l^^''^^ ^ f^v^- "*?■ ^fVj-i^f^ ;.t ■•+;*■*• FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 10 37""- AAsr^^ S^- (Lu^-fu X ■J1LJ7 /- .V 7c ^ff ^U ^ll^y^ / OF 0^^ .^^ \^V OF ^ OCT 15 1931 ^i: LIFE AND TIMES 11 HENRI MELCHIOR MILENBERG BY, WILLIAM J. MANN, D. D., Pastor Emeriius of St. Michael and Zion Con(;regation, and Pro- fessor IN THE Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Philadelphia. Eeclesia non plantata, se,d plantanda. SECOND EDITION. PHILADELPHIA: G. W. FREDERICK, 117 N. SIXTH STREET l888. Copyright, 1887, by G. W. FREDERICK. WeSTCOTT & 1 HOMSON, Stereotypers and EUctyotyfirs, Phila. SHEHIWJlCo. f«»i PHim. PREFACE. One hundred years have passed since, on the 7th of Octo- ber, 1787, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D. D., departed this hfe. J. Chr. Kunze, D. D., in a note found in the pamphlet con- taining his sermon preached in the Evangelical Lutheran church of the Holy Trinity at New York on the occasion of Muhlenberg's death, says : " A biography of this eminent man shall and must be given to the public. Years ago I read with pleasure a composition from his pen which will serve excellently as a basis of a biography, but will not sat- isfy the just expectations of those who know properly to estimate his merits. His rare humility there hides the most interesting circumstances, to which many witnesses still can testify. There are many important confidential communica- tions from him in my possession. Almost every one of my brethren in the sacred office in these States is in possession of such communications. One of his sons, or whosoever it might be, would also do a good service to the friends of God's kingdom on earth by weaving all such communica- tions into a somewhat extended biography or by simply pub- lishing selections from them. I say this with the view of encouraging the possessors of such relics to take good care of them and diligently to collect them." We may be thankful that not only within the circle of the descendants of the venerable ancestor many of his letters and iv PREFACE. other documents, and especially his carefully-written diaries, were conscientiously preserved and guarded, but that also in the archives of the Orphan-House at Halle in Germany, from which he came forth a missionary among the dispersed and spiritually destitute German Lutherans in Pennsylvania, and with which he kept up correspondence throughout his life, large portions of his diaries, many reports, and letters were deposited and carefully preserved. This latter part of Muhl- enberg's literary legacy became within recent times accessible to us through the praiseworth}^ efforts of Rev. Dr. William Germann, ecclesiastical counsellor and superintendent of the diocese of Wasungen, Sachsen-Meiningen. Access to the diaries, correspondence, reports, and other documents first mentioned was kindh' permitted me by the late H. H. Muhl- enberg, M. D., of Reading, Pa., and by the Rev. F. A. Muhl- enberg, D. D., professor in the University of Pennsylvania. The confidence they bestowed upon me was of the highest value, and is herewith gratefully acknowledged. These extensive documents and much valuable material bearing upon the life and labors of Muhlenberg on the nu- merous pages of the Halle Reports were, in connection with other historical publications, the main sources at my com- mand. Not the least of these sources were the results of the painstaking investigations of the Rev. B. M. Schmucker, D. D., pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church of the Transfiguration at Pottstown, Pa., which are included in the new edition of the Halle Reports, vol. i., published by Brobst, Diehl & Co. at Allentown, Pa., 1886. To him my thanks are due for having introduced me to the study of the history of the Lutheran Church in America, and for having proved to me a trustworthy and most desirable colaborer in this branch of liter- ary research. In the first volume of the new edition of the Halle PREFACE. V Reports the united labors of Dr. Germann, Dr. Schmucker, and myself gathered a large amount of information on the general and local history of the Lutheran Church in this country, from its very beginning down to the present time. Therein we adhered to the German language, in which the Halle Reports originally were published. The chilling indif- ference shown toward our altogether unselfish labors by an appallingly large number of the German Lutheran clergy and laity, who in their public worship, and even in their families, habitually use the German language, and in who.se behalf we had devoted years of assiduous labor and the. publishers an outlay of thousands of dollars, moved me to make use of the English language in the work now offered to the public. From Muhlenberg's own hand we have at least part of an autobiography extending from his youth to the year 1743, the commencement of his pastoral and missionary labors in Pennsylvania. It is given to the public by the Rev. W. Ger- mann, D. D. (Allentown. Brobst, Diehl & Co., 1881). Other portions of Muhlenberg's life were published from his diaries — for instance, his visit to Ebenezer, Ga., 1774-75, in the Get- tysburg Evangelical Review, vols, i.-iv. An abridged biogra- phy, containing the most important events of his life and giv- ing a portraiture of his religious character, from the pen of the late Prof M. L. Stoever of Pennsylvania College, appeared in 1856, and has again and again been reprinted. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg needs no biographer to keep him in most revered and loving remembrance in the Lutheran Church of this country. His name is so closely connected with the very genesis of the Lutheran Church here, with the first attempts at its organization, and with the first and suc- cessful missionary labors among the many dispersed German Lutherans from Maryland to the shores of the Upper Hudson, VI PREFACE. and, in fact, far beyond these limits, that it cannot fall into oblivion. Indeed, while the large numbers of Lutherans in our country are divided on various questions and segregated into divers representative bodies, the name of Muhlenberg is honored among the membership of the General Synod, in the circles of the General Council, in the United Synod of the South, and indeed in every Lutheran community. Yet it cannot be denied that, though his name is famil- iar throughout the Church, yet about the actual course of his intensely interesting life and labors, and about the con- ditions under which he had to exhibit his eminent talent and the wonderful energy of his character, proportionally very little is known. During my researches concerning the early history of Lutheranism in this country my interest in him as a man, a Christian, a representative of the Church, a mis- sionary to the dispersed Lutherans, and an organizer of Lu- theran congregations, a spiritual father to many souls, a most judicious counsellor of his colaborers, could but increase. ' I feel myself perfectly justified in saying that what I here offer to the public was to me a work of love, and has an interest not only for the numerous and honored descendants of the noble ancestor, but for the historian of our country, for all who relish historical reading and information, and most di- rectly for those who are engaged in pastoral work and mission enterprises in the home-field. In a certain sense it is true that the life of Muhlenberg and the history of the Lutheran Church of those times are identi- cal. My book does not, however, pretend to supply a Church history of that period, and therefore does not answer many collateral questions, while it will throw some light upon that eventful epoch. Neither will it in any way supplant works on the early history of the Lutheran Church of this country, PREFACE. Vll like the meritorious book on this subject by the Rev. C. W. Schaefifer, D. D., Senior of the Faculty of the Theological Sem- inary of the Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, or any similar books. My main intent was to give a portraiture of the per- sonality of Muhlenberg and a truthful story of his life and labors, framed in a sufficiently comprehensive delineation of the times in which he lived and the personal and social ele- ments with which he was brought into contact. On the cen- tennial of his death I devote this book to his memory, and lay it on his grave as an olive-branch offered to the discordant elements in the Church which was his spiritual home and the object of his faithful labors. In the preparation of this book I was most kindly assisted by the Rev. Prof F. A. Muhlenberg, D. D., and the Rev. H. E. Jacobs, D. D., my beloved colleague in the Faculty of the Theological Seminary. To these brethren, and to others who variously encouraged me and speeded my way, my hearty thanks are herewith publicly given. Of the imperfections of my work I am fully conscious. If what I here offer should awaken a new interest in the vener- able patriarch, and in the times in which, through his inde- fatigable labors, the Lutheran Church in this country began to be an organized body furnished with instrumentalities needful for her conservation and progress, I shall consider myself amply rewarded for my labors. If those who now, in the service of the Lutheran Church, have to fight the bat- tles of the Lord should be encouraged and stimulated by the noble example of H. M. Miihlenberg as a missionary and as a pastor, I would consider it the most signal blessing that Divine Grace might bestow upon this book. W. J. MANN. Philadelphia, Easter, 1887. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. 1711-1738. PAGH Birth. — Birthplace. — Parentage and family. — First-school-years. — Longing for higher education. — Zellerfeld. — Gottingen. — Spiritual awakening. — Piet- ism.— Prof. Oporin, D. D. — -Patrons of high standing. — Beginning of charity school. — First exercises in practical theology. — Enters the Halle Orphan- House as teacher I CHAPTER II. 1739-1742. Selected as a missionary for East India. — Frustration of this plan. — -G. A. Francke, D. D. — Christian work at Halle. — Herr von Canstein and the first Bible society. — Fr. M. Ziegenhagen, D. D. — Call to Grosshenners- dorf. — Baroness Gersdorf. — Acceptance of the call. — Examination and ordination at Leipsic. — Enters upon his duties at Grosshennersdorf. — - Orpl an-House and other charitable institutions there. — The Bohemian colony. — Embarrassing circumstances. — Visit to Eimbeck and Halle. — Call to the dispersed Lutherans in Pennsylvania. — Return to Grosshen- nersdorf.— Apology for private conventicles. — Balthasar Mentzer, D. D. — Departure from Grosshennersdorf. — Journey to Halle '. . 14 CHAPTER III. 1742. Departure from Halle. — Muhlenberg arrives at Eimbeck by the way of Halber- stadt, Wernigerode, Gottingen. — Unpleasant experiences there through clerical censoriousness. — Passing through Hanover, Osnabriick, Deventer, and Norden to Amsterdam, through Leyden, Rotterdam, Briel, to Hel- voetsluys, he sets sail for England. — Acquaintance made on board the ship. — x\rrival at London. — Intercourse with Ziegenhagen, John Dav. Michaelis. H. A. Butjender, and others. — Muhlenberg receives the for- mal call to the Evangelical Lutheran congregations of Philadelphia, New Providence, and New Flanover in Pennsylvania. — He is requested to visit the Salzburger congregation at Ebenezer, Ga. — Sets sail fitiiiiicd). Difficulties within the Philadelphia congregation. — Need of reorganization. — Discordant parties. — Muhlenberg's presence in the congregation de- manded.— He visits Philadelphia as a mediator. — Salaries of pastors and teachers. — Electing church-officers. — Need of a congregational con- stitution.— Adoption of the new constitution. — Wrangel's friendly co- operation.— Muhlenberg's eminent merits in the pacification and organi- zation of the congregation. — Presiding officer of synod 356 CHAPTER XXIII. 1762 et seq. New York and Germantown claim the attention of synod. — ^J. N. Kurtz for a time at Germantown. — Rev. J. A. Krug and Rev. J. L. Voigt amve. — Voigt elected pastor at Germantown. — The congregation reunited with synod.— Succeeding pastors. — Arrival of Rev. J. Fr. Schmidt and Rev. J. H. Chr. Helmuth.— Origin of St. Peter's Church at Barren Hill.— DifH- culties in its progress. — Muhlenberg's embarrassment and release. — The Solms-Roedelsheim legacy. — Muhlenberg's plan to establish an orphan- house and a seminary for the education of pastors. — His care of all the Congregations connected with synod.— Repeated visits at Reading, Tul- pehoken, Cohansey, the Raritan, and othef congregations. — J. G. Jung. —Christian Streit.— Baron Stiegel.— Rev. J. G. Eager. — Rev. Chas. F. Wildbahn.— Extent of synod. — J. C. Stoever in membership with synod. 373 CHAPTER XXIV. 1762 et seq. [continued). Pietism and Methodism. — Lutheranism and Episcopalianism. — Progress of the Philadelphia congregation.— Muhlenberg on confirmation. — Relation to politics.— He sends his three sons to Plalle.— Handschuh's death.— German Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania.— Erection of Zion Church, Philadelphia. — Flourishing condition of the congregation. — Arrival of CONTENTS. PAGE Chr. Em. Schulze. — He is Miihlenberg's colaborer in Philadelphia. — He follows a call to Tulpehoken. — Career of Kriig, Voigt, Schmidt, Helmuth. — Struggle in later years between English and German in Philadelphia. — Organization of an English Lutheran congregation 390 CHAPTER XXV. 1766 et seq. Provost Wrangel returns to Sweden. — His relation to the Episcopal Church. — Muhlenberg's eldest son, J. Peter Gabriel, returns from Europe and devotes himself to the study of theology. — His further career. — H. M. Miihlen- berg again visits the Raritan congregations, also Easton, Allentown, Ma- cungie, Salisbur\-, Allemaengel, and White Hall. — His sons Fred. Aug. Conrad and G. Henry Ernest return from Halle prepared for pastoral work. — They enter upon it. — Their further career. — Rev. J. Chr. Kunze. — His labors in Philadelphia, and later in New York 420 CHAPTER XXVI. i773-'775- Muhlenberg is requested to pay another visit to Ebenezer, Ga. — Difficulties in this congregation, and between Rev. Chr. Rabenhorst and Rev. Chr. Fr. Triebner. — Muhlenberg's manifold cares before the voyage. — Another visit to the Raritan churches. — Synodical meeting of 1773. — Members of synod. — Plans for a theological seminary and an orphan-house. — Hartwig's rest- lessness.— Difficulties at Reading. — Rev. Ph. J. Grotz. — Muhlenberg again visits New York. — His son Frederick Aug. pastor of the German Lutheran congregation there. — Hausihl pastor of the Dutch Lutheran congregation. — The Swedish pastors J. Wicksell and Nic. Collin. — Barren Hill and Germantown. — Rev. J- F. Riess. — Rev. J. Chr. Leps of Loonenburg. — Miihlenberg's letters to Grotz and to a member of the Lutheran congre- gation at Charleston, S. C. — Corner-stone of a church laid at Pikestown . 443 CHAPTER XXVII. 1773-1775 {continued). Voyage to Charleston, Savannah, and Ebenezer. — Muhlenberg at Charleston. — His interest in the Lutherans there and in other localities in South Carolina. — Rev. Messrs. Daser, Martin, Hochheimer, Hahnbaum, Chr. Streit. — Muhlenberg's idea of a practical theological seminary. — Arrival at Savannah. — Rev. Joach. Ziibly, D. D. — Rabenhorst and Triebner visit Muhlenberg and acknowledge his authority. — He airives at Ebenezer. — The two parties in the congregation. — Mutual charges. — Divided services. — Attempts at reconciliation. — Rabenhorst's accounts found correct. — Preparation of a new constitution for the congregation. — Its adoption. — Rabenhorst's Christian character vindicated. — Miihlenberg's return to Philadelphia 457 xvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVIII. 1773-1775 {continued^. PAGE Sickness of Dr. Kunze. — Political aspects. — Reports and insinuations against Muhlenberg. — He visits Reading, Tulpehoken, Pikestown. — The Germans of Philadelphia in the political conflict. — Christopher Ludwig. — ■Muhlen- berg's opinion of General Washington. — The Hebron congregation in Virginia. — H. Moeller. — T- Frank. — Acquisition of a cemetery by the Philadelphia congi-egation 480 CHAPTER XXIX. 1776 et seq. Muhlenberg again settles with his family at Providence. — Death of Ziegenha- gen and Sigismund Streit. — Streit's legacy. — Muhlenberg's decreasing strength and loss of hearing. — Last attendance at synod. — He is created doctor of divinity. — -End of his official relation to the Philadelphia con- gregation.— His labors in behalf of the proposed hymnbook of the Minis- terium. — The first edition of the Liturgy. — Muhlenberg's conservative principles on church services.— His private reading. — His meditations on the Bible. — Aversion to Neology and irreligious tendencies. — Specimens of his correspondence. — Letters exchanged with Wrangel. — News from Ebenezer. — Rev. J. E. Bergmann. — ^Miihlenberg and the medical art . 490 CHAPTER XXX. 1776-1787. Respect shown to their senior, Miihlenberg, by the Ministerium. — He is lov- ingly remembered at Halle. — Sebast. Andr. Fabricius. — Muhlenberg's last pastoral acts. — His last sickness and his death. — Respect shown to his memory throughout the Church. — Memorial sermons preached by Rev. Drs. Helmuth and Kunze. — Their delineation of Muhlenberg's person- ality and work. — His descendants. — His grave, and the inscription thereon 517 LIFE AND TIMES Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. CHAPTER I. 1711-1738. Birth. — Birthplace. — Parentage and family. — First school-years. — Longing for higher education. — Zellerfeld. — Gottingen. — Spiritual awakening. — Pietism. — Prof. Oporin, D. D. — Patrons of high standing. — Beginning of charity school. — First exercises in practical theology. — Enters the Halle Orphan-House as teacher. ON the 6th of Sept., 171 1, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was born at Eimbeck, a town of Hanover, then one of the electoral principalities of Germany, now a province of Prussia and the re-established German Empire. ' The history of Eimbeck (or Einbeck) leads us back into the eleventh and twelfth centuries of the Christian era. It seems that two ecclesiastical institutions founded there formed the nucleus around which in the course of time the town grew up. It numbered, in times before the Reformation of the six- teenth century, twelve thousand inhabitants, and was con- nected with the great commercial confederation called Hansa. Though strongly fortified, it was taken during the Thirty Years' War, after a second siege, by the Roman Catholic armies. In 17 18 the traces of the terrible devastation were still plainly visible, when King George I. of England, as elec- toral prince of Hanover, by orders from London, took decisive measures to restore and beautify the town. Eimbeck is now, though the number of its inhabitants has been reduced to 1 / 2 LIFE AND TIMES OF about seven thousand, a place of considerable industrial activ- ity. In mediaeval times, and still later, one article was there manufactured which carried the name of the town through the German Empire and far beyond its limits. This article was beer, and it appears even in the history of Martin Luther. When he, then a mere monk, on Thursday evening, Apr. i8, 1 52 1, came out of the fiery ordeal at Worms before the em- peror Charles V. and other potentates, the high ecclesiastical dignitaries, and all the Diet — most of the members of which had taken an inimical position against him — and had passed through the dense crowd curious to see him, the Spaniards present in the assembly hissed at him ; but many Germans, though at that time not siding with him, could not but admire the heroism of the man, and one of them, Duke Erich of Brunswick, himself closely allied to the papal party, offered him a silver goblet full of Eimbeck beer. It is related that Luther, when he heard who the kind donor was, said, " As Duke Erich remembered me, so may our Lord Christ remem- ber him in his last agony!" But their beer did not prevent the citizens of the town from placing the proper estimate upon another article of immensely higher value when, in the provi- dence of God, it was offered to them. Eimbeck was among those communities which soon embraced the cause of the Reformation. As early as 1528 adherents of the new doc- trine were members of the town council, and in the same year the first Lutheran pastor was called to serve in the " Market Church." His name was Conrad Bolen. Eimbeck manifested its firm adherence to the Lutheran doctrines by subscribing, through its official representatives, to the Formula of Concord of 1580. Whilst the history of the town offers man}' points of interest, and some of the ancient church-buildings still tes- tify to the opulence and the artistic taste of its inhabitants in b)'gone ages, the town as such has, in consequence of a num- ber of disastrous conflagrations, rather a modern, uninteresting appearance. A very destructive fire took place in 1S26, and consumed, among others, the house which had belonged to the Muhlenberg family and witnessed the birth of Henry HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 3 Melchior. The environs of the town present no romantic beauty: neighboring hills prevent the view of the bolder Harz Mountains toward the south. The whole region, however, is fertile and well cultivated. In harmony with time-honored custom, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was baptized on the day of his birth. His father, Nicolaus Melchior, a citizen and tradesman of Eimbeck, in the church-register is called a brewer — which simply means that he enjoyed the prerogative of a privileged class, but never made use of it — and is also introduced to us as a deacon in the church to which the family belonged. There is no doubt that a brother of Henry Melchior was in baptism given the name John Arndt, which may well be taken as evidence that John Arndt, the godly author of the renowned work True Christianity, stood high in the estimation of father N. M. Muhlenberg. We know that a number of other children were born to him, the first one of whom may have been Use Mary, who is entered in the church-register as having seen the light of this w^orld on Sept. ii, 1700. But not even the name of the mother is there given. The church-registers, which antecedent to 1 700 are very defective at Eimbeck, give us no clue to the earlier history of the family. There is a tradition that the Miihlenbergs had immigrated to Eimbeck from Bohemia. If this be so, we are not risking too much in supposing that they belonged to the thousands who, on account of their fidelity to evangelical principles, suffered per- secution in that country. The name of the partner for life of Nicolaus Melchior Muhlenberg was Anna Mary Klein- schmid. Her father was an officer in military service. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg saw his mother the last time when^ in •1742, on his way to America, he took farewell of his relatives at Eimbeck. She died in 1747: her husband had, through an attack of pais}-, been suddenly taken away from her soon after the confirmation of her son Henry Melchior in 1723. It is stated that the name Mlihlenberg is now not unfrequently found in neighboring towns and villages. In Eimbeck we do not now meet with it. Vet descendants of the female side 4 LIFE AXD TIMES OF appear to be now living there, and a garden belonging to them was shown to a friend of ours visiting the town. Genealogical and heraldic works on the ancient noble fam- ilies of Germany state that the Von Miihlenbergs were recog- nized in times before the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) as among the old baronial families of the empire ; that they derive their origin from Ziracka, a prince of the Wendish and Sorbic tribes ; that about the year 950 A. D. he was converted to Christianit}' ; that he had his residence near the present Muhlber"', on the right hand of the Elbe River in the Merse- burg district of Prussian Saxony. In the neighborhood of this town, Miihlberg, the electoral prince John Frederick, after an unfortunate battle, fell April 24, 1547, into the hands of the emperor Charles V. Mills [JSIuJilen in German) erected in that locality gave name to the town, and subsequently also to the family reigning there, which increased, and in the course of time acquired large possessions in Saxony, Austrian Sile- sia, and other parts. In the escutcheon of the family were two wheels, and the members of it signed themselves " of the Muhlenberg." The ancestral prince was, as a vassal of the bishop of Naumburg, received into the nobility of Germany. His son Bonifacius, apparelled in a coat of mail, accompanied Emperor Otto (unfortunately, our sources leave us in doubt as to which of the three Ottos) on an expedition to Italy, and was rewarded for his services with valuable privileges. Vari- ous members of the family made themselves eminent in war and peace, and in the beginning of the sixteenth century the family is still counted among the prominent and wealthy nobility. But during the wars of the sixteenth century, and especially the Thirty Years' War, some of its branches died out, and others were, like m^ny noble families, greatly reduced in circumstances. After the middle of the seventeenth century the name is no longer found on the roll of the nobles of the empire, and the family never made any attempt to have their title acknowledged and restored by the imperial court of heraldry at Vienna. From his seventh to his twelfth year H. M. Muhlenberg HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 5 was sent by his father to the larger one of the two classical schools at that time existing at Eimbeck. Here, going through the three lowest classes, he laid the foundation of his knowledge of the Latin language, in which he many years later addressed at various synodical meetings the clergy over whom he was made the presiding officer. In his twelfth year he was, by the rite of confirmation, received into membership of the Lutheran Church. We have some relics in writing from the hand of the }'outh, which not only indicate his child-like faith, but also a certain independence of religious thought and a ready facility in expressing his devotional sentiments in the form of poetry. There is preserved a family Bible, large folio, printed in 17 19. In it, which tradition views as once the property of Henry Melchior Miihlenberg, was found a marriage contract signed both by other witnesses and also by him. On the first and last blank leaf of that Bible we find short rhymes, apparently written by his hand. Of course the youthful poet never thought that any of these verses would ever see the light so as to become public. But we think it quite proper to lay before our readers at least one specimen of them in translation. Referring to the narrative about the man whose withered hand Jesus healed (Matt. xii. 10-13), we find the following couplets, which are indeed much more than rhymes : " Two hands, both fresh and strong, did my Creator give : They shall not idle be as long as I may live ; First I will raise them up to God to praise and pray, And then they may begin what labor brings each day; In truth, I'll never forget the Ora, And with it, hand-in-hand, I'll practise the Labora .'" Certainly, this is satisfactory evidence that the youth intel- ligently appropriated and applied the Word of God as he read it or was instructed in it. When writing in later years his auto- biography, he severely criticises the ways of thinking and acting in his boyhood, and the evil influences of some of his school- mates. We can admire the moral sensitiveness of the ripe 6 LIFE AND TIMES OF Christian character of the man, and wish that all youths would share in that appreciation of the divine truth and in that respect for it which we trace in him. It seems that H. M. Muhlenberg had neither the inclination nor the time to spend the years of youth in " sowing wild oats " or in dreamy sentimentalism. The course of school education was short enough. After the death of the father — on which sad occasion the son received, as he tells us, the first deep re- ligious impressions and was most seriously affected — we find him up to his eighteenth year engaged in assisting one of his brothers in his trade. His natural instincts, however, could not be thwarted, and hence the longing for knowledge and a higher education was irrepressible. The family tradi- tion will have it that he clandestinely devoted every free moment to his books, and that in a barn he made his first homiletical attempts by preaching to the bare walls. Did not St. Franciscus of Assisi preach to the fish in the sea? How- ever that may be, the result was that after some time H. M. Muhlenberg was permitted to devote his evening hours to study ; that the superintendent of the highest classical school — scliola scnatoi'ia — of the town. His Worthiness Herr Rector John Joachim Schiisster, taking an interest in the young and ardent Henry, began to give him private instruction, and finally admitted him to the public school, and then into the highest class, to the great chagrin of the mischievous urchins, who were quite disinclined to tolerate one in all respects so much above them. Nor \yas this all : Henry made rapid progress in arithmetic, Latin, Greek, and other branches, and in addition to all this he managed to cultivate music, which, according to the high authority of Martin Luther, comes next to theology, and proved quite a master not only in singing — his beautiful tenor voice often gained him favors from those of high station in society more valuable than mere admira- tion— but he became also a skilful performer on the clavichord and the organ. We shall hereafter discover that this musical accomplishment of H. M. Muhlenberg was conducive in bring- ing about at a later period of his life a harmony of a totally HE.VKV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. J different character, and at all times proved to tiim a most valuable assistance in his pastoral work. From the spring of 1733 to the autumn of the fcllovv'ing year we find H. M. Muhlenberg continuing his studies at the classical school of Zellerfeld, situated east of Eimbeck on one of the high plateaus stretching forth from the Harz Moun- tains. That school enjoyed at that time a very high reputa- tion. Under the guidance of Rector Raphel, A.M., who gave to the zealous student of Eimbeck much active sympathy, he made considerable progress in mastering the more difficult Roman authors and the Greek style of the New Testament. He found here occasion not only to extend his attainments in music and other branches of education, but also to in- struct a class of about eighteen children ; which employment enlarged his experience and qualified him in a direction so important in the pastoral office. He likewise began the study of Hebrew and of French, making very good use of time and opportunities, though, in complaining in his autobiography of certain dangerous impress'ions made upon him in the social circles to which he was there introduced, he censures himself severely. On March 19, 1735, we find our friend on the road to the University of Gottingen, established in that year. He was consequently one of the first students of that Alma Mater, and one of whom she still may be proud. During the pre- ceding winter he had diligently continued his studies at Eim- beck. It seems to have been generally understood among the relatives and friends that Henry was intended for a learned profession, and that a thorough education would best qualify him for the mission of his life. His mother was willing with a loving heart to do her share and to assist the student son to the best of her ability. And, more than this, Providence directed the hearts of the members of the council of Eimbeck in such a manner that they gave our aspiring friend the use of a stipend under their control which at least for a year offered to him free board at Gottingen. This appears also an incon- trovertible argument to us that they entertained of their favor- 8 LIFE AND TIMES OE ite an opinion much better than, when writing in later years, he in his humihty thought himself entitled to. German university- and student-life is, even in our times, to some extent an anomalous social phenomenon. It is a prac- tical anachronism. The freedom in various respects enjoyed by the sons of those AIvke Matrcs reminds us of a republic in the midst of a monarchy, and those sons make even now not unfrequently a rather dangerous and objectionable use of their mothers' indulgence. But in those times, when H. M. Muhlenberg was matriculated as a civis acadciniciis at Gottin- gen, German universities, though truly centres of learning — univcrsitatcs litcranivi — were in a moral aspect, as to the life ■ and manners of many or most of the students, not garden- spots in the desert, but a howling wilderness in the midst of cultivated lands. There the unrestrained }-oung animal spirits broke out in the rudest and crudest manners and barbarous freaks. Mlihlenberg narrates that after his arrival at Got- tingen some wild fellows had in a nightly brawl killed a watchman. Students not joining with the brutal companion- ship were often exposed to the ridicule and contemptuous treatment of the rougher classes by a terrorism which the civil authorities did not properly oppose. Under these cir- cumstances many a youth was misled. From such an effect Muhlenberg was protected, not only to some extent by his riper years, but much more by the better Christian moral principles implanted in his heart. And, providentially, he formed a friendship with young men, also fellow-students, three of them, like himself, natives of Eimbeck, who were of a decidedly religious turn of mind, and exercised a most salutary influence upon their new associate. Through them Muhlenberg came the first time in contact with that spirit and that form of piety which, having originally been represented by the learned theologian Phil. Jac. Spener, had made manifest its decidedly practical character through Hermann August Francke of Halle in the founding of the celebrated Orphan- House and the literary and educational institutions connected with it, in his efforts to advance God's kingdom on earth by HEXRY iVELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 9 means of missions in foreign lands, dv spreading the Bible among the masses of the people, and by other instrumental- ities. These great institutions at Halle were most important elements in the education of hundreds of young men who visited the university of the same place, founded a. d. 1674 by King Frederick I., grandfather of Frederick the Great, and had there a most excellent opportunity to prepare themselves at the same time for the practical work of the Church. A number of circumstances combined to confirm MUhlen- berg in the religious turn his mind had taken. He refers in this connection to the influences which the lectures of his teachers, especially on dogmatics, ethics, and homiletics, exer- cised, upon him. Certainly, schools of theology ought to be not simply schools of scholastic instruction, but should shape as much as possible the minds of the students and properly form their characters for the sacred office which is in prospect for them. Of course the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire is the indispensable prerequisite for a preacher of the gospel. A theologian, ever so learned, without the touch of the prophetic spirit will not fulfil his mission. Of this Miihlenberg seems to have been fully convinced as a student. He considered it a special and most favorable dispensation of Providence that the Rev. Prof Oporin, D. D. (a learned man of this name had in the sixteenth century been professor of theology at the Basel University), took him into his house, made him his pri- vate secretary, and gave him free board and a room for his own use. Certainly, this is ample proof of the esteem in which the professor held his student and of the confidence he placed in him. Dr. Oporin is the author of a work on homiletics — viz. Ancient and Only Rnlc for a Convincing and Effective Manner of Preaching, 2 parts, ij'})^'})?- He there opposes the dangerous influences of the Wolfian philosoph}' upon preaching, which under utilitarian pretexts led to rationalism. Oporin died in 1753. His memory was for ever endeared to Muhlenberg, who greatly profited by his daily intercourse with such an excellent teacher and friend, and as a member of his household derived various social advantages He remembered 10 LIFE AXD TIMES OF sayings of Oporin even after the lapse of many years ; of this we have an instance in the Halle Reports, p. 787, 1st edit. Even in his diary of 1779, under March 2d, he introduces, not with- out a quaint humor, Oporin's pecuHar manner of criticising sermons composed by students of the classes before him. He there says : " Dr. Oporin was accustomed first to pay attention to what pJiysies or moralities deserved some praise : when by this bland treatment self-love felt itself flattered, the old Adam, like a cat, would raise up his tail well pleased ; but all at once things took a sudden turn and the critical eye would eat away the proud flesh, without moving any one to anger, since the preceding encomium had operated as captatio beiievoleiiticB." It was a fortunate circumstance that Miihlenberg's residence with one of his professors not only removed the young stu- dent from intimate intercourse with students of lower tenden- cies, but afforded him the opportunity to be introduced to persons of higher standing. Among these he mentions Herr von Miinchhausen, high sheriff of Hanover, who granted to his young protege certain benefices which went far to secure to him a three years' course at the university, and the count of Wernigerode, who permitted him to be present in his apart- ments at the hours when devotional exercises from time to time were held there. Intercourse with persons of high social standing and refined tastes is calculated to teach polite man- ners, which often prove to young people a substantial advan- tage in their intercourse with others. In the year 1736, Muhlenberg, conjointly with two other students of theology, rented a room and began to instruct poor ignorant, neglected children in spelling, reading, writing, and the Catechism, the teachers deriving no pecuniary advan- tage from their labors.* Yet some members of the Gottingen * Rev. J. Chr. Kunze, D. D., says in his sermon, preached after the death of II. M. Muhlenberg, his father-in-law, in New York on the nineteenth Sunday after Trinit}'. 1787 : "When the illustrious prince, at that time Count Henry XI. Reuss, still living as a student sojourned at Gottingen, moved by his godly tutor, after- ward Chancellor Riesenbeck, he established a school in behalf of poor, neglected, begging children, and, endeavoring to find as instructor for them a truly converted student, selected our late senior." This was H. M. Muhlenberg. HENRY MELCHIOR MCHLEXBERG. II clergy, with some of the public school-teachers, lodged com- plaint against this charitable enterprise as a new movement fraught with dangers. But one of the representatives of the aristocracy favoring Muhlenberg with their confidence, the Count Reuss, took up the good cause, gave it into the hands of his legal adviser, Dr. Riesenbeck, and thus it came to pass that the government indorsed the course of the students and placed their charity school under the supervision of the theo- logical faculty. The consequence was that attention was attracted to the school, contributions were cheerfully given, the work proceeded, and the students were benefited by the opportunity of exercising the art of teaching and catechising. Out of this small enterprise grew in the course of time the Gottingen Orphan-House, still existing under the supervision of the theological faculty. It offered at various times shelter to no less than one hundred and twenty children. Even now the students of theology exercise themselves there in preach- ing and catechising. It appears that a Mr. Borries, a citizen of Muhlenberg's native town, Eimbeck, furnished the means a'nd took the first steps to transform the charity school begun by Miihlenberg and his colaborers into an orphan-house. We also know that Dr. Oporin, as dean of the faculty, published some of the yearly reports of the institution, in one of which (of 1750) he honorably mentions the liberal gifts of Counsel- lor von Borries and, after his death, of the family. In the year 1737, Muhlenberg had advanced so far that he was enrolled among those students who from time to time had to preach in the University church, and also to catechise there, for which purpose the children of the charity school were required to appear once a week. It was certainly grat- ifying to the young aspirant for the sacred office, and calcu- lated to stimulate him to his best efforts, that Count Reuss invited him to lecture in his aristocratic mansion at stated times on theological and religious topics. It is a fact well deserving notice that a very considerable number of the first aristocratic families of Germany — among them the princes of Wernigerode, Counts Stolberg, Reuss, I.'ieiiburg, Solms, 12 LIFE AND TIMES OE Dohna, Saalfeld, Henkel — were at tfiat time in sincere sym- pathy with the religious movement to which Phil. Jacob Spcncr had given the most energetic impetus, and assisted all the charitable enterprises proceeding from it in the most liberal manner. They also took pleasure in favoring and assisting young men of the character of H. M. Muhlenberg. When, in the spring of 1738, after attending finally to a spe- cial course of lectures on the symbolical books of the Luther- an Church, he had graduated, the Counts Reuss of Koestritz and Henkel of Poeltzig — two places then held in high esteem in the Pietistic circles of Germany — entertained the idea of placing the young candidate for the ministerial office in a pastoral charge, but resolved, after due deliberation, that he should enter the Orphan-House and charitable institutions connected with it at Halle as a teacher — a resolution which, under Divine Providence, decided the future course and the mission of his life. Leaving Gottingen, he spent some time at the University of Jena, visited, by special invitation of Count Reuss, Koes- tritz ; proceeded to Halle, left again on account of his pri\'afe affairs for Limbeck ; visited Wernigerode, where by invitation he was present at a pastoral conference ; Hanover and other places, at which he met friends whose sympathy, experience, and advice were of value to him ; and at Limbeck preached on several occasions and had private conversations on spiritual matters with various individuals. Then, having taken an affectionate farewell at Gottingen of his patrons and friends in high and low positions, he entered upon his duties at Halle, and as a teacher went through the usual routine there estab- lished. For a few weeks he was put on probation as a teacher of the smallest children; then he was advanced to have charge of higher classes, superintended eight boys in their room ; and in the management of this small flock entrusted to his care as teacher gained new experience and new lessons in practical Christianity. After going through this course, it was made his duty in the higher classes of those extensiv^e institutions to give instruction in Greek, Hebrew, and in some theological JfE.VRV MELCniOK MUHLEXBERG. 1 3 branches, and he was appointed " inspector " of a ward of the sici<:, which office brought him into close connection with Prof. Junker, M. D., and with his subordinates, and gave him opportunity to acquire some knowledge of the medical art, which he had ample occasion to make good use of in the future years of his life. 14 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER II. 1739-1742. Selected as a missionary for East India. — Frustration of this plan. — G. A. Francke, D. D. — Christian work at Halle. — Herr von Canstein and the first Bible society. — Fr. M. Ziegenhagen, D. D. — Call to Grosshenners- dorf. — Baroness Gersdorf. — Acceptance of the call. — Examination and ordi- nation at Leipsic. — Enters upon his duties at Grosshennersdorf. — Orphan- House and other charitable institutions there. — The Bohemian colony. — Embarrassing circumstances. — Visit to Eimbeck and Halle. — Call to the dis- persed Lutherans in Pennsylvania. — Return to Grosshennersdorf. — Apology for private conventicles. — Balthasar Mentzer, D. D. — Departure from Gross- hennersdorf.— Journey to Halle. HAVING labored for a year at Halle, Muhlenberg re- ceived pressing invitations to return to Gottingen and to take charge of the charity school formerly conducted there by him and two fellow-students, which had already assumed larger proportions. But a warm friend and well- wisher, Councillor Cellarius, who occupied rooms in the Orphan-House, opposed this plan, confidentially informing him that the directors of the institution, the Right Reverend Fathers, as Miihlenberg is wont to speak of them, intended to send him as a missionary to East India. Among those worthy men Gotthilf August Francke, the son of August Hermann Francke, the celebrated founder of the charitable institutions at Halle, and a typical representative of Pietism in its first and purer form, deserves special mention, since he greatly influenced the turn which H. M. Muhlenberg's life took, and kept up correspondence with him until the end of his useful career, Sept. 2, 1769. Not only at the head of the institutions founded by his father, but also as professor of theology in the Halle University, he exercised a great influence upon the minds of a large number of candidates for the sacred ofifice HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I 5 by giving them solid information and by pointing out to them, by his example no less than by his teaching, the wilue of personal and practical piety. In this good work he was assisted by colleagues in the professorial office and in the management of the institutions, and by a number of pastors in Halle. They were men moved by a holy zeal : while they in their time were very averse to any interference with the landmarks of the Lutheran Church and creed, to which their convictions bound them, they united with those conserva- tive principles a deep interest in the personal appropriation of saving truth and in the practical questions of Christianity, which in former times had not often found among theologians the serious attention they deserved. They made Halle a cen- tre for the cause of the orphan, for elementary and for higher education on truly Christian principles, for missions, and for the spreading of the Bible among the masses of the people. In fact, the first Bible society, growing out of a small beginning of Herr von Canstein, a pious nobleman, was a part of the Halle institutions, and still exists there. The cause of mis- sions brought them into sympathy and correspondence with godly men in various countries. Among them we have to mention the name of one often appearing in the sequel of our narrative, the Rev. Fred. Mich. Ziegenhagen, D. D., German court-preacher at London, Avho there became a fatherly friend and adviser to many missionaries coming from Halle. He died at London, Jan. 24, 1776, in the eighty-third year of his mo.st useful and exemplary career. Muhlenberg had in May, 1738, paid his first visit to Halle. We know that soon afterward he began his duties as a regularly installed teacher in the Francke institutions. Those schools contained in the times of Muhlenberg no less than between two and three thousand scholars. Classics were rep- resented as well as the usual branches of elementary educa- tion. The design of sending Muhlenberg as a missionary to East India was indeed entertained at Halle. Missionaries had gone thence to preach Christ and Him crucified to the heathen at Malabar. A. H. Francke's advice guided King 1 6 LIFE AXD TIMES OF Frederick IV. of Denmark in his attempts to find the proper workmen for that field of labor. Ziegenbalg and PUitschau — names endeared to every friend of evangelical missions — had for a time been sojourning at Halle before they started in 1706 for the distant land in the sunny South. Christ. Fred. Schwartz, of all German missionaries of the last century in East India the most successful, had for a time been a teacher in the Orphan-House, and had received instruction in Halle in the Tamil language from missionary Schulze, who had returned to Halle from Malabar, where he had built on the foundation laid by Ziegenbalg. The leading men at Halle were heartily interested in the cause of missions, and knew from experience what kind of men that field of labor re- quired. That they directed their attention now to H. M. Muhlenberg proves that they thought him well qualified for that kind of work. They had intended to make use of him in a new field in Bengal. Outward circumstances pre- vented the execution of the plan. Meanwhile, in the month of July, 1739, a pressing call arrived from Count Reuss that Muhlenberg should at once enter upon a pastoral charge at Grosshennersdorf in Upper Lusatia. Muhlenberg was, however, troubled with doubts concerning this appoint- ment. It seems that at first he refused to acquiesce in the call. But as it was urgently repeated, and Dr. Francke and other friends insisted upon his accepting it, various obstacles being in the way of his entering upon the mission- ary work in East India, he resolved for the present to proceed to Upper Lusatia and become well acquainted with this field of labor, in every respect new to him. Thus the will of Prov- idence decided his future career. Two weeks after he had left Halle, quite unexpectedly letters arrived from Denmark and from England requiring that without any delay two proper men should be selected for the Danish and for the English missions. Muhlenberg was already out of the question. Grosshennersdorf, the birthplace of the well-known the- ologian and exegete Leopold Eman. Riickert, D. D., born 1797, who died as professor in the University of Jena 1871, JIEXHY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 1 7 and had been (1819-25) in his native place one of the succes- sors of Muhlenberg in the pastoral office, is situated in the eastern part of the present kingdom of Saxony, not far from the Bohemian boundary and only a few miles south of Herrn- hut, the central seat of Moravianism and the head-quarters of Count Zinzendorf Thus the two men who a few years later came into conflict with each other in Philadelphia were for a time near neighbors. We know that Muhlenberg once in travelling passed through Herrnhut. The Baroness von Gersdorf, the sister of Zinzendorf's mother, who had at Grosshennersdorf the right of nominating the two pastors in charge there, was a relative of the noble family Reuss ; which connection explains why the preliminary call had come to Miihlenberg through Count Reuss. Baroness Gersdorf, in whose house Zinzendorf had sojourned during a few years of his childhood, belonged to the school of Spener, as did also Zinzendorf before he struck out on a path of his own selec- tion. She wished to become acquainted with Miihlenberg, so as to be able to act advisedly in taking such a responsible step. . Two weeks after having been introduced to her he was requested to preach in the town. The result was that on Aug. 12, 1739, a formal call was given to him. On that occa- sion Abt Steinmetz, a man of godly character and high esteem in pious circles of Germany, superintendent of the classical school at Klosterbergen near Magdeburg — the place from which in 1580 the Formula of Concord emanated — was pres- ent and encouraged Mi^ihlenberg to accept of this call. Having, after a prayerful consideration, arrived at the con- clusion that he should enter upon a field of labor where he certainly was not an intruder, he accepted the call. Proceed- ing to Leipsic, the University of Saxony, under the sovereignty of which also Grosshennersdorf stood, he was there examined by the consistory of the church of the electoral principality in the exegesis of the Old Testament, in the dogmas of Christ, regeneration, justification, conversion; also concerning the his- tory of the symbolical books of the Lutheran Church. Having given satisfactory evidence of his ability and attainments, he 2 1 8 LIFE AND TIMES OF was a few days later solemnly ordained in the presence of the whole ministerium of the city of Leipsic by the Right Rev. Superintendent Deyling, D. D., and in consequence thereof fully entitled to enter upon the pastoral office to which he had been called.* We see in this happy issue a convincing proof that Muhlenberg, who entered upon a course of study in classics and theology somewhat late in life, and under greater difficulties than many other candidates of the pastoral office, had made a very conscientious use of the time and of the means allotted to him, and had given all his energies to his studies, well knowing that the sacred office needs no less than any other responsible position in life a proper preparation. He never trifled with a duty. To this his whole life bears ample testimony. But, viewing the prospects now before him and the responsibilities awaiting him, he takes occasion humbly to confess that at that moment he appeared to himself, after four years' experience in a true spiritual life, as a mere child, and could hardly realize the fact that he had been ordained a minister of Christ and called to a pastoral charge. There is an admonition in this to all who are not fully conscious of the responsibilities they incur in entering the sacred office. On his way through Halle from Leipsic, Muhlenberg learned that soon after his departure from that place the demand for three missionaries had come, and that the appoint- ments had already been made. He felt convinced that it was not God's will that he should serve his cause in East India. Leaving Halle, he directed his steps to Hanover, the prov- ince in which he was born, paid visits to a number of friends whose intercourse spiritually benefited him, and returned through Brandenburg and Saxony to Grosshennersdorf This town was and still is in various respects of no particular significance. It has now about fifteen hundred inhabitants, and no great commercial or industrial establishments. The old aristocratic mansion is the only building of any architectural pretension. In Muhlenberg's time two pastors took care of * The certificate of ordination still exists, and is in possession of Rev. F. A, Muhlenberg, D. D., professor in the University of Pennsylvania. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. I9 the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants ; now, one is considered amply sufficient for this purpose. Yet there were interests there which claimed the entire and careful attention of Muhlenberg. There was the noble family of the baroness of Gersdorf, with whom social and official duties brought him into frequent intercourse. He considered it a peculiar favor of Providence that his clerical associate, the Rev. Susse, was in matters of religion of one mind with himself, and was a colleague both agreeable and by his solid scholarship val- uable in the intercourse he had with him. An Orphan-House, founded by the baroness and her mother, who had died before Muhlenberg's arrival, gave him ample opportunity each day to teach and to assist in the management of the house, since there were four different departments in it which he had to superintend. The first one was a higher school, in which sons of impoverished noblemen were instructed in the classics and other higher branches, also in the fundamentals of the Christian religion, to prepare them for future stud}'. The distressing condition of widows of noblemen who had in turbulent times lost the means of educating their sons prop- erly, and were in those parts often exposed to the proselyting attempts of Papists, had given occasion for the esjtoblishment of this department, in which three teachers gav^pstruction. In the second department thirty-two poor, needy boys, chil- dren of the subjects of the baroness, were furnished with boarding and clothing and obtained their education, their teachers being young men selected from the more advanced scholars and specially prepared for this office. The third department contained some poor orphan girl's ; and the fourth was an asylum for a number of aged widows, some of them blind and helpless, who were here charitably sustained and received spiritual assistance to prepare them for the last hour. The whole institution was under wise laws and regulations. The baroness spent yearly more than three thousand tlialer (dollars) of her income for this benevolent purpose ; there was no income from any other source. Muhlenberg found ample opportunity as a superintendent to show his talent for instruc- 20 LIFE AND TIMES OF tion and discipline. After divers changes that Orphan-House still exists, is under the authority of the government of Sax- ony, serves as a reformatory school for neglected and unruly boys, of whom there are about one hundred, while there is room for one hundred more. But there was in addition to the Orphan-House another, smaller institution, in which Protestants who suffered persecution on this account in Bo- hemia found refuge, received instruction in the Bohemian lan- guage, and were spiritually cared for. Miihlenberg found it his duty to learn enough of that language (Czech) to enable him to assist in the administration of the Lord's Supper. The Bohemian interest had in former years been of much more significance at Grosshennersdorf When Baroness Gersdorf in 1 72 1 began her benevolent labors she erected the Orphan- House, also invited a considerable number of Bohemian Protestant refugees and allowed them to establish themselves on her estate in a colony called Schonbrunn. In 1726 a Bo- hemian congregation was organized, and Rev. John Liberda called to preside over it. Difficulties arose, and in 1732 a large number of Bohemians emigrated to Berlin, where King William I., father of Frederick the Great, moved by the inter- cessions^|£. Rev. Liberda, built for their use the well-known Bethlehc^f Church, which was dedicated March 12, 1737. Miihlenberg found, consequently, at Grosshennersdorf only a remnant of the former Bohemian congregation. The bar- oness herself, on account of her liberality, which transcended her income, was involved in difficulties, and sold her estate in 1740 to Baron Charles G. von Burgsdorf Muhlenberg, whose support in consequence of this was reduced and ren- dered doubtful, received in the same year an invitation to pay a visit and to preach at Gorlitz, where a pastoral charge was vacant. But in obedience to the entreaties and arguments of the baroness, who continued to reside in her old mansion until her death, August 2, 1761, he paid no attention to the call, continued in the discharge of his duties, and resolved to pay in 1 741 a visit to his native place, with a view to receive a part of his paternal inheritance, and thus to be enabled to HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 21 continue his labors at Grosshennersdorf. It was indeed im- possible to act in a more generous way. It was in the month of July, 1741, when Muhlenberg in- tended to set out on his journey. Just at that time Baron von Gersdorf, brother of the baroness, who was engaged in diplomatic services, arrived as a visitor. He made Miihlcn- berg his companion on the route to Leipsic. From here Mi^ihlenberg went to Koestritz to pay his respect to his former patron, Count Reuss. Taking his advice and fur- nished by him with the necessary means, he proceeded at once to Halle. During Miihlenberg's visit to Koestritz a certain Baron von Braun had been staying there, who had heard about the con- dition of things at Grosshennersdorf, and, reaching Halle before Muhlenberg, most probably gave the Rev. Dr. Francke some information concerning Muhlenberg's situation. This fully explains how it happened that when Miihlenberg, a few days afterward, arrived at Halle, Francke at supper, to which he had invited him, offered him " a call to the dispersed Lu- therans in Pennsylvania," adding, however, " to make a trial of a few years." Without much deliberation Muhlenberg answered that if he could see in it the will of God he would go, and that he felt bound to go wherever Providence called ^lim. This happened Sept. 6, 1741. Thus a moment or a few words may determine the career and the issues of a whole life. Thus the decision of a moment may fix the fate of thousands. And certainly this was the case here. But in this world, alongside of the most momentous events in the history of individuals and of thousands, the smallest trifles will attach themselves. When Muhlenberg had, with- out any hesitancy, following the first impulse of his heart, declared his resolution, good Mrs. Henrietta Francke was so elated with joy that she at once presented the young pastor with a comfortable dressing-gown, hoping and trusting that now some help had arrived for the suffering brethren of the faith in Pennsylvania. Possibly we are right in assuming that 22 LIFE AND TIMES OF this incident goes far to prove that the destitute Lutherans beyond the Atlantic, and the painful inabihty up to that time to find thetn proper help, had often been subjects of conversa- tion in Dr. Francke's family. In accordance with the advice of Dr. Francke, Muhlenberg now proposed to pay a visit at once to his relatives in his native place, and to consult with them about his affairs and plans for the future. A trifling impediment, want of room for him in the regular stage-coach, prevented the carrying out of this purpose. Meanwhile, Baron von Gersdorf had arrived at Halle, on his return once more to Grosshennersdorf, and he now invited Miihlenberg to accompany him. On Sept. 14 they arrived safely at Grosshennersdorf Dr. Francke having informed his friend, the Rev. Dr. Fr. M. Ziegenhagen of London, of Miihlenberg's willingness to go as a missionary among the Lutherans in Pennsylvania, he received from Ziegenhagen a full approval of his offer of the call to Miihlenberg, and the conditions — viz. that he should accept the call for three years, so as to make a trial, and that he should have liberty to return after that period ; that his travelling expenses from Upper Lusatia to America should be paid, and also those for his return in case he should demand them ; that the sums necessary for these and a sufficient salary should be taken from the charitable gifts collected by Ziegen- hagen; also, that Muhlenberg should receive his regular call, with these conditions annexed, from Ziegenhagen, to whom the Pennsylvania congregations had committed the matter. All of this Francke, after the lapse of a few weeks, communicated to Mi^ihlenberg, who had made the baroness acquainted with what had happened at Halle; to which she replied that "there certainly was an extensive uncultivated field in America." When she learned of Dr. Ziegenhagen's consent, being then in the midst of her financial difificulties, she inquired at what time the ships were to leave Europe and when Muhlenberg had to be there. This Miihlenberg reported to Francke. A few days later the baroness thought he had been too hasty in this matter, and that he should certainly lay his case first NENJ^y MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 23 before his high patrons, the Counts Reuss and Henkel. They answered that if he could see his way clear to leave Gross- hennersdorf they could very well employ him in the " Vogt- land," where their dominions were situated. Dr. Francke, on the other hand, advised him he should come as soon as pos- sible. The possessions of the baroness and the administration of her estates had meanwhile passed into the hands of Herr von Burgsdorf A number of members of the Orphan-House and a part of the congregation made application to him, praying that he would not permit Miihlenberg's departure. The baron declared to him that he wished him to remain in his present official position — that changes going on in the outward admin- istration of his official duties would affect him only so far as to reduce to some extent his labors. It appears that the whole complication of circumstances was of such a nature as to give great anxiety to Muhlenberg, and he was very desirous of clearly recognizing the will of God. He wrote to Francke and Ziegenhagen. The letter to Ziegenhagen was enclosed in the one to Francke, who, however, informed Muhlenberg that he did not despatch it, and added that he must at once arrive at a final decision, either yea or nay. Should he refuse the call to Pennsylvania, it would be left to his conscience, acting as accountable to God. " His Excellency the count " soon afterward also sent a message to the effect that Miihlen- berg should accept the call to America, since it would be easier to find the proper person for the vacancy at home than for the mission-field beyond the sea; and the promise was given that for Muhlenberg's vacant position with divine help a suitable incumbent should be found. A successor was indeed found in 1744, Rev. Anton Rhode, who, unfortunately, proved such a troublesome individual that he was finally sus- pended. Before bidding farewell to Grosshennersdorf we have to refer to a circumstance which offers to us perhaps more than a mere episodic interest, and which cannot be omitted in the annals of Muhlenberg's life and times. There are strong 24 LIFE AND TIMES OF reasons to believe that during his pastorate at Grosshenners- dorf he entered the hterary arena, and that this was in his whole career the only case of this kind. The facts are these. In those times controversy between the old conservative ecclesiastical party and the Pietists or the radicals and pro- gressivists was the order of the day. There were among the conservatives undoubtedly many clergymen of very little spir- itual life, who in a perfunctory manner attended to their official duties, and whose hatred against the Pietists, who were en- deavoring to arouse more religious feeling and life, and with fervor preached repentance and Christ crucified, came from carnal motives. But there were among the opponents of Pie- tism also men of a godly character and of sound practical principles, who saw in the innovations and methods of Pietism much that to them portended no good to the Church and religion. While they could approve of the efforts of Pietism in the direction of practical godliness, Christian charity, the suppression of vice, the alleviation of misery, they could not close their eyes to certain dangers which they found inherent in Pietism. It laid too much stress upon the feelings and doubtful mental conditions of individuals, and endangered and put into the background the solid form of true faith, the creed of the Church ; it had occasioned here and there very objectionable excitements and eccentricities ; it encouraged separation within the Church, and often a very objectionable censoriousness against the ministers on the part of the hear- ers. Certainly, these were serious things, and men of the highest conscientiousness and friends of true godliness might well feel alarmed under the circumstances. One of the prevailing features of Pietism was that, in addi- tion to the ordinary public services, its lay adherents held private conventicles in family circles. These meetings were often conducted by clergymen holding the same views ; lay- men also, of the proper character and talent, expounded pas- sages of the gospel and led in prayer. We can understand that meetings of such a character may have been felt as a necessity in congregations presided over by unspiritual pas- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 2$ tors, whose preaching was dry, Hfeless, cold, or offensive to behevers. We would not maintain that under such unfortu- nate circumstances godly members of the congregation have no right to meet for mutual edification in private houses, pro- vided all things be done in decency, on the basis of the true faith and sound religion, and not in the interest of party spirit and strife. But we cannot shut our eyes to the dangers of fomenting a foreign spirit, of opening the gates to errorists, and of engendering by those means separation and spiritual pride. Now, it appears that in the year 1740 the Rev. Balthasar Mentzer, D. D., general superintendent of the church in the duchy of Kalenberg, court-preacher, etc., etc., published a book wherein he exposes in a quiet, unobjectionable manner these dangers connected with private conventicles, and warns Christian people against them. We cannot doubt that he ut- tered those warnings prompted by the best motives, and that he was sustained in his views by an extensive pastoral expe- rience. That no answer should appear to his objections, and no attempt should be made to refute his arguments, could hardly be expected in those times, although the controversies between orthodox or conservatives and the Pietists had already lost much of their former acrimony. There appeared in the year 1741 a pamphlet in the form of an address to Dr. B. Mentzer, wherein the author attempts to show that Mentzer's position in this matter was not supported -by any convincing proof; that Pietism with its newly-introduced agencies and instrumentalities was called forth by the actual and deplorable condition of the Church ; and that private conventicles did not deserve condemnation. It cannot be denied that the tone of the pamphlet was not without a satirical element and some- what irritating. Dr. Mentzer, who might have taken up his pen again to defend his views, was by death prevented from doing so ; he departed this life Dec. 20, 1741. The pamphlet, published against him attracted attention in literary circles, and in various theological periodicals of those years reference is made to it. The author had not given his full name, but on the title-page only introduced himself as D. M. Soon the 26 LIFE AND TIMES OF critics read this " Diaconus Mijhlenberg," and in various pub- lications the pamphlet was ascribed to the young pastor at Grosshennersdorf, who, to our knowledge, never denied his authorship. Neither does it appear that any of his friends after his departure from Germany maintained that that pamph- let had not come from his hand. True it is that in all his ex- tensive private manuscripts Muhlenberg never referred to that attempt to use the public press. If it was his first effort in polemics of such a character, it was also his last one. He served throughout his life the ccclesia militans, but avoided the public battleground of theological controversies. To us a peculiar interest rests in this, that except one sermon printed in Philadelphia many years later, that pamphlet is the only publication ever ascribed to him as author.* After having under considerable emotion delivered, Dec. 9, 1741, his farewell sermon, he handed over to the proper author- ities, in good order, all the documents and accounts entrusted to him. With mutual good wishes for steadfastness in the faith and for a happy meeting in the land beyond the grave, and with prayers, he paid his last respects at the mansion of the baron- ess, and departed in stormy weather from Grosshennersdorf, Dec. 17, 1 74 1. Travelling westward by the way of Bautzen, Dresden, Oschatz, Leipsic, and Altenburg, he came, Dec. 23d, to Polnitz, where Count Henkel entertained the worn-out traveller in a most hospitable manner, refreshing him in body and soul, and on Jan. 2, 1742, had him conveyed in a vehicle to Count Reuss at Koestritz, who received him no less kindly. He had at both places to lead in worship in the residences of the counts, and to preach. Both his noble friends at that time already had advanced into the sixties, and the farewell was keenly felt by Mijhlenberg, there being little prospect that he would see them again on earth. Jan. 8th, Count Reuss had his guest conveyed to Halle, Muhlenberg on the road paying a visit to the Orphan- House at Langendorf * The preface to the German hymnbook edited 1786 by the Pennsylvania Min- isterium is also from Muhlenberg's hand. HEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 2J It was a wintry day, so cold that Muhlenberg's hands and feet were frost-bitten, when, in the evening of Jan. 9, he arrived at Halle and as a guest entered the house of Mrs. Dr. Goetz. Afterward Francke took him to his house, where he received all the attention his case needed and hospitality could offer. Efforts were made to find an associate for Muhlenberg to accompany him as a colaborer to Pennsylvania, but no suit- able one was found. We have arrived at the end of what we may call the pre- paratory period of H. M. Muhlenberg's life. He was led on thus far by a kind Providence. The years of his youth had not been without hardship and sad experiences. Temptations, found everywhere, and especially in the course of young stu- dents, had assailed him. He escaped them unscathed. He faithfully used the opportunities and means offered to him to finish his education. He experienced in the most dangerous years of man's life the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit, and was awakened to a spiritual life. The resolution to walk before God was firmly taken and sincerely kept. Friends and patrons were found who confirmed him in this resolution and its execution. He had endeared himself to godly people of lowly and high standing. Already he had entered upon the field of action, had tried his strength, and gathered some experience. He had matured for greater tasks, for the pecu- liar and comprehensive mission of his life. Heretofore friends and advisers stood near enough for him to receive from them at any time encouragement and counsel. And their prayers accompanied him into the distant land beyond the ocean and into an uncertain future. Departing from them, he was, as the saying is, " thrown upon his own resources," and had under unusual and trying circumstances to evolve and to prove the Christian manhood that was in him. 28 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER III. 1742. Departure from Halle. — Muhlenberg amves at Eimbeck by the way of Halber- stadt, Wernigerode, Gottingen. — Unpleasant experiences there through cler- ical censoriousness. — Passing through Hanover, Osnabriick, Deventer, and Norden to Amsterdam, through Leyden, Rotterdam, Briel, to Helvoetsluys, he sets sail for England. — Acquaintance made on board the ship. — Arrival at London. — Intercourse with Ziegenhagen, John Dav. Michaelis, H. A. Butjen- der, and others. — Muhlenberg receives the formal call to the Evangelical Lutheran congregations of Philadelphia, New Providence, and New Hanover in Pennsylvania. — He is requested to visit the Salzburger congiegation at Ebenezer, Ga. — Sets sail for the New World. HAVING departed, Feb. 4, 1742, from Halle, where in those times the way of extending God's kingdom on earth was providentially decided for Miihlenberg and for many other missionaries of the gospel and the cause of Christ, the candidate for spiritual services among the Luther- ans in Pennsylvania arrived the following evening at Halber- stadt, and at a late hour of the day paid his respects to some members of the family of the Counts Wernigerode, then sojourning there, who stood in intimate relation with Dr. Francke and other godly men at Halle, and to whom, as well as to other sympathizing friends who were present, he was quite welcome. That in such a circle conversation would turn to questions of personal religious experience and the interests of Christ's cause on earth might be expected. It belonged indeed to the characteristics of Pietism. The count also, in addition to good advice, gave Muhlenberg a number of tracts referring to the life of his deceased wife, which he intended partly for readers in America, partly for the mission- aries in East India ; hence some were to be left in London, thence to be transmitted to their destination. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 29 On Feb. 6th, Muhlenberg arrived at Wernigerode, the old, venerable residence of the counts of the same name, and there, as on a former visit, he was hospitably entertained by his friend, Pastor Boetticher. On the following day he was invited to hold religious services at the princely residence and to be present at a conference meeting attended by a con- siderable number of pastors of that district. The Counts Wernigerode exercised sovereign authority in their domin- ions, like many other high-standing and wealthy noble fam- ilies of Germany. They consequently had also ecclesiastical jurisdiction. This power they used in favor of the mission- aries from Halle. A number of them, and some sent to Pennsylvania, before departing for their destination were ordained by the church dignitaries of Wernigerode. We know that Miihlenberg was ordained at Leipsic. On Feb. 8th he preached in the pulpit of his friend Boet- ticher the first sermon of the Lent season of that year ; he also held services in the neighboring Ilsenburg, and here also met a number of pastors in sympathy with Halle and Pietism. On the following day, in a terrible storm, he went up again to the mansion of the counts, took farewell of the head of the noble house, and arrived, after much hardship, at Gottin- gen, where he was hospitably entertained by his old patron and friend, Prof Dr. Oporin, who rejoiced after four years of separation to have his former. pupil again under his roof That the charity school founded by the co-operation of Muhlenberg was on this occasion an object of his attention hardly needs a remark. He paid his respects to some of his former teachers and a number of brethren in the faith, and Feb. 17th continued his journey and arrived at his native place, Eimbeck. It was a great satisfaction to him once more to see his aged mother. But to her and his brothers and sisters and other relatives the idea of his going to America was most distress- ing. His mother said she would rather follow him to his grave than learn that the Indians had torn him to pieces. Of course we in our times consider the crossing of the Atlantic simply as an excursion for pleasure ; in those times the case 30 LIFE A\D TIMES OF was a totally different one, fraught with innumerable diffi- culties and dangers. Not only a very protracted and stormy voyage, but miserable and scanty provisions, loathsome dis- eases, attacks of pirates, and other ills stared the adventurous traveller in the face. These things, however, could not dis- courage Muhlenberg. His visit to Eimbeck was unexpectedly connected with unpleasant experiences. It seems that his hearty consent to the views and principles pronounced at Halle was well known to the clerical dignitaries of his native town. There were at least some of them who on this account were prejudiced against him and did not wish him to preach in their pulpits, and therein acted against the request of a number of the citizens. Many of these who in their religious views and feelings sided with him visited him at his private residence. It was stated that he held with them private religious services. On Sun- day, Feb. 25th, however, he preached, at the request of one of the pastors of the town, Rev. Benckhard, senior of the clergy, in one of the churches at Eimbeck. The building, as may be expected, was crowded. Muhlenberg took as his text the Gospel of the day, third Sunday in Lent, Luke xi. 14-28, and spoke on " the diverse effects produced on those present by the miracle of Christ." In the evening of that day a number of friends came to him, with whom he entered into conver- sation on religious subjects. There were present also some strangers. On the following morning the burgomaster sent him command " to desist from holding Pietistic conventicles, which the law of the country prohibited." At a subsequent visit to the house of the burgomaster he was informed that two of the clergy of the town — one of them Herr Superin- tendent John George Hunt — were his accusers. These gen- tlemen were not satisfied with first steps, but sent reports to the highest ecclesiastical authorities at Hanover : they also requested the civil and the clerical authorities of a neighbor- ing village, where Muhlenberg was expected to preach, to prevent him from holding conventicles. This caused Miihl- enberg to return from that villaee without havine accom- HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 3 1 plished his object. He took occasion to admonish those who sympathized with him not to entertain any schismatic thoughts or devices. On March 12th he was summoned before the burgomaster of Eimbeck, who read to him a rescript sent by the high authorities of Hanover demanding that " the burgomaster and the superintendent should unitedly, under the menace of im- prisonment, command Muhlenberg to desist from holding con- venticles." Muhlenberg's question, whether such a procedure was not suggestive of the Spanish Inquisition, the burgomas- ter answered with a smile, and dismissed him kindly. He proceeded straightway to the Right Rev. Superintendent, to whom he presented the certificate of his ordination at Leipsic and his testimonials from Gottingen. The Superintendent regretted that Miihlenberg had not visited him before, ex- cused himself by saying that two of the pastors of the town had compelled him to bring the charges, embraced the " mis- erable delinquent," and dismissed him with his blessing. Having taken farewell of his relatives and friends, Miihlen- berg departed on March 17th to Hanover, where Frau von Hattorf hospitably entertained him and made the necessary arrangements for him to pay his respects to the members of the consistory, composed of the highest ecclesiastical digni- taries of the electoral dominion. He soon learned that it had been reported from Eimbeck that " an individual had appeared there who pretended to be a preacher from Saxony, but that he was a mere vagabond and a heretic, who had recently re- turned from Pennsylvania, was holding Pietistic conventicles at Eimbeck, and causing dissatisfaction with the existing laws." These calumnies and inventions Mi^ihlenberg could refute v/ithout any difficulty. He did not need the advice which the head of the consistory, Dr. Tappe, gave him not to take revenge on his accusers, since all the clergy of the Hanoverian dominion might have to suffer in public esti- mation. Here also he met with a number of friends among the clergy and laity who shared in his religious views and feel- 32 LIFE AND TIMES OF ings. With two of them he went, on March 24th, the day before Easter, to Rev. Winkler, pastor at Peina, for whom he entertained very affectionate regard ; paid visits to two other pastors in the neighborhood ; preached on Monday after Easter at Peina, and returned on March 27th to Hanover. Here he was admitted *to the presence of Frau von Miinchhausen, wife of the high dignitary who had kindly assisted him as a student at Gottingen. This noble Christian lady continued her good-will toward him for many years after he had begun his missionary work in Pennsylvania. The Rev. Fliigge, one of the pastors of Hanover city, encouraged by Dr. Tappe, president of the -consistory, had invited Muhlenberg to preach on April ist in his parish church. Another member of the same high ecclesiastical board, a jurist, remonstrated with Fliigge, but was invited by him to come and to hear for him- self, as he could then form a better judgment ; which advice he took. After listening to the sermon he said that " it had all been orthodox, in agreement with the Formula of Con- cord." Thinking, however, that the designs of the adherents of the so-called orthodox, anti-Pietistic party might lead to further unpleasant results, Muhlenberg sent his official cer- tificates and testimonials to the privy council of the Hanover- ian government. They were sent back to him after a few days. Researches recently made in the ecclesiastical archives of the now Prussian province of Hanover have brought to light no trace of any transaction on record concerning Miihl- enberg. Departing from Hanover April 5th, and proceeding with the stage to Osnabriick, where he arrived April 7th, Miihlen- berg, as he tells us, keenly felt the separation from his native country, from his relatives and many friends, with whom he was connected by the tenderest ties. But he says that divine Providence, which benevolently extends his care even to the smallest and most insignificant creatures, protected him in his long journey in the "most fatherly manner." His first companions in the stage were two lawyers, who asserted that they knew Mijhlenberg when students at Gottin- HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 33 gen. During this conversation allusion was made to Pietism, and one of the two finding fault with the progress of Pietism in Hanover, Muhlenberg asked him to define Pietism. His answer proved sufficiently that he did not know v/hat he was talking about, but it helped, as Muhlenberg says, to render the time less tedious to the travellers. Arriving at Osnabriick, they were at once summoned before the French general, who with some thousand soldiers had taken quarters in the town. Query : What had brought the French to German soil ? When the emperor Charles VI. died in 1740 he left no son as heir to the throne, but in consequence of the ratification by some of the powers of the recently-settled principle that the Austrian monarchy should continue undivided, and that, in case of no leiritimate male heir, the eldest daughter should ascend the throne, Maria Theresa, wife of the grandduke Francis Stephan of Tuscany, took the Austrian sceptre. But she had to defend her claim against mighty foes. Frederick the Great at once marched (Dec. 17, 1740) into Silesia, parts of which he claimed as belonging to his estates. In consequence of his decisive victories over the Austrian army, all Silesia was ceded to him at the Peace of Breslau, 1742, he on his part acknowledging Maria Theresa as the lawful regent of Austria. But with the electoral prince of Bavaria, Charles Albrecht, who claimed to be the legitimate heir of the Austrian throne, the French formed in 1741 a coalition against Maria Theresa, and two French armies marched into Germany — one in the south, the other against Hanover, which with England and Hessia sided with Austria. The French suffered total defeat (1743) at Dettingen, and finally, after various changes of fortune of the several armies and protracted diplomatic trans- actions, Maria Theresa was acknowledged empress of Austria in the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, her husband having already, in 1742, been elected at Frankfurt emperor of Ger- many, at that time rather an empty title. These circumstances fully explain why Muhlenberg met a French army at Osna- briick, and a general who closely examined the travellers as to their political connections. Muhlenberg, declaring him- 34 Z//'^ AXD riiMES OF self a minister of the gospel, was at once set free. He had time enough to glance in the town-hall at the portraits of the ambassadors who, after most protracted discussion as to their respective privileges according to diplomatic etiquette, had finally, in 1648, brought peace to unfortunate Germany and an end to the Thirty Years' War. He also observed, in going through the streets, how the French soldiers in the exube- rance of their war-spirit, were dancing and leaping in torn pantaloons like wagtails, and how gladly the citizens would have seen the departure of these unclean birds. Departing at noon with a single companion in the stage, one of the two lawyers of Hanover having left him at Deven- ter, Muhlenberg considered it a special providence that, while yet in Westphalia near Bentheim, a merchant from Holland, bound for Amsterdam, joined his company. This gentleman took the pains to give him his first lessons in the Dutch lan- guage, of which Muhlenberg had ample occasion to make use at a much later time ; he also advised him to speak his good German with slow pronunciation, so that the Hollanders would readily understand him. They found that in the towns of Holland hardly anything was to be had gratuitously, save the chimes and their sentimental melodies. •Having reached the town of Norden, April loth, they went on board of a boat pulled by horses (the first time Muhlen- berg travelled b}" water), and arrived at Amsterdam, where his companion, performing his last act of kindness, guided him to Messrs. Deutz and Sons, to whom he handed the rec- ommendations given by his illustrious patrons at Hanover. They treated him with all politeness after the manner of the country, procured him comfortable lodgings, and gave him rec- ommendations to a merchant of high standing at Rotterdam, "Mr. Hering of the Loewenhoven by de Swane-Staeg." The lOth of April he spent in visiting some of the perishable curi- osities of this world of which the wealthy city boasts. He was more benefited b}' the first properly-prepared meal and the first undisturbed rest in a comfortable bed after five nights and days' travelling in a stage-coach. April iith he proceeded through HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 35 Leyden to Rotterdam, where Mr. Hering received him kindly, had him properly lodged, and took the trouble to show him the sights of the city. Arriving April loth at Briel, by the advice of a well-educated Hollander he took lodgings in an inn kept by an Englishman. Here he had occasion to observe that the tradesmen in their conversation spoke the English in such an abbreviated, hurried, and lisping way that he could not understand a word, though he had begun the study of that language at Gottingen, and even on some festive occa- sion had delivered at Grosshennersdorf an oration in English; which, however, not a soul understood save the local physi- cian, who had also acquired all his English at Gottingen. He tells us the good people at Briel thought he was rather deaf, and therefore screamed into his ears, thereby " making con- fusion worse confounded." He thought that if he had been a Frenchman he might have helped himself more readily by gesticulations, but, says he, " for such manoeuvres the Low Germans (Platt-Deutsche) and Hollanders are too stiff, and the common English people don't like the French." His English host, however, proved very kind and compassionate to the German stranger. April 14th the stage-coach took him to Helvoetsluys ; there he was booked in the regular packet-boat for England. Among the passengers was an Hungarian officer of the court at Vienna, who was sent on a special mission to England, spoke also the Latin, French, and to some extent the English language, and took a kind interest in Muhlenberg. When Muhlenberg, in answer to his inquir}-, had modestly informed him in Latin that he was a minister of the gospel on his way for America and upon his first sea-voyage, he looked after him in a fatherly manner. As soon as they had left port a contrary wind, in- creasing in vehemence, struck the ship. Sea-sickness over- came the passengers. Muhlenberg says that he was pros- trated as by palsy. The Hungarian gentleman formed the only exception, and, though two servants were at his com- mand, he was for two hours at the bed of his sick ward and nursed him. The stormy weather continued until, on the 36 LIFE AXD TIMES OF evening of April i6th, they cast anchor at Harwich, the first town of England which they reached. Not without consider- able trouble, though assisted by his Hungarian friend, Miihl- enberg landed his baggage. That gentleman managed to get a private room for himself and his ward for a short time, and asked him to pray for him, which Muhlenberg did not fail to do, interceding for him in a short prayer before the throne of grace. The gentleman was a Roman Catholic, but in his way expressed himself as a Christian. Before leaving he recommended Muhlenberg to the particular care of the stage- driver and took an affectionate farewell of his protege, who had cause to thank God for having an eye of mercy even for the "least of the children of men," and to remember the guardian angel of Tobit. Leaving Harwich in the afternoon of April i6th, he arrived at Colchester the same evening, made the best use he could of his stock of English, and after various unpleasant experi- ences with a drunken cab-driver through the endless streets of the city of London, he finally, on the evening of April 17, was safely brought to the house of Rev. Frederick Michael Ziegenhagen, D. D., court-preacher at the German St. James Chapel, who resided in the district of Kensington. Here he was first greeted by a young scholarly German theologian, John David Michaelis, then a guest of Ziegenhagen, to whom he at once introduced the stranger. Ziegenhagen welcomed Muhlenberg with thanks and praises to God. On the follow- ing day Miihlenberg moved to the lodgings which had already been taken for him in the vicinity, but he was kindly invited to be a daily guest at the table of Ziegenhagen. We have in Muhlenberg's own hand a detailed account of his life and the experiences of every day during his pro- tracted stay at London. There is no need to enter upon all these minutiae. Muhlenberg does not refer to the impressions made upon him by the buildings, bridges, galleries of paintings, monuments, and other curiosities. But he speaks repeatedly of the benefits he derived from his intercourse with his fatherly friend, the Rev. Dr. Ziegenhagen, who was a devout HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 37 Christian, a friend to the missionaries, a practical interpreter of the Scriptures, and by his position a man of an unusually wide range of pastoral experience, and who enjoyed the high esteem of persons of high social standing. .The German royal chapel, called St. James, was established in London through Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne, daughter of James II., and successor of William of Orange. The first incumbent of the charge had been Rev. Anton William Boehme, who used his position and influence to ameliorate the pitiable condition of the emigrants from the Palatinate, of whom about ten thousand were in 1709 encamped near London. Some thousands of them were settled in June, 17 10, by the English government on the shores of the Hudson. After Boehme's death Ziegenhagen was appointed in 1722, through the influence of A. H, Francke of Halle, his successor, and remained in the ofiice until, Jan. 24, 1776, he entered into his rest. He never mar- ried, and left his worldly possessions to the missions of East India and America. Hymns of his composition were sung in Lutheran congregations in the New World, and catechu- mens memorized an epitome of his catechism in rhymes of his making. It hardly need be told that he was in fullest sympathy with the Halle Pietism. This makes it perfectly plain that Muhlenberg could unreservedly enter into his feelings and views, and that he approached this witness for gospel truth in an elevated position with much reverence. The novelty of sojourning at London amid the turbulent waves of its social life and frivolous gayety might have exer- cised a distracting influence upon the mind of a man who had led a quiet pastoral existence in one of the most remote cor- ners of German}'. It appears that Muhlenberg was in no way attracted or influenced by it, but rejoiced in his intercourse with Ziegenhagen and other men who served the thousands of Germans living in that metropolis of the world's com- merce and wealth in the pastoral office, or awakened his interest by their erudition in theology and cognate branches of learning. In this respect his acquaintance with the learned 38 LIFE AND TIMES OF Michaelis, whom as a teacher he had known in Germany, was of much advantage to him. This young scholar was at that time travelhng to perfect his general education and to make use of the literary treasures of different countries. In this respect the great libraries and antiquarian collections of Lon- don and of other celebrated seats of learning and literature in England were things of great interest to him. Michaelis, who was born in 17 17 at Halle, and had received instruction in classics in the higher branches of the schools connected with the Orphan-House, after his return from England began his career as a public teacher at the University of Gottingen in 1745, and was appointed in 1756 professor of Oriental languages and literature in that seat of learning. He lectured, however, also on a general variety of topics of exegetical and systematic theology, published books con- taining most valuable information on antiquities and other subjects pertaining to the interpretation of the Bible, edited essays on the study of Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac, and rose to highest eminence as a linguist and theologian. When meeting Muhlenberg at London in 1742 he had not yet adopted those views of the Supranaturalistic School, as it is called in Germany, which, while professing to oppose Ration- alism in principle, makes, nevertheless, so many concessions to it that the orthodox faith has reason to be afraid of such friends no less than of its pronounced opponents. But this is the position Michaelis held in later years. He lost much of what he had imbibed in his youth at Halle, and the fun- damental ideas of the Bible lost under his treatment in later years much of their substantiality. The missionary whom he met at the quiet house of Ziegenhagen never rose, it is true, to high renown in the world of letters, but, holding fast to the old landmarks, he laid the foundation of the Lutheran Church in the New World, and thereby raised for himself a more noble monument, lasting through ages. It afforded pleasure to Muhlenberg to become acquainted with other men engaged either in serving German Lutheran congregations in the large city, like the Rev. H. A. Butjender, HEXRY MELCHION MUHLENBERG. 