.^^f PmcET^ ^^iOGlCM Sl\K-€^ A II'3 BX 9225 .A58 A4 v . 2 Alexander, James W. 1804 1859. Forty years' familiar letters of James W. ^ Eng 1 -^ A-H-BitaiiE FOETY YEARS' FAMILIAR LETTERS OF JAMES W. ALEXANDEE, D. D. CONSTITUTING, WITH THE NOTES, A MEMOIE OF HIS LIFE. EDITED BY THE SURVIVING CORRESPONDENT, JOHK HALL, D.D. IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II. NEW YORK : CHARLES SCRIBNER, GRAND STREET. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SOX & COMPANY. 1860. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1S60, by CHAELES SCEIBNEE, In the Clerk's OflBce of the District Conrt of the United States for the Southern District of New York. JOHN F. TROW, PRINTKR, STEREOTYPER, AND EI.ECTROTVPER, 50 Greene Street, New York. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. PAGE CHAPTER IX. Letters tvhile Pastor of Duane Street CnuRcn, I^ew York, . . 5 1844—1849. CHAPTER X. Letters while Professor in the Theological Seminary, Princeton, 99 1849—1851. CHAPTER XI. Letters during his first tisit to Europe, 134 1851. CHAPTER XIL Letters while Pastor op the Fifth Avenue Church, New York, 163 1851— 185Y. CHAPTER XIIL Letters during his second visit to Europe, 238 1857. CHAPTER XIV. Letters during the remainder of his Pastorate in New York, . 2*71 1857—1859. 4 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. PAGE CHAPTER XY. Concluding Note, 291 1859. Appendix, 305 1. Charge at the Ordination and Instalment of his Correspondent. 2. Additional Letter from Europe in 1851. 3. Additional Letters from Europe in 185Y. Index, 3*73 CHAPTEE IX. LETTERS WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE STREET CHURCH, NEW YORK. 18M— 1849. New York, October 4, 1844. I WAS licensed just nineteen years ago, this clay. Last even- ing I was installed. My father preached. Dr. Potts gave me a good charge, very kind, but somewhat laudatorial. Dr. Krebs charge to the people. Mr. Greenleaf presided. Dr. Spring made the last prayer, in a very memorable manner ; it was a prayer of great pathos. The house was full. The presentation to the people was long, wearisome, exciting, but accompanied with such circumstances as cheer and humble me. I slept little and am tremulous with a cup of unwonted coffee. Till advised, address J. W. A., " Care Hugh Auchincloss & Sons, 49 Beaver Street. " * New York, October 10, 1844. Where shall I begin about this Babel 1 I ought to begin by expressing my thanks to benignant Providence for the pleasant- ness of every thing, and especially the warm reception I have had. We are not yet admitted to our new house, but remain with our good friends [the late Mr. Hugh Auchincloss] in Bar- clay St. We hope to set up our tent this week. I have the back room, 2d story, for my study, which I regard as the chief room in a parson's house. Ours is only a two-story house. Prom my window I have a constant view of the " Tombs." ^ Dr. Alexander preached his first sermon, after the instalment, October Gth, from Psalm li. 12 ; and in the afternoon from Matthew xi. 16-19. 6 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CIirECH, NEW TOEK- I preached all day, on Sunday ; and Monthly Concert on Monday. Attendance good, but nothing which need cause any re&ort to the police, as yet. As for myself, the worst I haye experienced is bodily flitigue. Eunning all day, and dead sleep all night. Yesterday I attended my first funeral, and my first clinical case. In the eyening, IMr. Auchincloss took a raft of us to the Tabernacle, to see and hear the Campanologians. They are really Tyrol ese, and in costume. It passes belief. They are seyen, and the music is as exact as a Geneva box. I wished for Dr. Ewing. Inter alia, they gaye the overture to Fra Diavolo, with eyery rapid and eyery chromatic passage perfectly, and all the varieties of pianissimo and fortissimo. The bells, on a rough count, are 30 — iO. Each man has a cluster before him. But they do not stick to this arrangement, but snatch up one another's bells with the rapidity of lightning. At a distance, exactly like common table or hand-bells, the largest about three pints measure. On examination, the handles are leathern, stiff and elastic, and within are cushions so that no shake but in a certain plane will give a sound. I presume the vibration is checked by a slight twirl of the wrist, such as throws the clapper against the cushion. The audience about 4,000. I saw the Rev. Symmes C. Henry and daughter there. ]\Iy sexton is a treasure ; both intelligent and pious, and withal as humble and " bid-able " as a Helot. His name is Peter Tarlsen, from Mandel, near Christian- sand, in Norway. Of course his vernacular is Danish ; but he has twelve years' worth of English. He is my man Eriday, and does all manner of chores for me, being this moment toting my books from the basement. We have the Croton, but no bath- room. Indeed, New York is immeasurably behind Philadelphia in all that concerns neatness &;c. E. g. we have no back alley ; nor has one house in a thousand. I told you I have the house where Dr. Romeyn once was. I have fourd out a number of very agreeable neighbours. AYe have every thing near. Centre Market is about three Pliiladelphia squares oflf; Broadway, seven doors ; the Harlaem railway-route, about two squares. The market folk send every thing home for you, and all sorts of trades-people come to one's house, on receiving a note through the Despatch-post. The thing which most strikes me, is the loss of time by the immense distances. For instance. Presbytery met at Chelsea, three miles from the Battery. One hundred guns this afternoon in the park. These are days of general muster. Presented one bag of coff*ee and one box black tea ; one barrel flour, one do. sugar ; item, one rocking chair, and one arm ditto. Stolen, one pile of boards from the " stoop." I wish you to say to my Trenton friends, especially in your street, that, in 1844—184:9. 7 the extraordinary hurry of departure, having one house dis- mantled, and the other unfurnished, I was barely able to say adieu to my Princeton friends ; nay, one or two of them I had to leave ungreeted. The processional politics of New York amounts to a luror. Thousands must be spent on banners and music alone, not to speak of drink and time. I think I have spent half a dollar a day on omnibuses. The weather has been delightful. Unless I err, there is a great desire for real pastoral attention, and for Christian profit. New York, October 23, 1844. I verily believe the exchange is against Trenton ; but, for an ensample, I write. Last night, or this morning, was allotted [by the " Millerites ''] for the day of doom. Some went out and encamped at Harlaem. On Monday evening I heard the Rev. Mrs. Bishop, of the True Israelites persuasion, at the Tabernacle; which is now " a house of merchandise." Her delivery, gram- mar, Scripture-citation, &c., excellent. Her main point was the exaltation of woman. This day has been one of great hubbub : the Young Whigs' celebration. A live eagle ; three live coons ; procession of trades ; cavalcade of some thousands ; bands and banners sans number. Nothing gratified my eyes so much as the Boston delegation, amounting to hundreds ; fine fellows all. Willis has started a daily ; and for New York gossip and idle, but witty badinage, it deserves well. Kirk called yesterday. I have, in my flock, Mrs. Renwick, the " Jane " of Burns : she knew the poet well. The New Yorkers mean to have a new paper: both new and old synods have jumped together in this, and in assaulting the American Tract Society, about Merle s book.' 1 find myself in a very central situation for my charge. The church and lecture room are easy to speak in. Mr. Andrew and two daughters, of my parish, have just arrived from England. Capt. Auchincloss is every day expected from Rio. My friends here have attended very properly to my wants in the grocery line. The fair of the American Institute is worth seeing. Serious talk of a railway in Broadway, to exclude the omnibuses, which peril life every moment. A member of our congregation was killed by an omnibus, some months since. Leeser called on me, on Sunday ; he had been supplying the pulpit of Rabbi Lyon in Crosby Street. Rabbi Isaacs lives just round a corner from me ; and two synagogues are near. The omnibuses of the better sort are lined wHh velvet or plush, spring cushions, some 1 Dr. Merle d'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, \\hicli had been slightly altered in the republication. 8 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEAV YOEK. of them having mahogany arms dividing seat from seat. Wain- wright and Richmond's edition of the Potts controversy is mean beyond common meanness. The annotator is bold in billings- gate. Our door bell hardly ceases to vibrate. I have laid my people under an injunction to furnish me in writing, with their respective names and number of house. Dr. Potts has not yet elected elders. I hope you will come on very soon ; bed and all ready ; the " Tombs " in the rear ; I am in the '' bloody Sixth Ward." Yours most interruptedly. New York, October 30, 1844. Last night, after my return from lecture, who should come in but Paclvard, on his way to Boston. On Saturday night I heard the mxws announcino; the Great Western : these bisr thinijs are now quite punctual. Smyth [of Charleston] came in the Western, bringing 81,500 worth of books with him. He was called up, impromptu, in the Farewell Missionary meeting, on Sunday, and made an admirable address. Brown (for China) sailed yesterday. Mr. Masters [an elder of Duane street] is ill with fever. Mr. Auchincloss had a touch of illness on the 28th. Mr. Hinsdale has left us for Brooklyn. Mr. Beers, our only remaining elder, is up the river. On I\Ionday evening I heard Major Mordecai ]\Ianasseh Noah, on the Restoration of Israel ; an hour and a half : rain, but full house. Doctrine : the Jews are to be restored to their own land. Inference : Christians should aid, by procuring for Israelites a secure tenure of land in Palestine. He proposed to the Society for Conversion of Jews, to deliver several lectures nnder their auspices. The outcry against Merle's History as altered by the Tract Society is very absurd. The book is exactly what it was, to all intents and pur- poses : and its influence is rendered a hundredfold greater by the Society taking it up. I have carefully collated all the pas- sages in question ; and while I think the alterations needless, I would not give one cent for the difference. Certain New School men are bent on awakeninsf a New School sectarism, as against all Union Societies. They mean to have a Publica- tion Board. These jealousies are horrid. I do not wonder that some pastors feel themselves at length constrained to do all their works within their own parish. I cannot but think that spiritual religion is at a low ebb in our churches in this city. Never have I heard, in the same amount of visiting, so little savoury discourse. 1 believe Puseyism triumphs, (not because Presbyterians fight so little, brag so little, and stickle 1844—1849. 9 so little ; so saith ,) but because our actual state, in Pres- byterian churches, has so little to awahen and Jill the affections. Old spiritualism (Polloclvisni) [i. 199] is no more. Revivalism is no more. The only activity visible is a mere business bustle in regard to organisms and agencies. Must we not go deeper than we have gone % I am deeply affected with a sense of this. But how to begin % At home, we need most of all. I have shut up books, and live in the streets and houses, all the available hours of the day. Bush is out with his anti-resurrection book. []J^^ Expect him to turn Swedenborgian. [This took place.] and family in the Great Western, from third visit abroad. He says he saw much of Carlyle. C. and Tennyson had a night with him just before he left London. Pipe-smoking, with wash-basin on table for spittoon. Carlyle is in talk as in his books ; only " more so." As Addison is printing [Isaiah] with Wiley & Putnam, I have the entree there, and enjoy a grand gloat on the arrival of each steamer. The English books are reaching a sumptuosity which constitutes a branch of luxe quite new in the world ; e. g. Murray's 4to edition of Byron. While I write, the grand Whig procession is advancing : Vanitas vanitatwn. The under-current of religious activity in this city strikes me with unexpected force, as strong and branch- ing into a vast number of charities. I did not conceive that so much was effected in regard to seamen, tract distribution, and care of poor. The increase of foreigners is amazing : I perceive it in the increase of foreign newspapers in New York, signs of stores, and lingos in shop and market. Liveries are all the go again : everywhere coachmen with white neckcloths, of true dis- senting cut. I am just called down to talk with a man from Rome (N. Y.) who heard me preach on Sunday, and is under great distress of mind. ISew Tork, November 18, 1844. Mr. Masters was buried on Thursday. The body was brought to our church, contrary to New York usage. Dr. Potts, and Dr. Cummins of Florida, an old friend, assisted. I spoke from John xvii. 24. Large assembly, including some of the chief merchants of New York. We have lost the leading mind in our church. In the use of his pen, Mr. Masters took rank with scholars. As a merchant, he was sasracious to a remarkable degree. I have now but two elders ; and old Mr. Beers [since deceased] is out of town nine-tenths of the time. I catechize every Saturday from nine to ten. My lecture is on Tuesday evening, half-past seven, in the basement. Last Thursday (which VOL. II. 1* 10 WHILE PASTOR OF DIJANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TORE:. 5 is our prayer-meeting) ^ve had the Rev. John Macnaiigliton of Paisley. You may remember the long debate in the Free Assembly of '43, whieh resulted in refusing to translate him to N. Leith, on account of the resistance of his flock. He has been on a special mission to Canada, and sailed on the 16th in the Hibernia. He has preached much oftener than once a day, in America ; on several Sabbaths four times. Young, ruddy, hand- some, uncommonly plain in dress, and a most eloquent preacher. He never uses a note, and says " reading sermons is almost ex- ploded in the Free Church." None of the Scotchmen come near him for unction, elegance of diction, and Summerfieldian soaring of imagination. In the Native American procession, among abundance of Bibles and Bible-banners, I read, with my own eyes, the following, on a large canvas, and most prominent place : " By the eternal, we must and shall " — I presume the last word was " rule." I regard the outcry against the Tract So- ciety's edition of Merle d'Aubigne as factious and wicked. For all the ends, the mutilated l30ok is not one stiver worse than the other. The New School men are intent on having a sec- tarian Board of Publication. They are angry with the Tract Society for being so old-foshioned in doctrine. In two years, the Society would have had 100,000 copies all over the land. Now they are paralyzed, not only in regard to this, but all their operations. All this, while I think the alterations should have been first submitted to Merle. I fully agree with you about Polk ; he never fought a duel ; that is something : Ezek. xxii. 6. A visit from you will be truly acceptable. iV at any time you find us fall, your kin will receive you ; here are the names and residences, in full, viz. : [Here a list of " Halls " from the Directory.] My prospects of a full house are certainly not less than I expected. All our down-stairs pews are sold, but there are seals offered to let. Gallery-pews are not sought. I have not visited , lest I should seem to be canvassing ; the name has not been given to me, as among our hearers, and my time is unecjual to the search for such as are. Several cases of awakening are known to me. It is generally believed that no church in New York has so many yourig men. They have a monthly associa- tion, which I have attended. Kidder has put out a valuable translation from the Portuguese, on Celibacy : see this week's Observer. I have met him twice. Me judice, the Methodists are doing more than all of us, in evangelizing this Sodom. The monthly visits of the City Tract Society's "distributors, is the most wonderful and blessed agency; the half had not been told me. Burns has determined to settle at Toronto. A visiter told me 1844—1849. 11 this of which follows : He was presented to the Governor of New Brunswick. After he had blathered away, as he is wont, for about an hour, the Governor rose and said : " As I find no opportunity to say any thing, I will take my leave." The Scotch Publication scheme is grand ; they will have no lofts filled with unsold books. It is this : No books are in market, nor any printed, but for subscribers. All the money goes to cheapen the books. Each subscriber, who at first received two bound vols, per annum for 4^. sterling, now receives four bouud vols, for the same. Subscribers now, 40,000. This ensures their being read, and they are cheaper than our " cheap litera- ture." In all our operations here, I am afraid much of the water runs beside the mill-wheel ; e. g. the millions of " winged mes- sengers " which fly into waste-paper-deposit. But let's not croak : for croaking is already hindering half we attempt. I wish AVillis was not so incorrigibly and laboriously frivolous. His " Mirror," now daily, gives the best daguerreotype of this frivolous city. is to be the editor of the New School paper, " and to party give up, what was meant for mankind." My people will not stand up in prayer. Some pastors have used pains to introduce what Dr. Cox calls a " sedentary reclina- ture." I hope they will not introduce berths, for rej)Ose in devotion. New York, Decemher 2, 1844. Your thoughts about the Sabbath Convention show how well you have succeeded in picking up my views, probably from my old parishioners. Beware how you use " my thunder." Our ponderous fire-bell is telling of fire. Though we hear the tocsin at least daily, I have never seen an engine, nor met with that sort of hubbub which agitates all Philadelphia at once, on such occasions. The reason perhaps is, that the law forbids engines to go out of their own district, unless a special call be made for more help. I have a choking new cold ; yet I preached twice yesterday, and was at a funeral to-day : Dr. Milnor, Dr. Snod- grass and I. Fourteen white scarfs, of fine twined linen. Burial in vault in Trinity-yard, where Milnor ofliciated, after my ser-' vice at the house. The old Doctor is right hale for 72. [He died April 8, 184-5.] He tells me he practised law, actively, twenty years. Morse, after long silence, is editorializing about Merle's history. The life of McCheyne humbles me. What zeal and fiiith ! what a proof that Old Calvinism is not insusceptible of being used as an arousing instrument ! Macnaughton seems to be of the same school. The book is open to an objection, conveyed in an anecdote told me by a nice Scotswoman, the 12 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUKCH, NEW TOEK. Other day. Dr. Chalmers said of Burns jr., McCheyne, McDon- ald, &c. : " These young brethren are dohig a good work ; but I wish they would have done with their nursery endearments.''^ Noah is repeating his lecture this evening. Potts has been chal- lenged by Richmond, to discuss prelacy in an oral way. This, you remember, was Potts' proposal to Wainwright. " And,'' Richmond adds, " as you are well prepared, let us begin to-mor- row." The November number of the " North British Review " is good. Leading article by Chalmers. One on Davy, by Car- lyle ; one on America, by Cunningham; admirable. One on somebody's telescope, by Brewster. The best is on Backhouse (quaker)'s missionary visit to Africa ; developing the principle of a book called " Good— Better— Best." Among all my cate- chumens, I find but two who know the whole Shorter Catechism. I find it my pleasantest hour in the week. Much talk in Prince- ton of the amazing genius of a young poet. He belongs to the set which may be said to constitute the " New America." They go for metaphysie, Coleridge, almost for Spinoza. They laugh at Locke, Reid, Stewart, &c. They undervalue New- ton and Bacon. They applaud Plato. They care less, than they once did, for prayer-meetings, missions, &c. Keep your eye on this. How much we need to stick by the plain declarations of the written word! Reading McCheyne makes ine feel how defective we ministers are, in helping one another in the main point. It is a great thing to have one to go to in a soul-trouble. Bustle, bustle. It was temperance — it is now the Sabbath. I am trying to fall in with a good little Moravian, named Bigler, who is said to preach the old gospel with much unction. " Some of the JNIethodists preach delight- fully ; and when they all sing together, it leaves the orchestral style far behind. I am anxiously concerned about new elders, having only ^Messrs. Auchincloss and Beers. I have never had any one to pay a visit of introduction with me ; still I am get- tino- on. I lecture on Hebrews, and wish I could do nothing but expound. I read one sermon a week ; with a growing persua- sion, that written sermons have undoubted points of superiority ; but that these are all ivorldly. I more and more believe (my practice belies it) that (1) constant Bible-study, using Scripture to explain itself, and (2) culture of the heart, by prayer, &c., are the groat preparation for the pulpit. O for a generation of the old sort of preachers ! INIatt. Henry, Newton, Cecil, &c. We are dying of Moderatism. Listen to the talk of our divinity-studenis ; it is of Coleridge, Emerson, &c. In New York, the result of the former exciting revivals is seen, even in good men, in the making all religion consist in evangelical 1844—184:9. 13 effort. Some are very busy saving souls, with all the dialect and levity and coarseness of Maj. Downing. I feel my own defects. I desire to be a parish-minister, wholly, and with all my soul. New York, December 9, 1844. I think we are at cross-purposes about the " old sort of preachers." I meant such Presbyterian pastors and preachers as w^ere known to our fathers. I would not demand that any of us should adopt those peculiarities which belonged to the age and fashion of the Puritans ; their " pun-divinity," as Charles Lamb called it. Nor do I deny that they sometimes introduced inconvenient niceties of distinction. Yet even in respect to these, I believe it may be taken as universally true, that every distinction arises from some new error to be opposed. The Apostles' creed sufficed, till Arianism arose. Sabellius made other distinctions necessary, and so on to the end of the chapter. Some of the distinctions of the Reformed Theology, and even of our Confession, have become obsolete, but new ones have taken their place, and the number does not seem to be lessened. But the technical formulas of these nonconformists and Scotch Presbyterians are not the things I w^ould imitate. One good char- acteristic, however, of this whole class, I do wish we had in greater measure ; they not only held Scripture truth, but they associated it with Scripture language. Their writings teem with Bible phrase and Bible figure ; a necessary result, m any age, of affectionate devotion to the book. For this I love them ; and, in my best moods, in this I feel myself sliding into mutation of them. 1 do not, I own it, think even the Puritan writers, as a body, chargeable with overlaying the truth, or complicating its simplicity. True, they pursue doctrines into minute ramifica- tions ; the necessary consequence of their dwelling so profoundly on them. The general statement of a doctrine is, I know, true ; it is, also, more intelligible, and more fit for a beginner ; but the fault of modern divinity is that it too seldom gets beyond these generalities. Jay represents such a truth as this, " Christ died to save us," in a thousand ways, and each of them coloured with some Scriptural phrase, figure, or example. Some of us, if we taught the same, would scrupulously avoid every such vehicle, and would translate the Bible-diction into that of philosophic elegance. The former I think most luminous, most interesting to common minds, and most safe. It is a great merit of this way, that it is prized by our Stuarts, Pollocks, and Woodruffs, [humble parish- ioners.] It is the way which made them just what they are If all our youth were bred in this way, all our old folks would 14 AVHILE PASTOK OF DUANE ST. CIIUECH, NEW YOEK. relish it, as the Scotch peasantry actually do. The reverse method, though simpler, and less liable to the charge of cant, has never produced as desirable fruit. And we must not take as our model the way which pleases such as are, by the suppo- sition, uninstructed. We must interj^ose some long words in the child's lesson, or he will never know any but the short ones. And I cannot help thinking it one of the chief faults of the New School or revival era, that its plan of teaching had respect too exclusively to the initiation of new converts. One thing I more and more feel, the excellency of figures and illustrations and ex- amples drawn from the text of the Word. To aim at either simplicity or elegance, by avoiding these, leads either to vague- ness or dryness. Hence I never could get along with this rule of Dr. : " if you have a figurative text, explain the figure, and then dismiss itP It is the secret of the good Doctor's tame- ness. By this rule, all sermons on Faith will be the same ser- mon. I will send you shortly two numbers of " Punch." Though the old Adam in me relishes his passes, yet I agree in what a very poor editor lately said of him, that it is bad, week after week, to undermine the veneration of a people. We are too fond of lauo-liiuff at everv thino;. On the 4th I was at a soiree, at . He is a McElroyalist ; and is eldest of eight sons of a late clergyman of Glasgow. One of the ablest lay- talkers on theological matters. I met there Hugh Maxwell, Esq. Our host had that same day entertained Dr. McLean, husband of Miss Landon, L. E. L. ; and Governor of Cape-Coast- Castle ; said castle covers several acres. Said governor is auto- crat ; and has condemned as many as eleven to death ; he also buries and baptizes. A parishioner of mine spent some time in Madeira. He knows good Dr. Kalley. I have before me two of his letters ; date 1840. Eacts from them : He was bent on China, to join Dr. Parker, as an M. D. Wife's health pre- vented, and took him to Madeira, October 1838. In 1839 he went home and was ordained ; independently, though a Scotch Calvinist. The London Missionary Society would not, however, take Madeira as a station. The Continental (now the European) Society also refused. He began as M. D., gave medicine gratis, prescribed. " During the last twenty-five days, I have come into contact with 112 individuals as patients; and during the last eight days, forty-five besides patients have had opportunity to hear more or less of the word of God." " When the room is filled, I take the Bible and read a few verses," &c., &c. He mentions in detail difi"erent classes durino; each week. " One of the most regular attendants is a schoolmistress, who has 130 scholars." " One old woman has a family of six, but till lately has had 1844—1849. 15 nothing of the Scripture of God in her house. I gave her a Testament. Next day she returned, inquiring about the reward people receive, who love to pray that they may be seen of men, and various other questions about prayer. She said she had spent many hours in saying rezas^ but never felt as if speaking to God ; and asked very earnestly what it is to pray. Another day she complained that, though she felt a toca di Dios (touch of God) in her heart, while she prayed, it went away when she got home to her family and fazenda ; and wished to know if that were sin." He mentions numerous cases of persons dying in lively fjiith. Tuesday 10. — This morning I married two of my Sunday School teachers ; this evening another couple. The savour of the old old-schoolism is not good here. Many have never seen old-schoolism allied to any zeal, and have all their early associations connected with new measures. Such a character as McCheyne would be to them as out of nature as a Centaur,. a Sphynx, or a Griffin. The new school of Scotland, pre- dominant in the Free Church, gives some occasion to Chal- mers's censure of their " nursery-endearments of style." They have also much to learn about the evils of unseasonable meetings,, outcries, &c. But they are in earnest, and they exalt Christ. I am convinced you are right about the place ministers seek to occupy in society. One loses nothing, either, by being behind the fashion. Paul, or Luther, or Swartz, would perhaps have been poor Mentors about a visiting card, or a sack-coat. Their tea-service w^as perhaps humbler than a Methodist's. If we had more men, we ought to have more and smaller churches, and smaller stipends. I have seriously proposed to our clergy, as we have no night-meetings for the young and strangers, that the Presbyterians of New York buy the Broadway Tabernacle, and have first-rate preaching Sunday evenings all the year round. It holds 3,000, and has always 2,000, lolioever preaches. The site is incomparable. New York, December 18, 1844. I expect to be here all the holidays. The custom is for the congregation, one and all, to call on the pastor on New Year's Day, to eat a morsel, &c. ; I must of course be in place ; and I shall be glad to have you to do some of the pump-handling for me. You will be particularly welcome. If the worst comes to the worst, and company from Princeton should be here, I know my deacon and deaconess will give you a chamber in ditto [Chambers] Street, and I can answer for their pie : probatum est,. 16 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. J A sermon in your pocket will celebrate Tuesday evening, if they have a meeting. I regret to say that my attic-room has but a dormouse-window, but otherwise it is as good as any we have. Any how, come on. The " Tombs " I now see, as I write; admission free, and company sociable. My mother went this morning. I write merely to tell you to come, wherefore adieu, and love to all, and all friends, with " Merrie Christmasse." New York, January 10, 1845. Van Rensselaer is working here, [for endowment of Princeton Seminary.] He will have to work hard to get the $40,000 he has assessed on our island. Dr. Phillips's church has given him $13,000. When the new railway to Boston, via New Haven, is done, it will be a great thing. They say already that its termi- nus will be where the Brick Church stands. To-day I attended the funeral of the only surviving child of a new-comer. I was trying to light a lamp at an expiring fire, when it breathed its last. This evening I preached a preparatory lecture, from Cant. iv. 16. Seven on profession, twelve on certificate. The apostles have sold the copyright of the trial, [of B. T. Onderdonk,] which is mh ])relo. Berrian has a manual, " Enter into thy Closet," from the prayer-book, and " ancient litanies :" some beau- tiful prayers in it. I always admired the Latin collects of the Catholics. The lapse of ages has given some of these old prayers a polish, and rotundity, and denseness, such as pebbles get in a river-bed. The rhythm of the almost metrical Latin is ex- quisite, and untranslatable. Most of them, however, are idola- trous. Dr. Hawes has published a very simple, touching sermon, on the death of his missionary daughter, Mrs. Van Lennep. Williamsburg has 8,000 inhabitpnts ; and Paul Steven- son, late of Staunton, is gathering a first Presbyterian church there. I am appalled at the extent to which our city churches have become machines for raising money. Every month a stated collection, and almost weekly calls between-whiles. Now, aside from any selfish feelings, is this right ? Is it the ideal of a true gospel state % Is not most of these sums given by worldlings'? Is not the pecuniary association kept rankling, to the hurt of piety ? These are questions more easily asked than answered. Ecclesiastico-politico-economy wants an Adam Smith. More equalization is certainly one thing we ought to aim at. It is rumoured that the Episcopalians are meditating a revolt against the Episcopal degradation of Onderdonk; but que fair el 1844—184:9. IT Do you know that Sue's " Wandering Jew " is aimed at the Jesuits ? It is an awful book, and its principles are clearly anti- christian. Hordes of scavengers do not remove the ordure and smell of our streets. We have none of the great sewers of Phila- delphia. 1 see a new book on the Ruling-Elder, by King, of Scotland. He seems to adopt the view of a bench of Presbyters, some of whom preach. Thornwell is out with a volume against the Apocrypha ; it looks very learned, and is no doubt able. He has certainly touched the right string. The Jews are evi- dently very uneasy. Witness Leeser's " Occident," and others summoning them to defensive efforts ; Noah's Lecture ; the reforms in Germany ; the prevailing and admitted rationalism ; the forsaking by many of their belief for ages in a personal Messiah. I want to preach a sermon on this subject, viz., Men of Busi- ness live in a perpetual hurry, scarcely taking time to refresh nature. This keeps out thoughts of God. This spell must be broken. Fo7' such men, stated inviolable periods of devotion are therefore necessary. Apply to closet-prayer, family-worship, and especially the Sabbath. I feel the evil as I never did before. Broadway is a spectacle these sunny mornings. I sat by , [a fashionable author,] in an omnibus, to-day ; black, shaggy sack, plaid pants, gaiter-boots, blue and red neckcloth, crook- danglino; curls like a Miss, face of a vinous character. I have always felt serious concern at the evident repugnance of a friend of ours to the Tract Society. It is unfortunate, for the princi- ple of compromise in the two charities is identical. And the only privilege of the S. S. Union in the event of disaster, will be that of " being devoured last." I am loth to say it ; but to this I apprehend it will come. Even the New School, who spread wide their no-sect flag in '37, are now moving every thing to be as sectarian as possible — newspaper, Board of Publication, complaint about suppression of Calvinism, &c. A great protraction of meetings and revival reported at Sag Har- bor, L. I., (Old School.) New York, January 30, 1845. I have just returned from my weekly prayer-meeting. Prayer-meetings are like Jeremiah's figs. Where gifts are rare, and graces are small, the edification, and certainly the comfort, are accordingly. One of our men is ill, I fear dying. It is a case in which severe remedies afford the only hope ; but he has two Homoeopathists. Contrary to every principle avow- 18 WHILE PASTOR OF DTJANE ST. CirUECH, NEW YORK. ed, and all their denunciation of " Allopathic" means, they are now, when he is moribund, sivino: stronor medicines. The more I see of them, the more am I confirmed in my belief, that their pretensions are those of systematized charlatanry. Bush is going over fast to the New Jerusalem, [Swedenborgian.] In the Tri- bune, he challenges all the world to prove the resurrection. He has a book coming out on the " Soul." He practises Mesmerism. He told me of a lady who can read any one's character by feel- ing a paper on which he has written : and read me a copy of his own character thus deduced. His talk is mild, self complacent, learned, and fascinating. He has a man translating the German account of the famous Clairvoyante of Prevorst. You can im- agine nothing of the sort too big for his swallow. The coalition between Mesmer and Swedenborg is becoming patent : both affect to see things beyond the vulgar ken. You have read the account of young Dr. Bodenier's extirpation of a glandular parotid tumour, from a woman, during magnetic sleep, in pres- ence of Mott, Rodgers, Doane, Delafield, &c. Come on and be mesmerized. I am strangely obtuse, for I can't wake up enough to see these things in the favourable light. That they can put people asleep, I believe : but so can I. McCartee is called to the Canal Street church. You see that Texas is all but annexed, and the " area of freedom'^'' widened : N. B. area is the Latin for " threshing-floor." I am heretic enough to believe, in very earnest, that this very enormity will be overruled to the good of the negro. It will drain IMaryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ten- nessee of their slaves. It will push the slave-mass towards the tropics. There they may physically thrive ; there they are always happiest. There they will outgrow their white holders. There they will be in the region which is exempt from the real hin- derance to their freedom, the prejudice of colour and caste. In Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, black is almost as good as white. Half the Mexican officers of the two steamers, whom I saw, were one-half or two-thirds Africans. Amalgamation, say what they please, can go on, does go on, and will go on. The longer we put off the national break, the greater will be the Free America. All this, I think, leaves the emancipation question just where it was. But leave this out of view, and what becomes of our negroes, slave or free ? Those called by mockery free peo- ple, are a race of Helots or Yahoos, in our estimation. We do not give them our dinners, or our daughters ; we debar them from pulpits, pews, and omnibuses ; we deny them actual citizen- ship. We smell their rancid odours, and hustle them off our streets more vehemently now that they are free, than when they were slaves. Educate them, and this prejudice makes them 1844—1849. 19 miserable. Look at , a sensible, travelled, pious woman yet hanging between the two races. New York, February 10, 1845. Your letter of 8th to-day. When the House of Represent- atives assents to the new and reasonable postage, [it was then ten cents a sheet,] we can wa-ite more fully. I lament wath you our friend's troubles, and feel sure you have traced them to their true source : only physical derangement is usually the cause of the depression. I also agree with you as to what would be best. A southern or a foreign trip would probably cure. Such cares cannot be thrown off at home : every domestic association for- bids it. Travelling is beyond all things the best remedy. Nolens volens, the patient becomes filled with new objects. I wish you would tell me when and how I could render any aid, in a case where I am so truly interested. Good old Mr. Fenton ! [a pious bookseller in Trenton,] I doubt not he rests in peace. We have a letter telling us of Mrs. Le Grand's death. I suppose I had no better friend on earth. Mrs. Le Grand has been an ex- traordinary woman. Her views of her own religious state were always dark : on every other point, no one could be less morbid, or more clear of sight. Her conscience and intrepidity exceeded all I ever read in books. 1 do not believe the human being lived to whom she durst not speak her mind. Her beneficence, for sixty years, has been, so far as I know, unexampled. Like most planters she had little ready money ; but she has been a peren- nial fountain of good works. She has washed the saints' feet. Her notions of plainness were extreme. Her personal attire was little above that of her servants, in expense. She loved all, of every sect, w^ho loved religion ; and such as did not, she exhorted and warned, in a way which shames me when I write. She was distressingly exercised about slavery. But what could she do % She often asked me, but I was dumb. She had as many as possible taught to read, and this up to the present time. A large number of her slaves are real Christians, not to speak of perhaps a hundred who have gone to heaven. I fully believe that more of them have secured eternal life, than would have been the case in any freedom conceivable. And surely, if eternity is more than time, this is a consideration to be pondered. But she saw no escape ; individual opinion was inert. She greatly opposed the acts of '37, in the church, and was therefore called New School, but adhered to the church. Several fires last night; and they are serious things, now that the streets are so filled with snow. It is scarcely safe to cross Broadway. Every 20 WHILE PASTOR OF DTJAlfE ST. CHUECH, NEW YORK. thing on runners ; six pair of horses in some cases , and such a din of bells, and bellowing of drivers, and mad rush of cut- ters and horses, as confounds one. The Moravians had their last ayarr-q and service, yesterday, in their meek little chapel in Fulton street, before migrating up-town. Arnold's Life is a bonne-bouche. Latitudinary, but O, how fresh, original, vigor- ous, increasingly Christian, Catholic, anti-puseyite, scholarlike ! ^ Our travelled merchants say our new Post Office is the best in the world. You find yourself in a well- warmed colonnade, and see into the interior hall and proceedings. I do not know the number of private boxes, but the number I saw was somewhere about 3,000. The exterior is squat and Dutch. One of our clergymen, a paralytic, goes about the room, but is said to be a speechless infant, though comfortable. I can never forget seeing another minister in the same case : " And Swift expires, a driveller and a show." Not only "I w^ould not live alway," but I would humbly pray not to live thus. Yet let us say, Jlat Voluntas Tua, I see a desert place within ; but I think eternity is oftener in my mind than it was. For pleasant views, one must look at some thing more organized than this world. New York, February Vl^ 1845. Speaking of Plutarch, I think him the best story-teller out of Scripture. His universal popularity shows this. Our Eng- lish translations are vile and paraphrastic. G. Long, Prof &c., of London, has just issued, as one of " Knight's Weekly Vol- umes " a shilling volume of Roman Lives from Plutarch. The version is literal, strong, vivacious ; and the book delightful. It is good for a boy. Two-thirds of all we believe about the Roman Commonwealth is out of Plrtarch, including all our famous anecdotes. Forgive what is egotistic in the following incident, for the sake of the little romance about it, a quality not rife in New York. This morning I was at the Sunday School Depository in Nassau Street, when a little old woman, cleanly, but poor, came in, and in German-English asked for half a dollar's worth of my Infant Library. I found they knew her, and was surprised to learn that she was in the habit of giving them aioay. I talked wdth her in such German as I could pro- duce, and found her a warm-hearted, overflowing Christian — a Lutheran — w^orshipping in Columbia street. But the thing 1 Stanley's Life of Dr. Arnold, reviewed by him in Repertory, April, 1845. 1844—1849. 21 which struck me was, that she pointed out to me her aged blind husband, at the door, holding a harp, on which he plays for his livelihood, while she leads him about. They play chiefly in families. The husband, before his blindness, was a man of some education. My young people have agreed to support an Evan- gelist in France, |250. The snow is rapidly going from our broadways. Omnibuses on wheels to-day, for the first. We have no further news from Charlotte, [Mrs. Le Grand's death.] The more I reflect on it, the more I feel the solemnity of our good friend's departure. My father lived under her roof several years ; so did I, thirty years after. My first interview with my wife was there. There also was my first ministry. A longer course of good doing (euTroua, Heb. xiii.) I never knew. The executive part of Christianity seemed almost perfect in her. Frugal and self-denying, laborious, constant, independent, fear-, less, tender, and sympathizing. Yet I have to add this remark- able fact : during all her life, she knew nothing of comfortable frames. She was always panic-struck, in view of the standard she had set up ; and so she judged others. Her mind was always under the stress of obligation. Yet a more operative religion could scarcely be pictured. She was alw\ays the same — always taking the religious view of things — sober, vigilant, looking to the judgment. No man seemed to have left such an impress on her as her old pastor, John Blair Smith ; and he was a John the Baptist ; opposite, in all but eloquence, to his brother S. Stanhope Smith. This grave, somewhat hard and unforbearing type of religion, appears in all the fruits of the great Revival, which founded our church in that part of Vir- ginia. Plainness in dress, expenditure, and manner, was in* dispensable to the Christian character.^ New York, February 27, 1845. My boys are both in bed with the measles. The younger has a very bad cough. In these circumstances I am a nursing father, and have risen from a bed of small slumbers. This always depresses my animal powers. Some things in my labours are encouraging. Three are propounded for com- munion, on profession of faith. A few are under concern of mind. Seven female Sunday School teachers, who meet for prayers, seem well exercised. One of them, besides regu- lar Sunday School duty, has all her class, two hours, every * Among other legacies Mrs. Le Grand bequeathed $2,000 to the Union Theological Seminary of Virginia, and $1,000 to Mr. Alexander. 22 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHTJECH, NEW TOEK. Saturday, for instruction. For five years she has taught a class of six poor girls, from 9 — 12, Jive days in the week, at her own house. On my proposing that our young men and young women should sustain an Evangelist in France, she raised $164 in a week. I have lectured to Heh. iv. 11. Tlie next passage is a crux interpretum, I spent a pleasant evening with Bro. , the Moravian. About 37; healthy, ruddy, vivacious, with that happy " no manner," which is common to Moravians and noblesse, and that absence of sanctimony which is uncommon among Puritan Christians ; more marked by quickness and hilarity, than tenderness or pensive gravity. He was a missionary in Antigua. One of our pastors tells me that he does not pretend to visit any but emergent cases. I see more and more how naturally and ne- cessarily a man comes to this. I have been engaged, late and early, every day, and have not yet effected a thorough visitation, though I have, for this, sacrificed almost all writing of new sermons. One of our ministers avows the opinion, that, in such a society as ours, the pulpit is the great engine. Accordingly, he spends every day from 8 — 3 in his study, not answering knocks before 1. Most of this time he is sermonizing. He writes one fresh sermon every week, and says he has not failed to have it done by noon, on Saturday, once in ten years. He has a series of sermons, on the system of doctrines, which he has delivered three times. He is always catering for a sermon ; all his con- versation is on the topic he is about, and it is therefore stimulat- ing and instructive. He has had an unparalleled hold on his people, and influence over them. They visit him a good deal in his study. He is the airiest, youngest man, of his years, 1 know anywhere. Another pastor always goes out (when well) on Mon- day, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On these days he has no fire in his study. The remaining days he se^s no one ; gives himself to study ; but never writes any. Did I tell you that I was co- pulpited with good Mr. [the late Dr. John] Johnston, who preached the installation sermon? It was read, every word, 40 minutes, and filled just |f of a sheet like this ! S is a grand fellow, good sense, gravity, suavity, independence, honesty, kindness, every thing but animation. Consternation in our church, by reason of a base-vile, last Sabbath. O that w^e could chant the psalms, in a selection, as they are ! . Jacobus [Brook- lyn] does it, at times. C. S. Stewart is very active. As many as 100 converts among sailors reported this winter. Good text, 1 John iv. 5. 1844:— 184:9. 23 New York, March 10, 1845. How do you feel this morning, after the unrest of the Sab- bath 1 I own to a little megrim, for yesterday was our Com- munion. Three on confession, of whom one, a painter, and the other a lithographer ; both born in England, as was the third also. The book-cheapening business is poor here. I miss two of my old pleasures, (1) shops like Redman's, [a second-hand book shop in Philadelphia,] and (2) rows of old standard books. The auctions have revived the first, and the two weekly steamers the other. Ask for such a book as Witsius, and the answer is : " No, but we will take your order, and have it in a month." Kernott (Wiley's factotum, a Pater Noster man) says : " We try to have all fresh works, but to keei^ none." After twenty years, I say decidedly, " No comment, no lexicon, like a Greek concordance ; " i. e. if you ponder the contexts. Take such a word as /xerai'oia, or ixvcrr-qpLov ; and how the conventional mean- ings fly away ! How odd that we learn to write English from Scotchmen ; viz., Kaimes, Campbell, and Blair. After teaching them ten years, I am just learning how they have betrayed me. Eear of provincialisms drives them (as us Americans) into prudery ; just as parvenus dare not dress plain. Think of Blair's nonsense about the evil of ending a sentence with a particle ! E contra, read Shakspeare's " ills that flesh is heir /o," or the sentence cited by Lord J. Russell, " Shall there be a God to swear bij, and none to pray to ? " Pascal had the courage to break through the French rules of his day. He says, (golden words !) " Masquer la nature, et la deguiser : plus de ' roi,' de ' pape,' d'eveques, mais auguste moriarqtie, etc. II y a des lieux ou il faut appeler Paris, Paris ; et d'autres ou il le faut appeler capitale de royaume." And better still, about having the same words over again : " Quand, dans un discours se trou- vent des mots repetes, et qu' essay ant de les corriger, on les trouve si propres qu'on gaterait le discours, il les faut laissery Macaulay has found this out. Johnson and Gibbon ruined us about this. After all the thousand disputes about 2 Pet. i. 20, I think all difficulty removed, by translating iStas literally : " no Scripture-prophecy is of its oivn interpretation ; " i. e. it does not explain itself. And see how exactly this suits the context : " FOR prophecy came not by mail's will (as if the prophet so originated it, as to give us means of exposition in his words) but by God's will — by the Holy Ghost." Even the Vulgate has " propria interpretatione." Apropos of which, the collation of the Vulgate is useful, to show us traditional errors in our inter- pretation. I find no common error more growing among our young people, than that men are not responsible for what they 24 WHILE PASTOK OF DUAITE ST. CHUECH, NEW YOEK. believe. This is the dogma of Brougham, Mackintosh, and Bailey. We should preach against it : Prov. xiv. 12. If Lalor lives, give him my love, and please to read John xvii., or a part, to him, as my best message. Also, in regard to his being cut off from expected earthly service, dwell on the word " serve," in Rev. xxii. 3.^ A unitarian pair have been offended, and walk no more with us. Qu. Up to ivhat age should we baptize chil- dren of parents coming into the church? The usage of this church answers, To seven years. Potts and I exchanged on the 2d. His church to be done inside in May. It is a beautiful interior. Capt. Auchincloss sails on the 12th for Tarragona. Our clerical meeting goes on; a Question and skeleton each time. Thus far, Spring, Snodgrass, Potts, Lowrie, Krebs, Jaco- bus, and Stevenson. New York, March 19, 1845. I have been at a wedding ; but do not ascribe any subsequent brilliancy to the potations, for the lemonade was very thin. They waited for me to give the signal ; so we sat a good hour ; I thinking every creaking of the door would bring in the pallid pair. At length one of the children of the bridechamber set me right, and I summoned the parties. As you anathematize 's wrappings, while you wear gum shoes yourself, so I detest his a-the-ism, while I repudiate coffee most virtuously. I hope you will button up till you get quit of your cold, for the March is searching. The rise of Pennsylvania-fives has killed Sidney Smith. Buxton is no more. Wellington has lost his brother Mornington. Smyth's book against Confirmation is nearly out ; with an Appendix, almost as long as the book, defending the public aisle-profession, and anxious-stand, of new-communicants. I have thought, for a good while, that any Christians might law- fully celebrate the Communion ; though, as a municipal regula- tion, a restriction like ours seems needful, to repress bold spirits and promote discipline. I thought you would like Arnold. The account of his death is graphic. I long to read his histories. He has shown how great a study history may be made. If he had lived a little longer, I think he would have got better. His portrait is noble. My lectures on Hebrews give me more and more comfort ; and I am pleased to observe an increased attend- ance of men. Looking back — for I have now passed the XL — I lament many things in my preaching ; and among these that I have not from the beginning aimed at the greatest subjects. Two ^ Jeremiah D. Lalor, a candidate for the ministry. He had died in Tren- ton two days before tliis message was written. 1844—1849. 25 things keep us from this : 1, a diffidence about treating them, because they are great ; 2, a dislike to topics which seem so familiar. By the great topics, I mean, not the outworks of Christianity, but the citadel ; the Fall, the Atonement, Faith, Judgment." The same remark applies to the famous parts of Scripture, the Crucifixion, the Good Samaritan, the Ten Vir- gins, &c. We are in danger, from neglect of this, of passing our short lives in frittering away at the appendages of the Gospel. I am much delighted with old John Brown's Explana- tion of the Catechism. My catechetical class delights me more and more. I wish I could hope as much from my sermons. When I compare professor with professor, what a difference between those who were taught early, and those who were not ! I am much touched at reading in Socrates's Ecc. History, the old story, remembered from my childhood, of Origen's fither, who used to uncover the bosom of his sleeping boy, and kissing it, say, "It is a temple of the Holy Ghost." Insert in your Almanac, (for May and onwards,) about this time expect a display of gown — and — hands. The Church of the Pilgrims, at Brook- lyn, is to have (on dit) a series of painted windows, representing the " gests " of the paint-hating pilgrims. Day by day do I quakerize about these things, priesthood, paraphernalia, pomps. But riches begets ceremony, as surely as dung begets weeds, and blue flowers among the wheat. Would the apostles know their own children? Would that by some turn of the wheel we could see a Puritanism without sanctimony, without stickling, without fierceness, and without bigotry ! I sometimes think, with Arnold, that Christ will throw all our exciting church-forms into the crucible, to produce a new form out of the molten mass. Before I got your rescript, I had baptized the girl (at. 13 1) against the immemorial usage of St. Duane ; especially moved to it, as the child had been withheld from her right by the pressing of a false scruple, a scruple inconsistent, I think, with our hypothesis of household baptism. But O how we neglect that ordinance ! treating children, in the church, just as if they were out of it. Ought we not daily to say (in its spirit) to our children, " You are^ Christian children, you are Christ's, you ought to think and feel and act as such ! " And, on this plan, carried out, might we not expect more early fruit of grace, than by keeping them always looking forward to a point of time at which they shall have new hearts and join the church ? I am distressed with long- harboured misgivings on this point. Read our Directory, chap, ix. § 1, Avhat a dead letter ! I fear thousands perish, indirectly, from within the communion, from our and their overrating the church-judgment of their piety ; and from confounding full coni- VOL. II. — 2 26 WHILE PASTOE OF DUAl^E ST. CHUECH, NEW YOEK. 5 munion with experience of renewing grace. All the epistles seem written to the church ; yet how full of searching tests, as to personal piety. When a preacher addresses (1) saints and (2) sinners, all of the former is commonly taken by professors, as such. There seems really to be a great revival of the old seed, in Holland. Ferris told me some pleasant things about this. I had a present to-day of a share in the Society Library, where, a few steps off, I can see all the periodicals, home and foreign, and a tolerable collection of books. Take care of your cold, and believe me yours, James Duane. New York, April 2, 1845. I have had a turn of vertigo, which would not have deserved mention, if it had not seized me in the pulpit. I was myself again for the afternoon, and am much as usual ; though I think I have run rather too long without considering the need of a breath- ing-spell. Your argument against systematizing I do not admit ; I mean that from the truth that all the Bible runs up into two great principles : for it is the glory of all systems to admit this ; and it is as true of astronomy, and other sciences ; and it proves too much, for it would not only destroy systems, but sermons and the Bible itself. I have at last been readinfj " Froude's Remains." He is the true leader of the Newmanites ; but one thing explains all, he had no glimpse of true religion. His whole diary contains no allusion to Christ ! Newman, the Editor, admits this ; and expains it in some transcendental way. Bush has preached for Bellows ; his name will consort with the other fuel — Greenwood^ Sparks, Burnaj), Furncss, &c., [all Uni- tarian preachers.] He leans most, however, to the New Jerusa- lem. Cheever begins to coruscate in the Evangelist ; he will not join against the Tract Society, with Cox, Patton, McLean, Eddy & Co. I am about to get Carter to print McCheyne's scheme for reading through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament twice in the year. It includes family worship as well as private reading, and the table will do to hang up, or paste in a book ; though as he issued it, it is a pamphlet, with remarks. Way land has, you know, had a controversy on slavery, with Dr. Fuller of S. C. It is out in a brochure, and is very readable. We have had many rebuffs, in seeking new members of session. It will probably stand thus : Elders — Mr. Walker, Mr. Jennings, and Dr. McLean ; Deacons — Mr. T. \]. Smith, Mr. Burchard, and Mr. Greenough. Having gone over all the accessible members of my charge, in visiting, I have a residuum of 30 — 40, concerning whom I can scarcely get any information. Every week brings in some new family, or indi- 1844—1849. 