he de- 
 fends ; but if he is sincere, why does he endeavor to 
 hinder those healthful movements against intemper- 
 ance? "Consistency, thou art a jewel." J. S. very 
 properly expresses his indignation against the beastly, 
 
. Temperance. 241 
 
 loathsome, and debasing vice of prostitution, which 
 furnishes such an exhibition of shamelessness, and we 
 deeply lament that there is to be found in our beau- 
 tiful city, and especially in the Fifth Ward, a place 
 which answers so exactly to the description given in 
 the Bible of her " whose house is the way to hell, 
 going down to the chambers of death ; yea, many 
 strong men have been slain by her, and her guests are 
 in the depths of hell." 
 
 It is to be regretted that our laws, which punish 
 such houses, as well as their nurseries, the grog-shops, 
 are not more vigorously executed. Benevolence to 
 society, and true philanthropy, would justify such en- 
 forcement. And it is still more to be regretted that 
 every attempt to suppress intemperance, the foster- 
 mother of these hyenas of society, should be ascribed 
 to " revenge or prejudice." Does not J. S. know that 
 intemperance does more to produce debauchery and 
 gambling than any thing else in our land ? Do not 
 these vices belong to the family of vices produced or 
 nourished by intemperance ? Hence, in opposing in- 
 temperance, we but lay the ax at the root of this 
 upas-tree; but J. S. cries out, Hands off, hands off; it 
 is all "prejudice or revenge;" and thus does he be- 
 come in effect the defender of both prostitution and 
 gambling, and a fearful brood of crimes incubated by 
 intemperance. 
 
 J. S. thinks that "the devil can be seen by some 
 only in. a glass of rum." Verily we think the man 
 must be under the influence of several glasses of rum, 
 who fails to see the demon there, whose name is 
 legion. But J. S. tells us there is no mystery about 
 this liquor-traffic ; it is regulated precisely as every 
 other article in the market, by the law of supply and 
 demand, hence ; so long as there is a demand for 
 
242 Granville Moody. 
 
 liquor of any kind, there will be found men to meet 
 the demand in spite of the most stringent legal enact- 
 ments ; no power on God's earth can prevent it. 
 
 Stop, stop, J. S. ; you go too fast. We know now by 
 what medium your mysteries are cleared up; but in 
 the liquor-traffic it is obvious that your philosophy is at 
 fault. The fact is, the supply of liquor creates the de- 
 mand, and not the demand the supply, for the appe- 
 tite is an artificial one, and not natural ; it is an ac- 
 quired one. The supply and presence of the article 
 produce the appetite. It is the nature of every vice 
 to increase its own demands in proportion to the sup- 
 ply of the means of gratification. Remove the supply, 
 and the appetite decreases and dies out, for it is not a 
 natural one. Remove the facilities for procuring 
 liquor, and men will do without it, to the advance- 
 ment of every interest. 
 
 This is also the case with tobacco and opium. No 
 one has a natural appetite for them; it is an acquired 
 one. The presence and use of these articles is the oc- 
 casion of the appetite, and in proportion to the abun- 
 dance of the supply will be the use. Now, we propose 
 to banish intoxicating liquor from society as a bever- 
 age; and, if no supply, there will be no demand, as the 
 appetite for alcohol is artificial and not natural. And 
 O, how many inebriates would rejoice, as they have 
 often said, if the accursed thing were placed out of 
 their way, that they might not be led into temptation ! 
 So with brothels and gaming establishments. Their 
 presence is the occasion of the ruin of thousands who 
 would not be wrecked in circumstances, in body, in 
 soul, and in hope, if these accursed places did not 
 afford such facilities for debasing bestiality and hor- 
 rid crimes. And when we consider how intemper- 
 ance inflames the passions of both soul and body, we 
 
Temperance. 243 
 
 need not wonder that gaming-houses and places of 
 prostitution are patronized as extensively as J. S., who 
 has turned " public informer" in these base crimes, 
 attests, though we charitably hope he has not turned 
 informer "for prejudice and from revenge." 
 
 We highly approve of the regard which J. S. pro- 
 fesses for the sanctity of the Sabbath, and we will 
 render him all proper aid in maintaining its benign 
 influences. And we rejoice also to know that the 
 entire history of the Revolutionary struggle sheds its 
 luster on the ancient and patriotic New England name 
 so intimately interwoven with its events from A. D. 
 1632 through all its variant but progressive changes. 
 We are not concerned about the puerile and virulent 
 personalities of this would-be censor. His first and 
 last communications abound in low, ribald person- 
 alities, the perpetration of which was manifestly the 
 design of both communications ; for no one ever 
 charged "prejudice and revenge" on principles, as they 
 are only predicable of persons. We would remind him 
 of the fable of the viper gnawing the file. Meanwhile, 
 we assure J. S. that we feel no bitterness against him, 
 and we are really sorry that the efforts to promote a 
 cause so important to the welfare of our city should 
 have roused his mind and waked up his wrath and 
 indignation. And we regret to learn that on former 
 occasions he has appeared as the opponent of the 
 cause of temperance. And we further regret that, in 
 entering the arena, he chose the weapon of person- 
 alities, so plentifully exhibited in both warp and woof 
 of his loosely woven web. 
 
 From the piteous complaints, the contortions of 
 countenance, and abhorrent grimaces which he makes 
 when the cup he mingled for others is returned to his 
 own lips, we infer that he does n't like the mixture ; 
 
244 Granville Moody. 
 
 but we think it will be medicinal ; and from the im- 
 proved tone of his last communication, we have con- 
 siderable hope for our patient. 
 
 To conclude for the present, I thank J. S. for 
 affording the occasion of addressing thousands of my 
 fellow-citizens on the high, mighty, moral principles 
 and social interests connected with the benevolent and 
 philanthropic cause of temperance. With this end in 
 view I can very easily bear the unfounded reproach 
 and toothless personalities of this knight-errant of in- 
 temperance. And we read that: "Blessed are ye 
 when men shall revile you and persecute you, and 
 shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my 
 sake." Meanwhile, this case affords an encouraging 
 illustration of the great truth that even "the wrath of 
 man shall praise the L,ord, and the remainder of wrath 
 will he restrain." M. 
 
 Mr. Editor, — I notice a third communication 
 from J. S. in the Empire of the 21st, containing the 
 usual quantum of abuse and reiteration of demolished 
 charges; to all of which I wish briefly to reply, that 
 the case being now fairly before the public, I am 
 willing to leave it to their verdict, believing they are 
 competent to determine what has been accomplished. 
 Meanwhile, my own conviction is, if possible, more 
 firmly established than ever, that true benevolence and 
 philanthropy would require us to exterminate the 
 traffic in liquor, not only for the sake of the public in 
 general, but for the sake of the liquor-seller, who him- 
 self is very generally the victim of his own wicked 
 and criminal business. 
 
 As to the charge that clergymen are sometimes 
 mischief-makers, disturbers of the peace, etc., they 
 must expect to suffer such imputations for the part 
 
Temperance. 245 
 
 they may think it their duty to take in opposing vice. 
 I rejoice to know that the same charge has been made 
 against them in proportion to their activity in advo- 
 cating the right and the true and the good, from time 
 immemorial. Elijah was charged with being a troubler 
 cf Israel. The apostles were charged with troubling 
 the city exceedingly; and on another occasion Paul 
 and Silas were charged with having "turned the world 
 upside down ;" and well was it for the world, for it 
 had been wrong side up for a long time, and it is not 
 yet fully righted. Even Jesus was reviled in the 
 same way; and "if they have called the Master 
 Beelzebub, how much more them of his household." 
 We know how it has been with those who have labored 
 in the cause of moral reform, always and everywhere ; 
 and knowing what to expect, we do not complain. 
 
 I am sorry to learn, as I do from an intimation in 
 the last communication of J. S., that he has received 
 threatening anonymous letters from some source or 
 other. Why any one should threaten him I know not; 
 yet that he has been threatened, anonymously, I can not 
 doubt, for it would be unkind even to suspect that 
 he is rehearsing on a small scale the ludicrous farce of 
 "Payne, the Great Shot At." He says, however, in 
 regard to these threatening anonymous correspond- 
 ents, that he is ready "to spit upon them and kick 
 them like the filthiest poodle" in his path. This is 
 right. Whether they are Church members or Gentiles, 
 we think they do deserve a castigation for their im- 
 proper interference, and we think J. S. has hit upon 
 the very best way of treating them. Deserving of 
 punishment as they are, he acts wisely to substitute 
 kicking for writing ; for it is very certain they will be 
 more likely to get their deserts from his boots than 
 from his pen. 
 
246 Granville Moody. 
 
 In taking our leave of J. S. for the present, we 
 assure him that he has our best wishes for his wel- 
 fare. We should not have troubled him or the public 
 with a single line but for the defense and advocacy of 
 the moral principles, social interests, and civil order 
 involved in the holy cause of temperance. M. 
 
 Mr. Editor, — J. S. makes another desperate but 
 ineffectual effort to extricate himself from the diffi- 
 culties which environ him in his absurd position as 
 the knight-errant of the grog-shops. He admits that 
 if our case were at all analagous to the case of Elijah 
 and others specified by me, all of whom were charged 
 with being mischief-makers, troublers of the people, 
 etc., there would be some force in our plea ; but he 
 thinks our case is "as wide from theirs as a good 
 action is from a bad one." Well, then, let us see. 
 Our offense is, that we counseled the forming of a 
 Committee of Vigilance, composed of twenty men, to 
 aid in the enforcement of the law " to provide against 
 the evils resulting from the liquor-traffic ;" and we may 
 state that, by a subsequent vote, over five hundred per- 
 sons added themselves to the committee aforesaid, and 
 not merely or mainly as Church members, but the 
 good and true citizens of Dayton generally. This, 
 then, "is the head and front of our offending" to J S. 
 and the grog-shop keepers; for truly "their craft is in 
 danger." 
 
 J. S. says those ancient worthies, as Elijah and 
 others, "were not the means of having men dragged 
 before authority for the vengeance of the law," as he 
 gratuitously designates its penalties. What ? Did not 
 Elijah accuse, and publicly too, those wicked men who 
 led the Israelites away from God by their sins; and 
 did not that wicked Ahab, who sold himself to work 
 
Temperance. 247 
 
 iniquity, say unto Elijah : " Art thou he who troubleth 
 Israel?" And Elijah answered and said: "I have not 
 troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's house, in 
 that ye have forsaken the commandments of the 
 Lord." And did not Elijah gather to Mount Carmel 
 the nine hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the 
 groves, and did not Elijah say unto them : "Take the 
 prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape?" And 
 they took them, and Elijah brought them down to 
 the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Verily he 
 dragged them before authority, in a sense and to an ex- 
 tent immeasurably beyond anything that we ever coun- 
 seled or imagined with regard to liquor-sellers, for our 
 object is simply to terminate their ruinous business by 
 appropriate legal suasion, though drunkenness is as de- 
 structive of all human interests as was the base idola- 
 try of Baal. Nor do we wonder that Ahab, whose in- 
 terests were as intimately identified with the accursed 
 false prophets as the interests and propensities of J. S. 
 are with the liquor-sellers, should cry out to Elijah as 
 J. S. does to us : u O thou clerical meddler, thou mis- 
 chief-maker, art thou he that troubleth Israel?" 
 Thus we see that the charge of J. S. puts him along- 
 side of Ahab, and is just as untrue as to the friends 
 of temperance as was the charge of that wicked Ahab, 
 who sold himself to work iniquity, as alleged against 
 Elijah ; and therefore, as J. S. acknowledges that our 
 plea would have some force if the case was at all 
 analogous to the persons referred to, and as we have 
 shown the strict and striking analogy, as far as our 
 case goes, we have the acknowledgment of J. S. to 
 the justice of our plea. He justifies us and con- 
 demns himself. 
 
 Did not John the Baptist publicly accuse Herod 
 for his unlawful conduct with Herodias, saying to 
 
248 Granville Moody. 
 
 him, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother 
 Philip's wife?" Had J. S. nourished eighteen hundred 
 years sooner he might have enjoyed the honor and 
 emolument of being private secretary to Herodias, and 
 would have astonished the natives with his philippics 
 against John the Baptist, charging him with "bad, un- 
 christian motives," guilty of espionage upon the pri- 
 vacy of his neighbors, a spy on the private doings of 
 his fellow-men, and a public informer for prejudice 
 and revenge. And thus has it ever been that those 
 who are active in arresting the progress of vice have 
 been styled meddlesome persons, mischief-makers, and 
 are charged with the worst motives for their best 
 actions. Now, as we show a strict and striking analogy 
 between our case and theirs, we "make out our plea 
 with force," J. S. being judge, and all his vaporing 
 vanishes. 
 
 But J. S. tells us that our benevolence in exterminat- 
 ing the liquor-traffic is to the grog-shop keeper like 
 the benevolence of the vulture to the lamb. What ! 
 would J. S. have us believe that grog-shop keepers are 
 lambs? Is the meek, innocent, and useful lamb the 
 symbol of their nature and business, and is J. S. their 
 shepherd, kind and vigilant, "whose friendly crook 
 shall give them aid," and drive away the ugly vul- 
 tures, the temperance men, far "from the green pas- 
 tures and the still waters" where they rove or rest? 
 And how absurd to compare temperance men to 
 vultures ! It is contemptible and ridiculous in the 
 extreme, equaled only by the ravings of the maniac 
 under the influence of delirium tremens. Rather look 
 the truth in the face, and acknowledge that our benevo- 
 lent and philanthropic design is to save community, 
 and liquor-sellers too, from the dark vultures of intem- 
 perance, whose gloomy shadows dim the light of every 
 
Temperance. 249 
 
 earthly joy, and shut out the hope of heaven, whilst 
 they prey upon the vital interests of society in every de- 
 partment. We would save the liquor-seller from a busi- 
 ness in which he lives to counteract the benevolence 
 of God and man, and send want and misery and infamy 
 and death into habitations otherwise the abode of com- 
 fort and hope. We would save him from an employ- 
 ment in which he barters disease and famine and riot 
 and ruin for money to hoard up, to boast of, and be 
 ruined by. His business debases him ; and for paltry 
 pelf he can take the beloved wife, and crucify her hus- 
 band, and turn her from her home to starve and freeze, 
 and make her children beggars and homeless and 
 fatherless, at a price at which one would hardly cut off 
 the head of a dog. 
 
 Surely the greatest earthly curse would be to be 
 condemned to such a business ; for the most reliable 
 information shows that the venders of ardent spirits 
 not unfrequently become its most signal victims. 
 " In one street in the city of Albany, N. Y., the history 
 of the keepers of seven grog-shops was ascertained for a 
 period of ten years. Not one had prospered, and most 
 of them had become drunkards. In one house, three 
 successive occupants had died of delirium tremens; in 
 another, the keeper, while laboring under the horrible 
 disease, jumped from an upper window, broke his 
 back, and died in great agony. And it is a significant 
 fact that, in a neighboring State's prison, one hundred 
 and fifty of the prisoners have been liquor-sellers." 
 Alas ! he ruins his family to gain pelf, and schools his 
 offspring in his own house, with the tippler, the lewd, 
 and the lost; and his children rise up and call him 
 cursed ! And THIS is not all, for his business tends 
 to the undoing of himsef and his family and his cus- 
 tomers. It seals them over to the adversary, and con- 
 
250 Granville Moody. 
 
 firms them as the enemies of righteousness through 
 all the future periods of their being ! O, is it not be- 
 nevolent to stop a business that so mars and spoils 
 the works of God ? Can it be viewed as a wanton of- 
 ficiousness that would apply moral and legal suasion 
 combined, to put this crying evil far from us ? We 
 claim in our favor every law of nature, of God, and of 
 man — the law of kindness, humanity, self-preserva- 
 tion and necessity — in our endeavor to dam, divert, 
 or dry up that flood of intemperance, which is pour- 
 ing desolation upon society and upon souls for time 
 and for eternity. And yet J. S. would act over, on a 
 small scale, the Nero of antiquity, who sewed Chris- 
 tians up in the skins of wild animals, and, thus dis- 
 figured and disguised, let loose ferocious dogs upon 
 them. 
 
 When J. S. shall succeed in showing that grog- 
 shops are not what the law declares them, " nuisances ;" 
 when he shall show that the business is not injurious 
 alike to the highest and the lower interests of society ; 
 then, and only then, will he succeed in his cherished 
 object of rendering the enforcement of the liquor law 
 odious. Meanwhile he appears in open hostility to 
 this act of the Legislature, and is engaged in a crusade 
 against the good it aims to accomplish. But the peo- 
 ple understand him. They know his latitude and his 
 longitude, his interests and his instincts, and I rejoice 
 to know that his efforts have but stimulated them 
 to duty. 
 
 We would not reflect on the discernment of the 
 public so much as to point out the weakness of the 
 efforts of J. S. by any further argumentation. His 
 ridiculous reiteration of exploded charges, shows con- 
 clusively that he has absolutely nothing on which to 
 depend, to cover his defeat, but misrepresentations 
 
Temperance. 251 
 
 and abuse. And they are as harmless as the feeble 
 yelpings of the poodle at the passing moon. We 
 must be excused from noticing him any further at 
 present, on the principle set forth in the reason as- 
 signed by a member of the Legislature, who, after 
 listening to an abusive and empty speech from a 
 young and conceited man in his maiden effort, rose 
 and said: "Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of the House, 
 you will please excuse me from making any reply to 
 the individual who has just addressed you; for I always 
 hated to strike at nothing, it wrenches a body so." 
 
 We shall not waste time in reiterating our argu- 
 ments, by which the ridiculous charges of J. S. have 
 been demolished, and on account of which he is so 
 nettled and sore. We only regret that we have not 
 found in him a more competent and honorable oppo- 
 nent ; for we have been deprived of 
 
 " The stern joy that warriors feel 
 In foeman worthy of their steel." 
 
 J. S. inquires with credulity and alarm for the five 
 hundred auxiliaries to the Committee of Vigilance. 
 Had he attended the public temperance-meeting in the 
 Fifth Ward, he would have had ocular demonstration of 
 the re-enforcement, when by rising vote they declared 
 their determination to aid the Committee of Vigilance 
 in their duties. These things were not done in a 
 corner ; and politically, ecclesiastically, and in the 
 temperance cause, we know nothing of the "Know 
 Nothings;" all we ask is an open field and a fair 
 chance. M. 
 
 REASONS FOR OPPOSITION TO THE SALE AND 
 USE OF LIQUORS. 
 
 Does any one ask the reasons for our opposition to 
 the sale or use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, 
 
252 Granville Moody. 
 
 or a vindication of our principles as a temperance ad- 
 vocate, we reply : First. The Bible, that duly authen- 
 ticated revelation of the mind and will of God, pro- 
 nounces against it most emphatically. Note then : 
 Its utterances in Noah's disgrace and drunkenness. 
 Lot's incest and injury by intoxication. 
 Law of the Nazarite. (Num. vi, 1-6.) 
 Wine forbidden to priests. (Lev. x, 8, 9.) 
 Nadab and Abihu killed by God for intoxication. 
 (Lev. x, 8, 9.) 
 
 Son, a drunkard, stoned to death. (Deut. xxi, 22.) 
 History of Israel in the wilderness — forty years 
 total abstinence. (Deut. xxix, 6.) 
 
 Curse of the law against drunkenness. (Deut. 
 xxix, 19.) 
 
 Samson's mother prohibited wine. (Judg. xiii, 
 
 4> I4-) 
 
 David made Uriah drunk to cover his own crime. 
 
 (2 Sam. xi, 13.) 
 
 Nabal represented by his wife as such a son of 
 Belial, that no one could speak to the pesky toper. 
 (1 Sam. xxv, 36.) 
 
 Elah hurled from his throne while drunk. (1 Kings, 
 xvi, 8.) 
 
 Ben-hadad drunk and conquered. (1 Kings, xx, 13.) 
 
 Who hath woe? Who hath wounds without 
 cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry 
 long at the wine. (Prov. xxiii, 20.) 
 
 Be not with wine-bibbers, or thou shalt come to 
 poverty. Wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging. He 
 that is deceived thereby is not wise. (Prov. xx, 1.) 
 
 Not for kings to drink wine lest they forget the 
 law. (Prov. xxxi, 4.) 
 
 Solomon gave his heart to wine, vanity, and vexa- 
 tion. (Eccl. ii, 3, 11.) 
 
Temperance. 253 
 
 Woe unto them that rise up early, in the morn- 
 ing, that they may follow strong drink. (Isa. v, 11.) 
 
 Woe to him who is mighty to drink mixed wines. 
 (Isa. xxii, 23.) 
 
 Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. 
 (Isa. xxiv, 9.) 
 
 Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim. (Isa. xxviii, 
 
 1-7- 
 
 Rechabites, honored of God and total abstinence. 
 (Jer. xxxv, 2-6.) 
 
 Daniel and Hebrew children teetotalers. (Dan. i, 8.) 
 
 Belshazzar's drunken, impious feast. (Dan. v, 1.) 
 
 God praised their sons for Nazarites.* (Am. ii, 11.) 
 
 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and drink 
 wine in bowls. (Am. vi, 6.) 
 
 Woe to him that putteth his bottle to his neigh- 
 bor's lips, and maketh him drunken. (Hab. ii, 15.) 
 
 John the Baptist used no wine or strong drink. 
 (Lukei, 15.) 
 
 If found with drunkards he shall be cut off. 
 (Matt, xxiv, 49.) 
 
 If overcome with drunkenness we shall perish. 
 (Luke xxi, 34.) 
 
 The wicked slandered the apostles as if drunk on 
 Pentecost. (Acts ii.) 
 
 The wicked slandered Jesus as if he were a wine- 
 bibber. (Matt, xi, 19.) 
 
 Good not to drink wine whereby my brother stum- 
 bleth. (Rom. xiv, 21.) 
 
 With drunkards, no, not to eat. (1 Cor. v, 11.) 
 
 Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
 (1 Cor. vi, 10.) 
 
 Works of flesh are drunkenness. (Gal. v, 21.) 
 
 Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess. (Kph. 
 v, 18.) 
 
254 Granville Moody. 
 
 Bishops must not be given to wine, (i Tim, iii, 3.) 
 
 God's judgments are represented as cups of strong 
 drink. (Rev. xiv, 10.) 
 
 Thus promptly and kindly would the genius of 
 temperance, speaking to us through the Bible, warn 
 us of evil, and dash from our lips and hands the cup 
 of devils, from whose beaded rim the most deadly ex- 
 halations rise. Indeed, on this subject a hyperbole of 
 description would still prove an ellipsis of the mournful 
 results of the practice of intoxication. 
 
 Second. What are the facts with respect to the 
 great social vice? — 
 
 1. That nine-tenths of the inmates of poor-houses 
 were brought there by intoxication. 
 
 2. That three-fourths of all the convicts in our 
 penitentiaries were habitual drinkers before the com- 
 mission of the crimes for which they were arrested. 
 
 3. That ninety one-hundredths of all suicides are 
 the immediate or remote victims of intemperance. 
 
 4. That in three-fourths of all insolvencies and 
 bankruptcies rum has been the cause. 
 
 5. That seventy-five per cent of dishonest clerks, 
 book-keepers, treasurers, and others in offices of trust, 
 are intemperate men. 
 
 6. That sixty per cent of all the troubles among 
 officers and men in the army and navy of the United 
 States are attributed to intemperance. 
 
 7. That three-fourths of all political disasters and 
 failures in official stations are traced to the bottle. 
 
 8. That three-fourths of all collisions on railroads 
 and explosions of boilers or collisions of steamers are 
 from the bottle. 
 
 9. That eighty per cent of divorces and domestic 
 infelicities belong to rum. 
 
 10. That in all families where the children are neg- 
 
Temperance. 255 
 
 lected and dirty, half naked and half fed, rooms in 
 disorder and filthy, husbands cross and discontented, 
 wives slatterns, peevish, ill-tempered, pesky, and quar- 
 relsome, one or both parents are intemperate. 
 
 11. That those who least frequently attend the 
 house of God, and shock ears polite with profanity and 
 ribaldry, are drinking characters. 
 
 12. That seldom does a liquor-dealer have cheek 
 enough to show himself in any church of God. 
 
 13. That nearly all the evils afore-stated originate 
 in the saloons and dram-shops of our land, the purlieus 
 of perdition and breathing holes of hell. 
 
 14. That many of the troubles in our Churches 
 are traceable to intemperance. 
 
 15. That losses of property by fire are traceable to 
 liquor, directly or indirectly. 
 
 16. That three-fourths of all our taxes for the 
 prosecution of crime are occasioned by the liquor- 
 traffic. 
 
 17. That seven-eighths of all criminal cases in our 
 courts come from rum. 
 
 18. More than two-thirds of all rum-sellers fall vic- 
 tims to their own evil business, and a like proportion 
 of their families. 
 
 19. Because the vile and poisonous adulterations 
 of wine, beer, ale, and whisky are deleterious to the 
 health of those who use them. 
 
 20. That seven-eighths of the victims of cholera 
 are found among drunkards. 
 
 21. That more than one hundred thousand victims 
 of intemperance are hurried to the grave annually in 
 the United States. 
 
 22. That merchants, mechanics, farmers, doctors, 
 and lawyers find most of the losses which they are 
 compelled to sustain are occasioned by drunkards. 
 
256 Granville Moody. 
 
 23. That intemperance corrupts our politics, and 
 subjects our voters to the rum-sellers. 
 
 24. That rum has been the ruin of the poor Indians, 
 the wards of the nation. 
 
 25. That nothing so effectually hinders the coming 
 of Christ's kingdom on earth as intemperance. 
 
 26. That nothing so much hinders the increase 
 of the elect as rum. 
 
 27. That nothing so rapidly fills up the ranks of 
 the reprobates as rum. Ah ! 
 
 " Let thy devotees extol thee, 
 And thy vaunted virtues sum ; 
 But the worst of names I'll call thee, 
 O, thou hydra-monster, Rum !" 
 
 Shakespeare says : 
 
 " I will combine all ills, all wrongs and woes, 
 All miseries and crimes, and call thee,- -Rum!" 
 
 Are you a member of the Church of God, then let 
 me remind you: 
 
 1. That intemperance is a sin plainly and posi- 
 tively condemned in the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 2. Total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks, as 
 a beverage, is sustained by precept and example in 
 the Bible. 
 
 3. There is no way to have drunkenness cease, 
 only by having the total abstinence principle prevail. 
 
 4. The Church of God is reformatory in its char- 
 acter. It should be the salt of the earth. 
 
 5. Self-denial is indispensably requisite in order 
 to be a Christian. 
 
 6. All objections to our principles are but excuses 
 for indulgence. 
 
 Hold on, then, friends of temperance, in this holy 
 cause. Do not relax your efforts to save the drunk- 
 
Temperance. 257 
 
 ard, and to remove the curse of strong drink from 
 the communities in which you reside. 
 
 " Truth, though it trouble some minds, 
 Some wicked minds that are both dark and dangerous, 
 Yet it preserves itself; comes off pure, innocent; 
 And, like the sun, though never so beclouded, 
 Will yet break forth in unveiled glory." 
 22 
 
258 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 WHILE stationed at Franklin, the old capital 
 of Tennessee, we were apprised of a cavalry 
 force in the vicinity, which meditated an attack 
 on the Seventy-fourth Regiment. We guarded 
 against it by putting the regiment under greater 
 surveillance, and posted a guard around the town, 
 early on Sabbath morning. The slaves also 
 warned us that there was going to be an attack on 
 us, and that all the secessionists had received 
 notice to retire into their cellars when the attack 
 came off. The cavalry was Wheeler's. 
 
 I posted a double guard, and took every pre- 
 caution, and awaited the projected attack, in read- 
 iness to give them a warm reception. About two 
 o'clock P. M. I heard the report of a rifle on our 
 picket-lines, and soon afterward an officer ran to 
 head-quarters, and reported that one of my soldiers 
 was fatally wounded. I returned with him, and 
 found a crowd around their fallen comrade, who 
 was bleeding freely, and in Irish accents bewailing 
 his bad "luck." 
 
 It appeared that Patrick had bought of the 
 sutler a can of cherries, which were preserved in 
 spirits, and had eaten many of them, and drunk 
 the liquor. He was badly intoxicated, and showed 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 259 
 
 that while liquor was in, wit was out, and ap- 
 proached our picket-line, and encountered a young 
 American on the line, who promptly hailed him : 
 "Halt! Who comes there?" The answer was 
 returned: "You spalpeen, don't you halt me!" 
 The " Halt " was repeated twice, and twice disre- 
 garded by the besotted Irishman, who attempted 
 to cross the guard-line, when the bayonet was 
 thrust through him, and he lay bleeding of a 
 deadly wound. He was yelling, "Holy Mary! 
 Mother of God! Pray for me now, and at the 
 hour of my death. Amen." 
 
 " Patrick," said I, "what is up now?" 
 
 "Och, sir, the guard there bayoneted me 
 through and through." 
 
 " He attempted to cross the line," said the 
 guard, "disregarding my three hails, and I thrust 
 him on duty, sir." 
 
 The regimental surgeons were examining the 
 wound, and I beckoned one of them aside and 
 asked as to the probabilities, and was told that the 
 wound was fatal. I had the man taken to the 
 surgeon's tent, where the surgeons completed their 
 attendance. The tent was crowded with soldiers. 
 Patrick looked up wistfully, and said: "Colonel, 
 please have all the men go out." Looking at 
 them he said : "If ye please, comrades !" The 
 men all readily retired, and I closed the apron 
 doors, tied them securely, and took a camp-stool, and 
 sat down beside the man. I handed him an orange 
 which I happened to have in my pocket. "Thank 
 you, Colonel, and for the clearance of the room. 
 
260 Granville Moody. 
 
 And now I want to confess to you that I am 
 ashamed of myself. It was the whisky which I 
 got in the can of preserved cherries that befooled 
 me ; and forcing my way headlong through the 
 guards, the youngster did his duty, and here I am 
 thrust dead, before I got a shot at the rebels my- 
 self; struck down by one of my own men in the 
 discharge of his duty." 
 
 " Well, well," I said, " never mind that now ; you 
 have the weigh test things on hand now, Patrick." 
 
 "Yes, Colonel. There is another thing on my 
 mind — my wife and- three children in Springfield. 
 You know that we, as a regiment, have not been 
 paid off for three or four months, and my family 
 is in need of my pay, and I want to get you to 
 promise me that you will see to it that my poor 
 wife and children get what is coming to me. Send 
 it to them, with my love to each and all. Bad 
 luck to my foolish conduct !" 
 
 "Well," said I, "I will see to it that your 
 family get the last cent of your wages." 
 
 "That's the best word you've said, Colonel. 
 Poor creatures! I 've left you bad enough off; to 
 be sure I have. I wish I could leave you better 
 off, but I can 't." 
 
 " Well, now, Patrick, you have higher interests 
 to care for; your soul's welfare. This should 
 now be your supreme concern." 
 
 " Well, Colonel, I want to confess all my sins 
 to you — from the first to the last. There is no 
 priest about here now ; and if there was, I would 
 prefer to confess to you." 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 261 
 
 " It will do you no good to put me in the 
 priest's place, and confess to me and seek of me 
 for absolution. ( Who can forgive sins but God 
 only?' against whom we have all sinned. Con- 
 fess your sins to God, Patrick. The ministers of 
 Christ can charge us with offending God, and en- 
 join true repentance, which consists in having 
 our hearts broken for and from sin ; and enjoin the 
 duty of our returning to God with confession of 
 our sins, deprecation of God's displeasure, supplica- 
 tion for his mercy, and the presentation of genuine 
 repentance which is unto life, not to be repented 
 of, with faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, by which 
 you approach the Father, by the operation of the 
 Holy Spirit, and secure pardoning mercy, renew- 
 ing grace, adopting love, and hope of heaven." 
 
 "But, Colonel, how will I know whether the 
 Lord accepts me, and blesses me with pardon and 
 hope of heaven, as you say?" 
 
 " Every one that believeth," I said, " hath the 
 witness in himself. The Spirit searcheth all 
 things, even the depths of our hearts, and the 
 deep things of God ; and the Spirit of God bear- 
 eth witness with our spirit that we are the chil- 
 dren of God ; and if children, then heirs of God, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, Patrick, let 
 us pray, and I will confess with you and for you." 
 
 As I proceeded, he humbly joined me in con- 
 fession, deprecation, supplication, and renunciation 
 of sin and Satan, with acceptance of Christ as our 
 Prophet, Priest, and King; our Shepherd, Friend, 
 and Guide; our All in all. We consecrated our- 
 
262 Granville Moody. 
 
 selves to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and 
 promised to serve God, wholly, in newness of life. 
 While thus engaged, I said : "Lord, here is poor 
 Patrick, in sore distress. O Lord, if it be possible 
 and proper, we ask thee to spare his life to 
 Patrick and his distant wife, and his three depend- 
 ent children ! O Lord, thy power is equal to 
 thy will ; be pleased to command deliverance for 
 poor, distressed Patrick. Exert thy power, O Lord, 
 and may Patrick be snatched from this impending 
 calamity, and his added days shall show forth thy 
 praise !" 
 
 "Good Lord," cried out Patrick, "I'll do all 
 that the colonel says." 
 
 I rejoiced in spirit to hear him respond so fully 
 as he did to my prayer for himself, and I was 
 seized with the spirit of responsive praises to God 
 for the pardon of poor Patrick's sins, and for 
 averting the calamity of his death ; and my 
 petitions were succeeded by praises to a sin- 
 pardoning God, whose power was equal to sparing 
 poor Patrick from death. I closed with the apos- 
 tolic benediction; and u Glory to the Three in One 
 and One in Three ; as it was, is now, and shall be 
 forever. Amen." 
 
 "Patrick," I said, "you shall not die, but live 
 and praise the name of the Lord God Almighty." 
 
 " Och, Colonel ! Why do you talk so to a man 
 that is cut through and through with a bayonet 
 wound?" 
 
 "Well, Patrick, nothing is too hard for God; 
 and he has heard and answered our united prayers, 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 263 
 
 which have been offered. The prayer of faith 
 hath prevailed. You shall not die, but live and 
 praise the name of the Lord." 
 
 "If the Lord shall spare my life, my life shall 
 be given to him for his mercy ; it shall, it shall." 
 
 He fell into a sweet sleep, which lasted several 
 hours. His wounds healed up. In a week or ten 
 days he was about the camp on two crutches ; and 
 in about six weeks was well again, and returned 
 to duty. Months afterward he went into the battle 
 of Stone River ; fought like a veteran hero ; was 
 taken prisoner ; exchanged at Libby Prison ; went 
 to Springfield, and spent a time with his family ; 
 reunited with his regiment, and went South 
 under McCook, Thomas, and Sherman, to glorious 
 victories. 
 
 Sometime after these events I was on a steam- 
 boat on the Ohio, above Cincinnati, and after 
 supper, as I was listlessly sitting in front of my 
 state-room, who should come up to me but Arch- 
 bishop Purcell? Politely recognizing me, he sat 
 down, and said familiarly: "Colonel, let me hear 
 something from your lips of your army life?" I 
 thought awhile, and then recited the foregoing 
 narration. It was supremely interesting to the 
 archbishop, and his fine countenance was all astir ; 
 and, with staring eyes and listening ears, weeping 
 or smiling, he listened with wonder and grati- 
 tude, surprise and praise, interlocution and com- 
 mendations interjected ; and at last wiped the 
 tears from his face, extended me his hand, and 
 thanked me in earnest and eloquent terms for my 
 
264 Granville Moody. 
 
 kind attentions to one of his charge in such 
 perilous conditions. "In behalf of the Catholic 
 Church, which I represent, I thank you for your 
 tender sympathies for poor Patrick ; and trust that 
 the event may prove of perpetual benefit to his 
 soul. I shall long cherish the memories of this 
 evening's interview." At about nine o'clock we 
 parted, he having reached his destination, and I 
 went on my way. 
 
 While Andrew Johnson was military governor 
 of Tennessee, and I was the colonel of an Ohio 
 regiment, I was dubbed by the boys " the Fight- 
 ing Parson." We entered Nashville just at the 
 time that General Buell had concluded to leave 
 the city. On hearing this startling news, I hast- 
 ened to the governor's house, and found him 
 closeted with two friends in serious consultation. 
 As I entered the others withdrew. To my in- 
 quiry, "How are matters going, Governor?" he 
 replied: "Going! Moody, we are sold. Buell 
 has resolved to evacuate the city, and called upon 
 me this morning, requesting me to leave also. 
 He has given me three hours in which to decide, 
 and will be here in an hour for my ultimatum. 
 I have remonstrated against the act. I still be- 
 lieve we can hold the city against the enemy. 
 What do you think, Moody ? Will you stay with 
 your command?" I replied: "I will stay with 
 you, and I have faith in God that he will deliver 
 us from falling into the hands of the enemy." 
 Said Governor Johnson: "I am glad to hear you 
 talk of faith in God. Moody, can you pray for 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 265 
 
 us?" I advised him to stand by the city to the 
 last, and to telegraph concerning the situation to 
 Washington. He said the wires were all cut. I 
 then suggested that he send by courier to Louis- 
 ville, and thence communicate by wire with Wash- 
 ington ; and added, that the wires were not cut to 
 heaven. Instinctively, we both fell upon our 
 knees on the floor, which was covered with mat- 
 ting. Our backs were opposite each other. Then 
 I prayed: "O Lord, Director of the universe and 
 Governor of men, I pray thee look upon this earthly 
 governor in his agony, and sustain and guide 
 him. ['Amen,' said Johnson.] He appeals to 
 thee in this hour for comfort and direction — poor, 
 weak mortal that he is, a creature of clay, and 
 uncertain as to what to do. I pray thee that if 
 he is right, that thou wouldst make him as firm 
 as adamant. ['Amen! amen! amen!'] But if 
 he is wrong, O Lord, make him feel that he is 
 wrong. ['Amen.'] Leave him not in uncer- 
 tainty." 
 
 Then I poured out my soul in earnest suppli- 
 cation for the Union, the governor, and all who 
 were straitened in the present emergency. I was 
 startled by very unnatural sounds, like scrap- 
 ing upon the floor, as though some huge mon- 
 ster, with claws, was approaching me, and I be- 
 came powerfully impressed with the idea that 
 Satan was about to make a bold effort to drive me 
 from the throne of grace. I prayed the more fer- 
 vently, and was presently relieved from my appre- 
 hensions by Johnson, who, having walked across 
 
 23 . 
 
266 Granville Moody. 
 
 the room upon his knees, threw his arms around 
 my neck, ejaculating most vehemently, "Amen! 
 amen ! God hear Colonel Moody's prayer!" From 
 this point the prayer continued but a short time, 
 when an indescribable sensation of peacefulness 
 overwhelmed us, and each of us became as calm 
 as a little child, while it seemed as though the 
 room was filled with a supernatural atmosphere 
 settling down upon us as a soft halo. Being fully 
 conscious of an answer, I ceased praying. We 
 both rose from the floor, wiping away the tears, 
 and paced the floor in opposite directions. Pres- 
 ently, meeting about the center, Johnson said : 
 "Colonel Moody, I feel better. I believe Almighty 
 God sent you here, and Nashville will be saved. 
 That prayer has been answered. I feel it. I 
 know it. My resolution is taken. All the powers 
 of earth shall not shake me from it. Buell can 
 go. No more dallying. I stay right here. Let 
 them come at me." Continuing his epigrammatic 
 sentences he walked to the window, where he 
 caught sight of the Federal flag that floated over 
 the capital. Excited to frenzy, he exclaimed : 
 "Shall I order that glorious old flag hauled down 
 to give place to that of rebels ? I '11 be d — d if 
 I do !" I cried out : " O Governor, Governor, do n't 
 indulge in such language under these solemn cir- 
 cumstances." To this rebuke he replied: "I 
 know 'tis wrong, 'tis wicked, Moody; but if I 
 allow that old flag to be hauled down, God Al- 
 mighty will damn me ; this nation will damn me ; 
 I shall damn myself." A short time after, General 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 267 
 
 Buell arrived. I withdrew ; and, as history reports, 
 Nashville was not surrendered. 
 
 At Stone River, during the days when my 
 regiment was standing in double columns massed 
 on the two center companies on the reserve line, 
 waiting orders, a staff officer from General George 
 H. Thomas's head-quarters in the field rode up to 
 me and said, hurriedly: "Colonel, I have orders 
 for you. The regiment on your front has been 
 nearly annihilated. Hold your men in hand while 
 I go on the line and clear off what is left ; and 
 you watch me, and when ready, I will wave my 
 sword three times for you ; and do you come on, 
 advancing on the line of battle firing," and off he 
 went. I turned to my regiment, and said: "Com- 
 rades, we go into action in a few minutes. Off 
 caps, and say your prayers I" 
 
 Whilst we were all praying, I watched as well 
 as prayed. Presently the sign was given, and I 
 interrupted their devotions with, "Battalion, atten- 
 tion ! Order arms ! shoulder arms ! right shoulder 
 shift! forward, quick time, march!" Approach- 
 ing the battle-line, I gave the order: "Battalion, 
 by right and left companies, outward face ; by 
 right and left half wheel, forward into line, ad- 
 vance firing ; march !" And then I added : " Now, 
 men, resume your praying; fight for your God, 
 your country, and your kind ; aim low and give 
 them 'Hail Columbia;'" but, unfortunately for 
 Columbia, the two center companies opened fire 
 just as I had uttered the word "hail," and the 
 simultaneous fire of one hundred and twenty 
 
268 Granville Moody. 
 
 rifles drowned the word "Columbia," and all the 
 regiment heard was "give them hail." I suppose 
 that it fell on their ears with a shortened accent. 
 The boys, after the battle, stuck to it that I 
 shouted, "Give them hell!" 
 
 On Thursday night, at ten o'clock, myself 
 and regiment were ordered out about two miles 
 south or south-west of Murfreesboro. We made 
 the march through deep darkness, and came to a 
 vacant house of hewed cedar logs, and in the back 
 yard were fifteen or twenty small cabins. I re- 
 solved to shelter my men in the mansion-house 
 and in these Negro cabins. We deployed compa- 
 nies A and B on the skirmish-lines. Then all was 
 quiet, and I went up the spacious stairway, and 
 into the front room, and up to the window, and 
 looked out into the dense darkness. A stroke of 
 lightning did its revealing work, and another, and 
 another showed me the premises, with the ex- 
 tensive flower-garden in front, with, say, twenty 
 corpses of soldiers strewn here and there. They 
 were our men, shot down on picket duty. Pres- 
 ently a single shot from our picket-line admon- 
 ished me of danger near, and in a few minutes a 
 squad of men, bearing a wounded man, came to 
 the house and carried him to the rear, and sent 
 for me. 
 
 I found a fine-looking officer of the rebel army, 
 who had been reconnoitering our line, and one of 
 our picket- guard fired on him in the darkness, 
 and the ball went through his loins, and he cried 
 out for help. Two of our soldiers went out, and 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 269 
 
 found the wounded and helpless man, and brought 
 him into our camp. I sent for an ambulance 
 to take him to the hospital. Meanwhile, I talked 
 with him. He was a Southerner, intelligent, but 
 sadly deficient in right views of the North, and 
 said if things were as I told him, he had thrown his 
 life away. I prayed with and for him, for which 
 he was very thankful. He was sent to the hospital, 
 and died in about six hours after reaching there. 
 
 The morning dawned, and about ten o'clock we 
 departed. As I lingered awhile, I went up-stairs 
 and beheld where a cannon-ball had passed 
 through one of the cedar-logs of the second story, 
 and left the whole in fine splinters, very fine and 
 dry. One of our soldiers in passing along in my 
 presence, took his pipe from his mouth, and set 
 the splinters on fire, and said : " That will finish 
 it, Colonel ; come let us go." I set to work and 
 scattered the kindled and kindling splinters, and 
 fought out the vigorous fire, and saved that build- 
 ing from speedy consumption by the devouring 
 flame, and felt I had saved a spacious, costly house 
 for some rebel. 
 
 The following prayer was delivered by the author 
 at Spring Grove, on the occasion of decorating the 
 graves of soldiers on Memorial-day, May 30, 1880: 
 
 Almighty God ! We venerate and adore thee as 
 the Creator of innumerable worlds, the Father of 
 angels and of men. Thou art the supreme and uni- 
 versal Sovereign ; our best, our kindest Friend, and the 
 wise and just disposer of our temporal and eternal 
 interests. The principles of equity, fidelity, gratitude, 
 
270 Granville Moody. 
 
 and prudence alike demand of us an adoring and obe- 
 dient acknowledgment of thy universal dominion. O, 
 thou blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, Lord 
 of lords, Ruler of rulers, the earth, thy footstool, is 
 full of thy works, and the heavens are resplendent 
 with thy glory. In every thing about us we behold the 
 emanations of thy love. In the living green of the 
 fields and the flower-embroidered expanse, in the stars 
 of the firmament, in the balmy breath of spring, and 
 the scowling storm-cloud, we trace the inscriptions of 
 thy matchless beauty, consummate wisdom, and al- 
 mighty power. Thy way is in the whirlwind and the 
 storm, and the clouds are the dust of thy feet. There 
 is no spot in the illimitable universe unvisited by thy 
 care, and not a sparrow falleth on the ground, nor an 
 empire riseth into existence and power, without thine 
 everlasting providence. 
 
 Thou art the Governor among the nations, and 
 we this day bless thee that the lines have fallen to us 
 in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage. 
 Indeed, thou hast not dealt so w T ith any people. It 
 is a goodly land which the Lord our God has given 
 to us ; a land whose broad domain is washed by the 
 waters of earth's greatest oceans; a land whose 
 mountain ranges, fertile valleys, majestic rivers, salu- 
 brious climate, and mineral resources are beyond com- 
 parison ; a land endeared by the patriot's zeal, baptized 
 with his blood, consecrated by the graves and dust of 
 our forefathers ; a land the Lord careth for, and upon 
 which his eye has been from the beginning even to the 
 end of the year ; a land where, amid much darkness, a 
 brighter light of evangelical truth is shining ; where 
 in the midst of awful vice, there is a higher degree of 
 public and private virtue than in any other; a land 
 whose civil, political, and religious institutions are at 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 271 
 
 once the light and admiration of the civilized world, 
 and to imitate which other nations have made convul- 
 sive efforts ; a land where justice is a terror to evil- 
 doers, and equal law spreads its protection over the roof 
 of the cabin as well as over the prouder dome ; a land 
 where conscience is freed from fetters, and the various 
 tribes of the one Israel of God keep their solemn as- 
 semblies. The Sabbaths of the land are marked by 
 worshiping assemblies, and the Churches have rest, 
 and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the com- 
 fort of the Holy Ghost, are multiplied. 
 
 To-day we especially bless thee that when bold, 
 bad men sought the overthrow of our Government, 
 and the dismemberment of our nationality, and inau- 
 gurated open, flagrant war to compel the people to sub- 
 mit to this great wrong, that secessionists might 
 erect on more than half the public domain an em- 
 pire whose corner-stone should be slavery, whose 
 motto was that God " hath not made of one blood all 
 nations of men, and that they are not created free and 
 equal ; and are not by him endowed with inalienable 
 rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and 
 that " black men have no rights which white men are 
 bound to respect ;" and when alliance was made with 
 foreign hostile powers for aid and comfort in this 
 wicked project, and they began and prosecuted their 
 cruel war for such unholy ends, thou didst frown on 
 them in thy righteous providence, so that when this 
 enemy came in as a flood, thou didst lift up a stand- 
 ard against him ; and along our serried lines gleamed 
 our country's starry flag ; and beneath its rainbow 
 stripes thou didst marshal Freedom's warriors true, 
 whose swords and bayonets were an iron barrier 
 strong between the lawless and the weak. 
 
 We bless thee, that at the call of their country and 
 
272 Granville Moody. 
 
 their God, they rushed to the gory battle-field, courted 
 the posts of danger, and shook their martial st^el in 
 the grim face of Death, and laid down their lives that 
 the Nation might live. We bless thee, that thou didst 
 set the star of liberty on the brow of our firmament, 
 that glory-beaming star, whose holy light was never 
 dimmed by overflowing clouds; and when, as a 
 Nation, we were ready to do justice as well as de- 
 mand it, thou didst give us decisive victories and Na- 
 tional peace. 
 