39 pastor from 1732 of the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Mary's Church in the district of Savoy in London, or being engaged in the cause of Christ's kingdom in other relations. Ziegenhagen took his friend also to the house where the Society de Promovenda Cognitione Christi, with which the " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts " was united since 1701, met. Muhlenberg also found occasion to preach and to assist in the administration of the Lord's Supper. It seems that in view of the mission of his life he derived the greatest benefit for himself from his daily inter- course with Ziegenhagen, whose extensive pastoral experience and penetration in the analysis and practical application of Bible texts proved to him of much advantage. With humble modesty he sat many a blessed hour at the feet of this godly teacher, and found himself again and again instructed, encour- aged, and spiritually benefited. Of course London could only be a transient station for Muhlenberg, whose destination was the far West beyond the Atlantic. But London served him in various ways to prepare him better for his future work. Arrangements were made to procure him a passage in a vessel intended to proceed to sea soon after Whitsunday. On May 24th, Ziegenhagen handed to him the formal official call to the Evangelical Lutheran congregations of Philadelphia, New Providence, and New Hanover in Pennsylvania. It was a memorable moment, in which Muhlenberg profoundly felt the responsibility which he took upon himself and the dif- ficulties he would have to contend with. Viewing the very peculiar character of his mission, he was distressed with seri- ous misgivings about his own ability. The comforting and encouraging words of his fatherly friend proved to him a great blessing. It was a matter of minor concern that the landlord with whom he lodged in Kensington, a godly man, Mr. Matthison, who had in 1733 proved himself very service- able, through his knowledge of the English language, to the first company of Salzburg Lutheran refugees on their voyage to Savannah, Ga., took him to a London merchant-tailor to 40 LIFE AXD TIMES OF procure for him a ministerial gown, an article in those times much less dispensable to a pastor than in our age. The gown intended for public services in Lutheran churches in Pennsyl- vania was like the gowns of the clergy of the Anglican Church. In this kind of robe Lutheran pastors were hereafter in a great many places in America clothed when performing public ser- vices. It differs considerably from the official dress of Luther- an clergymen in Germany and other countries. A number of other necessaries besides this had to be provided for the voyage. During his stay at London, Muhlenberg sent also letters to a considerable number of benevolent patrons and dear friends in Germany, among whom Francke and Oporin were not for- gotten. It was the wish of Ziegenhagen that Muhlenberg should, before proceeding to Pennsylvania, pay a visit in Georgia to the Salzburg Lutherans, who had settled there and founded Ebenezer, about twenty-four miles west of Savannah. He also desired the Rev. Boltzius, one of the two Ebenezer pastors, to accompany Muhlenberg to Pennsylvania, and to assist him in beginning his pastoral labors and in the work of organizing in the same way the Lutherans found there. With this ar- rangement Muhlenberg was perfectly satisfied, and takes occa- sion in his narrative to refer to Eccles. iv. lo: "Woe to him that is alone, when he falleth, for he has not another to help him up." For this reason Ziegenhagen had taken passage for him on the packet-ship for Georgia, which the trustees intended to send thither, where General J. E. Oglethorpe, in their behalf, administered the affairs of the province. George II. of England had set apart a large tract of land south of the Savannah River for the benefit of poor people of England and Protestant refugees from other countries. The management of the land was in the hands of a number of bishops and members of Parliament as trustees, in whose behalf Oglethorpe acted. When all Protestant Christendom was greatly excited on account of the expulsion of thousands of orderly, honest, and industrious evansfelical Christians from tlieir native land HEXRV MELCHIOR ML'HLEXBERG. 4 1 and their homes by the bigoted and intolerant bishop of Salz- burg, L. A. Firmian, about 173 1, the trustees, in union with the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," resolved to transport three hundred of these exiles to Georgia, and to provide for them in temporal and spiritual things until they were able to take care of themselves. The Rev. Sam. Urlsperger, senior of the Lutheran clergy at Augsburg, offered his services in this philanthropic enterprise. Oct. i, 1733, the first party started from Augsburg, and were joined at Rotterdam by the Rev. John Martin Boltzius and Rev. Israel Christian Gronau, formerly teachers in the institutions founded by H. A. Francke at Halle. The first Salzburgers arrived at Savannah March ii, 1734, and settled in the locality by them called Ebenezer. Encouraged by good reports from the col- onists, in September, 1734, another party, of fifty-seven per- sons, left for Georgia, who again were followed in 1736 by a third party. Other Salzburg emigrants had in 1733 settled in Holland, but were not in congenial surroundings there, and numbers of them again emigrated. A family of Salzburg emigrants we find companions of Muhlenberg on his voyage across the ocean. They were of those who for a time had settled in Holland, having been residents of Casant in the province of Seeland. The trustees were not willing to pay their travelling expenses. Ziegenhagen, showing a noble example of Christian charity, gave for them no less than about thirty pounds sterling, in addition to which they had Muhlenberg as a companion and as a spiritual adviser during the voyage. After sojourning nine weeks in London, Miihlenberg (Fri- day, June nth) took farewell of Rev. Butjender and Rev. Ziegenhagen. With the latter he had profitably spent some hours of that day. They parted with the feeling that they would not meet again in this world — a presentiment which f the subsequent course of events verified. On the following day Mr. Matthison and Muhlenberg took the tide-boat to meet the packet-ship, a brigantine, which had proceeded to Grav^esend. In the afternoon of June 13th, 42 LIFE AND TIMES OF Miihlenberg went on the ship, where he met a number of the trustees, and was introduced to the captain, McClellan, who, as Muhlenberg says, was a morose Scotchman, but in speaking Latin used the continental pronunciation — a circumstance which gave Muhlenberg an opportunity to converse with him in that language. With the rest he had to use his stock of English as best he could. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 43 CHAPTER IV. 1742 [coulinitcd). Voyage acrcss the Atlantic. — The armature of the ship. — Misery experienced. — Dangerous foes. — Salzburgers on board. — Muhlenberg's interest in them. — .Slow progress. — Painful want of drinking-water. — Uncongenial fellow-pas- sengers.— IMiihlenberg's influence over them. — He conducts services in the English language. — His conversation with the Spanish cook. ONE of the first objects of interest to a traveller going on board of a ship is to inquire about the kind of vessel to which he commits himself and the passengers with whom he is there to associate. Generally speaking, ships crossing the ocean at that time were not "floating palaces," as we now sometimes hear them called, but rather floating prisons, fort- resses, or, what is much worse, hospitals. Frightful in those times in many cases was the mortalit}^ on board of them. For one-third of the passengers to find their last resting-place in the sea was nothing uncommon. One vessel which in 1738 arrived in Philadelphia had during the voyage lost no less than two hundred and fifty souls. Passengers were crowded into the ships in a most inhuman manner, and experienced frequently most unjust and cruel treatment. Diseases — among them smallpox, the most loathsome of all — produced unspeakable distress. William Penn himself had a mournful experience of this when the first time, in 1682, he paid a visit to his province, Pennsylvania. Christopher Sauer, who de- serves to be kept in remembrance as the publisher of the first German edition of the Bible in America, in 1743 at German- town (the first English edition appeared at Philadelphia in 1782), and editor of the first German periodical in the New World, affirms that during one year more than two thousand 44 LIFE AND TIMES OF individuals had died whilst coming over from Europe, and adds that this had happened especially in consequence of the inhuman treatment to which passengers were exposed and the overcrowding of the ships. The ship in which Muhlenberg, as he says in his diary, with his companions had to live or to die was provided with no less than ten iron cannons and quite a number of other weapons of war, and could therefore rather be called a floating fortress, not excluding, however, the idea of a prison. The idea of a fortress held good as long as no powerful and dangerous enemy was at hand. In such an event the fate of the vessel appeared to Muhlenberg quite doubtful, for the ship was an old one, had seen much service, had only two masts, and thus little chance of escape, and in fact only seven sailors and no soldiers. What good could the ten cannons do in an emer- gency ? Among the six steerage passengers were the Salz- burg family and four adepts of the art of tailoring; the cabins were occupied, in addition to Muhlenberg, by a lawyer, a cus- tom-house officer, a trader, two " young fellows," a lieutenant, and one woman. To these must be added the captain, the cook (a Spanish captive), a drummer, a boy as steward, and the helmsman. Certainly, all these forces combined were not of much value either for attack or defence. The misgivings of Muhlenberg on the emergency question were apparently shared by the gentlemen trustees, who wisely had made pro- vision to have the Georgia packet-ship safely escorted by a vessel of the royal navy — an arrangement, in those times of frequent piracy and privateering, very common, and calculated to give courage to the passengers. Muhlenberg intimates that his companions also had much trust in their royal convoy. June 13, at 5 P. m., the anchors were weighed, and by and by the houses of Gravesend disappeared in the background. There was no attack from outside, but from within a grim foe did his humiliating work, and before long the whole vessel looked, as Mijhlenberg says, like a lazaretto. Unfortunately, for this contingency no preparations had been made ; no bed HEXRY MELCIIIOK MLIILEXBERG. 45 was in proper condition to receive the sufferers in its tender folds, and they had to find their resting-places here and there on the floor as best they could. Muhlenberg did not escape the general misery, and in addition to it caught a severe cold, and June 14th, as he says, " could not lift his head." The ves- sel reached Ramsgate Road, and had to wait for high tide. On the 15th they passed Dover, had fine weather, and saw the coast of France and even some church-spires. Miihlen- berg, however, continued in his miserable condition, though some mulled wine to which the captain treated him made some improvement of his condition. On the following day a two-masted vessel sailed directly toward them. The cap- tain, stating that occasionally Spanish privateers had taken ships by pretending to be French fishing-vessels, made a display of both courage and strength by commanding the drummer to belabor his drum, the guns to be loaded, and everything to be made ready for defensive action ; then asked the foe, through the speaking-trumpet, what they wanted, and received the comforting answer that they were Frenchmen engaged in fishing. Muhlenberg, feeling during the confu- sion concerned about the Salzburgers and inquiring after them, was pleased to find the mother with her children engaged in singing " Kin feste Burg ist unser Gott." Such faith, he thought, would form a much better protection than all the drumming and warlike preparations. He adds that on this occasion he was much distressed by the English habit of cursing and swearing. The behavior of the cabin-passen- gers, their profane language and absurd pranks at this time, were exceedingly disgusting to him, and he took no pains to conceal the state of his mind. They, observing this, began to rail at him, to which the captain, though himself joining in the general folly, at once put a stop. In the afternoon of the same day Miihlenberg gave the children of the Salz- burg family a lesson in reading — a work which he continued throughout the whole voyage, instructing them also in mat- ters of religion. He also held frequently religious services with the whole family, and sometimes was, when the weather 46 LIFE AND TIMES OF was pleasant, sitting with them on deck and singing the well- known German church-songs, which attracted the attention of the other passengers and the crew. It would not be without interest, but lead us too far, if we were to follow up the incidents of every day of the voyage, of which Miihlenberg has left us a minute description. The ship made slow progress — a thing in those days not at all unusual. Passing Beachy Head June 17th, they arrived on the following day, at up. m., at Spithead, near Portsmouth, where on the following morning six men-of-war of the Eng- lish navy presented a beautiful sight. Most of the passengers paid a visit to Portsmouth, but returned in the evening to the vessel in a drunken condition, much to the chagrin of Miihl- enberg, who had used the quiet day to bring his effects into proper order and for meditation and prayer. On the 23d of June he also visited Portsmouth, with a view once more to get a meal which his stomach, totally nauseated by the fare offered in the ship, might possibh' retain. The captain received here the unwelcome information that the convoy he had expected could not be given to him, since the govern- ment of England, being then involved in a naval war with France and Spain, which ended with the Peace of Aix-la- Chapelle in 1748, needed all available war-vessels for another expedition then to be undertaken. He could, however, expect some protection from a man-of-war which had orders to cruise in the English Channel as far west as Land's End. Signals having been given by this vessel, he set sail June 27th, early in the morning, but reached that day, sailing against contrary winds, only St. Helen on the Isle of Wight, a distance of about twenty-five miles. Starting again the following day, they were driven back by the storm, and had to lay by, as on June 30th the force of the storm increased. Miihlenberg, who here despatched his third letter since leaving London to Ziegenhagen, found himself in a miserable condition. The Salzburgers, who alone of all the souls on board could sympathize with his religious feelings, became a source of comfort to him, and he delighted in devoting to them as HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 47 much care as he could. It was here reported that Spanish pirates had in that vicinity taken two EngHsh ships, and that another pirate ship of twenty-four guns was cruising in the Channel. July 3d the captain returned again from St. Helen to take a safe position among the ships of the navy near Portsmouth. There they saw the Spanish privateer St. Sebastian, which ship had taken no less than thirty-nine English vessels before it was overpowered. An English ship with two hundred Germans on board, and intended for Philadelphia, was also there at anchor, but in a sad condi- tion, since in the night a bloody fight had taken place be- tween the Germans and the sailors. Another attempt was made, July 6th, to make progress under the conduct of a convoy. The weather was wet and stormy. The behavior of the passengers in cabin and steer- age was disgusting to Muhlenberg, who lay sick in his ham- mock. He felt seriously how much more distressing it is to be sick on board of a ship than on land. Meals proper for his condition he could not procure. There was a fright again among the crew and the passengers on account of the appear- ance of three vessels of doubtful character. But they proved to be friends. July 9th, Land's End was passed, and the fol- lowing day the convoy left them, the captain thereof honestly stating that the packet-ship was not likely to reach America, since she was too old and had too heavy a cargo. The cap- tain of the ship was, however, not at all despondent : he com- pelled all the men on board to drill, handed them arms, and gave every one his position on board in case of an attack. The smell of powder on this occasion had a wholesome effect on Muhlenberg, so that he could take and retain some nour- ishment, the first time for a number of days. July 12th a ship came in sight, but soon took another course. The same hap- pened often during the voyage, but no attack was made. Not before July 2 2d was the wind favorable. About the 24th the captain supposed that they were near the island of Madeira; the ship was then in latitude 36° 37' N., and continued to pur- sue a southerly course. The increase of a warm temperature 48 LIFE AND TIMES OF was painfully felt, and drove large numbers of rats from the hold of the ship into the hammocks of the passengers, the perspiration from whose bodies they licked off whilst sleep- ing, and disturbed them. July 29th the wind again took a contrary turn. August 5th, a happy change took place, and the ship made considerable headway. Aug. 6th they were in lat- itude 29° 2'; on the loth they passed the Tropic of Cancer, which gave to the crew of the vessel occasion to amuse them- selves, according to custom, at the expense of the passengers, two of whom they took from the steerage, tied them with ropes, and repeatedly immersed them in the waters of the ocean. For the Salzburgers, Muhlenberg paid a ransom to secure them against such frivolities. Aug. 14th they were becalmed, which condition continued for a number of days. These days of welcome rest Muhlenberg employed to write his diary. Aug. 30th the wind changed to the north, chilled the air, and brought rain. Every one now hastened to gather the falling drops in every available manner and all sorts of vessels. Such water was neither clean nor sweet, but com- pared with the water on board of the ship it was prized highly. Unfortunately, the supply was very limited, and soon the lack of drinkable water was most painfully felt by the passengers and by the crew. Sept. 6th the captain reckoned that he could not be very far distant from Carolina. Seeing a bank of fog, some had cried, " Land ! land !" Of water very small rations were now given. Sept. 7th and the following days a contrar)' wind drove them backward. On the 9th they were becalmed. The lack of water was now felt as a painful afflic- tion, and, becoming more and more serious, the captain re- membered that he had somewhere on board some bottles of vinegar. They were found, but some of them without corks and half empty. The mystery of this phenomenon was solved by observing that the rats gnawed off the corks and put their tails down into the bottles, in this cunning manner to get and to enjoy the fluid. We may easily imagine that a shower of rain, setting in on the following day, was considered a real Godsend. Another and a heavier one on Sept. 12th met with HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 49 no less appreciation. On Sept. i6th all on board the ship were without any drinkable water. To attract the attention of two English war-ships cruising in the vicinity the captain hoisted the Spanish colors. They came now without any delay, and their commanders, hearing that the packet wished to deliver letters to them and that there was no drinkable water on board, assisted the sufferers by giving them three casks of the precious fluid. The water leaking from them was taken up b}' the Salzburg children as if it was nectar, though it was anything but fresh and sweet. On account of the danger of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, who a few weeks previous had landed five thousand soldiers in Georgia, it was resolved to follow in the wake of the two ships of war, which sailed for Charleston. But, losing sight of them, the captain, finding his way finally to the sand-banks on the coast of South Carolina not very far from Charleston, met on Tuesday, Sept. 21st, with a pilot, and on the following day in the morning fired a ^salute in the harbor with his rusty can- nons, to which the ship of the commodore stationed there promptly responded. Muhlenberg set his foot Sept. 23d upon the soil of the New World. No less than one hundred and two days had been spent on board of the Georgia packet-ship. To him those days were not only exceedingly tedious, but they were to a large extent a period of actual misery. It seems that he was constitution- ally more than many others a prey to sea- sickness. Through- out the whole voyage he had again and again to succumb to that disgusting enemy, calculated to destroy whatever there is of pleasure or interest in crossing the mighty ocean. But Muhlenberg's vital force, in addition to this aggravated mal- ady, had to fight against sickness in another and more dan- gerous form. All the ordinary functions of the bodily organ- ism were greatly disturbed, and he was so reduced that he had the strongest reasons to think that his end was near. His stomach had with dreadful obstinacy refused to retain any food. A drink of clear, cold, refreshing water was not to be had. The passengers one day had caught some mackerel, and 4 50 LIFE AND TIMES OF after having some properly prepared they brought it to Muhl- enberg, who was laid up in bed. This morsel of fresh and digestible food he could enjoy, and it moved him to special gratitude toward God. One of the first things he did after passing, Sept. 22d, the fort in the harbor of Charleston, was to have some fresh vegetables brought on board ; which to him and the Salzburgers proved quite a rare treat. Bodily ills were, however, the minor part of the sufferings from which in that ship there was no escape. There was not one soul on board who was able to offer to Muhlenberg any social satisfaction or to enter with sympathy and encourage- ment into his religious views and feelings. It was some cause of satisfaction to him that in quiet hours he could join the Salzburger family on deck and sit with them singing the grand old soul-stirring church-songs, or pray with them or explain to them the precious words of the gospel and apply them to the peculiar circumstances under which all were placed, or instruct the children. But whilst he could give to them in divine things, their education and spiritual condi- tion were not advanced enough to prove a benefit to him. As to the rest of the society on board of the ship, the whole party was, without any excepti(Mi, of a very indifferent character. There was not only the continuous use of profane language, but the principles, manners, enjoyments, tendencies of these people were so totally worldly and vulgar, and the standard of their education was so low, that not with one of them could Muhlenberg enter into a friendly exchange of sentiments and feelings. Occasionally better elements seemed to gain con- trol over these men. But all of a sudden the wild, frivolous spirit broke out irrepressibly. The young merchant who was one of the company had for a time by his sedate behavior made a favorable impression upon Muhlenberg ; but when, in consequence of an altercation, a boxing-match was arranged between two passengers, that young man was the most bus\' in giving a helping hand to the disgusting affair. When Muhlenberg reproached him on this subject, he answered that his only mterest had been to see that all would be carried HEXR Y MEL CHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 5 I • out " in good Christian order." One of the passengers felt moved in a quiet evening hour to read to his companions a rehgious tract. ]\Uihlenberg relates that they all felt very drowsy, and some fell asleep whilst the reading proceeded, but that after the recital had come to an end they were all very lively. That the entertainments which they used to while away the time, such as singing of worldly songs of a doubtful character, disputations, mock trials, and similar pas- times, were not to his taste needs no remark. But it is a circumstance pleasant and instructiv^e to read that Muhlenberg, who never held back his own principles and convictions, enjoyed not only the respect due to his official character, but indeed the high personal esteem of the whole ship's compan}-, and especially of his fellow-passengers in the cabin. They soon found out what manner of man he was. The impressions they received from his way of speaking and acting and from his whole personality were of such a charac- ter that, whilst he could not bring about in the short space of time allotted to him and under peculiar trying circumstances, a desirable change of their principles and views, and could not prevent the natural outbreak of their unchristian spirits on many occasions, he nevertheless in various ways exercised a controlling influence o\-er them. Not for a moment did he in word or deed put under the bushel his character as a Christian or as a minister and messenger of Christ. Perhaps some of the views advanced b)' him in his frequent conversations with the members of the societ}' around him rna\' to some appear to have been somewhat too rigoristic, too exacting. But his arguments against dancing, duelling — a duel with swords or pistols between the lawyer and the custom-house officer was already proposed, and only prevented b}- his interference — and against similar exhibitions of the natural man and his propensities, were of such practical convincing force that the\- were calculated to move the thoughts of his hearers in a dif- ferent direction. Indeed, they have not lost their power at the present day. The judicious zeal with which Miihlen- berg often not without a happ\- gleam of genuine humor and 52 LIFE AXD TIMES OF wit quite peculiar to him, approached the heads and the hearts of the motley company around him deserves all admiration. It is a pleasant testimony to the esteem in which Miihlen- berg was held by the captain and all the company on board of the ship that not officially, but actually, he performed the part of the ship's chaplain. He placed himself in this posi- tion, taking, his own way. When, Sunday, July 4th, he had held service with the Salzburgers, and some of the passengers had taken a boat for Portsmouth, in the neighborhood of which the ship at that time was lying at anchor, Muhlenberg, being left alone with the captain and the rest of the company, requested that some one would read chapter xv. of the Gospel of St. Luke. After this was done he put the ques- tion as to what the meaning and import of these parables were. Every one gave his opinion, especially on the Prodigal Son. The captain's view, that he ceased to live a vicious life and adopted an honest and respectable course, was sufficiently and easily refuted by simply referring to the words of the con- text. The conversation having turned to the first part of chap- ter iii. of the Gospel of St. John, the captain asked what the words " water and spirit " here indicated. Muhlenberg eluci- dated this by referring to Num. xix. ; Heb. ix. ; John xix. 34, 35. Finally, the conversation drifted to the topic of predes- tination, which gave Muhlenberg an occasion to elucidate the Bible teachings on this point. The captain seemed to be well pleased, and the others also expressed their gratitude. When, on the following Sunday, Mi^ihlenberg again held service with the Salzburgers, the captain and some of the Englishmen attended, though at a distance, and were apparently affected by the German singing. They felt urged also to do some- thing for their improvement : one of them took his Book of Common Prayer, another the Spectator, another Fenelon's Adventures of TelemacJius. Muhlenberg then took advantage of the opportunity to speak privately to the captain, and to remind him of his duty as a father to have a concern also for the spiritual welfare of all the souls entrusted to him. He told him plainly that on board of his ship not the least was HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 53 done for the edification of the people in the Enghsh language, and suggested that there were persons there who could read a chapter of the Bible or a printed English sermon, or could even sing a psalm, since they at least were called Christians. To this the captain simply answered with a sigh. A few days later Muhlenberg found a chance again to address himself to the passengers. They inquired what was the origin of the word " Protestant." He gave them a short sketch of the life of Luther and of the history of the Reformation, but finished by telling them that from the greatest to the least he could not call them true Protestants, but rather the reverse of this, since by their lives and behavior they protested against God and his holy Word, to the great injury of themselves. They admitted that in this he was right. It is plain that if Muhlenberg wanted any office on board the ship, he did not use flattery as a means of ingratiating himself with them. But when, during the morningf hours of Sunday, July 1 8th, he had again held religious services with the Salzburgers, in the afternoon the captain requested him to hold divine service with the whole company on the ship. To his answer that he did not feel himself sufficiently master of the English language, and was afraid of giving occasion of derision, the captain paid no attention. The lawyer was re- quested to read prayers from the Book of Common Prayer. The people were gathered together by the sound of the bell, prayers were read, and Mi.ihlenberg delivered his first English sermon, the ship being his church, with the heavens as the dome over it, and the strangers around him his congregation, and as such attentive enough. When he was occasionally in want of a proper English word he gave it in Latin to the cap- tain at his side, and he put it in English. If we should for a moment doubt whether the seed thus strewn upon those souls on the wide expanse of the ocean resulted in any good fruit, eternity alone will answer. On every succeeding Sunday during the voyage Miihlen- berg was requested to hold service in the English language for thc'benefit of the people on board the ship. He was also 54 LIFE AND TIMES OF expected to read the prayers, since the lawyer, who thus far had served as a lay-reader, in consequence of his general charac- ter no longer appeared the proper individual for the perform- ance of that duty. Muhlenberg found no reason why he should not, under the peculiar circumstances in which he found himself, use the prayers which to the people of the Anglican Church were a rich source of edification. Service was usually held toward evening, when the oppressive heat somewhat dimin- ished. The texts of his sermons he selected with a proper regard for the necessities of his hearers. Considering that the words of Ezekiel xviii. 27 are among the introductory verses in the Evening Prayer found in the Rook of Common Prayer, and that his hearers so often had listened to them without properly appreciating their meaning, he spoke, July 25th, the sixth Sunday after Trinity, on those words, and was gratified to see the close attention of his auditory, but grieved to find that impressions received were not powerful enough to counteract the force of worldly habits and ungodly proclivi- ties. His sermon had five parts. On three of these — viz. the meaning of the words " the wicked," the characteristics of wickedness, and the turning away from it — he had spoken. On the following Sunday the captain requested him to continue that sermon. Muhlenberg spoke on the two other parts, the turning to Christ and the walk and conversation of the con- verted. He noticed a considerable interest on the part of some of his hearers in the truth laid before them, and found it advisable on Sunday, Aug. 15th, once more to return to that text, especially to the concluding words : " He shall save his soul alive." On Sunday, Aug. 22d, he felt little disposed to preach again, since the behavior of his fellow-passengers had been rather discouraging to him. But the request having been made repeatedly, he resisted no longer, but preached on Matt. v. 3 : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Sunday, Aug. 29th, he spoke on John vii. 33 : " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink;" Sept. 5th, on Luke xviii. 9-14, the Pharisee and the Publican; Sept. 12th, on Heb. xii. 22-25; Sept. 19th, on HEXRY MELCHIOK MUHLENBERG. 55 Ps. I. 5. But whilst trying to benefit those whom he could approach only in the English language, he was not neglect- ful of others, and held every Sunday forenoon special services with the Salzburgers. In all this Muhlenberg was certainly doing a good work. But with these public and general services he was not satis- fied, and therefore undertook, whenever occasion was given, to exercise special pastoral care in his intercourse with the diverse souls with whom God there had placed him. , Even that unfortunate captive, the cook, who as a Spaniard was under the sway of his Roman Catholic views and traditions, was drawn by Muhlenberg into conversation. The cook com- plained that he had been greatly offended at London by the behavior of persons professedly belonging to the Anglican Church, and that the same had taken place on board of this ship : there was, he said, much more devotion observable on Spanish ships. Miihlenberg answered that he would allow him as a cook of good common sense to judge for himself If, on the one hand, a wealthy gentleman of high position should furnish a room and in it a splendid supper, and deco- rate the wall with the finest paintings, and set out the tables with imitations in wood and stone of all sorts of viands, and command, under pain of punishment, his hungry and thirsty, blind and lame, healthy and sick subjects to come in, what benefit could these guests derive from all this splendid mock- ery ? They would come out of the hall the same miserable, needy beings they were when they entered. Now, on the other hand, said he, the great King of kings has prepared a place where all the walls are hanging full of garments to cover the entire body, where the tables are laden with the finest bread, milk, wine, and other kinds of wholesome food, and where never-failing medicines are plentifully supplied to heal all diseases ; and the King sends a proclamation that all his subjects are at liberty to come, no matter what their condition and social position, and receive all as a gift of free grace without any compensation. Muhlenberg wished the cook to judge for himself about the respective value of each 56 LIFE AXD TIMES OF of the two arrangements. " In your Church," he said, " there are very splendid paintings and imposing representations, but the bread, the milk, the wine, the garments of salvation, the medicines, are not given to you: in the evangelical Church the substantial realities are placed before the people and freely offered to them. Of course there are those who thankfully accept of them, and are benefited for time and eternity ; many others make no proper use of the grace offered to them and are heedless to their own loss." The cook found these com- parisons perfectly comprehensible, but maintained that the Bread of life was not withheld in his Church from the peo- ple, and that the ceremonies they could count additional entremets. Muhlenberg intimated that Christ, the real Saviour of the world, was the only Bread of life — that his righteousness was the only raiment of honor in which alone a penitent and believing sinner can appear before God. The words which came from Christ's lips unaltered and 'unabbre- viated, his Spirit operative through them, and the sacraments ordained by him, are milk and wine and unfailing medicine for our souls. Mary's soul and the souls of other saints are in the place allotted to them ; the bodies are given to corruption, and their artistic representations are mere shadowy things in which there is no salt, no strength, no life. The cook thought that in his country such teachings would not be tolerated. Muhlenberg indicated as the cause of this that men loved darkness more than light and truth. The cook replied that in his Church all were united under one head, but that there were among Protestants as many diverging opinions as heads. Muhlenberg said that he could enlarge much on this subject; he would, however, briefly illustrate the matter by a compari- son. The Roman Church was like a very large cemetery extending over the whole earth, in which a large number of undertakers, gravediggers, pipers, etc. are entertained, and these dead ones bury the dead. In the cemetery all is quiet, peaceful, silent, but among the undertakers, gravedig- gers, pipers, etc. there is no end to parties, disputes, con- flicts ; and they long ago would have devoured one another HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 57 had not secular and worldly interests kept them under some control. The Protestant religion and Church, on the other hand, could be compared to an extensive, well-built hospital of many wards and rooms, all under one roof and full of- innumerable sick people, suffering with all conceivable heredi- tary diseases and maladies, provided with many doctors, sur- geons, assistants, nurses, attendants, and supplied with medi- cines and all possible means and instrumentalities to care for the sufferers. Of course there is in it no end of complaints," cries, murmurings, desires; the medicines also are often abused, and there are vitiated exhalations from the many sick, and disputes going on among the doctors, superintendents, and nurses. But all this is under perpetual control of an almighty, omnipresent, most benevolent, gracious, and merciful Head and Master who overrules all and exercises compassion. " Now say, dear cook, would you rather be dead than alive ? Is not life sweet? Would you not rather live among the sick in the hospital, in hope of perfect restoration, than decay silently in the cemetery ?" The cook said he hoped to be saved in the Church in which he was born. Muhlenberg told him that he, like all the children of Adam, was conceived in sin, born flesh of flesh, dead unto that which was good in the sight of "" God, and inclined to evil ; that through holy baptism he was engrafted into Christ as the Tree of life, transferred into the kingdom of grace through the influence of the Holy Spirit, to the end that he should devote his life to Him who had died for him and risen again, and now sitteth at the rigrht hand of God the Father. " Did you," asked Mi^ihlenberg, " keep the sacred covenant of your baptism? Did you never willingly and purposely do wrong since the time your con- science has admonished you and told you of the distinction between right and wrong?" The man admitted that he had grievously sinned. To the question how he hoped to be f released of his sins and be saved, he answered, " By interces- sions and good works." He thought that a poor subject had little chance in his distress of being admitted to the king, but through a friend at the royal court he might obtain \\\i object. 58 LIFE AxVD TIMES OF This comparison Muhlenberg considered as faulty in such aspect. Kings and their courtiers deserve all proper honor ; they can prove a great help to their distressed subjects, but they cannot forgive sins : no one on earth save Jesus Christ has power to forgive sin. God's command is, " Thou "shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve him alone." The case was a clear one : a king may have thousands of poor suffer- ing subjects : if every one of them required his own interces- sor, the king would be obliged to have an equal number pf courtiers; therefore a comparison between Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and an earthly potentate, is out of place ; Christ knoweth all, and is gracious and full of compassion ; there is with him no need of intercessors, since he himself intercedes for us with the Father. He invites all heavy- ladened, hungry, and thirsty souls, all sick and broken hearts, sinners and publicans, not to angels or to the Virgin Mary or saints, but to himself and to the Father ; and there is salvation in no other name but his own. "As to good works," he said, " no one could rationally suppose that a gardener could offer to his master good apples or apricots when not even a seed or a tree -is planted : from an uncon- verted man dead in sin we could as little expect works pleas- ing in the sight of God as grapes from thorns or figs from thistles." The cook said that all this he had pretty well understood, and intended with his prayers directly to go to Christ. Mi^ihlenberg adds that the man proved to be very reliable and w^illing in the duties of his office, that he was kindly disposed toward the Salzburgers, and that nobody ever heard him use profane language, which of some of the Protestants on board could not be said. The conversation with this cook has a peculiar interest for us. Not one of Muhlenberg's sermons has in its entire form come down to us. We have found in his manuscripts skeletons of such, which prove the faithful conscientiousness and zeal wherewith he attended to this important part of his pastoral duty. But we are perhaps not committing an error in consid- ering his conversation with the cook as typical of the popular, HEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 59 illustrative, argumentative, interesting method he used in ad- dressing the people. One- thing is certain : no man could make better use of his time and opportunities than Muhlenberg did under discourag- ing circumstances during the tedious voyage across the Atlan- tic. With him theology was indeed not a possession of a cer- tain compass of knowledge, but the habitus of the whole man. While others trifled away the precious days he was always ready and active in throwing out his net into the waters of the deep to catch souls and to bring them to Christ. 6o LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER V. 1742 {co)itinued). Arrival at Charleston. — Muhlenberg's inquiries for the Germans there. — John Lederer, the German explorer of the Carolinas — Dutch Lutherans in South Carolina. — German settlers on the Congaree. — Muhlenberg meets negro slaves. — He sets out for Georgia. — Incidents. — Divine services on shore in a Presbyterian family. — Beaufort. — Arrival at Savannah. — James Oglethorpe. — John and Charles Wesley. — Methodism in contact with Pietism and Moravian- ism. — Thomas Stephens. — Rev. J. Chr. Gronau comes to meet Muhlenberg, and accompanies him to Ebenezer. — The locality. — Rev. J. M. Boltzius. — Rev H. H. Lembke. — Condition of the Salzburgers. — J. Fr. Vigera. — Do- nation of J. M. Kiderlin. WHEN Miihlenberg (Sept. 23, 1742) was transferred in a canoe from the Georgia packet-ship, in which he had in his voyage across the Atlantic been imprisoned for about fifteen weeks, to Charleston, his first inquiry was whether he could find there any of his German countrymen. The name of the German explorer John Lederer, a man of education, is for ever connected with the history of both Car- olinas. He was sent out in the years 1669 and 167O by Gov- ernor Berkeley of Virginia in three different expeditions to explore the lands south and west of the James River. At that time there were in North Carolina no white settlers. The whole extensive territory was in the undisputed posses- sion of the Indians. On his second expedition Lederer — who was left alone with an Indian, as his English companions from lack of courage had forsaken him — found his way through the wilderness and the Indians, who sometimes treated him kindly, sometimes threatened his life, as far south as the Santee River, consequently into the very centre of the present State of South Carolina. When he returned to Virginia the envy of his former HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 6l companions deprived him of the credit due to his heroism. Governor Talbot of Maryland, becoming acquainted with him, translated Lederer's journal from Latin, in which it was orig- inally written, into English, and published it. Thus the trav- eller's name and work were preserved, and contribute to the history of geographical discoveries. Whilst John Lederer in 1670 broke through the wilderness, the first settlers. Englishmen, arrived in the south-eastern part of South Carolina on the island of Port Royal, near the pres- ent Beaufort, but settled a few months later, " for the conve- nience of pasturage and tillage," on the banks of the Ashley River, and laid the foundation of Charleston, several miles from the present city, which, situated on a peninsula between Cooper and Ashley Rivers, was on account of its healthier climate selected in 1680 as the more favorable locality by forty-eight families of the older settlement. It appears that in the year 1674, after New Amsterdam (New York) had the second time been taken by the English, a number of Dutchmen, not satisfied with the change of cir- cumstances, moved from the Hudson to South Carolina, and settled on James Island on the south-west side of Ashley River. There is enough historical evidence to prove that they were Lutherans, and there can be no doubt that they had been members of the Dutch Lutheran congregation, of which we know that a house of worship was erected by them about the \'ears 1670 and 1671 in New Amsterdam, and that at the time when some of the Dutch Lutherans moved to South Carolina the Rev. Bernhard Anton Arens served the congregation at New Amsterdam. The Lutheran settlers in South Carolina in the year 1704 stood up energetically for their Lutheran creed and worship when an attempt was made to raise the Episcopal Church to' the dignity of State Church in the province. In what year the first Germans landed and settled in Charles- ton we are unable to say. We know that Queen Anne of England, upon whose good- will in the years 1708 and 1709 thousands of Palatine Germans, fleeing from the fearful miser- 62 LIFE AXD TIMES OF ies of their native country and arriving near London, were thrown, set lands apart for them on the Hudson and also in Carolina. The land-grant in the latter province was on the Congaree River, and was far inland. Settlers intending to go there had to land at Charleston. The historical records on this point are too meagre to give us the desired information. But it is highly probable that some immigrants, arriving at Charleston and finding it a town of considerable mercantile activity, concluded to remain there. Certain it is that when the first Salzburgers on their way to Savannah arrived at Charleston early in March, 1734, they found there some Ger- mans. And when in the following May the Rev. J. M. Boltzius, colleague of the Rev. J. Chr. Gronau at Ebenezer, with Baron von Reck, who had conducted the Salzburgers to their desti- nation in Georgia, visited Charleston, and .held religious ser- vices there with the German Lutherans, and administered the Lord's Supper to them, he in his report mentions that among their members there were two persons, husband and wife, who were from the Palatinate and took part in the celebration. It is very probable that other Palatines preferred to remain at Charleston and in its neighborhood, the lands on the Congaree being a hundred miles distant from Charleston, difficult of access, and exposed to hostilities from the Indians. Muhlenberg tells us that after landing at Charleston he found two German families, who were satisfied with their out- ward condition, but complained that they were without relig- ious services in their mother-tongue. Returning to the ship in the afternoon, he had no time to inquire for other German inhabitants of the town. On the ship which had brought him safely from Europe Muhlenberg found two negro slaves. Here was a new object of solicitude. He entered into some conversation with them, inquiring whether they had any knowledge of the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and of his Son the Saviour of the world. It pained him greatly that they were unable to answer. It seems to have made a peculiar impres- sion upon him to meet so many colored people at Charleston. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 63 He was informed that in this province there were fifteen negroes to one white man, and that they frequently rebelled against their owners and masters. He asks the question whether it would not occasion severe visitations because people pretend- ing to be Christians had made their fellow-creatures and shar- ers in Christ's redemption slaves, and gained thereby adv^an- tages without taking care of their souls. Pointedly he adds : ''This the coming times will show." He learned that some time before his arrival a few English inhabitants, awakened by the preaching of the Rev. George Whitefield, had under- taken to instruct some hundreds of their negroes in the Chris- tian religion, but that the government, fearing that it might conduce to awaken rebellious feelings on the part of the slaves, had prohibited it. The captain of the Georgia packet-ship, being bound by contract to convey Muhlenberg with the Salzburgers to Sa- vannah, and desirous of staying for a few weeks with his ship at Charleston, made on that day an agreement with the master of a sloop to take them and the drummer to Georgia through the channels running between the islands along the shore. The evening of the same day Muhlenberg made use of to write letters to various persons in Europe, among them to his " sorrowing mother." The prospects were in those times that the letters, at least after the lapse of some months, would reach their destination. On Friday, Sept. 24th, Muhlenberg and his small party took farewell of the ship that had carried them across the Atlantic. In company with the captain and the lawyer they were trans- ferred to the Georgia sloop. The captain . assisted them with some biscuit ; other provisions they were obliged to procure themselves. That day they sailed eight miles. By the down- ward turn of the tide they were left without sailing water. Miihlenberg with the drummer, going on land and breaking through the woods, met with a house and some English people, who at first suspected them to be Spanish spies, but, soon learning that Muhlenberg was a minister of the gospel, rejoiced in showing them all possible kindness. 64 LIFE AND TIMES OF That Muhlenberg during the few days on board the sloop did not cease his pastoral work in his intercourse with those around him we, knowing the man, find very natural. There was on board an old man, an English trader, who used shock- ingly profane and even obscene language. After admonition had been given to him in a gentle way, and he had been re- minded as a man advanced in years that he was near the day of reckoning for every wicked word that fell from his lips, he appeared to take a serious turn of mind and voluntarily con- fessed his besetting sins. But instead of taking the advice to flee for refuge to the Source of all grace and to beg forgive- ness, he unfortunately took to the brandy-bottle to drown the trifling prickings of his conscience. The master of the craft showed a good understanding in spiritual things and a hum- ble heart, and put questions on various things in which he was concerned, and was glad when Muhlenberg, avoiding use- less disputations, gave him, starting with John iii. i6, the proper evangelical view of God's election. Sunday, Sept. 26th, Muhlenberg, going on shore, found on a plantation a number of English people assembled to edify themselves by the Word of God. It seems that they con- cluded that he was an Episcopalian, and some remarks were made of a somewhat polemical character. But when he began to speak of Christ and of his merits as the only foundation of our salvation, and of his holy life, which we, in the exercise of humility, faith, love of God and all virtues, are to imitate, and when he expressed his conviction that all heresies and all disputations on points of religion had their origin and root in the corrupt heart of the fallen children of Adam, they showed themselves very kindly disposed, said they were Presbyterians, and begged him to explain to them some gospel text. He spoke on this occasion on Matt. v. i, seq. They were quite well pleased, placed fresh provisions before him, and accom- panied him to the sloop. His instruction to the Salzburgers he continued as circumstances permitted, and found special occasion to give to the parents some advice concerning the education of their children. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 65 He records that during the night, Sept. 28th-29th, a high, cold north-west wind sprang up, and that even ice was formed. This occurrence, most probably very rare in that latitude, was painfully felt by the travellers, who in the open craft had to lie down on deck without the proper covering. But the cold proved a protection against the innumerable insects, the mos- quitoes, which tormented those seeking rest. Muhlenberg says they had day and night to keep up a fire to create thereby, using suitable material, thick clouds of smoke, with- out which they could not have lived. On Thursday, Sept. 30th, they arrived at the small town of Beaufort, on the island Port Royal, the native place of the master of the sloop. Miihl- enberg met with a very kind reception at the house of a godly man, the Rev. Jones, who spoke in high terms of the two pas- tors Boltzius and Gronau of Ebenezer. He also kindly sent bread and meat for his guest and the Salzburgers on board of the sloop which was to take them farther, a smaller vessel than the one which had brought them from Charleston. Meeting during the night with a trading vessel, the captain of the same invited them on board, placed some refreshments before them, and permitted them to sleep there a few hours. The following day they met with a peculiar phenomenon, the waters of the sea appearing elevated to the height of a steeple : it was prob- ably a waterspout. Finally, on Saturday, Oct. 2d, at 8 p. m., they arrived at Savannah. This place has for us particular historical interest. George H. of P^ngiand (king 1727-60) June 9, 1732, had set apart the country between the Savannah River and the Ala- tamaha as the province of Georgia, and given its administra- tion for twenty-one years into the hands of trustees as a cor- poration, holding it " in trust for the poor." Among these trustees, consisting of members of Parliament, inclusive of some bishops, as we formerly had occasion to state, was James Oglethorpe, whose name deserves to be kept in grateful re- membrance, since he moved the Parliament in 1728 to take into consideration the disastrous effects of the law by which " each year in Great Britain at least four thousand unhappy 5 66 LIFE AXD TLVES OF men were immured in prison for the misfortune of poverty, for a small debt exposed to perpetual imprisonment." He persevered in his philanthropic efforts till " from extreme misery he restored to light and freedom multitudes who by long confinement for debt were strangers and helpless in the country of their birth." And when Georgia was formally opened to the poor of all lands, even to Jews, " Papists " only being excluded, and others had given of their wealth, and the Parliament had contributed ten thousand pounds, Oglethorpe, who had seen military service and been present at the siege of Belgrade by the army of the renowned Prince Eugene of Savoy, assisted by the counsel and liberality of the " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," now embarked (1732) with one hundred and twenty emigrants for America, landed first at Charleston, S. C., then at Beaufort on Port Royal, and chose the high bluff on the Savannah River as the site for a new city. He entered into friendly relations with the Indians, lived for twelve months under a tent pro- tected by four beautiful pines, and then in the cit}' — if we may use this term — in one of those plain houses, all built after the same model, of unplaned boards. This man of sterling value was " the father of Georgia, and this the place of refuge for the distressed people of Britain and the persecuted Protestants of Europe." We have already learned that under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel a number of the cruelly-persecuted Salzburger Lutherans came (March 18, 1734) to Savannah, where Oglethorpe bade them a friendly welcome. Soon they began with his personal assistance to build Ebenezer, twenty-four miles west of Savannah. In April, 1734, he sailed for Europe, won golden opinions for his new colony, and returned Feb. 6, 1736, with three hundred immigrants, among whom were a number of Moravians, now- added to the nine brethren in the faith who had arrived already in May, 1735. Among his companions were also John and Charles Wesley, the latter serving him as his private secre- tary, well known as the Methodist hymnologist. His brother John, finding that for making much impression upon the In- //EXA-i' MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 6y dian mind, as he had hoped to do missionary work among them, he and the times were not }-et prepared, returned in the beginning of 1738 to England, where a larger field promised him greater success. But his intercourse with the Moravian Brethren helped him to view Christianity apart from Puritan and monarchical principles, and made him a more hearty evangelical Christian. The inwardness and subjectiveness peculiar to Pietism and the Methodistic energetic, aggressive spirit were to some extent united in him. Charles Wesley returned to England Jan. 17, 1737, with Oglethorpe, who had to make preparations for war with the Spaniards possess- ing Florida, since they opposed the settling of the English in Georgia. John Wesley, after having served his countrymen in the new colony as a pastor, returned to England in 1738, on the same day on which his great colaborer, George White- field, embarked the first time for America. The latter had it in his mind to establish an orphan-house after the Halle pat- tern in Savannah, and expected to receive aid for this char- itable object in the mother-countr}'. Having gone in 1739 to England to collect the financial means for his enterprise, after returning in the same year he laid the foundations of the institution, which he called Bethesda, near Savannah, but met with no success, and returned tolingland in 1741. On account of his rigoristic predestinarian views he for a time became alien- ated from the Wesleys, but paid five more visits to America, trav- elling as a great revival preacher through the provinces. He entered into his rest Sept. 30, 1770, at Newbury, Massachusetts. The Moravians also met with unexpected difficulties in Georgia. It was one of their leading principles never to carry weapons of war or to engage in hostile combat. Ex- emption from militar}- service had been granted to them by the trustees of Georgia, and when the conflict with the Span- iards began was continued at their request. But the popu- lace, being indignant at such a privilege, proved troublesome to them. Therefore, alread\' in 1738 some of them relin- quished the plantations they had begun to cultivate, paid back all the money with which they had been assisted for 68 LIFE AND TIMES OF travelling and the first expenses of living in the colony, moved to Pennsylvania, and were followed to the same locality by the rest in the spring of 1740. In later years Moravian emissaries appear again in the neighborhood of Savannah and the Salzburg colony. German settlers we find between 1740 and 1750 at Frederica, on the island St. Simon, south of Savannah ; they had organized a congregation, and Rev. Driesler and Rev. Ziibly are mentioned as their pastors. Oglethorpe returned in the fall of 1738 to Georgia as a brig- adier-general with military command and forces. The conflict between the English and the Spaniards now assumed larger proportions, until, about the middle of 1743, the latter, having suffered decisive losses, retreated from the Georgia frontiers. A year later Oglethorpe sailed for England, " never again to behold the colony to which he consecrated the disinterested toils of ten years." During the War of Independence he refused to serve as a commander against the Americans, with whose cause he sympathized, and when, after the conclusion of peace, the first ambassador of the United States of America arrived in London, he was among those who heartily wel- comed him and offered their congratulations. He died July I, 1785, at the age of eighty-seven years. We may add concerning Georgia that the first laws for the government of the province prohibited the importation of slaves. But after a few years the prohibition statute was rescinde;d, since several of the so-called " better sort of peo- ple " in Savannah addressed a petition to the trustees " for the use of negroes." But the Salzburgers " deprecated in earnest memorials the employment of negro slaves, pleading the ability of the white man to toil under the sun of Georgia." Later, among them and the Moravians the keeping of negro slaves was tolerated, on the ground of their more humane treatment and for the purpose of Christianizing them. Gen- eral Oglethorpe, well acquainted with the sad demoraliz- ing influences of slavery, entertained a plan of a different character. He wanted the trustees to import at their own expense laborers from England and Germany who might HENRY ME LC HI OR MUHLENBERG. 69 serve for a time, and thus repay in wages the outlay of their transportation and outfit. This plan the trustees never adopted. After having landed, Oct. 2d, at 8 A. m., Muhlenberg paid his respects to Colonel Thomas Stephens, a gentleman in the service of the trustees and the first in authority at Sav- annah during the absence of Oglethorpe, who at that time had, on account of the troubles with the Spaniards, gone south. He proved himself at all times a friend to the Salzburgers, and now at once made liberal provision, not only for Miihlen- berg, but also for the S^lzburger family which had arrived with Muhlenberg, and consisted of father, mother, and three uned- ucated girls. He had a son of the same name, from whom he is to be carefully distinguished. This son, after having spent some time in Georgia, returned to England, and there pub- lished calumnies against the administration of Georgia by the trustees, and especially against the Salzburg colonists. His accusations were brought to the notice of the Parliament. The result of an official investigation was the complete refu- tation of his calumnies. Wednesday, July 11, 1742, he was brought before the bar of the House of Commons, obliged to kneel down, and was there publicly reprimanded by the Speaker. The Salzburger colonists, who in these years to a consider- able extent depended on the good- will of benevolent friends in England and in Germany, had reasons to be thankful for this public indorsement of their good character and reputa- tion. The Rev. Gronau, sojourning at Savannah on that day, and intending to hold on the following Sunday divine service with the German settlers at Savannah, hearing of the arrival of Miihlenberg, at once went ifo the inn where Col. Stephens had meanwhile lodged him, .and took him to the lodgings which a patron of high standing had placed at the command of the Ebenezer pastors whenever they visited Sa\'annah. Ser- vices had to be held in private houses. The finest and largest building — not, however, situated in the town, but at some dis- tance from it — was the Orphan-House, erected by George 70 LIFE AND TIMES OF Whitefield, and in the diary kept by the Ebenezer pastors in 1742 called "a princely castle." They say that it was unfor- tunately situated in a most sterile locality, where on five hun- dred acres of land, fenced in, subsistence for neither cattle nor horses, and not even good drinkable water, could be found. Under those circumstances the building and the whole insti- tution were doomed to ruin. Sunday, Oct. 3d, Muhlenberg heard two sermons preached in the morning and in the afternoon by the Rev. Gronau, and in the evening they held service in their own lodgings. Both of them proceeded on Monday morning on a small boat toward Ebenezer, meeting, however, on their way at various places with many obstacles — trees uprooted by the storms. At four o'clock in the afternoon they arrived at the so-called " Plantations," and viewed the flour-mill erected there by the Salzburgers and driven by water, the first of its kind in the whole province of Georgia. Thence they had about an hour's walk to Ebenezer. When in 1734 the first " transport," as it was called, of Salz- burgers landed at Savannah, they settled on a locality some- what distant from the Ebenezer which Muhlenberg now came to visit. In the beginning of 1735 the second "transport" arrived and settled in the same locality, as it was ordered by the trustees. But it was soon discovered that the soil there was very little suited for agricultural purposes, and that the whole district was very miasmatic. The colonists suffered terribly from fevers. It became more and more apparent that without continued support from the trustees they could not be sustained there. In the beginning of the year 1736 they were permitted to quit that locality and to establish them- selves in the neighborhood of what they called the " Red Mount," which, when compared with the giant mountains of the Alps, of which the Salzburgers had a mournful remem- brance, little deserved that appellation. And here Ebenezer began to flourish, though fevers ^nd other hardships were not wanting also in this locality. The former settlement returned into the hands of the trustees, and they transformed it into a IIEX/W MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. "J I stock-farm to raise cattle. In Ebenezer in the year 1736 the third "transport" of immigrants was received. In 1739 a number of settlers began, with the permission of Oglethorpe, to cultivate the rich bottom-land on the neighboring Abricorn Creek, a locality afterward denominated " the Plantations." In 1742 a bridge was built across the creek running between the "town" and the plantations. In December, 1741, the fourth " transport " had arrived. Already, in the month of February of the same year, the erection of a regular church-building, at that time the first one in all Georgia, was undertaken, and its solemn dedication took place on the seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. At that time there was, with the exception of the two Ebenezer pastors, no regularly appointed pastor in the province. The Germans — of whom some were already settled in Frederica — in 1741 called a pastor, the Rev. J. U. Driesler, from the dukedom of Wiirtemberg, who, having sailed from London in Sept., 1743, arrived safely at Frederica, and entered upon his labors, but died a few years later. There was a sort of chaplain appointed by Whitefield in behalf of his orphan-house, but he could not be called a regular pastor. The pastors of the Salzburger congregation Ebenezer, Rev. J. Chr. Gronau and Rev. J. M. Boltzius, had been educated at the Francke institution and the University of Halle, had been employed for a time as teachers in the Orphan-House there, had joined the first " transport " at Rotterdam, and had not only the spiritual care of the Salzburger^ at Ebenezer, but were the general counsellors of them, and, by order of the trustees, also at the head of the municipal administration. Among the settlers were a number not exiles from Salzburg. Gro- nau died Jan. ii, 1745, and was succeeded by the Rev. Hermann Henry Lembke, a graduate of Halle University. These men, all of the Halle type of Lutheran Pietism, were faithful servants of the Lord, unceasingly caring for the temporal and spiritual welfare of every individual entrust- ed to their care. They also mediated between the Salzburgers and the civil government, enjoyed the high respect of its rep- resentatives and the love and esteem of their flock, and exer- 72 LIFE AND TIMES OF cised a strict congregational discipline. It may well be asked whether without their self-denying labors Ebenezer would ever have been a success or could even have maintained itself in any manner. That the settlers in those parts had to undergo not only much hard labor, but also many privations and disappoint- ments, needs no explanation. The Indians, of whom there were in Georgia and the vicinity various tribes, proved trou- blesome at all times, but especially when they were at war among themselves, or when, as during the conflicts with the Spaniards, the government had to indulge them, fearing the corrupting influences of the enemies in the immediate neigh- borhood. Cattle, horses, and swine were exposed to the rav- ages of the wolf and the bear. Inundations damaged the newly-cultivated fields. Agricultural implements and other necessary mechanical appliances were wanting. Ploughs were first introduced in 1 742. But the energy and assiduous application of the settlers conquered all difficulties. Of course, assistance in various ways coming from the trustees in England and from friends in Germany, at the head of whom stood the venerable Url- sperger at Augsburg, were not only welcome, but in the begin- ning of operations indispensable. But the nerve and muscle of the settlers had, under the providence of God, to do the work. Trees were to be felled, lands to be cleared, fences to be erected, houses to be built, gardens to be cultivated, and the old and the young were as busy as bees. An orphan- house was established, in which, in January, 174^, four boys and eight girls were supported, and which often was used as a refuge for sick single persons, who there were properly nursed. To this orphan-house Whitefield — who was fa\'or- ably inclined to the Salzburgers, though they disliked very mueh his ultra-predestinarian views and his Methodistic man- ner of converting sinners — had at one time contributed twenty pounds sterling, and in other ways shown himself a warm friend. Provision was also made for the schooling i5f the chil- dren of the colony as well as means and circumstances per- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 73 mitted, and the pastors assisted in teaching. To the church erected in the " town " Whitefield presented a bell of eighty pounds weight. In the " plantations " a separate church was erected in 1742. It is quite encouraging to read the reports the Salzburgers sent to old friends and to benefactors in Germany. J. G. Kocher, one of the settlers, who had arrived with the fourth "transport," says in a letter of Feb. i, 1742: "I should be sorry to live one hour longer in Germany, for of the excellenc}" of this country not the half was told us. We have here the most salubrious air, the very best water, all sorts of excellent fruits and vegetables, the very best soil, wherein I have thus far not met with one stone. To every one of us fifty acres of land was allotted, also land already prepared for giving a harvest this year. Adjoining my house is my garden, where I have sown some wheat and planted various vegetables, and also seven peach trees, which in this country bear much sweeter fruit than in Germany, and are just now literally covered with blossoms. I have not the language to depict all that God does for us in these things, and much more in spiritual things, for we have here two pastors, who, so to say, with hands, words, and hearts bring us before God and nearer to him." This is gushing language, but came from an honest heart. Various attempts were made to improve by new experimental enterprises the financial condition of the settlers. Among these were the planting of vineyards and the culture of silk, also, at a later period, that of indigo. Silk at first promised to become a staple product. A settler by the name of J. Fr. Vigera of Salzburg in Alsace, w^ho had accompanied the fourth " transport " from London across the sea as a super- visor, and now lived in Ebenezer, took much pains to raise silkworms. A part of the Orphan-House was used for this purpose. From there fourteen pounds and fourteen ounces of raw silk were taken to Sav^annah in May, 1742, and paid at the storehouse with 2 pounds 19 shillings 6 pence ster- ling. Bancroft says that " in a i^w }'ears the produce of raw silk by the Germans amounted to ten thousand pounds a 74 LIFE AND TIMES OF year, and indigo became a staple." The very changeable character of the climate offered, however, great obstacles to the success of silk-culture. J. Fr. Vigera, who had a com- mercial education and made himself in various ways useful to his fellow-citizens, was a great sufferer by the fever, and resolved in 1743, in compliance with the desire of his mother, who lived at his native place, to return to Europe by the way of Pennsylvania ; he arrived there, but never returned to Europe. In Pennsylvania we shall again meet him. That Muhlenberg had received and accepted a call to the Lutheran congregations in Pennsylvania the brethren in Ebenezer knew already in May, 1742. At a later day they were informed that he would pay a visit to Ebenezer. We know that Ziegenhagen at London not only desired Miihlen- berg to visit the Salzburg settlement, but expected Boltzius to accompany jMuhlenberg to Pennsylvania to assist him in his first missionary efforts in organizing congregations. At Ebenezer, Muhlenberg was received in the kindest man- ner. After first visiting Gronau's house, he was lodged with Boltzius. He did not come with empty hands. After hand- ing over to Boltzius a letter of Ziegenhagen, he delivered a costly gift entrusted to him in Germany, and by him carefully guarded throughout his voyage — viz. a chalice of solid silver, but heavily gilt, to be used by the congregation at the admin- istration of the Lord's Supper. Certainly, a welcome gift, coming from a friend in Germany, a godly young man of the town of Nordlingen, George Matthias Kiderlin, who on his death-bed in October, 1741, had ordered that out of various articles of silver in his possession this cup should be made by an artist and sent to Ebenezer. Now his request was fulfilled. That cup is still in the possession of that church, and from time to time, in agreement with the will of the kind donor, used for the sacred purpose for which lie had intended it. When, a few days later, the Salzburger family who had crossed the Atlantic with Miih'lenberg arrived, they were HEXRY MELCIIIOR MCHLEXBERG. 75 for the present lodged in the Orphan-House, and there all their necessities were attended to. Miihlenberg suffered dur- ing his stay at Ebenezer with attacks of fever, and, according to the medical theory then prevailing, was bled, and received from his colleagues and their families all possible kindness. He visited all places of particular interest — the Orphan-House; also, in compan}- with J. F. Vigera, the ruins of old Ebenezer. He held, Oct. 8th, services at the " plantations " and in the church in the " town." In both places the members of the congregation were informed of Ziegenhagen's proposition, that Boltzius should accompany Muhlenberg on his journey to Pennsylvania,- and there for a limited time assist him. We learn that the most intelligent members took a very sensible view of this plan, and though they would be deprived for a time of the services of a beloved pastor, they did not wish to resist the will of Providence. On Sunday, Oct. loth, the Lord's Supper was celebrated, and among the sixty guests at the sacred table was Miihlenberg. At the conclusion of the last service of the day Boltzius addressed words of admonition and farewell to the congregation, and in his prayer laid the intended departure of Muhlenberg and him- self before the throne of grace. There was much feeling among the assembly, and it was very apparent that the strongest ties of love and esteem bound the preacher to the people whose spiritual welfare, with other interests, was en- trusted to his care. It was equally observable that Miihlen- berg had during the days of his sojourn among the Salzburg- ers greatly endeared himself to them and to their pastors. 76 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER VI. 1742 [contiilited). Benefit derived from the visit at Ehenezer. — Boltzius accompanies Miihlenbeig to Charleston. — They hold religious services in their lodgings — -Visitors from Purrysburg — Boltzius returns to Ehenezer. — Miihlenberg reads reports of Count Zinzendorf in Pennsylvania. — He is a guest of Mr. Theus. — Holds religious services with the Germans at Charleston.— Departure for Philadel- phia.— Incidents and hardships of the voyage. THERE can be no doubt that the visit at Ebenezer, though it was a short one, was of service to Miihlen- berg in various and important ways. Here he moved the first time among a German-American congregation, cut loose fi-om state influences and fi'om control by the secular author- ities in its inner life and management, governing itself under the guidance of two worthy pastors — men of fervid devotion to their office and of excellent Christian character. With them Miihlenberg, coming from the same school of piety and theology, viewing Christian life and the relation existing between the kingdom of Christ and the world sur- rounding it essentially as they did, could fully sympathize ; and they, having already gathered the experience of years, could point out to him man\- difficulties to be expected and ways and means to avoid or to meet them. His intercourse with them could not but be profitable, instructive, and en- couraging to him, and to some extent better prepare him for the task awaiting him in Pennsylvania. True it is that the " Salzburgers " offered a type of a congregation not fre- quently met with. But since they were no longer an ccclesia prcssa, an oppressed, persecuted flock, their spiritual condition, as may be expected, had incurred many and great dangers. HLXKY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. "jy Changes of outward circumstances are always a trial to the inner man. The Ebenezer pastors had ample opportunity to expe- rience this in the fulfilment of their duties. To this must be added what we formerly alluded to, that the iiame " Salz- burgers," as it is commonly used, included even at that time a considerable number of such characters as could neither geo- graphically nor historically, nor in other respects, lay claim to it, but had settled at Ebenezer and become members of the Salzburger congregation. From the conditions under which congregations in America usually exist Ebenezer was totally exempt, in so far as there no other denomination was in any official way represented. Ebenezer knew at least in those years no other creed and no other service than the Lutheran. Monday, Oct. i ith, was the day appointed for the departure of Muhlenberg and Boltzius. A goodly number of hours had passed before all had been said and arranged, when, in the presence of a large number of friends assembled on the mem- orable occasion, Boltzius concluded with prayer. Quite a large company went Avith the two departing friends from Ebenezer to the river, where the last words of farewell were exchanged under considerable commotion of heart and feel- ings. When they entered the boat which was to convey them to Savannah, Mijhlenberg, whose melodious voice and fine musical taste serv^ed him excellently on many occasions of his life, struck up, all the company present at once joining him, the last verse of a well known German hymn admirably suited to the circumstances of the hour, and expressing the sentiment that we Christians must follow our Lord and ac- knowledge him as our Captain even in times of trial, knowing that without the cross there is no crown. Little did Muhlen- berg think that more than thirty years later he would once again stand on that very shore, return to Ebenezer, there to meet a few who would remember his first visit. Of that first visit the Rev. Gronau speaks in his diary in the following manner : " I hope the Lord will reunite and once more bless us. A more blessed season we never had at Ebenezer, for such special benefit he never before granted us, to lead to us 78 LIFE AND TIMES OF one of the dear friends in Germany — one who had loved us in spirit before he personally knew us, and whom we now can regard and esteem as a true friend and brother in Christ. I do trust that still closer ties will connect us. God in his mercy will help that through the preaching of the gospel many in Pennsylvania will be gathered, with whom we may be of one heart and one mind." Muhlenberg in his diary does full justice to the two brethren Boltzius and Gronau, and to their people, especially to their self-denying spirit and good- will toward him in permitting Boltzius to accompany him to Pennsylvania. He mentions especially that Boltzius had to expect on this journey many hardships and many dangers, owing to the approach of the winter and to the war, at that time making the sea and the coast unsafe ; that he left at home a wife who was in a frail condition and two sick children, and that he did not know whether he would be able to return before the following spring or summer, since the Delaware River during winter was often frozen many miles in the neigh- borhood of Philadelphia. These and other weighty consider- ations Miihlenberg mentions, showing that he fully appreciated the kind service Boltzius was doing him. He deeply felt that to leave a congregation for such a length of time was, under all circumstances, fraught with danger, while it was exceedingly uncertain v/hat success they might meet with in Pennsylvania. He says that he prayed God more clearly to reveal to them whether it were his will that Boltzius should go with him to Pennsylvania or not, even if the brother should have to return when but a portion of the voyage had been completed. These and other similar sentiments moved the heart of Muhlenberg when he, Boltzius, and another companion, during a quiet and bright night, glided in their boat down the waters of the river to Savannah, where they arrived early on Tuesday, October 1 2th. Of the farewell taken at Ebenezer, Miihlenberg says that it was a picture en miniature of a blessed departure from this world. At Savannah the travellers were detained by unfavorable winds until Frida}' evening, Oct. 15th. Various attempts to HEXKY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 79 set sail were futile. Here already the impression was made upon Muhlenberg that it was perhaps not the will of God that Brother Boltzius should accompany him on this voyage. The same boat which had brought them down from Ebenezer was to take them to Charleston. Boltzius had for this purpose employed the services of a steersman and of rowers. A check in the possession of Muhlenberg could not be converted into money in Savannah; trade the merchants were willing to give for it. Our travellers were happy, after leaving Savannah, to find without any further trouble one of the channels running be- tween the coast and the numerous islands of that region. Sailing day and night with as little delay as possible, they arrived, Wednesday, Oct. 20th, at Charleston, where a part of the English fleet under Admiral Vernon, which upon the news of the attack of the Spaniards upon Georgia had speedil)' sailed thither, was at anchor. All the inns at Charleston were occupied by the soldiers. Muhlenberg and Boltzius consid- ered it a favor that a female German innkeeper took them in, wishing to take advantage of them, but being satisfied with two shillings sixpence sterling per head a day. They, on their part, held daily morning and evening religious services, in which some Germans participated who had come from Purrysburg, a colony of Swiss people situated on the east side of the Savannah River, some thirty miles from the sea, and consequently only a few miles distant from Ebenezer. Encour- aged by the promises of the English government, which for every one hundred effective men who would settle there agreed to pay four hundred pounds sterling and to give to them a gratuity of land, John Peter Purry of Neufchatel, Switzerland, invited his countrymen, by sending most charming descrip- tions of the soil, climate, and government of South Carolina, to this province, and in November, 1732, one hundred and seventy of them arrived at Charleston, who not long after- ward were followed by two hundred more. Forty thousand acres of land were allotted to the new colony of Purr}-sburg, the Indians having been, driven off from that region. The So LIFE AND TIMES OF town was situated on the somewhat elevated banks of the river, and for a time promised desirable progress. The col- onists had brought with them a pastor, Rev. Joseph Bu- gnion, who during his sojourn in England received episcopal ordination, had begun \vork at the colony, but had left it in 1735. There were some Lutheran families among the colonists, who connected themselves with the Ebenezer con- gregation, and were 'occasionally visited by their pastors. Going in 1734 to Charleston, Boltzius, taking his tour through Purr\'sburg, was very kindly received there, and testities to the agricultural progress the colony had made during the two years of its existence. But it seems that by and by the inhabitants lost courage, and that a lack of strict social order was observable. Already before the War of Independence the colony was greatly reduced, and after many of the settlers had removed to other pacts of the Carolinas came to an inglo- rious end. The prospects of findingan opportunity of going by sea or land to Philadelphia were rather discouraging. The most experienced men said that it was too late in the season, and that the Delaware River would, on account of the ice, not be navigable. To go by land a distance of about nine hundred miles through a country .without roads and bridges, through a wilderness and swamps, and to buy for such an undertaking horses of the needful strength and endurance, was not advis- able. Indeed, the two brethren, Muhlenberg and Boltzius, were in perplexing circumstances. With money they were not superabundantly supplied, and every day helped to reduce the purse. Yet when, on Friday, Oct. 22d, the Ebenezer boat set sail to return, Boltzius could not make up his mind to leave Muhlenberg. But on the following day they resolved, after prayerful consideration, that Boltzius should no longer remain in this painful uncertainty, but return to his w^onted field of labor. Muhlenberg was willing to wait a few weeks longer for an opportunity to reach Pennsylvania. If none would offer, he intended to return to Savannah, and thence to proceed to Frederica, there to serve the Germans in spirit- HEXKY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 8 I ual matters until he could reach Philadelphia in the following spring.* Boltzius, having bought a horse on the previous da\-, on Oct. 24th bade an affecting farewell, and, taking the route by land, departed for Ebenezer, Miihlenberg was now left to him- self, a stranger, at Charleston. In the evening of that same day his thoughts were forcibly directed toward Pennsylvania. Accidentally two documents fell into his hands which called forth his serious attention. One was a printed report of seven conferences which Count Zinzendorf, under the pseudonym " Herr von Thurnstein," had held with his brethren in Penn- sylvania, especially at Germantown, Philadelphia, and New Hanover. The other was a pamphlet giving an account of a disturbance which had taken place, July l8th of that \-ear, between the Moravians on the one hand and the German Re- formed and the Lutherans on the other, at Philadelphia in front of an " old butcher-shop." As we shall have an occa- sion to hear more of this, we do not now enter upon the cir- cumstances to which that publication referred, but simplj^add the remark Muhlenberg here makes in his diary: "Such gourds of wild vines enabled me to see from afar death in the pot (2 Kings iv. 39, 40), and to realize the serious nature of my call thither." On the following day a Swiss painter, Thcus, moved by Christian charity, invited Muhlenberg to his house and pro- vided for him. About that time an Englishman who intended to take the land-route to Pennsylvania arrived, and would have been glad to have had a companion, but honestly advised Muhlenberg not to undertake that expensive and very labor- ious journey. Muhlenberg was obliged to wait for further opportunity, but made, however, very good use of his time by giving instruction to some children. He also wrote letters to Ebenezer and to various individuals in Europe, continued * Miihlenberg in his diary refers here to a report of the death of the Rev. J. U. Driesler at Frederica. There must be a mistake in this matter, since Driesler did not arrive at Frederica before the year 1744, and died there at tlie end of 1746 '^x in tlie beginning of 1747, as appears from a letter of Ziegenhagen of London, dated May 24, 1747. r. 82 LIFE AND TIMES OF his diar)-, and on Sunda)-, Oct. 3i.st, the memorial da}' of the Reformation, he twice held service in the German language in his lodgings, and, seeing that English-speaking people also were desirous of his attention, repeated the substance of his sermon in P^nglish. He again preached twice on the follow- ing Sunday. He was moved by pity for the Germans, who there appeared to him like sheep gone astray, every one turn- ing to his own wa\' (Isa. liii. 6). There is a vague report that in 1752 the first pastor of the Lutherans, Rev. Mr. Luft, arrived at Charleston. We know, however, that about the year 1/55 or 1756, Rew John George Friederichs arrived at Charleston and gathered the Germans into a congregation, and that "in 1759 they began to build a house of worship themselves," having before this been hospitabh' treated b}' the French (Huguenots) and permitted to worship in their sanctuary. Hearing, Nov. ist, that a sloop carr}'ing one mast had arrived from Philadelphia, and would return in a few daj's, Muhlenberg at once inquired about it, but was strongh' ad- vised not to sail on that frail \'essel in such a boisterous season of the }-ear and when there was so much fear of Spanish privateers. Downcast in spirit, he went to his lodg- ings, retired into solitude, and humbled himself in fervent prayer before the throne of grace, and, considering that he was intended not for Charleston or Frederica, but for Penn- sylvania, remembered the saying of that East India missionary, Zeglin: "Shall death be my lot. here I am, my God. Is it thy will that I should live, into thy hands I give my soul." On the following day he went to Captain Child of the Phila- delphia sloop, and though told by him that he was unable on his small craft to offer the slightest comforts, that there was only one cabin, just sufficient for himself to creep into, and it was out of his power to accommodate him in any other way, Muhlenberg paid at once three guineas for the passage, bought for four guineas a bed and provisions, and received orders to be on board on the J 2th of November. On that day he took farewell of his host, who had shown him much HEXA'V MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. - 83 kindness, and embarked in the sloop, which set sail, and, the wind being contrary, anchored in the evening opposite the fort. Among the nine persons on board of the sloop was an English gentleman who urged Muhlenberg to visit with him the fort, the commander of which politeh" invited them to supper. And here we take pleasure in recording an incident which is calculated to give us an insight into the amiable character of Muhlenberg. During the supper the sound of a well-known German church-melody reached his ear from a distance. To his inquiry about it the commander answered that some time before he had bought a number of German ser- vants from the ship which had brought them over — that now the}- were serving him for a number of }-ears, and were em- pIo\'ed as " constables " and for work in the house and on the form. He former!