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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OP THE 
 
 MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOST REV. JOHN CAREOLL, 
 
 J^trst Jlrcl)bt9ljop of Baltimore: 
 
 SELECT PORTIONS OP HIS WRITINGS. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 JOHN CARROLL BRENT. 
 
 BALTIMORE: 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURPHY, 
 
 146 MARKET STREET. 
 
 MDC CCSLIII. 
 

 Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and forty-lJiree, by John Carroll Brent, in the clerk's office of 
 the District court of Mar>iand. 
 
 //f f^r 
 
 PRINTED AND BOUND BV JOHN MCRPHT, 
 
 146 Market street, Daliimore. 
 

 THE MOST REV. SAMUEL ECCLESTON, 
 
 THE PREaE:<T 
 
 Worthy Head of the Roman Catholic Church m the U. States of America, 
 
 THI3 WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 B? HIS FAITHFUL AKD OBEDIENT SERVANT. 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
P H E r A C E. 
 
 In presenting to the patronage of the public 
 the following Biographical Sketch of the 
 Most Rev. John Carroll, first Archbishop 
 of Baltimore, the editor deems it proper to 
 make a few preliminary remarks. 
 
 Having come into possession of the unfin- 
 ished manuscript of the late Daniel Brent, 
 (Consul of the United States for Paris, 
 France,) the nephew and executor of the 
 distinguished subject of this Memoir, the 
 subscriber considered it an act of duty, as it 
 has become one of love, to carry into execu- 
 tion the original intention of its author, thus 
 unfortunately interrupted by his death. He 
 is well aware of the difficulty of the task, 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 owing to the time that has elapsed since the 
 demise of the Archbishop, the scattering and 
 destruction of many of his papers, and the 
 consequent inability, on liis part, to treat the 
 subject as fully as he would desire, and as the 
 nature of it would demand. But, urged on 
 by a wish to do tardy though inadequate 
 justice to the memory of a prelate whose 
 services in the cause of religion, and attach- 
 ment to his native land, should never be for- 
 gotten, and cheered by the hope of being 
 able to contribute his mite for the benefit of 
 the first congregation the Archbishop estab- 
 lished in this country, to the repairing of 
 whose church he w^ill devote a portion of the 
 proceeds, — the undersigned has ventured to 
 undertake a task which, however incomplete, 
 may induce some one more competent to 
 apply himself to the composition of a more 
 detailed Biography. 
 
 It has been deemed proper, in order to 
 afford the reader an opportunity of forming 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 his own estimate of the style and literary 
 productions of Archbishop Carroll, to intro- 
 duce a part of his journal in Europe, one or 
 two of his sermons, and a few of his con- 
 troversial writings and letters. 
 
 In order to insure a good engraving of the 
 portrait of the Archbishop, the editor has 
 secured the services of the best artists in 
 this country; and he thinks it sufficient to 
 mention, that it is from a faithful and cre- 
 ditable copy by the Messrs. Bogle, of Bal- 
 timore, of the original portrait by Stuart, 
 now in the possession of Lloyd N. Rogers, 
 Esq. of Druid Hill, who kindly gave the use 
 of it for that purpose. 
 
 He finally returns his most sincere thanks 
 to the Rev. gentlemen of Georgetown Col- 
 lege, to whom he is indebted for much valu- 
 able information, and to those of the Roman 
 Catholic clergy, who have evinced an inter- 
 est in a work which they feel assured is for 
 the benefit of that religion of which they 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 are such zealous pastors; in proof of which, 
 he adds the approbation of the Most Rev. 
 Samuel Eccleston, the present Archbishop 
 of Baltimore, and a copy of a letter from 
 the Very Rev. William Matthews, rector of 
 St. Patrick's church, in this city. 
 
 John Carroll Brent. 
 
 Washington city, D. C, December, 1842. 
 
 " The Sketch of Archbishop Carroll's Life, written 
 
 by the late Daniel Brent, Esq., will, in the absence of 
 
 a more extended Biography, be read with interest and 
 
 edification." 
 
 •f- Samuel, Archbishop of Baltimore. 
 
 John Carroll Brext, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have attentively perused your very 
 interesting memoir of the Most Rev. Archbishop Car- 
 roll, and from my intimate acquaintance with him, 
 know it to be correct. The Catholic community in 
 parts of the United States have long and anxiously 
 expected this highly important work, and will hail 
 with great satisfaction its forthcoming. 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 (Signed) W. Matthews. 
 
 Washington city, D. C, January 19, 1842. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 The following errors have escaped the notice of the editor, owing to his being 
 at a distance from the city during the course of publication. 
 For "of," in 11th line of aist page, read " from." 
 Before "done," in 10th line of 106th page, read "had." 
 For "was," in 14th line of 118th page, read "were." 
 For " Deux Pouts/' in 8th line of aoGth page, read "Newbourg." 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOST EEY. JOHN CAHROLL 
 
 Daniel Carroll, the father of the subject of 
 this biography, belonged to a Roman Catho- 
 lic family of high respectability in Ireland, 
 which had forfeited its property to the crown 
 on account of its religion. 
 
 At a very early period of his life this gen- 
 tleman migrated to the then colony of Mary- 
 land, to seek his fortune, or rather to procure 
 the means of living, and with the hope of 
 experiencing by the change some relief from 
 the multiplied privations under which the 
 Catholics of Ireland were at that time sut- 
 fering. He settled at Upper Marlbro' on the 
 Patuxent, where he established himself as a 
 merchant, and under the guidance of a sound 
 and excellent judgment, by steady industry, 
 unshaken probity, and scrupulous punctuality 
 in his dealings, acquired a competent estate 
 2 
 
14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 before his death, always conciliating to him- 
 self in a high degree, the esteem and consid- 
 eration of all who knew him. 
 
 Within a few years after his settlement at 
 ^larlbro', ^Ir. Carroll married Eleanor, 
 daughter of Henry Darnall, esquire, a Roman 
 Catholic gentleman of the neighborhood, who 
 had inherited the family seat of the Wood- 
 yard and adjoining lands to an immense ex- 
 tent; — but wliich were then partly, and af- 
 terwards entirely, alienated from his family, 
 througii the improvident management and 
 easy disposition of tlie proprietor. 
 
 By this union, however, Mr. Carroll acquir- 
 ed a treasure far beyond the value that mere 
 riches could confer. In his young wife were 
 blended all the qualities calculated to render 
 the conjugal state delightful. With an ex- 
 cellent and discriminating mind were united 
 in the character of this lady the best accom- 
 plishments that a finished education, assisted 
 by a natural graciousness of temper, could 
 impart; — her father having at a very early 
 period of her life placed her in a select school 
 in France, where she continued with corres- 
 pondent advantage till she had completed her 
 education, when she returned to Maryland. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 15 
 
 In all the domestic and social relations of 
 life, the virtues of this lady shone forth with 
 peculiar lustre, exhibiting her in the various 
 characters of daughter, sister, wife, mother, 
 and friend, in the most amiable and edifying 
 lights; a spirit of genuine and unostentatious 
 piety incessantly co-operating with, and aid- 
 ing, the native benevolence of her heart, in 
 the exercise of all the charities and offices 
 growing out of her station in society. 
 
 Many years afterwards, having lived to see 
 her son, who had closely imitated the virtues, 
 and profited by the lessons and examples of 
 his parents, elevated by the Holy See to the 
 highest dignity of the Church in this country, 
 she closed her eyes in peace, at an age, but 
 seldom attained by man. In a letter of May 
 23, 1796, to his intimate friend, the Rev. 
 Charles Plowden, the Bishop thus announces 
 the loss he had recently encountered : " I 
 likewise have to tell mine to you — my good 
 and venerable mother closed her long, and I 
 may add, her holy life, on the 3d of February, 
 in the full possession of her intellectual facul- 
 ties, till she ceased to speak an hour or two 
 before her death. She was in the 93d year 
 of her age," 
 
16 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The following anecdote, showing the cause 
 and motives of the first emigration of the Car- 
 roll family to this country, was related by 
 the late venerable and illustrious Charles 
 Carroll of Carrollton : 
 
 " It is stated that one of his ancestors was 
 secretary to lord Powis, a leading minister 
 of James II. Remarking to his lordship one 
 day, that he was happy to find that public 
 affairs and his majesty's service were pro- 
 ceeding so prosperously, the secretary receiv- 
 ed for answer ' You are quite in the wrong, 
 affairs are going on very badly; the king is 
 very ill advised.' After pausing a few min- 
 utes his lordship thus addressed Mr. Carroll : 
 ' Young man, I have a regard for you, and 
 would be glad to do you a service — take my 
 advice ; great changes are at hand : go out to 
 Maryland — I will speak to lord Baltimore in 
 your favor.' He did so, obtained some gov- 
 ernment situation with considerable grants 
 of land, and left his family among the largest 
 proprietors of the Union." 
 
 John, the subject of this biography, and 
 the third son of Daniel and Eleanor Carroll, 
 was born at Upper Marlbro' on the 8th of 
 January, in the year 1735, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 17 
 
 We have no traces of liis boyish days, 
 except in traditionary accounts of a promis- 
 ing development of genius, and uncommon 
 docility of manners and disposition. 
 
 At the very early age of twelve years he 
 was sent to a granunar school at Bohemia, 
 in Maryland, from which he was soon after- 
 wards transferred to the college of St. Omer, 
 in French Flanders, under the exclusive di- 
 rection of the Jesuits. In this school, so 
 justly celebrated for the learning of its pro- 
 fessors, and for the indefatigable care and 
 assiduity with which they cultivated the 
 minds of their pupils, our young American 
 became conspicuous for capacity of mind, 
 attention to his studies, and the docility and 
 kindness of his character. 
 
 After having gone through the usual course 
 of a collegiate education, with eminent ad- 
 vantage and distinction, during the six years 
 he passed within the walls of this institution, 
 he was advanced to the study of the higher 
 branches of science and literature in a college 
 at Liege, under the direction of members of 
 the same society. Here he perfected himself 
 in these studies, and it was in this school that 
 he formed the resolution of going through an 
 2* 
 
18 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ecclesiastical course, with a view to the 
 priesthood, and to the devoting of himself to 
 the service of the Church. 
 
 After having, in consequence, passed 
 through the novitiate, he was ordained priest 
 in 1769, became a professed father in 1771, 
 renouncing beforehand, in favor of his brother, 
 Daniel Carroll, esquire, (who died in 1796, 
 and was well known throughout the revolu- 
 tionary war, and since the adoption of the 
 federal constitution, as a member of the high- 
 est councils of this nation,) and of his two 
 youngest sisters, the estate which had been 
 bequeathed to him by his father, who died 
 some vears before. 
 
 The following sketch of this eminent and 
 useful statesman, will, it is deemed, be not 
 out of place here, as connected in an intimate 
 degree with the subject of our memoir: 
 
 Daniel Carroll, the brother of the subject 
 of this sketch, w as born at Upper Marlbro' 
 in the State of Maryland, on the 22d July, 
 
 1730. 
 
 The excellent attainments and talents of 
 Mr. Carroll did not fail to recommend him to 
 the favorable notice of his countrymen, as 
 soon as the shackles were removed, w^hich 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 19 
 
 had been placed upon the Roman Catholics 
 of his native state, by the hand of bigotry 
 and intolerance, and they were admitted to 
 a free participation of the political distinc- 
 tions and emoluments of office, and placed in 
 all other respects upon an equal footing with 
 the members of other christian denominations. 
 
 He was accordingly elected a member of 
 the first senate under the constitution of Ma- 
 ryland, immediately after the formation and 
 establishmentof that constitution, and thence- 
 forward was almost constantly and uninter- 
 ruptedly employed in the public service till 
 a few years before his death — as a member 
 of the senate or executive council of Mary- 
 land; — one of the delegates in the old con- 
 gress, or as one of the members of that state 
 in the House of Representatives in the first 
 congress under the present constitution of the 
 United States. He had been likewise one 
 of the delegates of the same state in the 
 federal convention of 1787, which framed 
 that constitution. 
 
 In all these situations he was eminently 
 distinguished by patriotic zeal, solidity and 
 discrimination of judgment, the prudence and 
 wisdom of his counsels, as well as by an en- 
 
20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tire exemption from all taint of selfishness, 
 in reference to the popular favor. To his 
 efforts in congress, as much as to those of 
 any other member, may justly be ascribed 
 the location of the permanent seat of the 
 general government at Washington, and at 
 the expiration of his term of service in that 
 congress, tlie first under the present consti- 
 tution, he was associated by president Wash- 
 ington in a commission with the late gov- 
 ernor Johnson of Maryland, and Dr. David 
 Stewart, of Virginia, for carrying the plan of 
 that location into effect. From his advanced 
 age and growing infirmities he resigned this 
 appointment in a few years, and shortly af- 
 terwards his mortal career was closed in 
 deatli. He died in May, 1796, in the 66th 
 year of his age. 
 
 According to the usage and discipline of 
 the Jesuits, of whose society he had so recent- 
 ly become a member, the subject of this me- 
 moir was sent back to the college of St. 
 Omer, to conduct a professorship in that 
 school. After remaining a short time at St, 
 Omer, he returned to Liege where he direct- 
 ed the studies of the higher classics; and it 
 was at the period when he was thus employ- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 21 
 
 ed, in 1773, that the order for the suppression 
 of the Society of Jesus was carried into exe- 
 cution, by the expulsion of its members, the 
 dispersion of the pupils and the shutting up 
 of the colles^e : that of St. Omer and all 
 others under the government of the Jesuits 
 within the dominions of France, — simulta- 
 neously sharing the same fate. 
 
 On this occasion our young ecclesiastic 
 wrote an able and eloquent vindication of 
 the Society of the charges unjustly brought 
 against it by its enemies. It is a subject of 
 deep regret that a principal part of this mas- 
 terly performance is lost, otherwise it should 
 be embodied in this sketch, as w^ell to exhibit 
 a brilliant specimen of the genius and erudi- 
 tion of the ex-Jesuit, as to remove some por- 
 tion of the obloquy w^hich it is so common to 
 heap upon that celebrated society. It was 
 not deemed safe at the time to print it; but 
 there is reason to believe that it was trans- 
 lated into different languages, and the manu- 
 script copies greatly multiplied; — that it w^as 
 extensively used, and produced some small 
 relaxation in the execution of the rigorous 
 orders for the suppression of the society and 
 the expulsion of its members, so far at least 
 
22 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 as related to the colleges of St. Oiiier and 
 Liege. 
 
 The following extract is a brief summary 
 of the causes to which he ascribes the sup- 
 pression — " These apostolic men, eternal foes 
 to vice, whether it appeared in palaces or 
 hovels, under regal robes or squalid rags, 
 could never be prevailed on to come to terms 
 with the wicked and compromise the cause 
 of their divine IMaster. Hence lascivious and 
 irreligious courtiers leagued together, per- 
 verted the minds of weak and improvident 
 nionarchs, and formed the abolition combina- 
 tion." 
 
 For further elucidation of the same subject, 
 we shall add to the above extract the copy of 
 a paper of more modern date in his own hand 
 writing, found amongst his papers, containing 
 a concise account of the means resorted to 
 by the Court of Spain to accomplish the sup- 
 pression of the Society of Jesuits in the do- 
 minions of Austria and France. 
 
 " The Pope always answered the solici- 
 tations of the Bourbon ministers, that the 
 House of Austria was opposed to the ex- 
 tinction — Count Matron i, ambassador from 
 Spain at Vienna, having concerted his ma- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 23 
 
 ncELivre with Prince Kaunitz, (whose cha- 
 racter is that oi" a professed and open 
 Deist,) went into the empress queen's cabi- 
 net, (he was much in the empress' favor,) 
 when she asked him, as usual, concerning the 
 health of the king of Spain — Matroni an- 
 swered that he was well, but, from his great 
 regard for her majesty, much affected at her 
 misunderstanding with the Holy See. She 
 was startled at this, — declared herself an 
 obedient daughter of the Church, and assur- 
 ed him that there was no misunderstanding, 
 and asked him what he meant — Matroni then 
 told her that the Pope wished to destroy the 
 Jesuits, but was deterred by her declaring 
 that she would oppose and resist the Pope, 
 should he attempt it. She declared that she 
 had never said so, and that she would in that, 
 as in every thing else, obey the decrees of 
 the Holy See. Matroni having brought mat- 
 ters to this issue, asked her majesty if he 
 might communicate this to his Court. — She 
 consented. But, says he, madam, the king 
 is so much impressed with contrary advices, 
 that he will give no credit to my despatches, 
 unless your majesty will order your minister 
 to give me an official letter to the same pur- 
 
24 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 port. Go, said she, to Kaiinitz, and tell him 
 to give it you. Kaunitz was called, the letter 
 given, and Matroni immediately sent an ex- 
 press to Madrid. From Madrid the original 
 official letter of Kaunitz was sent to Rome, 
 laid before the Pope, and removed his last 
 subterfuge," Father Hussey says he read 
 this in Count Matroni's despatches, and a 
 subsequent one to and from Rome. 
 
 " In consequence, the brief of dissolution 
 was got ready, and sent to France. — D'Ar- 
 guillon, the minister of France and creature 
 of Spain, carried it to Louis XV., who, in the 
 midst of libertinism, respected religion. He 
 declared the brief should not be published, 
 and ordered D'Arguillon to send an express 
 to Rome, that moment, to prevent its being 
 issued — D'Arguillon remonstrated, but all in 
 vain. He left the king and sent in madame 
 de Barri. — She found the king agitated, be- 
 gan with asking the cause, reproached him 
 for abandoning the House of Bourbon, coaxed 
 and cajoled him, and in fifteen minutes got 
 the order recalled for sending away the ex- 
 press." Father Hussey says he read this de- 
 tail in Count Aranda's despatches. Aranda 
 was the Spanish ambassador. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 25 
 
 Upon the subject of the final suppression 
 of the Society of Jesus, Mr. Carroll thus 
 writes to his brother, Daniel Carroll, Esq., 
 under date of Bruges, September 11, 1773: 
 
 "I this day received a few lines from 
 Daniel, of July 15, in which he complains 
 with much reason of my long silence. My 
 mind is at present too full of other things to 
 make any apology. After spending part of 
 the autumn of 1772 at Naples, and its envi- 
 rons, we returned to pass the winter at 
 Rome, where I stayed till near the end of 
 March, from thence came to Florence, 
 Genoa, Tunis, Lyons, Paris, and so to Liege 
 and Bruges. I was willing to accept of the 
 vacant post of prefect of the sodality here, 
 after consigning Mr. Stourton into his father's 
 hands about two months ago, that I miglit 
 enjoy some retirement, and consider well in 
 the presence of God the disposition I found 
 myself in of going to join my relatives in 
 Maryland, and in case that disposition con- 
 tinued, to get out next spring. But now all 
 room for deliberation seems to be over. The 
 enemies of the society, and above all the un- 
 relenting perseverance of the Spanish and 
 Portuguese Ministries, with the passiveness 
 3 
 
26 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of tlie court of Vienna, has at lensfth obtained 
 their ends : and our so long persecuted, and 
 I must add, holy society is no more. God's 
 holy will be done, and may his name be 
 blessed forever and ever ! This fatal stroke 
 was struck on the 21st of July, but was kept 
 secret at Rome till the 16th of August, and 
 was only made known to us on the 5th of 
 September. I am not, and perhaps never 
 shall be, recovered from the shock of this 
 dreadful intelligence. The greatest blessing 
 which in my estimation I could receive from 
 God, would be immediate death : but if he 
 deny me this, may his holy and adorable de- 
 signs on me be wholly fulfilled. Is it possi- 
 ble that Divine Providence should permit to 
 such an end, a body wholly devoted, and I 
 will still aver, with the most disinterested 
 charity, in procuring every comfort and ad- 
 vantage to their neighbors, whether by 
 preaching, teaching, catechizing, missions, 
 visiting hospitals, prisons, and every other 
 function of spiritual and corporal mercy ? 
 Such I have beheld it in every part of my 
 travels, the first of all ecclesiastical bodies 
 in the esteem and confidence of the faithful, 
 and certainly the most laborious. What will 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 27 
 
 become of our flourishing congregations with 
 you, and those cultivated by the German 
 fathers ? These reflections crowd so fiist 
 upon me that I almost lose my senses. But 
 I will endeavor to suppress them for a few 
 moments. You see that I am now my own 
 master, and left to my own direction. In re- 
 turning to Maryland I shall have the comfort 
 of not only being with you, but of being far- 
 ther out of the reach of scandal and defama- 
 tion, and removed from the scenes of dis- 
 tress of many of my dearest friends, whom 
 God knows, I shall not be able to relieve. 
 I shall therefore most certainly sail for 
 Maryland early next spring, if I possibly 
 can." 
 
 Speaking of his apprehensions of a fatal 
 combination against the society of which he 
 was so zealous and attached a member, he 
 makes the following remarks in another let- 
 ter from Bruges to his brother : 
 
 "Before you receive this letter you will 
 have heard of the Pope's death: in human 
 appearance, nothing could have happened 
 more unfortunate to us, especially in the 
 critical moment when an answer was to have 
 been given to the memorials of three united 
 
28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 courts of the family compact, France, Spain, 
 and Naples, requiring the immediate dissolu- 
 tion of the society. His Holiness had him- 
 self minuted the heads of the answer he in- 
 tended to make in a few days, and had de- 
 livered it to his ministers to be put into the 
 due form. The substance of it was, that no 
 worldly consideration, no loss of temporali- 
 ties, should ever force him into any measure 
 which he could not justify to his own con- 
 science : that the more he saw and knew of 
 the Jesuits, the more he was convinced of 
 their eminent services to religion, and of the 
 falsehood of the imputations charged upon 
 them : that he could not therefore acquiesce 
 in the proposal made him by the allied courts. 
 The answer entered into a much larger de- 
 tail than I here mention, and would have 
 been a olorious testimonv of his Holiness' es- 
 teem and affection for the society. How 
 matters will go on in the conclave, and after 
 the election of the new Pope, Heaven knows. 
 Humanly speaking, we have every thing to 
 dread from the combination formed against 
 us : vet when I reflect on the atrocious false- 
 hoods, injustices, cruelties, and mean artifi- 
 ces employed against us, I greatly confide 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 29 
 
 that God's providence will not permit our 
 dissolution to be effected by such wicked 
 means. I know his kingdom is not of this 
 world, and that they who seek to do his di- 
 vine will, and promote his glory, are not to 
 expect a visible interposition in their favor 
 on every occasion, or to receive in this life 
 an apparent testimony of innocence and di- 
 vine approbation." 
 
 In another letter to the same gentleman, 
 he speaks of the intrigues at the court of 
 France, against the Jesuits, and which were 
 crowned with success, soon after the date 
 thereof, in 1764, by their expulsion from that 
 kingdom, in the following eloquent and touch- 
 ing terms : 
 
 " The death of the famous Marchioness de 
 Pompadour, will, it is generally believed by 
 our French brethren, occasion some great 
 change in their circumstances ; so far is cer- 
 tain, that they are delivered by this event 
 from their greatest enemy, I mean the most 
 powerful one, and who, by her interest and 
 influence over the king of France, could more 
 easily than any one else, prevail upon him to 
 view tamely the proceedings against the Je- 
 suits, which she underhandedly encouraged 
 
 3* 
 
30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 by all the arts, which cunning and power 
 could put into her hands. The Jesuits ground 
 their hopes upon the declared attachment of 
 all the royal family to their interests, upon 
 the intimate connection and intelligence sub- 
 sisting between the king and his queen and 
 children, since the great lady's death, upon 
 the zealous intercessions of the bishops, all 
 the prime nobility, and every order of magis- 
 trates in the different cities and towns where 
 the Jesuits were heretofore established. If 
 we add to this the general discontent that 
 has ensued upon the appointment and con- 
 duct both in morals and literary pursuits of 
 the newly installed masters for the education 
 of youth, we cannot absolutely pronounce 
 these hopes to have an object merely chime- 
 rical : but 1 will own to you that the irreso- 
 lute behaviour which has appeared so much 
 in the French government, on many late oc- 
 casions, makes me apprehend that vigor will 
 be wanting to bring about so desirable a re- 
 volution, as it is likely to meet with great op- 
 position from several parliaments, whose 
 principles are very imcompatible with those 
 the Jesuits would endeavor to maintain 
 and propagate in case of their restoration. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 31 
 
 Thus you see the prospect before us gives 
 but little cause to be content with this 
 world, whilst past sufferings have served to 
 strengthen, if possible, our belief in another 
 better and more equitable than this. And 
 indeed to a man lying under the public im- 
 putation of crimes, for which his own con- 
 science clears him, and who is persuaded of 
 the existence of a Deity, I know no proof of an 
 immortality more sensible and comfortable, 
 than this reflection, that an all powerful and 
 infinitely just Being cannot consistently with 
 those attributes, refuse him in another life 
 that justice, which passion and iniquity have 
 denied him in this. To pretend as some an- 
 cient and modern unbelievers have done, 
 that virtue and a good conscience is its own 
 reward, argues very little knowledge of the 
 human heart, for many a hardy villain, from 
 a natural alacritv and cheerfulness of mind, 
 and possessed of worldly enjoyments, seldom 
 finds, at least for any long time, his remorse 
 to prey much upon him, or disturb his plea- 
 sures, whilst several good men on the con- 
 trary, from an unhappy temper or sickly con- 
 stitution, but rarely feel any even intellectu- 
 al enjoyments. I cannot otherwise account 
 
32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for my having fallen into this train of philo- 
 sophising which I hope you will excuse, than 
 because I have habituated myself to it, as 
 the best relief amidst so many affecting and 
 melancholy scenes." 
 
 When the suppression was completely ef- 
 fected he retired to England, where he acted 
 some time as the secretarv to the former 
 members of the society born in the British 
 dominions, in the remonstrances which they 
 made to the government of France on the 
 subject of the property belonging to the two 
 colleges of St. Omer and Liege, most of his 
 brethren, who had been attached to these 
 colleges, having also retired to that country. 
 
 Being intimately acquainted with and 
 known to most of the Catholic nobility and 
 gentry of England, he was prevailed upon by 
 Lord Stourton, a highly respectable noble- 
 man of that religion, to make the continental 
 tour with his son, in the character of gov- 
 ernor or preceptor. 
 
 The journal which he kept on this occa- 
 sion, is remarkable for its just and wise re- 
 flections, is replete with the classical taste 
 and erudition of the writer, and indulges in 
 a free criticism upon the journals of former 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 33 
 
 travellers over the same ground.* While en- 
 gaged in this tour, he wrote likewise a suc- 
 cinct history of England, for the use of his 
 pupil, in the form of a dialogue, principally to 
 guard his young mind against the general ir- 
 religious tendency of some, and the particu- 
 larly hostile tendency of other writings, upon 
 the same subject, against the Catholic faith. 
 On his return to England, he was solicited 
 by the then Lord Arundel, another Catholic 
 nobleman, to reside in his family, as well for 
 the purpose of administering in the character 
 of chaplain, the consolations of a persecuted 
 and oppressed religion to the members of 
 that illustrious house, still steadfast in the 
 faith of its ancestors, as to aflford to them the 
 singular advantages and enjoyment of his 
 society : and being at liberty to do so, by the 
 extinction of the society of Jesuits under 
 whose banners he had enlisted, and to whose 
 orders he would have paid a ready obedience 
 in encountering the toils and dangers and 
 privations of the most forlorn mission, he ac- 
 cepted the invitation which had been given to 
 him, and became a resident in the family of 
 Lord Arundel. In the hospitable retreat of 
 
 * For Journal, see Appendix. 
 
34 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP THE 
 
 Wardour castle, the seat of his noble patron, 
 adorned by the virtues which shone forth so 
 conspicuously in the lives of Lord and Lady 
 Arundei, the resort of the best society of 
 England, the chaplain of the family was pre- 
 eminently distinguished by the spontaneous 
 attention and kindness which a respect for 
 his talents, accomplishments, and attainments 
 never failed to inspire : but amidst these fas- 
 cinating circumstances he did not for a mo- 
 ment lose sight of the evangelical character 
 with which he was invested, nor suffer the 
 homage paid to his worth and talents to 
 weaken in the smallest degree the spirit of 
 true humility which had been deeply im- 
 printed in his heart. 
 
 After a residence of a year or two at War- 
 dour castle, he was warned by the state of 
 the differences between England and her 
 colonies to turn his attention to his own coun- 
 try, and to avail himself of the first opportu- 
 nity that might occur for returning to his na- 
 tive land from which he had been so long se- 
 parated, but towards which he ever enter- 
 tained that warm and active attachment so 
 often afterwards displayed during the course 
 of his long and useful career : his detention 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 35 
 
 in Europe having been protracted by a la- 
 tent hope, very precious to his heart, that the 
 society of Jesus might be re-established in 
 the Catholic states of the continent and their 
 dependencies. 
 
 He accordingly embarked in one of the last 
 ships that sailed for the Potomac before the 
 commencement of the Revolutionary war, 
 and landed at Richland, in Virginia, the seat 
 of William Brent, Esq., who had married his 
 second sister. 
 
 To those who respect the finest feelings of 
 the human heart, which impel us by a mys- 
 terious sympathy to such as are connected 
 with us by the ties of blood, it is needless to 
 remark, that the scene which ensued was a 
 joyful and an interesting one. Mr. Carroll 
 found himself surrounded on a sudden by the 
 numerous families of his two sisters, the 
 oldest one being also married to a gentleman 
 of the same name and neighborhood, and a 
 near relative of the husband of his second 
 sister, to Robert Brent, Esq., one of his earli- 
 est acquaintances and friends, his school fel- 
 low and companion at Bohemia, and his 
 classmate and fellow student at the college 
 of St. Omer. In a heart like that of Mr. 
 
36 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Carroll, such a scene was peculiarly calcu- 
 lated to awaken the kindest emotions. In 
 no period of his existence abroad did distance 
 ever sever him in affection, nor avocation or 
 society withdraw him, from a correspondence 
 with his family in this country. In a letter 
 which he wrote to his brother-in-law, Mr. 
 Robert Brent, he says ; " I know not what ef- 
 fect absence may have upon the minds of 
 other persons : but upon mine it increases 
 the solicitude which I feel for the well being 
 of those with w horn I am always connected." 
 And there is not one of his relatives surviv- 
 ing who cannot call to mind some particu- 
 lar token of affection and kindness, received 
 at his hands, and all are bound to remember 
 with gratitude the lessons of wisdom and 
 truth which he constantly gave them and en- 
 forced by his example. 
 
 With such strong natural affections, and 
 w ith social propensities of corresponding en- 
 ergy, those only, who were well acquainted 
 with him, can estimate, in its due proportion, 
 the extent of the sacrifice which he offered 
 up, when he became a Jesuit, and bound him- 
 self by the solemn obligations of a vow to 
 obey the mandates of his superiors, whither- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 37 
 
 soever they might carry him, into whatsoever 
 remote or inhospitable climates beyond the 
 reach of kindred or friends or the abodes of 
 even civilized man. 
 
 After spending two days with the families 
 of his sisters in Virginia, he hastened to the 
 residence of his mother in Montgomery coun- 
 ty, Maryland, whither she had retired with 
 her two youngest daughters, soon after the 
 death of his father, eager to evince in per- 
 son, the love and respect which he had so 
 long cherished in absence, for this best of 
 mothers and women : and to greet with cor- 
 dial affection and kindness his surviving bro- 
 ther, already mentioned (the first having died 
 in infancy), and his tw^o other sisters. 
 
 After the usual endearments of such meet- 
 ings, he lost no time in entering upon the 
 active exercise of the duties of the priesthood, 
 collected together the dispersed Roman Ca- 
 tholics residing in Montgomery county, uni- 
 ted them in congregations which he inces- 
 santly watched over and instructed, both bv 
 word and example. In a little time he ex- 
 tended his attention to the families of his two 
 sisters, settled in Stafford county, Virginia, 
 and to the Roman Catholics in their neigh- 
 4 
 
38 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 borhood : for the Catholic religion having 
 been professed and practised in the family of 
 the ancestors of his brothers-in-law from the 
 earliest settlement of that county, though 
 at some periods with great risk and hazard, 
 — other families of that conniiunion had been 
 drawn to that neighborhood, w^ho, together 
 formed a small congregation, that was occa- 
 sionally visited by a priest from Maryland, 
 who, on these occasions, celebrated mass and 
 administered the sacraments of the Church 
 in the house of the Brent family at Aquia. 
 
 While he continued in the care of these 
 congregations they afforded gratifying proofs 
 of the moral and religious effects produced 
 upon the character, habits, and manners of 
 the people composing them, by the influence 
 of the virtues, the talents, and admonitions of 
 their active and zealous pastor, all combined 
 for their instruction and edification. With 
 the blessing of God, the congregation thus 
 established by the zeal and industry of Mr. 
 Carroll in Montgomery county, after having 
 afforded to its pious founder during his life- 
 time, every assurance of increasing useful- 
 ness and prosperity, has continued with 
 steady progress under the zealous guidance 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 39 
 
 If 
 
 of good pastors, to perpetuate the advantages 
 of divine worship to a growing community. 
 
 The little congregation at Aquia, owing to 
 the emigration of the Brent family, and 
 other local causes, has unfortunately not been 
 kept together, and the efforts of its clergy- 
 men, were not crowned with permanent suc- 
 cess. 
 
 At this period he was called to the perform- 
 ance of other duties, by which his congrega- 
 tions were to undergo the temporary loss of 
 his ministry and services. His talents and 
 virtues had given him a high reputation, and 
 his zeal and good wishes in the cause of his 
 native land, now engaged in its struggle for 
 independence were well known. These cir- 
 cumstances, added to the consideration, that 
 he was a minister of the religion professed 
 by the people of Canada, and familiarly ac- 
 quainted with their language, habits, and 
 character, induced a solicitation on the part 
 of the commissioners, whom Congress had 
 appointed from their own body, that he 
 would accompany them on their mission to 
 Canada. The gentlemen charged with this 
 important and delicate duty, were Dr. Ben- 
 jamin Franklin, Sanmel Chase, and Charles 
 
40 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Carroll of CarroUton, (tlie last named being 
 intimately connected with him by the ties 
 of relationship and early association at the 
 same schools in this country and in Europe.) 
 To this request, Mr. Carroll acceded, with 
 the view, so far as he was to have an agen- 
 cy, to induce the inhabitants of that country, 
 who professed the same religion with him- 
 self, to remain neutral, and to refrain from 
 taking up arms on the side of Great Britain: 
 — further than this he deemed it incompati- 
 ble with his character as a minister of reli- 
 gion to interfere. 
 
 The mission proved unsuccessful, and it is 
 believed that the commissioners were not 
 suffered to proceed further than Montreal. 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Carroll to 
 iiis mother, dated Montreal, May 1st, 1776, 
 descriptiv^e of his journey thither, may prove 
 interesting to our readers. He says : " We 
 have at length come to the end of our long 
 and tedious journey, after meeting with seve- 
 ral delays on account of the impassable con- 
 dition of the lakes : and it is with a longing 
 desire of measuring back the same ground, 
 that I now take up my pen to inform you of 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 41 
 
 my being in good health, thank God, and of 
 wishing you a perfect enjoyment of yom-s. 
 
 " We came hither the night before last and 
 were received at the landing by General Ar- 
 nold, and a great body of officers, gentry, &c. 
 and saluted by firing of cannon, and other mi- 
 litary honors. Being conducted to the gen- 
 eral's house, we were served with a glass of 
 wine, while people were crowding in to pay 
 their compliments, which ceremony being 
 over, we were shown into another apartment, 
 and unexpectedly met in it a large assem- 
 bly of ladies, most of them French. After 
 drinking tea, and sitting some time, we went 
 to an elegant supper, which was followed 
 with the singing of the ladies, which proved 
 very agreeable, and would have been more 
 so, if we had not been so much fatigued with 
 our journey. The next day was spent in re- 
 ceiving visits, and dining in a large company, 
 with whom we were pressed to sup, but ex- 
 cused ourselves in order to write letters, of 
 which this is one, and will be finished and 
 dated to-morrow morning. 
 
 "I owe you a journal of our adventures 
 from Philadelphia to this place. When we 
 
 came to Brunswick in the Jersey govern- 
 
 4* 
 
42 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ment, we overtook the Baron de W , the 
 
 Prussian general who had left Philadelphia 
 the day before us. Though I had frequently 
 seen him before, yet he was so disguised in 
 furs, that I scarce knew him, and never be- 
 held a more laughable object in my life. 
 Like other Prussian ofticers, he appears to me 
 as a man who knows little of polite life, and 
 yet has picked up so much of it in his passage 
 through France, as to make a most awkward 
 appearance. When we came to New York, 
 it was no more the gay, polite place it used 
 to be esteemed: but was become almost a 
 desert, unless for the troops. The people 
 were expecting a bombardment, and had 
 therefore removed themselves and their ef- 
 fects out of town : and the other side the 
 troops were working at the fortifications with 
 the utmost activity. After spending some 
 disagreeable days at this place, we proceeded 
 by water up to Albany, about 160 miles. At 
 our arrival there, we were met by General 
 Schuyler, and entertained by him, during our 
 stay, with great politeness and very genteely. 
 I wrote to you before, of our agreeable situa- 
 tion at Saratoga, and of our journey from 
 thence over lake George to Ticonderoga : 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 43 
 
 from this latter place we embarked on the 
 great lake of Champlain, about 140 miles to 
 St. John. We had a passage of three days 
 and a half. We always came to in the night 
 time. Passengers generally encamp in the 
 woods, making a covering of the boughs of 
 trees, and large fires at their feet. But as 
 we had a good awning to our boat, and had 
 brought Avith us good beds, and plenty of bed 
 clothes, I chose to sleep on board." 
 
 Mr. Carroll having thus given proof of his 
 patriotism by abandoning for a time the 
 humble but useful performance of his clerical 
 duties, to devote himself to the service of his 
 country, in the way which he deemed conge- 
 nial to his obligations as a clergyman, and 
 exposing himself to the risks and hardships 
 of a long and fatiguing journey, continued 
 by word and example during and after that 
 struggle which ended in the glorious eman- 
 cipation of this country from a foreign yoke, 
 to assert and inculcate those liberal and en- 
 larged political principles which are ever the 
 cherished guides and mentors of great and 
 good men. We find him ever speaking in 
 warm and patriotic terms in his voluminous 
 correspondence with his esteemed friend and 
 
44 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 classmate, the Rev. Charles Plowden, and 
 which we deem it well here to introduce. 
 
 " You tell me that in my last I was afraid 
 of entering into politics; but that you will 
 force me into the subject. Indeed, my dear 
 Charles, I had no such fears about me. I 
 have the happiness to live under a govern- 
 ment very different from that I have been 
 just talking of (the Austrian); and I have 
 never had any cause to fear speaking my 
 sentiments with the utmost freedom. But 
 when I was writing to you, I had so many 
 other subjects nearer to my heart to talk of, 
 that I suppose I left them to the public 
 papers. You have adopted the language of 
 some of the prints on your side the water, 
 by representing us under imperious leaders, 
 and the trammels of France; but alas! our 
 imperious leaders, by whom I suppose you 
 mean the congress, were at all times amena- 
 ble to our popular assemblies, elected by 
 them every year, often turned out of their 
 seats, and so little envied, that as their ex- 
 penses were often unavoidably greater than 
 their profits, it has at all times been a diffi- 
 cult matter to get men disinterested and 
 patriotic enough to accept the charge — and 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 45 
 
 as to the trammels of France, we certainly 
 never have worn her chains, but have treated 
 with her as equals, have experienced from 
 her the greatest magnanimity and modera- 
 tion, and have repaid it with an honorable 
 fidelity to our engagements. By both of us 
 proceeding on these principles, the war has 
 been brought to an issue, with which, if you 
 are pleased, all is well, for we are certainly 
 satisfied." 
 
 He says in a subsequent letter, " If your 
 other kind letters never came to hand, you 
 have only to blame the unsleeping avidity 
 of your own cruizers, whom I should call 
 pirates, were I inclined to follow your exam- 
 ple of abusing the political measures of our 
 adversaries. For, since the object of the 
 war, on your side, the right of parliamentary 
 taxation, is now confessedly, and by every 
 moderate man on both continents, acknow- 
 ledged to have been unjust, surely every 
 measure to attain that object must likewise 
 have been unjust; and consequently your 
 cruizers with all their commissions were no- 
 thing more than pirates. Thus much to re- 
 taliate for your stroke at our faithless leaders 
 
46 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and faithless allies^ after which we will be 
 done with politics." 
 
 Speaking about the younger Chatham, he 
 uses the following strong and patriotic lan- 
 guage : — " I sincerely rejoice, that the son of 
 my favorite, the late Lord Chatham, conducts 
 himself with such ability and integrity. You 
 did not expect so much, perhaps, from an 
 American ; and indeed, we should be excus- 
 able, (if not as Christians, at least politic- 
 ally), for not bearing you much good will, in 
 return for all the lies and misrepresentations 
 which many of your soured and indignant 
 countrymen are every day coining about us. 
 You have certainly cramped our trade by 
 some regulations, not merely selfish but re- 
 vengeful. Your merchants will find, that 
 without warfare we have immense resources, 
 and the means of redress in our power ; as 
 soon as the establishment of our new federal 
 government will allow those means to be 
 called forth." 
 
 Mr. Carroll hastened back from this unsuc- 
 cessful mission in Canada to his mother's 
 house, where he had resided since his return 
 to America, and entered again upon the ac- 
 tive exercise of the functions of his ministry. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 47 
 
 From this period till some years after the 
 termination of the revolutionary war, he was 
 principally employed in the service of the se- 
 veral congregations before spoken of, which 
 he may be said in a great measure to have 
 formed, alternately and periodically visiting 
 and instructing them in the exalted duties of 
 Christianity, and enforcing the principles of 
 piety and charity, which he taught and incul- 
 cated, by his own persuasive example; and in 
 directing and regulating the concerns of his 
 respected mother's property, — whilst he con- 
 tributed, in an eminent degree, by his respect- 
 ful and affectionate demeanor towards her, 
 by his kindness and attention to all others, 
 and bv the irresistible charm of his conver- 
 sation, company, and manners, to impart to 
 the family circle of her house the highest 
 degrree of interest and to secure to it the full- 
 est share of domestic happiness. He availed 
 himself of all the moments left from the 
 above employments, and from the time devo- 
 ted to acts of private devotion, for which, 
 under all circumstances, he always set apart 
 a large portion, to add to the abundant stock 
 of information which he already possessed, 
 such as could be derived from a review of 
 
48 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 ancient literature, and a close and regular 
 inspection of the public journals, miscellanies 
 and literary works of the day, and to recipro- 
 cate, as he always did, with peculiar grace 
 and kindness, all the offices of friendly and 
 liberal intercourse with a large and respect- 
 able society. 
 
 He was some years afterwards drawn 
 into a religious controversy with the Rev. 
 Charles Wharton, who, from being a priest 
 of the Roman Catliolic Church, and educated 
 at the same schools with himself, had be- 
 come a minister of the Church of England. 
 Mr. Wharton on that occasion having ad- 
 dressed the Roman Catholics of Worcester, 
 in England, of whom he had been the chap- 
 lain, assigning the motives of his recantation, 
 and impugning the doctrines of the church 
 he had abandoned, the Rev. Dr. Carroll 
 WTote and published an address to the Ro- 
 man Catholics of the U. States in answer. 
 