 And now we have met to honor the memory and 
 adorn the graves of the gallant dead, whom thou didst 
 use as instruments in the accomplishment of these 
 great and glorious results. We bless thee, that they 
 gained the martyr wreath in freedom's holy cause, and 
 gained a fame that shall be enduring as thine own 
 eternal laws ; and their countrymen, by thy good prov- 
 idence, come with tender love to deck their honored 
 bed ; to scatter immortelles o'er their graves, our 
 banner o'er their turf to spread, and on their monu- 
 ment to shower the pearly tears of patriotism and 
 gratitude. 
 
 Let thy blessing be upon the parents, wives, and 
 children of our honored dead. May the children of 
 the soldiers ever find in the Government parental 
 care, and in their country a glorious heritage, and 
 prove themselves worthy descendants of the men, 
 who, under God, saved the great Republic ! Let the 
 freedom of this land of freemen last "while earth 
 bears a flower, or ocean rolls a wave." May its char- 
 acter be spotless as the sun ; may servile . or hostile 
 feet never press our soil ; may wasting and destruc- 
 tion be averted from our borders ; may our gates be 
 salvation, and our walls praise ; may our fields yield 
 their increase! 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 273 
 
 "No more may hosts, encountering hosts, 
 Their numerous dead deplore, 
 But lay the martial trumpet by, 
 And study war no more!" 
 
 And may God, even our God, bless us, and be a wall 
 of fire round about us by thy providential protection, 
 and the glory in our midst by the gospel of thy Son ! 
 We ask in Christ's name. Amen. 
 
 During the Centennial year of our independ- 
 ence, the Grand Army of the Republic met at 
 Arlington, Va., on Memorial-day, May 30th. There 
 were present both Houses of Congress, the clergy 
 of Washington and vicinity, several of the civic 
 societies of the Capital, and the general public. 
 The oration of the day was delivered by the Hon. 
 Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, and a poem 
 read by B. F. Taylor, of Illinois. The duty of 
 offering prayer was assigned to myself. The fol- 
 lowing is the prayer : 
 
 O Thou who art, and wast, and evermore shalt be, 
 the Supreme Ruler of the universe, the Creator of in- 
 numerable worlds, the Father of angels and of men, 
 and the Arbiter of the court of ultimate resort, thy 
 glory no eye can bear, no thought can reach; thy 
 power rideth on the whirlwind ; thy wisdom searcheth 
 all things, even the hidden things of darkness ; thy 
 goodness poureth on our hearts their gladness. To 
 know and acknowledge thee is life for evermore ; to 
 adore thee is solemn joy ; to trust thee perfect free- 
 dom ; to have thee as our portion is the all-compre- 
 hending good. 
 
 We rejoice in thee as the God who hath made of 
 one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of 
 the whole earth, and hath appointed them their habita- 
 
274 Granville Moody. 
 
 tion and the bounds thereof, that they might seek, if 
 haply they may find thee, who art not far from every 
 one of us, seeing that in thee we live and move and 
 have our being, and are all thine offspring. 
 
 We desire, above all things, a nearer and purer 
 communion with thyself. We would come into thy 
 presence in these religious services with humility, 
 contrition, and gratitude. It becomes us, creatures of 
 a day and crushed before the moth, to appear before 
 thee clothed with humility as with a garment, and to 
 imitate the angels of thy court, who veil their faces 
 with their wings in thy worship. It becomes us to be 
 contrite in heart as thy sinful creatures, and, deprecat- 
 ing thy displeasure, to lay a broken heart on that 
 diamond altar dimmed with the crimson blood of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered to the cross and 
 to its death for our offenses, and rose again for our 
 justification, and lives above to intercede for us men, 
 and for our salvation. It becomes us also to cherish 
 sentiments of profound gratitude for thy kindly deal- 
 ings with us, thy dependent creatures. In a world of 
 changes and chances, accidents, disease, and death, 
 thou hast wonderfully preserved and indulged us. 
 Thy providence has been our safeguard, support, and 
 consolation. Thou hast redeemed our lives from de- 
 struction, and crowned us with loving-kindness and 
 tender mercies. Especially do we as a Christian nation 
 bless thee for the inestimable gift of Jesus Christ, thine 
 only begotten and mysteriously incarnated Son, whom 
 thou hast sent into the world to teach us heavenly 
 truths; to set us an example of perfect holiness; to 
 offer himself through the eternal Spirit " a propitia- 
 tion for the sins of the world," and that, as a surety 
 and mediator of the new covenant of grace, wields all 
 power in heaven and on earth for the extirpation of 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 275 
 
 sin from our world, and for the restoration to thy 
 favor and image the millions of our race who have 
 fallen away from their allegiance to thy throne by an 
 unprovoked rebellion against thy rightful authority 
 and gracious reign. For the success of his undertak- 
 ing shall ceaseless prayer be made, in which we gladly 
 unite to-day; and as thy people, we are willing to take 
 our part of the effort, the toils, and the sacrifice to- 
 gether with him. 
 
 Especially do we bless thee, in this Centennial year 
 of our history, as a people which stands a wonder and 
 a marvel to the wide, wide world. We rejoice that 
 thou didst form and preserve this Occidental hemis- 
 phere to furnish the most magnificent home for man 
 to be found on the footstool of God. We praise thee 
 that thou didst sift the Old World to get the precious 
 seed with which to sow this fruitful soil. Thou didst 
 pilot them through the rolling deep, and didst receive 
 their humble worship at Plymouth Rock, and didst 
 aid them in accomplishing their high and holy avowal 
 to " found a Church without a bishop, and a State 
 without a king." 
 
 And when they were a small people and few, even 
 a few, thou didst suffer no man to wrong them. Yea, 
 thou didst rebuke kings for their sakes, saying, Touch 
 not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm ; and 
 despite the satellites of altar and throne, they grew to 
 greatness, and one hundred years ago they made dec- 
 laration of their rights, their purposed independence 
 of every power but thine ; and " pledged to each other 
 their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," to 
 achieve and maintain their supreme nationality, in 
 firm and avowed dependence upon thine aid. In those 
 days that tried men's souls, thou didst raise them 
 up a savior, and a great one, in thy servant Washing- 
 
276 Granville Moody. 
 
 ton, and didst set this day-star of freedom on the brow 
 of the firmament, whilst our patriot sires prosecuted 
 their enterprise through the seven years' war, and 
 bore our banner of beauty and glory, storm-rifted and 
 bullet-torn, along and aloft, till it floated in triumph 
 from the dome of the Temple of Freedom, the ori- 
 flamme and beacon of hope to the oppressed of the 
 world. 
 
 We bless thee, also, that when the thirteen colonies 
 found a mere confederacy, held together by the out- 
 ward pressure of the Revolutionary War, utterly unequal 
 to the task of governing this vast domain in periods 
 of peace, thou didst inspire and guide them into the 
 act by which we became a nation amongst the nations 
 of the earth, vital in every part, and that can only by 
 annihilation die. We are indissolubly one in the right 
 of eminent domain, a government of and for and by 
 the people — one by the necessities of our condition, 
 which necessities are but increased by our magnificent 
 growth ; and we rejoice together to-day that thou 
 didst give wisdom to the Convention of Delegates 
 from every State to form the Constitution of the United 
 States, the adoption of which by the people of this 
 ocean-bound Republic, constituted us a Nation amongst 
 the nations ot the earth, as, according to its utterances, 
 it declared that "We, the people of these United 
 States, in order to establish justice, provide for the 
 common defense, insure domestic tranquillity, and se- 
 cure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our pos- 
 terity, do make and ordain this Constitution to be the 
 supreme law of the land." 
 
 We do render thee thanks, O thou Governor 
 amongst the nations, for thy wisdom, invoked by the 
 authorized prayer of the framers of the Constitution, 
 and which still shines in every line of that palladium 
 
Incidents on Army Life. 277 
 
 of our National rights, the proud central pillar of the 
 temple of freedom. 
 
 The vine which thou didst bring out of the Egypt 
 of the political dissonance of Europe, thou didst plant 
 in this land. Thou preparedst room before it, and 
 didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land ; 
 the hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the 
 boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars ; it sent 
 forth its branches to the Mississippi, and its boughs to 
 the Pacific and to Alaska, and when the boar out of the 
 wood would have wasted it, whetting his tusks upon 
 it, they were broken ; and when the wild beast of the 
 field would devour it, he was slain ; and the vine and 
 branch which thou hast planted for thyself, thou hast 
 protected by Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Thomas, 
 and Grant, and their colleagues, whom thou didst gird 
 and guard, with the men whom thou madest strong 
 for thyself, and for our protection as a Nation, whose 
 God is the Lord. 
 
 In thy all-comprehending providence, thou hast 
 greatly enlarged our borders by transferring to our 
 sovereignty Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, 
 California, and Alaska ; so that our Nation extends 
 
 " From where our green mountain-tops blend with the sky, 
 And the giant St. Lawrence is rolled, 
 To the waves where the balmy Hesperides lie, 
 Like a dream of some prophet of old." 
 
 To-day we are specially called upon to bless thee 
 that our land has been delivered from the cruel power 
 of the oppressor, who inaugurated open, flagrant, 
 deadly war to compel our Government to submit to 
 its own dissolution and destruction, to accommodate 
 those who hold that all men are not created equal, 
 and deny that thou, the Creator, hast endowed all 
 men with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and 
 
278 Granville Moody. 
 
 the pursuit of happiness ; and that governments among 
 men are not formed to preserve those sacred rights, 
 but rather echo the decision of the ermine, that men 
 whose only crime is that God jetted their brows, "have 
 no rights that white men are bound to respect.' ' 
 
 We rejoice that the dissemination of thy Holy 
 Word had so leavened the minds of statesmen and the 
 masses, that when the rugged issue came, " slavery or 
 liberty," our thousands and millions rallied around 
 the banner of freedom, and rushed to gory battle- 
 fields to meet the frenzied foe, courted the posts of 
 danger, and shook their martial steel in the grim face 
 of death. And now, that our war-drums throb no 
 longer, and our battle-flags are furled, we gather by 
 thousands to honor the graves of the brave defenders 
 and deliverers of the Republic, men who breasted the 
 iron storm of war, and advanced the line of battle 
 under the darkening wings of the war-cloud, 
 
 "Beneath whose gloom of dusky smoke, 
 Our cannon flamed and bomb-shells broke ; 
 And the sharp, rattling volleys rang, 
 And shrapnell screamed and bullets sang, 
 While fierce-eyed men, with panting breath, 
 Toiled onward at the work of death," 
 
 that our nationality might be preserved and liberty 
 proclaimed throughout the land. With this fiery gos- 
 pel they executed thy holy commands "to loose the 
 bands of wickedness ; to undo the heavy burdens ; to 
 let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke ;" and 
 thou didst join the might with the right, and history re- 
 peated itself, because thou art the same God on the 
 Mississippi as thou wast in Egypt. Wonderfully thou 
 hast freed this Nation from the ever-beginning and 
 never-ending curse of African slavery, fastened upon 
 
Incidents of Army Life. 279 
 
 our fathers and our country by old England's cursed 
 lust for gold. 
 
 To-day we stand amid the sad memorials of war 
 and death in this silent city of the heroic dead, who 
 gave up their lives on numerous battle-fields, that our 
 country might live, and its citizens be free. To-day 
 we have met to scatter immortelles, cypress, and lau- 
 rels on their honored remains, and to keep their 
 memories green, while we lay the first floral offerings 
 of spring on their lonely graves. 
 
 " By fairy hands their knell is rung, 
 By forms unseen their dirge is sung. 
 Here Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
 To bless the turf that wraps their clay; 
 And Freedom doth awhile repair, 
 To dwell a weeping hermit there." 
 
 We rejoice that our Republic is not unmindful of 
 the services of her soldiers, the unreturning brave, and 
 the great unknown, whose graves we adorn this day, 
 and whose monuments rescue them from oblivion, 
 whilst 
 
 "On fame's eternal camping ground 
 Their silent tents are spread, 
 And glory guards with solemn round 
 The bivouac of the dead." 
 
 Command thy blessings, both in Providence and grace, 
 on the widows and children of the brave defenders 
 who sleep around us in this, and in all the cemeteries of 
 all our battle-fields ; and may the blood of these mar- 
 tyrs be the seed of the Union ! Let thy care be ex- 
 tended to the freedmen of our land ; and though their 
 blood still flows on the soil of freedom, may the cries 
 of the spoiled come before thee, and their mournful 
 prayer be heard ! 
 
 And now, our Heavenly Father, we ask thy bless- 
 ing on the entire country and all her citizens, however 
 
280 Granville Moody. 
 
 they may have been dissociated by the recent calami- 
 ties of war. Give to them who may still be inimical 
 a spirit of reconciliation, and may all sectional feel- 
 ings be merged in the common glory of a restored 
 brotherhood ; and may the bereaved ones be graciously 
 cared for by thy gracious providence ! With thy 
 servant, David, we pray : "Rid us, and deliver us from 
 the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh 
 vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of false- 
 hood ; that our sons may be as olive-plants grown up 
 in their youth ; that our daughters may be as corner- 
 stones, polished after the similitude of a palace ; that 
 our garners may be full, affording all manner of store ; 
 that our sheep may bring forth thousands and tens of 
 thousands in our streets ; that our oxen may be strong 
 to labor ; that there be no breaking in, nor going out ; 
 that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy 
 is that people that is in such a case ; yea, happy is that 
 people whose God is the L,ord." And all we ask, for 
 Christ's sake ! Amen ! 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 281 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ADVOCACY OF REFORM AND LIBERTY. 
 
 THE extracts given in this chapter are clipped 
 from papers issued when these matters were 
 current. They serve to show the part which the 
 author took on these questions at that time. 
 
 From a Springfield Paper, 1851. 
 THE KOSSUTH MEETING. 
 
 The late gathering of the friends of freedom and 
 humanity, at the City Hall, is generally conceded to 
 have been worthy of the occasion. The subject is one 
 for grave consideration. Perhaps no period will be so 
 favorable for settling this question of intervention or 
 non-intervention. The genius and policy of our insti- 
 tutions have been to form no foreign alliances. An 
 asylum was offered to all ; to this extent, no more. 
 The nice tact of the Magyar soon perceived this, and 
 he honestly declared to a friend of ours in Columbus, 
 he expected no governmental aid ; material aid was all 
 he asked. Two most important avenues remain open, — 
 the influence of public opinion, backed by material 
 aid. Not a despot in Europe but daily feels the im- 
 mense power wielded by the former. The voice of 
 the press is shackled, public discussion suppressed ; still 
 " there is a power behind the throne greater than 
 the throne itself." It is heard in a thousand myste- 
 rious mutterings ; it is omnipotent and omnipresent. 
 Every step that Louis Napoleon takes leaves the 
 
 24 
 
282 Granville Moody. 
 
 impress of a dagger. The imperial edicts of Austria 
 and Prussia are but the countersign of their manifest 
 destiny. The man who doubts that the free public 
 expression of England and America on a question 
 of international policy will be heard and felt, can 
 hardly be of sane mind. The two powers that control 
 the commerce of the world will be felt in any way 
 they choose to give utterance to their mandates. 
 
 These expressions of the public voice are, there- 
 fore, eminently desirable. They are sufficiently posted 
 in Europe to know that this voice can readily reach 
 the national councils, and assume a governmental tone. 
 The free-spoken men that gave utterance to public 
 opinion in the City Hall are the same power precisely 
 that liberated the noble Magyar, and yet speed him on 
 his way rejoicing. The address of Rev. G. Moody is 
 everywhere spoken of as a most able and eloquent 
 expositon and vindication of the claims of Hungary. 
 There was a grand turn-out of ladies and gentlemen. 
 Rev. Joshua Boucher was called to the chair. After ap- 
 propriate prayer, the chairman called upon Rev. Gran- 
 ville Moody to address the meeting. He responded 
 to the call by a speech of about three hours in length, 
 upon "Hungarian History, Kossuth, Liberty, Popery, 
 and Despotism." His remarks were in the main well 
 received, as was evinced by the frequent plaudits with 
 which he was interrupted. He made some happy 
 hits, and said many good things; but we have not 
 space to give even a sketch of what he said. 
 
 At the close of the speech the meeting resolved 
 itself into a "Hungarian Aid Association of Clark 
 County." A committee of six was appointed to sell 
 certificates of loans to the Hungarian Fund. In the 
 short time the committee was about its work the sub- 
 scriptions swelled up into hundreds of dollars. The 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 283 
 
 work is still in progress, and those having the matter 
 in charge are determined that this warm-hearted city, 
 and the patriotic and liberty-loving citizens of Clark, 
 shall not be behind their neighbors in furnishing that 
 aid which is to be used in regaining liberty and inde- 
 pendence in down-trodden Hungary. 
 
 From a Dayton Newspaper, 1853. 
 ANTI-NEBRASKA MEETING IN DAYTON. 
 
 A large number of the citizens of Dayton, who 
 are opposed to the Nebraska fraud, assembled, last 
 Tuesday evening, in Beckel's Hall. Joseph Barrett pre- 
 sided. Messrs. Craighead, Parrott, and Moody deliv- 
 ered spirited addresses. The address of Rev. Granville 
 Moody was very interesting and stirring. We were 
 happy to hear from Mr. Moody so plain and forcible a 
 condemnation of slavery and its constant aggressions, 
 aided by the General Government, upon the domain 
 of freedom. The watchmen of Zion can not hold 
 their peace without criminal neglect of the interests, 
 temporal, spiritual, and eternal, of millions of souls. 
 L,et them speak out ! 
 
 The following resolutions were adopted as ex- 
 pressive of the sense of the meeting : 
 
 "Resolved, That it was the original policy of the 
 Government to provide against the extension of 
 slavery, as evinced by the Ordinance of 1787 ; and that 
 the Nebraska Bill, now before Congress, covering a 
 design to admit slavery into the heart of the con- 
 tinent, overturns the principles of the past, betrays 
 the interests of future generations, and involves deep 
 national disgrace. 
 
 "Resolved, That this bill, as it excludes from the 
 polls and from office all inhabitants not citizens of the 
 United States; as it opens the door for the extension 
 
284 Granville Moody. 
 
 of slavery over an immense territory, which should 
 be sacred to freedom and to free labor; as it violates 
 the National faith pledged to the Indians in various 
 treaties; and, above all, as it violates the faith, sol- 
 emnly pledged to the North in the Act of 1820, has 
 our determined and uncompromising opposition." 
 
 From " The Gospel Herald." 
 REV. GRANVILLE MOODY ON ROMANISM. 
 
 Springfield, O., December 24, 1852. 
 
 We have heard the whole of these sermons, so far 
 as the series has progressed. They have occupied 
 several successive Sabbaths, and will continue, we 
 learn, for an indefinite period yet to come. They 
 have furnished topics of discussion entirely new to 
 the pulpits of this city. Aside from these, among all 
 learned dissertations and lectures that have graced our 
 literary halls, since the era of their introduction 
 amongst us, there is no field of thought which has 
 been so ably, so thoroughly, and so successfully ex- 
 plored, as that which has been occupied by the rev- 
 erend gentleman, whose name stands at the head of 
 this article. It might be agreeable to our readers, as 
 well as to ourself, if we were able to give even a suc- 
 cinct analysis of these discourses ; but when it is 
 recollected that they were delivered at weekly inter- 
 vals, embracing, as they do, so vast an amplitude of 
 range in the subject-matter presented, it can hardly be 
 expected that we would be willing to risk the ac- 
 curacy of our statements, for the sake of a more 
 general and extended notice. 
 
 In whatever else might be deemed of question- 
 able propriety by the thousands who have lately 
 crowded upon Mr. Moody's ministry, we think that all 
 have been willing to accord to him great ingenuous- 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 285 
 
 ness of character, and honesty of purpose ; that no 
 selfish or sinister motive has been allowed to sway him 
 from the integrity of his high and sacred functions ; 
 that his efforts, throughout, have been character- 
 ized by a noble, humanitarian, and philanthropic aim; 
 by a liberality of feeling and sentiment that is worthy 
 of the cause he advocates; that while he treats with 
 unmitigated severity a system of doctrines which he 
 not only believes to be anti-Christian in their ten- 
 dency, but subversive of good morals and social 
 order, he has an ardent desire for the reclamation of 
 those who have been misdirected by the false lights 
 of the Papal religion. According to the Christian 
 apothegm, he "hates the sin, but loves the sinner." 
 
 Before we heard for ourself, we had no conception 
 of the great necessity and importance of having a 
 clear and full edaircissement of the leading doctrinal 
 points now at issue between Roman Catholic and 
 Protestant Churches. We believe it is essentially 
 connected with the cause of civil and religious liberty, 
 with the rights and duties and interests of American 
 citizens, that they should be kept duly and regularly 
 informed of all that constitutes the elements of dis- 
 tinction between these two great sects and parties in 
 this country. It is not in the light of patriotism alone 
 that we should urge this; not only from a laudable 
 desire to keep our institutions on a basis of permanent 
 security, but in obeying those generous Christian im- 
 pulses that would direct all their energies and in- 
 fluences in the dissemination of moral and religious 
 truth, thereby dissipating the clouds of error that now 
 envelop so large a portion of the population of this 
 happy and extended domain. We speak with great 
 deference, but w r e are constrained to believe that the 
 Protestant pulpit in this country has been heretofore 
 
286 Granville Moody. 
 
 recreant to itself, faithless in the fulfillment of its 
 sacred trusts, and false to the claims of humanity, in 
 keeping silent on this subject. 
 
 We have often been pained at the ill-directed 
 efforts of the press, in matters of controversy between 
 Romanists and Protestants. It has been made the 
 vehicle of the most severe and rigorous denunciations, 
 by either party, instead of that mild and pacific spirit 
 which emanates from the law of charity, and which 
 is the legitimate fruit of Christian principle. We 
 read little else in the periodicals of the day besides 
 empty and silly vaporings, sharp sectarian pasquin- 
 ades, bitter criminations, with rancorous and bluster- 
 ing retorts, all addressed to the excited jealousies and 
 angry passions of men. These publications, it is true, 
 are not designed for the ignorant and illiterate 
 masses; but for the higher class of society, the il- 
 lustrissimi, who, by such a course of procedure, must 
 forever bar every avenue that would lead to a final 
 triumph of the Protestant faith. We say again, the 
 pulpit is the appropriate theater for these discussions. 
 The living voice, addressed to the living ear, is the 
 only medium through which we can gain access to the 
 hearts and minds of Catholics. 
 
 But to return to Mr. Moody. The course he has 
 pursued thus far in his litigation with the Catholics, 
 has been such as, we think, must meet the unquali- 
 fied approval of the large and intelligent auditories he 
 has repeatedly addressed. He has been generous, 
 just, and magnanimous. In his defense of the Protest- 
 ant rule of faith, he has shown himself equal to the 
 high and sacred responsibilities of his station. His 
 argumentation has been lucid, powerful, and con- 
 vincing; drawn from the uncorrupted sources of the 
 Bible, and the archives of the Church from its earliest 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 287 
 
 records. He has advanced no thesis but what has 
 been severely tested at the bar of Reason and Reve- 
 lation. It is to these points alone to which he would 
 bring his opponents for a just and equitable decision. 
 In his exhibition of the errors of popery, he has 
 drawn largely on the voluminous writings of the 
 Romish Church, and given copious extracts from the 
 decrees of councils and other accredited works. 
 
 We have only further to observe, that if the ser- 
 mons which yet remain to complete the series should 
 be of equal ability with those that have preceded them, 
 we can not but augur the best results, especially to 
 our Catholic friends, many of whom, we learn, have 
 been in regular attendance, and have listened with 
 that profound attention and decorum which the 
 solemnities of the occasion demanded. 
 
 Of Mr. Moody's style and manner of presenting his 
 subjects, it is scarcely necessary to speak. He is 
 known to be a bold, vehement, and eloquent speaker — 
 eloquent in thought, and often beautifully chaste in 
 expression. He has great originality and vigor of con- 
 ception, and is peculiarly happy in his modes of illus- 
 tration. He has a strong and massive intellect, that 
 grasps a subject with the power of a Titan ; and so 
 forcible and logical are his conclusions that any at- 
 tempt to escape from their consequences would be 
 fruitless and vain. He seeks no ornament or rhetor- 
 ical display, yet there is always a sufficient amount of 
 drapery on the canvas to exhibit to advantage the 
 brilliant coruscations of his genius. His delivery is 
 often rapid and impetuous, like a mountain torrent 
 that roars and rends and breaks through every oppos- 
 ing barrier, leaving naught but desolation and ruin 
 behind it. He is exceedingly graphic in his delinea- 
 tions of character. 
 
288 Granville Moody. 
 
 On one occasion, we remember, after he had stripped 
 the Catholic religion of its extrinsic coverings, its 
 gilded trappings and meretricious mummery, he held 
 up the denuded object to the astonished gaze of his 
 congregation, who seemed to look for the first time on 
 the appalling spectacle. He rarely adopts the popu- 
 lar method of writing his sermons, but chooses rather 
 to rely on the spontaneous resources of his mind, 
 prompted by the exigencies of the occasion. 
 
 We make no apology for this hasty and imperfect 
 sketch of Mr. Moody, nor for any incidental remarks 
 we have made in such a connection. Opinions varying 
 from our own ma} 7 be honestly entertained, and all we ask 
 for ourself is the same manly and generous concession. 
 
 Extract from the ' Western Christian Advocate," January 19, 1853. 
 
 We learn that Brother Moody is discussing the 
 doctrine of Popery in his Church in Springfield, to 
 crowded houses, with great ability. Few men can 
 handle the sword polemical, on any subject, to equal 
 Mr. Moody. We would consider ourself edified in 
 having the privilege of hearing him. 
 
 My views on Romanism are embodied in a 
 small book with the title, "Popery and its Aims," 
 published in Cincinnati in 1871, at the request of 
 the Methodist Preachers' Meeting, before whom it 
 was originally read. 
 
 From " The Cincinnati Gazette," September 13, 1869. 
 THE BIBLE IN THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 The Wigwam in Fulton was densely crowded yes- 
 terday afternoon, to hear addresses on the subject of 
 the proposed withdrawal of the Bible from the public 
 schools ; the principal speaker announced for the oc- 
 casion being the Reverend (or, as he is equally well- 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 289 
 
 known, Colonel) Granville Moody. At his request, 
 the audience sang Hymn 81, he remarking that it was 
 composed by a young lady under circumstances pre- 
 cisely like those which brought this meeting together. 
 The lady, fired with the spirit of 1620 and 1776 — the 
 same fire he hoped burned brightly down to 1869 — 
 wrote these verses : 
 
 " We '11 not give up the Bible, 
 God's holy book of truth, 
 The blessed staff of hoary age, 
 The guide of early youth." 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Moody then proceeded to address 
 the meeting. He said it was now attempted to pro- 
 scribe that blessed Book, through which their liberties 
 had been derived, and this at the behests of a power 
 that had ever been the antagonist of human rights 
 and human liberty. As he was accustomed to speak 
 from a text, he would select Isaiah viii, 20, in which the 
 terms used, " To the law and to the testimony," were 
 descriptive of the revelation which God has af 
 forded us, and " if they speak not according to this 
 word, it is because there is no light in them." 
 
 There were those in the days of Isaiah who con- 
 sulted wizards and those with familiar spirits, rather 
 than the oracles of the Lord their God ; and, in the 
 language of the Word, God reproved them. Instead 
 of the living appealing to departed spirits, and praying 
 to departed saints, they must go "to the testimony." 
 If now as then, and then as now, they speak not ac- 
 cording to this standard, but embrace alleged tradi- 
 tions of the Church, said by Romanists to be of equal 
 authority with the Bible itself, it is because there is no 
 light in them, but darkness, just so much as they 
 ignore the Word of God. 
 
 They were called now to meet a question of high- 
 25 
 
290 Granville Moody. 
 
 est importance, suddenly. They had only just come 
 into the " tented field," when they found the foe of 
 humanity, of liberty, and truth upon them. On the 
 skirmish-line the old powers of Romanism and in- 
 fidelity are blazing away on their front already, and 
 the cry is, " To arms !" and, in response to that cry, the 
 people are now in battle-line, and, in the words of the 
 hymn just sung, they say, " We will not give up the 
 Bible." They will not give it up in their schools, their 
 seminaries, their Churches, but will protect it as the 
 corner-stone of their Republican institutions. The op- 
 position to the Bible is by men who well know 
 where to put their sappers and miners to work. The 
 woodman had got his ax to the very root of the tree of 
 civil and religious liberty ; but the Protestants of 
 America, not merely because they love that tree, and 
 watered its roots with their tears, as their fathers en- 
 riched them with their blood, until its branches ex- 
 tended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and its leaves 
 became the " healing of the nations," say to the popes, 
 archbishops, prelates and priests : 
 
 " Spare that tree, 
 Touch not a single bough ; 
 Its shade has sheltered us, 
 
 And we '11 protect it now." (Cheers.) 
 
 Two hundred and forty nine-years ago a company 
 of Protestants, who fled from the tyranny of the Old 
 World, came to this continent, determined to found a 
 State without a king, and a Church without a prelate. 
 Seeking freedom to worship God with that blessed 
 Book, the Bible, scarred with its battles of centuries, 
 as their guide, they established those institutions which 
 have made us the wonder, if not the envy, of the world. 
 Just before the constitution of the State was adopted, 
 when everything looked dark and unpropitious, when 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 291 
 
 the interests of the North and South and West looked 
 and seemed irreconcilable, and they were about to 
 break up in despair, the aid of God was invoked by 
 prayer, at the solicitation of Benjamin Franklin, and 
 three hours after that the Constitution of the United 
 States was born. All the voices of the past, from 
 Mount Vernon, from the Hermitage, from all the ceme- 
 teries and grave-yards, say, " Do not give up the Bible !" 
 
 Mr. Moody then proceeded to draw comparison 
 between the condition of Catholic and Protestant 
 countries, and said he felt warranted in the conclu- 
 sion, that if the Bible was withdrawn^ from our schools, 
 we would soon pass into the condition of those people 
 who were governed by priestcraft, and had human 
 tradition substituted for the commandment of God. 
 He said he would here cite an anonymous commen- 
 tary on the Bible, which was worthy ot being printed 
 with every copy of that Book : 
 
 "It contains everything necessary to be known 
 within the range ot its discoveries. It affords a model 
 for the ruler, and a rule for the subject. It gives 
 counsels to a Senate, and authority and direction to 
 magistrates. It cautions a witness, and requires an 
 impartial verdict from a jury. It furnishes a lawyer 
 with the higher law for his guidance, and dictates the 
 sentence to the judge. It sets the husband as the 
 head of the household, and gives honor to the wife as 
 the weaker vessel. It tells him how to rule, and her 
 how to manage. It demands honor for parents, and 
 enjoins obedience upon children. It commands the 
 subject to honor, and the servant to obey. It bids the 
 monarch to be just, and the master to be merciful. It 
 smiles on the bridal hour, and irradiates the gloom of 
 the final scene. It promises food and raiment to the 
 honest and industrious. It points out a faithful and 
 
292 Granville Moody. 
 
 eternal guardian to the departing, and tells him with 
 whom to leave his helpless children, with whom his 
 widow is to be trusted, and promises a father to the 
 fatherless, and a husband to the widow. It teaches us 
 how to set our house in order, how to make our 
 will, appoints a dowry for the wife, and teaches the 
 descent of property to our children. It defends the 
 rights of all, threatens the vengeance of God to the 
 defrauder, the seducer, and the oppressor. It is the 
 first book, the oldest book, and the best book in the 
 world. It is a book of history, a depository of the 
 most sublime doctrines, the most admirable precepts. 
 It is a book of song and sentiment and poetry, beyond 
 all competition. It is a treasury of knowledge, a col- 
 lection of the wisest proverbs. It is rich in biographic 
 lore. It is a book of models, a book of glorious re- 
 membrance, the book of time and the book of eternity, 
 and the Christian, with a Bible in his hand, resembles 
 a man standing on the summit of a sunlit mountain, 
 where suns surround him and elysian prospects rise." 
 The reverend speaker then read the opinions of 
 Washington, Chancellor Kent, and others. Washing- 
 ton said: "Of all dispositions and habits which lead 
 to political prosperity, religion and moralit)' are 
 indispensable supports. In vain would that man 
 claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to 
 subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these 
 firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The 
 mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to 
 respect and cherish them. A volume could not trace 
 all their connection with private and public felicity. 
 L,et it be simply asked where is the security for prop- 
 erty, for reputation, for life, if this sense of religious 
 obligations deserts the oaths which are the instruments 
 of investigations in courts of justice ; and let us with 
 
Advocacy of Reform and Liberty. 293 
 
 caution indulge the supposition that morality can be 
 maintained without religion. Whatever may be con- 
 ceded to the influence of refined education on minds 
 of peculiar structure, reason and experience both 
 forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail 
 in exclusion of religious principle." 
 
 Chancellor Kent, of New York, said: "The gen- 
 eral diffusion of the Bible is the next effectual way to 
 civilize and humanize mankind to purity, and exalt 
 the general system of public morals; to give efficacy 
 to the just precepts of municipal and international 
 law, to enforce the observance of prudence, temper- 
 ance, virtue, and fortitude, and to improve all the 
 relations of domestic and social life." 
 
 Chief-Justice Hornblower, of New Jersey, remarks : 
 "Let this precious volume have its due influence 
 on the hearts of men, and our liberties are safe, our 
 country blessed, and the world happy. There is 
 not a tie that binds us to our families, not a virtue that 
 endears our country to us, or us to our country, not a 
 hope that thrills our bosoms in the prospects of future 
 happiness, that has not its foundation in the Holy 
 Book. It is the charter of nations, the palladium of 
 liberty, the standard of righteousness. Its influence 
 can soften the heart of the tyrant, can break the rod 
 of oppression, and exalt the humblest peasant to the 
 dignified rank of an immortal being, an heir of eternal 
 glory." 
 
 Robert C. Winthrop, speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, in 1848, says: 
 
 "All communities of man must be governed in some 
 way or other. The less they may have of stringent 
 State government, the more they may have of in- 
 dividual self-government. The less they rely on pub- 
 lic law or physical force, the more they may rely on 
 
294 Granville Moody. 
 
 moral restraint. Men, in a word, must be controlled 
 either by a power within them, or by a power without 
 them ; either by the power of God, or by the strong 
 arm of man ; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet. 
 It may do for other countries and other governments 
 to talk about the State supporting religion. Here, 
 under our free institutions, it is religion which must 
 support the State." 
 
 Go to Scotland, the land of the Bible (I wish I had 
 Burns's ''Cotter's Saturday Night" here, to read the 
 lines where the peasant poet of nature describes the 
 gray-headed sire, before the hour for retiring, reading 
 the sacred page), and compare that country with Italy, 
 with Portugal, with the south of Ireland ; or compare 
 Bible-loving Massachusetts with any of the South 
 American States. 
 
 In 17 1 7 a committee of Congress, in consequence 
 of a scarcity of Bibles in the land, ordered an impor- 
 tation of twenty thousand copies from Holland, Scot- 
 land, and elsewhere, and thus constituted the first 
 Bible Society in America. 
 
 The speaker then proceeded to remark that the 
 Church of Rome had usurped the authority of min- 
 gling up the Word of God with its own traditions, and 
 even to alter the Decalogue by striking out the Second 
 Commandment. The pope has issued bulls against 
 the publication of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, as 
 destructive and heretical. It might be destructive 
 to Romanism, as Romanism was to the Bible, that 
 was all. 
 
 At the close of his remarks, the reverend gentle- 
 man requested signature papers to be handed around, 
 protesting against the exclusion, on the part of the 
 School Board, of the Bible from the schools. 
 
Combating Error. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 COMBATING ERROR. 
 
 EVERY minister of the gospel finds error in- 
 trenched in the hearts of men. There is 
 scarcely any form of doctrine which he does not 
 meet, and more often the false than the true. 
 Satan himself has been transformed into an angel 
 of light; and the preacher does not always possess 
 the wand of Ithuriel to compel him to appear in 
 his own hideous deformity. In many systems 
 of philosophy and theology which we account 
 heretical, "some truths there are, but dashed and 
 brewed with lies ;" and it is difficult to separate 
 the genuine from the base, and to attack only the 
 base. In the following extracts from papers writ- 
 ten by the author, some of which have been pub- 
 lished, the reader will determine for himself how 
 successfully this has been done, and how well the 
 right has been upheld. 
 
 From the 'Western Christian Advocate," April, 1854. 
 SPIRIT-RAPPING. 
 
 The Daytonians have recently been visited by the 
 celebrated Judge Edmonds, one of the table-tippers 
 in Satan's temple of infidelity. The Judge was ac- 
 companied by a Doctor Dexter, of whose dexterity in 
 doctoring soul or body we have not received any 
 special revelation, may be for want of a medium. 
 
296 Granville Moody. 
 
 Judge Edmonds estimates the number of believers in 
 Spiritualism at a million in the United States. We 
 think it would trouble him to find ten thousand. His 
 idea that the doctrine is more readily and generally 
 received in the country than in cities, is the very re- 
 verse of what we know to be true in this region. 
 There are numerous believers in the city, many of 
 them intelligent, worthy citizens ; but among the 
 rural population it would be nearly as hard to find a 
 Spiritualist as a Mormon. 
 
 The judge claims that Spiritualism has converted 
 more infidels in six years than all the pulpits in the 
 land have been able to convert in twenty. Converted 
 them to what? A belief in God and immortality. 
 This is no conversion at all; for infidelity, as we 
 understand it, does not deny either the being of God 
 or the immortality of the soul. It disbelieves the inspi- 
 ration of the Scriptures and the divine origin of Chris- 
 tianity. So does Judge Edmonds, or we very greatly 
 misunderstand him ; for he scarcely boasts more over 
 all the infidels whom Spiritualism has convinced of 
 what they believed before than over the twenty-seven 
 professors of religion who lapsed from a single Church. 
 The light of the Bible is being diffused most glori- 
 ously, bathing the high and the low places of the 
 earth with its celestial glories, and Satan and his allies 
 can not hinder it. He can not stop the press, the 
 altar of liberty and truth, nor shut up the Bible in 
 convents, nor stop men from hearing, and reading, and 
 thinking, and acting; nor can he cover the Church 
 with sackcloth, or despise her powers ; for she cometh 
 forth from the wilderness, "fair as the moon, clear as 
 the sun, beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, and 
 terrible as an army with banners." 
 
 But one thing Satan can do ; he can lie as fast as 
 
Combating Error. 297 
 
 ever; and can use all the modern improvements in 
 arts and sciences and society, and can produce that 
 which is suited to the occasion, times, and circum- 
 stances ; and his present policy seems to be to mix the 
 ingredients of error and damnable heresies with the 
 soul-saving truths of the Word of God, knowing that 
 error is to the soul what poison is to the body ; and 
 what with Romanism, Rationalism, Pantheism, Tran- 
 scendentalism, Swedenborgianism, Universalism, Ma- 
 terialism, Fatalism, Millerism, Mormonism, Spiritual- 
 ism, drunkenness, slavery, and war, he is fully armed 
 and equipped, and still in the field; and "some will 
 depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits 
 and doctrines of devils.*' His favorite policy of decep- 
 tion, deep and dark, is to present 
 
 "A sprinkling of truth and a quantum of error, 
 Both mixed in the mass and dealt out together, 
 With enough of the former to sweeten the latter, 
 And pass all together for genuine matter." 
 
 Wise and happy is the man who can say, with 
 Paul : "We are not ignorant of his devices." Let 
 every lover of God's truth and humanity take the 
 whole armor of light, and wield " the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the Word of God," and we shall be 
 invulnerable and invincible ; and despite 
 
 " Our secret, sworn, eternal foes, 
 Countless, invisible," 
 
 we shall bear the banner of our faith victorious round 
 the world! 
 
 Dayton, O., April 6, 1854. 
 
 REASONS FOR NOT BEING A BAPTIST. 
 
 i st. Because the Greek verbs bapto and baptizo do 
 not always and necessarily signify to submerge or 
 
298 Granville Moody. 
 
 immerse. (Isa. xxi, 4 ; Dan. iv, 33 ; v, 21 ; Mark vii, 4 ; 
 Luke xvi, 24 ; 1 Cor. x, 2 ; Heb. ix, 10 ; 1 Peter iii, 21.) 
 
 2d. Because the sacred influences of the Holy 
 Spirit, of which baptism is the appointed sign, are 
 applied to the individual and not the individual 
 to them ; and are said to be poured out or sprinkled 
 upon. (Psalm lxxii, 6; Isa. xliv, 3; Ezek. xxxvi, 25; 
 Acts ii, 17.) 
 
 3d. Because immersion is opposed to some Scrip- 
 tural allusions. (1 Cor. x, 2 ; 1 Peter iii, 20, 21.) 
 
 4th. Because, though we have the expressions 
 "going down into" and "coming up out of the water," 
 yet these do not necessarily mean being put under, 
 and can not necessarily be construed to sanction such 
 a practice ; while the Greek words are frequently and 
 justly rendered "going to" and "coming from" the 
 water of baptism. 
 
 5th. Because the circumstances in which the dis- 
 ciples were placed on the day of Pentecost, when 
 three thousand were baptized and added to the Church, 
 render it highly improbable, if not impossible, for 
 them to have been baptized by immersion. There 
 was no river running through Jerusalem. 
 
 6th. Because there is not a single instance to be 
 found in the Word of God in which the ordinance of 
 baptism was administered by immersion. 
 
 7th. Because it is evident that the expression 
 "buried with Christ by baptism" has no reference to 
 the mode of baptism, and was only designed to teach the 
 true believer's death to sin and resurrection unto right- 
 eousness in Jesus Christ. (Rom. vi, 3-6; Col. ii, 12.) 
 
 8th. Because God included the infant progeny of 
 his people in the covenant of salvation made orig- 
 inally with Abraham, and ratified in Christ ; while 
 Baptists unjustly exclude them. (Gen. xvii, 7, 10.) 
 
Combating Error. 299 
 
 9th. Because neither Christ nor his apostles laid 
 such stress on a mode of baptism as Baptists now do. 
 
 10th. Because, on the theory of Baptists, many a 
 devoted minister of Christ could not, # for want of 
 bodily strength and health, administer this rite aright. 
 
 nth. Because many in the Church and kingdom 
 of Christ could not, by reason of sickness, infirmity, 
 or age, submit to immersion. 
 
 1 2th. Because the administration of baptism by 
 immersion is often associated with danger to health, 
 and indelicacy. 
 
 13th. Because immersion in many cases, and in 
 many minds, destroys devotion of mind, and excites 
 agitation of spirit opposed to the equanimity required 
 in religious ordinances. 
 
 14th. Because the proscriptive and uncharitable 
 and proselyting spirit so extensively indulged in by 
 immersionists is so unlike to the religion of Christ 
 and his generous gospel. 
 
 15th. Because immersionists, by their exclusive- 
 ness and their actual or implied proscriptiveness, rend 
 the body, of which Christ is the head ; virtually and 
 practically unchristianizing all who can not agree 
 with Baptists in their exclusive views of a mode 
 of application of water to the person, or the person 
 to the water. 
 
 1 6th. Because the earnest exhortation that such 
 proscriptive and prescriptive sectaries are accustomed 
 to urge on the minds of young converts to follow 
 supposed rites unauthorized by the Word of God, and 
 to follow Christ in a mode he never authorized, nor 
 enjoined, nor practiced himself, is unauthorized by 
 the Holy Scriptures ; and division of the one body of 
 which Christ is the glorious head — one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism. "He saved us by the washing of 
 
300 Granville Moody. 
 
 regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which 
 he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
 Savior ; that being justified by his grace, we should be 
 made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." 
 
 17th. Because the baptism of Christ is no example 
 for us to follow, and was not by immersion either. 
 (Luke iii, 21-23, and Num. iv, 3, 28, 29, 35, 39, 43, 47; 
 also, Num. viii, 7.) When Christ was baptized, the 
 Holy Ghost descended in bodily shape like a dove upon 
 him. (Matt, iii, 3-13, 17.) 
 
 1 8th. This baptism of Christ by John was not Chris- 
 tian baptism, for it was not commanded nor instituted 
 till three years afterward, when Christ first instituted 
 it on the day he ascended into heaven. (Matt, xxyiii, 
 18, 19, 20; Acts, xix, 1-7 ; where we learn that John's 
 baptism was not Christian baptism.) Paul says of 
 the Israelites that they were all baptized to Moses in 
 the Red Sea. (1 Cor. x, 1-3.) They were all on dry 
 land when they passed through the Red Sea. There 
 was an immersion of the Egyptians who followed the 
 Israelites; and just as the last of the Israelites went 
 out of the dry pathway through the sea, which was 
 then dry land to their footsteps, and all reached the 
 further shore, baptized by sprinkling or pouring (Psa. 
 lxxvii, 16-20), the waters rolled down upon the haughty 
 Egyptian armies then in hot pursuit, and God's and 
 Israel's foes were all immersed and drowned by thou- 
 sands. 
 
 ON THE USE OF TOBACCO. 
 
 Having been appointed pastor of the Church in 
 
 , I became acquainted with a Brother B., a 
 
 wealthy, intelligent, and popular member of the Church, 
 and mayor of the city. I found him a very genial, ac- 
 complished, and liberal member. His wife and chil- 
 dren were worthy members of the Church, and 
 
Combating Error. 301 
 
 I respected them very highly in love. But he was an 
 inveterate chewer and smoker of tobacco, which 
 showed its power upon his person plainly. I called 
 his attention to this evil habit, and exhorted him to 
 abstinence, but all in vain. One day I met him in the 
 bank, and, in the presence of the officers and some 
 eight or ten persons, he said : 
 
 " Brother Moody, you have been talking to me 
 about my using tobacco, which I do use freely, both 
 chewing and smokmg ; and now I want to settle this 
 question with you, by asking you a few questions. 
 First. Who made tobacco — God or the devil?" 
 
 I replied: "God; for he only can create." 
 
 " Very good answer, sir! Second. When did God 
 create it?" 
 
 I answered : " On the third day of the six days of 
 creation, ' and herb yielding seed after his kind.' " 
 
 " Third. Now, does not the Bible say, ' And God 
 saw that it was good?' " 
 
 "Yes," I replied. 
 
 " Aha !" he said ; " I have you now. God saw that 
 it was good ?" 
 
 "Yes," I replied, "tobacco is a good thing as a 
 dye-stuff for coloring matter ; it was made for and it 
 furnishes the richest and most valuable dye-stuff for col- 
 oring brown, extant ; and for that, God, its maker, pro- 
 nounced it good, and ' very good.' But not good for 
 chewing, smoking, dipping, and snuffing. One-half to 
 three-fifths of the whole crop of tobacco of America 
 is shipped to England, France, Spain, Germany, and 
 Prussia as a dye-stuff, and it is used extensively 
 in America for that purpose, and is found to be 
 'very good' and indispensable for use in its place. 
 But to reduce it to snuff, to dip it, as women do ; to 
 chew as plug, and smoke it as cigars, or use it as pro- 
 
302 Granville Moody. 
 
 vender for pipes, or grind it up into powder as snuff, 
 whether Maccaboy, Rappee, or Scotch, is an abuse of 
 a good creature of God for evil purposes. The Bible 
 asserts, ' L,o, this only have I found, that God hath 
 made man upright; but they have sought out many 
 inventions.' And snuff and cigars, and plug and 
 twist, and fine-cut and Maccaboy, are some of these 
 many inventions. And there are other culpable in- 
 ventions of self-indulgent man, who has made also 
 ' Whisky and gin, brandy and rum, 
 And many other things that make drunk come.' 
 
 Many things which God made for good purposes, man 
 has appropriated to other and evil purposes in the 
 error of his ways ; but 
 
 ' No evil can from God proceed ; 
 'Tis not permitted nor decreed, 
 As darkness is not from the sun, 
 Nor mounts the shades till it has gone.' 
 
