% % Eliot flDemorial SKETCHES HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE ELIOT CHURCH AND SOCIETY BOSTON BY A. C. THOMPSON BOSTON TLbe pu^rim press CHICAGO u 105 ./fef O’NEILL LIBRARY BOSTON COLLEGE Copyright, 1900, BY A. C. Thompson Electrotyped by Thomas Todd 14 Beacon Street, Boston. PREFACE. T HE origin of this volume was as follows:— The four Deacons of the Eliot Church — Messrs. Timothy Smith, Alpine McLean, Frederick C. Russell, and Clarence T. Mooar — communicated a joint and earnest written request that I should prepare such a work. They stated that my long connection with the Church had made me acquainted with many members now deceased, and with many facts in our collective life known to no one else now living. Emphasis was given to a suggestion that there should be special freedom in recording items of autobiography. The introduction of matters personal to the writer has accordingly been employed much more amply than might otherwise have seemed consistent with modesty. Without such freedom there would have been constraint and awkwardness in an endeavor not to appear egotistic. The volume is an unpretentious contribution to local history, a response to the reasonable desire of friends for some acquaintance with a limited period not long ago, and with individuals whose names and but little more are familiar to them. After the preliminary chapters there follows a simple record, for the most part, of occur¬ rences between the years 1834 and 1871. Much greater fullness per¬ tains naturally to the period of my active pastorate, from 1842 to 1871. At the last mentioned date Rev. B. F. Hamilton, d.d., be¬ came a valued colleague. Memoranda, regularly made at the time, aid these reminiscences. The book comes from the press on the eighty-eighth anniversary of my birth, and in the fifty-eighth year of my connection with the Eliot Church. Boston, ; April 30, 1900. A. C. Thompson. * CONTENTS HISTORICAL SKETCHES. PAGE I. Roxbury — Early and Later. 1-13 II. Local Orthodoxy and Liberalism . 14-26 III. Preliminaries and Organization . 27-33 IV. First Pastoral Settlement. 34-36 V. Second Settlement VI. The Pulpit . . VII. Pastoral Service 1 Parish Calls. 50-60 2 Extra-Parochial Service . . 60-65 3 Deaths and Funerals . . . 66-74 37-42 43-49 50 4 Marriages. 74-77 5 Contrasts and Coincidences . 78-86 6 Peculiar Persons and Proceedings, 86-95 VIII. Church Functions . . . 1 Sacramental Services . . . 96-100 2 Church Prayer Meeting . . 100-108 3 Special Church Fellowship . 108-110 . 96- 4 Church Discipline .... 110-113. 5 Revivals.113-120 IX. Eliot Sunday School 121-131 X. Various Devotional Meetings 1 Maternal Meeting .... 132-136 2 Female Prayer Meeting . . 136-137 3 Other Prayer Meetings 132 1 37-139 XI. Various Associations. 1 Dorcas Society.140-141 | 2 Eliot City Mission . . 14a 141-14& XII. Special Occasions and Occurrences. 1 Social Gatherings .... 149-151 4 Civil-War Time . . . 2 Anniversaries.151-153 5 Sickness and Absences 3 Receptions. I 53 _I 57 XIII. Colonial Churches . . 1 Vine Street Church . . . 170-172 2 Highland Church .... 173-175 3 Walnut Avenue Church 149 157-163 163-169 > 170 I75-i8i XIV. Fellowship—Ecclesiastical and Ministerial. 182 v VI CONTENTS. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. XV The Diaconate . . . . 1 Alvah Kittredge . . . 195-197 2 William G. Lambert . . . 198-199 3 Henry Hill.199-202 4 William W. Davenport . . 202-206 5 Andrew S. March .... 206-208 6 Edward B. Huntington . . 208-210 XVI. Ministerial Parishioners 1 Rev. Stephen Sanford Smith, 224-225 2 Rev. Huntington Porter . . 225-226 3 Rev. Ezra Conant .... 226 4 Rev. Charles Baker Kittredge, 226-228 5 Rev. William Henry Porter . 229 XVII. Missionary Officials . . 1 Rev. Rufus Anderson, D.D.,LL.D., 239-242 2 Rev. David Greene . . . 242-245 3 Miss Mary Evarts Greene . 245-247 4 Mrs. Mary P. H. Leake . . 247-248 •. 193 7 Moses H. Day.210-211 8 Lucius H. Briggs .... 212-214 9 J. Russell Bradford . . . 214-216 10 Charles W. Hill .... 217-219 11 Andrew Marshall .... 219-221 12 William Francis Day . . . 222-223 . 224 6 Rev. Charles Shaw Adams . 229-230 7 Rev. David Meaubec Mitchell, 230-232 8 Rev. L. Burton Rockwood . 233-234 9 Rev. Edward W. Hooker, d.d. 234-236 . 237 5 Rev. Joseph Sylvester Clark, d.d., 248-250 6 Rev. Henry Brown Hooker, d.d. 250-253 7 Mr. Benjamin Perkins . . . 253-254 XVIII. Missionaries . • . . . . 1 Mr. George Christopher Hurter 255-257 2 Mrs. Elizabeth Grozer Hurter, 257-258 3 Rev. Daniel Crosby Greene, d.d., 258-260 4 Mrs. Mary Carpenter Paris . 260 5 Mrs. Louisa Bradbury Bunker, 260-262 6 Mrs. Maria Chamberlain Forbes,262-263 7 Mrs. Mary Ballantine Fairbank, 263-265 8 Mrs. Harriet S. Caswell . . 266-267 .. 255 9 Mrs. Jane Herring Loomis . 267-268 10 Rev. David Coit Scudder . 268-271 11 Miss Ellen Maria Stone . . 272-273 12 Miss Anna Wells Bumstead, 273-275 13 Miss Mary G. Bumstead . 275-277 14 Rev. Charles W. Munroe . 277 15 Rev. Samuel Greene . . . 277-279 16 Miss Elizabeth Ellen Backup, 279-280 17 Miss Susan Maria Underwood, 280-282 XIX. Educators and Litterateurs 1 Rev. Jacob Abbott .... 283-285 2 Rev. William Channing Wood- bridge . 285-287 3 William Alexander Alcott,M.D. 287-288 4 Rev. Solomon Adams . . . 288-290 . 283 5 Rev. Horatio Quincy Butter¬ field, D.D .290-293 6 Charles Short, LL.D. . . . 293-294 7 Prof. William Ripley Nichols, 294-298 8 Prof. Frank Eustace Anderson, 298-300 9 Horace Elisha Scudder, litt.d. 300-302 XX. Lawyers. 1 Hon. Samuel Hurd Walley . 303-305 2 Hon. Charles Theodore Russell,305-306 3 Hon. William Gaston, ll.d. . 307-308 4 Nehemiah Chase Berry . . 308-309 5 Henry Hill Anderson . . . 309-310 6 Josiah Woodbury Hubbard . 311 . 3°3 7 David Brainerd Greene . . 311-312 8 Jeremiah Evarts Greene . 313-314 9 Hon. Roger Sherman Greene, 314-316 10 William Phillips Walley . 316 11 Gen. Henry William Fuller, 316-317 12 John Wentworth Porter . 317-319 CONTENTS. Vll XXI. Physicians. 1 Daniel Francis Gulliver, m.d. 321-322 2 Alfred C. Garratt, m.d. . . 322-324 3 Henry Blatchford Wheelwright, M.D . 3 2 4 - 3 2 5 4 Ariel Ivers Cummings, m.d. . 325-326 5 Henry S. Steele, m.d. . . . 326-327 XXII. Artists .. 1 Samuel Lancaster Gerry . . 333-334 2 Mrs. Victoria Adelaide Root, 334~33S XXIII. Deaf-Mutes. 1 Jonathan P. Marsh .... 340-342 " 2 Mrs. Pauline P. Marsh . . 342-343 3 Mrs. Pauline Marsh Bowes . 343-344 XXIV. Noteworthy Laymen I Dr. Nathaniel Shepherd Prentiss, 349-353 2 John Heath. 353“355 3 Melzar Waterman .... 355-357 4 Richard Bond.357—358 5 John Newton Denison . . 358-360 6 Isaac Davis White .... 360-361 7 John Brown.361-362 XXV. Young Men. 1 Henry Martyn Hill .... 379-381 2 John C. Carruthers, Jr. . . 381-382 3 D. Jarvis Hastings .... 382-383 4 Nathan Haggett Brown . . 383-385 5 Edward P. Flint.385-386 XXVI. Ministerial Recruits . . 1 Prof. John F.Gulliver, d.d.,ll.d., 392-393 2 Rev. William Ladd Ropes . 393-394 3 Rev. William Sewall . . . 394 4 Rev. John Henry Denison, d.d., 395-396 5 Rev. George Edwards FI ill . 396 6 Rev. Isaac C. White . . . 396-398 7 Rev. Evarts Scudder . . . 398-399 8 Rev. Alexander S. Twombly, D.D. 399-400 XXVII. Ministerial Colleagues . 1 Mrs. Hannah C. Bowles Wolff, 410-411 2 Mrs. Sarah P. Gulliver Pratt, 411-412 3 Mrs. Susan M. Huntington Perkins.412-413 4 Mrs. Elizabeth G. Strong . . 413-414 5 Mrs.Sarah Elizabeth Boardman,414-415 . 320 6 Stephen Wallace Bowles, m.d. 327-328 7 Timothy R. Nute, m.d. . . 328 8 Benjamin Mann, m.d. . . 329 9 Frank II. Davenport, m.d. . 330 10 Robert Bell, m.d. 330 - 33 1 332 • 335-336 • 336-337 33S • 344-346 • 346-347 • 347 - 34 s 349 8 Dea. James Clap .... 362-365 9 George Domett .... 366-367 10 Abner Kingman .... 367-369 11 Hon. Joseph S. Ropes . . 369-370 12 Sylvester Bliss.371 -372 13 Robert McMaster Carson . 373-374 14 William Henry Wardwell . 374-375 15 Wesley Ireson.376-377 . 37& 6 George Alvah Kittredge . . 386-38S 7 Joseph Eppes Brown . . . 388-390 8 Hon. James M. W. Hall . . 390 9 Col. Ebenezer W. Stone . . 390-391 3 Miss Emily Percy Mann 4 Mr. Frank Thayer Merrill 4 William Lynde . . . 5 Mrs. Caroline F. Lynde 6 Mrs. Mary Coffin Lynde . 392 9 Rev. Francis Brown Perkins, 400-401 10 Rev. Edward Anderson . . 401 11 Rev. Abbott Eliot Kittredge, d.d . 401-402 12 Rev. James Winchel Grush, 402-404 13 Rev. Isaac Curtis Meserve,D.D. 404-405 14 Rev. Alfred Henry Flail . 405-407 15 Rev. George Ross Hewitt . 407-409 . 410 6 Mrs. Hannah T. Fenn . . 415-416 7 Mrs. Mary Anderson Street, 416-417 8 Mrs. Jane Perkins Childs . 417-418 9 Mrs. Caroline Forbes Penniman, 418 10 Mrs. Angenette F. Tinkham Hamilton .. 419 V1U CONTENTS. XXVIII. Young Women . . . . 1 Maria Antonia Martina Eche- verria.421-422 2 Charlotte H. Baker . . . 422-423 3 Emeline Silsbee.423-424 4 Charlotte R. Steele . . . 423-424 XXIX. Honorable Women . . 1 Mrs. Mehitable Grozer Kit- tredge . 433*434 2 Mrs. Harriet L. Dickinson . 434-436 3 Mrs. Clara Stowell Franklin, 436-437 4 Mrs. Catharine Louisa Stone, 437-438 5 Miss Caroline Maria Stone . 438-440 6 Mrs. Abigail F. Ward well . 440 7 Mrs. Mary J. Basford . . 441 8 Mrs. Anna F. Waters . . 442-444 9 Mrs. Magdalena Kuhn . . 444-446 10 Mrs. Mary Callen .... 446-448 11 Mrs. Judith Nutting . . . 448-451 XXX. Children. 1 Caring for the Young . . . 473-474 2 Early Piety.474-477 3 Early Deaths. 477*479 XXXI. Epilogue. 1 Harmony amidst Diversity . 484-488 . 420 5 Eliza Hill Anderson . . . 425-427 6 Marcia Evelina Atkins . . 427-428 7 Ann Maria Bond .... 428-429 8 Caroline W. Bond .... 429-430 9 Ann Bell.430-431 . 43 2 12 Mrs. Lucy Waterman . . 451-453 13 Miss Susan Wesson . . . 453-455 Ministers’ Wives. 14 Mrs. Eliza Hill Anderson . 456-461 15 Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth R. Peck, 461-462 Widows of Ministers. 16 Mrs. Mary Codman . . . 464-466 17 Mrs. Martha Vinal Hooker, 466-467 18 Mrs. Lucy Gilpatrick Marsh, 467-470 19 Mrs. Sarah Collins Porter . 470-472 . 473 4 Our Young Saints : 479-483 (a) John Eliot Bowles . 479-480 (b) Guy Richards . . . 480 {c) Frances Elizabeth Murke, 481 . 484 | 2 A Happy Pastorate . . . 488-496 CHAPTER I. ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. The first of several churches now in our Commonwealth bearing the name Eliot was planted in Roxbury. The very name takes us back more than two and a half centuries. Notable contrasts are suggested. The wilderness then lying between the northern and southern lines of New England latitude, and stretching three thousand miles west to the Pacific, had not been penetrated by Europeans. Only its Atlantic fringes had been entered at a few points. Savage tribes were sparsely scattered over the broad territory, which remained in primitive rudeness. When John Eliot arrived, only five towns had been incorporated in the Massachusetts colony, and the early period of these feeble, coastwise settle¬ ments was one of privation and hardship. The first meet¬ ing house in Roxbury, built of logs, with a thatched roof and clay floor, but without spire, gallery, pew, or plaster, was erected in 1632, and, owing to fear of attack by Indians, all citizens were required to live within half a mile of the same; and the men were ordered to bring their firearms to church on the Sabbath. Wolves’ heads were nailed to the meeting house. Bears and other wild animals were common in the neighborhood. Indeed, more than a century passed before they were exterminated. 1 At first, there was no physician in * During one week in September, 1725, not less than twenty bears were killed, it is said, within two miles o£ Boston. 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Roxbury, and some years after the settlement began, a ser¬ vant was one day (1639) sent into Boston, the adjoining town, for a dentist, and both of them were found days after¬ ward, beneath the snow, frozen to death. For a long time there were but few physicians in the colony, and no medical associations were formed till near the Revolution, 1776. Now there are over a thousand and five hundred physicians in Boston, and the present population of our city is not, perhaps, far short of the whole number of inhabitants in New England at the Declaration of National Independence. When a municipal charter was granted (1822) the popula¬ tion of Boston had not reached 44,000; now it is over 500,000. At that time, the towns immediately adjoining were all separate communities, and so continued till annexa¬ tions to the city took place—East Boston in 1836, Roxbury in 1867, Charlestown, Brighton, and West Roxbury in 1873. At the date referred to (1822), there were no good pave¬ ments. Now we have excellent roads in all directions, while our Franklin Park has ten miles of smoothest highways, and twenty miles of walks. There were no lighted streets at night, no water-works, no telegraphs. The cemeteries of Roxbury were then barely respectable: none in the land are now more attractive than our Forest Hills. The pillory, the stocks, and the whipping-post were banished long ago* Advance in facilities of public conveyance has kept pace with other improvements. At the opening of this nineteenth century there were only a few stage-coaches in the neighborhood. A trip to New York required about a ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. 3 week’s time. Even so late as when the Eliot Church was formed (1834), that journey, by schedule, took forty-one hours, night included. Now it may be accomplished in a little over one-eighth of that time. The fare by stage from Roxbury to Boston was twenty-five cents, and when an hourly was established, 1 in 1826, twelve and a half cents was the charge. At the date last named there was not a rail¬ road in the country, and the first passenger railroad — that from Boston to Newton—was not opened till 1834. Thirty years later came the horse car (1866), and after twenty-two years more (1888), the electric car, with fare reduced and speed increased. The existing place of worship, on the same site as the one where Eliot began his long pastorate, was built in 1740, and is the fifth in succession. The house that stood there previously was riddled by cannon balls during the siege of Boston, and the lawn in front was a camping ground of our troops. The present pastor of the First Church, Dr. De Normandie, is the eleventh in succession. 2 1 By Horace King, now ninety-five years of age. 2 PASTORS. Thomas Welde. July, 1632. Died in England, March 23, 1661. John Eliot. November 5, 1632. Died in Roxbury, May 20, 1690. Samuel Danforth. September 24, 1650. Died in Roxbury, November 10, 1674. Nehemiah Walter. October 17, 1688. Died in Roxbury, September 17, 1750. Thomas Walter. October 19, 1718. Died in Roxbury, January 10, 1725. Oliver Peabody. November 7, 1750. Died in Roxbury, May 29, 1752. Amos Adams. September 12, 1753. Died in Roxbury, October 5, 1775. Eliphalet Porter. October 2, 1782. Died in Roxbury, December 7, 1833. George Putnam, d.d. July 7, 1830. Died in Roxbury, April 11, 1878. John Graham Brooks. October 10, 1875. Dismissed, April 15, 1882. James De Normandie, d.d. March 14, 1883. 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. The geographical limits of Roxbury, extending eight miles from east to west and two miles from north to south, remained substantially unchanged for more than two hun¬ dred years. Besides the First Church, there was no other till the one organized in West Roxbury, 1712, which has had thirteen pastors. 1 Towards sixty years passed before the third church, that at Jamaica Plain was gathered (1770). 2 Though the primitive region about Boston was so rude, the men who first came Jo these shores had been familiar with the conveniences, culture, and refinement of the mother- country. A fair proportion of them had enjoyed the advan¬ tages of her schools and universities. No well informed 1 PASTORS. Ebenezer Thayer. November 26, 1712. Died, March 6, 1733. Nathaniel Walter. July 10, 1734. Died, March n, 1776. Thomas Abbot. September 29, 1773. Dismissed, March 10, 1783. John Bradford. May 30, 1785. Died, January 27, 1825. John Flagg. February 2, 1825. Died, March 14, 1831. George Whitney. June 15, 1831. Dismissed, February, 1836. Theodore Parker. June 21, 1837. Dismissed, February 8, 1846. Dexter Clapp. December 20, 1848. Dismissed, November 23, 1851. Edmund B. Wilson. July 18, 1852. Dismissed, May, 1859. Trowbridge T. Forbush. July 1, 1863. Dismissed, May 8, 1868. Augustus Mellen Haskell. May 22, 1870. Dismissed, 1888. Frank Wright Pratt. 1891. Dismissed, 1895. Alfred Rodman Hussey. 1895. Dismissed, 1898. John H. Applebee. June 6, 1899. 2 PASTORS. William Gordon, d.d. July 6, 1772. Dismissed, March 17, 1786. Thomas Gray, d.d. March 27, 1793. Died, June 1, 1847. George Whitney. February 10, 1836. Died, April 2, 1842. Joseph H. Allen. October 18, 1843. Dismissed, February 21, 1847. Grindall Reynolds, D.D. 1848. Dismissed, 1858. James W. Thompson. 1859. Died, 1881. Charles F. Dole. June, 1879. ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. 5 person can now reside here without gathering inspiration from the annals of those early times. To settle in a place where there have been no eminent citizens, and hence where there is little or no history, is like pitching one’s tabernacle on a broad sand-plain. Whatever the great or good may have or may not have to bequeath by last will and testa¬ ment, they leave an invaluable legacy, one that may enrich future generations, but which does not go through the pro¬ bate office. Such influence is second only to that of distin¬ guished contemporary residents. Roxbury has no gallery of portraits, but her prominent men form landmarks. They are like hills in an attractive landscape. Solomon did well to speak of the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, a low garden plant, but his far-reaching thought was chiefly on cedars that were in Lebanon. Among conspicuous names in the early days of Rox¬ bury is found that of Dudley. A visitor in our city going from the present Dudley School building down Dudley Street, will pass the site of the Governor Dudley mansion (1636), where stood the late Universalist meeting-house. Thence by Washington Street he will go to our oldest cemetery, at the head of Eustis Street, one of the oldest in New England, and where interments began in 1633. On entering the enclosure, he will soon find the Dudley tomb. There rest the remains of two governors, a chief-justice, and other prominent men who bore that name. Thomas Dudley was an officer in the English army at the siege of Amiens, under Henry of Navarre. He came to the Massachusetts 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Colony as Deputy-Governor in 1630, and held either that position or the office of Governor till his death in 1653. He was a man for the times and the place, a man of decided piety, unbending integrity, and ever on the alert for the public welfare. No clamor could make him swerve a hair¬ breadth. His daughter Anne, wife of Governor Bradstreet, was a noted poet of her day, and it is to be borne in mind that Oliver Wendell Holmes and Richard H. Dana were among her descendants. Joseph, a son of Governor Thomas Dudley, born in Roxbury, 1647, held successively numerous public offices, including the Chief-Justiceship of Massachu¬ setts, as well as that of New York, being later Deputy- Governor of the Isle of Wight. He was a member of the British Parliament, the first native of New England to whom that honor was accorded, and at length he became Governor of Massachusetts. His talents were of a high order, and few men of any period or nationality have passed through greater vicissitudes. His son, Paul Dudley, studied law at the Temple in London, and, like his father, held many public offices, becoming Chief-Justice of Massachusetts, a position which he adorned. He was one of the few men in this country who have been elected members of the Royal So¬ ciety of England. By his will he provided for the annual Dudleian lecture at Harvard College, of which institution he was a graduate. The town of Dudley in this state per¬ petuates the family name. Other colonial governors, as well as governors of the Commonwealth, have resided here. One who held that ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. 7 office from 1741 to 1756 was William Shirley, a graduate of Cambridge University, England, who enjoyed the favor of Sir Robert Walpole and the Duke of Newcastle. He pro¬ jected the famous expedition which captured Louisburg. After serving as Governor of the Bahamas, he returned to Roxbury and died 1771. Increase Sumner, a graduate and afterwards master of our Latin School, became senator, judge, and in 1797 governor of the State. After his last election the oath of office was administered to him on his deathbed, June 7, 1799. Eustis Street takes us to the site of a well known man¬ sion, that of Governor William Eustis, who was at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and served as surgeon through the war. He discharged various offices — member of Congress, Secretary of War, Minister to Holland — dying while Governor of Massachusetts. He was noted for urbanity and hospitality. Many distinguished men were his guests, among them Gen¬ eral Lafayette, a companion in arms. Heath Street reminds us of Major-General Heath, who bore the name William, as did his immigrant ancestor who came to this place in 1636. For not less than five genera¬ tions the homestead remained in the family. John Heath, a descendant, was the first treasurer of the Eliot Church and Society. It was to General Heath that Washington en¬ trusted the command of West Point after Arnold’s treason had been detected, and his division of the army was the last to be disbanded at the close of the Revolutionary War. But we must go to Warren Street to find the residence 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. of one whose name has numerous local mementos, and is more widely known as a hero of the Revolution than that of any other Roxbury resident. The front of a stone cottage exhibits two tablets with inscriptions as follows: — “ On this spot stood the house erected in 1720 by Joseph Warren, of Boston, remarkable for being the birthplace of General Joseph Warren, his grandson, who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.” “John Warren, a distinguished physician and anatomist, was also born here. The original mansion being in ruins, this house was built by John C. Warren, m.d., a son of the last named, as a permanent memorial of the spot.” General Warren, as patriot, exhibited great activity, guided by prudence, firmness, and fearlessness. Few men in this country, or any other country, would have ventured upon delivering an oration commemorative of the “ Boston Massacre ” at such a time as March 5, 1775. British officers had threatened that it should cost any man his life who dared to do it. Capacious Old South Church was crowded to its utmost. Two score British officers in uniform occupied front pews or the pulpit stairs. Fully self-possessed and in a firm tone Warren proceeded with his oration, most of the audience applauding. One of the officers on the stairs held up his hand with several bullets in plain sight. Without interruption the speaker dropped a white handkerchief on to the hostile hand. In the battle at Lexington he showed coolness and undaunted bravery. At Bunker Hill, though a major-general, he preferred that Prescott should have ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. 9 command, while he himself went into the redoubt where he fell. The Pierponts were at one time among the chief fam¬ ilies of Roxbury. Among descendants in Connecticut were distinguished individuals, as Sarah, daughter of Rev. James Pierpont, of New Haven, who became the wife of Jonathan Edwards; Rev. John Pierpont, known as poet and preacher in Boston; and Edwards Pierpont, who became United States Minister to the court of St. James. It is not out of place to speak of Gilbert Stuart (born 1756, died 1828), the most distinguished of American portrait-painters, who was here during the War of 1812. He occupied the large square house which came into the hands of Dr. Robbins, father of the late Rev. Chandler Robbins, d.d. It stands opposite the old Washington Schoolhouse, now occupied by the Munici¬ pal Court. In my study hangs the portrait of Governor Caleb Strong, by Stuart. The stately Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, as collector of the port of Boston, Adjutant-General, member of the Massachu¬ setts Senate and of the National Congress, was for many years a prominent figure in Roxbury. Mount Auburn Cemetery, which took the lead of such beautiful enclosures in our land, was a good deal indebted to his agency and excellent taste, while our Forest Hills Cemetery is still more largely his debtor. General Dearborn in his last years occu¬ pied a house immediately in the rear of the Eliot Church, though he seldom worshiped with us. Personal courtesies of his, such as almonds and dates which a friend had brought IO ELIOT MEMORIAL. from Mt. Sinai, and other neighborly kindnesses, are well remembered. He was the second mayor of Roxbury, hold¬ ing that office from 1847 till the time of his death, 1851. We have now come to comparatively recent days, and we still confine our retrospect to that portion of Roxbury which was the first to be incorporated municipally with Boston. Hence, nothing is said regarding “ The Brook Farm Phalanx ” at West Roxbury, which was incorporated, if I mistake not, the same year that I came to the Eliot Church, and where for a time were George Ripley, Thoreau, Curtis, Hawthorne, and other celebrities. In the eastern section of the place there was no more conspicuous citizen than Lucius Manlius Sargent. A man of finer figure or more courtly manners I never met, either at home or in foreign countries. He was an excellent scholar, a poet; and by lecturing, as well as by vigorous writing, did early good service to the cause of temperance. His effective “ Temperance Tales,” reaching, it is said, the one hundred and thirtieth edition, were republished in England, Scotland, Germany, and Aus¬ tralia. His death, at eighty years of age, occurred in 1867. A member of Mr. Sargent’s family worshiped with us, usually bringing one or more of the grandchildren. Another, also a poet and able advocate of temperance, was Mr. Samuel G. Goodrich, known so widely as “ Peter Parley,” a very gentlemanly and valuable acquaintance, and a singularly entertaining writer. He was the author of one hundred and seventy volumes, of which millions, literally millions, of copies have been sold. So popular were the ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. II genuine books in England that multitudes of a spurious article attributed to “ Peter Parley ” found currency. The daughter of Mr. Goodrich, a superior young woman, joined the Eliot Church in 1842. Kearsarge Avenue perpetuates the memory of the naval steamer which sank the confederate cruiser Alabama (June 19, 1864), in command of Commodore, afterwards Rear Admiral, John A. Winslow. In honor of that achievement, the avenue on which his house stood received the name it now bears. Roxbury has a name in the missionary world. Samuel Newell, a studious boy in the family of Mr. Ralph Smith, then living at the head of Pynchon Street, received encour¬ agement from Mr. John A. Lowell, an uncle of James Russell Lowell, and prepared for Harvard College when Dr. N. S. Prentiss was master of our Latin School. He was the first graduate of Harvard who became a missionary of the American Board, embarking for India, February 19, 1812. With Gordon Hall he engaged at Bombay upon a Marathi New Testament, in 1817, which, however, was not published until 1826. Dr. Prentiss took great interest in Newell. When the young missionary came to the house of his in¬ structor for a farewell call, he found a plank extending from the hall door to the doctor’s office. Walking across that he made a misstep and planted his foot on the fresh-painted floor. Whenever that floor was re-painted in subsequent years the doctor would not allow the footprint to be oblit¬ erated. Newell died of cholera, 1821, and was buried in the 12 ELIOT MEMORIAL. English cemetery at Bombay. In 1853 I searched unsuc¬ cessfully for his grave. But the Roxbury name most extensively known through the Christian world is that of John Eliot, the Apostle of the Indians. More lives of him and more sketches in volumes of collective biography — between one and two score, some in foreign tongues — have appeared than of any other mis¬ sionary. Among sundry current inaccuracies relating to Eliot are these: for example, that he devoted himself almost exclusively to the Indians, and that they were of the Iro¬ quois group; whereas for more than half a century Eliot was a faithful pastor of the First Church; and the Red Men for whom he labored were quite distinct from the Six Nations. That so early in the wilderness days of New England he should, from no human suggestion, master a barbarous language, one of the most difficult then known, reduce the same to writing, and introduce into it the sixty-six books of our Sacred Scriptures; that his philanthropic labor among savage tribes, and his preaching in their uncouth tongue should result in numerous christianized settlements known as “ Praying Towns,” and this while he ministered to a growing congregation of intelligent English people, has no parallel in the history of sixteen hundred years. His first sermon to the natives was the first Protestant sermon in any North American language; and his Indian Bible the first printed in this new world. A perfect sample of the book now commands not less than one thousand dollars. At the end of his Indian Grammar is found the noteworthy sen- ROXBURY-EARLY AND LATER. r 3 tence, “ Prayer and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, will do anything.” “Welcome joy!” were Eliot’s last words at the age of eighty-six, May 20, 1690. Robert Southey pro¬ nounced him “ One of the most remarkable men of any country.” CHAPTER II. LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. The Eliot Church was organized about the time (1834) that the Unitarian controversy in Massachusetts culminated. Universalism was also then becoming more aggressive, and taking an organized form. Germs of the noteworthy de¬ velopment of liberalism, so called, had existed for a long time. The preaching of Whitfield and other earnest evan¬ gelical men, the writings of Edwards, Bellamy, the Tenants, and men of kindred spirit, the Great Awakening, and later revivals served for a time to check development. But after our war of the Revolution, amidst the spread of French infidelity, and amidst the decay of religion, such as usually attends or follows war, the leaven of Arianism and Socini- anism, which had been introduced as early as the middle of the eighteenth century, worked with less restraint. It was, however, many years before public avowal became at all common in Boston or elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Silence regarding distinctive evangelical truths, the usual early policy of errorists was, for the most part, maintained in the pulpit. The first church this side of the Atlantic to take a formal stand on the Unitarian basis was the earliest Episcopal church in New England, King’s Chapel, now Stone Chapel, Boston. That occurred in 1785. James Freeman, grandfather of the late James Freeman Clarke, LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. 15 had explicitly avowed Unitarianism, and, in the absence of sufficient outside sympathy, he received ordination at the hands of the Vestry. The transition of the First Church, Roxbury, from its Calvinistic attitude to Liberal¬ ism appears to have taken place at the close of the eighteenth century and the first years of the nineteenth. The convention sermon, by Dr. Eliphalet Porter, pastor of that church, was among the earlier public disclosures of a change which had been quietly going on in this neighborhood. Meanwhile, a spiritual quickening became manifest among our churches, from 1797 onward. Evangelical Christians began to arouse. Religious interests, both local and remote, were taking a deeper hold of men’s hearts, and were leading to combined efforts. Missionary societies* Bible societies, as well as magazines for promoting such institutions and a higher spiritual life, were started. Re¬ striction upon the previous indiscriminate exchange of pul¬ pits commenced. The frank and decided stand taken by Dr. John Codman in accepting a call to the Second Church, Dorchester, which was organized January 1, 1808, entitled him to a grateful and enduring veneration. He made known seasonably and in written form his religious beliefs. So fully was it done that no one could mistake his position regarding the doctrines of grace, some of which had begun to be publicly controverted. “ I have made this communi¬ cation, my dear Christian friends and brethren,” he declared* “ to prevent any misunderstanding between us; I wish you i6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. to know the sentiments of the man you have chosen to be your pastor.” The parish in their written reply stated that his communication was received “ with pleasure and general satisfaction.” At the time of Dr. Codman’s installation it was therefore perfectly understood what were his reli¬ gious views. Dr. Channing preached the ordination ser¬ mon, an excellent and not unevangelical discourse. Because of “ multitudes perishing in their sins,” he would “ direct men to the cross,” to “ the Son of God expiring, a victim on the cross; ” he spoke of “ a world of sinners perishing with the most loathsome diseases,” of “heaven gladdened by the tidings that a sinner has repented,” and of its being possible that a minister might “ die self-deceived, and, with those whom he has helped to destroy, hear the words, ‘ Depart with them far from me into everlasting fire.’ ‘ O scene of agony! ’ ” The same year (1808) Andover Theological Seminary, an obvious need and designed expressly to be a bulwark of the evangelical faith, was opened. The next twelve- month saw Park Street Church, Boston, constituted, and on the avowed basis of a “ decided attachment to that system of the Christian religion which is distinguishingly denominated evangelical, more particularly to those doc¬ trines which in the proper sense are styled doctrines of grace.” Such distinctive declarations and ecclesiastical pro¬ ceedings administered a rebuke to defection from the faith once delivered to the saints. The cry of “ schism,” LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. *7 “ exclusiveness,” “ illiberality,” “ bigotry,” was awakened. Another year goes by and the American Board of Missions was formed (1810); but neither among its original corpo¬ rators nor during the first fourscore years of its history was any known Liberal or apologist for Liberalism elected to membership. Our pioneer foreign missionaries, Hall and Nott, had hardly arrived at Bombay (1813), and sent to Sir Evan Nepean, the Governor, a remonstrance against their being ordered out of India and compelled to embark for England, when there appeared in London an ordinary book, Belsham’s Memoir of Lindsey , in the usual course of publication. It attracted little attention in England. But a pamphlet made up wholly of extracts from the book came not long after from the press here in Boston. The extracts were taken from letters of ministers this side the ocean to their friends in the mother country. These served to present a view of “ The Progress and Present State of the Unitarian Churches in America.” Never did a quiet little production lead to more stirring results. Whatever may have been the motives and policy of previous comparative silence here at home, this refluent wave from England proved the precursor of a high tide of excitement. A reve¬ lation was made. Earnest discussion began in the pulpit, in the periodical press, and in pamphlet form. Vehemence of debate did not always duly respect the demands of Christian courtesy. It was both amusing and painful then, as it has been since, to note opprobrious charges made by Liberals against the Orthodox. Even a leader so eminent, 18 ELIOT MEMORIAL. so revered and idolized as Dr. Channing could sometimes indulge in reprehensible language. Eighteen hundred and fifteen found him so far advanced from 1808, at Dorchester, on the down grade as to impute a grave delinquency 1 to Jeremiah Evarts, who, on the score of sterling character, balanced self-possession, and candor, was inferior to no man in the community. Did the controversial writings of that period contain a more unfounded statement than this, “ He [the learner] is told to listen to Christ; but told that he will be damned if he receives any lessons but such as are taught in the creeds.” 2 His party did not then, and still less does the denomination now, regard Dr. Channing as a theologian, properly so called. Without having a very well-defined sys¬ tem he appears to have been an Arian. 3 It would seem that some who were equally or yet farther removed from the orthodox position continued to fail of avowing frankly where they did stand. 4 The existing generation is less familiar with the re¬ ligious history of this neighborhood during the first half of 1 “ It is a feeling as if I were degrading myself by noticing the false and injurious charges contained in this review.” Letter to Rev. Samuel C. Thatcher. 2 Remarks on Creeds , Intolerance and Exclusion. 3 “ Dr. Channing was in doctrine an Arian, believing in the pre-existence of Christ, and assigning an efficacy to his death over and above its moral influence.” Dr. Wm. Ware in American Unitarian Biography. * “ There was, I fear, a good deal of intellectual and social cowardice, a good deal of shameful silence and verbal ingenuity, if haply the reproach of believing such good things of God as those of the Universalists, might not come upon the Unitarians, or be taken away.” Chadwick’s Old and New Unitarian Belief. LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. 1 9 the present century than with its civil history in the second half of the last century. Lexington, Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston have ample place in our school books. The condition of things at that period, especially in Eastern Massachusetts, cannot be understood, nor will be even imagined without a glance at two conspicuous events. Neither does charity require nor do truth and honor allow silence here. Instead, however, of an adequate statement, the merest epitome is all that present space will allow. Of the two events having special significance in the revolu¬ tion then taking place, one was the capture of Harvard Col¬ lege by the Liberals, as they were pleased to call themselves. The atmosphere of that institution from being Calvinistic had become Arminian, and a religious lukewarmness verg¬ ing upon indifference prevailed. The President and some of the Faculty sympathized with anti-trinitarianism. In 1805 Dr. Henry Ware took his seat as Hollis professor of divinity in the College. It was well known that he had sided with the Liberal wing. But no attempt had been made for a year to fill the chair which by the death of his predecessor became vacant, till two deaths of evangelical members of the corporation gave opportunity to fill their place with Liberals. Strenuous opposition to Dr. Ware’s appointment was naturally made. All knew well that the College had been established and previously maintained in the interests of Puritanism. The chair of theology was founded (1723) by Thomas Hollis, the occupant being required to “ Profess and teach the principles of the Chris- 20 ELIOT MEMORIAL. tian religion according to the well-known confession of faith drawn up by the synod of churches in New England.” The governing authorities have probably never had a more embarrassing problem before them than the task of making that transfer to Unitarianism appear to have been an honor¬ able transaction. The other event, noteworthy for certain exasperating results, was the famous Dedham case. Upon the first elec¬ tion of a Unitarian minister at Dedham a majority of the church members withdrew, retaining naturally the church records, communion furniture and whatever pertained to them rightfully as a church. The Supreme Court of Massa¬ chusetts decided (1820) that “ When a majority of the mem¬ bers of a Congregational church separate from the majority of the parish, the members who remain, although a minority, constitute the Church in such parish, and retain the rights and property belonging thereto.” The view taken of this by multitudes of right-minded, well-informed men in New England was that flagrant injustice had been committed. Among pertinent, vital facts are the following: From the outset of colonial times the church had been regarded and treated as an independent body in admitting and dismissing its members, electing its officers and controlling such prop¬ erty as belonged to itself. The church always chose its pastor, never admitting a right in the parish to impose a pastor upon the church. The earliest church of the Pilgrims was organized before they set foot on Plymouth Rock. The church in Rowley came as a corporate body from Yorkshire, LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. 21 England. The first church in Dorchester came similarly constituted to the Massachusetts colony, and afterwards removed to Connecticut. At the time there was no parish in connection with any one of these. Not till many years after settlements in New England began did parishes come into existence here. “ Through all this period the churches not only chose their own ministers, but contracted with them and supported them. They built and owned the first meeting houses and had the power of levying and collecting money for this object.” 1 More than twenty years elapsed before parochial power was given to the towns. (1652) The First Church in Boston, for example — gathered in 1630 — for nearly a century “was alone concerned in fixing the minister’s salary, and making all pecuniary appropria¬ tions.” 2 At one period (1631-1664) there existed the require¬ ment of church membership as a qualification for citizenship and hence for civil office. That unwise theocratic experi¬ ment, however, gave place to a more appropriate arrange¬ ment. But among facts fundamental from first to last are these be it said once more: Congregational churches had existence separate from congregations, parishes, precincts or towns; by common consent, common law, and at length by statute they had sole right of internal administration, includ¬ ing the right to elect their own pastor, and to hold property given for church purposes. Those rights they never volun- 1 Quoted in Clark’s Congregational Churches in Massachusetts, pp. 326-27. 2 Emerson’s History of the First Church . 22 ELIOT MEMORIAL. tarily surrendered, nor could they lose them except by usur¬ pation from without. And yet referring to the earliest New England period, Chief Justice Parker affirmed, “Without doubt the whole assembly were considered the church.” Whereas without doubt they were not so considered, unless they — as in a few instances — entered publicly and ex¬ pressly into covenant relations. Very seldom did they start in that way. The First Church in the Massachusetts Colony, that in Salem, numbered at the outset only thirty communicants, while the congregation, out of which the covenanting body was gathered, consisted of three hundred and fifty persons. But Chief Justice Parker, apparently ignorant of such facts, declared in the Dedham decision, that “ A church cannot subsist without some religious com¬ munity to which it is attached. Such has been the under¬ standing of the people of New England from the foundation of the colonies.” No voluntary action of the churches ever surrendered their independence so far as concerns the election and dis¬ mission of their pastors, the ownership of their records and communion furniture; nor had any civil authority claimed or attempted to exercise a right to disenfranchise churches, and to make their very existence a mere annex to a parish. A formal act of incorporation has not always been required to give corporate capacity to a body of men. Under com¬ mon law, which is general custom, churches possessed the right and exercised the privilege of holding certain species of property, and were thus recognized as corporate bodies. LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. 2 3 “ And yet the only circumstance ” — so declared the Chief Justice — “which gives a church any legal character is its connection with some regularly constituted Society; ” “ As to all civil purposes, the secession of a whole church from the parish would be an extinction of the church.” The obvious injustice of the Dedham decision produced a widespread shock, a shock not confined to religious com¬ munities immediately concerned. Disinterested men of acknowledged eminence at the bar and on the bench shared in the prevalent surprise and criticism. “ In a letter from one of the judges of Maine, received in the year 1829, the writer says, ‘ The Dedham case was a bold stroke. It astonished me. I first saw it merely touched upon in a Boston newspaper; and in a letter to one of the judges I asked whether the statement in the newspaper could be correct. I told him that I hoped not; for if correct it seemed to me a declaration of war against all evangelical churches.’ ” In a letter from a distinguished lawyer in the eastern part of Massachusetts the same year, referring to the Ded¬ ham case, the writer says: “ This strange and unexpected decision, which has shocked the plain sense of good men wherever it has been known, has never been well received or acquiesced in by the bar, or by intelligent lawyers of the Commonwealth. The doctrine by which the decision is attempted to be supported appears to us not less novel, strange and untenable, than the decision itself, and we regard both doctrine and decision in the light of mere 24 ELIOT MEMORIAL. assumption, or — what is quite as offensive — of judicial legislation.” Before the Dedham decision there had been cases of. like grievous character. For example, in Sandwich the parish by a vote of eighty-three to eighty declared the evan¬ gelical pastor dismissed, and he was prevented by force from entering the pulpit. Only one-tenth of the church members adhered to the Unitarian parish. The church embracing nine-tenths of the body when their pastor was ejected, was afterwards compelled to surrender their communion furni¬ ture and all monies in the hands of the deacons. What was deemed virtual spoliation, though having a form of legal sanction, now (1820) went on unobstructed. Not less than eighty-one churches might be enumerated, which, on the basis of evangelical belief, either withdrew or were driven from parishes that introduced a liberal ministry. Their communion furniture and all other property distinctively their own, as well as property of which they were joint owners, had to be surrendered to the Unitarian parish. In some instances the means employed for ejecting an Ortho¬ dox minister and driving his adherents into exile, were as far removed as can well be conceived from anything reputa¬ ble. Men who had not been inside the meeting-house for years were induced to come and vote against Orthodoxy. Ardent spirits and kindred inducements were said to be here and there employed. 1 There were cases not a few in which special incongruity would seem laughable, but for the 1 Clark’s Congregational Churches. 300-304. LOCAL ORTHODOXY AND LIBERALISM. 2 5 gravity of inhering injustice. For instance, in Ashley, the church embracing one hundred and one of the members, being unwilling to sit under Unitarian ministrations, with¬ drew from the parish. One male member, ninety years of age, and eight females remained with the parish, and under decisions of the court were entitled to the name property, and all rights of the church. It is gratifying to be able to say that such proceedings as have been referred to would probably not now be repeated, whatever occasion might arise. It remains true, however, that the party, to which numerical and pecuniary benefits inured, has never repudiated the process. They generally find it convenient to say but little about the merits of the original decision and of others based upon it. It is only an occasional instance of rare candor on the subject that we meet with. It should be added that many other parishes, as well as minorities of the eighty-one churches particularly referred to, joined the Unitarian ranks. But during the period of early discussion and embar¬ rassing ecclesiastical changes (1810-1835), there was a re¬ markable and most gratifying development of evangelical energy. The loss of so many places of worship with their hallowed associations, and the loss of so much other prop¬ erty, accompanied by a stinging sense of wrong, roused a spirit of sacrifice. Not for over a century had there been such recognition of religious kinship, or such vigorous coop¬ eration for the maintenance of evangelical truth. While at one time there was only a single church in Boston resting 26 ELIOT MEMORIAL. on the old foundations of belief, by the year 1828 there were eight such. Far more churches were formed and more church buildings erected during that than during any other equal period in New England history. The evangelicals organized or re-organized one hundred and ninety-three churches, and built an equal number of places of worship. The disruption of the Scottish church, which took place not far from the end of those twenty-five years, had points of analogy. CHAPTER III. PRELIMINARIES AND ORGANIZATION. The doctrinal discussion centering for years chiefly in Eastern Massachusetts clarified our religious atmosphere. Lines of denominational latitude were defined. A spirit of evangelistic enterprise was awakened. The Orthodox were aroused to the requirements of church extension, and the conviction was more firmly settled that the precious faith which had been passing through a fiery trial was worthy of strenuous self-sacrifice. An outward current of population from Boston directed attention to suburban needs, and in no quarter immediately connected with the city was that current stronger than on the Roxbury side. The attractions were obvious. Connection by land, with¬ out bridge or ferry, had for one thing an advantage. Here, too, were more elevation and variety of surface, more eligi¬ ble sites for building and landscape-gardening purposes. It was a natural result that in the second and third decades of the present century churches should begin to multiply in this neighborhood. The first pastor of the Universalist Society was installed in 1821. 1 An evangelical brotherhood, 1 PASTORS. Hosea Ballou, 2d., d.d. July 26, 1821. Resigned, April 28, 1838. Asher Moore. January, 1839. Resigned, 1840. Cyrus H. Fay. January, 1841. Resigned, March 26, 1849. William H. Ryder, d.d. November, 1849. Resigned, January, 1859. ) 28 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the present Dudley Street Baptist Church, received in 1822 the first of its series of pastors. 1 Some years before this Dr. Ebenezer Burgess of Dedham walked the streets of Rox- bury in company with Rev. Samuel Greene of Boston, in consultation regarding the practicability of an evangelical church here. Ten years later (May 13, 1832) came the St. James’ Episcopal Church with fourteen members. 2 Simul¬ taneously a movement began which resulted in the forma¬ tion of the Eliot Church. At that period a lively church fellowship existed, and conference was usually sought with reference to the expediency and location of new churches. A few Roxbury gentlemen met in the Cowper Committee J. G. Bartholomew, d.d. July 19, i860. Resigned, January 1, 1866. Adoniram J. Patterson, d.d. September, 1866. Resigned, June 1, 1888. Everett L. Rexford. June 1, 1888. Resigned, December 1, 1894. Frederick W. Hamilton. September 1, 1895. 'pastors. Joseph Eliot. April 10, 1822. Resigned, June 24, 1824. William Leverett. January 20, 1825. Resigned, July, 1839. Thomas Ford Caldicott, d.d. June, 1840. Resigned, April 8 , 1848. Thomas Davis Anderson, d.d. June, 1848. Resigned, October, 1861. Henry Melville King, d.d. April 12, 1863. Resigned, December 20, 1881. John Mahan English. March, 1882. Resigned, August 22, 1882. Albert Knight Potter, d.d. February, 1883. Resigned, September 13, 1886. Thomas Dixon, Jr. December 1, 1887. Resigned, April 16, 1889. Adolph S. Gumbart, d.d. January, 1890. Died, March 19, 1899. W. W. Bustard. January 18, 1900. 2 RECTORS. Mark Anthony DeWolfe Howe. January 1, 1833. Resigned, January 1, 1847. John Wayland, d.d. January 1, 1847. Resigned, January 1, 1859. George Sherman Converse. June 1, 1859. Resigned, June 1, 1871. Percy Browne. January 1, 1872. PRELIMINARIES AND ORGANIZATION. 29 Room, November 20, 1833, with others residing in Boston, for consultation and action having reference to a place of public worship for Congregationalists living here. 1 A reso¬ lution was unanimously adopted to purchase a lot of land and erect thereon a house for the purpose named. Meas¬ ures were at once taken to establish lectures by neighboring evangelical clergymen Sunday and Thursday evenings, and these were attended by a small yet constantly increasing number. The first service with preaching was held Decem¬ ber 29, 1833. Drs. N. Adams, L. Beecher, Blagden, Bur¬ gess, Codman, S. E. Dwight, Jenks and Winslow were prominent among those who encouraged the movement by personal ministration. The place of gathering was the upper hall of Spear’s Academy, a stone building, 2 next to which our permanent place of worship was afterwards built. The next May, at a meeting held in the - Old South Chapel, 1 Sirs : — You are invited to attend a meeting of gentlemen at the Cowper Committee Room on Wednesday evening, November 20th (this evening), at 7 o’clock, to consider the expediency of aiding the friends of evangelical truth in Roxbury in establishing an Evangelical Congregational Church and Society in that village, and to take such measures relative to the subject as the meeting may deem expedient. John Doggett. Pliny Cutler. Geo. W. Blagden. Charles Scudder. Henry Hill. Daniel Noyes. Dr. Burgess came from Dedham to attend that meeting. 2 Later the hall was bought by the city, and having been remodelled, was occupied by the Dudley School, and yet later by the Girls’ High School. The brick addition in front was put up afterwards. 3 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. a subscription was opened with reference to raising twelve thousand dollars toward the erection of a house of worship. Meetings for business and devotional exercises were also held in Roxbury. Entire unanimity existed, and the move¬ ment toward organizing a Congregational Church matured rapidly. No one was more indefatigable or more free in giving time and money to the enterprise than Mr. Alvah Kittredge. This was done in an unobtrusive way. He was a man of few words and no noise. He had the rare tact of keeping to work quietly and efficiently, without making demonstration of himself and without occasioning friction. An ecclesiastical council met in the hall before men¬ tioned, September 18, 1834. In addition to those specially invited Drs. Rufus Anderson and B. B. Wisner of Boston were present; also Rev. Andrew Reed, d.d., of London, and Rev. James Matheson, d.d., of Durham, England, who were then visiting American churches as a deputation from the Congregational Union of England and Wales. Dr. John Codman of Dorchester was chosen moderator. The Articles of Faith and the Covenant which had been adopted were laid before the Council and approved. The examination and ordination of Mr. Jacob Abbott as an evan¬ gelist— being named in the letter missive — formed a part of the proceedings. The examination of the candidate, however, was not at first deemed satisfactory. In the pub¬ lished Report of the English Deputation, 1 Dr. Reed says : 1 Narrative of the Visit to the American Churches by the Deputation , etc. Two Vols. London, 1835. Vol. I, p. 455. PRELIMINARIES AND ORGANIZATION. 31 “ The deliberations of the Council continued some time; but they were confidential. There was a want of una¬ nimity ; and it was therefore thought advisable to see Mr. Abbott again. The examinations were renewed, and ex¬ planations were candidly given. The candidate was then requested to retire, and a vote was taken ‘ that the Council do proceed to the ordination of Mr. Jacob Abbott. ’ ” On the evening of the same day public exercises were held in the Baptist Church. An introductory address was given by Dr. Burgess of Dedham; the prayer of consecra¬ tion was offered by Dr. Codman; and the Rev. Mr. Win¬ slow presented the right-hand of fellowship, Dr. Nathaniel S. Prentiss having been previously designated to receive the same in behalf of the church. Of the fifty-one constituent members forty-five brought letters from twenty different churches, the largest number from any one being ten from that of Bowdoin Street, Boston. A Baptist Church was among those which contributed to the original membership. Six were received on their first public confession of faith. Three-fifths of the whole were women. Of the brethren two were ministers and two physicians. Only one, Mr. John Heath, was a native of Roxbury, and for many years the accessions were chiefly from the newer and transplanted population of the place. In no sense and to no extent was this an offshoot, as has been reported, from the First Church. The next evening after those public services, Friday, the nineteenth of September, 1834, was held the first assem- 3 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. blage of this newly-organized brotherhood for devotional exercises, which have since been continued uniformly on that week-day evening for more than sixty years. Kenil¬ worth being the name of the street on which the new organ¬ ization commenced worship, the good people did not care to take that designation; Scott’s novel, “ Kenilworth,” was then much read. 1 The First Church, Roxbury, belonged to a different category; hence the new enterprise could not suitably be called the Second Church; and so it assumed the name Eliot. Roxbury never had a citizen more worthy of being thus commemorated, though the usage of designating a church of Christ by the name of any man, however distinguished, is not in accord with the best Chris¬ tian taste. Mr. Andrew S. March heads the list of very competent clerks of the church, 2 having been chosen at the first meet¬ ing, and not long afterward Mr. John Heath was elected treasurer. 1 Kenilworth Castle, as is well known, was given by Queen Elizabeth to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, her ambitious and noted, not to say notorious, favorite. Dudley was one of the most conspicuous names in the early history of Roxbury and of Massachusetts. In 1820 Col. Joseph Dudley of Roxbury laid claim to a Dudley peerage, and sent an agent to England with documents sus¬ taining the claim, but without success. 2 CHURCH CLERKS. Andrew S. March. September 23, 1834. Resigned, January 27, 1851. Henry Davenport. January 27, 1851. Resigned, January 25, 1870. Ebenezer W. Bumstead. January 25, 1870. Resigned, January 29, 1897. James S. Barrows. January 29, 1897. PRELIMINARIES AND ORGANIZATION. 33 Our excellent corps of deacons 1 begins with the names of William G. Lambert and Alvah Kittredge, whose election occurred two months subsequent to organization. With the exception of not having an installed pastor, the church was thus fully equipped for service and growth. Although the members came from various quarters and had but little previous acquaintance with one another, great harmony prevailed. A spirit of enterprise and a cheerful effort in behalf of the common weal reigned throughout the ranks of these confederated volunteers. As there can be but one period of youth for an individual, so with a community. The peculiar freshness and ardor of feeling on the part of such a band engaged in a noble yet arduous undertaking cannot be expected to continue with¬ out abatement when success has been achieved. 1 DEACONS. William G. Lambert. November 6, 1834. Resigned, March 12, 1841. Alvah Kittredge. November 6, 1834. Died, 1876. Henry Hill. January 18, 1839. Resigned, June 13, 1845. Andrew S. March. December 5, 1845. Resigned, September 5, 1851. Henry Hill. May 3, 1850. Resigned, April 3, 1857. William W. Davenport. June 24, 1853. Resigned, May 7, 1858. Edward B. Huntington. December 12, 1856. Resigned, August n, 1871. Moses Henry Day. December 18, 1857. Resigned, February 8, 1867. Lucius H. Briggs. December 20, 1861. Died, April 17, 1889. J. Russell Bradford. February 8, 1867. Died, March 12, 1885. Charles W. Hill. April 22, 1870. Died, November 17, 1896. William F. Day. January 2, 1874. Resigned, April 5, 1877. Timothy Smith. November 3, 1876. Andrew Marshall. November 3, 1876. Died, April 2, 1883. Alpine McLean. November 2, 1883. Frederick C. Russell. March 4, 1887. William F. Day. March 4, 1887 ; September 15, 1896. Died, March 8,1899. Clarence T. Mooar. March 5, 1897. CHAPTER IV. FIRST PASTORAL SETTLEMENT. An early question with every newly-organized church is, Whom shall we have for our pastor ? Mr. Jacob Abbott, having resigned his professorship in Amherst College and having removed to Roxbury, was active in a movement for establishing the Eliot Church. His ordination by the council which organized the Church was with the express understanding that he would not come into any official relation to the same. For the first three months of service in supplying the pulpit he was paid one hundred and twenty- five dollars and at the same rate for the remaining period, which closed at the middle of February the next year, 1835. Two months later the Rev. William M. Rogers of Town¬ send received the first invitation to become pastor here. There was as yet no incorporated ecclesiastical society, but the congregation concurred unanimously in the choice. Mr. Rogers, however, declined the call. Another three months went by when a younger brother of Mr. Jacob Abbott, the Rev. John Stephen Cabot Abbott, who had for five years ministered to the Calvinistic Church, now Central Church, Worcester, was invited to take the leadership of the Eliot brotherhood. Meanwhile this Church had assisted in the installation of Mr. William M. Rogers as pastor of what was then Franklin Street Church, Boston; and now he was FIRST PASTORAL SETTLEMENT. 35 present (November, 1835) on the council which installed Mr. Abbott. Dr. Codman presided, Dr. Albro acting as scribe, and Deacon Charles Stoddard as assistant scribe. The dedication of the new house of worship took place on the same occasion. Mr. Abbott’s first sermon after instal¬ lation was from Genesis 28: 17, “ This is none other but the house of God.” Only twenty-one additions to the original constituent membership had been made before the first dismission occurred, that of Mr. and Mrs. Josiah H. Hammond, Jan¬ uary 19, 1836. Death also began to invade our ranks. Mrs. Mary J. Bowman was the first to be thus removed. She had been received in May, 1837, and her four children were baptized. Being confined to her bed by sickness she re¬ ceived the Lord’s Supper at her private dwelling, and just a month after that she found herself where symbols are no longer needed. During the five years’ ministry of Mr. J. S. C. Abbott the Church received accessions to the number of one hundred and fifty-one, eighty-nine of these being by let¬ ter. At the time of his settlement the salary was one thou¬ sand dollars; the next year it was raised to twelve hundred dollars, and in 1837 to fourteen hundred. Mr. Abbott ten¬ dered his resignation June 2, 1840, but upon request of the people, withdrew the communication. After six months, however, the resignation of office was renewed and accepted. The farewell sermon was preached December 20. January 13, 1841, a Council confirmed the proceeding. At the time of his settlement in Roxbury Mr. Abbott 3 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. was thirty years of age, having been born in Brunswick, Me., September 15, 1805. He graduated from Bowdoin College, 1825, and after studying at the Andover Theological Sem¬ inary, was ordained in 1830. On leaving Roxbury he had a short ministry at Nantucket; but for the next seven years was associated with his brothers, Messrs. Jacob and Gorham D. Abbott, in conducting an institution for young ladies in New York City. Thereafter he devoted himself to literary labor. Before coming to Boston Mr. Abbott had written “ The Mother at Home ” and “ The Child at Home.” Later works from his pen were chiefly historical, as follows : — “ Kings and Queens: or Life in the Palace.” “ The French Revolution of 1789.” “The History of Napoleon Bonaparte.” (2 Vols.) “The History of Napoleon III.” Ten Volumes of illustrated histories. “A History of the Civil War in America.” (2 Vols.) “ Romance of Spanish History.” “ The History of Frederick the Second; called Freder¬ ick the Great.” Some of these were translated into European lan¬ guages. Mr. Abbott died at Fairhaven, Connecticut, 1877. CHAPTER V. SECOND SETTLEMENT. After Mr. J. S. C. Abbott’s retirement from Roxbury there was an interregnum of a year and a half. Numerous preachers — some of them to the number of forty as candi¬ dates, and some not as candidates — occupied the pulpit. An extended period of that sort is seldom of much general profit to the people, and this instance formed no ex¬ ception. I have been requested to give a detailed account of the second settlement. Of the circumstances which led to it I can give no account. It should be stated that while an under-graduate theological student I came to the conclusion that if the Head of the church had called me to the Chris¬ tian ministry he would as surely point out his choice of a field, and that it was not for me to seek or knowingly per¬ mit friends to seek any particular pulpit for me. When the invitation from Roxbury came I was entirely ignorant in regard to the place, its condition and its people. All that I had ever learned about the town was that there were forti¬ fications here in the war-time of the Revolution. I had never made the acquaintance of any one living within a hun¬ dred miles of Roxbury, and it was years before even a conjectured clue to the circumstances of my being invited came to light. In response to a request through Rev. David 38 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Greene, Home Secretary of the American Board of Mis¬ sions, and Chairman of the committee of supply, that I should preach here three successive Sabbaths, I came to Boston in the early Summer of 1842. Mr. Greene met me at the Railroad Station in Boston and took me to his house on Cedar Street in Roxbury. Mrs. Evarts, the widow of Jeremiah Evarts, and mother of Mrs. Greene as well as of her distinguished brother, William M. Evarts, was then in the family. Her matronly presence, her striking features, her keen black eye, her fine conversational power remain in memory with great distinctness. So do all the members, parents and children, of that well ordered and delightful household. Having only a few sermons on hand I wrote one each week of the fortnight spent in Roxbury, preaching them while here, and then returned to Northampton, where I was staying at that time. Two of the Sabbaths then spent here were the first two of June; and as soon as prac¬ ticable the Church and Society joined in unanimously in¬ viting me to become their pastor. Messrs. Henry Hill, Alvah Kittredge and Hon. Samuel H. Walley, Jr., were deputed to convey the invitation and to confer personally with me at Northampton. A few days later my written acceptance of the call was sent to Roxbury. In the mean¬ time, a similar invitation from a church in the Connecticut River valley was handed me, and there were strong local inducements to accept the same. One reason for declining it was the simple fact of priority on the part of the other in¬ vitation. What the relative amount of salary was I do SECOND SETTLEMENT. 39 not remember. At a yet earlier date a request had come from the church in my native place. That was contrary to my avowed wishes, which had been made known with frankness and decision. The circumstances that this invitation pro¬ ceeded from revered associates of my parents as well as from my own early schoolmates, was a sufficient reason for declining the post of spiritual instructor and guide amidst such acquaintances of early life. Arrangements regarding the council and ordination services at Roxbury were left entirely in the hands of the committee. My being such a stranger in that part of Mas¬ sachusetts was reason enough for this. The practice of stated pastoral vacations had not then come to be so com¬ mon as it now is. After my acceptance of the call, the ecclesiastical society voted an annual vacation of four weeks, which was sufficient, and the more gratifying because it was done spontaneously. At that time the annual exodus of Summer visitors to the mountains and other rural resorts, as well as to the sea¬ side, had hardly begun, otherwise the formal induction to office would not have occurred in dog-days. It was assigned to the 27th of July. Examination by the council was somewhat prolonged, and as it seemed to me very thorough. I could wish that acquaintance with a candidate’s religious views might never be sought with less scrutiny. It was not then the custom, as is now the case, to call for a written statement of one’s theological position. The examination occupied the greater 40 ELIOT MEMORIAL. part of the afternoon, public services coming in the evening. Dr. John Codman of Dorchester presided. The invocation was by Rev. Mr. Marsh, pastor of the Spring Street Church, West Roxbury, which was organized the same year as the Eliot Church.' My brother, Professor William Thompson, preached the sermon. Of the other services two are dis¬ tinctly recalled by me, one of them the right hand of fellow¬ ship given by Dr. N. Adams in his peculiarly happy manner, easy, fraternal, cordial, with no tinge of the merely pro¬ fessional or perfunctory. It drew my heart to him and my warm expectant regard for those whom he represented. Among his appropriate sayings I remember a reference to the Rev. Daniel Crosby of Charlestown, then just deceased, a man greatly respected and beloved: — “ Others may hail the rising sun, I bow to him whose course is run.” The other service which deeply impressed me was the ordaining prayer by Dr. Burgess of Dedham, in the course of which he employed successive clauses, beginning, “ We set him apart,” and “from the halls of legislation” was appro¬ priately one of them. The pressure on my head of his hand and the hands of other revered divines as I kneeled by them 1 PASTORS. Christopher Marsh. May 17, 1837. December 11, 1850. Thomas Laurie, d.d. May 7, 1851. January 30, 1868. William S. Hubbell. January 30, 1868. January 25, 1872. Edward Strong, d.d. May 2, 1872. July 13, 1882. Clarence A. Beckwith. November 21, 1882. March 15, 1892. Frank W. Merrick. May 11, 1893. SECOND SETTLEMENT. 41 in the pulpit and listened to the solemn words of consecrat¬ ing prayer, can never be forgotten. Indeed for many weeks, and especially amidst ministerial duties, there seemed to be a distinct sensation that the hair had not risen from be¬ neath those venerable hands. Dr. Burgess felt a peculiar interest in the formation of this church; had contributed pecuniarily to its growth; but had no thought that the “ hands of the Presbytery ” were being laid on the head of one who, some thirty years later, would become his son-in- law. It is a coincidence not unworthy of mention that by the courtesy of the Eliot Society my family have unwit¬ tingly occupied the pew which was originally owned by him. At the close of the service Dr. Codman shook hands with me most cordially and said, “ Make use of my library.” He had an unusually large and valuable collection of books. I never availed of his offer, nor ever forgot the kindness of that hour, a kindness that continued without interruption till the last hour of his life. Between the organization of the Eliot Church and the second installation of a pastor, 1842, there had been no very marked general developments in the religious condition of Boston and its vicinage. Individual occurrences, however, of considerable significance took place. Emerson’s noted sermon before the Cambridge Divinity School was delivered in 1838. The next year came Professor Andrews Norton’s address on “ The Latest Form of Infidelity.” Theodore Parker, who was settled at West Roxbury in 1837, preached his famous South Boston discourse in 1841, the subject 42 ELIOT MEMORIAL. being the transient and permanent in Christianity. That may be accepted as inaugurating the era of a form of bald infidelity in these parts. But its progress was slow. It scarcely touched the Eliot congregation. The good people of our congregation did not desire combativeness in the pul¬ pit, and as little did they desire avoidance of the great dis¬ tinctive facts and truths of evangelical Christianity. Opiate divinity had no charm for them. It was far from my thought to play the role of belligerency; I do not recollect ever to have referred publicly and by name to Unitarians or Universalists ; but it was soon perfectly understood what position the young pastor held. Fill the bushel with wheat, and chaff will have small chance. CHAPTER VI. THE PULPIT. A Pedestal, a throne, on which concentrated light is cast — such is the pulpit. To stand there the object of all eyes, open at all points to criticism, challenging respect and confidence, though fully conscious of insufficiency — what an occasion for trembling ! What a morning for one young man was that of July 31, 1842, the first Lord’s Day in a momentous relation that was to continue indefinitely. The shrinking and tremor would have been overpowering but for the Saviour’s last promise, “ Lo, I am with you.” This pre¬ sented itself as the minister’s own promise. It gave strength and calmness; and from that day to the present I have sel¬ dom gone to the sacred desk without pleading this precious pledge. The morning’s sermon that day was on “ The Christian Embassy,” from the words, “ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” In the afternoon the subject was, “ A People’s chief duty to their . Pastor ” (Hebrews 2: 2, 3). But there sat Rev. Dr. Ander¬ son, Rev. David Greene, besides other clergymen and well- educated laymen, men of large experience in public affairs. There were women, too, of a superior type, mothers in Israel and daughters of Judah, mature and refined. The audacity 44 ELIOT MEMORIAL. of a young man rising up as teacher and guide in such a presence seemed prodigious. Lack of adequate mental capacity and furniture was not the chief source of anxiety. The religious welfare of a congregation weighed like a mountain. What Augustine says about angels being un¬ equal to the burden 1 came to mind. But for a strong hand from on high, collapse would have come. The people, how¬ ever, were kindly considerate. Attention was all that could be desired. In the earlier years of my ministry there was one in the congregation, Dr. Nathaniel S. Prentiss, whose specially eager attention could not fail to attract notice. He sat at an angle from the pulpit that made it particularly easy and natural for the speaker’s eye to rest on his noble counte¬ nance. His love of scripture truth was intense. If now and then there was some one apparently in the same condi¬ tion with Malchus after Peter had used his sword, Dr. Pren¬ tiss more than made amends for such. His portly person, his large eyes, his riveted attention seemed enough for a half side of the meeting-house. One of the deacons, a very grave man, who sat in the pew behind the doctor, said that as a sermon proceeded, the old gentleman, with both hands on the top of his gold-headed cane, would unconsciously work forward on his seat; and the observer was often anxious lest he should land on the floor. He weighed con¬ siderably over two hundred pounds. As for criticisms, there must have been many and 1 Onus Angelicis humeris formidandum. THE PULPIT. 45 deserved, though it was seldom that one came to my ear. I can recall but a few instances. It was my practice to re¬ write whenever I preached a sermon the second time, except when there came a request for repetition. In one instance, having no time to recast a manuscript, I delivered a dis¬ course word for word after an interval of seven years. As the congregation were retiring, an individual who had joined us in the interim remarked with a deep flush on his face, “ That sermon was all aimed at me.” Another case was this: In due course of exposition it became necessary for me to say something in regard to divorce, though not know¬ ing that a divorced person was present. It appears that one of the quartet singers belonged to that class, and was moved to talk violently about the sermon. But for that, it might not have become known that there was anything disreputa¬ ble in her history. Sometimes just the opposite of fitting personal application took place. “ Where did you get that sermon last Sunday, Mr. Thompson ? ” was put to me ear¬ nestly. “ Well, the text was in Numbers.” “ Ah, you hit the nail on the head; ” and more to the same effect. If any head was hit, his, by general consent, was the one. But he proceeded to speak of Mr. Blank as engaged in bogus stock operations, etc. One female hearer, not afflicted with self¬ distrust, would now and then give advice touching sermons, and once complimented herself by saying that she noticed I always preached better after her conversations with me. The appropriateness of certain subjects and sermons is not usually seen by all. After discourse one Sunday fore- 46 ELIOT MEMORIAL. noon on the Pharisee and Publican, a good clerical friend in the congregation kindly suggested the inquiry whether cer¬ tain paragraphs relating to the prayers of the impenitent were quite in place at that time. Before night a theologi¬ cal student, a member of our church, called, after conversing with another young man, who was well informed on general subjects but a Pharisee in his religious views and ways. He had said to the student, “ Why did you tell Mr. Thompson my confession to you yesterday? ” His friend replied, “ I did not see Mr. Thompson till after the sermon this morn¬ ing.” The young man, who had been a gay New Yorker, remarked, “ It was the closest and most pertinent sermon I ever heard.” After a discourse on the “ Efficacy of Prayer,” one good woman sent me word indirectly that she did not need such an argument. Before the next Lord’s Day another excellent Christian women thanked me very heartily for that sermon, saying it was just what she needed. A wise and kind elderly member of the congregation expressed doubts as to the expediency of introducing into the pulpit a certain sub¬ ject which had just been handled on the Sabbath. Within a few days I heard of a hopeful conversion resulting from that sermon. In the matter of pulpit preparation and pulpit occu¬ pancy most pastors have an experience of trying exigencies, and more particularly in their early official years. A share fell to my lot. In several instances, owing to illness or a succession of funerals and other interruptions, it became im- THE PULPIT. 47 possible to commence usual preparation before Saturday, and that, too, when body and mind were jaded. Hours were spent in trying to secure an exchange with different neighboring ministers, but unsuccessfully. Returning home, a wearied and possibly somewhat wiser man, I would spend most of the night in necessary writing instead of needed sleep. Twice within my first three years an agent of some benevolent society had agreed to meet me of a Sunday after¬ noon at the church door and occupy the pulpit in present¬ ing his cause, but failed to appear. Each time the disap¬ pointment was partly relieved by my being able to summon up a discourse previously committed to memory. When such trials work faith, there is compensation to the preacher if not to the hearer. Can the pulpit be long out of a minister’s mind any day of the year, and year after year, be the pastorate a long or a short one ? What subject most needed next ? how shall it be so treated as to be most effective ? are questions con¬ stantly recurring from January first to December thirty- first. Of about one thousand sermons a classified synopsis of subjects shows the following proportions: — The Bible — characteristics and claims, 24; the several books, 7; exposi¬ tion of whole books or chapters, 231 ; Scripture characters, 28. God — character, works, and government, 36. Christ —attributes, offices, life, 118. The Holy Spirit — attributes and offices, 26. Man — character, ways, needs, duties, destiny, 102. The Christian — characteristics, duties, privileges, destiny, 285. 4 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Revivals , 28. The Family —Periods of Life, Classes of Persons, 73. Death and the Future , 69. Special Occasions and Miscellaneous , 111. Memoranda show that in twenty-three instances I preached at the ordination or installation of foreign mission¬ aries or home pastors. As some written sermons were at different times destroyed, and as some were never com¬ mitted to paper, it is impossible to find the exact number that were delivered from the Eliot pulpit. Memoranda show that for somewhat over a thousand discourses, 359 texts were taken from the Old Testament, and 703 from the New Tes¬ tament. In no instance was a passage employed simply as a motto ; nor garbled by employing an incomplete sentence or some single phrase. Occasionally I tried the expository method, dwelling on half a chapter at a time, not, however, without careful preparation, and it was gratifying to hear of much satisfaction being expressed by members of the con¬ gregation. Never was a mere verbal or fanciful analogy made the basis of a discourse. Imitation of the method or style of other men was never attempted. Simeon’s volumes of plans I never saw. But I once read in public another man’s discourse. It was from a volume of sermons on “ Christ the Great Subject of Gospel Preaching,” etc., by Ebenezer Thayer, pastor of the Second Church, the one in West Roxbury over which Theodore Parker was after¬ ward settled. The discourse was one of twelve, clear, scriptural and forcible, on the person and work of Christ. This was done at an evening meeting in the lecture-room, THE PULPIT. 49 the audience large and attentive, and a desire was expressed that yet other sermons might be given from the same vener¬ able book, which was published more than a century before (1721). I never took notes of any preacher’s sermons and never borrowed a skeleton. In every instance, whether a sermon might be called doctrinal or not, there was a dis¬ tinct purpose to make a definite impression and to secure a well-defined practical result — helpful instruction, vigorous aspiration, saving conversion, or earnest, holy living. When after fifty years occasion ceased for their further use, it was a rather trying task to destroy a thousand or more manuscripts, the chief products of much brain-work — products which had been employed for the most sacred purposes. They were luminous at least once. John Bright, the celebrated English statesman and orator, expressed surprise that any one could preach week after week to the same congregation. But even the Turk has a proverb that solves the mystery, “ When God gives office he also gives ability to fill it.” CHAPTER VII. PASTORAL SERVICE. i. Parish Calls. No part of ministerial labor has been more a delight than these. At the time of my settlement there was no Congregational Church within two miles of the Eliot Church. Parochial limits were thus for a good while wide apart; and quite a number of those worshiping with us lived a long way from the place of Sunday meeting as well as a yet greater distance from one another. Being chiefly a transplanted people, their social ties were feeble. One inci¬ dental result was the absence of gossip. I have never known a community where there was so little mischievous or idle small talk. Had they lived more compactly and met more frequently, it might have been different. The pastor naturally became a bond or medium of fellowship. During the whole period, excepting long absences, calls averaged seven hundred and ninety per annum, but the thought of being foot-sore hardly found place in the young man’s mind, so hearty was the welcome he received. Smiles would brighten the cloudiest day. In the course of thirty years only a few exceptions to this took place among our own people. It occurred to me at the outset that, for the manner of conducting official visits it would be well to begin as they might be expected PARISH CALLS. 5 1 to continue, prayer among other things being proposed. One of my first calls was at the house of a sick church member too ill at the time to see me, and whose husband was an irreligious man. I endeavored to open acquaint¬ ance pleasantly with him, and before leaving said, “ Shall we unite in prayer for the invalid?” “No objection if you want to,” was the gruff response. I found few persons less easily approached in serious conversation than the devotees of society so called. One such having just returned from a trip to Philadelphia I called on her, and after a while endeavored to turn con¬ versation into a profitable channel, but without success. “ Well, Mrs. Blank,” I remarked, “ there must be one city more attractive than even Philadelphia. Is it not New Jerusalem?” “ O, I presume so!” This specimen will suffice. At an early period there came to town one of the shoddy rich men, who took a high-priced pew in the Eliot Church. Calling promptly at his house I was re¬ ceived with a rather overpowering dignity, the well-to-do- parishioner presenting himself in a showy dressing gown. He soon informed me that Mr. - of a neighboring town was his pastor, and I was able to speak in the high¬ est terms of that brother minister. The new-comer occu¬ pied this part of our hemisphere only a short time. Majesty seldom tarries long in the same place. He was the man, if I mistake not, who called a leading physician of Boston and wished him — as the doctor afterwards told me — “to dognose [diagnose] his case.” After a few years I was 5 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. greeted at another house — a house of repute — “You are a great stranger; you haven’t been here for two years.” Twelve months had not gone by since my previous visit. To make assurance doubly sure thereafter I had a quarto volume prepared for a record of calls, one broad column on each page for the names of persons visited; a narrower column for dates; another to indicate merely social calls; and yet another to indicate whenHhe individual was not at home. Such a register serves as a corrective to the treacherous memory of both minister and people. It served a good purpose when Mrs. - remarked that I had not been to her house for a year and a half, during which time two of her daughters had been sick. Turning to my register I found mention of three visits to the family within the preceding six months. Little mistakes some¬ times occurred. Calling at one of two houses precisely alike in their exterior and near each other, I inquired, “ Is Miss - at home ? ” The servant said, “ Yes,” and showed me in. It was evening. Hall and parlor were not well lighted. I had hardly been ushered in when a good lady advanced, saying, “ How do you do, my dear pastor ? ” I took her to be a sister of Mrs. Van Kuren just come to town, and after chatting with her a few minutes I re¬ marked, “ Mrs. Van Kuren is not able to get out much.” “ O, Sir,” said the lady, “ Mrs. Van Kuren lives at the next door. I thought you were my pastor, whom I expect to take tea with me.” No year passed without an effort to have more than PARISH CALLS. 53 one personal interview with every member of the congre¬ gation, whether old or young. The most frequent visits were not paid to the more conspicuous but to humbler families. The former were, as a general thing, less likely to suspect disproportionate attention. Among the latter was found usually greater freedom in disclosing domestic and other trials, as well as spiritual needs and religious joys. Many a church-meeting talk and many a sermon came out of visits to crowded alleys and dingy rooms. Nowhere else was sympathy so deeply moved, and no¬ where else did choicer fruits of divine grace come to light. Pithy sayings were sometimes dropped and now come to mind. A thoughtful woman, around whose dwell¬ ing a plenty of weeds and rude children of the neighbor¬ hood might be seen, remarked, “ Everything grows here but goodness.” Another, much devoted to active benevo¬ lence, after being shut in by ill-health, said to me, “ It requires great grace to be good for nothing.” Two compliments came to me from such quarters the same day. I was told that an Irish member of the church, who had died shortly before at the age of ninety-two, prayed every day during my absence in Europe that I might live to return and attend her funeral. A Scotch member of the church, aged ninety-six, on hearing some favorable remark about a sermon which I had preached, observed, “ Ah, he s the boy to do that! ” While there is sometimes a pride that looks up as well as a pride that looks down, flowering plants never 54 ELIOT MEMORIAL. seem so attractive as in the windows of a tumble-down cottage. Never can I forget the sweet expression on the countenance of an impoverished widow as, looking out upon the well-kept lawn, and grove, and shrubs, and vines of a neighboring estate, she said, “ My Father made them all.” Nor can I forget the look of heavenly contentment on the face of another in her solitude, who would never admit being alone, but said, “ My dear Elder Brother is always with me.” There comes to mind the radiant ex¬ pression on the face of a woman thirty years ago. She was ninety, blind, feeble, dependent, and at the time sick withal. As I spoke of the loving-kindness of God, she raised her emaciated hands, exclaiming, “ Praised be my Heavenly Father for all he has done for me; for all he is doing to me ! ” Pastoral visits disclosed now and then what seemed to be the conversion of a church member, not a second conversion, so called, but the initial experi¬ ence of saving grace. One instance may be mentioned, that of a professional man in a lingering decline, who was intensely desirous of recovery, being very timid in view of suffering and death. At length there came an overwhelm¬ ing sense of sinfulness, and he passed through a severe spiritual struggle. He obtained and retained a most sat¬ isfying view of Christ as the atoning Saviour. Christian patience, and meekness and joy in a marked degree fol¬ lowed. A widow in her eighty-third year said to me — she was from the north of Ireland, and had an original way PARISH CALLS. 55 of expressing herself — “Nigh twenty years ago I was in a great consternation of mind and body. I lay awake one night feeling like a sparrow alone upon the house-top. I prayed God he would send some one to teach and help me. The next day who should come in but you yourself. You prayed with me; but you first repeated the hymn,— “ ‘Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly.’ That was just what I wanted. The peace of God has kept me ever since.” After that she joined our church, making no use of a musty certificate. Among the memorabilia of sick-rooms was the case of a church member, who sank under a cancerous tumor in the throat, which occasioned great suffering. She could speak only at considerable intervals and could articulate only two or three words at a time. Between paroxysms of distress she would say, “ God is good ” — “ He is good ” — “Thanks for mercies” — “He strengthens me” — “His will be done” — “Christ is precious” — “All is peace.” Silent endurance simply is impressive; but such victory over pain, such irrepressible paeans through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ are sublime and more effective than any didactic volume of Evidences. Upon decease there is no long flight of the soul to follow, but simply a step to the other side of the veil. And let who will go forth prospecting for precious metal, or searching the sky for undiscovered luminaries, I would far rather listen to the 56 ELIOT MEMORIAL. dying testimony and catch the light in the eye of a de¬ parting believer. And that, too, although pastoral pres¬ ence was now and then sought when impossibility seemed to stare me in the face. Owing to a two-days’ sick head¬ ache, I was obliged to write one Thursday night on a pre¬ paratory lecture for the next evening. Indeed, it was after two o’clock Friday morning when I retired to rest. The clock had not struck three before I was called up by an agitated son, and hastened to the bedside of his dying mother. She was the senior member of our church at that time, being in the eighty-sixth year of her age. Her pains were great but her peace of mind still greater. At another time I was called up past midnight to go and see a sick woman, who had just learned suddenly that her ex¬ pectation of recovery must be given up, and who was in extreme agitation. She was living in a court not particu¬ larly reputable, and I took a policeman with me. Other calls were made by daylight till the wretched sufferer’s last fearful groan was uttered. In 1865 died Mrs. Sarah A. Rogers, who for years suffered from an extreme palpi¬ tation of heart which shook her whole frame and the chair in which she obtained only imperfect repose. After join¬ ing the church she was unable to attend public worship, and never but once received the emblems of Christ’s dying love. At length she passed out of the apartment of suffering and of shadows into sunlight. During all that period of wearisome months and even years of pant¬ ing, no complaint escaped her empurpled lips. Cheerful- PARISH CALLS. 57 ness reigned throughout all. My calls were frequent, and all the while that palpitating heart “ Like a muffled drum, was beating Funeral marches to the grave.” Pastoral life became a vibration between joy and sor¬ row. So frequent was the demand upon ministration to the sick and bereaved that I was kept almost uniformly in the border-land, and I seemed to have become janitor to the unseen world. A request would come for me to communicate sad intelligence — that there was no hope of recovery; or that the remains of some member of a family were unexpectedly about to be brought home. One morn¬ ing I was sent for to inform a man who had been violently sick for two weeks, that his wife, taken down after him, died a week ago, an event which could not safely be made known sooner. How could tears be restrained on meet¬ ing a man, during whose absence of a few months his entire family had been buried ! In almost numberless instances the last pastoral visit was made just at the close of a parishioner’s life; and good- bys to the departing had, as a general thing, little sad¬ ness in their tone. Recollection is stored with such cases. In 1869, for example, being sent for with great urgency, I hastened to the bedside of a sick woman. Passages like the twenty-third Psalm and certain words of our Saviour were repeated, as well as the hymn, “Jesus, lover of my soul.” She expressed firm trust in him and smiled sweetly 5« ELIOT MEMORIAL. at every mention of his name. After a prayer she asked to be turned in bed, and within less than half an hour ceased to breathe. Another sister in the church, long time a sufferer, exhibited a rare combination of strong desire to depart and complete acquiescence in the divine will. A frequent exclamation of hers was, “ I long to go home! O, I want to be at home with Jesus!” At the bedside of another who had lived a decidedly Christian life, I repeated, “ Rock of Ages, cleft for me,” and she accom¬ panied me in a low concurrent voice. When the stanzas were finished, she whispered, “ Nothing, nothing, but the mercy and the merits of Jesus Christ!” and at once her “ eyelids closed in death.” A deaf-mute member, in a rather dark apartment and on the verge of departure, in¬ dicated her idea of the brightness of heaven, to which she was bound joyously, by bringing a hand over her eyes as if shading them from the effulgence. Specially memorable was the loft of a rude workshop — without lath or plaster, the rafters covered with soot, not a single object of comfort in sight — where dwelt per¬ haps the most cheerful saint in Boston. Never did a lisp of complaint or an allusion to surroundings escape from her lips. But climb up there and speak of the Saviour, you would see her sallow face glow at once, and she seemed transfigured. That dreary, smoky apartment became a ves¬ tibule of heaven. There were cases where the pastor found husband and wife unequally yoked together, the former devoid of PARISH CALLS. 59 sympathy in things religious; the latter discreet, faithful, prayerful, and able quietly to maintain a controlling influ¬ ence over the household. The Christian nurture of chil¬ dren resulted in a sterling character. No instance of desertion or of divorce occurred in the congregation. It was deeply interesting to observe the refining and enno¬ bling influence of genuine piety, often independent of other sources of culture. Not a few such cases come to mind. I recall one which will serve as a specimen — the sick-room of a Protestant serving-girl from the north of Ireland. She was dependent and friendless, save a sis¬ ter, who relinquished her own most eligible place of serv¬ ice that she might minister to her in a long decline. She would moisten the invalid’s parched mouth, caring for her in every way tenderly night and day. As the last hour approached, she said to her, “ Sister, shall I give you a little water now?” “No, thank you,” was the answer, “I’ll drink no more till I drink at the fountain.” John Brown, with his well-ordered family, came from the north of Scotland and occupied a small house, then almost a solitary one, near the Milldam. He sank under a gradual invasion of disease, which baffled the healing art; but at every call I found a beautiful spirit of patience and cheerfulness. His thoughts dwelt a good deal the other side of the ocean and also in that world where is no more sea. Over and over he sang hymns taught him by a godly Highland mother. At last he desired Scotch friends who stood round his bed to sing a favorite one, 6o ELIOT MEMORIAL. which the sainted woman used to sing in his childhood. His own feeble voice at length joined the rest; but with the last word and last note he ceased to breathe. The words were: — “ Hark, the glad sound ! The Saviour comes, The Saviour promised long; Let every heart prepare him room, And every voice a song.” I think of him as joining at once in the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. The funeral service over, the widow and daughter has¬ tened back to Aberdeen. 2. Extra-Parochial Service . The longer a minister remains in one place, the more is he liable to be called upon for service outside of parish lines. If his sphere of labor is in a populous community, and if he remain at home during the heated term when an annual dispersion of people takes place, he is sure to be called upon for ministrations in behalf of the sick and be¬ reaved who are strangers. I have repeatedly made a sug¬ gestion that groups of neighboring ministers enter into an agreement by which, in rotation, one of them shall be at home during the vacation season. Many years ago upon the death of a prominent church officer in Boston, whose house had long been a home for ministers, not a Congre¬ gational pastor was to be found in the city, and the family EXTRA-PAROCHIAL SERVICE. 61 had to scour neighboring towns in search of some one to offer prayer at the funeral. In two instances when I had been already engaged for such service at a specified hour, application has been made from other quarters for the same purpose. In one case the applicant seemed to be so dazed as not to appreciate the impossibility of a man’s reduplicating himself and being in two places at the same time. Great embarrassment results not infrequently from the habit of engaging an undertaker and perhaps announc¬ ing in daily papers the hour of a funeral before a minister is called upon. Time and again came a request from some remote family of which I had never heard, to attend a funeral. It became necessary to hire a carriage for the purpose and no thanks were expressed. This was due doubtless to faulty education, for children sometimes grow up without ever being taught to say, Thank you. Service may be cheerfully rendered, though such omissions cannot fail to be noticed. I have thus come into fuller sympathy with our foreign missionaries, who often fail to receive any token of gratitude for their gratuitous labor. Just fifty-one years ago parents, with two daughters and a son, sailed from Belfast, Ireland. The father and mother died at the quarantine, Quebec. The son Andrew, a lad of fifteen, went to New York to find a brother who had preceded the family four years before. Finding that the brother had come to Boston, Andrew followed. Here he was soon run over by a carriage and taken to a hospi- 62 ELIOT MEMORIAL. tal. No brother being found, he appealed to me. There was no small joy in befriending such an orphan. His gratitude was ample. Utterances painfully suggestive were sometimes heard. A widowed woman spoke of her husband’s departure as a translation, though it was understood he had come home intoxicated nearly every day for years, ardent spirits being the occasion of the accident by which he lost his life. The ravages and relics of intemperance in the surround¬ ing community brought melancholy scenes to light. The older of two sisters married a widowed father, and the younger married his widowed son. The next day after the funeral of a step-daughter of this second wife, the step-mother’s sister fell down stairs and remained uncon¬ scious till her death took place. In obeying the summons from strangers to a marriage service in an alley, dark even at noon-day, and also an urgent request for a call at midnight, I took a policeman with me and found the pre¬ caution was warranted. Occasions for official association with other denomi¬ nations were infrequent. I was requested to take part at the funeral of a dear child who had been in our Sunday School, and who belonged to a family some members of which were connected with the Episcopal Church. The rector declined to have any joint participation, and con¬ ducted the whole service. This occurred more than once. With our Unitarian and Universalist neighbors there were pleasant relations, but not public religious fellowship. In EXTRA-PAROCHIAL SERVICE. 63 private intercourse there was friendliness. Mr. Charles K. Dillaway, for example, an officer in the First Church, a prominent citizen, a former master of the Boston Latin School, was a warm personal friend. His unfailing kind¬ liness and rare general excellence of character entitled him to that universal esteem which he enjoyed. Not infre¬ quently he would take a seat with us on the Sabbath. He suggested an exchange of pulpits with the pastor of the Unitarian Church. But that is a matter in which prin¬ ciple must take precedence of private and neighborhood courtesies. In civic affairs and in philanthropic movements there may be heartiest cooperation; but the strictly reli¬ gious sphere is another thing. “ As certain also of your own poets have said” — for example, Dr. Priestly — “I do not wonder that you Calvinists entertain and express a strongly unfavorable opinion of us Unitarians. The truth is, there neither can be nor ought to be any compromise between us. If you are right, we are not Christians at all; and if we are right, you are gross idola¬ ters.” The Rev. Thomas Belsham spoke decidedly, “ Opin¬ ions such as these can no more harmonize with each other than light and darkness, than Christ and Belial. They who hold doctrines so diametrically opposite cannot be worshipers in the same temple.” Discourtesies were rare. One of our elderly ladies became acquainted with an aged Unitarian neighbor, and at length proposed that they should engage in Scripture readings and prayer. They began with the New Testa- 6 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. ment, and at their third reading in Matthew’s Gospel came to the verse, “ Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thor¬ oughly purge his floor and gather the wheat into his gar¬ ner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The old lady seemed to be startled and asked to have it read again, observing that she had forgotten that there was such a passage in the Bible. The calls and readings continued till, on her own motion, a request came that I would visit her. On presenting myself and my card at the door, a daughter-in-law of the aged woman de¬ clined to admit me to the house, remarking, “ My mother has a pastor,” giving his name with a good deal of em¬ phasis. Raising my hat, I explained calmly and reiterated the explanation that I called only at the request of her aged mother. Admittance was not secured. Some years later I was sent for in great haste to go to the chamber where a wife and mother was dying. Her Unitarian pastor not being at home could not be found. The family were much agitated. After a few quieting words, I invited all to kneel with me in prayer; but on rising I found the pastor had come and was standing be¬ hind me. There was embarrassment of course. After interment had taken place, I called to express sympathy. Some little neighborly services on my part were accepted; but by and by the family found it not convenient to recog¬ nize on the street the one who had been sent for when the wife and mother and whole household were in dis¬ tress. EXTRA-PAROCHIAL SERVICE. 65 At another time a gentleman in my neighborhood, with whom I had had no acquaintance, asked me to the house to see his wife, who was in the last stages of con¬ sumption. Learning where he attended worship, I sug¬ gested that while I should be happy to comply with his request, it might perhaps be considered a breach of comity, and that he and the family might prefer the presence of their own pastor. He replied, “ I should as soon think of calling in a dancing-master.” My visits were gladly re¬ ceived though death soon ensued. The most trying case was that where a capable mother who had no sympathy with evangelical religion, and who would not allow me at repeated calls to see a sick daugh¬ ter except in her own presence. The daughter had been a member of our Sunday School; she was sinking in a fatal decline, and evidently wanted to have me talk on the vital concerns of her soul and of salvation. But the mother sitting by would parry and thwart everything dis¬ tinctive that I said, and would pervert, according to my view, every plainly pertinent text quoted by me. It hardly need be added that the foregoing were exceptional cases. From another religious denomination came an imploring request for me to conduct the funeral of a child. The pastor of the family had declined the service because scar¬ let fever occasioned the death. This, too, occurred a second time. 66 ELIOT MEMORIAL. j>. Deaths and Ftmerals. The circumstances under which the announcement of a death was made were sometimes noteworthy. Toward the close of a week-day church meeting I suggested that a prominent member, who was known to be in a distant hospital, should be remembered in the next prayer. Some one spoke at once, “ She is dead.” A telegram to that effect had been received just as the meeting opened. A hurried note was one day written by a lady, saying, “ Mr. Dickinson has been taken suddenly ill.” Before opportu¬ nity occurred to send the note this postscript was added, “ Mr. Dickinson died at half-past eleven.” Such unlooked-for announcements not unfrequently made the general heart of our community stand still for a moment. The shock would be startling. Mr. John Heath — for many years treasurer of the Eliot Society—who never had occasion to call a physician, fell without a mo¬ ment’s warning and did not become again conscious. March 26, 1897, word passed from neighbor to neighbor, “Mr. Ireson is no more with us.” The sickness — it was hardly a sickness — continued only two days. He, too, during seventy-four years had never called a physician. For forty years a member of this church, and thirty-eight years secretary of the Sunday School, he had been a beloved brother in Christ. These two men were noted for the same traits and habits; they were remarkably punctual, faithful, accurate, cheerful. They loved the dis- DEATHS AND FUNERALS. 67 tinctive truths of Christianity; they were blameless in life and prudent in speech. Both were heartily devoted to the Eliot Church. Their modesty was beautiful, and yet extreme; each of them shrank from taking active part, by prayer or remarks, in social religious meetings. Fluency of speech is not the standard of piety. Mr. Richard Bond, well known as an architect, when finishing his morning toilet, sat down and within five min¬ utes ceased to breathe. Not long after that the senior brother in our church — he was once a member of Dr. Channing’s church — having been about, much as usual, during the day, seated himself at evening in an easy chair, turned his head on one side and neither spoke nor moved again. One morning in July, 1894, the word, wholly un¬ looked for, came, “ Capt. Benjamin C. Tinkham passed away last night.” Similar was the message concerning Mr. Charles W. Hill: “ Swift was his flight, and short the road, — He closed his eyes and woke with God.” Mrs. Me Nee, from Paisley, Scotland, who had been in this country only two months, dropped dead instantly while preparing breakfast. She was but twenty-eight and had the appearance of being perfectly well. The pathetic sometimes mingled with our surprise and moved us deeply. A church member, aged seventy- seven, after attending divine service on the Lord’s Day, seemed as well as usual at the breakfast table the next 68 ELIOT MEMORIAL. morning. Shortly after he spoke of feeling ill, and lay down upon a lounge. His wife, daughter, and little grand¬ daughter were sitting by. This little girl of four summers, who had been to church with him the day before, said, u I’ll play meeting now and be minister for grandpa.” She made believe read a hymn and then saying, “ Now all be still and I’ll pray,” she kneeled and repeated the Lord’s Prayer, adding, “ God bless father and mother, grand¬ father and grandmother.” At that moment the old gen¬ tleman drew a heavy breath which was his last. A lady who had for many years been a most exem¬ plary Dorcas among us, finished a bedquilt one Saturday for a poor family; the next day was in her place at church, but Monday morning the sun shone on her benevolent face lying sweetly motionless, pillow and coverlet not the least ruffled. Peculiarly trying conditions sometimes accompanied suddenness. A member of our congregation was riding out with her only child, eight months old, in her arms. The horse shied a little, though without occasioning real danger. Gathering the infant more closely to her, the mother leaned against a lady friend who was driving, and died instantly. The friend had to drive half a mile before finding a house, to the door of which she could come near enough to call for help without relinquishing hold upon the deceased mother and the living child. Funerals not a few of persons whom I had never seen in life were attended. The very fact of having had no DEATHS AND FUNERALS. 69- acquaintance with the deceased always furnished occasion to speak freely to assembled relatives and neighbors. Re¬ quests for these extra-parochial services would sometimes come in a peculiar form, as “ Can you perform the cere¬ mony ? ” “ My father can’t work for you today; he died last night. The funeral, tomorrow afternoon.” Meeting a quartette singer, I inquired if Mr. So-and-So was still liv¬ ing. “No,” was the reply, “I sang to his corpse yester¬ day.” The remains of an aged widow were brought to our chapel before interment. Her only son from New York was present. After the reading of Scripture and prayer, I stepped from the platform to speak to him, but he did not raise his head from the back of a settee on which it was resting. I spoke his name in a low tone, and then noticed that he was breathing heavily. As he did not rouse I put my hand upon his shoulder, which also pro¬ duced no effect. It then flashed upon my mind that being a man of known bad habits he must be in the stupor of intoxication. It became very noticeable that for a series of years there should be a service awaiting me on my return from the four-weeks’ outing. Coming home after the August vacation of i860 I found a gentleman waiting at the depot to take me to a funeral before going to my own house. There were times when frequency characterized these occasions. I recall a week in 1861 which was peculiarly a week of funerals — two of them occurring on the Sab¬ bath, two more on Saturday, and one or two on interven- 7° ELIOT MEMORIAL. ing days. Connected with nearly every one of them were circumstances of peculiar trial to relatives. In the course of that same year three funerals took place on a Sabbath, one result of which was an intense nervous headache which required the attendance of a physician for days after. At another time the head being uncovered in an open-air service, the sun shone out suddenly, causing a slight sunstroke which left unpleasant consequences for a considerable period. There were some cases—very few, however — that seemed to preclude an expression of sympathy. Last ser¬ vices were attended in a house where were the remains of a man who could hold no property on account of a Gov¬ ernment claim on him. His widow — already for a year deranged, owing to excessive devotion to him in his sick¬ ness — was left destitute. The property held by her in her own right had been employed in aiding the children of a former wife. Usually, however, the tenderest and deepest emotions were moved. It is not easy, even at this remote day, to speak of those hours in darkened apartments, hours of irrepressible sobbing and sometimes of vehement outcries on the part of mourners. The heart beats quicker at every remembrance of such scenes. Tears still start freely. The first funeral that I attended as a pastor was that of a mother who left ten living children. A few years later came the funeral of another who left twelve living children. Now and then there would be an agonizing wrench of the DEATHS AND FUNERALS. 71 sensibilities, as when a homeward-bound East Indiaman was wrecked on Minot’s Ledge, and besides twenty of the men one of her young officers, an only son, perished almost within sight of his father’s house, where he ex¬ pected to be in a few hours amidst Thanksgiving-Day joys. So, too, when a maniac killed an only child of one of our families and then took his own life. It would not have been surprising if the pastor’s brain had yielded to apoplexy, or if complete heart-failure had ensued. The organ last named gave functional alarms for several years. One of the most eminent pastors in the Commonwealth said to me that he found he must not sympathize too deeply with his people; it would otherwise cost him his life. Well would it have been for me to have given more heed to that suggestion! Few of the more than seven hundred funeral services were devoid of noticeably trying accompaniments. Such was the draft upon feeling, that almost any occasion of this kind would be followed by greater exhaustion than a service with preaching on the Sabbath. Unhappily the call for such extra duties occurred more frequently on the Lord’s Day than any other. The resulting strain had much to do with a repeated break¬ down of my nervous system. Sometimes, as already inti¬ mated, day after day, and even week after week, there came a constant succession of scenes and duties that try a pastor’s heart. One such in the time of our Civil War will illustrate what is meant. Three deaths occurred in one day; the next day another. Then followed two 72 ELIOT MEMORIAL. funerals in an afternoon, from one of which a brother-in- law of the deceased was called out just as the service be¬ gan, to go to his father in Boston who died before this son reached the house. Soon after the interment came a similar service in Boston, a young mother having died, and during the service her infant son expired. Dust to dust had hardly been committed when I was called upon to marry a couple, the bride being low with a heart complaint, and three days later came her funeral. At the same time young men, single and married, were enlisting in the army, to each of whom and their friends some special token of pastoral interest seemed to be required. At another period I attended in close succession four funerals in the same house — one mother burying an only child; another, one of two children; and a third, both of her sons. The range of ages embraced all periods from a few hours to over a century. The variety of conditions, occu¬ pations and nationalities was great. Specially suggestive to myself has it been that I should be called upon to conduct or take part in the obsequies of eleven brother ministers, their ages varying from thirty-eight to eighty- four. In general the circumstances of departure were very various. To some it was on the battle-field or in a mili¬ tary hospital; for most it was in the sick-room at home, and yet scarcely one without some surprise being awak¬ ened, either on account of the manner or the time. At DEATHS AND FUNERALS. 73 the Almshouse I attended (1849) the funeral of a mother who died of cholera, as her husband and eldest daughter had died the same week. Orphaned children remained. The extremes of surprise relate to unexpected delay or unexpected suddenness. Rev. William C. Woodbridge was on the invalid list for many years, yet so removed from the public eye that many supposed for quite a while that he had not been among the living when his decease occurred in 1845. Mrs. Sophia Wildes, a rare woman, after six years of confinement to the house, almost on the eightieth anniversary of her birth, heard with gladness the summons, “ Come up higher.” 1 On the other hand, instantaneous death was appointed to Rev. David Greene and Mr. Laban S. Beecher, owing in each case to what is called an accident. More painful circumstances seldom occur. It was impressed upon all that the way to prepare for sudden death is never to be unprepared. Remarks or a sermon at funeral services are much less often expected now than formerly, and much less often in cities than in the country. Still frequently a request comes that some¬ thing may be said, and an expectation of that is well-nigh invariable in case of a public service. Of these remarks thirty-four were sought for publication. Of late years it has been painful at times to witness the performances of professional quartettes. While no one questions the fitness of appropriate singing on such occa- * A sister of Mrs. Wildes, the widow of Rev. Mr. Bent, was for forty- nine or fifty years an invalid, and debarred from attending public worship. 74 ELIOT MEMORIAL. sions, every person of good taste must take exception to certain pieces sung and especially to the style of music. But a much severer criticism is due to the manners of quartettes, as may occasionally be seen in the house of mourning. They are sometimes, to appearance, utterly oblivious concerning the proprieties of the hour. Whis¬ pering, conning of notes, nonchalant gazing about go on as if they were hired to exhibit indecorum. Such conduct while the officiating clergyman is reading Scripture or offering remarks, is decidedly discourteous to all; but carried on while he is offering prayer, it is unpardonably irreverent. 4. Marriages. Thanks forever for the family — no human device or discovery! Home is a divine arrangement, designed by God as an abode of comfort with a sense of repose pecu¬ liar to itself; where the domestic altar is duly maintained, a sanctuary, a little paradise before the upper Paradise Re¬ gained. So long as the ark of the covenant was under his roof the house of Obed-Edom prospered. There has been no small sacrifice involved in seeing our jewels borne off one after another; but then, other communities and even other lands have been enriched thereby. And be¬ sides, we made some reprisals. In this line of service every clergyman who remains many years in the ministry has a variety of experiences, and especially if he lives in a city. The silent joining of MARRIAGES. 75 two deaf-mutes in sacred wedlock, for instance, presents a noteworthy contrast to the lively cheer of an ordinary wedding. One evening while I was engaged in conversa¬ tion with a man morbidly distressed, thinking that he had sinned away his day of grace, in came a couple to be married. I had to ask him into the parlor as a witness, and the occasion seemed to do him more good than my previous conversation. In two instances I left ecclesias¬ tical councils to attend a marriage, and then returned to proceedings which issued the one in a pastoral settlement, the other in an ecclesiastical divorce. Whenever wine was furnished on marriage occasions I declined the courtesy. In later years that beverage has ceased to be offered. I declined to re-marry persons divorced for other reasons than what the Scripture sanc¬ tions. The matter of fees is sometimes one of interest, espe¬ cially if income from that source is devoted to charity. The first bridegroom — not a Roxbury gentleman — who desired my official aid was a man of property. Some of his friends, thinking the fee must be very handsome, tried, but without success, to get from me the exact sum. After a while the remark was made, “ You do not want to tell because it was so large.” That taunt brought out the secret of a very meager payment. Among these outsiders was a benedict who put a half dollar on the tip of his fingers and a dollar bill near his wrist, giving me my choice. More than one had come without a pocket-book, ?6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and waiting a while in apparent expectation of an enter¬ tainment, marched out of the house without so much as a Thank you. The largest sum ever received for such ser¬ vices, two hundred dollars, came from a warm personal friend, and under unusual circumstances. An infelicity attended one public marriage in our church. When the parties presented themselves I asked for the certificate of marriage. It was excusable in the bridegroom that, having been a foreign missionary far from our country and among the heathen for many years, he had failed to procure the required document. There was a congregation of friends present, and I preferred to run the risk of a heavy fine rather than not proceed at once with an illegal ceremony. The good man hastened from church to the city clerk’s office for an ex post facto permit. Of the more than two hundred and fifty marriages, attend¬ ant peculiarities were, however, almost wholly confined to entire strangers. One couple, coming from out of town, had forgotten, if they ever knew, about the marriage license, and it took the dilatory man nearly all day to procure one. Another couple came to the house of a relative here bringing their pastor, a grave Doctor of Divinity. The elect lady had declared with great em¬ phasis that no one else should ever marry her. Just as he was about to proceed they discovered that it was con¬ trary to law, neither party being resident here, and I was sent for in great haste. One rainy evening a carriage drove to my door at nine o’clock. The son of a former MARRIAGES. 77 member of our congregation presented himself with a bride; but in changing his coat, had left the needed cer¬ tificate at home. So, at least, he said; and it would be sent to me the next day. A certificate came bearing date of that next day! Governor Gaston kindly accompanied me to the city clerk’s office; and relatives of the bride came afterwards from a neighboring state to make in¬ quiries. While the grotesque, the comical, or the fraudulent sometimes pertained to such outsiders, the startling or the sad was occasionally associated with our own friends. In one instance the air of a drawing-room being loaded with the fragrance of flowers, the bride fainted and fell amidst the service. In another, two sisters were married simul¬ taneously, and not long after came the funeral of one of them. Nor was that a solitary case in which the mar¬ riage wreath might almost have served also for the casket. In 1868 occurred the funeral of a young woman whose marriage I solemnized six months previously. She was evidently not well at the time. The happy couple started for St. Paul, Minnesota, but stopped at Winona where the bride died. Her marriage dress was her funeral robe. Late in September of another year two were united in sacred bonds till death should part them, and before the end of October the bride was a widow. 78 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 5. Contrasts and Comcidences. In all departments of life there are conjunctions that impress one. Every minister probably has occasion to notice such in the course of professional experience. In my own case these have been so frequent and attended by such conflicting emotions of joy and sadness as to imprint themselves indelibly amidst pastoral reminiscences. They were largely connected with sickness and departure, and occurred so often that I seemed to be uniformly vibrating between smiles and tears. An instance here and there, out of many in successive years, will make this plain. Within the first twelve months after ordination I offi¬ ciated at the marriage of a beautiful and interesting young woman. There was a throng of gaily-attired and joyous guests. Of flowers there was a profusion and the entertainment was sumptuous. The grounds as well as the mansion were illuminated, and the music was inspirit¬ ing. Hundreds of hearts beat happily that June evening. Less than six months later came a funeral at twilight, the ground covered with snow, a handful of the same friends present, all dressed in black, perfect silence reigning. In the same drawing-room and on the same spot where the bride had stood were now placed her lifeless remains. In 1846 young Atkinson, in exuberant health and full of hilarity, went with the Sunday School of another denomination on a picnic one bright morning and was CONTRASTS AND COINCIDENCES. 79 drowned. His remains were brought home at midnight. At break of day I was sent for to offer prayer at the darkened house. Interment was to take place at a dis¬ tance. September 25, 1847, I went to the funeral of John A. Parker, aged 21. On entering the house I found two caskets instead of one, the grandmother having died the day before. The house recently so cheerful was now utterly desolate; all the three occupants belonging to as many generations were deposited in the same tomb the same month. A man whom I had never seen, and who had him¬ self never seen the inside of our church, called to say that his brother was very low with typhoid fever, his brain being affected. It was stated that he had given no evi¬ dence of being a Christian. The brother begged me to speak to the delirious man in a “ consoling ” way. I has¬ tened to the house, which had shortly before been vacated by another family. A sad close of life came soon; but I found it was in the same room where a little while pre¬ vious I had witnessed the departure of a woman whose end was perfect trust and perfect peace. In the Spring of 1856 I called on an aged and very sick woman, sup¬ posed to be dying, and whose chief fear was lest she should recover. She had long been an eminent Christian and a sufferer. There was occasion to labor with her to be resigned to live, if that were the will of the Lord. From her room I went to a house of sickness in Boston, So ELIOT MEMORIAL. and saw a beautiful boy expire, the son of young parish¬ ioners whom I married a few years previously, and who seemed to find it impossible to be reconciled to their loss. Only a fortnight before that I attended a large and expen¬ sive party beneath the same roof. Thence I went to a wedding the same day as that of the death. It was at a later date that two brothers, men of mature years, died in the same house sumptuously fur¬ nished, where skilled nursing and the most skillful physi¬ cians were in attendance. One of the two brothers came to his end after a brief sickness, resulting from excess on a festive occasion. There was opportunity for only a single visit to him. “ Can you not look penitently and trustingly to our Heavenly Father,” I said, “ and implore forgiveness ? ” “ I fear not,” was his reply; and the power of utterance soon ceased. The surviving brother was long confined to his room, and at length to his bed. Though a consistent church member, he was constitutionally reti¬ cent and undemonstrative. Some would have pronounced him frigid. But as disease progressed he softened, and finally talked freely of his religious experience. One day as I sat close to his pillow, he drew my face down to his and kissed me. It was the first time in my life that any man gave me that token, and from no other member of the congregation would it have been more surprising. In these circumstances there was nothing remarkable perhaps, but a sudden change from one deep emotion to another produces an exhausting revulsion. Extreme and CONTRASTS AND COINCIDENCES. 8l unanticipated joy or sorrow sometimes occasions death. It is very pleasing to sing about “ The soul’s calm sun¬ shine and the heartfelt joy,” and it is perfectly easy to recommend self-control, but less easy to exercise it, espe¬ cially when the nervous system is highly sensitive. For many persons absence of the startling is necessary to presence of mind. The foregoing instances of contrast present coincidences also, as among the latter there is more or less of contrast. It is an occasion of grateful remembrance that the congregation was uniformly and noticeably attentive. This afforded not a little encouragement. From the first onward, I never saw but two persons in the audience sleeping. One of them, laboring under an infirmity which made it almost impossible to resist drowsiness, told me that he would sometimes thrust a pin into his own flesh to keep himself awake, though unsuccessfully, but that one Sunday he observed the head of the other sleeper thrown back over the top of a pew, his enormous mouth wide open. The shock was such as to cure himself of drowsiness. One other case was reported to me by a friend some time after it occurred. A man who occu¬ pied a pew near my informant said to him on their way from church: “ Mr. Thompson did n’t preach this after¬ noon.” “ O yes; he preached as usual.” “ But he did n’t take any text; I wonder if he isn’t well.” “I did not notice any appearance of illness.” “ It seems singular that they should only sing a couple of hymns.” The fact was, 82 ELIOT MEMORIAL. as my wakeful friend had noticed, the man dropped soundly asleep in the course of the first singing and waked up during the last. Closed eyes are not always proof of drowsiness, but it naturally awakens suspicion. Owing to the weakness of that organ since 1854, I have uniformly shut my eyes while listening to sermons, and yet have not consciously fallen asleep during divine service. Speaking of this to Mr. Charles Stoddard, a native of Northampton, he told me that Governor Strong was supposed to be in the habit of sleeping at meeting. A spinster, something of a busy¬ body, noticing that he covered his eyes during the ser¬ mon, called one Monday and lectured him on the subject. He asked quietly, “ Were you at meeting yesterday morn¬ ing ? ” “ O yes.” “ And what was the text ? ” “ Really it has escaped me.” “ Perhaps you will give me an outline of the discourse.” The good woman confessed she could not. The same questions and answers passed regarding the afternoon sermon also. Governor Strong then gave her each text and a full analysis of the sermon, adding that for many years he had suffered from weak eyes which obliged him to protect them from the light. Family surprises were sometimes revealed. A young man starting for Sunday School fell and broke his knee- pan. He nearly perished with cold before relief came. A good lady ran and apprised his father of the accident, but was so agitated as not to give the name distinctly. The father remarked that he was not much of a nurse CONTRASTS AND COINCIDENCES. 83 himself and regretted that his son, a strong young man, should have just left the house. Putting on his overcoat rather deliberately, he went over in a neighborly way and found that the sufferer was that very son. Certain other incidents belong to the ample category of simultaneous bereavement. On the same day in August, 1862, that the telegraph brought word of the death of a member of my family, a gentleman and his sister called to announce the death of their father, and almost imme¬ diately I fulfilled a preengagement to marry a couple. The translation of a Christian may be more joyous than any wedding march. At Newton Centre I attended the funeral of a former member of our church. For five years she had not been able to go to the house of God. When the doctor announced the near approach of death, she said to her sister, “ Have you heard the good news?” “No; what is it?” “I’m going home.” Just as she was sitting down at the marriage supper of the Lamb I hastened back to attend a marriage service in our church, and thence to one at my house. Two brides that day went away from home. One of two widowed sisters, whose husbands died at nearly the same time, returning from Kansas, whither she had removed, called to say that her only son, aged twenty-one, died of injuries by an ac¬ cident and that the only son of her sister was almost at the same time killed on the Fitchburg Railroad. Under one roof in 1859 were the two widowed sis¬ ters of Dr. N. S. Prentiss, one aged seventy-two, the 8 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. other eighty-five. The older sister had been deaf from childhood, and now while lying beside Mrs. Weare, whose tender care she had enjoyed for half a century, she fell quietly asleep never to wake again in this world. Her noble-hearted sister, being told what had occurred, said, “ My work is done; I shall soon follow,” and in less than twenty-four hours she, too, fell asleep in Jesus. The funeral service and interment of the two took place at the same time. In three instances I found unexpectedly two caskets instead of one. The last was at Newton Centre, where friends assembled, thinking to look for the last time only on the face of Mrs. Albert Bowker. But side by side with her casket was that of her husband. In death they were not divided, and there was companionship in burial as well. Neither of them, it should be said, had any con¬ nection with the Eliot Church. The coincidence though striking, has conspicuous parallels. Some years since, the Rev. Dr. Milledollar of New York died at a good old age; the next day his wife also, and they were buried in the same grave. Crossing the Atlantic, we find that the Rev. George Burder and his wife were interred the same afternoon. Yet earlier, a relative of Lady Sutherland hastened to Bath to attend the funeral of Lord Suther¬ land, but found two hearses at the door, one of them for her ladyship. I remember with great distinctness the first call which Mrs. Bowker made on me one-third of a century ago. CONTRASTS AND COINCIDENCES. 85 She came to confer in regard to a Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions. It was the presence of a superior woman revolving a noble theme, a theme growing into grandeur. She was becoming transfigured by it. Not a word of conceit or of self-seeking in any form dropped from her lips. She brought with her a most evident im¬ press from the mercy-seat. It was that elevation tem¬ pered with meekness, which can be had only by the Holy Spirit’s illuminating and energizing presence. Mrs. Bow- ker was moved to organize the womanly sympathies and energies of Christian hearts in behalf of those whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen hundred years. For a quarter of a century she labored indefatigably in their behalf. Thousands of heathen women have been ele¬ vated, hundreds of heathen homes ameliorated. Bowker Hall of the Mission School at Bombay, and Bowker Hall of the College for Girls at Scutari, on the Bosphorus, are her fitting monuments. Another class of coincidences come to mind. Out of a considerable number a few will serve to illustrate. One morning in 1859 the German Methodist minister of this city called, desiring aid for his church which was in debt. I was then unable to render assistance. Toward evening a minister from Litchfield, Connecticut, presented himself. In my boyhood he was a teacher in my native place. He was now aged and in poor health. I had just returned from making five calls, at no one of which was the subject of giving mentioned. On retiring from the 86 ELIOT MEMORIAL. last house visited, the good lady placed in my hand a bank-note of no small denomination. It was evidently designed by Providence to be divided between the two clerical callers of that day. At a certain juncture it be¬ came a question with me whether, owing to an inevitable increase of expenses, I was not called upon to diminish my subscriptions to benevolent objects. I could not per¬ suade myself to retrench in that direction. Almost imme¬ diately there was disclosed a small mine which accrued to my benefit. Again, in 1856, I was very desirous, after returning from a visit to missions in India, of doubling the amount previously given to the American Board. Within three weeks and before the time for payment, a good woman connected with another church and entirely unacquainted with the circumstances, handed me the exact amount for my private use. The next year, while there was for some days a similar hesitation as to the duty of giving, the same lady asked for my written opinion regard¬ ing spiritism. When that was communicated, she sent me a check for one hundred dollars. Just before the time to subscribe to foreign missions, in 1859, this generous friend died, and on her death-bed had directed her executor to hand me two hundred dollars, which amount was most opportune. 6. Peculiar Persons and Proceedings. A Tamil proverb asks, “Are all stones rubies?” The pastor may expect to find some paste pearls in his congre- PECULIAR PERSONS. 87 gation. Every city pastor at least will have experience with cranks and impostors. In country villages and towns there are few dark courts or dark corners. In our cities there are resorts underground or shaded by high build¬ ings where the sun’s rays never, and the police seldom, penetrate. If churches were gathered on a strictly elec¬ tive affinity basis, diversities would soon be developed. In the Eliot Church there was such a predominance of stable, sensible men and women, that occasional obliqui¬ ties created no serious disturbance. They called forth no remark; silent pity and sometimes a little sanctified amuse¬ ment followed. In the course of thirty years there was a succession of exceptional members — usually but one or two at a time — whose peculiarities were no doubt needed to help on the perseverance of saints. One good man abounded in devices. He would bring forward this proposal and that proposal, yet scarcely ever showing good judgment, or securing concurrence. The only way was to practice a discreet disregard; to listen courteously and then by a wholesome evasion of direct antagonism keep on in the path of common sense. He always took it kindly. Another man had a genius for obstruction. Let almost anything in the way of change be suggested with two good reasons, and his fertile con¬ servatism would conjure up three objections. This habit was so well understood as by reaction to help almost any wise measure. The ideal of self-satisfaction was embodied in a mem- 88 ELIOT MEMORIAL. ber of another church, who worshiped with us for a time. He was effusively ready to aid in all religious meetings. He kept on such excellent terms with himself that no hint could disturb the equanimity with which he poured forth the treasures of limitless talk. The uncharitable thought would sometimes creep into the minds of listeners that there was a little parade of Christian activity. In a street-car, crowded with gentlemen returning home bur¬ dened with the fatigue of the day, he happened at one time to be sitting next to me. Taking out a package of tracts he remarked, “We laymen must be on the alert to do good,” and passed around, distributing to all who would receive. Two or three of the leaflets were put into pockets; some went on to the floor and under the boots, while some went out of the windows. Louis, second son of Charles V of France, founded an order called, “ The Order of the Porcupine.” One of our number appeared to have been initiated. Quills were always ready to fly. A most uncomfortable habit of petu¬ lance had been cultivated till it seemed as if neither any¬ body nor anything could please. There was more than one prominent and worthy member of the church who might rise to offer prayer or offer remarks, and this brother would at once leave the chapel till the member sat down. There was no lemon to which he would not add a little acid. Fraternal labor with the malcontent seemed to be of no use, and at length he was let severely alone. If there is any nuisance greater than such an PECULIAR PERSONS. 89 affrontable man, it is the man who has a supreme knack at misunderstanding coupled with a persistent inability to accept explanations. Dr. Chalmers relates 1 that a Pro¬ fessor at St. Andrews said to his students, “ Gentlemen, there are just two things that never change. These are the fixed stars and the Scotch lairds.” There is also a third small class. Among the hundreds in our fellow¬ ship there was one, and never but one such. His coun¬ tenance was a mirror to the disposition. As he went out from the store of an acquaintance a customer re¬ marked, “ That face is a libel on Christianity.” A city church is liable to the incursion of ecclesias¬ tical Bedouin, men wandering about and attaching them¬ selves nowhere. Among the transient there was a some¬ what pretentious family, who came from a remote part of the country. The father and husband was reported to be a judge. Our Sunday School needed a superintendent, and the inquiry went round, is not J udge Blank the man ? All of a sudden the family were missing. No one knew where they had gone. It became evident that the man was indeed a judge of good living at the expense of others, for livery-stable men, marketmen and grocers found that heavy bills remained unpaid. This leads to a notice of one form of a pastor’s ex¬ tra-parochial experience. The better informed impostors seem to understand that ministers are particularly fair game. Professional training is usually conducted under 1 Life of Dr. Thomas Guthrie , I, 54. 9 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. circumstances not suited to make them acquainted per¬ sonally with the ways of unprincipled men. Their very position seems to invite the wiles of accomplished knav¬ ery. One of the more common types is the footsore pedestrian, who professes to have been robbed or to have lost his portemonnaie, and desires to reach a given place as soon as possible. He has been summoned on account of the sickness of a mother, or perhaps a brother is at the point of death. The fare is only a dollar or two and will be returned promptly by mail. Not less than nine such have applied under a variety of pleas, often upon the alleged recommendation of Mr. So-and-So, who spoke of my great kindness and readiness to help the unfortu¬ nate. Particularly well do I remember a smooth-faced, precocious rogue, who called of a morning and asked for aid to get to Kenyon College, Ohio. He produced a forged letter of commendation over the name of a pro¬ fessor in Union College, stating that this was a “young man of great promise, indeed a genius.” He evidently was a genius on one line. The evening paper of that day reported him as in the hands of the police for obtaining goods under false pretenses. Undeserving beggars when baffled would sometimes pour out vials of wrathful reproach on the ministry. A female who came in, fawning and flattering unsuccessfully, left an odor of brandy that lasted longer than her free lecture to me on Christian charity. Then there was the tribe of aristocratic peddlers. A gentleman particularly PECULIAR PERSONS. 91 well-dressed was announced as Mr. Harris in the parlor. Thinking it might be Dr. Harris of England, I left a sen¬ tence of my sermon unfinished and on reaching the par¬ lor received a hearty shake of the hand. “ Dr. Thompson, can’t I sell you a few cigars ? I have extra fine Havanas which I myself brought from Cuba. I supply the clergy almost exclusively. Dr. Putnam took a quantity and thought you might like to buy.” I had understood that Rev. Dr. Putnam did not smoke. Besides never having had but one cigar in my mouth, and that for only two minutes in boyhood, I was not prepared to invest. The distinguished gentleman retired. At another time a card was sent up. A man portly and dignified enough for an alderman, cane in hand, stated that he called in behalf of his wealthy friend, Mr. Robinson of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Robinson, a retired merchant, was about removing to Boston or vicinity, and having a family of children, would locate where the best schools were found. I was able to make very satisfactory representations regarding our schools, public and private. The gentleman thought his friend, Mr. Robinson, would undoubtedly locate here, and would of course attend the Eliot Church. Thanks were courteously expressed. On rising to retire, “ By the way, I have called at the wholesale stationery establishments with a superior article of gold pens. I have only one box remaining. I always discount largely to ministers. I am just returning to New York, and if you would like this, you can have it for five dollars.” I happened to be sup- 9 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. plied and did not care to buy even in consideration of a rich prospective parishioner. It afterwards appeared, from similar calls on our pastors, that Mr. Robinson was ready to join nearly all the Boston churches. Such are a few specimens of numerous peculiar classes of men and women who resort to their wits for a livelihood and who prey upon the clergy. The circumstances give little opportu¬ nity for attempts to do them good. The wandering troubadour is a nuisance still, as some¬ times in the thirteenth century. There comes to mind a peripatetic poet — he called himself a poet — who in¬ sisted on reading a Christmas poem more than fifty years ago. I tried to excuse myself from the pleasure of listen¬ ing to his performances, being in the midst of urgent pul¬ pit preparations, but to no purpose. Sit he would, and with provoking deliberation read foolscap page after page, spoiling the greater part of a forenoon. Not one line of genuine poetry did he get off; and all the compliments he got were before the rehearsal. But there is another class that occasion pain. It is no unusual thing for strangers laboring under some hallu¬ cination to present themselves. As often as once in six months for two or more years a man from out of town called on me, whose morbid conscience allowed him no rest and to whom plain common-sense suggestions brought no abiding relief. In other cases it might be a chimerical scheme for securing wealth, or for remedying a public abuse. Some fantastic notion would soon reveal a marred PECULIAR PERSONS. 93 intellect, and there are gradations from a simple in¬ firmity of judgment down to the farthest stretch of absurd¬ ity. Reasoning with them was of no avail; kindness will not cure. The disordered visionary is a candidate for the lunatic asylum; but it is no part of a minister’s business to pronounce upon cerebral disease. His sympathies, how¬ ever, will be painfully stirred. Letters came to me, from which the following are extracts: “ God has set me up as a perfect moral example in all respects to all men on earth “ Note every word I say as coming from God himself”; “As a true ambassador of Christ, and by the grace and wisdom of God, I declare to all men that dam¬ nation rests upon every soul that gives money to the poor, or to the missionary, however he professes the name of Christ, or gives money to the Bible cause.” At one period there was a wanderer who would go into the prayer-meetings of our Roxbury churches, seldom more than twice in immediate succession. He was weak, ignorant, conceited and fanatical, claiming to have direct communication from God and also power to work miracles. If ever ranged, he was then undoubtedly deranged. As soon as opportunity offered, he would rise and either talk or pray indefinitely and incoherently. Two of our devo¬ tional gatherings had thus been spoiled. Upon his third appearance I took occasion to occupy the entire hour my¬ self, and the pitiable rover never put in an appearance again. There are two classes of vagrants, neither of which 94 ELIOT MEMORIAL. can be suspected of insanity or idiocy, that will bear pretty careful scrutiny, the boastfully philanthropic and the volubly pious. Specimens of each present them¬ selves not infrequently. The case of some church or in¬ stitution — it may be at the extreme south or on mission¬ ary ground — for which personal sacrifices are alleged to have been made, will be pleaded. Perhaps a mortgage is about to be foreclosed. Adequate vouchers are wanting, or if produced, suggest forgery. Thirty years ago a man, announcing himself as the Rev. Mr. -, solicited funds in this neighborhood in aid of an orphan asylum for chil¬ dren of loyal citizens at Osceola, Alabama, if I remember rightly. Upon inquiry, it appeared that no such man was known there, nor any such institution; that of the three trustees whose names he gave, two died ten years before, while the other had never been heard of. Some years later a richly-dressed woman, hailing from Savannah, Georgia, drove to my door in a handsome carriage. She was importuning for funds to buy herself a house, under the plea that she befriended Union prisoners at Ander- sonville. An individual professing to belong to a church, a Congregational church in a neighboring state, called a second time, after an interval of two or more years, with the same story about his prayers and his Christian hope¬ fulness. He seemed to have forgotten that he had ever been to my house before. I wrote to the pastor of the distant church and promptly received the following reply: PECULIAR PERSONS. 95 “ There was formerly a man connected with our church by the name of - -. He was dropped from our roll for non-attendance and general neglect of covenant obligations. I think he is a thriftless fellow.” It is better to be imposed upon occasionally than to have one’s kind feelings and habit of helping the needy absolutely checked; but caution is as much a duty as beneficence. The presumption is not always in favor of roving mendicants. That generation, ingenious and bold, seems not to be dying out. CHAPTER VIII. CHURCH FUNCTIONS. i. Sacramental Services . Hallowed as are these seasons, and deeply as they are enjoyed on alternate months through the year, not a great deal need be said of them. The sacred supper is too profoundly yet plainly significant to be much talked about. For adoration and gratitude there will indeed be endless scope. No other event, from creation to the final conflagration, can compare with the death of Christ. That was something more and other than martyrdom, something else than an event in the natural course of things, a result of mere development. It was specially designed by infinite wisdom; it was the provision of in¬ finite love, indispensable to the salvation of sinners. Christ came “to save that which was lost;” and “With¬ out shedding of blood is no remission.” The bleat of sacrificial innocence had for thousands of years prefig¬ ured this offering of the Lamb of God. No mortal ear before or since ever caught so weighty an utterance as “It is finished.” Atonement was then accomplished. The most blameless being on earth was the greatest suf¬ ferer earth ever saw, and not one pang was deserved by him. All was for guilty men. By his own free choice the scourging fell on him instead of us. Here is the CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 97 crowning miracle of all duration; here the basis of for¬ giveness; here the heart of the Gospel. Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, he put himself in the place of sinners. Christ’s body was broken, his “ precious blood ” “ shed for the remission of sins.” The only alternative now is pardon and life eternal through Christ, or else sinners unforgiven and unsanctified; it is Calvary or the other side of the impassable gulf. “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” So saith the faithful and true Witness. If I believe him I must believe on him. We have “Peace through the blood of his cross” alone. The rending of rocks was not so wonderful as the broken heart of the crucified thief and the assurance to him of salvation that very day. The cry “ I thirst,” signified there need be no vain cry for a drop of water to cool the tongue of any one “tormented in this flame.” Sacred raptures swell the heart while contemplating the supreme fact of the atoning sacrifice, its infinitely mo¬ mentous result of heaven and earth reconciled; God’s love of man and his abhorrence of sin set forth; the beauty of transcendent grace and the glory of divine justice com¬ bined in unutterable splendor on the cross. In symbols of utmost simplicity we “ Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” standing out distinctly before the eye of faith. Was there not unsurpassed moral sublimity when our Lord, “ The same night in which he 9 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. was betrayed,” breaking the bread and taking the cup, “gave thanks?” Was he not aware of his vast resources of suffering? Could he not foresee how all waves and bil¬ lows would soon go over him ? Yet he gave thanks. What a eucharist then should this ordinance be for ran¬ somed sinners! And never has such joy unspeakable and full of glory been experienced as when believers sit at the table of sacramental fellowship. If there is any service from which all sense of hurry and all irrelevant thoughts should be banished, it is this memorial of boundless divine love. In order to secure perfect quietness and appropriate concentration of thought, our church transferred the obser¬ vance to the after part of Lord’s Day, devoting the entire time to this and the companion ordinance. The enjoyments of those seasons were usually heightened by new accessions of communicants. Only a few of the eight-score such seasons passed without a wel¬ come to some who joined our ranks from other churches, or else on their first public confession of faith. In one instance there were a little over thirty, more than half of whom belonged to the latter class, and in another instance nearly fifty, all but ten of them recent converts. On the occasion of a young lady coming forward quite alone to confess Christ, I simply said, “Is there but one to enjoy this privilege? ” and that was blessed to the conversion of a companion of hers. At another time, as I was pro¬ nouncing the Master’s words, “Ye do show the Lord’s death till he come,” an officer of the church whispered in CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 99 my ear, “ Mrs. Blank is dying.” The Master had come and was calling for her. She was about to drink the fruit of the vine with Him new in the Father’s kingdom. In the reading of the Articles of Faith and the Cov¬ enant there did not seem to be all of heartiness that the occasion required. Hence was introduced the custom of giving a right-hand of fellowship in behalf of the church to each new member at the time of public recognition, together with a verse of Scripture and a few words of welcome. In case a large number were received a collec¬ tive greeting was given, some one as a representative of the whole receiving the right-hand. 1 The baptism of children usually took place at the same hour with the commemorative supper. When par¬ ents present children for the sealing ordinance their minds are naturally occupied more or less with outward care of the little folks. Hence an exposition of the rite, which is read publicly at the time, may well be privately pon¬ dered beforehand. A copy of the following was season¬ ably handed them: — BAPTISMAL SERVICE. The rite now to be administered is no human invention, but is a divine ordinance. Baptism is a SIGN. It signifies that salvation is from God, into whose triune name as the One purposing, procuring, and applying re- 1 When this was mentioned at the Monday Meeting of Pastors, several of them said they should adopt the practice. IOO ELIOT MEMORIAL. demption, our offspring are baptized. It suggests that the adopting favor of God comes through “ sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Herein is a SEAL. An agreement between the believing parent and the God of Abraham in behalf of the child is thus ratified. Trusting the Word of him who keepeth covenant and showeth mercy, the parent engages to train the child “ in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” He whose Word cannot be broken promises, “ I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.” In the presence of witnesses sacramental water seals this compact. Herein are BENEFITS. The ordinance secures to the child a recognized place in the devout interest of the church. It gives dis¬ tinctness to the highest of parental duties and privileges. It is a testi¬ mony to the covenanted faithfulness of our God. “ The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them.” “ For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” “ And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” “ Jesus called them unto Him and said: ‘ Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.’ ” 2 . Church Prayer Meeting. A threadbare repetition of the remark that man is a social being goes on. But the Christian man’s experience and new relations demand a fellowship as peculiar as his changed moral position. The clique, the league, the club do not meet the case. There is needed something else CHURCH FUNCTIONS. IOI than conviviality, something more than mere neighborly gathering together. Nothing short of a hallowed soiree will meet the case, where a genuine, fraternal feeling pre¬ vails, where no selfish aim is entertained, where mutual confidence exists, where the unseen loving cup goes round, where the service of song lifts the soul well up toward heaven. All is in the name of Christ. Every one feels that he is where a blessed joint-stock exists; that here he is in the bosom of a family, the relationship of which is more intimate and more saintly than what blood in any degree of kinship can give. Is any absentee sick or be¬ reaved? There is a tender and devout remembrance of such. The church prayer meeting is a school of culture, the like of which can be found nowhere except in the presence and under the guidance of the Great Master. Its need and benefits are now widely admitted. As a method of church fellowship it ranks next to the sacramental sup¬ per. It is a normal school of Christian communion, where the social element, hallowed and beautified by common thanksgiving, praise and intercession, has free exercise. If in the laws of Moses there is no requirement, there is also no prohibition of such gatherings. It is a significant fact that the present dispensation, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, the dispensation of freedom, of stimulus for diffusion, should open with the longest prayer meeting on record. The early Christians maintained the usage in private houses, by a river-side, or wherever convenience and safety might suggest. This practice continued as 102 ELIOT MEMORIAL. long as a fair measure of purity and spirituality con¬ tinued. “We come,” says Turtullian in the second cen¬ tury, “ by troops to make our prayers to God; that being banded, as it were, together, we may with a strong hand sue to him for his favor. This violence is grateful unto God.” For substance Ambrose in the fourth century has the same: “Many of the meanest being gathered together unanimously become great. It is impossible that the prayers of many should be contemned.” During the spiritual decline which accompanied the introduction of Unitarianism into Eastern Massachusetts the prayer meeting waned sensibly. Laymen took no part. Those members of the Old South Church, Bos¬ ton, who were preparing to establish Park Street Church, did not deem it proper that any of their number should lead in their devotions. At private gatherings they either omitted audible prayer wholly, or else requested Dr. Eckley to officiate. 1 When the late Dr. Storrs was settled in Braintree he found that social prayer meetings had long fallen into disuse. It was six months before he could per¬ suade a layman to offer prayer or say a word at such con¬ ferences. 2 Dr. William Goodell says regarding Temple¬ ton, that the pastor, Mr. Sparhawk, considered prayer meet¬ ings and revivals as pure innovations. Although his dea¬ cons were exemplary men, no one of them ever opened 1 Congregational Quarterly. October, i860. 2 Professor Park’s Sermon at the Ftmeral of Dr. Storrs. CHURCH FUNCTIONS. IO3 his lips in public prayer or exhortation. The people nat¬ urally slid down into Unitarianism. 1 The Eliot Church was the offspring of prayer. Weekly gatherings for conference and supplication were held be¬ fore the calling of an ecclesiastical council, and have since been maintained without interruption. In the midst of mid-winter storms the attendance has sometimes been small, but the service all the more free and enjoyable. At such times we have formed a hollow square of settees, and all gathered close together occupying a space less than half of an average parlor. The service would easily take a conversational form, and personal experiences would come to the front, though with due reserve. Such house¬ hold freedom suggests thanksgiving rather than complain¬ ing about storm and cold. At one meeting of that kind was a little boy nine years old, who came with his father. He rose and without hesitation offered the Lord’s Prayer very appropriately. His Sunday School teacher, a man forty years of age, and four years a church member, always declined taking an active part in social meetings. The larger attendance would modify but not suppress individual liberty. Perfection of method is not easily at¬ tained. Sometimes there is preaching in prayer, some¬ times prolixity. The power of condensation seems not to be a general gift. Nor is directness and ability to keep to a specified topic. This is by no means peculiar to laymen. At annual meetings of the American Board I have re- * Forty Years in the Turkish Empire. 16. 104 ELIOT MEMORIAL. peatedly noticed that when some paper had been read, or when in some other way an important subject had been introduced, a minister would be called upon to offer prayer and yet fail entirely to touch the particular theme then before the assembly. A narrow, uniform, stereotyped round of supplication betrays a sad devotional poverty. Bishop Simson said to a friend with whom he was returning from a religious service, “ That was a beautiful prayer we heard.” “Yes,” replied his friend, “it was so, but I have heard it for the last twenty years.” * 1 II. III. IV. The Eliot Church has happily never fallen into the ambitious habit of getting the largest number possible to take active part in any given service. The gallop is hardly the appropriate gait on such an occasion. A meeting may be called spirited and yet be barren of spiritual influence. With a view to promoting individual and collective benefit I prepared (1858), and from time to time distributed, a leaflet entitled “ Our Prayer Meeting.” 2 It evidently 1 How to Conduct Prayer Meetings. 87. 2 OUR PRAYER MEETING. I. I purpose to be there regularly and punctually. “ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” II. I will endeavor to draw others to the meeting. “ Come thou with us, and we will do thee good.” III. Before entering the place of prayer I will ask the Saviour’s presence. “We would see Jesus.” IV. I will not, unless it is necessary, occupy a back seat. “ How pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” CHURCH FUNCTIONS. J °5 proved helpful. Either with or without permission, and either with or without additions, it has been revised by individuals and publishing societies in this country, as well as in England and Australia, besides being trans¬ lated into Marathi. Mr. H. E. Simmons, then of Boston, told me in 1869 that he had already sold 34,000 copies. In every brotherhood, of any considerable age and size, there will perhaps be found here and there one who is never seen at a devotional gathering; but let there come before the body a case of discipline, or the dismission of a pastor, and such men are on hand. They are not likely to be called upon to pray, and their sympathies for an offending brother are sure to be as pronounced as their prejudice against the minister. I was once talking with V. I will not so seat myself as to hinder others from occupying the same settee with me. “ Be courteous.” VI. I will refrain from fault-finding, and will not indulge a criticis¬ ing spirit. “ Be ye kindly affectioned one to another.” VII. I will not expressly dissent from one who has spoken, and will avoid giving the impression of variance of feeling. “ That they may be made perfect in one.” VIII. So far as is consistent, I will assist actively in the exercises, by testifying to the love of Christ, by exhortation, by a passage of Scripture, a hymn, a stanza, or otherwise. “ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.” IX. I will not decline to lead in prayer, and in offering prayer will begin with the subject in hand, and in aid of what has just been said. “Ye also helping together by prayer for us.” X. If I offer the first prayer, it shall be chiefly an invocation, ask ing the Saviour’s special presence and aid. “ For without me ye can do nothing.” 106 ELIOT MEMORIAL. a neighboring pastor of long experience, who had had occasion to notice this circumstance, and who remarked, “ Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all beasts of the forest do creep forth.” Needless absence from the stated meeting may always be assumed to involve loss. Did Thomas ever cease while life lasted, to lament his not being present when fellow dis¬ ciples first met their risen Lord ? Whoever may fail, the Lord does not. Was the indefatigable Felix Neff amidst the snows of the high Alps wholly mistaken ? “ I am con¬ firmed in the opinion,” said he, “ that whosoever, even were he an angel, should neglect such meetings, under any pretext whatever, is very little to be depended on, and cannot be reckoned among the sheep of Christ’s fold.” XI. My prayers or remarks shall not be long. “For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.” XII. I will not seem to harangue nor teach in prayer, as though I were thinking of man more than of God. “We speak before God in Christ.” XIII. I will not speak merely to fill a vacancy, but will rather offer prayer during pauses in the meeting. “ That thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.” XIV. I will not needlessly expose any want of faith, or other dis¬ couragements. “ Who is fearful and faint-hearted, let him return.” XV. I will cultivate enlargement of faith and desires. “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” XVI. On leaving the place I will endeavor to maintain a devout frame of mind. “ Continue in prayer.” XVII. I will also endeavor to use all means suited to secure the bless¬ ings for which I have prayed. “Faith, without works, is dead also.” CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 107 In attending by invitation the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the church at Pomphret, Conn., I was much impressed by a remark of Governor Buckingham of that state. After the chief services of the day he was urged to remain to a reception and reunion in the evening. “ I must return to Norwich,” he replied, “ to attend the prayer meeting of our church.” As a general thing the Eliot Church maintained a good attendance at its week-day meeting. It was no un¬ usual thing for business men to stop at the chapel on the way from Boston at evening in order to enjoy the devo¬ tional hour before going home to the principal meal of the day. “ They continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doc¬ trine and fellowship and in prayers.” Never was the dread¬ ful sentence heard, “ Sleep on now.” Often was the testi¬ mony heard, “ It is good for us to be here.” Many a memorial stone was set up at our Mizpeh, inscribed, “ Hith¬ erto hath the Lord helped us.” Earnest specific intercession was encouraged, and results such as the following not infrequently came to light. In 1866 I met with a lady who had been very gay, but who joined our congregation and not long after adopted an entirely new mode of life. Calling on her mother, a Christian woman — they did not live together — I found that for two weeks she had been praying for that daugh¬ ter, with such a burden upon her heart as to deprive her of rest at night. At length she became composed, resolv¬ ing to leave the case with God. The same day the daugh- io8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. ter announced her conversion. Manifest spiritual quicken¬ ing was enjoyed, Christian activity was promoted, and Sunday congregations gave evidence of special divine in¬ fluences. Not infrequently has written testimony to the power and value of those meetings come from members in remote parts of our land as well as from some in foreign countries. The chief criticism that I should offer, respects a certain tardiness in appreciating the privilege of asking and expecting great things; the duty of interceding up to the measure of divine assurances and the might of Christ’s mediation. It did not seem to be generally apprehended that the sun can as easily illumine a hemisphere as a humble cottage. Apparent deafness on high is only the coldness of unbelief here below. j. Special Church Fellowship. Somewhere in the sixties there began the custom of a gathering — it might be only annual, or it might be oftener—for special church fellowship. It was confined exclusively to our own members. Being by itself, the church had a favorable opportunity to cultivate a sense of unity. There was manifestly a home feeling. The pastor could speak of some things much more freely and confi¬ dentially than if others, though Christian men and women, were present. It was a family gathering. There was felt to be a community of interests and responsibilities. At the time of the first assemblage of this sort there seemed to be a critical juncture. There was an increased CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 109 numerical amount of prayers in the congregation without a corresponding increase of earnest prayerfulness. There were encouraging tokens, there was a quickened religious expectancy, and yet a degree of hesitancy. It appeared as if God were putting us upon trial, intimating a great bless¬ ing, and then waiting to see if the church appreciated the intimation. We had been reading the thirteenth and four¬ teenth chapters of Numbers, and the consequences of fail¬ ure in loyalty at an emergency were fresh in mind. Israel had reached the southern border of Canaan; their unbe¬ lief and cowardice were the only reasons why they could not at once enter, conquer and possess the promised land. But they became faint-hearted. They would not meet the demands of Providence, nor trust in the Lord God of Sabaoth. Shrinking from duty and privilege cost them years of hardship and unblessed wandering as a penal con¬ sequence. It is most hazardous for a church to hesitate when a juncture evidently favorable for going forward pre¬ sents itself. The brotherhood were told plainly that there seemed to be little of confession, little brokenness of heart and tenderness. The specialty of the time called for such plain deal¬ ing, and it was evidently blessed. Soon after that another similar meeting was held, and the result more than justi¬ fied the occasion. The practice of assembling thus, at least once a year, became established. As soon, however, as it became a fixed observance at a particular date, it naturally ceased to be followed by marked spiritual bene- no ELIOT MEMORIAL. fits. But other results — and they are not unimportant — followed. We had the chief area of our chapel floor cleared of seats, and an opportunity thus secured for un¬ embarrassed intermingling of members. A chief feature of the occasion then was freedom and exhilarating cheer¬ fulness of greetings and fraternal intercourse. The amount of smiles and reciprocal cordiality on the part even of those not previously acquainted was refreshing to behold. Little alienations were healed. Some confessed they had not before known what church fellowship was. I am not aware that any one present at those Agapce had any other feeling than that of satisfaction. Some I know were de¬ lighted. Owing probably to their speaking of it elsewhere, letters came to me from ministers making inquiry about the method and results of such fellowship meetings. 4. Church Discipline . No injunctions of the New Testament are more posi¬ tive than those which require the maintenance of sound doctrine and good order in the church. “ A man that is heretical, after a first and second admonition, refuse ” (Titus 3: 10). “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw your¬ selves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the tradition which he received of us ” (2 Thess. 3 : 6). To disregard these requirements when known cases of offence exist, is to incur disapprobation from the CHURCH FUNCTIONS. Ill Head of the Church. To enter upon the work of eccle¬ siastical censure in an unchristian spirit, or to pursue it in unscriptural methods is also to provoke divine displeasure. The proper way of proceeding is plainly pointed out in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The welfare of the brotherhood by reclaiming the offender should always be the aim. And the latter may generally be expected. “ Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, con¬ sidering thyself lest thou also be tempted.” It should be remembered that when an individual member is under dis¬ cipline, the whole church is also virtually on trial. It will appear what the spirit of the whole body is; whether re¬ sentments exist, or whether God’s honor is the inspiring motive. No small amount of prayer and sanctified self- control will generally be required. It is a gratifying remembrance that the several cases which came before the Eliot Church were conducted in strict conformity with established rules and for the most part in apparently an excellent spirit. The required pre¬ liminary steps were taken and much pains bestowed upon efforts to reclaim. In no instance was there any precipi¬ tancy in bringing a case before the church for adjudica¬ tion. Several members who at different times had been labored with privately, came before the church with frank confessions, and received tokens of renewed fraternal con¬ fidence. One who had been cut off removed his residence, but the discipline was blessed to his conversion. He I 12 ELIOT MEMORIAL. joined another church with our cognizance, and on mov¬ ing back to Roxbury, brought a letter of recommendation and was welcomed to our fellowship once more. In every case of persistent failure to do this unanimity, or proxi¬ mate unanimity for the withdrawment of fellowship, was secured. One, for example, was that of a man who, after becoming a spiritualist, renounced the authority of Sacred Scripture and the validity of all fundamental doctrines of Christianity. So serenely self-satisfied was he in the re¬ nunciation of church vows as to quietly admit the pro¬ priety of his excommunication. There were two or three individuals who would have been glad to have some standing rule adopted by which “members whose doctrinal views have undergone a radical change may receive a certificate of good moral character, and when received by any church with which ours has no fellowship, the relation shall be considered at an end.” But an authority a good deal higher than any treatise on Congregationalism says “ refuse.” And it further reads: “ There arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Mas¬ ter that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift de¬ struction” (2 Peter 2 : 1). The proper method seems to be laid down explicitly and is exclusive, no other having scriptural sanction. Unfeigned tenderness should be shown and patient labor put forth to convince and reclaim the erring one. The Bible holds men no less responsible for CHURCH FUNCTIONS. JI 3 their belief than for their lives. The church is made the practical depository and witness of the great essentials of our religion. In the very basis of the church there is a compound contract, a contract between each member and the rest of the brotherhood; also between the church in its collective capacity and the triune God. The contract is entered into with more solemnity, and is one to which attaches no less sanctity than to any other on earth. The perpetuity of its obligation when assumed is understood. The proposed method of easy slipping out of the church involves the following interpretation of language: “ Be¬ loved in the Lord, let it not be forgotten that you have here come under obligations from which you cannot escape ” till you change your views on the essentials of Christianity; “you can never withdraw from the covenant which has now been confirmed ” till you become a Unitarian or a Roman Catholic. In an analogous compact the tenor would be, “ You severally promise to love, cherish and honor each other,” till you see some one you like better; “What God hath joined together let not man put asun¬ der,” till you change your minds, and then you shall be mutually and honorably discharged. 5. Revivals . The history of revivals records the fact that seasons of special spiritual quickening have sometimes followed immediately upon painful cases of discipline. No trying ELIOT MEMORIAL. 114 duty discharged in reliance upon divine aid ever fails to bring a blessing. Kind fidelity in the several stages of a process suggests vividly the liabilities of temptation, of backsliding, not to speak of utter apostasy. Those engag¬ ing duly in this function can hardly refrain from humbling themselves before God and adoring the grace which has kept them from falling. The Eliot Church is not without illustrative examples in that line. Every instance of dis¬ cipline — whether the subject thereof was reclaimed, or was finally excluded from fellowship — served to bind the brotherhood together in closer bonds as well as to heighten a conception of the true design and the sacred obligations of a church. The theory of uniform spiritual advance on the part of an individual and a covenanted community is seldom borne out by facts. There may be no law of unequal de¬ velopment, but variations of temperament as well as of temper are matters of universal experience. Piety may be real, though depressed and only latent. Slumber and death are different conditions. We would advocate and labor for steady growth; and yet not be surprised at more or less of the occasional and even the spasmodic. Crises may be looked for in individual and in collective life. An exhibition, too, of infirmities may be expected. One and another will purpose some specialty, such perhaps as they have read of, or have witnessed in another denomination, or in the methods of some evangelist. I recall an indi¬ vidual, not commanding deep respect, who had pretty CHURCH FUNCTIONS. ri 5 much ceased to attend upon stated church observances. But in more than one instance, after increased spiritual earnestness had become general and meetings were crowded, he would come in of an evening and take early opportunity to complain of the low state of religion and to propose certain special measures with reference to a revival. If the thing had been less painful it would have been more ludicrous. The seasons referred to were seasons of marked moral earnestness. They were epochs of special prayer, of wrest¬ ling importunity in supplication. There was a quietus to bickerings and heart-burnings. Formality gave way. Re¬ ligious sensibility was manifest, a cord of spiritual sym¬ pathy linking together an entire assembly in a sacred magnetism. Little if any unhallowed enthusiasm showed itself and still less of fanaticism. Mental balance was pre¬ served. The solemnity was usually deep, yet radiant; exhaustion did not follow, but a refreshing sense of things heavenly and divine, an elevating and restful apprehension of the great things of the kingdom. There was no need of setting about to prove the personality of the Holy Spirit, the gracious sincerity of Jesus Christ in his invita¬ tions, or his ability to save to the uttermost. Pungent conviction of sin and a penitent discovery of its just condemnation silenced quarrelling with God on account of his sovereignty in saving men and his righteousness in punishing forever the finally impenitent. Several of our church members privately acknowl- ELIOT MEMORIAL. 