 It is not our purpose to enter into a critical 
 examination of the arguments on either side 
 of this controversy, nor are we at all quali- 
 fied for the task; but we are particularly 
 called upon by the occasion to state the mo- 
 tives inducing, and the circumstances under 
 
THE MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 49 
 
 which the address to the Roman Catholics 
 in the United States was written and pub- 
 lished, as we shall do in the author's own 
 words : and to add, that high as was his re- 
 putation before, it was greatly enhanced by 
 that publication, not only with the Roman 
 Catholics of the United States for whom it 
 was specially written and published, but with 
 liberal minds and enli^rhtened individuals of 
 other religious communities : and that, as far 
 as it was read by such, it tended greatly to 
 remove strong and early impressions, and to 
 exhibit the religion of the author in new and 
 advantageous lights. Subjoined to these ex- 
 tracts will be found so much of Mr. Whar- 
 ton's reply, as was intended for an answer to 
 the paragraphs of the address quoted. 
 
 Extracts from pages 4 and 5 of the Address 
 to the Roman Catholics of the United States 
 of America. 
 
 " You will not now be at a loss to account 
 for the occasion of the present address. A 
 letter to the Roman Catholics of the city of 
 Worcester in England has been published 
 here by one of their late chaplains : and had 
 all the copies of it been transmitted to those 
 5 
 
50 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for whom professedly it is intended, I should 
 not dedicate to animadversions on it, the few 
 moments of leisure left me from other em- 
 ployments incident to my charge and profes- 
 sion, especially with the scanty materials of 
 wliich I am possessed : for I am destitute of 
 many sources of information, and unable to 
 refer to authorities which I presume to have 
 been collected on the other side witli great 
 industry. By the chaplain's own account, 
 he has long meditated a separation from us : 
 and during that time, he had the opportuni- 
 ties of resorting to the repositories of science 
 so common and convenient in Europe. 
 
 " But the letter not only being printed 
 here, but circulating widely through the 
 country, a regard to your information and the 
 tranquillity of your consciences requires some 
 notice to be taken of it : for the ministers of 
 religion should always remember, that it is 
 their duty as well to enlighten the under- 
 standing, as improve the morals of mankind. 
 You are the salt of the earth, Matt. v. 13, said 
 Christ to his apostles, to preserve men from 
 the corruptions of vice and immorality : and 
 you are the light of the world, Matt. v. 14, to 
 instruct and inform it." 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 51 
 
 Extract from pages 113 and 114 of the same 
 Address. 
 
 " I have now gone through a task, painful 
 in every point of view in which I could con- 
 sider it. To write for the public eye, on 
 any occasion whatever, is neither agreeable 
 to my feelings or suited to my leisure or op- 
 portunities : that it is likewise dispropor- 
 tioned to my abilities, my readers, I doubt 
 not, will soon discover. But if reduced to the 
 necessity of publishing, I would wish that my 
 duty led me to any species of composition, 
 rather than that of religious controversy. — 
 Mankind have conceived such a contempt for 
 it, that an author cannot entertain a hope of 
 enjoying those gratifications, which in treat- 
 ing other subjects, may support his spirits 
 and enliven his imagination. Much less 
 could I have a prospect of these incitements 
 in the prosecution of my present undertak- 
 ing. I could not forget in the beginning, 
 progress and conclusion of it, that the habits 
 of thinking, the prejudices, perhaps even the 
 passions of many of my readers, would be set 
 against all the arguments 1 could offer : and 
 that the weaknesses, the errors, the absur- 
 
52 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 dities of the writer would be imputed to the 
 errors and absurdity of his religion. But of 
 all considerations, the most painful was, that 
 I had to combat him, with whom I had been 
 connected with an intercourse of friendship 
 and mutual good offices, and in connection 
 with whom I hoped to have consummated my 
 course of our common ministry in the service 
 of virtue and religion. But when I found 
 that he had not only abandoned our faith and 
 communion, but had imputed to us doc- 
 trines foreign to our belief, and having a na- 
 tural tendency to imbitter against us the 
 minds of our fellow-citizens, I felt an anguish 
 too keen for description : and perhaps the 
 chaplain will experience a similar sentiment 
 when he comes coolly to reflect on this in- 
 stance of his conduct. It did not become the 
 friend of toleration to misinform, and to sow 
 in minds so misinformed the seeds of religious 
 animosity. 
 
 "Under all these distressful feelings, one 
 consideration alone relieved me in writing; 
 and that was the hope of vindicating our re- 
 ligion to your own selves at least, and pre- 
 serving the steadfastness of your faith. But 
 even this prospect should not have induced 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 53 
 
 me to engage in the controversy, if I could 
 fear that it would disturb the harmony now 
 subsisting amongst all Christians in this 
 country, so blessed with civil and religious 
 liberty; which if we have the wisdom and 
 temper to preserve, America may come to 
 exhibit a proof to the world, that general 
 and equal toleration, by giving a free circu- 
 lation to fair argument, is the most effectual 
 method to bring all denominations of Chris- 
 tians to an unity of faith." 
 
 Extract fj'om Judges 96 and 97 of ^^ The Repli/ 
 to an Address to the Roman Catholics of the 
 United States of AmericaJ^ 
 
 In the reply of Mr. Wharton, the following 
 personal allusions to his antagonist are not 
 irrelevant to the subject of this sketch. 
 
 " Before the chaplain takes a final leave of 
 the public on these matters, which he most 
 sincerely wishes to do at present, he must 
 beg its attention for a moment to the most 
 material accusation thrown out in the ad- 
 dress. He is accused of imputing doctrines 
 to the Roman Catholics foreign to their be- 
 lief and having a natural tendency to imbit- 
 ter against them the minds of their fellow 
 5* 
 
54 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 citizens." He is accused of " misinforming, 
 and of sowing in minds so misinformed, the 
 seeds of religious animosity." — (Address p. 
 114.) "The Rev. gentleman could not have 
 wounded his former friend in a more tender 
 part. At such an attack he also felt an an- 
 guish too keen for description^ — for such accu- 
 sations coming from him, must extinguish 
 every spark of good will towards the chap- 
 lain which may still be lurking among his 
 former connections. They go to alienate the 
 esteem of his recent friends, by holding him 
 out as a disturber of the public peace, as an 
 enemy to his country. — Did the Rev. gen- 
 tleman perceive the natural tendency of such 
 a censure, or could he think the chaj^lain de- 
 served it ? The Rev. gentleman might have 
 known him better. There was a time when 
 he honored him with his confidence and es- 
 teem, when he condescended to become the 
 depository of his little concerns; at an early 
 period of life, he kindly took him by the hand, 
 and led him through the paths of iionor and 
 of virtue ; his lessons were always those of 
 friendship and of wisdom : from these flowed 
 that ^QwUmento^ universal benevolence which 
 the chaplain deems the most precious he pos- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 55 
 
 sesses. Could the Rev. gentleman be igno- 
 rant of the growth of a plant, which he him- 
 self had nourished in the heart of his friend, 
 and which he must have observed to flourish 
 with a luxuriancy nearly approaching to en- 
 thusiasm ? It was this sentiment that ban- 
 ished every Avord from his letter which could 
 wound the feelings of the most delicate Ro- 
 man Catholic : this made him distinguish be- 
 tween their persons and opinions, and pre- 
 vented a dereliction of some of the latter from 
 impairing the social affections wdiich he 
 cherished for the former. Far from wishing 
 to sow the seeds of religious animosity in the 
 minds of his countrymen, he would make 
 every sacrifice to eradicate them forever : far 
 from wishing to imbitter the minds of their f el- 
 loio citizens against the Roman Catholics of 
 America, he is proud to see them elevated to 
 that equal respectability, to which, as zealous 
 supporters of their country's freedom, and as 
 a christian society, they are essentially en- 
 titled : far from harboring any religious ani- 
 mosity or narrowness of sentiment, he only 
 wishes for opportunities to show how much 
 he despises them : far from abandoning the 
 cause of virtue and religion, as the Address 
 
56 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 seems to insinuate — (p. 114) he means to 
 exert his slender abilities and consummate 
 the course of his ministry in the service of 
 both." 
 
 The Roman Catholic clergy in the United 
 States had been, heretofore, under the imme- 
 diate government of an ecclesiastical au- 
 thority, originally established in England by 
 the Holy See, for the management of the con- 
 cerns of the churcli in the British provinces 
 of North America : but from the epoch of the 
 establishment of American Independence, 
 they had entertained the wish of being plac- 
 ed under the jurisdiction of some individual 
 of their own body. They had accordingly 
 made an application to this effect to the 
 Pope, and had mianimously nominated and 
 recommended the Rev. Mr. Carroll for this 
 purpose : and in conformity with their wishes 
 he was appointed by the Holy See, Apostolic 
 Vicar General over the Roman Catholic 
 Churcli in the United States. Upon receiving 
 the appointment, he removed to the city of 
 Baltimore. 
 
 The Roman Catholic clergy w^ere influ- 
 enced, in the application which they made to 
 the Holy See, as well by a regard to the more 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 57 
 
 convenient organization and government of 
 their church, as by a desire to adapt the con- 
 dition of it, as nearly as might be, to the new 
 political one of the United States. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Carroll, alluding to this step 
 on the part of the American clergy, uses the 
 following language in a letter to his friend, the 
 Rev. Mr. Plowden, dated September 26, 1783: 
 
 " Our gentlemen here continue, as when 
 I last wrote. We are endeavoring to estab- 
 lish some regulations tending to perpetuate 
 a succession of laborers in the vineyard, to 
 preserve their morals, to prevent idleness, and 
 to secure an equitable and frugal administra- 
 tion of our temporals. An immense field is 
 opened to the zeal of apostolic men. Uni- 
 versal toleration throughout this immense 
 country, and innumerable Roman Catholics 
 going and ready to go into the new regions 
 bordering on the Mississippi, perhaps the finest 
 in the world, and impatiently clamorous for 
 clergymen to attend them." 
 
 We deem it appropriate, and intimately 
 connected with our subject, to insert the fol- 
 lowing notice on the establishment of the 
 Roman Catholic religion in this country, be- 
 ginning with its introduction, and concluding 
 
58 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 with the epoch above referred to. This notice 
 is stated by the Rev. Charles Constantine 
 Pise, the editor of the Metropolitan, to have 
 been originally written by Archbishop Car- 
 roll, and translated into the language in 
 which he found it. The article appeared in 
 the March number of 1830, and is as follows : 
 
 " Towards the end of the reign of James I. 
 king of England, who died in 1G25, the Ca- 
 tholics, oppressed by the penal laws of that 
 kingdom, sought after an asylum from the 
 persecution which they suffered at home. 
 Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, obtained from the 
 king a grant of all those lands which now 
 form the state of Maryland. This grant was 
 confirmed to him by a charter issued in form 
 immediately after the succession of Charles 
 I, to the throne of his father."* 
 
 By this same charter, the king granted to 
 all who should emigrate to the new Province, 
 the liberty of exercising their religion, and 
 the rights of citizens. A great number of 
 Catholics, and especially the descendants of 
 ancient families, quitted England, and settled 
 
 * By Charles, the name of Maryland was given to 
 this new province, in honor of his queen, Henrietta 
 Maria, daughter of Henry IV. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 59 
 
 in America, towards the year 1630 (1634), 
 under the conduct of Lord Baltimore. With 
 them came Father Andrew White, an 
 English Jesuit. This band of emigrants 
 chose for their residence a district of country 
 near the junction of the Potomac and St. 
 Mary's river : the latter afterwards gave its 
 name to the first town that was built there, 
 and which continued to be the capital of the 
 country, during seventy or eighty years. 
 
 " Father White finding himself unequal to 
 the duties wiiich pressed upon him, returned 
 to Europe, in order to procure missionaries : 
 and from the very imperfect memoirs before 
 me, it appears, that he brought over with 
 him Fathers Capley, Harkey, and Ferret. 
 Their principal residence was a place w^hich 
 they called St. Inigo, a Spanish word, which 
 signifies Ignatius. They acquired there a 
 considerable tract of land, a part of which is 
 still in the possession of the Jesuits." 
 
 All historians, Protestants as well as Ca- 
 tholics, speak in favorable terms of the first 
 Catholic emigrants, who faithfully observed 
 the laws of justice, and by their humane de- 
 portment, gained the confidence of the In- 
 dians. Not an inch of land did they take by 
 
60 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 violence from the aboriginal inhabitants, but 
 they purchased a large district, and honora- 
 bly confined themselves within the limits 
 traced out in the charter, in so much that 
 neither fraud nor bloodshed disgraced the 
 birth of this rising colony. 
 
 In proportion as it increased, (and its pro- 
 gress was rapid), the heads of the establish- 
 ment advanced into the country, accompa- 
 nied by some clergymen, who, for their sub- 
 sistence, and that of their successors, made 
 several acquisitions of land. 
 
 Towards the year 1640, a design was 
 formed to carry the gospel to the Indians of 
 the neighboring parts. In the MS. which 
 was lent me, I find that the provincial of the 
 Jesuits wrote this year, to the young men at 
 Liege, exhorting tliem to consecrate their ser- 
 vices to this difficult and perilous enterprise. 
 In consequence of this invitation, more than 
 twenty requested, in urgent language, to be 
 associated in the new mission, but from what 
 I can learn from contemporary documents, 
 it does not appear that they ever crossed the 
 ocean : prevented, in all probability, by the 
 influence of the Protestants, who inhabited 
 the district of Virginia : and who saw, with 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 61 
 
 a jealous eye, the incomparably better un- 
 derstanding that existed between the Catho- 
 lics and the Indians, than between themselves 
 and the tribes around them. Add to this the 
 troubles which arose the same year (1640) 
 in England, and ended in the deposition and 
 decapitation of Charles T. in 1649. The in- 
 credible hatred which the dominant party of 
 that kingdom entertained against the Ca- 
 tholics, and the umbrage which was taken 
 by the factious, at any interprise that could 
 further the promotion of the Catholic religion, 
 rendered it necessary for the emigrants to 
 break off all communications with the In- 
 dians, 
 
 As long as Cromwell was in powder, the 
 Catholics of Maryland were cruelly harass- 
 ed. Lord Baltimore was removed from the 
 government, the Catholics were excluded 
 from all offices of trust which they held be- 
 fore, and the clergy were reduced to the ne- 
 cessity of exercising their functions in secret 
 and with the greatest circumspection. 
 
 From this epoch, I cannot discover any 
 
 steps taken to diffuse the knowledge of the 
 
 gospel among the Indians. Before the death 
 
 of Cromwell, it is probable that they removed 
 
 6 
 
62 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 into the interior at a very great distance, and 
 in Maryland, there were hardly clergymen 
 enough to discharge the duties towards the 
 Catholics. The power and influence of the 
 Protestants, supported by the English govern- 
 ment, and favored by the colonies that sur- 
 rounded them, had greatly increased : and 
 the jealousy, formerly occasioned on the part 
 of the Catholics by that correspondence with 
 the Indians, was still alive. 
 
 After the restoration of Charles II., Mary- 
 land again flourished under the genial gov- 
 ernment of Lord Baltimore and his represen- 
 tatives. Pious establishments were formed, 
 and the clergymen were scattered through 
 the different sections of the province. They 
 subsisted not on the contributions of the 
 faithful, but on the products of the lands 
 which they had obtained. 
 
 But after the revolution which followed in 
 England, the Catholics were again deprived 
 of public offices, and of the exercise of tlieir 
 religion, contrary to the privileges granted 
 in their charter. In consequence of this in- 
 tolerance, Lord Baltimore would again have 
 been stript of his authority, had he not un- 
 fortunately yielded to the times, and con- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 63 
 
 formed to the Protestant religion. From this 
 era, a tax was levied on all the colonists with- 
 out distinction, for the support of the minis- 
 ters of the Anglican Church. Many attempts 
 were made to enforce the penal laws : and if 
 they w^ere not generally carried into execu- 
 tion, but only in certain places, and that too 
 by intervals, it was according to all appear- 
 ances, less through a spirit of toleration, than 
 through policy. The most distinguished fa- 
 milies, impatient of the restrictions, and in- 
 duced by the example of Lord Baltimore, 
 for.sook the Catholic Church. By this means 
 the Protestant party became strengthened : 
 the seat of government was transferred from 
 St. Mary's to Annapolis, where the Protest- 
 ants were more numerous ; and the Catho- 
 lics, oppressed and persecuted, were reduced 
 to poverty and contempt. 
 
 Notwithstanding these misfortunes, several 
 congregations existed in the province, with 
 resident priests ; and others, which were oc- 
 casionally visited by the missionaries. But 
 they were so removed and dispersed, that a 
 great number of families could not assist at 
 mass, and receive instructions, but once in 
 the month ; and though pains were taken by 
 
64 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the pious heads of families to instruct their 
 children, it must have been done but imper- 
 fectly. Among the poor, many could not 
 read, and those who could, were without 
 books, to procure which it was necessary 
 to send to England : and the laws against 
 printers and sellers of Catholic books, w^ere 
 extremely rigorous. It is surprising that, not- 
 withstanding all these difficulties, there were 
 still so many Catholics in IMaryland who 
 were regular in their habits, and at peace 
 with all their neighbors. The propriety of 
 their conduct was a subject of edification to 
 all, and continued to be so, until the new 
 emigrants from foreign parts introduced a li- 
 centiousness of manners, which exposed the 
 Catholic religion to the reproach of its ene- 
 mies. 
 
 Near the residences of the clergy, and on 
 the lands belonging to them, small chapels 
 were built, but few elsewhere : so that it was 
 necessary to say mass in private houses. The 
 people contributed nothing towards the ex- 
 penses of the clergy, who, poor as they were, 
 had to provide for their ow n support, for the 
 decoration, &c. of the altars, and for their tra- 
 vels from place to place. They demanded 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 65 
 
 nothing, so long as the produce of their lands 
 could suffice for their maintenance. 
 
 Towards the year 1730, Father Grayson, 
 a Jesuit (all the clergymen, it should be re- 
 marked, who labored in the colonies, were 
 Jesuits), went from Maryland to Philadel- 
 phia, and laid the foundation of the Catholic 
 religion in that city. He resided there until 
 the year 1750. Long before his death, he 
 built the chapel near the Presbytery (St. 
 Joseph's) and formed a numerous congrega- 
 tion, which has continued to increase to the 
 present day. 
 
 He was succeeded by Father Harding, 
 whose memory is still in benediction in that 
 city, and under whose auspices, and the un- 
 tiring energies of whose zeal, the beautiful 
 church of St. Mary's was erected. 
 
 In the year 1741 two German Jesuits were 
 sent to Pennsylvania, for the purpose of in- 
 structing the German emigrants who had set- 
 tled in that province. These were Father 
 vSchneider, a Bavarian, and Father Wapeler, 
 a Hollander — men full of zeal and prudence. 
 The former was particularly gifted with a 
 talent for business, and possessed, says the 
 MS. before me, '^ consummate prudence and 
 6* 
 
66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 intrepid courage." The latter, after having 
 labored eight years in America, durhig which 
 he converted many, was in consequence of 
 his bad health, constrained to return to Eu- 
 rope. He was the founder of the establish- 
 ment now called Conewago. Father Schnei- 
 der formed several congregations in Pennsyl- 
 vania, built tlic church at (Toshenhoppen, and 
 propagated the Catholic religion around that 
 country. Every month, he visited the Ger- 
 mans who lived in Philadelphia, until the 
 lime when he judged it expedient to establish 
 a resident German priest in that city. The 
 gentleman chosen to fill that post, was the 
 Reverend Father Farmer, a distinguished 
 and highly respected personage, who some 
 years before, had arrived in America, and 
 been stationed at Lancaster, where his life 
 was truly apostolical. It was about the 
 year 1760, that he took possession of this new 
 appointment. " No one can be ignorant," 
 remarks my MS. " of the labors which were 
 undergone by this servant of God." His me- 
 mory is in veneration among all who knew 
 him, or have heard of his merit. He continu- 
 ed to be a model for all succeeding pastors, 
 until his death, which occurred in 1786. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 67 
 
 In 1776 the American independence was 
 declared, and a revolution effected, not only 
 in political affairs, but also in those relating 
 to religion. For while the thirteen provinces 
 of North America rejected the yoke of Eng- 
 land, they proclaimed, at the same time, free- 
 dom of conscience, and the right of worship- 
 ping the Almighty according to the spirit of 
 the religion to which each one should belong. 
 Before this great event the Catholic faith had 
 penetrated into two provinces only, viz. — Ma- 
 ryland and Pennsylvania. In all the others 
 the laws against the Catholics were in force. 
 Any priest coming from foreign parts, was 
 subject to the penalty of death ; all who pro- 
 fessed the Catholic faith were not merely ex- 
 cluded from all offices of government, but 
 could hardly be tolerated in a private capa- 
 city. While this state of things continued, 
 it is not surprising that but very few of them 
 settled in those provinces : and they, for the 
 most part, forsook their religion. Even in 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, as was before 
 mentioned, the Catholics were oppressed : 
 the missionaries were insufficient for the 
 wants of two provinces, and it was next to 
 
68 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 impossible to disseminate the faith beyond 
 their boundaries. 
 
 By the declaration of independence, every 
 difficulty was removed, the Catholics were 
 placed on a level with their fellow-christians, 
 and every political disqualification was done 
 away. 
 
 Several reasons are a.ssi2:ned in the MS. 
 lor the immediate adoption of the article ex- 
 tending to all the members of the states, an 
 unqualified freedom of conscience. 
 
 "I. The leading characters of the first as- 
 .sembly or congress, were, through principle, 
 opposed to every thing like vexation on the 
 score of religion : and as they were perfectly 
 acquainted with the maxims of the Catho- 
 lics, they saw^ the injustice of persecuting 
 them for adhering to tlieir doctrines. 
 
 " II. The Catholics evinced a desire, not less 
 ardent than that of the Protestants, to ren- 
 der the provinces independent of the mother 
 country: and it was manifest that if they 
 joined the common cause and exposed them- 
 selves to the common danger, they should be 
 entitled to a participation in the common 
 blessinc^s which crowned their efforts. 
 
 "III. France was negotiating an alliance 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL, 69 
 
 with the United Provinces; and nothing 
 could have retarded the progress of that al- 
 liance more effectually, than the demonstra- 
 tion of any ill will against the religion which 
 France professed. 
 
 " IV. The aid, or at least the neutrality of 
 Canada, was judged necessary for the suc- 
 cess of the enterprise of the provinces, and 
 by placing the Catholics on a level with all 
 other christians, the Canadians, it was be- 
 lieved, could not but be favorably disposed 
 towards the revolution. 
 
 " It was not till after the war, that the good 
 effects of freedom of conscience began to de- 
 velope themselves. The priests were few in 
 number and almost superannuated. There 
 was but little communication between the 
 Catholics of America and their bishop, the 
 vicar apostolic of the district of London, on 
 whose spiritual jurisdiction they were depen- 
 dent. But whether he did not wish to have 
 any relation to a people whom he regarded in 
 the light of rebels, or whether it was owing, 
 says my old MS., to the natural apathy of his 
 disposition, it is certain that he had hardly 
 any communication either with the priests or 
 the laity on this side of the Atlantic. An- 
 
70 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 terior to the declaration of independence, 
 he had appointed the Rev. Mr. Lewis his 
 vicar; and it was this gentleman who gov- 
 erned the mission of America during the 
 time that the bisliop remained inactive. 
 
 "Shortly after the war, the clergy of Ma- 
 ryland and of Pennsylvania, convinced of the 
 necessity of having a superior on the spot, and 
 knowing too that the United States were op- 
 posed to any jurisdiction in England, applied 
 to the Holy See to grant them the privilege 
 of choosing a superior from their own body. 
 The request was acceded to, and their unan- 
 imous suffrages centred on the Rev. John 
 Carroll, whose election was approved by the 
 Holy See, and on whom ample power, even 
 that of administering confirmation, was im- 
 mediately conferred. 
 
 " The number of Catholics at this period, 
 in Maryland, amounted to about sixteen 
 thousand, the greater part of whom were 
 dispersed through the country and employed 
 in agriculture. In Pennsylvania there were 
 about seven thousand, and in the other 
 states, as far as it was possible to ascertain, 
 there were about fifteen hundred. In this 
 number, however, were not included the Ca- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 71 
 
 nadians or French or their descendants, who 
 inhabited the country to the west of the 
 Ohio, and on the banks of the Mississippi. 
 
 " In Maryland the priests were nine in num- 
 ber, in Pennsylvania but five. Of these, five 
 were worn out with infirmities and age, and 
 the rest were advanced in years. None, ex- 
 cept those in Baltimore and Philadelphia, 
 subsisted on the contributions of their flocks." 
 
 A little more than half a century has 
 elapsed since the foregoing sketch was 
 penned by the father of the Catholic Church 
 in this country, and what a change has been 
 worked in that short space of time ! How 
 salutary, beautiful and encouraging, has been 
 the operation of that wise and humane course 
 of policy, which our glorious revolution estab- 
 lished and enforced ! 
 
 Under the effect of a pure and enlightened 
 spirit of religious equality, knitting together 
 the social and political bonds of this great 
 republic, guided by pious and learned pas- 
 tors, and above all, by the aid and protec- 
 tion of the Most High, that venerable and 
 divine religion whose banners are unfurled 
 in every region of the globe, has steadily and 
 rapidly advanced to its present state of 
 
72 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 strength and prosperity. Scarce fifty years 
 ago we are told that the number of Roman 
 Catholics in this country was about twenty- 
 five thousand, now it amounts to one million 
 three hundred thousand. Then there were 
 but twenty-four clergymen, of whom "five 
 were worn out with infirmities and age, and 
 the rest were advanced in years;" now they 
 number four hundred and forty-eight, em- 
 ployed in the ministry, and one hundred and 
 fourteen otherwise occupied. And this won- 
 derful progress of religion is now as active 
 as ever, and the zeal, virtues, piety and learn- 
 ing of the clergy of the present day in no 
 manner inferior or less effective than those 
 of their laborious predecessors. 
 
 We have made the following brief compi- 
 lation from the Catholic Almanac, for the 
 purpose of placing before our readers the 
 present state of the Roman Catholic Church 
 in this republic. 
 
 The first diocesses established in this coun- 
 try, during the life time of the subject of our 
 sketch, were those of Baltimore, New York, 
 Philadelphia, I5ardstown and Boston. The 
 first was established in 1790, and after hav- 
 ing been so worthily occupied by its first in- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 73 
 
 cumbent, has been successively and efficient- 
 ly administered by Archbishops Neale, Mare- 
 chal, Whitfield and Eccleston. 
 
 That of New York, which comprises the 
 state of New York and the eastern part of 
 New Jersey, was established in 1808, and its 
 present incumbent is the Right Rev. Bishop 
 John Hughes. 
 
 That of Philadelphia, which includes the 
 states of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and 
 the western portion of the state of New Jer- 
 sey, was created in 1808, and the present 
 bishop is the Right Rev. F. P. Kenrick. 
 
 The diocess of Bardstown, embracing the 
 state of Kentucky, was established in 1808, 
 and the see is now occupied by the Right 
 Rev. Bishop Benedict J. Flaget. 
 
 That of Boston, which embraces all the 
 New England states, was established in 
 1808, and the Right Rev. Benedict J. Fen- 
 wick at present occupies the see.. 
 
 The diocesses established since the death 
 of Archbishop Carroll, are those of Cincin- 
 nati, Richmond, Vincennes, St. Louis, New 
 Orleans, Dubuque, Natchez, Mobile, Charles- 
 ton and Nashville. 
 
 The diocess of Cincinnati was established 
 7 
 
74 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 in 1821, and embraces the state of Ohio, and 
 its present bishop is the Right Rev. John B. 
 Purcell. 
 
 That of Richmond, which embraces the 
 state of Virginia, was formed in the year 
 1820. The Most Rev. Samuel Eccleston, 
 Archl)ishop of Baltimore, has the adminis- 
 tration of it during the vacancy of the see. 
 Its present occupant is the Right Rev. R. V. 
 Whelan. 
 
 That of Vincennes, which includes the state 
 of Indiana, and the eastern part of Illinois, 
 w^as created in the year 1834 by Pope Gre- 
 gory XVI. and the present incumbent is the 
 Right Rev. Celestin De la Hailandi^re. 
 
 That of St. Louis, whicli embraces the 
 state and territory of Missouri, the state of 
 Arkansas and thb western moiety of Illinois, 
 was formed in 1826. Tiie present incum- 
 bent is the Right Rev^ Bishop Joseph Ro- 
 sati. 
 
 The diocess of New Orleans, which em- 
 braces the state of Louisiana, was established 
 in 1793, under the French government, and 
 its present occupant is the Right Rev. An- 
 thony Blanc, D. D. 
 
 The diocess of Dubuque comprises Iowa; 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 75 
 
 it was created by Gregory XVI. in 1837, and 
 the Very Rev. Mathias Loras, vicar general 
 of Mobile, appointed its first bishop, and in- 
 stalled 29th April, 1839. 
 
 The diocess of Natchez, which comprises 
 the state of Mississippi, was established bv 
 the same pope, 28th July, 1837, and the Right 
 Rev. J. J. Chanche is the present bishop. 
 
 The diocess of Mobile comprises the state 
 of Alabama, and the territory of Florida. 
 The Right Rev. Michael Portier was ap- 
 pointed vicar apostolic by Pius VII. in 1825, 
 and was elevated to the episcopal chair in 
 1829. 
 
 The diocess of Charleston, comprising 
 North and South Carolina and Georgia, was 
 established 12th of July, 1820. The present 
 bishop is the Right Rev. John England.* 
 
 The diocess of Nashville, which comprises 
 the state of Tennessee, was created by Gre- 
 gory XVI., and the Right Rev. Richard P. 
 
 * The pious and learned occupant of this diocess, de- 
 parted this life on the 11th April, of the present year, 
 regretted by his own church, and a large circle of ad- 
 miring acquaintances of all denominations. The pub- 
 lic grief was testified at Charleston, where he closed 
 his distinguished and useful career on earth, in the 
 
76 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Miles, provincial of the Dominican order in 
 the United States, was appointed to the see. 
 
 Having- introduced the foregoing details for 
 the purpose of presenting to our readers some 
 idea of the extraordinary progress of the 
 Koman Catholic faith in the United States, 
 we return to the immediate subject of our 
 remarks. 
 
 One of the first objects that engaged the at- 
 tention of the new vicar general, after he had 
 been thus selected by his own brethren and 
 approved by the head of the Church, afforded 
 a fair presage of his future utility and ser- 
 vices. Learned and enlightened himself, he 
 was fully aware of the value of public in- 
 struction and education in its general influ- 
 ence upon the moral and religious character 
 of society. Actuated by this sentiment, there- 
 fore, and desirous of rendering a lasting ser- 
 vice to the reliofion of which he was so zeal- 
 ous a member, he suggested the idea, and in 
 conjunction with his respectable brethren, 
 
 most imposing and honorable manner. Long indeed 
 will the memory of this great and good prelate be pre- 
 served in the hearts of those who knew him, and his 
 name be enrolled among the brightest ornaments of the 
 Roman Catholic church in this country. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 77 
 
 succeeded in procuring the establishment of a 
 college at Georgetown, on the Potomac, in 
 the year 1791, which, though specially des- 
 tined for the youth of the Roman Catholic 
 religion in the United States, should, never- 
 theless, be opened to those of other persua- 
 sions, upon the principles set forth in the 
 subjoined extract from the proposals written 
 by him, and used for obtaining subscriptions 
 toward the purchase of the ground and erec- 
 tion of the necessary buildings. 
 
 "The object of the proposed institution is," 
 says the prospectus, " to unite the means of 
 communicating science with an effectual pro- 
 vision for guarding and improving the morals 
 of youth. With this view^, the seminary will 
 be superintended by those who, having had 
 experience in similar institutions, know that 
 an undivided attention may be given to the 
 cultivation of virtue and literary improve- 
 ment : and that a system of discipline may 
 be introduced and preserved, incompatible 
 with indolence and inattention in the profes- 
 sor, or with incorrigible habits of immorality 
 in the student. 
 
 " The benefit of this establishment should 
 be as general as the attainment of its object is 
 
/?5 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 desirable. It will, therefore, receive pupils, 
 as soon as they have learned the first ele- 
 ments of letters, and will conduct them 
 through the several branches of classical 
 learninir. to that stasre of education, from 
 which they may proceed with advantage to 
 the study of the higher sciences, in the uni- 
 versity of this, or those of the neighboring 
 states. Thus it will be calculated for every 
 class of citizens, — as reading, writing, arith- 
 metic, the easier branches of the mathema- 
 tics, and the grammar of our native tongue 
 will be attended to no less than the learned 
 languages. 
 
 " Agreeable to the liberal principle of our 
 constitution, the seminary will be open to 
 students of every religious profession. They, 
 who in this respect differ from the superin- 
 tendents of the academy, will be at liberty 
 to frequent the places of worship and instruc- 
 tion appointed by their parents : but with 
 respect to their moral conduct, all must be 
 subject to general and uniform discipline. 
 
 " In the choice of situation, salubrity of air, 
 convenience and communication and cheap- 
 ness of living, have been principally con- 
 sulted — and Georgetown offers these united 
 advantages." 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 79 
 
 The means, however, to meet the necessa- 
 ry expenses in the execution of this excellent 
 plan, were almost entirely furnished from the 
 property of the Roman Catholic clergy in 
 Maryland, little or nothing being obtained by 
 private contribution. 
 
 Before the establishment of that college, 
 the Roman Catholics of the United States 
 were reduced to the necessity of sending their 
 sons to such literary institutions and places 
 of instruction as the country then afforded, 
 except such as had the means to send them 
 abroad ; and as these were exclusively under 
 the patronage or superintendence of persons 
 of other denominations, and one of the ob- 
 jects of the endowment of some of them 
 was expressly to keep down the growth of 
 the Roman Catholic religion, the youth of 
 that persuasion were thus precluded from the 
 opportunity of being instructed in the duties 
 or made acquainted with the principles of 
 their own faith, or were exposed to the dan- 
 ger of imbibing strong and early prejudices 
 against it. 
 
 The importance and primary necessity of 
 establishing an institution which might meet 
 the wants of the Catholic community, and 
 
80 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 save them from the influence and intrigues of 
 the enemies of their religion, presented them- 
 selves in the strongest possible manner to the 
 mind of the active vicar general, as is 
 evinced in the warm terms with which he 
 alludes to the subject in his valuable corres- 
 pondence with the Rev. Mr. Plovvden. 
 
 We fmd hitn in 1788, speaking about the 
 progress of the buildings and his great de- 
 sire to procure good and competent profes- 
 sors. — " I have the happiness to inform you, 
 that our academy is begun, and we have 
 some hopes of seeing it covered this year. 
 Do not forget your promise of some assist- 
 ance. But when the academy is completed, 
 that is, the house, what shall we do for a 
 general director or president of it 7 Liege 
 absorbs all those who would be willing to 
 lend their assistance, and others have prob- 
 ably settled themselves for life. Do look 
 out for some gentleman of abilities and judg- 
 ment, and inspire into him a desire of ren- 
 dering this eminent service. For, as for 
 masters, we can do for a little time, with 
 some to be collected in the country, and our 
 own institutions will, in time, supply them." 
 
 In February, 1791, he says: "I trust in 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 81 
 
 God, that our Georgetown academy will be 
 opened in a few months. Congress having 
 resolved to make that neighborhood, and per- 
 haps that town their seat, and consequently 
 the capital of the United States, gives a 
 weight to our establishment there, which I 
 little thought of, when I recommended that 
 situation for the academy." 
 
 He writes, under date of November, 1795, 
 always returning with fresh ardor to his fa- 
 vorite subject: — "The new building of the 
 college is nearly completed, and a noble one 
 it is. It presents a front of 154 feet, and an 
 elevation of three stories on one side, and four 
 on the other, as a slant of the ground un- 
 covers the offices upon that view. I sincerely 
 wish you had such a building at Stonehurst." 
 
 In a subsequent letter, after alluding to the 
 admirable spirit of devotion which confined 
 the Catholic clergy to their posts during a 
 contagious disorder in Philadelphia, he re- 
 marks as follows : — " Would to God, George- 
 town may ever emulate the excellency of 
 Stonehurst in that respect ! But till it be 
 blessed with masters acting with one spirit, 
 and enforcing by their uniform example, the 
 precepts of virtue, this cannot be expected, 
 
82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 however ardently desired. Hired professors 
 have an interest so different from that of a 
 sacred attachment to the cause of God, his 
 church and its truth, that we must labor 
 with all our might to be able to form a bet- 
 ter system." 
 
 Previous to this, in 1790, he entered more 
 at larsre in his views in relation to the acade- 
 my, which was then in a state of prepara- 
 tion. " I am greatly obliged to you for your 
 generous intentions respecting it. I think w^e 
 shall get enough of it accomplished this sum- 
 mer, to make a beginning of teaching, but 
 our great difficulty will be to get a proper 
 president or superintendent. The fate of the 
 school will depend much on the first impres- 
 sion made upon the public ; and a president 
 of known abilities and reputation will contri- 
 bute greatly to render that impression a very 
 favorable one. Many seminaries of education 
 have been raised in the United States within 
 these few years ; but, in general, they are ex- 
 ceedingly defective in discipline. A college 
 has been lately opened at Annapolis, under the 
 protection of our state legislature, and amply 
 endow^ed by them. It is erected on princi- 
 ples of perfect equality as to religion. The 
 
o 
 
 MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 8 
 
 original agents appointed by act of assembly^ 
 to model and encourage it, were three cler- 
 gymen and three laymen, one of whom were 
 Catholic, church of England, and Presbyte- 
 rian. I had the honor of being the former. 
 This matter was broached before we formed 
 a plan of our academy at Georgetown. I 
 see at present no other advantage to us Ca- 
 tholics in the Annapolis college, than this, 
 that it may be a place for our young lads, 
 who have perfected their grammar education 
 at Georgetown, to pursue the higher studies 
 of law, medicine, &c. In other respects it 
 will be hurtful to our institution." 
 
 Having quoted enough to show our read- 
 ers how deeply interested was the subject of 
 our biography, in the establishment and wel- 
 fare of his favorite creation, the prosperity, 
 high and deserved reputation of which, for 
 the piety and learning of its faculty, and sal- 
 utary influence upon the moral and religious 
 education of youth, he lived to witness and 
 enjoy, we cannot do better than conclude our 
 notice of this now flourishing and excellent 
 institution, by inserting the interesting arti- 
 cle, written for the Metropolitan of Decern- 
 
84 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ber 5th, 1832, by its then editor, the Rev. 
 Charles Constantine Pise. 
 
 " GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. 
 
 "Among the literary institutions which 
 since the era of the revolution, have been 
 founded, and have continued to flourish 
 with undiminished reputation, the univer- 
 sity commonly called " the Georgetown Col- 
 lege," stands eminently conspicuous. Few 
 nurseries of education have sent forth pupils 
 formed with nicer attention, more general in- 
 formation, more elegant attainments, and 
 above all, with greater regard to moral and 
 religious principles, than the one which con- 
 stitutes the subject of these remarks. 
 
 " The system of education pursued by the 
 faculty is not an experimental one, the suc- 
 cess of which time alone will be able to de- 
 velope ; it is a system which has long since 
 been proved : which has, for nearly three cen- 
 turies, awakened the public attention, chal- 
 lenged the public scrutiny, and won the pub- 
 lic approbation. To have an idea of this 
 system, the reader must consult the stand- 
 ard by which it is directed, the 7'atio dicendi 
 et discendi, by Pere Jouvency. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 85 
 
 " Let it not, however, be imagined that be- 
 cause it is ancient, it is antiquated; because it 
 was adopted ere much of the light which has 
 since dawned on the literary world had been 
 descried, that it is not conformable to the age 
 and country in which we live. The substance 
 of education is always the same, and it will 
 not be denied that our fathers, and their fa- 
 thers, were as substantially taught, as we are 
 at the present day. What a catalogue of 
 most elegant scholars and profoundly learned 
 men cannot the two preceding ages, as well as 
 the present, display to the admiration of the 
 curious — philosophers, historians, linguists, 
 poets, divines, — their works live after them, 
 many of them models of style, and stamped 
 with erudition. 
 
 " But the system of this university keeps 
 pace with the development and spirit and 
 genius of our age and country. It embraces 
 all modern literature, comprises all modern in- 
 ventions, and cherishes the principles of liber- 
 ty and republicanism. The library which 
 contains twelve thousand volumes, is open to 
 the curiosity of the pupils, and is deficient in 
 ery few of the works of modern writers that 
 are worth preserving ; reviews, periodicals, 
 8 
 
 \ 
 
86 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP THE 
 
 pamphlets, papers, and every variety of mis- 
 cellaneous effusions, selected with scrupulous 
 caution by the faculty, are offered to the pe- 
 rusal of the students. 
 
 " The character of their national celebra- 
 tions, the institute of their Philodemic society 
 the spirit breathed through the speeches at 
 their commencements, attest their patriotism, 
 and ardent devotion to our national institu- 
 tions, and the care that is taken to implant 
 in the youthful breast a lofty love of inde- 
 pendence, and a generous patriotism. Per- 
 haps there is not in the country an institution, 
 where a greater portion of republican feeling 
 can be discovered, vvhenev^er occasion calls 
 it forth. Witness, for instance, the very ex- 
 cellent oration delivered last fourth of July 
 by Mr. Floyd, son of the governor of Virginia. 
 Their essays, their speeches, their poetry, are 
 pregnant with the vis divina, that fire of free- 
 dom, and that dulcis amor patrice, which 
 would do honor to the youths of Rome and 
 Athens, in their most flourishing days. 
 
 " The morale of the university is preserved 
 with the most vigilant solicitude. The na- 
 ture of the system precludes almost the pos- 
 sibility of their pupils contracting any of those 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 87 
 
 vicious habits which would grow up with 
 them to maturity. The situation secluded, 
 and aloof from the bustle of the towm ; the 
 vigilance of the prefects, under whose eyes 
 the students are always found; the attend- 
 ance of the professors when they walk for ex- 
 ercise beyond the limits of the enclosure, 
 keep them not in servile fear, but under a 
 necessary and decorous restraint. In this 
 manner, they are preserved from boyhood, 
 from practices which are frequently the dis- 
 grace of youth not so strictly guarded, and 
 the ruin of many a great and aspiring mind. 
 " Morality is not the only lesson that is 
 taught. Religion is inculcated. Foritw^ould 
 be difficult, almost impossible, to preserve 
 the former, without inculcating the latter. 
 The tenets professed by the university are 
 Roman Catholic. These the faculty feel 
 themselves bound to explain in their cate- 
 chistical instructions to all the pupils, no mat- 
 ter of w^hat denomination, for they deem it 
 a part of a general education to know what 
 are the rea/ principles of the Catholic Church, 
 and how^ their principles are misrepresented. 
 But at the same time, they bind themselves 
 to make no distinction between Catholic or 
 
88 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Protestant — to instruct the former radically, 
 and to use no improper influence to proselyt- 
 ize the latter. All alike are required to at- 
 tend divine worship, to listen to moral dis- 
 courses, to devote some time to the study of 
 the sacred scriptures, on Sundays and ecclesi- 
 astical festivals ; but, of course, only the Ca- 
 tholic portion are required to comply with 
 the jiractical obligations of the church. 
 