 The right use of a thing is legitimate ; the mis- 
 use is its perversion. Tobacco was made for a dye- 
 stuff, and by it ' we can do things up brown ;' but we 
 use it for other purposes ; its use is then illegitimate 
 and injurious and pernicious, and by it we seek death 
 in the error of our ways. Whilst God made tobacco 
 as a dye-stuff, man has stuffed his nose and mouth 
 with it ; and though God made man upright, he has 
 sought out many inventions. They are perversions 
 from good to ill. When first used, tobacco sometimes 
 causes vomiting ; but the practice of using it in any 
 form soon conquers the distaste against it, and the 
 persons who use it acquire a relish for it that is strong 
 and almost unconquerable. Dr. Reuben D. Mussey, 
 of Cincinnati, has said; 'When I am called to the 
 sick-bed, I always ask my patients, " Do you use 
 tobacco in any form ?" If they do, I can not do good 
 
Combating Error. 303 
 
 to more than thirty per cent ; if they do not nse to- 
 bacco, I can save eighty-five per cent.' " 
 
 By this speech I gained my case, and all cried out, 
 " Mr. B., you are beaten, you are beaten !" But 
 " Convince a man against his will, 
 He 's of the same opinion still." 
 
 He continued in this dangerous habit several years, 
 when, on the side of his mouth where he held his cigar 
 or pipe, a cancer was formed which proved fatal. 
 Surely " the way of the transgressor is hard," and the 
 end of these things is death. 
 
 From the "Cincinnati Daily Gazette," October 6, 1861. 
 DEFERENCE TO MORALS IN POLITICAL ACTION. 
 
 Politics is " the science of government ; that part 
 of ethics which consists in the regulation and govern- 
 ment of a nation or State, for the preservation of its 
 safety, peace, and prosperity, comprehending the de- 
 fense of its existence and rights against foreign con- 
 trol or conquest ; the augmentation of its strength 
 and resources, and the protection of its citizens in 
 their rights, with the preservation and improvement 
 of their morals." Webster defines the word " moral " 
 as follows : " Relating to the practice, manners, or 
 conduct of men, as social beings, in relation to each 
 other, and with reference to right or wrong. The 
 word moral is applicable to actions that are good or 
 evil, virtuous or vicious, and has reference to the 
 * Law of God ' as the standard by which their character 
 is to be determined." 
 
 It is foreign to my purpose to dwell on "moral 
 law," "moral science," or "moral sense" as embraced 
 in the term moral, but simply to call attention to our 
 moral obligations in our political actions. The sense- 
 less outcry against Christians for " dabbling in the 
 
304 Granville Moody. 
 
 dirty pool of politics," is rendered ridiculous by a 
 glance at the authoritative definition of the term 
 "politics " at the head of this essay. The animus of 
 the outcry shows the character of the men who make 
 it ! Politics may and should be as pure as the spark- 
 ling waters from the rock. Politics " is that part of 
 ethics which consists in , . . the protection of 
 citizens in their rights, with the preservation and im- 
 provement of their morals." Politics, then, is a part 
 or branch of ethics ; and ethics is defined by Paley to 
 be " the doctrines of morality, the science of moral 
 philosophy, which teaches men their duty, and the 
 reasons of it." 
 
 If the pool of politics is dirty, it is because men 
 of dissolute morals have polluted it, and it is a shame 
 for them to take advantage of their own wrong ; and 
 if it is the object and interest of these men to keep 
 our politics polluted by driving away those who would 
 clean out the cesspool of pot-house politicians, it be- 
 comes the imperative duty of the friends of morality 
 to combine their influence in the maintenance of pure 
 political action, and thus secure the practice of 
 "righteousness, which exalts a nation." Universal 
 history, observation, and experience attest that it is 
 the nature of immorality to lessen and diminish a 
 people ; to sink and depress the spirits of a people, as 
 we may see in the history of France ; to destroy the 
 wealth of a people ; to deprive them of the bless- 
 ings and honors of liberty, and sink them in the 
 privations of slavery ; to provoke the displeasure of 
 Almighty God, and bring down national judgments 
 to complete national ruin. Immorality and irreligion 
 as certainly dry up the resources of a nation and 
 hasten its downfall, as a worm at the root of a 
 fragrant plant or fruitful tree will cause it to fade, 
 
Combating Error. 305 
 
 wither, and die. Hence, every endeavor to suppress 
 vice, and to promote public virtue, is patriotic; the 
 execution of the laws against vice and immorality is 
 patriotic ; the support of Churches, Sabbath-schools, 
 and day-schools is patriotic ; the suppression of the 
 hundred-handed system of intemperance, the fruitful 
 source of most crimes, is patriotic; the observance 
 of the Sabbath, which "was made for man," and is 
 of divine authority and universal obligation, is pa- 
 triotic; and all these are but parts of politics, truly 
 denned as "the science of government," etc. Why, 
 then, should a Christian man be warned away from 
 the arena of political action, as if it were a defilement 
 to his professional purity and inconsistent with his 
 profession ? Ah ! those who are interested in the im- 
 moralities of corrupt politics, dread the presence of 
 these "higher-law" men, who are represented as the 
 "light of the world" and "the salt of the earth!" 
 Like the Gadarenes, who were engaged in unlawful 
 business, and altogether sensual, and requested the im- 
 maculate Christ to depart out of their coasts, so these 
 would warn away Christians, or bid them hold their 
 principles in abject abeyance to the worldly ends of 
 those who ignore moral obligations in political action. 
 
 Yet all men are under natural, moral, and legal 
 obligations to obey God in all their actions — domestic, 
 social, civil, and political ; because he has made them 
 rational, moral, accountable, and immortal beings, and 
 no age, condition, secular concerns, or party influence 
 can dissolve their obligations. 
 
 It is indisputably right that civil government 
 should exist. Wherever there is a relation of depend- 
 ence, there is demand for government ; and as we are 
 dependent upon God and upon each other, the consti- 
 tution of humanity and society demands both divine 
 
 26 
 
306 Granville Moody. 
 
 and human governments. Civil government is neces- 
 sary as a means to an end, of paramount importance 
 in the moral rectitude and well-being of mankind. It 
 is only by good government, in its widest sense, that 
 virtue flourishes and general and individual tran- 
 quillity is felt. A man would far better have a lodge 
 in some vast wilderness, surrounded with wolves, 
 tigers, and bears, than dwell in a community without 
 law, since "man to man is fiercest, deadliest foe." 
 
 Civil government has the sanction of God, and is of 
 divine appointment. In Deuteronomy xix, 18, 19, the 
 God of Abraham, our God, gave these particular di- 
 rections to his people in the execution of law: "And 
 the judge shall make diligent inquisition : and behold, 
 if the witness be a false witness, then shall ye do 
 unto him as he had thought to have done to his 
 brother: so shall ye put away evil from among you." 
 In Ecclesiastes x, 17, the word of inspiration saith: 
 "Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son 
 of nobles, and their princes eat in due season, for 
 strength and not for drunkenness." The Queen of 
 Sheba said to Solomon (2 Chronicles ix, 8): "Blessed 
 be the Lord that set thee upon his throne ; for the Lord 
 loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore he 
 made thee ruler over them, to do judgment and jus- 
 tice." In Proverbs viii, 15, the Almighty saith: "By 
 me kings reign and princes decree justice." The 
 Lord, by Isaiah (i, 26), promised Israel: " I will purge 
 away the dross and restore thy judges, as at the first, 
 and thy counselors, as at the beginning ; and after- 
 ward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, 
 the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judg- 
 ment, and her converts with righteousness." In Prov- 
 erbs xxxi, 4, 5, it is declared: "It is not for kings, O 
 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for 
 
Combating Error. 307 
 
 princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the 
 law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted." 
 Nor does the Christian dispensation and era super- 
 sede the necessity of human legislation. We hear 
 the apostle Paul, himself a Roman citizen, and know- 
 ing and claiming his rights as a citizen, saying to his 
 brethren in the city of Rome (Romans xiii, 1-6) : 
 "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers; for 
 there is no power but of God. The powers that be 
 are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth 
 the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they 
 that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For 
 rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. 
 Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? Do that 
 which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same ; 
 for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But 
 if thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; for he bear- 
 eth not the sword in vain ; for he is the minister of 
 God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth 
 evil. Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only 
 for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For, for this 
 cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers, 
 attending continually upon this very thing." What 
 thing ? Why the suppression of vice and the encour- 
 agement and defense of virtue. And thus we have 
 God's warrant for politics and political action for the 
 same great ends. Human or civil government is, 
 therefore, demanded by our very humanity, by society 
 itself, and has the direct sanction of Him "who is 
 Governor among the nations, King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords." 
 
 Again, human agency is called into action by God's 
 enactment, both in the establishment and mainte- 
 nance of civil government. Thus Moses (Ex. xviii, 25,) 
 " chose able men, out of all Israel, and made them 
 
308 Granville Moody. 
 
 heads over the people, rulers over thousands, rulers 
 over hundreds, rulers over fifties, and rulers over tens. 
 And they judged the people at all seasons ; the hard 
 causes they brought to Moses, but every small matter 
 they judged themselves." When Moses could not 
 bear the burden of these hard causes alone, the Lord 
 said to Moses (Num. xi, 16), " Gather unto me seventy 
 men of the elders of Israel, and bring them before me, 
 and I will take of the spirit that is upon thee, and will 
 put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of 
 the people with thee." God's direction to the " United 
 States of Israel" was (Deut. xvi, 18), "Judges and 
 officers shalt thou make thee, in all thy gates, which 
 the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, 
 and they shall judge the people with just judgment." 
 The precise form of government is not, indeed, speci- 
 fied, and as the Israelites were permitted, in some in- 
 stances, to choose their own form, and as different 
 forms did exist, we consider that the precise form, 
 whether monarchical, aristocratic, republican, or a gov- 
 ernment like ours, which combines the best elements 
 of all these forms — viz., the monarchical, in our veto 
 power; the aristocratic, in our Senate; and the repub- 
 lican in our House of Representatives — is not essential 
 to the divine warrant of which we speak, as the form 
 is of less consequence than the end or objects to be 
 attained; viz., the suppression of vice, and the de- 
 fense and encouragement of public virtue. 
 
 Under the different forms of civil government we 
 find a varied responsibility resting upon the people, 
 and the more direct the influence that the people have 
 in establishing government, the creating of laws, and 
 election of officers, the greater is their responsibility, 
 the more sacred their political obligations. Hence, in 
 a republic, like our own, where every man is a sov- 
 
Combating Error. 309 
 
 ereign, responsible for his vote only to God, the 
 highest moral obligation in regard to political action 
 exists. 
 
 Our duty, then, is : 
 
 First. To pray for divine directions. " Moses spake 
 to the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the 
 spirit of all flesh, set a man over the congregation." 
 (Num. xxvii, 15.) Christians should ask wisdom " from 
 God, who giveth liberally." 
 
 Second. We should select and support men of the 
 right stamp for office. Here is the proclamation made 
 by the chief magistrate, on the eve of an election, to 
 the whole nation of Israel, which we would do well to 
 heed : " Take you wise men, and understanding, and 
 known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers 
 over you ;" " Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all 
 the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, 
 hating covetousness ; and place such over them, to be 
 rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of 
 fifties, and rulers of tens." (Deut. i, 13 ; Ex. xviii, 21.) 
 Notice, 1. The people were to elect — "Take you;" 2. 
 This election was to be from among the " people," and 
 not of any privileged class ; 3. These candidates were 
 to possess specified qualifications — men of wisdom, 
 ability, righteousness, and piety ; 4. The inauguration 
 was to be by the chief magistrate, Moses. It is of 
 little use to place men in office who are strong, and 
 without wisdom, integrity, and moral courage to do 
 right. 
 
 Third. Our officers should be temperance men. 
 (Prov. xxxi, 4.) The devotees of strong drink should 
 never command the suffrages of good citizens. God 
 vetoes it. 
 
 Fourth. They must be just men — men that fear 
 God. David in his last hours said : " The God of 
 
310 Granville Moody. 
 
 Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that 
 ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the feat of 
 God. And he shall be as the light of the morning 
 when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds ; 
 as the tender grass, springing out of the earth by clear 
 shining after the rain. But the sons of Belial shall be 
 all of them as thorns thrust away." (2 Sam. xxiii, 3-6.) 
 God's direction to the judges was : " Defend the 
 fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver 
 the poor out of the hand of the wicked." (Psa. lxxxii, 
 3) ; " Remember them that are in bonds as bound 
 with them" (Heb. xiii, 3.) "All things whatsoever 
 ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
 them," said the Teacher from the skies. Hence, we 
 have no right, knowingly, to give our votes or use 
 our influence to elect an ignoramus, a tippler, an un- 
 just man, a public violator of God's law. 
 
 Do you ask, How shall we know such persons? I 
 reply : First, by their professions ; second, by their prac- 
 tices; third, use due diligence to know their true 
 character, spirit, principles, ends, and pledges of the 
 man whom you choose to act as your agent in polit- 
 ical affairs, and cast your vote according to the limita- 
 tions which God has put on it. God having author- 
 ized and required civil government, it is not for you 
 to question its necessity, or neglect your duty for it; 
 for he has thrown upon you the responsibility of form- 
 ing and molding civil government, with the specific 
 view of suppressing vice and fostering virtue; and 
 you are responsible to God, your country, and pos- 
 terity for your personal vote in the right direction. 
 Then shall the people no longer " mourn because the 
 wicked bear rule," nor will our legislative halls be dis- 
 graced by profanity, drunkenness, bribery, oppression, 
 revelry, or Sabbath desecration ; but men will be 
 
Combating Error. 311 
 
 elected to office who will fill their stations in the fear 
 of God. Sabbath profanation, intemperance, bribery, 
 legal injustice, will be extirpated, and the people will 
 rejoice, because the righteous rule, and "righteous- 
 ness and judgment shall be the stability of our 
 times, and the strength of our salvation." (Isa. 
 xxxiii, 6.) 
 
 The voters of free America occupy an elevated 
 position, indeed, before the civilized world. They 
 are the sovereigns of our land; they will come with 
 their ballot to the ballot-box. In the exercise of this 
 right, the weakest man, by virtue of his recognized 
 manhood and citizenship, is as strong as the mightiest. 
 That ballot is the token of inestimable privileges, and 
 involves the responsibility of a priceless trust. It has 
 passed into his hands as a right reaped from fields of 
 blood, and suffering, and death. As he casts his 
 folded vote into the ballot-box, the grandeur of his- 
 tory is represented in the act. To the ballot has been 
 transmitted the dignity of the scepter and the potency 
 of the sword. That folded vote becomes a tongue of 
 justice, a voice of order, a force of imperial law, secur- 
 ing rights, abolishing abuses, and erecting new insti- 
 tutions of truth and love. It is the exercise of an 
 immeasurable power for good or ill; the medium 
 through which you act upon your country ; the nerve 
 which unites you with its life and welfare. 
 
 " There is a weapon surer yet, 
 And stronger than the bayonet; 
 A weapon that comes down as still 
 As snow-flakes fall upon the sod, 
 But executes a freemen's will 
 
 As lightning does the will of God ; 
 A weapon that nor bolts nor locks 
 Can bar— it is the ballot-box!" 
 
312 Granville Moody. 
 
 Now, shall not those who wield that power be 
 placed under the moral and religious restraints of re- 
 vealed religion as far as possible? May we not ex- 
 pect that Christians will make voting a matter of con- 
 science, and say concerning this high prerogative, 
 "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and then 
 appeal to and apply the truths of the Bible, the infal- 
 lible oracle of the living God ; not, indeed, as ex- 
 pounded by human authority, Protestant or Papal, 
 but as each one shall answer to God for the use or 
 abuse of this talent in his day and generation? Surely, 
 " this day for the hereafter choose we holiness or sin." 
 
 From the " Western Christian Advocate," August, 1879. 
 CAMP-MEETINGS AND THE SABBATH. 
 
 We are divinely warned against ''becoming par- 
 takers of other men's sins;" and when Camp-meeting 
 Associations go into partnership with railroad mana- 
 agers, and not only furnish the occasions and induce- 
 ments to traveling on the Sabbath-day, but require 
 and receive a stipulated proportion of the fares charged 
 for such Sabbath traveling to and from camp-meeting 
 on the Sabbath, and exact a fee for admittance on the 
 Sabbath-day, and rent out lemonade, ice-cream, cigar 
 and tobacco stands, and eating-houses and hotels, and 
 receive the proceeds of such secular business on the 
 sacred day divinely set apart from a common to a 
 holy use, they stand indicted before "the Lord of 
 the Sabbath " for its violation. 
 
 No casuistry can clear such associations from the 
 charge of violating the law of the Sabbath, and they 
 are properly chargeable with the violation of our 
 general rules, as a Church, which forbid " the profan- 
 ing of the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary 
 work therein, or by buying or selling." Ministers, 
 
Combating Error. 313 
 
 too, even those who are preaching constantly on holi- 
 ness, sanctification, perfection, entire consecration, 
 and the higher life, knowingly receive their stipulated 
 fees or salaries from funds which are accumulated by 
 such barefaced desecration of God's holy day, and, 
 preaching a higher life, condescend to this lower life ; 
 and the demoralization of the Church and the com- 
 munity around is the result, since the morality of 
 society can never, and will never, rise higher than the 
 morality of the Church. We fully believe in " Scrip- 
 tural holiness," and have labored forty-seven years in 
 spreading it over the land. 
 
 We are cautioned against the great error of "sup- 
 posing that gain is godliness." (1 Tim. vi, 5.) And 
 Paul tells us that the "perverse disputings of men of 
 corrupt minds, destitute of the truth," have evoked 
 this ruinous supposition. They suppose that gain is 
 godliness; but Paul contradicts them by immediately 
 asserting that "godliness, with contentment, is great 
 gain." To say that gain is godliness, is to say that 
 utility is virtue ; but to say that godliness is great 
 gain, is to say that virtue produces utility. There is 
 an essential difference between these two dogmas. 
 The one supposes that gain is the supreme good ; the 
 other supposes that godliness is the supreme good. 
 The one supposes there is an intrinsic value in gain 
 only ; the other supposes there is an intrinsic and su- 
 preme good in godliness only. The one makes hap- 
 piness the supreme good ; the other makes godliness 
 the supreme object of pursuit. And as gain is more 
 agreeable to the human heart than godliness, there is 
 great danger that men will embrace the fatal error 
 that utility is virtue, and that duty consists in seeking 
 happiness rather than godliness. 
 
 Law, Paley, Dr. Brown, Hume, Godwin, and many 
 
 27 
 
314 Granville Moody. 
 
 English, French, and German philosophers make 
 virtue to consist in utility; or, in other words, these 
 loose, and in many cases licentious, writers labor to 
 prove that "gain is godliness;" or, to use the favorite 
 phrase of infidels and papists, ''the end sanctifies the 
 means;" and their sophistical reasonings are well cal- 
 culated to bewilder and corrupt the minds of those 
 minute philosophers who wish to go out of the com- 
 mon way of thinking, and thus free themselves from 
 moral and religious obligations by adopting the first 
 principle of infidelity, which is the most disorganizing 
 and demoralizing principle in the universe ; which not 
 only strikes at the foundation of all religion and mo- 
 rality, but equally tends to subvert all civil govern- 
 ment, as it is impossible to bind men by civil authority 
 after they have lost all sense of religious and moral 
 obligation; and this same infidel and communistic 
 doctrine, that leads a people into infidelity, throws 
 them into anarchy and confusion, and destroys all 
 civil order and authority. 
 
 When advocates of Sabbath-breaking camp-meet- 
 ings meet us with the plea that they thus have money 
 to pay the expense of the camp-meeting, and that 
 they can get it so easily by placing a committee of 
 the Church to exact a money-consideration at the gate 
 of the camp-meeting, and rent out ice-cream and lem- 
 onade and cigar and tobacco and provision stands, 
 and run hotels and eating-houses and barber-shops, to 
 be operated on the holy Sabbath, and are in partner- 
 ship with railroad companies in running trains on the 
 Sabbath-day, and gladly receive the wages of unright- 
 eousness, are they not acting on the key-stone prin- 
 ciple that the end sanctifies, ay, and justifies, the 
 means ? Are they not declaring that utility is virtue ? 
 that gain is godliness? And are they not condemned 
 
Combating Error. 315 
 
 by the holy apostle in thunder tones, when he rejects, 
 with abhorrence and utter detestation, the dogma 
 which says, "Let us do evil that good may come;" 
 and asserts with vehemence of those who do or say 
 this, "Their damnation is just?" No person may do 
 the least evil that good may come. To do anything 
 evil for the sake of securing even the greatest good, is 
 detestable and "damnable!" A good intention will 
 never justify a bad action in the sight of God, who will 
 condemn evil-doers, though they do evil that good 
 may come. (See Rom. hi, 7.) 
 
 In a recent Sabbath-breaking camp-meeting for 
 the promotion of holiness, etc., the minister prayed 
 for good weather on the following Sabbath, that the 
 crowds might assemble, so that they might get a large 
 amount of money out of them, in fees for admission 
 and otherwise; "for thou knowest, O Lord, that our 
 Church is greatly in debt, and it must be paid ; there- 
 fore, O Lord, give us good weather on Sabbath." 
 Some ministers and managers have more shrewdness 
 in their public addresses to the Throne of grace, but 
 what this preacher uttered in prayer is held by all who 
 believe that "utility is virtue " and "gain is godliness." 
 
 The Sabbath was made for man ; it was appointed 
 for his spiritual good. Apart from its beneficial in- 
 fluence upon society and upon every temporal interest, 
 it is an institution of unspeakable importance from its 
 bearing upon eternity. In fact, there is no religion 
 without it. The neighborhood, the family, the indi- 
 vidual, that willfully violates the holy Sabbath-day is 
 destitute of religion. Those who disregard this se- 
 questered day, who pervert its holy design by attend- 
 ing to secular concerns, who waste the day in idleness, 
 or spend it in riding or walking, or visiting* and feast- 
 ing, or reading secular papers or novels, or writing 
 
316 Granville Moody. 
 
 letters on worldly or domestic affairs, or go off on 
 Sunday excursions to zoological gardens or picnics, or 
 pious gatherings are running their vehicles and loco- 
 motives pell-mell over the commandment which says : 
 "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy; in it 
 thou shalt not do any work." 
 
 The Sabbath, in its divine origin, in its perpetual 
 obligation, in its holy requirements, in its important 
 designs, in its sacred delights, in its typical represen- 
 tation, is worthy of our highest regards and most 
 scrupulous and conscientious observance. 'Tis then 
 that the Christian, engaged in warfare with the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, like a battle-ship at sea, lies 
 by on the government docks for essential repairs of 
 the damage he has received through the week, and 
 prepares again for action, by an increase of that 
 "faith by which he overcomes the world." 
 
 Nor are we foes, or indisposed, to our camp- 
 meetings. Nay, verily, they may be conducted to 
 man's good and to God's glory, and the extension of 
 Christ's kingdom, without breaking the law, which is 
 not made void by faith, but established by the faith 
 of the gospel as our rule of life ; for though the 
 moral law — the Decalogue — is good for nothing for 
 our justification, it is holy and just and good as our 
 moral directory, and its observance is indispensable to 
 present or ultimate acceptance with God; for "blessed 
 are they that do his commandments [and remem- 
 bering the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, is one of his 
 commandments], that they may have right to the tree 
 of life, and may enter in through the gates into the 
 city; for without are" the worst kind of people. (See 
 Rev. xxii, 14.) I fear that some of these religious 
 transgressors — excuse the association of the terms — 
 have never read or studied what God has ordered on 
 
Combating Error. 
 
 3*7 
 
 the subject. For their benefit I will transcribe his veto, 
 found in Isa, lviii, 13, 14: "If thou turn away thy 
 foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my 
 holy day ; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of 
 the Lord, honorable ; and shalt honor him, not doing 
 thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor 
 speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight 
 thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride 
 upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with 
 the heritage of Jacob thy father : for the mouth of 
 the Lord hath spoken it." 
 
 The rule here given implies that men must not 
 profane the Sabbath by doing their ordinary work 
 therein, nor by inducing or furnishing the occasion 
 for other men to do so, in seeking their secular inter- 
 ests, or by spending it in traveling for pleasure, or for 
 recreation, especially under the specious plea of hear- 
 ing the gospel, and furnishing the occasion and means 
 of making a holiday of God's holy day, but that they 
 should delight in the Sabbath-day, "the holy of the 
 Lord," and call it honorable, and honor him by 
 
 saying : 
 
 " In holy duties let the day 
 In lioly comforts pass away." 
 
 They should make it their aim to lay aside all employ- 
 ments, pleasures, or discourse which may direct atten- 
 tion from its sanctity, without any other intermission 
 than is really necessary. 
 
 The 'Sabbath-day is specifically a day of rest for 
 the brute creation ; and if they had been endowed 
 with reason, and could speak, they would bless our 
 God, who "takes care for oxen," for the merciful pro- 
 vision of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a rest for 
 man's body, and softens the rigor of the obligation to 
 labor, as it is a day of refreshing pause and needed 
 
318 Granville Moody. 
 
 relaxation. The Sabbath is a day of rest for the 
 mind. It should be hailed with thankfulness, ob- 
 served with holy awe, enjoyed with pious resolutions 
 to honor God for it, and to seek to be in the Spirit on 
 the Lord's-day, and regard it as a type and pledge of 
 
 heaven, 
 
 "Where congregations ne'er break up, 
 And Sabbath never ends." 
 
 How utterty inconsistent with the Sabbath is the 
 appearance of many of the camp-meetings of the pres- 
 ent day ! Go to the railroad depots and see the jos- 
 tling, hurrying crowds buying their round-trip tickets 
 to camp-meeting ; see the crowded omnibuses, express 
 wagons, public and private conveyances ; every livery 
 stable emptied within ten miles around. Listen to 
 the signal-bells and wild screeching of the escape- 
 pipes and whistles, as the overladen locomotive 
 winds its way along our valleys, puffing defiance to 
 the God of the Sabbath ! See the giddy crowds dis- 
 embogue at the gates ! See the poor, panting mules 
 or jaded horses, covered with dust and sweat, with 
 red, protruding tongues, tumbling and reeling as 
 they drag the creaking omnibus to the "camp-meeting 
 gates." 
 
 See the red-eyed, bloated, swearing driver, lashing 
 his exhausted team along ! See the eager committee, 
 demanding and exacting entrance-fees at the camp- 
 gates, composed of class-leaders, trustees, stewards, 
 "men of solid piety, of good natural and acquired abil 
 ities, who both know and love Methodist doctrine and 
 discipline !" See these money changers of the temple 
 on the holy Sabbath ! See the motley crowds ! Hear 
 the oaths and rude jests, and see the ungentle press 
 when the time for general arrivals culminates ! They 
 crowd the grounds, throng the aisles. Part of the 
 
Combating Error. 319 
 
 usurping crowd hear part or the whole of a sermon, 
 and then they march and countermarch in single, 
 double, treble, or quadruple columns. They file right 
 and left, change front to the rear, wheel by platoons, 
 undouble files, and, burdened with partners, and bas- 
 kets, and satchels, and whips, canes and canteens, they 
 are as terrible as an army with banners, exhibiting the 
 commingling of the virtuous and vicious. And now 
 they crowd the boarding-tents, the stands for refresh- 
 ments, the ice-cream stand, the gingerbread and pea- 
 nut booth, the lemonade arcade ; the crackers and 
 cheese, apples and peaches and pears ; the general as- 
 sortment stand attached to the boarding-tent, and vying 
 with an army sutler's establishment, — each Sabbath- 
 breaker plying his vocation, for which privilege he 
 has paid the managers of the camp-meeting what they 
 expected of him for the privilege of " profaning the 
 day of the Lord by doing ordinary work therein, 
 and by buying and selling," though absolutely for- 
 bidden in terms by our Discipline so to do. 
 
 Of our camp-meetings I would say: " As the new 
 wine is found in ttie cluster, and one saith, Destroy 
 it not for a blessing is in it, so will I do for my serv- 
 ants' sake that I may not destroy them all, saith the 
 Lord. And I will bring a seed out of Jacob, and out 
 of Judah an inheritor of my mountains, and they shall 
 dwell there." (Isa. lxv, 8.) 
 
 This vexed question will have its solution. The 
 enlightened conscience of our Church will rally its 
 forces around the morals of Christianity, and "the 
 righteousness of the law shall be fulfilled in us 
 who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
 This will be done in two ways. 1. We can 
 open our camp-meetings at two P. M. on Monday, 
 and close them at two P. M. on Saturday. 2. We 
 
320 Granville Moody. 
 
 • 
 
 can close the gates on Sabbath, and keep them her- 
 metically sealed, and thus not be chargeable nor guilty 
 of giving this great occasion to the enemies of the 
 Lord to blaspheme, and then wear the jewel of con- 
 sistency, and the white flower of a spotless and blame- 
 less life. 
 
 We are glad to learn that the higher moral sense 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church is checking the 
 associations that, bearing the name of Methodist, are 
 bearing our reputation to the dust. The reaction has 
 taken place, the groundswell of holy devotion to the 
 sanctity of " the Sabbath of the Lord " is setting in ; 
 and though those who have invested their money in 
 these enterprises, which furnish the occasion for and 
 inducement to these violations of the law of the Sab- 
 bath — the occasion favoring the justification of these 
 carpet-baggers, Sabbath journeying, merry-making 
 Christians — yet they are as powerless as Canute to stay 
 the swelling tide against their continuance. 
 " The ocean rolled not back 
 When Canute gave command." 
 
 Already, all over the land, the oocasion and induce- 
 ment and the justification of Sabbath desecration, in 
 connection with our camp-meetings, have been stopped. 
 Grand old Chautauqua leads the van, and there all 
 access to the grounds, on the Sabbath is prohibited 
 and effectually prevented. I will close with a para- 
 graph from an article by George Lansing Taylor, D. D., 
 in which he so graphically describes the camp-meet- 
 ing at the Thousand Islands Park, on the St. Lawrence 
 River: "During the whole season no passenger or 
 freight-craft is permitted to land at the company's 
 docks on Sunday. A conspicuous sign and a vigi- 
 lant watchman enforce this rule. The result of this 
 fidelity to Christian principle is, that passengers come 
 
Combating Error. 321 
 
 by the steamboat-loads on Thursday, Friday, and Sat- 
 urday, and spend Sunday, often Monday also, on the 
 ground, in joyful and reverent worship, undisturbed by 
 the sacrilegious uproar of Sabbath arrivals and depart- 
 ures. In consequence of this, the Sabbath services are 
 especially interesting and profitable; and many, who 
 come with no special religious intent, are found in the 
 inquiry-meetings before the holy day is over. The 
 preaching of the gospel on these high days is always 
 a treat. So closed a peerless summer Sabbath-day." 
 We rejoice to learn that some of our Western 
 Camp-meeting Associations have this year annulled 
 their covenant with railroads, and declined to receive 
 again any part of the fares collected on the Sabbath, 
 and have withheld from all parties the right to sell 
 anything on the Sabbath beyond the bare necessities 
 of life. This is good — an installment on the debt we 
 owe to the Lord of the Sabbath-day. We hope that 
 ere another summer may return, all our camp-meetings 
 shall imitate Chautauqua, Ocean Grove, Thousand 
 Islands, and others, and hear and heed the voice of 
 God saying: "Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and rever- 
 ence, my sanctuary; I am the Lord" (Lev. xix, 30); 
 " Verily, my Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a sign 
 between me and you, throughout your generations. 
 Ye shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy unto you." 
 (Ex. xxxi, 12-18.) At any rate, the Sabbath-honoring 
 camps will get the patronage. Let us imitate the holy 
 women, who, having provided spices and ointments to 
 embalm the body of Jesus after it was laid in the 
 grave, rested the Sabbabth-day, according to the com- 
 mandment. (Luke, xxiii, 56.) 
 
322 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FRAGMENTS OF CLERICAL LIFE. 
 
 IN the spring of 1867 I was laboring in Ripley 
 as pastor. We saw and felt the necessity of 
 building a new church, and the membership com- 
 menced with great unanimity in the work. We 
 bought two lots on Main Street, and took up a liberal 
 subscription of some twelve thousand dollars, and 
 commenced excavation. We finished the deep 
 foundations, and were ready for the laying of the 
 corner-stone. A beautiful day it was, indeed, and 
 we had a noble program, dividing the services 
 among Presbyterians, Christians, and Disciples. 
 The whole area of the church, 112 by 45 feet, was 
 covered with loose planks, and a rostrum for the 
 clergy was improvised. 
 
 At two o'clock P. M. we convened, and took 
 about thirty minutes in adjusting the outward con- 
 venience of an assembly that numbered from a 
 thousand to twelve hundred people. But during 
 this convocation of the good, the powers of the 
 air were on the alert. The heavens gathered dark- 
 ness ; angry masses of clouds drove up the skies ; 
 lightenings flashed ; the warring winds made mel- 
 ancholy music, and low and deep and growling 
 thunders gave signs of a coming storm. The 
 pastor of the Presbyterian Church prayed with 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 323 
 
 amazement; all faces showed signs of fear, and 
 general uneasiness prevailed. As he terminated the 
 opening prayer it seemed like the funeral note to 
 the enterprise, and many countenances seemed to 
 take pleasure in our sad catastrophe. As he ut- 
 tered the word "Amen," I said in a loud voice: 
 " Let us continue in prayer." I felt called upon 
 to make a special plea unto the Almighty at this 
 crisis of the powers of darkness, which seemed to 
 be led onward by " the prince of the power of the 
 air, the spirit that now worketh in the children 
 of disobedience." I rehearsed to the Lord the 
 designs and desires and enterprise of the Church, 
 his past goodness to them, his near relations to 
 them, and the influence that the present enter- 
 prise would have on the cause of Christ in that 
 locality. " And now, Lord," I continued, " this 
 public meeting of the friends of Jesus is inter- 
 rupted by the powers of darkness, and the prince 
 of the power of the air ; thine enemy, and ours as 
 well. He seeks to prevent these services, and 
 thereby dampen the enterprise of this people, and 
 thwart the enthusiasm of this hour. O God, our 
 God that ruleth on high, we pray thee to signalize 
 this hour by thy delivering grace. O, thou God, 
 who rulest on high, and art mightier than the 
 howling winds, for thine own name's sake rebuke 
 the devourer. Thou whom the winds and whirl- 
 winds obey, drive back this portending storm ; re- 
 buke these howling winds ; and O, thou Lord God 
 Almighty, exert thy power and bid a counterblast 
 to go forth and drive these stormy clouds aback, 
 
324 Granville Moody. 
 
 by the power of thy word ; and give us, O Lord, a 
 sweet and calm season for these services; and may 
 thy people rejoice in thee, whom winds and storms 
 and hurricanes obey, and from whose presence 
 devils fear and fly ! We ask this clearance for the 
 honor of thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen!" 
 
 At the closing of this prayer of agony and de- 
 sire, the wind veered to the opposite point of the 
 compass, and from blowing up stream, it swept a 
 hurricane around, and fairly leaped in its course, 
 and came howling from up-river with a rising 
 fury, and in a few minutes hurled the black storm 
 clouds back, back, back, down the river, and a 
 clear blue sky appeared, and a smiling sun with 
 gladness in his smile. The change was so direct, 
 so glorious, so speedy, so palpable, so divine, that 
 the Church was radiant w T ith joy, and the people 
 said one to another: " Did you ever see the like? 
 It is the Lord's doing, and wondrous in our eyes." 
 
 The Lord's ear was open to the cry of his 
 servant, and the solemnity of a great epoch was 
 upon the whole assembly. The services went on 
 with increasing interest, lasting some two hours. 
 It was regarded as a day of wonder. A subscrip- 
 tion was solicited, which amounted to nearly or 
 quite one thousand dollars. The people rejoiced 
 as if in the immediate presence of God. I closed 
 the exercises with the doxology and benediction, 
 and added: "Now to your tents, O Israel, with 
 all possible dispatch. Farewell." With indescrib- 
 able speed the clouds mounted the skies, and such 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 325 
 
 a rain fell as had never fallen before in the 
 memory of any living man in that whole assembly. 
 
 The answer to that prayer was a miracle of 
 God's power, and seemed to put new strength into 
 the hearts of God's people in Ripley, which urged 
 them forward in their great undertaking. 
 
 We extract from the Ripley Bee of the Thurs- 
 day preceding the dedication the following notice 
 concerning the laying of the corner-stone : "Those 
 who were there will never forget it. We 
 
 see to this day, as plainly as if the living scene 
 itself rose before us, the inky blackness of the 
 sudden storm, and hear the rattling peals of thun- 
 der directly overhead, and feel the first drops of 
 rain falling in the midst of the ceremonies. The 
 crowd began to scatter, the preachers and Church 
 officials looked dismayed, as they hastily took their 
 hats and turned to go. Suddenly a voice above 
 the crash of the thunder called them back. There 
 stood Dr. Moody towering above them all, his gray 
 beard streaming in the wind, and his flashing eyes 
 upturned to heaven, as he pleaded with a power and 
 eloquence that can never be pictured for the stay- 
 ing of the storm. Like Moses of old, he dared to 
 remonstrate with God ; and the astonished people 
 looked on with wondering pity that he should 
 make such a fool of himself. But a strange north 
 wind came up, checking the southern storm. The 
 battling clouds struggled and rolled with fearful 
 rapidity. The ceremonies went on, and the crowd 
 stayed to 'see Moody get ducked.' But not a 
 drop of rain fell until the doxology had been sung 
 
326 Granville Moody. 
 
 and the benediction pronounced. With the sound- 
 ing of the 'amen' came a flash of lightning and 
 a crash of thunder. The heavens were let loose, 
 and such a rain came down as had never been 
 known in the town before. Whether this was a 
 miracle we are not called upon to say, but that it 
 is a fact, none who were there will ever dispute." 
 
 While I was pastor of Morris Chapel, Cincin- 
 nati, I was passing up to the Book Concern, cor- 
 ner of Main and Eighth Streets, one morning in 
 January, 1861, and came upon a dense crowd of 
 citizens on Main Street, near Seventh, where, in a 
 disreputable house, two policemen, who had en- 
 tered at eleven o'clock the night before at the re- 
 quest of a father searching for his erring daughter, 
 had been foully and fatally stabbed. As I came 
 near the door, an aged policemen stepped out and 
 said: "Mr. Moody, do come in and speak to our 
 two comrades, and pray with them, as they are 
 both fatally wounded." I went into the elegantly 
 furnished rooms, and the proprietress begged me, 
 as a minister, to pray with the men. I talked to 
 them as dying men, and prayed with and for them. 
 They understood their condition, and I proposed 
 Christian baptism. They both assented, and I 
 baptized them in the name of the Holy Trinity. 
 They became calm, collected, and confiding. 
 
 The woman of the house asked me if I thought 
 they would recover. I told her that the attending 
 physician had pronounced the wounds fatal. She 
 sobbed aloud in agony of spirit, and said : " If God 
 will spare these innocent officers' lives I will 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 327 
 
 abandon this abhorred business. In any event, 
 this loathsome career shall cease. I renounce it 
 all." I approved her avowals, of course, and pro- 
 posed prayer, in which I asked pardon for her 
 from God for the past, and grace in her behalf. 
 Shortly after this prayer both men died. They 
 were buried from Morris Chapel. Four days after- 
 ward the red flag of the auctioneer was floating 
 from the house of death, and another haunt of 
 evil-doers was broken up. The proprietress be- 
 came an attendant at Morris Chapel, occupying a 
 seat, the second from the door on the left entrance 
 to the church. She was plainly yet elegantly 
 appareled in unalleviated black, and was a devout 
 and attentive listener to the Word of life which 
 I proclaimed from Sabbath to Sabbath. 
 
 On a Sabbath morning I preached the annual 
 missionary sermon and took the collection, which 
 was very liberal. The woman in black contrib- 
 uted twenty dollars in gold coin. A few days 
 afterward the Daily Times, of September 25, 1861, 
 had a report of what it designated "A Missionary 
 Infernal Machine." It spoke of a " mysterious 
 lady, and how she contributed to the missionary 
 cause," as follows : 
 
 ''A rather singular affair has come to our knowl- 
 edge which, perhaps, may be of interest to the public 
 generally, and to the religious population particularly. 
 On Sunday, the 8th inst., the Rev. Granville Moody 
 devoted the services of the morning at Morris Chapel, 
 of which he is pastor, to an advocacy of the claims 
 of the missionary cause. On the Monday following a 
 
328 Granville Moody. 
 
 very neatly dressed lady called at the coal-office of 
 Mr. Cochnower, immediately below the residence 
 of Mr. Moody, and engaged the services of a boy to 
 carry a small basket to the residence of the reverend 
 gentleman ; but perceiving that he was about to de- 
 liver it at the wrong door, she hastened after him and 
 relieved him of his burden, by taking charge of the 
 basket herself— after which she departed. 
 
 " Mr. Moody was, in the evening, apprised of the 
 mysterious action of the lady; and, upon questioning 
 his household, found that there had been no basket 
 left for him, consequently he thought no more of the 
 matter. On Tuesday morning, as the family were at 
 prayers, a small boy presented himself at the door, 
 and handed to the minister a small but very heavy 
 parcel, which bore this direction, ' Rev. Granville 
 Moody, for the Missionary Cause.' 
 
 "Ministers are not unaccustomed to receive dona- 
 tions from their friends, but they are generally of a 
 character not so weighty as the one in question ; and, 
 as Mr. Moody is a strong advocate of Union princi- 
 ples, on any and all occasions, the idea immediately 
 flashed upon his brain that it was intended by some 
 secessionist to make him the victim of an infernal 
 machine, and blow him all to pieces. This thought, 
 of course, led him to look at the heavy offering in a 
 very suspicious light, and to induce him to remove 
 all the little Moodys to a safe distance before he pro- 
 ceeded to open it, in the hope that if the rebels wished 
 to destroy him, and succeeded, there would be some 
 of the stock left to give them trouble in all coming 
 time. In the presence of a friend he proceeded to 
 undo the fastenings of the bundle. Cautious as to 
 this proceeding, and fraught with the idea that every 
 string might pull some unseen trigger, it was placed 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 329 
 
 around the angle of the wall, and by an outstretched 
 arm, bent at an angle of forty-five degrees, it was freed 
 from its outer fastenings. The next development was 
 a fig-box, the lid of which was fastened down with 
 copper tacks. The danger here appeared to be in- 
 creasing, and it became necessary to use redoubled 
 vigilance. To remove the lid might cause the explo- 
 sion of some vile invention of the enemy, and create 
 havoc and destruction. At this point of the proceed- 
 ings a lucky thought occurred to the minister. Of 
 course the villains intended that he should open it at 
 the top, and some secret spring to the lid should do 
 the work. He could foil them, and satisfy his curiosity 
 by cutting into the bottom. 
 
 " To plan and to execute was the work of several 
 minutes, but, after ruining a good pocket-knife, and 
 expending considerable patience, an aperture was 
 made in the box, and out rolled a twenty-dollar gold 
 piece, and then another, and another, with the prospect 
 that there were still ' a few more left of the same sort/ 
 So it was not an infernal machine at all, but a donation, 
 from some very charitable but unknown lady, to the 
 missionary cause, in the behalf of which the reverend 
 gentleman had so eloquently appealed to his hearers 
 on the previous Sabbath. A more thorough and less 
 cautious method was now adopted to relieve the 
 box of its contents, which were found to be neither 
 powder nor lead, but twelve hundred and eighty dollars 
 in that more weighty mineral, gold, all of which, it 
 was the desire of the donor, should be devoted to the 
 enlightenment of the heathen. The mone}' was 
 transferred to the Missionary Society, but no tidings 
 have as yet been gathered as to the lady who thought 
 fit to adopt so mysterious a method in forwarding so 
 liberal a donation." 
 
 28 
 
330 Granville Moody. 
 
 I think I know the source of the donation men- 
 tioned in the foregoing extract. I think the " woman 
 in black " furnished the gold as a sin-offering to the 
 Lord, in proof to the Lord that she had renounced 
 her evil life. A clearer case of sorrow for sin, 
 with deep abasement for iniquity, I never wit- 
 nessed. I pray God to receive her repentance 
 unto life ; and 
 
 " 'Stablish with her the covenant new, 
 And stamp His image on her heart." 
 
 In the year 1858 I spent several days in Jasper 
 County, Indiana, where my real estate is located. 
 One day I went to Rensselaer, the county seat of 
 said county, and called at the Methodist parsonage 
 to see the pastor, Aaron Hays, an old friend of 
 mine. During a somewhat protracted conversa- 
 tion, the name of a young man who was teaching 
 school in the town was mentioned. Some things 
 that were said gave me a desire to see him, and 
 know more about him. When I arose to depart, 
 the pastor invited me to return in the evening, and 
 spend the night under his roof. I accepted the in- 
 vitation. 
 
 On going out of the town to meet some engage- 
 ments for the afternoon, I met a young man coming 
 from the direction in which I was going. I had an 
 impression that he was the one whose name I 
 had heard mentioned at the parsonage. So strong 
 was the impression that when we came near each 
 other, I stopped and asked him his name ; he re- 
 plied, "Joyce." I said: " Are you the young man 
 who is teaching school in town ; and are the 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 331 
 
 Methodist minister's children members of your 
 school?" He answered: "Yes." I asked him a 
 number of questions. I found he was a member 
 of the United Brethren Church ; had been con- 
 verted when sixteen years of age ; was at the time 
 twenty-two years old ; and was now teaching school 
 in order to pay some debts contracted during his 
 struggle in college to secure his education. His 
 purpose was to enter the Christian ministry. He 
 was then a local preacher in the United Brethren 
 Church ; had, however, preached only a few times, 
 and had in a few instances announced a hymn, and 
 offered prayer in the Methodist Church at the close 
 of the pastor's sermon. A few more questions 
 brought out the fact that he was becoming much 
 dissatisfied with the United Brethren Church, be- 
 cause of the opposition he found on the part of 
 some of the ministers of that Church to an edu- 
 cated ministry. 
 
 He was quite poor, had struggled hard to se- 
 cure an education, and was rapidly becoming un- 
 willing to give his life to a Church where so little 
 was, at that time, done for the cause of education. 
 His replies to all my questions convinced me at 
 once of a duty I owed to this young man. He 
 was correct and exact in his responses, and gave 
 evidence of a superior mind. I said to him: 
 "Please meet me at the parsonage to-night, and 
 we will continue this conversation." 
 
 I went and met my engagement, and returned 
 to the home of my friend, the pastor. The young 
 man soon after came in, and was cordially greeted 
 
332 Granville Moody. 
 
 by the family, as well as myself. I said to him : 
 " Brother, I have been thinking much about our 
 conversation this afternoon, and I am impressed 
 that God and the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 have need of you." I added: "You can better 
 your condition by a change of your Church rela- 
 tions, which will demand no change in your relig- 
 ious views. Suppose you allow me to move in 
 this change of your Church relations. Come over 
 into the Methodist Episcopal Church. We can give 
 you a larger field of labor in the ministry, without 
 any material change of sentiment ; and employ- 
 ment in preaching the gospel, without burdening 
 you five days in each week with the dull routine 
 and anxious cares of a pedagogue, and thus leave 
 but the dull remains of life for the work of the 
 ministry. Come, my brother, put your case in my 
 hands this week. I am going to-morrow through 
 Lafayette, and I will see Benjamin Winans, pre- 
 siding elder of that district. I will represent you 
 and your condition to him, as his next quarterly 
 
 meeting in will be held three weeks from 
 
 Saturday. I will ask him to take your name to 
 the annual conference, so that you may receive an 
 appointment, under a presiding elder, as a supply 
 on some circuit. Then the regular recommenda- 
 tions from some quarterly conference can be taken 
 up the next year. I will stop on my way home 
 and get all ready for you to make the change in 
 your Church relations, and it will be for God's 
 glory, for your greater usefulness, and will afford 
 you a competent support, and a much wider field 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 333 
 
 of usefulness. Now then, dear brother, just say, 
 *■ I will,' and, under God and the presiding elder, 
 I will do the rest." 
 
