If Ulnlumbta Kniuerfiito in tlje (£itg of 5Ceui $ork THE LIBRARIES Bequest of Frederic Bancroft 1860 - 1945 AMERICA, AMERICAN CHURCH. AMERICA, AND THE AMERICAN CHURCH BY THE REV. HENRY CAS WALL, M.A. VICAR OF FIGHEIiDEAN, WILTS., AND FOURTEEN YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: JOHN AND CHARLES MOZLEY, PATERNOSTER ROW 1851. John and Charles Mozley, Printers, Derby. PREFACE The Church of England occupies at present a critical and deeply interesting position. Enemies are actively attempting to undermine the religious institutions of the country, while friends are earnestly proposing many plans for removing their abuses, and increasing their efficiency. Under these circumstances, it appears to the Author that a fair and impartial account of the Church in America is calculated to supply encouragement, and to suggest valuable ideas. The historical portion of the subject exhibits a remote branch of the Reformed Church, planted amid serious difficulties, and slowly growing up uncared-for and neglected by the State. Unable to obtain the necessary means of self-propagation, it maintains a languid existence until an undesired catastrophe allows it the possibility of healthy extension. In the course of half a century from that event, it is seen to put forth vigorous branches of its own, and to diffuse salutary influences over A3 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. SYNODICAL ACTION AND ITS RESULTS. Page Departure of Bishop Chase. — System of Parochial Organi- zation. — Of Dioceses and Diocesan Conventions. — Of the General Convention and its powers. — Ecclesiastical Dis- tinctions. — Discipline of the Clergy and Laity 9 7 CHAPTER VI. HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN CnCRCH. First Settlement of the English. — Various Sects introduced. — Relation of the Church to the State in the Colonial period. — Efforts of the Society for Propagating the Gospel. — Applications for Bishops. — The Revolution. — Bishops finally consecrated. — The General Convention and Diocesan Con- ventions established. — Great extension of the Church. — Missionary efforts. — Death of Bishop White. — Further de- velopment of Church principles. — General Convention of 1850 123 CHAPTER VII. PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THE AUTHOR CONTINUED. Inundation of the Ohio. — Advancement of the Church in Portsmouth. — Visit to Kentucky. — Progress of the Cholera. — The Author travels Eastward. — New York. — Quaker Con- vention in Rhode Island. — The Church in that Diocese. — Convention in Massachusetts. — Andover. — Salem. — Journey to Vermont 159 CHAPTER VIII. PERSONAL NARRATIVE CONTINUED. Appointment to a Professorship in Kentucky. — Collection of Donations towards a Theological Library. — Hartford, and the Church in Connecticut. — Trinity College. — The Church in New York. — General Theological Seminary. — Phila- delphia, and the Church in Pennsylvania. — Kenyon College revisited. — Education in America. — Seminary at Lexington. Religion in Kentucky.- -Troubles in the Church. — Re- moval of the Author to Indiana 1SG CONTENTS. XI CHAPTEK IX. PERSONAL NARRATIVE CONTINUED. Page Description of Madison. — Missions of the American Church at home and in foreign parts.— Jubilee Collections in 1851. — Incalculable importance of Domestic Missions in the United States. — Progress of the Church in Madison and in Indiana generally. — The Author removes to Upper Canada. — Tour in that Province. — The Bishop of Montreal. — Vestiges of the Rebellion. — Niagara Falls revisited. — Invasion of Canada by the Sympathizers. — Their defeat and final doom... 214 CHAPTER X. CANADA, AND THE CANADIAN CHURCH. Loyalty of the Church. — The Clergy Reserves. — Disastrous effects of the Union of the two Provinces. — Ascendancy of Romanists and Dissenters. — King's College becomes a " God- less " University. — Religion forbidden in the Schools. — The Bishop of Toronto commences a Church University, and convokes the Synod of Toronto. — Personal narrative con- tinued. — The Author officiates on both sides of the Frontier. — Marriages performed by the Ferryman. — A French Cen- tenarian. — Clerical Meetings in Canada. — Indian Mission at Napanee. — Kentucky revisited. — A Roman Catholic Bishop. — Romish Miracles. — Disability of American Ordination. — Visit to England and Scotland. — Synod of Scottish Bishops. — -Return to America. — General Convention of 1841. — Journey to Missouri 246 CHAPTER XL INFLUENCES OPERATING ON THE AMERICAN CHURCH. Influence of Early History. — Defective ideas of the Episcopal Office. — Laxity in regard to Matrimony and Divorce. — Political influences on the first General Convention. — Alte- rations in the Prayer-Book. — Influences of the Civil Govern- ment. — Peculiar influence of a new country. — Influence of Slavery. — Influence of surrounding religious bodies. — Ameri- can Sects described. — Influence of the Church of England. — Evil effects of certain influences. — Synodical Action. — Position of the Clergy. — Their continued increase notwith- standing. — A Convert's view of the Church 279 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. Foundation of Kemper College. — Its Professors. — Historical sketch of the Country. — Sects in St. Louis. — Roman Catholic statistics. — Visit to the College of the Jesuits. — Public build- ings in St. Louis. — The Planter's House. — Interview with Bishop Chase.— Sketch of his labours from 1831 to the present time. — The Author appointed to proceed to Europe. 307 CHAPTER XIIL JOSEril SMITH AND THE MOHMONS. Page Prediction of Souther. — Early history of Joseph Smith. — The "Spaulding Manuscript." — Publication of the Book of Mor- mon. — Hierarchy and Doctrines of Mormonism. — Preaching of these Doctrines in England. — Foundation of Xauvoo. — Visit of the Author to the "Prophet." — Smith's subsequent prosperity.— I lis Murder. — Completion of the Temple. — Emigration of the Mormons. — Their final establishment beyond the Rocky Mountains 331 CHAPTER XIY. CONCLUSION. The Author returns to England. — Interview with the Arch- bishop of Canterbury. — A Private Act of Parliament ob- tained. — A Library secured for Kemper College. — The Author resigns the Professorship. — Various conclusions de- rived from the facts recorded in this volume 371 AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN CHURCH CHAPTER I. VOYAGE AND JOURNEY FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. Visit of Bishop Chase to England. — Voyage of the Author to New York. — His fellow-passengers. — First Sunday in America. — Journey to Ohio. — First interview with Bishop Chase. It will be recollected by many Churchmen, that in the year 1823, a personage of no ordinary character made his first appearance on the shores of England. As the Bishop of a diocese of the " Ploly Catholic Church," he Avas, of course, received with respect ; but circumstances were connected with his visit, which rendered him an object of peculiar interest and atten- tion. He came from the distant region of Ohio, a country then scarcely known in Britain even by name, on an errand closely connected with the propagation of the Gospel. He spoke of the vast increase of the u Z VOYAGE AN D J C) 1 8 N E Y population in Western America, and of the destitu- tion which prevailed in regard to religious instruction. He painted in lively colours the feeble condition of the Church committed to his charge, its inadequacy to the supply of the spiritual wants of the people, and its necessary inability to impart the means of grace to the multitudes of European and American emi- grants who annually settled in the vast valley, watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. His object in visiting England was to obtain the means of founding a College, for the supply of that country with an educated and duly ordained Clergy, who might enter upon their field of labour with a full understanding of the character, opinions, and circumstances of the inhabitants of the West. To this object he had devoted the whole of his private property, and, depending on the providence of God, he had em- barked on his distant enterprise in the firm expectation that his European brethren would appreciate his design, and assist him in carrying it into execution. Nor was his expectation disappointed. lie was received, not merely with respect, but with cordial sympathy. His plans were investigated with candour, and, although himself a foreigner, and appearing on behalf of a country recently at war with England, British Christians recognized Bishop Chase and the members of his infant Church only as fellow-Church- men, and as constituent parts of the same mystical body with themselves. More than six thousand pounds were contributed towards the erection of the proposed institution ; and with this sum, in addition to the amount given with equal generosity by indi- FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 3 viduals in America, he purchased, on his return to Ohio, eight thousand acres of land in an eligible situation, and soon commenced the erection of " Kenyon College/' and of the village of "Gam- bier." ' During his stay in England, Bishop Chase had often expressed a wish that young men of enter- prising and active habits should accompany, or follow him to Ohio, and connect themselves with the pro- posed College, with a view to the toils and privations which might be expected to attend upon clerical life in a new country. Through a late venerated relative, who, as the founder of Lampeter College in South Wales, was naturally interested in the somewhat similar undertaking in Ohio, I received various notices of the American prelate and of his noble designs, and ultimately, with the approbation of those whose consent was essential to such a step, I determined on proceeding to the institution, then rising in the forests of the " far West." Accordingly, having separated myself from all the endearing associations of home, I set out at the early age of eighteen on a journey which, independently of its more remote and important objects, possessed great attractions in prospect to a youthful imagination* The sea-voyage, the rising cities of America, the vast lakes, the stupendous cataracts, and the boundless forests, occupied my anticipations perhaps no less than the future erection of churches and the conver- sion of Indians and backwoodsmen in the diocese of Bishop Chase. The long journey of four thousand miles appeared a mere summer excursion, and the 4 VOYAGE AND J OTJ R N E Y probable difficulties and dangers of the way were altogether unheeded. Having arrived at Liverpool, I ascertained that two packets sailed weekly for New York, and after making the necessary inquiries, I took a berth on board the Canada, a fine American ship of five hundred and seventy tons burthen, commanded by Captain Hugh Graham. On the 16th of August, 1828, I went on board the vessel, then lying in Prince's Dock, and soon after twelve o'clock she unmoored and put to sea. I am not about to detain the reader by a minute description of the voyage, since, however interesting, such details would be foreign to my present purpose. But a short description of my fellow-passengers may not be altogether out of place. Among the more gentlemanly and agreeable of them was a wealthy American, residing at Brussels, and now on his way to visit his extensive possessions in his native land. There was also his friend, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Life Guards, who had seen much service in the Peninsular war. Being a bachelor, and weary of inaction, he had determined on a trip to America, principally with the object of viewing the falls of Niagara, lie often amused us with anecdotes of Wellington and of his brave com- panions in arms. An American Quaker and his amiable lady, a gentleman from Wolverhampton, extensively engaged in the iron-trade, a young cotton-manufacturer from Manchester, and a few others, were likewise to be reck- oned among the agreeable portion of those in the cabin. FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 5 ( )n the other hand, there was a hand of infidels, consisting' of two or three families from Ireland, on their way to Mr. Owen's settlement at New Har- mony in Indian;!, in the pursuit (as they affirmed) of happiness. They sought, at first, every opportunity of propagating their opinions ; but a sea-voyage, that unfailing test of human character, exhibited them in so many unamiable points of view, that it soon became evident that they were unlikely to make many proselytes. A zealous Methodist, from Shef- field, had been placed in the same state-room with the most active of the Owenites, in consequence of which arrangement, the sound of boisterous argument, not unmixed with invective, often issued from their apartment long after the other passengers had retired to repose. Sometimes two or three of the unbelievers so far forgot propriety as to give utterance to their blasphemies at the dinner-table, where the captain treated the whole subject with indifference. On these occasions, the cotton-manufacturer often made some remark which evinced his relio-ious feelings and good judgment ; and sometimes defended the Church and its doctrines with a degree of ability and unaffected seriousness, which would have done honour to a divine. This person has now been dead twenty- two years, and the zealous Methodist has also been some time deceased. But the principal Owenite went far more speedily into the realities of the eternal world. Soon after landing at New York, and while in the act of stepping into a steam-boat on his w T ay to New Harmony, he acci- dentally fell into the Hudson river, and was G VOYAGE AND JOURNEY taken out a corpse. So ended his search for happiness. We had on board, also, an overseer and owner of slaves in the West Indies, who often made himself disagreeable by violent ebullitions of temper, and seemed, on the whole, to think and feel with the Owenites. As a set-off against this gentleman, there was a merchant of Tennessee, likewise a slave- owner, who showed much respect lor religion, and seemed to be on good terms with the zealous .Methodist of Sheffield, with whom he often went up into the mizen-top to sing hymns by moonlight. Before we had reached the middle of the Atlantic, our twenty-eight cabin passengers had formed them- selves into several knots or parties, according to their respective habits and predilections. Not very long after our departure from Liverpool, the Lieutenant-Colonel and the gentleman from Brussels represented to me their wish that I should read prayers and a sermon on Sunday, as 1 was known to have the clerical profession in view. I readily acquiesced, and the captain offered no objec- tion. The Methodist, the Quaker and his lady, the mercantile and manufacturing gentlemen, all expressed their concurrence: and, at the appointed hour, the congregation was summoned by the .-hip's bell. Aboul twenty persons assembled in the cabin, all of whom, notwithstanding the variety of their persuasions, seemed to join in the Church service with reverence and feeling. Meantime, the minority, consisting of the infidels and their friends, continued on deck, and sometimes looked down upon us through the FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 7 skylight with countenances expressive of supreme contempt. On Thursday, the LStli of September, I first beheld the great continent on which I was to spend fourteen years of my life. With the utmost eager- ness and curiosity, I scrutinized with my telescope every one of the various objects which gradually came in sight. Soon I distinguished trees; then a ploughed field, then a farm-house, the windows of which I was soon enabled to count. At length the sandy beach arose to view, and I saw figures moving to and fro upon the dry land. About ten o'clock, A.M., a tall white lighthouse appeared, next a watering place decorated with long rows of poplars, and after- wards the woods of Staten Island. At four o'clock, I was delighted by the sudden appearance of New York, its crowded shipping, its numerous steeples, and, above all, the spire of old Trinity Church. Not many hours afterwards, I was established at a hotel in Broadway, and reposed for the first time in the New World. On awaking in the morning, my first impulse was to throw open the window-blinds and obtain a glimpse of America. As my apartment was in the sixth story, I enjoyed an extensive prospect. The tranquil bay lay before me with numerous vessels at anchor, while steam-boats painted green and white were continually passing and repassing. A handsome street was almost beneath me, already crowded with carriages of various descriptions, while to the left a forest of chimneys reminded me that it was no inconsiderable city in which I had spent the 8 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY night. On descending to the public breakfast-room I found a superfluity of good things on the table, to which several of my late shipmates were doing ample justice. I afterwards accompanied the Lien tenant-Colonel in a walk up Broadway, from whence we proceeded to the Exchange, and next to the Custom-house. Here we obtained permission to land our luggage, and proceeding to the Canada, which had now arrived at her proper wharf, Ave transmitted our various articles to the hotel. During the day I found opportunities of seeing several of the public buildings, and of forming a general idea of the city. My impressions were decidedly favour- able, and I retired to rest at night under the con- viction that I was agreeably disappointed in regard to America. On the following day, I began to make inquiries in reference to Kcnyon College, and the best mode of proceeding to Ohio. Through the civility of a fellow-voyager, 1 was introduced to a brother-in-law of Bishop Chase, who gave me all the information which I rcrpiired. Among other items of intelligence, he assured me that the liishop had recently pur- chased twenty thousand bushels of wheat tor his mill, at the rate of ten cents, or about five pence a bushel, and that he had bought a quantity of pork for con- sumption in the College at the price of one half- penny per pound. This, it will be recollected, was prior to the completion of the Ohio canal, and con- sequently before an adequate outlet had been pro- vided for the superabundant produce of the A\ est. My new acquaintance also assured me that, in con- PROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 9 sequence of the excessive cheapness of provisions, Bishop Chase sometimes received students into his institution at the very moderate price of sixty dollars, or thirteen pounds per annum. I spent the evening with a gentleman of Dutch origin, descended from some of the ancient settlers of New York, who introduced me to a party of three persons designing to start for Ohio on the following Monday. In com- pany with these people, who were Americans and resident in Cincinnati, I made arrangements to pro- cued to my destination. The next day being Sunday, the hum of business was entirely suspended throughout the great city, and an agreeable stillness universally prevailed. At eleven o'clock I went to Grace Church, a fashion- able place of worship in Broadway, where I obtained my first impressions of the American Episcopal Church. The appearance of the congregation was highly respectable. The church was beautifully clean and neat, the seats were thoroughly com- fortable, and the pews and aisles were handsomely carpeted. The singing and chaunting were scien- tifically performed, and as far as I could judge, the organ was a good one. The absence of a clerk surprised me at first, but I soon found that the responses of the congregation more than supplied the want of that functionary. The service was well read by Dr. Wainwright, the estimable rector, but, although substantially the same with the English Liturgy, I was particularly struck with some minor alterations which sounded curiously to ears habituated to the older form. The sermon was elegantly com- b 5 10 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY posed and forcibly delivered, and certainly was not inferior to the best discourses 1 had heard in England. In the afternoon I went to St. George's, a less fashionable place of worship, perhaps, than Grace Church, but filled with a congregation no less attentive and devout. The sermon was delivered by Mr. M'llvame of Brooklyn, an eminent and popular preacher, who in process of time became my Bishop. It was designed to exhibit the dis- tinction between the devout man and the rapid rate of eleven miles an hour. The scenery, as we advanced, was occasionally very beautiful; though the absence of old castles and other remains of antiquity appeared to my European eyes a striking delect. The banks of the noble river were finely wooded, and adorned, though at considerable intervals, with elegant country residences. Some- times the opposite shores approached near to each other, and then gradually receded, until the stream assumed the appearance of a lake. Frequently they rose into lofty and rocky precipices (of which those denominated the Palisades, were a most extensive and striking specimen), and then sunk almost to the level of the water. Sometimes the surrounding country exhibited rich pastures and waving corn- fields, with an occasional farm-house, and in the course of a few miles it changed to a region of mountains, vested in all the autumnal splendours of the aboriginal forest, and piercing the clouds with their pine-clad summits. As night came on, the interest of the varying prospect was by no means diminished. The river was as smooth as a polished mirror, excepting where some passing sloop dis- turbed its placid surface with a scarcely perceptible ripple. The moon shone with such brilliancy that I found it by no means difficult or painful to read by her light upon deck. At seven in the morning we landed at Albany, the capital of the State, having completed in fourteen hours a voyage of about a hundred and sixty miles. Immediately after going ashore, my three com- panions and myself took our places for Schenectady in 14 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY the stage-coach ; the railway, which now renders the journey westward so expeditious, not being at that time in existence. The coach or " stage," as it was called, was admirably adapted to the wretched state of the roads. It carried nine inside, and no outside passengers, and the luggage or " baggage" was de- posited in two enormous boots at the opposite ex- tremities of the unsightly, though serviceable vehicle. There were no springs, and in their absence the huge machine hung upon long thick straps of leather, on which, as the wheels plunged through mud and ruts, it pitched and rolled, like a vessel in a storm. In the course of five wretched hours, during which the driver displayed admirable skill, and the pas- sengers invincible patience, we travelled sixteen miles, and arrived at Schenectady. After partaking of an abundant repast at the principal tavern, which was despatched by my companions with astonishing rapidity, we took our passage to Utica, eighty miles westward, in a packet-boat, on the great New York canal. These canal-packets, before the railway had superseded them, were generally neat and tolerably con- venient little vessels. They were about sixty feet in length, forty of which were devoted to the two cabins, appropriated respectively to the ladies and the gentle- men, and the remainder to the kitchen and the cabins of the attendants. At meal-times the two cabins were thrown into one, and a long table was extended from end to end. A small library, sometimes very well chosen, was placed at the disposal of the pas- sen o-crs, and assisted in bejniilinjy the tedious hours. The boats were drawn by three horses, and, making FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 15 all necessary allowance for stoppages at locks and elsewhere, generally accomplished about eighty miles in the course of twenty-lour hours. Our route lay for many miles along the hanks of the Mohawk river, and we passed through a constant succession of pleasing scenery. The nume- rous orchards were teeming with delicious fruit, and in many places the apple and peach-trees hung over the canal, inviting us to gather freely from the deck, without fearing a prosecution for trespass. Soon after sunset, preparations were made for our sleeping accommodations, and I was much amused with their ingenuity, though I could not promise myself a very spacious berth. Along the sides of the cabin, small narrow cots, like shelves, were fixed, one above another, and end to end, partly attached to staples in the wall, and partly suspended by thick wires from the roof. A third row of cots, three tiers in height, was suspended from the centre of the ceiling, and extended, like the two side rows, the entire length of the "gentlemen's cabin." These arrange- ments were speedily made, and about fifty passengers retired in a quiet and orderly maimer to repose. Early in the ensuing morning, we found the boat quite motionless, and, on inquiring the cause of the delay, were informed that a portion of the canal, four miles in length, and lying between two locks, had been suddenly drained by the bursting of one of the banks. The captain of the packet, therefore, found it necessary to convey us overland, and, hiring several country wagons and horses, sent us all forward, a distance of five or six miles, over miser- 16 VOYAGE AND JOl'RXEY able by-roads, rendered doubly wretched by a recent heavy rain. Having arrived at the second lock, we found another packet-boat awaiting us, and proceeded immediately on our voyage. About mid-day we reached the " Little Falls" of the Mohawk, a very romantic spot, where the river rolls foaming through a deep glen, between two lofty and rocky eminences, clothed with verdure to the summit. The canal passed many feet above the stream on the south, while through the same pass on the northern side of the river, a turnpike road wound laboriously over several stone bridges, and along the margin of dee}) precipices. We then passed through a highly culti- vated region, denominated the u German Flats," from the industrious people who inhabit it, and arrived at LTtica about seven o'clock in the evening. Classical as were my associations connected with the name of this place, I saw nothing but a new and busy town, decorated with several gaily painted wooden steeples, and exhibiting a good promise oi increasing size and prosperity. Being now inclined to change our mode of travel- ling, my three companions and myself, with five other persons, took our seats in a stage-coach, precisely simi- lar to that in which we had journeyed from Albany to Schenectady. We left LTtica at an early hour on Thursday, the 25th, and proceeded over roads per- haps somewhat superior to the specimen through which we had already floundered. The conversation of the passengers was almost incessantly on the sub- ject of politics, a presidential election being at hand. The comparative merits and demerits of Adams and FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 17 Jackson, and even the private characters of their wives and families, were fully discussed, and ulti- mately a vote was taken, from which it appeared that the majority were in favour of Adams. Meet- ing another eoaeh, one of our most vehement politi- cians requested the drivers of the two vehicles to stop for a minute, and the request being promptly complied with, the vote of the majority of the strange passengers was in like manner demanded, and proved to be for Jackson. Although thoroughly wearied with the whole subject of American politics, I strictly observed the advice which I had received in New T York, and thus v . . . . escaped being engaged in any unpleasant discussion. During the day, we passed through a portion of country occupied at that time by a remnant of the Oneida Indians, since transferred to the country beyond Lake Michigan. These poor people em- braced Christianity before the American Revolution, under the instruction of missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In the distance their church was visible, and its spire rising above the trees, gave interest to the scene, and suggested many pleasing ideas. Their fields betokened the existence of industrious habits, and their dwellings, scattered in various directions, were ingeniously con- structed of the bark of trees. The council grove, in which they had been accustomed to deliberate on the affairs of their little nation, was at a short distance from the road, and consisted of twenty or thirty fine butternut trees, the juglans cinerea of botanists. We spent the night at Syracuse, another of the many thriving towns which had been recently called 18 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY into being, or at least immensely increased by the completion of the New York Canal. The next day we were on our journey again at daylight, and pass- ing to the north of a lake bearing the Indian appel- lation of Skaneateles, Ave arrived at Auburn, in the vicinity of Lake Oswego. We had no time to visit the State Prison in that place, concerning which so much has been said and written ; but as soon as the jaded horses had been exchanged for fresh ones, pro- ceeded onwards to Lake Cayuga, which we crossed by means of a wooden bridge, said to be a mile in length. This lake, although a small one fo^ America, extends about forty miles from north to south, and I observed a steam-boat plying upon its calm surface. We dined at Geneva, a town prettily situated on Lake Seneca, a fine piece of water thirty-five miles in length, and about four in width, the name of which is of Indian origin, and not classical, as might be imagined. These small lakes are generally deficient in attraction, from the absence of mountains, and from the uninteresting character of the surrounding country. We spent the night at Canandaigua, another town on a lake, and the scene of some of the early missionary labours of Bishop ('base. The next morning we proceeded as before, and early in the afternoon arrived at the flourishing town of Rochester, where I had sufficient time allowed me to visit the picturesque falls of the Genessee. In the neighbourhood of the town I also obtained a distant view of Lake Ontario, one of those vast inland seas to which North America is so much indebted for its rapid progress in population and FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 19 prosperity. Having also examined the aqueduct by which the canal is conveyed over the Genessee, I re- turned to the stage-house and re-entered the coach. After travelling nearly the whole of the following night, we found ourselves in Lockport, a town which derives its name from the numerous locks by which the canal suddenly descends from the level of Lake Erie to that of Lake Ontario. The same break of surface which renders these locks necessary, causes the famous cataract in the river Niagara, towards which we proceeded early on the following morning. We arrived at Lewiston, on the Niagara, about twelve o'clock, and, the river being the boundary of the United States, I beheld British territory on the opposite bafhk. The lofty monument of General Brock was standing on the spot where that brave commander fell, while defending the Canadian fron- tier during the last American war. The sight of this monument revived many national recollections in the minds of my fellow-travellers, and politics were for a time intermitted, while they indulged themselves in descanting on many victories over the British in various battles by land, and sea, and lake, with the very names of which I was wholly un- acquainted. In about an hour after leaving Lewis- ton we arrived at Manchester, a small town standing almost on the brink of the Falls. I cannot describe my sensations when, as the coach advanced, I first beheld the awful and tremendous cataract through occasional openings in the trees, and heard, at the distance of a mile, its deep and hollow roar. On arriving at the inn, I hastened to the water-side to- 20 VOYAGE AXD JOUE N E Y gether with two of my companions, the third, who was our principal politician, contenting himself with his cisrar in the bar-room, declaring at the same time that lie had no relish for the beauties of nature. It would be almost vain to attempt a minute description of the magnificent view which opened upon me, after a few hurried steps. I beheld a mighty river a thousand yards in width, rolling over a precipice a hundred and seventy feet in depth. The spectacle deeply impressed my mind with a sense of the power and majesty of the Creator ; the spot appeared, in a sense, holy and religious, and in the enthusiasm of the moment, I felt that one view of Niagara was an ample compensation for the toils and discomforts of a pilgrimage from Europe. The sublimity of the scene was heightened by the circumstance that a great portion of it was concealed, or but dimly visible, on account of the thick clouds produced by the rising spray. The cataract is divided by an island into two unequal portions, the larger being on the Canadian side, and denominated, from its form, the Horseshoe Fall. The American, or smaller portion of the cataract, being comparatively shallow, was crossed by a long wooden bridge, in the construction of which considerable ingenuity must have been employed. I walked over this bridge within a few- yards of the dreadful precipice, and my brain almost reeled when I looked upon the boiling waves rushing with prodigious velocity beneath. The island was entirely covered with tall forest trees, under the shade of which I found agreeable walks, and alcoves con- structed for the convenience of those who visit this FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 21 romantic retreat. Many persons seemed to obtain their subsistence by selling natural curiosities, or even the most trifling articles which might serve as mementoes of the wonderful place. I would gladly have remained several days at the Falls; but my time was limited, and I accordingly re-entered the coach, and proceeded on my journey. Reaching the canal, after a short, but rough ride, we took our places in a boat which happened to be passing, and arrived at the thriving town of Buffalo soon after dark. I had no opportunity for viewing the place, as I embarked early the next morning with my companions, in the steam-boat Niagara, upon the blue waters of Lake Erie. In the course of a voyage of 250 miles, we coasted the shores of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, against a strong head-wind, before which a considerable number of sailing vessels, averaging perhaps 150 tons each, were making rapid progress to the eastward. Thirty- nine hours having elapsed from the period of our de- parture from Buffalo, we landed at Sandusky, then a bleak and miserable village, but now a prosperous and thriving city. My three companions, knowing that the stage-coaches would be crowded by the influx of passengers from the steam boat, ran up to the tavern before me, and having secured the only seats which re- mained untaken, commiserated my unhappy condition in being left alone. Soon afterwards I saw them depart, and was obliged to resign myself to the necessity of remaining two days in Sandusky before I could hope to obtain a vacant place. I found the innkeeper surly and disagreeable, and, as there was no apart- 22 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY merit in which I could Bit down, except the dirty bar-room, redolent with tobacco and whiskey, I sought privacy in a cold and melancholy walk on the shores of the lake. The surf raised by the north-western blast was chafing the pebbly beach, and a damp fog rested on the lake and obscured the distant horizon. While I was ruminating on the past and the future, a dirty Indian approached, apparently under the influ- ence of liquor. The poor savage commenced scraping an acquaintance by offering me the pipe which he was smoking, and when, by signs, I intimated that 1 declined accepting it, he uttered a wild laugh and shook me violently by the hand. He then pointed to his wretched and bark-roofed wigwam, and in- timated his wish that I should accept of his hospitality. On reaching the door, I saw two squaws within pre- paring some food before a large fire, while two miser- able infants were crying on the floor. The women appeared to have been indulging in the whiskey- bottle no less freely than their lord, and I could not make up my mind to enter the aboriginal mansion- This family afforded a sad specimen of the degra- dation to which the native American has been too frequently reduced by those who have deprived him of his heritage, and who, by the introduction of de- moralizing habits, have consigned him to an unhappy existence and to premature dissolution. After a disagreeable sojourn of two days, I at length succeeded in obtaining admission to the stao;e- coach, and travelling an entire day through lofty and almost unbroken forests, arrived at a small town called Mansfield, where, at a poor little tavern, my FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 23 eight fellow-passengers and myself were accommodated with beds in one and the same apartment. At about twelve o'clock on the following day we arrived at the village of Mount Vernon, where, leaving the coach, I hired a countryman to convey me in his light wagon five miles through the woods to Gamhier. Thus I was conducted in health and safety to my destination, after a voyage and journey of four thou- sand miles, performed in fifty-three days, at a cost of as many pounds. The road from Mount Vernon to Gambier was then little more than a track, formed by felling the trees which obstructed the passage of vehicles. In some cases, where the soil was swampy, a species of road denominated corduroy had been formed, by laying logs close together across the track, and over these, with many a weary jolt, my conductor took his way. At length I reached the hill on which Gam- bier is situated, and earnestly looked upwards in the hope of beholding the streets and squares, which had made so splendid an appearance in the maps and plans published in England. On attaining the summit, I cast my eyes around and perceived four small houses constructed of planks, two or three loo-- houseSj and the unfinished walls of a large stone building in the distance. These were the village of Gambier and Kenyon College, and then, for the first time, I comprehended that the published plans re- presented a town in design, rather than in actual existence. I requested to be driven to the Bishop's residence, and to my consternation I was deposited at the door of a small and rough log cabin, which 24 VOYAGE AND JOURNET could boast of but one little window, composed of four squares of the most common glass. " Is this the Bishop's Palace ?" I involuntarily exclaimed. "Can this," I thought, "be the residence of the apostolic man, whose praise is in all the Churches, and who is venerated by so many excellent persons in my native country?" It was even so; and, on knocking for admittance;, the door was opened by a dignified female, who soon proved to be the Bishop's lady herself. In reply to my inquiries, she informed me that the Bishop had gone to his mill for some flour, but that he would soon return. I had waited but a few minutes when I heard a powerful voice engaged in conversation outside, and immediately afterwards the Bishop entered with one of his head workmen. The good prelate, then fifty-three years of age, was of more than ordinary size, and his black cassock bore evident tokens of his recent visit to the mill. lie was proceeding in his conversation with the foreman, when, on hearing my name mentioned, he turned to me and very courteously made inquiries respecting my journey and several of his friend- in England. lie then invited me to partake of his frugal meal, after which he desired me to accompany him to the College. On arriving at the unfinished © © edifice, I was amazed at the solidity of the structure. The walla were four feet thick at the foundation, but on the second story, upon which the builders were now engaged, the thickness was reduced to three feet. I ascended with my venerable guide to the highest point completed, from whence the eye wan- dered in every direction, as far as it could reach, over FROM ENGLAND TO OHIO. 25 an ocean of apparently unbroken forest. While standing here, the Bishop explained several of his plans, and mentioned some of his numerous dis- couragements. At this moment lie was almost destitute of funds, but he trusted that God would continue, as heretofore, to supply him, like Elijah in the wilderness. lie often felt ready to sink under despondency; but the countenances of his noble English benefactors appeared to him in his dreams, and admonished him not to be disheartened. From the College we descended to a piece of ground but partially cleared of trees. " This," said the Bishop, " is Sutton Square, so named from his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury." A little further on he informed me that I was in Bexley Square, and still further to the right was a thick portion of forest which he declared was Burgess Street, called after the name of the venerable Bishop of Salisbury. In another part of the surrounding woods he showed me the unoccupied site of a Church, to be denomi- nated Rosse Chapel, from the Countess Dowager of Rosse. A large cucumber-tree occupied the place of the future altar, a spreading sumach stood in the place marked for the font, and a stately sycamore supplied the absence of the steeple. The parish was denominated Harcourt, from another benefactor, Sir Harcourt Lees ; while Sir T. D. Acland had supplied a name to the printing-press, from which prayer-books and tracts were hereafter to be diffused throughout the diocese. Near the site selected for the Church, the Bishop pointed out the grave of an old man, the first person who had died C 26 VOYAGE AND JOURNEY, ETC. at Gambler. He bad caused a railing to be erected round the grave, and with bi> own hands had trained a wild grape-vine to overshadow it. Near this grave he showed me a spot in which, he said, he hoped in a few years to lay his own weary body. He only prayed to be allowed sufficient time to see his town erected, and bis College flourishing and complete. From the burial-ground we proceeded to the mill, passing through noble woo,!- of oak, beech, hickory, walnut, and chestnut trees, constituting a portion of the College domain. Of the eight thousand acres in his hands, the Bishop had cleared the timber from eight hundred, which now produced wheat and Indian corn. On arriving at the mill. 1 found that it was designed for the double purpose of grinding meal, and of sawing timber into planks. The College lands were thus made to supply food for the inhabitants of Gambier, and materials for the construction of such buildings as might be re- quired. On my return with the Bishop, he assigned me a portion of an apartment in one of the plank edifices already mentioned, and took his leave. I retired to rest full of admiration for his character, and disposed by his example of self-denial, and his glowing antici- pations of the future, to think lightly of present discomforts, and to look forward to better things to come. 27 CHAPTER II. BISHOP (II ASK AND KEN YON COLLEGE. Brief memoir of the Bishop's previous life. — Situation and circum- stances of the College. — Character of the Students. — Religious influences exercised by and among them. While considering the eventful history of the human race, and the manifold changes which have marked the progress of society, it is cheering to be enabled to trace the beneficial effects which have been sometimes produced on the character of nations, by the energy of solitary individuals. From such individuals it is impossible long to withhold the meed of admiration; and although by their contem- poraries they may be little esteemed, though their immediate associates may be unable to appreciate the greatness of their conceptions, though even many real blemishes and infirmities may partially obscure the lustre of their virtues, impartial pos- terity will ultimately award them the honour which is their due, as chosen instruments in the hands of the Almighty, 28 BISHOP CHASE But, in order to constitute a character adapted to the accomplishment of beneficent and difficult de- signs, a peculiar and uncommon combination of qualities is absolutely necessary. Strength of mind musl l)t' united with readiness of invention, and the ardour of a sanguine temperament must be blended with constant perseverance and submissive patience. There must be clearness of perception to soar above the prejudices of the vulgar, while there must be hardihood of nerve to remain unmoved by the sneers, and open opposition of adversaries. A firm convic- tion of being engaged in the cause of Truth and Duty, must be coupled with a settled determination to maintain that cause at all hazards, while a con- stant trust in God must be accompanied by deep sub- mission to the divine will, and an habitual expecta- tion of providential assistance. A combination of qualities such as these, might be found in the remarkable person, to whom the last chapter has already introduced the reader. It is considered, therefore, that no apology will be neces- sary for the insertion, in this place, of a brief memoir of his life and labours prior to the year 1828. Philander Chase was born at Cornish, on the banks of the river Connecticut, on the 14th of December, 1775. His ancestors were English Pu- ritans who migrated to New England, from the county of Cornwall, during the reign of King Charles the First. His father was a Deacon of the same persuasion, and is described by him as having pos- sessed great vigour of character, together with a dis- criminating judgment and religious habits. The AND KENTON COLLEGE. 29 subject of our memoir has also spoken with much feeling of the lessons of piety and virtue commu- nicated to him by his beloved mother; and thus, by both parents, he was trained up from early youth " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." In 1791 he entered Dartmouth College, a Dis- senting institution in New Hampshire, and gladly exchanged the labours of agriculture for literary pursuits, with the expectation of becoming a Congre- gational (or Independent) preacher. Accidentally, as some would say, but providentially, as he always regarded it, he became acquainted, while at College, with the Prayer-book of the American Church, and lost no time in making known his favourable opinion of it to his parents and other relatives. Much ignorance and many prejudices were in the way ; but the more the Prayer-book was examined by them, the more striking did its excellences appear. Amid the manifold divisions by which they were surrounded, the Prayer-book appeared as a light to guide them to the paths of peace ; while amidst the multiform heresies which had grown up among the descendants of the Puritans, it seemed no less adapted to direct them to primitive truth. The consideration of the Liturgy and Creeds, led to an investigation of the claims of the Church to an Apostolical origin and constitution in her Ministry, and ultimately the family of the Chases abandoned the Independent ranks, demolished their old meeting-house, and erected a Church in its stead, not a voice being- raised against the measure throuirh- out the neighbourhood. As for Philander, he em- ployed his vacations and his Sundays, by the advice 30 BISHOP CHASE of some of the few Episcopal clergy, in reading prayers and printed sermons, at several places in Vermont and New Hampshire, where, before he had attained his twentieth year, he had succeeded in establishing permanent congregations. In 1705 he took his degree, and soon afterwards became a candidate for holy orders, and entered upon a course of theological study under the tuition of an English clergyman, educated at Oxford, then offici- ating as Rector of the Church in Albany. While thus engaged he supported himself by teaching a school, and after nearly three years of study was ordained a deacon, in May, 1798, by Bishop Provoost, of New York. His first sphere of clerical duty was in the western part of the diocese of New York, then almost a wilderness, where he was employed as a missionary among the hardy pioneers of civilization. He laboured with his whole heart, and having been familiar with toil from his earliest youth, he little regarded the difficulties and privations inseparable from his position. In the course of two years he saw the abundant fruit of his labours, many flourishing congregations Inning grown up under his pastoral superintendence. Parishes had been already organ- ized by him in Canandaigua, Utica, and Auburn; in Hampton and other villages on the borders of Ver- mont : at ( )swego, Stamford, and \ arious places on the Susquehannah, Unadilla, and Delaware rivers, and in many intermediate stations. The Churches m mosl of those places, though planted originally in the woods and among log cabins, are now in the midst AM) KENTON COLLEGE. 31 of flourishing and populous towns and cities, and afford a conspicuous and lasting testimony to the importance of attending to the development of re- ligious principle in the infancy of society. In the winter of 1800, Mr. Chase took charge of the con- gregations of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, and Trinity Church, Fishkill, on the Hudson River, about eighty miles above the city of New York. At the same time lie discharged the onerous duties of principal in the academy at Poughkeepsie. In 1805, Mrs. Chase having become afflicted with a pulmonary complaint, he proceeded with her, by the advice of his Bishop, to New Orleans, the capital of Louisiana. While there he organized a congrega- tion, the first of any Protestant communion estab- lished in the city. After officiating about six years in New Orleans, he returned to the northern states, and in the autumn of 1811 was established as rector of Christ Church, at Hartford, in Connecticut. The number of the faithful in that city was in a short time greatly multiplied, and under his zealous ministrations the attendants at the Lord's Table increased to a considerable number. In the bosom of an enlightened society, and blessed with an abundance of temporal comforts, his enjoyments were more numerous than can be expected to fall to the ordinary lot of an American pastor. Yet his thoughts often wandered to the desolate regions of the West, and to the growing villages where the name of Christ was well-nigh forgotten. lie recollected his own labours in former times, till his heart yearned to be again employed in similar holy undertakings, and, 32 BISHOP CHASE accordingly, in LSI 7 he once more commenced operations as a missionary. Since the date of his former services in the remote parts of New York, the tide of civilized life had rolled on many hundred miles to the westward. His old stations had already grown into populous neigh- bourhoods;, and the seed which he had scattered in his earlier life, had ripened into a plentiful harvest. He now sought his field of labour in distant and un- tilled districts. lie was aware of the deplorable fact, that with the exception of the Rev. Mr. Searle and two or three other missionaries, no duly ordained clergyman of the Reformed Church, had set foot upon the soil of Ohio. He therefore resolved to devote himself to that new and distant country, then just becoming a favourite resort of emigrants, and of course far more wild and inhospitable than at present. A lively impression existed in his mind, that where- ever the sheep of Christ went, it was necessary that some shepherd should go with them. With this pure motive to lead him, his plan was formed and his de- termination fixed. Though the separation from his congregation at Hartford was, as he expressed him- self, "like tearing up a tree in full bearing from its roots;" and though the time of his departure was consecrated by the tears of a numerous and affec- tionate people, strength was given him to fulfil his holy purpose; and on the second day of March, 1817, he set off for the western country. In the commencement of his labours in ( )hio, many circumstances occurred of a most discouraging nature ; but though often perplexed he was never in despair, AND KENYON COLLEGE. 33 and believing himself in the path of duty, lie firmly de- pended on divine direction and support. Several clergymen came from other states to assist in the good cause ; many congregations were collected, and, in the course of a year after his arrival, Ohio was organized as a diocese, and duly admitted to union by the General Convention of the American Episcopal Church. The members of the Church in Ohio thus acquired the right of assembling in an annual Diocesan Convention, and at their second meeting Mr. Chase was elected by the concurrent votes of the clergy and the laity, Bishop of a diocese nearly equal to all England in extent. The election having met the approval of the Bishops generally, as well as of their dioceses, the consecra- tion was performed at Philadelphia, in February, 1819, by Bishop White, of Pennsylvania, the Bishops of New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, being- present and assisting. Immediately on Bishop Chase's return to Ohio, he re-commenced his missionary labours with greater energy than ever. The mitre, which added nothing to his private means, imposed upon him new- sacrifices and increased exertions. His diocesan work, as he informs us in his " Reminiscences," in- volved " vast distances of journey ings on horseback, under the burning sun and pelting rain, through the mud and amid the beech-roots, over log-bridges, and through swollen streams." As might be expected, he reached the end of his circuit of "1279 miles on horseback, with his constitution impaired, and his voice almost gone." New cares met him on his c 5 34 BISHOP CHASE return home. Three parishes were to be supplied with his personal ministrations, two of which were nearly fifteen miles distant from his residence. And again and again, whenever an opening appeared for introducing a knowledge of the ( 5hurch, lie was ready to undertake new journeys, and to encourage, by his pres< nee, the efforts of his scattered brethren. It now became his earnest wish to raise up a class of pastors, endowed with the habits and qualifications rendered necessary by the circumstances of his diocese, lie saw at once the expediency of founding a College, in order that young men might be trained ii}) for the sacred ministry, with a full understanding of the modes of thought and action prevalent in the West. He laid his plans before his Diocesan Con- vention, and with the concurrence of that body de- termined on proceeding to England, to collect the necessary funds for his great undertaking. I have already alluded to the success which attended his efforts, and to the numerous friends who were raised up to assist him while a stranger in a strange land. At the time of my firsl interview with him, four years had elapsed since his return to Ohio. A number of students had come together from various parts of America, and a small company of professors was already at work, leading them forward in what was at thai time the usual course of study in Ameri- can Colleges. In the meantime, the entire community occupied temporary dwellings, while the main build- ing of the College, with it> massive walls, was gradually advancing towards completion. It wiil not, of course, be supposed that Kenyon WD KENTON COLLEGE. 35 College, at the time of which I speak, bore any vci-v striking resemblance to the ancient Colleges of Europe. Yet there was much in its situation and circumstances which possessed a highly interesting character, while the standard of scholarship and of general propriety and intelligence on the part of the students, was certainly above what might have been anticipated. The climate of Ohio is fine, and, on the whole, healthy, though subject to great extremes of heat and cold. The winter is longer than in England : but in the month of May, spring and summer com- mence almost together, and vegetation advances with great rapidity. In the latter part of September the leaves begin to fall, and by the first of November the woods are nearly bare. The latter month, pro- verbially unpleasant in England, is, in Ohio, one of the most agreeable in the year. Then comes the Indian summer, as it is called, a phenomenon which has not yet received a satisfactory explanation. The atmosphere, previously chilly, becomes delight- fully warm. A slight haze overspreads the sky, through which the sun's rays diffuse a soft and mellow light. The winds are still, and all nature combines to produce a calm and cheerful frame of mind. After continuing about a fortnight or three weeks, the Indian summer ceases, and the severe North American winter commences in earnest. The variation of the thermometer is about 115° between the coldest and warmest weather in the year. During the winter the snow r falls more abundantly than in most parts of England. It also continues 36" BISHOP CHASE longer on the ground, and allows of travelling in sleighs during a few weeks in January and February. Throughout the year, the number of wet and cloudy days is much Less than in this country, though perhaps the quantity of rain is greater. The storms of wind, thunder, and rain, during the hot months, are often tre- mendous. The clouds discharge their contents in cascades, rather than in drops ; the streams are quickly swollen, trees are swept away by the torrents, bridges overthrown, fences destroyed, and sometimes thriving crops are carried off and ruined. In the autumn, the foliage assumes a striking variety and brilliancy of colour. The brightest yel- low and the deepest red are intermingled with green, orange, and brown, in endless diversity, and the forests arc then in their glory. At the time of which I speak, a few hundred Indians remained in Ohio, but they have long since disappeared. The population of the state was rapidly increasing, and amounted, perhaps, to eight hundred thousand, or two fifths of its present number. The inhabitants were enterprising and industrious, and for the most part of British descent, though Germans, Swiss, and other European nations were represented among them. As a general rule, they were busily engaged in subduing the forests, opening new avenues to wealth, and laying the foundations of important public work-, and useful institutions. As for their religious opinions, the greater part were more or Less attached to the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian sects: and in the towns there were communities of Roman Catholics, Lutherans, I'm- AND KENTON COLLEGE. 37 tarians, Universalists 3 and Swedenborgians. Some of these various denominations already possessed flourishing Colleges and Theological Seminaries of their own. The American Episcopal Church was still very feeble, and certainly not more than ten thousand persons in all Ohio, at that time, acknow- ledged Bishop Chase as their ecclesiastical head. Many were destitute of religious services of any kind ; and of these a large proportion were indifferent, if not hostile to Christianity in general. In outward circumstances, the people were usually far above want, and showed much kindness and hos- pitality to strangers. On the whole, there were influences at work which rendered the moral aspect of society far from discouraging. It was in such a country, and among such a popu- lation, that Kenyon College had been founded, as a means of assisting the growth of the Church, and the diffusion of its principles. The Bishop was ex-ojjicio the President ; but was very little engaged in the business of tuition. Yet on Sundays he generally officiated, with the assistance of the professors, in the building used as a temporary chapel. He often col- lected the younger students around him, and conveyed religious and moral instruction under the form of graphic narratives and curious parables. There were Professors of Divinity, Languages, Mathematics, and Mental and Moral Philosophy ; and already the students were divided into the four classes of Fresh- man, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior, as in other American Colleges. There was also a Grammar School, in which pupils were prepared to enter upon 38 BISHOP CHASE the College course of instruction. The entire number of students, in both departm ;nts, did not exceed ftfty or sixty, in 1828; but in two years it reached 170, and lias never, I believe, advanced much further. There were among them the sons of slave-owners in the southern states, brought up in luxury at home, and hardly reconciled to the rude log buildings and simple tare of Grambier. There were also young men from New England, of industrious and thrifty habits, who maintained themselves at College by teaching schools during half the year in the neighbouring country. There were a few Irish and Welsh, one Greek, and a native of Hindostan. besides these, there were at one time three or four American Indians ; but, as might be expected, a learned atmos- phere did not suit them; they absconded one after another, and returned to their primitive habits. The students were generally the sons of episco- palian parents ; but they had not, in the first instance, entered the College with a view to clerical duty. A >Yhere the office of a minister of religion is laborious and far from lucrative, and where, as in new countries, the encouragements to active secular life are abundant, very few persons arc found willing to devote their smi- to the service of the sanctuary. Yet it was the hope of Bishop Chase that a considerable minority, at Least, of the students in his institution, might he so influenced during the progress of their studies, that ultimately their own choice and a sense of duty would determine them to enter upon a theological course of insl ruction, and finally to receive holy orders. Nor was this expectation by any means disappointed. AND KENYCMN COLLEGE. 39 It is possible to conceive the existence of a com- munity, like thai at Kenyon College, living in the midst of the woods in the simplicity of primitive Christianity, gladly submitting to the paternal sway of their Bishop, from a principle of obedience to lawful authority, controlling alike the teachers and the taught. But though an interesting place, Gam- bier was not a perfect Utopia. The Bishop was sometimes engaged at a distance visiting his diocese, or, more frequently, in collecting funds in the Eastern States. Generally, when at home, he was engrossed in his building operations, and in the care of the College estate. He rose at three o'clock every morning, wrote his letters, and spent his time till night in superintending the masons, carpenters, and ploughmen. The Professors (or Faculty, as they were termed) formed a body by themselves, and though generally clergymen, they were republicans, and were averse to be controlled by the mere will of the Bishop in his episcopal capacity. The students, too, had, of course, imbibed republicanism with their earliest ideas, and were by no means inclined to sub- mit to the bare exercise of power in any shape. Yet they were not a disorderly body. They were largely endowed with that capacity for self-government which is so prominent a feature in the American character. And it was through this channel that the influence of the Bishop, or of the Professors, was usually brought to bear upon them. Thus, for example, it was desired that an extensive garden should be formed, partly for ornament, but principally to supply the common table with vegetables. Accordingly, a 'cr 40 BISHOP CHASE few of the more influential students were called together, and the advantage of forming a " Horticul- tural Society' 1 was represented to them. The idea proved acceptable ; most of the students united in a voluntary association for the proposed object ; they cleared away the trees and bushes, ploughed up the soil with a powerful team of oxen, laid out paths and beds, and in a very short time a useful and productive garden was added to the establishment. Another association was in like manner formed for the culti- vation of Sacred Music, and another for the promo- tion of Temperance. There was likewise a kind of debating society, which contributed largely to stir up the mental faculties, and to produce that necessary accomplishment in republican America, a habit of extempore speaking. It was desired by the Bishop and Professors, that the county of Knox (in which the College is situated) should be supplied with Bibles. Accordingly the young men were encouraged to form a Bible Society, of which the Bishop was elected president, and the Professors vice-presidents. A supply of Bibles was obtained from New York, and the young men divided the county among themselves, with a view to facilitate the distribution. This county (like the other seventy- two counties of Ohio) is in the shape of a parallelo- gram, nearly thirty miles in length by twenty in breadth. It is again subdivided into twenty-four small parallelograms called townships, each containing, on an average at that period, about seven hundred persons. The work of exploring and distributing in these townships was amicably shared among the AND KEN YON COLLEGE. 