 " The institution, for its general economy 
 and concerns, is under the direction of the 
 faculty. Besides the president and vice-pre- 
 sident, there is a prefect of studies, who is al- 
 ways a gentleman of general attainments and 
 great experience, whose office it is to preside 
 over the schools — to arrange the different 
 classes — to note the talents, improvement, 
 disposition and conduct of the students, while 
 at class ; to keep a strict account of these 
 particulars, and report to the president at 
 stated times. The ordinary prefects are 
 three in number. It is their office to watch 
 over their deportment during the hours of re- 
 creation, to give special permissions, to ex- 
 act punishments when duty renders it neces- 
 sary to inflict them, and to accompany the 
 pupils in their walks and rambles. The 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 89 
 
 professors are responsible for their pupils 
 only (luring the hours of their various classes. 
 This arrangement is admirably calculated to 
 preserve strict order; it divides the arduous 
 responsibility of a university, specifying to 
 each member his particular department, with 
 which no other can conflict, — which is dis- 
 tinct in itself, and thus allows more time, 
 more opportunity of exactness, and regular 
 discipline, than could be derived from any 
 other mode of action. 
 
 " The local advantas^es of Georo^etown col- 
 lege yield to none, it may be said without 
 exaggeration, in any country. Elevated and 
 sequestered, though w ithin the limits of the 
 town, it lifts its turrets high abov^e the forest 
 that surrounds it, commanding a view of the 
 Potomac, on whose banks it is situated, of 
 the bridge which stretches across the w^aters, 
 of Mason's Island, of the Capitol, President's 
 house, and the whole city of Washington. 
 These scenes constitute the front view. The 
 back prospect is perfectly rural, varied with 
 hill and dale, and deeply set with every spe- 
 cies of forest trees. A serpentine walk, em- 
 bowered in shade, circulates around the val- 
 ley, forming a delightful promenade during 
 8* 
 
90 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the sultry season, and reminding the wander- 
 ing student of the vale of Tempe. 
 
 .... Praerupta quod undique claudit — 
 Silva 
 
 " While the stream gurgling down its sides 
 
 may be fancied to correspond to the waters 
 
 of Peneus, which 
 
 ab imo 
 
 Effusus Piudo spumosis volvitur undis. 
 
 "The main college, a noble edifice 153 feet in 
 length, was erected in the year 1791. It is sup- 
 ported by two towers, which give an appear- 
 ance of grandeur and solenmity to the whole. 
 These towers may be descried at a very great 
 distance ; and their view, especially from the 
 river, is beautiful and imposing. Like the 
 ' distant spires and antique towers' of Eton, 
 they ' crown the watery glade,' and as the 
 eye of any of her former pupils falls upon 
 them, he may exclaim with Gay — 
 
 Ah, happy hills I — Ah, pleasant shade ! — 
 Ah fields beloved in vain ! 
 
 " The other building, commonly called ' the 
 old college,' claims a more ancient origin. 
 It was raised anno 1789. Its dimensions are 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 91 
 
 sixty-three by fifty-one feet. Hitherto the re- 
 fectory and kitchen have been under this roof, 
 but they are soon to be removed to a new and 
 magnificent edifice which is now erecting, 
 and which will be covered in before winter. 
 This addition to the old college is ninety-five 
 feet in length, and fifty-one in breadth, built 
 of the best materials, in the most substantial 
 manner. There has also been erected, under 
 the auspices of the present enterprising pre- 
 sident, a new infirmary, four stories high, 
 sixty feet in length and fifty-three in breadth, 
 Through each story, a wide and airy corridor 
 runs the whole length of the building, and 
 the apartments are so arranged, that the sick 
 students have each a comfortable room, with 
 excellent accommodations, and are attended 
 with indefatigable care by the infirmarians. 
 
 " This institution was founded anno 1789. 
 Among her first pupils, she is proud to ac- 
 knowledge the Hon. William Gaston of North 
 Carolina, and Robert Walsh, Esq. of Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 " Since its foundation, as may be seen from 
 the registers preserved in the archives of the 
 house, several thousands of youths have been 
 educated within its walls ; and an idea of the 
 
92 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 salubrity of the place will be formed from the 
 fact, that up to the present date, not an indi- 
 vidual pupil has ever died in it. It is very 
 doubtful whether the same extraordinary fact 
 can be asserted of any similar institution in 
 this country." 
 
 The library of the college, which w^as com- 
 posed of twelve thousand volumes in 1832, 
 has been increased to about tw^enty-four 
 thousand, and the new building mentioned 
 in the foregoing article, is now occupied as a 
 refectory, chapel and study, and exhibition 
 room. The college possesses a valuable mu- 
 seum, with a fuie collection of philosophical 
 and chemical instruments, and a vineyard is 
 cultivated on the farm, which supplies the 
 chapel, and those of Georgetown and Alex- 
 andria with wine for the altar, and is also 
 used by the clergy at their own table. It is 
 the intention of the faculty to erect an ob- 
 servatory, which will add much to the use- 
 fulness and reputation of the institution, and 
 under the direction of its learned and zealous 
 professor will prove of great and enduring ser- 
 vice to the cause of science in this country. 
 
 The present president is the Rev. James 
 Ryder, whose high reputation as a cler- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 93 
 
 gyman, professor and orator, is a source 
 of pride for his own church in this country, 
 and of lasting benefit to the venerable insti- 
 tution which he directs. 
 
 We nnake the following brief extracts from 
 an able address, delivered July 26th of the 
 present year, before the Philodemic society, 
 by P. P. Morris, Esq., of Philadelphia, in 
 order to add, if possible, to the eloquent de- 
 scription which precedes, thus spontaneously 
 paid to the merits of Georgetown college, and 
 its claims to public patronage and respect. 
 
 Our orator feelingly exclaims : " The posi- 
 tion of our alma mater is not easily forgot- 
 ten. The broad and sinuous waters of the 
 Potomac flowing majestically at our feet, 
 marking for miles the boundary between the 
 forest-crowned shores of Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia, with its picturesque aqueduct and long 
 line of bridge on the distance, enlivened by 
 the various green of Mason's Island upon the 
 left, w^ith its rocky shores and ruined mill 
 upon the right, give a physiognomical expres- 
 sion to the scene, which to be remembered, 
 needs to be but once beheld — and then those 
 delightful walks, in groves more truly aca- 
 demic than any which my eyes have else- 
 
94 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 where found, where the gurgling of fountains 
 and the melody of birds, conspire in the in- 
 tervals of study to soothe and refresh us. 
 The library, so truly the student's ow n, where 
 the mental wealth of centuries is accumula- 
 ted, and where with a little industry, the 
 burning lights of ages may be concentrated 
 to illumine the present, and where, it gives 
 me special pleasure to say, the learned of the 
 modern world are not forgotten. The dis- 
 tinguished authors upon the leading topics of 
 modern inquiry, whether politics, morals, or 
 philosophy, are ranged side by side with the 
 writers of by-gone days, that, by enquiry and 
 comparison, every opportunity may be afford- 
 ed to the diligent student for correcting 
 prejudice and amending error, 
 
 " The cry of the modern world is ihat of 
 Ajax — Let us have light: and I have pecu- 
 liar satisfaction in saying, gentlemen, that if 
 when you come upon the stage of life, you 
 find yourselves behind the age in your ideas, 
 it cannot be attributed to the institution 
 under whos^ care your mental training has 
 been conducted." 
 
 Again: " To you, my friends, these hurried 
 reflections are, perhaps, superfluous. The 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 95 
 
 learned and reverend gentlemen with whom 
 the last few years of your lives have been 
 spent, experience and a fond recollection of 
 their kindness admonish me, must have long 
 since, with a more firm and skilful hand engra- 
 ven all these matters upon the tablet of your 
 memories. The moral propriety of every 
 human action was wont, if I mistake not, to be 
 the theme of constant discussion within these 
 walls, and I take pleasure in saying that the 
 cause of truth, of human happiness and hu- 
 man rights, was always ably, eloquently and 
 ardently, supported : and I trust this learned 
 faculty will pardon me for saying, what I 
 feel urged by the spirit of truth to declare, 
 that no where have 1 seen more ardent de- 
 votion to American liberty, purer patriotism, 
 more unblemished virtue, and a more intelli- 
 gent uuderstanding of the rights of man, than 
 among the followers of Ignatius Loyola." 
 
 This important and absorbing object of the 
 attention of Mr. Carroll being so far effectu- 
 ated, he united with his brethren in an ap- 
 plication to the general assembly of Mary- 
 land for an act to incorporate the trustees of 
 the college, and they united with this applica- 
 tion a petition to incorporate likewise the Ro- 
 
96 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 man Catholic clergy in the state of Maryland, 
 for tlie purpose of their (the clergy's) empow- 
 ering trustees of their own choice in the man- 
 ner to hold, and to transmit to their suc- 
 cessors, the real estates and other property, 
 to a considerable amount in that state, which 
 had from time to time been purchased by 
 them, or been given or bequeathed for the 
 use of the church : and which had all along 
 been held by the precarious tenure of tes- 
 tamentary titles, derived from the individuals 
 in whom the legal interest was vested : and 
 through his exertions and interest, and the 
 liberality of that legislature, the two acts of 
 incorporation solicited were duly passed. 
 
 Soon after the present government of the 
 United States was put into operation, a wri- 
 ter in the Gazette of the United States, then 
 edited and printed in New York, where the 
 legislature of the Union was holding its first 
 session, wrote and put forth a paper in that 
 Gazette of an equivocal character, but which 
 Mr. Carroll thought might and would be con- 
 strued into an insidious invitation to the es- 
 tablishment of a national religion for this 
 country. Being in sentiment and in prac- 
 tice, the friend and advocate of a universal 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 97 
 
 toleration, or rather of a perfect liberty of 
 conscience in matters of religion, he pre- 
 pared and sent to the editor of that Gazette, 
 a conclusive reply, under the signature of 
 Pacificus, which brought forth an explana- 
 tory note from the writer of the first men- 
 tioned paper, in which he altogether dis- 
 clahns the design imputed to him. 
 
 This reply will be deemed, beyond doubt, 
 by our readers, conclusive proof of the lib- 
 eral spirit of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 and the active and patriotic part taken by 
 its members in the glorious struggle which 
 secured for us the blessings and liberty we 
 now enjoy. 
 
 ''To the Editor of the Gazette of the U. S. 
 
 " Sir : Every friend to the rights of con- 
 science, equal liberty, and diffusive happi- 
 ness, must have felt pain, on seeing the at- 
 tempt made by one of your correspondents, 
 in the Gazette of the U. S., No. 8, May the 
 9th, to revive an odious system of religious 
 intolerance. The author may not have been 
 fully sensible of the tendency of his publica- 
 tion, because he speaks of preserving univer- 
 sal toleration. Perhaps he is one of those 
 9 
 
98 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 who think it consistent with justice, to ex- 
 clude certain citizens from the honors and 
 emoluments of society, merely on account 
 of their religious opinions, provided they be 
 not restrained by racks and forfeitures, from 
 the exercise of that worship which their 
 consciences approve. If such be his views, 
 in vain tlicn have Americans associated into 
 one great national union, under the express 
 condition of not being shackled by religious 
 tests; and under a firm persuasion, that they 
 were to retain, when associated, every natu- 
 ral right, not expressly surrendered. 
 
 "Is it pretended, that they who are the ob- 
 jects of an intended exclusion from certain 
 offices of honor and advantage, have forfeited 
 by any act of treason against the United 
 States, the common rights of nature, or the 
 stipulated rights of the political society, of 
 which they form a part? This the author 
 has not presumed to assert. Their blood 
 flowed as freely (in proportion to their num- 
 bers) to cement the fabric of independence, 
 as that of any of their fellow-citizens. They 
 concurred, with perhaps greater unanimity 
 than any other body of men, in recommend- 
 ing and promoting that government, from 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 99 
 
 whose influence America anticipates all the 
 blessings of justice, peace, plenty, good order 
 and civil and religious liberty. What cha- 
 racter shall we then give to a system of poli- 
 cy, calculated for the express purpose of 
 divesting of rights legally acquired, those 
 citizens who are not only unoffending, but 
 whose conduct has been hiorhlv meritorious? 
 "These observations refer to the general 
 tendency of the publication, which I now 
 proceed to consider more particularly. Is it 
 true (as the author states) that our fore- 
 fathers abandoned their native homes, re- 
 nounced its honors and comforts, and buried 
 themselves in the immense forests of this new 
 world, for the sake of that religion which 
 he recommends as preferable to any other? 
 Was not the religion which the emigrants to 
 the four southern states brought with them 
 to America, the pre-eminent and favored re- 
 ligion of the country which they left? Did 
 the Roman Catholics who first came to Ma- 
 ryland, leave their native soil for the sake of 
 preserving the Protestant Church ? Was 
 this the motive of the peaceable (Quakers in 
 the settlement of Pennsylvania? Did the 
 first inhabitants of the Jerseys and New 
 
100 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 York quit Europe for fear of being com- 
 pelled to renounce their Protestant tenets ? 
 Can it be even truly affirmed that this mo- 
 tive operated on all, or a majority of those 
 who began to settle and improve the four 
 eastern states? Or even if they really were 
 influenced by a desire of preserving their re- 
 ligion, what will ensue from the fact, ut 
 that one denomination of Protestants sought 
 a retreat from the prosecution of another? 
 Will history justify the assertion that they 
 left their native homes for the sake of the 
 Protestant religion, understanding it in a 
 comprehensive sense as distinguished from 
 every other? 
 
 " This leading fact being so much misstat- 
 ed, no wonder that the author should go on 
 bewildering himself more and more. He as- 
 serts that the religion which he recommends 
 laid the foundations of this great and new 
 empire, and therefore contends that it is 
 entitled to pre-eminence and distinguished 
 favor. Might I not say with equal truth, 
 that the religion which he recommends ex- 
 erted her powers to crush this empire in its 
 birth, and is still laboring to prevent its 
 growth ? For, can we so soon forget, or now 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 101 
 
 help seeing, that the bitterest enemies of our 
 national prosperity profess the same reli- 
 gion which prevails generally in the United 
 States? What inference will a philosophic 
 mind draw from this view, but that religion 
 is out of the question — that it is ridiculous to 
 say, the Protestant religion is the important 
 bulwark of our constitution — that the estab- 
 lishment of the American empire was not 
 the work of this or that religion, but arose 
 from a generous exertion of all her citizens, 
 to redress their wrongs, to assert their rights, 
 and lay its foundations on the soundest prin- 
 ciples of justice and equal liberty? 
 
 "When he ascribed so many valuable effects 
 to his cherished religion, as that she was the 
 nurse of arts and sciences, could he not re- 
 flect, that Homer and Virgil, Demosthenes 
 and Cicero, Thucydides, Livy, Phidias and 
 Apelles, flourished long before this nurse of 
 arts and sciences had an existence ? Was 
 he so inconsiderate, as not to attend to the 
 consequences, favorable to polytheism, which 
 flow from this reasoning, or did he forget, that 
 the emperor Julian, that subtle and inveter- 
 ate enemy of Christianity, applied this very 
 same argument to the defence of heathenish 
 
 Q* 
 
102 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 superstition? The recollection of that cir- 
 cumstance may induce him to suspect the 
 weight of his observation, and perhaps to 
 doubt the fact, which he assumed for its basis. 
 
 " But he tells us that Britain 'owes to her 
 religion her present distinguished greatness,' 
 a gentle invitation to America to pursue the 
 same political maxims, in heaping exclusive 
 favors on one and depressing all other religions! 
 
 "But does Britain indeed owe the perfec- 
 tion and extent of her manufactures and the 
 enormous wealth of many individuals, to the 
 cause assigned by this writer ? Can he so 
 soon put it out of his mind, that the patient 
 industry so natural to English artificers, and 
 the long monopoly of our trade, and that of 
 their dependencies by increasing the demand, 
 and a competition among her artizans, con- 
 tributed principally to the perfection of the 
 manufactures of Britain, and the plunder of 
 Indian provinces poured into her lap im- 
 mense fortunes, which murder and rapacity 
 accumulated in those fertile climes? God 
 forbid that religion should be instrumental in 
 raising such greatness ! 
 
 "When the author proceeds to say that the 
 clergy of that religion, which operated such 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 103 
 
 wonders in Britain, 'boldly and zealously 
 stepped forth, and bravely stood our distin- 
 guished sentinels, to bring about the late glo- 
 rious revolution,' I am almost determined to 
 follow him no further : he is leading me on 
 too tender ground, on which I choose not to 
 venture. The clergy of that religion behaved, 
 I believe, as any other clergy would have 
 done in similar circumstances ; but the voice 
 of America will not contradict iiie, when I 
 assert, that they discovered no greater zeal 
 for the revolution, than the ministry of any 
 other denomination whatever. 
 
 "When men comprehend not, or refuse to 
 admit, the luminous principles on which the 
 rights of conscience and liberty of religion de- 
 pend, they are industrious to find out pretences 
 for intolerance. If they cannot discover 
 them in the actions, they strain to cull them 
 out of the tenets of the religion, which they 
 wish to exclude from a free participation of 
 equal rights. Thus this writer attributes to 
 his religion the merit of being most favorable 
 to freedom ; and affirms that not only moral- 
 ity, but liberty likewise, must expire, if his 
 clergy should ever be contemned or neglect- 
 ed, all which conveys a refined insinuation 
 
104 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 that liberty cannot consist with, or be cher- 
 ished by any other religious institution, which 
 therefore, he would give to understand it is 
 not safe to countenance in a free government. 
 "I am anxious to guard against the impres- 
 sion, intended by such insinuations ; not mere- 
 ly for the sake of any one profession, but from 
 an earnest regard to preserve inviolate for- 
 ever, in our new empire, the great principle 
 of religious freedom. The constitutions of 
 some of the states, continue still to entrench 
 on the sacred rights of conscience; and men, 
 who have bled, and opened their purses as 
 freely, in the cause of liberty and independ- 
 ence, as any other citizens, are most un- 
 justly excluded from the advantages, which 
 they contributed to establish. But if bigotry 
 and narrow prejudices have hitherto pre- 
 vented the cure of these evils, be it the duty 
 of every lover of peace and justice to extend 
 them no further. Let the author, who has 
 opened this field for discussion, beware of 
 slily imputing to any set of men, principles 
 or consequences which they disavow. He 
 perhaps may meet with retaliation. He may 
 be told of, and referred to Lord Littleton, as 
 zealous a Protestant as any man of his days, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 105 
 
 for information, that the principles of non-re- 
 sistance seemed the principles of that religion, 
 which (we are now told) is most favorable 
 to freedom, and that its opponents had gone 
 too far in the other extreme.* 
 
 "He may be told farther, that a Rev. pre- 
 late of Ireland, the Bishop of Cloyne, has 
 lately attempted to prove that the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church is best fitted to unite with 
 the civil constitution of a mixed monarchy, 
 while Presbvterianism is onlv congenial to 
 republicanism. Must America then, yield- 
 ing to these fanciful systems, confine her dis- 
 tinguishing favors to the followers of Calvin, 
 and keep a jealous eye on all others. Ought 
 she not rather to treat with contempt these 
 idle and (generally speaking) interested spe- 
 culations, refuted by reason, history and 
 daily experience ; and rest the preservation 
 of their liberties, and her government, on the 
 attachment of mankind to their political 
 happiness, to the security of their persons, 
 and their property which is independent of 
 religious doctrines and not restrained by any? 
 
 ''June 10, 1789. Pacificus." 
 
 \From, Amer. Museum, Philad. 
 * See Dialogue of the Dead. — First Dialogue. 
 
106 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 It was discovered now from the increased 
 numbers of the Roman Catholics, that it 
 would greatly promote the regular and more 
 convenient discipline of their church, if the 
 United States were formed into a separate 
 diocess, and a bishop appointed over it. An 
 application to this effect was accordingly 
 made to the Holy See by his reverend breth- 
 ren, recommending and soliciting this mea- 
 sure, and as they done on a former occasion, 
 respectfully presenting his name. 
 
 The Pope, to whom the virtues and cha- 
 racter of the Rev. Doctor Carroll* were 
 well known, by the intimate and close con- 
 nexion which had subsisted between him 
 and the Holy See, in his administration of 
 the Catholic Church of the United States 
 as apostolic vicar general, and by the distin- 
 guished reputation which his talents and ser- 
 vices had procured for him at Rome, formed 
 the United States into a separate diocess, as 
 was desired, and readily confirmed the nomi- 
 nation which had been made to him. 
 
 * He had been made Doctor of Laws by the Uni- 
 versity of St. John's of Annapolis, in Maryland, and 
 afterwards received the same degree and that of D.D. 
 from other universities in the United States. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 107 
 
 In the valuable correspondence with the 
 Rev. Mr. Plowden, from which we have so 
 often quoted, Dr. Carroll, in 1789, alludes to 
 the negotiations which had been opened with 
 the Holy See in relation to the appointment of 
 a bishop, in the following terms : — "I received 
 only about the middle of last month, Cardi- 
 nal Antonelli's letter, dated in July last, by 
 which he informs me, that his holiness has 
 granted our request for an ordinary bishop, 
 the see to be fixed by ourselves, and the 
 choice to be made by the officiating clergy- 
 men. The matter will be gone on imme- 
 diately, and God, I trust, will direct to a 
 good choice. This confidence is my com- 
 fort ; otherwise I should be full of apprehen- 
 sions of the choice falling where it would be 
 fatal indeed." 
 
 In May of the same year, informing his 
 correspondent of the issue of the election 
 which placed him in the responsible post of 
 the first American Roman Catholic bishop, 
 he deplores in the most humble and Chris- 
 tian manner this (for him) unexpected result, 
 and expresses the fears which he enter- 
 tained of his want of abilities to give satis- 
 faction. In reading these, and other senti- 
 
108 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ments so feelingly and eloquently poured 
 forth by our meek and pious clergyman, we 
 are forcibly impressed with a conviction of 
 their sincerity, and VA'itli a feeling of the most 
 exalted respect and admiration towards the 
 writer. 
 
 He writes as follows: — "Communicating 
 freely with you as I do, you would not for- 
 give me, were I to omit informing you, that 
 a grant had been made to all our oHiciating 
 clergy to choose one of their body, as bishop ; 
 and it is left to our determination whether 
 he shall be an ordinary, taking his title from 
 some town of our appointment, or a titular 
 bishop, by which I understand, a bishop con- 
 stituted over a country without the designa- 
 tion of any particular see, (vide Thomassin 
 de la discipline de 1' Eglise). Our brethren 
 chose to have an ordinary bishop, and named 
 Baltimore to be the bishop's title, this being 
 the principal town of Maryland, and that 
 state being the oldest and still the most nu- 
 merous residence of our religion in America. 
 So far all was right. We then proceeded to 
 the election ; the event of which was such 
 as deprives me of all expectation of rest or 
 pleasure henceforward, and fills me with ter- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 109 
 
 ror, with respect to eternity. I am so stunned 
 with the issue of this business, that I truly 
 hate the hearing or mention of it; and there- 
 fore will say only, that since my brethren, 
 whom in this case I consider as the inter- 
 preters of the Divine will, say I must obey, I 
 will even do it, if by obeying I shall sacrifice 
 henceforth every moment of peace and satis- 
 faction. I most earnestly commend myself 
 to your prayers and those of my other friends." 
 Continuing in the same strain of touching 
 piety, spiritual fear and christian resignation 
 to the will of God, and obedience to clerical 
 authority, he adds in subsequent letters : " If 
 I could persuade myself, dear sir, to follow^ 
 your example, in refusing peremptorily to 
 submit to the choice of my brethren, I have 
 much reason to think it would be better for 
 our holy religion, and certainly to my greater 
 ease of mind ; but having previously used all 
 my sincere endeavors to divert them from 
 such a choice, I cannot but acquiesce in it, 
 as it was unanimous, excepting one vote. 
 At the same time, my own knowledge of 
 myself informs me better than a thousand 
 voices to the contrary, that I am entirely 
 unfit for a station, in which I can have no 
 10 
 
110 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 hopes of rendering service, but through His 
 help and continual direction, who has called 
 me to it, when I was doing all in my power 
 to prevent it. 
 
 " The interest you take in a late event, 
 proves the warmth of your friendship; but 
 it proves likewise, how blind and partial 
 friends are liable to be. Your condolence 
 would have suited better the situation of my 
 mind; every day furnishes me with new re- 
 flections, and almost every day produces new 
 events, to alarm my conscience, and excite 
 fresh solicitude at the prospect before me." 
 
 It is a subject of grateful pride and satis- 
 faction on the part of the Roman Catholics 
 in this country, and the friends of the church 
 elsewhere, to have it in their power now to 
 assert in the most emphatic terms, that the 
 apprehensions of the newly appointed bishop 
 were without foundation. By the helffand 
 grace of that God to whose service he so 
 zealou-sly devoted himself, and with the aid 
 of a sound judgment, real piety, and pre-emi- 
 nent talents, the administration of his dio- 
 cess was in all respects such as to justify the 
 choice of his brethren, and to be pleasing in 
 the eyes of God and man. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. Ill 
 
 Dr. Carroll having thus been appointed 
 bishop over the Roman Catholic Church in 
 this diocess, his episcopal see was established 
 in Baltimore, and he assumed, with the ap- 
 probation and by the authority from which 
 he received the appointment, the title of 
 "Bishop of Baltimore." 
 
 He lost no time, upon receiving the proper 
 evidence of his appointment, in taking the 
 necessary steps for his consecration, in com- 
 pliance with the united wishes of his breth- 
 ren, and from a respectful deference to the 
 high authority from which he derived it. 
 Under all the circumstances which presented 
 themselves, he determined upon going to 
 England for this purpose, and accordingly 
 went thither in 1790. 
 
 Having: received an invitation from Thos. 
 Weld, Esq., an old friend of his, to be con- 
 secrated at his residence, he writes thus to 
 his correspondent in February, 1790, still 
 clinging to the hope, that his nomination 
 would not be confirmed at Rome: "I cannot 
 sufficiently acknowledge the most obliging 
 and honorable testimony of Mr. Weld's re- 
 gard: you will be pleased to express, with all 
 that warmth, which you can communicate to 
 
112 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 your expressions, my deep sense of his gener- 
 ous politeness. My inclination certainly leads 
 me to accept of an offer not only so flattering, 
 but which will afford me an opportunity of 
 seeing some of those friends whom I shall 
 ever honor and love. But I cannot yet de- 
 termine what I shall do. I still flatter my- 
 self that Divine Providence will provide 
 some worthier subject to be its instrument in 
 founding a church in America." 
 
 The confirmation of the holy see, of the 
 choice made by the American clergy, having 
 decided him as to the course duty compelled 
 to adopt, the Bishop elect, hastened his de- 
 parture for England, and sailed early in the 
 summer of 1790. 
 
 It w^as no less gratifying to those of his 
 early friends in England, who still survived, 
 than it was to him again to meet, after so 
 long a separation. He did not suffer the 
 claims of friendship, however, to interrupt or 
 retard the purpose of his visiting that coun- 
 try. Having made the necessary arrange- 
 ments, he was accordingly consecrated in the 
 chapel of Lulworth castle, the seat of Mr. 
 Weld, the I5th of August of the same year, 
 by bishop Walmsley, upon which interesting 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 113 
 
 occasion, an appropriate discourse was pro- 
 nounced by his old friend, Fatlier Charles 
 Plowden, a distinguished member of the so- 
 ciety of Jesus. 
 
 This discourse, with a brief account of the 
 ceremony, we present to our readers. 
 
 This " account of the establishment of the 
 new see of Baltimore," after giving some hasty 
 details on the subject of the introduction of 
 Catholicity into Maryland, lauding the spirit 
 of religious equality which existed in the Uni- 
 ted States, and mentioning the fact of the ele- 
 vation to the episcopacy of Dr. Carroll, goes 
 on to remark, "upon the receipt of his bulls 
 from Rome, he immediately repaired to Eng- 
 land, where his person and merits were well 
 known ; and presented himself for consecra- 
 tion to the Right Rev. Dr. Charles Walms- 
 ley, bishop of Rama, senior vicar apostolic of 
 the Catholic religion in this kingdom. }5y 
 invitation of Thomas Weld, Esq., the conse- 
 cration of the new bishop was performed 
 during a solemn high mass, in the elegant 
 chapel at Lulvvorth castle, on Sunday the 
 15th day of August, 1790, being the feast of 
 the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; 
 and the munificence of that gentleman omit- 
 
 10 
 
 * 
 
114 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ted no circumstance, which could possibly 
 add dignity to so venerable a ceremony. 
 The two prelates were attended by their re- 
 spective assistant priest and acolytes, accord- 
 inir to the rubric of the Roman pontifical. 
 The richness of their vestments, the music of 
 the choir, the multitude of the wax lights, 
 and the ornaments of the altar, concurred to 
 increase the splendor of the solemnity, which 
 made a lasting impression upon every be- 
 iiolder. When the whole company was 
 seated, the following short address was deli- 
 vered to the congregation, by one of the 
 assistant priests: 
 
 " 'Our blessed Lord and Redeemer, having 
 defeated the powers of hell, by the triumph 
 of the cross, formed to himself a kingdom of 
 earth, which was to consist of the chosen of 
 every nation ; because all nations were now 
 become his own, by right of conquest. The 
 sun of justice, which rose from the east, has 
 in its progress enlightened every region of 
 the globe; and the kingdom of Christ, the 
 church, under the government of his vicar 
 and of pastors deputed by him, has succes- 
 sively embraced the whole world. Ages suc- 
 ceed ages ; empires subvert empires ; but the 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 115 
 
 empire of Jesus Christ perseveres ever one 
 and the same ; ever persecuted and ever con- 
 quering ; because all human revolutions are 
 entirely subservient to it ; and the formation 
 of the kingdom of Christ is the ultimate ob- 
 ject of the whole dispensation of Providence, 
 in the government of this world. Never, per- 
 haps, was this truth more sensibly evinced, 
 than in the late violent convulsions, by which 
 the hand of the Almighty has dismembered 
 the great British empire, and has called forth 
 into existence a new empire in the western 
 world, the destinies of which, we trust, are 
 founded in his tenderest mercies. For al- 
 though this great event may appear to us to 
 have been the work, the sport of human pas- 
 sions, yet the earliest and most precious fruit 
 of it has been the extension of the kingdom of 
 Christ, the propagation of the Catholic reli- 
 gion, which, heretofore fettered by restrain- 
 inof laws, is now enlarsred from bondafje, and 
 is left at liberty to exert the full energy of 
 divine truth. Already is Catholicity ex- 
 tended to the utmost boundaries of the im- 
 mense continent of America. Thousands are 
 there earnestly demanding Catholic instruc- 
 tors. And all, penetrated with reverence for 
 
116 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the apostolical see of St. Peter, have concur- 
 red to demand from his successor, a Catholic 
 prelate, whose knowledge and whose zeal 
 may establish the faith of Peter in those ex- 
 tensive countries. 
 
 "It is to be observed, that if Britain infected 
 them with error, we have the consolation to 
 know, that their Catholicity is also derived 
 immediately from us ; and as we, in former 
 ajres, received the faith of Rome from the 
 great St. Gregory and our apostle St. Austin : 
 so now, at an interval of twelve hundred 
 years, our venerable prelate, the heir of the 
 virtues and labors of our apostle, will, this 
 day, by commission from the successor of St. 
 Gregory, consecrate the tirst father and bishop 
 of the new church, destined, as we confide, 
 to inherit those benedictions which the first 
 called have ungratefully rejected. Glorious 
 is this day, my brethren, for the church of 
 (iod, which sees new nations crowding into 
 her bosom : glorious for the prelate elect, who 
 goes forth to conquer these nations for Jesus 
 Christ, not by the eflforts of human power, 
 but in the might with those weapons which 
 have ever triumphed in this divine warfare. 
 He is not armed with the strength of this 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 117 
 
 world ; but he is powerful in piety, powerful 
 in zeal, powerful in evangelical poverty, and 
 firm reliance on the protection of that God 
 who sends him. Glorious is this event, for 
 his numerous spiritual children, to whom his 
 virtues have long endeared him : comforting 
 it is to us who have been long connected with 
 him by the virtuous ties of education, profes- 
 sion and friendship ; but in a special manner, 
 my brethren, honorable and comforting is 
 this awful solemnity to his and our common 
 benefactor, the founder of this holy sanctuary, 
 which shall be revered through succeeding 
 ages, even by churches yet unnamed, as the 
 privileged, the happy spot from whence their 
 episcopacy and hierarchy took their immedi- 
 ate rise, and this precious distinction will be 
 justly attributed to the protection and favor 
 of the glorious mother of God, whose house 
 it is,* and through whose patronage all chris- 
 tian churches are founded. On this her great- 
 est solemnity, my brethren, it is your duty 
 to implore the particular assistance of the 
 great queen of heaven ; and while you are 
 edified by the solemn rites, with which the 
 
 * It is dedicated to the B. V. Mary. 
 
118 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Catholic church consecrates her prelates, you 
 will earnestly solicit the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost, on the bishop elect, that like another 
 Austin, he may worthily fulfil the extent of 
 the apostleship to which he is called ; and 
 when you implore for him the sevenfold grace 
 of the Holy Spirit, you will not fail to de- 
 mand it through the intercession of her whom 
 you daily salute, ' Mother of Divine Grace.' 
 
 " In full confidence of her protection and 
 blessing upon our ministry, we proceed to 
 the solemnity of the consecration.'" 
 
 The bulls constituting the see of Baltimore, 
 was given by Pope Pius VI., and bears date 
 the 6th November, 1789. 
 
 He principally devoted to the interchange 
 of social civilities with his numerous friends, 
 the short space of time that intervened be- 
 fore the sailing of the same ship (in which he 
 proposed returning) ; and although pressing 
 invitations were extended from old and at- 
 tached acquaintances, he could not reconcile 
 it to his sense of duty to accept them, and 
 pass that time, which he considered as now 
 belonging to the flock that anxiously ex- 
 pected and needed him at home, in selfish 
 enjoyment. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 119 
 
 From a letter to a friend, dated London, 
 September 13, 1790, declining an invitation 
 to revisit Lul worth castle, we see how much 
 he sacrificed in thus suddenly and for ever 
 separating himself from kind and warm- 
 hearted friends, whose society he had en- 
 joyed for so brief a time. 
 
 He says, " I am sorry, very sorry, indeed, 
 to inform you that I cannot, without the 
 greatest inconvenience, revisit LuUvorth, and 
 present once more my respectful thanks to 
 the worthy master and mistress of the castle. 
 I have balanced long, in my own mind, the 
 opposite considerations of further sojourn- 
 ment in England, and immediate return to 
 America ; and I think, after all deliberation, 
 that my duty calls me to return immediately 
 to my diocess, and give the example of resi- 
 dence in it ; for, in general, bishops are so 
 ready to admit pretexts for exempting them- 
 selves from that obligation, that I think my- 
 self bound to give them no encouragement 
 by my example, even on a plausible pre- 
 tence. I shall therefore make all necessary 
 preparations for sailing in a fortnight or a 
 little more from this time. I cannot resolve 
 on this without great pain of mind ; and in- 
 
120 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 deed without feeling some regret for having 
 come to England, since I must leave it so 
 soon, and in it leave so many valuable, not 
 only my dearest friends, but the friends of 
 religion and models of virtue. Long shall 1 
 retain the impression made on me at Lul- 
 worth castle by the goodness, the charity, 
 the loveliness of every branch of that most 
 respectable family ; and I am sure my heart 
 will be full of the gratefulest emotions w^hen 
 I shall sail abreast of the castle. They 
 will accompany me to America, and will be 
 soothed, though revived afresh, whenever I 
 shall have the comfort of a letter from you." 
 Having thus done violence to his feelings, 
 and sacrificed on the altar of duty his own 
 most ardent wishes and predilections, in Oc- 
 tober of the same year he embarked at 
 Gravesend, and arrived at Baltimore on the 
 7th December, after a rough and disagreea- 
 ble passage. The late Bishop Madison, of 
 Virginia, between whom and his reverend 
 friend the most cordial relations w^ere long 
 after this agreeable meeting carefully pre- 
 served, accompanied him to and returned 
 with him from England ; he likewise having 
 gone thither for the purpose of being conse- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 121 
 
 crated bishop of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church in that state. 
 
 The arrival of Bishop Carroll was an- 
 nounced in a public journal of Baltimore 
 with expressions of peculiar satisfaction, and 
 in terms evincing the highest respect of his 
 fellow citizens of all denominations. He 
 himself gives the following description of his 
 reception, and of the ceremonies attendant 
 upon his installation, in a letter to his cor- 
 respondent in England, " I gave you in- 
 formation, by the first opportunity, of my 
 safe arrival at Baltimore, December 7th. 
 At my arrival, as my friends in Baltimore 
 got notice of the ship being in the bay, I was 
 met by a large body of Catholics and others 
 at the landing, and conducted to our house. 
 On the following Sunday you may believe 
 the concourse of all sorts of people to our 
 church was very great, though the day 
 proved unfavorable. Five of my brethren 
 were with me. They, with the trustees or 
 wardens of the church, received me, vested 
 in my pontificals, at the door, and walked 
 into the church proce.ssionally ; after the 
 Asperges, and whilst the Te Deum was 
 singing, I was conducted to the foot of the 
 11 
 
122 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 altar, and, after it was finished, to the pon- 
 tifical seat or throne, where I received the 
 obeisance of the clergy, and some of the 
 laity, in behalf of the rest, they approaching 
 to kiss the episcopal ring. The remaining 
 ceremonies were performed as in the pontifi- 
 cal, such as giving solemn benediction, pro- 
 claiming indulgences," &c. 
 
 After remaining a few days in Baltimore, 
 he hastened to the residence of his mother, 
 to testify towards her those sentiments of 
 love and veneration which characterized so 
 strongly his intercourse with her, and to re- 
 new those kindly and genial relations with 
 the rest of his family and surrounding friends, 
 which rendered him so dear and acceptable 
 to them all. 
 
 About the period of his short visit to Eng- 
 land, the tendency of the revolutionary prin- 
 ciples and movements in France warned the 
 clergy, in the last mentioned country, of the 
 necessity of escaping from scenes in which 
 they had become so obnoxious to the princi- 
 pal actors, and of seeking an asylum where 
 they might live in safety, and be permitted 
 to exercise the functions of their ministry 
 without personal hazard. About the period. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 123 
 
 therefore, of which we speak, many of the 
 most respectable of that body took refuge in 
 England ; and amongst these the Rev. Mr. 
 Na^ot, one of the directors of the ecclesias- 
 tical seminary of St. Sulpice, in Paris, was 
 much distinguished, as much by his connec- 
 tion with that learned institution, as by his 
 own personal merits. The bishop of Bal- 
 timore, availing himself of the opportunity 
 that accident had thus placed in his way, 
 engaged the services of this gentleman and 
 his brethren for his newly established dio- 
 cess; Mr. Nagot undertaking to return to 
 France and make the necessary arrange- 
 ments, in concert with the superior and other 
 members of the college of St. Sulpice, for 
 their coming to and forming a similar estab- 
 lishment in this country. 
 
 Before leaving the United States to be 
 consecrated. Dr. Carroll had foreseen the 
 necessity of such an establishment, and had 
 aided his brethren in the formation of one 
 attached to the college of Georgetown, but 
 upon a small scale. The exigencies of the 
 missionary service, however, leaving too 
 small a portion of professors of divinity even 
 for the school at Georgetown, it became par- 
 
124 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ticularly desirable to procure the establish- 
 ment of one upon a larger scale ; especially 
 since it was no longer necessary for those 
 persons in the United States who might be 
 called to the church, to incur the expense of 
 leaving their own country to be ordained by 
 bishops residing in foreign states. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the plan above 
 mentioned was suggested to Mr. Nagot, and 
 adopted, and correspondent measures were 
 accordingly taken, upon liis return to Paris, 
 (ireat difficulties were experienced, how- 
 ever, bv the Sulpicians, in the withdrawal 
 of themselves, or any part of their property, 
 from France, owing to the political state 
 of things at that time in that country ; but 
 they succeeded so far as to effect the remo- 
 val to the United States of Mr. Nagot, with 
 several of his learned and pious brethren ; 
 and through the kind and opportune assist- 
 ance of Mr. Gouverneur Morris, the then 
 minister of the United States in France, to 
 transfer a part of their funds and property 
 likewise to this country. By the advice of 
 the right reverend bishop, and the judicious 
 selection of a Roman Catholic gentleman 
 of Baltimore, an eligible and prudent invest- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 125 
 
 ment was made of those funds in the pur- 
 chase of a house and several acres of land 
 appurtenant to it, in the environs of that 
 city. Here the Sulpicians instituted their 
 new ecclesiastical seminary under the imme- 
 diate government of their former director, 
 and with the auspices of the full approba- 
 tion, agency, and best wishes of their new 
 bishop.* 
 
 In a letter dated London, 25th September, 
 1790, the bishop gives the following brief 
 account of his first interview with Mr. Na- 
 got on the subject of the proposed establishT 
 ment in his new diocess. " Providence 
 seems to favor our views. In consequence 
 of a previous correspondence between the 
 Nuncio at Paris and Monsieur Emery, supe- 
 rior general of St. Sulpice, on one hand, and 
 myself on the other, Monsieur Nagot, supe- 
 rior du petit seminaire de St. Sulpice, has 
 been here. We have settled that two or 
 three gentlemen, selected by M. Emery, shall 
 come over to Baltimore next spring. They 
 are furnished with the means of purchasing 
 
 * The seminary was raised to the rank of univer- 
 sity in January, 1805, by the Legislature of Ma-- 
 ryland, 
 
 11* 
 
126 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ground for buildings, and, I hope, of endow- 
 ing a seminary for young ecclesiastics. I 
 believe they will bring three or four semina- 
 rians with them, who either are English, or 
 know it. They will be amply provided with 
 books, apparatus for the altar, church, &c., 
 professors of philosophy and divinity. I pro- 
 pose fixing these very near to my own home, 
 the cathedral of Baltimore, that tliey may 
 be, as it were, the clergy of the church, and 
 contribute to the dignity of divine worship. 
 This is a great and auspicious event for our 
 diocess ; but it is a melancholy reflection 
 that we owe so great a blessing to the la- 
 mentable catastrophe in France." 
 
 Impressed with the importance of this es- 
 tablishment for the best interests of the 
 church, to which he was now constantly de- 
 voting all his time, talents, and energies, we 
 find the bishop alluding to the subject, 
 throughout his correspondence with his Eng- 
 lish friend, in the warmest and most grati- 
 fied manner, testifying in word and deed the 
 deep concern he felt for the progress and 
 prosperity of his worthy protegee. 
 
 He says, in Sept. 1792, " When I returned 
 from Boston, in July, I had the happiness of 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 127 
 
 finding here M. Nagot with his company from 
 St. Sulpice ; himself, and three other priests 
 belonging to the establishment, viz., a pro- 
 curator and two professors, and five semina- 
 rians. They will be joined soon by one or 
 two natives of this country. These now, 
 with Mr. Delavan, a worthy French priest, 
 form the clergy of ray cathedral, (a paltry 
 cathedral,) and attract a great concourse of 
 all denominations by the great decency and 
 exactness with which they perform all parts 
 of divine service. 
 
 "If in many instances the French revolu- 
 tion has been fatal to religion, this country 
 promises to derive advantage from it." 
 