 He was much moved at my proposal. He asked 
 several pointed questions about the doctrines and 
 government of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and wanted to know more fully of the nature of 
 the requirements of its ministry. I found that 
 fears were rising in his manly mind as to his 
 competency to the work in our communion, to 
 which he gave becoming utterances, and to which 
 I gave suitable responses. After struggling ex- 
 ercises of mind, commingled with becoming fears 
 of inadequacy to the work, he at length re- 
 sponded : " I agree with you, sir, in sentiment, and 
 I put my application into your hands, and the 
 presiding elder's." I said: "Amen! and may this 
 auspicious interview be an augury of success, with 
 God's blessing!" He was at once received into the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church by Brother Hays, 
 as a full member, on his credentials as a local 
 preacher among the United Brethren. 
 
 The next day I found the presiding elder, 
 represented the matter, and met with heartiest 
 co-operation. All the doors and locks, as in Peter's 
 exodus from prison, opened of themselves. The 
 Reverend Brother Joyce rejoiced in the happy 
 change that had taken place in his Church rela- 
 tions. He has had a succession of the best ap- 
 pointments in an Indiana Conference, where he has 
 made full proof of his ministry during thirteen 
 years of service; and, in 1880, he was transferred 
 
334 Granville Moody. 
 
 and appointed to the best charge in the Cincinnati 
 Annual Conference ; and, at the last conference, 
 held in Hamilton, he received his fourth appoint- 
 ment to one of the first-class Churches of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio.* " All is well that ends well." 
 
 I was recently invited (Hamilton, O., 1883), to 
 dine with this reverend Indiana brother at the 
 residence of Daniel Webster Fitton. Incidentally 
 his exodus was alluded to, and with much feeling 
 he begged me to recite the events of his intro- 
 duction to Indiana and Ohio Methodism. The 
 narration of these events beguiled and enlivened 
 an hour replete with interest and enraptured 
 with joy. 
 
 "When Time, who steals our years away, 
 Shall take our pleasures too, 
 The memory of the past shall stay, 
 And half those joys renew." 
 
 The following statement concerning a prayer 
 over a " Sermonette," is taken from the Dayton 
 Journal. I have to confess to the truth of it — 
 in the main ! u A few years ago, Dr. Moody was 
 waited upon by a committee of the official board 
 with a request to preach shorter sermons. He 
 consented, and on the next Sabbath read a little 
 fifteen-minute address, and closed with a prayer 
 proportionally short, as follows : " Lord, let thy 
 
 * Isaac W. Joyce, here referred to, was pastor of St. Paul 
 and Trinity Churches in Cincinnati, serving each of these 
 charges three years. In 1886 he was reappointed to St. Paul, 
 and while pastor of that charge was chosen by the Cincinnati 
 Conference a delegate to the General Conference of 1888. At 
 this General Conference he was elected one of the bishops of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. — Editor. 
 
Fragments of Clerical Life. 335 
 
 blessing rest upon this ' sermonette ;' and, if thou 
 canst, use it to thy glory. Amen." 
 
 In 1 86 1, Judge Bellamy Storer, seeing me on 
 Fourth Street, in Cincinnati, approached, shrugging 
 first one shoulder and then the other, and exclaimed 
 as we met: "O, Dr. Moody, I spasmodically shrug 
 my shoulders every time I see you, sir ; for you are 
 the facsimile of your honored father, my early pre- 
 ceptor in Portland, Maine, who so seasonably and 
 efficiently administered the master's ferule or rattan 
 to my hand or shoulders for juvenile delinquencies 
 when I was a pupil in his seminary. I twitch my 
 hand or shrug my shoulders involuntarily, as if I 
 were in danger of another feruling or flagellation for 
 misfeasance or malfeasance. But he was a grand 
 teacher, a preceptor of the olden time, ' who knew 
 his rights, and knowing, dared maintain' them. 
 He was of a regular Puritanic family, and you 
 may well be proud of your ancestry." 
 
 On my entrance into the army, Judge Storer 
 presented me with an elegant outfit as colonel. I 
 named a fort which I built in Jefferson, Tennessee, 
 "Fort Storer;" and another, located diagonally 
 opposite to it, " Fort Thomas," after Hon. Nich- 
 olas W. Thomas, formerly mayor of the city of 
 Cincinnati, who presented me with a grand war- 
 horse, black all over — a good description of which 
 may be read in Job xxxix, 19-25. 
 
336 Granville Moody. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AS COLONEL OF A REGIMENT. 
 
 WHEN the Civil War in the United States was 
 inaugurated after the election of Abraham 
 Lincoln to the Presidency, it was a question with 
 the author how he could best serve his country. 
 After long pondering the matter and conferring 
 with his friends, he came to the definite and sol- 
 emn conclusion that the government needed his 
 services as a soldier. Belonging to the Church 
 militant, it was not difficult for him to reconcile 
 the work of the ministry with the duty of a pa- 
 triot. When his friends proposed to recommend 
 him to the governor of Ohio for a commission as 
 colonel of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, some of 
 the companies of which were composed largely ol 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he 
 gave his consent, and he was appointed. The 
 following letters and extracts contain some addi- 
 tional facts concerning his introduction into and 
 connection with the army : 
 
 From a Cincinnati Daily Paper, December, 1861. 
 
 After a lengthy consideration of the matter, the 
 Rev. Granville Moody has agreed to accept the col- 
 onelcy of the Seventy-fourth Regiment. The com- 
 mand was tendered him about one month since, and 
 the offer has remained open, the officers of the regi- 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 337 
 
 ment hoping that he would finally be induced to ac- 
 cede to their wishes. The only objection as to the 
 position has been from Mr. Moody himself, and that 
 was based upon what he thought to be want of prac- 
 tical military knowledge; but this, on the part of his 
 friends, was considered as fully made up by his sound 
 judgment and the possession of a heart burning with 
 zeal for the Union cause, and brave as a lion's withal. 
 Mr. Moody has received several letters from Governor 
 Dennison, tendering him the colonelcy of the regi- 
 ment, if he would serve in that capacity. Mr. Moody 
 agreed to accept the position on condition that Major 
 Alexander Von Schrader would act as lieutenant- 
 colonel of the regiment. The major has served quite 
 a number of years in the Prussian service, and is said 
 to be an accomplished military officer. He consented, 
 on condition that the appointment would not conflict 
 with the wishes of the regiment. 
 
 In regard to the colonel, we would add, that several 
 of his friends in this city have already tendered him 
 his complete outfit in the field. . . . Last evening 
 a meeting was held at the Armory, on Plum Street. 
 The crowd in attendance exceeded in numbers and 
 enthusiasm any which we have witnessed since the 
 early days of the war. Speeches were warmly re- 
 ceived. Colonel Moody delivered an eloquent address, 
 which was responded to by hearty cheers. He invited 
 volunteers to come forward and engage in the war, the 
 holiest the world ever knew. . . . 
 
 December 18, 1861, was a great day in Xenia. 
 For several days it was known that Colonel Moody 
 was to arrive and take command of the Seventy-fourth 
 Regiment. He addressed the soldiers and citizens in 
 words so energetic, impassioned, and patriotic, that it 
 seemed as if every soul was stirred. A great many 
 
 29 
 
338 Granville Moody. 
 
 recruits were sworn in during the day, and circum- 
 stances indicate that the regiment will soon be full. 
 
 APPROVAL OF THE METHODIST PREACHERS' MEET- 
 ING OF CINCINNATI. 
 
 Cincinnati, November 26, 1861. 
 
 Rev. Granville Moody, of Morris Chapel, Cincinnati, 
 having been advised of his unanimous election as 
 colonel of the Seventy-fourth Ohio Regiment, made a 
 statement of facts. He read communications from 
 several distinguished gentlemen, pertaining to the 
 same, and desired the advice of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Preachers' Association in Cincinnati in regard to 
 the propriety of his accepting such a position, as a 
 minister of the gospel. After a full and able discus- 
 sion of the subject, the following resolution was unani- 
 mously adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That as members of the Preachers' Asso- 
 ciation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Cincin- 
 nati, we are of the opinion that Rev. Granville Moody 
 has a providential call to the position of colonel of 
 the Seventy-fourth Ohio Regiment, and cordially ap- 
 prove of his acceptance. M. Dustin, President. 
 George Parrott, Secretary. . 
 
 Adjutant-General's Office, \ 
 
 Columbus, Ohio, April 19, 1862. ) 
 
 SPECIAL ORDER, No. 357. 
 
 Colonel Granville Moody, of the Seventy-fourth 
 Regiment, O. V. I., is hereby detached from his regi- 
 ment, retaining his rank and relation to the regiment, 
 and will remain in command of Camp Chase and the 
 prisons at that post. He may detail from his regiment 
 the following named persons to assist him in the dis- 
 charge of the duties assigned him : viz., etc. 
 
 David Tod, Governor. 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 339 
 
 The State of Ohio, Executive Department, \ 
 Columbus, April 19, 1862. / 
 
 Dear Colonel,— The earnest personal and written 
 appeals which you have made to accompany your reg- 
 iment to the field embarrass me greatly. The strong- 
 personal attachment existing between yourself and the 
 men under your command, the expectation and desire 
 of the relatives and immediate friends of your gallant 
 troops, and the extreme pertinacity with which you 
 demand it as a right, added to the peculiar fitness for the 
 command, all tend strongly to induce me to yield to 
 your request. But when I remember that we have 
 at Camp Chase nearly fifteen hundred prisoners (and 
 the number is daily increasing), most of whom are 
 commissioned officers, with but a slight and tempo- 
 rary prison, and with but a few fragments of undrilled 
 and untried troops to guard them, I am compelled to 
 deny your request. 
 
 You have now brought the responsible and deli- 
 cate duty of safely keeping, and humanely treating 
 these prisoners to a perfect system, which, without 
 your personal presence, may be placed in jeopardy. 
 
 In addition to my own convictions upon this sub- 
 ject, I learn, from a dispatch just received from Gen- 
 eral Buckingham, now at Washington City, that it is 
 the wish of Secretary Stanton that you remain in com- 
 mand at Camp Chase. 
 
 For these reasons I feel impelled to issue the in- 
 closed order, detaching you from your regiment, and 
 directing that you send it to the field under command 
 of Lieutenant-Colonel Von Schrader. When in my 
 power, consistent with duty, to permit you to join 
 your regiment in the field, it will afford me infinite 
 pleasure to do so. Very respectfully yours, 
 
 David Tod, Governor. 
 Colonel Granvieee Moody. 
 
34o Granville Moody. 
 
 At the close of my services at Camp Chase, I 
 received a testimonial from the rebel prisoners, 
 requesting that I should not be removed, and say- 
 ing : " Should Colonel Moody, at any time, become 
 a prisoner of our (Confederate) government, we 
 hereby earnestly request for him the highest con- 
 sideration and treatment, as a proper acknowledg- 
 ment of his kindness and care of us, as prisoners 
 of war, having given us every comfort, liberty, 
 and indulgence at all consistent with our position 
 and with his obligations as commandant of this 
 military post." 
 
 ice, y 
 
 24, 1862. ) 
 
 Head-quarters Ohio Militia, 
 Adjutant-General's Office 
 Columbus, June 
 GENERAL ORDER No. ri. 
 
 At his own request, Colonel Granville Moody, of 
 the Seventy-fourth Regiment, O. V. I., is hereby re- 
 lieved from the command of Camp Chase, on and after 
 twelve o'clock M., of the 25th instant, and ordered to 
 join his regiment. 
 
 He will turn over his present command at the 
 time above-mentioned to Colonel Charles W. B. Al- 
 lison, of the Eighty-fifth Regiment, O. V. I., and on 
 or before the second day of July next, set out to join 
 his regiment for duty in the field. By order, 
 
 Charles W. Hill, Adjutant-General of Ohio. 
 
 The State of Ohio, Executive Department, "> 
 Columbus, June 24, 1862. / 
 
 Colonel Granville Moody, Seventy-fourth Regiment, O.V. L: 
 
 My Dear Sir, — The time has at last arrived, when 
 
 I can respond favorably to your repeated requests to 
 
 be permitted to join your regiment. Inclosed I send 
 
 you an order to that effect. 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 341 
 
 For the faithful, energetic, and vigilant manner in 
 which you have discharged the various delicate and 
 responsible duties incident to the command of Camp 
 Chase, you have my most profound thanks. You are 
 now about to proceed to a new field of duty, and let 
 me assure you that you carry with you my most sin- 
 cere wishes for equal success in the discharge of your 
 new responsibilities. 
 
 I can hardly expect to meet you again until after 
 the unholy rebellion is put down ; and whether that 
 meeting be in heaven or on earth, may we each be 
 able to claim for himself, before the all-seeing eye of 
 the God of battles, that he has faithfully done his duty. 
 
 It is a sweet reflection to me to know, that in the 
 varied official intercourse, our personal relations have 
 ever been kind and confiding. 
 
 With my kind regards to Mrs. Moody and your 
 daughter, I am, Very truly yours, 
 
 David Tod, Governor. 
 
 To show the work of the camp, the busy life 
 of the troops, and their conduct in battle, I give 
 the following letter addressed to my wife and 
 children. It was written from the camp in Mur- 
 freesforo, Tennessee, the head-quarters of the 
 Seventy-fourth Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer 
 Infantry, on Monday, January 5, 1863: 
 
 By the good hand of our gracious God, I am 
 amongst the living to praise him, as I do this day, 
 in that, in answer to our oft-repeated family prayer, 
 he has "spread his shield's protecting blaze when 
 dangers pressed around my head." 
 
 On the 26th of December we left Camp Ham- 
 ilton, seven miles south of Nashville, and com- 
 
342 Granville Moody. 
 
 menced the forward movement in the midst of a 
 most pitiless and drenching rain, which lasted all 
 day ; and we camped at night on Stewart's Creek, 
 in what we called " Cedar Lodge," a wild and 
 desolate place, where rocks were piled and lodged 
 on rocks, and ragged cedars rose between. We soon 
 raised blazing fires, by which we dried our 
 drenched clothing, and thanked God for ruddy 
 flames which ministered to our comfort and illu- 
 mined the otherwise gloomy surroundings of a dark, 
 drenching, dreary winter night of the last days 
 of a stormy December season. We got a well- 
 cooked supper at a wealthy widow's house, whose 
 sympathies were with the Secesh. She said to us 
 that she had no sympathy with us "Northern 
 Yanks " at all. Her squalid negroes sided with 
 the outspoken Secesh, and they did not want to do 
 anything to help us " Crusaders" along. But I 
 half persuaded this secession woman to furnish 
 my officers with a comfortable supper, and the other 
 half by the suasion of stern necessity. We had 
 barely time to eat our supper, and pay her fifty 
 cents each for the same, when General Negley or- 
 dered me to move my command forward to his 
 head-quarters at once. We had to start at eleven 
 o'clock that night, and marched by moonlight 
 over a dreary road three miles to Nolensville, and 
 thence two miles beyond, and bivouacked in the 
 woods, where I had to sleep on the saturated 
 ground, with my head to a stump, and my com- 
 mand all around me. It soon commenced to rain 
 in torrents ; but I slept away, all unconscious of 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 343 
 
 the drenching rain and echoing thunder and flash- 
 ing lightning peals, and rose bedrenched, in the 
 dark and lowering morning of a bloody day. 
 
 Our forces had severe engagements during all 
 this ill-omened day at Nolensville ; but the rebels 
 were driven out, and all our forces possessed it at 
 eventide. When I and my force passed through the 
 place it was a doleful, shattered-looking locality — 
 worse than Goldsmith's " Deserted Village." 
 
 Next day, Saturday after Christmas, we started 
 for the Murfreesboro pike, and marched over a 
 desperately bad road. We formed a line of battle 
 on a commanding eminence, and waited orders 
 from the front, whilst our thundering and flying 
 artillery ahead was pouring .destruction on the 
 rear of the retreating rebel foes. All day Satur- 
 day our forces were heralded by our bellowing 
 cannon, and our foes were retreating before our 
 advancing columns. At sundown we encamped 
 on the Nolensville turnpike to keep the Sabbath- 
 day in rest ; and again I slept on the unsheltered, 
 wet ground, with a blazing fire of logs at our feet, 
 Indian fashion, with our horses picketed around. 
 Sabbath dawned upon us, bright and cheering, 
 and I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-day ; and in 
 the deep recesses of my soul I worshiped the Lord 
 of the Sabbath, singing our familiar hymn : 
 
 " Welcome, sweet day of rest, 
 That saw the Lord arise." 
 
 Really, I enjoyed the camping on the Sab- 
 bath. General Rosecrans is a God-fearing man 
 and a devout Catholic Christian — very exemplary 
 
344 Granville Moody. 
 
 in his conduct. He keeps a priest by him con- 
 tinually — Father , as he calls him. At four 
 
 o'clock every morning he attends high mass. Gen- 
 eral Rosecrans rested his army on the Sabbath ac- 
 cording to the commandment, and bright and early 
 the entire army marched on Monday morning to 
 the grand battle-ground, and encamped within half 
 a mile of the great Southern army of over sixty 
 thousand of the chivalry. Our camp was in the 
 edge of a dense and gloomy forest of heavy cedar, 
 whose deep shade and rocky defiles might claim 
 the distinction of being the valley of the shadow 
 of death. Indeed, it seems to have been the valley 
 of death without the shadow. 
 
 I made for myself a bed between two massive 
 rocks, about eight feet long and four feet apart. 
 I cut cedar boughs, and laid them in them in the 
 bottom three feet deep for a bed. I piled up rocks, 
 say four feet high, with cedar rails for a bed-bot- 
 tom, and then put cedar boughs on the rails, and 
 thus had a nice bed, with a wagon-cover overhead ; 
 where I said my prayers, and slept soundly till 
 eleven o'clock P. M. At that hour a staff officer 
 rode up to my regimental guard-line, and my 
 guard halted him. "Halt! Who comes there?" 
 " Friend, with the countersign." " Advance, one, 
 with the countersign." It was given over my 
 guard's extended gun and bayonet. "Where is 
 Colonel Moody?" "He is sleeping in his den 
 there; right in front of you, sir." "Call him; I 
 have orders for him." I sprang up ; and as I ap- 
 peared, the chief of staff said: "I have orders for 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 345 
 
 you, sir, from General Thomas ;" which he read 
 to me in a low tone, by the light of his lantern. 
 "You are to take your regiment, sir, to the front 
 immediately, taking the guard-line now held by 
 
 Colonel . General Thomas is afraid of him, 
 
 as he drinks too much whisky on duty ; and the 
 hour is full of peril. Order your regiment quietly 
 and quickly under arms, and I will go ahead and 
 
 remove Colonel , and return, and conduct you 
 
 to the guard-line. Execute your orders by your 
 orderly in whispers, and order him to do the 
 same." I replied: "Ay, ay, sir." He departed, 
 and in quickest order my regiment was in line. 
 The chief soon returned, and conducted me and 
 my regiment silently to the vacated guard-line. 
 He detailed also to my command two full parks 
 of artillery, and said: "General Thomas expects 
 your utmost vigilance and valor, Colonel. Good- 
 night !" 
 
 About one hour later the enemy advanced, 
 and we opened on him with artillery and rifles, 
 and so unexpected was our readiness that the en- 
 gagement did not last over a half hour, when 
 the rebels withdrew from our front and took to 
 their left, and surprised General McCook's com- 
 mand and routed them completely — and thus Stone 
 River battle commenced. 
 
 On Wednesday we were in the front of the 
 rebel lines commanded by General Withers, em- 
 bracing the Rock City Guards and other rebel regi- 
 ments, containing the very flower of the Southern 
 chivalry. We did our whole duty during these 
 
346 Granville Moody. 
 
 bloody scenes of war. My pen falters in the por- 
 trayal of the awful events which then took place. 
 Fire, blood, carnage, groans, shrieks, agonies, and 
 death in horrid forms followed. By God's all- 
 comprehending providence I was saved amid these 
 exciting and appalling scenes. I was wounded 
 in the calf of my right leg. A ball tore through 
 the clothing of my left leg at the knee. 
 
 Being ordered to advance on the foe firing, I 
 changed the position of my pistol from its position 
 at my right shoulder, and suspended it over my 
 right breast, so as to have it handy at my front for 
 use, as we advanced on our foes, and met the wild 
 whirl and storm of bullets that our foes hurled on 
 us in that perilous hour. A bullet or bullets 
 struck me in my right breast with awful force, and 
 nearly unseated me from my saddle. I put my 
 hand to my breast, which was writhing with a 
 stinging sensation, and found that my pistol was 
 shattered by the shots ; the ramrod was broken 
 off, and the handle, some five inches to the right, 
 was shattered in fragments. Thus my pistol, 
 which I had just changed from rear to front, re- 
 ceived the two bullets from the rebel rifles, and 
 saved my life from swift destruction. 
 
 The shattered pistol lies before me while I pen 
 this paragraph, a mute witness of God's protect- 
 ing providence, God's chosen shield for my im- 
 periled life. Had I not removed that pistol from 
 my shoulder to my breast, I should have been 
 shot through by two rebel bullets. 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 347 
 
 " God guards my soul, he keeps my breath, 
 Where thickest dangers come ; 
 Go and return, secure from death, 
 Till God sua 1 call thee home." 
 
 My horse was shot under me ; three balls en- 
 tering him at once, which were doubtless aimed 
 at me. One ball struck his lower jaw, just where 
 his bridle-bits work ; one ball struck him in the 
 shoulder, about two inches from the bend of 
 my knee. One ball struck him two inches back 
 of the root of his ear. O, what terrible scenes 
 were all around me ! The dead and wounded and 
 dying were in every direction. It was, indeed, a 
 storm of death. 
 
 In the afternoon's battle I received a severe 
 shot through the breast of my coat, grazing and 
 glancing along my breast. I received an order to 
 lead my Seventy-fourth men on the outer picket- 
 lines within four hundred yards of the lines of the 
 enemy. Out we went, took position, detailed 
 Companies A and B as skirmish, and sent them 
 two hundred yards in advance of us. They took 
 intervals of five paces from man to man, and the 
 other eight companies stacked arms, wrapped 
 themselves in their blankets, and lay down by 
 their rifles. The night passed quietly, only a few 
 guns being fired on both sides. At dawn of day, 
 we opened on the foe, with musketry and artillery 
 for thirty minutes; but they made but little re- 
 sponse. Yet the Seventy-fourth O. V. I. opened 
 the great battle. We were relieved by the Thirty- 
 seventh Indiana V. I., and retired to our camp for 
 
348 Granville Moody. 
 
 breakfast. Our baggage-wagons were attacked 
 and driven back, so that we had no tents or cook- 
 ing-utensils, and with but little or nothing to eat — 
 only hard crackers and middling-meat, called, in 
 army parlance, " Hard-tack and sow-belly." 
 
 But the enemy gave way before the steady 
 valor of our troops. Onward rolled the tide of 
 war. We drove them over Stone River, in confu- 
 sion worse confounded, up the wooded hill, into 
 the field beyond ; out of this field into the dense 
 woods beyond. We captured six cannon. The 
 Seventy-fourth men hauled two pieces of artillery 
 by hand off to our camp. General Rosecrans, 
 General Negley, and Colonel John F. Miller passed 
 the highest compliments on me personally. Gen- 
 eral Rosecrans said to our regiment that he must 
 call the Seventy-fourth Regiment " the fighting 
 regiment." 
 
 My baggage is back in Nashville. I have not 
 had a change of garments since Christmas, nor 
 have I had my boots and spurs off since then. 
 A change of linen would prove a luxury indeed. 
 I have lost three horses, and my fine overcoat that 
 cost me sixty dollars. I have lost one of the splendid 
 pair of pistols presented to me by Judge Bellamy 
 Storer, on entering the army, with my costly cover- 
 let and blankets. I have no change of clothing 
 left, and the balls tore my clothing so that the 
 officers at large and the men call me the " Ragged 
 Colonel." 
 
 The enemy left the entire field of Stone River 
 last Sunday morning by early daylight, and have 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 349 
 
 left us in possession of every thing. Thanks be to 
 God! 
 
 The following letter from the front was ad- 
 dressed to the Book Agents at Cincinnati. It con- 
 tains some more of the author's experience while 
 in the field. It was dated at Murfreesboro, April 
 27, 1863: 
 
 Yesterday (Sabbath) I was detailed as " Corps 
 Field-officer of the Day " for the Fourteenth 
 Army Corps, under command of Major-General 
 Thomas. This corps embraces the divisions un- 
 der command of Generals Negley, Rousseau, and 
 Reynolds, making the three fronts of our picket- 
 lines ; namely, the south-east, east, and north-east 
 front. This line is occupied by some fifteen hun- 
 dred men on guard and picket duty, in three 
 lines; namely: 1. The stations, or main reserves; 
 2. The outposts of guards, being three to each 
 station ; 3. The sentinels on the outer lines of in- 
 fantry guard, on their beats. Beyond these lines 
 we have the videttes, and beyond these a line of 
 cavalry guards and scouts. 
 
 My duty yesterday was to visit these lines, in- 
 spect, suggest, direct, etc. Well, I did it, and 
 preached ten sermons during the day — nine at 
 the stations aforesaid, and one at the Grand Re- 
 serve on the center, where we have a concealed 
 battery and support of fifty men. 
 
 After attending to all my duties of a military 
 character, I said to the officers and men at the 
 stations, as they stood drawn up in line, that I 
 had some orders from the head-quarters of the 
 
350 Granville Moody. 
 
 King Immortal, Eternal, and Invisible, and pro- 
 ceeded to declare to them the gospel of the grace 
 of God, "teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever were commanded " by the Captain of 
 our salvation. In this way I had the opportunity 
 of preaching to hundreds of my fellow-sinners, citi- 
 zens, and soldiers, and I assure you I found great 
 delight in this work of faith and labor of love, 
 which I pursue with the patience of hope. It 
 seemed like the old circuit preaching that we were 
 accustomed to in the olden time. You may ask 
 Dr. Kingsley* whether any of the preachers in 
 the range of the Western Christian Advocate have 
 done as much preaching as that in one Sabbath. 
 Last Sabbath week, I preached twice in the morn- 
 ing to the Pioneer Brigade, and in the evening to 
 the Pontoniers, and I hope with profit. 
 
 You can tell old friends that I am preaching as 
 much, or more, since I came into the army, as I 
 did before I entered it, and the flame of love to 
 God and man burns brightly on the altar of my 
 heart ; and should my life be demanded in the holy 
 cause of my country, I shall rejoice to fall in so 
 good a cause, believing that, 
 
 "Whether upon the gallows high, 
 Or in the battle's van, 
 The fittest place for man to die 
 Is where he dies for man." 
 
 *Dr. Calvin Kingsley was at this time editor of the West- 
 ern Christian Advocate. In 1864 he was elected and ordained 
 one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 died at Beyrout, Syria, April 6, 1870, while on an episcopal 
 tour round the world.— Editor. 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 
 
 35i 
 
 I have just promised to preach the Fast-day 
 sermon in this place, Murfreesboro, next Thurs- 
 day, and I trust that God will accept the sacrifice 
 and hear and answer our prayers. 
 
 On Wednesday, during the battle of Stone 
 River, we met with reverses on every side. My 
 regiment was discomfited and scattered. I was 
 endeavoring to rally them. As I went over a 
 vacant field I overtook six of my men with a 
 first lieutenant fleeing toward Nashville. I cried 
 out: "Hello, men, there is your regiment to the 
 left. Rally to your regiment!" But they were 
 intent on escape, and kept right on. I rode past 
 and turned, facing them, and presenting my pistol, 
 cried: "Halt!" I threatened a pistol-ball to the 
 man that took another step toward Nashville. 
 The officer said: "Colonel, we are dazed, and 
 don't know what we are doing. If we will at 
 once return to duty, will you report us?" I in- 
 stantly lowered my pistol and assured them that 
 no man should hear from me. The lieutenant 
 shouted: "Three cheers for Colonel Moody!" 
 They were given, and the men joined their regi- 
 ment. I rode on in search of further squads, and 
 as I neared a wooded region, a company of nine 
 or ten "gray-backs" sprang out of the woods and 
 opened fire upon me. Soon six more joined them 
 and commenced firing. My horse was soon crip- 
 pled, stopped short, and stood still. I applied the 
 spurs, he trembled and shrunk, and fell in agony 
 to the ground, dead. I disentangled myself from 
 
352 Granville Moody. 
 
 him, dislodged my two pistols from the holsters, 
 and began my retreat from the men who were firing 
 at me. But in the morning I had received a 
 bullet wound in my right leg below the knee, and 
 I had to limp away from the firing of ten or 
 twelve men. 
 
 Just as the firing became rapid, and the bullets 
 were singing wildly around my head and person, 
 a horseman rushed up between me and those firing 
 upon me, and dismounting from his steed shouted: 
 "Here Colonel, get into the saddle and get away 
 quick." I attempted to mount the horse, but failed. 
 My right leg that was wounded was so stiff that it 
 would not straighten out to the stirrup by about 
 three inches. I said: " Comrade, get into the 
 saddle yourself, and let me take my chances." 
 
 "Divil a bit; try again, Colonel. Try again, 
 man, or the divils will get you, sure." 
 
 I tried again, and Patrick almost lifted me into 
 the saddle, and amidst the "zipping" bullets, 
 which came thick and fast, I strode the saddle, 
 and without waiting to find the stirrups I started 
 for our lines. Patrick nearly kept pace with my 
 frenzied, flying steed, and as we approached our 
 line of men, they gave vent to their pent-up feelings, 
 and shouted: "Hurrah! Bravo! Colonel, are 
 you hit anywhere?" I said: " No, I am through 
 safe, thank God and Patrick, and a good horse." 
 
 "Surely," said Patrick, "the odds were terribly 
 against us, Colonel ; and it kept Providence and 
 meself very busy, all the time of the fracas, to 
 save us ; it did so, Colonel." 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 353 
 
 At this apt speech the crowding men shouted 
 out: "Good! good! Three cheers for Providence 
 and Paddy, and three cheers for our colonel !" 
 Poor Patrick was killed that same afternoon in the 
 engagement that followed. 
 
 A rebel colonel was shot, and fell from his 
 horse, which ran wildly, with the empty saddle, 
 and Patrick had caught him, and mounting, rode 
 down to me in a gallop, just in time to save me. 
 As Jonathan said to his armor-bearer: "There is 
 no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by 
 few." The next day I went and got my saddle, 
 bridle, and blanket, from my dead horse. Poor 
 fellow ! he had gathered himself up gracefully in 
 death, and died a warrior's death. 
 
 My clothes were pierced with holes, though not 
 a ball touched my person on this occasion. My 
 coat-front was torn as if a tiger had clawed 
 me. It was on this account and at this time 
 that my regiment nicknamed me the " Ragged 
 Colonel." 
 
 During our occupancy of Nashville we ex- 
 pected an assault from General Bragg. I was 
 directed to have the Seventy-fourth Regiment 
 excavate the road leading into Nashville, to the 
 depth of six or eight feet ; then to plant lines of 
 slender posts along the route, on which we were 
 to lay a frail platform, covered with earth, as a 
 kind of "dead-fall" for the enemy. Our regiment 
 was aligned along this causeway of death. One 
 morning I received orders to send out my train 
 of thirteen six-mule wagons, to bring in as many 
 
 30 
 
354 Granville Moody. 
 
 loads of old cedar rails to use in constructing this 
 causeway. Four companies of soldiers, each with 
 forty rounds of ammunition, accompanied the 
 wagon-train as guards. They returned at noon, 
 heavily loaded with rails. They aligned in front 
 of my head-quarters for the dinner hour. I had 
 been very busy all the morning in camp-duties, 
 and was en dishabille, sitting in front of my tent, 
 waiting the call to dinner. 
 
 A gentleman, of military make-up and sol- 
 dierly mien, rode up hastily, and reined in a mag- 
 nificent courser of high blood. He addressed me 
 very politely, saying: "Will you inform me, sir, 
 where the Seventy-fourth Regiment is encamped, 
 and where I will find Colonel Moody? Do you 
 know this officer, my man ?" 
 
 I saw that my courtly querist never suspected 
 that I was the colonel, and I replied : " The Sev- 
 enty-fourth Regiment is all around you, sir; and 
 these are Colonel Moody's head-quarters." 
 
 " Ah ! thank you, my man ; where can I find 
 Colonel Moody? Do you know him?" 
 
 I said in reply : " I can 't say that I know Col- 
 onel Moody or any other man, but I guess you 
 might as well dismount. You are about as near 
 him as is needful ; and, as it is just dinner-hour, 
 please dismount and take dinner with Colonel 
 Moody. You are quite welcome, sir." 
 
 " Why, sir, my business is with Colonel Moody." 
 
 "Well, sir," I replied, "this man answers to 
 that name. Dismount, sir, dismount." 
 
 He was quickly on his feet, and removing his 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 355 
 
 hat, said: "This is Colonel Moody, then! I, sir, 
 am Major Lewis, private secretary of the late 
 General Andrew Jackson, and his chief of staff in 
 the Seminole War. I am of his school of politics, 
 and identified in spirit and action with the United 
 States of North America against her every foe, 
 and hold myself and all that I have as subservient 
 to her national rights and dignity. I have lived 
 on my farm in this vicinity where the armies of 
 the Union and of the Rebellion have alternated 
 their rights, and I have always vindicated the 
 United States in her supremacy over all these 
 lands ; and if I or the last shreds of my property 
 can subserve the United States, I stand ready to 
 cast myself and my means into the scale of the 
 Union, the whole Union, and nothing but the 
 Union of the States in one nationality. And 
 now, sir, having been reduced by the ravages of 
 this Rebellion to the actual possession of but thirty 
 acres of a large domain ; and depending on those 
 few acres for quarters for myself, provender for 
 my horse, and a home for a favorite cow, your 
 men, this morning, despoiled my household, dis- 
 mantled my fencing, and there on your wagons 
 are thousands of my rails, the removal of which 
 has turned me out on the world, helpless, an old man 
 who has served this Republic through lengthened 
 years, and whose last wishes are for the success 
 of the cause of our common nationality." 
 
 He assumed silence, exhibited dignity, and 
 avowed patriotism, and awaited my response. 
 
 "Well, Major," said I, "you have been badly 
 
356 Granville Moody. 
 
 used, indeed. My men were ignorant of your his- 
 tory, as I was myself. Let us sit down and eat 
 dinner, and we will both feel better after we 
 get our rations. Here, Orderly, take this horse 
 to quarters, and feed him corn or oats, as Major 
 Lewis prefers." 
 
 I had a brief interview with the officer who 
 had charge of the wagon-train, and gave him or- 
 ders to return the rails, and have the same force 
 of men rebuild the fence under the direction of 
 Major Lewis, and then proceed forthwith and 
 get loads of regular Secesh rails, and return by 
 supper-time. 
 
 After dinner I introduced him to the officer, 
 and told the men his story, and they gave three 
 cheers and a tiger for Major Lewis, and three times 
 three for "Old Hickory." I appointed Major 
 Lewis commander-in-chief for that afternoon, and 
 they departed with good-will on this labor of love 
 for a patriot. The result was that the premises 
 were better fenced than ever before, and a lasting 
 friendship established between myself and him. 
 
 Some months after this occurrence I was or- 
 dered into the neighborhood of Major Lewis with 
 my regiment, to act as a pioneer force. He 
 learned of my proximity, and came and met me 
 most cordially, and said : " Colonel, I have the 
 best camping-ground in this vicinity in front of 
 my residence. You are welcome to it for your 
 regiment." His mansion was situated about eighty 
 rods south of the road, and leading to it was a 
 broad drive sixty feet in width, and lined on either 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 357 
 
 side with a row of majestic trees from twenty 
 inches to three feet in diameter, and four rods 
 apart. On either side was a beautiful, verdant 
 lawn of blue-grass. The major, old soldier that 
 he was, said : 
 
 " You see, Colonel, you can place five compa- 
 nies on each side, with your quartermaster's tent 
 on one side and your surgeon's tent on the other, 
 and your head-quarters in the middle of the two 
 lines, facing the front gate. As the ground rises 
 from the gate you will be in ship-shape for drill or 
 for action in the event of attack. You, sir, are my 
 guest during the continuance of this duty." 
 
 I saw the advantages of the situation, and ac- 
 cepted the invitation with but one exception, 
 viz., that I must occupy my own tent with the 
 soldiers, so as to be accessible to them, and 
 convenient of communication with them in all 
 emergencies. A commander should always be 
 with his men. This camp was like an oasis in 
 the desert. 
 
 Coming in from drill one morning, hungry to 
 breakfast, a tired Seventy-fourth boy asked of 
 another if he believed the colonel was a Christian. 
 " Christian, hell!" said the other. "Do you sup- 
 pose any man is a Christian that will get a fellow 
 out to drill at four o'clock in the morning?" 
 
 While my regiment was encamped on College 
 Hill, Nashville, Tennessee, a lady was driven to my 
 head-quarters in a splendid two-horse carriage, and 
 beckoning me to her side, handed me a letter signed 
 by Major-General Buell, stating that Mrs. 
 
358 Granville Moody. 
 
 had lost her "servant," and learning that he had 
 been seen in the camp of the Seventy-fourth Regi- 
 ment, she wanted the privilege of searching my 
 camp for his recovery, and "you will render her 
 every facility in searching for the recovery of her 
 servants." As she presented the document, she 
 remarked blandly that it was from Major-General 
 Buell. I answered: " I see it is, madam ! I respect 
 General Buell's authority, but my business here is 
 to aid in putting down this rebellion against the 
 United States Government — a rebellion instigated 
 by slaveholders. I recognize the general's author- 
 ity, and you are at liberty to search the camp ; 
 but I can not assist you in this enterprise, and I 
 must be excused from aiding in the recovery 
 of fugitives from enslavement. Good morning, 
 madam." " I '11 report you to General Buell," said 
 she, and a thousand furies flashed indignant hate 
 from her black eyes as she ordered her coachman 
 to return to Nashville. Meanwhile, her slave, who 
 was within a few feet of her, secreted himself 
 and escaped discovery; but I was ignorant of his 
 whereabouts. 
 
 Within a short time after the above incident 
 had occurred — indeed, it was the next day — I re- 
 ceived orders from General Buell to start for 
 Franklin, twenty-three miles south of Nashville. 
 The surgeon-general of Buell's army came over 
 to my camp and introduced himself, and said : 
 " Colonel, I have heard of your being ordered to 
 Franklin, that hot-hole of secessionists, and I 
 came over to bring you a few articles from our 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 359 
 
 surgeon's office, which I wish you to use promptly 
 in case of sickness or wounds. I have among the 
 articles a bottle of pure brandy, which may come 
 promptly in demand in dangerous cases where a 
 reliable stimulant is needed. Now, not one word 
 of your temperance vocabulary ! I order you to 
 put this in your trunk, and use it strictly as a 
 medicine. Farewell, and mind my prescription." 
 
 As we were passing through Nashville on one 
 of the principal streets, a lady, the postmaster's 
 wife, ran out to me as I was riding at the head of 
 my regiment, and presenting me with a tidy 
 lunch-basket, covered with a towel, said: " I heard 
 of your order to go to Franklin, and I have gotten 
 you up a nice dinner for to-day. Good-bye." 
 The day was very sultry ; it was a toilsome march. 
 All day my son William exchanged his saddle with 
 the weariest of the soldiers, so that he was on 
 foot nearly all that day, preferring to aid the in- 
 firm or older men, rather than ride himself. 
 
 By sunset we arrived within sight of Franklin, 
 and I exhorted officers a'nd men to rally, and let 
 the rebels see them firm and agile as we marched 
 through the town to a noted grove, a little toward 
 the south. I ordered the band to strike up " Yankee 
 Doodle," and to repeat it till we reached the grove. 
 
 Supper being ready, I called " Willy," and then 
 changed the call to " Lieutenant Moody," but there 
 was no voice, nor any that answered. He was 
 seen last just as the regiment broke ranks. On 
 search, I found him at the foot of a large tree, al- 
 most breathless and entirely speechless. I called 
 
360 Granville Moody. 
 
 six soldiers who carried him to my tent, and the 
 men began to rub him with their hands. I thought 
 of my bottle of brandy ; went to my trunk and 
 pulled out the contents, scattered them hither and 
 yon, till I found it. I administered it repeatedly ; 
 his lower jaw, which had hung down, closed up, and 
 he opened his beautiful eyes, and feebly articulated, 
 " Father," and I knew his life was spared. He 
 revived rapidly, and asked for something to eat. 
 I then thought of the untouched basket, and there 
 I found a fine roasted chicken, light rolls, butter 
 and preserves — in short, a dainty meal. 
 
 The next morning I went in company with 
 Judge Mills, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, up to Frank- 
 lin, and we selected the spacious court-house for 
 head-quarters. We had left our two horses near 
 the river, and had, for the time being, forgotten 
 them. As I came out of the gate of the court- 
 house, I saw a man riding a fine black horse in a 
 swift gallop approaching us. A single look con- 
 vinced me that the horse was my own. The 
 rider was mercilessly striking him on the flanks. 
 I resolved to recover him, and running at right 
 angles to his course, I met the frantic horse at 
 full speed, caught his bridle, and was dragged 
 along for some distance. I reached up and caught 
 the freebooter by the throat, and hurled him to 
 the ground. Judge Mills rushed up and held the 
 horse, while I took after the thief, who ran on his 
 hands and feet faster than I could go as a biped. 
 I pelted him with stones, but with his tremendous 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 361 
 
 exertion he got away ; and now my horse was 
 doubly dear. 
 
 I found a good boarding-place in the center of 
 town. The oldest lawyer in the place advised the 
 people to treat me kindly, and they would all 
 like me. " Did you see his first military order for 
 Franklin, and note his signature ? The first and 
 last letters of his signature mean decision. We 
 had better be quiet; for no man who writes so 
 plainly and definitely ever lacks in decision. Do 
 what is right with him and his, and we will have 
 peace." 
 
 When General Buell retreated to Louisville, I 
 returned with the Seventy-fourth Regiment to 
 Nashville. The rebel engineer hauled us from 
 Franklin four miles, and then detached his engine 
 from our train, leaving us in a favorable place for 
 Forrest's cavalry to attack us. But Forrest failed 
 to come to time, though in the vicinity, and by a 
 special messenger I got another engine, and re- 
 treated successfully to Nashville. I had, how- 
 ever, to secure the loyalty of the engineer by a 
 pistol, which covered him till we were safe in 
 the city. 
 
 Colonel George V. Moody, my brother, was a 
 rebel officer. He was of the same height as my- 
 self, and resembled me. We met twice during 
 the war ; each time I visited him in prison. He 
 commanded a battery at Gettysburg. He was in 
 charge of the train of wagons when Jeff Davis 
 was captured. He was taken to Ft. McHenry, 
 
 31 
 
362 Granville Moody. 
 
 near Baltimore, and put in a dungeon. While 
 there, he bribed a guard, and got him to draw a 
 bullet from his musket, and placed under it a letter, 
 which he had written to me. The guard was not 
 discovered, and I received the powder-blackened 
 billet while making a political speech in Ohio. 
 It ran thus : 
 
 Dear Brother, — I am in the dungeon at Fort 
 McHenry, unjustly imprisoned. See the President, and 
 gain a private interview with me, if possible. 
 
 Yours, G. V. Moody. 
 
 I went to President Johnson, got permission, 
 and went to Baltimore, saw my brother, returned, 
 and laid the case before the President, who ordered 
 the release of my rebel brother, making me his 
 keeper. I persuaded him to take the oath of 
 allegiance, and he went home to Mississippi, where 
 he practiced law. In a law-suit some allusion 
 was made to the war, when he retorted: u If so 
 many of you had n't been afflicted with sore heels 
 when we came home to recruit, the war might 
 have resulted very differently." The opposing 
 attorney took mortal offense at this, and my 
 brother was found shot at his desk, and the mur- 
 derer remains to this day unhung. 
 
 Though military duties took up the greater 
 part of the author's time, they did not suspend 
 his ministerial functions. He assisted the chap- 
 lain of the regiment in his services on Sunday, 
 and, as already stated, often preached. While we 
 were encamped near Murfreesboro, Tenn., I re- 
 ceived a note from the first section of the Pontoon 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 363 
 
 Train, Pioneer Brigade, dated April 17, 1868, as 
 
 follows : 
 
 To Coi,onei. Moody, Seventy-fourth O. V. I. : 
 
 Dear Sir, — We, the officers and soldiers belong- 
 ing to the first section, Pontoon Train, desiring as 
 we do religious instruction, and knowing your worth 
 as a soldier and your zeal as a Christian, do respectfully 
 request you, if agreeable and convenient, to address 
 us on next Sabbath evening at seven o'clock, at which 
 time we promise to give you our undivided attention. 
 
 With highest respect, I am your obedient servant, 
 
 E. Gleason, 
 lieutenant Commanding Section. 
 
 It may be readily inferred that this request 
 was complied with, and that those who were pres- 
 ent paid " undivided attention.'' 
 
 Before entering upon the duties of a colonel 
 in the army, the author of this Retrospect had no 
 acquaintance whatever with practical military life. 
 He was thus compelled to begin with the begin- 
 ning of the details connected with camp and field 
 service, and it afforded him a satisfaction to know 
 that he did not discredit his position. The fol- 
 lowing notice, from the Ohio State Journal, gives 
 a hint as to his readiness while at Camp Chase, to 
 join his regiment at the front. The extract is 
 dated June 10, 1862 : 
 
 Colonel Granville Moody, ever prompt and ready 
 for any emergency, is increasing in his energies in 
 comfortably providing for the wants of the soldier. 
 The troops are clothed, armed, and equipped, accord- 
 ing to law, as fast as they arrive at camp. Saturday 
 last was a day long to be remembered at Camp 
 
364 Granville Moody. 
 
 Chase. On that occasion a long flag-staff was raised, 
 one hundred and five feet high, and from the top floated 
 that standard sheet, the Stars and Stripes, of huge pro- 
 portions, forty-two feet long and twenty-seven feet 
 wide, which was elevated to its position by the hands 
 of Governor Brough and Ex-Governor Dennison, 
 amidst the shouts of thousands. 
 
 After the speaking, Colonel Moody, of the Seventy- 
 fourth, mounted on his fine black charger, marched 
 the battalions out to the parade-ground, and there 
 drilled them through two-thirds of Hardee, like one 
 perfectly familiar with all the military tactics, to the 
 great credit of himself and soldiery. The colonel has 
 greatly improved himself in military knowledge since 
 he came to this post, and might now be considered al- 
 most a finished soldier in the military art. 
 
 On Sunday Colonel Moody preached to some two 
 thousand attentive soldiers from this text: " Choose ye 
 this da}' whom ye will serve." There are some fears 
 that we are to lose the services of Colonel Moody, 
 which have been so serviceable at this post. There 
 seems to be a loud and earnest call from his regiment 
 for his- presence there, and, from the signs of the 
 times, I should not be surprised to hear at any time 
 that the colonel is under marching orders. This would 
 be good news for Colonel Moody, as he has ever been 
 anxious to join his regiment. 
 
 Exposure in camp and wounds on the battle- 
 field seriously affected my health. In consequence, 
 not only for my own good, but for that of the 
 army as well, I felt compelled to throw up my 
 commission. The details of my leaving the army 
 are told in an extract from one of the newspapers 
 of the time, which is here given. 
 
AS COLONElv OF A REGIMENT. 365 
 
 It will be a surprise to many to hear that the 
 famous fighting Methodist preacher, Colonel Granville 
 Moody, has resigned. This was owing in chief to 
 the effects of exposure in the recent battles here. The 
 regimental, brigade, division, and corps surgeons all 
 combine in certifying to his physical disability for 
 field-service. The colonel has received from Colonel 
 Miller, General Negley, General Thomas, and General 
 Rosecrans, private letters of the most complimentary 
 character, and I understand that they will also recom- 
 mend to the War Department that he may receive an 
 appointment, such as his physical abilities will enable 
 him to fill, and " such as will be a fitting acknowledg- 
 ment of his past services to his country." The follow- 
 ing is Colonel Moody's letter of resignation : 
 
 Head-quarters Seventy-fourth Regiment, O. V, I. \ 
 
 MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE, May 14, 1863. J 
 
 Colonel C. Goddard, A. A. G. Dep't. of the Cumberland : 
 
 Sir, — In consequence of the exposure connected 
 with the battles of Stone River, I contracted a dis- 
 ease which greatly disqualifies me for field-duty, and, 
 at intervals, which return frequently, I am totally 
 unable to perform the active duties of my office, and 
 therefore respectfully tender my resignation of the 
 commission I have the honor to hold as colonel com- 
 manding the Seventy-fourth Regiment, O. V. I. Please 
 see surgeon's certificates which accompany this ap- 
 plication. 
 