116 edged to having previously entertained only a false hope and to being now apparently born again. So, too, mem¬ bers of other churches. One case of that kind is very dis¬ tinctly remembered, that of a family from the north of Ireland, the husband having been connected with the Episcopal Church . and the wife with a Presbyterian Church. Both became convinced about the same time that by experience they had known nothing of vital piety. Both were converted, and in accordance with their own decided wish joined others in a public confession. The joy of converts did not become effervescent or boisterous; deep streams are never noisy. Neighboring pastors kindly rendered assistance at a special week-day evening service; and in a few instances aid was given by them on Lord’s Day. This accords with what took place among the earliest fishers of men: “ They beckoned to their partners in the other ship that they should come and help them.” No professional evangelist was called in; no mention was made of the anxious seat; none were asked to rise for prayer; but ample opportunity was given for quiet and orderly after-meetings; or for other separate gatherings of inquirers as well as for the special instruc¬ tion of professed converts. A good many new family altars were set up. I heard of three such on one day. Some years the harvests were noteworthy, for example, in 1858 forty-five joined our church on first public confes¬ sion of faith, and sixty-nine in 1866. The accessions were not always from those who had previously belonged to CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 117 the Eliot congregation. Returning home after an im¬ pressive evening service I found three young men in my study, one of them from a Unitarian family. He was deeply wrought upon; I had seen no one so agitated and distressed. He told me that some of the young men in the mercantile house where he was a clerk requested the privilege, the day before, of holding a prayer meeting in the attic of the store. Permission was readily given, and thirteen assembled. A few days later I called on a young lady who had begun to worship with us. I talked very freely and plainly with her for a time, when her mother, a Unitarian lady, coming in from a side room re¬ marked that she had overheard what was said and was glad that I called, adding that she desired her daughter should become a Christian; that she herself had prayed for it and had no objection to her becoming a Trinitarian. She expressed dissatisfaction with the preaching where she usually worshiped as greatly lacking in spiritual power. During the same season I noticed a young man, a stranger, in one of the galleries listening with peculiarly earnest attention. It appeared that he was a Universalist visiting a friend in the neighborhood. It was not long before he avowed himself not only an evangelical believer but a “ new man in Christ.” These were not solitary cases of the kind and yet such were not numerous. Two classes of persons, very limited in number, seemed to be least responsive to revival influences. One was in¬ veterate novel readers. To single out a specimen—hap- 118 ELIOT MEMORIAL. pily an extreme instance — mention may be made of a married lady who had been in the congregation only a few months. Her church membership was elsewhere. Her mind had become drenched with romance, and hence enervated. The pathetic would call forth tears, but char¬ acter will always deteriorate when awakened sensibilities lead to no practical beneficence. She had been living, or rather flitting about in an unreal world where common sense was a stranger. She confessed to having no sense of sin and was so unreflectingly ignorant as to ask if I thought she had done wrong at all, adding that she did not know it was necessary for her to feel her sinfulness, “ because it is the heart and not she herself that is de¬ praved ! ” I have met with no other case of more obvious heathenism except in India. Instances of a decidedly morbid condition of mind, developing at length into evident melancholia, if not un¬ mistakable derangement, were various. Of the following, though not generally understood, I had full cognizance. A man highly respected, a man of blameless life, standing in his lot, taking active and acceptable part in church ser¬ vices, came to me at length repeatedly, saying that he had no evidence of being a Christian; that what he attempted in the line of social duties was purely from a sense of duty; that there was no elasticity of soul in him. His own language was such as this in part: “Christ always seems at a distance; there is a dreadful dimness and an awful blank in my mind; it is not the thought of hell CHURCH FUNCTIONS. 1 *9 particularly that moves me; I cannot feel anything; the hardness is awful; I cannot live so, I cannot die so. It would be a fearful thing to send for you and make this disclosure on my death-bed.” Though a man of more than usual self-control, he wept profusely. For a good while he was in deep waters, depth calling unto depth in slowly increasing terror of despair. No words, no devices seemed to relieve the gloom. What could the pastor do but with an aching heart commend the case to Him who alone understands all the mysterious maladies of mind ! Among the evidences of religious advance was in¬ creased fidelity in the Sunday School. Class prayer meet¬ ings were held; teachers and converted pupils would enter into devotional engagements to remember definitely certain unconverted pupils at some stated hour. Such covenants bore fruit. The ease with which merely social gatherings would take on a religious character was noticeable. So, too, the heartiness of Christian greetings and the readi¬ ness for outside Christian work. The year 1858 was one of widespread spiritual bless¬ ing. A statement was published in the Spring of that year that five vessels came into the port of New York at different times, on board which prayer meetings had been established, of course without any concert between the captains. With that I have since associated a young man, then belonging to our congregation, who sailed the year before for Australia. Returning in 1858, he told me that on approaching the coast he became seriously impressed, 120 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and so continued till he reached home. He remained here less than two weeks, and before sailing again for Singapore he entertained a Christian hope. He was a child of the covenant, the pious father and mother having both deceased. Early in my pastorate, finding that the congregation was made up chiefly of those who came from Boston or elsewhere, with little or no previous mutual acquaintance; that there was almost no local intercourse, hence but slight knowledge of one another, as most of the men went daily in town to business, I began to despair regarding the usual media of religious influence. If some one should be converted, who would know it? How could a spark of spiritual influence be reasonably expected to communicate itself to others ? Soon after such dispiriting questions had arisen, I found in the course of the same week here and there several individuals decidedly awak¬ ened. That took place independently of one another, for they were not acquaintances and had had no intercommu¬ nication. It of course occurred to me more distinctly than ever before that the dews of divine grace come silently from above and require no horizontal channels; that there is a wide difference between a revival gotten up and one that comes down; that while God is ever ready to accept cooperation from many, he never stands in need of human agency. CHAPTER IX. ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. The Sunday School as a method of religious educa¬ tion is not so peculiarly a modern institution as has been supposed. More than a century before Robert Raikes employed women (1781) to teach the waifs of Gloucester streets, England, a Sunday School had been instituted by the First Church in Roxbury. Eliot himself maintained that “ The care of the lambs is one-third part of the charge over the Church of God.” It has been affirmed that “ The Sunday School of the West Boston Society ” was the earliest established in this city. It was the off¬ spring of the “ West Boston Charity School,” later known as the “ West Parish Sewing School.” 1 It appears to have been a school for girls only. A similar school for boys was established in 1827, and the two were united in 1832. But Mrs. Susan E. Parker, sister of the late Dr. S. F. Smith — now aged ninety-five — stated before her memory failed in the least, if it has yet failed, that on June 14, 1815, a Sabbath School was gathered at Christ Church,, the historical Old North Church. The Rev. Dr. Asa Eaton was then rector. A house-to-house visitation had been made, and three hundred and sixty-five scholars were 1 The West Church and its Ministers. Boston, 1856, pp. 217, 218. 122 ELIOT MEMORIAL. enrolled. A list still remains hanging in the room where the school was organized in 1817. It was a strictly mis¬ sion school, the children of Christian households not being admitted. For that reason Mrs. Parker herself could not become a member. The first superintendent, Mr. Joseph W. Ingraham, continued in that office for twenty-five years. 1 When schools, especially those of a missionary char¬ acter, came to be established in Boston during the first half of the nineteenth century they did not enlist general favor at first. It was in the midst of the Unitarian discussion and the running of denominational lines. That in School Street was one. It was first opened in an old public schoolhouse at the lower end of Bedford Street. William Thurston, Esq., a prominent lawyer, made statements to a few friends who had come together, re¬ garding the success of Sabbath Schools in England. Fami¬ lies in the neighborhood were visited with a view to finding whether scholars could be obtained. A goodly number were at once secured. Other public schoolhouses were opened for the same purpose. The Mayor sent to Mr. John Gulliver — an active man in the Orthodox ranks — and frankly admitted that there was a desire to exclude the schools from city buildings. Not long after, Mr. Gul¬ liver found the front door of the schoolhouse one Sunday morning could not be opened. Entrance was effected 1 The Sunday School Times , July 4, 1896. Memories of Boston’s First Sunday School. By Harriette Knight Smith. ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. I2 3 through a window, and half a cord of wood was found piled against the door. That being removed, the Sunday School went on as usual. A public meeting was called, that by a vote the schools might be excluded. Mr. Thurs¬ ton and other gentlemen made addresses so effectively in favor of the religious movement that a large majority favored granting the use of as many of the schoolhouses as were needed. Our Eliot Sunday School was organized on the third Sunday of July, 1834, nearly two months be¬ fore the formation of the church. Forty-one persons met in the stone building near our present place of worship, twenty-five of whom were enrolled as scholars, fifteen as teachers, Mr. Alvah Kittredge being chosen superintend¬ ent. There was a twin-birth that Sunday morning. Mr. Kittredge saw for the first time his youngest son — now Rev. Dr. Abbot Eliot Kittredge of New York — and then hastened to join the company where this school was organized. After something more than a year, the meet¬ ing-house being finished, the school removed to the lecture room underneath, the average attendance of pupils having been about forty. After twenty-five years it was found that the attendance had come to be not far from two hundred. Mr. Kittredge continued most faithfully and acceptably in office as head of the school for a quarter of a century, when he resigned and took the place of a teacher. Upon a review at the time of his resigning, it was found that seven teachers and forty-three pupils had been re¬ moved by death. 124 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Of those who had been scholars thirty-one became college graduates, and at the date now in mind (1859) seven had become pastors of churches, four others were preachers, and one was an accepted missionary of the American Board. Twelve ministers of the gospel came out of the school before its silver anniversary, and an equal number of female pupils became the wives of clergy¬ men. During the period now spoken of two thousand one hundred and twenty scholars had been registered, a large proportion of whom (1700) had left and were scat¬ tered widely through the country, besides quite a number in foreign lands. Of that dispersion more than half were professing Christians. The family and the sanctuary usu¬ ally furnish concurrent influences that issue at length in conversion, but it should be stated with devout gratitude that during our first twenty-five years the church wel¬ comed to its communion more than one hundred and fifty from this school, while many who dated the commence¬ ment of their spiritual life here made public profession after removing elsewhere. I was in the habit of visiting this as well as our Mission School often — upon an average, three times a month — and of sitting down with classes successively, asking questions or remarking on the lesson of the day. Acquaintance with names, faces and habits was thus secured. I feared at first this would prove an undesirable interruption and possibly an annoyance, but teachers soon began to request such visits. There was opportunity also ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. I2 5 for observing aptitude, or a want of it, on the part of teachers. As a general thing, they were devoted and suc¬ cessful. I learned highly to value those unpaid colleagues in the sphere of religious training. One or two sad ex¬ ceptions came under my eye — for instance, a man in charge of a class of young men, who was soon through with what appeared to be a perfunctory exercise. New members were brought in but presently left. They found nothing to interest them. Another teacher by tardiness ran out a class. From time to time I gave small blank books to teachers, returnable to me with private memo¬ randa regarding individual pupils. A visitor will light upon oddities. During an exer¬ cise on the transfiguration a class of girls were asked, How Moses and Elijah could have been recognized? A bright Miss replied that she supposed the disciples had seen their photographs. An ignorant young man who had never before attended a Sunday School, or been in the habit of reading the Bible, joined our Bible Class and professed to become at once interested in the subject of personal religion. Within a fortnight after that he came to me, saying that he had examined the matter of baptism and found that immersion was the only proper method. Familiarity with the Sunday School reveals acquaint¬ ance with families represented there, and is specially help¬ ful in pastoral visits. Innumerable interesting incidents came to light. One must suffice here. A mother died, leaving three children, the eldest a lad of ten years. The 126 ELIOT MEMORIAL. father soon began family worship, but was often absent from home, being the traveling member of a Boston firm. During the father’s absence this little boy, a member of the school, asked if he might keep up family worship. He read a chapter from the Bible regularly, then kneeled down, a younger sister each side of him, and offered ex¬ temporaneous prayer, closing with the Lord’s Prayer, in which the sisters joined. Both grandmothers, each about sixty years of age, were present morning and evening. Now and then I preached to the two schools gath¬ ered with others into our place of worship, which was crowded. I usually attended the teachers’ meetings. When absent from the country I sometimes wrote let¬ ters to the school, and on returning from a visit to Pales¬ tine, brought pressed flowers from Jerusalem and the neigh¬ borhood, mounted on cardboard, one for each of the scholars in our two schools; a larger one for the teachers, and one yet larger for each superintendent. There was gradually disclosed a tendency to adminis¬ ter the school with reference to the Monthly Concert, rehearsals and other preparations occupying a dispropor¬ tionate amount of time that was needed for more im¬ portant purposes. There was an excessive demand for entertainment, and the concert was liable to become a mere exhibition. After intimate acquaintance with the working and spirit of our school had been established, it seemed to me to be regarded too much as an independent and outside affair, instead of an integral element of the church ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. 127 and one form of church education. Hence I proposed certain regulations which have since been observed, two of which are as follows: — “ The appointment of the Superintendent shall be by nomination on the part of the teachers, and ratification on the part of the church by yea and nay ballot; the remain¬ ing officers being elected by the teachers.” “ The Superintendent shall make a report annually to the church at the annual meeting of the same, on the condition and statistics of the school, embracing a list of its teachers.” Another practical misapprehension was that it is merely a school for children instead of being a Bible Seminary designed for all ages, including adults as well. These were urged to join the school, and two classes of such were formed with twelve or fourteen members in each. Cases occurred in which whole families were in attendance. Much thought was given to the library. Pains¬ taking is also needed to keep distinctly before the minds, especially of the young, that our sacred volume is the sub¬ ject of study. One incident will illustrate. Being absent from home on an exchange of pulpits, I asked a little girl, “ Do you attend the Sunday School ? ” “ Oh, yes,” she replied. “ And what are you studying ? ” “ The Question-Book.” “ But it is a question-book on the Bible, I suppose.” “No,” said she. “What then is it?” “The Union Question-Book.” “And does it not ask questions about some part of the Bible ? ” “ No; the lessons are all 128 ELIOT MEMORIAL. in the book; we don’t study the Bible.” I had met with substantially the same thing elsewhere. Constant famili¬ arity with the collective contents and with the order of the several books should be cultivated. A very deep and very just reverence for the sacred scriptures was entertained by teachers and scholars. The natural results were manifest in character and life. Tes¬ timonials given, for instance, in 1859 by those who had entered the ministry, appeared to express the prevailing sentiment. One wrote from the state of Maine, “ I can only say, I bless God that I ever became a member of your Sabbath School and congregation.” One from west¬ ern Massachusetts, “ That vestry will always be hallowed ground to me.” Another, “ I know of no place about which so many delightful and sacred associations cluster as at that vestry, underground though it is.” “ The gold and the silver of Ophir, and the cattle upon a thousand hills,” wrote still another, “ cannot pay the debt we owe.” It was a specially gratifying circumstance that of those who had been connected with the school for a longer or shorter time, one, a true daughter of John Eliot, Miss Harriet J. Clark, now Mrs. Caswell, labored among the Seneca Indians in southwestern New York; Mr. and Mrs. Hurter spent several years in Syria under the shadow of Mt. Lebanon ; while two daughters of missionaries, Mary Ballantine of Ahmednagar, India, and Maria Chamberlain from the Hawaiian Islands, returned to their native lands, the one as Mrs. Fairbank, the other as Mrs. Forbes, and ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. 129 did excellent service. With the latter name should also be coupled that of Mary Carpenter Paris. These, as well as the memorable name of Rev. David Coit Scudder, will be found among the sketches of missionaries. Amidst all the changes of superintendents and teach¬ ers, the school has maintained a good degree of harmony and a fair amount of enthusiasm. This appeared to be noticeably true when our congregation was so depleted in 1870 by the withdrawment of a large body to form a new church and Sunday School. Unusual vitality and enter¬ prise remained. Even the first Sabbath after that exodus the attendance showed a higher figure than for some time before. After four weeks I found there had been an accession of sixty members. The Young Men’s Bible Class of twenty-five, whose former teacher had gone with¬ out the slightest hint to them of his purpose to leave, continued undiminished, though for a time no one was found to lead them. There seemed to be on their part a measure of sanctified spunk. Many funerals of pupils have been attended. A few of them were oppressively sad. Such, for example, were those of the four lads who lost their life by drowning; and that of another, Benjamin Bronner (1857), suddenly crushed by inexorable machinery. The funeral solemni¬ ties of one who had been a scholar followed soon after the festivities of marriage. In another case I had occa¬ sion to go directly from the funeral of a beloved pupil 1 to 1 Harriet M. Holman, 1857. 130 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the marriage of her Sunday School teacher. On most of these services cheering light from above shone benignly and expelled sadness. One of them, a specimen, rises dis¬ tinctly to recollection, the funeral of a young woman, 1 beautifully patient in sickness, gentle and cheerful. The epistle to the Romans, which had been studied in the Bible Class, was peculiarly precious to her. Regarding recovery or removal she could say, “ I have no choice; ” and amidst final paroxysms of pain she cried, “ Oh, Mother! Oh, Saviour!” Two of the superintendents died while in office. 2 The statistics of the school for the quarter of a cen¬ tury from 1842 to 1867 show that considerably over three thousand pupils had been members, of whom two hundred were received to the Eliot Church on profession of faith. During that period one hundred and seventy-one minors 1 Eliza Hill Anderson, 1849. Alvah Kittredge . . Samuel W. Hall . . Sylvester Bliss . . Charles F. Bray . . Thomas Chamberlain William H. Brackett Edward A. Lawrence James Goodman . . Charles W. Hill . . Horace G. Wellington Frederick C. Russell Charles W. Hill . . Clarence T. Mooar . 2 SUPERINTENDENTS. Elected. July, 1834. July, 1859. July, i860. April 1, 1863. April 16, 1865. Sept. 11, 1865. Dec. 10, 1866. Dec. 20, 1867. Sept. 30, 1870. Dec. 31, 1884. Dec. 28, 1887. Dec. 30, 1891. Dec. 15, 1896. Resigned. July, 1859. July, i860. Died March 6, 1863. July, 1865. Sept., 1865. Dec., 1866. Dec. 20, 1867. Sept. 30, 1870. Dec. 31, 1884. Dec. 28, 1887. Dec. 30, 1891. Died Nov. 13,1896. ELIOT SUNDAY SCHOOL. J 3 r were so received, forty-eight of whom were fifteen years of age or under; and seven were twelve years old or under. When the anniversary of July, 1867, came round, there were three hundred and sixty-six pupils remaining, while three regiments, each one thousand strong, had been mus¬ tered out of the Sunday School army, a part of whom were scattered all over the land. Several were in the Valley of the Mississippi, some on the Pacific coast, and a few in Australia, India, China, and other countries. All of them were probably better themselves and exerted a better influence upon others for having studied the Bible here. Perhaps all of them could join John Eliot in his testimony, “ I do see that it was a great favor unto me to season my first years with fear of God, the Word, and prayer.” CHAPTER X. VARIOUS DEVOTIONAL MEETINGS /. Maternal Meeting. Two years after the church was organized some of the mothers united in a Maternal Association. The pre¬ liminary declaration opens as follows: “ Impressed with a sense of our dependence upon the Holy Spirit to aid us in training up our children in the way they should go, and hoping to obtain the blessing of such as fear the Lord and speak often one to another, We,” etc. Three of the Ten Articles disclose the chief aim and chief duties of members. “ It shall be the duty of every member to qualify herself by daily reading, prayer and self-discipline to discharge faithfully the arduous duties of a Christian mother,” etc.; “ Each member shall consider herself obli¬ gated by her covenant engagements to pray for her chil¬ dren daily and with them as often as circumstances may permit, and conscientiously to restrain them from such courses as would naturally add to vanity, pride, and worldly- mindedness ; ” “ When a mother is removed by death, it shall be the special duty of the Association to regard with peculiar interest the spiritual welfare of her children, and to show their interest by a continued remembrance of them in their prayers and by such tokens of sympathy and kindness as their circumstances shall require.” VARIOUS DEVOTIONAL MEETINGS. *33 My acquaintance with this association began fifty- eight years ago in the month of my ordination. It was the Quarterly Meeting, July, 1842. From that time on¬ ward I was uniformly present, and with great enjoyment, at the Quarterly Meeting. That was the children’s meet¬ ing, and there would be an attendance all told of fifty or more. It was choice music to my ear to hear the little folks repeat hymns and passages of scripture. In one in¬ stance twelve different Psalms were recited, besides one or more other chapters and numerous single verses. At one period a simple catechism which I had prepared, The Lambs Fed , 1 was employed, though not at my suggestion. Sometimes a shadow fell upon the meeting, as when, fifty-three years since, all thought centered on the drown¬ ing of one of the dear boys, and at another when the remark was made that I had already that week attended the funerals of three little ones. At other times sacred joy abounded, as after an unusual number had been wel¬ comed to the church, twenty of them being from families represented in this association. Eleven of those who were once in attendance entered the Christian ministry, and the same number became ministers’ wives, as was stated re¬ garding the Eliot Sunday School. Those whose memory goes back many years speak 1 First published by Benjamin Perkins about 1844 or 1845. Afterwards issued by the Massachusetts Sunday School Society (1859), with the title, Biblical Catechism for Sabbath Schools. Two different translations into Marathi were made, and it has been used somewhat widely in the Bombay Presidency. *3 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. or write in a way that shows the meetings were a bene¬ diction to them. Mention is made of having preserved the cards, leaflets and booklets that were given to the children. “ I well remember,” writes one, “ the beautiful face of Mrs. Anderson, the president, as she moved her chair about the room so as to be near each child who was reciting.” “ At the last meeting I attended, being a tall High School boy, Dr. Thompson said, ‘You will not be too old to come to the maternal meeting when you are twenty-one.’ ” Mothers derived great benefit from their associated counsels and prayers. Some of them still living have written thus: “ I have memories of that organization which are very sweet and precious to me.” Another who is eighty-eight sends word that she “ remembers the meet¬ ing with great delight, and has had many a blessed sea¬ son of prayer with the mothers and their children.” The mother of Samuel was often in their thoughts. Hers was no temporary arrangement. “As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord.” He did not belong so much to her as to the Lord; he was not given to be a mother’s pet. Only those mothers who, Hannah-like, give their children to the Lord for their whole life have a right to expect a blessing. The following recorded resolution of a devout woman caught my eye, “ Everything that will make me a better mother I covet, and so far as I can I will pro¬ cure.” What now will make better mothers? First, let them give themselves heartily and wholly to the God of VARIOUS DEVOTIONAL MEETINGS. 1 3 5 Hannah. Failing in that, they will fail to be complete, first-rate mothers. Their children must be lent to the Lord. If his right in them be not acknowledged, his blessing on them cannot reasonably be expected. Unfail¬ ing intercession on their behalf must follow. The more Hannahs there are the more Samuels will there be. All history shows that mothers who have coveted earnestly the best gifts have been chief benefactors to their families, and through their children benefactors to the community. Most memorable amidst the agonies of Calvary was that utterance, “ Behold thy mother! ” It is not to heathen or Mohammedan lands that we turn to find the typical mother. A housekeeper, a nurse, a governess may be hired, but not a mother. No place is there in this world like her heart. It is the charm of her affection and her assiduities that makes home — a word not found in Oriental languages, for the idea does not exist there. A pure moral element is needful. There is no family among animals and no home amidst human herding. To manage children wisely is as difficult as for the statesman to manage men wisely. The same firmness, the same dis¬ criminating, patient sagacity and far-reaching aims are required. Graduates from the fireside seminary show in¬ evitably what their training has been. The noble char¬ acter of the Father of his country was due to “ Mary the Mother of Washington.” When General Harrison was on his way to the Capital to take oath as President of the United States, he visited the home of his infancy in 136 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Virginia. Passing from room to room, he came to a re¬ tired bed-chamber, where he burst into tears and said to a friend, “ This is the spot where my mother used to pray for me.” Abraham Lincoln said, “ All that I am or hope to be I owe to my mother.” At the inauguration of Presi¬ dent Garfield was there anything so significant or so beau¬ tiful as, after taking oath of office, he turned on the plat¬ form to kiss his venerable Christian mother ? They that prayerfully rock the cradle rule the world and help to people heaven. 2. Female Prayer Meeting . It was not long after the organization of the Church that some of the good women were moved to institute a mid-week gathering for devotional purposes. This was the more natural since the element represented in our con¬ gregation was then, as has been remarked, chiefly a trans¬ planted population, and by day the women were almost the sole residents here. The men were chiefly at their places of business in Boston. The attendance upon this Wednesday afternoon meet¬ ing was sometimes twenty, thirty, or forty, though the average fell perhaps to ten. In seasons of special religious interest, particularly in 1857 an d onward, several neighbor¬ hood gatherings would be established, and would more or less frequently unite at some central point, with an attend¬ ance of three-score or four-score. It was a good many years before the meetings were held elsewhere than at VARIOUS DEVOTIONAL MEETINGS. *37 private houses. But they have all along been an expo¬ nent of the life of the Church and one obvious ministrant to that life. Much of excellence as there has been among the brethren, the readiness of our sisterhood for every good word and work has been yet more marked. But for them the fraternity would have had a character noticeably different. Unity of aim in the meeting became impaired somewhat when the Maternal Association, the cause of Foreign Missions and of Home Missions, came to occupy each respectively one afternoon every month. j. Other Prayer Meetings. There were other gatherings for devotional purposes, weekly or less frequent, such as that of Young Men and another of Young Women. The former was established chiefly through the agency of Mr. Henry Martyn Hill, a young man of unfailing punctuality in attendance on the Church meeting as well. The latter of the two assemblages was begun in January, 1848. It had a variable, yet on the whole gratifying attendance, forty being sometimes present. At one time the children came together for the same pur¬ pose, though not at my instance. I wrote a letter to them for each of the meetings. Those of a tender age should never be encouraged to meet entirely by themselves. The presence of a wise and tactful matron is always important. The Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions was a favorite meeting and well attended. Careful preparation 138 ELIOT MEMORIAL. relating to some field of the American Board was occa¬ sionally made by some member of the church. For many years Dr. R. Anderson often took the laboring oar, and of course gave special interest to the occasion. There were times when I called a prayer meeting at my house once a week. A different set of brethren or of families were invited to successive gatherings. In the free¬ dom of a private parlor one and another were led to take active part, and thus be prepared for larger social occasions. There was also opportunity for more intimate personal acquaintance, and for cultivating neighborly religious in¬ tercourse. Of the annual gatherings no one was more fully ap¬ preciated than that of prayer for colleges. Two sessions were held, one in the afternoon, fairly well sustained, the other in the evening, sometimes with a crowded attend¬ ance. Those were literally prayer meetings. Exhortation and narrative did not have an absorbing place. When the annual Week of Prayer became an observance, one or two sessions were held on each secular day, with an aver¬ age presence of about one hundred. The selection and arrangement of topics issued by the Evangelical Alliance never seemed to me satisfactory. The same was true in a measure of similar issues from other sources when at length such began to appear. One uniform fault in the lists sent out from London was that the topics were not sufficiently specific. Another fault was the assignment of missions, that highly important subject, to a day or even- VARIOUS DEVOTIONAL MEETINGS. I 39 ing least favorable for attendance. I was in the habit of preparing lists of topics with subdivisions and accom¬ panying passages of Scripture expressly for the Eliot Church. These were printed as leaflets and seasonably distributed. It was my practice on the Sabbath which opened the week to preach upon some subject specially appropriate to the services contemplated, such as the province of prayer, the Holy Spirit’s offices, the claims of Christ’s kingdom. The week never passed without a manifest blessing during its progress and thence onward. It sometimes seemed to impart a spiritual impulse and tone to the Church, which were perceptible throughout the remainder of the twelvemonth. During the period now under review the Eliot Church may safely be called a praying church. There was usu¬ ally a cheerful response to notices of stated or occasional appointments for supplication and praise. CHAPTER XI. VARIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. i. Dorcas Society. Early in the history of the church thoughts turned to the surrounding community. “As bad as a Roxburyboy” is said to have been a proverb in neighboring towns. There certainly was a rude element which threw stones at our people when they were on the way to and from evening meetings. This was one thing which called atten¬ tion to the outside community. Needy and deserving indi¬ viduals were found, and in 1840 a Dorcas Society was formed, the sick and destitute being in mind as specially entitled to aid. An admission fee and donations supplied material for the ladies’ busy needles once a month in the afternoon. Gentlemen were invited to a plain collation at evening. This gave opportunity for social intercourse. After some years the gathering began to be held in the lecture room and has continued in the chapel. There is more freedom felt in attendance there; and such an oppor¬ tunity for all to engage in pleasant intercourse on the same footing is of great importance. It is a most helpful bond of unity. The attendance ranged from fifty to one hundred and fifty. At the eight regular meetings annually between one and two hundred garments were made. The existence of VARIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. 141 neighboring need was thus brought distinctly and regularly to mind, with a silent appeal for aid. Many a cup of cold water was thus ministered. No one was importuned for a contribution. A habit of active sympathy is thus likely to be established, a habit of no small value. It serves as a mental tonic; it is an excellent way of getting rid of ennui. It will be found there is a luxury in doing good, and one will often find too that the more he gives the more he has. An Arabic proverb says, “ The water you pour on the roots of the cocoanut tree comes back to you from the top in the sweet milk of the cocoanut.” These lower considerations and results may have to do incipiently with cherishing the highest motives and the broadest beneficence. Everybody must have noticed that public-spiritedness, like charity, its cousin-german, begins at home but grows by exercise. The anatomist tells us that the muscle by which we close the hand is much stronger than that by which we open it. It is something to learn through observation at least the wretchedness of being selfish. “ That man may last but never lives, Who much receives and nothing gives; Whom none can love, whom none can thank, Creation’s blot, creation’s blank.” 2. Eliot City Missionary Society. Soon after my ordination I went to an elevated point in the place to get the lay of the land, geographical and ecclesi- 142 ELIOT MEMORIAL. astical. One question in mind was, What neighboring churches are there of the same faith and order as the Eliot Church ? Bostonward, the nearest was Pine Street, Austin Phelps, pastor; in Dorchester, the Second Church, over which Dr. Codman presided; at West Roxbury, Spring Street, with the Rev. Christopher Marsh pastor; and Brigh¬ ton, with the Rev. John T. Adams pastor. The Eliot parish was conterminous with these, and its extreme boundaries were certainly wide apart. The absence of meeting-house spires on the area surveyed was noticeable. Our own place of worship originally and that of the Dudley Street Baptist Church had none. Under the eye was a large and growing population, a part of which had no ecclesiastical home. The most densely peopled district of that kind seemed to be at the Point and in the region of the lead works. The thought of a Sunday School in that neighborhood arose and, as opportunity offered, I began to make inquiries and sugges¬ tions regarding such an enterprise. Enthusiasm did not kindle at once. Tract distribution, on being recommended, found immediate favor. That led to a proposal for the circulation of religious books on sale and no one took hold of it with more of personal interest and energy than the Rev. David Greene. It was a suggestive sight to see a secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions going from house to house here at home and offering valuable literature for domestic use. The next year (1843) the suggestion of a mission Sunday School VARIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. U 3 took effect, and one was opened in a public schoolhouse on Yeomans Street Deacon John Gulliver, always ready for Christian work, was asked to take the superintend¬ ence. This took place in May; and in the course of the remainder of that year, one hundred and forty-nine schol¬ ars had been gathered in, three or four Roman Catholic families contributing children. The movement issuing in such a school, and in an irregular tract distribution, reacted upon the church to awaken a deeper and deeper interest in such home work. It became a subject of earnest conversation what could be done to meet the spiritual wants of many living around us, and living in the neglect or involuntary deprivation of the means of grace. At length the matter found its way, though all too tardily, into our church prayer meeting. Looking at the truancy of children and youths, at the amount of intemperance, the prevalence of Sabbath dese¬ cration, the glaring neglect of the ordinances and Word of God, what could we, amidst ample enjoyment ourselves of religious privileges, do but move in an associated effort for the abatement of those evils? Who could be content to hoard his blessings? In 1850 the church resolved to employ a laborer who should devote himself especially to Christian work among the classes referred to. An ex¬ perienced and discreet minister was engaged. It was found desirable to form an association not limited to the church, but embracing all in the congregation who might see fit to join it and to which the executive affairs might 144 ELIOT MEMORIAL. be committed. That was done in June, 1851. The Eliot City Missionary Society was exceedingly simple in its organization and of easy administration. The payment of one dollar annually made any one in the congregation a member. The Executive Committee, consisting chiefly of the pastor and other church members, were entrusted with the immediate management of the mission. Rev. Levi Smith, the first of our ordained missionaries, a valua¬ ble man, had not strength sufficient for the work. He was obliged to resign, and not long after entered into the final rest. At length we were favored with the ministra¬ tions of another most excellent man, the Rev. David M. Mitchell. He remained in the service about eight years, without interruption, without friction, and in a spirit and manner that commanded universal acceptance and respect. Two female missionaries were also employed at different times, one of whom, Mrs. Marsh, the widow of a minister, was a woman of rare fidelity and soundness of judgment. The chief departments of effort were as follows: A school in which young persons were taught to use the needle, and where also was opportunity for instruction from the Word of God. Two afternoons were devoted to it each week, and over a hundred were often in attend¬ ance. It was a school of benevolence. The girls, older and younger, were encouraged to give as well as to re¬ ceive. One incident of many will show this. A little girl on finishing a garment was asked by the superintend¬ ent, which she would rather do, keep it as her own or give VARIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. J 45 it to somebody less favored than herself. “ I will give it away,” she promptly replied, and at once selected one of the most destitute in the group. She had the hearty thanks of the obliged child and an approving smile from half a hundred bright faces. Household visitation was maintained, the main aim being to promote the spiritual good of inmates by prayer and religious conversation, Bible and tract distribution, and by encouraging attend¬ ance at some evangelical place of worship. Neighborhood prayer meetings were started, and also a maternal associa¬ tion. A judicious ministration to the temporal wants of the more needy and more deserving was another feature. In the person of each missionary was a temperance agent, and through this instrumentality some of the inebriates were brought back to habits of confirmed sobriety, and a few were brought to sit at the feet of Jesus, apparently clothed and in their right mind. In many instances situa¬ tions were found in the country for boys and girls, where good care and good domestic influences were provided. One of the Sunday Schools which were gathered — that on Yeomans Street, afterwards removed to Davis Street already referred to — outgrew Williams Hall. A lot of land ten thousand feet in extent — sufficient for a meeting-house also — was accordingly bought (1856) for $ 4,000. Thereon was built a chapel which would seat about three hundred, and which, with its furniture, cost $1,500. The first money for the object was raised by a few little girls who got up a private fair for the purpose. 146 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Every bill had been paid before the dedication, July 11, 1856. The transfer of the school from its old neighbor¬ hood to a higher and more attractive, though more remote, station, was effected without the loss of a single pupil. The property was afterwards given to the Vine Street Society, the Vine Street Church being organized in 1857. A second school, which Mr. Benjamin Perkins super¬ intended, was gathered on King Street, and had a Bible Class of adults. Each of these schools was furnished with a library, and it was a gratifying sight to witness the order and decorum as well as the avidity with which the books loaned for reading were received. There was also a good deal of eagerness for the Sunday class instruction. One little boy who had removed to Charlestown continued to come back seasonably to the place at the appointed hour. Another little child who lost the use of her limbs longed to be carried there. This school was subsequently merged in the third, that on Parker Street. The one last referred to had at its opening session the first Lord’s Day of 1853, only ten scholars present. But a steady growth followed till an average of three hundred was reached. The Infant Class grew to be the largest in the city. Union monthly concerts of the two schools were held in our churph, at which the house, including the gal¬ leries, was crowded. This public fellowship had a happy effect in promoting unity of feeling as well as the cause of Bible study. In the early days of the three schools the teachers were all from the Eliot congregation. VARIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. 147 Upon the annexation of Roxbury to Boston (May 30, 1850), there was no further occasion for a separate City Missionary Society, and that of the Eliot Church gave place after a while to the older one of the older city. Although careful statistics were kept for only a part of the time, and now and then no statistics at all, yet during a portion of the period nine thousand articles of clothing were distributed; about ten thousand loans or gifts of valuable books, besides numerous Bibles and New Testa¬ ments; about twenty thousand tracts were put in circula¬ tion and more than forty thousand Christian calls were registered. Not less than two thousand dollars were placed by individuals in the hands of mission almoners for temporal aid of the needy. A good many situations were found for men and women out of employment. Orphaned children received tender care. In the course of twelve years the outlay of the Society was $11,358.37. Even with the greatest painstaking complete results could not have been tabulated. We had reason to believe that genuine conversions took place. Several individuals joined different churches, a number of the intemperate were reclaimed; many a home showed signs of improve¬ ment on the score of tidiness, order and comfort, and in a large number of cases of sickness, soothing influences and important relief were bestowed. If we would learn all the more valuable results, we should need to find how many minds, not likely otherwise to be reached, received helpful ideas and impulses, how many hearts were moved toward 148 ELIOT MEMORIAL. holiness and heaven, we should need to count the emo¬ tions of gladness awakened, the multitude of sins covered and prevented. Happier homes, better citizens, more con¬ sistent Christians not a few would be included. CHAPTER XII. SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES. i. Social Gatherings. Sociability has characterized the Eliot Church. More than one stranger has confessed to never having witnessed this in equal measure elsewhere. It has been due partly to the circumstance of wide diversities of birth¬ place and condition, which suggest a special need of culti¬ vating acquaintance. Now and then there would be an individual who complained of neglect, and however many might call, had no idea of any reciprocal duty, but con¬ tinued to sulk in unamiable seclusion. I have never known a oeople who, in general, showed an equal readi¬ ness for fraternizing. I remarked this early. Promptness in cordial greetings and social gatherings was noticeable. The open hand for salutation was also a generous hand. At the present day surprise parties, for instance, are not so much in vogue as formerly. They began here when I began housekeeping, and there was occasion all along for me to notice an emphatically practical element that en¬ tered into such gatherings. A thoughtful kindness and tact were shown by ladies in making such preparations as would secure carpets against injury, and secure the family against expense. A delicate considerateness was shown in regard to domestic needs, the needs of my ELIOT MEMORIAL. I S° library, and not less in the way these wants were sup¬ plied. The gentlemen showed their preference for hard money, in that a purse — never small nor light — would usually be left on the study table. One example will show the way things were managed. I was invited by my former hostess to take tea with her, and accordingly did so, excusing myself at eight o’clock on account of an en¬ gagement to meet Dr. Anderson, who was to be at my study with Deputation documents. I hurried home, and on opening the street door a flood of gaslight was dis¬ charged from all the burners in the house, revealing a party of not less than two hundred friends, all with beam¬ ing faces, who instantly began to sing one of my favorite hymns. Of course I was surprised and a little confused, for the remotest suspicion of what was going on had not crossed my mind. Mr. Henry Hill then stated in a very pleasant way that the ladies and others wished to wel¬ come me home. At nine o’clock I was shown to the dining-room where was a table spread most amply and beautifully. Birthdays brought a sort of surprise, partly distributed into calls of small groups or of individuals. The postman brought notes of congratulation, and messengers brought flowers. The Thirtieth of April was invariably brightened and perfumed — as it still is — by choice tokens selected at the greenhouse. Cards accompanying remembrancers, beautiful or useful, came pretty punctually from different parts of the country and sometimes from beyond sea. It ANNIVERSARIES. I S I was not easy — and to this day is not easy — to keep back tears of grateful gladness. 2. Anniversaries. Anniversaries of installation were observed. Propo¬ sals for that purpose came from the people, who issued printed invitations. On Lord’s Day, evening of July 21, 1867, came the twenty-fifth anniversary of my settlement. Eight or more clergymen were present, each taking some part in the ser¬ vices of the occasion. The next evening, Monday the 22d, there was a gathering for social greetings at six o’clock in the chapel. Mr. Laban S. Beecher called to order, wel¬ comed old friends and all to the anniversary, made state¬ ments regarding the pastor, and proposed that they sing a part of the hymn, “ Blest be the tie that binds.” Mr. Eben- ezer Wheelwright of Newburyport, a former member of the church, spoke at some length. Before adjournment to the church for more public exercises, being called upon for a response, I closed by remarking that if, at the Grand Paris Exposition then in progress, a prize had been offered for the best church, the most united, kind and considerate people in any land, I knew who would win the prize. And further, pastors and others, some from the neighbor¬ hood, some from a distance, were declared to belong to the Legion of Honor, for “ Kind hearts are more than coronets.” * 5 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. At the public evening exercises about thirty ministers were present, several of whom took part, among them Dr. N. Adams, who gave the right hand of fellowship twenty- five years before. 1 The next occasion of the same kind falls into the period subsequent to 1871, and yet it, as well as one or two other gatherings of that time, should have a word. Printed invitations were issued by a Committee of Arrange¬ ments. The title-page of a book, which gives an account of the proceeding, and which that committee prepared for publication, announces “A Jubilee, the Fiftieth Anniver¬ sary of the Settlement,” etc. “Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year.” Lev. 25 : 10. The committee state that “ the pro¬ ceedings were carried out with entire success and with much satisfaction to all concerned. On Lord’s Day morn¬ ing, the 25th of September, Dr. Thompson delivered the discourse, the devotional exercises being conducted by the Associate Pastor, Dr. B. F. Hamilton, by Dr. Daniel L. Furber of Newton Centre, and the Rev. Isaac C. White, of Scotland, Mass. On the platform and in front of the pulpit was an ample supply of palms, ferns and flowers tastefully arranged, while above the pulpit hung the motto, ‘ Hallow the Fiftieth Year,’ flanked by the dates 1842- 1892, the letters being done in flowers. Exercises on the evening of the same day, and also on the evening of Wednesday the 28th took place. 1 A Memorial of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Settlement of Rev. A. C. Thompson, d. d., Pastor of the Eliot Church. Riverside Press. 1868. RECEPTIONS. 1 53 “ The volume entitled ‘ Our Birthdays,’ referred to by Dr. Laurie in his address Sunday evening, came from the press the day before, and is dedicated ‘To the members of the Eliot Congregation, who have reached or may yet reach seventy years of age and upwards, as a remem¬ brancer of the eightieth anniversary of birth and fiftieth anniversary of ordination, by their friend, the Senior Pas¬ tor.’ These birthday greetings range from seventy-one to one hundred. The Committee have the gratification of handing a copy of Dr. Thompson’s book to those mem¬ bers of the church now living whose age falls within the limits thus specified.” j. Receptions. In 1850 two Hawaiian princes came to this country on an official visit. They were accompanied by Dr. Ger- ritt P. Judd, who had been a missionary physician at the Sandwich Islands, but was then a confidential minister of the king. Mr. Alvah Kittredge, our senior deacon, had a sister who was the wife of Rev. Ephraim W. Clark, a mis¬ sionary at the Islands; Mr. Kittredge also had the most commodious dwelling of any one in our congregation, and a heart not less hospitably capacious than his house. He gave a reception to the foreigners, and Roxbury never before witnessed such a crowd on such an occasion, nor had ever before had a visit of such representatives of roy¬ alty. No two sons of a European monarch would have J 54 ELIOT MEMORIAL. shown a finer physique or have demeaned themselves with more propriety and perhaps not with more of grace than these young men from the Pacific islands, which were then recently reclaimed from barbarism. Their perfectly courteous bearing was a monumental witness to the civil¬ izing power of Christianity and to the fidelity of the mis¬ sionaries of the American Board. The princes extended their visit to Europe. One of them afterwards came to the throne as Kamehameha IV, and dying in 1863, was succeeded by his younger brother, Kamehameha V. On a comparatively reduced scale receptions took place when twenty-fifth anniversaries of marriage came round. The same, too, in naturally fewer cases when golden weddings occurred. In December, 1857, came that of Mr. and Mrs. Abel Baker, then living in Brookline. Their youngest son made the arrangements and bore the ex¬ penses. The grounds were lighted in all directions with Syrian lanterns, having various colored lights. The deco¬ rations of evergreens and flowers were abundant and taste¬ ful. It was a fairy evening scene. About a hundred guests assembled to greet the venerable and worthy couple. The bride when married in 1807 was sixteen, and even at this time (1857) had more color and fresh¬ ness of expression than most young women of that age. Another of these occasions was the jubilee anniver¬ sary of the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Austin Richards, 19th of December, 1877. Two of his brothers, then deceased, had been missionaries, one in the Sandwich Islands, the other RECEPTIONS. I 55 in the Island of Ceylon, from whose grave I was able to hand a memorial flower along with Dr. N. Adams’ “ At Eventide.” It was in the year just named that Dr. Rufus Ander¬ son, senior secretary of the American Board, made an official visit to the Hawaiian Islands. The distance by way of the Isthmus of Darien is about four thousand miles. Upon his return in September we had a public meeting of welcome. This was the fourth similar visit of his in different parts of the world. Mrs. Anderson and a daughter accompanied him. On the return voyage in the Pacific their steamer encountered a terrific storm, and it seemed for a time as if all on board must be lost. Dr. Anderson said little about perils of the sea, but occupied an hour in giving the results of Christian labor at the Islands. Our church was filled, and the congregation rose and sung, — “ How are thy servants blest, O Lord.” All “ were glad of the coming of Fortunatus.” The fiftieth anniversary, January 8, 1877, °f Dr. and Mrs. Anderson’s marriage was a specially gratifying occa¬ sion. But for the limitation of their strength the obser¬ vance would have taken place in the church, which would no doubt have been filled. Only the chapel, however, was opened and invitations were accordingly restricted in num¬ ber. The children of the family and grandchildren were present, besides about one hundred and fifty friends, among whom were eighteen ministers. These had chiefly ELIOT MEMORIAL. 156 been Dr. Anderson’s official and professional associates. A beautiful arbor had been erected at the head of the chapel, its framework covered with evergreen, and over the front a floral crown with a basket of flowers sus¬ pended beneath. At either end of the arch was a date, 1827-1877, whilst in the centre was a monogram, “A., H.” — H being the initial of her family name when Eliza Hill was a bride, and when the marriage service was solemnized by Rev. Aaron Hovey at Saybrook, Connec¬ ticut. In the rear were two floral crosses with a wreath between them. No couple more revered and beloved ever sat beneath an arbor of livelier green, behind each of whom was a symbol of that to which, in trust, hope and service they had long been jointly loyal. For forty years they had been connected with the Eliot Church, and Dr. Anderson had for full half a century been officially connected with the American Board of Foreign Missions. He was now in his eighty-first year, of noble presence, tall, and as erect as any young man then present. After an hour spent in congratulations a collation was served. It was understood that no speeches were to be made, but being urged to say something, I could hardly do less than convey a hearty welcome to all the guests, stating that among them, be¬ sides two whose similar anniversaries had already occurred, there was one who would celebrate a golden wedding in the Spring following, and another who would do the same in the Autumn of that year. Attention was directed CIVIL WAR TIME. *57 to a friend in the crowd, whose bridal veil of more than fifty years before was the head-dress of that afternoon. Letters of greeting, some from missionaries abroad and from other friends were in hand, but time to hear them then failed. A short time before that I had occasion to write on business to the venerable Dr. Charles Hodge of Princeton, in his eightieth year, who had been longer engaged in theological education than any other man in the country, and who was a personal friend of Dr. Ander¬ son. In a postscript I referred to the approaching fiftieth anniversary. At the close of, his letter in reply, Dr. Hodge said, “ Our dear friend, Dr. Rufus Anderson, has had a golden life. It is meet he should have a golden wedding before he gets his golden crown. Give him my best love with congratulations, and beg him to help by his prayers his tottering brethren.” The Junior Pastor, Rev. Mr. Hamilton, read selections of Scripture, a prayer followed, and Dr. Anderson pronounced the benediction. 4. Civil War Time. The first rebel shot fired at Fort Sumpter struck thousands of hearts north of Mason and Dixon’s line. The shock was tremendous; the waking up of the general mind was wonderful. A common sentiment thrilled all loyal citizens. Hundreds upon hundreds of national flags might soon be seen floating, look which way you might. ELIOT MEMORIAL. J 5 8 Conversation, reading, preaching turned largely upon this theme. There was not a copper-head in our congrega¬ tion. Ladies were busy and school girls, too, in sewing for the army. Women in the eighties and one who was ninety knit faster than ever before. An immediate social effect was striking. Citizens who had never before spoken to one another at once grew companionable. A deep interest in volunteers was manifested. Capt. Ebenezer Stone, now Colonel Stone, brought his company to church of a Sunday morning in May, 1861. The Stars and Stripes fell gracefully though not ostentatiously from the Bible-stand over the table in front. A sermon on The Soldier and the Bible , from the text “ And take the helmet of salvation,” was preached. After the sermon I pre¬ sented each of the officers and men of the company, at the hands of our deacons, a copy of the Psalms and New Testament bound together and appropriately for the knap¬ sack. The congregation then sang America , and they sang with a will. On the evening of September 22 there was a union prayer meeting at the First Baptist Church. The day had been rainy, the walking was bad, and approach to the church difficult owing to street repairs, yet the house including the galleries was thronged. When the national Fast Day came the attendance upon morning worship in our church was larger than on any previous similar occa¬ sion, and at the social meeting in the afternoon the lec¬ ture room was well filled. CIVIL WAR TIME. 159 Lord’s Day, August 31, 1862, was a memorable day with us. Just before the hour of morning service a mes¬ senger from the Mayor came in great haste, announcing the second defeat of our Union army at Bull Run, and the urgent need of hospital supplies for the wounded. This word was at once communicated to the congrega¬ tion. Dr. William Adams of New York, who was spend¬ ing the day with me, merely offered prayer and the assembly was dismissed. People hastened to their homes for articles which had been named from the pulpit. Boxes in large number were required, and soon filled the lecture room as well as the sidewalk in front. The sound of hammers resounded for awhile, but prayers went up amidst the confusion. Before many hours had passed a freight-train with various supplies was on its way to the scene of suffering. Early and late during the war pastoral sympathies were constantly and strenuously wrought upon. Calls and interviews now come to mind with painful distinct¬ ness. I remember a young mother — with her first-born child only three weeks old —weeping profusely at the thought of her husband’s joining his regiment. As a gen¬ eral thing the women showed no less patriotism and read¬ iness for sacrifice than the men. In one home was a family of three widows; also a young man of promise only eighteen, who enlisted. His mother, then absent, wrote me, “ Why should my whole head grow sick and my whole heart faint in view of this new trial, when I have ELIOT MEMORIAL. 160 so often felt the loving presence of my Heavenly Father’s sustaining arm and have heard the whisper, ‘ As thy days, so shall thy strength be ? ’ Our country is in peril and calls loudly to her sons to come forward and hold up the standard of Liberty. I will not shrink though it take my own, my precious first-born son. I can make no dearer offering and I would make it cheerfully.” I went with the letter and read it to the writer’s aged mother, the young man’s grandmother. “ Well,” she remarked, “ I am glad Lucy can give him up, and I am glad this is the sixth grandson that I have given up for the army.” As one volunteer after another was making ready to leave home, or had reached that trying hour, there were fre¬ quent interviews with families and individuals, little keep¬ sakes to be passed, cheering words to be said, perhaps prayer to be offered. Mothers, wives and sisters found it hard to suppress tears as month after month of anxiety went by. The prevailing expression of countenance throughout the community underwent a change; so, too, the rate of movement and general demeanor. There were only a few in our congregation who had not per¬ sonal occasion, more or less immediate, for solicitude about some regiment in the service. It required no effort on my part to enter into the feelings of others. When the Massachusetts Forty-fifth was mustered on Boston Common for the presentation of colors, thousands, literally thousands of friends were there for leave-taking. As the order was given to fall into line, I assisted my CIVIL WAR TIME. 161 daughter in buckling the knapsack on to my only son. We kissed him good-by, a robust and cheerful young man. The next time we saw him he was haggard and prostrate with malarial fever brought from North Caro¬ lina. The whole number from our congregation in the army and navy was about fifty, of whom nine were only sons. Forty-two individuals- of the congregation had brothers in the army; two ladies had each a grandson; another had five grandsons, and yet another had six. Eleven persons had sons belonging elsewhere than in Roxbury who enlisted. Fifteen of our friends lost rela¬ tives — two losing husbands, five losing sons, and seven losing brothers. But we heard of no desertion, nor any¬ thing dishonorable on the part of any of them; we did hear of fidelity and bravery. One young man in his nine¬ teenth year wrote expressing a new-found Christian hope. He became hospital steward at Roanoke Island, and asked for religious books and tracts to distribute among the sick and wounded. Another young man, a member of our church, on board the Minnesota , in one of his let¬ ters said, “ I have been engaged in battle on two occa¬ sions at Hatteras Inlet, and in an encounter with the Merrimac. I am expecting soon to be amidst scenes of conflict and death. I take this opportunity to inform you that I enjoy a blessed hope, which gives me great com¬ fort and peace of mind in the hour of danger. Yes, Jesus is precious to me. I believe that his precious blood has cleansed me from my sins and reconciled my sinful soul 162 ELIOT MEMORIAL. to God. I long to feel more fully the weight of those words of the Apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ; to die is gain.” More than one death of our soldiers was due not to fatality on the field but to sickness in the hospital. Re¬ mains were brought home for interment, and a public funeral service took place. That of Sergeant J. D. Loker occurred early in January, 1863. The captain of the com¬ pany wrote : “ He was an honorable, high-souled man ; one whom I regret of all others to see laid low; ” and the colonel also, “ His death is a loss to the regiment that cannot be replaced.” Later in the same month came the funeral of Robert M. Carson in the Mission Chapel. He was a man of truly excellent Christian character. The address on that occasion having been printed, a copy was sent to the Rev. Mr. Gage, chaplain at the hospital in Alexandria where our friend died. He read it as an afternoon sermon to the soldiers, who expressed so much interest that he sent for a hundred copies. After the first five hundred had been printed a friend in the Eliot Church ordered seventeen hundred more. “ Them that honor me, I will honor.” It was a noteworthy circum¬ stance that, up to this time, the three funeral discourses of mine which had been requested for publication were occasioned by the decease of perhaps the three obscurest members of the Eliot Church. But the most impressive mortuary service during this war came after the battle of Antietam. The remains of fourteen soldiers belonging SICKNESS AND ABSENCES. 163 to a Roxbury company were brought to one of our churches. It was an unusual sight to look down an aisle and see none but mourners in the crowded pews. A brilliant young nephew of mine, an officer in a Connec¬ ticut regiment, fell in that terrible engagement. I hardly need add that my constant personal intercourse with friends who had great interests at stake in the war, cor¬ respondence with many who were in the service, the news of disasters, sickness and deaths, occasioned insomnia and a disabling disturbance of the nervous system. 5. Sickness and Absences. If any man needs robust health it is the minister. He needs it in his study; he needs it for the pulpit; he needs it as a preventive to manifold morbid liabilities, both mental and spiritual. Insufficient muscular exercise and unwise brain work cost many a one his comfort and continued usefulness. The man who shall prepare an adequately effective book on clerical hygiene will be a benefactor of the profession and of the church. True, the pastor’s ill-health may prove a helpful experience in promoting sympathy with the feeble and suffering mem¬ bers of his flock. If it fails of that, it fails of one most appropriate result, and to lose personally sanctified bene¬ fits of sickness is indeed a great loss. John Wesley could speak of a “ friendly fever,” and he learned how to be grateful for such a visitation; “ God does chasten me 164 ELIOT MEMORIAL. with pain,” said he, “ yea, all my bones with strong pain, but I thank him for all, I bless him for all!” In bodily presence Paul was weak; and he speaks of his son Timothy’s often infirmities. All along these eighteen hundred years the divine hand has laid many a minister on his back; but has it not been that he might the more devoutly look upward? The sick room teaches some things that cannot be learned in the library, and one is to bear as well as to do. I make no profession of resemblance to Richard Bax¬ ter in more than a single respect. Referring to the man in the Gospel, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years, Baxter speaks of “ The like discipline of fifty-eight years ” in his own case. It is now fifty-eight years since my ordi¬ nation, and. during that period there has been scarcely an entire week of entire health. During the time of my more active and more responsible pastorate (1842-1871) I lost upon an average one day each week from sick-head- aches. Toward the close of his life, Rev. Sela B. Treat, a secretary of the American Board, told me that he had never had a headache. It seemed incredible. So, too, what Dr. John Pierce of Brookline, in his last sickness said to a friend, that for nearly forty years he had not known what it was to have a physical infirmity worth men¬ tioning; and not less in the life of Theodore Beza the statement that “ He yielded up his spirit to God, A. D., 1605, Ae. 86. He used to say that he never knew what it was to have a headache.” Occasionally the illness of SICKNESS AND ABSENCES. i6 5 which I speak was temporary, yet for twenty-four hours completely disabling. Sometimes it continued two and even three days. This, of course, reduced not a little the time and strength for active effort. It did not materially relieve the matter to be told that Basil suffered in the same way, and that Chrysostom, too, in his later years was subject to an inveterate headache. The chief resulting trial from this and other ailments was the interference with public duties. Interruption to pulpit and parochial labor, brief or lengthened, occurred repeatedly. The longest absence, that of fifteen months on a deputational visit to missions in India, was not, to be sure, owing to sickness, though encouraged by physi¬ cians as probably beneficial to health. It is to be ob¬ served that our Great Physician never consults us con¬ cerning the time or form of physical disabilities. One may groan without grumbling; but it must be confessed that I never attained to the experience of Thomas Adam (1701-1784), in whose “Private Thoughts” is this record: “ Blessed be God for all his favors, and particularly for the special mercy of bodily pain.” The chronic ailment above referred to in no wise interfered with various other special attacks. Soon after I commenced housekeeping there came a fever that kept me out of the pulpit for three months. Nervous prostra¬ tion and prolonged insomnia sent me to the West Indies for a five months’ rest in 1851-1852. The same nervous disturbance occasioned a medical order the next year for i6 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. a month’s recreation in Virginia; and in 1862 a broken arm kept me the same length of time from preaching, till I was able to go into the pulpit with the invalid member in a sling. Three-fourths of the next twelve months (1864-1865) were lost to official labor by reason of a slow fever and neuralgia. A similar invasion of subsequent weakness led to a month’s loss of working time. In the aggregate, two years’ time was thus given up to invalidism. If a complete though unsavory enumeration of ailments were to be given, mention would have to be made of pleurisy occurring twice, of frequent rheumatism, of. chills and fever after exposures west of the Mississippi, and even an undignified whooping cough. A paroxysm would come on just before and just after, but happily never in the midst of a public service. A serious embarrassment resulted from weakness of the eyes. This seemed to be owing to the minute poison¬ ous dust which was encountered when crossing the Afri¬ can desert in 1854. Persistent inflammation of the eye¬ lids followed for years. It became necessary to employ an amanuensis, though an expensive luxury. For the last forty-six years most of my manuscripts, letters included, have not been in my own hand. Hence a good deal of undeserved credit has been imputed to me on the score of caligraphy. In a few instances sudden illness interrupted public services. Once in September, 1849, I was taken so ill in the midst of a morning’s discourse as to be obliged to SICKNESS AND ABSENCES. 167 leave the pulpit and to be carried home. In two other instances, having occasion to deliver by request sermons on special subjects, I had to stop midway in the delivery. But each time Rev. Dr. J. O. Means, being in the pulpit with me, proceeded with the discourse, till by the use of smelling-bottles and other devices faintness so far yielded that I was able to resume preaching. At length came the consummate trial of professional life. It was not so much bodily suffering as a medical injunction enforcing silence in the pulpit. Sciatica had become excruciating. A Boston expert, in whose hands I had been for two months in the early part of 1871, wrote me: “ From long experience in such cases, I must tell you that it is my opinion that you probably will not get rid of it while you continue your mental labors. I believe it is not a simple local sciatica but a manifestation of deranged nervous system that absolutely calls for rest, protracted rest for the nerve centers, such as a long sea voyage could do, or some such absence from study, library and pulpit.” After a thorough examination in May of that year by consulting physicians, Dr. John Jefferies gave his own, which was also a joint opinion: “ He has an important disease of the nervous system, the nature of which renders it impossible that he should be restored to future usefulness, without an entire freedom from all men¬ tal labor and other exciting causes for an indefinite period of time. The tendency of his complaint is to in¬ crease, and it certainly will do so if he continues in those 168 ELIOT MEMORIAL. occupations which have occasioned his present illness. I consider perfect rest from ministerial labors and from study as absolutely requisite for his recovery.” An ab¬ sence of fourteen months ensued, during which the ablest physicians in Edinburgh and elsewhere were consulted. A violent bronchitis set in. At one time while in Geneva, Switzerland, I gave up expectation of being able to return home. Meanwhile, as had been arranged with my hearty approval, Dr. B. F. Hamilton was installed colleague pas¬ tor, and on my return home anxiety regarding the pulpit was at an end. A finality also seemed to be reached when Dr. Bowditch, upon repeated examinations, advised me never to attempt preaching again, and that every winter should be spent in Florida, or some other latitude not less mild. It would be an unpardonable omission if there were a failure to speak of the kindness shown by the Eliot congregation during that third of a century. It was prompt and generous. There was a special overflow of kindness connected with seasons of suffering and debility. There were abundant tokens in flowers, in delicacies, in oral and written messages, in provision for pulpit sup¬ plies, and in pecuniary relief. The heartiness of greetings upon each return after an extended absence was memor¬ able. One instance occurs to me with special distinct¬ ness, when at a public reception an original hymn was sung, entitled, “A Welcome to our Beloved Pastor,” be¬ ginning : — SICKNESS AND ABSENCES. 169 “ Thanks, O Father! for thy mercy; Here beneath thy temple-dome, With united voice we praise thee, Who hast led our loved one home; Friend and Shepherd — Friend and Shepherd, To our souls’ embraces come.” The time will never come in this world or in the future world, when the good will and tenderness shown year after year can cease to awaken lively gratitude. CHAPTER XIII. COLONIAL CHURCHES. /. Vine Street Church. The existence of a Mission Sunday School and then of the Eliot City Missionary Society not unnaturally sug¬ gested the practicability of a new Congregational Church. I had come to entertain very decidedly the opinion that in every growing community there should be church sittings in advance of demand, and I urged this upon certain leading men year after year, arguing that two churches would grow as fast as if there were only one; that an enterprising spirit is both an element and an earnest of blessing; that it would be disastrous for us to rest con¬ tent with a snug little Zion of our own. The imperative need of a movement became at length obvious, for our place of worship was full. Within the six months pre¬ vious to the formation of a new church more than twenty unsuccessful applications were made for sittings. At that time there were thirteen cities in Massachusetts. On the score of valuation Roxbury stood next to Boston. Prop¬ erty averaged over nine hundred dollars per capita , yet in regard to orthodox church accommodations we were at the bottom of the list. Ecclesiastically we were the weakest of the thirteen. Formal action first took place at a meeting of the church, February 6, 1857, by the ap- VINE STREET CHURCH. 171 pointment of a committee to consider the expediency of the proposed measure. At the next meeting it was unani¬ mously agreed to set apart the following Friday as a day of special fasting and prayer in behalf of a deeper spiritual life and of a blessing upon the contemplated enterprise. Public services were accordingly held on that day, fore¬ noon, afternoon and evening. At one of them a back¬ slidden brother made confession, frank and evidently peni¬ tent, of his delinquencies. Such an act usually furnishes evidence of the Holy Spirit’s special presence. A large committee was then designated to take the steps required for constituting a new Christian brotherhood on Mt. Pleasant. That was a time of evidently growing religious interest among us; and it has since been an occasion for gratitude that the Vine Street, now Immanuel Church, was born and baptized amidst a revival. May that feature of its origin prove an augury of its abiding character! Appropriate preliminaries were soon completed. Twenty-six members of our church — a choice band, and including our most prominent office-bearer — formed the nucleus. In the letter dismissing them to a council, called for the purpose of recognizing the organization, there were honest words of tearful regret at the parting, and also the assurance of warm affection and a clear con¬ viction that the proceeding was demanded in the provi¬ dence of God. Said council met in our church; there, too, the installation of the first pastor, Rev. J. O. Means, took place a little later. The Articles of Faith and the Covenant of this mother church were adopted. 172 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Soon after came an extended letter, “ By vote and in behalf of the Vine Street Church:” “We thank you for your kind expressions of Christian love in connection with our dismission from your communion, and for the cor¬ diality with which you took part by your pastor and dele¬ gate in the doings and deliberations of the Council. We can never forget the tender farewell spoken to us by him whose ministrations it is your privilege still to enjoy; and our earnest prayer is that those ministrations may long be continued to you, and be blessed to your great spiritual enlargement and prosperity, and to the in-gathering of many precious souls now without hope and without God in the world.” Never did a church of Christ come into being under circumstances of greater harmony or warmer recipro¬ cal good-will. A rich blessing came at once to those who bade Godspeed to departing friends. Within three months from that withdrawal the same number as had been set apart for the new undertaking were welcomed to the Eliot Church. When the first anniversary of the new brotherhood came round, more additions had already been made to the older of the two than the former has contributed all told to the latter. The growth, harmony and efficiency of the Immanuel Church have been a con¬ stant delight to friends on Kenilworth Street. HIGHLAND CHURCH. 173 2. Highland Church . The gradual growth of the Sunday School and con¬ gregation on Parker Street occasioned great gratification, while it added not a little to my own cares and labors. Frequent visits were paid to that neighborhood, and especially to the center of operations. The reception given me at the Sunday School concert in September, 1864, recognized happy relations. There was a salutation with the singing of four stanzas which some one had com¬ posed for the occasion, the first of which opened,— “Welcome, welcome, Pastor dear, Welcome ever, welcome here; Welcome to our homes and hearts.” After the employment of an ordained city missionary commenced, one Sunday service with preaching was main¬ tained for the most part, successively in each of the two sections where city-mission work was carried on. Each of the two chapels built by the Society became the early home of a new church. Midway in 1868, Rev. Charles Mills, a wise man, a faithful and acceptable preacher, was engaged to conduct services on Parker Street. He soon gave his written opinion that the time had come for the organization of another church. Early in 1869 one of our prayer meetings was specially devoted to the sub¬ ject. At nearly the same time the Eliot City Missionary Society adopted a resolution that whenever a church is duly organized in connection with the Parker Street Chapel, 1 74 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the Executive Committee will recommend to the Society to transfer the property on that street to the new enter¬ prise. February 17, a letter requesting dismission to an ecclesiastical council was presented to the Eliot Church. It bore forty-three signatures. All the petitioners had been received during my pastorate, eighteen of them on con¬ fession of faith, and three I baptized in infancy. Mr. Moses Henry Day, whose name headed the list and who for eight years had been one of our deacons, spoke warmly in behalf of himself and others, of affection for the church and its pastor, the only pastor he had ever had. He re¬ peated a remark of a female friend who was in the orig¬ inal membership of the Vine Street colony, to the effect that her leaving was the greatest trial of her life. He could now say the same. One of the older and more prominent men in the retiring company expressed the same sentiment, stating that this was the sixth church with which he had been connected during a period of more than fifty years, and that this had proved the pleas¬ antest of all. In that group of two-score there were six nationalities represented, Norwegian, Irish, Scotch, Eng¬ lish, German and American; and seven religious denomi¬ nations, Old Kirk and Free Kirk of Scotland, English Wesleyan, Lutheran, German Reformed, and Congrega¬ tionalism besides one individual who had been a Roman Catholic. Such diversity, however, seemed not to interfere with harmony, at least there was no discord. Before the council met, one who had signed the request for dismis- WALNUT AVENUE CHURCH. J 7 S sion, Mr. Andrew H. Murk, died and his widow sent a request for remembrance in public prayer, as was then customary. The council for recognizing the church met March 3, and at the evening service I preached by request on the fundamental principles of Congregationalism. The Eliot Church had now again an experience of being weakened, and by the withdrawment of a larger number of members than in the previous movement. There was a mother’s mingled feeling of satisfaction and of sadness, as when a beloved daughter gives the good¬ bye kiss on leaving for her new home of independence and larger responsibilities. The Highland Congregation and Sunday School began at once to increase, the latter enrolling over four hundred scholars and thirty-nine teach¬ ers. Rev. Albert E. Dunning was installed September 29, 1870, and remained pastor till December 25, 1880. His successor, Rev. William R. Campbell, came to the pastorate October 12, 1881. 3. Walnut Avenue Church . The first swarm of bees is usually slow in leaving the hive. The next two swarms are more prompt. As re¬ gards the sentiment and movement of colonies the Eliot Church has found this true. We had been growing for nearly a quarter of a century before a kindred organiza¬ tion was formed on Mt. Pleasant. The sacred number of seven years thereafter had hardly gone by when I be- 176 ELIOT MEMORIAL. gan to talk about another movement of the same kind. Our city mission work and the growth of our mission Sunday School on Parker Street naturally suggested a result similar to that on Vine Street. In 1865 the matter became one of a good deal of conversation, and the ques¬ tion was, Shall the next church be started on Parker Street or Walnut Street, since known as Walnut Avenue? It was not long before a question arose, Shall there not be two new churches? The latter was advocated at more than one of our regular weekly meetings in the year just named. In December the matter was referred to a com¬ mittee, which reported, on the 22d of that month, for substance that the population of Roxbury already ex¬ ceeded twenty-eight thousand; that since the Vine Street Church was opened there had been an increase of about seven thousand; and that in each of the two places of Congregational worship there were only a few sittings to be had; that a Christian readiness to meet any new exigency by hearty and self-sacrificing cooperation would be a pledge of continued divine favor toward us. Three resolutions favoring church extension were adopted, one of which is the following: “ Resolved\ That while we should regret to part with so valuable a portion of our membership, we still hold ourselves ready, whenever mem¬ bers feel prepared to ask dismission with a view to being organized into a new church, to grant the same cordially bidding them Godspeed, pledging our sympathy and prayers, and feeling assured that we in turn shall enjoy WALNUT AVENUE CHURCH. 177 their kind and unfailing interest.” This was something over three years before the Highland brotherhood — the first of two then in mind — received organized form. The favoring sentiment of the Eliot Church and a readi¬ ness to aid continued. In the meantime, indeed almost simultaneously, a sec¬ tion of our members were arranging for a similar move¬ ment on Walnut Avenue. It was inevitable that the pas¬ tor of any church should, under such circumstances, con¬ jecture that his continued presence was at least one occa¬ sion for such an unprecedented exodus in two directions. Prominent individuals were consulted. A written state¬ ment, avowing readiness to resign, if that would be for the interest of the Eliot Church, was submitted to a meeting of the deacons, and a perfectly frank expression of opinions solicited. The conference resulted in an indi¬ vidual and collective assurance that universal respect and nearly universal affection was felt for the incumbent; that there was no reason why he should retire, and that such a step would bring disaster. One of the calmest and most conspicuous members said to me privately that if I re¬ signed he should sell his property and remove from the city, and that he was not alone in that conviction. In the Spring of 1868 a committee, appointed six months previously, reported recommending votes in favor of a church on Walnut Avenue, suggesting as a locality, “ Near Munroe Street,” and further that we would dele¬ gate some of our members, as well as invite the Vine i 7 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Street Church to do the same, in furtherance of the measure. In the autumn of 1869 the daily papers an- nounced meetings that had reference to a Congregational Society in the neighborhood of Walnut Avenue. There was not only no quarrel, but there was no schism and no unfriendly feeling. We had repeatedly taken action ex¬ pressive of interest in the matter and of readiness for •such church extension. Public worship was begun in Highland Hall on the first Sunday of October, 1870. Eighteen of the thirty-one teachers in our Sunday School, together with the superintendent and ninety of the schol¬ ars, and many others — among them the clerk and treas- urer of the pew proprietors, as well as six out of seven on the Prudential Committee — withdrew to the place named. It had privately been made known that the new enter¬ prise would “ in no sense be a colony from the Eliot Church, and that no communication would be made to the church by those engaged in the movement, till they should ask for letters of dismission.” An infelicity in the initial manner of this movement failed to interrupt our expectations and prayers for its success. December 9 seventy-one of our members were dismissed to a council called for the nineteenth of that month. At the afternoon session of the council Dr. Rufus Anderson made a state¬ ment that to the three younger brotherhoods of Boston Highlands the Eliot Church had dismissed a total of one hundred and sixty-six members, of which ninety-eight had been received by letter, and sixty-eight on confession of WALNUT AVENUE CHURCH. 179 faith, all of whom were received during the pastorate which began in July, 1842; that the admissions since that date had been five hundred and thirty by letter and four hundred and eighty on profession, in all ten hundred and ten; that dismissions were also made to the Shawmut Church, Boston, the Harvard Church, Brookline, and the Church of Jamaica Plain, when they were organized, as well as subsequently to each of them; but that notwith¬ standing these losses the Eliot Church and congregation were still larger than at the date before mentioned. The annual report of the Examining Committee of the Church for the year 1870, stated that while the superintendent, with more than half of the teachers and a large number of scholars in our Sunday School, were a part of the migration to Highland Hall October first, yet the subse¬ quent attendance had been the same as for the whole year; and further, that the attendance at our weekly church meeting during the same three months had not been below what it was for a considerable period previously. It was added that amidst the recent trial of parting with so many valued friends the tone of feeling in our church was of a gratifying character; that noteworthy hopeful¬ ness and harmony existed. Of the three hundred and eighty-five in our remaining membership more than one hundred and fifty were either non-residents or not worship¬ ping with us, thus leaving a virtual membership of only about two hundred. The aggregate of removals within less than two years l8o ELIOT MEMORIAL. was larger than ever left any church of our faith and order in the commonwealth in so short a period. It is also without parallel that, in the course of thirteen years any church of the same denomination in Massachusetts, if any one in the land, had sent out bodily three new churches, each a good-sized, vigorous band, giving promise of efficiency and success such as have followed. This is the more worthy of note, as between the years 1842 and 1871 fifteen of our Congregational churches in Boston and the immediate vicinity had lost separate existence. It should be added that the relations of the Eliot and the Walnut Avenue churches have been cordial, that no pastor was ever more heartily welcomed to the neighbor¬ hood, or ever showed himself more worthy of universal affection than our Dr. A. H. Plumb, whose pastorate now exceeds a quarter of a century. Being requested to take part in the services of the twenty-fifth anniversary of that church, I was glad to re¬ spond, and, at the close of an extended address, was glad to say what might be said of each one in the four that compose our goodly Highland fellowship: For flattery I have no words; for congratulations, many words. In view of the prosperity and the reputation of this brotherhood, I give thanks, and bring cordial saluta¬ tion. It is understood that you are social without being socialistic ; that you favor Christian union without the infusion of unchristian elements; that you are not eager to put on imported garments, some of them soiled, and WALNUT AVENUE CHURCH. 