 In this letter he also takes occasion to al- 
 lude to the laborious nature of the station to 
 which he had just been elevated. " Such," 
 says he, " has been my continual occupation 
 since my return, that I have not yet had 
 leisure enough to convoke a diocesan synod. 
 If possible one must be held early in Novem- 
 ber. The business of a coadjutor, and many 
 regulations to be formed, call loudly for the 
 holding of such a meeting. My diocess is yet 
 badly regulated, and it cannot be much bet- 
 ter, till I can command more time to form 
 
128 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 regulations. Being all alone to answer all 
 letters, to copy them, to attend to all details, 
 much of course is neglected or forgotten. If 
 I do not write you as often or as fully as you 
 have a right to expect, you must not impute 
 the fault to mc, hut to unavoidable hindrances. 
 I assure you, that there are twenty people in 
 this town, to whom I owe, and wish to pay 
 the respect of a civil visit, without having 
 been able to do it for many months ; though 
 I am busy from five in the morning, till be- 
 tween ten and eleven at night." 
 
 Soon after the return of the bishop, he ad- 
 dressed a pastoral letter to the flock commit- 
 ted to his charge, intended specially for their 
 instruction and edification, and communica- 
 ted particularly to them by their sev^eral 
 priests ; but a copy of that letter falling into 
 the hands of a reverend gentleman belonging 
 to another religious communion, he took fire 
 at the signature made use of, that of " John, 
 Bishop of Baltimore," and published through 
 the medium of the newspapers, some harsh 
 strictures upon it. This brought forth " The 
 Reply" on the part of the bishop of Bal- 
 timore, and no further animadversions ap- 
 pear to have been made upon the signature, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 129 
 
 though constantly afterwards used by the 
 bishop during his administration. This doc- 
 ument runs as follows : " An Answer to 
 Strictures on an Extraordinary Signature." 
 " The Roman Catholic Bishop of Baltimore, 
 in a late letter to his flock, which acknow- 
 ledges his pastoral jurisdiction, adopts the 
 language sanctioned by the immemorial 
 usage of his church, and takes his appella- 
 tion from the town, where his episcopal see 
 is erected. This is agreeable to the disci- 
 pline established amongst Catholics, and to 
 the practice of his brethen in the episcopa- 
 cy ; and he hopes that it is not repugnant 
 to any law of his country. He has not in- 
 vaded the rights of any religious society ; 
 nor interfered to control their form oficords; 
 nor disturbed their ministers, for speaking 
 or writing, in any style they chose, to the 
 people who looked up to them for iuvstruc- 
 tion. Leaving them in the unimpeached ex- 
 ercise of that liberty, which our free con- 
 stitution grants them, he has claimed the 
 same benefit to himself; and, of consequence, 
 has been careful to preserve the language of 
 his predecessors in the episcopal charge, from 
 its institution, near eighteen hundred years 
 ago, down to the present time ; for he knows, 
 
130 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ihat the integrity of christian doctrine, gene- 
 rally, is preseved best by a faithful adherence 
 to the same modes of speech ; and he is not 
 disposed to sacrifice to a spirit of innovation, 
 or to a levelling antihierarchical system of 
 religion, those expressions, by which all ages 
 of Christianity have designated his office. 
 
 " Yet this, it seems, is not pleasing to a 
 writer, who signs WimaeU Liberal. If like his 
 opponent, the bishop were disposed to write 
 trifling strictures on a signature, he would not 
 let this of Liberal pass unnoticed : for surely, 
 none ever accorded less than this, with the 
 composition to which it is subscribed. To 
 be liberal^ in the modern use of the term, is 
 to assert, with firmness and impartiality, the 
 liberty, to which all of us are entitled, of pro- 
 fessing the doctrines, following the usages, 
 and speaking the language of our respective 
 churches. Does Liberal allow this ? So far 
 from it, that he intimates a threat, if his eyes 
 be offended again with the inscription of 
 Bishop of Baltimore. Such is his liberality. 
 
 "'Baltimore,' he says, 'is a large place, 
 containing many inhabitants, who disown the 
 hx^ho^^s jurisdiction^ and some who do a good 
 deal more .' by which he means, it may be 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 131 
 
 supposed, that they reject episcopacy alto- 
 gether. Let them, if they please, disown the 
 one, and reject the other : they use tlieir con- 
 stitutional right : and if the bishop knows 
 his own heart, he will leave them in the full 
 enjoyment of it ; but he will ask, Avhether, in 
 the earliest days of Christianity, Rome, An- 
 tioch, Alexandria, Corinth, Ephesus, &c., 
 were not likewise large places ? and whether 
 a great majority of their inhabitants were not 
 heathens, who disowned and rejected bishops 
 and their jurisdiction ? Nevertheless, per- 
 plexing, as it must have been to the liberals 
 of those days, to discover the meaning and 
 persons intended by the following words : we 
 read of Clement, Bishop of Rome ; Ignatius, 
 Bishop of Antioch ; Alexander, Bishop of Al- 
 exandria, &c. Where lies the greater diffi- 
 culty which cost Liberal so much time, be- 
 fore he could ascertain the person meant by 
 John, Bishop of Baltimore? Catholics, to 
 whom alone the letter was addressed, and 
 who know the voice of their pastor, were at 
 no loss to recognize him. Others, into whose 
 hands the curious performance, (so Liberal 
 styles it,) may have fallen, received a fair 
 and honest caution to be upon their guard, by 
 
132 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the addition of these words to the obnoxious 
 title: With the approbation of the Holy See^ 
 Bishop of Baltimore. When Protestant, 
 Methodist, or if they will pardon the expres- 
 sion, Presbyterian bishops, profess to hold 
 their bishopricks under the same approbation 
 of the see apostolic, it may be necessary to 
 use some farther discrimination. 
 
 " In this very town, we have a Bank of Ma- 
 ryland, and a Baltimore Insurance Office. In 
 the principles of /yi6e?*«/, stockholders in these 
 establishments infrinsre the civil ris^ht of their 
 countrymen and fellow-citizens, for to be 
 consistent, he must allow, that these denomi- 
 nations import an arrogant claim of monopo- 
 lizing all banking transactions in the state, 
 and making insurances, exclusively of all 
 competition, in the town of Baltimore. And 
 yet, I am sure that neither the holders of 
 shares formed pretensions so extravagant, 
 nor was it the intention of the legislature, 
 which incorporated them, to debar other ad- 
 venturers from making similar speculations, 
 or assuming the same name and title, if they 
 chose it. 
 
 " So likewise, let who will, in other reli- 
 gious professions, call themselves Bishops of 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 133 
 
 Baltimore^ it will excite neither regret nor 
 opposition in him who is now known by that 
 denomination. Indeed, considering his line 
 of episcopal succession, and source of spiritual 
 jurisdiction, he will think his own the best 
 founded claim ; but, if othersjudge differently, 
 he will not accuse them of invading his civil 
 rights : much less will he insinuate, that they 
 are guilty of presumption ; and less still will 
 he provoke them with a threat, or denounce 
 against them a return for their temerity. He 
 conceives, that they would treat such threats, 
 from him, with contempt, and therefore, he 
 entertains the same sentiment for those of 
 lAberal. 
 
 " The bishop is at a loss to find out any pas- 
 sage or expression, in his letter, which could 
 furnish a shadow of pretence to Liberal for 
 saying, that he (the bishop) absolutely ex- 
 cludes from the appellation of christians all 
 who are not within the jtule of his church. If 
 such a passage can be pointed out, the bishop 
 will be the first to condemn it : since, so far 
 from embracing this opinion^ as an article of 
 his faith, he holds the doctrine directly con- 
 trary to it to be that of his church, to which 
 he and all Catholics are bound to submit ; 
 12 
 
134 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and which Catholics have constantly main- 
 tained, in opposition to the tenets of some 
 pretended reformers. But to remove more 
 effectually the impression, which the asser- 
 tions of Liberal may have made on those who 
 have not seen the bishop's pastoral letter, 
 (and few, but Catholics, for whom alone it 
 was intended, have seen it) some copies shall 
 be left, to be disposed of, at Mr. Angell's 
 printing; ollice. 
 
 " Here it was intended to have made a 
 conclusion, but Liberal having quaintly in- 
 troduced the term aristocrats^ the bishop 
 would fain ask whether it was done to raise 
 a hue and cry against the episcopal office, 
 by bringing into use amongst us that invidi- 
 ous and misapplied appellation, which has 
 caused a ferocious mob to disgrace the char- 
 acter of a most humane people, and has let 
 them loose on such men as La Fayette and 
 the venerable Rochefoucauld ? If such be 
 the intention of Liberal^ he had better trans- 
 port himself to a country where he may 
 meet congenial souls ; America, I trust, has 
 too much regard for justice, and understands 
 too w^ell the principles of religious equality, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL, 135 
 
 to obey his impulse, or catch the contagion 
 of his spirit. 
 
 " The subject of this contention is so tri- 
 fling in itself, and it affords so much room for 
 ridicule, that, if Liberal take up his pen 
 again, he must appear with something more 
 material to engage the farther attention of 
 
 " John, Bishop of Baltimore. 
 " November 21, 1792." 
 
 Shortly after the death of the archbishop, 
 a writer in the Democratic Press of Phila- 
 delphia indulged himself in some commenta- 
 ries upon the obnoxious title, which had 
 been used in designating the deceased, in the 
 short obituary notice that was published in 
 the Baltimore papers upon that lamentable 
 occasion ; mingling, however, with his stric- 
 tures expressions of great respect and vene- 
 ration for his character and memory. That 
 writer might have seen, if he wished it, in 
 the steps which had led to the appointment 
 of a Catholic bishop for the United States, 
 how groundless were his alarms, and decided 
 proof, likewise, that the Roman Catholic 
 clergy are no less actuated than the clergy 
 of any other religious persuasion in the 
 United States, by a just and liberal respect 
 
136 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and regard for the institutions and laws of 
 this country. 
 
 Desirous of impressing upon our readers a 
 conviction of the liberality of the bishop, and 
 of presenting to them the real and orthodox 
 views of the Roman Catholic Church on the 
 all-important subject of spiritual and tempo- 
 ral jurisdiction, we make a brief extract 
 from one of his pastoral letters, dated Balti- 
 more, February 22, 1797. 
 
 He says on this subject that : " It has been 
 always the uniform endeavor of the open and 
 secret enemies of the Catholic Church to 
 represent the spiritual supremacy of Christ's 
 vicar in the most odious light; and I was not 
 surprised to hear that the turbulent men 
 who foment the present disturbances have 
 declared themselves independent of it, as of 
 a foreign jurisdiction. By using these words 
 they not only manifest the spirit by which 
 they are governed, but they hope to render 
 obnoxious to our fellow-citizens an essential 
 tenet of our religion, and all of us who pro- 
 fess it ; a tenet, which is the bond of our 
 union ; which cements and keeps together, 
 in the profession of the same faith, in the 
 celebration of the same solemn and public 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 137 
 
 worship, and under one uniform government 
 established by Jesus Christ and perpetuated 
 by succeeding pastors, so many different na- 
 tions, so different from each other, and un- 
 connected in every other respect. 
 
 "There would indeed be a foundation for 
 the reproach intended by the words, foreign 
 jurisdiction, if we acknowledge in the suc- 
 cessor of St. Peter, any power or preroga- 
 tive which clashed in the least degree with 
 the duty we owe to our country, or its laws. 
 To our country we owe allegiance, and the 
 tender of our best services and property? 
 when they are necessary for its defence ; to 
 the vicar of Christ, we owe obedience in 
 things purely spiritual. Happily, there is no 
 competition, in their respective claims on us, 
 nor any diificulty in rendering to both the 
 submission which they have a right to claim. 
 Our country commands and enforces by out- 
 ward coercion, the services which tend to 
 the preservation and defence of that personal 
 security, and of that property, for the sake 
 of which political societies were formed, and 
 men agreed to live under the protection of, 
 and in obedience to civil government. The 
 vicar of Christ, as visible head of his church, 
 12* 
 
138 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 watches over the integrity and soundness of 
 doctrine and makes use of means and wea- 
 pons, that act only on the souls of men, to 
 enforce the duties of religion, the purity of 
 worship, and ecclesiastical discipline." 
 
 Such were the doctrines, as declared by 
 its first bishop in this country, of the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church, and such are those 
 now" entertained by the entire clergy and 
 laity of that communion. And we cannot 
 see any thing therein, which should induce 
 others to look upon its members as suspicious 
 and unsafe citizens, or doubt for a moment 
 that their Catholic brethren, in the day of 
 need, under the guidance and injunctions of 
 their creed and ministers, will be found as 
 ready and anxious to defend and support by 
 word and deed, the beloved institutions of 
 their own free land, as were their Catholic 
 ancestors who fought and bled in the cau.se 
 of American independence. 
 
 The talents that distinguished and the 
 zeal in the service of virtue and religion 
 which had marked his conduct in all former 
 situations, were an abundant pledge of the 
 wisdom and edification of his course, in the 
 arduous and difficult career upon which he 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 139 
 
 had now entered, as bishop of the Roman 
 Catholic Church in the United States ; and 
 we may venture to say that never was pledge 
 better redeemed or the high expectations of 
 a numerous society more fully realised. 
 
 The whole tenor of his life having been 
 illustrated by acts of consummate virtue, re- 
 gulated by a spirit of liberality, conciliation 
 and charity, his administration of the diocess 
 of Baltimore perfectly corresponded, and was 
 in unison, with his former course. Although 
 considerably advanced in life, he visited once 
 almost every quarter of his diocess, compre- 
 hending the whole extent of the United 
 States, and every year made fatiguing jour- 
 nies through parts of it, — to form a correct 
 and candid estimate of the characters and 
 fitness of the several pastors, — to exaniine 
 into the state and condition of the various 
 congregations under their charge, to adminis- 
 ter to the members composing them the sa- 
 crament of confirmation, and to bestow upon 
 and leave with all his cordial benedictions. 
 
 Every year likewise the theological school 
 at Baltimore, and the college at Georgetown, 
 those two objects of his warmest attachment 
 and special care, furnished new candidates 
 
140 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for holy orders, and zealous clergymen, by 
 which new laborers were constantly added 
 to the vineyard that under Providence, 
 had become extensively planted through the 
 United States by his piety and exertions ; 
 and which continued to be successfully cul- 
 tivated, through his wise and prudent man- 
 agement. 
 
 Every year these two excellent institu- 
 tions prosperously went on, enlarging the 
 sphere of their usefulness, and sending forth 
 pupils thoroughly prepared for the struggles 
 of life, and imbued with a rational and deep 
 attachment to their native country and its 
 institutions, thus carrying sweet consolation 
 to the heart of the prelate, who had founded 
 and watched over their welfare, and eflecting 
 the object which was so near and dear to 
 him, of rendering the Catholic youth of this 
 republic independent of the old world, by 
 bringing the means of improvement and in- 
 struction within the reach of all. 
 
 Whilst busily occupied in the more active 
 and important duties of his station, our zeal- 
 ous prelate lost no opportunity of defending 
 his church from the attacks made upon it by 
 those who saw its increase with sorrow and 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 141 
 
 envy. From many articles circulated through 
 the prints of the day, we select the following 
 additional proof, if more be required, of the 
 sincere liberality of their writer. 
 
 Addressing the editors of the Columbian 
 Magazine, he says : " I purchase and read 
 your magazine, when convenient, because I 
 wish well to every undertaking for the ad- 
 vancement of useful knowledge amongst my 
 countrymen. But I am sorry to find that 
 some of your correspondents endeavor to ren- 
 der your work the vehicle of disingenuity, and 
 to taint it with the poison of religious ran- 
 cor. They care not, it seems, how much 
 they misrepresent facts and doctrines, pro- 
 vided they can bring disrepute on the party, 
 which they have devoted to contempt. Per- 
 haps they may have further views, and wish 
 to renew" the days of intolerance. One of 
 them sends you a fabricated history of Car- 
 dinal Tusloue, who never existed, and which 
 you inserted in a former magazine ; this his- 
 tory he enriched with inflammatory com- 
 ments; but he had neither justice nor candor 
 enough to undeceive your readers by inform- 
 ing them that the whole was a malicious 
 fable. I must waive ceremony so far, as to 
 
142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 remind you, that you come in yourself for a 
 share of this blame. For having published 
 so false a relation; it became you to correct 
 your mistake, after you found that it was 
 contradicted in the foreign prints, which sug- 
 gested the first lines of invention to your im- 
 proving correspondent. A very small part 
 of your monthly miscellany is devoted to the 
 article of JVeivs, and for this you are com- 
 mendable : we can readily refer to other col- 
 lections for that commodity. But when you 
 condescend to relate events of modern times, 
 you might once in a month, make selection 
 of a few articles of undoubted credit, and 
 general importance, and not deal out the ma- 
 licious and mischief-making forgeries of per- 
 secuting Europeans. Thanks to the genuine 
 spirit of Christianity, the United States have 
 banished intolerance from their systems of 
 government, and many of them have done 
 the justice to every denomination of chris- 
 tians, which ought to be done to them in all, 
 of placing them on the same footing of citi- 
 zenship, and conferring an equal right of 
 participation in national privileges — freedom 
 and independence — acquired by the united 
 efforts, and cemented with the mingled blood 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 143 
 
 of Protestant and Catholic fellow-citizens, 
 should be equally enjoyed by all. The Jer- 
 sey state was the first, which in forming her 
 new constitution gave the unjust example of 
 reserving to Protestants alone the preroga- 
 tives of government and legislation. At 
 that very time the American army swarmed 
 with Roman Catholic soldiers, and the world 
 would have held them justified, had they 
 withdrawn themselves from the defence of a 
 state which treated them with so much cru- 
 elty and injustice, and which they then ac- 
 tually covered from the depredations of the 
 British army. But their patriotism was too 
 disinterested to hearken to the first impulse 
 of even just resentment. They could not 
 believe that the state which was foremost to 
 injure them, would continue, or that any 
 others would imitate her partial and iniqui- 
 tous policy. It seems they were not ac- 
 quainted with the bitter spirit which dic- 
 tated the unjustifiable exclusion; they trust- 
 ed to the wise and generous sentiment which 
 pervaded every corner of the American con- 
 tinent. For who that remembers our cordial 
 unanimity in rejecting the claims of foreign 
 oppression, could imagine that any of us 
 
144 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 would impose on fellow-soldiers and citizens 
 the degraded mark of distrust or galling 
 yoke of inferiority? Such, however, was 
 the treatment they found, not because they 
 were less warm or less profuse of their blood 
 in defence of our common rights; but be- 
 cause the authors of this injustice who could 
 resent and oppose British counsels, levelled 
 against their own rights of legislation, wanted 
 the greater fortitude of emancipating their 
 minds from a slavish subjection to the preju- 
 dices imbibed during a narrowed British 
 education." 
 
 It was in consequence of the declaration 
 of such enlarged sentiments, common to him 
 and his fellow Catholics, that he wrote and 
 forwarded to the father of his country, the 
 following address, clothed with the signature 
 of some of the leading members of his church, 
 honorable alike to its object and to those 
 from whom it emanated : 
 
 "To George Washington, President of the U. States: 
 " THE ADDRESS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS. 
 
 " Sir : — We have been long impatient to 
 testify our joy and unbounded confidence, on 
 your being called by a unanimous vote, to 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 145 
 
 the first station of a country, in vvliich that 
 unanimity could not have been obtained, 
 without the previous merit of unexampled 
 services, of eminent wisdom and unblemished 
 virtue. Our congratulations have not reached 
 you sooner because our scattered situation 
 prevented the communication and the collect- 
 ing of those sentiments which animated every 
 breast. But the delay has furnished us with 
 the opportunity, not purely of presaging the 
 happiness to be expected under your admin- 
 istration, but of bearing testimony to that 
 which we experience already. It is your 
 peculiar talent, in war and in peace, to afford 
 security to those who commit their protec- 
 tion into your hands. In war, you shield 
 them from the ravages of armed hostility : in 
 peace, you establish public tranquillity by the 
 justice and moderation not less than by the 
 vigor of your government. By example as 
 well as by vigilance, you extend the influence 
 of laws on the manners of our fellow-citizens. 
 You encourage respect for religion, and in- 
 culcate by words and actions, that principle 
 on which the welfare of nations so much de- 
 pends, that a superintending Providence go- 
 verns the events of the world, and watches 
 13 
 
146 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 over the conduct of men. Your exalted 
 maxims and unwearied attention to the moral 
 and physical inij)rovement of our country, 
 have produced already the happiest effects. 
 Under vour administration America is ani- 
 mated with zeal for the attainment and en- 
 couragement of useful literature ; she im- 
 proves her agriculture, extends her com- 
 merce, and acquires with foreign nations a 
 dignity unknown to her before. From these 
 happy events, in which none can feel a 
 warmer interest than ourselves, we derive 
 additional pleasure in recollecting that you, 
 sir, have been the principal instrument to 
 effect so rapid a change in our political situ- 
 ation. This prospect of national prosperity 
 is peculiarly pleasing to us on another ac- 
 count, because whilst our country preserves 
 her freedom and independence, we shall have 
 a well founded title to claim from her justice 
 equal rights of citizenship, as well the price 
 of our blood spilt under your eyes, and of our 
 common exertions for her defence, under 
 your auspicious conduct ; rights rendered 
 more dear to us, by the remembrance of 
 former hardships. When we pray for the 
 preservation of them, where they have been 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 147 
 
 granted, and expect the full extension of 
 them from the justice of those states which 
 still restrict them ; when we solicit the pro- 
 tection of Heaven over our common country, 
 we neither omit, nor can omit recommending 
 your preservation to the singular care of Di- 
 vine Providence , because we conceive that 
 no human means are so available to pro- 
 mote the welfare of the United States, as the 
 prolongation of your health and life, in w^hich 
 are included the energy of your example, 
 the wisdom of your counsels, and the persua- 
 sive eloquence of your virtues." 
 
 This eloquent and well deserved tribute 
 was signed by John Carroll, in behalf of the 
 Roman Catholic clergy, Charles Carroll of 
 Carrollton, Daniel Carroll, Thomas Fitzsim- 
 mons and Dominick Lynch, in behalf of the 
 Roman Catholic laity. 
 
 Shortly after his installation the bishop re- 
 ceived a letter from a tribe of Indians, about 
 four hundred in number, the remains and de- 
 scendents of some who had been converted to 
 Christianity, and formed under the French 
 missionaries, residing on the confines of Mas- 
 sachusetts, Canada and Nova Scotia, praying 
 earnestly for clergymen. Having sent to 
 
148 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Europe for two French priests, who were to 
 go and reside amonj^st them, he transmitted 
 to them, through a Mr. Allen, the following 
 letter : 
 
 "Baltimore, Sept. 6, 1791. 
 
 " Mr. John Allen : 
 
 ^'Sir, — Your favor of May 21st, with a 
 postscript of the 23d, was not received be- 
 fore the 27th of August. I am infinitely 
 obliged to you for your great attention, good- 
 ness and charity, in forwarding to me the 
 speech of the Indians of whom you bear so 
 favorable a testimony. My duty and incli- 
 nation concur in urging me to use my utmost 
 and earliest endeavors to procure them the 
 help which they so earnestly solicit, and let- 
 ters are gone already for that purpose. I shall 
 be much mistaken, as well as disappointed, 
 if those letters produce not the effect de- 
 sired ; but some delay must be looked for — 
 the clergymen destined for this business are 
 now in Europe, and cannot come, I fear, be- 
 fore the spring. But when they do come, 
 they will, I am confident, give satisfaction. 
 I say clergymen, because many reasons have 
 induced me to send for two. This will not 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL, 149 
 
 increase the charge of the Indians, at least" 
 not for some years to come — when they will 
 be better able to bear it, as their number 
 will be probably greater. I had not the 
 least knowledge of this tribe of Indians till, 
 at a late visit to Boston, I saw sf letter respect- 
 ing them from you to the Rev. Mr. Thayer. 
 "Their attachment to the exercises of re- 
 ligion, notwithstanding their long depriva- 
 tion of its public functions, their innocent 
 lives and their care to instruct their chil- 
 dren, are strong proofs of the deep impres- 
 sion made on their minds, and as you justly 
 observe, do great credit to their former 
 French pastor and missionary, Mv happi- 
 ness will be great, if those whom I shall 
 expect next spring, will walk in the foot- 
 steps of their predecessors. Conformably 
 to your advice I sent back the crucifix, and 
 in addition to all your other kindnesses, re- 
 quest you to be so good as to explain my 
 letter to them. Your services entitle you to 
 all their confidence, and I have made it my 
 duty to acknowledge myself with great es- 
 teem and respect, sir, 
 
 " Your most obd't and humble serv't, 
 
 "t John, Bishop of Baltimore^ 
 13* 
 
150 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP THE 
 
 " Brethren and Beloved Children in Jesus Christ : 
 
 " I received with the greatest pleasure the 
 testimony of your attachment to your holy 
 relisfion ; and I venerated the sacred crucifix 
 sent by you as expressive of your faith. 
 
 " Brethren and Children : 
 
 " I embrace you with the affection of a 
 father, and am exceedingly desirous to pro- 
 cure for vou a worthy teacher and minister 
 of God's holy sanctuary, who may adminis- 
 ter to your young people, to your sons and 
 daughters, the sacrament of baptism; may 
 instruct them and you in the law of God, 
 and the exercises of a christian life; may 
 reconcile you to your Lord and Maker after 
 all your transgressions; and may perform 
 for your women after child-bearing the rites 
 ordained by the Church of Christ. 
 
 " Brethren and Beloved Children: 
 
 " As soon as I received your request, and 
 was informed of your necessity, I sent for 
 one or two virtuous and worthy priests to 
 go and remain with you — that you may 
 never more be reduced to the same distress- 
 ful situation, in which you have lived so 
 Ions:. But as they are far distant, I am 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 151 
 
 afraid they will not be with you before the 
 putting out of the leaves again. This should 
 have been done much sooner, if I had been 
 informed of your situation. You may de- 
 pend upon it, that you shall be always in 
 my heart, and in my mind ; and if it please 
 God to give me time, I will certainly visit 
 you myself. 
 
 " Brethren and Beloved Children: 
 
 "I trust in that good God, who made us 
 all, and in his blessed Son, Jesus Christ, who 
 redeemed us, that all the Indians, north- 
 ward and eastward, will be made partakers 
 of the blessing which ray desire is to procure 
 for you ; and I rejoice very much, that you 
 and they wish to be united to your brethren, 
 the Americans. You have done very well, 
 not to receive amongst you those ministers 
 who go without being called or sent by that 
 authority which Jesus Christ has established 
 for the government of this Church. Those 
 whom I shall send to you, will be such good 
 and virtuous priests as instructed your fore- 
 fathers in the law of God, and taught them 
 to regard this life only as a preparation for, 
 and a passage to a better life in heaven. 
 
 " In token of my fatherly love and sincere 
 
152 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 affection, I send back to you, after embracing 
 
 it, the holy crucifix which I received with 
 
 your letter, and I enclose it in a picture of 
 
 our holy father, the pope, the head on earth, 
 
 under Christ, of our divine religion ; and this, 
 
 my answer, is accompanied likewise with 
 
 nine medals, representing our divine Lord, 
 
 Jesus Christ, and his Most Holy Mother. I 
 
 desire that these may be received by the 
 
 chiefs of the river St. John, Passamaquoddy, 
 
 and Michmacs, who signed the address to 
 
 me. They came from and have received 
 
 the blessing of our same holy father, the 
 
 vicar of Jesus Christ in the government of 
 
 his Church. 
 
 " That the blessing of God may come 
 
 down upon you, your women and children, 
 
 and remain forever, is the earnest prayer of 
 
 your loving father, friend and servant in 
 
 Christ, 
 
 " t John, Bishop of Baltimore. 
 
 ''Baltimore, Sept. 6, 1791." 
 
 In October of this year, in a letter to his 
 English correspondent, the bishop informs 
 him of some of the steps that were about to 
 be taken to secure the progress and perpetu- 
 ation of his see in this country. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 153 
 
 " On the 7th of next month our clergy are 
 to meet here in a diocesan synod. Then we 
 shall discuss the mode of preserving the suc- 
 cession to the episcopacy of the United 
 States. Instead of a coadjutor, I am much 
 inclined to solicit a division of my diocess 
 and the creation of another bishoprick. One 
 only objection, of much weight, retards my 
 determined resolution in favor of this scheme, 
 and that is, that previous to such a step, a 
 uniform discipline may be established in all 
 parts of this great continent; and every 
 measure so firmly concerted, that as little 
 danger as possible may remain of a disunion 
 with the holy see. I am very fearful of this 
 event taking place in succeeding time unless 
 it be guarded against by every prudential 
 precaution. Our distance, though not so 
 great if geometrically measured, as South 
 America, Goa and China, yet in a political 
 light is much greater. South America, and 
 the Portuguese possessions in Africa and 
 Asia, have through their metropolitical coun- 
 tries, an intermediate connexion with Rome; 
 and the missionaries in China are almost all 
 Europeans. But we have no European me- 
 tropolis, and our clergy soon will be neither 
 
154 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Europeans nor have European connexions. 
 Then will be the danger of a propension to 
 a schismatical separation from the centre of 
 unity. But the Founder of the Church sees 
 all these things, and can provide the remedy. 
 After doing what we can, we must commit 
 the rest to his Providence." 
 
 In another letter, about a year subsequent 
 to the foregoing, he gives his views upon the 
 same subject in the following terms: 
 
 " I have written to Rome, recommending 
 and requesting the erection of another dio- 
 cess in the United States : this, I hope, will 
 be granted ; if not, I press for the grant of a 
 coadjutor. To avoid giving offence to our 
 own government, it is proposed to the Pro- 
 paganda to allow the ten oldest clergymen 
 here, and five others to be nominated by my- 
 self, to be the electors of the new bishop, or- 
 dinary or coadjutor. But in my solicitude 
 to provide for a close and intimate union with 
 the holy see, I desire that if the grant be 
 made agreeably to request, it may be under 
 the express condition of reserving a right in 
 the holy see, to reject the person elected, as 
 long as one be not elected perfectly agreea- 
 ble to it. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 155 
 
 "lam, I own, principally solicitous to form 
 establishments which will be lasting. To 
 pass through a village, where a Roman Ca- 
 tholic clergyman was never seen before ; to 
 borrow of the parson the use of his meeting- 
 house or church, in order to preach a ser- 
 mon ; to go or send about the village, giving 
 notice at every house, that a priest is to 
 preach at a certain house, and there to en- 
 large on the doctrines of our Church ; this is 
 a mode adopted by some amongst us for the 
 propagation of religion. But I would rather 
 see a priest fixed for a continuance in the 
 same place, with a growing congregation un- 
 der him, than twenty such itinerant preachers. 
 The only effect which I have seen from these, 
 is to make people gaze for a time, and say 
 that the preacher is a good or a bad one ; but 
 as soon as he is gone on his way, to think no 
 more about him." 
 
 Having been invited by the unanimous re- 
 solution of congress in common with the 
 clergy of all denominations and congrega- 
 tions of Christians throughout the United 
 States, to commemorate the character and 
 services of General Washington, who was 
 now no more, he delivered, on the 22d of 
 
156 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 February, 1800, to a crowded audience in the 
 Catholic church of St. Peter's at Baltimore, 
 a discourse which will be found admirably 
 adapted throughout, in the language and 
 sentiments, to the character of the distin- 
 guished individual who was the subject of it. 
 
 Having been, through the whole contest 
 between Great Britain and America, an at- 
 tentive observer of its varying and eventful 
 incidents, perliaps no person in the United 
 States better understood its history, or had 
 formed a more correct estimate of the cha- 
 racters and conduct of those who were en- 
 gaged in it than himself, as well from the 
 natural candor and discriminating powers of 
 his mind, as from the dispassionate view 
 wliich his situation and circumstances en- 
 abled him thus to take of the whole subject; 
 and it may be affirmed with truth, that the 
 commander in chief of the American armies, 
 had not any where a more ardent admirer of 
 his conduct than he was. 
 
 Independentlyofthese circumstances, there 
 was a singular propriety in his offering, as he 
 did, on the melancholy occasion referred to, 
 the tribute of respect, to the memory, and of 
 w^ell deserved eulogium, upon the character 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 157 
 
 of that illustrious hero and statesman, from 
 the double consideration that his comprehen- 
 sive and enlarged mind qualified him for the 
 task, if that of anv individual in the United 
 States were equal to it, and that as he was 
 at the head of a numerous religious com- 
 munity, second to none in patriotism and 
 exertions during the revolutionary war, in 
 the common cause of their country, he was 
 the natural and appropriate organ of their 
 feelings and sentiments upon that occasion. 
 
 It was in speaking of this address, that 
 Mr. Robert Walsh uses the following strong 
 and descriptive language : 
 
 " We have heard from some of the most 
 intelligent and observant of his auditors, 
 when he delivered his masterly funeral pane- 
 gyric on Washington, in which he recited 
 the terrors, the encouragements, the dis- 
 tresses, and the glories of the struggle for 
 independence, that he appeared to be labor- 
 ing under intense emotions correspondent to 
 those topics — to be swayed like the aged 
 minstrel of the poet, with contagious influ- 
 ences, by the varied strains which he ut- 
 tered." 
 
 14 
 
158 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The following verses were written "o?* 
 reading Archhishop CarroWs Eulogimn on 
 General Washington.^' 
 
 " Sweet is the voice of praise 
 
 E'en when youthful tongues, 
 
 ImpellM by loyal hearts and wond'ring minds, 
 
 With virtuous zeal applaud the brave or wise : 
 
 But sweeter far and dearer to the soul 
 
 Of the high warrior or the sage profound. 
 
 Is the eulogium of a holy man, 
 
 Whose reverend years and sanctity disdain 
 
 A worldly motive for the fame he gives." 
 
 DISCOURSE. 
 
 " When the death of men distinguished by 
 superior talents, high endowments, and emi- 
 nent services to their country, demands the 
 expression of public mourning and grief, their 
 loss is accompanied, generally, with this miti- 
 gation, that however grievous and painful, it 
 is not irreparable ; and that the void caused 
 by their mortality w^ill, perhaps, be filled up 
 by others, uniting equal abilities with the 
 same zeal and watchfulness for the general 
 welfare. Hope then wipes off the tears, 
 with which sorrow bedews the grave of de- 
 parted worth. But on the present occasion, 
 no such consolation can be administered ; 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 159 
 
 for he, whose expectations are most san- 
 guine, dares not promise again to his coun- 
 try the union of so many splendid and useful 
 virtues as adorned that illustrious man, 
 whose memory excites our grateful and ten- 
 der sensibility, and to whose tomb the hom- 
 age of his country is to be solemnly offered 
 on this day. Whether we consult our own 
 experience, by bringing into comparison with 
 Washington any of our cotemporaries, most 
 eminent for their talents, virtues and ser- 
 vices, or whether we search through the 
 pages of history, to discover in them a cha- 
 racter of equal fame, justice and truth will 
 acknowledge that he stands supereminent 
 and unrivalled in the annals of mankind 
 and that no one before him, acting in such a 
 variety of new and arduous situations, bore 
 with him to the grave a reputation as clear 
 from lawless ambition, and as undefiled by 
 injustice or oppression: a reputation, nei- 
 ther depressed by indolence, nor weakened 
 bv irresolution, nor shadowed by those im- 
 perfections, which seemed to be the essential 
 appendages of human nature, till Providence 
 exhibited in Washington this extraordinary 
 phenomenon. 
 
160 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 " What language can be equal to the ex- 
 cellence of such a character? what propor- 
 tion can exist between eloquence and the 
 tribute of praise, due to so much virtue ? 
 Nevertheless, my fellow-citizens, 1 read in 
 the eargerness of your attention, your desire 
 to offer this tribute. Methinks I hear your 
 filial piety, your tender reverence for your 
 best friend, the father of his country, calling 
 on me to bear for you, at least, a feeble tes- 
 timony of your unextinguishable gratitude for 
 his services, your immortal remembrance of, 
 and veneration for his virtues. In your name, 
 therefore, I presume to add some grains of in- 
 cense to the homage, which throughout the 
 United States every friend to their happi- 
 ness now presents at the shrine of Washing- 
 ton. Pardon, O departed spirit of the first 
 of heroes ! if with the cold accents of an 
 exhausted imagination, I likewise dare at- 
 tempt to celebrate thy name, whilst so many 
 sons of genius, ardent in youthful vigor, de- 
 lineate in glowing colors the vivid features 
 of thy mind, and the glorious deeds of thy 
 virtuous life. With unequal steps, I venture 
 on the same career, not seeking to add lustre 
 to the fame of Washington, or perpetuate his 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 161 
 
 memory to future times ; for he is already 
 enshrined in the records of immortality ; but 
 humbly hoping, that a recital of his services 
 will open to our countrymen the road to true 
 honor, and kindle in their breasts the warmth 
 of generous emulation and real patriotism. 
 To contribute in this manner to the best in- 
 terests of his beloved country, will be to him 
 the most gratifying commendation, if in the 
 regions of immortality, human affairs still 
 claim a share of his solicitude. 
 
 " The language uniformly held by Wash- 
 ington, the maxim invariably inculcated and 
 repeated by him in almost every public mani- 
 festation of his sentiments, was the acknow- 
 ledgment of a superintending Providence, 
 preparing, regulating and governing all hu- 
 man events, for the accomplishment of its 
 eternal purposes, and predisposing the instru- 
 ments by which they are to be effected. 
 Religion and observation had taught him 
 that God's provident wisdom reacheth from 
 end to end mightily and disposeth all things 
 sweetly. Wis. viii. He contemplated with 
 christian piety, and the philosophy of a sage, 
 ih^^ost remarkable revolutions and occur- 
 rences of former, as well as his own times, 
 14* 
 
162 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and learned therefrom to refer every human 
 event to the moral government of a supreme 
 intelligent Being. This became the polar 
 star, by which he was guided in his progress 
 through life, and in all his anxious solicitude 
 for maintaining the liberty, perfecting the 
 policy, preserving the peace, insuring the sta- 
 bility of his country on the foundations of 
 order and morality, and guarding it against 
 the turbulence of faction, licentiousness, 
 foreign hostility and artifice. 
 
 " This virtuous maxim of religious, moral 
 and political wisdom, so deeply impressed on 
 him, never perhaps was more illustrated, than 
 bv the course of Providence in preparing and 
 adapting his body and mind to suit the des- 
 tinies of his life. He was to himself a lumi- 
 nous proof of that truth, which was so rooted 
 in his soul. 
 
 " That infinite knowledge, which in its com- 
 prehensive range through the whole extent 
 of creation, embraces the future, no less dis- 
 tinctly, than past and present contingencies, 
 beheld the period approaching, when this 
 vast portion of America, now constituting the 
 United States, — this country spread through 
 so many climates, — so diversified in its pro- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 163 
 
 ductions, — so abundant in natural resources, 
 — so benefited by land and water, — so ad- 
 mirably calculated for the employment of in- 
 dustry, and for affording subsistence to mil- 
 lions and millions, was to break the bonds of 
 its ancient connection with Great Britain, 
 and emancipated from vassalage, elevate it- 
 self to the station of a great, and powerful 
 empire ! 
 
 " A convulsion so violent in the political 
 system of Europe and America, involved 
 the demolition of deeply rooted habits and 
 opinions. The associations arising out of 
 consanguinity, habitual intercourse, unity of 
 government, identity of laws, language and 
 religion, were to be melted down, before that 
 wonderful revolution could be completed. A 
 new people unconscious before of their own 
 strength, were to feel in their physical and 
 moral energies the ripeness of manhood. 
 Accustomed to respect the nation, with 
 which they would have to contend, as irre- 
 sistible in arms, and inexhaustible in re- 
 sources, they must dare nevertheless to make 
 the vigorous effort, and conceive a reliance 
 on their own native strength. Powerful in- 
 terests, the necessary effects of long estab- 
 
164 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 lished government, would naturally coun- 
 teract every tendency towards its downfall ; 
 but these interests were to be resisted by 
 force, and borne down by the enthusiastic 
 ardor of patriotism. 
 
 " To superintend the movements and opera- 
 tions of such a revolution : to control during 
 its progress, jealousies, enmities, suspicions 
 and other conflicting passions ; and from their 
 collision, to educe national and individual 
 prosperity, peace, order, liberty and regular 
 government, required the discernment and 
 masterly contrivance of that Supreme Direc- 
 tor and Artist, who unites together the links, 
 and holds in his hands the chain of all human 
 events. Contemplating, as much as is al- 
 lowed to feeble mortals, his divine agency in 
 preparing the means and conducting the pro- 
 gress of the American revolution, we may 
 presume to say, that heaven impressed a 
 character on the life of Washington, and a 
 temper on his soul, which eminently qualified 
 him to bear the most conspicuous part, and 
 be its principal instrument in accomplishing 
 this stupendous work. 
 
 We trace as far back as to his early youth, 
 the evidences of this Providential interposi- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 165 
 
 tion. Born in times and circumstances un- 
 favorable to the spirit and exertions of bold 
 enterprize, he however soon devoted him- 
 self to useful and active exercises. He 
 disdained the inglorious ease and ignoble 
 pursuits, which fettered or perverted the 
 talents of his young countrymen, inactive, 
 not through choice, but wanting objects 
 and encouragement. To deliver Washing- 
 ton from the danger of contracting similar 
 habits, he was inspired to embrace the hardy 
 discipline of difficult and perilous labors, 
 which added vigor to his constitution, and a 
 robustness to his nerves, that never after 
 shrunk from danger. Following the instinct 
 of his towering genius, he had not reached 
 the years of manhood, when he was engaged 
 in enterprizes pregnant with terror, and pre- 
 senting to his view objects of a most formida- 
 ble aspect. He did not however enter on 
 them with thoughtless temerity. At that 
 early period he began, what he persisted in 
 through life, to associate motives of pub- 
 lic utility with magnanimous undertakings. 
 The usual occupations of his young country- 
 men were not sufficient employment for his 
 active mind ; he therefore turned his views 
 
166 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 towards that vast western region, now so fa- 
 miliar to our ears and acquaintance, but then 
 known only by the terrors it inspired, and 
 the cruelties practised by the savage Indians, 
 lurking in its forests and recesses. He left 
 the endearments of society, to explore the 
 courses of rivers, to traverse plains and moun- 
 tains far beyond the then inhabited frontiers ; 
 hoping to discover sources, whence future 
 opulence might flow to his country, — to ex- 
 amine the productions, and estimate the fer- 
 tility of immense tracts, capable of rewarding 
 the industry of thousands, pining in want and 
 oppression in foreign lands ; whose descend- 
 ants might people the wilderness, beautify it 
 by cultivation, and multiply the resources of 
 his native province. In these achievements, 
 the heroic youth was to inure himself to 
 hunger and thrist, to lie on the damp earth 
 without any covering but the spreading 
 branches of the oak and the canopy of the 
 heavens ; to accustom himself to the vicissi- 
 tudes of the seasons, the parching heat and 
 chilling frost ; to herd with the beasts of the 
 forest ; to be exposed to the tomahawk and 
 scalping knife ; to be surrounded by difficul- 
 ties, yet never to be disheartened; to meet at 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 167 
 
 every step the image of death, without ever 
 being appalled, or admitting a momentary 
 sentiment of dispair. 
 
 "Imagine not, my fellow-citizens, that this 
 is an ideal and fanciful representation of 
 Washington's youthful years. No! it is 
 faintly, but truly copied from real scenes of 
 his life. Who, on the wing of imagination, 
 has followed him, clambering over the lofty 
 western mountains, fording unfathomed and 
 rapid rivers, exposing his invaluable life to 
 innumerable accidents of treachery and hos- 
 tility, without shuddering for his existence, 
 and admiring his cool, collected courage, in 
 conquering obstacles, and surmounting dan- 
 ger ? Such was the training and education, 
 by which Providence prepared him for the 
 fulfilment of his future destinies. 
 