41 members of tin' Bible Society, and in a short time the desired work was pretty thoroughly effected. Finally, a society was established for supplying the remote parishes of the diocese with lay-readers during the vacations, and a band of students went forth from the College, under the direction of the Bishop, to read the Church service and printed sermons in some of the scattered congregations then recently formed, but now useful and flourishing Churches. Eighteen Sunday Schools were taught within seven miles of the College by the students, and these generally, in the course of time, took the form of regular congregations. But one of the most singular associations in this episcopal institution was the weekly Prayer Meeting. Besides the usual Church services on Sunday, the young men voluntarily assembled on the evening of that day for reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. Nor did the Bishop or any of the clergy ever appear on these occasions. One of the elder students began by reading the General Confession, the Lord's Prayer, a few Collects, and a chapter of the Bible. He then spoke for perhaps twenty minutes or a quarter of an hour, and was usually listened to with profound attention. Then followed a hymn, next an extempore prayer, another hymn, and another extempore prayer, followed by a con- cluding hymn. Many a strict Churchman will naturally feel some- what astounded in reading of these things. And there can be no doubt that much irregular feeling, and much shallow enthusiasm, was connected with 42 BISHOP CHASE proceedings of this nature. Many who were then apparently most earnest have since grown Lukewarm in their religion, and some few have even denied the Christian faith, and joined the ranks of infidelity. But a considerable proportion have remained sted- fasl : and some have manifested the reality of their faith by labouring and dying on the coast of Africa, and in other unhealthy and dangerous missions. Some have been the pioneers of the Church in the new dioceses of the West. And now that the ardent feelings of youth have in a measure died away, many have settled down into sober, practical, and active parochial clergymen. The Bishop did not express to me in conversation any very decided approbation or disapprobation of the prayer-meeting. But soon after my arrival he spoke with satisfaction of the amount of re- ligious feeling prevailing in the College. And it is certain that, at this period, cases of discipline were rare, that among the younger boys, as well as the elder students, bad language, quarrelling and bully- ing, were almost unknown, and that a state of public opinion bad grown up in the institution, which, though unhappily not strictly ecclesiastical, was favourable on the whole to the growth of Christian character. There can be no doubt that the Bishop's wisdom in choosing the situation of Kenyon College in the middle of the forests bad contributed to this result. Remote from any large town, and upon a healthy eminence, partly surrounded by a picturesque stream, the students enjoyed abundant opportunities for AND KKNVON COLLEGE. 4.3 agreeable contemplation and quiet study ; and were free from any great temptations to vice and dissi- pation. The fact also that servants were then scarcely to be bad in Ohio at any price, tended to call forth the energies of the young men, and to render them industrious and self-dependent. They made their own beds, cleaned their own rooms, blacked their own shoes and hoots, and cut the wood for their own fires. If any of their number was afflicted with illness, he was carefully nursed by his companions, and if he died, it was by them that his body was laid out, placed in the coffin, carried to the grave, and decently interred. During my residence at Gambier, I witnessed very rapid improvements in the condition and appearance of the place and its inhabitants. In a short time the substantial college edifice was com- plete, and a tall steeple surmounted by a glittering weathercock indicated its situation to the distant wanderer in the forest. The students had generallv removed from those melancholy-looking plank build- ings, in which the frost of winter and the heat of summer were alike almost insupportable. The Bishop had left his little log-house, and, with his family, was lodged in comparative comfort. The domain had been in a great measure cleared, and supplied abundance of grain as well as pasture for numerous herds of cattle. The Church (a massive stone building) was advancing towards completion. A printer had taken up his abode in the Bishop's old residence, and was engaged in publishing a weekly religious newspaper, edited by one of the professors, 44 BISHOP CHASE AND KENTON COLLEGE. and entitled the " Gambier Observer." At the same time the comforts and conveniences of older countries were fast flowing in, a more refined tone began to pervade the community, and the village of Gambier was beginning to resemble those mag- nificent plans which had excited my admiration in England. 45 CHAPTER III. RESIDENCE AT GAM BIER. The Author engages in the distribution of the Scriptures. — Visit to Cincinnati. — American Antiquities. — Mr. Bullock. — Sunday School instruction. — Divisions in the Church. — The Author visits England and returns to Ohio.— Interview with Bishop White. — Bethlehem and the Moravians. — The Author receives Holy Orders, and enters on a parochial charge. The period of my residence at Kenyon College was comprised within the space of three years. During this time I was generally engaged in study, having received a good library from England, and having erected a house partly at my own expense, in which I was enabled to read without interruption. But during the vacations, and occasionally at other periods, I indulged in long excursions, or rather voyages and travels, which greatly extended my acquaintance with America and the American Church. During my first winter I volunteered to distribute Bibles in the township of Chester, in the north-west of Knox County. The Bishop kindly lent me for 46 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER, the expedition hia own horse, old Cincinnatus, a tall, black, bony animal, withshaggy hair. The following extract from my journal will show the nature of the service in which I was engaged. " Friday, Dec 26, 1828. Left Gambier at twelve o'clock, and reached Mount Vernon at one, where I dined. Proceeded along the Marion road through the deepest solitudes, where not a living creature was visible, except occasionally a grey squirrel. At sun- set I reached a wooden house, where I dismounted, and on entering discovered a young man weaving, while his wife was spinning, surrounded by a number of healthy-looking children. I inquired the distance to Chester township, and was informed that it was two miles further on. I rode forward, and about dark came to a farm house, where I was well received by the proprietor, one Joseph Denman, who told me that he had fought with the British at the devolu- tion, and also in the late war. Hearing that a sing- ing-school was to assemble in a neighbouring log house, 1 went there with Denman's son, and remained a long time, while about sixty persons, chiefly Bap- tists, were taking their lessons. After all was over, I explained to them my object in visiting their town- ship, which they approved of, but said that their school district had already been supplied with Bibles by the Baptists and Methodists. In this respect I afterwards found their information not altogether correct. 1 returned and slepl at Denman's. "Saturday, Dec. 27. In the morning the old man desired me to show him a copy of the Constitution oj* our l>ible Society. When he saw that the Bishop RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 47 was ex-ojjicio its president, he grew quite furious, and swore that the Bishop wanted to make himself a King, or at least to introduce English power into Knox County. lie stated his firm conviction that the College was designed for an English fort, and that the massive nature of its walls could be ac- counted for only on this supposition, lie asserted that the Bishop's object in going to England, was that he might make his own arrangements with the despotic government of that country. lie declared that it was impossible that the English should have sent such vast sums to assist the Bishop without a sinister motive, and concluded by charging me with being a spy in the service of the British government, as well as an emissary hired by the Bishop, to make proselytes to his new religion. I bore this storm with as much composure as possible, and when it ceased, I asked the old man to let me know how much I owed him for my lodging, supper, and break- fast, all of which had been very comfortable. He declined taking any compensation ; so I thanked him for his hospitality, and departed. I crossed a stream as I proceeded towards the North-west, and about nine o'clock a.m., reached a log school-house in the midst of thick woods, around which the children were playing, the master not having arrived. I inquired of them whether they knew of any persons who were destitute of Bibles, and was answered in the negative. I then asked for the Squire, one of whose official duties is to keep an account of the population of half a township. I was referred to one John Beeby, whom I found threshing 48 RESIDENCE AT o AM BIER. flax in the middle of the road, covered with a mixture of dust and mud. This functionary furnished me with a list of the families residing in his district, and referred me for further information to the school- master, Enos Miles. The weather was now bitterly cold, more severe than any I had ever experienced. I went, however, to Miles' s house, where his wife directed me to the school, and here I met with the rural pedagogue. He was a Baptist, but approved of our Society, and assisted me to complete my list. Rode on twenty miles to Delaware, where there is an Episcopal clergyman and a Church, and where I spent Sunday and the following day. " Tuesday, Dec. 30. Returned again to my town- ship. Overtook an old man seated on horseback between two sacks of flour, who told me that he had no Bible. I promised to supply him with one, and accompanied him to his house, where he gave me a supper and lodging for the night. As there was no Bible in the house, I read some chapters from my pocket Testament to the old man, his wife and daughter, before retiring to rest. The wife was much affected and shed many tears. u Wednesday, Dec. 31. I made many more inquiries, and visited a number of houses. Dined with the schoolmaster, Enos Miles, a thorough-going supra - lapsarian ( Jalvinist ; and at night found a comfortable inn at a small village, where I slept. "Thursday, January 1, 1829. Dined at the log- house of one .Jacob Mosier,who requested me to supply him with two Testaments. There I met with David Peoples, a drunkard, who wished me to give a Bible RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 40 to his ragged, half-starved children ; but refused one for himself, because, as he candidly declared, the Bible would not let him drink whiskey. Hence I proceeded to the house of David Shaw, the squire of this half of the township, who proved to be a respectable man, and assisted me with much information. Being afterwards overtaken by the night, 1 lost my way entirely in the midst of trackless woods, but finally discovered a poor log cabin, the inmates of which received me with great hospi- tality, and provided a good feed of Indian corn for old Cincinnatus. In the morning they gave me breakfast, fed the horse a second time, and declined receiving any compensation." The result of my investigation was, that this town- ship possessed the means of religious instruction as afforded by a Presbyterian, a Baptist, and a Method- ist minister. The first of these was an educated man, and had many followers among the more intelli- gent. The Baptist preacher exerted much influence, and bore a good character. The Methodist minister was a local preacher, and had a large congregation. There were no members of the Church of England, or of the American Church, and very few, if any, Roman Catholics. Episcopalians were regarded with great dislike, being supposed to possess monarchical pre- dilections. The great majority of the people were habitual attendants at some of the various relio-ious services held in their log school-houses, and loo- meet- ing-houses. Four-fifths of the families were not only supplied with Bibles, but were well able to read them, and often with a good degree of understanding. D 50 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. Those who were destitute of the Scriptures were chiefly the idle and dissipated ; and only one family did I discover in which the destitution could be traced to poverty. This family consisted of a widow and four small children, who inhabited a wretched hut in the heart of the woods. The poor woman, when I stated my errand, took down from a crevice in the logs of her habitation a few scattered pages, which were all that remained of her Bible. I pre- sented her with a new and well printed volume, which she received with tears of gratitude. After returning to the College, I compared notes with the students who had explored the other town- ships, and had reason to believe that my district presented rather a favourable specimen of the agricul- tural population of the county. In one township, thirty or forty Irish Roman Catholic families refused to receive the Scriptures at the hand of Protestants. In another, drunkenness appeared to be the besetting sin; while in a third, little or no provision had been made for any kind of religious worship or secular education. I have no doubt that, at present, the state of things is greatly altered for the better ; and that as the people have increased in numbers and in wealth, they have made good progress in civilization and intelligence, and to some extent, perhaps, in the knowledge and practice of Church principles. A few days after my return from this expedition, and while the winter vacation continued, 1 set out on an equestrian journey to Cincinnati, distant nearly 200 miles. My first day's ride brought me R is 1 1 ) i:\CE AT G A MB] ER. 5 1 twenty-five miles to Newark. Occasionally I forded a "crock/' or stream, the banks of which were ms:eed and torn by frequent floods. The remains of a wooden bridge were generally visible, the crazy struc- ture having been for the most part swept away. Sometimes I passed through cultivated tracts, but my way was principally through unbroken woods. The axe had even then been busy in Ohio for fifty years, but the forest still maintained an undisputed right to nineteen-twentieths of the soil. Wherever a small clearing appeared, the dead stalks of Indian corn were standing in rows three feet apart, and their yellow blades were waving in the cold wind at the height of ten or fifteen feet above the ground. The farm-houses were variously built. Some were mere log cabins, surrounded by log stables, log pigsties, and log barns. Others were constructed of frame- work covered with plank, and contained five or six apartments. A few were convenient and substantial brick buildings, and in some cases, where the settler had evidently advanced rapidly to prosperity, buildings of the three several kinds were standing together, the original log hut having been converted into a back-kitchen, or wash-house, and the transitionary frame-building being now used as a barn. The brick mansion had become the convenient and comfortable abode of the family, where they were enjoying the fruit of their anxiety and labour. The following day, being Sunday (Jan. 16, 1829), I remained in Newark, where, although a few Churchmen existed, no Church had at that time been erected, a deficiency long since nobly 52 RESIDENT E AT GAMBIEE. supplied. A small congregation of Presbyte- rians assembled in a cold and dirty court-house, where the usual service of that denomination was performed by a minister who officiated in a coarse greal coat. In the evening I rode seven miles to Granville, where the following notice was posted in the bar-room of the inn. "This hevening, Sundy, Janerary sixteen, ar meeting will be hoalden for the purpuss of sellebrating the birth-day of Thomass Pain, thiss being the day on wich that grate man was borne." In the neighbourhood of Granville, were several ancient tumuli, or barrows, precisely similar to those on Salisbury Plain. On Monday, I proceeded twenty-five miles through the woods and reached Columbus, the capital of the State, before dark. Having brought letters of intro- duction from the Bishop, I was well received by a respectable member of the Church. I spent a day in Columbus, where many pleasant families were living in a comfortable and, indeed, elegant style. The legislature of Ohio being in session, I availed myself of the opportunity of being present at the debates, which are always open to the public. The senators in the Upper House, as well as the repre- sentatives in the Lower, were generally plain farmer- looking men ; but evinced no destitution of legislative ability and practical common sense. Among them were several lawyers, who spoke with eloquence, and appeared well-educated and polite. The Church people in Columbus had not yet been able to secure a clergyman ; but they had obtained the sole use of a German Lutheran Chapel, where a zealous layman, RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 53 with the Bishop's approval, read prayers and a ser- mon twice every Sunday. In the course of a few years, however, they erected a handsome Church, where they have enjoyed the regular ministration of the Word and Sacraments, and have grown into a num. tous and influential congregation. On Wednesday, the 19th, I proceeded twenty-six miles through a very rich country to Circleville. This place derives its name from its situation in the midst of an Indian fortification of high antiquity, which describes a perfect circle, and contains, perhaps, ten acres. The fortification, if such it be rightly called, consists of a moat and a w^all of earth, twelve or fifteen feet high, at the centre of which a high mound formerly stood, which was removed to make way for an ugly brick court-house. A narrow opening on the eastern side of the circle leads into a square fortification, the sides of which face the cardinal points, and contain an area not materially differing from that of the circle. Here I was introduced to Mr. Caleb At water, a profound but eccentric antiquarian, who considerably enlarged my views on the curious subject of American antiquities. In Circleville was the germ of an Episcopal congre- gation, which has long since developed itself into seemly proportions. The next morning, I noticed some people digging in the circular fortification, and perceived many frag- ments of bones which they had disinterred. Contin- uing my walk, I saw a number of workmen employed in constructing an aqueduct, by which the then unfinished Ohio canal was to cross the river Scioto. 54 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. On the bank of the stream, many persons were engaged in building some large flat-bottomed boats. In reply to my questions, they informed me that when these boats were finished, each of them, as it lay on the bank, would he filled witli 400 or 500 barrels of flour. As soon as heavy rains descended, the river would rise, the boats would float away eighty miles down the Scioto to the Ohio, then 600 miles down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and lastly, 1200 miles down the Mississippi to Xew Orleans, where the owners would sell their cargoes and the materials of their boats, and return to Ohio by steam- boats. The same day I proceeded on my journey. In one place a number of Irish labourers were en- gaged in digging a portion of the canal. The con- tractor who superintended them, informed me that on the previous day he had discovered in the ground a perfect Indian skeleton, with a girdle of deer skin hung with hells around its waist. By its side were a tomahawk, a Spanish axe, and a tobacco pipe. Silver ornaments had also been found by the ex- cavators. I rode eighteen miles through the fertile Pickaway plains to Chillicothe, a pleasant town, deriving its name from an Indian settlement which once existed in its vicinity. I was most hospitably received by the clergyman, the Rev. Air. Bailsman, to whom the Bishop had given me an introductory letter. I remained with him four days, and saw some very good society. The population amounted to nearly 5000, of whom many of the wealthier and more refined belonged to the ( 'lunch : hut the great mass INCIDENCE AT GAM 151 Kit. 55 of the religiously disposed persons were Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists. On Sunday I attended the Church twice, and found it filled with well-dressed people. The organ had been built in the neighbour- hood, and was played by one of the ladies of the congregation. I left Chillicothe during a heavy snow-storm, and made but slow progress. On the second day of my ride I passed a solitary grog-shop, kept, apparently, by a blind poet, as the following inscription was painted over the door, " To work with tools I cannot sec, And them is fools as laughs at me." In three days and a half I travelled barely a hun- dred miles, and that too through an uninteresting portion of country. I arrived at Cincinnati more exhausted with cold than fatigue, and put up at a large and convenient hotel, immediately fronting the Ohio river. The stream appeared about a third of a mile in width, and numerous steam-boats were lying at the wharf, or proceeding on their respective voyages, although ice was beginning to descend in considerable quantities. I remained a fortnight in Cincinnati, which was spent principally at the hospitable abode of the Rev. Air. Johnston, an amiable and earnest clergy- man, and pastor of the parish of St. Paul's. There was a second congregation, denominated Christ Church ; and the two together contained at that time scarcely a hundred and eighty families. Yet the unhappy division of High Church and Low 56 KESIDEXCE AT GAMBIEK. Church was doing its work in weakening and dis- tracting the energies of Episcopalians, and in pre- venting true ecclesiastical principles from assuming their proper position. The population of the town was already full 18,000 ; the Roman Catholics had built a Cathedral and established a College, and the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, had absorbed those of the remaining inhabitants who felt an)' interest on the subject of religion. In a worldly point of view the appearance of things was most prosperous, the trade in pork then beginning to constitute what has become a most profitable branch of the commerce of the place. The population at the present time (1851) exceeds 125,000; the means of education are excellent and abundant ; the lofty spire of the Romish Cathedral of St. Philumena overshadows the city ; but to this day our Reformed Church, although increased prodigiously in actual numbers, has not greatly enlarged its relative influ- ence and importance. I made a point of visiting the two Museums in Cincinnati, in one of which, among some spoils taken from the British in the last war, the boot of an officer of cavalry was exhibited. There was also the made- up skeleton of a " Mermaid," which formerly aston- ished the sight-seers in London. There were like- wise some Indian antiquities of great value, Heme skeletons of the Mastodon, and a number of Mexican curiosities given by Mr. Bullock, formerly proprietor of the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly. Mr. Bullock himself was living in Kentucky, over the river, a few miles below Cincinnati. I had the pleasure of RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 57 dining with him one day at his elegant, Imt for the most part, unfurnished mansion. lie was quite hospitable and attentive, although as a Roman Catholic he felt little sympathy with me in some of my predilections. He was deeply interested in the geography, antiquities, and natural history of Western America. Though much dispirited by the recent death of his son in Mexico, and apparently full sixty years of age, he purposed making a voyage of exploration on the upper streams of the Missouri during the ensuing year. He men- tioned also with pleasure his expectation of a visit from Dr. Buckland, of Oxford, in the course of the next long vacation in that University. Many years afterwards I learned that Mr. and Mrs. Bullock had parted with their large house, and retired to a small cottage on an adjoining hill, with the view of ending their days in solitude and devotion. As for my amiable friend, the Rev. Mr. Johnston, he fell a victim to the Asiatic cholera during its first visitation in 1833, leaving little but the memory of his good name as an inheritance to his children. I returned to Kenyon College by a different road from that which I had previously travelled ; but found very few objects of interest on the way, and the thermometer was often below zero. I was sincerely rejoiced when I had completed my lonely ride of four hundred miles, performed under the worst of circumstances. At present, travelling in Ohio is a very different affair. A railway connects Cincinnati with Lake Erie ; the country is inter- sected by good turnpike roads ; the canals afford the d 5 58 RESIDENT E AT GAMBIER. means of transit for heavy commodities; while messages and communications of every kind fly through the woods and over the hills on the magic wires of the electric telegraph. Previously to my departure on this excursion I had engaged "with an elder student in the charge of a Sunday-school, lour or five miles west of the College. During my absence, my companion, in his zeal for Protestantism, had endeavoured to convert a Roman Catholic, living in the neighbourhood of our school. The man had taken great offence ; his neighbours, sympathizing with him, had been filled with jealousy of our motives, and in consequence of their excitement the school had been broken up. "We now commenced another school in a different direction, which we continued for several months, and in which onr usual method was as follows. After a slight breakfast on Sunday mornings, we left the College at seven o'clock, crossed Vernon River in a boat, which I had constructed for the purpose. and, by the aid of my pocket-compass, proce through the woods about six or seven miles towards the south-west. The tall straight trees around us consisted of oak, hickory, sugar-maple, sycamore, walnut, poplar, and chestnut, and the wild vine often hung over our heads in graceful festoons. Occasionally we heard the notes of singing-birds : but far less frequently than in England. Deep silence generally prevailed, and prepared the mind for serious reflection. Here and there we passed a recent clearing, on which the gigantic trees were still standing, but deadened by the operation of girdling. RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 59 Now and then we climbed over a rude fence con- structed of rails split by the axe, and piled up in a zigzag form, without any nails or other fastenings. Sometimes we called at W bouses to lend religious books, or to receive them when read. Sometimes we found people ready to assist us by lending a horse to facilitate our locomotion. At the end of our journey Ave arrived at a small village, or rather a collection of log huts, the scene of our labours. We entered the school-house, a rough log building, with a huge chimney at one end, and a fire-place extending across one side of the apartment. Soon the children came flocking from the cabins and through the woods, accompanied by their parents and many other grown people. In a short time the room was filled, and a number of persons were often obliged to stand outside for want of accommodation. As the people were full of sectarian prejudices, though few of them were actually members of any denomination of religionists, we were obliged to proceed with great caution. One of us, for example, gave out a hymn from the American Prayer-Book, reading two lines at a time, which the whole assembly joined in singing. All then knelt down to prayer, when a large portion of the Church Service was repeated from memory, since " praying by a book," would in the first instance appear a kind of abomination. After prayer, a lesson from the Old Testament was read and explained as clearly and familiarly as was possible to us. The elder part of the assembly then dispersed for an hour or two, while the children were instructed in reading 60 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. the Scriptures. All came together again afterwards, when a lesson from the New Testament was read and explained, and a few words of exhortation were added, concluding with some Collects recited by memory, and a parting hymn. A Ye always found the people hospitable and anxious to entertain us as well as possible. Their prejudices generally died away very rapidly, before long the Prayer- Book was introduced without offence, and a decided improvement in religion and morals was perceptible. Such services as the above were of course far from strictly regular, in a canonical sense; but the Bishop encouraged them on account of what he deemed the urgency of the case, and because in several neighbourhoods they constituted the sole means (in any shape) of public worship and religious instruction. Engagements like these occupied the entire day, including the long and often weary walk out and home. We therefore seldom attended Divine worship at the College Chapel, excepting on the monthly Communion days, when of course we greatly abridged our instructions in the woods. On the whole, college life at Gambier was not diversified by any very exciting events. Twice a week the mail arrived, lumbering along the rough and miry roads, and bringing papers and letters from the K.iMern States and from England. Some- timesafire broke out among the wooden buildings or in the forests, which required the exertions of the entire College to extinguish. Once a year the Annual Convention of the diocese assembled at RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. Gl Gambier, on wliich occasions the thirty or forty congregations then existing in the diocese, were represented by their lay-delegates, and most of the Clergy, then under twenty in number, attended in person. All were the guests of the Bishop, and dined at the common table with the students, the principal luxury at the meals being wild honey in the comb, taken from the forest trees. The Holy Communion was always celebrated, and the Bishop opened the convention by an address in which he detailed his measures for the advancement of the Church, and made suggestions for future improve- ment. Yet it was easy to see that, even in this little band, opposite principles were at work, which could hardly fail to produce a disastrous result. The Bishop, for example, like the other American prelates, rested his prerogative on the Apostolical succession, and firmly believed in the efficacy of the Sacraments as means by which grace is conveyed. The Professors, generally, were good men, but in- clined to low views of the Church, and were dis- posed to show great deference to the " spirit of the age." Although nominated in the first instance by the Bishop, they were removable only by a Board of Trustees, elected by the "Diocesan Convention.'' Their desire was to render the College popular among all classes of the community, and this object could only be effected by sinking in some measure its distinctive features as a Church institution. In these and similar plans a large portion of the clergy and laity in the Diocesan Convention was generally ready to support them, believing that Episcopacy in 62 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. Ohio was practicable only in the mildest and most " liberal" form. On the other hand, the Bishop insisted that the theological and ecclesiastical character of the College ought to be maintained as superior to every other consideration. He was well aware that the religious and benevolent persons in England and in America, who had contributed their money towards the establishment of the Institution, had done so, not for the diffusion of mere secular education, or even of general Christianity, but with the object of raising up clergymen to minister to the flock of Christ in the remote West. This was antecedent to all legis- lation on the subject, and of course before the act of incorporation had been obtained from the legislature, under which the Institution was entitled " Kenyon College and Theological Seminary." As the idea became developed, Bishop Chase had indeed pro- ceeded on the ground that a college for general learning must be annexed to the theological seminary as a necessary feeder to it ; but he had not contem- plated that the college should take precedence of the seminary. Least of all had he ever imagined that the charter obtained from the government of Ohio would be construed in such a way as to deprive the Institution of its distinctively Episcopal character. It was chiefly from the effect of these opposite principles, that many a jarring note was heard amidst a body of men, whose interest, whose duty, and whose hope of final success would seem to have been closely identified with harmony and ready co-opera- RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. G3 tlon. Much passed in connexion with the Diocesan Convention, the Bishop and the Professors, which was unknown to the students at large ; and to myself, as well as many others, the real state of the case was not fully revealed until after the final catastrophe. On the sixth day of May, 1829, the Bishop left Gam- bier on his way to the Eastern States, in the hope of raising funds for the College, then in a state of great embarrassment. Before his departure, the students marched in procession to his residence to shake hands with him, and to say farewell. After they had arranged themselves in a semicircle, the Bishop ad- dressed them, and commended them to the protection of the Almighty. Then mounting old Cincinnatus he set off at a gallop, and dashing into the woods, was out of sight in a moment. In the course of a few weeks I followed him in the same direction, having received intelligence which seemed to render a visit to England indispensable. I left the College on the 3rd of June, in very hot weather, and while the (so called) locusts were committing their devasta- tions. I travelled day and night in a stage-coach, crossed the Allegany mountains, amidst delight- fully cooling breezes, and reached Baltimore on the evening of the 8th. On my way through Maryland, I passed a drove of twenty-four slaves, chained together two and two, and driven by a man on horseback with a long whip, like so many cattle. At Philadelphia I met with Bishop Chase, who was surprised to see me, but expressed great satisfaction with my projected voyage, as afford- ing him a favourable means of communication with 64 I^ESIDE^XE at gambier. his English Mends. lie accompanied me to the steam-boat on my way to New York, and committed to my hands a packet and a number of letters. At New York, Don J — Y — entrusted also to my care a package for some correspondents in England. I was soon again on the deep bine sea, far away from the hot and stilling summer of the West. One of my fellow-passengers was a celebrated English Quaker lady, to whom I had been introduced by Bishop Hobart, at New York. On Sunday morning I read the Church Service in the cabin ; in the after- noon, the Quaker lady made an extempore prayer, and I succeeded her with a printed sermon. But this was one of the last performances of the excellent female in question in a semi-clerical capacity. Thanks to her intercourse with the great and good Bishop Hobart, her confidence in Quakerism had been already shaken, and, not long after her return to her native country, it was reported that, with her whole family, she had been baptized in the Church of England. The voyage was very pleasant, the passengers were good-tempered, and in sixteen days we landed at Liverpool. At Wolverhampton I delivered the package sent by the Pope's vicar, and called on the venerable Countess Dowager of Kosse witli letters from Bishop Chase. I transmitted the rest of my despatches to their destination, and proceeded to my family in Wiltshire. I visited my venerable relative, the Bishop of Salisbury, who furnished the fol- lowing piece of advice, applicable to the Christian minister everywhere, but especially to the Christian missionary : — RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 65 "Memento mori, disce mori, consuesce niori, cum Paulo, qui dixit, 'morior quotidie.' Memento tibi ipsi mori, et Deo soli vivere. Memento tibi non placere, tibi displicerej tibi ut alii displiceant velle, ut alii non ament, contemnant, adversentur; modo amet Dens, etfaciat, ut omnia tibi co-operentur in bonum." He gave me some valuable instruction in regard to my studies, listened with deep interest to my account of Bishop Chase and Ohio, and remarked that in his own diocese there were places as much in need of missionary labour as Western America. As I left the palace, he said, " Well, good-bye, Henry, and if a Bishop's blessing is of any value, you have it with all my heart." These were the last words I heard from the lips of the good and learned Bishop Burgess. I spent but a short time in England, and was again at New York on the 17th of September. At Phila- delphia I had the pleasure of an interview with the aged Bishop White, the patriarch of the American Church, and at that time in the eighty-second year of his age. lie spoke with great interest of his visit to England for consecration in 1787, alluded to his interview with George III. and Queen Charlotte, and described the chapel at Lambeth in which that sacred rite was performed, which gave a valid eccle- siastical succession to the Reformed Church in America. Beholding his venerable form and silvery hair, I reflected on the increasing number of Bishops and Clergy who had derived their ordination from those very hands, and who were now, in the face of innumerable difficulties from within and without. 66 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIEE. carrying onward tlie great work of the Church in the regions of the setting sun. Yet while I regarded him with extreme veneration, he seemed utterly un- conscious of being anything extraordinary, and spoke with extreme modesty of himself and of his under- takings. I did not fail, while in Philadelphia, to visit the renowned Water-works, the Navy yard (where the enormous ship " Pennsylvania" was building), the Orphan Asylum, the Banks, the Museum, and the old State House in which the Declaration of Inde- pendence was signed. I also made a journey of about fifty miles to visit the Moravian settlement at Beth- lehem, which is beautifully situated on the bank of the river Lehigh. I was received very kindly by one of the principal Moravian clergymen, Mr. De Schwemitz, a great botanist, and a lineal descendant of Count Zinzendorff. Bethlehem appeared a very interesting, but a thoroughly German, town. There was an extensive " Sisters' House," for widows and unmarried women, and a seminary for young ladies, who were sent here from all parts of the country for education. There was also a " Corpse House," where dead bodies are laid in temporary coffins, from the period of death till that of interment. A row of lofty poplars divided the Cemetery into two parts, appro- priated respectively to the male and famale Moravians. The only memento was a small square stonelaid on each grave, recording the name and age of the deceased. If a Bishop, the two words were added, kk Episcopus Fratrum." On the occurrence of any death in the town, a band of young men ascended the church RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 67 tower, and played Bolemn music on wind instruments. On Easter-day, all the inhabitants meet in the ceme- tery, and commemorate by name those who have died in the community during the previous year. Leaving the cemetery, Mr. De Schweinitz led me to the Bishop's house, where he introduced me to a vener- able superannuated Moravian Bishop. The old man, being nearly ninety years of age, was released from all labour, and was spending his old age in peace and tranquillity. Yet his literary taste had not deserted him, and he daily read a portion of the Scriptures in the Greek and Hebrew originals. Mr. De Schweinitz stated that the population of Bethlehem consisted of 800 persons, who inhabited 150 houses, and were all members of the Moravian Church. There were at that time 200 of their missionaries among the heathens, supported at an annual expense of only £9000, the greater part of which was contributed by members of the Church of England. I was much pleased with my visit to Bethlehem, and considered the Moravians a very superior class of people. They seemed closely to approximate to ourselves, in an ecclesiastical point of view, but to possess more amiability and simplicity of character. They are evidently adapted only to small and retired communities, and are not suited to the widely extended work in which the English and American Churches are eno-ao-ed. o o After visiting Bethlehem, I returned to Kenyon College through New York, a distance of about 1000 miles. I went by the northern route, and saw the Falls of Niagara again, with more leisure than on 68 RESIDENCE AT CAM BIER. the former occasion. On arriving at Gambler, I found the College edifice overflowing' with students, and new buildings erecting to accommodate the increased numbers. I returned to my own house, and again proceeded with my studies. During the winter, Bishop Chase was absent at Washington, making an application to the Federal Government for a £rant of land to the College. Here, however, its theological character was in the way, although a bill in its favour had formerly passed the Senate, by which 23,000 acres of land had been granted to the Institution. The Lower House had at that time declined to consider this bill ; but now the Bishop had some hope that a second application might prove successful. In this he was fated to be disappointed, through the zealous opposition of some of the members from Ohio. An additional misfor- tune soon overtook him, for on his return homeward the stage-coach was upset over a precipice, several of his ribs were fractured, and his life was placed in some danger. He was laid up for several weeks, and finally, about the end of April, arrived at Gambier on a leather bed, suspended by the four corners within a coach. lie was soon, however, in his usual health, and it was now currently reported, that at different times all tin 1 Bishop's bones had been broken, with the single exception of his skull. And let it be recollected that the pecuniary emolument annexed to the episcopate' of Ohio was simply nothing. In the autumn of 1830 I took my degree, and early in 1831 proceeded to the north-eastern States. an 1 visited Boston, and other parts of New England, RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. 69 more than a thousand miles distant from Gambier. I took this opportunity of completing my theological course of study, under the superintendence of a venerable English clergyman. Having returned to Gambier, I was examined for holy orders by the Bishop and Standing Com- mittee of the diocese, on the 30th of May, 1831, and on the 12th of June was admitted to Deacon's orders. Being also married to a niece of Bishop Chase, I felt myself bound by a two-fold tie to the American Church. One of my first clerical acts was the baptism of the children of those who, in the course of my attendance at the Sunday Schools, had become attached to the principles of Episcopacy. The Bishop now advised me to seek a field of labour among the numerous vacant congregations in his diocese. He requested me first to proceed 138 miles southward to Portsmouth, on the Ohio, where such a congregation had long existed. If the place appeared suitable, he recommended me to remain there ; but if otherwise, I was to ascend the Ohio river to AY heeling, and thence proceed to St. Clairs- ville, and other places in the vicinity. On the 15th of June, I set off on this expedition. I was four days on my way to Portsmouth, and officiated every evening, either in a school-house or a private room, the congregations being easily collected at half an hour's notice. On reaching Portsmouth, I called upon a worthy couple, Mr. and Airs. Kinney, who had persevered in their attachment to the Church through every discouragement. When I made my- 70 RESIDENCE AT GAMBIER. self known to them, Mrs. Kinney burst into tears, and declared that for ten years it had been her con- stant prayer that a Clergyman might settle at Portsmouth; but that although several had come there they had disliked the place 3 and had remained but a few days. I officiated in the town on the following Wednesday and Friday, and soon afterwards received a formal invitation from the Wardens and Vestry to take charge of the congregation. I accepted the invitation immediately, ascertained that lodgings could be procured, and returned to (i anil tier to bring my wife to our new residence. As the previous his- tory of the congregation at Portsmouth was of a. particularly interesting and characteristic nature, I shall reserve an account of it for the ensuino- chapter. - 71 CIIAPTEK IV. RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. History of the Lay-Reader. — His death and burial. — Situation of Portsmouth. — Meeting of the Ohio Diocesan Convention of 1831. — Resignation of the Episcopate of Ohio by Bishop Chase. — Election of Bishop M'llvaine. — Causes of the difficulties of Ken- yon College. — Final establishment of the principle maintained by Bishop Chase. The rapid growth and increasing prosperity of the Western States afford a fit subject of admiration to the political economist and the statesman. Nor can the Christian behold the vast prospect without the deepest interest and solicitude. Sometimes he is tempted to fear that the means of education and religious improvement will never keep pace with the increase of the population ; and again he is cheered when he listens to the " Church-going bell," in regions where but a few years since the Indian wandered, and the bear and wolf lay down. Of the many thousands who annually emigrate from the Eastern States and from Europe, the great majority, doubtless, are actuated solely by the hope of ad- vancing their temporal interests. Yet there are not iZ RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH a few whose controlling motive originates in a higher source. Here are intelligent and pious settlers, who, while they seek a more genial sky, and a more productive soil, forget not that, wherever their lot may be cast, they are bound to use their utmost exertions in the cause of the Christian religion. Such was the character of the humble individual by whom the episcopal congregation in Portsmouth was founded. I shall give a concise account of his efforts in behalf of the Church, as they will serve to throw light on the system of American Episcopacy, and will at the same time afford a specimen of a considerable class of persons among the laity. Samuel Gunn was born at Waterbury, in Con- necticut, in the year 17G3, and baptized by a clergy- man sustained by the " Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts." The war of the Ameri- can Revolution commenced while he was young, and he adhered to the royalist party in that fearful struggle. Put the Church suffered severely during the momentous period in question, and became, in many places, but a name ; a name, too, of obloquy and reproach. Yet Samuel Gunn continued no less faithful to the Church than he had been to the King. lie loved the vine which he believed the Son of God and His Apostles had planted; and though now broken and spoiled, he hoped to see the time when it would cover the land with its spreading branches, and when its leaves would be for the healing of the nations. The war having at length terminated, the clergymen in Connecticut rallied their remaining forces, and elected a Bishop, who was consecrated in RESIDENCE AT P0RTSM0U1 II. 73 178-4, by the Scottish prelates. Bishop Seabury was soon actively engaged in the great work of reviving the enfeebled parishes committed to his charge, lie ordained pastors, and was the firsl who performed the solemn ordinance of Confirmation in the United States. Among the numbers who hastened to receive this holy rite was the subject of our memoir, who had now attained the age of man- hood, and had given unquestionable signs of a Christian character. The parish of Waterbury was at that time with- out a clergyman, and Mr. Gunn, being a man of unimpeachable morals, was appointed a lay-reader. During the week he was engaged on his farm ; but on Sunday he occupied the desk, and conducted the devotions of a few zealous Christians according to the venerable forms of the Liturgy. Sometimes a clergyman visited the little flock ; but such oppor- tunities were not frequent, and for ten or twelve years Mr. Gunn continued his useful labours with- out fee or reward. But his family was now in- creasing, and his circumstances were greatly strait- ened. At length he determined to seek a home in the western country, which already presented a wide field to enterprise and industry. lie first removed, about the year 1793, to Windham, in the western part of the State of New York. Here he established a small store or shop, which yielded him a livelihood sufficient for his moderate wants. He soon found means to collect a few persons together, and to persuade them to unite with him in the performance of divine worship. He commenced, a second time, E 74 RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. his vocation of lay-reader; and soon experienced the gratification of finding that his efforts were not in vain. The number of attendants gradually in- creased, until finally they organized a parish and obtained a clergyman. But Providence did not permit the subject of our memoir to enjoy the spiritual advantage of a pastor. lie seemed destined to be a lav-reader ; and by the silent influence of a blameless life, no less than by his direct exertions, he was to promote the truth among those who had few opportunities of hearing an official ambassador of God. His circumstances becoming again embarrassed, he decided on removing into the fertile, but at that time, almost uninhabited region, bordering on the Ohio. Accordingly, having punctually paid his debts, he sallied forth with a light heart and a light purse, in quest of new toils and new means of usefulness. It was in the autumn of 1805, that Mr. Gunn, with a wife and five children, commenced his long and fatiguing journey. An occurrence of a most distressing character soon wrung the affectionate heart of our lay-reader, and tried his faith to the utmost. While passing through the deep forest, one of his children fell from the wagon, and in a moment was crushed to death beneath the wheels. With his own hands the afflicted father dug a "rave by the road-side, and having read the solemn Burial- Service of the Church, committed the remains of lii- beloved offspring to their kindred dust. In the month of November he reached the banks of the RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. 75 Ohio, and embarked with his family and little pro- perty on the noble river which was to hear him to his destination. No steam-boat then ploughed the western waters ; and it was only in long and narrow vessels, propelled by poles, or dragged by ropes, that the hardy boat- men eonld ascend the current. The passengers and goods destined for places down the stream were con- veyed in flat boats of a temporary construction, which were broken up and sold when the voyage was completed. In a vessel of this latter kind, Mr. Gunn, with his little all, floated slowly to his future home. At length, his boat was made fast near the village of Portsmouth, a place containing at that time not more than ten or twelve dwellings. There was, however, a dock-yard in the vicinity, where a large ship was afterwards built, which descended 1500 miles to the Gulf of Mexico, and was employed in the trade with Europe. In so enterprising a neighbourhood Mr. Gunn was not idle. He purchased a small farm, and diligently employed himself in felling the trees, breaking up the rich soil, and sowing the seeds from which he hoped to provide his children's bread. And now the Liturgy was heard, probably for the first time, on the shores of the Ohio. Every Sunday, the lay- reader collected his family around him, and united with them in prayer and praise. For many years, none but his domestic circle attended on these occasions ; but a providential circumstance soon enlarged the congregation. He thought it ex- 76 RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. pcdicnt to sell his farm, and remove into the village of Portsmouth, where he established himself as a cooper. He soon found that he was not the only churchman in the place; but that there were a few others, and the Kinney family among them, who had been taught to believe in one Catholic and Apostolic Church. These gladly attended his reading, and assisted with their responses. About this time, namely, in the year 1819, he received the grateful intelligence that a Diocese had been organized in Ohio, and a Bishop elected and consecrated. To complete his gratification, he learned that the new prelate was no stranger to him. The Eev. Philander Chase, the same missionary who, on more than one occasion had slept under his roof, and dined at his table at Windham, in Xew York, was now his Bishop in the Far AVest. Mr. Gunn immediately took his pen, and wrote to his Chief Shepherd. He stated the importance of directly commencing regular services in Portsmouth. lie mentioned the comfort which the few members of the Church in that in- creasing village would derive from an episcopal visit ; and he concluded with earnestly recpiesting the Bishop either to come himself, or send some clergy- man to visit them at an early season. Bishop Chase was engaged in highly important business when this letter arrived. lie therefore sent the Rev. Air. Morse, one of his most faithful clergymen, who was received at Portsmouth witli unaffected cordiality. Once more, after an interval of fifteen years, our lay-reader was permitted to receive the Sacrament, and to hear the word of life RESIDENCE AT POKTSMOUTH. 77 declared by a commissioned ambassador of Christ. In about a month afterwards, the Bishop himself arrived. The Court-House was immediately pre- pared for religious worship, and a large congrega- tion, partly drawn by curiosity, and partly by a better feeling, soon assembled. The Bishop de- livered a plain and practical sermon, with that solemnity and that energy which seldom fail to produce a deep impression. Nor was this all. He remained in Portsmouth till he had gained the affection and respect of the people, had baptized and confirmed a number of persons, and had effected the organization of a parish, of which Mr. Gunn was elected senior warden. Having regularly ap- pointed Mr. Gunn to the office of lay-reader, he left Portsmouth, and went onward to discover new openings for the Gospel and the Church. For the third time our lay-reader occupied the desk ; but the people were, to a great extent, desti- tute of Prayer-books, and could not, of course, join in the responses. It was soon discovered that a printer in the village was in possession of a large number of these invaluable manuals of devotion, which he had long since laid away as unsaleable. They were immediately purchased, and some at high prices. Money was then scarce, and one person actually gave twenty bushels of corn for a single Prayer-Book. For three years Mr. Gunn regularly performed the services. During this period, the village was visited most severely by disease. J [any who had taken a deep interest in the Church Mili- tant below, were removed, as we may hope, to the 78 RESIDENCE AT POBTSMOUTH. Church Triumphant above; and alter several un- healthy seasons, few of the little congregation re- mained. In the year 1823, a clergyman residing in Chillicothe, fifty miles distant, consented t<» officiate once a month in Portsmouth. This was a great benefit to the people, and a great relief to .Mr. Gunn, who had now attained his sixtieth year. The latter, notwithstanding, eondueted worship, and read a sermon on the intervening Sundays ; ami, after two years, when Mr. Kellogg, the clergy- man in question, left Ohio, he again took the entire labour upon himself. All this, it must be re- membered, was entirely gratuitous, and the only recompense was that of a good conscience. The consreoration, now exceedingly small, was often a subject of ridicule to the thoughtless and prejudiced. The members of other denominations also frequently importuned the few Episcopalians to unite with them, on the assurance that a Church Minister could never be obtained. But the little community, attached by conviction to the distinctive principles of Episcopacy, never ceased to persevere in what they believed to be the way of truth. In 1831 they obtained a convenient room for their wor- ship. They fitted it up with commodious seats, and a desk: and here, after his recovery from a severe illness, the aged lay-reader, with a trembling voice, continued to conduct their devotions. In the month of July, in the same year, he officiated for the last time. At that time I was sent to Portsmouth, and. ;is I have before mentioned, received and accepted an RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. 79 invitation to take charge of the feeble congregation. My compensation was fixed, by the wardens and vestry, at 200 dollars (£45) for the first year, which, with an additional hundred from the Diocesan Mis- sionary Society, was enough to support existence at the low prices which then prevailed. But scarcely had I officiated once in my new sphere of labour, when a frightful accident befel the good Mr. Gunn, which hastened his departure from the world. A fire-engine had recently been purchased by the in- habitants of Portsmouth, and the old man, with many others, was observing its first experimental operations. The person who directed the jet, unfor- tunately permitted the tube to fall, and in an instant the whole stream of water struck Mr. Gunn in the face, crushing his right eye, and completely destroy- ing its power of vision. For some time his condition was extremely precarious ; and it was feared that a total loss of sight would be the result. At length nature rallied, and he recovered strength to walk. One eye was spared to him, but his former health was never restored. Yet the hope of immortality brightened upon him, and his conversation became more and more solemn and edifying. The Church, too, was dearer to his heart than ever ; and it was not long before he gave a proof of his sincerity, which was the last crowning act of a life devoted to the service of God. During the winter following the accident, he one day requested as many of the parishioners as could attend, to meet him on important business. A number of them accordingly assembled, and the old 80 RESIDENCE AT PORTSMOUTH. man, rising from his scat, represented to them in strong terms the importance of building a Church. lie showed them that no considerable accessions to their numbers could be expected, until a distinct building, of sufficient capacity, and easily accessible to all, had been obtained. lie concluded almost in the following words: "You know, my friends, that I am not rich, and that twice I have lost my all. Yet Providence has given me enough, and my pro- perty is now worth a little more than two thousand dollars. Of this, I will give one third towards the erection of the proposed edifice, on condition that you will contribute the remainder of the necessary amount." This offer was accepted with admiration and gratitude, and a sufficient sum was promptly subscribed. But the lay-reader lived not to see the Church erected, nor even its corner-stone laid. A few months after his generous gift his form became emaciated, and he was soon confined entirely to his bed. Religious services were sometimes held in his room, which evidently afforded him great delight. On one of these occasions his children and grandchildren were present by his special request. I took for my text, Eccles. xii. 1 : kk Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days conic not, uor the years draw nigh, when thou shall say, I have no pleasure in them." At the conclusion < the " Valley of Peace," and I taking my solitary way to Ports- mouth. Yet, before parting, I took the liberty of assuring the Bishop of my firm belief that posterity, at least, would do him justice. The Convention of* Ohio met again in 1832. As Bishop Chase had anticipated, difficulties had arisen in the way of the consecration of his successor, his own resignation being considered by many good judges utterly invalid under the existing state of the Canons. Accordingly, Bishop Chase's friends u^vd great efforts in this Convention to reinstate him in the Bishopric, at least, if not in the College. One of the Laity offered a resolution inviting Bishop Chase to revoke his resignation and resume his former duties. But this resolution was lost, eleven clergymen and twenty-two lay-delegates being opposed to it, and one clergyman and seven- teen lay-delegates supporting to it. This vote, though unfavourable, proved how much the Bishop's cause had gained among the Laity during the past year. Afterwards, the election of Bishop M'llvaine was again affirmed by a large majority, though not with the unanimity of the election of 1831. In the same year (1832) the General Convention of the American Church met in Philadelphia. The resignation of Bishop Chase was ably discussed, and, finally, the fact of the vacancy of the diocese of Ohio was admitted by the Bishops as well as by the 100 SYNODICAL ACTION, Lower House. Yet it was found necessary to pass a ('anon respecting Episcopal resignations, by which the mode of such resignations was defined, and at the same time the probability of their recurrence obviated as much as possible. The Bishops also gave an opinion adverse to any "necessary connexion between the Presidency of Kenyon College and the Episcopate of the diocese," deeming it incongruous that the Bishop "should be dependent for his station on any authority not recognized by Canon." To this opinion Bishop Chase decidedly objected, on the ground that all the endowments of the Seminary depended on the continuance of its connexion with the Bishop of the Diocese. But the view of the House of Bishops for the time prevailed, and on this principle Bishop M'llvaine was consecrated. Having already, in the course of my narrative, alluded to the Parochial system in America, to the Diocesan Conventions, and to the General Conven- tion, it seems proper to introduce in this place a brief description of the entire method of ecclesiastical polity at present existing in the American Church. A Parish generally consists in practice of all in any given place who have been educated in the Church, or have been led to prefer its worship and government to any other, and who have associated themselves in one congregation, in con- formity with rules fixed by the Diocesan authority. But in New York, and other large cities, where many such congregations exist, the Clergy are be- ginning to make geographical demarcations, with the view of more effectually reaching those per- AND [TS RESULTS. 101 sons who do not spontaneously seek to associate themselves with any congregation. In several of the southern dioceses, the territory was anciently divided into parishes by Acts of the Colonial Assem- blies, and these divisions prevail substantially to this day. On the whole, however, the word parish must be considered as nearly synonymous with con- gregation. The persons who are to form the basis of the parish being assembled in a public meeting, adopt, in the first place, articles of association, in which they accede to the Constitution, Canons, Discipline, and Worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, and to the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese in which they are locally situated. They also assume a suitable name, by which their church or parish shall be designated (such as St. Paul's, St. Ann's, Christ Church, &c), and appoint ten or a dozen Vestrymen, and two Wardens. A certified copy of the articles of association and the proceedings of the meeting, is then laid before the Diocesan Convention, and if approved by that body, Lay-Delegates from the new parish may take their seats in the assembly, and the congregation is con- sidered as united to the Convention, and subject to its decisions. In most of the States a parish may also possess the further advantage, common to all religious denomina- tions, of a legal incorporation by the State Legislature, which is granted, on application, with little trouble and almost no expense. The parish then becomes a corporate body (like a railway company for example); 102 SYNODICAL ACTION, it can sue and be sued, make contracts, and hold property to a certain specified amount. Thus, although the State is in no way connected with the internal discipline and arrangements of the Church, it- assistance becomes useful in protecting Church property, and in enforcing, if necessary, the collection of pew rents and other payments. In some of the southern States, ecclesiastical corporations are not encouraged by the legislature, and Church property is held by trustees. The Parish Church is built by the voluntary con- tributions of the worshippers, assisted sometimes by friends at a distance. The Hector is elected by the Wardens and Vestry, who have the power offixing the amount of his stipend. lie presides in vestry meetings, and has the control of the Church when open for public worship. If he is further instituted, or inducted, according to the form prescribed in the American Prayer-Book, it is understood that the connexion between him and the parish is not to be severed, unless for weighty reasons. On Easter- Monday, the male pew-holders assemble in the Church, and the Rector opens the meeting with prayers. A vestry for the ensuing year is elected by ballot, and two wardens are subsequently chosen from the vestry, the Rector sometimes having the privilege of selecting one of the two. 