}- had done military services in the Neth- erlands, felt a love for the Germans, and had learned many words of their language. These servants, he said, had at first often quarreled among themselves, and used rather rough and profane language. After having been reprimanded by him they lived harmonioush^ together, sang and prayed, and proved obedient and faithful in service. He intended here- after to allot to each of them a piece of land, provided they would remain faithful to the end of the time of their engagement. Muhlenberg continues in. his diar}-: "I forgot the supper and begged permission to see those Germans. A servant, carr}-- ing a lantern, led me down into a vaulted room, where I found twent}'-three men sitting in a circle, with their heads uncovered, their hands folded. As soon as they learned that I was a German preacher of the gospel they leaped up ; one, two, or three at a time as they were able, embraced me, cried for joy, and begged me to sta}- with them, or, if this were im- possible, at least to give them a word of comfort. I answered that to sta}' with them was impossible, but since they were twenty-three I would explain to them the twent}-third Psalm, pray with them, and, if the}- would send one of their number with me to the sloop, I would leave with them a book as a 84 LIFE AND TIMES OF remembrance and for their edification. After having briefly explained to them the twenty-third Psahn and prayed with them, I took an affecting farewell, and once more recom- mended them to their one Lord and Master, who had bought them with his blood, beseeching for them the effi- cacious influences of the Holy Spirit. On my return to the commander I thanked him for his kindness, recommended the German servants to his kind protection, took with me on my return to the sloop one of these Germans, and as a remem- brance sent to them the sermons of the Rev. Mr. Schubert on the Sunday Gospels, giving them written advice on the front page how they might use the book for the edification of their souls." What a warm sympathy and interest for the welfare of his countrymen, what a missionary spirit, is here exhibited ! After the sloop had entered upon the high seas the voyage became exceedingly rough. The small craft was terribly tossed up and down by the waves. Such sailing Miihlen- berg had never experienced. Sea-sickness occasioned him the greatest discomfort. The winds were violent and chill- ing. There were some among the crew who had just been released from captivity by the Spaniards. Their profane lan- guage made Muhlenberg's hair stand on end, but his admoni- tions, given as long as he was able to do so, were of no avail. On Nov. 1 6th the storm became more violent and the rain poured down in torrents. The sloop, being open on all sides, in going up and down on the waves shipped and unshipped large quantities of water. To protect himself against the cold, Muhlenberg put on all his clothing available for this purpose and laid himself down in the cabin, where the captain had allowed him to repose. He was finally exhausted by sea- sickness, too weak to rise and unable to eat or to drink. In the night the men who had been prisoners of war, cold and wet as they were, pressed into the cabin, laid themselves down to save their lives around and even upon him " like herrings," while he willingly excused them and only wished that they would cease cursing and swearing. On the following days, HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 85 he says, the sloop seemed to be more below than above the water, so that every garment was made soaking wet. To Muhlenberg's petition to be put ashore the captain gave no ear. In addition to all this terrible misery the vermin were under these circumstances particularly troublesome. The very thought that the sloop would go to the bottom of the sea had, under such distress, an element of comfort and relief for Mi^ihlenberg. However, there is an end to all misery on earth. On Nov. 19th the storm abated and the sun sent forth its w'elcome rays. Miihlenberg was able to relish a cup of coffee and sit up in bed, which gave joy to the captain. Saturday, Nov. 20th, they saw the " promontory of Pennsylvania," to which province at that time the parts now forming the State of Del- aware belonged. In the evening the anchor was cast near Lewestown. On Sunday, Nov. 21st, Muhlenberg, at the request of the captain and his other companions, addressed them, sitting on his bed, since he was too weak to stand, on the first part of Matt, v^ On the two following days he was by degrees able to rise. The provisions which he bought at Charleston, and some of his under-clothing, he distributed among the poor suffering sailors. And now we see that sloop to which the life of the future patriarch of the Lutheran Church of America had been en- trusted, and which in spite of storms, billows, and Spanish privateers had, under God's providence, brought him safely hither, quietly sailing up the Delaware Bay and River. There Muhlenberg's eye rested on the level shores of New Jersey, continually approaching nearer, and on the wooded hills of the western shore, here and there dotted with houses and the smoke of many a fireplace curling up into the air. All was quiet and serene. Our traveller's heart, soon forgetting the fearful trials, dangers, and miseries of the past days, rejoiced in the goodness of God, who had brought him hither, and in whom he trusted for the future, not knowing what it might bring forth. He now passed here and there farms and dwell- ing's of Swedish Lutheran settlers, and, cominsf nearer to Phil- 86 LIFE AND TIMES OF adelphia, Tinicum Island, on which, just about one hundred years before, the first Lutheran house of worship in the New World had been erected. Thursday, Nov. 25, 1742, at eight o'clock in the morning, the sloop arrived at its place of destination. Muhlenberg set his foot the first time upon the field of labor to which he was providentially called. There Philadelphia stretched out on the high shores of the noble river, opposite an island which divided the sheet of water, a mile in width. There were not many stately buildings to be seen, no tall church-towers rising in the air, no paved streets, no monuments telling of bygone days and men. Everything had a plain, Quakerish appear- ance, with ample room for a large city in the future. But it was a busy place. And now one had arrived who in all this traffic, in all the gains and losses, hopes and fears which moved many a heart, had no interest, but whose mission it was to care for the immortal souls of his brethren in the faith. And to him also Philadelphia proved in years to come a busy place. With true " brotherly love " in his heart, he was fully prepared for the task awaiting hini. HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 87 CHAPTER VII. 1742 {coitinned). Muhlenberg's fitness for his life-work. — His mental frame and physi:al condition. — Peculiar character of his field of labor. ^Political condition of Pennsylvania since the times of William Penn. — German settlers near and in Philadelphia. — Political influence of the Quakers. — -Mixed population of Pennsylvania. — Count von Thiirnstein. — Val. Kraft and the German Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia. — Muhlenberg sets out for New Hanover. — Preaches there, and presents his pastoral call. — Preaches at New Providence (Trappe). — - Meets Val. Kraft at Philadelphia. — Preaches there. — Peter Kock. — Henry * Schleydorn. — Muhlenberg acknowledged as the legitimate pastor at New Hanover, New Providence, and Philadelphia. — Rev. Pet. Tranberg. AT the time (Nov. 25, 1742) when H. M. Muhlenberg arrived at Philadelphia he had just ended the thirty- first year of his age, and, though suffering from the conse- quences of the terrible sea-voyage from Charleston to Pennsyl- vania, was in the prime of life and vigor of health. We shall have ample opportunity to see that, next to a good Christian heart, a clear, practical head, and an energetic will, he needed a very robust bodily constitution and an unusual amount of vitality to enable him to undergo all the risks of health and life to which he was exposed and to satisfy the heavy claims made upon him in his sphere of missionary work. And a missionary he had to be, and he was, in the full sense of the term. For this peculiar office in the kingdom of God on earth he was eminently well qualified, not only by the sin- cere and warm piety of his heart, by his exemplary walk and conversation, by his general education and his theological attainments, and by his remarkable talent as a linguist and as a public speaker, but by the whole composition of his mental framework. There was a certain maenetism about 88 LIFE AND TIMES OF him which everywhere won for him the good-will and attachment of right-minded people. He could easily enter into the feelings and ways of thinking of individuals of all grades of society. While he was humble in his bearing and perfectly gentlemanly in his intercourse with others, he never flattered, and never forgot or allowed others to forget his official character or his personal dignit}'. He felt keenly ingratitude and malignity on the part of those to whom he had been a benefactor, but the most harassing experience of this kind never soured his unselfish, charitable disposition. With his uncommon common sense and his penetrating insight into all sorts of characters there was united a certain humorous element calculated to protect him from pessimistic views of men and life, to which many severe trials and expe- riences in this New World might otherwise have led him. Cheerfully he underwent the heaviest tasks, never losing courage and never getting tired. Day after day he walked before God, and his strong and child-like faith in a providcn- tia spccialissima supported him. He reaped from his Chris- tian convictions throughout all vicissitudes of life, in the exercise of his arduous duties, the richest harvest. As to his external appearance, we know that he was of a robust frame, medium height, broad-shouldered — when in a standing attitude, at least in advanced years, slightly inclined forward. In his face we observe a certain openness, a pleas- ant smile, not without the traces of wit and humor, while his forehead indicates no less than his eyes that happy com- mon sense which, blended with his kindness and energy, could not fail to put him in the front rank of those with whom he came into contact, and enabled him to master the situations in which he was placed. Thus pictures which have come down to our times present him to us. All depict him in the clerical attire, which, added to the well-fashioned wig, according to the style of those times encircling his head as a terrestrial halo, gives to the face a dignified and reverential character. We are told that his voice, a tenor, was very melodious and had a clear ring. That he made very good IIEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 89 use of it and of his musical attainments in his home-life and official activit}', many incidents on record bear witness. When Muhlenberg arrived in Pennsylvania, henceforth the chief field of his labors, he was experienced enough under all circumstances to assert his manhood and to exercise an independent judgment, and }'oung enough to adapt him- self to totally new circumstances and a state of society the very opposite to that to which he was accustomed in his native country. There, all official relations were regulated' by the representatives of the civil government, and with them rested the main responsibility ; here, Muhlenberg was thrown much more upon his own resources. There, too, office as such gave weight to the incumbent ; here, the incumbent had to magnify the office. There, the commonwealth with such thorough control led the Church and the congregation ; here, every congregation was, at least at the time of the arrival of Mijhlenberg, a totally independent private association, acknowledging no higher ecclesiastical authority and exclu- sively governing itself There, society was, since time imme- morial, divided into classes, some of them enjo}'ing great prerogatives and privileges ; here, the principle of social equality was carried out to a very large extent, and all claims of higher education and standing made little impres- sion. The individual had only as much social influence as others were inclined or willing to give and allow. MUhlen- berg had ample occasion to find out how far the sentiment was actualized which William Penn, when, he became Pro- prietor of his province of Pennsylvania, in a letter of April 6, 1681, expressed to its inhabitants: "You shall be gov- erned by laws of }'our own making, and live a free and, if you will, a sober and industrious people." Concerning the affairs and condition of the Church, as he here found them, Muhlenberg in his diaries and correspondence frequently < refers to the fact that in Germany it was ecclcsia plant ata, here ccclcsia planta)ida. Muhlenberg arrived in Pennsylvania sixty years after W^il- liam Penn's first visit to his province. It is stated that about 90 LIFE AXD TIMES OF the year 1 688 there were in all the original twelve provinces — Georgia formed then a part of the Carolinas — possibly two hundred thousand white people. It is also stated that prior to the year 1 72 1 no less than fifty thousand foreigners, espe- cially Germans, had emigrated to Pennsylvania. The condi- tion of this province was a happy one. The relation with the Indians, owing to the philanthropic spirit and the wise tactics of Penn, continued a pleasant one for many years. Troubles of a more serious character began in the years 1730-40. The war between England and Spain endangered to some extent the peace and the progress of the English colonies in Artierica. In 1744 war was declared between England and France. The French claimed possession of Canada as New France, and made effectual efforts to estab- lish themselves on the Ohio and Alleghany Rivers. Both English and French endeavored to make allies of the Indians, and each sought to buy their services. In Pennsylvania the Indians felt themselves wronged by the manner in which on some occasions they were treated. When they became trou- blesome, preparations to defend the province in case of need seemed necessary. Eastern Pennsylvania was then settled to a considerable extent. Towns were building west of the Susquehanna in the direction of the present Adams county, toward the Maryland frontier. The question concerning the boundary-line between Maryland and Pennsylvania during the years 1730-4O had caused bloody conflicts and legal dif- ficulties. It was not finally settled until 1763 by the ro}'al engineers Mason and Dixon, whose name it still bears. Lan- caster count}-, formerly belonging to Chester county, was organized into a separate district in 1729, and Lancaster city was begun in. the following year. A short time afterward settlers were found near the Susquehanna in the direction of the present capital of the State. It is a well-known fact that immigrants coming from the shores of the Hudson and the Schoharie Rivers in the province of New York had occupied lands watered by the Swatara and the Tulpehoken. Settle- ments, especially of Germans, were found before the middle of HEXRY MELCHIOK Ml'HLEXBERG. 9 1 the last century in the districts adjoining the Schu)'lkill, the Le- high, and the Delaware Rivers and their tributaries in South- \\estern Pennsylvania. There was some sort of a road then between the Upper Delaware and the Hudson and terminat- ing near Kingston. Of course roads were in those days gen- erally of a very primitive character. There were no bridges spanning the rivers, but here and there privileged ferries, and farmers were obliged often to travel many miles to find a mill. During the winter communication between New York, Phila- delphia, and Baltimore ceased sometimes through weeks. When William Penn came up in a boat from Upland — which name he changed into Chester — and landed, Oct. 27, 1682, where now Philadelphia stands, he found there, on land bought from some Swedish settlers, a few very primitive houses. Some settlers even at a later time took refuge in the caves which had been dug out at a much earlier period by Indians in the high embankments of the Delaware. All the land was covered with primeval forest. Horses lost in the thicket were sometimes not found for many days. It is said that in 1685, Philadelphia numbered some hundreds of houses and a corresponding population, consisting essentially of Quakers. In 1683, Germans under the leadership of, Francis Daniel Pastorius laid the foundation of Germantown. In Phil- adelphia a school was opened in the same year ; in 1686, Brad- ford first used his printing-press. The first paper mill was erected at Wissahickon, near Philadelphia, in 1690 by Ritting- huyscn, the father of the celebrated astronomer. The State- House — now better known as Independence Hall — was erected between 1729-73, but was without its tower when Muhlen- berg arrived. At that time the streets of the city were not yet paved. Systematic efforts in this direction. did not begin before 1753. Westward the more fully built-up parts of tl\e town extended to Fifth street between Mulberry and Wal- nut streets, while here and there, at greater distances, some houses were found in other directions. At that time the town contained about thirteen thousand inhabitants, and could hardly be considered what we now call a city. Yet 92 LIFE AND TIMES OF it was in a commercial point of view then a much more im- portant place than New York. The administration of public affairs in Pennsylvania was from Penn's time essentially in the hands of Quakers. They formed largely the council of the lieutenant-governor and greatly predominated in the Assembly, and during times of peace the Quaker government, though not of a progressive character, w'as on the whole satisfactory. It was economical and honest. The interests of the governor, who was a repre- sentative not only of the Proprietaries, but also of the English Crown, naturally did not always coincide with those of the Quakers, and the relation between the two authorities had for some time not been of a pleasant character. But when the clouds of war arose on the provincial horizon the princi- ples maintained on each side came into serious conflict. In May, 1746, the government in England thought the con quest of Canada indispensably necessary for the security of its possessions in America. The American provinces were expected to send their quota of soldiers for this purpose. Anything directly in aid of warlike preparations the Penn- sylvania Quaker Assembly, true to their moral and religious principles, positively refused. After considerable delay, under the pressure of popular excitement, these non-resistants in the previous year had voted " four thousand pounds to John Pole and John Mifflin, trustees, to be laid out for purchase of bread, meat, wheat, flour, and other grain for the king's service, as the governor shall think best." The governor took the " other grain " in the sense of gunpowder. But when, in 1747, Span- ish and French privateers entered the Delaware, took some prizes, and threatened the houses, villages, and towns on the shores, and the majority of the Quakers in the Assembly again refused to take decisive measures of defence, the Quaker policy and regime in Pennsylvania could not much longer escape their doom. Other elements, best represented by Ben- jamin Eranklin, by and by moved into the foreground. The population of Pennsylvania was at that time a very mixed one. There were Swedes, found in West Jersey, but HEX/^:y MELCHIOR MUII LEX BERG. 93 also on the shores of Pennsylvania along the Delaw are from Trenton down to the " Lower Counties," now forming the State of Delaware, and Swedes had settled on the Neshaminy and had passed up the Schuylkill as far as the present Potts- town and the Manatawny Creek, and some miles above it. The Quakers of England were strongly represented in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, in Chester and Bucks coun- ties, and in the present State of Delaware. Immigrants from Wales were found in divers localities, especially as servants or tenants of owners of large tracts of landed estates. Other representatives of the English dominion, especiall)^ Scotch- Irish, were about the middle of the last century settled west of the Susquehanna, toward the frontiers of Maryland, and in the western portions of the present Lancaster county and in neighboring parts. Exceedingly strong in South-eastern Pennsylvania was the German and Swiss- German element. It was intermixed with a sprinkling of French Huguenots, who, on account of their being persecuted as Protestants, had fled from France, and had first taken refuge in the Palatinate, and then with the Palatines had emigrated to Pennsylvania. Decidedly the strongest contribution of immigrants up to the middle of the last century had come from Germany, and espe- cially from the shores of the Upper Rhine and adjacent parts. We read that in 1752 Pennsylvania had, out of one hundred and ninety thousand white inhabitants, ninety thousand Ger- mans. It is impossible to estimate the number of Indians and of colored people — many of the latter slaves — in those times living in Pennsylvania. Three years later the white population had increased, especially under the influence of continuous and powerful immigration, to two hundred and twenty thousand, the half of whom were Germans. Some individuals belonging to the English stock felt considerable concern about this increasing percentage of the German ele- ment in Pennsylvania. There was no cause for alarm. Penn- sylvania proved, as Penn had intended it, a refuge for those who in Europe had suffered persecution on account cf their religious tenets. Here the Quakers of England and other 94 LIFE AND TIMES OF dissenters found a peaceful home, and also the various shades of Christian belief, which in those times, exclusive of the Ro- manists, were represented by Reformed and by Lutherans, and by parties opposed to both those traditional churches — the Mennonites and kindred fragments, the Inspired, the Schwenk- felders, the Gichtelians, and others. At that time there were in Pennsylvania about two thousand Romanists, and also some Israelites. Numerically, the Lutherans were the strongest party. While all these were of absorbiiig interest to Muhlenberg, and opened to him a very extensive field for missionary work, he had a direct and special call to three congregations, and it was his first care to present himself to these. When he arrived in Philadelphia he had, as it appears, no recommendation to any individual famih' or business-firm of the city. This clearly indicates how little connection there was at that time between the Old and the New W^orlds. How- ever, we think that it would not have been difficult in London to have procured for him an introduction to some one, which might have been of value to him. As it was, he found himself now a total stranger in Philadelphia. He had, probably at Ebenezer, heard of a druggist, John Andr. Zwiefler, who had settled in Philadelphia. After having deposited his baggage in an English inn he inquired for him. Zwiefler, whose native country was Hungar}', had reached Georgia in 1734 with the first Salzburger " transport ;" for a time served the Ebenezer people as physician and druggist; Sept. 6, 1736, declared his intention of returning to Europe; lost his wife Oct. 6th of the same year, her constitution having been ruined by long-con- tinued fevers; Feb. 20, 1737, for the last time partook of the Lord's Supper at Ebenezer ; left there March 7th ; passed through Charleston ; came to Philadelphia ; and was found here by Muhlenberg, Nov. 25, 1742, a member of the Mora- vian congregation organized there the same year by Count von Thiirnstein, alias Count von Zinzendorf The count had arrived in November, 1741, in New York, and on the 24th of the same month in Philadelphia. Here he had introduced HEXRV MEI.CHIOR Ml'HLEXBERG. 95 himself as having ecclesiastical authority over the Lutherans in the province, and had influenced a number of German Lutherans, who were without a pastor, to give him a call to their congregation. The call was in Zwiefler's handwriting. Miihlenberg was kindly received b\' this man, and in answer to his inquiries about the German Lutherans was informed that the most spiritual, and indeed the majority of them at Phil- adelphia, had joined Zinzendorf, and that the rest of them had given a call to a certain old preacher, John Valentin Kraft, who, after having been dismissed from his charge in the duke- dom of Zweibriicken in Germany, had come hither. Such news was not encouraging to Muhlenberg, and could hardh' induce him to begin his operations at Philadelphia, where the Ger- man Lutheran elements were already absorbed by two com- petitors. We remember that of Zinzendorf 's efforts to change the German Lutherans at Philadelphia into Moravians, Miihl- enberg had received some knowledge on his second visit to Charleston, S. C. He was, however, by no means willing to give this part of the field of labor to which he had been called into the hands of others. He rented a room in the house in which Zwiefler lived, since no other could be found, and re- turned to the English inn where he had first entered, and inquired of the innkeeper about New Providence and New Hanover, the two congregations which, together with Phil- adelphia, had sent petitions for a pastor to Europe. The inn- keeper, not knowing those localities, called in a German from the country who was there at that time, but had his residence at New Hanover. His name was Philipp Braiidt. He told Muhlenberg that it was useless to inquire about those places with those names, since New Providence was much better known by the name of Trappe, and New Hanover under that of Falkner Swamp. He also gave information of the fact that the Lutherans at the latter locality had " hired " as a preacher N. Schmidt, whose profession was that of a quack doctor and dentist : the latter branch was in those days essentialh^ re- stricted to pulling teeth in some way or another. Brandt intended the same evening to return to his home, in spite of 96 LIFE AND TIMES OF the distressing condition of the roads. Muhlenberg had his baggage transferred to his rented room, and though, in con- sequence of the suffering during the sea-voyage from Charles- ton, still enfeebled and swollen, set out on a hired horse with Brandt, and lodged over night with a German inn- keeper ten miles from Philadelphia, where some Germans, in conversation with each other, said that " the old parson, Valentin Kraft, had been accepted at Philadelphia, German- town, and Trappe." Friday, Nov. 26th, Muhlenberg and Brandt continued their journey in company with some other Germans. They were obliged to cross two creeks, Schippach and Perkiomen. From the latter, which was so swollen that Mi^ihlenberg's small and feeble horse sank in up to the breast, he extricated himself, though not without danger to life and limh> He was then, at the beginning of his missionary career in Pennsylvania, reminded of a frequent saying of good old Pastor Sommer of Schortritz in Anhalt : Credo Providoitiani. Riding along ten miles farther in the dark night, Muhlenberg and Brandt arrived at the latter's house in New Hanover, where Miihlen- berg met with a kind reception and was hospitably provided for — a special blessing, since he had contracted a severe catarrhal fever. On the following morning Brandt took him still farther into the country, to one of the deacons, where in the afternoon four elders and two deacons held a meeting. Brandt read to them the letter of Ziegenhagen. He had received in Germany a commercial education, was well informed in matters of religion, and led a good Chris- tian life in humble circumstances until, under the kind spir- itual care of Miihlenberg, after protracted sickness, he de- parted in peace, having attained to somewhat more than fifty years. Some of the men assembled on that occasion said that Schmidt's services were already engaged, but that they would not oppose Muhlenberg, neither show disrespect to Ziegenhagen's letter, provided the members of the congre- gation were satisfied. They thought, however, that one pastor could not well serve the three congregations, New Hanover IIEXIW MELCHIOR MUHLEXBEKG. 97 being thirty-six miles distant from Philadelphia, the roads in winter very bad, and two creeks increasing the difficulty. Others thought that Miihlenberg should come to an under- standing with Kraft, so that Kraft should serve Philadelphia and the neighboring Germantown — AUihlenberg, New Provi- dence and New Hanover, or vice versa. Muhlenberg said that his call excluded Germantown, and was directed to the three other congregations as long as they did not refuse him. They saw a difficulty in the connection already formed between Kraft and the congregations at Philadelphia, Ger- mantown, and New 'Providence. Muhlenberg, allowing things to rest for the present moment, asked that he might be per- mitted to preach the following day, the first Sunday in Advent, and that Schmidt also should be notified. He closed the meeting with pra\'er, and remained in the deacon's house, where he learned through private conversation that the con- gregation was in a confused, dismembered condition. Some were attached to Schmidt, "others had separated themselves from it on his account; some had withdrawn from the congre- gation at an earlier period, and were unwilling to have any- thing to do with churches or parsons ; some had acceded to Zinzendorf's new arrangements, and many others had lost all faith. " Poor consolation !" exclaims Miihlenberg in his diar}'. It required courage and faithfulness under this first experience in the field of labor to which he was called to tri- umph over the difficulties. On the following day a number of people came to the dea- con's house, where a Jew kept a store, and began to traffic and to barter without the least regard for the sanctity of the day. The Jew was involved in a difficulty with a cabinetmaker, a member of the congregation, and the matter was expected to end in a lawsuit. Miihlenberg acted as a peacemaker. His efforts to reconcile them were crowned with success, and they forgave each other, as they said, " out of love for him." To the Jew, Muhlenberg gave a special lesson on account of his offensive language, but he suggested that Muhlenberg did not yet know the manners of this country. 7 98 LIFE AXD TIMES OF At 9 A. M. Miihlenberg, with the deacon, rode on horseback to the church, a log building not finished within. Men and women came to the place of worship on horseback. Schmidt also came, and took his seat with Mijhlenberg.who unreserved- ly told him that he now intended to preach an inaugural ser- mon, with the view of relieving Schmidt of his office. Schmidt behaved politeh-, and said that he. did not intend to offer any objections. Muhlenberg's text was 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. The remembrance that just a year before he had preached his farewell sermon at Grosshennersdorf peculiarly affected his feelings. After the service Muhlenberg read to the congregation the call and instructions he had received from Ziegenhagen, as the elders and deacons had requested. In the afternoon, as different members of the- congregation came as visitors, he had an opportunity of speaking with them on diverse subjects referring to their spiritual life and the condition of the con- gregation, and to learn the views of the people. Some were glad, hoping that the congregation would now gradually be brought into good order. Those attached to Schmidt sug- gested that it would not be proper to discharge him alto- gether, though he was not ordained and sometimes was given to drinking, " yet not in an unchristian manner, since even among the saints there were none without fault:" he might be kept as an assistant and preaeh in the absence of the new pastor. Others, who had long been separated, intended to wait and to see what turn things would take, since the)- had* been deceived time and again : nobody knew, they maintained, whether the letters were not Miihlenberg's own fabrication. Some also had taken offence that in the call forty pounds ster ling were demanded as the yearly salary ; they viewed this as an effort to settle on them in this manner a perpetual tax, and would rather not entangle themselves. Muhlenberg, while listening to all this, rejoiced that Providence had kept back the beloved Boltzius, and saved that good man such a dis- tressing and discouraging experience. Muhlenberg in his peculiar way suggests in his diary that sea-sickness had HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 99 happily influenced his physical condition, but that now he had taken moral emetics and felt their salutary effect. Monday, Nov. 29th, Miihlenberg, accompanied by three elders, paid a visit to New Providence, or Trappe, in a south- ern direction nine miles distant from New Hanover, to meet there the church-officers. With his companions he enjoyed the hospitality of a truly Christian woman, the widow Schrack, whose husband w^as one of the officers who had sent the peti- tion for a pastor to Ziegenhagen, but had died during the pre- ceding summer. The oldest officer then living was requested to appear. Seeing the papers laid before him, he at once rec- ognized Ziegenhagen's handwriting, and was glad that Miihl- enberg had come. He said that as no answer had been given to the last letter since 1739, they had lost hope, did not expect that a pastor w^ould be sent, and had petitioned for one to the consistory of the church of Hesse-Darmstadt — that a short time before an old preacher, Valentin Kraft, arrived, and main- tained that the consistory had sent him, though he brought no testimonials, but said that they would be sent. There were also some people here who had known Kraft as a pastor in Ger- man}'. It was the opinion of this officer that Muhlenberg should converse with the Rev. Kraft, and should serve either the congregations at Philadelphia and Germantown or the two farther up in the countr\'. Muhlenberg left matters un- decided. Tuesday, Nov. 30th, at 7 p. m., he again arrived at Philadel- phia. Entering an English inn to pay for the horse he had hired, he was addressed by a number of gentlemen assembled in a large room with the question whether he were a Moravian or a Lutheran or a Presbyterian or a Church (Episcopal) minis- ter. When they received the answer that they should first learn better manners, and not address such questions to a stranger, they apologized. On the following day a deacon of New Providence, who had accompanied him, took Miihl- enberg to a German inn, there to pay his respects to Rev. Kraft. In the presence of some Germans, Kraft reprimanded Muhlenberg for having on the da)- of his arrival gone to the lOO LIFE AND TIMES OF countiy without seeing himself, but with a patronizing air added that he would be able to assist him and to put him into a place for which he would be best suited. Miihlenberg held his peace for the present. Kraft continued to enlarge upon his travels through the country, his establishment of a general and of a special presbytery, his appointment here and there of elders and deacons, of a consistory organized and to be pre- sided over by him. Muhlenberg says that this man enjoyed then a considerable respect, since the poor, ignorant Luther- ans on the one hand were harassed by the Moravians, and on the other were overawed by Kraft's impudent boasting. Kraft even added" that he had already reported his ecclesiastical arrangements through an honest man, Thomas Mayer, to the consistory of Hesse-Darmstadt, and expected to have them confirmed. Muhlenberg, desirous of showing the letter of Ziegenhagen to the elders and deacons of the Lutheran con- gregation at Philadelphia, was informed that all was subject to Kraft's direction, and that the reading of that letter could only take place with his consent. Kraft in the afternoon even sent for two of his special presbytery and read to them Zie- genhagen's letter, again asserting with pretended official dig- nity that he would place Muhlenberg where it might be neces- sary. The man's whole behavior was reckoned b}- Miihlen- berg among the " moral emetics." Before all those present on the occasion he declared that from the directions which" were given to him in Europe he would not deviate, and in case the 4hree congregations to which he had been sent would not accept him, he would be obliged to get permission of his superiors to take charge of others. This made a perceptible impression upon Kraft. He ordered the two members of his special presbytery to make arrangements that on the follow- ing Sunday, the second Sunday in Advent, while he would attend to public services in Germantown, Muhlenberg should preach at Philadelphia in the old barn or shop which Luther- ans and Reformed had rented to hold their services there alter- nately. Finally, Kraft informed Muhlenberg that a respect- able Swedish merchant, Peter Kock, expected both of them IIEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLE.\'BEKG. 10 1 on the following day to take dinner with him. Kock had heard of Muhlenberg from Captain Child, whose sloop had brought him from Charleston. On the following day Kraft called at Muhlenberg's lodg- ings to escort him to Kock's house. He advised him to be quite merry, lest Kock might suspect him of Pietism; he also intimated that many thought he was secretl}^ a Mora- vian. During dinner the conversation turned upon ecclesi- astical subjects. The merry-making of Muhlenberg consisted in his presenting to his host, who was an intelligent man and a patron of Lutheranism, the writings of Ziegenhagen — an act pleasing to Kock, but not at all to Kraft. Kock rejoiced in Muhlenberg's safe arrival, and requested him on the next Sunday to preach a German sermon in the Swedish Lutheran church, vacant since the death of the pastor. Rev. John Dy- lander, who departed this life Nov. 2, 1741. Since Mi^ihlen- berg had already promised to preach in the other building, it was arranged that in the afternoon he should officiate in the Swedish church. On the following day he was invited to a German sugar-refiner's, an intimate friend of Kock's and a de- vout Lutheran, who was opposed to Zinzendorfs plans and to Kraft's presbyteries, but was much pleased with Ziegen- hagen's letters. This man was Henry Schleydorn, formerly of New York, who at that time was one of the few members of the German Lutheran congregation who were not living in poverty. He was highly respected among his brethren in the faith. December 5th, the second Sunday in Advent, Muhlenberg preached his first sermon in Philadelphia. He had, as may be expected, a large audience there and in the Swedish church, where he preached in the afternoon. The meeting-house of the Germans was in Mulberry (now Arch) street near Fifth, in the northern part of the cit\' as it then was. The Swedish church was beyond the southernmost limit of the then built- up part of the city. This sermon gave the German Lutherans in Philadelphia an opportunity to know and understand what sort of a man had now appeared among them to take I02 LIFE AND TIMES OF care of their spiritual interests. Kraft found it opportune to persuade Muhlenberg to join his consistory, of which he had appointed the Rev. John Caspar Stoever a member ; he also int(mded to ordain a worthless German schoolmaster as a pastor. In the presence of witnesses Muhlenberg begged to l)e excused, and advised Kraft to desist from his plans, which were nothing but empty pretences. It could not escape Kraft's observation that all intelligent people recognized the legitimacy of Muhlenberg's call. He therefore tried various ways to bring about some sort of an official connection with him. He advocated a division of labor between the city and the congregations in the country. He also offered, in a patronizing manner, to introduce him at Lancaster and at other places. Meanwhile, he continued to perform pastoral duties in the Philadelphia congregation, sent directions con- cerning divine services to the country congregations, forced himself upon Muhlenberg as his companion when, on Satur- day, Dec. nth, Muhlenberg again went to New Providence, and exhibited on the road the disgusting meanness of his character by his manner of associating with individuals of his stamp. When Mi^ihlenberg preached there the first time, Dec. 1 2th, in a barn which then had to serve as a church, Kraft read the letter of Ziegenhagen, which was received by the people with joy, and tried his best to recommend Muhl- enberg in the strongest terms, simply wnth the intention of keeping him away from Philadelphia. Muhlenberg found in that neighborhood individuals who had received good Christian instruction in Hesse-Darmstadt, their native province. Some of them came to see him in the evening and engaged in edifying conversation. On Monday, Kraft left for New Hanover, to continue there his machina- tions before the arrival of Muhlenberg, who followed in the evening, and learned that Kraft had now made himself busy about procuring a wife for him. Things had reached a climax. On the following day Muhlenberg was requested to baptize a child of one of the members of the congregation. Here also Kraft proved very officious, made arrangements, and gave HEXRY MELCHIOR MLIILEXBERG. IO3 orders. Leaving Muhlenberg in the house, he addressed the elders, deacons, and other members assembled outside, tell- ing them that he had introduced this new pastor because he wished them to be well provided for, and that now they should keep him and take care of him and give him suitable lodgings ; also, that he intended to unite another congrega- tion, eight miles higher up in the country, with this one : if the people here would not thankfully take Miihlenberg, he would at once take him to Lancaster and there install him as a pastor. These boasts of Kraft produced some commotion, and some of the elders and deacons asked Miihlenberg what the meaning of all this was — whether the old man Kraft were his superior, whether the call framed by Court-preacher Zie- genhagen were not genuine. The time had come when Miihl- enberg could spare Kraft no longer. He now read his call again to the assembled people, and proved that he was in- tended as pastor of Philadelphia, New Providence, and New Hanover. To his question whether they gave their consent to it, they responded with a unanimous Ay. Continuing, he told them that with Kraft he had no connection whatever, that Kraft had no authority over him save the one he assumed illegitimately, and that he could not place him at Lancaster or any other locality. In reply to this decisive declaration of independence, Kraft endeavored to excuse himself and to smooth things over. The people were glad, and the elders took Muhlenberg to a member of the congregation who up to this time had, on account of the prevailing disorders, kept aloof from its affairs, but now, hoping better things, was willing to reunite with the church, and offered Muhlenberg a sort of booth attached to his house where he could study and sleep, but not walk about, as it was not much larger than the cabin on the Charleston sloop or the tub of Diogenes. The elders thought Muhlenberg might say farewell to Philadelphia, since it was too distant. To this proposition he did not con- sent, since that city was included in his call. They desired him at once to stay with them for a time, because there were some who after Miihlenbero-'s first sermon had demanded durinsf his I04 I^I^i^ --^'"^'^ TIMES OF absence that Schmidt should again preach to them ; to which Schmidt had consented on condition that they would obtain for him Muhlenberg's permission in writing. This moved Muhlenberg to stay and to preach the following Sunday. After having taken a- survey of his new habitation, Muhl- enberg held a private conversation with Kraft. He censured him severely because he had done great wrong, and had in- deed not taken the right road to do credit to the Lutheran cause. Kraft, knowing that he could no longer figure there, departed, Dec. 15th, for Lancaster. The following day, Thurs- day, Mijhlenberg moved to his lodgings, and thanked God that here he could be by himself, collect his mind, and meditate. And now his pastoral work began. Visitors came, among them some who were in a suitable spiritual condition ; others who thought that in his sermons he should tell the truth to their neighbors. Sunday, Dec. 19th, he preached before a large assembly, many having come from the surrounding country^ and afterward baptized, and, since many opposed baptism, and especially paedobaptism, he took occasion to explain the mean- ing of it and to remind many of their own baptismal covenant. Directly after the close of the exercises, having announced that service would be held on Christmas, he went on horseback to New Providence, and there preached, to a large assembly gathered in and around the barn, on the Epistle of the day^ the last Sunday in Advent. He found the people very atten- tive. With some of them he engaged in the evening in conversation on spiritual matters. The people seemed to be desirous of hearing the word of God. Monday, Dec. 20th, one of the officers of the New Han- over congregation came to take Muhlenberg back to that place. By direction of Kraft it had been announced at Philadelphia that on Christmas the Lord's Supper would be there administered to the congregation. Muhlenberg, however, considering the relation now existing between him and the New Hanover and New Providence congregations, thought it proper to celebrate Christmas with those who had accepted him, and not with the Philadelphia Lutherans, who HEA'RY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I05 had not taken any steps in that direction. Having arrived at Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, he informed Peter Kock and other friends of these circumstances and of his resolu- tion. These friends, feeling embarrassed, blamed the officers of the Philadelphia congregation that they had not paid more respect to Muhlenberg's call. These officers were reproached also by different members of the congregation when Muhlen- berg insisted on it that the proposition to hold the Lord's Supper on Christmas was an arrangement of Kraft's, whose" claims upon them they had acknowledged, while he could spend Christmas only with those whom he could call his own. Assenting, however, to the advice of Kock and other friends, he promised to come again to the city on the third day after Christmas to preach in the Swedish church, and there to have the documents connected with his call examined before the people in the presence of the Swedish pastor, Rev. Peter Tranberg, then serving the congregation at Christina, now Wilmington, Del. On the evening of the same day, Kraft, having returned to the city, hearing of the state of affiirs, became ver}- indignant and used harsh words and various threats. Muhlenberg told him his fault lay in having assumed official duties which he was not entitled to perform ; he also invited him to come on the third day after Christmas to the Swedish church, where they could compare their respective credentials as pastors. On the following morning Kraft also treated roughly Muhlenberg's companion, an officer of New Providence, who up to that time had been kindly inclined to Kraft. Muhlenberg with his companion left for New Provi- dence. On Friday, Dec. 24th, he arrived at New Hanover. Here he preached on Christmas to a large assembly, two officers of the New Providence congregation being present. After preparatory services, confession, and absolution he also administered the Lord's Supper to one hundred or more communicants. In the evening of the same day the elders and deacons of both congregations met and gave their signa- tures to the following document — viz. : " We, the elders and deacons of the Protestant Lutheran contyreaations at New I06 LIFE AND TIMES OF Hanover and Providence, do testify and afifirm by subscription that we have accepted with a thankful heart the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg as a lawfully-called and ordained minis- ter of the gospel, and through our supplications sent by the Rev. Frederick Michael Ziegenhagen, His Majesty's German chaplain and member of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ; and promise to provide our minister with the ne- cessaries required for his living in his lawful vocation, and to assist him in every good disposition and direction which he gives for our and our children's spiritual welfare, etc. Dec. 25th, 1742. Deacons and elders of New Hanover: Christopher Withmann, Matthias Ringer, Peter Conrad, Valentine Geiger, Jacob Aister,* Martin Keblinger, George Jiirger; deacons and elders of Providence : John Nicol. Groessmann, Frederick Marsteller, John Geo. Beuter, Nicolaus Bittel, Geo. Croess- man, Jacob Miiller, John Geo. Groessmann the saddler." In his diary Muhlenberg says that in the document then and there subscribed to there was also a section wherein these representatives of the congregations promised that they would permit no man who could not show a regular call and ordina- tion, according to Article XIV. of the Augsburg Confession, publicly to preach or to adminster the sacraments in their congregations, On Sunday, Dec. 26th, after having preached to a large assembly in the barn during a great storm, he went with Frederick Marsteller, who, as well as his family, through many years proved a faithful friend, to this officer's house, and on the following morning rode on "bad roads " to Phila- delphia. Near the city he met the " old Herr Kraft," who was going into the country, though he was specially invited to be present in the Swedish church, about a mile and a half distant from the centre of the city. There Muhlenberg met in the afternoon Rev. P. Tranberg, Peter Kock, and H. Schleydorn, who had a country-seat in the neighborhood of Germantown, and by whose advice some members of the * An ancestor of the Rev. \\. E. Jacobs, D. D., professor in the Theological Seminary of the Lutlieran Church at Pliiladelphia. NEXRY MELCIIIOR mCHLEXBEKG. IO7 Lutheran congret^ation at that place had come with the hope that Muhlenberg would, to some extent at least, serve them also. He told them that he was not unwilling to serve both Philadelphia and Germantovvn, provided he could find an assistant who would take care of the other congregations. After preaching a short sermon he was requested by the Rev. Tranberg, who stood before the altar, to show his cre- dentials. Tranberg read to the assembly the letter and the call given by Ziegenhagen, the certificate of ordination at Leijisic, the matriculation certificate and testimonials of Got- tingen University, and the documents subscribed by the church-officers of Providence and New Hanover. He gave also suitable explanations in the English language, as he was not very ready in the German, though he occasionally preached to the German Lutherans in their native tongue. Having arrived in this country in 1726, he had served Swe- dish congregations in Pennsneck and Raccoon, N. J., and then accepted a call to Christina in 1741. He died sud- denly at a funeral at Pennsneck, Nov. 8, 1748. On this occasion, at the Swedish or Wicaco church at Philadelphia, at the conclusion of his remarks he asked the officers of the German church ^vhether they acknowledged Miihlenberg's call and ordination as genuine. To this the elders and some others, considering the question hardly necessary, without direct answer replied that they had as much share in that call and mission as the congregations at New Hanover and Providence, and in answer to a^ question of Kock also said that they never had either accepted Kraft as a pastor or given him a call ; and then with glad faces they pressed forward, gave Muhlenberg and Tranberg their right hands, and in this manner on their part confirmed the call as the other united congregations had done. When, on the following day, Muhlenberg paid his respects to Governor Thomas, he was kindly received, and, having seen the official documents and credentials of Muhlenberg, given in Latin and in English, since he did not understand German, the governor gave promises of assistance, while some unpleas- I08 LIFE AXD' TIMES OF ant remarks which His Excellency at such a very wrong place and time allowed himself to make concerning the Ger- mans were answered very happily and the visit brought to an end. NUihlenberg called also on the commissary of the Anglican Church in Pennsylvania, at that time the Rev. Rob. Jenney, LL.D., who after the death of his predecessor in the office, the Rev. Archibald Cummings (died April 17, 1741), for a time performed the functions of the office, but Jan. 4, 1743, was formally appointed its incumbent by the lord bishop of London, under whose care the congregations and presbyters in the American colonies were. Rev. Jenney hoped that his relations with Mi^ihlenberg would be as pleasant as they had at all times been with the Swedish missionaries. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. IO9 CHAPTER VIII, 1742 {contitiued^. Count Zinzendorf in Philadelphia. — Moravian emissaries and settlers in Pennsyl- vania.— Bethlehem. — The nine conferences in Pennsylvania. — The German Lutherans in Philadelphia before Zinzendorfs arrival. — Rev. Jac. Fabricius. — Rev. J- Chr. Schultze. — Rev. J- C. Stoever. — Zinzendorf and the German Lu- theran congregation at Philadelphia. — Rev. J, Chr. Pyrlaeus. — Rev. Pet. Boehler. — Miihlenberg meets Count Zinzendorf. ONE great obstacle to Muhlenberg's activity and useful- ness was removed when Kraft quitted the field of labor to which Miihlenberg had a legitimate call. The unfortunate Kraft, by his faults, unspiritual character, and loose habits, stood in his own way, and, as we shall find hereafter, lost his standing and influence wherever the necessities of the times allowed him for a brief period to occupy the pulpit and the pastoral field. Rut another antagonist, and one of a much higher order as to character, talents, and means, Count Zin- zendorf, had made inroads upon the Lutheran material in Pennsylvania, and especially in Philadelphia. Here, adroitly acting under a name assumed for this purpose, and an official title to which he could make no legal claims, he had since the beginning of the year 1742 — toward the end of which year Miihlenberg arrived — in his peculiar way influenced the Lu- therans and induced a portion of them to give him a " lach- rymose " call, as he describes it. He had obtained possession of the records, the sacred vessels, the keys to the money-box of the congregation; and in all this, though undoubtedly intend- ing to benefit spiritually those who trusted in him, by his doc- trines and methods — which, especially at that period of his life, were exceedingly extravagant and morbid — he had taken ad- TIO- LIFE AND TIMES OF vantage of the ignorance of the people no less than of their desire for spiritual food, of which they, unfortunately, had been in want for a long time. Zinzendorf had no call to the Lu- therans. But through a number of years his emissaries had informed him of the open field in Pennsylvania, and he knew that an answer to the united petitions of these three congre- gations had been given in writing, but that a pastor had not been sent from Halle. Quite a number,of Moravians arrived in Pennsylvania as early as 1736 and 1737. Others came in the following years, and settled at various points in the eastern part of the province. Finally, in 1741 the foundations of Bethlehem, the " American Herrnhut," were laid. Spangen- berg, who became at a later period bishop and the restorer of more sober and more sound principles and practices to his brethren in the faith, arri\-ed in Philadelphia county in April, 1736, to labor among the Schwenkfelders settled along the Schippach : here David Nitschman, coming from Georgia, had joined him for a short time " to ascertain the religious condition of the German population." Consequently, Count Zinzendorf was well informed as to the ecclesiastical and spirit- ual state of the province, and in addition to this he felt a deep concern for the conversion of the Indians. It is not to be denied that in those years Zinzendorf and his adherents had taken a decided position against the Lutheran Church, and against the Pietist party in it no less than the orthodox conservative wing. Yet Zinzendorf, when he arrived in Pennsylvania, took the attitude of an inspector and supervisor of all the Lutheran congregations in the province. Moravianism had already given proof enough of being siii generis, and its leaders and members were fully convinced that, compared with the existing churches, they presented to the world a higher, a more spiritual, a more apostolic, and a more perfect form of Christianity. Zinzen- dorf introduced himself at Philadelphia as a Lutheran, but it admits of no doubt that he was trying to do good by intro- ducing there a form of faith and life in various respects not Lutheran. Showing outwardly a certain indifference to de- nominational distinctions, and endeavoring to bring all spir- HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. Ill itual-minded members of different ecclesiastical bodies into a certain higher union, of course he could not offer to them anything better than his own peculiar views as they were embodied in the Moravianism of those days. His efforts in the North American colonies in this, direction ended by add- ing Moravianism to the then existing denominations. Zinzendorf, after landing at New York, arrived Nov. 24, 1 741, at Philadelphia, consequently just a year before Miihl- enberg. He proceeded to Germantown, Schippach, New Hanover ; then to Bethlehem, Oley, and Ephrata, the seat of the Seventh-day Dunkers. The emissaries of Herrnhut had found access to families of diverse parties, and the way was thus paved for him. Invitations to a general conference composed of delegates of all Christian parties were sent out, and the meeting was held in Germantown, in the house rented by the count, Jan. i, 1742. These representatives of differ- ent Christian parties did not meet in any official capacity. Practically, this conference had as little effect as eight similar ones held in Pennsylvania in 1742, though Zinzendorf tried to attach great weight to them. We know that published reports of them fell into the hands of Muhlenberg at Charles- ton. During 1742, Zinzendorf made three missionary tours to the Indians and preached at various localities. He brought letters of recommendation from the bishop of London, but was not permitted to preach in the Episcopal Christ Church at Philadelphia. It cannot be said that the impression which he generally made was an agreeable one. In spite of his specious humility — by a solemn act at Philadelphia he even renounced his aristocratic titles and allowed himself to be called Ludwig Nitschmann, or simply Brother Ludwig — his whole demeanor, with all its peculiarities, savored of arro- gance ; and here in free Penns}'lvania the people, and gener- ally even sincere Christians, were not disposed to submit to his personal views, feelings, and will. He was able by his personal appearance, his preaching, and varied activity to create occasionally a transient sensation. But the compara- tively few whom he attached to himself and to his cause were, 112 LIFE AND TIMES OF most of thcni, enthusiasts, servile, and of little mind and culture. Some of his assistants, "of whom a number made themselves busy in Lutheran and in Reformed congregations in Pennsyl- vania, created painful disturbances, and finally established Moravian congregations. When Zinzendorf arrived in Philadelphia there was cer- tainly no German Lutheran pastor there. German Lutherans had been there for years. It is reported that blind old Fabri- cius, who had been pastor of the Dutch (Hollandish) Luther- an church at New York, and from 1677 for fourteen years officiated for the Swedish Lutherans at Philadelphia, had also served in spiritual things the German Lutherans there. Ger- mantown was begun by Germans alienated from the Luther- an Church in 1683. It appears most probable that about that time also some German Lutherans came to Pennsylvania and landed at Philadelphia, and that some of them remained here. We know that in 1703 a beginning of Lutheran congrega- tional life was made in New Hanover. As to Philadelphia, it is well known that the Swedish Lutheran pastors at the Wicaco church occasionally preached to the German Lutherans in Philadelphia. It is stated that the Rev. John Dylander, as his duties permitted him, preached regularh' to the German Lutherans. When the Rev. J. Chr. Schultze came to Phila- delphia in 1732, he certainh' found at that time no organized congregation of German Lutherans there. Rev. J. C. Stoever, whom Schultze ordained before his return to Germany in 1733, began in Philadelphia, and also in a considerable num- ber of other localities, the first congregational records, and without doubt performed services for the German Lutherans, here as well as in other places, in his capacity as an itinerant preacher. It is a fact that in 1735 a man, J. A. Langerfeld of Halberstadt, who had studied at Halle, but was not ordained, promised to hold public services every other Sunday for the German Lutherans. How long he carried out his promise we know not. It is possible that under J. C. Stoever there was a certain organization, elders and deacons. Certain it is, that Zinzendorf crave to the flock of German Lutherans which HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. II3 he found at Philadelphia some sort jof organization and con- stitution, according to which essentially all power was in the hands of the pastor, as he also, with some of his assistants, organized a " consistory " at the same place. But we are safe in saying that a regular, normal organization and congrega- tional order was not established among the German Luther- ans at Philadelphia before Muhlenberg. When he arrived the Lutheran congregation was small in numbers, and among them were at that time, with hardly any exception, no mem- bers blessed with this world's goods or maintaining any high rank in society. On January 12, 1742, Zinzendorf began to preach to the German Lutherans at their meeting-house. He may have been invited to do so by officers of the congregation, since there was no pastor there, and the members would rather hear a preacher than in the absence of one have a printed sermon read to them. Every fourth Sunday the house was open to the German Reformed, of whose pastor, the Rev. J. Phil. Boehm, Zinzendorf had asked for permission to preach there. When, about the end of the Lent season, he felt that by his preaching the spiritual condition of the Lutheran flock had advanced to a certain degree, on Easter Monday he cel- ebrated the Lord's Supper with the congregation. The ser- mons which he delivered at Philadelphia and at other localities of Penns}dvania appeared in print in various editions. The style is the German of those days, stiff, heavy, and frequently intermixed with terms taken from the French. The peculiar character of his theological views is strongly brought to light by a sermon delivered at Germantown Dec. 20, 1 74 1, on I Tim. ii. 6. He there describes three forms of religion as pre- sented in the Scriptures — the first, the paternal economy in the times of the patriarchs ; the second, the regal form, God's re- lation to the people of Israel ; the third and only saving one, the blood-religion, established by Christ. We willingly ac- knowledge the count's religious fervor, his talent as a poet, to which the Germans owe some excellent spiritual songs, and as an .organizer, for he gave his adherents a form for their 114 LIFE AND TIMES OF society which up to this time proves a safeguard against dis- solution. We also give him credit for the self-denying spirit and the energy wherewith he in his way labored for the cause of Christ. But the manner in which he dealt with some of the fundamental truths of Christianity we cannot approve of, and for his sermonizing, which in those days offered much charm to many on both sides of the Atlantic, we have lost the taste. Intending to devote his time and strength to the mission among the Indians, and to be free from official duties in a par- ticular locality, June 6, 1742, the count delivered his farewell sermon to the German Lutherans at Philadelphia. We know that from the beginning of his activity among them there were some who did not like his preaching nor his influence and manners. His offers to serve them without receiving an}' salary, and to erect a substantial house of worship, which he fulfilled in the second half of the year 1742 in behalf of those who clung to him, were calculated to silence the dissatisfac- tion of some. When he discontinued his services in the old meeting-house he put in his place the Rev. John Christopher Pyrlaeus, born of Lutheran parents at Pausa in Saxony, 171 3, who in the years 1733-38 had studied theology at Leipsic, and then attached himself to the Moravians. As a missionary appointed by them Pyrlaeus came in 1740 to Pennsylvania, was ordained at Oley, married July 10, 1742, Susan, youngest daughter of Zinzendorf's host at Philadelphia, the merchant John Stephen Benezet, and began to preach to the German Lutherans. Like many in those da}'s enthusiastically admir- ing Zinzendorf, he on one occasion declared that he was as a speck of dust to a mountain in comparison with the count. Zinzendorf was used to such adulatory terms. Pyrlaeus had no success in Philadelphia. The Lutherans were loath to hear him preach. The Reformed, who were embittered against Zinzendorf since he was reported to have said that the Lutherans should no longer allow them to worship in the same building, and had through one of his converts, the Rev. J. Bechtel, formerly a mechanic, disturbed the congre- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. II5 gation of the Rev. J. Ph. Boehm at Germantown, and been engaged in a public controversy with this high-spirited gen- tleman, took it upon themselves, July 18, 1 742, forcibly, with much noise and tumult, and certainly not without the consent of the majority of German Lutherans, to drive Pyrlaeus from the pulpit and out of the meeting-house. This lawless act moved Zinzendorf at once to repair to Philadelphia to bring the matter before the civil court, and to make an attempt him- self to preach again in the same meeting-house. He met, however, with such decisive opposition that he had to desist. When his new church-building was finished his faithful ad- herents worshipped in it — not, however, as Lutherans, but as Moravians. The book and other articles belonging to the Lutheran congregation he obstinately retained, until by decree of court they had to be restored to the Lutherans. His total separation from the German Lutheran congrega- tion at Philadelphia being accomplished, the congregation was without a pastor. This condition of things gave Valen- tin Kraft an opportunity soon after his arrival to palm him- self as pastor upon the German Lutherans. When Miihlenberg arrived here, Nov. 25th of the same year, there existed, of course, ^no official relation whatever between the German Lutheran congregation and Zinzendorf and his adherents. But just then some legal questions were in dispute between them. The position also of a number of individuals and their relation to either of the two sides were not settled. Wednesday, Dec. 29th, Muhlenberg held the first meeting with the elders and deacons of the congregation. One of the deacons, who had joined the Moravian party, now returned to his former connection, and, with some other articles and a book of church records, handed over the key to a chest con- taining a trifling sum of money given in aid of needy mem- bers. All the -officers present, seven in number, now signed the call to Mi^ihlenberg. It was resolved that on the next Sunday they should be presented to the congregation as its lawfully constituted council. An eighth one was missing, a Il6 LIFE AND TIMES OF brewer, who formerly had served the congregation as a leader in singing and as a reader. He had followed Zinzendorf, and was not expected to return, since, as was reported, he had been installed in an office among the Moravians. On the following day two deacons were sent to this brewer to demand of him another book belonging to the vestry and a copper cup which he had taken. He answered that he had handed both of them to Zinzendorf Before these two deacons addressed him the count had sent the Rev. Peter Boehler to' Muhlenberg to inform him that " he thought it very strange that Muhlenberg when in Philadelphia did not come to visit him." Boehler was of Frankfort-on-the-Main, born 1712, had studied theology at Jena, 1731-37, joined the Moravians, was in the fall of 1737 ordained and sent as a pastor to the Mora- vians settled in the vicinity of Savannah, Ga., and as a mis- sionary to labor among the negro slaves. He led the Mora- vians thence to Pennsylvania in April, 1740, and was for a time living with them on the tract of land then belong- ing to George Whitefield, but afterward sold by him. From this sale arose the towns of Nazareth and Bethlehem. Boehler returned, Jan., 1741, to Europe, and from there, June, 1742, to Pennsylvania with q colony of Moravians, accom- panied Zinzendorf in September of that year on his tour to the Indians on the Susquehanna, and for a time had charge of English Moravians at Nazareth, and then at Philadelphia. After Zinzendorf's return to Europe he was acting superin- tendent of the Brethren's Church in America, until Spangen- berg reappeared here in Nov., 1744. Boehler returned to Europe, in his religious community was created a bishop, paid two more visits to America, and was from 1764 active in the Moravian service in Germany, England, and Ireland, and died at London Apr. 27, 1775. Boehler as an emissary of Zinzendorf had visited Miihlen- berg already on Dec. 8, 1742, and inquired about his inten- tions. The close proximity of Grosshennersdorf to Herrnhut, through which Muhlenberg once had passed in travelling, the near relation between the count and the Baroness von Gers HEXR } ' MEL CHIOR ML liLEXBER G. WJ dorf, and other circumstances make it extremely probable that Zinzendorf knew of Miihlenberg before." After a short discus- sion of the respective principles governing each side, Boehler finished by saying that Muhlenberg should have a conversa- tion with the count. In the afternoon the count sent another messenger, politely requesting a visit. Miihlenberg acceded to the proposition, expecting to have a private interview, other- wise he would have taken two church-officers with him as witnesses. But he was led into a large hall where a multitude of Zinzendorf's tools and workers were assembled, the count presiding at a small table. Opposite to him Muhlenberg was requested to take a seat, and had to stand an " cxameii rigor- osiini!' From Miihlenberg' s minute narrative of the whole colloquy it appears that the count tried to impress Miihlenberg with his higher social and official rank ; he also changed dur- ing the conversation the form of his address from a more polite style of etiquette to one which, while at that time it was not directly offensive, served to place Miihlenberg, com- pared with the count, in an inferior social situation. In Eng- lish this change cannot be represented. As this meeting be- tween these two remarkable men was the only one of which we know and have a record, we give the conversation in full, as we have it in the handwriting of Muhlenberg : Count. On what conditions are you here ? Mulilcnhcrg. I have been called and sent here b}- the rever- end the court-preacher Ziegenhagen in accordance with the commission of the congregations. C. What commission had Ziegenhagen ? M. The three Lutheran congregations anxiously solicited him for a number of years to send a pastor. The copies are deposited in Providence, the letters in London ; which, if deemed necessary, may at any time be printed. C. When did the congregations petition the last time? M. This I do not know ; it can be found in the copies. C. You [here the count changes the form of his address, using the term " ^r" instead of " Sie "] must answer at once when the last letter to Ziegenhagen was written. (To this Il8 LIFE AXD TIMES OF the brewer and some other friends of the count's people as- sented, but said the last letter may have been sent about 1 739-) M. I am not in condition to answer this question just now. Neither is it of any weight, for I am called, sent, and accepted. The deacons and elders of the three congregations gave their signature to a " recepisse." C. Here in Philadelphia there are no officers of the Luther- an congregation to give signatures. For before me here in this place the officers of the Lutheran congregation are seated, and there is no other Lutheran congregation or church be- sides the one we have. Did you not see the church which we lately erected ? HI. I know nothing of it, since I am convinced that I preached to Lutherans and was accepted by them. C. Those are not Lutherans, but rebels, disturbers of the peace. And of such people you have become the head, and preached to them in the house from which they expelled my adjunct Pyrlaeus. The rebels must first come to us and beg pardon. ]\I. My opinion, count, is that your people must first come to us Lutherans and beg pardon for having broken the lock off of our church and commenced the tumult. C. This is not true. M. This is quite true, for this is the very reason that both parties are now involved in a lawsuit. C. I know of no lawsuit. M. Well, indeed, everybody does know what happened last summer, July i8th. C. Let us stick to the subject. At my last meeting with Ziegenhagen I asked him about Pennsylvania. He answered that he could not send any preacher, since the congregations were not willing to determine the salary. As Ziegenhagen knew that I was coming here, why did he send you ? J\T. I am sent here to inquire into the condition of things and to see whether order can be established. C. Herr Ziegenhagen is an arch-liar and hypocrite. When HEXJi 1 ' MEL CHIOR ML ^HL ENBER G. 1 1 9 I am in his presence he is quite humble and submissive ; when I am gone he uses his tongue and scolds. This is an- other trick which he and Herr Francke are playing off on me. I shall tell him of it when I reach London. AT. It is a shame to speak of the absent in such terms. I have often heard in Germany that you are in the habit of calling people L. L. L. [liars]. Now, how can I avoid be- lieving it ? C. I am informed that you read all my writings. Did you not read that I had established a Lutheran consistory in Philadelphia ? AI. I read in Charleston reports of seven conferences, and learned that a certain Herr von Thiirnstein had occasioned dis- turbances at various places ; I did not know the Herr Count had formed a Lutheran consistory. C. Oh, these are Jesuitical tricks ! M. I heard once in Germany that you were installed by a Reformed preacher a Moravian bishop. How could you in this capacity form a Lutheran consistory? C. I am inspector of all Lutheran congregations in Penn- S)'lvania and Lutheran pastor in Philadelphia. I held synod- ical meetings here in this city and in the country. I have ordered pastors to some places, and one pastor, Caspar Stoever, I have deposed. [J. C. Stoever's life was in those days cer- tainly not without serious blemish, but Zinzendorf acted with two of his adjuncts altogether as a self-appointed judge. Stoever and his many adherents cared very little for his decision.] M. Can a Reformed preacher give such authority to you ? C. Do you not understand the canonical law ? Do you not know that in Wittenberg the highest dignitary of the Luther- an Church is ordained by a Catholic? M. But how is this, that you are sometimes a Moravian bishop, sometimes an inspector and a Lutheran pastor? C. In Holland in the presence of lords and princes I re- signed my episcopal office. M. You change frequently. I20 LIFE AND TIMES OF C. I have a call in writing from the Lutheran congregation here in Philadelphia, as also my adjunct Pyrlaeus has. M. Had your call the proper signatures ? C. There is no need of this. M. My call has them. I shall carry out my instructions. If you find fault with this, you can settle it with my superiors in Europe. C. But is it not contrary to all fairness and decency that after I have been so long in this country you should not have come to visit me ? If you were sent to inquire into the con- dition of things here, w^hy did you not inquire into my affairs? Any one who hears that there is a consistory and an inspec- tor in any place, even if the thing be illegal, should go and try to inform himself M. If I, as a stranger, had called on }'ou, you would not have been present. I was told you had gone to the Indians. One meets here with a good many parties. To call on all of them would be impossible for me. To the Lutherans I am sent, and with them I have work enough. C. I am the I>utheran pastor ; why did you not come to me ? M. I was not advised to do so, and I am not now. C. Did Herr Ziegenhagen say that you should pass by the inspector and Lutheran pastor? M. No, sir. This thing was not mentioned at all. Herr Ziegenhagen did not know that there was an inspector and a Lutheran pastor. C. Did Herr Ziegenhagen not know that I was in Pennsyl- vania ? M. Yes, sir. C. Do you not see now, from this, my brethren, that this man contradicts himself and lies, since to the same thing he says both yes and no ? (The whole brotherhood assented with submissive bows.) M. Herr Ziegenhagen knew well enough that Count Zin- zendorf had gone to Pennsylvania. He did not know that the count intended to be a Lutheran inspector and pastor. HEXR \ ' MEL CHI OR MUHL EXBEKG. I 2 I C. Did you not know that I was inspector and pastor ? M. I heard in Germany that you went to Pennsj-lvania with 1 definite intention. C. What was that intention ? M. You had certainly an intention. C. Just speak out: what was it? M. I do not know. C. Do you hear, brethren ? The man is insane. M. Not so quick! In your answer to the publication of' Ad. Gross you say at the conclusion, " Brethren, I am now goino^ to Pennsylvania ; pray the Saviour to reveal to you my intention." Consequently, who can know what your purposed intention was ? C. As soon as I arrive in London I will go to the arch- bishop [at London there is only a bishop] and tell him that I established order among the Lutherans, and that when order was established Herr Ziegenhagen sent some one who spoiled all and made confusion. M. You may do as you please. The fact is, that you have now put all in confusion. I hope, with the help of God, to establish some order. C. Go on with your work. If you succeed, it must event- ually serve for the increase of my Church. You have my good wishes. It is not to be denied that you were a Lutheran student in good standing, that you had a pastoral charge, as was reported to me nine months ago from Herrnhut. No more is expected of you than that you beg pardon, since you are an intruder here and passed me by. M. It will come to pass that you will be compelled to beg pardon of the whole Lutheran Church. C. How can you, a young parson, a village preacher, talk thus ? M. You must not wax warm. ^ C. Make haste to consider and to acknowledge that you have done wrong ; if not, on m\' return to Germany I will make it all public. ]\I. In case I sin against God, I will in the name of Christ 122 LIFE AND TIMES OF beg for forgiveness. But I do not see why I should beg your pardon. You may pubhsh in Germany what you please : your affairs are well known there. C. What is published there against me is nothing but pas- quils, to which no one ventures to put his name. I am will- ing to give you time to beg my pardon. You are ambitious, and that is the motive by which you are governed. J/. Your brain is very fertile in suggestions. Indeed, I find it as your aunt [Baroness von Gersdorf at Grosshennersdorf] told me. C. Say not a word of her or I shall be compelled to expose her. I might speak very differently to you if I wanted. M. I am willing to hear. C. The Hallenses are Pietists. Were you not educated at Halle ? M. I was educated in Hanover, studied at Gottingen, and also at Halle. I am a Lutheran, and shall so remain. C. Are you such a Lutheran as Herr Ziegenhagen ? M. I have had intercourse with him for some time, have become acquainted with his character, and hope to become more and more such a Lutheran. C. It will not take a year, and I will bring forward more than a hundred witnesses to prove that Herr Ziegenhagen is not a genuine Lutheran. M. Herr Ziegenhagen is not afraid of it, and will not be disturbed. But it is strange that you wish to entrap me with your questions to find out a charge against me. C. Oh, I am casting a hook into your conscience. M. Not at all. You do not touch my conscience. But this I gather from your questions, that your heart is not sincere. If you had a guileless spirit you would not put those ques- tions. C. You came here to speak about a church record-book and a cup ? M. Yes ; I wanted to ask whether you would return them or not. C. What should we return ? Those things belong to our HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. I 23 Lutheran church and congregation. But in case you stand in need of them we will present them to you, provided you give a receipt in writing. M. I desire no present from you. I only claim what belongs to us. The book and cup have been paid for out of our col- lections. (Here I rose up.) C. Consider well the matter of begging our pardon. Oth- erwise you will regret it. M. I need no consideration. I do not acknowledge you as a genuine Lutheran, much less as an inspector or Lutheran pastor. C. Do you hear, brethren ? Now there is revealed what the man lias in his heart. (Now much murmuring arose among the brethren, and hearty assent to his words by nod- ding their heads.) M. It is also revealed what is in your heart. If you are such a genuine Lutheran, why were you prevented from preaching in the Swedish church ? C. Only one man, Kock, the Swedish merchant, inter- fered. M. Mr. Kock is an officer in the Sv»^edish church. Certainly, he did not prevent you from preaching without the knowledge of the only Swedish pastor. Rev. Tranberg. C. Can you say that Mr. Tranberg refused me permission? M. I cannot say it positively. Enough, you were refused. C. There, brethren, you hear it again, that the man contra- dicts himself and lies ! (The assent of the brethren became so strong and noisy that I could not reply.) In conclusion, the count said: You will not preach in the Swedish church more than twice or thrice before they cast }-ou out as they did my adjunct, Pyrlaeus, from the old meet- ing-house. • J/ I am willing to wait. I wish you a happy voyage to luuT)pe. Farewell ! Thus ended the meeting. P. Kock gave the advice that the officers of Miihknberg's congregation should demand the book through the city mayor. To the letter addressed to him through 124 LIFE AND TIMES OF this official the count responded in the following ambiguous manner (we give the letter verbatim) : "Sir: I know no other Lutheran regular church in this province than those in \\hich I have served hitherto. I know 5f no book belonging to others than to our church. I know no Lutheran parson in Philadelphia but myself, and who is ordained to this office. I know no church- wardens but the same who did their duty faithfully. I shall deliver no book except to the magistrate himself, and I protest against which is done and will be done to the prejudice of our regular church, founded publicly in Philadelphia last spring. This is all which I can do and say. I am, sir, your humble servant, " Lodewvk of Thurnstein, "Pastor and Iiupcclor of t/ie Lutheran Clnirch in Fhiladclphiay To a second letter of the mayor, demanding the book (the cup was no particular object of desire) and using stronger language, the count answered declaring his willingness to de- liver it to one of the church-officers. On the same day, Dec. 31st, at 5 p. M., the count sent for Daniel Seckler, who, with the knowledge of Muhlenberg and the advice of the mayor, Mr. Till, went to him, but was told by the count that the mayor had commanded him to deliver the book, otherwise he would not be allowed to leave the city ; but that, indeed, he knew of no book, could not say where it was hidden, and could not deliver it ; one or the other of the officers might have it. The count's behavior in this whole transaction was worse than charlatanism. On the following day, Jan. i, 1743, he left Philadelphia, at New York took ship for England, arrived by the way of Yorkshire at London, and in March preached during a number of days in the Moravian chapel in Fetter lane, James Hutton acting as his interpreter. His threats against Miihlenberg he never carried out. No one acquainted with the history of Zinzendorfs life and labors can doubt the sincerity of his Christian convic- tions. It was not an empty phrase or hypocrisy when he railed Jesus his " only passion." No man sacrificed more NEXRY MELCHIOR MUIILEXBERG. 1 25 of his worldly goods, of his social standing, of the ordinary comforts of life to the cause of Christ than he did. But, admitting all this, we feel sorry that he not only very erro- neoush' and frequently -took his personal views and feelings for divine revelations, but expected others to consider him a kind of infallible oracle, allowed their undue adulations, and used very doubtful means for mere show and for the accom- plishment of his plans. There is no blame to be attached to him for his interest in the spiritual condition of the German settlers in Pennsylvania. But that before sailing for the New World he formally and ostentatiously relinquished his dignity as bishop of the Moravians to find access to the Lutherans in Pennsylvania, and thus pretended to have official authority over the Lutheran congregations while his peculiar Moravian principles, views, tastes, and manners of working were with him of supreme interest, this cannot be successfully defended. Zinzendorf, after 1736 bishop of the Moravians as a separate ecclesiastical body, had formally disconnected himself from the Lutheran Church as an ecclesiastical organization. What a pretence that he appointed himself inspector of the Lutheran churches in Pennsylvania! It was done for stage-effect when, as James Logan, secretary of Pennsylvania tells us, " he framed an instrument to resign all his honors and dignities to some relative Several gentlemen. Governor Thomas, Wil- liam Allen, recorder of the city, Th. Lawrence, one of the governor's council. Dr. Patrick Bard, the governor's secretary, James Hamilton, prothonotary of the court of common pleas, Rev. En. Ross, pastor of Episc. Christ Church at Philadel- phia, Mr. Benezet, Rev. Pyrlaeus, and others, met, when he read the instrument ; he gave each of them a printed copy, but after all withdrew his papers and also himself, saying, on reflection, he must first advise with some of his friends in Germany." Such proceedings only served to give these sober citizens of Philadelphia and others the impression that the count had a mind not well balanced. Muhlenberg with his straightforward, honest, and manly character could' not fail to be offenc\ed by the tortuous, insincere ways used by a man 126 LIFE AND TIMES OF who fully knew the principles of Christ, but to accomplish his designs made use of means unworthy of himself and detri- mental to the cause he defended. We cannot but admire the decisive manner of Muhlenberg in his conversation with the count. Instead of being frightened by the situation purposely arranged by Zinzendorf, and by the supercilious arrogance of the man, " he carried the war into Africa," and the count was compelled to listen to such plain words as probably he had never heard before. And so little did Muhlenberg lose his temper that the count himself in his remarks to others ad- mitted that Mijhlenberg had on that occasion behaved with commendable moderation. On some other occasion also he could not avoid endorsing his character as a Christian and as a pastor, though this did not prevent him from describing his rival as a heretic in a letter to the Rev. Tranberg. Muhlenberg would rather have avoided any collision with Zinzendorf. But faithfully to carry out his mission and trust he could not allow the rest of the German Lutheran con- gregation at Philadelphia, which placed a confidence in the count's intentions and arrangements, to be dispersed. In the Lutheran field the count was an intruder, and the Lutheran cause, for which he pretended so deep an interest, had in him a friend more dangerous than an open foe. Muhlenberg could discriminate well between a Zinzendorf and a Valentin Kraft. But the Lutheran congregations, as such, were no less in dan- ger in the hands of the one than in those of the other. With the same cool firmness he withstood both of them. When Kraft had returned to the city, and proposed in the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 2, 1743. to preach in the old meeting-house, Miihlenberg took the keys and kept them, little caring for the murmuring of some who sentimentally pitied Kraft, sim- ply declaring that order must be sustained and that Kraft had no rightful claims ; whereupon Kraft fell into a consider- able rage, gave himself the low satisfaction of becoming intoxi- cated, associated openly with unworthy individuals, some of them former schoolmasters, at that time here and there acting the part of pastors. He left the cit\', and b)^ his scandalous HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 12/ life justified more and more the course which Muhlenberg had taken. On that same Sunday, after having preached on the preceding da}-, Jan. ist, morning and afternoon, in the Swedish church to " our Lutherans," Muhlenberg again preached in the same locality and formally installed the elders and deacons of his congregation. Using his habitual openness, he said that these men were by no means without fault, but they were a fair representation ; for as was the con- gregation so also were the officers, and vice versa : they all needed improvement. He reminded both sides of their duties, and finally called out the members to show their acquiescence by giving their hands to the officers. That a man of such decided character and resolute meas- ures would rouse the hatred of all with whose interests or conduct he interfered needs no proof Some malicious indi- viduals even laid a scheme to defame Muhlenberg's character. The low moral standing of the person who was to be used as a witness was fortunately discovered in good time, and she had to beg Muhlenberg's pardon publicly in the church be- fore the assembled congregation. Kraft made efforts to arouse hostility against Mi^ihlenberg among the Lutherans at Germantown and Philadelphia. Schmidt, the quack doctor, made a feeble attempt to organize a separate congregation near New Hanover. J. C. Stoever, in those years not at all exemplary as a pastor in his walk and conversation, and some- what rough and censurable all his life, tried to influence the people by declaiming against Ziegenhagen and Muhlenberg, the inspiration for this coming, most probably, from the worthy Valentin Kraft. CHAPTER IX, 1743- Miihlenberg enters upon his pastoral work in the three united congregations. — He opens schools at Providence and New Hanover, and maintains church disci- pline.— Halle Reports. — Charitable gifts from Germany. — Muhlenberg's unsel- fish labors appreciated. — Resolutions passed at Providence and at Philadelphia to erect churches; at Hanover, to build a school-house. WE pei'ceive that Muhlenberg entered Upon his legiti- mate field of labor under very peculiar circumstances. He had, indeed, to begin his pastoral work against pronounced libertinism on the one side, wild fanaticism on the other, both of which had representatives preoccupying the field and try- ing to maintain it. A few weeks were sufficient to demon- strate the power of a lawful, just claim against usurpation; the might of a firm, blameless, honest character against frivo- lous or sanctimonious presumption ; the triumph of law and order over lawlessness and arbitrary conduct. Of course, similar foes, as well as difificulties of a totally different cha- racter, were yet to be conquered. In fact, a pastor can never lay aside his spiritual weapons of attack and defence. And no one knew better or experienced more thoroughly that he was living and laboring in the " ccclesia niilitans " than Miihl- enberg. Yet we may well imagine that he felt thankful and greatly relieved when the three congregations to whom he was sent acknowledged him as their legitimate pastor, and learned to esteem and to love him more and more. And with a firm will and an unreserved devotion he began and continued his pastoral work. Various symptoms of awakening life and a vigorous sympathy on the part of the souls entrusted to his care did much to encourage and to make him cheerful in his work. 128 IIEXRY MELCHIOR MCHLENBERG. 