27 vidual to increase the task. At my lecture, the number of men greatly preponderates ; young men chiefly. My catechizing class holds at about 50. Our collections are encouraging, but not a tithe of what is due. Since I came, we have received about $900 for foreign missions. is our chief-giver ; he is a broker, and knows how to let money go out gracefully. I have not met five undeniable Quakers among the world of people in my walks ; one would think Philadelphia visiters would furnish more than this. I am au desesijoir about psalmody. The best I ever heard was in a German church, hard by, where every man, woman, and child joined con fuoco. I am in favour of chanting prose-psalmody, ivithout repeats ; they do it at Jacobus's. Also, I am more in the notion of a plain, unartificial, somewhat slow, chant-like music. Even the best choirs I hear, affect me thus : my mind is too much attracted to the individual, or insulated performance. Seriously, I hope for nothing in our day. What they call fine music here, is orchestral. The Methodists sing all, but then I am put out with the jiggish melodies. I wish we had the Apostles' Creed in our Liturgy, as we have it (though nobody seems to know it) in our Confession, &c. Dr. Wilson once lectured on it ; and, if he lives, another Doctor probably will. I also wish the Lord's Prayer reinstated. I am also for a vestry, but not for vestments ; I am also for the old table in the communion. What a blessing it would be if we could have more preachers, smaller churches, and, of course, more of them ! With grief and anxiety I see that, if I do any study whatever, my utmost parochial visiting amounts to little. Our ministers must be more active in concerted plans for increas- ing the efficiency of church-measures, by new methods within each parish. The crying evil is, strength in the laity is not brought out ; we are an army in which all the battle is done by the commissioned officers. We are tolerably well, and send salutatories. Greet the friends by name. New York, April 17, 1845. I do not know that I have ever been in a busier week. Be- sides more patients than common, and usual parish cares, we have had the presbytery these three days ; have talked the or- dinary twaddle on points of order, and have licensed nine proba- tioners. Last evening, I took tea with Mr. Griffin, and met Mr. Bremmer, (?) late Mayor of Boston, and Mrs. Sigourney, who is sojourning with the Griffins. She is free from any the least pretension, and shines in my eye far more in private than in her books. I have never talked with a more sensible or a more unassuming woman. Benj. Richards is here with two daughters 28 WHILE PASTOE OF DUAJSTE ST. CHUKCH, NEW YOEK. of Gov. McDowell of Virginia. Item Dr. Sprague, item Kirk, item ]\Iahon, item two Hamraills, item Miss Reid of Va., (chez nous,) item Mr. Lacy, (chez nous,) item Miss Rice, (cliez nous.) Cheever has yet to show, whether a fine essayist is necessarily a good editor. Paragraphing is an art by itself : his rhetorical cir- cuits are, I judge, not the thing : non tempus eget^ &;c., &c. reappears, plenished with new layers of adipose matter. Old Mr. Johnston avers that, in Scotland, it is universally the case that a minister who demits his pastoral charge ipso facto loses his " status " in the Presbytery. The new Congregational Church of " the Pilgrims " in Brooklyn, is a noble, massive affair, w^ith wealthy, aspiring people : it will be a great chance for somebody. The oftener I go to Brooklyn, the more I admire the site. The view from the " Heights " is, I am sure, more than Neapolitan, and the air is freshness itself. It is quiet and cool, like the country, and nearer to New York business than Bond Street, to say nothing of University Place. Therefore, name your price, abjure presbytery, take the palmer's gown and scallop shell of a pilgrim, show your descent from Jack Robin- son, affect cod-fish and baked beans, keep Saturday evening, and prepare for having read to you, through spectacles, an eloquent " right-hand-of-fellowship." Bacon preached on Tuesday, in the Tabernacle, at Thomson's installation. I have been several times to see [David] Abeel, who is in the precincts of heaven, in re- gard to his feelings. His lungs are almost gone. Our com- missioners [to General Assembly] are Goldsmith and Krebs, Piatt and Baldwin. is just fitting out his eldest boy for a mercantile post in China. He is a faithful minister, and a most worthy companion ; unaffected, unpretending, well-informed, and judicious. I made some " improvement " of Dr. Milnor's death, and of the loss of the Sw^allow. Kidder is nearly out with his two volumes on Brazil. My honoured father is 73 this day. Should I say this, without adding that I know how ungrateful my habitual state of mind is, for such a favour as the preserved life of my parents, until now 1 I have adopted the plan of writing a monthly letter to my associated Young Men. Should I see next year, I propose to print a little monthly sheet, to be put in the pews, containing such statements as may bear on our missions, church condition, collections, &c. , the poet, has a volume in the press ; I have not seen any of it. It is underwritten by , , &c., &;c. Whether he will alight on Zion or Parnassus, may depend on the market he finds. Bush is in the straw", with an answer to Skimier, and a work on the Soul. He has now got Bellows to blow him up. There is no great preacher here among the Episcopalians. The last 1844— 1849. 29 " Punch " pictures Pusey and the Pope, in a most loving hug. The "Pictorial Times" gives serious likenesses of Pusey, Ward, &c. The Infidels are becoming bold, and have summoned an Infidel Convention, under that name. They seem to think the new Geology upsets Moses. Tayler Lewis is coming out with " Plato contra Atheos," with dissertations. I suppose he is as much steeped in the Greeks, as any man living. So poor has had to go. Why did he not stick to his Episcopal see at 1 Will not have a sort of " proximus-Ucalegon- ardet " feeling about it ? What — what is the matter 1 some- thing is surely wrong with us. Is it that we are all too stiff", unreal, formal, routine-ish, in our ministry ? Is it that we copy others 1 that we do not copy primitive ways 1 that we do not act out our Bible-persuasions 1 that we are cowardly about the world ? that we seek the subordinate church and congregational ends, instead of the principal ones? Whatever it be, our churches are in a heavy, slow state ; wheels deep in ruts and mud. Our preaching, I feel it, is too little like earnest talking ; we are too unlike, in and out of the " sacred desk." Old Dr. Wilson, with " a gill of lightning into him," would be the thing for the pulpit, and Commodore Eastburn [the Mariners' Min- ister] out of it. New York, April 28, 1845. Monday is an ill day for letter-writing. I have no chance to say any thing. I praught for Read [Pearl Street Church] yes- terday ; a good quiet congregation. Thompson has immense audiences in the Tabernacle ; he is said to be a good preacher, but of New Haven divinity. There is some small-pox in town ; ten cases mortal last week. The Bowery-burning [theatre] was superb ; we had a fine view of the pillar of fire, domus- ) The Anni- >• versaries are on the approach. I will freely caput- ) say, their original interest, for me, is gone. They feel this ; and sermons are reviving again. But even sermons, like Samsons, lose their strength. Religious showmanism is the order of the day ; a church, an organ, a poll of hair, a neat stock, a ditto hand, a gown ; these are thy gods, O Israel ! I am in some thought of gathering a few of the remnant of Quakerism, to form a new society. The succession may be se- cured through Gurney, quite as well as Abp. Parker's, at the Nag's head. — — lectures on Babylon on Friday ; a good selection ; he 30 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUECHj NEW YOEK. will speak all the tongues, with a little original confusion of his own babble. Visiters knock and ring " frae morn till e'en." Addison says I should practise self-denial — at the door. Yours almost in the cab. White Street, May 3, 1845. My epistolary hours must be snatches. I am glad you have with you. I hope she will open her eye wide to all the gracious goodness that is the very life and soul of the new dis- pensation. You say right about praying for earthly good. That is a great verse, Matthew vi. 32. Eeading a book of prayers, (a kind of book, by-the-bye, which I find I much need, at certain moods,) by one Hardman, and admiring the same very much, I was struck with this in his Prefece : " Should any persons think them too spiritual, or experimental, they are re- quested, first, to consider, that temporal blessings can never be asked for, but conditionally, and secondarily to spiritual," &;c. The article on Pascal in the April Pvepertory is Addison's. I am more and more persuaded, that a man who walks " in the Spirit," must often seem to himself and others to walk alone. I mean he must follow leadings towards paths of feeling and conduct, remote from the precedent and fashion even of good people. Don't we find things, in Christ's teachings, which, if all our books, and human patterns, and diaries Avere forgotten, would lead us further and in other directions than we have gone? and is not this accompanied with an inward feeling, that what is thus indicated is true, and right, and sanctifying ? In regard to the care of souls, I am constrained, after trial, to give over wear- ing other men's clothes, however much better than my own. I have found pain and barrenness in every attempt to do things by the approved methods for getting up "an interest," &c. Truths, found in Scripture, and affecting my own mind, freshly, strongly, and as it were newly, I mean coming to me, after fre- quent perusals, as living words of God, verifying themselves in my experience, are those which, when simply spoken or preached, seem to reach other people. Suppose the result is not the awakening of A B, or of anybody on the spot ; suppose no re- vival ensues : my growing judgment is, that the utterance of such truths will accomplish God's end on his elect : " for they know His voice." Surely, in our craving for effect, wx lose the value of such remarkable passages as John x. 27 ; 2 Cor. iv. 2, 3 ; 2 Thess. ii. 10. Simplicity, in following Christ as a teacher, is worthy of our consideration. I am led to think I have erred, in the direction of ultra-prot- estantism, in regard to fasting ; when I look out the connexions 1844—1849. 31 of the word and thing in the New Testament. A favourite no- tion of mine is that a church is a school. As you may not have Owen, let me extract a passage on Hebrews v. 11-15, which pleased me the more from coming from a source whence I did not expect it : " Our hearers do not look upon it as their duty to learn to be Teachers. They think it enough for them, if at best they can hear with some profit to themselves. But this was not the state of things in primitive times. Every church was then a Seminary, wherein provision and preparation was made, not only for the continuation of the preaching of the gos- pel in itself, but for the calling, gathering, and teaching of other churches also. When therefore a church was first planted by the ministry of the apostles, it was for a time continued under their own immediate care and inspection, and then usually com- mitted by them unto the ministry of some evangelists." Then overseers. " Upon their decease, others were to be' called and chosen from among themselves to the same work by the church." " And men in those days did not only learn in the church, that they might be able afterwards to teach in the same, but also that they might be instrumental in the work of the gospel in other places. For out of these churches went those who were made use of in the propagation of the gospel ordinarily" — " wherefore hearers in the church were not only taught those things which might be sufficient unto their own edification, but every thing also that was necessary to the edification of others ; an ability for whose instruction was their duty to aim it." (Owen on Heb. c. v., verse 12.) All our missionary gifts will fall short, unless people come to give their own selves first unto the Lord ; in some such sense. Monday 5. — Holy Week [Anni- versaries] has begun. White cravats swarm ; chiefly from New England, of which this is the capital. The Biblical Repository for May contains a racy McClelland-like article on South, by Withington. Henry's Calvin, which I gutted for the Repertory years ago, is made much of in a similar article in the Repository as bran new. Ditto of Zuingle's works, p. 402, which I long since reviewed. So little known is labour, out of the Land of Promise. Give me some hints towards a prayer-book for the Navy and Marine.^ New York, May 23, 1845. After rain and thunder in the night, we have very good weather. My parents have been a week with us. To see my ^ He prepared for the Presbyterian Board of Publication " A Manual of Devotion for Soldiers and Sailors," comprising Prayers, compend of Bible Truth, Shorter Catechism, and Hymns. 32 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHURCH, NEW YORK. father so brisk and happy, at 73, is matter of thankful acknowL edgment. But what is this to old ]\Irs. Lindsay, whom I vis- ited to-day, vet. 97 ! She is a native, and has lived near a cen- tury in Liberty Street, (next to the one you enter by, from the ferry,) which was a rural suburban hill in her youth. She re- members the rector and curate of the " English church," in which she was bred. She sits in her chair, a venerable and still fine- looking woman, almost in full use of her mind, and full of, Christian knowledge and piety. She gave me two fine folios of ■ Erskine's works, for the Seminary ; and bade me observe that the shortest sermon in the book was the means of awakening Dr. John Mason, the father of Dr. J. M. Mason : this she had from the lips of the former. She lives with Mrs. Lowndes, (who is the wife of her nephew,) and one of the Crow ells of Pine Street ; umquhile numbered among the green-bench cate- chumens, ou vous savez, [the aisle of Pine Street church, Phila- delphia.] Dr. ]\IcElroy visits this ancient woman once a week. I felt a peculiar reverence in her presence. My election as Tract-committee-man [American Tract Society] was unexpected. I know not how to act. I am overladen. It is giving away time I owe to our own schemes. Yet it is something to have a voice in selecting religious books for so many thousands, and standing in the gap against error. A Neapolitan gun-ship is here. Bp. Hughes made most of the crew give up Bibles which had been given them. They are fine fellows, swarthy, but blooming, clean and trim, and with a jovial but temperate look. Wm. E. Schenck has begun at Hammond Street. The small- pox prevails fearfully in some parts of the city. Making every allowance for exaggeration, it is formidable. The list of the General Assembly furnishes only a few whom one could think of for speech or action, and these all young. Of Seminarists, I note these : Reeve, Frame, Krebs, Goldsmith, Lubrie, Davidson, Perkins, Curran, Olmstead, Corss, Jones, Hope, Harrison, Williamson, McMaster, Smith, AVeed, Rice, Wood, Alexander, Crowe, Montfort, Goodrich, Cowan, Dickson, Bard, Cunningham, Edgar, Bowman, Pratt, Morrow, Weatherby, Twitchell : no doubt others not recognized by me. In expectation of taking the chair in '46, prepare yourself with a good Indian speech, and wampum, for Je-chah-tu-guck-click-hoh, (Walk-in-prairie-grass,) Chief of the Elat-noses, Avho may greet you as " father." As the Assembly gave " six barrels of provisions " to " No-heart-of fear," it is likely we shall have a numerous council in the Xth church-wigwam, [Philadelphia.] " Church of Trenton City, seventeen barrels of jerked meat." Our summer-birds are on the wing. Last Tuesday, my father 1844—184:9. 33 lectured. Among the hearers was the Rev. Mr. Arnott, with wife, sent to Canada for three months by the Free Church. They had not yet slept in America ; and seemed melted by a service, so exactly (as they said) like their own. Lord's poems are out. Kidder's book also, [Brazil ;] good style, beautiful illus - tation, and grand reading. I mean to give an article (D. v.) in Repertorio, [July 1845.] I hope the abolitionists arc ready to support all the superannuated negroes, called slaves, who are living snugly in warm comfort over Jersey. How little relief has followed all their thousands yet expended ! Herschell is a good speaker, and though slow yet pathetic, full, of unc- tion, and abundant in apt Scripture citation such as none but a Hebrew of the Hebrews ever employs. He had several thou- sands at the Tabernacle of Witness, or House of David, (Hale.) Dr. Adams found twenty-three young Americans at Rome, in preparation for the tonsure. Our streets are cloacine, mephitic, stercoraceous, Auggean, fimous, and infamous. New York, June 11, 1845. When I examine myself, for being somewhat slack in my letter-writing, I seem to find my excuse in the thermometer. Sunday, Monday, and part of yesterday were equatorial. Mr. Hotchkin, one of my people, late from Java, says he did not suffer as much there ; but this he attributes in part to their houses and their habits. I have been an hour on the battery this evening ; by sunset and moonlight. A thousand people, but mostly canaille. Fashion does not acknowledge this lordly park. Wherever I saw a knot of gentlefolk I heard French, or more often Spanish. The 74 near by, the ships in the distance, the scores of small craft under gentle sail, the hundreds of small boats, the blue shores, the water, the delicious breeze, the lights among the shipping, the fine trees, the half-seen groups — end the period, accordmg to the rule in that case made and provided. Dr. Potts's church is to be dedicated to-morrow. I would rather preach Christ, by such a history as Merle d'Aubigne's, than 'by many sermons ; yet men judge differently, from going by names instead of things. Herschell is a fine preacher ; I mean he is a good one : full of uncommon Scriptures, of unction, of force, and of Christ. He feels our climate very much. Monod and Merle have both been at Edinburgh. Dr. Phillips has a noble session-house, separate, back from street, but fronting full on the cross street. I have always considered June our health- iest month : it is so here now. Yet I cannot describe what I see in my walks in certain streets : dunghills, nakedness, dead dogs VOL. II, — 2* 34: WHILE PASTOR OF DUAlsE ST. CHIJRCHj :tsEW TOEK. and cats, offiil, garbage, leprous folk, lazars, magdalens. The stench, in some quarters, is mephitic. The single element of water (nota bene, not Croton) flo^ys, and floods, and smells in a manner unmentionable. Cloacina herself must preside in and about the park and its purlieus. Nobody ever cares about this or any thing similar, for it is characteristic of a New Yorker to feel like a stranger within his gates : no esprit de corps, no re- sponsibility. I think Unitarianism flourishes here ; also its ally Svredenborgianism. The vast body of young New Englanders who are here, afl'ect the easy young-lady philosophy of these teachers. I think there is a great deal in Hazlitt's Table Talk which would please you ; scoffer as he sometimes is. The pews in the beautiful Jersey City Church are almost all taken. Their steeple is commanding, and is said to be the first object, on en- tering the Narrows. I have some hopes of erasing my pulpit scenery, [painted in perspective.] Sometimes I dream of resum- ing my old plan of a Comment on the New Testament, simple notes. Surely it is wanted. I can't feel easy under this deliver- ance [in General Assembly] anent Popish baptism, [as invalid.] Perhaps it is right : but to me it savours of Succession, Braminical orders, Puseyism, &c. Our " erring sister " is naughty enough, but I choke a little about "Antichrist," the "Son of Perdition," &c. Alas ! I feel my own indecision, and know my own mistiness, on points which other men see as plain as Polus's sky-dragon : qu. didst ever read " Polus," in Erasmus's Colloqui^e 1 Every day I have to go to the pure New Testament, especially Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; as one goes to the hydrant, after coff*ee, tea, lemonade, beer, wine, brandy, and physic ; in all which, natheless, are some true aqueous particles : fSXeiTOjxev yap apri Si iaoiTTpovj iv alvtyfxaTi. I am yours and yours's. Nt^.w York, July 14, 1845. The hot weather makes the page so dripping, that epistolation is more onerous than common. Besides, we sat ten solid days in Presbytery ; on one of these fourteen hours ; on another I was in the room from 3 till 10 P. M., after a morning session. I am tired of my correspondence with the " Northern AVar- der," ^ and now propose to you to take it ; which, by agreement, I have a right to do. Terms, a column (about) a month, by the steamer, or oftener on emergency. I will send you my files, so that you can follow in the footsteps of your illustrious predeces- sor. I confidently expect your acceptance by next advices. ^ A religious newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, for which Dr. Alexander wrote as its American correspondent, a monthly letter. 1844:— 1849. 35 Say nothing about the thermometer. I sat up much of Sun- day night in Georgia summer costume. Generally towards even- mg there is a breeze, especially grateful down town, but it has fliiled us. It was our communion, and our church is very warm, and pulpit at the south end. My mind is led a good deal more than formerly to consider the topic of gnat-filtering and camel-bolting. With all our talk about our " Pilgrim-fathers," some of the said fathers' pills are a little too grim for me. It seems to have been an indigestion of the age in England, and bred Quakerism as well as Puritanism. It rejected mince pies and the word " Sunday" as violently as crosses and bishops. Have you lighted on some " Sketches of Newburyport," &c. ? In 1752 one Bartlett was " dealt with" for refusing communion with the pastor, because the latter wore a " wigg." In Judge Sewall's diary, these entries : " 1685, Sept. 13th. Three admitted to the church. Two wore periwigs." " 1697. Mr. Noyes of Salem wrote a treatise on periwigs, &c." " 1708. Aug. 20. Mr. Cheever died. The welfare of the prov- ince was much upon his heart. He abominated periwigs.'" John Eliot, the Indian apostle, attributed King Philip's war to a judgment on periwigs. My father remembers the birth of a calf in Rockbridge, with an extraordinary tuft or top-knot : it was voted by the good people to be a monition of heaven against a prevailing mode of dressing women's hair. A Ruling Elder, being at Saratoga, set his face very sourly against the playing of nine-pins for exercise : the camel which he swallowed was some- thing more robust. Clirehuo-h, hairdresser, is a character. I never saw a man with a more decided gentlemanly air, quiet, dignified, easy, deferential. He is a collector of coins, has a volume made of all the Tartans of the different Highland clans and families, has all the Scotch music ever issued, gives lectures on Burns, with songs, and has a world of old engravings. He cuts one's hair with the gravity of an inquisitor, and talks literature and vertu. The modern schools are all humbugs. Teach a boy Latin and Greek ; the rest will come of course. But fritter up his time on a dozen branches, and he misses the lingoes : and if he misses a fair grounding in them from 10 to 13, he never gets it. In hundreds of pupils whom I have examined and taught, I never knew an exception. • Newark, August 30, 1845. Eor a time I did not know of your return, and then I was jaunting iibout in regions where for the most part writing facili- ties are not easy to get. My journeys afford ]io journals. The 36 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHUKCH, NEW YOEK. whole thing Wcas somewhat dull, especially as the burning drought, up the North Kiver, has been universal. They are longer about" our church [painting, &c.] than I had thought, and I propose to charter the cellar [basement] after to-morrow. We have made a clean riddance of the fresco painting, which had become a Nehushtan, [2 Kings, xviii. 4,] with some of the mothers in our corner of the vineyard. I traversed the Great Britain, a wonder- ful piece of hardware. The British steamers are intensely filthy compared with ours ; and I learn that the observation is true of all their shipping. She has twenty-four fire-places, and burns 100 tons of coal per diem. When the last touch is put on, she will have cost $600,000. I am informed by one who pretends to know, that Cogswell is going on laboriously, making out the catalogue of the great Library, which Astor is to found ; after which he is to go to Europe and realize the plan. We hope to re-open our house about the 12th prox. This is a beautiful town, and, near as it is to New York, is remarkable for quiet and honesty. I am at the house of three maiden ladies, at a corner, in a thinly-built part of the town ; yet they have never had any fastening to their windows, or their side-door. I have not rallied as much as I need to do, to encounter another campaign. My New York experiment is by no means tried : but as I never did any thing with more wish to do right, so I now endeavour to cast myself on the Master, for the result. Yesterday I came from Staten Island. Every time I visit that delightful isle, I perceive it to be unequalled as a summer retreat ; such variety of coast and prospects, such numerous drives on roads almost uniformly shaded with rows of trees, such graceful ups and downs, and green recesses, and such a feeling of remoteness from the world, though you are but an hour from the city, that I should like of all things to have a house there, and go to town every day in summer. This is done by several scores of New York merchants, &c. I saw the coffer-dam, at Caldwell's, which they are making around Capt. Kidd's vessel ; $60,000 have been expended already. I saw the ruins of Anthony's Nose ; they have blown the nose so hardly, that no rhinoplastic means can ever restore it. Newark, September 1, 1845. I fear my letter of this morning was " as vinegar upon nitre ;" for, five minutes after mailing it, I heard the news of your sister's death, and tried to get it out of the ofiice, but in vain. Had I learnt the melancholy tidings earlier, I should certainly have has- tened to the funeral : as it is, 1 have searched the papers in vain for the date. O what a change in your mother's household, and what a shade over her hearth ! Your brothers have really lost a 184:4:— 1849. 37 guardian angel, at least from this world. Anna's qualities come very freshly before me. She was certainly a marked character. I do think I never knew any person of more honesty, truth, self- denial, charity, or liberality. Her standard was high, and she judged fellow-Christians severely ; but she judged justly in this, and condemned herself in full measure. I forbear to say what you have lost, or to indulge in ordinary condolence. God grant that this renewed call on your family may be blessed to those who remain, especially to your mother. These gathering shades on our path, as we go onward, tell us that "the night cometh." I look back to the days of Sixth street, [his earlier visits to Philadelphia,] and my eyes fill with unaccus- tomed tears. What manner of persons ought we to be, &c. ? How many of our cares and anxieties are very vain, when seen in the light of coming things ! Under a gracious influence, our character is no doubt formed by successive dispensations of this kind. It is a new immersion, and we come out with a graver tinge. I feel unusually serious under this sudden news ; and as yet know no particulars. New York, September 25, 1845. I should feel better and stronger, if I had taken some bona- iide distant jaunts, which the state of my family did not allow. The Boston people have the good sense to put their ministers' vacation into the call as a matter of claim. In many of our con- gregations there is enough of the croaking sort to grudge even that recreation to a minister, which a humane drayman would give to his horse. I have a presentation copy of [Rev. Mr.] Lewis's [of Scotland] Impressions of the American churches. He censures right and left. Our preaching, in particular, he describes as characterized by want of animation and earnestness. He is very severe on slavery and democracy. In fine, very little pleases him. There is, throughout, a very offensive air of self- sufficiency and patronage. Dr. thinks there never was among our churches so general an indifference ; that ministers give undue value to learning, and less than is due to piety ; that such men as Payson and Nettleton were of a generation, of whom we have not one left. Lewis speaks of the total desuetude into which pastoral visiting has fallen. Cheap literature blasts religious reading. I seldom see a young professor with a spir- itual book. Church extension goes on coldly. We are not quite as far behindhand, as to new churches, as Philadelphia, but we add them by threes and fours, when we should by twenties and thirties. Vacant ministers swarm in our cities, beseeching one for places, instead of rushing into the wild West and South, as 38 WHILE 'PASTOK OF DTJANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. was done by the McKennies, Henrys, Blairs, Todds, Grahams, and Davieses, who founded our church. I feel the justice of Lewis's remarks on this topic, \vhen contrasting our lethargy with the actual state of the Scotch churches. I don't wonder at the sympathy he felt with the Methodists. New York, October 3, 1845. Heavy rains. I have seen specimens of words and sentences, printed by the new magnetic telegraph ; it works by keys, like a piano. Music is well off here ; Ole Bull, Templeton, and de Meyer. One of our missionaries in India is succeeding well in teaching Hindoo boys to read the Hebrew. Its connexion with Arabic ^renders it both easy and desirable. Eankin, our most valuable missionary there, will have to come back ; he is almost dead. Austin Dickinson thinks he has such arrangements with news-editors, as to ensure the publication of any religious para- graph, in 40,000 copies of secular prints. This is worth consid- er in o-. He is very avid of scraps. Send me for him a bit of a sermon, and you may do good. I am just from Monthly Con- cert. I think our average of collection at it slowly rises. Bush goes the whole Swedenborgian figure. Some of his revelations are not so very fascinating ; as of people's being conscious in their coffins, thinking themselves on earth, while they are in heaven. One of the great Christian problems of the age seems to me to be how to carry the gospel to the thousands, in cities, who will not enter any church. Pews are high. Or they are not dressed w^ell enough. An effort is making to establish minor re- ligious meetings, for such purposes, here and there, all over the city. It is a fine scheme, though not a new one, being that of the old Evangelical Society of our boyhood.' But its simplicity and homeliness gives it a Bible-look. When shall we come down from our stilts, and be in earnest with a perishing world ? Decorum and conservatism do not rank as the most needed virtues just now. Lewis justly charges our church with want of aggressive power in the cities. We have lost much by stiffness. A covenanter minister said to me, last week, and I had thought it myself, " If your church had only allowed the ' Old Psalms ' and a few such things, to old-country people, on their coming here, our church would by this time have had no existence here." I did not hear Wines's Lectures, but he was very well patronized. ^ Described in Life of Dr. Archibald Alexander, chap. xii. Dr. J. "W. Alexander gave some thoughts on " Poverty and Crime in Cities," in the Kepertory, October, 1845. 1844—1849. 39 Dr. Spring has a very good plan for a preachers' library here. It could be easily accomplished. There is frequently a call to consult volumes, which are not to be found at all. A building is all that stands much in th^ way. Look out for a " Christian-Alliance man," with the cry of the daughters of the horse-leech. Could not some Christian Newton arise with ad- vantage, and simplify our methods, indicate some gravitation, or what not ? We have a wonderful diversity of methods, whereby to reach the same ends. Thus, take the one object of European 'popery ; I have been solicited to open our doors to (1) this Christian Alliance; (2) to Herman Norton, well known in Trenton, but now more familiar with Trent, agent for the Prot- estant Association ; (3) The Foreign Evangelical Society ; while I prefer (4) The Presbyterian Board which we are endeavouring to aid, in this very field, by sustaining an Evangelist in France. New YoPvK, October Y, 1845. The late Free Church Assembly at Inverness fills two of the large Scotch papers pretty full. slips by the whole in two or three sentences, without a word of extract, and yet I have seldom read any proceedings more full of interest and edifica- tion. It is " life in earnest." This extra meeting was all in a glow. Day after day, in the absence of all ordinary business, they warmed one another up, in regard to their " schemes." That church seems to me all in one great revival. Where could one hundred and twenty ministers be found among us to engage each for a month's Missionary itinerancy? Their "pavilion" had four thousand worshippers, thrice a day. Inman says Chalmers was very charming, while sitting for his portrait, [for a gentleman in New York.] He used to go to breakfost, and fiimily worship. He says Macaulay spoke of "the American clipping of words in pronunciation : to which I rejoined, every Englishman says " 111 thenk ye for thet het." Inman is a great artist, and a fine talker. Have you seen Bailey's " Festus," a poem ? A bold, irregular, but gigantic genius. Some things equal any thing I ever read. But the extravagance is wonderful, and the great aim is to en- force Restorationism. Bush is to establish Swedenborg's divine mission next Sunday. Dr. Cumming, an educated Scotchman, says, that having re-visited Scotland after the disruption, he could scarce believe the change ; a spirit breathed into every thing ; even drowsy country ministers roused up and elevated by zeal for a great cause. Dr. Potts's church is certainly very beautiful. As a work of art it is exquisite. They have very nobly resolved to leave no debt on the congregation. The cost is at least $80,000. One pew-sale has come off". I understand 40 WHILE PASTOK OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOKK. half the down-stairs pews were sold. The highest price was $1,008. I am told the purchases equal $35,000. On the 1st day of the 7th month, Tisri, or New Year's day, I attended syna- gogue, and saw men in their shrouds, (an old usage,) heard the ram's horns blown, &c. Saturday is the day of Atonement. I also saw the Levites pour water from a silver pitcher on the hands of the Cohens ; and the latter ascend, shoeless, and bless the people, according tO' the trine benediction in Deuteronomy. There are now nine synagogues m this city. Neander is work- ing away among the Jews. I saw Abeel yesterday ; alive, but scarcelv more : full of faith and love ; going to Savannah. New York, October 20, 1845. Dr. [Kearney] Eodgers, about ten days ago, performed an operation, for aneurism, which is considered unique : the tying of the left subclavian artery. Sir Astley Cooper attempted it once, and failed. The man is thus far doing well. Mott, Ste- vens, Cheeseman, and three hundred spectators, were present. Thus far I had written on Friday, the 19th ; now, on 20th, I add that Baynard R. Hall is here, and is to preach for me to- morrow. A new book on Tobacco, dedicated by S. H. Cox, D.D., to the " Bight Honorable " (sic) John Quincy Adams. The New School Svnod are at work to-day, hammer-and-tongs, settling the mutilations of the Tract Society. Wines is here on the Hebrew Commonwealth. D. X. Junkin, in press, on the Oath. Bush has great audiences and is making converts. Bellows [Unitarian] has got into his new house. It has two conspicuous crosses in alto relievo, in front : lucus a non, &c. J. F. Clark, formerly of Flemington, has got into hot water (strange to sav) at Cold Spring, by circulating some Douay Bibles among Romanists, who would receive no others. The Hydrarchos Sillimani is said to be artificial. The Mastodon is in full feather. Templeton and de Meyer are convulsing the musical world. I wish some new Whitefield or even Summer- field could rise, to carry the crowd a little that way. I believe more than I did in the need of some radical, revolutionary, ag- gressive action, in our Christianity. Our present method does well enough to keep what we have got. I am about to make a small Hvmn Book, to contain none but unaltered Hymns, about two hundred and fifty. Bickersteth on the Prophecies, though a 1000-narian book, is in a lovely Christian spirit, and is very delightful. All the del- egates from the Established Cliurch of Scotland have been here ; some of them more than once. I do not know of their preaching anywhere. 1844—1849. 41 New York, November lY, 1845. Yesterday I compassed three services, a thing I have not done for some years. For two successive Sabbaths I have had in church, Peter R. Livingston, brother of Mrs. Armstrong, [of Trenton,] also Maturin Livingston ; and, on the 9th, the former partook of the Lord's Supper, in our church, a very pleasing sight to me. One of the most agreeable hours I spend in the week, contrary to all my expectations, is on Monday morning at the Foreign Missionary Executive Board. Dr. [J. J.] Jane- way, who comes more than thirty miles, is our most^ punctual member. We have adopted as a missionary to Africa, Ellis, the learned blacksmith, of Alabama. Two synods have bought him and his for $2,500. His attainments (without a teacher) in Latin and Greek are certified to us as extraordinary. A late German has the following scheme, which is certainly ingenious. Christian doctrine has four grand epochs: 1. T/ieo%y, proper ; Trept rov 0eov. The Trinity, &c., settled in the early age ; doctrine not moved since ; this was done by the Greeks. 2. Antliro- l^ology : Doctrine of fall and grace ; the Pelagian controversy : this was done by the Latins. 3. Soterology: Doctrine of the way of salvation ; Justification controversy : this by the Ger- mans. 4. Ecclesiology : Doctrine of the Church. In this era we now are. There is, to me, a beautiful vraisemblance in this. No. 4 is undoubtedly true of our times. Some notions have lately struck me more than ever before ; such as these : In proportion as cheap publication goes on, hooks become more and more like conversation ; and the attributes and laws of the latter belong to the former : this admits of being carried out to wonderful par- ticulars. Again, the more we are flooded with bad books, the more should we read the Bible — I mean the simple text ; even of ministers, few do what they ought of this. Lest you should be overburdened, I spare you the remaining aphorisms ; which shall appear in my " Novissimum Organon, vol. iii. § ccccxcviii. Be libris siqyprimendis.'''' I heard de Meyer, [pianist ;] it was with as- tonishment and almost fright, but I was not touched. I have gone through seven chapters of Hebrews, [in weekly lectures.^] What a wonderful abandon in the style of Hamilton's " Life in Earnest ! " New York, December 2, 1845. I lament over your provincialism, in using the word "freshet" [for fresh] as you do, in letter of October 17. Perhaps you have not met with " The New Methodist Pocket Hymn Book : " the following is from it : ^ The series of lectures on the Hebrews extended from October 29, 1844, to February 23, 184Y. 42 WHILE PASTOK OF DTTANE ST. CHTJECH, NEW YORK. " When I was blind, I could not see, The Calvinists deceived me ; They, by the Scripture, strive to show, That sinners nothing had to do : At length I heard another preach, Who ways of righteousness did teach : He warned me of the Calvinist, And how God's word they would resist." P. 113. I have this day had a most painful interview with a man of some note in the world of art. I talked earnestly with him about his soul. (He is, I fear, on his death-bed.) He received it well, considered as kindness ; but considered as gospel, I think he did not receive it at all. After my most serious endeavours, he very calmly changed the w^hole subject, and talked about his last picture, and a bas-relief for the tomb of a friend. I believe all the pews not sold, in the lower part of Dr. Potts's church, are rented. Old Dr. Milledoler preached at the Installation : he made a prayer which I shall certainly long^ re- member; it was exalted, scriptural, childlike, tender, and moving. The man who can so pray, (and even so preach, as he did,) is a man I should like to know better ; and I mean to seek his ac- quaintance, at the first opportunity. New York, December 9, 1845. Your hints about mission-efforts around our city- (you may add town-) churches are good : so much so, that I have been harping on that same string ever since I came here, and have preached one sermon very directly to that point. Our city is not altogether behind, in the matter, even now ; we have tw^enty city missionaries, and more than a hundred weekly meetings of the sort you mean. But this does not reach my notion, and I am not going to rest until, as a congregation, we have a preach- ino--place and missionary in regular operation. This, with God's blessing, I hope to set agoing, before the season is over. AYe already ' support two missionaries in the West, and one in France ; and I have this moment had a note, saying that our youn^T women have assumed the whole charge of the last, leaving the young men (formerly associated) to give their money another direction. I am recommending the coloured people to their care. I do not see any great exaggeration in regard to Dod.' It is my deliberate opinion that I never saw his superior in extent of knowledge, in exactness in certain branches, in capacity to teach, in power of colloquial argument, in generous enthusiasm. ^ Professor Albert B. Dod died at Princeton, Nov. 20, 1845. 1844—1849. 43 Just at this time, I am doubtless disposed to look at the bright side of his character, and to consider his death a very significant blow to the college. There is something very pleasing to me, in the almost universal expression of sorrow among all classes in New Jersey, and especially among his pupils. His dying exercises strike me as truly gracious. I forgot to talk to you about 's preposterous elocution. When warmed, he thoroughly forgets it ; but he read a passage in a way which may be thus represented: "Pi^aise ye the Loi^d ; pi?aise ye the name of the Loi^d ; pi?aise him, O ye Sei^vants of the Loi^d." The effect was great, and the click of the articulating wheel-work almost drove me out of the pulpit. I spent two charming hours to-day at the Protestant Half- Orphan Asylum, where I speechified ; 175 children. Wetmore, who conducts the City mission, &c., is an extraordinary man. He is ten hours every day at ironmongery, yet labours beyond every body else in religious matters, and is withal as gentleman- like a man as you will find in a summer's day. What a mean, nasty, anti-analogical word " reliable " is. Fanny Kemble laughs at " Bakery ; " what would she say of " Bindery," and " Paint- ery," which I see passim. In due time, a church may be called a '• preachery." I am now in the 8th chapter of Hebrews. I have never had an exercise more acceptable. To myself, I trust, it has been useful, as leading me to dwell much on the very marrow and riches of gospel grace. One thing, to my mind, above all others, grovrs in centrality (ut ita dicam) among converting doctrines ; the infinite, sovereign, freeness of grace, through the death of Christ. Within a few days I have been directed to several per- sons, who, I think, are savingly exercised. New York, December 23, 1845. I have never yet felt the argument to be demonstrative which would keep a poor bedridden creature from ever partaking of the Lord's Supper. I preached on War, at great length, a fortnight agone. Elders and Trustees were for printing It ; but I was wiser than all that. South, in his sermons, constantly uses " shew " for the perfect tense of " show," (blow, blew, grow, grew, &;c. ;) but Sorin and Ball's edition (Phila.) constantly makes it " show," supposing it a various spelling of " show." I never have read as keen a writer as South ; nor one one judice of better style. Jones has made a valuable and most entertaining book.^ I ^ Dr. Joseph H. Jones's " Influence of Physical Causes on Religious Expe- rience," enlarged in 1860 in his volume entitled "Man Moral and Physical." 4:4: WHILE PASTOR OF DUAKE ST. CHrEClI, NEW YOEK. trust you will apply the principles anent reporting, exemplified in the "slips" of your lecture, to the newspaper report of my sermon on Dod. The Observer makes me say at least ten things which I did not say, and leaves out every one of the qualifications on which I laid much stress, and my earnest at- tempt to withdraw notice from D.'s metaphysics to the simplici- ties of his dvintr hour. makes a prayer which one feels and remembers : I think this is a point which I observe more than formerly. The Offer- tory [Christmas] is promising ; one turkey, two barrels apples, one do. flour, half do. sugar, one wrapper. I have preached, this evening, on Eph. vi. 19, 20 ; look at it. I used to see a number of things from Germany, at Princeton, which I miss now. It reminds me of what Lamb says, about missing the stationery of the India House : "When Adam laid out his first penny upon non- pareils in Mesopotamia, I think it went hard with him, reflecting on his old goodly orchard, where he had so many for nothing." I hope to have my father and mother here, on New Year's, when w^e desire our boy to be baptized. The absence of Quakers in New York is wonderful. I have never seen one in full rig, and do not meet any kind of j)erceivable ones more than once in a month. But we have an Armenian store, with " Notions " from Stamboul. Our confectioners and toymen are in high feather. Wild turkeys and venison abound. Gentlemen wear " shawls," London-wise, also a very thick-soled, sensible English shoe. Our Executive Committee have, for months, been anxiously endeavouring, by correspondence with our missionaries, and with other societies, to mature a plan for the education of mission- aries' children. It is a painful and delicate subject. On Monday we were two hours upon it. Sunday School Meetings are common here on Christmas. My sexton, who is here just now, says he has a brother named Ole, and that Christmas in Danish is Yule. The words of my good fiither become more and more precious to me, like the books of the Tarquinian Sibyl ; I therefore copy what follows from his last letter : " As to the effects of the truth preached, never doubt that every faithful sermon will produce its effect ; it will not return void. Give it efficacy by prayer. If you have any persons in the church who are mighty in prayer, engage them to pray for the success of the gospel. Payson instituted little circles, called ' Aaron-and-Hur-societies,' the sole object of which was to pray every Sunday morning for the success of the word preached." 1844—1849. 45 Ne-w York, January 16, 1846. Knowins: your dislike to thin paper, I have now provided some, which I know will suit you to a nicety. I have "been sit- ting for my " effigies," as Cromwell calls it ; a mean business. Prof. Henry thinks the late discovery of the late Michael Fara- day, of the relation of electro-magnetism to light, the greatest made in our day. He has also examined the talking-machine, [an automaton,] and pronounces it valid and wonderful. For some time I have not had access to Inman's chamber. To-day I was sent for with a message that he was dying. He had just (vix et ne vix quidem) finished a portrait of Harper. Certaiuly he is great in that line. Perhaps you have seen his $1,000 full length of Bishop White. His Chalmers, Words- worth, and Macaulay, are great. There are, I think, no services in which we need a prescribed schedule, more than those which come often, as for example, sacramental preparations : they are apt to be the same thing over and over. For many months I have been going over our Lord's own preparatory words and acts, in the Gospels. Last Sabbath four on examination, and fifteen on certificate. Tliree hundred dollars anonymously for Theological Seminary. In preaching on Home Missions, on " Sabbath first," I shall touch a little on War again ; text, " Righteousness exalteth," &c. ISfr. [E. F.] Cooley miojht have gone back much further with his [edition of the New England] primer : I wait for a chance to send 3'ou an exact reprint of that of 17T7 ; some of the lectiones are fine; e. g. : C. " Christ crucify'd For sinners cly'd." D. '• The Deluge drown'd The Earth around." E. "Elijah hid By Ravens fed." F. " The Judgment made Felix afraid." L. '• Lot fled to Zoar, Saw fiery Shower, On Sodom pour." T. " Young Timothy Learnt sin to fly." Dr. Potts has one hundred at his catechizins:, and sixtv ladies at his Dorcas Society. I am glad S. has shown the pole-bags to be means of grace, for they have hitherto lacked due reverence of me.^ What a euphonious title, that of his Oglethorpe Univer- sity Address : " Denominational Education." I have a young merchant, in ample business, who studies the Greek Testament, with lexicon and commentaries. The abolitionists seem to have adopted a motto from Julius C^sar : " Help, Cassius, [Clay,] or T sink ! " The [a religious paper] is obviously improving. Do I err in detecting your hand in the item on '' Preparing ^ In the times of "Pine St. Church," the usual Sunday "collections" were taken with velvet bags at the end of long handles. 46 WHILE PASTOK OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. Potcatoes for Stock?" Who contributes the piece, in the same on " Save your Salt Barrels " ? I have sought for an anagogical or mystical meaning in this last. How touching the allusion to " glanders, grease, mange, blindness, coughs, and broken wind " ! What is your judgment of crib-biting'? The very violent attempts at visible Unity, as in the Liverpool Convention, savour of an unworthy suspicion that there is no Gospel Union but in protocols, and platform accolades. The unity (ni fallor) which the Bible enjoins, is no such thing, and is consistent with great diversity. Push a ritualist, and how little he can show for real unity. A Dominican and a Jesuit are far more asunder than Kidder [Methodist] and I, in dress, in creed, and in service. Who authorizes them to say that unity resides in swearing by one and the same pope 1 New York, January 26, 1846. The evils of indiscriminate reading, even of religious books, has so weighed with me, that on Sunday I devoted both sermons to " Christian Eeading." Inter alia, I gave a list of books, under these heads : 1. Explanatory of the Bible ; 2. Awakening and Inviting ; 3. Experimental Religion ; 4. Theology ; 5. History ; 6. Biography ; 7. Poetry; 8. Miscellaneous, including Periodical. Our collection for Domestic Missions = $520 ; add $100 by an individual, and $300 by Young Men =$920. I was vaccinated last spring, and had a perfect pustule ; so my Doctor says. Islj father's book on Colonization is out. I have preached three times on three Sabbaths this winter ; but I find it too much. Don't fail to read the articles from the " Times," on the Polk- Message, in the " Warder." I feel ashamed of our American bluster. But how plain is it, that the British dread a war far more than we ! They know better what it means. I have a le^ ter from Abeel, in Savannah ; low in body, but triumphant in mind ; as he has been ever since I knew him. The sleighing has been a perfect intoxication, till the thaw came. Such a display of costly vehicles, furs, (Sec, is seen nowhere south of this : some had fourteen and even twenty horses. It would have been worth a visit to see the omnibus-sleighs, carrying forty, fifty, and sixty, and bedizened with all manner of pictures, &c. We have two hundred and fifty omnibuses constantly running in New York. Talk of railway in Hudson street. continues prolific ; but how unreadable ! a swill-tub of citations. Though given to quotation myself, I think it below the highest method. There is more in a man who spins all out e propriis visceribus. This has often struck me in my good father,— no scraps, no pretty " phrases," no poetry, no Latin sentences. The other way is a 1844—1849. 47 sio-n of weakness : habeas conjitentem reum. Yet still more am I convinced that a man must l3e himself, and that he gains by fol- lowing his bent. I have read Carlyle's Cromwell, and believe he was a converted man. New York, February 19, 1846. If my little sister Mary Ann had lived, she would have been thirty-five years old yesterday. This makes me think of the flight of time, and of the mercy of God, in that long interval, to my flither's house. Mr. Lowrie authorizes me to say, that, though the knowleclore of Wilson's^ wants did not all come through himself, they have long since been supplied, as far as could be done here. His troubles, mutatis mutandis, are those of all missionaries, and such as occupy our Monday mornings, all the year. You might properly say to Wilson, that in every case he should make known his wants directly to the B(^rd : the reasons are obvious. I am glad of your contempt of weariness, [on Mondays ;] I cannot brag of the like, but still belong to the paradoxical class who find the day of greatest lassitude immedi- ately after the day of greatest labour. The Tabernacle [Broad- way] is filled every Sunday night, no matter who preaches. My church-mission-project is in abeyance, until I see how the Presby- tery's plan (for the same end) turns out. I have no idea, how- ever, of doing our work through the Presbytery : it is a slow work. After all the outcry of the Synod of Philadelphia for a '• separate organization," whereby to give their benefactions to domestic missions, — ^just look at their amount of contributions ! One of the unreasonable demands on a pastor is, that he should like and dislike the people whom A, B, and C dislike. I try hard to let no prejudices or bickerings afl'ect me. But oh! what a disposition, in ourselves and others, to be censorious ; to see faults before excellencies in our neighbours ; to applaud our- selves tacitly, by criticizing others openly, as to the points where we feel less vulnerable ! I know no Scripture precept harder than that, " Let each esteem other better," &c. Sometimes I am painfully affected with the consciousness that this or that duty, which I have performed, would certainly have been neglected or deferred, if no human being were to have known it. I wish I felt more the force of the phrase, " the praise which cometh from God." Protracted Meetings seem to me absolutely indifferent ; to be used, if there be cause, but not as a crack-measure to get up excitement. Where there is a hearing ear, it seems reasona- ^ Thomas Wilson, a coloured man, who went to Africa under the Board of Foreign Missions, and died at his post, September 8, 1846. 48 WHILE PASTOR OF DTJANE ST. CHURCH, NEW YORK. He to miiltiplj instructions. Perhaps Edwards (on Revivals) goes a little too far ; but his general views strike me as just. I reluctantly break my rule againsst lecturing, in order to mendicate in that way for the Princeton church. For three weeks I have had cold and sore throat. I have lost, however, only one exercise by it, which was in the week. Kidder and I have been exchanging calls for fourteen months, but have never met in a house. The St. Valentine's day is so serious a thing liere, that the city post is interrupted for three or four days ; they put on extra carriers, and have a special chest in the Post Office. There are Valentines offered at $200 a-piece ; being in- genious pictured integuments of gold watches, pins, brooches, &c. New York, March 16, 1846. It was only at a late hour this evening, on my brother Henry's return from Princeton, that I heard of your recent anxiety. And now I do sincerely hope that all cause of serious apprehension is removed, and that you will feel at ease to write me soon that you are giving thanks for great deliverance. I say this with the more feeling, as for a few days we have been in much fear, by reason of the sudden and severe illness of our second child. He has had a fever ; and, though still confined to his bed, is greatly mended. Let the God of our salvation be exalted. How much, in time of sickening fears, we are made to feel our need of a direct and imi7iediate Divine influence ; and how gracious is the hand which so often gives it to us ! Our reason- ings, even on the basis of the word, do not reach the case in such a time. The healings, and manifold compassionate acts of our Lord, while on earth, as given in the simple narrative of the gospels, have been an unspeakable comfort to me, in days of despondency. " When my foot slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up." New York, Jfarch 24, 1846. The Gospel is not attractive enough for people now-a-days. Ministers must bait their trap with something else. The old- fashioned topics are seldom heard. This diminishes one's wonder at the small progress made in spirituals. The following is taken, just as it stands, from the Journal of Commerce.^ A ^ Here followed a few advertisements of sermons on "the IIolv Week at Eome," "Washington the Friend of Peace," ''The Influence of Calvin," " Signs of Stability and Decay in the Government of our Country," &c. ; but the custom has become so familiar since the date above, and the incon- gruous subjects so multii^lied, that the notices pasted in the letter would not now seem curious. 18M— 1819. 49 sermon which I preached on the 15th, seems to have been graciously owned to the awakening of two persons. It is a sermon above all I have, remarkable for two faults : first, it is common-place ; secondly, it is flowery. Mr. Begg, of Edinburgh, is to preach for us next Sunday evening. He is a very warm, interesting preacher. Like all the Scotch, he interweaves Scrip- ture passages, out of the common line, in a way to surprise and charm. My Presbyterian folio, for the Blind, is published by the Board. It contains, 1, Prayers; 2, Hymns; 3, The Cate- chism ; 4, A Compend of Doctrine, by my father. I have not, since McCheyne's, had such a treat as in " Housman's Life," just published by Carter. I am just about to have my fa- vourite tract " Poor Joseph," printed in large type, with covers, for the aged and for poor readers. We collected 8600 in February for Education, and about the same in March, for the Bible Society. Dr. S. has come over to our views, against public aisle-covenant, at communions, after practising thirty years the other way. Addison's first volume [Isaiah] is all " in hands," and daily expected. A stranger lately gave me $250 for colportage. "Walsh's letters, in the National Intel- ligencer, are equal to his best days. Don't flxil to read every extract in the " Warder," from the Examiner. I never saw such a sustained wdt, as in the leaders of that paper. Savage Landor is said to write many of them. A Chinaman, with tails, &c., parades our streets. First fruits of our mission at Amoy, are reported. Abeel is expected here every day. In our chief churches here, the praise of God is now performed by committee, and sometimes by a very small one. In some tunes, I am sure, not more than six constitute the acting-worshippers. Why not one? Instrumental Worship would be a good title for an Essay. Begg says it was overwhelming, at Inverness, to hear 15,000 voices, all joining, sub dio, in the old psalms. O to hear it ! New York, April 8, 1846. The lowest down-town church is the North Dutch, then Yande water St., (Free Episcopal,) then Dr. Spring's, then ours. I manage somehow to have a third service almost every Sunday. My article in the Repertory ["Metaphysical Theology of the Schoolmen "] has some brilliant typographic variations, as " hired for hindered." It is w^orth coming to New York to see the power-presses in the Bible House. One of the most learned Jews is become a Christian ; to my knowdedge. He does not wish it bruited till he has prepared a treatise, in German and English. He tried Unitarianism, to avoid the grand " offence" ; but it would not do ; he has come out a thorough trinitarian. VOL. II. — 3 50 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW YORK. More of this anon. Swedenborgianism grows. Dr. Potts is the star of our pulpit-sky. Cheever is gathering a Congrega- tional congregation at Union Square. The interior of Trinity Church is grand. The pulpit is crawled up to, around one of the pillars, as it were in a corner. A pupil of mine heard Bellows the other night, and said the substance was : " Be good ; and if you can't be" good, be as good as you can." I this day corrected the title-page of Addison's book. Mr. Eead has a revival. I cannot dismiss the conviction, that the thing to be aimed at is a warmth which may be continued ; numbers always inquiring; additions each communion ; so necessitating no breach of routine in preaching. On Sunday mornings I always preach straight on in the catechism, except when my monthly collections come. I have had much hope from the effect of my last four, on "Adoption," "Assurance," "Peace," and "Joy." The new missionary map of the world, (Colton's,) 14 feet by 8, is worth having. Y.'s piece takes no account of the distinction between Assurance of faith and of ho2)e; and hence he charges confusion on our theologians which does not exist. This is the eighteenth letter or note (some of them long) I have had to write, within twenty- four hours. If I may judge in such a case, my best effusions [in the Sunday School Journal] have been as " An Old Contributor." My weekly catechizing continues tobe delightful to me. Several of the young people are very seriously inquiring. We have averaged sixty from the beginning. There is immense need of an Explanation of the Catechism, not to exceed 100 pages, and with these qualities: 1. Simplicity. 