'fhe wardens and vestry also elect from their own number a Trea- surer, a Secretary, and one or more Delegates to the Diocesan ( lonvention. The Wardens provide, al the expense of the parish, a suitable Prayer-book and Bible lor the Church. •and [ts results. In:; They take up the collections made in Church, they provide the elements for the Holy Communion, and the bookforthe registry of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials. It is their business to present to the Bishop any priesl or deacon in the parish who may have relin- quished liis clerical office, or engaged in secular vocations. On them also devolves the care of the sacred edifice, the churchyard, the parsonage, and the glebe (if any) ; and the duty of giving a fair account of all money transactions relative to the Church, once in every year. The Yestry transact the business of the Church together with the Wardens, collect the money stipu- lated to be paid to the Rector, and in the absence of the wardens, perform the duties more particu- larly assigned to them. The income of the parish is sometimes derived from endowments, as in the notable case of Trinity Church, New York, which retains the property granted to it in the reign of Queen Anne, and now amounting in value to at least three millions of dollars. More generally it is raised by an annual assessment on the several pews, sometimes as high as 200 dollars, (or £40), and sometimes as low as twenty dollars, or even five. In some instances, especially in infant parishes, a voluntary subscription is re- sorted to, but the amount is in such cases precarious and uncertain. There are also parishes, organized since the commencement of the great Church movement which has pervaded England and America, in which the minister is supported by the collections made at the altar. How far 104 >Y NODICAL ACTION*, tills method has proved successful I am not informed. A Diocese hitherto has practically consisted of all the Parishes in a given State organized as an eccle- siastical commonwealth, upon principles approved of by the ( reneral ( 'onvention. To this there is already an exception in the case of the diocese of New York, which having become too unwieldy for the super- vision of a single Bishop, has been divided into two dioceses. The same process will no doubt continue until the American dioceses are contracted within reasonable limits, and cease to be respectively equal in dimensions to England or France. A new Diocese is first organized in a primary Convention of the Clergy and Laity, which, after declaring its adhesion to the principles of the Church, applies to the General Convention for union with that body, and is received as a Diocese, with full power to elect a Bishop, and to send Clerical and Lay Deputies to the chief council of the Church. But to this again there are many exceptions, for since tin 1 period of the appointment of missionary prelates, the labours of the Bishop have often preceded the collection of parishes, the appointment of ministers, and the organi- zation of the diocese. The extent of the Church population in a Diocese varies exceedingly. Thus the two dioceses of New York contain together about loo clergymen, and perhaps more than a quarter of a million of Church people. ( >n the other hand, Florida numbers only eight clergymen, and probably less than five thousand persons attached to the prin- ciples of Protestant Episcopacy. The average num- and its ni-:sn/rs. 105 ber of clergy in each of the thirty-two dioceses is at present (1851) fifty-one, each of whom, on the average, has the actual superintendence of sixty communicants, and perhaps 360 persons in all. The ordinary ecclesiastical business of every diocese is transacted in its Convention. This body consists first of the Bishop; secondly, of the Clergy, canoni- cally resident in the diocese ; and thirdly, of the Lay-Delegates appointed by the several parishes. In some dioceses, only those clergymen are admitted who are engaged in the oversight of a parish, while in others, missionaries, professors, chaplains in the army and navy, and instructors of youth (bcino- in holy orders) are also admitted. The qualifications of Lay-Delegates differ also in different dioceses. Thus, in Virginia and Ohio, lay-delegates must be commu- nicants ; in New York no one can be chosen as a delegate unless he is entitled to vote for warden and vestry ; and in Pennsylvania the delegate must have been for six months previously a worshipper in the Church which he is to represent. The Convention, thus constituted, assembles once a year, or oftener in case of a special exigency, at such time and place as it may determine. The account of the Ohio Con- vention, given in the last chapter, will afford a tolerably correct idea of the mode of doing business in such assemblies. A Diocesan Convention is wholly legislative in its proper character, and can pass any local canons or regulations not conflicting with those of the General Convention. The Clergy and Laity commonly vote together ; but a vote by orders may at any time be F 5 106 SYNODH A I. ACTION, obtained at the call of a few members. In that case the clergy give their votes separately from the laity, and a majority of both .-ides 1 >ec< mies necessary before the canon or resolution can pass. Thus the clergy can take no important stop without the con- currence of the people; and the people are in like manner kept in check by the clergy. The American Bishops, although possessing a full veto on the pro- ceedings of the General Convention, have generally renounced it in regard to the less important acts of a diocesan synod. The only partial exception to this is in Kentucky, where, if the Bishop disapprove of any canon or resolution, he may return it to the Convention for re-consideration, when a majority of two-thirds of both orders is necessary for its adop- tion. Judge Hoffman remarks, that " everv limita- tion upon the original jurisdiction of a Bishop has been self-imposed, or has sprung from the laws of councils of superior authority to which he has been a party." As to the union of Clergy and Laity in Diocesan Conventions, the same author remarks as follows: — "In this we differ from the Convocations of the English and Scottish Church. Yet the principle which dictated it is found in the English decisions, exempting the laity from the obligation of canons passed without their assent by representation, and i< sanctioned by no less an authority than Hooker, who says (Book viii. p. 368), 'that in all societies, companies, and corporations, whal severally each shall be bound unto, must he, with all their assents, ratified. As the laity should not hinder the clergy's AND ITS RESULTS. 107 jurisdiction, so neither is it reason that the laity's rights should be abridged by the clergy.'" The Diocesan Convention is competent to the performance of the following acts, and others of a similar description. It elects the Bishop, and during a vacancy of the Episcopate it may Invite a neigh- bouring Bishop to officiate within its limits. It makes Canons to determine the mode by which its priests and deacons may be tried when charged with vieiousness of life or heresy in doctrine. It regulates its parish elections, declares the duties of its wardens and vestries, and determines the ratio of its lay- representation. It appoints the mode by which its parishes shall be organized, and the conditions upon which they may be admitted as constituent parts of the diocese. It declares the necessary qualifications of lay-readers in such parishes as are destitute of a clergyman. If there is a College, or a Theological Seminary, or any other Church Institution connected with the Diocese, the Convention prepares or modi- fies a Constitution for the establishment, and appoints its Trustees. The Legislature of the State is usually willing to ratify such a constitution, and to give a corporate character to the College or Seminary on receiving an application from the trustees. The Diocesan Convention also provides for the appoint- ment and support of Missionaries in the diocese, and promotes religious and theological education. It likewise chooses four Clergymen and four Laymen as 1 )cputies to the Lower House of the General Conven- tion ; and, finally, it elects annually that important body denominated the Standing Committee. 108 BYNODICAL ACTION, The number and qualifications of members com- posing the Standing Committee are different in the various dioceses. In .Maryland it consists of seven Priests chosen by a joint ballot of clergy and Laity. In Connecticut it is composed of five clergymen, being rectors of parishes, or instructors in some incorporated seminary. In all the other dioceses laymen are introduced into this body, and some- times in equal numbers with the clergy. Thus in New York there are four of each order ; and in Vermont three. In Missouri, Delaware, and Ken- tucky, three of the clergy and two of the laity, the presence of at least two clergymen being requisite to a quorum. In four dioceses, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the lay-mem- bers must be communicants. The Standing Committee elects a President and Secretary from its own body, and meets at pleasure by adjournment, or on the summons of its President. It is a Council of Advice to the Bishop, being obliged to give advice when requested, and being empowered to advise when its members think it expedient. During a vacancy of the Episcopate, the Standing Committee issues dimissory letters, institutes ecclesiastical trials, superintends by its clerical members all deacons in the diocese, and in other ways supplies as far as pos- sible the want of a Bishop. No person can be admitted a candidate for orders, or ordained a deacon, or a priest, until he has laid before the Bishop testi- monials of his fitness, signed by a majority of the members of the Diocesun Standing Committee duly convened. So in the appointment of a Bishop, it is AND ITS RESULTS. 109 not sufficient that a majority of the laity, and also of the clergy in a diocese, should have elected him; lie cannot be consecrated without the consent of the majority of the Standing Commit tecs of all the dioceses certified to the Presiding Bishop. The object of this provision is, that every Bishop should as far as possible be acceptable to the whole Church. But if the Bishop has been elected during the year previous to the triennial General Convention, the Standing Committees are not consulted, but the consent of the General Convention is deemed suf- ficient. Judge Hoffman finds a precedent for Standing Committees in Cathedral Chapters, and quotes a provision of the Council of Carthage : " Ut Episcopus nuUius causam audiat absque prcesentid suorum cleri- corum" But the parallel will hardly apply to those cases in which the laity possess equal powers with the clergy in such a committee. As to the authority of this body during a vacancy in the Episcopate, the same writer cites a canonist quoted by Bishop Stil- lingfleet : " Episcopo mortuo naturaliter vel civiliter, capitulum succedit in jurisdictione tarn spiritualium quam temporaliwn" The General Convention is the tie by which the thirty-two dioceses at present existing are bound together in one fellowship. Its relation to these several Dioceses is similar to that which Congress sustains towards the individual Commonwealths, or Sovereign States of the American Union. Like Congress and the British Parliament, it is divided into two Houses, the consent of both of which is 110 M NODICAL ACTION, necessary before any canon or resolution can pass. The LTpper House consists of all the Bishops (now thirty-two in number), of whom the Senior in point of consecration is the President, while a Priest, ap- pointed for the purpose, acts as Secretary. This House sits with dosed doors, though a short abstract of its proceedings is usually published. The Lower House is composed of equal numbers of ( Ilerical and Lay Delegates, four of each order being deputed by every diocese. At present, therefore. the Lower House, when full, would consist of 256 members. It elects some able clergyman as its Chairman, or Speaker ; its debates are usually open to the public, and parliamentary forms are strictly observed. Among its lay-members are found many persons distinguished by their talents and influence as lawyers and statesmen, and great numbers of spectators of both sexes are usually present. Although the Clergy and Laity frequently vote together in the Lower House, yet, "in all questions, when required by the clerical and lay representation from any diocese, each order (i. e. clerical and lay) has one vote : and the majority of suffrages by dio- - - is conclusive in each order, provided such majority comprehend a majority of the dioceses represented in that order.'" The effect of this last provision is, that the clergy are protected againsl any possible aggression on the part of the laity, while the latter are relieved from undue apprehensions of priestcraft or clerical tyranny. The same principle, as I have remarked, prevails in the Diocesan Convention. AM) ITS RESULTS. Ill The General Convention, I need hardly mention, is wholly independent of the civil government in every respect. It is not a Court of Appeal, but is simply a legislative body, exercising supreme authority within the Church. It possesses all those powers which cannot be conveniently exercised in the several dio- ceses, and in many respects supersedes the powers of the Diocesan Conventions. Thus, first — It enacts Canons in regard to 'public worship, providing for uniformity in that respect throughout the whole Church in the United States ; making alterations in the Prayer-Book when con- sidered necessary ; declaring how Sunday shall be observed ; appointing the mode of publishing autho- rized editions of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, and allowing every Bishop to compose forms of prayer for his diocese on extraordinary occasions. Secondly — It defines, to a certain extent, the duties and qualifications of Bishops, Priests, Deacons. Candidates for Orders, Standing Committees, and the Laity in general. It states the offences for which clergymen of any of the three orders may be brought to an ecclesiastical trial ; it also prescribes, in some cases, the method of trial, and the mode of inflicting the three punishments of Admonition, Suspension, and Degradation. It lays down likewise the proper course of procedure against an offending Layman, and the grounds on which he must be repelled from the Holy Communion. Thirdly — The General Convention legislates on points touching the relation between the several dioceses. Thus, for example, it has enacted that no con- 112 SYNODIC AL ACT I OX, srresration shall receive a minister from another diocese, until he has presented to the vestry a certi- ficate t'n mi the Bishop, that he has brought satisfactory letters of dismission from the diocese whence he has removed. Fourthly — It provides Episcopal superintendence for those districts of the United States not yet included in any diocesan organization. Thus it has made a Canon under which .Missionary Bishops can be elected by the Lower House of the General Con- vention on the nomination of the Upper House. Bishops so appointed are required to exercise their functions under such regulations as the Upper House may prescribe, and their support is to be provided by the Board of Missions. Fifthly — The General Convention determines in matters relating to foreign Churches. For example, it was on application of the General Convention, as then constituted, that the English Bishops con- secrated the first American prelates. So, also, a regularly ordained clergyman of the Reformed Church coming from a foreign country, is not allowed to take charge of a parish until he has resided one year in the United States, and produced evidence of his good standing in the country which he has left. Sixthly — It directs the operations of the Church in regard to heathen lands. Thus it has already elected Missionary Bishops for China, Africa, and Turkey, and will probably increase the number of such Bishops hereafter. So also at every triennial meeting it appoints thirty persons, who, together witli all the Bishops, constitute the Board of Missions. AND ITS RESULTS. 113 Tliis Board raises funds by voluntary contribution, part of which arc devoted to missions within^ and part to those without the United States. Judge Hoffman thus classifies the articles of tlie Constitution of the American Church and the General Convention : — "First — Such as relate to the establishment and organization of a General Convention — its mode of performing business, and the alteration of the consti- tution. " Second — Such as confer upon the Convention a power to legislate. " Third — Such as are in themselves positive acts of legislation." He then shows that two classes of powers exist in this body; viz., those conferred by the Consti- tution of the Church, and those possessed by the General Convention by reason of its inherent sovereignty. The same writer deduces the following principal rules : — " First — That, generally speaking, in instances of the first class ; viz., those in which a power to legis- late is expressly given, all authority of the separate dioceses upon the subject is superseded at once, and before and without any exercise of the power of the General Convention. " Second — That until an act of legislation upon any such subject as the Convention can act upon, within the second class of powers, the authority of the dioceses is entire and unrestricted. "Third — That, when an act of the General Con- 11-4 SYNODICAL ACTION, vent ion upon such a matter is passed, it becomes the supreme law : superseding what has been done in a diocese, or any power of a diocese at variance with it, and superseding the right to make any similar provision in a diocese ad idem; but abridging the power of the dioceses only so far as the law by just intendment extends. "Fourth — That, therefore, the dioceses still re- tain the power to legislate upon the same subject- matter beyond the legislation of the Convention, if no repugnance exists between the different acts of legis- lation." The following restrictions upon the power of the Genera] Convention are also stated: — " First — The General Convention cannot pass a canon conflicting with the General Constitution [of the American Church]. •• Second— It cannot adopt any canon for discipline of a limited and local operation. It must be for the whole Church, and uniform throughout the Church." The English reader will perhaps find it difficult to dissociate this statement of powers, and the defi- nition of powers, from some ideas of an authority pro- ceeding, in the first instance at least, from the State, and enabling the Convention to act in the mode described above. But history will showthal no such authority has been either desired or accepted in the American Church. The essential authority of the Church, as existing in the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, lias been found, in practice, abundantly adequate t<> tin- direction and limitation of its own energies. Ci\il legislation would add but little, if AND [TS RESUL1 S. 1 15 anything, to the weighl of the American Canons, whether General or Diocesan. At all events, the members of the Church in the United States arc convinced that legislative interference on the part of their several governments would be an incalculable injury, and that the civil authority Deeds the protection of religion far more than religion requires the assistance of the State. The Canons have not been framed according to any preconceived ideal of a perfect system, hut have been enacted, repealed, modified, or enlarged, as cir- cumstances have required. Hence they are com- prised within a small space; they arc simple, practical, easily understood, and intended to be observed. There may still he many defects in them; but the harassing question can never occur as to which of them are binding, or which obsolete. And it is found that a general conformity to these canons is secured by the force of public opinion and ecclesias- tical feeling in the members of the Church, both lay and clerical. No ecclesiastical distinctions among the Clergy are recognized beyond the ancient and primitive orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. There are no Arch- bishops, deans, archdeacons, prebendaries, or chan- cellors. The clergy and people indicate their appro- bation of piety and talent by their free election of able or distinguished churchmen to the Standing Committees, to the Lower House of the General ( !on- vention, to the Trusteeship of the- General Theo- logical Seminary, to the Presidency of a College, or to the high responsibilities of the Episcopal Office. 116 SYNODICAL ACTION, In this connexion it may also be proper to state that tlic English machinery of Episcopal and Areliidiaconal Visitations has been altogether superseded by the Diocesan Conventions. The American Church has made great exertions to preserve the purity of the clerical body, both in re- gard to admission to the Holy Ministry and rejection from it. None can be ordained deacons without passing through a term of probation denominated candidateship, which is generally of three years' duration, though, in peculiar cases, it may be short- ened by the Bishop to one year. Before being received to candidateship, the Standing Committee must certify to the Bishop that the individual in question is reputed to be pious, sober, and honest ; that he is attached to the doctrines, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a communicant of the same ; and that, in their opinion, he possesses such qualifications as will render him fit for the exercise of the Holy Mini-try. During his probation, the candidate is under the special superin- tendence of the Bishop, who is bound to see that he pursues his studies diligently and under proper direction, and that he does not indulge in any vain or trifling conduct, or in amusements liable to abuse, or unfavourable to serious and studious habits. When his candidateship has expired, he must pro- duce to the Bishop a certificate of good conduct and qualifications from the Standing Committee, lie may then, if above twenty-one years of age, be ordained a Deacon, if he should succeed in passing a satisfactory examination before the Bishop and AND ITS RESULTS. 117 certain Presbyters appointed by him. He still re- mains subject to the regulation of the Bishop, with- out whose license he is not allowed to preach, and by whom the place where he shall officiate is assigned to him. After continuing one year a deacon, he may apply for Priest's Orders, if twenty-four years of age, unless he has been ordained under the fifth canon of 1847, by which persons of inferior attainments may be ordained Deacons without the expectation of becoming Priests. The candidate for the Priest- hood must produce fresh testimonials from the Standing Committee in a form similar to those already mentioned. He must give evidence that he is en- gaged as minister of some parish, or that he is a missionary under proper authority, or a teacher in some incorporated seminary of learning. He must pass a satisfactory examination, as before; and, finally, he must subscribe a declaration of his belief in the inspiration and sufficiency of the Scriptures, and a solemn engagement to conform to the doctrines and worship of the Church. The Bishop may then or- dain him to the Priesthood. The stated times for Ordination are on the Sundays following the Ember-weeks, although occasional ordinations may be held at such other times as the Bishop may appoint. The relation sustained by a Priest to his Bishop is the same as in England. He is bound by his Or- dination Vows, " reverently to obey his Bishop, and other chief ministers, who, according to the canons of the Church, may have the charge and government 118 SYTS T ODI< AX A< TIONj over him, following with a glad mind and will their godly admonitions, and submitting himself to their godly judgments." In regard to the highest order of the ministry, considerable weighl of character, and the general approbatiou of the Church, are requisite to an ap- pointment to a Bishopric. In the first place, as I have before stated, there must he the votes of a majority of the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese electing; secondly, the approbation of the General Convention, or of a majority of the Standing Com- mittees; and, lastly, the consent of the greater num- ber of the Bishops. Thus, although the Bishop's authority is greatly limited by various canons, his influence is necessarily very considerable; and he may be said generally to possess the confidence and affection of the priests and deacons, the men, the women, and the children, of his diocese. All these regard him as their Chief Shepherd, and most of them habitually consider him as possessed of Apos- tolical authority, transmitted by imposition of hands from the primitive ages of Christianity. Add to this the instinctive loyalty of the human heart, which in the absence of a monarch at ladies itself, in religions minds, to the office and person of a Bishop: and the English reader will understand how it is that an American prelate, though appa- rently in fetters, is often found to act with great energy and effect. When cases of delinquency occur (as cannot but happen occasionally, in the best-regulated associa- tions of erring men), the discipline of the Church is, and ii s i;i;si i.i -. 1 l'.t on the whole, promptly exercised. A Bishop, on :i charge <>f crime, heresy, or violation of the canons, is tried on ;i presentmenl in writing addressed to the Bishops, and made either by three Bishops, or by at least two-thirds of all the clergy and two-thirds of the parishes in his diocese, represented in the Diocesan Convention. The Presiding Bishop summons the other Bishops to attend at a specified time at some place within the diocese of the accused, and the presence of seven at least, is requisite to constitute the Court. After having received testimony upon oath on both sides, the assembled Bishops declare respectively their opinion as to the guilt or inno- cence of the accused. If the majority declare him guilty, he is admonished, suspended, or deposed, as the case may seem to require. The particular mode of proceeding against accused Priests or Deacons has been usually left by the Gene- ral Convention to the regulation of the respective Diocesan Conventions. Accordingly, the rules vary much in detail, and sometimes in principle. In many cases the charge is first laid before the Standing Com- mittee, which judges of the propriety of making a pre- sentment. The presentment, if made, specifies the time, place, and circumstances, of the alleged offence. The tribunal for the trial is constituted separately for each case, except in the diocese of Maryland, where a permanent court is established. If the pre- sentment is allowed by the Bishop, he commences by appointing a certain number of Priests, out of whom the accused is often empowered to select a smaller number, which finally constitutes the 120 BTNODICAL ACTION, Court for the trial. The evidence produced is re- duced to writing, and signed by the witnesses; and, if desired by the accused, the examination is public. In some dioceses Advocates are allowed, provided they are communicants of some standing. In Mary* land and elsewhere, a Church Advocate conducts the prosecution. If the accused is found guilty, the Court usually states the sentence which in its opinion ought to be pronounced, and the Bishop finally pronounces such sentence as appears to him proper, provided that it shall not exceed in severity the sentence recommended by the Court, and which must be that of Admonition, Suspension, or Degrada- tion. This sentence admits of no appeal, and is final, unless the Bishop sees fit to order a new trial. When by reason of old age or infirmity a Bishop has become unable to discharge his Episcopal duties, an Assistant Bishop may be elected by the diocese, who is always to succeed the senior Bishop in the event of surviving him. In the case of a Bishop suspended from his office without precise limitation of time, a Provisional Bishop may be elected, who, when duly consecrated, is to exercise all the powers of the Bishop of the diocese, and who, on the restoration of the latter, is to become Assistant Bishop on the terms specified above. But it is provided that henceforth every sentence of suspension shall specify on what terms and at what time the suspension shall cease. The case of Bishop Chase led, as I have remarked, to the enactment of a (anon empowering a Bishop, under certain peculiar circumstances, to resign his AND ITS RESULTS. 121 jurisdiction. This canon was afterwards modified by the General Convention of 1850. In the first place, the Bishop desiring to resign, if within six months before the meeting of the General Conven- tion, must make known his wish to the House of Bishops, together with his reasons. If these are approved of by the majority of those present, the resignation is complete, and notice is given to the Lower House. But at any other time the course of procedure is different. In such a case the applica- tion is to be first made to the Presiding Bishop, who is to communicate a copy of it to all the Bishops, and summon them to meet him in person at a time not less than three months distant. The Standing Committee of the diocese of the resigning Bishop is also to be duly informed of the matter. If a ma- jority of the whole number of Bishops should be present at the meeting, they possess the same powers in this case as the House of Bishops in General Convention. A Bishop who has once resigned, is now declared ineligible to the charge of any diocese ; he is not allowed a seat in the House of Bishops, though he may perform Episcopal Acts at the request of a diocesan Bishop, and still remains subject to the authority of the General Convention. As to the discipline of the Laity, the Rubric pre- fixed to the Communion Office, is the same in sub- stance as in the English Prayer-Book. If under this Rubric a person should be repelled from the Com- munion, he may complain, in writing, to the Bishop, who may either restore him, or, if an insufficient cause has been alleged by the Minister, may institute G 122 SYXODICAL ACTION, AND ITS RESULTS. an inquiry according to the local canons or the practice of the diocese. Thus in Massachusetts the Bishop constitutes a Council of two Priests and two Laymen, of which he is himself the President. But, generally speaking, the method of inquiry is deter- mined by the Bishop. The offences for which laymen may be tried are generally specified in the Rubric. But in the diocese of Virginia it is provided by a canon of 1850 that any communicant "conducting himself or herself in a manner unworthy of a Christian, may and ought to be admonished or suspended by the Minister of the parish, according to the Rubric. And gaming, atten- dance on horse-racing and theatrical amusements, witnessing immodest and licentious exhibitions or shows, attending public balls, habitual neglect of I ml die worship, or a denial of the doctrines of the Gospel as generally set forth in the authorized stan- dards of the Church, are offences for which discipline should be exercised." I have thus given a tolerably minute delineation of Synodical Action in the American Church, to- gether with the laws and discipline which have re- sulted from that action. How this system grew into existence I shall endeavour to explain in another Chapter. 123 CHAPTER VI, HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. First Settlement of the English. — Various Sects introduced. — Rela- tion of the Church to the State in the Colonial period. — Efforts of the Society for Propagating the Gospel. — Applications for Bishops. — The Revolution. — Bishops finally consecrated. — The General Convention and Diocesan Conventions established. — Great extension of the Church. — Missionary efforts. — Death of Bishop "White. — Farther development of Church principles. — General Convention of 1850. The origin of the American Church, like the estab- lishment of the English race and language in the Western Continent, is to be traced directly to the Reformation. Prior to that event deference was paid to the authority of Pope Alexander VI., who had granted to the Spaniards all the newly dis- covered territory, more than a hundred leagues west of the Azores. But in the reign of Elizabeth, the English began seriously to form plans of settling colonies in those parts of America, which hitherto they had only visited ; and in the lifetime of her 124 HISTORY OF successor, James I., their efforts in this direction began to be rewarded with success. On tlic 26th day of April, 1607, two years before the settlement of Canada by the French, seven years before the founding of New York by the Dutch, and thirteen years before the landing of the Puritans in New England, a small band of colonists arrived on that coast, denominated, in honour of their queen, Virginia. They brought witli them the prevalent habits of the higher orders of English society, and although adventurers, they had not forgotten their duty to God. Religious considera- tions had been combined with the motives which led to their voluntary expatriation. As members of the lately reformed Church of England, they had been required by their sovereign to provide for the preaching of the Gospel among themselves and the neighbouring; Indians, and had been taught to regard their undertaking as a work which, by the providence of God, might tend " to the glory of His Divine Majesty," and "the propagating of the Christian Religion." A wise and pious clergyman, Robert Hunt by name, had accompanied them on their perilous voyage; and a humble building was soon erected as a place of worship, according to the usage of the Church of England. On the 14th of May, the day after their first landing, the colonists partook of the Lord's Supper at the hand of their pastor; and North America commenced its career of civilization with the celebration of the most holy mystery of the Catholic Church. Upon a penin- sula projecting from the northern shore of James THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 125 River, may still be seen the ruins of the more substantial edifice afterwards erected; and this, with its surrounding burial-ground, remains almost the sole memorial of Jamestown. Hitherto, and for a few years afterwards, the Church of England was the only form of ( Jhristianity existing in the northern part of the continent. It is therefore fairly entitled to whatever rights may attach to actual precedence in point of occupa- tion. But various causes soon contributed to the multiplication of sects, and gave to American religion the motley aspect which it has un- happily continued to exhibit to the present day. In the year 1614, New York was colonized by the Dutch, who brought with them their own confession of faith, and their Presbyterian mode of government. In 1620, the Puritans established themselves in Mas- sachusetts, where their numbers were recruited by the enforcement of the Act of Uniformity in England. The Swedes and Finns introduced Lutheranisin into Delaware and New Jersey, in 1627 : Maryland was settled by Roman Catholics in 1634, and Pennsylvania by Quakers in 1681. Long before the termination of the seventeenth century the Church became what it still remains, a comparatively small body in the midst of a dissenting majority. At a very early period, too, the Puritans of New England began to persecute, in various ways, the remnant of Church- people who existed among them. Although nomi- nally England reigned supreme, the laws of Eng- land were but a slight protection to the members of England's Church. Heavy fines were inflicted 12T) HISTORY OF on those who worshipped Cod according to the Prayer-Book; severe colonial laws were enacted against the observance of " any such day as Christ- inns, or the like," and an Inquisition existed in Bubstance, with a full share of its terrors and its violence. Yet, as the country increased in population, the Church slowly advanced. Even in the Puritan colonics of New England a few Episcopalian con- gregations were at length established, and, under a load of obloquy, gradually gathered strength. The Dutch, in 16 07, surrendered Xew York into the hands of the English, and an English Church was consequently erected in that important town. Philadelphia, under the tolerant influence of the Quakers, admitted of the erection of another build- ing of the same character: and in Maryland, Roman Catholic influence could not prevent the collection of congregations on the principles of the English Reformation. Virginia constantly preserved her early attachment to the Church, which was con- siderably augmented by the emigration of Cavaliers dining the ascendancy of Oliver Cromwell. For nearly a century the Church maintained its pre- ponderance in that province, notwithstanding the efforts of Puritan missionaries from the north to produce a secession. The British American colonies were governed on various principles, according to the terms of their respective charters. Hence the relation of the Church to the colonial governments was different in different provinces, a- it was never made the Estab- THE AMERICAN CHI IM II. 127 lished Church of America by any Acts of the Im- perial Parliament at home. Neglected and unnoticed in the mother country, it received no strength from the hands of the king's ministers, and, at the same time, escaped the mixed influences which might have resulted from dependence on them. "It was only when the fervent eloquence of Bishop Berkeley had won from a reluctant Parliament the gift of £20,000 to found a College in America, that Sir Robert "Walpolc interposed, and plundered the fund to swell the nuptial pomp of a princess." It must be distinctly noticed, that in those colonies in which any superior privilege was bestowed upon the Church, it was by laws emanating from the pro- vincial legislatures themselves. The colonial govern- ment of New York, for example, generally intended to give a preference to ministers of the English estab- lishment. In South Carolina, the charter, bestowed on the Earl of Clarendon and others, conferred upon them the right to cause churches, chapels, and oratories, to be dedicated according to the ecclesias- tical law of England. By one of the fundamental articles drawn up by Mr. Locke, it was declared that " the religion of the Church of England being the only true and orthodox, and the national religion of all the king's dominions, was also that of Carolina." In the new charter of Virginia, granted in 1619, it was provided that the clergy should have, in each borough, a glebe of one hundred acres, and should receive a standing revenue of two hundred pounds. The Assembly of the Colony passed an Act embody tag these provisions, and afterwards enacted that there 128 HISTOET OF should be uniformity in the ( lunch as near as might be to the Canons of the Church of England, that ordination by an English Bishop should be a neces- sary qualification of the clergy, and that a penalty Bhould be imposed on those who should not attend divine worship. In Maryland also it was enacted by the Assembly in 1696 and 1700, that the Church within that Province should enjoy all the rights and privileges of the Church in England itself. The able and devoted Dr. Bray, well known in history as the commissary of Maryland for the Bishop of London, proceeded to England to obtain for this Act the .-auction of King William III.: and, notwithstanding vehement opposition in Maryland, a statute to the same effect as the above became a law in 1702. By this Act every congregation of the Church of Eng- land in Maryland was to be deemed a part of the Established Church, and every clergyman presented or appointed by the governor, was to receive forty pounds of tobacco per poll. Thus, in the southern colonics, the Church was placed in a certain established position ; the clergy were maintained by a legal provision, glebes were set apart, Churches were built, and a geogra- phical demarcation of parishes was partially effected. But in the northern provinces other forms of religion possessed the ascendancy, and the few con- gregations of the Church of England were confined to some of the larger towns. Yet, after long waiting and much affliction, a source of encourage- ment was provided for the Church in those regions, which effected far more substantial benefit than THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 129 was conferred by the legislative enactments of the south. It is to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts that the United States are chiefly indebted for the diffusion of the doctrines and faith of the Reformed Church. That Society was incorporated in 1701, and owed its existence, in a great measure, to the exertions of the zealous Dr. Bray, the Commissary of Maryland, already men- tioned. By means of this valuable institution, the greater part of the clergy residing in New Eng- land, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, were maintained, and the conoreo'ations were soon greatly increased. To this Society a liberal grant of land was made by one of the colonial authorities, which, under equitable management, might have proved eminently serviceable to the Church. When the territory of Vermont was first surveyed, the country was divided into townships, containing thirty- six square miles each, a hundred and fourteen of which were granted by Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire. This gentleman was a member of the Church of England, and determined, on this occasion, to advance its interests. Accordingly, he reserved in each of the townships one right of land, containing about 330 acres, for the first minister who might settle there, a second right as a glebe for the Church of England, and a third as an endowment for the Gospel Propagation Society. But the sur- veyors of the land being Puritans, or at least hostile to the Church, took care to render the grant as use- less as they possibly could. Hence they sometimes G 5 130 HISTOKT OF managed that the portions reserved for the glebes, and those for the Society, should overlap, or entirely cover one another, while sometimes the Church beheld her property at the bottom of ponds and marshes, amid barren rocks, or on the precipitous sides of mountains. Still, among so much, there was of course a proportion of good land, and a consider- able quantity not altogether worthless. This pro- perty was confiscated at the Revolution, but was finally recovered by a judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States, pronounced against the State of Vermont, at the suit of the Society for Propa- gating the Gospel. It is now the endowment of the Church in that State, and assists, to a moderate extent, the voluntary exertions of the people. The Missionaries of the Society were generally able and excellent men, who understood their profession, and traced their commission to the Apostolic autho- rity residing, and continued by Ordination, in the Christian Church. But many disorders prevailed in the South, where the law, as we have seen, assigned a maintenance to the clergy, while it placed them under no efficient ecclesiastical control. The southern clergy were certainly not a bigoted or superstitious class ; they did not burn witches like the Puritans, nor did they <\ert themselves to procure the condemnation and punishment of their theological opponent-, or of the heathen Indians. But, with a few honourable ex- ceptions, their negligence and self-indulgence rendered them a reproach to the Church, and prepared the way for the crushing Mow which was already impending. The disorders which existed in the South, and the THE AMERICAN CHUR< II. 131 feebleness which prevailed in the Church throughout North America, should, in all candour, he traced to the real source, namely, the want of any Episcopal supervision worthy of the name. The Bishop of London was, indeed, considered as the Diocesan of the American Churches, and generally did what lay in his power for the benefit of his distant flock. In 1C99, the then Bishop was described as taking a fatherlike care to fill the Churches in America with pious, learned, and orthodox ministers. And, about the same time, the incumbent of the See of London appointed Commissaries for South Carolina, Mary- land, North Carolina, Virginia, and New York. But it is evident that a Bishop living at a distance of three or four thousand miles could not thoroughly understand the condition of the congregations, their peculiar difficulties, or the best mode of augmenting their religious or numerical influence. His authority could be felt but very slightly, and unworthy clergy- men could not be removed by him without serious difficulty and delay. The Church too was, of neces- sity, presented to the people in an imperfect form, Confirmation and Ordination being unpractised among them and unknown. The few clergy in the country were all ordained in England, and of the candidates who were sent from America with this object, one-fifth perished at sea, or died by sickness resulting from exposure or change of climate. The voyage, too, was expensive as well as dangerous, and from these causes many young men who might have been ornaments to the Church became preachers in the dissenting denominations. 132 HISTOET OF Sensible of their necessities, the members of the Church of England in America had exerted them- selves as early as the reign of Charles II., to obtain an Episcopate from the mother country. Their letters and memorials supplied for a whole century a connected chain of expostulations and petitions to this effect, yet still the authorities in England remained deaf to their entreaties. The accession of Queen Anne encouraged sanguine expectations of success, and the Society for Propagating the Gospel led the way in the efforts which were put forth at that period. Preparations were already made for founding at once four Bishoprics for America, when the queen's death extinguished for a time the rising hopes of the Church. But a movement in favour of Episcopacy had now begun even in Puritan New England, by a spontaneous movement within the Puritan body itself. Dr. Cutler, rector of Yale Col- lege (the stronghold of the Independents), and two of the tutors in the same institution, Messrs. Brown and Johnson, renounced their mini- try as invalid, and went to England to receive an Apostolic ordi- nation. Being joined by several persons of note, their defection was a great shock to the dissenting establishment. Brown died of the small-pox in England ; but Cutler and Johnson returned in priest's orders to America in 1723. Cutler having been made a Doctor of Divinity by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, was settled as pastor of Christ-Church in Boston, and Dr. Johnson for fifty years patiently laboured as a missionary in Connecticut, with the exception of about nine years, during which THE AMERICAN CHUECH. 133 he presided over filing's College (now Columbia), at New York. His controversial writings awakened general attention to the subject of Episcopacy ; and although Bishop Berkeley, the great friend of this good cause, died in 1753, through Dr. Johnson's influence the applications for Bishops were again earnestly renewed. A pamphlet in behalf of the Church was published in New England, by the Rev. East Apthorp, then a missionary at Cambridge, in Massachusetts, and afterwards an English pre- bendary. Dr. Mayhew, a bitter Puritan in Boston, in his reply to this pamphlet, declared that the Gos- pel Propagation Society transcended its powers in appointing missionaries in the villages and sea-ports of New England. He represented the proposed appointment of Bishops for America as an aggressive measure, and while claiming complete liberty for Dis- senters, resisted the introduction of the only means by which Churchmen could possess the full enjoy- ment of their religion. Archbishop Seeker and other eminent men engaged in this discussion, but as the sentiments of Mayhew were those of an influential party in America, the government could not be induced to maintain the interests of the Church. Yet within ten years after the controversy with Mayhew, another attempt was made, in the course of which the Rev. Dr. Chandler, of New Jersey, appealed to the public in favour of an American Episcopate. But the times were unpropitious. Difficulties had arisen between the colonies and the mother-country ; and many who had before desired the introduction of Bishops, now feared lest they 134 HISTORY OF should be made political instruments in the hands of the British mini-try. Some even of the clergy were not free from this apprehension; and four of the ministers of the Church in Virginia protested against Dr. Chandler s plan, and received for their protest the thanks of the provincial government. The con- test of the Revolution commenced shortly after- wards, and amid the clash of civil war the whole subject was for a time forgotten. But although Bishops had not been acquired, a step had been made towards Synodical * [ction, even during the colonial period, while at the same time the connexion with the Church in England had been closely main- tained. It had already become the custom of the clerirv in Connecticut to meet in what was called a " Voluntary Convention," in which they transacted such business as lay in their power. While the revolutionary war continued, these meetings were held as circumstances required or permitted, and contributed greatly to support the cause of the Church in the midst of the fiery opposition which it then encountered. The identity of the Church in America with the Church of England was thus clearly exhibited, and it was plain that the ties of ecclesiastical unity were not severed by the circum- stances which produced a political separation. In the southern provinces there were indeed no con- ventional proceedings during the colonial times; but here the Church retained, during and alter the Revolution, a sufficient proportion of its endowments to show that, even in the jealous eye of the law, the •• Protestant Episcopal Church of the United State-."* Ill I . AMl'.KK \N < III RCH. I'M) was identical with what had been called the Church of England in America. At the commencement of the Revolution the con- dition of the Church was more promising than it had been at any earlier period, and the number of clergy in America exceeded two hundred. But the events of the war nearly overthrew the work which had been slowly carried forward by the exertions of a century and a half. All of the Episcopal Clergy north of Pennsylvania refused to join the ranks of the insurgents, in consequence of which they were in many instances cruelly persecuted. In 1777, Trinity Church, New York, was burned by incen- diaries, and the minister barbarously murdered, be- cause he refused to pray for Congress. In many of the northern provinces every Church was either de- stroyed or shut up, and in Pennsylvania none were spared but those under the ministry of Mr. White, the Chaplain of the revolutionary government. .V similar treatment befel the clergy in the South, not- withstanding they had generally failed to maintain the loyal tone of the Society's Missionaries in New England. In Virginia, most of the former laws in favour of the Church were now repealed, the minis- ters of the establishment were reduced to poverty and driven from the country, congregations were broken up, and the ordinances of religion were main- tained only by a few zealous pastors who travelled for that purpose throughout the province. When American independence was finally recognized by Great Britain, the Society for Propagating the Gos- pel withdrew its support from those of its missionaries 136 HISTORY OF who remained in the country, and left many of them entirely destitute. The Church lands in Vermont were confiscated (as before mentioned), and, till their recovery, were applied to educational purposes. Ultimately, an equally unconstitutional sentence deprived the Virginian Church of its glebes, and of many of its houses of worship. Everywhere the Church was hated and despised, not so much for its sins and short-comings, as for its political sympathies. The Churches were in ruins, or closed, or desecrated; great numbers of the clergy had fled, no centre of unity remained, and no ecclesiastical government existed. Religion in every shape was depressed, and it is admitted by all that iniquity greatly abounded Yet, even in that dark and evil day, there were Churchmen in America who did not despair, and who recollected the promise of their Divine Head, that the powers of evil should never entirely pre- vail against the truth. Accordingly, soon after the cessation of hostilities, several gentlemen embarked for England, and applied to Dr. Lowth, then Bishop of London, for ordination as priests and deacons. The Bishop could not ordain them (as the law then stood), without requiring an oath of allegiance in- consistent with their American citizenship, and found it necessary to apply for an Act of Par- liament allowing him to dispense with requisitions of this description. While the success of this appli- cation was yet doubtful, the Lutheran Bishops In Denmark declared their willingness to ordain Episco- palian candidates from America, on their subscribing THE AMERICAN < III IK II. 137 to those Articles of the Church of England which are purely theological. This well-intentioned offer was declined, and the British Parliament having consented to Bishop Lowth's request, the candidates finally obtained their commission from that Episco- pacy under which the American Church had been planted. The great object with Churchmen in America was now to obtain an Episcopate of their own, possessed of a true and regular succession from the Apostles. At the same time they saw the necessity of some bond of union which should prevent the adoption of varying measures, and secure the unity of the re- maining clergy and congregations. The difficulties in the way of obtaining an Episcopate were very great, and their speedy removal appeared an impro- bable event. Hence arose the strange ecclesiastical phenomenon of Synodical Action preceding the pas- toral rule of Bishops. In 1783 the Church in Mary- land held its first Convention, in which it declared its right to preserve and complete itself as an entire Church, agreeably to its ancient usages and pro- fessions. It maintained its lawful right to the churches, chapels, and glebes, formerly belonging to the Church of England, and asserted the duty of the Church, when represented in a Synod of its ministers and people, to adapt its worship to the altered circumstances of America. The Church in Pennsylvania met in May, 1784, and declared its intention of maintaining the doctrines of the Gospel as held by the Church of England, and of adhering to the Liturgy as far as consistent with the Revo- 138 HISTORY OF lution. In the September of the same year the Church in Massachusetts adopted similar resolutions. But already a decided step had been taken towards the formation of a collective body representing the entire Church in the United States. In May, 1784, Mr. White, the chaplain of Congress, and some of the ministers of New York, New Jersey, and Penn- sylvania met at Brunswick, in New Jersey, to renew a Society for the relief of the widows and orphans of clergymen. On this occasion the general state of the Church was discussed, and it was determined to procure a larger assembly, for the purpose of agreeing on some general principles of union. Such a meet- ing was accordingly held at New York on the 5th of the ensuing October, on which occasion eight of the different States furnished some voluntary dele- gate. Although the members of the assembly were not vested with powers adequate to the emergency, they happily agreed on seven leading principles of union, which they recommended to the members of the Church in the different States. These prin- ciples acknowledged Episcopacy, and the Book of Common Prayer ; and provided tor a representative body of the Church, consisting of Clergy and Laity, who were to vote as distinct orders. It was also resolved that such a General Convention, composed of deputies from each State, should assemble at Phil- adelphia on the 27th of September in the following year. If, in the meantime, any Bishop should have been duly consecrated and settled, he was to be con- sidered as ex officio a member of the Convention. The entire existing framework of the American THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 139 Church has been constructed upon these primary principles. In the meantime the Clergy of Connecticut had acted separately, esteeming it their first duty to secure the presence and rule of a Bishop. Soon after the war, their Voluntary Convention re-assembled, and elected as their Bishop the Rev. Samuel Seabury, formerly a missionary of the Gospel Propagation Society in Long Island. Before the British troops evacuated New York, Dr. Seabury had sailed for England, bearing with him a certificate of his election, testimonials from the leading clergy, and letters earnestly requesting the English Bishops to confer upon him the gift of consecration. lint, on his arrival in England, he found that the Arch- bishop could not consecrate a citizen of the United States without a special Act of Parliament. Nor would the King's ministry consent to such an .Vet without an official assurance that it would not be offensive to the new government in America. Dr. Seabury could not brook the delay, but proceeded to Scotland, where he was aware that the perse- cuted Episcopalians had maintained the true succes- sion unimpaired, while at the same time they were unfettered by any connexion with the State. Here, finally, he was solemnly admitted into the Episcopate at Aberdeen, on the 14th of November, 1784, by the Bishops of Aberdeen, Ross, and Moray. After his consecration, he signed, on behalf of the Church in Connecticut, certain articles which might serve as a basis for permanent fraternal intercourse be- tween the Churches in Scotland and America. In 140 HISTORY OF the beginning of the summer of 1785 he was again in Connecticut, and soon afterwards entered on the exercise of his new functions. On the 25th of the following September (1785), the first General Convention, as arranged under the auspices of Mr. White, assembled in Philadelphia. Seven States were represented, viz : New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Bishop Seabury and the New England clergy had declined to attend, from a fear that measures of a dangerous character would be proposed. And indeed there was much occasion for their apprehensions. In New England, constant collision with dominant dissent had given to Churchmen well defined ideas of Episcopacy ; but in the South, Church government had been scarcely discussed ; and in Virginia and Maryland very loose opinions on the subject were in popular favour. In the northern States it was maintained that the admission of the Laity to ecclesiastical synods was incongruous with Episcopal government ; while the South would have made the Bishop subject to his own Convention, and would have distinguished him from other priests only by his powers of ordaining and confirming. The General Convention, however, assembled, notwithstanding the difficulties in its way, and concluded its first session with a degree of harmony greater than might have been reasonably anticipated. The moderate and conciliatory measures of its President, Mr. White, contributed more than any other earthly cause to this desirable result. At this meeting the articles of union were ratified, which THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 141 had been proposed in the informal meeting at New York. An Ivvlesiastieal Constitution was likewise framed, which provided for a Convention of the Church in each State, and also for a triennial General Convention, consisting of a clerical and lav- deputation from the several States. Considerable alterations in the Prayer-book were also proposed, of which some were in accommodation to the new government, a few perhaps were admissible as im- provements, and others, such as the omission of the Athanasian and Nicene Creeds, decidedly ob- jectionable and suspicious. It was resolved that the succession of Bishops should be obtained, if possible, from the English rather than the Scottish Bishops ; and, finally, by unanimous "consent, an Address to the English Bench was prepared, acknowledging the past favours received from them through the Gospel Propagation Society, declaring the desire of the Con- vention to perpetuate the principles of the Church of England, and requesting the Archbishops and Bishops to consecrate to the Episcopate those per- sons who should be sent with that view from America. A Committee was appointed to com- municate with the English prelates, and the Con- vention adjourned until the following June. The Address was forwarded to the Archbishop of Canterbury through the American Minister, Mr. Adams, afterwards President of the United States. Early in 1780, an answer was received, signed by the two Archbishops and eighteen of the Bishops, in which they declared their wish to comply with the recpiest, but wisely stated that they must delay 142 HISTOET OF measures to that effect until they should have be- come fully acquainted with the alterations in the Liturgy proposed by the Convention. Another letter from the two Archbishops soon followed, written after the receipt of the proposed Prayer- book, and pointing out some changes in it with which they were dissatisfied. They mainly objected to the omission of the Nicene Creed, and of one clause in the Apostle's Creed, " He descended into Hell." They objected also to a provision in the Constitution which seemed to subject Bishops to trial by the laity and inferior clergy ; but stated that if the Convention would give them satisfaction in these particulars, they would prepare a Bill under which they would possess the power of consecrating for America. In the meantime the Convention had assembled, and revised the Constitution in the principal points to which the English prelates had objected. On the receipt of the second letter from the same quarter, the Convention was called together again in October, 1786, when the Nicene Creed was replaced in the Liturgy, and the omitted clause in the Apostle's Creed restored. On some other subjects, and particularly as to the disuse of the Athanasian Creed, the former sentence was affirmed. At this Convention the testimonials were signed in behalf of the distinguished Dr. William AVliite, the Rev. Samuel Provoost, and the Rev. David Griffith, who had been respectively elected to the Episcopate for Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. The two former embarked for England in November, and on I BE AMKlilc AN CHURCH. 143 the 4tli of February, 1787, after a gratifying inter- view with George III. and Queen Charlotte, were consecrated in the Chapel of Lambeth Palace by the two Archbishops, and the Bishops of Bath and Wells, and Peterborough. Dr. Griffith was too poor to bear the expense of the voyage, and tendered his resignation to the Convention by which he had been elected. There were now three Bishops in the United States. But the question arose, under what titles were they to appear ? If they claimed a local title as Bishops of certain towns or cities, their position might be deemed too aggressive, and might be con- strued as inconsistent with the popular principles of the time and country. Hence, from the first, they connected themselves with persons rather than with localities, and Dr. White modestly denominated him- self " Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Within a few years afterwards the conduct of the Romish Bishops proved that this caution was unnecessary. They at once boldly assumed the designations of Bishop of Philadelphia, Bishop of Boston, Arch- bishop of Baltimore, &c, in the use of which titles they have never been disturbed by public opinion, or by legislative enactment. The triennial General Convention assembled a^ain in 1789, and was followed by an adjourned meeting in the same year. During these sessions the Con- stitution of 1786 was reviewed and remodelled. The principal feature now given to it was a distribution into two Houses, one consisting of the Bishops, and 144 HISTORY OF the other of the Clerical and Lay-Deputies. At the adjourned meeting, to the joy <>{" all, Bishop Seabury and some of his clergy attended, and the union of the American Church was happily consummated. The Prayer-Book was arranged substantially as it remains at present. Thus the Athanasian Creed and the Absolution in the Visitation of the Sick were expunged, the omission of the sign of the Cross in Baptism was permitted if desired by the sponsors, and the words " Receive ye the Holy Ghost" in the Ordinal, were allowed to be exchanged for another form, at the discretion of the Bishop ordaining. " Verily and indeed taken" was altered to " spiritually taken," and the term "Absolution," in the Rubric, was altered to " Declaration of Absolution." It was provided that any Churches might omit the words in the Creed "He descended into Hell," or substi- tute for them " He went into the place of departed spirits." A selection of Psalms was also inserted, portions of which might be used instead of those in the daily order, at the minister's discretion. On the other hand, the influence of Bishop Seabury pre- vailed sufficiently to restore in the Communion Office the prayers of Invocation and Oblation omitted in the second Prayer-Book of Edward VI. ; and thus the American Communion Service became almost identical with that of the old Scottish Prayer-Book. The Rubrics and the actual practice of the Church were rendered generally consistent ; but too often at the expense of the former. The Canons were also established fundamentally as they continue to the present day: and the year 1789 must ever be THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 1 1 .