1 29 On Tuesday, Jan. 4th, the officers of the congregation at Providence appeared with a horse for Muhlenberg, and con- ducted him to their houses. In harmony with the practice of the Lutheran Church on the continent of Europe, he celebrated Epiphany with the congregation on the following day. On the 6th of January he began to give instruction to the children. For some years public services had been held in the barn al- ready mentioned. The officers of the church began even then, so soon after the arrival of Muhlenberg, to consider the ques- tion of erecting a church-building. It seems that a frame school-house was at once erected. Wood was, however, not a lasting material, and, as Muhlenberg writes, " soon decays in this country." It was therefore resolved to use freestone in the erection of a church. This would, of course, occasion a heavier outlay. But the number of attendants at public services greatly increasing, and the members showing a praiseworthy liberality, there was much encouragement. Muhlenberg says that the people had no want of the neces- sary provisions, but money was scarce among them, since they were obliged to carry their produce to Philadelphia, and did not there get remunerative prices. From the 7th to the 15th of January, Miihlenberg contin- ued his work at New Hanover. In a very unselfish but ef- fective manner he now opened the campaign against those frauds who called themselves pastors and were found in many localities throughout the settled parts of the province, and who tried everywhere to counteract the influence of men like Miihlenberg, while they used the sacred office simply with a view to make money and to drag out a scandalous existence, to the disgrace and detriment of the Church. Let us hear what Miihlenberg in his diary says on this subject : " Sunday, Jan. 9th, I preached at New Hanover to a large assembly; had also to baptize before the congregation after preaching. Learn- ing that the schoolmasters already described intended to estab- lish at various places opposition congregations, I announced to the congregations that they were not to pay anything for having their children baptized, and also that at the celebration 9 130 LIFE AXD TIMF.S OF of the Lord's Supper they should la}- no money on the altar for the pastor. Since those vagabonds (infesting German con- gregations and calling themselves pastors, of whom we shall hear more anon), when baptizing or administering the Lord's Supper, care only for the money, produce nothing but strife, and in doing so give occasion to the sects to slander, I abol- ished that abominable custom, considering that there is no need to pay the pastor's salary just at the occasion of sacred services ; but any one who desires to give his share to the necessary support of the pastor can easily find a more suit- able time and occasion. Since ignorance among the youth is great in this country, and good schoolmasters are very rarely found, I had to take this matter also into my hands. Those who might possibly teach the children to read are lazy and given to drink, use all sorts of books to make their sermons, waste their time, preach, and administer the Lord's Supper merely to get cash in hand. It is a shocking sin and shame. I requested the congregation to send me first the older chil- dren, as I intended to go about among the three congrega- tions, remaining in each successively one week. On the fol- lowing day, Monday, Jan. loth, the parents brought me some of their children. It does not look ver}' promising to see youths of seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty }'ears of age appear with the A-B-C book. Yet I rejoice in seeing the desire to learn something. Singing also has totally died out among the young people." These words give us a clear insight into the condition of things, the evils Mi.ihlenberg had to contend w^ith, and the animus he carried into the work before him. That he at once began to some extent to fill the office of the school-teacher made his services eminently valuable to the rising generation, and brought him nearer to them — a matter of the highest im- portance. In addition to the German language — which even in our times is the ordinary inedium among thousands of the population of Eastern Pennsylvania — he had to teach also the English. He says: "Some young fellows came to the school who wished to learn the English. This also affords HEXK J ' MELCIIIOR ML 'HLENBEKG. I 3 1 me an opportunity to do some good. I read with them the New Testament in English." The frame church-building at New Hanover was at that time used, though it was not yet quite finished. It was resolved to erect a school-house. Some members at once gave in their names as contributors for this purpose. Having on Saturday, Jan. 15th, returned to Providence, Muhlenberg met with the officers of the church and inquired into the character of those who had handed in their names to them as participants of the Lord's Supper, to be celebrated here the following day. This indicates his respect for proper discipline in the congregation and his interest in the individ- ual souls. Throughout the whole of his protracted career as a pastor he proved himself conscientiously faithful also in such apparently minor things. This is amply demonstrated by the large number of narratives about individual cases which came under his pastoral observation, and are embodied in his reports periodically sent to Halle, and there published under the title, " Reports from the United German Evangelical Lutheran Con- gregations in North America, principally in Pennsylvania," and gratuitously distributed among those who took an interest in the growing German Lutheran congregations in Pennsylva- nia and charitably assisted this mission-work. These chari- table gifts were in those days indispensably needed, not onl\' to sustain to some extent the missionaries, of whom Miihlen- berg was the leader or the pioneer, but also to assist in the erection of churches and school- houses, in the distribution of Christian literature, and in other useful purposes. The ac- counts for this extensive interest, kept in Halle under the supervision of the directors of the great charitable institutions in that place, clearh' show that considerable active sympathy was given to the young Lutheran Church growing up in the far-off land in the West and to its struggling congregations. The reports sent from Pennsylvania, showing the work there undertaken b}' the missionaries, its difficulties, impediments, and progress, were calculated to keep up the interest in the work and secure the benefactions of godly souls in the Father- 132 LIFE AND TIMES OF land. These reports form the main substance of the Halle Reports, that most important source of the history of the Lutheran Church in this country, pubhshed from time to time in sixteen continuations from the year 1745, and finally com- piled and re-edited in two volumes m 1787, the year of the death of H. M. Muhlenberg, by Rev. J. L. Schulze, D. D., professor at the Halle University and one of the directors of the Francke Orphan-House. The contributions of Miihl- enberg form the most prominent and most important part of those reports. When, on January i6th, Muhlenberg again preached at Providence, the concourse of the people was so great that he had to hold public service under the open sky. After preach- ing he held preparatory services, confession of sins, and abso- lution, and then the Lord's Supper. There was deep feeling^ accompanied with many tears, among those present. Finally, he baptized a child. As many Anabaptists were present, he explained the meaning of psedobaptism. When he an- nounced that during the coming week he intended to instruct the children, a rivalry broke out between two members, each of whom desired to board him and to have the school in his house. He poured oil upon the troubled waters by saying that he would be in the one house in the morning, in the other in the afternoon, the distance between them being one mile and a half It seems that there was no lack of provisions ; the people loaded him down with their good things, and he says, "They do not know how to make their good-will toward me sufficiently manifest." These things, trifling as they are, show us how valuable his services appeared to the people. It certainly was an encouraging sign that in a short time one hundred pounds were subscribed toward the building of the church. In consequence of preaching under the open sky whilst the cold winds of January were blowing, Miihlenberg contracted a severe cold, which seriously affected his throat — an evil to which he was frequently subject through the course of his life. He nevertheless opened his school on Monday, January HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. I33 17th. At noon the officers of his congregation came, accom- panied by some members of the Reformed Church. Among the Lutherans a proposal to build a church had already been discussed here and there. The Reformed wanted to have a share in this undertaking, and corresponding privilege to use at certain stipulated times the building for their services. For this reason they desired to consult with Muhlenberg. They were willing to assist in building the church. They were told that there were two wa}'s possible — the way of equity and the way of charity: if they claimed a certain portion of the rights, they would have to pay a proportional share of the expenses. To this they would not consent, since they were {q\n in numbers. The other way, the way of charity, was this : that if they would now as good neighbors assist to some extent in building this church, the Lutherans would put it in their written records for the succeeding generation ; if, however, during the present generation they were able and willing to erect a church-building, the Lutherans would not stand back, but assist them. \\\ this wa}- the building of a so-called union church, so often the cause of disunion and other attendant evils, was a\oided and good feeling between the two sides preserved. The Reformed of Providence and of an extended district in the neighborhood were in those days under the care of the Rev. G. M. Weiss, who had arrived from Europe in the year 1727, and settled the same year at Schippach, four miles south of Providence. With him about four hundred immigrants had arrived, many of whom settled in the same neighborhood, organized under Weiss a congre- gation, and immediately built a frame church. He was sent as a missionary by the authorities of the Reformed Church in the Palatinate. In two years he moved to Goshen- hoppen, Montgomer}' county, Pa. Muhlenberg had intended to continue during that week his instruction of the children at Providence. But as two of the officers of the congregation at Philadelphia had come and requested his presence there, he was obliged to go with them. In cold, stormy weather he arrived on Tuesday evening in the 134 L^P^ '-^-^'^ TIMES OF city. During the preceding week two ships had arrived there from London. He learned that one of the ships had brought two boxes which nobody claimed. It was found that they were directed to him, and contained a large number of books and a quantity of medicines sent from the drug-store connected with the Orphan-House at Halle. The medicines prepared there were of high renown in those days, sold in all lands, and formed an important source of income to the charitable institutions at Halle. Muhlenberg rejoiced especially in the possession of the books. Many of them were of a popular edifying character. He sold them at cheap prices among the members of the three congregatio-ns. But the more important subject now before him was that here also the members of his flock were engaged in efforts to build a church. Other denominations had their churches ; should the German Lu- therans of this city be without one? Muhlenberg was fully convinced that the progress of the congregation depended greatly on the possession of a church-edifice. The members took great interest in the matter, and more than two hundred pounds (Pennsylvania pounds, three of which were about equal to eight dollars) were subscribed before Easter, 1743. A proper locality for the building to be erected was found and bought. It was the north-east corner of Fifth street and Appletree alley, north of the present Arch street. There was also next to the church the cemetery. Sunday, Jan. 24th, in the afternoon, Muhlenberg again preached to his German Lutherans in the Swedish church, and on Monday, accompanied by some church-officers, re- turned to Providence, where on Tuesday, the memorial day of the Conversion of St. Paul, he held public services. He states that one of the self-appointed preachers, a former schoolmaster, was present, and after the services told Mi^ihl- enberg that he intended to leave that neighborhood and not to be henceforth in his way ; he, however, desired Mi^ihlen- berg to ordain him, as he had a call from a number of people higher up in the country : he had a single Latin phrase at his command as a proof of his qualifications. Muhlenberg told BEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 1 35 him that he had no autliority to ordain him, and would not act against Church order ; at the same time, he advised him to devote himself again to teaching, to instructing children to read and to learn and understand the Catechism. He himself during the rest of the week continued to give instruction to the young people, who exhibited an encouraging zeal, and was pleased to see the members of the congregation bring- ing load after load of stones for the intended church-build- ing. Saturday, Jan. 29th, in stormy weather, he went to New Hanover, where he held services on Sunday. On Wednesday morning he hurried off to Providence, and, as the day was the memorial day of the Purification of St. Mary, preached there in the afternoon. We see that, in harmony with the custom of Germany, some of the saints' days were then held by the Lutheran Church in the American provinces. In New Hanover the church-officers had a difficulty among themselves and with some other members of the congrega- tion. Some wished to build a school-house, and under the same roof a parsonage. Others opposed this plan, saying that the pastor should not be disturbed by the noise of chil- dren, but ought to be by himself; they would rather build the parsonage after some time, and buy at the same time a piece of ground for the benefit of the pastor, but now erect a school- house of moderate dimensions. Having retiurned on Friday, Feb. 4th, from Providence to New Hanover, Muhlenberg held on Saturday a meeting with the vestry and the congre- gation, which he opened and closed with prayer. Various propositions were laid before the meeting. He was asked for his views on each of them, but requested the individual members to give the congregation the benefit of their opin- ions. The voting on the subject before them proceeded in good order. In a few hours everything was finished, and a contract with a carpenter entered into, one item of which was that the building of the school-house was to be begun in May. The meeting adjourned in peace, joy, and harmony. The officers having on this occasion presented their accounts, the congregation requested Muhlenberg henceforth to have 6 LIFE AND TIMES OF an oversight over the account-books. Sunday, Feb. 6th, he preached to a large assembly, gathered in and outside of the church, on the parable of the Sower, Luke viii. 4-15. On this occasion a certain female, the daughter of a widow who had been in the house of an English Quaker, where during a sojourn of fifteen years she had forgotten her German moth- er-tongue without acquiring any religious knowledge, came forward and gave in the English language sufficient proof in the presence of the congregation that within a few weeks, under the tuition of Mi^ihlenberg, she had made satisfactor}- progress in Christian knowledge. On a profession of faith and after proper examination she was confirmed by him and received from him the Lord's Supper. This opportunity Miihl- enberg made use of for a special and impressive admonition to the whole assembly, after which he at once set out for Providence, preached in the afternoon of the same day to a large gathering, installed six elders, whose names he had at his last visit given to the congregation, requesting those who objected to any of them to come forward. Nobody having objected, he proceeded with the act, and closed with special prayer. It appears that he selected the persons himself — a manner of choosing church-officers which was in use for a number of years in Lutheran congregations. On Tuesday, Feb. 1st, in the New Hanover congregation he was called upon to attend the funeral of a member who had sud- denly died, leaving five children, not one of whom, though the oldest had reached its twenty-fifth year, had received Christian instruction or had been confirmed. Muhlenberg had a ride of four miles to the house whence the funeral started. " There they put the corpse upon a wagon, and all who could followed it through the thicket. As various sorts of people were at the house, I addressed them. Then we proceeded to the church. I almost met with a mishap, as the people had put me on a wild colt. After the ceremo- nies I preached a funeral sermon. Such occasions must be improved, when the natural feelings are favorably im- pressed." HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLE.XBER-G. I37 We have thus far purposely gone into considerable detail as to AKihlenberg's first steps and 'experiences in his new and unusually diflficult field of labor. We have gained a nearer insight into the peculiarities of his situation, and into those qualities which so eminently fitted him for that trying posi- tion. There was united to the dignity of his whole deport- ment and to the seriousness of his official character a certain irresistible charm which attracted others to him in such a manner that, while they felt his superiority, they loved him and now took courage, since they saw that without the least personal vanity, without any egotistic interest, he magnified his office, which, through the shameful behavior of selfish, mean pretenders in those parts and days, had been brought into contempt. He himself found the best reward for his exertions in the signs of a new and better life stirring among his people. Such a position would have been intolerable to many a man of literary education and of refined taste among people who for years had been deprived of the proper spiritual care and of educational agencies and instru- mentalities. But it seems that for that very position Provi- dence had in various ways prepared him in advance, and he found satisfaction not in such pleasures and interests as the world desires, but in being useful and making himself valu- able to others. 138 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER X. 1743-1745- Difficulty in doing justice to the three united congregations. — External circum- stances of Muhlenberg's office. — His sphere of action begins to extend. — The west side of the Schuylkill. — Germantown. — Tulpehoken. — Conrad Weiser. — Casp. Leutbecker. — A. Eschenbach. — Zinzendorfs interest in Tul- pehoken.—G. Biittner. — J. Ph. Meurer. — Corner-stone of Christ Church laid. — Muhlenberg's first visit to Tulpehoken. — Rev. Tob. Wagner. — J. C. An- drese. — Muhlenberg's interest is claimed in behalf of the Lutheran congrega- tions on the Upper Raritan, N. J. — J. A. Wolf and his troubles. — Rev. W. Chr. Berkenmeier. — Rev. M. Chr. Knoll. DURING the years 1743 and 1744, Muhlenberg continued as the only pastor and laborer in the three congrega- tions united under him. The work, though encouraging in various respects, was a very laborious one. In each of those congregations the erection of buildings — in New Hanover a school-house, in Providence and Philadelpliia churches — occa- sioned much care and attention, which to a large extent fell upon the shoulders of the pastor. The necessity of going on horseback week after week from one of the congregations to another, not counting casualties, which often called for addi- tional travel, consumed much time and strength, and on bad roads and at the crossings of rivers, which not un- frequently were swollen, particularly during dark nights, ex- posed him not only to much discomfort, but also to actual danger. In consequence of this arrangement, though under the circumstances it was the only one possible, it was plain that such care could not be bestowed upon each congrega- tion and upon its adult and young members as was desirable. Muhlenberg had, as he says, to keep house in three places. Not one of them afforded him the necessary comfort, while IIEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBEKG. I 39 they increased his expenses. To some extent he was relieved in this respect by the kindness of the people toward him. He says in his diary : " One man brin^^s me a sausage, another a piece of meat, a third a chicken, a fourth a loaf of bread, a fifth some pigeons, a sixth a rabbit, a seventh some eggs, an eighth some tea and sugar, a ninth some honey, a tenth some apples, an eleventh some partridges, and so forth. The parents, especially of the children I instruct, when they have anything which appears to them of superior excellence, bring it as a gift to the pastor. I attach no value to these dainties, but by loving sympathy I wish to gain their hearts." At a later period, Oct. 30, 1746, Muhlenberg writes concerning his finan- cial affairs to the Fathers at Halle that which may properly be inserted in this place : " In the first year I had yet a small sum, a few pounds, left in my hands when I came here from Charleston. In the New Hanover charge eleven [twelve he says at another occasion] pounds were presented to me with which to buy a horse. In the Philadelphia congregation in the first and second year I did not receive enough money to pay my house-rent, because they had undertaken such a large and extensive church-building, and always maintained that the dear Fathers at Halle had been requested by letter during the first year to pay out of the charity collection the pastor whom they would send. When, without getting my full consent in advance, they had undertaken that expensive building, they clamored for the collection-money [from Germany], and prom- ised they would rather take care of the pastor themselves. At Providence also I received in the first year no money at all, since they also were heavily burdened with the erection of the church, and also maintained that they had begged the Fathers at Halle they should at least during the first year pay the pastor's salary. But my clothes were during the first and second years so totally worn out by my continuous travel- ling that I had to contract a debt of sixteen pounds to buy unJcr-clothing and outer garments. In the second year I settled accounts with my landlord : he would take no money, but, feeling myself under obligation, I presented each of the 140 LIFE AXD TIMES OF two mothers [two families living the house] with a saddle at an expense of five pounds. My first horse becoming useless in the second year, I was obliged to buy a stronger one for thirteen pounds sterling. I had ridden him hardly four times to Philadelphia during extremely bad weather when he died, whereupon I bought for eight pounds sterling a large, heavy draught-horse. In the second year I paid at Philadelphia to my landlord for house-rent six pounds sterling, for saddle and bridle four pounds, not counting many smaller outlays, so that I was finally at least sixty pounds sterling in debt. In the second year the country congregations with much exertion raised thirty pounds for me, wherewith I paid a part of my debts and bought indispensable necessaries. When all the three congregations were engaged with their building enter- prises and sadly longed for the collection-money [from Europe], the news finally came, through the Rev. Boltzius from Herr Court-preacher Ziegenhagen, that there was left of former collection-money the sum of two hundred pounds. I an- nounced this to the church-officers as a long-expected mes- sage. The oldest of them, [John Nicolaus] Croessmann of Providence, who knew all the circumstances connected with these collections, said that each of the congregations had a right to an equal share of those two hundred pounds, since they had had equal expenses and labor. The officers at Providence resolved that I should at once appropriate forty pounds to myself as my salary, since the congregations had not paid me, and the Fathers had in my call settled the point that they would in the first years provide for my salary — that the remaining one hundred and sixty pounds should be divided in equal shares. The Providence congregation con- sequently received sixty pounds for their building outlay, as the receipt will prove. The Philadelphians were in most harassing embarrassment, and most willingly would have taken all the money. To avoid strife, they did receive one hundred pounds, whereof the country congregations were kept ignorant. The New Hanoverians wanted their share — viz. fifty pounds — for their school-house building : after they learned IIEXRY MELCHIOR Mi'IfLEXBERG. I41 that I had deducted my salary they cheerfully acquiesced in it. As debts troubled me and there was no other feasible way, I took thirty pounds, paid my indebtedness, gave twenty pouijds to New Hanover, and owe them thirty more. My salary had gone to the Philadelphians, who cannot repay it, yet those thirt}' pounds must be paid." And paid they were. This statement shows sufficiently with what poor remune- ration Muhlenberg began and continued to labor. But we do not find that he was dissatisfied or discouraged. He knew that no salary could ever be an equivalent for his services, but he had proof that his labors were appreciated. With this he was satisfied. As to the rest, he trusted in God. There was no stronger proof for Muhlenberg of the appreciation of his labor than that more pastoral work was continually expected of him. Encouraging as this was, it soon became entirely too much for one man. Indeed, the three congregations united under him were too much for the care of one pastor, who, in addition to it, performed the offices of school-teacher. A small beginning of the enlargement of his sphere of labor took place when (Feb. 3, 1743) he was called upon to visit a female member of the Providence congregation living six miles from that place, on the west side of the Schuylkill River. In that direction a number of members were settled. At his visit Muhlenberg was requested by those who during the winter season could cross the river only with difficulty, to preach to them — a request which he granted then and there in the house of the sick woman. Toward the end of February he caught a very severe cold, lost his voice, and was for a number of days confined to his bed at Providence. From New Hanover, and even from Phila- delphia, some church-officers came to see him. Friday, March I ith, he undertook to travel to Philadelphia. On Sunday, March 1 3th, he preached again, though with a hoarse voice, in the Swedish church, in spite of Zinzendorf's doleful predic- tions. The Moravian missionaries tried all means to get the privilege of preaching there also, but in vain. A party of 142 LIFE AND TIMES OF Reformed wished to unite with the Lutherans in building tne church for both bodies. Muhlenberg wisely resisted their offer, wherein he had the consent of his membership. In the same month, Friday, Feb. i8th, the officers of the Philadelphia congregation took Muhlenberg to Germantown, in a northerly direction a few miles distant from Philadelphia. We know that tiie Germans who in 1683 laid the foundation of Germantown were Quakers and Mennonites, averse to the existing Church. In the course of time, however, a consid- erable number of members of the Reformed and Lutheran churches of Germany had settled there. The Reformed erected for themselves a church-building in 17 19, and, as well as those living in Philadelphia, were regularly served for many years — possibly from 1728 — by the Rev. J. Ph. Boehm, who resided at Witpen (Whitpain), about fourteen miles dis- tant from Philadelphia. Of him we know that he was decid- edly opposed to Zinzendorf, but equally so to Halle Pietism. Acrelius, the historian of New Sweden, tells us that the Swedish pastor, John D\'lander, who with John Malander, a student of theology, arrived at Philadelphia Nov. 2, 1737, and on the 6th of the same month was inducted into his office by the Rev. P. Tranberg at Wicaco, or Gloria Dei Church, which for four j'ears had been without a regular pastor, preached at their request to the Germans [Lutherans] at Philadelphia, "as he was well versed in their language," and that he "also frequently supplied those who resided at Lancas- ter with divine service;" that he " did the same in Germantown, where he consecrated a stone church which had been built b}' the Germans in the year 1730." He died in 1741, the year in which Zinzendorf arrived. Why that stone church was not consecrated at an earlier time we are unable to say. Possi- bly the building was not finished or the members of the con- gregation did not wish the services of G. Chr. Schulze or of J. C. Stoever, who during a part of that period officiated as pastors in Philadelphia and at other places. The building of a stone church, which after some years was enlarged, plainly proves that there was a considerable Lutheran interest in UEX/'^y MELCIIJOR MUIILEXBERG. 1 43 Germantown. Yet we read that in 1740 all the inhabitants of the place numbered no more than about four hundred, and Muhlenberg calls the building he found there a " Kirchlein," a diminutive church. Unfortunately, at the time of his arrival he found the Lutherans, of which there was a respectable number, divided by party strife. After he had preached to them on the second chapter of Jeremiah the elders wanted his advice. He told them that as soon as an assistant was b\' the grace of God sent him from Europe the Lutherans at Germantown could unite with those at Philadelphia and be served by one pastor. T9 this some at once agreed, giving their signatures. The Philadelphians also gave their consent. This appeal from Germantown was also indicative of the ever-increasing extension of the work which Muhlenberg had under his hands. Li the summer of 1743 his attention was unexpectedly- directed to Tulpehoken, west of Reading, in the wide and fertile valley between the Blue Mountain chain and the South Mountains. There those Palatines had settled in 1723 who, under distressing circumstances and in consequence of oppressiv'e governmental measures, resolved to leave the Schoharie Valley and the farms and houses owned there by them, and to move into Pennsylvania. Coming down the Susquehanna River, they followed the course of the Swatara, and finall}" settled on the Tulpehoken Creek, which empties near Reading into the Schuylkill. Among them were a goodly number of Lutherans. In 1727 they were joined by the family of J. Conrad Weiser, formerly also an inhabitant of the Scho- harie Valley, whose father had been a very prominent man during the conflicts of the Palatines with the provincial gov- ernment of New York. Both father and son came originally from Wiirtemberg, in the south-western part of Germany, near the Palatinate. Weiser the son, who came to America as a youth, had acquired a rare knowledge of the Indian lan- guage, and proved very valuable to the government of Penn- sylvania as Indian interpreter. The Lutherans in the Tulpehoken district built in 1727 for 144 ZZ/'iS AXD TIMES OF themselves a small frame church, met there on Sundays, sung and prayed, had the gospel and a sermon read to them, and were willing to allow any straggler who seemed fit for the work to preach to them a sermon, since a regularly pre- pared and ordained pastor was in those times not to be had. They also erected a school-house, a proof of their interest in the education of their children. The church and the school- house were erected east of the present Stouchsburg, and the church was known by the name of " Reed's Church." In 1/33 they became acquainted with a certain Caspar Leutbecker, a tailor residing at Matescha, near Schippach, some miles south of Providence. He was employed by them as a school-teacher. Desirous of having the services of a regu- lar pastor, they addressed themselves to Rev. Dr. Ziegenhagen at London, and promised to give the person he would send a yearly salary of thirty pounds. Leutbecker was requested to send the letter containing this petition to Dr. Z.'s address. In 1734 he reported that a suitable pastor had been found and was on his way ; he also advised the erection of a parsonage. When his proposition was carried out, he reported the death of the pastor expected, maintained that he himself had been ordained by the Rev. A. W. Boehme, the predecessor of Zie- genhagen, and that he consequently could serve as pastor. He also took possession of the parsonage. We cannot won- der that suspicions were awakened about the veracity of the man, and, collisions between him and members of the congre- gation taking place, he soon had to deal with a strong party of opponents, who in 1735 called as their pastor Rev. J. C. Stoever, who then resided at Conestoga, Lancaster county, Penns)'lvania. The result was a strife which grew very acri- monious, occasioned the publication of bitter party pamphlets, and lasted through a number of years. Leutbecker, who was treated very roughly by his opponents, died in 1738. Party spirit continued the strife, and Stoever remained until 1743, without being able by his preaching or manners to recon- cile his antagonists. Among these, a well-known Moravian adherent and emissary, Andrew Eschenbach, began from HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I45 1740 to exercise an influence. He may have come into con- tact with J. Conr. Weiser, who would not be an adherent either of Lcutbecker or of Stoever. We find that Weiser, a man of unimpeachable honesty, but of an excitable mind, strong feel- ings, and energetic will, had during the times of Leutbecker for some months joined the society of the Seventh-day Bun- kers, who, under the guidance of Conrad Beissel, in the con- vent of Ephrata, twelve miles from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, practised very rigoristic asceticism. Not finding there a permanent satisfaction, Weiser returned to his family, but kept aloof from the Lutheran Church. We know that he became acquainted with A. G. Spangenberg, next to Zinzen- dorf the most prominent character of the Moravians during the last century. Spangenberg, after his first visit to America in 1737, returned for a time to Europe. Weiser had awakened in him an interest in the Christianizing of the Indians, who accorded to Weiser such honor and confidence as a paleface rarely enjoyed. It is natural that Zinzendorf, as soon as he arrived in the autumn of 1 741 in Penns}'lvania, took an inte- rest in Weiser and tried to attach him to his cause. Weiser attended the first and the third of the nine general conferences the count held in Pennsylvania. From the third one, held at Oley, a few miles north of New Hanover, Zinzendorf accom- panied Weiser to Tulpehoken, and had there a meeting with the Iroquois on Aug. 3, 1742. There he was also made acquainted with the distressing condition of the Lutherans in that locality, and said that, being well acquainted with the Rev. Dr. Francke at Halle, by correspondence he could easily procure for the Lutherans at Tulpehoken a suitable pastor, in consequence of which a regular call for such an one was entrusted to him. Nobody knew better than the count that there was no mutual sympathy at that vciy time between the leaders of Pietism and himself and his friends, and that Francke would have been greatly surpris-ed to receive such an appeal from Zin- zendorf We are convinced that Zinzendorf did not for a moment entertain the idea of sending the call to Francke and recommending the sending of a Lutheran pastor. But with- 10 146 LIFE AND TIMES OF out any delay he sent, for the time being, a man after his own heart, G. Biittner, who had been oi'dained at the conference at Oley, having arrived in this country in 1741. He became at once the champion of the former adherents of the late Leut- becker, claimed with them a title to the old (Reed's) church and lands belonging to it, and succeeded in bringing the party strife to such a fever-heat that Zinzendorf, on another visit to Tulpehoken, hardly escaped personal insult. Biittner had, of course, pretended to be a Lutheran pastor. So also, when Biittner, after a few months, retired, did his successor, J. Ph. Meurer, who, June 21, 1742, had arrived from Europe at Bethlehem, Pa., and in September was sent by Zinzendorf to Tulpehoken. In vain did he make efforts to remove Stoever, who certainly through his conduct exposed himself to attack ; in consequence of which, Zinzendorf, with three of his adhe- rents and instruments, formed a cpnsistor}^ and deposed him from his office — an act to which we have already alluded. But now a third individual appeared in the foreground — Val. Kraft, who first took the role of the peacemaker, pretended to be solicitous to establish good feeling between Meurer and Stoe- ver, and told the people that Stoever had promised him to mend his ways. He succeeded, however, in forming a third party attached to himself It was also apparent that the longer the people associated with the pastors sent by Zinzen- dorf, the less were they willing to believe them Lutherans. Those who did not like the Morax'ian rule and rulers, while they did not feel respect for Stoever and Kraft, increased in numbers, and, not being able loyally to get possession of Reed's Church, on Ascension Day, May 12, 1743, laid the corner-stone of Christ Church, three miles west of Reed's, a short distance to the west of the present Stouchsburg. Traces of the foundations of this church, erected on a hill which over- looks the Tulpehoken and near a fine grove, are still visible on the road now leading to the new church, erected 1785- 86. The road runs between the old graveyard to the west, in which venerable monuments of a very hard, rough sand- stone, placed there about the middle of the last centur}', may HhN'RY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 1 47 be seen, and the new graveyard to the east, in which the new church stands, and from its lofty spire presents a com- manding view of the surrounding countr}\ To this Christ Church three Lutherans, Sebastian Fisher, Christian Sauer, and George Unruh, had each given five acres as a glebe- land. There is no doubt that Biittner and Meurer, though their Lutheranism was an empty pretence, were much better Chris- tians and pastors thaii Stoever and Kraft, whose behavior, by contrast, was an offence to a Christian conscience. The people were not inclined to tolerate them any longer. Thus it hap- pened that all the Lutherans who had no sympathy with Meurer were deprived of the services of a regular pastor. In this predicament they addressed themselves to H. M. Miihl- enberg, begging him to assist them in procuring a pastor. The words of Holy Scripture, " a city that is set on a hill can- not be hid," were verified. Miihlenberg's good name had already spread from the plateau east of the Schuylkill Valley on which New Providence and New Hanover were situated in the midst of the primeval forest, with their houses and cultivated fields making from year to year larger inroads into it, from a distance of about fifty miles through a dis- trict even now called the Schwarzwald (Black Forest), south of Reading — which city in those days did not exist — and to the west of the Schuylkill Valley into the region irri- gated by the limpid waters of the Tulpehoken and its trib- utaries. Miihlenberg tells us that in 1743 he was for the first time invited to Tulpehoken, where his advice and assistance were greatly needed. He found three parties there. Eight or nine families held the old (Reed's) church with the " Beth- lehemites," which in this case meant the emissaries from Bethlehem, Pa., the Moravian pastors who in vain pretended to be Lutherans. The second party was attached to Stoever and held the new (Christ) church. The third party had no particular attachment and claimed rights in the new church, but needed help. It was not possible for Miihlenberg him- 148 ' LIFE AND TIMES OF self to serve them. In other respects he was willing- to do for them what he could. He was, as we know, standmg alone in the extensive field of his labor. It now happened that in the year 1743 a pastor, Tobias Wagner of Wi^irtemberg-, a great-grandson of the renowned theologian Tobias Wagner, who died in 1680 as chancellor of the University of Tubingen, arrived in Penn- sylvania and presented himself to Miihlenberg. He had been pastor at Horkheim, near Heilbronn, in Southern Germany, was married, and brought with him five children, to whom in Pennsylvania three more were added. Through his sons he is the ancestor of a widely-spread famih^ bearing his name, and through his daughters of the highly- respected families of the l?te Maj.-gen. S. P. Heintzelman, U. S. A., Stille, and others. He had come in company with a number of German immigrants to New England, most probably to the colony of Waldoboro' in the present State of Maine, was not satisfied there, and came to Pennsylvania in hope of finding here a better field of labor and support for himself and his family. With Muhlenberg's consent, the third party at Tulpehoken gave Wagner a call ad interim. Unfortunately, Wagner was not attractive to the two other parties. Muhlenberg found that Wagner's sermonizing was not pleasing to the people, that there was no magnetism about his person, and that he proved suspicious, censorious, and very impulsive. The third party at Tulpehoken could not provide a sufficient support for him and his large family, with which already in 1743 he had moved thither. Dissatisfaction increasing, Mijhlenberg made vain attempts to associate Wagner with himself or to place him in other localities. But the congregations were not will- ing. Wagner ungraciously soon began to mistrust Muhlenberg and to spread the untrue report that Miihlenberg received a regular salary from Halle, where the Fathers were well in- formed about Wagner, but placed no confidence in him. Wagner also associated himself with Stoever and other ene- mies to ecclesiastical order and pastoral dignity, and under HEXKY MELCHIOR MUIILEXBERG. 1 49 the pretext of stricter orthodcrxy even tried to undermine Aliihl- enberg's position and influence. He continued, however, to perform his pastoral duties in Christ Church, Tulpehoken, and at Heidelberg, where Conrad Weiser resided, some miles east of Christ Church, and at other localities, until 1746. Yet during" 1745 he accepted a call to Zion Church (now Mosellem), Berks county, Pa., moved at Easter in 1746 into the neighbor- hood of the present city of Reading, served about that time also the Alsace congregation near that city, began the forma- tion of the Lutheran congregation in it by preaching in a private house, consented in 1748 to serve the Lutheran con- gregation at Earltown (New Holland), Lancaster county, Pa., in 175 I that at Lancaster also for a short period, and remained pastor at the Mosellem church until his return to Europe in 1759, where he most probably died (1775) as pastor of a con- gregation in Wurtemberg. Miihlenberg, willingly admitting the superiority of Wagner's personal character over those vagabond seff-made pastors with whom he and the congre- gations were obliged to contend, tried to influence Wagner and to benefit him as best he could. But a more intimate association with a man of Wagner's whole mental framework was impossible. Tulpehoken, however, now remained one of the objects of Miihlenberg's care. In fact, in the spring of 1745, while Wagner for a time had absented himself, those served by him called upon INUihlenberg to take them alto- gether under his care, thinking that he could reunite all the three parties. We add that during Wagner's residence at Tulpehoken the Moravian part)- had erected, in place of their old frame church, a new building of freestone, dedicated in 1746 by Spangenberg. Wagner's part\- used Christ Church, which was also claimed b}' the friends of Stoever. Immedi- ately after Wagner's first arri\-al in Penns\'lvania, in Jul\- or August, 1743, Miihlenberg had tried to induce the Lutherans at Indianfield and Old Goshenhoppen, some miles north-east of Providence, to give Wagner a call, since the\' were then engaged in a strife with Streiter, a former school-teacher, who served them as an unordained pastor. But the\' refused 150 LIFE AXD TIMES OF to have him. Wagner paid a visit also at Lancaster, but there also had no success, but met with Stoever and Kraft, with whom he fell into a dispute. Thereupon, Wagner returned to New England, and in a short time afterward suddenly re- appeared in Pennsylvania, bringing along his family. One reason why Muhlenberg was glad to have him settle in Tul- pehoken was that during the summer of the same year (1743) another clerical impostor, John Conrad Andreae, who had been summarily dismissed from his pastoral office at Hornbach by the government of the principality of Zwei- briicken in Germany, arrived in Pennsylvania, and, desiring to impose upon Lutheran congregations, might have suc- ceeded in getting in at Tulpehoken. We find this despicable individual aftenvard settled at Goshenhoppen, and at a later period at Germantown, where, after having done his best to serve the world, the flesh, and the dev^l, and to prevent the prog- ress of Christ's kingdom, he died the death of an evil-doer, Jan. I, 1754. It wa.s not the least of the cares of Muhlenberg to defend congregations against the inroads of such unworthy pretenders to the sacred office, while such unprincipled men used all possible means to counteract his influence. As early as the year 1743 some Lutheran congregations in Hunterdon county, N. J., laid their grievances before Miihlen- berg. He was then not in a condition to extend to them a helping hand. The same took place in the following year^ and found him in the same condition. In the year 1745 things had taken such a turn that Muhlenberg could not avoid interesting himself for those congregations and taking upon himself the care of a rather distant field. The circum- stances were as follows : In the Reports which Muhlenberg, and at a somewhat later period his colaborers also who had been sent from Halle, transmitted to the Fathers — those worthy men at Halle, that centre of evangelical missions in Germany, who in connection with Ziegenhagen at London took such a warm and active interest in the spiritual condition of the Ger- man Lutheran congregations in the American colonies — we frequently read of "the Raritan congregations." It seems that HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I51 Lutherans from Holland had at an early peiiod settled on the upper waters of the Raritan River, and that in the course of time German Lutherans joined them in such numbers that they gradually formed the overwhelming majority, so that finally, in religious services, German only was used. It is probable that in earlier times the pastors -of the Dutch Lutherans at New York occasionally attended to the spiritual wants of these brethren in the faith, and it is related that Justus Falkner, already known to us, moved from the Hudson in his later years to that district, and died at New York in 1723. His successor in the field of labor on the Hudson and at New York was the Rev. Wilh. Christopher Berkenmeier, who after his arrival in the New World in 1725 served both these branches of the Dutch Lutheran Church, until, in 1732, the Rev. Mich. Christian Knoll took charge of the congregations at New York and the neighboring Hackensack, N. J. Berkenmeier had on the occasion of a visit advised the Lutherans on the Upper Raritan to address themselves to the ministry of the city of Hamburg, and to petition for a suitable pastor. \\\ following this advice they put into the hands of that ministry a regular call and the moneys needed for the sending of the individual to be selected. They wanted a " German studiosus theologice,'' whom the ministry was to ordain before he came across the ocean. One of the members of that ministry. Rev. J. A. Wolf, had a near relative of the same name, then a sfiuiiosiis theologian, who was called, and May 11, 1734, ordained in St. Nicolai Church at Hamburg. Whether this man was selected because he was a near relative of Pastor Wolf, or because he gave encouraging promise of future usefulness, or because he did not giv^e any such for Germany, but allowed a charitable hope of a favorable development under totally different cir- cumstances in a foreign land, we know not ; but this we know, that a more unsuitable individual could not have been palmed upon the Raritan congregations. He was received here by them with much joy and good-will. Of his ortho- doxy there was no doubt. He had not even the faintest sem- blance of Halle Pietism, so much abhorred by the adherents 152 LIFE AND TIMES OF of the orthodox party, to which in these times the Hamburg ministry, and, on this side of the Atlantic, W. Chr. Berken- meier and M. Chr. Knoll, belonged. He was said to be a man of fine classical and literary attainments. But that such a scholar should, when preaching, be obliged to read every one of his sermons from his manuscript was altogether op- posed to the views and feelings of the Lutheran farmers and other people on the Upper Raritan. He thought that his method was good enough for " these peasants." The spiritual gifts of humility, patience, kindness were totally wanting in him ; other proclivities were offensively prominent. Fol- lowing his matrimonial inclinations, he soon married, but in a short time was separated before a civil court de vicnsa ct toro from his wife, whom he had scandalously maltreated. He showed a lamentable indifference in the discharge of his duties, would not listen to advice, was obstinate in his ways, and fond of litigation. One year after entering upon his duties here he had to such an extent lost all the esteem and affection of his flock that Berkenmeier and Knoll came to admonish him and to try to make an impression upon him. Through their influence a new agreement was entered into in 1735 between Wolf and the people, but it led to no happ\" result. The members of the small congregations — of which there were about four — refused to pay Wolf's salary. Since they had given their signatures in the call sent to Hamburg, they were compelled to pay as long as Wolf was legally the pastor, and Wolf made them pay by legal process. Through a period of eight years lawsuits were carried on between him and his members. Every attempt to eject him from the office failed. The civil courts were not calculated to judge the case on its proper merits, the lawyers were ever read}- with their services on each side, and the whole condition of things was a scandal to the Church and to the whole community. Finally but entirely too late, the contending parties agreed to lay the matter before a board of four arbitrators, two from each side. Wolf called Berkenmeier and Knoll on his side ; the members, Muhlenberg and Tobias Wagner. Miihlenberg HEVRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I 53 was very averse to have anything to do with the detestable affair, but the worried, distressed members of those congre- gations allowed him no rest. He corresponded with Berken- meier, and proposed that Wolf should be persuaded and assisted to return to Germany. It seems that Berkenmeier intimated such a course would be detrimental to the repu- tation and honor of Wolf When, in July, 1745, three repre- sentatives of the Raritan congregations came again to Miihlen- berg, informing him that an agreement had been made before" a justice of the peace between them and Wolf that whosoever should show himself unwilling to carry out the conditions should pay a fine of fift}^-five pounds, and that a final decision must be made by the arbitrators on or before the 1st of August, 1745, Muhlenberg found himself unable any longer to resist, and undertook with Tob. Wagner a journey of about seventy miles — Wagner had to go one hundred and twent\'- six miles — and arrived July 31st at the Raritan. Here they found, to their great embarrassment, that Knoll was there, but not Berkenmeier. This seemed to jeopardize the whole un- dertaking. What excuse Berkenmeier had for his non-appear- ance we know not, but in a letter of May 20, 1745, sent to Muhlenberg before the whole transaction, he uses ver\- am- biguous language, brings unjust charges against the congre- gations, and deals with Wolf in a manner which is more calculated to hurt the writer of the letter than to help Wolf Even Knoll did not hesitate, in a letter of Oct. 16, 1745, to demonstrate to Berkenmeier that he had in this matter taken a standpoint which, in view of all the facts of the case, was untenable, and showed an unfeir mind biassed in favor of Wolf Under these circumstances the absence of Berkenmeier on the day of arbitration was probably no disadvantage. Wolf, who may have felt that under present conditions he could not satisfactorily maintain himself for any length of time there as pastor, and who needed money above all other things, ac- knowledged the three arbitrators as competent to decide the case. The arbitrators listened through five long days to the testimony laid before them from both sides ; they made vain 154 LIFE AXD TIMES OF efforts to reconcile Wolf with his wife, who preferreJ to go begging with her two children rather than to live again with her husband. No less futile were the efforts to restore peace between Wolf and his church-members, not one of whom desired him any longer as pastor. Wolf finally proposed, for the consideration of ninety pounds sterling, to give to the congregations a full release and quit the office. It was no easy task to persuade men who had lost money enough in this long litigation by court and lawyers, and had been obliged by a decision of the court to sustain for years a man whose services could not benefit them, to sign their names to the document and to pay that worthless pastor an additional and high sum of mone}-. But the arbitrators, though obliged to hear many a sharp word, succeeded, and the document was signed. The old papers on which the claims of Wolf rested he now handed to those whose names were on them, and they immediately tore the signatures from them. Wolf received his ninety pounds ; the trouble was so far at an end, and the arbitrators departed. A report on the arbitration, written by Muhlenberg and signed by the three arbitrators, was sent to the ministry at Hamburg. That Wolf ceased to be pastor was one step in the right direction, but of a negative character. The congre- gations were left in a totally destitute condition. In eight years the Lord's Supper had not once been administered nor the rite of confirmation performed. The people were demor- alized in consequence of the bitter strife and the lamentable litigation ; they were unwilling to enter into any formal con- nection with another pastor. There were other disturbing and discouraging influences at work on either side. Under these distressing circumstances Muhlenberg under- took, in the autumn of the same year, to pay another and a more protracted visit to these congregations. He instructed the young, visited and encouraged the membership, adminis- tered confirmation, awakened a new interest. Through him the lost confidence in the clerical office and the respect for it were restored, and twice he repeated his visits there in the follow- NEXKY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I 55 ing year. In all this he proved the intensity of his mission- ary spirit. No wonder that also in that region a new life and an interest in the word of God, and a love for it and for the Church and her services, were aroused. That he endeared himself to the souls whom he manifestly led out of dark- ness we can easily understand. Future facts will prove it. But he had now undertaken to cultivate a new field, and was not the man to lay his hand to the plough and to look back. We shall have ample occasion to see how solicitous he was for the spiritual welfare of the Raritan congregations. 156 LIFE AXD TIMES OF CHAPTER XI. 1745-1747- Further extension of Miihlenberg's missionarj- labors. — Numerical increase of Luther- ans in Pennsylvania. — Their spiritual destitution. — Irregularly appointed pas- tors.— Carl Rudolph. — Moravian pastors intruding upon Lutheran congi-ega- tions. — In answer to Muhlenberg's petition, Rev. P. Brunnholtz and J. N. Kurtz and J. H. Schaum arrive from Halle. — Their respective fields of labor. — Brunnholtz takes charge of Philadelphia and Germantown.— Muhlenberg retains Providence and New Hanover and outlying charges. — Kurtz begins to teach at New Hanover, Schaum at Philadelphia. — J. J. Loeser. — Miihlen- berg's maiTiage. — He settles at Providence. — Missionary work in Lancaster and York. — L. T. Nyberg. — J. Conr. Weiser the elder. — The Lutherans on the Upper Hudson and in the Schoharie Valley. — Interest in the Raritan con- gregations.— The catechists Kurtz and Schaum there. — Progi-ess of these churches. THE year 1745, which witnessed the extension of Miihlen- berg's work and influence beyond the hmits of Pennsyl- vania into the neighboring province of New Jersey, was in other respects one of the most memorable of his life. In the Raritan congregations he had to disunite incongruous ele- ments ; in Penns}-lvania he was engaged in effecting very desirable unions. From the very first days of his labor in the field to which he was called, the conviction that here was any amount of work for the proper kind of men willing to serve the Lutheran cause grew more and more strong within him. Thousands of Lutherans were scattered over a field extending several hundred miles in all directions. Immigra- tion was toward the middle of the last century greatly on the increase. L is stated that in one year nine thousand, in another twelve thousand, German immigrants landed at Philadelphia. Reports came to Miihlenberg fi-om all directions that Lu- theran pastors were wanted. In their destitute condition con- HEXKV MELCHIOR MCIILEXBERG. I 57 gregations would allow men to serve them who were devoid of every quality necessary for spiritual advisers. Some of that class have already come: under our observation. Such men had to be resisted and displaced and worthy men intro- duced. x-\mong these rogues there was one particularly prominent in those years, Carl Rudolph by name, prince of Wiirtemberg, as he called himself, a consummate scoundrel, probably a desert- er from some army in Europe, who carried on a cheating and stealing expedition from Georgia through the seaboard prov- inces as a pretender to the sacred office, foraging upon Ger- man settlers, displaying anew in a short time in each locality his utter dissoluteness, doing immense harm to the clergy, but always finding people to inveigle by his persuasive arts. There were here and there, in various congregations, better men well qualified for the sacred work. Among the Germans they were then " few and far between." There was no organ- ization, no unity of action, among them. Most active were the Moravians. They seemed never to be in want of men to serve their cause among Germans or Indians. But, while Mi^ihlenberg was willing to give them credit for their general character and zeal, he could not allow the Lutheran congre- gations to fall a prey to Moravianism or to be cut asunder by the Moravian emissaries, as was sometimes the case. Under these circumstances he would have been very glad to meet with brethren in the office who could have shared his feelings and views and co-operated with him. But neither Wagner nor Stoever nor men like Berkenmeier or Knoll were properly qualified for this end. \Vagner was distrustful, had become prejudiced against Muhlenberg, did not consider him soundly orthodox, and even tried to raise suspicion against him by pamphlets. Muhlenberg sought to exercise some influence on Stoever, in whom he certainly recognized elements which, properly directed, might have been used to great advantage. But Stoever had no sympathy with Muhlenberg's spirituality, no thorough-going personal experience of the operation of the Holy Ghost upon his heart and life. Muhlenberg's efforts, 158 LIFE AND TIMES OF by conversation or correspondence, to bring him nearer and effect a better understanding and a closer sympathy were in vain. Men hke Berkenmeier and Knoll belonged to a differ- ent theological school, and were — especially Berkenmeier — prejudiced against the missionary of Halle. It is natural to suppose that Muhlenberg greatly desired as his associates men who would fully sympathize with him. From the very begin- ning of his labors in his three congregations, knowing full well how much should and could be accomplished here for the Lutheran Church and for thousands of souls given to her by Providence, he had sent petitions to Halle begging the Fathers to send him colaborers ; and so pressing was he in his entreaties that finally success crowned his efforts, and three men were found who were willing to follow Muhlenberg as missionaries from Halle to assist in his labors on the large field in Pennsylvania. They were Peter Brunnholtz, John Nicol. Kurtz, and John Helfrich Schaum. Jan. 26, 1745, Muhlenberg had the pleasure of welcoming these three brethren at Philadelphia to their new field of activity. He knew that in union there is strength, and he had not the least doubt that with these men he could in all the essentials of the sacred service fully unite, and that a blessed progress in the work before them might be expected. The date on which these three brethren arrived here was so memorable, and the joy they experienced on meeting Mi^ihlen- berg was so great, that for a number of years it was celebrated in the circle of the brotherhood as a memorial day, serving for the spiritual refreshment of them all. That joy was shared fully by the members of the Philadelphia congregation, who received these brethren most kindly. After it was known that they had resolved to come, prayers were offered publicl}' and privately for a safe voyage. That to them and to their whole work Muhlenberg's experience, highly-respected posi- tion, influence, and friendship proved invaluable, needs no remark. He had been the pioneer and had done the hardest work; they willingly acknowledged his superiority and fol- lowed his (guidance. hKXRV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. I 59 The most prominent of them was Rev. Peter Brunnholtz. He was, when leaving Europe, still a subject of the Danish kingdom, having been born in Niibiihl, in the Danish province of Schleswig. Having received a good linguistic education — he mastered, among others, also the Danish and Swedish lan- guages— and having finished his course of theological study at the university, for a time as a candidate for holy orders he was engaged in performing pastoral services on the estates of a nobleman, Hartmann von Geusau of Farrenstaedt, who also used him as an instructor of the youth, thought highly of his services and of his Christian character, was closely connected with the directors of the Halle institutions, and, in accordance with their wishes, laid the call from Pennsyl- vania before Brunnholtz, believing him to be well qualified for the work, though he had some misgivings on account of Brunnholtz's weak constitution. Brunnholtz, after taking the matter into prayerful consideration, accepted the call P'eb. 29, 1744. At Dr. Francke's solicitation, Count Stolberg of Wernigerode permitted the examination and ordination of Brunnholtz by the church authorities of his estates. On Friday, May 10, 1744, he was examined, and on Sunday, May 1 2th, public!}' ordained. After having taken farewell of iiis father and brothers, and of the Fathers and friends at Halle and other places, he was joined at Hamburg by his two companions, J. N. Kurtz and J. H. Schaum, both going to America in the capacity of assistants to Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz, or as catechists. Both were intimate friends, as their fathers — esteemed parochial teachers in German)' — had been for many years. They had made a beginning in the work of preparation for the ministerial ofifice, and were expected to continue their studies under the tuition and guid- ance of both their superiors, and at the same time to make themselves useful as teachers in the schools connected with the congregations under the care of the ordained pastors. As such they were greatly needed in Pennsylvania, and proved themselves at once valuable colaborers with Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz. Kurtz took his lodgings in the recently-erected l6o LIFE AXD TIMES OF school-house at New Hanover as the teacher of the school connected with that congregation ; Schaum, residing in Philadel- phia with Brunnholtz, served there in the same capacity. Both assisted the pastors also in preaching, since at various locali- ties outside of the congregations united under the two regular pastors, and taken care of by them, there were demands for this. Sometimes, as the circumstances required it, the pastors them- selves would serve those outlying stations {Filial Gnnciiuleii), which in the course of time were raised to parishes having their own pastors or forming, in connection with other similar smaller settlements, new parochial charges. Thus it was at Oley, a few miles from New Hanover in a north-eastern direc- tion ; at Saccum, Upper Milford, and neighboring localities: at Easton and its environs; also in Chester county, on the west side of the Schuylkill River ; at Cohansey in New Jer- sey, about thirty-six miles south-east of Philadelphia; in the Schwarzwald, and in other localities added in the course of time. Wherever Muhlenberg found German Lutherans who needed pastoral services he was willing to give a helping hand, and Brunnholtz and the two catechists manfully assisted him ; so that the influence of these increased and united forces, working for one end, was felt over the field of action, which continually expanded. Muhlenberg never lost sight of the training of the children of the Church. As other responsi- bilities continually increased, he could no longer devote him- self to regular teaching. But he found also for the children of his flock at Providence a young man who under his super- vision carried on the work in the parochial school. This was John Jacob Loeser, who before the arrival of J. N. Kurtz had in New Hanover acquired some experience in the art of teach- ing, enjoyed, on account of his excellent Christian character and faithfulness in the performance of his duties, the con- fidence of Muhlenberg, and Jan. 7, 1749, entered upon a new field of labor as parochial teacher of the Lancaster congrega- tion. Also J. Fr. Vigera, whose acquaintance we made at Ebenezer, Ga., and who now resided in Pennsylvania, had before the arrival of Kurtz served as a teacher at New Han- HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. l6l over, and had afterward for a time been active in the same capacity at Philadelphia : he was also employed there, when the regular pastor was engaged in other places and after J, H. Schaum had been called to another field of labor, as a lay reader in the congregational worship. Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz began their united labors cheerfully and with strong and lasting sympathy for each other. At first they made bi-weekly changes : one served for two weeks at Philadelphia and Germantown ; the other, in the country congregations. But already in June, 1745, an arrangement was made, with the consent of the congrega- tions, according to which Brunnholtz took special charge of Philadelphia and Germantown ; Muhlenberg, of Providence and New Hanover, with the outlying smaller charges. He had in the performance of his pastoral duties to spend a considerable part of his time on horseback, going over the roughest roads and byways, through thickets and swamps, and to be exposed to all sorts of weather. These exertions and dangers Brunnholtz's weaker physical constitution could not endure. Miihlenberg, under circumstances soon to be ex- plained, had his headquarters for about two months in Phil- adelphia, where now his colleague began his bachelor house- hold, while he himself resided at Providence, where, with a view to a continued residence, he began to have a house built for himself and took up a piece of land for cultivation, to assist in sustaining himself and a famil^^ And this leads us legitimately to give the history of a union in addition to the official clerical partnership of Miihl- enberg with Brunnholtz, and in no manner affecting this most necessary and salutary relation. We refer to a union which contributed to supply a deeply-felt want and to complete the man and the pastor for his work. We know that alread}^ in the fall of 1743, Muhlenberg was requested to take an interest in the deplorable condition of the Lutheran congregation at Tulpehoken, known in those da}'s as the " Tulpehoken Confusion." When, during his first visit, he became acquainted with J. Conrad Weiser, it seems II 1 62 LIFE AXD TIMES OF that a mutual sympathy sprang up between the two. In a short time Muhlenberg gained the full confidence of his new friend, who, after various alliances in divers directions, came nearer and nearer to Lutheranism as Muhlenberg represented it, until finally his membership in the Lutheran Church was fully established. Weiser was, when MUhlenberg became acquainted with him, a man highly respected, not only by his neighbors and a large circle of friends, but by the author- ities of Pennsylvania and of neighboring provinces. He was a self-made man, had gone through many hardships, was rich in experience, and, while his interest in religious matters is proved even by such an extravagance as his transient attach- ment to the convent-life at Ephrata, and afterward by his short- lived interest in Zinzendorf, he showed the greater soberness of his judgment by his lasting respect and love for Muhlen- berg and by the unremitting confidence he learned to place in him. To Weiser's pen, in reply to questions made by Brunnholtz, we owe one of the best delineations of Zinzen- dorf's peculiarly-constituted character and of the methods he pursued in his missionary work during his visit to Penn- sylvania. Acknowledging what was great and good in the count, Weiser, without any malice, with a totally unbiassed mind, points out the weak sides of the man who in many," but not in all, respects was the superior of thousands. That Weiser, when Muhlenberg came to his house, had an open ear not only for the well-seasoned conversation of his cler- ical guest, but also for his melodious singing and his other musical accomplishments, proves that the traditional love of the German for music was vigorously alive in Weiser's heart. Muhlenberg's singing and playing on the famih' organ were, however, listened to not only by Weiser, but b}' his whole family. And we are not going too far in thinking that there was among Weiser's children one who wdth a peculiar interest listened to the manly singer's melodious voice, and could not but admire his character and his whole bearing; and to her, who could not escape his observation, Muhlenberg offered his hand, which, with the parental consent, was lovingly HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 163 accepted. On Api-il 22. 1745, the Rev. H. M. Muhlenberg and Miss Anna Mary Weiser were united in the bonds of marriage at Tulpehoken by the Rev. Tobias Wagner. The official record of the marriage is still to be seen in the well- preserved church-record of the parsonage next to Christ Church, near Stouchsburg. Brunnholtz and Schaum had accompanied Miihlenberg to Tulpehoken, and were wit- nesses at the marriage. Anna Mary Weiser was born June 24, 1727, was conse- quent!)' at the time of her marriage not yet quite eighteen years old, always proved herself a faithful partner of her husband's joys and sorrows, toils and cares, suffered in later years from long-continued bodily infirmities, lost her beloved husband after a happy union of forty-two }'ears and five months, and departed in peace Aug. 23, 1802. Her situation at the side of her husband was a trying one. His mind and time were taken up with the ever-increasing cares of his office, an extensive cor- respondence, and the demands made upon him from all parts of the Lutheran Church in the colonies. He was frequently absent from home — sometimes for weeks and months. This was keenly felt by his wife, and the willingness with which she submitted to her lot deserves our admiration. She knew that in travelling to distant places and doing his best to gather Lutherans into congregations, and for a time serving them or giving them an organization, he was fulfilling the mission of his life. Young and inexperienced as she was, after she had given her hand to the beloved man she adapted herself ex- ceedingly well to the duties of her arduous position, since all tlie domestic affairs and the care of a growing family devolved upon her. Her husband offered her his full sympathy. Once, when he was away from her during a very critical period, she said, referring to the distress then experienced, that indeed man}- a poor laborer's wife with her husband with her from day to day was more pleasantl}' situated than she was. Her husband puts these words down in his diary in a way which proves his tendercst compassion. But she rejoiced in his manly, active, energetic character, in the divine blessings 164 LIFE AND TIMES OF which manifestly rested on his labors, in the constant increase of his usefulness, in the high regard that was offered to him by the congregations, his clerical colaborers, and all right- minded persons in the most varied positions in life. He bears willing testimony to the good Christian principles which ever guided her. One word from his pen and from his heart which he enters in his diary after having happily lived in her companionship for nearly thirty years may suffice in this direc- tion. " Last night," he says, " my wife had a very severe attack of sickness, and suffered greatly. She is now some- what better. We had a conversation on spiritual matters. Her great concern was, among other things, this — that her children, her relatives, and friends might be saved and attain eternal bliss. This is proper and laudable : we must first in humble anxiety and sincerity seek our own salvation, but look also upon our children and friends as a property be- longing to us, yet purchased by the Lord by the gift of his own blood and life for them: to him we should recommend them, presently and perseveringly pra}'ing for them." We may add that the hospitality exercised b}- Mrs. Muhlenberg was thankfully acknowledged by many pastors and friends who in her house were kindly received and liberally treated. When Muhlenberg, in June, 1745, moved from Philadelphia to Providence, he not only acted so as to prove his good-will toward his colleague Brunnholtz, but he followed the inclina- tion of his own heart. He preferred the country to the city, realizing that man had made the city, but God the country. To his decided preference for the country he gives expression on various occasions. The people of Providence were glad to have him among their fellow-citizens and neighbors, and a strong mutual attachment grew up, which made itself felt whenever occasions arose which called him away to distant fields of labor. That he built himself a house there on a piece of land belonging to him indicated that he intended to be permanently settled at Providence, and, although some- times absent for extended periods, his headquarters were there until he was by peculiar circumstances in 1761 necessitated to HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 165 move with his family to Philadelphia. In Providence eight of the eleven children with whom his marriage was blessed were born ; the first of them, John Peter Gabriel, born Oct. I, 1746, was destined to make the name of the family re- nowned by his patriotism. When Mijhlenberg already in 1745 was requested to stretch out a helping hand to the Lutherans on the Raritan, he extend- ed his influence in an eastern direction beyond the Delaware. Soon afterward his sympathies were engaged in Lutheran con- gregations to the west of his headquarters at Providence. There disturbances had taken taken place similar to those ex- perienced in Philadelphia, in consequence of the objectionable position Zinzendorf and his assistants tried to take in the Lutheran congregations. In the congregations at Lancaster and York a Moravian emissary had also succeeded for a time in palming himself upon them as a Lutheran pastor. Here we simply state what Muhlenberg reports of his second visit to Lancaster and first one to York. Lancaster he had visited, in company with Brunnholtz, already in 1745 ; now he speaks of the year 1746. He sa}'s : " Toward the end of April I was necessitated again to visit Tulpehoken, and from there to go to the litigant congregation at Lancaster. This I did with the consent of my colleague Brunnholtz and our congregations. The circumstances forced me, though I fore- saw that I would be rewarded with nothing but disgrace and trouble; for after about eighty protesting Lutherans had been acquitted by the civil authority, and those tending to Mora- vianism, with their pastor, Herr Nyberg, were nonsuited, the Lutherans desired, for justice' sake, that one of us should preach a sermon in the church, to which before they had no access. The Moravian party opposed it, and their attempt forcibly to prevent me almost created a tumult, one faction impelling me to go to the church, the other resisting me. All, however, passed off without a disturbance. The Mora- vians, seeing that they could not carry out their purpose, used the German newspaper to asperse my name ; the other side, however, amply retorted. [This refers to Christoph. Sauer's 1 66 LIFE AND TIMES OF German periodical published at Germantown.] After this Nyberg with his party left the church to the Lutherans and began to build a house of worship of their own. The fact that the right reverend consistory of Sweden sent a response testifying against Nyberg [who was a Swede] had greatly contributed to this result." " From Lancaster I was called to a large congregation on the other side of the Susquehanna River, near the outmost borders of Pennsylvania, touching on Maryland. This congregation had occasionally been visited by Herr Nyberg so long as he was considered a genuine Lutheran preacher. The congregation consists of one hun- dred and ten families. Nyberg had promised to procure for them another pastor from Sweden, but after the quarrel at Lancaster had begun they would not have any further deal- ings with him. In that congregation I had to baptize a num- ber of children and to confirm some whom the parochial teacher had instructed. From there I returned to Tulpehoken — a distance of forty-six English miles — where I again preached ; from Tulpehoken I had fifty miles more to Provi- dence and my congregations." The town here spoken of is York, and this is all the report Muhlenberg gives us of this his first and most extended missionary-tour in the western direction from Providence. During the year 1746 the young family at Providence had the opportunity of entertaining a very remarkable visitor. The grandfather of Mrs. Muhlenberg, old John Conrad Weiser, came to see his descendants in Pennsylvania and to look into their circumstances. His life had been an unusually stormy one. Coming from the dukedom of Wiirtemberg along with the thousands of Palatines who during the summer of 1709 reached London, he was encamped with them in tents — given for this purpose by the English government — in the neighbor- hood of the c\Xx, toward Greenwich. When, in the following year, the government transported some three thousand of these German emigrants to the shores of the Hudson, Weiser was among them. Li the troubles which a short time afterward broke out between these new settlers and Governor Hunter, HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 1 6/ under whose injudicious and arbitrary measures they felt ex- ceedingly uncomfortable, VVeiser was one of the spokesmen. Hunter considered him a seditious ringleader. Weiser was conscientiously convinced that the Germans were wilfully maltreated by Hunter, and he resisted this deeply-felt injus- tice. Instead of trying wisely to pacify these strangers on the Hudson, Hunter never ceased to irritate them. He wanted them to repay the English government for its outlay in their behalf by producing naval stores — tar, rosin, etc. They de- sired to be independent settlers, cultivators of the soil, to establish comfortable homes for themselves by their industry. As such there can be no doubt they would have been a much richer source of advantage to the government. When a number of them — Weiser one of the foremost among them — in 17 1 2 moved from the Hudson to the Schoharie Valley, they maintained that Mohawk Indians who in 1709 had been ex- hibited in London, and had become acquainted with the Ger- man emigrants, had given them that tract of land — an asser- tion which was n.ot without some foundation. Hunter con- sidered the exodus to the Schoharie a new rebellion in a new form, and set up fictitious counter-claims of some Dutchmen of New York to those lands. The Germans saw in this only another fraudulent measure of oppression, and resisted the government, sometimes with means not justifiable in the eyes of the law. Hunter intended to put W^eiser, as the most outspoken and most obstinate rebel, in prison at New York, and to hand him over to the criminal court ; but no officer of the law had the courage to touch Weiser. He and the Germans had a good understanding with the Indians. He allowed his son Conrad to live for a period of six months among them and to be on the most intimate terms with them. There young Weiser gained his knowledge not only of the language and manners of the Indians, but also of their pe- culiar feelings and of their views of men and things, which in his later life in Pennsylvania was of much advantage to him an 1 to the commonwealth. Father J. C. Weiser was one of the three unfortunate delegates whom the Germans in 1 68 LIFE AND TIMES OF the Schoharie Valley in 17 18 sent to the government in Eng- land to report their grievances and seek for redress. These three delegates found their way to Philadelphia, clandestinely embarked here, fell into the hands of pirates, by whom they — especially Weiser — were most cruelly maltreated, after hav- ing landed at Boston, finally reached London, and were there without friends and patrons. One of them, Wallrath, being homesick, embarked for America, and died on the sea ; the two others, Weiser and Schaff, became involved in debt, were imprisoned almost a whole year, and of course in their cause with the gov^ernment were counteracted by Hunter, who in 17 19 had been recalled from his office as governor of New York. Weiser returned to America in 1722. The result of the mis- sion to England was fruitless. The government of England directed, however, its representatives in the province of New York to parcel out to the Germans in the Schoharie Valley other lands upon which no claims were made. In the course of time many of the younger generation of Germans came to an understanding with those Dutchmen who by showing fraudulent titles pretended to have claims to the lands which were cultivated by the Germans. The Germans agreed to pay a trifling yearly rent. Other parties of the Germans moved, as we have already learned, in 1723, to Pennsylvania, and set- tled on the Tulpehoken. They were followed in 1729 by young J. Conrad Weiser. His father would not then leave the soil on which he had fought the long-continued battle of his life. But now, in his extreme old age, his heart gave him no rest. No doubt he had now and then heard of his son, of the progress the Germans were making in their set- tlements in free Pennsylvania, of the happy condition of the members of his own family, and undoubtedly also of Muhlen- berg, his position and influence, and his marriage with his own granddaughter. All this was too much for the aged father ; he could not quietly rest on the Schoharie. Like the old patriarch Jacob, he desired once more to see with his own eyes his son and his grandchildren, with all their friends, and then to die. HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 1 69 Of old Grandfather Weiser's visit at his house at Providence Miihlenberg speaks in a very feeling way. He says that his visitor came also with the special purpose of speaking with him about the concerns of his soul. When he arrived he was so much exhausted by the exertions of the long and arduous journey undertaken in his old age that he was brought to his house almost dead. After a day's rest he revived to some extent, and began with half-broken voice to repeat striking Bible passages referring directly to the salvation in Christ, to the forgiveness of sins through him, to Christ's call to all heavy-laden souls, and verses of the old German church-hymns of corresponding character. His eyes were dim, and his hearing was so defective that there could not be much conversation. Muhlenberg takes occasion to say : " Oh how good it is in our youth to lay up treasures taken from the word of God ! Even if it does not produce the proper fruit in practice on account of many impediments, God remains true to himself and graciously shows his hand in his own good time. Methinks this aged father offered me , a beautiful instance of this. I could here see how true it is that the Spirit of God is directly united with the word. It affords sincere joy to see how the old Evangelical Lutheran teachings were revivified in the soul." Having regained some bodily strength, the aged father received, after proper prepa- ration, the Lord's Supper from the hands of Muhlenberg — a scene exceedingly affecting to all who were present. In con- clusion he also united with all of them in praying the twenty- third Psalm, and selected the fifth and sixth verses of it as the text for the occasion of his burial. He remained a few days longer at Providence, and was then taken in a wagon sent by his son to Tulpehoken, where' he rejoiced for a short period to " live with his Joseph in Goshen," and fell asleep while children and children's children sent up their prayers in his behalf He was at the time of his departure between eighty and ninety }^ears of age. To have undertaken, in his enfeebled condition, at such an age, so arduous a jour- ney from the Schoharie to Pennsylvania is a striking proof I/O LIFE AXD TIMES OF of the longing of his heart and of the indomitable energy of his will. When Muhlenberg, in the summer of 1745, returned from the Raritan congregations, he kept their interests and preca- rious condition in his heart. They regained courage from the thought that they were an object of his care. Their situa- tion was a very trying one. Muhlenberg tells us that Wolf, after quitting his office, was still there, " willing rather to rot than to move." So was another individual, Langenfeld, who years before had as a pastor served a portion of the whole field, but now was farming. Both of them were spectators, curious to see what turn things would take. Berkenmeier and the ministry of Hamburg were unwilling to allow any " Hallen- sis " to gain influence there. The congregations were deplor- ably demoralized, and afraid, in consequence of their troubles with Wolf, to put their signature to any call for a pastor ; they had not yet church- and school-buildings, and for this ex- pected help from the " Fathers " through Muhlenberg. We know that during the fall of 1745 he paid them a second, more protracted visit. Twice he repeated his visits during the following year. J. N. Kurtz was sent there toward the end of the same year (1745), returned in January, 1746, and spent also during the summer of tliis year three months with them. In the spring of 1747, J. H. Schaum was delegated to serve there, and spent a large part of the same year with these congregations. But in the November of that }'ear the vagabond Carl Rudolph appeared there, brought greetings from Muhlenberg — which were, of course, wholly his own invention — and recommendations from the miserable scamp Andrese, warning the people against any connection with the Halle pastors. Fortunately, Carl Rudolph there, as in other localities, succeeded in gaining adherents onl}^ for a short time. It did not take many months to understand his abom- inable character. But his presence had already proved a new cause of disturbance. Kurtz was sent there again in March, 1748, to restore order by a sojourn of about four weeks. Muhlenberg was greatly indignant at the carelessness and NEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I71 want of judgment on the part of the leading men of the congregations in permitting Rudolph to play for a time there the role of a Lutheran pastor. He himself, accom- panied b)' J. J. Locser, again visited the Lutherans on the Raritan in July, 1748. The result of his labors among them was that the congregations (Aug. 7th) resolved to build in a central position one large church of freestone. The church was built. Muhlenberg also gave them a proper organiza- tion, each of the four congregations being represented in a common vestry by four elders and two deacons. Certainly this was a striking result of ALihlenberg's visit and influence, and promised good for the future. From the fact that, in the year 1746, Lutherans settled in the Mohawk Valley, in the province of New York, addressed themselves to Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz petitioning for a suitable pastor, we learn how far the good report about the work begun among the German Lutherans in Pennsylvania had spread. Such petitions — the number of which increased from year to }'ear — proved how large were the fields ripe already to harvest, and how necessary the prayers that the Lord would send forth laborers into his harvest. These prayers were answered from time to time. The Fathers in Halle, by an extensive correspondence and the minute reports, sent by the laborers in the American vine- yard, were well informed about the circumstances existing there. Dr. Francke especially ever had a watchful e}-e to dis- cover men of the proper qualities for the American work. He was prepared, two years after Brunnholtz, accompanied by Kurtz and Schaum, had left Germany, to send two others. He found one in whom he placed confidence, though he was not of a strong physical constitution. This was John Fred- erick Handschuh, born of godly Christian parents Jan. 14, 1714. at Halle, and baptized b}- Aug. Herman Francke, the aut.hor of the charitable institutions of that place, the father of Dr. G. A. Francke, the fatherly friend of Muhlenberg. Young Handschuh as a child was frequently attacked by sickness, and sometimes thought to be dead, but, growing 1/2 LIFE AND TIMES OF Stronger, he made faithful use of the means of education which the classical schools of his native city and its chari- table and learned institutions afforded to him. That his parents gave him a pious Protestant French teacher, under whose tuition he became master of the French language, was at a later period of his life of much advantage to him. After having, subsequent to 1733, taken a complete four years' course at the Halle University, he was called to Leipsic as tutor of a young nobleman, gave also instruction to a number of chil- dren of the nobility of the city, and at the same time profited by the advantages offered by the university. In 1737 the Duke Christian Ernest of Saxony- Saalfeld appointed him preceptor of his court-pages at Saalfeld. Here Handschuh experienced, under the teachings of Rev. Dr. Lindner and Herr von Bo- gatzky — the godly man whose small book for private edifica- tion has made the tour of the globe and done more good than many a learned and heavy volume of theology — a religious awakening which settled his convictions as to the course of his life. After having been examined and ordained by the consistory of Altenburg, he was appointed in 1744 pastor of the widely-extended Graba parish. Here the call of the des- titute Lutherans in America came to him, and was accepted. JIEXHY MELCHIOR MIHLEXBERG. 1 73 CHAPTER XII. 1747-1748. AiTival of Rev. J. Fr. Handschuh. — Disturbed condition of the Lancaster congi-ega- tion. — Muhlenberg's influence demanded. — J. N. Kurtz, settled at Tulpehoken, . serves for a time at Lancaster. — Handschuh placed there. — Molatton. — Earltown (New Holland). — A Liturg)'. — Muhlenberg, again on a missionar'y tour, visits Tulpehoken, Northkill (Bernville), Lancaster, York, Monocacy, Frederick, McAllistertown (Hanover). — ^Jacob Lischy. — L. T. Nyberg. — B. Maul.- — Articles of church order. — Dissensions. — Moravian influences. — Rev. J. C. Hartwig. — Visits to Upper Milford, Saccum, and neighboring congrega- tions.— Missionary work branches out to Birkensee (Perkasie, N. P. R. R.), Easton, Macungie, Salisbury, and other localities. — Catechist J. H. Schaum placed at York. — Muhlenberg's account of his pastoral work.