 " Far different from this, were the motives 
 which urged the youth of Sparta and Rome 
 to encounter toils of danger and opposition. 
 They obeyed the institutions of their coun- 
 try ! they were stimulated by the goad of 
 aspiring ambition, and a desire of acquiring 
 that false glory, which, in the erroneous opin- 
 ions of their cotemporaries attached itself 
 to the men, who carried devastation and 
 
168 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 carnage into the bowels of neighboring 
 nations. With better views, and superior 
 courage, Washington penetrated into the in- 
 hospitable confines of the savage Indian, 
 that he might render them the abodes of 
 peace, and introduce into their bosom the 
 improvements of civilization. So success- 
 fully the guardian angel of this chosen 
 youth, ministering to the designs of Provi- 
 dence, had infused already into his soul the 
 sweet spirit of benevolence, together with 
 heroical fortitude. 
 
 " For him it was decreed, in the progres- 
 sion of his life, to defend, and ultimately to 
 establish, by just and necessary warfare, the 
 liberties of his country. Providence there- 
 fore permitted a train of occurrences to en- 
 sue, which served to furnish his mind with 
 the first rudiments of military science, and 
 discipline him to the vigilance and profes- 
 sion of a soldier. At that time, two pow- 
 erful European nations held North America 
 in their subjection ; their territories bordered 
 on each other, and each claimed rights, dis- 
 allowed by its rival power. One of these, 
 France, sent out a military force and her 
 Indian allies, to occupy posts deemed to be 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 169 
 
 within the territory of Virginia, and conti- 
 guous to the stations selected by Washing- 
 ton, as best adapted to the protection of his 
 native land ; for his intrepidity and local 
 knowledge had already placed him at the 
 head of a small body of his countrymen, 
 collected together to stop the progress of the 
 invaders. With those he covered the inha- 
 bitants from hostile encroachment, he won 
 the confidence of the savage Indian, and 
 conducted a dangerous and intricate nego- 
 tiation for a suspension of hostilities. 
 
 '' But the durable preservation of peace 
 depended not on the counsels of America ; 
 England and France transported their en- 
 mity to her shores, and covered our country 
 with hostile array. England, confident of 
 her prow^ess and the discipline of her armies, 
 would not commit the defence of her inter- 
 ests to raw provincials. Washington's ar- 
 dent soul suflfered him not to remain behind 
 in safety, wiiile the security of his country 
 was at stake. The hand of Providence 
 lead him forward, that he might add to his 
 experience and native fortitude. He fought 
 under Braddock; and that ill-fated com- 
 mander having paid by his death the tribute 
 15 
 
170 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of his rashness — his army, dispirited by de- 
 feat, and flying before an enemy flushed with 
 victory — Washington, in that perilous mo- 
 ment, gatliered round him his first compan- 
 ions in arms, and rescued out of the jaws 
 of death, the remains of the vanquished bat- 
 tallions. He did more; he stood in the front 
 of danger, and every where opposing him- 
 self to tlie merciless savages, ready to burst 
 as a dark cloud, fraught with the thunder- 
 bolts of heaven, on a terrified land, he 
 averted the storm, and restored to his trem- 
 bling country the serenity of hope and 
 peace. 
 
 " The theatre of war was transported af- 
 terwards to distant provinces of America. 
 Then the same all-w ise Providence, which 
 had inured him to danger, prepared him for 
 the toils of government, and the important 
 duty of superintending in his riper years, the 
 political administration of a great and widely 
 extended people. His services in the field 
 had won the confidence of his fellow-citizens ; 
 they committed to his vigilance and integrity 
 their highest interests in their legislative as- 
 sembly. In this school he perfected himself 
 in the knowledge of mankind ; he observed 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 171 
 
 the contentions of parties, the artifices and 
 conflicts of human passions ; he saw the 
 necessity of curbing them by salutary re- 
 straints, he studied the conjplicated science 
 of legislation, he learned to venerate the 
 sanctity of laws, to esteem them as the pal- 
 ladium of civil society, and deeply imbibed 
 this maxim, so important for the soldier and 
 the statesman, and which he ever after made 
 the rule of his conduct, that the armed de- 
 fenders of their country would break up the 
 foundations of social order and happiness, if 
 they availed themselves of the turbulence of 
 war, to violate the rights of private property 
 and personal liberty. 
 
 " Thus Washington, during the interval of 
 peace, stored his mind with the treasures of 
 political wisdom. The time was approach- 
 ing for him to expend those treasures on his 
 country's welfare. 
 
 " I need not recapitulate the origin of the 
 discontents between Great Britain and her 
 American dependencies. Suifice it to say, 
 that America received the claims of the 
 parent country, as incompatible with her 
 freedom and happiness. The great soul of 
 Washington revolted at the idea of national 
 
172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 degradation ; but tempering his ardor with 
 deliberate wisdom, he associated with other 
 sages of his country, to meditate on her new 
 and critical situation. 
 
 " Here let us pause, fellow citizens, to con- 
 template this exalted man revolving in his 
 breast the natural and social rights of human 
 kind : comparing those with actual and im- 
 pending grievances, and with the obligations 
 of an allegiance due to a long established 
 government. Had lawless ambition reigned 
 in his breast, he would have decided the pub- 
 lic voice for immediate hostility. But in this 
 point also. Providence destined him to leave 
 a memorable and salutary example. He 
 was not dazzled by the prospect of being 
 elevated to the chief command of the mili- 
 tary force of America. In his opinion, no- 
 thing could justify a recurrence to the sword, 
 and a revolt from established authority, but 
 extreme necessity. All resonable means of 
 redress should be tried, before a good citizen 
 will dissolve the fabric of government, and 
 expose a people to the convulsive shocks of 
 a revolution, the explosions of which no con- 
 siderate man can promise himself to regu- 
 late, or foresee their termination. 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 173 
 
 " A reflection here forces itself upon my 
 mind, which I ought not to withhold from my 
 respectable auditors. Would to God, that 
 the principal authors and leaders of the many 
 revolutions, through which unhappy France 
 has passed in the course of a few years — 
 would to God, that they had been influenced 
 by a morality as pure and enlightened as 
 that of Washington, and his associates in the 
 first congress ! What scenes of carnage and 
 cruelty ! what private woes and public ca- 
 lamity w^ould have been spared to that ill- 
 fated country ! — and how sacred and venera- 
 ble would have still remained to it the sanc- 
 tuary of religion ! 
 
 " Washington and his colleagues obeying 
 at the same time the dictates of patriotism 
 and the duty of allegiance, represented their 
 wrongs to their sovereign and claimed their 
 rights. On the event of their remonstrance, 
 depended the redress of their grievances ; or, 
 if no redress followed, their justification for 
 standing on their defence, Britain would 
 not relent, and all that remained to America, 
 was submission or resistance. The election 
 was soon made : every one prepared himself 
 for the awful contest, and all eyes and hopes 
 15* 
 
174 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 were turned towards Washington. With 
 universal approbation he was summoned to 
 place himself in the front of danger, and as- 
 sume supreme military command. The pos- 
 session of such a citizen at a moment so 
 critical, was an invaluable treasure, and an 
 animating presage of the favorable issue of 
 the great contest. 
 
 "But far other thoughts absorbed his at- 
 tention. Modest, as he was eminent in valor 
 and wisdom, he contemplated with mingled 
 emotions of self-ditfidence and generous resolu- 
 tion, the important stake placed in his hands ; 
 the subjection or independence: the vassalage 
 or freedom of an immense territory, destined 
 to be the habitation of countless millions. 
 When therefore, in obedience to the voice of 
 his country, he placed himself at the head of 
 her army, the expressions of his dependence 
 on Providence should never be forgotten. 
 Claiming no personal merit, apprehensive of 
 injuring the public interest through some 
 misconduct ; yet trusting to the justice of his 
 cause, and conscious of the purity of his mo- 
 tives, he called upon his fellow citizens to 
 remember that he depended for success, not 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 175 
 
 on his own military skill, but on the God of 
 battles, to whom he made his solemn appeal. 
 
 " Washington, now at a period of his high- 
 est elevation, drew on him the attention, not 
 only of this western continent, but of every 
 European nation. O fellow citizens ! what 
 days and years of anxious disquietude re- 
 volved over us, whilst we gazed on this splen- 
 did luminary, uncertain whether it would 
 shed on its country the effulgence of victory 
 and peace, crowned by liberty ; or whether 
 its brightness would be shadowed by the 
 clouds of disaster and defeat ! 
 
 " Here language fails : I dare not, I cannot 
 follow the heroic Washington in the career 
 of his military glory. To baffle the strata- 
 gems of the ablest generals, to repel the 
 onset of the bravest and best disciplined 
 armies, what had America to place in his 
 hands? — neither soldiers trained to arms, nor 
 accustomed to subordination ; nor the imple- 
 ments of war, nor the treasures to purchase 
 them. But the genius of the commander 
 finally supplied every deficiency. He intro- 
 duced order and discipline : inspired love and 
 confidence; and with these auxiliaries, he 
 kept together unclothed and unpaid armies, 
 
176 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 which, under other generals, would perhaps 
 have demanded justice at the point of their 
 bayonets. Always vigilant to foil hostile at- 
 tempts, he exhausted the resources of the 
 enemy, without suffering them to force him 
 to action. Tender of the blood of his fellow 
 soldiers, and never exposing their lives with- 
 out cause, or prospect of advantage, hu- 
 manity was as dear to him as victory ; as 
 his enemies, that fell into his power, always 
 experienced. When a decree of retaliation 
 became necessary to restrain their licentious 
 excesses, with what delicacy, without the 
 least abatement of fortitude, did he save the 
 life of the victim, devoted to atone for the 
 cruelty that had been committed on an 
 American officer ! — not however, till he had 
 compelled the opposing general to restrain 
 and disavow outrages, that aggravate so 
 much the necessary evils of war. How 
 sacred was his respect to the civil authority ! 
 how effectual his protection of the property 
 of his fellow citizens ! When the generous 
 feelings of the virtuous and beneficent Lewis, 
 whose deplorable fate should draw tears of 
 blood from every American heart, sent out 
 his nobles and legions, to combat by his side, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 177 
 
 the dignity of his manners and his unas- 
 suming merit, won their entire confidence : 
 his integrity and conciliating spirit united, 
 as a band of brothers, nations before un- 
 known to each other, and totally different in 
 manners, habits and religion. Their union, 
 of which he was the soul, was a new omen 
 of victory, and gained for America the prize 
 for which she bled and contended : honorable 
 peace and independence. 
 
 " What but unfading laurels remained now 
 for Washington, after satisfying his honest 
 ambition, and steering the vessel of the 
 American Republic through so many storms, 
 into the safe harbor of liberty and tran- 
 quillity ? It remained for him to leave this 
 important lesson to the chief of armies, vested 
 with great commands; that magnanimity 
 and true glory consist in laying their swords 
 at their country's feet, when the object is at- 
 tained, for which alone it was permitted to 
 draw them. It remained for him, after ab- 
 dicating public employments, to exhibit in 
 the shade of retirement those private virtues 
 which are the true foundations of national 
 prosperity. Dutiful to this moral principle, 
 Washington, before he left his army, stipu- 
 
178 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 lated for no personal reward, and even re- 
 fused all that could be offered ; unmindful of 
 himself, he was only solicitous to obtain for 
 his faithful legions a generous and liberal 
 acknowledgment of their constancy and 
 valor. This being effected, as far as it de- 
 pended on him, he resigned the insignia of 
 his command to those, from whom he had 
 received it, and resumed the rank of a pri- 
 vate citizen, carrying with him into his do- 
 mestic retreat, the esteem, respect and vene- 
 ration, of an admiring world. 
 
 " Here the curtain drops, and seems to 
 close forever from the public eye and public 
 duty, this wonderful man. His country has 
 no more right to disturb his calm repose ; he 
 has paid superabundantly her claim to his 
 services. But the views of Providence over 
 him are not yet completed ; peace and inde- 
 pendence are obtained, but to preserve them, 
 experience soon made it manifest, that to 
 invigorate with one spirit the vast mass of 
 population throughout the United States, one 
 general superintending government was es- 
 sentially requisite, which saving the rights of 
 all, should likewise be competent to com- 
 mand the services of all for the public weal ; 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 179 
 
 to maintain order within, and to repel ag- 
 gression from abroad, enforce the demands of 
 justice, and diffuse over important national 
 acts, dignity, energy, unity of design and 
 execution. Washington's penetration soon 
 discovered the want of such a government, 
 and in a paternal, affectionate address to his 
 countrymen, had bequeathed on them, as a 
 legislator, his earnest recommendation for its 
 establishment. 
 
 " Various causes delayed the execution of 
 this necessary w^ork, till the edifice of Ame- 
 rican independence, unsupported by its ne- 
 cessary pillars, was crumbling into ruin ; 
 then every friend to his country remembered 
 Washington's fatherly advice, every patri- 
 otic hand was ready to prop up the tottering 
 fabric. Wisdom and experience combined 
 to blend in a republican form of government 
 all the advantages, of which other forms are 
 productive, without many of their evils. 
 Our illustrious deliverer presided at the de- 
 liberations, whicJi produced it ; the Ame- 
 rican people besought him once more to quit 
 his beloved retreat, and perfect a work, of 
 wiiich he had been the first founder and a 
 principal architect. The earnestness of their 
 
180 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 request overpowered his reluctant mind, he 
 could not resist their unanimous wishes, nor 
 could any personal dangers stand in compe- 
 tition with the advancement of general hap- 
 piness. Yet how immense were his sacri- 
 fices ! how perilous his hazards ! — sacrifices 
 known only to them, who having spent their 
 best years in transactions, that kept every 
 nerve on the stretch, are permitted in the 
 evenin2r of their davs to taste of the calm 
 repose of rural felicity, and the solace of 
 domestic endearments. Disheartening was 
 the prospect in venturing again on the agi- 
 tated ocean of national responsibility. There 
 existed not in the world a name so bright as 
 his; no character stood on such lofty pre- 
 eminence. Shall he expose these to the ca- 
 pricious fluctuations of popular opinion? 
 Shall he embark the treasure of a reputation 
 purchased by so many services, on a sea, 
 sown thick with rocks of envy, pride and 
 disappointment ? These are sufficient to appal 
 a heart less sublime, and less inflamed with 
 genuine patriotism. But such considerations 
 had no effect on him, and he took into his 
 hands the helm of state. 
 
 " What were the effects of his administra- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 181 
 
 tion ? Are we not deceived by magical delu- 
 sion? or is it the transformation wMiich our 
 senses witness, really effected ? Have the 
 United States risen from a lethargic, impo- 
 verished, degraded condition to activity, opu- 
 lence and respect 1 Does the farmer receive 
 a generous retribution for his industry ? Does 
 the merchant cover the seas with his ships, 
 conveying to every clime the productions of 
 our native soil ? Does the public creditor ob- 
 tain security and payment of his generous 
 reliance on national faith ? Does justice dis- 
 pense her equitable awards to every suitor 
 approaching her sanctuary? Do distant na- 
 tions respect the counsels, and solicit the 
 friendship of the United States ? Are the 
 natives of every land wafted to our shores, 
 as to the refuge of peace, the residence of 
 true liberty ? Yes, fellow citizens, this is not 
 delusion — these are the real effects and 
 monuments of Washington's administration, 
 yet it was thwarted and embarrassed by in- 
 ternal opposition and foreign intrigue. Scarce 
 had we tasted of the sweets of peace, enliv- 
 ened by industry and commerce, when at- 
 tempts were made to ravish from us these 
 inestimable blessings, and plunge us into the 
 16 
 
182 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 horrors of war; not only of war, but of a 
 war of that kind which, connecting our in- 
 terests and fate witli that of a country de- 
 livered up to anarchy and a prey to frantic 
 outrageous passions, would have tended to 
 extinguish amongst us the principles of mo- 
 rality, inflame us with the rage of innova- 
 tion, intoxicate us with delusive, ruinous 
 theories of government, and most probably, 
 would have substituted them to that excel- 
 lent constitution which is, and may it long 
 continue to be, our pride and happiness! 
 But thanks to thy immortal spirit, O ever 
 dear and venerable father of thy country ! 
 thy wisdom discovered the approaching 
 storm, and thy firmness baffled its violence; 
 our peace and constitution remain to us un- 
 impaired. No foreign influence dictated to 
 the counsels of America. She increased in 
 vigor, she rose in character, and by self- 
 government, by keeping herself disentangled 
 from the strifes of contending nations, she 
 evinced herself worthy of her independence. 
 " After settling his country in this desirable 
 state, Washington had fulfilled the destinies 
 of that Providence which had formed him 
 for the exalted purpose of diffusing the 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 183 
 
 choicest blessings over millions of men, and 
 preparing the same for millions yet unborn. 
 His wish to bury himself again in the shades 
 of retirement, returned on him with re- 
 doubled force; to hide, if possible, his great- 
 ness from the world, and in the sweet repose 
 of domestic life, diversified however by use- 
 ful and lionorable occupations, to forget his 
 past glory. The last act of his supreme 
 magistracy was to inculcate, in most impres- 
 sive language, on his countrymen, or rather 
 on his dearest children, this his deliberate 
 and solemn advice ; to bear incessantly in 
 their minds, that nations and individuals are 
 under the moral government of an infinitely 
 wise and just Providence; that the founda- 
 tions of their happiness are morality and re- 
 ligion, and their union amongst themselves 
 their rock of safety ; that to venerate their 
 constitution and its laws is to insure their 
 liberty. Then he took his tender farewell 
 of public employments, devoting the remain- 
 der of his precious life to a commendable 
 self-review of it, through all its vicissitudes 
 and agitations, a review for which every 
 wise man, knowing his accountability to a 
 
184 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Sovereign Judge, should allot time and make 
 opportunity. 
 
 "After endeavoring thus far to satisfy our 
 common duty to our illustrious deliverer, 
 before I conclude, I am earnest, my fellow 
 citizens, to leave impressed on you in strong 
 characters, some principal features of his 
 mind, and furnish you with short memorials 
 of his most remarkable actions, hoping 
 thereby to perpetuate your gratitude, and 
 incite you to emulate his virtues. Happily, 
 to supply my inability, I find this task exe- 
 cuted, as it would seem, by the spirit of pro- 
 phecy, and in the language of inspiration, in 
 the eighth chapter of the Book of Wisdom, 
 where the author's expressions need no com- 
 ment to appropriate them to Washington. 
 So striking the resemblance ! so true is the 
 picture ! Here are the words of the inspired 
 writer: 'I purposed,' says he, 'to take wisdom 
 with me to live with me, knowing that she 
 will communicate with me of her good 
 things, and will be a comfort in my care ; for 
 her sake I shall have glory among the mul- 
 titude, and honor with the ancient, though I 
 am young ; and I shall be admired in the 
 sight of the mighty, and the faces of princes 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 185 
 
 shall wonder at me. By the means of her I 
 shall have immortality, and shall leave he- 
 iiind me an everlasting memory to them that 
 come after me. I shall set tiie people in 
 order, and nations shall he suhject to me. 
 Terrible kings hearing, shall be afraid of me; 
 among the multitude I shall be found good 
 and valiant in war. When I go into my 
 house, I shall repose myself with her, for her 
 conversation hath no bitterness, nor her com- 
 pany any tediousness, but joy and gladness. 
 Thinking these things with myself, and pon- 
 dering them in my heart, that to be allied to 
 wisdom, is immortality — I went about seek- 
 ing that I might take her to myself.' 
 
 " In this picture, every stroke of tlie pencil 
 exhibits traits of Washington. The early 
 maturity of his judgment was the fruit of 
 his youthful conferences with wisdom. She 
 initiated him into her counsels, and procured 
 for him love, respect, honor, confidence, au- 
 thority and command: she enabled him to 
 set people in order by good government, and 
 an impartial, disinterested administration of 
 it ; and when, all public duties fulfilled, he 
 went to Ills house to repose himself, no tedious- 
 ness or hitterre.s mingled themselves in their 
 16* 
 
186 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 conversation, but joy and gladness, serenity 
 of mind, and the pleasing prospect of con- 
 scious integrity. 
 
 " Providence having preserved and length- 
 ened his days, that he might rear up his 
 country in the infancy of her independence, 
 suffered him now to withdraw himself from 
 the disquietudes of government. He had in- 
 fused the spirit of his administration into all 
 its departments. His excellent successor in- 
 herited, not only the mantle of his office, but 
 his wisdom, firmness and love of peace, sub- 
 ordinate only to a determination of never 
 purchasing it at the price of national dis- 
 honor. 
 
 " Washington beheld from his retirement, 
 as the Jewi.sh legislator from the summit of 
 Mount Phasga, the flourishing prosperity of 
 his country. Health sweetened his repose 
 and rural occupations : his body and mind 
 retained their usual vigor. We flattered our- 
 selves with the expectation of his continu- 
 ing long to retain them : joy beamed in our 
 hearts, when on every annual revolution we 
 gratefully hailed this, his auspicious birth- 
 day. But, alas ' how dark is the cloud, that 
 now overshadows it ! The songs of festivity 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 187 
 
 are converted into the throbs of mourning ! 
 The prayers of thanksgiving for his health 
 and life changed into lamentations for his 
 death ! Who feels not for him, as for his 
 dearest friend, his protector and his father ? 
 Whilst he lived, we seemed to stand on loftier 
 ground, for breathing the same air, inhabiting 
 the same country, and enjoying the same 
 constitution and laws, as the sublime and 
 magnanimous Washington. He was invest- 
 ed with a glory, that shed a lustre on all 
 around him. For his country's safety, he 
 often had braved death, when clad in her 
 most terrific form : he had familiarized him- 
 self with her aspect ; at her approaching to 
 cut the thread of his life, he beheld her with 
 constancy and serenity, and with his last 
 breath, as we may believe from knowing the 
 ruling passion of his soul, he called to heaven 
 to save his country, and recommended it to 
 the continual protection of that Providence, 
 which he so reverently adored. May his 
 prayer have been heard ! May these United 
 States flourish in pure and undefiled religion, 
 in morality, peace, union and liberty, and the 
 enjoyment of their excellent constitution, as 
 long as respect, honor and veneration shall 
 
188 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 gather around the name of Washington : 
 that is, whilst there shall be any surviving 
 record of human events." 
 
 Bishop Carroll, ever watchful for the wel- 
 fare of his Church, and desirous of providing 
 a fit edifice for the use and ornament of the 
 metropolitan see, having by his exhortations 
 and active zeal, prepared in part the means 
 of effecting this realization of this great and 
 leading undertaking of his declining years, 
 commenced the present Cathedral at Balti- 
 more, by laying the corner stone, on the 7th of 
 July, 1806, with the appropriate pomp and 
 ceremony. This large and imposing temple, 
 although not yet finished, is worthy of its 
 rank as the metropolitan church of the Ro- 
 man Catholic failh in this country, and does 
 great credit to its architect, B. H. Latrobe, 
 Esq., under whose superintendence it was 
 erected. 
 
 In the administration of his diocess, it had 
 been the good fortune of our bishop to find 
 zealous and worthy co-laborers in the cause 
 of religion, and amongst these good and holy 
 men, whose memory is preserved in the dio- 
 cesses which they illustrated with their vir- 
 tues, and extended by their enterprising ef- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 189 
 
 forts, there is one prelate in particular whose 
 association with the subject of our notice, 
 was honorable to both, and productive of the 
 greatest benefit to their Church in this coun- 
 try. Our readers will pardon us for making 
 the following extracts from the " Life of Car- 
 dinal de Cheverus, archbishop of Bordeaux, 
 by the Rev. J. Hone Dubourg," which in- 
 teresting and able work has been translated 
 in a masterly manner by Robert M. Walsh, 
 Esq., of Philadelphia. 
 
 We begin with the arrival of this so much 
 regretted luminary of the Church at Boston, 
 ill the year 1795, a few years after Bishop 
 Carroll had entered upon the discharge of 
 his duties, and beg the reader to observe how 
 much these two good men resembled each 
 other in their unobtrusive piety, christian 
 humility, active zeal, and happy faculty of 
 conciliating the good will of all who knew 
 them of every denomination, and thus win- 
 ning for their then misrepresented and des- 
 pised religion, a liberal and respectful recep- 
 tion. 
 
 " His escape from death," says his biogra- 
 pher, " rendered M. de Cheverus still more 
 eager to consecrate entirely to God the 
 
190 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 days which his Providence had saved — the 
 promptings of the zeal which called him to 
 other lands became still more powerful. 
 Whilst occupied with such thoughts he re- 
 ceiv^ed a letter from the Abb6 Matignon, a 
 former professor in the Sorbonne whom he 
 had known in Paris. This excellent clergy- 
 man, not less estimable for his piety than his 
 talents, for his zeal than his prudence, was 
 alone at Boston, where he had been placed 
 by Mr. Carroll, the Bishop of Baltimore, who 
 had then the whole United States under 
 his ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; and w^ith the 
 charge of the city, he had that also of the 
 tribes of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy 
 Indians. Dismayed at the trust so much 
 above the strength of a single individual, and 
 still more at the hostility of more than thirty 
 religious sects, all animated with the most 
 violent hatred against what they termed Pa- 
 pistry^ he was anxious to obtain an assistant 
 to divide with him the heavy burden. The 
 difficulty was to find a proper one ; for every 
 priest w^as not calculated for a country im- 
 bued with such prepossessions against the 
 Catholic clergy. It was requisite to have a 
 man of gentle virtue, of engaging manners, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 191 
 
 of perfect disinterestedness, and cultivated 
 intellect, who might be able to overcome 
 prejudices, to secure affection, and to win 
 consideration and esteem. After the fullest 
 and most conscientious deliberation, it seemed 
 to M. de Matignon, that the man he wanted 
 was M. de Cheverus, whose rare merit, and 
 delightful character he had appreciated when 
 at the Sorbonne. He wrote to him therefore 
 in 1795 ; depicted all the misfortunes of this 
 neglected mission, pointed out to him a new 
 church to be created, told him of Catholics 
 spread over an immense surface without spi- 
 ritual succor, and exposed to the danger of 
 losing their faith ; of savage tribes, to whom 
 the light of the gospel might be carried — in 
 short, mentioned every species of apostolical 
 Labor to be performed. How worthy of his 
 zeal was not this boundless field ! and in 
 what quarter of the globe could his services 
 be more useful to the Church ! 
 
 " On the 3d of October, 1796, he arrived 
 safely at Boston, where he was received by 
 M. de Matignon as an angel sent from heaven 
 to his aid. The good Abbe immediately in- 
 formed Bishop Carroll of the happy event, 
 asking him, at the same time, for the powers 
 
192 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 requisite for the new missionary, whose tes- 
 timonials he sent him. One from the Bishop 
 of Dol, the other from the Bishop of Mans, 
 both equally strong in their attestations to 
 the purity of his faith, the fervor of his zeal, 
 the warmth of his piety, his uncommon eru- 
 dition, and perfect loyalty to his king and the 
 head of the Church. Mr. Carroll was over- 
 joyed at tlie intelligence of his arrival, and 
 lost no time in investing him with all the 
 powers requisite for his ministry." 
 
 We cannot refrain from bringing before 
 our readers the following strongly drawn 
 pictures of the state of public feeling in New 
 Engrland towards the Church of which he was 
 so worthy a servant, upon the arrival of the 
 zealous missionary at Boston, and of the 
 wonderful change produced in its favor, by 
 his edifying virtues, conciliating manners, and 
 liberal doctrines, all of which met the appro- 
 bation, and was rendered more striking and 
 efficacious by the example and practice of 
 Bishop Carroll, and the clergy under his con- 
 trol, throughout the United States. 
 
 " The whole country," says M. Dubourg, 
 " and Boston in particular, inhabited by En- 
 glish colonies who had carried thither all the 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 193 
 
 prejudices of their father-land, was filled, as 
 we have already mentioned, with a multi- 
 tude of sects, all disagreeing among them- 
 selves in doctrine, but all united upon one 
 single point, — hatred to the Catholic religion. 
 The ministers of the various denominations 
 never ceased declaiming against it, never 
 ceased exhibiting it to the people as an im- 
 pure mass of idolatries, and corrupt and des- 
 picable individuals, as the new Babylon 
 cursed in the Apocalypse, as the enemy of 
 God and man. Its doctrines weie depicted 
 as a hideous collection of impiety, absurdity, 
 and error, its priests as vile impostors, to be 
 avoided like a pestilence. These denuncia- 
 tions, so often repeated, had found credence, 
 and taken root among all ranks of society, so 
 that every where the name of Catholic was 
 held in execration, a priest was regarded with 
 horror, and the small number of the faithful 
 who lived in that section, were objects of con- 
 tempt or dislike, the more so that being al- 
 most all exiled Irishmen, they were poor, 
 and in consequence, destitute of considera- 
 tion." 
 
 Thus far the dark side of the picture, now 
 for the bright ! 
 17 
 
194 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 " The esteem with which M. de Cheverus 
 was regarded naturally extended itself to his 
 congregation. It was not to be supposed 
 that the flock of such a pastor could be as 
 vile and despicable as they had been repre- 
 sented. Prejudice daily decreased, and the 
 instructions of M. de Cheverus, together with 
 the docility of the Catholics in conforming to 
 them, soon dissipated it altogether. He often 
 repeated to his hearers the lesson of the 
 apostle, that those who speak ill of us should 
 be silenced by means of charity, good works 
 and holy example : that the characteristic of 
 true piety is to be ever amiable, ever promot- 
 ing the happiness of all around, to preserve 
 towards all under every circumstance, a de- 
 portment alike respectful, kind and delicate. 
 After their duties to their neighbors, he ex- 
 plained those enjoined upon them towards the 
 state ; showed them the obligation of obeying 
 the laws even when they might be avoided with- 
 out incurring their penalties ; of respecting 
 the magistrates, of contributing to the good 
 order, peace, and prosperity of the country, and 
 should it be attacked, of employing force in its 
 defence if required, and sacrificing fortune 
 and life itself The Catholics listened to his 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 195 
 
 instructions, and put them in practice. Of 
 the religious societies of Boston, they became 
 one of the most distinguished for their justice, 
 their charity, their devotion to everything 
 right ; and during the last icar which the 
 United States waged against England^ none 
 were more ardent in their patriotism^ none 
 more ready to cairy aid loherever it id as needed, 
 and none moie active in laboring, even with 
 their hands, in the construction of ichatever 
 was requisite for the defence of the city ; so 
 that the Protestants ivere compelled to ac- 
 knowledge that they were excellent citizens no 
 less than upright and honorable men. Divi- 
 sion then ceased ; mutual relations of esteem 
 and respect w^ere established ; and M. de 
 Cheverus w^as thus enabled to give the fol- 
 lowing reply to an interrogatory from the 
 holy see in reference to the state of his mis- 
 sion. " In this place where a few years ago 
 the Catholic Church was the object of exe- 
 cation, the name of a priest held in horror, 
 we are now esteemed and loved, thought of 
 kindly, and kindly treated." 
 
 Who, after reading these eloquent passages 
 and having candidly reflected on these patri- 
 otic doctrines, anr' *heir practical application, 
 
19G BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 particularly mentioned in those portions which 
 we have italicised, will presume to call in 
 question the principles and acts of American 
 Catholics, when they have found such sin- 
 cere and powerful exponents of the true and 
 orthodox doctrines of their Church, as Arch- 
 bishop Carroll, and Cardinal de Cheverus? 
 
 " So brilliant a reputation,'' continues our 
 biographer, "could not remain enclosed with- 
 in the precincts of Boston. Archbishop Car- 
 roll, informed of his talents and virtues, 
 thought that a priest of so much merit, ought 
 not to continue in a secondary place, and that 
 he was w^orthy of being invested with the 
 charge of a more important church. In con- 
 sequence he wTote to him, offering him the 
 pastorship of the church of St. Mary, at Phi- 
 ladelphia. Honorable as was the letter to 
 M. de Cheverus, it yet gave him pain. He 
 could not brook the idea of leaving his excel- 
 lent friend, M. Matignon, w ho had called him 
 from England, and whom he venerated as a 
 father ; and thanking Mr. Carroll for this 
 testimonial of his confidence, he begged his 
 permission to remain where he w^as. A re- 
 quest which could not be refused." 
 
 M. de Cheverus, having received letters 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 197 
 
 from the king of France, and his friends and 
 former parishioners, urging his return, M. 
 Dubourg goes on to say — " Whilst he was 
 thus agitated by conflicting feelings, he re- 
 ceived on the 9th of April, 1803, a letter from 
 Archbishop Carroll, who having learned how 
 much danger there was of losing so efiicient a 
 coadjutor, wrote to beseech him not to aban- 
 don his post. The prelate, a man of superior 
 intellect, as well as virtue, worthy of the first 
 ages of the Church, spread before him, with 
 great force, all the reasons fitted to detain 
 him, and finished by declaring his conviction 
 that it was the will of God he should remain. 
 M. de Cheverus whose humility prompted him 
 to follow his own inclinations, no sooner read 
 this letter than his uncertainty ceased. He 
 thought he saw in it the command of Provi- 
 dence, and that was sufficient for his faith. 
 Instantaneously he offered up to God the sa- 
 crifice of his country, and of all the gushing 
 reflections which beckoned him towards it ; 
 and on the Sunday of Easter, he announced 
 to his flock that he would remain among 
 them, sharing their good and their evil for- 
 tune, and that they should fill the place of 
 those relations whom he gave up for their 
 17* 
 
198 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sakes. The joy of the Catholics, and indeed 
 of all the inhabitants of Boston, at this in- 
 telligence, may be more easily imagined than 
 described. The fear of losing him had 
 thrown them into consternation; the assur- 
 ance of keeping him filled them with happi- 
 ness ; and to give him a striking proof of their 
 gratitude, they made new and great exer- 
 tions to finish the church which had so long 
 before been commenced. The building in 
 consequence proceeded with great rapidity ; 
 and in four months M. de Cheverus had the 
 satisfaction of seeing the edifice completed, 
 and planting the cross upon its roof He 
 immediately communicated the fact to Bi- 
 shop Carroll, through the medium of M. Ma- 
 tignon, and invited him to consecrate the 
 new temple on the 29th of September, the 
 feast of Saint Michael. The bishop at once 
 promised to perform the ceremony. The 
 consecration of the first Catholic church in 
 a city like Boston, was too interesting a cir- 
 cumstance for the faith to permit him to 
 hesitate ; and besides, the temptation to pass 
 some days with two ecclesiastics like M. 
 Matignon and M. de Cheverus, was irresisti- 
 ble. He repaired, therefore, to Boston on 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 199 
 
 the day appointed, and on the 29th Septem- 
 ber, 1803, consecrated the edifice under the 
 name of the Church of the Holy Cross. The 
 ceremony was magnificent ; the temple was 
 decorated with draperies and garlands ; the 
 altar covered with rich ornaments, and sur- 
 rounded by a clergy whose edifying deport- 
 ment was still more attractive; the crowd 
 was prodigious ; Protestants and Catholics, 
 were alike eager to see the ceremony ; and 
 M. de Cheverus put the crowning glory to 
 the festival by the discourse which he pro- 
 nounced. Inspired by the occasion, by the 
 presence of the first pastor of the Church in 
 America, by the numerous concourse of peo- 
 ple, he spoke with a warmth, an energy of 
 expression and sentiment which carried the 
 audience away. The bishop could not re- 
 strain his emotion, and when the preacher 
 descended from the pulpit, he threw himself 
 upon his neck, shedding tears of joy, and 
 blessing God for having bestowed upon the 
 Church so admirable a servant. On the 
 evening of the ceremony, M. de Cheverus 
 caused the exterior of the edifice to be illu- 
 minated with all possible splendor, but with 
 all that taste which he possessed in so ex- 
 
200 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 quisite a degree. The inhabitants without 
 distinction, were all delighted with the 
 beauty of the spectacle, congratulated M. de 
 Cheverus, and seemed to share in his happi- 
 ness. On beholding this scene, Bishop Car- 
 roll could not help contrasting what he saw 
 with the state of the Catholic religion in 
 Boston at the period of M. de Cheverus' ar- 
 rival, and wanted words to express his as- 
 tonishment and delight. 
 
 " Whilst IM. de Cheverus was thus prose- 
 cuting his holy labors, Providence was pre- 
 paring for him the honors of the prelacy. 
 Bishop Carroll, who was incessantly occupied 
 with the means of accelerating the progress 
 of the Catholic religion in the United States, 
 had conceived the idea of erecting four new 
 sees, one of which was to be at Boston, and 
 embrace the whole of New England. For 
 this bishopric he had, in the first place, cast 
 his eyes upon the venerable M. Matignon, 
 whose age and learning, and former reputa- 
 tion as a doctor and professor in the Sor- 
 bonne, seemed to give him a preference over 
 his more youthful assistant ; and he was on 
 the point of sending his recommendations to 
 Rome, when M. Matignon was informed of 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 201 
 
 his intentions. Alarmed at the intelligence, 
 the excellent abb6 hastened to protest 
 against the selection, gave a formal refusal, 
 and proposed his friend M. de Cheverus in 
 his place. The archbishop, who was well 
 acquainted with the merits of the vicar of 
 Boston, had no dilficulty in allowing himself 
 to be persuaded, and wrote to Rome accord- 
 ingly. This letter was favorably received. 
 On the 8th of April, 1808, Pius VII. sent his 
 brief, erecting Baltimore into a metropolitan 
 see, and creating four suffragan bishoprics, 
 at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and 
 Bardstown in Kentucky. M. de Cheverus 
 was named for the first; M. Concanney, a 
 Dominican, for the second; M. Egan, a 
 Franciscan, for the third ; and M. Flaget, a 
 St. Sulpitian, for the last." 
 
 A delay having occurred on the way, in 
 consequence of the death of M. Concanney, 
 who was bearer of the bulls, our biographer 
 continues : " At length the bulls arrived, he 
 (M. de Cheverus) repaired to the seminary 
 at Baltimore, to make preparations for his 
 consecration, and perform the customary re- 
 treat. This he did, under the directions of 
 M. Nagot, the superior of the establishment, 
 
202 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 an old man of angelic virtue, of the most ad- 
 mirable simplicity of character, and the pro- 
 foundest humility. On the 1st of November 
 (All-Saints day), 1810, he was consecrated in 
 the Cathedral of Baltimore, by Archbishop 
 Carroll, assisted by his coadjutor, Mr. Neale, 
 and Mr. Egan, Bishop of Philadelphia. On 
 the 4th of the month, the feast of St. Charles, 
 he preached in the same cathedral at the 
 consecration of M. Flaget, Bishop of Bards- 
 town, and pronounced upon the occasion a re- 
 markable discourse, which his modesty alone 
 prevented from appearing in print, its publi- 
 cation having been universally demanded. 
 In it he saluted Mr. Carroll as the Elias of 
 the new law, the father of his clergy, the 
 conductor of the car of Israel in the new 
 world. Pater, mi, pater mi, currus Israel 
 et auriga ejus;' and celebrated the praises 
 of the society of St. Sulpitius, to which M. 
 Flaget belonged, citing the various eulogiums 
 that had been pronounced upon it, at different 
 epochs in the assemblies of the clergy of 
 France, and the phrase w^hich fell from the 
 lips of Fenelon on his bed of death, at that 
 moment when a manjiatters no more, ' I know 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 203 
 
 nothing more venerable and more apostoli- 
 cal than the order of St. Sulpitius.' " 
 
 It was on the occasion of the consecration 
 of M. Cheverus, as bishop of Boston, that the 
 Rev. Dr. V. Harold, one of the pastors of St. 
 Mary's church in Philadelphia, paid the fol- 
 lowing beautiful compliment to Archbishop 
 Carroll. 
 
 " Very Rev. Fathers : — You have not to re- 
 sort to antiquity for an example of episcopal 
 virtue. That bounteous God, whose mani- 
 fold blessings overspread this land, whose 
 boundless mercies claim our warmest grati- 
 tude, still preserves for your advantage a 
 living encouragement to such virtue, and a 
 fair model for your imitation. You will seek 
 both in your venerable and most reverend 
 prelate ; you will find both in the father of 
 the American Church, and under God, — the 
 author of its prosperity. In him you will 
 find that meekness which is the best fruit of 
 the Holy Ghost, which for Christ's sake 
 makes him the servant of all ; that richly 
 polished character which none but great 
 minds can receive, nothing but virtue can 
 impart." 
 
 Before separating, the five bishops availed 
 
204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 themselves of the occasion to establish cer- 
 tain general regulations for the administra- 
 tion of their churches, amongst which the 
 following are most worthy of notice : — "1. 
 Poor as they are in subjects, for the ecclesi- 
 astical state, the bishops declare that they 
 will with pleasure permit their diocesans 
 to enter either the regular or secular orders 
 to which they may deem 'hemselves called. 
 2. They forbid any translation of the holy 
 scriptures to be inserted in prayer books ex- 
 cept that of the Doway Bible. 3. They per- 
 mit the prayers which precede and follow 
 the essential form in the administration of 
 the sacraments, to be said in the common 
 tongue, with the exception of the mass, 
 which must always be said entirely in 
 Latin ; but they forbid the use of any ver- 
 sion of those prayers save such as shall be 
 approved by all the bishops of the province. 
 4. They are unwilling that the vow of per- 
 petual chastity should be allowed out of re- 
 gular religious associations, 5. They exhort 
 all pastors of souls to combat incessantly in 
 both public and private, all attachment to 
 diversions dangerous to morals, such as balls 
 and plays, and forbid the perusal of books 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 205 
 
 calculated to weaken faith or corrupt virtue, 
 particularly romances. 6. They forbid all 
 priests to admit to the sacraments those 
 whom they know to belong to the society of 
 freemasons, unless they have obtained from 
 them a promise of ceasing to frequent the 
 lodges, and of openly proclaiming that they 
 are no longer members of the society." 
 
 Having thus, by the judicious selection of 
 able and pious men to fill the sees which, 
 at his request and recommendation, the holy 
 father had granted to the Catholic Church 
 of the United States, secured its best inter- 
 ests and prosperity, Archbishop Carroll de- 
 voted himself with untiring zeal and energy 
 to the discharge of his multifarious and heavy 
 duties, which his advanced age now ren- 
 dered doubly onerous, watching with zealous 
 and paternal care over the progress of that 
 religion of which he was truly the founder 
 and apostle in the new world : and winning 
 by his charity, talents and edifying virtues, 
 the veneration and respect of all, without 
 distinction of sect or opinion. 
 
 The evening of his long and active life 
 was rendered still more calm and consoling 
 to him, and beautiful to his friends, by the 
 18 
 
206 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sweet conviction of the rapid increase and 
 cheering prospects of the Church subject to 
 his jurisdiction, and by the gratifying feeling 
 that its then state of prosperity and promise 
 was mainly owing, under God, to the unex- 
 ceptionable and judicious administration of 
 his high trust, and to his pious and liberal 
 teaching and example. 
 