 I certify that I am not indebted to the United 
 States; that I have no government property in my 
 possession; that I have not been absent without 
 leave ; I was last paid to the 28th day of February, 
 1863 ; and that there are no charges against me which 
 can affect my pay. 
 
366 Granville Moody. 
 
 With entire confidence in the justice of the cause 
 in which I have spent the last seventeen months of 
 my life, with the highest appreciation of the noble 
 volunteer soldiery of our army, and the patriotism, 
 wisdom, and valor of those who have the control of 
 the Army of the Cumberland, whose particular ac- 
 quaintanceship I am happy to have made ; and be- 
 lieving that the Republic will safely and triumph- 
 antly pass through the refining ordeal of the present 
 crisis, and come forth to a more glorious future, and 
 wishing for you and your noble band of co-operators 
 the largest measure of success, the full measure of 
 your country's gratitude, and that coming generations 
 may rise up to honor your memory, I have the honor to 
 remain, with the highest personal and official respect, 
 
 Granville Moody, 
 Colonel commanding 74th Reg't, O. V. I. 
 
 The following is the recommendation referred 
 to in the foregoing extract, which was forwarded 
 to the War Department : 
 
 MURFREESBORO, Tenn., May 16, 1863. 
 Brigadier-Genera^ L. Thomas, Adj't-General of the Army : 
 Sir, — Colonel Granville Moody, Seventy -fourth 
 Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, having resigned on ac- 
 count of physical disability incurred in the serv- 
 ice, is respectfully recommended by the undersigned 
 for the position of "Post Chaplain," should a vacancy 
 occur. Colonel Moody was, before entering the serv- 
 ice, and still is, a Christian minister, eminent for his 
 ability, energy, and industry. He organized the Sev- 
 enty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, in December, 
 1 86 1, and has served faithfully ever since, but, owing 
 to physical infirmity, is now disqualified for field 
 service, and has reluctantly resigned. His military 
 
As Colonel of a Regiment. 367 
 
 experience pre-eminently qualifies him for the position 
 referred to, and his long-continued and faithful services 
 would seem to merit such a recognition. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servants, 
 
 W. S. Rosecrans, 
 Major-General commanding Army of the Cumberland. 
 
 George H. Thomas, 
 
 Major.General U. S. A., commanding 14th Army Corps, Army 
 of the Cumberland. 
 
 J. A. Garfield, 
 
 Brigadier-General, Volunteer Chief of Staff and A. A. G., Staff 
 of General Rosecrans. 
 
 James S. Negley, 
 
 Major-General commanding 2d Division, 14th Army Corps, 
 Army of the Cumberland. 
 
 John F. Miller, 
 
 Colonel 29th Indiana Volunteers, commanding 3d Brigade, 2d 
 Division, 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland. 
 
 J. J. Reynolds, Maj.-Gen. 
 D. L. Stanley, Maj.-Gen. 
 J. M. Niebling, 
 Colonel commanding 21st O. V. I. 
 
 On forwarding the above document to the 
 President, General Rosecrans wrote an additional 
 indorsement, as follows: 
 
 Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant- General of 
 the Army. Reverend Colonel Granville Moody be- 
 haved most gallantly at the battle of Stone River, and 
 is a zealous, energetic, and faithful man. 
 
 Rosecrans. 
 
 In 1865 I was recommended to the Senate of 
 the United States by the Secretary of War, Hon. 
 Edwin M. Stanton, for the office and rank of " Briga- 
 dier-General, by brevet, in the Volunteer Army of 
 the United States of North America, for distin- 
 
368 Granville Moody. 
 
 guished services in the battles of Stone River, 
 Tennessee." The recommendation of Secretary 
 Stanton was honorably approved by the General 
 Government, and the above rank and title con- 
 ferred upon me by the Senate of the United 
 States, March 13, 1865. 
 
In Civil Life. 369 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 in civil life. 
 
 A MINISTER is none the less a citizen because 
 he preaches the gospel. His rights are the 
 same, and his duties the same as those of any other 
 citizen. He may, therefore, take part in all civic 
 celebrations, and even make what are called by the 
 careless, "political speeches." Politics belong to 
 the realm of ethics ; and so far as they concern the 
 well-being of society, not as party measures, but as 
 principles of State action, they are proper subjects 
 for discussion by the minister outside the pulpit. 
 The author makes no apology for introducing the fol- 
 lowing report of a meeting of citizens held on Wash- 
 ington's Birthday, in Springfield, Ohio, 1863. The 
 report is taken from the Springfield News: 
 
 After an address by General Rodney Mason, Col- 
 onel Granville Moody, of the Seventy-fourth Ohio, was 
 called out. The gallant fighting preacher rose up to 
 his full height, and rung out in clarion tones a mag- 
 nificient speech, as follows : 
 
 " I am always sure to be present at any meeting 
 where General Mason speaks. I formed his acquaint- 
 ance in the fall of 1832. I was always glad to sit at his 
 feet. He is a master Mason, and when he gives the 
 sign of danger he should be heeded. His well-digested 
 remarks have anticipated much that I intended to say. 
 I am satisfied that the utterances of this hour will 
 
370 Granville Moody. 
 
 have the same effect that the words of Demosthenes 
 had upon the Greeks, when the people rose up, with 
 one mind, and exclaimed : ' Let us fight against Philip!' 
 Let us also say : ' Let us fight against Jefferson Davis,' 
 and let us give three cheers for the Union. (Cheers.) 
 There 's powder back of that fire. Difficulties show 
 what men or communities are made of. They scatter 
 the temporary illusions of prosperity, and develop 
 hidden resources, and constitute the stern school in 
 which personal and national virtues are trained and 
 perfected. If La Belle France, forgetting Lafayette, 
 wishes to mix in this fight, we say with Patrick Henry, 
 'Let it come!' and with Thomas Corwin, we assure 
 them that we will 'welcome them with bloody hands 
 to hospitable graves !' Jefferson said : ' I would to 
 God that a sea of fire whose billows tossed against the 
 clouds were between us and Europe!' Their institu- 
 tions are opposed to ours. They have looked on with 
 green-eyed jealousy at the rising glory of our Republic. 
 Their principles are as different from ours as light 
 from darkness, as heaven from hell, as Christ from 
 Belial. They foster the spirit of aristocracy and des- 
 potism, whilst we maintain the rights of man as man, 
 and uphold a pure democracy ; and they know that 
 the success of our experiment will be fatal to the old 
 dynasties, and the uprising millions of Europe will 
 follow the light of our starlit flag, and claim and vin- 
 dicate man's right to self-government. 
 
 " It may be the plan of an all-comprehending, 
 bounding, directing, and permissive Providence, judi- 
 cially to blind France, until she becomes a party with 
 the Rebellion for the monopoly of cotton, and thus 
 arouses the opposition of our Fatherland ; and the 
 lion and the unicorn and the American Eagle may 
 throw their proud banners to the battle and the 
 
In Civil Life. 371 
 
 breeze against Napoleon, Jefferson Davis, and the 
 devil; and the descendants of the mighty Queen Bess, 
 under Victoria and Father Abraham, will give them 
 1 Hail Columbia,' and thus, complicating the affairs of 
 Europe, will constitute the turning and overturning 
 predicted by the prophets, and represented by theolo- 
 gians as culminating in the ' good time coming ' in 
 1866. But let this be as it may, our Southern rebels 
 and their allies will find us on hand, and, in the name 
 of the Lord God Almighty, we will give them an al- 
 mighty thrashing ! 
 
 " But I was particularly requested to speak to the 
 following resolution : 
 
 " ' Resolved, That cherishing with grateful hearts 
 the memory of the heroic services by our soldiers in 
 the field, we send them greeting, that their declarations 
 of unalloyed patriotism and of firm determination to 
 fight under the old flag, until it shall be acknowledged 
 in every disloyal State, finds a warm response in all 
 loyal hearts, and furnishes abundant assurance that 
 they are prepared for skulking traitors in the rear, as 
 well as open enemies in front.' 
 
 " In behalf of the soldiers in the field, I desire, on 
 this occasion, to declare that your appreciation of their 
 services constitutes no small portion of their reward. 
 No tongue or pen has, as yet, been able to portray to 
 those who remain at home the nature and extent of 
 those services you are pleased to style ' heroic,' the 
 memory of which you say you do and will cherish with 
 grateful hearts. 
 
 " Self exiled from ' home, sweet home ;' sacrificing 
 pecuniary and relative interests ; subjected to neces- 
 sary arbitrary military authority; burdened with 
 weapons of war and martial accouterments, the heavy 
 knapsack and indispensable blanket, the tiresome 
 
372 Granville Moody. 
 
 march, the ofttimes scanty and irregular ration ; dis- 
 ease lurking in the system or preying upon the 
 vitals, with hospital or hospitable graves in prospec- 
 tive ; exposure to the pitiless storms of winter ; the 
 frequent bivouac; encamping for the night without 
 tents or shelter; heavy guard and picket duty; the 
 perilous reconnoissance; the desperate foraging party; 
 the midnight march and attack in the surprise of the 
 foe ; the stern preparation and exhaustive drill which 
 precedes an engagement ; the forced march ; the ar- 
 rival on the field of battle ; the marshaling of heavy 
 forces for the deadly strife ; the toiling work with pick 
 and spade and ax in throwing up the long line of 
 breastworks, rifle-pits, and forts ; and, at length, long 
 lines of warriors, infantry, artillery, and cavalry, with 
 their appropriate dispositions for the deadly struggle, 
 all constituting ' battle's magnificently stern array ;' 
 the hastening aid-de-camp ; the careful officers and 
 generals, on whose shoulders rests a responsibility which 
 casts its influence on their features ; and now, on the 
 center or wing, or adown the whole line, the fiery foe 
 opens on the long, dark masses of humanity the in- 
 fernal storm of round shot, shell, spherical case, grape, 
 canister or shrapnel, with the more terrific fire of in- 
 fantry by rank, by battalion, by file, and at will, as 
 though hell's high carnival was held, and demons 
 ruled the hour ; the painful wound, the life-demand- 
 ing bayonet-thrust ; the quivering limbs, as life's crim- 
 son current flows and fails ; the shattered head ; the 
 horrid chasm in the manly form through which the 
 screaming shell has crushed its way ; the advance; the 
 retreat ; the advance again with decimated ranks ; the 
 confused noise of warriors, and garments rolled in blood; 
 the shouting of the warriors, and the shock of battle ; 
 the retreat of the rebel foe; the hearty rejoicing of the 
 
In Civil Life. 373 
 
 surviving heroes, as they congratulate each other over 
 the success of the day; the solemn burial of the dead; 
 the awful scenes in the hospitals, where kind visits are 
 made by relatives and friends; the frequent burial 
 of comrades ; the extreme exhaustion of officers after 
 a decisive battle ; a desolated country through which 
 to resume the march, and a repetition of these scenes 
 and series,— make, singly and together, but an imperfect 
 sketch of what is implied in the language of your res- 
 olution, when you speak of the 'heroic services of our 
 soldiers in the field.' 
 
 " None but real patriots would endure these pains 
 and brave these perils; and they do indeed deserve to 
 live in the memory of those at home, in whose behalf 
 they brave these dangers whilst they stand between 
 your loved homes and the war's desolation." 
 
 Here the speaker introduced Sergeant Charles Har- 
 rison, the color-bearer of the Seventy-fourth Regi- 
 ment, who had gallantly borne the National banner 
 through Kentucky and Tennessee, and during the ten 
 days when the regiment chased John Morgan through 
 those States by steam, and only regretted that they 
 could not get within striking distance of the great ske- 
 daddler. Old Charlie had served seventeen years in the 
 British army, seven years in Africa, six in St. Helena 
 as guard over the great Napoleon, two years in the 
 Mexican War, in which he followed the old flag at 
 Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Chapultepec, Churubusco, 
 and Molino del Rey, till it floated in triumph over the 
 Halls of the Montezumas ; and now, in his old age, has 
 volunteered to defend the flag of his country against 
 its rebel foes. As Old Charlie rose, the very imper- 
 sonation of the soldier, he was greeted by a perfect 
 storm of applause, and three cheers for Old Charlie, 
 the color-bearer of Colonel Moody's regiment, were 
 
374 Granville Moody. 
 
 given with a will from the patriotic throng, appreciat- 
 ing the nobility of the rank and file, as well as officers, 
 in freedom's holy cause. The speaker resuming, said : 
 "If you could but know half of what 'Old Charlie ' 
 has seen, you would pass the resolution with unanimity 
 and enthusiasm ; for your sons in the field are worthy 
 representatives of the warriors of '76, who had 
 
 'Souls that could dare, and hands that could strike, 
 And their sons were not born to be slaves.' 
 
 "This resolution also sends to our soldiers in the 
 field the kindest greetings in view of ' their declara- 
 tions of unalloyed patriotism, and their determination 
 to fight on under the old flag, until it shall be acknowl- 
 edged in every disloyal State.' 
 
 "Yes, sir, the utterances of our soldiers in the field 
 are plain, direct, and they are terribly in earnest, too. 
 They are the utterances of men who know what they 
 affirm, and you are right when you characterize them 
 in this resolution as unalloyed patriotism. The utter- 
 ances of our soldiers in the field are not as ambiguous 
 as Delphic oracles, but clear and true as Shiloh's firm 
 response. Those declarations are as emphatic as the 
 crack of their rifles, and as unmistakable as the roar 
 of their cannon, as with brazen, burning lips, they say 
 with General Jackson : ' The Federal Union, it must 
 and shall be preserved.' 
 
 "Your soldiers in the front, sir, occupy a stand- 
 point where they can see the Rebellion as you can not 
 see it ; they can feel the pulse as you can not ; and 
 after a few weeks' service against rebellion, they are 
 perfectly united on the sentiment that the Rebellion 
 can, and only can, be put down by force of arms. 
 They go there as Republicans or Democrats or Old- 
 line Whigs, but soon are baptized into one spirit ; and 
 their short creed is, This affair must be fought out to 
 
In Civil Life. 375 
 
 the bitter end. Their ' determination ' is parent of their 
 'declarations,' and, combined, they are but the rever- 
 beration of the doctrine of the Farewell Address of 
 him whose birthday we this day gratefully celebrate — 
 1 First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
 of his countrymen.' I intend, sir, that the audience 
 shall hear those utterances this night. I shall make 
 thousands and tens of thousands speak to-night 
 through the resolutions passed by our regiments in 
 the field, who, in the language of your resolutions, 
 'are prepared for skulking traitors in the rear as well 
 as for open enemies in the front.' Whilst from our 
 inmost souls we abhor, abjure, detest, despise these 
 craven gray-backs, butternuts, Knights of the Golden 
 Circle, who, following Vallandigham, Olds, Voorhees, 
 and other jayhawking sympathizers with rebels, are 
 spouting treason at home, whilst the true friends of 
 the country are speaking in tongues of fire in the 
 front, yet we are glad that they have so early shown 
 their hands, and the virtuous outbursts of patriotism 
 will bury the whole crew as if covered with a mountain 
 avalanche. 
 
 "These bold, bad men who are 'rendering aid and 
 comfort to our enemies ' by their resolutions and 
 speeches, which are circulated through the South by 
 thousands, constitute the main dependence of the 
 rebels. Ask a rebel prisoner what is their hope of 
 success, and the invariable reply is, 'A divided North,' 
 'The Democratic party,' and will flippantly quote 
 Vallandigham, Olds, and other traitors to our holy 
 cause, and say, 'What do you think of that?" We 
 reply, that they are but the craven cormorants seek- 
 ing office at the expense of patriotism, and are as 
 contemptible in point of numbers as they are in point 
 of character; that they are but the Shays, Burrs, 
 
376 Granville Moody. 
 
 Arnolds, and Dorrs of other days by transmigration, 
 and are predoomed, politically, to as quick a death, 
 and to as deep and dark and desperate a damnation, 
 as their infamous prototypes. 
 
 "I am glad to know, and soon will show you by the 
 documents, that this is the prevailing sentiment of our 
 soldiers in the front ; the men with rifles and bayonets 
 in their hands ; the men who, rising above mere party 
 lines, stand warring for the Union against its open and 
 secret foes, led on by the noble General Rosecrans, 
 the idol of the Army of the Cumberland, who will chop 
 right into the center of Cottondom, and plant the 
 flag of the Union in the very heart of the Rebellion. 
 
 "Let us now hear from Indiana, the Hoosier State, 
 which wears peerless honors in the grand war for the 
 Constitution." (Cheers.) Here General Milroy's glo- 
 rious letter to the Democracy of Indiana was read to 
 the audience amid deafening thunders of applause. 
 
 Colonel Moody said: "I have known General Mil- 
 roy for fifteen years — a noble specimen of manhood, 
 a Christian, and 'the highest style of man.' I recol- 
 lect visiting the Presbyterian Church in Jasper County, 
 Indiana, some years ago, and found Elder Milroy in 
 the Sabbath-school, bending his Herculean form over 
 a class of Hoosier boys, teaching them the Word of 
 God and the way to heaven ; and now he is in the 
 field fighting and praying — and fighting all the better 
 for the praying, too. 
 
 "Ah yes! the Christian general loves his country, 
 and would join us to-night in saying, practically, ' If 
 any man, Democrat or Republican, loves not the Gov- 
 ernment, the Constitution, and the Union, let him be 
 Anathema Maranatha;' or, as old Robert Miller, of 
 this county, explained the apostolic execration, 'Let 
 him be damned and double damned' — that is, we say 
 
In Civil Life. 377 
 
 politically, hoping that they may be led by their ad- 
 versities to the repentance that needeth not to be 
 repented of." 
 
 The colonel then referred to the valor of an Irish- 
 man in his command who fired sixty rounds of am- 
 munition, and got more from a dead comrade's car- 
 tridge-box, firing away until his musket-barrel was so 
 hot he could not hold it. "May God," he said, "inspire 
 you all with such a patriotism as this!" The colonel 
 then spoke of those men who were war men in peace, 
 peace men in war, and but pieces of men at any time. 
 
 Colonel Moody's points, and they were without 
 number almost, were received with unbounded en- 
 thusiasm. He spoke from his own personal obser- 
 vation, gave the voice of the army as he heard it, 
 and his utterances were responded to unanimously 
 and gloriously by the immense audience. 
 
 After the adoption of the resolutions cheers were 
 heartily given as follows : Three for the Ladies' Aid 
 Society, three for Abraham Lincoln, three for the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, three for the Administration, 
 about twelve for General Rosecrans, three for Col- 
 onel Moody, three for the loyal editors of Ohio and of 
 the other States, and three dismal groans were given 
 for disloyal editors. 
 
 The following speech on the situation of pub- 
 lic affairs was delivered by the author at Rip- 
 ley in the autumn of 1868, just after the State 
 elections : 
 
 Fellow-Citizens, — The grand crisis has been 
 passed in safety and triumph. Ten days ago Free- 
 dom's battle was fought and won. This Nation and 
 the combined world stood in excited and painful sus- 
 
 32 
 
378 Granville Moody. 
 
 pense, whilst the heavy columns of our loyal veterans 
 deployed into the serried line of battle against the 
 cohorts of oppression and disloyalty, who rallied again 
 around the banners of the "Lost Cause." The battle- 
 line stretched westward from the Atlantic coast, over 
 the craggy ridges of the Alleghanies, and across the 
 slopes of the Monongahela it rolled its sharp, rattling 
 volleys throughout Ohio, the grand gate-way to the 
 mighty West, and the thunder of the right wing was 
 heard on the advancing line of Indiana's stalwart 
 sons, and where through frowning mountain-gates 
 Nebraska's waters roar. 
 
 With Caesar we may say in sharp, short utter- 
 ances, " Veni, vidi y vici" With an American hero we 
 may say, " We have met the enemy, and they are ours." 
 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Nebraska have 
 followed the victorious career of Vermont and Maine 
 in these Republican victories over the so-called De- 
 mocracy. The broken lines and shattered columns of 
 the foe, and the consternation carried to the very 
 head-quarters of their camp, attest the completeness of 
 our victories and give a glorious presage of ultimate 
 victory for Grant and Colfax on the fast coming 3d 
 of November. In vain aid Seymour, Blair, Vallan- 
 digham, Cary, Wade Hampton, Pendleton, Forrest, 
 Beauregard, Dan Voorhees, and the leaders of the Ku- 
 Klux Confederate Democracy set a "Barrere" to the 
 rising flood of patriotism which has swept over the 
 land. They could not bid this grand ground-swell back. 
 
 It may be useful to consider the question, What 
 is this party which we have sent reeling and howling 
 back from the battle-line of last Tuesday? which, in- 
 deed, was the Gettysburg victory, to be followed by 
 the Appomattox surrender on the 3d of November. 
 We have called the party the Ku-Klux Confederate 
 
In Civil Life. 379 
 
 Democracy, a party that has been false to our National 
 principles, to our National honor, to our Nationality, 
 and to " the holy cause of human liberty and personal 
 rights." It is not the old Democracy that deemed it 
 to be its honor to stand by "our country right or 
 wrong." It is not the party that rallied around 
 General Jackson when he subjugated the nullifiers of 
 South Carolina, and on his death-bed most regretted 
 that he had not hung their traitorous leader, John C. 
 Calhoun, in 1832, who, at that day, held the political 
 ground of the rebels we have just subjugated, and 
 then avowed the nullification doctrine, which consti- 
 tutes the principal plank in the platform of the so- 
 called Democracy of 1868. It is not the party that 
 first echoed the utterance of " Old Hickory," that 
 " the Federal Union must and shall be preserved." It 
 is not the party that shouted with Stephen A. Douglas, 
 In this war there are but two parties, patriots and 
 traitors ; and whoever does not do all he can to aid the 
 Government in putting down the rebellion is a trai- 
 tor at heart." It is not the old Democratic party that 
 in Ohio resolved from year to year that " slavery is a 
 moral, social, and political evil that ought to be extir- 
 pated." It is not the party that gloried once in the 
 names of Dix, Stanton, Logan, Butler, Morton, Fen- 
 ton, Burnside, Hooker, Tod, Brough, and hundreds 
 beside, who were formerly lights in the Democracy, 
 before its base apostasy to the lords of slavery, trea- 
 son, and nullification ; but now these patriotic men 
 are found in the Republican ranks, sustaining the true 
 Democracy against the aristocracy of the South and 
 their allies in the North, who endeavored to build an 
 empire of slavery, resting upon the ruins of human 
 rights, and utterly ignoring the principles of '76. But 
 it is the party that abolished the Missouri Compromise 
 
380 Granville Moody. 
 
 line to admit slavery to the virgin soil of Kansas; 
 that justified and defended the Border Ruffians ; that 
 removed Governor Reeder; made the accursed pro- 
 slavery Lecompton Constitution ; indorsed the Dred 
 Scott Decision, " that black men have no rights that 
 white men are bound to respect;" did all that could 
 be done to make Kansas a slave State ; encouraged the 
 South to commence and continue open, flagrant, 
 deadly war to compel our Government to submit to 
 its own dismemberment ; denied our nationality, and 
 vindicated the South in its claimed right of secession ; 
 opposed the Government calling out troops to defend 
 our nationality and our sacred rights ; defended the 
 miserable pro-slavery Crittenden Compromise ; lauded 
 the Constitution of the Confederates as vastly superior 
 to the Constitution of the United States ; declared that 
 Hungary had less cause to complain against Austria 
 than the Southern States have against the Government 
 of the United States ; and publicly declared sympathy 
 with secessionists in the Senate and House in the 
 gloomy winter of 1 860-1, and since then in endless 
 forms. Representative men of this Democracy, high 
 in place and power, stole the arms of the United 
 States, and transported them to rebels, and scat- 
 tered our army and navy, to leave us powerless before 
 their traitorous allies. Their chosen President, the old 
 Democratic public functionary, James Buchanan, of- 
 ficially declared the secession of the States, and that 
 the Government has no right to coerce a sovereign 
 though refractory State. Governor Pickens, the Dem- 
 ocratic Governor of South Carolina, ordered the bom- 
 bardment of our National fort, Sumter, " to fire the 
 Southern heart." 
 
 This Democratic party, by advocating the Vir- 
 ginia and Kentucky nullification resolutions of 1798, 
 
In Civil Life. 381 
 
 has been preaching rebellion till it became an ac- 
 complished fact. This party has produced all the 
 State sovereignty, nullification conspiracy and civil 
 war, and furnished all the traitors in the United 
 States. This Democracy fought in six hundred battles 
 in the South for the purpose of destroying our Gov- 
 ernment, whilst the same party rendered aid and com- 
 fort to their cause in the North. This Democratic 
 party steadily opposed the war, resisted the draft, de- 
 nounced President Lincoln for keeping his heaven- 
 recorded oath, and did all they could to embarrass 
 him in the discharge of his bounden duties. This 
 Democracy originated and maintained all the secret, 
 oath-bound societies known as the Sons of Liberty, 
 Order of American Knights, Knights of the Golden 
 Circle, with Vallandigham as commander-in-chief, all 
 pledged to aid rebels in their devilish design to over- 
 throw this glorious Government of ours. This Democ- 
 racy constantly prophesied the success of our foes and 
 the defeat of our arms, declared that we could never 
 subjugate the chivalry, never rejoiced over the victo- 
 ries of the Union armies, and showed their deep cha- 
 grin when rebels were routed, and were all smiles, and 
 said, " Did n't we tell you so?" when our public enemies 
 gained any advantage over our boys in blue. This 
 Democracy assured the rebels that if there was any 
 war on account of their secession, it should all be in 
 the North, and that they would prevent the rebellion 
 from invading the Southern States, should they suc- 
 ceed and break up the Government. 
 
 This Democracy nominated for governor of Ohio 
 the thrice-convicted traitor Vallandigham, who met 
 his final defeat last Tuesday. This Democracy used 
 every endeavor to prevent our Government from pro- 
 curing money to put down the rebellion, by de- 
 
382 Granville Moody. 
 
 nouncing the issue of bonds and legal-tender notes 
 as unconstitutional ; and, by decrying them before 
 our people and the world, endeavored to render them 
 valueless. This Democracy approached Lord Lyons, 
 the representative of Great Britain in Washington, 
 and said to him, that, " beyond a doubt, Southern se- 
 cession and independence are fixed facts, and they 
 were in favor of its recognition." This Democracy 
 assembled in Chicago in 1864, with Horatio Seymour 
 as their president, and Vallandigham on the Commit- 
 tee on Platform ; and on the identical day that Gen- 
 eral Sherman's shells were crashing through the roofs 
 of the houses in Atlanta, and our " brave boys in blue " 
 were driving the Democracy in gray, under General 
 Hood, out of Atlanta, on that identical day the Cop- 
 perhead Confederate Democracy passed the resolution 
 that " our effort to sustain our Government by war 
 is a failure, and the public welfare demands that an 
 immediate effort be made for the cessation of hostili- 
 ties," etc. O, shame on your avowed, recorded cow- 
 ardice, ye truckling panderers to oppressors and trai- 
 tors ! Well might every loyal lip exclaim, 
 
 "What ! hoist a white flag when our triumph is riigh ? 
 What! crouch before Treason, make Freedom a lie? 
 What ! spike all our guns when our foe is at bay, 
 And the rags of his banner are dropping away? 
 Tear down the strong name that our Nation has won, 
 And strike our brave bird from his home in the sun ? 
 
 He 's a coward who shrinks from the lift of the sword ! 
 He 's a traitor who mocks at the sacrifice poured ! 
 Nameless and homeless the doom that should blast 
 The knave who stands idly till danger is past ! 
 But he who submits when the thunders have burst, 
 And victory dawns, is of cowards the worst ! 
 
 By the God of our fathers, this shame we won't share ; 
 It grows too debasing for freemen to bear ; 
 
In Civil Life. 383 
 
 And Washington, Jackson, will turn i'u their graves, 
 When our country shall rest on two races of slaves, 
 Or, yielding the spirit which bound us of yore, 
 And sundered, exist as a Nation no more." 
 
 Yet it is the record that this craven, truckling De- 
 mocracy were thus ready to yield up to negro-drivers 
 the high trust and heritage of our glorious Union, and 
 submit to the parceling out of our National domain to 
 our public enemies. This Democracy denounced our 
 peerless soldiers as " Lincoln's hirelings," " hired 
 Hessians," "outlaws, thieves, and murderers," "hell- 
 hounds," " hired scoundrels." This Democracy, by 
 overt and covert treason, has filled our land with 
 widowhood and orphanage, and made countless homes 
 desolate, and burdened the Nation with an immense 
 public debt and onerous taxation, and now, with Pen- 
 dleton, would pay it in a depreciated currency. This 
 Democracy, when our arms were triumphant, fur- 
 nished the Wilkes Booth, who capped the climax of 
 Confederate Ku-Kluxism by the assassination of the 
 wise, the true, the tender, the merciful, the patriotic, 
 the devoted, the peerless Lincoln, whose fame for 
 every virtue fills the world ; 
 
 " Whose monument henceforth shall be 
 The broken fetters of the slave." 
 
 This Democracy of the North, when rebels were 
 conquered and suppliant, rallied about his accidency, 
 Andrew Johnson, with his " my policy," which restored 
 unrepentant rebels to power all over the land, and in 
 the government they sought to destroy ; and, had his 
 policy succeeded, repudiation would have been an ac- 
 complished fact, and the " lost cause " would have been 
 gained. Ah! he can not mend the numerous breaches 
 he has made. This Democracy resisted the emanci- 
 pation of the enslaved, the Civil Rights Bill, the 
 
384 Granville Moody. 
 
 Fourteenth Constitutional Amendment, the Recon- 
 struction Acts, the formation of free constitutions in 
 the Southern States, and denied the protection of the 
 ballot to the men who periled their all for the life of 
 the Nation. This Democracy filled the graves of three 
 hundred and fifty thousand patriots by their encourage- 
 ment to traitors, and their Southern allies starved to 
 death seventeen thousand patriot soldiers in the prison- 
 pens of Andersonville, Belle Isle, Libby, and other 
 hell-holes. This Democracy, having failed to destroy 
 our Government by force of arms, would destroy its 
 credit, and, with Judge Thurman, go about the country 
 making sage arithmetical calculations about the in- 
 creasing cost of the young Copperhead's shirt with a 
 circumscribed narrative to it. This Confederate De- 
 mocrac}' compelled the Nation to incur this debt to in- 
 sure our very existence as a Nation ; and now that 
 loyal and disloyal are alike taxed to pay the debt and 
 its accruing interest, they squirm ; they hate the debt, 
 because by its aid we whipped their friends and saved 
 the Nation. 
 
 This same Democracy assembled, last Fourth of 
 July, in Tammany Hall, in New York, and, out of one 
 hundred and eighty-two Southern delegates present, 
 over one hundred of them were rebel officers; and 
 there were present more members of the late Congress 
 of the Confederate States than the same stripe of the 
 Congress of the United States ; and these Secesh dic- 
 tated the platform of the Democracy, assumed to de- 
 clare the Reconstruction Laws of the United States 
 null and void, saying, " We regard the Reconstruction 
 Acts (so-called) of Congress, as such, usurpations and 
 unconstitutional, revolutionary and void." 
 
 This same Northern Democracy, then and there, as in 
 the past, affiliated with our public foes — such as Wade 
 
In Civii. Life. 385 
 
 Hamption, Governor Vance, General Preston, Gen- 
 eral Forrest, of Fort Pillow massacre ; General Buck- 
 ner (for whom General Grant went to Fort Donelson, 
 though Buckner will not go for Grant now) ; Basil 
 Duke, who burned Augusta and ravaged Ohio, with 
 Morgan ; Dykes, who stole and sold the supplies which 
 Northern mothers, wives, and sisters sent to their im- 
 prisoned ones in Andersonville ; and there, too, was 
 one Joe Williams, a renegade, coal-black Negro dele- 
 gate from Tennessee, — and there they mingled, min- 
 gled, mingled, and Northern Democrats shouted, and 
 readily learned the Southern yell, when Wade Hamp- 
 ton, Butcher Forrest, or General Preston would stride, 
 with plantation manners, into Tammany Hall. In 
 fact, they grinned with delight when their old masters 
 came again. They bowed, and shook hands, and em- 
 braced each other, just as they would have done through 
 all the war, had it not been for our line of fighting 
 boys in blue between them. 
 
 And now this Democratic Convention select as 
 their representative man, Horatio Seymour, of New 
 York, a man who went into retiracy in Wisconsin 
 when the rebels opened fire on our flag, and refused to 
 speak to a meeting of soldiers there when asked, say- 
 ing: "No, I don't know how this thing is going to 
 turn out." In 1861, January 30th, in his speech at 
 Tweddle Hall, he said : " Let us see if successful 
 coercion by the North is less revolutionary than suc- 
 cessful secession in the South." A few weeks after 
 this, Seymour, in a letter to Judge Ruggles, said • 
 " Judge, have you read the Confederate Constitution? 
 I have, and it is preferable to the Federal Constitu- 
 tion. Now, why not avoid all trouble by ourselves 
 adopting the Confederate Constitution?" Shame, O 
 shame on the poor poltroon! In October, 1861, he 
 
 33 
 
386 Granville Moody. 
 
 said: "If it is true that slavery must be abolished 
 to save the Union, the people of the South should 
 be allowed to withdraw themselves from the Govern- 
 ment, which can not give them guarantees by its terms." 
 Is it the voice of Jacob or Esau, patriot or traitor ? 
 
 On the Fourth of July, 1863, Governor Seymour 
 made a speech at Cooper Institute, in ignorance of 
 General Meade's victory at Gettysburg, and evidently 
 in expectation of a successful advance of Lee north- 
 ward. That speech could not have been better adapted 
 to excite mob violence and a fresh outbreak in aid 
 of the rebels. The whole spirit of the speech was 
 one of hostility to the war, and to President Lincoln's 
 earnest efforts to enforce the laws and save the Nation ; 
 and the Wade Hamptons, Vallandighams, and Forrests 
 so understand him to-day ! A bloody riot ensued and 
 raged for days, and threatened indiscriminate plunder 
 and murder. Seymour appeared before the rebel mob, 
 got up to hinder the drafting of men to save the coun- 
 try, and, addressing them as " my friends," assured 
 them that he had taken measures to have the draft 
 stopped. He proposed to end this riot by fully ac- 
 ceding to the terms with which the mob commenced 
 its bloody revolt in the interest of Robert Lee's 
 whipped army. 
 
 In his letter to President Lincoln, Seymour said : 
 "It is believed by at least one-half the people of 
 the loyal States, that the Conscription Act, which they 
 are called upon to obey because it is on the statute- 
 book, is in itself a violation of the supreme Constitu- 
 tional law. I do not dwell upon the consequences of 
 a harsh or violent policy before the constitutionality 
 of the law is tested. You can scan the future as well 
 as I. The temper of the people to-day you can readily 
 learn." It was just at the moment when the brilliant 
 
In Civil Life. 387 
 
 successes of Vicksburg and Gettysburg proved that 
 the war was not a failure, that Seymour, on the Fourth, 
 said to the rebel Copperhead, Ku-Klux, bloody, mur- 
 dering, house-burning mob: "My friends, I am here 
 to show you a test of my friendship. I wish to inform 
 you that I have sent my adjutant-general to Wash- 
 ington to confer with the authorities there, and to 
 have the draft suspended and stopped." (Vociferous 
 cheering.) 
 
 Yes, he would have left our army without aid, to 
 be destroyed by rebels. Just at this high juncture, 
 when the Government needed every man it could get 
 to fill up our decimated ranks, so fearfully thinned 
 out by the bloody struggles of Vicksburg and Gettys- 
 burg, this Horatio Seymour higgled and haggled with 
 President Lincoln about the exact apportionment of the 
 quotas of the several districts, as a pretext for the vig- 
 orous obstructions to the filling up of our army, which 
 he attempted in the obvious interest of the rebel army, 
 now flying before our colors. Lincoln's reply to him, 
 August 7, 1863, was: "I can 't consent to suspend the 
 draft in New York, as you request, because, among other 
 reasons, time is important. We are contending with 
 an enemy who drives every able-bodied man he can 
 reach into his ranks, very much as a butcher drives 
 bullocks into a slaughter-pen. No time is wasted, no 
 argument is used, and thus they soon procure an army 
 to turn upon our victorious armies in the field ; and if 
 we waste time to obtain a court decision whether a law 
 is Constitutional, which requires a part of those not now 
 in the service to go to the aid of those already in it, 
 and still more, to determine with absolute certainty 
 that we are to get those who are to go in the exact legal 
 proportion to those who are not to go, our cause is lost. 
 My purpose is to be just and Constitutional, and yet 
 
388. Granville Moody. 
 
 practical, in discharging the duty which I am charged 
 to maintain, the unity and free principles of our com- 
 mon country." Thus spoke the patriot President to 
 the traitorous Copperhead who was legging for Jeff 
 Davis and Bob Lee. 
 
 A man with half an eye can see the purpose of 
 Seymour. He intended to work into the hands of 
 Jeff Davis and Robert Lee, hinder the filling up 
 of our thinned-out ranks, and give the rebels time to 
 fill up theirs, and conquer us at last. The only part 
 of the country where Seymour's nomination is hailed 
 with satisfaction is in the South, among unrepentant 
 rebels, whose treasonable work he sustained so far as his 
 timid nature dared. They know their man, and they 
 know Frank Blair and his Calhoun Nullification Broad- 
 head letter, and its principles as transformed into the 
 Democratic platform ; and they exult over the remote 
 possibility which their eager desire converts into a 
 hope of his election. With the election of Seymour 
 and Blair they boldly boast that the "Lost Cause" 
 would be regained, and every vote cast for Seymour is, 
 ignorantly, designedly, o'r recklessly, a vote cast for 
 the supremacy of our traitorous, rebellious public 
 enemies. 
 
 You may remember that on the 5th of December, 
 1 8 14, there was a convention that met in the city of 
 Hartford, Connecticut. Among other things they re- 
 solved on was "a cessation of hostilities with Great 
 Britain," almost in the same words in which the 
 Democratic Convention in Chicago, with Seymour as 
 its president, resolved upon peace with Southern rebels 
 in arms. Another resolution was, "That the States 
 represented in this convention take measures to pro- 
 tect their citizens from forcible drafts, conscriptions, 
 or imprisonments not authorized by the Constitution 
 
In Civil Life. 389 
 
 of the United States;" and Seymour seems to have 
 plagiarized the very terms in which these white- 
 livered, timid, shivering traitors of the Hartford Con- 
 vention sought the overthrow of our National rights 
 in that great struggle with our red-coated British 
 enemies and black-hearted Tories in our own land. 
 Ah ! he is the true, lineal descendant of the Hartford 
 Convention Tories of 18 14, the Rip Van Winkle of that 
 cabal, doomed to eternal infamy, and now risen to be 
 the leader of the Copperheads and Ku-Klux Democ- 
 racy to their utter destruction on the 3d of November ; 
 and let every patriotic heart exclaim, " So mote it be !" 
 
 This Seymour, with Vallandigham, the commander- 
 in-chief of the secret, oath-bound, traitorous society, 
 called the Knights of the Golden Circle, and all that 
 kith and kin, are Jacobins of the French school of dema- 
 gogues. For what, I ask you, was the Jacobin ? Let 
 Webster's Unabridged answer: "So named from the 
 place of meeting, which was the monastery of the 
 monks called 'Jacobins.'" The Jacobins of France, 
 during the Revolution of 1798, held secret meetings, in 
 which measures were concocted to direct the proceed- 
 ings of the National Assembly. Hence, the Jacobin 
 is the member of a club, or other person, who opposes 
 government in a secret and unlawful manner, or by 
 violent means — a turbulent demagogue. "Jacobinism 
 is unreasonable or violent opposition to legitimate 
 government, by secret cabal or irregular means — 
 popular turbulence." 
 
 What a picture of the Democracy of our land in 
 1864-65, headed by Vallandigham and his special de- 
 fender and apologist, Horatio Seymour, and in closest 
 sympathy with " monks " of every order and name in 
 America, and operating against our Government by 
 means of secret political societies of which Lafayette 
 
390 Granville Moody. 
 
 warned our citizens in his farewell address, saying 
 "Mark my words well; if ever your glorious Govern- 
 ment is overthrown, it will be by secret, oath-bound 
 political societies." 
 
 Yes, Forrest, of Fort Pillow infamy, said just seven 
 weeks ago, "I can toot my horn and call out four 
 hundred thousand Ku-Klux in a week." These, with 
 the members of the still existing and secretly operat- 
 ing Knights of the Golden Circle in the North, under 
 Vallandigham, threaten the very liberties and life 
 of our Government; and let Seymour and Blair be 
 elected, and Jacobinism become triumphant, and our 
 Government goes down amid the crash of arms in a 
 sea of blood. 
 
 This same Seymour, of date of May 10, 1863, 
 wrote a letter about the arrest of the thrice convicted 
 traitor, Vallandigham, in which he says: "It involves 
 a series of offenses against our most sacred rights. 
 If this proceeding is approved by the Goverment, it is 
 not only a step toward revolution, it is revolution. If 
 it is upheld, our liberties are overthrown," etc. Thus 
 did Seymour, whilst governor of New York, side with 
 Vallandigham, and demand his freedom from arrest, 
 to go, like Samson's foxes, spreading the fire of ruin 
 through all our land. No wonder that Vallandigham 
 nominated Seymour for President in the Democratic 
 Convention in New York. He was only paying back 
 the kindness and public sympathy which Seymour 
 showed to him in 1863, as a "true yoke-fellow" in the 
 infamous Jacobinical enterprise of legging for rebels 
 in our life-and-death struggle with them. O shame ! 
 shame! to ask patriots to vote for such a man, with such 
 a damning record, to fill the high, yea, the highest post 
 of influence in a Government to which they were so 
 heartlessly false. Did not this Seymour know that 
 
In Civil Life. 391 
 
 after the battle of New Orleans, and whilst it was (un- 
 officially) known that the treaty of peace was con- 
 cluded, General Jackson still maintained martial law? 
 During that period a Mr. L,ouillier (almost as ugly a 
 name as Vallandigham) published a denunciatory news- 
 paper article. General Jackson arrested him. A law- 
 yer, by the name of Morel, induced the United States 
 judge, Hall, to order a writ of habeas corpus to relieve 
 Mr. Louillier ; and General Jackson arrested both the 
 lawyer and the judge. A Mr. Hollander (another Val- 
 landighamer) ventured to say "it was a dirty trick," 
 and General Jackson arrested him. When the officer 
 undertook to serve the writ of habeas corpus the gen- 
 eral took it from him, and sent him away with a copy. 
 Holding Judge Hall in custody a few days, General 
 Jackson sent him beyond the lines of his encamp- 
 ment, and set him at liberty, with an order to remain 
 out until the ratification of peace was regularly 
 announced. A few days after peace was declared, 
 Judge Hall called General Jackson into his court 
 and fined him one thousand dollars for having arrested 
 him. The general paid the fine, and thirty years after- 
 ward the Congress of the United States passed a bill 
 to refund the fine, principal and interest, to General 
 Jackson, and Stephen A. Douglas took a leading part 
 in the Constitutional and judicial questions which were 
 debated, favoring and voting for the bill. 
 
 It may be remarked, that we had the same Con- 
 stitution then as during the late Rebellion. Then there 
 was an invasion. In 186 1-5 we had a Rebellion. 
 The rights of the people (for liberty is not license to 
 cripple the Government struggling for its rights and 
 life) suffered no detriment by the conduct of General 
 Jackson, or its subsequent approval by the American 
 Congress. Had Seymour, Vallandigham, Milligan, 
 
392 
 
 Granville Moody. 
 
 Dodd, and Voorhees been there, they would have been 
 denouncing Old Hickory as violently as they de- 
 nounced President Lincoln, and would have been 
 the chief actors in the Hartford Convention. Ah 
 how history repeats itself ! Truly, there is nothing 
 new under the sun. 
 
 The policy of sending disloyal persons beyond the 
 lines has high Revolutionary authority. In 1778, the 
 darkest period of the Revolution, when thousands 
 were for making peace with Great Britain, just as the 
 so-called convention of the Democracy at Chicago, with 
 Seymour as president, were for making peace with 
 our Southern rebels, the Legislature of New York 
 (Seymour was not there) passed a bill directed against 
 those who "ungratefully and insidiously, by artful 
 misrepresentations, and a subtle dissemination of doc- 
 trines, fears, and apprehensions, false 'in themselves 
 and injurious to the American cause [this would do ex- 
 actly for an indictment against Vallandigham, Seymour, 
 and the so-called Democracy of 1861-65-68], se- 
 duced certain weak-minded persons from the duty they 
 owe to their country ; therefore, be it enacted : 1. That 
 all such men be required to take the oath of allegiance 
 as hereinafter prescribed. 2. That if any refuse to take 
 the oath, they shall be removed to within the enemy's 
 lines. 3. That if they afterward return, they shall be 
 adjudged guilty of misprision of treason." 
 
 Hundreds of Tories were sent out of the State, 
 their property confiscated, and themselves banished as 
 public enemies to liberty and the Government. So 
 again in our day we see the same kind of men. His- 
 tory repeats itself; but we never learned that the Val- 
 landighams, Voorheeses, and Seymours of that day had 
 the impudence to run for Congress or the Presidency 
 of the United States. That folly and crime was 
 
In Civil L,ife. 393 
 
 reserved to cap the climax of the Slaveholders' Re- 
 bellion. 
 
 And now, with Frank Blair's Brodhead letter be- 
 fore us, on which he secured the nomination, we may 
 forecast the immediate future. Blair says: " There is 
 but one way to restore the Government [to rebels] 
 and the Constitution, and that is for the President- 
 elect [Seymour] to declare these Reconstruction Laws 
 of Congress null and void [the Democratic platform 
 also declares this], and compel the army to undo its 
 usurpations at the South, disperse the carpet-bag State 
 governments, etc., and it will not be difficult to com- 
 pel the Senate to submit once more to the obligations 
 of the Constitution. I repeat that this is the real 
 and only question which we should allow to control 
 us. We must have a President who will execute the 
 will of the people, by trampling into the dust the usur- 
 pations of Congress, known as the Reconstruction Acts. 
 I wish to stand before the convention on this issue." 
 
 Now, I declare and charge before the great tribu- 
 nal of American history and law, and before the 
 civilized world, that the above utterances are rank 
 with treason ; that John C. Calhoun, the arch traitor 
 of 1832, who shrank abashed before the indignant 
 patriotism of General Jackson, never uttered more 
 treason than is exhibited in this letter of Frank Blair, 
 and fully indorsed by a similar declaration in the 
 platform of the so-called Democracy, as dictated by 
 Wade Hampton in these words: "And we regard the 
 Reconstruction Acts (so-called) of Congress, as such, 
 usurpations and unconstitutional, revolutionary and 
 void." 
 
 Ah! this is South Carolina nullification gone to 
 seed. I say this is bald treason, coupled with the 
 threat of violence, on the simple condition that the 
 
394 Granville Moody. 
 
 Democracy gain power on the fast coming third of 
 November. This is war to the knife, and the knife 
 to the hilt ! This is the issue. Wade Hampton, 
 Forrest, Vance, and the Southern delegates to the 
 New York Convention, went home exultant and 
 shouting the victory, saying with Vance : "The South 
 will gain by the election of Seymour and Blair all it 
 fought for during four long and bloody years." It 
 was this very Vance who, on the edge of battle, told 
 his men to " rush on the Yankees, and fill hell so full 
 of the damned blue-bellies that their feet will stick out 
 of the windows." Wade Hampton, on his way to the 
 New York Convention, said at Robert L,ee's college 
 in Virginia: "The cause for which Stonewall Jackson 
 fought can not be in vain, but will yet triumph in 
 some form." And they expect its triumph by the 
 election of Seymour and Blair. But He that sitteth 
 in the heavens shall laugh at them. 
 