— Correspond- ence and diaries. WHEN Handschuh, after a very tedious voyage from London, arrived at Philadelphia, April 5, 1748, he paid with Brunnholtz a visit to Miihlenberg at Providence on the 9th and loth of the same month. Having received from the Lutheran congregation at Lancaster a call dated May 16, 1748, he entered upon his pastoral duties the 26th of the same month. Lancaster county was separated from Chester county in 1727 by the provincial government of Pennsylvania. From the year 17 10 there was a strong influx of immigrants, espe- ciall}- Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Germans from the Pal- atinate. The Germans, as the historian Dr. William H. Egle tells us, usually made arrangements with the agents of the Proprietaries, the Penn family, about buying lands before they came ; as soon as they arrived they were naturalized at Phil- adelphia and received patents for their lands. The Scotch- Irish acted more independently, used squatter sovereignty, and pushed out beyond the Germans to the extreme frontier 1/4 LIFE AND TIMES OF of civilization. Among the Germans were many Lutherans, who in the course of time formed themselves into congrega- tions in various localities. At Lancaster Cit}^ which dates its origin from the year 1730, the first congregational record was commenced by J. C. Stoever in the autumn of 1733. Stoever entered in it some baptisms and marriages of 1729. In the year 1733 or in the following year he took up his residence near Earltown (now New Holland), on the road leading from Penn- sylvania to Maryland and Virginia, and at that time much frequented. The construction of a road from Philadelphia directly to Lancaster was resolved upon in 1733 ; the work was not completed until 1741. In December, 1732, Rev. J. Chr. Schulze, who had arrived Sept. 25th of the same year, and was accepted pastor by the congregations at Philadelphia, Providence, and New Hanover, paid a visit to Lancaster, pos- sibly with a view to secure the services of Stoever for his congregations during his absence, since he intended to return to Europe and to raise charitable collections for his people. It is probable that Stoever, whom Schulze, before his depart- ure for Europe, ordained at Providence in 1733, was the onh' Lutheran minister at Lancaster until 1742. Toward the end of this year Valentin Kraft, who during the summer had arrived at Philadelphia, gained some influence at Lancaster, and promised to preach there twice every month. Though dismissed as pastor in the following year, he retained a. certain influence for four or five years. It appears that the pastor of the Swedish congregation at the Wicaco church at Philadelphia preached for the Lutherans at Lancaster from time to time during the years from 1742 to 1744. By his advice they sent, through Peter Kock at Philadelphia, a petition to the Church government of Sweden to supply them with a pastor. A theologian, Rev. Hedstrand, was found will- ing to go to Pennsylvania and to serve the Lancaster Lutheran congregation. He was ordained by the archbishop of Upsala, but, no money being sent to pay his travelling expenses, he relinquished the call. Rev. Gabriel Naesman of Gestricia, who expected to travel in company with Hedstrand, and was called Hh. NR Y MEL CHIOR MUHLENBERG. I J q as successor of Dylander (who had died Nov. 2, 1741) to the Swedish congregation at Philadelphia, arrived here Oct. 20, 1743- Now it appears that Lawrence Thorstonsen Nyberg, whom we have already mentioned, formerly an engineer, was induced secretly to join the Moravians through the influence of A. Gradin, one of the most energetic emissaries of Zinzendorf both in other countries and also in Sweden, and, having given some attention to theology and passed his examination as a candidate for holy orders in the Lutheran Church, heard of the vacancy of the Lutheran congregation at Lancaster, Pa. After his arrival here he gave Mi^ihlenberg and Peter Kock at Philadelphia a decided assurance that in Sweden he had made the acquaintance of Arvin Gradin, but knew nothing of Zinzendorf, his peculiar teachings and plans. The fact is that in London he had intimate intercourse with Spangenberg and other Moravians. On the third Sunday in Advent, 1744, he introduced himself at Lancaster as a Lutheran pastor, was jo\'fully accepted, and began his pastoral work as the first pastor residing there in the midst of his flock. The fairest prospects were before him successfully to build up his con- gregation and to further the cause of the Lutheran Church, but it could not escape the notice of his hearers that instead of teaching, as he had solemnly promised to do, the doctrines of the Lutheran Church, he used phrases at that time quite in vogue with the Moravians calculated to throw contempt upon the old truths concerning faith, the law, repentance, and also the person, the nature, the office of Christ, and in this way to undermine the Lutheran faith among a Lutheran member- ship. Being questioned, he denied having any affiliation with the Moravians, while he secretly corresponded with them and visited their conferences. Toward those wliom he gained over to his side by a deceiving show of a higher spirituality he used most flattering language. Of Muhlenberg and his associates he began here and there to speak as of a most dan- gerous class of people, and so fully convinced was he of the strength of his position that he not onl}- married a Moravian 1/6 LIFE AXD TIMES OF sister in the faith, but secretly made arrangements to hold a large conference of the Moravians in his congregation during the Advent season, 1745. This brought on a crisis. The officers and members of the congregation who were averse to his principles and dealings locked the church, which had been built in 1737, and finally an appeal was made to the civil au- thority to decide the case. In accordance with a decision given b\' the governor ujDon recommendations in favor of Nyberg from some English friends, Nyberg and his adherents were permitted to use the church on Sunday morning, while it was open for his opponents in the afternoon. Peace was not re-established by this arrangement. The opponents of Nyberg demanded the use of the church for themselves on a certain occasion for morning service. Their petition not be- ing granted, they nailed up the doors of the church and posi- tively refused Nyberg admission into the building; thereupon eight of the most prominent men among his opponents were orought by his adherents before court as disturbers of the public peace. The church was closed against each party until the court had decided. It happened, when the trial came off, that those eight men were declared " Not guilty." The church, however, remained closed against both parties. The Nyberg people maintained that they were true Luther- ans ; the others denied it. Nyberg preached to his flock in the hall of the court-house. J. Conrad Weiser, who at that time was a justice of the peace, made efforts, in connection with another magistrate, to unite the litigants by a private agreement. In consequence of losing the good-will of an English magistrate at Lancaster, Nyberg was no longer per- mitted to preach in the court-house. The archbishop of Sweden, to whom Nyberg had appealed as favorable to him, sent letters declaring Nyberg to be unfit for the pastoral office, and denying his assertion that the Moravians were acknow- ledged in Sweden to be true Lutherans. This was the condition of the Lutheran congregation at Lancaster when Muhlenberg was brought into connection with it. That he was advised of all the circumstances and HEXRY MELCHIOR 2)UHLEXBERG. 1 77 proceedings before he exercised any personal influence he tells us himself. When the trial of those eight men before the court was to come off, he was most urgently petitioned to come to the defence of the Lutheran cause. He under- took, in company with Brunnholtz, to go at the proper time to Lancaster. He and his companion made the most stren- uous efforts to bring about between the contending parties some sort of understanding and agreement, but did not suc- ceed. On the Sunda\- preceding the trial both preached to the Lutheran party in a private house. By the verdict in favor of the eight men they and the large number of those who sided with them were no less surprised than Nyberg's adherents. In the beginning of the summer of the following year (1746) Muhlenberg was most urgently requested by the Lutherans who had protested against Nyberg and his in- trigues again to come to Lancaster and to preach to them. When he arrived there he learned that in case he made an attempt to preach in the church disturbances would take place. Some Moravians told him in plain language that members of their party would offer resistance to his preach- ing in the church. He resolved to preach in the court-house, and in the presence of some Moravians asked permission to do so of the mayor of the town. Early on Sunday, the ap- pointed day, the officers and members of the Lutheran party met, and when Miihlenberg informed them that, to avoid tumult, he had resolved to preach in the court-house, they stated their reasons why they could not agree with his views on this point, and wh\- it would be the best, on this occasion, to insist upon their right and title to the church, and urged him to preach in it. He could not refute their arguments. Half an hour before the public service began he addressed, however, a letter to the mayor and another to the Moravians. The bells were rung in the usual manner; the people quietly entered the church, and Muhlenberg preached on Luke xiii. 6-9. There was no disturbance. Nyberg, seeing that his claims to the church were lost, influenced his adherents to 178 LIFE AXD TIMES OF build a church for themselves — not as a Lutheran, but as a Moravian, congregation. The litigation was at an end, but the Lutherans had no pas- tor. A petition in April, 1746, was sent to Ziegenhagen in Lon- don, and to Francke in Halle, to procure for them a pastor. Mi^ihlenberg was not in a position to take pastoral care of the Lancaster congregation. In December, 1746, Kurtz was sent as catechist to Tulpehoken to preach and to teach there ; he also took care of the Northkill (now Bernville) congregation. Through the influence of J. C. Weiser, in Feb., 1747, he visited for the first time Lancaster. Naesman, pastor of the Swedish congregation at Philadelphia, had a few times held services for the Lutherans at Lancaster, but was unable to continue them. Kurtz now entered into an agreement to spend alternately two weeks at Tulpehoken, where he held services in Christ, since Sept., 1747, also in Reed's church, and two weeks at Lancas- ter. This arrangement, though under the circumstances the only one possible, was not calculated to satisfy the demands of a congregation which just at that time needed special care and protection, particularly as the influence exercised then by the man at the head of the parochial school was not a good one. It has been already mentioned that the Rev. J. F. Hand- schuh had arrived at Philadelphia April 5, 1 748. He had within a few weeks after his arrival preached in Philadelphia and Germantown, and after having gone to Providence — where Muhlenberg welcomed him with the significant words, " They that sow in tears shall reap in joy " — also at New Hanover, Providence, and Schippach, the preaching-station seven miles south of Providence. With his preaching Muhlenberg was well pleased. On April 12th they were joined at Providence by Brunnholtz. Very naturall}', the thought occurred to him and Muhlenberg that Handschuh might be the proper man for the Lancaster congregation. All three were now ready to proceed to Lancaster. J. Fr. Vigera accompanied them. Starting April 13th from Providence, they held, before HEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. Ijg noon, services in English and German in a locality called Molatton, where for many years a Swedish congregation had existed which now was no longer properly sustained by the Swedish pastors. In the \ear 1746 an insidious disease in that region carried off many people, and was the special rea- son why Miihlenberg was invited there. The locality was fourteen miles from Providence, the population very mixed — some old Swedes, some English, some Irish, and a sprink- ling of Germans. Muhlenberg served them by preaching to them in the English language as often as his many other duties allowed. While an old Swedish pastor, Falk, was serving there some time before the arrival of Miihlenberg, the Mora- vians tried to gain influence in this place also. When, on one occasion, one of their emissaries, a young student of theol- ogy, Brycelius, entered the church, old Falk met him, and, addressing him with the words, " Thou comest to the sheep- fold as a thief and a murderer!" gave him a smart slap on his face. The members assembled for service prevented further violence. In the afternoon of April 14th the travellers arrived safely at Weiser's house, near the present Womelsdorf The follow- ing day was given to rest, and to grateful remembrance of the venerable Fathers at Halle and of God's dealings with each of the brethren during the remarkable course of their lives. On April 1 6th they went to Christ Church, five miles distant^ held preparatory services, paid a visit to Catechist Kurtz, and returned to Weiser's. On Sunday, April 17th, they repaired to Christ Church : Handschuh preached, and Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz gave the Lord's Supper to more than two hun- dred communicants. In the afternoon Kurtz preached at Reed's Church. Among the communicants was Mrs. Weiser, with her chil- dren, but not Weiser himself Here we touch a point which gave much concern to Muhlenberg. He says in his diary [April i6th) : "There was a heavy burden on my heart. My father-in-law for many }-ears had not been a guest at the Lord's Table, parti)- owing to the former want of regularly- l8o LIFE AND TIMES OF ordained ministers, partly in consequence of the seductive influence of different sects. From the time of my acquaint- ance with them he and his wife took care to have their chil- dren instructed and confirmed ; they themselves, however, waited for a more favorable occasion, had also still some scru- ples about the use of different kinds of food, held the seventh day sacred [we remember Weiser's sojourn among the Sev- enth-day Mennonites at Ephrata], — all this in spite of my endeavors to show to them by correspondence and conversa- tion that the essentials, sincere repentance and saving faith, should not be confounded with things which were not the substance, but mere shadows. The mother had for a long time desired to come to the Lord's Table, but wished the father to go with her. On the evening preceding our arrival I had requested my beloved colleague Brunnholtz to bring the subject before father. I myself am not long-suffering and patient enough in such matters if I do not carry my point at once. My brother Brunnholtz has the high esteem of father, and is peculiarly fitted for such a task. He began with all loving-kindness to invite him. Father said that the principal doctrines of our Evangelical Church, as she teaches them from the word of God and the interpretation of it in the Symbolical Books, were dear and precious to him ; that he considered them essential to salvation ; that he had at no time and no- where found an\'thing better; and that in his long life he had ample occasion to examine and to try all. As to the Lord's Supper, he would rather wait a little longer, until the Tulpe- hoken congregation had a regular ordained pastor and was brought into a more harmonious state ; he was, however, not at all opposed to mother's preceding him this time. During the night following the celebration of the Lord's Supper in Christ Church, Father Weiser suffered with a most severe attack of sickness. He was apparently in imminent peril of life. This was just at that time especially annoying to the family, as the Moravians, who had formed a congregation of their own and erected a church — dedicated in April, 1745, by Bishop Spangenberg — had said they would not rest until' they HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. l8l had prayed Weiser to death." Weiser, having received the necessary medicine, Hngered on in an extremely feeble con- dition. On the following day, Kurtz also having arrived, the ministers all united in supplication for the sufferer, and in their presence Miihlenberg asked him upon what ground he was willing to live and to die. Having answered this question to perfect satisfaction, he was again asked whether his con- science did not upbraid him as to his conduct in the troubles with the Moravians. He said that he had acted in this mat- ter according to his best knowledge, conscientiously, and as before God, and felt no reproaches. Continuing, he requested that, as he had not communed the day before, the Lord's Sup- per should now be given to him, and that the pastors should receive it with him. This was done after confession and absolu- tion. Weiser, with some assistance, but with difficulty, getting out of his bed to bow his knees before God, thus offered with many tears the prayer of a penitent and believing soul, and received the Lord's Supper. All this was calculated to leave a deep impression upon all the friends and to give spedai sat- isfaction to Miihlenberg. Weiser also told his guests of his entanglement with Zinzendorf, Spangenberg, and J. C. Fr. Cam- merhof (also a Moravian bishop), showed them all his cor- respondence, and told them where his papers, documents, and letters could be found in case of his death. It seems that this correspondence never came to light. Weiser recovered from this severe attack of sickness ; twelve years more were added to his pilgrimage on earth. April 22d the travellers — to whom Kurtz was added — proceeded toward Lancaster, about thirty miles distant from Tulpehoken. Nine miles from Lancaster they were met by all the officers of the Lancaster congregation, who conducted them to the town. On the following day these officers, in the course of conversation on the state of the congregation, were informed that the intention was not to force upon their congregation Handschuh or any other pastor, but to see whether the members might be united in peace and harmony by the adoption of certain rules of order under the guidance 1 82 LIFE AXD TIMES OF of which the welfare of the congregation could be promoted, as there was only one pastor sent by the Fathers at Halle, while the congregation of Tulpehoken, and those on the Rari- tan also, desired and needed regular pastors. On April 24th, Handschuh preached in an edifying manner on the Good Shepherd (John xii. 1 1— 16) to a very large assembly. Even after the departure of Nyberg's adherents the congrega- tion still numbered from sixty to seventy families. After services Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz proposed the question to the whole assembly whether they should be allowed to place a pastor here whom under present circumstances they could conscientiously select as the most suitable man. When this was assented to, the second question was put: Whether the congregation would, like their other congregations, elect a body of twelve officers, and, with certain constitutional arti- cles as a guide, recognize them as their official superiors ? When this also was assented to, they nominated, in addition to the six officers then serving — who were the most promi- nent and intelligent members — six others, the best they could find, and requested the members to proceed to the sacristy six at a time and give their votes. These twelve men having been elected, the members of the church acknowledged them by giving them their hands, and they then signed their names to the articles or rules of order laid before them. The whole transaction seemed to have a great effect upon the congregation. On the following da)' Muhlenberg and Brunn- holtz, after private prayerful consideration and deliberation, informed the assembled church council that they could not do better than propose Handschuh as pastor of the congre- gation. " Now," says Miihlenberg, " the secrets of their hearts were revealed. Three of the twelve, who had before made up their minds to have Kurtz, became restive; inti- mated that if Kurtz would not be appointed as the regular pastor they would resign their offices ; that the congregation was poor, much dispersed ; that the richest members had gone to the Moravians ; that they could not raise the travelling expenses of Handschuh, and preferred the stronger voice of //EXA'V MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 183 K irtz, etc., etc. The others, however, were glad, and ex- pressed their full satisfaction with our proposition." Finally, all united in the same view. In a document framed with the consent of Handschuh he was to make a trial for the present, and was appointed pastor of the Lancaster congregation for half a year, or at the utmost a year, with the reservation that in case of the death of Miihlenberg or Brunnholtz their first united congregations should have the final claim upon him. About the middle of May following, Handschuh, ac- companied by Schaum, the catechist, moved to Lancaster and entered upon his field of labor. Schaum was intended for the Lutheran congregation at York, there to test his pastoral ability, the congregation having for some time petitioned for a pastor. April 26th, Muhlenberg, Brunnholtz, and Handschuh, re- turning from Lancaster, held services at Earltown (now New Holland), distant from Lancaster twelve miles. Here a Lu- theran congregation was organized perhaps soon after 1733, in which year J. C. Stoever had also in this locality begun a church record with two entries of pastoral acts per- formed as early as 1730. Lutherans had settled some years before in various localities in the neighborhood ; they were united subsequently into one congregation. Earltown being selected as the most suitable place, a church was there erected, probably soon after 1733. J. C. Stoever served there from 1730 until 1746, as it appears, with the exception of one year, 1732. When he moved away, Val. Kraft, who had an influence also at Lancaster, was pastor from May, 1747, until March, 1748. The Lutherans had petitioned that the pastor at Lancaster might also to some extent serve them. The condition of the congregation was up to that time anything but satisfactory. Under the care of men of the character of Stoever as he was in those years, and of Val. Kraft as he always and every- where proved himself, spiritual life could not increase. The desire to receive help from Mi^ihlenberg and his friends deserved attention. Certain promises were given, provided the members came to a better agreement among themselves 184 LIFE AND TIMES OF and were willing to open their hearts to the Spirit from on high. Handschuh, after having taken up his residence at Lancaster, served them for some months as well as his other engagements permitted. When his services ceased, Tob. Wag- ner, then residing near Reading, became pastor at Earltovvn, distant from Reading about thirty-six miles — a circumstance which, as such, was a great impediment to proper pastoral care. He continued pastor there until 1755. Muhlenberg, Brunnholtz, and Handschuh after their return to Providence (April 27th) took a work in hand which was of much importance for the proper character of the public ser- vices, the administration of the sacraments, and the unification of the congregations. Muhlenberg says in his diary : " April 28th we held a conference at Providence and deliberated about a suitable liturgy \Agcndc\ to be used by us and introduced into our congregations. Thus far, we had used a small form- ulary, but had nothing definite, in all its parts harmonious, since we thought it best to wait for the arrival of more labor- ers and to acquire a better knowledge of the conditions of things in this country. To adopt the Swedish Liturgy did not appear to be advantageous or necessary, since most of the members of our congregations from the districts on the Rhine and the Main considered singing of collects as papal. Neither could we select a liturgy according to the forms to which every individual had been accustomed, since almost every country town or village has its own. For this reason we took the liturgy of the Savoy congregation of London as the basis, abbreviated it or made additions to it as after due consideration of the circumstances in which we are here placed appeared advisable to us and calculated to edify, and adopted it tentatively until we had a better understanding of the matter, and determined to use it with a view of intro- ducing into our congregations the same ceremonies, forms, and words. But, notwithstanding this, Herr Pastor Wagner and Stoever and some other narrow-minded men took occa- sion to instigate against us some simple-hearted people by the pretext that we ought to introduce the Liturgy of Wiirtem- NEXRY MELCmOR MUHLEXBEKG. 1 85 berg C'l- of Zweibrucken ; and the}' made them also beheve that we intended to lead them avva}' from the Lutheran doctrine and church order. For instance : We thought of using at the distribution of the blessed bread and cup the very words of the Lord Jesus : ' Take and eat, this is the body of Jesus Christ,' etc. ; ' Take and drink, this cup is the new testa- ment in the blood of Jesus Christ,' etc. At the baptism of children we intended to ask the sponsors, ' Do you in the name of this child renounce?' etc. On these points our oppo-" nents tried to produce agitation even before we had finished our work. We consequently made the changes at once, as the troubled consciences wanted it, saying, ' This is the true body,' etc., ' This is the true blood,' etc., and, addressing the child in baptism, ' Peter, Paul, Mary, dost thou renounce ?' etc." We had occasion to mention the name of York, west of the Susquehanna. The attention of Mi^ihlenberg was, as we already know, in 1747 directed to the Lutherans in that town and in the vicinity, and even west of it, as well as to those at Lancaster, in such a pressing manner that he says in his diary, June of that year, he was necessitated to travel through Penn- -sylvania to Maryland. It was a missionary-tour in behalf of the Lutheran congregations and dispersed Lutherans settled in those parts toward the boundary of Maryland. After having celebrated Whitsuntide of 1747 with his congregations, which assembled in large numbers on the occasion, he left New Hanover, June lOth, in the enjoyment of go.od health and in company with J. J. Loeser, and arrived on the evening of the following day at J. C. Weiser's residence at Tulpehoken. J. N. Kurtz had been laboring diligently there since Dec. 16, 1746. As a catechist he could preach and teach, and also baptize. In very exceptional cases catechists were permitted to give to the sick in peril of death the Lord's Supper. The public celebration of the Lord's Supper was left to the reg- ularly-ordained ministers, who from time to time for this pur- pose visited the congregations served by catechists. For this reason Muhlenberg now administered the Lord's Supper at 1 86 LIFE AND TIMES OF Christ Church, Tulpehoken, to more than two hundred com- municants. He found the spiritual condition of the congre- gation hopeful. The recently-erected church, built of free- stone, was not yet quite free of debt. It was not yet provided with pews, but VVeiser had just then advanced the sum of money necessary for that purpose. There were twenty acres of land bought, so that the pastor might keep a horse and a cow. The congregation had just begun to erect a commodi- ous, solid parsonage near the church, high upon the embank- ment of the creek, and presenting toward the west a lovely view of it. This parsonage is still used. A fine large church was erected there in 1785, renovated in 1885, and with much taste adapted to the necessities of the present generation. In the afternoon of the same Sunday, Muhlenberg rode a distance of eight or nine miles to the Northkill congregation — which with Tulpehoken formed then one parish — preached there to a very attentive congregation, and promised to ad- minister the Lord's Supper to them three weeks later. He was much pleased to observe that the people were greatly benefited by the preaching of Kurtz and entertained much respect for him. In external things also they provided suffi- ciently and willingly for him. They felt, however, the need of a regularly ordained pastor in their midst. During Muhl- enberg's visit to Tulpehoken and his more extended absence from home Kurtz officiated in his place at New Hanover and Providence. June 19th, Muhlenberg with his companion Loeser arrived at Lancaster. The deplorable condition of the Lutheran congregation in those days in consequence of the influence of the pseudo-Lutheran-Moravian agitator Nyberg is already known to us. He had attracted to his side about eight or ten of the wealthiest Lutheran families and preached to his flock in his newly-erected church, wherein he was from time to time assisted by a Reformed pastor, Jacob Lischy, by Bishop Cammerhof, and by other Moravians. The arrange- ment had already been made that Kurtz should preach to the Lutherans who had rejected Nyberg, and should serve alter- HEXRY MELCIIIOR MUHLENBERG. I 8/ nately two weeks here and the following two weeks at Tulpe- hoken. During the absence of Kurtz the Lutherans had no service ; in consequence of which numbers of them would attend Nyberg's preaching and come away with bad impres- sions. This served to keep the congregation in a restless condition and to demoralize it. There was strife among the members as well as among its officers. Some who wished to resign were dissuaded by Miihlenberg from doing so under present circumstances. He preached to the Lutherans June 2 1st, first Sunday after Trinity, held catechization, bap- tized some children, and persuaded the members to elect a new officer, as one of the number had died. On the same day, travelling westward with Loeser, they crossed, ten miles distant from Lancaster, the Susquehanna in a boat during a violent storm. Muhlenberg says in his diary that during the great danger he prayed God would in his mercy avert any disaster, as the Moravians, in malice, might construe such a thing to their advantage. When they finally, though late at night, arrived at York, numbers of Lutherans in their joy assembled, in spite of the lateness of the hour. When Muhlenberg paid this his second visit to York he found a rapidly-growing town. York county was separated from Lancaster county and made a new district Aug. 19, 1 749. It was the first county in Pennsylvania west of the Susque- hanna. The Proprietaries of Pennsylvania were averse to set- tlements on lands which had not yet been obtained from the Indians by regular contracts. Not before 1736 were all the claims of the Five Nations upon that part of Pennsylvania satisfied. Settlers had, however, as early as 1729 entered. The first settlements were made at Kreutz Creek (a name of later origin) especially by Germans, and on the Pigeon Hills by English immigrants. To the difficulties arising from the un- certaint}' about the boundar}'-line between Pennsylvania and Maryland we have .formerly alluded. There were settlers in the neighborhood of the present city of York already in 173 i. The oldest record of the Lutheran congregation begins in September, \']})l. This book was 1 88 LIFE AXD TIMES OF bought by the contributions of twenty-four male persons, six- teen of whom arrived in the years 1731 and 1732; only four of the entire number passed through Philadelphia before 1731. In September, 1733, during one of his pastoral explorations, Stoever visited that part of the countr}- and gathered the Lutherans settled on the Codorus Creek into a congregation. In the church records he entered baptisms and marriages ; there are records of funerals only after 1748. The congrega- tion had elders and deacons from 1733. Services at first were most probably held in a private dwelling. On the land on which the town of York arose no houses had at that time been erected. The plan for building the town dates from 1 74 1. The settlers were farmers, who lived each on the land he had taken up. Within a few years the town increased considerably. It naturally formed the centre of the Lutheran congregation, the pastor serving in later years also the Lu- therans on Kreutz Creek. Stoever came usually once every month to York from his residence, near Earltown, for a period of about ten years; in 1743 he resigned at York, probabh' finding his field of labor too extensive. April 28, 1743, David Candler served at York. Of him we know that he lived about a mile south-west of the present Hanov^er, that he was married, that in May, 1 743, he began to gather a congregation at Han- over (then McAllistertown), and another on the Monocacy, ten miles east of Frederick, Md. Whether he were ordained, or, if so, by whom, we do not know. After May, 1744, he made no further entries in the church records. Possibly the work in such a field and under difficult circumstances was too much for his constitution. Leaving an excellent character to pos- terity, he died Dec, 1744. Law. T. Nyberg, who just then had taken charge of the Lutheran congregation at Lancaster, spoke at his grave. In that year the first church, a log build- ing, was • erected at York, on ground still owned by the Lutherans there. A church was probably erected there in the times of Stoever, though in another locality. After Can- dler's death the Lutherans at York were served by N\-berg, who had there a sympathizer with his Moravianism — Jacob HEXRY MEL CHI OR MUHLEXBERG. 1 89 Lischy, the Reformed preacher ah-eady mentioned. Nyberg had promised to have a regular Lutheran pastor sent also to this congregation from Sweden, which promise he never in- tended to fulfil ; but he tried to introduce emissaries from Bethlehem, the Moravian headquarters in America, at York, at Monocacy, and also at other places. What his real inten- tions were could not remain long concealed, and the reaction began at York and other localities as far as Frederick, and ended Nyberg's services among Lutherans. At York, where a decided Lutheran parochial teacher, Bartholomew Maul, ex- ercised an influence, it was resolved to continue the services regularly, to have every Sunday a sermon read and the youth instructed, so as to prepare them for the confirmation b\' a regular Lutheran pastor. Miihlenberg says that at this his second visit to York he felt greatly embarrassed. The Lutheran and the Reformed congregations were both divided — the latter, in consequence of Lischy's underhanded working for Moravianism; the former, through the arts of Nyberg, who by his animated, lively man- ner of preaching knew how to attract those who had some experience of spiritual life. But there were on each side, among friends and foes of Nyberg, numbers of individuals who had experienced a spiritual awakening, and listened with delight to Muhlenberg's preaching; only such words as " law," " repentance," " prayer," etc., which in the Moravian peculiar religious phraseology of that time had fallen into contempt, were unwelcome to the Nyberg people, though he clearly demonstrated their truth and propriety from the Bible and the Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church. Whenever he felt necessitated to controvert the preaching of Nyberg and the Moravians, they almost thought that he was sinning against the Holy Ghost. He was, however, pleased to see that the controversies then going on among the people had served to make the Lutherans, the anti-Nyberg party, search more diligently the Scriptures and the Catechism. Laudable as their zeal for orthodox doctrine was, Miihlenberg regretted that they did not always exercise proper moderation nor in 190 LIFE AND TIMES OF every case adorn pure doctrine with a holy walk and conver- sation. Yet he was happy to see that some of the Lutherans had during the warm disputes acted in such a uniformly Chris- tian, moderate, and circumspect manner that he ascribed it to a special grace. Travelling with his companion onward, on June 22d on the extreme borders of Pennsylvania they reached the Cone- wago congregation, which they found in equal confusion. Here, also, Nyberg had friends and antagonists. Muhlen- berg spoke in kindness to them and made efforts to recon- cile them. He enjoyed, apparently, the respect of both sides. He promised them that as soon as one of the united ministers should settle at York they would from time to time be visited, and that, if ever possible, he would find a good teacher for them, to instruct the youth and on Sundays to read a sermon to the congregation. Some of the partisans of Nyberg com plained that the others had for a time been friends of the ill reputed Carl Rudolph and had allowed him to preach. The others excused themselves, saying that he had at first imposed upon them by his fair show and the ordination documents and seals he exhibited, but that they had cast him out as soon as they learned what a wicked fellow he was. On June 22d, Muhlenberg preached to them in a large barn, as many people had assembled from near and far. Some re- quested the celebration of the Lord's Supper, but he was obliged to refuse, saying that they needed first proper repent- ance for their sins and application of the word of God. He baptized some children, at the same time reminding parents and sponsors of their duties. He also met with some who in the very first years of his labors had been members of his congregations, and, hearing him proclaim the word of God, were now moved to tears and bitterly complained that they were without the means of grace. Two men had arrived from Maryland to take Muhlenberg to a place thirty-six miles off 'They started at two o'clock p. M. in a drenching rain. They made eighteen miles over terrible roads before night, but found no house at which to HENRY MELCHIOR AIUHLEXBERG. I9I stay, and were obliged to continue riding through the wilder- ness, with the rain pouring down heavier and the poor horses wading up to the knees through water and mire, until, at two o'clock in the morning, totally worn out and half dead, they reached their quarters. This was th^ place called Monocacy, ten miles east of Frederick, Md. Muhlenberg found here a log church, but the congregation also divided in the same way as in other localities. Nyberg had also been manoeuvring here, and had tried to smuggle a Moravian into a Lutheran congregation. Here, also, the church was finally closed against him ; but he had found some to defend hhn against the others, as for a time they had allowed themselves to be deceived by Carl Rudolph. For a year they had peti- tioned for one of the united ministers to come and administer the Lord's Supper. As, since they had discarded Nyberg and Carl Rudolph, they had shown respect for Muhlenberg and his brethren in the sacred office, and confidence in them, and had sent a contribution for the enlarging of the Germantown church, their petition could not be refused. The)' were pleased to see Mi^ihlenberg, though he felt sad when he witnessed the disturbed condition of the congregation, and was convinced that both parties had acted uncharitably. June 24th, while the drenching rain continued, most of the Lutherans assembled at the church ; three or four of those leaning to Moravianism were also present. Before the ser- vices began Muhlenberg wrote in the English language, in the book of church records, a number of articles concerning the order to be observed in the congregation — among others, that the German Lutherans professed their faith in the holy word of God as given by prophets and apostles, in the Unal- tered Augsburg Confession and the other Symbolical Books of the Church ; that wherever possible they had the sacra- ments administered among themselves, in accordance with those writings, by regularly called and ordained pastors, and consequently, with those as a guide, would not tolerate among their membership those who were known grossly and wilfully to sin against the holy laws of God contained in the 192 LIFE AND TIMES OF commandments or against those of the Christian civil authority. After publicly reading these articles to the congregation and explaining them in the German language, he requested all who were Lutherans, or intended to be and to remain such, to sign their names. The Lutherans present willingly gave their names. The Moravians, however, did not, but stated that heretofore they had observed all those articles ; that for some years the}- had had no regular pastor and had been occasionally visited by a Swedish or a German minister from Pennsylvania, whom in their poverty they could not properly pay; that they had therefore been necessitated to call a Luther- an pastor from Bethlehem, Brother Nicky. They believed that he taught pure doctrine according to the word of God and the Symbolical Books, but the other, larger, party opposed his in- troduction into the church, and had permitted such an unor- dained, wicked deceiver as Carl Rudolph to hold public services in it. For these reasons they had separated from such a con- gregation, and intended to erect a church on a piece of ground of their own. The others said that they knew of no Penn- sylvania pastor who had complained of not having been paid properly for his services. Muhlenberg asked if they alluded to him, or if they had ever given or he had demanded any money of them ; which both sides denied. He told them that both parties had erred and been the cause of much re- proach and injury to the truth — that the sainted Luther had warned his people against two devils, a black one and a white one, and that the emissaries of both do much harm. Then, after singing with them a penitential hymn, he preached on the Prodigal Son (Luke xv. 1 1.) To his question, put to those who leaned to Moravianism, whether they would now unite with the others and sign their names to the articles in the minute-book, they said that they would, provided he would remain and be the pastor. After some exchange of senti- ments the larger party modestly expressed their views, and said that they had heard him this day for the first time ; that he had spoken of repentance, faith, godliness, while the Mora- vian Brethren had in their sermons ridiculed such words as HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. '193 these, together with the terms "law," "prayer," and the im- portant truths connected with them. Knowing what erratic extravagances, in those years of a sickly reHgious excitement, prevailed among the Moravians, we can understand the crude- 1)^ expressed but instinctively-true feelings of these opponents of Moravianism. After further admonition and entreaties, Miihlenberg so far succeeded in restoring the two parties to a better understanding that the representatives of the two sides expressed their readiness to forgive each other for the harsh words they had used. Thus, says Muhlenberg, they at least said; of their hearts he could not judge. Those who had given their names now met, elected elders and deacons, and promised to rule the church in agreement with the arti- cles to which they had given their signatures. They entreated Muhlenberg to administer the Lord's Supper. He finally con- sented, but took occasion to clear his conscience, and, while the}' were still present, to address the Moravians most for- cibly on the necessity of repentance and of walking, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, in his holy footsteps. They all bowed their knees before the Divine Majesty, and after confession and absolution received the sacrament. Muhlenberg, in giving his reasons for entering these arti- cles in the minute-book of the church, says he was moved to do so because the Moravians habitually, in ever}^ congrega- tion where they make inroads, attract to themselves the most respected, liberal, and richest people, and as soon as they have a party on their side 'the strife begins with words, often leads to deeds of violence about the possession of churches and school-houses, and produces the most distressing alter- cations and bad feelings between parents and children, hus- bands and wives, brothers and sisters, neighbors and relatives, whereby the words of Matt. x. 34-37 are perverted, and those found in Jer. xiv. 14, xxiii. 21, Gal. v. 15, 2 Cor. xii. 20 ap- plied to those for whom they were not meant. The English magistrates, noticing the tumults and strife among the Ger- mans, do not understand their cause, while the Moravians are not slow to bring the Germans into bad repute as rebels 194 LIFE AXD TIMES OF against God and the civil government. He also points out that laws and rulers are indispensably necessary to prevent indifferent individuals from taking up with vagabonds and allowing them to act as pastors. But, says he, laws and sig- natures will be of little avail unless we furnish the helpless people with suitable godl)' ministers. Proceeding farther, June 25th, they came, after a ten-mile ride, to Frederick, a town just then laid out. A number of Lutherans living here were members of the Monocacy congre- gation, but had on the previous day been prevented by the pouring rain from meeting with the others. Most of them gave their signatures to the articles. They also elected elders and deacons from their own number. Some few had attached them- selves to Schmidt, whom Muhlenberg, as previously stated, after his arrival in Pennsylvania had met at New Hanover; he had come back to Maryland from a visit to Virginia. Miihlen- berg found a large assembly of English and German people. After preparatory services he administered the Lord's Supper to a number of Lutherans who had earnestly requested to receive it, baptized some children, and united two couples in holy wedlock. During the evening he returned to his quar- ters at Monocacy. Here and in the town the Lutherans en- treated him to consider their destitution, and to intercede for them with the Fathers in Europe. They promised to keep united among themselves as long as possible. We add here that, certainly in 1743, Dav. Candler — of whom we heard in connection with York — served the Lutherans at Monocac}' and at Frederick. To the latter place Gabr. Naesman, pastor of the Swedish church at Philadelphia, made a visit in 1746. In 1749 old Val. Kraft settled at Frederick. He was not acknowledged as the pastor of the congregation ; finding, however, some adherents, he was permitted to preach at some places. He was apparently in destitute circumstances ; was charitably assisted also by the English people, and died there in 1 75 I. Another irregular pastor, Streiter, a schoolmaster, who had never been ordained, in 1743 had served the con- gregations in Old Goshenhoppen and Indianfield in Eastern I/EXRV MELCniOR MUHLENBERG. 1 95 Pennsylvania, moved from place to place, and tried in 175 i to get hold of the Frederick congregation. The more numer- ous and better part of the members, acting in accordance with the articles of Miihlenbcrg, successfully opposed him, and, in consequence of a petition sent b}' them to the united min-- isters, J. H. Schaum, stationed at York, paid them visits in 175 1 and 1752. In the latter )^ear Rev. Bernhard Michael Hausihl (later often found "flauseal") — of whom we shall hear more hereafter — moved there and found Streiter still present with a part}- stubbornly attached to him, and the con- gregation in a deplorable condition. From the beginning of 1753 until December, 1758, Hausihl was recognized as pastor of the congregation. June 26th, Muhlenberg and his companion, J. J. Loeser, began their journey homeward. After riding a few miles they were met by an English gentleman, who invited them to his ho.use, offered them refreshments, and desired to know Miihlenberg's opinion of the condition of the German church-members in Maryland. Muhlenberg said that all of them needed deeper experience in true repentance, living faith, and practical godli- ness. His host, who was strongly inclined to the Moravians, replied that the " small party " were friends of Jesus. Miihl- enberg took occasion to show him that, while he was no per- sonal enemy to any of the Moravians, he was averse to their crooked ways, their hanging the cloak as the wind blew, adapting themselves in England to the Anglican Church, in Switzerland to the Reformed, in Russia to the Russian Church, etc. ; that they taught in a manner which was not in agreement with the word of God, as could be learned from some of their own publications, though they had never, as a Church, published a confession of faith. We add, that this was done in 1778 by Bishop Spangenberg, w^io published the Idea fidci fratnim ; which book, however, does not sanction any of the errors of former years and the practices used in the times when Muhlenberg unavoidabh' came into conflict with Zinzendorf and his adherents. Miihlenberg's host cer- tainly was 'a well-meaning man, who, unfortunateh', had per- 196 LIFE AXD TIMES OF sonal knowledge only of such so-called Lutheran pastors as Carl Rudolph, Streiter, Schmidt, and others of a similar cha- racter, contrasted with whom the Moravian emissaries were certainly, as to their personal conduct, deserving of all respect. But as that gentleman told his guest that the Anglican clergy- man of the parish to which he belonged was a drunkard, and that his predecessor in the office had been like him, we can readily understand the man's preference for the much more respectable Moravians. Finally, his host begged Muhlenberg to seek and send a man who, being sound in the fundamental doctrines, repentance and faith, would walk according to them ; this would gladden his heart and those of many others. The travellers that day came to Conewago, and at noon the following day arrived at York. Here Muhlenberg had at once to make the necessary preparations for a proper celebra- tion of the Lord's Supper on the following day. He entered in the church records the names of those who desired to par- ticipate in it. He reminded the officers and members, who had saved the congregation from the designs and intrigues of the Moravians, to beware of distraction and contentions, to turn, praying for forgiveness of their sins, to God, and now impartially to testify concerning the character of every one of those who wished to be admitted to the Lord's Supper. He also listened to charges against the aged parochial teacher B. Maul, which to a large extent were found to be exaggera- tions. Some of the officers were earnestly entreated to have more control over their excited feelings and words. Some of the members who handed in their names were required at once to make peace with those with whom they had been quarrelling. The name of one member, who was unwilling to be reconciled with the justice of the peace who brought charges against him, was rejected until he would show a better spirit. The officers charged some who by the preaching of Nyberg had been spiritually awakened with having absented themselves from the regular church services and attached themselves to Nyberg and his friends ; they were not willing to promise an exclusive attachment to the congregation unless a pastor of a HEXKY MELCHIOR MUHLEKBERG. I97 godh^ character and life were sent to them by the united min- isters. The reading of a sermon on Sundays was not suf- ficient for them ; they found greater pleasure at home in searching the word of God and the Catechism. They were privately addressed, and three or four of them appeared the following day at the Lord's Table. With the officers also Muhlenberg conversed separately, listening to their opinions and advising caution and moderation. At four o'clock that afternoon Miihlenberg held preparator\' services, spoke on Matt. xi. 8, and was pleased to see a ver\- close and appreciative attention to his words. After these exercises he examined a number of catechumens whom the school-teacher had instructed with satisfactory results ac- cording to the " Order of Salvation," and admonished them as candidates for confirmation, spoke to some individuals about their spiritual state, and in the evening gathered the officers to converse with them on religious subjects. On the following morning, Sunday, June 28th, some other persons, coming from great distances, handed in their names ; with these also preparatory services were held. At the public ser- vices almost the half of the large assembly were obliged to stand outside of the church : some had come a distance of ten, and even twent}% miles. Muhlenberg preached on the great marriage-feast (Matt. xxii. 2), baptized a number of chil- dren, examined and confirmed fifteen catechumens, adminis- tered the Lord's Supper to two hundred communicants, offered thanks with all kneeling, and dismissed the congregation. In the evening he was the guest of the justice of the peace men- tioned above, who belonged to the Reformed Church and was strongly influenced by the Moravians. He gave his views to him about Nyberg and his crooked ways in a manner no less dignified than decided. Having on June 29th safely crossed the Susquehanna River and arrived at Lancaster, he met once more with all the elders and deacons of the Lutheran congregation, and tried his best to heal all the dangerous dissensions existing among them. He also made arrangements with them that J. N. Kurtz, 198 LIFE AND TIMES OF whenever he paid his bi-weekly visits there, should not lodge in an inn, but in a private dwelling. On the even- ing of June 30th he was again among his relatives at Tul- pehoken, where, Jul\' ist to 3d, he continued the instruction given by Kurtz to some catechumens ; on the 4th held pre- paratory services at Northkill ; on the 5th preached there, baptized some children, examined and confirmed the cate- chumens, administered the Lord's Supper, and rode eight miles to the more numerous meeting at Christ Church to hold services there. Returning to the residence of Weiser, he found an Indian chief there with his retinue. Concerning the conversion of the Indians, he gives in his diary Weiser's views on this subject — viz. : That among many other rules it would be necessary for missionaries to live among them, mas- ter their language, adopt as much as possible their manners and clothing, leading, however, blameless lives ; translate Scripture truths into the Indian language in the plainest manner ; deliver the law and the gospel to them, singing the Indian melodies to create an impression; and then pa- tiently wait for God's blessing and the fruits of their labor. Large numbers of Indians were in those days found in most parts of Pennsylvania. Muhlenberg had frequent occasion to meet them and to show his good-will toward them, though he could not work for their conversion in a direct way, since his time, strength, and talents were exhaustively employed in other directions. He had at a certain time exercised his hospitality to one of their chiefs and his companions at his house at Providence. Seventeen years later that chief reminded him of that act of kindness, adding that on that occasion the Indians had invented for Muhlenberg a special name — viz. GacJistvJingaroracJis, indicative of the peculiar work of a sachein or teacher, whose words ought to go through the hard, obstinate minds of men like a saw through knotty trunks of trees. He also said that in former times one of their own sachems had been given that name. July 7th, Muhlenberg, with his companion, returned to Providence, where he found his colleague Brunnholtz and HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. I99 the Rev. J. C. Hartvvig. Brunnholtz soon became sick with the measles, on which occasion Miihlenberg prescribed for him, and saw his efforts — he describes his modus operandi — crowned with success. John Christopher Hartwig — whose acquaintance Miihlenberg made at that time, and with whom, under various circumstances, he afterward came into contact — was a native of the province of Thijringen in Germany, was born Jan. 6, 17 14, and died, eighty-two years old, July 17, 1796, at the residence of the Livingston family, near Cler- mont, on the Hudson. After having finished his university course in Germany, and having been for a short time engaged in missionary work among the Jews, he followed a call, given him through the Rev. Dr. Wagner, senior of the Hamburg ministry, to Palatine Lutheran congregations on the Hud- son— Camp and Rhinebeck. On his arrival in the New World he landed at Philadelphia. With Berkenmeier and his associates on the Hudson he had no sympathy. Berkenmeier, who was to an extent the cause of his coming here, and found that he was not congenial, was for this and other reasons averse to him, and denounced him in four pamphlets as a Moravian. It was natural that Hartwig should seek asso- ciation with Miihlenberg and his friends, with whom he cer- tainly stood in nearer spiritual affinity, though he totally lacked Miihlenberg's practical wisdom, perseverance, energy, and success. That he remained a bachelor all his life may have contributed to his un.steadiness. That in an underhand- ed way he found fault with Muhlenberg for not having taken the part of Wolf in the Raritan congregational difficulties proves that as a friend he was unreliable and as a judge either shortsighted or unjust. The gift of his estate by will to mission- work among the Indians — to which interest it never was applied — proves that he had the increase of the kingdom of Christ at heart. In the month of August in the same year (1747) Miihlen- berg paid a visit to the Lutherans in Upper Milford, Saccum, and probably some more distant localities, since he tells us that the distance on his return was thirty miles. His expo- 200 LIFE AND TIMES OF sure to rain and storm after his return brought on a burning ffever, and he was laid up for two weeks ; yet, on account of certain pastoral duties, he left his bed and house too soon, and had to suffer, in consequence, with intermittent fever. J. J. Loeser, his companion on the western tour, was also troubled with fever for twelve weeks. In the district to which Upper Milford and Saccuni (Saucon) belonged Lutherans were most probably found years before Mijhlenberg took an interest in them. From 1745 he visited them once every four weeks — occasionally, also, sent them J. Fr. Vigera, J. N. Kurtz, and J. J. Loeser. The people were pleased to hear Loeser read to them one or the other of Rambach's ser- mons, or catechize the young, or even in cases of extreme necessity baptize their children. There was much regret when, in October, 1748, Loeser was called to Lancaster. In February of the same year, Muhlenberg, in travelling to those congregations, was in gfeat danger of losing his life. During the visit in that year mentioned above he gave to these churches a certain organization by selecting and installing elders and deacons. But fron*! those points his missionar\' work branched out in various directions. As special local- ities, Birkensee (now Perkasie), Easton, Macungie, Salisbur\', and others may be mentioned. When Miihlenberg could no longer personally attend to these outposts, he took care that other suitable men continued the work ; but his interest in their welfare never ceased, and he saw numbers of self-sup- porting congregations established in these parts. We remember that after Muhlenberg's visit in the year 1747 to York, since no pastor was found for the congregation, things there were left essentiall}- in their former condition, with this exception : that through Muhlenberg's efforts the Lutheran cause was strengthened against Moravian attacks. Probably services were regularly held on Sunda\' in the church, the school-teacher reading a sermon. When, in May, 1748, Handschuh accepted the call from the Lancaster con- gregation, the interests of York were again considered, and it was resolved to send J. H. Schaum there as a catechist. HEXR \ ' MEL CHI OR MUHL EXBER G. 20 1 May 17, 1748, he was introduced by Handschuh to the con- gregation. Handschuh also held confirmation and administered the Lord's Supper. Handschuh then returning to Lancaster, Schaum began his pastoral labors. His charge consisted of the congregations at York, Conewago (Hanover), and Bermudian. Dissensions still existing at York greatly impeded his efforts, but the menace of the united pastors that they would take him away had a wholesome effect; the parties showed a will- ingness to be reconciled, and Schaum had within a year gained the respect and good-will of the people to such an extent that in the spring of the following year they requested his ordination. Dec. 9, 1747, Rev. J. N. Kurtz was united in wedlock by Muhlenberg to Miss Anna Elizab. Seidel of New Hanover. J. J. Loeser, the teacher — who, as he well deserved, is some- times honored with the title " catechist " — was married Nov. 10, 1747, at New Hanover to Miss Mary Margaret Epple. Muhlenberg, referring to this event, says in his diary: " Dur- ing the present winter Jac. Loeser attends to the school at New Hanover ; he was almost necessitated to marry, since he had to live quite alone in the school-house and could no longer take care of his household. He married the stepdaughter of one of the deacons. She has led a quiet, respectable life, and now takes care of his household, which allows him to attend better to his duties as a teacher. He still travels every third week to the mountains, to Saccum and Upper Milford, reads one of the sermons of the sainted Rambach on the Catechism, and catechises the children according to the Glanbois-Lied [the main doctrines of the Catechism given in verses by Zie- genhagen, in those times frequently used, also added to the edition of Luther's Small Catechism, by Christ. Sauer of Ger- mantown, 1752]. The people love him, and are edified by his manner of delivery and by his conversation." Taking a retrospect of his pastoral labors during the year 1747, Muhlenberg sa}-s : "During this }'ear I was com- pelled to omit work on four Sundays on account of sickness. As to the rest, I preached, whenever not tra\'elling, ev^ery 202 LIFE AXD TIMES OF Sunday morning in the main churches [Providence and New Hanover], catechised the adults and the young, preached as circumstances required, in both of them, in the afternoon, in Enghsh.* During the week-days I served, preaching the word of God, the outlying congregations at Schippach, on the other side of the Schuylkill, in the Oley Mountains, and other places. In each congregation I administered the Lord's Supper twice during the year, baptized one hundred and nine- teen children, and confirmed thirty-five young persons. May the merciful and faithful Father in Christ not allow his word to return to him void, but grant that among old and young it may in this lamentable wilderness be blessed and bring forth lasting fruit ! Looking upon my parish and the outposts, there is a circle of more than thirty miles wherein the members of the Church are dispersed. My saddest concern is that to the special care of each soul there is too little time and oppor- tunity given. During the winter months one must be glad if the general duties in the churches and at the outposts can be attended to. Frequently the roads, the rivers, the storms, the cold, the snow, the weather, are such that one would not like to drive his dog out of the house ; yet the pastor must go his round. God in his mercy often saved me in most immi- nent danger and preserved my poor bones when horse and rider fell. During the summer the families are so overbur- dened with work that scarcely any one can be found in the house but little children locked up there ; the others are * There was in tlie districts of New Providence and New Hanover a considerable sprinkling of English-speaking people among the German settlers. They were originally not Lutherans, but gladly accepted Miihlenberg as a preacher of the gos- pel in their language. F. G. Hobson, Esq., of Norristown, says in his articles on the history of New Providence, which appeared in the Providence Independc7it : " The origin of this name ' Providence ' is not certainly known, but tradition says it was settled by some of the followers of Roger Williams of Rhode Island. Nearly a century before this Roger Williams had named his settlement ' Providence,' now the capital of Rhode Island. Hence his followers coming here called this region ' New Providence.' But we soon find it losing the ' New ' and retaining its name ' Prov- idence." We add that in New Hanover a log church was erected in 1721, a sec- ond one in 1741-47. A stone church, which is still in use, having been renovated in 1868, was erected there in 1767-68. HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 203 forced to work to find their bread. I have hi.rdly any other time or opportunity for special pastoral care except on Sun- days, when during service I catechise the adults [a practice very general in those times], and after service the \-oung ; also when, during the week, before communion service, individ- uals present themselves, or in cases of sickness, death, bap- tism, and the like. Saturday and Sunda\' I am obliged to labor and to travel without intermission. During the week I ought to be at home a few days in succession ; but one day there is a child in peril of death, which ought to be baptized : thus a day is spent with travelHng ; the next day a sick per- son wants a visit : this consumes another day ; the third there is perhaps a funeral, which again requires no less time. Thus things go. Where is time to be found for study ? How can a man who rarely spends a day at home take care of his house, his wife, his uneducated children, his servants ? Willingly do I go at any day or any time left free to me and visit souls in whom the Spirit has begun his work. Where is time given to keep the necessary correspondence with the venerable Fathers and the friends in Europe, and with the beloved brethren in this vast countr}- ?" Yet Miihlenberg continued to carry on an extensive corre- spondence, not only with his brethren in the office and many other individuals in this country, but with the Fathers in Halle and with other individuals who took an interest in the mission-work in America; and, at the same time, he never ceased to continue his diaries, which, amounting to many vol- umes in folio, serve us this day as the main source of all the historical information here communicated, without which our knowledge of his life would be extremely limited. During October, 1747, he had once more to pa}- a visit to Tulpehoken, as serious sickness had broken out in the family of his father-in-law. During the winter 1747—48 pleurisy prevailed to a large extent in the district of Muhlenberg's congregations. His own family experienced (1748, Jan. 29th) another increase by the birth of a daughter, to whom the name Eve Elizabeth was given in holy baptism. 204 Z//^i£" AXD TIMES OF CHAPTER XIII. 1748. T. N. Kurtz again sen to the Raritau congregations. — Handscluih begins his labors at Lancaster. — Muhlenberg holds services in English at Molatton. — Mission- ary tour to the Blue Mountains. — Visit to the Raritan congregations. — Con- sultation with Brunnholtz and Hartwig. — Tulpehoken and Northkill petition for a regular pastor and reception into the united churches of Pennsylvania. — Organization and first meeting of synod. — Examination and " Reverse " of J. N. Kui-tz. — His call to Tulpehoken. — Dedication of St. Michael's Church. — Ordination of Kurtz. — Retrospect. IN March, 1748, J. N. Kurtz, who had some misunder- standing with some of the officers of the Lancaster congre- gation, was again sent to the Raritan churches, which he had visited the first time in 1745. In consequence of the open- ing which that miserable character Carl Rudolph had found in these congregations, where he introduced himself with a preacher's gown which he had stolen from Valent. Kraft, dis- sensions broke out, and letters and messengei-s came to Muhl- enberg begging him not to forsake them in their distress. Kurtz returned from thence April i8th. His official relations with Lancaster came to an end when Handschuh began his labors there in May. Muhlenberg, who in March had en- tered into a semi-official relation with the people at Molatton, baptized there, in May, two adult daughters of a Quaker, and in June a Mrs. Hopkins and her child. In Ma}^ he also paid a visit to the dispersed Lutherans in the region of the Blue Mountains; during July he held confirmation and the Lord's Supper at Upper Milford and Saccum, where Loeser had dili- gently given 'ustruction to some catechumens. To the Rari- tan congregations a promise had been given, in agreement with their request, that one of the pastors would again \isit HEXJiV MELCHIOR MCHLEXBEKG. 205 them. To fulfil this promise, Muhlenberg left Providence again July 20th in company with Loeser; met at the Dela- ware Hartwig, who intended another visit to Pennsylvania, and two officers of the Raritan congregations, with whom, July 26th, he arrived at the residence of another officer, where he lodged. This man, who was considered the most prominent among them, during the long controversy with Wolf had imbibed prejudices against Lutheranism as repre- sented by him, Berkenmeier, and Knoll, had given an open ear to Moravian emissaries, who frequently honored his house with their presence, and had himself several times visited Bethlehem. He had been treated in a somewhat severe and unwise manner by Kurtz, and had to some extent given ear to Carl Rudolph, who had stirred him up against Pietism. Muhlenberg happily succeeded in removing these erroneous impressions. He visited, July 28th and the following days, the various congregations, then called, after their localities, Lesly's Land, Mountain Church, Fosseberg, Racheway (Rock- awa}'). In each of them he visited the sick, gave counsel, aided in special cases as a peacemaker, preached, held pre- paratory and sacramental services, and instructed the church- officers. On the last day, August 7th, he held a conference with the members of all the congregations, and, as we have formerly stated, convinced them that they ought to build a church in a central locality capacious enough for them all — a proposition which soon afterward was successfully carried out. What they also most pressingly needed was a pastor residing among them. Muhlenberg promised them that J. H. Schaum — who during that summer had met with difficul- ties at York — would be permitted for one year to live among them. Schaum, having shortly after his arrival in America served for a time as catechist at Cohansey, N. J., had during the spring of 1 741 labored in the same capacity among the Raritan congregations, and was consequently known to them. Good understanding being restored at York, Muhlenberg's promise could not be fulfilled. When, on August 9th, Muhlenberg, with Loeser, returned 206 LIVE AND TIMES OF to Providence, he found Brunnholtz and Hartwig there wait- ing for him. With these brethren he had to consult on very important subjects : one of them was the dedication of St. Michael's Church in Philadelphia. That a number of congre- gations, in consequence of the labors of Muhlenberg and his colleagues subsequently among them, had undertaken the erection of churches is a telling proof of a renewed and strengthened vitality. Thus it was at Providence, where in January, 1743, the congregation resolved to build a church ; May 2d of the same year laid the corner-stone ; in September, though the building was unfinished, began to use it ; and Oct. 6, 1745, dedicated it. On this occasion Muhlenberg, Brunn- holtz, Tob. Wagner, and also Nyberg, were present. This ven- erable church — called Augustus Church — is still preserved, though superseded by a more commodious building erected 1852 and 1853. At Tulpehoken the corner-stone of Christ Church was laid on Ascension Day, May 12, 1743 ; on Christ- mas of the same year the building was dedicated. At Ger- mantown the church was considerably enlarged, the begin- ning of the work dating April 15, 1746. At New Hanover a new school- house was erected. St. Michael's Church at Philadelphia had advanced so far that the building could be dedicated. It was resolved that this should take place Aug. 14, 1748. Another important subject was the proposition to ordain on that occasion the catechist J. N. Kurtz. There were many and urgent reasons in favor of this proposition : the character and well-tried usefulness of the candidate, the necessities of the congregations at Tulpehoken and Northkill, where he was stationed, the desirable increase of his rights and powers as a regular pastor, the impossibility on the part of the already- ordained pastors to supply the wants of that extensive and distant parochial charge. Of course an act of ordination was a step which indicated the beginning of the coming independ- ence of the German Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania as to its relation to the Fathers in Europe, without whose previous consent the ordination would not have been undertaken. But HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 20/ it stands to reason that without a certain independence of action, which did not at all mean a separation from the patrons and advisers beyond the sea, the progress of the Church in America would at every step have been impeded. Much cau- tion was needed in arranging this matter so that as a precedent it could hereafter serve as a rule for all emergencies. In this whole arrangement we trace the ripe experience and keen circumspection of Miihlenberg. The congregations at Tul- pehoken and Northkill sent a petition, signed by their official representatives, to the pastors of the united Evangelical Lu- theran congregations, Miihlenberg, Brunnholtz, and Hand- schuh, praying for a regular pastor. They refer to the con- nection for years existing between them and the pastors ; to the regular call and the rights and duties of these luiited pastors into whose hands they entrust their spiritual welfare ; to their elevated character as servants of God, their firmness in holding fast to the Unaltered Augsburg Confession against false brethren, errorists.'epicureans, and others; to the success of their pastoral activity, ability, experience, felicitous union, and faithfulness. These two congregations desire to be incor- porated into the already united churches in Pennsyh-ania, and to receive from the pastors of the same a regular minister, for which purpose they grant to them full authority. They prom- ise to recognize the united pastors as a lawful, regular presby- tery or ministr}' ; to show respect to the chief pastors ; to undertake in church affairs nothing without their advice and consent, consequently never to enter upon an}^ engagement with any strange preacher ; to carry out resolutions passed for the interest of the Church by the united pastors ; to respect, accept, honor, and hear the legitimate, divinely-called pastor whom the united pastors may send to them ; to support him ; also, in case the united pastors should for weighty reasons call him away, to dismiss him, and to accept in the same manner his successor; to report to them any misunderstandings which might arise in the congregations ; finally, to provide by spe- cial subscriptions for the support of the pastor. To this document the officers gave their signature Aug. 13, 1748, on 208 LIFE AND TIMES OF a solemn occasion which we shall now have to consider, and which was the third and most important subject of that con- sultation. This subject was the organization of the pastors and the congregations under their care into a synod, and the holding of the first synodical meeting at Philadelphia, appointed for Aug. 14 and 15, 1748. The united pastors had up to that time provided for the interests of the congregations which appealed to them for assistance by consulting with one another and with the officers of those congregations or with the congregations as such. But those congregations had common interests and necessities, for which only a synod — a bod}' composed of the pastors and of properly-appointed lay delegates of the congregations — could provide. The individual congregations were made to feel that they were organic parts of the Church body, and had through their lay representatives a voice con- cerning the welfare of the Church as a whole and of its con- stituent parts. It could properly be expected that the union of the congregations and pastors for the purpose of maintain- ing order and discipline and for providing for common neces- sities would contribute to the strength of the whole and of all its* parts, and preserve the Church against dangerous dis- integrating influences from without and disturbing forces from within. Of all the possible forms of church government, the synodical {oxxw, which was then adopted, though in those days applied with certain limitations, was the one best adapted to the then existing conditions of the Church, aAd was, indeed, the only feasible one. That the voice of the pastors in those times in synodical meetings as well as in congregational affairs was decisive on all questions can easily be understood. The synodical representative government of the Church corre- sponds best to the free spirit and to the forms of the civil admin- istration of this country and to Protestant principles. Muhlenberg and his clerical brethren arrived Aug. 12th at Philadelphia. It appears that all the necessary arrangements were made in good time. Schaum of York seems to have HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 209 received the invitation to the meeting too laie to come. On Aug. 13th the pastors Brunnholtz, Handschuh, and Hartwig examined the catechist J. N. Kurtz. He was asked to give a sketch of the course of his hfe and his education, especially the circumstances of his spiritual awakening, the reasons for devoting himself to the clerical office; also of what theological works his library consisted. He had to answer the questions what theology is, what sin is, especially original sin and the sin against the Holy Ghost. He had to give a definition of justification, with proof passages of the Scriptures, also of saving faith ; to say whether and how far good works were necessary to salvation ; what sanctification was, and how it could be furthered most advantageously ; in what sense death was the reward of sin. He had to state whether the Evangelical Lutheran doctrine was the only saving one, and how it was established in the word of God; also to give an exegetical analysis of Luke xvi. 9, and to base upon it a theme and skeleton of a sermon ; to describe the true charac- ter and duties of an evangelical pastor; to explain how such an one should deal with those who, when dying, confess them- selves sinners without confessing any special sin. He also had to state whether, and if so how far, one evangelical min- ister might stand in subordination to another one. All these questions Kurtz, the candidate, was expected to answer on that 1 3th of August before three o'clock p. M. No wonder that Dr. Francke at Halle thought too much was expected of the candidate. Having received a report of all the trans- ' actions of those memorable days, he writes, after expressing his satisfaction with the ordination, concerning the manner and result of the examination in a letter dated March 26, 1749: "In the answers of Mr. Kurtz some things were not satisfactory, though some of the questions are not definite enough or too difficult for him, with his acquisitions, to answer satisfactorily in so short a time. Taken all in all, they were answered better than they would have been by one out of ten preachers before our German consistories ; this, how- ever, please do not tell Mr. Kurtz." Francke had doubts u 2IO LIFE AND TIMES OF concerning the permission given to Kurtz and others while catechists to administer in very exceptional cases the Lord's Supper to the sick. On the same da)' Kurtz was obHged also to give his signa- ture in the presence of two witnesses to a document named "a Reverse," wherein, as called by the united ministers to take charge of the Tulpehoken parish, and in agreement with the directions given by his superiors in Europe, under penalt}' of losing all title to his parochial charge, he most solemnly promises before God to retain and to show proper respect to the reverend pastors of the united congregations, as he had obligated himself to do at Halle, May 21, 1744; to consider his congregations as a part of the united congregations ; to teach publicly and privately in harmony with the word of God and the confessional books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and to this end diligently to study them ; to intro- duce no other ceremonies in public services and in the admin- istration of the sacraments but those prescribed by the col- legium pastot'iim, and to use no formulary but the one insti- tuted by them ; neither himself nor with the church council to adopt anything of importance without having previously consulted with this body, and after having received their opin- ion acquiesce in it ; at the demand of the coUcgiuiii, orally or in writing, to give account of his pastoral activity ; keep a diarx^ and enter therein all his pastoral acts and all remarkable events ; and leave his charge when it should be demanded We have every reason to believe that Kurtz willingly and with a sincere heart signed his name to this document and its binding stipulations. When the delegates of the Tulpehoken and Northkill congregations were requested also to sign their names to the document above alluded to concerning their relation and obligations to their pastor and to the coUcghim, they felt somewhat distrustful in consequence of insinuations made by Tob. W^agner, whom they had met on their journey to Philadelphia, and who suggested that there was danger in signing such a document. After some consultations and deliberations they, however, gave their signatures. Thereby HENRY MELCIIIOR MUHLEXBERG. 211 the agreement between them and Kurtz was virtually sealed. They- had no reason to regret the step they had taken in behalf of their congregations. Kurtz remained their pastor, faithfully and successfully laboring among them, until the year 1770. Aug. 14th, the tenth Sunday after Trinity, was devoted to the dedication of St. Michael's Church and to the ordination of Kurtz in connection with solemn public services. The clergy and the delegates went from Brunnholtz's lodgings in procession to the church, erected directly south of Fifth and Cherry streets, at that time the north-western boundary of the city. The procession was headed by the Swedish " probst " (prsepositus, provost, superintendent), John Sandin, and by Hartwig, who were followed by Muhlenberg and Brunnholtz, the officers of the Philadelphia and Germantown congrega- tions, and the delegates of Providence, New Hanover, Upper Milford, and Saccum; then came Handschuh and the delegates of Lancaster and Earltown ; finally, Kurtz and the delegates of Tulpehoken and Northkill. The services were opened with the hymn, " Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord," etc., antiphonically sung, the pastors, with the delegates standing behind them, forming a half-circle in front of the altar. A congratulatory address, written in English by Rev. Peter Tran- berg, the oldest of all the Swedish ministers on the Delaware, was then read, and was followed by an address, most probably by Muhlenberg, stating that the corner-stone of this church had been laid, that the building was erected, under most try- ing circumstances, yet, through God's mercy and by the char- ity of many blessed souls, it had been built to the end that the doctrines of the Evangelical Lutheran Church might be preached in it according to the prophets and apostles and in agreement with the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and all the other Symbolical Books. After this the whole building and 'ts parts, the pulpit, baptismal font, altar, were formally dedicated to the preaching of the saving word and the ad- ministration of the holy sacraments according to the Symbol- ical Books of the Lutheran Church. The representatives of 212 LIFE AND TIMES OF the Philadelphia congregation solemnly promised for this purpose to preserve the church for the use of their children and children's children. Finally, all preseit were reminded that this building was only an external structure built with the purpose that the hearts of all who in it would hear the word of God might be transformed into sanctified temples of the livang God. Now, after singing a few verses of the hymn " Sey Lob und Ehr dem hoechsten Gut," etc., all the ministers and delegates kneeling around the altar, each min- ister except Muhlenberg offered a short prayer — Sandin and Naesman (who also was present) in Swedish, the others in German. After singing another hymn and the baptizing of a child, Handschuh ascended the pulpit to deliver the dedi- cation sermon. In conclusion, the Lord's Supper .was admin- istered to all the pastors and some members of the congre- gation. In the afternoon they again went in procession to the church. Hartwig having preached on Ezek. xxxiii. 8, all the pastors stood before the altar, the delegates again forming a half-cir- cle. Three Reformed pastors were present as spectators. One of the Lutheran ministers — most probably ]\Iiihlenberg, who in his report omits his name — read the ordination formulary, and he, in conjunction with his fellow-pastors, ordained the candidate for holy orders, J. N. Kurtz, by the laying on of their hands. This was the first synodical ordination, since it was administered at the first synodical meeting of the Lu- theran Church in America. Monday, Aug. 15th, the pastors and delegates met in the church to transact synodical business. After singing and prayer, Muhlenberg, who seems to have been recognized as the presiding officer without any formal election, addressed the assembly concerning the union long desired, now accom- plished. He referred to an attempt to form a synod in the Swedish Church which had failed. What they needed, he said, was " unity : a twisted cord of many threads will not easily break. We need order; we must take care of our youths; our church-officers have great responsibilities. We I/EXRY ME LCI// OR MC/ZLEXBERG 21 3 are assembled to provide for the things entrusted to us ; Providence willing, we shall in this way assemble from year to year. For the present we are making a trial. We pas- tors here present did not come of our own will, but we are called here, and we are accountable to God and our con- sciences." Brunnholtz, who on that occasion served as secretary, states that now every congregation was requested, through its dele- gate, to state the relation in which it stood as to its pastor. First spoke the representatives of Philadelphia, and expressed their complete satisfaction with their pastor, saying that he was laboring beyond his strength. In the same manner all the congregations expressed satisfaction with their respective pas- tors. The second topic was the condition of the parochial schools ; each pastor laid before s)-nod the actual state, the wants and prospects, of his school. On the third topic, the liturgy, all the delegates (elders) expressed their satisfaction with the form already in use, and ^\-ith the plan to introduce the same form in all the congregations, though they thought that during cold winter days the service would be somewhat too long. Herewith the liturgy alread}' in use was ratified by synod. It was not printed ; the pastors copied it each for himself It seems that one of the delegates raised the ques- tion why men like Stoever, Wagner, Streiter, Andreae were not invited, to which question Muhlenberg easih' answered that the antagonistic spirit of these men, as well as their cha- racter, would frustrate ever}' attempt to harmonioush' co-ope- rate with them. Tob. Wagner had spread the report that Muhlenberg had driven him from Tulpehoken. The delegate of this congregation plainly testified that Muhlenberg had never forced himself upon them — that the congregation had entreated him to take charge of them, that Wagner had resigned of his own accord, since he could never have succeeded there. After some exchange of opinions on the question how mem- bers who had followed the Moravians, but had returned to Lutheran congregations, whose articles of order they were not willing to 5ign, were to be treated, and after some general 214 LIFE AND TIMES OF admonition made by one of the pastors concerning the neces* sity for a decidedly Christian character on the part of officers of the church, it was finally resolved to meet yearly, and alter- nately at Philadelphia and Lancaster, the time to be appointed by the pastors. Every congregation was enjoined to send, at its own expense, two elders. At last expressions of good-will were mutually exchanged. Brunnholtz thanked Provost San- din, in behalf of the congregations, for the honor of his pres- ence. In responding, Sandin wished the new synod all divine blessings, requested to be considered a member, and said that, having arrived here only a short time before (March, 1748), he felt that the Swedes should follow the example given by the Germans in forming a synod ; but, to the great distress of the Swedes, he died in the month of August, shortly after the adjournment of the synod. The elders of Philadelphia thanked the convention for participating in the dedication of their church-building, at the same time inviting all pres- ent to a collation prepared for them. The convention was for- mally closed with singing a verse of a hymn, and pastors and delegates of the Pennsylvania German Lutheran congrega- tions signed the minutes. The dedication of St. Michael's Church — which for a period of more than one hundred and twenty years was regularly used for divine services by the same congregation — the ordi- nation of a young and useful colaborer, the meeting of a respectable body of clerical and lay representatives of the united German Lutheran churches for deliberating and acting on highly-important matters, were of great importance in the history of the Lutheran Church in this country — a cause for gratitude and encouragement, a pledge for the future. But to no one could they be of more significance than to Miihlen- berg. On Nov. 25, 1742, he arrived in Philadelphia, a soli- tary traveller, a clergyman with nothing to sustain him but a few lines coming across the ocean and endorsing him before congregations who had lost almost all faith in documents and in ministers of the gospel. Six years had not yet passed, but he saw himself at the head of a synodical meeting in the midst HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 21$ of clerical brethren and worthy representatives of a respect- able number of congregations. He recognized that his labors had not been in vain, and with much encouragement he could look forward to the future. He could again add " The Lord doeth all things well " to the beautiful words of one of his letters sent in 1743 to Germany, when, taking a retrospective view of his experience during the preceding year, he says : " The Lord dealt well with me in London at Ziegenhagen's ; well when I as a stranger went on board of ship ; well when I was among strange people of a strange tongue ; well when I had to undergo sickness and many trials ; well when our ship was obliged to sail through storms and without a con- voy among enemies ; well when I was permitted in the Eng- lish language to announce to sinners, to my brethren, salva- tion through the Saviour of the world or the eternal judg- ment ; well when we were visited by oppressive heat and pain- ful thirst; well when he, our Lord, listened to our prayers and sent us favorable winds ; well when out of misery and danger we were finally brought to Charleston ; well in saving me on the voyage to Georgia from imminent peril of life ; well when among the Salzburg brethren in the faith at Ebenezer he al- lowed me to hear and to enjoy so many good things ; well when he safely led me back to Charleston, and there in a remarkable way assisted and sustained me as a stranger ; well when during the wintry season, in a most frail vessel, in storms, sickness, and misery, I was obliged to travel to Penn- sylvania." This is truly Christian optimism — the best practical phil- osophy. There is a mysterious vitality, a world-conquering strength, in such a humble faith in this certainty that God is in everything, that without his will not a hair falls from the head nor a sparrow to the ground, and that he is love in all his dealings with his children. Such faith Muhlenberg cher- ished in his heart ; such faith he needed in the days and years which were to come. 2l6 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER XIV. 1748 et seq. Political aspects of Pennsylvania. — Internal dissensions. — Disastrous war with the French. — Barbarous hostilities of the Indians. — Final victory of the English. — Influence of those turbulent times upon social life, congregations, and pas- tors in Pennsylvania. — Regina the released captive. — Sickness of Brunnholtz. — John Albr. Weygand. — Muhlenberg's interest in him. — He is sent to the Rar- itan congregations. — J. B. van Dieren. — J. H. Schaum ordained 1749. — Wey- gand ordained 1750; called to New York 1753. — Marriage of J. Fr. Vigera. — Ludolph H. Schrenk. — Kindness of Brunnholtz and Muhlenberg toward him. — He labors as catechist at Upper Milford, Saccum, and neighboring places. — His ordination. — He succeeds Weygand in the Raritan congregations. — Catechist J. A. Friderici. — Schrenk leaves the Raritan congregations. — His erratic course and final disappearance. OUR narrative proceeds now to a period of considerable disquietude in the political condition of the Northern colonial provinces of America, especially Pennsylvania, and of disturbances and reactionary tendencies in congregations be- longing to the field in which Muhlenberg and his associates were laboring. Pennsylvania had through a long series of years enjoyed peace. During the war preceding the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748, commerce and navigation had to some extent suffered; in Georgia the Spaniards had attempted an invasion, but not in the more Northern colonies. In Pennsylvania the relations between the colonists and the Indians had never been seri- ously disturbed. The border difficulties with Mar}-land — the so-called Cressap War — did not interfere with the prog- ress of the province. Irnmigration reached, just before the middle of the eighteenth centur}% an unprecedented height. The learned Peter Kalm, professor of natural science, sent here by the Swedish government to investigate the resources HEXR 1 ' MEL CHI OR Ml 'HL EXBEK G. 2 1 7 of this country, saj's that during the summer of 1749 about twelve thousand Germans arrived ; during the fall of that year twenty-five vessels brought seven thousand and forty- nine German emigrants to Philadelphia. And this immigra- tion continued until the breaking out of the Seven Years' War in 1756. Agriculture and commerce were in a flourish- ing condition. To the former even the very abundance of the cereal crop of the years 175 I and 1752 proved an injur}-, as the chronicler of the convent of the Seventh-day Mennon-" ites at Ephrata, Pa., relates in these words: "The years 175 i and 1752 have been so fruitful in wheat and other grain that men, in wanton carelessness, sought to waste the supply ; for the}' used the precious wheat — which might have supported many poor and needy people — to fatten hogs, which after- ward the}' lavishl}- consumed. Besides, distilleries were erected ever}'where, and thus this great blessing, used for the man- ufacture of strong drink, gave rise to much disorder." Clouds, however, began to arise on the political horizon some }'ears before the middle of the centur}', and ominoush' portended the approaching storm. Influenced b}- the F"rench, the Shawanese Indians began from 1745 to show signs of hostility to the English. The French threatened the English provinces from the North and the West. The}' sought to establish themselves in Canada and on the Ohio and Mississippi down to Louisiana by erecting forts, and through their Jesuit missionaries and other agents exercised a continually irritating influence upon the Indians, who were from }'ear to }-ear more alarmed by the progress of the palefaced population from the East, and often thought themselves wronged b}' the manner in which the}' were dis- possessed of the land of their fathers. The Scotch-Irish especially — who, without regard to the Indians, to the laws of Pennsylvania, or to the proclamations of the go\-ernors, had from 1740 settled along the rivers and creeks and in the valleys west of the Susquehanna — caused b}' their encroach- ments much dissatisfaction among the Indians. It was to the h''gi\est interest of the provincial government 2l8 LIFE AND TIMES OF to keep on good terms with the Indians. Thej. were from time to time pacified by large and extensive presents of things which they wanted and could not manufacture themselves, but, at the same time, military roads were laid out, and along the borders of progressing civilization forts were here and there erected. The taxes imposed to cover these outlays occasioned much dissension between the constituent parts of the provincial government. The governors found military preparations absolutely necessary. The Quakers very unrea- sonably opposed their peace principles to all war measures, wherein in Eastern Pennsylvania they were joined by the Moravians, Mennonites, Dunkers, Schwenkfelders, and others, most of whom disliked paying taxes no less than going to war. The Assembly, seeing that taxes must be raised, wanted the Proprietaries to pay their share. The governors, representing the prerogatives of the Proprietaries, imposed the taxes only upon the people. When the crisis approached, the Quakers lost the long-continued control of Pennsylvania politics. But the dissensions between the branches of the govern- ment and the factions of the people had prevented united de- cisive action at the proper time, and were fraught with disas- trous consequences. The great conflict which broke out twenty years later was already foreshadowed by the spirit of independence which the colonial people clearly showed in their relation to the home government and to the Proprietaries of the province of Pennsylvania. It is not our intention, nor is it necessary for our subject, to enter upon a detailed account of the events of the war against the French, which began July 9, 1755, with the dis- astrous defeat of the English in the battle near Fort Du- quesne, where George Washington, by his courage and skill, saved the remnants of the gallant army destroyed by the obstinate folly of its commander, Major-general E. Braddock, and which ended with the expulsion of the French from the Northern provinces of America and with the Peace of Paris, concluded 1763. It cannot surprise us that by the war continuing through a HEXRY ME LC HI OR ML'HLEXBERG. 