*> considered as the great epoch of the American Church. In the year 1790, Dr. Madison, elected Bishop of Virginia, was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, L 84 years after the original planting of the Church in that region. The first American Con- secration took place on the 17th of September, 1792, when Dr. Claggett was consecrated Bishop of .Mary- land by Bishops White, Provoost, Seabury, and Madison. Soon afterwards Dr. Smith was conse- crated Bishop of South Carolina, Dr. Bass of Massa- chusetts, and Dr. Jarvis of Connecticut, after the decease of Bishop Seabury in 1796. Thus at the termination of the eighteenth century the American Church was consolidated, and was gradually recovering from the tremendous shock of the Revolution. It had maintained its identity with the Church of England in every essential particular, and was clearly the same corporate society which had struggled through the period of colonial weakness and revolutionary persecution. It was now to take possession of the vast field before it, which hitherto it had been prevented from occupying to any very efficient purpose. At the General Convention of 1: in Delaware, 5; in Maryland, 35; in Virginia, 50; in South Carolina, 1 5 : in Georgia, 1 : total, 232. About the same period, Dr. Bowden, THE AMERICAN < HI i:< EL ] 17 of New 5Tork, distinguished himself by his writings in behalf of Episcopacy, and, like Dr. Johnson in the preceding century, attracted much attention to that unpopular subject. The region west of the Alleghany Mountains was now rapidly increasing in population, and the ne- cessity of supplying it with the ministrations of the Church soon became obvious. Various dissenting bodies had already occupied the ground, and only two or three clergymen were to be found in the Mist region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. One of these few clergymen was the Rev. Joseph Doddridge, a connexion of the celebrated noncon- formist of the same name. This gentleman ad- dressed a letter to Bishop White in the year 1811, urging the appointment of a Missionary Bishop for the new country in which he resided. The weakness of the Church, with other circumstances, prevented immediate action on this important point, and a great opportunity was for ever lost. The injury formerly experienced through the want of an Episcopate in the Eastern parts of the country was now more than realized in the West, and as population rapidly in- creased, vast numbers of the inhabitants became the victims of cold indifference or of enthusiastic de- lusion. About the same time a Diocese was organized in Vermont, and measures were taken to regain the Church lands formerly held in that district by the ( Jos pel Propagation Society. These proceedings were delayed by the war with Great Britain, but, ulti- mately, as I have already remarked, the litigation 148 HISTORY OF proved successful, and a large portion of the property was recovered. In Virginia, the remnant of Church property had, for the most part, been confiscated in 1802, from which time to 1812 the ecclesiastical state of that diocese was as low as can well be conceived. Bur, after Bishop Madison's death. Dr. Moore was elected in his place, and in 1815 the Church was manifestly in a reviving condition. Ten new Churches were soon building by voluntary contributions, and eight of those in ruins were reported as being under repair. It was also proposed to commence a fund for the support of the Episcopate, in order that the Bishop might not be detained from his higher charge by parochial duties. The ranks of the clergy, notwith- standing their poverty, were now recruited from the best and oldest families in Virginia, which had always been the most aristocratic portion of America. In New York, the election of Bishop Hobart in 1814, led to a still greater movement in favour of the Church. At the same time the apostolic Gris- wold entered on the charge of the Eastern Diocese, and in 1815 Dr. Croes became the first Bishop of New Jersey. Hitherto, all persons desirous of preparing for the ministry of the Church had laboured under great dis- advantages. Few Colleges were subject to Episcopal control, and even in those few, theological education was neglected. The candidate- were therefore com- pelled to pursue their studies under the care of parochial clergymen, or to resort to dissenting insti- tutions, like Harvard in Massachusetts, or Yale in THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 1 l ( .) Connecticut. Bishop Hobart, however, soon after his consecration, issued proposals for the establish- ment of a Divinity School, to be under the superin- tendence of himself and his successors. The subject -was for some time under consideration, and finally, in 1817, it was resolved by the General Convention, to establish a Theological Seminary at New York for the benefit of the entire Church, and under its con- trol, through Trustees appointed in the several dioceses. This Institution is now well known as the General Theological Seminary. About the same time a fund was established for the education of young men of piety, who were desirous of entering into holy orders. In the course of twenty years follow- ing, it appeared that nearly one-tenth of the clergy had been assisted by this valuable fund during their preparation for the ministry. From the time when the Church took into her own hands the educa- tion of her clergy, the number of her ministers rapidly increased. In 1814 they were little more than 240; hut in twenty-four years this number was quadrupled, and in 1850 it had multiplied nearly sereit-fold. The destitute state of the Western country could not any longer be neglected, and in 1818 a Mission- ary Association was formed in Pennsylvania, which planted a few Churches in the Western parts of that State and in Ohio. In the course of a few years this Society assumed a general form, and, under the auspices of the General Convention, became known as the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church." For many years its operations were extremely limited, and it was not 150 II I -TORY OF until 1830 that they began to be extensively felt. Meanwhile Bishop Chase had been consecrated for Ohio, and had succeeded in establishing Kenyon College. This was immediately followed by the painful events already detailed, which led to his resignation and the consecration of his successor. But Bishop Chase had lost Done of his early enter- prise. Being elected Bishop of Illinois, and acknow- ledged in that capacity by the General Convention of L835, he commenced another College in his new diocese, which, under the name of "Jubilee," has long been in active operation. In 1823, North Carolina received its first Bishop in the person of Dr. Ravenscroft. Kentucky contained only one officiating minister in 1825, but in 1832 it was a diocese Avith eight clergymen, and in the same year the Rev. I). B. Smith was consecrated its Bishop. So late as 1^32 there were but three clergymen in Tennessee. In the course of four years there were twelve, with Bishop Otey at their head. In lx:\2 the Church in Vermont had become sufficiently strong to separate from the Eastern Diocese, and, accordingly, in the same year, the Rev. Dr. Hopkins was elected and consecrated its Bishop. The General Convention of 1835 formed another greai epoch in the history of the Church. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society had be- come an important institution, and maintained clergymen not only in the Western States, but among the American Indians, and even in Greece, Africa, and China. Bui it was now determined that this institution should cease to exist as a separate INK AMERICAN CHURCH. 1 .'» 1 body, and the collective Church, assuming its re- sponsibilities, stood forth as one great Missionary Association. It was also resolved thai Missionary Bishops should be provided for the States and Terri- tories which remained destitute of Episcopal super- vision, and, ultimately, for the stations in heathen lands occupied by the American ( Jhurch. Under this provision, Dr. Kemper was immediately appointed Missionary Bishop for the North- West, and Dr. Polk for the South- West, at the General Convention of 1838. Within a few years, Kemper College was founded at St. Louis, in Missouri, and a Missionary establishment, combining educational objects, was established at Nashotah, in Wisconsin. The former unhappily proved a failure, but the latter lias been eminently serviceable in the diffusion of Church principles. In this connexion it should be stated that a College (at first denominated " Washington," but afterwards more appropriately "Trinity") had come into successful operation at Hartford, in Con- necticut, about 1827. In the year 1847, 29(3 of its alumni had graduated, of whom 108 had taken holy orders. A Theological Seminary also at Alexandria, in the Diocese of Virginia, began to send forth clergymen about 1823, and has for the last thirty years continued to supply " evangelical " ministers to the South and West. Various institutions of a kindred nature have also been set on foot in other dioceses. Michigan received Dr. M'Coskry as its first Bishop in 1836. Three years afterwards, on the division of the Diocese of New York, Dr. D >e 152 HISTORY OF Lancey was elected Bishop of tlic Western part of that extensive region. Georgia and Delaware first possessed the Episcopate in 1841, on the consecration of Drs. Elliot and Lee. At the decease of the vene- rable Bishop Griswold, the Eastern Diocese sepa- rated into its four component I >ioeeses of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Dr. Eastburn became, in lsi^. Bishop of Massachusetts, and in the following year Dr. Henshaw was conse- crated for Rhode Island. Drs. C. Chase, Cobbs, ( J. I lawks, and Freeman, were appointed, in 1844, the first Bishops of New Hampshire, Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas, with Texas : and in the same year Dr. Boone was sent forth as a Missionary Bishop to China, and Dr. Southgate to the Turkish dominions. The latter having met with little encouragement, resigned his appointment in 1850; the former is con- tin n in g his la hours with much wisdom and persever- ance. Dr. Burgess was consecrated for Maine in 1847, and Drs. Green and Upfold for Indiana and Mississippi in 1849. The Rev. Mr. Payne has been ( L851 ) consecrated Bishop for the American colony in West Africa, and dioceses have been organized in Florida, Texas, and the golden land of California. The good Bishop White lived long enough to see much of this great expansion of Episcopacy in America. He died on the 17th of July, 1836, in the eighty-ninth year of his age, the sixty-sixth of his ministry, and the fiftieth of his Episcopate. He was raised up by Providence at a crisis when a person of his peculiar character was eminently necessary. Steady and sober from his youth, he was prepared to THE AMERICAN CHtJIU II. 153 advise In time of peril and excitement. Conciliatory in his measures, lie was adapted to the promotion of harmony at a time when diversity of sentiments and strong opinions as to the independence of dioceses threatened to rend the Church in pieces. Under the influence of his blended wisdom and meekness, ob- jections to the peculiar doctrines and worship of the Church melted away, and many a root of bitterness was plucked up and allowed to die. The General Convention is the monument of his prudence and brotherly love, and from its first organization till its last meeting before his death, he was always at hand with his pacific counsels, superior to paltry man- oeuvre and selfish policy. Though sometimes classed with the " Low-church divines," he firmly maintained the doctrines of Baptismal Regeneration and Apostoli- cal Succession. Though constitutionally timid, he was bold as a martyr in visiting and praying with his flock during the prevalence of the yellow-fever, and afterwards of the Asiatic cholera. His humility and piety were evinced more by actions than by words; he lived without an enemy, and his death was regarded as a national calamity. Since that event the legislation of the Church has indicated, with few exceptions, a constant and steady development of sound ecclesiastical principles. In the General Convention of 1838 the late Dr. Jarvis was appointed " Historiographer of the Church," and Dr. Francis Hawks, the "Conserva- tor" of the books, pamphlets, and manuscripts con- nected with its history. In 1841, a correspondence between the Senior Bishop and the Archbishop of h5 154 HISTORY OF Canterbury, on the subject of clergymen passing from one country to another, was laid before the House of Bishops, and one of the Canons was remodelled to meel the case. It was directed that the records of the consecration of Bishops should be kept in the library of the General Theological Seminary, in the custody of the Librarian. It was also resolved that, in order to carry out fully the parochial organization, the members of the Church should be called upon to provide ample free sittings in their houses of worship. In the important Session of 1844, a Canon was passed allowing the admission to deacon's orders of a class of persons without the usual literary quali- fications. The election of Foreign Missionary Bishops was placed in the General Convention, but the House of Bishops, in all cases, was to have the power of nomination, A Bishop having been elected by a Southern Diocese, this Convention refused to ratify the appointment, on the ground of the Bishop- elect being involved in pecuniary embarrassments. The Bishops investigated the state of the General Seminary, in reference to certain Romanizing practices said to exist in that institution, and, hap- pily, relieved the Church from much of its appre- hension in that respect. At this time the learned and able Bishop of Pennsylvania, having made a confession of intemperance, was deprived of his ministry by the Upper House, according to Canon, and a oew Bishop was soon afterwards elected and consecrated in his place. Nor was it long before his brother, the Bishop of New York, was tried by seventeen Bishops, and Indefinitely suspended from I Hi: AMERICAN CHURCH. 1 .">."> his Episcopate, six prelates protesting againsl the sentence, on the ground of the alleged trivial nature of the charges. At the General Convention of 1847, this latter case was again considered, and ineffectual efforts were made, especially in the Lower House, to procure a remission of the sentence. The friends of the ex- Bishop of Pennsylvania met with a similar disap- pointment, although nothing was asserted unfavour- able to the present reputation of the individual chiefly concerned. A clergyman, of amiable and zealous character, having been elected Assistant Bishop of Illinois, was rejected by this Convention, on the ground that his sufficiency in point of learning was not clearly demonstrated. Although several of the subjects of discussion were eminently calculated to try the tempers of men, this Convention passed off extremely well, to the bitter disappointment of the enemies of the Church, who expected to witness its dissolution. The General Convention of 1850 was held in Cincinnati, and although, in the interval, Roman- izing as well as disorganizing influences had been active, the Church appeared more than ever a com- pact and united body. Twenty-eight Bishops were present in the Upper House ; ninety-four clergymen and seventy-one of the laity sat in the Lower. Each of these 193 persons had travelled, on an average (at his own expense), about 650 miles, to reach the place of meeting ; so that, on a moderate computa- tion, the united costs of travelling alone must have exceeded £5000 before the members reached 156 II I -TORY OF their homes. This Convention assembled chiefly by the aid of steam, and its proceedings were made known day by day through the medium of the electric telegraph. It was very plain, on this occa- sion, that the Laity in America were an element of strength, of influence, and of safety. Beyond the ranks of the clergy, a class of well-read and practical churchmen had arisen, who were found on the side of law and order, and who understood what was due to the Episcopal and Clerical office as well as to themselves. A Canon was passed permitting a sus- pended prelate to resign his jurisdiction, and allow- ing a diocese situated like that of New York to elect a provisional Bishop. The late Bishop of Pennsyl- vania was left under his sentence of deposition, although the Convention of that diocese had pe- titioned for his restoration to ordinary clerical powers. Dec]) sympathy was, however, felt for the two fallen prelates, who hml once exercised so great an influence in Church affairs, but who now found themselves, while yet in bodily vigour, as it were, buried alive. The most exciting business of the Convention arose from a complaint on the part of some persons in Maryland against their Bishop, for asserting his right to administer the Communion at his visitation of a parish church, independently of the wishes of the rector. This complaint elicited from the Con- vention a full declaration of the Apostolical character of a Bishop, and resulted in the enactment of a ('anon sustaining the claims of the Bishop of Maryland, The I Ioii-r of Bishops also appointed a Committee of THE AMERICAN CHURCH. \~>1 their own body to devise a plan " by which, con- sistently with the principles of our reformed faith, the services of intelligent and pious persons, of both sexes, may be secured in the education of the young, the relief of the sick and destitute, the care of orphans and friendless immigrants, and the refor- mation of the vicious." At midnight, on the 16th of October, after a session of a fortnight, the business of the Conven- tion was concluded. The Bishops entered the Lower House, and joined with its members in solemn prayer and thanksgiving, after which this important council adjourned. The members had been the guests of the people of Cincinnati, who had shown them the utmost hospitality and the kindest attention. From the returns made to this Convention, it ap- peared that the number of dioceses was 29; Bishops, 32; priests and deacons, 1,557; candidates for orders about 200 ; and communicants not less than 100,000. From these data it may be estimated that about a million of persons in the United States habitually attend the worship of the Church, and that perhaps two millions are under its direct in- fluence. The Prayer-Book is extensively circulated ; far be- yond the limits of the actual congregations. The American army and navy are composed of persons whose previous habits and impressions generally lean towards Episcopacy. Such of the leading statesmen and politicians as become religious, usually exhibit similar predilections, and, like General Washington in a former generation, so Clay and Webster, and a 158 HISTORY OF tiii: amekicax chubch. multitude of the most influential persons, are now to be found among the intelligent and attached members of the Church. Let the Church continue to unfold her principles, and bring them into action; let her boldly espouse the cause of the poor and the op- pressed; let her, at all hazards, maintain what is right and true, and no limit can be set to her future prosperity. Party strife will cease to harass her, secessions to Dissent and to Romanism will no longer afflict her, and schismatics and infidels will lose their power to obstruct her influence and her useful- ness. Her holy temples, in all the beauty of Chris- tian architecture, will cover the land, and from Maine to California, from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, it will be acknowledged that the Church of the living God is indeed the pillar and ground of the Truth. 159 CHAPTER VII. l'KIISONAL NARRATIVE OF THE AUTHOR CONTINUED. Inundation of the Ohio. — Advancement of the Church in Ports- mouth. — Visit to Kentucky. — Progress of the Cholera. — The Author travels Eastward. — New York. — Quaker Convention in Rhode Island. The Church in that Diocese. — Convention in Massachusetts. — Andover. — Salem. — Journey to Vermont. The last Chapter has brought the narrative almost down to the present time. But as the personal experience of a clergyman in the West will be a useful illustration of the history and progress of the American Church, the reader is now carried back to the autumn of 1831, when Bishop Chase was left proceeding on his way to the " Valley of Peace." On my return to Portsmouth, the members of my congregation were much distressed by the tidings respecting the resignation of their respected Pre- late ; but now that he had actually vacated the Episcopate, they readily acquiesced in the arrange- ments made by the Diocesan Convention. 160 PERGONAL NARRATIVE On the 16th, 17th, and 18th of the following February, after a severe winter, in which the Ohio was frozen so as to he passable by wagons, we were visited by a frightful inundation, during which the steam-boats landed their passengers at the first- floor windows of the houses in our principal street. As the river rose nearly sixty feel above its usual level, the devastation was awful, and great quantities of wooden dwellings, fences, barns, and hay-stacks, were carried away by the rapid current. After the flood had subsided, I engaged in the work of sup- plying the surrounding country with Bibles, during which 1 met with considerable opposition and abuse from infidels and drunkards. As time proceeded my little congregation gradu- ally increased, although we were still a mere handful in comparison with the Methodists, who showed, in various ways, a due appreciation of their own power and importance. But good Mr. Gunn's offer in regard to a Church had been accepted, and our preparations for building were soon going for- ward. Several persons who had been unbelievers, were also converted to the Church of Christ, and were admitted by me, with their wives and families, to Holy Baptism. My health had now begun to give way from the combined effect «>f laborious duty and of a warm un- healthy summer. Mi". Smith, the rector of Christ Church, at Lexington, in Kentucky, having been elected Bishop of that diocese, invited me to supply his place during his absence at the Genera] Convention, where he was about to receive conse OF THE AUTHOR. L61 cration. Having made a temporary provision for the supply of my own parish with lay-reading, I soon found myself in the comparatively pure atmos- phere of central Kentucky, and in the midst of polished and intellectual society. While in Lex- ington, I was much interested in the progress of the first rail-road constructed in Western America, and when a small and imperfect locomotive was put in operation, I participated in the general feeling of wonder and excitement. On the 30th of September, General Jackson, the President of the United State?, entered the town in a very triumphant manner. For some time before his arrival, the firing of cannons was incessant ; at length drums were heard, and two columns of militia in full uniform, marched up the principal street in regular order. After them came the President himself, seated in a carriage, with the Governor of Kentucky. General Jackson was at that time about sixty-five years of age, and appeared quite reverend, with his long pale face, high forehead, and perfectly white hair. lie was dressed in black, and bowed with much dignity to the multitudes who lined the streets, while the ladies of Kentucky, in a fever of instinctive loyalty, were waving their handkerchiefs from the windows, and were even shedding tears from excessive agitation. After the President, came about 1500 persons on horseback, and these were followed by a promiscuous crowd of pedestrians. As soon as the Presidential cortege had stopped at the principal hotel, the crowd threw up their hats into the air, shouting with a deafening voice, 102 PERSONAL NARRATIVE "Hurrah for Jackson!" On alighting from his carriage, the old man made a short speech, and was answered by tremendous cheers. A great feast was then given in the open air. which was attended by several thousand persons. On the following Mon- day I had the honour of being presented to the President, and of shaking his venerable hand. Soon afterwards lie proceeded on his journey, the soldiers and drummers preceding him as before, and the populace raising their customary shout of applause. Curiously enough the following week, I travelled on the Ohio River, in company with Pedraza, the President of Mexico, the Senora, his lady, and the Vice-President, together with a number of their attendants. The Asiatic cholera had now entered the United States, and was producing much devastation and still greater alarm. It was desired that the General Government should appoint a day of fasting, humilia- tion, and prayer; but this was opposed by General Jackson, on the ground that it might be made a pre- cedent for an established religion. And :.- we were still without a Bishop either in Ohio or Kentucky, the different congregations were left to make their own arrangements in this important respect. As soon as I heard that Dr. Smith had received con- secration, and was on his way homeward. I returned to my flock at Portsmouth, for whom 1 felt some anxiety on account of their situation. The pestilence was now exerting its lull power in many places on the river, and 600 persons had died of it in Cin- cinnati. On board the -team-boats many dreadful OF THE AUTHOR. L63 cases had occurred, and, on my return home, I found that great alarm prevailed among the members of my congregation. Vet, at this very time, the infidels in the place published a circular, calling on the people to renounce religion and priestcraft altogether. We were, however, spared the dreadful visitation which we anticipated. Soon afterwards the Ohio canal was completed, and we had an easy intercourse by water with Lake Erie, upwards of 300 miles distant. From this period Portsmouth began to improve rapidly. On the 30th of December we made our final arrange- ments for building our Church ; we decided upon our plan, appointed a building committee, and en- gaged the workmen. About the same date our new Bishop, Dr. M'Hvaine, visited Portsmouth for the first time. He preached a very eloquent sermon on the evening of his arrival, and a large congregation was collected at an hours notice, notwithstanding the deep mud in the streets, and the dreadful state of the weather. The next morning, at nine o'clock, there was another service, and, after a second eloquent sermon, I had the pleasure of presenting to the Bishop five grown persons for Confirmation. One of these had been a Romanist, one a Baptist, one a Methodist, and the other two had been educated in the Church. The Lord's Supper was administered by the Bishop to a large number of communicants, all of whom seemed deeply affected on this interesting occasion. Not long afterwards we laid the first stone of our little Church. The dimensions were to be forty- 1G4 PERSONAL NARRATIVE seven feet by thirty-four, and the material was to be chiefly brick. It was also determined that the seats should be open and tree to all. This building was consecrated in the course of 1 s;i:> ; and the good Mr. Gunn's wishes were thus accomplished within a year after his death. The congregation soon filled it: they added a gallery and an organ, and in the course of a very few years a parsonage house was built by them, and annexed to the Church. One end of th" sacred edifice was then removed, and a great addition made to it in length. A further enlargement afterwards increased its breadth, and, within the last few years, the parishioners have re- moved it entirely, and erected in its place a capacious Church in an ecclesiastical style of architecture, capa- ble of accommodating GOO or 800 persons. The Rev. Erastus Burr has been the minister of the parish during the last fifteen years, and has been comforted by a constant and steady increase in the moral and numerical influence of his people. In March, 1833, I had almost entirely lost my voice, and was otherwise in a very feeble state of health. By the advice of the best physicians, I was now induced to seek the pure sea-breezes of New England, and to retire for a time from pulpit ex- ertions. Being unwilling to leave my flock without a shepherd, I delayed my departure until I had seen a successor established in my place. At length, on the 7th of May, after a residence of two years, we set out on our long journey eastward, in a commo- dious boat on the Ohio canal. Many of my late parishioners accompanied us to the second lock, and OF THE AUTHOR. 105 there, with many painful emotions, I bade them farewell. We found canal travelling far more agreeable than jolting over the rough roads of Ohio in a coach. But in passing through the locks the motion of the boat was very unpleasant, as it dashed from side to Bide. The canal was also in many places either too narrow or too shallow, so that we met with many troublesome delays. Our course was principally through deep woods, but occasionally we stopped at some new and rising town to receive passengers and goods, or to put them on shore. On the third day of our voyage we passed through a wild and romantic country, and among other objects we noticed a huge rock, on which a colossal human hand, now defaced, had been sculptured by the ancient aborigines. On the morning of the fourth day we were near Gnaden- hutten, where the Moravians once had a settlement and a mission among the Indians. During the revolutionary war, as is recorded in Coopers " Pioneers," this settlement was destroyed, and the converted Indians were massacred. Two small con- gregations of German Moravians, however, still ex- isted in the vicinity. The water in the canal being here deficient, our boat stuck fast in the mud, and I took a walk on the bank. The nearest farm-house was the dwelling: of a Swiss family, all the members of which proved to be ignorant of the English language. I managed to converse with the farmer in French, to his great satisfaction. He was a thorough-going Calvinist, and had a Bible and many Protestant books in his 1C)C) PERSONAL NARRATIVE own tongue. He expressed much aversion to liis Moravian neighbours, who, he said, preached more of flu* Law than of the Gospel. In the course of the evening the Moravian clergyman himself, Mr. Hi<>- ner, came on board our boat with the object of taking a short journey in the same direction with ourselves. During the night the water gradually rose, and in the morning we were again on our voyage. Mr. Higner pointed out to me one of his Churches, in the very bosom of the forest. It was a rough log- building; but he assured me that it contained a good organ. He also showed me the deserted site of Goshen, one of the first Moravian settlements, and the tomb of a missionary who lies buried near the scene of his former labours. Soon afterwards we arrived at Akron, the highest point reached by the canal between the Ohio river and Lake Erie. We then descended a steep hill by a long succession of locks, and the next day, about noon, arrived at the flourishing town of Cleveland, on the Lake. Here we engaged our passage for Buffalo, on board the Michigan, a fine schooner of lso tons, heavily laden with Hour. Late at night, the wind, which had been contrary, shifted a few points, and enabled us just to weather the pier and to run out into the lake. But a fearful tempest soon commenced, and our captain found it necessary to put back. The tall lighthouse on Cleveland Heights, and the smaller one on the pier-head, directed our course through the darkness, and in a short time we were again moored in still water. The Storm continued three days with unabated OF THE AUTHOR. 167 fury. The lake was a sheel of foam, and sometimes the pier was almost covered with the billows. But at length the wind subsided, and we set sail in company with about thirty other vessels, some of which were bound for Detroit, but the greater part for Buffalo, like ourselves. The spectacle was very beautiful and animating, as these yacht-like schooners, with their tall white sails, glided over the 4 (dear blue waves. Our vessel ultimately won the race, and maintained her superiority to the end of our voyage of two hundred miles. I distributed some Testa- ments among the crew, who received them very thankfully, and began reading them immediately. I was told that a gentleman living at Buffalo had appropriated a sum of money for the purpose of supplying all the sailors on this lake with the Iloly Scriptures. On the second day of our voyage I observed in the horizon, towards the north-east, a white cloud, which, though frequently altering its form, never changed its place. Our captain informed me that this was the famous cloud produced by the spray of the Falls of Niagara, now thirty miles distant. The clearness of the day gave a peculiar distinctness to this phenomenon, which I contemplated for several hours in succession. The steeples of Buffalo were soon distinguished with the telescope, as they rose one after another above the well-defined boundary of sea and sky. In the evening the town was before us at the distance of nine miles. The wind died away, but the current produced by the Niagara river drew us forward, and after dark we 168 PERSONAL NARRATIVE came safely within the pier and landed at the wharf. We immediately went on board a packet-boat on the New York canal, and early the next morning we reached Lockport, where we spent Sunday, June 2nd, and had an opportunity of attending one of the two Episcopal Churches. The next day we were again in a canal-boat, and on Tuesday arrived at Rochester. There we found two very handsome Churches, one of which was erected at a cost of ah«»ut 100,000 dollars, or £22,500. Of the nourish- ing condition of the other parish, an idea may be derived from the fact that the number of stated communicants was soon afterwards estimated at 37-4, and of worshippers at about 1500. Their contribu- tions for Missionary and Diocesan purposes amounted to about 1400 dollars (£312) per annum, besides a much greater amount in the shape of a liberal stipend to the minister, the wages of the sexton and organist, the communion alms, and the cost of the repairs and improvements of the Church itself. Leaving Rochester the same evening, we reached Syracuse i:i two days, and on Friday the 7th arrived atMJtica. In each of these towns there are several flourishing Episcopal congregations, and the same is true of nearly all the towns and villages along the canal. Numerous disorders and divisions among sectarian bodies had already, in this region, brought multitudes within the fold of the Church. Under the wise and able Episcopate of Bishop De Lancey, the congregations in western New York have since that period increased in stability and efficiency, as well as numbers. During a short tour of the Bishop OF THE AUTHOR. 1 69 in 1851, OUt of 117 persons confirmed by him, 55 were converts from various sects. On Saturday night we landed at Schenectady, and were conveyed by railroad to Albany, where we spent Sunday, and attended Divine Service in two of the Episcopal Churches. On the following Wed- nesday wc proceeded by steam-boat to New York, and performed the voyage in twelve hours, the mag- nificent scenery of the Hudson appearing to the highest advantage. The President had just arrived in New York, and in consequence of his visit the city was brilliantly illuminated on the night of our arrival. The next day we had an opportunity of see- ing him as he passed our hotel in his carriage. He was uncovered, and as he bowed to the multitude, his pale and elongated countenance showed its usual expression of determination and intrepidity. The populace raised the cry of " Hurrah for Jackson," and threw up their hats and caps, while the handkerchiefs of the ladies were waving from every window. On Friday we left New York for Rhode Island, in a large and powerful steam-ship. As we passed round the Castle Garden we saw an immense multi- tude assembled in that place of public resort, and were told that the grand objects of attraction were President Jackson and the renowned Indian Chief, "Black Hawk." The latter was encased during 1832 in a war with the United States, and had been taken prisoner and brought a captive to Washington. He was now at liberty, and was re- garded by the populace with mingled curiosity and admiration. I 170 PERSONAL NARRATIVE We soon arrived at the famous American Charvb- dis, denominated "Hell Grate," the terror of the ancient Dutch navigators. The tide was running through the narrow strait with great rapidity, the salt waves were boiling and foaming around us, and where the sharp rocks lifted their heads above water, the wreck of a vessel indicated the existence of danger. But at this very moment we were engaged in a race with another steamer, and the utmost power of the engines was put forth to ensure the victory. The huge vessels presented a curious spec- tacle as they shot, now to the right, now to the left, to avoid the hidden sources of destruction. The strait, however, was passed in safety, and we were soon steaming smoothly along the waters of Long Island Sound. Early the next morning, while off Point Judith, the heavy swell of the Atlantic was sensibly felt ; but we soon floated on the quiet surface of Narra- gausett Bay, and at six a. M. were landed at the ancient town of Newport, 160 miles from New York. We put up at a hotel kept by a Quaker landlady. There happened to be on that day a kind of General Convention of the Rhode Island "Friends," and the spacious house was filled with the male and female preachers of that quaint but respectable body. Our landlady, being a distinguished person among them, was too much occupied with Synodical Action to attend to our wants or comforts, and nothing could !><■ more awfully solemn than the appearance pre- sented by the table d'hote at breakfast, dinner, and tea. I was not sorry to escape in the afternoon, and to take a walk on the beach, where several carriages or THE A.UTHOR. 171 were driving up and down with fashionable parties. The heavy Atlantic swell came thundering in, and the distant eastern horizon carried my thoughts to England in a moment. The next day being Sunday, I accompanied Dr. Wheaton, the Rector of Trinity Church, to that venerable place of worship, which (as well as the par- sonage) was more than 100 years old, and therefore very ancient for America. The good and ingenious Dr. Berkeley is reported to have written his " Minute Philosopher" in Rhode Island, and it was here that he awaited in vain the payment of the £20,000 granted in the reign of George I. for an American College. The organ in Trinity Church is sur- mounted by a large gilt crown and two mitres, all evidently relics of the old times of royalty. Under- neath appears the inscription, "Presented by Dr. George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, A. d. 1735." A second Episcopal congregation had been recently organized in Newport, under the care of the Rev. John West, and was said to be in a prosperous condition. On the following day we embarked in a small steamer for Providence, distant about thirty miles. We had a pleasant voyage over the bay, and reached our destination early in the afternoon. Providence is beautifully situated at the head of the bay, and, at the time of my visit, numbered nearly 17,000 inhabi- tants. In 1833 there were two handsome Episcopal Churches, one of which had lately been erected. But after twelve years, namely, in 1845, out of four- teen congregations in Providence, five were in con- IT:* PEESONAL NAEBATIVE nexion with the Church. Although till lately the Baptists have been the prevailing sect in Rhode Island, the Church now promises to take the lead throughout that little State. In 1850 the clergy amounted to twenty-live, with Bishop Henshaw at their head, having multiplied three-fold since 1832. We remained one night in Providence, and the next day proceeded in a stage-coach, forty miles, to Boston, travelling about eight miles an hour. At that period Boston, with a population of not less than 70,000, and sixty congregations, possessed only six Episcopal Churches, the upper classes being gene- rally Unitarians, and the remainder Congrega- tionalists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Univer- salists. At present it appears that the Churches have increased to eleven, while the population of Boston has also nearly doubled, having advanced to 138,788. As the Convention of the Diocese was on the point of assembling, I went in the evening to St. Paul's Church, where I was introduced, after divine service, to the venerable Bishop Griswold, and to several of the clergy and lay-delegates. St. Paul's was erected at a cost of 100,000 dollars (£22,500), but resembles a Grecian temple more than a Christian Church. The principal Church is Trinity, a massive building of granite, and plain but costly in its decorations. The oldest is Christ Church, built before the Revolution, and containing what is a great curiosity in America, namely a regular peal of bell-. The following morning, Wednesday, June 19, the OF THE AUTHOR. 173 Convention assembled in Trinity Church at nine o'clock, and was conducted in a similar manner, on the whole, as other meetings of the same kind already described. But many things showed the existence of painful divisions in the Diocese. Much opposition was manifested to the claims of some Clergymen and Laymen to seats and votes in the Convention. It was also resolved that the votes in the election of the Standing Committee should be taken by orders^ and it was not until after three tedious ballots, by the Clergy and Laity respectively, that the appointment Mas finally made. On the following day several measures were adopted for the extension of the Church in Massachusetts; the Bishop was requested to set forth a form of prayer in regard to the Cholera ; the Diocesan Constitution was amended in some particulars ; and, after the election of Delegates to the General Convention, a final adjournment took place. At that time (1833) there were only thirty-five Episcopal Parishes in Massachusetts, and of these nine were vacant. The entire number of Commu- nicants little exceeded 1,900, and the worshippers might possibly amount to 10,000. This was not a sixtieth part of the population, which by the census of 1830 amounted to 610,408. During the eighteen years which have since elapsed, the Church has gained ground in Boston, chiefly among the upper classes, who have in some measure lost faith in the doctrine of Soeinus, from its continued development in the direction of Pantheism* In the Diocese generally the pro- 174 PERSONAL NARRATIVE gress has been still more decided. The Clergy have increased from 36 to 80; the Communicants from 1,900 to 5,142; the Parishes, from 35 to 63. The present Bishop, Dr. Eastburn, is an Englishman by birth, and has lately distinguished himself by his zealous suppression of practices and doctrines, be- lieved by him to possess a Rome-ward tendency. The Convention having closed, we proceeded by stage-coach twenty-three miles northward, to An- dover. The country along the road was generally highly cultivated, although the soil appeared greatly inferior to that of Ohio. We passed many cheerful- looking villages, all of which gave signs of much comfort and refinement, though numerous small places of worship, standing in the immediate vicinity of each other, were an index of the divided state of religion. Early in the afternoon we reached our destination, having completed a journey from Ports- mouth of L,290 miles, of which 1,211 were by water. I was led to select Andover as our temporary residence, partly on account of its elevated and healthy situation, within sixteen miles of the sea, and partly because I was in hope of deriving some literary advantages from its Theological Institution, in which the celebrated, and now aged, Moses Stuart still continues to be a Professor. Accordingly, as soon as we hud engaged suitable lodgings, I made application to the authorities of the Seminary, who courteously permitted me to make use of their valuable library, which contained at that time not less than 12,000 volumes. By the advice of Pro- Stuart 1 also secured the assistance of an OF THE AUTHOR. 175 excellent teacher of Hebrew, and was soon occupied ■with studies which my engagements at Portsmouth had materially impeded. Andover is one of those pretty villages, for which the States of New England are distinguished. From the Seminary, which occupies a very lofty position, there is an extensive prospect of a culti- vated country, with blue mountains in the north and west from fifty to eighty miles distant. At one point in the neighbourhood I was able to count the towers of more than twenty of the old Puritan meeting-houses, which in the distance reminded me of the village Churches of England. But although these old meeting-houses retain their place in most of the New England villages, they have lost the exclusive legal maintenance which they once enjoyed, and have often passed into Uni- tarian hands. They are also frequently more than rivalled by the conventicles of Methodists, Baptists, Universalis ts, and other sects too numerous to mention. Yet the consequences of all this division have not yet been fully exhibited, and the New England ers still continue, in some sense, a religious people. It is generally disreputable for a man to deny the Christian Scriptures, and a large propor- tion of the people contribute more or less to the maintenance of some form of worship or of preaching. Indeed, at the time of which I am speaking, the law of Massachusetts authorized the levying of a tax for religious purposes, though it left the choice of the religion to the tax-payer. But the incon- veniences of this half-way plan were soon acknow- 176 PERSONAL NARRATIVE ledged, and the voluntary system came into full operation, as in the other States of the American Union. As in Scotland, so here, Sunday is kept as a Sabbath with strictness and decorum; and among the oldest people some complete specimens of the genuine Puritan may, perhaps, still be found. From the first sett lenient of this region, two hundred and thirty years ago, a universal provision has been made for the secular instruction of all classes. The country is filled with schools, academies, and colleges, ami parents are obliged by law and custom, to give their children an education. The extension of the Unitarian doctrines among the descendants of the Puritans, has been accounted for in various ways. The Unitarian, of course, ascribes it to the supposed increasing acuteness and intelligence of the age. The party attached to the older opinions, attribute it to certain local influences, which, they assert, have now ceased to operate. The Churchman discovers its origin in the same causes which have produced Socinianisra and infidelity in the Protestant communities of the European Continent, namely, the utter repudiation of ancient Catholic principles, and of all historical religion. Harvard University, at Cambridge, near Boston, was formerly a leading Puritan establishment, and was well endowed in the old colonial period. It is still eminent in a literary point of view, and pos- sessed in 1833 a library of 50,000 volumes. But its management has long passed from the hands of the orthodox, into those of the Unitarians^ and it has OF THE AUTHOK. 177 become a main instrument in diffusing the tenets of the latter. The orthodox party accordingly per- ceived the necessity of educating elsewhere the young men designed for their ministry, and the Seminary at Andover was the result of their zealous exertions. It was established in 1807, and in the course of thirty years, its endowments, raised by subscription, amounted to a million of dollars, or £225,000. One gentleman contributed from his own pocket 200,000 dollars, or £45,000, to this pious design. In 1833 there were five Professors, each of whom received, as a compensation, the use of a dwelling house, and a stipend varying from 1200 to 1500 dollars per annum (£270 to £337). The number of students was about 120, who had generally taken a degree at some College before entering the Theological Institution. Besides these, several hundred boys were pursuing a preparatory course in an Academy, and in a Classical School, both under the same Trustees with the Seminary. The course of study in the Theological department occupied three years ; a knowledge of Hebrew and other languages beimr necessary to admission. The qualifications of the teachers are undisputed, and the name of Professor Stuart, in particular, is nearly as well known in Europe as in America. His works on the Divinity of our Saviour, and on Future Punishment, are masterly productions ; but in some respects he is considered to have shown a decided leaning to the Neological School of Germany. I found the students at Andover far from deficient in ability and in habits of free inquiry. They were i 5 178 PERSONAL NARRATIVE generally by no means content with old opinions as such, but were inclined to bring all things to the touch-stone of their own private investigations. Hence their conclusions were anything but unani- mous, and often diverged from the "orthodoxy" of their parents as widely as it is possible to imagine. Some few dropped off into general doubt and dis- belief, some turned Baptists, Unitarians, or Univer- salis! s; several became Clergymen in the Church; one at least, if not more, rose to the rank of a Pro- testant Bishop, and of late years even the Romish Priesthood has been recruited from the same un- suspected quarter. It is but just, however, to state that the greater part of these young men remained satisfied with the faith of their fathers, and in due time became Con- gregational (or Independent) Ministers. Among them the peculiar enterprize of the New England character was directed into a religious channel. Many of the students, during my stay in Andover, were preparing to act as missionaries in distant portions of the world, where self-denial would possess an ample field for exercise. They main- tained a regular system of correspondence with missionaries in almost every land, and thus acquired a practical knowledge of the habits, religious belief, and temporal condition of the various nations. Before I had been a week in Andover, the Prc- sident of the United States arrived there, in the course of his progress, accompanied by Mr. Van 15 1 ii(ii, then Vice-President, and afterwards suc- cessor to General Jackson, in the supreme magis- OF TIIE AUTHOR. 1 70 tracy of the Republic. These illustrious guests were handsomely received by the Professors and Students, and after inspecting the library and chapel, proceeded ten miles, to the celebrated manu- facturing village of Lowell. Here they were met by 4000 of the factory girls, all arrayed in white, and arranged in two columns, which were said to have extended to the length of a mile. At this time I heard fearful accounts of the progress of the Cholera in the West. My friend Johnston, of Cincinnati, had been cut off after a very brief attack. The last words of this staunch High- Churchman, were, " I have no merits of my own. I seek to lie low at the foot of the Cross. I desire the joyfand peace of the Holy Ghost. It is a great thing to die." The Bishop of Kentucky had lost his wife by the same disease, and at Lexington the population had been decimated in the course of a month. Many of those to whom I had ministered in that town during the previous year, had gone to their last account, and thirty out of a hundred communicants had been swept away. Not long after this I received letters of recom- mendation from Bishop M'llvaine to Bishop Gris- wold, and determined to call upon my new diocesan, in order to ascertain from him how I could render myself useful to the Church during my stay at Andover. Accordingly, I took a gig, and drove sixteen miles over a very good road to Salem, an ancient town, now in the third century of its ex- istence, and containing more than 15,000 in- 180 PERSONAL NARRATIVE habitants. I found the Bishop residing in a hand- some dwelling, erected in the fashion of the old colonial days. The house had been recently the scene of a dreadful tragedy, the former occupant having been murdered in his bed by some young relations, for the sake of his property. The pre- miers had greatly diminished in value in conse- quence of the horrible associations connected with them. Bishop Griswold, in order to economise his slender resources, had obtained a lease on very easy terms, and his own bed now occupied the spot where the murder was committed. The deceased person was an infidel in principle, and on the very day before his death obliged his female servant to throw away a Bible, which he had detected her in the act of reading. The Bishop very kindly pointed out to me some of the remarkable things and places in Salem. There was a very interesting museum of Oriental curiosities, collected by the merchants of Salem during their long intercourse with India and China. There was also an old house overrun with creeping plants, and with a high gable towards the street, which formerly was inhabited by one of the many women punished for witchcraft. Another venerable man-ion was the place where numerous witches had been £ried and condemned, during the furious out- break of superstition about the year L692. The slate of things had greatly changed in the year 1833, when the people of SaKan, instead of believing too much, had gone to the opposite extremity of believing too little. Unitarianism was the fashion- OF THE AUTHOR. 181 able religion, and the Church, though respectable, was comparatively weak. Its members had, how- ever, recently pulled down their old wooden house of worship, and were erecting a handsome stone edifice in its place. Leaving Salem, I proceeded four miles to Marble- head, another venerable town, standing on a rocky promontory projecting into the Atlantic Ocean. Here I found an Episcopal Church, built in the form of a cross, and about a hundred and twenty years old. The congregation had been reduced very low, most of its male members having deserted it or died. Under these discouraging circumstances the ladies remained stedfast, and these unflinching daughters of the Church had for some time sup} died the offices of wardens and vestry from among them- selves. Their perseverance was rewarded by final success, and at the time of my visit they had re- linquished their official position in favour of the other sex. In the course of three years, under the care of an energetic Rector, this parish numbered seventy-four communicants, and a hundred and twenty-one Sunday scholars. After my return to Andover, my health being much improved, I commenced a regular weekly service at a place about seven miles distant, just across the Merrimack river. Here an opening for the Church had been made in a singular and some- what unsatisfactory manner. The majority of the Congregational population in the township, having determined to remove their meeting-house to a better situation, the minority were offended, and 182 PERSONAL NARRATIVE withdrew entirely from their brethren. But, as the law of Massachusetts then stood, they were obliged to pay a tax to some religion, and whether that religion should be Unitarian, or Universalist, or Episcopalian, they were for some time in doubt, as they were rather indifferent on the score of doctrine. Happily for themselves they finally pitched upon the Church, and having drawn up the usual articles of association, they were admitted into union with the Diocese of Massachusetts. They assembled in a small school-house to the number of forty or fifty, but, although very attentive to the sermons, they paid little regard to the Prayer-Book, and made but slight attempts to join in the worship. There were some amiable and worthy people among them ; but I soon perceived that nothing but time and per- severance, or some extraordinary dispensation of Providence could effectually root Church-principles in so uncongenial a soil. An event did however occur, which, under God, effected the desired object. Several years after my temporary connexion with this congregation had ceased, some enterprising persons threw a dam over the Merrimack, and erected several cotton-mills. Very soon a town of 7,000 inhabitants grew up, like Jonah's gourd, in the immediate vicinity of the little solitary school-house, where I had officiated under such discouraging circumstances. The Church maintained the start which its priority of position had given it, and now an elegant Gothic place of worship, a regularly settled clergyman, and a con- gregation of some hundreds, testify to the value of OF THE u limit. L83 that maxim, which bids us not to despise the day of small things. The following winter I obtained a substitute for a few Sundays, and set out on a journey to vi.-it some connexions in Vermont. We hired a horse and sleigh, and having clad ourselves warmly, we were soon gliding over the snow by the early moon- light, while our infant daughter slept quietly under the comfortable buffalo skin with which the vehicle was provided. Our horse went forward at a rapid rate, the collar of bells around his neck sounding gaily in the sharp frost, and giving warning to travellers of our otherwise silent approach. As our distance from the coast increased, the snow became deeper and the country more hilly, tall cedars and pines giving at the same time a cheerful air to the desolation of winter. We dined at Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, and then proceeded on our journey, though the snow was descending abundantly, and the darkness of night was approach- ing. We stopped for the night at a very comfort- able hotel in Salisbury, having travelled sixty miles since five o'clock. The next morning we started before day-break, and wdien light appeared we were among lofty hills, where uncultivated nature ap- peared with all the dreary accompaniments of the season. The branches of the evergreen trees were here weighed dow r n by masses of snow, valleys were filled up, and the snow-drifts rose in many places eight or ten feet above the road. Having finally reached the summit we rapidly descended, and were soon again among the dwellings of mankind. We 184 PERSONAL NARRATIVE passed Lebanon, the residence of the Shakers, a people who live in communities, abstain from matri- mony, use dancing in their worship, and support themselves by agricultural industry. Soon after mid- day we crossed the Connecticut river into Vermont, and then advanced twenty miles further along the White River, to Royalton, where we completed a journey of 120 miles, and met with a warm and hospitable reception. In this neighbourhood the soil is generally poor, and many of the young and enterprising continually migrate Westward. The people are, as usual, divided in their religion, and the eternity of future punishment has come to be extensively denied. At Bethel, however, six miles distant, there was at that time an Episcopal Church, composed, in a great measure, of the aged brothers, sisters, and other relations of Bishop Chase. Their Bcetor was a venerable English gentleman, once the zealous minister of an Independent Chapel in the mother country. Having emigrated to America, he formed an acquaintance with the Church, and found that the chief grounds of English dissent did not exist on the Western side of the Atlantic. He now returned to the true fold, and was ultimately or- dained to the priesthood, and settled in the remote locality where I found him. lie was a faithful and laborious pastor, and an earnest defender of the doctrine of the Apostolical Succession. At that time the Diocese of Vermont contained fifteen Clergy, besides the Bishop, Dr. Hopkins. At present there are o'l parishes. -2'.\ Clergy, and 1,722 OF THE At TltoK. L85 communicants. New Hampshire had only seven Clergymen in 1832. It has now a Bishop and eight Priests, twelve good Churches, and 552 communi- cants. Though small in numbers, this latter Diocese is reported to be blessed with perfect unity, and with a faithful regard to the doctrine and discipline of the Church. We returned through New Hampshire, but by a different route, in order to avoid the hills. We crossed the Connecticut near Charleston (X. II.), and proceeding by way of Nashua, arrived at our temporary home, after a more circuitous and fatiguing journey than we had expected. 18(3 CHAPTER VIII. PERSONAL NARRATIVE CONTIN1 ED. Appointment to a Professorship in Kentucky. — Collection of Dona- tions towards a Theological Library. — Hartford and the Church in Connecticut. — Trinity College. — The Church in New York. — General Theological Seminary. — Philadelphia and the Church in Pennsylvania. — Kenyon College revisited. — Education in America. — Seminary at Lexington. — Religion in Kentucky. — Troubles in the Church. — Removal of the Author to Indiana. A pew weeks after my return I received a commu- nication from the Trustees of a Theological Semi- nary just established in the Diocese of Kentucky, in which I was informed of my election to the Profes- sorship of Sacred Literature in that Institution. The Bishop of the diocese (Dr. Smith) wrote at the same time, urging my acceptance of this appoint- ment, and proposing that 1 should also assist him permanently in the charge of his parish at Lex- ington. I was now restored to health, and having origi- nally devoted myself to the service of the Church in personal narrative of the author. L87 the West, I accepted the appointment, and complied with the Bishop's proposal. I also acceded to a further request from the same quarter, to the effect that, before proceeding westward, I should collect donations in the Eastern cities towards the forma- tion of a Theological Library. It could not be ex- pected that this would prove an agreeable office; but I knew that, in a voluntary Church, -applications of this description were absolutely necessary, and accordingly 1 proceeded at once to action. Leaving Andover early in March, 1834, 1 travelled to New Bedford, where a congregation had lately been collected under the care of an enterprising young clergyman. Thence I proceeded to Bristol, in Rhode Island, where a large congregation was prospering under an earnest-minded English pastor. From Bristol I proceeded to Providence, thence to Taunton and Boston, and afterwards returned to Andover. During this tour the Clergy and Laity showed themselves very friendly, and I obtained a quantity of books, and money to purchase more. After parting with my late congregation, we travelled by coach about 120 miles to Hartford, in Connecticut, where we arrived on the evening of March 27. The next day was Good-Friday, and we were agreeably surprised to find the shops closed, and the stillness of Sunday pervading the city. When the hour of service arrived great numbers of people were seen flocking to their respective places of worship, Con- gregationalists, Methodists, and Baptists, not ex- cepted. Inquiring the reason of this unusual observ- ance of the day, I was informed that the Governor 188 PERSONAL NARRATIVE of Connecticut hud appointed that the annual Fast- Day should be held throughout the State on Good- Friday, in order to meet the wishes of the Episco- palians. This deserves notice, as affording an evi- dence of a great change of feeling in a region where formerly the observance of such days was rigorously proscribed. Hartford is pleasantly situated on the Connecticut river, and possesses a well-educated and intelligent population. It contained, in 1834, about 1< ).<>(>(> inhabitants, loot) of whom were Episcopalians. The Church in which Bishop Chase once officiated, being of wood, had been sold, and removed across the street, and was at that time occupied by a small con- gregation of Ivoman Catholics. But upon its site a very handsome stone Church had been lately erected, which was considered one of the best specimens of ecclesiastical architecture in America. After the lapse of a few years this Church contained a regular congregation of about 1,200 persons, and became inconveniently crowded. About thirty families with- drew on this account in 1842, formed a new Episco- pal congregation, and engaged an energetic and able clergyman. By accessions from various Dis- senting denominations they have wonderfully in- creased, and are now a powerful body, with three hundred communicants. Besides a liberal support to their clergyman, and the usual expenses of their worship, they contribute about 1,400 dollars (£300) p.r annum to various purposes of an ecclesiastical or charitable character. 1 visited "Washington" College, a valuable insti- or the .u tiior. I3g tution, already mentioned as connected with the Church. It is situated at a short distance from Hartford, and commands an agreeable prospecl of the winding Connection! river and its fertile valley. This College originated in tlie same wants which gave birth to Kenyon College and many other kindred establishments. The number of Clergy in Connecticut was wholly inadequate to the necessities of the vacant congregations, and it was plain that a supply of proper persons could not be obtained with- out laving the literary foundations which have always proved the nurseries of the sacred order. A charter was accordingly obtained from the Legislature of the State, conferring ample and liberal privileges. Under its provisions fifty thousand dollars (£11,250) were soon subscribed, chiefly by a small number of individuals in Hartford and its vicinity. With the money thus acquired, fifteen acres of land were pur- chased in the vicinity of the town, suitable buildings were erected of a permanent material, and in 1824 the College commenced operations, under the Presidency of Dr. Brownell, the Bishop of the Diocese. In the autumn of 1831 this able prelate resigned the situa- tion, in order to devote himself more uninterruptedly to his Episcopal duties, and Dr. Wneaton was elected to the vacant post. At the time of my visit the building consisted of the College proper, 150 feet long by 45 broad, and four stories high, containing 48 sitting-rooms and dormitories, and a large room for a literary club among the students. There was also an edifice 90 feet by 55, and three stories high, which composed a 190 PERSONAL NARRATIVE chapel, a library, and a museum, each 50 feet by 35, a laboratory, a room for chemical and philosophical instruments, a " Philosophical Chamber," another club-room, and a few smaller apartments. The library contained 12,000 volumes, many of which had been selected in Europe by the learned and judicious Dr. Jar vis. Since that period additional endowments have been obtained, and several professorships have been permanently established. The College is now r known by the name of "Trinity," and is one of the best Church Institutions in North America. About 15 or 20 of its students graduate every year, and of this number from a third to a half receive Holy Orders. The remainder go forth as well-educated Laity, to occupy important stations in society. One- third of the existing Clergy in Connecticut, and one- twelfth of those in the entire American Church, have been sent forth by Trinity College. In 1834 the Clergy in this old and respectable Diocese were about sixty in number. At the Diocesan Convention, held in the present year at Waterbury (the birth-place of the good Samuel Gunn), they were reported as having increased to 109, and at the same date there were 17 candidates for Orders. The number of Episcopalian families in Connecticut was estimated at 8,000, comprising 9,000 communicants. At this Convention the venerable Bishop Brownell, on account of his advanced age> requested that an Assistant Bishop should be chosen, upon which an election took place, and the l\ev. Dr« Williams, President of /Trinity College, was ap- OF THE AUTHOR. 