2. The breaking of the matter into short — very short questions and answers. 3. Avoiding unnecessary accumulation of texts. 4. Absence of school-divinity. A member of my church gave 81,400 to repair a country church, and has given 1200 a year, several years, to the minister's salary. Another member does as much for the Thom- sonville church. AYould it not be a good rule, in visiting, to con- trive to repeat a few verses of the Bible at every place ? How much precious matter it would give the pastor, for his medita- tions. Again, might not a man, properly, make a point, in every prayer he offers in houses, to have a sentence or two specially bearing on his own pastoral and individual wants 1 By these two methods, what we lose from private culture might in a good degree be made up. I have resorted to the old plan, of carrying select tracts, &c. One who has free use of one's pen, may gain much by little notes, even to persons who are shy, unapproach- able, and unfeeling. I have had more calls to converse with people on religion, lately, than ever before. 1844—18^9. 51 New York, May 11, 1846. Your letter reveals to me that you are not altogether relieved from your anxieties. I lately preached on Mark ix. 19 ; a sub- ject which I felt a good deal myself, in reference to some former domestic experiences, and which seemed to affect my people more than usual. Direct bringing of our cares to Christy is a duty or privilege less practised than is thought. If we ventured more on Him, (unless the very term savours of unbelief,) we should doubtless have more to praise for. See Psalm xxxiv. 4 — 6. Is not our Christianity derived too much from report, from a sort of average, from common experience of those about us, and not from the simple Word? You will find some sweet, useful things in the " Mount of Olives," a pendant to " Life in Earnest." Yesterday was our Communion ; seventeen on certificate, and eight on examination. A Free Church minister, Mr. Steven- son, was with us, but did not partake. Another, Dr. Willis, of Glasgow, has been here. They adhere boldly to their plan of sending over settled pastors of some note, on missions of three months, to Canada. This strikes me as a noble plan, fitted to do great good, at least to the deputies themselves. How can I pray for a blessing on our fight with Mexico ! Poor creatures, they have done as little against us as we could have expected. As a Christian nation, we should have sent them the Gospel ; but now, unless God interpose wonderfully, we shall rob and invade them. Who knows but that we may find ourselves engaged with a stronger than they 1 I am more and more of opinion, that the great Missionary work of America should be among the two races which we have most injured, viz., the black and the red. I have misgivings whenever we send men to Northern India, (British ground,) and neglect the perfectly open field among our Indians. The government yields every facility for the prosecution of this work. To-day I heard a letter read, in which the Superintendent of Indian Affairs offers to accompany our Secretary, in a tour among all the Western Tribes. We all feel that this work presses on us more than heretofore. The intercourse of a year with , has led me to set him down as one of the best men living ; for honesty, generosity, self-denial, greatness of love, good sense, and zeal for God. He seems to me to have the heart of a father, towards every one of the missionaries ; and when he en- gages in the harassing labour of purchasing for China, Africa, or the Indians, does it as for dear children. Old-fashioned pastors are about as common as knee-breeches. Literary clergymen abound. Europe is like to have a full representation this summer. The question will soon be, " Who has not been in Europe V I con- 52 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW YORE". fess I should like to spend three months in the Free Church, to try and find out the secret of their ardour. Beyond this, the longing for Europe, which haunted me for years, is all gone. New York, May 28, 1846. I am occasionally struck with the force of a phrase in the Greek, M-hich is lost in our own version : ex. gr. Romans xvi. 25, or€(TLyr]}xevoL^ That chapter is a great trap for orthoepists. Urbane ought to be Urban, as it is in the old English version, being a man's name. Andronicus, Aristobulus, and Epenetus, are seldom hit right. Next Sunday I hope to preach a Sunday School sermon. The cause needs lifting among us. My little report on Parochial schools has made a breeze in our Assembly, which I was unprepared for.' The resolutions appear to me milk-and-water enough for anybody. Yet I feel no zeal for them, beyond this, that I should like the skirt of the Assembly to be cast over those who are attempting church-schools. I see no proof that Onesimus ever ran away, in the technical sense, at all. I can go a peg higher than you about slavery, and fail to see the scripturalness of much that is postulated now-a-days, respecting the popular idol, liberty. As existing, slavery is fraught with moral evil ; the want of marriage, and of the Bible, and the separation of families, &c., &c., are crying sins ; but I am totally unable to see the relation to be necessarily unjust. The moral questions are so various from the circum- stances, that each must be decided apart, e. g., " Is A justifiable in holding B to service 1 " Our church, I am clear, ought to protest against the laws about reading, &c. As clear am I, that our States should regard slavery as a transition-state, to be terminated as soon as possible, and that they should enact laws about the post-nati. That the most miserable portion, physically and morally, of the black race in the United States, is the portion which is free, 1 am as well assured as I can be of any similar proposition. That immediate emancipation would be a crime, I have no doubt ; and therefore believe there are cases in which there is neither injustice nor inhumanity in holding. I have had but eleven weddings in New York, and only half a- dozen in my own charge. Dr. Cox once met my good Puritan brother, Greenleaf, and as his wont is, saluted him in Latin, to which G. replied, " Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue ^ In our version " kept secret ; " in "Wiclif 's, " liolden still." ^ The General Assembly of 1844 appointed a committee to consider the expediency of establishing Presbyterian Parochial Schools. Of this commit- tee Dr. Alexander, though not in the Assembly, was chairman. The report was not ready until the Assembly of 1846, when it was, after some debate, adopted and ordered to be printed in the Appendix to the Minutes of that year. lSJ:i— 18J:9. 53 pray that he may interpret," Cox is fond of tinkering about the top of his house and sheds. Greenleaf, seeing him thus aloft, gave him this text to expound : " What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house-tops '? " New York, June 15, 1846. My father spent last week with us. Gen. Scott, of soup- memory, is now called Marshal Tureen. We have set up Cornish in a coloured congregation — Potts and I becoming responsible for the rent of the room. My congregation is per- ceptibly thinning. Our lieut.-governor, Gardiner, of Rochester, worships with us when he is in town. He is a pious man, and a zealous Sunday School teacher. If this treaty with England really goes into effect, we shall have occasion for heartfelt thanks. As to Mexico, I fear their defiles and sierras will give them oppor- tunity to protract the war, much beyond present expectations. Five members of one family in our church are in Paris, or on the way. The Central Church committee [seeking a pastor] called here on Wednesday, on their way to Troy, as fond and avid as ever the Greeks were after Helen. Seekers of vacancies are as abundant as crows in a cornfield. I believe I am solicitor for a dozen at this moment. All make for the cities. Young probationers all hover about home. Quere : whether, in the present destitution of the West, every candidate for orders should not be compelled to do two years of missionary service ? It would be a good test. I wish I had means to draw up a schedule of the licentiates of the last five years, and where they are. Among persons who desire vacancies are four or five settled ministers. Van Rensselaer is full of a new magazine. ["Presbyterian Magazine," began in 1851.] I think I should like to write bits for such a thing, sometimes ; so would you. Though I did not doubt that Taylor would be nominated for President, I did not surmise that Trenton and Tucker would have the honour of taking the initiative. I saw a gold-headed cane, to-day, made of wood from the first Presbyterian Church in America, the old McKemie church of Accomac, Va. It was in the hands of Mr. Locke, a minister of Northampton, Va. It is marked " 1690." Trinity Church is open at 9i- and 4 for prayers, daily. This I like, Pusey or no Pusey. Yet it never comes to aught in practice. Have you read the " Fox and the Geese " ? It lacks all probability, and is in my opinion a sheer invention, to be added to the fictitious literature of the day, concerning which see " American Messenger," passim. It encourages expectations which can never be realized, of seeing elephants keeping shop, and using their trunks for dry-goods. It is erroneous in point 54 WHILE PASTOK OF DrANE ST. CHUKCH, NEW YOEK. of natural history. The goose {anas anser, Linn.) is not endowed with the faculty of speech, like some of the genus Psiitacus; and to represent it as thatching its house, is absurd. But the ridiculous falsity of the book may be considered as aii comble, when the common fox {vulj^es caUida, Linn.) is repre- sented as carrying a torch. This in a religious age, and in the nineteenth century ! ^ New York, June 29, 1846. Dr. Eice came in this evening from his mission to the Massa- chusetts General Association at Pepperell. He says the Con- gregationalists are blowing up the sectarian flame very hard, and labouring to propagate their " distinctive " principles. Congre- gational "Puseyism "is funny enough. I wish you would read Schaff's famous book ; [" Historical Development " ?] Cryout as we may, he tells us some plain truths, and reveals things which none but a transatlantic eye could discern. It is a most exciting and suggestive volume, with a figment for the hypo- thesis, %ut great genius, learning, and truth in many of the details. I have always felt the force of what he says about the Puritans having cut to the quick, in regard to externals ; about the charity we should have for Papists ; and about the evils of innumerable sects. But he goes fearfully far, about visible unity. The dread of Millenarianism has sealed the mouths of too ^iiany of us, I think, in respect to the Second Coming. There is a great deal about it in the New Testament. If others teach a false second-advent, why should not we, all the more earnestly, enforce the true 1 I have no recollection of having ever heard any brother preach on it. We have (Potts and I) at length got our Old School coloured church a-going. I have thus far^fiiiled entirely to get a room for our Duane St. Mission- Church. But there seems to be a readiness among our people. Waterbury has accepted the call to St. Bowdoin's, (I merely transpose the " St.") A very large proportion of my flock is now in rustication; their place is very much filled by travellers. The constant presence of such, governs my preparations more than it did. Some very encouraging things have occurred, from 1 This ironical notice of the objections to fables and fictions reminds one of the lines of Cowpov, which the letter-writer quoted in a graver article on the same subject long before this, (Sunday School Journal, January 9, 18S3.) " I shall not ask Jean Jacques Eousseau If birds confabulate or no ; 'Tis clear that they were always able To hold discourse— at least in fable ; And e'en the child who knows no better, Than to interpret by the letter A story of a cock and bull, Must have a most uncommon skull." 1844—1849. 55 lime to time, in regard to such drawings of the bow at a venture. 1 beheld the other day about 500 new army-recruits, for Mexico, a most sorry collection of ragamuffins. My proximity to the arsenal gives me plenty of this playing at soldiers. Another Free Church minister was here to-day, from Canada, where he has been preaching, almost daily, for several months in Gaelic. His name is MacTavish, from Inverness-shire : a plain, honest, warm fellow. Williamson, who preaches here in one of the French Protestant churches, is a native of London, yet speaks broken English, having been " raised " in France. He is an evangelical Episcopalian. Princeton, July 22, 1846. Addison is in my place in New York ; but for no reason but that of a more perfect seclusion, in order to complete his work. He has finished to the end of the 57th chap., since the first volume was published. He is almost overwhelmed by it, and I do not wonder he escapes all engagements when he can. I feel no sympathy with your Quaker pro]3ensities. There is, indeed, something good in Gurney, videlicet, the very part which is not Quaker, and for which his tribe are ready to abjure him. When I consider their anilities about coats, days, and grammar, and the fruits they have borne, I feel no regret that they are so near dissolution. Their way of treating death and eternal things, and their opiates to all conscience, except that of mint, anise, and cummin, make their influence a most irreligious one wherever I have met them. New York, August 25, 1846.^ I will not inquire how you were affected by a sight of the " Falls," [Niagara.] I remember the great object, with a sort of religious' awe. None of our Heavenly Father's works seems more expressive of his sublime, incomprehensible greatness. Yet, I dare say, so far as pleasure in concerned, you more value the moment in which you met with your children. There is a depth of joy in such affections, which no external objects can produce. I am writing in my solitary house ; having returned to the city without my family. We were afraid to bring our infant back too suddenly from the purer air of the country. Of my season of holidays I spent ten days at Saratoga, with much advantage, and four or five at Long Branch, with none at all : for I took a cold and cough, under which I am still labouring. The place of our daily duties, with all its cares, is, after all, ' This letter was addressed to one of the family of the editor of the cor- respondence. 56 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHUECII, NEW TOEK. the place where we are usually most happy. This I feel very sensibly on my return to New York. Though almost over- whelmed with the press of matters which have been waiting for me, I am nevertheless rejoiced to be at home. Let us be instructed by the many mercies which we receive, to trust our God and Saviour more implicitly, and to yield our- selves to his service with more entire resignation of all that we have and are. To write and to say such things is easy, but we need special grace to enable us in any degree to realize such a character of mind and life. A cheerfid reliance on God, and a firm hope in his promises, are great part of our duty ; and these tempers should be encouraged in us, by every new instance of Divine compassion. You will understand nie when I say, that home is not home without my children. I am more dependent than most men, for personal comfort, on the presence of my immediate flimily- circle. I pray for the hour when, by God's favour, we may be gathered once more. New York, Septemher 1, 1846. The summer is, by no means, over ; and I am not sure that I do not feel the heat more than in July ; we have, however, a very perceptible sea-breeze towards evening, and the nights are not at all oppressive. Addison finished his second volume, in- cluding a large introduction. I communicated your strictures to him. He says his ow^n private wish always was to make a com- mentary of the popular sort, and that he was overruled by his friends and advisers. Those of my people who pretend to pass the summer in the country, are still abroad. Yet our congregations have been full ; ill part from other churches, in part from the hotels. I never saw the latter more overflowing. Mr. Wetmore, our indefatigable Tract-and-City-mission-man, not long since said at a meeting : " New York Christians appear to think that souls cannot be converted in the month of August." Gospel-efforts, like Oysters, are for the months which have an R in them. I have been reading John Foster's life, with more pain than pleasure.' A great, original genius, but too radical, too censorious, too con- temptuous of his brethren, too prone to see good only in his own ways. I greatly prefer Hall, or even Jay. New York, September 28, 1846. I have been somewhat occupied in getting my fiimWy home, wdiich is one reason why I have not written. Our police now constitute a strong body, being visible at numerous stations, ^ He had reviewed Foster's Essays in the Repertory, October, 1844. ISitt— 1849. 57 well understood, with conspicuous badges. Two fire-companies have been disbanded, since I came here, for fighting ; the only instances of disorder in the corps. Our fires are very silent affairs. Niblo's garden and theatre were burnt down, without any cry in the streets. Stewart's new store is considered, and I dare say justly, the greatest dry-goods shop in the world. The sales, on three days, were $30,000. A withered old apple- woman used to sit on the step of his old store. Stewart, on removing, sent his porter for the old body's basket, and she now graces his marble threshold. Of the returned members from the Holy [Evangelical] Alliance, I have chatted with Forsyth and De Witt. Both were chiefly impressed by Baptist Noel. De Witt says it is worth a voyage to look at him, and that he made the speech, par excellence. They also talk with admira- tion of Adolphe Monod and Tholuck. De Witt reports a few hopeful things about the churches of Holland. Elliott Cresson sent the Autocrat [Emperor of Russia] a copy of my father's Colonization Book. The oldest lawyers in New York (Matthews of Rochester) and New Jersey (Smith Scudder) have died within a few weeks of each other. I am very busy in looking up my people. In this long- street-city it is no short job. This morning I had an affecting conversation with a lady, of Quaker education, who has long been feeling her way in the dark towards religion. Probably it was the first conversation she ever had on the subject. Such instances, I fear, are very numerous. It was pleasing to preach the news of a free gospel to one who had not been hardened to its phrases. The Free Church people of Scotland are amazed at our Assembly's decision on Romish baptism. I have just been down to chat with Mr. Leckie, a Scotch parishioner of mine. His father, a secession minister of Peebles, raised a family of ten sons and three daughters, on a stipend of £120, educated five of them at the University, and died without owing a penny. Bp. Ilowley, now Archbishop, on hearing the circumstances, gave the widow £10. I have lately obtained the copy of Milton which my mother's father had read to him during his blindness. You have no idea what a place New York is for musquitoes (moschettoes.) But the natives tell you it is nothing. It is remarkable how generally these Scotch merchants have had a liberal education. This is fine weather for all sorts of people, and I hope you are all in good health. Adieu. New York, October 12, 1846. The passage^ is in the Piinica of Silius Italicus, (vii. 41.) It ^ Supposed to illustrate the yoke of Matthew xi. 29. VOL. II. 3* 58 WHILE rASTOE or DIJANE ST. CHrECH, NEW YOEK. occurs ill a speech of one Cilnius to the Poeni, when about to deal with the famous procrastinator Fabius. Speaking of the latter, he says : " Nosces Fabios certamine ab uno. Veientum populi violata pace negabaut Acceptare jugum, ac vicino Marte fuvebat Ad portas bellum, consulque ciebat ad arma." There is nothing further in the context, to clear the matter. The passage in Livy (xxxvi. 37) relates to the campaign of L. Cornelius Scipio against Antiochus, about B. C. 190. The words are in a reply of S. to the amljassador of A., who had offered S. " auri ponclus ingens." They concern certain offers of surrendering cities, &c. Scipio says, " Concesso vero in Asiam transitu, et non solum frenis, sed etiam jugo accepto, quae disceptatio ex aequo, quum imperium patienclum sit,relicta esti" The sense I take to be : " If you once let us into Asia, and thus submit not only to restraint, but subjugation, it is vain for you to talk of treating on terms of equality, since the controversy is for sovereignty." Dr. Wm. Smith, in Diet. Class. Antiq., says : " By another figure, the yoke meant slavery, or the con- dition in ^vhich men were compelled, against their will, like oxen or horses, to labour for others. Hence to express symbolically the subjugation of conquered nations, the Romans made their captives pass under a yoke," &c., i. e. a spear upon two other sjDcars placed upright. My measure of experience teaches me, that it is God's method never to leave me long in a season of such freedom from anxiety as shall make me forget my dependence. You know something of what it is to preach under such burdens, and to go home afraid to open the door. At such times, one thought pre- dominates : my sin. Is not this one chief end of trials ? I sometimes sink, but, I think, I do not rebel. God is just, and he is good. We, who teach others, need a peculiar discij^line. I am thankful that my domestic trials, on the review, seem all right. Yet I confess to you, my anxieties are almost always inordinate ; nor do I grow any wiser. It is, no doubt, wisely ordered, that we suffer in those we love. I did not intend a sermon ; but I have thought more of your trials, amidst my own. Is there not a lesson in this also 1 When we pray for a more useful ministry, God answers us by stripes which we did not expect ; but they fall from a gracious hand. I have to preach before Presbytery, and to lecture on Tuesday. The " Great Britain" is anxiously looked for. People seem to have mis- givings about these steamers ; but it seems to me that nothing saved the " Great Western," under God, but its engine, which 1844—1849. 59 never stopped, or went awry. Some time since, being in a pulpit with Mr. Johnstone, of Jersey City, I observed him read from a paper, half this sheet in size. The fourth page was but a quarter covered. He declared to me that he had read every word, and he spoke forty minutes. It was a stenography, which he has used forty years ; his father a still longer time. This would save paper, ink, pens, chest, and time. October 14. — Thus tar I had previously written. Our Pres- bytery is meeting. I gladly abdicate in favour of W. E. Schenck. The " Great Britain " is not reported yet. An eastern storm is beginning. Dr. Beecher is on the arena; giving the echoes of the Alliance. The Monterey affair gives me little but pain. O the lightness with which hundreds of men are sent into eternity ! There is a peculiar use of the word Peace, in the Bible, which gives it great emphasis. New York, November 23, 1846. Yours of the 2d lies unanswered. The period has been one of much pastoral anxiety. Inter alia, one of my hearers has been lying ill, with a rapid consumption, at Brunswick. I never before wrote a letter to a dying man. I suppose he is dead. Mr. Nathaniel B. Boyd, a bachelor, member of our church, was at our lecture on Tuesday, and went home well, and spoke with interest of the exposition. In the night he was smitten with apoplexy ; and died on the 21st. I have had for months a case of mental anguish beyond all I ever saw described, unless it be Bunyan's man in the cage, or Cowper's latter days. Our Philadelphia friends fear our endeavours towards a City-Mis- sion ; but we cannot live without it. Our collection yesterday for Domestic Missions (the general cause) was $512.30. I am not convinced that any Episcopal element would help our church. I am least of all convinced by the progress of Episcopalians. What have they done, except in towns 1 They had the whole South once, and where is it now 1 I am not convinced by the Methodists, for the Baptists have increased as much as they. And their episcopate is but nominal. It is their itinerancy and lay-labour, which has pushed them on. Two of the most learned German Jews (from Rotterdam) are studying Addison's Isaiah. New York, November 30, 1846. I have just returned from Dr. [Wm. J.] Armstrong's funeral, and write sooner than I meant to do, in remembrance of his con- nexion with your church, and to give you some accounts '' in advance of the mail." Dr. A. was accustomed to go to Boston, the last week of every month, to confer with the Prudential Committee. 60 WHILE PASTOK OF DUAKE ST. CHUECH, NEW YORK. He had accomplished his business, and \Yas on his return in the steamboat Athintic. It seems the storm had begun before he left Boston ; and his friends urged him not to leave them ; but he ear- nestly desired to be with his little family on Thanksgiving Day. You know the general course of the events. When, on Thurs- day, it appeared that the danger was imminent, and that no vessel could near them, Dr. A. got permission of the captain to have religious services. He gathered all the passengers below, read the Scripture, prayed, called on two other gentlemen to pray ; and invited all present to spend a few moments in silent devotion, which they did. From various accounts, it appears that he was much engaged in comforting and corroborating the minds of those around him. While he was praying, a lieutenant in the United States Navy thought he recognized the voice, and on going to him, remembered him as the pastor of his infancy in Richmond. This gentleman's mother was also on board, but has perished. Her son was in church to-day. Dr. A. put on the life-preserver with which his poor wife had supplied him, and with others, at the instance of Lieut. M., tore slips of blanket and bound about the head. What a sight it must have been ! They already expected to go to pieces at sunset ; but they did not till 4 A. M. All night in the howling storm, the fires all out, the cold insufferable, a few biscuits, but no drink, and the bell tolling all the while. The last time Dr. A. is reported to have been seen, he was standing above, surveying the scene, perfectly calm ; he then uttered these words (I think) to a hearer of mine : " I entertain hope that we may reach the shore ; but if not, my confidence is firm in that God Avho doeth all things well, in wisdom and in love ! " Surely no man in the serenity of a dying chamber could be better employed. Young C. S. Stewart (United States Engineer) who was saved, stayed by the vessel till the timbers parted, in company with Capt. Cullum and Lieut. Norton. At length, his hair and eyelashes being frozen, his hands were so benumbed, that he thought they would become useless, unless he let himself down at once, which he did. After struggling in the surf, he gained footing. Shortly after he heard Capt. Cullum's voice. Norton was lost. Charles S. was much bruised, and so exhausted as to fall down three times before reaching the house ; of which they had previously en- deavoured, by day-light, to fix the locality in their minds. iVfter ten hours he reached New London, whence he had set out ; he is there engaged on the new fortification. Dr. Armstrong was struck on the head a violent blow by the falling timber, which probably killed him instantly. His body was taken to Norwich, but was not recognized for some time, as the pockets had been 1844—1849. 61 cut and rifled of every thing. The funeral services were attended, at 1 1 this morning, in the Broome St. church, which was crowded, in every standing-place ; hundreds could not gain entrance. The hymn, '• Unvail thy bosom faithful tomb," was sung. Dr. Adams delivered a simple, touching, and admirable address ; in which he did justice to the excellent character of the deceased, and applied to him with much force those words, as eminently characterizing him, " In simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our con- versation in the world," 2 Cor. i. 12. The choir sang, " Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims." The pulpit was occupied by Drs. Skinner, Adams, De Witt, and Cox. Dr. De Witt offered a prayer of great earnestness and impression. The clergy of our city were very generally there, and deep emotion was manifested. Dr. Armstrong has left a wife and Ave children, one a young infant. The remains are gone, to be laid by those of his vener- able father, the Rev. Dr. Amzi Armstrong, of New Jersey. You will find that our departed brother is remembered with respect in Trenton. He was an upright, believing man, and a solemn, and often pathetic preacher. Those who have often been warned and entreated by him should remember the voice of God by him. New York, December 31, 1846. Monday, which is always a day of many interruptions, has this day been busier than usual. One Mission-committee, one Seamen's-committee, one Church-extension-committee, and one prayer-meeting of ministers. The last I could not attend. Letters from "China tell us that the anxiety, in consequence of the riots, is very great. I saw in my church yesterday a Dane, a Swede, and a Chinese. We have recently gained a Jew, who is a candidate for baptism. Count Zinzendorf, on one occasion, (as I find by his Life,) extemporized six hymns, during one meet- ing ; it was his frequent practice. Most of the Moravian hymns are by him, and these are very beautiful in German, however ludicrous in the wretched English version. The fine gold has become dim. If ever there was true religion, since primitive days, it was among the Bohemian and Moravian confessors. Two of my young men have interrupted me, and taken up two hours. Yet I am not sorry. What little strength I have here, lies in this. How humiliating it is to find that I am pained, when I learn that ]\I or N does not like my preaching, yet am so calm, when all the alphabet, for years, reject my Master's message ! Our theorv of a church-session is grand ; but 62 WHILE PASTOR OF DUi:NE ST. CHUECH, NEW YOEK. what a practice ! It is made for a church in a hiorh spiritual state, and this I think is in its flivoiir. One of my elders makes up to every man, woman, and child, who frequent the church. He visits as much as I do ; knows every church-member ; talks to every inquirer ; goes often to every house ; and, when I point out any place, is sure to he there within twenty-four hours. This leads me to two practical reflections : 1. How important to have a number of young men in training for such offices. 2. How desirable for a pastor so to labour, as to leave the church in the best possible state for his successor; in regard particularly to the children, youth, family-habits, &c. My latest texts have been such as have much interested me : 2 Tim. i. 19, John xiii. 36, Eph. v. 2, Matt. vi. ult., Deut. xxxiii. 1, Ps. cxix. 9, Rom. viii. 34, Matt. xxv. 10, Luke xii. 57, John xvi. 12, 13, Matt. v. 6, Heb. ii. 4, Rom. viii. 1. What we seem to want here, is not polish or literature in sermons, but something earnest, real, and affectionate ; something to make the people hear as if some truth of transcendent present inter- est ^Yils set forth. Never was I more convinced that in order to this there is nothing so necessary as a direct and specific influence from on High. Rhetorical interest is impotent. There was great interest under the Finneyitish revivals, but it was not evangelical, and I am working among its bitter fruits every day. There is a wonderful vitality and permanency in experience wdiich is built on the preaching of Christ. The style of sermons in the Scottish Free Church seems to be the thing. When the new-divinity- converts grow cold, they are colder than ice, nothing but a biting censoriousness. I had no idea, even in Jersey, of the modifica- tions wrought in the religion of this city, by the overwrought revivalism of past years. Some, even of those who were once fiery, have degenerated into pulpit-metaphysicians, subtile and elegant. Vanity-Fair is beginning. New Year's day is a very carnival hereabouts. 1 am in despair about church-music. The nearest approach to my ideal is in the German church near me, where every creature sings, where the tunes are all slow, making up in volume for the lack of twiddle-diddle, and where they never have a new tune, hi some churches here, the choir is about a pew-full, and the people use a purely vicarious psalmody. I sometimes feel a tune, in our lecture-room ; in our church, never. Do we employ psalms and hymns sufficiently, as a means of grace, in our families ? A poor Irishman has found, I trust, the true foundation, in his sick-room. Last night he sat up, with his popish host, till they had read over twelve or fourteen chapters of the Bible. He has been fliithfully followed up by a most assiduous young man of ours. This young man spends 1844—1849. Q^ part of every clay among the poor. I fear our Whig Congress- men are going to use no general exertion for peace. I honour Calhoun for his manful resistance to both the war-measures. I am astonished at the greatness of the evangelical movement among the Papists of France, as detailed in the late French reports ; whole villages reformed, assemblies of several thou- sands, &c. I wish you, beforehand, a happy New Year. Let us seek to have one of simpler walk, and higher usefulness. i New York, January 9, 184'7. I compliment you on the termination of your church-debt ; we are making an effort towards ending our own " pious fraud." I hope both parsons may soon have their respective parsonages. The immigration to this port alone, last year, was 115,000 ; or more than 315 per diem. An effort is making to get decent Temperance-ism out of the gutter, and on its legs again. It has been sadly drugged hereabouts, and is in a state of titubation. Falstaff's regiment could not have exceeded our recruits for Mexico. My congregation is a receiving-ship for up-town. I am just setting up a converted popish book-pedler, with a basket of books for the wharfs, sloops, and grog-shops. I saw to-day a Californian paper, (Colton's,) Spanish and English. My text for the year was, " We are the Lord's." I have since seen it in a " copy of verses " j^^^es me, and engraved on a (phylactery) gold-ring. As I used to remark in Trenton an endemic pronun- ciation, in the female choristers, of " m^de" for " made," " tyke" 1 2 1^ for " take," &;c. ; so here I find in the same class, " fa-er " for 2 1 " fire," " ta-em " for " time." I perceive little or nothing like con- gregational devotion in psalmody, oflen scarcely attention. I have a trifling book in hands of Sunday School Union, which I have written out of pity for town-boys.^ New York, January 25, 1847. 1 had to-day the offer of a ticket to the grand concert, 13th prox., for the Popish orphans. It is to surpass all ever heard " on this side," Except the operatic corps, amateurs are to do the thing. The " lady patronesses" are all Protestants. The Presbyterians make so much of a call from a congregation, and in theory are so much opposed to ordination sine titulo, that I lately made a search of the whole New Testament in quest of authority. I find none. I find no minister undeniably marked out as the pastor of ^ " Frank Harper ; or, the Country Boy in Town." 64: WHILE PASTOE OF DUA]^E ST. CHUKCH, NEW YOEK. any single flock. I have copious notes of the i-esults. Mondays are much alike with me ; first our Foreign Committee, which I always meet with pleasure, and then a round of visits till three. Yesterday our Bible collection was made; $374. We add about 8180 by female association. One young lady in my flock does a work which is very unusual and pleasing. She devotes about three hours a day to teaching poor girls. Almost every one of those who have left her class, perhaps twelve, is well educated, and truly pious. I can almost pick out her pupils in the gallery by their looks. She also teaches in Sunday School ; is a leading Dorcas, and collects annually $250 for a French evangelist. What a chano-e, if each of us had even six such : and does not this suggest the importance of separate and deliberate efforts to train individual helpers'? I am unspeakably blessed in several of my young men. A, a schoolmaster, superintendent of Sunday School, is a model of modest, able, indefatigable service. B, a dry- goods man, Sunday School teacher, is the most of a Harlan Page I ever saw ; shrewd, original, humorous, always among the poor, courageous, and prudent. I could hardly wish him other than he is. C, teller in bank, Sunday School teacher, well-read, gentle, ortho- dox, punctual, liberal, looked up to by the others. D, more re- served, but valuable, and always in his place, a ship-chandler. E, lawyer, accomplished, active, a good collector, and real aid. F, a bookseller, graduate of Princeton, ditto, ditto. All, except the last, are New Englanders ; all are unfailing at prayer meetings, &c. Their influence on young men coming in among us is great. Nothing is more remarkable in all these, than their readiness to do any thing I propose. It is my chief comfort. I sensibly feel what you say about reports of sermons. Some months ago I was shocked at the inane stupidity of a report of one of mine. A few days after, a poor mantuamaker, not of my parish, read it in the newspaper^ and found something in it the means of bringing her to Christ, after two years bondage. I wonder whether our meanest sermons are not our best. Loughridge's ^ death made me say to myself : "How seldom, now-a-days, does a minister die among his own people ! From this time our Board of For- eign Missions will have the annual distribution of some of the government money, for Indian Schools. Our Choctaw Academy is quite a college ; Ramsey is a noble fellow. New York, January 26, 1847. I follow one letter with another thus soon, because I omitted what I meant to say in my last on a point of interest. Some time ago you mentioned, in passing, a desire to have an occasional ^ Pastor of the Fourth Church, Philadelphia. 18M— 1849. 65 German discourse in Trenton. There is a man here well fitted for such a work, to whom a few dollars would be a great help ; if some of your people would bestow it. For a trifle more than expenses, I think, he would go on, once a month, or perhaps a fortnight. He has been taken under our Presbytery, though Lutheran by ordination. A Jew, but very long under the best Christian and University training. A learned man. As far as can be judged, warmly pious. He has preached repeatedly in the German pulpits here, and is said to be highly acceptable. He preaches every Sunday in the Almshouse, gratuitously, to the seven hundred Germans who are there. I know not what could be done in Trenton, in this regard ; but if any thing is needed, you could scarcely alight on a better person for an occasional sermon and an experiment. I hope before long to get him some permanent preaching-post here ; but things do not mature as fast as I could wish. He speaks poor English, but can talk French and Latin. New York, February 22, 1847. The snow has set in (like some preachers) with a codicil, after the conclusion. Broadway is beginning to ring and swarm. I can't help thinking how much better off the Southern slaves are, physically and morally, than the Irish. Who ever heard of slaves starving until the master starv^ed 1 I see no trace of the modern dogmas about absolute freedom in the Bible. The wretchedest portion, by far, of the black race, is the free portion. Our New York negroes are lower than savages in many respects. I believe slaverv will be abolished ; and will be abolished in Mexican lands, and parts adjacent, where the climate suits, and where the taint of colour is less felt ; and that all attempts to wall slavery within its present bounds, only hurts the negro and procrastinates the grand result. I am more and more convinced that our endeavours to do at a blow, what Providence does by degrees, is disastrous to those whom we would benefit. To give the gospel to the slaves, is a duty pressing above all others ; and my painful and mortifying endeavours for two years to build up a black church here, and my previous preaching for six years to free people in Jersey, convince me that it is easier to give the gospel to the slaves. I am looking for a house. That in which I live has been a perpetual mortification to me : no spare room to which I may ask a friend without chagrin. I am forced to live down town ; and here there are no new houses. I have inspect- ed many houses. Scarcely five have had Croton water, and only one a bath-room. I was pleased with one in Barclay street, two stories and a half: the rent was |950. I heard Gough the other 66 WHILE PASTOR OF DUAI^E ST. CHrECH, NEW TOEK. night. I never willingly miss him. His pathos and his humour and acting are beyond any thing I know of just now. What a nasty mean little squabbling your Trenton papers keep up. I have taken the Ne^vark Daily for ten years, and have never seen a line which would apprise me of the existence of the rival print. In regard to correspondents, you are the only regular one I bave in the world. Did you ever meet with an expression of Jane Taylor's, " Preserve me from affrontable people " ? New York, 3Iarch 5, 184Y. I am a little disturbed about our epistolary debits and credits, — so here goes. The military funeral to-day of sundry officers slain in Mexico, is holden to have been a fiilure. The mud and mire was such, that the "municipalities" would not "walk." The canaille were out in force, by tens of thousands. I felt it to be a bathetic affair, and no honour to the poor victims. Our church-collection, chiefly for Scotland, is a little short of $700 : individual subscriptions among our people, in addition, about $1,000. Mr. G. last night, gave some of his views, as a law yer, of the evidences of Christianity. Take the following mems : " Every regeneration is a miracle — answers all the definitions. Most Christians, at some time or other, are sure they have been subjects of it. Suppose the affidavits of these, taken on dying- beds, were collected, (say 300,000,000,) how far ought this to go, with an honest sceptic, as testimony ? " " Hume, &c., say a miracle cannot be made credible. But if so extraordinary a thing as a revelation could be proved, it might be credible that for this even a miracle might be wrought. I would, therefore, seek to prove a revelation on separate grounds. Thus : the human race is not eternal. They Avere created. They could not have continued in existence without some Divine instruction. This is a revelation.'''' Dr. Boardman has spent a week here. He sails for Europe proximo. Greeley said, in a speech, that this city has already made twenty-five millions by the scarcity in Europe. How our good brother removes the claws and horns from autocrats ! Having done that office for Nicholas, and shown that he never wronged the Poles, he has now presented the Grand Turk in the same amiable guise. Would that he had seen the Pope ! I have finished my exposition of the Hebrews ; in sixty-two lectures : I trust to my own instruction at least. L , who has just uttered a volume on the Apocalypse, (moderately millenarian,) is a retired merchant ; the same who some years ago mauled the New Havenites so unmercifully, in his periodical pamphlets, entitled " Views in Theology." He is very acute, cool, perspicuous, consistent, and erudite ; and I sup- 1844—1849. 67 pose has guessed about as near as the rest. Our streets are at the acme of filth and putrescence. The new planet, I hear, is to be called Neptune, and its sign f . Dr. Cox is lecturing on it. The next should be Vulcan ; for steam, ocean, and iron, are in the astrological ascendant. My congregation sends a captain and a lieutenant in the new regiment of regulars. New York, April 5, 1847. Your kind letter of the 2d was received on the 4th, and you will accept my thanks. Our little one was a very lovely object in our eyes ; and our remembrance of him is peculiarly free from all that could give pain. He faded away exactly like a slowly- dying flower. Partly to avoid funeral mockeries, and partly to have the three little graves together, for the moral influence on my other children, I removed the remains to Princeton, to " the plot of ground" wdiere I shall probably lie myself. I have this morning been furnishing New Testaments (they cannot carry large-print Bibles) to a company of the 10th regi- ment. I have been stimulated by the w^ar to prepare a manual of devotions for sailors and soldiers, which is now complete.^ Bunsen is getting out the most magnificent work on Rome, pic- torial and antiquarian, which has ever been made. The Ameri- can Messenger (of American Tract Society) is expected this year to rise to a circulation of 100,000. One should write for such a paper, however slim it is, and to make it less so. I dreamed that I heard Dr. Yeomans say these words, on hearing a Presby- terial lecture, or the like : " Yes, it is only nonsense : but nothing is more damning than nonsense ; especially when it purjoorts to be the Word of God, in exposition." 1 have recovered my father's trial sermon, preached fifty-six years ago, cet. 19. He was very boyish, and the text was Jer. i. 7. The style is exactly that of his present writing. 118 Chambers street, Mai/ 8, 1847. I am writing on a most shoemaking sort of paper, which please ascribe to my study-less condition ; my work-place being the back-parlour. Coming into a house which has been " im- proved" by a defaulting boarding-house keeper, we find horrid filth, damage, and dilapidation, and are amidst a gang of glaziers, whitewashers, plumbers, and joiners. I have gone up one story, leaving the first-floor-back (Angliee) for distinguished clergymen. Your patronage is solicited. The military display to-day was ^ Published by the Board of Publication in 1847. In the same year, his " Thoughts on Family Worship " was published by that Board. The latter work was republished in Edinburgh in 1853. 68 WHILE PASTOR OF DUA^'E ST. CHTKCH, NEW TOEK. very grand : once it would have pleased me : it did not : and the illumination, which is about to begin in a few moments, I do not expect to see/ I feel like preaching on " Charity . . . . re- joiceth not in iniquity — vaunteth not itself." Dr. Burns of Toronto left town this evening, after a sojourn of two or three davs. He eoes to Halifax about a new theological school there. I think he has more exactness and extent of knowledge, and a greater outpouring of it in vehement and often affectionate dis- course, than any man I ever met ; unless I except Chancellor Kent, whom he resembles in his contempt of all conventionalities. Our communion is coming on, without one addition on examina- tion. This causes " searchings of heart." I feel no disposition to look at other parties' share of the blame. From my soul I say, confitentem habes reum ! On an examination of my preach- ing, I do not see any thing in doctrine, topics, or application, (notwithstanding grievous defects in zeal and faith,) which I con- demn myself in : yet I am not " hereby justified." This day of festivity has found me very sad, at times, in the survey of every sort of temper almost or quite as bad as years ago. Tew things startle me more than this i:)erman€ncy of one's inward features : the same man, the same nature, in a degree. If it were not for other, and sometimes countervailing tendencies, I might well doubt whether any new nature exists. If I have any experience it fullv afirrees with that exeo;esis which ascribes Romans vii. to a believer, who " delights in the law of God after the inner man." Durbin's Travels in the East are fall of good matter for a preacher ; ho has a knack at painting the scene to your imagination. We cannot be too well versed in the physique of the Holy Land. Dr. Jenks's Explanatory Atlas is the best geographical help for a pastor I have seen. Robinson's book will be a great one. The Conference of the American Branch of the Evangelical Alli- ance have been fighting several days about slavery, &c., and do not seem to know what the aforesaid Alliance is for. A man of prudence may be pardoned for not securing a berth until he knows whither the ship is bound. From the pugnacity of the crew, the " sign " would seem to be " Castor and Pollux." They will probably succeed in creating a new anti-slavery sect. One speaker said, if they went wrong about slavery, a new Alliance Avould certainly be formed. Perhaps it would be as well to have enough new ones to suit us all. ]\Iurray's Letters to Hughes are producing a great sensation ; far beyond any thing I can account for. They are read with avidity in kitchens, and will sell by thousands among the Irish. The Irish abolitionists are agitating, with tremendous fury, because the Dublin Committee ^ For the victories of General Tajlor in Mexico. 18M— 1849. 69 did not " send back the money" of the slave-holding States. So great is their compassion for Cuftee, that Paddy may die of star- vation. Poor Lichtenstein lies very low, with a fever which he probably caught from the infected air of the almshouse. His re- ligion shines in this affliction. Dr. Burns's son, a;t. 20, is just settled in Kingston, in one of the chief posts in Canada. An elder son is in the ministry in Scotland. Mrs. Burns is a cousin- german of Bonar, who accompanied McCheyne and wrote his life: (the Latins would have avoided that ambiguity, " et hiijus scrip- sit vitam.") New York, May 13, 1847. I thank you for reminding me of the date of our correspond- ence. I feel it somewhat tenderly in connexion with the kind- ness you intend for us, in the naming of your boy. My tears (I seldom shed tears) flow profusely while I think that in a sort he takes the place of our sweet translated child. Forgive this burst (unusual in our long correspondence, and proving, perhaps, that I grow weaker as I grow older,) and accept my prayers for the little one's eternal good. Our anniversaries are as much thronged as usual, but less and less by New Yorkers. I also perceive that the old, staid societies, e. g. Bible and Tract, are forsaken by the more fiery persons. At the Bible Society to-day, the prime thing was a glorious speech from the delegate of the British and Foreign Bible Society, a Londoner, Mr. Cordcroy, a youngish, soldierly- looking layman. Pine delivery, noble elocution, and that tact and pathos which I have never found in our American cut-and- dried speeches. Hundreds of pocket-handkerchiefs were moist- ened, and the enormous auditory, usually impatient, would not let him stop. I will try to send you a report, but perhaps it was all in his manner, pronunciation, tone a,nd feeling. I sat be- tween Vermilye and Pres. Hopkins (both cool men) and both weeping. You will see nothing in the words to account for this. Lewis Green made an. eloquent speech yesterday at the Ameri- can Tract Society. Fred. Douglass is a black Demosthenes. For the mere quality of strength I never heard his superior. He has a diabolical smile, from ear to ear, which contrasts with his ferocious, lowering brow, in an indescribable manner. It was Catilinarian and treasonable. He said, up and down, that he despised and hated the country and the Constitution, and in- voked the aid of England. The Millerites, the Fourierites, and other Bedlamites, have protracted agonisms. The Evangelical Alliance has been sweetly pugnacious, like Gen. Scott, bent on " conquering a peace." Like the dear Baptist brethren, they 70 WHILE PASTOE OF DUANE ST. CHrECH, NEW YOEK. open their arms to all Christendom, free-gratis, full admission, to the broad union-platform ; only with proviso, that no one enters the door who mispronounces the Shibboleth. In their chagrin at their smallness, they anathematize all %Yho have not sued for entrance. Is Christendom really more united than be- fore, by such means 1 I trow not. If there is such a thing as the duty of warring, I think a Mexican might assert it. Who can deny them the credit of bravery 1 Military martinets here, as I happen to know, are now glorifying Scott at Taylor's expense : they say Scott's way of killing Mexicans is selon les regies. Certainly it effuses less of our own blood. I loathe and fear this war. We shall be readier for another. Yet perhaps Popery may lose its secular hold on Mexico. Unitersity of Yirginia, 3fai/ 27, 1S47. Having done the job for which I came to Richmond,^ I proceeded to another matter of very great moment, which has brought me here. The Assembly looks young. Scarcely any gray heads. The flithers are Dr. Janeway and Mr. Smylie. Great array of sunburnt, broad-brimmed southern and western Chorepiscopi. Some sons of Anak, noble specimens of manly beauty from the west. Thorn- well is the great man of the south, and I do not think his learn- ing or powers of mind have been overrated. His speech on taking the chair was a chef d'oeuvre. His sermon (not the popery one) was ill-delivered, but natheless a model of what is rare, viz., burning-hot argument, logic in ignition, and glowing more and more to the end ; it was memoriter, and with terrific " contentio laterum." The spring was very late ; consequently the sudden outburst just before we came clothed every thing with beauty. The mountains are green to the very tops. Albemarle is the crack county of Virginia ; and the state of the grain- market has thrown much tobacco-land into wheat. I passed numerous wheat-fields in full ear, not one of which was less than one hundred acres. The education of the gentry here has led to a brisk competition in scientific tillage ; observable around the seats of such men as Mr. Rives, Col. Randolph, Gen. Gordon, Dr. Merriwethor. The foreground is all arable land, one sea of grass, blossoming-clover, and wheat, slowly rising, without any visible fences or artificial demarcations to injure the landscape, and the background a chain of wooded or cultivated heights (S. W. Mountain) unequalled by any I know. I have seen hills, and I have seen farming ; but I never saw them so blended. After going westward for some miles to this place, crossing a lap of ^ He preached the annual sermon on Missions, before the General As- sembly, in Richmond, May 25. The text was Phil. ii. 11. 18ii— 18i9. 71 this ridge, and skirting the Eivanna, which has craggy and pre- cipitous banks, full of rhododendron, honeysuckle, &c., we come to the side of Monticello, and then into this valley, over which the long chain of the Blue Ridge begins to tower in the North- west. Jefferson knew how to select one of the finest plateaus in the land for this college. His antichristian plans have been singularly thwarted every way. For example, here is a chapel, (since I was here last ;) three professors communicants, besides jbr. McGuffey, who is a Presbyterian minister ; and a proctor and treasurer who are Presbyterian communicants. McGuffey is a West Pennsylvanian, and is second to no man in Virginia for fame as a lecturer and public speaker. He does not preach here, but often in other places. I shall not be surprised if, be- fore ten years, this rich and central institution should have on its very grounds a Presbyterian theological school ; as the law founding the University gives leave to any Christian sect to build, and to have a theological professor, with freedom of library, apparatus, &c. Scheie, professor of Modern languages, is a Prussian, and a pious Lutheran. The chaplain for next year is Gillette, a Baptist of Philadelphia, [now of New York.] 1 have met with all the Professors here ; they are remarkable for their courtesy to strangers. Dr. Cabell is just closing his year of presidentship, with some eclat. I see he is nominated in the Richmond Enquirer to succeed Dr. "Warner in the Surgical Chair. Emery tells me their edifice (Medical College of Hampden Syd- ney) is the finest in the city. I think I observe more prevalence of religious warmth here than with us. I lodged with Mr. Beadle of New Orleans, four years Missionary in Syria ; he is fluent in Arabic. To-morrow, Deo volente, I go to Gordonsville, to visit the house of my birth, which I have not been in for forty-two years : this will consume one day. I hope to reach home by Thursday or Friday night. The Charleston and Co- lumbia folks have a refinement of manners which has always struck me. They do not depend on Northern cities, but get their books and foshions direct from London and Paris. It is something new under the sun, for Virginia daily-prints to report doings of a General Assembly. There is j)reaching every morn- ing, and service every evening. Dr. Empie, formerly President of William and Mary, (Episcopal,) opens his church, St. James's, all Sunday and thrice during the week, for the Presbyterians. So do all the Baptists and Methodists. Fleming James gave a great soiree in his palatial house, to sundry of our brethren ; among whom I was present. We are revelling on strawberries, with floods of bona-fide cream ; and ice-cream is what its name imports. Y2 WHILE PASTOR OF DUAXE ST. CHURCH, NEW YORK. New York, June 15, 1847. I have been waiting for time to fill a sheet, but cannot any longer hope for it. Till my Princeton Discourse ^ it is utterly out of my power to do any thing out of New York and Prince- ton, great or small. This must be my reply to your invitation, which I fnlly estimate, to baptize your child. There is, how- ever, another thing : though not often moved, I am sometimes very weak, and I do not think I could, publicly in Trenton, pro- nounce the name you have given your boy ^ without a degree of pain, which I am perfectly sure you would not allow me to incur, even for the pleasure which the solemn service, thus admin- istered, might afford your friendly minds. LoxG Branch, July 28, 1847. I ran away from your caj)ital, much disordered, reached New York about two yesterday ; visited Junk. The Chinamen look very much like Malays ; but I saw one of them writing Chinese characters. Embarked at seven this morning ; cool, but fine passage ; but in the outer bay a great prevalence of cascading. Found all well here. At this present 1 am in my pigeon-hole ; our children's shakedown on the floor ; voices of female and male singing on the piazza. A glorious full red moon rose out of the ocean. Bathing is cold work. I saw one of the Junk-men drunk with opium. Addison has engaged for another month at Dr. Boardman's. More than five hundred obits in New York last week : more than eighteen hundred emigrants in one day. Love to the young and rising generation, not forgetting my godson Johanniculus, as Luther often calls his young Hans. What a useless pest capital letters are : the ancients had none, or rather they had none other ; nor were they bothered with punctuation. How I envy them. xV capital plagues me so, that I foresee it with apprehension, as one foresees a mudhole in driving. i am your friend, j. w. alexander. New York, September 3, 1847. We got home on the 1st, and are in the hubbub of fixation, and the heats of our second edition of summer. Choir and organ business, everywhere, seems fruitful of ills. Lowell Mason has now come out against choirs, but, I flmcy, not against organs. My idea of psalmodic service is, that it should be : (1) univer- sal ; (2) vocal ; (3) slow, (in general ;) (4) without complication ^ At the Centenary of the College, June 29, 1847. "^ John Alexander, the name of one of his deceased children. 