2ig number of years the social condition of the provinces was seriously affected. Probably none of them felt those influ- ences in a higher degree than Pennsylvania. The contentions between the branches of the government moved the sympa- thies or antipathies of the parties among the people. Troops had to be raised, and hundreds of young men were taken from tiie regular, quiet course of life. The consequences of war ev^er)-where include an increase of lawlessness ; Pennsylvania formed in this respect no exception. But the effects of the war were especially lamentable upon the Indians. When the Eng- lish and provincial troops were obliged to retreat after the un- fortunate battle near Fort Duquesne,the settlements on the fron- tiers toward the west were left unprotected. The settlers were not prepared for defence; they lost all, and had to take to pre- cipitate flight to save even their lives. The Indians, now fully convinced of the superior power of the French, moving east- ward, committed the most savage atrocities upon the unpro- tected inhabitants. Whole settlements were totally destroyed, the settlers being slaughtered or carried into cruel captivity. Neither age nor sex was spared. In November, 1755, the Indians had "entered," as Governor Morris reported, "the passes of the Blue Mountains, broke into the counties of Lan- caster, Berks, and Northampton, committing murder, devas- tations, and other kinds of horrid mischief" While all these atrocities, accompanied by fearful loss of life and property, were going on, the Assembly, in which the Quaker element was still predominant, remained in a shocking state of leth- argy and indifference, until the voice of the people could no longer be left unheard and had to be answered. In April, 1756, Governor Morris went so far as to promise, to the great chagrin of the Assembly, bounties for every Indian prisoner, male or female, for every scalp of an adult male Indian, and for every English subject delivered from captivity. At an expense of eighty-five thousand pounds the province of Penn- sylvania erected on the frontiers of the districts more or less settled a chain of forts and blockhouses commanding moun- tain-passes and containing garrisons. Before giving his office 220 LIFE AXD TIMES OF (August, 1756) into the hands of his successor, WilHani Denny, Governor Morris had planned an expedition, to be conduct- ed by Colonel J. Armstrong, against Kittanning, on the Alle- ghany, then the real stronghold of the Indians. The Indians were taken unawares (Sept. i) and completely routed, and their stronghold was burned. Pennsylvania had raised twen- ty-five military companies, amounting to fourteen hundred men, but the mode of warfare by the savages often baffled the best military skill. The Indians continued through the fol- lowing year to harass the settlers and to make life and peace- ful occupations insecure ; one of their scalping-parties came even within thirty miles of Philadelphia. A happy change was effected by the statesmanship of William Pitt, earl of Chatham. Properly calculating the commercial worth of the American provinces to England, he sent regular troops and pledged liberal pay to soldiers enlisting in the colonies. Two thousand seven hundred men were equipped in Pennsyl- vania. Already, in November^ 1758, the French were driven west of the Ohio; and when in 1759 Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara, and Quebec, in 1760 Montreal, Detroit, and all of Canada, were in the hands of the English, France had lost all hold on the Northern provinces of America. The Indian attempt to break forth from the West with united forces against the colonies — " Pontiac's Conspiracy and War " — was frustrated after severe struggles. The " Paxton Massa- cre," in which a number of peaceable Indians were killed in December, 1763, in Lancaster county, and which for a time threatened very disastrous consequences even to Philadelphia, may be taken as a proof of the bitterness of feeling prevailing against the Indians. Their days were numbered ; as a foe they were annihilated, and afterward rapidly disappeared. Thirty or forty years ago one could meet in Pennsylvania with aged individuals who remembered in their early child-- hood to have seen Indians at the farmhouse or at the country store, not as \errible warriors, but as unwelcome beggars ask- ing alms. Numbers of Lutheran congregations and pastors had to HEXJ^y MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 221 suffer in the years of the struggles between two foreign nations for the possession of this country. The barbarities of the natives — who in either issue were to bo dispossessed of their unimproved inheritance — were the bloody revenge for their loss. Under the date of June 24, 1763, Muhlenberg tells us that his brother-in-law, whom he then visited on the paternal estate at Heidelberg, a few miles west of Reading. " had two days before returned from the Indian frontier, and had driven home his cattle, kept on his deceased father's lands, because the savages intended to make a hostile attack against the Americans, and had already cruelly murdered many of them — as was reported, no less than fourteen hun- dred settlers. The inhabitants, German and English, living nearest the frontiers are fleeing without proper clothing from their habitations, and must relinquish the harvest just ripen- ing and promising subsistence for the whole year. All North America is alarmed, since the Indians show themselves crafty and inimical." It is in connection with these Indian troubles and atrocities that Muhlenberg tells us of the mother who visited him at Philadelphia in February, 1765, and asked him for a Bible and a hymn-book for her daughter Regina. This daughter, with her sister Barbara, during the absence of her mother and brother and after the murder of her fether, had been taken captive in 1755 by the Indians when, after Brad- dock's defeat, they devastated the interior of Penns}'lvania. Suffering most cruel treatment, these two children were car- ried some hundred miles westward. Barbara was taken to a still more remote locality, and of her every trace was lost. Regina was for eight years the slave of an old and very rougii Indian woman. She lost the use of her native German language — retained, however, some prayers, the Apostles' Creed, and verses of a few German hymns, all of which she frequently repeated, to the great comfort of her soul in her distress. Finally, when the French were vanquished, the Indians brought to terms, and many white captives released, in the fall of 1765 she was taken, with a small child, also a cap- tive— to whom she had indeed been a foster-mother — to Car- 222 LIFE AXD TIMES OF lisle, Pa. A public notice having been given in all the news- papers throughout Pennsylvania that those whose friends had been carried into captivity years before should appear and see whether they could recognize them, Regina's mother, follow- ing the instinct of motherly love, repaired to Carlisle, but could not discover her daughter. No wonder ! within eight years the little Rcgina had grown to womanhood. The com- missaries asking the mother whether she could not remember any particular thing b)- which she might know her child, she said her daughter had frequent)}- sung the lix'mns " Jesus I shall love for ever," etc., and "Alone, and }'et not quite alone," etc. Hardly had she said these words in German when Regina came forward, began to repeat the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and these hymns. Irresistibly mother and daughter embraced each other, and the tears of an unspeakable joy broke forth. Regina's foster-child, seeing this, also began to repeat the same prayers and h\-mns ; and when Regina was about to return with her mother, the child, claimed b}' no one, clung to her friend with so much affection that they could not but take her along. Referring to the fact that Regina's mother had come from Reutlingen (now belonging to the kingdom of Wiirtemberg), Miihlenberg saj's at the conclusion of his charming narrati\'e, " Suppose the sainted Luther were still this side of eternit\- and could hear that a child of Reutlin- gen, the free imperial city which in 1530 so faithfull}' and firmh' held to the Augsburg Confession, had through God's pure word been preserved in the deep wilderness in spiritual life, how heartih' would he offer to God praises and thanks and once more cheerfull\- and confidenth' sing, ' The word they still shall kt remain, and not a thank have for it ' !" Soon after the first meeting of synod Muhlenberg was again called to Philadelphia on account of a critical sickness of Brunnholtz, who was living as a bachelor. Brunnholtz's constitution was not a strong one, and the claims of his two congregations were too much for his physical ability. Muhl- enberg found him in a burning fever, which had continued for some time and reduced him to such a desrree that Miihlen- HEXKY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 223 berg had little hope of his life and felt very much depressed. He held the intellectual capacities of Brunnholtz in consider- able esteem, and would have considered his death a great loss to the young but growing Church in this country. We can perceive the frame of his mind when he says, " The other beloved brethren are faithfully doing their work, each at his particular post, according to the talents God gave to each ; but they do not yet understand the connection and interest of the whole, and expect w^ords of comfort and encourage- ment from us older ones, who themselves are in need of them." Again : " It is true the station which Brunnholtz now occupies is too laborious for him, for there is more internal trouble and grief than may be described. His spirit, faith, and charity are sufficient, but the weak body is not equal to the work. The character of the climate also is so severe that steel and iron will get brittle. I had such a robust, farmer- like nature that I knew of no sickness nor weakness, but the climate and the never-ending travelling broke me down." Brunnholtz escaped on that occasion, but suffered repeated attacks, and died, after twelve years' labor in Pennsylvania, at his post. We can easil}' understand that it was for both his and Muhlenberg's interest, in view of the growing German Lu- theran immigration and the petitions of congregations, to assist them in getting pastors, and that the}^ felt the necessity to fill \-acancies with men of proper character and to substitute such for irregular pastors, and also to find men who might in the course of time be made useful servants of the Church. The Fathers in Germany found it exceedingly difficult to select suitable individuals for this distant — and, indeed, un- usually arduous — field of labor. To find suitable men from the people already in this country seemed, for obvious rea- sons, particularly desirable. During the sickness of Brunnholtz, in September, 1748, a young candidate for the clerical office, John Albert Weygand, had arrived at Philadelphia. Some uneasy heads, as Miihl- enberg judiciously calls them, precipitately proposed him, 224 L^P^ '^-'^''•^ TIMES OF though they knew as little of his character as of the means for his support, as an assistant to Brunnholtz. The young man had no money to satisfy the captain who had brought him across the Atlantic, but his conduct during the voyage had been such that some of his fellow-passengers, moved by compassion, satisfied the claims standing against him. He paid a visit to Brunnholtz, but had.no testimonials to show. While he remained at Philadelphia he refused calls from par- ties in the country who at various localities were in need of a pastor. The worthless Andreae, who was serving parts of Lu- theran congregations in Old Goshenhoppen and Indianfield, invited him in vain ; he desired before all to see Muhlenberg, and came to Providence. Being examined as to the motives of his coming to America, he narrated the course of his life. He was born Aug. 26, 1722, in the district of Hanau, not far from Frankfort- on-the-Main ; was given in 1736 by his parents to the care of a pastor, and began the study of the ancient languages ; in 1742 he frequented for a few months the higher school at Hanau, and then, though cautioned against the " Pietists," the University at Halle, where he attended theo- logical lectures, and subsequently was made a teacher in the well-known charitable institutions. Here his spiritual awak- ening took place, and he felt himself willing to go east or west as the Lord might use and send him in his service. He left Halle in 1744, served as teacher at a few places, made the acquaintance of some men prominent among the Pietists, as "Abt Steinmetz " and Pastor Sommer, with whom Miihlen- berg was personal!}' acquainted, and was finally persuaded at Frankfort-on-the-Main, by some rogue in the shape of a ship- ping-agent, to come to America, where plenty of work was waiting for him. Emigrants always flocked to ships on which a member of the clergy embarked ; agents were therefore on the alert to induce clericals to try their fortune in America. Had those good-natured individuals at Weygand's arrival at Phil- adelphia not satisfied the claims against him, according to law the captain of the ship could, and undoubtedly would, have sold him for menial service for a number of years. HEXJn' MEL CHI OR MUHLEXBERG. 225 When Weygand in words of highest respect spoke of the venerable Fathers and of the blessed institutions at Halle, Muhlenberg says his own heart grew warm like Joseph's when in Egypt he recognized his brothers. But he cautiously scrutinized the mind and the character of his new acquaint- ance. " It was not advisable," says he, " to reject him, since some of our well-meaning members had been informed that he was from Halle, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Advice from there we could not receive in a few days. I chari- tably indulged in good hope concerning him. I looked upon him as Abraham looked upon the ram caught in a thicket by his horns (Gen. xxii.), and took him into my house, to which my colleagues consented." As may be expected, he also examined him as to his theological attainments and his per- sonal piety, allowed him to offer up free prayers at the house- hold services, and was pleased to find that he used good biblical terms — that in his conversation he often introduced phrases which Muhlenberg could easily trace back to Francke, Steinmetz, Sommer, or some other honored man of his for- mer acquaintance ; all of which was proof that he had moved in those circles. Muhlenberg, having appointed him to in- struct the catechumens at New Hanover, found that he was diligent and persevering, but, like all beginners in such exer- cises, preached more than he catechised, and " did not chew the questions small enough for the children's comprehension." Muhlenberg also allowed him to preach, and found that he had a fine tenor voice, modest gesture, and did not use meta- physical school-terms, but plain, edifying Bible language. Weygand's intercourse with the people was also of a proper character. His complexion revealed to the scrutinizing eye of Muhlenberg a sanguine, unsteady temper — an observation in which, as the future amply demonstrated, he was not mis- taken. But the man was not a h}-pocrite nor undeserving of the active sympath}' of Muhlenberg. The question arose where Weygand might best be em- ployed. It was proposed to send him as a parochial teacher to Lancaster. Finally, J. Jac. Loeser took that position, to 15 226 LIFE AND TIMES OF the great advantage of the congregation and the children. In his own house Muhlenberg could not properly employ and keep his guest. It was after due consideration decided to send him to the Raritan congregations. He began his labors as a catechist among them in November, 1748. He was permitted to preach, to teach, to baptize, and, in very exceptional cases, to administer the Lord's Supper to per- sons in peril of death. Muhlenberg, who, as we know, since 1745 had had the supervision of these congregations, visit- ing them for a number of years from time to time, finding there in August, 1749, thirty catechumens whom Weygand had instructed, confirmed them, and held the Lord's Supper with them and with the congregations. Weygand proved himself diligent and faithful, but allowed his sanguine tem- per sometimes to do harm to himself and to others. This was the case in connection with his entering into the state of wedlock. It appears that in December, 1749, in a rather hast}' and informal manner he asked an elder of one of the congre- gations— under whose roof he lodged, and who, being a man in good circumstances, had shown his liberality in assisting to build the church, buying an organ and in other ways — for the hand of his daughter. The father, surprised by the abrupt- ness of the petitioner, hesitated for a moment and wished to have some time for consideration. This was enough to irri- tate Weygand to such a degree that he at once went to a cer- tain Van Dieren (Doeren, Diiren), asked of him the hand of one of his daughters, and without any further delay was united with her in marriage. This was, under all aspects, a very unwise procedure, but was aggravated by the connection which Weygand formed by this step. This man, J. B. van Dieren, was a tailor who had come, with books given him by the Rev. A. W. Boehme, predecessor of Ziegenhagen at St. James Chapel at London, as a sort 'of colporteur to this coun- try, ambitious enough to enter the clerical rank, but unable to receive or to prove ordination. Creating disturbances in con- gregations on the Hudson, he was violently proclaimed as an impostor by Rev. W. Chr. Berkennieier in pamphlets, let- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 22/ ters, and speeches, and finally settled in the Raritan congre- gations. His character and career were equally doubtful. Weygand's inconsiderate step in marrying under such cir- cumstances, and into this man's family, created, as would be expected, an unpleasant sensation which was not diminished by his subsequently urging the congregations — ^just then con- siderably burdened by the erection of a large church-build- ing— to buy him a farm. The farm, however, was bought as a new evidence of the forbearance and the good-will of the people, and the debts of the congregations were thereby in- creased. Weygand expected to be ordained at the meeting of synod at Providence, June 17, 1750; three elders of his congregations, however, most obstinately protested against it. The act had to be postponed, to the great disappointment of the candidate, until December of the same year, when, on the occasion of the dedication of the new church, a committee consisting of Brunnholtz, Handschuh, Hartwig, Kurtz, and Schaum ordained \Ve}-gand with the consent of the mem- bership. At the same time (Dec. 4th) the marriage of J. H. Schaum — who at the synodical meeting at Lancaster, June 4, 1749, after being examined, had received ordination, and was by this act created regular pastor at York — with a daughter of B. Pickel, one of the Raritan elders, took place; to which festivity Muhlenberg sent his congratulations in the form of a poem. Weygand, in consequence of great disturbances which had taken place in his congregations, accepted in 1753 a call to the congregations of Lutheran Hollanders at New York City and Hackensack, N. J., and served them until 1769. A short memorandum in Miihlenberg's diary of Ma)% 1770, in- forms us that at that time Weygand had already departed this life. The latter part of his career, unfortunatel}% did not cor- respond with the good promises of his earlier period. In February, 1749, a young man, Ludolph Henry Schrenk, arrived at Philadelphia, visited Brunnholtz, and was for a num- ber of weeks the object of his observation and kind sympa- thy. His means, as might be expected, were soon exhausted. April 19th of the same \'ear the marriage of J. Fr. Vigera, 228 LIFE AND TIMES OF who at that time was employed as a teacher in Philadelphia, was to occur in Muhlenberg's house at Providence. He married Miss Anna Stevenson, who had been brought up by her mother a Quaker, but had been awakened through the preaching of Whitefield, was baptized afterward by Muhlen- berg, and enjoyed in the community the highest esteem. Brunnholtz was to perform the marriage ceremony. In go- ing, with some other Philadelphia friends, to Providence, he took Schrenk with him. Mi'ihlenberg kindly resolved to take care of him. Schrenk told him that after the early death of his father, at Lijneburg, he was reared in luxury in the house of his guardian, the burgomaster of the city, and was sent to the University of Erlangen, where he devoted himself to the study of jurisprudence — without, however, finishing his course, since his means were exhausted. Some reports of the colonization of Georgia having excited his interest, he went to London, expecting to be given free passage to that province by the trustees. What he knew of jurisprudence was of no advantage to him. He had the strongest reasons to be sincerely thankful to Brunnholtz and Muhlenberg, who, when he had found his way to Pennsylvania, stretched their helping hands out to him in his distressed condition. Miihl- enberg provided for him for six months and gave him theo- logical instruction ; Brunnholtz furnished the necessary books and assisted him in other ways. It seems that during this period the conduct of Schrenk was quite satisfactory. He gave promise of qualifying himself in a suitable manner for the service of the Church. Occasion was given him, in the outlying congregations to exercise himself in catechising and preaching under the supervision of Mi^ihlenberg, and finally (Nov. 20, 1749) he was regularly introduced by him as cate- chist in the congregations of Upper Milford and Saccum, with the understanding that he should take care also of Bir- kensee and the Forks of Lehigh and Delaware (now Easton). On that occasion Muhlenberg, when holding preparatory ser- vice and administering the Lord's Supper in these congrega- tions, refused to admit to the sacrament two WiJrtemberg- HEXRV MELCHIOR mChLEXBERG. 229 ers because they were proper subjects for church disciphne. Schrenk at first felt the uncomfortable smallness of the lodg- ings which were at his command, but went at his work with an honest will. We find that Muhlenberg on various occa- sions in his diary pronounces a good opinion of him. At the synodical meeting at Lancaster, June 4 and 5, 1749, Schrenk was present. His labors as a missionary he extended gradu- ally even beyond the Blue Mountains, and his congregations were well pleased with his services and conduct. Consider- ing the urgent necessity existing for regular pastors in more distant localities, the synod meeting at Germantown, Oct. 12, 1752, resolved upon- his ordination and that of one other can- didate ; which, after examination, was accordingly done, Nov. 5th, at Providence. When, in the following year, W^eygand left the Raritan congregations, Schrenk was, on the occasion of a \nsit of Muhlenberg, requested by them as pastor; which request was granted. His congregations in Pennsylvania were served for some time by a catechist, John Andrew Fri- derici, who for a season had been a fellow-student of Miihlen- berg at Gottingen. Schrenk continued his labors in the Raritan congregations until 1756. In this year he left them suddenly in consequence of disastrous disturbances which to some extent existed there before he entered that field of labor, but were by his injudi- cious conduct greatly aggravated. It may be that his success in the clerical profession unduly elated him, or that his nerv- ous system was in a state of morbid excitement bordering on insanity; certainly his prospects in those congregations in a short time totally vanished. And now he entertained the absurd idea that Miihlenberg was the cause of his misfortune, while the fact was that toward some of the officers of his congre- gations he had privately and publicly behaved in a manner which men of an}' degree of self-respect would nowhere tol- erate. Leaving his field of labor, he first came to Philadel- phia, and there slandered Muhlenberg before Rrunnholtz and the officers and members of the congregation, accusing him of having driven him out of his parish, and here and there by 230 LIFE AND TIMES OF his representations succeeding in creating impressions unfavor- able to Muhlenberg, who had no opportunity to state the facts of the case. Even to the Reformed minister, Rev. Michael Schlatter, who stood in very friendly relations W\\\\ Miihlen- berg, he made malicious insinuations. Schlatter, however, in his straightforward manner said, " I know Miihlenberg better. You act most ungratefully ; if you know no more than this, you are quite welcome to leave." Following this judicious, advice, Schrenk left Philadelphia for New York, continued his slanders at New York, and, instead of hastening forward on a pretended return to Europe with the view to raise a large in- heritance, moved Weygand to make him his substitute in the Hackensack and another outlying small congregation, Rem- merspach, in New Jersey. Within six months he had suc- ceeded in producing there such a confusion that he was obliged to leave in disgrace. After some time, hearing that there was a church of Lutheran Hollanders in Curacao, in South America, he embarked for that distant place, fell sick after his arrival there, was maintained by charity, and was sent after half a year to Charleston, S. C. Here he was advised to offer his services to one of the inland congregations or to become a slave-overseer on a plantation. He preferred to return to Pennsylvania, had the hardihood to come to Mi^ihl- enberg at Providence with an introduction sentimentally given him by Handschuh — of whose local and official changes we shall hear — and acted so well the part of a humble, contrite, totally broken-down sinner whose spiritual sorrow bordered on complete despair — pretending, besides, that he was suffer- ing some bodily ailments which necessitated his return to Germany to undergo there an operation — that Muhlenberg, in the spring of 1759, though at first rather cool toward him, felt his heart softened, allowed him to board in his house with a young family which we shall mention hereafter, while he with his own family intended to spend a year in the Rar- itan congregations, and even permitted Schrenk to fill his place in Providence and New Hanover. A few months were sufficient to prove that this time Miihlenberg's judgment HEXFY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 23 1 and kindness were at fault. The conduct of Schrenk toward the family with whom he boarded in Muhlenberg's house at Providence was outrageous ; he even, in one of his spasms, in the presence of Mrs. Muhlenberg, who had returned from the Raritan in September, a week before her husband, laid hands on the young host in a violent manner, and afterward, when sobered down, acted as if he intended to commit suicide. He had not only given no satisfaction as a substitute of Muhlen- berg, but among the members of the congregations tried to injure the character of his benefactor. Muhlenberg, coming home, learned these things. Schrenk, knowing that there was no longer any prospect for him there, demanded fifteen pounds for his services ; which sum Muhlenberg borrowed to pay the charges of the captain with whom Schrenk embarked for Europe. In 1764, Muhlenberg incidentally mentions in a letter the report that Schrenk was preaching in Ireland to Lutherans. There was a German Protestant congregation in those times at Dublin. Hundreds of the Palatines who in 1709 encamped near London in the direction of Greenwich were settled by the English government in the south-west of Ire- land. It is said that the German language was used by them even at the beginning of the present century. Taking a retro- spect of his experience in this case, Muhlenberg writes in his diary, " If ever a mortal creature abused my kindness and took advantage of my forbearance, it was that man Schrenk." 232 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER XV. 1748 et seq. {continued). Lucas Raus of Traiis/lvania. — His parentage and education. — Brunnholtz and Muhlenberg's interest in liim. — He labors as catechist at Old Goshenhoppen, Indianfield, and Tohicon.— He is sent to Hartwig's congregation on the Hud- son.— His ordination and marriage. — 'His call to York, and final severance from synod and the pastorate.— Rev. G. S. Klug's visit to Pennsylvania. — His successors, J. Schwarbach, J. Frank. — Muhlenberg at the meeting of synod at Lancaster, 1749. — He visits again Upper Milford, Saccum, Easton, and Bir- kensee, and the Raritan congregations ; erection of churches at New German- town and Bedminster. — His services desired at Indianfield. — Synodical meet- ing at Providence, 1750. — Tob. Wagner appears there. ON the morning of Nov. 20, 1749, the year of the arrival of L. H, Schrenk, another young man, Lucas Rau.s, landed at Philadelphia, and at first also became the object of the pity of Brunnholtz. Raus was born Oct. 18, 1724, at Marienburg, near Cronstadt, in Transylvania, in which town his father was a minister of the gospel. His grandfather had lost his eyesight in his fourth year, but so earnestly devoted himself to literary studies that he also was called into the ser- vice of one of the congregations of- his country, and most successfully presided over it for many years. Lucas Raus was given a liberal education by his godly parents. That as a boy he often read to his mother Bunyan's Pilgriuis Progress, Arndt's True Christianity, and similar books is indicative of the spirit prevailing in the famih". Raus was not yet ten years old when his father died. The mother moved to the residence of the grandparents to nurse them, and intended to send young Lucas, after he had finished his preparatory school-education, to the University of Halle. Having at- tended classical schools in Transylvania, he was sent ni HEXJ^] MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 233 1743 to Presburg in Hungary; left, after a \'ear, for Pesth, and thence went (Nov. 17, 1744) to the classical school of the Reformed Church of Hungary at Losonz, which in those }'ears was well patronized also by many Lutherans. A doctor of medicine, Daniel Perlitzius, also a Lutheran, took an interest in him, assisted him financially, and sent him to the Lutheran college at Neusohl, where he continued his studies until 1747, in which year (April 27th) he arrived at Leipsic, and May ist at Jena. While there, in Nov., 1748, his mother died, but his two sisters, married in Transylvania, provided for him with motherly care. In those times the Evangelicals in all Austria were treated by the empress Maria Theresa with suspicion and oppressed. In Trans}dvania some of their ministers were thrown into prison, and in some places they were tyrannically deprived of their churches and schools. Under such prospects Lucas Raus resolved to go to Amer- ica. After considerable hardship he arri^d (July 23, 1749) at Amsterdam, supported by a letter of recommendation, addressed himself to the Lutheran consistory, and was told that something might be done for his advancement provided he understood the Dutch language. Also at Rotterdam, Avhich he reached August lith, the Lutheran clerg}' treated him with coldness. Having resolved to seek a field of labor in Pennsylvania, he was brought by a captain across the ocean, but, not being in a condition to pay his fare, he was in danger of being taken to the West Indian islands, 'there to be sold into menial service. While he was in great embar- rassment and felt exceedingly depressed a man appeared on the deck of the vessel and handed him a letter. Raus read the letter and again read it. He did not know whether he was awake or dreaming. The letter was addressed to him b}' the " Rev. Brunnholtz, pastor at Philadelphia and German- town." It appears that Muhlenberg was at that time on a visit to Philadelphia. He, Brunnholtz, and H. Keppele, an elder of the Lutheran congregation, a ver}' worth}' man, heard of the }'oung student on board of the ship. Keppele advised caution in dealin 1732) Rev. John Christian Schultze, who, as it appears, convinced the German Lutherans at Philadelphia, Providence, and New Hanov^er of his legitimacy as a Lutheran pastor, served them a short time, and was then, already in the spring of 1733, delegated with two laymen, Weisiger and Schoener, to travel to Europe and raise collections in behalf of these three churches. From this voyage he never returned. Be- fore leaving he ordained at Providence the younger one of the two J. C. Stoevers, who now entered upon pastoral duties at Philadelphia and as itinerant preacher in other and in some very distant localities. This Stoever — whose namesake and relative had in the passenger-list of the ship in which they had arrived at Philadelphia, Sept. 11, 1728, entered himself as a missionary, and, as we have learned, accepted in 1735 a call to Virginia — is found in that list as student of theology. He moved (1729 or 1730) to the vicinity of Earltown (New Holland), Lancaster county. Pa., and seems to have performed ministerial acts before he was ordained by Schultze. In the church record commenced by him at Philadelphia in 1733 he entered such acts, performed as early as 1729. Through a series of years he served in periodical rotation a considerable number of congregations and began their church records. The title of the Philadelphia record, a small-sized folio, reads thus : " Church-book and Protocol in behalf of the Evangelical 352 LIFE AXD TIMES OF Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia, wherein are contained and recorded — i. Objects presented and bought in behalf of the maintenance of public services ; 2. Baptized children, with the names of the fathers and sponsors ; 3. Persons confirmed and the first time admitted to the Lord's Supper; 4. Persons betrothed and married; 5. Those who were buried honorably and in a Christian manner. Begun by me, John Cas- par Stoever, at this time Evangelical Lutheran High German pastor in this place. Anno Sa/vatoris Nostri, 1733." The entries made in that book by Stoever cease with Jan- uary, April, and May, 1735. There are no minutes of any vestry-meetings, and it appears that there was no regular organization ; or if there was anything of the kind, it was of a very imperfect character. That the services of Stoever, who for a short time periodically appeared and then again disap- peared and left the congregation without any services, were not satisfactory, we learn from the fact that Rev. Dr. Francke as early as March 11, 1735, alludes to a petition sent to him from Philadelphia for godly ministers. We know that the congregations of Philadelphia, Providence, and New Hanover unitedly addressed Rev. Dr. Ziegenhagen at London and Rev. Dr. Francke at Halle, and entreated them to send a suit- able pastor. The letters are signed by " Vorsteher " of these churches : since elders are not mentioned, we cannot take that word here in the specific sense of " deacon," but in the gen- eric sense of " officers of the congregation." It indicates at least some sort of organization. The correspondence of the " Fathers " had no practical re- sult until the sending of Muhlenberg in 1 742. We know that in that same year Zinzendorf had made efforts to control the German Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia and those in other localities of Pennsylvania, and that in Philadelphia, after the rupture separating the Lutherans from his influence, Val. Kraft had acted as pastor until, Nov. 25th of that year, Muhlenberg arrived. During the preceding years the Phil- adelphia German Lutherans had no pastor. They continued, however, when Stoever left them, to meet' in a building which IIEXRY MELCIIIOR MUHLEXBERG. 353 they and the German Reformed had about 1730 unitedly rented, alternately holding Sunday services. Rev. John Dy- lander, from Nov. 6, 1737, until his death, Nov. 2, 1741, pas- tor of Wicaco church — a man highly esteemed and much beloved — used his ability to preach the gospel also in the German language for the benefit of the German Lutherans at Philadelphia ; he also dedicated the stone church which the German Lutherans for some years had been erecting at Ger- mantovvn. Acrelius says of him : " No one can deny to Mr. Dylander the honor which he gained for himself in his min- isterial office, in that for more than a year he held morning service at eight o'clock in German, High Mass in Swedish, and vespers in English in the church at Wicaco." We find, however, that before Dylander had arrived here a certain John Albert Langerfeldt, of Halberstadt, Germany, who had attended lectures on jurisprudence and on theology at Halle, but who had not intended to serve as a pastor and never pre- tended to be ordained, at the request of the people — among whom he was of good report — for a time preached every other Sunday to the German Lutherans at Philadelphia. Thus we read in a letter of the three united congregations dated Feb., 1735, to Dr. Francke. At an earlier stage of our narrative, when speaking of Zin- zendorf we mentioned that he had formed a sort of consti- tution for the German Lutherans at Philadelphia. This constitution never entered into the life of the congregation, yet it may have been the cause of Muhlenberg's finding in the congregation two distinct orders of lay officers, elders and deacons — a division maintained b}' a very large number of Lutheran congregations throughout Pennsylvania and be- yond it, while in man)' to these two orders is added the third one of trustees. This was during a number of years the case in the Philadelphia congregation. In the year 1745, Brunnholtz entered upon pastoral duties in Philadelphia. Muhlenberg, without resigning in Philadel- phia, took charge of the country congregations. Entries of the Philadelphia vestry-meetings are not found until Aug. 17, 354 LIP^ -^^-^ TIMES OF 1746; from that time they are kept with more or less regu- larity. When Brunnholtz was called as the second pastor there was no congregational constitution adopted, though a certain order was established and maintained by custom. In an address delivered on the first Sunday after Epiphany, 1757, from the pulpit, Brunnholtz, referring to the years 1743-48, during which St. Michael's was built, says: "On the twelfth Sunday after Trinity I formally, from the pulpit, appointed about twelve men as elders. Assisted by these, I selected four deacons, who should serve alternately two years, as had been our custom up to this time. The elders, together with the deacons, were, when assembled, called a church council, because in their meetings they were to counsel together and to adopt resolutions. We find that in 1746 these four men were placed before the congregation, and, no objection being raised against them, they were publicl}' reminded of their official duties, and, giving their hands, sol- emnly promised faithfully to serve." It is stated that these four men served " until New Year, 1748, or the end of 1747." When, in 1757, Brunnholtz presented to the congregation two men selected by him and the elders out of four who had been nominated, he reminded them of their duty to live in a Chris- tian way and to give a good example to others ; to further the interests of the congregation in all internal and external matters; to live with their two brethren in the office in peace and har- mony ; to keep strict account of the moneys entrusted to their care, and to lock them up in the box the key of which was in the hands of one of the elders ; never to open the box but in the presence of a fellow-deacon; never to loan even a penny of the money of the congregation to any one, " not for eight days ;" to demand for all bills paid receipts in writing, and to preserve them, and carefully to have a strict eye upon all dis- order that might happen during public services ; " better than was the case formerly " to provide for the minister's salary ; kindly, modestly, and patiently to deal with the members of the congregation ; and to be satisfied with their reward — viz. " that orderly members will honor and love you, disorderly NEXR J ' MEL CHIC R ML EJLENBER G. 355 and censorious persons will calumniate and scold you." To all this the two selected, J. Kuhn and Chr. R. Uhl, assented, and were installed in their offices for the two years 1757 and 1758. The elders, as it appears, were elected for life — a circumstance which occasioned later considerable difficulty. June 5, 1757, Brunnholtz died. It may serve as a proof that a regular order of business was not strictly maintained in those times, to state that often members of the congregation not in office were called to the vestry-meetings to give their advice. This was probably done in remembrance of the word that there is wisdom in the multitude of counsellors. We add that during the erection of St. Michael's Church in 1743 four members of the congregation gave security for the payment of the debts incurred. When the building was erected and dedicated the deed of the lot and the church wa.s handed (Nov. 8, 1748) to eight trustees, among whom w^ere Muhlen- berg and Brunnholtz. W^e remember that J. F. Handschuh, when driven out of the Lutheran congregation at Germantown in 1753, served there a small flock of such members as were averse to the spirit then ruling in that congregation. He could not, how- ever, find the necessary means of subsistence, and was glad when Muhlenberg's influence with the trustees of the charity schools and academy procured him at Philadelphia (to which place he moved Aug. 15, 1755) the situation of teacher of French in the acadeni}-, proof-reader in the printing-office of the Charity-school Society, and translator of English articles into German for the same. Pastor Heintzelmann beginning to suffer in health, and Brunnholtz being often in a weak condi- tion, Handschuh assisted in their pastoral work. When Heint- zelmann died (Feb. 9, 1756), and Brunnholtz (June 5, 1757), the pastoral w^ork of the congregation devolved wholly upon him. Nov. 21, 1757, the assembled vestry — sixteen' members of the congregation — elected him pastor. In March, 1758, he resigned his other engagements. 356 LIFE AND TIMES OF CHAPTER XXII. 1760- 1761 (ycontlnuid). Difficulties within the Philadelphia congiegation. — Need of reorganization. — Dis cordant parties. — Muhlenberg's presence in the congregation demanded. — He visits Philadelphia as a mediator. — Salaries of pastors and teachers. — Electing church-officers. — Need of a congregational constitution. — Adoption of the new constitution. — Wrangel's friendly co-operation.— Muhlenberg's eminent merits in the pacification and organization of the congregation. — Presiding officer of synod. THERE is no doubt that Handschuh undeftook his work as pastor of the Philadelphia congregation with an ener- getic will. In various directions there was ample room for improvement. In connection with the numerical increase of the membership doubtful elements also entered and discipline was lacking. To make his own position clear, in the vestry- meeting Dec. 12, 1757, he declared orally and in writing that without the knowledge of the vestry he would under no cir- cumstances permit any one, whosoever he might be, except Muhlenberg, J. Nic. Kurtz, or Schaum, to preach in his pul- pit. Nov. 21, 1757, two overseers of the poor of the congre- gation were appointed. It was also resolved (Dec. 12th) that a regular meeting of the vestry should be held every second month ; also that on Epiphany the yearly account should be read to the congregation and the two deacons elected for the following term ; also that the Lord's Supper should be sol- emnized every second month and on all important church festivals. On Dec. 18, 1758, it was resolved by the vestry that on New Year's Day the whole congregation should be specially admonished to begin a new and a higher spiritual life, and that it should be announced that hereafter no one given to gambling or drunkenness or impurity or strife or IIENJ^V MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 357 cursing or dancing or dishonesty should be admitted to the Lord's Supper, and that every one found guilty of such sins would have to appear before the vestry to be disciplined. We find that cases of such a character from time to time claimed official attention. But, while Handschuh exhibited much devotion to his pas- toral office and good and energetic will, he proved, on the whole, no success, and entangled himself more and more in never-ending difficulties. There is sufficient evidence that immediately after the death of Brunnholtz a number of members of the congregation desired Miihlenberg's return to the city to take his place as first in rank, with Handschuh as the second pastor. Hand- schuh, however, had ingratiated himself with the elders, and Muhlenberg, who openly declared his disinclination to renew his pastoral activity at Philadelphia, was called upon during the meeting of the elders to write the call to Handschuh, whom they had elected. When Muhlenberg stated in this call that the congregation promised to provide the necessary support for the pastor, an elder — at that time the leading man — excitedly censured him for doing this, and was not quieted by the remark that this was conformable to Christ's doctrine and customary in all propcrh'-constituted churches, and that the pastor should not be necessitated to go begging for his support among the members of the congregation. To the question whether they considered Muhlenberg as still retain- ing an official relation to the congregation, as having the position of first or second pastor and the right of voting in the vestry, the same elder answered that they needed neither a first nor a second, but only one, pastor ; whereupon Miihl- enberg cut out of the minute-book his call and threw the sheet into the fire — also, as it seems, the call intended for Handschuh — and told the vestry that the}' might now write a call for the pastor elect as it suited them. When Handschuh, now called in, accepted of his election, Muhlenberg asked him whether in his formal call he wanted no reference to a stipu- lated salarv, and recei\'ed the answer, "What do }-ou think? 358 LIFE AND TIMES OF To have a thought of support is carnal, worldly, irreligious. I am no hireling serving, for my stomach's sake, for filthy lucre. God preserve me against anything of the kind !" In this strain he went on. At the entreaty of the elders Muhl- enberg now in a few words wrote another call according to their and Handschuh's idea, and to his own signature simply and meekly added " oldest trustee." On the following day he left the city, and paid no visit there for three years. Hand- schuh broke off correspondence with him, and to a letter of Muhlenberg addressed to him in kind words, in consequence of letters from Halle counselling peace and harmony, answered in a pathetic, affected manner. We omit other particulars, all clearly indicating how little Handschuh was mindful of the numerous acts of kindness and of the material assistance he had received from Muhlenberg when he was obliged to leave Lancaster, when he was embarrassed by the situation at Ger- mantown, and when a living was procured for him in Phila-- delphia. We have every reason to suppose that Mijhlenberg was from the beginning convinced that the course pursued by Handschuh as pastor of the Philadelphia congregation could not lead to happy results. He well enough knew that an extravagant subjectiveness and a morbid enthusiasm will soon exhaust themselves. What a pastor needs in addition to all other requirements is a good portion of strong common sense: this was wanting in Handschuh. He tried to make himself agreeable to the elders of his vestry, who were the ruling power, but in doing this he had to defend all their actions, made himself responsible for their frequent arbitrary rulings, and alienated the more intelligent members of the congrega- tion from himself His efforts to stigmatize as rebels those who demanded some changes in the management of the affairs of the congregation were without effect. That some changes were very desirable cannot be denied. The elders held the offices for life or until they voluntarily resigned. Vacancies were filled by their fellow-elders, who would, of course, elect such as agreed with them. Suspicions arose that in taking care NEA'HY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 359 of the congiegation they took care of themselves and their friends When, in 1759, in consequence of the increase of the membership through a fresh and powerful tide of im- migration, the galleries of St. Michael's Church had to be enlarged, an addition to the existing cemetery to be bought, and in the following year, in Fourth street north of Cherry street, a parsonage and ground for the erection of a new school-house were needed, and the interest-paying debt of the congregation amounted to about two thousand four hun- dred pounds, — the congregation in all these weighty matters had no voice, and could only once in a year, on Epiphany Day, listen to the reading of the yearly account, while ques- tions raised by members often received unsatisfactory answers. No doubt, Handschuh endeavored faithfully to perform his duties, but, while his zeal gained him the good opinion of many, he was more and more considered, by a portion of the membership increasing in influence, the champion of the vestry and as a strict party-man, whereby his position and his use- fulness were endangered. Unfortunately, he referred to the existing difficulties in a perfectly one-sided manner in the pulpit, treated those who differed from him with coldness and distrust, and seems to have been convinced that any change in the constitution and the administration of the con- gregation would unavoidably lead to ruin. His behavior toward Wrangel, who could not in all things agree with him, was offensive, and Muhlenberg, who approached him in the most careful manner, he considered an enemy. We can easily understand that Muhlenberg — whose interest in the congregation had never ceased since he had served in it, had, as prcescs of synod, a special duty toward it and tho- roughly knew its history and its constituent elements — con- tinued during his protracted absence from Philadelphia to be well informed about all the proceedings and conflicts taking j)lace there. What he once states of all the German Lutheran congregations in their beginning in this country is eminently true. He says : " Before the second generation grew up the congregations consisted of all imaginable varieties of Germans, 360 LIFE AND TIMES OF from Hesse-Darmstadt, Hamburg, Dantzig, Mecklenburg, Holstein, Denmark, Hanover, Wiirtemberg, Zweibrucken, Durlach, Baireuth, Saxon)', Brandenburg, Frankfort, Palati- nate, Alsace, Frankia, Westphalia, etc. etc. And since every province, town, and village in the German empire has some- thing of its own and special variations and turns in the church- melodies, and as some sing slowly, while others rapidly, each one thought that his manner and custom was the most proper, and made most strenuous efforts to carry through his melody and to teach the others to keep time." Now, this description suits also for conditions not directly connected with public worship. Muhlenberg was fully convinced that the Philadel- phia congregation needed a new constitution and a different administration, but he was very careful not to take a party position ; and even at the time when he was in his conscience necessitated no longer to be silent, but to open his mind, he as much as possible avoided all friction with the represent- atives of views differing from his own. Among those who were laboring for a change were large numbers of Wiirtem- bergers : when it was found out that Miihlenberg defended some of the positions taken by them, he was called the " Schwaben Pfarrer." When, in consequence of stubbornness on the one hand and excitement on the other, things had taken such an aspect that the very existence of the congregation seemed to be endangered, Miihlenberg finally yielded to letters and peti- tions pouring in upon him and offered his services as a me- diator. He was fully aware that the number of those who after Brunnholtz's death wanted him to be recalled to Phil- adelphia had since that time greatly increased. He had to avoid every appearance of a desire to remove Handschuh, but, while personally he much preferred the country, he felt that his presence in Philadelphia might prevent much evil, and that there was work enough in that steadily-growing congre- gation for two pastors. This was sufficiently evidenced by the fact that during the year 1762 no less than three hundred and four individuals were baptized and one hundred and forty- HEXRY ME LC HI OR MUHLENBERG. 36 1 eight buried. When the new constitution was adopted, in the same year, no less than seven hundred members signed it. With the consent of the vestry, Muhlenberg paid his first visit to Philadelphia, after long-continued absence, March 12- 16, 1 7 16. On Sunday, March 15th, he preached in the morn- ing on the " Causes of Christ's tears over Jerusalem ;" in the afternoon, when the auditor)' was still more numerous, on a part of Josh. xxii. : " The strife and misunderstanding between the tribes of Israel ; how they originated, how they were ad- " justed; how this was to be applied to this congregation." After the latter sermon Handschuh was in such a state of feeling that he embraced and kissed Provost Wrangel, who also was present. Unfortunately, the thermometer of Handschuh's feelings frequently fluctuated between hot and cold. In a sub- sequent conversation with members of the vestry Miihlenberg admonished them to forgive those who were fault-finding, to meet them with kindness, and to gain their good-will b}- follow- ing the example of our Lord. They said that if he would pay them more such visits peace would follow. The main result of that first visit and that first sermon in St. Michael's for some time was that the cry, " Muhlenberg must return to Philadelphia," became stronger. At a second visit (Apr. ij, 1 761) Handschuh was found in a bad humor, and Muhlenberg felt inclined to return to Providence the following day, but was persuaded by two elders to preach again on Sunday, Apr. 19th. On this occasion he avoided, as before, every word which would allow a partisan interpretation. At a third visit to Philadelphia, after the meeting of synod at Lancaster, Muhlenberg, having preached twice Sunday, May 24th, per- suaded the elders to give a hearing on the following da}', at twOi^o'clock p. M., to those who Avere dissatisfied and complain- ing. When he informed the complaining members of the fact he enjoined them to prepare themselves by prayer and to come with a Christian, conciliatory mind. On the following morning Handschuh exhibited much uneasiness. Muhlenberg, passing the parsonage of the Episcopal church, was called in, and found a numerous assembly of Anglican missionaries 362 LIFE AND TIMES OF holding their yearly meeting. They took him to the church, showed their respect for him in various ways, and were glad to have him passive with themselves. Muhlenberg writes: " This did no harm to me, but occasioned a report that the poor prases iniiiistcrii had subscribed to the Articles of the Anglican Church, though there was not a shadow of truth in it." In the afternoon the Lutheran vestry met in the parson- age with about eight of the complainants, one of which, apo- thecary Schneider of Wiirtemberg, read the points of dissatis- faction. Both parties decently refrained from showing temper. Handschuh had been advised by Muhlenberg rather to hear than to speak. After some discussion Muhlenberg requested the complainants to hand him their gravauiina in writing, to which, in behalf of the vestry, he would give an answer. The two main points contained in the document of the complain- ants were that Muhlenberg should be recalled to Philadelphia as pastor, and that a proper congregational constitution should be formed. Some of the features of this new constitution were indicated. Handschuh unwisely referred to these pro- ceedings in his sermons, and in a letter of June 3d addressed to Muhlenberg spoke of these proposed new rules and regu- lations as most surely leading to destruction, and of the exist- ing condition of things as unchangeable. In this he gave the opinion of his friends in the vestry. Mi^ihlenberg, who knew that the party demanding a change was constantly increasing, was not willing to present to the congregation the judgment given by Handschuh and his friends. The main point on which the progressive party insisted was that, hereafter the elders should not serve during life, and that they should no longer have the right to fill vacancies in their number. Muhl- enberg, while admitting that in bygone years much could have been said in defence of the system then prevailing, clearly saw that in the course of time abuses had crept in ; that, while the growth of the congregation had increased, the financial responsibility, the power, had remained too largely in the hands of the elders, who did not feel sufficient accountability to the congregation ; and that the pastors, being totally de- HEXKY MELCHIOR MUIILEXBERG. 363 pendent on the good- will of the vestry, were in danger of flattering the ruling few, and of defending all their actions even against the claims of justice. This was exactly the situation in which Handschuh found himself Muhlenberg could see no wrong in the demands of those in favor of progress in the congregation. With them, lie was convinced that the regularly-contributing members should have the right, every two, three, or four years, to elect, by a majority of votes, a certain number of elders, and also, in consideration of their good services, to re-elect them ; that pastors and parochial teachers should have sufficient fixed salaries, so as not to be forced to flatter and to beg this or that elder to advance sums in an irregular manner out of the contribution-box ; and that no important transaction — such as buying or selling ground or houses, taking down or erecting buildings, incurring debt, appointing trustees, elders, pastors, or teachers — should take place without the knowledge and consent of the congregation. It was added that, as the first legitimate pastor, Mi^ihlenberg should be recalled to Philadel- phia, and that Handschuh should maintain the position as second in rank. Seeing that Handschuh and his elders and friends treated these demands simply as a monstrosity which they for conscience' sake would reject, Muhlenberg was wise enough not to communicate these symptoms of incurable stubbornness to the other party, and refrained from revisiting Philadelphia during June. He sent, however, a letter, care- fully couched, to the vestrymen, who, noticing considerable agitation among the membership of the church, were not will- ing to lay his response before the congregation, but found it advisable specially to invite him to be present at the dedication of the new parochial school-house, which, erected in Cherry street east of Fourth, served for this end for more than one hundred and ten years ; it is now used for commercial purposes. It had come to this — that Handschuh was requested by the elders to deal with Muhlenberg in a brotherl}' manner. When Miihlenberg (July 25th) arrived in Philadelphia, Handschuh received him kindly. Sunday, the 26th, Miihlenberg preached 364 LIFE AXD TIMES OF in the morning in St. Michael's ; in the afternoon, in the place of Wrangel, to the congregation on the west side of the Schuylkill, in English ; and stayed over night with Wrangel at Wicaco, and with him came next morning to Handschuh's house, from which the vestry accompanied the pastors to the church, which was filled with young and old. Miihlenberg preached on 2 Kings ii. 19—22. After services the school- house was solemnly dedicated, the children were examined by the teacher, and a collection amounting to twelve pounds three shillings was made. In the afternoon the vestry had a long discussion on the question whether Muhlenberg should be recalled to Philadelphia unitedly to labor with Handschuh. Toward evening Miihlenberg, Handschuh, and Wrangel were called into the vestry-room, and the speaker informed Miihl- enberg that they had nothing to say against his returning to his former service in Philadelphia. Wrangel interposed the question whether they had nothing to say in favor of it. To this an evasive answer was given, Handschuh lowering himslf to such a depth that he said to Muhlenberg, with loud voice, before all, " You will not grow rich the first year in Philadel- phia ;" but was answered b\' an expressive silence. On the following day Muhlenberg undertook, with Wrangel, the tour before alluded to, during which they visited Tinicum Island. On Friday, July 2 1st, Muhlenberg paid to publisher H. Miil- ler four pounds for some dozen copies of the English edition of Luther's Small Catechism, which Wrangel had undertaken. Two of the leading men of the progressive portion of the congregation insisted that on the following Sunday Miihlen- berg should announce to the congregation that in the coming week a meeting would be heW with a view to settling the existing difficulties. On Saturday, Aug. 1st, Muhlenberg, in a letter addressed to the vestry, referred to the fact that for sundry reasons the}' had agreed to his return in an official capacity to Philadelphia, and stated that he was willing to come on condition that he could here enjoy brotherly love, and that his other congregations would agree to it; also, that to forestall objections the members of the congregation would HEXRY MELCHIOR MLHLEXBERG. 365 be asked, in the presence of the vestry, whether or hot they consented to this arrangement. He also stated what he in- tended to lay before the meeting of the congregation, and asked whether, in case the question of the election of elders should be raised, he should announce that such questions should be laid before the next meeting of synod, to be held here in Philadelphia, and that a carefully-prepared Christian congregational constitution, corresponding with the political liberties of this country, should be introduced in all our united congregations. We see on what a broad basis Muhlenberg considered this whole question of a congregational constitution, and how strongly he was convinced that all his congregations needed proper organization and should also herein stand on one common ground. We also observe how careful!}- he pro- ceeded, so as not to hasten a matter of such importance. He wished to receive an answer to his letter before he con- sented to preach on Sunday afternoon in St. Michael's. From Saturday to Sunday he stayed with Wrangel, preached at Wicaco in English, celebrated the Lord's Supper, and in the afternoon met Handschuh, who, greatly excited, used harsh words, as did also some elders, who thought a meeting of the congregation in the church would only lead to rebellion and strife. Finally, they agreed to this — that after preaching he should announce that with their consent he might re-enter his pastoral office in Philadelphia, and that whosoever had objec- tions against this or entertained doubts as to the financial ac- counts of the congregation should appear on Tuesday, Aug. 4th, from eight to twelve A. M., in the school-house. This being announced after services, Muhlenberg returned Sunday evening to Wrangel. On Monday he was appointed an advis- ing member by the Wicaco vestry, and was requested to give answer in writing to the question whether, in connection with the Swedish language, the Lutheran doctrine could advan- tageously be propagated in the English language. At a later time he gave an elaborate affirmative answer. In the after- noon, Wrangel being absent on official business, he read Dr. 366 LIFE AND TIMES OF Michaelis's paraphrase of the shorter Epistles of St. Paul, and was reminded of his meeting with that scholar nineteen years before at Ziegenhagen's in London, and also of having four years before, at Halle, received instruction from him concern- ing the accents in Hebrew. In later years also the works of Michaelis offered to him a peculiar interest. Accompanied by Wrangel, Mi^ihlenberg on Tuesday morn- ing repaired to the school-house, which was well filled by the pastors, vestry, and membership. After prayer he announced that he was willing again to undertake his office in Philadel- phia, provided they would lay aside all strife and quarrelling. Thereupon words and sentiments were exchanged, and the sharpness of personal feelings seemed to grow " beautifully less." To Muhlenberg's question whether any one here pres- ent objected to his returning to pastoral work in the city, all present, with loud voice and offering their hands, joyfully wished God's blessing. The speakers of the progressive party took occasion specially to urge that improved con- gregational rules of order and discipline should be intro- duced. Wrangel and Muhlenberg impressively entreated Handschuh to make peace with those whom he considered as doing him wrong. He solemnK* affirmed his innocence and complained of the persecution he and his beloved ejders had suffered, but was willing to forgive, provided the oppo- nents would behave better. This led to various pleasant handshakings, and the meeting broke up. To show their good-will, some of the opponents accompanied Handschuh to his house. Muhlenberg, with Wrangel, paid visits to a number of families, and inspected the house which druggist Schneider intended to buy for Muhlenberg. It was situated in Vine street, and was somewhat removed from the then set- tled and built-up part of the city. Muhlenberg sold his house at Providence, with a portion of his land, to Surgeon Maertens, who, however, afterward could not complete the bargain. On Wednesday, Muhlenberg and Wrangel received at Wicaco a visit from Handschuh. The following day Muhlenberg, after having taken dinner at Handschuh's, returned to Prov- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 367 idence and entered upon the difficult task of making arrange- ments with his countiy charges concerning his movnng to Philadelphia. We add that some of the adherents of Hand- schuh intimated to divers of the members of the congrega- tions at Providence and New Hanover that Muhlenberg's ser- vices were not wanted at Philadelphia. Sunday, Sept. 27th, Muhlenberg, again visiting the city, held services in St. Michael's in the morning and in the after- noon, and on the following day held a conference with Wran- gel and Kurtz concerning their tour of visitation in New Jer- sey and New York. Amid considerable commotion in the congregations he delivered his farewell sermons — Oct. i8th, in German and English, at Providence, Oct. 25th at New Han- over. Oct. 29th he arrived with Mrs. Muhlenberg and the youngest child at Philadelphia. About six miles distant from the city five " respectable citizens " met them, and conducted them to the house which Muhlenberg had bought with the view not to lay more burden upon the vestry. That youngest child was Samuel; another son, John Charles, born Nov. 18, 1760, had dieS seven days after his birth. In Philadelphia three more children were born — Catharine Salome, Apr. 18, 1764; Mary Salome, July 13, 1766; Emanuel Samuel, July II, 1769. Of these three, the first and the last died in early infancy. Samuel also was taken from his parents, Feb. 16, 1764, at the age of six years. Muhlenberg read to the congregation (Sunday, Nov. 1st), after preaching, a document wherein he affectionately alluded to former times and experiences, to the laborious and faithful services of the elders — some of whom were still living — dur- ing the erection of St. Michael's Church, to the causes which had moved him again to begin his work in this congregation, and offered his services to all who might desire them. Of course, no one knowing human nature could ever expect that the strife for years existing between the parties, the frictions among individuals who misunderstood, misrepresented, and mistrusted one another, and the settled differences of opinion on grave points, would at once come to an end. Unfortunately, 368 LIFE AND TIMES OF the press had been used to make the difficulties of the congre- gation still more public — a thing against which Muhlenberg protested in the strongest terms. There is no doubt that his presence and personal influence often prevented the outbreak ■of passion, and that b\' his unselfish and unbiassed deport- ment he commanded universal respect. It came to pass that on Epiphany (Jan. 6, 1762), when the yearly financial report was read to the congregation, and also H. Keppele, treasurer, had read the account of the building of the school-house, Muhl- enberg was able to quiet those members who found much fault with the vestry for not having asked the consent of the congregation to such an undertaking. He convinced them that the building of the school-house and of the parsonage in which Handschuh then — Miihlenberg after- ward— resided had been unavoidable, and that the school should never be separated from the church ; to all of which all finally gave their assent. Subsequently, in a vestry-meet- ing held Jan. 12th, to whicli Wrangel and some other impar- tial friends were specially invited, Mi.ihlenberg, after referring to the necessity of maintaining peace and harmony of action, proposed that a congregational order or constitution agreeing with the laws of the province should be framed for the united Evangelical congregations — not, however, without due consid- eration, repeated deliberation and revision, and full examina- tion in all its parts — and that it be published. He also stated that some of the elders had for some years been moving in this direction at the meetings of synod. To all this the im- partial friends and some of the elders of the congregation added their explanations, and finally it was unanimously re- solved to introduce a new congregational order or constitu- tion. This being finished, various disagreements and personal offences were discussed in proper spirit, hands were again shaken as a pledge of reconciliation, tears also were not wanting, and at last, after all was properly finished, every one went his way rejoicing. Of the resolutions passed at that vestry-meeting Muhlenberg gave notice on the subsequent Sunday to an unusually large assembly in St. Michael's. IIEXJ^y MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 369 That the burden of framing the congregational constitution would be laid upon Muhlenberg was to be expected. We are assured that he went to work with a prayerful mind, 'that he examined constitutions in use in various churches, and that he discussed point after point with Wrangel, Handschuh, and other friends. The sketch of a constitution drawn up by Brunnholtz and himself in 1753 (the year of the revolution in the Germantown congregation) he laid (April 14th) before the vestry, and they promised to take it into consideration.. It seems that Miihlenberg, moved by good reasons, did not bring up this subject before the synodical meeting held June 27-29, 1762, at Philadelphia. Finally (Oct. 17th), he informed the congregation that with the co-operation of Provost Wran- gel, the two pastors, and the whole vestry the long-desired and needed congregational constitution was now prepared, and that it was of such a character " that it might without any fears be laid before God, all Christendom, and all the congregations in this country, since it had in view the honor of God, the best interests of the congregation, and the pro- motion of peace, order, and harmony in the same, and since it was calculated to extend among us the comforting gospel and the holy sacraments, and to make them the possession of our children, provided that we give room within us to God's grace and the influence of his Spirit and do not trifle with our soul's salvation." He added that, in agreement with the promise already made to have this new constitution, as was right, properly and distinctly read to the congregation, the pastors, elders, and deacons request all those members of St. Michael's who already had been admitted to the Lord's Supper to appear to-morrow morning at ten O'clock in the church to hear first a short admonition and then the reading of the constitution. He also warned them that the house of God was no place for strife or altercation, neither would God's servants and children indulge in such. The great object was to have and to preserve in the congregation peace, unity, con- ciliation, order. He wanted every one who intended to come first to offer his private prayer to God, and to bring to the 24 370 LIFE AA'D TIMES OF house of God a sober, quiet, peaceful mind. He requested all godly mothers, widows, and orphans to bring their suppli- cations to the throne of mercy during the transaction, that God, the heavenly Father, for Christ's sake, might crown the day with his blessings, "to the end that in our country — espe- cially among us Germans as strangers — the honor of God may be promoted, piety and faith dwell, and righteousness and peace embrace and kiss each other. Amen." ■ On the following day Wrangel accompanied Muhlenberg to the church, which was filled with men, among whom was a sprinkling of women and children. After the first hymn Wrangel read the twenty-fourth chapter of Joshua. When giving out the second hymn, " Commit thou all thy griefs and ways into His hand," Muhlenberg stated that at the laying of the first stone of this church-building (1743) this same hymn was sung. After singing, the provost made a very impressiv^e address on Phil. ii. 1-4. Finally, after prayers, Muhlenberg dismissed the women and the children, and then with loud and distinct voice read the constitution. Having finished, he did not hesitate to say that, for one, he was now going to sign his name, and in case of need for it sacrifice his last hour, just as it might please God : any one who was of one mind with him should now do the same. He then signed his name to the document. Handschuh followed next, then the elders and the deacons, and, pressing forward, more than two hun- dred and seventy members subscribed their names. Many left because the transaction occupied too much time ; they were subsequently given occasion to sign. In the aggregate, the names of about five hundred heads of families were in a short time entered. If in his whole life Miihlenberg had done nothing else of a remarkable character, the framing and introduction of this constitution in the Philadelphia congregation would sufifice to crown his head with lasting honor. He braved the storms of passion previously raging in that congregation. With won- derful skill he controlled the two parties arrayed against each other. He fully acknowledged the rights of the Christian HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 37 1 congregation as such in the election of pastors, vestrymen, and other officers and in the decision of all questions of im- portance. But he was not inclined to make the vestry simply a committee to do the bidding of anj' number of members meeting ad libitimi and arbitrarily decreeing one thing and another. He clothed the board of officers, to whom the pastors belonged ex officio, with proper rights, even retain- ing during life or until resignation the twelve trustees and elders then in office ; and, above all, he guarded the confes- sional and doctrinal position of the congregation in terms as decisive and strong as such a popular document demands. When, three years later, the congregation received its charter from the provincial government, the vestry were made a cor- poration legally to transact business in behalf of the congre- gation, and therein exercising freedom within certain well- defined limits. The constitution, ratified Oct. 18, 1762, was in that document embodied under the title " Fundamental Articles." Later, additional acts in no way changed these fundamental articles. Under this charter and constitution the congregation has now been living for one century and a quarter. Taken all in all, a better one could not be given to it. Miihlenberg could not foresee that a Supreme Court of Pennsylvania would give to the words touching qualification for membership, and among other points saying that those who claim rights of membership must " take the Lord's Supper with this congregation," the interpretation " whoso- ever there once comnmned." In 1791 the "Fundamental Ar- ticles " were in some minor points, such as the mode of the election of a pastor, changed, but none of the essential fea- tures of the document were thereby affected. It was adopted by many congregations in Pennsylvania or was the model after which they framed their constitutions. In Halle the new constitution was added in its original form to the tenth con- tinuation of the Halle Reports. When synod met in Philadelphia (June 27-29, 1762), Muhl- enberg's request not to be re-elected praeses was not granted : he was told that he was wanted in that responsible and honor- 372 LIFE AXD TIMES OF able position until the congregations were brought to order. When, in spite of his decided remonstrance at the synodical meeting of the following year (Oct. 19th), he was again elected "praeses" and the brethren congratulating him offered their hands, he refused to take them. Certainly, he had in those times work enough on hand in taking care of the field of labor in Philadelphia and of his country congregations, among which he made it a rule to appear at least once in six weeks, and for the rest had undertaken to provide for them as best he could. But synod had no man who could command the respect which he enjoyed among all the congregations, and who could exer- cise an equally strong and happy influence. At the meeting of synod in 1762 two Swedish pastors — A. Borell of Wilming- ton and J. Wicksell from Raccoon, N. J. — were present besides Wrangel, and all three actively participated in the German public services. J. Sam. Schwerdfeger, whom we mentioned on a former occasion, was at that meeting of synod received into the ministerium. He underwent an examination and laid satisfactory testimonials before synod. It appears that he was ordained, not in Europe, but by some " orthodox " pastors in this country ; which ordination synod acknowledged. These pastors seemed to have been stationed in the neighborhood of York, but were not members of synod. The ordination may have taken place soon after Schwerdfeger's arrival in this country. HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 373 CHAPTER XXIII. 1762 et seq. New York and Germantown claim the attention of synod. — ^J. N. Kurtz for a time at Germantown. — Rev. J. A. Krug and Rev. J. L. Voigt amve. — Voigt elected pastor at Germantown.— The congregation reunited with synod. — Succeeding pastors. — Arrival of Rev. J. Fr. Schmidt and Rev. J. H. Chr. Helmuth.— Origin of St. Peter's Church at Barren Hill. — Difficulties in its progress. — Muhlen- berg's embarrassment and release. — The Solms-Roedelsheim legacy. — Muhl- enberg's plan to establish an orphan-house and a seminary for the education of pastors. — His care of all the congi-egations connected with synod. — Re- peated visits at Reading, Tulpehoken, Cohansey, the Raritan, and other con- gregations.— J. G. Jung. — Christian Streit. — Baron Stiegel. — Rev. J. G. Eager. — Rev. Chas. F. Wildbahn. — Extent of synod. — J. C. Stoever in membership with synod. AMONG the subjects engaging the attention of the synod- ical meeting in 1762 was the condition of the German Lutheran congregations at New York and at Germantown. Rev. J. S. Gerock was prevailed upon to pay a visit to New York which subsequently led to his being called there, as we formerly learned. The Germantown congregation, as we know, was from 1753 divided into two parts. The smaller one, remaining faithful to Handschuh and the synod during the congregational revolution going on there, had been attended to, after Handschuh's removal to Philadelphia, as well as the Philadelphia and other pastors could do it. In the other congregation, which was under the care — or the care- lessness— first of Andreae, afterward of Rapp, and which had possession of the church and the parsonage, in the course of years .a reaction began to take place. It seems that some of the members of Rapp's party joined the other and better side. At the synod of 1762 more than one hundred Lutheran fam- ilies of Germantown and the neighborhood petitioned for a 374 LIFE AND TIMES OF pastor and regular services. Synod, fully understanding the importance of the situation, resolved to send J. N. Kurtz there as the proper man at that time to take charge of the Lu- theran interests at Germantown. Muhlenberg himself laid (June 26th) the case before the Tulpehoken congregation, who were opposed to Kurtz leaving them, and succeeded in receiv- ing their assent to the temporary absence of their beloved pas- tor ; they also resolved to leave the parsonage unoccupied during the interval. After some time, however, J. N. Kurtz's younger brother, William, whom we met before, moved into it, and served the congregation during his brother's absence. He had from 1745 to 1750 been educated in the Halle Or- phan-House, and had then until 1754 attended the Halle Uni- versity lectures on various branches of theology. We know that after his arrival in this country, in 1754, he was for a time under Muhlenberg's tuition, in 1757 began pastoral labors at Tohicon, was ordained at the synodical meeting at Lancaster in 1 76 1, and entered in 1763 upon his work as pastor at New Holland and its vicinity. Surely, J. N. Kurtz performed a good work at Germantown. The genuine Lutheran elements there took courage. The German Reformed congregation kindly granted to such Lu- therans the free use of their house of worship whenever cir- cumstances permitted. But it needed the strong arm of the civil court to settle some of the questions at issue between the two parties. It seems that some of those who for a number of years had held to Rapp, but now forsook him in disgust, claimed the right of burying in the cemetery belonging to the church ; this right Rapp and his adherents disputed. The con- troversy became so exciting that the opponents of Rapp formed the plan of forcibly ejecting him from the church and the pulpit on a Sunday ; which plan did not at all meet with the assent of Muhlenberg. The questions laid before court embraced the right not only to use the cemetery, but also the use of the church. The decision given April 12, 1763, granted to the petitioners the right to have possession of the key and to be entitled to use the church mornincfs and afternoons alter- I/EXI^y MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 375 nately with the other party. Sunday, April 17th, in the after- noon, Miihlenberg, though he had been informed that some ill-willed people intended grossly to insult him, went to the Germantown church and preached there. He preached again on Sunday morning, April 24th, to a very large and attentive assembly. The difficulties, however, were not totally removed by the decision of the court. Each party wanted to have sole and exclusive possession. March 27, 1765, Mi^ihlenberg learned that both sides had agreed to submit the matter to four arbi- trators. The final decision came when, July 12, 1765, both parties, in consequence of an agreement, held an election in the presence of two justices of the peace. The candidates nominated were Rapp and Rev. J. L. Voigt. The latter had arrived, with Rev. J. A. Krug, from Halle, April i, 1764, and in June of the same year had been appointed by Muhlenberg, praeses of synod, to serve the Lutherans at Germantown and at Barren Hill, a locality which we shall hereafter mention. The result of the election — which result surprised the whole community — was that Rapp did not receive one vote, while one hundred and thirty-five heads of families elected Voigt. This ended Rapp's scandalous career in Germantown. Now the Lutherans deserving this name were again in legitimate possession of the church. J. Nich. Kurtz had returijed to Tulpehoken. Voigt at once began his labors in the Ger- mantown congregation, but continued only until Dec. 8th of the same year, when he moved to New Hanover, and served also Zion Church, west of the Schuylkill, formerly under the care of Jacob van Buskirk, who in December, 1765, took Voigt's place at Germantown. Already in May, 1763, J. N. Kurtz, then stationed at Germantown and Barren Hill, report- ed to Mi^ihlenberg, on his return from a visit to his country congregations, that by his agency, assisted by Provost Wran- gel, the conservative, faithful part of the Germantown congre- gation had been moved to adopt and subscribe to the constitu- tion adopted in St. Michael's. The successor of Van Buskirk from 1769 to 1786 was Rev. John Fr. Schmidt (born 1746), who with his devoted friend, Rev. Justus H. Chr. Helmuth 3/6 LIFE AND TIMES OF (born 1745), had arrived in this country from Halle April 2, 1769. Under him as a pastor the congregation increased, though the times were warlike and Germantown (Oct. 7, 1777) became the field of battle. During this stormy period Schmidt had to leave Germantown. Muhlenberg says in his diary (Jan. 21, 1778) : " We had a welcome visit from our brother, Rev. Schmidt, formerly pastor at Germantown, but for some time without any engagement and a fugitive, his congregation being scattered and deprived of their means of subsistence. Schmidt sojourns with his family at the present time at Upper Milford, in the house of a Jew converted to Christianity and baptized. He narrates to us various dread- ful and distressing events." It was the time during the war when the English had temporarily made themselves masters of Philadelphia. Schmidt, having returned to Germantown after their retreat, greatly encouraged his people and took care of a number of outposts. When, in 1784, Dr. Kunze was called to New York, Dr. Schmidt was elected Dr. Hel- muth's colaborer in the Philadelphia congregation, and with him fraternally continued to do the work of the common Master until May 16, 181 2, when he was called to his rest. Helmuth was considered the more powerful and popular preacher; Schmidt was a man of profound scholarship in the- ology, literature, and languages ; both received the title of D. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Helmuth resigned his office — which he had held forty years — in 1820, and died in 1825. Schmidt's successor at Germantown was Rev. J. F. Weinland, born at Roemhild in Prussian Saxony. After studying theology at Halle (1769-72) and serving as private tutor and assistant preacher he was sent in 1783 to Pennsyl- vania by the directors of the Halle institution, the last mis- sionary sent from that place. He left Germantown in 1789, served (1789-95) at New Hanover, and became involved in dif- ficulties, and after that his name disappears from the ministe- rial list. His successor at Germantown for a period of twenty- two years was Rev. Fred. Dav. Schaeffer, after the death of Schmidt called to the Philadelphia congregation. During his HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 2)77 official term at Germaiitown the English language occasion- ally came into use in the public services of the congregation. The disturbance of the Germantown congregation during 1753 led to the formation of a new Lutheran congrega- tion near Whitemarsh, about twelve miles north of Philadel- phia, where, on a sandy hill called Barren Hill, a church, St. Peter's, was erected, which gave unexpected anxiety and dis- tress to Mijhienberg and some of his friends. In that neigh- borhood Germans had been settled for a number of years; some of them had been in the membership of the Germantown church. When, in 1755, Handschuh moved to Philadelphia and no hope was entertained that the Germantown congre- gation— then, under Rapp, having possession of the church- building and the cemetery — would ever return to the synod or be reunited with the Philadelphia congregation, some Luther- an and German Reformed families bought on that sandy hill, where the roads from Philadelphia and Germantown meet, an acre of land for the erection of a school-house and for a place of burial. The deed is dated May 14, 1758. Both par- ties united in building the school-house, which was used not only for school purposes, but occasionally for public services held by Lutheran pastors. Some heads of families, formerly elders of Germantown, attached themselves to this new enter- prise. It was soon discovered that the school-house was entire!