101 pointed to that important post. Seventy-three out of 88 Clergy, and 87 out of 101 of the Laity, gave their suffrages in favour of this excellent Churchman, on St. Barnabas'-day, 1851. Upon the receipt of this intelligence the College was handsomely illumi- nated, and thousands of persons flocked to the grounds of the establishment to share in the general satis- faction. But to return to my narrative. Having left my little family in the neighbourhood of Hartford, I took the steam-boat for New York, and had a delightful voyage down the Connecticut river. On the way I entered into conversation with a gentle- manly and well-informed passenger, who proved to be a Unitarian from Massachusetts. Pointing to the Episcopal churches, which appeared on both sides of the stream, he assured me that he fully believed that if those Churches had been in Massachusetts there would have been few Unitarians. As this appeared at first an equivocal compliment to the Church, 1 begged him to explain himself, when he expressed his conviction that Unitarians did not so much object to the doctrine of the Trinity taught by the Church, as to the harsh and revolting manner in which Christianity w r as represented by the so-called, orthodox, or Calvinistic divines. I remained a fortnight in New York, and received much kind attention from Bishop Onderdonk and many of the Clergy and Laity. At that period the population of New T York and the adjacent town of Brooklyn amounted to about 230,000, and out of perhaps 130 places of worship, twenty-five were 192 PERSONAL NAREATIVE Episcopalian Churches, which numbered collectively, between 6000 and 7000 communicants. The popu- lation had more than doubled in 1850, at which time the Churches had increased to fifty-six, while the Parochial Clergy amounted to sixty-eight. The Diocese of New York contained, in 1835, 198 clergy, and 10,630 communicants. The same district, now divided into two dioceses, numbered in 1850, 382 Clergy, and 22,000 communicants. The Church-people of the city of New York are pre-eminently distinguished by their disposition to assist Episcopal institutions. If there is an infant parish established in the far West, and unable to erect a place of worship, application is made to the benevolence of Xew T York. If there is a new- College or Theological Seminary to be founded, if a Professorship is to be endowed, if a Foreign Mission is to be set on foot, if a village church has been consumed by fire, if a place of worship is needed in Oregon, or China, or Western Africa, recourse is immediately had to New York, as the place where substantial sympathy may be expected. Appli- cants after applicants come crowding in, and the fountain of Christian kindness still remains unex- hausted, and even increasing in abundance. I have been credibly informed that many wealthy mer- chants habitually devote a tenth part of their income, or even more, to purposes connected with the extension of religion. Yet while New York undoubtedly contains some of the best Christians living, it is also, like London, one of the head quarters of irreligion and immorality. OF THE AUTHOR. 193 The press sends forth not only an immense amounl of useful and religious works, but publications of t In- most odious description, which pollute the minds of the rising generation throughout the country. Of the 315,000 emigrants from Europe during tin- year ending September 30, 1850, by far the greater portion landed in New York, bringing with them no inconsiderable admixture of ignorance and vice. And it will not seem extraordinary, under these circumstances, that in the course of the same year, 21,299 persons were committed for various offences to the city prison. The General Theological Seminary, one of the many fountains of piety and truth existing in New York, has been already mentioned in the chapter on the His- tory of the American Church. It owes its origin, as I have there remarked, to the exertions of the late eminent Bishop Hobart, a prelate whose name will ever be held in veneration by the Churchmen of the western world. It is under the management of a Board, consisting of all the Bishops of the Church, one Trustee elected by the Convention of every Diocese, and one more in addition for every eight clergymen contained in the same. Besides these, every Diocese can appoint a Trustee for every 2,000 dollars which it contributes to the Seminary, until the sum amounts to 10,000, and then one additional Trustee for every 10,000. The Bishops of the Church, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board, and six clerical and six lay gentlemen, elected at an annual meeting of the Board, constitute a Committee, which discharges the ordinary business of the Insti- K 194 PERSONAL NARRATIVE tution. There are Professorships of Church-Polity, of Biblical Learning and Interpretation, of Syste- matic Divinity, of Oriental and Greek Literature, of Ecclesiastical History, of Pastoral Theology, ami of the Evidences of Christianity. In 1850 the library contained L0,400 volume-. The funds of the Semi- nary have been raised by voluntary contributions and legacies, and have been contributed by sixteen Dioceses to the amount of 237,000 dollars, or nearly £50,000. But about seven-tenths of this sum was obtained in the single Diocese of New York, the consequence of which has been that New York in- fluence has generally predominated in the institution. And as this influence has invariably been of a Iligh- Church character, the Seminary is regarded by many as practically a local and partizan institution, rather than as one representing the entire Church. From this cause, as well as on account of the indefinite suspension of Bishop Onderdonk, many candidates for Orders have been induced to prosecute their studies elsewhere, and the number of students in the General Seminary has of late years considerably diminished. In lKol>, the number was 87; in 1848, 62; in 1849, 5$; and in 1850 only 4(3. The entire number of the alumni is 390, not far from one-fourth of the whole body of the Clergy in the United States. The course of study occupies three years, and none can be admitted as students but those who are candidate- fur Orders, and who have taken their degree at some College, or at leasl have passed a satisfactory examination in natural and moral philosophy, rhetoric, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. OF THE AUTHOR. 1 ( .>5 Tlio annual expenses arc aboul 125 dollars (under £30), including board, washing, fuel, and Lights. Extravagant habits would meet with severe dis- couragement, and, in fact, would not be tolerated. Although the people of New York had contributed nobly to the establishment of this valuable institu- tion, they were not deaf to my appeal in behalf of the projected Diocesan Seminary in Kentucky, but rendered very liberal aid and encouragement. Having effected my object, as far as New York was concerned, I proceeded by steam-boat and rail- way to Philadelphia, where I arrived on the 14th of April. In that city I remained only a week, but received proportionately as many tokens of " brotherly love " as in New York, and succeeded in advancing considerably the object of my mission. There were then only eleven Episcopal Churches in the old Quaker city of Philadelphia, out of about forty places of worship of various denominations, and the number of communicants was under 3,000. The population of the city was 180,000, or about the same as that of Edinburgh. In 1850 the population had more than doubled, the Churches were 23, and the parochial clergy 34. At the period of my visit the entire number of clergy in Pennsylvania did not exceed sixty, but in 1850 it amounted to 155. The number of communicants for 1851 is returned as 19,949. I met for the last time the venerable Bishop White > then in the 87th year of his age, and also his assist- ant, Bishop Onderdonk, brother of the Bishop of New York, to whose subsequent unhappy history I 196 PERSONAL NARRATIVE have already referred. Having taken leave of these distinguished prelates, and of my other kind and hospitable friends in Philadelphia, I returned to New York, and thence on the following day to my family near Hartford. While in Hartford we did not fail to visit the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Wadsworth's Tower, and other objects of interest and importance. But the canals being now released from the icy chains of winter, it was time to advance on our long journey to the West, and accordingly, having proceeded to New York and Albany by steam-boat, we voyaged to Buffalo by canal, and thence by steam to Cleaveland, in Ohio. We then went by land to Gambier, where we found that, outwardly at least, great improve- ments had been effected since the melancholy Con- vention of 1831. The place had assumed the ap- pearance of a neat New-England village, and the comfortable abodes of the Professors and Tutors were surrounded by gardens, flourishing in all the verdure of an Ohio spring. Bishop M'U value inhabited a handsome private dwelling, the College had been enlarged by the addition of one wing, and Rosse Chapel, though curtailed in its dimensions, was ad- vancing towards completion. The Theological Seminary had become a distinct department from the College, and contained twelve students, while the latter had fifty-six, and the Grammar-school ninety-four, making in all 1(12. The Clergy in the Diocese had then increased to nearly 30 ; but in 1850 they amounted to 72, who were distributed among a population of two millions. The tone of theological of Tin: attiioi:. 107 teaching prevalent among them is of that description usually denominated "evangelical," and of course docs not exactly harmonize with that which pre- dominates in New York. Still it deserves to be noted that a clergyman, who formerly was among the leaders of this school in Ohio, and at the same time one of the chief opponents of Bishop Chase, has lately renounced his ministry and become a Dis- senter, because, in his opinion, the whole Church is steadily moving in the direction of High-Church principles. From Gambier we proceeded to Newark, where we found a Church erecting, and a clergyman already settled. Travelling by canal, we reached Portsmouth, where I enjoyed the satisfaction of officiating in the little Church, the erection of which had been an object of so much anxiety. \Vc then went sixty miles by steam-boat to Maysville, in Kentucky, from whence we travelled sixty-four miles over a good macadamized road to Lexington, and finished our journey on the 22nd of May. The Bishop w^as absent, visiting his Diocese, and I at once entered upon the charge of his extensive parish, and of the incipient Theological Seminary. A few statements in respect to American educa- tion may not be altogether out of place in this con- nexion. It is, I believe, well understood that the mere rudiments of instruction are more generally diffused in the United States than in England. Yet there is a great difference between the several States in this particular; those of New-England, for ex- ample, being in advance of all the others, and the 198 PERSONAL NAREATIVE free States uniformly excelling those in which slavery prevails. Primary education is not left, like religion, altogether to the voluntary principle. In Massachusetts the schools arc maintained by money voted, according to law, at an annual meeting of the inhabitants of the several townships. The same persons also determine the standard of education which to them appears desirable, and which usually is higher than in the parochial schools of England. In Connecticut the expense is met by a common fund provided by the State, which also has estab- lished a uniform system of instruction. In New York a school-fund of several millions of dollars has been raised by the sale of lands appropriated by the State to the purposes of education. Grants from this fund are allowed in favour of those districts alone which have made some provision by voluntary con- tribution for themselves. In the year 1832 one- fourth of the entire population of the State of New York was reported as being at school. But for the last iii't ecu years the school system of this State has been constructed entirely on "philosophical" prin- ciples, without regard to Christianity. Moral and religious instruction is now practically banished, and the education of the youthful mind is confined merely to its intellectual and material developments. In this connexion it seems important to mention that, during tin- last ten years, the State of New York has been afflicted with an extraordinary increase of crime, which during that period has actually been hI>L>I. Pennsylvania is backward as respects elementary instruction, and although active efforts arc made by OF THE A.UTHOR. 1 99 the friends of progress, great masses of the popula- tion, chiefly descended from Germany and Ireland, remain but Blightly acquainted with the schoolmaster. In Ohio an efficient secular school system has for some time been in operation, and is Liberally sup- ported by the assistance of the State. Of the free north-western States it may be said, generally, that they are alive to the importance of general instruc- tion, and that from their first settlement they have set apart large tracts of land for the maintenance of common schools. The Slave States of the south and south-west have made provision for the same object ; but in these regions a great proportion of the labour- ing population is utterly debarred from literary ad- vantages by the laws, which render the instruction of a negro a punishable offence. The common schools throughout the United States are designed to convey instruction at least in reading, writing, grammar, geography, and arithme- tic. The Bible or the New Testament is, in many cases, used as a school-book ; but, as a general rule, any definite system of religious teaching would be regarded as sectarian, and would not be tolerated. Yet, even under this disadvantage, conscientious teachers sometimes succeed in forming (with Divine help) devotional and moral habits in the minds of their youthful charge. The principles of republican society are not favourable to reverent and implicit obedience on the part of pupils, and " moral suasion " is deemed the "more excellent way." It is stated in a late American paper that the proportion of those who cannot read and write has greatly increased 200 PERSONAL NABBATIYE during the last ten years, and the same authority asserts that, in one of the Western States, out of a population of a million, there are 175,017 persons, over 21 years of age, in that unhappy predicament. Emigration from Europe is partly the occasion of this growth of ignorance, but the scattered condition of the people in a new country must also be taken into the account. A further cause may be found in the low remuneration given to teachers in many dis- tricts, where all sorts of ordinary labour find a Liberal reward. Hence few arc willing to accept such em- ployment, and those few arc not uncommonly super- ficial, unsteady, and inefficient. Persons who desire for themselves or for their children a higher class of education are provided with ample facilities in the shape of Grammar-schools, Colleges, Theological Seminaries, and Schools of Law and Medicine. These again are extremely various in respect to their religious character, their respectability, their literary advantages, and their necessary expenses. The American Almanac informs US that there are in the United States 121 Colleges, 42 Theological Seminaries, :■>"> Medical Schools, and 13 Law Schools. Of the Presidents of the 121 Colleges, 78, at least, are " ministers of the Gosper' of various denominations, and 54 are Doctors of Divinity. The whole number of Professors and teacher- in the above institutions is 1,172. The oldest College is Harvard, founded in L636; the second is " William and Mary," in Virginia, founded in 1692; the third is Yale, founded in L694. Be- tween the years L700 and 1800 thirty-eight Colleges OF THE AUTHOR. 201 were founded, and during the present century no less than eighty. The theological, law, and, medical schools, are all of comparatively recent foundation. The following Colleges are under the control of the Church, independently of others under its in- fluence : — Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut ; Columbia College (formerly King's), New York ; Geneva College, Western New York ; St. James's College, Ilagerstown, Maryland ; Kcnyon College, Ohio ; Jubilee College, Illinois ; Burlington College, New Jersey ; Shelby College, Kentucky ; and per- haps a few other establishments yet in their infancy. The principal Theological Seminaries are those at New York, Alexandria, Gambier, and Nashotah in Wisconsin ; but several of the Episcopal Colleges possess theological departments subordinate to their general management. There are also some excellent Church Schools for boys, such as the Connecticut Episcopal Academy ; Trinity School, New York ; St. Paul's College, Long Island, and many others. To these may be added some first-rate female institutions, under the supervision of the Bishops and other Clergy. The chief of these is St. Mary's Hall, under the care of Bishop Doane, in New Jersey. There are also Bishop Chase's Female School, in Illinois ; St. Ann's in Long Island ; Newark Seminary, in Delaware ; the Columbia Institute, in Tennessee ; the Female Institute, in Alabama, and other establishments of a similar nature. In the Grammar Schools, boys are taught the elementary branches, and are also instructed more K 5 202 PERSONAL NAERATIVE or less thoroughly in Greek and Latin Grammar, Composition, Book-keeping, and Scripture History. Perhaps they go as far in the Classics as ( icero's Orations, and Jacob's Greek Reader; and acquire the fundamental principles of Geometry and Al- gebra. In the Colleges, the course of study occupies four years; and the student advances year by year into the classes of Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior. At the end of the term he receives a degree of A.B., unless notoriously unworthy of that honour. The Professors sometimes deliver lectures, but are generally engaged in hearing the lessons, or "recitations" of the classes committed to their charge. The tutors reside among the students, explain their difficulties, hear their elementary lessons, and superintend their conduct. The stu- dents are often full-grown men, whose youth has been spent in hard labour. Emulation is not encouraged as much as in England, the equal diffusion of knowledge being considered in America a more important object than its concentration. The expenses are usually inconsiderable, and such students as are preparing for holy orders, frequently obtain pecuniary help from societies instituted for the ex pre-.- purpose of rendering them such assistance. In the Freshman year, student- may expect to read portions of Sallust, Cicero, Xenophon, Livy, and Herodotus. In .Mathematics they will he engaged in Algebra, Euclid, Logarithms and Trigo- nometry. Declamation, Composition, and Trans- lation.- will not be altogether neglected. OF THE AUTHOR. 203 In the Sophomore year, probably Homer and Horace will claim a portion of the student's time; Roman and Greek Antiquities will be read, and perhaps Drawing, Surveying, and Conic Section- will occupy a share of his attention. While in the Junior Class, parts of Tacitus, Plato, and Demosthenes, will be read by him, and his attention will be directed successively to Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Logic, and Rhetoric. As a Senior, in all probability he will be required to look into Metaphysics, Political Econo- my, Geology, and Astronomy, and to read some Greek Plays, besides keeping up his knowledge of the acquisitions made in previous years. Should he now take his degree, and enter a Theological Seminary, he must, in addition to the above, know something of Hebrew and Chaldee. During his first year he will continue to study these languages, as well as Biblical Geography and An- tiquities, the Laws of Interpretation, the Harmony of the Gospels, &c, &c. In his second year the Evidences of Christianity, Sacred Rhetoric, Chris- tian Ethics, Church History, and Pastoral Theology, will probably be considered. And, in his final year, he takes up Systematic Divinity, and Church Govern- ment, besides carrying on his studies in Hebrew, Greek, and other departments of necessary learning. The English reader will be inclined to marvel at the considerable amount of nominal study required in order to fit a young American for holy orders. But, until very recently, a habit of thoroughness has not been deemed essential to scholarship. The 204 PERSONAL NARRATIVE mind has been cultivated very much as the ground is tilled by the settler in the back-woods. In the fields of Indiana, or Arkansas, the traveller will, of course, miss the smooth pastures, the trim hedges, and the level corn-fields of English agriculture. He will see the plough winding its way among enormous stumps, and sometimes barely scraping the ground, on account of the roots which still remain below the -nrface. Here and there he will find that the settler has not even taken the trouble to fell the trees, but has been satisfied for the present with killing them, by cutting through the bark. And round the whole estate, perhaps, there runs a rude fence, constructed partly of rails, and partly of fallen trees. Yet, amidst all this rough and superficial work, a crop will ripen on the productive soil more abundant than the spectator would have considered possible. This is a fair type of American Collegiate Education in general, as compared with that of the Universities of Europe, although of course there are exceptions. It has been considered, that a moderate acquaintance with a variety of subjects has answered a better practical end, in the circumstances of the country, than habits of profound thought and patient investigation. But a demand for a higher order of education has commenced, which will unquestionably lead to a more scientific system of mental culture, and, before many years, we may hope that an English scholar will have no further occasiou to smile at the peculiar concords, or the grotesque prosody of the western student. The system of the Church is allowed more or OF Tin; aii inn;. 207) less prominence in education, as the Church itself is more or less appreciated and understood. Some professedly Episcopal institutions differ very little in this respect from Presbyterian or Methodist establishments. Others, again, arc nearly all that could be wished in this important particular. Thus, at St. James's College, in Maryland, we learn that the religious education of the students is strictly attended to, and that, as the sons of Churchmen, they are carefully taught the character of their own Communion, as a part of the One Catholic Church of Christ. All attend daily morning and evening prayers in the Chapel, where Saints'-Days, and other Holy-Days are rubrically observed. xVt mid-day the Chapel bell rings to remind all of the duty of devotion at that hour, and in the evening a certain space of silence is set apart, before prayers, for reading the Scriptures in private. The number of Theological students in the United States is subject to great fluctuations, but may be estimated, in round numbers, at about 2,000, of various denominations. Of this number, somewhat more than a tenth may be considered Episcopalians, and of that tenth, more than a half are connected with the Theological Seminaries of the Church. They are generally natives of the free States, since comparatively few enter upon a course of divinity from those parts of the country where slavery prevails. Generally speaking the Seminaries confer no degrees, although they are incorporated by the State Legis- latures in the same manner as Colleges. The Theological Seminary at Lexington was in- 206 PERSONAL NARRATIVE corporatcd by the Legislature of Kentucky, in February, 1834. The Act of Incorporation was worded in terms similar to those of another Act, by which a Roman Catholic Institution had been pre- viously chartered in the same State. This Act acknowledged the Trustees already existing, and authorized them to pass any bye-laws not conflicting with the laws of the land. It also conferred on them the usual privileges of a corporation in regard to the tenure of property ; but required that the rents and proceeds acquired by them should never exceed 5,000 dollars per annum. The Trustees were to continue in office one year ; and the nomination of their successors was left to the Bishop of the Diocese, subject to the approval of the Diocesan Convention. The property of the Seminary was, by the same Act, exempted from all State taxation whatever. The Trustees were empowered to appoint the necessary professors in all branches of learning usually taught in Theological Seminaries. The professors were finally declared capable of exercising such powers as the Trustees might delegate to them for the wholesome and faithful government of the insti- tution. The Professorships were arranged as follows. The Bishop of the Diocese undertook the department of Doctrinal Theology? and Pastoral Duties. The Pro- fessorship of the Ethics and Evidences of Christi- anity was filled by the Rev. Dr. Coil, then President of the University at Lexington, and now Professor of Church History, in Trinity College, Hartford, Dr. J. K. Cooke, a gentleman doubly eminent, as a OF THE AITIIOR. 207 physician, and as a Churchman, lectured on the History and Polity of the Church. To myself was committed the general tuition of th<- students in Hebrew and Greek, as well as the more immediate supervision of the establishment, in which T was the only resident Professor. The Bishop was some- times absent for many months together, and, during these intervals, I was in charge of a congregation of about GOO persons, including, perhaps, 100 commu- nicants. I also edited a newspaper, called the " Church Advocate," published twice a month, and designed to defend correct ecclesiastical principles against popular prejudices. It may readily be under- stood, that in latitude 38°, under a burning summer sun, these combined occupations were by no means a sinecure. In the outset, our students were only four in number, but they subsequently increased to eighteen. They were chiefly natives of New England, Penn- sylvania, and Ireland, and only one of their number properly belonged to Kentucky. Most of them had never received a degree, and some of them were unacquainted with more than the rudiments of Greek and Latin. But they possessed the minds of men, and were generally anxious to improve. Hence, notwithstanding many disadvantages, real and rapid progress was sometimes accomplished. It was my first care to see that they were well grounded in the Greek and Latin Grammars. I then conducted them through the Gospels in those two languages, explaining by the way the chief difficulties in the interpretation. Afterwards they 208 PEBSONAL NARRATIVE read some important passages in those writings of the early Fathers which we possessed in our library, such as Clement, Hennas, Ignatius, Irenams, the Apostolical Constitutions, Jerome, Cyprian and Theodorct. They read their Septuagints and Greek Testaments at the daily morning and evening service in the Chapel, and acquired the habit of apprehending the sense with tolerable facility. A few of them were excused the study of Hebrew by a special dispensation from the Bishop ; but the rest were carefully instructed in the Grammar and Chrestomathy of Professor Stuart. Some of them became quite enthusiastic in this study, and before long found little difficulty in construing a chapter of the Hebrew Bible at a lesson, analysing the words, and accounting for the changes of the vowels. During a part of their course, the students care- fully read Home's Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures, Erncsti on Interpretation, and other works of a similar description. The more advanced wrote weekly dissertations on difficult parts of Scripture, and on the meaning of remarkable He- brew words. The Gospels and Epistles were also studied critically in Greek, with the aid derived from Hebrew, from the Septuagint, from Biblical Antiquities, and from the rules of Interpretation. Lexington is a very agreeable town, and is situated in the richest part of Kentucky. Its most conspicuous building is Transylvania University, an institution supported by the State, though never very prosperous for any great length of time. There is also a Medical School connected with the OF THE A.UTHOR. 209 University, and furnished with ample and con- venient buildings and a valuable apparatus. A shorl distance from the town is the Lunatic Asylum of the State, a noble establishment, admirably conducted, and containing (in L839) about a hundred patients. The religious aspect of Lexington is much the same as in other towns in America. The Church- people are respectable, hut perhaps little more than a tenth of the population, and the remainder are Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Me- thodists. The negro slaves are numerous, and possess several meeting-houses, erected at their own expense. On Sundays they assemble at these places, dressed in the height of fashion, and listen to the energetic prayers and declamations of preachers, as dark-coloured and as ignorant as themselves. They arc usually Baptists, and their favourite doctrines have a decided leaning towards Antinomianism. With the help of our theological students, we succeeded at one time in collecting about seventy-five young slaves in a Sunday-School at the Seminary, before the present severe laws were enacted against the education of the African race. But when it was understood that we taught them to read, the Mayor of the city requested us to desist from such a dangerous proceeding, as he felt himself unable to protect us against any mob, which, in a moment of excitement, might level our Seminary with the dust. Accordingly we adopted a method of conveying religious in- struction by means of pictures, which, in some im- perfect measure, answered the desired end. 210 PERSONAL NARRATIVE If space allowed rac, I could say very much in favour of the people of Kentucky, as well as of the delightful region which they inhabit. But slavery, like a dark cloud, hangs over the land, and its distressing consequences are a painful subject of reflection to every earnest minister of Christianity. It is not that slavery in itself is necessarily a deadly evil, for it has existed in ancient times, and still exists in the East, in a form compatible with the true interests of humanity. Nor is it the infliction of corporal punishment which renders it utterly intolerable, for persons are not generally inclined to injure their own property, and negro slaves often deserve castigation, as justly as the young gentlemen of our public schools in England. American slavery is chiefly to be condemned, because it generally discourages sound religious education; it perpetually breaks up family ties ; and, above all, it completely annihilates the sanctity of Christian marriage. Among the upper classes at Lexington, I found much literary taste, and considerable general know- ledge. The Bishop of the Diocese was a person of great originality of thought, and .somewhat remark- able for his way of applying the "inductive method" to theology. The President of the Uni- versity had distinguished himself by his writings against the Socinian doctrine, but chiefly by his works on Puritanism, which he had exposed in a ~.iic- of able and pungent essays. Dr. Cooke, our Professor of Ecclesiastical History, had been for- merly a sceptic of the Jeffersonian school, but had OF THE AUTHOR. 211 become a convert to the Church, after :i diligent examination of its evidences. He had imported from Europe an admirable and extensive collection of patristic divinity, and his library was an immense acquisition to the infant Western Church. Among the Professors in the Medical School were several gentlemen eminent for their scientific attainments, and always ready to communicate valuable infor- mation. A very large proportion of the people were in easy circumstances, and the various luxuries of life were possessed by them in great profusion. During the winter they amused themselves with balls, evening assemblies, and occasionally with philosophical lectures, according to their various tastes. In the summer there were horse-races, barbecues, and sometimes enormous camp-meetings in the forests, attended chiefly by Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists. Political meetings, elections, and sometimes rumours of impending negro insurrections, contributed to keep alive that excitement to which the inhabitants of the warmer States are much more subject than the shrewd people of New England. Of the hundred and seventy thousand slaves in Kentucky, a large pro- portion were engaged in the cultivation of hemp, which they manufactured into the coarse bagging, used for packing the cotton of the South for ex- portation. Hence the pecuniary interests of Ken- tucky were, in a great degree, identified with those of Manchester. The Church was at that time very feeble, ex- cepting in Lexington and Louisville. In 1835, the 212 PERSONAL NARRATIVE Clergy were only sixteen in number, in a Diocese embracing within its boundaries a population of 700,000 souls. In 1839 they amounted to no more than twenty, and even in 1850 they were barely thirty, with about one thousand communicants. The Church in Kentucky was indeed tried with uncommon severity in the period of its early infancy. Having already spoken of the troubles in Ohio, it seems unnecessary to fatigue the reader with a statement of difficulties equally painful and dis- tressing. Four of the Western prelates were called in at several times, with the view of effecting a settlement ; and when, finally, a decision was pro- nounced, it was of a character which gave little satisfaction in any quarter. The unfortunate Theo- logical Seminary was nearly destroyed during this period of agitation, and, for all practical purposes, very shortly became extinct. Dr. Kemper, one of the four Bishops mentioned above, proposed that I should connect myself with his own mission ; and, as I had resigned my Professorship, I de- termined on removing to the vacant parish of Madison, in Indiana. Accordingly, after a residence of three years in Lexington, I quitted my newly- purchased and agreeable abode, travelled once more northward with my family, and amis again established in a free State as the pastor of a scanty flock, on the northern bank of the Ohio. To this aarrative of disaster, it is but just to add, that private letters from the Bishop of Kentucky to myself, as well as his official report to the General Convention, indicate a far more encouraging OF THE AUTHOR. - lo Btate of affairs at present. It appears thai the Diocese now enjoys peace and union, that during the last three years, the people have contributed 40,585 dollars for Church objects, and that the Diocesan College, established at Shelbyville, pro- mises much usefulness, and possesses great advan- tages of a scientific as well as of a theological and literary character. In Frankfort, the capital of the State, a Church has been built by an individual layman, at an expense of twenty thousand dollars, which is described by the Bishop as containing a lofty window of stained glass, and as being, on the whole, a most beautiful specimen of ecclesiastical architecture. Thus, through storm and sunshine, and amid difficulties of every description, the American Church makes its way onwards, and establishes itself by degrees in the confidence and affection of the people. 214 CHAPTEE IX. PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THE AUTHOR CONTINUED. Description of Madison. — Missions of the American Church at home and in foreign parts. — Juhilee Collections in 1851. — Incal- culable importance of Domestic Missions in the United States. — Progress of the Church in Madison and in Indiana generally. — The Author removes to Upper Canada. — Tour in that Province. — The Bishop of Montreal.— Vestiges of the Rebellion. — Niagara Falls re-visited. — Invasion of Canada hy the Sympathizers. — Their defeat and final doom. Madison is about eighty miles from Lexington, the same distance from Cincinnati, and perhaps fifty miles above Louisville. Its situation on the Ohio resembles, in many respects, that of Portsmouth ; and, like the latter place, it is subject to intense heat during the months of summer. By its rail- roads, as well as by its position on the river, it has greatly advanced in wealth and population, and is now one of the most important places in the "West. In 1837 the inhabitants did not amount to more than 5,000, but they were already charae- NARRATIVE OF THE AT THOR. 215 terized by industry, enterprise, and general morality. On an average, about six steam-boats daily stopped at the wharfs, and there were packets to Cincinnati and Louisville, which, besides numerous passengers, carried the mail-bags, and a quantity of freight. The Episcopalian community was small, but there were two Presbyterian places of worship, two Me- thodist, one Roman Catholic, and one Baptist. The congregation with which I was connected, had been organized about the year 1834, and now contained between twenty and thirty families. But the unhappy division of High Church and Low Church, besides personal difficulties, had already produced among them the effect of paralysing energies, which at best would have been insufficient. They were still unable to maintain a Clergyman by their unassisted efforts, and derived considerable help from the Board of Missions, which supplied about fifty pounds a year. I have already, in the Chapter of History, made some mention of the Missionary arrangements of the American Church. It may, however, be proper to introduce a further description of the system, which (under Providence) has effected so much for the Diocese of Indiana, and for the West in general. As the American Church derived its existence in great part from an English Missionary Association, it has always regarded Missions with respect, and has readily acknowledged its bounden duty to pro- mote the evangelization of the world. A great impulse was given to this feeling in 1812, by the 216 PERSONAL NAEEATIYE efforts of the present Bishop Kemper, then a young deacon in Philadelphia, acting as assistant to Bishop White. lie not only originated a Missionary Society in Pennsylvania, but became a missionary himself in the western parts of that Diocese. This effort led to a more extensive organization, designed to include within its operations the Western States, the Indian tribes, and the heathens in foreign countries, as opportunity might offer. The Society was composed of the Bishops ex-officio^ and of all others who should contribute three dollars annually, or thirty dollars at one time. As there was a con- siderable difference of opinion in regard to the comparative claims of Domestic and Foreign Missions, it was provided that all subscribers might specify the particular object to which they desired their contributions to be applied. The Presiding Bishop was at the head of the Society, and the other Bishops, according to seniority, were Vice-Presidents. A Secretary and twenty-four Directors, were chosen by ballot, at a triennial meeting, held at the same time and place with the General Convention. The Directors possessed authority to establish Missionary Stations, to appoint Missionaries, to dispose of funds, and to make general regulations. They could not, however, establish Auxiliary Societies in any Diocese without the consent of the Bishop. In like manner, those Domestic Missionaries who were supported by them, within the limits of any Diocese, derived their appointment solely from the Bishop of that Diocese, and acted under his direction. Thus, the Society might be compared to the English Church OF THE AJJTHOR. 2] 7 Missionary Society and the Gospel Propagation Society, united in one body, and meeting simul- taneously with a free Convocation. Under these arrangements, imperfect as they were, the Society rapidly gained ground in the regard of the Church. In 1829, its income was only 1,500 dollars a year, but in 1835 it amounted to 27,621. By this time many persons had begun to doubt the expediency of maintaining a distinct Society to perform the very work for which the Church itself had been appointed. It was therefore proposed, that the General Convention (being the American Church by representation) should exert its rightful prerogative of authorizing missionary operations, and that all members of the Church should as such be deemed members of a Missionary Association. This great and momentous measure was carried successfully and harmoniously by the joint action of the old Society and of the two Houses of Convention. The Church now originates and sanctions Missionary undertakings, and all the steps taken are reported to the General Convention at its triennial meetings. The details of the present system are now to be described. The Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, on nomination by a joint Committee of the two Houses of Convention, appoint, by a, concurrent vote, a Board of thirty members, who, together with all the Bishops, are called the " Board of Missions." This body meets triennially, on the second day of the General Convention, at the place of its meeting, and also annually, at such time and place as itself L 218 PERSONAL NARRATIVE may determine, the senior Bishop present always presiding. It appoints four clergymen and four laymen as a Committee for Domestic Missions, and the same number of both orders as a Committee for Foreign Missions. To these two Committees, whose meet in--.- any Bishop may at lend, is referred, during the recess, the whole administration of the missionary work. The Board appoints a Clergyman for each Committee, to act as Secretary and General Agent, with a suitable salary. He collects information for the Committee, conducts its correspondence, devises plans of operation, and executes the purposes of the Board, submitting his measures, for approval, to the Com- mittee for which he is appointed. No Clergyman can be appointed a Missionary by either Committee without the recommendation of his Bishop ; nor can any Domestic Missionary be sent to officiate in any Diocese without the consent of the diocesan authority. The appointment of any Missionary, whether Domestic or Foreign, may at any time be annulled by the written order of a majority of the Bishops. After this improved method came into effect, systematic contributions to Missions, in the form of weekly or monthly Offerings, became prevalent throughout the Church. The highest amount paid in one year to the old society was 27,621 dollars, in 1835. The following year the missionary collections amounted to 55,249, and in the year ending dune l.uli. Is,")!), to 68,733 dollars, or, in round numbers, The Foreign Committee has for many years main- OF THE A.UTHOR. iM '.» tained some excellent schools at Athens, which are well known to Knglish travellers in ( J recce. As early as 1839, 800 young Greeks were at one time receiving instruction at the hands of Mrs. Hill and other American Episcopalians. At Cape Palmas, on the coast of Africa, in what is called the Maryland Colony, a Bishop is maintained, who, with a handful of laborious missionaries, has rendered great service to the Church, notwithstand- ing frequent deaths and other causes of discourage- ment. At Shanghai, in China, Bishop Boone con- tinues to labour with astonishing perseverance, though ill-sustained by any adequate band of clergy. His last report mentions the baptism of fourteen adult Chinese. One of the earlier converts, "Chae," had been for three years a candidate for Deacon's Orders, but, owing to a defect in the Canons, the ordination had not taken place at the expected time. To dispense with the full amount of studies required from a candidate for Deacon's Orders, the Bishop must first obtain the advice of three presbyters under his charge. But, alas! poor Chae could not pretend to stand an examination in that fearful list of Western languages required in America. And as one of the priests had lately perished at sea, the advice of three presbyters could not be obtained without calling in the the English missionaries, who were not "under the charge " of Bishop Boone. So poor Chae waited patiently until the Canon had been amended by the General Convention of 1850. The Bishop reports fifteen Chinese communicants. and nine catechumens receiving instruction with 220 PERSONAL NARRATIVE a view to baptism. lie speaks favourably of the converts, and states that he has had but one occa- sion for corrective discipline. A handsome brick Church has been erected, besides a large school and a residence for the Bishop and the Missionaries. The Rev. Mr. Syle, who has faithfully continued with the Bishop in all his trials, is an Englishman, and a graduate of Kenyon College. The Bishop's final re- marks in his report for 1850 are well worthy of atten- tion. " One thing is certain, God has set before us an open door ; we have access to great numbers who seem willing to learn ; and the labours of those who are here have been blessed beyond their expectation." For a considerable time the Right Rev. Dr. South- gate was supported by the Foreign Committee as a Missionary Bishop in Turkey. This gentleman be- gan life as a Puritan, and entered the seminary at Andover with a view to the Congregational ministry. Here he became a convert to the Church, and went out to the East as a missionary, under the patronage of the " evangelical " school, whose influence pre- dominated in the Foreign Committee. Returning subsequently to America, he was consecrated to the Episcopate, and took up his position at Constantinople. Here he appears to have inclined, in several respects, to the doctrines of the Greek Church, and conse- quently lost, in a measure, the confidence of many of his supporters at home. He engaged himself in ex- posing the machinations of the Romanists, and of certain Protestant Dissenters in the East, and in- curred by this course no small share of obloquy and opposition. With the Oriental Christians he was. OF THE AUTHOR. 221 however, on excellent terms, and effected much in proving to them the ( Jatholic character of the ( Ihurch in England and America, as distinct both from Rome and from Geneva. But, finally, his embarrassments with the Committee at home led to his resignation of his post and his return to America. In 1850 he was elected Bishop of the new Diocese of California, but declining this field of service, he came within a few votes of being appointed to the highest Bishopric in the United States, viz., that of New York. The expenses of the Mission at Athens for 1851 are estimated at 3,300 dollars, of that in Africa at 11,000, and of that in China also at 11,000. The number of missionaries maintained or assisted by the Domestic Committee, within the limits of the United States, is now about ninety, besides a con- siderable number who derive aid from various diocesan associations. The expenses, at the present rate of appropriations, are 22,000 dollars per annum, of which the two Missionary Bishops receive 1,500 each, and Bishop Chase, of Illinois, 1,000, leaving an average of less than 200 dollars per annum (or £45) for each of the Missionaries. But there is much irregularity in the receipts, and consequently in the payments ; so that, occasionally, the Domestic Com- mittee has been many months in arrears, to the great inconvenience of those in its employ. The Missions among the American Indians are under the care of the Domestic Committee, in con- nexion with which Drs. Kemper and Freeman are the present Missionary Bishops. The former has charge of the Churches in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, 222 PERSONAL NARRATIVE and the latter in Texas and Arkansas. Bishop Kemper reported, in 1850, the confirmation, in AYis- consin, of 38 Oneida Indians, of whom there was a congregation containing 175 communicants. Many families from Norway and Sweden had also connected themselves with the Church. Speaking of the Seminary at Xashotah, the Bishop states that its graduates are true Churchmen, free from the errors of Erastianism, Socinianism, and Popery. Defend- ing it against a charge of Romanizing, he proceeds as follows : — " Associated for twenty years in minis- terial labours with the venerable and truly catholic father of the American Church, enjoying his confi- dence, and imbibing his opinions, I have endeavoured, in the way which I think he would have approved of, to walk, amidst the peculiar trials of the last ten years. Still maintaining, as I have for nearly half a century, the thoroughly Protestant Episcopal opinions of Bishop White, I affirm that the Professor of Systematic Theology at Xashotah lias, upon all proper occasions, exposed the fallacies, idolatry, and un- founded claims of the Church of Rome." There were in 1850, 26 clergymen and 12 candidates for Orders in Wisconsin. The Bishop also reports improving prospects for the Church in Iowa, where there are six Churches, five clergymen, and 400 communicants. He expresses, likewise, great hopes as to the result of the self-denying labours of the Missionaries in Minnesota, who have commenced a new establish- ment on the model of Xashotah. Bishop Freeman states, respecting Texas and Arkansas, that enough has been effected to repay a OF THE A.UTHOE. 2S.) thousand-fold the small pittance expended by the Church for the support of the Mis-ion. Still there arc but 300 communicants and six or eight clergy- men in the whole of Texas, and in Arkansas there is even less to encourage hope. In the kk Indian Terri- tory," a proposition was lately made to the Church by the United States Government in reference to the establishment of a school among the ( nickasaws. But Bishop Freeman, alluding to this offer, says that it is not to be imagined "that the Church should part with her right to self-control, and become an engine in the hands of the secular Government, for the purpose of carrying out its own plans for the mere civilization of the Indians." There is in this vast territory but one solitary clergyman, who occu- pies the post of Chaplain at a military garrison on the frontier. The well-timed circular of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the American Bishops, on the oc- casion of the Jubilee of the Gospel Propagation Society in 1851, has not only given a practical ex- hibition of the unity of the two Churches, but has communicated a decided impulse to the cause of Missions. Very considerable collections were taken up, in consequence of it, throughout America, and on Sunday, the 21st of June, the offertory in a single Church (Trinity Church, New York) produced 3,222 dollars (£724), which were appropriated to Domestic [Missions. The Vestry had previously voted 5,000 dollars in aid of the [Mission in AVest Africa. The importance of the Domestic Missions of the 224 PERSONAL NARRATIVE American Church cannot be estimated too highly. The population of the United States doubles itself in little more than twenty years, not so much from emi- gration as from natural increase. The population already amounting to about 24 millions, it may be safely estimated that, in the year 1900, a hundred millions of persons speaking the English language will inhabit the country between the Atlantic and Pacific, exclusive of the descendants of our present colonists in British America. It is a fpiestion of tremendous import to mankind whether these unborn myriads will present the spectacle of a vast and united Christian community, diffusing peace and happiness throughout the world, or whether, under the blighting influence of pantheistic or atheistic principles, they will forget the true end of their being and become a degenerate race, powerful only for evil. On account of the existing divisions anions religious denominations, the civil government can render little, if any, aid in promoting the diffusion of the true faith, and whatever is done must be done by Christians as individuals, or as organized into associa- tions. Emigration from Europe, which lias so- greatly ex- tended Roman Catholic influence in America, has contributed comparatively little to the enlargement of our Reformed Church. English emigrants in general are apt to be indifferent to a system which, in their ignorance, they have identified with a secular establishment. Yet multitudes of them might be retained in the Church, if the Church possessed the means of stationing more missionaries, and of building OF THE Al TIIOK. 225 more houses of worship in the districts to which emi- gration is principally directed. The English labourer is, to a greal extent, :i creature of habit, and if he finds a Church ready built, and a clergyman on the spot, maintained at no expense to himself, it is probable that he will continue to worship as his fore- fathers did before him. But if otherwise, his ecclesi- astical stamina is not sufficiently vigorous to proteel him against the attractions presented by sects like the Ranters, Anabaptists, and Latter-Day Saints. Throughout the Western States there are great numbers of persons who lane been baptized in the Church either in America or in England. Yet a large proportion of these have been carried away by the prevailing current of popular feeling, and have united themselves with Dissenting denominations. A tew, however, chiefly Americans, remain stedi'ast, and these few, as at Portsmouth, constitute the germs of future conii-reii-ations, which are certain to be established when Missionaries can be obtained. In the course of our residence at Madison, I found my flock rapidly increasing, and within a year they had doubled in number, one quarter of them being natives of England and the remainder Americans. On the 2nd of July, 1837, within six weeks after my arrival, I was ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Kemper, in the presence of my congregation. On the following day a terrific hurricane passed within six miles of Madison, which unroofed the village of Hanover, partially destroyed a Presbyterian College, and swept off bodily the house of one of the Professors. The roof of the last-mentioned building l5 226 PERSONAL NARRATIVE was discovered at the distance of eight hundred yards ; but the Professors library was carried many miles in the air, and portions of it were found on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river. House-rent in Madison was very expensive, and I was compelled to pay nearly £50 a year for a small and inconvenient dwelling. Servants were scarcely to be had on any terms ; but we at length found a girl who condescended to work for us in that capacity for eight shillings (English) per week, with board and lodging. In the course of the winter my congrega- tion hired a meeting-house of the Primitive Method- ists, as a temporary place of worship, and commenced raising subscriptions for building a Church. I suc- ceeded also in establishing a school of a superior character for the daughters of my parishioners, about thirty of whom were instructed in the branches of education taught at Bishop Doane's establishment in New Jersey. The following year commenced with many trials. Great controversy prevailed among our people in re- gard to the proper situation of the proposed Church, which aggravated the difficulties already existing. We lost our youngest son after an illness of a few hours, and I was under the sad necessity of reading the funeral service myself, no other clergyman being accessible. In the course of the spring I was again troubled, as I had been in Ohio, with general ill health, and particularly with the loss of voice, which materially interfered with my parochial ministrations. The congregation, however, continued to increase, and the minister of the " Episcopal Methodists" was OF THE AUTHOR. 227 converted to the Church, and was afterwards ad- mitted to Holy Orders. About the Ls1 of July, the first stone of our Church was laid by Bishop Kemper, and the building rapidly advanced to com- pletion. But I had now found it necessary again to retire from missionary labour in the West, and to seek a cool and healthy northern climate, where I might hope to recover my voice and strength. Accord- ingly, I sold my estate near Lexington, and dis- posed at auction of such property as I possessed in Indiana. Having seen my successor appointed, we bid farewell to the good missionary Bishop, and to my late parishioners, and set forth with our two re- maining children for Upper Canada, on the 1 (Jtli of July, 1838. The fortunes of the congregation in Madison were for a long time very discouraging, chiefly in conse- quence of its early divisions. The people finished their Church; but, not having procured sufficient means to pay the builders, the edifice was sold by the creditors, and purchased by a congregation of the " Dutch Reformed." For some time afterwards the Episcopal parish could scarcely be said to exist ; but ultimately it revived, and its members are now both numerous and respectable. They have erected a handsome and commodious Church, decorated with painted windows, and in other respects also a speci- men of the improved ecclesiology of America. The Diocese of Indiana, too, after twelve years of depres- sion, was enabled in 1850 to make its report to the General Convention in terms of cheerfulness and 22S PERSONAL NARRATIVE hope. Within the past year Dr. Upfold had been consecrated its Bishop, and the amiable Dr. Kemper had been enabled to devote himself to remoter spheres of missionary labour. There are now seven- teen Clergy, twenty Churches, twenty-five Parishes, and about 750 Communicants, in a population of not less than a million. We had selected Upper Canada as our temporary abode, partly on account of the salubrity of its air, and partly because I was anxious to form some acquaintance with British America. We proceeded 230 miles up the Ohio river to my old parish at Portsmouth, which I found in a prosperous and peacefid condition. Thence again wc toiled along the weary length of the Ohio canal, until we arrived at a little village not far from Lake Erie, from whence I went forward alone to seek a suitable residence in the British territory. Having crossed the Lake, I arrived at the Falls of Niagara, where, on the Canadian side, I saw the 83rd Regiment encamped in their shining tents. The rebellion had but recently been overcome, and American " sympathy," as it was called, rendered it necessary to keep up a considerable force on the frontier. At Queenston I embarked in the steamer Transit, for Toronto (Aug. 2nd), in company with a number of volunteers, who had been operating against the rebels and sympa- thizers in the western part of the Province. As the boat entered the bay at Toronto, the Union Jack was hoisted, and the military band struck up, suc- cessively, Rule Britannia and God Save the Queen. Many long years had elapsed since these tunes had OF THE AUTHOR. 229 touched my ears, and now, on hearing them again, 1 was powerfully affected, and felt that, after all, I still remained an Englishman. I was received very hospitably by Archdeacon (now Bishop) Strachan, and other Clergy in and near Toronto. Marly associations connected with home constantly revived, and tlie hearty and gene- rous loyalty of the respectable Canadians appeared in strong contrast with the democratic principles to which I had become accustomed. One of the oldest of the Clergy, however, deplored the low state and comparative inefficiency of the Established Church, and expressed a wish that it might be remodelled somewhat after the American system. From Toronto I proceeded over Lake Ontario to Kingston, and thenee down the St. Lawrence, by the "Thousand Islands," to Ogdensburg, in the State of New York. Here I officiated twice on the following Sunday in a spacious and convenient Church, and afterwards, crossing the river to Prescott, in Canada, I assisted the worthy Rector of that place at his evening service. The following day I set out on horseback for the interior of the Province, and soon lost sight of the noble St. Lawrence. I rode through dense and unromantic forests, and a flat and marshy country, which contrasted very unfavourably with Kentucky and Indiana. I consoled myself, however, with the thought that, wretched as the district ap- peared, it was a part of the dominions of Queen Victoria, and, therefore, in some sense, a portion of my native land. Having slept at the house of the zealous Rector of Kemptville, I set out again on the 230 PERSONAL NARRATIVE following morning at five o'clock, when, although It Avas now the 14th of August, the ground was covered with hoar-frost, and a great-coat was by no means uncomfortable. After making my way for three miles over an abominable road, I came to the Rideau, a deep and stagnant river, surrounded with tall dead pines and cedars, standing in black and filthy swamps. I was taken slowly over, with my horse, upon a wretched raft made of six cedar logs, the ferryman himself being little better than a skeleton, from the effect of fever and ague. Landing in the mud on the opposite bank of this Lethean stream, I advanced five miles with great difficulty, through a deep slough abounding with enormous muscpiitoes. In the course of eight hours I travelled eighteen miles, and was extremely happy to arrive at the house of the Rector of Richmond. This place was a poor collection of log huts, yet my clerical friend (as an Englishman) preferred it infinitely to a situation, apparently far more desirable, which he had previously occupied in the United States. In this preference he was much influenced by political feelings, though, at the same time, he gave it as his decided opinion, that the Canadians had more stability of character than the Americans, and that, with less outward show, they possessed, in general, more actual substance. The next day, after breakfast, I proceeded on my travels. About two miles from Richmond I saw a miserable log hut, which was pointed out to me as the place where the Duke of Richmond, once Gover- nor of Canada, had died of hydrophobia. Beyond this the country improved as I advanced northward, OF THE AUTHOR. 231 and early in the afternoon I bad a delightful prospect of the magnificent river Ottawa, with the high grounds of Lower Canada beyond it. At two o'clock I arrived at Bytown, and was hospitably re- ceived by the clergyman. In the evening I crossed the ferry with him to 1 1 nil, in Lower Canada, where 1 found a large and handsome Church in a decayed and neglected condition. The last Missionary had become an Irvingite, and the congregation was now reduced to about 50 persons. 1 spent two days in Bytown, and was much interested in the place and its romantic situation. During my visit, the Gover- nor, Sir George Arthur, arrived, and was received with military honours. I returned to Prescott by the same road which I had previously travelled, and thence proceeded ten miles to Brockville, a pretty town on the bank of the St. Lawrence. Here, by appointment, I met the excellent Bishop of Montreal, Dr. Mountain. His Lordship kindly stated that he was anxious to pro- vide for me a situation in Canada, if I desired it, but that, on account of my ordination in the United States, I could not legally become a Rector or a Missionary in the Established Church. There was, however, at that time a vacancy in a government classical school at Brockville, which he thought I could fill in a manner advantageous to the interests of the Church. He wished me to engage in the CD O preparation of young men for holy orders, and stated that, notwithstanding technical difficulties, clerical duty would be found for me in Canada. After some consideration, I accepted the good Bishop's proposal, 232 PERSONAL NARRATIVE and was afterwards duly appointed to the vacant post by the election of the Trustees and the assent of Governor Arthur. I now set off by the steamer on my return to Ohio for my family. The Bishop was my companion in ascending the river, and in crossing Lake Ontario to Toronto, and I found his conversation highly in- teresting and instructive. There were also two females on board, being the daughter and the wife of persons confined under sentence of death for rebellion. They had visited Lord Durham, the Governor- General, in the hope of obtaining a pardon, but his Lordship, being troubled with a headache, had been unable to allow them an audience. They now con- versed most importunately with the Bishop, in the vain hope that he might afford them a ray of en- couragement. On landing at Toronto I hired a horse, and rode twelve or fifteen miles into the country. I passed some agreeable country residences, and noticed abundant crops of wheat ready for the sickle. Not far from Toronto I saw the ruins of a house burnt by the rebels during the previous winter, and a little further on was the blackened and desolated site of a tavern, which had been the head-quarters of the dis- affected, and which the loyalists had consequently destroyed. Returning to Toronto the same after- noon, I dined at Archdeacon Strachan's, in company with the Bishop of Montreal. The next day I went across the Lake, ascended Brock's Monument, and reached the Falls of Niagara by two o'clock. Hav- ing obtained a guide, I put on a loose dress of oil- OF I in: AUTHOR. 233 cloth, descended a winding staircase, and went be- hind the vast sheet of falling water. The currents of air were extremely violent, and the spray formed a complete shower-bath, which almosl deprived me of breath. Holding on by a rope riveted t<> the rock, I advanced 60 yards into this terrible cave, until I reached a rock, beyond which no human being had penetrated. All was rushing, roaring water, above, below, and around, excepting- the drenched and slip- pery rock on which I stood, and the precipice to which I clung'. On emerging again to light and air, I was presented by my guide with a regular certificate of my achievement. Crossing the ferry to the Ameri- can side. I was much amused by the ferryman's dex- terity in saving trouble, by availing himself of .the various eddies in the rapid and agitated stream. At night, after the moon had risen, I crossed the bridge to Goat Island, at the middle of the cataract, and thence ascended the tower erected on the edge of the Great Horse-shoe Fall. Here I remained for a long time, in perfect solitude, listening to the " voice of many waters," contemplating the majesty of the scene, and reflecting on the power and immensity of the Creator. From the Falls I made all haste to my family, two of whom I found afflicted with dangerous illness, and in extreme debility and suffering. As soon as it was possible, they were removed on board a boat, and we proceeded, by the canal, the two lakes, and the great river, to Brockville, where we arrived on the 11th of September (lo38). We were soon, however, called to mourn the loss of another son, who, though in 234 PERSONAL NARRATIVE healthy Canada, sunk under the effect of weakness produced by the climate of the West. Having secured a comfortable house, I was soon engaged again in education, and before long was employed in preparing for ordination some converts from the Methodist ministry. I found also abun- dant employment in a clerical capacity, partly in Canada, and partly in Bishop Onderdonk's diocese of New York, from which I was separated only by the river, there about a mile and a half in width. The variations between the English and American Prayer-Books were here practically contrasted, and it was necessary to use considerable care in order to avoid awkward mistakes. Thus in the United States the words ran thus : " Our Father icho art in heaven," while in Canada, ivho must be exchanged for which, and " those who," for "them that." After praying in the morning for the President, on the south side of the river, it was necessary in the evening to guide the mouth with discretion, in order to pray rightly for the Queen on the northern shore. There was also a variation requisite in the matter of preaching. The Canadians were to be taught the duty of loyalty and the sin of rebellion. But no such topic could be introduced in the Churches south of the line, where the people proudly con- trasted their own independence with the colonial inferiority of their neighbours, and gloried, almost fanatically, in the results of their successful Revo- lution. Soon after my arrival in Brockville, rumours were heard of an approaching outbreak in Lower Canada, OF THE AUTHOR. 