181 some fatally infected. You know how to be courageously firm without being belligerent; you propose to maintain “ unity of spirit in the bond ” — not in the bond of sand- rope laxity; not by assimilating the reputed excellencies of destructive criticism, or the supposed good things in Brahminism, Buddhism, and Mohammedanism, but “ en¬ deavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Numerous as are the tribes of God’s true Israel, each has a standard of its own, and also a blessing pecu¬ liar to itself; yet there is but one law, one altar of sac¬ rifice, one mercy-seat. You hold to a present universal priesthood of believers, not to sacerdotalism. You are not in the habit of limiting the grace of Christ to sacraments, nor of extolling the sacraments above the grace wh’.ch may, and may not accompany them. Thank God this is a Church which does not concentrate thought exclusively upon itself; a missionary Church that recognizes as neighbor the man who launches his boat on the Colum¬ bia or on the Rio Grande, on the Nile or on the Congo; on the Ganges or on the Euphrates. CHAPTER XIV. FELLOWSHIP - ECCLESIASTICAL AND MINISTERIAL. While every Congregational Church claims parity of rights for each of its members, and its own parity of rights with every other church, it accepts as fundamental the right and need of fellowship between churches. No particular brotherhood can suitably administer its internal affairs and carry on its evangelistic work without regard to others of the same faith and order. There is a com¬ munity of interests and aims that makes a certain amount of fellowship obligatory as truly as fellowship within an individual church. No less true is it that if one member in a denominational group suffer, all the members suffer with it. The brethren at Antioch are sure to have need sooner or later of sending to the breth¬ ren at Jerusalem for counsel. If it is true that secular corporations have no souls, here is a sacred body that should be all soul — in quick sympathy with its fellow Christian bodies. Congregational churches in a given vicinity constitute by their very existence an Evangelical Alliance. Each is a divine society, controllable by no out¬ side authority save the authority of Him who is head over all things, yet each is under bonds, recognized though invisible, to maintain such fraternal intercourse as obvious relations require. Each separate organization is an eccle- FELLOWSHIP. 183. siastical individual supposed never to stand in conceited, isolation, but gladly recognizing that “In the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom.” Such cooperative pro¬ cedure is consistent with all reasonable independence.. Each of the twelve tribes has its own distinctive standard and character, while there is but one host, one tabernacle,, one altar and one mercy-seat. In the Eliot Church there has never been any seri¬ ous division and still less any quarrel. During the period now specially under review (1842-1871) there was no occa¬ sion to call a council except for the ordination and instal¬ lation of the second pastor. The church was, however* invited to one hundred and thirty councils — nine for the organization of churches; four for such organization and settlement of a pastor; one for disbanding a church ; seventy-one for settlement of pastors; thirty-three for dis¬ mission of one pastor and settlement of another; twelve for other purposes. This church has shared regularly and profitably in organized fellowship, such as has been furnished since 1861, at the semi-annual meetings of the Suffolk South Conference. At an earlier date there were less formal occasions of spontaneous neighborhood fellowship, which were a delight as well as decidedly helpful. For example* toward the close of 1866 the Vine Street Church joined us by invitation in a eucharist, recognizing the special grace of God to us that year. Just one hundred mem¬ bers had been added to our number that twelve month, 184 ELIOT MEMORIAL. sixty-nine of them on first public profession of faith. Now and then tangible tokens evinced Christian regard. In February, 1862, occurred the dedication of a little chapel built by a handful of Hollanders. Three languages were used in the service, two German ministers being present besides the Dutch pastor and half a dozen American Congregationalists. It was a heroic effort by which those few foreigners supplied themselves with a place of worship. We could not deny ourselves the privilege of expressing sympathy and giving some assistance. Men, women and children all told amounted to only a little over a hundred, yet during that cold season, a time of business depres¬ sion, and though strangers in a strange land, they built themselves a chapel. None of them received more than a dollar a day. Several had small sums in the savings bank. Some, if not all of them, withdrew their deposits and contributed the whole. After working hard all day they would fish for smelts by night in the Back Bay. A friend of ours supported for a time their excellent pastor, the Rev. Mr. Van der Kreeke. At the installation of Rev. E. E. Strong over the John Eliot Church of South Natick, I presented to that brotherhood, in behalf of the Eliot Church, Roxbury, a pulpit Bible and Hymn-Book; and on another occasion our ladies presented a silver communion service to the beloved band which formed the Vine Street Church. These and like things confirmed pleasant relations, and called forth gratifying reciprocal expressions. FELLOWSHIP. I8 5 When Dr. Anderson and myself started (1853) on a deputational visit to missions in India, the Eliot Church handed us a letter of warm Christian greeting to churches in that land, which were under the care of the American Board. At the same time a member of the congregation gave me privately a sum of money to be spent at my dis¬ cretion on our mission fields. It enabled me to furnish, where there was special need, more than one native church with a plain sacramental service. In twelve in¬ stances the letter-missive, which had been translated into Marathi and Tamil, was communicated with the very happiest effect. The interval of more than ten thousand miles was no bar to a glow of spiritual fellowship. A reacting stimulus took place when word was sent home, “ The churches of Asia salute you.” Among pastors and certain other ministers there was much hearty and hallowed communion. Sometimes upon the suggestion of one in their circle who felt specially moved to that end, it took the form of a Retreat. Such private reunions for prayer, for the contemplation of Scrip¬ ture truth and the unfolding of personal experience, were peculiarly sacred. Heart touched heart as at no other time. With a little less freedom, yet without publicity, were such gatherings as, for example, that of a pastoral association of Boston and vicinity, in January, 1847. -A day was devoted quietly to associated prayer with fasting, in the vestry of Old South Church. Coming together at ten o’clock in the forenoon the brethren remained in ses- i86 ELIOT MEMORIAL. sion, except a half-hour’s recess, till past the middle of the afternoon. It was a day memorable for earnestness, freedom and tenderness of religious intercourse. The savor of holy sympathies that were awakened, and the descent of magnetism from beyond the clouds, were a lasting benediction. Pulpit interchanges were one obvious form of fellow¬ ship, a fellowship at once clerical and semi-ecclesiastical. Such exchanges were chiefly with brethren in the neigh¬ borhood, and for only one of the public Lord’s Day ser¬ vices. When such exchanges were with Drs. N. Adams, Kirk, Plumb, Laurie, J. H. Means, and J. O. Means, special gratification was pretty sure to be expressed by many in the congregation. The prevailing sentiment seemed to be what is embodied in a Tamil proverb, “No matter who pounds it if it is rice.” Occasionally an arrangement for both parts of the day occurred and with a brother at some distance. In such cases I always went the Saturday before. On the way to Braintree for an exchange with Dr. R. S. Storrs, Sr., I encountered a specimen of supreme Yankee inquisitiveness. A seat- mate in the car asked: “Stop at Braintree?” “Yes.” “ Know Dr. Storrs ? ” “ O yes ! ” “ Smart old man. Does he preach at home tomorrow?” “No, I exchange with him.” “ Well now, I reckoned you was a preacher when I first saw you. Where do you preach when you are at home ? ” “ Roxbury.” “ Pshaw, I married in Rox- bury. What name might you have ? ” “ Thompson.” FELLOWSHIP. 1:87 “ D’ ye know Anderson ? Smart fellow.” At that moment the conductor called out Braintree to the relief of at least one passenger. In one instance an unusually unin¬ teresting minister occupied our Eliot pulpit in the fore¬ noon, and it was supposed would do so in the afternoon. A lady declared it was unendurable, and she must have something better. Accordingly under a broiling July sun she walked to the Pine Street Church, then the nearest in Boston, in order to hear Dr. Austin Phelps. To her dismay, she had to listen to the same preacher and the same sermon which disgusted her earlier in the day. Petty embarrassments would sometimes occur, owing to a want of uniformity among our churches in the order and number of parts in a service. In one instance there being needlessly two different collections of hymns at hand, I made selection from the wrong book. At one period and in one of the city churches it was customary for a leading man in the musical world to select a hymn to follow the sermon, and place the number in conspicu¬ ous figures on the front of the organ. The preacher, whatever his own preference, was expected to accept this annoying dictation. On an exchange a note from one of the pastors ran as follows: “ Our choir can sing anything you may select, with about equal bad taste, dis¬ cord and confusion.” Of preachers who at my request kindly occupied the pulpit, making a noteworthy impression, several come to recollection with special distinctness. Some of them were ELIOT MEMORIAL. 188 foreigners, as Pastor Fisch of Paris; also Rev. Mr. Chal¬ mers, a nephew of Dr. Thomas Chalmers, a member of the Deputation from the Free Church of Scotland, soon after the disruption. We took up a collection in aid of their sustentation fund. Twice we had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Lord, President of Dartmouth College, one of whose sons was at that time worshiping with us* Rev. William G. T. Shedd, d. d., ll. d., then a professor at Andover, preached for me two or three times. He had but little action; was perfectly free from everything mere¬ tricious and apparently from all thought of himself. He furnished a fine illustration of the power of lucid thinking and cogent reasoning, clothed in language devoid of a single superfluous word, to hold the fixed attention of every one in the congregation. The last time Dr. Lyman Beecher preached for me he exhibited some of the signs of advanced years. Of oratorical graces there were none; but once well on in his discourse, up went the spectacles to the top of his head, and up roused the slumbering giant to something of his earlier force and to the evident gratification of all present. After the service I accompanied him to the porch, where his old friend, Dr. Anderson, gave the greet¬ ing, “ Dr. Beecher, may you live forever! ” “I ’spect to,” replied the old man. Most of the returned foreign missionaries, who accom¬ panied me to the pulpit, were heard with great acceptance. Such, for example, was Dr. Lindley from South Africa. FELLOWSHIP. 189- Dr. Thomas Laurie was always listened to with marked attention and profit. He had been supplying the pulpit when I came to Roxbury in 1842, and was then under appointment as a missionary to Persia. Although he had not quite attained to majority, he was a man of power. The same characteristics as a preacher showed them¬ selves then as after his return and in the later years of his ministry — modesty, self-forgetfulness, an ardor glowing in his own soul that kindled responsive warmth, and even fire. North Britain has perhaps sent no man to this country who brought more of the Ingenium praefer- vidum Scotorum. Several of the most intelligent mem¬ bers of the church have told me that they were never so much moved and elevated by the unction of any man’s prayers as by his. Another was the Rev. Dr. William Goodell of Con¬ stantinople, when at home on a furlough. He made no attempt at oratory. His style was chaste. Seriousness and earnestness characterized every part of the service. At the same time an occasional sub-tincture of quaint¬ ness or of unpremeditated humor would relax the features of a delighted audience. No listener could forget him or forget the Turks. I said to him, “ Father Goodell, what is to be the future of the Turkish Empire?” “That,” said he, “is a question I put to Lord Stratford de Red- cliff e, and his answer was, ‘ It depends very much upon the divine decrees.’ ” Dr. Daniel Poor, after reaching home on his furlough. igo ELIOT MEMORIAL. spent the first Sabbath with me. Being introduced to the audience, he rose and without naming chapter or book said, in a clear tone and with much deliberation, “ The churches of Asia salute you; ” turning to the right, “ The churches of Asia salute you; ” then again to the left, “ The churches of Asia salute you.” By that time old and young were ready to rise from their seats and return the salutation. “ First Corinthians, sixteenth chap¬ ter, nineteenth verse,” was announced as the text ; and the most riveted attention was given him till the close of a narrative discourse. Six years after that, as suffering from sick-headache I reclined on a lounge at Manepy in Ceylon, Mrs. Poor, who had just become a widow, placed a pillow under my head and observed, “You are lying where Dr. Poor died.” His last whis¬ pered words were, “Joy, Joy! Hallelujah!” and I thought, What a salutation must ransomed natives have given the dear man as he joined them on high! BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. CHAPTER XV. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. The history of any church or society without pen photographs of prominent members will be incomplete. Such members never fail to give tone to an organization, and especially in its earlier days. Modification of the type first taken on is seldom effected soon. In the primitive years of the Eliot Church and Society leading men were characterized by superior intelligence and sound judgment. The lists of individuals which follow are by no means exhaustive of names entitled to commemora¬ tive record. They are arranged with regard to corre¬ spondence in position, profession, and the like, or with regard to the order of time. Material at hand has had influence in determining the selection of names. It will be particularly noticed that these friends were in the church or congregation prior to the autumn of 1871, at which time Dr. B. F. Hamilton became the associate pas¬ tor. Some of them remained here for a longer or shorter time after that date. THE DIACONATE. The Congregational churches of New England have from the first owed much to those holding this office. No set of men, save ministers of the Word, have as a 196 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the summer of the year following, his house became the rendezvous for those who were interested in the proposed enterprise. His house remained always most hospitable. The first meeting of the Eliot Society was called to order by him, and as chairman of a committee he pre¬ sented a code of by-laws for the government of the same. From that time onward during many years he held ofifice of some kind in the Society. He was chosen one of the first two deacons of the church, November 6, 1834, and for over two score years faithfully discharged the duties of that office. He was chosen superintendent of the Eliot Sunday School at the time of its organization, a position which he had held for seven years in connection with one of the largest similar schools in Boston. In this office he continued for a quarter of a century, and on retiring from that post (1859) he took charge of a Bible class of young ladies, which was retained by him till the day of his death, at the age of seventy-seven. Mount Vernon, N. H., was his birthplace. There was never occasion to record against Mr. Kit- tredge needless absence or tardiness at any engagement, secular or religious. During the first eight years of the Roxbury City Government he was a member of the Com¬ mon Council or the Board of Aldermen. He was one of the chief originators of our beautiful Forest Hills Ceme¬ tery, earnestly advocating the purchase of a tract of land for that purpose. He was for fifteen years Chairman of THE DIACONATE. I 9 7 the Commissioners, and then President of the Board of Trustees till his death. From the first his time was largely devoted, and at length almost exclusively devoted to the cemetery. For many years he was superintendent of that attractive place of sepulture, and all his services were entirely gratuitous. His own interment there did not occur till more than fifteen thousand interments had taken place in the same sacred inclosure. The total number of interments up to the present time exceeds thirty-one thousand. Mr. Kittredge was an unaffectedly modest man — never forward, yet never shrinking from duty. Decided without being opinionated he was acknowledged to be a wise counsellor, and one of the very pleasantest of men to work with. His smile, frequent and genial, lighted up a countenance always pleasing; but he never laughed boisterously. Before his decease he had seen over twelve hundred welcomed to membership in the Eliot Church, and an aggregate of nearly a thousand gathered into the three young church families, which went out from this central home. Mr. Kittredge was a humble, devout, consistent Chris¬ tian. The great spiritual crisis took place when he was twelve years of age. He himself, his family, the Eliot Church, and the world at large owe not a little to a believing New Hampshire mother. 198 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 2. WILLIAM G. LAMBERT. Another of the two officers first elected was Mr. Lambert. He came from Rowley at sixteen years of age, having prepared for college, but weak eyes obliged him to give up study. He first connected himself with the Park Street Church. His services and influence in the Eliot Church were highly valued, and when he removed to New York (1839) no little regret was felt. Deacon Lambert was one of the original members of the Broadway Tabernacle Church in 1840. Connected with his removal from the Eliot Church there was a pecu¬ liarity. The letter of recommendation bore date August 7, 1840, but Deacon Lambert’s formal resignation of the office which he had held did not take place till the fol¬ lowing year, 1841. By the transfer of membership the official position lapsed necessarily. No one can properly hold that office in a church of which he is not a member. The mistake on the part of Deacon Lambert was that in requesting dismission he did not at the same time com¬ municate his resignation of office. In New York, Deacon Lambert held many respon¬ sible positions in financial and commercial enterprises. He was one of the founders of the Equitable Life In¬ surance Company. Not long after removing to that city he joined the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, but subsequently renewed his connection with the Tabernacle Church, and there held the office of deacon for many THE DIACONATE. 1 99 years, indeed till his death, December 24, 1882. Among the resolutions adopted by the church in New York at that time are the two following: “ Be it Resolved , That while we mourn our loss, we give hearty thanks to our Heavenly Father that he has so long spared to us a beloved and revered office-bearer, and favored us for so many years with his presence and counsel, preserving him to a good old age with all his faculties in vigorous exercise, so that, in spite of his more than four-score years, we can almost say of him as of the Hebrew lawgiver, ‘ His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.’ “ Resolved , That we cherish Deacon Lambert’s memory as a wise counsellor, a faithful friend, an earnest worker in the church, and an humble, consistent follower of the Saviour .” 1 3. HENRY HILL. Three years after the church was organized Mr. Henry Hill became a member. He came from the Park Street Church, where his position was one of prominence, and not long after removing to Roxbury he was elected deacon in this new connection. He was then in the prime of life, having been born in Newburgh, N. Y., Jan¬ uary 10, 1795. Owing to a change in his father’s business, he relinquished preparation for college, on which he had been engaged for more than a year, and removing to New York City, became at fifteen clerk in a large mer¬ cantile house. Instead of attending the theater and other places of amusement, he devoted himself to acquiring ‘Year-Book of the Broadway Tabernacle Church for 1882, p. 7. 2 00 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the French and Spanish languages, in both of which he became proficient. His capacity for business and his sound judgment were early developed; hence at twenty years of age he went to France as supercargo to pur¬ chase silks and other goods in Paris, and two years later was sent as agent of his firm to Buenos Ayres and Chili. Mr. Hill’s religious life and his kindliness were also early developed. On the voyage to South America, he gave lessons to the sailors in reading and writing; dis¬ tributed Bibles and tracts among them; conducted a religious service on deck every Sunday when the weather allowed, and at times visited the forecastle to read and talk with the men. At Valparaiso he established a mer¬ cantile house — his accounts being kept in Spanish — and was soon appointed United States Consul for that city and Santiago. During the three and a half years’ residence at the former place, he traveled extensively, and must have been one of the first men, if not the very first from our country, to make a trip on horseback across the Andes. On returning to the United States, Mr. Hill had tempting offers of business arrangements in Peru and New York; but he was desirous of finding some position more directly connected with the cause of Christ. Divine Providence opened the way for his appointment as treas¬ urer of the American Board, and accordingly he removed to Boston (1822) one year after its incorporation as a city. THE DIACONATE. 201 For that office his business tact and wide business acquaint¬ ance qualified him eminently, and during the thirty-two years that he held it more than six millions of dollars passed through his hands. On retiring from the post at sixty years of age, he made a thank-offering to the Board, that he had had the privilege of serving so long as its treas¬ urer. The amount was two thousand dollars, a sum not saved from his salary, but accruing from another source. As a member and officer of the Eliot Church, Mr. Hill was one who neither gave nor took offense. Always in his place he was neither officious nor backward. He maintained a happy medium between coldness and exces¬ sive emotion. In council calm, clear, judicious, he mani¬ fested no conceit and no irritability. As one of the orig¬ inal members of the Vine Street, now Immanuel Church, he took a leading part in its formation and its early growth. One of his memoranda relative to leaving our connection reads as follows: — “I was perhaps too happy there. . . To leave that home of my choice, my pastor, my brother deacons, the Eliot Church and Society, friends such as I never expected to find again this side of heaven. Oh! if I ever made a sacrifice it was when I consented to join the little band of twenty-six to form the Vine Street Church.” Socially, Mr. Hill was never frivolous, but always genial and a most agreeable companion. The Eliot Church has, perhaps, never had a member who more happily combined gentleness and decision, or who was 202 ELIOT MEMORIAL. more truly a Christian gentleman. He was a man of great regularity in habits of industry, temperance and general self-control. Ardent spirits, tobacco, highly sea¬ soned and very rich diet he eschewed. Such regimen contributed largely no doubt to his serene and beautiful old age. He lived ninety-seven years. 4. REV. WILLIAM WARD DAVENPORT. “ They that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree.” That was em¬ phatically true in the case of Mr. Davenport. He was for five years a deacon in the Eliot Church, and by universal consent filled the office with unusual wisdom and accept¬ ance. That a “ good degree ” followed will appear in the course of this sketch. His parents were valued members of the Old South Church, Boston, his mother being a daughter of the Rev. Ephraim Ward of West Brookfield, Massachu¬ setts. Upon graduating from the Franklin Grammar School and the English High School, Mr. Davenport re¬ ceived in each instance a medal for excellence in scholar¬ ship and deportment. A voyage to China and another to Batavia gave him some personal acquaintance with busi¬ ness in foreign countries. As civil engineer he was en¬ gaged in the primary survey for introducing the Cochit- uate water into Boston, after which he entered a whole¬ sale dry-goods house, where he remained as clerk and then as partner for about twenty years. THE DIACONATE. 203 His religious character took its coloring in part from deep conviction of sin and a clear apprehension of free forgiveness through the merits of Jesus Christ. The great truths of our holy religion, including righteous con¬ demnation for sin, the need of regenerating grace, of holy living, and a love that leads to Christian activities, held a controlling and ever-growing influence over Mr. Davenport. No pressure of business cares interrupted his religious endeavors in neglected sections of the city. He also con¬ ducted prayer meetings and other religious services in the Mariner’s Church, the State Prison, Chelsea Hospital and elsewhere. For a series of years he was Secretary of the Boston Sabbath School Union and wrote its annual reports. For yet a longer period he was Secretary and Director of the Penitent Female Refuge, where he con¬ ducted on the Lord’s Day a service, and where a week¬ day service begun by him still continues. The prayer meeting which led to the formation of Shawmut Church was one in which he took an active part. On removing from the Old South Church to the Eliot Church in 1848, he was at once recognized as a highly valuable accession. Always ready for any appro¬ priate share in devotional meetings and outside labors, he was never obtrusive, never given to talking about him¬ self or his own doings, but modest, discreet and earnest. He early took charge of a Bible Class of young men, which was conducted with great profit to them. Even¬ ings which brought no special engagement, and other 204 ELIOT MEMORIAL. spare hours, were given to a devout and careful study of God’s Word. Upon the retirement of Mr. Henry Hill from being an office-bearer, 1857, there was a prompt unanimity in electing Mr. Davenport to the place. Wise in counsel, punctual in all engagements, he enjoyed the confidence and affection of all. At length Mr. Davenport came to me for consultation in regard to preparing for the ministry. Without re¬ ceiving discouragement he was advised to let the decision depend upon a clear, divine intimation whether it favored or dissuaded. The main elements that constitute a call of God to the work were discussed. Two months later he became fully convinced that, although forty-two years of age and engaged with agreeable associates in an easy business that promised an accumulation of wealth, he set his face toward the sacred office. More than two years were devoted to a course of study similar to what was pursued at our theological seminaries. The Greek grammar was mastered and portions of the New Testa¬ ment were read in the original language. The study of Hebrew was begun, and some acquaintance with parts of the Old Testament in that tongue was secured. System¬ atic Theology received special attention; also Homiletics. Nor was Church History neglected. On these lines an hour was spent with me six days in the week for the period just named. It was a special advantage to Mr. Davenport that he had a well trained, logical mind; that for many years he had cultivated the habit of a careful THE DIACONATE. 205 use of the pen, contributing articles to religious papers and to the Panoplist, of which he was at one time the editor. Not long after licensure by the Suffolk South Asso¬ ciation of ministers, he supplied the pulpit of one of the most prominent city churches in New England, for a single Sabbath, the pastor being absent. The people at once took action — an unusual thing — passing a com¬ plimentary vote and communicating the same to him. In 1861 he was ordained and installed pastor of the Con¬ gregational Church in Danielsonville, then the largest rural church in Connecticut. There he remained an acceptable and successful preacher as well as devoted pastor for fully seven years. By general consent Mr. Davenport was a godly man, unswerving in loyalty to the doctrines of grace, but kindly considerate of the feelings of those who differed from him. He was highly esteemed by neighboring min¬ isterial brethren. He took broad views concerning the sphere of clerical duty; foreign missions had a warm place in his thoughts, and he became a corporate mem¬ ber of the American Board. But his chief aim was to “ Feed the flock of God,” to which he had been set apart as shepherd. A member of that flock spoke for more than one when he pronounced Mr. Davenport, “ The most instructive preacher I ever heard.” But health be¬ gan to fail. Pulmonary disease, to which there had been an obvious liability, was developed. Under medical advice 2o6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. he went to Pau in France, where, after a few months, he died, May 20, 1870, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. When the vine-clad hills of southern France shall give up their dead, there will be early witnesses to Christ’s cross and crown, martyrs of primitive times, but no one of that age or any subsequent period more intelligently and firmly grounded in Christian faith than our friend and brother. 5. ANDREW s. MARCH. Mr. March was born in Portland, Me., February 27, 1811, and was baptized in infancy by Dr. Edward Payson. His widowed mother placed him when twelve years of age in a dry-goods store in Portland. Not long after that he came to Boston, and was employed by one of the larger dry- goods concerns of this city. On attaining majority he en¬ gaged in business independently with James M. Whiton, and the firm of Whiton & March was well known for many years. Mr. March, coming from Park Street Church, was also one of the original and highly esteemed members of the Eliot Church. His services in the diaconate were from 1845 to 1851, when he removed to West Roxbury. He was a man of even temper, of marked self-control; a peacemaker endowed with a happy tact in reconciling differences, both in the church and in the political caucus. By knowing what not to say, and by a conciliatory and shrewd way of putting things, he would generally succeed in carrying a point with- THE DIACONATE. 207 out losing the respect or good will of others. In domestic life his manner was invariably equable, gentle, and yet accompanied by a decision that secured willing deference. He once told the writer that on making public profes¬ sion of Christian faith he resolved never to shrink from any duty imposed upon him. His fidelity and punctuality could be depended on. Whatever uncertainty there might be regarding any other person, there was none regarding An¬ drew March. One characteristic incident showed the man. Leaving horse and sleigh for a moment at the door one cold evening—-the evening for the stated church meeting — he stepped into the house to get a robe. Returning, he found horse and sleigh were gone. He then started a man-servant in one direction; stopped on his way at the house of a brother-in-law, whom he started in another direction; and with quick step was just in season at the chapel. About to open the door he cast a glance toward the neighboring shed, and there saw horse and sleigh in the familiar stall. The animal had formed a sympathetic habit and knew where to go when church-meeting night came round. Mr. March removed to West Roxbury in 1851 and con¬ nected himself with the church in that place. One street there bears his name, and beautiful trees of his planting witness to the public spirit and good taste of the man. He was never robust. A pulmonary attack would not at any time have seemed unnatural. It was while engaged in service for the public that he took cold. Upon medical recommendation he went South, but no alleviation followed 208 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and he reached home only forty-eight hours before departure to the “ land that is very far off.” He could utter but a few words to wife and children: “ Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; ” “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi¬ palities, nor powers shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Then looking up — “ Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly.” That flight he took December 22, 1854, at forty-six years of age. His son writes: “ The remains rest in the Forest Hills Cemetery, his lot being beside the lot of his dear friend, Dr. A. C. Thompson, and that of Deacon Alvah Kittredge.” 6. EDWARD B. HUNTINGTON. In the order of seniority Mr. Huntington was the sixth entrusted with the office of deacon (1856-1871) and so far from any one regretting the choice there was universal satisfaction. He was kind, courteous, faithful, punctual in attendance upon religious services; never obtrusive, yet always ready to accept his share of responsibility. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, June 18, 1806. After school¬ days were passed he went into a New York hardware store for a year or two; then with a friend went into independent business and was successful. He joined the Mercer Street Church, in the pastorship of Dr. Thomas Skinner. He was THE DIACONATE. 209 regarded as a man of excellent judgment and his counsel was sought in matters of difficulty. Mr. Huntington left Boston in 1872, his health being much impaired. One winter was spent in Aiken, South Carolina, and another in Florida; but the harassing cough which had come on was ominous. Strength failed rapidly, and his sixty-ninth anniversary of birth (June 18, 1875) was his birthday into the city of our God. His last days were days of complete calmness and serenity, sweetness of temper and resignation. The mortal resting-place is beside that of two children, Susan and Edward, in our beautiful Forest Hills Cemetery. Mr. Huntington was not of a joyous temperament. He suffered in later life not infrequently from depression of spirits due to heredity. A tender conscientiousness became apparently morbid at times and a too severe introspection was maintained. He was gentle and sensitive, cherishing a high standard of integrity and Christian living, a devoted parishioner and interested in all church concerns. The cause of missions commanded a lively and abiding interest. This was in some measure a family characteristic. His pater¬ nal grandmother, Faith Trumbull, was a daughter of the first Governor Trumbull, and his father, Dea. Jabez Huntington, was a son of General Jedediah Huntington, one of the nine original corporators of the American Board. Miss Sarah L. Huntington, who became the wife of Dr. Eli Smith, the well known missionary in Syria, 1 was a sister. 1 Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Huntington Smith , late of the American Mission in Syria. By Edward W. Hooker, d. d. Third Edition. 210 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Mr. Huntington gave me (i860) a list of forty-six clergy¬ men bearing the family name. They represented five gen¬ erations, and were descended from the two Huntington brothers, who went in 1660 from Saybrook to Norwich as pioneers. The widow of Simon Huntington was a member of the church to which John Eliot ministered. 7. MOSES HENRY DAY. Mr. Day was one of the few natives of Roxbury — where he was born July 9, 1832 — who became prominent in the Eliot Church. His immigrant ancestor was supposed to be Robert Day, of Ipswich, who came from England in the “Hopewell,” 1638. Mr. Day prepared for college at the Roxbury Latin School, and graduated from Harvard 1853. He then immediately devoted himself to business and before long was manager of the manufacturing department of Sewell, Day & Company’s cordage establishment, and later president of the same. In that position he continued through remaining life. Unquestioned integrity and honor marked his entire business career, as was true of each mem¬ ber of the firm, which included his father — a man of invent¬ ive genius, and one of its founders — and a younger brother, Mr. William F. Day. No business concern of Boston, and probably no other in the country, has shown a more uniform and wise regard for the welfare of employees, by encouraging all good habits and by kindness to them as well as to their families. The men were instructed to be cautious in lan¬ guage and action. No profaneness was allowed on the THE DIACONATE. 211 premises. Only the best quality of goods, honestly made and honestly labelled, were accepted by the firm or delivered to purchasers. As a natural consequence, their products were in wide demand and gave unvarying satisfaction. As might be expected, the several members of the corporation were loved and honored by the workmen, and the wheels of business were never stopped by strikes. The company had in their employ at one time forty persons who had worked for them ten years, of whom ten had been in their service for twenty years; five for thirty years; three for forty years; and two between fifty and sixty years. Honesty and kind¬ ness pay well. Mr. Day held various trusts, as Bank Director, Presi¬ dent of the Institution for Savings, Trustee of the Roxbury Latin School, examiner in Latin at Harvard College, and a Councillor and Alderman in the City Government. For ten years (1857-1867) he was a Deacon of the Eliot Church and for twelve years (1869-1881) held the same office in the Highland Church, and in the latter was, for an equal period, Superintendent of the Sunday School. He was a man of simple tastes who found his chief happiness at home with his family, where as a father he showed peculiar kindness and devotion to the children, yet requiring and securing implicit obedience. In all positions and relations, while conservative and firm, he exhibited a charitable disposition, and without being imperious was a man of decision. Failure of health occasioned a voyage to Europe. The tour, however, brought little relief, and returning to Boston he entered into rest January 17, 1882. 212 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 8. LUCIUS HAMILTON BRIGGS. Mr. Briggs was anything but a fighting man, though a descendant from military men. Jeremiah Stiles, his maternal great-grandfather, was a captain in Col. Paul Dudley Sargent’s regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He made the official report to Congress, then sitting in New York, on the death of General Warren. Captain Stiles was afterwards a portrait painter and civil engineer, holding various offices in the town of Keene, N. H. He was a delegate to the convention at Concord (1778) for forming a State Constitution, and was elected a member of the Committee of Safety (1776). With two hundred others he then signed the following declaration : — “We, the subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our power, at the risque of our lives and fortunes, with arms oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies against the American Colonies.” On the father’s side Mr. Briggs was at an equal remove from Eliphalet Briggs, an officer in the Indian wars. No less loyal in spirit and no less ready for self-sacrificing service than they, he was, however, eminently a man of peace. Mr. Briggs was born at Keene, N. H., November 4, 1811, and received his education in the public schools of that town, after which he entered into business there. Subsequently he became a business man in Boston (1847). Still later (January, 1873), Mr. Briggs was chosen General Agent of THE DIACONATE. 213 the Roxbury Charitable Society, a position for which his warm sympathy with the poor peculiarly fitted him, and which he held till 1886, when ill-health obliged him to resign. That Society, instituted in 1794, and incorporated February, 1799, is one of the older benevolencies of our country. The Hon. John Lowell was its first president. For many years the income and the demands for aid were comparatively small; and at length by the failure of the Rockland Bank, an accumulated fund was almost entirely lost. Since then, however, handsome bequests and gifts have furnished a permanent fund of more than one hun¬ dred and sixty thousand dollars; while charities disbursed from the first to the present time do not fall short of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The require¬ ments for 1894, for instance, were very heavy, owing to the fire in May of that year, which rendered nearly four hundred families homeless. In 1896 seven hundred and thirty-one families, representing twenty-seven hundred and forty-seven individuals, received aid in the usual forms of clothing, furniture, fuel, provisions, etc. Work is supplied at the wood-yard, and an efficient dispensary department is maintained. Mr. Briggs was a man of cheerfulness, kindly dis¬ posed, prompt and faithful in various relations and duties. Nothing but sickness could keep him, for instance, from church meetings. More than once he told me that, how¬ ever wearied he might be by a day’s work, the hour of 214 ELIOT MEMORIAL. fellowship in the chapel always rested and refreshed him. For many years he had a Bible Class of lads and young men in the Sunday School. In the family no one could be more affectionately thoughtful than he, seldom com¬ ing home after business hours without bringing some little token, usually a flower. On coming to Boston he was connected successively with the Pine Street and Park Street Churches, and then removing his connection to the Eliot Church (1858). After thirty-one years of membership with us, and twenty- eight years of service as an office-bearer, he fell asleep, April 17, 1889, having enjoyed the full confidence of all, that he was indeed a “ good man.” 9. JOSEPH RUSSELL BRADFORD. In the book of Judges it is said of a certain place, “ There was a strong tower in the city.” In each city where Mr. Bradford lived at different times, Boston, Roxbury, and Cambridge, the same may be said. As a Christian man he was a tower of strength. It was not till just midway in life, when thirty-five years of age, that he became a new man. He had been reared in unbelief as to any special inspiration of the Bible, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial nature of his sufferings, the need of the Holy Spirit’s regenerating grace, and the desert of future punishment for unrepented sin. But in ripe manhood he was led to read the holy vol¬ ume candidly for himself and was brought into the light, THE DIACONATE. 2I 5 comfort, and strength of evangelical Christianity. Indi¬ vidual characteristics, whether inherited or not, usually give tone to a man’s religious life, and it is natural to suppose that the development of Mr. Bradford after conversion took a coloring from heredity. On the father’s side he was a descendant from a Puritan nephew of Samuel Bradford, Dean of Westminster Abbey, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle ; and on the mother’s side from Governor Winslow’s brother, whose wife was the first woman to step ashore on Plymouth Rock. Quiet yet resolute firmness in the maintenance of right and in the discharge of duty marked Mr. Bradford. His convictions were deliberately formed, clearly defined, and tenaciously held. Conscience appeared to rule supreme. In matters of conscience, while never precipitate, decision was prompt, and action no less prompt. For many years he had been in the habit of smoking cigars, but not long after making a public profession of faith and the purpose of leading a Christian life he saw, one day in the distance, a young man, a member of his Bible class, whom he would soon meet. It occurred to him that the example of smoking was not one to be commended by a teacher while inculcating from Holy Writ lessons of self-denial. The cigar was at once thrown away and none was ever again put into his mouth. Why should a man — teacher, pupil, or anybody else — indulge in a practice that is expensive, offensive, and unhealthy! Mr. Bradford was a sober-minded man of high worth, such as will add strength and dignity to a church and com¬ munity. Stability and comfort depend a good deal upon the 2l6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. number of things which are rationally accepted as settled, so settled that they never need come into question again. There was a goodly number of such regarding which Mr. Bradford’s mind was entirely at rest. Hence his freedom from peril in panics, and his moral sinew gave steadiness to those around him. People confided in him. They found that neither friendship nor resentment warped his judg¬ ment or checked his fidelity. One very evident charac¬ teristic was an unfaltering confidence in the power of prayer. The less as well as the more important affairs of daily life were devoutly committed to the providence of God, in the name of our adorable Mediator, and he carried an habitual assurance of gracious answers. His services as office-bearer in the Eliot Church and other churches; also as counsellor and co-worker in numer¬ ous benevolent organizations, were of great value. Not least was that the case during thirteen years of membership on the Prudential Committee of the American Board. His gifts of patient investigation, careful discrimination, and sound judgment were fully appreciated. His last years were years of patient suffering. When informed at length, after a consultation of physicians, that the case was a very critical one, he replied, “ The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice.” He died in Cambridge, March 12, 1885. Mr, Bradford’s mother, who was born in Boston, June 9, 1793, and who for a long time was an inmate in this son’s family, survived him till August, 1899, being then in her 107th year, and sup¬ posed to be at that time the oldest person in our Common¬ wealth. THE DIACONATE. 217 IO. CHARLES WILLARD HILL. Few men have worn a more benignant countenance, or have been more uniformly welcome everywhere, or have shed a more genial and healthful influence than Mr. Hill. It was a day of blessing (October 20, 1868), when he joined us by commendation from the Church in Marl¬ borough, Mass. He was born in West Medway, June 5, 1834, but in his boyhood the family removed to Shrews¬ bury. In the parentage there was a high sense of honor and integrity, coupled with noteworthy readiness to aid the weak and defenseless. Modesty crowned the whole. The mother’s Christian life began under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Ide of Medway. She was a daughter of General Cook; and her mother, Mary Mayo, whose father was killed by a British soldier, transmitted an energetic spirit, which, with other good qualities, found place in this grandson. As a boy Mr. Hill was one to be trusted; one who could be depended on to overcome difficulties; one to show a generous, self-sacrificing disposition, as well as loyalty to friends and to duty. At fourteen years of age the death of a sister made a deep impression of bereave¬ ment, which remained through life. His public profes¬ sion of faith was made in 1854. Upon graduating at Williston Seminary, East Hampton, being then eighteen years of age, he began his career as teacher in different towns of the Commonwealth. When the war of the re- 2l8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. bellion broke out he left a delightful home, where were a wife and one child, and enlisting in the Fifth Massa¬ chusetts regiment, he served at Newbern, N. C. When mustered out of service he resumed his chosen life-work, and gave full satisfaction as a teacher at Newton Falls and Roxbury. For nearly ten years he was Master of the Comins Grammar School, then of the Martin School for three years, and in 1890 was transferred to the Bowditch School, Jamaica Plain. After two years of connection with the Eliot Church Mr. Hill was elected deacon, and held that office till the close of life. Faithful, prompt, calm and wise, he endeared himself to all. He was a peace-maker and a safe counsellor. For many years he superintended the Sunday School and with more than usual acceptance. In the community and among associates he was recognized as a leader. The strength of clear thinking, of complete self-control, and of contented quietness was an acknowl¬ edged characteristic. It was fitting that he should be made President of the Boston Congregational Club (1887) and of the Schoolmasters’ Club. His addresses on public occasions were always to the point, unambitious, sensible and pleasing. Pupils and fellow teachers were drawn to him in peculiar confidence and affection. They found him singularly dispassionate and devoid of harshness. He was master of the Christian art of differing from others in a pleasant way, a way that if it did not win assent was sure to win respect. THE DIACONATE. 219 The end came with startling suddenness, and the funeral service (November 17, 1896), in the Eliot Church, bore witness to a widespread and most sincere regard. Sunday School pupils and pupils from the Grammar School, masters and teachers of various schools, and numerous friends besides comrades in the army, were eager to pay a tearful tribute to their friend. Soon after came a memorial service at Jamaica Plain, where the warmest appreciative testimony was rendered by several competent witnesses. II. ANDREW MARSHALL. Mr. Marshall did not become an officer of the Eliot Church till after 1871, yet all remember him as a brother beloved, and from 1876 onward one of the goodly band of deacons. Green Hill, Nova Scotia, was his birthplace, and February 23, 1831, the date of his birth. The family emi¬ grated in 1774 from mountainous Dumfriesshire, Scotland, to Prince Edward’s Island, and at first endured great priva¬ tion. Andrew Marshall, Andrew’s great-grandfather, was a man of unusual ability, a leader in Christian work. He took charge of a Lord’s-day religious service, which the Highlanders of that neighborhood called a “ Reading,” and which consisted of prayer, praise, the reading of Scripture and other religious books. Of the latter only a few had been brought from Scotland, and the mice made havoc of them. An imperfect copy of Bostons Fourfold State did good service. It was in a barn of his son Robert that the 220 ELIOT MEMORIAL. first Presbytery was formed at Pictou in 1795. Robert, of the next generation, the father of our Andrew Marshall, was a public-spirited man at New Glasgow, whither the family had removed. His wife, Janet Miller, Andrew’s mother, appears to have been a woman of superior mental and spirit¬ ual power. Though an invalid for twenty-two years and most of the time confined to the bed, her room was always a sunny spot, for the light of her countenance shone con¬ stantly. The peace of God within never failed. Her father, Lawrence Miller, a very decided Christian, was no common man. At sixty years of age he built a study and set himself to mastering the Latin language. Young Andrew Marshall seemed to inherit student tastes and ambition. His teacher, Peter MacGregor, was desirous that he should be educated for the ministry, but family circumstances would not permit. The habit of read¬ ing and a desire for improvement continued through life. A tenacious memory characterized him in boyhood. One Sabbath morning he learned by heart the fifth chapter of James’ epistle while breakfast was being prepared. In 1851 Mr. Marshall, then twenty years of age, came to Roxbury. He was a thoughtful young man of correct habits, but parental prayer and training had not yet resulted in decided Christian living. After a season of earnest religious thoughtfulness he devoted himself unreservedly to the service of God, came out of spiritual darkness into light, made public profession of faith in Christ, and joined the Eliot Church, November 2, 1866. Thence onward he THE DIACONATE. 221 commended himself to all as faithful — faithful in business relations, faithful in all domestic duties, faithful in Bible- class instruction, and the various requirements of church life, including those of the diaconate. He was deeply and wisely interested in the cause of temperance. His zeal did not expend itself in speech-making. He labored kindly and persistently with the victims of strong drink. Among those thus reclaimed two cases may well be mentioned. One man, thoroughly reformed and restored to respectability, prospered in business and amassed a fortune. The other, after reformation and spiritual conversion, continued for twenty-five years a valued church member. When looking at the portrait of his benefactor, he said, “ That man saved me.” Mr. Marshall’s character partook of independence without arrogance, of firmness without obstinacy. There was the grace of a poetic element. To his last days he could repeat the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, questions and answers, as well as “The Cotter’s Saturday Night,” and other favorite poems. When the fatal issue of Mr. Marshall’s last sickness was announced, the universal thought was, A good man has left us, a man deeply respected by all. That was a Lord’s-day morning, to him the day of all the week the best for life on earth and for entering heaven. Most unfeigned was the mourning of the company which followed his remains to Cedar Grove Cemetery, April 4, 1883. 222 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 12 . WILLIAM FRANCIS DAY. After a course at the Grammar School and High School, it was Mr. Day’s purpose to enjoy the advantages of collegiate education, and accordingly he began prepara¬ tion. Weak eyes and a delicate condition of general health, which continued for many years, obliged him to relinquish the coveted prize. He took a position in the Cordage Factory of Sewall, Day & Co., as clerk and pay¬ master. Upon the decease of his brother Henry, he be¬ came President and General Manager of the company. When the business was disposed of to the National Cord¬ age Company, Mr. Day was asked to remain in charge and to act as Treasurer. But it had become a growing custom with manufacturers to mix goods and to label them as if unmixed. In a very exemplary manner Mr. Day carried his conscience with him into business trans¬ actions. One proceeding will illustrate. After the con¬ cern was merged in the National Cordage Company he had occasion to say repeatedly to friends, “ When I can¬ not manage affairs according to the dictates of my con¬ science, I shall resign my position.” The old firm had a wide reputation for perfect integrity; but a quality of hemp was sent to him to be worked up and put on the market as “Sewall and Day’s Rope” or “ Twine,” the fibre of which he considered to be inferior to that which had secured for the firm its good name. He could not be accessory to such fraud and sent in his resignation 1 (1894). ‘See Cordage Trade Journal, Vol. IX., No. u. Dec. i, 1894. THE DIACONATE. 223 Home was Mr. Day’s paradise, and he gave himself assiduously to all domestic interests, and especially to the religious training of his children. In all church affairs he took the liveliest interest. His active participa¬ tion in devotional services was such as drew the hearts of others at once to the mercy-seat. He was twice elected Deacon of the Eliot Church, though not till after Dr. Hamilton became associate pastor in 1871. His church membership dates from 1857. Besides other responsible positions, he was a trustee of the Roxbury Latin School, of the Hartford Theological Seminary, and a corporate member of the American Board. His entrance into rest on the afternoon of March 8, 1899, was especially sudden. Happily it was at his own home in Boston. He had been out on business and in apparent usual health. The event was not wholly a sur¬ prise to those who were acquainted with the delicacy of his constitution, and with his liabilities in recent years. It is seldom that a family, a church, and a community suffer so great a loss in the removal of one member. Mr. Day was in the sixty-first year of his age. CHAPTER XVI. MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. It is not always the case that ordained men arfe partic¬ ularly acceptable as private members of a church. They are sometimes reputed to be officious and opinionated, a thorn to the pastor and an annoyance to associates. Here it has been entirely otherwise. Clerical members have, without exception, approved themselves as sympathetic with the pastor and the whole brotherhood and in appropriate ways helpful. In the course of the first twenty-nine years of my ministry (1842-71) there were twenty-five such connected with the congregation, two of whom, each over eighty, died the same year. Besides the following there were seven or eight other clergymen whose names will be found among missionary officials or among educators. I. REV. STEPHEN SANFORD SMITH. Haverhill, New Hampshire, was Mr. Smith’s birthplace, April 14, 1797, Rev. Ethan Smith being his father. He was early in the office of Horace Greeley as a printer’s boy. Having prepared for the ministry, he preached in different places. Together with his wife he was received to the Pres¬ byterian Church, Fayetteville, New York, from the North Congregational Church in New Bedford. After his ministry at Fayetteville the private relationship of Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Smith was transferred to us in 1837. MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 225 On returning to Massachusetts Mr. Smith acted as agent for the American Sunday School Union, for the American and Foreign Christian Union, and the Bible Society; he also held one or two pastorates. His death came suddenly at the house of a relative in Worcester, October, 1871. He had engaged to preach the next Lord’s Day at Medway Village and had selected a sermon from the text, “ I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy like¬ ness,” and that discourse was read at his funeral. These circumstances are strikingly similar to those which occurred at the death of Rev. S. F. Smith, d.d., author of the hymn, “ My country, ’tis of thee.” Mr. S. S. Smith was a man of activity and of advanced views in various departments of reform. During his connection with the Eliot Church his agency took him away on the Sabbath, and that was a reason for his acquaintance in Roxbury being compara¬ tively slight. The family, however, were much interested in the welfare of this church and contributed liberally to its support; but before long they removed to Newton. 2 . REV. HUNTINGTON PORTER. Mr. Porter became pastor of the church in Rye, New Hampshire, December 29, 1784, but had a colleague for several years before his death (March 7, 1844), and hence was at liberty to spend time in Roxbury with his daughter, Mrs. Charles K. Dillaway. Mr. Porter was not long a member of our congregation. He was a son of Rev. John 226 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Porter, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he was born March 27, 1755; and with two of his brothers graduated from Harvard College the same day. Each of the three brothers not only received his degree of A. B. at the same time with the others, but also had a pastorate of more than half a century, coincidences probably without a parallel. 3. REV. EZRA CONANT. Mr. Conant was born at Concord, Massachusetts, in 1763. He graduated from Harvard College with the Class of 1784, and then studied theology with Rev. Ezra Ripley of his native place. He was installed pastor of the church in Winchester, New Hampshire, 1788, where he remained for eighteen years. After a short residence with his son, Mr. Caleb Conant, a member of the Eliot Church, he died at the age of eighty-one, and I attended his funeral October 5, 1844. Owing to infirmities the old gentleman had not been able to worship with us in public. It attracted attention at the time that two ministers, the one eighty-nine, the other eighty-one years old, departed this life the same year. 4. REV. CHARLES BAKER KITTREDGE. Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, was the native place of the Rev. Mr. Kittredge as well as his brother, Deacon Alvah Kittredge. It was on an anniversary of our National Independence, July 4, 1806, that the former was MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 227 born, and in his character there was a good degree of in¬ dependence, which manifested itself by a quiet self-reliance. As a student he supported himself by teaching music. After graduating from Dartmouth College and from the Andover Theological Seminary he became pastor succes¬ sively and usefully at Groton, Westborough, and Munson in Massachusetts. One who in early life had been a par¬ ishioner, and afterwards a valued minister of the gospel* remarked, “ I never sat down by a fresher or sweeter foun¬ tain.” A small volume of his, entitled Harvestings; or Reminiscences of a Country Pastor , indicates fidelity in ministrations, and a happy use of the pen. The same is true of frequent articles in Sabbath School and other journals. Mr. Kittredge knew what it was to experience the chastening strokes of our Heavenly Father in the loss of four children, as well as in other trials. He was a modest man, of retiring habits, never given to display, and least of all, display by himself or in connection with himself. Humility was a characteristic. Modesty may be only a natural trait; humility is a product of divine grace, one that does not' seem to be eminently peculiar to American Christians. It is asked what were the antecedents which will, in some measure, account for these traits? He had a most decidedly Christian mother, Mary Baker, one of the rare daughters of New Hampshire; gentle, modest, industrious, cheerful, her piety deep, well-balanced, and marked by a 228 ELIOT MEMORIAL. faith unwavering as the hills of her native state. In the home at Mount Vernon was a little room under the stairs, into which, when closed, sunlight could not enter, but into which, unobserved except by Him who seeth in secret, she entered three times a day for prayer. He who seeth in secret rewarded openly. All of her seven children were prayed into the kingdom, two of whom became ordained ministers, while one of the daughters, wife of the Rev. E. W. Clark, became in the language of her associates, “ The model missionary wife and mother ” at the Hawaiian Islands. This son Charles was naturally drawn to special acquaintance and interest in foreign missions. Six of his classmates in Andover, the class of 1832, devoted themselves to that department of labor — Ashur Bliss among the Seneca Indians; B. W. Parker at the Sand¬ wich Islands; Ira Tracy in China and India; Henry Ly¬ man and Samuel Munson, martyrs in Sumatra; and Dr. Elias Riggs, now in his ninetieth year, and still useful at Constantinople. To the close of life Mr. Kittredge kept himself familiar also with the proceedings of our various societies which are devoted to religious work at home. His death occurred at Westborough, in November, 1884. The last letter from him received by the writer, which was written just before decease and with refer¬ ence to the funeral, had this sentence: “ I am most anxious that the service should be as private as the circumstances will permit, and that Christ only be exalted, through whose infinite merits I have hope of pardon and eternal life.” MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 229 5. REV. WILLIAM HENRY PORTER. Rev. Huntington Porter was his father, and his mother was a daughter of Gen. Jonathan Moulton, of Hampton, New Hampshire, the Rev. John Porter, of Bridgewater, Massachu¬ setts, being a grandfather, and Mary, a daughter of Deacon Samuel Huntington, of Lebanon, Connecticut, a grand¬ mother. Rye, New Hampshire, was his birthplace, Septem¬ ber 19, 1817. Mr. Porter and his twin brother, Charles Henry, entertained the Christian hope at the age of nine years and soon after entered the academy at Andover, having in view preparation for the ministry. They entered Yale, but the twin brother Charles died midway in his college course. William Henry Porter, after graduating (1841), spent two years in the New Haven Divinity School and a third year at the Union Theological Seminary, New York (1844). The next four years he was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Litchfield, New Hampshire. He contributed articles to the Christian Alliance , a paper edited by Dr. Dorus Clark. Pulmonary consumption was at length devel¬ oped, and, leaving a widow and two interesting sons, he died at Roxbury May 26, 1861. 6. REV. CHARLES SHAW ADAMS. A descendant of Henry Adams, who came from Eng¬ land (1640); a son of Dr. Samuel and Abigail Dodge Adams, born in Bath, Maine, May 3, 1797. He studied at Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated from Bowdoin College 230 ELIOT MEMORIAL. with the class of 1823. More immediate preparation for the ministry was made with a Congregational pastor. Mr. Adams’ pastorates were with churches in Newfield and Wells, Maine; Harwich and South Dartmouth, Massa¬ chusetts; South Coventry, Rhode Island; Westford, Con¬ necticut; Strongville, Ohio; and Quincy, Michigan. His death from brain fever took place at Hillsdale, Michigan, July 29, 1873; and by a noteworthy coincidence, on the same day and only nine hours after his wife’s decease. 7. REV. DAVID MEAUBEC MITCHELL. The year 1853 was not signalized by large accessions to the Eliot Church — the whole number being a little over thirty — but some in that group were persons of marked Christian excellence. Such an one was the Rev. David M. Mitchell — a man of rare modesty, great gen¬ tleness, most serviceable common sense combined with steadfast religious principle and conscientious fidelity in the discharge of duties. His coming was felt at once as a benediction, and was so regarded by all during the period of his residence and labors in Roxbury. Mr. Mitchell’s immediate ancestry had their home in North Yarmouth, Maine, which looks out upon Casco Bay. They were Pilgrims of the Pilgrims, his earliest paternal forefather in this country having arrived at Plymouth, 1623, and from him there had been an uninterrupted line of respected office-bearers in evangelical churches. His MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 231 father and grandfather bore the title of Honorable, having been for many successive years members of the Legis¬ lature — its House of Representatives or its Senate — before the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. The father was a physician of high standing and of a Chris¬ tian character not less eminent. The Bible was the family text-book, and the Assembly’s Catechism, thor¬ oughly committed to memory, an invaluable auxiliary. At seventeen years of age Mr. Mitchell experienced the great spiritual crisis which used to be called regenera¬ tion — a term now seldom heard. The year follow¬ ing (1808) he joined the church and also entered Yale College. That he was the only professing Christian in the entering class, and that there were only three or four church members in all the classes, suggest the re¬ ligious character of the institution at that time. His roommate, Ralph Emerson, afterwards a professor in the Theological Seminary at Andover, found a special bless¬ ing in that connection. The late Sidney E. Morse made a third associate in the same room for a time. Mr. Morse bore written testimony to Mr. Mitchell’s high standing as a scholar, the universal respect for him in college, and the circumstance that he was expected to lead in all the movements of the revival (1808). Fifty or more converts were fruits of that season of special grace. After graduating at the Andover Seminary (1814), Mr. Mitchell labored for a year in the service of the Maine Missionary Society, and then became pastor of the 232 ELIOT MEMORIAL. church in Waldoborough. Twenty-six years of indefatigable labor followed. The parish had an area of eight miles by sixteen, the population was very sparse, and his nearest clerical exchanges were forty miles on the east and sixty miles on the north. In the church there were only twenty members, and they had no meeting-house. But seasons of spiritual refreshing came; more than two hun¬ dred additions to the church were made; and a commo¬ dious place of worship was erected. Pulmonary con¬ sumption carried away one after another of his family, and threatening farther inroads, a change of climate seemed imperative. After a time Mr. Mitchell entered upon city missionary work in Portland, and continued it with much acceptance for five years. Then upon invitation from the city mission society of the Eliot Church, he removed to Roxbury, and spent eight years here in most faithful and well-directed labors. Criticism of his methods or his spirit was heard from no quarter. All hearts warmed toward him. The remaining years of a life that extended somewhat beyond four-score were spent under the roof of his son-in- law, Rev. E. E. Strong, d. d., then pastor in Waltham. Saturday morning, November 27, 1869, he pronounced a blessing on the beloved family standing round him, “ May the God of all grace keep you, and bring us all to His eternal glory through Jesus Christ;” and the man who for more than sixty years had walked with God “ was not, for God took him.” MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 2 33 8. REV. L. BURTON ROCKWOOD. If rare excellencies of character and rare fidelity in church relations entitle one to a memorial, then Mr. Rock- wood deserves mention. He was born August 8, 1816, at Wilton, New Hampshire, where childhood and youth were spent with his widowed mother in the family of his grandfather, a physician and leading Christian man in that town. At fifteen this grandson united with the church and at nineteen entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1839. Having spent one year at the Andover Theologi¬ cal Seminary he joined the Union Seminary, New York, where he graduated in 1843. Mr. Rockwood performed some Christian labor in Vir¬ ginia, after which he was for seven years occupied as finan¬ cial agent of his theological Alma Mater. In 1850 he was installed pastor of the church in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, as colleague with Dr. Calvin Chapin, where during a minis¬ try of eight or nine years his labors were much blessed. In the course of that connection he became a valued member of the Board of Trustees of Hartford Theological Seminary. He was next selected as District Secretary of the American Tract Society, for Connecticut, and one year later, i860, became Secretary of the New England Branch of that society, in which position he remained for twelve years till his death. It was with no small self-denial that he under¬ took labors which required an absence from home of the fifty-two Sabbaths in a year. Few ministers have been more 234 ELIOT MEMORIAL. cautious and conciliatory in such visitation of the churches, or have left an impression that made a second visit more to be desired. In the devotional meetings of the Eliot Church Mr. Rockwood was always ready to take his part. Devoutly earnest, reverent and self-forgetful, his sole aim seemed to be to honor the Saviour by promoting the spiritual wel¬ fare of himself and others. “ The memory of the just is blessed.” 9. REV. EDWARD WILLIAM HOOKER, D.D. The son of Rev. Asahel Hooker, of Goshen, Connecti¬ cut, where he was born November 24, 1794. He belonged to the seventh generation of direct descendants from the celebrated Puritan, Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford; but stood in a third remove from Jonathan Edwards, of North¬ ampton, Massachusetts, his mother being Mrs. Phebe Ed¬ wards Hooker, afterwards Mrs. Farrar, of Andover, Massa¬ chusetts. He graduated at Middlebury College with the class of 1814, and at the Andover Theological Seminary three years later. His successive pastorates were one of eight years with the church in Green’s Farms, Connecticut; one of twelve years with the First Congregational Church in Bennington, Vermont; another of six years with the church of South Windsor, Connecticut, and yet another of equal length in Fairhaven, Vermont. In the meantime he became editor of the Journal of Humanity, which was among the earliest temperance papers MINISTERIAL PARISHIONERS. 2 35 in the country. For four years he was professor of Sacred Rhetoric in the Theological Institute of Connecticut, and he also supplied different pulpits for varying periods. One of them was that of the Eliot Church during my absence of more than a year while visiting missions of the American Board in the East. It was a gratifying coincidence that the son of my father’s first pastor, and himself my father’s pastor in old age, should have held this position. He was elected a corporate member of the American Board in 1840; but did not join the Eliot Church till the spring of 1871. In boyhood Dr. Hooker was unusually amiable and lovable. In adult years he was regarded as a man of deep piety, to whom severe domestic trials were evidently blessed. Refinement of taste and fondness for music were character¬ istics. Tears would often testify to his appreciation of good singing and of softer instrumental music. He played the flute with exquisite skill. A charming serenity marked his later days. When four-score years of age he made the following entry in his diary: “ My birthday shined upon me in life and health, able still to preach the blessed Gospel, and to pray and labor for the good of my children, friends, and a dying world, feeling as yet but few of the infirmities of age, though feeling increasingly the infirmities and sins of my spiritual condition.” His death occurred April, 1875, under the roof of a son-in-law, Rev. E. J. Montague, at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Several of Dr. Hooker’s occasional sermons were pub- 2 3 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. lished; also several addresses delivered before musical asso¬ ciations ; besides tracts which were issued by the American Tract Society. His larger works were a Memoir of Sarah Lanman , wife of Dr. Eli Smith, missionary in Syria, and a Life of the Rev. Thomas Hooker. A smaller book bears the title, Elihu Lewis ; or the Fatal Christmas. His closing literary labor was the preparation of the memoir of his son, Rev. Cornelius Hooker, the printed pages of which did not reach him till after his pen had been laid down for the last time. CHAPTER XVII. MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. It is noteworthy and an occasion for thanksgiving that the Eliot Church early became interested in missions, both foreign and domestic. This was due in part to local circumstances. Boston being an administrative center, it was almost inevitable that those holding official positions connected with certain benevolent societies should have their homes in or near the city. No other church in the land has had occasion to record among its members two secretaries and a treasurer of the American Board, three members of the Prudential Committee, three other cor¬ porate members of that Board, and yet five others who, while on the ground or after removal, became corporate members. Two of our number were also successively Secretaries of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Soci¬ ety, and one for a long time treasurer of that institu¬ tion. A word should be devoted to the prevailing tone of evangelistic interest in this church. It was apparently well balanced. The presence of officers of the American Board, so far from overshadowing or in any way hindering the cause of home missions, was an effective help. Those men knew well the bearing of evangelization in our own 2 3 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. land upon the same work in foreign lands. Their deep settled conviction, also inculcated from the pulpit, was that the great salvation had no more reference to the people of America than to the people of Asia and Africa; that it is impossible to point out a heathen or Moham¬ medan on the globe who is not as truly entitled to the gospel as any native or immigrant in the United States; that there are simply two departments of the one great field which is the world; that the warrant for entering either is our Saviour’s command, “ Go, teach all nations ” — a commission never yet withdrawn or modified. Chris¬ tian home-work is indeed imperative, but not so much because in and for our own country, as because our coun¬ try lies between the river and the ends of the earth, according to bounds laid down in the churches’ Magna Charta. To perform one duty furnishes no authority for neglecting another. The liability is to an underestimate of remoter claims. To disregard such claims is sure to imperil domestic interests; to sow sparingly in either field is to reap sparingly in both; the hope of converting men in our own land is not strengthened by neglect of our antipodes; local enterprise is stimulated by the thought of regions beyond. To carry the war into Africa is a pledge of triumph at home. America for the world — Christ for all, and all for Christ was the sentiment. Narrowness makes the individual and the world poorer. Whatever widens the field of thought and Christian interest fosters spiritual power; elevation, breadth and strength of char- MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 2 39 acter are achieved by being habitually conversant with what is highest and farthest reaching; other things equal, churches of our Lord may expect to gather a hundred¬ fold harvest on their immediate plantation only when they are sowing beside all waters. I. RUFUS ANDERSON, D.D., LL.D. It was in 1837 that Dr. Anderson removed his connec¬ tion from the Bowdoin Street Church, Boston, to the Eliot Church. He was then in the full maturity of his powers, and from that time onward for more than forty years his counsels and cooperation were of the highest value to us. Dr. Anderson was born at North Yarmouth, Maine, August 17, 1796, his father being then pastor of a Congre¬ gational church in that place. An aunt of his being the wife of Dr. Me Keen, the first president of Bowdoin College, furnished a natural occasion for his entering that institution. Dr. Jesse Appleton, however, was at the head of Bowdoin when the class of 1818 graduated, and his method with Butler’s Analogy had a well defined influence in forming the mental habits of this young man, who ranked high in his class. Dr. Anderson’s interest in missions, and his superior executive ability became so well known during his course of study at the Andover Theological Seminary that in the midst of Senior studies he was requested by Mr. Evarts, then Secretary of the American Board, to aid for a time in 240 ELIOT MEMORIAL. carrying on correspondence at the official rooms in Boston. His permanent connection with the rooms began in 1822; his service as assistant secretary in 1824; and as corre¬ sponding secretary in 1832. His resignation took place in 1866, after which he served nine years on the prudential committee, at whose meetings, on final retirement, he had been present for more than fifty years. Dr. Anderson performed important service by official visits to missions of the board. The first of these was in 1828-29; when, taking in Malta and Smyrna, he made a tour through the Peloponnesus; the second, 1844, includ¬ ing Athens, Syria, and Asia Minor; the third, 1854-55, requiring an absence of more than a year, was paid to the board’s missions in India; while the fourth, 1863, was to the Sandwich Islands. His contributions in the line of authorship were im¬ portant, as four volumes on Missions of the American Board; The Memorial Volume of the First Fifty Years of the Board; The Hawaiian Islands; the Memoir of Catherine Brown; The Peloponnesus and Greek Islands; and Lectures on Foreign Missions. He was for several years editor of the Missionary Herald. Numerous addresses, sermons, tracts, and missionary papers, as well as portions of the board’s annual reports, were the products of an able pen. Christian education had a large place in Dr. Anderson’s thoughts. He was active in the founding of Mt. Holyoke Seminary, cooperating efficiently with Mary Lyon. For a number of years he was one of the trustees MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 241 of the Andover Theological Seminary, and was president of the trustees of Bradford Academy. Dr. Anderson had the mind and habits of a true statesman, taking broad views, and maintaining a calm and dignified attitude. He exhibited no paroxysms of anxiety and no flurry amidst a panic. A fine balance of mental powers and a masterly administrative equilibrium at critical junctures secured for him general confidence and deep respect. His convictions were too well consid¬ ered and too profound to be shaken by opposition or by flattery; and he was too conscientiously earnest to bestow flattery, whether upon missionaries or others. No man has served longer in the same position; and no official has probably made his mark more distinctly and wisely in the administration of foreign missions. The Rev. Dr. Venn, Senior Secretary of the English “ Church Missionary So¬ ciety,” said to me in London (1853), “I am more indebted to Dr. Anderson for new and valuable suggestions in regard to conducting missions than to all other men to¬ gether.” In childhood Dr. Anderson was thoroughly instructed in the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, for which he remained thankful to the last. The doctrines of grace were the life of his spiritual life. His piety was not of the emotional type, but calm, pervasive, and equal to any emergencies. His later days seemed much like our Indian summer — mild and genial, with slight haze now and then, but all the while beautiful in mellow tints. If the thought of 242 ELIOT MEMORIAL. decay arose in the beholder’s mind, it would give place to thoughts of a rich maturity, and of golden harvests gathered on high. One of his last utterances was, “ The future is all bright; ” and on the bright Sabbath morning of May 30, 1880, he entered into rest. 2. REV. DAVID GREENE. Very few names on the catalogue of this church are so well entitled to a memorial as that of Rev. David Greene. He was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts, No¬ vember 15, 1791, and was a brother of the Rev. Samuel Greene, the highly esteemed pastor of Essex Street (now Union) Church, Boston. He graduated from Yale Col¬ lege in the class of 1821, ranking high as a scholar; the same being true also at the Andover Theological Sem¬ inary, where he completed a course of study in 1826. During the interim he devoted himself to teaching; but in 1828 received appointment as Assistant Secretary of the American Board of Missions. Soon thereafter he per¬ formed a journey of about six thousand miles, on a visit to mission stations, thirty in number, among the Indian tribes of New York and Ohio, as well as those to the east and west of the Mississippi River. It occupied eight months, and the knowledge thus acquired was of great value in the subsequent administration of those missions. It was not till 1833 that Mr. Greene received ordina¬ tion, though he was elected a corresponding secretary of MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 243 the forenamed board the year previous. Six years after entering upon the duties of this office the practice began of presenting at annual meetings of the board carefully prepared papers in addition to the usual reports. Twelve such came from the pen of Mr. Greene. Much of the home correspondence, as well as correspondence with the Indian missions, fell to him, besides editing the Mission¬ ary Herald till 1843. He was associated with Mr. Lowell Mason in compiling the Church Psalmody , a collection of hymns for social worship, of which not less than one hundred and fifty thousand copies went into use in our churches. Mr. Greene removed to Roxbury in the year 1836, and his influence in the Eliot Church was of a marked and most happy character. His religious experience was unusually deep, and his Christian character one of unusual firmness. Noticeably modest, unpretentious and unam¬ bitious, he yet carried great weight in opinions expressed and remarks offered. Owing to an injury on a railroad he felt constrained, greatly to the regret of associates, to decline reelection as secretary; and under medical advice removed, with his family (1849), to a farm in Westborough. Seventeen years thereafter, as men were blasting a rock near his house, a descending fragment inflicted mortal injury; and after four days of entire unconsciousness, he died, April 7, 1866. At the funeral I remarked, for substance, as follows : — 244 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Every acquaintance of David Greene will say that his eye was single, and hence his whole body was full of light. Rarely was he mystified ; with sophistry he had no patience. There were no stained windows to his mind, and he saw almost everything in a white light. He had rare insight into character and into the practical bearing of things. Never beguiled by forms, he would fasten at once upon the kernel of a matter, and discrimi¬ nate between essentials and accessories, between the cer¬ tain and the probable. Vigorous common sense was the staple of his mind. His mental constitution was compact, and he could concentrate his faculties with alertness. A noble simplicity and ingenuousness characterized him, so that any acquaintance would be likely to say, “ Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! ” He was not afraid to be lively, though too earnest a man to drop into levity. If there were occasion, he would beg pardon of a day laborer as soon as of the governor, and in either case simply because of its being right and proper. Mr. Greene was a manly man, one whom nobody would sus¬ pect of aiming at popularity, or struggling after greatness. His influence for good will linger long among us. Though not one to fascinate, he inspired deep confidence; and such a man remains always in office. Severe trials awaited him in his later years. Besides the necessity of retiring from favorite labors at the mis¬ sionary rooms of the Board, his dwelling-house in West- borough was destroyed by fire, and Mrs. Greene, a daugh- MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 245 ter of Jeremiah Evarts, died in 1851. She left twelve living children. 1 3. MISS MARY EVARTS GREENE. Heredity tells. It often reveals itself in beautiful and blessed manifestations. Jeremiah Evarts’ and the Rev. David Greene’s secretaryships of the American Board were a prophecy that grandchildren of the former and children of the latter would do service in the cause of missions. Mary Greene and others of the family fulfilled that prediction. She was born in Boston, April 3, 1832, and graduated from Bradford Academy at nineteen, having been a member of the Eliot Church for three years. Not long after the death of her father she removed to Chicago (1868) and early became Recording Secretary of the Woman’s Board of the Interior, and then Corresponding Secretary. Her correspondence with missionaries of that Board and with friends of the cause at home was constant and well conducted for years. She also edited Mission Studies. Miss Greene was frequently invited to confer with and to address auxiliary societies. She also gave herself, in due proportion, to local Christian activity, often remarking, “ All Christian work is our work.” 1 In the sketch of Mr. J. Russell Bradford it will be found that, as a member of the Prudential Committee of the American Board, he has place in this series. My own service in the same connection extended from 1849- 1893. 246 ELIOT MEMORIAL. While on a visit in Wisconsin for the purpose of meeting ladies with reference to the interests of the Board, she met with a severe injury, a compound fracture, which had to do with shortening life. Her fortitude and patience under suffering were remarkable. Her able physician’s remarks were sometimes as truly a relief as was his more strictly medical treatment. At one time she begged ear¬ nestly to be allowed to look over certain important letters relating to her department — foreign demands being very urgent. The doctor, who was familiar with the Bible, replied emphatically, “No; let the heathen rage;” and she could not resist being amused. Pain was mitigated. She was able at length to resume work to some extent. Her enthusiasm in the good cause and her prayers were most noteworthy and elevating; but after a short illness there came, of a Sabbath morning, entrance into rest final and complete. The following is from a tribute adopted by the W. B. M. I. at their annual meeting in Minneapolis, 1894: — “To work with her has been to enter an atmos¬ phere of earnest and entire consecration to our Master — to feel the inspiration of a warm and living zeal in his service — a consecration which dated from her earliest childhood — a zeal which knew no wavering, but compassed her entire life. But while we speak of loss and bereave¬ ment we are conscious of possessing in her memory an example which we may well cherish for our following. Her unselfish devotion, her quick and full response to every call of duty, whether to do or to suffer her Father’s MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 247 will, her enthusiasm for the Redeemer’s kingdom, which led her to labors even beyond her strength for its upbuild¬ ing, and, more than all, the rich legacy of her earnest and constant prayer may be ours.” 1 4. MRS. MARY P. H. LEAKE. One son for early service on high, another son for service in the ministry, and an only daughter for service connected with missions, came from the family of Mr. Henry Hill. A reminiscence of my boyhood comes to mind, a visit to my native place, of Miss Porter, the daughter of Dr. David Porter of Catskill, who was an early and well known friend of the American Board. Miss Porter was engaged in an undertaking — unique for a young woman, and in those days quite unprecedented — the raising of a thousand dollars for foreign missions. She succeeded. A manuscript card, afterwards printed, as follows, was sent to individuals: — “ Expect great things, and attempt great things.” Little causes produce great effects. The poor heathen are perishing. We may be the means of saving them. What we do we must do quickly. Love thy neighbor as thyself is a divine command. The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. The liberal soul shall be made fat. Who would be ‘ Creation’s blot, creation’s blank, whom none can love, whom none can thank ’ ? Rather, let the heathen rise up and call you blessed.” ' Annual Report, 1894. p. 30. 