 On the occasion of decorating the graves of 
 soldiers buried in the cemetery at Washington 
 C. H., Ohio, in 1881, the author delivered the fol- 
 lowing address : 
 
 Fellow-citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen — 
 I thank your committee for affording me this oppor- 
 tunity of addressing you on Decoration-day, with our 
 heavens all sunshine, and our earth all bloom. My 
 selected theme for this auspicious hour is, " Patriotism, 
 the Highest Civic Virtue." Patriotism is love of 
 one's native or adopted country. It is that passion 
 which aims to serve one's country; in advancing 
 its welfare, its honor, its power as a commonwealth, 
 by maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor 
 and purity, and by protecting its rights ; by defend- 
 
In Civil Life. 395 
 
 ing it from invasion, and preserving it from over- 
 throw by internal antagonisms, which may threaten 
 its peace or prosperity. This patriotism is the charac- 
 teristic of a good citizen. It is the noblest passion 
 that animates man, in the character or relation of a 
 citizen ; and we may well ask, 
 
 "Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 
 Who never to himself hath said, 
 This is my own, my native land ?" 
 
 We candidly confess that we have no sympathy with 
 that pretended civism or cosmopolitanism which, 
 under pretense of love to all men, would extinguish 
 our love for our own country. Such persons ask 
 superciliously, " Why should I love my cisatlantic 
 comrades more than my transatlantic fellow-men?" 
 This hollow question may be answered by propound- 
 ing a solid question, " Why should I love my own 
 family more than the family of my neighbor?" The 
 answer is, Your own family is your own family, and 
 has special relationships to you and claims upon you, 
 such as no other family has, or can have, or should 
 have. God designed it so, and formed our nature for 
 the reciprocation of such particular affections. They 
 arise from the very nature of things, and from associa- 
 tion of ideas innate in our nature. And the reasons 
 why one should love his own family more than the 
 family of his neighbor, are the reasons why he should 
 love his own nation more than any other nation. And 
 this particular affection is not inconsistent with the 
 highest good-will for every other nation, and for the 
 widest philanthropy as well. With entire confidence, 
 then, we may affirm that our country is worth our 
 highest regards. This will appear with prominence 
 and emphasis when we but glance, — First. At our origin 
 
396 Granville Moody. 
 
 as citizens. Bancroft, the great historian, says that 
 " God sifted seven great nations of Europe to get the 
 purest seed, with which to sow this great Republic." 
 Second. At their enterprise to " found a Church with- 
 out a prelate, and a State without a king," thus sav- 
 ing themselves and us from priestcraft and kingcraft 
 at once. Third. At their intelligent appreciation of 
 the rights of man, God-given, inherent and inalien- 
 able, and their declaration that governments among 
 men are instituted to preserve these rights, and that 
 it is their duty to change the government when it fails 
 to secure these rights. Fourth. At their bold avowal 
 of their rights, despite the frowns of the most puis- 
 sant potentate of earth. They did not hesitate to 
 throw down the gauntlet of war at the feet of Great 
 Britain, and pledge their all on the great issue taken. 
 Fifth. At their sacrifices and achievements during the 
 Revolution, the War of 181 2, the War with Mexico 
 in 1847-49, and the War of 1861-65 f° r the suppres- 
 sion of the Slaveholders' Rebellion. Sixth. At their 
 marvelous wisdom in constituting our indissoluble 
 and invincible nationality. 
 
 "These were our patriot sires', and belong 
 To them; theirs is the palm-branch and renown. 
 Conquerors, and yet the harbingers of peace, — 
 Blessings be on their memory and their work! 
 We give their names in charge to the sweet lyre ; 
 The historic Muse, proud of the treasure, 
 Marches with it down to latest times. 
 And Sculpture, in her turn, gives bonds in stone 
 And everlasting brass to guard them well, — 
 Ay, and to immortalize her trust!" 
 
 Our patriotism gains an inspiration while we con- 
 sider the grand national domain which Divine Prov- 
 idence has committed to us, in trust, with usufructu- 
 ary rights. With the greatest propriety we may say 
 
In Civil Life. 397 
 
 with David, whose harp was mightier than his sword, 
 and far outlived his throne, that " the lines have fallen 
 to us in pleasant places, and we have a goodly herit- 
 age." De Tocqueville in his book entitled "Views in 
 America as It Is," says: "The territory embraced by 
 the United States of North America furnishes the 
 most magnificent home for man that is to be found on 
 the footstool of Almighty God." Thus we may "see 
 ourselves as others see us." Ours is indeed a goodly 
 land, the glory of all lands, with a national domain 
 stretching from the St. Lawrence on the north, to the 
 Rio Grande upon the south, and from our Atlantic to 
 our Pacific coasts ; from the capes of the Chesapeake 
 to the Golden Gates of California ; a country equal in 
 size to all of Europe, Russia excepted ; extending from 
 the tropics in the south to the great inland seas on the 
 north, and the regions of the highest habitable latitude 
 among the icebergs and volcanoes of Alaska. We may 
 say of our ocean-bound Republic, as classic pen de- 
 scribed the renowned shield of Achilles: 
 
 "Now the broad shield complete, the artist crowned 
 With the last band, and poured the ocean round; 
 In living silver seemed the waves to roll, 
 And beat the buckler's verge and bound the whole." 
 
 We need not the gold of Indus, Ophir, or Africa, nor 
 the spices of Arabia, nor Turkey's fertile soil, nor the 
 mellow skies of Italy, nor the vine-clad hills of France. 
 Nor would we have the population of these countries, 
 with their ignorance and priestcraft, with their supersti- 
 tions, degradations, and exactions. No, no ! We pre- 
 fer our California, with her inexhaustible mines of gold; 
 our flower-embroidered prairies ; our grand old forests, 
 with almost every variety of timber; our towering 
 mountain ranges, with repose written upon their brows; 
 
398 Granville Moody. 
 
 our fertile valleys, our matchless rivers, our capacious 
 harbors, our rock-bound coasts, our inland seas, our vast 
 coal-beds of every variety of carboniferous deposits, 
 and our subterranean petroleum lakes, by which we 
 become, through the channels of commerce, " the 
 light of the world." 
 
 Let an intelligent, candid, and considerate for- 
 eigner land in New York, and go in an omnibus, which 
 carries fifty persons, to his hotel, which accom- 
 modates six hundred guests, and survey our great 
 maritime metropolis from the Battery or Castle Gar- 
 den to Harlem River, with its streets ten miles in 
 length, and its population of two millions of citizens. 
 Then let him enter the parlor of a Pullman car, and 
 glide away and away from the rising to the setting sun, 
 and then find himself at Buffalo, still within the boun- 
 daries of the State of New York. Let him then stop, 
 and say with Shakespeare, "I will take mine ease at 
 mine inn." Then, at early dawn, let him take steam- 
 cars again, and go thundering along the route of the 
 railway through Ohio and Indiana to Chicago, in Illi- 
 nois, and find two days employed in the transit of 
 three States. Then, by the matchless Chicago and 
 North-western Railway, let him roll westward over 
 verdant Illinois, whose bending willows, in length- 
 ened lines, seem like the picket-guards of an army 
 with banners. Let him cross the "Father of Waters" 
 at Clinton, and open his eyes in very wonderment as 
 he enters Iowa, with her wide-spread beauties in the 
 leafy month of June, and gaze on your rolling prairies 
 and golden harvests, and wonder if it is a vision of 
 the far-off Glory Land, born in the dreams of night ; 
 or if he has, indeed, passed the boundary between ter- 
 restrial and celestial climes. 
 
In Civil Life. 
 
 399 
 
 No, my entranced Englishman, this is not heaven; 
 it is only Greene County, Iowa. Sobered down, let 
 him still speed along the Bowyer River, on to Council 
 Bluffs, and over the Missouri River ; and passing 
 Omaha westward still to Cheyenne, through Nebraska 
 and Wyoming ; and on to Salt Lake City and Tacoma, 
 Nevada Territory; to the Humboldt River; Reno, 
 Summit, Colfax, Lincoln, Sacramento; and by Santa 
 Clara on to San Francisco, at whose Golden Gates he 
 is to stop, as if at the Pillars of Hercules, and see 
 the golden glories of the sun, as he is apparently 
 bathed in Pacific waves, whose glowing smiles seem 
 to welcome him. And now our wearied tourist stops, 
 and sees the ancient motto, " Ne Phis Ultra" trans- 
 ferred to the Golden Gates of San Francisco. 
 
 It is our rejoicing that over all this vast domain 
 our glorious banner floats to-day, in unquestioned and 
 unquestionable supremacy. Proudly the old Roman 
 said, "I am a Roman citizen;" and with purer pride, 
 and broader warrant for it, every American may say : 
 "I am an American citizen; a citizen of the great 
 Republic. " 
 
 It was a fable that the waters of Castalia made 
 him who drank of them a poet. But it is a sober truth, 
 that he who catches the spirit of our pioneers, states- 
 men, heroes, and defenders, is a patriot, and the 
 highest civic honor blushes on his brow. Our pa- 
 triotism will be augmented when we consider our 
 population in its characteristics and its wondrous 
 increase. A condensed, prophetic representation of 
 the world's history, by Noah, declared that " God 
 shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents 
 of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." How 
 wonderfully has this been fulfilled! The Greeks, the 
 
4oo Granville Moody. 
 
 Macedonians, the Romans, all Europe, Asia Minor, 
 the Gauls, the Germans, and Celts — indeed, nearly all 
 the inhabitants of Europe — are of Japheth, and nearly 
 all the inhabitants of America have descended from 
 Japheth. The American citizen is the representative 
 of nearly all the descendants of Japheth, and we find 
 the mingled peculiarities of Saxon and Norman, Ger- 
 man, Scotchman, Irishman, Spaniard, Italian, with 
 probably the survival of the fittest. At the formation 
 of this Government, in 1789, our census showed but 
 three and one-half millions of people. To-day we are 
 largely over fifty millions of souls — a people reared 
 amongst scenes of great natural beauty and sublimity, 
 developing daily an advancing Christian civilization, 
 and gaining in wealth beyond all parallel, having the 
 principles of personal, civil, and religious liberty 
 deeply imbedded in their convictions, desires, determi- 
 nations, and avowed in our National Constitution. Our 
 agricultural, mechanical and commercial enterprises 
 are making us at once the wonder and marvel and envy 
 of the world, prompting the grateful acknowledgment 
 that David made when he exclaimed concerning the 
 united tribes of Israel: "God hath not dealt so 
 with any nation !" No people in the world have 
 such reasons for patriotism and gratitude to God as 
 we have. 
 
 " Westward the course of Empire takes its way. . . . 
 Time's noblest offspring is his last." 
 
 The political compact between the thirteen colo- 
 nies, known as "Articles of Confederation," had ac- 
 complished its brief mission ; its principal powers 
 respected the operations of the war with Great Britain, 
 and acquired this power only by the outside pressure 
 of the war with England, but became dormant in 
 
In Civil Life. 401 
 
 times of peace, and even its apparent powers were but 
 shadowy and unsubstantial, 
 
 "As is the shade 
 By the light quivering aspen made," 
 
 since those "Articles of Confederation" were devoid 
 of all coercive authority. 
 
 By this political compact the Continental Congress 
 might make and conclude treaties, but could only 
 recommend the observance of them. They might 
 appoint ambassadors, but they could not pay their 
 board-bills at a third-rate tavern. They might borrow 
 money in their own name, on the faith of the Union, 
 but they could not pay a dollar. They might coin 
 money, but they could not import bullion. They 
 might make war and determine what number of 
 troops were necessary, but they could not raise a 
 single soldier. In short, the Continental Congress, 
 under the Articles of Confederation, might declare 
 everything, but they could do nothing. All such a 
 Congress could do was to recommend their measures 
 to the good-will of the States; but their measures de- 
 pended solely upon the pleasure of the States ; and, 
 in point of fact, many of the most important measures 
 of the Continental Congress were silently or sullenly 
 disregarded by the States, or slowly and reluctantly 
 obeyed. And some of them were openly derided by 
 some of the States, and as openly and boldly refused 
 to be executed. With all that, Congress had no 
 power to punish individuals or States for any breach 
 of their enactments. Their laws were without any penal 
 sanction, and so amounted merely to advice. The 
 citizens obeyed when convenient, and cared but little 
 for persuasions and less for conscientious or patriotic 
 obligations. Moreover, that Congress had no power 
 
 34 
 
402 Granville Moody. 
 
 to imposes taxes, or to collect a revenue for the public 
 services. All that Congress could do, was to make an 
 estimate of the amount needed for the public service, 
 and then to apportion it out to the States to be paid. 
 After 1783 the States relapsed into utter indiffer- 
 ence on this subject, and Congressional requisitions on 
 the States, to pay even the interest on the public debt 
 created to resist England, were openly disregarded. 
 Appeal on appeal was made in vain, and- the Con- 
 gressional treasury had not one dollar in it. Its credit 
 was gone; public burdens were increasing; public 
 faith was openly violated and prostrated. Withal, 
 Congress had no power to regulate commerce among 
 the States or with foreigners. So that between the 
 States there sprang up jealousies, rivalries, and re- 
 sentments, which evinced the immediate danger of 
 warfare between contiguous States, and the peace 
 and safety of this Union were made dependent on the 
 measures of the States, over which this emasculate 
 General Government had not the slightest control. 
 Foreign navigation crippled ours, and they monopo- 
 lized ours as well. Our sailors were out of employ- 
 ment; our mechanics were ruined; our agriculture 
 was profitless ; what little money was in the country 
 went abroad to supply our needs, and the state of 
 things was more calamitous than war, and was pro- 
 gressively crowding us to ruin. Weary, doleful years 
 were spent in begging the States to give more power 
 to Congress ; but the predominance of State jealous- 
 ies, and the incompatibility of State interests with 
 each other, prevailed. The Government became im- 
 becile, and tottered to its fall; and the only question 
 was, Shall we stand silently by and see it fall, or 
 rouse, and by true patriotism form a more efficient Gen- 
 eral Government, before the great interests of the Union 
 
In Civil Life. 403 
 
 should be buried beneath its fall and ruins, as when 
 the lords of the Philistines perished with Samson? 
 
 In 1785, Maryland and Virginia sent commission- 
 ers to Alexandria, to make arrangements and regula- 
 tions for the navigation of the Potomac, oyster-beds, 
 fishing, duck-shooting, etc. But feeling the inade- 
 quacy of their powers, they recommended enlarged 
 proceedings. In 1786 the Virginia Legislature pro- 
 posed a convention of commissioners from all the 
 States, to consider all the interests involved and im- 
 periled, and secure common interests and permanent 
 harmony. Pursuant to this, five States sent commis- 
 sioners to Annapolis. They framed a report to the 
 Continental Congress, advising it to summon a gen- 
 eral convention of commissioners from all the States 
 (thirteen), to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787. 
 Congress agreed, and passed a resolution to call a 
 convention. All the States, except Rhode Island, re- 
 sponded favorably, and elected delegates, and they 
 met in Philadelphia. After protracted discussions and 
 great diversities of opinions, they, after prayer by Rev. 
 Dr. Duche, framed the present Constitution, and rec- 
 ommended it to be laid, by the Congress, before the 
 people of the several States, to be by them considered 
 and ratified in conventions of the representatives of 
 the people, to be called for that purpose. This was 
 effected. Conventions were accordingly called in all 
 the States, except Rhode Island, and after warm dis- 
 cussions, pro and con, the Constitution was ratified by 
 all of them, except Rhode Island and North Carolina. 
 
 The assent of only nine States being required on 
 the passage before the people, Congress took meas- 
 ures for this purpose in September, 1787, as soon as 
 the requisite ratifications were completed. Elections 
 of President and Vice-President were secured, and the 
 
404 Granville Moody. 
 
 necessary elections of senators and representatives 
 being made, the first Congress under the Constitution 
 assembled in New York, then the seat of government, 
 on Wednesday, the fourth day of March, 1789, for 
 commencing proceedings under the new Constitution. 
 A quorum of both Houses, however, did not assemble 
 until the 6th of April, when, the votes of the electors 
 being counted, it was found that George Washington 
 was unanimously elected President, and John Adams 
 was elected Vice-President. On the 30th of April, 
 President Washington was sworn into office, and the 
 new Government immediately went into operation. 
 In the November following, in a new convention, 
 North Carolina adopted the Constitution. In May, 
 1790, Rhode Island, in her State Convention of the 
 people, also adopted the Constitution. So that all the 
 thirteen States, by the authority of the people thereof, 
 finally became parties of, to, and under the new Gov- 
 ernment. Thus was achieved another and a still 
 more glorious triumph in the cause of liberty, even 
 greater than that by which we were separated from 
 the odious tyranny of England. The people of the 
 States made the new Government, which constituted 
 them a Nation among the nations of the world. 
 
 To those great men, who achieved this victory 
 over State sovereignty, State jealousies, local inter- 
 ests, disunited counsels, and the unwillingness of 
 selfish and narrow-minded politicians to submit to 
 wholesome restraints which the permanent security of 
 liberty demanded, we owe our all as a Nation. New 
 Jersey, Delaware, and Georgia adopted the Constitu- 
 tion unanimously ; Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
 land, and South Carolina, by large majorities ; Massa- 
 chusetts, New York, and Virginia, by bare majorities. 
 Many of the pure and disinterested patriots who stood 
 
In Civil Life. 405 
 
 forth for this change from a mere confederation of 
 sovereign States into an indivisible nationality, did so 
 at the expense of their existing popularity. They 
 had a higher duty to perform than to natter the preju- 
 dice of the people, or to subserve personal, selfish, 
 sectional, or local interests. Many of them went 
 down to their graves without the satisfaction or con- 
 solation of knowing that their sacrifices were appre- 
 ciated. On a close survey of their labors, as devel- 
 oped in the structure of the Constitution, we are 
 compelled to admire their wisdom, sagacity, and fore- 
 cast, to be impressed with their profound love of 
 liberty, to feel their sense of the value of political 
 responsibility, and to glory in their high resolve to 
 give perpetuity, as well as energy, to the Republican 
 institutions of their country ; 
 
 " To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, 
 And read their history in a nation's eyes." 
 
 Truly there were giants in those days, as high 
 above the demagogues of their times as the heavens 
 are above the earth. Compared with their contempo- 
 rary opponents, or the spawn of those opponents, 
 who by metempsychosis have reappeared in our times, 
 advocating absolute State sovereignty, we may but 
 observe that 
 
 "Pigmies are pigmies still, though perched on Alps, 
 And pyramids are pyramids in vales." 
 
 For the narrow-minded men with whom they had 
 to contend prated about their pretended sovereignty 
 of States, and would have set up private and local in- 
 terests at the sacrifice of the general welfare. The 
 demagogues of that day have reappeared in our own 
 day, and of them Goldsmith's criticism is true, that 
 they "to party give up what was meant for mankind." 
 
406 Granville Moody. 
 
 That the framing and adoption of the Constitution 
 of the United States constituted us one grand nation, 
 is the central pillar of our Nation's glory, and grate- 
 fully and proudly we may say of our National motto, 
 ' ' E Pluribus U?ium : ' ' 
 
 " We are ' many in one ' whilst there glitters a star 
 
 In the blue of the heavens above, 
 And tyrants shall quail 'mid their minions afar, 
 
 When they gaze on that motto of love. 
 Though the old Alleghanies may tower to heaven, 
 
 And the Father of Waters divide, 
 The links of our destiny can not be riven 
 
 Whilst the truth of those words shall abide." 
 
 The union of these States in our glorious, su- 
 preme, and efficient nationality was an absolute neces- 
 sity, as seen in contrast with the condition of affairs 
 under the former Articles of Confederation. Our pa- 
 triot sires so regarded it, and their condition then, and 
 our condition now, alike demand the perpetuity of our 
 glorious, undivided, and indivisible National existence. 
 In the preamble to the Constitution of the United States 
 our fathers say : "We, the people of the United States, 
 in order to form a more perfect union, establish jus- 
 tice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- 
 mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
 the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
 do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United 
 States of America." This Constitution sets forth the 
 National supremacy in express terms, and in words as 
 strong as Holy Writ. 
 
 In Article VI, item second declares : "This Consti- 
 tution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
 be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, 
 or which shall be made, under the authority of the 
 United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; 
 and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
 
In Civil Life. 407 
 
 anything in the Constitution or in the laws of any- 
 State, to the contrary notwithstanding." "The sen- 
 ators and representatives, and the members of the 
 several State Legislatures, and all executive and judi- 
 cial officers, both of the United States and of the 
 several States, shall be bound by an oath or affirma- 
 tion to support the Constitution." Here, then, we find 
 no loophole for secession. Our fathers had already 
 had bitter experience of the workings of a mere con- 
 federacy of sovereignties, and with the same patriot- 
 ism that led them onward through the seven long 
 years of bloody strife with England, they felt them- 
 selves bound to secure and preserve in perpetuity the 
 priceless boon of a Government of, for, and by the 
 people. The noble men who, under God, had formed 
 this Nation as a Nation, made provision in the Consti- 
 tution to uphold it by the word of their power and 
 the patriotism of their posterity. 
 
 This National Union was the creature of necessi- 
 ties — physical, ancestral, internal, external, geograph- 
 ical, circumstantial, moral, social, political, civil, relig- 
 ious, and prospective, and must endure by virtue 
 of the same necessities ; and these necessities are 
 stronger now than when the union of the people of 
 all the States into one grand Nation was formed at 
 first. They are stronger by the vastly greater expanse 
 of domain now covered by its sheltering wings; 
 stronger by the thirteen times multiplied citizens 
 living under its benign influence ; stronger by the in- 
 calculable increase of the farms, fields, workshops, 
 mines, and ships of the Nation ; stronger by increased 
 production of the sea, plow, loom, and anvil ; stronger 
 by the grand current of internal and international 
 exchanges; stronger by the long rivers, penetrating 
 regions unknown to our fathers, but now the inher- 
 
408 Granville Moody. 
 
 itance of their sons ; stronger by the artificial roads, 
 canals, and channels essential to trade and defense ; 
 stronger in steam navigation, peculiarly American, 
 on our mighty rivers, where the hoarse voice of the 
 rushing steamers wakes the echoes along our val- 
 leys ; stronger in steam locomotion on our great land 
 routes, and in telegraphy, which annihilates space 
 and binds us all in one; stronger in the freedom of 
 the seas and the empire of the great waters ; stronger 
 in national honor in all lands ; and strongest of all in 
 the settled purpose and habit of veneration and affec- 
 tion on the part of our people for free institutions so 
 stupendous and so useful. 
 
 The union, then, of these States in one nationality 
 is not merely because men chose that it shall be, but 
 because some supreme General Government of this 
 vast domain must have dominion here, and no other 
 government than this may, can, might, could, should, 
 or shall exist on this wide domain which, by right, 
 belongs to the United States. Every citizen of the 
 Republic has life, liberty, and the lawful pursuit of hap- 
 piness, prosperity, precious remembrances, and fondest 
 hopes for himself, his family, his countrymen, and his 
 kind on board this old Union ship. It is the property of 
 each citizen. It is his Government. He is a part of it. 
 It was made for him, and is maintained by him ; and 
 he knows that it is the only truly wise, beneficent 
 Government ever devised by freemen. It is his 
 own Government. As Mr. Lincoln wisely and nobly 
 phrased it, "It is a Government of, by, and for the 
 people, and it should not be permitted to perish from 
 the earth." The severance of this glorious Govern- 
 ment was an appalling thought, fearful and ruinous, 
 as would be the repeal of the law of gravitation in the 
 physical universe, when orbs would from out their 
 
In Civil Life. 409 
 
 orbits fly, and collisions, destructions, and death would 
 follow in horrible succession. 
 
 Secession is dissolution, and dissolution is death. 
 'Tis the violation of the plighted faith. 'Tis the set- 
 ting up of a private interest against the public good. 
 'Tis an effort to secure a partial advantage by the 
 sacrifice of the general welfare. It is the supreme 
 evil, and affords no remedy for any existing evil. 
 'Tis the ruin against which Washington warned the 
 Republic. 'Tis the hydra-monster against which 
 Jackson battled all his life, and, dying, bequeathed the 
 struggles, with his sword, to his nephew, A. J. Don- 
 elson, with the injunction to use it for the Union. 
 Secession was Pandora's box; and worse, for despair 
 was in the bottom. Secession was the false mother 
 agreeing to the division of the living child. Secession, 
 as a political right, was a claim for which no Govern- 
 ment on earth ever made provision ; nor, indeed, could 
 it be done. Secession was studiously avoided and 
 ignored by the rebels themselves in their scheme of 
 self-aggrandizement. Secession was an effort of self- 
 ishness, pride, and ambition like that of Satan, which 
 divided heaven, dug hell, and drew earth from its 
 allegiance to the throne of God. 
 
 And who would or could reconstruct the fabric 
 of a demolished Government ? Who could raise again 
 the Corinthian columns of Constitutional liberty? 
 And if these columns fall, who could again so nicely 
 adjust National Sovereignty and State Rights in local 
 interests and political abeyance ? Alas ! bitterer tears 
 than ever fell over the fragments of Roman or Grecian 
 art would fall over the fragments of fallen Constitu- 
 tional liberty. The General Government was not a 
 mere league of sovereign States, dissoluble at will, 
 but a complete National Government. That Consti- 
 
 35 
 
410 Granville Moody. 
 
 tution made us a Nation, with all the characteristics of 
 a Nation, and all the prerogatives of a distinct nation- 
 ality over all the territories and citizens of the thir- 
 teen Colonies, and equally so over all the domain we 
 had acquired, or may yet acquire. Without obliterat- 
 ing the previous "colonial" divisions, our fathers 
 bound them round by an all-comprising and perma- 
 nent nationality. L,ook calmly at what they did. 
 They took from the States power to levy armies, to 
 make war or conclude peace, to enter into treaties 
 with foreign powers, to coin money, to levy imports. 
 They interlaced the whole National territory with 
 ramifications of our vast judicial system, centering 
 in the city of Washington as the seat of the National 
 authority. They completed all the branches of a 
 symmetrical civil authority — legal, executive, and ju- 
 dicial — and without making one syllable of provision 
 for the withdrawal of an)' of the parties to the con- 
 tract ; and the arrangement expressly declared that 
 no State should pass any law conflicting with the laws 
 of the United States. How puerile the claim of State 
 sovereignty ! Whatever might have been the pur- 
 pose of the framers and founders of our Government, 
 as for its Constitution, there can be no doubt as to 
 what they did. Was there ever an instance in the his- 
 tory of the world in which sovereign and independent 
 States or powers yielded up such prerogatives and 
 functions to a mere transient partnership, dissoluble 
 at the pleasure or caprice of any single one or more 
 of the parties ? The idea is in the last degree pre- 
 posterous. 
 
 Whether they meant it or not, our fathers framed 
 a Constitution, a Government for a Nation with or- 
 ganic life, and not a congeries of loosely aggregated 
 communities. Rebels and traitors talked of the sov- 
 
In Civil Life. 
 
 411 
 
 ereign States of Virginia and South Carolina; and 
 that, too, under the Constitution of the United States, 
 by which they were constituted a Nation — a unit, 
 with its significant motto, "We are many in one" — 
 one supreme nationality. 
 
 What sort of sovereign State was that which could 
 not build a ship-of-war, nor a fort, nor a mint, nor an 
 arsenal, nor a custom-house, nor a post-office ? which 
 could neither send nor receive an ambassador? whose 
 very name, indeed, might be as utterly unknown 
 to the diplomacy of the world as if it lay in the planet 
 Neptune, or swung as the tail of the last comet? 
 Was that a sovereignty to be proud of? Was this 
 that which the haughty Virginians, the chivalry of the 
 Old Dominion and the sons of the Huguenots, de- 
 lighted to vow a permanent allegiance to? No won- 
 der the fanatical and stubborn votary of State sover- 
 eignty chafes under a system whose stern and stubborn 
 fiats stand in contemptuous defiance of his theory. 
 Nor had the South any pretense for secession on the 
 ground of wrong done to her by the General Gov- 
 ernment. Under the shield of the Constitution slavery 
 reposed as securely as if it had been the one great 
 fount of every blessing, and the prime object of 
 National legislation ; and the Republican party, on its 
 accession to power, had no more idea of destroying 
 that system than it had of 
 
 " Untuning the concord of the spheres, 
 Or shaking the steady pole." 
 
 As a party it could not have disturbed the legal 
 status of slavery in the States if it would, and it 
 would not if it could. 
 
 But secessionists said we would hem them in, and 
 strangle slavery in its narrow limits. For narrow 
 South, let them look at the map, and trace the out- 
 
412 Granville Moody. 
 
 lines of their possession as under the dark rising of 
 slavery. Glance at Texas and New Mexico, regions 
 out of which they might have carved half a dozen em- 
 pires as large as France and England, with their mag- 
 nificent rivers, their endless varieties of soil and 
 climate, their stores of agricultural and mineral wealth, 
 over which nature breathed the softness and lav- 
 ished the beauties of a perennial spring. Look at 
 this vast expanse, and talk of being hemmed in ! 
 But, determined on the overthrow of our Government, 
 the oligarchs of the South made every preparation in 
 their power to carry out their fell design ; and, on 
 April 12, 1 86 1, they inaugurated open, flagrant, deadly 
 war to compel our authorities to submit to the dis- 
 memberment of our nationality, disrupt the form of 
 government under which we, as a Nation, had grown 
 to greatness, that they might establish an oligarchy 
 whose corner-stone should be human slavery. But 
 how utterly futile the enterprise ! Our best citizens 
 abandoned the plow, the anvil, and the loom. They 
 left their shops and stores and factories. They has- 
 tened from pew and from pulpit, and from farm and 
 office and bar. They came from rural districts, and 
 hamlet, and town, and city. Their cry was, 
 
 " We 're coming, Father Abraham, 
 A hundred thousand strong." 
 
 And they rushed to the fields of danger, and courted 
 places of peril, and shook their martial steel in the 
 red eye of war and in the grim face of death. The 
 goddess of American liberty, with gloom on her brow 
 and tears in her eye, and with heart wrung with an- 
 guish, called upon us imploringly with the voice of 
 entreaty: "Let not Columbia's glory go down to the 
 dust." There are times and events paramount to all 
 others in the history of nations, and of the world as 
 
In Civil Life:. 
 
 4*3 
 
 well. There are eras, epochs, and critical days and 
 hours which engross the causes and interests of cen- 
 turies foreshortened to a day. Concerning these 
 epochs the bard affirms, 
 
 "We are living, we are dwelling, 
 In a grand and awful time ; 
 'T is an age on ages telling, 
 To be living is sublime." 
 
 History records these eventful eras, when all the 
 powers of earth are drawn up in hostile array, and 
 all interests are suspended on a single combat. It is 
 logically and historically true that swords and bay- 
 onets think, and war legislates. Such may be regarded 
 to have been the case when the great question was to 
 be decided by a single blow between Greece and Per- 
 sia, whether freedom or slavery should be the future 
 inheritance of millions. Such was the case when the 
 victory of Constantine determined whether Paganism 
 or Christianity should occupy and hold the iron throne 
 of the Roman Empire. Such was the case when, on 
 the plains of Tours, it was decided whether the Cres- 
 cent should prevail over the Cross in the West, as it 
 had prevailed in the East. Such was the case when, 
 on the event of the putting to sea of the Spanish Ar- 
 mada, it was to be determined whether Popery or Prot- 
 estantism should be predominant in Great Britain, and 
 so whether the earth should belong to Christ or 
 Antichrist. Such was the case when, on the plains 
 of Waterloo, the allied armies of Europe decided the 
 doom of the fatalistic Napoleon, who drove the bloody 
 car of war over more than half of Europe ; and that 
 victory of the Iron Duke of Wellington and the in- 
 vincible Bliicher checked the man of destiny in his 
 bloody career, and changed the whole current of hu- 
 man affairs. Such was the case when also, at the close 
 
4*4 Granville Moody. 
 
 of the Revolutionary War, Lord Cornwallis surren- 
 dered his sword to our own Washington at York- 
 town's closing fight. The great question of man's 
 capability for self-government was put on the passage, 
 and the emphatic act of our heroic fathers was Jeho- 
 vah's fiat, warranting our existence as a Republican 
 Nation amongst the nations of the earth. 
 
 Such, too, was the case when, from Fort Sumter, 
 freedom shrieked her call to freedom's hosts, and on 
 the line of military operations on the Potomac and 
 James Rivers, on the Cumberland and the Mississippi, 
 at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the question was to be 
 decided by the triumph of the Stars and Stripes over 
 the Stars and Bars. It was the flag of indivisible 
 Union versus the flag of Division ; the flag of Nation- 
 ality versus the flag of Secession ; the flag of Free- 
 dom over the flag of Slavery ; whether man is capable 
 of self-government or not; whether "we hold these 
 truths," etc., as solemn and divine verities or mere 
 glittering generalities ; whether this ocean-bound Re- 
 public should be the home and hope of freemen, or 
 of slaves as well. O ! this was the crisal hour of 
 America, and of the world as well; and the first gun from 
 Fort Sumter was God's call of the Nation to arms. 
 Wise and patriotic men said and vowed: "God help- 
 ing me, I never will consent to the destruction or dis- 
 integration of this Union formed by our fathers. If 
 we can not live in peace as one Nation, we can not 
 as two ; and whenever we acknowledge the Confed- 
 eracy, we acknowledge the right of secession, and 
 there will be no end to division. New York will come 
 and say: "You have acknowledged the right of the 
 rebel Slave States to secede, and you have let them go 
 and take with them two-thirds of the public domain, 
 three-fourths of the Atlantic coast, and all of the 
 
In Civii, Life. 415 
 
 Gulf coast and States. You yielded the point that the 
 Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and you 
 have agreed that State rights and State sovereignty 
 shall take the place of National sovereignty and su- 
 premacy, in violation of the doctrine of Washington 
 and the framers of the Constitution, and Jackson and 
 Clay and Webster. Whenever you recognize one 
 rebellion, and submit to the dismemberment of a part 
 of the States, the door is open wide, and all the other 
 States may set up for themselves, and repudiate your 
 Constitution, Congress, President, Government-debt, 
 and all." New York will insist that she can prosper 
 better alone than in partnership with the rest of the 
 States. Having the port of entry of all nations, the 
 tariff duties would give her unbounded wealth. So 
 Massachusetts would go ; and so Maine, with her pine- 
 tree, and " Dirigo" on her brow. Thus your Union 
 would be but as a rope of sand, and where would be 
 the Government of the great Republic ? Where would 
 be your pensions for your soldiers, who came home 
 maimed, crippled, or diseased in the public defense? 
 Where would be the annual stipend for the widows 
 and orphans, who gave up the husbands and fathers 
 that the country might live ? I ask, where are your flag 
 and your nationality? You would have fallen lower 
 than poor pronunciamento Mexico, and been con- 
 signed to endless anarchy. With borders to defend 
 against each other's encroachment, border warfare, 
 worse than the border wars of Scotland and England, 
 would follow; and, instead of having peace, you would 
 have interminable war. The Negroes of Kentucky 
 would run away into Ohio ; of Virginia and Maryland 
 into Pennsylvania, and their recapture would engen- 
 der continual strife. It was the striking remark of one 
 of earth's greatest thinkers, that "it is one of the 
 
416 Granville Moody. 
 
 greatest reproaches to human nature that wars are 
 sometimes necessary." The defense of nations, the 
 rights and interests of millions and their posterity as 
 well, sometimes demand resistance against the rapa- 
 cious injustice of contiguous or of foreign powers. 
 Hence, force must be met with force, and revelation 
 and reason alike declare that 
 
 "War is honorable, 
 In those who do their native rights maintain, 
 In those whose swords an iron barrier are 
 Betwixt the ruthless spoiler and the weak." 
 
 It is by pangs and throes that truth is born into 
 the world. It was the birth-throes of war that gave 
 us an existence among the nations of the earth, and 
 made our vast domain a common refuge for the op- 
 pressed of all lands, and the late War for the sup- 
 pression of the Slaveholders' Rebellion has been the 
 efficient means, under the good providence of the God 
 of battles, in preserving to us, and our children after 
 us, the very existence of our Nation. It should ever 
 be borne in mind that Southern traitors, countenanced 
 and aided by Northern confederates, inaugurated the 
 war. Beauregard, with the fiery tongues of eighty 
 pieces of artillery, opened on Fort Sumter, and began 
 the work of blood in order to establish the Confed- 
 eracy of the slaveholding States, and absolutely legal- 
 ize, perpetuate, and extend human slavery on two- 
 thirds of the territory to which the Nation had 
 the right of eminent dominion. Their watchword was 
 " Secession and Slavery," two of the most infamous, 
 outrageous, and obnoxious words that were ever 
 mouthed outside of the realms of perdition. The 
 mighty North rose as the tide rises ; they moved as 
 billows move navies that are stranded. The Free 
 States arose in their might. The war-drums throbbed 
 
In Civii, Life. 417 
 
 forth the pent-up feelings of a citizen soldiery, such 
 as the world had never seen before. Our battle-flags 
 flaunted defiance to the boastful chivalry, who were 
 used to swinging the plantation whip over men, 
 women, and children of the dusky brow, who cringed 
 before their masters in the might of their irresponsi- 
 ble power to exact the unrequited labors and progeny 
 of their poor, down-trodden slaves. Little did these 
 puissant slave-drivers imagine that the God of Moses, 
 who delivered the slaves of Jacob's seed from the 
 bondage of Pharaoh at the passage of the Red Sea, 
 was about to repeat himself on the Potomac, the 
 James, the Cumberland, the Mississippi, and Missouri 
 Rivers, by joining the right with the might in their 
 sanguinary overthrow. Inspiration says (Eccl. v, 8) : 
 "If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent 
 perverting of judgment and justice in a province, 
 marvel not at the matter ; for he that is higher than 
 the highest regardeth, and there be higher than they." 
 The sublime heroism displayed by our citizen sol- 
 diery at Carnifex, Bowling Green, Pea Ridge, Mill 
 Springs, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10, Shiloh, Iuka, 
 Corinth, Pittsburg Landing, Perryville, Stone River, 
 New Orleans, Mobile, Port Gibson, Hilton Head, 
 Grand Gulf, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Jackson, Tul- 
 lahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mount- 
 ain, Kenesaw, Atlanta, Sherman's blazing march to 
 the sea, Rapidan, Chickahominy, James River, Get- 
 tysburg, Knoxville, " On to Richmond," Nashville, 
 Franklin, and other fields where our glory was won, 
 presents a solemn pageant, unequaled in all the annals 
 of authentic war. The baptism of blood which inau- 
 gurated our repossession of the revolted States has 
 been a sublime and impressive consecration of the 
 Sunny South to the future hopes of the patriot, 
 
418 Granville Moody. 
 
 and the establishment of freedom in that land of 
 oppression. K 
 
 "This fratricidal war 
 
 Grows on the poisonous tree 
 That God and men abhor — 
 
 Accursed slavery ! 
 And God required that we 
 
 Shall eat this deadly fruit, 
 Till we dig up the tree 
 And burn its every root." 
 
 The precious blood poured out on a hundred bat- 
 tle-fields, the heroic lives there laid down, constitute 
 a matchless hecatomb and holocaust offered up through 
 the flames of battle for the preservation of our Na- 
 tionality, the American Union, and the emancipation 
 of the helpless, shackled millions of our land — the 
 vindication of the declared principles of 1776 in 
 1861-65. 
 
 Against the serried ranks and solid columns of 
 rebel prowess that confronted them, they stood as the 
 ledgy lines of rock amid the foaming, angry billows 
 of the storm-swept ocean ; and, when temporarily 
 overwhelmed, they were as unshaken as the continent. 
 Amid confused noise of advancing columns, the shout- 
 ings of the captains and the shock of battle, they rallied 
 round the "flag of the free heart's hope and home." 
 No tongue nor pen can describe to those at home the 
 nature and extent of the services of your fathers and 
 brothers and sons. While thus we keep their memory 
 green, and garland all their graves in the beautiful 
 season when spring returns with daisy-slippers on her 
 feet and rose-buds on her brow, let us, in practical 
 gratitude, honor their widows and their children by 
 making them our wards, watching over all their inter- 
 ests, warning them of danger, employing them pref- 
 erably to others, and thus supply, as far as we may, 
 
In Civil Life. 419 
 
 the loss they have incurred for the National welfare. 
 Let us also conscientiously and religiously, humanely 
 and patriotically, resolve and vow and act and vote 
 and talk so that the legitimate ends for which they 
 volunteered their persons, toil, sufferings, and death 
 shall be secured to the Nation to whose prosperity 
 they consecrated their all. 
 
 Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice-President of the 
 Confederacy, said to the South, immediately after the 
 surrender of the Confederate Democracy, of the Slave- 
 ocracy : ''Gentlemen, we have lost our all on the field 
 of battle. Our only hope is now to regain in the halls 
 of National legislation what we have so grievously 
 lost in battle." Freemen, do you hear that note of 
 their great fugleman? And are they not busily en- 
 gaged in this sapping and mining and circumvallat- 
 ing our strongholds of freedom? Have not the 
 "White Liners," the "Night Riders," the "Shot-gun 
 Cavalry," the "Bulldozers," effectually deprived free- 
 men, white and black, of their blood-bought access to 
 the ballot-boxes of the South? Have they not, by 
 tissue ballots, manufactured majorities which devils 
 damned would blush to own ? Have they not secured 
 a "solid South" by intimidation and bribery and 
 blood ? Have not the Confederate Congress in Wash- 
 ington shown their hand? Are they not endeavoring 
 to break down every legal guard by which a true and 
 pure election can be secured? Are they not trying 
 to banish the unpartisan supervision of the ballot-box 
 as provided for by law ? Do they not show their in- 
 nate hostility to the army of the United States in the 
 most palpable manner? Are they not unwilling that 
 our National authorities shall have within reach the 
 means of securing to every one who has a right to 
 vote that blood-bought right? 
 
420 Granville Moody. 
 
 We rejoice that Ohio has borne her part so grandly 
 in the overthrow of the Slaveholders' Rebellion, the 
 defeat of secession, the vindication of our essential 
 and historic Nationality and undivided and indivisi- 
 ble Union. Our one hundred and ninety-five regi- 
 ments returned to Columbus at the close of the 
 war, and finally handed over their rent and torn and 
 bullet-riddled battle-flags with honors becoming relics 
 so venerable, soldiers so true, officers so vigilant and 
 brave. They recall proud memories of bloody fields ; 
 sweet memories of valor and friendship ; sad memories 
 of fraternal strife ; tender memories of our fallen 
 brothers and sons, whose dying glance was cheered by 
 their stars ; grand memories of heroic virtues ; exult- 
 ant memories of great and decisive victories of our 
 country, our Union, our Nationality ; thankful memo- 
 ries of well- wrought deliverances for ourselves and four 
 and one-half millions of slaves, now free ; immortal 
 memories mingling with immortality. All these mem- 
 ories twine around the flags, baptized with fire and 
 blood. 
 
 To-day we meet to recount, rehearse, and com- 
 memorate the deeds of our fallen heroes who died on 
 the battle-field afar, in the tumult of war, or yielded 
 up their breath in gloomy hospitals within our mili- 
 tary lines, or pined to death in Andersonville prison- 
 pens, Belle Isle, Castle Thunder, Libby Prison, where 
 Southern chivalry disgraced humanity in its outrages 
 on our noble men, not accepting deliverance that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection. Those heroes who 
 saved the great Republic live in the cherished memo- 
 ries of millions who, to-day, do scatter earth's choicest 
 flowers on their honored graves wherever found. 
 
 Genius, in its sublimest songs ; oratory, in its di- 
 vinest utterances ; history, in its truthful records ; and 
 
In Civil Life. 421 
 
 art, in its costliest monuments, transmit the peerless 
 record of our unreturning braves to distant ages, 
 while youth and worth and blushing beauty shall gar- 
 land the graves of our country's defenders, in our 
 home cemeteries and on bloody battle-fields, where, 
 before the Slaveholders' Rebellion, there had never 
 before fallen any stain darker than the petals of the 
 peach -bloom or snowy blossom of the welcome 
 strawberry ; or on verdant ranges, as of Lookout 
 Mountain or Kenesaw, where daisies, fresh from na- 
 ture's sleep, stood in smiling beauty, that man might 
 see " the matchless signet of his God." 'T is well that 
 thus we give evidence of our appreciation of the dead 
 who fell in defense of the palladium of the union of 
 our millions in one Nationality. 'T is fitting, sure, that 
 thus we meet by National authority, supreme, to honor 
 the graves of our heroic dead by these floral offer- 
 ings, whose scented breath speaks with still, small 
 voice as affiants of our patriotic regards. 
 
 "Flowers! When our Savior's calm, benignant eye 
 Fell on your gentle beauty, when from you 
 That heavenly lesson for our hearts he drew, 
 
 Then in the bosom of your purity 
 A voice he set, as in a temple shrine, 
 
 That hasty travelers ne'er might pass you by, 
 Unwarned of that sweet oracle divine." 
 
 There is a lesson in each of these flowers ; there 
 are written words which, if rightly read, will lead the 
 soul from earth's fragrant bosom to hope, to holiness, 
 and to God. • 
 
 "Were I, O God! in churchless lands remaining, 
 F A ar from all voice of teachers or divines, 
 My soul should find in flowers of thy ordaining, 
 Priests, sermons, shrines." 
 
 No virtue would here be missing. Whatsoever 
 things are true, honest, pure, just, lovely, of good 
 
422 Granville Moody. 
 
 report, and virtuous, here you behold them all. See 
 Christian faith, turning and clinging to Jesus. The 
 passion-flower of endurance mingles with the sun- 
 flower of faith ; from the lily chalice of heavenly- 
 mindedness rises the fragrance of good deeds. Be- 
 hold a rich and ever-blooming garland from God's 
 garden culled, baptized with sparkling dew-drops, and 
 bound together with the vine of charity, which is the 
 bond of perfectness. 
 
 Young ladies, I congratulate you on the enviable 
 position you occupy to-day, as the immediate agents 
 of a grateful Republic, sent forth in your beauty and 
 youth and moral loveliness to twine the "Red, White, 
 and Blue" around the brows of your country's de- 
 fenders, and garland their lonely graves with peerless 
 honors. Your beauteous smiles are, indeed, shaded by 
 the solemnities of the day, and the graves of the heroic 
 dead shall be baptized with your crystal tears, while 
 from the purest depths of your patriotic hearts, 
 formed for strongest sympathies, you say : 
 
 " The hand that for my country fought, 
 I honor as its daughter ought." 
 
 Through your lips of purity and truth the millions 
 of America say to the shades of the thundering legions : 
 
 "Rest, soldier, rest! Thy country comes, 
 
 With tender love and true, 
 Freely to deck thine honored bed ; 
 Her banner o'er thy turf to spread, 
 And on thy verdanfc grave to shed 
 
 Fond memory's pearly dew." 
 
 Tread softly, then, amid these honored graves, and 
 let your footsteps be all aglow with earth's spring 
 flowers, the signets of our grateful love to our un- 
 returning braves. Vestals, whose holy duty it is to 
 keep the fires glowing on the heart and hearthstone, 
 
In Civil Life. 423 
 
 and on your country's altars, go strew these flowers 
 on the graves of our Nation's defenders — assured that 
 coming generations, your successors in this welcome 
 work will emulate your zeal in similar services, and, 
 with ever-increasing appreciation of the mighty dead, 
 who built themselves into the history of our country, 
 "in the times that tried men's souls," will lay on 
 those graves a beautiful votive offering that shall 
 continue annually, 
 
 " While earth bears a flower, 
 Or ocean rolls a wave." 
 
 At a reunion of the soldiers belonging to the 
 Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infan- 
 try, held at'Xenia, Ohio, the author delivered an 
 address, from which the following extracts are 
 made : 
 
 And what shall we say to the noble veterans who 
 have returned to grace our homes and halls and groves 
 and churches with their bronzed faces and soldierly 
 bearing? Welcome, welcome, welcome ! We owe you 
 a debt of gratitude and honor and consideration, which 
 we never can liquidate. You have bared your bosoms 
 to the storm of war. You have brought back your 
 shields with " Viet" written on them. Again, wel- 
 come, welcome, welcome ! And we will share with 
 you the blessings of peace, now that 
 
 " The war-drum throbs no longer, 
 And our battle-flags are furled." 
 