235 as well as of great preparations on the part of tlie American sympathizers. These rumours were booh verified. A strainer on its way to Quebec was captured by rebels at Beauharnois, and its pas- sengere were held as prisoners till released by an armed force, which inflicted severe vengeance on the captors. On the night of Sunday, November 11th, we were alarmed by the violent ringing of our Church-bell ; and soon ascertained that an invading army of sympathizers was passing down the river in a steamer and two schooners. As we were protected by a small armed steamer (the Experi- ment), and were otherwise prepared for an attack, the enemy did not land at Brockville, but proceeded thirteen miles down the river below Prescott, where they took possession of a windmill on the bank, which they fortified with cannon taken from the American shore. Early on the following morning, the Rev. Mr. Blakey, the clergyman of Prescott, arrived at Brock- ville in great alarm, requesting instant relief in the shape of men, arms, and ammunition. About 150 volunteers and militia were accordingly despatched on this service, and the same number was retained for our own defence. In the meantime the Experiment had proceeded to the scene of action, where she had succeeded in checking the arrival of additional bands of sympathizers from the American shore. A shot from one of her two guns had passed through the wheel-house of the American steamer, and had killed the steersman, in consequence of which the invading vessel had been forced to return 236 PERSONAL NARRATIVE to the other side, where she was very properly seized by the authorities of the United States. During the day an express was despatched to the Hon. Colonel Dundas, then commanding the forces at Kingston, with the request that a sufficient body of regular troops might be sent down to repel the invasion. On the following night, two steamers, the Victoria and Coburg, arrived at Prescott, from Kingston, with about seventy marines and regulars, under the command of Captain Sandom. At seven in the morning of Tuesday, the Victoria, the- Coburg, and the Experiment, opened their fire on the windmill, which was, in fact, a massive round tower of stone, eighty feet high, and standing on a rocky promontory projecting into the St. Lawrence. Meantime the left wing of the land forces, consisting of thirty Marines, under Lieutenant Parker ; thirty- five of the Glengarry Volunteers ; and about two hundred Militia, under Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, marched along the edge of the woods, and succeeded in putting to flight the out-posts of the brigands. The right wing, consisting of forty men of the 83rd, and two hundred and fifty Militia and Volun- teers, under Colonel Young, proceeded along the bank of the St. Lawrence. The action was commenced a little before eight o'clock by the invaders, who had entrenched them- selves behind a stone wall in the rear of the mill. The militia, though exposed to rifle shots from the loop-holes in the tower, behaved well, and obliged the enemy to retreat to the mill, and to the adjacent OF THE AUTHOR. L ; .)7 buildings. Being, however, withoul artillery, and the cannon in the steamers being inefficient against stone walls, the troops were withdrawn at three in the afternoon. Strong picquets were, however, left to prevent the escape of the enemy until heavy guns could be procured from Kingston. During this affair the invaders discovered their mistake in supposing that the whole Canadian population was prepared to join them. Being, how- ever, under the command of Von Schultz, a Pole of some genius, and of a desperate character, they evinced much skill in turning their resources to the best account. They directed one of their cannon on the steamers, and the other on the land forces, discharging them four or five times in the course of an hour. The loss of the loyalists in the course of Tuesday was severe. Lieutenant Johnson, of the 83rd, and about twelve others, were killed, and sixty-seven wounded. The brigands also lost many of their men during their retreat to the tower, and numbers of them were frightfully wounded, besides twenty-eight who were taken prisoners. In the evening, after the battle, the dead were seen scattered over the ground and partially devoured by hogs. A woman walked over the field and gathered up an armful of muskets, which she carried home as a trophy and a perquisite. The dead brigands were stripped and plundered, and much valuable booty was thus secured by the country people. The next morning (Wednesday) we were glad- dened by the news that the rebellion in Lower 238 PERSONAL NARRATIVE Canada had been suppressed. Colonel Dundas also came down from Kingston with four hundred regulars in two steamers ; but, finding the mill too strong for an attack with the cannon already at hand, he returned to Kingston with his men the same evening, in order to obtain heavy artillery. This movement led the brigands to suppose that disturbances had occurred, requiring the presence of the troops in the upper country. Their expectation of a general rising was consequently revived, and they were encouraged to persevere in their un- principled attempt. But their destruction was pre- paring at Kingston, where workmen were already engaged in fabricating gun-carriages, to convey the cannon designed to batter the devoted windmill. On Thursday I set off on foot to view the scene of action. All along the road I met people who expressed great anxiety on account of the non- arrival of the troops and cannon from Kingston ; and it was hinted that the brigands might yet be joined by the disaffected Canadians, if they should succeed, even for a short time, in maintain- ing their position. I found Prescott crowded with about 3,000 militia and volunteers ; the taverns and grog-shops were filled with noisy multitudes, while a bitterly cold storm of sleet was blowing from the north-east. Proceeding about a mile further I beheld the mill standing in its new dignity as a fortification, and I advanced sufficiently near to take a sketch of the building itself, and of the active steamers which cut off the besieged from all com- munication with their native shore. While thus OF THE AUTHOR. 239 engaged^ a ball from the invaders passed over my head, and struck the gable end of a building oc- cupied by one of our picquets. About the same time the steamers opened their fire upon the mill, but without any effect, their shots usually passing very wide of the mark, and rather endangering the lives of her Majesty's subjects in Prescott. During the day, a steamer from the American shore, the Paul Pry, managed to reach the mill with the object of withdrawing the brigands; but the desperate A"on Schultz refused to listen to any proposal which favoured a retreat from his position. I learned that the people of the opposite town of Ogdensburg, were deeply interested in the fate of these men, and that the Episcopal Clergyman of the place had vainly employed his utmost efforts to check the active demonstrations of their sympathy. After this I returned home for the night. About mid-day on Friday the expected steamers arrived, with about 300 men of the 83rd, two 18-pounders, and a howitzer, with the horses necessary to draw the guns over the muddy ground. The commanding officer allowed me to accompany him in his steamer from Brockville to Prescott, as I was anxious to see the engagement, and thought it possible that I might, as a clergy- man, be useful to some wounded or dying person. On the way I conversed with several of the troops, who informed me that no quarter would be given to the banditti, and no prisoners taken. At Prescott the three steamers were greeted by the hearty huzzas of the assembled populace. The brigands 240 PERSONAL NARRATIVE had sent a flag of truce into the town, with the request that a surgeon should come and dress their wounds. A Dr. Scott had accordingly volunteered to go on this humane errand, and I saw him im- mediately after his return. He had effected a short cessation of hostilities, during which he had re- covered the body of Lieutenant Johnson, and had seen the dead of both parties buried near the tower. As I passed along the street, I noticed a woman uttering most bitter lamentations, and was informed that her husband was one of the slain. Some men also passed by carrying a wounded Englishman, whose thigh had been broken on the previous Tuesday, and who had been detained in the mill as a prisoner, and fed by the brigands till removed by Dr. Scott. I called upon an American whose leg had been fractured by a ball, while engaged on the British side against his sympathizing countrymen. I also visited some of the prisoners already cap- tured, who appeared thoroughly dejected and miser- able. Meantime the regulars were drawn up in the street, and the body of Lieutenant Johnson was paraded before them in a shell. The sight of his mangled remains was well calculated to arouse their indignation, as he had been a general favourite with his military companions. About three in the afternoon the militia marched out and surrounded the redoubtable mill, in order to prevent the escape of its inmates by land. The great guns also, drawn by six horses each, rolled out of the town an hour afterwards, and the regulars who accompanied them took their position on a OF THE AUTHOR. 2 11 rising ground within half :i mile of tlu* tower. Three steamers and two gun-boats were stationed on the opposite side of the enemy, who were thus completely hemmed in by an overwhelming force both by land and by water. The vessels on the river first commenced their ineffectual fire, and, as they dropped down the stream to avoid the shots of the 18-ponnders, some of their little balls ploughed up the ground within a few yards of the spot where I was engaged in conversation with the rector of Prescott. But when the 18-pounders were brought to bear on the tower, it soon appeared that they were discharged to some purpose, and the stone walls, strong as they were, began to exhibit indications of an approaching collapse. Such of the balls as missed their aim, struck the surface of the river, and danced over the water for about a mile, to the American shore, where they created great alarm among the multitudes who had assembled as spectators. The brigands fired very few shots in return, and were soon dislodged from their strong position. The troops now advanced rapidly, and opened a smart fire of musketry upon the enemy, which was promptly returned. At length they succeeded in setting fire to all the buildings around the mill, and as it was now dark the flames showed the position of the combatants, and produced an awfully sublime effect. The enemy had now been driven again within the tower, when, finding their condition desperate, many of them surrendered at discretion. Some had been burnt to death in the buildings ; others were found up to their chins in the 31 242 PERSONAL NARRATIVE water ; and Yon Schnltz himself was discovered in a thicket while endeavouring to escape. The prisoners were chiefly American citizens, and nearly every one of them had been provided with a rifle, a brace of pistols, a bowie knife, and an abundance of ammunition. A large supply of arms, 150 kegs of powder, three cannon, and a quantity of pro- visions, were also captured. I accompanied the prisoners and troops on board the steamers, where the soldiers, shortly afterwards, produced the spoils of war. One had captured a bundle containing a portrait, a lady's dress and cap, a dagger, a brace of small brass pistols, and a bullet- mould, besides clean shirts, collars, waistcoats, and thirty yards of bombazine. Another had possessed himself of Von Schultz's cocked hat, a shaving-box, and a pair of razors. Another had a bundle of bank-notes, with a quantity of American newspapers and scraps of poetry. A few had secured gold and silver watches; but pistols and bowie knives were the most abundant articles of booty. A large proportion of the prisoners were severely wounded. One poor wretch was laid on deck whose thigh had been broken on Tuesday, and whose countenance and bitter groans now indicated the extremest anguish. As I stood by his side in the cold night air, the artillery horses were stamping on the deck close to his head, his teeth were clenched, his hands were clutched in agony, and the smell from his wounds was almost insufferable. In the distance the buildings around the mill were still alternately blazing and smouldering, while a of Tin: a in ion. 243 lurid glare hung over the scene of death and de- cs O struetion. In the morning a Burgeon appeared, and proceeded with great humanity to administer relief to the wounded and dying. It was interesting to observe the same soldiers who had threatened extermination to the invaders, now lifting them carefully into the cabin, washing their offensive wounds, and assisting in the surgical operations. One man had received a ball in the back of the neck, which had come out at his right ear. Another had been shot close to the back-bone, and the ball was in his stomach. Most of the wounds, indeed, were in the back part of the body, having been received during the retreat on Tuesday. Such of the prisoners as had escaped severe wounds were confined in the hold. The militia looked at them through the hatches and bitterly cursed them, assuring them of execution in this world, and perdition in the next. The conduct of the regulars was far different and infinitely more professional. One of them returned to a prisoner a valuable gold watch, and when a companion re- monstrated, saying that the militia would certainly take it away again, he replied that at all events he would not bear the blame of keeping what was not his own. The same man objected to depriving the prisoners of their money, and said that they ought to be allowed to keep it, and make themselves com- fortable during the very few days of life which were likely to be allowed them. One of the wounded prisoners died in the course 244 PERSONAL NARRATIVE of the morning, and, being wrapped in a cloth with weights attached to it, was thrown overboard without ceremony. He was quite a youth, and apparently not more than seventeen years of age. During the previous night many more prisoners had been brought in as the militia hunted them down, and about mid-day the steamers departed with them on their return to Kingston. We soon stopped at a wharf, to take on board some more miserable and wounded wretches who had just been captured. As they were lifted into the boat shrieking with agony, a stout and masculine woman on the wharf, began singing, dancing, shouting, and clapping her hands, in a manner intended to express her triumph over the enemies of Queen Victoria. When the steamers touched at Brockville, the troops were again welcomed by long and loud huzzas, expressing, in this instance, the real feelings of the people on their deliverance from a serious danger. The following Sunday, being the 23rd after Trinity, and 18th day of the month, the Psalms and Lessons were wonderfully appropriate, and I preached at Brockville (in the absence of Mr. Denroche, the worthy missionary), from the words, " Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's." On the other side of the river, the first Lesson for the day, though different from that of the English service, was highly appropriate to the defeat of the sympathizers, being the first chapter of Proverbs. The doom of the unhappy brigands was what might have been expected. Like the more recent in- vaders of Cuba, they " ate the fruit of then- own way," OF THE A.UTHOR. 245 and " their destruction came as a whirlwind." Those who escaped death in battle, or by their wounds, were tried one by one at Kingston, in the simple character of murderers and banditti. Von Schnltz and a number of his companions wen; executed, a few very young men were pardoned and sent back to their friends ; but the greater part of these free- born republicans, were transported as felons to the distant shores of Van Diemen's Land. Although the preceding details may appear some- what foreign to the general object of this work, I have inserted them as describing, chiefly on my personal testimony, events which, perhaps, deserve some place in Colonial history. It appears to me, also, that the English public are not yet sufficiently acquainted with the exertions put forth by loyal persons in Upper Canada, to maintain connexion with their beloved mother-country, and to preserve in all its lustre the supremacy of the British Crown. 24G CHAPTER X. Loyalty of the Church. — The Clergy Reserves. — Disastrous effects of the union of the two Provinces. — Ascendancy of Romanists and Dissenters.— King's College becomes a "Godless" Uni- versity. — Religion forbidden in the Schools. — The Bishop of Toronto commences a Church University, and convokes the Synod of Toronto. — Personal narrative continued. — The Author officiates on both sides of the Frontier. — Marriages performed by the Ferryman. — A French Centenarian. — Clerical Meetings in Canada. — Indian Mission at Napanee.— Kentucky revisited. — A Roman Catholic Bishop. — Romish Miracles. — Disability of American Ordination. — Visit to England and Scotland. — Synod of Scottish Bishops. — Return to America. — General Convention of 1841. — Journey to Missouri. Among the agencies which have contributed to pre- serve the generous spirit of loyalty in Canada, the Church must undoubtedly be reckoned the principal. And yet it is remarkable that the Church has met with a degree of opposition and even cruelty on the part of the secular authorities, both Imperial and Colonial, which appears the result not so much of a shallow political expediency as of absolute infatuation. CANADA, AND THE CANADIAN CHURCH. 247 In the provinces now forming the United States, the Church was indeed neglected by the British Govern- ment, and forbidden to complete her necessary organization. Bui in Upper Canada she has been stripped of endowments which a republican govern- ment would have respected, and at the same time prevented from acting in her own behalf, as an inde- pendent body deriving no appreciable benefit from union with the State. Upper Canada, although ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris, in 1763, was generally a wilderness, inhabited by Indian tribes, until the period of the American Revolution. After that event considerable numbers of American loyalists took refuge in this province, and obtained extensive grants from the Crown, in recompense for their losses and sufferings. A large proportion of them were members of the Church of England, and the govern- ment of the reign of George III. resolved on making a provision for the support of religion among them, as well as for the benefit of future emigrants. By an Act of Parliament, passed in 1791, it was ordained that the governor should allot out of all lands, be- longing to the Crown, granted after that period, one- seventh for the benefit of the " Protestant Clergy" to be solely applicable to their use. The governor, with the advice of the executive council, was also autho- rized to constitute parsonages or rectories, to endow them out of these appropriations, and to present in- cumbents to them, ordained according to the rites of the Church of England. It was supposed that, by this provision, the Clergy would be maintained with- 248 out the irritation consequent on the tithing system in England, and that, as the endowment was given by the Crown before the actual settlement of the land, the hostility of Dissenters would be disarmed, and every just ground of objection would be removed. The authorities had learned something by the experi- ence of the American Revolution, and, accordingly, Canada was not left entirely without Episcopal supervision. A Bishop was established at Quebec, whose Diocese extended westward to Lake Superior, and who superintended, at the beginning of the present century, about twelve clergymen in both Provinces, of whom five were in Upper Canada. For a long course of time the " Clergy Reserves," as they were called, were regarded as the undisputed property of the Church of England. During twenty- eight years the words "Protestant Clergy," in the Act of 1791, were held to apply to them alone. The word " Protestant " was supposed to exclude Roman- ists, and the word " Clergy " to exclude, in like manner, the ministers of all sects dissenting from the English Establishment. But, in the year 1817, the Canadian representa- tives of the Scottish Presbyterian establishment claimed a portion of the " Reserves," and a fruitless attempt was made to refer the claim to the authori- ties in England. The Imperial Government declin- ing to give the Church in the Upper Province the same consideration which it readily accorded to the Romanists of French origin in Lower Canada, these endowments became a subject of bitter controversy in the Colonial Legislature. Yet, so long as the (AN \DI.\X CHURCH. 2 !'.' Upper Province remained a distind Colony, the enemies of the Church, although recruited by all classes of Dissenters ;mI \\ ( 111 K< II. 267 College, where I endeavoured, in vain, to discover the old forest paths with which I had been familiar twelve years before. The woods had been, in a great measure, cleared away, and the whole neighbourhood had become civilized, though ('lunch affairs were by no means in the most satisfactory condition. The new Bishop had met with difficulties similar to those of Bishop Chase, hut maintained his ground, while great changes were going forward among the Pro- fessors. From Columbus I proceeded by coach 120 miles over a good macadamized road to Cincinnati, where I arrived on the 24th of April. A few hours of steam-navigation took me to my old parish at Madison, in Indiana, and thence a rapid mail-boat conveyed me to Louisville, the commercial metropolis of Kentucky. Hence 80 miles of coach-travelling, over a good road, brought me to Lexington. Twelve days previously not a blade of grass in Canada had begun to germinate, nor had a bud showed itself on any of the trees. But here, in latitude 38°, the country appeared very beautiful, the woods being in full leaf, the rye in ear, and the apples and peaches already formed. The acacia, too, was in full flower, and I felt charmed by the sudden contrast of winter and summer. After concluding my business, I found myself, on the 4th of May, ascending the Ohio, in a steamer, on my way to Philadelphia. Among my fellow-pas- sengers was Dr. Rosati, a Neapolitan by birth, and at that time Roman Catholic Bishop of St. Louis (in Missouri). The Rev. Father Lutz and another priest were in his company, and the whole party 268 CANADA, AND THE were on their way to Rome, expecting to sail from New York for Liverpool, by the steamer " British Queen." I found the Bishop agreeable, well- informed, and ready to converse, especially on theo- logical topics. He stated that he was a subscriber to the Oxford Tracts, which he read with much interest, and some of which he considered likely to be instru- mental in the "conversion" of England to the "true faith." He could not understand, however, how the winters of them, "nearly Catholic as they were," could find it in their hearts to abuse the Romanists so unmercifully. He expressed his conviction that "Newman and Pusey" would never succeed in effecting their object within the pale of the English Church, and that the movement would end in the secession of many Englishmen to the Church of Rome. The Bishop stated that 280 Protestants of various sects had joined his Church in the Diocese of St. Louis, in the course of the last year ; and Father Lutz added that, during the same period, he had himself admitted 108 Protestants, who had become fully persuaded of the divine authority of the " Church." Speaking of the Falls of Niagara, the Bishop said that in the whole course of his life he had seen but one spectacle more splendid, and that was the cataract of fire at the eruption of Vesuvius in 1811. He was a firm believer in the miracle of St. Januarius, which he had seen performed under circumstances which, he averred, precluded the possibility of deception. He thought it incredible that all the Neapolitan Bishops for more than a thousand years should have agreed to connive at a CANADIAN CHI i:< ll. 200 monstrous and wicked imposture. Sir Humphrey Davy, be added, had convinced himself thai the liquefaction was unaccountable on scientific prin- ciples. There was also, he stated, a stone at Pozzuoli marked with stains of the same holy blood, which changed their colour at the precise moment of the liquefaction in Naples, as English travellers had de- termined by the help of chronometers, lie men- tioned that lie had witnessed another wonderful miracle at Paris, during the imprisonment of the Pope under Bonaparte, and while he himself was a student of divinity in the French capital. Together with a friend in priest's orders, he had attended a person confined by a mortified leg in a hospital of incurables. During these visits the patient exhibited great faith, in consequence of which the case was brought by the priest before the notice of the im- prisoned Pontiff. His Holiness was much moved by the recital, and, lifting up the corner of his cassock, tore off a small square piece, which he de- sired the priest to lay upon the mortified member. This direction having been complied with, on the following day the " incurable " rose from his bed in health and strength, and w T as seen by Rosati walking in the garden of the hospital. I felt much interested by the conversation of this worthy Bishop, and have now given his narrative (I believe) precisely as I heard it from his lips. His argument respecting St. Januarius would have been more convincing had I not recollected the case of the "miraculous" Fire produced annually for centuries in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at 270 CANADA, AXD THE Jerusalem, and, nevertheless, regarded by the Ro- manists themselves as a mere delusion. The story of the chronometers I have never been able to examine ; but, as to the opinion of Sir Humphrey Davy, we are informed by Dr. Townsend that a chemist at Berlin has been led to an opposite conclusion by the result of actual experiment. As for the miracle of the mortified leg, it is unnecessary to deny that Bishop Rosati was himself satisfied of its reality. But the frequency of similar narratives among various opposing sects, seems to warrant us in abstaining from hasty theological inferences, even supposing the facts themselves to be clearly proved. I travelled upwards of 300 miles with the Bishop and his companions, and could not but notice that by the suavity of their manners, they rapidly gained the good-will of the very miscellaneous assemblage on board the vessel. But being myself attacked in argument by an infidel, I was rather surprised to find one of the priests, and he, too, apparently the meekest of the party, supporting the propositions of the enemy of all Christianity. Having left the steamer at Pittsburg, I proceeded by coach through a part of Pennsylvania, with the object of taking passage in a railway train, which left a particular terminus at five o'clock in the morning. The driver made some unnecessary delay, and, to my great disappointment, the train had started some time when I arrived at the station. I was taken forward, however, by another train at nine o'clock, and, after advancing some distance, I observed the broken locomotive and crushed car- CANADIAN CHURCH. 271 riages of the five (/clock train, lying upset in an excavation by the Bide of the road. 1 proceeded home by way of Philadelphia, New York, Albany, Oswego, and the St. Lawrence. During the following year I was again troubled with ill health, and suffered much from weakness produced by violent fevers. At the same time my scholastic duties had greatly increased, and adequate assistance could not be obtained within the Province. 1 had for some time been engaged in clerical duty in Canada, with the Bishop's approbation, riding thirty-two miles on horseback, and officiating at two stations every Sunday. Yet I was aware that, legally, I did not occupy the same position with the rest of my clerical brethren, and that a settled parochial charge was therefore beyond my reach. The ground of this disability was the Act of George III., 26, under which the Bishops for the United States were originally consecrated. By this it was provided that no person ordained by Bishops consecrated under that Act, or by their successors, should be thereby enabled to exercise his office within his Majesty's Dominions. Early, however, in the reign of Victoria, several of the English and Colonial Bishops desired that this Act should be modified, so far as to legalize the officiating of such clergymen within the dominions of the British Crown, when duly licensed by Epis- copal authority. A bill to that effect was accord- ingly introduced into the Imperial Parliament, but it unfortunately underwent so many alterations in Committee, that it possessed a very repulsive aspect, 272 CANADA, AND THE when, finally, it obtained the Royal Assent. Under this Act (3 and 4 Victoria, c. 33) it was provided that clergymen ordained in the United States, and properly recommended, might officiate in England and Ireland (but not elsewhere) for two Sundays, under a special Episcopal license. If they should officiate otherwise than according to these provi- sions, they were now rendered liable, for each offence, to a fine of Fifty Pounds. The hardship of this Act consisted chiefly in its absolutely excluding those ordained in the United States (even though British Subjects), not only from the Colonies, but from the Episcopal Church in Scotland. Hitherto it had been supposed that in Scotland at least they were free, and that in the Colonies, though ineligible to preferment, they might officiate by the consent of a Bishop. But the new Act placed them at the mercy of any common informer, while the power of granting them a license, even for two Sundays, was restricted to the Bishops of England and Ireland. And, at the same time, Roman Catholic priests and Dissenting preachers, whether ordained in the United States or elsewhere, were allowed perfect liberty to officiate, or to settle, in any portion of her Majesty's dominions which they might select. The Bishop of Toronto had encouraged me to hope when first this Act was proposed, that under its provisions I might be admitted to a permanent clerical engagement within his Diocese. But when it was finally published in the harsh and uncatholic form described above, all hopes of this nature were at an end, and I accepted a nomination from my CANADIAN (III KCII. 273 old friend Bishop Kemper, as Theological Professor in ;i College founded by him, near St. Louis, in Missouri. Before proceeding so very far westward, I was anxious to visit my English friends, whom 1 had not seen since the year 1829. Accordingly, having closed my connexion with the Canadian government, and parted with my numerous pupils, several of whom are now active missionaries, I commenced my journey to England, on Friday, June 11th, 1841 ; arrived at New York early on the following Mon- day, and at six in the evening of the same day, set sail for England in the packet ship United States. On the 8th of July we were in sight of Cape Clear, and on the following day I beheld the green fields and church-towers of England, with great gladness of heart, after an absence of nearly twelve years. During my residence in America, two Sovereigns had successively mounted the throne; policemen, rail- roads, and postage stamps had been introduced ; the Reform Bill had been carried ; tithes had been commuted ; many bishoprics had been abolished ; and a multiplicity of other changes had been effected. Having landed at Liverpool I proceeded by a night train to London, and the next day, being Sunday, I attended divine service at St. Paul's Cathedral. In the course of the two following days I visited the chapel at Lambeth, in which Bishop White was consecrated, and had interviews with the principal persons connected with the Society for Propagating the Gospel. A journey of a few hours by the Great N 5 274 CANADA, AND THE Western Railway, conveyed me afterwards to my friends in Wiltshire. The good Bishop Burgess had been dead several years, and I saw his monument near the spot where I had received his blessing. But his successor in the Episcopal Palace was very kind and attentive, and gave me his license to officiate in his Diocese to the utmost extent permitted by the Act of Parliament. I now began the work of collecting a library for Bishop Kemper's new College, in which I met with great encouragement. At Oxford several large packages of valuable theological works were pre- sented to me ; the venerable Archbishop and several other Prelates volunteered their generous contribu- tions ; and from many parts of the country, as well as from Churchmen of different schools, I received substantial tokens of interest in the spiritual welfare of the West. At the close of August I visited Edinburgh, where I was aware that a Synod of the Scottish Bishops was about to assemble. Having been introduced to the Bishops of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, these prelates expressed their belief that the Scottish Episcopal Church was open to clergymen ordained in the United States. The former Bishop distinctly recollected the consecration of Bishop Seabury, at which his father officiated, although he was himself but six years old at the time. The Bishop of Edinburgh showed me the original concordate be- es o tween the Scottish and American Churches, which he believed no Act of Parliament could possibly affect. < w \i>i w < 111 i;< 11. 275 On the following day I wrote a letter to the Synod, in which I distinctly put the question, whether a clergyman ordained in the United States would meet with any obstacle in the way of his becoming connected with a congregation in Scotland. Having obtained the advice of eminent counsel, the Bishops ascertained the real state of the law, and, in the course of the day, replied to the effect that although they desired to maintain Catholic inter- course with the American Church, they were unable to guarantee any American-ordained clergyman against the penalties inflicted, for the first time, by the recent Act of Parliament. It was, however, suggested to me that a Private Act might possibly be obtained, which would remove all difficulties. At this period, however, my engagements lay in the far West, and having effected all my objects in visiting the "old country," I was on board the steam-ship Acadia, at Liverpool, on the lGth of Sep- tember. My companion was the Right Rev. Dr. Meade, Bishop of Virginia, then returning to attend the General Convention ; and the first day of our voyage being Sunday, we both officiated, as on sub- sequent occasions, in the principal cabin. The Bishop mentioned that previously to his departure from London, the venerable Archbishop had sent him a letter, in which he expressed his wish that the English and American Churches might here- after be more closely and visibly united. Among the numerous passengers, were also a gentleman and lady from Virginia, who had been travelling very extensively in Egypt and the East. 276 CANADA, AND THE They informed me that they hud never seen a finer country in Europe or America, than that part of Palestine which formerly belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, where the richness and abundance of the crops were incredible. They expressed their belief that Yankee emigrants could make all parts of Palestine as fruitful as in ancient times, with the exception of Judea, which they considered too sterile to be reclaimed. During the voyage, at Bishop Meade's request, I carefully read a voluminous work, on the " Eule of Faith," written in opposition to the " Tractarian Divines." On the 3rd of October we arrived at Halifax, where we took on board the excellent Dr. Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia, and proceeded, after a few hours, on our voyage to Boston. The same evening, after Divine Service, we were overtaken by a tremendous hurricane, which tore our sails to rags, and obliged the steamer to lie to for seventeen hours. Early in the following morning I was awakened by Bishop Meade, who desired me to come on deck to behold the awful sublimity of a spectacle, which he considered equal to Niagara itself. The sea was rolling " mountains high," in the full sense of that metaphorical expression, the vast outlines of the waves being just visible through the surrounding fog. The howling of the wind in the funnel and through the rigging, produced at the same time a horrible imitation of the organ and the iEolian harp. On the 5th of October the gale moderated, and we ran into Boston Bay, where, on entering smooth water, a thanksgiving service was ( \N A DI AN CHURCH. 277 performed by the two Bishops and myself, the passengers gladly uniting with us in heart, I believe, as well as in voice. We parted from Bishop Inglis at the wharf, and at seven in the evening were comfortably established for the night, at the " Marlborough House," a Temperance Hotel extensively patronized by quiet and steady persons of all denominations. According to the rule of the establishment, morning and evening prayers were daily performed, and the Bishop was called upon to officiate almost imme- diately after his arrival. The next morning we left Boston at six o'clock, by the railroad, on our way to New York. We were soon made aware of a terrible catastrophe, from which we had been saved by the delay of the Acadia during the hurricane. The train of the previous day had come in collision with another train proceeding at full speed in an opposite direction. In consequence of this accident forty or fifty persons had either been killed or severely wounded, and, among the number, two Clergymen on their w r ay to the General Convention. About the middle of the day we passed the broken fragments of locomotives, tenders, and carriages, which had been removed from the line in time to allow us to pass without delay. The Bishop and myself, as we viewed the sad memorials of devasta- tion and death, inwardly returned thanks for the hurricane, which, under Providence, seemed to have been the sole cause of our preservation. In the even- ing we arrived at Hudson, on the North River, from whence we were conveyed by a steamer to New York. 278 CANADA, AND THE CANADIAN CHURCH. The General Convention had been a few days in session, and Bishop Meade and myself were gladly welcomed by our respective friends among the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity. I was much gratified by the dignified appearance of this great assembly, in which Bishop Griswold and Bishop Moore were particularly conspicuous, by their white hairs and truly venerable appearance. Being, however, anxious to rejoin my family, after conferring with Bishop Kemper, I proceeded to Canada, and arrived at Brock ville on the afternoon of the 12th. On the following Friday, the loth, we commenced our journey of nearly 1,600 miles westward. TVe went along the Lakes and through Ohio, by the route already described, took a steamer at Portsmouth, and, after a short visit in Kentucky, again embarked, and proceeded to the mouth of the Ohio, at Cairo. Here we entered the Mississippi, and began to toil upwards against its broad and rapid current. In the course of a day we passed the wrecks of thirteen steamers, sunk by coming in contact with " snags ;" their funnels, and sometimes a portion of the upper- deck, appearing above the surface of the muddy water. On the 15th of November we safely com- pleted our long voyage, and, landing at the hand- some city of St. Louis, were soon established within the walls of " Kemper College." 270 CHAPTER XL INFLUENCES OPERATING ON THE AMERICAN CHURCH. Influence of Early History. — Defective ideas of the Episcopal Office. — Laxity in regard to Matrimony and Divorce. — Political influences on the first General Convention. — Alterations in the Prayer-Book. — Influences of the Civil Government. — Peculiar influence of a New Country. — Influence of Slavery. — Influence of surrounding religious bodies. — American Sects described. — Influence of the Church of England. — Evil effects of certain influences. — Synodical Action. — Position of the Clergy. — Their continued increase notwithstanding. — A Convert's view of the Church. Having conducted the reader once more to trans- atlantic ground, it may be proper in this place to introduce a description of various influences ope- rating on the American Church. Unless these are fully comprehended, it will be impossible to form a correct estimate of the existing character and future prospects of our western brethren. I shall not here speak of those spiritual influences by which " the whole body of the Church is 280 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON governed and sanctified," and which, by divine mercy, can produce most blessed fruits under the most unfavourable external circumstances. Nor does my subject lead me to consider those invisible powers of a different description against which the Church is bound to contend. I shall direct the reader's attention chiefly to the influences of past history, and of -present position. The circumstances of the Church during that dark century and a half, in which it was destitute of Episcopal ride, continue to be felt in their injurious effects even at the present moment. Several gene- rations had succeeded each other, without any personal experience of those functions which pecu- liarly appertain to the highest office of the Christian Ministry. And when, at last, Bishops were ob- tained, they consequently appeared rather as a mere order in the organization of the Church, than as the principle of her continuance. Synodical Action too, from the necessity of the case, had preceded them ; and a loose idea had gained strength, that, excepting in the points of Ordination and Confirmation, a Bishop differed very little from an ordinary priest. The Apostolical Succession was, indeed, generally held as a fact, and, but for their faith in it, American Churchmen would not have persevered in their un- wearied efforts to obtain Consecration from England. But it was not at once seen, nor is it yet generally perceived, how much is involved in that Succession ; and what vast conserpiences must result from its reception as a fundamental truth. Thus, as I have remarked, Bishops, in the first in- THE A.MKIIK AN ( III RCH. 281 stance, derived their titles in America from persons, rather than from fixed geographical localities. In consequence of this novel arrangement, the idea of a ('iif/n-ilntl* properly speaking, has not, even to the presenl time, been seriously entertained. Christian liturgical worship in its highest sense, is therefore rather a poetical dream than a living and energetic reality. So again the ( 'onsecration of I Jurial-G rounds, from previous disuse, had come to be regarded as a kind of superstition, and the American Church has not yet deemed its introduction expedient. The public, therefore, have lost sight of a striking visible testimony to the Catholic Doctrine of the Resurrec- tion of the Flesh; while the burial of corpses in gardens, fields, and unprotected cemeteries, has tended to lessen the reverence due to the deceased. And possibly the weakening of respect for the dead may have some connexion with that disregard for human life, which European travellers have generally noticed in America. Even the consecration of a Church seems for many years to have been con- sidered more as an edifying ceremony, than as an actual gift of the building to Almighty God. Hence it has happened that consecrated buildings have often been used for purposes by no means conducive to Christian edification. Conventions are generally held in them, the members of which are frequently indulged in a latitude of speech, by no means in keeping with a sanctuary of religion. Churches have been lent for College Commencements ; and the declamations of schoolboys have amused the numerous spectators in the galleries and pews. And, 282 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON finally, when the congregation has outgrown its house of worship, the consecrated building itself has been sold as a meeting-house, for schismatical or even heretical congregations. Yet in these respects, as well as in many others, the great Church-move- ment of late years has not been without its beneficial results. Another effect of early laxity is seen in the de- fective ideas which may still be found in the Church with respect to Holy Matrimony. The English table of degrees within which marriages may not be contracted has not yet become the law of the Ameri- can Church, notwithstanding repeated attempts to that effect on the part of pious and able members of the General Convention. Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is not an uncommon occurrence, and is not generally discouraged by the Bishops and Clergy. The Church has not sufficiently opposed herself to mere civil contracts performed before magistrates, notwithstanding the levity and folly by which such " marriages " are often characterized. When the rite is performed by a Clergyman, as of course is customary among Church-people, it not unfrequcntly takes place in private houses, and at late hours of the day, to the great prejudice of solemnity and decorum. The service also, in the Prayer-Book itself, has been materially abbreviated, as if it were deemed a dis- agreeable business, to be concluded as quickly as possible. While the Roman Catholic authorities in America have opposed the practice of divorce and subsequent marriage, the Reformed Church has too generally acquiesced in the dangerous latitude in THE amki:i< A\ CHURCH. 283 thai respect allowed by many of the State Legisla- tures. The circumstances of the earlier General Con- ventions may also be reckoned among the historical influences of a detrimental character. After all their efforts to obtain Bishops, those bodies seemed, in a measure, to partake in the general dread of some- thing terrible in the Episcopal character. Accord- ingly, instead of welcoming their prelates as spiritual fathers, worthy of all confidence, the Conventions surrounded them by many close restrictions and pre- cise limitations. The constitutional prerogatives of the Episcopate have, indeed, been considerably ex- tended since that early period, and at no time would the real weight of the Episcopal office in America have been fairly estimated by the actual letter of the Canons. Yet, even now, a European reader of those Canons might be led to infer that American Bishops required strict control to prevent their breaking out into some dreadful act of tyranny. An explanation of this apparent jealousy is found in the fact that the first General Conventions were held while the entire nation was exulting in the successful issue of its revolt against ancient authority. It was the fashion of the age to define accurately the rights of the people ; the duties of filial confidence and Christian docility had not been proportionately brought for- ward. The alterations of the Prayer-Book, made at the same period, contain many evidences of the bold and self-sufficient spirit produced by surrounding circum- stances. The able and critical Dr. Coit, appointed, 284 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON with others, by the General Convention in 1841, to report on the subject of a standard Prayer-Book, writes as follows, in a valuable paper addressed to that body. u The English Liturgy, in its seemingly least essential arrangements, pursues a system, which proves it to have been digested by those who under- stood Liturgical propriety far better than ice do." On the Lord's Prayer he remarks : " Many English critics, and critics among ourselves, have objected to the change of 'who' for ' which.' The Church of England had already made a similar change in the Apostle's Creed, the older forms of which read, ' Which was conceived by the Holy Ghost.' The change of * those who ' for < them that,' equally gram- matical and more euphonic, admits of no such ex- tenuation." Speaking of the labours of himself and the rest of the Committee, Dr. Coit thus concludes his useful paper. " While your committee have gathered up more and more respecting the plan of the Liturgy, its harmony, and its almost inspired felicity in com- bining taste with devotion, they have been more and more persuaded that they were but just fitted to begin their task. This consolation, however, re- mains to them : they have sown for the future. Others may enter into their labours, a spirit and a system of criticism may be brought into exercise, which will not only make the Liturgy in all respects what it should be, but guard it with provident care, and hand it down to distant times, unalloyed in its truth, and untarnished in its glorious beauty." Such is the matured and chastened judgment of THE ami;i:i< \\ < m i;< n. 285 modern American scholars. Bui in the early Con- ventions there were few such critics as the writer of the above, and, hut for Divine mercy, the spirit of change would have produced the most disastrous results. And now that many of the alterations of the Prayer-Hook are deeply regretted, the state of parties is such that any change for the better has become a delicate and difficult undertaking. With all its variations, however, the American Prayer- Book is substantially the same with our own; and we may thank Providence that so much was saved when all might have been lost. A second important source of influence is the Civil Government. The Constitution of the Church was professedly adapted to that of the American Re- public, and the popular element is consequently powerful, to an extent not unattended with danger. The Conventions, both General and Diocesan, have occasionally been arenas for intrigue and stratagem, while, in the election of a Bishop, there has some- times been an exhibition of the same party animosity which accompanies the election of a Governor or a President. Christian courtesy and gentlemanly feel- ing, of course, possess their weight in restraining the spirit of faction ; still the existence of such a spirit is acknowledged, and is sometimes made a subject of actual apology. The democratic habits common to the nation tend to encourage the desire of popularity, and to produce a dread of giving offence to a majority. A majority is, in fact, a sovereign possessed of irresponsible 286 INFLUENCES OPERATING OX authority, and it often docs the work of crashing in- dependence as effectually, at least, as the most tre- mendous solitary autocrat. In proportion, too, as the Church is under democratic influences, the clergy are in danger of losing their proper simplicity of character, and of engaging in the arts of political belligerents. The same cause promotes among the people that admiration of mere oratorical talent which tends to sink the careful and affectionate pastor in the eloquent and popular preacher. Yet if republicanism has its dangerous tendencies, it possesses also its favourable and salutary in- fluences. The practical and business habits of the Clergy and Laity in their Conventions may be traced to this source. There is much in the general equality of the people which renders an American parish an encouraging sphere of clerical labour. The prevailing freedom from poverty, as well as from great wealth, removes many temptations to vice, while an almost universal competence promotes in- telligence, encourages marriage, and otherwise assists in producing a wholesome state of society. The parishioners possess habits of co-operation, and can assemble together to promote common objects with- out fearing the loss of dignity from contact, with inferiors. And, for the same reason, all of the juvenile members of the flock can be collected in the same Church schools under the care of their common pastor. The people generally, too, are able to com- prehend discourses on difficult points of theology or morals, and can appreciate, intellectually, the histori- I III. A.MKKK AN ( 111 i:< II. 287 cal and other arguments by which tin; cause of the ( Jhurch is sustained. To tin- may be added those peculiar influences of a young and improving country, which, of course, exist in the British Colonies no less than in the new parts of the United States. The Bishop of Toronto truly remarks in his late Charge, "There is an energy indigenous to new countries, which, if di- rected by religion, can do wonders. The self- reliance and enterprise which first enable an emigrant to quit the comforts of more civilized society for a life in the woods, are a basis upon which we may build. Such men learn to disregard difficulties, to surmount obstacles, and to do many things which, in other circumstances, they would expect to be done for them. Moreover, the solitude of the forest is favourable to reflection, and leads to the feeling that religion is necessary, even to the temporal well-being of society. Hence we have some elements furnished in the most unpromising localities, which, if tenderly touched, may be followed with abundant fruit." The rapid advancement, too, of all things around, communicates an impetus to Church affairs which is often highly exhilarating to a zealous pastor. An influence of a very different character is that of Negro Slavery, introduced by England during the Colonial period. Like the Church of England in the old Colonies and in the West Indies, the American Church has generally acquiesced in the existing state of public feeling on this distressing subject. She lias considered it the part of wisdom to deprecate the discussion of the principles on 288 INFLUENCES OPERATING OX which slavery is based, lest her own peace should be endangered, and the situation of the neoro rendered still more unsatisfactory. And although many of her Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, have ex- erted themselves nobly in the cause of negro edu- cation, and, in those States where manumission is permitted by law, have sometimes emancipated their own slaves, the Church has not yet collectively assumed the position which English philanthropists would generally desire. It is true that nearly three-quarters of the American Episcopalians are residents in the Free States, and, consequently, escape any direct partici- pation in the greater evils resulting from slavery. But they have not yet conquered that prejudice which places even the free-born " man of colour " in a degraded position. The Clergy and Laity of African descent are debarred from that share in Church affairs to which, by the Canons, they are entitled. Distinctions unworthy of a Catholic Church are permitted to exist among Worshippers, Catechumens, Communicants, and Candidates for Orders. The taint of African blood is sufficient to exclude young men of excellent character from Episcopalian Schools, Colleges, and Theological Seminaries. On this account, an American Priest has lately obtained, in an English L^niversity, and at English cost, those literary advantages for which he thirsted, and which had been denied him in his native country. Another very powerful source of influence on the Church is found in the various dissenting denomina- THE AMl'.KH \\ CHURCH. 289 tions, by which the Church is surrounded and generally overshadowed. The preponderance of these sects has already been traced to the early Colonial period. Perhaps, if the entire American population of twenty- four millions were divided according to their reli- gious affinities, not more than a twelfth part would be assigned to our Reformed Church. Of the re- maining eleven parts, possibly one and a half might consist of Roman Catholics, one of Congregational- ists, two of Presbyterians, two of Methodists, and two and a half of Baptists, allowing two for a multi- tude of smaller sects. This estimate is, of course, only a rough approximation to the truth, and is here introduced chiefly as exhibiting the nature of the religious atmosphere amidst which the Church exists. The Roman Catholic hierarchy (as we learn from the "Catholic Herald") is almost entirely foreign^ and dates from 1790, six years after the consecration of Bishop Seabury. Of thirty-two Bishops, eight are Frenchmen, seven Irish, two Belgians, two Canadians, one Swiss, one Spanish, and only eleven Americans. Of their priests, only 170 are Americans, being less than a seventh part of the whole. Of the rest, 250 (or one fifth) of the entire number are Germans, 220 French, seventy Belgians, forty Span- iards, twenty Swiss, eight or ten Canadians, the same number of Portuguese, the same number of Poles and Hungarians, and three or four English. The entire amount is under 1,300. The Clergy of the "Protestant Episcopal Church" are not only more numerous, but are generally natives of the United States. o 290 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON The Roman Catholic body is far from popular in the United States : and although, as I have remarked, it gains largely by emigration, many of those who have been attached to it in Europe cease to attend mass after arriving in America. Their schools and colleges are numerous and w ell-con ducted, and, for a long course of years, the priests and nuns, being Europeans, imparted a more thorough and steady education than could be obtained from others. Many Protestant children were consequently com- mitted to their care, some of whom became their proselytes. Monstrous fictions, like those of Maria Monk, propagated by ultra-Protestants, have, by a kind of reaction, tended also to advance the Romish cause. During the recent movement, the American Episcopal Church has lost by secession to Rome a small number of its Clergy, proportionate in amount, perhaps, to those who have quitted the Church of England, though commonly of an inferior class. Several Roman Catholic priests have also recently become "Protestant Episcopalians." Dr. Hughes, the Romish Archbishop of New York, is regarded in America much in the same way as Cardinal Wise- man among ourselves. Partly from their character as foreigners, and partly from the spirit of their religion, the Roman Catholics are generally less dis- posed than others to make invidious distinctions in regard to African descent. The Methodists are numerous all over the United States. Their system of "Church" government is little more democratic than that of the Romanists, the Laity having no voice in " ecclesiastical" councils, THE AMERICAN CHUR( M. 291 while the "bishops" and preachers regulate the con- cerns of the entire body. Their camp-meetinga often present remarkable spectacles of enthusiasm. Sermons and exhortations follow each other in quick succession ; the most lively hymns are sung for, perhaps, an hour together; and extemporaneous prayers are uttered with extreme force of language and gesticulation. The assembled thousands become wonderfully excited; they shout "Glory," and "Amen;" they scream, jump, roar, clap their hands, and even fall into swoons, convulsions, and death-like trances. And all this is supposed by many to be the immediate work of the Divine Spirit. The Methodists are now divided into several minor denominations, and the "Episcopal" portion of them has been split into two parts by the discussion of slavery. The Presbyterians are a powerful, and, usually, an intelligent body, in the middle, southern, and western States. The " old-school" party resembles the Estab- lished Kirk of Scotland, while the new school, with its separate General Assembly, is more akin to the Congregationalists or Independents. The former adheres to a strict interpretation of the Westminster Confession, while the latter adopts that confession only so far as it is deemed agreeable to the Holy Scriptures. The Baptists are more respectable for their charac- ter and influence in the Eastern States than in any other part of the country. Some of the Baptist sects, however, deny the Divinity of Christ. Some restrict the gifts of the Holy Ghost to those who 292 INFLUENCES OPERATING OX have been Immersed. Others are complete fatal- ists, and consider the religious education of children a sacrilegious interference with divine grace. On the whole, the American Baptists are a collection of religious bodies, agreeing in little besides immersion and the rejection of infant baptism. The Congrcgationalists, as I have already stated, are the descendants of the old Puritans, and are chiefly found in New England, where they are an intelligent and influential class. Boston has its Unitarians, New York its Dutch-Reformed, and Philadelphia its Quakers. Besides these, and others who might be mentioned, are the Universalists, the Swedenborgians, the Lutherans, the Moravians, the Mennonites, the German-Reformed, the Dunkers, the Shakers, the Jews, and last, but not least, the Mor- mons. Among the Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and " evangelical" Churchmen, religious revivals, as they are called, were formerly more common than at present. In the first instance they often consisted of a deep seriousness, and a great tenderness of con- science, which quickly extended over a congregation, a college, or an entire neighbourhood. Many persons commenced simultaneously a religious life, according to the best of their belief, and persevered in habits of prayer and piety. But a spurious kind of revival afterwards began, which ultimately brought much dis- credit on revivals in general. A number of preachers would assemble, and continue their harangues for many days in succession, with the avowed object of getting up an excitement. A fever was produced in THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 203 the public mind, which was mistaken for religious fervour. Women then began t<> pray and exhort in public, persons under excitemenl were called forward to the " anxious benches" to make confession, the ordinary business of life was suspended, and a vain, irreverent, and showy religion was encouraged. The language of harsh denunciation was directed against all who disapproved of these proceedings; reason was outraged, common sense shocked, and the Holy Ghost blasphemed. Sometimes even, in endeavour- ing to make a convert, the unwise and frantic preacher would make a madman. The phenomena of American revivals are to be ascribed, in a great measure, to the republican equality of the people, and to their consequent habit of thinking and acting in masses, rather than as individuals. In England, the various gradations of society tend to break the effect of any public excitement. But in America, where such gradations are hardly recognized, a sudden political or religious frenzy will often spread with wonderful facility, and, like a fire in the prairies, will only cease to blaze when it has destroyed the material of combustion. The monstrous eccentricities of some of the sects have tended to bring religion into contempt, to strengthen the hands of infidels, and to pave the way for portentous Antichristian systems, the dark outlines of which are already visible in the moral horizon. Still there is much true piety pervading the heterogeneous multitude, and shining examples of excellence may be found among Romanists and Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Methodists, 294 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON and, in short, all who maintain on the whole the truths of the primitive creeds. Yet it cannot be forgotten that these divisions are a prodigious evil in practice, since, in public estimation, they cause Christianity to be regarded more as an occasion of animosity than as a bond of peace. Indeed, the importance of some kind of union is so obvious, that society often rights itself at the expense of doctrinal peculiarities, and all but the most general Christianity comes to be regarded as mischievous and intolerable superstition. The influence of surrounding sects upon the Church cannot, therefore, be otherwise than power- ful, while it is increased by various circumstances in addition to actual contact. A large proportion of Episcopalians, both Clergy and Laity, have origi- nally, themselves, belonged to sectarian bodies. Out of 631 persons confirmed during the last year by the Bishop of Western New York, 315 were converts from various dissenting denominations. Although such converts may have united with the Church from a sincere and intelligent preference, they re- tain many of their former habits of thought and expression. They cannot forget those who were their fathers, mothers, or teachers ; and early asso- ciations are too strong to be easily laid aside. Dis- senters also generally extol the piety, liberality, and intelligence of those Churchmen who are willing to merge their " peculiarities," while they denounce those who adopt an opposite course, as Pharisees, formalists, and bigots. Add to this the before-men- tioned tendency of American society to liberalism, THE AMERICAN CHI RCH. 295 together with the steady effect of indifference on the part of the State, and the natural result is a too common disregard of dogmatic points in the minds even of many well-meaning Churchmen. From a similar source, probably, several of the more objectionable alterations in the Prayer-Book origi- nated. I have alluded to a Rubric (happily seldom acted upon), which permits a Clergyman to omit the sign of the Cross in baptism. Another Rubric, also referred to in Chapter VI., allows any Church to omit the words in the Creed, " He descended into Hell," or to substitute explanatory words in their stead, the result of which is sometimes a painful con- fusion in a very solemn part of the service. Again, another Rubric, as if in condescension to sectarian habits of mind, allows a variation from the established form even in ordaining a priest. Instead of the words beginning, "Receive the Holy Ghost," any Bishop may substitute the following : " Take thou authority to execute the office of a Priest in the Church of God, now committed to thee by the im- position of our hands ; and be thou a faithful dis- penser of the Word of God, and of His Holy Sacra- ments, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." But the influence of surrounding sects has opera- ted so far as to produce unauthorized variations from even the mitigated rule of the American Prayer- Book. Some Clergymen seem to think it expedient, generally, to give way to dissenting prejudices. On Communion occasions I have actually known a Bishop to invite the members of other denominations 296 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON to partake of the sacred feast, notwithstanding the Rubric forbidding any to be admitted to the Com- munion until they are at least desirous of being Con- firmed. Some Clergymen shorten the public worship, by omitting, on their own responsibility, the whole Communion Service, or even the Litany. Some, on the other hand, lengthen it, by intro- ducing an extemporaneous prayer at the close of the sermon. Some neglect to wear the surplice ; and I have known a person in Holy Orders avIio refused to wear not only the surplice, but even the gown and bands. Irregularities of this kind are generally, but not always, found in newly-settled districts, where society is imperfectly organized, where the Clergy are young and inexperienced, and where the Dis- senters are overwhelming in numbers, as well as abounding in prejudices. But it very frequently happens that sectarian in- fluence acts precisely in the opposite direction, and produces an unflinching and determined Churchman- ship. This has especially been the case where the Church has met with persecution, and has been the object of civil penalties and disabilities in the old Colonial times. In the course of less than a century many curious effects of reaction have become dis- tinctly visible. Puritan Xew England is now the stronghold of High Churchmanship, while a kind of Church Puritanism prevails in Virginia, the ancient home of the Cavaliers. Infant Baptism, at the hands of regular Clergymen, is becoming general in Ana- baptist Rhode Island ; while the proportion of Epis- copalian communicants is unusually large in what THE AMERICAN CHI RCH. 297 was formerly the sacrament-despising colony of Penn- sylvania. One of the principal influences, however, fell by the American Church, is, as might be expected, that of the Church of England. It is already known to the reader that, by the direct influence of the English Archbishops and Bishops, many dangerous alterations in the Prayer-Book, proposed by the early General Convention, were ultimately abandoned. Since that period, various causes have combined to render the prevailing theology in the American Church identical with our own. The literature of America has generally been that of England ; our religious books have been extensively imported or reprinted, and, with all their mingled inconsistencies and excellences, have possessed a most important share in the formation of opinion. Supposing, then, that the American Church had been wholly free from sectarian influences, she would still have received from England ample materials for varying schools of theology. Hence it is that (excepting in points relating to the Establishment) we behold beyond the Atlantic a reflection of our divisions, and a repeti- tion of our controversies ; while even our religious newspapers and magazines are represented by corre- sponding publications in America. To the influence of our literature must now be added the influence of our virtual proximity. After a voyage of little more than a week from the American shores, the delighted Churchman beholds the land of his forefathers — the land to which his earliest imaginations have wan- dered — the land for which he possesses inwardly a o 5 298 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON profound and almost enthusiastic veneration. He is powerfully affected as lie views, in the spirit of a pilgrim, the tombs and other local memorials of our departed poets, legislators, warriors, and divines. He is overwhelmed by the grandeur of our cathedrals, and charmed by the simple antiquity of our parish Churches. Our daily choral services, with all their imperfections, intensely excite his feelings, and pro- duce in his mind strong sensations of mingled tender- ness and devotion. He beholds a Church rich in historic associations, and still exercising a beneficial control over great masses of the population. He beholds a State, which, notwithstanding many down- ward steps, still maintains, at least, an outward reverence for fixed principles of religion. He per- ceives that, with all its faults, the Church of England is indeed a great and powerful body, containing many germs, for which a grand development may yet be reserved. He finds himself also courteously received as a friend and a brother by many of the wise and good, whose names he has hitherto known only through the medium of their works. And after filling his mind with noble ideas of loyalty, and of Catholic Truth, after visibly connecting himself with that antiquity, of which he is a rightful heir, he returns to his struggling, but energetic Church at home, refreshed in spirit, and more than ever deter- mined to maintain his principles with firmness, and to continue faithful unto death. There is also, even at present, an amount of eccle- siastical intercourse between the two branches of the Church, which tends greatly to increase their re- TILE AMERICAN CHURCH. 