248 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Miss Laura Porter became the wife of Henry Hill, Esq., who was for more than thirty years treasurer of the American Board. 1 Miss Mary Porter Hill was a native of Boston; and her later educational course was at Wheaton Seminary and Bradford Academy. After marriage to General Leake she removed to the West, and at length to Chicago. From 1872 she was a Cor¬ responding Secretary of the Woman’s Board of Missions of the Interior for six years, and then became and still continues to be the Treasurer. Her pen is a graceful one; her services are prized ; and it is a most gratifying sight to see such a woman following in the steps of honored parents and of our adored Saviour. In 1899 Mrs. Leake was elected a corporate member of the American Board. 5. REV. JOSEPH SYLVESTER CLARK, D.D. Rev. Joseph S. Clark hailed from the Old Colony, and was a Pilgrim of the Pilgrims. According to tradition, Thomas Clark, who piloted the Mayflower into Plymouth Harbor, and from whom Clark’s Island received its name, was an ancestor. Dr. Clark was born December 19, 1800, in South Plymouth, on the same spot where his earliest American ancestor, known certainly to be such, lived six generations previously. 1 A sketch of Mr. Hill will be found among the Office-bearers of the Eliot Church. It might with no less propriety be introduced among “Mis¬ sionary Officials.” MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 249 His classical education began with a Latin grammar in his pocket while at farm work. At Amherst College, from which he was graduated in 1827, he led his class and became a tutor in that institution. After studying theology at Andover he was ordained and installed as pastor at Stur- bridge, Mass., 1831, and during the first year of that pas¬ torate there were one hundred and thirty additions to the church. A seven years’ ministry, characterized by much fidelity and success, resulted in impaired health, which led to his resignation. Not long after that he was elected Sec¬ retary of the Massachusetts Missionary Society (1839), and removing to Roxbury, he joined the Eliot Church. Later he found it desirable to take a house in Boston, greatly to the regret of friends here. During his eighteen years’ ser¬ vice as Secretary of the aforenamed society he became well acquainted with the condition of feeble churches through¬ out the Commonwealth, in behalf of which his labors and wise counsels were unwearied. Dr. Clark afterwards (1858) became secretary and financial agent of the Congregational Association, which was greatly indebted to him for efforts in raising funds toward the building of the denominational house — in which efforts his health broke down. A short sickness brought his life to a close in 1861. At the funeral, among many relatives and friends who were present, was his mother, then approaching one hundred years of age. The interment took place at West Newton, where he had resided for some time. Dr. Clark was very methodical in his habits ; a modest 2 5 0 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and unambitious man; a man of rare amiability, who made and retained friends wherever he went. Before entering upon official life he was assiduous in Christian labor among the neglected; and then, as well as later, showed more than usual tact in being faithful without offending. He entertained great reverence for the Puritan character, and was well versed in Puritan history. A Historical Sketch of the Congregational Churches of Massachusetts from 1820 to 1858, is a valuable work from his pen; and at his decease he had in hand material for other volumes of a historical character. 6 . REV. HENRY BROWN HOOKER, D.D. He was a native of Rutland, Vermont, a son of Thomas Hooker, m.d., and was born August 31, 1802. One of his ancestors was the Rev. Thomas Hooker, a man hounded by pursuivants of the Church of England, who fled to Holland; arrived in Boston 1633, and three years later headed a colony of one hundred men, women, and children on their way amidst swamps, over streams and hills, to the valley of the Connecticut, a journey of fourteen days, which is now accomplished in less than four hours. Even fifty years ago forty-two ministers and forty women who married ministers were known to have descended from him, and those numbers must have since increased con¬ siderably. Dr. H. B. Hooker’s mother, a saintly woman, was the daughter of Col. John Brown, a lawyer, and an MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 2 5 J officer in our Revolutionary War. He shared in the cap¬ ture of Ticonderoga (1775); was at Quebec when Wolfe fell; but marching up the Mohawk valley (1780) to relieve General Schuyler, was traitorously led into an ambush of Tories and Indians, and with forty-five others was slain on his birthday, at the age of thirty-six. The crimson sash which he wore when carried from the field, is still in the possession of his great-grandchildren. Having graduated from Middlebury College, 1821, and from the Andover Theological Seminary three years later, Dr. Hooker soon received ordination, and labored for a time as Home Missionary in South Carolina. His success¬ ful pastorate at Lanesboro, Massachusetts, continued ten years (1826-1836), and that at Falmouth twice as long {1837-1857). In the pulpit Dr. Hooker was dignified, direct, definite; never suppressing severe truths, and never scolding; perfectly free from the affectation of smartness; always making the impression that he was a man of God, too intent upon his high mission to waste one moment in any device of vanity. In prayer a joyous, reverent freedom characterized him. As pastor he was a model man, active, impartial, discreet; always serious, never morose, and combining fidelity with kindliness most happily. Upon the resignation of the beloved Dr. Joseph S. Clark, Dr. Hooker was called from Falmouth to become Secretary of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society (1858). At the meetings of the Executive Committee, 252 ELIOT MEMORIAL. business requiring action was submitted in a well arranged manner, his own opinion being given with clearness and decision, but without obstinate adherence. His presenta¬ tion of the cause to our churches was earnest and fresh. I never heard a criticism upon his administration of fifteen years. On resigning the position (1873) his labors were still unabated so far as strength would allow. Even the last year of life, at the age of seventy-eight, he preached forty-seven Sabbaths. During the periods of service as pastor and secretary he furnished many contributions to the periodical press — uniformly pithy, graphic, and with a vein of sanctified humor running through them. They always had a definite, practical aim. One of his several tracts, Are You Ready ? has had a circulation of about two million of copies. It was not home work alone that occupied his pen or his thoughts. Foreign missions engaged heart, prayers, and contributions. He was a corporate member of the Ameri¬ can Board, and uniformly attended its annual meetings whatever the distance or expense; and the elder of two daughters was given up for work beyond sea no less cheerfully than if her field had been only trans-Missis¬ sippi. Religious hopefulness was Dr. Hooker’s chief char¬ acteristic. He never deemed despondency to be any part of his duty. He had an enviable faculty of looking at the bright side of things, for he looked through and above the clouds to where light and peace always reign. MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 2 53 There was a fine reserve about him that forbade all profuseness of feeling, all excess of sensibility, and all promptings of egotism. His persistent gladness of heart, deriving strength from trust in God, was associated with strong, religious good sense, which is always worth much more than mere genius. During the frequent visits which it was my privilege to make in the room of Dr. Hooker’s last sickness, two things were deeply impressive; one, the same serene cheer¬ fulness that had characterized his years of health. For more than half a century he had not been confined to the bed for a single day. Summer and winter he rose at four o’clock, and began the day with singing. The other impressive circumstance was his unflagging zeal for the advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Looking in upon him the day of a farewell meeting at Pilgrim Hall, I mentioned the destination of those who were about to embark, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Walter, designated to the new mission at Bihe, in Southwestern Africa. “ I lay awake most of last night,” said he, “praying for that mission; I never prayed more for any mission in my life.” 7. MR. BENJAMIN PERKINS. Among the brethren of the church there was perhaps no one more unobtrusive and at the same time more ex¬ emplary in public religious duties than Mr. Perkins. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he removed to Boston, and for ELIOT MEMORIAL. 252 business requiring action was submitted in a well arranged manner, his own opinion being given with clearness and decision, but without obstinate adherence. His presenta¬ tion of the cause to our churches was earnest and fresh. I never heard a criticism upon his administration of fifteen years. On resigning the position (1873) his labors were still unabated so far as strength would allow. Even the last year of life, at the age of seventy-eight, he preached forty-seven Sabbaths. During the periods of service as pastor and secretary he furnished many contributions to the periodical press — uniformly pithy, graphic, and with a vein of sanctified humor running through them. They always had a definite, practical aim. One of his several tracts, A re You Ready ? has had a circulation of about two million of copies. It was not home work alone that occupied his pen or his thoughts. Foreign missions engaged heart, prayers, and contributions. He was a corporate member of the Ameri¬ can Board, and uniformly attended its annual meetings whatever the distance or expense; and the elder of two daughters was given up for work beyond sea no less cheerfully than if her field had been only trans-Missis¬ sippi. Religious hopefulness was Dr. Hooker’s chief char¬ acteristic. He never deemed despondency to be any part of his duty. He had an enviable faculty of looking at the bright side of things, for he looked through and above the clouds to where light and peace always reign. MISSIONARY OFFICIALS. 2 53 There was a fine reserve about him that forbade all profuseness of feeling, all excess of sensibility, and all promptings of egotism. His persistent gladness of heart, deriving strength from trust in God, was associated with strong, religious good sense, which is always worth much more than mere genius. During the frequent visits which it was my privilege to make in the room of Dr. Hooker’s last sickness, two things were deeply impressive; one, the same serene cheer¬ fulness that had characterized his years of health. For more than half a century he had not been confined to the bed for a single day. Summer and winter he rose at four o’clock, and began the day with singing. The other impressive circumstance was his unflagging zeal for the advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Looking in upon him the day of a farewell meeting at Pilgrim Hall, I mentioned the destination of those who were about to embark, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Walter, designated to the new mission at Bihe, in Southwestern Africa. “ I lay awake most of last night,” said he, “ praying for that mission; I never prayed more for any mission in my life.” 7. MR. BENJAMIN PERKINS. Among the brethren of the church there was perhaps no one more unobtrusive and at the same time more ex¬ emplary in public religious duties than Mr. Perkins. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he removed to Boston, and for 254 ELIOT MEMORIAL. many years the house of Perkins and Marvin was well known in the publishing and book-trade business. His relation was transferred from the Pine Street Church to the Eliot Church in its earlier days (1841), and his quiet, persistent fidelity year in and year out became, as it always will, a power for good. Hasty and ill-timed utter¬ ances were not heard from his lips. Kindness and a calm judgment forbade severe criticism upon men or measures. Such a man will never have many if any enemies; gen¬ eral respect and confidence will be reposed in him. Mr. Perkins had excellent musical taste; and his well- trained voice served good purpose in his superintendency of a Mission Sunday School, which was afterwards merged in that of Parker Street, where also he presided several years. From 1831 to 1845 Mr. Perkins was Assistant Treasurer of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. From the latter date to the end of life he was Treas¬ urer. During the early portion of these thirty-nine years his services were gratuitous. 1 After three-score and ten years of unusually good health, death came in 1870. I have often thought what an appropriate subject for the painter Mr. Perkins’ atti¬ tude in his last sickness would be — falling asleep, a finger within the New Testament, which he held much of the time, and which was the one supreme book for him. ‘The salary was raised successively — in 1849 t0 $300; in 1854 to $500; in 1864 to $l,ooo. CHAPTER XVIII. MISSIONARIES. It might be expected that a church, in which promi¬ nent members held positions such as the foregoing, would furnish candidates for a work so preeminently Christian as carrying the gospel to the unevangelized. In every household, in every Sunday School, and in the ministra¬ tions of every pulpit, there should be an aim and influence looking to that end. While a good deal was done in that direction from time to time, the result did not wholly fulfill desire or expectation. Still a goodly representation here follows. I. MR. GEORGE CHRISTOPHER HURTER. It is not often that one has acquaintance with a man more conscientious or more kind than Mr. Hurter. The island of Malta was his birthplace (1813), his father being Swiss and his mother an English woman. His first voy¬ age was in a transport employed to convey Egyptian troops to Alexandria from Navarino, and not long after the famous naval action in that bay (1827). The masts of sunken Turkish ships were still to be seen above water. Mr. Hurter, relinquishing sea life, became an ex¬ pert printer, and in that capacity served the London ELIOT MEMORIAL. 256 Missionary Society (1828-1835), being associated with the Rev. Mr. Lowndes at Malta. That press having been given up, he came to this country with a brother-in-law, Mr. Fitzwilliams, who was afterwards a secretary to the Governor General of India. He joined the Eliot Church in 1838, and the next year married Miss Elizabeth Grozer, a sister of Mrs. Deacon Kittredge. In 1840, owing partly to the acquaintance and in¬ fluence of the Rev. George B. Whiting of the Syria Mis¬ sion, Mr. Hurter received appointment by the American Board, and went to Beirut, to have charge more especially of printing the Arabic Bible. There he remained for twenty years. In 1863 Mr. Hurter visited the Sinaitic peninsula, and made a discovery which, so far as known, is not mentioned in the published work of any previous traveler. On the west side of the Wady Shu’eib he found a spring of pure water issuing from what he re¬ garded as the “ Rock Horeb,” which consists of solid red granite. In the smooth, perpendicular face thereof is a fissure about six feet long and four inches wide. The little stream pours into a reservoir twelve feet by five, and four feet deep. He gave an account of this in a printed letter to Dr. Park, professor in the Andover Theo¬ logical Seminary. Returning to this country Mr. Hurter engaged in printing works in the ancient classic languages and in living foreign languages. His later church relation was at Hyde Park, and his pastor, Rev. Dr. P. B. Davis, bears hearty testimony to MISSIONARIES. 257 his superior acquaintance with Scripture, his regularity and earnestness in religious observances, and the general value of his influence. His family life was peculiarly happy, and the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Hurter was an occasion of special enjoyment. He prepared, what it would be well if more men did, a manuscript autobiography of about four hundred pages. His departure (January, 1895) was very sudden, and owing to pulmonary apoplexy. Returning home from business in Boston one day, he appeared to be in usual health, but before midnight of the same day his life on earth had come to an end, at the age of eighty-one, the same age as that of his father. 1 2 . MRS. ELIZABETH GROZER HURTER. Was born in Truro, Massachusetts, July 28, 1814. In early childhood she came to Boston to live; taught school at the West for a time, and afterwards assisted her aunt in a Roxbury school. October 2, 1839, she became the wife of Mr. George C. Hurter, and early in 1841, having been appointed to the Syrian Mission, they sailed for Beirut. Modest and self-distrustful, she yet became very useful. The Arabic language she mastered sufficiently for all the ordinary requirements of reading and speech. A large ministry among the sick fell to her lot. When the cholera prevailed patients were brought, some- 1 Norfolk County Gazette, January 5,1895. 2 5 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. times to the number of twenty or thirty a day, to her door. Individuals might be seen, too sick to walk, crawling to the house, where she administered medicine. Seasons of great alarm occurred, as during the war between the Druses and the Christians of Mount Lebanon, and the massacres of i860. One night all the mission families at Beirut had to fly to the consulate for protection. That was one of the occasions when Mrs. Hurter was called upon to do much for the homeless, the sick, and the wounded. The next year (1861) she returned to this country; and her death occurred at Hyde Park. 3. REV. DANIEL CROSBY GREENE, D.D. The Rev. David Greene, who was for sixteen years a Corresponding Secretary of the American Board, and his wife, Mary Evarts Greene, were members of the Eliot Church from 1837 t° 1849. Midway in that period their son, Daniel Crosby, was born, February 11, 1843. Rev. Daniel Crosby, the first pastor of the Winthrop Church, Charlestown, a man warmly interested in foreign missions, was a college acquaintance at Yale, and later an intimate friend of Secretary Greene. Mr. Crosby’s death occurred in 1842, and his name was worthily borne by the Board’s first missionary to Japan. Neither of the parents, however, lived to rejoice over the destination of their son. In the meantime he spent one year at Middlebury College, but graduated at Dartmouth in 1864. For two years he was MISSIONARIES. 2 59 engaged in teaching at the West, and then entered the Chicago Theological Seminary; but after a single year removed to the Seminary at Andover and graduated there in 1869. He was the first son of any official at the Rooms of the American Board to be commissioned as a missionary. After his ordination and marriage Mr. and Mrs. Greene sailed from San Francisco, and landed at Yokohama November 30, 1869. In the spring of the year following they removed to Kobe. Two years later Dr. Greene was assigned with J. C. Hepburne, m.d., and the Rev. S. R. Brown, d.d., to the work of translating the Scriptures, which work was carried on at Yokohama. Their Japanese version of the New Testament was published in 1880. After a furlough in the United States, Dr. Greene became one of the Faculty in the Doshisha College (1881) as instructor in Old Testament literature; but after ten years he removed to Tokyo. The governmental and other changes which have taken place within a period so recent as the introduction of Protestant Christianity into that empire are among the marvels of this last half century. To the writer it seems somewhat like a dream to look back as far as May 21, 1843, when the name Daniel Crosby was publicly pro¬ nounced and sacramental water was applied to an infant forehead; then calling to mind July 28, 1869, when the right hand, with others, was placed on the same head in an ordaining service; and now to contemplate still 260 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the same head as what Solomon pronounced “ A crown of glory.” 4. MRS. MARY CARPENTER PARIS. Mary Carpenter was a cousin of Mrs. Dr. Rufus An¬ derson, and was for a time a member of that family and of the Eliot congregation in the early years of my pas¬ torate. She was born in New York City, January 21, 1815, and in 1851 married Rev. John D. Paris, a missionary of the American Board in the Hawaiian Islands. He died at Kaawaloa, 1893 I and Mrs. Paris died four years later. 5. MRS. LOUISA BRADBURY BUNKER. The daughter of Hon. Samuel Adams Bradbury, a descendant from the Bradburys of Alluset, England, was born in Boston, June 27, 1844. In the chancel of St. Margaret’s Church, Wilken Bonent, are fifteen memorials of the family (1637-1744), and a suggestive inscription may be read: “ Through ye mercies of Christ my Saviour I trust for sins forgiven.” There have been many minis¬ ters of the Gospel in the line. The earliest ancestor in this country was Thomas Bradbury, agent of Fer¬ nando Gorges, 1620. His wife was one of those who were condemned for witchcraft at Salem (1692); but she escaped through the intercession of a friend. Mrs. Bunker had been in the habit of prayer from infancy, but dates her conversion and the beginning of MISSIONARIES. 261 genuine spiritual life in the year 1857, an< ^ speaks of in¬ debtedness to the pastor of this church and to her Sunday School teacher. Owing to a change of views regarding one of the ordinances, she removed her relation seven years afterwards to the Baptist Church in Hyde Park. But tender memories are ever awakened upon the thought of the Eliot Church, “ somewhat as when she sings Jeru¬ salem the golden.” Her marriage to Rev. Alonzo Bunker, d. d., took place September 5, 1865 ; and two months later they arrived at Toungoo, British Burmah. She was the first of her family to enter upon foreign mission work, but since then several of them have gone to Africa, India and Japan. The efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Bunker have been in behalf of the “ Hill Tribes,” or Karens, who are demon¬ worshippers. Various dialects are spoken by them. At that time there was a sad division among them, owing to the influence of a missionary woman who seemed to be mentally unbalanced. After the toil of a decade har¬ mony came at last, and the nine churches of their field had multiplied to thirty-nine at the close of the twelfth year, and their schools were largely self-supporting. There are now eighty-five churches. Mrs. Bunker’s labors were incessant and efficient. In her husband’s absence for months while touring, she would take charge of the home station Training School. A large amount of medical work also came to her hands, amounting often to twenty cases a day. Native pastors 262 ELIOT MEMORIAL. were in the habit of coming to her in their difficulties about doctrinal and other matters; and no small amount of patience and tact were required. She, too, made tours with Dr. Bunker, over mountains and through forests, for the sake of Christian work among women in the jungles. It is not strange that health should be completely broken down, and that a prolonged furlough at home should be required for recovery sufficient to authorize a renewed campaign in Burmah. 6. MRS. MARIA CHAMBERLAIN FORBES. Was a daughter of Mr. Lewis Chamberlain. Her birth dates at Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 25, 1832. In early youth she attended Punahau School; and after¬ wards coming to this country she entered Mount Holyoke Seminary, where her hopeful conversion took place. In 1852 she joined the Eliot Church on confession of her faith, at the same time with Mary Ballantine. December 21, 1858, she was married to Rev. Anderson O. Forbes, and went with her husband to the island of Molokai, where he was pastor of the old mission church founded by Mr. Hitchcock. After a few years of service there they removed to Honolulu, and Mr. Forbes was called to the second native church. Thence they went to the Lahainaluna Seminary on the island of Maui, where Mr. Forbes was engaged in teaching for several years, till called to the pastorate of the foreign church in Hilo. His next removal was to Honolulu as Secretary of the MISSIONARIES. 263 Hawaiian Board of Missions, which office he held till his death in 1888. Mrs. Forbes speaks with liveliest interest of the kind¬ ness of Dr. and Mrs. Anderson in furnishing a home for her in Roxbury. Now for many years she has been the manager of the Lunalino Home, which was founded by one of the last Hawaiian kings for the benefit of aged and homeless natives. The institution has about fifty inmates. Mrs. Forbes is a very energetic, useful, and much respected woman. 7. MRS. MARY BALLANTINE FAIRBANK. Among the nine individuals who joined this church in September, 1852, was a group of young ladies, nearly the same in age and stature. A special interest attached to each of the three. One of them was Marcia Evelina Atkins, modest and lovely, but pallid, and already awaken¬ ing the fear of friends lest she might become the victim of pulmonary disease. Two years later came her funeral. Another, Maria Chamberlain, the daughter of a mission¬ ary, was born in Hawaii, and is mentioned in the preced¬ ing sketch. Beside her, on the occasion referred to, stood Mary Ballantine, who claimed Bombay as her birthplace, though her parents removed during her infancy to Ahmed- nagar in Western India. She was a daughter of Dr. Henry Ballantine, one of the best known men who have gone from this country, in connection with the American 264 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Board, to that land where spiritual darkness reigns, but where the sun shineth in his strength. She was born September 10, 1836, and came to this country for better educational advantages. The family of Dr. Rufus Ander¬ son welcomed her much as they would a daughter of their own. This beloved Mary was noticeably blameless in de¬ portment ; was amiable and cheerful much beyond the average of young women. Her bright countenance re¬ vealed a captivating ingenuousness. She had been in the habit of daily prayer for a long time ; but after two years spent here she became convinced that her devotions were far from what they should be ; that she had never appre¬ hended her sinfulness and the consequent divine condem¬ nation ; that all which is threatened in the Word of God to those dying impenitent was deserved; and that there was no salvation for her except by Jesus Christ. New tastes, hopes and joys followed. Pleasing as her countenance and manner had always been, there was now an added charm. Although forty-eight years have elapsed since she presented herself to assent publicly to the arti¬ cles of faith and covenant of the Eliot Church, I call to mind distinctly the expression on her face at that time. Her countenance, always bright, was now radiant as if a gleam from the Mount of Transfiguration had fallen on that precious young disciple. No cloud afterwards seemed ever to gather over her. When asked for a written opinion with reference to Miss Ballantine’s appointment MISSIONARIES. 265 as an assistant missionary (1856), Mrs. Anderson wrote as follows: “ She has good health with uniform cheerfulness and buoyancy of spirit. She has a good mind, well balanced, and was considered one of their first scholars at the Seminary at South Hadley. She has uncommon industry and tact in all practical matters relating to household duties. Her piety is of a high order. I have never known a young person of more spirituality of mind, or who lived habitually with such nearness to the Saviour. Her love for the missionary work is the ruling motive in all her plans and acquirements, and this has been the case ever since I have been acquainted with her. She has been in our family for months at a time, and I have felt daily impressed that she had in every respect a peculiar fitness for the missionary work. I have never seen a young person who seemed to promise greater usefulness in that work.” Standing in the same aisle above referred to — the church filled with spectators — she was joined in marriage, July, 1856, with Rev. Dr. S. B. Fairbank of the Mahratta Mission. Scores upon scores of friends gave a hearty God¬ speed to the “ beloved Persis who labored much in the Lord.” Her children, one of whom is the wife of a mis¬ sionary at Ahmednagar, two other unmarried daughters and two sons in the same mission “arise up and call her blessed.” In 1878 Mrs. Fairbank entered into rest, enter¬ ing at the same time yet more fully “ into the joy of the Lord.” 266 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 8. MRS. HARRIET S. CASWELL. As Miss Harriet S. Clark she was for a time in the infant class of our Sunday School (1839). We are un¬ willing to allow that even so slight a connection is not sufficient to authorize some mention here of one so long and so useful in the Master’s service. At the twenty-fifth anniversary of our school a letter, addressed to the children, came from her hand, speaking of the sweet hymns she there learned and the singing which she so much enjoyed. The letter, very sprightly and pleasing, was written at the Cattaraugus Reservation for the Seneca Indians, where she labored successfully seventeen years as a teacher, and in connection with the Orphan Asylum which had been opened in behalf of that tribe. It was my pleasure to be one of the party when her father, Rev. Joseph S. Clark, d.d., accompanied her to that mission in the south¬ west corner of New York. It was the autumn of 1853, and I had the gratification of preaching to the Indians, Deacon Silver-Heels serving as interpreter. A more attentive or better behaved congregation I never wit¬ nessed. Miss Clark was adopted into the Seneca nation, an honor more full of meaning and more fruitful than the freedom of a city, which is sometimes tendered to strangers by a white-man’s municipality. They gave her an Iroquois name, Go-wah-dah-dyah-seh, “ She pushes us ahead.” This was happily significant of her success in endeavors to elevate the people. Her book entitled Our Life Among MISSIONARIES. 267 the Iroquois Indians , by Mrs. Harriet S. Caswell ’ is as graphic and entertaining as any story-book, with the ad¬ vantage of being strictly true. It is a work of over three hundred pages, issued by the Congregational Sunday School and Publishing Society. After her return East Mrs. Caswell was active in the Boston North End Charities for Working Women. She was at one time editor of the Home Missionary , and is now Secretary of the Woman’s Department of the Congregational Home Missionary Society. 9. MRS. JANE HERRING LOOMIS. The youngest daughter of the Rev. David Greene, and was born in Roxbury, June 14, 1845; graduated from the Young Ladies’ Seminary, Auburn, N. Y., and for over ten years a teacher in the same. In 1863 she united with the Congregational Church at Westborough, Mass., and was later transferred to the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City. She married (1872) Rev. Henry Loomis, who was then under appointment to the Japan Mission of the American Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Mr. Loomis had served in the 146th Regiment of Volunteers. Enlisting as a private he was promoted to the captaincy of a company, and fought in twenty-seven engagements. He was present at Lee’s surrender; and when peace was restored, resumed study at Hamilton College, graduating in 1866, and from Auburn Theological Seminary three 268 ELIOT MEMORIAL. years later. In May, 1872, they reached Yokohama, a little before the first Protestant Church in Japan, now known as the Kaigan (Seaside) Church of Yokohama, was organized; and in connection with that they entered upon their work with great earnestness. Hardly four years, however, had gone by, when Mrs. Loomis’ health gave way, and they were obliged to return home. In the Spring of 1881 Mr. Loomis was appointed agent of the American Bible Society for Japan, and in the Autumn following, Mrs. Loomis joined him at Yokohama once more. Besides the work of Bible distribution, which, during his superintendence, has probably reached two mil¬ lion portions of Scripture, they have dong a good deal for Chinese residents in Yokohama, for foreign sailors in that port, and for prisoners in the consular jails. Their home has been a rallying place for Christians, both native and foreign. Mrs. Loomis is a deaconess in the Union Church of Yokohama. IO. REV. DAVID COIT SCUDDER. At the quarter-century celebration of the Eliot Sun¬ day School (1859), Mr. Scudder, in closing an excellent address said: “ One day about eight years ago — I re¬ member it well — I was playing at my home here in Rox- bury. I happened to look up and saw our pastor coming toward the house. It was the annual day of prayer for colleges, and I at once thought that he had come to talk to me about my soul. I did not want to see him, and MISSIONARIES. 269 ran and hid myself. I was soon called in, however. He took me by his side, talked with me kindly but seriously, and as he was leaving asked me to mark in my Bible the eighth verse of the twenty-seventh Psalm. I did so. Time passed on, and my thoughtlessness continued. But about a year afterwards, when that moment came to me, as it always does once at least to every man — the moment when I saw that I had been seeking the world and its pleasures, and felt that they were tasteless — I remember taking my Bible and often looking at that verse: ‘ When Thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’ It was not long before I sought his face and found peace.” The family had for some time resided in Roxbury and worshiped at the Eliot Church. David was born in Boston, October 27, 1835. His father, Deacon Charles Scudder, was well known in the business world as a man of inflexible integrity, and in the religious world as a wise counsellor and a devout Christian, carrying a countenance and possessing a character full of sunshine. In boyhood this son was noticeably energetic, frolic¬ some, and impetuous, qualities that were afterwards modi¬ fied, but always remained characteristics. An impulse to run and to shout was inborn. Preparation for college was at the Latin Schools of Boston and Roxbury, and he graduated from Williams in the class of 1855. The home was a center of missionary influence, and a home for mis¬ sionaries. Among them it is natural to name Dr. John ELIOT MEMORIAL. 270 Scudder, though his relationship was at a remove of six generations. In David’s mind, to be a Christian and to be a missionary had always seemed one and the same. Accordingly when converted, during his college course his mercurial spirit led at once to thoughts of foreign service, which always presented attractions. Parental wishes were also thus met; and his consecration was hearty and complete. Native exuberance might be grad¬ ually curbed, but would still overflow. Bishop Hannington, whose tragic end came later (1886) in Central Africa, had a temperament and traits similar to those of David Scudder. The adoption of a high and holy purpose by our young friend transformed him in a measure, making a man out of the boy. Aims and methods of study, and the direction of an earnestness that never flagged, took on a new type. Cheeriness and frankness were unabated; conventionality never mastered him. During the remainder of his course at Williamstown, and afterwards at Andover, he gave him¬ self unremittingly to preparation for evangelistic work, especially in India, grappling with the Tamil language, studying the history, religion, and philosophy of the people, and at the same time endeavoring to enlist fellow students in a personal devotion to the foreign service. His pen was employed in contributions to the press. A package of his tracts for children, Tales about the Heathen , was issued by the Tract Society in Boston. He delivered ad¬ dresses to Sunday Schools and juvenile societies; at the same time engaging in something besides talk. He under- MISSIONARIES. 271 took a Bible agency in New Jersey and tract distribution in Boston. Having graduated at Andover (1859), he re¬ ceived ordination in Boston, February 25, 1861. It has never been the lot of the writer to take part in such a service with feelings of deeper interest than at that time. The next evening he was married to the daughter of another deacon of the Essex Street Church. Dr. N. Adams baptized both bride and bridegroom in infancy, and received both of them into the visible Christian fold. Before graduating from college, India had become David’s first thought in the morning, and was uniformly present in his mind. Catching sight of the coast south of Madras (June 25, 1861), he entered in his journal: “My home is at hand. My work is before me. India is to be the Lord’s. How soon ? ” The next year he was put in charge of the mission district of Periakulam, about fifty miles northwest from Madura. He had just entered his twenty-eighth year, and was to be on missionary ground only a year and a half. November nineteenth he had occa¬ sion, in touring, to cross a river, which was suddenly swollen by recent rains. He was a good swimmer; but when halfway across, there came down the stream a vast volume of water from a great tank which had given way. No human strength was equal to the emergency, and our friend was drowned. In a churchyard on a little hillside at Kodi Kanal may be seen a memorial stone with the inscription: David Coit Scudder. “ He leadeth me beside the still waters.” 272 ELIOT MEMORIAL. II. MISS ELLEN MARIA STONE. The daughter of Mr. Benjamin F. Stone, one of the original members of this church. The ancestors in each direct parental line back to the earliest arrival in New England were church members. June 4, 1848, the father and mother presented for baptism two children, one of whom, then two years old, was named Ellen Maria , for a missionary who had been the mother’s Sunday School teacher. At that time the mother consecrated this child to missionary service, a circumstance not made known to the daughter till she was weighing the subject with reference to offering herself to the American Board. In her written offer of service occurs the following: — “ Though often thoughtful upon the subject of my personal relations and duty to God, from the days when Dr. Thompson used to ask me, ‘ My little girl, do you love God?’ yet it was not till March, 1866, during a revival of marked power, that I gave my life to God’s service. In July following, with about a hundred others, I was received to the church.” It was the First Church in Chelsea, Dr. A. H. Plumb, Pastor, the family having removed to that city. Miss Stone speaks of the Maternal Association, of which Mrs. Dr. Anderson was largely the life, and of the influence of Quarterly meetings, and of books and cards then given to children. Her immediate call to missionary service was by a sermon of Dr. E. K. Alden, 1878. She had had for years an agreeable and useful position on the editorial staff MISSIONARIES. 273 of the Congregationalist; she was in charge of the Sunday School Primary Department — a very large one — of the First Church in Chelsea; but the Macedonian cry seemed imperative; and going to Samokov, Bulgaria, she became connected with the Girls’ Boarding School of that city. Contributions from her graphic pen relating to that insti¬ tution, and to other departments of the good work, have appeared in News from Bulgaria , in the Missionary Herald , and Life and Light , as well as Mission Dayspring. Among those contributions will be found many and inter¬ esting incidents and narratives. Since 1882 Miss Stone has had charge of the field work, or touring among the Bible women and teachers of schools connected with the evangelical communities. On her late needed vacation, after many years of work, she addressed numerous gather¬ ings of ladies, and of young people in the Endeavor meetings or in Sunday Schools. These addresses were instructive, and wisely suited to the object and the occasion. Her visits to the Eliot Church were peculiarly welcome and stimulating. Missionary work in Bulgaria, that land of a newly-born nation, is increasingly her delight. 12 . MISS ANNA WELLS BUMSTEAD. The Rev. Robert W. Hume and Mrs. Hume, mis¬ sionaries of the American Board in India, on their way hence (1854), stopped at Cape Town, where Mr. Hume died. Through Mrs. Hume a copy of the life of Mary Lyon came into the hands of Dr. Murray, pastor of the 274 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Dutch Reformed Church at Wellington, a well-known author of devotional books. That led to the founding (1874) of the “Huguenot Seminary” at Wellington, forty miles northeast from Cape Town. It was designed for daughters of European settlers in South Africa. A mis¬ sionary element entered into the thought of its founder, as was the case with its prototype, the Mount Holyoke Seminary. The institution took its name from Huguenot refugees, who, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled in that neighborhood. It has been signally blessed. Many pupils have been converted. Stimulated by the Report of the Woman’s Board of Missions in Boston, a society was started among them in 1878. More than forty Alumnae are now scattered over South and Central Africa, engaged in Christian work at the diamond mines and the gold fields; also in Mashonaland as well as on the Zambezi, and as far north as Lake Nyassa. Through their instrumentality not a few of the heathen have been Christianized. Young women of the seminary have availed themselves of the Cape University examinations; and thus more than five hundred Christian teachers have been fill¬ ing positions of influence in mission, farm, and government schools. Miss Bumstead, a native of Boston, and grand¬ daughter of the venerable Deacon Josiah Bumstead, re¬ ceiving appointment as art teacher, sailed for Cape Town by way of England, 1882. During her five years’ service at the Huguenot Seminary, in drawing and water colors, MISSIONARIES. 2 75 she had a share in Bible instruction, and in conducting devotional meetings, as well as certain other responsibili¬ ties. Her service, though not formally, was really in the line of mission work. Three or four branch seminaries have been formed, besides a college at Wellington; and in 1897 these institutions reported a membership of eight hundred. Miss Bumstead is now a representative in this coun¬ try of the South African General Mission, of which Rev. Andrew Murray is president. She collects funds, and during one part of the year a weekly half-hour prayer meeting for the cause is held in Boston. 13. MISS MARY G. BUMSTEAD. A younger sister of Miss Anna Bumstead, and a de¬ scendant of Thomas Bumstead, who, coming from England in 1640, united with the First Church, Roxbury, of which John Eliot was pastor. He afterwards removed to Boston, taking a letter to the Old South Church. There were members of that name in successive generations, till Josiah Bumstead, grandfather of these two young ladies, left the Old South to form, with others, the Park Street Church of Boston. In that he was a deacon for over half a cen¬ tury until his death (1859), at the age of eighty-eight. Miss Bumstead’s father was for twenty-seven years clerk of the Eliot Church, and the records show a most com¬ mendable fidelity. A decidedly missionary spirit existed in the family of 27 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Deacon Josiah Bumstead. Miss Mary, a granddaughter, was a native of Roxbury; and in 1884, two years after her sister Anna’s embarkation for South Africa, she hav¬ ing pursued a course at the Normal Art School, followed under an engagement to teach in the school at Worcester, one hundred miles from Cape Town. The Rev. William Murray, a brother of Andrew Murray, was the pastor of a Dutch Reformed Church in that place, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the school, which was founded in 1876. The institution is a boarding and day school like the Huguenot Seminary at Wellington, for the daughters of white settlers, and is pervaded by a similar religious atmosphere. It has a training department for preparing young women to enter upon missionary work; and a num¬ ber of the alumnae are thus engaged, while many are scattered as Christian teachers in the Cape Colony, in the Orange Free State, and in the Transvaal. During the last year’s stay at Worcester, Miss Mary Bumstead had charge of the overflow department, which occupied a large building by itself. After a service of seven years at Worcester she returned home. In 1893 she went to Colorado on account of her health, which was speedily benefited. The next year she was in¬ vited to act, for a couple of weeks, as pastor of the church at Highlandlake, Colorado; and a month later was accepted by the Congregational Home Missionary Society as one of their missionaries, and became the settled pastor of the afore¬ named church. At that time there was a congregation of MISSIONARIES. 277 only thirty-five, who worshiped in a small schoolhouse. The next year Miss Bumstead came East and obtained aid from friends, which, together with five hundred dollars from the Church Building Society, sufficed, with what the people could do, to secure a meeting house and parsonage, which were dedicated free from debt. The congregation doubled in attendance, and the Sunday School meanwhile increased. It was on her wedding tour, and under an attack of pneumonia, that Mary Bumstead Coates died at Denver, March 24, 1898. Indirectly and in spirit, though not in an immediate and technical sense, the South African experience of these sisters belongs to the category of for¬ eign missions. 14. REV. CHARLES W. MUNROE. In Mr. Munroe our Sunday School had an early member, who was born in Boston, October 21, 1821. He graduated at Harvard College (1847) an d Andover Semi¬ nary (1849), and immediately entered upon home missionary service in the West. Wisconsin was his field, and he gathered the first church in Appleton. Mr. Munroe came East (1856) to assist his father in business; and now resides in Cambridge, where he is a valued officer of the First Church. 15. REV. SAMUEL GREENE. A son of the Rev. David Greene, born in Boston, December 9, 1835. He enjoyed in Roxbury the advantages of good schools, including the Latin School, and also 278 ELIOT MEMORIAL. a year in Thetford Academy, Vermont. First religious impressions, outside of home, are ascribed to an evening spent, with other boys, in the writer’s study. Public profession was made at Westborough, Massachusetts, whither the family had removed in 1849. Seven years later he removed to Muscatine, Iowa, and joined the church of which the Rev. A. B. Robbins was pastor. Thoughts of the ministry as his calling mingled with the aspirations of boyhood, and Dr. Robbins encouraged him to give up business pursuits, and his parting words when Mr. Greene left for St. Louis were, “Young man, if you feel as you say you do, and do not enter the minis¬ try, you will never be prospered as long as you live and refuse.” Reverses in business at Chicago occurred; and removal to Washington Territory took place with a view to Christian work. The second day after arriving there a Congregational minister came to him, reporting that he had a place for him. It was on an Indian reservation where he labored for the greater part of a year. Leaving there he engaged in organizing Sunday Schools, and at length a church also, of which he was chosen the pastor. License to preach was given by the Oregon and Wash¬ ington Association, and later (1880) he was installed, by an Ecclesiastical Council, pastor of a church which he had gathered at Houghton, seven miles from Seattle. There he remained for ten years, till invited to become Superintendent of the Congregational Sunday School and Publishing Society for Washington and Northern MISSIONARIES. 2 79 Idaho. In that position he has continued to the present time. Mr. Greene is one of the leading ministers of Wash¬ ington. He has more than once been Moderator of the State Congregational Association, President of the Wash¬ ington Home Missionary Society, and has held other positions of trust. When he went to that region (1874) the population was sparse, and but little had been done toward gathering churches of any denomination, there being only six of the Congregational order, all of them weak, the largest not having more than twenty-five mem¬ bers. In the course of a decade (1887-97) he, together with his assistants, organized nearly five hundred Sunday Schools; while during the same period ninety churches were gathered and received into the fellowship of Asso¬ ciations, sixty of which churches resulted from the Sun¬ day Schools. For the past ten years Mr. Greene has, upon an average, preached more than three times a week; and for the last seven years has annually traveled over twenty-five thousand miles. In a broad sense his entire work on that wide field has been home missionary. 16. MISS ELIZABETH ELLEN BACKUP. Her parents were of a good stock, and had been trained in the Scottish ways of Sunday observance, Bible study and rehearsal of the Catechism. They came from Paisley to this country immediately upon their marriage. Miss Backup was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts. At 28 o ELIOT MEMORIAL. the age of eighteen she graduated at the Bridgewater State Normal School, and at once became a teacher; but health soon broke down completely and has since re¬ mained delicate. In 1870 she went to Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, and remained through the academic year, having charge of what was then termed the Gram¬ mar School Department. She mingled as freely as pos¬ sible in the families of her day-pupils, and also taught in the Sunday School. She had long been interested in evangelistic work, and this labor at Nashville was de¬ signed to be and was of a decidedly missionary character. Bereavement in a brother’s family called her back to Bos¬ ton that she might take charge of three motherless chil¬ dren. Interest in Christian work has for many years exceeded the strength required for much active service. At present Miss Backup is president of the “ Asso¬ ciated Missionary Circles ” of our Church, and also of the “ Woman’s Home Missionary Association.” 17. MISS SUSAN MARIA UNDERWOOD. Among those engaged in city mission work was Miss Underwood, the only daughter of a physician then practic¬ ing in Andover, Massachusetts. When she was seven years of age her excellent Christian mother died, and the funeral was held in the chapel of the Theological Semi¬ nary, the venerable Dr. Woods conducting the service. At seventeen Miss Underwood became a teacher in one of the Roxbury public schools, and in 1850 was received to MISSIONARIES. 281 the Eliot Church on profession of faith. Her religious experience was of a type much more than usually decided, and her character developed in a form of exceptional beauty and certitude. She was sprightly as well as pecu¬ liarly sympathetic and disinterested. With no sign of any morbid element she gave herself, in conscientious earnestness, to cultivating spiritual growth by observing the requirements of Holy Writ. Early every morning a text of Scripture was selected for immediate special aid during the day. Such writers as Baxter, Edwards, Brain- erd and the Wesleys were favorites. Seldom is any one met with less given to saying aught to the discredit of another, or more ready to lend a helping hand. She was able early to say, “ I desire for myself no more temporal blessings than I now have. I am more than satisfied.’* Late in life she wrote, “ If I were to send you a portrait of myself as I am spiritually, it would be holding a cup- overflowing, on which is engraved ‘ Mercies'. ” That Miss Underwood should be intent on usefulness was a matter of course. She went to Hartford, Connec¬ ticut (1856), to attend upon the usual preparation for ser¬ vice under the care of the Board of National Popular Education at the West, of which the Hon. William Slade was the Corresponding Secretary. The ladies having in charge the preparatory course at Hartford were impressed with her remarkable fitness for foreign missionary service, and she received appointment by the American Board as a teacher in a female boarding school at Madura, India. 282 ELIOT MEMORIAL. It was arranged that she should accompany the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Capron, who were destined to that mission. Her eyes, however, came to be in such a state as made it plain that she ought not to attempt the work in India. The next year (1857) she began city mission labor in Boston. It was, as we well know, arduous, often dis¬ couraging, and sometimes disclosing scenes that are pain¬ fully repulsive. But she was one of the perseveringly faith¬ ful. After two years of indefatigable work she was seized with a hemorrhage from the lungs. A voyage to Malaga, Spain, under very favorable circumstances, proved ser¬ viceable, and the exhausting work was resumed. Attacks of hemorrhage, six in number, were repeated till, on the morning of August 14, 1861, she awoke where the sun goeth no more down. In our Sunday School Miss Underwood was a highly valued teacher, and when obliged to leave she wrote, “ Dear, delightful Roxbury.” I have seldom, if ever, known any one whose calm, whole-souled and joyful trust in our Saviour surpassed hers. In one of her last letters she wrote: “ I can look up and find rest in Him, who having loved his own loved them to the end. I lay my weary soul at his feet.” Intellectually she was a superior young woman. Her published contributions to religious journals and her poetic effusions were far from being of an inferior stamp. 1 ‘Mrs. Dr. Anderson prepared a Memoir of her—250 pages — entitled, Following after Jesus; a Memorial of Susan Maria Underwood, which was published by the American Tract Society in 1863. CHAPTER XIX. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. I. REV. JACOB ABBOTT. The second name on the original roll of the church is that of Rev. Jacob Abbott. Although licensed to preach six years previously, 'he was ordained as an evangelist the same year in which Ihis church was gathered. One of the recent encyclopaedias ascribes the founding of the Eliot Church to him; in another he is said to have organized it. Neither statement is correct. No one man was perhaps ever properly the founder of a Congregational church; nor did Mr. Abbott organize the Eliot Church. But he was one of numerous individuals who were active in secur¬ ing its establishment. After it had been duly organized in the usual way by an ecclesiastical council, he supplied the pulpit for a considerable part of a year before his brother, Rev. John S. C. Abbott, became its installed pastor. Mr. Jacob Abbott was born at Hallowed, Maine, No¬ vember 30, 1803. He graduated at Bowdoin College, 1820; was tutor and then professor of mathematics in Amherst College from 1825 to 1829. On coming to this neighbor¬ hood he was associated for a time with Rev. William C. Woodbridge in editing The Annals of Edtication . Five 284 ELIOT MEMORIAL. years later he started, in Boston, the popular Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies, and afterwards was principal of a school in New York, where two of his brothers were associated with him. Mr. Abbott paid repeated visits to Europe, six or more, and was well known as an author, not only in this country, but abroad also. His earlier books were chiefly of a religious character — The Young Christian ; The Corner Stone; and The Way to God. Other works, consisting each of one volume, were educational, historical, and descrip¬ tive— The Teacher , Gentle Measures in Training the Young; Discovery of America; Aboriginal America; Hoary Head and McDonner; A Summer in Scotland. His serial writings are more numerous — Histories of Celebrated Sovereigns; American History , 8 vols.; Marco Paul's Adventures , 6 vols.; The Little Learner Series, 5 vols.; Science for the Young; John Gay, or Work for Boys; William Gay, or Play for Boys; Mary Gay, or Work for Girls; June Stories; August Stories; each 4 vols.; The Harlie Stories and The Florence Stories, each 6 vols. Other similar series consist severally of an unequal num¬ ber of books — The Rollo and Lucy Books of Poetry , 3 vols.; Rainbow and Lucy Series , 5 vols.; The Franconia Stories, 10 vols.; The Rollo Books, 28 vols.; and Harpers Story Books, 36 vols. The sum of those figures fails to give the whole number of books of which he was the sole author, namely 180, besides 24 others to which he contributed. Such EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 285 fecundity of pen is noteworthy indeed. During the period of productiveness there was an average of four books per annum; none of them, however, of a large size. Many of them were republished in England, and not a few of them were translated into languages of the European Continent, while some appeared also in Asiatic languages. Mr. Abbott’s style is lucid, simple, and pleasing, and his productions contributed to a new era in literature for the young. Success was due in part to the circumstance of their author being a man of quick perception and care¬ ful observation. He was in the habit of associating with children and observing their ways and capacities in play, in conversation, and in reading. This was noticeable dur¬ ing his residence here in Roxbury. Such a class of writ¬ ings does not call for great depth, but rather for skillful adaptation. On the score of circulation, remarkable suc¬ cess attended Mr. Abbott’s literary ventures. Their aim and tone were safe, entertaining, and instructive, though exceptions have been taken to some things in one of his earlier works, The Corner Stone. Mr. Abbott died at Farmington, Maine, the thirty-first of October, 1879. 2 . REV. WILLIAM CHANNING WOODBRIDGE. It is not often- that two ministers of the gospel are found among the original members of a local church. Such, however, was the case here when Jacob Abbott and William C. Woodbridge were enrolled with forty- nine others, though neither of them ever became a pastor, 286 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and both were devoted to education. Mr. Woodbridge was born in Medford, Massachusetts, December 18, 1794, and graduated from Yale College in 1811. He began preparations for the sacred ministry, but ill health, which continued through life, obliged him to relinquish that object. He devoted himself, so far as strength would allow, to the interests of education, and became the principal of Burlington Academy, New Jersey, 1812-1814. After that he was for some time associated with the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet and M. LeClerc as a teacher in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Hartford, Connecticut, which was opened in 1817, the first institution of the kind established in this country. At length he prepared a well known geography, the first of a scientific stamp, and which marked an epoch in the methods of such works in England as well as in this country. Mr. Wood- bridge visited Europe three times. He made a study of Italy and Sicily, and resided several years in the middle countries of the Continent, becoming widely ac¬ quainted with literary and learned men, and making con¬ tributions to educational magazines. He felt a special interest in Baron Tellenberg’s institution at Hofwyl, Switzerland. Upon his return to the United States he conducted, as proprietor and an editor, The American Annals of Education here in Boston (1831-38), a very useful publi¬ cation. Lyceums and conventions of teachers were largely due for their origin and early usefulness to his influence. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 287 He advocated the use of the Bible as a classic in educa¬ tion. Mr. Woodbridge was a man of large benevolence* and of a decidedly religious character; but suffered much from poor health and consequent debility, and died Novem¬ ber 9, 1845. 3. WILLIAM ALEXANDER ALCOTT, M.D. Dr. Alcott, a cousin of Bronson Alcott, studied at the Medical School, New Haven, Connecticut, and after practicing in his profession for a few years, entered upon other lines of labor, and ceased to be known as a physi¬ cian. He was born at Wolcott, Connecticut, in 1798, and removed to Boston two years before the Eliot Church was organized. He became associated with William C. Woodbridge in educational authorship and kindred work. There was similar association with Gallaudet and others in Connecticut. He had a share in editing The Annals of Education; also The Juvenile Rambler, the first weekly periodical for children in this country. He contributed many articles at different times to other papers, and one of them, On the Construction of School Houses , gained a premium. His published works — books and pam¬ phlets— were more than a hundred in number. Among them are Young Mans Guide, Young Womans Guide, Young Housekeeper, The House I Live In, Library of Health, six volumes. He was a philanthropist and a reformer. The improvement of public education engaged thought and effort year after year. To forestall and pre- 288 ELIOT MEMORIAL. vent poverty, vice, and crime by correct physical and moral training was his steady aim. For over twenty years Mr. Alcott delivered lectures during the winter season in various places. He visited even thousands of schools, but his labors were chiefly gratuitous and unrewarded. Peculiarities, especially in regard to diet, were noticeable. In person tall, spare, and ungainly, and with a counte¬ nance not particularly pleasing, he yet impressed every one as being a kind and conscientiously religious man. Mr. Alcott died at Auburndale, March 29, 1859. 4. REV. SOLOMON ADAMS. Was born in Middleton, Massachusetts, March 30, 1797, and he bore the same name as his father, then minis¬ ter of that place. Mr. Adams graduated at Harvard Col¬ lege, 1820, and at the Andover Theological Seminary, 1823. He looked upon the ministry as peculiarly attrac¬ tive ; at the same time he entertained a strong predilec¬ tion for teaching, and regarded himself as better qualified for that than for any other profession. Accordingly, upon leaving Andover, he at once accepted the principalship of Washington Academy, East Machias, Maine. That was the best endowed academy in the state, and the only one east of Penobscot River and Bay. Mr. Adams’ suc¬ cess was brilliant, and marked an epoch in the progress of education in that section of the state. Thoroughness and accuracy, ability to inspire pupils and control their sentiments, were among his marked characteristics. Dr. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 289 Samuel Harris, former President of Bowdoin College, and later a Professor at New Haven, writes, as many others would write: “ I feel I owe a great debt of gratitude to him for his instruction, his influence in developing my intellect, quickening my interest in study and in all that is right and good, and in shaping the course of my life. His whole influence on his pupils was uplifting and good; he always manifested a great interest in his pupils, not only in their school work, but in their whole life and development; he was a man of most eminent ability as a teacher. I always remember him with gratitude, love and high esteem.” In 1828 Mr. Adams opened in Portland the “Free Street Seminary ” for young ladies, which, during the twelve years of his connection with it, ranked as the best institution of the kind in Maine. At a later period he opened a similar school in Boston. Owing to medical advice, upon failure of health, he gave up teaching. His methods of instruction, and especially the employment of devices for illustration, were in advance of his day. The practice of daguerreotyping microscopic views, which has become so common in this country and in Europe, originated from a suggestion of his (1845) to Mr. Whipple, a photographer, who for a number of years worshiped with us. While an officer of the American Institute of Education, Mr. Adams was influential in promoting im¬ proved methods. At East Machias he received ordina¬ tion as an evangelist (1825), and some of his sermons 290 ELIOT MEMORIAL. were deeply impressive. In the course of that year there came a religious revival of great power, in which he labored with special earnestness. Benignant, unselfish, unassuming, yet firm, Mr. Adams was greatly respected wherever known. He died at Auburndale, July 20, 1870, much valued in the community for his Christian charac¬ ter and influence. 5. REV. HORATIO QUINCY BUTTERFIELD, D.D. Yet others of the early as well as later members of our church were devoted to the cause of education. To this category belongs President Butterfield. The first of his ancestors in this country settled at Charlestown in the year 1638. Dr. Butterfield’s grandfather was in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and his great-grandfather, with six sons, enlisted for service in the War of the Revolution. The town of Phillips, Maine, was Dr. Butterfield’s birthplace, August 5, 1827. He graduated at Harvard College in 1848, under the presidency of Mr. Everett, and then for two years had charge of the Roxbury Latin School. During that period he became specially inter¬ ested in the subject of personal religion. He confessed that whatever of religious thoughtfulness he had had previously was subject to a sad decline in the course of his college life, but while in our congregation he experi¬ enced a marked spiritual change — all things becoming new — and on confession of faith in Christ, connected himself (1850) with the Eliot Church. One statement of EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 291 his at that time was, “ I can now form no idea of real happiness apart from holiness.” Then followed three years of study at the Bangor Theological Seminary in his native state, preparatory to pastoral work. To that he was devoted — with the exception of one year at the Andover Theological Seminary — from 1854 till 1866, when he became professor of languages in Washburn College, Kansas. During the last four years there he was President of that institution. Thence he was called to New York City as Secretary of the Society for Pro¬ moting Western Collegiate Education, which position he held for several years. In 1876 he was elected president of Olivet College, Michigan. The institution was at that time in a depressed condition, the number of students hav¬ ing fallen off quite sensibly. In a few years that number was doubled. Scholarships and other equipments were supplied, new buildings erected, and an era of general prosperity opened. In his varied relations and services Dr. Butterfield had large occasion to solicit money, and he met with a fair amount of success. If in any case there might be a failure to secure funds, there could be no failure to secure friends, so gentlemanly was he and so well acquainted with the workings of human nature. In the course of the last year of his life, the college re¬ ceived through his influence an endowment of $96,000. The key-note of Dr. Butterfield’s administration was given in the inaugural (1876): “I know the heart of the needy student; and if I forget him, may my right hand forget ELIOT MEMORIAL. 294 within the original town limits, as the public town or city schools.” 1 In the year 1863 Mr. Short was elected president of Kenyon College, Ohio, where he took the chair of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy. From 1868 till the time of his decease (December 24, 1886) he was professor of Latin in Columbia College, New York City. He was on the Committee of Revision of the New Testament, and served as its secretary. Dr. Short was a member of several learned societies, to which he made valuable written contributions, besides furnishing articles for various reviews. Several school books were revised by him, and his treatise on The Order of Words in Attic-Greek Prose is acknowledged to be the ablest work on that subject which has yet appeared. Dr. Short was a thorough classical scholar; a man of great refinement, of unusual painstaking industry, and of very agreeable social qualities. 7. PROF. WILLIAM RIPLEY NICHOLS. Of all who have been connected with the Eliot Church, Professor Nichols takes the lead in the depart¬ ment of science. His short life — only thirty-nine years being allotted him — bore the fruits of intense industry. He was a son of C. C. Nichols, Esq., and was a native of Boston. After graduating from the Roxbury Latin School at the age of sixteen, he went to Europe with two classmates, under the guidance and instruction 1 The Roxbury Latin School. By J. Evarts Greene. 1887. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 2 95 of Professor Buck. The two years’ absence were spent chiefly in France, Germany, Italy and Greece. The lan¬ guages of the three former countries were mastered; and an acquaintance, not wholly superficial, with the lan¬ guage of the one last named was also formed. On re¬ turning home he entered Harvard College with the class of 1869. Midway in Freshmen year he withdrew and joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A trouble with the eyes may have had influence in this step, but the leading consideration was a preference for science. At that time the elective system had not been adopted at Harvard as it has been since. For a youth of eighteen he had unusual maturity of judgment and decision of character. It is not known that he ever for a moment regretted the change or wavered in his devotion to the Institute. During the undergraduate course he gave in¬ struction in languages; and upon graduating was imme¬ diately made an instructor in chemistry. The year 1870 found him Assistant Professor in general chemistry; and 1872 a Professor. That position he held till his decease in 1886. All his work was characterized by patience and scrupulous accuracy; nor did he merely plod; the funda¬ mental principles of scientific investigation were kept clearly in mind. Nothing crude or unproved was allowed in his statements. For securing exactness neither time nor money was spared. He was at the expense of send¬ ing an assistant to England for the purpose of studying under Frankland and of mastering his methods. 296 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Even before graduation Professor Nichols had pre¬ pared two scientific papers, which were widely copied and were quoted in foreign periodicals. Inorganic chemistry attracted him at first; then he gave himself specially to sanitary chemistry, devoting great attention to questions of water supply and other matters relating to public health. In 1870 he began investigations of the chief rivers in the Commonwealth for the State Board of Health, and was soon recognized widely as an authority. His opinion was sought by Water Boards of many cities and by Com¬ mittees of Legislatures with reference to the conditions of public health, and his opinions carried weight not only in the United States but in Europe. A diploma with an accompanying medal was sent to him from the London Health Exhibition. Publications from his pen, under the head of Sanitary Chemistry, amount to forty-four, that of 1883, on Water Supply , being best known. Other pub¬ lications of a kindred nature, and the result of collabora¬ tion, carry the number up to sixty or more. He also furnished a valuable revision of two works, Manual of Inorganic Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis. Member¬ ship was accorded Professor Nichols in numerous scientific societies of this country, as well as the London Society of Chemical Industry, and the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft. He had a wide acquaintance, personal and by correspondence, with men eminent in the same depart¬ ment, both in Great Britain and on the Continent. He visited Europe not less than seven times. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 297 But enthusiasm for learned pursuits by no means wholly absorbed Professor Nichols. Membership in the Eliot Church began at the age of fifteen (1863). A few months before that he became convinced that his was a deceitful heart; that it was sinful to live for self, and that the atoning blood of Jesus Christ was what he needed. The Bible became a new book to him, and prayer three times daily a new practice. Several years later (1870) his relation was transferred to the Highland Church, in the gathering of which he felt a deep interest. He was one of its trustees and was clerk of the Ecclesiastical Society. In the course of his last prolonged sickness he became Superintendent of the Sunday School, and was indefatiga¬ ble in preparing exercises for the concerts, and in attend¬ ance upon teachers’ meetings as well as upon church gatherings. Nor was such activity merely local. While scientific labors had a philanthropic aim, his interest in the moral well-being of the community at large was not slight. He took part in the formation (1878) of the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice, and became one of its directors. Professor Nichols was deeply con¬ scientious both as a Christian man and a scientist. He had the genius of resolution and the heroism of persever¬ ance. Overwork brought on empyema, and the last five years of life were years of progressive suffering and weak¬ ness ; and yet a time of but partially diminished industry. Literary and educational work, even night work continued. An extra course of lectures at the Boston University was 298 ELIOT MEMORIAL. undertaken. Unable to travel to and fro from home, or even from the railroad station, he uttered no complaint, but removed to Hotel Brunswick that he might be in close neighborhood to the place of chosen labor, and not miss an exercise. In 1886 a second and very critical operation became necessary. For this purpose he went to Hamburg, having arranged, before sailing, a cable code to be sent back. The word Prepare signified “ The patient is sinking; ” and the word “ Worst ” denoted “ The patient did not survive the operation.” These mes¬ sages, flashed beneath the ocean, filled many hearts with profound sadness. His library, unsurpassed in collections of books and pamphlets relating to sanitary chemistry, was bequeathed to the Institute of Technology, and by that institution has been named, “ The William Ripley Nichols Library. 1 8. PROF. FRANK EUSTACE ANDERSON. At fifteen years of age, the same age as Prof. William R. Nichols, he joined the church on confession of faith. His testimony at that time to a hearty accept- 1 A Memorial, 1887, containing — Funeral Address by the Rev. W. R. Campbell. Memorial from the Institute of Technology. Memorial from the Alumni Association. Annual Catalogue of the Institution for 1886-1887. Prof. L. M. Norton in American Chemical Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 6. Prof. G. F. Swain in Scientific Ajnerican, April 30, 1887 Prof. F. H. Storer, an Article for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1887. EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 299 ance of all the distinctive truths of evangelical Chris¬ tianity and to his purposes in life was gratifying, as well as his expressed preference for solid reading instead of fiction, his reverence for the Word of God, and his habit of prayer. Dr. William Everett declared publicly that our Latin School “never graduated a brighter intellect, a warmer heart than that of Frank Eustace Anderson, of the class of i860.” He was born November, 1844, at Goff’s Falls, New Hampshire. The family came to Boston when he was four years of age. His father, like some others of the same name, hailed from the Scotch element in the north of Ireland, and was senior partner in the house of Anderson, Heath & Co., Boston. In the Roxbury Latin School Frank Anderson was recognized as a scholar of great promise. From Harvard College he graduated, 1865, among the highest in the class, his record in Greek scholarship being very exceptional. He was then enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge, England. Excellence in the classics secured for him a scholarship, and after taking his degree there, in 1869, he studied for some time at Heidelberg and Berlin. For two years he served as tutor at Harvard College, and then received appointment as assistant professor. His enthusiasm and his improved methods of teaching gave a new impulse to the study in his chosen department. Professor Anderson’s constitution was not naturally strong; he neglected to observe duly the laws of health, and frequent visits to Europe failing to bring relief from 3 °° ELIOT MEMORIAL. the neglect of required regimen, he was obliged to tender his resignation in 1878. He afterwards resided chiefly at Leipsic, still pursuing favorite studies, though with con¬ stantly declining health, and the end came July 15, 1880. His remains rest in the new cemetery of that city. 9. HORACE ELISHA SCUDDER, LITT. D. The family of Deacon Charles Scudder resided here for a few years, but without sundering their ecclesiastical relations to the Essex Street (now Union) Church. Their presence with us was a benediction. The youngest son dedicates one of his books, The Bodleys Afoot (1879), “To the Memory of the Best of Parents; ” and in so doing was at least not far from literal correctness. In the same book our Warren Street is spoken of. Horace E., when a lad of about a dozen summers, was a favorite with those among us of similar age, as well as of those older. He was a leader in social activities, especially such as were of a charitable nature. On attain¬ ing his majority, Mr. Scudder, referring to a Juvenile Association, which was largely due to his agency, wrote, “We used to hold our meetings in the large vestry, and I recall one of them now — the assembly of children and some older people, the missionary intelligence read from the desk, and, what was the most interesting exercise to the children, the announcement of the sum of money that had been contributed. I wonder if any of my asso¬ ciates recollect a sermon one rainy Sabbath, by a veteran EDUCATORS AND LITTERATEURS. 3 QI missionary, Rev. Dr. Poor, from the text, ‘ The churches of Asia salute you ’ — and how in the course of his sermon he called upon the members of the Juvenile Association to stand up, which they did.” Mr. Scudder, who was bom in Boston (1838), after graduating from Williams College (1858), had private pupils in New York for three years. The stories written for their birthdays were afterwards published in book form, with the title of Seven Little People and Their Friends. This was followed by numerous other books designed for the young, entertaining, healthful in tone, and instructive. He approved himself as the man to prepare a work on Childhood in Literature and Art; with some Observations on Literature for Children. The young people of our country are greatly indebted to Mr. Scudder. The Life and Letters of David Coit Scudder , a brother, whose brief missionary career in India came to a sudden close; biographies of George Washington and Noah Webster were also by him. Mr. Scudder had charge of The Riverside Magazine for Young People; and in 1890 became editor of The Atlantic Monthly. He wrote two school histories of the United States, besides contributing to Bryant and Gay’s History of the United States , as well as to the Memorial History of Boston. The number of volumes from his pen, not including compilations, is between twenty and thirty. Princeton University, on the occasion of its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, conferred upon Mr. Scudder the 3 ° 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. degree of Litt. D. In the Riverside Literature series of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Twenty Amer¬ ican Authors , Mr. Scudder’s name appears along with the names of such writers as Bryant, Cooper, Emerson, Hawthorne, Holmes, and others. CHAPTER XX. LAWYERS. The legal profession has been honored by those who belonged to it while in the congregation, or who entered it after leaving the congregation. With varying degrees of eminence a uniformly high tone of character has been maintained on their part. Though the number is not large, it is all that might naturally have been expected. The first lawyer came to Boston over two and a half centuries since (1637). The present corps in this city is not far from one thousand. I. HON. SAMUEL HURD WALLEY. Three years after the organization of the church, Mr. Walley became a member, and for more than twenty years rendered invaluable service. His seat in the sanctuary on the Lord’s Day was never vacant, save when sickness or absence from town intervened; and he could be depended upon for a helpful share in all week-day devotional meet¬ ings. Religious training in early life, and a good educa¬ tion, contributed to qualify him for Christian work. He enjoyed the blessing of pious parents and grandparents — his mother being a daughter of Governor Phillips. He graduated from Harvard College (1826) in the same class with Drs. N. Adams, George Putnam, and A. P. Peabody; ELIOT MEMORIAL. 3 ° 4 and studied law in the office of Hon. Samuel Hubbard. The powerful ministry of Dr. Lyman Beecher, with whose church in Boston Mr. Walley became first connected, had large influence in shaping his religious views and char¬ acter. The consistency of his profession he maintained in secular relations, such as various pecuniary trusts, the treasuryship of moneyed institutions, the presidency of Revere Bank, membership for eight years in the Massa¬ chusetts legislature — of which body he was the Speaker for several sessions — and as a representative in Congress. But it is church life and activity of which more especial mention should be made here. Mr. Walley was the effi¬ cient superintendent successively of the Mason Street and the Bowdoin Street Church Sunday Schools, and for nearly twenty years was president of the Massachusetts Sunday School Society. It was an unusual circumstance that, on retiring from the charge of the former of those two schools, he was succeeded in the superintendency by his father, Samuel Hall Walley, who held the position for seventeen years, till his death in 1850. 1 While with us he conducted a large Bible class of young ladies, and their uniform punctual attendance showed their interest. As one and another of them was removed by a lingering illness, it became manifest that the good seed sown by their faithful teacher bore fruit. Mr. Walley was a man of joyous temperament — frank, genial and kind. His presence was a benediction 1 Memorial of Samuel H. Walley, 1866. LAWYERS. 305 to any neighborhood and any church. I once said to him in his office, “ Mr. Walley, how comes it that you always have such a streak of cheerfulness, enough for yourself and to make everybody else happy who comes in here ? ” “ Whatever I have is from God,” he replied. “ My earliest recollection is the prayers of my mother. I was an ugly boy. At four years of age my grand¬ mother bade me do something which made me exceed¬ ingly angry. I went outdoors and sat on the wood-pile, pouting. All at once it occurred to me, ‘ There is no use in this; I’m making myself miserable, and others too; I’ll now try and make them happy.’ And from that time to this it has been a study with me to make people happy.” 1 He removed from Roxbury to Boston, and died at the age of seventy-three, August 27, 1877. 2. HON. CHARLES THEODORE RUSSELL. One of the earliest representatives of the legal pro¬ fession was the Hon. C. T. Russell, who became a mem¬ ber on confession of faith in 1838. Fifteen or more years later he removed from Boston to Cambridge and con¬ nected himself with the First Church of that city. Princeton, Massachusetts, was his birthplace, but the earliest ancestor in this country was a Puritan, William Russell, a citizen of Cambridge in 1645. Mr. Russell’s parents attained unusual longevity, his father, after voting at state elections for sixty-nine consecutive years, died at 1 Memorial Sermon by Rev. J. M. Manning , D.D., 1878. p. 13. 3°6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. nearly ninety years of age, while the mother lived to her ninety-third year. She was descended from a younger brother of the Earl of Huntington. Mr. Russell ranked high in his class at Harvard Uni¬ versity, and after graduation studied law. The firm of C. T. & T. H. Russell has been well known for full half a century. During that time Mr. C. T. Russell was elected to a series of public trusts. On the School Committee of Boston he took right ground regarding the admission of colored children to the public schools on an equality with other children, and ably defended the position, though in consequence he failed of reelection. Sentiment has since undergone a favorable change. At different times he represented Cambridge in the lower house of the Leg¬ islature, and the County of Middlesex in the Senate. While Mayor of Cambridge, 1861 and 1862, he cooperated efficiently with Governor Andrew in filling up quotas of State troops, and it was upon his suggestion that Cam¬ bridge offered the first large bounties. He was a pro¬ fessor in the Law School of Boston University from its foundation onward; and for many years was a corporate member of the American Board of Missions, and one of the Board of Visitors of the Theological Seminary at Andover. Mr. Russell’s last sickness was a very short one; and his death was almost as sudden as that of his son, the late Governor William E. Russell, though he had lived twice the number of years, seventy-nine. LAWYERS. 3°7 3 . HON. WILLIAM GASTON, LL. D. Huguenot blood always suggests pathos and special genealogical interest. Mr. Gaston’s ancestor, Jean Gas¬ ton, one of the French Huguenots who suffered perse¬ cution and confiscation, fled for refuge to Scotland, where he married. Two of his descendants came from the north of Ireland to New England about 1730, and settled at Voluntown, Connecticut. A son of one of them, John, had a son John, who was Governor Gaston’s grandfather, and who married a daughter of his pastor in that town, the Rev. Alexander Miller. Their son, Alexander Gas¬ ton, removed to Roxbury in 1838. Our William was then in the family, having been born in Killingly, Con¬ necticut, October 3, 1820. At the Brooklyn and Plain- field Academies of that state he fitted for Brown Uni¬ versity, which he entered at the age of fifteen, and from which he graduated with honors, 1840. He entered Judge Francis Hilliard’s office in Roxbury, and afterwards pur¬ sued legal studies in the office of those eminent lawyers and jurists, Charles P. and Benjamin R. Curtis of Boston. Mr. Gaston opened a law office in Roxbury, and came to a leading position at the bar. After about twenty years he formed (1865), with Hon. Harvey Jewell and Hon. Walbridge A. Field, a Boston law firm which be¬ came noted. As an advocate Governor Gaston was one of the comparatively few who achieve well-sustained emi¬ nence of the first grade. He devoted himself with wisely- directed enthusiasm to his profession. To clear and logi- 3°8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. cal thinking he united an unusually forcible and convincing manner of address. An air of honest conviction on his own part contributed to his success. He never solicited office, but office solicited him. He became President of the Roxbury Common Council {1852-1853); City Solicitor for five years; Mayor of Rox¬ bury (1861-1862); member of the House of Representa¬ tives (1853, 1854, 1856); and of the Senate (1868); Mayor of Boston (1871-1872); President of the Boston Bar Asso¬ ciation ; Governor of the Commonwealth (1875). In all these positions he was courteous and unassuming. Sound¬ ness of judgment and purity of life were acknowledged by all. His integrity was never impeached. Simplicity of manners, and a preference for domestic enjoyments were characteristics. His decease occurred January 19, 1894. 4. NEHEMIAH CHASE BERRY. Was born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, November 28, 1811. His grandfather did service in the Revolutionary War, holding the rank of captain. An English ancestor settled at Portsmouth before 1640. Dartmouth College was Mr. Berry’s Alma Mater; and after graduating (1839), he became first principal of the Stetson High School at Randolph, Massachusetts. In 1847 h e was admitted to the Norfolk County Bar, and three years later began the practice of law in Boston. On removing to Roxbury, Mr. Berry brought to us a letter from the First Church in Randolph, and in a nar- LAWYERS. 309 rative of religious experience spoke, as many another has done, of the Christian earnestness of his mother, and of the conversion of a brother and sister, as a special bless¬ ing to him when a young man. While in college and in the churches with which he was afterwards connected, Mr. Berry maintained a decidedly consistent character as a professing Christian, uniform in attendance upon meet¬ ings and the discharge of obvious duties. To the Bible he gave earnest study. Great sobriety of judgment and utterance was a characteristic. His presence and opinions were much valued in ecclesiastical councils when embar¬ rassing questions came to the front. Unemotional, his mind was distinctively of a judicial stamp. Late in life he prepared a small law-book, entitled Pleading and Prac¬ tice. Unusual vigor was retained until seventy-eight years of age, when a severe sickness compelled him to relin¬ quish much of his business, though still continuing to practice law till eighty, indeed till the last day of life. When passed fourscore he argued a case, which involved a nice question of law, before the full bench of the Supreme Court, the decision of which, in his favor, was rendered after his death. That event was due to a rail¬ road accident, March 19, 1892. 5. HENRY HILL ANDERSON. The eldest son of Dr. Rufus Anderson was a native of Boston. He studied at Phillips Academy, Andover; graduated at Williams College, cum lazide, 1848, and im- 3 IQ ELIOT MEMORIAL. mediately began the study of law in New York, where, the next year, he was admitted to the bar. In 1852 he became the partner of A. J. Willard — afterwards chief justice of South Carolina — and remained in that firm till 1^857, when he retired and spent two years in foreign travel. On his return, Mr. Anderson became assistant under the Hon. Greene C. Bronson, Counsel to the Cor¬ poration of New York, and had entire charge of all cases for the city. Such signal success attended his services in that capacity as secured for him a wide and gratifying reputation. His nomination (1871) by the Democratic party for the bench of the Supreme Court failed of suc¬ cess ; and ever after he declined public offices, though solicited more than once to accept appointment. One position thus declined was a seat in the Court of Appeals. As the counsel of large estate and corporation interests for many years, he exhibited great sagacity and enjoyed the confidence of prominent men, being accounted a lawyer of sound judgment and of uniform regard for the honor of his profession. He stood in the front rank at the bar. Mr. Anderson had connection with many clubs in New York, but was specially interested in the reorganiza¬ tion of the University Club, of which he was for nine years the president. He joined the Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church, and for a long time was one of its vestrymen. His death occurred at York Harbor, Sep¬ tember 17, 1896. LAWYERS. 