}' too small for public services. In 1759, Christopher Raben of Whitemarsh, Wighard Miiller, and Chr. Jacobi of Germantown informed Muhlenberg at Providence that they intended to erect at Barren Hill a church which was to be under synod and in connection with the Philadelphia congre- gation. They expected financial assistance from Europe, but were told that from that source they could at the utmost receive, possibly, fifty pounds. Chr. Raben bought an addi- tional piece of ground (not quite an acre), elected Rich. Peters, Wrangel, Muhlenberg, and other gentlemen — some of them formerl}' members of the Germantown congregation — trustees, transferred the deed to them, and appointed the parochial teacher, Selig, accountant for the building expenses. The 3/8 LIFE AND TIMES OF erection of the church began, but at the same time the clamor for money. Muhlenberg was the man who was expected to help by sending through the united congregations collecting- agents with testimonials given by him. In the building of the church the Reformed had no share. Under pressing neces- sity Raben and three of his associates created, June 30, 1760, an interest-bearing debt of one hundred pounds, and June 4, 1761, another debt, of two hundred pounds. Before the roof was put on the building Muhlenberg and Wrangel were urged time and again to preach between the bare walls. Raben tried to help himself out of his difficulties by the instrumen- tality of a letter}- — in those times a means often used to raise funds with which to erect houses of worship. He realized thereby about fifty pounds. In 1763 the church was under roof, but the debts had increased and there was no security for their payment. When (June ii, 1764) Raben and Selig laid the whole account before the trustees, no one was will- ing to make himself responsible for the debt. Public services were continued by Wrangel and Muhlenberg, and, the attend- ance being large, an impression was thereby made upon the decreasing Rapp party at Germantown, about six miles dis- tant, and the credit of the Halle pastors began to rise. When, in February, 1765, one of the creditors wanted his loan of tw^o hundred returned, and other debts were to be paid, an- other loan, of three hundred pounds, was made in Philadel- phia, for which Henry Keppele gave bonds. There was now an interest-bearing debt of four hundred pounds, to which other obligations — for building material, etc. — had to be added. When the Germantown congregation was again united with synod, a number of members who for a time had assisted Barren Hill returned to their former congregation, which was nearer to their homes. This increased the Barren Hill difficulties. Raben and his friends thought of extricat- ing themselves by sending a church-officer and the teacher Selig as collecting-agents to Europe, and to strengthen their bonds b)^ recommendations to England through Rich. Peters, to Sweden through Wrangel, to Germany through Miahlen- H£X/^:y MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 379 berg, and by testimonials from the gov^ernor of Pennsylvania. At a conference held in Philadelphia, March i, 1765, the pre- liminaries for this plan, inclusive of a constitution of the con- gregation, were resolved upon, and Raben and his friends rejoiced; but a reaction set in, and for various and strong reasons the plan was dropped. Another meeting took place Mar. 13, 1765. With tears in their eyes Raben and his asso- ciates insisted upon the carrying out of the collecting-plan, and Raben finally made the threat that unless he was extri- cated from his embarrassing condition he would sell the church to " any sect, even to the Papists." Finally, in this crisis Keppele, Wrangel, and Muhlenberg each obligated himself for one-third of the debt. Of course this noble act caused much rejoicing at Barren Hill. Miihlenberg addressed Rich. Peters, then in England, also Ziegenhagen at London, Francke at Halle, and others, in behalf of the needy congre- gation at Barren Hill. A collection in the Anglican Church for a non-conformist congregation was not allowed in Eng- land, but the archbishop of Canterbury sent twenty guineas out of his private means. In the Lutheran churches at Lon- don impediments were found, and in Sweden some prejudices had been excited against Wrangel, who made his appeals there through letters sent by pastors under his own superin- tendence. Muhlenberg was greatly embarrassed by a Re- formed creditor who in 1766 wished his loan of one hundred pounds, with fifteen pounds' interest, paid to him, and threat- ened to bring the matter before court. Under these circum- stances Muhlenberg had a transfer made of the ground and buildings at Barren Hill by deed to St. Michael's corporation at Philadelphia, so as to afford a legal protection. On Dec. 9, 1766, Muhlenberg was obliged to borrow one hundred and twelve pounds on his own personal responsibility to pay the Reformed claimant. He had even considered the advisability of satisfying the claims against him as one of the bondsmen with the rest of his wife's paternal inheritance ; but Mrs. Miihl- enberg— who most probabh' was not ignorant of the fact that already in May, 1762, no less than three hundred pounds of 380 Z//7r AXD TIMES OF her inheiitance from her father, Conrad Weiser, had been con- sumed for the support of the family — very properly interposed the claims of her children, and in this just view of the case would not be moved even by her husband's quoting, " Take they then our life, goods, fame, child, and wife," but on her part quoted verses and gospel words in reply. Wrangel was at that time engaged in building two churches, at Kingsessing and Upper Merion, and H. Keppele was heavily burdened by the very expensive building of Zion Church, then undertaken by the Philadelphia congregation. Some of the creditors had already given into the hands of lawyers the obligations held by them. A lawsuit was averted b\' H. Keppele, who in June, 1768, liberally satisfied some of the most pressing claims. Miihlenberg and his friends paid the interest of other debts, and b)- united efforts removed some of the smaller obligations. It is doubtful how long they would have been able to keep the enemy from their doors. Creditors could unite and at once bring calamity upon the men who, moved by most lib- eral and Christian principles, had taken a great responsibility upon themselves. In those times debtors, though without any moral blemish upon their character, could be sent to prison. But the darkest night is followed by the light of morning.. Muhlenberg had frequently sent petitions to Halle in behalf of Barren Hill. The answer was that the money collected for the Lutheran congregations in Pennsylvania had in these years been used to pay the travelling expenses to America of the missionaries Voigt, Krug, and Chr. Em. Schulze ; there was no money for Barren Hill. But during that year (1768) ninety pounds' worth of the widely-celebrated Halle medicines came to Muhlenberg, with the direction to give of the proceeds sixty pounds as a Halle contribution to the building of Zion Church at Philadelphia, and thirty pounds to extinguish in part the Barren Hill debts. This was some glimmer of help much prayed for, and, indeed, an earnest of better things to come. Aug. 4, 1768, Muhlenberg received from good old Ziegenhagen in London a draft for one hundred pounds HEXRY MELCHIOR mChLE.\BERG. ^ 38 1 sterling, payable at sight in Philadelphia. Now he could discharge his own obligations and those of his friend H. Keppele. When in his diary Muhlenberg arrives at this point in his narrative, he breaks out in praises and thanks to God, who hears the prayers and remembers the cares and anxieties of his children. But not all the burden resulting from the Barren Hill enterprise, carried out by well-meaning men in an inconsiderate manner, was taken away by this most timely assistance : there was yet an interest-bearing debt of three hundred pounds. This difficulty, however, was also relieved in a most unexpected manner. It appears that the Fathers at Halle had told a godly German nobleman, Count Solms-Roedelsheim, of the embarrassed condition in which Muhlenberg and his friends found themselves in consequence of their connection with Barren Hill. Moved by the good Spirit from on high, the count set apart, of a donation of thirteen thousand florins intended for the relief of well-ap- proved indigent Lutheran pastors and teachers in Pennsyl- vania, and to be safely invested for this purpose, three thou- sand florins, for the purpose that with this sum — amounting to about two hundred and eighty-four pounds sterling — the Barren Hill obligations should be satisfied, and that Miihlen- berg, his wife, and his children, should be entirely relieved of all further claims in that matter. The remaining sum, fifty- eight pounds, was by Muhlenberg applied to other interests of the Church needing charitable attention. To prove that the sympathy and the active liberality of the Fathers in Lon- don and Halle, of the noble-minded count, and of other Chris- tian friends bej'ond the Atlantic were fully appreciated on this side of the ocean, the St. Michael and Zion corporation for- mally assigned, for the period of ninety-nine years (Jan. 14, 177 1 ), all the ground, buildings, and appurtenances of the Lutheran church property at Barren Hill to Ziegenhagen and the Rev. Gust. Burgmann at London, and to the doctors and directors, Geo. Knapp (G. A. Francke had died Sept. 2, 1769) and A. Freylinghausen, at Halle, for an orphan-house and school to be established there, and for Lutheran church ser- 382 LIFE AND TIMES OF vices. It was for a long time in the mind of Muhlenberg to establish an orphan-house, and at the same time to use it for the education and the preparation of young men for the min- isterial office. He also thought that old and decrepit pastors might find a refuge in such an institution. That the plan was not executed was not his fault. The Barren Hill congregation was served at first by Miihlenberg and Wrangel — in connection with Germantown by J. N. Kurtz, Voigt, and Schmidt. Fred. Dav. Schaeffer, D. D., served Germantown, Barren Hill. Frankford, White Plain, and Upper Dublin. Barren Hill is now in connection with the Synod of East Pennsylvania. While seriously engaged with the care of the Philadelphia charge, Miihlenberg kept a watchful eye upon all the churches connected with synod. In this he not only performed his duty as praeses of .synod, but followed also the inclination of his heart. If of any one we might say that he was born a missionary, we can say it of him. F'rom time to time, as he had promised, he paid visits to his country congregations, which would not formally release him from his obligations to them. From these he extended, as circumstances required, his tours to Reading and Tulpehoken. He also visited the Lutherans at Cohansey in New Jersey. In 1767 (Apr. 23d) he left Philadelphia and visited the congregations at New Ger- mantown and Bedminster in New Jersey, and Friday, May 1st, was present in New York at the dedication of Christ Church, erected by the Germans, who at that time had ex- tended a call to Gerock. Sunday, May 3d, Muhlenberg preached in the new church on Gen. xxii. 7, 8 ; on Tuesday, May 3d, in the old Dutch church ; left New York the follow- ing day; paid another visit to Bedminster, New Germantown, and " In the Valley;" preached in German and in English, and administered the Lord's Supper to these congregations, which then were vacant, Prizelius having left them in 1766. They tried their best to persuade Miihlenberg to come and spend his old age with them ; the)' even gave him a regular call. Friday, May 15th, he returned to Philadelphia. Again he paid a visit to these New Jersey congregations in February, HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 383 1769, when his oldest son, Peter, was there as a beginner in ministerial work ; on this occasion the son read the Liturgy and his father preached. Peter had won golden opinions, and was unanimously demanded as his father's substitute in the charge. When, in consequence of a call from Virginia in the spring of 1772, Peter had gone to England to receive Episcopal ordination (whereof we shall speak hereafter), his father visited this field in May of that year. His third son, Henry Ernest, had for some weeks instructed there a class of catechumens, and the father now came to finish the course, to examine and confirm them. He also wanted to be released from all further responsibility concerning these con- gregations, and proposed to them, as pastor, Gerock, then in- volved in difficulties at New York. Van Buskirk, also J. Geo. Jung, sent from London by the Rev. Dr. Wachsel (1768), ordained 1770, and Christian Streit, born in New Jersey some miles distant from New Germantown, educated at Philadel- phia, and there prepared by Miihlenberg and Wrangel for the sacred office, after being licensed (1769) by synod, serving during ten years the Lutheran church at Easton, paid them visits. But it appears that the services of none of these men were acceptable. On this tour Mi^ihlenberg was accompanied by one of his daughters, who unfortunately suffered an acute attack of fever. This occasions his remark : " When I had my home in the country my children ran about barefooted and were used to rough ways of living; but since I live in the city they are reared rather delicately, can no longer endure joltings when riding in country wagons and the many changes of the weather, and their wings droop like those of turkeys when they get wet." But he hurried to see and to comfort his sick child. With her he returned (May iith) to Phil- adelphia. In 1762 (Feb. i6th until March 8th) Muhlenberg, during an unusually cold season, visited Providence, New Hanover, Reading — where he had intercourse with his rela- tives and the Rev. B. M. Hausihl — also Heidelberg, Tulpe- hoken, Lebanon, the iron-works of Henry William Stiegel (called Elizabeth Furnace), and Conestoga. In most of these 384 LIFE AND TIMES OF places he delivered sermons and attended to other pastoral duties. On account of the eccentricities of his character Baron Stiegel, as he was called, deserves special mention. He was a member of the Lutherai] Church, appeared as a delegate at synod, and took care of the spiritual wants of the many who were in his employ by erecting a church for them and endeavoring to supply them with pastoral ser- vices. It is said that he was born at Mannheim on the Rhine. About his former life nothing is known, but his manners indicated that he had moved in well-bred society.. When, in 1758, he appeared in Lancaster county, Pa., he established Mannheim on a tract of land bought by him, and besides extensive glass-works, built for himself a splen- did mansion, and in connection with the latter a chapel, in which he himself " was accustomed to conduct divine wor- ship for those in his emplo}\" He also built in Lebanon county, six miles from Schaefferstown, an iron-furnace, and named it, in honor of his wife, Elizabeth. He is said to have driven a team of eight fine horses, to have been accompanied on his journeys by a band of musicians, and to have had a cannon fired whenever he visited his furnaces or returned home. The impression the man and his whole bearing made upon the simple-minded, rigoristic Mennonites and other sects in his neighborhood is reflected in these legends. But, with all this, he was a practical character, and for a time was finan- cially successful. Perhaps undertaking too much in conse- quence of the disturbance of the provincial trade by the unhappy relations with FLngland, he was overwhelmed by misfortune and put in prison as an insolvent debtor, but was set free (Dec. 24, 1774) by a special act of the legislature. Yet in 1783 we trace him to Heidelberg, Berks county. Pa, His further history is shrouded in obscurity, the vague rumors of his having at last served as schoolmaster or having died in the poorhouse not being substantiated. When the dedication of the new church-building at York took place (Sept. 17, 1762), Muhlenberg, though praeses of synod, was glad that his friend Provost Wrangel consented IIEXJ^y MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 385 to be present, as it would have been very unpleasant to him then to appear in that locality. Rev. Raus, of whom we formerly heard, was at that time pastor of the York congre- gation. Prejudiced as he was against Miihlenberg, who in various wa)'s had benefited him, he had in 1 761, at the meet- ing of synod at Lancaster, lodged against Afi-ihlenberg charges of heterodoxy and misconduct, which, as we formerly men- tioned, were handed to Wrangel and Borell as an investigating committee. In an elaborate refutation in writing, still extant, with just and manly indignation and in a perfectly dignified manner Muhlenberg shows the palpable and gross injustice done him by Raus, who persisted in his wrong. His name was then stricken from the roll of synod ; he lost also, in 1763, his position as pastor of the York church. After the act of dedication at York, Wrangel took occasion to extend his tour to Carlisle, thence to Ouitopohilla (Steitstown, later Lebanon), and Swatara Cave (Atolheo, Rehrersburg), and, returning, to preach at Tulpehoken and at Molatton. In the following month the congregational constitution was adopted at Philadelphia. Oct. 22d, Muhlenberg received an invitation to preach in the Episcopal St. Paul's Church, whose pastor, William Macclenachan, already known to us, was then sick. In consequence of his methodistic proclivities he had moved a portion of Christ Church to separate from the mother-con- gregation and to build St. Paul's, in Third street south of Walnut. Muhlenberg laid the invitation before the vestry of St. Michael's, and it was politely and wisely declined. On Dec. 18, 1765, Muhlenberg was visited by the Rev. John Geo. Eager, who was born March 29, 1725, at Nieder- linxweiler, in Nassau-Saarbriicken, had prepared himself for the sacred office at Halle University, and after doing some pastoral service in Germany had arrived at Philadelphia (Oct. 23, 1752) and settled at Conewago (sometimes identified with McAllistertown, later Hanover, York county. Pa.). In that region Rev. David Candler, as we formerly learned, had settled in 1743, and begun — first in his house, then in a log church erected next to it — pastoral work and the organization 25 386 LIFE AND TIMES OF of a Lutheran congregation, but had died in the year 1744. After his decease the Moravian Nyberg tried to creep in there as a pseudo- Lutheran, but met with opposition. In 1747, Mi^ihlenberg found the Lutherans there in complete disorder. Val. Kraft, having succeeded N)-berg in that locaHty, was not calculated to improve the condition. In his presence Hand- schuh preached there (June 2, 1748); he also made arrange- ments that Schaum, whom May 30th of the same year he installed at York, should preach there every fourth Sunday, wherein Schaum appears to have continued until 1752, when Eager, who first had settled at Quitopohilla, was (Dec. i6th) elected pastor, and, March 10, 1753, entered upon that field of labor. He continued serving there until the arrival of Raus, at the same time serving at York those Lutherans who there were still attached to Schaum, until, in 1763, he followed a call to the German Lutheran congregation at New York, where during his term the erection of Christ Church (Old Swamp Church) was commenced. In 1767 he accepted a call to York, and two }'ears later returned to his first field of labor in this countr}', which during his absence had been served by Rev. Chas. Fred. Wildbahn, who, licensed in 1762, resided in that region until in 1782 he was called to Reading. Eager, w^ho also was a member of the ministerium, served a number of neighboring churches, and (1777-85) again that at Han- over. He departed this life June 9, 1791. Muhlenberg's frequent absences from his Philadelphia pulpit evoked some murmurings. On Sunday, April 17, 1763, he preached in the morning at Earrcn Hill, and in the afternoon, for the first time after ten years in consequence of the decree of the civil court in behalf of the original Lutheran congre- gation, and as praeses of synod again opened services in the Lutheran church at Germantown. On the following Sunday morning (Apr. 24th) he again preached there before a very large audience ; and when, in the afternoon, he found St. Michael's Church at Philadelphia crowded, he took occasion before preaching to refer to the murmurings by narrating to the assembly the story of the man who on his way to Jericho HENRY MELCHIOK MUHLENBERG. 387 had fallen into the hands of thieves and then into those of the Samaritan. There was in this an irony which v^ery well suited the man who had absented himself from home, not to seek his own comfort, but to do the work of the King, which at that time especially demanded haste. When, in June, 1763, Muhlenberg paid visits to his country congregations, still under his supervision, he pro- ceeded to Reading and Tulpehoken. In this latter place he had to quiet the minds of the people, dissatisfied with the protracted absence of their pastor, J. N. Kurtz, at German- town. It was resolved that J. N. Kurtz should not be allowed to resign, but should at the usual times come and celebrate the Lord's Supper ; that his brother William should attend to the ordinary Sunday services and casualia ; and that the united pastors not living at too great a distance should from time to time visit there. During such excursions into the country Miihlenberg made it a point to pay special attention to families and to individuals who had shown their fidelity to the Church and derived in sickness or other distress comfort from his visits, exhortations, and prayers. In August of the same year he visited the Lutherans at Cohansey, N. J. When he preached there (Aug. 6th), people came from a distance of ten and fifteen miles. He also held the Lord's Supper on Sunda}^ Aug. 7th ; but before this sol- emn act he had to baptize no less than twenty-two little chil- dren whom parents and friends had brought in that destitute region from far and near, and who now in that overcrowded church annoyingly cried at the top of their voices. On the 19th of the same month he left Philadelphia for Providence, preached there Sunday, the 21st, in German and in English, and celebrated the Lord's Supper. Mrs. Muhlenberg, who had accompanied him, left Monday, the 22d, on horseback for Philadelphia; he, with CatechistVan Buskirk,went to New Hanover, preached there on Tuesday to a large assembly, and started the following day for Reading, where he had to listen to much complaint on account of Hausihl's intended depart- ure for Easton. Miihlenberg pitied the people, who, though 388 LIFE AXD TIMES OF beginners, had liberally erected a church and a school-house, sustained pastor and teacher, built an expensive wall around the cemetery, and now wanted him to come to them and after twenty-one years of hard labor to stay among them and devote himself to the supervision of his family. His mother-in-law and other relatives were settled at Reading. Aug, 27th he rode on horseback twenty miles to Tulpehoken, preached there Sunday, the 28th ; rode in the afternoon, returning, seven miles to Heidelberg, held services there ; and in the evening came again to Reading. Here the vestry handed him a petition to the Fathers in Europe to send them a pas- tor. Sept. 2d he returned to Philadelphia. Oct. 12th we find him again at New Hanover, where he and J. N. Kurtz, his fellow-traveller, met Wrangel and Hegeblad. In agreement with the desires of the congregation, Van Buskirk was then and there ordained a diacoiius, or assistant pastor. Oct. 17th- 1 9th of that same year (1763), synod met in Philadelphia, where Philadelphia, Germantown, Barren Hill, Lancaster, York, Fredericktown (in Md.), Providence, New Hanover, Reading, Tulpehoken, New Germantown and Bed- minster (N. J.), New York (German and Dutch congrega- tions), Hackensack, Remmerspach, Wahlkiel (N. J.), Rhine- beck, Camp, Statesbury, Claverack (N. Y.), Earltown, Cone- stoga. Muddy Creek, Easton, Greenwich (N. J.), Macungie, Heidelberg, Jordan, Indianfield, Saccum, Upper Dublin, Up- per Milford, Allentown, Cohansey, Oley, and Whitendahl, were acknowledged as belonging to the united congrega- tions. Letters and petitions came from Conewa^o, Man- chester, Paradise ; also from Winchester (Va.). Diaconus " Joseph Roth, successor of Raus in Old Goshenhoppen and vicinity, was serving in an acceptable manner at Indianfield, Saccum, and Upper Milford, but died in May, 1764. J. C. Stoever also, whose former associate, Tobias Wagner, had in 1759, with his wife and one daughter, returned to Germany, was at that synodical meeting received into the ministerium. Whitefield also, who then visited Philadelphia, was invited by a committee of synod (Oct. i8th) to be present at the HEXRY MEL cm OR MUIILEXBERG. 389 public examination of the children of the parochial school in St. Michael's. He accepted the invitation, and, though in very feeble health, ascended the pulpit, prayed, and addressed the children, and gave also to the parents words of admoni- tion. A number of Episcopal and Presbyterian clergymen were present, and the church was crowded with English and with German people. Wrangel and Muhlenberg examined the children. 390 LIFE AND TIMES OP CHAPTER XXIV. 1762 et seq. [continued). Pietism and Methodism. — Lutherauism and Episcopalianism. — Progress of the Philadelphia congregation.— Muhlenberg on confirmation. — Relation to pol- itics.— He sends his three sons to Halle. — Handschuh's death. — German Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania.^ — Erection of Zion Church, Philadelphia. — Flourishing condition of the congregation. — Arrival of Chr. Em. Schulze. — He is Muhlenberg's colaborer in Philadelphia. — He follows a call to Tul- pehoken. — Career of Krug, Voigt, Schmidt, Helmuth. — Struggle in later years between English and German in Philadelphia. — Organization of an English Lutheran congregation. IN our times we think it strange that Whitefield, as we nar- rated, was invited to participate in the services and the exercises of the Lutheran congregation. We find it stranger yet that when, in 1769, the large Zion Church, built by the same Lutheran congregation in addition to St. Michael's, was in a condition to be used for public services, Whitefield was invited to preach in it, and that when among the Episcopalians at Philadelphia a vacancy occurred Miihlenberg was invited to fill it and to preach to them. We add that he was also invited to hold public examination of the parochial school at the German Reformed church at Philadelphia, and in conse- quence of a special request delivered the funeral address on the occasion of the decease of the German Reformed pastor, Rev. Steiner. The great fame of Whitefield as a most em- inently-gifted Christian preacher placed him, to an extent, in an exceptional position. He had in later years considerably modified his course of action and his manner of preaching It had formerly been his habit to censure in severe language the clergy of the Episcopal Church, to which he himself be- longed, and to take a position antagonistic to them. When, in HENR \ ' ME L CIJIOR ML ''HLENBER G. 3 9 I 1763, he reappeared in Philadelphia, and also at later visits, he made it a point to entertain friendly relations with Rev. Peters, who had become rector of Christ Church, and with his col- leagues, and used in his sermons much more moderate lan- guage. We have to keep in mind that in small towns, as Philadelphia was in those years, the pastors of the various denominations had occasion to come more frequently into personal contact with one another. It also was a view rather common in those days that the doctrinal distinctions between the Episcopal and the Lutheran churches were of no great account, and the Episcopal Church was frequently called by Lutheran theologians Ecclcsia Lutlicranizans. Muhlenberg's Pietism also, as he had inherited it from Halle, brought him into a certain affinity with all those in whom he noticed the symptoms of a living, personal spirituality, and he had there- fore warm friends not only among Episcopalians — who were to an extent electrified by a man of the power of Whitefield — but also among the Presbyterians who were similarly affected, like the two brothers, Rev. Messrs. G. and W. Tennent. In his intercourse with such men Mi^ihlenberg found some spirit- ual refreshment and encouragement, and the doctrines which formed a high and strong barrier between their respective church bodies were left in the background. But Miihlen- berg and his colaborers, all under the control of the same Pietism, never entertained the idea of a union of the various denominations ; and whenever, as was the case especially on the part of the Episcopalians, approaches were made in this di- rection, they were never encouraged. Yet the presumed affin- ity between the Episcopal and the Lutheran churches in later years proved disastrous not only to the Swedish churches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, but also to Lutheran congregations in New York. Muhlenberg, while he certainly preferred the fervor of Whitefield to the perfunctory manner in which numbers of the clergy of divers denominations here and there performed the duties of their offices, was far from consenting, without considerable restriction, to all the ways and views of Whitefield. He acknowled^red his ardor and his 392 LIFE AND TIMES OF wonderful influence over a large number of souls, who through him were awakened from a condition of indifference and spirit- ual death and brought to Christ. He rejoiced in the results of a powerful preaching of evangelical truth, whoever might be the preacher or the part of Christ's kingdom to which he might belong, just as he rejoiced, and with him his brethren in the sacred office, when members of their flocks would from time to time privately meet in an unostentatious way, unitedly read the word of God, and pray and sing. Such " con- venticles" manifested their interest in sacred truth, and could, if ever an excuse was needed in those times when in many places regular public services were of comparatively rare occurrence, easily be excused. To identify them with the well-known methodistic prayer-meetings would be a great perversion of historical facts, and the old Latin saying. Si duo faciiDit idem, nou est idem, holds good in this case. There still existed between 1780 and 1790 an association in the Lu- theran congregation at Philadelphia, the members of which met from time to time to discuss the Articles of the Augsburg Confession. When we read in the Halle Reports of " prayer- meetings " which Muhlenberg and his associates themselves held in their respective congregations, we must keep in mind that in those services singing of church-hymns, reading of the Scriptures, a practical exegesis of the portion read, and prayers by the officiating minister took place. No one could be more opposed to a loose, haphazard way of holding public services than was Muhlenberg. Those applicants for the ministerial office to whom congregations were to be entrusted had to prom- ise a strict adherence not only to the doctrines of the Lutheran Church, but also to the liturgical form of worship adopted by synod. The looseness of a subsequent period in these questions of doctrine and forms of worship was totally antagonistic to the principles maintained by Muhlenberg. He could not but admire the talent and the spiritual gifts of Whitefield, but unhesitatingly states that he was shocked by his denial of regenerating grace in baptism. Pietistic liberalism allowed him to use more freedom in practical interdenominational HK-A'Jiy MELCHIOR iVUHLENBERG. 393 relations than appears compatible with his strict Lutheran convictions, but the question arises whether, without that Pietistic element in his spiritual framework, he would have been that warm-hearted, self-denying, energetic, and humble servant in the cause of the Master. Pietism was indeed the form under which in those years warm-hearted godliness almost exclusively existed in Germany. Those who were animated by it knew its strong points by experience, and, as may be expected, were rather shortsighted as to its weak ones. It was the living source from which then proceeded most works of Christian charity, missionary enterprises, care of the orphans, the spreading of the Bible among the masses of the people, and instruction of the neglected. To this school, if we may so call it, Muhlenberg belonged. He could not absolutely escape the influence of its weaker points ; its strong ones never found a worthier or a more energetic and success- ful representative. The presence of Muhlenberg in the Philadelphia congrega- tion proved more and more a blessing. After the adoption of the new constitution, the church, as to its outward adminis- tration, was on a solid basis. The spirit which in 1/53 had produced a rebellion in the neighboring Germantown had to a large extent died out. The rehabilitation of genuine Lu- theranism in that locality in 1763 could not but have a bene- ficial effect upon Philadelphia and upon other places. Miihl- enberg had all right-minded people on his side. His judi- ciousness fully secured to him the respect also of those who, led on b}' Handschuh, had opposed the framing and adoption of a new congregational constitution. Of personal enmities or of insults offered him by evil-disposed and foolish people he made no account, and comforted one who complained to him about a pasquinade nailed on his house b\' telling him that he had frequently been the recipient of such honors. His ready judgment and his presence of mind in all contingencies could not but gain him universal respect. It was Sunda}-, Oct. 30, 1763, when, during the afternoon services, a serious shock of earthquake made St. Michael's, which was crowded with 394 LIFE AND TIMES OF worshippers, tremble, the rumbhng noise connected with it and resembhng the quick rolhng of heavily-laden wagons, producing great consternation. The people, frightened by the unusual phenomenon, rushed toward the doors. By remind- ing them that out of doors they might fall into God's hands no less than within, Muhlenberg at once restored order, and resumed the Lord's Prayer, in which he had been engaged. His various attainments and accomplishments were acknow- ledged as occasion was given. When, in 1763, a new organ was furnished St. Peter's Episcopal Church, in the south- ern part of Philadelphia, he was requested to give it a trial. When, in 1764, at the Philadelphia Academy, a cursiis pliysico- expcninciitalis was opened, he was invited to attend the lec- tures. To Germany in the interest of science he sent collec- tions of natural curiosities from America. He took occasion, in a letter written in Latin, to point out to a Danish officer of high standing, who had addressed him in a humoristic manner from the island of St. Croix, the marked distinction between coarse and vulgar wit and humor and the refined Attic. Of his kind-heartedness and charitable inclinations we have already given many and forcible examples. We add that in one of his most private papers we discover that to the son of a teacher of languages at the University of Jena, who had for a time lived as a captive among the Indians, he presented at once a coat, a "camisole," and a shirt. What Mrs. Mi^ihl- enberg said to these and similar acts we do not know, but we are sure that she could have added numbers of such instances. At her request he began in February, 1764, to write his auto- biography. Whether that description of his life which leads us up to the beginning of his activity in Pennsylvania, and is given to the public by Rev. Dr. W^illiam Germann, now super- intendent of the diocese of Wasungen, Sachsen-Meiningen, through Messrs. Brobst, Diehl & Co. at Allentown, Pa. (1881), is a part of that autobiography, or all that he ever finished of it, we are unable to say. As a pastor who did not neglect the cum spccialis he took, in the year 1764, much interest in a criminal who, as a murderer, was condemned to capital IIEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 395 punishment, and whom he carefully prepared for his terrible end. We also find that the question of the rite of confirma- tion seriously engaged the mind of Muhlenberg. Elaborately he takes up in his diary of June 24, 1764, all those objections which then already from various quarters were raised against confirmation, and which he had discussed in an address before the congregation, taking as his text Rom. ix. 4. He refers to the fact that what is given to children in holy baptism by divine grace is in most cases, under various co-operating causes, not developed into personal appropriation, but rather lost. " Some object," he says, " to our Lutheran way of try- ing to influence the mind in early years, and think we had better wait until an impulse from within makes itself felt." Muhlenberg energetically rejects this view, and says that while waiting for a spontaneous movement souls might grow cold, and even die. Young persons in the second septen- ary of their life he finds already exposed to many evil influ- ences and great dangers, yet in a condition to receive good impressions and to be approached and placed under the influ- ences of the Holy Spirit. To the objection that persons of that age are superficial and giddy and wanting in proper judg- ment, he answers that at no time and in no condition the nat- ural man " receiveth the things of the Spirit of God," but that God has given us the means of grace to operate through them upon the natural man, and that the sooner this is done the bet- ter, since young trees may be bent much easier than old ones. He appeals to the testimony of the adult and the aged to prove that those words and truths of the Scriptures which in youngest years have been properly implanted are most firmly fixed in the mind and form a basis for the instruction of catechumens. It was true, as some objected, that very fre- quently the good impressions received in earlier years are soon effaced and the good promises forgotten, and that sin and guilt thereby are increased. Admitting the fact, he says that the cause of this deplorable condition is very often persons who, indifferent about their own souls, wantonly destroy what others have planted ; but this certainly does not prove that 396 LIFE AXD TIMES OF no spiritual care should be taken of the souls of the young, neither that all the good received by them is lost. Throughout all the voluminous diaries and the extensive correspondence which Muhlenberg left to posterity it cannot escape our observation that he was exceedingly careful as to remarks referring to the politics of the times and the land and the province in which he lived. The period from 1763 to 1766, and much more that from 1770 to the end of the War of Inde- pendence, was one of great political excitement in all the North American provinces, and especially in Pennsylvania. The outrages committed in 1763 by the Indians in the inte- rior of the province had provoked a very excusable hatred. The Quakers, still exercising, with their sympathizers in peace principles, a considerable influence in provincial politics, con- tinued to oppose military measures. Of the want of ener- getic action caused by that influence the Indians made ter- rible use. In giving vent to revengeful feelings a number of men from Lancaster — known as the " Paxtang Rangers " — murdered (Dec. 13, 1763) some Indians at Conestoga, and others (Dec. 27th) in the workhouse at Lancaster. These acts were undeniably riotous. The government was help- less against the bloodthirsty Rangers. They, knowing that already in November, 1763, a number of Indians coming from Moravian mission-stations in Pennsylvania had been sheltered in Philadelphia, and suspecting that many of them were such as had committed murder and outrages of all sorts, in the beginning of February, 1764, moved toward Philadelphia and menaced the city, to the utmost terror of the inhabitants. In those dark days, even, some few Quakers, under the pressure of circumstances, were, to the great delight of the juveniles in Philadelphia, seen marching about with sword and gun. The worst was hap- pily avoided, and peace was restored. The object of the march to Philadelphia was, however, of much wider scope than to take revenge on the Indians. A material change in the government, which had been in the hands of a com- paratively few influential men, chiefly Quakers, was desired, HEXRY MELCHIOR ML'HLEXBEKG. 397 and a larger representation of the people in the Assembly was demanded. This desire was supported by the injudicious manner of dealing with the Indians pursued by the govern- ment. All the questions involved in this difficulty were acri- moniously discussed on both sides in a flood of pamphlets. Military measures taken in 1764 at last struck terror into the Indians in Pennsylvania. When, in the autumn of this year, efforts were made to reduce the Quaker element in the As- sembly, and to elect men who in questions of war or of peace would not neglect the first duty of every government — to de- fend its subjects against hostile attacks — the members of the German Lutheran Church at Philadelphia also took a lively interest in this movement, the more so as Henry Keppele, one of their number and treasurer of the congregation, was pro- posed as a member of the Assembly, with a fellow-delegate, to represent the cit)- of Philadelphia in that body. It seems that in this election Muhlenberg was not permitted to exercise a " masterly inactivity " or to remain neutral. He writes under Oct. 2d : " They invited me to the city-hall that I might depos- it my vote, since the other clergymen had handed in theirs. I went there, but returned." He probably found too great a throng of people and no chance to vote. He continues : " In the evening I was again called from home to give my vote as a citizen in favor of two nominees of the city for the Assem- bly. There was, however, such a crowd that only as late as after ten o'clock could I deposit my vote." Under date of Oct. 3d he says : " There was this day both great rejoicing and great exasperation in this city in the political sphere, since it was reported that the German church people had gained a victory, having elected our trustee, Mr. Henry Keppele, to the Assembly — a thing which very much pleased the friends of the gentlemen Proprietors, but greatly exasperated the Qua- kers and German Moravians. It is reported that, as old as Pennsylvania is, there was never such a mass of people assem- bled at an election. The English and German Quakers, with the Moravians, Mennonites, Schwenkfelders, formed one party, and the English of the High Church [Episcopalians], the Pres- 398 LIFE AND TIMES OF byterians, the German Lutherans, and Reformed joined the other party, and prevailed in the election — a thing hereto- fore unheard of" This is one of the few passages found in Muhlenberg's diaries alluding to political life and struggles. About the dissatisfaction arising in Pennsylvania on account of the unwillingness of the Proprietaries to share in the bur- den of taxes laid upon all real estate, and about the much more consequential dissatisfaction directed against the Stamp Act passed by the home government in 1764, and calling forth throughout the American provinces the cry, " No representa- tion, no taxation !" — a principle on which, finally, the Decla- ration of Independence rested — Miihlenberg apparently enter- tains an intentional silence. When, after the repeal of the Stamp Act (1766), a day of thanksgiving was celebrated in many localities, especially in Philadelphia, Miihlenberg had the sermon preached by him on the occasion published with the title, A tcstiuiony of tlic goodness and the zeal of God tozvard his coveiuDii people in the old and neiv times, and of the ingrat- itude of his people toivard him, given at the occasion of the thanksgiving in consequence of tJie repeal of the Stamp Act, Aug. ,1, 1766, by the Rev. H. Miihlenberg. Philadelphia: H. Miller. Unfortunately, no copy of this pamphlet could be discovered by us. Here and there the political events give Muhlenberg occasion to make remarks of a religious character and to acknowledge the hand of a guiding or a chastising Providence, but he is careful not to identify him- self with political party views. May we in the decided posi- tion taken by his sons see a clue to the feelings and the con- victions of the father ? These sons were, however, destined — at least, for a time — to be his colaborers in the work of the Church. One of them followed that calling throughout his life; the two others, under the influence of the stirring times in which they lived, were irresistibly drawn into the political arena, and both of them served their country with much honor to themselves and to the family — one in the military, the other in the administrative department. In the private documents left by Muhlenberg we often meet HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 399 with expressions of sorrow and pain that under the never-end- ing pressure of official duties and in consequence of his fre- quent absences from home it was impossible for him to pay to his family and children that attention which under other conditions he most willingly would have given them. This he felt as a most serious matter, especially concerning" his sons. When, in 1761, he had moved to Philadelphia, better facilities of higher instruction were offered. On the other hand, the moral and social dangers were increased, and with the increase of the demands now made upon the father's time and strength his ability properly to attend to the education of his sons proportionally decreased. He himself had received his education in Germany, the land of his birth. He was con- vinced that the opportunities offered there he could in his time neither find nor expect here. He entertained a verj- exalted view of the institutions at Halle, the directors of which, the " Fathers," he held in the highest esteem, while he was con- vinced that the organization of those institutions of learn- ing, the discipline firmly executed in them, the religious spirit •permeating them, the educational ,and scientific opportunities afforded there, could not but prove in the highest degree advan- tageous. When teaching there in his younger years he had derived great and lasting benefits, and it was most natural that he desired his children to share in the same blessings. To his inquiries in Halle, where he was kept in loving re- membrance, and his career and successful activity in the dis- tant land found a well-deserved acknowledgment, the most encouraging answer was given, and to his children the most favorable conditions were granted. That the resolution to send away three sons, all of them being in tender years, at the same time from the parental home to a distant land be- yond the ocean could not be taken without the severest strug- gle with natural feelings and inclinations, needs not to be told. It was based upon the consideration that to promote the best interests of the children no sacrifice could be too great for the parents. Wednesday, Apr. 27, 1763, was the day appointed for their 400 LIFE AXD TIMES OF departure. The oldest, John Peter Gabriel, was then in his fifteenth }'ear ; the youngest, Gotthilf Heinrich Ernest, in his tenth year ; the middle one, Frederick August Conrad, in his thirteenth year. In a special visit on Apr. 2 1st the father had commended those three brothers, who were to embark on a voyage of nearly four thousand miles to a country strange to them, to one of the foremost men of the province of Pennsyl- vania, Hon. William Allen, son of a Philadelphia merchant — in 1 741 recorder of his native cit\', and later chief-justice of the province — who, being decidedly adverse to the revolution- ary movement, left for England before the outbreak of the war, and died at London in 1780. He received Muhlenberg most kindly, and cheered the father's heart by promising to keep a watchful e\e on the three boys. Muhlenberg also visited the ship in which the\^ were to cross the Atlantic, and spoke to Captain Budden in their behalf. He also furnished his sons with letters of introduction to friends at London and at Eimbeck, and to the Rev. Dr. Francke and other acquaint- ances in Halle. ProVost Wrangel also furnished letters of recommendation to his correspondents at London, Messrs. Andrew and Charles Lindegren, merchants. From London the young brothers were to be forwarded to Hamburg, and were thence to proceed, by the way of Eimbeck, to Halle ; all of which programme was successfully carried out under the guidance and the protection of a kind Providence. On the appointed day Miihlenberg and his wife and children solemnly took farewell of the sons and the brothers. He sent up a fer- vent pra\'er in their behalf to the throne of grace. Wrangel, w^io, as an intimate friend of the family, was present on the occasion, also addressed them and pronounced a benediction upon them. The mother accompanied the children to the ship, which left port at four p. M., and arrived safely at London June 15th. Among the passengers were two near friends of the family — a son of Mr. Keppele, Henry Keppele, Jr., and Mr. Justus Frederick Meyer. We can easily present to our minds the anxiety of the parents until news came of the safe arrival of the boys at their destination. /lEXJ^y ME L CHI O J? MUHLEXBERG. 40I We remember that just about the time of the departure of his sons Muhlenberg's mind was greatly troubled by the agitation going on in the Philadelphia congregation. We also know that through the personal influence and the judi- cious steps of Muhlenberg the question of the constitution of the same was happily solved. Tuesday, Oct. 9, 1764, Hand- schuh, MiJhlenberg's colleague in the service in the Philadel- phia church, departed this life, after a protracted sickness, in his fift}--first year. He had been a man of many good qual- ities, and had had his heart in the sacred work entrusted to his care ; but he was too much under the sway of morbid feelings, was easily irritated, was controlled by the narrowest Pietistic conceits, was lacking in the knowledge of human nature and in judgment, and — compared with the whole intellectual and spiritual frame of Muhlenberg — in all direc- tions was of infinitely smaller proportions. Muhlenberg treated him with becoming fraternal respect and kindness, attended him during his sickness, and was with him at mid- night when the brother seemed to be near his end. Amid Muhlenberg's prayers he fell asleep at six in the morning of Oct iith. His mortal remains were taken to their last rest- ing-place, in front of the chancel of St. Michael's Church, where also those of Heintzelmann and Brunnholtz were de- posited. At a later time tablets of marble were erected in the church in memory of these three pastors and of Muhlenberg. At the funeral services of Handschuh much respect was shown to the deceased and to the congregation he had served. The English academy was represented by two doctors of divin- \ty and two professors ; the Episcopal Church, by three pas- tors ; the Presbyterian by two. The minister of the Baptist congregation was present with one missionary of the Swedish Church and two of the German Reformed. Even Whitefield, though seriously ailing, accompanied the funeral in a carriage. Of Lutheran ministers there were present, in addition to Muhl- enberg, Hartwig and Voigt. The German address in St. Michael's was delivered by Voigt, Muhlenberg following in English. On the following Sunday, Muhlenberg took occa- 26 402 LIFE AXD TIMES OF sion in his sermon on i Cor. iv. 1,2 to refer to his departed colleague, whose mortal remains rested in front of the pulpit on which he stood. He also alluded to the two others rest- ing there side by side with Handschuh, and urged the con- gregation, each for himself, to ask what use he had made of the services of these servants of the Lord. We should re- member that a short time before the death of Handschuh the plan of a new constitution had greatly agitated the congrega- tion. Miihlenberg, starting with the admonition of St. Paul to the Corinthians to lay aside party strife and to preserve the union of the Spirit, at that solemn moment took occasion to impress upon his hearers the necessity of mutual forbearance and good understanding. He also read before the congrega- tion an elaborate biographical sketch of the deceased brother, which is preserved to us in the twelfth continuation of the Halle Reports. Upon the death of Handschuh the whole pastoral care of the congregation devolved exclusively upon Miihlenberg; That he should carry this burden alone was not to be ex- pected. The congregation had of late been rapidly increas- ing. This was due, among other causes, to the swelling tide of immigration from Germany, which during the political struggle between England and France before 1760 — in which year (Sept. 8th) Montreal. Detroit, and all Canada were sur- rendered to England by France — had been very much re- duced, but was now resumed with renewed vigor. The ques- tion how to provide for more extended accommodations for church-goers could no longer be avoided. Sept. 13, 1763, the vestry had resolved that as soon as all the debts I'esting on St. Michael's Church were paid a new church-building should be erected, both churches to belong to one and the same congregation. To the graveyard surrounding St. Mi- chael's a contiguous piece of ground was also added. At the meeting of the vestry on Jan. 12, 1764, it was stated that St. Michael's gave hardly sufficient room to two-thirds of the members of the congregation, and that it was like " an over- stocked beehive." No less than three or four hundred chil- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 4O3 dren had been baptized in one year. The disposition of the seats in the pews of St. Michael's had become a very trouble- some thing. On the same day it was resolved that every Sunday morning public services should be held in the church and in the school-house. In 1766 there were no less than one hundred and twenty-seven catechumens to prepare for con- firmation, and sometimes four hundred communicants ap- peared at the Lord's Table. It was plain that one minister could not satisfy the necessities and demands of the congre- gation, and on Oct. 22, 1764, two weeks after the death of Handschuh, it was resolved b\' the vestry to petition the Fathers in Europe to send another missionar}', who might serve the congregation as a colleague of Mi^ihlenberg. One of the results of the unparalleled increase of immigration from Germany at that time was the formation, in 1764, of the " German Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania," which held its first meeting — and for j'ears following many others — in the school-house of the Lutheran congregation, on the day after Christmas, 1764, Henry Keppele being elected presi- dent: it received its charter Sept. 20, 1 78 1. Its most import- ant object was to counteract the frauds and barbarities in those times habitually practised by shippers upon helpless emigrants, and to assist them at the time of their arrival in Pennsylvania. The history of this society from 1764 until 1876 is given in a very interesting and exhaustive manner in a work by Prof Dr. O. Seidensticker of the University of Pennsylvania (published by I. Kohler, Philadelphia, 1876). During the year 1764 the plan of enlarging St. Michael's Church was frequently discussed inside and outside of the vestr}' of the Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia. If it had ever been carried out, it would have been very unsatisfactory. We might think that the organization of a second Lutheran con- gregation and the erection of another church-building intended for its use would have obviated the difficulty and have been the most feasible thing, but there was no inclination in this direction. During the summer of 1 763, Hartwig had a num- ber of times preached to Lutherans in the German Reformed 404 LIFE AXD TIMES OF church, saying that he wanted to serve only those who found no room in St. Michael's ; but his proceeding in this matter, acting without consultation with the pastors and the vestry of St. Michael's, appeared very offensive, and the permission to use the German Reformed church for his separatistic agi- tation was soon withdrawn. B. M. Hausihl, who for a time, in the autumn of 1763, had served the congregation at Read- ing, entered upon his duties as pastor of the church at Easton, Pa.., and at Greenwich, in its neighborhood, in New Jersey. With both these congregations he had involved himself in difficulties, and at the beginning of July, 1765, came to Phil- adelphia as having received a call from the anti-Pietistic por- tion of the Lutheran congregation there. A resolution passed by the vestry on July 15th prohibited him from preaching in St. Michael's and serving at funerals in the graveyard of the congregation. He nevertheless in August brought his family and his furniture to Philadelphia, where soon afterward his mother-in-law died, and on Sept. 1st he preached his inaugural sermon. His intention to organize a separate congregation met with no success.* May 4, 1766, Muhlenberg preached the dedication sermon of Trinity Church at Lancaster. The synod, convened at Philadelphia June 9th to 12th, struck Hausihl's name from the ministerial roll — an act done in the absence of Muhlenberg. No plan to organize a second Ger- man Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia could in those times succeed. * It appears from a declaration signed by two members of the German Reformed church, and pubhshed in the Philadelphia Staatsbote of Aug. 5, 1765, that that party of the Reformed Church which erected St. George's Church, in Fourth street, south of New, being unable to carry through Jhe enterprise, now gave " the half of the church " to a certain number of Lutherans ; that they had accepted Mr Hausihl for three years as their pastor and had given him a regular call, but that it was untrue that during this period no Reformed pastor should have a right to preach in the church ; that after three years each of the two congregations might elect a pastor for themselves. It is also stated that the Reformed had before for- mally offered to the Lutheran congregation to build a union church, but the offer was refused. ( Vide also A History of the Reformed Church in Philadelphia, by Rev. David van Home. Philadelphia, Reformed Church Publication Board, 907 Arch street, 1876. pp. 40 sqq.) NEA'Jiy MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 405 Feb. 19, 1766, the vestry of St. Michael'-s Church resolved to buy a piece of ground on the south-east corner of Cherry and Fourth streets, opposite the school-house, and there to erect a large church. The v^ry fact that this lot was only one square distant from St. Michael's proves how much stress was laid upon retaining one congregation. To the resolution of the vestry the congregation gave its unanimous consent. The lot, 108 by 70, was bought for fifteen hundred and forty pounds nine shillings, currency, or four thousand one hundred and six dollars and sixty-six cents. The liberal contributions coming from the members of the congregation during the months of January and Februar}- of 1766 amounted to eighteen hundred Pennsylvania pounds — considering the condition of the people from a financial point of view, an exceedingly large sum. April 25th the vestr}' resolved " solemnh' to lay the corner- stone of the second Lutheran church, to be called Zion Church." Subsequently the vestry added that during the synodical meeting they " would take care of the pastors and of their horses," and "that a steeple should be attached to the church and be built up while her walls were erected." Twenty-two years later the steeple was carried somewhat higher than the lofty roof of the church, but never finished. When synod, in June, 1766, met at Philadelphia, the corner- stone was solemnly laid in its presence on June i ith. In the corner-stone were deposited a copy of Luther's Small Cate- chism printed at Philadelphia, a copy of the Confcssio A^igiis- taua Iiivariata, and a document containing the essentials of the history of the congregation and an address to posterity.* When, in 1869, Zion Church was demolished, the box placed in the corner-stone was found, but of its contents nothing but insignificant remnants were left. This may be attributed to the fire which, on the night of Dec. 26, 1794, devastated all the interior and destroyed the roof of the church. During 1766 the walN of the building had been put under roof, and during the following j-ear the arch-work forming the ceiling * This address is preserved to us in Section II. of tlie tliirteenth continuation of the Halle Reports. 406 LIFE AND TIMES OE was put in place and the plastering of the inside of the build- ing was completed. Originally, two rows of high columns from south to north divided the church into three parts — a plan which, after the conflagration of 1794, was totally changed. This church was for a considerable number of years considered to be the largest and finest house of wor- ship in all North America. Though there were still wanting the organ and a regular set of pews and other appliances, it was dedicated June 25, 1769, before an immense concourse of people and amid the rejoicings of the congregation, which in this great undertaking had shown much fervor and an admirable willingness to serve the cause of religion. In the festivities of that occasion participated the members of the German Lutheran Ministerium, the pastors of the Swedish and German Reformed congregations, the commissary of the Episcopal Church, the provost and faculty of the academy, the mayor of Philadelphia, and other dignitaries. Whitefield accepted the invitation to preach in Zion on Sunday, May 27, 1770, in the evening; his text was 2 Cor. vii. I. He requested that the services conclude with the singing of a German hymn. The last two verses of Nun riihen alle Waelder were sung. The large building was overcrowded. Whitefield died Sept. 30th of the same year. That a debt of more than eight thousand Pennsylvania pounds proved a heavy burden we can easily understand. The flourishing condition of the congregation in those days is attested by the fact that already in 1772 the debts were reduced to fifty-two hundred Pennsylvania pounds. The assistance coming from Europe was in this respect of no great account. The proposition to raise a considerable sum of money by opening a lottery was rejected by the vestry as not being in accordance with Christian principles, though in those times lotteries helped to pay the debts of many a church. In the manner in which the St. Michael and Zion vestry dis- posed of the proposition we may properly trace the influence of Miihlenberg. He was in those years under the pressure of the responsibilities incurred in behalf of St. Peter's at Barren HEXJ^y MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 407 Hill, but there also he had not advocated a measure of such a profane character to extricate the house of God and to free himself from a very embarrassing difficulty. When Zion Church was solemnly dedicated seven years had passed since Muhlenberg's return to Philadelphia. Certainly, the building, which easily accommodated between two and three thousand people, and which in a period of one hundred years offered a place for hundreds of thousands of souls to worship the living God, was a monument also tg the happy and blessed influence which during those seven years he had exercised upon the congregation. That building formed a parallel to that other work wherein within the same period he showed his master-hand — the new constitution adopted in 1762, without which Zion Church probably would never have been built. To this must be added the great unanimity which years before the end of that period, and during years follow- ing it, permeated the congregation, and amply testified to the influence which Miihlenberg exercised by his superior prac- tical intelligence and by the exalted purity of his character. In answer to the petition after the death of Handschuh sent to Halle, Rev. Christopher Emanuel Schulze arrived Oct. 24, 1765, at Philadelphia. After having delivered (Oct. 27th) his inaugural sermon in St. Michael's, he was on the following day unanimously elected by the vestry second pastor of the congregation. Miihlenberg found in him a colleague whom he could respect and love. His marriage with Muhlenberg's eldest daughter, Eve Elizabeth, born Jan. 9, 1748, brought him still nearer to his heart. The marriage ceremony was performed by Wrangel, Sept. 23, 1766. Schulze was born Jan. 25, 1740, at Probstzell, near Saalfeld, Saxony; he had received his theological education at the University of Halle, and had for a few years been one of the instructors in the Orphan-House and scholastic institutions of that city. Hav- ing received the call from Pennsylvania through Dr. G. A. Francke and Dr. Ziegenhagen, he was ordained at Wernige- rode before departing, by the way of Hamburg and London, for America. He was the only son of his mother, a widow, 408 LIFE AND TIMES OF and had an only sister, who died before the mother, who until her end was the object of his filial care and attention. Schulze was a man of very commanding appearance and of a tall, robust frame ; as a preacher he was most acceptable, and as a catechiser was without a superior. When, in 1769, J. N. Kurtz was called to York, Schulze was elected his suc- cessor at Tulpehoken. To this change, perfected January, 1 77 1, the Philadelphia congregation consented only on the condition that in case of pressing necessity he would re-enter upon the pastoral office at Philadelphia. It seems that he preferred living and serving in the country to sojourning in the city. Already, in 1768, Milihlenberg takes occasion to tes- tify to Schulze's excellent horsemanship, and relates that at a later time, in 1782 (Oct. 4th), Schulze made in one day fifty miles on horseback. When, in 1784, Dr. Kunze moved from Philadelphia to New York, the Philadelphia congregation, reminding Schulze of his former promise, sent him such a pressing call that he could not well avoid accepting it. A most critical and protracted sickness interfered, and, Schulze's vitality being for some time greatly reduced, the Philadelphia congregation could not insist upon his removing to the city. He continued in his service at Tulpehoken and other neigh- boring congregations until his death, March 9, 1809. One of his sons, John Andrew Melchior, entered the ministerial office in 1796, and for some time assisted his father; was ordained in 1800, settled at Womelsdorf, Berks county. Pa., retired in consequence of bodily sufferings from the ministerial service ; was in 1806 made a member of the legislature of his native State; and this grandson of H. M. Muhlenberg was twice {1823- 29) elected governor of Pennsylvania. His father had served as president of synod 1781-85 and 1793-94. As a pastor he was indefatigable in his labors. Mi^ihlenberg" here and there takes occasion to testify to his most arduous life, and to the conscientious manner in which, though overwhelmed with work beyond his strength, he attended to his duties. Muhl- enberg preserves to us a letter which Schulze, as president of synod, sent out April 20, 1784. to invite the brethren to HEXA'Y MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 409 the annual convention. We give its substance to our readers : " The time of our yearly meeting is near. I, for one, ah-eady rejoice in the thought of this prospect of coming together. In this joy you, my highly-respected brethren, will share. The office entrusted to us by our Lord being full of impedi- ments and difficulties, let us at our meeting again encourage one another manfully to do our duty and in spite of all oppo- sition to the truth never to become weary. Since on that great day to come we shall have to give before our Chief Shepherd" •an account how we attended to the important duties laid upon us, let us incite one another to renewed faithfulness and seri- ousness, that in the end we may be found faithful stewards. May the Lord, who has all in his hands, bestow upon our con- vention a lasting blessing!" Schulze stood very high in the estimation of his brethren in the sacred office, who honored him by the title of " Senior," and at all times showed him the highest respect, as did the whole community in which he lived. It may be proper here to mention a few more of the cola- borers of Muhlenberg, in whose welfare he took much con- cern, and who in various ways were brought into nearer con- tact with him. One of the pastors of whose sincerity and devotion to the cause of Christ and his Church Muhlenberg entertained a very good opinion, and to whom he often proved a judicious counsellor and a true friend, was John Andrew Krug, born in Saxony, educated in Halle, and before his departure for Amer- ica with his companion, J. L. Voigt, ordained at Wernigerode. In Germany he had already done some pastoral service. After a tedious voyage from London, which he and Voigt had left Jan. 24, 1764, he arrived at Philadelphia on Sunda}- afternoon, April ist, and was welcomed by Muhlenberg and Handschuh. After the removal of Hausihl to Easton the congregation at Reading was left vacant. We find that Krug had begun his pastoral labors there before April 30th, on Easter Day, and continued therein, though a regular call as pastor of the congregation was not given him before the 4IO LIFE AXD TIMES OF autumn of the same year. It appears that he also served the congregation in the vicinit}-, for ah'eady in May of that year Muhlenberg states that Krug began to acquire some skill in riding on horseback. He was, however, not of a robust phys- ical constitution, had a weak voice, and was short-sighted to such an extent that in reading he had to bring his eyes almost down upon the book. But his unaffected humility, his sincere piety, and his zeal for the welfare of those who were entrusted to his care could not fail to gain for him the esteem and the affection of those who were spiritually benefited by his pas- toral services. As a true " Hallensis " he held private devo- tions with such in addition to the usual public service. There were, however, among the membership at Reading in those days some rough and disturbing elements, and they embit- tered his life. In 1769 seventeen members lodged unreason- able complaints against him before synod and demanded his removal ; their demand, however, was outweighed by a counter- petition signed b}' one hundred and six members. It appears that in 1770 some elders of the Lutheran church at Baltimore, afterward served by Gerock, were favorably inclined toward Krug, and had on this account addressed Muhlenberg. In his answer of Sept. 24, 1770, to one of them, Dr. Chas. Fr. Wiesenthal, he says : " Provided Rev. Krug should, accord- ing to the divine will, be the instrument to build up the con- gregation, as the gentlemen elders seem to think, I agree with you in this — that you selected a man of excellent charac- ter, who already served in the sacred office in Germany, in consequence of our urgent petitions was given to this Amer- ican vineyard, free of all expenses, to assist us, presided for some years in the Reading church, teaching pure doctrine and walking without blemish, though he experienced there much rude treatment from some puffed-up persons. In addi- tion to this, I testify from my personal knowledge that he is not onl)^ very well versed in the Oriental languages wherein God's word is written, but in all the branches of theology, and adorns his preaching with a Christian walk and conversa- tion. I count it one of his peculiar gifts that he is eminently HEXR y MEL CHIOR ML 'II L EXBER G. 4 1 1 able, ill catechising and in instructing, to deal in a friendly and edifying manner with young people — a quality most necessary in a teacher. I also say that he is neither a hypo- crite nor a flatterer, but speaks to every one the truth without pre-varication, and is no respecter of persons, high or low. But the difficulty rests in this — that for some time past the elders and deacons of the congregation at Fredericktown have re- quested Rev. Krug to become their pastor, and sent me a call to be laid at the next synodical meeting before the niiniste- rium to be deliberated upon, and to be approved of or dis- approved." This is ample proof of Miihlenberg's good opin- ion of Krug. The action of synod resulted in 1771 in a regular call from the Fredericktown congregation, and in Krug's removal to that field in the same year. Here J. S. Schwerdfeger, who has already been mentioned, had been pastor since October, 1763, after his admission into synod in 1762. After returning from a voyage to Europe, where he had expected to receive Episcopal ordination in England, he found the Fredericktown congregation, which Hartwig had served in the interim, un- willing to re-enter into a connection with him ; moved, after some delay in Pennsylvania, to Albany, N. Y. ; then, about 1784, to the neighboring Feilestown, where he died about 1788, after having in 1786 participated in the formation of the New York Ministerium. In obe}'ing a request of the church-officers at Strassburg, Va., June 15-30, 1772 — consequently, a short time before Peter Muhlenberg entered there upon his remarkable career — Krug undertook a tour to that province, visited Winchester (where he found an unfinished stone church begun by the Lu- therans years before), Neustadt, Strassburg, and Woodstock ; preached at those places, instructed children, celebrated the Lord's .Supper, visited the sick, and baptized forty-five chil- dren. In the same year (Oct. 6th) he was married by Muhl- enberg to Henrietta, only daughter of Handschuh, whose widow died some years later in Krug's house. About the year 1783, in addition to Fredericktown, he served congrega- 412 LIFE AXD TIMES OF tions in its neighborhood, but was hardly strong enough for all this work, and incurred here also, in 1785 and the follow- ing years, the ill-will of some persons, who may have felt themselves aggrieved by his testifying against their unchris- tian manner of living, but was amply sustained against their complaints by the voice of an overwhelming majority of his membership. In spite of serious attacks of sickness and of his general physical debility, he continued in his pastoral activity until the day of his death, May 30, 1796. Synod resolved that Rev. Dr. G. H. E. Muhlenberg, pastor of the Lancaster congregation, son of H. M. Muhlenberg, should, with Goering and Melsheimer, two other members of the ministerium, proceed to Fredericktown and there deliver a funeral sermon. With John L. Voigt, who had come to this country with Krug, and had with him been ordained at Wernigerode, Muhlenberg had in later years much personal intercourse. His preaching in St. Michael's (Apr. 8, 1764) the first time after his arrival made a favorable impression upon a num- ber of the Philadelphia congregation, but he himself made a less favorable one upon Muhlenberg's oldest daughter, who not long afterward refused his proposals. J. N. Kurtz having returned to Tulpehoken, Voigt was stationed at Germantown from July 7, 1764, serving also at Barren Hill, but followed in 1765 a call to Providence, was elected in 1768 at New Han- over, where a certain clique had attempted to palm either the miserable man Rapp of Germantown memory, or the equally despicable individual Engelland, upon the congrega- tion. Voigt served also at Pikestown, on the west side of the Schuylkill. He quitted the service at New Hanover about 1776 and moved to Pikestown, next to Vincent township, where until 1762 Lutherans and Reformed had used the same log church, which then fell exclusively into the hands of the Lutherans. This church was called Zion. In 1772 a num- ber of its members erected, some miles to the south-west of Zion, St. Peter's Church. Zion was rebuilt of stone before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. When Muhlenberg, in HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 413 1776, returned to Providence (Trappe), Voigt moved to a par- sonage erected by the people of Zion and St. Peter's west of the Schuylkill, served also the Lutherans at Pottstown, and alternately with Miihlenberg, about 1778 and 1779, at Prov- idence. This latter congregation he attended yet for some time after 1790, retaining the others until his death, Dec. 28, 1800. He had reached the age of seventy years. His mor- tal remains rest near Zion Church. The inscription on his tombstone informs us that he was born in Mansfeld, well known through Luther's biography. After having finished his theological education, he was for a time engaged as a teacher in the Halle institutions, when the call to Pennsyl- vania came to him. In his ministerial services Voigt proved himself a true son of Halle. When at New Hanover he introduced hours of private devotion among those of his membership who felt a deeper spiritual interest, and in doing this incurred the opposition of such as viewed that practice as a sign of heterodoxy, or at least used it 'as a pretext. He was a man of marked individuality, but was occasionally lack- ing in judiciousness. Already in Germantown he involved him- self in some financial difficulties, as he did not fully under- stand how to " make both ends meet." He fell into a worse difficulty at New Hanover, where, on account of suspicions aroused by his want of circumspection, the people for a time became very averse to him, and Muhlenberg, while not doubt- ing his innocence, found it necessary to address him a letter which was anything but flattering. He advised Voigt to marry, and united him in 1779 (Nov. 1 6th), in his own house, in marriage with Anna Mary, widow of Conrad Soellner. During the War of Independence, Voigt was time and again exposed to the rudeness of the soldiers of the American army encamped not very far from his parsonage. He was consid- ered a Tory, as he refused publicly to pray for the American Congress. At one time he absented himself for three years from the meetings of synod. Later, on account of his ad- vanced age, he was permitted to remain away. His library, which he bequeathed to his congregation, testified to his lit- 414 LIFE AND TIMES OF eraiy tastes. He was well educated in music, and especially in organ-playing. Living in the vicinity of Providence, he was brought into frequent personal intercourse with Muhlen- berg, who here and there in his diary indicates that he appre- ciated the social qualities of his friend and colaborer Voigt. And it was Voigt who during Muhlenberg's last sickness and the days of his approaching end had free access to him, and who spoke to him words of consolation and encouragement. We have already had occasion to speak of those two excel- lent men, John Fred. Schmidt and Justus H. Chr. Helmuth, both of whom arrived April 2, 1769, at Philadelphia. From their school-}'ears they were united by the tenderest ties of friendship, and from 1786 until 18 1 2 — in which year Schmidt preceded his friend into eternity — also by the pastoral care of the Philadelphia congregation. Their most important activity and influence in the Church fall into the period subsequent to Muhlenberg's life, and we have to content ourselves with a few additional notices throwing some light upon their career and character. After his arrival Schmidt assisted Muhlenberg for a short time at Philadelphia, and then followed the call to German- town, serving, also. Barren Hill and some other outposts, which in subsequent years caused him very arduous labor. When, in 1772, Muhlenberg visited the congregations Bed- minster, etc. in New Jersey, which by the removal of his son Peter to Virginia had become vacant, the name of Schmidt was mentioned, among others, as a possible successor. There were objections raised against a number of older and younger brethren whom Muhlenberg proposed. Of Schmidt the mem- bers of the vestry said that " in the pulpit he proved himself a good preacher, but had not salt enough " in his intercourse with the people. He had no desire to move to New Jersey. He was in 1772 married to the daughter of a former elder of the Germantown congregation who resided at Philadelphia, and there died in 1 778. Schmidt enjoyed the high esteem of the congregations under his care. The former dissensions in the Germantown congregation had been succeeded by a bliss- HENR 1 ' MEL CHI OR MUHL ENBER G. 4 1 5 fill peace. When, in 1784, Kunze accepted the call to Clirist Church at New York, and Schulze could not enter upon an official engagement at Philadelphia on account of the precari- ous condition of his health, Schmidt was appointed (June 29, 1785), by the vestry of the Philadelphia congregation, Hel- muth's assistant, and Sept. 1 8th of the following }'ear, b}' fiv-e hundred affirmative votes, was elected second pastor. Thus the friends were made colleagues ; and it seems that this pecu- liar relation' did not in any way interfere with their friendship, though it is said that when both pastors preached, as usual, at the same time — one in St. Michael's, the other in Zion — the people w^ere seen standing on the pavement watching to which church the one or the other would turn, Helmuth invariably attracting the much larger audience. When, in 1770, after the removal of J. N. Kurtz to York, the Tulpeho- ken charge was vacant, and Schmidt paid a visit there during the latter part of August, and then turned his course toward Lancaster, his friend Helmuth came twenty-three miles to meet him. With all his solid learning, his eminent knowledge of Oriental languages, and all his other attainments, Schmidt was not a man much inclined to bring himself forward. It appears that he was of a retiring disposition and not desirous of much public notice, but there were those who knew how to appreciate his substantial erudition and his excellent cha- racter, and to this the title of doctor of divinity, gi\'en him by the University of Pennsylvania, testifies. During the fear- ful ravages of yellow fever at Philadelphia in 1793, when through the pestilence the congregation lost no less than six hundred and twenty-five of its members, he was himself attacked by the terrible disease, besides losing by it seven children, and shortly afterward the partner of his life. In those da}'s of terror and affliction the vestry prohibited the pastors from following funerals to the graves. Thousands of citizens had fled from the city. The two friends and pastors remained at their post, faithfull}' doing their dut}-. After much bodily suffering, Schmidt died May 16, i8l2, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. At the funeral Dr. Helmuth 41 6 LIFE AXD TIMES OF Spoke most affectingly on the words, " I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women " (2 Sam. ii. 26). The second Sunday after burying his friend in front of the chancel in St. Michael's he held a solemn service in Zion, speaking on the words Rom. i. 16. Helmuth, who was born in 1745 at Helmstedt in the duke- dom of Brunswick, lost his father in very early life, was received in his fourteenth year into the Orphan-House at Halle, some years later attended the university there, and was afterward engaged as a teacher in the Francke institu- tions, where his eminent talent for teaching and preaching could not escape observation. When the call to Pennsylvania came, all his hesitation to accept of it was removed by the readiness of his intimate friend, Schmidt, to accompany him. When both had arrived at Philadelphia, and each of them had delivered a sermon, Miihlenberg in a letter to his friend Rev. Pasche at London alludes to the usual curiosity of the people to hear new preachers, and sub rosa communicates to him the popular opinion about both of them : " Concerning Mr. Hel- muth they sa)% ' This youth 'suits America. He will, when riper in years, prove an excellent impressive preacher; in the pulpit he will excel even Mr. Schulze. He must be retained in Philadelphia : three men have enough work here ; the old man [Muhlenberg] must be placed in an easier position.' Of Mr. Schmidt they say, ' He is also a promising young man, but does not come up to Helmuth. He stands in the pulpit like a stock, without moving a hand, as a schoolboy who has to recite a lesson, and, not having memorized it well, is afraid of punishment ; he does not touch the heart, is rather dry, and falls in preaching into a singing manner, like Handschuh or Krug.' " In this quotation of popular opinion there is a lesson deserving to be remembered. The good reports about Helmuth's preaching had already reached Lancaster, then vacant on account of Gerock's re- moval to New York. Muhlenberg accompanied Helmuth (Apr. 22, 1769) to Lancaster, visited a number of smaller con- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 417 gregations of the neighborhood, and proceeded to York (where he had not visited for a considerable number of j-ears), for the first time saw the recently-erected church ; met Eager, and received from Raus, residing there, a letter full of hostile sen- timents and charges of having caused persecution to the author of the lette*-. The vestry at Lancaster had meanwhile elected Helmuth their pastor. This Muhlenberg four days later (Sun- day, May 2 1st) announced to the congregation, with the un- derstanding that for a time he and Schulze should share with Helmuth the care of the congregation. Helmuth, however, was eminently successful in this new field. It was with the greatest reluctance that this congregation saw him leave and in 1779 accept a call to Philadelphia, where he had been elected (Maj' 25th) by three hundred and fifty-six votes, some of the ballots also having on them the words " No Rector." There was no need of this allusion to a subject which for a time had unpleasantly agitated the congregation. In the charter of 1765, Muhlenberg had received that title, but it met with no sympathy in a German congregation, had even become offensive, and at the time of Helmuth's election was going out of use. In 1784 the latter was elected a member of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, in the following year president of synod, and by the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania was made doctor of divinity. In that scholas- tic institution he held for eighteen years the chair of German and Oriental languages. July 4, 1770. he was married to Barbara, daughter of Henry Keppele, with whom he lodged for some time after moving to Philadelphia. In 1785 the con- gregation had paid all its debts, and erected, in 1786, a new parsonage, at the north-east corner of Fourth and Cherry streets. In 1785, assisted by his friend and colleague Schmidt, Helmuth began the preparation of }-oung men for the sacred office, and succeeded in furnishing to the Church a number of pastors who are kept in well-deserved remem- brance— among them. Rev. Messrs. J. G. Lochman, Endress, J. G. Schmucker, Millef, Baker, Goering, Batis. Helmuth was also a prolific author. In 1793 he published a work on bap- 27 41 8 LIFE AND TIMES OF tism and on the Holy Scriptures, an historical and interesting book in connection with the yellow-fever visitation, various tracts and some hymns, and also articles for the Evangelical Magazine, which appeared at Philadelphia under his editor- ship. In all his publications his talent can be clearly seen. But, while he retains substantially the creed and the forms of the older Pietism, and is not conscious of departing from Lu- theran principles, and forcibly defends the orthodox faith against Rationalism, becoming, at times, rampant, his lan- guage is no longer that of a Spener or a H. A. Francke or a Muhlenberg, but is sentimental and declamatory, and shows the influence of a later neological period of German literature and theology. There is a truth in the old saying, Qui inutat verba, mutat sensiun. As a preacher Helmuth was considered a man of most eminent endowment. It is reported that he had the habit of beginning with a low voice and in a very quiet manner. This produced close attention and complete quiet in his audience. When he had once excited the interest of his hearers, he kept them riveted'? to himself by the fluency of his speech, the beauty of his language, and the enthusias- tic ardor which magnetically carried his hearers along. He was exceedingly felicitous in catechising children, and by his vivacity and natural kindness excited their interest in the sub- jects presented to them. During the period in which Schmidt and Helmuth presided over the Philadelphia congregation attempts were made to introduce the English language into the public services. This led to very* severe struggles, to much animosity, and even to lawsuits. The pastors w^ere convinced that the introduction of the English into the old German congregation would in a short time end in the total expulsion of the German language and the Germans from the old spiritual homestead, and put succeeding immigrant generations where, at the arrival of Miihlenberg in 1742, the German Lutherans — having no church, no school, no graveyard — had been under immensely greater obstacles. But this is no reason why, with all good- will and all their influence, they should not have assisted in HEXR Y MEL CHI OR ML 'HL ENBER G. 4 1 9 the formation of an English Lutheran church as a receptacle for those of their menibei-ship who could no longer be bene- fited by services held in the German language. The move- ment begun by such about the year 1806 under the auspices of Rev. Ph. Fr. Mayer, D. D., was, however, successful, and re- sulted in the organization of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran congregation and the erection of a large church-building. Helmuth resigned his charge in 1820, and five years later (Feb. 5, 1825) departed this life. 420 LIFE AXD TIMES OF CHAPTER XXV. 1766 et seq. Provost Wrangel returns to Sweden. — His relation to the Episcopal Church. — Miihlenberg's eldest son, J. Peter Gabriel, returns from Europe and devotes himself to the study of theology. — His further career. — H. M. Miihlenberg again visits the Raritan congregations, also Easton, AUentown, Macungie, Salisbury, Allemaengel, and White Hall — His sons Fred. Aug. Conrad and G. Henry Ernest return from Halle prepared for pastoral work. — They enter upon it. — Their further career. — Rev. J. Chr. Kunze. — His labors in Phila- delphia, and later in New York. ADMITTING, as we must, that the men who arrived here while Miihlenberg was yet in full vigor and ener- getic activity added, each of " them according to the ability which God giveth," strength to the cause of the Church and filled important stations, the Church, especially the Swedish branch of it, suffered a great loss in this part of the world by the return of Provost Wrangel to his nativ^e country in 1768. That the departure of this devoted friend and colaborer was most severely felt by Muhlenberg needs no remark. Wran- gel may have erred in some of his views and intentions, but the sincerity of his heart cannot be doubted. He was undeniably inclined to unionistic principles and favored an amalgamation of the Lutheran and the Episcopal churches. His strongly-developed Pietism, his warm sympathy with Whitefield and his views and methods, caused some dis- trust among the Swedish pastors over whom he was placed as overseer. Wi:angel may have been convinced that in con- sequence of the cessation of Swedish immigration the Swe- dish churches would before long have exclusively to use the English language in their worship. As these congrega- tions would no longer make use of the services of pastors HEA^RY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 42 I directly sent from Sweden, and as there was here no school of divinity in which young men were educated to serve Lutheran congregations in the English language, he may have been convinced that it would be better for the Swedish Lutherans to be united with the Episcopal rather than with any other ecclesiastical body, since they could not well retain their individuality as Lutheran congregations. This explains why Rev. Rich. Peters, rector of Christ Church, and already known to us, says in the letter introducing Wrangel, under date Aug. 30, 1768, to the bishop of London, after alluding to the Presbyterians and to their harsh manners and prin- ciples : " Dr. Wrangel wants to take a just advantage of this general antipathy to the Presbyterians, and to unite the great body of Lutherans and Swedes with the Church of England, who, you know, are but few and in mean circumstances in this province ; but were they united with the German Luther- ans we should both become respectable." Already in 1765 it was rumored that Wrangel, in consequence of the complaints lodged against him by the Swedish pastors Borell, Wicksell, and Hegeblad, had received orders to return to Sweden ; which orders, however, as Mi^ihlenberg states, met with the op- position of the Swedish churches here and made no impression in Sweden. After nine years of labor in the foreign land he obeyed the call from Sweden, and Sept. i, 1768, left Philadel- phia, his field of arduous services on this side of the Atlantic, together with a host of friends, among whom none felt his loss more severely than did Muhlenberg, who also was anx- ious about his successor as provost, and about the position he would here take in relation to his own diocese and to the German Lutheran Church. This successor as provost and as pastor of Wicaco church was Andrew Goeranson, who had arrived here in 1766, continued to maintain the pleasant rela- tion between Swedish and German Lutheran churches, was present at the synodical convention at Lancaster in 1772, accompanied Muhlenberg on his tour to dedicate St. Peter's Church, near Pikestown, Nov. 8th, continued in his offices here until 1779, left for his native country in 1785, and after 422 LIFE AND TIMES OF much suffering died in i8oo. Wrangel, returning to Sweden by way of England, proved his friendship by making efforts to create among the Anghcan Church people and in German Lutheran congregations of London an active sympathy for the German Lutheran churches in Pennsylvania, in which benevolent enterprise he was only partially successful. After his arrival in Sweden he was, as Clay asserts in his Sivc- disJi Annals, etc., created a bishop. He continued to corre- spond with his friend Muhlenberg, and in a letter of June 15, 1784, informs him that he would never forget either his friend or America, that his lot was now cast in pleasant places, and that he was rector of two congregations and provost of the district. The letter is dated from Sahla, in Sweden. He died in 1786, which fact Muhlenberg states April 22, 1787. Two years before Wrangel returned to Sweden, Muhlen- berg's first-born son, Peter, returned to his native country. It appears that after, for a time, receiving instruction in the Halle institutions the practical turn of his mind had very strongly shown itself, and, as he was inclined to the natural sciences, it was deemed proper to apprentice him for the term of six years to Niemeyer, a druggist at Liibeck, a relative of whom was in close connection with the Halle institutions. In his mas- ter's house young Peter did not enjoy the attention which his health needed, but proved faithful to his master for some time. Soon he found that here he could make no progress in the pursuit of natural sciences, as Niemeyer's business was of a very circumscribed character and essentially connected with articles which to the young aspirant afforded, indeed, no particular interest. He may also have felt that he was kept under undue restraint, and that so long an apprenticeship would bring to his employer advantages out of all propor- tion to the gains on his own side. But " one fine morning " he was found missing without having given any notice. Fol- lowing his natural instinct, he had joined, as in those times many young men were wont to do, a military troop marching through the place in quest of recruits, and the captain had HJiXKY MELCHIOR MCHLEXBEKG. 