 The time had now come round for the 
 closinjj scene of his labors and usefulness. 
 Though age had dealt leniently with him, 
 and a temperate and virtuous life had se- 
 cured for him a comparatively easy passage 
 to the tomb, and carried him with robust 
 health through fatigue and exposure, yet his 
 cold hand was upon him, and the universal 
 debt of nature was to be paid. Warned of 
 his approaching end, the venerable prelate 
 resigned himself with christian fortitude to 
 the will of God, and confiding in the prom- 
 ises of his Divine Redeemer, which he had 
 endeavored to secure by the offering of a 
 well-spent life, he passed gently to a better 
 world, amid the tears and regrets of his 
 relatives and friends, and of a large and 
 admiring community, on Sunday, the 3d of 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 207 
 
 December, 1815, in the eightieth year of his 
 age. 
 
 The following letter, from one of his rela- 
 tives, w^ritten about a week before this mel- 
 ancholy event, describes feelingly the edify- 
 ing conduct of the suffering prelate through- 
 out his trial. " My uncle," says the writer, 
 "had a better night than his friends and 
 doctors were apprehensive and afraid he 
 would have, and he has been more composed 
 and in less pain all day, tlTan he was yester- 
 day. These are all favorable symptoms, 
 but the physicians do not think that they 
 ought to shed a gleam of hope upon his re- 
 covery. Delusive as they are, however, 
 they are all infinitely consoling to the anx- 
 ious and solicitous friends, which, it would 
 seem, from being at his house one day, in- 
 cluded the whole population of Baltimore, 
 who are constantly calling to inquire about, 
 and to urge for permission to see him. His 
 mind is as vigorous as ever it was, and 
 whenever any person goes to his room, you 
 would be pleased and astonished at his 
 readiness in adapting his conversation and 
 questions to the situation and circumstances 
 of the person introduced. At times he is 
 
208 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 not only cheerful, but even gay, and he is 
 never impatient or fretful. After receiving 
 the last sacraments, which were adminis- 
 tered in a very solemn manner, all the cler- 
 gymen and young ecclesiastics of the town 
 attending, he made a beautiful and pathetic 
 address of ten or fifteen minutes to them, in 
 a firm and audible voice, perfectly connected 
 throughout and particularly appropriate to 
 the occasion." 
 
 The following" interesting notice of his 
 death and character is from the pen of Rob- 
 ert Walsh, Esq., of Philadelphia. 
 
 " On the 3d of December, 1815, he de- 
 parted this life at Baltimore, in the eightieth 
 year of his age. His life was almost at the 
 last ebb, and his surrounding friends were 
 consulting about the manner of his inter- 
 ment. It was understood that there was a 
 book in his library which prescribed the 
 proper ceremonial, and it was ascertained to 
 be in the very chamber in which he then 
 lay. A clergyman went as softly as possi- 
 ble into the chamber in search of it. He 
 did not find it immediately, and the Arch- 
 bishop heard his footsteps in the room. 
 Without a word having passed, he called to 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 209 
 
 the clergyman, and told him that he knew 
 what he was looking for; that he would find 
 the book in such a position on a certain shelf: 
 and there it was accordingly found. When 
 we consider that the prelate was, at this 
 moment, fully sensible of his nearness to 
 the tomb, and that the knowledge that his 
 friends were searching for the volume which 
 explained the established mode of burial for 
 archbishops, and other dignitaries of the 
 Church, was above all things calculated to 
 bring fully and strongly to his thoughts the 
 melancholy and gloomy ideas attendant 
 upon so solemn a service, and those ideas 
 applicable to his own persoyi^ it is impossible 
 to restrain our admiration, not only of the 
 clearness and precision of his memory, at 
 the age of eighty, but the sublime tranquillity 
 of his spirit, which discoursed of mortality 
 as if he had passed its limits, and regarded 
 the concerns of this world as if he had 
 already become an inhabitant of the other. 
 " We may be permitted to pay ourselves 
 an humble and direct tribute to the memory 
 of him whose society we had so often the 
 good fortune to enjoy. No being that it has 
 been our lot to admire, ever inspired us with 
 18* 
 
210 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 SO much reverence as Archbishop Carroll. 
 The configuration of his head, his whole 
 mien, bespoke the metropolite. We cannot 
 easily forget the impression which he made, 
 a few years before his death, upon a distin- 
 guished literary foreigner, (of Scotland) who 
 conversed with him for half an hour imme- 
 diately after the celebration of the mass, in 
 his parlor, and had seen the most imposing 
 hierarchs in Great Britain. The visiter 
 seemed, on leaving the apartment, to be 
 strongly moved, and repeatedly exclaimed, 
 ' that indeed is a true archbishop !' The 
 prelate could discourse with him on all the 
 leading affairs and present vicissitudes of 
 the world, with equal elegance and facility, 
 in Latin, Italian and French ; with the most 
 enlightened and liberal philosophy; blending 
 dignity with suavity, delicate pleasantry 
 with the grave and comprehensive remark. 
 Much of his correspondence was conducted 
 in those languages ; he wrote them not less 
 readily and tersely than his own, and had 
 few equals in his critical knowledge and 
 employment of the latter. He bore his su- 
 perior faculties and acquirements, his well- 
 improved opportunities of information and 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 211 
 
 refinement, abroad and at home, his profes- 
 sional rank and his daily honors, we will not 
 say meekly, but so courteously, happily and 
 unaffectedly, that while his general charac- 
 ter restrained in others all propensity to in- 
 decorum or presumption, his presence added 
 to every one's complacency, and produced a 
 universal sentiment of earnest kindness to- 
 wards the truly amiable and truly exalted 
 companion and instructor. He mingled often 
 with gay society, relished the festivities of 
 polished life, and the familiar intercourse of 
 both clergy and laity of the Protestant de- 
 nominations ; and it was this expansion of 
 his nature and the simplicity of his spirit 
 and carriage, at his elevated station and the 
 sanctity of his way, that drew to his funeral 
 a greater concourse, comprising more real 
 mourners, than had ever been witnessed in 
 Baltimore, on a similar occasion, filled the 
 streets and windows with sympathising spec- 
 tators, and produced as vivid a sensation in 
 the whole body of Catholics throughout the 
 union, as if each congregation or individual 
 had lost the dearest of immediate pastors or 
 friends. 
 
 " He was wholly free from guile, uniformly 
 
212 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 frank, generous and placable ; he reprobated 
 all intolerance, and when accused, in the 
 newspapers, of having in a pastoral letter 
 ' excluded from the honorable appellation of 
 christians all that were not within the pale 
 of his Church,' he answered by the same 
 channel, ' if such a passage can be pointed 
 out, he (the bishop) will be the first to con- 
 demn it; since so far from embracing this 
 opinion as an article of his faith, he holds the 
 doctrine directly contrary to be that of his 
 Church, which he and all other Catholics 
 have constantly maintained in opposition to 
 the tenets of some pretended Reformers.' 
 
 " The archbishop's patriotism was as de- 
 cided as his piety. He ranked and voted 
 with the federal party; yet he entertained 
 no predilection for Great Britain or her gov- 
 ernment. He loved republicanism; and so 
 far preferred his own country, that if ever he 
 could be excited to impatience or irritated, 
 nothing would have that effect more cer- 
 tainly, than the expression of the slightest 
 preference, by any American friend, of for- 
 eign institutions or measures. He had joined 
 with heart and judgment, in the revolution ; 
 he retained without abatement of confidence 
 
MOST REV, JOHN CARROLL. 213 
 
 or favor, the cardinal principles and Ameri- 
 can sympathies and hopes, upon which he 
 then acted." 
 
 The papers of the day were replete with 
 expressions of profound sorrow, and eloquent 
 with eulogy of the deceased prelate. His 
 loss was indeed one that went to the heart 
 of a large community. The influence of his 
 examples, and the greenness of his memory 
 survive, and the study of his life is pregnant 
 with interest and instruction. His death 
 was, as his life, edifying and consoling, for 
 none of the many who crowded weeping 
 round his couch, when the immortal spirit of 
 the good and just minister of God winged its 
 flight to the fruition of its hopes and aspira- 
 tions, but envied so calm and pious a conclu- 
 sion of a long and honorable career, and left 
 the solemn scene chastened and improved. 
 
 The following extracts from contempora- 
 neous journals will afford some idea of the 
 character of the archbishop, and of the pub- 
 lic grief on this melancholy occasion. 
 
 " The closing ceremonies with which the 
 body of the late Archbishop Carroll was 
 entombed on Tuesday, brought together a 
 greater crowd than we have witnessed on a 
 
214 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 similar occasion. The great, and the rich, 
 and the poor, and the lowly, assembled to 
 pay the last tribute of respect to the memory 
 of this good and illustrious prelate. The 
 chapel which has been so long cherished by 
 his fostering care, w^as crowded at an early 
 hour, and the nmltitude, who assembled 
 without, seemed rather to indicate that some 
 great public ceremony was to be performed, 
 or some national calamity to be deplored. 
 
 " The corpse of the venerable archbishop, 
 which had laid in state since the preceding 
 Sunday, was now enclosed in the coffin, sur- 
 mounted by his mitre and pastoral crozier, 
 and surrounded by those emblems which unite 
 the fancy with the heart in solemn devotion. 
 After the celebration of high mass, the pro- 
 cession moved through Saratoga and Franklin 
 streets to the chapel of the seminary, which 
 was designated as the place of interment. 
 We have never witnessed a funeral proces- 
 sion where so many of eminent respectability 
 and standing among us, followed the train of 
 mourners. Distinctions of ranks, of w^ealth, 
 of religious opinion, were laid aside in the 
 great testimony of respect to the memory 
 of the man. Besides the numerous crowd 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 215 
 
 that filled the procession, the windows were 
 thronged with spectators. The funeral ser- 
 vice for the dead was performed at the 
 chapel of the seminary, and the mind al- 
 ready penetrated with regret and deep sor- 
 row, felt the effect of those religious cere- 
 monies, which performed in the same manner 
 and chanted in the same language and tone 
 of voice, through succeeding ages, bring to- 
 gether the remotest periods of eighteen hun- 
 dred years, and present to the mind some 
 faint image of eternal duration. 
 
 " The deep tones of the organ, and the 
 solemn chants of the choristers, seemed to 
 the excited feeling not to belong to this 
 world, but to be the welcome of good spirits 
 who had gone before, and now solemnly 
 saluted him who descended through the 
 tomb to the bar of eternal justice, to receive 
 the reward apportioned to a good and faith- 
 ful servant. 
 
 " According to the particular disposition of 
 every one, we heard the venerable archbishop 
 praised and lamented. The extent of his 
 knowledge and the enlargement of his mind, 
 fastened upon the men of liberal science. 
 The liberality of his character, and his chris- 
 
216 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tian charity, endeared him to his Protestant 
 brethren, with whom he dwelt in brotherly 
 lov^e. He was a patriot and loved his native 
 land, nor should Americans forget that his 
 exertions and benedictions as a man, and as 
 a christian prelate, were given to the cause 
 and independence of his country. 
 
 " His manners were mild, impressive and 
 urbane. The various stores of knowledge 
 came from his lips with uncommon classical 
 grace and richness, which he gained from a 
 perfect acquaintance with ancient languages 
 and literature. His charities were only 
 bounded by his means, and they fell around 
 him like the dew^s of heaven, gentle and un- 
 seen. To those who stood not in need of the 
 comforts of life, he administered the consola- 
 tion of his counsel; and the weight of his 
 character and his reputation for erudition 
 and profound good sense, gave an authority 
 to his advice which the proudest scarcely 
 dared to disregard. The veil of mourning 
 which hid the tears of the afflicted, covered 
 many a heart not of his own particular flock, 
 which felt that it lost an inestimable friend. 
 
 " The character of Archbishop Carroll 
 seemed indeed to be filled up with wonder- 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 217 
 
 ful care. He viewed the manners of differ- 
 ent nations, saw the courts of kings and the 
 meetings of philosophers, and added the lib- 
 erality of a true philosopher and the accom- 
 plishments of a gentleman, to the apostolic 
 dignity of his calling. Temptation drew 
 forth the purity of his virtue, and like 
 Shadrach, he walked erect in the flames. 
 He early marked the rise of the baneful 
 meteor of French philosophy. But he ga- 
 thered his spiritual children under his wings, 
 and protected them in security. He was 
 permitted to witness a great revival of 
 religion, and in the abundant prosperity of 
 his particular church, to reap the harvest of 
 his toil, and labor of his life. 
 
 " When he was called to receive the re- 
 ward of his many virtues, the excellence of 
 his character shone forth with fresher lustre, 
 as he gradually sunk, like the sun, in mel- 
 lowed splendor. So death, as if fearfully, 
 attacked him with slow and cautious ap- 
 proaches. The paralysis, and consequent 
 mortification of the lower extremities, was 
 complete before his icy touch ventured to 
 chill the heart, and even until the last mo- 
 ment the noble faculties of the mind retained 
 19 
 
218 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 their pristine vigor. He enquired if a con- 
 veyance was prepared to take away his sis- 
 ter, and weeping connexions : told them the 
 scene was about to close, and requested 
 them to take rest and nourishment. He 
 gave them his benediction, turned his head 
 aside, and expired. His countenance re- 
 tained in death the benignant expression of 
 life. His piety grew warmer as life closed, 
 and the fire of religious hope, was elevated 
 almost to enthusiasm. ' Sir,' he said to an 
 eminent Protestant divine, who observed 
 that his hopes were now fixed on another 
 world, — ' sir, my hopes have always been 
 fixed on the cross of Christ.' 
 
 " Yet humility tempered his confidence, 
 and while a numerous circle surrounding his 
 bed of death, were transported with venera- 
 tion at the moral sublimity of his last mo- 
 ments, and his joyous expectation of a 
 speedy release, he called to his friend and 
 associate to read to him the 'Miserere me 
 Deus,' — Have mercy on me, O Lord ! Re- 
 versing the wish of Vespasian, he desired, 
 were it practicable, to be placed on the floor, 
 so that he might expire in the posture of the 
 deepest humility, as a christian martyr, 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 219 
 
 and an humble suppliant to an interceding 
 Saviour. 
 
 " How do the boasted glories of philoso- 
 phers fade before the death of such a man ! 
 Socrates died with a cheerless and unknown 
 futurity before him. Cato's indignant son 
 spurned the yoke of imperial Caesar, and 
 Seneca opened his veins, and calmly dis- 
 coursed of philosophy as life ebbed with the 
 purple tide ; but it was not theirs to know 
 the hope of a christian, that hope which 
 springs from a life of virtue and a pious soul, 
 and which changes the tomb into the tri- 
 umphal arch, through which the pilgrim 
 passes into joyful eternity." 
 
 Another Baltimore paper indulges in the 
 following beautiful and glowing tribute to 
 the memory of the deceased prelate. 
 
 " His manners and deportment," says the 
 writer, "in private life, were a model of 
 clerical character, dignified, yet simple; pious, 
 but not austere. This secured him the af- 
 fectionate attachment of his friends and the 
 respect of all. 
 
 " In him religion assumed its most attrac- 
 tive and amiable form, and his character 
 conciliated for the body over which he pre- 
 
■^20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sided, respect and consideration, from the 
 liberal, the enlightened of all ranks and de- 
 nominations; for they saw that his life ac- 
 corded with the benign doctrines of that 
 religion which he professed. 
 
 " The members of his own church, to 
 whom he was in truth a guide and a father, 
 who daily witnessed the kindness, the bene- 
 ficence, and the tenderness of his heart, who 
 in the purity of his doctrines and precepts, 
 saw the purity of his own unsullied charac- 
 ter, who saw him on his death-bed, with the 
 meekness, the patience and the cheerfulness 
 of a saint and martyr, view the sure and 
 rapid approaches of his own dissolution, con- 
 cerned not for himself, but anxious only for 
 the welfare of those whom he was so soon 
 to leave, will long remember him with the 
 most profound heart-felt grief, gratitude and 
 veneration. 
 
 "He taught us how to live, and ah! too high 
 The price of knowledge, taught us how to die." 
 
 " Death, the terrors of which he had so 
 often dispelled from the minds of others, 
 had no powers to disturb his serene and 
 tranquil soul — but long will his bereaved 
 
MOST REV. JOHN CARROLL. 221 
 
 and disconsolate flock mourn the loss of him 
 who was the succor and support of the 
 wretched, who, when this world could afford 
 them nothing on which to lean, turned to 
 him for consolation as their spiritual father. 
 
 '' Long will the poor mourn for one who 
 always relieved their wants to the utmost 
 extent of his means, and even extended his 
 care of them beyond the bound of his own 
 existence. They will long weep for him 
 who watched and wept, who prayed and 
 felt for all. 
 
 " Those helpless orphan children, to whom 
 he was indeed a father, and who flocked 
 around him dying, to receive his last advice 
 and blessing, may well weep, for their loss is 
 irreparable. 
 
 " His Church may well mourn, for her loss 
 is incalculable." 
 
 19* 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN COMPANY WITH THE HON. MR. (AFTER- 
 WARDS lord) STOURTON. by the rev. J. CARROLL. 
 
 The province of Alsace, one of the most fer- 
 tile in Europe, after having been for many 
 years in the possession of the house of Aus- 
 tria, was ceded to France by the treaty of 
 Munster, in the year 1648. As the govern- 
 ment exercised by the Austrian family was 
 subject to several restrictions, on account of 
 the privileges claimed by the inhabitants, so 
 the cession of it to France met with many 
 difficulties. Besides Strasbourg, which was 
 not comprehended in the treaty of cession, 
 there were ten imperial towns governed by 
 their own magistrates, and immediately sub- 
 ject to the empire. One of these was Col- 
 mar. These towns, as well as the dukes of 
 Wurtemberg, Deux Fonts, and others, who 
 had fiefs or possessions in Alsace, immedi- 
 ately relevant of the empire, insisted that 
 the house of Austria could not transfer the 
 
224 APPENDIX. 
 
 sovereignty of the whole province, since it 
 liad itself never been possessed of it. They 
 demanded that the imperial towns, their dis- 
 tricts, and the above mentioned fiefs should 
 retain their privileges and relevancy of the 
 empire. The matter was left in a kind of 
 ambiguity at the conclusion of the peace ; 
 but France being put in possession of the 
 province, would not allow any favor to these 
 pretensions, nor admit there was any ambi- 
 guity in the treaty; and Strasbourg being 
 surrendered to France in 1681, the full and 
 entire sovereignty was confirmed to that 
 crown by the treaty of Reswick. It still 
 however retains some of its former usages. 
 The Roman law is followed in the courts of 
 judicature ; even where it is contrary to the 
 ordinances of the kings of France, if you ex- 
 cept some few which existed since the ces- 
 sion of Alsace and registered in the provin- 
 cial court of judicature. 
 
 The court held at Colmar is called, le 
 Conseil Souverain d^ Alsace, and differs from 
 the different parliaments of the kingdom. It 
 consists of a first and second president, and 
 of twenty-four judges, called conseillers. 
 They are divided into two chambers, each 
 
APPENDIX. 225 
 
 presided by a president. There are besides 
 an attorney and two advocates general. 
 The attorney general (procureur general) 
 has very great authority in the province. 
 He has an inspection over every part, is 
 charged to prosecute all breaches of the 
 peace, to inform of all abuses, to receive and 
 lay before the conseil all complaints, to dis- 
 charge the king's trust of guardianship of 
 orphans, &c. 
 
 The counsellors sit in the first and second 
 chambers, annually, by rotation ; but the first 
 president and dean of the council always re- 
 main, the former in the first chamber and the 
 latter in the other. They sit every day, 
 Sundays and holidays excepted. Three 
 days in the week, each chamber gives audi- 
 ence, that is, hears and determines causes by 
 the pleadings of the lawyers, whilst the 
 other judges those matters which are discus- 
 sed in writing. In all causes, which any 
 wise affect the king, or where minors, corpo- 
 rations, &c. are concerned, after hearing the 
 arguments of the respective lawyers, one of 
 the advocates general resumes what has 
 been urged on each side, delivers and en- 
 forces his opinion on the matter, and pro- 
 
226 APPENDIX. 
 
 poses it to be adopted by the court. When 
 the advocate general is a man of much ex- 
 perience or considerable abilities, his opinion 
 has great weight, but at present neither of 
 them, any more than the attorney general, 
 enjoys much reputation for knowledge. 
 
 This may appear extraordinary to an 
 Englishman, since with us it is a certain 
 mark of great eminence in the law to be 
 raised to the rank of king's council. But 
 this surprise will vanish, when it is consid- 
 ered that the charges of judicature in France 
 are considered saleable ; and that they are 
 transmitted as an inheritance from father to 
 son, dependently on some trifling duty on 
 their passing from one to another. The 
 money delivered Xor a charge is not so pro- 
 perly alienated, as placed out at interest ; 
 originally the king paid four or five per cent, 
 but at present the charges are very irregu- 
 lar. When the charges were fixed, those of 
 judge or counsellor were rated at ten or 
 twelve thousand livres, and the king received 
 no more for them. But at present they are 
 valued at twenty-four thousand livres, and 
 sometimes sold for more. They are con- 
 sidered as a patrimonial fund, may be mort- 
 
APPENDIX. 227 
 
 gaged, or given in fortune to a daughter. It 
 is said that many of those in Alsace are 
 loaned to the Jews, who swarm throughout 
 the province. 
 
 An inconvenience arising from the sale of 
 offices is, that the judges in general are not 
 the most proper to determine matters of law 
 and equity. A young man, who has fortune 
 enough, need but spend a few months at the 
 university of Strasbourg, take his degree of 
 licentiate, which is granted without diffi- 
 culty, present himself at the bar of Colmar, 
 to be admitted advocate, and he is instantly 
 qualified to be a counsellor. The venality 
 introduced by Louis XII., Francis I., and the 
 succeeding kings of France, occasioned this 
 great abuse, which calls aloud for redress. 
 
 When the king sends to the council any 
 new ordinance to be published, or when any 
 regulation of police concerning the province 
 is to be made, the two chambers are assem- 
 bled together, and every thing is determined 
 by the majority of votes. 
 
 Strasbourg retained many privileges, when 
 it submitted to France. The magistracy 
 can determine finally and without appeal, 
 all suits not exceeding a certain value, and 
 
228 APPENDIX. 
 
 is, I am told, the only town under the crown 
 of France, where the intervention of the 
 royal judges is not necessary to condemn a 
 criminal to death. The free exercise of reli- 
 gion is allowed to Lutherans in the greatest 
 part of the Province. The town magistracy 
 and all municipal employments of Strasbourg, 
 Colmar, &c., are divided between them and 
 the Catholics. But the latter only are ad- 
 mitted to exercise any function whatever in 
 the supreme council, and in general all the 
 king's officers are of the reigning religion. 
 The number of Lutherans has encreased con- 
 siderably since their subjection to France, 
 though they enjoyed great credit during the 
 administration of the Duke of Choisel, and 
 in contested points had generally more influ- 
 ence than the Catholics. They are said to 
 be secretly very averse to the French gov- 
 ernment, and firmly attached to the house of 
 Austria, or rather to the empire. If they do 
 not reconcile themselves with the Church, it 
 does not proceed from any great zeal for 
 their own tenets ; they are mostly latitudina- 
 rians in religion, but bred up in a strong 
 aversion to Catholicity. 
 
 The inhabitants are industrious and gene- 
 
APPENDIX. 229 
 
 rally live comfortably. Property is very 
 much diffused, children inheriting of their 
 parents in equal shares. There is scarce a 
 fortune in Alsace exceeding thirty thousand 
 livres per annum, except the great estates 
 possessed by the Bishop of Strasbourg, and 
 some sovereign princes of Germany, w^ho 
 have fiefs in this province. Most of the coun- 
 sellors of Colmar are poor, and he is thought 
 to be in good circumstances, who has four or 
 five thousand livres per annum, which few 
 of them are possessed of. Nothwithstand- 
 ing this, and the low birth of many amongst 
 them, they affect to be haughty and super- 
 cilious. The general character of the people 
 is want of courtesy and affability. The men 
 and women of fashion dress after the French 
 mode ; but the women of inferior rank, and 
 most of the Lutherans plait their hair in 
 ringlets upon their heads. 
 
 The entire province is amazingly fertile, 
 and one of the most agreeable a spectator 
 can behold. It is separated in its whole 
 length from Lorraine by a chain of moun- 
 tains, which are covered with firs. A beau- 
 tiful plain about five leagues broad extends 
 quite to the Rhine. The plain is w^atered 
 20 
 
230 APPENDIX. 
 
 by several rivers springing from the moun- 
 tains; it produces amazing crops of all kinds 
 of grain, and the sides of the mountains, as 
 well as some parts of the plain, are covered 
 with vineyards, which yield an agreeable 
 table wine. The taste of it resembles that 
 of Moselle. Grain and wine are the chief 
 articles of exportation, great quantities of 
 both being sent into Switzerland. We were 
 in Colmar after two different crops, and three 
 or four very bad vintages, and too large a 
 quantity of corn had been exported. The 
 price of wheat at a medium was twenty-six 
 livres the sack, weighing one hundred and 
 seventy pounds, and of the middle sort of 
 wine, six sous the bottle. The roads through 
 the whole province are excellent, and kept 
 in perfect repair. The inspection over them 
 belongs to the intendant, who resides at 
 Strasbourg, and has great authority. He is 
 properly the person of confidence of the 
 court; the detail and levy of taxes is com- 
 mitted to his care; the municipal officers of 
 the towns must be approved, and in effect, 
 appointed by him; all secret orders of the 
 court are transmitted to him, and he is en- 
 trusted with their execution. The method 
 
APPENDIX. 231 
 
 of keeping the roads in repair is this : Each 
 town and village, through which they pass, 
 has a certain number of roads allotted to its 
 care, and the inhabitants choose the season 
 in which they are least employed in agricul- 
 ture to make the necessary reparations. 
 This dispenses them from the necessity of 
 turnpikes. 
 
 There are no manufactures of conse- 
 quence in the province ; great quantities of 
 cloth are imported from Abbeville, Sedan 
 and England. These latter are landed at 
 Ostend, and sent from thence to Brussels, 
 whence they are transported in wagons 
 through the Ardennes and Lorraine. I was 
 told likewise that considerable imports of 
 other English manufactures were made clan- 
 destinely from Geneva, Switzerland, and the 
 other side of the Rhine, as well into this as 
 the neighboring provinces of Lorraine and 
 Tranche Comt6. Perhaps our political wri- 
 ters do not know this, when they make the 
 balance of our trade with France so much 
 against us. The country is full of large and 
 well peopled villages, besides the many pop- 
 ulous towns ; Strasbourg is the chief The 
 noble Cathedral and its remarkable high 
 
232 APPENDIX. 
 
 tower is famous through Europe. The bishop 
 has a grand palace, built by Cardinal Rohan, 
 the first of that family who enjoyed this see. 
 Nothing pleased me more than the admirable 
 o^ilding of the stucco work of the ceilings. 
 The bishop has another still more magnifi- 
 cent palace, though not entirely built, at 
 Taverne, about nine leagues from Strasbourg. 
 Adjoining to it are large gardens finely 
 planted, and in front of the palace a canal 
 two leagues long, terminated by a well built 
 village. It has a fine eflfect to the eye though 
 it would in my opinion be more agreeable, 
 if it were serpentine. On both sides of the 
 canal is a fine walk shaded with trees. 
 
 The military government of the province 
 is under a marshal of France, who resides at 
 Strasbourg, where there is generally a gar- 
 rison of ten thousand men. There are many 
 strong places in the province ; in Upper Al- 
 sace, Befort, Huninghen and New Brisach, 
 on the Rhine ; Schlestat near the centre of 
 the province, Strasbourg, Landan and Fort 
 Louis in Lower Alsace. 
 
 The increase of population is so great, that 
 I heard from the rector of a parish, that 
 there had been an augmentation of forty fa- 
 
APPENDIX. 233 
 
 milies in his village within twenty-five years. 
 I do not suppose this enormous increase to 
 be general throughout the province, and in 
 the above mentioned village it must have 
 been owing to some accidental circumstance 
 which drew strangers thither. But I found 
 in general, on the best information I could 
 obtain, that in time of peace, the inhabitants 
 multiply very fast. When France is at war, 
 the province furnishes an immense number 
 of recruits for the army. It is supposed, 
 that during the last war they amounted to 
 twenty thousand men. 
 
 I find however, in the remonstrances pre- 
 sented to the king in the year 1764, by the 
 supreme council of Colmar, heavy complaints 
 of the visible depopulation of the country, 
 and of the bad state of agriculture, which 
 they attribute to enormous taxes, and still 
 more to the abuse committed in levying them. 
 I am inclined to believe there is great exag- 
 geration in these remonstrances ; the coun- 
 sellor, who was charged to draw them up, is 
 said to have had some particular resentments 
 to gratify ; and certainly the flourishing state 
 of agriculture in 1770 and 1771, is a proof 
 that it was far from the deplorable condition 
 20* 
 
234 APPENDIX. 
 
 in which it was represented in 1764. Much 
 is left to the arbitrary determination of a 
 commissary appointed to fix the quotas of the 
 taxable. For instance, the tax of the ving- 
 tieme, or twentieth penny, is raised in such a 
 manner, that it really becomes a fifth or 
 sixth. Innumerable other abuses in raising 
 the kings revenues, are placed in a strong 
 light in the remonstrances, and certainly de- 
 serve redress, the more so, as they tend to 
 the king's manifest prejudice. For instance, 
 during the years 1760, 1761, 1762 and 1763, 
 (I could find no materials of a more ancient 
 date) the king's exchequer did not receive 
 two thirds of the revenue raised in Alsace. 
 
 The different impositions under the names 
 of subvention, epis du Rhin, cajntation, su- 
 plement aux gages, abonnemtnt de Courtiers, 
 (fee, solde de milice, pepiniere, milices, gardes 
 cotes: 1st, 2d and troisieme vingtieme, four- 
 rages, fraix commwis, comptes de communau- 
 tes et villes, dons gratuits, impots sur les cuirs, 
 les tabacs, &c., yielded in 1764, liv. 3, 899, 
 540^J2^,8:|, and the king's coffers received no 
 more than 2,177.15^,17^^0. 
 
 I cannot be so particular with regard to 
 the province of Lorraine, though we saw a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 235 
 
 great part of it. It is much larger than Al- 
 sace, I believe nearly double, but not so gen- 
 erally fertile. Great part of it is not fit to 
 bear wheat, but produces oats in plenty. 
 This province for a long series of years en- 
 joyed its own princes, separate in govern- 
 ment, and mostly in politics and inclination, 
 from France. In the wars, which for so 
 many years raged between that kingdom 
 and the house of Austria, Lorraine almost 
 always took part with the latter, and when 
 it did not openly, was still viewed with a 
 jealous eye by the former. After the ces- 
 sion of Alsace to Louis XIV., the situation 
 of Lorraine became more critical, as its 
 communication with the empire was ren- 
 dered extremely difficult. From that time, 
 it was apparent that sooner or later it 
 would fall under the dominion of France. 
 This event took place in the year 1737. 
 Francis, Duke of Lorraine, having married 
 Mary Teresa, daughter of the Emperor 
 Charles, and heiress to the Austrian domin- 
 ions, found himself under the necessity of 
 making over his paternal dutchy to France : 
 he received as an indemnification the grand 
 dutchy of Tuscany in Italy, which is now 
 
236 APPENDIX. 
 
 possessed by his second son, Archduke 
 Leopold. 
 
 This cession was a terrible heart break- 
 ing- to the Lorrainers. They had enjoyed a 
 long series of benevolent princes, and espe- 
 cially Leopold, the immediate predecessor of 
 Francis, had been rather the father than a 
 sovereign of his subjects. Indeed, the pas- 
 sage from the dominion of their national 
 princes to that of France, was softened by 
 their first becoming subject to Stanislaus, 
 king of Poland. For it was stipulated in 
 the peace of 1737, that Lorraine should be 
 ceded to this prince during his life, and af- 
 terwards devolve to France. Stanislaus 
 undoubtedly had so many benevolent quali- 
 ties, so much zeal for the interest and hap- 
 piness of his subjects, that he would have 
 made them entirely easy under his govern- 
 ment, if he could have removed the prospect 
 of their future devolution to France, or if 
 any compensation could be made to men of 
 liberal understandings, for transferring them 
 without their consent or concurrence, like 
 so many slaves, from dominion to dominion. 
 He beautified Nancy, their capital, making 
 it one of the finest towns in Europe ; he in- 
 
APPENDIX. 237 
 
 stituted noble foundations for the relief of 
 his subjects, without any detriment to their 
 industry ; he encouraged all the fine arts ; 
 he propagated by his example and authority, 
 a true spirit of religion, which he knew to 
 be the best foundation of political as well as 
 future happiness. He maintained at the 
 same time a splendid court ; and what is 
 most remarkable, performed so many great 
 things with a revenue, which would hardly 
 suffice for the hunting parties of many sove- 
 reign princes. As far as he was above 
 meanness, (no prince ever carried into his 
 expenses nobler or more extensive views of 
 public good,) with so strict an economy did 
 he administer his little revenues ; and he 
 ought in every age to be held out to princes, 
 as the Man of Ross is by our great poet, to 
 private fortune, for an example of what 
 great things may be done by small sums, by 
 a prudent and an active zeal. 
 
 This amiable and beneficent prince would 
 have done still more for the prosperity of his 
 subjects, had he been full master of his own 
 actions. But a few years after the cession 
 made to him of Lorraine, he was constrained 
 through his dependence on France, to the 
 
238 APPENDIX. 
 
 levying and imposing of taxes, and consented 
 to receive a determined amount; I have not 
 now by me some memorials I iiad on the 
 subject, and do not remember the precise 
 sum; but the consequence of this transac- 
 tion was that Lorraine became taxed much 
 heavier than it had ever been under its own 
 princes, which circumstance contributed to 
 render their memory dearer. If we may 
 credit those wlio remember the former gov- 
 ernment, the difference between the present 
 and past way of life of the farmer and la- 
 borer, is enormous ; his clothing, his food, 
 every necessary of life, is infinitely worse 
 than heretofore. But these complaints are 
 so much the style of every country, and par- 
 ticularly of elderly people, that I cannot 
 tell what credit they deserve. In some re- 
 spects, I cannot help thinking the circum- 
 stances of this country greatly bettered by 
 its becoming subject to France. As long as 
 it was governed by its own princes, they 
 generally took part with the Austrians, as 
 was intimated before. By this means, Lor- 
 raine was almost always exposed to the in- 
 cursions of the French armies, and their 
 enormous contributions. It was surrounded 
 
APPENDIX. 239 
 
 by provinces subject to other princes, and 
 thus its imports and exports were liable to 
 impositions which necessarily prevented all 
 growth or extension of trade. The natural 
 productions of the country, particularly the 
 wine-growing in the dutchy of Bar, must 
 necessarily have been a very uncertain reve- 
 nue, since the vent of it abroad w^as so pre- 
 carious, and dependent on the good pleasure 
 of the neighboring states. Whereas, at pre- 
 sent, Lorraine having become a French pro- 
 vince, is under no other restraint than the 
 rest of the kingdom. The produce of its 
 vines and fields enjoys a free circulation : 
 the ingenuity and industry of its inhabitants 
 find an easy vent for their commodities ; and 
 the strong frontiers, with which France is 
 on every side secured against hostile inva- 
 sions, leave the Lorrainer no other rapine to 
 fear, than that of the merciless publican. 
 
 Justice is administered in this province, as 
 in the others of France, bv a sovereign 
 court, consisting of a first and another or 
 more presidents, and a number of judges 
 called conseillers. The court or parliament 
 of Lorraine is different, however, in its con- 
 stitution from the rest in this respect, that 
 
240 APPENDIX. 
 
 the places are not saleable, but gratuitously 
 bestowed by the governor, as was practised 
 under the ancient dukes of Lorraine. And 
 it may not be improper to inform the reader, 
 of a great amelioration effected in the whole 
 kingdom of France since the above observa- 
 tions were made, namely, the abolition of ve- 
 nality in the offices of judicature. Private 
 animosities between the Dukes of Arguillon 
 and Ciioiseul, gave occasion to this salutary 
 operation ; the latter of these noblemen, to 
 oppress his competitor, drew on him the 
 whole weight of parliamentary persecution, 
 and was not very solicitous of its insulting 
 the royal authority, provided the Duke of 
 Arguillon was made to suffer. But he mis- 
 carried in his attempt. The king's patience 
 was at length overcome. Choiseul was dis- 
 graced and Monsieur de Maupeon, chancel- 
 lor of France, had the courage to plan, pro- 
 pose, and with the king's entire concurrence, 
 to suppress all the parliaments of France, 
 and re-establish them, but on a different foot- 
 ing. The sale of places was abolished. 
 When a vacation happens, the parliament 
 is to propose three subjects, who are re- 
 commended to be taken from amongst ex- 
 
APPENDIX. 241 
 
 perienced barristers, and the king is to ap- 
 point one of them. The parliament of Metz 
 having been suppressed with the others, it 
 was not replaced by a new creation, but the 
 jurisdiction of the ancient one was united to 
 that of Lorraine, by which means tlie parlia- 
 ment of Nancy acquired a large addition of 
 business and consequently of influence. 
 
 I cannot leave Lorraine without recording 
 some particular institutions of the benevolent 
 Stanislaus. For the encouragement of fine 
 arts, he erected an academy, to which were 
 aggregated men of the best taste in the dif- 
 ferent branches of literature and the sciences. 
 He founded annual premiums to be bestowed 
 on those who excelled in sculpture, painting, 
 architecture, &c., which besides the certainty 
 of being employed and well paid, enkindled 
 emulation amongst his subjects, and greatly 
 contributed to the perfection of the noble 
 buildings and public monuments which adorn 
 Nancy, viz : the town house, the governor's 
 palace, the brazen statue of Louis XV., the 
 public fountains, the town gates, &c. He 
 provided the academy with noble apart- 
 ments and an excellent library in the town 
 house. His attention was given to the small- 
 21 
 
242 APPENDIX. 
 
 est as well as the greatest things, and many 
 of the numerous buildings which surround 
 the square of Louis XV., particularly the 
 iron work of the balconies, are finished with 
 a taste and perfection, which the encourage- 
 ment and understanding of a great prince is 
 used to diffuse throuurhout all his undertak- 
 ings. 
 
 The mission, as it is called, was another 
 admirable institution of Stanislaus, calcula- 
 ted for the instruction, chiefly, of the coun- 
 try people, the preservation of manners, and 
 consequently of industry amongst them, and 
 for the relief of helpless indigence. With 
 this view, he erected a noble house in one of 
 the suburbs, and endowed it with sufiicient 
 revenues for the maintenance of a certain 
 number of Jesuits, who were to be employed 
 during the greatest part of the year, and 
 particularly in the winter months, as being 
 most convenient for the country people, in 
 instructing them and enforcing the obliga- 
 tion and practice of the great christian du- 
 ties. It was appointed that they should di- 
 vide the province of Lorraine amongst them, 
 ffoinsf two and two toorether, and that no 
 part might be left uninstructed, half the 
 
APPENDIX. 243 
 
 inissioners were German, half French, each 
 allotting to themselves, those districts re- 
 spectively in which French or German was 
 the ordinary language. It is incredible what 
 advantages accrued from this institution: 
 what abuses, arising greatly from ignorance, 
 extirpated ; what good practices introduced, 
 and even what political improvement arose 
 from the amendment and preservation of 
 manners. The royal founder had this estab- 
 lishment so much at heart, that he forgot 
 nothinsT to insure its success. That the mis- 
 sioners might be no grievance to the parish 
 priests or others, during their excursions, he 
 provided abundantly for the expenses of their 
 journeys and maintenance. Wherever they 
 went they were attended (and this, likewise, 
 was owing to the provident care and princely 
 foundation of Stanislaus) by a physician and 
 apothecary with drugs to be administered 
 gratis amongst the poor people, whom they 
 should find in want of such assistance; and 
 moreover a certain sum was allowed to the 
 missioners to be dispensed in alms in each 
 mission. It may be truly said of this excel- 
 lent prince, that his mind enjoyed that rare 
 quality of forming great and mature plans 
 
244 APPENDIX. 
 
 without losing sight of the minute details in 
 carrying them into execution. He used 
 every precaution which human prudence 
 could direct, to perpetuate to future ages this 
 monument of his love for his subjects. But 
 he was scarce in the grave, when the court 
 of Versailles ordered the missioners to evac- 
 uate their house, the revenues were applied 
 to other uses, or at least remained under 
 sequestration, and so noble a foundation was 
 at once wholly overturned. 
 
 Indeed, the fate, which immediately after 
 Stanislaus' death attended many others of 
 his establishments, is sufficient to convince 
 princes, that the surest way to future remem- 
 brance, is to deserve the love of their sub- 
 jects. The Lorrainers recall to mind their 
 late sovereign with hearts full of gratitude 
 and even tenderness, though the Duke of 
 Choiseul during his ministry ordered many 
 monuments of Stanislaus' magnificence to 
 be destroyed. He gave instructions to this 
 purpose with so much precipitation, that one 
 is apt to think he was actuated by virulence, 
 if the deceased prince could have raised 
 those sentiments in any breast. Count Stain- 
 ville, the duke's brother, was charged with 
 
APPENDIX. 245 
 
 the execution of these orders, and was not 
 deficient in his trust. Malgrange, a palace 
 near Nancy, and its fine gardens, were en- 
 tirely destroyed, and the public was the 
 more offended at the latter, as the old king 
 had established in them some very edifying 
 and popular practices of religion. Two or 
 three other country seats were ruined ; and 
 what excited particular indignation, was, 
 that many pictures painted by Stanislaus 
 himself in his hours of relaxation, (for he 
 was a stranger to none of the polite arts,) 
 were allowed to be bought and carried off 
 by a company of Jews. Though father-in- 
 law to the king of France, and so munificent 
 a benefactor of his subjects, no monument 
 is erected to his memory. It cannot be 
 doubted, but the province of Lorraine would 
 gladly contribute to any public testimony of 
 their gratitude, but the leading men wiio 
 should set such a design in motion, knew the 
 temper of the minister, and w^ere too good 
 courtiers to suggest a measure which they 
 had reason to think would be interpreted as 
 a condemnation of his proceedings. The 
 omission of a mausoleum was the more to be 
 censured, as the spot for erecting it seemed 
 21* 
 
216 APPENDIX. 
 
 to be particularly marked out. In the beau- 
 tiful chapel of Bonsecours, just out of the 
 sfates of Nancy, Stanislaus had raised a 
 noble monument to the memory of the queen 
 his consort, and on tlie opposite side of the 
 chapel a space was left, wliich was designed 
 for the ashes and mausoleum of the kings. 
 In that of the queen, the connoisseurs in 
 statuary admire a noble medallion in white 
 marble of charity. She is represented in an 
 attitude of the greatest beneficence, accom- 
 pained by three cliildren, one of whom lies 
 asleep by her side, appearing to have been 
 iust relieved bv her milk : she is actually 
 giving suck to another, and the third is cry- 
 ing, that his turn is not yet come to get his 
 nourishment. 
 
 If on the one hand, the Count de Stain- 
 ville carried into execution his brother's in- 
 structions for destroying many of Stanislaus' 
 works, it must be added, likewise, that with 
 the concurrence of the same person he erect- 
 ed several others for the embellishment of 
 Nancy. The barracks for the soldiery de- 
 serve particular mention. They form an im- 
 mense building of a noble, though unadorned 
 style of architecture. The conveniences for 
 
APPENDIX. 247 
 
 health, cleanliness and all other purposes, 
 are admirable. The foundations of another 
 grand edifice, designed for the university, 
 were just laid, when I was in Lorraine. 
 The count undertook to fill up the town 
 ditches, and lay them out into grand walks, 
 Nancy for the future not being to be kept 
 as a town of w^ar. The prodigious depth 
 and breadth of the ditches, renders this un- 
 dertaking truly immense. It was not car- 
 ried on during my abode there with the 
 same spirit it was begun, and probably the 
 decline of Count Stainville's credit, by the 
 disgrace of his brother, may put it wholly 
 at an end. 
 