3 1 1 6. JOSIAH WOODBURY HUBBARD. Like many other members of the Boston bar Mr. Hubbard hailed from New Hampshire, the town of Nel¬ son being his birthplace, January 3, 1826. The father, a physician, removed when this son was ten years of age to Springfield, Vermont. In 1848 Mr. Hubbard entered the Harvard Law School; but he also studied in the office of Governor Metcalf of New Hampshire, as well as that of Hon. O. P. Chandler of Woodstock, Vermont. On coming to Boston he was for some years in partner¬ ship with Judge Isaac Storey, and afterwards in business by himself. When the Walnut Avenue Church was formed Mr. Hubbard connected himself with that ; and for a long time conducted a Bible Class of ladies. He was a rever¬ ent and careful student of the sacred volume; a man of refinement, helpful in religious meetings, and ever ready with kind, judicious assistance for those needing aid. At times his legal knowledge served an excellent purpose in ecclesiastical councils. His death took place September 16, 1892. 7. DAVID BRAINERD GREENE. The eldest son of Rev. David Greene was born in Boston, November 11, 1830. After enjoying the advan¬ tages of our excellent Roxbury schools, he matriculated at Yale College, but graduated with honors at Williams in the class of 1852. Almost immediately he went to 312 ELIOT MEMORIAL. New York City, and worked in a law-office till admitted to the bar. He then became a co-partner in the law firm of Buckham, Smales & Greene for several years. Later he formed another partnership, and also subsequently practiced awhile by himself. In i860 he went West, and when the war broke out the next year he enlisted in an Iowa regiment, serving at first as a private. He then raised a company, of which he became captain, and which was mustered into the third regiment of Missouri Infantry Volunteers, and con¬ tinued in that position, serving with his regiment in Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas, till the eleventh of January, 1863, when he was killed in an action at the beginning of the battle of Arkansas Post. His brother Roger was with him at the time, but the shot was so instantly fatal that no conversation could be had between them. This army service reminds us of the ancestral patri¬ otism. Mr. Greene’s grandfather, Thomas Greene, when only sixteen years old, enlisted as a soldier near the close of the Revolutionary War, three of his older brothers being captains in the Continental army. He lived to the age of eighty-four. It may be added that the father of Thomas Greene, William Greene, was born on the Atlan¬ tic ocean, while his mother, recently widowed, was return¬ ing from Old England to New England, about 1712. LAWYERS. 3*3 8. JEREMIAH EVARTS GREENE. Like his older brother David, Mr. Greene was born in Boston, November 27, 1834, being the date. Our Roxbury Latin School gave him preparation for the University of the City of New York, where he remained a year; then entering Yale College he graduated in 1853. For four years he was engaged in teaching; and after that for two years (1857-1859), being acquainted with civil engineering, was occupied in surveying public lands in western Kansas. Returning to Massachusetts, Mr. Greene studied law in the office of his brother-in- law, Louis H. Boutell, Esq., and on being admitted to the bar, opened an office in North Brookfield (i860). The family of Rev. David Greene furnished, as we shall see, not only three lawyers, but also three army officers in the War of the Rebellion. This son, Jeremiah Evarts, aided (1861) in forming a military company, in which he was commissioned as first lieutenant, and of which he became captain. At the battle of Ball’s Bluff (October 21, 1861) he was taken prisoner, and was in confinement at Richmond for four months. Being released on parole, and failing to obtain an exchange, he resigned his com¬ mission and was discharged (1862). Resuming practice in North Brookfield for several years, Mr. Greene then removed to Worcester (1868) and became editor of the Worcester Daily Spy , and continued in that position twenty-three years. It will give some idea of the exacting demands of such editorship to state that 3*4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Mr. Greene’s writing for the paper, if bound up separately, would probably amount to fifty solid octavo volumes. In the meantime he also furnished able papers for the Ameri¬ can Antiquarian Society, of which he is a member. One of those, which were also published in separate pamphlet form, is an interesting sketch of his early Alma Mater , entitled The Roxbury Latin School\ Boston , Massachusetts : A n Outline of its History , read at the semi-annual meet¬ ing of the American Antiquarian Society, April 27, 1887. In 1891 Mr. Greene was appointed postmaster of Wor¬ cester, and on the accession of President McKinley was reappointed to the same office. 9. HON. ROGER SHERMAN GREENE. Another son of Rev. David Greene hails from Rox¬ bury as his native place, having been born there Decem¬ ber 14, 1840. The family afterwards removed to West- borough, and when their dwelling-house there was destroyed by fire, they removed to Windsor, Vermont. Roger entered the Sophomore Class at Dartmouth Col¬ lege, with which he graduated 1859. After some experi¬ ence in teaching, he began the study of law with Governor Coolidge, then a lawyer in Windsor. Thence he went to New York; and after pursuing study for three years in the office of Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, was admitted to the bar. The Governor of Missouri having given him a com¬ mission as second lieutenant in the company of which LAWYERS. 3 1 5 his brother David was captain, he joined the regiment then at Ironton, October 20, 1862. From that time on he served in the western forces of the United States till the close of the war. At the general assault on Vicks¬ burg he received a severe gunshot wound. In August, 1863, the president appointed him captain of a company of Colored Infantry, and with that body of troops he served till his discharge. For several months he was on staff duty with the general commanding the troops of which his regiment formed a part, and for several months was judge advocate of the District of Vicksburg, and later of the western division of Louisiana. He par¬ ticipated in the movements of General Canby in his expedition to Mobile. Owing to severe sickness he had to be taken North, and in 1865 received an honorable discharge. The next year, having recovered health, Mr. Greene commenced a five years’ practice of law in Chi¬ cago. President Grant appointed him associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Washington, which position he held for nine years. After being twice re¬ appointed to that office he became chief justice of the same court, and continued in the same position till 1887. Since then he has been in legal business at Seattle, never, however, practicing in criminal courts. Mr. Greene was the prohibition candidate for Congress shortly before Washington Territory became a state, and prohibition candidate for governor in 1893. Judge Greene recalls passages of Scripture and the Westminster Catechism 3 l6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. which he committed to memory in early boyhood while a member of the Eliot Church Sunday School. He is greatly respected in the Northwest as a Christian man and an honorable citizen. IO. WILLIAM PHILLIPS WALLEY. Second son of Hon. Samuel Hurd Walley, and grand¬ son of Miriam, a daughter of Hon. William Phillips of Boston. This accounts for the baptismal name. On the paternal side he was descended from Rev. Thomas Wal¬ ley, who came to New England in 1663, and declining a call to Boston, settled at Barnstable. His son John commanded the land forces in the expedition against Canada (1690); was for ten years a judge of the Superior Court of the Massachusetts Province; was a member of the Old South Church, Boston ; and his daughter mar¬ ried Rev. Dr. Sewall, pastor of that church for fifty-six years. A granddaughter of Judge Walley married Hon. John Phillips, the first mayor of Boston. Mr. W. P. Wal¬ ley was born in Roxbury, April 11, 1843; graduated from Harvard College, and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws from the Harvard Law School, 1856. He died suddenly in Boston, November 26, 1891. II. GEN. HENRY WILLIAM FULLER. Was born at Hooksett, New Hampshire, June 30, 1838. Pembroke Academy, Merrimac Normal Institute, and Thetford Academy, gave him training previous to LAWYERS. 3*7 entering Dartmouth College, where he was matriculated at the age of sixteen, graduating in 1857. The degree of ll.b. was received from the Harvard Law School in 1859. He began professional practice in Concord, New Hamp¬ shire. At the first call for volunteers (1861), Mr. Fuller enlisted as a private, but rose to the colonelcy of the 33d United States Infantry, and for meritorious services was brevetted brigadier-general. At the close of the war he commenced the practice of law in the office of his brother-in-law, Hon. William Gaston. For four years he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representa¬ tives ; for three years was in the Senate; and succeeded Mr. Wheelock as judge of the Roxbury Municipal Court. Pneumonia proved fatal to him April 7, 1885. 12. JOHN WENTWORTH PORTER. He was the son of Rev. William Henry Porter, and grandson of Rev. Huntington Porter. On the mother’s side he was the grandson of Hon. John Wentworth — a lawyer well known as a member of the Colonial Con¬ gress— and Lydia Cogswell, one of nineteen children who were all baptized in the Congregational Church at Haver¬ hill, Massachusetts. John was an unusually conscientious boy. His older brother said of him, that he was always turning himself inside out to see if he could find any sin in himself. Quarrel or fight with other boys he would not, however much tormented by them. He continued under home instruction till eleven years of age, when he ELIOT MEMORIAL. 3 l8 began school life at the Comin’s Grammar School, and the first day rose from the foot to the head of the class. After a few weeks the principal advised that he be re¬ moved to the Latin School. After a year spent there his eyesight and general health were permanently injured by disease. He had a special fondness for committing to memory sacred hymns and portions of Scripture. In reply to the question, “ Why do you spend so much time in reciting chapters from the Bible, when your sight is so weak ? ” he said, “ I expect to be blind some day, and am storing my mind with what I love best.” At eleven years of age he joined this church, and the evidence of his being more than a Christian in name only was clear. He could not recall the time when he did not love to pray, and love the people and the Word of God. The Sabbath and the Sabbath School were a delight. Impaired health led to removal (1871) to Rochester, Minnesota, where a hemorrhage of the lungs occurred. Notwithstanding this, he took up the study of law by himself, and afterwards entered a law office in Chicago. But another hemorrhage soon compelled his return to Minnesota, where he was later admitted to the bar. The business, however, consisting chiefly of divorce and liquor cases, had no attractions for him. The pastor at Roch¬ ester, Rev. Dr. Fuller, now president of Central Turkey College, thought highly of Mr. Porter. After fifteen years at the West, he and his widowed mother returned to LAWYERS. 3 1 9 Boston (1885) and rejoined the Eliot Church. He was also received to the Suffolk Bar and began business in this part of the city, but fatal sickness cut short his days, August 29, 1887. After his mother had kneeled for prayer at his bedside he asked her to kiss him, and then in perfect peace fell asleep in Jesus. CHAPTER XXI. PHYSICIANS. Sickness knows no favorites ; pays no compliments; seldom long compassionates childhood; and less often respects old age. But there are divine designs in all this — admonitions to parents and friends, concerning human frailty, the value of health, the need of wise pre¬ caution, and that at the longest there can be only a brief residence here. Recovery is only a postponement of mor¬ tality, and is not sanctified sickness to be preferred to unsanctified health ? Next to good health we would give thanks for a good physician. But while confiding in him we would beware of unauthorized expectations. As a general thing he is oftener distrusted than the pastor; and if he were as needlessly sensitive as many a minister is, he would probably give up his profession, or at least leave the precinct. The indefeasible Anglo-Saxon right of grumbling seldom has scant scope on these two men. In reading medical biography it is very gratifying to find that many eminent physicians, like Boerhaave, Syden¬ ham and John Mason Good, were of decidedly religious character. The medical men of our congregation, though not of great eminence, have been Christian men. The names here follow, and in chronological order, whether PHYSICIANS. 3 2 I they were at the time practitioners in Roxbury prior to 1871, or began practice elsewhere between 1834 and 1871 ; both those who were resident practitioners, and those who, earlier or later, devoted themselves to the heal¬ ing art At the time our church was organized, Dr. Prentiss had pretty much retired from practice. Dr. Alcott, during his connection with us, hardly became known as a physician. Roxbury and Boston were at the period referred to well supplied; though the list of names with M. D. attached was very meager compared with that which numbers over a thousand and five hundred at the present date. I. DANIEL FRANCIS GULLIVER, M.D. Occasionally an entire household were enrolled in our membership, “ All in the ark.” One such family was that of Mr. John Gulliver, a man conspicuous for Chris¬ tian activity, and who attained the age of eighty-seven years — Mrs. Sarah P. Gulliver, a woman of rare excel¬ lence of character, who died in 1865 ; the late Professor John P. Gulliver, d.d. ; Miss Sarah P. Gulliver, afterwards the wife of the Rev. Dr. Lewellyn Pratt ; and Daniel Francis Gulliver, m.d. Dr. D. F. Gulliver heads the list of our young men who entered the medical profession, and was born in Bos¬ ton, May 29, 1826. In the Boston Latin School and Andover Phillips Academy he pursued preparatory studies, and graduated from Yale College in the class of 1848. 3 22 ELIOT MEMORIAL. The family having removed to Philadelphia, he attended lectures in the Jefferson Medical College. Not long after beginning practice at Norwich, Con¬ necticut, Dr. Gulliver had a severe attack of rheumatism, followed by a heart trouble which endangered life, and from which at length he died suddenly in his carriage. May 24, 1895. The condition of his health interrupted professional practice, but not Christian activity. His presence in church meetings, and his conduct of a Bible Class were highly valued. Later he joined the Broadway Church, Norwich, of which his brother, the late Dr. John P. Gulliver, was pastor, and whose successor at the present time is a brother-in-law, Dr. Lewellyn Pratt. Dr. Daniel Gulliver became a member of the Eliot Church in 1841, being then fourteen years of age. He was characterized by delicacy of constitution, by sensitive¬ ness and refinement. A sunny disposition made him a very agreeable companion, and a decided Christian char¬ acter gave him power. 2. ALFRED C. GARRATT, M.D. Born in Brook Haven, Long Island, October 3, 1813* and a few months afterwards was rescued by his grand¬ mother from the British, in one of their coast raids. She carried him in her arms to a place of safety. After grad¬ uating at Union College he studied medicine with Dr. David Nelson, author of Cause and Cure of Infidelity. which work Dr. Garratt edited and carried through the PHYSICIANS. 3 2 3 press. He was in the City Hospital of New York dur¬ ing the entire period of the cholera scourge in 1831. Having had experience in general practice for a dozen years, Dr. Garratt went to Germany for further profes¬ sional study, and devoted himself especially to what was then a new department, Therapeutic Electricity as applied to nervous diseases. In England he was for a fortnight the guest of the Duke of Devonshire, and was invited by the physician of Queen Victoria to attend a consul¬ tation upon the case of her Majesty. After the war of Rebellion he treated successfully many army officers and others, who suffered from the strain of that period. Gen¬ eral Burnside, Charles and George Sumner, and Henry W. Longfellow were among them. He was the author of a work on Electrical Therapeutics, which went through several editions. Dr. Garratt was a man of very decided religious char¬ acter. On becoming seriously impressed at the threshold of manhood, his heart rose in vehement rebellion against the character and government of God; but he submitted in penitent acknowledgment of sinfulness, and united (1834) with the First Congregational Church in New York City. He acted as reporter and secretary of Rev. Charles G. Finney during his earlier labors in the Chatham Street Chapel. Dr. Garratt’s connection with us began in 1856, but the next year, with two others of the family, he took part in the colonial movement to Vine Street- Later he became a member and an officer of Park Street 324 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Church, Boston. Without being a member of any tem¬ perance society, he was an earnest advocate of strict temperance. Prayer with a patient was no unusual thing. To his children he would sometimes say, “ I thank God for the faculty of faith.” His last days were full of peace, and almost the last conscious act was singing “ Whilst Thee I seek, protecting Power,” to the familiar tune of Brattle Street. June 30, 1891, he joined the General Assembly and Church of the first born. 3. HENRY BLATCHFORD WHEELWRIGHT, M.D. A descendant from Rev. John Wheelwright, well known in colonial days, was a son of Ebenezer Wheelwright, who was for some years a member of the Eliot Church. Dr. Wheelwright was born at Portsmouth, New Hamp¬ shire, May 22, 1824. Having prepared for college at the Boston Latin School, he entered Harvard with the class which graduated in 1844; but ill-health necessitated fre¬ quent and prolonged absences during the four years’ course. His degree of A. M. was dated 1848. After service as master of the Roxbury Latin School, he en¬ tered the Medical School of Harvard University (1846), ill- health still following him. While a medical student and assistant to his instructor, Dr. B. E. Cotting of Roxbury, he had a large practice among the poor of the town, and in after years elsewhere continued to practice gratuitously PHYSICIANS. 3 2 5 among the same class. For a long time he had connec¬ tion with some of the State charitable organizations of Massachusetts, as Commissioner of Alien Passengers and Foreign Paupers; General Agent of the Board of State Charities, and Superintendent of Out Door Poor. He is credited with an important work in securing valuable amendments of our poor-laws, and in performing much unrequited benevolent labor. Dr. Wheelright’s residence was, at different times, in Taunton, Boston and Newbury- port. In the last named place he died of apoplexy, No¬ vember 2, 1892. 4. ARIEL IVERS CUMMINGS, M.D. Dr. Cummings was of the typical New England stock, and born at Ashburnham, Mass., June 11, 1823. Having a tendency to pulmonary disease he was obliged to cut short his course at Dartmouth College; but after recover¬ ing health sufficiently he studied with a physician in New York City, and graduated at the medical department of New York University. Before coming to Boston he en¬ gaged in professional practice for three years at Acworth, New Hampshire. When the Civil War broke out, in 1861, he offered his services and was sent to Yorktown, Virginia, for service in the hospital. Soon, however, he received appointment as surgeon in the 42d Massachu¬ setts Regiment, Isaac S. Burrill, Colonel. That regiment joined General Banks’ expedition to Texas. While landing at Gloucester, Texas, they were taken prisoners ELIOT MEMORIAL. 3 2 6 by the Confederates, January i, 1863. Dr. Cummings was placed in the rebel hospital, where surgical service was much needed. But he was seized with typhoid dysentery, and after a few weeks of suffering, received his discharge not only from the army, but from all earthly and philanthropic service. Dr. Cummings was a Christian man and a beloved physician. 5 . HENRY S. STEELE, M.D. Dr. Steele, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, was not long a member of the congregation. It was evident from the first of his coming among us that a fatal disease was upon him; but as natural life drew to a close, spiritual life seemed evidently to be imparted. Confinement to his room made it impracticable for Dr. Steele to appear per¬ sonally in the usual way for a public profession of faith, and the church, by a special vote, suspended its rules, and (March 13, 1857) received him and his wife to its fellowship. The following written communication and an oral statement by the pastor were the basis of that action: “ Within the last few weeks, it has pleased God in his mercy to give me, I trust, a convincing view of my sinfulness and lost estate by nature and by practice, and he has, as I hope, given me by his Spirit a saving view of Jesus Christ, the only and all-sufficient Redeemer, on whose atonement alone do I now rely for pardon and life everlasting. Toward him, his word, his people, and his kingdom, I have such feel¬ ings as encourage me to regard myself as spiritually a new man in him, and to profess myself a disciple of his. It is my desire to leave on PHYSICIANS. 3 2 7 record a testimony to his wonderful grace and loving-kindness toward me who till so recently had remained an impenitent sinner. I desire also, if it be consistent, to have my name enrolled among his avowed followers and friends; and should be happy, so far as in me lies, to honor him by such public confession of faith as circumstances will permit; and that, during the few remaining hours, or at most the few days that I may remain on earth, I may enjoy the prayers and privi¬ leges of the visible church. “ To the Articles of Faith and the Covenant of the Eliot Church I hereby signify my full assent. My prayer is that God may abun¬ dantly bless the brethren and sisters in Christ, from whom I am soon to be separated by death; and that, before the eleventh hour every im¬ penitent sinner may come to Jesus, now while it is an accepted time and a day of salvation.” Dr. Steele had pursued literary and scientific studies with credit to himself; he had taken counsel of others versed in the healing art; had repeatedly tried the air of more genial climates, but came back a baffled consump¬ tive to die in early manhood. It was not till then that he consulted the Great Physician, and in regard to the worst of all maladies. It was amidst symbolic breaking of bread and shedding of blood, that he seemed to hear the crucified Saviour say, “ Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” 6 . STEPHEN WALLACE BOWLES, M.D. Was born at Machias, Maine, December 21, 1835, the oldest son ot Stephen J. Bowles, who, having removed with his family to this place, joined the Eliot Church in 3 2 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 1846. Stephen W. graduated from Williams College in the same class with Gen. James A. Garfield (1856). Three years later, having completed the course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, he went to Europe for the purpose of studying with Dr. Trousseau and others in Paris. He served as surgeon in the late war, and also practiced his profession in Brattleboro, Vermont, and Yonkers, New York, before establishing himself in Springfield, Massachusetts (1871). He was a prominent physician in that city, holding for some years * a position on the staff of the hospital. Dr. Bowles was very much beloved and esteemed. His death occurred February 12, 1895, but interment took place in the family lot at Mount Auburn. 7. TIMOTHY R. NUTE, M.D. A son of Captain James Nute, and born in Mad- bury, New Hampshire, June 22, 1819. He was a pupil at Gilmanton Academy; taught school in Newmarket; studied medicine with Dr. Isaac W. Lougee, in Alton, and at the Dartmouth Medical School. He established himself in practice at Roxbury, 1850, and early the next year joined the Eliot Church, bringing a letter from Newmarket, New Hampshire. Fourteen years later (1865) he removed to Chicago, where he died of angina pectoris, March 10, 1879. PHYSICIANS. 3 2 9 8. BENJAMIN MANN, M.D. Richard Mann of Mayflower memory settled on what still bears the name Mann Hill in Scituate. From him, * in the sixth generation, came our Dr. Mann, who was born at Randolph, Massachusetts, March 31, 1814. He graduated from Amherst College with the class of 1837, and began medical study under Dr. Ebenezer Alden in his native town, pursuing studies afterwards with Drs. Perry and Bowditch in Boston. He also attended lectures in the Harvard Medical School, from which his degree of M. D. was received in 1840. He began practice in Foxborough, where he re¬ ceived a call and settlement, in some sense as is the case with a pastor, prominent men in the town agreeing to make up a certain sum if his income came short. That, however, did not occur. In the course of twelve years practice extended to adjoining towns, and made too large demands upon his strength. Hence his removal to Rox- bury (1852), where he continued in professional occupation till his death in Brooklyn, New York, on a return trip from Florida. At the age of eighteen Dr. Mann became a communicant in the First Church of Randolph. In Foxborough he led the choir in Sunday services, and was much endeared to the people. On removing from the town an ovation was tendered him. In his connec¬ tion with the Eliot Church he was esteemed as a Chris¬ tian man, and for a wide circle of patients he was “ The beloved physician.” 33 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. 9. FRANCIS H. DAVENPORT, M.D. Dr. Davenport hails from Boston, Roxbury District, where he was born March 27, 1851, a son of Mr. Henry- Davenport, who was for some years Clerk of the Eliot Church. Our Latin School gave him preparation for college. Williams College gave his A. B. with the class of 1870, and the Harvard Medical School his degree of M. D. in 1874. Gynecology is his specialty. In that department he is achieving distinction, having been suc¬ cessively Assistant, Instructor, and now Assistant Pro¬ fessor in the Harvard Medical School. He has been Phy¬ sician to St. Luke’s Hospital for convalescents, etc., and is at the present time Assistant Surgeon to the Free Hospital for Women. In 1889 he appeared as the author of a Manual on one class of diseases. Dr. Davenport is a son, as above stated, of the late Mr. Henry Davenport, who died January 24, 1898, at the residence of his son-in-law, Dr. Clement Cleveland in New York City. He attained the age of eighty-seven. Seven years before that he retired from business connec¬ tion with the Pacific Mills, of which company he had been an officer for nearly forty years. Mr. Henry Daven¬ port was one of the original members of the Boston Genealogical Society, and Vice-President of the Numis¬ matic Society. IO. ROBERT BELL, M.D. Dr. Bell’s birthplace was Alnwick, the well-known seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, “ The Hotspur Percys.” His grandfather, Robert Bell, going from Glas- PHYSICIANS. 33 1 gow, settled in Alnwick, was a devoted friend of the Free Church, and a successful manufacturer. Dr. Bell’s early education was in our Roxbury schools, and he had from boyhood a strong desire to be a physician, a desire fos¬ tered partly by the fact that a cousin of his had become a prominent practitioner in Glasgow, the ancestral city. Dr. Bell, being the eldest child in a large family, assisted in the education of the younger members till they had graduated at the High School. He entered Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated there in 1879. A full course at the Harvard Medical School was immedi¬ ately commenced, and the degree of M. D. secured in 1884. Out of a class of eighty he was one of the five successful candidates for appointment as Home Physician to the Boston Lying-in Hospital, and two full years of clinic experience was of great value. Then followed three years of practice at Roxbury. In 1887 he entered on practice in Medway. It was a large and a hard service. Dr. Bell had never been rugged; the heaviest of domestic bereavements contributed to failure of health; and a severe bronchial asthma necessitated an entire with- drawment from professional practice. CHAPTER XXII. ARTISTS. It was not due to our public school system, however excellent, that certain earlier members of the Eliot Church had their thoughts turned to art, and had their taste cultivated. In those days schoolrooms were as bare of decoration as if all the pupils were expected to be blind. It seems not to have occurred to committees and teachers that among the elements in every human being is a capacity for discerning the beautiful in form and color¬ ing; that any course of education is defective which fails to contemplate this source of refining culture, and which fails to provide for it early. While Boston and its en¬ virons took comparative lead in the introduction of sing¬ ing as a branch in our public schools, it was not till 1870 that any organized and effective movement was made in the direction now referred to. That was a pioneer move¬ ment, preceding by ten years the association for a similar purpose in London, of which Ruskin was president and Matthew Arnold one of the Vice Presidents. Many of our public school buildings have now been redeemed from former barrenness. Church architecture and domestic architecture, with their interior appointments, not to speak of other evidences of improved taste, already show a gratifying advance on the right line. ARTISTS. 3 33 I. SAMUEL LANCASTER GERRY. Mr. Gerry, like many others in the congregation, came of Puritan stock. Some of his ancestors were en¬ gaged in the colonial wars; and his grandfather was in the Lexington engagement, 1755, as well as in later Rev¬ olutionary engagements. Mr. Gerry was born in Boston, March 10, 1813. A taste for drawing was developed in boyhood, and his earlier art productions were miniatures on ivory. Then followed portraits in oil colors, exhibiting peculiar softness and delicacy of flesh tints. Notwithstand¬ ing success and pecuniary profit in that line, he turned to landscape painting. More than two-score summers were spent at the White Mountains, and his pencil per¬ formed much the same service for that region as did the pen of Rev. Starr King. A four years’ study in Europe (1850-1854) brought him into acquaintance with various eminent artists, among whom were our Hiram Powers and Horatio Greenough. Other visits abroad were also made, one of two years (1873-1874), with a part of his family. Mr. Gerry was one of the founders of the Boston Art Club, and was repeatedly chosen its President. He lec¬ tured on art in Boston and at Wheaton Academy, as well as elsewhere. Articles from his pen were often con¬ tributed to leading journals or magazines. Mr. Gerry did not have the benefit of a religious training in early life, and up to about thirty years of age entertained erroneous and skeptical views. But a careful reading of the Bible dispelled those notions, and 334 ELIOT MEMORIAL. he was led into the light as a penitent and humble be¬ liever in Jesus Christ, the sole Saviour from sin. He was a more than usually devout and conscientious as well as cultured man. He discountenanced theater-going, and would not have his children learn to dance. Having removed his relation to the Walnut Avenue Church he furnished a hymn for the dedication of their place of worship, which is above the average of such contributions. One specimen will show how happy his remarks often were at devotional meetings: “ In the autumn we miss some of the fair colors of the new foliage of the earlier seasons, but if the hues are more somber, the vistas open, and we can see further, for the blasts that strew the earth with fallen leaves clear away the obstructions to our field of vision, and the dis¬ tant scenes become unveiled. So it is in the autumn of life.” Mr. Gerry’s death was a peaceful one, and took place April 26, 1891. 2. MRS. VICTORIA ADELAIDE ROOT. Mrs. Root was one of Mr. S. L. Gerry’s pupils. A shaded romance attaches to her early life. The parents came from England; and the title for a tract of land which the father purchased in Illinois proved to be value¬ less. The mother, a delicate London-born woman, died; and soon after the father was killed in a steamboat ex¬ plosion on the Mississippi River, leaving two little orphan daughters. They were adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Artemas ARTISTS. 335 Ward, who died of cholera in 1849. Their only daughter, Miss Patience P. Ward, being thus, like the two sisters by adoption, also now an orphan, kindly took the place of mother to them. She afterwards purchased a house in Roxbury, near that of the late Dr. Rufus Anderson, and with the older of the two daughters joined the Eliot Church (1864). Mrs. Root attended school in New York and else¬ where ; and before coming to Roxbury had taken lessons in art. She began painting and sold her pictures. In 1871 she went to Europe and studied a year in Florence. After that she entered Julien’s atelier in Paris, and was favored with the criticisms of professors of Beaux Arts, at the same time working from cast and from life, as well as copying in the Louvre and Luxembourg. A copy by her of Teniers was bought by a sister of the late John Bright, M. P. Before going to Europe Mrs. Root had had classes in painting; and removing to Chicago had two large popular classes most of the time for five years. She took up china decorating with success, and sold over six hundred pieces. She wrote on art for the Chicago Times and other papers. But the eyes gave out; and being obliged to suspend for the most part both painting and writing, has removed, on account of health, to Florida. 3. MISS EMILY PERCY MANN. The elder daughter of Dr. Benjamin Mann made public profession of faith in 1857. A taste and stimulus 33 ^ ELIOT MEMORIAL. for art came from the mother, who was familiar with palette and brush. Miss Mann’s first systematic study of art began in the Normal Art School of Boston, where she took examinations in perspective and geometry, and in all free-hand studies. Water-color study was pursued under Mr. Ross Turner, in whose summer sketching class she was for four years an assistant. Later came engagement with a class of professional artists under Mr. Arthur W. Dow. Miss Mann had, for many years, summer out-of-door classes in Kennebunkport and Portland, teaching also, during the winter, in her studio, as well as in Boston private schools. Her most marked success was in decora¬ tive work from chrysanthemums, Japanese paper and a treatment somewhat after Japanese style being employed. Work in water-color landscape and flowers might be seen at the exhibitions in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York, as well as elsewhere. It was a gratifying tes¬ timonial to her skill that at the Water-Color Exhibition in the city last named, three years ago, a picture of hers was the first one sold, the purchaser being a member of the jury. Miss Mann died at Framingham, October 18, 1899. 4. MR. FRANK THAYER MERRILL. The earliest New England ancestor on the father’s side was Nathaniel Merrill, who came to this country shortly after 1630, and was of French Huguenot origin, Merle being the original form of the name. The mother ARTISTS. 337 of Mr. Frank Merrill’s father was of German extraction, and her father was an officer in the Continental army under Washington at Valley Forge. Mr. Merrill’s own mother, Sarah Alden, a descendant in the seventh gen¬ eration from John Alden of the “ Mayflower,” was a member of Mr. S. H. Walley’s Bible Class in the Eliot Sunday School. She had an unusual love for art, and a decided ability in that line, and this is one of innumerable cases in which the mother reappears in the son. Mr. Merrill’s art studies began in the Drawing School of the Lowell Institute, and were continued in the school connected with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. His productions — and they are a marked success — have been confined, for the most part, to the illustra¬ tion of books and magazines, with occasional work in water-colors. A tour of five months in Europe was of much value as a source of instruction and inspiration. Mr. Merrill joined the Eliot Church in 1866. In the Walnut Avenue Church he has held the office of Deacon, Superintendent of the Sabbath School, as well as other positions. CHAPTER XXIII. DEAF-MUTES. Of this class there have been several members. Very few of the congregation are conversant with the sign- language; and as communication by writing is slow, per¬ sonal acquaintance has not been general nor intimate. But the individuals now referred to have uniformly attended church on sacramental occasions; have been much respected, and a deeper interest in them has been felt than could be easily expressed. No class in the community who labor under natural infirmities awaken prompter sympathy. The number of such in the whole country is supposed to be not far from fifty thousand, and the increase is larger propor¬ tionately than that of the entire population. In the United States there are sixty-three public and sixteen private or denominational schools for this class, which have a total average attendance of about ten thousand pupils. The oldest of these institutions, founded in 1817, is the one at Hartford, Connecticut. Most of the public schools are maintained, free of charge, at State expense. A considerable number of the deaf become members of different churches,- the larger number being Episco¬ palians, as the liturgical form of worship is better suited DEAF-MUTES. 339 to their condition. There is one Roman Catholic mission in behalf of mutes who adhere to that faith. In our economic world this class are generally doing well, being, in the main, industrious and self-supporting, as farmers, mechanics, and the like. There have been instances of success in different branches of art, and a few cases of success in the professions — ministry, law, architecture, and engineering. Gallaudet College, Wash¬ ington, District of Columbia, has an enviable place as the only institution of the same grade, for this class, in the world. It is supported by our national government, and receives students from every part of the country. One of the well-known and justly distinguished mutes was John Carlin, a miniature painter, whose work ranked among the best. Another was Rev. Henry W. Syle, a student of Cambridge, England, who took his degree of A. B. from Yale by passing, at one time, a full examina¬ tion in writing on all the studies of the four-years’ course. He held a responsible position in the United States mint at Philadelphia; and became rector of the All Souls’ Church for the deaf in that city. Mr. H. Humphrey Moore, a native of Philadelphia, has for many years been one of the leading artists in Paris. Mr. Douglas Tilden, of San Francisco, studied sculpture in the city last named, and since his return has produced more than one credit¬ able work. The names of Laura Bridgman and the wonderful Helen Keller, suffering from blindness in addition to deafness, are widely known. 340 ELIOT MEMORIAL. During the period under review deaf-mutes to the number of six were welcomed to our fellowship, and not¬ withstanding their silence, have been valued members. So far as is known they “Walked worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called,” and a very tender interest was felt in them. The silent pastoral visits at their homes are remembered as among the most noteworthy of former years. I. JONATHAN P. MARSH. The oldest son of Rev. Frederick Marsh. His father was, for over two-score years (1809-1851), a highly valued pastor of the church in Winchester, Connecticut, and was an occasional visitor at my father’s house. Among his ancestors was the man who hid the Colonial Charter in an oak tree, when Andros was in Hartford. This son Jonathan was born in Winchester, April 26, 1814. Owing to a severe sickness before two years of age, he lost the sense of hearing. Miss Z. P. Grant, afterwards a dis¬ tinguished educator associated with the Rev. Joseph Emer¬ son, taught him drawing and writing. From thirteen onward he was, for six years, at the well known school in Hartford, of which Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet was founder and then the principal. He afterwards wrought at his trade as cabinetmaker and piano-maker in that city; also in New York City, Boston, and elsewhere. In the course of a revival in his father’s church he became greatly distressed about his spiritual state, and many times DEAF-MUTES. 341 inquired, “How shall I repent of my sins?” Pardon and peace came at length through the discovery of Christ’s atoning merits, and in 1838 he joined the Brick Church, New York, Dr. Gardiner Spring, pastor. Some distress¬ ing spiritual struggles were afterwards experienced; but turning the eye of faith to Christ as Saviour, he then tes¬ tified, “ How beautiful is the holiness and glory of God.” “ Abba, Father ” was his heart’s cry; and giving himself up to God in Christ cheerfully for life, he had foretastes of heaven. Mr. and Mrs. Marsh became members of the Eliot Church in 1851. On coming to Boston he started a Bible Class of Deaf-Mutes, as there was at that time no other provision for their public instruction and worship. The vestry of Park Street Church, and then one of the rooms in the Mount Vernon Church were placed at their service. The class increased in number till there was an average attendance of over thirty. There came a season (1857-58) of special religious interest, when seven indi¬ viduals expressed the hope of a saving change. In 1862 the “ Boston Deaf-Mute Christians’ Association ” was or¬ ganized ; and during all those years Mr. Marsh was much respected as a consistent and useful Christian man. After residence here and labors of about thirty years, Mr. Marsh removed to Connecticut, and later to Illinois; but health having failed, the family were welcomed again (1897) to their former church home with us. His two daughters married mutes, and the children of one follow their parents 342 ELIOT MEMORIAL. as regards their infirmity, while the children in the other family have the sense of hearing. At eighty-four years of age, and after sixty years of unblemished church membership, Mr. Marsh fell asleep in Jesus (March 2, 1898) to awake where the tongue of the dumb shall sing. 2. MRS. PAULINE P. MARSH. A native of Douglass, Massachusetts (1817), and edu¬ cated in Hartford at the same time as Mr. Marsh. After graduation and before marriage she had a private pupil in Rhinebeck, New York, and then one in New Bedford, Massachusetts, who labored under the same infirmity as herself. Marriage having taken place in 1840, the fifty- fifth anniversary came January 24, 1895, an< ^ was duly observed by friends. Some of those who were not able to be personally present wrote congratulatory letters, with expressions of warm friendship and deep respect. One fellow pupil at Hartford wrote : “You did a great deal of good at the Asylum by giving religious lectures to the pupils at different times, as well as by undoubted Christian character.” Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, from New York, said: “ I have watched your course during your long lives and have always esteemed you most highly for your con¬ sistent Christian character. You have set good and wholesome examples. You have exerted elevating and purifying influences from affectionate and cheerful hearts. DEAF-MUTES. 343 You have made the religion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ a living reality. My dear father and mother always loved you and often spoke of their regard for you. I remember you in my early life when you were pupils at the American Asylum in Hartford, and your pleasant, bright faces were imprinted on my memory in such a way that they are fresh and clearly defined today. I re¬ member my visits to you in Boston; I have met you at conventions and other gatherings of deaf-mutes, and have always admired your gracious manners and intelligent expressions of thoughts and feelings. The good seeds which you have sown so faithfully and perseveringly have yielded abundant fruit.” Mrs. Marsh was greatly affected by the death of her husband, and only three months after¬ wards followed him to the home on high. 3. MRS. PAULINE MARSH BOWES. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Marsh all labored un¬ der the same infirmity as their parents. Their only son, J. Frederick, died in boyhood, aged fifteen years. Cath¬ arine B., the older of two daughters, spent nine years at the Hartford School, and in 1867 married Mr. Adam Acheson. There is something noticeably impressive and even pathetic in pastoral calls on such families at which not a word is spoken; and so, too, at funeral services. The second daughter, Pauline M., married Mr. Bowes, and is now a grandmother living in Chicago. She was born May 21, 1845, and spent eight years in the in- 344 ELIOT MEMORIAL. stitution at Hartford where her parents were educated. Examination for membership in the Eliot Church was conducted in writing, November, 1866. She had then entertained the Christian hope for six months. She had previously tried, at different times, to be a Christian and to do what the Bible requires, but soon forgot all. At length came conviction of sin, and the felt need of a Saviour. Among her written statements are these : “Felt that I was a lost sinner; prayed to Jesus Christ as never before; prayed many times a day; felt no interest in worldly things. By and by relief came to my burdened soul; love to Jesus sprang up; thought of him all day long. O, I love him indeed ! ” 4. MR. WILLIAM LYNDE. Was born at Saybrook, Connecticut, October 11, 1823. His earliest known ancestor was Enoch Lynde, a London merchant, who died 1636. Simon, a grandson of the latter, came to Boston in 1650, and became Assistant Justice of the Court of Pleas and Sessions; dying, 1680, his remains were committed to a tomb in the Granary Burying Ground. One of his grandsons, Joseph, married Ann Lord of Say- brook, Connecticut. Their son William graduated from Yale College, 1760, and married Rebecca, daughter of Rev. William Hart, of Saybrook. William, a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Hart, was the friend now in mind. When six months old, scarlet fever deprived him of hearing. Entering the Hartford Asylum for Deaf-Mutes deaf— mms- 345 at ten years of age. he spent five and a half years there, and graduated 'with honor. For thirty-six years he was employed by Chickering & Sons in their piano manu¬ factory; also thirteen years by Hallet & Davis. At one time when that business was dull. Mr. Lynde had em¬ ployment at the Watertown Arsenal, walking six miles from Roxbury each way for eighteen months, and was obliged to he at work by seven o'clock in the morning. That was just at the beginning of our Civil War: and on account of pressure of business, he was required to appear for work on Sundays, or be discharged. He re¬ fused to work on the Lords Day. After two Sundays he was allowed to return, his religious scruples being respected. The sketch of Mr. J. R. Marsh makes mention of religious interest in his Bible Class (1S57-5S. Owing to imitiences in that class, to Mr. Marsh's private labor, and to religious reading. Mr. Lynde. who had been mostly indifferent before, became very thoughtful, indeed, very anxious regarding his spiritual condition. His conviction of sin was unusually deep. He could speak only of “mountains of sin.” When received to the Eliot Church 1S61 he stated in writing: “While kneeling before God and praying for needed grace. Jesus Christ was manifested to my inner soul. I looked unto Him the Crucified, and the black mountain of mv sin disappeared and I felt the love of God with reace- Feel now that He is ever near me: that He is 346 ELIOT MEMORIAL. ever merciful and full of grace. Feel myself helpless, and must depend on Him. My special desire is that He may increase my poor faith. The fourteenth chapter of John is my favorite comfort. I rejoice to be present at sac¬ ramental services; no matter as to my depravity or deaf¬ ness, our Jesus is ever with us.” It is gratifying that he should be able to say, “ I do not feel sad at being deprived of the sense of hearing, but grateful for saving grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.” While living at West Roxbury, for two years he walked to Boston on Sundays to conduct a meeting for the mutes, as he had scruples about patronizing pub¬ lic conveyances on that day. He was a constant student of the Bible, and there were very few passages to which he could not turn at once without the aid of a con¬ cordance. Mr. Lynde’s last sickness of seven weeks was one of suffering, but one of patient endurance. It was in the midst of repose, bodily and mental, that he fell asleep in Jesus, January 14, 1899. 5. MRS. CAROLINE F. LYNDE. Of the four Christian sisters belonging to this class two joined the church on public confession of their faith, and one of these was the wife of our brother, Mr. William Lynde. She had been a favorite pupil at the Hartford Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and was well educated. Her style seldom betrayed, as is often the case, the infirmity under which she labored. She was a woman of much DEAF-MUTES. 347 refinement and of very pleasing features. A severe sick¬ ness was blessed to her spiritual good. In applying for admission to the church she presented a satisfactory written statement, to the effect that she became so deeply sensible of her guilty impenitence as to see the justice of God in everlasting punishment; that prostrating her¬ self before the Lord Jesus she cried in spirit, “ Here I am, do with me as thou wilt. I beg for mercy. I soon overflowed with joy and happiness. I felt that the Saviour was near, and my eyes were opened to see my need of Him; and how precious did He become to me! He is my daily delight and meditation. I do wish every one in the world to know what a precious Saviour He is.” Her membership dates from June, 1854. After a few years, pulmonary consumption came. In one of my visits during that sickness I placed before her eye this verse from the Bible, “ My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” With a feeble hand she wrote under¬ neath, “Very beautiful; I, too, found it true.” The last inquiry of her devoted husband, in the language of signs was, “ Do you know me ? ” With emaciated fingers she replied, “I know Jesus;” and her eyes closing, her tongue was unloosed in another world, June 25, 1862. 6 . MRS. MARY COFFIN LYNDE. Alton, New Hampshire, was the place, and June 6, 1827, the date of her birth. One of her sisters married Prof. Benjamin Stanton of Union College, and another 348 ELIOT MEMORIAL. sister married Rev. William W. Griffis. Mrs. Lynde had the advantage of education at the school in Hartford, Connecticut, and became the second wife of Mr. Wil¬ liam Lynde. While yet a minor Mrs. Lynde joined the Freewill Baptist Church, of which her father was Elder, but after¬ wards became convinced that she had made a mistake, and was not, at the time, a truly converted person. Later her condition as a sinner, her utter need of a Saviour, the atoning merits of Jesus Christ, and the offer of free forgiveness for his sake, were apprehended as never before, and in 1864 the Eliot Church received her on confession of faith. She became much devoted to kind, neighborly acts, to attendance upon the Bible Class, and to various religious duties. The prayerful study of God’s word was her constant habit. The last sickness was one of great suffering, but of no complaining. April 6, 1891, brought release and translation, as we believe, into the world whence all infirmities are banished, and where it is always springtime. CHAPTER XXIV. NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. Those in some of the aforenamed classes were obvi¬ ously persons of note. The offices which they held would have made them prominent if personal qualities did not. But there were so many others — some of them not less conspicuous — that a complete enumeration and portraiture would be inconsistent with prescribed limits. The lack of materials easily accessible has had much influence in making a selection ^of those to whom sketches are de¬ voted. Comparative importance of names has not been of decisive consideration. Such men as Laban S. Beecher, Moses Day, John A. McGaw, Joseph Ballister, John J. Soren, Otis Packard, Asher Adams, John Gulliver, Robert H. Thayer, Stephen J. Bowles, E. Hubbard Severance, Ebenezer Wheelwright, Henry Davenport, J. O. L. Hillard, Charles F. Bray, Benajah Cross, Samuel W. Hall, Charles Hulbert, Thomas Chamberlain, Nathan Brown, William Brock, Benjamin C. Tinkham, are among those who might well have been included. I. DR. NATHANIEL SHEPHERD PRENTISS. Was born in Cambridge, August 7, 1766, ten years before the Declaration of Independence. His father was one of the seventeen who threw the obnoxious tea into 35 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. Boston Harbor, the evidence of which, as Dr. Prentiss remembered, was the next morning apparent on the old gentleman’s boots. The judicious mother did not then gratify the lad’s curiosity by telling him that what he had found was tea-leaves. He saw the British soldiers on their march to Lexington and Concord, and saw one of them on their return shot down by a neighbor of the family. His mother took him to the cellar to avoid shots poured into the house by the retreating foreign troops. The class in Harvard College with which Dr. Pren¬ tiss graduated was that of 1787 — a class larger, with two exceptions, than any which graduated at that venerable institution till 1797 — a class, no member of which, he once informed me, came under censure. Judge Putnam, Judge Cranch of Washington, D. C., and John Quincy Adams were his classmates. The last named was born in 1767, and his decease occurred six years before that of Dr. Prentiss. “ The Old Man Eloquent ” declared — “ This is the last of earth, I am content,” and was gath¬ ered to his fathers. Dr. Prentiss commenced the practice of medicine in Marlborough, and his professional life extended through more than half a century; but in 1801 he removed to Roxbury and took charge of the Latin School. That school having been founded in 1645, he was the seven hundred and sixty-second teacher. He continued in charge with acceptance for eight years, and then con¬ ducted a private school for several years. The visit paid NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 35 1 him late in life by many of his surviving pupils, and the elegant testimonial of their respect presented on the occa¬ sion, were alike honorable to them and to him. One of the pupils whom he trained and assisted, and to whom he became strongly attached, was Samuel Newell, then an orphan boy, whom Judge Lowell, grandfather of the late James Russell Lowell, befriended. Newell was the first graduate of Harvard whom the American Board sent out as a missionary. Before embarking for India (1812), he came to take leave of his beloved preceptor, and owing to a misstep, he left a footprint on the freshly- painted floor, which the Doctor would never allow to be obliterated, though, prior to removing from that house, he had the paint renewed more than once. Dr. Prentiss’ services to the town of Roxbury ex¬ tended through a long period. Various offices were en¬ trusted to him, such as that of representative to the Gen¬ eral Court for a series of years, and that of Town Clerk for about thirty years. Having reached four-score when the municipal form of government was adopted, he retired from further public service. In all the positions held by him he was pronounced highly urbane and oblig¬ ing towards associates; and in his transactions eminently accurate, prompt and faithful. In religious views and character Dr. Prentiss was a Calvinist, holding with earnestness to the Abrahamic cov¬ enant and to Orthodox Congregational usages, yet with sympathies broad and warm toward all evangelical 35 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Christians. In the establishment of the first Baptist Church in Roxbury, which antedated the Eliot Church, he was deeply interested, contributing efficient influence and pecuniary aid, and to the last continuing to rejoice in its growth. His name stands first on the list of those organized into the Eliot Church, over whose inception and growth he watched, and prayed, and wept in exulting gratitude to the King of Zion. Never did I feel more surprised than when, early in my ministry, he, a white-headed patriarch, used to speak of being comforted and edified by my ministra¬ tions. In his presence I always felt like a tyro who was enjoying the special privilege of instruction from a wise master. In one instance, during a protracted and severe sickness — from which there was for some time no hope of recovery — as I was sitting by his bedside after con¬ valescence had commenced, he said, “ If it should please God to spare me, and raise me up, and permit me to go to his house, I would give more to hear a good gospel sermon than for ten thousand worlds.” His later years were years of singular serenity, soothed and cheered by the ministrations of devoted daughters. Seldom has any one of equal age retained such freshness of bodily senses and faculties of the mind. The vita vere vitalis was in full vigor. Faith, hope and charity were stronger than ever. His vital union to Him who is the Vine became a point of triumphant assur¬ ance. His last whispered words, as an affectionate sister NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 353 wiped the tear from his eye, were, pointing upward — “No tears there! ” and his last conscious act, after the power of speech had ceased, was to lay one finger across another in token of the cross of Christ, in which he gloried to the last. Dear old man ! Never did a more earnest listener sit in the sanctuary. That hoary head borne erect in commanding dignity, that noble counte¬ nance which shone as it had been the face of an angel, are still as distinct in memory as they were half a century ago. 2. JOHN HEATH. The name Heath has been a prominent one in Rox- bury from the earliest times. Isaac Heath came by the “ Hopewell ” in 1635, took the freeman’s oath the next year, and one year later was elected a representative of the town in the legislature. About the same time he was chosen a Ruling Elder of the church, which indicated that he was regarded as a man of decidedly Christian character, as well as of superior prudence and wisdom. That office, in which he continued during life, brought him into intimate relations with John Eliot. He was a man of means and was one of the founders of that Rox- bury school which, at that time, furnished, it was said, more scholars for the college than any other town of the size in New England, and to which he made a handsome bequest. He assisted Eliot in his work among the Indians and appears to have had some knowledge of their lan¬ guage. For more than four years he gave a home to 354 ELIOT MEMORIAL. an Indian lad. Elder Heath died January 21, 1660, aged seventy-five. 1 In a collateral line was the well-known Gen. William Heath, a prominent citizen and a prominent officer in the struggles of the Revolution. He was born the seventh of March, 1737; lived on the same farm where his an¬ cestor settled in 1636; and in the year 1814, when he died, had outlived all the other major-generals of the Revolutionary army. He had been a representative in the General Court, and in the Provincial Congress. His “Memoirs of Major-General Heath, co 7 itaining anecdotes, details of skirmishes, battles, a 7 id other military eve 7 its dur- hig the America 7 i war, writte 7 i by himself j is a book of 388 pages, published 1798. John Heath was one of the six original members of the Eliot Church who, at the time of its organization, made, for the first time, public profession of the Christian faith. He had previously attended the Old South Church, in Boston. He was a man of extreme diffidence, so much so that he could never take active part in social religious meetings. He did not, however, belong to that class who are silent at devotional meetings but voluble when secu¬ lar business is on hand. His habits of punctuality and general regularity in attendance upon divine worship and in fulfilling all engagements, were observable. Being for some years treasurer of the ecclesiastical society, he came to my house invariably on quarter-day to pay an install- 1 See Lives of Isaac Heath and John Bowles, by J. Wingate Thornton. NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 355 ment of the salary. Having breakfasted himself by lamp¬ light, he made his appearance at the parsonage before the morning meal there. In manners and habits Mr. Heath was characterized by simplicity, by unobtrusiveness, and blamelessness. He gave none offence, called forth no criticism, and was much respected. In the sanctuary he was a specially earnest and intelligent listener, and had well-defined religious views. The distinguishing truths of evangelical Chris¬ tianity were meat and drink to him. During the later years of life he lived in Brookline, but continued to wor¬ ship every Lord’s Day at the Eliot Church, always walk¬ ing from and to his house. On a Sabbath morning, Janu¬ ary 8, 1850, just as he was about to leave home for public worship, he fell instantly at the door and never became again conscious. During the whole seventy years of life he had not called a physician. Seldom does anyone find his way so suddenly to the temple on high instead of the house of God here below. 3. MELZAR WATERMAN. Mr. Waterman, one of the original members, and one of the committee which drafted the Articles of Faith and the Covenant, was the Asaph of those days, a devout man who led the service of song in the house of the Lord. This he did for several years with acceptance to all. Halifax, Plymouth County, was his native place, January 9, 1795. An early immigrant ancestor was Robert Water- 35 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. man, from Devonshire, England, first at Salem, then at Plymouth, and afterwards at Marshfield, a man of local prominence in the middle of the seventeenth century. John, a son of Robert (born, 1642; died, 1718), was one of the first deacons of the church in Halifax. The suc¬ cessive generations were characterized by amiability and good habits. In early life Mr. Waterman inclined to Universalism, but Bible study and a change of heart corrected that. A special blessing, as is so often the case, attended the influence of a pious mother and sister. Under clear con¬ viction of sin, looking to Jesus the all-sufficient Saviour, he found needed relief. Faithful inner scrutiny was main¬ tained. The manuscript record of religious experiences and purposes, definite and decided, as early as 1813, which at a later period was reviewed and renewed, indicates an unusually intelligent experimental acquaintance with divine things. Till the end of his days Mr. Waterman was a serious, cheerful Christian. In the congregation there were few, if any, more earnest hearers of the Word preached. December 29, 1833, he began a record of the texts from which sermons were preached. This continued with regularity till the spring of 1842. An occasional abstract of a sermon is introduced, and a book of about two hundred pages was thus filled. One incident will indicate local relations between members of different denominations at that period. In 1827 there was formed “The Male Primary Missionary NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 357 Society of the Baptist Church in Roxbury.” It was originally composed of nearly fifty members, who con¬ tributed annually not less than one dollar each. Four or more of those men were Congregationalists, who after¬ wards worshiped at the Eliot Church. The officers were from the Baptist Church, but Mr. Waterman was one of the four collectors. Most of his children having settled in New Orleans, or elsewhere in Louisiana, he spent his last days with them, and in old age, still bent on usefulness, he gathered a Sunday School, which resulted in the formation of a church. But upon his decease the remains were brought back for interment in the Forest Hills Cemetery, and the funeral was attended January 29, 1868. 4. RICHARD BOND. The son of pious parents, and born in Conway, Massachusetts, the year that Washington retired from public life (1797). He came to Boston, and for years was one of the leading architects in the city. His removal to Roxbury took place some months before the organization of our church, of which he was an original member, and for thirty years prominent in all its affairs. His con¬ version occurred during a revival in Boston, when he became deeply impressed with a sense of his sin and folly in toiling at worldly business with only a dark future before him. His views on religious subjects, which received their form from the Assembly’s Shorter Cate- 35 « ELIOT MEMORIAL. chism, were unusually clear and decided; his remarks and devotional exercises at social religious meetings were very impressive. He took a class in the Eliot Sunday School when it opened (1834), and not long after suc¬ ceeded Dr. Alcott as leader of a large Bible Class. Care¬ ful preparation, unfailing punctuality and fidelity year after year characterized him as a teacher, and indeed throughout various other relations. Mr. Bond was in the habit of contributing, with discrimination, to religious objects. He founded the Turretin prize of one thousand dollars in what is now the Hartford Theological Seminary, and bequeathed a handsome amount to several of our best New England institutions of learning. In August, 1861, Mr. Bond was gathered to his fathers. 5. JOHN NEWTON DENISON. Mr. Denison joined this church twice, first in 1839 and again in 1847. It was with much regret that in each instance we parted with him and his family. He was the only child of a minister, the Rev. John Denison, of Jericho, Vermont, where he was born June 22, 1811. With the exception of Mr. Isaac D. White, he was, at the time of his decease, the oldest living representative of our brotherhood in its early days. He belonged to the seventh generation from an original settler in Roxbury, a family in which there has been a good deal of longevity. His grandfather, Samuel Denison, reached the age of 94, and the grandfather of Samuel, Col. Robert Denison, of NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 359 Montville, Connecticut, attained the same age; while the grandmother of Colonel Robert came within a year of living a century. She was a queenly woman, and was always called “ Lady Ann,” the wife of Capt. George Denison. He, after the death of his first wife, Bridget Thompson, went back to England, served under Crom¬ well in the army of Parliament; was wounded in the famous battle of Marston Moor; was nursed at the house of John Borowdell, by his daughter Ann, whom he mar¬ ried, and returning to New England, settled finally at Stonington, Connecticut. In military affairs he was second to no one in that colony at that period, unless it be Capt. John Mason. This George was the youngest of three sons of William Denison, who came with his family from Bishop’s Stortford, Herefordshire, England. They were fellow-passengers of John Eliot, who had been an usher in the school of the celebrated Thomas Hooker, and who served for a time as tutor to these Denison sons. William Denison, the father, a graduate, like Eliot, of Cambridge University, England, brought with him “a good estate.” He became a deacon in the First Church of Roxbury, and died in 1653, the year that Eliot addressed his tract, Tears of Repentance , to Oliver Cromwell. The house built by William Denison was on what is now Shawmut Avenue, about opposite to the head of Eustis Street. Our Mr. John N. Denison gave himself, for a time in early life, to teaching, and contemplated de- 36 o ELIOT MEMORIAL. voting himself to study. On account, however, of a per¬ sistent trouble in the head, he was obliged to relinquish both pursuits. Coming to Boston, he went into the dry- goods business; but withdrew (1856) and, with a brother- in-law, Mr. J. W. Brooks, enlisted in railroad affairs, the Burlington and Missouri River road, the Chicago, Bur¬ lington and Quincy road, and sundry associated corpo¬ rations. For a whole generation Mr. Denison was the senior officer of the Central Church, and one of its most liberal benefactors, commanding the deepest respect of all, his liberality exceeded only by his modesty, for his almsdeeds are fully recorded nowhere except where those of Cor¬ nelius are found. 6. ISAAC DAVIS WHITE. Of the earlier members of the Eliot Church, Mr. White is the oldest now living and is in his ninety-fifth year. He was born in Boylston, Massachusetts, March 20, 1806, though his father was a native of Roxbury, a prominent man in town affairs, for several years a repre¬ sentative in the General Court, and, what is more im¬ portant, possessed a strong religious character. The same was true of the mother of our Mr. White — a daughter of Rev. Joseph Avery, for fifty years pastor of the church in Holden. It was an unusual circumstance that when she died (i860) at the age of eighty-two, her ten children were all living. The only sister of Samuel Adams was a great-grandmother of our Mr. White. Of those ten chil- NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 361 dren referred to — four being still alive — the average age is eighty-three years; while three have lived beyond ninety-two. Sixty-six was the lowest age attained, and among all of them the retention of their faculties has been marked. Mr. White removed to Enfield, Connecticut, in 1853; and after a ten years’ residence there returned to Boston, but settled at length in Brookline (1865). Whatever changes have taken place in personal or in public affairs, he has maintained even and quiet habits of feeling and of outward life, always declining office when proposed to him. The passionate and the petulant very seldom reach ninety years of age. The art of passing lightly over the rough places of life is an enviable one, and one that pro¬ motes longevity. It was in 1840 that he joined the Eliot Church, and his religious profession has been consist¬ ently maintained. Two lines of Christian ancestry, run¬ ning back between two and three hundred years, con¬ verge in him. The divine pledge holds good, “ Showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” 7. JOHN BROWN. Never can I forget the last sickness and some of the closing scenes in a family which came from Scotland. They lived in a small house on the milldam, remote from church, but so long as circumstances permitted, they were punctual and reverent worshipers at the house of God, whatever the walking or the weather. The husband and 3 6 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. father, John Brown, sank (1846) under the gradual in¬ vasion of a disease that baffled all resistance; but it was in such patience and cheerfulness as are exhibited only where there is intimate fellowship with heaven. His thoughts wandered chiefly along the river of the water of life and also beyond sea in his native land. He lived over his early life again, and sang over and over hymns taught him by a godly Highland mother. At last he wished to have the Scottish friends — who were kindly attentive through the whole sickness, and some of whom then stood round the bed — join in a favorite paraphrase. It was one which that sainted woman used to sing to him in his childhood. His own feeble voice joined with theirs till the last word and last note. With that he ceased to breathe; but I have no doubt that in another world he kept right on singing, only changing to the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. The one which he had just finished here was this: “ Hark, the glad sound! the Saviour comes, The Saviour promised long; Let every heart prepare him room, And every voice a song.” The widow and daughter soon went back to Aber¬ deen, Scotland, where their friends were living. 8 . DEACON JAMES CLAP. Few churches have ever had among their members one more humble, more prayerful, or more conscientiously faithful in all his relations, than James Clap. Nearly the NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 3 6 3 whole of his seventy years bore witness to those eminent traits, for his religious life began much earlier than is usual. He was born in Dorchester, and while yet a youth was the first male member received by the Second Church, under the ministry of the first pastor, Dr. John Codman. Owing to changes of residence, he joined suc¬ cessively the Old South and Pine Street churches, Bos¬ ton, and the Village Church, Dorchester. Thence he brought usual credentials to the Eliot Church in 1836; but he brought an unusually quiet, consistent, earnest Christian character. He was a peacemaker. It was also his practice, much beyond what is generally the custom, to introduce religious conversation and to speak to im¬ penitent business men, as well as others, on the subject of personal salvation. Growth in grace in himself and the spiritual good of others seemed to be his sole desire. The year 1829 was one of great financial embarrassment. Failures were frequent. A friend, on entering Mr. Clap’s counting-room one morning, announced that a certain business man, who was owing the firm a considerable amount, had gone under. Mr.. Clap knew that that in¬ volved disaster to himself; but instead of any expressions of grief, he remarked calmly: “ This is perhaps in answer to my prayer. I have been praying for greater sanctifica¬ tion, and God may be taking this method to effect the object.” He never resumed business, but became bookkeeper on a moderate salary. His manner of living being ex- 3 6 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. tremely simple and inexpensive, he was able to contribute to benevolent objects amounts that were very suggestive to those who had larger incomes but who gave much less. To the American Board and the Home Missionary Society, he paid each not less than one hundred and seventy dollars annually ; and when a special appeal was heard, he would present a special thank-offering. Mrs. Clap, a sister of Mrs. Dr. R. S. Storrs of Braintree, was in full sympathy with her husband. Health failing, he removed to his native place; and the first Lord’s Day of July, 1857, was the last time that he attended public worship. The remainder of his life, two and a half years, was a period of almost uninterrupted suffering — much of the time severe suffering — night and day. It was, however, a period of meek resignation and uncomplaining endurance. In an address at the funeral of Mr. Clap, March 30, i860, the writer took occasion to say: “Why is it that such a man should have been subjected to such a dis¬ cipline? God no doubt had many ends in view, and one may have been to teach us that this is not a retributive state. If called upon to select in the wide circle of our acquaintance, one who from boyhood upward has been blameless, of transparent integrity, scrupulously con¬ scientious, truthful, guileless and devout, would our thoughts turn to any one sooner than to him whose re¬ mains are before us ? Now while the dishonest man, the profane man, the Sabbath breaker of this community has NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 365 lived in comparative exemption from trials, upon what principle of equity was such prolonged suffering ap¬ pointed, if in this life demerit meets with a full relative penalty ? ” “ Again, that last sickness was to him a season of much spiritual enjoyment, and through him of much spiritual refreshment to Christian brethren who came week after week to his bedside. Yes, within that coffin is a bound volume of ‘ Songs in the Night,’ a gentle visi¬ tor to the sick and suffering, such as no hand this side of Heaven could prepare and send forth through the com¬ munity. It is a wide area around us on which the feeble and the distressed have now for years been taught lessons of uncomplaining endurance, by him who though dead yet speaketh, and will speak to us for years to come. You, my dear brother (Rev. Dr. J. H. Means), in the min¬ istry of reconciliation and consolation, have had a col¬ league such as few pastors are favored with. Your ver¬ bal testimony to the sustaining grace of God has been fortified by a living testimony which none can gainsay or resist. In the regions round about, we have learned as never before to ‘ Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong.’ “One invalid in a neighboring city, more than ninety years old, when told of the event that brings us here to¬ day, lifted up her feeble voice in the exclamation : ‘ He has suffered well, and now he has gone where he will re¬ joice well.’ ” 366 ELIOT MEMORIAL. • 9. GEORGE DOMETT. He had reached four-score, though we should not have thought it. Cheerfulness of spirit and countenance beguiled the advance of years, and we looked upon him as a youthful old man. Out of the whole population of our world it is estimated that only one in five hundred reach that age, and it takes but twenty-four such lives to measure the entire period since our Lord was on earth. The last conversation that I had with Mr. Domett turned chiefly upon the subject of sudden deaths. There was nothing premonitory in that, yet it could not be otherwise than impressive that the very next thing which I heard regarding him should be, “ He died suddenly.” Martin Luther was talking on the same topic one even¬ ing, and before the next day he died. So, too, Julius Csesar discoursed about it the night before he fell in the Senate House. When there is due preparation for the event, why should it not be accounted a mercy that this can be said, “He was not, for God took him?” Mr. Domett had been about the house as usual during the day, was sitting in his chair, turned his head on one side and ceased breathing. His end was peace; it was a com¬ fortable event; he simply left us, and nothing in his life was more beautiful than its close. Jewish Rabbis used to teach that the angel Gabriel comes and gently draws out the soul of a righteous man with a kiss. In this instance it was at evening, and being a little earlier than the usual hour for retiring, the venerable man omitted NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 3 6 7 saying good-night. How sweet the name that Christ gives to the death of such an one, “ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth! ” It was on Saturday evening that this, our friend, fell asleep — the evening of preparation for the holy Sabbath. What a different morning was his from ours who were tarrying here in the midwinter of sin, suffering, and doubt! Our friend believed in the all-sufficient, atoning work of Jesus Christ; in our Lord’s resurrection, the sealing event that is commended for a joyful celebration by every re¬ turning Lord’s Day. He believed in regeneration by the Holy Spirit, evinced in the putting on of the new man which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness. As he believed, so he prayed, professed, and died. IO. ABNER KINGMAN. Henry Kingman, who came to this country from Eng¬ land in 1630, settled at Weymouth, Massachusetts, and was a representative in the General Court or Assembly for fourteen consecutive years. A great-grandson of his, Col. Abner Kingman, was one of the Minutemen in the Revolutionary War. His grandson, our friend — the third who bore the same name — was born in Providence, Rhode Island, February 5, 1814. The Kingmans were of the Puritan stock, decidedly religious, conservative, and much respected. Mr. Kingman’s father was a deacon in the church at Providence for many years before removing to Boston. This son, in the days of youth and early man- 3 68 ELIOT MEMORIAL. hood, before the commencement of a Christian course, maintained, in the midst of temptations, a correct life outwardly, shunning the theater and given to reading and to attending lectures. The books which attracted him were for the most part valuable, and it was his habit to make written abstracts of the same. It was not till twenty-seven years of age that, after much deliberation, Mr. Kingman made public profession of religion, and became a member of the Essex Street Church, with which he remained about forty years till his death. In the meantime he had quarters in Roxbury for a period, and worshiped with the Eliot Church. In the matter of business he had a long apprenticeship that was not entirely satisfactory; but at length becoming a mem¬ ber of the firm of Gossler & Co., he met with success. For a quarter of a century he was known as a man of energy, of rare business sagacity, and of unbending integ¬ rity. After his retirement from the house of Gossler & Co. they named the only ship ever owned by them during their century and a-half of business, the Kingman , as a token of esteem for their late partner. The home life of Mr. Kingman afforded a beautiful specimen of warm affection, Christian training, and domes¬ tic harmony. Ostentation had no place there; religious hospitality abounded. He was not a man of many words nor of any pretention. In numerous public benevolences and philanthropic institutions he had an interest and ad¬ ministrative position, such as the Young Women’s Chris- NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 369 tian Association, the Children’s Aid Society, the Boston Dispensary, the West Newton Boys’ Home, the Dedham Asylum for discharged female prisoners, the Provident Institution for Savings. For fifteen years he was a mem¬ ber of the Prudential Committee of the American Board; for thirty-two years he was on the board of managers of the Seamen’s Friend Society; he was also a trustee of Liberia College, of Beirut College, of Oahu College, of Wellesley College, of Bradford Academy, and of the Female Seminary at Oxford, Ohio. In his abundant char¬ ities he was the farthest possible from everything like show. The left hand was kept in ignorance of what the right hand did. I was often made the medium of gifts which were to be communicated without the donor’s name. Failing health marked the closing years of Mr. Kingman’s life. Angina pectoris was the malady which preyed upon him, and after repeated paroxysms of extreme suffering he had a blessed release, November 1, 1880. His last effort at continuous utterance was the barely audible re¬ hearsal of one stanza of a favorite hymn: “ I love thy kingdom, Lord, The house of thine abode, The church our blest Redeemer saved With his own precious blood.” II. HON. JOSEPH S. ROPES. Boston claims Mr. Ropes as one of her sons. He was born February 6, 1818, Mr. William Ropes and Mrs. Martha Reed Ropes being his parents. After attending 37° ELIOT MEMORIAL. Gideon F. Thayer’s school Mr. Ropes studied at the St. Petersburg Gymnasium and University, his father hav¬ ing removed to that city. Besides the two ancient clas¬ sical languages, Latin and Greek, he became familiar with the modern Russian, German, French and Spanish. From 1845 to 1875 he was a member of the firm of William Ropes & Co., which had mercantile houses at St. Petersburg, London, New York and Boston; and he made numerous trips to Europe and back. Among the positions of trust held by him were presidency of the Congregational Club, membership in the Boston Board of Trade, the Free Trade League, and Prudential Com¬ mittee of the American Board, the latter for a term of twenty-four years. Products of his pen have appeared in contributions to various periodicals, especially the Con¬ gregational Quarterly, the New Englander, and the Bibli¬ otheca Sacra. Mr. Ropes, like Mr. Abner Kingman, though a member of the Union Church, Boston, removed to Roxbury and worshiped a while with us; but when the Vine Street (now Immanuel) Church was formed, he cast in his lot as one of its original members. In that he held the office of Deacon, and for many years conducted a large Bible Class of ladies. A quick sense of right and of honor, the absence of self-assertion, and the presence of unusual refinement, are well-known characteristics in Mr. Ropes. One evidence of his remarkable memory is the fact that it carries over seven hundred hymns. NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 371 12. SYLVESTER BLISS. The Eliot Sunday School has been greatly favored in its superintendents. After the quarter of a century services of Deacon Alvah Kittredge, came a brief term by Mr. Samuel Hall, followed by the longer one of Mr. Syl¬ vester Bliss, who held the headship for three years. He was born in Tolland, Connecticut, 1814; engaged in teach¬ ing one of the Hartford schools, and became a member of the Eliot Church in 1848. Mr. Bliss was a man of much kindliness of disposition, of rare good sense, and of marked executive ability. These traits were exhibited not only in connection with the Sunday School, but as a member of the city school committee, and also as editor and in business affairs. For many years he was agent and treasurer of the American Millennial Association, being annually reelected editor of the Advent Herald with entire unanimity. In that posi¬ tion he exhibited unusual candor and skill in discussion, great familiarity with the Bible, and much acuteness in the interpretation of sacred scripture. By indefatigable perseverance and by methods all his own, he acquired such knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek, without regu¬ lar instruction, as enabled him to trace the usage of words in the Old and New Testaments effectively for purposes of original discussion. As a controversialist he held the pen of a cautious, able, and independent writer. While editing the journal above mentioned, he was an occasional contributor to weekly papers in Boston and Hartford; 372 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and his works, larger and smaller, which were published separately, amounted to nearly thirty. As a member of the church Mr. Bliss, without being in the least officious, was always ready for good words and work, whether in devotional meetiugs or neighborhood labor. Though very decided in his views regarding pre- millenarianism, he never obtruded them upon the Eliot Church. Its members differed from him on that subject; yet they respected him for his firm advocacy, in a weekly organ, of what seemed to him a true interpretation of prophecy, and at the same time honored him for the absence of all narrow, partisan and heated advocacy. In Hartford he belonged to the Second Church, of which the Rev. Dr. O. E. Daggett was then pastor, who entertained a warm regard for him, and who communi¬ cated this incident: “Twenty years ago Mr. Bliss had a situation in the Hartford Post Office. He was at length informed that certain service would be required on the Sabbath. He resigned his situation, not having any other employment at hand, and being dependent upon his own efforts. He, however, immediately found a better situation, and since then has never been without employment and a fair measure of success.” The funeral of Mr. Bliss took place in the Eliot Church, March 8, 1863, when the tears of a Sunday School and congregation bore witness to the general affection and esteem in which he was held. NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 373 13. ROBERT MCMASTER CARSON. Was he one of the prominent members of the church ? Perhaps not, to human eyes, but he was, we doubt not, to angelic eyes. In social position very lowly, in Christian worth he stood high. Ancestors of his moved from Scotland to the north of Ireland in the time of Cromwell, and he was born at Donaghadee, June 14, 1815. After working at his trade as a shoemaker in Glasgow and Dublin, he emigrated to Roxbury in 1844. On becoming a member of the Eliot Church (1856), he stated to the pastor and church com¬ mittee that his sole reliance for pardon and life eternal was on the atoning righteousness of Jesus Christ, his belief being that whatever might be good in him was due to the Holy Spirit; that his highest interest and enjoy¬ ment were in efforts to do good. Thereafter his life con¬ firmed that testimony. No one could be more modest or apparently more conscientious. He was indefatigable in efforts to promote the salvation of operatives with whom he was associated, though extremely diffident, seldom allow¬ ing an opportunity slip to invite sinners to come to Christ. In 1862, after much prayer, he became convinced that duty to his adopted country called him to enlist in the Union Army, and he carried himself as a Christian soldier. From Fairfax Station and Alexandria Heights, as well as from other points, he wrote in regard to re¬ ligious meetings and personal labors with individual men. 374 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Sickness overtook him, and his last few days were spent in a hospital. The Chaplain wrote: “ He was a man I loved to visit, for he loved the Saviour with an intense affection. His religion made him patient and happy ; it gave him a sweetness of spirit which endeared him to all around him. The surgeon told me there was some¬ thing about Mr. Carson so noble and good, that he felt as though he must not die; and the tears stole down his cheeks as he spoke these words.” When the Great Cap¬ tain of our salvation shall order the muster-roll of nations, we believe this friend of ours will have honorable men¬ tion. 14. WILLIAM HENRY WARDWELL. One of the deaths deeply deplored by the church, was that of Mr. Wardwell, who had been a member since 1859. He was born at Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, October 24, 1818, his father being Dr. Daniel Wardwell of that place. The Wardwells came from Ipswich, Eng¬ land. In boyhood our friend attended public schools and Phillips Academy at Andover. After engaging for ten years in the book trade and printing at Andover, he removed to Boston, and was successively associated with John P. Jewett & Co., also Grant, Warren & Co., out of which grew the firm of S. D. Warren & Co., with which his connection continued towards forty years. In these relations he was highly esteemed for strict integrity and careful attention to such business as came to his charge. The same was true regarding unpaid services NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 375 elsewhere. In 1880 he was elected a Director of the Sun¬ day School and Publishing Society, and for a decade had the position of Chairman of the Finance Committee, at whose meetings he was punctually present. Safe and cautious counsel, efficient attention to financial affairs, and the bearing of a Christian gentleman, characterized his whole course in that connection. Mr. Ward well was a generous man, as the pastors and communities with which he had fellowship were well aware. It cost him no effort to give. Contributions in full proportion to his ability, for objects of benevolence — and especially those that are distinctly evangelical — were prompt and most cheerful. The smile on his face in such matters, and indeed uniformly, told of a heart in glad sympathy with the best things of the church and the world. Modest and gentle, fond of quiet and simplicity, Mr. Ward well seemed always to act under the control of religious principle. His Bible and the Lord’s Day with its services were a delight, especially when the doc¬ trines of grace were clearly set forth. Whatever the dis¬ tance and inconvenience of a walk to the house of God, he would not avail himself of any public conveyance on the Sabbath. Seldom, if ever, is a man to be found less pretentious in manners, or more steadfast in religious con¬ victions. He was at once a model of delicacy and firm¬ ness. At the age of seventy-seven (September, 1896,) the great harvester gathered him like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. 