184^—1849. 73 of parts ; (5) simple ; (G) little varied ; i. e. a few times >yell learnt ; (7) with no prominence of individual voices, (duets or solos ;) (8) without fugue ; (9) without frequent repetition of words ; (10) depending on volume of many voices, rather than brilliant execution of one or two. It is plain as ABC, that whole masses cannot sing, unless the tunes be familiar to a high degree. This ideal I never expect to see realized. The nearest approach is in the large Lutheran congregations, barring their harshness ; but better the harshness, than the feeble warble of twenty per cent, in vacuo. Much illness about ; chiefly dysen- tery. Every day some case of sorrow in my large flock at- tracts my feeble help. My topic for Sunday is "Sorrow is better than Laughter." This is mv fifth letter, at one sittinir. The Mexicans seem to me plainly below our free blacks ; except a corps of desperate military leaders, whose trade and hope have been War, nothing but war ever since they broke with Spain. Taylor's election, I judge, v/ould be a national vote for peace. New York, Sejyt 20, 1847. Elizabeth Fry's life (the large one, vol. 1) will make many quakeresses : a lovelier woman I never read of or heard of; humility, meekness, love, and sense. The " meek and quiet spirit " in such a case, looks, as it is, TroXijreAes. Dictionaries and id genus being my chief helps for exposition, I have added Kitto's Biblical Cyclopedia, and find it the best thing yet, in its line : it is rationalistic and Andover-like, in many places. One of the missionaries lately sent out by A. B. C. F. M., before his going, being then at New Haven, told a friend of mine, approv- ingly, that Dr. Taylor said in his lectures, in regard to David's expression, (Psalm 51.) " In sin did my mother," &c. ; that they are to be interpreted as exaggerations like that of the sailor, [who in prayer spoke of himself in a phrase of vulgar slang.] Three services yesterday. I addressed my young men and women. The city is vile with common sewers. Nathan Rice's book against Popery is good : only about two pages can 1 except to. Why do you not have a Reading-room in Trenton 1 The Newarkers have laid the corner of a grand Library. I was in- vited to lay it, but pleaded un-Masonic dispositions. New York, Sept. 23, 1847. Yesterday we had the 0' Council obsequies. It speaks well for the good nature of our people, that so immense a procession should have marched for miles, with effigies of the pope, &c., VOL. II. — 4 74: WHILE PASTOE OF DUiJXE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. &;c., yet without a word or gesture of interruption. Apropos of which, the recent site of Niblo's is occupied by the " Great Tent " of the JMillerites, with a lofty flag, bearing, " Thy King- dom come ! " Preachments, concourse, &c. Failures have oc- curred here, and more are looked for. Addison's popularity in Philadelj^hia surprises me the more, as his last summer's work here seemed to draw scarcely anybody. The sphere, I admit, is very different : a people engaged solely in trade affords small in- tellectual ability. I think I am not censorious, nor chagrined, in judging that religion in New York runs very much to^Yards ex- ternals. Fine churches, pews, and music, fine sermons, fine ' en- terprises,' viewed in the same light as stock-company concerns, fine collections ; such are the stimulating ideas. " Moderatism " is the terininiis ad quern. So far as my researches go, Presby- terianism has never and nowhere made striking advances, except when the body of preachers and people has been animated with a zeal for truth and saving souls, such as at the very time has been a little too strong, methodistical, pietistical, enthusiastical, in the eyes even of many sound, good sort of brethren. When Ave sulistitute for this secular stimulants, wealth, apparatus, ritual, decorum, letters, or oratory, we find that these (at least in the apprehension of the million) exist in greater force among the Episcopalians. Nor do we mend the matter by fighting these last, on questions of difference. Our real aggression has always been by warm pushing of our evangelical tenets. Right or wrong, this has become more and more my theory : I would I could show some corresponding practice: negatively I think I can. New York:, Ocloher 5, 1847. If these rumours of new horrors in Mexico are true, what an account will our country, and we, as claiming to be self-govern- ors, have to render to God ! I am much impressed by Web- ster's speech at Springfield, w It is a war of pretexts. None of the alleged causes existed. It has gone from small skirmishing beginnings to the most hideous atrocities. Never have I so much feared the judgments of God on us as a nation. Yet I am not quite clear as to the duty of individuals ; or what means are best for stopping further carnage. Who knows but our judg- ment will be, that our people, having tasted blood, and grown proud of their undoubted prowess, will become, as Rome be- came, a people with war for a trade % Military lust for conquest is manifestly on the rise. All Mexico would not (on worldly grounds even) repay us for the American lives which have been lost. A Chinese youth, named Khur, was here to see me to-day; 1844— 18i9. 75 on his third voyage to America, from Amoy : wishes to go to school here. He speaks a most f'lmny mixture of English, Por- tuguese, and Chinese^ an almost unintelligible baby-talk. But he is acute and bright-faced. The IMillerite tent, Chinese Junk, and Fair of American Institute, are all in full force. Powers's Greek Slave is only a beautiful piece of licentious nudity. Mons. Niel, a reformed French popish priest, has appeared. Old Mr. Galla- tin still receives company, and takes lively interest in philo- logical inquiries. It is a wonderful fact, that the characters on the famous stone, found at Grave Creek Mound, on the Ohio, (Virginia,) are fully proved to be ancient Libyan. It is the very first documentary link between the red men and the old world. No doubt of the above fact remains with our knowing ones. I am pleased that you like Simeon : ^ his influence was owing, perhaps, in no small degree, to his amazing colloquial flow, chirping oddity, and irrepressible vivacity : hence his soirees, which nobody else could reproduce. As to his dread of systems, I do not share in it ; unless said systems be false ; and even then I prefer methodized to immethodized statements. His own sys- tem was clear enough, though he chose not to own it. In regard to his plan of preaching both sides of questions, on which the Scriptures seem to speak both ways, no man ever did it, except on two or three picked topics. Every man's common sense teaches him that he must aim at conciliation of apparent discrep- ancies, or abandon inspiration. No man ever preached e. g. that the planet is eternal, though Scripture seems to say so. They have a noble copy of his Skeletons, twenty odd volumes, in the Seminary Library at Princeton, the gift of AVilberforce. On Sunday night I had a soiree under our church, where I chatted to fifty of our young men. I saw Addison's big congregation in pretty full review. The steamers to Bremen are quite an epoch : I hope you saw traveller Stephens's account of the jolli- fication at arrival in Bremen. George P. Marsh (M. C.) of Vt., speaks French like a Frenchman, and Swedish like a Swede, and is thorough in Danish, German, and Spanish ; yet he has never been abroad. He is associated with Gallatin, Robinson, Turner, Gibbs, Salisbury, &c., in the Ethnological Society. The modern books of note on Arithmetic, such as Davies's, adopt the French billion, which makes the whole series go homogeneously by threes, (000 000 000 000.) A six-story house in my daily w^alks seventy-five feet long, w'hich had been completed to cornice, has just been taken down brick by brick to the very ground from fault in the foundation : it filled me with thoughts every day as I passed. ^ Life of Rev. Charles Simeon, of Cambridge. 76 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOKK. Vew York, October 2Y, 184Y. When the demission business was sent down to the presby- teries some years ago, I voted against it. Since then 1 have doubted. The demission takes place all over the land, de facto : the question seems to be, how to legalize what we already allow, and avoid the evils of our " anomalous condition." But curia villi avisare. Before I look for your extension-table, let me say an experience of one of the crack (not cracked) ones is unfavour- able. ]\Iadame says the old way, of annexing a common table, in case of clerical invasions, is better. Our extension-table is too heavy, on the floor, as a fixture ; hurts carpets, and is hurt by hoofs of youth, &;c. If one is used, the one we have qua ex- tensio, is admirable. It is, however, paying for a daily encum- brance, in view of an occasional need. I went to Astoria yester- day, to see my landlady and parishioner, who is dying with con- sumption ; a fine specimen of old-fiishioned Presbyterian religion ; all the doctrines turned into experience ; full of calm hope and wisdom ; a lesson for life. is homoeopathically cured of a fever. What cured was, however, by no means accordant with komceojyathic peculiarities ; it was cold shower-bath, when the fever was hottest : this looks like reason ; but it is not " similia similibus curantur," the great maxim of Hahnemann. is getting well of a fever, on the old plan. A bachelor presents me Hutter's New Testament in twelve languages, (1699.) I am at 1 Tliess. ii. 9 in exposition. Look at the untranslated force of €avTr]<: 1 Thess. ii. 7, and at the exquisite tenderness of the whole verse. Jacobus is coming out with notes on Matthew. I know not what to say about the flocks of candidates who fre- quent every even the smallest vacancy. Strangers come to me every week, as if I kept a " vacancy intelligence office." Want of missionary zeal seems to be the cause, not want of room. Cheever's church [Union Square] opens on Sabbath first. Henry Beecher is the Brooklyn star; being the comet. Our synod did nothing about the war. The details of Chapultepec are equal to any thing military I remember. New York, November 16, 1847. I owe you for yours of the 4th. How time flies ! I should have said it was not a week old. Perhaps this is the way the market women make such anachronisms about their eggs. I heartily rejoice in Governor Haines's election, not only because he is my classmate, but because I think he fears God. Good Mr. F. seemed to join in my expression of the same opinion. How the last-named good man is embushel-ed in this our uni- 1844—1849. 77 versity ! Had he abode in Jersey, his light would have been like that of Sandy Hook. He tells me he has been to see old Chancellor Kent, at Chatham ; who is sinking. All our young men are ravening for good places ; and erring as to what consti- tutes a good place. There is a congestion of candidates about our cities, while at the extremities and frontiers, all is chill and suffering. Unless we all get awakened, in some extraordinary de- gree, I don't see how we are to fail sinking into Moderatism. Some people absurdly ascribe the diminished zeal of ministers to Seminaries. This is much as if I should ascribe our poor beef to the change of market-house. Those who never saw a college or seminary are as low as we. It lies deeper, and affects the whole church, I verily believe. It means just this, want of zeal for the salvation of souls. Though you mentioned Mr. — -— 's " losino- his eyesight," I imagined him to be out of town, till I saw he was dead. Oh how my conscience pierces me that, though he was my occasional hearer, I never urged this matter on him in private ! How, how shall we meet people at judg- ment ! Addison's popularity in Philadelphia is quite extraor- dinary.^ I am pleased to think that it urges him to regard more and more the great end of preaching. Last week I saw a new painting (small) by Leslie, " the Pharisee and the Publican ; " it begat a sermon in me. Item, a copy of the first Bible ever printed — the Mazarln Bible — of which only nine other copies are known of. It is perfect ; two vols, folio; Mentz, 1450-1455; illuminated, incomparably noble for paper, ink, and press-work ; printer Guttenberg. This was the copy of Mr. Hibbert. Other copies are (so far as I remember) 1, Bodleian; 2, Mazarin lib. Paris ; 3, George III.'s lib. British Museum ; 4, Advocates' lib. Edinburgh ; 5, late Duke of Sussex's lib. ; 6, Duke of Devon- shire ; 7, Estate of late Richard Heber, Esq. On beholding it, my emotion was altogether a religious one ; thinking of the effects of the printed Scriptures. New York, December 14, 1847. You see [Chancellor] Kent is dead. Mr. F. tells me he lately talked with him, and found him much troubled about the " new birth," &c. He has been a constant defender of religion. H., in his new book, several times has the pleasant adverb " illy," which does not sound altogether " welly." Pope-stock rises. See how most papers take the Jesuit side in regard to Switzerland. See the avatar of romish prelates in England, ^ He was supplying the pulpit of the Teuth Church during the absence of the pastor, Dr. Boardman. 78 WHILE PASTOR OF DIJAXE ST. CHmCH, NEW TOEK. with legal titles. I wish I had a copy of the last North British, to send you a review of (Arnold's friend) Bunsen's book on the Church. I have seldom been more moved than by some pas- sages there. Do try to get hold of it. It opens a vista into an absolutely new forest of opinions on the great question of the age — the Church. For high churchism to be rebuked from such a height as the cabinet of the greatest king alive, is like thunder from mid heaven. And yet Bunsen's is a kind of Catholicism : only it makes Puseyism look very mean and toy-shop like ; like a snug China mandarin beside a Jupiter tonans. For the relief of the red appearance on Hale's church,^ " ]^. pap. Kirwan, 3 iij. Van Renss. scrupuli xxxiij. Fiat haustus." Unless penance be your object, I see no rational cause of lament at the freezing off of your bath ; for all health-purposes indoor water is cold enough. Did you ever read the story of Diogenes, embracing the brazen statue, in winter *? Stand in a good big tub, with a good big spunge, and give yourself a swashing of water every morning ; that is Sir Astley Cooper's recipe. New Yoek, January 4, 1848. I am a little belated with my New Year wishes ; but they are none the less sincere in behalf of you and your family, and church. Dr. Spring very truly said yesterday, at our cleric prayer-meeting, that ministers sinned when they did not care about the edification of their neighbours' churches. He also said this : " I am almost tempted at this late day to prepare myself to preach without notes ; the day a man who reads his sermons puts on spectacles, he is shorn of half his strength." I do not know when I have begun a year with more serious feelings j even the hurly-burly of New Year's day did not remove the impression. My verse for the year is Heb. xiii. 8 : " Jesus Christ, &c." It would " convene " me very much (as an agent said to me in a note) if you would come on, and give me a sermon ; why not next Sunday evening 1 I have, for some time, had three services ; though doubtful about my duty as to health. I have no extras to lop off; never having made a platform- harangue here ; exhortations are not ^2-tras. Your eclaircisse- ment with H.^ is characteristic. Nobody ever knows whose ^ When the scaifolding of the new church at Pennington, N. J., was taken down, it was discovered that the workmen had disposed some red shites among the black, so as to form a huge cross on each side of the high roof. ^ A hearer who falsely suspected a political object in a sermon. 1844:— 1849. Y9 face a " double-header " will fly into. It has already taught you what something like it taught me. Hardly any thing so raises my pride and indignation, as when ministerial independence is assaulted in my person ; but I continue to have difliculty in knowing how the line lies between the man and the minister. la regard to the latter, we are authorized to take high ground. I am much reflected on by a few in my congregation, for my expressed opposition to the w^ar. My Henry will feel thankful for the coins you send, when they shall have arrived ; it is, how- ever, not unfrequently the case, in this island, that expected coin fails to arrive. You do not mention whether sovereigns, rupees, or louis d'or. If you have the Missionary Chronicle for 1843, see how near [the Rev. Walter M.] Lowrie was to death by drowning in 1842, (page 134.) Then it was that he was pre- pared for an event w4iich occurred five years later, [August, 1847.] What a mercy that he leaves no wife. I am beginning the year with a weight of 145 lbs. Julius Hare (now Arch- deacon of Lewes) has a volume of parish sermons I should like to lend you ; they surpass the other [Augustus William] Hare's (who died abroad) whose you excerpted from, I think, for the Journal. The Archdeaon's are as plain, but more racy. Which of us would say as follows : " What, I ask, have you been doing during the whole of this year 1833 % Eating and drinking, sleeping and waking, working for your wages, and receiving your wages, and spending your wages. Well ! and of all this, what fruit have ye now ? Nothing. All this has brought you forward in the journey of life, just as much as a horse gets forward that keeps going round and round in a mill. How will you ever get to heaven in the end 1 And if you do not get to heaven, where will you be 1 When this world is swept away, there will be only two places ; and he wdio is not at the gate of heaven, when he dies, will find himself at one of the gates of hell. For hell has a thousand gates, yawning around us on every side, and ready to close upon us and shut us in ; whereas heaven has only on,e gate, even our Lord Jesus Christ." ^ ^ With the saddening associations of January, 1860, I find on one of the pages of the letters of that month in 1848, the following characteristic spe- cimen of the humour of his brother Addison : " New York, 7th day, 1st Month 18, 1S48. "Esteemed Friend, — Xot knowing that thy mouth had been opened in meeting, nor even that thy principles were friendly, I was greatly tendered to learn that thou has had a concern to review the Life of Elizabeth Fry, and has had to give up to it. I trust thy piece was written after the neces- sary preparatory baptisms, and under a very solemn covering ; and also that thou will follow the opening in which thou has been led to stand up. " Thy friend, Deborah Darby." 80 WHILE PASTOK OF DTJAKE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. Chambers St., March 1, 1848. The day that a child says " I will " or " I won't" a second time, is a bad day for parent and cliild. It is just the point where our American license begins and where parental capacity is tried. Probably several thousand children under fourteen, in this city, own no allegiance whatever, but are sui juris. Mr. G. of the State Department dined with us yesterday ; amazing as a talker, a historian, and a polyglott. His memory of places, maps, dates, and facts, is beyond all I ever thought possible. He is at home in all the southern languages. Though he spent some years in Italy, he thinks Mexico a far more interesting country. There lies on my table a letter, dated Puebla, January 1. I will crib a few sentences : " I am still in Puebla, living under the shade of the glorious Popocatapetl ; what a mountain ! The very sight of it would pay for a visit to Mexico. One of the greatest curiosities in this city is the library and picture-gallery of the late Bishop. The library is the finest private one I have ever seen. Among the pictures are some of great value. He was a man of great eru- dition, cultivated manners, and elegant tastes, and appears to have been beloved by all classes of people. He died on the nth of October last, at the ancient city of Cholula, aet. 80. This library, the pictures, and various articles of virtu, were bequeathed to the poor." " I have been reading Prescott ; and you may judge of the pleasure of such pages, on the very soil immortalized by the achievements of the ' Conqueror.' " " I am reading Clavigero, one of the best historians of ancient ]\Iexico ; to whom Prescott is much indebted for his elegant work." " The [theatrical] pieces called 2>cLstorellas are a mixture of the ludicrous and the religious ; the infant Saviour, Joseph, INIary, the manger, the ass, being introduced on the stage, the piece winding up with la Pollxt.^^ Mr. G. says the constant impression made on him, all over Mexico, Avas, that the people are an Indian race ; the white and the black blood secondary. The new treaty will give us " little but deserts ; " but better we should have these (for the ^Mexicans) than they ; it will more effectually keep our fellows off their border. O how desirous one feels that the Gospel might pour in through these channels ! What a glorious thing if the ambition of war could only be emulated by any analogous zeal for the introduction of the Gospel ! I do not perceive why these poor, simple, brave, per- fidious, paganized people might not be plied by thousands of books and tracts. They are not more hopeless than were the boors of Bohemia and Germany, when the ti'acts of Wiclif and the Lollards came among them, or than the Swiss mountaineers 1844—1849. 81 when the writings of Zuingle and Calvin roused them. Further, I soberly think some daring young ministers (if any such are left in these days of literary clerical 2^etii-ma{lres) ought to dash into Vera Cruz, Perote, Puebla, and Mexico, and blow at least a long loud blast of defiance, where Satan's seat is. In 1555, men were found to go to torrid Brazil, from Geneva ; and several died martyrs there. I have expressed this opinion in my official capacity ; but my brethren think me flighty. Would God my boys might preach Christ in that, or any other foreign land ; so only they be faithful ! Amen. New York, March 28, 1848. Gurley, the auctioneer, who has just died of erysipelas, will be regretted. He was a wonderful bibliographer, and a man of remarkable tact and courtesy, as well as honesty. I never heard him make an extravagant remark, in selling. The news by the "Caledonia" surprises people. That the [French] Republic should slip on the rails, as by a mere turning of the switch, with no friction and loss of life, is wonderful. The editor of the " Schnell Post," a German radical, was off in the " Cambria," as soon as the first news came, to take part in the revolution that is to be in Germany. Two of his comrades sang the Marseillaise to him, from the wharf. The horrible treachery of Louis Philippe, in regard to the Protestants, and especially the Spanish marriages, is now visited on him ; as well as the blood of French- men and Arabs shed for nothing in Algeria. Algeria declared part of the French Republic ! We have authorized a new mis- sion under the Equator, near J. L. Wilson, and at his instance. None of the return-missionaries have instructed me more than he. History has often made much of less daring than his. The practice of funeral sermons months 2^081 mortem is common in Virginia ; I think the more common way in rural places. I lament to hear such painful things of your kind old aunt ; my mind reverts to antediluvian banquets, of steaming coffee, cakes and sausage. May the world never want a race of affectionate old-flishioned people, who shall so spread their bounties as to make them remembered for a whole generation ! I wish her a safe and gentle descent down the slippery foot of the hill. By reason of preaching twice on Sunday, as I ought not, on top of a sore throat, I have made myself (" war-horse " as a plain man translated) hors de combat. I believe I make less of [ecclesias- tical] differences than I did. Though a reunion with the New School body, just as it is, would be unedifying, and a signal for unprecedented squabbles and disciplines, I think there are many among them with whom we ought to maintain the most brotherly VOL II. — 4* 82 "WHILE PASTOR OF DrAKE ST. CHUKCH, NEW TOEK. correspondence. Nevin [Mercersburg] holds unimaginable doc- trines ', e. g. that Christ is now incarnate in the church ; (pro- gressively ;) that whoso denies this, is an anti-christ ; that we eat Christ's body, and derive our life from it, so that our life is the very life (theanthropic life) which Christ has ; that we are justified by the transfusion of Christ's righteousness, as head, to us as members ; (the poj^ish doctrine ;) that all other Pres- byterians in America are a set of Puritans, who have apostatized from Calvin. New York, 3fay 11, 1848. Dr. Neander's Life of Jesus is about as bad a book, for us, as could be furnished by Germany. It will keep in countenance those numerous persons who are half ready to give up all inspi- ration. The book of the day is the Life of Pollok, by Scott. Take a few sentences : " Scotland gave him birth, and England donated him a tomb;" p. 350. "His hair dark, and his counte- nance touched with the olivaster shade ; " p. 360. " His thoughts, imagery, logomachy, style, and plan are his own, and most apj)ro- priate for the great psalm which he indited ; " p. 362. If you ever see it in a shop, read the first sentence, which is too big and rotten to bear transportation. Dr. Schroeder's people have bought the Eighth Street church. There had been a little squint- ing towards it among our folks, but they got no countenance from me. At no time have things looked duller in my charge. Addi- tions very few, and a general fluctuation, which makes me doubt whether our church, like so many others, will not be swept away before the surge of commerce. About twelve families leave us. Of nine persons dismissed by us since last communion, all but one were dismissed to us within five years. If my powers were of the arousing sort, I might hope for more in a mission-church, but all the little I can attempt is in the way of gradual training and this requires people to stay with you. Our Sunday services are as full as ever, but our other indications are all bad". When I look at home, I no longer marvel it should be so. There is some likelihood that I shall take boarding for my family at Astoria, for about six w^eeks in summer ; it is an hour by coach, and half an hour by steamboat ; and is right on the strait and violent channel between the East River and the Sound : " Hurl- gate." Accept for self and co. our loves, and allow me to subscribe myself, in the mode which threatens to become the laconism of American epistles, " Respectfully, &c." J 1841—1849. 83 New York, May 30, 1848. Ill yours of the 16tli, you speak of " chirograpliy " vice " penmanship ; " it would be a good exercise in a school or college, or even for ourselves, to make out a list of cases in which the lean kine have thus eaten up the fat : e. g. " com- mence " for "begin," "truthful" for " true," (though it has a meaning of its own ;) " indebtedness " for " debt ; " " stand- point " for " point of view ; " &c. This month is turning into a Pluviose. I see numbers of waistcoats a la Robespierre ; white, with high turn-over lappels. The " cafe des 1,000 colon- nes" has come out fresh as "cafe de la Republique." Mr. Bridel has large congregations in French ; on these occasions he confines himself to the simple gospel. Tour prayers and two entire chapters in the service; opening prayer read, and apos- tolical benediction at beginning, as in France. I have just read the Augsburg Confession, for the first time ; it is not a dry list of points, but a beautiful and stirring argument and protest. I fear from hints in papers, that the General Assembly are going to apply the knife of frugality to the very life of our Boards ; perhaps I mistake. At a moment when the world, in its very selfishness, sees the importance of giving full salaries, &c., in every bank and insurance-office, what a cowardly concession to misers and Nabals, to complain that such a man as , gets his $1,500 or $1,800. Mr. Sosnosky (I need not say whence) is colporting here, among French, as Mr. Rauschenbusch among Germans. On the 28th and 29th the emigrants landed at our Quarantine, for the two days, = 10,030 ; mostly Germans, and no disease but small-pox. Are any of us at all awake to what this influx means 1 I propose D. v. to take my family out of this noise about the middle of June, to some quiet riverside, near enough for me to do duty. After that, I will make an exchange with you, or will go to you without exchange, as circumstances may admit. I see, beyond denial, that my congregation is suffer- ing from its site. Though we have tens of thousands down- town, they are mission folks, and increasingly foreigners, if not papists. The talent they require is not mine. I say truly, when I add, that I have not even a momentary hankering for uptown : my leading members feel otherwise ; so should I, were I they. We have sent away about fifteen families this spring, thither and out of town. Astoria, June 22, 1848. We have six j^assages a day, from here to town, by steam- boat, besides omnibus and railway on crossing the ferry — the S4c WHILE PASTOR OF DTJAKE ST. CHUECH, NEW YOEK. latter every hour. Price sixpence. This is a beautiful cove on the end of Long Island, formerly called Hallet's Cove, and just opposite the upper end of BlackwelFs Island. From the upper windows of this house we can see across to the North River. All the navigation of the Sound passes directly at our feet ; for the house (Mr. Henry Mulligan's) is on a terraced bank, at the bottom of which, separated only by a road, is the East River. I think it an unspeakable mercy to be permitted to bring my family here, as cannot bear a longer trip, and we have a down- stairs room, two piazzas, a fine garden, and a lawn like a noble- man's. To me it is almost like being in town. Next lot is Mr. George Douglass ; next Dr. Alexander Stevens ; next Thorburn's nursery, &c. Mr. Walker (elder) and Mr. Jas. Soutter are out here. The sea-air is very perceptible. Last night a quite thick blanket was in order. I saw old Mr. [Albert] Gallatin yester- day ; a wonderful, wonderful man ! I am always struck with the fact, that the whole of his conversation is on important topics, always in choice language, and always novel. He gave me the best^account I ever had of the respective systems of Boodh, Brahma, and Confucius; of the Chinese language and of the Polynesian languages. He showed me the latest Genevese version of the Bible in 3 vols. 8vo, and laughingly said it was "very orthodox." He showed me a book on Geneva, by Goliffe, and complained that he was very unfair to Calvin, whom Mr. G. regards as one of the greatest mortals. On a former occasion he drew a comparison between Calvin and the Puritans, on the subject of witchcraft, &c., very unfavourable to the latter. He has just completed a volume, of some hundreds of pages, on the Aboriginal languages of America. His ethical and the- istical feelings are very correct and profound ; I cannot find out what he thinks of Christ. He is minutely acquainted with all the nice points of Calvinistic controversy. Albany, Jtdy 28, 1848. You wall hardly believe me when I say that I went to Sara- toga reluctantly; nothing but a desire to gratify my good mother, who needed the water and a companion, took me thither. We remained just a week. It is a most unagreeable place to me, unspeakably less agreeable than the seashore. We left there yesterday, and made the trip to this place in a heavy rain and thunder-storm. I propose to preach at home on Sunday. I am at the Delavan House, which I continue to think, of taverns, the best house I ever stopped at. When we came up in the boat last week, we had the Van Burens, fiUher and son, 184:4— ISttO. 85 with us ; Martin looks hale, and had a fresh cabbage-leaf inside of his hat ; reason unknown. To one who passes up the East River, Dr. Tyng's church is the most conspicuous building in upper New York, and yet it wants the two steeple-towers, which are to be 250 — 300 feet high. The church is to seat 2,000, and to cost, they say, $200,000. There is a vestry-discussion as to which of the two houses shall be St. George's church, and which St. George's chapel. After some hot, steaming days, this is one of the pleasantest of the season. I have been giving my mother and sister a drive around the city ; and am much surprised to find so many im- provements, beautiful buildings, sweet gardens, &c. The upper part is to be very charming. New York, August 21, 1848. This is my first literary act, on returning home, after an absence of 58 days. Seldom have I been gladder to get back, for I have scarcely had a week without illness. The Hellgate end of Long Island is almost as much broken into ups and downs, as a mountain-ridge. My second sojourn was with my elder Walker. From his house I could see, not only Astoria, the East River, and the west side of the North River, but Staten Island, and a fine view of New York in the distance. Astoria is a place of villas. The sea-breeze is fresh, but I opine they will have agues. Nearly 100 embark on the little steamers for New York every morning. My first visiter, on return, was Mr. Bridel, a very lovely little man. There has been great prev- alence of dysentery on Long Island, and in other country-places about here. New York has also approximated, this year, towards Philadelphia, in respect to cholera infantum. I observe by the bills, however, that febrile disorders decrease, in the ratio that bowel-disorders increase ; e. g. last week but one, of all fevers, 14; of all bowel-ills, 114; last week, of former 26, of latter 126. Good old Dr. Miller said to me, the other day : " When the semi-centenary of my ministry came round, I was glad to let it pass in silence, as I was ashamed of my ministerial per- formances." When Dr. Emmons was dying, he said to Dr. Hawes : " I shall soon be on the other side, but O how ashamed I shall feel, to be there ! " I lately saw, in German, a history of the world, in many volumes, all biographical ; i. e. a chain of individuals, from Adam down, each comprising the age he lived in : it struck me that a Biblical History, on a similar plan, might fill a series of lectures. It is remarkable how much this is the plan of the Bible itself. Addison is here, on his way to orate at East Windsor. 86 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHUECH, NEW YOEK. New York, September 7, 1848, The rumours of yellow-fever die away. The Board of Health ceases to report any at the Curreniine — such is the current pro- nunciation — and no cases are believed to exist on this island. Dr. , of Glasgow, was in my church on Sunday. Like almost all these Scotsmen, he seems to have a mighty good con- ceit of himself, and a superciliousness towards every thing Ameri- can ; this incenses me, because there is so little pretence of foun- dation for it. I could perhaps bear it in an Oxonian or Cantab dignitary ; but in a snuffy Sawney, speaking the horriblest dialect that ever came from the mouth of a Briton, I can't stand it. People are beginning to come back to their quarters ; and, after all, there is nothing like one's own home. 1 do not think the Sunday School Journal can ever occupy that place in public notice which its redaction merits ; its title is so narrow, and its period of revolution in its orbit so long and irregular : I would as soon calculate the moon's motion, as tell when it is coming. We have again essayed a ministers' prayer- meeting ; I don't know how it will go. Text last Sunday after- noon, Ecc. iv. 9, 10. A clergyman, known to me, publicly read in a service, a chapter in the Apocrypha, and never found it out. I have been reperusing Herodotus, in English. Several things strike me : 1. It is a series of grand old stories ; as entertaining as the Arabian Nights. 2. The extraordinary advance of the world, since then, in science. What hideous incredibilities ! 3. The equal advance (under Christianity) of humanity. You can scarcely read ten pages anywhere in Herodotus, without lighting on some atrocity. 4. A delightful book might be made, by stringing together the best ancient narratives, cutting off* superfluities, and taking any liberties with language, and entitling. Stories from the Old Historians^ In a month, one might from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch, Dio- genes Laertius, Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus, make one of the best and most saleable volumes of the day. It should have many maps, titles, notes, and Christian comments, and should be well printed. It would necessarily comprise the most famous events of olden time, such as people are constantly alluding to, without exact knowledge. Plutarch is an inexhaustible magazine himself. New York, October 11, 1848. The loss of good Mrs. Rice,'^ gives me many serious feelings. ^ His correspondent had anticipated this hint in a series of " Old Stories " from Herodotus : Sunday School Journal, September and October, 1839. 2 Of Trenton, see vol. i., 186, 201. 1844—1849. 87 The more I think of it, the more I believe, that such quiet and meekness of well-doing ^Yill be more prized in " that day," than many brilliant qualities. How much better than the self-tor- menting pride we have known in some families. I am glad your tour in the Pines has caused itinerancy to rise in your estima- tion ; Presbyterianism owes almost its existence to it, in new settlements. Do you see that Nevin sets up the " Mercersburg Review " 1 I have been with my children to the Fair of the American Institute, in Castle Garden. There were thousands of things, but not much that I coveted, except the pears. They talk of building out the Battery further into the bay. A balloon and man went up to-day. A military band is going by, which reminds me how vastly that branch of art is improved since my boyish clays ; I am as much pleased with the sound as I ever was. The numloer of such bands is astonishing ; great numbers of them are Germans. Surgeons see a very bloody side of war. I observe that Luther's original Catechism omits the second com- mandment, and divides the tenth ; just as the Papists do. On the first of this month, my father said it was the anniversary of his licensure, fifty-seven years ago ; I have his trial-sermon, though he does not know it. New York, October 29, 1848. T congratulate in regard to your North Church ; it was time, and it will not hurt the " old South." The Repertory Article on Chalmers, is by my father, who seldom contributes now. Paul Delaroche's great painting of Napoleon crossing the Alps, is in the new style — matter-of-fact ; nothing ideal. You see the wear and tear of the breeches, and gray surtout ; the mule is a com- mon mule. In this respect, one is gratified. You remember David's on the same subject, in the old Academy. I have just received notice that the Board [of Publication] would stereotype my " Family Worship." Looking over Walsh's " United States and England,'' lately, I find it entirely free from those twists of diction, which characterize his later writings. It would surely be carrying coals to Newcastle, to give you any ana of Mr. [James F.] Armstrong, [of Trenton,] close as you are to head- quarters. I remember the old gentleman very well ; but he was past preaching. You know he had a fine library. Where are all his sermons 1 what becomes of sermons 1 He was very much the gentleman ; cordial and benignant, even to children ; dis- posed to fun. I have heard that he was very animated and pathetic in his discourses, when in his prime. I suppose Mr. A. would have been called an old-side Presbyterian. He was of the Stanhope Smith school, and they were very intimate. Ask 88 WHILE PASTOE OF DrANE ST. CHUECH, NEW TOEK. for the exact particulars of an incident, at the old parsonage, between Mr. A. and Dr. Witherspoon, when the Dr. came with coach-and-four, just after his marriage to a young wife. We are in ex23ectation of the cholera soon in New York. I heard Gough the other night, and still think him a master of eloquence in his way. [David] Lord is really a genius. I don't believe in his apj^lications, but his main principles [of interpreting Prophecy] are the true ones, and are almost self-evident. He takes all the symbols which are explained in the Scriptures, and from these deduces rules. New York, Novemher 16, 1848, I have ministered at two instalments, within a week, and have taken a very annoying cold. I never was in the Jersey City church till yesterday ; ^ you know it is the old Wall Street do. ; it is a model of beauty to my eye. I know of no good models for cheaper edifices. Potts once named to me, as a great invention of a certain architect, a very economical plan, of so building that the church might at any future time be enlarged in either dimension. At Yorkville, where I was installing'^ last week, Mr. Butts has put up a very snug affliir for $1,500 ; wood. A MS. history of Virginia has come to light, several years older than Capt. John Smith's. It makes the bragging descendants of the princess Pocahontas flutter, as it shows that her highness had an Indian husband two years before she was married to Ptolfe. My heart is thankful for the result of the election. What- ever Gen. Taylor may do, or not do, the reign of corrupt ofiice- holders is broken for a time. Old Mr. Johnstone showed me a whole sermon written on half such a sheet as this : he says his flither, who was a clergyman, taught him it when he was a boy, and he has used it ever since to the paving of much eye and hand, ink, paper, and time. By a home-made scheme of small marks for the most commonly occurring words, (the, and, for, from, Gospel, church, proof, text,) it is surprising to one who has not made the calculation, how much work is abridged. By about fifty such marks, I think fully half would be saved. What a libel on Mary ]\fagdalene, to name after her ; there is not a breath of proof that she was a profligate person ; or even that she was the sinful woman of Simon's house : there is every presumption that she was a lady of leisure, if not of wealth. ^ "When he preached at the ordination and instalment (as assistant pas- tor) of the Rev. Lewis II. Lee. ^ The Rev. Joshua Butts. ISltt— 1849. 89 N'ew York, December 14, 1848. I can scarce think of a finer subject for a Philadelphian to write on, than " The first hundred years of PhiLadelphia." The first fifty would be the chief. Men and manners, houses, anti- quities, &c. How Watson [Annals] has murdered this in his Higgledy-piggledy ! The gold fever is wondrous ; thirty-one vessels now^'advertised for California. Mr. O. hired a ship to government ; when arrived all hands deserted ; could not get a raft manned ; consequence, United States forfeits to Mr. O. $80 per diem, for every day the ship is detained beyond a certain time. Dr. Dill [from Ireland] is a superior man; young, but canny, like Cunningham. He is tall and eloquent. A couple, former Finneyites, whipped their children, to make them sub- mit ; next became perfectionists ; next rejected Old Testament, and now are wondering after Davis, the clairvoyant. I have just been buying my winter butter at 22 cents ; but I reckon you can get it cheaper, as I know you can better. I have never, in a single instance, tasted New York butter equal to Phila- delphia. Old Schoolism has no good chance in New York, where the warp is Dutch and the woof Yankee. See how little room between Naturally enough all immigrant Yankees go to the Congrega- tionalists. The Dutch churches here command my respect for their peacefulness and conservatism. The state of things in Austria and Prussia looks very threatening. It looks like another general war in Europe. Hengstenberg and his class denounce all this liberalism as Anti-christ itself; and these are the king's advisers. Domestic Missions seems to be pointed out as our work. A letter of my grandfather Waddel has come to hand, dictated by him, in blindness, to my mother, and addressed^ to Dr. Hoge. It has one remarkable sentence : " There is a mini- mum feci written on all the actions of my life." 90 WHILE PASTOK OF DrANTE ST. CHrKCH, NEW YOEK. Neat York, December 22, 1848. Lately I sent two small articles to the " American Mes- senger." They circulate 130,000. I suppose the snow which is coming clown here is also coming down on you. The new Con gregattonal Journal, the " Independent," has taken in Joshua Leavitt, as the real editor. They lead off with much spirit. Another death of cholera in town yesterday. All the old disputes about contagion. Every case thus far is traceable to the crew of the " New York." The rate of mortality here is formidable. Yesterday's case was just from Pittsburg, but had communication with above passengers. Dr. Stevens, who, in last cholera, said " No contagion," now talks otherwise. In look- ing at the history of the Puritans, I find very few of the things which they scrupled to be such as would hurt my conscience ; though I might wish them altered. The tendencies of Independ- encyin England have been very latitudinary and disorganizing. I was at the New York Lying-in-Asylum, yesterday. What a blessed refuge for poor creatures in their extremit}^ ! Last year between two and three hundred confinements, and not one death, or unhappy result ! Carter has imported a very large stock of the Bibles printed at Coldstream, by Dr. Adam Thompson, who broke up the monopoly. As imported books, paying ten per cent., their cheapness is remarkable ; and they are worth looking at, by one who loves linen-paper, British press-work, and immaculate typo- graphy. The small New Testaments are 12|- cents, small Bibles 25, 50, &c. Large 4to Family Bible, with short notes, calf, $5. All have the Scotch Psalms ; all are faulty in regard to size of paper. I once mentioned to you the erroneous and deceptive reten- tion of the e in Urbane. The same is true of clothes, which should be cloths, to be intelligible to modern readers. The Scotch Bibles all have " brasen, mortar, caterpillar, jubik, throughly ; " in this agreeing with the English. It seems odd to me, that should praise A. Monod & Co. for sticking to a National church, which is Arian, and which, by synodal act, has refused to make either baptism or moral conduct a con- dition of church-membership. To-day I went to see a sick parishioner. All shut. Dead. What solemn reflections should this produce ! A doctor from Bellevue almshouse tells me they have the ship-fever there horribly ; it broke out in a room of eighty persons. Conscience, about such matters, is so dispersed, as to amount to nothing. The filth of our streets is absolutely mys- terious. In the driest weather I have seen the crossings quite sloppy ; this is chiefly from ordure and swill, squeezed up from 1844—1819. 91 between the paving-stones, by the heavy loads, &c. The Irish Deputation [Dill and Simpson] have netted more than $6,000 in this city. With all its faults New York is certainly a giving place. My old chum, Waterbury, preached for me on Sunday. Princeton must have been very rank for doctorizing, not to be able to contain till Commencement ; perhaps they were afraid the candidates would die. So Baptist Noel has come out of the Establishment. I doubt the wisdom of the method. New York, January 8, 1849. A Happy New Year ! In what country but Scotland would 950 [Prize] essays on the Sabbath be sent in by labouring men ? This even more strikes me than that the best should be written by a woman, [" The Pearl of Days."] I think almost every body undervalues the actual good done by our Missions ; say, among the Indians ; which is the one I regard most. Just in their intancy, yet they affect the tribes through and through. Mr. Dougherty has twenty native communicants ; at two other places there are sixteen ; and among the Choctaws, the Presby- terian church (though under the A. B. C. F. M.) has 264 native members. Where is there more success, proportionally ? Dickens's Christmas story is paltry ; though one of its puns showed me how the English pronounce " 3Ia ; " though I might have inferred it from the concurrence of New England and Vir- ginia. Pittsburg is unfortunate in fires, and New Orleans in pestilences. I hear every day of merchants and people of that class having died of the epidemic in New Orleans. The New Haven road is now open ; passage in two hours, fine cars ; next thing will be Albany. Already we go on rails (Erie Railway) about 200 miles. Our markets show it. Venison is a drug. For the cuisine rechercMe^ nothing will do but prairie-hens from Illinois, $2 a pair, which is as low as canvass-backs ; as Juve- nal says : " Instruit ergo focum provincia." — Sat. v. I visit old Mr. Gallatin, in his bed. It is a treat to have his reminiscences of our greatest men, all of them. On such topics his powers are unbroken, and he is equal to anybody I ever heard, for never hesitating, and always hitting just the word, with a curiosa feli- citas. He professes firm belief in Christianity, and I understand him now to admit the divinity of Christ. He thinks ^Madison the greatest argumentative parliamentarian we ever had ; I have heard that Marshall had the same opinion. It just occurs to me, that in his earlier life Madison used to have family-worship. Afterwards his religion assumed a Washingtonian invisibility. My New Year's text, and motto, is : " Hope thou in God." The condition of our vicious poor is very dreadfid. When I think 92 WHILE PASTOR OF DUANE ST. CHURCH, NEW YORK. of the hunger and nakedness of some, I cannot lie do^Yn in my Avarm bed, without a feeling akin to shame. Contrary to my expectations, a good many of my young men are away in winter, on commercial travels ; it is the only season in which they dare traverse the Western States. New York, February 1, 1849. I saw an advertisement which says : " A quill-pen begins a letter like a pen, continues it like a pin, and ends it like a shav- ing-brush." The respectability of the people going to California is very marked. Among those known to me, many are educated, and many are religious. One party of a hundred has included Sabbath observance in their indentures. One ship known to me is to have daily worship. Having long believed colonies to be the best missions, I see in this a most hopeful means for spread- ing the gospel. California churches can send missions with ease to^China, Japan, and Polynesia. The great proportion of north- ern men going thither, will be favourable to the preserving of our Union. jNliss Martineau comes out Pantheist, in her reada- ble book on Palestine. The pull and vexation of these numerous charitable collections upon us is dreadful, and injurious, I feel sure, to the growth of our congregations. No other sect is so harassed, and no other ministers so " serve tables." Look at an able article on Immigration (statistical) in the American Almanac for 1849. The " German Messenger" of the Tract Society is edited by an excellent German, Mr. Rauschenbusch. There is also here a Mr. Ungewitter, a friend of Hengstenberg, and some- time editor of a loyalist journal in Berlin, but driven away by the Republican movement. The German method of singing is the true one, in these respects : 1. The harmony is confined to the organ. 2. The choir, which is small, sings the air. 3. They intro- duce no new tunes. 4. The chorals, which they sing, (Old Hun- dred being one,) are slow and familiar. 5. Consequently the people all sing ; and all sing the air, except as individual fancy may vary to suit the voice. I have read Miss s' tale, and think it wonderful ; but I know, by previous trials, that our booksellers would do nothing with it. " I was particularly struck with the knowledge of religion evinced, and with the absence of all turgid language. Except " resurrection-morn," in the last sentence, I do not remember a young-ladyism. Would that Bishop Doane could see it, before again he prints a sermon ! I am surprised your Lutheran knows nothing of Old Hundred. I have it before me in two German collections, where it is referred to two other books, of date 1666 and 1772. The ascription of it to Luther is no doubt 1844—1849. i>3 &> mythic. The more pious divines (pietists) in Wurtemburg, look on the democratic uproars as " Anti-Christ ;" and expect a speedy intervention of God, by 'xp-pKT^jia.ra and miracle. Inauguration-DAT of Zachary Taylor, March 5, 1849. There is something pleasing in the chase of a text throus^h several versions. I have just been looking at that delightful but obscure one, Eph. iv. IG. The phrase 8ca Tracrr;? aVn 5"T>'}, "a (flimiliar) brother of grief f^ but how remote from being miserable ! I am half afraid I am under some hallucina- tion, or morbid judgment, but for several years I have sickened at the common way of outcry against specific amusements ; ser- mons and tracts anent them, &c. : in one view all the meetings of our unconverted hearers are frivolous ; but are they worst when they are merriest ? This is dangerous ground, and I sus- pect myself; but my error is corrigible, and it surely does not grow out of any disposition to practise on the light flmtastic tc e. I believe, however, that sourness, moroseness, censoriousness, malice, lust, envy, and two or three other things, may eat as doth a canker in people who never danced. The hours of Inaugu- ration Day are these, as per minutes : " Sermon be preached in the church at half-past 2 o'clock, and that the inauguratioji ser- vices take place in the church in the evening." 1. Sermon by 110 WHILE TEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. Dr. Pliimer. 2. Charge by Dr. Phillips. 3. Inaugural Dis- course.* Princeton, December^ 1849. I found a warfare wasfino; between Elders A and B- as to whether of tlie twain should entertain you, [in New York.] Mr. A will, however, take no denial, and Mr. B reluc- tantly yields. You cannot go to a more hospitable roof than that of 40 Barclay street. Prepare to hear of perfections in your humble servant, which your lack of acquaintance has kept you from knowing. Try to see the Panorama of the Nile. Drop into Garrigue's, under Astor House, and see German Annuals, &c. If you name me to G or to Evans, (Put- nam's salesman, son of an East India Baptist Missionary, and born in Sumatra,) they will probably do me the flivour of being extra polite, as metropolites to a cosmopolite Tridentopolite. Look (at G.'s) at Retszch, Reinecke Fuchs, and Outlines of Thorwaldsen's Statues. G. is a Dane, but speaks every thing. Dr. Raphael is making a noise among the numerous Christians who tliink everybody who is circumcised authorized to expound the Old Testament. M is still bedridden ; quere : bed- riding? The Scotch say bed-/«5^. Kinney [of Newark] lectured here last evening ; a most or- nate, eloquent, and patriotic discourse. I never heard a better of the kind. I received from a nameless person in Duane street $200 for sick students, with a promise to sustain two poor students. Dr. Miller has declined very gradually even till now. His greeting to my brother Samuel was, " Almost home." Take it altogether I never knew such a euthanasy. All the decorum of his long life kept up " duntaxat ad imum." Never one intrusion of doubt. Heaven has seemed just as much a-jar, as his next- door bedroom. Still in his study, amonf his life-long things, and still in a sort of chair, not bed. It is not four days since he ceased going to the table. He forbids prayer for recovery ; longs to depart : has not seemed to have any anxiety but about the church, for a long time. Often has wept, more than of old, on spiritual matters. Greatly revived at hearing of conversions, &c. Our year's text is. Looking unto Jesus. Princeton; January 8, 1850. When I heard last night. Dr. Miller was almost gone ; like a ^ The inauguration of Dr. Alexander took place according to this pro- gramme Xovember20, 18-19. The three discourses were published together by the Board of Directors. The subject of the Professor's inaugural was, " The value of Church History to the Theologian of our Day." 1819—1851. Ill sleeping child, but knew my father. One of the boys came in as I had penned this, to say that Dr. Miller died last night about 11, a few hours after my father saw him ; without any struggle, oppression, or seeming pain. The funeral is to be from the church, on Thursday, (January 10,) at 2 o'clock. It has been a great comfort to the Doctor to have his medical son with him so many weeks. The Doctor was in his 81st year. Of all the deaths I ever knew, this is the most surrounded by all the things one could desire. [Rev. David] Trumbull gives me a volume of information about Chili : he has a wonderful eye for observation and power of making you know what he means : accost him. I am glad Valparaiso has a man of so much shrewdness. Some day get David King of our first class to preach for you. He is our Asaph, and is singularly discreet and grave. ^ Princeton, February 20, 1850. I have your full letter from "Washington. You must have had a delightful time in the " Federal City," as my flither, more veterum, still calls it. I can't help thinking the responsibility of the Union lies just now on the North. Garrison, &c., of course must feel bound in conscience to change the Constitution, and abolish slavery ; but other northern parties seem to me to have some place for concession, as they are the people who cry out so against disunion. The impending evil all seems to result from the provision of the Californians, a provision which I can't help thinking was unnecessary. Nobody questions the right of a State to abolish slavery. Why throw such an apple of gold into the race of Atalanta *? All the United States :Missionaries in India break down, but not the Britons. The Allahabad College teaches as high branches as ours. Bishop Wilson says our men there are the most learn- ed body in India. Schaif says a number of spicy things in his January number, [Mercersburg Review.] Among others, of " the sad and hum- bling experiences" of the Episcopalians " with some of their highest functionaries," in New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Constantinople. " All these disturbing ^ Mr. King was a native of Scotland, and remarkable for the melody of his voice in speaking. In another letter he is called " the sweet singer of our Israel David King." He declined a call from the Duane Street congre- gation in the spring of 1850, and accepted one from Jersey City, where he was installed. His health soon failed, and he was about to take charge ot a smaller congregation at Stillwater, in the Presbytery of Troy ; but betore his installation he was removed by death. May 15, 1853. 