423 appointed him secretary of the regiment.* Of course the step was an inconsiderate one, and it produced anxiety at Halle and grief to his parents beyond the Atlantic. Through the exertions of sympathizing friends he was, however, libe- rated from his engagement, received an honorable dismission from the colonel of his regiment, and found his way back to his native country. No doubt joy on account of the return of their first-born after three years of separation, and anxiety about his future, were mixed in the hearts of the parents. To the son himself all the hopes of gain by a thorough educa- tion in Germany may have appeared to be blasted. Yet he had passed through an experience which could not but leave a lasting impression for good and better prepare him for the hardships waiting for him. And now Wrangel, the true friend of the family, stepped in. He took Peter into his house and under his care, instructed him, directed his studies, stimulated the promising elements in his pupil, led him to a more spirit- ual life, and caused in him a desire to serve the interests of the kingdom of God on earth. As another instance of the in- fluence which Wrangel exerted upon young candidates for the sacred office, we mention that Daniel Kuhn, son of a physi- cian of Lancaster who also for a time held the office of mayor of the city, was furnished by Muhlenberg, in June, 1771, with letters of introduction, composed in Latin, to Wrangel, under whom, in Sweden, he intended to continue his theological studies. A brother of his had studied botany in Upsala under the famous Linnaeus, and was afterward elected professor of botany and medicine in the Philadelphia college. When Wrangel, in the winter and spring of 1768, was sev- eral times absent, Peter Muhlenberg, at the request of the vestry, preached to the Wicaco congregation, and by his efforts gave much satisfaction. His father had before on various occasions sent him to vacant congregations, which * This whole episode in the hfe of General Peter Miihlenberg is fully elucidated from the material in the archives of the Halle Orphan-House by Rev. W. Ger- mann, D. D.. superintendent and church-counsellor at Wasungeii, Sachsen-Meinin- gen [Deutsch-Avierikanisc/ies Magazin, edited by H. A. Rutermann, vol. i., 1886, 1887, Cincinnati, Ohio: .S. Rosenthal & Co.). 424 LIFE AND TIMES OF were well pleased with his conduct and his preaching. When Peter preached in the Wicaco church, the concourse of the members of the German Lutheran Church drawn by natural curiosity was so great that the ordinary Sunday collections in St. Michael's were sensibly diminished, and, the people requesting that Peter should also preach in St. Michael's, his father finally consented, and on Good Friday evening of that year allowed him to preach there on " The Burial of Christ." And here we cannot refrain from giving the father's own words as he wrote them in a letter of June 8th to Francke and Ziegenhagen : " When my permission was made public, there was such a concourse and throng in St. Michael's as never before had taken place, as they told me, since the church was erected. I did not go there, but stayed at home in my small chamber, feeling like a condemned publican and a worm, with tears praying the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls to defend this act against Satan's cunning and to grant that the good cause might not suffer through me or mine. After service the elders came to my house and con- gratulated me with much feeling on the sermon delivered by my son. I thanked them, but no one knoweth what is the state of my mind in anything of this sort, since I am slow to believe or trust in any good, either in myself or in my own, save what God's grace and mercy give. I could not take it ill in my brethren in Christ that they secretly, out of love to the cause, said to each other, ' God be praised ! If the old man should depart, Providence has sent us a young substi- tute who in case of need may assist and comfort us.' Sub- sequently Peter preached several times in Barren Hill and Pikestown. I do not cease to supply him with the needful spiritual medicine serviceable for purification and healing, which I hope he will use. At the end of April I was neces- sitated to send him to the above-mentioned vacant charges which Pastor Schertlin had served before his death [Macun- gie and neighborhood], and from there to New Germantown and Bedminster in Jersey. Here he preached in German and English, and was quite acceptable to both parties. I my- HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 425 self never heard him preach, but I criticised all his compo- sitions, though I found nothing to censure, as he ' ploughs with his heifer,' Dr. \Vr." [Wrangel]. In the same year a number of Christianized Indians settled on the frontiers be- tween New York and Pennsylvania petitioned the military authorities to establish schools among them, since mission- aries had labored among them with some success. Richard Peters proposed Christian Streit, a native of New Jersey, born 1749, whom Muhlenberg after his graduation at the Philadel- phia college had taken to his house, and who with Peter enjoyed his and Wrangel's instruction; was licensed in 1769 to preach to the congregations at Greenwich and vicinit}' in New Jersey and at Easton, Pa., was ordained Oct. 25, 1770, had during the War of Independence a call to a military chap- laincy ; served (1778-82) the Lutheran church at Charleston, S. C, then, until 1785, the New Hanover charge in Pennsyl- vania, and then the one at Winchester, Va., where he remained, exercising much wholesome influence upon a large sphere, until his death, March 10, 18 12. Peters also proposed Peter Miihlenberg, certainly not without a belief in his ability, yet also keeping in mind the fact that the memory of his grand- father, Conrad Weiser, was cherished by the Indians in that part of the country, that they considered him their friend and counsellor, and that they had adopted him into their nation — an honor rarely bestowed. It seems that neither of these •young men was unwilling to accept the call to the Indians, but their services were needed in a field nearer to them. Peter Miihlenberg was examined at the sy nodical conven- tion, June 20, 1769, licensed, and continued to labor in the congregations of New Germantown, Bedminster, etc. in New Jersey, which had for some time desired him as an assistant or a substitute for his father, who was still the acknowledged pastor of the charge. He sent regular reports to his father of his labors, and it seems that his pastoral work was indeed a work of love with him and gave him much satisfaction. On the occasion of Helmuth's marriage, in 1770, he composed poetical congratulations in German, and his father, to whom 426 LIFE AND TIMES OF he sent his verses for criticism, fully acknowledged the good intentions, but says : " As I found that he has the gift of rhyming, but not that of poetry, according to the present elevated taste, I kept them back, triti provcrbii hand ivii/ienior: Si tacuisscs, pJiilosophns viansisscs.'" In the same year (Nov. 6th) Peter was married to Anna Barbara Meyer of Philadel- phia. Of his children, only two sons and a daughter survived him. Their descendants are found in most honorable posi- tions. These two sons, both Lutherans, were Major Peter Muhlenberg, U. S. A., father of Francis P. Muhlenberg, major U. S. A., who entered Vicksburg with General Grant's army at the surrender of the city, and Francis L. Muhlenberg, law- yer and member of Congress from Ohio. In the spring of the following year Peter Mi^ihlenberg received a letter which in its consequences unexpectedly caused an entire change in his career, and which we give to our readers : " Rev. Sir : I have been requested by the vestry of a vacant charge in Virginia to use my endeavors to find a person of an unexceptionable character, either ordained or desirous of ob- taining ordination in the clergy of the Church of England, who is capable of preaching both in the English and in the German languages. The Living, as established by the Laws of the Land with Perquisites is of the value of Two hundred and Fifty Pounds Pennsylvania currency, with a Parsonage House and a Farm of at least Two hundred Acres of Ex- tremely Good Land with every other convenient Out House belonging to the same, which will render it very convenient for a Gentleman's Seat. And having just now received a Character and Information of You from Mr. John Vanorden of Brunswick. I am very inclinable to believe, You would fully answer the expectations of the people of that Parish ; the Gentleman of whom I have had information does not know, whether You are ordained by the Bishop of London or not. However, be that as it will, if You can come well recommended to the Vestry, they will recommend You in HEXRY jMELCHIOR Ml'HLEXBERG. 427 such a manner as to make Your ordination certain. If You should think those Proposals worth Your acceptance, I shall be glad You would write me an Answer to be left in Phila- delphia at the Sign of the Cross Keys, where I shall stay a few days on my return home, when, if I find You inclined to accept of this Living, You may expect to hear further from me, directed to the care of the Gentleman, of whom I have been favored with the information, which I have received. " I am, tho' unacquainted, Rev. Sir, Y. Ob. Serv., " James Wood. "New York, 4th jNIay, 1771. . " P. S. If You should determine to go to London, I make no Doubt of the Vestry advancing sufficient Sum to defray the expenses." James Wood was a justice of W^inchester, Va. His letter had a decisive effect. Soon after receiving the invitation Peter Miihlenberg visited the field of labor in Virginia, furnished with an introduction by the Rev. Rich. Peters, D. D., in the strongest terms recommending him as a " young and promis- ing Divine, who is of amiable disposition and has great Es- teem amongst both the Lutherans and English," and promis- ing similar letters in his behalf from himself. Dr. Smith, and Rev. Duche to bishops and archbishops in England. It ap- pears that the Lutherans who in large numbers had emigrated from Pennsylvania to Virginia and settled in the valley of the Blue Ridge, especially in and about Woodstock, were much pleased with the candidate for their vacant parish, and that he also felt greatly attracted by the surroundings to which he Avas invited. Bidding farewell to his congregations in New Jersey, he prepared himself to go to England to receive Epis- copal ordination, without which, in V^irginia, he would have no legal standing as a clergyman. He did not intend to change any of his convictions, and the Lutheran s\nod, to which he belonged, did not consider him as separating him- self from its connection, which to us appears rather anom- alous. He sailed for England March 2, 1772. The document 428 LIFE AND TIMES OF of ordination given to him, and preserved by his descendants, states that Peter Muhlenberg, " our beloved in Christ, a lit- erate person, of whose virtuous and pious life and conversa- tion and competent learning in Holy Scriptures we were well assured," was on Tuesday, the 2 1st of April, 1772, ordained by Edmund of Ely in Mayfair Chapel, Westminster, London, to the holy order of deacon, according to the manner and form prescribed and used by the Church of England, " hav- ing first in our presence taken the oaths appointed by law to be taken for and instead of the oath of supremacy, and also having freely and voluntarih' subscribed to the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and to the three articles of the Thirty- six Canons." He was ordained as a priest April 23d, at the King's Chapel of St. James, by the bishop of London, in com- pany with Rev. Braidfoot of Virginia and^ Rev. White, later the highly-honored bishop of Pennsylvania.* In the fall of 1772, Peter Muhlenberg settled at Woodstock, and carried on his pastoral labors to the great satisfaction of his parish- ioners. There is no proof that he ever received ordmation as a Lutheran pastor and a voting member of the Lutheran min- isterium. That, however, in spite of his abnormal })osition, he was considered a Lutheran minister may be gathered, not only from the fact that he served a Lutheran charge, but also from this, that in behalf of the Lutheran synod he visited Lutheran congregations east of Woodstock — or Staufferstadt, as Krug, who during his tour to Strassburg visited here and comforted many with the prospect that Father Muhlenberg might pay them a visit when his son Peter would move there, calls it — and investigated the case of Rev. J. Schwarbach, who as a licensed Lutlieran minister officiated in congregations in Augusta county, Va. That Peter Miihlenberg, when the great political excitement broke out in full force against England, and resulted in establishing the American provinces as an independent country and nation, was led by his patriotism to change the service of the ccclesia viilitans for that of patria inilitaus, that as an officer of the Continental army he rose to ^ This we maintain, notwithstanding other affirmations. JIEXRY MELCIIIOK Mi'IILEXBEKG. 429 high honor and afterward was elected vice-president of the State of Pennsylvania and to other responsible offices of the State and of the United States, — these in their detail belong to the history of his native country, and, interesting as the facts are, cannot here receive special attention. We deem it proper, however, to add that the relation between himself and his father was not seriously affected by Peter Muhlenberg's unexpected step from the pastoral to the military office, though it was undoubtedly against the feelings of the father, who in a letter to his friend Sebast. Fabricius, at Halle, says that his writing and warning from the great distance had been in vain. He could fully appreciate the motives influencing his son, and could understand the duties thereby incurred to such an extent that in a letter to him of Nov. 20, 1778, when the son's wife was in a condition which made the presence of her husband exceedingly desirable, he said that, notwithstand- ing this, the duties of his responsible position had now the first claim upon him, and that family affairs could not free him from that claim. At the close of the letter he admon- ishes the son not to cease to be a Christian in his present relation, and adds the remarkable sentiment that a soldier unless he be a Christian will final!}' prove a coward. Peter Muhlenberg certainly never was found to be a coward in the Revolutionary War — in which he fought and suffered from its commencement to its close — nor at any other time. He died, as he had lived, in the Lutheran faith, Oct. i, 1807. at Philadelphia. His mortal remains rest with those of his parents on the east side of the venerable Augustus Church at Providence. His tombstone says that " he was brave in the field, faithful in the cabinet, honorable in all his transac- tions— a sincere friend and an honest man." During the months of June and July, 1770, Father Muhlen- berg had undertaken a tour to the New Jersey congregations of New Germantown, Bedminster, etc.; tried while there, under considerable difficulties and without any favorable results, a recently-discovered mineral spring, and found his son Peter in full activity as his assistant in the pastoral work ; then he 430 LIFE AND TIMES OF visited Easton and neighboring congregations, proceeded to Allentown, where Friderici (sometimes found Frederick), his former fellow-student at Gottingen, then lived in straitened cir- cumstances ; visited a relative of his family six miles distant, and spent some days at Macungie, Salisbury, Allemaengel (Albany), Rosenthal, and White Hall, in some places instruct- ing the young, holding public services, and encouraging his younger brethren whom he met there in their pastoral field of labor — Chr. Streit at Easton, Van Buskirk at Macungie, Jung (Young) at White Hall. It appears that after his return to Philadelphia, on July 13th, he had intended during the autumn to visit New York, but on Sept. 22d his sons Fred- erick Augustus Conrad and G. Henry Ernest, returning from Halle after an absence of more than six years, landed, in com- pany with the Rev. John Christopher Kunze, at New York, where they paid their respects to Hausihl and Gerock, and finally arrived (Sept. 26th) at Philadelphia. These two sons had faithfully attended to their classical and theological stud- ies, and enjoyed the good opinion of their superiors at Halle. Rev. Dr. Knapp, after the death of G. A. Francke (died Sept. 2, 1769) praeses of the Halle institutions, writes (Apr. 26, 177 1) to their father that, having learned that the Holy Spirit had begun to influe'nce their hearts, and that now they had already entered upon pastoral work in the Pennsylvania con- gregations, he deems it proper to defray their travelling ex- penses out of charitable contributions collected for the mis- sions in Pennsylvania. Kunze's travelling expenses were defrayed by Ziegenhagen in London. There can be no doubt that in the scholastic course at Halle these two sons were trained as having the ministerial ofifice in view. This was apparently also in the mind of the father, who sent directions to Halle that his two sons there, in addition to the studiiim catechctiann, should especially be made proficient in singing, in the playing of chorals, and in the science of thorough-bass, which he knew would be of great use for the pastoral office : he adds as a special motive that he had in this country earned his first half year's board- HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 43 I ing by giving instruction in music, had gained friends by his musical attainments, and had so favorably impressed Father Conrad Weiser's mind " that he did not object to my marry- ing his daughter, since I had during my first visit at his house played for him on his cabinet-organ melodies of the Halle hymns and accompanied them b)^ singing." When the sons arrived here they were considered candidates for the sacred office. As such they were invited (Oct. 7th) to hold public services at Zion Church — one in the morning, the other in the evening. Of course the whole town knew of them and had heard of their return to their native country, and curiosity on that occasion reached its acme. The church was crowded. Father Muhlenberg's request that Hon. Schoemaker, the mayor of the city, would station two constables at the church on that day — a request willingly granted — was not unreasonable, since many different elements of the popula- tion were represented. The sons acquitted themselves quite creditably. Both of them were ordained at the meeting of synod Oct. 25, 1770, as collaboratorcs viiuistcni, or assistant ministers — an act which (especially in the case of the younger one, G. Henry Ernest, at that time not yet fully seventeen years of age, while the elder one was not yet quite twenty-one years), even considering the pressure of circumstances, can hardly be defended. We are informed about the toitamcn which Gotth. Henry Ernest first had to undergo. Voigt was appointed cx- aniiuator. The candidate had to translate the first Psalm from Hebrew into Latin, and in the same language to answer exe- getical and analytical questions. His knowledge of the He- brew gave uncommon satisfaction to the ministerium. After- ward the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John v/as treated in the same manner. The result of the examination was of such a character that doubts arising from the youth of the candidate no longer had any influence. His older brother's examination seems to have given no less satisfaction. He, Fred. Aug. Conrad, had at an academic festivit}- at Halle delivered an oration in English. During their protracted absence from America they had both, however, become so 432 LIFE AND TIMES OF thoroughly Germanized that in December, 1772, in a letter to his father, the older complains that he could not yet with proper facilit\- use the English. We know, however, that in the course of time this defect was completely removed. Before the end of 1770, Frederick Aug. Con. Muhlenberg moved, with his brother-in-law, Rev. Chr. Em. Schulze, to Tulpehoken as his assistant, and had the Schaeffertown con- gregation under his special pastoral care, at the same time serving a considerable number of the Lebanon congregation, who were dissatisfied with the services of J. C. Stoever, who died suddenly in 1779. He was married to a daughter of Fred. Schaefer, a member of the vestry of the Philadelphia congregation. During the }'ear 1773 he paid a visit to New York, and received a call from Christ Church, then vacant on account of Gerock's removal to Baltimore. It seems that in the same year he settled in New York, where he was quite successful as a pastor and was held in good esteem. In a letter of Jan. 10, 1774, he informs his father, then in Georgia, that the Lutheran ministers in the province of New York intended to hold a conference in the month of April. This we may consider the beginning of the formation of the min- isterium of New York as a separate organization, which was, however, not formally established before 1786. When the war broke out in 1776, and English troops were concentrated at New York and English war-ships were expected there, F. A. C. Muhlenberg first sent his family to Philadelphia, and, following himself, was there on the world-renowned Fourth of July. He then joined his father (who, without having resigned the Philadelphia congregation, had retired to Prov- idence), assisted him for a time in the care of that charge, and in 1777 moved to New Hanover to take pastoral care of that part of the field, and soon afterward of Oley and New Go- shenhoppen. The position of a pastor was in those turbulent times an}'thing but an enviable one. Financial relations were altogether disturbed ; the people had to bear burdens before unknown. In addition to this, views on political questions diverged greatly, and, no matter to what party a man be- HIXRY MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 433 longed, he could not avoid having opponents. Pastors especially had greatly to suffer under such circumstances. F. A. C. Muhlenberg was hardly able in his position to eke out an existence, and had to look out for a change to sup- port his family. To the English he was well known as a sup- porter of the American cause. His friends exerted themselves in his behalf. It was then said that the Germans ought to have a representative of their particular interests in Congress ; for this position he seemed to be peculiarly well qualified. March 2, 1779, he was elected a member of the same, and in August quitted the pastoral office and entered into the polit- ical arena, in which he remained, serving the United States and his own native State, enjoying the highest regard on account of his intellectual and moral qualities, and on vari- ous occasions being called to the highest posts of responsi- bility and honor. He died, fifty-one years old, June 4, 1801. His father, not insensible of the honor done to his son by his election as a member of the Continental Congress and afterward as Speaker of the Pennsylvania Legislature and head of the council of censors, nevertheless had misgivings about his enter- ing into the political field, and (Nov. 21, 1780) wrote to him, -in his usual somewhat quaint and humorous style, that he had learned, not without some fright, that vox popidi ex parte had now " made him a driver in these critical times to guide the car of state through narrow defiles, with precipices on the right and on the left, amid storms from above." Vox populi, he says, is very variable (Acts xiv. 11, 12, 13, 19; xix. 28). He admonishes his son' to pray with penitent and fervent supplications for more than ordinary wisdom from on high, and b}^ fasting to strive to retain it, like David and others ; otherwise, a terrible fall might ensue, to the injury of chil- dren and of children's children. To be a fellow-passenger on the car he considered dangerous enough in these times ; much more so the position of the driver under circumstances " when the most experienced do not know how to get through without upsetting." We have little doubt that in the ups and downs of his political career the son sometimes recalled 28 434 Z//"^ AXD TIMES OF the words of his father. When he was wanted in Ebenezer, Georgia, it for a while seemed as if the gates of the sanc- tuary would reopen to regain the son for its services. The people there already began to hope that they would have him as their pastor, and to repair their church-building ; circum- stances, however, interfered to prevent it. But his parents rejoiced when he came at intervals, with his wife and seven children, to pay his respects, and, gathered together, they all as one chorus sang the well-known old church-hymns and soul- stirring melodies. And the aged father and grandfather never failed to note such incidents in his diary. Gotthilf Henry Ernest Miihlenberg, the youngest of the three brothers who grew up to manhood, was for a time after his ordination the assistant of his father in the Phil- adelphia charge. Throughout his career he remained true to his ordination vow. It is strange that for some time his education at Halle gave more trouble than that of his elder brother, Frederick A. Conrad. Even (July 12, 1766) after the two brothers had spent three years in the Halle institutions, Dr. G. A. Francke says in one of his letters that the older of the two was of a much more manageable disposition than the \-ounger, who sometimes occasioned con- siderable difficulty in matters of submission to authority. We cannot forget that G. Henry E. was a child of ten years when he was sent to Halle, that he was without the guiding and ad- vising influence of. a mother, and that to the }-oung American boy, accustomed in his childhood to a much larger range of persona! liberty, the strict rules and the rigorous discipline of the Halle schools naturally appeared very irksome. But the same letter states that Henry had a stronger intellectual en- dowment than his brother, and that there was no complaint as to his progress in study. Sept. 5, 1 767, Francke again testi- fies to the good behavior of the older brother, and says that the younger also gives less cause for dissatisfaction, and, hav- ing good mental faculties and much application, makes good progress in his studies, and in this respect surpasses the other — shows, however, an inclination, to be headstronsf and ambi- HEARY MELCIIIOR ML'IILEXBERG. 435 tious. Both, he adds, are at the head of their respective classes. May 20, 1769, Helmuth, whom after his arrival in the New World Father Muhlenberg had conducted to Lan- caster, received there a letter from Henry from Halle, wherein, among other things, the writer states that he began to feel the influences of the Holy Spirit on his soul — information than which no news could have been more welcome to the friend and to the father. The son's services to the congregation at Philadelphia were quite acceptable when, toward the end of 1770, he entered upon his duties as an assistant of his father and of Kunze, his brother-in-law. From January to April, 1772, Henry labored in the churches in New Jersey, which his brother Peter had vacated, and then returned to Philadelphia. When, in 1772, the father, with Kunze, visited the synodical conference at Lancaster, and when both of them were absent from Sept. 25th to Oct. 8th, all the pastoral care of the large congrega- tion devolved on G. Henry PI Muhlenberg, then nineteen years old. After returning the father was glad to state in his diary : " From all sides I hear that my son Henry per- formed during our absence the duties of his office to the sat- isfaction of the people, though much was laid upon him, and, in addition to all other official acts, he had to attend to twelve burials of children." In the following year he received a call from the New Jersey congregations. New Germantown, etc. After Peter Muhlenberg's departure to Virginia in the preceding year, Father Muhlenberg had made efforts to fill the vacanc}', but had not succeeded. Being still the regular pastor or rec- tor of the charge, he felt his responsibility, and in April and May, 1773, paid a protracted visit there; and the result was that, with their consent, the united vestries of those congrega- tions gave to G. Henry E. Mi^ihlenberg a call to labor among them as the substitute, or adjinictns, of his father. He held, however, from December, 1772, in Philadelphia a position of an official character, as the vestr}^ there, with the consent of the congregation, had formally elected him assistant pastor in the Philadelphia congregation and at St. Peter's, Barren Hill. 43^ LIFE AXD TIMES OF But now he accepted the call to New Jersey, where the field of labor was all his own, and where he could prove of what mettle he was He acquitted himself here to the great satis- faction of the people, but had, meanwhile, not been forgotten at Philadelphia. The hope that Schulze would return to Philadelphia, where he stood in the highest esteem, had to be given up, though it arose again a few years later, and with no better result. A regular third pastor was needed ; Father A'Kihlenberg's strength was naturally decreasing with his advancing years, while the demands of the congregation were increasing, and Kunze devoted a part of his time to other duties. It was therefore (March 23, 1774) resolved that G. Henry E. Muhlenberg should be proposed to the con- gregation by the vestry as the third regular pastor, and that on Easter Monday, Apr. 4th, a regular election should be held. On Apr. 5th the rector. Father Miihlenberg, was informed that his son Henry was elected third pastor by two hundred votes out of two hundred and fifty-three. This election was a pos- itive and strong proof that G. Henry E. Muhlenberg, who was then almost twenty-one years of age, could with much encouragement re-enter upon the Philadelphia field of labor. Having accepted the call, and carrying with him most satis- factory testimonials from the New Jersey congregations, he moved to Philadelphia and entered upon his pastoral duties, which were interrupted by his temporary withdrawal to Prov- idence when, during the war, the English occupied Phila- delphia from Sept. 26, 1777, until June 18, 1778. The young Miihlenbergs were in those days as a thorn in the flesh to the English and to the traitors to the cause of freedom. Having returned to the city, he continued his labors until April, 1779, when, under circumstances to which at a future period allu- sion will be made, he abruptly resigned, and on the 15th of that month delivered his farewell sermon. He had already a call from the New Hanover congregation. When Helmuth was called to Philadelphia from Lancaster, and Schulze of Tulpehoken declined the call to Lancaster, G. Henry E. Miihl- enberg received at the meeting of synod at 'Tulpehoken the HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 437 call to the latter place, and in 1780 moved to that localit}' where, at the head of a large congregation and with his labors attended by many blessings, he enjoyed the highest esteem, continuing until his death, May 23, 1815. While he was very conscientious in the performance of his pastoral duties — of which his many manuscripts give ample proof — he devoted his leisure hours to the study of the natural sciences, and especially to the science of botany. In this latter branch he excelled to a high degree. It has been stated by Prof Dr. J. M. Maisch of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, in an address delivered May i, 1886, that G. H. E. Muhlenberg's interest in botany dated from the time of his retirement from Philadelphia to the country. To his father such studies may have appeared to be no more than dilettanteism, and he gives vent to his feelings in a letter of Apr. 3, 1780, saying that he had learned that his son Henry had already no less than sixty catechumens under his care at Lancaster, and adding, " this is more fruitful and blessed than to collect variaiitcn and herbs." Whether, with theologians, he understands under varianten diverse readings of the old manuscripts of the Bible we leave undecided. But the collecting of plants by his son was in- deed connected with solid study. He was acknowledged as maintaining in his time the highest rank in that science ; various plants discovered and classified by him were named in honor of him ; he was in correspondence with the first author- ities in that field of knowledge in Europe and in America, and in its interests was visited by men of the highest renown — among them, Alexander von Humboldt and Aime Bon- pland on their return from South America and Mexico. Deputies from the emperor of Austria sent to this country paid him their respects and with attention viewed his botan- ical and mineralogical collections. Many literary, philosoph- ical, and scientific associations were proud to count him among their members. The University of Penns)'lvania honored him with the degree of master of arts ; the College of New Jer- sey, at Princeton, with that of doctor of divinity. But his interest in his pastoral office and his love for the spiritual work 438 LIFE AXD TIMES OF are most apparent when we read his letters from Lancaster addressed to his aged father, informing him of his pastoral experiences, his studies, and his. efforts to prove himself a faithful steward. Of his descendants we mention his sons, F. A. Muhlenberg, M. D., who as a physician and citizen stood in the highest esteem at Lancaster, and the Hon. H. A. Muhl- enberg, ambassador of the United States to Austria; and his grandsons, H. H. Miihlenberg, M. D., for many years entrusted with a highly-responsible position at Reading, Pa., the Hon. H. A. Muhlenberg, State Senator of Pennsylvania and mem- ber of Congress, and Rev. F. A. Muhlenberg, D. D., formerly president of Mi^ihlenberg College, at Allentown, Pa., now in- cumbent of the chair of Greek Literature in the University of Pennsylvania. We add that Rev. W. A. Miihlenberg, D. D., well known as the author of the h\'mn " I would not live alway " and as a Christian philanthropist, was a grandson of Hon. Fred. Aug. Con. Miihlenberg. John Christopher Kunze, the companion of the two younger sons of H. M. Miihlenberg on their return to their native land, was, of all the missionaries sent from Halle to Pennsylvania, one of the most gifted and the most scholarly. In church affairs his eye encompassed a large range, and with a wide intellect he combined an energetic will. He was born at Artern, not far from Mansfeld, but, his parents moving to Rosleben, about nine miles from Artern, he here received the rudiments of his education. His father had kept an inn in connection with a country store and was in comfortable cir- cumstances. All this changed at Rosleben, and the change was for the better. Of his mother, whom death soon took away, he speaks, in a fragment of an autobiography still in possession of his descendants, in the highest terms and with much filial affection as of a godly woman whose love of God and man, sincerity, and other excellences of a truly Christian character left a deep impression upon the mind of her chil- dren. It seems that the death of the mother served to im- prove the spiritual character of the father. A wagoner who once for a night lodged in the house gave a very impressive HEXHY MEL CHI OR MUHLEXBERG. 439 description of the order, beauty, and godly condition which he found in the Orphan-House at Halle. Kunze's brother — then a child five years old, later pastor at Nautschau in the Reuss principality — attentively listened to the narrative, and when the narrator had gone most pitifully entreated his parents to send him to Halle. And, indeed, after some time he was sent there, and three other sons — among them the author of the autobiographical fragment — and even three daughters. When John Christopher had gone through the preparatory course at Halle and at the high schools at Ros- leben and Merseburg, he devoted three years to the study of theology at Leipsic, three others he spent as teacher in the then celebrated classical school at Klosterbergen near Magde- burg, and one year at Greitz as inspector of the orphan-house in this town. Here the call to America came to him through Rev. J. G. Knapp, D. D., chairman of the board of directors of the Halle institutes. With the two young Miihlenbergs he left Halle May 5, 1770. After his arrival at New York (Sept. 22d) efforts were made to keep him as a colleague of Gerock at Christ Church. He declined on that occasion to settle at New York, as to him, when ordained at Wernigerode, a call signed by Knapp and Ziegenhagen was given, appoint- ing him third pastor of the Philadelphia congregation. Schuize was still considered second pastor, but moved to Tulpehoken. And now Kunze at once zealously entered upon his pastoral labors, and added to them as much as circumstances demanded and as his strength permitted. In the summer of 177 1 he es- tablished a household of his own by marrying Muhlenberg's daughter Margaretta Henrietta, then not quite twenty years old. After his arrival he had been for a quarter of a year an inmate of Muhlenberg's house. Already in the synodical meeting of 1769 the desirableness and necessity of a theolog- ical seminary was acknowledged ; Kunze soon sought to sup- ply the want. At his instigation a society was formed to this end, contributions were received, and on Feb. 16, 1773, the Philadelphia Staatsanzeigcr informed the public of the open- ing of the school. The pastors of the Lutheran congregation — 440 LIFE AND TIMES OF ■ assisted by John Chr. Leps, a Dane, who himself received from Kunze theological instruction, and who a few years later officiated as a pastor at Loonenburg on the Hudson, but in 1782 retired upon a small piece of ground near Macungie, Pa. — were to give instruction in the preparatory branches, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, geography, history, mathematics, elocution, composition, and in the German and the English language. The design at that time was to prepare young men for the higher study of theology. In the following year a lottery was contemplated to enable the society to discharge its finan- cial obligations. But the times were too turbulent to favor an institution of this kind, though at the synodical meeting at Philadelphia on June 14, 1773, a public examination with thirteen scholars was solemnly held. The whole enterprise came to an end in 1776. The following years afforded Kunze little pleasure. Father Muhlenberg moved in 1776 to Prov- idence; his son Henry followed him in 1777, to remain until the English had retired from Philadelphia. Between him, his brother Frederick Aug. Con., and Kunze, their brother- in-law, a serious rupture soon afterward took place. Kunze made formal charges against Henry before Praeses J. N. Kurtz. Henry resigned in 1779; Kunze was left alone in Philadelphia, as Father Muhlenberg was unable to give much assistance and Schulze refused to return. When Helmuth of Lancaster was elected at Philadelphia (Aug. 25, 1779) the prospects seemed fair for pastors and for congregation. The two pastors were uncommonly able men ; both held positions, also, in the uni- versity as professors. Kunze was also made in 1783 a doctor of divinity — an honor given to Helmuth two years later. But on various points there was a difference of views. Kunze, though his talent and his zeal were acknowledged and though he had many admirers, had opponents in the congregation, and in 1784 he accepted a call to Christ Church at New York, succeeded in uniting with it the remnants of the old Dutch congregation, and instilled new vitality into the Lutheran cause in New York. He was farsighted enough to see that unless Lutheranism were represented in the pulpit and by HENRY MELCHIOR ML'HLEXBERG. 44 1 congregations in the English hmguage it could have no future in this country. That his efforts in this direction were not crowned with desirable results was not his fault. He en- deavored to organize an independent ministerium of New York, and it was effected in 1786 with three clergymen and two laymen. His fertile mind gave the public of his days, and especially the Lutherans, a number of publications calcu- lated more to counteract rationalisiri and infidelity — which in the last quarter of the eighteenth century began to permeate the masses of the people — than to elucidate the peculiarities of the Lutheran system of doctrine. His interest in the apol- ogetical department of theology moved him to desire from Germany all the publications produced in connection with the controversy aroused by Semler, after 175 i professor at Halle and colleague of Francke, Knapp, and other men of the same type, and not without cause called the father of Rationalism in Germany. Kunze never ceased gathering knowledge. He read pen in hand. Books in which he entered items taken from a great variety of publications, and referring to geography, natural science, history, biography, commerce, etc., are still preserved. Soon after settling in New York he was appointed professor of Oriental languages in Columbia College. In vain he waited for some years for students and for a salary. Neither of them appeared, and he found that empty titles are a cheap commodity. He resigned as profes- sor in 1787, resumed the office again in 1792, and held the title for three years more. He remained in the board of trustees until his death. In 1784 he was among the origina- tors of the " Society for Useful Knowledge," and was a mem- ber of the " German Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania " and of the " New York German Society." When the Ameri- can Congress met at New York in 1785, Kunze was sworn in as German interpreter. At the time of the eclipse of the moon on June 16, 1806, he published A Tabic of a nciv con- strjiction for calciilati)ig tlic great eclipse, expected to Jiappen on tJie i6th ofjuue, 1806, /;)' J. C. Kunze, Dr. and Prof . of Divinity, Senior, etc., 1806, and thereb)- proved his eminent attainments 442 LIFE AND TIMES OF in the higher branches of mathematics. We may say that he first moved to give the Lutherans in America a reHgious hter- ature of their own in the English language. Brunnholtz and Wrangel preceded him herein by publishing Luther's Small Catechism in English. He and H. M. Muhlenberg frequently used the English language in preaching the gospel. Kunze published, in 1785, " Rudiments of the Shorter Catechism of Luther, chiefly for the use of Lutheran congregations in America, to which is annexed an Abridgment of the Principles of the Evangelical Religion." We here refer our readers to the most instructive monographs on " Editions and Translations of Luther's Small Catechism, published or used in America," and " Explanations of Luther's Small Catechism prepared for use in America," by Rev. B. M. Schmucker, D. D., in the Lutheran ChircJi Rcvicxv (April and July, 1886), where, on p. 171, Dr. Kunze's publication is specially noticed. When he introduced English into the Lutheran services for those who no longer understood the German language, he published for such services, and in connection with a young pastor, George Strebeck, A Hymn and Prayer book. For the use of such Lu- theran churches as use the English language. Collected by jfolin C. Kun::e, Senior of the Lutheran Clergy of the State of Nezu York. Nexv York, printed and sold by Hurtin & Comardin- ger, 1795. Small izmo, p. viii. 305, 163. The title of the book is rather too narrow, and does not indicate all the variety of the contents. No less than one hundred and forty-four of the two hundred and thirty-nine hymns in the book are trans- lations from the German. Many of the hymns are good ; the translations, in the judgment of competent critics, are unsatis- factory. We cannot enter here upon an enumeration of all the publications, sermons, orations, essays., etc. edited by Kunze. We add that a number of pastors of the Lutheran Church owed their theological education to his ability and to his love of the work. Dr. Kunze died at the age of sixty-three years, at New York, July 24, 1807. HEXRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG. 443 CHAPTER XXVI. 1773-1775- Muhlenberg is ri. quested to pay another visit to Ebenezer, Ga. — Difficuhies in this congregation, and between Rev. Chr. Rabenhorst and Rev. Chr. Fr. Triebner. — Miihlenberg's manifold cares before the voyage. — Another visit to the Raritan churclies. — Synodical meeting of 1773. — Members of synod. — Plans for a theological seminary and an orphan-house. — Hartwig's restlessness. — Dif- ficulties at Reading. — Rev. Ph. J. Grotz. — Miihlenberg again visits New York. — His son Frederick Aug. pastor of the German l^utheran congregation there. — Hausihl pastor of the Dutch Lutheran congregation. — The Swedish pastors J. Wicksell and Nic. Collin. — Barren Hill and Germantown. — Rev. J. F. Riess. — Rev. J. Chr. Leps of Loonenburg. — Miihlenberg's letters to Grotz and to a member of the Lutheran congregation at Charleston, S. C. — Corner- stone of a church laid at Pikestown. IN a previous chapter we stated that H. M. Muhlenberg had landed at Charleston, S. C, Sept. 22, 1742, and then, trav- elling by the way of Savannah, from Oct. 4th to Oct. I Ith paid a visit to the Salzburg Lutheran congregation at Ebenezer. -No less than thirty-two years had now passed, and it could hardly be expected that, in his advancing years and in the decline of health and strength, after a very laborious life and enduring many severe hardships, he would once more visit that congre- gation and exercise a beneficial influence in the endeavor to restore order and peace, which, with distressing circumstances, had been seriously disturbed. But it appears that already in 1773 letters from Europe informed Muhlenberg of the condi- tion of things in Ebenezer, and impressed him with the neces- sit\' of undertaking a voyage to that distant place. At an earlier stage of our narrative we had occasion to men- tion the Rev. Sam. Urlsperger, D. D., senior of the Lutheran clergy at Augsburg and the tried friend of the Halle F'athers. 444 Z//'i^ AND TIMES OF From the beginning of the persecution which the Salzburg Evangelicals had suffered in their native land he had proved a warm and influential sympathizer and benefactor to them, had favored the plan to transport them to Georgia, had co- operated in its execution, and was during his life considered their patron. He held to them the same relation as the Halle Fathers held to the united congregations in Pennsylv^ania. He also published reports in reference to their condition and prog- ress, and interested many charitable people in German}- in their behalf After his death, in 1772, his son, John August, who succeeded him in his pastoral office, kept up the interest mani- fested by his father for the Salzburgers at Ebenezer. When the news of the unfortunate and distracted disturbances at Ebenezer reached him, and after his letters and his admoni- tions had proved of no avail, as a last measure he proposed, with the consent of Ziegenhagen at London and other friends, that Muhlenberg should visit Ebenezer and exert himself to unite the disunited, restore good understanding and peace, and adjust certain financial difficulties which had exercised a disturbing influence in the congregation. The letter of Rev. Dr. J. A. Urlsperger which officially em- powered Muhlenberg to act as an arbitrator at Ebenezer is dated Feb. 2, 1773. To this letter Ziegenhagen at London gave his full consent and his signature July 15, 1773. The instructions which Dr. J. A. Urlsperger gave to Miihl- enberg in a special document as a guide for his action suf- ficiently indicate the state of affairs at Ebenezer. The two pastors then serving the congregation were Christian Raben- horst and Christopher Frederick Triebner. Between these two men — of whom Rabenhorst had served prior to the arrival of Triebner — very serious discord had broken out. Rabenhorst was charged by his colleague with being stubborn, despotic, and negligent of church discipline with a view to his personal advantage. The same charges were also brought against Triebner, with the addition that he was of an uncompromis- ing disposition and inclined to be arbitrary in matters of church discipline. Each of these two pastors had his adherents, and HENR 1 ' MEL CHIOR Mi LIL EXBER G. 445 in this way the whole Hfe of the congregation was disturbed and the work of the Holy Spirit impeded. Muhlenberg was expected impartially to investigate the charges, to advise as best he could, and to endeavor to re-establish peace. We find that there had been dissensions in the Ebenezer congregation before the arrival of Rev. Triebner. The Ebenezer people had erected mills, which, though very much needed and very use- ful, had, on account of their managem'ent, occasioned much altercation and dissatisfaction. As these mills had been erected from the charitable donations coming from Augsburg and London, Urlsperger maintained that their revenues were under the absolute control of the representatives of the donors, and should, according to their decision, be employed for the benefit of the Ebenezer congregation. In this matter Muhlenberg was expected to listen also to the opinions pre- sented to him, and to give a decision. Rev. Rabenhorst had bought a plantation belonging to the congregation and entered into a contract for the payment of the money ; Muhlenberg was to investigate whether he had properly carried out the conditions of his contract. In other respects, also, Miihlenberg was minutely to inform himself about the whole state of the congregation, and to make there a regular and authoritative visitation. He was also advised to render to Rabenhorst the honors due to his seniority in the office, while Rev. Triebner was not on this account to be treated as a subordinate. They should live and labor together in unity, according to Ps. cxxxiii. Muhlenberg was also re- quested so to define the sphere of action for each of the two pastors as to avoid collisions as much as possible, to insist upon the cheerful assistance each of the other in cases of necessity, and to inquire whether it was indispensably neces- sary that two pastors should be stationed in the congregation. He should also introduce a proper order for public services at Ebenezer, to inquire how much the members contributed to the support of the pastors, to abolish whatever he found to be injurious to the pastoral office or to the membership, and to adopt and encourage what might further their interests. 446 LIFE AND TIMES OF When the document investing Muhlenberg with this author- ity came into his hands (Sept. i8, 1773), it caused him serious consideration. Willingly admitting that his body and his soul, with all the service they were able to perform, belonged to God, that he owed a debt of gratitude to his aged fatherly friend Dr. Ziegenhagen at London, and that all help should be given to Dr. Urlsperger, whose father had been such a warm friend to the Ebenezer Lutherans, while he himself took such an inter- est in their welfare, — he entertained serious doubts whether he would be able to accomplish the task laid upon him. He says all who have any experience in such matters will agree that it is one of the most difficult undertakings to restore peace between disunited parties belonging to the same church, and especially between pastors of the same congregation, because each one has his adherents, who eagerly act without good sense and are "inclined to aigue with hands, feet, and tongue," especially in an absolutely free country, which knoweth naught of subordination, and in which an arbitrator is left without power to carr}' out the most impartial decisions. Muhlenberg also felt that protracted absence might not result beneficial- ly for the Philadelphia congregation. To avoid sea-sickness, which he had reason to fear, he entertained the idea of travel- ling by land; but in 1773 and 1774 the Indians were engaged in a warfare with the settlers on the frontiers of the Carolinas and of Georgia, which made travelling through those provinces rather unsafe. Muhlenberg was now in his sixty-third year, and had suffered severe attacks of sickness toward the end of 1773 and in the beginning of 1774. On the other hand, letters coming from London continued to urge upon Muhlenberg the necessity of undertaking the journey to Ebenezer. In Philadelphia his youngest son, G. Henry Ernest, had in June, 1774, been elected third pastor and colleague of his father and J. Chr. Kunze, his brother-in- law ; which circumstance gave Muhlenberg more freedom in his movements. To Mrs. Miihlenberg, whose health for a number of years had been very precarious, a change of air appeared to give hope of improvement, and her youngest IlEXKY MELCHIOR MUIILEXBERG. 447 daughter, Mary Salome, then in her fifteenth year, could accompany her parents and be of much service to the suf- fering mother. It was finally resolved to proceed to Eben- ezer by sea. Of course, perils of various kinds were con- nected with so doing. Muhlenberg presents them to his mind, but in his own peculiar way says that since, on his arrival in America, he had said "Good-morning" to the New World at Ebenezer, it would not matter much if at the same locality he should say "Good-night" to it. Through his friend the Rev. Dr. R. Peters a passport and strong recom- mendations in due form were procured for him from the Hon. John Penn, governor and commander-in-chief of Pennsylva- nia. Aug. 18, 1774, Muhlenberg entered into an agreement with a sea-captain to take him and his companions to Charles- ton for the sum of sixteen pounds and six shillings, the trav- ellers themselves finding the provisions. The period of time preceding the voyage proved a very laborious one to Mi^ihlenberg. In April and May, 1774, he had paid another visit to the New Jersey congregations, where at that time his son G. Henry E. served as his substitute. On his return thence he met at the hospitable house of the famih' Jameson, thirty-six miles from New Germantown, a v^enerable old man of eighty-four, who, though so deaf that conversation with him was almost impossible, narrated various incidents of his life in connection with Rev. George Whitefield, through whose preaching in 1740 he was awakened to a spiritual life. Among other things, he said that at a certain time Whitefield had appointed public services at a locality where the narrator lived, but failed to appear at the specified time. Some thou- sands of people were anxiously waiting, and the minister of the neighborhood, a highly-gifted man of much spiritualit}% began to speak in a very impressive way on a Bible text, but produced not the least impression upon his many hearers. The moment, however, Whitefield arrived the clergyman made way for him, giving him the text on which he was speaking. Whitefield had spoken hardly a minute when the whole audi- tory showed intense excitement by wringing of hands, sighs, 448 LIFE AND TIMES OF sobs, ejaculations, etc. Muhlenberg sensibly asks whether the name of the man or his fame or his prejudices and fancies had not much to do with this " synergism," as he calls it. When, in 1775, Rev. W. Graaf was called to the Raritan congregations, Muhlenberg's responsibility there came to a legitimate end. Returning to Philadelphia, he found such a voluminous correspondence claiming his attention that he compares himself to the delinquents in a certain locality in Europe, who, imprisoned in a cage, have to pump unceas- ingly to save their lives, as without this they would be drowned by the rising waters. He adds that the members of his household never cease to find fault with his writing so many letters ; but, says he, " they are the very ones who, when I think I am done, beg me to introduce this or that fur- ther particular." Synod met in Philadelphia June 12 to 15, 1773, according to the arrangement made by Rev. J. N. Kurtz, elected presi- dent in 1772. Muhlenberg, who enjoyed the honorary title of senior of ministerium, gives the list of pastors present besides himself: J. Nic. Kurtz of York; Schulze of Tulpehoken ; Helmuth of Lancaster; W. Kurtz of Earltown (New Holland); Fred. Aug. Mi^ihlenberg of Heidelberg township; Magister Goeranson, Swedish pastor at Wicaco ; St — r (Stoever) of the district of Lebanon ; VVd — n (Wildbahn) of McAllistertown (Hanover), on the other side of the Susquehanna; Van Bus- kirk of Macungie ; Jung of White Hall ; Streit of Easton ; Roeller (John George, who had received his education for the pastoral office in Germany) of Goshenhoppen ; Schmidt of Ger- mantown ; Schw — f — r (Schwerdfeger) of Linntown ; Kunze of Philadelphia ; H. Mijhlenberg, Jr.; and Hartwig extraor- din. Voigt of Pikestown, Krug of Frederick, Md., Schaum of Oley and Mosellem were absent, as also was Gerock, who in a letter addressed to the German Lutheran vestry at New York, and now indorsed by a delegate of the same, who accompanied it with explanatory remarks, states that he had accepted an honorable call from the Lutheran church at Balti- more. Among other subjects, Kunze's plan for a theological HEXRV MELCHIOR MUHLEXBERG. 449 seminary, and Muhlenberg's suggestion to found 375, Z'^Z, 430, 524- Lawr. van, 270, 276, 288. Butjender, H. A., Rev., 38, 41. Biittner, G., Rev., 146 sq. Cammerhof, J. C. Fr., bishop, 1 81, 186, 246. Camp-on-the-Hudson, 199, 250, 256 (West Camp). Candler, Dav., Rev., 188, 194, 385. Canstein, Von, 15, 518 (Canstein Bible Society). Carlisle, Pa., 385. Casant, town, 41. Catechists, 159; 185 (their duties and rights). Catechization with young and old, 289. Cellarius, Councillor, 14. Chandler, Saml., D. D., 330. Chandler, Th. Bradbuiy, D. D., 347. Charity schools in Pennsylvania, 326 sqq. ; 334 sq. (where located) ; 335 (German periodical connect- ed with the school plan) ; 355. Charles V., 4. Charleston, S. C, 61, 79 sqq., 455, 459 sqq. Child, Captain, loi. Christ Church at Philadelphia, III, 125. at Tulpehoken, Pa., 146 sq., 149, 179, 1 86; 206 (church dedica- tion). at New York, 30S, 382, 386. Christina (Wilmington), Delaware, 105, 107, 243, 351. Christian Ernest of Saxony-Salfeld, 172. Churchtown, N. Y., 257. Codorus Creek, Pa., 188. Cohansey, N. J., 160, 205, 351, 382, 387. Colchester, town, 36. Collin, Nic, Rev., 451 sq. Conestoga, Pa., 144, 383. Conewago, Pa., 190, 196, 201, 385. Conferences held by Zinzendorf in Penn- sylvania, 81, III, 145; 475 (Lu- therans at New York). Confessions, see Syinholical Books. Confirmation, 395. Constitution of the Philadelphia German Lutheran congregation ; 353 sqq. (its history up to the times of Muhlenberg) ; 365, 369 (framing of a new constitution). Contributions from EurojDe, 140, 301, 305. 379> 380. Conventicles, 398. Cook, the Spanish, 44, 55 sqq. Cressap War, 216. Croessmann, I. N.. 140. Crusius, Chr. "a., D. D., 503. Currie, W., Rev., 483. D. Darmstadt, Germany, 24 1. Daser, Fred., Rev., 459 sqq. Delegates to synod, 212 sqq. Denny, W., Gov., 220. De Ronda, Rev., 270. Deventer, town, 34. Deyling, D. D., 18. Diel, Geo., 492. Dieren, J. B.van, 226, 256, 259. Dohna, Von, 12. Dover, 45. Driesler, J. U., Rev.. 68, 81. Du Bois, Rev., 270. Duche, Jacob, D. D., 344. Dulany, Dan., 309. Dunkers, 218, 237. Dutch Lutherans at Charleston, S. C, 61. on the Raritan River, N. J., 15 1. on the Hudson, 151. at New York, 151, 249, 256, 261 sq. (letter to H. M. Miihlenberg; his answer) ; 263 (a call given him); 451. at Hackensack, N. J., 151. Dutchmen of the Schoharie Valley,l67 sq. Dylander, J., Rev., loi, 112, 142, 175, 353- E. Earltown (New Holland), Pa., 149, 174; 183 (organization of a Lutheran IXDEX. 537 congi-egation); iSS, 351 (resi- dence of J. C. Stoever, Jr.). Easton, Pa., 160; 200 (visited by H. M. Muhlenberg) ; 240, 309, 430. Ebenezer, Ga., 40, 41 ; 70 sq. (begin- nings) ; 75, 307, 444 sqq. (diffi- culties there). Egle, W. H., Dr., 173. Eimbeck, town : locality and history, i, 2. relation to Lulheranism, 2. schools, 5» 6. inembers of council, 7. orthodo.\ zealots, 30 sqq. family of Muhlenberg, 3 sqq., 284, 400. Elders, 214 (delegates to synod). Elizabeth, queen of England, 275. Elizabeth Furnace, Pa., 383. Endress, Chr. Fr. L., D. D., 417. Eneberg, John, Rev., 350. Engelland, J. Th., 307, 334. English verszis German, 418 sq., 514. English Baptists in Pennsylvania; 320 (H. M. Muhlenberg preaches to them). Ephrata, Pa., .Ill, 145, 180, 217, 245. Episcopal Book of Common .>*..ayer, 268. Erich, duke of Brunswick, 2. Erlangen, University of, 228. Eschenbach, Andrew, 144. Evans;elical Alagazim, 418. Fabricius, Jac, Rev., 255, 350. Seb. Andr., 518. J. Phil., Rev., 518. Falk, Gabr., Rev., 179. Falkner, Justus, Rev., 15 1, 252. Falkner Swamp, see Neiu Hanover. "Fathers" in Europe, 170, 171, 179, 203 ; 206 (relation of the German Lutheran Church in Pennsyl- vania to them) ; 223, 239, 262, 285, 303, 352, 381, 388, 399, 491. Feilestown, N. Y., 411. Fellingsbro, Sweden, 245. Firmian, L. A., bishop, 41. Fisher, Sebast., 147. Fieri, John, 468. Fliigge, Rev., 32. Flushing, N. Y., 258, 279. Forks (Easton), 240. "Formula of Concord," 2, 17, 32. Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania, 218 sq. P'osseberg, N. J., 205. Francke, H. A., D. D., 8, 14, 41, 273. G. A., D. D., 14, 21, 40, 119, 145, 171, 209, 241, 287, 352 ; 381 (his death) ; 494. Francke, Mrs. Henr, 21. Frank, J., Rev., 238, 487. Frankfort-on-the-Main, 224. Franklin, Benj., 92, 326, 330, 333, 335- P'rederica, Ga., 68, 82. Frederick I., king of Prussia, 9. IV. of Denmark, 16. tlie Great, 320. Frederick, Md., 188, 191, 194 sq., 308, 411. French (Huguenots) at Charleston, S. C, 82. the; 217 (their encroachments). Fresenius, J. Ph., D. D., 241, 284. Frey, John, 496. Freylinghausen, G. A., D. D., 381, 475, 491, 518. Friderici, J. A., catechist, 2?9, 430. Friederichs, J. G., Rev., 82, 464. G. Gaensel, Matthias, 305. General Council, 500. Gensau, Hartmann von, 159. George I. of England, i. II. of England, 40, 65. Georgia, 40. German Benevolent .Society of Pennsyl- vania, 403 ; of Charleston, S. C, 463, 4S4 sq. immigi-ation into Pennsylvania, 2 i 7, 327> 403- Lutheran congregations ; 359 sq. (their diverse elements). Reformed, the, 94, 133, 142, 292, 353, 404- Germann, W., D. D., 394, 423. Germantown, 91, 100, 112, 115. 142, 150, 191 ; 206 (church enlarged) ; 257 sq., 300 sqq. (Handschuh pastor) ; 302 sqq. (rebellion); 308 (reunited with synod); 350, 353, 375, 376, 393, 452- Gerock, J. S., Rev., 235 ; 307 sq. (biogr.) ; 310 (at Lancaster visited by H. M. ^liihlenberg) ; 373 (visits New York ; is called there) ; 382,410. Gerresheim, Fr., Rev., 514. Gersdorf, Baron von, 21 sq. Baroness von, 17, 19, 116, 122. Gestricia, Sweden, 174. Gichtelians, the, 94. Glaubenslu-d, by Ziegenhagen, 201. Goeking, G. G. G. ; 503 (history of the Salzburg emigration). 538 INDEX. Goeranson, Andr., Rev.; 421 sqq., 448, 451- Goering, Jac, Rev., 412. Gottingen, University of, 7 sqq.; stu- dents' life there, 8. Goetwater, J. E., Rev., 254. Goetz, Mrs. Dr., 27. Goshen, Ga., 470. Goshenhoppen (Old), Pa., 133, 149, 150; 286 (New); 329 (Roman Catholic chapelj. Graaf, Will., Rev., 316 sq., 321 ; 322 (biogr.); 448, 452, 486. Graba, in Saxony-Meiningen, 172. Gradin, Arvid, 175. Gravesend, town, 41, 44. Gronau, I. Chr., Rev., 41, 62, 65, 69,71, 77> 470- Grosshennersdorf, 16, i8sq.,35,98, 116, 122. Grotz, Ph. J., Rev., 450, 453 sq. (Muhl- enberg addresses him). Gwynedd, Pa., 322. H. Hackensack, N. J., 227, 255 sq., 271 sqq., 288 sqq., 317 sq. Hahnbaum, J. S., Rev., 461. Halberstadt, Germany, 353. Halifax, Nova Scotia ; 325 (German con- gregation). Halle, town, 8, 12, 276. centre of Pietism, 15, 28. University of, 224, 286, 385, 407. Hallenses, 122, 170, 246, 298, 304,346, 378, 410, 413. Halle Reports, 131 sq., 150, 239, 284, 344, 346, 37i> 402, 457, 518. Hanau, Germany, 224. Handschuh, J. Fr., Rev.; 171 sq. (early years); 173, 178 (arrival in America) ; call to Lancaster, Pa.) ; 184 (serves Lancaster and Earltown) ; 200, 212 (dedication sermon at Philadelphia) ; 241, 263 sq.; 299 sqq. (man'iage; re- moval to Germantown ; 335 (at Philadelphia); 355 (his engage- ments there ; elected pastor) ; 356 sqq. (his labors and difficul- ties) ; 386, 401 (his death). Hanover (McAUistertown), Pa., 188. Hartel, C. R., Captain, 268, 283. Hartwig, J. C, Rev.; 199 (visits Muhl- enberg at Providence) ; 205, 206, 212; 246 sqq. (his field of labor on the Hudson; difficulties) ; 248 sqq. (Muhlenberg's visit) ; 258, 259 ; 263 (temporarily in Penn- sylvania) ; 266 sq., 292, 296, 35c ; 403 sq. (his preaching in the Ger- man Reformed church at Phil- adelphia) ; 449. Hattorf, Frau von, 31. Hausihl (Hauseal) B. M., Rev.; 195 (at Monocacy) ; 308 (addresses H. M. Muhlenberg); 309 (biogr.); 312, 383, 387,404,451. Hebron Church, Va., 238, 486 sq. Hedstrand, Rev., 174. • Hegeblad, Rev., 345. Heidelberg, near Reading, 149, 221, 323, 384. Heilbronn, Wiirtemberg, 266, 309. Heintzelmann, S. P., U. S. A., 148. J. D. M., Rev., 285 sq.; 355 (his death). Israel, 286, 465. Helen's, St. (Isle of Wight), 46. Henkel, Gerhard, Rev., 238, 350. Paul, Rev., 238, 487. Henkel, Von, 12, 23, 26. Helmstedt, Germanv, 292. Helmuth, J. H. Chr., D. D. ; 375 sq. (biogr.); 415 sqq., 417 (at Lan- caster and Philndelphia); 418 (as a preacher) ; 435, 440 (called to Philadelphia); 450, 517, 524; 525 sq. (memorial sermon after H. M. Muhlenberg's death). Hering, Mr., of Rotterdam, 34 sq. Herrnhut, 17, 116, 121. Hess, J. Jac, Rev., 503. Hesse-Darmstadt, 301. Hesselius, Rev., 244. History of A'ew Szveden, 245. Hobson, F. G. ; 202 (Providence Inde- pendent) ; 493, 521 sq. Hockheimer, E., Rev., 460. Hofgut, J. L., 256. Hollanders, Lutheran; 227 (in New York); 230 (in Cura<;ao). Hopkins, Mrs., and her child baptized, 204. Horhheim, Wiirtemberg, 148. Hornbach, Germany, 150. Home, Van, Rev., 404. Hunter, Governor, 166 sq. Hutton, James, 124. Ilsenburg, town, 29. Indianfield, Pa., 149, 240, 286. Indians in Georgia, 66, 72. in South Carolina, 62, 79. INDEX. 539 Indians in Tennsylvania, 90, 145, 167, 217 sqq., 336- in New York (Mohawk), 167. in Canada, 246. missions- among them, 66, 67, no, 199.425- ,. give H. M. Muhlenberg a pecuUar name, 198. Inspired, the, 94. "In-the- Valley," N. J., 312, 382. Isenburg, Von, il. J- Jacobi, Chr., 377. . James, St., chapel in London, 37. Jena, University of, 12. Jenney, Rob., Rev., 108. Jerusalem Church at Ebenezer, Ga., 467 sqq., 470, 476. Jones, Rev., 65. Jung (Young), T- G., Rev., 383, 430. Junker, Prof., M. D., 13. K. Kahn, Pet., Prof., 216 .sq. KaUeisen, Mr., 460. Keppele, H., elder, 233, 286; 368 (treas- urer of the Philadelphia German Lutheran congregation) ; 378, 397, 400. Henry, Tr-. 400- Kiderlin, G.M., 74- Kimbel, Jas., 459. Kingsessing, near Philadelphia, 380. Kingston, N. Y., 248, 254. Kirchenbiich, 500, 522. Kittanning, Pa., 220. Klosterbergen, Germany, 17,439- Klug, G. S., Rev., 236 sq., 486. Knapp, J. Geo., D. D., 381, 43°, 439- Knoll, M. Chr., Rev., 151 sqq., 157, 249, 256, 271. Kocher, J. Cr., 73. Kocherthal, Josh., Rev., 255. Kock, Peter, 100, loi, 105, 106, 123, Koestritz, town, 12, 21, 2b. Konigsberg, Germany, 286. Kraeuler, Ph. D., D. D., 249, 251. Kraft, J. v., Rev., 95, 96, 97 sqq., I02, 109, 115, 126, 127, 146, 174, 183 sq., 194; 309 (his death); 352. Kreu/. Creek, Pa., 187, 188. Krug, J. A., Rev.; 409 sqq. (biogr.) ; 428 (his visit to Virginia) ; 450. Kuhn, Dan., 423. Kunze', J. Chr., D. D., 10, 288, 308 (pas- tor at Philadelphia) ; 408, 430 (arrival from Europe); 438 sqq. (biogr.); 440 (called to New York); 441 sq. (his literary ac- tivity); 446, 480, 497, 517, 526 sqq. (memorial sermcni after H. M. Muhlenberg's death). Kurtz, J. N., Rev., 158 (arrival); 159, 170 (visits the Raritan congre- gations ) ; 1 78 ( labors as catechist at Tulpehoken, Northkill, and Lancaster); 185, 197 sq., 200, 201 (his marriage); 204 (visits again the Raritan congi-egations) ; 206 sqq. (his examination, ordi- nation, etc.) ; 21 1, 241, 263 (pas- tor at Tulpehoken); 300, 323, 348, 367 (on a tour of church- visitation with Wraugel); 374 sq. (serves temporarily at German- town); 408 (called to York); 487- J. D., Rev., 308. W., Rev., 314,315; 374 (biogr.); 387, 510 sq. (letter of H. AL Muhlenberg). Lancaster, Pa.; 142, 165, I73 sq. (county and city) ; I74 sqq. (Ny- berg's agitation) ; 176 sq. (Miihl- enberg's influence); 178 (Mora- vian church erected) ; 178 (Kurtz labors as catechist); 181 sqq. ( Handschuh accepted as pastor) ; 186 (condition of the congrega- tion); 197 sq., 241, 300, 404 (church dedication). Langendorf, town, 26. Langenfeld, Rev., 170. Langerfeld, J. A., 112,353. Langhorn, Jerem., 340. Lawrence, Th., 125. Lebanon (see QtiitopahiHa), Pa., 385. Lederer, J., explorer of both Carohnas, 60 sq. Lehmann, Dan., Rev., 524. Leipsic, 17, 439- Lembke, H. H., Rev., 71, 47°- Leps, J. Chr., Rev., 440. Lesly's Land, N. J., 205. Leut'becker, Casp., 144- Liberda, Rev., 20. Lidenius, J. A., Rev., 316. Lidman, J., Rev., 35 1. Lindner, D. D., 172. Lischv, lac. Rev., 186, 188 sq. Litunn;" 184 sf). (framed by Mvihlen- 540 INDEX. herg, Handschuli, and Brunn- holtz); 392, 500. Livingston family, 250. Lochman, J. G., D. D., 417. Loeser, J. J., 160, 171, 1S5 sqq. ; 200 (called to Lancaster) ; 201 (his marriage ) . Logan, James, 125. London, 36 sc[q., 276. Loonenburg (Athens), N. Y., 253, 255, 259> 453- Lorillard, Jacob, 533. Losonz, Ref. school in Hungaiy, 233. Lower Dublin, I'a., 307. Liibeck, Germany, 422. Liineburg, Germany, 228. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, 287, 325 sq. Ludwig, Christopher, 485. Luft, Rev., at Charleston, S. C, 82. Luther, Martin, 2; 201 ("Small Cate- chism"), 2S1, 2S9, 319. Lutheran and Episcopal churches, 391. Lutheran Dutch congregation; 151 sqq. (at New York and on the Upper Hudson). Lutheran German congregation at Phila- delphia, loi, 107; 151 (on the Raritan ) . Lutheran Swedish congregation at Phil- adelphia, loi, 365, 452. Lutherans in South Carolina, 460 sqq. at Charleston, S. C, 62. at Savannah, Ga., 69 sq. at Frederica, Ga., 71. at Ebenezer, Ga., 66 sqq. in Pennsylvania, 94. at Philadelphia, 95, loi, 112, 350 sqq. in New jersey, 150 sqq., 165, 382. in the Mohawk Valley, 171, 454. at New York, 227, 254 sqq., 308. in Virginia, 236 sqq. at Hackensack, N. J., 272 sqq. at Baltimore, Md., 308. in Maryland, 310. M. McAlIistertown, see Hanover. Macclenachan, Will., Rev., 341, 385. Macungie, Pa., 200, 258, 31 1, 430. Maertens (Martini), C. F., surgeon, 310, 366. Magaw, Saml., D. D., 333. Magens, J. M., 258, 261, 279. Malander, J., 142. Manathanim (Manatawney), Pa., 316. Manchester, Pa., 238. Mannheim, Pa., 384. Mansfeld, Germany, 413. Marburg hymnbock, 288. Marienburg in Transylvania, 232. Marsteller, Fred., 106, 241, 304. Martin, J. N., Rev., 459. Colonel, 326. Maryland ; 309 sq. (union of Church and State). Mary's, St., Church in Savoy, London, 39- Matetscha, Pa., 144. Matthison. Mr.. 39, 41. Maul, Barthol., 1S9, 196. Mayer, Ph. Fred., D. D., 419. S. M., 309. McClellan, Capt., 42. Meier, Casper, 533. Melsheimer, F. V., Rev., 412. Mennonites, 94, 218, 397. Mentzer, Balsh., D. D., 25. Methodism, 67, 72,290sq. (disturbances occasioned by it); 341, 501 sq. Meurer, J. Ph.. Rev., 146 sq. Mever, Justus Fred., 400. Michaelis, J. D., D. D., 36, 38, 366, 504. Michael's, St., Church (at Philadelphia), 134, 206; 211 sq. (dedication); 214, 266 (organ dedicated); 293, 345, 389- 401 sqq., 424, 489. Church (at Germantown), 142, 246 ; 301 (enlargement) ; 452. Millen, Stephan, 465. Ministerium, German Lutheran, see Syn- od. Moeller, H., Rev., 450, 456, 486 sq. Mohawk Indians, 167. Molatton, Pa., 179, 204, 239, 316. Monocacy, river and locality in Mary- land, 188 sq., 191, 194. Moravians in Georgia, 66, 1 16. in Pennsylvania, iiosq., 141, 146, 157, 165, 175 sq., 180 sq., 189, 191, 193,200; 195 (Muhlenberg's opinion of them) ; 213, 218, 243, 247, 324, 32S, 397- Morris, Gov., 219, 328. Mosellem, Pa., 149, 307. Moser, J. Jac, 504. Mosheim,"j. L., D. D., 503. Mountain church, N. J., 205. Miihlberg, town, 4. Muhlenberg, H. M., D. D.: Birth, I. Parents and other relatives, 3. Ancestry, 4. School years, 4 sqq. Death of his father, 6. Progress in linguistics and music, 6. INDEX. 541 Muhlenberg at Zellerfeld, 7. At Gottingen, 7 sqq. Influences of friendship, S. Private secretary to Prof. Dr. Opo- rin, 9 sq. In pohte circles, 10. • Engaged in charity-school work, 10 sq. Preaches and catechises, 1 1 . Leaves Gottingen, 12. At the Orphan-House at Halle, 12 sq. , Acquires knowledge of the medical art, 13. r T7 f Intended as a missionary for li-ast India, 14, I5- Call to Grosshennersdorf, 16. Examination and ordination, 17 sq. Duties and labors at Grosshenners- dorf, 19 sq., 35- Call to the dispersed Lutherans m Pennsylvania, 21. Publication in defence of Pietism, 24 sqq. r Departure from Grosshennersdort, 26. Arrival at Halle, 27. Departure from Halle, 28. Experiences at Limbeck, 30 sqq. Travel through Holland to London, 32 sqq. Sojourning at London, 36 sqq. Intercourse with Dr. Ziegenhagen, Call to the three united congrega tions in Pennsylvania, 39.^ Request to visit Ebenezer, Ga., 40. Voyage across the Atlantic, 43 sqq. Fellow-passengers, 44 sqq. Want of drinkable water, 48 sq. Arrival at Charleston, S. C, 49. 60. Sufferings by sea-sickness, 49 «q- Influence upon the passengers, 50 sqq. Religious services, 52 sqq. Conversation with the Spanish cook. Meeting negro slaves, 62 sq., 289 sq. Departure for Georgia, 63 sqq. Incidents of the voyage, 64 sq. Sojourn at Savannah and Ebenezer, 69 sqq- ,,, , Departure with Boltzius to Charles- ton, 77. Waiting at Charleston, 79 sqq. Embarks for Philadelphia, 82. Incidents and sufferings during the voyage, 83 sqq. Muhlenberg's arrival at Philad.elphia, 86. Physical and mental htness, 87 sqq. First steps in Philadelphia, 94. Sets out for New Hanover and New Providence, 96. Preaches at New Hanover, 98. Visits New Providence, 99. Returns to Philadelphia, 99. First sermons in Philadelphia, lOI. Begins pastoral work, 104. Is accepted by the three united con- gregations, 105 sqq. Meets Count Zinzendorf, 117 sqq. Pastoral work in the three united congregations, 128 sqci-, 138 sqq. Teaches German and English, 130 sq. Contributes to the Halle Reports, 131 sq. Avoids the erection of so-called union churches, 133, 142- His outward circumstances, 139 sqq. Is called to a place west of the Schuylkill, 141. His services requested at German- town, 142 sq. His attention directed to Tulpe- hoken, 143. His interest is claimed for the Lu- therans in the Raritan congi-ega- tions, 1 50 sqq., 17° sq-, 324- His repeated visits there, 153 sqq., 205, 239, 313, 314, 315 sqq-, 32b sq., 323, 382,sq., 429 sq- Desires and receives colaborers from Halle, 158. Takes charge of the country con- gregations, 161. His acquaintance with J- C. Weiser, jr., and marriage, 161 sqq., 431. Visits Lancaster, Pa., 165. Visited bv T. C. Weiser, Sr., 166 sq. Brouglit into connection with Lan- caster, Pa., 176 sq., 197- Begins to preach at Molatton, 179, 239. Concerned about his father-in-law, 179 sqq- ^j Engaged in framing a liturgy, 1.^4 On a missionary-tour to York and Frederick, Md., 187, 189 sqq., 196 sq. ; again, 309 sq. ; 41? (Lancaster and York). He uses the Svmbolical Books of the Lutheran'Churchas evidences of the truth, 189, 191, 192- 542 INDEX. Muhlenberg uses discipline as to admis- sion to the Lord's Supper, 196 sq. Visits Lutherans at Upper Milford, Saccum, etc., 199, 200, 204, 239, 265. Preaches in English and German at New Providence and Hanover, 202. Pastoral cares, 202 sq., 284, 287, 296, 3i8sq., 324, 465. Correspondence, 203, 284, 339, 341, 453sq., 455> 505 sqq., SM- At the first synodical meeting, 211 sqq.; presiding officer, 212. His Christian optimism, 215. His benevolent interest in Wey- gand, Schrenk, aud Raus, 224 sqq., 227 sq., 233 sqq. ; in W. Graaf, 316 sq. Visits Hartwig's congregations on the Hudson, 244 sqq. Is interested in the Lutherans in Virginia, 237. He travels with L C. Weiser, Jr., to the Upper Hudson, and tries to pacify Hartwig's congregations, 246 sqq. Visits New York; 257 sqq. (first visit) ; he preaches to the Dutch Lutherans, meets Berkenmeier, is called to the old Dutch Lu- theran church, 261 sqq. ; 266 sq. (second visit) ; jjreaches \\\ Dutch, English, and German; 288 sqq. (third visit); 313 (fourth visit); 382 (fifth visit) ; 450 sq. (sixth visit). His relation to clergymen of other denominations, 292, 294. Growing extent of his influence, 296. His family, 316, 325, 367, 399; 400 (departure of the three sons to Halle). Call to Nova Scotia, 325. His interest in the education of the youth of the Church, plan of an orphan-house, 325 sq., 381 sq. His relation to the charity schools in Pennsylvania, 326 sqcj. ; letter to B. Franklin, 333. Is made a trustee of the corporation for the relief of Widows and Children of the Episcopal Church, 336; a doctor of divinity, 496. Distinguished visitors at Providence, ■339 sqq. (Rich. Peters) ; 342 sqq. (Ch. M. Wrangel). Muhlenberg moves to Philadelphia, 349 sqc]. ; causes which led to this change, 357 sqq.; he acts as a peace-maker, 368 sqq ; his ser- vices in framing a new constitu- tion, 369 sr|q. In embaiTassment about St. Peter's at Barren Hill, 377 sqq. Is presiding officer of synod, 371 sq. ; he visits congregations, 382 sqq. ; his frequent absences from Philadelphia cause murmurings, 386 sq. ; his title Senior, 448. His relation to Pietism, 392 sq. ; to Neology, Rationalism, etc., 504 sq. His autobiography (in part), 394. His diaries, 521, 531. On confirmation, 395. On politics, 396 sqq, ; 483 sq., on G. Washington, 485 sq. Moves again to Providence, 440, 490 sqq. Second visit to Ebenezer, Ga., 443 sqq., 457 sqq. ; record of it, 457 sqq. Malignant reports about him, 481 sqq. Retires from pastoral activity, 490 sqq. ; loss of hearing, general in- firmity, 494 sqq., 519; his resig- nation of the Philadelphia con- gregation, 497 sqq. Collects hymns for the Synodical hymn-book, 499 sqq. His reading and meditating, 502 sqq. Respect shown to him, 517 sq. His last will, 521. His death, 523. Honors done to him after death, 523 sqq. Memorial sermons of Helmuth and Kunze, 525 sqq. Retrospect and estimation of the character, intellect, and labors of H. M. Muhlenberg, 530 sqq. Muhlenberg, Anna Eve, 286. Anna Mary, l63sq., 367, 379 sq., 520, 534. Eve Elizabeth, 203, 407. Fred. Aug. Conr., 240 sq., 400; 430 (return from Halle) ; 431 (exam ination and ordination) ; 432 (pas- tor of Christ Church, New York) ; 433 (quits the church-service) ; 450 sq., 514 (expected at Eben- ezer, Ga.); 518. INDEX. 543 Miihlenbevg, H. Chr., 2S4. G. H. E., D. D., 383, 400, 412, 430 (return from Halle); 431 (^examination and ordination); 435 (in the pastoral otilice in New Jersey and assistant in Philadel- phia); 436 (elected third pastor in the Philadelphia congrega- tion); 437 (call to Lancaster; his renown as a botanist) ; 446, 480, 497, 499, 514 sq. (his let- ters to his father) ; 516 (elected president of svnod) ; 524. J.P. G.; 165 (birth); 238,321,383, 400, 422 sqq. (in pastoral work) ; 428 (ordained at London) ; 428 sq. (his patriotism) ; 4S5, 486 sq., 518. j. Arndt, 284. F. A., M. D. ; Hon. H. A. ; H. H., M. D.; F. A., D. D. ; W. A., D. D., 43S. Miiller, H., publisher, 3*64, 398. Wickard, 377. Miinchhausen, Von, 10. N. Naesman, Gabr., Rev., 174, 178, 194, 212, 244. Naumann, teacher, 285. Nautschau, Germany, 439. Nazareth, Pa., 116, 247. Negro slaves; 68 sq. (in Georgia) ; 289. Neill, Hugh, Rev., 344. Neusahl, Lutheran college in Hungary, 233. Neustadt (Newtown), 'Va.,4ii'. New Amsterdam (New York), 61; see New York. New Brunswick, N. J., 259. Newburg, N. Y., 256. Newbury, Mass., 67. New Germantown, N. J., 240, 312, 382, 424, 447. New Hanover, Pa., 95, 112, 135, 202; 206 (school-house erected); 255 (first German Lutheran congrega- tion in America) ; 263, 311. New Holland, see Earltcnvn. New Market, Va., 238. New Providence (Trappe), Pa., 95, 161, 202, 206 (church dedication) ; 241, 265, 289, 338 sq., 492, sqq., 524. New York City, 227 (Lutherans from Holland there) ; 254 .sqq. ; 256 (German Lutherans call a pas- tor) ; 203 (importance of the lo- cality) ; 277 sq. (Dutch and Gei man Lutherans); 288 (union of the two). New York Ministerium, 411, 475. Niemeyer, druggist, 422. Nitschmann, Ludwig, III. Norberg, Rev., 351'. Norden, town, 34. Nordlingen, town, 74. Northkill (Bernville), 178, 186, 198, 206 (petitions for a regular pastor). Niibiihl, Schleswig, 159. Nyberg, L. T., Rev., 165 sq., 175 sqq., 186 sq. (results of his labors at Lancaster) ; 188 (at York) ; 206, 244 sq. (his insincerity) ; 386. O. Officers of congregations, 352 sqq., 355, 362. Oglethorpe, J. E., Gov., 40, 65 sqq., 68. Oley (Ohly)", Pa., Ill, 145, 160, 307. Oporin, Prof., Dr., 9, il, 29, 40. Order of salvation, 197. Orphan- House : at Halle, 8, 9, 134 (books and med- icines from there) ; 264, 285. at Gottingen, 1 1. at Grosshennersdorf, 19. at Langendorf, 26. at Savannah, (ia., 67, 69 sq. at Ehenezer, Ga., 72, 75. Osnabriick, town, 32. Otto, emperor, 4. Ottolenghe, Jos., 469. Oxford, near Philadelphia, 344. P. Palatines in England, 37, 166. on the Hudson, 62, 166, 199, 255. on the Congaree River in South Carolina, 62. in the Tulpehoken Valley, Pa., 143. in the Schoharie Valley, N. Y., 167. in Lancaster co.. Pa., 173. in Ireland, 231. Paradise, Pa., 238. Parlin, Olof, Rev., 244, 246. Pasche, F. W., Rev., 416, 462. Pastoral conference, 264. Pastorius, F. D., 91. Pastors, self-appointed, 129, 130, 134, 149. Paul's, St., Church (Episcopal), Phila- delphia, 385. Pausa, in Saxony, 114. Pawling, Mr., 290 sq. Paxton Massacre, 220, 396. 544 IXDEX. Peina, town, 32. Pemberton, Eb., D. D., 28X. Penn, John, Governor, 488. Penn, William, 43, 89, 91. Pennsneck, N. J., 107. Pennsylvania at the arrival of Miihlen- berg, 89 sqq. population,' 93, 216 sqq. (political aspects). Pennsylvania Packet, 504 sq. Periodical, first German, in America, 43. Perkiomen Creek, Pa., 240. Perlitzius, Dan., M. D., 233. Peter's, St., Barren Hill, Pa., 377 sqq., 452. Philadelphia, 394 (Episcopal; new- organ ) . Pikestown, Pa., 319, 412. Peters, Rich., D. D., 326, 330, 339 sqq. (biogr.) ; 346 sqq. (letter to the bishop of London); 425, 447, 488. Philadelphia in early times, 91. Philadelphia German Lutheran congre- gation, 350 sqq. (its early his- tory) ; 360 (nee(l of a new consti- tution ; numerical growth) ; 357, 361,363 (Muhlenberg's return to the city demanded); 363 (erec- tion of school-house) ; 370 (adop- tion of the new constitution) ; 371 (chartered) ; 393 (H. M. Muhlen- berg's influence) ; 393 sq. (earth- quake); 397 (politics); 417,452, 487 .sq. Pickel, B., elder, 227, 260. Pietism, 8, 14 sq., 28, 67, 71, 145, 151, 249. 253» 291, 392 .sq., 418. Pietists, 122, 224, 299, 345. Pikeland, Pa., 307. Pikestown (Vincent), 319, 350, 412 sq.; 456 (corner-stone laying); 482 (church dedication). Pliitschau, missionary, 16. Poelnitz, 26. Poeltzig, town, 12. Portsmouth, 46. Pottstown, Pa., 413. Prseses of synod, 267, 362, 372. Prayer-meetings, 392. Presbyterians, 281 (at New York); 293, 347. 391. 397 sq.' (at Philadel- phia). Princeton College, N. J., 326, 348. Prizelius, P. D., Rev., 324 sq. (biogr.); 382. Probstzell, Germany, 407. Providence, see New Providence. Psabiiodia Gcniianica, 279. Purry, J. P., 79- Purrysburg, S. C, 79 sqq. Pyrlseus, J. Chr., Rev., 114, 118, 120, 123, 125. Q Quakers; 92 (their political interest); 136, 204, 218, 228, 327 sqq., 337, 396 sqq. Quitopahilla (.Steitstown, Lebanon), Pa., 385, 386. R. Raben, Chr., 377 sqq. Rabenhorst, Chr., Rev., 307, 444 sqq., 463- Racheway (Rockaway), N. J., 205. Raccoon, N. J., 243, 451. Rambach, J. J., D. D., 201. Ramsgate Road, 45. Raphel, Rector, 7. Rapp, Ph. H., 257 sq., 305, 374 sq. Raritan congregations, 150 sqq., 165, 170, 239, 240 (change of names) ; 255> 312 sq., 314, 315 sq., 323, 324, 414. Ratterman, H. A., 423 [Dciitscli-Anicr- kaiiisches Magazin^. Raus, Lucas, Rev., 232 sqq. (his life un- til his arrival at Philadelphia); 234 (his peculiar temper) ; 234 sqq. (labors at Goshenhoppen, Indianfield, etc.) ; 235 (pastor at York); 259 (sent to the con- gregations on the Hudson) ; 236 (later years and death) ; 266 sq. 270 sq., 385. Reading, Pa., 149, 264, 309, 310 sq., 325, 382, 386, 387 sq., 450, 483, 487. Reck, Baron von, 62. Reed's Church, Pa., 144, 146, 178 sq. Reformed Church, 252, 273, 294. pastors, 212 (present at tlie ded- ication of St. Michael's, Philadel- phia) ; 273 sq., 290. Regina, the released captive, 221 sq. Remmerspach, N. J., 256, 273, 318. Reuss, Von, 10 sq., 12, 17, 23, 26. Reutlingen, Germany, 222. Rhinebeck, N. Y., 199, 248, 250, 251. Rhode, Ant., Rev., 23. Richards, J. W., D. D., 457. Matthias, 496, 518. Riesenbeck, Dr., 10 sq. Riess, J- Er., Rev., 256 sqq., 266, 271, 278, 2S1, 273, 452 sq. INDEX. 545 Rittinghuysen, 91. Roeller, J. Geo., Rev., 448, 524. Roemhild, Germany, 376. Romanists in Pennsylvania, 94, 329. Rocs, M. Fr., Rev., 503. Rosenthal, Pa., 430. Rosleben, Germany, 438. Ross, En., Rev., 125. Roth, Jas., Rev., 388. Rotterdam, 35. Ruckert, L. E., D. D., 16. Rudman, Andr., Rev., 255. Rudolph, Carl, 157, 170, 190, 204 sq., 237, 250, 256, 334 S. Saalfeld, Von, 12. Saccum, Pa., 160, 199 sq., 240. Salisbury (Salzburg, Pa.), 200, 322, 430. Salzburg Lutherans, 40, 66, 76 sq. Salzburger family, 41, 45, 48, 50, 64, 69. Sahbiirger Reports, 474. Salzwedel, Germany, 285. Sandin, J., Provost, 211, 214. Sauer, Christian, 147. Christoph., 43, 165 (his German newspaper); 201, 331 sqq. (re- lation to the charity schools). Savannah, Ga., 65, 466 sqq. Savoy congregation at London, 184. Saxony, John Fred, of, 4. Schaefer, Dav., 498. Fr. D., D. D., 376, 382. Schafif, of Schoharie Valley, 168. Schaum, J. H., Rev., 158 (arrival); 159, 170 (visits the Raritan congi-ega- tions) ; 183, 195 (visits Monoc- acy) ; 200 sq. (at York) ; 205, 239 (e.xamined and ordained); 241, 260, 263, 306 sq. (removal from York; later pastoral activ- ity and death); 309, 315, 319, 350, 386. Schertlin, J. F., Rev., 311, 424. Schippach, Pa., 133, 178. Schlatter, Mich., Rev. ; 230, 292 (biogr.), 325. 330, 452, 524- Schleydorn, Henry, loi, 106, 268, 293, 303, 304. Schmidt, J. Fr., D. D., 375 sq. (biogr.); 414 sq., 451. N., 95, 96, 104, 194. Schmucker, B. M., D. D., 442. J. G., D. D., 417. Schneider, druggist, 362, 366. Schoener, J. Dan., 351. Schoharie Valley, N. Y., 143, 167. Schortritz in Anhalt, 96. Schrack, Widow, 99. Schrenk, L. H., Rev., 227 (arrival and reception); 228 (catechist at Up per Milford, etc.) ; 229 (ordained and sent to the Raritan churches) ; 229 sqq. (his ungrateful behavior and erratic course); 231 (em- barks for Europe) ; 246, 320. Schubert, Rev., 84. Schultz, Fred., Rev., 285 sqq. (biogr.); 317- Schultze, J. Chr., Rev., 112, 142, 174, 351- Schulze, Ch. Em., Rev., 407 sqq. (biogr.) ; 451,482, 524. J. L., D.D., 132. J. A. M., governor, 408, 519. Schumacher, D., Rev., 325. Schiissler, J. J., rector, 6. Schwab, Gust., 533- Schwarbach, J., catechist, 238, 428. Schwarzwald, Pa., 147, 160. Schwenkfeklers, the, 94, no, 218, 397. Schwerdfeger, J. L., Rev., 306, 372, 41 1. Scotch-Irish immigrants, 93, 217. Presbyterians, 173. Seckler, Dan., 124. Seidensticker, O., Prof. Dr., 403, 484 sq. Selig, teacher, 377. Seminary, Theological, at Philadelphia, 439 sq., 448 sq. Semler, J. L., D. D., 503. "Senior" (title of honor), 409. Seventh-day Dunkers, 1 1 1, 14S, 180, 245. Small Catechism, edited by Chr. Sau- er, 201 ; edited in English by Wrangel, 364. Smith, Horace W., 336. Will., D. D., 324, 326 sqq., 330, 331 (provost of the college and academy at Philadelphia), 347. Society de Promov. Cogn. Christ., 39, 462, 466. for the Propagation of the Gospel, 39,41, 66, 244, 326. Solms-Roedelsheim, Count, 381 (leg- acy); 492. Solms, Von, 1 1 . Somner, Rev., 96, 224. Nic.,Rev. (at Schoharie, N.Y.), 249. Spangenberg, A. G., bishop, no, 1 1 6, 145, 149, 175, 180, 195. Spener, Ph. Jac, D. D., 8, 12, 291. Spithead, 46. Stanwix, John, Col., 341. Statesbury, N. V., 253. Steiner, J. C, Rev., 390. Steinmetz, Aht, 17, 224. 546 INDEX. Stendal, Germany, 2S5. Stephens, Th., Col., 69. Stiegel, H. W., 383 sq. Stille (family), 148. Stoever, J. C., Rev., Jr., 102, I12, 119, 127, 142, 144, "157, 174, 183,188 (resided at Earltownj ; 213, 241 sq., 351 sq., 388 (received into the ministerium). J. C, Rev., Sr., 236 sq., 351, 486. Stolberg, Von, 11, 159. Stone Arabia, N. Y., 454. Stouchsburg, Pa., 144. Strassburg, Alsace, 309. Va., 411. Strebech, Geo., Rev., 442. Streit, Christian, Rev., 383 (biogr.); 430, 477, 506 sq. (letter of H. M. Miihlenberg to him). Sigismund, 494 (his legacies). Streiter, a teacher, 149, 194, 213, 308. Stroudsburg, Pa., 248. Siisse, Rev., 19. Swain, Francis, 496, 518. Svvatara Cave (Atolheo), Pa., 385. Swedish Lutherans, 1 01 (at Philadel- phia); 243, 391 (relation to the Episcopal Church); 421. settlers on the Delaware, 85, 91, 93, 243. in West Jersey, 92. on the Schuylkill, 93. pastors and their relation to the German Lutheran pastors, 342. Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church, 189, 191, 210, 211, 281. Synod; 208 (necessity of); 212 (at- tempted by the Swedes) ; 214 (concerning places of meeting) ; 283, 324, 388 (congi-egations united in it A. D. 1763). Synodical meetings : 208 sqq. (first held at Philadelphia) ; 346, 371, 373, 388. 239, 385, 496 (at Lancaster, Pa.). 241 (at Providence). 286 (at Germantown). 311 (at New Hanover). 448 (at Philadelphia, clerical mem- bers). 519 (at York, Pa.). Synods of Pennsylvaia and adjoining States, of West Pennsylvania, and of New York, 494. T. Talbot, governor of Maryland, 61. Tappe, Dr., 31 sq. I Tar Bush on the Hudson, 250. Tennent, Gilb., Rev., 336, 391. W., Rev., 391, 463. Theus, Swiss painter, 81. Thomas, Governor, 107, 125. Thiirnstein, Herr von, 81, 94, I19, 124. Till, mayor of Philadelphia, 124. Timrod, H., 459. Tinicum Island, 86, 348, 364. Tohicon, Pa., 234, 258, 315. Tranbeig, Pet., Rev., 105, ro6, 107, 123, 126, 142, 211. Trappe, see A^ew Providence. Treutlen, Adam, 463-467 sqq. Triebner, Chr. Fred., Rev., 444 sqq., 463, 467 sqq., 513. Trinity (Hamljurg) Church in London, 249, 258.^ Church at Lancaster, Pa., 404. Holy, church at New York, 52'6. Tulpehoken, Pa.; 143 sqq., 161 sqq. (confusion there); 198, 203, 206 (Christ Church dedicated) ; 206 (petitions for a regular pastor) ; 241, 264 (pastoral conference); 374, 382. U. Uhl, Chr. R., 355. Ulm, Germany, 309. Unaltered Augsburg Confession, 191, 211. Unander, Eric, Rev., 243, 245. United German Lutheran churches, 214, 244 (pastors), 353. Unruh, Geo., 147. Upper Dublin, Pa., 382. Upper Merion, near Philadelphia, 380. Upper Milford, Pa., 160, 199 sq., 240. Urlsperger, J- A., D. D., 444, 467, 474, 513-" Saml., D. D., 41, 72, 2S4, 443 sq. V. Vigera, J. Fr., 73 sq., 160, 17S, 200 ; 227 (marriage); 241. Vincent, see Pikestown. Virginia, German Lutherans in, 236 sq. Voigt, J. L., Rev. ; 375 (elected at Ger- mantown, then at New Han- over); 409, 412 sqq. (biogr.); 456, 524- W. Wagner, Fred., D. D., 199. Tobias, Rev., 148 sqq., 152 sq., 157, 163, 184,206, 210, 213, 241 sq., 264, 306, 307, 312, 388. liVDEX. 547 Waldoborough, Maine, 148. Wales, immigrants from, 93. Wallrath of Schoharie, 168. Waher, Mich., teacher, 263. Washington, Geo., 218, 485 sq., 493. Weinland, J. F., Rev., 376. Weisensee, Ph. H., D. D., 284. Weiser, J. C, Sr., 166 sqq. J. C., Jr., 143, 145, 161 sqq., 167, 176, 178, 179 sqq., 240 sq. ; 246 sqq. (journey with Muhlenberg to the Hudson) ; 269, 276 sq., 312, 323 (his death); 330. Anna Mary, 163. Weisiger, Dan., 351. Weiss, G. M., Rev., 133. Weitendahl (White Hall), Pa., 307. Wernigerode, town, 29, 407, 409. Von, 10, II, 28, 285. Wertsch, J. C. (Wurtz), 463, 467 sqq. Wesley, Chas., Rev., 66 sq. John, Rev., 66 sq. Weygand, J. A., Rev. ; 223 sqq. (arrival and reception) ; 226 (sent to the Raritan congregations) ; 227 (or- dination ; call to New York ; death) ; 239, 241, 259, 263, 271, 280 sq., 295. White, Bishop, 428. Whitefield, Geo., Rev., 63, 67, 72, 116, 228, 290, 341, 388, 390 sq., 391 sq. (H. M. Muhlenberg dissents from him) ; 401, 406, 447 sq. White Hall, Pa., 430. Whitemarsh, Pa., 377. Wicaco (Gloria Dei) at Philadelphia, 107, 174, 244. 342. Wicksell, John, Rev., 345, 372, 451. Wiesenthal, Chas. Fr., M. D., 410. William I. of Prussia, 20. Wildbahn, C. Fred., Rev., 386, 524.' AN'inchester, Va., 388,411. Winkler, Rev., 32. Witpen (Whitpain), Pa., 142, 322. Wittenberg in Saxony, 119. Wolf, J. A., Rev., 151 sqq., 170, 250. Wolfe, General, 320. • Womelsdorf, Pa., 179. Wood, James, 427 sq. Woodstock, Va., 238, 41 1 ; 428 (former- ly Staufierstadt) ; 486. Wordmann, H.B. G., Rev., 307, 312. Wrangel, C. M., Rev., Provost, 245, 324, 342 sqq. ; 348 (his pastoral activity ; relation to Methodism ; to Pietism ; to the Episcopal Church ; his friendshij> with Miililenberg) ; 345 sq. (his in- terest in the history of the Lu- theran Church in this country) ; 346 sqq. (introduced to the bish- op of London) ; 359, 364 (trans- lation in English of Luther's Small Catechism) ; 367, 370, 380, 385, 420 (returns to Sweden) ; 421 (letter of introduction to the bishop of London) ; 422 (his death); 423, 511 sqq. (letter to H. M. Muhlenberg). Wiirtemberg, 301, 305, 307. Wurtembergers,two, disciplined liy Miilil- enberg, 228 sq. ; 360 (many of them in the Lutheran congrega- tion at Philadelphia). Y. York, Pa. ; 165, 185 sq., 187 sq. (early history); 196 sq. (Muhlenberg's visit there) ; 200 sq. (Schaum sent there); 205, 306, 372, 3S4 sq. (dedication of church). Zellerfeld, town, 7. Ziegenbalg, missionary, 16. Ziegenliagen, F. M., D. D., 15, 22, 36 sqq., 41, 117 sqq. 120, 121, 140, 241, 298, 352, 381, 494- Zinzendorf, Count; 17, 94, 109 sqq., 120, 123 (his assumed authority over the Lutherans in Pennsyl- vania); no. III (his unionistic tendencies and conferences) ; 1 13 (preaches to the German Luther- ans at Philadelphia) ; 1 14 (puts Pyrlseus in his place at Philadel- phia) ; 1 1 =; (builds a church there and establishes a Moravian con- gi-egation) ; 352. 117 sqq. {conversation with H. M. Muhlenberg); 124 (leaves for England); 126. 145, 181 (was acquainted with J. Conr. Weiser, Jr.). Zion Church at Mosellem, Pa., 149. at Ebenezer, Ga., 470, 514. at Pikestown, Pa., 319, 375, 412. at Philadelphia, 390, 405 sqq.,4S9, 519- Ziracka, Prince, 4. Ziibly, Joach., D. D., 68, 306, 465 sq., 478. Zwiesler, J. A., 94 sq. ■^ •^ >. .%- -v . . ■■ % .*' . i ' \ -^-' «' » ."C. V ■ . .U*;- -- ,'. >.'% -n'^'-'V'' , ^ ■ '• ^.'''w*", f -} ') t •^>-'^.. t.-:-' "!''•/ ■ - ^<'\ >>•' ; * -TT :;' f U* > . ' . V • '.'■nr -■.■"■/ ■ :"^ • .' 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