376 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 15. WESLEY IRESON. It is not often that any church has a member so modest, so blameless, so punctual and so faithful in his sphere as was Mr. Ireson. The announcement of his decease, which was very sudden and unlooked for, March 26, 1897, occasioned a shock throughout the circle of his acquaintance. Mr. Ireson, a son of the Rev. Joseph Ireson, was a native of Thompson, Connecticut, having been born there October 5, 1823. He left home early to prepare for business, and in Norwich came under the pastoral care of Dr. Alvin Bond. Young men and others in the same congregation formed a colony with whom Mr. Ireson cast in his lot, which resulted in the organization of the Broad¬ way Church. Dr. John P. Gulliver, one of our young men, became its first pastor. Mr. Ireson not long after made a public profession of his religious faith. Some years later the business house with which he stood con¬ nected removed to Boston; and notwithstanding heavy losses by the fire of 1889 he continued in the trade for fifty-five years. His reputation for strict integrity and gentlemanly bearing in all relations continued untarnished. In private relations of life, Mr. Ireson was noticeably unassuming, gentle and cheerful. His tastes were simple. Among flowers and children he was peculiarly at home. Native temperament and disposition were favored by sin¬ gularly good health. During more than three-score and ten years he required medical attendance only on the day NOTEWORTHY LAYMEN. 377 before his decease. For thirty-seven years he had not failed of attendance upon public worship on the Lord’s Day; and for eight and thirty years he was the accurate, kindly, and ever-welcome Secretary of the Eliot Sunday School. Mr. Ireson was a man of few words, and no words of censure upon others. He took the Bible as his guide in life, and it afforded him unfailing light, peace and strength. CHAPTER XXV. YOUNG MEN. In no other country or age have young men occu¬ pied so conspicuous a place as in our land, and at the present time. Never before have they taken such a lead¬ ing part, especially in civil and religious movements. The young man as a reformer and legislator is often at the front. Among our young men there has been a gratify¬ ing proportion of Samuels and Josiahs. They are to be found not only in the professions, including educators, but in the business world. Offensive self-confidence, and the want of due respect, along with intoxication of free¬ dom — which are rather widely characteristic of those just emerging from the tutelage of home and school — have not, with one or two exceptions, been observable. Nor has there seemed to be on their part any intense endeavor to propitiate Mammon, or to secure other means of self-indulgence. Praiseworthy sentiments and high aims have, in the main, been entertained. In starting out on the voyage of independent life, they have evi¬ dently had in mind the difference between favoring trade- winds and the typhoon. At the funeral of certain young Athenians, Pericles remarked that the commonwealth in losing such loses what the year would if spring were to fail. It has sometimes seemed to us as if that charming season were gloomily overcast. YOUNG MEN. 379 I. HENRY MARTYN HILL. No young man, in the early days of this church, enjoyed greater respect than Henry Martyn Hill. He was the eldest son of Henry Hill, Esq., an officer of the church, and for many years treasurer of the American Board. Few are gifted with minds originally more active and in other respects more promising than his. A physi¬ cal infirmity, however, precluded collegiate and profes¬ sional studies; yet his attainments were highly respectable, and his example may well encourage the young who labor under special embarrassments. On a voyage to Singa¬ pore in company with missionaries, when eighteen years of age, he became experimentally acquainted with the truth as it is in Jesus. Thenceforward his growth in Christian character was marked, one evidence of which appeared in an unusual love of the Bible. The Epistle to the Ephe¬ sians, many of the Psalms, and other portions of sacred Scripture were hid in his heart. Manly, modest, blameless, his daily walk was a persuasive exhortation to young men to be sober-minded and earnest in serving the Master. The malady (epilepsy) which long preyed upon him did not produce irritableness, or lead to unavailing com¬ plaints. He did what he could, and his Christian activity continued to the last. It required an effort to be re¬ signed to live; but the spirit of meek, submissive endur¬ ance was clearly manifest. An extract or two from his journal will indicate, in some measure, his caste and habit of mind. Speaking of a second voyage he wrote: “In my passage in the Montreal to Rio (1847), I accomplished the 380 ELIOT MEMORIAL. careful perusal of Butler’s Ajialogy. I finished it just when the severity of my sickness made me unable to read more than a page or two at a time, and felt its power to fortify me in the truth of Christianity, during the darkest and most painful hours of the succeeding illness. To .my mind it brings exactly the consolation and sup¬ port that I have long and distinctly felt the want of, furnishing an argument in logical, tangible, practical form, why one should trust in revealed religion, and risk his spiritual interests thereon, on similar principles to those which govern men’s actions under the constitution and course of nature.” “ I trust that nothing I have done, or omitted to do, will bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. It has been difficult, from day to day, to know how to behave in the intimate company of a set of midshipmen, in the steerage of a man-of-war. In the first place I have not joined in their vulgarity or profanity. In listening to a vast deal of it, mingled as it has been with all their conversation, I have been exceedingly pained, disgusted, and desirous to speak in the way of disapprobation, or even of reproof.” “ My own bark still at anchor rides Close to the shore where varying tides Now lift me high, then bring me low, And thus my weak dependence show. The shallow waters sometimes will Unto my downcast eye reveal The ground below; but every day, And many a night makes rich display Of glories, which hope’s upturned eye Through faith’s bright glass can quick descry.” YOUNG MEN. 3 ^ “ I almost danced before the Lord, with my joy that I had been allowed to preach Christ to that young man. My prayers were earnest that God, for Jesus’ sake, would send his Holy Spirit to that heart, and sanctify the means employed for his benefit.” Among the last entries was the following: “ I feel that ‘ sundown ’ may come to me any day; and then I will have to add, ‘reached home — but what a sunrise ! ’ ” A booklet, entitled The Yoke in Youth , relating to Mr. Hill, was issued over forty years ago. He died April 28, 1856, aged thirty-four. 2. JOHN J. CARRUTHERS, JR. A son of the Rev. Dr. Carruthers of Portland, Maine, was a young man of elegant person, pleasing manners, and amiable disposition. Being a fellow boarder with him, I had opportunity for intimate acquaintance, and came to regard his Christian character as undoubted. He felt under deep obligations to the Rev. Dr. Wilkes of Montreal. It was by letter that he came into connec¬ tion with our church in 1848. But having a highly- strung nervous temperament, and imperfect health, he fell into despondency, and at length into extreme depression. Suspicion of friends, and, indeed, all about him, took pos¬ session of his mind, and return to Portland became necessary. On reaching his father’s house indications of insanity were unmistakable. He could not wait for the door to be opened, but tried to force his way in, saying 3 82 ELIOT MEMORIAL. that officers of justice were pursuing him. Such was his mental distress that he would pray all night, and so loud that no one in the house could sleep. Removal to the asylum at Somerville took place. Under the hallucina¬ tion that it was wrong for him to receive nourishment, he became emaciated and haggard, and expired Septem¬ ber 6, 1851. His father wrote: “I gladly embrace this opportunity of expressing to you my cherished sense of obligation as the much-loved pastor, whose instructions he so much valued, and under whose ministry he seems to have made such sensible, and, to all but himself, satis¬ factory advances in the Christian life. He ever spoke and wrote of his minister with reverential and fond affec¬ tion. Your excellent Deacon Kittredge stood high in his esteem. Of Mr. Walley he could never speak but with outpouring gratitude and love.” No funeral services were more sad than those of such young friends as Mr. Carruthers. It was as if bright stars had been quenched mysteriously. 3. D. JARVIS HASTINGS. The December of 1858 closed in deep sadness that settled on a wide circle of relatives and friends. Close upon Christmas a brilliant morning was overcast, and highest hopes were suddenly dashed. Young Hastings, only eighteen, amiable, winning, warmly loved, at the head of his class in the university of a neighboring state, succumbed to disease. Never were our hearts heavier than when we joined in the procession that carried out of YOUNG MEN. 3 8 3 the city the corpse of that only son of his mother, and she a widow. Yet there was much relief to her mind and ours, that, in a lucid hour of sickness, the Saviour’s voice seemed to be heard, “ Young man, I say unto thee, arise ! ” We cherish the belief of his resurrection rather than the memory of his death. 4. NATHAN HAGGETT BROWN. At the midsummer sacramental service of 1866, thirty- eight persons presented themselves, avowing the Lord Jehovah to be their God and portion forever; avowing the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, devoting to him all their faculties, powers, and possessions. Side by side stood three brothers. The parents came at the same time from another church. The natural and the spiritual life of two of those brothers ran parallel in twin ex¬ perience. It cost us — as has often been the case — no little feeling when the transfer to a distant city took place. His pastor there 1 wrote me : “ Candid, outspoken, conscientious, he seemed to be chiefly anxious to discover the way of duty for himself; and whatever appeared to him to be the requirement of right in the case, he stood ready to do. He was strongly impelled by the desire and purpose to make his personal culture as thorough and complete as possible. Whatever an earnest, devoted, faith¬ ful Christian young man would be expected to do from his relations to the church and the kingdom of God, all 1 Rev. Dr. Helmer, Union Park Church, Chicago. 3 8 4 ELIOT MEMORIAL. that Nathan Brown proposed to himself to do, and was largely successful in his endeavor. The tender, sympa¬ thetic, ardent feelings which made him a valued neighbor, contributed to his excellence as a Sunday School teacher, and many souls were given him as seals of that limited but responsible ministry.” But his Christian aims were not limited to persons and fields purely local and imme¬ diate. He did not know how to be narrow. Repeatedly he wrote to me here in Roxbury, desiring information and sources of information in regard to foreign missions. In business, and other wide relations, he commanded respect. It is not often that enthusiasm of temperament and conservatism of judgment are so happily combined. That poise of character must be attributed in no small degree to the steadying influence of religious principle, and to the study of a volume which has power beyond all others to impose restraint when needed, and to pro¬ duce equilibrium. But why was a man so useful and so young removed ? His own words on one evening (May 21, 1878) of his short and last violent sickness, were full of meaning, “It is all right.” Though taken from the midst of greater usefulness and greater enjoyment than ever before, it was all right. By such transfers heaven gains more than earth loses. The best service here is followed by preferable service there. From the malaria of Romish superstition and Jesuit guile, inestimably worse than Roman fever, he remained untainted. Milan and the plains of Lombardy are no farther from Paradise than YOUNG MEN. 385 our western prairies. “ It is all right ” that the transla¬ tion should take place in traveling. The heavenly- minded Archbishop Leighton expressed a wish that he might die on a journey, and at an inn. His desire was gratified. For Nathan Brown to travel was not to wan¬ der. He recognized the fact that whether at home or abroad we are alike, “ strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Italy itself became for us yet more a sunny land, her skies have an intenser blue, richer tints mingle in the morning glory of her mountains, since our beloved friend went up thence to be forever with the Lord. Of the four preceding there were compeers, some of them schoolmates, who still survive. They are all over fifty years of age, and the following are among the mem¬ bers of that group. 5. EDWARD P. FLINT. A considerable number of the congregation removed, at different times, to California. Among these was the father of Mr. Flint, who, after being a merchant in Boston, and then in Buenos Ayres, South America, established (1849) the commercial house of Flint, Peabody & Co. in San Francisco. This son, who was born in Boston (1828), and had prepared for college, followed the family (1850) to the Pacific coast, and soon became a member of the firm, which, for many years, enjoyed much success. The decisive spiritual change in Mr. Flint occurred in youth, and stood connected with the prayers of his 386 ELIOT MEMORIAL. mother, and with a Christian call from Deacon James Clap, who read the one hundred and third Psalm, conversed and prayed with him. Mr. Flint, as well as his mother, was received to this church on confession of their faith in 1846; and his position at the Golden Gate has been that of a valued Christian man. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the famous “ Vigilance Commit¬ tee ” of 1856. Soon after his transfer to the First Con¬ gregational Church of San Francisco he was elected a trustee and treasurer, a teacher in the Sunday School, and also, not long after, a deacon of the church. Upon re¬ moving to Oakland (1862) he came into similar positions connected with the First Church there, besides being superintendent of the Sunday School, a trustee of the Pacific Theological Seminary from its organization, 1868. A share in other similar trusts has been committed to him. Some of these positions were held for forty or more years. From i860 to 1892 he was financial agent of the American Board, and from 1876 has been a corporate member of that body. 6. GEORGE ALVAH KITTREDGE. He was born in Boston (1833) before his father’s family removed to Roxbury. On account of delicate health he went, in 1849, to the Levant, and was absent from home for fourteen months. During that time many weeks were spent with friends at Beirut, and on Mt. Lebanon; Da¬ mascus was visited, and the Holy Land. The return home YOUNG MEN. 3 8 7 in 1850 was by way of Smyrna, Constantinople, Northern Italy, and Switzerland; Paris, London, and Edinburgh. Mr. Kittredge had previously studied in our Latin School, and after some further preparation privately, he entered Yale College (1851), and graduated the fourth in his class of ninety-one members. Having taken the Clark Scholarship he remained a fifth year at New Haven. The next year (1857) he entered the office of Naylor & Co., Boston, who were engaged in the foreign iron trade, but in 1862 he went to Bombay and joined the firm of Stearns, Hobart & Co. That city has since been his home, and in the course of these thirty-eight years he has made nineteen trips each way, two of them being round the world. Bombay had grown to be a city of nine hun¬ dred thousand inhabitants, before the late visitation of the plague. Mr. Kittredge has been an active member of the Chamber of Commerce; also of the Port Trust, in whose care are placed the harbor fore-shore and the city docks, valued at many millions. He secured the con¬ cession for a horse-railway in Bombay, which has been a great success, and now has a track of about twenty miles, and carries sixty thousand passengers daily. Mr. Kittredge was the pioneer in one of the impor¬ tant benevolences of India — the introduction of female physicians. Sufficient funds were secured, chiefly from natives, to bring out three ladies equipped with full medi¬ cal degrees. Funds were also secured by him and an influential associate, a Parsee gentleman, for a hospital, 388 ELIOT MEMORIAL. a dispensary, and then for a second hospital, all of which are in sole charge of lady doctors. Through the same influence women were admitted to the Medical School at Bombay, as well as afterwards to the similar schools of Madras and Calcutta. This movement led on to the establishment of the Lady Dufferin Fund, and to the furnishing of hospitals, dispensaries, and nurses for women in many parts of India. Mr. Kittredge’s English friends wished him to be presented to Queen Victoria, who took much interest in the scheme that originated at Bombay, but he declined the formality. Mr. Kittredge prepared an interesting booklet entitled, A Short History of the Medical Women for India Fund of Bombay , which was published at Bombay in 1889. 7. JOSEPH EPES BROWN. Mr. Brown’s earliest ancestor this side of the Atlantic settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1637. Along the lines subsequently appear the names of Deputy Governor Symonds, Sarah Dudley, sister of Governor Dudley, and George Jacobs, one of those who were accused and who suffered death in the “ Salem Witchcraft ” frenzy. His great-grandparents were among those to whom a large tract of New Hampshire land was granted in consid¬ eration of services rendered during one of the colo¬ nial wars. Boston was his birthplace (August 23, 1843), and the family moved to a commanding site on Parker Hill, Roxbury, when Joseph was five years of age. At YOUNG MEN. 3 8 9 eighteen he entered on a clerkship in a large mercantile house of Boston, and two years later took a similar posi¬ tion with Blake Brothers & Co. With that firm he has remained in various capacities, from office-attendant to partner, till the present time, thirty-eight years. Upon the death of the senior Mr. Blake (1874), he was selected as the one for the branch office on Wall Street, New York. His energy and tact have contributed much toward making that branch outstrip in quantity the busi¬ ness house in Boston. In 1866, Mr. Brown, with his twin brother Nathan and also a third brother, as well as many others, the fruit of a revival, joined the Eliot Church. Religious earnestness and activity were early manifest. Upon mar¬ riage he removed his connection to the Central Church; and not long after became Superintendent of its Sunday School, and later of the Mission School at the Old Col¬ ony Chapel. On removing to Brooklyn, New York, he took service at once in the School of the Church of the Pilgrims, then in its large Mission School (Pilgrim Chapel), of which he soon became Assistant Superin¬ tendent and Superintendent. In other outside activities Mr. Brown has had a share, as well as in the weekly church meetings. At the jubilee of Dr. R. S. Storrs’ pastorate he was selected to deliver the address, “ From the People to the Pastor.” For several years he has been a corporate member of the American Board. Vari¬ ous philanthropic and other institutions in Brooklyn have 39° ELIOT MEMORIAL. claimed his services as trustee, or in other positions. He has made not less than a dozen voyages, chiefly to Europe, one to the Windward Islands and South America, as well as one visit to the Hawaiian Islands. Notwith¬ standing the pressure of business and of local engage¬ ments, he is a studious man, and in his library of three thousand volumes finds recreation and unremitting self¬ culture. Well would it be if such a habit were more general. 8. HON. JAMES M. W. HALL. Mr. Hall is a native of Boston. In the Latin School of Boston and that of Roxbury he prepared for college, but went into business, and for the last decade or more has belonged to the firm of Wellman, Hall & Co., whole¬ sale lumber merchants. At seventeen years of age he joined the Eliot Church (1859) on confession of faith; but afterwards removed to Cambridge, where for more than twenty years he has been one of the officers of the First Church, and for a number of years was Superintendent of its Sunday School. In 1880 he was Mayor of the city of Cambridge, and since 1893 h as been a member of the Prudential Committee of the American Board. He has also borne part in other important trusts. 9. COL. EBENEZER W. STONE. A son of Gen. E. W. Stone, was born in Roxbury, October 23, 1837. He was commissioned as captain in YOUNG MEN. 391 1 the First Massachusetts Infantry, 1861, and served with his regiment, which was engaged in the battle of Bull Run, and in all the engagements — that at Antietam ex¬ cepted— of the army of the Potomac till mustered out in 1864. He was then appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Sixty-first Massachusetts. These appointments were in the volunteer service, but he passed into the regular army, 1866; and in the United States Twenty-first Infantry has been promoted to a captaincy. He was brevetted colonel of volunteers, for gallant and meritorious service during the campaign that resulted in the fall of Richmond, Virginia, and the surrender of the insurgent army under Gen. R. E. Lee. Since the war of rebellion, Colonel Stone has served in various capacities and under different generals in com¬ mand— as chief quartermaster, adjutant of the artillery school, assistant adjutant-general, military commissioner, and aid-de-camp to different generals. He was on duty in the Bannock campaign of 1878; at Rock Springs, Wyoming, during the anti-Chinese riots; and at various forts in different military departments. Under appointment to the regular army, he was brevetted captain United States Army for gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Williamsburg; major for similar services at the battle of Chancellorsville; and lieutenant-colonel for like services at the battle of Gettysburg. CHAPTER XXVI. MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. I. PROF. JOHN P. GULLIVER, D.D., LL.D. Dr. John P. Gulliver was born in Boston, May 12, 1819, and lived the same number of years (seventy-five) as his mother. After graduating from Phillips Andover Academy, and then from Yale College (1840), he was for two years Principal of the Academy in West Randolph, Massachusetts. Upon graduating from the Andover Theo¬ logical Seminary (1846), Dr. Gulliver became pastor for twenty years of the Main Street, now Broadway Church, Norwich, Connecticut. During that period he was chiefly instrumental in securing the foundation of an academy of superior grade, having at the outset an endowment of over seventy-six thousand, which has been increased to more than four hundred thousand. For four years he conducted a weekly paper. In 1865 he accepted an invi¬ tation to the New England Church, Chicago, Illinois, where he remained for three years. Knox College then claimed him as its president for four years, when he re¬ moved to Binghamton, New York, and for six years ministered to the First Presbyterian Church of that place. From 1878 onward, Dr. Gulliver was Stone Professor of “ Christianity and Science ” in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, where he died January 25, MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 393 1894. In the course of his fifteen or sixteen years’ pro¬ fessorship, Dr. Gulliver was for a time a member of the corporation of Yale College. He was a man of strong and independent convic¬ tions. He did not agree with associates in the faculty at Andover regarding future probation. Always earnest, and sometimes intense, he was a hard-working man, although suffering much from a spinal injury occasioned by a fall. To speak of his agreeable companionship, or of his ability, would be superfluous. His interest in public affairs — reform movements and education — was marked. In the cause of temperance, anti-slavery, and suppression of the southern rebellion, he was notably fearless and energetic. 2. REV. WILLIAM LADD ROPES. The family of Mr. Hardy Ropes was connected with the Eliot congregation in its early days, when worshiping in a hall, and their son (born July 29, 1825) was a mem¬ ber of the Sunday School and of the class taught by Mr. Henry Hill. He was admitted to the fellowship of the church in 1841. Having graduated from the Boston Latin School and from Harvard College (1846), he became an usher for two years in the Latin School, and then studied theology at the Andover Seminary, graduating with the class of 1852. For nine years he was the in¬ stalled pastor of the First Church in Wrentham, Massa¬ chusetts. From 1866 to the present time Mr. Ropes has been librarian of the Andover Theological Semi- 394 ELIOT MEMORIAL. nary. He is a cousin of Hon. Joseph S. Ropes, and their ancestors were among the early residents of Salem. 3 . REV. WILLIAM SEWALL. A cousin of Mr. William L. Ropes, belonged to our Sunday School in its early period, and was one of Mr. Morrill’s pupils. He was born in Boston, December 14, 1827 ; prepared for college at the Roxbury Latin School and in Cambridge, graduating from Harvard in 1849. After one year at the Andover Seminary he taught for two years in Maine, and graduated from the Theological Institution in Bangor, 1854. He was successively pastor of churches in Lunenburg and Norwich, Vermont, ten years each; pastor of churches in Littleton, Charlton, and Templeton, Massachusetts, for shorter terms. His death occurred while living with a son in Kansas City, May 25, 1896. A classmate and relative, Prof. J. B. Sewall, writes: “ He was constitutionally of a sunny and cheerful disposi¬ tion, very unselfish, benevolent to his own harm. These traits, backed by a conscience quick to respond to a sense of duty, made him a loved friend and a welcomed pastor. His religious life began at a very early date — in his boy¬ hood — and in its simplicity, purity, and steadfastness it was like the steady flowing spring, increasing in volume to its end. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ was his love, and it was a gospel of love which he preached both in word and in deed to the end of his life.” MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 395 4. REV. JOHN HENRY DENISON, D.D. Born in Boston, March 3, 1841, but in his infancy the family removed to Roxbury. It is a tribute to the appro¬ priateness of Scripture texts in conspicuous places that he remembered very distinctly these words on the wall of a primary schoolroom: “To them who by patient con¬ tinuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life.” The family having returned to Boston, his more advanced education was pursued at Andover Academy, Williams College, and at Andover Theological Seminary for two years, followed by one year with Dr. Mark Hopkins. Pastorates have been held successively at South Wil- liamstown, Massachusetts; New Britain, Connecticut; Hamp¬ ton Normal School; and Williams College. Two years were spent in foreign travel. Dr. Denison’s mature life has been one continued struggle with inherited nervous infirmity, and prolonged illness has compelled retirement from favorite ministerial labors. He married a daughter of the late President Hopkins, and their only son is pastor of “ The Church of Sea and Land,” New York City. Dr. Denison’s able pen has furnished contributions to various magazines. One volume also, entitled Christ's Idea of the Supernatural , has been given to the public. He holds firmly to the evangelical faith, particularly the divinity, the atonement, the resurrection, and the presence of our blessed Lord. His aim is a practical rather than philosophic presentation of the Keswick movement, an 39 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. attempt to realize the Pentecostal gift in an all around forceful human life. 5. REV. GEORGE EDWARDS HILL. Mr. Hill, a son of Henry Hill, Esq., was born in Boston, November 3, 1824. His graduation from Phillips Academy, Andover, was in 1841 ; from Yale College in 1846 ; and from Yale Theological Seminary in 1849. He has had pastorates beginning at Manchester, Connecticut, 1851; then at Sheffield, Massachusetts, 1855; at Saxonville, Massachusetts, in 1863; at Southport, Con¬ necticut, 1870; at Pittsfield, New Hampshire, 1881 ; and was a stated supply elsewhere. From 1877 to 1880 Mr. Hill was in the employ of the American Missionary Asso¬ ciation at Marion, Alabama. From 1892 onward he has resided at Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Hill has been blessed in his labors, and has witnessed revivals of re¬ ligion, which were followed by gratifying accessions to the church. 6. REV. ISAAC c. WHITE. Abington was Mr. White’s birthplace (February 24, 1822), though the family removed to Roxbury during his infancy. It is understood that Peregrine White, born on board the “ Mayflower,” was an ancestor. At seventeen years of age Mr. White joined the Eliot Church. In early boyhood he lost his own mother; but a most devoted Christian stepmother — one of many such in our land — MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 397 was unwearying in prayer for him, and her influence was a manifest benediction. Passing through public schools here, including the Latin School, he entered Oberlin College, and graduated from that institution in 1845, anc ^ from the Andover Theological Seminary in 1849. From 1850, for ten years, Mr. White was a successful pastor in Abington; then in Nantucket; then for more than twenty years in Newmarket, New Hampshire; and later was, for several years, pastor of the Scotland Church in Bridge- water, Massachusetts. Seasons of marked religious interest and fruitfulness occurred during this ministry, after one of which there was an accession of thirty-five members to the church, and after another an accession of forty-five. Upon a review of ministerial life Mr. White, notwith¬ standing some trials and perplexities, regards it as the most attractive, and the highest of all earthly callings. He rejoices with great joy in the privilege of preaching the “everlasting gospel.” It has also been his privilege to part with a son, Schuyler S. White, for missionary service. The latter was born in Plymouth (1861); at thir¬ teen joined the church in Newmarket, New Hampshire; graduated from Harvard College with the class of 1884; and after teaching for a year in the preparatory depart¬ ment of Drury College, Missouri, pursued theological study at the Yale Divinity School, graduating in 1890. Ordi¬ nation soon took place, and under appointment of the American Board he sailed for Japan. After five years at Okayama he removed to Isuyama. 39 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Besides contributions to the weekly press, the follow¬ ing discourses of Mr. Isaac C. White have been pub¬ lished : Farewell Sermon at Abington, i860. Sermon on the National Crisis, 1861. Memorial of Perley W. Tenney, Newmarket, 1869. Semi-Centennial Discourse, commemorating the Organization of the Newmarket Church, 1878. Address at the Funeral of Hon. William B. Small, 1878. Address before the Gay Post of G. A. R., 1882. 7. REV. EVARTS SCUDDER. Third son of Charles and Jane Marshall Scudder, was born in Boston, January 2, 1832. The two Latin Schools, Boston and Roxbury, furnished initial classical training, and the two colleges, Harvard and Williams, furnished more advanced training, from the latter of which he graduated in 1854. After the usual theological course at Andover he spent a year in teaching, and was then installed pastor of the church in Kent, Connecticut, (1859). The eight years in that relation were followed by nine¬ teen of similar service with the Congregational Church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Mr. Scudder’s health, which had never been very firm, failed sensibly a year before his decease; and by the kindness of a parishioner he took a voyage to Europe in the hope of restoration. But disappointment ensuing, he died in a hotel one week after return to New York City, being unable to reach his home. Some of Mr. Scud- MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 399 der’s sermons were, by request of the parish, printed; one of them, which was begun in Rome, had for its text, “ I must work while the day lasts, for the night cometh wherein no man can work.” That unfinished discourse was read at his funeral. 8. REV. ALEXANDER S. TWOMBI.Y, D.D. The Eliot Sunday School claimed Dr. Twombly as one of its pupils for a time. His birth in Boston dates from March 14, 1832. His three honorary degrees of A. B., A. M., and D.D. were conferred by Yale University, his graduation having been from the Boston Latin School (1849); from Yale (1854); from Andover Theological Seminary (1858). Dr. Twombly’s successive pastorates were in connection with Presbyterian churches in Cherry Valley and Albany, New York, as well as Stamford, Connecticut, and the Winthrop (Congregational) Church, Charlestown, Massachusetts, the latter being the longest of the four (1872-1891). It is gratifying to think of him as preaching the gospel of peace on the ground where his great-grandfather, Capt. William Perley, led the Box- ford Company at the battle of Bunker Hill, eight of whose fifty men were lost in the redoubt under Colonel Prescott. The name of this ancestor appears on the tablet at Charlestown commemorative of that bloody day. Dr. Twombly also ministered (1894) to the Central Union Church, Honolulu, Hawaii, as acting pastor. In 1864, he was on the Christian Commission, serving at Fredericks¬ burg, Cold Harbor, and Washington. 400 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Among his literary labors are, Life of Dr. John Lord; Choir Boy of York Cathedral; Masterpieces of Michael Angelo and Milton; also articles in the Century Maga¬ zine and Andover Review. He has been a contributor to the Congregationalist and the Watchman. 9. REV. FRANCIS BROWN PERKINS. Mr. Perkins was born in Boston, August 7, 1832. Upon joining the church in 1854, one feature of his tes¬ timony was substantially this: Ascribing the great spiritual change in his case to the Holy Spirit, evinced by simple reliance on Christ as Mediator and King, by a glad ac¬ ceptance of God’s sovereignty, and by new tastes and aims. He graduated at our Latin School, at Williams College, and in 1858 at the Andover Theological Semi¬ nary. His first installation as pastor was in Montague, Massachusetts. After service as a chaplain of the Tenth Massachusetts Volunteers (1863-1864), and also as agent of the Christian Commission, he became pastor of the Mather Church, now Central Church, Jamaica Plain, and remained six years in that connection (1864-1870), which was followed by an agency, of four years, in behalf of the New England Branch of the American Tract Society. A pastorate of five years in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and pastorates in California — brief on account of poor health — have been held. Besides contributing to papers and magazines, Mr. Perkins has delivered a course of lectures on foreign MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 401 missions to students of the Theological Seminary at Oakland, California. His ideal of the Christian ministry — its spirit, method, sphere, limitations, expansions, and achievements — is found in Paul’s condensed statement, “ Separated unto the Gospel of God.” IO. REV. EDWARD ANDERSON. Second son of Dr. Rufus Anderson, and born in Boston, November 19, 1833, was ordained October 13, 1858. Mr. Anderson has served as pastor or pulpit sup¬ ply in not less than fifteen different places, as follows: St. Joseph, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Michigan City, Indiana; East Cleveland and Ashtabula, Ohio; Jamestown, New York; Olney and Quincy, Illinois; Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus, Ohio; Norwalk and Danielsonville, Connecticut; and again in Illinois; also in Quincy, Massachusetts. In several instances the period was brief. In 1862, Mr. Anderson was an officer in the Union Army. II. REV. ABBOTT ELIOT KITTREDGE, D. D. Dr. A. E. Kittredge was born in Roxbury, July 20, 1834. After studying at the Roxbury Latin School, Williams College, and Andover Theological Seminary, Dr. Kittredge was pastor of the Winthrop Church, Charlestown (1859-1863); spent fifteen months in Europe and the East; preached for six months in San Francisco; was in charge of the Presbyterian Church, East 55 th 402 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Street, New York (1865-1870); and of the Third Presby¬ terian Church, Chicago (1870-1886); has been pastor of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church, New York, since 1886. Dr. Kittredge states that his grandmother prayed him into the ministry; and that, hard as its duties are, he accounts every one of them a privilege. Writing on my eighty-sixth birthday, Dr. Kittredge says: “ I want, my dear pastor, to express to you how much I am indebted to your faithful interest in me, and to your preaching of the Word. I remember perfectly when you came to Rox- bury, remember your ordination, and I can recall many of your sermons, though sometimes I confess I used to get my head in mother’s lap, and sleep through the ser¬ vice. I can recall the days when you stayed at our house, and our happiness in listening to your words as we learned to know and love you. In fact, next to my father and mother, you have done more for my spiritual character, more in shaping my life, than any one else, and I wish to assure you of my gratitude, and of my love for you, and my earnest prayers, that in the autumn of your earthly life there may be always an increasing joy and peace, as you walk leaning on the Beloved.” 12 . JAMES WINCHEL GRUSH. Of those born in Roxbury who have entered the ministry, Mr. Grush was one; and between 1831, the year of his nativity, and the fatal paralysis of 1896, there were MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 403 sixty-five years. During that period he exhibited, to an unusual degree, amiability, modesty, and fidelity in various relations. But at seventeen he became deeply convinced of heart-sinfulness, and the need of regeneration by the Holy Spirit; desires for pardoning grace and for holiness were awakened, and after a time he made public profes¬ sion of faith in Christ. Preparatory studies were pursued at the East Windsor Hill Academy, Connecticut, and he graduated from Williams College, 1858. For pecuniary reasons he engaged in teaching at two different times, first as principal of the academy in Spencertown, New York, and afterwards as principal of a similar institution in Canton of the same state (1861 to 1864). Having in the meantime spent two years at the Theological Institute of Connecticut, he was ordained at North Potsdam, New York, 1864, afterwards becoming pastor at Hopkinton (1866 to 1872); then successively at Chateau, Cambria, and Perry Centre, New York. Failure of health in 1893 obliged him to give up ministerial labors. He was regis¬ trar, for eight years each, of the Ontario and Wyoming Associations. Large delegations from his former parishes came to his funeral, and their presence testified with emphasis to his worth. 1 Mr. Grush carried through life a warm attachment for the Eliot Church, and in 1892 took special pains to be present at the Jubilee. After referring on that occa¬ sion to the fourteen individuals who had become ministers 1 Hartford Seminary Record. Vol. VII. No. 4. 1897. 404 ELIOT MEMORIAL. of the Word, he closed by saying: “Such are some of the trees that have grown from seed planted by the teachings of this fruitful pastorate. Who can tell what a power for good such an institution as Olivet College has been, and may continue to be, sending forth year by year young men and women to be ministers and teachers, physicians and missionaries, each of whom shall become in turn a center of influence to be multiplied indefinitely? Who can compute the influence of a professorship in a theological seminary, or of a single pulpit, in building up the cause of Christ in the world? Yet this power in all these varied directions has been exerted by this church, in this pastorate, through these standard-bearers in their respective fields. And when all these influences shall have been exerted to their utmost limit, and when the harvest shall come and all the sheaves shall be gathered into the garner, then will we all be glad indeed to have our beloved pastor of fifty years tell us what is his ‘joy and crown.’ But then we shall unite in singing in more perfect harmony than is possible here, ‘ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.’” 13. REV. ISAAC CURTIS MESERVE, D.D. The Meserves came from Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, where the name is spelled Messervy. Roxbury was Mr. Meserve’s birthplace, March 27, 1847. After en- MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 405 joying the advantages of our public schools, and having joined the Eliot Church (1866), he graduated at the Hart¬ ford Theological Seminary (1869). He was soon called to the pastorate of the Congregational Church in Port¬ land, Connecticut, and two years later to the same relation to the State Street Church, Brooklyn, New York. Instal¬ lation as pastor of the Davenport Church, New Haven, Connecticut, took place in 1874, where he remained for twenty-three years and over. During that time there was an accession of a thousand and fifty members, a majority of them on confession of faith. Dr. Meserve is now in charge of the Craven Hill Congregational Church, London, connected with which are important members in public life, two of them members of Parliament. It is a gratifying recollection that Mr. Meserve, accompanied by his father and a brother, called at my house to take counsel in regard to his preparing for the Christian ministry. He is probably now the only son of New England who holds a pastorate in Old England. 14. REV. ALFRED HENRY HALL. Like a good many others, Mr. Hall’s bright and use¬ ful career was arrested at meridian. Many were the friends who remarked at once, How mysterious! He was a son of Deacon Samuel W. Hall, and was born in Boston March 7, 1845. Our Roxbury Latin School gave him preparation for college, and he graduated at Harvard with 406 ELIOT MEMORIAL. the class of 1867. From early childhood he had been in the habit of formally repeating prayers; but during college life and in connection with the earnest appeal of a fellow- student, there came a religious crisis, and religious exer¬ cises took on a new character. After graduation from college, two years were spent as tutor of a young man traveling in Europe. A visit to Egypt and Palestine having been made, he studied at Andover, graduating from the Theological Seminary in 1873. Then came a pastorate of four years with the First Congregational Church, Meriden, Connecticut, followed by a similar ser¬ vice with the Centre Church of that city, from 1880 to his decease, 1891. He was an earnest, energetic, cheer¬ ful, high-minded man. He contributed articles to religious periodicals, such as the Sunday School Times and the Bibliotheca Sacra , as well as to secular journals. He de¬ livered lectures before the Meriden Scientific Association. There was an obvious fitness in Mr. Hall’s being one of the delegates to the International Congregational Council in London (1891); and his sermons during the visit to Plymouth, England, were recognized as impres¬ sive. Ancestral element as well as local memories con¬ tributed inspiration. On his mother’s side Mr. Hall came of Massachusetts Plymouth stock, she being a lineal de¬ scendant from John Alden. Her paternal grandfather, Abraham Knowlton, was an officer in the Revolutionary War and suffered losses by the battles of Bunker Hill and Lexington. It is noteworthy that both lines of Mr. MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 407 Hall’s ancestry have, through successive generations, fur¬ nished deacons, Sunday School superintendents, and active workers in Congregational churches. 15. REV. GEORGE ROSS HEWITT. He is one of a considerable number who have been welcome accessions from Scotland. Glasgow was the place of his nativity, November 4, 1851, though it was not till 1869 that he came to Boston. Here he found not only an adopted country, but adoption into the household of faith. As is not unfrequently the case, new spiritual life brought with it seemingly new intellectual life, a waking up of the mental faculties, which was scarcely less marked than the changed direction of their activity. Works of fiction gave place to religious reading, and above all to the Bible. Some of the books read had quotations and foot-notes in foreign tongues, which served to tantalize and at the same time to awaken a strong desire for a knowledge of Latin, Greek, and French. It was sug¬ gested to him that at Phillips Academy, Andover, he would find the desired instruction, and perhaps he might be called to the Christian ministry. Three years were accordingly spent there, and the full college course taken at Harvard College, where he graduated in 1883. The usual curriculum at the Hartford Theological Seminary served to check and correct an obliquity touching lib¬ eralism, so called, to which, perhaps, all are liable at Harvard. 408 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Mr. Hewitt’s first installed pastorate was in North Bennington, Vermont; next one of about five years, in connection with the First Church, West Springfield; and in 1894 he came to the Calvinistic Congregational Church in Fitchburg. He now supplies the pulpit of the Eliot Church, Lowell, Massachusetts. “ With my whole heart,” says Mr. Hewitt, “ I thank God that I am where I am, and it is all by his grace that I am what I am.” He has not ceased being thankful that, contrary to his purpose at the outset of preparation for the ministry, in¬ stead of a short course on account of his age, he was advised and followed the advice to take the more usual and completer course of study, which he would recom¬ mend to all under similar circumstances. It may be added that it was the writer’s practice when visiting our Sunday School, to remind teachers that the school should be not only a nursery for church mem¬ bership, but also for the Christian ministry, both in home and foreign service. There was occasional remembrance of this subject in public prayer. It is also well to aid, by loans without interest, or in other ways, young men of promise, who seem to be called of God to prepare for the sacred office. Less than a year ago I received a let¬ ter from Dr. Edwards A. Park, in which he gives the following incident. Referring to the Rev. William Green- ough of Newton, Massachusetts, Dr. Park says: “ Pro¬ fessor Shedd was the son of a man resident in Newton, and Mr. Greenough interested himself in sending the MINISTERIAL RECRUITS. 409 boy to college, and he defrayed part of his expenses at college. The boy was named William Greenough Thayer Shedd. Professor Stowe was the son of a farmer in Natick, near Newton. Mr. Greenough interested him¬ self in Stowe’s obtaining an education with the hope of his becoming a minister. The three Andover professors were conversing together when Shedd made the remark, ‘ But for Father Greenough I should not have been a minister.’ I said, ‘ But for Father Greenough / should not have been a minister.’ Professor Stowe said, ‘ How is that ? It was Father Greenough who made me a minister.’ ” CHAPTER XXVII. MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. I. MRS. HANNAH C. BOWLES WOLFF. Eldest daughter of Stephen J. Bowles, and born in Machias, Maine, 1827. Her family Bible, as well as other sources of information, traces her lineage to Sarah Eliot — a granddaughter of John Eliot, the Apostle so called, — who married John Bowles of Roxbury. Mrs. Wolff’s education was pursued here; and like a good many other young women, she studied Latin as well as modern lan¬ guages and history with Mr. Charles K. Dillaway. Atten¬ tion was also given to painting in oils. She joined the Eliot Church in 1850, and the same year married the Rev. Philip Wolff, a Genevese clergyman, who came to this country to labor among the French people. After a year’s residence in New Orleans her doctor insisted that she could not live in that climate, and the family removed to Montreal, where Mr. Wolff was for a time pastor of a church and had a missionary agency among French Canadians. In 1868 the family went to Europe and re¬ mained two years. Upon their return one of the two sons entered Amherst College, and the mother died in Amherst, June 17, 1871. She was a woman of marked excellence of character, and was much beloved by those who knew her. That son, Dr. Henry A. Wolff, has been MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. 411 a practicing physician at Kimberley and elsewhere in South Africa. The other son is a professor in Cambridge Uni¬ versity. The Wolff family lived in the Palatinate and Alsace. Mr. Philip Wolff’s father was an aid and military secre¬ tary to Napoleon in the earlier period of his campaigns, but withdrew and settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where he married; and with Malan, d’Aubigne, and other Prot¬ estants, was devoted to the interests of the figlise Libre. 2 . MRS. SARAH P. GULLIVER PRATT. Mrs. Pratt is a descendant of Anthony Gulliver, who emigrated to New England and settled at Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1645. A noteworthy incident is found in the annals of this ancestry. Her paternal grandfather, who was actively engaged throughout the Revolutionary War, was one of the “ Minutemen ” in the battle at Lex¬ ington, and her maternal grandmother, then a little girl, was occupied all that day in carrying food and coffee to the “ Minutemen,” Gershom Gulliver one of them. Some years afterwards she married Henry Putnam, a nephew of General Israel Putnam. Readiness to serve others and to serve their country has characterized descendants from that union of families which were thus represented on the memorable nineteenth of April, 1775. Happily such service has in later years been, for the most part, in the line of peaceful ministries. Her father, Mr. John Gulli¬ ver, a Boston merchant, was well known as a man of great kindliness and benevolence. 412 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Mrs. Pratt’s birth and education were in Boston. The family having removed to Philadelphia, the only daughter, Sarah Putnam, there married Rev. Dr. Lewellyn Pratt, who, after graduating from Williams College (1852), taught the deaf in Philadelphia and Washington. He became a professor in the Gallaudet College at the last named city; then a professor in Knox College, Illinois, after which he was installed pastor of the Congregational Church at North Adams, Massachusetts. The five years in that position were followed by successive services as professor of rhetoric in Williams College, professor of practical theology at the Hartford Theological Seminary, and pastor of the Broadway Church, Norwich, Connecticut, from 1888 onward. In all these relations Dr. Pratt has had an “ Help meet for him,” and the same may be said of other ministers whose names here follow. 3. MRS. SUSAN M. HUNTINGTON PERKINS. Mrs. Perkins, who came of a long line of honored Christian ancestry, including John Eliot on the mother’s, side, and Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, on the father’s side, was born in New York City, June 22, 1835. When the family removed to Boston (1850) she attended the private school of Rev. Solomon Adams for a time, and afterwards, for three or four years, that of Mrs. Prof. B. B. Edwards in Andover, who always spoke of her with the greatest interest. She was baptized in infancy under the name of Susan Mansfield , thus,. reminding of MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. 413 her maternal grandmother, wife of the Rev. Mr. Hunting- ton, pastor of the Old South Church, whose memoir was written by Dr. Wisner. In traits and excellence of char¬ acter Mrs. Perkins resembled that grandparent. From early childhood she exhibited rare amiability, unselfishness, and conscientiousness. The parents had no occasion to reprove her for known indulgence in wrongdoing, and they regarded her as a Christian from the days of infancy. A more lovely young woman never joined the Eliot Church, nor perhaps any other church. In 1859 she became the wife of Rev. Francis B. Perkins, who held pastorates successively in Montague, Jamaica Plain, Grantville, and Stockbridge, Massachusetts; also at different places in California. As might be ex¬ pected, she was discreet, faithful, and earnest, deeply interested in the Woman’s Board of Missions, as well as other benevolent objects, and led her four children not only to reverence, but to love the Lord’s Day. Final sickness came in May, 1878, and she could say most sincerely: “ I know not the way I am going, But well do I know my guide.” 4. MRS. ELIZABETH G. STRONG. The only daughter of Rev. David M. Mitchell, and was born in Waldobofo, Maine. At ten years of age she became hopefully a Christian, and later joined the High Street Church in Portland, then in charge of Dr- 4 H ELIOT MEMORIAL. John Chickering. The family removed to Roxbury in 1852, and became members of the Eliot Church. The pastor and committee were impressed by the bright and cheerful tone of Miss Mitchell’s piety, evidently colored by the very pleasing qualities of native character. Among noteworthy statements made at the time were such as these: “Increasingly deeper conviction of sin;” “Enjoy¬ ment of self-denial in the service of Christ.” As the wife of Dr. E. E. Strong she had great enjoy¬ ment and usefulness during his six years’ pastorate from 1859 onward, at South Natick; and after that the twelve years’ pastorate in Waltham. Then came Dr. Strong’s valued service — now for a score of years — in connection with the American Board. Mrs. Strong had been made a life member of the Woman’s Board of Missions soon after its organization, and in 1880 was elected to its Ex¬ ecutive Board, of which she is a vice-president. As one of the designated correspondents, she has come into familiar personal relations with about two-score ladies in foreign lands. 5. MRS. SARAH ELIZABETH BOARDMAN. Sarah Elizabeth Greene, a daughter of the Rev. David Greene, was eleven years of age when the family, owing to the state of Mr. Greene’s health, left Roxbury (1849), which was her native place. The destruction of their house by fire at Westborough, three years later, occasioned their removal to Windsor, Vermont, where MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. 415 her first church connection was formed (1853). In 1861 she became the wife of Rev. Samuel W. Boardman, at that time Professor of Rhetoric and Metaphysics in Mid- dlebury College. The next year he was called to the pastorate of the Second Presbyterian Church, Auburn, New York, a relation which continued for sixteen years. Other similar relations were formed elsewhere, but after serving six years as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Stanhope, New Jersey, Dr. Boardman resigned (1889) to become President of Maryville College, Tennessee, a position still held. Mrs. Boardman speaks of an abiding affection for the Eliot Church and its pastor; and among other things, mentions a certificate of having learned the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism before leaving Roxbury. 6. MRS. HANNAH T. FENN. A daughter of Mr. John A. McGaw, who was promi¬ nent among the early members of our church, and a grandson of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. On the mother’s side, Mrs. Fenn is a descendant of Major Goffe, for whom Goffstown, New Hampshire, was named. She was born in Boston; at¬ tended Dr. Bumstead’s private school in Roxbury, and afterwards (1848) the Spingler Institute in New York. In 1862 came her marriage to Dr. William H. Fenn, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, a graduate of Yale College and Andover Theological Seminary, whose first pastorate 416 ELIOT MEMORIAL. was one of eight years with the Franklin Street Church, Manchester, New Hampshire, followed by his service in Portland, Maine, as pastor of the High Street Church, from 1866 to the present time. His immediate predeces¬ sor, Dr. Chickering, was in the same connection for thirty years, while Dr. Fenn has already remained there for a third of a century — pastor and people an ensample all too rare at this day. Since fifteen years of age, Mrs. Fenn has taught in Sunday Schools, the first being a German Mission School in New York. Dr. John Hall of New York, finding her still with a class in Portland, said, “ I am glad, Mrs. Fenn, to see you in your proper place, where you belong.” In childhood, at the Eliot Church she heard a good deal about foreign missions; and sitting beside her father at church, was not a little interested to see him sign slips for subscription to that cause when they were passed around. For a quarter of a century Mrs. Fenn has been the valued President of the Maine Branch of the Woman’s Board, and is also President of the Board of Managers of the Portland Orphan Asylum, and holds official positions in other connections. 7. MRS. MARY ANDERSON STREET. Daughter of Rev. Dr. Rufus Anderson, Roxbury being the native place (1838); educated at the Roxbury High School and the Young Ladies’ School of Miss Hannah Lyman, Montreal, Canada; and united with the MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. 417 Eliot Church in 1858. Though religiously trained, there had been no real love of religious duties till there came a great change, attributed to the Spirit and grace of God. Novels then lost their charm, the Bible became a new book, and service rendered to the Master became a joy. As the wife of Rev. George E. Street she has had acquaintance with pastoral life, first in Wiscasset, Maine (1864-1871), and then in Exeter, New Hampshire, from 1871 onward. Service in the same connection for nearly thirty years is one of comparatively rare occurrence at the close of this nineteenth century. Mrs. Street holds the pen of a ready writer. Among published productions, and before marriage, she wrote, after accompanying her parents on their official visit to the Pacific, Scenes in the Hawaiian Islands and California. Recently appeared, The Street Genealogy , a work of over five hundred pages, with several illustrations, being a history of Rev. Nicholas Street — one of the founders of Taunton, Massachusetts, and of New Haven, Connecticut — and his descendants, as well as others bearing the same name. 8. MRS. JANE PERKINS CHILDS. Mrs. Childs is of the old New England stock, a descendant from Quartermaster Perkins, who came with his father and brother to Boston in 1629. They were fellow-passengers with Roger Williams. From that day to the present the head of each family in direct descent has been a church member. Her parents were Benjamin 418 ELIOT MEMORIAL. and Jane Lawrence Perkins, prominent members of the Eliot Church; and Boston was her native place (1829). Her public profession of faith in Christ was in 1845. At the time of her marriage to the Rev. Thomas S. Childs, he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Hart¬ ford, Connecticut; then professor in the Hartford Theo¬ logical Seminary (1871-1878); afterwards he became pastor of the First Congregational Church, Norwalk. Later he entered the Episcopal Church, and by re-ordination entered its ministry. Their residence is in Washington, District of Columbia, and Dr. Childs superintends the home missions of that diocese. 9. MRS. CAROLINE FORBES PENNIMAN. Younger daughter of Edwin and Charlotte S. Forbes, and Roxbury the place of her nativity. She became the wife of Rev. H. M. Penniman, who graduated at Brown University; and then at Andover Theological Seminary (1882). He was ordained, and installed pastor of the First Church, East Derry, New Hampshire, and after¬ wards ministered to the Tabernacle Church, Chicago, Illinois, and to the Congregational Church of Keokuk, Iowa. In 1895 h e received appointment to the professor¬ ship of Christian Evidences in Berea College, Kentucky. Mrs. Penniman has met with the experiences of sickness, and other trials, as well as the enjoyments usually found in such colleagueship with the ministry. MINISTERIAL COLLEAGUES. 419 IO. MRS. ANGENETTE F. TINKHAM HAMILTON. It is often said that a pastor should never wed within the limits of his parish. If all such cases resulted as did that of Dr. B. F. Hamilton, we should hear the converse maxim — let the minister always look within his church for a wife. A five years’ acquaintance brought this happy union about on the twenty-first of June, 1876. Mrs. Hamilton, the only child of Capt. Benjamin C. and Cynthia Tinkham, was born in Middleborough, 1852, and for the remaining twenty-one years of Dr. Hamilton’s pastorate approved herself as the devoted and discreet wife, mother, neighbor, and church member, faithful and efficient in various relations and local offices. She pub¬ licly confessed Christ at the same time as her father, join¬ ing the Village Church, Medway (1868), and uniting with the Eliot Church by letter, at the same time as both parents, March 3, 1871, eight months before the close of that period which has been specially under review in these sketches. Domestic life has not been free from trials in the line of ill-health and bereavements; but paro¬ chial life has been unusually free from criticism. CHAPTER XXVIII. YOUNG WOMEN. It is impossible to speak of them without deep emo¬ tion— the group was so large, so lovely, and nearly all of them exhibiting such well-defined marks of divine grace. More tears were probably shed over their removal than that of any other equal number belonging to any different class. We followed them, one by one, down to the valley, some of them faltering at times a little, yet in the main firm, as they found and leaned on the Beloved. How often have we looked over to the other side, and seen them walking along the banks of the river of life — their forms dilated to a heavenly stature, every movement in¬ stinct with celestial grace, every feature radiant with holy delight! What strains of heavenly harmony we seemed to hear from them! Mothers in Israel have stepped forth to greet them. Rachel, long since comforted, and her tears all gone, has welcomed them. To the Elder Brother they have kneeled, saying, “ All hail! ” Among them was many a Mary who had chosen the good part. Now and then a sudden summons was heard, “ The Master has come, and calleth for thee.” Several times I was reminded of a daughter of the excellent Bishop Lowth, presiding at the tea-table, and as she placed a cup on the salver, said to the waiting-maid, “ Take this to the Bishop of Bristol,” when her hand YOUNG WOMEN. 421 dropped, and she instantly expired. One such, for in¬ stance, was Elizabeth F. Morse, who left us suddenly (July 6, 1851), at twenty years of age. She had not put off the one thing needful. It was noticeable that for a month previous she often sang the lines: “What is life? ’T is but a vapor; Soon it vanishes away; Life is but a dying taper; O my soul, why wish to stay? Why not spread thy wings and fly Straight to yonder world of joy!” It was on a bright day and amidst a profusion of roses that she fell asleep. In the course of the two pre¬ ceding months six from the circle of our young ladies had fallen beneath the great mower’s scythe. I. MARIA ANTONIA MARTINA ECHEVERRIA. She was born at Matanzas, island of Cuba, 1820. Her father was a native of Florence, Italy, and her mother, Sarah Newell, was a native of Marblehead, Mas¬ sachusetts. At six years of age she came to New England, and remained here twelve years, being educated in part at Bradford Academy. She made public profes¬ sion of her Christian faith, and united with this church at eighteen. After returning to her island home she twice revisited New England. Miss Echeverria was a brilliant young woman, sprightly, and with a countenance peculiarly pleasing. But pulmo- 422 ELIOT MEMORIAL. nary consumption pays no regard to youth or beauty, and in 1844 (July 19) this young friend died at the Cafatal San Antonio. From the ranks of our young women she was the first to lead the way to “the land that is very far off.” It is sad to think that the booming of hostile guns in our late war should have been heard over her resting-place in the cemetery of Carnarisca. 2. CHARLOTTE H. BAKER Was one of the most faithful and devoted of our Christian young women. Her own decline began soon after the very sudden decease of her sister, Mrs. Dickin¬ son. Months of increasing debility and suffering passed before the time for final farewells came (1848). She prayed aloud for the family, for other friends, — mentioning each by name, — for her Sunday School class, her pastor, a perishing world, and last of all, for herself. In clear, sweet strains she sang the entire hymn: “I’ll praise my Maker with my breath; And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers.” Just as flesh and heart were failing she said to her class, who had come in a body to take leave: “ This is to me a solemn day. I am expecting every day to launch into eternity. The world seems of little value ; my account is closed up. My sorrows here are over. What could I do now without Christ! I wish all my class to know YOUNG WOMEN. 423 that I die a poor, helpless sinner, looking to the cross of Christ as my only hope. “ ‘ In my hand no price I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling.’ “ I have not been faithful to you, and yet I have loved you and have labored and prayed for you, and dur¬ ing the last year have been more than ever anxious for the salvation of your souls. I consecrated myself to God to do everything for you if you would only become Chris¬ tians, and I had hoped to live to see you such. I warn you not to put off the time of repentance for a sick-bed. It is a poor place to prepare for death. I shall not meet you here again. When you next look upon me I shall be cold in death. But I expect to meet you at the bar of God, there to render up my account.” 3. EMELINE SILSBEE AND 4. CHARLOTTE R. STEELE. Within one week in October, 1848, two young ladies, Miss Emeline Silsbee and Miss Charlotte R. Steele, finished their course. Each was the victim of the same fatal disease that baffled the skill of physicians and the assiduity of friends. To the former, two years, with their wearisome days and nights, were appointed. Patient Chris¬ tian endurance continued through the whole. Just as night, a dark and stormy night, closed in, she fell asleep. 424 ELIOT MEMORIAL. The second of those mentioned above, whose decease was so nearly simultaneous, came to us bringing decided symptoms of the same malady. She belonged to an ex¬ cellent religious family; and with clearly intelligent trust, she committed herself, for time and for eternity, to the gracious Saviour. A written confession of her faith was communicated to the church, which welcomed her to its fellowship. The next Lord’s Day, in an upper room, about the same number being present as when Christ instituted the supper, she received the emblems of his body and blood. The very next morning she rose, as we trust, to the personal presence of our glorified Redeemer, to exclaim, “ Rabboni! ” In each of those upper rooms I caught from the faint and labored breathing a message for surviving young acquaintances. The marble lips bade me tell them: “ The sick-bed is no place to prepare for death; it is a serious thing to live; it is a dreadful thing to live far from God, and to reject the great salvation. Oh, the love of God! Oh, the love of Jesus!” Each of the two upper rooms was apparently quite on the verge of heaven. I seemed to go hand in hand with those choice young friends to the gate of Paradise. As the gate opened and they passed in, I heard a voice saying, “ Come and see! ” So have I seen a bird escape from its cage, mount upwards, and carol, and clap its wings in joyful freedom. YOUNG WOMEN. 425 5. ELIZA HILL ANDERSON. Her features, her mental endowments, and her traits of character were sure to attract attention and to awaken an interest more than usual. It was in the summer of 1847 Aat she made public profession of religious faith. It is not often that a miss of sixteen gives such decided testimony as she did. Though characteristically modest, she said in the presence of our church officers and in a clear, firm tone, “ My chief aim is to serve God; My desire to become holy in heart and life is greater than any other.” A little more than two years later and close upon her eighteenth anniversary of birth, she joined the assembly where the refrain of social worship is, “ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! ” The tree which she planted in front of the house, and which the family called “ Eliza’s tree,” now casts its shadow into the upper room, where she gradually wasted under irremediable phthisis, and at length closed her eyes on the 12th of December, 1849. I have seldom, during the last fifty years, passed under that graceful tree with¬ out looking up at it as an emblem of the charming daughter who planted it there. Conversations with her on many sacred subjects, with reference to many individuals, led me the next day follow¬ ing her funeral, in a sermon on the “Raising of Jairus’ Daughter,” to say to Eliza’s companions: “ I cannot close, young ladies, without addressing a word specially to you. God speaks to you. He spoke 426 ELIOT MEMORIAL. to you last week; he has been often speaking to you. During the time of my pastorship, as yet brief, it has fallen to me already to attend the funerals of fourteen of your number. I must press upon your attention the fact that, once dead, you are to rise again — that you, you » my young friends, are to rise again; that each of you will hear Christ’s omnipotent Talitha cumi sounding through the world of spirits, for ‘ All that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth.’ That maid of Capernaum had two seasons of probation; you will have but one. When you come forth it will not be in your present homes. ‘ After death is the judgment’ * Some shall wake to shame and everlasting contempt.’ Ponder it, ye gay, ye thoughtless ones, ponder it. A short time before her death, Princess Amelia penned these lines: “ Unthinking, idle, wild, and young, I laughed, and danced, and taught, and sung, And, proud of health, of freedom vain, Dreamed not of sorrows, care or pain, Concluding in these hours of glee, That all the world was made for me. But when the hour of trial came, When sickness shook my trembling frame, When folly’s gay pursuits were o’er, And I could dance and sing no more, It then occurred how sad ’t would be, Were this world only made for me.” Alas, that it had not occurred to her before! Turn now to the testimony of an accomplished daughter of YOUNG WOMEN. 427 Baron Cuvier: “ I experience,” she said, “ a pleasure in reading the Bible which I have never felt before. It at¬ tracts and fixes me to an inconceivable degree, and I seek sincerely there, and only there, the truth. When I com¬ pare the calm and the peace which the smallest and imperceptible grain of faith gives to the soul, with all that the world can give of joy and happiness, I feel that the least in the kingdom of Heaven is a hundred times more blessed than the greatest and most elevated men of the world.” Hers is not a voice from a convent or an almshouse; it is not the language of one whom the world had dis¬ appointed and who seeks consolation from religion because every other source of happiness has been cut off. No, it is the experience of a young lady at the very center of all that could dazzle the mind and fascinate the imagina¬ tion in the gayest, the most brilliant city of Europe ; whom the world, in the most alluring forms, was per¬ petually assailing and seeking to captivate. 6. MARCIA EVELINA ATKINS. Peculiarly amiable and lovely, she had from child¬ hood maintained secret prayer habitually, and, so far as outward life furnished evidence, would be pronounced a suitable candidate for church membership. But when she came to scan herself seriously, she found, as such not in¬ frequently find, that she had a rebellious heart; that her sins were numberless; that she had no real love to God and no true penitence. The broken and contrite spirit 428 ELIOT MEMORIAL. followed, with entire reconciliation to the character and ways of God and a trustful looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Two years of church life wit¬ nessed sanctified amiability. But she was obliged to relinquish 'teaching in the Sunday School, and surrender to a wasting disease (1854). Spiritual experiences, how¬ ever, grew stronger and stronger. “You know,” she re¬ marked, “what a very great dread I have always had of the grave, and of everything connected with it, apart from the solemnity of death itself. That is entirely taken from me, and although I have so much to live for, and should be so happy in life, yet the grave looks pleasant to me, and if God sees it to be best, I am perfectly will¬ ing to go.” She spoke of dying as one would of going on a journey. Her cheerfulness, in view of all that re¬ lated to death and the grave, was the more remarkable, as in health she could never visit the cemetery without shuddering at the thought of being interred there. But she could, at length, say to her mother, “ I want you to come often to my grave, and let your visits to it be cheerful, not sad; make it a resort in your happy hours; do not come when you are sad.” “ Why do you weep ? ” she inquired; “ I am going home.” 7. ANN MARIA BOND. It was in the early summer of 1853 that this daughter of Mr. Richard Bond — a prominent member of the church — at the age of twenty, bade good-by to the family and to me. She was the victim of a lingering con- YOUNG WOMEN. 429 sumption, during which the evidence of a saving change of heart came to light with more than usual clearness. To all appearance, penitent conviction of sin was un¬ mistakable, as also was justifying faith in Jesus Christ, followed by cheerful submission to the divine appoint¬ ment of sickness and early death. She had had excel¬ lent home instruction as well as in the Bible Class of Mr. J. S. Ropes. Lord’s Day morning, before her departure, she in¬ quired about the probable time of that event, and was told that the physician thought it might come at any time in the near future. “ Then,” said she, “ I may spend the next Sabbath in heaven.” Her last words were, “ Dear father, precious mother, precious, precious Saviour! ” 8. CAROLINE W. BOND. Died suddenly August 20, 1857. She had been visit¬ ing friends at Conway, her father’s native place; returned home of a Wednesday, and the next day entered the home on high. Miss Bond was an unusually conscien¬ tious young woman, free from frivolities, adhering firmly to principle, punctual to engagements, and respected as a consistent Christian by all who knew her. She was one about whom criticism never lisped. To her Sunday School class she was noticeably devoted. The last time that I saw her she was on the way to the Young Ladies’ Prayer Meeting. From near the earliest invasion of disease, typhoid 43 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. fever, her mind wandered. Just before spasms began she broke out: “ Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth; good will to men — forever and ever!” The last use that she made of the pen at Conway was to copy Mrs. Brownings impressive hymn on the words, “ So he giveth his beloved sleep.” Against the following stanza she drew a heavy pencil-mark in the margin: “ And friends, dear friends! when it shall be That this low breath is gone from me, — When round my bier ye come to weep, Let one, most loving of you all, Say — ‘Not a tear must o’er her fall,’ — ‘ He giveth his beloved sleep.’ ” 9. ANN BELL. A member of Mr. Walley’s Bible Class, who died May 2, 1858. Her funeral was from the church. Two years before that she stood where the casket then stood, publicly professing faith in the atoning and risen Redeemer. Her recorded testimony was that she had no merit and no hope except through the interposition of Jesus Christ; that the thought of him was peculiarly delightful to her; that her desire was that others should come to him, and find the same blessings she had found; that the Bible was the choicest of books; that daily prayer was her practice and her pleasure. Her Christian character and course were unobtrusive and unexceptionable. In sickness there were neither raptures nor fears, but she expressed YOUNG WOMEN. 43 1 complete acquiescence in the will of God, and maintained an abiding, quiet trust while sinking gently asleep in Jesus. And who are they “which sleep in Jesus?” They who have believed in him to the saving of their souls;: who were justified through him, affianced to him, vitally united to him, and assimilated to him. The body being left in the great dormitory of earth, they pass beyond the portal of the grave, and bidding good night to all this side, they hear a good morning the other side. Dying is but a dim, brief trance between time and eternity. Worry, and weariness, and dreams are at an end. As the first rays of a resurrection-day light began to brighten the firmament, amidst the solemn stillness of that hallowed dawn, broken only by the sweet matins of May birds, Miss Bell awoke, we doubt not, in the heav¬ enly home. CHAPTER XXIX. HONORABLE WOMEN. Of these not a few. It is to be noticed that at the dawn of the present dispensation the first two visions of angels were in the experience of women; that the first two announcements of Christ’s resurrection were made to women, and that after he left the tomb his first two appearances were also to women. In the fourth century of our era Libanius, though an enemy of Christians, exclaimed, “ Ah! what wonderful women there are among the Christians ! ” With no less emphasis may the same be said in our day. In the Eliot Church, as in most other churches, the female membership is in the majority. Such was the case at first; of the fifty-one original mem¬ bers only twenty were males. In the year 1899 the female members of all Congregational churches in our country numbered well on towards twice as many as the male members, 416,041 against 212,193. In this church the predominance spoken of seemed the more noteworthy, as the parish was by day chiefly a parish of women, little business being done here, and the men, with few excep¬ tions, being in town between the morning and evening meals. In previous chapters, which speak of missionaries, ministerial colleagues, artists, and deaf-mutes, are those belonging alike to the present category. Others not yet HONORABLE WOMEN. 433 mentioned fall into representative groups. Here may be found the prayerfulness of Hannah, the devotedness of Ruth, the discreetness of Abigail, the devout waiting of Anna, and the self-forgetting fidelity of Mary. The Lydia at prayer meetings and the Dorcas of good works are here. I. MRS. MEHITABLE GROZER KITTREDGE. Early efficiency and growth of the church were due in no small degree not only to the senior deacon, Mr. Kittredge, but also to Mrs. Kittredge. Her untiring energy and cheeriness helped greatly to animate and brighten the enterprise. She was born in Truro, Barn¬ stable County, February 28, 1803. Her girlhood was one of gaiety; but the first general revival in Park Street Church (1823), which added about ninety converts to its number, recorded her and two of her sisters among them. Character and life took on a new form ; and thence on¬ ward the kingdom of our Lord had a large place in her heart and her activities. When the Eliot Church was organized, the council — pastors and delegates — were entertained at her home, where thenceforward a large hospitality was maintained. Theological students were frequent guests, among whom, for weeks, was Henry Lyman, afterwards one of the two missionary martyrs in Sumatra. Ministers and missionaries often found welcome there. Many a committee meeting, many a prayer meeting, many a Dorcas gathering were held there, as well as the Maternal Association, with an 434 ELIOT MEMORIAL. attendance sometimes of sixty persons. Of the fourteen hundred church members up to the time of her decease, no one had been more loyal to its interests, more uni¬ formly present at its gatherings, or taken active part more readily in its exercises. Mrs. Kittredge’s married life lacked only one year of half a century; and during that period probably no one ever visited the home on High¬ land Street without finding it well ordered. On the Lord’s Day was a secular book or paper ever seen in her hand, or on the table. Every morning and every night in the week, about nine o’clock, she retired for secret prayer. The final summons came in April, 1883, and for several preceding months one of her favorite hymns had been: “ I know not the way I am going, But well do I know my Guide; With a child-like trust I give my hand To the mighty Friend by my side; The only thing that I say to Him, As He takes it, is hold it fast; Suffer me not to lose my way, And bring me home at last.” 2. MRS. HARRIET L. DICKINSON. Sometimes the pastor has a sudden midnight sum¬ mons. Thus was it in the October of 1847. A sharp outside rap on the house was followed by the startling appeal, “ Do come down to our house; Mrs. Dickinson is dying.” I was soon on the way, thinking how agitated must that friend be by this sudden call from another HONORABLE WOMEN. 435 world to her in the meridian of life; but on reaching the house I found her the most self-possessed person in her upper room. The rest of the family, and one or two neighbors who were present, seemed bewildered. Even the physician, who had been called, appeared to be rather less calm than usual. Mrs. Dickinson was unruffled. On the little table beside her bed lay the familiar Bible which had been read, as was her wont, before retiring in appar¬ ent health for the night. That book had for years been her guide and her joy. At the female prayer meeting she was a glad attendant, and she was one whose cheerful countenance was always seen at the weekly prayer meet¬ ing also, whatever the weather might be. Her last social call was on a sister teacher in the Sunday School, whose tide of life was ebbing, and with whom she had sweet converse concerning their common Lord, who caused their hearts to burn within them. More than once in the course of this closing hour of her own life, she exclaimed, “What should I do now if it were not for Jesus Christ!” Upon inquiring of the doctor how long she might expect to live, he replied, “ Perhaps two hours.” Her parents and one of two sisters being decided Christians, she devoted remaining time chiefly to the other sister, and to two brothers, pleading with them to choose at once the good part, alternating her appeals with silent prayer. Then, taking leave individually of all who were present, she laid her head upon the pillow, and before daybreak fell asleep in Jesus. 43 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. It was a sweet and placid countenance that smiled in her casket, October 23, 1847. The emphatic, though silent message was, “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh; ” “ The night is far spent; the day is at hand.” 3. MRS. CLARA STOWELL FRANKLIN. Mrs. Franklin was a native of Guilford, Vermont, and March 4, 1813, was the date of her birth. Her father, a much beloved and respected citizen, was killed on his own premises by the fall of a tree, an event which very deeply impressed his daughter. Her grandfather was an officer in the Revolutionary War. She taught school in her native place, but upon marriage (June, 1839) came to Roxbury, and in the first year of my pastorate (Novem¬ ber, 1842) joined the church on confession of faith. At the time of her decease (1893) she stood nearly alone as the last of those in the congregation who were living when my settlement took place. For full half a century Mrs. Franklin commanded respect as a woman of decided and consistent Christian character. The Bible was all in all to her, and prayer a delight. A large family furnished no reason in her opinion and habit for absenting herself from public wor¬ ship on the Lord’s Day, nor from church meetings and the Ladies’ Prayer Meeting on week-days. As little did she make it an apology for refraining from neighborhood ministries among the needy, the sick, and the bereaved. HONORABLE WOMEN. 437 Her presence anywhere was a benediction. Her piety seemed to take an aspect and tone from the spot where she first saw the light, and where her early years were spent. It was a house on the summit of a hill command¬ ing a wide and animating prospect. Neither morning sun nor afternoon rays were ever darkly shaded. The five sons and eighteen grandchildren living at the time of her departure had more occasion than is often had to rise up and call her blessed, in remembrance of rare faith, fidelity, and love. At four-score she fell asleep on Christmas eve. 4. MRS. CATHARINE LOUISA STONE. It was about the year 1800 that Elizabeth Epps, born in 1781, came to this country on a visit. Her home was in Canterbury, England, near the famous cathedral. Not long after arriving in Boston she married Mr. Tilly Whitcomb of this city. These were the parents of Mrs. Stone, and she was born here December, 1802. In early years she attended a school taught by the Misses Davis; and among the incidents that remained fresh in recollec¬ tion to the last was this, that when, after the war of 1812, peace was announced, she went home that day swinging her school-bag in great glee, shouting, “ Peace! Peace! ” She boarded for two years away from home, in order to have training under M. Lannier, a distinguished teacher of music. When past four-score years she would, if asked, 43 8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. seat herself at the piano, and with delicate touch would play, “ Bluebells of Scotland,” “ Blue-eyed Mary,” as well as other pieces which were learned full seventy years before. In 1825 she married Gen. Ebenezer Stone of Boston. As wife, mother, and neighbor, she was peculiarly devoted, kind, sympathetic, and generous. Her attachments were strong and enduring. Not a few in the younger genera¬ tion lovingly called her “ Grandmother Stone.” Having become deeply dissatisfied with Unitarian sentiments, she united with the Eliot Church in 1838. The walk from Jamaica Plain, where the family then lived, was a long one, but she was uniformly and punctually present at Sabbath worship. Her Bible and books of devotion — such as Hannah More’s Private Devotions , and Jay’s Morning Exercises — gave evidence of faithful use. November 22, 1875, General and Mrs. Stone cele¬ brated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. Three friends were present who were also present at the wed¬ ding, half a century before, one of them a bridesmaid on that occasion. Mrs. Stone had the experience of four years and more of widowhood; and her departure came suddenly, September 2, 1883. 5. MISS CAROLINE MARIA STONE. Fourth daughter of the foregoing, and born the year (1839) after her mother became a member of the Eliot Church. Twenty years later (1859) she entered publicly HONORABLE WOMEN. 439 into the same sacred fellowship. Her narrative of Chris¬ tian experience at the time indicates very clear appre¬ hension of the distinctive truths of evangelical religion, and hearty enjoyment of its every-day duties. Ill health had a good deal invaded and chastened the school-girl period. An infirmity in one arm interfered with the practice of instrumental music, a fondness for which was inherited from the mother, but she made good proficiency in the usual branches of study, and in the German language. Amiability and gentleness were early characteristics. At eight years of age she spontaneously began her min¬ istry of kindness; but after conversion, Christian principle inspired and controlled her activity. Cheerfully conscien¬ tious and self-forgetful to a marked degree, she was a living illustration of First Corinthians, the thirteenth chapter — “Charity never faileth.” Rooms of sickness and houses of bereavement were her habitual resorts, with tokens of sympathy and the cup of cold water in the name of a disciple. During the Civil War she visited encampments at Readville, then at Galloupe’s Island; and later devoted herself to teaching freedmen, and was superintendent of a school for them in the west part of our city. After that her habitual fidelity was shown in the instruction of Chinese men. To an older sister, in her last sickness, she gave herself with an untiring devotion that led to her own decease six weeks later. A few days before departure 440 ELIOT MEMORIAL. (September 9, 1898) she requested a friend to sing at her funeral the words: “ Peace, peace, sweet peace, Wonderful gift from above; Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace, Sweet peace, the gift of God’s love.” 6. MRS. ABIGAIL F. WARDWELL. The circumstances of departure (January, 1883) were unusual. It was during sleep. Such quietness, such still¬ ness, were in beautiful accord with her life and character; and this manner of removal may well be accounted a divine favor. There are only a few to whom it is vouch¬ safed. Dr. Chalmers was one of the few; Bishop Hurd was another. This departed friend of ours had no ex¬ perience of dying; caught no glimpse of the King of terrors so called; and that is one way in which death, or rather dying, may be abolished. It was in the morn¬ ing amidst the delightful freshness of early day. Her last recollections of earth did not relate, as is often the case, to struggle and distress; she carried with her no remembrance of farewells and tears; she went away noise¬ lessly to see the King in his beauty. It was at break of day, but not alone, for ministering spirits can have no morning duties to interfere with attendance upon the heirs of salvation. HONORABLE WOMEN. 