112 WHILE PKQFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. phenomena, besides their personal aspect, have a general signifi- cancy ; they are not only symptoms of a diseased church, ^vhich is pulled asunder two. opposite ways, never having been able to find as a basis that wholesome mean between Rome and Geneva, which once she vaunted, but they are also a judgment concerning all overhasty and impatient attempts to buttress up Protestant ism from without in a mechanical way. It is true. Protestantism is making uneasy efforts beyond itself, and struggling also in other sections, and other ways, besides that of Puseyism, towards a churchly remodelling ; but its rent garment will not allow patching with a few rags from the old-clothes-room of antiquity. New wine must not be put into old bottles, else the bottles are rent, and the wine lost." Princeton, March 5, 1850. I don't know on whose side the shuttlecock has fallen, but I have had my hands very full of writing, having worked along to the Reformation-period, as good Mr. Pollock might say. Re- newed studies of Luther have made me admire and love him more than ever. You will have heard that ]\Ir. Schenck is having daily meetings. I fail to perceive a very deep stirring of the people's mind, or special tenderness under the Word ; but tliirty to forty have been to talk with the pastor, and a num- ber are reported to be in a state of hope. It is certainly some- thing to get large numbers willing to be approached, and anxious to hear truth ; and I believe this is so. My brother William is about to set up " the Princeton Magazine ;" pp. 48, monthly. Of course we shall all help. It will not exclude scientific, classi- cal, erudite, sportive, or Jersey articles. Probably a number out three weeks hence. " Princeton in 1801," will open it, a re- miniscence of my father.^ The oldest graduate, S. Baldwin of Newark, is dead ; class of 1770. Alexander Hamilton was his * Twelve numbers of this magazine appeared in 1850, after which it was discontinued. The brothers James and Addison made it the repository of many of their desultory effusions. The hand of the former is seen in such subjects as " Education among Merchants," " The Prospects of the Me- chanic," " The "Working Man's Aim," "Wordsworth," " Le Pays Latin," "Books and Business," "Esthetics," "Minor Works of Dr. Johnson," " Machinery and Labour," " The Physiognomy of Houses," " Letters on the Early Latin Writers," " Eoadside Architecture." The sportive and ironical wit of the other brother is detected in most of the humorous pieces with which the magazine abounds. Among these is the satirical poem which soon attracted extensive notice — " The llecoustruction of Society." In a letter to the editor of these Letters, from the late Mr. Walsh, (Paris, Nov. 12, 1850,) that eminent scholar wrote — "The promise of the youth of the brothers Alexander seems to have been fulfilled. The Magazine abounds with matter which I read with keen relish." 1849—1851. 113 scholar. He was here when Witherspoon came. I have fallen into a hvmn-hook.correspondence with Dr. pemme. I Im-e only within a few weeks authentically traced up my Princeton, 3Iarch 19, 1850. I went to bed the night after I saw you, and have not been nut of doors since. Dieting has reduced me very niuch. Mean- w ile I have lost all but'the report of the awakening here ; vh h is very remarkable in the college. Forsyth says : There is not a student in the whole 200+, who does not invite or expect reli' ous conversation." The best scholars and the very rhSead rs'in vice, have been prostrated. Two of the -»*Sj; of the Commencement Ball, for next June,) V'rgima bloods, have proposed to do away the ball ; a nuisance which the Trus- eihave^feared to abate, and which for tw^.ty Je-s has town in cvsn spvpril of our less spiritual professing Christians, or the rAildrem The whole college ma.y be said to be tempo- ; ,r V seekin- God. Many of these young men are the only i membei-^ of large connexions, who care about religion. In t is view, when I adinit some mistakes and some excitement, a great point is gained ; a great amount of truth is thrown into minds of ductile youth ; vice is silenced; truth is owned ; dis- Sine is re-established ;' even if all who seem to be coiwerted 7e ot lo But of all these things I have seen nothmg Thirty- nne ioined fhe Communion; thirty reported converts are yet beWnd 1 the viUace. Schenck [the pastor of the First Church] snvs mo t of the1.w.akened say their impressions have been on SmTr months; this is usual In 1844 Dr. Rice admittd t irtv-eiMit at one time. These show as well, so far i^ I know, as She^ professors. Two Romish -P«Wican pries s, a ^e^ politan and a Genoese, are commg h;« to stmly &c. 1 hope they will do better than previous refugees. Duncan Kennedy his a mianimous call to Duane. Commg doubtful. He is by b rth a So I am slowly and feebly working on a tract, long on hand, for incoming German emigrants. I d'^^'-'^ J''. i'''™ it published in German, say by the American Tract Socet^^^^^^^^ have tried in vain to get something of the kmd. It «»" «" P'^'J temporals as well as spirituals. The Eclectic Re.a<«v^^^^^^^ fallin into infidel hands ; Dr. P"celvav,ng yielded Aeedacb^ in favour of a young colleague of W. J. lox, M. P., the feocin ian or Straussian preacher of London. 114 WHILE TROFESSOK IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMUTAEY. Princeton, March 22, 1850. Monod's extracts (in the Presbyterian) from De Wette's preface is very instructive; I had seen the prefece before. It touches your question about Antichrist.^ Though in difficulty about the !Man of Sin, I can't feel satisfied with any thing that reaches through so many ages. " Pantheistic Infidelity " comes near it. Scherer, of Geneva, gives up inspiration. We have an original exposee from him to Merle. He is just a Quaker, as to these things. He calls our old doctrine of inspiration a gastro- mythic cahbcdistique ; rejects 2 Peter, Jude, Kevelation, (which is full of lies ;) and makes, of course, nothing of the Old Testament. About sixteen out of twenty students (Geneva) go with Scherer. The " numbering of the people " gives following results : Blacks converted (it began with them ; say) 15 Presbyterian Congregations ... 60 College ....... 40 Methodists report ..... 80 195 There is no abatement of the stir. About thirty-seven addi- tional in college are serious. I observe that our butchers, bakers, and id genus, flock to meetings, and talk of little else. A black girl (set 13, but smart) came to me under deep and intelligent conviction ; caused by [Episcopal] Kector Paterson's sermon last Sunday ; she sits in his gallery. About 15 — 20 of the impressed in college are his hearers. Some of the most resisting and opposing persons in college, are sons of good men, and ministers. Snodgrass has admitted 100 at his new Goshen. The whole east end of Long Island is in a blaze, especially East Hampton, where there is no pastor. It was there that Dr. Buel and Dr. Beecher were settled. Every- thing in that isolated region remains as 200 years ago. Princeton, May 6, 1850. My father's Reminiscences of Patrick Henry, in the May [Princeton] Magazine, will be worth copying in newspapers. Enter Mr. M. from Baden. " Sare ! You speak ze Fransh or ze German % " ]\Ir. M. desires to study theology ; has been a ^ The question of his correspondent -was — "Is not the 'Man of Sin' a bigger man than the Pope ? Is he not the aTroo-Tatris of all heresy, crime, backsliding in the Church from Paul's day downwards, and appearing to the Apostle in the revelation to him of the future history of the Church, like the one great image of Nebuchadnezzar, foreshadowing many eras and heterogeneous powers ? There were 'many Anti-Christs ' in John's day." 184:9—1851. 115 functionary in the treasury of the grand-duke of Baden. Our two Italians differ. B. has a plebeian and pairickian look ; speaks beastly Latin, and no English ; says he was Captain in the Revolution, and (I fear me) is some day to be a burden and plague to his patrons.^ T. (whatever he is in heart) is emi- nently a scholar and a gentleman ; in either capacity fit to be presented anywhere. His chagrin under the other's contiguity, is admirable. They never met till here. The ordination occurs on the very day our Examen begins ; I can do no more than run down to the evening diet."'' Dr. Wayland is proposing a radical reform in Colleges ; just what Jefferson set on foot in his University : abolition of four-year course, mock diplomas, hono- rary degrees, &c. I agree in every point ; and did before I left the college. A letter of Dr. W. Shippen, 2)en£s me, speaks of President Edwards as a " pretty gentleman," and of President Finley as " our stifi", stammering Dr. Einley." Yesterday, five churches here had Communion. I was with the second (Presbyterian) where fifteen were added on examina- tion. At the first, thirty-four on examination. All disappointed, misanthropic fellows seem of necessity to doubt about church efforts, seminaries, and whatever has grown up within thirty years. The Anniversaries in New York have got to be scarcely an attraction. It is remarkable how great the proportion of New Englanders is in the crowd. They doubtless tend to keep up very strongly a certain type of religious activity. The only one in which I ever felt any religious advantage, was the A. B. C. F. Missions, which is always managed with wisdom ; speakers not snatched up by accident. Princeton, Maij 21, 1850. On Saturday I went to New York as an escort to my hon- oured parents, and returned in the evening to New Brunswick. Coming homeward from New York, I fell in with M., who talked abundance of smart things, and some very good, against Agassiz and the many-race hypothesis. I tabernacled with P., where, as before, I was both humbled and edified at his extraordinary ways of making the Sabbath a delight, and teaching good things to his children. I have never been in a family in which so ^ This was fulfilled. B. succeeded in obtaining a Presbyterial license as probationer, but it was afterwards revoked. T. afterwards set up an Italian paper, It Esicle Italiano, in New York. ^ Tlie ordination of Messrs. Horatio W. Shaw and Lawrence G. Hay, missionaries to India, which took place at Trenton, May 8th, at which ser- vice Dr. J. W. Alexander preached. 116 WHILE PEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAET. much is made of the Bible, with so little fuss. One of his boys, about fourteen, repeated a large part of a chapter in the Gospel of John, in Greek, evidently understanding it well. A boarder-boy, on Saturday evening, repeated the whole of the third chapter of Colossians. Princeton, June 3, 1850. You are too severe in your stricture on seminary teaching. I never heard the methods complained of as failing to make ministerial practice the daily end. Whole portions of the course have no other ingredient ; as Dr. Miller's lectures on Sermons and Discipline, and the long series of teachings in pastoral the- ology. Other portions daily include the same, at proper places. The separate teaching of experimental religion, would be finely illustrated by our Presbyterial examinations thereanent. West Point is as near perfect (for its ends) as any thing I ever saw. What an incomparable locality ! esplanade, water, mountains, verdure, ruins, decorations ! I had a pleasant day there. The music delightful ; the appearance of the cadets, and the separate drill of the regulars, were tip to all my imagination of that sort of beauty. The new railway along the Hudson is a convenience ; forty miles an hour, sometimes. Qth. — Backwardness in Repertory copy, has driven me from epistolary to journalistic elaboration ; (there's a fine modern sen- tence for you.)^ From Duane St. people I have received, since I left them, (and all but 8100 unsolicited,) |l,500 for Seminary wants. The panorama of Italy is the next thing to travel there. Barnum is delivering temperance lectures ; \^^ill he not one day compete with for presidentship '? A seemingly crazed minister called this morning, in forma pauperis. B. is on the text " I go a-fishing." He is to settle in a new church in Brooklyn. Lan- neau [Missionary to Palestine] tells rae he preached eight years in Arabic. C. is going or gone to California with Spieker, the inventor." Dr. T. declares the method new and infallible ; but this does not ensure the profit of it. No other preparation, known to chemists, will solve the gold without solving the other things. A pound of black sand was given to the usual operators in New York, and a pound of the same to T. Cost of extracting by former =2.+ ; cost by latter less than one cent. Much of the secret is in the incredible diluteness of the liquid, which pre- ^ His papers in the Repertory for 1850 were on Dr. Foote's History of Virginia, German Church History, The Reformation in Spain, Close Com- munion, and German Hymnology. ^ Of a process for disengaging gold from the quartz, &c., which came to nothing. 1S49— 1851. 117 vents its taking up any thing but the gold. You see diamonds are at length made in Paris. Princeton, June 24, 1850. While E. J. Walker was Secretary of Treasury, the New York collector informed him of an entry of magnificently illus- trated books from France, value $3—5,000 ; but obscene. W. ordered them to be instantly burnt. Importers threatened ven- geance in a suit. Walker defied them. Of course they never prosecuted. is here : " Give, give ! " A certain kind of eloquence he undoubtedly has, but his stock is small. Sundry whole paragraphs repeated bodily. N. B. You will be more likely to be observed, if you do this with Xk^ imrimreus ^cmnus ; e. g. " We have run up our flag, and we mean to nail it . . . want more nails;" (three times.) Payson's dying words (twice.) " On the borders of the man of sin . . . crevasse into Mexico " (three times.) "My Master never tells lies" (once ... too many.) After all, I think he probably makes impression on some, even here. I have just sent seventy-seven vols., big and little, to the embryo college of Austin, Texas. Dr. Torrey has been deliver- iufv a course of lectures on the structure, &c., of plants, all which I have attended with great delight. He used drawings, borrowed from Agassiz. You may judge of size by this : pollen-grains were in some cases represented (highly coloured) as big as large musk-melons. T. is an admirable lecturer. Neanmoins, our young collegians treated it (being non-compulsory) with contempt, the number of undergraduates towards the last being 7 ... 15. The article on Hymnology is clever, but absurd. Some young Oxonian, fresh from his'metres. So little is he at home in his'' own field, that he speaks of the Reformers as having made one version from the old church-hymns ; Veni Creator Spiritus. I have counted of Luther's alone, from this source, twelve ; and in a hasty review of reformation-hymns, in German alone, from old Latin, 134. This is exclusive of Psalms. Of course, my gleaning is but a handful. Few people know how little origin- ality the world possesses. Twenty-four hymns in the Methodist Hymn-book (Wesleyan) are from the German. Of some single Latin hymns, I think I can produce twenty Protestant versions. Warn Tom [on entering College] against early acquaintance- ship. I have seen it make study impossible, by the everlasting run on one's room ; and there is no possible preventive, but- waiting long, and choosing one's own friends, not being chosen by them, f never saw a perfectly punctual scholar go astmy. Get him to go always to the Thursday evening lecture. Ln- 118 WHILE TEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAET. courage him to write voii a \Yeekly account of the studies, how- ever repetitious. I think there will prove to be more in this than appears. I hope he will not neglect the French ; almost all do. Wistar Hodge is talked of for Greek Tutor; he is the best Grecian I ever saw of his age. Henry has learnt more in a few months with him, than I could have thought possible. Dr. Duff is making a great impression in Edinburgh. I'll try to send you one of his speeches. Though I nauseate a little at their mutual be-praising, hoAV much better it is, in its spirit, than our Ameri- can sullenness, as to one another's good deeds, in our public bodies ! How surprising, if A should laud B, or C descant on D's eloquence, or E glorify E, or G magnify H ! Even if sham, this overt pulling-together gives strength to the esprit de corps, and explains the $10,000,000 which the Eree Church has raised. American preachers are getting to stand towards one another as do the doctors. Ross, the Cherokee, says they are trying for a Cherokee college. Foreman, once of the Seminary, (a native,) is very useful, j^reaching in both tongues, publishing Almanacs, &c.^ Peincetox, Juli/ 2, 1850. Some people say the temple of Janus is shut. Connecticut As- sociation affirm unanimously (Bushnell and all) resolutions made in terms of catechism, imputation included. Our village is empty. You now have the new experience of the doctorate, and can agree that the half has not been told you. Indeed, the sentiments engendered by this addition to one's title are such as beggar description.'^ Finney is on a high horse in London. Dr. Campbell, of the Banner, puts him as high as the greatest preachers ever heard in the Tabernacle. Inquiry-meetings num- ber 700. Lectures edited anew by J. A. James. Do not you find the grandeur of things English, as such, decreasing in your apprehension'? In theology and religion, I really think we get hardly any thing from them as good as our own ; while they republish all our books. What can they show alongside of Stuart, Barnes, Robinson, Nordheimer, et al. 1 I had a protracted meeting with V., in respect to the expected Advent ; learn from him that has demolished the Repertory, and proved N. an Atheist ; that each of us ought to teach his children a manual trade ; that all but Millenarians make little of Bible ; that ^ Rev. Stephen Foreman, now at Tahlequah, Arkansas. ^ Another correspondent on this occasion communicated the following admonitory anecdote : " ^Yhen Mr. C, a good Irish minister, late of the Eeformed Presbytery, received his degree, and was admonished by one of his good members not to be exalted above measure, he rephed, ' dear madam, I feel that I need a great deal of grace.' " 1849—1851. 119 other books are pretty much superfluous ; that Melchizedek is Christ, (so I understood ;) and that D. had settled the Advent question when he was in the Seminary. P.'s last, anent H.'s fury against old school : " A man said, ' My wife is mighty zealous, but she haint got no religion.' " Richard Rush gradu- ated here in '97. He tells me he saw Witherspoon's corpse.^ I am in heart a Quaker as to mourning ; I see no harm in a simple badge, but abominate modern " mourning," above all that of females — crape, (the smell is charnelly.) You will read Duff's speeches^ with wonder at the chilliness of our Assembly. How few people get the floor in the Scotch Assembly ! How little work for the chair ! How few points of order ! How great the power of Cunningham and Candlish ! How Avarm and good the Moderator's closing speech ! Pkinceton, July 18, 1850. Anna J., a Sunday School child and catechumen of mine, [in New York,] was put into the Rutgers Institute on a scholar- ship among four hundred. She has just graduated, and I see comes out prima ; gold medal for best composition ; ditto last year for French ; high in Mathematics. I see by Knox's history, that he provided liturgic forms for ordination, &c., with prayers, in full, which are extant.^ I was struck with Brougham's saying, that one may buy a newspaper on Sunday, but not a Bible. How hard to legislate about points of conscience, and impossible to enforce ! Our dead- letter laws anent Sunday-travel, profaneness, &c., ought to be overhauled, before we add to their number. The progress of Christianity among the Nestorians is wonder- ful. The imagination is struck with a missionary at Nineveh, [Mosul.] Gurley's speech gives me new impressions about Liberia. Some day Australia and New Zealand will break on the world with a surprise like that which the United States is causing to Europe. A German writer, long resident in Russia, says : " The Russian life, moving rapidly eastward, will it not one day join with the Anglo-American life, moving westward, on a stage for the last act of the world's drama 1 When the old-world vitality shall be worn out ; when Oregon and Cali- fornia shall play the part that England and France do now ; when the American nation, in which the best blood of Western ^ The Hon. Eichard Rush died at Philadelphia in 1859. ^ In the Free Church General Assembly of Scotland. ' In 1857 Mr. Scribner published "A Book of Public Prayer, compiled from the authorized formularies of worship of the Presbyterian Churches, as prepared by the Reformers Calvin, Knox, Bucer, and others." 120 WniLE PEOFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMIXAET. Europeans mingled, shall have asserted the power of science and art over physical nature ; when sail and steam-vessels sweep through the isthmian canal, and railways connect the oceans ; and wiien the people of America by fleets and commerce touch the ancient inhabiters of Asia ; then the circle of the globe will be complete, and the last leaf of history turned ; and then, per- haps, Avill the battle be joined between the political and religious despotism of Russia and the principles of freedom and equal- ity. When the command ' be fruitful, and multiply, and replen- ish the earth ' is fulfilled, then the creation is at an end. When the command ' Go ye into all the Avorld,' &c., is accomplished, then the work of redemption is perfect, and the Lord comes to judgment." The negotiations between Lancaster and Mercersburg will be realized, if the German Reformers can raise $15,000 to buy out the Lutheran share in Franklin College, and the peo2>le of Lancaster raise $25,000 for buildings. There seems to me to be great wisdom in the German way of having no University build- ings, except for libraries. The reasons for it, in a fluctuating or new country, are greater still. True, this would fix colleges pretty much in large towns. I have often thought we could not do a better thing, than to sell out our pinched seven acres in Princeton, and buy a hundred for the same money. The whole method of college " rooming " and " commons," dissatisfies me. In a village, however, it is unavoidable. Demme declines his Gettysburg chair, and they will send a committee to Germany for a man. Three Germans are to decide, viz., Tholuck, Iloftman, (the Hebraistic successor of Gesenius,) and Harless of Dresden, an old-Lutheran of the invariata school, and a pious, eloquent man. It is an attempt to win back the alienated German- Lutherans to the American-Lutheran School at Gettysburg.^ Assure " each and every " (law fo]'ms and prayers in church are my authority) of my, &c., &;c. Princeton, July 26, 1850, ^ It would be odd, indeed, if any court should set aside as invalid an ordination ratified by our General Assembly, sitting not only as our highest judicature, but as our highest legis- ^ The Rev. Dr. Schaffer, of Pennsylvania, was elected to the German Theoloj^ical Professorship at Gettysburg. Lancaster remained the seat of the College Department. ^ In the General Assembly of 1850 an attempt was made to obtain the disapprobation of that Court of an act of a Presbytery, in ordaining a licen- tiate, when but two ministers were present — the third (requisite for a quorum) having approved of all the preliminary proceedings, but being 1849—1851. 121 lature and competent even in the latter capacity to solve S ikforlalities ^ declarative acts. As to the ordmatic^a b7commission, it is a question simply of fac Nobody holds such ordinations allowable under our consti ution. But as to what has hee^i done by Presbyterians, m all the Reformed Churches, the fact of ordination by committee is as unde- niable as the flict that any one ^vas ever ordained. ihe Westminster Directory says : "The Presbytery shall come to the place, or at least three or four ministei^ of the word shall be sent ihither from the Presbytery ^ &c &c. The Repertory has not recommended nor endorsed this well known Presby tei;ian precedent. The laying on of hands is only a part of ordination The other and greater parts took place m an acknowledged Quorum. If the moderator had, in pursuance of direction, laid on his hands, it would have been, to all intents and purposes, the layin- on of the hands of the Presbytery. Or may not some one tSke exceptions, if (as often) one of a Presbytery of twenty- five is crowded out from the circle, and fliils to impose his hands ? You refer to Webster, and so will I. In his last speech on the compromise, he says admirably, that Congress has, by its sanc- tion, covered and supplied all informalities m the admission of Texas. So in this case. Quod non debet fieri, valet factum ^ Ihe Assembly censures the irregularity, and constructively forbids it. What more can any large-minded Presbyterian ask % Reordma- tion -2 This would produce endless misapprehension. _ Imposition of hands is so far from being the mam thing to secure valid orders, that Presbyterians have from the very Reformation, separated from papists and prelatists, on this very point. Surely we need not be stiffer than John Knox See the " Buke of Discipline," confirmed by General Assembly and by Parliament, 1560 : " Other ceremonie than the publict appro- batioun of the peple, and declaration of the chiefe minister tlmt the persone thair presented is appoyntit to serve that Kirk, ^^e can nott approve ; for albeitt the Apostillis used the impositioun ofhandis,jet seeing the mirakle is ceasit, the using of the cere- monie we iuge is nott necessarie." This, indeed, proves nothing as to our municipal provisions ; which, when censurably neglected, may, by the supreme judicatory, be declared valid, though ii- absent at the act of ordination. The Assembly refused *« ,^f t^^Jj^jf ^^^^^^^^ nation in this case on account of a formal irregularity, when there couia Se no doubt 'of the vaUdity. The remarks of the letter were called fordi by some questions as to the admissibility of the decision m a ^^J^ ^f com mon law, and as to lawfulness of ordaining ^7 commission. The re^^^^^^ to the Repertory is to a review of the proceedings of the Assembl} in tne number for July, 1850. VOL. II. — 6 122 WHILE PEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMIXAEY. regular ; but it is very significant as to wliat the Presbyterian spirit is respecting tliis declarative formality ; which formality is, after all, present in the act as now presented. The minister was ordained by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, though some of the Presbytery were away, and though some present did not lay on both '' hands." The men ordained in Knox's days were not presbyterially ordained at all,, according to the narrower construction of Presbyterianism. It is remarkable that the objections to the Assembly's deci- sion have not proceeded in any case known to me from the older and more rigid ministers, who seem all satisfied. And it should not be forgotten that the Assembly utters no declaration, but simply admits the given acts of Synod and Presbytery, without censure. I hold the Repertory's reasons to be unanswerable. If the preceding parts of the ordination had been by less than a quorum, the question would have been raised, which was touched in the debate, as to whether three or a mere j?:)^?r?'o///^ is necessary to valid ordination. Of this I might have opinions of my own, but it was not properly before the body. Strict construction can make no whit more out of Form Gov. Cap. XV. § 14. Every Lutheran or Episcopalian minister, who comes to us, is presumed to have a valid, though an irregular ordina- tion ; here the distinction taken by Repertory is fundamental. I think there are sound reasons why acts performed but once, such as marriage, ordination, baptism, &c., should admit of being ratified, in spite of informality, even though some other acts, such as erecting a Presbytery, &c., should be annulled, with orders to repeat them in due form. This is clearly accordant with the views of the canonists, even as to Baptism. Princeton, Atcgiist 2, 1850. Torrey shows me some mirabilia of infusorial shells, invisible without high microscopes ; their beauty, in form and colour, is inexpressibly sui generis. Yet they have passed through the in- testines of Pacific fowl, being abstracted from washings of the guano. A man named Spencer, in an out. of the way place in New York, has beat all the world in microscopes. The English ones cannot, like his, resolve lines 56,000 in an inch. I am sorry for the loss of the Compromise, [repeal of the Missouri act.] I hoped Clay and Webster would have carried it over the free- soilers and nullifiers. It seems as if One " higher than the highest " would keep the awful slavery-question among matters for his own hand. As to the question of legal ordination, I will only observe, that " ordained minister " has been held by some of our ablest 1849—1851. 123 lawyers (Ch. J. Ewing especially) to import in the acceptation of the law any accredited minister, particularly (in the case when he was consulted) a probationer. I know a case in Virginia, in which the same was held ; and though hundreds of marriages have been solemnized by licentiates, none of them have ever been questioned in law, though often forbidden by church-courts. I have never talked with my father about the late case, but I know his testimony as to the facts above stated. Princeton census =1 — 2,000. I am slowly writing " Sermons to Boys." Pkinceton, August 26, 1850. I have the letters of twenty years, exceptis excipiendis, filed and labelled : I cannot remember to have ever looked at them ten times. In no one instance has any thing of importance de- pended on the search. My father and Addison burn their letters. I was at the sea for a week, with less enjoyment than common. I preached in Fifth Avenue.^ Mr. Donaldson drove me out to Greenwood ; my first visit. The locality is unsurpassed, but tVo ^f ^^1® tombs are burlesques or blunders. Cemeteries do not arride me. The last London Yearly Meeting agreed to have plain memorial slabs, like those of the Moravians. Somewhat suddenly I have entered Henry of the Freshman class. They say the Sophomore class is a fine one. The signs of thorough drilling by the tutors are very pleasing to me ; short lessons and long inquisition on them. I am told the Boston and Andover folks regard P. with a sort of adoration. His last great discourse gives them a recipe for holding any doctrine, however repulsive. You have only to declare its strong expressions " the language of emotion." Since capital punishment is so nearly extinct in Philadelphia, it is a wonder they have so many murders. A very promising Sunday School and preaching have been started in the very focus of the Five Points. Children from 8 — 10 years old come to school drunk. Drunken people appear at the meetings. Mr. Hall, a worthy Methodist, owner of the Commercial Advertiser, is one of the leaders in the enterprise. Princeton, September 5, 1850. We had large numbers of the Black Sons of Temperance here to-day, from Trenton and elsewhere, with bands and para- phernalia ; also what seemed to be the Daughters and Grand- sons, in considerable force. Thus far, our accession to the Semi- nary is about 46. They are still coming in. I was unable to go to Dr. Cuyler's burial,'^ as my first exercise with the new ^ First Churcli, Xew York, August 18. = The Rev. Dr. C. C. Cuyler died at Philadelphia, August 31, 1850. 12i WHILE PEOFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SE:NnNAIiT. class, and my only one for the week, occurred at the hour. Our situation in this respect is more confining than that of pastors, unless where we have good long notice. We hear of the death of a valuable student, Culbertson, brother of the missionary. He left us, somewhat ailing, for a tour to the Rocky Mountains, and came back perfectly restored, as it seemed, but died of a dysentery, at his father's house in Chambersburg. He was very assiduous by the bedside of Candor, [p. 108.] We have, as usual, [in the Seminary,] several Baptists, and expect a Metho- dist and an Episcopalian. One of our students has been a year under Cunningham, at Edinburgh. They pretend that Castle Garden will hold 8,000 hearers of [Jenny] Lind. What an organ hers must be ! The furore in New York is quite ridicu- lous ; crowds besieging the hotel, and gaping at the windows. The boys tell me there is much excitement about North and South in college. The Whigs have elected Venable as their June orator. We have a student who will not sing any human compositions ; Rouse's being perhaps inhuman. 1 am gratified to hear of a case of marked seriousness in college ; I fear, how- ever, this is far from being indicative of the general tone. The London papers give flaming accounts of Einney's sermons and audiences. There is no allusion to his later doctrines of per- fectionism. I wonder if a day will not come, when the immense increase of printed matter will cause a reaction in favour of old-time methods, oral learning, discoursing sub dio, like that of the Athenians and the New Testament. Even in Plato's day, he was led to fear the ill consequences to human powers from overmuch reading. News is a very different affair, in daily papers and in word of mouth. AVe at length have a priest here ; 1 believe they have mass in their unfinished house. The extract you give, respecting our fathers, so many years ago, is very interesting.' My good old father has not been less than 60 years a preacher ; but I have never heard him preach any autobiog- raphy, self statistics, or census of successes. If fruit was un- wholesome, our collegians would all be on their backs, but they seem blessed with uncommon health. The prevalence of dysen- tery in some parts does not seem to have had the slightest con- nexion with diet. Lisco, on the Parables, is a remarkably sensible book to have come from Germany, and very full of sermonizing suggestions, the more valuable because it avoids all straining of the parables. What a delightful negligence in Hume's style ; it is the least wearying I ever read ; but what nefarious perversion, and what meagerness of research ! ^ It has since been printed in Dr. Sprague's " Annals of the Pulpit," vol. ill., p. 610. 1849—1851. 125 Princeton, October Y, 1850. Your note was a little delayed, as the letter lay unopened till my return from New York, which capital I found much in the same state as you left it. I preached once for Dr. Potts, in com- pliance with a Parthian request of his. He was last heard of at St. Petersburg. Some expect him to-day in the Atlantic. He has a noble congregation. Erskine Mason is still very ill.^ A Norwegian Methodist missionary, Brother Willerup, called on me on his way to Wisconsin. I heard Dr. Tyng in New York, with much pleasure. The chanting was excellent. Sermon of the most extempore sort. I have flattering ofl^ers to write for the North British Review. I have no present thought of compliance, though I should like the £10 a sheet. Thompson, of the Tabernacle, is preaching against the Fugitive Slave Bill, (when did Bill run away ?) This, and the play of Hamlet, excite much attention among the people. Old Mr. Johnstone, of Jersey City, has gone to Britain, (as the Scotch love to call it.) Five Baptist preachers attended at the baptism of my daughter. Spencer has published a volume of pastoral anecdotes and conversations.^ Washington Irving's Mahomet is a whitewashing of his hero; "jejune and elegant." Variety in sermons might be helped by an occasional history, with free bursts of remark, whenever sug- gested ; it is remarkable how much of the Bible is history. I think Elijah and Elisha a good topic. The argument of the book of Job would make a good sermon. In general, the argument of a Sunday School book might be occasionally preached with advantage. I have been acquainting myself with Luther's ser- mons. Nothing can be more natural, simple, earnest, downright, practical, pungent, or affectionate. They are models of the plainest, liveliest sort ; the very opposite of modern German sermons, which are as constrained in their elegant partition as a sonnet or an acrostic. I have had to look into some of these professionally ; and I declare I am unable to find one, which is worthy of reperusal, except some of Tholuck's, which are beautiful warm rhapsodies. The oldest person found in our three townships by the censor, is a pauper drunkard in East Windsor, a graduate of Princeton College, set. 96. The number of coloured people in Princeton is about 500 ; perhaps as large a proportion of free blacks as anywhere, being one-fourth. How little noise is made by the death of the greatest monarch of our day ! [Louis Philippe.] The Repertory's review of Park has led me to look at ^ Dr. Mason died May 14, 1851. =* " A Pastor's Sketches," by Kev. Dr. Spencer, of Brooklyn. 126 WHILE PEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMIXAKT. MorelL' His doctrine is much tlie same as Sclierer's, and is very formidably presented. 1 have nowhere seen so artful an assault on the common doctrine of Inspiration. It involves the denial not merely of Inspiration but of truth, in many parts of Scripture, and leaves us to sever the errors from the truth by some kind of divination or intuition. Such a belief would make me long for the popish assurances. My poor Duane Street folks make no progress. I look confidently for the stronger portion of them to go up-town, at Avhatever loss of property in the present building. Addison's present duties keep him reading the text of the Bible, with versions, &c., from morning till night. The applica- tions for ministers, from Texas alone, would absorb all the young men we are about to send out. The openings in Wisconsin are also surprisingly great. Princeton, November 11, 1S50. I was sorry to cross you on Saturday, but I w^as on my way to New York, wdiere I had not preached for a long time. I found my late charge much dwindled, though communions are seasons in which they try to make a rally. They have authorized their trustees to sell, but I know not who will buy. When old Grant Thorburn (Laurie Todd) came over to this country, it was in a vessel in which was a poor Scotch woman wdth a child. Grant helped to nurse the baby ; who now, after sixty years, as Collector of the Port of New York, gives him a place in the Bonded Warehouse. Hereupon Grant quotes, " Cast thy bread, &c." I did not hear Miss Lind, though she sang on Saturday night. Kirkwood, the mathematician, whose newly- discovered law respecting the planetary distances, makes so much noise among the astronomers, as ranking with Kepler's and Newton's, is an humble, pious, Presbyterian elder. Stephen Alexander supposes himself to have demonstrated mathematical- ly that all the comets, whose periods are known, were once one comet, Princeton, December 13, 1850. I did not mean to steal a march on you, but I was really so overwhelmed with odds and ends of business, before getting off for Virginia, that I went away almost imperceptibly, and collo ohtorto.'' Now that I have returned, safe and sound, I ought to ^ " Philosophy of Religion." " The purpose of tliis journey was to fulfil an appointment to preach one of the series of lectures on the Evidences of Christianity, in the University 18^9—1851. 127 feel thankful for exemption from all delays and all accidents. I left home on the 2d, and returned on the 12th. I never made so abrupt a plunge into Old Virginia, and the contrasts struck mo mightily. Albemarle is justly reputed the best specimen of rural Virginianism. The University is flourishing ; nearly four ^io""^^^'^^ students. The professors (each) have houses, but $3,000 is the maximum of their emolument. Staying as I did within the precincts, I was pleased to observe that there was not the least rowdyism or unmannerly noise ; and I was told perfect quiet prevails in their lecture-rooms. The audiences at the lectures on the Evidences are large. A voluntary meetino- for prayers, by morning candle-light, Is attended by about fifty"! As you might suppose, much was said in Virginia about the slavery business. With one remarkable exception, I found, among a great number with whom I conversed, no man desiiing disunion. All they ask is the carrying out of the Constitution"^ by enforcmg the late law. Such is unquestionably the temper of the masses. Yet there are some terrible "fire-eaters" at Richmond, and these are making great use of the Vermont nulli- fication. Combinations to use no northern goods, &c., are more rife than I had thought. From numbers, however, I heard the remark, that slavery could not abide safely in Virginia as a, frontier State— that its doom was fixed, &c. I fell in with South Carolina people, and (at Richmond) with B , on return from South Carolina. There the state of things is very different, for they not merely look on secession as a possible evil, 'but pray for it as a real good. Northern mechanics, agents, and operatives are rapidly leaving the State. The fear in Viro-inia among sober people, is, that South Carolina will do some "'rash act which will draw forth a large number of Southern States to sustam or shield her. I am convinced, from numerous conversa- tions with leading men, that the repeal of the Territorial Law would throw Eastern Virginia into the arms of the South and furthermore divide the State. After all I had read in the papers I was unprepared for the solemn views taken by good men of the crisis. All seem to regard bloodshed as the inevitable result. I stopped, going and coming, at Richmond, where I found Judo-e Cabell on his death-bed, as I fear ; he is an old friend of my father, and one year his junior. At this season the flow of old Virgmia good-fellowship was peculiarly delightful to me. I was almost surfeited with good things, and almost choked with end- of Jirginia, during the sessiou of 1850-51. Dr. Alexander's Discourse was clehvered December 8. Its subject was " The Character of Christ," and is printed in the volume embracing the whole course, published by Carters, JNew York, 1852. 128 WHILE PROFESSOR m THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. less parlance. There is soon to be a railway from Alexandria to Gordonsville, by which I should be able to reach Charlottesville in two days. Other roads are in construction. The travelling on those I used is greatly better than formerly. From Freder- icksburg to Richmond decidedly more comfortable than between Baltimore and Philadelphia, the scuffles for luggage are lessen- ed, and the ease of sitting increased. I find all as well as usual. I am struck all of a heap by the news from New York.' What Providence means I am at a loss to say. Surely I have done nothing I know of, to invite a re-call to Duane Street. What moves me somewhat is, (1,) I do not feel a special quality for teaching : (2,) I greatly miss pulpit and pastoral work. Yet when I think of tearing up again— it seems next to impossible. I am much concerned, and in real trouble of mind, and shall profit by any unprejudiced thoughts you have. Pkinceton, December 25, 1850. I wish you as many Christmases and as happy, for you and yours, as the Divine Disposer shall give in token of love ; for as I grow older, I trust I sometimes look forward to something better than the years of this world. The nuynber of persons sub- scribing for the new church is rather favourable. The place talked of is Fifth Avenue and Nineteenth street. I am puzzled and darkened by conflicting opinions. There are some who will charge me with great fickleness, if I leave Princeton so soon. The Philadelphia men will generally think it a wild and wrong move. My father and family think I had better go, on the score of health ; and it is especially my father's opinion, that the measure of talent 1 have is for preaching. It would not be exactly like a new experiment. The people calling know me, and are known by me. The recent move reveals an amount of influence on the New York mind, which (however unmerited) deserves to be considered. I was very happy in my work, and (if I may pre- sume to say so) was improving in it, more than I feel myself to be doing in my teaching-function. These are things I cannot say abroad,"but they affect my mind not a little. Per contra, I have the New York hum and interruption; New Y^ork summers; leaving a delightful home and rural quietude, and academic regu- larity, and above all my dear old flither and mother, whose decline I should covet to wait upon. These, however, are, for the ^ A proposal from the Duane Street congregation to build a new church on a better site, provided Dr. Alexander would accept a call to be the pas- tor. Subscriptions to the amount of $38,000 were already made, and $32,000 offered for the Duane Street premises. 1819—1851. 129 most part, ivorldly considerations ; while I am impressed by the thought, that many of the reasons for return are spiritual in their"^ nature. People say, " You can preach every Sunday in Princeton." So I can— but what a different thing it is ! I feel lifeless in comparison. 1 make no new sermons. Indeed, I hardly can take my present preaching into the account.' The true comparison must be between teaching here, and 2)^'€achinr/ there. Looking as modestly and honestly at it as I can, I feel (comparatively) some aptitude for preaching ; at least, I have a most undeserved acceptance — and that particularly in New York: I feel no special aptitude for teaching. In the city I drew young men around me : here, all my efforts have failed with the students, privately and socially : the difference I can- not express to you ; nor is it a matter I can discuss with people generally. I know the matter of health is very uncertain, and the causes of health and disease are obscure : but I think the four to five years in New York were of as much health, certainly they were of as much working-strength, as any similar portion of my life. As you might suppose, the matter is constantly in my thoughts, and I earnestly seek Divine leading ; for 1 know that my decision must be reviewed in the Judgment, and that if I determine on worldly and selfish grounds, I must expect a blight if not a curse. I wish to settle this question before many days. My brother Samuel has accepted the call to Freehold. What a happy knack at speech-making Sir H. Bulwer has ! Young Mr. Beers sent me some water from the Dead Sea, and some olive-wood from Jerusalem ; I previously had some olive-leaves from Gethsemane, and some salts from Marah. This is almost enough to fill a reliquarium. Princeton, January 6, 1851. We are mercifully preserved ; yet I am scarcely ever without cough this winter. ' Exposed as I was during my journey, [to Virginia in December,] I had a respite then. They talk of sending°me to Europe.' From my imo pectore, I say, I have no wish to go. Perhaps it might be good for my health. The im- pulse to write sermons has come over me very strong, and I have two half done. There is no employment I ever found so uniform- ly agreeable. It looks as if we never should have a cisalpine Assembly again.' How different from the days when we used ^ In 1849 he preached 80 times ; in 1850, 49 times. " He had signified his willingness to accede to the New 1 ork call, and resigned his profelsorship in the following February, but continued to act until April 30. It was also determined that he should take a voyage belore entering upon his new duties. ^ The Assembly of 1851 met in St. Louis, that of 1852 in Charleston. VOL. II. — 6* 130 WHILE PEOFESSOE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAKT. to see the leaders of the church in the long pulpit of old " Mar- ket Street." ^ If they set up a clieap paper, they will doubtless centre it somewhere in the West. Dr. Lindsly is about remov- ing to New Albany. I have peculiar pleasure in A. A. Hodge's unanimous call to Kirkwood, [Maryland.] [Rev. William H.] Eilflher preached yesterday at Penn Square.^ Gough is less talked of than formerly ; I should like to hear him again ; it is a great treat. I should have had no scruple about hearing [Jenny] Lind, though I suffer no regrets, and my appetency was not strong ; I was in New York one night that she sang, also at Jones's Hotel, Philadelphia, with her, and again in Baltimore. I believe all our cloth went in New York. A happy New Year to you all from us all. Pkikceton, January 23, 185L I hardly know how to speak of 's death. It came on us like a thunderbolt. The agonizing thought, when such an event occurs, is. Perhaps I might have saved a soul from death ! What plainness, labour, and earnestness it ought to give us in preaching ! PrjNCETON, March Y, 1851. I think if I am favoured with a safe arrival at Paris, I shall prefer Walsh to , Avith or without the fasces.^ My present hope is to go by steamer, about May 15. You have fair notice to have your trunk packed, your supply engaged, your French overhauled, &c. The architects begin to visit me, and I feel my utter impotcncy, in judging of plans and styles. I wish a lot could be used to settle it. You express just my views of biog- raphy. How much of the Bible is history ; and how much of the history is biography. No other reading so much shows me to myself, or so much stimulates me. As we grow .older, do we not find a pleasure in the lesser lines of character ? seeing differ- ences which formerly did not strike us ; just as we learn to detect handwritings, which to children are all alike, and to idiotce are unmeaning. If a botanist loves to collate flowers, how much more, &c., &;c. I will borrow for you the Life of good old Ben- gel, which will much please you. N. B. To introduce into our sermons more biography ; I mean detailed pictures of characters ; not for ornament, but for searching — to hold the mirror up to na- ture. Models in Bible, Pro v. xxxi. The Hireling. Several sketchy ^ The First Church of Philadelphia. ^ The Seventh Church, Philadelphia, of which he was afterwards the pastor. ^ Mr. "Walsh had been superseded in the American Consulate. 18:1:9—1851. 131 portraits in the Psalter. Some nice volumes might be made for our Board, by collecting a number of Christian biographies. Proudfit is on a History of the Huguenots ; also is about to edit some specimens of St. Basil in Greek. Some of our stu- dents take down all the lectures in short-hand. I tried a man to-day, by reading aloud from a book to him ; he succeeded well. What an ignoble business this stopping of the House of Refuge is, which is attempted in our [New Jersey] Assembly. Dr. H. brings excellent accounts of Ripley's doings in Burling- ton. The Quaker body there seems to be breaking to pieces. Burt is doing admirably w^ell in Springfield, Ohio ; he has a Bible-class of sixty-five. At Williams College the President preaches one evening each week, and Prof. Hopkins another. The whole Senior class learns the Shorter Catechism, which Dr. Hopkins expounds ; and it is a regular part of examination for degrees. I wish I could see a school in which the Bible should be taught every day. Apropos : since Watts's Catechisms went out, we have had no syllabus of Bible history to give children and young people. My fiither made some attempts, but the way is still open. Such a book, going over the 2vJiole narrative, without much remark, would sell by thousands. The demand for such a book would continue. If this snow comes, which I feel in the air, perhaps we may have some sleighing yet. Princeton, March 28, 1851. If you hear any thing about Walsh, let me know. I am try- ing to brush up my French, on which I shall have to rely, upon the Continent. [Rev. John] Lord begins a lecturing here on Monday. [Mr. David] Lord proposes $1,000 in three prizes, to be raffled for, by essays, pro and con, upon the great apocalyptic question. He makes the rider of the white horse to be the early preachers ; and of the red to be prelacy. He is very severe on Brown's late anti-millenarian book. Bethune's new church [Brooklyn] is to have no windows in the sides. The " Union Committee" of New York is doing a harm to the public conscience, by circulating sermons and addresses, denying all right of private judgment, on matters adjudicated by Caesar. Dr. L. maintains that in matters properly civil we have nothing for it but to submit passively. Illinois is about making all contracts with negroes void, besides forbiddinor them the State. Gov. Young told me, last week, that they are migrating in vast numbers to Canada, for fear bf the late law. It is a won- der more are not urged to Liberia. I will try to send you " London Poor and London Labour," [by Mayhew.] It is rich. 132 WHILE PEOFESSOR DT THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAEY. The modern German writers agree that the James of Jerusalem was not the surviving apostle, but a third of the name. Look at the places; you will find it an interesting question. Schaff thinks he was the son of Mary, one of Christ's " brethren," who did not believe ; who continued unbelieving till Christ's resur- rection ; so explaining what is certainly a strange specification, 1 Cor. XV. 7, " after that he was seen of JaynesP He gets over Gal. i. 19, by a grammatical turn, analogous to John xvii. 12, ''''hut the son of perdition." Nevin seems to incline to the opinion, that God would have been incarnate, independently of the entrance of sin. I have seen circulars, &c., showing that the project of bringing the Great Exhibition, palace and all, to Governor's Island, in 1852, is in actual preparation. Some hotel-men in New York have subscribed $5,000 each ; and the railroad companies are invoked. The palace and its freight will cost 8300,000. Princeton, A'pril 15, 1851. A telegraphic despatch carried me, on ten minutes' warning, to New York on Saturday, to see a sick and bereaved lady. I heard a Methodist sermon on Sunday morning. I was also at Trinity Church. Dr. Hodges, on the organ, and their choir of boys, I found transcendent. The Benedicite was chanted so as to meet every demand of my feelings. The service was read by a drone. It seems to be their plan to make it as hum-drum as possible. After having submitted a number of plans to me, my subscribers have chosen one (Draper's) which I have never seen. It is said to be handsome. Dr. George Maclean is to be my steamer- companion. He goes abroad for health, and to see his Scotch cousins. Schaff has given me a round-robin to about twenty of the German great ones. I am like to have plenty more letters than I can deliver. Buskin's new book upon " Sheepfolds " is really an attack upon Puseyism. It is well worth reading. Schaff has published the first volume of his Church History in German. It is an enormous book, and will make ten volumes, 8vo, at the rate he has begun. It is learned and moderate. Princeton, Aiyril 30, 1851. I this day heard my last recitation. There is something sad in these " Last Things.'"' The African items in the last Missionary Herald are very exciting. The head of the Nile seems to be in sight. A number of young blacks here are thinking of Liberia. A hint towards sermons : make a sermon, one for each, on the different states and stages of mind and character among people not converted, yet not altogether hardened. JE. g. 1. The occa- 1S49— 1851. 133 sionally awakened. 2. Those who are already somewhat thought- ful. 3. Those who have gone back. 4, Those who are deeply concerned. 5. Those who are so for the first time. 6. Those who see obstacles to coming to Christ. 7. Those who occasion- ally hope. 8. Those who are overwhelmed with a sense of sin, &c., &c. I see by Samuel Davies's Journal that his return voy- age from Englanci. took him three months. Get hold of a paper, and read Sir Henry Bulwer's speech at the St. George's dinner in New York. It is full of sparkle. Hamilton is said to be the writer of the article on Doddridge in the North British Review. I wish this new invention about spinning flax by steam could come true ; it would be a death-blow to cotton-slavery. Our anomalous political state, as to this question, seems to offer no light in the future. I pity the poor free negroes from my heart ; and wish we had taken a more generous course in regard to their church accommodation. Princeton, Hay 16, 1851. The time is fast approaching, w^hen I must again cease to begin my letters with the formula at the top of this page. For some days I shall be a good deal occupied, and not much in writing-humour. With a blessing on my w\ays, I Avill write as often as I can from the other side. Yesterday I went on board, and surveyed my quarters. The affair is colossal. I do not mean the state-room, which, nevertheless, is more roomy than I had imagined. I shall probably leave this place on Friday morning. Dr. George Maclean, my chum, has arrived. Dr. Potts (who is a judge) says he never knew the power and rich- ness of the human voice, till he heard the Greek priests chant at Moscow. I am recalling my " twenty pence is one and eight- pence," and trying to compare pounds and guineas, &c. After lucubrating awhile over my French, I resolved to go on the " crescit eundo " plan. When speaking on the Paris platform, I must endeavour not, like a great preacher, to eulogize eau de vie instead of Veau de la vie. Fearful prognostications have I of sea-sickness, which I almost had, by way of rehearsal, on descending into " the sides of the ship," and sniffing the school- house smell of the snuggeries. It seems a sardonic mockery to have such spacious, sumptuous saloons, all plush, gold, panel, paintings, mirror, damask, &c. Let your thoughts be sometimes on me and mine, and mine will on you and yours. I get more and more repugnant to my voyage as the time approaches. We are likely to have 300 j)assengers. CHAPTEE XI. LETTERS DURING HIS FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE. 1851. Off Cape Clear, June 3, 1851.^ Through God's mercy I am here on the Irish coast, in our eleventh day. It has been a perpetual delight, without accident, hinderance, or " evil occurrent ; " without pain, alarm, sea-sickness, languor, low spirits, or weariness ; with as delightful a company as ever was thrown together, with sumptuous entertainment in a floating palace. Will you believe it— our 141 passengers have been like a loving family. Since the 25th we have had solemn and delightful worship every night, and services both Sabbaths. On eacli' I preached once. I suppose we sang forty complete hymns on Sunday night. Mr. Tupper and Dr. Miitter' have won my everlasting thanks and regard for the bold and noble manner in Avhich they came out for religion. Tupper sets the tune at worship. All my anticipations of the Atlantic have thus far been more than realized. I have seen a whale and a paper-nautilus, and several icebergs. The ship-people =140, of Avhom seventy are connected with the steam. We burn seventy tons of coal a day, and sixteen men are employed feeding our fourteen furnaces. ^ Dr. Alexander embarked in the steamer Arctic, Captain Luce, at New- York, on the 24th May, 1851. In filling up this chapter I have not been limited to the letters addressed to myself, but have also had the use of those addressed to different members of his family. It was indeed the plan of his correspondence, that what he wrote to one of his friends should be cir- culated among the rest, and then collected as the journal of his tour. Several other letters were addressed by him, during his journey, to the editors of " The Dresbyterian," Philadelphia. I should add that what is given in this chapter is but a meagre selection from the materials. 2 Mr. Martin F. Tupper, author of " Proverbial Philosophy," and the late Professor Milttcr, of the Jefferson Medical School of Philadelphia. 1851. 