 Nor will we let this occasion pass without laying 
 our twined garlands of immortelles and forget-me-nots 
 on the graves of our fallen comrades, among whom you 
 will pardon me for mentioning the name of my first- 
 born son, Lieutenant William H. H. Moody, of Com- 
 
424 Granville Moody. 
 
 pany H, of our noble regiment, topographical en- 
 gineer, and aid on the staff of our grand commander, 
 Major-General James S. Negley. Do I say too much, 
 when I indorse the encomiums pronounced upon him 
 by Generals Negley, Thomas, and Rosecrans? Dear 
 as was the sacrifice, we laid him on the altar of his 
 country, and God took him through the flames of bat- 
 tle to the realms of glory. Truly, I should have 
 deemed my house disgraced if it had stood secure 
 amid the sacrifices of a civil war. 
 
 And now let us glance at the grand results achieved 
 by this contest: 
 
 i. We have thus proven to the world that we are 
 the worthy descendants of the men who established 
 our Government, and committed it to our trust for 
 generations yet unborn. 
 
 2. We have maintained the National life against 
 despots at home, foreign enemies, and domestic s} T m- 
 pathizers with rebels. 
 
 3. We have struck the monster Secession its death- 
 blow, and laid that malignant spirit in the Hades of 
 perdition. 
 
 4. We have extirpated the Upas of slavery from 
 the American soil and made her at once 
 
 " The land of the free and the home of the brave." 
 
 What our sires avowed in 1776, we achieved in 1865. 
 The sun, as it rolls from east to west does not 
 shine on a single slave. We rejoice to see this curse 
 removed. 
 
 5. We have demonstrated the capability of our 
 Republican Government for times of war as well as 
 times of peace. 
 
 6. We have challenged the admiration of the world 
 and commanded its respect, while the leading nations 
 
In Civil Life. 425 
 
 have stood astonished at our patriotism, resources, and 
 prowess. 
 
 7. We have shown that no State or combination of 
 States, can rightfully resist a government of, by, and 
 for the people. 
 
 8. We have demonstrated man's capability for self- 
 government in his associated capacity. 
 
 9. We have shown that the spirit of freedom is the 
 very soul of the Republic, and the genius of liberty 
 still upholds our starry banner as the harbinger of 
 the millennial morning, and the pledge of the latter- 
 day glory of the sodality of humanity. 
 
 10. The terrible conflict has developed a purer 
 civilization and the noblest national character the 
 world has ever seen. 
 
 11. We have conquered our prejudices as well as 
 our enemies, and acknowledged man's manhood before 
 the law and before our God — a moral triumph, great 
 as those achieved amid confused noise of warriors, 
 and garments rolled in blood. We thank God for the 
 liberation of an oppressed race in our midst, their 
 elevation to their God-given rights of manhood and 
 their enfranchisement. God said : " Give liberty to the 
 blacks or be slaves yourselves." We have reaffirmed 
 by the stern logic of events what our fathers declared 
 in 1776, and now the dusky child of Africa claims his 
 own, and the stars of our flag shed their cheering 
 light on the humble cabin of the dark-browed son of 
 the sun, who now looks up and says: "Am I not a 
 man and a brother?" Yes, the sin of the world has 
 been sacrificed, the crime of ages has been expiated. 
 A slave breathes not on our soil. The sun of liberty 
 melts his chains away wherever his feet press the 
 soil of America. 
 
 36 
 
426 Granville Moody. 
 
 12. Having put the National rifle and committed 
 the starry flag into the hands of American citizens of 
 African descent, and found them faithful, we will now 
 intrust to them the ballot. 
 
 13. We shall bequeath this matchless land and her 
 peerless institutions to our children, better, far better, 
 than we received them from our ancestors, with the 
 fond hope strengthened that they will continue. 
 
 14. By the practical assurance that we regard the 
 public debt, contracted to save our National life, to be 
 as sacred as the graves of our soldiers, we exhibit 
 that sterling honesty which alone can exalt a nation ; 
 believing that the only debt that we can not pay is the 
 debt of gratitude to God and honor to our most 
 heroic braves. 
 
 With this review and prospect, comrades of the 
 gallant Seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, let us 
 close by singing the patriot's and the philanthropist's 
 apostrophe to the glorious country whose synonym is 
 found in our vindicated and perpetuated National 
 motto, E Pluribus Unum : 
 
 "My county, 'tis of thee, 
 Sweet land of liberty, • 
 
 Of thee I sing !" 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 427 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 more fragments of clerical life. 
 
 IN 1845, when the obsequies of General Andrew 
 Jackson were being celebrated in Cincinnati by 
 appropriate ceremonies, I was standing on the 
 corner of Fourth and Main Streets, looking at the 
 procession marching in solemn parade to honor" 
 his memory. While my attention was diverted, 
 I was robbed of my purse by a pickpocket. I did 
 not seize him in the act, and only caught a glimpse 
 of him as he was escaping. He was soon after- 
 ward apprehended. I identified him in open court, 
 under oath, and yet he persisted that I never saw 
 him till that time. His lawyer asked me if I 
 could swear to each bill in the package found on 
 the person of the accused. I told him " no," but 
 that I could swear as to the amount, twenty-five 
 dollars, the same amount as was found in the vest- 
 pocket of the accused when arrested ; that there 
 was a one-dollar bill on the Bank of Wooster (the 
 account of the failure of which bank I had read in 
 the morning paper) that I could swear to. He 
 handed me the one-dollar note of the broken bank 
 of Wooster, and kept the rest as his fee for de- 
 fending the culprit. The thief stole twelve hun- 
 dred dollars that same day, was convicted of grand 
 larceny, and sentenced to the penitentiary of Ohio 
 for seven years. . % 
 
428 Granville Moody. 
 
 After leaving Cincinnati, my next appointment 
 was Columbus, Ohio. James B. Finley was then 
 chaplain of the penitentary. As I stood in the 
 pulpit to preach for him one Sabbath morning, I 
 saw this very robber about eight feet away. After 
 service he solicited an interview with me, which 
 was granted in his cell, and he confessed to me 
 that he was the man who had robbed me, though 
 so persistently denying it in court. He said he 
 belonged to a Christian family, members of the 
 Baptist Church in Pittsburg. " But," continued he, 
 "they do not know where I am. I got into bad 
 company, formed drinking habits, and have gone 
 from bad to worse, till I am here. This prison 
 life is very injurious to me, and my health is fail- 
 ing." I prayed for him. Grace flowed like a 
 stream of mercy upon him, and I fondly hoped 
 that he was restored to divine favor, and renewed 
 in the image of Christ. 
 
 I saw Governor Mordecai Bartley the next day 
 about him. The governor heard me patiently; 
 inquired into the case, and on Thanksgiving-day 
 a pardon was put into my hands, which I con- 
 veyed to him, and the young man was restored to 
 society, and went on his way rejoicing. 
 
 In 1852 I was a delegate to the General Con- 
 ference, and on May 1st, I reached Boston, Mass., 
 where the sessions were to be held, at two o'clock 
 in the morning. I went to a leading hotel, and, 
 not feeling sleepy, sauntered about the reception- 
 room. Here I found a man speechless from a 
 paroxysm of asthma. I relieved him by warmth 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 429 
 
 and procuring for him potations of strong, hot 
 coffee, till he was so recovered as to give me the 
 key of his trunk, and ask me to take from it some 
 stramonium. A thorough fumigation of it, with a 
 pipe, gave him complete relief. 
 
 A port-folio taken from his trunk, as I searched 
 for the dried herb, was plainly marked Rev. J. V. 
 Watson. This was the first of my acquaintance with 
 the Doctor. He insisted upon knowing my name, 
 and when at last I said, " I am Granville Moody, 
 a delegate to the General Conference which meets 
 here to-day," he replied: "You are Granville 
 Moody ! Well, sir, you are not the kind of a man 
 I took you to be, at all. I have known you from 
 your opposition to pewed churches, and your con- 
 stant advocacy of free grace and free sittings." 
 
 " Yes, sir," I replied, "that euphonious phrase 
 is my short creed ; since faith cometh by hearing, 
 and salvation cometh by faith, I believe that fur- 
 nishing the freest sittings is befitting a Church 
 that offers salvation on the simple condition of 
 genuine faith in Jesus Christ. The greater the 
 facilities for hearing the gospel message, the greater 
 the likelihood that more will hear and heed, obey 
 and live. There is a philosophical and evangelical 
 fitness in free grace and free sittings — a gospel 
 harmony ; and what God hath joined together let 
 no man put asunder." 
 
 At the conference of 1863 a petition resulted in 
 my appointment as pastor of Greene Street charge 
 Piqua. I received a warm Methodist welcome, 
 and, as most of the Church were outspoken in 
 
430 Granville Moody. 
 
 their loyalty to the country, I found a hearty wel- 
 come to an eminently patriotic and pious people, 
 not least among whom was John Cheever. He 
 was a native of New England, came from. Boston, 
 and was in every sense a square Yankee; bright, 
 sharp, keen-visioned, self-reliant, enterprising, sa- 
 gacious, painstaking, economical, and provident. 
 
 After a fall and winter spent' amidst the 
 glory of a protracted revival season in the Church, 
 during which multiplied scores were awakened, 
 and converted, and sealed, and saved as heirs of 
 the grace that is in Christ, and all believing men, 
 the spring season dawned with its healing and 
 life-giving power, and I broached the enterprise 
 of rebuilding the old church. It was a Gothic 
 building, eighty by fifty feet. It contained a base- 
 ment, six feet and a few inches high ; an audience- 
 room of seventy feet in length, and galleries on 
 the sides and end. The first story was built of 
 stone, with the walls two and a half or three feet 
 thick. A small sonorous bell was mounted on a 
 wooden building in the rear of the church. The 
 whole contour of this corner building was unique, 
 and marked well the severe manners of the times. 
 A low pitched roof, barn-like in style, suggested 
 that the building was " God's barn," and not inap- 
 propriately showed it to be the domicile of a large 
 part of God's favored people ; the shelter of the 
 sheep of his pasture, and a home of the flock of 
 his hand. 
 
 It had served ,well its purpose, and the times 
 and needs of this charge indicated change and 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 431 
 
 improvement; I talked to the people pastorally, 
 and preached publicly about the necessity of a 
 change in the Lord's house, and I proposed to 
 raise the upper story nine or ten feet by screws, 
 and build up a wall from the ground to fill the space, 
 and thus furnish an ample basement for Sabbath- 
 school purposes and class-rooms, and to add to the 
 rear a two-story annex, which should contain an 
 infant-class room of twenty by fifty feet, and up- 
 stairs a pastor's study and two class-rooms. Then 
 a bell-tower on the new front of the building would 
 give room for a vestibule. The whole expense 
 was estimated at ten thousand dollars. 
 
 Well, this created a division of sentiment, 
 though two-thirds of the Church favored the for- 
 ward movement. Brother Cheever was in the 
 minority, and he opposed the movement with true 
 Yankee vigor and persistence, arguing against in- 
 curring so much expense ; and familiar as he was 
 with current prices of every item in building, and 
 the price of every day's labor, he forecast a 
 mighty sum of indebtedness in the projected en- 
 terprise. He foretold dismay and disaster and 
 defeat in any movement upon the old and estab- 
 lished order of things. I persisted with the ma- 
 jority for advance. At length the third quarterly 
 conference met, every member in his place. Busi- 
 ness progressed steadily till the presiding elder 
 called for the report of the trustees. Brother 
 Cheever arose on a question of privilege, and said : 
 
 " Brethren, you will be surprised to hear from 
 me this morning, that I am heartily in favor 
 
432 Granville Moody. 
 
 of Brother Moody's enterprise of rebuilding the 
 church. Last Sabbath, and the evening of the 
 Lord's-day, found me in firmest opposition to the 
 whole enterprise; but the Lord has strangely 
 turned my mind. I retired to my bedroom and 
 prayed the Lord to help me to preserve the Greene 
 Street Charge from going into the wild enterprise 
 of building a new church in these troublous times. 
 But there was no voice, nor any that answered. I 
 then retired to my pillow, and prayed and prayed 
 again without effect. I then arose and placed the 
 lamp and the Bible on my large chair, and said : 
 'Lord, thou seest and knowest the scheme that 
 Brother Moody has in hand, and thou knowest that 
 in these times of war it is no fitting time for us to be 
 planning to build houses or churches. Thou know- 
 est that materials and labor are high. Common 
 plank and better plank and other kinds of plank 
 cost about two prices, and paint and glass and putty 
 and chairs and carpets and lamps are at double or- 
 dinary prices. Shingles are so much per thousand, 
 and hauling costs twice as much as it did. And 
 now, Lord, I ask thee to show me my duty by 
 this appeal which I make on my knees to thee. 
 Thy Word is a light to our feet and a guide to 
 our steps in every perplexity, and we are in great 
 perplexity now. I appeal in this way unto thee ; 
 I put this Bible, thy precious Word of truth, be- 
 fore my eyes. Now, Lord, when I open the Book 
 with my eyes closed, if the place opened upon shall 
 not refer to building churches, nor indicate any- 
 thing in regard to building thee a church, then I 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 433 
 
 shall conclude that I am right and Brother Moody is 
 wrong in urging us to go into building ; but if the 
 chapter I open upon speaks of building for thee a 
 church or building for thy worship and service 
 and glory, then, Lord, I shall conclude that it 
 is thy will that we follow Brother Moody's advice, 
 and I will submit my will to thine, and I will do 
 my full share, according to my ability, in this new 
 building cause. Amen.' Then I opened my eyes, 
 and they fell upon this passage, the first chapter 
 of Haggai." 
 
 He then read the chapter, and pledged his 
 name to a full pro i'ata of the expense of remod- 
 eling that house of worship. The enterprise went 
 on, and the church was remodeled accordingly. 
 
 While the author was serving this Church, the 
 news of the victory at Lookout Mountain and 
 Chattanooga was received at Piqua on Thanks- 
 giving morning, November 26, 1863, after the con- 
 gregation had assembled for worship. The report 
 of what was said and done on that occasion is 
 given in the following extracts from Cincinnati 
 papers. The first is part of the correspondence 
 of the Cincinnati Gazette : 
 
 The glorious news from Chattanooga this morning 
 cheated the Rev. Colonel Moody out of the opportu- 
 nity of delivering his Thanksgiving Sermon. The 
 congregation had met at Greene Street Church in 
 accordance with the President's Proclamation, had 
 sung the "President's Hymn," taken up a collection 
 of about sixty dollars for the Sanitary Commission, 
 and our fighting preacher had scarcely got through 
 
 37 
 
434 Granville Moody. 
 
 his introduction, when the Gazette arrived, was brought 
 into the church, and was handed to him by our 
 patriotic sexton. The preacher stopped, paused a 
 moment, and then shouted: "Glorious news !" He read 
 the headings of the telegraphic news, and said : " The 
 congregation will all rise. Now three cheers for the old 
 Stars and Stripes !" They were given with a will, and 
 the walls of Greene Street rang wjth the shouts of 
 sturdy old stewards and leaders. "Now let us sing, 
 all sing, 'Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.' " 
 When this was sung, the preacher said : " Now I 
 have too much good sense to think that you would 
 rather hear me preach than hear the news." So he 
 read the dispatches, with your editorial, which was fre- 
 quently cheered by the congregation. . . . We are 
 to have a grand wood donation for the families of sol- 
 diers on Saturday. Governor Tod, Dr. G. V. Dorsey, 
 and others will be here. There will be a free dinner 
 and a flag for the school district bringing the largest 
 amount of supplies. 
 
 And the second extract contains still further 
 details of the part which the author took on that 
 memorable day : 
 
 After the usual exercises of singing and prayer 
 had been concluded, the Rev. Colonel Moody came 
 forward and made one of the most stirring, elo- 
 quent, and patriotic addresses ever delivered to an 
 American audience. Some of the points were so ad- 
 mirably made, and so fired the audience with patriot- 
 ism, that they spontaneously gave way to applause, 
 forgetting, possibly, the decorum due to such a place. 
 But the colonel did not rebuke them. How could 
 he ? Did he not know that they were enthused by a 
 pure patriotism, and such a manifestation was the 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 435 
 
 generous, manly, patriotic expression of loyal hearts? 
 Yes, too well he knew it ; and he considered it rather 
 commendable than otherwise, and said it was a 
 Methodist "Amen." 
 
 Such bursts of eloquence and patriotism rarely 
 have we had the pleasure of listening to. Everybody 
 was pleased; yes, everybody was completely carried 
 away by the magnetism of his lofty patriotism and his 
 sublime eloquence. It stirred the blood and hearts of 
 the people to such a degree that I think every man, 
 woman, and child present would then and there have 
 willingly made a sacrifice of themselves for our glorious 
 Constitution, Government, and flag. Doubtless Col- 
 onel Moody is a good fighter in the field. Such a man 
 would always be brave, it is not in him to be other- 
 wise ; but methinks his place is the pulpit and the ros- 
 trum. He can serve his country better with his 
 tongue than the sword. Let him then harangue the 
 people, and if they have even a latent particle of 
 patriotism in their composition, he will set it all aglow. 
 
 In the address w T hich he made he spoke sub- 
 stantially as follows : 
 
 The appointment of a day of National Thanks- 
 giving to Almighty God for the signal victories with 
 which he has been pleased to crown our arms, espe- 
 cially during the last month, has summoned us into 
 his presence, in his temple, at this hour. During 
 the long period of our National prosperity but lit- 
 tle attention was paid to the day of Thanksgiving ; 
 but that brightness has been suddenly and partially 
 eclipsed. Scenes never before witnessed, and hardly 
 deemed possible, have arisen before us. Hundreds 
 of thousands of our citizens, with all the insignia and 
 munitions of war, have been marshaled, and still the 
 
436 Granville Moody. 
 
 clarion sounds, and mightier hosts are mustering for 
 the championship of this vast continent. On the one 
 hand we find treason and rebellion — reckless, defiant, 
 and rampant ; on the other, patriotism and loyalty, 
 with a deep conviction that not only the glory but 
 the very existence of the Nation is at stake. Prompted 
 by patriotism, our young men by thousands have taken 
 the field, and the hoarse war-drum throbs on the 
 National hearts. War is one of the four sure judg- 
 ments of God which, in his providence, he brings 
 upon a nation to rebuke its wickedness and to make 
 it better and happier, or to destroy it, and leave its 
 wreck a warning to other nations that righteousness 
 "exalteth a nation, and sin is a reproach to any 
 people." 
 
 On this day, set apart by the President of the 
 United States as a day of thanksgiving, it becomes us 
 to review the manifold blessings bestowed upon us by 
 God, and cherish sentiments of unbounded gratitude 
 to that benign Providence. 
 
 First. Let us this day be thankful to God for our 
 paternity as a Nation. God raised us from pious and 
 excellent ancestors. Almost every other nation rose 
 from a base and degenerate origin. 
 
 Second. Let us be thankful that our recent victo- 
 ries have added new glories to the renowned flag of 
 our heroic ancestors. A thousand precious and soul- 
 stirring memories cluster round the old battle-flag, — 
 
 "Our country's flag, with lines of blood, 
 Forever telling as it waves 
 How, side by side, our fathers stood 
 And died, to plant it on their graves." 
 
 It is the glory-streaming banner that has so often 
 flaunted defiance to our foes. This is the banner that 
 the sons of South Carolina boast they were the first 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 437 
 
 to dishonor and trail in the dust as eight thousand 
 traitors besieged Fort Sumter. 
 
 Third. Let us on this day be thankful that God has 
 recently vouchsafed to the army and navy of the 
 United States those signal victories which warrant 
 our faith in the perpetuity of the Government of the 
 grandest Nationality on earth. With the greatest pro- 
 priety we may exclaim: "Surely the lines have fallen 
 to us in pleasant places." Our number, intelligence, 
 and resources give us eminent rank among the na- 
 tions of the earth. Our population exceeds thirty-five 
 millions of souls, and our broad domain is washed by 
 the waters of two oceans. Our census-table shows a 
 duplication of our population in every cycle of twenty- 
 three years ; so that, by the time the infant now in the 
 cradle will have reached manhood, our population will 
 amount to seventy millions. One flag floats over the 
 grandest domain on earth. 
 
 Fourth. Let us be thankful this day for the success 
 with which God is crowning our efforts to sustain the 
 Union of the States against secession, traitors, and 
 rebels. Our fathers regarded the Union of the States 
 a necessity. Their condition then and our condition 
 now demand it. The Union was the creation of ne- 
 cessities — physical, moral, social, and political. The 
 Union of the States in one Nationality is not merely 
 because men choose that it shall be so, but because 
 some general government must exist here, and no 
 other government than this can or should or shall 
 exist. This Government is the property of every citi- 
 zen ; it is his Government ; he is a part of it ; it was 
 established for him, and is maintained by him ; and he 
 knows, or ought to know, that it is the only true and 
 equal Government that does exist, and that no other 
 government can be as just and equal as our own. By 
 
43 8 Granville Moody. 
 
 this glorious Union we have gained all our distinction 
 and success as a people, and on its maintenance all our 
 peace and safety depend. Secession is dissolution, and 
 dissolution is National dishonor — ay, National death. 
 Secession is the hydra which Jackson battled against. 
 Secession is a claim that has never been admitted in 
 any organized government on earth. Secession ! It 
 forgets the thrilling memories of the past. How 
 utterly unentitled to public confidence is a man or 
 party that would give* the least countenance to those 
 who, with more than Vandal hands, would rend the 
 sacred Temple of Liberty from turret to foundation- 
 stone ! Surely such a man or party is as much an 
 enemy to the Government as Davis or any other 
 plotter of rebellion. 
 
 How deep, beyond the heaviest plummet sound- 
 ing, must that craven-hearted tool of bogus chivalry 
 have sunk, who boasts that in the darkest hour 
 of his country's peril, when men were baring their 
 brawny breasts to the storm of war, and trembling 
 women — mothers, wives, and daughters — were pray- 
 ing in secret places for their country's weal, that since 
 the 4th of July, 1861, he has not voted for an army or 
 navy appropriation bill ; has not voted, and will not 
 vote, a man or a dollar to aid the Government in its 
 efforts to conquer those who have inaugurated deadly 
 war to compel this glorious Government of our fathers 
 to submit to its own dismemberment and destruction. 
 How execrable the man who prostitutes his abilities 
 to the work of prejudicing and poisoning the minds 
 of the citizens against the Administration which seeks 
 the maintenance of the Government against rebels 
 and their domestic and foreign sympathizers ; who 
 speaks of our armies as "invading armies," when 
 marching on our own soil to maintain our own sover- 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 439 
 
 eignty against traitors ; who counsels the " withdraw- 
 ing" of that old flag and its heroic defenders from 
 the proud front they occupy at Norfolk, Newbern, 
 Hilton Head, New Orleans, Port Hudson, Helena, 
 Vicksburg, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Murfrees- 
 boro, Shelbyville, Manchester, Deckard, Tullahoma, 
 Wheeling, Baltimore, and Annapolis ! 
 
 Yet he would have them ''about face," and meanly 
 march in retreat over the bloody " fields where our 
 glory was won," and ignore the victories of Carnifex 
 Ferry, Laurel Mountain, Mill Springs, Fort Donelson, 
 Island No. 10, Winchester, Pea Ridge, Stone River, 
 and Gettysburg, saying in humiliation and grief, 
 
 " O no, we never mention them, 
 Their names are never heard!" 
 
 And thus retreating from the surrendered soil now 
 doubly dear and sacred, and our own by its bap- 
 tisms of blood of brave and loyal men, we must leave 
 our cherished rights and prized Nationality to the 
 watershed argument of " their kind of a man," and 
 to the decision of the Yanceys, Rhetts, Toombses, 
 Breckenridges, Braggs, Pembertons, Johnstons, Yu- 
 lees, Benjamins, Wigfalls, Wises, Cobbs, Floyds, Polks, 
 Harrises, Jefferson Davises, and the devil. Leave the 
 lamb with the wolf; leave the goose with the fox; 
 leave gold with a thief; leave helpless innocence with 
 the debauchee, when you leave our Nationality to the 
 tender mercies of traitors and rebels, or elevate such 
 a man to be governor of Ohio. Preposterous, out- 
 rageous, contemptible counsel ! almost equaling the 
 audacity of Satan himself, when he proposed to Im- 
 manuel, the Christ, to fall down and worship him, 
 engaging to give the Savior the whole world, with all 
 its kingdoms, as a consideration, when, poor devil, 
 
44-o Granville Moody. 
 
 he had no more right to the proposed gift than Da- 
 vis and company have to the territory of the United 
 States, or the adviser of our National dishonor has to 
 the suffrage of a true patriot. Surely such a man is as 
 much an enemy to the unity of the Government as 
 Davis or any plotter of rebellion anywhere, and infi- 
 nitely less courageous and magnanimous. 
 
 Withdraw our armies from Maryland, Virginia, 
 North and South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 
 sippi, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
 Georgia; withdraw your gun-boats from the Missis- 
 sippi, and your monitors and line-of-battle ships from 
 the coasts of the Rebel States, and leave the question of 
 our Nationality to Davis, Stephens, and Toombs ! Was 
 ever such a proposition cherished in all the records of 
 sin in all the world? Surely of its author we may 
 exclaim: "Out ingrate, an hyperbole of meanness 
 would be an ellipsis for thee!" 'Twill be a marvel 
 and a wonder if any shall be found so mean as to do 
 him reverence. 
 
 "The Negro, all dark in his glen, 
 
 Is nobler and better than thou; 
 Thou standest a wonder and marvel to men, 
 
 Such perfidy blackens thy brow. 
 If thou wert my brother by birth, 
 
 At once from thine arms I would sever; 
 I would own thee nowhere upon earth, 
 
 And quit thee forever and ever,; 
 And thinking of thee, in my long after years, 
 Should but kindle my blushes and call forth my tears." 
 
 But it is our rejoicing that whilst this would-be 
 governor of Ohio is counseling the withdrawal of 
 our armies, as he speaks, ex cathedra, from beneath 
 the folds of the British flag, and from British soil 
 fulminates his anathemas against our cause, Almighty 
 God, by the stern logic of events is saying to us, in 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 441 
 
 the recent victories of Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Tul- 
 lahoma, Gettysburg, and the extinction of Morgan 
 and his marauding bands, Onward and still onward 
 with Freedom's banners, because of truth and right- 
 eousness in the earth. And for these signal tokens 
 of God's approval we should be grateful. 
 
 During the session of the General Conference 
 of 1864, which met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
 I had the honor and pleasure, as a member of a 
 committee of five, consisting of Bishop E. R. Ames, 
 Joseph Cummings, George Peck, Charles Elliott, 
 and myself, to bear the congratulations of the 
 conference to President Lincoln on the general 
 success of our country's cause. Our visit occurred 
 during the battles of the Wilderness. On our 
 trip from Philadelphia on the cars, the question 
 was asked, How shall we proceed in Washington ? 
 I stated to the committee that if they would permit, 
 I would take the document to President Lincoln 
 and leave it to him to arrange the hour and detail 
 of our interview. To this they agreed. I went 
 to the White House and told the President's sec- 
 retary of our presence and mission, and asked him 
 to procure me an interview with the President, 
 which he did with promptness and pleasure. 
 
 I was familiar with the President, and showed 
 him the missive of the conference. He said : 
 "Colonel Moody, how came you to do this? It is 
 the very thing I would have asked you to do had 
 I had your ear. I will give you audience at ten 
 o'clock A. M. to-morrow. Just Leave the address 
 with me. I will study it to-night, and write 
 
442 Granville Moody. 
 
 my reply. Give my highest respects to the 
 committee." 
 
 We were promptly received at the appointed 
 hour and place by the President and his Cabinet. 
 That group furnished a scene for a painter. In 
 the center of the semicircle of his Cabinet, mas- 
 ter spirits of the Nation, stood in all the angu- 
 larity of his person, in all the simplicity, hon- 
 esty, patriotism, and well-balanced self-will, with 
 unpretending greatness and somber grandeur, 
 Abraham Lincoln. There stood canny, courtly 
 William H. Seward, Secretary of State ; the short, 
 solid, curt, statue-like Edwin M. Stanton, Secre- 
 tary of War, who, amid all those dark and s*tormy 
 times, stood like a rugged rock amid ocean surges, 
 with thunders bursting o'er his head ; Salmon P. 
 Chase, dark, phlegmatic, significant as an oracle. 
 On the opposite semicircle stood the kingly 
 Bishop Ames ; the learned Charles Elliott ; the 
 scholarly Joseph Cummings, President of the 
 Wesleyan University at Middletown ; the courtly 
 George Peck, of New York, and myself. 
 
 Bishop Ames introduced his colleagues of the 
 committee to the President and Cabinet and the 
 distinguished persons present, stated the object of 
 the visit, and requested the secretary of the com- 
 mittee, Dr. Cummings, to read the "Address of the 
 General Conference," which he did, as follows : 
 
 To His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
 United States : 
 The General Conference of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, now in session in Philadelphia, repre- 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 443 
 
 senting nearly seven thousand ministers and nearly a 
 million of members, mindful of their duty as Christian 
 citizens, take the earliest opportunity to express to 
 you the assurance of the loyalty of the Church, her 
 earnest devotion to the interests of the country, and 
 her sympathy with you in the great responsibilities of 
 your high position in this trying hour. 
 
 With exultation we point to the record 01 our 
 Church, as having never been tarnished by disloyalty. 
 She was the first of the Churches to express, by a depu- 
 tation of her most distinguished ministers, promise 
 of support to the Government in the days of Wash- 
 ington. In her Articles of Religion she has enjoined 
 loyalty as a duty, and has ever given to the Govern- 
 ment her most decided support. In this present strug- 
 gle for the National life, many thousands of her 
 members, and a large number of her ministers have 
 rushed to arms to maintain the cause of God and hu- 
 manity. They have sealed their devotion to their 
 country with their blood on every battle-field of this 
 terrible war. 
 
 We regard this dreadful scourge now desolating 
 our land, and wasting the Nation's life, as the result 
 of a most unnatural, utterly unjustifiable rebellion ; 
 involving the crime of treason against the best of hu- 
 man governments, and sin against God. It required 
 our Government to submit to its own dismemberment 
 and destruction, leaving it no alternative but to pre- 
 serve the National integrity by the use of National 
 resources. If the Government had failed to use 
 its power to preserve the unity of the Nation and 
 maintain its authority, it would have been justly ex- 
 posed to the wrath of Heaven, and to the reproach 
 and scorn of the civilized world. 
 
 Our earnest and constant prayer is that this cruel and 
 
444 Granville Moody. 
 
 wicked rebellion may be speedily suppressed, and we 
 pledge you our hearty co-operation in all appropriate 
 means to secure this object. 
 
 Loyal and hopeful in National adversity, in pros- 
 perity thankful, we most heartily congratulate you on 
 the glorious victories recently gained, and rejoice in 
 the belief that our complete triumph is near. 
 
 We believe that our National sorrows and calami- 
 ties have resulted, in a great degree, from our forget- 
 fulness of God and oppression of our fellow-men. 
 Chastened by affliction, may the Nation humbly repent 
 of her sins, lay aside her haughty pride, honor God 
 in all future legislation, and render justice to all who 
 have been wronged ! We honor you for your procla- 
 mations of liberty, and rejoice in all the acts of 
 the Government designed to secure freedom to the 
 enslaved. 
 
 We trust that when military usages and necessities 
 shall justify interference with established institutions, 
 and the removal of wrongs sanctioned by law, the 
 occasion will be improved, not merely to injure our 
 foes and increase the National resources, but also as 
 an opportunity to recognize our obligations to God, 
 and to honor his law. We pray that the time may 
 speedily come when this shall be truly a republican 
 and free country, in no part of which, either State or 
 Territory, shall slavery be known. 
 
 The prayers of millions of Christians, with an 
 earnestness never manifested for rulers before, daily 
 ascend to heaven that you may be endued with all 
 needed wisdom and power. Actuated by the senti- 
 ments of the loftiest and purest patriotism, our prayer 
 shall be continually for the preservation of our country 
 undivided, for the triumph of our cause, and for 
 a permanent peace, gained by the sacrifice of no 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 445 
 
 moral principles, but founded on the Word of God, 
 and securing righteousness, liberty, and equal rights 
 to all. 
 
 Signed in behalf of the General Conference of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, May 
 14, 1864. 
 
 President Lincoln bowed to the committee, and 
 accepted the paper from Dr. Cutnmings, and pleas- 
 antly said: "Gentlemen, by the forethought and 
 kindness of one of your committee, I had the 
 pleasure of reading your noble address ; and, as you 
 have addressed me in writing, allow me to respond 
 in like manner." He then opened the drawer 
 of his desk and took out his response, which has 
 thrilled the heart of the Nation, and was, indeed, 
 an amaranthine wreath placed upon the brow of 
 Methodism in that august presence. He said : 
 
 Gentlemen, — In response to your address, allow 
 me to attest the accuracy of its historical statements, 
 indorse the sentiments it expresses, and thank you, in 
 the Nation's name, for the sure promise it gives. 
 Nobly sustained, as the Government has been by all 
 the Churches, I would utter nothing which might in 
 the least appear invidious against any. Yet, without 
 this, it may fairly be said that the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, not less devoted than the best, is by 
 its greater numbers, the most important of all. It is 
 no fault in others that the Methodist Church sends 
 more soldiers to the field, more nurses to the hos- 
 pitals, and more prayers to heaven than any. God 
 bless the Methodist Church, bless all the Churches, 
 and blessed be God who, in this great trial, giveth us 
 the Churches ! 
 
446 Granville Moody. 
 
 At the instance of Solomon Howard, D. D., 
 and others, and entirely without my knowledge, in 
 1864 the Indiana University conferred on me the 
 title of Doctor of Divinity. This doctorate was 
 an unexpected honor. I desire to be found worthy 
 of it. The following letter conveyed to me the 
 intelligence : 
 
 BloomingTON, Ind., July 4, 1864. 
 Rev. G. Moody, Piqua, Ohio : 
 
 Dear Brother, — I have the pleasure of inform- 
 ing you that the degree of D. D., pro merito, was con- 
 ferred upon you by the Indiana State University at 
 the recent Commencement. No diplomas are given 
 for honorary degrees at this intitution, but you will be 
 officially informed by the secretary of the Board of 
 Trustees. Truly and fraternally yours, 
 
 C. Nutt, 
 President of the Indiana State University. 
 
 In 1864, in the month of September, I was in 
 Washington City, and met Hon. Samuel Galloway 
 at the White House, and we were heartily wel- 
 comed by President Lincoln in his public office. 
 We were invited to meet him that evening at 
 seven o'clock in his private apartments, and we 
 three had a singularly friendly and profitable inter- 
 view. The President sat in a large easy-chair, 
 and we at his right and left. We discussed in 
 free conversation the times, the President leading 
 the conversation. Among other things he said : 
 
 "I tell you, Mr. Galloway, Parson Moody's 
 Church has wielded a controlling influence in 
 these times. Her bishops, presiding elders, and 
 pastors have a wonderful formative influence on 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 447 
 
 the masses of the people. And then their con- 
 trolling anti-slavery influence has leavened the 
 whole lump. Her weekly papers make her ubiqui- 
 tous and potential. We never wouid have gotten 
 through this crusade without the steady influence 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, so potential 
 in its philanthropy. The Government is greatly 
 indebted to Methodism in the cause of personal 
 and national freedom. Her question, 'What shall 
 be done for the extirpation of the great evil 
 of slavery?' and her answer, 'We believe that the 
 buying, selling, or holding of human beings, to be 
 used as chattels, is contrary to the laws of God 
 and nature, and inconsistent with the Golden 
 Rule,' as well as her General Rules, discoun- 
 tenance or prohibit slaveholding. Mr. Wesley 
 understood slavery when he said, ' American 
 slavery is the vilest that ever saw the sun,' and 
 when he declared the slave-trade to be the ' sum of 
 all villainies.' The other Christian Churches hold 
 similar views, but the Methodist Church was more 
 outspoken, and unfrocked Bishop Andrew for 
 becoming and remaining a slaveholding bishop ; 
 and that became the crucial test, and faithfully 
 the Methodist Church met the issue that was thus 
 episcopally forced upon it. 
 
 "But you ask me about emancipation. When 
 Lee undertook to march his pro-slavery columns on 
 the Northern and Free States, I saw a crisis was 
 imminent ; and when he headed his army for An- 
 tietam I saw that the dread and impending crisis 
 was at our very doors. Gentlemen, I will tell 
 
448 Granville Moody. 
 
 you my experience. I came alone into this room, 
 and knelt down, and with directness I told the 
 Lord that Lee was marching on Washington, and 
 was now on Northern soil, and said : l Now, Lord, 
 if thou wilt give him a backset, and our forces 
 drive him back, and thus save our National exist- 
 ence, I will assert the inherent right of the National 
 Government to conserve its own interests and pre- 
 serve its existence by emancipating the .slaves in 
 the States in rebellion against the General Govern- 
 ment. As slaveholders are actually using slavery 
 to destroy the Nation, it is obviously and indis- 
 putably the right and duty of the Executive to 
 destroy that which is and will be used as the 
 means of destroying the National existence. Lord, 
 if thou wilt discomfit, dismay, and defeat Lee in 
 the coming conflict, I will abolish slavery as a 
 military necessity. So help me God ! I will. I 
 ask this in the name and for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord. Amen.' 
 
 " Well, Lee was driven back into Virginia. The 
 vows of God were on me to do as I had said. In 
 this room I wrote the document, and four days after 
 the battle of Antietam I called my Cabinet to- 
 gether to let them know my decision. I read the 
 paper carefully to them, and paused for their opin- 
 ions. There was ominous silence. At length Mr. 
 Chase said it was premature ; Mr. Welles agreed 
 with him ; Mr. Seward said it was right, but he 
 thought it premature ; Mr. Smith thought it would 
 be ominous of ill ; Mr. Blair advised delay ; Mr. 
 Bates dreaded its effects upon our armies in the 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 449 
 
 field ; only Mr. Stanton heartily agreed with my 
 views, and said : 'Let it go forth and do its work.' 
 
 i; I said: 'Gentlemen, I did not bring this be- 
 fore yon for discussion, but to apprise you of my. 
 intention.' I then recounted my prayer and vow, 
 and added : ' Gentlemen, God accepted my tendered 
 pledge, and I hereby fulfill my vow.' " 
 
 During the years 1869, 1870, and 187 1 the 
 author was stationed at Grace Church, in New- 
 port, Kentucky. His associations with the Ken- 
 tucky preachers were pleasant, and he was well 
 received by them when transferred to their confer- 
 ence. The following incident must be given in 
 the words of another (Rev. Amon Boreing). O 
 that God's historic people were chosen not only 
 in Abraham but in Christ ! 
 
 In the spring of 1871 the Kentucky Conference 
 convened in Louisville. Rev. Granville Moody was 
 in attendance, being at that time a member of the Ken- 
 tucky Conference. The very handsome Jewish syna- 
 gogue, on the corner of Broadway and Sixth Streets, 
 had just been completed and furnished. Dr. Moody 
 and myself, taking a stroll along the streets, chanced 
 to pass that way, and the door being open Dr. Moody 
 said: "Let's go in." We did so. Just back of the 
 reading-desk, beyond the center of the synagogue, 
 was a wardrobe, the door of which was open. Dr. 
 Moody went up to it, took out the rabbi's turban, put 
 it on, and said: "Now you sit down and I'll preach 
 you a gospel sermon. You will find my text in 
 the Gospel of St. John, first chapter, seventeenth 
 verse : ' For the law was given by Moses, but grace 
 and truth came by Jesus Christ.' " He briefly 
 
 33 - 
 
450 Granville Moody. 
 
 expounded the text, and then said : " This is the first, 
 and perhaps will be the last, time you will hear Christ 
 preached in a Jewish synagogue. And that is n't all ; 
 we had better be getting out of here." 
 
 We went to the church where the conference was 
 held, and found a little cluster of preachers standing at 
 the doors. Dr. Moody began to tell that he had on one 
 occasion preached in a Jewish synagogue from John 
 i, 17, repeating the outlines of his sermon just as he had 
 given them to me. They did not believe him, think- 
 ing he was joking. He called me, and said: "Here is a 
 man that was present on the occasion, and heard me." 
 Of course I affirmed the truth of his statement. 
 Then, after having as much amusement as he desired, 
 he explained how it was. 
 
 Early in September, 1873, * arrived at Ripley, 
 Ohio. At the conference session that year I had 
 been appointed by Bishop Ames presiding elder 
 of the Ripley District. The day after my arrival, 
 whilst I was hard at work in the parsonage of 
 the district, at about three o'clock P. M., a staid 
 and courteous man entered the parlor and intro- 
 duced himself as D. H. Hamilton, pastor of the 
 Presbyterian Church. After the usual civilities, 
 he said: "I have heard so much about you in 
 this locality as an actor in the Church Militant, and 
 as militant for our country as well, that I have 
 waived all ceremony of introduction and come 
 thus early to bid you welcome, sir, to Ripley, the 
 theater of your former labors; and especially to 
 welcome you to myself as a fellow-laborer in pro- 
 claiming the glad tidings of the gospel of our 
 common Savior." 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 451 
 
 I was delighted with his style, manners, and 
 spirit, and fully reciprocated the cordial greeting, 
 and anticipated the joy and profit, proved in after 
 years, of the society of this genuine Christian, 
 polished gentleman, profound scholar, and original 
 thinker. Strange to relate, within the lapse of ten 
 short minutes we found ourselves enwrapped in the 
 quintuple questions of Arminianism and Calvin- 
 istic dogmas. In that improvised disquisition hours 
 rolled by, and still onward rolled, till that Septem- 
 ber sun went down the western sky, and be- 
 queathed a parting smile on courtly theologic 
 cavaliers, whose keen debate had not a single 
 auditor beside the writer's beloved wife, Lucretia 
 Elizabeth, who was cumbered with the multitudi- 
 nous cares incident to our intinerant life, as we 
 also were with cumbrous polemic lore. Her half- 
 reproving glances and courtly smiles seemed to say 
 that we were like Milton's fallen angels, who sat 
 apart in discourse more sweet, 
 
 "And reasoned high 
 Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate, 
 Fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute, 
 And found no end, in wandering mazes lost." 
 
 At the closing of this singular interview, and 
 with his apology for the interruption of a visit, 
 we parted ; and thus began an acquaintance which 
 ripened into the firmest friendship, and bore the 
 fruits of heaven upon earth. 
 
 In 1876 the writer was a member of the Gen- 
 eral Conference, which met that year in Balti- 
 more. On the fourth day of the session the 
 
452 Granville Moody. 
 
 Address of the Bishops was read. The following 
 extract is made from a paper of the period : 
 
 The Episcopal Address read on Thursday morn- 
 ing is a document of more than ordinary force. It 
 was well read by the senior bishop, Janes, who is 
 believed to be the writer. A number of passages 
 were strikingly eloquent, and elicited vehement bursts 
 of applause. Of course it was eminently conserva- 
 tive in tone, giving little support to recent projects 
 of reform. The manner in which the address was 
 received would seem to indicate that the conference 
 is preponderatingly conservative, but probably not so 
 much so as to be unwilling for any modifications. 
 
 Brother Granville Moody gave us one of his finest 
 specimens of Western eloquence immediately after the 
 reading of the address. It was really one of the best 
 things of the kind that we have heard for a long time — 
 perfectly spontaneous, and poured forth like a mountain 
 torrent, carrying everything before it. It raised the 
 enthusiasm of the audience to the highest pitch. We 
 give it here : 
 
 " Mr. President, — I stand, sir, in this presence, pro- 
 foundly impressed with the magnificent address of our 
 episcopate. I rejoice in the accuracy of its historic 
 lore. I stand impressed with the profound philoso- 
 phy of its acute analysis, its heroic grappling with 
 the living issues of the day, and its masterly vindica- 
 tion of the strength of its positions, the justification 
 of its instrumentalities, its grouping of facts, and its 
 clear and keen logic ; and I feel that this address be- 
 longs to the commonwealth of Methodism in both 
 hemispheres and in all its branches ; that it should go 
 to every lonely cabin and every palatial residence ; 
 that it should be sent to the officers of our army and 
 
More Fragments of Clerical Life. 453 
 
 navy [laughter] ; that it should be sent from center to 
 circumference [laughter and applause] ; that the Presi- 
 dent of the United States should be cheered by its 
 utterances ; and that its thunder-tones should fall like 
 the knell of destiny on the ear of the octogenarian 
 usurper of the headship of the Church of God at 
 Rome, which belongs to Christ alone. [Laughter and 
 applause.] I claim, sir, that this glorious address 
 should be spread before the country until Antichrist 
 and Antichristian influences shall be rim-racked and 
 center- shaken [laughter] by its facts and reasonings 
 and prolepsis of the future. 
 
 "Why, sir, the spirit that would have led an ancient 
 Roman to say proudly, 'I am a Roman citizen,' leads 
 me, under the same inspiration to say, first, I am an 
 American citizen ; and, secondly, I am a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. [Great applause.] 
 And as there is nothing so successful as success, which 
 blesses everything it touches, let us thank our God 
 for success, as portrayed in the Episcopal Address to 
 which we have listened. And I thank God that this 
 old historic Church, which antedates our Govern- 
 ment in its organization, and whose organization in 
 this city distinguishes Baltimore as the Mother of 
 Methodism and the 'Monumental City,' shall con- 
 tinue to gather elements of power around the foun- 
 dations of our glorious country in the future as in 
 the past, till every citizen thereof shall say, ' May her 
 influence be perpetuated while earth bears a flower or 
 ocean rolls a wave !' 
 
 "Profoundly impressed with its paramount and 
 permanent importance, I therefore move that this ad- 
 dress be published in every Church paper under our 
 patronage ; that it be spread upon the pages of the 
 Daily Christian Advocate, and that it be put in pam- 
 
454 Granville Moody. 
 
 phlet form, to go where the paper will not go. I want 
 a hundred to send to relatives and friends who are 
 not members of this branch of the Church of Christ, 
 but yet are interested in the spread of Christ's king- 
 dom. I want to send a copy, handsomely gotten up, 
 to my Presbyterian and Congregationalist and Baptist 
 friends, that they may know that we are thoroughly 
 abreast of the age in the furtherance of the gospel 
 mission to the wide, wide world. I therefore move, 
 if I can get a second to my motion, that the address 
 be published as I have indicated." 
 
 This motion was seconded by Erastus O. 
 Haven, and adopted. The pamphlet edition was, 
 by vote of the conference, fixed at five thousand 
 copies. 
 
Superannuation. 455 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SUPERANNUATION. 
 
 HAVING finished his pastorate in Hamilton in 
 1880, the author was that year appointed 
 to Jamestown, a delightful village in Greene 
 County. While serving the charge during his 
 second year, the fiftieth anniversary of his enter- 
 ing the ministry occurred. His friends in James- 
 town and elsewhere took occasion to celebrate 
 the event in a becoming manner, an account of 
 which is here given. It is clipped from the 
 Xenia Torchlight: 
 
 Last Saturday (March 4, 1882) was made the occa- 
 sion of a very pleasant surprise to Rev. Dr. Moody, of 
 Jamestown. The date was the completion of fifty 
 years since he preached his first sermon. The occa- 
 sion, with all its appointments, was truly delightful, 
 and so perfect a surprise to the pastor (his wife was 
 in the secret) that he was able to declare, " I had not 
 even a scintillation of.it. Let it never be said again 
 that a woman can not keep a secret." Dr. Moody met 
 the surprise without any undue excitement, but with a 
 cordiality and quiet dignity of demeanor that were sim- 
 ply charming. After dinner Mrs. S. Y. Conwell read 
 a short paper containing reminiscences of the Doctor's 
 pastorate in Zanesville thirty years ago. Then fol- 
 lowed speeches (timely, interesting, and beautiful) 
 from several ministers and laymen. To all these Dr. 
 Moody replied, as only he can, bringing smiles to the 
 
456 Granville Moody. 
 
 lips and tears to the eyes of all present, while he could 
 not conceal his own emotion. In the course of his 
 remarks he paid one of the most exquisitely touching 
 and beautiful tributes to his excellent wife, the com- 
 panion of forty-six years, which it has ever been our 
 good fortune to hear. To which Mrs Moody, with 
 humor, rejoined (truthfully, we suspect) : "Pa never 
 could have got along without me." "Amen !" piously 
 ejaculated the devoted husband. About five o'clock 
 P. M., after singing, prayer, and benediction, full of 
 pathos, as well as devotion, the company dispersed 
 with many fervent hand-clasps, each declaring that 
 that day would forever be a green spot in memory, 
 and adding, " I am so glad it was my privilege to 
 come." 
 