 From Lorraine and Alsace, we proceeded 
 across the Rhine into the empire. We 
 passed over this river, by the wooden bridge, 
 about three miles distant from Strasbourg. 
 The bridge was formerly defended on the 
 side of the empire by Fort Kehl, which is 
 now quite gone to ruin. France has an easy 
 entrance into Germany, whenever she washes 
 it. The first state one comes into on this 
 side of the empire is the principality of 
 Baden Baden. The capital town of his do- 
 minions is Baden, but the residence of the 
 
248 APPENDIX. 
 
 Count is at Rastadt, where there is a noble 
 palace, with large gardens laid out in the 
 taste of the country. In my journey from 
 Strasbourg to this place, I was taken ill 
 with a fever and ague, which put it out of 
 my power to get the information of the 
 country wiiicli I wished. I observed that 
 part of it which lies towards tlie Rhine, to 
 be cliielly lit for pasturage and Indian corn; 
 the other side produces a good deal of wheat. 
 The wine growing here, called vin da mare- 
 piisat, is more esteemed than that of Alsace. 
 From Rastadt we proceeded to Carlsruhe, 
 the residence of the Prince of Baden Dour- 
 lach. The States of this prince were for- 
 merly united with those of Baden Baden, 
 under one sovereign, who was called prince 
 of Baden. But one of the branches of the 
 family becoming Protestant, it was supported 
 by that interest during the long thirty years' 
 w^ar of the empire in the last century ; and 
 it was settled in the treaty of Westphalia, 
 that the principality should be so divided, 
 that Baden Baden remain to the Catholic, 
 and Baden Dourlach to the Protestant 
 branch, with a provision, that if either be- 
 came extinct, the survivor should inherit the 
 
APPENDIX. 249 
 
 other's dominions. This event took place 
 about two months after my passage through 
 these states, the prince of Baden Baden 
 dying without issue. He was son to the 
 famous General Prince Lewis, of Baden. 
 
 My illness continuing upon me, I found 
 myself unable to see or learn the particular 
 state of the Prince of Dourlach's govern- 
 ment. I was the more concerned at it, as I 
 was informed that he promoted with inde- 
 fatigable application the welfare and happi- 
 ness of his subjects, and that he very well 
 deserved the accession to his fortune w^hich 
 he has now received. I heard in particular, 
 that he provided every parish with an able 
 schoolmaster, who taught the children read- 
 ing, Avriting, arithmetic and surveying, with- 
 out being any charge to the parents. All 
 the children are obliged to frequent the 
 school ; and whilst employing their hands in 
 forming the alphabet, they are taught to 
 read and write on such subjects as may ever 
 occur to them. At certain times of the year, 
 their performances are sent to the prince, 
 who with unparalleled zeal and patience 
 examines their improvement in writing or 
 orthography, arithmetic, &c., and rewards 
 
250 APPENDIX. 
 
 tliem accordingly; other schools are ap- 
 pointed for instructing girls in things proper 
 for their sex. The prince is repaid for this 
 gratuitous education in the following manner: 
 He keeps about one thousand four hundred sol- 
 diers; the young men from eighteen to twen- 
 ty-four years must be content to serve, if 
 they be judged proper, for a certain term of 
 years, during which they are very well kept 
 and regularly paid. I ^vas just able to walk 
 through the palace of Carlsruhe, which is the 
 prince's chief residence. It is a new and 
 very large building, and some apartments, 
 especially that of the princess, are fitted up 
 w^ith great elegance. The gardens are very 
 large, and some beginnings appear of good 
 taste in laying them out. If the prince con- 
 tinue to make this his principal sojourn, I 
 doubt not but he will improve them much, as 
 his abilities at present are so much greater. 
 Following the course of the Rhine, we came 
 next to Bruchsal, where the bishop and 
 prince of Spire keeps his court. My com- 
 panion went to see the palace, while my ill- 
 ness kept me abed : he told me it exceeded 
 in the elegance of its taste and furniture 
 those w^e had already met with on our road. 
 
APPENDIX. 251 
 
 The situation appeared very advantageous. 
 I observed, in coming into the town, a salt 
 refinery. I imagine there can be few manu- 
 factures in these petty states. The consump- 
 tion would never answer the expense. As 
 they have a constant jealousy, one of the 
 other, they naturally would lay heavy duties 
 upon articles of importation from their neigh- 
 bors. The people in general in this, as w^ell 
 as in both the principalities of Baden, have 
 a heavy and awkward appearance, to which 
 their dress contributes not a little. 
 
 Leaving Bruchsal, we soon entered into 
 the states of the Elector Palatine, and came 
 through Heidelberg to Manheim. The elec- 
 tor keeps a splendid court in this last town, 
 which is seated at the confluence of the 
 Rhine and the Neckar, and strongly fortified. 
 The last elector having received some dis- 
 content from the citizens of Heidelberg, re- 
 moved his court from that city to Manheim, 
 and entirely rebuilt this latter place in a very 
 regular form. The streets are all straight, 
 and most of them terminite at one extremity 
 at the elector's palace. This is an immense 
 and regular building, but not formed on any 
 grand style of architecture, though there are 
 
252 APPENDIX. 
 
 very rich apartments in it. The furniture 
 of most is extremely costly and elegant. 
 But the chief objects of curiosity are : 1. The 
 gallery of pictures, which comprehends six 
 rooms, though the two first contain nothing 
 remarkable: 2. The collection of natural, 
 history, and antiquities : 3. A noble library 
 of about forty thousand volumes: 4. A very 
 magnificent theatre. 
 
 The elector is a prince of remarkable 
 good parts, and very well versed in litera- 
 ture. He reads much, and speaks with flu- 
 ency, besides his own language, Italian, 
 French and English. Being learned him- 
 self, he encourages literary merit in others : 
 he has erected an academy of arts and sci- 
 ences, which, however, is not likely to be of 
 much advantage to the state. The mem- 
 bers employed to form the plan and regula- 
 tions proceeded upon narrow and selfish 
 principles of interest and envy ; and under 
 pretence of allowing entire liberty, and ex- 
 cluding all partiality, introduced a system 
 of by-laws, which may prove very detrimen- 
 tal to revealed religion, as well as exclude 
 from the academy the most learned men of 
 the elector's dominions. 
 
o 
 
 APPENDIX. 25 
 
 Those who were most distinguished for 
 learning and merit, at the time of our pas- 
 sage through the electorate, were Fathers 
 Desbillons, Meyer, and another Jesuit, whose 
 name I do not remember, professor of phi- 
 losophy at the university of Heidelberg, and 
 Messrs. Maillot and Tchoflin, librarians to 
 the elector. Father Desbillons has applied 
 himself particularly to the study of the Latin 
 classics and the Latin tongue, and is per- 
 haps the most versed in the knowledge of 
 both of any man in Europe. His elegant 
 Latin fables, formed on the model and style 
 of Phoedrus, are a proof of extraordinary im- 
 provement in his favorite study. It is a pity 
 that the notes he has added, carry with them 
 an air of pedantry. I heard he was em- 
 ployed in a great work which was eagerly 
 expected by the learned Germans, and was 
 to be entitled the History of the Latin Lan- 
 guage. Father Desbillons is a Frenchman, 
 and after the dissolution of the Jesuits in 
 France, was graciously received and pro- 
 tected at Manheim by the elector. The par- 
 ticular library which he has collected, of 
 about eight thousand volumes is remarkable 
 22 
 
254 APPENDIX. 
 
 for the judicious choice and rareness of the 
 books and editions. 
 
 Father Meyer's studies are turned wholly 
 on astronomy, of which he is a public elec- 
 toral professor in the University of Heidel- 
 berg. He is fellow of the Royal Society and 
 several other academies. His mensuration 
 of a deirree of the meridian is esteemed 
 among the learned. He was called to St. 
 Petersburg, by the Empress of Russia, to ob- 
 serve the last transit of Venus, and had good 
 success. The elector has caused an observ- 
 atory to be erected at one of his country 
 palaces, and furnished it with the best instru- 
 ments from England. It is here that Father 
 Meyer makes his observations. 
 
 Many schemes have been adopted for im- 
 proving the natural richness of this state, by 
 the establishment of different manufactures, 
 and some have proved successful, particu- 
 larly the China manufacture at Frankendahl. 
 I saw several pieces of furniture executed 
 there, which would do honor to Dresden. 
 There are likewise some establishments for 
 cloth, and linen manufactures. The advan- 
 tages arising from these institutions, and 
 chiefly a w ell regulated tax on the country. 
 
APPENDIX. 255 
 
 which is very fertile, would yield a sulH- 
 cient revenue to the elector, if like most 
 other German princes, he did not keep a 
 court much too splendid for the extent of his 
 states, and, perhaps, a too great number of 
 soldiers. Another large expense to the 
 elector is the public theatre of his palace. 
 He pays the whole charges of actors, music, 
 decorations, wardrobe, &c. ; and those who 
 are acquainted with theatrical entertain- 
 ments, will easily form an idea of the im- 
 mense sums, that are required to maintain 
 them with splendor and dignity. Particu- 
 lars pay nothing for going to see them. The 
 consequence of the elector's magnificence is, 
 that the subject is most enormously taxed. 
 The palatinate very early embraced the 
 reformed religion, which during a long 
 course of years, greatly prevailed in number 
 and power over the Catholics, as the sov- 
 ereigns espoused the new doctrines. Some- 
 times Lutheranism had the lead, sometimes 
 Galvanism. But the eldest branch of the 
 palatine line becoming extinct, the elec- 
 torate devolved to the Duke of Newbourg, 
 a Roman Gatholic prince, and he brought 
 an accession to his new state of the dutchy 
 
256 APPENDIX. 
 
 of Berg. Since that time, the Catholics 
 have become nearly equal, if not superior 
 in number and interest, to either the Luther- 
 ans or Calvinists, and their growth will 
 probably continue to be still more con- 
 siderable. The present elector has no suc- 
 cessor, so that his stales devolve to the Duke 
 de Deux-Ponts, wlio likewise, will inherit the 
 electorate of Bavaria, in default of issue from 
 that and the palatine laniily. 
 
 From Manheim, we continued following 
 the course of the Rhine to Cologne, passing 
 through the bisliopric of Worms, the elec- 
 torates of Mentz, Trevers, and Cologne. 
 
 I shall say nothing of these countries, ex- 
 cept that they produce great quantities of 
 corn and wine. Tlie government is abso- 
 lute in these, as well as most other states in 
 Germany. Mentz is the first electorate. It 
 is likewise, as well as the two others, an 
 archbishopric ; and the archbishop is legate 
 of the holy see throughout Germany. His 
 revenues, however, are not in proportion to 
 his dignity. Those of Trevers are still con- 
 siderable, and neither they, nor the elector 
 of Cologne, would be able to maintain such 
 splendid courts, if they did not hold other 
 
APPENDIX. 257 
 
 bishoprics. Thus the present elector of 
 Mentz, is likewise Bishop of Worms; that of 
 Trevers, Bishop of Augsbourg, and that of 
 Cologne, Bishop of Munster. 
 
 Having returned back to Manheim, we 
 proceeded from thence, through Swabia to 
 Augsbourg. Though Swabia be in general 
 a plentiful country, chiefly in corn, yet the 
 generality of the inhabitants appear to be ex- 
 tremely wretched. Whether it be owing to 
 the weight of their taxes and abject depen- 
 dence on their princes, or to the inland situa- 
 tion of the country, which leaves them no 
 opportunity of carrying on foreign trade, I 
 will not pretend to determine. One obser- 
 vation, however, the traveller through this 
 country cannot avoid making, which is the 
 strange contrast between the magnificence 
 and politeness of the court of the Duke of 
 Wurtemberg, which lies on the road, and 
 the uncouthness of the other inhabitants. 
 The dress and manners of the people, are the 
 coarsest and most unseemly one can well 
 imagine ; that of the women in particular 
 does not seem to have received the smallest 
 degree of refinement. Their houses are so 
 contrived, that the ground floor serves for a 
 22* 
 
258 APPENDIX. 
 
 stable for their cattle ; a ladder leads up to 
 that in which the family abides. The filth 
 and stench arising from such a distribution 
 are to be conceived ; had the people any 
 ideas of cleanliness, it would be easy to keep 
 their houses sweet and clean. I scarcely 
 passed through a village in Swabia, where 
 the streets were not plentifully watered by 
 a constant stream. There is indeed to be 
 observed in every country, a great difference 
 between the gentry and lower class of peo- 
 ple; but in none does this difference strike one 
 so much, as in many parts of Germany ; and 
 it is natural to imagine, that it arises there 
 chiefly from the nature of the feudal govern- 
 ment. The generality of the inhabitants are 
 under so slavish a dependence, and they are 
 so much accustomed to consider their lords 
 as beings of a superior class, that it is very 
 probable much the greatest part never con- 
 ceive an idea of the original equality, or of 
 the common rights of mankind. Their sen- 
 timents in all likelihood might become more 
 elevated, if the uniform equality of the sub- 
 jects, one with another, did not stifle all the 
 seeds of mutual emulation. In most other 
 countries there is a regular gradation of 
 
APPENDIX. 259 
 
 ranks from the prince down to the peasant ; 
 but here there seem to be no intermediate 
 condition ; and in the whole course of our 
 travels through Swabia, I do not remember 
 to have seen on the road, the house of one 
 subject which bespoke a master elevated 
 above the condition of his fellow-subjects ; 
 at least, not till we came into the neighbor- 
 hood and jurisdiction of the imperial city of 
 Augsbourg. 
 
 That part of Swabia which belongs to 
 the Duke of Wurtemberg is almost entirely 
 Protestant, though the reigning duke him- 
 self professes the Catholic religion. His 
 brothers are likewise Protestants, As the 
 duke himself has no children, and being 
 separated from his wife, probably never 
 will, his estates devolve to his next brother, 
 Prince Eugenius. The duke is very pro- 
 fuvse, and has involved his finances in the ut- 
 most confusion. This has been to him a 
 source of much mortification, as his subjects 
 are greatly discontented with his adminis- 
 tration; for, notwithstanding his difficult cir- 
 cumstances, he cannot refrain from extrava- 
 gant expenses in building, hunting, keeping 
 
260 APPENDIX. 
 
 great bands of musicians and all the innu- 
 merable supports of an Italian theatre. 
 
 Augsbourg is a large, well built town ; 
 it was formerly one of the first trading cities 
 in the world, when Venice was mistress of 
 the entire comnuniications with the Levant 
 and East Indies. The effects brought to 
 Venice were conveyed, by land carriage, to 
 Augsbourg, and from thence spread through- 
 out the whole empire. Even at present, 
 there are great remains of its ancient wealth 
 and industry. Manufacturesof goods, silver, 
 steel, and the art of engraving, are still in 
 much credit here. The government is a 
 mixture of democracy and aristocracy. As 
 the religion is partially Catholic and partly 
 Evangelical, the magistracy are equally 
 chosen out of the two professions. The town 
 house is a remarkable building, furnished 
 with some very fine paintings of the Dutch 
 school. The great hall, appropriated to 
 the most solemn occasions, such as the en- 
 tertainment of the emperor, is one of the 
 finest, both for its size and finishing, in 
 Europe. There are other rooms designed 
 for the assemblies of the magistracy, the dif- 
 ferent trading companies, &c. My stay was 
 
APPENDIX. 261 
 
 too short to inform myself of the state of 
 letters. 
 
 The road from Augsbourg to Munich, is in 
 general disagreeable , the greatest part of it 
 is through forests of firs, and the land is in- 
 capable of improvement by cultivation. One 
 proceeds but a little way from Augsbourg, 
 before entering into the Duke of Bavaria's 
 dominions. The harvest of 1771 was just 
 gotten in, and the inhabitants were begin- 
 ning to recover themselves from the dread- 
 ful famine of the preceding year. Yet still, 
 wretchedness and want were painted in 
 every object ; provisions continued to bear a 
 great price, much above the abilities of the 
 poorer class of people. The roads were 
 covered with miserable supplicants; instead 
 of gratifying curiosity with the sight and 
 observation of new countries, it was im- 
 possible not to have one's thoughts wholly 
 occupied with the distress of so many fel- 
 low-creatures. Even Munich itself, though 
 the capital of the country, and usual resi- 
 dence of a splendid court, appeared sad and 
 gloomy, from the terrible circumstances of 
 the times. The accidental scarcity was ag- 
 gravated by the load of taxes laid on the 
 
262 APPENDIX. 
 
 subjects. I found the elector beloved by his 
 people, but his ministers most heartily de- 
 tested, particularly the Count de Baumgar- 
 ten, who had the chief direction of affairs, a 
 man of inflexible rigidity, who having gained 
 an ascendant over his sovereign during his 
 youth, continued still to overrule his judg- 
 ment. This was a real misfortune to the 
 people, as the elector himself is a prince of 
 great goodness, and more than ordinarily 
 humane. The taxes, though weighty of 
 themselves, became still more grievous by 
 the manner in which they were levied. All 
 the duties of exportation and importation 
 were farmed out ; and the publicans ha- 
 rassed the people beyond measure, by 
 searches, vexations, law-suits, and other 
 such odious methods. It is indeed true, 
 that the elector is under some kind of neces- 
 sity of burdening his subjects with a heavy 
 load. His ancestors were remarkable during 
 several generations, for their magnificence 
 and generosity, which perhaps sometimes 
 degenerated into prodigality. Hence they 
 contracted heavy debts, and the present 
 sovereign entertains sentiments of known 
 equity too strict not to consider himself 
 
APPENDIX. 263 
 
 bound to pay the creditors. His father, the 
 Emperor Charles VII.'s misfortunes con- 
 tributed to distress still more the public 
 finances. These disorders however, are al- 
 ready greatly remedied by the prudent econ- 
 omy of the reigning prince. He is a lover of 
 the arts and sciences ; he has instituted an 
 academy, and given it much public encour- 
 agement. He himself cultivates music and 
 some other arts, with great success. His 
 court was not at Munich, when we passed, 
 and circumstances did not allow us to go to 
 the country palace, where it then resided. 
 The town palace is very large, but not a 
 regular building. One of the apartments, 
 consisting of seven or eight large rooms, and 
 called the green apartment^ is the most 
 elegantly and completely furnished of any I 
 have ever seen. Besides the richness and 
 fine taste of the hangings, gilding, chairs, 
 sofas, stoves, &c., it is adorned with a 
 choice and magnificent collection of the 
 best Italian and Flemish paintings. The 
 theatre, likewise, belonging to the palace, 
 though not very large, is however, finished 
 with the greatest taste, and the machinery 
 for shifting the scenes, &c. is admirable. 
 
264 APPENDIX. 
 
 The electoral treasury, consisting of gold and 
 silver plate, curiously wrought arms, and cu- 
 riosities of all kinds, is likewise well worth 
 the observation of a traveller, and hardly to 
 be equalled by any other repository of the 
 same kind. Another object deserving to be 
 seen is the Jesuits' church. The inside 
 architecture in particular, is of the most 
 noble and manly style ; the builder w^as one 
 of those children of genius, who are formed 
 without a painful study of the rules of art. 
 He was a common mason, and yet Italy, 
 perhaps, cannot show so bold a vault as that 
 from end to end, which forms the whole 
 breadth of the church. It was erected by 
 the generosity and piety of William, Duke 
 of Bavaria. This prince, eminent for his 
 prudence in government, as w^ell as his chris- 
 tian virtues, ruled his states with great suc- 
 cess, in very difficult times, about the mid- 
 dle of the sixteenth century. He thought 
 himself greatly indebted to the zeal and 
 learning of the Jesuits, for preserving his sub- 
 jects from the contagion of the spreading re- 
 ligious errors, and through gratitude, as well 
 as in order to perpetuate the same advantage 
 to his people, he built and founded a college 
 
APPENDIX. 265 
 
 of Jesuits at Munich. After a most prosper- 
 ous reign, he resigned his government to his 
 son, several years before his death, and re- 
 tired to a private life which he spent in the 
 constant exercise of christian virtues. He 
 passed several hours a day in the churcli lie 
 had built, and in his last will, ordered his 
 body to be deposited in it, under a plain 
 stone, without even the inscription of his 
 name, in lieu of which, he directed these 
 words, taken out of the book of Job, to be 
 engraved : Commissa mea pavesco et ante tc 
 erubesco, dum veneris judicare ; noli me con- 
 demnare. It is but doing justice to the 
 Jesuits of this country to add, that they have 
 perfectly corresponded with the views of 
 their munificent benefactor. Indefatigable 
 in the service of religion, their labors have 
 greatly contributed to preserve it in Bavaria, 
 not only uncorrupted with the pernicicus 
 tenets of the neighboring provinces, but 
 moreover, to render the practical duties of it 
 more generally, and more constantly at- 
 tended to, than perhaps, in any other coun- 
 try in Europe. The belles lettres, likewise, 
 and sciences are much cultivated by them; 
 23 
 
266 APPENDIX. 
 
 especially the study of physics, history, and 
 mathematics. 
 
 I could get no clear state of the elector's 
 revenues, which are considerable. His pre- 
 decessors used to maintain a much larger 
 body of troops than he has on foot at pre- 
 sent. I was told there are not above eight 
 thousand men. It would be well, probably, 
 for the different states of Germany if the 
 other princes followed this example. 
 
 Following the road from Munich to In- 
 spruch, we very soon entered into the moun- 
 tains which communicate with the Alps, and 
 may properly be said to be a part of them. 
 We passed by several lakes, formed at the 
 foot of these mountains. This water is the 
 fmest one can see, and they are stocked 
 with great quantities of excellent fish, and 
 some of a peculiar species, to be met with no 
 where else. The pleasing prospect these 
 lakes afford, relieve the traveller, and form an 
 agreeable contrast with the awful sight of 
 impending mountains. The roads from Mu- 
 nich to Tyrol, are kept in bad repair, and in 
 no degree comparable to those, which are 
 made over the Alps, throughout this latter 
 province. The entrance into it on the side 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 267 
 
 of Bavaria, is defended by fortresses, impreg- 
 nable more from their situation, than the 
 work of art : the house of Austria, to whom 
 the country of Tyrol belongs, makes it a 
 capital point of politics, to preserve this pas- 
 sage into Italy, in its own hands. Indeed 
 the country appears to be of little other im- 
 portance to the court of Vienna, besides its 
 serving to connect together its German and 
 Italian states: the barren mountains, which 
 form the whole province, can yield but a 
 small revenue to the sovereign. But the un- 
 disputed communication with Italy, of which 
 Austria is hereby possessed, must always 
 give the latter great weight in all transac- 
 tions relative to the former, or an advan- 
 tage over France, especially when the latter 
 chances not to be allied with the King of 
 Sardinia. Inspruch, the capital of Tyrol, af- 
 fords few things remarkable. There is a 
 large palace with gardens much out of repair 
 contiguous to it. The palace used to be the 
 residence of the archduke, governor of the 
 province : it was here the late Emperor 
 Francis I., father of the present, and hus- 
 band of the empress queen, died suddenly 
 in 1765. He had come with the whole 
 
268 APPENDIX. 
 
 court of Vienna, to solemnize the marriage 
 of his second son Archduke Leopold, with 
 the Infanta of Spain, and to transfer to him 
 the grand dutchy of Tuscany. The diver- 
 sions on so solemn an occasion, were scarce 
 begun, when the instantaneous death of the 
 emperor put them to an end. A monument 
 is erected at a small distance out of the town 
 gates, to mark the spot where the Infanta 
 was met by her future consort, and the 
 whole court. On the other side of the town 
 another monument is erected in the form of 
 a triumphal arch, with an inscription, im- 
 porting that the emperor, empress, &c. made 
 their entrance that way. In the great 
 church of the Franciscans, there is nothing 
 remarkable, besides the monument erected to 
 the memory of the Emperor Maximilian I., 
 on which are engraven bas reliefs, and distri- 
 buted in different panels, all around the 
 monument. 
 
 Continuing to travel through the moun- 
 tains, we met little remarkable, before we 
 came to Trent. There appears to be a great 
 trade carried on between Germany and the 
 nearest Italian states, as we met immense 
 quantities of wagons, which transport from 
 
* APPENDIX. 269 
 
 Lombardy and the Venetian territory, corn 
 and merchandise into Tyrol. Trent is a 
 small town, of which the bishop is the prince. 
 But his authority is much restrained by the 
 court of Vienna, and must at all times be 
 subservient to its interests. The bishop is 
 chosen by the chapter of the Cathedral : the 
 chapter, however, is generally forced to con- 
 form its choice to the dictation of Vienna. 
 
 Here the Italian language begins to be 
 spoken. This town is famous for the holding 
 of the last general council. As it was called 
 chiefly to stop the progress of the errors 
 which took their rise in Germany before the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, its situation 
 was judged most convenient for the German 
 and Italian bishops. The great advantage, 
 which the church derived from this assembly 
 is well known, though it was not so fortu- 
 nate, as to put an end to the new heresies. 
 The church of St. Mary Major, in which it 
 was held, has nothing particular besides a 
 remarkable fine organ. But the remem- 
 brance of that august assembly, which met 
 in it so often, and procured so great services 
 to Christianity, made me view it as one of 
 the most awful sanctuaries in the world, and 
 23* 
 
270 APPENDIX. 
 
 I could not refrain from expressing my gra- 
 titude to the Author of all good. 
 
 The mountains now began to decline 
 apace : and proceeding along the Adige, 
 which we had followed from its very source, 
 we passed through Roveredo, a small lively 
 town belonging to Austria, we came at last 
 to Verona. We had now fairly emerged into 
 Italy. It is impossible for the most satur- 
 nine constitution not to feel some of that en- 
 thusiasm, which the remembrance of great 
 men, and great actions, the remains of arts 
 and sciences, the monuments of sway and 
 magnificence are apt to excite in every cul- 
 tivated mind. 
 
 As at our first entrance into Italy, I could 
 speak but very little Italian, without which 
 the traveller must be much at a loss for pro- 
 per information, I could not get all those 
 lights which I wished concerning Verona, 
 Mantua and Modena, which lay in our road 
 to Bolonia. I shall therefore reserve what 
 occurs to be said of those places, till I return 
 to visit them. 
 
 Bolonia is esteemed the second city of the 
 pope's states ; is the residence of a cardinal 
 legate, and was erected into an archbishopric 
 
APPENDIX. 271 
 
 by Gregory XIII. a native of this town. Till 
 that time, it was suffragan to the see of Ra- 
 venna. The archbishop is always a cardi- 
 nal, and has the title of Prince of the Holy 
 Empire. The city has undergone various 
 revolutions : after the dismembering of the 
 Roman empire, it formed sometimes a sepa- 
 rate republic, and sometimes w^as subject to 
 one or other of the petty princes, who tore 
 Italy to pieces ; when their tyranny became 
 intolerable, it called the pope to its assist- 
 ance, and made him a surrender of sove- 
 reignty : afterwards reassumed its indepen- 
 dency, and finally submitted again to the 
 holy see, retaining however, several privi- 
 leges. 
 
 It is situated in the fertile and immense 
 plain of Lombardy immediately under the 
 Appenines, which separate that plain from 
 Tuscany. This position renders Bolonia a 
 very agreeable place to dwell in. The hills, 
 which lie on one side, are covered with 
 villas, which command a noble prospect over 
 the populous and cultivated plains, and on 
 the other side, the view of the mountains, 
 one rising over the other, all thickly peopled 
 and full of vineyards, cornfields, &c., afford 
 
272 APPENDIX. 
 
 an expressible pleasure to the eye. When 
 one beholds the environs of Bolonia, as well 
 as the throng of inhabitants in the town itself, 
 the declamations of many English writers, 
 on the wretched condition of the pope's 
 states, the thinness of the population, the 
 wretched condition of agriculture, appear as 
 false as they are fulsome and tedious. I be- 
 lieve indeed, and may have occasion here- 
 after to remark, that they respect, chiefly that 
 part of the ecclesiastical states, which is 
 called the campania of Rome ; but they use 
 general expressions with so much confidence, 
 that I cannot forbear observing how little 
 credit ought to be given to them. Mr. Addi- 
 son in particular, after a long enumeration of 
 the perfections, which it were natural to 
 imagine in the pope's government, concludes 
 with saying that it is in fact the most imper- 
 fect of all, and the inhabitants infinitely more 
 wretched than in the other states. This is 
 undoubtedly a strange misrepresentation. 
 Without question the pope's subjects are un- 
 der some disadvantages peculiar to the na- 
 ture of their government ; as their sovereign 
 is generally advanced in years, before he 
 begins to reign, it is seldom he has that spirit 
 
APPENDIX. 273 
 
 which is necessary to enter upon any vigor- 
 ous plan for the encouragement of industry 
 and improvement of tlie natural richness of 
 his dominions, and if now and then, some 
 happy scheme is adopted, it runs great risk 
 of not meeting with the same approbation in 
 a succeeding reign. Thus many advantages 
 proper to republics or hereditary states, are 
 lost to this. Nothwithstanding which, it is 
 a truth most obvious to the traveller's obser- 
 vation, that the pope's subjects, (those at 
 least, who inhabit the Bolognese, Ferrarese, 
 the Romagna, the dutchy of Urbino, and the 
 Marche of Ancona,) appear infinitely more 
 happy, and at their ease, than those of 
 Parma, Modena, and many other parts of 
 Italy, to say nothing of several provinces in 
 France and Germany. If trade do not 
 flourish, (which is often owing to other 
 causes besides want of the prince's encou- 
 ragement,) at least private property is not ex- 
 posed to arbitrary encroachments, as else- 
 where ; and if agriculture be not so improved 
 as in England, much must be imputed to the 
 natural fertility of the country, which makes 
 the farmer more indifferent in cultivating his 
 fields; and much to that invincible indo- 
 
274 APPENDIX. ' 
 
 lence which the violent heats produce in the 
 inhabitants. However wise the legislator 
 may be, he cannot always fully counteract 
 the influence of the climate and seasons on 
 the dispositions of the people. It appears to 
 me that the great error of most travellers, in 
 discoursing of the pope's states, arises from 
 a comparative view of their former and pre- 
 sent condition. When they behold the re- 
 mains of ancient magnificence, and reflect on 
 the immense population of former times, their 
 imagination takes fire, and they give way to 
 the popular declamations against priestly 
 government, a monastical life, and the ty- 
 ranny of Rome. These topics favor their 
 prejudices ; their trite and common-place re- 
 flections are esteemed profound philosophy ; 
 and they give themselves no farther trouble 
 to find out other more general causes of the 
 present decay. These the man of plain 
 sense, without any extraordinary depth of 
 observation, will easily be able to discover. 
 When all the fine arts were carried to so great 
 a perfection in Rome, when the city and its 
 neighborhood swarmed so thick with inhab- 
 itants, is all this to be attributed merely to 
 the superior excellency of the ancient, over 
 
APPENDIX. 275 
 
 the present government, and to the wiser 
 political maxims of heathen Rome? Must 
 its former splendor be owing entirely to for- 
 mer liberty, and the present decay to actual 
 slavery, as superficial or passionate writers 
 and poets often repeat ? To overthrow this 
 ungrounded supposition, let it be considered, 
 that the noblest monuments and most per- 
 fect works of art, were performed during the 
 reign of the first emperors, that is, during a 
 period of infinitely more unrelenting tyranny, 
 than was ever exercised by the worst of 
 popes : that the population of Rome, its 
 neighborhood, and of Italy in general, was 
 the largest in the reign of Tiberius, and his 
 inhuman successors, when not only private 
 property, but the lives of the best men, were 
 constantly exposed to the arbitrary dictates 
 of a capricious tyrant. 
 
 The superiority, therefore, of ancient over 
 modern Rome arose from the same cause, 
 which, though in a much less degree, pro- 
 duces such a difference between London and 
 Paris, and the adjacent country on one hand, 
 and the remote provinces of the respective 
 kingdoms on the other. If the conflux of in- 
 habitants of a single kingdom, is able to 
 
276 APPENDIX. 
 
 spread such an air of magnificence and 
 amazing population round the capital, can 
 we be surprised at the different appearance 
 of Rome and its environs, at the period when 
 she gave laws to the whole world, and that, 
 when she does not ex^^end her empire over 
 half Italy. 
 
 I might mention many other causes of the 
 present decay more prevalent than the in- 
 dolence of government ; not that I deny this 
 latter to have no part in producing the down- 
 fall. Abuses there are in every government, 
 and perhaps they are the greatest where the 
 government is mildest. 
 
SEEMONS. 
 
 The discourses from the pulpit, and the 
 pastoral letters of Archbishop Carroll, were 
 alike distinguished for their unction and 
 classical taste. His voice being naturally 
 feeble, the exertions which he made to be 
 distinctly heard from the pulpit, rendered his 
 elocution less agreeable there than in other 
 situations, requiring less force of lungs. His 
 colloquial powers and resources, were great 
 and rich, and his kind and benignant feelings 
 always prompted him to apply them to the 
 best advantage. There was an irresistible 
 charm and elegance indeed in his conversa- 
 tions, with whomsoever and upon whatso- 
 ever subject carried on, that characterised 
 them as of the very first order. 
 
 In order to enable the reader to judge 
 himself as to the merits of these sermons, 
 the following are selected from the many 
 preached by the Archbishop, as best adapted 
 for that purpose. 
 24 
 
278 SERMONS. 
 
 AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM. 
 
 Moses indeed said : a prophet shall the Lord your (Jod raise up 
 unto you out of your brethren, like unto me : him you shall hear, 
 according to all things whatsoever he shall speak to you ; and it 
 shall be, tliat every soul that shall not hear that prophet, shall be 
 destroyed from among the people. — jIcU iii. 22, et seq. 
 
 Hitherto the cliief object of those religious 
 instructions, which it has been my duty to 
 deliver to you, dear brethren, was to imprint 
 deeply in your minds the principles, and to 
 recommend to your esteem, love and prac- 
 tice, the precepts of christian morality. 
 Little has been said by me, to convince you 
 of the truth of your divine religion; because 
 I hoped and thought that all, or very nearly 
 all of you, not only profe.ssed outwardly, but 
 likewise inwardly believed the doctrines of 
 the Christian Catholic Church. With this 
 conviction on my mind, when any deviated 
 unfortunately into the ways of sinfulness, I 
 imputed their transgressions to human frailty, 
 and ungoverned passions, and not to the dis- 
 astrous lessons of infidelity. But shall I now^ 
 disclose my fears, and openly express the 
 suspicions laboring in my breast ? The last 
 time of discoursing to you from this place, 
 my subject led me to make a few observa- 
 tions on the imperfection of the human 
 
SERMONS. 279 
 
 understanding, and its insufficiency to guide 
 us, not only in all points concerning the doc- 
 trines and precepts of religion, but even in 
 those which form, as it were, the very ele- 
 ments and first principles of faith and mo- 
 rality. Reflecting farther on that subject, I 
 have thought it advisable and likely to pro- 
 duce many beneficial effects, to treat it more 
 particularly, that you may be more con- 
 vinced of the imperfections of the human un- 
 derstanding, and the need it has of being in- 
 formed and enlightened by the splendor of 
 divine revelation. For I cannot dissemble 
 my fears, that many of my hearers are in- 
 toxicated with that spirit of presumptive 
 infidelity, which inspires a daring confidence 
 in themselves, and a bold assurance that 
 they need no other direction besides that 
 which their own reason suggests to them. 
 After seeing with anxiety and grief, that the 
 many powerful means employed by God's 
 merciful Providence, (over you) are far from 
 having produced an universal reformation, 
 or begotten an attention so general, and 
 such a solicitude for salvation, as your best 
 interests require ; may I not reasonably fear, 
 that the oiii ds of some are poisoned with 
 
280 SERMONS. 
 
 error, and Iiave imbibed the doctrines of 
 irreligion, especially when I consider the 
 close alliance subsisting between licentious- 
 ness of manners, and a contemptuous disre- 
 gard for the most sacred institutions, derived 
 mediately or immediately from the revealed 
 word of God ; when daring unbelievers by 
 advancing propositions, more blasphemous, 
 if possible, than they are extravagant, as- 
 sume in society a preponderance and au- 
 tliority, of which they avail themselves, to 
 infuse into others an impious ambition of be- 
 coming ac(?omplices in their guilt ? What- 
 ever effect these vain and ostentatious ene- 
 mies of truth and morality may have pro- 
 duced in you, it cannot be amiss to put you 
 on your guard against the shafts of their pro- 
 faneness and impiety. I therefore in my text 
 address you, in the language adopted by the 
 prince of the apostles, St. Peter, when in the 
 very birth of Christianity, he explained to the 
 Jews the evidences of its truth. He reminds 
 them, that their own legislator Moses, bore 
 testimony in favor of Jesus Christ, of whom 
 it was foretold in the law, that he should be 
 endowed with the powers and all means ne- 
 cessary for authenticating his divine com- 
 
SERMONS. 281 
 
 mission, to teach and reform mankind, that 
 it should be the duty of all to hear him in tJte 
 things, whatever he should speak to them ; 
 and that every soul refusing to hear him 
 should be destroyed. These are momentous 
 points, and highly deserving your utmost at- 
 tention ; for unless you be intimately con- 
 vinced of the existence of religion, and your 
 obligation to believe it, and submit to its 
 laws, the lessons of morality can have no 
 hold on your hearts. I purpose, therefore, 
 with God's assistance, to prove that divine 
 revelation is necessary to make known to 
 mankind, with sufficient clearness, and es- 
 tablish upon sufficient authority, even some 
 of the first principles of the law of nature, 
 and secondly, that the law of nature, as far 
 as it is discoverable by the powers of human 
 reason alone, leaves us ignorant of, and un- 
 certain in many points of our duty to God, 
 on which our happiness essentially depends. 
 These propositions being proved, the result 
 must be this : if a Divine revelation be ne- 
 cessary for purposes so highly important, to 
 deny that God has favored mankind with it, 
 is an impious denial of his goodness and sin- 
 cere good will to bestow happiness on his 
 24* 
 
282 SERMONS. 
 
 rational creatures, the works of his own 
 liands. True religion lays a perpetual res- 
 traint on every inordinate passion, and in- 
 flexibly condemns all injustice, pride, oppres- 
 sion and intemperate sensualities. This is 
 the cause of the opposition it meets with, 
 and of the hatred with which it has been 
 calumniated and insulted in every age and 
 country, by men abandoned to their lusts, 
 and puffed up with pride and a vain conceit 
 of the eminence of their own understandings. 
 Various are their devices to free themselves 
 from the yoke, the restraints and the terrors 
 imposed on them by religion. Sometimes 
 they attempt to discard it altogether by im- 
 piously denying the existence of that Su- 
 preme Being, who is its only author and ob- 
 ject. But the language of these infidels is 
 regarded by the royal prophet, as proceeding 
 not so much from the persuasion of their 
 minds, as the corruption of their hearts, and 
 from the folly and blindness generated by 
 shameful and disorderly lusts and passions. 
 The fool, as it is expressed by the royal pro- 
 phet, said in his heart, there is no God. 
 
 Other enemies of religion, equally impa- 
 tient of its control over their haughty minds 
 
SERMONS. 
 
 283 
 
 and unruly desires, suggest different means of 
 withdrawing themselves from a subjection 
 to its precepts. Instead of denying that we 
 know any thing of God and his perfections, 
 of our obligations to honor him, and of our 
 relative duties to our fellow-creatures, they 
 pretend on the contrary, that we know every 
 thing necessary in these respects, by the ex- 
 ercise alone of those natural faculties and 
 that portion of reason, which are granted to 
 every man ; that by employing these, we 
 may learn the few principles, to which they 
 reduce all religion, and which, therefore, is 
 called natural religion. Of this they pro- 
 claim the sufficiency for all the purposes of 
 worship and morality ; they celebrate its 
 praises, and set themselves up for its most 
 zealous advocates and champions ; and under 
 this mask, they insinuate the poison of their 
 tenets into incautious minds. For while 
 they extol the merit and dignity of natural 
 religion, their zeal and malicious purpose is, 
 to inculcate a persuasion that any other 
 manifestation of God's being and providence, 
 any other injunctions of his will, are useless 
 and unnecessary, consequently that there is 
 no revealed religion, and that all pretensions 
 
284 SERMONS. 
 
 to it are false and interested impositions. 
 After enumerating the few articles compre- 
 hended in this all-sufficient religion, behold, 
 says one of the principals of this sect (Rous- 
 seau) the only true religion, which is not liable 
 to be perverted by impiety or fanaticism. 
 Besides this, every tiling else is foreign to us. 
 
 This is that first capital error against 
 which, with the Divine Assistance, I am to 
 warn you this day. 
 
 Allowing then to infidelity more advan- 
 tages than she has a right to claim, I will 
 suppose for the present (though this will be 
 proved false in the sequel of our enquiries,) 
 that the only principles of knowledge and 
 morality necessary to our happiness are 
 these: that there is a Supreme Being, the 
 arbiter and disposer of all human things, w^ho 
 commands justice, truth and mutual love 
 of one for the other ; and that there is a state 
 of existence after this life, in which the Su- 
 preme Being will dispense rewards and pun- 
 ishments, according to each man's deserts. 
 Religion cannot surely be reduced into a nar- 
 nower compass than this, and with respect 
 to the necessity of believing these articles, 
 St. Paul agrees with the enemies of revela- 
 
SERMONS. 285 
 
 tion. But they think and assert that these 
 points are sufficiently known and enforced 
 by the natural lights of reason alone; 
 whereas the apostle teaches, and you, my 
 dear brethren, will be convinced, I hope, 
 that unless the additional authority of God's 
 word come in aid of the weakness of our un- 
 derstandings, mankind, in general, connot 
 acquire such a certainty of these fundamen- 
 tal articles of religion, as will be sufficient to 
 insure their obedience and support their 
 hopes. 
 
 I am far from deprecating that precious 
 gift of God, human reason ; or from asserting, 
 that it must always be involved in error and 
 uncertainty. But it is so liable to be blinded 
 by passion, to be warped by prejudices, to 
 be bewildered by the subtleties and contra- 
 dictions amongst mankind, that it cannot 
 teach with sufficient evidence, or prescribe 
 with sufficient authority the necessary truths 
 and duties just now enumerated. The 
 proofs of this are to be found in the weak- 
 nesses, the passions, and the history of man- 
 kind ; for though we should grant that some, 
 endowed with superior talents, and favored 
 with the advantages of leisure and education, 
 
286 SERMONS. 
 
 are able to discover the existence, unity, 
 power and wisdom of God ; his providential 
 superintendence over the works of his crea- 
 tion, and the convincing reasons for believ- 
 ing in a future state of rewards and punish- 
 ments, yet is it not evident at the same time, 
 that, comparatively speaking, few will be 
 able to investigate these important truths ? 
 and consequently that with respect to all 
 others, that is, to the great bulk of mankind, 
 their reason will be a most defective guide ? 
 For many things concur to render them in- 
 capable of and unfit for that application of 
 mind, without which the very fundamental 
 points of religion and morality, cannot be in- 
 vestigated and understood sufficiently, to 
 command our belief and practice. Many are 
 incapable through bodily indisposition, many 
 more are rendered so by the necessity of 
 providing for the subsistence of their fami- 
 lies, and by unavoidable occupations inci- 
 dent to their conditions of life, and have 
 neither time nor opportunity to make those 
 deep researches, without which they must 
 remain ignorant, in a great degree, of the 
 things most needful to be know^n, respecting 
 God, their own duties, and the end of their 
 
SERMONS, 287 
 
 creation. I mention no other obstacles, to 
 prevent the researches and discoveries of the 
 human understanding when left to its own 
 natural powers, besides these, which extend 
 to so large a portion of mankind, as evidently 
 to demonstrate the necessity of other means 
 of information, than those of reason alone. 
 Can any judicious and reflecting mind per- 
 suade itself, that the multitude, who have to 
 struggle with these obstacles, whose progress 
 in knowledge must be retarded by them at 
 every step, will be able to discover suffi- 
 ciently, not only the existence, but the na- 
 ture and providence of God, and our account- 
 ability to him ? 
 