135 Think of its being daylight here at 2 A. M. ! On the "banks of NewfoundLand we had fire, and slept under full winter cover ing. Mr. Tupper is the most merry, open-hearted creature in the world, and fraught with classical learning. I have his auto- graph of his own proverb : " A babe in the house is a well- spring of happiness." Jiine 4. — I just now had the first glimpse of Britain ; it is Bardsey Island,* in Caernarvon. Beautiful clearness of atmos- phere. The blue sea has become green in soundings, but^ we have the gray heaven of England and not an American azure. I have had frequent opportunities of religious exhortation, and was never more blessed, than on this voyage, with willing ears. I am sorry to say my health was publicly drunk at the closing dinner on board, " for his services as chaplain." Tupper made a speech, and various poems were recited. Liverpool, June 4, 1851. My first step in England ! We were half a day getting through the customs. They even dutied my sermons. The weather is smoky, muggy, and cold, about like our March, with- out any keenness. Eor the first time I see beautiful hawthorn blooms, both white and red. Liverpool buildings are high,_solid, massive, every thing on a scale of majestic strength, without beauty. On the 6th we go up to London with Dr. Miitter, who has been several times abroad, and is acquainted with several of the chief nobility and clergy. Mr. Tupper has given me some valuable letters, and offers to present me to the Presbyterian Duke of Argyll. The beauty of the rural environs surpasses all my imagination. Every charm of verdure, birds, flowers, and luxurious landscape-gardening, appears in this spring-like weather. Americans meet us, almost literally, at every corner. I suppose we have fifty in this house, (Adelphi.) London, June 6, 1851. The season is transcendent. How can I ever describe the fairy-land we have come through this day ! I had fancied much, but it is nothing to the reality. Green, green, green ! Such green as I never thought of, bathed in an atmosphere of deli- cious moisture, a playful mixture of tiny rains and sunshine. Castles, parks, hedgerows, rivers, Trent and Avon, Cowper's birthplace and scenes, cottages, rookeries, larks. Some parts of Warwick, Herts, and Nottingham, with the approaches by Harrow, are like one's dreams of Eden. We were ten in party, 136 DURING HIS FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE. all friends, Americans ; and all day no foot entered our (railway) carriage but our own. The order, the ease, the respectfulness are marvellous. I have not in several days seen a moment of hurry. The climate is wet hut lovely. You can walk all day. The sun seems to be under a fender. I have walked miles to-day in my great coat, and been in half a dozen rains ; but the rain seems to be playing, and sometimes stops before you raise an umbrella. LoxDON, Jane 8, 1851. Where should a man go on "Whitsunday but to St. Paul's % I fancy half the auditory was American. The nave is boxed up for approaching fete of charity children. Service in the choir. Every thing chanted. I place it clearly at the top of all music I ever heard. The voice of the bassos and of the trained boys, the organ, the modulation, and the universal enunciation, surpass my highest dream of church-music. Milman preached. Large parts of antiphonal song from invisibles in loft. I could not, by search, see one man or boy among the surplices who listened to one word of the sermon. After singing like angels (I never heard such voices) the dogs would sit in their high oaken stalls, and play all manner of pranks. i'or an omnibus had to go down to Bank. My heart went pit-a-pat at the corner-names : Bread street, Poultry, Cornhill, St. Swithin's, Easteheap. Chat with six policemen, seventeen yesterday ; all the same — polite, even benignant ; 4,000 now in London. I have never foiled to say I was American. Effect all the same — overflowing kindness, with abject ignorance of the United States. Birds sing by hundreds in these parks. One is always near a friendly, guide in the police. They never tire, and especially aid foreigners. The placards show a great prevalence of religious aflairs. Sermons advertised in all languages. Old London rises before me, where I see the Tower, Billingsgate, Lambeth, Old Jewry, and Upper Thames street. I love to lose myself in the culs-de-sac and inn-yards opening in Cheapside and Aldcrso-ate street. Our hotel (Euston) is at the terminus of the North- Western Eailway. There are indeed two of them, quite alike, with a jylace between them. No bar. Large coffee-rooms, columns, curtains, head-waiter like a clergyman, speaks French and Span- ish ; no loud s}llable spoken ; tables far apart. Sj)arrows numerous in our court, which is clean as a parlour. 1 heard Dr. Hamilton at 64- P. ]\f. Mean, large church. Like every minister here, he has trimmed whiskers. Gown and band. 1851. 137 Subject : Eternity of hell-torments. Able, faithful, tender, original, and not flowing. Voice gentle, but intonation posi- tively shocking. No gesture but with head and body. Voice dropped on every cadence, several notes lower than the expected one, with an efiect that is horrible. Deep solemnity in people, as much as in any revival. Precentor. All sing, but hideously. People all sit down a minute after blessing, which is delightful. Alms at the door. Nothing so amazes me as the order of the streets. Even by the river-stairs and in Southwark, no fuss, no groups of b'hoys, nothing like loud laughter. Indeed the policemen, with their handsome uniform, are everywhere ; as grave as clergymen, and constantly helping some one. Around the Crystal Palace for some squares, no one is allow^ed to stop and chat, but the notice is given thus : " Excuse me. Sir ; I have indulged you as long as my orders allow ; you w^ill find it agreeable to walk on." Com- mon people all say cowld for cold. Everybody says ^ouse, believm^nnd^bus. If you want a cabman you hollow A'ci / In Liverpool I had my watch, once my father's, set to English time at the shop where it was made, as the number (6,900) showed, in 1804 ; they now number 59,000 and odd. Everybody ex- presses assent by " quite so," and no sentence seems complete without " you know," (naoiv.) All w^ords like " member," " waiter " are almost spondees, " waitarr." " Hear " and " year " are " hyurr " and " yurr." The favourite drink is 'alf-and-'alf, or ale and porter. The bell is always answered by a chambermaid, a comely person in a cap. On the 7th I w^as in Westminster, and surveyed the courts of law. In Chancery, Lord Truro, snifting camphor or the like, as if sick. In Vice Chancellor's court. Sir J. Knight Bruce sitting. In Queen's Bench, Lord Campbell, Sir J. T. Coleridge, &c. Lawyers crowded in pews, like people in church. The wigs looked like making fun. The gow^n and band were becoming. The queues of the barristers' wigs like floured rat-tails. LoNDOX, 142 Strand; June 10, 1851. This is in Old London, the only London that I care for. I have had a couple of good days, one at Greenwich Fair and hospital, and one at Windsor and Eton. ;My whole day-light I spend, rain or shine, (mostly rain,) on the tops of omnibuses. In my opinion a lady might journey all over rail-road-England, with as much safety as she could go from Trenton to Princeton. In the carriages all is exactly as if you w^ere in your private coach. No passing through. No outcry ; the w^hole mien that of genteel, deferential servants. 138 DURING HIS FIEST TISIT TO EUEOPE. I attended the Crystal Palace Exhibition for the first time to- day. I was chiefly attracted by the Fine Art department. The sculptures are innumerable. The only ones which greatly im- pressed me, were Italian, but placed, alas ! under the sign of '' Austria." A number of fine ladies, perhaps noble, were try- ing to lift a little boy up to see the great diamond. I gave my place and offered to hold him. The lady looked surprised — such things are not done here — but when I said " I have such another 3,000 miles from here," she complied and thanked me with much grace. No respect is shown to sex. No one gives place to a lady as such. There is great respect, however, to every one in public, for they do not know but the man in plain dress is a lord. The beautiful skin and teeth of all classes, except artisans, keeps me admiring. The gray hair, even of quite young ladies, is universally exposed. It strikes you, when you see it repeated among ten thousand. AYhitsun holidays have brought the pro- vincials in by shoals. You would laugh to see vans, or long and wide cars, crammed full of rosy lads and lasses, perhaps thirty in one, riding twenty and thirty miles for sixpence. My Vir- ginia friends agree that they never saw such horses as came up to London. They are like elephants in the brewers' drays. I understand better now what Dickens and the Earl of Carlisle mean^ by calling the Americans a c/rave people. At these fi^tes of AYhitsun-week the whole bourgeoisie seem to be pleasurino-, all on a broad grin, all gratified, and without strong drink or any rowdyism. Nurses and young mothers, with little children, go seven miles by water, and stay all day amidst thousands. Every time I lift my eyes from this paper, I see St. Paul's. I blame myself for contemniug St. Paul's. How gloriously it pre- dominates over every part of the city ! Temple Bar and Char- ing Cross are pleasantly near. I have seen the paintings at Hampton. You know my peculiarity as to portraits ; but these are the men themselves, as they lived and moved. Corregio's enchanted me more than any before I knew they were his. "The very clocks and furniture of 1536 are at Hampton. The horse guards passed me to barracks, in Hyde Park, in the rain, cloaked, and each leading a second horse. There are always two regi- ments on duty, picked men, six feet high. They are just as polite as the police. Every common man I have talked with, wishes to go to America. "^The last cad that took my sixpence asked me " is not New York in Philadelphia ? " Another, when I said I was a foreigner, said : " Ay ! you must be talkin' hyper- bolical. I suppose you know the meaning of the word ;" you may be a furriner to London, but you're an Englishman born." Windsor Castle covers thirty-two acres. The park (see 1851. 139 Midsummer Night's Dream) looks endless. Green, green, green, velvet, emerald, no break in the verdure — a prairie covered with trees, such as you have often heard described. One broad avenue of oaks and elms reaches three miles. My first rapture in a Gothic edifice Avas in St. George's Chapel. All words must fail to express its awful beauty ; no gloom, no sombre colours, all bright from the cream-coloured stone columns and arches, rising into vaults of fearful grace. In the church is the group of statu- ary forming a monument to the Princess Charlotte. The grief expressed by the veiled, prostrate, dishevelled creatures, makes me shudder when I recall it. I next went across to Eton. These little old towns are in- describable. High street is a place to dream of. Nobody ever told me how pure and clear and wide the streets were, nor how low were the houses, nor how nice, quaint, cheerful, and roguish- looking. Some breathe the very spirit of Chaucer. Then the College ! I cannot express how my musings went back, in those cloisters. The trees, the pavements, the Master's (Hawtrey's) house, with comical gables peeping out of the. deep green ; the boats in great numbers on the sweet narrow Thames, rowed by the boys, the cricketers with gowns and coats thrown off. England is a more flowery country than I thought. The roadsides are besprinkled with endless bloom, often as much so as any garden walk. The green is so dense that girls at work in fields sometimes seem as if in waves of a river. Ancient footpaths wind far away where there is no high road, gravelled and even paved. London, June 13, 1851. Last night I went to the House of Commons, and heard Cobden, Hume, Baring, Admiral Berkeley, &c. All spoke alike : all had a stammer, save Cobden ; all colloquial, rapid and sometimes funny. The noise was tremendous. I had no notion before of the ironical cheers, which are a yaw-yawing you would hardly distinguish from dogs. I am not desirous to go again. After all my study of the localities, I can hardly believe my eyes. Such dark, dim, tall, narrow, winding ways — plainly just so for ages. Here is Watling street, part of an old Celtic road all across Britain. The places are redolent of Saxon times. Buy Cock Eobin at Newberry's Corner. Newberry has been dead sixty years. Peep into yards of old inns. Heavy carts of country carriers and broad dialect. I j^ushed into Doctors' Commons, and had a dozen touching their hats and offering to find a proctor for me, to show me the cells of the wills, &c. 140 DTJEING HIS FIEST VISIT TO EUEOPE. Serjeant's Inn is another close. But the most awakening is the Temple, Middle and Inner, which surprises me by its insulation, retirement, and sweetness. Templars here in 1184 ! June 14. — [After visiting Co vent Garden market, St. James' Park, hearing the Queen's hand, and seeing the Queen and Prince Albert pass, he spent the rest of the day at the Crystal Palace.] I was about to retire at 4, when I saw the Duke of Wellington. Exceedingly trim in dress, new hat, white stock with broad silver buckle. No greatcoat. A handsome woman was on his arm — wife of one of the Commissioners. The crowd stood off with peculiar delicacy. The Duke turned into the American department, and stood half an hour, within six feet of me, listening to a detailed description of Day and Newell's (New York) lock. He gave fixed attention, and asked some questions. He is evidently the idol of the people.' I have three tickets to a Conversazione on the 16th, signed by the archdeacon of Middlesex, " to afford foreign pastors, and other religious foreigners, opportunity to become acquainted with the clergy and such lay members of the Church of Eng- land, as take a special interest in its affiirs." I had my shoes blacked in the Park for one penny, by a boy in a blouse, marked "Eairged School Society of Shoeblacks, No. 35." You cannot think how deeply I was affected, when looking over the exhibition in the French department, to see at a type- founder's platform the Chinese types of the "Presbyterian Board of Missions," especially as four of the Executive Com- mittee are here this moment.^ June 16. — I found Dr. Hamilton at his house in Gower street, who received me with indescribable cordiality. I am pained to think how few there are whom I have ever received with as much. He is a tall, thin, American-looking man, with the gentlest, sweetest, most innocent manners. He gave me the latest " Presbyterian," whicli completes my news anent the Pro- fessorship, [in Princeton Seminary.] He gave me two books for , with his autograph. Then he took me into the next room, and introduced me to Dr. Sandberg, Professor of Church History at the University of Lund, in Sweden. I then proceeded through a maze of streets to Carlton Ter- race. I found No. 9, and saw the arms of Prussia on the house of the Chevalier Bunsen, and entering found a number of per- sons waiting in the ante-chamber. The big-legged footman, in ^ The Duke died on that day fifteen months. 2 Dr. Jacobus, Mr. Lenox, Mr. Soutter,— I do not know who was the fourth. 1851. 141 blue and gold, took my card and instantly came back, taking me in precedence of all the rest. lie received me in a long, lofty library-office, looking out on the corner of St. James' Park. He is a noble-looking man, somewhat corpulent, with a blue eye, temperate but ruddy skin, and fine teeth. He took me as un- ceremoniously by the hand as you would have done, and led me rather gaily towards a sofa, seating himelf at one end. He began at once with great fluency, elegance, and heart, in excellent English. He had read a letter which I had placed in the hands of ^Ir. Kennedy, respecting German emigration. After hearing me on this topic, he entered on religious subjects, spoke of the iron extremes of Anglicanism, and of hymnology, and presented me with a copy of his own book of hymns and prayers, with this inscription, " To Rev. Dr. James W. Alexander, as a token of Christian regard. J. Bunsen. Carlton Terrace, 16 June, 1851." Pie offered me letters to Germany, which I declined, begged me to come again, and kept me there till a German, ap- parently of rank, came in. I observed open at his standing desk a Greek copy of Origen.^ There is no trace of stiffness in his manner, and his reception of me was not only affable but loving. Tears stood in his eyes several times during our intervieAV. I suppose he felt that he could entirely unbend with a foreign Christian. Going at random into "Westminster Abbey, I found the Bishop of London preaching before the famous old Society for Propagating the Gospel. Among the first words I heard were, " the United States of America." It has been so everywhere. Our republic seems to be perpetually in the mind of England. I went a second time to Westminster Hall. The speeches are eminently condensed, scholarly, and colloquial ; more of a dia- logue than any thing known among us. The barrister or solicitor is not allowed to deviate an instant. All the English speak alike, and almost all affect a stammer which gives an odd em- phasis. On my return I looked in at the old Savoy church, with respectful remembrance. I am now convinced that I must leave this most noble of cities, not only unlearnt, but unvisited in a score of most im- portant places. I could this minute name thirty which it would take a week barely to go to. ^ It was about this time that Mr. Bunsen was preparing bis Letters to Archdeacon Hare on Hippolytus, autbor of tbe recently discovered book ascribed to Origen. The first volume of his large work on Hippolytus did not appear till 1853. 142 DUKIXG HIS FIRST VISIT TO ETJEOPE. Paris, June 19, 1851. We left London at 9^ this morning, and here we are (at midnight) in Paris, after a journey of 345 miles. Feel the climate to be like that of America ; it is from winter to sum- mer. The delightfulness of seeing the sun and feeling the warmth is indescribable. The ride through Picardy is flat and monotonous, but verdant, cultivated, and delightful. Sometimes thirty windmills at once. No fences, few hedges, many ditches. All roads and ditches lined with pollard trees. Almost always in sight of a Norman church predominating over the flat but cosy hamlet. I never saw any thing more lovely than the groups of villagers in the summer evening. Immense herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. Our way was through forty-six towns and villages. 21s A — Hotel Meurice. Eight across is the Garden of the Tuileries. The shade is beyond all I ever dreamt of: it is almost like night. There is not a blade of grass, but the ground is baked and trodden hard. Children in any quantity in the garden, with their bonnes ; not so chubby and cherubic as the English, of whom also there are many. I saw 30,000 men re- viewed by the President [now Emperor] in the Champ de Mars. I was in an open caleche, with Mr. R. L. Stuart. Louis is not great-looking, but modest and soldierly, and " un bon cava- lier," as our driver said again and again. Jerome was on his left. The troops of Paris are 100,000. There were 180 drums. The soldiers singly look mean, but in mass are incomparably fine. "We drove back along the quays, and so across by the Elysees and Place de la Concorde. This is probably unequalled on earth. On one side the Madeleine, on the other the Chamber of Deputies. There is no longer any aristocratic wealth in France. One-quarter of an hour in Hyde Park reveals more grandeur than all France can show. The women of Paris are the ugliest and the prettiest I ever saw. The general impres- sion on me is, that England is the cleanest and France the dirtiest nation in the Avorld. June 22. — Lord's Day, but no Sabbath in Paris. They were painting this very house, and tearing down buildings not flir ofi; All the shops are open. It is a great Romish feast, the Fele- Dieu. As time allowed, I went into the church of St. ^Mary of Loretto before Protestant service. It was full, each paying two sous for a chair. High mass. Various bands of singers, boys and men. Processions round and round witli the host. Perhaps fifty priests, arrayed in purple and gold. Two beautiful young priests, in graceful white robes, with pink sashes, carried the censers. Four little children, in same apparel, scattered rose- 1851. 143 leaves. Twenty-four novices, girls, all in white, veiled, carried candles six feet high. An orchestra of perhaps fifty instruments on the north side of the choir, the leader making all the motions, just as in a theatre. The pyramidal band of priests at the high-altar, moved and changed and turned and parted with all the complication, but with all the regularity of a cotillon. The Gregorian chant by voices like Eussell's, [deep bass,] all like one voice. I never in all my life felt such grief and indigna- tion at the " man of sin." Architecture, painting, and music, here combine in their highest point to make Christ's cross nothing but a stupendous plaything. The hundreds of tapers, and the indescribable gorgeousness of the chasubles, &c., and the wailing, soul-entrancing music, all belong to the wine of incantation of the scarlet woman. ]\Iay God destroy this Baby- lon with the brightness of his coming ! Thence to the Oratoire. I hoped to hear Mr. Adolphe Monod, but found Mr. Coquerel in the pulpit. He is an eloquent Socinian, and a fine-looking man. Text : " Who gave himself- for us." Doctrine : Unity of belief is impossible ; unity of morals is what Christ died for. He is a consummate orator. No notes. Large, respectable assembly. They sang the old Beza-Marot psalms to the old tunes. People all stood most reverently during prayer. June 23.— To the National Assembly. Saw Lamartine, Cavaignac, Coquerel, Leroux, Berryer, Odillon Barrat, Girardin, Lamennais, and some others. I never heard such a noise. A hundred would be talking as loud as the orator. Coming away I joined company with a priest. Told him I was a Protestant. He said, " N'importe, monsieur, vous etes Chretien." He was polite, as every one is. No one enters a cafe or an omnibus without salutation. June 21. — One month from home. It seems a year, but a year of delight. For the first time I can say my cold is better. Soldiers have now become as familiar as flies. Paris is more like an American city than London. It is filthy and has abomi- nable stenches. But there are thousands of flowers and birds here, which cannot be said of any American city. O what a meeting, Sunday evening, in the little chapel Oratoire ! Adolphe Monod — " God is Love." Huguenot women in caps. Old Psalm (103d) — old tunes. It was an hour to be remembered for life. Mr. Eives gave me a distinguished reception, called in 23erson, and has written me two notes, and given me entrance to the diplomatic box at the National Assembly. Tea at Dr. Monod's, with Bridel, and several others. Good Christian even- 14:4: DUEIXG HIS FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE. ing. I conducted prayers and expounded. I had previously spent an hour with Adolphe Monod. We ran together like two drops. I am to be at his soiree on 26th, where perhaps I meet Ladv Trotter, sister of the IMarcliioncss Normanbv. All ranks of evangelical people meet here like brothers. All ranks are equally polite. I never hear or see any thing in the streets M'hich would be rude in our parlour. The persuasive, deferential, affectionate tone of their voices, especially the women, is sur- prising. But every one dreads an outbreak, and then they be- come tigers. Such flowers and fruits I never beheld. The flower-market near IMadeleine, beats Covent Garden hollow. The poorest, meanest things in Paris, are arranged with taste. A fruit-window is a perfect still-life picture. A half sous stick of cherries is pretty enough to take home. You must imagine what it must be when they lay themselves out to be ornamental. June 27. — My days are spent in rambling, : for the things I want to see differ from the common sio;hts. I have been in the principal churches, have heard masses enough to keep my soul in repose (if they have any such virtue) a thousand years, have seen paintings till 1 weary of them, have sought out the burial- places of some great men, some Protestant antiquities not com- monly visited, and have learned to hate Popery more intensely than ever. At two soirees I have good opportunity to scan the customs of Parisian Christians. I have never seen any thing more simply elegant or affectionate. In both instances Ave had prayers before tea. Last evening a company of about thirty united in singing a hymn, hearing chapter, and offering a prayer — all in Prench. I have passed much time in the Pa^/s Latin, or region of the old colleges and convents, and in rummaging the antiquities of Paris. When I plunge into the oldest, narrowest streets, &c., of the Seine, I have most that attracts me. My uniform method is to hire a coupe and sit with the driver. This teaches me more French than a week of solitary walking. Then I make an excuse to sit half an hour in some cool shop and chat in my bad French with the smooth-tongued Parisians. I have to-day visited with great curiosity the markets which had escaped me. Strawberries as large as English walnuts are abundant for money. Both in England and Paris the most beautiful butter is universally set before us in pats about as large as two dollars laid together. No spot has attracted me so much as the Louvre. If it were Christian so to do I could spend hours there daily for a year. Yet I do not enjoy Paris as much as London. One I admire, the other I love. Except their poor, ignorant nonsense about slavery, I saw hardly any thing in England which I did not like. 1851. 14:5 Paris, June 30, 1851. Yesterday was the Lord's day, the octave of Fete Dieii, (Cor- pus Christi,) a day specially devoted to the idolatry of the wafer. I felt it my duty to go to the Madeleine before worship. How can I make you conceive the worldly grandeur and beauty ! It is the o-reatest of modern churches. It is more beautiful outside than St. Peter's. Conceive of a Greek temple of massy marble : ima^^es on images by the greatest sculptors, many times as large as itfe, all outside. Hangings of velvet, purple, and gold be- tween the columns. Ancient tapestries hung outside the walls, within the vast pillars. Inside, the smell of millions of flowers. It is called the fete des fieurs. If I saw one bouquet I saw ten thousand. You cannot imagine the art in their disposition. The high altar was so backed by a forest of flowers, that the sino-ers"^ were perfectly concealed. Scores of priests, deacons, boys in graceful albs with pink girdles ; scores of girls all veil- ed, all white for their first communion, as they went in proces- sion, and carried a rich bouquet. The nuns and girls had bouquets wholly of lilies and other white buds of flowers.^ The music was such as I am sure I shall never hear the like of in this world. The vast area within was filled with people. From this I went to the poor little English Wesleyan chapel. About one hundred and fifty : about seventeen men : generally servants and governesses of English residents and visiters. Ser- mon by Dr. Ritchie, a Wesleyan of Canada. Good sermon on '• Behold the Lamb." The application of it was such gospel, gospel, gospel, that I laid my head down and almost dissolved, these things which are daily bread in blessed America, are here like God's "^manna. The beauty, the grace, the extent, the glory of these illuminated forests, these spacious places, these statues, buildings, orderly crowds, this music — a hundred orchestras and concerts every night in open air— these things pass description, and steal the soul of the people from God. Since the cities of the plain, vice has never had such blandishment. Most, even of religious Americans, forget all restraint. Not that I have seen drunkenness or heard one profane word. All is courtesy and hienseance. The common people have a grace which reproves me every instant. Around a puppet-show or dancing dogs, the folk in blouses are so polite and still ; they do not even rub against you without a " Pardon, monsieur," the tone of which is more than the words. But they are Godless, and at one rap of the drum (especially just now) are ready to become simiotigres. M.V. Walsh has gone out to St. Germain-en-Laze. He sent me a most warm and characteristic letter, mistaking me for Addison, and went to the Director of the National (once Royal) VOL. II. — 7 146 DURING HIS FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE. Library, and requested that I might be introduced to the princi- pal Orientalists of Paris. All the time I write I hear from the large courts a perpetual sound of French chat among the servants, with that Parisian tune to the words which no foreigner can ever obtain, but which is so cunning and musical and insinuating, as to reconcile me to the sound of French. Mr. A. Monod is the most remarkable mixture of sweetness with intense solemnity I ever saw. Three months ago his mother died leaving twelve living sons. All the comiexion seem to be in the fear of the Lord. Paris, July 3, 1851. My first opening of the lips was last evening at the Wesleyan Chapel. Though it rained I suppose a hundred and fifty w^ere out. Spies of this free government are always there. One of the most interesting of all my hours abroad I had yesterday morning with I'Abbe de Moligny. Mr. Walsh gave me a note to the Abbe evidently as a specimen of the most cultivated French clergyman. Every thing in his apartments was in the highest bachelor taste, like a boudoir. He was all attention and cleverness ; showed me specimens of binding ; offered to take me to his bookseller and buy for me, w^hich he could do to ad- vantage. He alluded several times to my being a Protestant with much gracefulness and sobriety. We talked of German emigration and of politics. I greatly wished to see a religious house, and the greatest Romish theological seminary of France ; both coincide in St. Sulpice. Mr. Walsh gave me a note to Dr. L. R. Delual at the Seminary, and sent me a kind letter inviting me to-day. The Seminary has about three hundred religious, of whom a hundred and fifty are students. I was conducted to the room of Father Delual in the third story. He began to talk rapidly in English, and did so for three hours. He soon told me he had lived thirty- two years in Baltimore, and was twenty years President of St. Mary's College. He knew much about Princeton, Dr. Miller, my father, and Addison. He had a vivid recollection cf meeting Dr. Hodge on the Delaware when he was accompanying the archbishop of Baltimore to embark for Rome. There are nearly twenty other Sulpitian seminaries in France, all affiliated under this. I was placed in rapi^ort with a number of students in different parts of the cloisters, and of a beautiful and spacious terraced garden w^ithin the wall. I visited the small lecture- rooms, which are plain but full of pictures. There is a series in oil of all the Popes, as he said, " from St. Peter to Pio Nono." 1851. 147 I saw numerous younger students carrying light desks on their heads to the recitations. They study in their cells. They look unhealthy and meager. The refectory is divided into two parts ; to the right go the valid ones, to the left the invalid. The covers for thelatter must have been thirty. Each, as he enters the dividing passage, takes from a great pannier as much bread, wheat, or rye as he needs. Each has his half bottle of viu ordi- naire at each meal. The fragments are dispersed to the poor at a side-gate. The garden is full of trees, gravelled and beautiful, with covered sheds. The old man joked paternally with those he met. He pointed out two who had been " Presbyterian min- isters in Scotland." He encircled us in his arms, saying, " All three Presbyterians." I replied, "My reception here is too courteous for me to engage in controversy." One of the two said to me, "We must pray for jowsit Notre Dame des Vicioiresy I have no iDelief that either of the two was ever a minister. We went into the chapel. It is a beautiful building, the whole area being clear. Oaken stalls in two rows along the walls accommo- date the worshippers. They never fairly sit except during the epis- tle ; the rest of the time they either kneel, or (turning the thick oaken seat up by a hinge) rest on a ledge which is called a inisericorde. There are seven large paintings, some very fuie, by Lebrun. One of the Scots had a little Latin Testament in his hand, and was going to the " Scripture lesson." They are mostly young, with much appearance of austerity. Their courses of studies seem low, puerile, and generally memoriter. Dialec- tics and casuistry form the chief part. The surveillance and separation are perfect. All the youth have tonsure. Dr. Delual answered all my questions with great promptness, and constantly presented me as a Protestant and a Presbyterian. He talked much about revolutionary atheism, and said the days of Marat would return if the red-republicans gained power. He added, what I believe, that there is a great revival of ceremony and mass- o-oino-, even among we/?. He is a very venerable and even elegant man, with a fresh complexion, and chirping merriment. He often quoted Latin, but never said any thing against Prot- estantism. Yesterday I was at the College of France, and had several hours with the celebrated mathematician Biot, who intrusted me with several things for America. He is in his 80th year : yet I have some of his writing, done without spectacles, smaller and firmer than mine. He spoke of Peirce, Henry, Gould, Wilkes, and Bache.^ On the 10th July Dr. Alexander left Paris and reached Dijon that even- ing. On the 12th to Geneva. 148 DrEmG ms first visit to eueope. Geneva, July 12, 1851. All this clay we have been in mountain-raptures ; but when suddenly, through a near gap, the Alps burst on us, it was so different from any forethought of mine that I was relieved from swooning only by tears. I am thankful to say all my thought at the moment was of God, of Christ, and of heaven. Though a hundred miles off in many parts, they were clear as diamond. I was absolutely speechless. I had dreamed of vast dimensions, and of big mountains and chains, but this was mother-of-pearl, azure, agate, all colours, more solid than granite, and looking among the clouds, heavenly. "VVe all sank under the religious impressions. The impression of death, heaven, and eternity is unavoidable. It has been a means of grace on the blessed, quiet Sabbath in the city of Bernard, Calvin, Farel, Vinet, Knox, Beza, and the Turretines. Yet around this lake lived Voltaire, Eous- seau, and Gibbon. " The entrance of thy ivords giveth light." July 15. — On Sunday I went to the cool retreat of Dr. Malan's chapel. Neat but plain : oaken pulpit and unpainted galleries. About thirty-five present. The Doctor preached ; very short and affectionate. Two members, perhaps elders, were called on to pray. Afterwards I went to his house, and had a hearty, loving welcome. This is the greatest day I could have in Geneva. The na- tional shooting-match, the Tir Federal^ has been going on for ten days, and people from all the cantons, to the number of 30,000, have been here. The prizes = 137,000. The targets are by hundreds in a row. Every man who makes a good shot carries a card in his hat, and I have seen some with more than fifty. I never saw a more healthy, brave, honest, orderly people. But they are becoming corrupted by French infidel democracy. We went to the St. Antoine quarter, where there are seats and walks, near the wire bridge, by the ramparts. We visited the Cathedral ; a very old church, like St. Denis in some points. Here the Byzantine arch is seen growing into the early Gothic. The old stalls from before the Reformation remain, with figures of apostles and prophets in wood, and blazonry indicating the alliance between Geneva and Florence, as republics. The pulpit is modern, but the sounding-board is the same as when Calvin preached here ; this was his fiivourite place. The flora of the Alpine valleys is prodigious. The emerald hill-sides are a mosaic of hues more brilliant than any greenhouse. The air, or some luxuriance of growth, makes the grass and flowers appear brilliant l)eyond telling. Every great rock, on its warmer side, has a perfect garden of plants and flowers. The people are very loving. Every heifer and every goat is petted like a cat. 1851. 149 Chamonix, foot op Mont Blanc, July lY, 1851. From the very point of leaving Geneva, there was one pano- rania of gardens and beauty ; but as we came up and up nearer to the " monarch of mountains," the views became so amazing and so unlike all ever seen before, that I felt almost in a new- planet. You are sufficiently flmiiliar with the description of such valleys as those through which we came. You have seen models of Swiss houses, but oh ! you must magnify and roughen them ; you must make them dark and smoky and filthy ; you must turn stable and dwelling into one ; you must people them with the most homely, rude, bundled creatures ; you must cause to issue from them disfigured idiots, maimed and livid beggars, and objects with goitres from the size of an apple to the size of their own heads. I never beheld such an appearance of ill health, as in the lower valley of the Arne. When we began to rise yet higher at St. Martin, the people looked better, but still our carriage was beset with horrible lazars. Occasionally a fat priest might be seen. The women w^ork like oxen, and have no trace of comeliness. The men are sometimes well-looking. Crosses and roadside chapels abound in the passes of the Alps. But " only man is vile." These very objects, seen in a landscape a little way off, are picturesque in a high degree. To describe the valleys, heights, precipices, grottos, perpendicular rocks, and passages along edges or shelves, where heaven was darkened by the barrier of awful rock on one side, and the pit yawned on the other, is more than I dare attempt. In one place a cannon was fired (by a woman) and its echoes were undistinguishable from severe thunder. Nothing more surprised me than the luxuriance of vegetation. You never saw, even in a flivoured meadow, such green as clothes these depths and heights, from, bottom to top, wherever any soil can stick. Even here, where I seem almost to touch Mt. Blanc, where its tremendous slope comes down to the very Arne, which sounds in my ears, as it rushes from masses of ice ; where the weather demands greatcoats and fires ; and where I see two glaciers and a world of snow above me on the South, and overhanging as if in reach, glistening in the sun, even here the pastures are indescribably rich. The velvet green goes up to the very fields of snow, and beyond it. Tliis moment the echoes of bells on the home-coming cattle, are in my ears. The flowers are more numerous, beautiful, and fragrant than I ever saw at home. We have abundance of strawberries, cream which is almost too rich, and honey which is famous all over Europe. The Alp-horn was sounded for us and we listened to its echoes. I did not properly understand a glacier, before I came here. It is most like a mighty river, tossed into fury, and 150 DTJEING HIS FIEST VISIT TO EUEOPE. then turned to ice. Glaciers have a constant, though imper- ceptible motion. They look like frozen cataracts, coming down the hollows of the mountain-sides. They give origin to rivers. The air is very rare, cool, and clear, so that objects seem greatly nearer than the reality. The clouds, and fogs, and snows, which play fantastically about the mountains, keep the great peaks most of the time concealed ; but enough is visible to make us adore Him " who setteth fast the mountains." Cologne, August 2, 1851.^ The revolutionary spirit [through Germany] connects itself with a hideous levelling jacobinism. I bless God, from my soul, that I am an American, and that America is a quiet land. The evils of over-population and iron prescription look incurable. Yet such labour, such lands, and such plenty, I never dreamed of The amount of soil in vineyards shocks me. They could exist without wine. Yet I have never seen any one drinking mere water at table. Add coffee and tobacco, (now largely raised in Baden,) and the waste of soil and labour is alarming. Even yet every plough has a wdieel, and very little horse or mule power is used. Indeed, women and children take their place. To-day I counted seven baskets on one woman's head, and eight on another. At Heidelberg I saw two fine girls remove a load of cut wood on their heads, carrying almost a small wheel-barrow-full each time. Every inch of soil and every odd chance of labour are subsidized. Hedges, and even paths, are unknown in many parts, to save room ; and along the crags of the Rhine some of the most famous vines are set in baskets, and dressed from suspended boards or ladders. You will often see a patch of wheat no larger than a bed-quilt ; and, wherever the reapers have removed the sheaves, plowers and harrowers tread on their heels. Eields of poppies for oil. Emits go from here- abouts to London, especially cherries. The great staple, how- ever, is wine. The tip-top sorts reach none but princes. The common wines are in my humble opinion little better than rasp- berry-vinegar, and far below their own beer. The Rhine-wines, which everybody drinks, are acid though lively, and require a training to endure. I confess, the peasantry look happy, dwell cosily, and enjoy a merriment unknown with us. The instances of personal and table filthiness, common in German inns, would nauseate you if described. At Basel, a German gentleman, at the table d'hote, dinner going on, cleaned his teeth with his ^ Tlie places since Chamonix were Vevay, Laxisanne, Lucerne, Zurich, (where he " could not find a man who had ever heard of Zuinglo, till I met an American,") Basel, Baden, Freiburg, Strasburg, Carlsruhc, Heidelberg. 1851. 151 brush, and spat into a glass. The female sex, generally, tends to a masculine coarseness. I have learned to prize an American woman Of Cathedrals, I have now seen the greatest, JJrei- hura, Strasburg, and Cologne. Next to God's works no work has ever so aimazed me. In the gorgeous temple, amidst painted windows and music that made me tremble and sink, my soul was oppressed at the heathenism to which Christianity is here re- duced. And then to think what the Protestantism is, which is to oppose it ! I deeply fear some judicial dealing with this whole continent. Unless Christ work some pentecostal miracle, where is the hope ] . .r -, i. t r- m. \ The scenery of the Ehine was very beautiful, yet 1 telt how inferior in mere natural points it is to the Hudson. The vine- yards, harvests, towns, and ruins, however, give it a character all its own. Steamboat " Rubens," on the Rhine, between ) Cologne and Arnhem, August 4, 1851. ) There is nothin. 225, as to the creed, liturgy, and manners ; and for this portraiture the material afforded by the chevalier is very rich. It includes a complete series of the very earliest liturgies, in the original. Antipuseyite, anticalvinist, antipedobaptist, antirationalist,"tran- scendental, mystical, poetical, erudite, interesting, bold, with occa- sionally pickings of a very suggestive kind. His flicts and quota- tions are a^ great basis for thought. His central point is the Eucharist, in the view expressed by that word. He proves very clearly that the ancient church made this the great thing, and that all the liturgies grew out of a simple communion service. It is to him the Christian sacrifice, not in the popish sense, but as expressing in common what he regards as the great central feeling of religioi?, viz., the unselfish ofl?ering-up of the whole man, thankfully to God, as Christ once offered up himself. He thinks this \lea pretty much lost in the modern church. He is as little of a Trinitarian as Neander Schleiermacher, or Bushnell. Xew York, April 8, 1853. ;Mr. C, a Scot, gives striking accounts of the surplus of labour in^ Scotland. There are about 400 probationers, and about thirty annual vacancies. Twenty missionaries are wanted fin- Australia, and they can drum up only six. He is fimiiliar with labour among the poor in Edinburgh. Spoke of their district 186 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CHUECH. methods. Two or three ladies have about twenty houses allotted to them, for visits, &c. But these small cantons are sometimes visited by three diffel^ent sets, one Free Church, one Establish- ment, &c. He is en route for Cincinnati, but I almost wished to detain him here. There is such a spirit of work about these real working Scotchmen. Mr. C. has lately traversed those parts of Ireland where the conversions from Popery have taken place, and confirms the most favourable accounts. Thou- sands have become intelligent Protestants. The beginning has always been by schools. He represents the Bible knowledge obtained in these as wonderful. There are about forty Presby- terian schools. Dr. Duff has taken this matter in hand with great zeal. In our city-work, the great lack is not of money, but of men. I am astonished when I consider the supineness of our young ministers. There are half a dozen licentiates hanging about here, waiting for vacancies, who might instantly have their hands full of Avork. Any man of the least energy could, in a school-room or loft, soon gather a houseful of hearers. I even think our young laymen are not backward in their part. But we want a revival of zeal among preachers. I am increasing my eldership, and minded to increase it more : Joseph Hyde, James M. Halsted, Thomas U. Smith, and Jeremiah J. Green- ough.' It does not often happen to me to discover four new cases of religious inquiry in two days ; but such is the event of this week. The only error I see in the Brick Church movement is, that they did not move fifteen years ago, when they might have made a better bargain. The supporters of the church have long been up town. Free churches must be established for the class remaining bdow. The position of that church has long been intolerable, from the noise of cars and newspaper steam-presses, next door. The year has added to our church 109, of whom only twenty on examination. We are just about opening a mission Sunday School, in 20th Street near 7th Avenue. We have plenty of teachers, and a room capacious of 250, in a neigh- bourhood filled with poor ; the streets toward the North Piiver beiuf? thronged. I have completed that part of the memoir [of his lather] which precedes Princeton, and in that whole period have not one letter. AVhen I think of the new generation in Princeton, I feel quite old— Dod, Green, Cattells, Hope, Dufiield. C.'s case reminds me of a frequent saying of my father, that he never knew a poor man go crazy for fear of starvation. For some months 1 have been studying Galatians, with a ^ They ^vere ordained April 10, 1853. 1851—1857. 187 feeling of increased understanding. Poor Byers's wife embarked at Shanghae the day after lying-in, and so came five months with a newborn child, and a dying husband. A week ago wo attended his funeral, in the same church where he was ordained a year since. Coulter, our- missionary printer, is just reported dead at Ning Po. The Hippodrome is rising near us, like magic ; they say to contain 8,000. The Crystal Palace is not merely less than the original, but is ill placed, and diminished to the eye, by the contiguity , of the great massive Reservoir. One of the prettiest little electrical experiments I know, has been repeatedly performed in my parlour by James and his com- rades. If new to you, it will be surprising. It is the lighting of gas by the finger. One person, in old slippers or the like, shuffles about on a thick rug for five minutes, until the body collects a sufficiency of the electric fluid. He then suddenly applies his finger to the vent, (held open a moment before, by another person,) and the flame instantly breaks forth. I can at any time produce a spark, but have not succeeded in kindling the gas. I am not a believer in Gavazzi. I heard him in Glasgow, and thought him eloquent ; but there was no religious ingredient, and little but a Mazzini-like damnation of the pope. Dr. De Witt lately preached a sermon for me, extempore, more like my father's best, than I have heard. Having exchanged with Krebs on Sunday, I walked home through Avenue A. My way lay for above a mile through the German quarter — all the signs in German — children talking German. It was not only not like Sunday, but was like a 4th of July, or exactly like a Sunday in Cologne or Heidelberg. Every fourth house was a drinking-place. Some of these were large, with numerous tables, and filled with as many women as men. There are half a dozen Romish chapels within a few hundred yards of Tompkins Square ; one of these, (Holy Re- deemer,) a tawdry thing, is said to be larger and higher than Trinity church. I think there is more stir among our good people than I ever knew, about the condition of the poor, ragged boys, &c. I cannot get any other churches to agree with me in a favourite scheme, to have a great and inviting building erected, far down town, with a striking preacher, seats free, and no proxi- mate regard to what is called a church-organization. Our folks are nearly ripe for a mission church ; but I do not mean it shall be down town. The churches left in that quarter are nearly empty, as for example the spacious North Dutch. Soon every thing l3elow will be warehouses, &c. The teeming population of the upper wards are falling a prey to the Catholics. O that our sect-divisions did not make territorial operation impracti- 188 WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AVENUE CHUECH. cable ! How mucli more we could do, if we could only mark oif nine squares, as our own field — for schools, church, charity, care of i30or, &c. I sometimes scruple Avhether a uniformity, like Sweden, properly worked, would not overbalance the advantages of our ultra free inquiry and individual judgment. New York, April 28, 1853. Yours is " to hand," a beautiful Americanism, which electrifies one at every telegraph. Another is, Howel's " Frint ; " which I observe on the imprint of a sermon. Addison will sail in the " Asia," 18th prox. We spent hours in Presybtery, upon city destitution and church extension. I came away with a heavy heart, persuaded that as a Presbytery we shall do nothing. Whatever is effected must be done congregationally. Just think — our great and wealthy Presbytery has not one preaching- station for the poor and wicked. As it is, the only work that is doing, is by the irresponsible City Tract Society, under A. E. Wetmore. The plea of some is, that the only mode is to set off colonies from large churches. But how can we get our members to leave us ? And the worst necessities are just where self- supporting churches can never exist. I would rejoice from the bottom of my heart if the twenty best fomilies in my charge would leave me to found a new church. But this would by no means reach the layer of population that I have in view. We opened a mission-school last Sunday ; five in the morning, twenty-two in the afternoon. Gavazzi continues to draw enor- mous houses. Ilis histrionic powers are unequalled. The pur- lieus of the Palace are growing up into a young San Prancisco, of tawdry shells, saloons, grog and oyster holes, mountebank stalls, &c. ; very unlike the boundless lawns and groves of Hyde Park, which begirt the English one. The building itself is be- ginning to look well. Dr. Muhlenberg's church, which is a free- seat one, has parsonage on one side and school on the other, and employs a doctor and an apothecary, to serve all attendants gratis. I suppose none but the poor apply. We go to Sharon springs on Wednesday.^ Sharon Springs, N. Y., June 24, 1853. Ink-privileges are scanty here, though brimstone and water abound.' The season has not fairly begun. There are about a hundred here in all. We are the only visiters at a fiirm-house about a mile from the springs : real country ; a sweet, quiet, ^ By medical advice for the benefit of one of his children. - The letter was written in pencil. 1851—1857. 189 pastoral farm of a hundred and forty acres. The fare is abundant and wholesome, and the sights and sounds very composing after being " in populous city pent." I sit out of doors all hours that the heat will permit. Yesterday the boys caught a ground-squir- rel, here called by its Indian name, chipmunk. lunumerablo birds are in the trees ; the young just taking wing. Ten quarts of strawberries at the last picking. We churned twice yester- day. Mrs. Swift gets about fourteen pails of milk daily. To vary the routine, the bees swarmed just now, and you will be pleased to learn that the outgoing hive was saved. The water is of two kinds, in one of which magnesia prevails. It is surprisingly crystalline, and deliciously cool, but the taste is that of hard-boiled eggs raised to the nth power. It does not tell its story w^ith the promptness of the Saratoga, but is very potent on the system, and in rheumatic cases works wonders. There is a settlement of Canadian Indians (Abenaqui) here, who make the most beautiful and various basket-work I ever saw. There is no church here. About a mile off there is a building which is occupied in turn by Lutherans and Methodists every Sunday morning, and by Universalists in the afternoon. It would be difficult to find a more beautiful country. The surface rolls perpetually : there are some high hills ; no end to streams, often running through dark ravines, tumbling water-falls, and mountain springs. There is an appearance of great fertility. The county is Scoharie, and is about seven miles from Cherry Valley. I feel refreshed and rested by being here, but not well. I shall try to get away on the 28th. I have not found the least diminution of heat, though the sweetness of June air in the coun- try is very refreshing. I had no idea of the thousands of emigrants filling the trains westward, until my late trips. Thir- teen hundred left Albany in one day. Two of them died in the cars from excessive heat. The tract distributors are active amono: them. The chief house here is the Pavilion, on an eminence which commands a truly mountain view. The farm on which we are is in the lap or valley just below it, at the foot of a green, smooth, rounded descent. Newport, Jidy 26, 1853. I rr-eeived with much emotion your intelligence of the death of your brother Charles. Every thing is gained when the soul is safe ; and I am not surprised to hear good tidings in this re- spect, knowing how lively an interest he always took in the means of grace. Yet it seems strange to think of him as carried away by disease. He was always a favourite of mine, fi-om very childhood, for his cheerfulness, frankness, and cordiality. ISIay 190 WniLE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CHrECH. Heaven protect and "bless his iDereaved little family! How rapidly the associations of our youth are growing dim ! Perhaps the most wonderful thing of all is, that we ourselves survive ; unless it be this, that we still cling so closely to the earth. I received your previous letter while I was yet in New York ; where I passed a dull and solitary time, my family being in Sharou. I then resorted thither, and spent some days with them. It is a delightful resort. The scenery is romantic, and the air dry and elastic. We had no feeling of oppressive heat, but a sort of mountain freshness. The waters seem very efficacious in a large class of diseases. We were on a large fiirm, less than a mile from the spring, with an unbounded range for the children. I was almost sorry to come away, though the air of Newport is, after another fashion, very refreshing. We came in two days, by way of Albany, Springfield, Worcester, and Provi- dence, a very pleasing route. Springfield is a charming town, and the trip from Worcester to Providence is through a very novel series of grazing valleys, meandering streams, and beautiful fac- tory-villages. On the Sunday of our arrival Henry came in from hunting and fishing in Sullivan County, up the Delaware. He took lots of trout, and slept two nights out of doors. I shall give him as much boating and sea-fishing as his vacation allows. I was very poorly, with choleroid affections, in New York, but have rallied. My church is kept open. When last heard of, Addison was stepping from Dover to Calais. In the face of much foregoing prejudice, he thinks Candlish immeasurably above any preacher he ever heard. He had heard ]\IcNeile, Hamilton, Cumming, Melvill, and Blornfield. New York, Sejytember 17, 1853. I am under a very strong impression that I answered your penult letter from Newport. Though I returned to my own pulpit on the 1st of this month, I did not bring back my famil- iars till to-day. Willy, who had been very ill, has been merci- fully recovered. James has gained a good deal of strength, by maritime pursuits, winding up by filling into Narraganset Bay on Wednesday. We spent the night in a small and over-crowd- ed boat, and got here about ten. Both going and coming I had agreeable chat with Dr., once Captain V of U. S. A., and Grace Church, Brooklyn. He is a great fisherman. He and a party this summer killed fifty sharks in thirty-six hours ; one which Dr. V • hooked measured eleven feet. I spent some days on Cape Cod, among a primitive and homogeneous people, as much like the old Puritans, I suppose, as any living. The chief places were Sandwich, Yarmouth, South Yarmouth, Barnstable, 1851— 1857. 191 South Dennis, North Dennis, and Harwich. There are no negroes, no Irishmen, and no foreigners. In the houses I visited I saw nothing like domestic servants ; yet surprising comfort great improvement of mind, and apparent religion. The men are all seafarers, and generally captains. Our congregation were in a very Mr way of raising $18,000, to buy an old church in which we already have a mission-school ; when the matter was quashed by a reclamation of another people buildino; in that quarter, who thought that our setting up a chapel Avould aflect them. So we are looking round for a new scheme. Few of my flock have returned. Church pretty full all summer, but mainly from other congregations. I have gained nothing dunim the sum- mer. 'New York, Mvemher 11, 1853. We are in an odd state as to music. Lowell Mason is our leader; but since his return from Europe he is so bent on severe plain tunes, and congregational singing, that while I am tickled amazmgly, the people are disappointed. His success in making the people sing has been marvellous. I enter no house where so many join. But I fear we cannot hold it against such odds We are planning to build or buy a house for our Mis- sion Sunday School. My father's eldest sister, Mrs. Graham, is dead. She was a woman of strong mind and solid piety, with whom mv flither kept up a correspondence for sixty years. The interruptions of a city pastor are sometimes the occasions of his chief usefulness 1 have had three to-day, all beyond my church pale. I preached [November 6] at overture of Dr. Parker's lecture-room. A .. i'f ^•T).'