 The following letter from his eldest daughter, 
 Mrs. Clifford N. Fyffe, was read on the occasion. 
 It is dated from 34 Washington Street, Norfolk, 
 Virginia, March 2, 1882, and is here presented, as 
 it gives an inside view of a pastor's life as it 
 appeared to a younger member of the family: 
 
 My Dear Father, — Mother writes asking me to 
 come home to be present on next Saturday, the fiftieth 
 anniversary of your entrance into the ministry. I 
 wish very much that I could, do so, but it is quite 
 impossible; so I write this letter instead, to say 
 that there is nothing in which I feel so great pride 
 and satisfaction as in the contemplation of your career. 
 Its length so unusual, its character so honorable, hon- 
 ored, and useful, surely make reasonable ground for 
 such feeling. 
 
 Having at the threshold of manhood met that won- 
 derful experience, the conversion that so literally 
 "turned you toward and with" God, it was inevitable 
 
Superannuation. 457 
 
 that you should be ''separated unto the gospel of 
 God" and become a "worker together with him." 
 Your mind being so uplifted by that experience, your 
 life had to be brought up to a plane where the 
 weapons of a carnal warfare lose their edge and temper, 
 and only the panoply of God can fitly arm for the 
 fight. The spiritual field is the grand arena whereon 
 can be exercised all knightly virtues, and surely the 
 opening was a vast one that the young State of Ohio 
 furnished fifty years ago, in its then almost pioneer 
 period, to the pioneer preachers of the Methodist 
 Church. Paul, their great prototype, in his "glory- 
 ing " could not much outdo their claim. If he could 
 boast of "labors abundant, of journey ings often, of 
 perils by water, of perils by his own countrymen, of 
 perils by the heathen, of perils in the city, of perils 
 in the wilderness, of perils among false brethren, of 
 weariness and painfulness, of watchings often, of hun- 
 ger and thirst, of fastings and cold and nakedness" — 
 of all these things the early itinerants had also their 
 share, as well as that daily came upon them, as upon 
 Paul, the care of the Churches. 
 
 If there lacked to them the beatings and stonings, 
 the stripes and imprisonments, were there not the 
 "narrow means," the long absences from home on the 
 circuit, during which children might be born or slip 
 out of life — anxiety and care upon the points that 
 touch men most keenly? What would have rendered 
 such a life bearable but that they also shared Paul's 
 other and higher glorying, that "in spirit" they "were 
 caught up to the third heaven, and heard unspeakable 
 things, so that whether they were in the body or out 
 of the body they knew not?" Therefore they "took 
 pleasure in infirmities and distresses and necessities, 
 and found their weakness strength, and in all patience 
 
 39 
 
458 Granville Moody. 
 
 wrought the work of apostles with signs and wonders 
 and mighty deeds." 
 
 But life was not all hardship. There were not only 
 spiritual but material compensations. A fair and fruit- 
 ful land, dear and close friendships, a growing and 
 broadening culture, and, as life passed and families grew, 
 it could be seen that there were worse lots in life than 
 to be a Methodist preacher's children. Yearly I grow 
 more and more glad that I was one of that class. 
 The Church gave us a stead} 7 , if limited, physical pro- 
 vision. We had always the parsonage shelter, food to 
 eat, and raiment to put on ; and these, as well as our 
 social status and educational opportunities, were really 
 always of the best. In the educational matter we had 
 both the Methodist Church and the State of Ohio at 
 our back. Consider the children of any other class of 
 men, and what better has life done for them than for 
 preachers' children ? That they are worse than other 
 people's children has been said, but there is no foun- 
 dation in fact for the statement. Take at random the 
 children of any ten preachers in the Cincinnati Con- 
 ference, and their careers will disprove the slander. 
 
 The itinerants' wives, on whom came their full 
 share of life's hardships, the necessary strict economy, 
 the frequent movings, the unaccustomed duties, — 
 what women they were and are, the pick and 
 flower of the choice Methodist families ! There never 
 failed, at any appointment on the circuit, a " great 
 woman," like her of Shunem, to say to her husband, 
 with that pleasant authority that inheres in a beloved 
 house-mother: "I perceive that this is a holy man of 
 God which passeth by continually. Let us, I pray thee, 
 prepare a little room for him, and set there a bed and 
 a table and a chair and candlestick, and when he 
 cometh he shall turn in thither." 
 
Superannuation. 459 
 
 It is the daughters of these women who had the 
 means and the energy that enabled, and the hospitable 
 souls that impelled, them to " constrain the servants 
 of God to eat bread as often as they passed that way," 
 who are Methodist preachers' wives. Naturally se- 
 lected " elect ladies," those of them who live, live to the 
 Lord and for the Church, as mother, and many others 
 whose names crowd the mind. Those who rest from 
 their labors died in the Lord, and their memory 
 is fragrant of faith and good works. Who that knew 
 them can forget the spiritual Mrs. Dustin, the gentle 
 Mrs. Simmons, the seraphic Mrs. Mitchell, the saintly 
 Mrs. Michael Marlay? Laid aside are the sober and 
 ofttimes hardly obtained garments of earth, and lo ! 
 "who are these in bright array?" If ever, when 
 freed from earth, my robes are so washed and made 
 white that I may be one of the innumerable company 
 and Church of the First-born, I shall look through all 
 heaven's hosts for the Methodist preachers' wives, and, 
 with many I have known from the West and the North, 
 and some from the East and the South, I hope to sit 
 under the twelve-fruited tree on the banks of the river 
 that flows through the "sweet fields beyond the swell- 
 ing flood." The rest will be very sweet to many, to 
 all of them, and yet I think none of them would have 
 chosen a different or easier life as they view it com- 
 plete. 
 
 "A man's life," and a woman's also, " consisteth 
 not in the abundance of the things that he poscesseth," 
 but in the abundance of the things that he has done. 
 Measured thus, your seventy years outrun some cen- 
 turies of selfish, easy, drifting life. Think of the ser- 
 mons preached, prayers offered, the white-robed chil- 
 dren, some of them now gray-haired men and women, 
 whom you have held with such always evident fatherly 
 
460 Granville Moody. 
 
 tenderness in your arms, while "water sealed the cov- 
 enant" of baptism ; the thousands whose married life 
 began under your benediction ; the tens of thousands 
 to whom your hands have ministered Christ's " broken 
 body and shed blood;" the sick visited and comforted; 
 the dying to whom you bore " His rod and his staff;" 
 the many graves over which you have read the pre- 
 cious words which rob them of their victory : " I am 
 the resurrection and the life." Add to this the calls 
 for comfort in sorrow and trouble, and perplexities of 
 all sorts, and, besides, work in all departments of 
 human interests, charity, philanthropy, temperance, 
 social life. 
 
 Devoted to God and humanity, where was the 
 time for self? Not even time when Willie died to go 
 for one day into the " chamber over the gate," to 
 weep and say, " Would God I had died for thee, 
 my son, O my son !" And in the outset, when the 
 first frail baby-blossom faded, the news brought many 
 miles by a friendly rider, found you persuading men 
 to be reconciled to their Father. And yet how truly 
 the life lost for Christ's sake and the gospel's, has 
 been found in high effort, noble aims, and glorious re- 
 wards ! There crowd for utterance many thoughts of 
 that part of your life that lies within my recollection — 
 changes like those of a kaleidoscope. Over some years 
 hung the dim cloud of war, into which, impelled by 
 as strong a " call " as determined you to preach, you 
 went with the Bible in the hand which the sword had 
 left free. Then the breaking of the family circle by 
 death, the gradual dropping away into homes of their 
 own of the rest of the children, the coming up of a 
 little cluster of grandchildren, to whom you are patri- 
 arch as well as priest and prophet, and yet so humanly 
 near that perfect love casts out fear. 
 
Superannuation. 461 
 
 You and mother stand, now, as alone in your 
 home as when it was first instituted ; but that was the 
 cheerful and welcome isolation of youth and hope ; 
 this is the pathetic loneliness of age and memory. 
 Even your children are growing gray, and see that the 
 future is not for them as much as for the next gen- 
 eration. 
 
 Life has unrolled itself to you, and there is little 
 new experience for you to pass through. Much of 
 usefulness I pray there be yet in store for you, 
 and comfort in the love and society of children and 
 friends. The aftermath of a fertile field is not a small 
 thing, and the closing years of life are its ornament 
 and crown. If by reason of strength your years are 
 fourscore, they will still belong to God and humanity, 
 as all this half-century has done ; and by whatever steps, 
 gradual by nature's decline, or by the swift, sudden 
 descent of disease, you come to life's close, those steps 
 will have been ordered by the Lord, whose y ou are 
 and whom you serve. And when soon or late, we, 
 whom you reared and fitted for life, follow that inevi- 
 table path, in the words you have so often said and 
 sung: 
 
 " O may we meet, no wanderer lost, 
 A family in heaven !" 
 
 At the close of this year the author felt that 
 declining strength demanded his retirement from 
 the active service of the ministry. Accordingly, 
 at the session of the Cincinnati Conference, which 
 met in Dayton, September 6th, he asked for and 
 obtained the relation of superannuate. With re- 
 gard to his superannuation the following extract 
 is made from the Cincinnati Commercial. It is 
 
462 Granville Moody. 
 
 in the report of the conference doings, and is 
 dated September 11, 1882: 
 
 Rev. Granville Moody this morning, through his 
 presiding elder, Rev. S. A. Brewster, requested to be 
 removed from an effective to a superannuated rela- 
 tion, and proposes to change his residence to the State 
 of Iowa. The request coming from one so promi- 
 nent, who had so long served the interests of religion 
 and Methodism, produced a decided sensation among 
 the conference ranks and with outside circles. Before 
 the request was acted upon, Dr. Moody enlisted the 
 absorbed attention of every one in the church in the 
 following address : 
 
 "Dear Bishop and Brethren, — In consequence of 
 failing health and diminished strength during the last 
 three years, caused by the recurrence of the disease 
 contracted in the army, from which I have never fully 
 recovered, I deem it proper to ask to be relieved by you 
 from the duties of an effective itinerant Methodist min- 
 ister, and to be placed on the list of superannuated 
 preachers of the Cincinnati Conference. On the first 
 Saturday of last March my friends celebrated the 
 fiftieth anniversary of my entrance upon the active 
 duties of the ministry ; and having served my own 
 generation, and two successive generations as well, 
 according to the will of God and the will of the 
 Church, I deem it best to lay off the harness of an 
 active and efficient ministerial life. 
 
 "I feel truly thankful to our bishops for the impor- 
 tant trusts committed to my care in the succession of 
 appointments, which I review with gratitude. My 
 record is built into the history of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church in Ohio, both in the old Ohio Confer- 
 ence and since the organization of the Cincinnati 
 
Superannuation. 463 
 
 Conference in 1852 ; and what is better, my witness is 
 in heaven, and my record is on high. Their better 
 part was that which sprang from a loving heart. I 
 deem it my duty to say that, after fifty-one years of 
 careful and critical study of the Bible, I consider its 
 internal, external, and correlative evidences perfectly 
 conclusive ; and I rejoice that I have not spent my 
 prolonged life in inculcating a system of religion of 
 doubtful or even questionable veracity, but one that 
 is demonstrated by prophecies fulfilled and miracles 
 performed, and is attested by personal experience; 
 so that, 
 
 ' Tossed on a sea of doubt, 
 Here is firm footing, here is solid rock; 
 This can sustain us; all is sea beside.' 
 
 "I desire to add that in Methodism I have found 
 Christianity full-orbed, in its own glorious round of rays 
 complete, and I retire to veteran ranks with profound 
 sympathy and confidence in Methodism as a revival 
 of pure and primitive Christianity ; and had I another 
 half-hundred years to live and love and labor, I would 
 gladly give them all to our Lord and Savior Jesus 
 Christ, and rejoice in such an economy as Methodism 
 affords for the utilization of means to its great end 
 of spreading Christianity over these United States 
 and all other lands, till our race should hear and heed 
 the gospel's gladdening sound. 
 
 "I have preached Christian doctrine practically, 
 and Christian practice I have preached doctrinally, 
 and am receiving 'the end of my faith, even the sal- 
 vation of my soul.' I now propose to emigrate into 
 the State of Iowa, which, within a few weeks, carried 
 the Prohibition platform by a majority of more than 
 twenty thousand votes — the Massachusetts of the 
 West, with occidental improvements. I am going to 
 
464 Granville Moody. 
 
 grow up with that great State, and find there the con- 
 tinuance of the discovered path to the true Iowa of 
 heaven, as the Indian word Iowa means 'a home 
 for evermore.' 
 
 "Farewell, my beloved and honored brethren in the 
 ministry of reconciliation. L,et me assure you of my 
 high appreciation of your general worth, and believe 
 me, that 
 
 'If ever fondest prayer 
 
 For others' weal availed on high, 
 Mine will not all be lost in air, 
 
 But waft your names beyond the sky.' 
 
 "Farewell, farewell — adieu! Be with and for 
 God, and be assured that God will be with and for 
 you. In the lovely State of Iowa think of me, and 
 ever believe that I shall endeavor there to represent 
 Ohio Methodism, which is fast coming into line with a 
 prohibition huzza, and coming to stay." 
 
 On the conclusion of the author's remarks be- 
 fore the conference, a number of appreciative re- 
 sponses were made, and a special committee, 
 consisting of John F. Marlay, William L. Hypes, 
 John M. Walden, Richard S. Rust, David J. Starr, 
 and William Herr, was appointed to prepare a 
 suitable minute for the conference record. The 
 committee presented the following report, which 
 was adopted by a rising vote : 
 
 Rev. Granville Moody, D. D., having, on account 
 of failing health, taken a superannuated relation at 
 the close of fifty years in the active ministry, we, his 
 associates, enter this minute upon the records of our 
 conference : 
 
 1. Through all these years Brother Moody has 
 been a faithful Methodist itinerant preacher, loyal to 
 
Superannuation. 465 
 
 our beloved Church, earnestly promulgating her doc- 
 trines and maintaining her usages ; and, when required 
 by circumstances, defending her doctrines and polity 
 with all the force of an intellect remarkable both for 
 natural and acquired powers. 
 
 2. His ministry has covered a most eventful period 
 in the history of our Church and our country. He 
 has actively participated in the movements which have 
 resulted in the development of the connectional en- 
 terprises and educational institutions of our Church. 
 
 3. He bore a distinguished part in the great strug- 
 gle for the maintenance of the Union, combining in 
 himself the character of a devoted Christian and 
 brave soldier, both in the camp and on the battle- 
 field. 
 
 4. We rejoice that through his long career, with a 
 positive character, a burning zeal for the right, and an 
 earnest spirit ever placing him in antagonism to evil, 
 he has maintained an unblemished Christian character. 
 
 5. We earnestly pray that, in his retirement from 
 the active ministry, he may be comforted by the gospel 
 he has so efficiently preached, and be sustained by the 
 grace of God. 
 
 6. We trust that his valuable life will be spared, 
 and that, in the good providence of God, he may be 
 able to return to our next annual session and deliver 
 his Semi-centennial Sermon, which we hereby request 
 him to preach at that time. 
 
 In view of the author's long connection with 
 the work of the ministry in Ohio, and his identi- 
 fication with the history of Methodism during all 
 these years, John M. Walden moved that he be 
 requested to prepare his autobiography for publi- 
 cation. The motion was adopted, and the reader 
 
466 Granville Moody. 
 
 has the answer to this request in the present vol- 
 ume. "If I have done well, and as is fitting the 
 story, it is that which I desired ; but if slen- 
 derly and meanly, it is that which I could attain 
 unto." So 
 
 "What is writ, is writ; 
 Would it were worthier !" 
 
 The foregoing action of the Cincinnati Annual 
 Conference marks the closing hours of my active 
 itinerant life, after fifty years of incessant services 
 in the ministry of the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, according to the will of God. That won- 
 derful hour seemed a crisal one to me. It was 
 the epoch of my eventful life. It seemed like a 
 solemn pause in time, and I know of no hour 
 which has so impressed me. I was laying off the 
 harness, and yet I could not boast myself then, as 
 I did not when I put the harness on at the age 
 of nineteen years. Yet with tender tearfulness I 
 was grateful to God for the opportunities he had 
 afforded me to "hold forth the word of life," and 
 that "I had not run in vain, nor spent my strength 
 for naught." To God be all the glory ; mine the 
 endless bliss ! 
 
 And now, pleasantly situated with my beloved 
 daughter, Mrs. Mary Moody Boyd, wife of Rev. 
 Hugh Boyd, D. D., Professor of Ancient Lan- 
 guages in Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Linn 
 County, Iowa, in a pleasant apartment for myself 
 and my precious wife, Lucretia Elizabeth Harris 
 Moody, with ample provision for the rest of my 
 
Superannuation. 467 
 
 life by the good providence of the Lord, who is 
 my shepherd, I can say : 
 
 " O sacred solitude, divine retreat, 
 Choice of the prudent, envy of the great ! 
 Here, from the ways of men, laid safe ashore, 
 We smile to hear the distant tempest roar. 
 Here, blessed with ease, with business unperplexed, 
 This life we cherish, and insure the next." 
 
 It will be noticed that the conference requested 
 the author to preach a Semi-centennial Sermon at 
 the ensuing session, which was held in Hamilton. 
 Concerning this sermon, the following extract is 
 made from the correspondence of the Cincinnati 
 Daily Gazette. It is dated September 4, 1883 : 
 
 This afternoon Rev. Granville Moody preached his 
 Semi-centennial Sermon. He is probably better known 
 in Ohio than any other minister. His health is fail- 
 ing, and he will retire from the active service of the 
 ministry. The announcement that he would preach 
 his Semi-centennial or Memorial Sermon to-day drew 
 together an immense crowd. The house was packed. 
 The preacher, it was supposed, would give a personal 
 sketch, and relate something of the history of his life, 
 so well known, and yet so new at each rehearsal. But 
 in this they were disappointed. It was a grand ser- 
 mon, reviewing the life of Christ, his miracles, and the 
 story of his love for fallen man. It was not Moody, 
 but Jesus Christ. The venerable preacher never spoke 
 more loving words of eloquence, or brought tears to 
 the eye oftener than to-day. He was frequently inter- 
 rupted by his associates in the ministry by cheering 
 words and thanks to God. Said one gentleman, and 
 he tells the whole story: "It was a grand sermon. 
 
468 Granville Moody. 
 
 People came expecting to hear something of Moody ; 
 but as he began fifty years ago so he ends to-day, al- 
 ways keeping Jesus Christ to the front." 
 
 At the next conference (1884) the author was 
 unable to be present. But his brethren there 
 kindly remembered him, and sent him the following 
 token of their regard : 
 
 SpringfieIvD, Ohio, September 11, 1884. 
 Rev. GranviIvI^e Moody, D. D. : 
 
 Dear Brother,— The Cincinnati Conference, at 
 its last session, appointed the undersigned a special com- 
 mittee to convey their profound sympathy with you 
 as fellow-ministers, and as former fellow-workers in the 
 Lord's vineyard. We bear a lively remembrance of 
 your long years of arduous itinerant toil in the ministry 
 of the Lord Jesus. We gratefully recall your burning 
 zeal, and your great success in the fields you have occu- 
 pied. We can never forget our hallowed and blessed 
 fellowship of toils and sacrifices and sufferings, both 
 in the conference and in the active itinerant service. 
 
 As those of us who are advanced in years recall 
 all this, we are cheered by your good example of 
 labor and endurance in former years, and by your 
 present abundant experience, in your retirement from 
 the active work of the ministry, of the sustaining and 
 comforting grace of Christ. Those who are but re- 
 cently entering the itinerancy, and those who have 
 wrought in it but few years, are greatly impressed 
 and inspired by the noble record you have made, and 
 by the glorious eventide you are enjoying. 
 
 We rejoice in your past achievements. We are 
 glad you are " finishing your course with joy." We 
 all miss vour familiar face and voice at our annual 
 
Superannuation. 469 
 
 sessions. We pray that your faith may not fail ; that 
 He " who has begun a good work in you " will com- 
 plete it fully ; and also, and especially, that personally 
 you may find the promise fulfilled: "At evening time it 
 shall be light." 
 
 We are, dear brother, yours in the kingdom and 
 patience of Jesus. 
 
 Thomas H. Pearne, ) 
 
 William Young, >• Committee. 
 
 John F. Marlay, ) 
 
 Soon after, the following resolutions of the 
 Ministerial Association of Boone District, Des 
 Moines Conference, held in Perry, Iowa, Novem- 
 ber 6, 1884, were sent : 
 To the Rev. Granviij,e Moody, D. D., Greeting : — 
 
 The Ministerial Association of Boone District, Des 
 Moines Conference, held at Perry, Iowa, November 6, 
 1884, directed its secretary to forward to you the fol- 
 lowing expressions of regard : 
 
 1. Resolved, That we regret the inability of our 
 venerable brother, Rev. Granville Moody, D. D., to be 
 present with us in this association. 
 
 2. Resolved, That we are glad to welcome him as a 
 resident within the bounds of the Boone District. 
 
 3. We desire to express to him our high regard 
 for one who, for so long a period, has been prominent 
 and faithful among the Christian workers of our de- 
 nomination in the West; who, by his abilities and de- 
 votion as a Christian minister and patriot has chal- 
 lenged our admiration, and also stimulated multitudes 
 by his noble example and efficient labors; and we 
 trust that he may long be spared to bless us with his 
 wise and pious counsels, and that his declining years 
 
470 Granville Moody. 
 
 may continue to be brightened with the blessed hope 
 of the " better land." 
 
 B. F. W. Cozier, Presiding Elder. 
 W. W. McGuire, Secretary. 
 
 These two letters to me were very gratefully 
 received. They showed that I still lived in the 
 lively recollections of the members of the two con- 
 ferences, and seemed to be a prelude to the Savior's 
 welcome salutation: "Well done, good and faith- 
 ful servant! Thou hast been faithful over a few 
 things, I will make thee ruler over many things. 
 Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 To hear one's commendations from such high 
 source is as cheering, invigorating, and delightful 
 as walking through an Oriental spice-grove, where 
 every prospect pleases, and delicious fragrances 
 vie with each other in exhilarating influences. 
 It is and shall be my daily concern to " finish my 
 course with joy ;" and eternity shall then place its 
 unfading stamp upon my name among the fol- 
 lowers of the Lamb. Resurgam! I shall rise 
 again ! Amen ! God grant me grace, through the 
 remnant of my days, so to live and act that these 
 welcome utterances may prove resonant of the 
 Savior's final utterance to me — even to me ! Truly 
 religion gives part of its reward in hand, the present 
 comfort of having done our duty; and for the rest, 
 it offers us the best security that heaven can give. 
 
 "Happy the man," says the Western Christian 
 Advocate, in referring to the foregoing action of 
 the Cincinnati Conference and the Boone District 
 Ministerial Association, "happy the man who thus 
 
Superannuation. 471 
 
 enjoys the esteem of those who know him far 
 and near !" 
 
 One night, a few weeks subsequently (De- 
 cember 15, 1884), I had a dream or vision, and 
 an impression that came upon my mind as vividly 
 as if it were a divine communication or a revelation 
 from God. I was asleep to all but divine things. 
 God appeared to me, saying to my inner spiritual 
 consciousness, as though it were a communication 
 direct from God : " Because he hath set his love 
 upon me, therefore will I deliver him : I will set 
 him on high, because he hath known my name. 
 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him : 
 I will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him, 
 and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, 
 and show him my salvation." Wonderful words 
 uttered to me personally, as I presume, and mak- 
 ing known to me the mind and will of God in 
 my individual, personal case. I wondered, loved, 
 adored, and gloried in the Lord who had conde- 
 scended so low to me — even to me; and my soul 
 rejoiced in God, my father's God, my mother's 
 God, my own chosen God, before whom I have 
 walked amid all the changing scenes of an event- 
 ful life since the evening of Thanksgiving-day, 
 1 83 1, till this fifteenth day of December, 1884 — 
 fifty-three years of a busy life spent in the glad 
 service of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the 
 Three in One, and One in Three, who was, and is, 
 and is to be. Yes ! the sacred, undivided Three 
 has bivouacked about me in all my walking 
 through this great wilderness, guiding, guard- 
 
472 Granville Moody. 
 
 ing, warning, directing, cautioning, encouraging, 
 strengthening, cheering, and assuring me amid 
 multitudinous circumstances that have been a 
 kaleidoscope of wondrous scenes in harmonious 
 aspects, retrospects, and prospects, and then on this 
 momentous month, appearing in such an aspect of 
 tender love, addressing me as erst he addressed 
 David: " Because he hath set his love upon me!" 
 
 And now I do declare and subscribe to this 
 wondrous communication from God to me, and I 
 do hereby select those animated words of Holy 
 Scripture, found in Psalms xci, 14-16, inclusive, as 
 my funeral text, by whomsoever the sermon may 
 be preached, as declaring my privileges, pros- 
 pects, and portion thus singularly revealed to my 
 mind, and specially pointed out to my perception 
 by our Lord Jesus Christ, for my comfort and con- 
 fidence and full assurance of faith unto the end. 
 My prophet, priest, and king; my shepherd, friend, 
 and guide ! — Jesus, and all in him, is mine. 
 
 For several weeks during the winter of 1885-86, 
 my wife was in failing health, and steadily de- 
 clined. The following letter describes her condi- 
 tion at the date of its writing : 
 
 Mount Vernon, Linn County, Iowa, \ 
 January 17, 1886. J 
 
 My Dear Daughter Elizabeth, — Your precious 
 mother, Lucretia Elizabeth Moody, for whom you 
 were named, still lives. She is reduced to a mere 
 skeleton. Her physician, Dr. Carson, has just left the 
 house (eight o'clock this morning). He hardly knows 
 in what befitting terms to express his mind with 
 regard to your mother's case, but thinks and hopes 
 
Superannuation. 473 
 
 that her condition is more hopeful. He is, however, 
 quite reticent and guarded in venturing his opinion. 
 He has been thus reticent for five weeks, last past. He 
 is not sanguine of success in this case, nor has he been 
 so from the incipiency of the disease. He is a faithful 
 and competent and experienced and tender physician ; 
 yet he says: "Your wife has a vast power of endur- 
 ance and vitality." What the vis medicatrix natures \ 
 or healing power of nature, may accomplish is un- 
 known, but her power of endurance has been severely 
 tested, developing great vitality and hold on life. It 
 depends entirely upon the aid which God may send 
 from on high if she weathers this continuous storm. 
 
 God's wisdom regulates the bestowment of power, 
 and if he sees best he will say of her suffering : "Thus 
 far shalt thou go and no farther, and here shall thy proud 
 waves be stayed ;" or, " It is enough, come up higher ; 
 enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." It will all be 
 in mercy and grace to her, however bereaving and 
 sacrificing and irreparable the loss may prove to us. 
 
 Precious saint of the Lord Jesus Christ, thy pres- 
 ence was our heaven upon earth, for the Lord was 
 with thee' continually. Thy absence will darken earth, 
 thy presence will brighten heaven. On thy departure 
 we shall be warranted in saying : 
 
 " Forever with the Lord ! 
 Amen : so let it be ; 
 Life from the dead is in that word, 
 'T is immortality." 
 
 She was converted at a Methodist altar, Saturday 
 evening, at Milburn's Chapel, Frederick County, Vir- 
 ginia, and joined the Methodist Church under the 
 labors of the eminent Abolitionist, Rev. Edward Smith, 
 in 1827, when she was ten years of age. She says she 
 
 never had any trouble after that, but just went along 
 
 40 
 
474 Granville Moody. 
 
 and served God from love. Two weeks after her 
 marriage she sought at God's altar in the Methodist 
 Church, in Fulton, Ohio, the sanctification of her soul, 
 and received that gift of grace in all its power and 
 plenitude, exclaiming in rapturous joy, "I am so 
 happy, so happy !" She has modestly but firmly 
 confessed her complete salvation ever since, bearing 
 a clear testimony to this salvation to the uttermost. 
 Her experience has been continuous and abiding, and 
 occasionally she has testified to this exalting and ex- 
 alted state of grace spoken of by St. Paul, i Thes- 
 salonians v, 23-4. 
 
 We were married at her father's house (William 
 Hickman Harris) on Buck Creek, four miles north- 
 west of Springfield, Clarke County, Ohio, on Tues- 
 day, January 19, 1836, by Joshua Boucher. We have 
 celebrated our happy marriage days for the last forty- 
 nine years ; and if she survives two more days, we will 
 celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the ever memor- 
 able era of our early marriage. She has been better 
 than I took her for, and the worst calamity to me will 
 be her removal by death. But our loss and my loss 
 will prove her immediate, indescribable, and ever- 
 lasting gain — an exceeding great reward ! 
 
 We celebrated our happy marriage for fifty 
 years, completed the 19th of January, 1886 ; and 
 seventeen days afterward my wife was not, for God 
 took her. She died at the residence of our son- 
 in-law, Professor Hugh Boyd, D. D., of Cornell 
 College, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Having shared 
 the vicissitudes and beatitudes of fifty years of 
 itinerant toil in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Ohio, she accompanied me into this western 
 region, and has outstripped me in her militant 
 
Superannuation. 475 
 
 career, met the king of terrors, and gained her 
 long-sought home, where the weary are at rest. 
 
 The following notice of her death is clipped 
 from a Mt. Vernon paper: 
 
 At eight o'clock, Friday morning, February 5, 1886, 
 Mrs. Iyucretia Elizabeth Moody, wife of General Gran- 
 ville Moody, died in this city, at the residence of her 
 son-in-law, Professor Hugh Boyd, of Cornell College. 
 Mrs. Moody was in her sixty-eighth year, and she and 
 her illustrious husband had just celebrated their 
 golden wedding, they having been married on the 
 19th of January, 1836. 
 
 Her funeral services were held in the Methodist 
 Church, of which her husband was an eminent min- 
 ister of fifty-four years' standing, on Sunday after- 
 noon, a large congregation being present, and also 
 attending the funeral cortege to the cemetery. The 
 pastor, Rev. F. B. Cherrington, impressively read the 
 ritual as the casket was borne down the aisle to the 
 altar, which was profusely arrayed in flowers and ap- 
 propriate tokens of affection and of Christian faith. 
 Rev. George Bancroft, of the Troy Conference, an ex- 
 army chaplain, read the Scripture lessons, following 
 with a most impressive and appropriate prayer. 
 
 The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. John 
 Hogarth Lozier, of this city, who was an acquaintance 
 of fully a quarter of a century's standing, and was 
 General Moody's comrade and intimate associate dur- 
 ing the war, having been by his side in battle, and 
 having been the only chaplain in their brigade during 
 part of that time, and being often assisted in preach- 
 ing by Colonel (now General) Moody. 
 
 His text was John xiv, 4 : "Whither I go, ye know." 
 The chaplain graphically referred to Mrs. Moody's hast- 
 
476 Granville Moody. 
 
 ening from her Ohio home to the side of her hus- 
 band, who had been four times struck with rebel balls 
 in the battle of Stone River. He spoke of her work 
 for the soldiers who survived that battle, mending 
 both their bullet-torn garments and bodies as best she 
 could. She was not the "good Samaritan" without 
 the oil and the two-pence. He assured the large 
 assembly of saddened hearts present that their num- 
 bers would be multiplied by tens of thousands as the 
 tidings of this death should spread eastward among 
 the hearts and homes that had enjoyed the benisons 
 of her earlier life and labors. Such lives become so 
 embalmed in the hearts they have blessed that their 
 memory is forever superior to decay ; while such devo- 
 tion to God, humanity, and country so assimilates the 
 soul to Christ as to render it quite at home with him. 
 When such souls are parted from us, our spiritual 
 vision traces upon the luminous pathway of their 
 ascent the words of the text, "Whither I go, ye 
 know." 
 
 General Moody, whose snow-white head has never 
 bowed, save in courtesy, to any but his God, was bowed 
 down with this grief in a manner that touched all 
 hearts ; yet he fervently thanked his Maker for so 
 blessed a companionship for so many years. 
 
 The four great epochs of my wife's earthly 
 existence are briefly these : Born February 26, 
 1 818 ; converted to Christ November, 1827 ; mar ~ 
 ried January 19, 1836; died February 5, 1886. 
 To such as she the words of Longfellow are most 
 applicable : 
 
 " There is no death. What seems so is transition ; 
 This life of mortal breath 
 Is but the suburb of the life elysiau, 
 Whose portal we call death." 
 
Superannuation. 477 
 
 When the Cincinnati Conference met the fol- 
 lowing fall, in Piqua, at the memorial service held 
 in honor of those who had died during the year, 
 William Herr read the following memoir of Mrs. 
 Moody. It was prepared by Mrs. S. J. M. Con- 
 well, who was a long time a faithful and intimate 
 friend of the family : 
 
 Lucretia Elizabeth Harris Moody, beloved wife of 
 Rev. Granville Moody, D. D., was born in Virginia, 
 on the present site of Jordan, White Sulphur Springs, 
 February 26, 1818. Her ancestral lineage, on both 
 sides, was of the highest type, not only in social and 
 civil relationships, but better far, in relation to Chris- 
 tianity and the Church of that early day. Mrs. 
 Moody was born to a heritage in the Lord's house. 
 Her sturdy father, William Hickman Harris, secured 
 his noble wife by pledging the godly mother that he 
 would "not hinder, but help Elizabeth to live a Chris- 
 tian life." This same maternal grandmother declared, 
 in a love-feast, that she had been divinely assured 
 that her children's children, to the latest generation, 
 would honor God and love the Savior. Her faith, 
 thus far, has been happily and wonderfully verified. 
 Her name was Elizabeth Kurtz. She came from 
 Germany when ten years old. 
 
 In 1 83 1 Mrs. Moody was withdrawn from a ladies' 
 seminary, in Winchester, Va., where she had been a 
 pupil for two or three years, to be brought, as the 
 teachers said protestingly, "to the wilderness of the 
 West." But in this "wilderness," near Springfield, 
 O., Mrs. Moody found her life's work — the labors and 
 duties of which she cheerfully assumed, and per- 
 formed, without swerving and without regretting, to 
 the end of her earthly pilgrimage. She was keenly 
 
478 Granville Moody. 
 
 sensitive to the beauties of nature, and frequently 
 spoke with enthusiasm of the delights of that west- 
 ward journey, performed in a gig, accompanied by her 
 oldest brother, while the parents and younger chil- 
 dren followed in the family carriage and a six-horse 
 wagon. 
 
 In January, 1836, Mrs. Moody was united in mar- 
 riage to Rev. Granville Moody, her sorrowing sur- 
 vivor, and for half a century Brother and Sister 
 Moody were earnest and pre-eminently successful co- 
 workers in the itinerant ministry. Mrs. Moody was 
 well fitted for her high calling. In a very peculiar 
 sense was she a helpmeet to her companion, and an 
 " ornament in the courts of the Lord's house." Her 
 character, which was unique, impressed itself upon all 
 who came within her influence. She had made ex- 
 cellent use of her early privileges of education ; she 
 was progressive, and always a close and correct 
 observer. From an early age she was also endowed 
 with a fine, discriminating sense, and a high quality of 
 courage, which together, kept her invariably calm and 
 self-poised. She possessed, also, a graceful and com- 
 manding presence, an intelligent perception of pro* 
 priety, and a ready power of adaptation to surroundings 
 and to the necessities of practical life. The following 
 beautiful tribute is from the heart and pen of her 
 eldest daughter: 
 
 " I need not tell you, my mother's friend, how 
 perennial was the spring of her nature, how alive was 
 every fiber, how acute each pleasure, how natural 
 every emotion, and how unaffected its expression. 
 She was full of all goodly conditions, and of infinite 
 variety. Her tact was perfect, and never at the ex- 
 pense of entire truthfulness, which she gained in part 
 by a wise reticence, both of word and act. She knew 
 
Superannuation. 
 
 479 
 
 to speak, and, far greater knowledge, to keep silence. 
 She knew ' how to be abased and how to abound,' 
 and there was that in her nature that built a home 
 round her, invisibly, intangibly, spiritually, even as she 
 walked in strange places." 
 
 Mrs. Moody's Christian character was a rare union 
 of duties and graces. Converted at a camp-meeting in 
 Virginia at the early age of eight years, she was 
 frequently known to say that "never for a moment 
 since that hour had she doubted her justified relation 
 before God and the power of divine grace to keep her 
 faithful to the end." Piety seemed inwrought into 
 the entire web of her life, and, suffusing itself over 
 her whole being, was manifest in the smallest as 
 well as in the great details of faith and duty. 
 
 In each of her husband's numerous appointments 
 Mrs. Moody was heartily welcomed as the pastor's 
 wife, and immediately entered, actively and zealously, 
 into every movement to promote the interests of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. Especially was she interested 
 in, and a happy co-worker with the young, in all their 
 social Church organizations ; and in the Sabbath- 
 school, which seldom missed her presence, she was a 
 power, felt and acknowleged by all. It was here that 
 her versatility was most beautifully exemplified, and 
 whether the exercises were of a social, devotional, or 
 literary character, Mrs. Moody was equally at home on 
 the occasion. There was that in her own freshness and 
 sunniness of nature that allied her instinctively to 
 youth, and this amiable disposition, going with her 
 through life, kept her heart still young, as years made 
 their passage over her head. The youngest daughter 
 writes thus : 
 
 "Mother never seemed to be more vigorous and 
 enterprising than in the last few years of her life, on 
 
480 Granville Moody. 
 
 till last March, when I began to see that she was fail- 
 ing. She enjoyed life, too, as well as ever, and made 
 it such a bright and pleasant thing for all around her, 
 it was impossible to conceive that she should ever 
 grow old." 
 
 In her earthly, as well as in her divine loves, Mrs. 
 Moody was eminently practical. Joining industry to 
 devotion, it was her great aim to be useful, and to con- 
 duce daily to the comfort and happiness of all around 
 her. She used to say, pleasantly, "I have no time for 
 sentimentalities, you see ; I love my dear ones with 
 my hands and feet." 
 
 In the memorable year of 1862, Mrs. Moody's 
 Christian heroism was subjected to the severest test ; 
 but faith and patriotism rose to the occasion, and 
 nerved her for the sacrifice. Cheerfully, and with 
 brave heart, she gave up both husband and son to 
 their country's call, in defense of liberty and right- 
 eousness, and not even when the hazards and grim 
 possibilities of war rose before her as a black wall did 
 she waver or weep. During their absence from 
 home, Mrs. Moody disbanded her household in the 
 parsonage of Morris Chapel, Cincinnati, now "St. 
 Paul," and went to take care of her aged and feeble 
 mother, who was at this time living in the loneliness 
 of widowhood, in the homestead at Springfield. Im- 
 mediately after the battle of Stone River, learning 
 from vague and uncertain sources that her husband 
 was among the wounded, and herself apprehending 
 the worst, she braved all discomforts and dangers, and 
 overcame all obstacles to reach him, which she suc- 
 cessfully accomplished, traveling, in turn, by railway, 
 wagon, government ambulance, and finally on horse- 
 back, across the field of battle to General Moody's 
 own head-quarters, in the advance line of the battle- 
 
Superannuation. 481 
 
 ground, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Mrs. Moody 
 remarked that "that last stage of the journey, two 
 miles, might have been performed by stepping 
 from one dead horse to another, so fierce and fatal 
 had been the six days' strife of war." Here Mrs. 
 Moody remained for a fortnight, faithfully and ten- 
 derly ministering, not only to the needs of her 
 wounded husband, but to the lesser needs of tattered 
 and homesick soldiers in his command ; and many a 
 "word, fitly spoken" to them, proved afterwards to be 
 as "apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
 
 The keenest sorrow of Mrs. Moody's married life 
 came to her in the death of her noble and promising 
 son, Lieutenant William H. H. Moody, topographical 
 engineer and staff officer on General Negley's staff, 
 who, having escaped the deadly weapons of war, yet 
 fell a victim to the cause, from disease contracted in 
 the army. He died in the summer of 1864, at the 
 family residence in Piqua, O., to which station his 
 father had been appointed by the conference, after 
 resigning his position in the army, and while himself 
 was on furlough because of impaired health. Under 
 the deep affliction of her son's death, Mrs. Moody was 
 the comfort and strength of all the family, bearing 
 her own share of sorrow with the Roman mother's 
 fortitude and the Christian mother's hope. The 
 sisters have since said : "We thought it impossible that 
 she felt our brother's death as keenly as we, because 
 she so controlled her anguish, and let no duty, 
 however small, pass, even at the very grave's mouth. 
 But when, later, she told us that 'for years it hurt 
 her to see the sun shine,' we knew better ' the depth 
 of her bereavement.' " 
 
 This great sorrow, as was apparent to all, brought 
 her into closer union with the spiritual and unseen. 
 
 41 
 
482 Granville Moody. 
 
 Her piety wore a deeper and holier tinge. The grace 
 of God, which abounded in her life, was more con- 
 spicuous in the spiritual serenity and cheerfulness of 
 soul sustained in the midst of so sad a bereavement. 
 Mother and son are both sleeping the sleep that "God 
 gives to his beloved," in graves widely sundered by 
 areas of earth ; but their spirits, doubtless, are sweetly 
 mingling in the celestial communion. 
 
 Another sore trial of Mrs. Moody's experience pre- 
 sented itself when her husband's broken health and 
 extremely feeble condition made it necessary for him 
 to ask a superannuated relation to this conference, 
 thus ceasing from the active work of the ministry. 
 But here, again, her supreme good sense and ready 
 acceptance of exigencies, together with an unquestion- 
 ing submission to the divine will, not only sustained 
 her own spirit, but made her a strength and solace 
 to her husband in the sorrow that well-nigh rent his 
 soul. Lovingly and without fear she went forth with 
 the grand companion and co-laborer of her life, to 
 new scenes, and to smaller spheres of action ; and our 
 hearts ejaculated blessings on them as they went, and 
 we knew that they who had been so faithful and suc- 
 cessful in that which is much, would neither falter 
 nor fail in that which is less. Their hearts clung 
 ever "to the old friends," and, present or absent, were 
 always loyal to them. 
 
 Last winter, about holiday-time, numerous and 
 beautifully wrought cards of invitation were sent 
 forth, bidding friends from every home of the past, 
 to their golden anniversary wedding, which was to be 
 celebrated January 19th, under the commodious roof 
 of their son-in-law, Rev. Professor Hugh Boyd, 
 D. D., of Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa. The 
 kindly, sympathetic responses to those cards, that 
 
Superannuation. 483 
 
 poured in upon them for days, by every mail, and 
 reached our sister upon her couch of feebleness, 
 proved a keen pleasure to her — a member of the family 
 said, "one of the rarest delights of her whole life." 
 The single regret was: "O, if I might only see them 
 all!" But, alas! "how swift trod sorrow on the heels 
 of joy !" It proved the last anniversary. 
 
 In the first stages of Mrs. Moody's decline, there 
 seemed to be no particular disease, rather only a 
 gradual and gentle exhaustion of strength. But 
 friends were not deceived. Instantly husband and 
 children recognized and reverenced in hex that majes- 
 tic grace of departing days that attends the going out 
 of lofty and virtuous life. 
 
 Mrs. Boyd touchingly writes: "Mother came home 
 to us last September, bright and cheerful as ever, but 
 very frail. She continued to grow weaker every day, 
 and by Thanksgiving-time was so feeble that I did 
 not let her rise until after taking her breakfast; and 
 then one day she did not feel like getting up at all, 
 and that was the beginning of the end." 
 
 But days of intense suffering were in store for our 
 dear sister, through which she bore herself with sweet- 
 ness and resignation ; though had it been the 
 Heavenly Father's will, she would fain have lingered 
 in life for the sake of the loved one, who, she felt, 
 still needed her presence, and, in his increasing years 
 and feebleness, more than ever. Once, when it 
 seemed to anxious watchers that the death-angel had 
 indeed come, her agonized husband said to her : "Wife, 
 for you to live is Christ, but to die would be your 
 gain." "Yes," she replied, "that is true; but there is 
 work for me yet. You can not spare me ; do not talk 
 of my dying." Thus her thought was for others and 
 not herself, even when face to face with the supreme 
 
484 Granville Moody. 
 
 solemnity. A loving watcher by the sick-bed said : 
 "All through her sufferings she was her unselfish self, 
 natural, transparent, clear as crystal, genuine, even in 
 fever and delirium." 
 
 At last the messenger came in very truth, and was 
 recognized simultaneously by patient sufferer and 
 waiting friends. With the utmost composure, and 
 with a loving smile for all about her bed, she brokenly 
 articulated, in several attempts, "The Lord is my 
 shepherd !" and stepped trustingly down into the 
 dark valley, through which all who go must journey 
 alone. The date of her death was February 5, 1886. 
 
 In connection with the foregoing memoir, 
 Sylvester Weeks read a paper setting forth Mrs. 
 Moody's adaptability to work, in connection with 
 the Woman's Temperance Crusade movement. 
 From that paper the following extract will be in 
 place here : 
 
 Mrs. Moody's adaptability shone out most conspic- 
 uously in the "Crusade," which, like the "Day of 
 Pentecost," brief in itself, yet put in motion a train 
 of influences which shall move on till He shall reign 
 "whose right it is." Dealing with good men who were 
 conservative, with some impulsive men and women 
 with views bordering on fanaticism, and with wicked 
 men and women whose mercenary profits and sensual 
 indulgences were interfered with, she, as the prompt 
 and efficient leader, conducted the campaign success- 
 fully, without alienating a single friend or drawing 
 upon herself the personal malignity of an enemy of 
 the righteous cause. Dr. Moody, presiding elder of 
 the district ; Dr. Hamilton, pastor of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and I, were frequently consulted as to methods, 
 
Superannuation. 485 
 
 and often, after laborious ascent as we reached 
 the summit of a conclusion, we found that her 
 womanly intuition had carried her to the elevation, 
 and she sat serenely waiting with un fatigued energy 
 to carry forward the work. I shall never forget 
 one scene in that ever-memorable movement. I 
 had drawn, in colored crayons, a temperance design 
 on the blackboard, and displaying it in the lecture- 
 room of the Methodist Church in Ripley, whence the 
 ladies started, after prayer and Christian conference, 
 to plead with men as one pleads for his life to 
 abandon their death-dealing business, she stood in her 
 place between the front pew and the communion rail, 
 her queenly form erect, her left hand extended toward 
 the object lesson, of which she said, "The sight of 
 the eye affects the heart;" her right hand, in entreat- 
 ing gesture, extended toward her sister-workers ; her 
 head, with its silvery crown of giay and brimming 
 eyes, for a moment cast down as though weighted with 
 its load of intense interest, then upward toward 
 heaven, as though assured of the triumph of the right, 
 received anew her baptism as the consecrated leader 
 of the advance guard of the triumphing temperance 
 and Christian host. Her power of adaptation was not 
 the cunning of nature or the result of culture, but 
 the grace of God to one willing and obedient. 
 
 [The author of the foregoing Retrospect did not 
 long survive his wife. He died, as already related 
 in the Preface, June 4, 1887. Many are the anec- 
 dotes told of his ministerial and army life, only a 
 few of which he himself repeats, and most of 
 them he gives in the words of others. Had the 
 editor gathered up and included the reminiscences 
 of Dr. Moody's friends and associates in the 
 
486 Granville Moody. 
 
 ministry and laity, this volume might have been 
 extended indefinitely. 
 
 No man can paint a good portrait of himself, 
 nor has the author done so here. We see his 
 likeness dimly, and only in profile. But it is that 
 of a master. He himself has departed, but his 
 influence remains. Not more than once or twice 
 in a century does such a man appear. By him 
 the Church is widened, souls are gathered in, and 
 humanity is blessed. The peculiarites and ec- 
 centricities of the actor are forgotten with the 
 generation to which he belonged. The labors 
 which he performed and the record of the words 
 which he spoke belong to posterity. By these he 
 still lives. Only when the Lord cometh to make up 
 his jewels can his work be properly estimated. — 
 Editor.] 
 
 the END. 
 
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