441 7 . MRS. MARY J. BASFORD. At the organization of the church fifty members had reached mature years, while only one was under age. Mary J., a daughter of Mr. Melzar Waterman, was then fourteen, and with her parents brought a letter from the church in Halifax, Plymouth County. At the time of her decease, December, 1893, had for quite a while been the only survivor of the original membership, and for three-score years had maintained a blameless Christian walk and fellowship. So long a connection with one and the same brotherhood of believers is comparatively infre¬ quent. Circumstances early in my pastorate gave oppor¬ tunity for intimate acquaintance with Mrs. Basford. A distinct impression was then received that she was a woman of rare amiability, discretion, and conscientious fidelity. Not the least trace of resentment, jealousy, un¬ due self-seeking, or other such low traits ever became manifest at that time. The subsequent fifty years only confirmed and strengthened impressions that were then made. Through the whole half-century one habit attracted particular notice — a sanctified control of the tongue. Ac¬ cording to the standard of the Apostle James, she came as near the attainment of absolute perfection as any one whom I have known so long and so well. I never heard a word from her lips which she might afterwards desire to recall. To human eyes she was an embodiment of blamelessness. In the absence of personal decoration she wore, “ the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price.” 442 ELIOT MEMORIAL. 8. MRS. ANNA F. WATERS. The roll of Christian honor — what names stand high on that ? The question relates to character, to the meas¬ ure of unselfishness, of Christ-like spirit and ways as manifested habitually by the aim and tone of life. In out¬ ward condition no member of the Eliot Church had less that was attractive than Mrs. Waters. To find her home one had to go down a narrow alley, climb a rickety flight of outside steps to an apartment over a workshop, and immediately under a roof the rafters of which were in- crusted with soot. The hovel-attic was innocent of plas¬ ter, and its chief articles of furniture were two chairs, a table, a rough wooden box, and an old stove. Dress, per¬ son, and features corresponded with the place of abode. She would make no apology for those surroundings, nor even allude to them. Friends would have gladly pro¬ vided something more comfortable, but for the incum¬ brance of a miserly and tyrannical husband, a wood- sawer by trade. A lisp of complaint, however, never escaped her. Speak of the Saviour or of a Bible promise, and her countenance would kindle, and you would then see the only pleasing object under that dingy roof, the radiance of indwelling holiness. Her mind was feeble, her range of knowledge extremely limited; her religion was the whole of her. Early girlhood passed in unevan¬ gelical environment, but when, at fifteen years of age, conversion took place, she became “ a new creature,” and continued to “ grow in grace and in the knowledge of HONORABLE WOMEN. 443 our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,” furnishing a fine illustration of eminent piety combined with stunted in¬ tellect. Mrs. Waters, without suggestion from any one, en¬ gaged in neighborhood work, visiting the homes of Roman Catholics and others, where she read sacred Scripture and occasionally left a tract. Her benevolence was remarkable, though her only source of income, prior to becoming a widow, was the knitting-needle. The con¬ tribution box, when passed for various objects, generally re¬ ceived her two mites. Necessary absence from the monthly concert of prayer for foreign missions, formed no excuse for not giving; she would at the next opportunity put in double her usual amount. One morning she came to me with a basket of cents, which she had for a year been saving as the fruit of self-denial over and above ordinary gifts. She had heard something from the pulpit on that subject, and something about a special appeal from Cey¬ lon, and the purpose was entertained to save two cents a week extra. She desired me to count the contents of the basket and see if there was enough to make good the average for all the weeks of the year — a problem too deep for her arithmetic. When told that there were three cents over, and those were handed back to her, she wished the whole to go into the treasury of the Amer¬ ican Board — her face beaming the while with devout joy that the coppers held out so well. Her last labor was to knit a pair of socks for a needy individual; and her last 444 ELIOT MEMORIAL. charity was sending a dollar by the hand of another to a city missionary in New York. As the hour of departure drew on, her joy became unspeakable. “ Triumph over death,” “ Triumph over death,” was often on her lips. Her parting words to me were, “ I expect to stay in heaven tonight.” Those who watched with her said the room was “ a little heaven.” “ Home, almost home,” was her final articulation. Did ever ministering angels bear an emancipated spirit with more alacrity to the paradise of God? Mrs. Waters lived seventy-one years. At the funeral in that obscure upper room five ministers were present, not by request, but be¬ cause they knew the rare worth of one who had literally “ done what she could.” As there was no relative of hers living in Roxbury, and no one to be flattered by any¬ thing commendatory of her, a discourse depicting her character was preached, the first of the kind in the Eliot Church. At the request of friends the same was pub¬ lished under the title, The Poor Widow. This memo¬ rial, translated by one of our missionaries, soon appeared in the Tamil language; and thus the poor, praying, self- sacrificing, yet feeble-minded woman has now for more than two-score years been preaching to natives in North¬ ern Ceylon. 9. MRS. MAGDALENA KUHN. Another of the original members. The family were in very humble circumstances; but with her husband, Christian Kuhn, she was invariably and punctually present HONORABLE WOMEN. 445 at all public services on tne Lord’s Day, and at church meetings. Their knowledge of the English language was very imperfect, and their use of it still more imperfect. But they never seemed to be mortified by their plainness of dress and of speech. Their peculiarly modest and exemplary deportment was a silent power for good, much more effective than the talkativeness and irregular bustle of others. So uniform, yet unobtrusive was their quiet, consistent walk, as to impress one of the ablest and most prominent of our young men, and prove to be the means of his conversion. In calling at their plain dwelling, I never failed to find them seated at evening on opposite sides of a small table, a dim light between them, each intent upon an open German Bible. No habitation in the city could present a more beautiful scene. Mrs. Kuhn had, in large measure, all the simplicity and warmth of emotion ever witnessed in a Wiirtem- burger. Speak of the Saviour, or the Heavenly Father, and soon the tears would begin to trickle down her ruddy cheeks, and up would come a corner of her coarse, but neat apron. It became necessary for her to take boarders, and that interfered much with Bible-reading and prayer. Longing for more quiet, she told me she had asked the Lord that he would please send, what she called, “some shly sickness,” that she might have time for his Word and for fellowship. Not long after, she fell downstairs and broke a leg. Her first thought was, “ Das ist das shly sickness; ” and there followed several weeks of blessed 446 ELIOT MEMORIAL. leisure for the lively oracles, and for communion at the mercy-seat. At the age of sixty-six, on a mild, bright morning in May, 1866, the dear woman entered into the perfect rest and perfect fellowship. IO. MRS. MARY cALLEN. A few natives of Ireland were at different times wel¬ comed to the church, one of them, Mrs. Mary Callen, July, 1855. Her ancestry was Scottish. Before leaving the mother country she had been to the Lord’s table. Later, however, she became convinced of her unfitness to be a communicant. Her eyes were opened as never before to view penitently her sinful and lost condition, and in faith to behold the Lamb of God her all-sufficient Saviour. Heavy bereavements came, husband and all her children — seven in number — being removed by death. Extreme poverty followed, but while her sphere was a very humble one, an irreproachable life, and a beautiful Christian spirit adorned it. When eighty years of age Mrs. Callen, after a severe strain upon her eyes in plying her daily task, suddenly became blind one night. Dependence on others was then complete, but during the fifteen years that followed, not¬ withstanding loneliness and feebleness, no one heard aught of complaining or sighing from her lips. The twenty- third Psalm was a favorite. It was daily food, and a precious cordial to her soul. She never failed to repeat it when retiring for rest at night. Blindness did not pre- HONORABLE WOMEN. 447 vent her living in green pastures, nor walking by the still waters. To the family, in which for twenty years she was an inmate, her presence became a benediction, like the ark in the house of Obed-Edom. During that period one out of each of three successive generations was carried to the Field of Ephron, each, of whom alike called the aged sojourner, “ Grandmama.” They found a model and a blessing in her example. Her early advantages for education were meager in¬ deed. Robert Raikes did not open his first school till after she was born. But Mrs. Callen had committed to memory the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, and that con¬ densed formulary of Bible truths was a perennial source of spiritual education, strength, and comfort. I regarded her as one of the most useful members of the church. No sermon on resignation, trust in God, and devout appropriation of the Psalms, was so effective as the unob¬ trusive yet eloquent experience of that decrepit woman. Young men and young women of the church improved opportunities of visiting the aged saint, to whom they read or repeated portions of Holy Scripture, speaking also in psalms and hymns, and engaging in prayer with her. Probably there was not at the time a more grateful or a happier citizen in Boston. Amidst sickness and failing strength and many pains her song still was, “ Surely good¬ ness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Between one and two thousand dollars stood to the credit of the church in her behalf, besides what had been con- 44.8 ELIOT MEMORIAL. tributed privately by individuals, but most gladly was the outlay met. When at length her decease came in May, 1875, she lacked only four years and some months of being a centenarian. II. MRS. JUDITH NUTTING. Instances of exceptional longevity are never numer¬ ous in any community, and hence attract attention. They are the living links between three or more generations. The decease of a centenarian, or of one who has reached the confines of a hundred years, draws attention. The proportion of such in the Eliot congregation is consider¬ ably in excess of what it is in the population at large. Mrs. Nutting died in 1883, at the age of ninety-seven. She well remembered when, sixty years before, there was announced the sudden death of Mrs. Garrick, widow of the celebrated actor, at the age of ninety-seven, accessible and attractive to the last. The same year (1822), upon the decease of Sir William Herschel, his no less remark¬ able sister Caroline removed to Hanover, Germany, where, with an unclouded intellect, she lived till 1848, and within three years of a century. Elizabeth, the widow of Gen. Alexander Hamilton, survived her husband more than half a century, dying (1854) at ninety-seven. Mrs. Judith Nutting was born October 1, 1786, be¬ fore our Federal Constitution had been adopted; before Massachusetts had passed an act forbidding the slave- trade ; before mass had ever been celebrated in Boston HONORABLE WOMEN. 449 by a Roman Catholic priest; before a land office had been open for sales to settlers; and before cotton had been exported or even grown at the South. The entire population of our Commonwealth then did not exceed that of Boston today. She was the daughter of Thomas Hastings, a revolutionary soldier, the fourth bearing that name in direct descent from Deacon Thomas Hastings, an immigrant from Ipswich, England, in the year 1634. Through the Thomas last named, the family lineage runs back to a younger brother of Sir Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon. The family is one of the extremely few in England which can trace their pedigree so far even as the fourteenth century. But Hastings, one of the Cinque Portes, still shows the remains of its castle where William the Conqueror lodged before the decisive battle — that of Hastings, 1066 — which overthrew the Saxon dynasty. Already in the time of Alfred the Great (ninth century), a Danish Hastings had planted himself in Sussex. In 1815, and on the same day with her husband, Mrs, Nutting made a public profession of faith in Christ. Under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Amherst, Massachusetts — who made large use of the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism — the children were wont regularly to recite the answers in that compend. Nothing short of literal accuracy would satisfy the desires of the minister or the ambition of young catechumens. Questions and answers remained distinctly in Mrs. Nutting’s memory to the last. As opportunity offered she would put her own 45° ELIOT MEMORIAL. children through the catechism, after they had themselves become parents and even grandparents. It was under the influence of that little formulary that her own character received its type. She showed Puritan loyalty to sound doctrine, law, and order — order in the family, the church, and society. She had a clear apprehension of the evan¬ gelical system of belief, and a hearty love of the same. Whatever was accepted as duty became a pleasure to her. In regard to secret prayer and the reading of God’s Word, no thought seemed ever to enter her mind except to maintain constancy and find profitable enjoyment therein. Her memory was early stored with hymns. In later years, at the hour of evening twilight, it was still her delight to sing or repeat certain favorites, such as, “ When to the west the sun descends,” etc. For some scores of years, every night, after retiring to rest, she repeated the hymn, “ And now another day has gone, I’ll sing my Maker’s praise,” etc. She was always looking on the bright side of things. Grumbling is not a factor of longevity. During forty-five years of widowhood she maintained a cheerful walk with God. For children and children’s children to the fifth generation, her memory is a richer legacy than any that could pass through the probate office. Her seven daughters were born under the same roof, and married in the same room; and they, as well as the two sons, HONORABLE WOMEN. 45 1 were all living, and all had families at the time of her departure. 12. MRS. LUCY WATERMAN. The church had been formed only fourteen months when Mrs. Waterman, coming from New York, became a member (1836). It was in 1812 that she first made public profession of faith in Christ. Her character and the esteem in which she was held are indicated by Reso¬ lutions which were adopted at the meeting that next pre¬ ceded her hundredth birthday: “ Learning that the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mrs. Lucy Waterman, a revered and beloved mem¬ ber of this church, is expected to take place on the eighth instant, the brethren and sisters of the Eliot Church present at the regular meeting of this date gladly recognize the unusual event, and in token thereof heartily adopt the following minute: “ That congratulations be conveyed to our venerable sister in Christ, in view of her attaining to this extreme age, and under circumstances so favorable; that infirmities are so few, and that faculties of the mind have, in such measure, been preserved; that she has never had occa¬ sion to follow to the grave any one of her children; that the three sons are still living, and in their filial assidui¬ ties she has a gratifying share; that the Word of God and prayer to God are still her delight and solace; that faith, hope, and charity have not waned, and that she still testifies to the faithfulness and abounding goodness of our covenant-keeping God: 45 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. “ That we contemplate with gratitude the evidence of a consistent Christian life of four-score years, and of an exemplary walk and conversation for more than half a century in the membership of the Eliot Church; and that we render thanks to the God of all grace for manifest special mercies to our sister during the whole period of one hundred years: “ That we devoutly and affectionately commend her to the continued faithfulness of him who is the ancient of days, and whose word of unfailing promise is: ‘ Even to your old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made and I will bear; even I will carry and will deliver you.’ ” These were communicated to her on the anniversary, April 8, 1890. Two score of her friends went twenty- five miles to pay their respects to the venerable saint. It was noteworthy that all her children were also then pres¬ ent. Among the appropriate gifts at that time was a collection of one hundred texts of sacred Scripture, which she would prize more than so many jewels. She put on her glasses and read aloud a part of the fourteenth chap¬ ter of John’s gospel. “Rock of Ages, cleft for me,” and “Jesus, lover of my soul,” two of her favorite hymns, were sung. Over a year and a half after that occasion, in the fifty-sixth year of her fellowship with this church, and in her one hundred and second year of age, Mrs. Waterman entered into rest, Sunday, November 15, 1891. She be- HONORABLE WOMEN. 453 longed to a family in which there has been a good deal of longevity. One of her grandfathers lived eighty-four years, and his wife ninety-two years; a brother attained to the age of eighty-nine; one sister to the age of ninety, and another sister, whose death was caused by accident, to the age of ninety-seven. Mrs. Waterman’s maiden name was Sturtevant , and she was of the Plymouth County stock, from which have come prominent men, and men of decided Christian char¬ acter. One of them was Dr. Julian M. Sturtevant, a Pro¬ fessor and afterwards President of Illinois College. 13. MISS SUSAN WESSON. Miss Wesson belonged to a large family characterized by native refinement, modesty, sobriety, and conscientious¬ ness. The father, William Wesson, born in England, came to this country in early life and was a prosperous man. For some years he lived in Boston; but removing to Cambridge in 1802, he made purchases of land and built a large three-story house. College students became inmates of the family. The daughter Susan was born July 23, 1797. Of the nine children in her father’s family — three of whom died before reaching adult years — no one was ever married. The brother William, it is understood, became engaged; but having met with losses, which included his mother’s property, he deemed it a duty to devote himself to the maintenance of her and of his surviving sisters. Honorable sentiments always con- 454 ELIOT MEMORIAL. trolled him. There was said to be property in the south of England, to which the family were entitled. On the mother’s side there was a prominent merchant and ship¬ owner in Boston; and, but for the loss of documentary evidence the family estate might have been benefited by redress through the “ French Spoliation ” claims. The mother of Miss Wesson, and her brother, Wil¬ liam Marshall Wesson, joined the Eliot Church by letter of recommendation from the Pine Street Church, Boston, in the year 1857. The mother, a women of unusual dignity, amiability, and Christian gentleness, died the next year. “ Father Cleveland,” so called and well known in Boston, long time a friend of the family, was at the funeral, being then well on toward one hundred years of age. Miss Wesson had not made public profession of faith in Christ prior to the year named above, when she, too, became a member of the church. She had already in¬ dulged a Christian hope for twenty-five years. Her re¬ ligious life was not demonstrative, but quiet, such as might be expected from native temperament, family habits, and the general domestic atmosphere. On her one hun¬ dredth birthday (1897) s ^ e seemed not to have failed very sensibly during the past year. She spoke of her interest in the Eliot Church, her prayers for that and for friends, her love of the Bible, and of the comfort derived from sacred hymns. She repeated three stanzas of one among her favorites. It was no common spectacle to look upon HONORABLE WOMEN. 45 S the white hairs of one born while Washington was still living, and at a time of universal excitement in the civil¬ ized world, when Napoleonic wars were raging, thrones demolished, and new governments established, to see her sitting now, after a century’s experience, in her solitary home, whence the family were all departed, meditating on Christ’s gracious mediation and the church redeemed by his precious blood. The last time that I called on her she spoke of her desire to sing, to sing with the great choir. It was natural to repeat to her, “ And I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou¬ sands, saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and bless¬ ing.” November 30, 1897, the age of one hundred years, four months and seven days, she joined the great choir. In the family lot at Mount Hope Cemetery there have been numerous interments, and all of persons who were over three-score and ten years of age. ministers’ wives. There is occasion to speak of ministers’ wives. The wives of American clergymen have, as a class, been among the finest endowed, best educated, and most ex¬ emplary of American women. Their position in Colonial, 45 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Revolutionary, and later times has been one of special delicacy and responsibility, besides being often one of peculiar trial. In their straitened circumstances and feeble health, not a few have belonged to the noble army of martyrs. Seldom have they become wandering stars. They have been keepers at home, skillful in domestic concerns. By their culture, their gentleness, suavity, and dignity, their influence has been marked in moulding and elevating the character of parishes. There is no pro¬ fession, no occupation in which the wise suggestions and warm sympathies of a wife are more needed. Imagine for a moment that Roman Catholic celibacy had pre¬ vailed here, and what a different aspect would our fair heritage have presented! 14. MRS. ELIZA HILL ANDERSON. Twelve years have passed since Mrs. Anderson left us (March, 1888), and yet she can never wholly leave us. The Eliot Church will always have occasion to give thanks for the life and labors here of such Priscillas and Marys. Mrs. Anderson’s membership with us covered more than half a century (1836-1888); her entire term of public Christian confession approached seventy years. In her ancestry there was a fair measure of longevity, through five generations on the father’s side to John Hill (1600); and on the mother’s side through six generations to Rich¬ ard Carpenter, born in England (1593). It was at a little short of four-score and four years that Dr. Anderson HONORABLE WOMEN. 457 took leave of us early one morning; a little past four¬ score and four Mrs. Anderson took her leave just at sunset. Her life from girlhood in Catskill, New York, was marked by unfailing modesty, conscientiousness, and quiet decision of character. Although only eight years old when her mother died, she had received a maternal im¬ press which remained in clear outline through life. For example, her ministry of neighborhood kindness began very early, and continued to the last. The Bible became to her the book of books. Chapters were treasured in the memory ; so were hymns, a store which amounted at length to hundreds. Habits of industry, order, and accuracy were formed. When a little girl at school she stood at the head of her class in spelling, and as a re¬ ward of merit — present juvenile literature will look down in amazement from its crowded shelves — she received a copy of Washington’s Farewell Address! In early womanhood her firm adherence to what is right was not inferior to that of the father of his country. While visiting in the family of a distinguished Commodore of the United States Navy she was invited to attend the theater, the Commodore arguing that it is well to go once in order to see what it is. Eliza Hill declined and never regretted the decision. At sixteen Dr. Anderson taught a public school; at sixteen Mrs. Anderson also became a teacher. While connected with a young ladies’ school in New Haven ELIOT MEMORIAL. 45 8 she had among her pupils some who came to prominent positions — Mrs. President Porter, Mrs. Dr. Buckingham of Springfield, Mrs. Dr. Bond of Norwich, Mrs. Dr. Krebbs of New York, Mrs. Professor Park of Andover, and Mrs. Commodore Foote. Fondness and aptness for teaching continued to the last. At the age of eighty-two she carried two granddaughters through a course in moral philosophy with interest and profit. Preparation for special auxiliary service in the cause of foreign missions began in a very natural way. She was early an inmate in the family of Rev. Dr. David Por¬ ter of Catskill, a man deeply interested in that cause, at whose house she became acquainted with such men as Samuel J. Mills, Drs. Cornelius and Goodell, Horatio Bardwell of the Marathi Mission, and Cyrus Kingsbury of the Choctaw Mission. In the family of a brother, Henry Hill, treasurer of the American Board, she began acquaintance with Boston next door to that of Jeremiah Evarts. Mrs. Anderson’s married life was one of cheerful self- sacrifice. It involved three long absences of her hus¬ band on foreign deputations; it involved the need of most provident management in household administrations, upon an inadequate income. A golden mean was maintained between running in debt on the one hand, and niggard parsimony on the other. In welcoming guests nothing was overdone. Hospitality was most abundant, especially in behalf of departing and returning missionaries. Per- HONORABLE WOMEN. 459 sonal assistance in outfit and refit were bestowed, and often at no small personal inconvenience. Not infre¬ quently did she leave a sick bed to minister to some newly-arrived laborer from beyond sea. The heads of the family sometimes had to betake themselves to an attic chamber to make room for unexpected arrivals, and such were often unexpected at any given time. Probably no other house on this continent ever entertained so many guests of that class. The earliest in the long list were Mr. and Mrs. Levi Spaulding of Ceylon. The apostolic Daniel Temple was another. The saintly David Stoddard and Fidelia Fiske were among them. During the first ten months of a certain year one hun¬ dred and fourteen different missionaries and their friends were entertained for a longer or shorter time. Upon careful inquiry I am satisfied that for the thirty-nine years of Dr. Anderson’s service as secretary, and while at housekeeping, the average of hospitality that year was only about the average for the whole period. At the Jubilee visit (i860) there were sixty-eight present; the Lord’s prayer was repeated in twenty different languages, and a hymn was sung simultaneously in numerous tongues. Through these years Mrs. Anderson kept up a wide correspondence, foreign as well as domestic. Her con¬ tributions to a religious journal, over the signature of Beulah , sundry obituary notices, besides short essays in the Missionary Herald and Life and Light , are in style and sentiment unadorned, clear, and pertinent. So is an 460 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Address to Hawaiian Women after a visit to the Sandwich Islands, and published in the language of those Islands. Her Memorial of Susan Maria Underwood, a deceased member of this church, had the same characteristics. Similar, too, is the Memoir of Mary Lathrop, of which in the German language I lighted on a copy when travel¬ ing in Switzerland a few years since. Today it is doing good service in the Ottoman Empire, having passed through several editions in both the Turkish and Arme¬ nian languages. But did foreign missions absorb thought and effort? If in the Eliot Church there was any one more ready for local Christian activity during my pastorate, I have yet to learn the name. The busiest woman with orderly habits is the one most ready for service outside of her special sphere. Queen Victoria, though monarch of Great Britain and Empress of India, finds time to be president of a Bible Society in Berkshire, the county that includes Windsor Castle. Mrs. Anderson enjoyed a fixed and all-sustaining assurance of the Saviour’s presence, and gracious readiness to do all that could be desired. Forty years before her decease she told me that death would be no surprise to her at any hour. In the course of a prolonged sickness, the year preceding that event, she said to a grand¬ daughter, “ I would have our Saviour depicted as Mr. Greatheart, standing at the entrance of a building or enclosure, and close by a little, white, trembling lamb ; HONORABLE WOMEN. 461 but Mr. Greatheart is very near.” Her closing testimony ran thus: “ Why, I feel as if Christ were right here ! I am not alone.” 15. MRS. SARAH ELIZABETH R. PECK. It was peculiarly gratifying to the writer that a daughter of my father’s first pastor, the Rev. Asahel Hooker, should join our congregation. She brought her two daughters, though only the youngest of them, Sarah Edwards, became a uniform worshiper with us. This daughter, a young woman of rare excellence of character, who professed to have been much benefited by ministra¬ tions at the Eliot Church, became, as Mrs. Winans, a highly valued resident of Rochester, New York, where, owing to progressive paralysis, she departed this life three years since (July 6, 1897). Mrs. Peck’s mother, Phebe Edwards, was a granddaughter of President Jonathan Ed¬ wards, the celebrated theologian; while Mr. Hooker was a descendant in the fifth generation from Thomas Hooker, well known as the first minister of the first church in Hartford, Connecticut. At Norwich Mrs. Peck attended the school of Miss Lydia Huntley, afterwards Mrs. Sig¬ ourney, the poet, and in 1826 she married the Rev. Solo¬ mon Peck, d.d. At sixteen Dr. Peck was graduated from Brown University; at eighteen he was a tutor; later, Professor of Latin in Amherst College; but was more widely known as Corresponding Secretary of Foreign Mis¬ sions of the Baptist Union. After the Civil War Mrs. 462 ELIOT MEMORIAL. Peck accompanied her husband to Beaufort, South Caro¬ lina, and engaged in Christian work among the freedmen. Later he held useful positions here at the North. Dr. Peck was a scholarly man, a man of culture, refinement, and gentlemanliness, as well as of superior executive abil¬ ity. The captiousness of a few missionaries, and the per¬ tinacious misapprehension of their sympathizers, occasioned a severe trial, and at the same time gave occasion for the exercise of an unusual and most noble Christian forbear¬ ance on his part. As Dr. Peck belonged to a different religious denom¬ ination, it was appropriate that Mrs. Peck should chiefly identify herself with the same, rather than to become con¬ spicuous in a connection which attracted her on the score of ancestral interest and original convictions. After a widowhood of seven years she died under the roof of her son-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Stanger, then at Cincinnati. With firm reliance on the sacrificial merits and high- priestly intercession of Jesus Christ, she sang with others, in her last sickness, such favorite hymns as, “ Rock of ages,” “My faith looks up to thee,” “To Jesus, the crown of my hope.” WIDOWS OF MINISTERS. The proportion of widows in the congregation and their absolute number were large. It was a noticeable circumstance that at one time there should be five widows of ministers who died young—Mrs. Maria Grozer Pack- HONORABLE WOMEN. 463, ard, Mrs. Adeline Grozer McGeoch, Mrs. Margaret Cod- man Peabody, Mrs. Bradford Homer, and Mrs. Maria Rea Dexter. There were two whose husbands had been physi¬ cians— one the widow of Dr. Fiske of Worcester, and one the widow of Dr. Adams, formerly of Bath, Maine.. The latter belonged to a group of thirteen children, and was herself the mother of thirteen. She died March 10, 1857, h er eighty-seventh year. This suggests that not a few of the class now referred to lived to a good old age — Mrs. Ballister, eighty-four (died June, 1845); Mrs. Anna Williams (died November, 1855), aged eighty-nine and some months; Mrs. Susan Elms, a member of the Old South (died February, 1856), aged eighty-four; Miss Abigail Prentiss (died February, 1858), aged eighty-seven; Mrs. T. K. Thomas (died December, 1858), aged eighty, and Mrs. Mary H. Waugh, at the same age; Mrs. Eleanor V. Ames (died January, 1859), aged eighty years and eleven months; Mrs. L. Williams (died Sep¬ tember, i860), aged eighty-one; Miss Abigail Seaver (died December, 1861), aged eighty-six; Miss Lydia Prentiss (died March, 1863), aged eighty-four; Mrs. Lydia G„ Towne, the mother of Rev. Dr. Joseph Towne (died September, 1863), aged eighty-two; Miss Hannah Grozer (died July, 1864), aged eighty-eight; Mrs. Sarah Cush¬ ing (died July, 1864), aged eighty; Mrs. Rising (died August, 1865), aged eighty-four; Mrs. Sarah Jewett (died January, 1867), aged eighty-five; Mrs. Frances Rupp (died March, 1867), aged eighty-two; Mrs. Simmons (died 464 ELIOT MEMORIAL. April, 1867), aged ninety. Besides these there were others whose names appear elsewhere. There were some whose bereavement was intensified by circumstances peculiarly trying, as Mrs. Birchmore. Her husband belonging to the navy was lost in the gulf of Mexico; and another whose widowhood began in a way yet more heart-rending. There were those whose term of loneliness extended to thirty, forty, and even fifty years. It is fitting that particular mention should be made of those who, in comparatively advanced years, be¬ came the widows of ministers. 16. MRS. MARY CODMAN. After the death of the Rev. Dr. John Codman at the age of sixty-five years, his widow became an inmate in the family of her brother, Mr. Ebenezer Wheelwright, who was a member of the Eliot Church. Ten years later (April, 1857), an d at the same age as her revered husband, she joined the family on high. From her fourteenth year she had indulged the hope of being a regenerate child of God. The great spiritual crisis — the most important that any human being experiences, death and the resur¬ rection not excepted — took place at Bradford Academy, the same season with two young friends of hers, Harriet Newell, who found an early missionary grave in the Isle of France, and Anne Hasseltine Judson, the heroine of Rangoon, who sleeps alone under the shade of a Hopea tree in Burmah. Mrs. Codman was their peer in natural HONORABLE WOMEN. 465 endowments, and in the noble specialty of Christian de¬ votedness. Richard Baxter writes: “ Ought a clergyman to marry ? Yes; but let him think, and think, and think again before he does it.” Dr. Codman did that, and after four years of pastoral labor he introduced to the good people of the Second Church, Dorchester, one who proved eminently his helper and theirs also. Every pastor’s wife is a help or hindrance to him. There is not in the land — neither at the Capitol of the nation nor elsewhere — a female position more honorable or responsible than hers. If by wise domestic counsel and the perennial flow of Christian cheerfulness and well-directed cooperation she fill her ap¬ propriate sphere, then do pastor and parish owe her a debt which words can but imperfectly express. In this case there came a youthful bride, matronly yet affable, spiritually minded, and ready to enter at once into coop¬ erative labors with her husband. And so she continued, active in the female prayer meetings, the Maternal Associa¬ tion, distributing religious books, with encouraging words to children and youth, sympathizing with the afflicted, watching with the sick, more, perhaps, than any other indi¬ vidual in the parish. In her were combined to an unusual degree dignity with grace, sensibilities delicate but not fastidious; firmness that was yet attractively feminine, and strength of mind without the masculine element. Bal¬ anced energy, refinement, quick and quiet good sense were grouped in rare congruity. “ Man is no hypocrite 466 ELIOT MEMORIAL. in his pleasures,” was a frequent saying of hers. She delighted in the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, Baxters Saint's Rest , and such spiritual songs as those cunning artificers of sweet rhythm and rich Christian sentiment, Watts and Doddridge, Cowper and Montgomery, composed. But her chief delight was in the Holy Scriptures, large portions of which were hid in her heart. Among favorite, never-tiring chapters was the fourteenth of John’s gospel, and especially in her closing years, till the summons of the last verse came, “ Arise, let us go hence.” 17. MRS. MARTHA VINAL HOOKER. Our neighboring Charlestown was Mrs. Hooker’s birth¬ place, April 27, 1806. Her father having died the next year, the family of a beloved aunt in Boston became her home. Under the ministry of Dr. Sereno E. Dwight she joined Park Street Church when sixteen years of age, and was at that time its youngest member. Academic train¬ ing was enjoyed in the excellent schools of Rev. Joseph Emerson at Saugus, and that of Miss Z. P. Grant at Derry, New Hampshire. In 1827 she married Rev. Henry B. Hooker, then pastor at Lanesborough, Massachusetts. Ten years later Dr. Hooker became pastor of the First Church, Falmouth, where he remained till called to the sec¬ retaryship of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society (1858), when the family removed to Boston. The good people of Falmouth pronounce Mrs. Hooker a model minister’s wife. She was greatly interested in HONORABLE WOMEN. 467 the Maternal Association, and had highly valued Sunday School classes of young ladies. She contributed articles to the Sunday School papers, and to the American Messenger. The young people had a large and constant share in her kind regards. She formed them into mission bands, and strove in various ways to promote their mental and spirit¬ ual culture. Many testimonies have reached me from those who came under her immediate influence, in regard to her tact and her happy ways. During the thirty-five years after residence in Falmouth ceased, her frequent summer visits to that place served to keep alive the most cordial relations, and her memory is fragrant there. Twelve years of widowhood were appointed to Mrs. Hooker. The morning of her last day on earth came clear and calm outwardly, yet not more so than within the chamber of quietness whence for eight months she had not been able to go below stairs. The window of that upper room looked toward the rising sun, and her hand had been a good while on the latch of another door, which at length opened inward. Her pilgrimage of eighty- seven and a half years was finished. l8. MRS. LUCY GILPATRICK MARSH. The Eliot City Mission Society — a society inde¬ pendent of the one in Boston — was greatly favored in the agents whom it employed. In no case was this more strikingly true than that of Mrs. Marsh. From the hour of conversion at twenty years of age, onward till the hour 468 ELIOT MEMORIAL. of death, in June, 1868, she seemed to be actuated by the genuine missionary spirit. The chief reason for her leav¬ ing the home of childhood in Biddeford, Maine, was the opposition of family friends to her Christian activity. On returning home to minister to an aged mother, she had occasion to rejoice over the conversion of that parent when approaching three-score and ten. Afterwards, under the same circumstances, she was cheered by the hope of her father’s conversion at near four-score. During a ten months’ visit at Biddeford she established a female prayer meeting and several conversions followed. She also in the midst of much opposition gathered a Sunday School, and carried fuel in her own arms to the schoolhouse to make it comfortable for the hour of meeting. Returning to this city Mrs. Marsh became the inde¬ fatigable matron of a reformatory institution; attended the prayer meetings of the church to which she belonged, each of them preceded by a preparatory devotional meet¬ ing ; and in addition to the regular Sunday School ser¬ vice, she once a week taught a class of colored children, spending Saturday afternoons in visiting its members, besides paying weekly visits to the inmates in the House of Correction. As the wife of Rev. Christopher Marsh of West Roxbury her life was still that of a missionary laboring in the byways for miles around. Owing in no small measure to her self-denying and energetic efforts, a place of worship was built, for which, as also for the communion service, she solicited funds. There, too, she HONORABLE WOMEN. 469 gathered a female prayer meeting and a meeting for mothers, both of which she sustained almost unaided. The Sunday School also was her creation and for a time was superintended by her. After the death of Mr. Marsh, whose last pastorate was at Sanford, Maine, Mrs. Marsh began work here (September, 1861) as missionary, and the uext year joined the Eliot Church. Singular devotedness, fidelity and good judgment marked her whole ministry. The pastor re¬ garded her less as a parishioner than a colleague, his senior in age, a model of wise, earnest, and harmonious cooperation. She mentioned to a friend that this passage was her daily resting-place, “ Be careful for nothing.” Of nothing that pertained to herself — ease, strength or health — was she careful. To the welfare of the poor and those spiritually perishing she devoted herself wholly. A Bible class in the Mission Sunday School, a mothers’ meeting and two weekly prayer meetings were only a part of her steady occupation. A sewing school was one favorite method of usefulness, and her coming was always the signal for the brightening of faces. Visiting from house to house with prayer and the name of Jesus on her lips occupied the larger part of her time. Those seven years of labor in Roxbury were performed after Mrs. Marsh had reached her seventieth year. Such in¬ dustry is therefore all the more noteworthy. The record of her last twelvemonth showed that, besides being the almoner of various comforts and delicacies for the sick 47 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. and destitute, she distributed more than one thousand and two hundred garments and other articles among the needy; more than two thousand religious tracts, papers, and books, and made rising of three thousand visits, which, owing to lameness, was a number less by one thousand than that of the year previous. Did she ever recount her labors and successes with a tinge of vanity? Far otherwise. We have noticed that it is the light ears of grain which hold their heads high and wave about most freely. This noble woman was a branch of the vine so laden with fruit as to hang low; she was clothed with humility. The concurrent testimony of those associated intimately with Mrs. Marsh was that they found no flaw in her and could find no fault with her. Dr. Rufus An¬ derson, who had known her for nearly fifty years, wrote that she filled her various responsible positions “ with the unbounded confidence of those who knew her, in her ability, integrity, and devotedness to the cause of her Redeemer, and in her unwearied efforts for the salvation of those placed under her care.” Another friend, an acquaintance of forty years, stated, “ I never knew Mrs. Marsh lukewarm, or with a cold heart. Her life has been a chain of well-doing all along without one breakage.” Her funeral was from the Eliot Church, June 22, 1868. 19. MRS. SARAH COLLINS PORTER. Mrs. Porter, a daughter of Rev. Daniel Collins, was born in Lanesborough, December 26, 1767. Her father HONORABLE WOMEN. 47 1 after being pastor — and the first pastor of the church in that place — for nearly sixty years, died in his eighty-fifth year. During the latter part of his ministry he had the assistance of colleagues; and Dr. Henry B. Hooker was one of his successors in the pastorate of the church. Mrs. Porter, upon the decease of her husband, Dr. David Porter of Catskill, came to the home of Mrs. Henry Hill in Roxbury, who was then her only surviving child. At length a sudden and fatal stroke of apoplexy removed this devoted daughter. Mrs. Dr. Anderson, the sister of Mr. Hill, then gladly received Mrs. Porter, and it was a gratifying providence that gave her the oppor¬ tunity once more to take the place of daughter to one who had been a mother to her in early semi-orphanage. Mrs. Porter had become blind and bedridden. In the days of former health and strength she was a woman of commanding dignity and of winning gentleness. It was only in the closing years that I had the pleasure of per¬ sonal acquaintance with her, and largely profitable was that acquaintance. No allusion to infirmities or other trials brought out any response except that of perfect Christian resignation and of thankfulness for mercies. One favorite utterance was, “ God’s government is a good government to live under.” Speak of accidents in the outside world, and she would say: “How many are the mercies I have! I am kept in great safety. I receive no injuries.” When the Sunday morning bell rang she would invariably draw a handkerchief over her sightless 47 2 ELIOT MEMORIAL. eyes, with the remark, “ I am now going to meeting,” and in the silence of her chamber she would reverently accom¬ pany worshipers in the sanctuary through the several parts of divine service. Speak of the Sabbath on high, and she would reply, “ Oh, yes! it is heaven to be where Christ is, and where no sin is.” It always seemed to me on retiring from her room that I was leaving the confines of heaven, an atmosphere of holy calm, of saintly cheerful¬ ness. The bright and blissful presence of unseen angels seemed to gather in quiet ministry around one who was awed, penetrated, and transformed by their presence. CHAPTER XXX. CHILDREN. I. CARING FOR THE YOUNG. “The care of the lambs,” said John Eliot, “is one- third part of the charge over the Church of God.” The ratio of thoughtful interest in children and of gratifying results has not been less in the Eliot Church than that esti¬ mate of Eliot. Very suggestive is the fact that our Lord at his incarnation took the humblest level as to age; that as to condition there was no room for him in the inn; that a special invitation from him should be addressed, not to the aged, but to little children; that he was pecu¬ liarly gratified to hear children in the temple saying, “ Hosanna to the Son of David,” and that after his resur¬ rection and on the eve of ascension to glory, the Great Shepherd gave a parting order, “ Feed my lambs.” By personal experience Jesus Christ knows the heart of child¬ hood. Never by word or example did he discredit the sacred precincts of home, or a father’s household pastor¬ ship. In the domestic circle there are duties which can neither be suitably remitted nor transferred. Its claims are prior, special, and paramount. Of my own publications the one most widely used by parents and others is the little catechism, entitled “ Lambs Fed.” Many thousands have been called for in this country; and Dr. Henry Bal- 474 ELIOT MEMORIAL. lantine of Ahmednagar informed me (1854) that two translations had been made into Marathi, one of which was extensively used in the Bombay presidency. 2. EARLY PIETY. There has been a thought, not infrequent, that early piety betokens early death. Decided conscientiousness and a devotional habit on the part of a child have often called forth the remark, “ Not long for this world.” But Moses, and Samuel, and Timothy did not die young. What period of church history has there been without furnishing proof that godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, from its first years onward to a high longevity ? Memorable was the case of Polycarp, who in the first Christian century suffered martyrdom at ninety-five years of age, declaring that he had served Christ for eighty-six years. John Wesley, who was a communicant at the age of eight, said toward the close of his career, “ Eighty-seven years I have so¬ journed on the earth, endeavoring to do good.” Lady Huntingdon, so well known for her high rank and Christian excellence, became deeply anxious regarding her spiritual welfare at nine years of age, and thence on¬ ward led a decidedly religious life till over four-score. Phebe Bartlett, of whom President Edwards gives a de¬ tailed sketch, was a convert at four years of age, during the revival of 1735 in Northampton, and she lived be¬ yond three-score and ten. Her heavenly conversation, EARLY PIETY. 475 her calm trust in the Saviour, led to the conversion of her grandson, then a youth, the late Dr. Justin Edwards. But what need is there of multiplying examples here, while every day’s observation furnishes them ? It is one of the gratifying features of the nineteenth century that it has witnessed increasing attention to the religious welfare of the young, and an increasing hopeful¬ ness in regard to early conversions. True, the previous century showed more or less of the same interest. Presi¬ dent Edwards, in his Thoughts on the Revival of Religion in 1740, remarks, “Very many little children have been re¬ markably enlightened, and their hearts wonderfully affected,” etc. Still farther back, in the “ Narrative of Conversions,” during the revival of 1735, he remarks: “It has hereto¬ fore been looked on as a strange thing when any have seemed to be savingly wrought upon and remarkably changed in their childhood. But now I suppose that in Northampton near thirty were, to appearance, savingly wrought upon between ten and fourteen years of age; two between nine and ten, and one of about four years of age.” David Brainerd tells us that among the Indians where he labored, children not more than six or seven years old were deeply affected by evangelical truth. Dr. Porter of Andover, in a Letter on Revivals of Religion about the commencement of the present century, says, “Very young children were often deeply impressed, and in many instances continued to give evidence of a saving change of heart.” If there were more familiarity with 476 ELIOT MEMORIAL. such facts in the annals of the past, there would be less occasion to make such citations here. The practice of preaching specially to the young has grown greatly in late years. Such discourses, when of the right stamp, are usually profitable to adults. I have never known of a sermon designed particularly for children being blessed to the conversion of any of them. Sermons in the right key and style, delivered without having them distinctly in mind, often impress them. Not a few in¬ stances of that kind have become known in my own min¬ istry. Religious biography abounds in the same. Matthew Henry, the excellent pastor and commentator, at ten years of age heard a sermon, “ that,” says he, “ melted me.” At about the same age the celebrated Dr. Gill was thoroughly convinced of his great sinfulness and need of a Saviour by a discourse from the words, “ Where art thou ? ” Dr. Edward Payson, when only three years old, was known to weep under the preaching of the gospel. What faithful and wise pastor has not taken note of the same thing? Early piety will be the piety of childhood — children’s penitence, faith, and love. When due evidence exists, ad¬ mission to church ordinances is their privilege. It is not affirmed that no caution should be exercised, but surely little ones may now, with the spirit and with the under¬ standing, sing hosannas to the Son of David in his tem¬ ple, and also partake of the paschal supper. Only there is praise perfected. Highest symmetry and vigor of Christian character are to be expected only when, other EARLY DEATHS. 477 things equal, conversion takes place in childhood. The glaring defects and deformities of Christian character often witnessed among religious people would be less frequent if young feet were oftener turned unto Wisdom’s ways. Upon a review of the cases of early membership in the Eliot Church prior to 1871, I am satisfied that the aver¬ age of later developments was, to say the least, as satis¬ factory as that of adults. Mrs. Susan Huntington, a descendant of John Eliot, and wife of a former pastor of the Old South Church, Boston, chose God for her portion at five. There have apparently been such instances here. Harriet Newell, the missionary, was a convert at nine, and a glorified saint at nineteen; and some of our young women remind us of her. 3. EARLY DEATHS. Fully one-half of those born into this world die in infancy. I know of nothing so pathetic and so mysterious as the remains of a little one, beautiful yet cold, lying in its casket ready for interment. The dainty little shroud envelops something that seemed designed for life, for growth, for great and prolonged activities here below. There is a strange suggestiveness about the little toys and little shoes that are laid away so carefully. “ Not dead but sleepeth.” A rose of Sharon once opened in a tiny hand as it lay on the bosom in the coffin. It was a specimen and a symbol of beautiful development. That which escaped from such precious remains is no less truly 47 S ELIOT MEMORIAL. immortal than if there had been an earthly career of three-score and ten years. The third funeral which I had occasion to attend as pastor was that of a young child, and such continued to be the proportion for thirty years. Over one hundred and fifty times were the fountains of tears opened on beholding the closed eyes of young sleepers who had not lived more than four years, and a majority of them only a briefer period. The sensibili¬ ties of a pastor will be all the more lively if he has had personal experience of such bereavement. It was early in my ministry that an infant of eleven months died in my arms, and it seemed as if I placed her immediately in the hands of Him who saith “ Suffer the little children to come unto me.” Up to that moment heaven had never seemed so near, nor its gate of pearl so plainly open. Those tiny feet will never go astray there, nor will those lips utter an untruth. Reacting benefits to parents similarly situated have been noticed. The loss of a child has often proved the gain of a parent. Sending an envoy forward has drawn thought and heart upward. While tears have rained upon a hallowed spot in the cemetery, the bow of promise has stood forth brightly. It is not Rachel’s weeping but her refusal to be comforted that merits chiding. She fails to consider what an honor it is to be thus repre¬ sented on high, what a favor it is to have one’s children trained in a family so superior, so much safer than any household here; how much faster the advance in knowl- OUR YOUNG SAINTS. 479 edge and holiness there than under the most favorable conditions on earth! In the Loyalty Islands it has been a custom to kill the mother or some near relative of a deceased child, that it may not be a forsaken wan¬ derer in another world. We long to send word to such pagans how ample and tender is the care of little ones in heaven; how the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ secure them a place there, as we believe ; how our Lord delights to have them around him, otherwise more than half the inhabitants of that world would not be fruits of early dying. “ Weep not when ye tell the story Of the dead; ’ Tis a sunbeam joined the glory Overhead ! ‘For of such sweet babes is heaven,’ Jesus said.” Regarding such as died before reaching their twelfth year, and without joining the visible church, limitations of space will admit of only two or three examples. 4. OUR YOUNG SAINTS. (a) John Eliot Bowles was a conscientious boy, fond of his Bible, regular in his devotions, and ready to make confession when he had done wrong. The twenty-third Psalm was a favorite with him, and also the hymn, “ Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.” 480 ELIOT MEMORIAL. One day in February, 1853, when the dinner gong struck, he started a little in advance of the family, and in sliding down on the balustrade lost his balance and fell, his head striking on the marble floor. In the fall one scream was heard, but he did not breathe again. One minute in the land of the living, the next in the world of spirits. When this was announced to the Sunday School, all hearts stood still for a moment. (b) Guy Richards was another lad of the same age, ten years, as John E. Bowles, but the circumstances of departure were different. It was after six months of suf¬ fering, months, however, of uncomplaining, quiet endurance. For several weeks he had not been able to recline even for a moment, and kept a sitting posture all the while. For a time he was much troubled with a sense of sinful¬ ness, but an intelligent trust in the Saviour brought peace at length. “Christ comforts me,” he would say. In reply to words of affection, and grief at parting with him, he replied, “ But you have Jesus.” Heaven seemed attractive to him chiefly because Christ was there. When the hymn, “ There is a fountain,” was sung, and the stanza, “ Dear, dying Lamb, thy precious blood ” was commenced, a sweet smile came over his face, and so he left us. That was in November, 1858. (c) Frances Elizabeth Murke. It was in the autumn of 1857 that this dear child of only five summers was OUR YOUNG SAINTS. 481 taken from us. Her parents were both of foreign nativity, one coming from Norway, the other from Scotland. Fanny was a noticeably dutiful girl, a member of the infant class in the Sunday School, prompt to learn texts of Scripture, and verses of sacred poetry. She was re¬ markably conscientious, and seemed to have habitually a glad sense of God’s presence. In her last sickness she sang favorite hymns, so far as labored breathing would allow. Before sickness came on she often spoke of heaven, and of going to be with Jesus, and would ask questions like this, “ What do they do there ? ” Her thoughts ran on this line, “Jesus took little children in his arms; he will take me, too.” Shortly before breathing her last she sang: “ Mighty God, while angels bless thee, May an infant sing thy praise? Lord of all in earth and heaven, Let us now our voices raise, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord ! ” As her father stood weeping over her, she said, “Don’t cry, papa; Fanny is going to heaven; Fanny is going to Jesus.” And so she went, we believe, just at early dawn of a Lord’s Day morning. These hosannas to Christ on earth are preparatory, no doubt, to hosannas in heaven. When the golden bowl of young life here is broken, and the silver cord loosed, then comes the harp of gold never to be unstrung. Ran¬ somed children form a large part of the choir of heaven. 482 ELIOT MEMORIAL. It is not designed to make the impression that our children were all sweet little cherubs, even when expect¬ ing immediate departure. A girl of ten summers, sick beyond any thought of recovery, continued petulant In the midst of excruciating pain she exclaimed, “ Mother, I am dying, good-by! ” “ O, my dear,” said the mother, “ I can hardly think you are dying.” “ Well, I am dying, and I think it is real ugly in you not to bid me good-by.” She recovered, and retained more or less of the por¬ cupine. But it was a beautiful good-by that a dear German boy, who had been long wasting with consump¬ tion, gave just as articulation failed. “ I am not dying,” said he to his father; “ I am going to Jesus.” In her last moments little Caroline was trying to explain to her deaf-mute father that she was going to a better home; but in spelling out “ beautiful home ” with her fingers, her hand fell pulseless on the pillow. The aunt of a young girl, who had only a minute or two remaining, began to repeat to the child, “Jesus said, suffer the little children to come unto me ” — but choking with emotion, could go no farther. The young sufferer then added, “ For of such ” — and with that her breath and life were gone. Intensely pathetic scenes and utterances crowd upon recollection. At the funeral of a precious lad (1869) thirty of his schoolmates stood round the casket, all of them in tears. At the funeral of a young lady, whose features were peculiarly pleasing, her little cousin, who had never OUR YOUNG SAINTS. 483 before seen a corpse, after gazing a few minutes, said aloud, “Mama, are all angels so beautiful?” Very touch¬ ing it was to see an affectionate German child, not yet two years old, trying to find her deceased father. She pulled away a pillow; then looked under the bed, and could be pacified only when taken to the casket, where, kissing the cold lips, she shrank back and cried aloud. CHAPTER XXXI. EPILOGUE. i. Harmony amidst diversity will impress any one upon a glance at the period which has been under review. There were elements in the church suggestive of anything but homogeniousness. At one point in the pastorate — it was in the twenty-first year — the writer found that Hindustan, Africa, the West Indies, Nor¬ way, Sweden, and Wales, had each sent us two mem¬ bers; the Sandwich Islands, three members; Germany, eight; Ireland, eleven; England, twelve; the British Provinces, twenty; and Scotland, twenty-four. More than a hundred, or one in six of the whole number (637) were born elsewhere than in the United States. These and other differences could hardly fail to be noticed on occasions when groups of converts were welcomed to our fellowship. In one instance the four had their birth respectively in Massachusetts, Scotland, Germany, and Syria. In another instance, out of five, three were from as many different states of our Union, one from India, and one from Hawaii. Previous eccle¬ siastical affinities of those coming by letter, or on first confession of faith, were various — Baptist, Freewill Baptist, Methodist, German Methodist, English Inde¬ pendents, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Dutch EPILOGUE. 485 Reformed, and Associate Reformed. On the score of age there were wide differences. Limiting our view to converts who presented themselves for public assent to the Articles of Faith and the Church Covenant, fully one-half were minors — one being ten years of age; two, twelve years of age; four, thirteen; ten, four¬ teen ; fifteen were fifteen; while nineteen had reached their seventeenth year. Of those young friends eighteen had been baptized in infancy by myself. For the remaining period till 1871, these various proportions appear to have been substantially the same, though the ratio of native-American birth and other points of coincidence were steadily increasing. Upon first thought it might seem that a body thus formed would be only a loose aggregation; that elective affinity must surely run lines of separation, resolving the constituents into groups according to nationality, political affinity, grade of culture, valuation in the assessors’ books; that cabals, coteries, cliques were inevitable, and inevitably accompanied by jealousies and grudges. Whereas nothing of the kind appeared. Three or four crotchety individuals have been referred to; but being at most only one in a hundred, their idiosyncrasies reacted favorably, even to binding together the brotherhood in closer bonds. Individuality was not sacrificed. The members were not so many peas in a peck. They were so many various instruments harmonizing in a concert. I have 4 86 ELIOT MEMORIAL. never known, personally or indirectly, a church in which, for so long a time, there was such absence of alienations, the term aristocracy never being heard, and complaint or grumbling almost unknown. Kind feeling and Christian bearing were manifest. Newcomers and occasional visitors would sometimes say, What a social, genial, loving people you are! The relation of church officers among themselves and to the brotherhood in general, as well as pastoral relations, continued without jar. Meanwhile we had no occasion to call a council of sister churches, while of the eighty or more letters- missive received by us, nine were for advice regarding internal matters, some if not most of which had be¬ come the occasion of variance. The prevailing charac¬ teristics and tone of the Eliot Church suggested not unnaturally the final assemblage to which men will come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Foreigners ceased to feel like foreigners. They had become fellow-citi¬ zens in a Christian commonwealth. Sometimes, to be sure, I saw the eye moisten as their thoughts reverted to native hill and stream, to the father, mother, and pastor of early days. Here was a motive for kindness the same as was anciently enforced upon Israel, “ For ye know the heart of a stranger.” One secret of the social harmony that existed prob¬ ably lay in the tone of public ministrations. Jehovah EPILOGUE. 487 of hosts, in his immeasurable exaltation as sole crea¬ tor and supreme ruler; in his amazing condescension and loving-kindness to sinful man, as seen in the Un¬ speakable Gift — the incarnation of the Eternal Son, his humiliation, his entrancing perfection of character, his atoning sacrifice, his triumphant resurrection and ascension, his adorable headship, his mediation in be¬ half of the lost, and the absolute assurance of salva¬ tion to all who humbly and penitently trust in him, and their unutterable blessedness for ever and ever — these are leading truths which the author of our being designed should sway mind and heart. In the light thereof social differences seem slight. A great truth duly apprehended dislodges trifles, and has a signally assimilating power. We of this academy, said an ancient philosopher, have no leisure to mind such things as the affairs of the court. The demands of holy living, of Christ-like beneficence, once heartily accepted, appear infinitely great and dwarf other things to the infinitely little. No change can come over a man so great as the discovery how sinful selfishness is and how transcendently beautiful is holiness. The one epoch of existence is, not separation of soul and body, but eman¬ cipation from the controlling influence of what is purely personal, local, trivial, and becoming linked loyally to something higher than aught that either begins here or ends here, the realm of celestial goodness and saintship. “ What will you now do with your astronomy,” said a 4 88 ELIOT MEMORIAL. friend to an astronomer who had become a convert to spiritual Christianity.” “ I am now bound for heaven,” said he, “ and I take the stars in my way.” That is it; instead of God’s mere works in the eye, God him¬ self, and heaven in the heart. It has been the same substantially alike with scientist and peasant. 2. A HAPPY PASTORATE. In the early days of my pastorate an ex-minister said to me that if he had known what trials were before him he would never have gone into the pulpit. Surprise- was awakened. Looking back from the present standpoint, surprise waxes tenfold greater. The three decades of active service were a joyous period. True, it was not without some inconveniences. For example, I had occa¬ sion to make ten changes in arrangements for boarding or housekeeping. Each change led to a loss virtually of several weeks. In one instance I looked at not less than thirty houses, regarding every one of which there was some insuperable objection. Then, too, the increasing presence of a certain foreign element in the population was not an agreeable circumstance. To find the outcrop¬ ping of stealthy proselytism and open animosity, was not promotive of neighborhood comfort. In more than one of our families it was found that a child mumbled some¬ thing at the table, and elsewhere, which proved to be “ Hail, Mary.” They had been drilled by Roman Cath¬ olic domestics into a belief that salvation depends on EPILOGUE. 489 repeating Ave Maria. Our Mission Sunday School was denounced from the pulpit by a priest. A neighbor of mine, after discharging a Catholic servant, found his house set on fire four times. A member of our church, whose house was on fire, crossed over the street to where stood a woman, who remarked, “ I wish all the houses on your side would burn up and burn the Protestants in them.” Denunciation and dense ignorance should awaken pity and kind Christian efforts in behalf of the erring. One of my family, falling in with a girl who was on her way to St. Joseph’s Church, entered into pleasant conversation with her, and, among other questions, asked, “ Who came into the world to save sinners ? ” She answered, “ The Sisters of Charity.” Pitiable, yet comparatively pardonable. A letter was shown me from a person of an entirely dif¬ ferent grade, a person of culture, who stood in most inti¬ mate relations to the recipient, and who had become a pervert. I was allowed to take a copy. The following is one of the paragraphs: “ I abhor Protestantism, because I know all about it; because I know that it is a per¬ petual contempt of God, a perpetual rejection of Christ, a perpetual hatred of the truth, and for all who intelli¬ gently and willfully follow it, it is eternal damnation. I hate it and abominate it as an evil of the devil’s own hatching, and I despise it as much as I hate it.” The foregoing were doubtless extreme and exceptional cases. Such are apparently less representative of the present than of that period. Utterances of that kind were, how- 49 ° ELIOT MEMORIAL. ever, too common to make fellow-citizenship entirely agreeable. On the other hand, there were tokens of partial and even complete emancipation from the power of Popery. A couple came to me to be married because the priest would not marry them during Lent. Several who had been brought up in the Roman Catholic belief — nearly all of them women, one of whom had been a nun — joined the Eliot Church. Some of them suffered, in con¬ sequence, a measure of persecution from relatives. Escape or redress was nearly impossible. A little boy — noble fellow! — after his widowed mother had become an intelli¬ gent Protestant, spent a night at his grandmother’s, and on going to bed kneeled down and repeated, “Jesus, tender shepherd,” etc. “ Where did you learn that ? ” said the grandmother. “ At the Sabbath School,” answered the lad. “ What Sabbath School ? ” “ Mr. Thompson’s.” “Never go there again,” added the old lady with a threat. “Now, look up to this picture of the Holy Virgin, and pray.” The boy, dropping his head, repeated the second commandment. Illness, recurring often, was indeed a trial, and a severe trial, chiefly because of interference with official labor. Deaths in my own family circle fed the fountain of sympathy with others who were bereaved. But amidst all, there was joyful absorption in ministerial duties. Annoyances and sorrows failed to shut out the sunlight by day, and there were no thorns under the pillow at EPILOGUE. 49 1 night. For one thing, disquieting rumors about concerns personal to myself did not come to my ears. The least probable story — after one of Dr. Charles Finney’s books had been lent from my library to a lady of another congregation — was that I had become a perfectionist. Somewhere in the year 1868, it came to me from three different sources that Colonel - called with a request to have notice from the pulpit given of a fair to aid dis¬ abled soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and that the request was discourteously declined. In point of fact, Colonel - was never in my house, and I never had communication with or from him but once, and that was five years previous, nor was the request referred to made by any one. There was exemption from one trial to which many ministers of our day are subject, brief pastorates and inef¬ fectual candidacies. Forbearance and lenity on the part of the church favored my gratification in the stability of sacred relations. The writer never heard of another church, the pastorship of which he would have preferred, nor did he listen favorably to overtures for a change, whether to a different pulpit, or, as twice solicited, to a college professorship, or when three times a chair was offered in a theological seminary. Valuable service could thus be rendered to those institutions by declining. Changeableness has never characterized the Eliot Church. Between 1842 and 1871, twenty-four Congregational churches were organized in Boston and the six adjoin- 492 ELIOT MEMORIAL. ing cities or towns; while eight were merged in other churches, and eleven disbanded. Eighty-five pastors were installed, and the number of dismissions were painfully numerous. Whatever else there might be, conditions and cir¬ cumstances to gladden the heart never failed. Our place of worship required enlargement at two different times. The salary was raised more than once or twice, but not at any suggestion of mine. Publications in book-form resulted, for the most part, from seasons of sickness which barred the pulpit, and from the employment of an amanu¬ ensis, which for many years was required by weakness of the eyes. I could never have performed the manual labor and other forms of needful labor. One work went through twelve editions; and this side matter of author¬ ship found not a little compensation in testimonies, oral and written, from a good many sources, of conversion and spiritual helpfulness. It was along the same lines, those last named, that chief joy arose for thirty years. Frequent shortcomings, and depression at times, must be acknowledged. But I am not now seated at a public confessional. Whatever might be the consciousness of deficiencies in the pulpit, that was still a place of delight. Approaching the house of worship along a shaded avenue, I seemed to hear in the voice of the tolling bell an invitation as sweet as it was solemn — Come all ye that fear the Lord, bow down before Him! All ye weary and heavy laden, come and EPILOGUE. 493 find rest to the soul! Sons and daughters of affliction, come and pour out your hearts ! Come rich and poor; come youth in thy freshness, come man of gray hairs; come father and mother with the children; come widow in thy loneliness! Our Heavenly Father bids all to come ! Pastoral visitation, too, had its joys — joys not easily expressed. Tokens of personal regard — oral, floral, and in other forms, were indeed abundant; there was unfail¬ ing kindness and generosity; but the highest gratification sprang from witnessing beautiful developments of char¬ acter. These were usually gradual, though sometimes rapid. Thought uniformly ran forward to the future of each individual. Not only the educated and conspicuous, but often those in humblest positions and of scantiest cul¬ ture showed elevation of soul and unselfish breadth of view. Not a few instances now rise before me. A pecu¬ liarly amiable and retiring member of the church, extremely limited in her means, requested with dying breath, that a certain sum should be handed me in aid of missions. A widowed mother, whose barrel and cruise were never full nor ever empty, charged her daughter to pay, of a certain amount, one-third to the home cause and two-thirds to the foreign. I was with a woman in paroxysms of dis¬ tress during the last hour of life, who uttered no com¬ plaint and only thanks for the Unspeakable Gift given for all. Soon after her funeral I called on the bereaved husband, who brought to me the purse which had not 494 ELIOT MEMORIAL. yet been opened, and which was to help send the gospel to perishing heathen, who engaged her dying thoughts. A miss of fourteen drew out from beneath the pillow on which her head was resting for the last time, bright coins for the children’s fund for foreign missions. I can now see those cold, white hands — each arm to appearance in a shroud — dropping contributions into the Lord’s treas¬ ury. With special vividness there comes to mind the case of a dependent widow away back in the forties (1848), who for the last two years of her life was unable to get to church or to the monthly concert. She was also unable to read the Missionary Herald ’ for a cancerous affection was consuming her eyes. Suffering was intense. When the great change came near, the daughter said, “ Mother, what is your strongest desire now ? ” After a moment’s pause, she replied, “ The conversion of the world; the conversion of the world ! ” Bright prospects for eternity gilded scores of homes. During the period specially in mind more than seven¬ teen thousand calls were made. There was an elastic step in passing from house to house; and no wonder when the record of a single afternoon, not wholly peculiar, suggests what tides of pastoral enjoyment were experienced. Of three visits, the first was on a widow, aged eighty-eight, who had long been eminent as a Christian, and deeply respected as the wife of a prom¬ inent minister. In the course of conversation, “ I must cling to Him,” said she; “ I cannot help loving Him; EPILOGUE. 495 He is the dear, precious Jesus.” The second visit was with a plain old lady of seventy just recovering from severe sickness. “ I have been thinking a great deal about what they do in heaven.” “ And what are your thoughts about it?” “Well, my small idea is that they don’t do much besides serve and praise Christ. He is the foundation and topstone, all in all.” The third talk was with an ingenuous little boy eight years old. After many things had passed, “Well, James, do you hope to grow up to be a useful Christian ? ” “ I would rather die and be with Christ; I should be so much more like Him, and I shouldn’t sin any more.” Not less than three thousand five hundred scholars had been in the Sunday School, and over a thousand individuals had joined the church. It seemed, and still seems, that if heaven had only our Lord and departed members of the Eliot Church, it would not be a small heaven, and would be the abode of joy unspeakable and full of glory. To be on terms of hallowed inti¬ macy year after year with such saints, young and old; to see men, women, and children coming out of dark¬ ness into God’s marvellous light; to be an instrument in the divine hand for binding up broken hearts; to find so many tried ones reposing sweetly on prom¬ ises exceeding great and precious; to have opportunity to preach Christ and Him crucified once a week, and to speak privately of Him every day in the week — these things enable me to enter fully into the expe- 49 6 ELIOT MEMORIAL. rience of John Brown, of Haddington: “Were God to present me with the dukedom of Argyle on the one hand, and the being a minister of the Gospel, with the stipend which I have had, on the other, so pleasant hath the ministry been to me, notwithstand¬ ing all my weakness and fears of little success, I would instantly prefer the latter.” THE END. INDEX Abbott, Jacob, 30, 34, 283-285. Abbott, J. S. C., 34-37. Absences, 163-169. Adam, Thomas, 165. Adams, Asher, 349. Adams, Rev. C. S., 229-230. Adams, J. Q., 350. Adams, Dr. N., 40, 186. Adams, Solomon, 288-290. Adams, Dr. William, 159. Alcott, W. A., 287-288. Amanuensis, 166. Ambrose, 102. Amelia, Princess, 426. American Board, 138, 154. Anderson, Rev. E., 401. Anderson, Mrs. E. H., 456-461. Anderson, Miss E. H., 425-427. Anderson, F. E., 298-300. Anderson, H. H., 309-310. Anderson, Dr. R., 138, 155, 187,188, 239- 242, 263. Anniversaries, 151-157. Antietam, Battle of, 162. Arianism, 18. Army Service, 157-163. Artists, 332-337. Ashley Church, 25. Associate Pastor, 168. Assimilation, 486. Atkins, M. E., 427-428. Awakening, Evan’l, 25, 26. Backup, Miss E. E., 279-280. Bad Boys, 140. Baker, Abel, 154. Baker, C. H., 422-423. Ballister, J., 349. Bannister, William B., 195. Baptism, 99. Baptist Church, 28, 31. Bartlett, Phebe, 174. Basford, M. J., 441. Basil, 165. Baxter, Richard, 164. Beecher, Dr. L., 188. Beecher, Laban S., 73, 349. Bell, Ann, 430-431. Bell, Dr. Robert, 330-331. Belsham, 17, 63. Berry, N. C., 308-309. Beza, 164. Bible Distribution, 147. Biographical Sketches, 193-472. Bible Study, 127-128. Blindness, 339. Bliss, S., 371-372. Boardman, S. E., 414-415. Bond, A. M., 428-429. Bond, C. W., 429-430. Bond, Richard, 67, 357-358. Boston, 2, 3. Bowditch, 168. Bowes, P. M., 343-344. Bowker, Mrs. A., 84. Bowles, J. E , 479-480. Bowles, S. J., 349. Bowles, Dr. S. W., 327-328. Bradford, J. R., 214-216. Brainerd, D., 475. Bray, C. F., 349. Briggs, L. H., 212-214. Bright, John, 49. Brock, W., 349. Bronchitis, 168. Bronner, B., 129. Brook Farm, 10. Brothers, 80. Brown, John, 59, 361-362. Brown, J. E., 388-390. INDEX. 498 Brown, N., 349. Brown, N. H., 383-385. Buckingham, Gov., 107, 194. v; Bull Run, Battle, 159. Bumstead, A. W., 273-275. Bumstead, E. W., 275. Bumstead, Dea. J., 276. Bumstead, M. G., 275-277. Bunker, L. B., 260-262. Burder, Rev. Geo., 84. Burgess, Dr. E., 28, 29, 31, 40, 41. Business Integrity, 222. Butterfield, H. Q., 290-293. Callen, Mary, 446-448. Calls, Church, 38, 39. Calls forgotten, 52. Candidating, 491. Carson, R. M., 162, 373-374. Carruthers, J. C., 381-382. Caswell, Mrs. H. S., 266-267. Catechism, Assembly’s, 449. \r Cemeteries, 2. Chalmers, Dr., 89. Chalmers, Rev. Mr., 188. Chamberlain, T., 349. Channing, Dr. W. E., 16, 18. Childs, J. P., 417-418. Children, 473. Children’s Meetings, 137. Christ and Children, 473. Chrysostom, 165. Church Clerks, 32. Church Corporation, 22. Church Fellowship, 108-110, 187. Church, First, 3, 15. Church Discipline, 110-113. Church Functions, 96. Church Independence, 20. J Church Life, Early, 33. Church members converted, 54, 116. Church Mission, 185. Church Prayer Meeting, 100-108. Church Property, 20. Church, West Roxbury, 4. Church, St. James, 28. Cigar-smoking, 215. City Mission, 141-148. Civil war time, 157-163. Clap, James, 362-365. Clark, Rev. J. S., 248-250. Codman, Dr. John, 15, 30, 35, 40, 41. Codman, Mrs. Dr., 464-466. Coincidences, 78-86. 'Colonial Churches, 170-181. Communion Service, 96-100. Compliments, 53. Composure in Battle, 161. Conant, Rev. E., 226. Conference of Churches, 183. Congregational Churches, 182. Contentment, Holy, 54. Contrasts, 78. Cough, Whooping, 166. Councils, Ecclesiastical, 183. Criticisms, 44. Cross, B., 349. Cummings, A. I., 325-326. Dana, R. H., 6. Davenport, Dr. F. H., 330. Davenport, II., 349. Davenport, W. W., 202-206. Day, Moses, 349. Day, Moses H., 174, 210-211. Day, William F., 222-223. Deacons, 193. Deaf-Mutes, 338-348. Dearborn, H. A. S., 9. Deaths, Early, 477-479. Deaths, numerous, 173-175. Deaths, simultaneous, 72, 83, 84. Deaths, sudden, 66-68, 223, 257, 271, 3661 Deaths, tragic, 68. Dedham case, 20-24. Denison, J. H., 395-396. Denison, J. N., 358-360. Desiring to depart, 495. Diaconate, The, 193-223. Dickinson, H. L., 434-436. Dillaway, C. K., 63. Dismission, 35. INDEX. 499 Discourtesies, 63-65. Diverse Membership, 484-486. Divorce, 45. Domett, George, 366-367. Dorcas Society, 140-141. Dudleys, 5. Dunning, Dr. A. E., 175. Dying in sleep, 440. Dying parishioners, 65. Ecclesiastical Diversity, 484. Echeverria, M. A. M., 421-422. Educators, 283-302. Edwards, Jonathan, 475. Effusive talk, 88. Eliot Church, 28. Eliot Church Deacons, 33. Eliot City Mission, 141-148. Eliot, John, 1, 12, 32. Ellsworth, Gov. W. W., 194. Eminent men, 5-13. Emerson, R. W., 41. Epilogue, 484-496. Eustis, Gov. W., 7. Evarts, Jeremiah, 18. Evarts, Mrs. Jeremiah, 38. Examination by Council, 39. Exchange of pulpits, 186. Expository preaching, 48. . Extra-parochial, 60. Eyes, closed, 82. Eyes, weak, 166. Fairbank, M. B., 263-265. Family, The, 74. Fellowship, Right-hand, 40. Female Prayer Meeting, 136-137. Fellowship of Churches, 108-1x0,182-184. Fellowship of Pastors, 185. Fenn, H. T., 415-416. Firm principle, 216. Fisch, Pastor, 188. Flint, E. P., 385-386. Forbes, M. C., 262-263. Foreigners, 486. Forest Hills Cemetery, 2. Franklin, C. S., 436-437. - Free Church, Scotland, 26. Freeman, James, 14. Fuller, Gen. H. W., 316-317. Fuller, Samuel, 194. Funerals, 68. Funeral discourses, 162. Funerals, frequent, 71. Funeral notices delayed, 61. Funeral quartette, 74. Furber, D. L., 152. Gager, William, 194. Garfield, President, 136. Garratt, A. C., 322-324. Gaston, Hon. Wm., 77, 307-308. Gerry, S. L., 333-334. Gill, Dr., 476. Giving, Means of, 85. Golden Weddings, 155. Goodell, Dr. W., 102, 189. Goodrich, Samuel G., 10. Greene, Rev. David, 38, 73, 142, 242-245. Greene, D. B., 311-312. Greene, D. C., 258-260. Greene, J. E., 313-314. Greene, Mary Evarts, 245-247. Greene, Hon. R. S., 314-316. Greene, Rev. Samuel, 277-279. Greenough, Rev. W., 408. Grush, J. W., 402-404. Gulliver, John, 122, 143, 349. Gulliver, D. F., 321-322. Gulliver, J. P., 392-393. Hall, A. H., 405-407. Hall, J. M. W., 390. Hall, S. W., 349. Hamilton, Angenette F. T., 419. Hamilton, Dr. B. F., 152, 157, 193. Harmony, 484. Harvard College, 19. Harrison, President, 135. Hastings, D. J., 382-383. Hawaiian Princes, 153. Headache, 164. INDEX. 5°° Hearing for others, 45. Heath, Gen., 7. Heath, John, 31, 66, 353-355. Henry, Matthew, 476. Hewitt, G. R., 407-409. Highland Church, 173—175. Hill, Charles W., 217-219. Hill, G. E., 396. Hill, Henry, 38, 150, 199-202, 247. Hill, IT. M., 379-381- Hollis, Thomas, 19. Hodge, Dr. Charles, 157. Hollanders’ Chapel, 184. Holmes, O. W., 6. Home, 135. Honorable Women, 432-472. Hooker, M. V., 466-467. Hooker, Rev. E. W., 234-236. Hooker, Rev. H. B., 250-253. Hooker, Thos., 250. Horse Cars, 3. Hubbard, J. W., 311. Hulbert, C., 349. Huguenot Seminary, 274. Huntington, E. B., 208-210. Huntington, Mrs. S., 477. Hurter, G. C., 255-257. Hurter, E. G., 257-258. Impostors, 89-91, 94. Indians, 1. Indian Bible, 12. Insomnia, 163, 165. Intellect disordered, 92, 93. Intemperance, 62. Interdenominational, 62. Ireson, Wesley, 66, 376-377. Jamaica Plain, 4. Jefferies, Dr. J., 167. Joy in suffering, 55-58. John Eliot Church, 184. Kenilworth, 32. Kindness, Parochial, 168, 492. Kingman, Abner, 367-369. King’s Chapel, 14. Kirk, Dr., 186. Kittredge, Alvah, 30, 38, 123, 153, 195. 197. Kittredge, Mrs. A., 433 “ 434 - Kittredge, Dr. A. E., 123, 401-402. Kittredge, Rev. C. B., 226-228. Kittredge, G. A., 386-388. Kuhn, Mrs. M., 444-446. Lambert, W. G., 198-199. Lambs Fed, 133. Laurie, Dr. T., 186, 189. Laymen, Noteworthy, 349-377. Lawyers, 303-319. Leake, Mrs. M. P. H., 247-248. Liberalism, 14-26. Lincoln, President, 136. Loker, J. D., 162. Longevity, 216, 448 - 455 . 463. Loomis, Mrs. J. H., 267-268. Lord, President, 188. Losses in War, 161-163. Loyalty, Civil, 157. Lynde, C. F., 346-347. Lynde, M. C., 347-348. Lynde, W., 344-346. Mann, Dr. Benj., 329. Mann, E. P., 335-336. March, Andrew S., 206-208. Marriages, 74-77. Marriage certificate, 76. Marriage and Death, 77, 78. Marriage fees, 75, 76. Marsh, J. P., 340-342. Marsh, L. G., 467-470. Marsh, Mrs. P. P., 342-343. Marshall, Andrew, 219-221. Massachusetts 45th Regiment, 160. Maternal Meeting, 132-136. McGaw, J. A., 349. McNee, Mrs., 67. Means, Dr. J. H., 186. Means, Dr. J. O., 167, 171, 186. Melancholia, 118. Merrill, F. T., 336-337. Meserve, I. C., 404-405. INDEX. Mills, Rev. C., 173. Ministers’ Wives, 455-456. Ministerial Colleagues, 410-419. Ministerial Recruits, 392-409. Missionaries, 255-282. Missionary Officials, 237-254. Missionary Spirit, 237-239. Mitchell, D. M., 144, 230-232. Monthly Concert, 137-138. Morse, S. E., 231. Mothers, 135-136. Mourner, intoxicated, 69. Munroe, C. W., 277. Murder, 71. Murke, F. E., 480. Murray, Andrew, 276. Nationalities, various, 484. Neff, Felix, 106. Newell, Samuel, 11, 351. Nichols, W. R., 294-298. Night visits, 56. Norton, Andrews, 41. Novel-readers, 117. Nute, T. R., 328. Nutting, J., 448-451. Obstructionist, 78. Only Sons, 161. Orphans, 61. Orthodox Awakening, 15, 25, 27. Packard, Otis, 349. Paris, M. C., 260. Parish, 142. Parish calls, 50. Parishioner, pretentious, 51. Parishioners, complaining, 52. Parishioners, ministerial, 224-236. Park, Dr. E. A., 408. Parker, Chief Justice, 22. Parker, John A., 79. Parker, Mrs. S. E., 121. Parker, Theodore, 41, 48. Park St. Church, 102. Pastorate, Happy, 488-496. Payson, Dr. E., 206. Peck, S. E. R., 461-462. Peculiar People, 86-95. Penniman, C. F., 418. Perkins, Benjamin, 146, 253-254. Perkins, Rev. F. B., 400-40 x. Perkins, S. M. H., 412-413. Physicians, 2, 320-331. Pierce, Dr. John, 164. Piety, early, 474 * 477 - Piety amidst poverty, 55-58. Piety, refining, 59. Pithy sayings, 53. Plumb, Dr. A. H., 180, 186, 272. Polycarp, 474. Poor, Dr. Daniel, 189. Porcupine man, 88. Porter, Dr. E., 15. Porter, Rev. Huntington, 225-226. Porter, J. W., 317 - 319 - Porter, Miss Laura, 248. Porter, Mrs. S. C., 470-472. Porter, Rev. W. H., 229. Pratt, Rev. L., 412. Pratt, S. P. G., 411-412. Prayer answered, 107. Prayer for colleges, 138. Prayer meetings, 100-108, 132. Prayer pertinent, 103. Prentiss, Dr. N. S., 11, 31, 44, 349-353 Priestly, Dr., 63. Publications, 153. Pulpit, The, 43-49. Pulpit exchanges, 186. Pulpit preparation, 46, 47. Punctuality, 207. Quartettes, 73. Receptions, 153—157. Reed, Dr. Andrew, 30. Retreat, A, 185. Revivals, 113-120, 341. Richards, Rev. A., 154. Richards, Guy, 480. Robinson, Mr., 91. 5° 2 INDEX. Rockwood, Rev. L. B., 233-234. Rogers, Wm. M., 34. Roman Catholics, 488-490. Root, Mrs. V. A., 334 - 335 - Ropes, Hon. J. S., 369-370. Ropes, W. L., 393-394. ~ Roxbury, 1-13, 27, 37. Roxbury, First Church, 3, 12. Roxbury, West, 4, 10, 40. Russell, Hon. C. T., 305-306. Sacramental Services, 96-99. St. James Church, 28. Salaries, 35. Sandwich Case, 24. Sargent, L. M., 10. Sciatica, 167. Scripture for soldiers, 158. Scripture memorized, 133. Scudder, Dea. Charles, 269. Scudder, David C., 268-271. Scudder, Rev. E., 398-399. Scudder, H. E., 300-302. Seeking settlement, 37. Sermon preparation, 46. Sermon borrowed, 49. Sermon topics, 43, 46, 47. Sermons destroyed, 48. Sermons re-written, 45. Settlement declined, 39. Severance, E. H., 349. Sewall, W., 394. Shedd, Dr. W. G. T., 188, 409. — Shipwreck, 71. Shirley, William, 7. Shoddy Parishioner, 51. Short, Charles, 293-294. Sickness, 163-169. Silsbee, E., 423-424. Sleeping at Church, 82, 83. Smith, Rev. Levi, 144. Smith, Rev. S. S., 224-225. Society women, 51. Sociability, 149-150. Soren, J., 349. Spiritism, 112. Spiritual growth, 14. Steele, C. R., 423-424. Steele, H. S., 326-327. Stoddard, Charles, 82. Stone, Mrs. C. L., 437-438. Stone, Miss C. M., 438-440. Stone, Capt. E., 158. Stone, Miss E. M., 272-273. Stone, Col. E. W., 390-391. Storrs, Dr. R. S., 102, 186. Stowe, Prof., 409. Street, M. A., 416-417. Strong, Gov. Caleb, 82. Strong, E. G., 413 - 414 - Strong, E. E., 184. Stuart, Gilbert, 9. Sumner, Increase, 7. Sunday Schools, Boston, 121-123. .Sunday School, Eliot, 119, 123, 131, 377 495 - Sunday Schools Mission, 121, 122, 142 144, 304. Sunday School Superintendents, 130. Surprise parties, 149, 150. Surprises, 82. Sympathy, exhausting, 57. Tertullian, 102. Thayer, R. H.,. 349. Thompson, T. S., 161. Thurston, William, 122. Tinkham, Capt., 67, 349. Tract distribution, 142. Trading on Philanthropy, 94. Treat, Sela B., 164. Treadwell, Gov., 194. Twombly, Dr. A. S., 399-400. Underwood, Miss S. M., 2S0-282. Unitarianism, 14. Unitarians, 117. Universalism, 14, 27. Vine Street Church, 170-172, 183. Visits, Pastoral, 493-495. Waldoborough, 232. INDEX. 5°3 'Walley, Hon. S. H., 38, 303-305, 382. Walley, W. P., 316. Ward well, A. F., 440. Wardwell, W. H., 374-375. Walnut Avenue Church, 175-181. Warren, Gen., 8. War-time, 157-163. Waters, A. F., 442-444. Waterman, Lucy, 451-453. Waterman, M., 355-357. Weddings, Golden, 155. Week of Prayer, 138. Wesley, John, 163. Wesson, S., 453 - 455 - West Roxbury, 4. Wheelwright, Eben, 151, 349. Wheelwright, H. B., 324-325. White, I. D., 360-361. White, I. C., 152, 396-398. Widows, 462. Wildes, Sophia, 73. Williams, Thos. S., 194. Wine at Weddings, 75. Winslow, Admiral J. A., 11. Wives of Ministers, 455. Wolff, H. C. B., 410-411. Women, Honorable, 432-472. Women, Young, 420-431. Woodbridge, Rev. W. C., 73, 285-287. Yale College, 231. Yankee, typical, 186. Young Men, 378-391. Young Men’s Meeting, 137. Young Women’s Meeting, 137. >: / \ DATE DUE IN 1 6 \ UNIVERSITY PRODUCTS, INC. #859-5503 e