 A farther proof of the necessity of a su- 
 perior direction is this : that these compara- 
 tively few persons, to whom leisure, educa- 
 tion and supereminent talents, are not 
 wanting to explore the essential truths of 
 natural religion, cannot nevertheless succeed 
 in their enquiries, without much and long in- 
 vestigation ; during the whole period of 
 which, as their understanding is in a per- 
 petual statxe of fluctuation, so their moral 
 conduct must be without any invariable rule 
 and direction. For in the first place, even 
 
288 SERMONS. 
 
 the brightest and most penetrating geniuses, 
 must meditate long on God's nature and at- 
 tributes ; on the qualities of the human soul ; 
 on the powers of our mind ; on the differ- 
 ences of virtue and vice, and the future condi- 
 tion of the good and wicked, before they can 
 be fully satisfied (if ever they are satisfied) 
 of the truth of their speculations. In the 
 meantime, that is, during a great part of their 
 lives, they would be floating on the waves 
 of doubt and uncertainty, without sufficient 
 motives to cherish virtue or fly from vice, 
 unless God enlightened them, and by his 
 divine revelation, compensated the imperfec- 
 tions and slow progress of human reason. 
 
 Again ; • no time of life requires to be go- 
 verned and restrained by fixed and indubita- 
 ble principles and precepts, so much as that 
 of our youthful years, when all our passions 
 are in a state of ferment, and agitated by the 
 tempests of most boisterous and tumultuous 
 desires. Is this period of our existence 
 adapted to the cool, unbiassed and elaborate 
 enquiries and meditation, necessary to dis- 
 cover and demonstrate the essential truths 
 of natural religion ? Experience teaches on 
 the contrary, that however favorable the 
 
SERMONS. 289 
 
 season of youth may be to the cultivation of 
 those sciences and those literary pursuits, 
 which please and embellish the imagination, 
 it is nevertheless the most unfit for the study 
 of that sacred morality, that divine philoso- 
 phy w^hich requires stability of thought and 
 maturity of reflection. To gain their entire 
 belief, and obtain their obedience, truth 
 must be manifested, and come recommended 
 to them by an irrefragable, a much higher 
 authority, and more persuasive influence than 
 the dubious and controverted opinions of 
 men, distrustful themselves, if they be truly 
 learned and modest ; or disgustful by their 
 rash confidence, if they be presumptuous. 
 Behold then another convincing proof of the 
 necessity of a Divine revelation, to supply the 
 defects of the mere natural powers of human 
 reason. 
 
 To evince more fully this necessity, the 
 best argument which I shall now draw from 
 the imperfection of the human mind, is this : 
 if some, after much investigation, come at 
 length to a demonstration of the first prin- 
 ciples of religion and morality, yet they are 
 never able to form any regular and con- 
 sistent system of either ; the reason is, 
 25 
 
290 SERMONS. 
 
 because they mix and disfigure the truth 
 with many fatal errors, as will be shown not 
 only by the history of the most eminent sages 
 of antiquity, who were not enlightened by 
 the torch of revelation, but like wise by the 
 example of modern unbelievers, who extin- 
 guish it in their hearts and vainly undertake 
 to find their way without its direction. St. 
 Paul speaks of such in his first chapter to the 
 Romans, ichofrom the creation of the world — 
 . . . when tJiey had known God, glorified him, 
 not as God . . . but became vain in their 
 thoiigJits, and their foolish liearts loere dark- 
 ened who changed the truth of God into 
 
 a lie. 
 
 If any doubts can yet remain on our minds 
 of the necessity of a Divine revelation, these 
 must vanish, when we consider the endless 
 uncertainties, and inconceivable errors of the 
 wisest amongst the ancients, who were not 
 favored with the knowledge of it, and of 
 those most celebrated wits of our own times, 
 who rejected the truths which God in his 
 mercy has displayed before them. To begin 
 with the ancients: Socrates universally es- 
 teemed us the wisest of the heathen world, 
 after having discovered by the acuteness of 
 
SERMONS. 291 
 
 his mind, and the penetration of his intel- 
 lectual powers, the existence and many of 
 the perfections of the one, only God, affords 
 us nevertheless a memorable instance of the 
 darkness in which human reason, unassisted 
 by revelation, leaves the mind involved. 
 For this eminent sage, after all his re- 
 searches into, and discoveries of God's nature 
 and attributes, being at the point of death, 
 had the weakness, and thought it his duty to 
 comply with the popular superstition of his 
 country, and command a sacrifice to one of 
 its false divinities ; nor was this all ; for after 
 many sublime speculations and discourses on 
 the nature and immortality of the human 
 soul, his very last words are expressive of 
 the greatest uncertainty respecting this very 
 point — I mean a state of future existence ; 
 without the firm belief of which, it is evident 
 there can be no religion ; none at least to 
 deter us from the commission of vice, or en- 
 courage us in the practice of virtue. 
 
 If such were the errors and uncertainties 
 of so great a master in the faculty and art of 
 reasoning as Socrates, we can be less sur- 
 prised that other eminent philosophers of 
 Greece and Rome blended so many grievous 
 
292 SERMONS. 
 
 errors with the few religious truths dis- 
 covered by them ; not only speculative but 
 practical errors, pregnant with the greatest 
 corruption of manners. The splendid tal- 
 ents and unrivalled elegance of Plato, could 
 not preserve him from such astonishing blind- 
 ness of understanding, that he recommended 
 and advocated the practice of the most exe- 
 crable and unnatural vices ; such vices, as 
 every christian, blessed with the light of 
 revelation, not only trembles to commit, but 
 even blushes to hear mentioned. 
 
 Let us now turn our eyes from ancient 
 philosophers and sages, to contemplate the 
 infidels of a later date, and those of our own 
 times. Here we shall meet a still more sen- 
 sible demonstration of the insufficiency of 
 human reason. To evidence this, I will 
 select for your information a few examples 
 from the history and writings of those men 
 whom the tribe of deists venerate as pre- 
 eminent in talents and wisdom. In the first 
 place, it appears evident to the christian, and 
 I may say farther, that if the light of nature 
 alone makes evident any one principle of 
 morality, it is this, that human liberty is ne- 
 cessary to the morality of human actions; 
 
SERMONS, 293 
 
 that it is incompatible with the divine jus- 
 tice, to make man accountable and liable to 
 punishment for doing or omitting those 
 things which it is impossible for him to avoid 
 doing or omitting ; and to which he is com- 
 pelled by the necessity of his nature and the 
 circumstances attending him, or by the de- 
 crees and ordering of God himself: that if 
 man enjoy no power of self-determination, 
 he cannot be a moral agent, and those things 
 which always have been deemed the great- 
 est enormities, as murders, parricides, incests, 
 would be, in the estimation of right reason, 
 no crimes at all, if he who committed them 
 was compelled by commanding and irresisti- 
 ble necessity. What a dreadful perversion 
 of order, what an inundation of the most 
 horrible excesses would break in upon the 
 world, if these opinions had general preva- 
 lence ? But fatal as is their tendency, these 
 are the doctrines of many of the most famous 
 modern enemies of revelation. None amongst 
 them have surpassed Hume in subtlety of 
 argument and acuteness of understanding. 
 Yet having discarded revelation, and dis- 
 daining to follow any other guide than his 
 own reasoning faculty, he not only asserts 
 25* 
 
294 SERMONS. 
 
 without ambiguity, but employs all his tal- 
 ents to prove, that mankind act continually 
 under the influence of necessity ; that they 
 reallv enjoy no freedom of determination, 
 and that they are always under a delusion, 
 while they imagine themselves to enjoy per- 
 fect liberty. 
 
 Again, vice in this world is generally so 
 elevated and virtue so depressed ; so many 
 are the enjoyments of the wicked, whom no 
 considerations of conscience restrain, and so 
 continual are the self-denials which a sense 
 of duty imposes on the good, that there 
 would be no consolation for the latter, if the 
 belief of a future state and of the immortal- 
 ity of their souls did not support their hopes, 
 and certify to them, that all the seeming dis- 
 orders and irregularities of this life, would 
 be rectified by a just and righteous God in 
 the life to come. But what do we learn on 
 this important point from modern infidelity ? 
 If we consult another of its greatest lights ; 
 one, whose brilliant talents have been cele- 
 brated with the most exalted encomiums, we 
 find nothing but uncertainty and discourage- 
 ment respecting a tenet so necessary to 
 morality, so essential to the encouragement 
 
SERMONS. 295 
 
 of virtue. This great man's reason could 
 discover no sufficient proof of a future state. 
 Ah ! my brethren, w^ho sees not in this ac- 
 knowledgment the necessity of Divine reve- 
 lation ? Nor does Bolingbroke alone betray 
 the state of uncertainty and doubt in so 
 capital an article. Almost all other advo- 
 cates for the sufficiency of natural reason, 
 hold the same language. The unbelieving 
 Voltaire, he, whose writings are so widely 
 diffused to the destruction of religion and 
 manners, endeavors continually to raise 
 doubts to obscure the doctrine of immor- 
 tality. His numerous disciples have caught 
 his spirit, and sometimes lament, with hypo- 
 critical concern, that a doctrine so full of 
 comfort, remains so full of doubt ; whereas 
 in their hearts they wish nothing so much, 
 as that it may be false, having all to fear 
 from its truth. You remember, my christian 
 brethren, to have read with horror some 
 years ago, a particular account of the deaths 
 of more than twenty of these apostates to 
 anti-christian philosophy, who were sacri- 
 ficed at the same time to the vengeance of a 
 faction, more powerful and sanguinary than 
 themselves ; when they were at the instant 
 
296 SERMONS. 
 
 of their execution, when their heads were 
 just ready to be laid under the fatal instru- 
 ment, instead of disposing themselves for 
 reconciliation with the great judge of man- 
 kind, they affected to discuss the reasons 
 for and against a future state, and closed 
 their existence here with expressions of the 
 utmost uncertainty respecting any existence 
 liereafter. Yet, by all accounts, these men 
 had great endowments from nature, and had 
 cultivated them by the study of every human 
 science. After these memorable examples, 
 who will be bold enough to assert the suffi- 
 ciency of human reason for all the purposes 
 of morality and religion ? Indeed, so many 
 evidences have occurred in these our times, 
 not only of the advantages, but absolute ne- 
 cessity of revelation, that the sincere friend 
 of religion feels one comfort amidst all his 
 disasters. He consoles himself with this re- 
 flection, that perhaps Divine Providence has 
 permitted some of the first geniuses of the age 
 to pursue without restraint, their own sys- 
 tems and speculations, that we might take 
 instruction from their fatal and monstrous 
 errors, and learn how deeply we are inter- 
 ested in having for our guide in the way of 
 
SERMONS. 297 
 
 salvation, a more study rule than the natural 
 lights of the most famed philosophers. To 
 give this lesson was w^orthy of divine wis- 
 dom; especially in an age when infidelity 
 and a contemptuous disregard for the revela- 
 tion and gospel of Jesus Christ, were laying 
 waste his kingdom on earth, his glorious in- 
 heritance, and threatening to extirpate from 
 the world all respect for his law and most 
 holy name. And we may hope that infinite 
 wisdom, drawing good out of evil, will make 
 the delusions themselves of anti-christian 
 skepticism, and the extravagance of its er- 
 rors, the very means of its total overthrow, 
 by discovering to all men the depth of 
 misery into which we should be plunged 
 without the cheering light of revelation. 
 
 However demonstrative of this truth, the 
 examples hitherto adduced are, yet I must 
 beg leave to trespass on your patience, by 
 alleging one more, which places this point, 
 if possible, in a still stronger light. Accus- 
 tomed, as we are from our infancy, to consi- 
 der and honor God as the source of goodness 
 and justice, and experiencing many effects of 
 these divine attributes in the providence 
 exercised over ourselves and others, we 
 
298 SERMONS. 
 
 naturally conclude that every human crea- 
 ture must confess, that justice and goodness 
 are inseparable from the Supreme Being ; 
 and that we need consult no other light 
 than natural reason, to be firmly convinced 
 of it, and certainly without a firm persuasion 
 that God is possessed of these perfections, 
 tlie whole race of mankind would be ex- 
 posed to the most outrageous violence, all 
 peace would be banished, all confidence 
 destroyed, and life itself, instead of being a 
 blessing, would be our most grievous misfor- 
 tune. All this, notwithstanding, if we turn 
 to those luminaries of the modern world, who 
 are said to have diffused a splendor over the 
 present age, greater than ever enlightened 
 any other, do we find that their writings il- 
 lustrate this fundamental doctrine of morali- 
 ty, this consolatory truth, the great Master 
 and Lord of the universe, is infinitely good^ 
 and infinitely jws^? No, my christian breth- 
 ren, I am sure that you will hear me with 
 astonishment. Almost all these famed phi- 
 losophers spread doubts and uncertainty re- 
 specting this subject, and employ the subtlety 
 of their understandings, to prove that there 
 is no sufficient evidence of wisdom and jus- 
 
SERMONS. 299 
 
 tice appertaining to the All-powerful God. 
 This they expressly teach, and make this 
 doctrine the basis of many other impious 
 opinions, tending to remove every barrier 
 against vice, and to damp all ardor for im- 
 provement, or perseverance in virtue. After 
 exhibiting these almost incredible and per- 
 nicious errors of the great leaders in the 
 cause of infidelity, I need insist no farther 
 on the manifest insufficiency of reason alone, 
 to teach us all the necessary points of even 
 the law and religion of nature. 
 
 From the observations already made, may 
 I not hope, that you both feel, and will tes- 
 tify the most sincere gratitude and reverence 
 to that Divine Person, who enlighteneth every 
 man coming into this world ? (John i. 9) who 
 has spread the effulgence of revelation over 
 the face of the earth, and has not left us to 
 grope in darkness, or afforded only the dim 
 light of reason to search into the ways of 
 truth and life, but the grace of God, our Sa- 
 viour, has appeared to all men, instructing 
 us, that renouncing impiety and. worldly de- 
 sires, we should live soberly, and piously, and 
 justly in this world, waiting for the blessed 
 hope, and coming of the glory of the great 
 
300 SERMONS. 
 
 God^ and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Titus 
 ii. 7, et seq. With this impression on your 
 minds, you will not only be prepared to re- 
 sist the insidious and poisonous lessons of in- 
 fidelity, but you will even refuse to hear 
 them. Expose not yourselves to the artful 
 seduction of books destined to weaken and 
 extinguish your fiiith. Be not misled by that 
 miserable sophistry, which pretends that 
 none should be afraid of reading works, how- 
 ever hostile to religion, that to be convinced 
 of its truth, they should know the objections 
 raised against it. What? is there no other 
 way of being acquainted with the malignity 
 of poison, but by drinking it up ? Are not 
 the evidences of divine revelation so many 
 and convincing, that we may safely and 
 firmly believe it without searching to know 
 whatever pride and licentiousness have de- 
 vised to oppose it ? Let it be your duty to 
 fly from danger, which many of you are not 
 prepared to encounter. Let humility of 
 faith be your shelter and safe-guard. In 
 this most important concern, bear in your 
 mind these words of my text : it shall be, that 
 every soul which will not hear that Prophet 
 whom the Lord God hath sent, shall be de- 
 
SERMONS. 301 
 
 stroyed from among the people : that is, they 
 who reject his doctrines shall not belong to 
 the chosen race, destined to the possession 
 of an everlasting inheritance of glory. May 
 God vouchsafe to rescue us, at least, from 
 that fatal destruction, and save us in his 
 mercy, through the merits of Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. deo gratias. 
 
 AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM. 
 
 January 17, 1802. 
 
 There was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Je- 
 sus was there, and Jesus also was invited. — John ii. 1, 2. 
 
 A MARRIAGE, honored with the presence of 
 Jesus and Mary, must have been attended 
 with uncommon blessings ; and though the 
 gospel gives no further account of the subse- 
 quent lives and conduct of the persons 
 whose union was formed with such happy 
 auspices, yet there is every reason to sup- 
 pose, that the graces bestowed on them by 
 and through Jesus Christ, inspired into their 
 hearts, and preserved ever afterwards those 
 dispositions, which exhibit the excellency 
 and perfection of a married state. This, 
 26 
 
302 SERMONS. 
 
 according to the appointment and direction 
 of Divine Providence, is the general state of 
 mankind ; and therefore it is proper and use- 
 ful for christians to know and reflect on those 
 points of duty, which previous to, and after 
 their matrimonial union, are necessary to 
 render it acceptable to God, and fortunate to 
 themselves. It is a painful and melancholy 
 consideration, that so many marriages should 
 be followed by such unhappiness, as we all 
 frequently may witness; and that the closest 
 connection, ordained by heaven, to be formed 
 between two persons, and which therefore 
 should be the cement of their tenderest af- 
 fections, generates so often the fiercest con- 
 tentions, reproaches, and envenomed hatred. 
 It would betray a great ignorance of human 
 nature, to say that the universal and sole 
 cause of such misfortunes is an inattention 
 to, and neglect of those important lessons 
 concerning matrimony, which are given in 
 the gospels, and other books of scripture. 
 The natural perversity of tempers, and dif- 
 ference of characters contribute likewise, no 
 doubt, to poison the happiness of a married 
 state; and experience as well as religion, 
 concur in evincing the truth of the doctrine 
 
SERMONS. 303 
 
 of the apostle, that though maniage be 
 honorable (Heb. 13,) yet it imposes a yoke 
 and a harden ; though it be a great sacra- 
 ment . . . in Christ and the church (Eph. 5,) 
 yet they who receive it, shall suffer tribula- 
 tion of the fleshy (1 Cor. 7); in a word, 
 though it be an institution of God, yet that 
 there is another condition and state of life, 
 more sublime and excellent in its nature, of 
 which our divine Saviour spoke, when he 
 said : All men i^eceive not this icord ; hut they 
 
 to ichom it is given he, ivho can receive 
 
 it, let him receive it. — Matt. xix. 11, 12. 
 
 If even common observation did not give 
 sufficient evidence of a painful truth, we 
 might learn from these expressions of holy 
 writ, that the ways of matrimony are not 
 strewed with roses only, as rash and head- 
 long youth often persuade themselves ; but 
 that they are likewise beset with thorns and 
 briars, to incommode, and, alas ! often griev- 
 ously to harass those who engage in it. 
 What counsel, my dear brethren, can avail 
 you in this situation ? It becomes our min- 
 istry to suggest none from this place, but 
 that which collected from the doctrines of 
 eternal wisdom, establishes rules of conduct 
 
304 SERMONS. 
 
 for every lawful condition of life. Having 
 these present to my mind, I shall consider 
 vou as divided into two classes : one con- 
 sisting of those, who are in a single state, 
 but contemplate a married one, as that which 
 will form the destiny of their future lives; 
 the other, of those who are engaged in it al- 
 ready. To the first, this discourse will be 
 addressed. Being fully sensible of the deli- 
 cacy of the subject, I will endeavor, with 
 God's help, so to treat it, as neither to give 
 offence to the chastest ear, nor derogate from 
 the dignity of the sacred ministry, which 
 I am now called to perform. 
 
 The comprehensive wMsdom of Almighty 
 God adapts that religion, of Avhich he is the 
 author, and which alone deserves to be dig- 
 nified bv that honorable appellation, to the 
 improvement and perfection of his rational 
 creatures, in all their stages through life, and 
 in the different permanent states and condi- 
 tions in which they lawfully engage them- 
 selves. To view religion in this light, is to 
 place it in one of its sublimest attitudes; 
 diffusinsr its directions and benefits on the 
 children of men, from their birth into this 
 
SERMONS. 305 
 
 world, to their departure for eternity ; re- 
 generating them by baptism ; fortifying, in the 
 sacrament of confirmation, their faith, and 
 perfecting their infant virtues, by infusing all 
 the gifts of the Holy Ghost ; in the Eucharist, 
 nourishing their languishing souls with the 
 bread of angels ; repairing their lost inno- 
 cence and reconciling them anew to heaven, 
 by the sacred and merciful institution of 
 penance ; assuaging their anguish, and en- 
 couraging their hope in the agonies of sick- 
 ness, by prayer and the consecrated unc- 
 tion ; and finally, sanctifying that union 
 which preserves the perpetuity of human 
 kind, by elevating it to the character and 
 dignity of a sacrament, and becoming a re- 
 presentation of that indissoluble union, which 
 subsists between Christ and his church. Is 
 it possible to furnish a more exalted idea of 
 matrimony, than is thus stirred up in our 
 minds, when we consider this sublime rela- 
 tion which it bears to Christ espoused to his 
 church ? Whilst heathens and carnal men 
 view it only with reference to the gratifica- 
 tion of their sensual desires ; whilst worldly 
 policy only calculates its advantages, rela- 
 tively to the artificial combinations of civil 
 26* 
 
306 SERMONS. 
 
 society, Christianity ennobles the matrimonial 
 union, by annexing to it a religious and most 
 sacred signification ; it disengages it, as I 
 may say, from the contagion of being formed 
 merely for the low and grovelling purposes 
 of sensuality, and of carnal wisdom. 
 
 It is thus, my dear brethren, that you, who 
 are destined to enter hereafter into a mar- 
 ried state, should view the contract which 
 will bind you during life. You are clirist- 
 ians ; you are Catholic Christians ; you pro- 
 fess to be of that religion which teaches that 
 the union formed by matrimony is a sacra- 
 ment of most sublime signification ; that the 
 efficacy annexed to this sacrament is to con- 
 vey those graces to your souls, which will 
 enable you to bear the trials and fulfil the 
 duties of a married state ; that being a sa- 
 crament, it requires, as an indispensable con- 
 dition of receiving it worthily, that your con- 
 sciences be purified from the guilt of grievous 
 offences at the time when vou come to the 
 solemnization of your marriage. On these 
 truths which you profess as a part of your 
 religious creed, are established your obliga- 
 tions respecting the important point of 
 which we now treat ; and which, perhaps. 
 
SERMONS. 307 
 
 will be seen clearer, and better understood 
 by contrasting them with that conduct 
 which is commonly pursued in the world. 
 
 If then we turn our eyes towards the 
 generality of those who design to engage in 
 matrimony, we must acknowledge that three 
 very prevailing abuses present themselves to 
 our view : in the first place, they form their 
 engagements without reflection on, or refer- 
 ence to those purposes, for which marriage 
 was instituted, and raised to such eminent 
 dignity in the church of God : secondly, they 
 form them imprudently, without consulting 
 those persons to whom they should look up 
 for advice and direction ; and without those 
 sacred regards to the security of their own 
 faith, or that of the issue, which may be the 
 fruit of their marriage, they use no solicitude 
 to cleanse and preserve their consciences 
 from the contagion and defilement of sin. 
 These defects are directly opposite to their 
 obligations, and tend to render their mar- 
 riages criminal before God, and sovereignly 
 unhappy for themselves. 
 
 I said first, that engagements of matrimony 
 are made generally without any reflection 
 on, or deliberate purpose of referring and or- 
 
308 SERMONS. 
 
 daining it to those ends for which it was in- 
 stituted by eternal wisdom. To follow the 
 impulse of a violent, or a romantic, or a mer- 
 cenary passion, and to escape from the con- 
 trol and watchfulness of parental authority, 
 are the objects most generally sought for in 
 matrimony — the ends for wdiich it is solicit- 
 ed and embraced. But were these pur- 
 poses contemplated by Divine Providence in 
 its institution ? Let us consult revelation on 
 this head. Soon after the creation of Adam, 
 his Creator made provision for the binding 
 of him ill society, that he might enjoy its 
 comforts. It is not good, says God, speaking 
 of Adam, /or man to he alone ; let us make 
 him a help like to himself. Gen. ii. 18. Again, 
 in the Book of Tobias, the Holy Ghost pro- 
 poses to us the example of a marriage con- 
 ducted in perfect conformity to the will of 
 God; and young Tobias thus expresses his 
 views and holy purpose in contracting his 
 union with the virtuous daughter of Raguel : 
 Lord, says he, thou knowest that not for 
 fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, hut 
 only for the love of posterity, in which thy 
 name may he blessed for ever and evermore. 
 Tob. viii. 9. Finally, St. Paul in his first 
 
SERMONS. 309 
 
 Epistle to the Corinthians, assigns another 
 reason and end to be obtained by marriage ; 
 which is, that it may operate as a restraint 
 on unlawful desires and criminal excesses. 
 How delicate, my brethren, is the function of 
 the ministry of the word in these times, when 
 we dare not use, in your presence, the ex- 
 pression of St. Paul himself, upon this sub- 
 ject, without offending that fastidious deli- 
 cacy, which is often much more punctilious 
 in criticising the language of the pulpit, than 
 they who object to it, are observant of de- 
 cency in words and actions. Tsmj, says the 
 apostle, to the unmarried^ and to the widows, 
 it is good for them, if they so continue even as 
 I: but if their experience convince them of 
 the need of providing against imminent dan- 
 gers to their virtue, let them marry. 
 
 These then are the ends of matrimony, as 
 laid down in the revealed word of God ; in 
 the first place to obtain the assistance and 
 consolations derivable from the society of a 
 companion, who being of a correspondent 
 temper and manners, and trained in similar 
 habits, will participate with sensibility and 
 affection, in all the duties and domestic 
 cares ; who will assist the other partner to 
 
310 SERMONS. 
 
 bear afflictions with patience, and blessings 
 with thankfulness and gratitude ; who will 
 not add weight to the unavoidable cares of 
 life, by brutal insult and intemperance, or by 
 the asperity and endless contradictions of an 
 ungovernable temper. 
 
 But do considerations of this kind sway 
 your choice of partners for life? On the 
 contrary, does not a blind and unreflecting 
 passion impose continually on the willing 
 credulity of most young persons, who pur- 
 posely cast a veil over their eyes, that they 
 may not see those defects and vices in the 
 objects of their partiality, which strike every 
 other beholder? Do they not rashly and 
 presumptuously flatter themselves, with the 
 vain hope of working a reform in those on 
 whom the powerful motives of religion, the 
 persuasions of parental tenderness, and the 
 admonitions of friendship made no impres- 
 sion ? Blind to every thing else, and only 
 seeing the pleasing outside of the object, 
 with which they are enamored, they never 
 bestow a serious thought on the disparity of 
 temper, the variance of their propensities, 
 the unsuitableness of their manners, and for- 
 getting that they ought to seek in marriage 
 
SERMONS. 311 
 
 the assistance and comforts of a virtuous 
 companion, they cast themselves into the 
 power of intemperance, of prodigality, of sor- 
 did avarice, of unblushing licentiousness, or 
 the caprices of every irregular emotion, to 
 which the human heart can be a prey. Do 
 marriages so formed deserve to be honored, I 
 say not by the visible presence of Jesus and 
 Mary, as that spoken of in the Gospel, but 
 even by his invisible grace and blessing ? 
 Are they worthy of being representations of 
 the union of Christ with his church ? Must 
 not unhappiness and vexation be the issue of 
 such marriages ? Will not offences against 
 heaven be multiplied in consequence of en- 
 gagements so indiscreetly, and I may almost 
 add, so wickedly formed ? 
 
 Another end, for which matrimony was 
 designed, is that which was observed before, 
 is mentioned by the virtuous Tobias, the love 
 of posterity, in which the name of the Lord 
 may he blessed for ever and evermore. Who- 
 ever loves God, and is penetrated with a 
 grateful sense of his manifold blessings and 
 favors, must wish and rejoice, that thousands 
 and tens of thousands of tongues should pro- 
 claim his greatness, and sing forth his praises ; 
 
312 SERMONS. 
 
 and whoever are disposed to engage in mat- 
 rimony, while their minds are under this im- 
 pression of love for, and gratitude to God, 
 will refer their intended union not merely to 
 the purpose of having a posterity to inherit 
 their own names, but to honor the great 
 Creator and Father of mankind ; they will 
 resolve to receive the children w^ith which 
 heaven may bless their marriage, as gifts to 
 be rendered back to him from whom they 
 may be received, and offered to be impressed 
 with the character of his adopted children. 
 Thus their natural birth will be a prepara- 
 tion for their regeneration to God through 
 Jesus Christ, in the waters of baptism. How 
 far above and superior to the vulgar and 
 common estimate of marriage, is this view of 
 it, exhibited by our divine religion ? and 
 how much is it to be wished, for the happi- 
 ness of mankind, that it were always con- 
 sidered in this light ? 
 
 The last in order, as well as the lowest in 
 perfection, of the ends of matrimony, is that 
 of which St. Paul speaks in the passage before 
 cited, and which he addresses to unmarried 
 persons— signifying to them, that they may 
 find in marriage a defence and resource 
 
SERMONS. 313 
 
 against the assaults of temptation, and the un- 
 steadiness of their virtue. He calls marriage 
 a remedy for the cure of so grievous a disor- 
 der; but he knew too well the excellency 
 and sublime perfection of our religion, to say 
 that this was the only remedy, or that this 
 remedy was necessarily to be used ; he knew 
 that these sacraments and graces of Jesus 
 Christ were sufficient, if not to suppress, at 
 least to subdue our passions, and overcome 
 inveterate habits ; and therefore, speaking in 
 another place of his own inward conflicts, he 
 says : Who shall deliver vie from the body of 
 this death? The grace of God by Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord (Kom, vii. 24), and even 
 where he recommends the remedy of mar- 
 riages as a preservative against sin, he takes 
 care to inform us, that it is granted as an in- 
 dulgence, and not imposed as a commcuul- 
 nient. — 1 Cor. vii. 6. Wherefore, if amongst 
 you, dear brethren, there be any who unfor- 
 tunately are entangled in criminal habits 
 and connexions; if you have been drawn 
 again into sin, by the prevalence of that em- 
 pire which sensual passions have gained over 
 you, remember that one of the purposes of the 
 institution of marriage is, to cover you from 
 27 
 
o 
 
 14 SERMONS. 
 
 the attacks of impure desires ; and if you 
 have not courage and resolution enough to 
 fight for a more glorious victory over them, 
 avail yourselves of that resource which mar- 
 ria2:e offers vou. 
 
 Having now enumerated the excellent 
 and salutary purposes for which marriage 
 was instituted, it is left to you to consider 
 whetlier, when you form designs of future al- 
 liances and the thoughts of a matrimonial 
 establishment occupy your minds, whether, 
 I say, you keep in your view those ends for 
 which Divine Providence ordained the conju- 
 gal union 7 Do you not rather comtemplate 
 the attainment of other purposes ? Do you 
 not propose to deliver yourselves from the 
 control of parental authority, and to possess 
 yourselves of wealth, pre-eminence and sen- 
 sual gratifications ? Are not these alone the 
 objects which your hearts desire ? 
 
 A second cause, why so many marriages 
 prove unhappy, and are deprived of the 
 blessings promised by God, is the reprehen- 
 sible and criminal rashness and imprudence 
 with which they are contracted. No event 
 of life entails such lasting consequences, nor 
 is so pregnant with happiness or misery, and 
 
SERMONS. 315 
 
 therefore none demands more recourse bv 
 prayer to God for direction, or stands more 
 in need of disinterested advice. In the sea- 
 son of youth, the tide of passions runs with 
 tlie greatest rapidity, and requires the direc- 
 tion of steady experience and the tenderest 
 solicitude. Where will young persons be so 
 sure of finding this assistance as from their 
 parents ? I speak at present of the general- 
 ity of parents, and not of those unnatural 
 murderers of their children's happiness, who 
 are ready to sacrifice it to the demons of 
 interest and ambition. I hope there are none 
 such amongst the hearers to whom I now 
 address myself But I fear there are, 
 amongst their sons and daughters, some 
 who, with the rash confidence so fatal to their 
 age, engage themselves under solemn pro- 
 mises of marriage without asking the advice 
 they need so much, or obtaining that con- 
 sent, which it is so much their obligation to 
 solicit. After this first undutiful act of en- 
 gaging themselves without the knowledge of 
 their parents, they then make advantage of 
 their very undutifulness to extort, not con- 
 sent, but painful acquiescence. What is too 
 frequently the consequence of these mar- 
 
o 
 
 16 SERMONS. 
 
 riages ? Reflection succeeds to the first ar- 
 dors of passion ; the hand of time brushes 
 away the mist, which concealed from their 
 eyes those blemishes and stains which were 
 conspicuous to every one else : mutual cold- 
 ness, disesteem, disrespect, dissension, and 
 fmally, hatred, follow each other, and a mar- 
 ried state into which the parties entered 
 with so little respect for the laws of God, 
 instead of being attended with happiness, be- 
 comes the most miserable condition on earth. 
 Amongst other concurrent causes of so 
 great misfortunes and lasting depravity, may 
 we not account that which is recorded in the 
 2Gth chapter of Genesis, that Esau married 
 Judith . . . and Bascmath .... and offended 
 the mind of his Father and Mother, Isaac 
 and Rebecca ? Ought you not to keep be- 
 fore your eyes this memorable example of 
 God's severity in punishing filial undutiful- 
 ness ? Should it not deter you from being 
 guilty of the same transgression, lest you 
 likewise become victims of Divine justice, 
 and punished in your posterity through many 
 generations, for having violated the sanctity 
 of marriage by your undutiful conduct in 
 contracting it 7 
 
SERMONS. 317 
 
 It results from these observations, that it 
 is the duty of young persons, a duty sug- 
 gested by reason, as well as religion, to con- 
 sult and take direction from their parents, 
 before they make proposals of marriage or 
 give their unconditional consent to tliem. 
 It is true the parents have no right to com- 
 pel the choice of their children ; and this, so 
 far from being a prerogative attached to 
 their condition, would be a cruel and un- 
 warrantable exercise of authority; but na- 
 tural and revealed religion equally teach, 
 that they have a right to advise and object ; 
 that their objections should have the great- 
 est weight ; and generally speaking, should 
 be definitive against the union which they 
 condemn. 
 
 Nor is the authority of the parents only 
 to be consulted on these occasions. The or- 
 dinances of religion, the salutary maxims and 
 directions of the Church require your dutiful 
 obedience. It has been mentioned to you 
 already, that two of the purposes for which 
 marriage was instituted, are: first, the conso- 
 lation and encouragement to be found under 
 the burthens of this life, in the company and 
 assistance of a person, united in disposition 
 27* 
 
318 SERMONS. 
 
 and similar habits of faith and piety towards 
 God : and secondly, the hope of posterity, 
 which may honor their Maker by the docility 
 to his law, and the devout exercises of praise, 
 thankfulness and union, with Christ in the 
 great Eucharistic offering to his eternal 
 Father. Now, to correspond with these de- 
 signs of Providence, it is ordained by the 
 Church, that its members should choose for 
 their indissoluble companions through life, 
 only such as are united in the profession of 
 the same faith. Under the law of Moses, 
 this was prescribed with the greatest rigor, 
 and the violation of the law punished with 
 the most exemplary severity. In this dis- 
 pensation of grace under Jesus Christ, to 
 deviate from this rule is to expose your own 
 happiness, as well as that of the children 
 you may have, to the greatest danger. The 
 opposite religious opinions of the father and 
 mother serve to perplex, and finally to make 
 their children indifferent about the tenets or 
 practices of Christianity ; and being thus in- 
 different, they fall an easy prey to the artifi- 
 cial sophistry of deists, and finally discard 
 from their minds even the belief of God's 
 moral government. I have spoken so often 
 
SERMONS. 319 
 
 and so much against marriages thus con- 
 tracted, as to render it the less necessary to 
 add more at present, except it be to bear 
 this public testimony against them, and ex- 
 press my deep concern, that we are so often 
 compelled, for fear of greater evils, to lend 
 our ministry to their celebration. If some of 
 them be attended with salutary conse- 
 quences, many leave us cause for the most 
 poignant sorrow, and almost induce us to 
 repent that we ever concurred in forming 
 them. Finally, another common abuse pre- 
 ceding marriage is, that in the interval be- 
 tween the engagement and celebration of it, 
 little care is taken to preserve or to free their 
 consciences from the burthen and contagion 
 of sin. Need I admonish you, my dear 
 brethren, that the promise of marriage does 
 not exempt you from the obligation of lead- 
 ing chaste lives, and preserving the original 
 integrity of your bodies and minds ? that it 
 is still sinful for you to admit deliberately 
 those thoughts or desires, which purity en- 
 deavors always to suppress ? to hear those 
 conversations which call up the blushes of 
 innocence? or suffer those familiarities, 
 which weaken the delicacy and sensibility of 
 
320 SERMONS. 
 
 virtue, and diminish the holy and filial fear 
 of God in your souls ? If during those days 
 of danger, which intervene between the 
 promise and its solemnization, you should be- 
 come less careful of yourselves, less solicitous 
 of offending God, will there not be reason to 
 suspect your preparation for receiving the 
 sacrament of matrimony 7 As a sacrament 
 of Divine institution, it requires in those who 
 are admitted to it, a conscience purified from 
 the stains of sin, otherwise they would be 
 guilty of a profanation and sacrilege; and 
 where they ought to receive a blessing, and 
 graces to fulfil the obligations of their new 
 state, they will, on the contrary, draw upon 
 themselves the displeasure, and perhaps, alas! 
 the curse of Heaven. From these considera- 
 tions, let me exhort you to make this christian 
 resolution: before marriage, to seek above all 
 things, to render Heaven propitious to it, not 
 only by avoiding offences against the law of 
 God, but by the exercises of christian peni- 
 tence to expiate those committed heretofore ; 
 to have recourse to the sacraments of for- 
 giveness and the Holy Eucharist, some days 
 previous to marriage ; and if any thing should 
 disturb again the peace of your consciences 
 
SERMONS. 321 
 
 before the day destined for its celebration, 
 seek a new tranquillity and reconciliation in 
 the tribunal of confession. 
 
 May the mercy of God render these in- 
 structions profitable to those to whom they 
 were principally addressed, as well as to us 
 all, that we may enjoy both temporal and 
 eternal happiness. d. g. 
 
JOHN IMEI7RPHV, 
 
 PRINTER, PUBLISHER & BOOKSELLER, 
 146 Market street, Baltimore, 
 
 Han recently adJcd to his former business a BOOK STOKE and BOOK 
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 Good Articles, Low Prices, and Puncttialily may be relied on. 
 
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 LIST OF CATIIOLIC mH?Kr?ilLlsiE^^ SALE AS ABOVE. 
 
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 Concilia Piovincialia, Baltimori Kabita ab Anno 1829 
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 sold at very low prices, the style in which they are gotten up, and the 
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 A Conference on the Authority of the Church, held 
 March 1st, 1679, between Ja.mes Benignus Bossuet, Bishop of 
 Condom (af^terwards of Meaux), and John Claude, Calvinist Minister at 
 Charenton; together with Reflections on a Treatise by M. Claude, by the 
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 sary for forroina; youth to the pr.ictice of Solid Piety. 
 
 This Prayer Book is embellished with beautiful steel engravings, and may 
 be had in a variety of bindings, varying in price, from $1 to ^2 50. 
 
 T?iowers of Piety, selected from approved sources and 
 
 _L adapted for general use. 
 
 This is a neat miniature Prayer Book, embellished with beautiful steel 
 engpravings, and may be had in a variety of bindings, varying iu price from 
 25cts. to $1 50. 
 
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 THE CABINET LIBRARY. 
 
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 ries of Juvenile Works, translated from the French, under the name of the 
 "CABINET LIBRARY." The publication of this series was undertaken, 
 under the conviction, that in affording to children a pleasing method of instruc- 
 tion, he would greatly facilitate the attainment of an object which christian 
 parents have so raucli at heart, the virtuous training of their offspring. 
 With these views, the Cabinet Library is offered to the patronage of the 
 community, with the hope that it will meet with a liberal support. 
 
 Great pains are taken in selecting and getting up this little Library; each 
 volume will contain about 160 pages, 32rao., they will be beautifully printed 
 on fine white paper — each number is illustrated with a neat engraving, and 
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 A number of the Library will appear every two or three months — they 
 will be neatly done up in paper and ornamental cloth, with gilt edges, &c. 
 which will be very appropriate for premiums, presents, &c. 
 
 Price in ornamental paper, full bound, 25 cents. Cloth, gilt, 37^ cts. 
 Works published in the Cabinet Library. 
 No. 1. MARIA, OR Confidence in God Ultimately Rewarded. 
 No. 2. THE WOODEN CROSS, by C. Schmid. 
 No. 3. THE LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
 No. 4 will appear in February. 
 
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 BEADS, &c. are kept constantly on hand, and sold at very moderate prices. 
 
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 ander the superintendence of a Reverend gentleman of acknowledged taste and 
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 GRATIARUM ACTIONES post Missam. 
 
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 In Press, and will be published early in 1843. 
 
 A MANUAL OF CATHOLIC MELODIES, 
 
 Hymns, Psalms, &c. with the ordinary Exercises of Plety» 
 
 Ihibliibed with the approbation of ttic Rt. Rev. Bishop WhcLin. 
 
 The author of the work mentioned above was led to the compilation of it by a de- 
 sire 10 supply what he considered a notable deficiency in the stock of sacred music 
 in this country. It may be said that, in general, the various collections of nmsic in- 
 tended for the Church service arc ample enough in their materials ; but so far we are 
 )n want of a Manual adapted to family use, to school purposes, or to the pious enter- 
 tainment of youth on such occasions as first communion, catechetical instruction, 
 &c., and there is no doubt that the cause of religion would be extensively aided by 
 the publication of a work of this description, furnished witli good materials and ju- 
 diciously arranged. It is hoped that the Manual now offered to the public will be 
 found to conibine these advantages. It has been compiled from the most approved 
 works, and presents, in addition to the usual devotional exercises, a methodical series 
 of Hymns, Anthems, Psalms, &c., each accompanied with an appropriate melody, 
 and so arranged as to answer every purpose of Catholic piety and worship. 
 
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 U. STATES CATHOLIC MACJAZIIVE, 
 
 v5 Monthly Periodical, containing chiefly selections from the best Catholic 
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 The work hitherto issued under the name of the Religious Cabinet, is now 
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 design of the publisher to make such improvements in the paper and typography as 
 will present the work in a slvle unsurpassed in point of finish and elegant appear- 
 ance. To enable him to accomplish this design, and to produce a periodical which 
 the Catholic body in the United States may feel no hesitation in ranking among the 
 most useful and most interesting channels of instruction, (and he can say with con- 
 fidence that as regards cheapness, it will compete with any similar publication in the 
 United Stiites,) he solicits a continuance of their patronage. 
 
 TERMS. — The United States Catholic Magazine is issued regularly, 
 on the first of every month, and each number will consist of sixty-four pages, 
 8vo. printed in handsome type and on fine paper, at Three Dollars jicr Jinnum, — 
 2 copies for f 5 ; 4 copies for $ 10 ; 10 copies for $ 20 — payable in advance. 
 
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936.09 
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