299 ciprocal influence. Tims the Act of Parliament, mentioned in a former Chapter, bus admitted Ameri- can clergymen, under certain conditions, to the min- istry of the Word and Sacraments in the Church of England. The Presiding Bishop of the American Church has inofficially addresssd a Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury on the importance of main- taining, as long as the interests of truth will permit, a connexion between Church and State. The Arch- bishop of Canterbury, in turn, by his Circular to the American Bishops, has united both Churches in celebrating the third Jubilee of the Society for Pro- pagating the Gospel. The Bishops of Exeter and Oxford have also written to their fellow-prelates beyond the Atlantic on the subjects of Baptismal Regeneration and Papal Aggression, and have re- ceived replies expressive of fraternal sympathy. It is now much to be desired that eminent Clergy and Laity of the Church of England should sometimes attend the meetings of the American Conventions, with a view to the still further increase of brotherly feeling. Some of the principal dignitaries in Canada have already on such occasions been received as wel- come guests, with the happiest effects. Several of the influences described in this Chapter have hitherto materially delayed those beneficial re- sults of free Synodical Action, which under other circumstances might have been justly expected. Although, for example, the Apostolical Succession is generally held in America even by " Low Church" divines, there still remain a number of questions, the settlement of which seems essential to the peace 300 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON and increased efficiency of the Church. Until these important points are decided in England, no Synodi- cal decrees on the part of the daughter Church could possess much authority even with her own members. Hence it is that, up to the present day, the Ameri- can Church remains unprovided with any proper tribunal for the determination of doctrinal contro- versies. Every clergyman accused of heresy is tried, as I have stated, by a Court constituted by his own Bishop, the decisions of which admit of no appeal. And as the practical standard of doctrine varies somewhat in the different Dioceses, it is quite pos- sible that the same individual who is tolerated in one Diocese might be suspended or deposed in another. It has been proposed that a Court of Appeal should be established by the General Con- vention ; but the existing state of parties forbids the consummation of this well-intended project. Indeed, it is probable that a satisfactory settlement can only be effected by the combined action of the whole Reformed Church, American, Colonial, and British. The above-mentioned influences, historical and otherwise, will also serve to explain the position of the American Clergy. Although, as I have stated, the American Church possesses several valuable endowments, her ministers are fir too dependent on their congregations for the means of support, and for continuance in their parochial charge. Judo*e Hoffman, himself an American layman, makes the following unpleasant statement: "The fact is that the laity have almost absolute control over a clergy- man, and they sometimes use it most mercilessly. THE AMERICAS < III UCn. 301 It is within the power of one active, persevering, ill- minded man, to drive from a parish any clergyman, however lit and conscientious; and too often, indeed, is the wretched alternative of poverty or subser- viency presented to the victim of some crude notion of Churchmanship, or some hasty and cherished prejudice." Yet although painful instances of this kind not unfrequently occur, those clergymen are generally most likely to suffer who have entered upon their min- istry with slender qualifications, or who are naturally timid and time-serving. A considerable proportion of the American Clergy are entirely above the temp- tations which appear incident to their situation. Such men possess influential and cultivated minds, think lightly of mere personal comforts, and, although courteous in their manners, fear not the face of any mortal man. These true ministers of the Gospel, instead of being governed by the laity, carry the laity with them, engage them in daily Prayers and frequent Sacraments, and lead them onward to self-denying, costly, and difficult under- takings. The average stipend of an American Clergyman is about the same as that of an English Curate, namely, £100 a year, though in the cities and large towns it greatly exceeds this amount. The Bishop of New York is handsomely supported by an Epis- copal fund, raised originally by voluntary contri- butions, and producing interest at the rate of six per cent. In other Dioceses similar funds have been commenced, though as yet they are far from realiz- 302 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON ing a splendid income. The Missionary Bishops, as I have remarked, derive a fixed salary from the Board of Missions. But generally the Bishops are maintained either by their own private resources, or by congregations of which they are pastors, or even by the laborious work of tuition. It is probable that, ultimately, endowments will become a principal source of the maintenance of the Episcopate, as well as of the parochial Clergy. But in the meantime many inconveniences must be naturally expected. Before, however, we bestow our commiseration on the American Clergy, it may be well to recollect that a large share of worldly comfort is an exception to the general experience of the ministers of the Christian Church. Many things which would be a sore mortification to an English Rector, are com- paratively unheeded by an elastic American, ac- customed to enterprise from his youth, and habi- tuated to the ascendancy of the multitude. If circumstances require him to change his place of abode, like other inhabitants of new countries he will suifer little from the severance of local attach- ments. Should he meet with peculiar difficulties in one field of labour, there are many vacant parishes open to him in which he may receive greater en- couragement. Small as his income may be, he is not expected to give largely to the poor ; for usually the poor, as a considerable class, are not to be found. He pays no direct taxes worth mentioning, and no poor- rates whatever. He is rather the recipient than the dispenser of temporal benefits, while, at the same time, he possesses a few sources of encouragement, already TIIK AMEBK AN ( III K< II. 303 specified, which arc not open to the great body of the English Clergy. His exertions will not gene- rally continue long without producing some cor- responding result, and if lie be moderately faithful to his charge his heart will soon be gladdened by an enlarging flock, and an increasing number of communicants. Many' pleasing tokens of respect and kindness are bestowed upon the Clergy, not only by the members of their own congregation, but by comparative strangers. Medical men and law- yers seldom charge them for their professional services. Sometimes a clergyman receives a wagon load of substantial comforts, such as two or three barrels of flour, a dozen bushels of apples, a barrel of cider, and a sack of coffee. Not unfrecmently he is presented with a new silk gown, or even a complete suit of clerical apparel. I have known a Clergyman to receive several fees for marriage of a hundred dollars each, and similar presents at baptisms and funerals. The Missionary Bishops have been con- veyed thousands of miles by steamers on the western rivers without expense to themselves. A Clergy- man on his way to California was sent free of charge, and in the best style, by the owners of the steamer " Crescent City," from New York to Chagres. I have myself experienced similar civili- ties while travelling on the Ohio Canal; and in hotels I have had the amount of my bill presented to me as a token of respect for the clerical character. Some congregations have paid the expenses of their pastor while travelling for many months in search 304 INFLUENCES OPERATING ON of health. "Within the last year a congregation in Connecticut presented their respected minister with a purse of 300 guineas, to enable him to enjoy the rare gratification of an extensive tour in Europe, including a visit to the Great Exhibition. In fact, those who are conscious of spiritual advantages derived from the Christian ministry, are not gene- rally slow to exhibit manifest tokens of their gratitude. It must also be considered, that notwithstanding the superior worldly attractions of other lines of life, and with a full knowledge of the inconveniences of the Voluntary System, the number of persons, who, from their own choice, enter the ministry of the American Church, has, in fact, doubled in about fifteen years. This is sufficient to show that the Great Head of the Church imparts, in various ways, enough encouragement to induce His servants to undertake those labours on which human excellence and happiness so largely depend. The time is at hand when the American Church will be less sensible of extraneous influences, and, therefore, less under any temptation to compromise. Already, in extensive portions of the country, she herself exerts a powerful and beneficial influence on society, and appears more and more as the actual Church of the people. Old historical influences, so far as they were injurious, are becoming counter- balanced by a new history of earnest and self-deny- ing labours. The stiff and formal idea of a Prelate, as a mere instrument of Confirmation and Ordina- tion, is giving way before Episcopal achievements, in THE AJIEBU LN ( ill i:< ll. 305 some measure worthy of the successors of the Apostles. As the Church becomes more fell in its ecclesiastical influences, the benumbing effect of State indifference to religion is proportionately cor- rected. Surrounding sects, as they gradually col- lapse, exhausted by repeated schisms, cease to cast the Church into an unwholesome shade, while their scattered members, escaping from the wreck, se< k refuge in her as an Ark of safety. Even now in- fluences from the West are felt in the bosom of the ancient mother in England, and an opinion begins to prevail that valuable ideas may be gained from American experience on other subjects, besides the action of a reaping machine, or the structure of a yacht. Lest this Chapter on "Influences" should appear in some respects to warrant conclusions too un- favourable to the Church in America and in Eng- land, I will now close it with the words of a writer in the New York " Churchman," himself a convert from the Presbyterian denomination : — " I w r as drawn towards the Church, not so much by outward phases, as by observing the influences on individual character of a hidden and inward life. I saw the happiest combination of qualities in those individuals, who had been moulded under the lofty and ennobling influences of the Church. I became accpiainted with numbers of persons Avhose simplicity, and fervour, and single-mindedness, introduced me to a religion which I had not supposed to exist on earth. I saw a piety without cant, which I had never seen before — a zeal without noise — a charity 306 INFLUENCES OPERATING, ETC. without show — a character, in short, so formed by the precepts of the Blessed Master, that I could not but feel that here was indeed the Church of God. I had opportunities also of seeing many of those earnest and heavenly-minded Curates, in the villages of Eng- land, who are spending and being spent in daily and unwearied alms-deeds, to an extent that I had never dreamed of as existing. After what I had seen of my own dwindled, dwarfish, and degenerated faith in Switzerland, Germany, and Europe gene- rally, I marvelled the more that a Religion which I had despised, could (even where established and fettered by the law) form hearts so true and lives so pure, neighbourhoods so happy, and a nation so good and great/' 307 CHAPTER XII. RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. Foundation of Kemper College. — Its Professors. — Historical sketch of the country. — Sects in St. Louis. — Roman Catholic statistics. — Visit to the College of the Jesuits. — Public Buildings in St. Louis. — The Planter's House. — Interview with Bishop Chase. — Sketch of his labours from 1831 to the present time. — The Author appointed to proceed to Europe. Kemper College had originated in the same necessi- ties which led to the foundation of the establishment at Gambier. Yet in this case no foreign aid had been requested, and about thirty thousand dollars were raised in America by those who felt desirous of forwarding the great objects of Bishop Kemper. But, in carrying out the scheme, several unfortunate mistakes had been made, which ultimately resulted in the ruin of the whole design. The Legislature of Missouri, jealous of ecclesiastical corporations, had been allowed to confer a Charter on the College, which left its future character too much dependent on certain Trustees, whom it empowered to fill 308 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. vacancies in their body by their own election, with- out any check from the Diocesan Convention. Although these gentlemen were supposed to be Episcopalians, they did not necessarily feel a deep interest in the prosperity of the College as a Church Institution. In fact, through their general in- difference, the real control of the expenditure of the money subscribed devolved upon one or two indi- viduals, who, with the best intentions, were not qualified by their habits for the task thus unfairly imposed upon them. Bishop Kemper possessed little more than a nominal control over the Institution, while, at the same time, contrary to his wishes, his name had been attached to the College in the Act of Incorporation itself. A piece of ground, comprising 125 acres, had been purchased, in a healthy situation, about six miles west of St. Louis, upon which a large brick building was erected, not altogether unlike an English Union-House. The expenses of the work, however, had been allowed to exceed the means actually in hand, and, at the time of my arrival, the property was oppressed by a heavy mortgage. The Clergyman who had been elected President of the College was a o*entleman of considerable talent, recently converted from Presbyterianism through the effect of a visit to England. His lady, wdiose exertions were invaluable to the Institution, was a most amiable person, belonging to one of the best Virginian families, and descended from the re- nowned Princess Pocahontas. There was a Pro- fessor of Languages, also a Clergyman and a convert, on whom the chief burden of tuition devolved. The i:i>m>i;\< i; at st. louis. 309 teacher of Mathematics had been a Presbyterian, and the musical teacher, a clever English organist, had returned to the Church from Mormonism, which he regarded with extreme disgust. The pupils were about forty in number, and, with a few exceptions, were mere boys, many of whom belonged to the neighbouring city of St. Louis. But those were the days of repudiation, and the unfortunate College, with its heavy mortgage, after feeding, disciplining, and teaching these wild youths, was too often left to sue in vain for the payment even of actual expenses. As for the good Missionary Bishop him- self, he very naturally preferred the Institution of Nashotah, in Wisconsin, the Church-character of which was much less restricted, and for which the materials appeared far more promising. He seldom visited Kemper College, and, when obliged by cir- cumstances to do so, appeared to shrink from the generally unpleasant subjects which were forced upon his attention. My own previous arrangements had been made chiefly through the Bishop himself, who, in this instance, as in others, showed himself perfectly up- right and honourable. Yet, although a residence for myself and family had entered into those arrange- ments, the Trustees had not thus understood the compact, and I found that, besides the common dining-hall, the only accommodations provided for a family of five persons were a single room of moderate dimensions. In consequence of this, our residence was almost as much at the Planters Hotel, in St. Louis, as in Kemper College. 310 RESIDEXCE AT ST. LOUIS. Besides officiating at the College on Sundays and at the daily prayers, and instructing a class in the Holy Scriptures, there was literally nothing assigned to me in the department to which I had been ap- pointed. Divinity students had been expected, but hitherto had not made their appearance, nor was it certain that any would join the College within a definite period. The books, however, which had been given in England arrived before Christmas, having been sent from London by way of Xew Orleans, and I took great pleasure in arranging them, witli a view to the future instruction of the expected candidates. I knew that, even in the event of a foreclosure of the mortgage, the library at least was safe ; and that, though College and land might be swept away, these stores of learning would remain the property of the Western Church, and would, in due time, produce their fruit. The neighbourhood of St. Louis had generally been a prairie, but the annual burning of the grass having been checked, the whole uncultivated portion of the country around the College was occupied by a spontaneous growth of young oak trees. Although so far west, this part of Missouri was by no means a recent settlement, as the whole region formerly be- longed to the French Colony of Upper Louisiana. Kaskaskia, on the eastern side of the Mississippi, was founded as early as the year 1690, and here, a thousand miles from the abode of civilized men, and a thousand miles from the ocean, the French inhabi- tants preserved, for nearly a century, the gaiety, the liiiht-heartedness, and all the usual characteristics of RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 31 1 their nation. Their Clergy, too, baptized many of the surrounding Indian.-, and, with a view to more extensive conversions, ascended the Mississippi three thousand miles from its mouth, and explored many of its tributaries. Although no doubt credulous, these worthy men were excellent as missionaries, and were generally received by the native tribes with hospi- tality and respect. They shared the difficulties of their converts, and were aided by them in return while prosecuting important scientific and geographi- cal discoveries. It is wonderful, even in these days of steam-navigation, to reflect upon the enterprise and energy of those early pioneers of Western civilization. Small parties of Frenchmen and Indians, in their light canoes of birch-bark, frequently passed and repassed over the enormous distance between Quebec and Louisiana. But a race of men, less amiable indeed in character, though better fitted for the work of colonization, was destined to supersede alike the French and the Indians. In 1763, the portion of Upper Louisiana east of the Mississippi, was ceded by France to Eng- land, and the French settlers, deserting Kaskaskia, removed to the western bank of the river. Here, in the year 1764, St. Louis was founded by M. Laclede, to whom, in conjunction with a few others, the French Governor of Louisiana had given the mo- nopoly of the Indian trade west of the Mississippi. In the year 1768, the Spanish took possession of St. Louis and Upper Louisiana, although St. Ange, the French Governor, was permitted to retain his station till 1770. After this event the people became 312 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. firmly attached to their new masters, and were much displeased when their territory was retroceded to France in 1800. During the presidency of Mr. Jefferson, both Upper and Lower Louisiana were purchased by the government of the United States, and since that period the influence of the French and Spanish inhabitants has given way before the ascen- dancy of the Anglo-Saxons. The old civil law, not- withstanding, continues to prevail, and even in distant Missouri the Court-Houses resound with the maxims of ancient Roman jurisprudence. St. Louis advanced but slowly in population until the introduction of steam-navigation on the western rivers. In 1835 it numbered only 8,000 inhabitants, but in 1842 the people had increased to 30,000. The Roman Catholics were still by far the most numerous denomination, and were estimated at 14,000, possessing a Cathedral, a large Church, and four Chapels. There were also two Episcopalian Churches, two Methodist meeting-houses, two Pres- byterian, one Associate Reformed Presbyterian, one German Lutheran, one Baptist, one Unitarian, an African Methodist, and an African Baptist meeting- house, besides a Synagogue, with a congregation of two hundred Jews. The principal Episcopal Church usually contained about six hundred worshippers, fifty or sixty of whom regularly attended an early daily service during Lent. Perhaps the whole number of Church-people in the city did not much exceed 1,800. The Roman Catholics were charitable to strangers and to the sick, and were held in greater esteem than in most other RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 313 parts of the United States. Bishop Rosati had been translated to St. Domingo, and the Episcopate was now filled by Dr. Kenrick, an Irishman. This gentleman had lately published two books, one of which was designed to prove the invalidity of Anglican Orders, while the other was meant to demonstrate the miraculous transportation of* the Holy House from Nazareth to Loretto. The Romish Diocese of St. Louis contained at that period sixty-five Churches, sixty other stations, seventy- three clergymen, two ecclesiastical seminaries, two colleges for young men, one academy for boys, ten female convents, ten academies for young ladies, four schools, and eight charitable institutions. The Romanists annually received donations from Vienna and Lyons, which aided them very considerably in the furtherance of their cause. Within the bounds of Bishop Kemper's Mission, where our Reformed Church possessed only 23 clergymen, the Roman Catholics numbered three Bishops, and one hundred and six priests. Our own clergy generally received small stipends as missionaries, and often found it difficult to divide their care between their parishes and their too often sickly wives and helpless families. On the other hand (as an ecclesiastic of the Romish Church assured me), fifty pounds a year was a suffi- cient means of support for a Jesuit missionary, who, instead of struggling alone, was generally aided by different religious Orders in his various operations. Consequently, the Romish Missions advanced steadily onwards, while not unfrequently the Protestant Episcopalian Clergyman, miserable and discouraged, r 314 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. resigned his post to another, whose experience was destined to be equally disheartening. It must be observed, however, that between 1841 and 1851 im- mense changes have taken place. The rapid advance of the population of St. Louis from 30,000 to 80,000 has thrown the Roman Catholics greatly into the shade, while the persevering exertions of celibate as well as married Clergy of our own, in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, have placed our western parishes on a better and more permanent footing. TTe can. now number three Bishops and about seventy Clergy in the region where, in 1841, Bishop Kemper could hardly reckon twenty-three. On the 31st of March, 1842, being in St. Louis, I availed myself of an opportunity of visiting the Jesuits' College in that city, otherwise called the University of St. Louis, and founded in 1829. Enter- ing the front gate in company with a Roman Catholic gentleman, I passed through a kind of quadrangle, which answered the purpose of a play- ground. We were then shown into a small parlour, hung around with Flemish paintings of the Virgin Mary, the Crucifixion, and various saints. After a few minutes, the Rev. Mr. Carrell came in, habited in a cassock, sash, and college-cap. This gentleman was an American, perfectly polished in his manners, ever on his guard, and bearing the reputation of an accomplished member of his order. Soon afterwards the Rev. Mr. Verheiden, a Belgian, entered in similar attire, and was followed by a young Irish priest, who appeared very timid and diffident. These gentlemen first exhibited their library, which contained 4,000 UES1I)EN( ■].; AT ST. LOT IS. ,'il .", volumes. There were a few of the works of the early Fathers, and a pretty good collection of those subse- quent to the 6th century. English books were ex- tremely rare, the library having been given princi- pally by individuals in France. I noticed, however "M'Gavin's Protestant," and a few other publica- tions of a similar character. There was likewise a book written against Pascal's kk Lettres Provinciales," and the works of the Bishop of St. Louis in opposi- tion to Anglican orders, and in support of the miracle of Loretto. From the library we proceeded to the work-shops, where Father Verheiden (a person apparently of great simplicity and good nature) was engaged in constructing a large iron clock for the new Church adjoining. We were then shown the laboratory and museum, which occupied two rooms over the tempo- rary ( Jhapel. We saw some valuable philosophical apparatus, formerly the property of a Jesuits' College in France, suppressed by Charles X. Besides a very powerful electrical machine, the Fathers possessed a good pneumatic, electro-magnetic, and chemical ap- paratus, and w r ere at that time constructing a large galvanic battery. They had also taken great pains to collect, in the course of excursions with their pupils, numerous specimens of the animals, insects, fossils, minerals, and botany of Missouri and Illinois. Father Verheiden, in particular, had preserved with great ingenuity, in a large glass case, many hundreds of the beetles, flies, and butterflies found in the Western States. The butterflies w r ere extremely beautiful, and the beetles formed a strange exhibition 316 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. of prodigious monsters. I was much interested by many rich specimens of lead and copper ore, as well as by various Indian curiosities presented by Roman Catholic Missionaries. Returning to the main build- ing, we entered the refectory, where the Fathers produced some French wines and cake. We then proceeded to the unfinished Church of St. Francis Xavier, in immediate connexion with the University, and of which Father Verheiden was the sole archi- tect. Its length was 127 feet, breadth 67, and height to the top of the pediment 60. The building appeared handsome and substantial, and the style was altogether Italian. In a shed adjoining were three large Church bells, lately received from Spain, and not yet elevated to their proper position. One had the inscription " Sancte Francisce ora pro nobis." The Fathers informed me that two-thirds of the funds at their disposal were derived from private donors in Europe, and that their receipts from the Society at Lyons for Propagating the Faith were barely sufficient to defray the cost of their missions among the Indians. Their main dependence in the western country was this very University of St. Louis. The Superior of the Jesuits in the Province, the Rev. Mr. Verha\gen, was then in Europe, collect- ing donations in aid of the establishment. I afterwards visited the Cathedral, a large and im- posing edifice, though by no means in an ecclesiastical style of architecture. It was consecrated in 1834 by Bishop Rosati, who designed the plans, and obtained the means for its erection. The building was 136 feet long, and 84 broad. The frieze of the portico RESIDENCE AT ST. Lor is. 317 contained the following inscription: "In honorem S. Ludovici Deo Uni ct Trino." In the lower was a fine chime of six hells, and within the building I saw a large painting of St. Louis, presented by Louis XVIII. The sanctuary had a rather tawdry ap- pearance, although painted and gilded in a style in- tended to be magnificent. On one side of the sanctuary was a chapel dedicated to St. Patrick, who was represented in Pontifical robes. On the other side was a similar chapel appropriated to St. Vincent de Paul, the founder of the Order of the Sisters of Charity. Under the sanctuary was a large chapel, containing an altar and a number of confessionals. The choir occupied a gallery on the east of the sanctuary, while a similar gallery on the opposite side was designed for the Sisters of Charity in charge of an adjoining asylum for orphans. The organ cost 5,000 dollars, and was built in Cincinnati. In this Cathedral Divine Service was offered by three successive congregations on Sunday morning, at 6, 9, and 10 o'clock, a.m. Without this arrange- ment it would have been impossible to accommodate the numerous French, Irish, and Germans inhabiting the city. An English and French sermon were preached alternately, besides exhortations addressed especially to the Germans. Upwards of 250 pupils were at that time instructed by an Irish priest in the Sunday Schools attached to the Cathedral. After my visit to these institutions, so much ex- ceeding our own in efficiency, in that particular dis- trict, I wrote as follows to a friend in Canada : " When I contemplate the unity, the system, 318 KES1DENXE AT ST. LOUIS. and the devotion to their work which is out- wardly visible among these Western Romanists, I am tempted to exclaim, ' Utinam nostri essetis.' But when I think of the Mariolatry, the worship of Saints, the suspicious miracles, the abuse of images, and the consequences of the doctrine of purgatory and transubstantiation, the charm is dissipated." Besides the various Churches, St. Louis contained several remarkable buildings of a different descrip- tion. There was a large and splendid Court House, the chief apartment of which was able to contain nearly 4,000 persons. The Theatre, surmounted by a statue of Shakespeare, was 160 feet long by 73 wide, and was capable of holding an audience of 1,400. The principal Hotel, the Planters' House, was an immense building, four stories high, 230 feet in length, and almost as much in depth. It was surmounted by a tower, from which the steam-boats were visible at a great distance as they ascended or descended the Mississippi. It contained not far from 200 chambers, besides numerous parlours and draw- ing-rooms, handsomely furnished. Many families permanently resided in it, to avoid the trouble and worry attendant upon American housekeeping. The servants were usually English or French, well instructed in their duties, and remarkably civil and obliging. [Much of the hard work was performed by a steam-engine, which pumped the water into the several stories, and even scoured the knives, forks, and plates, besides assisting in the morning task of cleaning a prodigious number of boots and shoes. There were two large tables d'hote, one designed for RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 319 travellers, and the other appropriated exclusively to the families living in the hotel. In the latter apart- ment my family and myself sal down i<> three meals daily, in company with about eighty or ninety highly respectable Ladies and gentlemen, and their children. The cooks were professional persons, both English and French, and during Lent the provisions were studiously adapted to the respective consciences of Romanists and Protestants. Our whole expenses for two adults and three children, occupying two chambers, were 90 dollars per month, equivalent to four guineas and a halt* per week. On entering the breakfast-room one morning, about the middle of March, we were surprised to behold the venerable form of Bishop Chase, who was quietly discussing his early meal alter a voyage of several hundred miles down the Illinois and Missis- sippi. More than ten years had elapsed since I had last seen him subsequently to the memorable Ohio Convention of 1831. After an interchange of greet- ings, he accompanied us to our private apartment, and unfolded the history of his trials and successes in the new field of labour to which, so late in life, he had been called. The following particulars are derived partly from his own lips, partly from his " Reminiscences," which he w 7 as then publishing, and partly from other sources. On leaving Gambier in 1831, the Bishop pro- ceeded, as I have mentioned, to the wild spot de- nominated by him the " Valley of Peace." In doing this he felt in his heart a congenial sentiment : deeming himself a deserted man, he fled to a desert 320 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. for refuge. Yet when at length, after much search- ing, he found his niece's land, and saw the cabin which stood upon it, he could scarcely refrain from tears. His eyes were open to a sickening reality of dilapidation and desertion. The timbers of the rude building had given way, and the floor was unsafe. The roof had partly fallen in, the windows were gone, and the fences were prostrate. Yet in the course of a day or two the Bishop obtained the assistance of some neighbours. The decayed logs were replaced, the floor was repaired, the chimney, originally built with sticks and mud, was rebuilt and replastered with fresh clay. Before the roof could be mended, the remainder of the Bishop's family arrived from Gambier, and, wretched as the place appeared, they entered it without a word of com- plaint. A cheerful fire soon blazed on the new- made hearth, and the children, as they lay down to rest on the floor, were soon employed in counting the stars which appeared through the shattered roof. It was with difficulty that the Bishop managed to warm this miserable abode during the cold winter which followed. Poor as it was, however, it con- tained every Sunday crowded congregations, who assembled to hear the instructions of the indefati- gable occupant. Labourers were hired to improve the farm, and by the following spring there was some appearance of order and of comfort. But such a situation could only be regarded as a temporary retreat. In the year 1832 the Bishop purchased an extensive estate in a beau- tiful prairie country near the river St. Joseph, in RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 321 Michigan, 300 miles to the westward. Though the war with the Indian Black Hawk was raging in the neighbourhood, Bishop Chase at once commenced the work of cultivating the soil. A stout ploughman went before, turning up the furrows of rich earth, while the Bishop followed with a bag of maize, three or four seeds of which he deposited " every two feet in every third furrow." In this labour, together with that of planting potatoes, he spent most of the day for several weeks, while on Sundays he sought a field of spiritual toil in the settlements ten or twelve miles distant. Having commenced the erection of a dwelling with five rooms, he returned to Ohio, and conveyed his family from the "Valley of Peace" to their new abode, denominated by the Bishop, GlLEAD. Here the Bishop, with his excellent wife and four children, was soon established in comparative com- fort. Yet as the work proceeded, wolves came fear- lessly around, and looked at the carpenters engaged in completing the habitation. As for viands, there was plenty of game in the shape of prairie fowls and venison. Gilead lake also supplied perch and bass of a delicious flavour, and in great abundance. The corn and potatoes planted by the Bishop were coining forward, and promised an abundant harvest, on the fifty acres which had already been brought into cultivation. A site was also purchased for a saw-mill, and a quantity of adjacent woodland for timber. Stables were built, a crop of wheat was sown for the next season, not an hour was spent in idleness, and little time was allowed for repose. p 5 322 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. But Bishop Chase was also devising the means of fulfilling the duties of his sacred calling. Being removed from one field of spiritual husbandry, he looked out for another, and resolved to labour in it with all his might. The whole region of St. Joseph, embracing more than a hundred square miles, had never till now been trodden by the foot of a clergy- man of our Reformed Church. All was waste, and wherever he went, the Bishop felt that he invaded no man's diocese, parish, or labours. lie regularly visited a number of stations in Michigan and Indiana, without expecting any earthly reward, and considering simply his duty as a Christian minister. A trail, or Indian path, led through the land of Gilead, from Notowasippi to Episcopiscon, two settlements of the Aborigines. The native tribes often passed the Bishop's house, and seldom failed to stop for bread, a kind of food rarely enjoyed in their wretched wigwams. When any of them received a piece, they devoured it greedily, but never allowed the smallest portion to the females. Subsequently the Bishop took the squaws under his protection, and helped them first, to the great chagrin of the warriors. But he noticed that the females, after consuming one-half, retained the remainder for their mortified partners. In a few years Bishop Chase grew rich, after the manner of Job. His fenced fields were constantly enlarged, and every year produced a greater abun- dance of the fruits of the earth. His horned cattle increased to more than one hundred, and his flocks RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 323 covered the face of the prairie. "Milk of kine" flowed in, and cheese and butter were plentiful. A mill was erected to saw planks for the erection of a school; a Chapel and a College were already in pmspecf, and all things flourished beyond the fondest expectations. But, in the midst of his career of prosperity, the Bishop was nearly cut off by a sudden accident. As he was riding at full speed on his faithful horse, Cincinnatus, the aged animal suddenly fell, and brought him to the ground, with a con- cussion which nearly proved fatal, and which con- fined him for many weeks to his abode. While the ex-prelate of Ohio was thus engaged in the land of Gilead, a few clergymen, influenced by a true missionary spirit, had gone into Illinois, formed several parishes, organized a Diocese, and assembled a regular Convention. At their first meeting, held in Peoria, March 9th, 1835, they unanimously invited Bishop Chase to assume Epis- copal jurisdiction in Illinois. He at once accepted the invitation, though in so doing he saw no prospect of an equivalent in comfort, or in any species of worldly prosperity. He resolved to con- tinue his farming operations no longer than necessity should reOjiiire. His sons were to remain to oversee the flocks and herds, while he resolved to proceed immediately to his new Diocese. After a long journey, during which he crossed alone a vast prairie, almost as pathless as the ocean, he returned in July to his family in Gilead. At the General Convention held in Philadelphia in the following October, 1835, the appointment of Bishop 324 RESIDE>XE AT ST. LOUIS. Chase was confirmed, and his Diocese, as already mentioned, was admitted into union. The following spirited language was uttered by him in his first public address after entering on his new Diocese : — "What doth the Lord, the Great Head of the Church, require of me ? and how shall His glory be promoted by my feeble efforts ? While, like David, I have nothing save the truth as it is in Jesus, may I not, like Him, trust in that truth alone to hurl destruction in the face of the great Goliath of Gath, who now presents himself in the Valley of the Mississippi, defying the armies of Israel ? But the scrip and the sling are wanting. Give me, therefore, but an Episcopal School in Illinois, and the great enemy whom the Pope and his Austrian allies have sent among us, with all his boasting blas- phemies, will fall to the ground, and the religion of the Son of David shall triumph. This school, the Lord being my helper, shall be founded. It shall be raised, and shall stand." The following year (1830) the Bishop commenced the work of raising subscriptions for this College, by personal application in various parts of the United States. He also proceeded to England, where he was well received by many of those who had assisted him in 1824, and by other friends who now came forward in his behalf. During an absence of a few months, he received about two thousand pounds, and on his return to America, the fund was gradually increased to about £8,000. He purchased 3,160 acres of excellent land in a central part of RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 325 Illinois, in addition to which, 840 acres were pre- sented by various individuals. In 1839 the corner-stone of Jubilee College was laid by Bishop Chase. In an address delivered on that occasion, the indefatigable prelate made the following statement respecting this institution. "Its nature is theological; its end is the salvation of the souls of men by means of a Christian education. It is to be a School of the Prophets; ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are to be trained here. This is its primary object, and without attaining this it fails of its end ; which end, therefore, is never to be c merged' in any other. Persons of all liberal professions in the arts and sciences, are also to be educated here, provided they be willing to be taught the religion of the God of Christians, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. All things being conducted according to the well-known principles of worship of the ' Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America,' the design and will of the donors and founder of this institution will be answered, and not othemvise." Guided by his previous experience at Gambier, the Bishop secured the College against its diversion to uses foreign to the founder s intention, both by his manner of settling the property, and by the laws for the internal regulation of the institution. He felt very suspicious of Trustees appointed under Charters obtained from the State; and, therefore, confined himself to a simple deed of trust, setting forth the principles contained in the above extract from his address. He considered that he had thus 326 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. taken every measure to cany into effect the will of the donors, " so long as faith should prevail in the Church, or law should reign in the land." More than this, in fact, could not well be done under the existing condition of the laws of Illinois. The " free and enlightened" Legislature of that State had made a rule to grant no charters for in- stitutions of learning, without a prohibitory clause that "nothing sectarian should be taught in them." This, of course, was meant to forbid all religious teaching of a definite character, a prohibition which, in its intolerant liberality, would have been fatal to Bishop Chase's entire scheme. At the time of my interview with Bishop Chase in St. Louis, he had made considerable progress in erecting his College, and in bringing a Church School for young ladies into operation. Writing to me after his return home, under the date of April 15th, 1842, he expressed himself as follows : " Our Illinois Seminary for females, and Jubilee College, are likely to prove of immense service to this far western world. We are situated far from a town, and the many temptations of a wicked world. Our students in divinity are increasing, and all we want is means to finish our buildings. I am extremely averse to running in debt, and hitherto have kept clear of this (to a public Institution), the greatest of evils. But to avoid this in future, without stopping short in my career, is not possible, unless in some way assisted. Had I a salary, as other Bishops have, the whole of it should go to carry on the great work which God (I think) recpiires me to finish before I RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. 327 die. I am now finishing a brick building, in which my dear daughter is to open the School for young females. It has nine spacious rooms, besides a kitchen and bedrooms, a cellar, and a capacious apartment for a library." In the autumn oi' 1843 I again heard from Bishop Chase, who expressed himself in the following words : " Our College improves in buildings and in numbers. An additional wing was erected this last summer. It is of hewn stone, eighty-three feet in length, and two stories high. It is part of a quadrangle, which, when finished, will resemble an English College. Besides this, we have other buildings. The whole plan is about half completed : and glad we are to state that we are out of debt. We all labour hard, and economize, and mean to leave our heritage disencumbered to others. Mrs. Chase (more the founder of Kenyon College than myself) is yet quite well. As to myself, I can say I am truly thankful for an unusual degree of spirits for one of my age." At the General Convention held at Philadelphia in 1844, it was however noticed that the labours of the last nine years had made serious inroads on the physical powers of the good prelate, who had now become, by the death of Bishop Griswold, the Pre- siding Bishop of the American Church. He made, notwithstanding, a vigorous appeal in behalf of his College, in consequence of which the contributions collected on this occasion in Philadelphia amounted to nearly 1,700 dollars. In the course of his address he mentioned the completion of the following buildings — the School and Chapel, the west wing of the College, 328 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. the College Hall, the Institution for young ladies, the building for Divinity Students, a Professor's house, a warehouse, a mill, and a barn. When the General Convention assembled at Cin- cinnati in 1850, Bishop Chase, then in his 75th year, took his place again as the Presiding Bishop. On this occasion he delivered an Address, exhibiting much vigour of mind, and designed to guard the Church against the Romanizing influences of the times. One of his latest important acts is his Letter to the present Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he speaks of the value of a union of Church and State, the respective functions of which he compares to those of Aaron and Moses. By the last accounts it appears that, exhausted by age and infirmity, he has proposed to his Diocese the election of an Assistant Bishop. Let us hope that before his departure, which in the course of nature cannot be distant, he may be enabled to behold the fulfilment of his most cherished expectations, in the entire completion of Jubilee College. In the spring of 1842, no divinity students having made their appearance, I began to make arrange- ments for extensive missionary labours in the country west of St. Louis. There were youths at that time pursuing their studies in Kemper College who in the course of a year or two might be ready to commence a directly theological course. In the meantime it seemed important that no opportunity should be lost for extending a knowledge of the Church in the sur- rounding towns and villages. But a different course was suggested by some of Ki;siI)i:\('K AT ST. Lol is. 329 the friends and managers of the College. The pros- pects of the Institution were now brightening, the number of students was increasing, and an applica- tion to the Legislature might possibly effect a modi- fication of the Charter in its most objectionable features. If just debts could be recovered, the mortgage would cease to be an occasion of anxiety ; and if the Library could be made at least equal to that of the Jesuits' establishment, an additional in- ducement would be presented to theological students. Accordingly, it was resolved that a great effort should be put forth to place Kemper College on a respectable footing. The President undertook part of the pecuniary responsibilities of the Institution, and Bishop Kemper expressed his intention of ap- plying to American Churchmen for further assis- tance. I was deputed to spend one year in Europe, where I was to pursue an object similar to that on which some of our Jesuit neighbours were en^aired, viz., the enlargement of the library, and the securing of any further assistance which circumstances might offer. It was considered that the vast emigration to Western America, together with the liberal and constant support derived by the Romanists from France and Austria, would sufficiently warrant any reasonable appeal to the members of the Reformed Church in Britain. Accordingly, I commenced preparations for re- moving with my family across the Atlantic. Yet before leaving the banks of the Mississippi, perhaps for ever, I thought I might effectually serve the Church by personally inquiring into the history and 330 RESIDENCE AT ST. LOUIS. existing circumstances of the Mormons, a sect which had already extended itself far beyond the United States, and even then boasted of more than a hun- dred thousand proselytes. The result of my inves- tigations is already before the public in two volumes, published by Messrs. Rivington, entitled " The City of the Mormons," and the " Prophet of the Nineteenth Century," to which I would refer the reader for much fuller information than can be given in the present work. But as some mention of the subject seems appropriate and desirable, I shall give in the following Chapter a brief abstract of the previous history of the sect in question, together with a nar- rative of my visit to the " prophet," and of various particulars not included in the above-mentioned pub- lications. :;:il CHAPTER XIII. JOSKIMI SMI I'll AND TIIK MORMONS. Prediction of Southey. — Early History of Joseph Smith. — Tlie "Spaulding Manuscript." — Publication of the Book of Mor- mon. — Hierarchy and Doctrines of Mormonisra. — Preaching of these Doctrines in England. — Foundation of Nauvoo. — Visit of the Author to the "Prophet." — Smith's subsequenl prosperity. — His Murder. — Completion of the Temple. — Emigration of the Mormons. — Their final establishment beyond the Rocky Moun- Int the earlier portions of this work I have en- deavoured to give a clear account of the prevailing religious divisions in North America. I have shown how those divisions originated, partly in the emigra- tion of various sects from Europe, and partly in the weakness imposed upon the Church by the neglect and opposition of the authorities in England. We have already seen the necessary result in the indiffer- ence which prevails on the part of the State autho- rities, as well as in the decided tendency to liberal- ism, which is visible in the public mind. We are now to behold another effect of the same cause in 332 JOSEPH SMITH the growth of a system possessing many points in common with Mohammedanism, and, like it, perhaps destined to act as a scourge upon corrupted Chris- tianity. As long ago as 1829, the poet and historian Southcy gave utterance to the following expressions in his Colloquies (vol. ii. p. 42) : " America is in danger from religious fanaticism. The government there, not thinking it necessary to provide religious instruction for the people, the prevalence of super- stition, and that, perhaps, in some wild and terrible shajje, may be looked for as one likely consequence of this great and portentous omission. A n old man of the mountains might find dupes and followers, and the next Aaron Burr who seeks to carve a kingdom for himself out of the overgrown territories of the Union, may discover that Fanaticism is the most effective weapon with which Ambition can arm itself . . . and that Camp Meetings may be very well directed to forward the designs of a MILITARY PROPHET. W r ere there another Mohammed to arise, there is no part of the world where he would find more scope, or fairer opportunity, than in tJt>>t part of the Anglo- American Union into which the elder States con- tinually discharge the restless part of their popula- tion, leaving laws and gospel to overtake it if they can ; for, in the march of modern colonization, both are left behind." This anticipation has already been wonderfully fulfilled in all its parts. Were we inclined to follow the example of others, we might claim Southey as an actual prophet of the Church of England. The AND THE .MORMONS. 333 allow sentences were printed fourteen months pre- viously to the appearance of the Book of Mormon, and while an American Mohammed was busily en- gaged in the preparation of his infamous imposture. Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Windsor County, in the State of Vermont, on the 23rd of December, L805. His lather was a small farmer, of no particular religious opinions, and was married to a woman of a character similar to his own. Joseph was one of a family consisting of seven sons and three daughters. From a variety of documents, it appears that the father and sons were suspected of theft, that they boasted of their skill in deception, and that they were notoriously addicted to falsehood, idleness, and dissipation. They spent much of their time in digging for money, which they pretended had been hidden in the earth during the Revolution, and found many dupes who were willing to pay them for their excavations, notwithstanding constant dis- appointment. In the year 1815, when Joseph was in his tenth year, the whole family removed several hundred miles westward, to Palmyra, and afterwards to Manchester^ both in Wayne County, New T York. Here Joseph was taught some of the ordinary branches of learn- ing, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, in all of which, however, he was far from perfect, though he afterwards acquired a considerable stock of general information. In the year 1821, a "revival" com- menced in Manchester, which was folloAved by the usual strife for proselytes among the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists. Joseph's mother, three 334 JOSEPH SMITH of his brothers, and a sister, joined the Presbyterians ; but Joseph himself, though somewhat partial to the Methodists, declined to connect himself with them, as he professed himself unable to decide among so many conflicting opinions, which was right and which was wrong. Notwithstanding, however, the new religious profession of the family, it does not appear that their character was materially improved. An incident of great importance in the history of Mormonism occurred in the year 1822. Joseph Smith was, at that time, employed in digging a well, in company with his brother, Hyrum, and a person named Chase. The last-mentioned individual found a curious stone, about twenty feet from the surface, and brought it to the top of the well. Joseph immediately placed it in his hat, alleging that, by putting the hat over his face, he could see great wonders in the stone. Chase believed this story, and valued the stone highly ; but Joseph succeeded in obtaining it, and keeping it for himself. Upon this, his father claimed for him the possession of a super- natural power of looking into the earth and discover- ing its hidden treasures. When the worthless family engaged in their nocturnal excursions for money- digging, Joseph was always their conductor. Placing the stone in his hat, and closing the hat over his face, he pretended to decide by the appearance of the stone where the excavations ought to be com- menced. But circumstances had also combined to prepare another foundation for the Mormon delusion. A manuscript was already in existence, which was des- \M> THE MORMONS. Vu)~) tincd to form an importanl ingredient in the nefarious scheme. A Presbyterian minister, Solomon Spauld- ing by name, had settled in Ohio about the year 1809. There lie was much impressed by the appear- ance of the fortifications and other ancient works of an extinct race, some of which have been partially described in this volume. He had long been in the habit of contending that the American Aborigines were descendants of some of the tribes of Israel, and ? in this opinion, it is fair to add, he was by no means singular. Being of an imaginative mind, and in ill health of body, he wrote for his own profit and amusement a fictitious history of the nations by which these great works were constructed. Under the guidance of Nephi and Lehi, the ancestors of the Aborigines were represented as leaving Jerusalem to escape impending judgments. There was an account of their journey from Jerusalem to America, where they were described as separating into the two nations of Nephites and Lamanites. Between these parties bloody battles were fought, and the burial of the dead in heaps produced the mounds or barrows so frequent in North America. This story was entitled " The Manuscript Found," and purported to be a translation of a record discovered beneath the <>3 obtaining, if possible, an interview with the "Prophet" himself. Leaving St. Louis in the: steamer, " Re- public," on Friday evening, April L5th, I ascended the Mississippi a distance of two hundred and thirty miles, and on Sunday morning, the L7th, was landed at Montrose, in the territory of Iowa, immediately opposite Xauvoo. The greal river was more than a mile in width, though fifteen hundred miles from the sea, and as no ferry-boat was at hand, thirteen Mor- mons, on their way to worship at the temple, con- veyed me over in a long and narrow canoe. On landing in Xauvoo, I perceived it to be a large but very straggling place, and my guides informed me that it contained 10,000 inhabitants. I ascended a hill and found myself close to the Temple, a spacious unfinished building, the walls of which did not at that time exceed ten feet in height. The view of ■ the winding Mississippi was truly grand, and the situation showed much good taste on the part of those who had made the selection. About hall-past ten, a congregation of some thousands assembled in a grove adjoining the Temple. Their appearance was quite respectable, and fully equal to that of the better sort of dissenters in our English country parishes. Many grey-headed old men were there, and many well-dressed females. I perceived several groups of the honest-looking peasantry of Old England, and I beheld with sorrow the bright and innocent looks of numerous little children, many of whom, doubtless, had been bap- tized in the consecrated waters of our Mother Church, though now dwelling in a den of heresy, 354 JOSEPH SMITH and exposed to a delusion, in some respects, worse than paganism. I did not take my place with this congregation, but stationed myself near the platform appointed for the speakers, in a position where I could distinctly hear and see all that passed. Two Elders first appeared, one in a blue coat, and the other in a thick jacket of green baize. The first gave out a hymn, which was indifferently sung by the choir and congregation. He then made an extempore prayer on behalf of "Joseph, the Lord's servant" — the Temple — and the ingathering of the Gentiles — concluding by a thanksgiving for recent success. A short hymn followed; after which, the other Elder threw oft" his jacket, as the sun was growing warm, and commenced a sermon. He said, that we ought to drop our preconceived ideas derived from tradition, and that, among those ideas, we must give up the notion that God's revelations were confined to the continent of Asia. The Old and New Testa- ments were only parts of a great scheme of revelation, and no good reason could be assigned why Asia should be favoured to the exclusion of America. The present congregation lived in the midst of signs and wonders, equal to those recorded in the Bible ; a miraculous work had begun, under the auspices of the prophet Joseph, and neither earth nor hell could stop it. After another hymn, a tall, thin, New England Yankee ascended the platform, and preached on the duty of commencing the Hotel, which they had been commanded to build by an " express revelation." AM) THE MORMONS. ^ r >"> The property would pay twenty-five per cent, when finished, and, therefore, interest as well as duty ought to excite them to purchase shares in thisgreal under- taking. When the Hotel should be complete, the kings and nobles of the earth, and all weary travel- lers would lodge therein, to contemplate the word of the Lord, and the corner-stone which he had appointed tor Zion. Two other elders followed in a similar strain, speaking with great fluency, and appearing equally conversant with operations in finance, with pro- phecies, and with the Book of Mormon. After this, a few notices were published respecting stolen goods, and, having sung a final hymn, the meeting dispersed. I was then taken to the Temple, by the man in whose canoe I had crossed the river. In the basement story, I was shown an enormous font, rest- ing on the backs of twelve wooden oxen, as large as life, which were to be covered with gilding at some future time. My conductor insisted strongly on the divine inspiration of Smith, and urged, that, without the immediate help of God, he could not have com- menced and carried forward this great work so early in life, and with so few literary advantages. On my return to the river's bank, I saw a very neat old woman, in her Sunday dress, sitting in her cottage, reading the Book of Mormon, precisely as the Bible is read in our villages in England. I crossed the O CI river at the ferry, and, returning to Montrose, was hospitably received by a gentleman to whom 1 had a letter of introduction. His family united with me in religious worship, and here, in the midst of a 356 JOSEPH SMITH deplorable fanaticism, I felt that it was a comfort to be amono- Christians. In order to test the " Prophet's" inspiration in re- gard to the dead languages, I had brought with me an ancient manuscript of the Greek Psalter, which I still retain as a valuable memorial of the event. Taking this in my hand, I crossed over to Nauvoo on Monday morning, and inquired for the " Prophet." I was informed that he had gone eighteen miles to Carthage, but that he was expected to return about nine o'clock in the evening. At the request of some of the Mormons, I showed them the manuscript, which became at once an object of curiosity and admiration. They assured me that Nauvoo was the only place where its real interpretation could be un- folded, for the Lord had made foolish the wisdom of this world, and had chosen the prophet Joseph to bring to light the things of darkness. They afterwards exhibited some of the curiosities of Nauvoo, one of which was a chest containing leaves of Egyptian papyrus, the hieroglyphics on which Smith had explained most absurdly by what was considered " divine power." Afterwards I called on the " Prophet's" mother, from whom I pur- chased a copy of the original edition of the Book of Mormon, with all its uncorrected errors and mistakes. She welcomed me to the " holy city," and told me that now I should have an opportunity of seeing what great things the Lord had done for his people. The wretched old creature assured me that she had herself seen, felt, and handled the golden plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the sacred breastplate. AND THE MORMONS. 