^'''''!' ^^'"''^^ ^'^ Rochester, known from the patron as Ml^ Ward's Church," [St. Peter's,] has the commandments and creed, &c., on tablets, and is to have responses, &c. The article ^ In a note to the editor of this correspondence Mr. Mason says • " Durlno- the four years or more that I liad the privilege of leading the sino-in"- exer""- cises in Dr. Alexander's church, he often spoke to me on the sublecl In- deed I did not often meet him Avhen this was not a leading topic of remark- He always spoke with great decision, and once certainly he told me when It was suggested that there might be danger of a return to choir-sin o-i„„. that he would not remain pastor of a church where the singino- was exclS- sijely m the hands of a choir. He often spoke to me after thS public ser- vice ot the gratification he experienced from the psalmody, and I well re- member on one occasion he told me he had never before enjoyed so much the exercise of song in the house of the Lord. He spoke to me also of the growing importance of the singing service in his own estimation. He used to attend our little preparatory meetings, often making remarks, suggesting topics, &c., and always closing with prayer." > fe= o 192 WHILE TASTOE OF riTTII AYENrE CHUECH. ill the October Edinburgh, on Church Parties, gives the most readable account I have ever seen of the peculiarities and relative force of the great divisions of Anglicans, with many important facts and explanations entirely new to me. The " Christian Ee- membrancer " (Puseyite) notices Fanny Fern's book, and says, " What a language in America, where a young lady can call trousers ' pants ! ' " I observed the word pantaloons was not used by London tailors, [always trousers.] What a change the sculptures of the Exhibition [Crystal Palace in New York] will make in our popular estimate of nudities. Shop-windows and parlours show the revolution. Paris can scarcely equal some of our Broadway solicitations. Such an autumn as we have had I suppose no one remembers. People love to predict a hard winter. Coal is high, and the " stringency " will throw thousands of operatives out of work. There is but one point in which I ever feel drawn toward the millenarians ; their belief, namely, that Christ will visit and re- new his church ex abriq^to, by a sudden burst. This often seems likely to me. Our whole system of modern means works slowly, and seems often to work backward. And yet, as to the influence on the world at large, it has not been ever greater, in my opinion, since the Reformation, than at this moment. I do not see that Christianity was ever more enlarging itself By-the-bye, I think the talk about supporting the ministry is good and indis- pensable ; I can say so as suffering no personal need. Nothing seems more prominent or more plain to me in the New Testa- ment ; I often wonder, indeed, that it is alluded to so much, as it is plain that primitive Christians did not neglect that duty. I do not, however, agree with those who ascribe the fewness of candidates to this. Having lived much among such, I never knew a youth who seemed to me to be held back by this reason ; and he who should be so had better stay out. I find this great change in my pastoral experience : I am more concerned about the quaViiy of religion in my flock, than when I was young. Sometimes I am almost as glad to observe a ripening, as once to observe a conversion. A few instances, very striking, have come under my knowledge. Doubtless from some grand defect in my preaching its influence has been most on professors ; this beyond any hopes of mine. Awakenings are rare with me. My father long ago pointed out this evil in my sermons, and it has caused me many a pang. The invitatory part, I am always free to hold forth ; but in every instance when I have tried the alarming and more pungent, I have been like David in Saul's harness. I am often depressed beyond expres- sion at the apparent waste of my exertions. Private addresses 1851—1857. 193 and expository lectures have clone most of the little good that appears. Sad, sad, to think how nearly the glass is run out ! New York, December 4, 1853. The modern German rule, of sticking firmly to grammar- laws, helps some passages. E.g. Acts xix. 3: 'i7Koi;Va/xei/ can mean only, "We did not. hear of any Holy Ghost;" i. e. we were not baptized with the formula, including that name : v. 5, " When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus ; " so their previous baptism had not been in his name either. Dr. C is here, as accompanying a minister from AVisconsin, who solicits for a college. This fungus of col- lege-building on our Education Board is like to eat out all the vitals thereof. I have had a tea-visit from Rev. E. Steel and Dr. Gray. Steel has been thirty-four years at Abingdon. Addison preached a grand sermon for me yesterday ; he is very unequal. I have arrived at the last Feast of Tabernacles, in lecturing on the Life of Christ. It has been by fiir the most delightful homi- letical exercise I ever tried. Llolmes is delighting audiences with his brilliant and witty lectures. Our City Tract Society has twenty-six missionaries and eleven hundred distributors. New York, January 4, 1854. I wish you and yours a happy New Year. The last has been to us a year of mercies. As years roll on, the most despondent thought I have is a fear of never being much better in this world ; I am glad there is another. I used to make resolutions at the new year ; but now I am disheartened. The same habits, the same tendencies, the same selfishness, the same " old man," and warring o-ap^. My people lately agitated the question of raising my salary to $5,000. When they met, a letter of mine was read, earnestly requesting that it might not be done. They nevertheless voted it unanimously, in such a way as not to raise the pew-tax. After deliberating a few days, and in opposition to every adviser, I wrote positively declining. To this, after a week, I have no reply. ^ Our church-collection for Foreign Mis- sions on Sunday was $5,189 63. Add $1,000 for China Mission about a month ago. Our Mission-school goes on well ; we have more than two hundred of the ragged sort. I expect to go to press this week. No one knows the anxiety I have had in pre- paring this work, chiefly from the absence of diaries and letters for the last forty years. I think I have been benefited, however, ^ Upon his declining the additional salary, the congregation made an equivalent provision, which enured to his family at his decease. VOL. II. — 9 19i WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AYENUE CHrKCH. by conversing with so many of my father's best thoughts. I have been reading a Unitarian book, intituled " Eegeneration," by Sears. It is wonderful how he uses all our evangelical lan- guage, and tries to gain all the spirit and warmth of gospel grace. Hollow as it is, I consider it sincere, and in the light of a confession of the nakedness of their own system. Osgood, of this city, preaches in the same strain ; a sort of revulsion from Parker and young Channing. Poor old ISIr. Comfort [of Kingston, N. J.] had an easy end ; the clock quietly ran down. Of what are called anecdotes, my memoir will be singularly destitute; also of smart sayings. I wish I had even two or three. Gavazzi still holds forth. Achilli is claimed by Bush as a New-churchman. My New Year's text was ivSe, Philip, iii. 13. I humbly thank God for his mercy to H ; though now I am almost as anxious that he should be the right sort of Chris- tian as I was that he should be converted. Daily do I grow more opposed to pews. I honour Popery and Puseyism for this point. Free churches are unanimously voted a nuisance by New York Christians ; but my mind is mi- chano;ed. They have, with us, always been undertaken by poor preachers. If such Chrysostoms as you and I wot of were to open a free church, it would tell another story ; and I am per- suaded the only w^ay to effect it will be for individual preachers to lead the way. I have not the spirit of a reformer, or I know what I would do. My Tuesday lecture is the only service in which I feel at all apostolical. Addison preached here once on Sunday for McAuley's young men. A new school of Evangeli- cals in Germany has broached a doctrine about the church which would solve some enigmas about the broken condition of visible Christianity. It is this : 1. God founded and organized a Jewish church. 2. This was the only organization. 3. It is in suspension and abevance since the Advent. 4. There is no explicit founding of a Christian church. 5. The Israelitisii church will be restored, with a spiritualizing of its forms, &c. The Irvingites agree with this in part. At our communion we had twelve on certifi- cate, and five on examination. Almost all the catechumens I personally taught in 1844, have come in. One of such revealed his case to me this evening after lecture. I should feel the mysteries multiplied by supposing Christ not to have been God before his baptism. It would then be " The flesh became Word," and not " The Word became flesh." Nor do I see any gain as to the " body prepared," which is equally true of the moment of conception, and which does not necessarily imply a ^re-paration. ■On every point respecting the Trinity and Incarnation the Catho- lic (I may say Tridentine) doctrines seem to me most fully to 1851—1857. 195 meet all objection ; having been gradually worn into shape by the collision of short-lived heresies. Prince Albert seems to be threatened with evil days. The queen must come in for her share. There seems to be something very vacillating in the recent policy of England. No hand at the helm bears strong. Who knows but Providence means Con- stantinople to fell again as in 1453 1 There is a long account to settle with the Turk. In some unknown way the Greek church, not near so corrupt as many think, may be made to countervail Rome, and perhaps to be herself reformed. I lately got a Greek prayer-book, and among much rubbish find an extraordinary amount of long, beautiful, pathetic, evangelical confession and prayer. Two of the Chinese insurrectionists, leading men, lately visited Shang-hae incog., and talked with Culbertson. Though they had never seen a New Testament, they seemed to be Chris- tian and converted men. Happer's letters in the Presbyterian are evidently on the unfavourable extreme. It has not been mentioned that the dynasties now threatened in both wars, Chinese and Turkish, are both Tartarian. The Gog and Magog- ish aspect of this ought to be nuts for our prophet-mongers. New York, March 14, 1854. A Scotch Presbyterian of my acquaintance lately gave his son $300 for reading through Pool's Annotations on the Old and New Testament. My sermon on the prayers of the unconverted was not so pleasing to one hearer, who sent me eight pages of confutations — said she uttered the "voice of God," that she hardly refrained " from rising in the church and uttering the true doctrine," &c. More young persons are serious among us than I have known before. Our Mission-school does well. We have set up another down town, in which is a class of adult Germans. I think the " Household Words " contains some of Dickens's best writing. Now and then there is a sneaking dab at evangelical religion. The Astor Library is a-goiug ; but no library 1 have ever seen, not even the Bodleian, has left such traces on my im- agination as the Old Philadelphia, which I want to see again. I hardly ever buy a book, and latterly have read few. I have almost to say, " Quand je veux des livres, j'en fais." Yesterday I put the last sentence to the Memoir. Without my planning so, this fell on the day of my completing my half-century. The occasion was celebrated as much as my modesty would allow. The President of your Senate [his brother, W. C. A.] appeared at breakfost, and accompanied me out of the house. The steam- ship Knoxville conveyed me out to Sandy Hook and back, with about five hundred invited guests. It was really beyond my 196 WHILE PASTOR OF riFTH AYEXUE CHUECH. wish that the Asia, which we spoke, should have fired two gmis. Ill the evening about one hundred gentlemen, chiefly of the cloth, attended at the house of Mr. Stuart. I was handsomely received. The speech was much applauded ; it was by Dr. Duff* of Calcut- ta. The band of. music, nearly opposite, played till the conclu- sion of the loth. I have every reason to be satisfied.^ It is really delightful to hear Duff, and to see him. His awk- wardness and lobstering defy description. He seems to have a bet that he will get the collar of his coat above his left ear once in every sentence. His accent is the pleasantest Scotch. There is to me great music in his intonations. What commands me is his wonderful sense. His humour is native, and bursts out everywhere. At times he is sharply sarcastic. I feel that he is eminently a spiritual man. I hope they will not kill him. He spoke two hours and twenty minutes at the Tabernacle. From his schools at Calcutta there have come 20,000 Hindoo pupils. A plain but pious man of our church lately made a suggestion to me, which indicates Christian labour in a right direction. He is a clothier, employing five hundred hands. He is imj^ressed with the fact that in our efforts to do good the relation of employer and employed is ignored. He proposes that every Christian em- plo3'eT should seek the benefit of his emj)loyes. He points out methods. He suggests associations of employers for mutual illumination and incitement, and to accomplish jointly through visiters, Bible-readers, &c., wdiat cannot be done so well singly. He has a number warmly engaged with him. The scheme con- templates the Germans chiefl}^ Pie astonished me by saying that the calculated number of hands engaged by wholesale clothiers in New York is 25,000, of whom two-thirds are Ger- mans. There is so much real working-spirit among these pious clothiers, that I can't help hoping it is of God. At our sacra- ment six on examination, and two on certificate. About seven are ready in my judgment. One of my Sunday School women sees almost every one of her pupils brought into the church. I hope our Mission-school and chapel-edifice will go up after all. Within three weeks we have collected for it $15,500. Xew York, May, 1854. At no time in my ministry have so many been coming to me to talk of their souls. These are not known to one another. One interesting case is of a young lady from Central America, who did not know a word of English four years ago, but now seems to be an instructed and converted person. A refugee ^ This mock celebration of his birth-day is made up of a trial trip of a new vessel, and of a soiree iu honor of Dr. Duff. 1851—1857. 19T Italian painter is a constant attendant, and professes to have embraced Protestantism. The noblest Gothic church of modern London is that of the Irvingites. The millenarian pamphlet entitled "The Coming Struggle," which has had so prodigious a run, on account of sevS ral happy prophetic hits, has already falsified itself; as it boldly declares that England is to stand aloof, and have no part in the contest with Russia. I had no proper idea of Dr. Duff's eloquence until I heard him before the Bible Society. His personal religion shone out very much in his later speeches. He has a marvellous command of a sort of long-winded but most expressive diction, and his ad- jectives are generally substantives, and not epithets. Dr. Proudfit has, in his new' Review,' fully demonstrated aganist Schaff, that none of the Fathers made Peter to be the Rock ; nor any one else before the Middle Ages. I never had any doubt about Christ's naming himself by 2^etra, any more than himself by [Destroy] "this temple;" but I did not sup- pose that all the Fathers held so too, against all their doctrinal prepossessions. There continues to be much quiet seriousness among my hearers. Yesterday I heard of five cases unknown to me before; but this concurrence is very extraordinary. My lecture is very full and very serious. I have arrived, in the Life of Christ, at the last passover. The Nebraska bill has passed. I have never opposed it, but feel very sad at the prospect of in- creased slavery. As to what would be the fact, I suppose this rests on causes which will not be affected one way or the other by this bill. The marshalling of South against North is more open and violent than I remember. My " Consolation" is out in 12mo.' I see great defects in my " Memoir ; " but this plan of stereotyping every thing is very unfavourable to the perfec- tionating of one's Avorks. My quondam chum, Waterbury, has gone to Europe, his eyesight being threatened; he is one of the best and kindest of men. I have just sold a tract of land in Virginia ; the names of the creeks amused me : Little Pedler, Sinking Swamp, Enchanted, and Love-lady. The avails are I>1U 05. L M said to me t'other day : " I have been an organist all my life ; yet if a congregation should say to me, ' Shall we have an organ 1 ' I should scarcely dare to reply ' Yes.' " Old Mr. Scott said in 1849, " We fare well in our church ; last Sabbath we had Kittle and Potts ; to-day Krehs (pronounced by hmi crahi) and Eelhr Such was literally the fact. I have often tended to your opinion on the fugitive busi- ness ; but these things make me pause, viz. : if the slaves are not ' " The New Brunswick Review." = The first edition was in octavo. 198 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CHURCH. sent back, the peril of their escape and their other sufferings M'ill be much increased : again, \ve shall be flooded with runaways, and our free negroes are burden enough already : lastly, I don't see how such a state of things can continue long, without war ad internecionem upon the borders. Yet I believe that the Fugitive Slave Law will be repealed, and that the Union will be dissolved on this question, sooner or later. The second Psalm is my chief comfort in j^olitics. Though not quite a millenarian, I was struck with these words of Chalmers to Bickersteth : " But without slacking in the least our obligation to keep forward this great (missionary) cause, 1 look for its conclusive establishment through a widening passage of desolating judgments, with the utter demolition of our present civil and ecclesiastical structures." I find no meeting so hard to conduct as the Monthly Concert, so called. Now and then I have some keen chagrins at finding, from imperfect lists, &c., that I have neglected some worthy family for several years. Such things plague me more than greater trials, and not always in a warrantable way. Houses about here are so near together as to be almost a Fourierite phalanstery, and now that windows are up we have sometimes two or three sets of piano-twangle and opera-squalls at once. A hundred Chinese have been found in New York ; of whom thirty-five last week attended instruction in Chinese from a missionary, Mr. Syle. New York, July 4, 1854. Thermometer 85° in my study at 11 A. M. I went to Albany yesterday, and returned the same day, having six hours in Albany. In going there was no oppression of heat, but the return was distress equal to any thing of the torrid sort I ever felt, and this is par excellence my weak point. I took a warm bath and two cups of tea, and was quite restored ; but the pandemoniacal squibs and crackers prevented the sleep I hoped for. Some good chat with Sprague. Says his correspondence is from five to ten letters per diem, and that he despatches these before breakfast — that he regularly goes round his flock in visits twice every year — that he writes two sermons every week — that he has not preached an old sermon for seven years. His com- municants are more than TOO. He visits each fomily of his charge twice a year, spending on this the hours from 11 to 2. My congregation is thin indeed — though more than half present are strangers. We shall again keep open this year ; but I ex- pect to take my family to Newport on the 11th. Our church was entered last week, and the j^ulpit Bible abstracted. A fire was also made under the stairs, with a bundle of combustibles, 1851—1857. 190 but it hurned out, leaving a pile of cinders and ashes on the floor. I have had donations of port-wine from two quarters, during the heats; showing a remarkable discrimination in my worthy parishioners. One of the parcels purports to be real Old London Dock, imported to order. Scribner is gone to England. My book on Consolation is about to be put out by Nelson of Edinburgh. Cholera is plainly increasing among us, but without that feeling of panic which commonly accompanies pestilences. The papers pretend that rain-water keeps off cholera ; but it has never been worse than at such islands as St. Thomas, where they drink no other. Newport, July 31, 1854. Ink runs in these latitudes. Thayer is as agreeable and in- structive a preacher as ever. He is much beloved by his peo- ple, and does good among all classes. Stanhope Prevost, a grandson of President Smith, and an old playmate of mine, is here, from Lima. His Spanish wife and children speak no Eng- lish. The current is setting in New England so much in flivour of congregational singing, that at the commencement at Andover, next week, they are to disuse their choir-display, and sing old- fashioned psalmody. Prof. Stowe has been preaching some weeks to the students on the Millennium. I have been study- ing Maurice's book, [the Boyle Lectures.] He is all fog ; belonging to that class of minds who are great at starting objec- tions, and taking the side of adversaries, but impotent in the work of upbuilding. I am now upon Candlish's answer ; a work of some strength, and sufficiently confutative of M., (no great task,) but hasty and often obscure. Maurice really surrenders the Trinity, Atonement, Inspiration, Resurrection, and Future Punishment. Newport, August 21, 1854. Your letter, in its closing part, so entirely removed all expec- tation of our seeing K., that I was really surprised when she called on us to-day. She is looking exceedingly well, and is full of that happiness among new scenes, which sits so well on youth, and which it is one of the peculiar pleasures of old folks to contemplate without envy. I am glad to see how thoroughly she has escaped all affectations, even those conventional ones which one looks for in young ladies ; it is a negative charm worth a thousand et ceteras. There have been some cases of cholera here, but it is said they are abating ; and there is no evacuation of the hotels. I hope there is no harm in going to a 200 WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AVENUE CHrECH. boat-race, as I did on tlie 12tli. I was in a yacht, and went out some miles to sea. The sight was beautiful. Besides the racers, the harbour and outer bays were covered with hundreds of beautiful craft. Last week, John Auchincloss took a shark twelve feet long. The drought is oppressive here, but the air is temperate and agreeable. I took my twenty-fifth bath to-day. I am the only clerical loafer here ; last year there were many. j\Iy intercourse with T. continues to be very pleasant ; he strangely unites the philosophical preacher with the laborious and affable pastor, and is uncommonly zealous in looking after the lower classes. JNIary Williams's " comfortable boarding- house " is still fraught with goodly broadbrims. Congregational singing is unknown here. At Dr. Choules's, psalmody is the act of staring at the gallery, with all backs to the pulpit. We have here Bancroft, Sumner, Archer of Virginia, Curtis, and Gen. Almonte with coach and four. B. has purchased, or will purchase, a house here ; he is a candidate for our little Rhode Island mitre. He has the proper size, and preaches evangel- icallv. The orthodox Quakers have an immense barn here, in which the New England yearly meeting assembles ; but they talk of taking it to Lvnn. There is a secession of " Wilburites," led by John W. of this State, wdiom I suppose to be like the Hicksites. The Baptists are very strong ; they dip in the salt- water. Several churches are open-communion. The early (Roger Williams) Baptists disused singing at w^orship, as having no Scripture precedent. The traditions of the slave-trade of New- port and Bristol are curious. I know no town which has such a proportion of blacks and yellows, as this. AVith no disposition to judge harshly, but all the reverse, I am led to think that what we regard as experimental piety is at a low ebb in New Eng- land. The revival day has gone by. I hear of no savoury old- time Christians. Of Unitarians, I find many more than I expect- ed. The absence of a spirit of worship, in assemblies, is A^ery striking. Communion-seasons are brief and perfunctory, and the ordinance is just an addition, as when we baptize a child. The New England clergy seem to me a highly cultivated class ; but the elegant or ingenious essay-style gains ground in ser- mons. Expository preaching is absolutely unknown, so far as I can learn. I have seen a number of young preachers. They are scholarly, but somehow impress me as totally devoid of ministerial zeal. The intellectual and tasteful in appears to have a forming influence on all the new race of preachers. I own my survey has been somewhat narrow, but I should have expected an exception here and there. 1851—1857. 201 ISTew York, September 21, 1854. Yours of the 5th was back^Yarded to me from Newport to-clay. I have read Gurney^ with much pleasure and some admiration. As in the case of ]\Irs. Fry and William Allen, I was deeply impressed with the truth, that whatsoever in. him is good, is independent of Quakerism. One is ready to blush, to read the petty arguments of such a mind, for the hat and the plain language. He was a good man ; but I am unable to see wherein he even approaches, either in spirituality or self-denial, most of the good missionaries and ministers whose biography is written. I read Judson's Life about the same time ; and while I differ as much from J. as from G., I see in him a hun- dred-fold more Christian greatness. Who can imagine that the travelling sermons of Gurney did much good ? whereas Judson was instrumental in giving a noble version of the Scriptures to a great empire, and of converting thousands of Burmese. I heard two of Gurney's sermons ; they were good for a Quaker, but no whit above the average of our plain j)reachers. I ran up to Newton, Sussex. Though I had been there once, many years ago, I really had forgotten how lovely a country it is. With- out being Alpine, it is mxost picturesquely mountainous, and the air is as good at Newton, as at Schooley's Mountain. Their railway Avill soon complete the remaining twelve miles ; and then you could get there via Newark, in a few hours. Never have I passed a summer with so little gastric trouble. The only death in my charge has been a consumptive, set. 80. Mr. H. has been talked of, in reference to a new (or revived) " enter- prise " at the beautiful village of Oyster Bay, L. I., which is fast becoming a summer resort. On your authority, I spoke well of him to one of the chief men. I hope he would not object to be ostracized.^ New York, October 21, 1854. This is the fourteenth day of my illness, and I am still in my room, though dressed and sitting up a good deal. My disease has been obscure. It has given me more severe pain than all my previous sicknesses put together ; but it has been clean pain, without nausea or depletory j)rocesses. It has been a series of dreadful paroxysms, averaging about eight hours each ; of these ^ Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney. Edited by Joseph B. Braithwaite. ^ In the early part of October of this year Di\ Alexander was prostrated by an excruciating and alarming disease, the progress of which will appear in the letters. On the 14th October he informed me by an amanuensis that he had been laid up for seven days. He was not able to preach after Ocio- ber 8 until Xovember 10. VOL II.— 9* 202 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CHrECH. I have had about five. In their acme, the pain was all but intol- erable. One night I took what would equal 480 drops of lauda- num, "svithout effect. My doctor (Delafield) is a very Napoleon in decision ; but his methods are mild, and he exactly resembles Dr. Belleville [vol. i., 125] in his expectant practice. I have from the beginning supposed that the root of the evil was cal- culus. Spasmodic colic co-exists. In the intervals I am won- derfully smart. I ought to say that Divine considerations have been of great support to me, especially ^Yhen I was almost gone with pain. New Yokk, October 29, 1854. Since the 20th I have been free from the peculiar pain, the very remembrance of which malvcs me shudder. At present I am suffering chiefly from the impression on my nervous system of so much severe pain. I have appetite, take a glass of j)ort and gentian bitters, drive out for an hour, and walk fifteen to t\^"enty minutes. You may imagine I have a great feeling of worthlessness. I ought ever to be thankful, that in my most painful moments, the great truths, which I trust I have believed, were not less clear or less precious than usual, but unspeakably more so. I wish to make record of this. I did not find that intense and wasting pain took away the power of thinking, but all the other way. While it is fresh I wish to write down, that in, with, and under all the very poignant distress, there was an under-current of peace and religious satisfaction, which now comes up associated with the pain — but more abiding in my mind than the pain. These are new experiences for me. In former illnesses, my head was always cloudy ; in this, I had pure, unadulterate pain. Dreadful, dreadful war ! [Crimea.] Bootless carnage, and for what? I have been skimming Alison's new series of volumes, and have not had my love of the Turk or his allies increased, by reading of the Greek revolution, Scio, Navarino, the former campaigns of the Pruth and Balkan, Diebitseh, &c. While an uncontrolled sway of the Czar over all the east of Europe would seem bad, I own I am struck with three consid- erations : 1. The Turk is antichristian, fanatical, fiiithless, bloody, and doomed. 2. The Czar is the natural counterpoise of the Pope ; and it is significant that most of the Eomish powers are against Russia. 3. Russia is the only European power from whom America could hope for much, in case these same allies should direct their forces against the United States. Well, " He that is higher than the highest regardeth ; and there be higher than they." 1S51— 1857. 203 Did you know that the Free Church people publish a hand- some quarterly at Edinburgh, almost entirely made up of articles from American reviews '] ' New York, November 3, 1854. I learn that the late diplomatic congress at Ostend has settled that Cuba is immediately to be ours— I suppose bloodlessly. [A prominent politician] said the other night : " If I were President, I would declare war against England in two days ; so as to be beforehand with them." I did not hear the casus belli. It does not seem to me that the Bible House is a bit larger or grander than it ought to be ; especially as it has been a source of revenue, and was built by special subscription of friends. The moral impression of such a structure gives me pleasure every time I pass.' It is said that one of the passengers became perfectly gray during the night of the Arctic' I have a sermon which I preached on board that vessel, [May 25, 1851,] on the text, " And the sea gave up the dead," &c. ; in which is a description of just such a mode of death. It was much censured at the time, as alarming and unseasonable. The crimes of our city are horrid, but they are committed chiefly by foreigners. Of the 1,500 Avho daily land here from Europe, the worst, for various reasons, never get beyond New York, except to go to the State's Prison. Balloons go up every few days in our neighbourhood ; one to-day with four inmates. I have a little handbook for young communicants in the press.* 1 have expressly consigned to Adams & Co. the parcel of books. If you have not been familiar with Bengel, [Gnomon,] you will be struck with his pith, and the unexpectedness of his remarks. I was so delighted with Dacosta as a man, that I read his volume with great pleasure.' You will, amidst his enthu- siasm, find some new remarks on the comparison of the gospels. Beinn-'now near the end of a long course on the Life of Christ, I ^ " Tlie British and Foreign Evangelical Review." In the successive volumes of this work many of Dr. Alexander's articles in the Repertory were reprinted. -, i j j ^ This was said in reply to an opinion his correspondent had expressed the other way. c^7 ioka 2 This steamship was wrecked on her trip to America, September 27, 1804. * " Plain Words to a Young Communicant : " published by Randolph, 1854 Pp 113. His only contributions to the Repertory of 1854 were— 1. " Curiosities of German University Life." 2. " Sketches of the Pulpit in Ancient and in Modern Times." . . * His meetin<^ with Dr. Isaac Dacosta, of Amsterdam, is mentioned in Chap. IX. of this volume. The work alluded to is " The Four ^^ itnesses : a Harmony of the Gospels on a new principle." 204 WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AVENUE CHrKCH. am more averse tlian ever to the method of a Diatessaron, except when used as a mere tabular help for collation. One could endure no other history, made up thus. I a2;ree with you about Jay. It is servile and does him injustice.^ Never put off your reminiscences till you are past 80. I remember how dif- ferent his " Life of Winter," w^hich ought to be reprinted. The new edition of Bickersteth's Works, 16 vols. 18mo, $10, is a cheap book. Even when I cannot see with him as to the prophe- cies, I always feel that I am conversing with an eminently holy man. This imjiression is made on me especially by the " Signs of the Times," one of his last works. The little prize- essay of Winthrop is not to be despised.^ It really seems to me that Lord starts right.^ His way of finding what a symbol means, must be the true one. It is some merit, where all was di/o/xta, to digest some laws. But his results are often odd enough, and sometimes bathetic. His conception about the seven kine and seven ears, is funny enough. I like an expression of Trench, in his book on Bible synonymes : " to awaken in our scholars an enthusiasm for the grammar and lexicon." This has been my great " Help to Preaching," and more and more so. Nothing has so suggested not only meanings, but parallels, illustrations, divisions, and inferences. As I twice declined the augmentation of stipend, our trustees have insured my life ; payable to relict. It is indeed a Godsend, to one who never would lay up, if his salary were 820,000. As w^e are cutting ourselves off more and more from the old world, and likely to carry out the JMonroe doctrine, it seems to me that Christians in the United States are proportionally more bound to devise means of sending the gospel to Spanish America. Brazil is quite open, and New Grenada nearly so. It seems to me that this, along with the black and red men, falls more justly to our share, than Hindoos, Nestorians, Druzes, Arabs, or Turks. If I could have one sufficient ex tempore prayer in each diet, I should be glad to have a prescribed form for those thiugs which we ought ahvays to pray for : e. g. government, genei-al thanks- giving, (SoC. I would have the Lord's Prayer, Creed, Te Dcum, Gloria in Excelsis, and a few more ancient portions. Our church singing is of the very plainest sort, and the people join pretty generally. This has been the result of (1) a limited list ^ The Autobiography of the Rev. "William Jay, edited by Dr. Redford and Rev. J, A. James. - " The Premium Essay on the Characteristics and Laws of Prophetic Symbols. By the Rev. Edward Winthrop." New York : F. Knight, 1854. ^ Editor of the Theological and Literary Journal, Avho offered the pre- mium. 1851—1857. 205 of tunes, and (2) these very easy, with no repeats, and scarcely any slurs or dividing of syllables. But the protest of our young people has been formidable. New York, January 23, 1855. The trembling of my hand, which I inherit from mother and grandtlither, makes me try first one hand-(writing) and then another — as I can go steadiest. I answer two of yours in one ; and accept your apology for poor paper, as valid for the whole ream. I wish I knew Mrs. Gurney. I once saw her at David Clark's before her marriage ; it was in J. J. G.'s company that I went there. I wish she would put the life of Anna Backhonse into the shops. Just before opening your letter, I opened one from a young lady, in deep affliction, thanking me for the copy of A. B.'s life, (which I received from Mrs. G.,) lent her by me. Anna is one of my saints.^ Most that doctors do with success seems to be opening an alley for nature to have fair play, and elbow room, to carry the disorder out of doors. This accounts for the seeming success of homoeopathies. I doubt not that poor S.'s case was greatly aggravated by doctoring ; I talked much with him while the medication was proceeding. Our communion was a week earlier than yours ; nine on examination, and three on certificate. Several of the cases were very interesting. I think if I could suppoi't myself, I would leave my charge any clay, and begin down town ; I ought to add — -if I had any prospect of life. This is not a new " sj^irit ;" I never, in all our correspondence, said any thing more seriously. I perfectly long to preach daily in our now finished new chapel. I have read Muhlenberg's pamphlet with great delight, and rank it very high as a literary production.^ It has led me to fall in his way, with increase of satisfaction. He tells me his Sisters of Mercy, four in number, have relieved 1,200 cases of distress since New Year's. R. has been amon2;st us.^ To save o ^ The widow of Joseph John Gurney, the eminent preacher find author of the Society of Friends, was of New Jersey. Her Memoir of his daugh- ter was printed at Burlington, in 1852, for the use of the family and friends. ^ "An Exposition of the Memorial of Sundry Presbyters of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church, presented to the House of Bishops during the Gen- eral Convention of said Church, 1853. By one of the Memorialists." The object of the Memorial was to obtain some modifications of the " modes of public worship, and traditional customs and usages " in the Episcopal Church. ^ The reputed author of a Yolume (" Charity and the Clergy") sustain- ing the strictures of " New Themes " on the want of active charity in the Christian Church. 206 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CnHRCH. my credit, he attended one meeting at which our people pledged 8400 a year for our down town mission-school, and another at which he learned that Ave had just raised $600 for poor of this ward. In reference to this last matter, I attended two meetings of clergy of the Eighteenth ^Yard, last week, at which remarks were made by Tyng, Adams, Cheever, Hawks, Muhlenbei-g, Bellows, Van Nest, and Alexander. The gratuitousness of the preaching, to which I alluded, [page 205,] would presuppose a fimd or collection for a Free Church. If I were ten years younger, I would have a building erected to hold 2,000, and would preach to free seats ; not that I think the existing plan ought to be abandoned, but because I think we ought to have several, yea many plans, yea many sorts of preachers, " unlearned deacons " and all. I find no girls decently educated except at home, or in the country. I have lately examined several eminent scholars of the highest establishment. Except French and drawing, they have nothing accurately, though pretending to have ever so much German, Latin — ologies, &c. I have a Spanish book from a Cuban ex-professor, and very fine old man, inscribed thus : " Al Sen'" D' Don J. W. Alexander, D. D., en memoria del Editor." Mj good friend and excellent sexton Peter Tarlsen is dead. We buried him from the church. The captain who first brought him to America was there. Our landlord has raised our rent from $900 to $1,200 ; we shall therefore move, again. New York, March 14, 1855. I am truly glad that the old college bell* is not lost; its sound is sweet hi my ears.' The Palnierston ministry seems hard to fix. Sebastopol is taken less easily than was at first supposed. The Irvingites number 30,000. They now have an Evangelist here, preaching ; only on these occasions do they invite any hearers. We are about to lower our organ loft, and get an organ, and perhaps change the pulpit : we shall expect you after the high places are removed. I visited a bon vivant very ill, whose only tie to church or religion seems to be the memory of a little boy who was several years in our Sunday school. The father repeated whole hymns which his boy used to say at night ; the child's portrait hauging all the while in sight by the bed. The intensity of paternal affection led me to dwell on that particular view of God's love in Scripture. Only two join our church on examination ; one a boy of fifteen, the ^ The main edifice of Nassau Hall was burnt March 10. 1851—1857. 207 other a man of fifty. On Sunday I preached twice and spoke something at three other meetings. Secretary [J. L.] Wilson gave us a truly awakening account of the India missions the other nio;ht. The life of the Rev. Andrew^ Broaddus has interested me highly. In my young days he was the star of the Baptist pulpit in Virginia. He was a great and good man, and a preacher of singular fiscination. Dr. Jeter's " Campbellism Examined " is a most able book on that subject. I accord with you in missing the society of sons, but this is not so grieving as to suffer the same in regard of daughters. All these things tell us that the o-xqi^a passeth away. Airril 3. — The dealings of God with Ahab make me believe that the great outward piety of Nicholas will not go unre- warded. His death was not an luichristian one.^ I expect to leave here for Virginia on the 0th inst., and to go first to Charlottesville, and then to Charlotte. We open our chapel for preaching next Sunday. Dr. A. D. Smith has more than 1,400 Sunday scholars. Give profound salvos to all inquiriturient and amicable vicini- ties, from your observant orator, who will ever pray, &c. Ingleside, Virginia, April 20, 1855. The spring no longer coquets, but embraces wath oriental voluptuousness. Yesterday would have done for Florida. In a north porch, in shade, the glass stood at 95° all the afternoon. This morning it is less burning, but still hot. When 1 arrived in Virginia, the spring was still behind, but for two days we have almost seen it growing. All the ten million blossomings of this wide plantation are out together — peach, apricot, cherry, plum, crab, and apple, the last being sweetest ; also lilach, straw- berry, almond, corcoras, hyacinth, pyrus japonica, &e. The wheatfields, often of a hundred acres each, are suddenly green. Before breakfast I counted fourteen species of birds known to me, and two unknown. There are about fifty mocking-birds in and about this lawn, and forty robins were counted on the grass at once. Herds and flocks on a large scale variegate the prospect. This estate joins Retirement, where I lived, and which is more in sight than once, from cutting of woods away. The house or houses are ruinous, but the noble oaks stand. The place is to be at once improved by Henry A. Carrington, to whom his father has given it. It was twenty-nine years on Monday, since I preached my first sermon at Charlotte C. H. ^ The Czar died March 2, 1855. 208 WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AVEXUE CHTECH. 'riiere is now a plank-road of about six miles from the C. H. to Drake's Branch ; a line which is about bisected by a planta- tion-road of one mile, striking it from this spot. This place has very much improved by the growth of trees, and the horticultu- ral improvements. In all this country thei'e is no sign or sus- picion of any suffering. I have renewed my acquaintance with a large number of the old blacks, and have been struck with the ease of their life. The old coachman of ]\Irs. Le Grand, Uncle Billy, now aged 84, is really a handsome old man. I have earn- estly laboured with him among the flowers, which he is gently tilling ; and have read and preached to him — for he is still an unbelievineo«5 (which by an Americanism means hirelings) are very far below Southern slaves. He declares flatly, that most of the births are illegiti- mate and a frightful proportion incestuous. • In . your life of Washington Irving, mention that he is a homoeopathist, and that he still rides young horses. He is very smart and kidglovish, but with a sunken manner and anile voice. I have never known any one who came to the truth so regularly as old ]\fr. C, just deceased. He was a highly educated man, both in America and Europe, and Jefferson's ami 2)rochain. He said : " I was a victim of Mr. Jefferson's infidelity." Many years 1851—1857. 221 ago, he attacked the subject by regular approaches— readmg all the works which are famous on the Evidences. It was* his method in other things. He would talk with every one on these points, just as on the Tariff, &c. He satisfied himself of the authenticity of the books. He went as deliberately about the question of Inspiration, with like results. He cautiously went through all the doctrines, and settled on what we maintain as evangelical. Thus far was headwork. But Grace was carrying on heartwork also ; and on his dying-bed he recounted all this, and miich more, as the process of years, and partook of the sacrament with clear avowal, good confession, and a most edifying joy. About 1824, there was hardly a more irreligious family- connexion anywhere than . Now the religious members amount to scores. And every day we hear of the work going on. Of a truth, we make too little of such silent ramification of the true Vine. I am now at Acts ix. It is really my Bible-class, though I have another, so called, of young men. My heart sickens at the prospect of war,' and for what 1 For ill-minded party-men. I have no fears of any one's dwelling unduly on Christ as a Saviour, and know none who have the fault you seem to apprehend.^ The other extreme, viz., propounding him chiefly as a Master and Lawgiver, is that of all the Ecks, the Blairs and Robertsons, and Channings. Every orthodox preacher I ever heard, gives prominence to Christ as Prophet and King. New YoEK, March 4, 1856. Yesterday was twenty-nine years since my dear affectionate uncle Rice preached my ordination sermon from Col. iv. 17, an admirable text.^ The only articulate words after he Avas carried away were, " I should like to preach again — but the will of the Lord be done ! " ^ Yesterday Dr. Nott, set. 85, married a couple in our church. His father died of disease at 62 ; his brother, a sedentary minister of Connecticut, died of an accident, in his hundredth year. Everett's oration is the great event. The immense assembly fondled the orator, and almost chaired as well as cheered ^ The Central American question between the United States and Great Britain. ^ The suggestion referred to was that in preaching, Christ is not held forth in his Divine authority as Lord, in due proportion with his gracious office as Saviour. ^ ^^- Benjamin H. Rice was attacked with paralysis in his pulpit, (Hampden Sydney, Virginia,) January 11, 1856, and died on the 24th of February. 222 WHILE PASTOK OF FIFTH AVENUE CHURCH. W. Irving. The argument was that Washington was great, be- cause he was good. The streets of New York have now reached a degree of flood, ferment, feculence, filth, and fragrancy, at which they become curious and almost sublime. There is a wall of block ice-muck in the middle of Broadway, from three to six feet high, for a mile ; and this after more than $40,000 spent on that single object. I agree with you in the importance of varying one's position. Dr. had decided symptoms of stone from a constant use of one posture, and this in a rocking-chair. Et sic de similihis. As a specimen of what the transcendentalists call the Philos- ophy of History, one of them lately said to me : " Judaism is the divinest fact which God could make out of the materials he then had." Addison is printing on Acts. Wiley frequently im- ports English copies of his large Isaiah, which cannot be " gotten " here, as the Southerners still say. So many around me are mad with Gumming, that I have lately been examining his prophetical volumes, four or five in number. He has a great charm of clear, beautiful, picturesque language ; beyond this, he is a cross of on ; ^ superior to either, but as conceited, as shallow, as uncharitable, and as one-sided. Of real original proof — nothing. As to prophecy, he merely hashes up Elliott. His interspersed pious addresses are good. New York, March 26, 1856. 1 forgot to say that I am felling into the very same tremolo which you detected in S., and find my voice materially altered in preaching. The religious romance of early Methodism interests me more than Macaulay, and I think John Wesley's English better than Swift's or Cobbett's. I remember going to Dr. Mayer's to an Easter Communion, with my father, forty odd years ago.^ On Maundy Thursday I assisted at mass at St. Ann's, and on Good Friday was at the doors of three chapels ; not however in forma paiqoeris ; numbers attended to that function. The proceedings of the priest with his acolytes profanely reminded me of a juggler and his aids. " There is something distressing in the uniform decay and transitoriness of the free blacks. The few exceptions are like feeble exotics reared at great cost. W. himself is a good man, but even he is far below the smallest sort of village minister. ^ Popular Anti-Romanists. 2 Dr. Philip P. Mayer, Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Philadel- phia, commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate, October 5, 1856. He died in 1858. 1851—1857. 223 I am unfeigneclly humbled, tlioiigli not a whit sm-prisecl, that people are not converted under my teaching ; and it is always flir from me to lay the blame on '' the church," and scold my communicants for the default. I should wonder if any good number should ever be awakened by me; and as a personal matter, own with abasement that I accept unfruitful ministry as an intellio'ible chastening for sin. Let me add — none of these XT things give me any freedom to press measures. 1 have no doubt, either you or I could get up a stir in one week, which w^ould jfill a column of tabulated statistics. Ah me ! I am sadly and increasingly unfit to work in the conventional traces. I utterly reject the entire pew-system — I speak of cities — as against the spirit of Christianity. But all my opinions are held too tremblingly for me. ever to be a reformer. So I quietly and sorrowfully go on expounding those things I am sure about. New York, April 17, 1856. I shall not be surprised if you hear there is some awakening among my people. And so there unquestionably is — but only in one corner. The " Church," to use the Yankee phrase, is not awakened at all. There are, all since I last wrote to you, appear- ances of converting influence in about seventeen persons. These have all been gradually led on for months, and some for years. Except where they are in the same households, they are almost all unknown to one another. I have not had any inquiry- meeting. Once I have met " those willing to be guided about seeking their salvation," (writing down this form of notice, and reading it,) and thus have drawer to my house yesterday more than forty. With these I had no private talk, then, but ex- pounded a Chapter. I am troubled as to whether I shall repeat even this. I have no additional meeting, as yet, and have not departed from my routine of lectures on Acts. It is a remark- able coincidence, that the meeting of Presbytery w^as almost a Bochim, and from beginning to end exhibited tenderness, humility, and affection on the part of ministers. I am dreading, beyond expression, the rise of a fanatical breeze among my church- members, and shall humbly endeavour to suppress rather than arouse human passions. You will understand me, better than anybody, when I say, I will, as at present advised, continue private address, but use no precipitating means. I even depre- cate them. And so I feel about the w^hole affair. The w^ay I am taking would be deemed a quenching of the spirit by sundry of my brethren. But I distrust every thing in revivalism, which is not common to it with the stated, continued, persistent presenta- tion of the gospel. 224: WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AVENUE CHUKCH. New York, April 23, 1856. 1 have nothing to change my opinion, that the inquiry among onr people is lately discovered, but not lately produced. It was not an inquiry-meeting I held — but an exposition, and I had no private talk. I never met with the misapprehension you sur- mise.^ On that ground, we should never have a Bible Class, or a Young Men's Meeting. Above all, the objection would lie against your taking a child into your study for advice and prayer, which. would yet more suggest the esoteric scruple. Though I have no "inquiry-meeting," I shovild make the having one a simple question of degree. If a pastor cannot conveniently see them apart, I think it would be prudery not to see them together. As an instrument of excitement I have always feared them. I .add but' a few, to the cases first known. But a very large pro- portion of my flock appears in the very state you mention, " in the place of the bringing forth of children." All this winter I have preached doctrinally— in a disguised series — and chiefly about conviction, conversion, faith, &;c. I generally conclude, after inter- views, that this reluctancy (in truly serious persons) arises from dim views of doctrine, feeble grasj) of the truth, legal notions of .the preparation which they must see in themselves. New-measure people undertake . to use instruments, and often kill the child. In spiritual as in natural travail, I suppose there must be much waiting. • I hope we shall. May 11, add some sixteen.'^ ■ A Spaniard, a civilian from Madrid, is here, on Bible Society business ; a thorough Protestant; says there are many such in Spain;' considers the country on the verge of religious freedom; .brings a liberal work of his own in sheets ; explains the late .vote in the Cortes very clearly, &c. I never before saw beauty in the pantomime of feature and hands. He speaks French fluently. ; We parsons are often and justly rallied for being taken .in ;- but every few days I find the same happening to sharp worldlings. .- A wealthy merchant told me last night this anec- dote : • He had a large and costly set of china fraudulently taken from him by a woman. Not long after, this very woman got .$100 from him for a charity, since exploded; at the very mo- ment his suit against her was in progress. ^■." The trouble I have about the private meetings is the apparent admis- sion that all the cHrections' for ' guiding those that are seeking salvation,' 'are not given in the pulpit, and so countenancing the notion of some that ■there are esoteric instructions which they must get in some other than the ordinary way. AVould it not be well to hold the inquiry-meeting in the church? I mean, to make the regular services take the direction of the simplest colloquial advice." 2 On that day \1 were admitted on examination ; Y on certificate. 1851— 185T. 225 New York, May 29, 1856. The Assembly was dissolved last night, with exercises of a most touching character. It is the unusual opinion that no G. A. has been so edifying. From beginning to end there was no squabble, nor was one sarcasm uttered. No decision of the Chair was appealed from, and only one was questioned. All this, under God, was owing to the good sense and affectionate piety of Dr. McFarland, [the Moderator,] who has carried away both rever- ence and love. There was an absence of stars ; but the average talent was uncommon. Probably no Assembly has had so many valuable laymen. The men most listened to were Thornwell, Eice, Peck, Marshall, D. Lord, Johns, Judge Leavitt, Judge Allen, Humphrey, Harrison. Welch, in Committees, and once on the floor, made his remarkable powers of mind known, and will be remembered as much as any one.' The feeling of satis- faction, as to the way they have been treated, is very warmly and generally expressed. I never felt more complacent as to my church, and am grateful that a meeting for which I enter- tained such fears has turned out so much to the honour of relioion and the satisfaction of all. The ablest speech, and one of'^the ablest I ever heard, for argument, adroitness, tact, style, elocution, and modest power, was Humphrey's, on the Danville Seminary. New York, June 10, 1856. I own our desert of national judgments, and that the signs are alarming. Yet I think the present concussion is a temporary thing. The affair in Kansas 1 trust has reached its acme. A minister from the heart of the troubles has just left me ; he is hopeful. The exaggerations of the journals are horrible. Such questions should never have been left to be settled by a border mob. Whatever Democracy may be in settled States, it is only strong government which can rule frontiers. Dr. Hodge has most admirably stated the slavery doctrine, in his Ephesians. Inter alia : " It is just as great a sin to deprive a slave of the just recompense for his labour, or to keep him in ignorance, or to take from him his wife or child, as it is to act thus towards a free man ; " p. 369. How nobly this clear enunciation of a scriptural principle towers above all the extravagancies of both sides ! New York, June 21, 1856. ^ I made my first acquaintance with Bridgeport (Connecticut) this week, having gone there to preach, and converse, and pray with Mrs. H.'^ I dare not say it is the most beautiful place *I ' Ashbel Welch, Elder of Lambertsville, N. J. ^ He preached in Bridgeport, June 19 ; also June 27, July 10, and August 24. J ^ > VOL. II. 10* 226 WHILE PASTOK OF FIFTH AVEXUE CHUECH. ever saw, but I dare as' little say the reverse. Tlie raihyay passes far away from its surpassing rural villas. Mrs. H. is a wonder of knowledge, Avisdom, humility, faith ; every thing, in a word, which can glorify religion. I never had what seemed to me a holier sojourn. I propose to take part of my family to Bridgeport on the 27th to board for a week— maybe longer. Cases of awakening still drop in. Two new cases awaited my return yesterday. No public route gives any idea of the English beauties of New England. The villages grow so into one another, in the south part of Connecticut, that men confidently predict a row of lamps a hundred miles east of our city, as they now are eight miles to Harlem. Newport, July 28, 1856. I am to be addressed at " Cliff House, care Ch. T. Hazard." There are thirty-six Mrs. Hazards in Newport. We are on the very beach or bank, only a broad field intervening between our yard and the cliffs, at whose base the sea breaks. Looking across a horse-shoe cove, on the left or north of which is the bathing beach, I see three points or capes, between which are two coves Avith their respective beaches. Beyond all, the village of Little Compton glitters in the sun. The waves are gently swaying without breaking, and the scene is very calm. In the sun it has been pretty vrarm to-day, but there is a breeze, and when- ever we drive out in the evening we need an overcoat. The hot Friday, when New York and Philadelphia thermometers marked 100°, it was 74° all day on the Point, south of us. In the town, however, there is a good deal of glowing heat. The place at which we are is part of a tract, which Hazard has just lost by a decree in Chancery. The house in which I stay, was once rented by Longfellow and his friends. I have news of our Henry to" within a week, by Mr. J. Auchincloss, who unexpectedly saw him on board of a propeller in Lake Superior. He and his companion have nearly disposed of the six boxes of Presbyterian books which they took on. The chief buyers have been the Cornishmen in the mines. He is in the land of the Dakotah, of Indian lodges, dog-trains, and snow shoes. Their journeys on foot, with sacks on their backs, have been numerous. The time I spent in Bridgeport was very agreeable. It is a beautiful place, with pleasant drives around it. Stratford, Fairfield, and Greenfield Hill, are very charming. In no part of rural Con- necticut do I see any of those marks of a degraded white popu- lation, which Southern orators say must appear where there is no servile class. On the contrary, I a«i more and more struck 1851—1857. 227 with the thrift and equalized comfort of the small yeomanry of Puritan Ne\y England. In this I do not include Rhode Island. Several rather extraordinary instances of good done by simple reading of the Bible with inquirers have lately turned up in my ministry. • Addison is writing on Acts, in my study, and printing also. A new Presbyterian Church is about to be organized at Deep River, (Say brook town,) Connecticut, under Mr. Connitt. I have nothing but what the papers will give you, concerning the terrible disaster to the " Empire State " near us on the 26th. Mr. Thayer preached an original and grand sermon yesterday on Self-conceit. August 4. — The thermometer keeps about 76° on our Cliff, but it is pretty hot in town. People are very proud of ther- mometers which go higher and lower than their neighbours'. Thayer and Cheever yesterday. The latter strangely and un- couthly original and fascinating. He reached me deeply. Thay- er's sermon was great on " take heed how ye hear." On or about August 14th, we go to Bristol, R. L, for a week ; thence, perhaps, by a short detour to Bridgeport. The absence of com- mon piety and religious feeling in society, is much more manifest here [New England] than with us. The spirit as well of hear- ing as of ^^•orship, seems gone. Politics, Abstinence, and Sla- very, usurp the " sacred desk." New York, ^i<<72is^ 23, 1856. I came here yesterday from Bridgeport, where I left my wife and child, and write from my own house, where, however, I do not expect my folks till September. I have some preaching yet to do in Connecticut, by which I may contribute somewhat to hold up the hands of the Presbyterian brethren.