357 This statement was in direct contradiction to Joseph's printed "revelation" respecting the persons who alone were privileged to behold them, and among whom his mother was not included. She then showed me a sort of cabinet containing four mutilated mummies, concerning which her son had declared " through the mighty power of God," that one had been a king of Egypt (whom she named), two had been his wives, and the remaining one had been the daughter of another king. I then went to the printing-office, where I purchased a set of the "Times and Seasons," and various other documents. Here I was sur- rounded by Mormon preachers, who were most anxious to purchase, or at least to borrow, my book, that it might be translated by "revelation." They all seemed to agree in an opinion expressed by old Mrs. Smith, viz. that it was " one of the lost books of the Scriptures," which, in the Lord's time, would be fully explained by prophecy to the children of men. After this I returned to the other side of the river, and spent the rest of the day in riding over a beautiful and extensive prairie, then covered with the verdure and the flowers of early spring. The next morning (Tuesday, April 19th) I again crossed the Mississippi with my book, fully expecting to meet with the renowned " Prophet." A number of the Mormons, who were aware of my intention, accompanied me to his residence, and here I was introduced, as a stranger, to the extraordinary being who, in the estimation of his followers, ranked at least as high as the " sweet Psalmist of Israel." Smith was a clownish-looking man, but with a de- 358 JOSEPH SMITH cidedly knavish expression. His hands were large and fat, and his manner, though awkward, was energetic. On one of his finders was a massive gold ring containing an inscription. His dress was of coarse country manufacture, and his white hat was enveloped by a piece of black crape as a sign of mourning for a deceased brother. Having been previously informed by his people of my wonderful book, he now took it in his hands and asked me if I had any idea of its meaning. I replied that I be- lieved it to be a Greek Psalter, but that I should like to hear his opinion. u No," he said, " it ain't Greek at all ; except perhaps a few words. What ain't Greek, is Egyptian ; and what ain't Egyptian is Greek. This book is very valuable. It is a JJic- tionary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics." Pointing to the capital letters at the commencement of each verse, he said, with a tone of authority, " Them figures is Egyptian hieroglyphics ; and them which follows, is the interpretation of the hieroglyphics written in the reformed Egyptian. Them charac- ters is like the letters that was engraved on the golden plates." He then earnestly requested me to sell him the book, but I declined, and tied it up in the bundle in which I had brought it from St. Louis. The Mormons were much disappointed, but congratulated me very kindly on the information which I had received. The " Prophet" afterwards ex- hibited to me the same sheets of papyrus which I had seen on the previous day, and began to give his usual explanation. But his suspicions appeared now to be awakened, and he suddenly departed, leaving AM) THE MORMONS. 359 nio in the midst of the credulous and fanatical mul- titude. I then told the bystanders that the hook was certainly nothing hut a Greek Psalter, and en- deavoured to make them understand how thoroughly the prophet had committed himself by positively declaring it to be a dictionary of hieroglyphics. After much fruitless argument which, however, they took in good part, one of their number, perceiving my partial deafness, endeavoured to work a miracle for my complete restoration. But observing that the touch of his finger and the use of the unknown tongue were in this instance without effect, he assured me that the actual cure was deferred until I should receive Joseph as a true prophet. I felt really grateful to these people for allowing me, when I was completely in their power, to escape so easily with my book, as well as with my life and liberty. Having expressed myself to this effect, I entered the ferry-boat, and was conveyed again to Montrose, where, on the following day, I embarked on my return to St. Louis. I cannot doubt that many of the inhabitants of Nauvoo were well-meaning persons, deluded by the Scriptural phraseology of Joseph's " revelations," and really believing themselves to be in the midst of prophecies and miracles. It is also certain that many of them were thoroughly unprincipled, having joined this strange society for various base and selfish purposes. It is supposed by some that the " Prophet" himself was infatuated by his extraordinary success, and in some sense became a believer in his own " revelations." But various independent docu- 360 JOSEPH SMITH ments have placed his character, as a vile deceiver, beyond reasonable question. He was a profane swearer and a drunkard, as many of his own people admitted. Doctrines were taught under his authority, which countenanced polygamy, and there is evidence that he was himself far from innocent of repeated breaches of the seventh commandment. He main- tained the lawfulness of plundering the " Gentiles ;" while his " revelations" often breathed revenge, de- struction, and murder. Yet, with all this, lie was of a sociable disposition, and possessed much rough humour and ready wit. His mind was of a powerful cast, and, but for his low habits and wretched educa- tion, might have been associated with real dignity and greatness. He showed a disposition to stand by his followers in times of danger, and even in circum- stances of extremity his confidence in himself did not often fail. He understood well the ordinary sources of human motives, and the influence which he acquired over his people was incredible. Soon after my visit to Nauvoo the "Prophet" reached the climax of his glory. In the autumn of 1843, he received a singular letter from one James Arlington Bennett, afterwards a conspicuous charac- ter both among his friends and his bitterest enemies. The following extract will give an idea of the opinions and objects of the writer. "The boldness of your plans and measures, to- gether with their unparalleled success, are calculated to throw a charm over your whole being, and to point you out as the most extraordinary character of the present age. You will not be offended when I WD THE MORMONS. 301 say, that I rate you higher as a legislator than I do Moses, because wc have you present with us for ex- amination, whereas Moses derives his chief authority from prescription and the lapse of time. J say, therefore, go ahead, you have my good wishes. Von know Mahomet had his k right-hand man' I may yet run for a high office in your State, when you would be Mire of my best services in your behalf. In short, 1 expect to be yet, through your influence, Governor of the State of Illinois." The "Prophet" was too artful to accept in plain terms the offer made in this letter, but at the same time he was anxious to avail himself of Mr. Bennett's valuable services. He accordingly replied to him in a letter which, false and blasphemous as it was, ex- hibited some ingenuity. The following extracts will afford a specimen : — "The fact is, that, by the power of God, I trans- lated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world Jesus Christ, who was, and is, and is to come, has borne me safely over every snare and plan, laid in secret or openly, through priestly hypocrisy, sectarian preju- dice, popular philosophy, executive power, or law- defying mobocracy. If, then, the hand of God, in all these things which I have accomplished towards the salvation of a priest-ridden generation in the short space of twelve years, throws any ( charm around my being,' and ' points me out as the most extraordinary man of my age,' it demonstrates the fact, that truth is mighty and must prevail ; and that one man empowered by Jehovah has more influence it 362 JOSEPH SMITH with the children of his kingdom than eight hundred millions led by the precepts of men The glorious results are as the stone cut out of the mountain with- out hands, and will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. Were I an Egyptian, I would ex- claim, Jah-oh-eh, Enisli-go-on-dosh, Flo-ees, Flos-is-is (O the earth ! the power of attraction, and the moon passing between her and the sun) ; a Hebrew, Haueloheem yeran ; a Greek, theos jihos esti ; a Roman, Dominus regit me; a German, Gott gebe uns das licht ; a Portugee, Senhor Jesu Christo e libor- tade; a Frenchman, Dieu defend le droit; but as I am, I give God the glory. " Now for the question ! Lived there ever such a man as Moses in Egypt ? and was he a prophet ? Mummies, after three thousand five hundred years, come forth among the living, and, although dead, the papyrus which has lived in their bosoms un- harmed speaks for them. Ecce Veritas, en cadaveros ! Behold the truth ! Behold the mummies ! Oh, my dear sir, the sunken Tyre and Sidon, the melancholy dust where Jerusalem once was, and the mourning of the Jews among all nations would have filled you with light, had you been as well acquainted with your God and your Bible as with your purse and pence-table. " Your good wishes to ' go ahead,' coupled with Mahomet and a ' right-hand man,' are rather more vain than virtuous. Why, sir, Cassar had his right- hand Brutus, who was his left-hand assassin; not, however, applying the allusion to you. " The summit of your future fame seems to be hid AND THE MORMONS. WW?, in the political policy of a c mathematical problem' for the chief magistracy of this State. But, sir, verily I Bay, when I leave the dignity of heaven to gratify the ambition of man, may my power cease like the strength of Sampson when he was shorn of his locks Shall I, who have witnessed the visions of eternity, and beheld the glories of the mansions ot" bliss, and the regions of the misery of the damned, shall I turn to be a Judas ? Shall I, who have heard the voice of God, and communed with angels, and spake as moved by the Holy Ghost, shall I worm myself into a political hypocrite '. Shall I, who hold the keys of the last kingdom, stoop from the sublime authority of Almighty God to be handled as a monkey's catspaw, and pettify myself into a clown to act the farce of political demagoguery ? No, verily, no! The whole earth shall bear me witness that I am impregnable I combat the errors of ages ; I meet the violence of mobs with truth, and God is my c rhjlif-lte subject to be arrested and tried by the Municipal Court, and if found guilty, sentenced to be imprisoned in the eity prion for life." About the same time a party of Missourians crossed the Mississippi to Nauvoo in search of a Mormon accused of horse-stealing. Having secured their prisoner, notwithstanding the opposition of the Municipal Council, they carried him to Missouri, where a Grand Jury found a true bill against him for the offence. Soon afterwards, the Mormon authorities of Nauvoo sent a constable with a posse to arrest a person in the " Gentile" town of Car- thage, in Illinois. The populace took part with the accused, upon which the constable departed, threaten- ing the " Carthaginians " with the vengeance of the Nauvoo Legion. The affrighted " Gentiles " held a meeting at their Court-House, in which they adopted various resolutions for their future conduct. They published a document, setting forth that the authori- ties of Nauvoo had employed armed bodies to rescue Joseph Smith from rightful custody ; that they had passed ordinances in derogation of the laws of Illinois and of the United States, and designed to bar them- selves against the just operation of those laws ; and that they had even dragged citizens of the State from the remotest parts of the county to Nauvoo to be tried for every petty offence. In view of these circumstances, they pledged themselves to resist, at the point of the bayonet, every oppression which the said authorities might attempt. 368 JOSEPH SMITH While the storm was thus gathering from without, Joseph was obliged to defend himself against formid- able enemies within. One of these went so far as to accuse him of slander, on which charge the "Prophet" was tried by his own municipal court, on the 6th of May, 1844. The aldermen of Nauvoo, all of them Mormons, sat on the bench to hear the case, and Sidney Kigdon acted as the " Prophet's " counsel. At this trial several disclosures were made which proved a most deplorable laxity of morals on the part of many who had been leaders of the " Saints." But, as might be expected, Joseph was fully exonerated, and ordered to be discharged. The disaffected Mormons now commenced the publication of a newspaper in Xauvoo, called the " Expositor," the first number of which appeared on the 7th of June. In this paper they admitted the truth of Mormonism as taught originally by Smith ; but asserted that Joseph's pretensions to righteous- ness were altogether hypocritical, and that he denied openly some doctrines which he taught in secret. They added that he practised abominations, and that they had in vain sought a reformation in the "Church" without exposing the enormities of its leaders. They testified that Joseph had said that he would rather be damned than acknowledge the offences referred to, since such an acknowledgment would derogate from his dignity. In addition to this, he had proposed to them " that all should go to Hell together, and convert it into a Heaven by casting the Devil out." As an encouragement to attempt this invasion, he had assured them that AND THE MORMONS. 369 "Hell was by no means bo bad a place as fools sup- posed, but rather agreeable than otherwise." After censuring the "Prophet's" attempts at political power, they asserted that the doctrine of many Gods had been taughi in the Mormon " Church." It had been " revealed" that "there are innumerable Gods as much above the God who presides over this universe as he is over us, and that if he varies from the law to which he is subjected he will be cast down like Lucifer." Smith had also taught the " spoiling of the Gentiles/' and " an unconditional sealing up to eternal life against all crimes except the shedding of innocent blood." They printed also the affidavits of sixteen women, who asserted that Smith, Rigdon, and others, had endeavoured to convert them to the spiritual^wife doctrine, or, in other words, to a course of licentiousness. The municipal court Inning screened from justice a fugitive charged with robbing the national treasury, the bold writers in the " Ex- positor" avowed their intention of advocating the unconditional repeal of the Charter of Nauvoo. This " liberty of the press " was too much to be endured. The Council of the city assembled, and Joseph declared that he would rather die than allow the " Expositor " to be continued. Councillor Stiles having read an extract from Blackstone on Private Wrongs, said that a nuisance was anything that dis- turbs the peace of a community, and therefore that the " Expositor " was a nuisance. Hyrum Smith said that the best way was to smash the press and " pie " the type. Councillor Warrington alone op- posed this measure, but proposed a fine of 3,000 it 5 370 JOSEPH SMITH dollars for every libel contained in the paper. Finally, it was resolved that the " Expositor " was a nuisance, and that the Mayor of Xauvoo should destroy the printing establishment without delay. The order was given to the Marshal, and the Xauvoo Legion was required to hold itself in readiness to assist him in executing it. The Marshal returned the order in the evening of the same day, with the following endorsement : — " Marshal's return. The within-named press and type is destroyed and pied according to order, on this 10th day of June, 1844, at about 8 o'clock, p.m." The proprietor of the press now entered a com- plaint at Carthage, the county town, and a process was served by a constable against the two Smiths and others concerned in the riot. The delinquents procured a writ of habeas corpus, under which they were taken before their faithful municipal court and honourably discharged. Upon this, a posse of "Carthaginians" was ordered to aid the constable in his duty, and messengers were sent to the Gover- nor of the State, calling on him to interpose his authority. The Governor arrived at Carthage on the 21st of June, and found 800 persons as- sembled under arms at that town and in Warsaw, awaiting his orders as Commander-in-Chief. Mean- time, also, Xauvoo was put in a state of defence by the Mormons, ammunition and provisions were pro- cured, and the Legion was ordered out and fully equipped. To avert a civil war, the Governor opened a communication with the Smiths, who, finally, seeing resistance hopeless, surrendered AM) THE MORMONS. 371 under promise of protection. On the 2.">th they arrived at Carthage, and entered into recognizances in the sum of 500 dollars each for their appearance al the next term of the Circuit Court. But before this business was completed they were served with a writ on a charge of high treason and levying war againsl the State, and were both remanded to prison to await their trial on the following day. The next day, in the presence of numerous spec- tators, the "Prophet" and his brother appeared in Court, attended by two friends, and guarded by a military force. It is declared that, while Ilynnn showed much courage, Joseph's cheeks were blanched with fear, and that he appeared "a guilty, cowardly culprit." As the attorneys for the defence declared themselves to be unprepared, the trial was deferred to the 29th, and it was commonly believed that a jury of Mormons would be packed for the occasion. The populace now threatened that the Smiths should not leave Carthage alive, in consecpuence of which the Governor visited them in jail, and assured them of his continued protection. The jail at Carthage was a large stone building in the outskirts of the town in the direction of Warsaw, a portion of which was occupied by the jailer and his family. The Smiths having complained to the Governor of the unnecessary rigour of their im- prisonment, the jailer was ordered to treat them with all possible leniency, and each of them was allowed to retain a six-barrelled pistol for defence. After this they occupied one of the jailer's private apart- ments, and a guard of troops was appointed for the 372 JOSEPH SMITH double purpose of preventing their escape and of securing them against an attack. Shortly after 5 o'clock in the evening of June 27th, two of the windows of the "Prophet's" apart- ment were open, a curtain hanging before each, probably on account of the hot weather. The " Prophet " had furnished a bottle of wine, upon which his friends Taylor and Richards, and himself, together with a portion of the guard, were in the act of regaling. Suddenly about 150 armed men, with their faces disguised by paint, were seen ap- proaching the jail by the Warsaw road, and sur- rounding the building in every direction. These rioters required the guards to surrender the two Smiths, but meeting with a refusal, they rushed to the staircase, notwithstanding the discharge of a few ineffectual shots. As they ascended the steps they fired their muskets through the door into the " Prophet's " apartment. Hyrum Smith fell dead at the first discharge, exclaiming, u Pm a dead man." Joseph opened the door and fired his pistol three times in succession, but with little effect. He then retreated to a window, and, throwing aside the cur- tain, perceived a large force of disguised men on the outside. He was heard to exclaim, " Oh, my God !" when a number of muskets were discharged at him, partly from within and partly from without. Pie fell outwards head foremost to the earth, and was lifeless when he struck the ground. Five or six shots had pierced his breast, each of which produced a wound sufficient to cause his death. Jlichards escaped uninjured by retreating behind the door, A\'I> THE MORMONS. 373 and Taylor, though severely wounded, lives to tell the story and to propagate the delusion. The perpetrators of this cowardly murder were never discovered, and it is to be feared that no real efforts were made to bring them to justice. The people of Carthage deserted their homes and tied, fearing the fury of the Mormons. On the other hand, the Mormons, equally terrified, surrendered the public arms in their possession, and disavowed the intention of taking vengeance on those who had been accessory to the death of their leaders. At 3 o'clock on the evening of June 29, the bodies of the " Prophet " and his brother arrived at Nauvoo, and were met by eight or ten thousand of the weeping Mormons. Two burial places, a mile from the temple, had been previously marked out by Joseph for himself and for Ilyrum. But as it was said that some Missourians had offered a reward of 1,000 dollars for the head of the "Prophet," the bodies were interred in some unknown spot while the ceremonies were performing at the usual place of preaching. After the death of Joseph, Mormonism, though discouraged for a short time, soon recovered its energies. Sidney Rigdon, having attempted to occupy the vacant post of First President, was formally excommunicated, and Brigham Young suc- ceeded to the coveted distinction. The works on the Temple and the Nauvoo House proceeded rapidly, the hostility of the " Gentiles " relaxed, and persecution produced sympathy and made converts in many quarters. Within a year after the murder, 374 JOSEPH SMITH the population of Nauvoo was estimated at 14,000. But when the Temple was nearly finished, the Mor- mons began to indulge again in boasting and in- solence, and predicted the time when the whole land would be theirs, by divine right, from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. Quarrels with the " Gentiles " occurred, which led to skirmishes, and finally to regular battles, in which many lives were lost. The people of Illinois and Missouri accumulated charges against the " Saints," with a view to their utter ruin. It was generally asserted and believed that the Mormons were en- gaged in the manufacture of counterfeit coin, that they had organized a system of cattle-stealing, that Nauvoo was a receptacle of stolen goods, and that criminals of every kind found a refuge within its precincts, under the convenient protection of the Town Council. A meeting of the nine surrounding counties took place, when it was agreed that the Mormons should be forcibly expelled, if they could not otherwise be induced to emigrate. In conse- quence of this resolution the unhappy " Saints " de- termined, early in 1846, to seek a home beyond the Rocky Mountains, and out of the reach of those whom they had made their enemies. Then commenced what has been somewhat profane- ly called the " Exodus" of the Mormons, in which the social elements of their system appeared to great ad- vantage. Sixteen hundred men, women, and children, composed the first company, and crossed the Missis- sippi on the ice on the 3rd of February, 1840. Five hundred of the boldest men formed the celebrated AND THE MORMONS. 375 Mormon regiment which materially assisted the American forces in the Mexican war. Being after- wards disbanded in Upper California, tli<\ were among the first to profit by the golden riches then first discovered. Others went to New York, and sailed by Cape Horn to California, where, like most of the early comers, they amassed large quantities of treasure. The great bulk of the people proceeded overland to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, an enormous journey beset with difficulties, which tried their courage to the utmost. But those who had been the pioneers of this expedition had planted with corn large tracts of land in the wilderness, which supplied a harvest to the multitudes which followed them. In the meanwhile, those who remained in Nauvoo, singularly enough, were engaged in finish- ing their Temple, amid ruthless opposition on the part of their adversaries. In May, 1846, it was solemnly consecrated, but on the following day it Mas dismantled by the remnant of the "Saints," who joined the main body now 7 moving with two thou- sand wagons on their journey westward. After peregrinations, systematically and wisely arranged, extending over more than two years, the entire community w T as securely established in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. As for the deserted Nauvoo, although the "Saints" had sometimes managed to sell their property for a trifle, on the whole it was little better than con- fiscated, and many of the houses were totally destroyed by fire. In October, 1848, the Temple was burned by an incendiary, and in May, 1850, 376 JOSEPH SMITH when occupied and partially repaired by a colony of French Socialists under M. Cabet, it was reduced to a heap of rubbish by a terrible tornado. The Mormons, in the meanwhile, reaped the benefits of the energy and perseverance which their singular history had called into vigorous action. Their territory was found to be tolerably fertile, they were on good terms with the surrounding Indians, and, being blocked in by mountains and lakes, they ex- pected to constitute a peculiar colony. The scatter- ing houses of their new city soon covered a space of ground nearly as large as New York, and a place was reserved in the centre as the site of a temple, in- tended to be far superior to that of Nauvoo. After erecting their dwellings, they proceeded to establish their political government. They adopted a Constitution, and applied to Congress to be ad- mitted as a State into the American Union. Ac- cordingly, by an Act of the Congress of 1850, a territorial government was appointed for the country under the name of Utah, and in the October of the same year, the President of the United States nominated Brigham Young (Joseph's successor) to be its Governor, and six others, three of whom only were Mormons, to the subordinate offices of Chief- Justice, Associate-Justice, Attorney-General, and States-Marshal. Thus, for the present, the Mormons are exalted to the high places of the earth, and their new prophet is a lawful and recognized ruler. The admixture of " Gentiles," however, which appears in the Presidential nomination, seems to augur ill for their future tranquillity, and warrants the anticipa- AM) THE MORMONS. .1,7 tion that the quarrels of Missouri and of Illinois may yet be renewed in Utah. Although proselytes from England and elsewhere continue to flock to the Valley of the Salt Lake, many become sensible of their delusion after their arrival in the " promised land;" and individuals occasionally return convinced 3 by painful experience, of the falsehood and iniquity of the religion of Joseph Smith. It remains to be seen whether the Christian or the Mormon elements of this sect, so favoured by ap- parently adverse circumstances, will ultimately pre- vail. It is quite possible that, if left to themselves, the " Latter-day Saints " may become a mere socialist or anabaptist community, little influenced by the fictitious "revelations" of their singular founder. On the other hand, with their increasing wealth and population, if the Mormon principle should gain the ascendancy, a most mischievous and fanatical system will come into active operation, which will prove eminently prejudicial to the happi- ness not only- of America but of mankind. 378 CHAPTER XIV, CONCLUSION. The Author returns to England. — Interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury. — A Private Act of Parliament obtained. — A library secured for Kemper College. — The Author resigns the Professorship. — Various conclusions derived from the facts re- corded in this volume. Haying returned to St. Louis from Nauvoo, I left Kemper College on the 30th of April, and on the following day embarked with my family in the steamer " Tribune" on our voyage to England. We arrived at Cincinnati on the 5th of May, and, the river being low, were transferred to a smaller steamer, the Saratoga, in which, on the 9th, we completed our voyage of 1207 miles, from St. Louis to Pittsburg. After a delay of a few hours we left Pittsburg in a crowded canal packet-boat, and, during the night and the following day, ascended many locks, and passed numerous iron-works, as we approached the Alleghany Mountains. On the morning of the 11th we arrived at the highest point attained by the canal, where we were trans- CONCLUSION. 379 ferred to a railroad train, and were drawn ii]) five inclined planes to the summit of the mountains. We were allowed a few minutes for breakfast at a hotel on the highest elevation, and afterwards descended a number of inclined planes, like the first, to another canal on the eastern side of the mountains. Here we again embarked in a packet boat, and passed through a long succession of romantic scenery on the Juniata and Susqnehannah rivers. Public conveyances in America, like the Athenian mcwket-place of old, are a common arena for dis- cussions, both political and religious. On this occasion I was engaged in a dispute by a Quaker of the new school, who maintained that many books of poetry and divinity had been written under the same divine inspiration, with the Psalms of David and the Epistles of St. Paid. After this point had been considered, the subject of the Sacraments was introduced, and I felt that some impression was made upon my antagonist as well as upon the other hearers. But, at this juncture, I was attacked by two young K omish Priests on the question of Transub- stantiation, and to this day the various turns in the argument which ensued, are associated in my mind with the beautiful windings of the Susquehannah. On the evening of the 13th we entered Harris- burg, and proceeded by railway to Philadelphia, and thence to New r York. Here we found the splendid new Trinity Church almost complete. In many of the city Churches also, daily services were held, and weekly communions were celebrated, practices which have now r become still more 380 CONCLUSION. general and acceptable. After remaining a week in the metropolis, we embarked for Liverpool on the 21st in the American ship, Southerner. While upon this voyage I found no difficulty in introducing daily morning and evening prayers in the cabin, besides two regular services and sermons on the deck on Sundays. The ship was navigated on the " temperance" plan, and, during rough weather, a quantity of hot coffee was served out to the crew instead of ardent spirits. All things went on smoothly, so far as the government of the sailors was concerned, and the general aspect of the vessel was thoroughly clean and comfortable. We landed safely at Liverpool on the 20th of June, after a most agreeable passage. I employed myself immediately in circulating a true narrative of the Mormon delusion, and in ob- taining assistance towards the completion of the library at Kemper College. Being in London in the following August, I waited, by appointment, on the late Archbishop of Canterbury, with a commen- datory letter from Bishop Kemper, and gave him a full account of the state of the Church in the West, of the progress of the Mormon delusion, and of the vast increase of emigration. The venerable Father of the Eeformed Church had already informed himself with wonderful accuracy in regard to many par- ticulars respecting America and the Western Church, and fully appreciated the efforts of the Missionary Bishops. He listened with profound grief to my account of the multitudes of English people whom I had seen at Nauvoo, and expressed CONCLUSION. 381 his deep commiseration for the victims of so mon- strous a delusion. By the assistance of the Archbishop, the Bishops of London and Salisbury, and many other kind and enlightened Churchmen, I succeeded in obtaining within a year a collection of valuable books, besides other useful donations, for our College in .Missouri. I was also enabled to procure, though at some con- siderable expense, a Private Act of Parliament, by which the disabilities of my American Ordination were removed, and I was placed on the same footing, substantially, with those ordained in the English Establishment. In June, 1843, a year having expired, I terminated my agency in behalf of Kemper College, and trans- mitted the various donations received in England to their destination. Many considerations, some of which can be readily imagined, produced an un- willingness to convey a young family again five thousand miles to the far West, and I resigned the Professorship in favour of another. In January, 1845, the President of Kemper Col- lege wrote to me as follows : " I presume that Bishop Kemper has notified you of the safe arrival and profitable employment of every book, and every shilling contributed by our friends in the " old country," for the benefit of Kemper College. I now request of you the favour to express to our benefactors around you, the grateful sense which we entertain of their liberality. It gives me pleasure to inform you that the number of students con- nected with the College is greater than ever, and a 382 CONCLUSION. much larger proportion consists of young men. In the short space of three years, the College has not only won for itself an excellent name, but has clone much for the extension of the Church, and for the general interests of Christian education in these CD vast regions. Since your departure, the buildings have been entirely finished, and a new story has been elevated upon the central edifice. The grounds have been greatly improved, and the credit of the College stands upon the best foundations." But the pleasing anticipations of the President were destined to be disappointed. The payments justly due to the College could not be collected, and the old debt, with its heavy interest, continued to press upon it and to check its progress. Finally, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the College buildings and lands were sold by auction to the highest bidder. The premises are said to be at present in the possession of the Jesuits. The library collected in England met with a better fate, being transferred from the ruined insti- tution to Trinity School, a Church establishment founded by the new Bishop of Missouri, in the western part of his diocese. The Warden of this School reported as follows in the Colonial Church Chronicle, for December, 1849. " The House has been established little more than a year, and was begun in great weakness, apparently, its only en- dowment being Faith and Poverty. It has a domain of about 400 acres ; also the books which belonged formerly to Kemper College, in great part the pious gifts of Churchmen in England." conclusion. ;;>;; Having now completed my personal narrative, I venture to State sonic conclusions, which seem to be fairly derived from the facts mentioned in this volume. It appears, I think, very plain, that the character of a Colony will long continue the same as it was made, in the first instance, by the Mother Country. The nature of its institutions, and popular opinions, will be mainly determined by those elements which either by necessity, by intention, or by mere care- lessness, were introduced into its incipient organi- zation. Thus if an Aristocracy in any Colony is an impossibility, and a Monarchy a mere abstraction, whenever that Colony becomes independent, it will take the form of a Republic, and will regard even the principle of Monarchy with aversion. If, for any reason, the Christian Church is rendered ineffi- cient in a Colony, by the withholding of chief rulers, or by the suspension of important rites, the growth of schism will be a necessary result, Episcopacy will be considered an encroachment, and the disused rites will be commonly associated with superstition. The ideas of right and wrong impressed by the acts of the parent state on the susceptible mind of a youthful nation, will be carried on by the force of tradition, though they may be inconsistent with themselves, and, in many respects, contrary to morals and re- ligion. The establishment of Slavery (for example) leads to a whole class of opinions, habits, and pre- judices, which the influence of Christianity for centuries may be unable entirely to efface. Con- sequences pernicious and destructive even to the 384 CONCLUSION. Mother Country, may, in the course of time, result from the early neglect of its Colonial offspring. Mormonism affords an example of the re-actions, which in many forms, political and religious, may be expected to visit us from various quarters. America, as I have previously hinted, exhibits on a large scale some remarkable effects consequent on sectarian divisions. Dissent has in a fuller measure than in this country worked out its legitimate results, and these results are not those which might be expected from the Christianity of the Bible. The first effect of religious divisions seems to be mutual animosity and bitterness, and a general breaking up of what ought to be the harmonious structure of society. Different bodies become jealous of the influence of one another, and seek opportunities for diminishing that influence by various demoralizing contrivances. If these bodies are pretty equally represented or patronized in the Legislature, the Government, almost as a matter of course, will become, first, impartial, and secondly, in- different. The next effect will be an intolerant liberalism, first forbidding (where it has power) the inculcation of doctrine in connexion with Scripture, and next, when this prohibition has proved absurd, extending it to the Scriptures themselves. The public mind at the same time is undergoing a similar process ; and men at length cease to quarrel about religion, because little definite religion remains to occasion animosity. But where is the Cure to be found which can reach the source of this extensive and spreading CONCLUSION. 385 malady? The unbeliever recommends the utter destruction of religion itself, falsely asserting that the doctrines of Christ are the cause of the com- plaint. But the nature and circumstances of man (to say nothing of the influence of Scripture) will not sanction such a measure. The works of crea- tion suggest to him the idea of a First Cause, his inward aspirations incline him to some form of worship, and his conscience rebukes him for various delinquencies. Illness produces serious thoughts, solitude deepens his habit of reflection, and the frequent deaths of friends and relatives bring ideas of eternity more or less forcibly before his mind. By these and many other arguments the extir- pation of religion is proved to be out of the question. Another theory is that supplied by the Mormon. He assures us that a new divine revelation is neces- sary, to terminate the deplorable divisions of the Christian world. Unquestionably this theory, in the abstract, possesses much in its favour, and, if sustained by facts, ought gratefully to be accepted. But in the application of it to his own system the Mormon entirely fails. The members of the contending sects will generally rather cling to their own respective creeds, than admit Joseph Smith as their prophet, with his fable of the golden plates, and of the angel " in grey clothes having his throat cut." We next have the doctrine of Infallibility, as taught by the Eoman Catholic Church, and are required to acknowledge substantially a perpetual fountain of 38 6 CONCLUSION. inspiration in connexion with that extensive body. We are told that Unity is only to be found in the dutiful submission of frail human understanding to the supremacy of the Roman See. But here we are met by the historical fact, that the claims of the Church of Rome have been the direct cause of many existing divisions among the professed followers of Christ. This fact appears to exclude all hope that the cure of the particular disease in question is to be found in Romanism. On the other hand it leads us to apprehend that the same cause will produce the same effects, and that the system of Rome will continue to be the fruitful parent of animosity and contention. The Ultra-Protestant comes next, with his w T ell- meant theory of the unlimited and indiscriminate circulation of the Holy Scriptures, without note or comment. He says, " Diffuse the Bible through- out the nation, give it into every hand, allow it to work its own way, and in due time there will follow an agreement on all the essential truths of Christianity." But, leaving the Ultra-Protestant to settle with the Romanist which are those essential truths, it is too late to expect so much from the Bible, when (through the effect of divisions) the Bible has been practically expelled from its place in the work of education, where its chief power ought to be exerted. America, too, has actually been favoured above all countries with an abundant diffusion of the Scriptures in the " vulgar tongue." Yet it does not appear that any perceptible approach to Christian unity can be reckoned ( <>\< lusion. 387 among the undoubtedly good effects resulting from that extensive diffusion. I would not for :i moment countenance the idea that a disappointment in this respect arises from any defect in those blessed writings themselves. It seems rather to proceed from the mistake of those who expect more from Scripture than Scripture by itself was ever intended to accomplish. Having been written for the Church, by ministers of the Church, and after the Church had been some time in existence, the New Testament generally pre- supposes the being and the active teaching of the Church. When removed from this connexion, it is therefore cut off from the system of " doctrine and fellowship " to which it properly belongs, and which supplies the true key to the meaning which it was intended to convey. Hence its interpretation be- comes unsettled, and many of its gravest truths come to be regarded as mere superstitions, even by those who are familiar with the letter of the Bible. Various sects imagine themselves to be following the Bible, while, in reality, the Bible is made to follow them. Hence the teaching of even Apostles is often made secondary to superficial traditions and baneful prejudices, by which questions of truth and error are virtually determined. It appears, then, that to give the Scriptures their proper place in the Christian scheme, and thereby to make them effectual to the promotion of unity, we must connect them with the doctrine and the authority which existed at the period of their first promulgation. When this is accomplished, the Bible 388 CONCLUSION. will not be overshadowed either by Roman additions to the faith, or by the equally injurious devices of modern sectarian theology. Now, it is a fact that the Reformed Church in England and in America retains an embodiment of the doctrine of the primitive Church in its Creeds and in its Liturgies. It is also a fact that it possesses the authority of the early Church, conveyed from Christ by means of physical contact through the imposition of hands. It is unnecessary to trace the steps of this succes- sion, since it is enough to show that, from the time of the Apostles, there have always been Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, and that Consecration and Ordination have been, as a matter of history, con- stantly practised. As our descent from Adam is proved by the unvarying law of parentage, so, in like manner, the constant regulations of the Church demonstrate our ecclesiastical descent from, and our connexion with, those who were commissioned to teach all nations to the end of the world. It would seem, therefore, that so far as the Church acts in her original character, so far she fulfils the office of maintaining the Scriptures in their true position. And, in proportion as she extends herself upon her Apostolic foundations, she more manifestly becomes a centre of unity for the scattered sheep of Christ. The evil effects of divisions within the Church have been exhibited by several painful statements and narratives in the course of this volume. It has been seen how they have retarded the growth of right principles, and materially delayed extensive ( <>\< LI BION. 389 and desirable improvements. They arise, do doubt, partly from ignorance, partly from misapprehension, and partly from varieties of the mental constitution. But they must also, in part, be traced to the well- intentioned efforts of our Reformers to combine differing parties in one external profession. While, however, we cannot but lament the marked varia- tions of principle indicated by such terms as "High and Low," "Evangelical and Tractarian," it must not be forgotten that the practice of the Church, both in England and America, presents a fixed and uniform aspect. Some, for example, in theory, may regard the Church of Koine as wholly anti-Christian, and may be almost prepared to deny the validity of its baptisms and its orders. Yet, in ecclesiastical practice, the Church of Rome is fully acknowledged to be a part of the Catholic Church of Christ. When- ever any of its members desire to connect themselves with our Reformed Church, no second baptism can be administered, and when any of its priests renounce their errors they may be admitted to the functions of our ministry without a second ordination. In like manner, though perhaps a few Bishops hold that, in some sense, the Christian ministry may possibly be conferred by Methodist or Presbyterian ordina- tion, they never actually admit such " ministers " as pastors in the Church until they have received also the Episcopal " laying on of hands." Some few clergy- men may not feel entirely satisfied as to the Apos- tolic Succession, yet even these persons would not acknowledge a Bishop who should claim his office on the ground of mere election, without a regular con- 390 CONCLUSION. secration. In addition to this, the experience of the American Church proves that all parties of Churchmen may work together in Conventions for the promotion of the great common cause, without seeking to accomplish mutual destruction. It appears, in the next place, that our Reformed Church, in general, can exj)ect little effectual sup- port from any secular authority. Constituted as all the Anglo-Saxon Legislatures are at present, we can scarcely dare to hope that they will do otherwise, in time of trial, than sacrifice religious considerations to political expediency. Hence it appears very plain that the Church should alwaj^s stand upon her divine and spiritual character, willing, indeed, to accept whatever real advantages the State can confer, but prepared to surrender those advantages rather than yield an iota of essential principle. It cannot well be doubted that the peculiar union of Church and State in England has produced many salutary effects upon the national character, and has imparted a venerable sacredness to the government itself. Yet beyond the limits of the British Isles such a union does not exist, and is not likely to be speedily intro- duced. Of the 106 Bishops of our Reformed Church, forty alone are estahlislied in the English sense of the word. Forty-one are entirely dis- sociated from all State connexion, and the remain- ing twenty- five are involved in the perplexities of that transitionary system which prevails in our Colonies. While this, however, is the actual state of the Church, I would not be understood to maintain that CONCLUSION. :)[)] the experience of the American Church is altogether favourable to what is called the Voluntary Principle. It proves, indeed, as the Bishop of Toronto lias stated, that much may be accomplished by the pri- vate efforts of Christian people, when more regular means have failed. But it is obvious thai with the voluntary system superadded to a popular constitu- tion, the Church, unless greatly strengthened by higher influences, will follow rather than direct public opinion ; it will float like a raft at the mercy of the current, when it ought to force its way against the errors and prejudices of a wicked world. An abun- dant inward spiritual life will greatly obviate the defects of outward circumstances, and where that is wanting, no mere Establishment can impart the boldness and the reality, which are the characteristics of a living ministry. Both systems have, indeed, their peculiar temptations, to which the earthly- minded will give way, and which the truly sincere will, with Divine help, overcome. If, then, it be necessary for the minister of Christ always to be on his guard against the temptations incident to his position, it also appears to be his duty to take all requisite measures to improve that position, both in its stability, and in its prospect of success. Sources of evil sometimes exist which operate upon all the congregations in an entire branch of the Church. What, then, can be more reasonable than that the pastors of those parishes should band themselves together in associations for the promotion of measures which promise to remove the common mischief? For more than a century the American Clergy petitioned 392 CONCLUSION. and (as it would now be said) agitated for Bishops, knowing that their destitution in this" respect was a cause of incalculable injury to the parishes committed to their charge. So in Canada, when threatened with the confiscation of Church property, the tri- umph of Popery and Dissent, and the establishment of infidel education, the faithful sons of the Church have felt it their duty to "agitate" for Synodical Action. It cannot be doubted that the Clergy, by attending the first informal meetings of the General Convention and of the Synod of Toronto, were in the way of procuring greater benefits to their people than by employing the same time in the ordinary routine of parochial duty. On this last subject, Synodical Action, the Ameri- can Church affords much assistance towards the for- mation of a fair and impartial judgment. Although, in a perfectly united Church, Synodical Action might be an unmixed benefit, it is very cer- tain that where divisions on matters of principle exist, it does not accomplish so much as sanguine persons might anticipate. Hence in times of contro- versial excitement, American Churchmen look for- ward to the meetings of their Conventions with anxious apprehension, and regard them as a subject of earnest prayer and supplication to the Almighty. They know how difficult it is, especially in Diocesan Assemblies, to rise above mere local feelings and party prejudices. They are aware that, under such impulses, these Conventions have sometimes com- mitted themselves to a course of action afterwards bitterly regretted. They know also that even the CONCLUSION, 303 General Convention has not been wholly free from similar dangers, and that uicat wisdom and ibrbcar- ance on the part of Leading men is often necessary to avert the disastrous effects of faction. At the same time they arc fully alive to the value of their Con- ventional system, knowing how infinitely superior it is to ecclesiastical anarchy, or to Anti-Church Legislation on the part of the State. They know that this system simplifies and economises their means, and combines their energies, with a view to definite results. Though harsh sounds occa- sionally proceed from the machine, they hear in those sounds little but the escape through the regu- lar safety-valve of a power which otherwise might produce a destructive explosion. Hence it seems to follow that Synodical Action on a grand scale, excluding as much as possible merely local and temporary influences, might prove highly beneficial to the whole Church, and at the same time might relieve minor ecclesiastical legislatures from many of the difficulties under which, at present, they are labouring. Could we, for example, suppose the ex- istence of a system of united operation, including both England and America within its sphere, it is quite conceivable that great advantages to each country would be the result. We should not be so much in danger of "measuring ourselves by ourselves, and comparing ourselves among ourselves." Each por- tion of the Church might supply to the other many of the very elements of which it is particularly in need. It cannot be doubted that various causes, his- torical and otherwise, retard the advancement of the 394 CONCLUSION. Church of England, which might be more clearly manifested to us by the unbiassed discrimination of our western brethren. On the other hand, we might contribute our part in elevating their standard of judgment on various important points of doctrine and of practice. We might increase their feelings of reverence and respect for antiquity, and in return receive from them a portion of their elasticity, their perseverance, and their energy. Measures are now on foot or partly accomplished, which render it unnecessary to construct a grand scheme of sy nodical action by efforts of mere imagi- nation. There exists already the cluster of Ameri- can Dioceses bound together for the last seventy years by the General Convention. Sy nodical Action has commenced, as we have seen, in Canada, under a Bishop, who in his last Charge has expressed an anticipation of a second cluster of Dioceses united in a General Synod of British North America. The Australian prelates have made a commencement, which will probably eventuate in a third cluster of extensive Dioceses, represented in an Australian Convocation. New Zealand has addressed its noble- minded Bishop on the subject of a General Conven- tion of the Clergy and the Laity residing in that Britain of the Pacific. The Mother Church in Ens;- land has witnessed earnest and faithful efforts, which may terminate in the establishment of Diocesan Synods, and the revival of the ancient Ecclesiastical Legislature. And to crown the climax of accom- plished and anticipated results, the able Bishop of Vermont, in a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, CONCLUSION. 395 has thus expressed himself in regard to the con- solidating measure of a Synod of all our Bishops of Great Britain, America, and the Colonies: — "I fervently hope that the time may conic when we shall meet together in the good old fashion of Synodical Action. How natural and how reasonable would it seem to be, it' 'in a time of controversy and division' there should be a council of all the Bishops in communion with your Grace. And would not such an assemblage exhibit the most solemn, and, under God, the most influential aspect of strength and unity, in maintaining the true Gospel. It is my own firm belief that such a measure would be pro- ductive of immense advantage, and would exercise a moral influence far beyond that of any secular legis- lation." An Anglo-Saxon Synod, like that proposed above, might settle many important questions connected with the promotion of Christianity, and the definition of the doctrines of the Reformation. It could not, indeed, unsettle what General Councils have already lawfully determined; and however respectable in moral weight, it would be far from possessing the attribute of infallibility. But its members might pray earnestly for Divine assistance, and might con- sult with learned and grave deliberation. They might devise measures for adapting the Church to its enlarged sphere, by neutralizing as much as possible the causes of weakness and corruption. They might diminish the extent of division by deciding upon many of those subjects which now constitute the rallying points of opposing parties. 396 CONCLUSION. They might supplant heresy and imposture by draw- ing forth the divine character of the Church in active and beneficent exercise. They might utter a united voice in behalf of all who are oppressed — they might ascertain the causes which debase and de- moralize the poor — they might lay plans for ele- vating the lower classes generally in the scale of humanity. They might teach the Church how to shake off whatever is effete or unreal, and to become an unworldly and peculiar society. They might dis- play the glory of the divine hierarchy of the Chris- tian Religion, by casting to the winds the false dignity of the world, and going forth, as many of their number have already done, in the faith and devotion of primitive times. Then it would be seen that a great and truly Catholic Church can exist and prosper without a Roman Pontiff, without the abuse of images, without fictitious miracles, and without Mariolatry. Then it would appear that neither the local influence of Rome, or of England, or of America, is essential to the efficiency of that spiritual society, which is built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer-stone. The same Episcopate to which in the beginning the work of diffusing Christianity was committed, and on which the gracious promises of the Redeemer were conferred, would show itself as the great bond of union, and the main foundation of ecclesiastical strength. The course of events is hurrying us along, and CONCLUSION. 397 the world and the Church are alike driving onwards with rapidity in the direction of prodigious changes. Distant parts of the earth are brought into close proximity by means of steam and electricity, and the minds of men, forced into new activity, arc anticipating the commencement of a brilliant era. In fifty years Australia will probably be another America, while the United States alone will contain threefold the present population of Great Britain. England will find herself reproduced at various points of the globe, and her language will be the native tongue of the most active and energetic nations upon earth. While the different arts of life are becoming improved by mutual combination, while even impostures like Monnonism are strengthening themselves by alliances extending over many nations ; while Rome exalts and diffuses her power by a definite system of operations in East and West, let not our Reformed Church alone be content to forego similar advantages. In times of progress not to advance is to recede. The hope of the Church is in going forwards, in " lengthening her cords and strengthening her stakes." Let her labour to place herself right in all questions affecting truth and duty, the interests of humanity, and the promotion of the Divine Glory. Let her address herself to her great work with the help of the new race of faithful sons, now rising up, to meet the varied exigencies of the times. Let her gather up all the zeal, and activity, and learning, and piety, and reverence, and kindness, and love of truth, now existing in her scattered members. Let her seek 398 CONCLUSION. earnestly for the gifts of strength and wisdom from above, and for the pervading inspiration of that Comforter, without whom she cannot continue in safety. Then, we may trust, that in prophetic language, she will arise and shine, the Lord shall arise upon her, and His glory shall be seen upon her. The Gentiles shall come to her light, and kin^s to the brightness of her risiner. 309 APPENDIX, STATISTICAL TABLES. I. POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO SEVEN ENUMERATIONS, FROM THE OFFICIAL RETURNS. 1 790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. 3,929,827 5,305,925 7,239,814 9,638,131 12,866,920 17,064,688 23,351,207 H. PROGEESSIVE LNCEEASE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1792. ESTIMATED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION. Clergy... Communi- cants ... Worship- pers ... 1792. 1801. 1811. 1820. 1829. 1841. 1850. 189 9,500 57,000 207 10,500 63,000 233 12,000 72,000 311 16,500 99,000 502 27,000 162,000 1,052 55,427 332,562 1,558 94,302 565,800 From a comparison of the above Tables, it will appear that in the last thirty years the population of the United States has increased nearly 2\ times, while the Church has increased more than five-fold, or in a ratio more than double that of the population. 400 APPENDIX. III. STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE RESPECTIVE DIOCESES, ACCORDING TO THE RETURNS MADE TO THE GENERAL CONVENTION IN 1850. Dioceses. Total Population Clergy in Commu- nicants. Proportion of Population to 1 of the Epis- in 1850. 1850. copal Clergy. Maine 583.018 14 694 41,501 New Hampshire ... 317,909 9 552 35,333 Vermont 314.322 23 1,722 13,666 Massachusetts 994,065 80 5,142 12,433 Rhode Island 147,543 26 2,400 5,674 Connecticut 371,947 111 9,360 3,350 New York ... \ Western N. York ) 3,098,818 (264 fll7 16,000* 7.102 I 8,133 New Jersey 489.381 61 3,154 8,022 Pennsylvania 2,314,897 146 11,750 15,814 i Delaware 90,407 16 537 5,650 Maryland 575,150 124 7,473 4,638 Virginia 1,476.533 117 5,347 12.169 North Carolina 868,870 39 2,137 22,278 South Carolina 668,247 68 4,916 9.827 Georgia ... . 888,726 27 950 32,915 Florida ... . 89,459 8 244 11,182 Alabama... . 779,001 24 823 32,458 Mississippi 605.488 17 500 35,614 Louisiana 523,094 25 941 20,923 Texas ... . 230,000 7 260 21,427 (Tennessee 1,006.213 19 653 52,958 Kentucky 993,344 31 1,005 32.043 Ohio ... . 1,981.940 72 4,000 27,527 Indiana ... . 990,258 18 670 55,069 Illinois ... . 855,384 SO 1,500 28,512 Michigan 402,041 34 1,455 11,824 Missouri... 682,907 14 659 48,778 Arkansas 198,796 5 300* 39.759 Wisconsin 305,538 24 1,356 12,730 •Minnesota 6,077 4 300* 1,519 Iowa ... . 192.247 6 400 32,041 California 214,000 Extra-Diocesan ... 94,897 Total... 23,351,207 1,580 94,302 14,140 * These are estimated, not being actually returned. THE END. EEKOKS AKI) ALTERATIONS, Page 63, line 23, for Allegany read Alleghany 00, line 27, for famale read female 72, line 25, for vine read Vine 99, ?i»e 22, for supporting to it. read supporting it. 146, line 22, for was read were 157, line 21, for a million of read 600,000 179, line 32, for 15,000 read 18,000 182, line 25, for 7,000 read 18,000 189, line 32, for composed read comprised 192, line 3, for more than doubled read increased to 612,2-14 195, line 22, for more than doubled, read increased to 409,353, John and Charles Mozley, Printers, Derby. Opinions of the Press, IN REFERENCE TO THE FIRST EDITION OF AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN CHURCH. British Magazine, August, 1830. " Every work is useful which brings before the public the con- dition of the Church in the United States, and thus enables men to contemplate the Church as distinguished from the Establishment. Mr. Caswall's Book unites with the correctness of History, the interest which attaches to the Notes of a Journalist and Traveller, and it will soon become decidedly popular." British Critic, 1839. " A graphic and circumstantial account of the present state of the American Church, by Mr. Caswall, an Englishman by birth, but a presbyter in the American Church." The Canadian " Church;' July 20, 1830. "This work is a compendious survey of the American Church, and condenses in every page an immense mass of information. . . . It is not a slight encouragement to us of the Canadian Church, to have an elder sister so near at hand walking in the paths of primitive and apostolic order. ... It is not a light benefit that between two such mighty and jealous powers as England and America, a feeling should be promoted by the connexion of the two Churches, alike favourable to Christian unity, international peace, and the evange- lization of the world. The reflections, however, suggested by the delightful and valuable pages of Mr. Caswall, are so many and so gratifying, that if we do not at once stop we shall exceed our bounds. Suffice it to say that we think our reverend brother has rendered a solid sendee to the cause of Episcopacy, and in such a manner as its sturdiest opponents cannot feel offended with. The style of Mr. Caswall is chaste, perspicuous, and expressive ; and his judgment clear and discriminating." TForks by the same Author. PUBLISHED BY J. G. AND F. RIVINGTON, st. Paul's churchyard, and Waterloo place, pall mall, London. I. THE CITY OF THE MORMONS; OR THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO IN 1812. With Frontispiece. Second Edition, revised and enlarged, 12mo, Is. Gd. II. THE PROPHET OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ; OR THE RISE, PROGRESS, AXD PRESENT STATE OF THE MORMONS, OR LATTER-DAY SAINTS. TO WHICH IS APPENDED, AN ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. Post Svo, 7s. 6d. III. LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY. A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE A BRANCH OF THE WILTSHIRE FRIENDLY SOCIETY IN 1848. Second Edition, price 3d. IV. DIDASCALUS, OR THE TEACHER. A CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO THE PARENTS OF ENGLAND. Price Is. V. MORMONISM AND ITS AUTHOR. A TRACT PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. Price Id. PUBLISHED BY J. HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY, LONDON. VI. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE METHOD OF SYNODICAL ACTION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE SYNODAL CONSULTATIVE MEETING AT DERBY, 1851. 0021130930