^ Through what we call an accident, there met at Henry's table last night in 27th street all our brotherhood, except Archibald, making, with my Henry, six. When are we likely so to meet again ! 1 trust your mother will rally, but every year brings its painful warn- ings at such an age. God grant her a blessed evening ! How ridiculously American is the scuffle of the Scientific Association at Albany about Constitution and By-laws ! The German Fremonters make infidelity and drink fio-ure largely on their banners. In New England I found no Democrats, but sundry Fillmore men. There is a feeling that he would con- ciliate. I spent some days in Bristol, R. I. ; from which place I think I wrote to your worship. It is a thorough wreck ; gr-ass every- ^ He preached in the Presbyterian Church of Hartford, August 31. 228 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH ATENTE CHTECH. where literally growing in its broad, beautifully shaded Phila- delphian streets. Numerous Cubans of wealth summer there. The harbour and surroundings are enchanting. They kept up slaving as late as 1816. A negro ghetto of Bristol is still named Goree. The aspect of interior New England is pleasing ; from the total absence of any patent squalor. Mechanics everywhere live in houses a hundred per cent, above the same class in Penn- sylvania or New Jersey. I wish our Calhounites could see that the small farmers of Comiecticut have more comforts of civiliza- tion than many wealthy planters. The remaining of certain old Puritan habitudes is striking ; such as a noon bell and curfew. Xew York, September 5, 1856. I should have gladly kept my wife and boy a little longer in rural air; but we were made uncomfortable at Bridgeport, whither we came from Bristol, by overcrowding in the house, so we returned yesterday. There is no place like home. My pulpit has been very well occupied by the Rev. Mr. Myers, of St. Augustine. Congregations fair — though very few of our own people. There is no harm in repeating, what I said in my last, how seriously 1 feel the tidings you give respecting your mother. It brings my own warmly before me. Not only were they mutual friends, but they were lovely persons, long permitted to escape the uncomely accidents of old age, and carrying much of the sweet natural interest of girlhood into later years. "Where shall we ever find such sympathy with us — especially in the minor trials of life 1 Who will ever so imderstand the little weaknesses of our character ? If I go on much in this strain, I shall lose my composure ; especially if I touch on other associa- tions, more equal, and as strong. Let us bless God for such relations and affections. From what you say, I am prepared to hear something grave concerning your mother's case. If it should ever be proper to do so, assure her of my love and prayers. It is wonderful that the yellow-fever has moved so slowly. The ravages at Fort Hamilton and Governor's Island have been great, in proportion to the subjects. At the former, two men fell yesterday at battalion-drill. Maj. Morris, the Commandant, married a Ritchie (nee Alexander) of the Delaware Fairfield ftimily. He and his were in the midst of it before, at Tampico. It is too much to expect that it should not alight and spread in our Water-streets.^ If reports are true, there have been some ' ^Tater-street — a narrow, confined street, on the Delaware front of Philadelphia. 1851—1857. 229 cases to-day. What a remarkable respite from cholera this Year, all over the country ! My " heft," as the Yankees say, has increased to 164 lbs. At Hartford I visited with pleasure the only original portraits of Pres. Edwards and his saintly wife. They are in the Edwards flmiily. I also saw the Charter-Oak lying in massive glory on the earth : " The Charter Oak, it was the tree, that balked his sacred majesty." I have never seen so much of the country and every- day life of New England, as this summer, and it has been with increased respect. The average of domestic comfort and even refinement I believe to be unequalled in the world. We talk of Scotland, and justly ; but Scotland has thousands of squalid peat-smoky hovels, where the best fiire is oatmeal-porridge. There is nothing of this in Yankee-land, but by importation. New York, September 17, 1856. I am less surprised than pained by the tidings you give me. Requiescit in pace. My recollections go back with a sad pleasure to the old Sixth St. house. What friendly, long-continued, un- varying kindness to us and ours ! What shadows flit along the back-ground — some friends and some only acquaintances — and how many gone ! It is a trial to me not to be able to go to the funeral of one of the truest friends I ever had. I have notice of an invalid passing through town, who makes aii appointment with me for that very day ; and the circumstances are important and delicate. You will now comprehend a feeling of family-headship, Avhich comes heavily over one, upon the departure of a last surviving parent. [I subjoin a letter written on the same afl^icting event to a sister of my mother.] New York, September 25, 1856. It was impossible for me to hear of the departure of your beloved sister, without thinking very much of you. Eew persons, even of the connexion, have been with her so constantly during her decline. Perhaps none on earth knew her better. Naturally, therefore, your sorrow must be great. Among the consolatoins Avhich you have so richly, one is the knowledge that our dear and valued friend was esteemed by so large a circle. No one of my whole acquaintance was ever more spared the deformities and disagreeable points of old age ; in this resembling your father, whom I well remember, as the sweetest looking old gentleman I ever saw. Then you have the pleasmg reflection for life, that it was placed in your power to minister 230 WHILE PASTOE OF FIFTH AYENTJE CHUECH. with sisterly affection, in the dwelling and at the couch of one whom you loved. But, above all, we must be consoled by the bright hope which we entertain, concerning the present and future happiness of our deceased sister. Though a silent and humble, she was a sincere and a consistent Christian. Her trust was in the Divine Saviour of sinners, to the rejection of all self-righteous merits. This faith diffused serenity over her closing hours. Little as is revealed to us concerning the details of the eternal blessedness, we know that the souls of the righteous are with the Lord, and that those who are absent from the body are present with the Lord. It is a source of great comfort to those of us who survive, that your sister was not content to cherish religious sentiments in her private thoughts, but spontaneously added herself to the Lord's witnesses, by becoming a communicant in his Church. How natural it is for our minds to go back to those who are gone ! Where are our parents, and the religious teachers of our youth 1 Where are our own companions 1 Well do I remem- ber Mr. Hall, with that spare, and dignified, and gentle form which belonged to him. My dear friend, " The fashion of this world passeth away." May we find grace to appear clad in the righteousness of Christ at his coming ! New York, Septe7nber 30, 1856. A letter of my father (1809) has turned up, in which he states that I had been at school a week. 1 remember it well ; it was to "Madam Thomson," in Lombard street, [Philadelphia.] A sort of self-pity always comes over me Avhen I think of my days of childhood ; I do not detect it so much in others. It seems to me I had more unuttered distresses than most children. How long a poor child will harbour an afflictive scruple about religion, which would have been instantly dissipated by disclosure ! Bush writes to me. He expatiates on the excellencies of Howe, Owen, and Burroughs, in precisely the terms which he would have used thirty years ago. My folks are coming in pretty fiist, but many are yet absent. Mauch Chunk is looking for a pastor — not too young — man of experience ; schedule of gifts — not this, not that. Webster lived and died on a stipend of $400. If it had not rained, a thousand carters were to have turned out last night for Fillmore. Within a few weeks, I hear many more voices in this state (it is very hard to say " otir state ") for Fillmore. Numerous private accounts speak well of Mr. JNIonsalvatge's preaching and labours at Carthagena. He has a great body of young Granadans on his side. Lie has sent me several sermons, openly printed in the city newspaj)ers. Mr. 1851—1857. 231 Pratt, late of Princeton, writes encouragingly from Bogota, I forgot whether I wrote from Bristol about Mr. G., an^accom- plished Cuban gentleman, one of several persons of wealth who summer in^ Rhode Island. He was bred in Spain, and is an author. What is pleasing is, that he is a pious and courageous Protestant. Lecturing on Acts xv. 1—35, I find it very tough to make that Council at Jerusalem a college of Bishops, or" a General Assembler, or a Synod, or a Presbytery, or a Kirk-session, or an mclependent congregation. The common fiction of the Church having been organized on the plan of the Synagoi^ue is " revolting " to me ; incredulus odi. While the Apostles lived, they clearly had supreme authority, and they as clearly had no successors. Where they were not. Elders ordained by them had local and temporary rule. I have searched in vain for a single instance of one pastor tied to 07ie congregation, or of the call of one congregation as necessary to orders. All the ministry, for what appears, was ministerium varjum, which the impugners of ordaining sine titulo do so eschew. My love to your environs. What a barbaric pomp about the crowning of the Czar ! P. S. October 2. — I retain the preceding in order to say that I will preserve the letters for you, and thank you for them.' All these things carry one back— back ! I like the allusion to the house in 6th street. The old Philadelphia carries a great charm in my recollections. I have the only severe cold I have had in three years, and do not see how I can do duty on Sunday. At my prompting Randolph gets out a book for Business Men. I chose the subject of Clerks, and what I have written on it will probably appear also as a little tractate.' Your libretto and tract were received, and would have been reviewed by me but for the heavy pressure of the above, and of completing my I^IS. on Sunday Schools, wdiich went to Philadelphia yesterday.*' ^ Letters of his father. "The Man of Business, considered in his various relations." The con- tributors to this volume were Drs. Alexander, Sprague, Todd Tyno- Ferris and Stearns. Dr. Alexander's subject is, " The Merchant's Clerk Cheered and Counselled." This chapter was afterwM^ds reprinted by itself, and one per- son sold more than a thousand copies m the stores of New York iu about four weeks. In April, 1856, Randolph published McLaren's Se'rmons on Glorying in the Cross of Christ," for which Dr. A. wrote an intro- duction. ' " The American Sunday-School and its adjuncts. By James W. Alex- ander, D. D. ;" published by the American Sunday-School Union, 1850, 342 pages. In the preface he says : " More than forty years ago it was my lot to sit^ on an humble form in one of the earliest Sunday-Schools set up in America. In process of time I became a teacher in similar institutions ; and ever since my entrance upon the Gospel ministry I have counted it an honor to work collaterally in the same cause. In attempting to promote the same ends, I have constructed and launched from the presses which now ■. 232 AVniLE PASTOR OF FIFTH A^TENUE CHUECH. New York, November 19, 1856. The young woman gives very good satisfaction, and appears to like her phiee. She went away for one day and night without my leave. She appears to be steady and industrious ; good at mending and at washing up tea-things. My wife has said nothing about baking or ironing. It is our wish to keep her during the winter.^ My sprained foot is not much better, though I go about. Thanksgiving sermon adds a somewhat to the week's writing. I intend to touch on the importance of our being united in peace with all English-speaking people. My text is Deut. xxxii. 8, to word " Adam " inclusive. Sprague's book ^ is both valu- able and entertaining. I like it alf the better for the number and brevity of the articles. Some of them are quite in the manner of \he late Joseph Miller, Esq. If you have not read Trench's " English Past and Present," it will give you a pleasant half-hour. What a wonderful fall we have had, for fine weather ! Greatly do I feel the deprivation of walking freely, and more than ever do I sympathize with those who halt alway. Strange talk this in the papers, as if the Southern fire-eaters would not vote for Buchanan, unless after some ultra pledges on his part. I hope and pray he may give none. Dr. McCartee has come into our Presbytery, and taken the Westminster Church in 22d street. Some sermons, which I have on hand, (having preached about eight,) will perhaps grow into a book on Eaith. Robin- son's [Palestine] new impression puts the former three into two volumes, and adds a new third. Stewart's Brazil is not very lively, but full of information. Brazil must be a horrible coun- try, as Portuguese is a horrible lingo. The Hungarian officer, who formerly appeared in Trenton, awakens my pity ; he is now in abject mendicity — a handsome soldierly fellow too. It is a dreadful thing to be an exile in poverty. The thought is good for Thanksgiving Day. Xew York, January 2, 1857. January 1st is a dies non with us, except in regard of calls, produce the present work, more thau thirty trifles, which, ' for better for worse,' have gone saiUng out upon the ocean of print, some to be high and dry on the strand of oblivion, and some to be still floating on the wave, protected, like the paper-nautilus, by their very frailty." The object of this work is to prove the necessity and duty of providing for general religious education, and to show how this end is promoted by Sunday-Schools and religious reading. ^ This pleasantry refers to a visit from one of his correspondent's chil- dren. - " Annals of the American Pulpit," vols. 1 and 2. 1851—1857. 233 so I now wish for you and yours a happy New Year. We had 175 calls. I am told Dr. Spring sometimes has 300. Holten's New Granada is a very entertaining book, in some places a little free. He lets you well into Grjinadan manners and customs. I do not see that differs materially from Wright and Garrisou, save in decorum of language, when in his late book on Slavery he says : " Unless the Bible teaches my doctrine about slavery, it is not of God." A member of my church has been spending a year in North Wales. He hired a furnished house, library, &c., of ample size, with about twenty acres of pleasure-ground, for £200. The whole stood within a walled park of 400 acres, as good as his, and well-kept. He had half-a-mile of wall, ten feet high, for wall-fruit, and had every sort of fruit in plenty. In consequence of the low rent, wages, &c., he calculates that he did not add a penny to his year's expenses, though he includes the transportation, to and fro, of ten persons. A soliciting missionary from Port Natal in South Africa, is here ; a fiiirspoken Scot, named Campbell. Prof. Owen of this city is about to come out with a commentary on the Gospels. He is of the Free Academy. I lately attended high mass for the soul of Father Andrade, and saw about ten priests officiating. The incense is scarcely more than nominal. In my day, we used to get a very tolerable sniff; and in Paris, I think, I saw a dozen censers going all in a row, with a dexterous perpendicular hoist, which it must take some time to learn. Our motto for 1857 is : " Ptejoice ever- more." ^ I have arrived at the 16th chapter of Acts in my exposition. Sometimes I wish no other sort of preaching had been invented. I wish I knew more about the Doverites, Derbyites, or Plymouth brethren. They seem to have made much progress among the French Protestants. An odd fish has applied to me for my life towards his " Eloquent Divines," about to appear. I have refused and derided, but experiences teach that this is no protection. This is the seventh letter at this sitting, and some of them more lengthy ; this, therefore, can only be strengthy, as is the regard of. Sir, your friend and subscriber. ^ His sermon on the year-text was usually preached at the afternoon ser- vice of the first Sunday in the year. The morning service of that day had usually a reference to the annual collection made at that time for Foreign Missions. The collection on Jan. 2, 1857, amounted to $7,600. In the pre- ceding month, the collection for Domestic Missions had been nearly $4,000. In February, 185Y, the collection for the Board of Education was $4,(300 ; in May, for Sunday-Schools, $1,300 ; in November, for the Bible Society, $2,600. 234: T\'HILE PASTOK OF FITTH AYENTE CHTECH. Xe-sv York, ITarch 9, 1857. Louis Napoleon has introduced a new kind of state-paper, racy as a vaudeville ; it is too -svittv/ Addison calls nij attention to tJie remarkable revolution, which, under the Palmerston rule, is going on in the English sees, in favour of Evangelicalism. Both archbishops and the three leading bishops are now on that side. I find " grand-daughter " in Webster and Worcester ; the only authorities I have.^ ]\Ir. B., of Leavenworth, Kansas, writes to me that the new houses building there, are " hundreds." He also says, if things go on so for two years, that the region 200 miles west of the east border will be the most thickly peopled portion of the Western States. Mr. M. bought $500 worth of land on the site of ISIilwaukee, thirteen years ago. Its sworn value now is 8400,000. The Eerguson who wrote " America by Eail and Steam," is a banker and a deacon of Dr. Hamilton's. He has been here on a second visit. There is something very striking in the prayer, with which St. Augustine commonly closed his sermons : " Conversi ad Dominum, Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, puro corde, Ei, quan- tum potest parvitas nostra, maximas atque uberes gratias aga- mus : precantes toto animo singularem mansuetudinem ejus, ut preces nostras in beneplacito suo exaudire dignetur ; inimicum quoque a nostris actibus et cogitationibus sua virtute expellat, nobis multiplicet fidem, mentem gubernet, spirituales cogitationes concedat, et ad beatitudinem suam perducat : per Jesum Chris- tum Eilium suum, Dominum nostrum, qui cum eo vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia scecula steculorum. Amen." It is beautiful Latin, and much more fall of matter than " a Prayer of St. Chrysostom." ^ Its first words, with an " &c.," so often close the " Conciones," that I presume he always used it. Augustine is the only father of whom I read much ; and the more I read, the more I perceive that if you leave out predesti- nation and justification by faith, his scheme, and that of the Catholic Church of his day, was just that which Pusey would restore. Nothing can be more garbled and misleading, than the centos given by Milner.* ^ I suppose tlie allusion is to the Emperor's speech, at the opening of the Chambers in 1857. The " wit" must be in the sentence where, in reference to the inundations, it is said : " I make it a point of honor, that in France rivers, like revolutions, must return to their beds, or that they must not leave them." ^ I had insisted that such a purist as he should follow the old standard dictionaries, which give but one d in this word. ^ In the " Book of Common Prayer," ■* In the Xew York " Journal of Commerce," of March 10, there is a free translation, with comments, from Horace, Ode 24, Book 3, in application to the vices of the age, which I think I cannot be mistaken in attributing to Dr. Alexander. 1851—1857. 235 New York, April 2Y, ISoY. Addison preached for me yesterday, though I think I could have preached once myself. My chief annoyance is a difficulty of breathing, oppression, or strangling sensation, which comes on at times, and especially at night.' While Hugh Miller's new book" contains lots of things which I do not believe, it has some — many — of the sublimest views respecting creation and re- demption, that I ever met with. Some of his sweeps of high description are inimitable. Yet he always says ere for before, and mai/kap for perhcqjs. The biographies by Macaulay, in sev- eral numbers of Harper, are worth reading ; they are from the last (Sth) edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In a life of Sir H. Davy, by Rogers, it is said, (1812, &c. :) " A certain change (it must with regret be owned) came over his state of mind, tar- nished his serenity, and gradually, though imperceptibly, weakened his scientific zeal. It was to be ascribed solely, we believe, to the severe ordeal of exuberant but heartless popularity, which he un- derwent in London. The flatteries of fashionable life by degrees attached Davy to the fiishionable world, and loosened his ties to the laboratory, which had been to him the sole and fit scene of his triumphs." AYe have a cold easterly drizzle — as yet more wind than rain. Addison visited his native house on his birthday, and ate an ice-cream in what was my father's study. I distinctly remember the day J. A. A. was born.^ AVhen Peter Cunningham shall have digested all Walpole's Letters into one chronological series, with the promised notes, it will be the richest collection of gossip in the world. Some one of my congregation visits the Holy Land, CA^ery year, at least. Lord Napier is surveying our town, I have seldom been more pained by a thing of the kind than by your account of S., [lost at sea.] Poor little S. ! AYe remem- ber him as coming into our sick chamber in Sth street [Phila- delphia] to show his little fat leg. Poor mother ! I earnestly hope she will have spiritual indemnity. Mrs. H. was buried yesterday. She was free from extreme sufl'ering towards the last. Mr. J., a good friend of ours, has died of dreadful disease of the heart. How voluminous would be the list of the dead ^ On the 9tli April he had written : " I am laboring under a very pain- ful irritation of throat and fauces." He was able to preach but twice in April, and four times in May. His cough had then become so threatening, that a voyage seemed to be the only resort that promised permanent relief. 2 " The Testimony of the Rocks." ^ The house was in Lombard street, Philadelphia : the date was April 24, 1S09. 236 WHILE PASTOR OF FIFTH AVENUE CHUECH. whom we have known ; and how strangely some of them pass out of mind ! Dr. B. used to read Voltaire as the best Christians read the Bible. Mrs. B. often said to me that the only comfort she had was in going to church, and that she looked forward to this all the week. I have often pondered on this and hoped it might prove to be the case with many whom we overlook in estimating the value of Divine service. There is a certain point at which a man's mishaps operate against him, much as if they were moral delinquencies. Xew York, May 26, 1857. To-morrow, it may be presumed, will be too busy for writing. I take to-day therefore for farewells to you and all your house. My address is : W. A. and G. Maxivell d: Co., Liverpool} Every thing preparative has been ordered very flivourably. There is something serious in such separations, which I feel just now ; in better moments we will remember one another.'^ ^ Dr. Alexander, accompanied by his wife and youngest child, embai-ked in the steamer Baltic, for Liverpool, May 27th. ^ The frequent allusions which have occurred in the letters of this and other chapters, to theu' writer's interest in the American Tract Society, will make acceptable the following notice communicated to me by the Rev. Dr. Hallock, one of its Secretaries : " The memory of Dr. James "W. Alexander is precious to the Executive Committee and officers of the American Tract Society. As his father, Dr. Archibald Alexander, was, from the formation of the Society in 1825 till his death in 1851, an unwavering friend, supporter, and counsellor, making valuable contributions to the list of its publications by his pen, and acting for three years as a member of its Publishing Committee, so the son, in similar relations and by almost all the same means, gave the Society his cordial and efficient co-operation. "When, in 1842, a public deliberative meeting of the Society's Board and friends was held for three days in the Broadway Tabernacle, Dr. James W. Alexander, who was then at Princeton, communicated an able document on a momentous topic, Avith the bearing of which his wide range of reading and observation made him familiar, ' The Evils of an Unsanctified Liter- ature.' The document was read to the meeting by the Rev. Dr. Potts, and was published in a volume comprising ten other documents presented at that meeting, and a record of its proceedings. " In 1845, when Dr. Archibald Alexander retired from his labours as a member of the Society's Publishing Committee, Dr. James W. Alexander, who was then pastor in Xew York, was elected as his successor ; and ful- filled ihe duties of the office for three years, when the pressure of his official duties in the ministry compelled him to retire, and the Rev, Dr. Magic suc- ceeded him in that office. '• Dr. James W. Alexander, soon after the establishment of the Amer- ican Messenger, in 1842, commenced writing for it valuable but anonymous articles, which were continued, from time to time, to the number of thirty or forty articles, all on great and momentous thenies pertaining to the com- 1851—1857. 237 mon salvation. In this way alone, addressing each month not far from two hundred thousand famiUes, he conveyed messages of Christian love to millions of men quite beyond the rea'ch of his preaching or other written works. " The Society published in their series his excellent tract on Revivals of Religion ; showing that by true revivals of religion God is glorified, the plan of redemption accomphshed, the Church raised to its highest pros- perity, and that such an extension of the Church is demanded by the pres- ent state of our nation ; embodying, with singular discernment, a brief, comprehensive sketch of the history of revivals from Apostolic days. " The Society also publish his volume of seventeen revival tracts, originally issued under the modest title of " Wayside Books," in successive numbers during the progress of the revival of 1858, when, in his high posi- tion as pastor of the church in the Fifth Avenue, he wished not only to benefit his own people, but others, by bearing his testimony in favour of the good work, but to give individual souls in the various stages of awakening or quickening under Divine influence, the needed instruction, counsel, and guidance. " The very titles of these seventeen tracts (one of them written by an intimate fellow-labourer in the ministry) show their high evangelical char- acter and aim, and the wide range of usefulness to which they are adapted, and in which they will doubtless long continue to give what may be almost regarded as their author's dying testimony to the truth and excellency of the gospel of Christ. They are : The Revival ; Seek to Save Souls ; Pray for the Spirit; The Unawakened ; Harden not your Heart; Varieties in Anxious Inquiry ; Looking unto Jesus ; God be merciful to me a Sinner ; for more Feeling ; Have I come to Christ ? My Teacher, my Master ; My Brother ; Sing Praises ; The Harvest of Xew York ; Compel them to Come in ; Help the Seaman ; To Firemen. "As counsellors in all questions of doubt and perplexity. Dr. James "W. Alexander and his father were uncommon men — single-hearted, far-seeing, calm, practical, judicious — and favoured was the friend, the benevolent insti- tution, the congregation, the church, or the community, who could resort to them and receive their heaven-guided lessons of wisdom. Pleasant were they on earth, and it is a cheering anticipation that we may meet them with all the redeemed in the world above." CHAPTEE XIII. LETTERS DURING HIS SECOND YISIT TO EUROPE^ 1857. Liverpool, June 11, ISo'Z. Through God's mercy we arrived here in safety on the 7th, after what seamen call a very favourable passage. We found valuable friends on board, and have also found numerous acquaint- ances of ourselves or our friends, in this town. I had really forgotten how cool the weather is here. We have been under the necessity of having fires every evening, and I shudder with cold most of the time. Though my cough is less, it has not left me. We have just returned from the Exhibition of the " Art Treasures " at Manchester — sixty miles going and returning since morning ; so much for English railways. The structure itself is fine, and much resembling the Crystal Palace. The value of the paintings is reckoned by scores of millions of pounds. Every great public and private collection in England has given its gems. Without being a connoisseur I was ravished with the sight of the great works of the greatest masters. Twenty or thirty Raphaels ! English aristocracy owns more of Italian art than Italy itself. Among the moderns, I was not prepared to be so delighted as I am with Sir Joshua Reynolds. All his great works are here. You learn to recognize them at once, and their gracefidness is indescribable. The gallery of water-colours opens quite a new field of art to me. Pew of the sculptures awaken me much. Canova's all seem to be injured by mannerism. I more admire Chantrey, Marshall, and Gibson. Hogarth's paint- ings added very little to my pleasure in his engravings. Gains- borough's best pieces are enchanting. ^ In making up this chapter I have followed the same course as in the letters of the visit of 1851, and for the reasons given in the prefatory note of Chapter XI. ^ 1857. 239 Leamington, June 18, 185Y. We left Liverpool at 11, and came by Crewe, "Wolverhamp- ton, Birmingham, and Coventry. Haymaking is going on, and we saw and heard a lark ascend, and give his delicious song. Leamington is the cleanest and most brilliant place I ever saw. Every thing has a miniatm-e look. The trim honses, neat shop- fronts, white flags, and perfectly pure streets, affect me with a sense of being in a play-place. I can hardly think it real. Eng- lish neatness here becomes almost Dutch. I forgot to say that the everlasting succession of beauties, in hedgerow, field, and meadow, with unvaried culture and perfect green, produces at length the effect of gazing on a pretty face without expression. One longs for a bare spot, a morsel of rude, brushy land, or a small piece of bad road. June 14. — We have been to All Saints, the old parish-church, large and full. We were ushered in through the singing-boys to a seat in the choir immediately behind one of the reading- pews. The service was given cathedral-fashion. Mr. Bowen, the curate, preached an evangelical sermon from the Rich Man and Lazarus. Soldiers went home from church to martial music. The rooks were cawing in their nests among the tops of the trees as we came to our inn. Such has been the popularity of the Springs here, that the place numbers 15,000 inhabitants. There are two Leamington seasons in the year ; the chief one being in winter, as is true also of Brighton ; the other is in the hunting-time. The Cheshire hounds have a famous meet in that county, but all this is a fox- hunting district. Lord Lonsdale (as we guess it was) told us that railways have greatly facilitated hunting by carrying men and even horses to the meets. He said the lands on our way rented for about three pounds an acre, but some in better districts for five pounds. I have formerly noted the practice of having a little hymn- book for the particular church. The one here was full of our most evangelical hymns, " Just as I am " and the like. In no New England town have I ever rem.arked a more exact and still observance of the Sabbath. Invalid persons are trundled to church in bath-chairs, as an everyday thing ; most worthy of imitation among us. The throngs of people in the street are perfectly well-dressed, and all with brilliant red and white com- plexions. As with us the complexion runs often into pale and yellow, so here the faulty visages are red, crimson, scratchy, erysipelatic — there are many such. I am inclined to think tliat the purest English is spoken in these midland counties. I detect very little provincial in the guards or waiters. Nothing like 240 DrEma his second visrr to eueope. mendicity or even poverty lias met my eye at Leamington Priors. A little to the north-west is Baxter's Kidderminster, and a short journey eastward is Doddridge's Northampton. Worcester and Ed^ehill are not flir off, and if we took the old mail-route, we should go through the forest of Arden. In this town of so many thousands, there are doubtless many " brethren," but how shall I find them out ? Every thing in the church-way is set and petrified. I went into a shop for tracts, but the woman looked like a nun, and the books all smacked of Oxford. London, June 15, 1857. We left Leamington about 10 for London, via Rugby. At R. we saw the church, but could not see the school. The whole country along our way was full of hay-making and sheep-shear- ing. As we neared Olney, Lsang " Begone unbelief" in mem- ory of John Newton, and much of the scenery on the Ouse was pleasant as of the very sort which prompted so many passages of the Task. These impressions were not the less strong, be- cause I own my prevalent mood has been somewhat sombre, ever since I left America. It is now 10 P. M., but the boys are in full caper in the street below, and there is still a lingering blush in the horizon. People here knock and ring. All servants ring, except the post- man, who gives two knocks. Coals are brought to the door in a cart, but in sacks, and each of these is emptied down a hole in the sidewalk ; it is a cleaner and even quicker operation than ours. The free-and-easy prevails all over England in regard to vehicles, pony-chaises, phaetons, flies, &c. You see .two rosy girls drive up to a railway-station, and, perhaps, take a relative into their low-wheeled drag. Numerous cases have been observed by us of a pony drawing four adults in a sort of buggy, and two look- in f^ backwards. But then all the roads are as smooth as this paper. 4 Bernard St., Russell Square, ) London, June 18, ISSY. f Last evening I attended an anniversary soiree of the Regent Square and Somerstown Sunday Schools, held in Somerstown, a neidibourhood much like the Five Points. Lady and gentlemen teachers present for a tea-drinking. Then up stairs, where a meeting lasted two and a half hours. Dr. Hamilton in the chair, who received me with great warmth. Numerous speeches. Of course, 1 made an address. Hamilton's gifted vocabulary flowed in my behalf. The cheers and "hears" were a little appalling to me ; but good nature and a disposition to be pleased 1857. 241 marked every thing. I thought the talent displayed by these teachers very remarkable. The heartiness and almost convivial glee of the meeting were unlike what we have at such times. In our immediate vicinity is the vast but unfinished cathe- dral of the Irvingites. London is their Jerusalem, being the seat of their twelve apostles and seven churches. They have two daily services, and I have been to their even-song. The church is a sublime one. About sixty persons were present, of whom part were clergy in rich and varied robes. The chief one, who was forward and apart, near the altar, was wrapped in a heavy dark cloak over his alb, with a stole ; he took the lead, and was either angel or bishop. The service was chanted cathe- dral-wise, and most delightfully. Altogether it was a very solemn affiiir. ]\Iuch incense was used. June 21. Sunday. — Very warm. Dr. Hamilton's church. The text Avas Proverbs viii. 1. It was an admirable sermon. He began it by comparing the choice of Hercules with the choice of Solomon. A shower ha^'ing come up, I went in the afternoon to the neighbouring church of the Apostles (Irvingite) in Gordon Square. A sermon of an hour was first preached by Mr. John Wells, on the " procession of the Holy Ghost." It was read, was well-delivered, and very theological and orthodox, until near the close he declared that the day of miracles and prophecy had returned. Then followed the regular even-song, which was alto- gether distinct. The big ones sat in common seats during the sermon with purplish cassocks and small capes — three having lace sleeves ; but during the vespers, all were in the choir, which is of immense size. There were twenty, exclusive of the singing- boys in white. The Angel or Bishop (Mr. Heath) had a purple cloak over his alb, and performed his part to admiration. Of the rest, some had yellow and some red stoles, (or scarfs,) and all had albs or white dresses. I heard one pray in the spirit, one prophesy, and three give the word of exhortation. The organ and Gregorian chant were in perfection ; all being in good train- ing, and the congregation (about a thousand) generally joining. The sound rolled majestically through the Gothic vaults of the great edifice, which is quite a marvel of modern architecture. The incense, the intoning, and the bowing to the altar, are per- fectly popish, but the service and ceremony are ver}^ fine and im- pressive. I do not believe they have better music at St. Paul's. London, June 23, 1857. The new buildings of Lincoln's Inn are noble. In the fine library I found numbers studying and compiling. A whole alcove and more is devoted to American works, [on Law.] Then VOL. II. — 11 24:2 DURING HIS SECOND YISIT TO EITEOPE. to the Middle and Inner Temples. How ancient and beautiful these gardens, walks, and green trees, opening on the river and full of associations from Shakspeare downward ! Professor L., of King's College, who accompanied me, greatly admires Ameri- can jurisprudence, and amidst all his compilations says that American reports are most useful to him. He may be called a disciple of Story's, whose entire works he showed me. In the four Inns there are lectures, Monday on Common Law, Tuesday on Civil Law, Wednesday on Constitutional Law, Thursday on Equity, Friday on Real Estate. After all this, it was highly proper that I should go to Smith- field. I made my approach by Skinner Street and the Old Bailey, by Snow Hill and Giltspur Street, near St. Sepulchre's and the Compter. This is one of the mustiest and most delicious parts of old London ; for here enters Hosier Lane, (Swift speaks of the " veriest cockney of Hosier Lane,") and Cock Lane, famous for Dr. Johnson's and Wesley's visit to the ghost. And here is Pye Corner, where the fire of 1666 stopped. The great area of Smithfield, vast indeed, remains, and the imiumerabie stalls are left, but the glory is departed. Not only are there no martyrs, like John Rogers, but there are no beasts. ■ I saw a timid flock of sheep looking out of Cock Lane, like intruders, but the prin- cipal reminiscence of former days is hay and straw, and the advertisements of butcher-tools, cattle-medicine, &c ; besides advertisements of two lost children. I took the pains to count the parish vagrants, posted as having deserted their families, and found the number thirty-one. All this end of town is old, black, and profoundly suggestive. The smell is peculiar, and was doubtless known to Shakspeare and Bunyan. The strawberries are very plenty and very large, and the English way is to serve them in the hulls, and eat them out of hand, dipping in powdered sugar. I heard Dean Trench read prayers at Westminster Abbey, and saio him preach in a surplice and scarlet hood. He is a robust, hale, good-looking Englishman, with much of that " holy- tone " which belongs to all readers here. The funerals are solemn mockery. The hearse is surmounted with immense plumes or bunches, as big as a man, and I have seen a dozen persons in black, perched on the top, driving full tilt to act as mutes. I can't get over the horse-flesh of Hyde Park. I never saw such blood, condition, and grooming. In the streets one sees the biggest and the least horses in the world. '&&' London, June 29, 185Y. I have heard the wonderful Spurgeon. I am told the eflTort 1857. 243 was feeble, for him. He has none of those captivating intonations which we remember in Siimmerfield and others ; neither should I judge him to have any pathos. His voice is incomparable, and perfect for immense power, sweetness, and naturalness. His pronunciation is admirable, with the never-failing English eyther, knowledge, wroth, &c. Though very like his likenesses, he becomes almost handsome when animated. His gesture is sparine- and gentlemanlike. I detect no affectation. The tremendous virtue of his elocution is in outcry, sarcasm, and menace, and his voice improves as it grows louder. I seriously think his voice the great attraction. His prayers were concise and solemn ; a shade too metaphoric. His short exposition was so-so in matter, but well-delivered. He preceded his sermon by a shot at Lord Lyndhurst's late remarks on the obscene Print Bill, and said : " Holywell Street had at length found an advocate in West- minster Palace." He requested the people in the gallery (there are three one over another,) not to lean forward. He said you could tell a Dissenter in church, by his sitting down before the hymn was over. During the sermon he described broken-down preachers, spitting blood,- going to the continent and travelling at other people's expense. This did not please me, for " Who e'er felt the halter draw, With good opinion of the law ? " He told a very funny story of a minister with a rich wife. He was very severe on the establishment, and rather intimated that the gospel was very little preached. In this part of the discourse, he preached himself. Notwithstanding all this and his dreadful onslaught on written sermons, I think his work here matter of the greatest thankfulness. He preaches a pure gospel, in the most uncompromising manner, with directness, power, and faithfulness ; and he preaches it to hundreds of thousands, to beggars and princes. I am at a loss to say what they come for. They seem to be led of God. ■ All strangers go. Some of the nobility are always there. Church ministers abound in every assembly. I ought to have said there is nothing that savours of the rude or illiterate. Such a building I would beg a year to have in New York, for some stentor. It is the beau-ideal, being the theatre of Surrey Gardens, where Jullien lias his concerts. It will hold ten thousand seated. Every aisle and corner was filled by a dense mass of standing persons num- bering perhaps a thousand. The attention was unbroken. What struck me, was the total absence of the ill-dressed classes. A person behind me pointed out actors, Waterloo officers, noble- men, &c. Old Hundred by about ten thousand voices was really congregational singing. His sermon was fifty minutes, Ezek. 244 DTJEING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. xxxvi, 37 — on the connexion of prayer Avilh blessings. 1. Fact. 2. Reasons. The first head was admirable ; as scriptural, simple, chaste, direct, winning, and full of Christ, as one could wish. Only I wondered all the while why it drew the masses so. Then he began to suffer with the terrible heat ; said so ; and evidently lost his strength of body and mind. The appli- cation was common-place, but his felicitous language and glorious voice will carry along any thing. I am persuaded he seeks to save souls, and believe that he is as much blessed to that end, as any man of our day. My childish recollections of Larned, represent him as much such a speaker. Spurgeon is a blended likeness of Prof. Atwater, and Mr. Bartine, the JNIethodist. His eyes are disproportion ally small. In many points of assurance, dogmatism, conceit, and sarcasm, he reminds one of , to whom he is greatly superior in gentlemanlike bearing and absence of nasal twang, while he falls far below him in learning, original illustration, and I think inventive genius. But Spur- geon preaches the blessed gospel of the grace of God. You know my passion for London : it is next to impossible to get away, though the feeling of heat is as great as it would be at New" York, wdiile the mercury is about 77°. Drives into the environs are very sweet. All the banks of Thames are lovely. No words can describe the verdure, the cottages, the roses, the green lanes, the field-j)aths, the hay-making, the parks. The thoughts are very serious which one has amidst the most favourable circumstances, in a foreign land. I trust they are not without spiritual profit. My friends at home are cer- tainly not less in my mind. The feeling of being so much a truant is very oppressive to me at times. After all, I would a thousand times rather be at home. The speakers whom I heard in the House of Commons, were the Attorney-General, Mr. Henley, (a fine, blunt John Bull,) Mr. Collier, (a fine orator,) and Mr. Rolt. As I never heard Randolph say more than one word, viz., " Palgrave," so all 1 ever heard Palmerston say, is : " Because they (the Proctors) are to be swept from the earth." I was mightily struck with the gentlemanly tone of the debate, and the subdued and delicate mamier in wiiich adverse opinion w'as stated, even wdien the argu- ment was point-blank in opposition. This was the day for our visit to the Crystal Palace. It is far nobler than the original one, forty-four feet higher, and with three transepts. As it takes a volume to describe it, I will bring that with me, for little can be done in a letter. The park and gardens and fountains are on prodigious scale. Even within the building every sort of tropical tree and plant is growing, and 1857. 245 there is almost as mucli vegetable matter as any thing else. Landscape gardening is producing its chef d'oeuvre without. In a wild part of the grounds, you have models of life size, and in appropriate surroundings, of all the hideous creatures of the early formations, pterodactylus, hyloeosaurus, ichthyosaurus and all. On our way, E. stopped me and said : " O look what a noble little boy ! " We presently found it was Prince Arthur, who, with two sisters, was viewing the palace. We heard two excellent orchestral concerts, stayed all day, and all for a shilling. The pleasantest thing was the great number of the lower class. On reaching lodgings, I found cards of Messrs. Dallas, Senr. and Junr., [the American Minister and son,] and a letter from the Earl of Waldegrave, expressing regret that his son was not in town.^ I have seen all the Inns of Court, and of the Inns of Chan- cery, Clement's Clifford's, Furnival's, Thavie's, and Staple. Strand Inn is pulled down. Barnard's I cannot find. The only remaining ones of the nine, Lyon's and New Inn, I will look for. With Christ's Hospital some of these are my flivourite spots. Some say the very first wool-staplers of London lived at what is now Staple Inn. Such an antiquity would not abide a year in New Yoi'k. Even in London such cool, moist, monas- tic spaces are preserved only by belonging to guilds or other corporations. London, July 3, 1857. The House of Lords is superb, but bad for hearing. Lords appear in morning-dress — many with hats on ; some lounging, and one asleep. Law Reform was up. I was glad to "hear Brougham at length. He is erect, and agile, though very gray. The manner of a vehement old preacher. Able and emphatic. Lord Chancellor Cranworth spoke, leaving the woolsack. His voice and manner that of the late President Maxwell, [of Vir- ginia.] Lord Eitzwilliam spoke ; tall, thin, quakerish, hat over eyes. I afterwards saw him canter off on a spirited horse, brought by a groom in white livery ; the Earl is 75. Lord Campbell spoke. Without his [Judge's] wig, looks bluff and hearty ; dark hair, baldish ; age 76. Afterwards they went into committee, Redesdale in the chair. I also heard him speak. Then came on ^ The son of the Earl is the Hon. and Rev, Samuel Waldegrave, now canon of Salisbury, and author of several excellent religious works. Of one of these — " New Testament Millenarianism " — Dr. Alexander gave a synop- sis in the Repertory, July, 1856. Mr. Waldegrave's book has many acknowledgments of the value of Dr. J. A. Alexander's " Isaiah," and some letters passed between the two authors. 246 DTJEixa nis second yisit to eueope. a second reading of Lord Campbell's bill about immoral publica- tions. He spoke with much animation. Lord Lyndhurst made a few remarks. He looks young when sitting, with hat on, having a youthful wig ; but when he walks, his spindling, failing shanks, betray 85 years. I had pointed out to me the Duke of Argyle ; red head, slender, strutting ; fine forehead. Lord Nelson rather foppish. Lord Shaftesbury youngish and graceful. Lord Wensleydale (Park) very burly and strong. I heard some very poor speaking. The general look of the Lords reminded me of Virginia gentlemen ; quite so in manner ; but more neat- ness of dress, though not more simplicity, in most. The fine hale condition of so many old Lords, speaks well for English climate, dinners, sports, and general habits. The law-lords have no easy times. After a long day on the bench, Campbell comes to the Lords' and makes speeches ; he has no Scotch accent, of which Brougham has much. Shaftesbury is 50. His son, Lord Ashley, is in the House of Commons. S. is the great philan- thropist of the aristocracy. I have never been in Parliament, without hearing America mentioned. In connexion with law- reform, it is always honourably. The Lord Chancellor, Lynd- hurst, Brougham, Campbell, and Fitzwilliam, all agree in urging simpler forms. They are now hammering at complications of the mortgage. Contrary to the genius of English law, they seek to make the transfer of real estate as easy as the transfer of bank-stock. I saw two bishops, both in and out of rig. Their undress is nobly beautiful ; w^ith their robes and lawn they look like Falstaff in the buck-basket. Lord Ellenborough made a speech of some length on India. He is 6Q ; tall and stout, heavy voice, more than the usual stammer, little of the peculiar tin- pan, palatal utterance, which makes Granville resemble the lower classes. It appears to be quite the thing for members to go home on horseback. We went to Albert Smith's Ascent of Mont Blanc, Picca- dilly. It lasted two hours, and was a union of first-rate paint- ing with irresistible humour. Indeed, I never heard any thing so comic as his songs and dialogues " up the Rhine." Smith is one of the Punch set. The entertainment is modish, the rooms elegant. London, July 6, ISSY. At 6^ yesterday I sought out Baptist W. Noel's chapel in John Street, near Gray's Inn. As I approached I heard a man say it was " ordinance day," a dissenting phrase, which I hap- pened to understand. The chapel is old and old-fashioned ; 1857. 247 showing ^Yllat tlie Eanstead Court Tabernacle may have been copied from. Galleries on all four sides, and very wide ; seats under the gallery lengthwise ; pulpit high; vestry-end thrown in by moving a partition ; full house of plain but earnest people. Precentor gave out hymns and notices. Mr. Noel is a thin-faced pale, refined, American-looking man. I recognize the incompar,- able elocution which I admired so much in '51. I also perceived afresh that the higher you go in society here, the more the talk is like that of educated men at home ; say of Charleston. I don't say Boston, because of the Yankee hens, and dootij, and stoodent; nor yet of Virginia, because of the E — phobia, as Dr. Eush used to call it. Otherwise, it is more like Virginia. He used no notes, and in an hour's preaching never broke into any intonations wdiich would sound wrong if he had been speaking to three people, by his fireside. He was on Matt. xxv. 25 — 29, the Institution. It was simple and chaste, but scholarly ; deeply interesting and even delicious, but not impassioned ; no flmcy, no illustration ; eminently didactic and parenetic. Altogether I must place it among the most pleasing, useful, and holy discourses I ever heard. He made a bold declaration of free-communion. Brighton, Jidy 13, 185*7. Brighton itself is a large place, with much elegance of struc- ture, and all the appliances of sea-bathing. The air is like New- port. Just before our windows (Pier Hotel) is a drive frequented by ceaseless processions of gentry in every kind of vehicle, ladies with grooms, donkeys, goat-carriages, foot-folk, and just beyond, still very near us, the sea-beach, with rows of the machines out of which they bathe. The surf is much less than at Newport. There are innumerable children w\ading in the low tide. One pleasant thing is the total absence of that glare which prevails on our beach. The streets, moreover, are watered with such English faithfulness, that there is no dust. Eemember it is not the "season" at Brighton. That begins in October. Walking and driving on the beach are here in their perfection. The parade is three miles. The high banks are paved and pali- saded, so as to be charming. A pier, highly ornamented, juts out into the sea, on the widened end of which a band of music plays in the evening. So gay and brilliant a spectacle I never saw out of Paris. I no longer wonder at the popularity of Brighton, nor at the fondness of George IV. for it. The stone and brick buildings give a look of permanence, wanting ni our ^ A church in Philadelphia, built for Independents, but afterwards the Seventh Presbyterian. 248 DUKiNG HIS seco:jsD visit to eueope. summer-resorts. It is a wonder Brigliton is not always full of people, but they go by thousands to the continent. England is over-peopled, and they flee from one another. Watering places at homo compromise them. As Albert Smith says of Baden- Baden, " all the English get up from the table at once, because each one is afraid he shall make a blunder, and each one wants to be a greater swell than the others." The beautiful downs, or wavy hills, which mark all the coast, afford charming eminences, and the perfect roads tempt to drives, especially as villages, plantations, and meadows with ancient hedges, are numerous. The high, solid drive for miles, on the brink, is totally novel and the etfect is surprising. Long streets and squares are built up uniformly with the cream-coloured " composition " fronts, which bulge out so as to afford window- views both ways. The beach is divided into inclined planes of perfect smoothness, with low partitions. Here the machines are. The old granny who waits, assists the practitioner, who is under cover till the instant of dashing into deep water. There is noth- ing of the social bathing and aquatic fracas which makes much of the fun in America. It is a separate, exclusive, Anglican immersion. Brighthelmstone, which is the full Anglo-Saxon name, was a British settlement. Flemish men settled here 800 years ago. It became famous as a resort about 100 years ago. See Madame d'Arblay for later popularity. In ^fadame's day hoops were worn, as again now. George IV. came here in 1782, and this made Brighton. It is confidently said that the high paved promenade is the finest in the world. So much does uniform building prevail that whole rows look like palaces, and it resembles Swiss or Erench architecture. The Downs extend fifty or sixty miles. Their exposures show pure chalk, and like all hills of chalk, they are beautifully rounded and covered with fine, close, velvet turf. The great peculiarity of these hills is the graceful serpentine curve formed by their contour, and the plush surfiice of short grass which precisely resembles a fine rug in its feel. We took a drive on the 10th to the Devil's Dyke, five miles. The sea was almost always in view as we climbed from one graceful ascent to another. As if by special order, a sky-lark was scarcely ever out of hearing, though often out of sight. We would hear the laughing, ecstatic song, long before we could descry the tiny creature as he looked. Then he would come into view, mounting higher and yet higher, and drifting a little adown the wind, so as to get befbre us, but often just overhead, in a passion of joy, fainter and fainter to the ear, and dashed to pieces by the wind, till at length with circles lessening every 1857. 249 moment he would drop down to the earth. When we reached the summit, where there is an inn, the sudden view was amazing. You are astonished that a few hundred feet should open such an expanse. Before us is the whole Weald of Sussex, a plaui 100 miles by 40, like the parterres of a garden. With the naked eye we saw the isle of Wight. They tell us that sixty churches are in sight. I cannot express the thronging suggestions. In some degree of purity, from all these churches has for centurie^ ascended the song "Thou art the King of glory, O Christ ! It was beauty rather than sublimity, though even the sublime was caused by extent, and by the wide prospect of the Channel from Beachy Head to Portsmouth. ^ The little hamlet of Stanmer is the prettiest about Brighton. The old houses of the peasants are absolutely hidden with run- ning plants and flowering shrubs. On one we saw currants trained to run even over the roof, and bearing red fruit there. You will judge from the length of my twaddle, that we are en- gaged in the "dolcefar oiienie. We have the delightful prospect of Mr. Stewart's' company all through Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland. This is matter of great thankfulness. Yentnor, Isle of Wight, July 11, 1857. The resemblance between the Isle of Wight and Staten Island is very striking ; but the parts of the isle which we have seen, are beyond any word-picturing. To say that the fields and woods are of a soft green, all moist and pure, and without any mixture of Hiding or decay, even now in the dog-days, would be oniy to say that it is England. But Wight has very peculiar features The north and south parts are unlike ; the north being all garden and the south broken and wild. For ten miles from Ryde, southward, every route was as beautiful as any park or pleasure-o-round. The roads were, of course, hard and smooth ; but they were also hedged, and ever winding, and ever changing level and ever and anon entering some quaint village or hamlet, or brino-ing us suddenly in view of the sea. We passed the church and rectory of Legh Richmond. No exaggeration need be feared as to the cottage-life ; no fancy of yours, however melodmmatic, could make a picture to exceed these one-story, old, thatched dwellino-s, half hidden in creepers, and parti-coloured with flowers.'^ The romance of hill, dale, copse, glen, cliff, spring, dark shady lane, and look-out to the sea, cannot be carried ' The Rev. Charles S. Stewart, who had joined our travellers in London, and whose kind attentions and agreeable society are frequently and attec- tionately referred to in many letters. VOL. II. 11* 250 DLTEma nis second visit to eueope. further. The fields, as Emerson says, look as if finished with the pencil, rather than the plough. In considering the scenery of this back part of the island it occurs to me that its exemplifies the production of great effects by combination of few elements ; as the ancient Greek painter had, they say, but three colours on his palette. In this little corner of a little island, effects are. pro- duced which are really Alpine; as if the Creator, in his over- flowinoj bounty, had determined to show his child on a small scale, how he sometimes works on a large one. We visited the smallest church in England, if not in the world, called of old St. Lawrence-under-tVuth. Till a late enlargement, it was 25x12. On the 16th INIr. Stewart and I determined to circumnavigate the island — a sail of about 70 miles. In order to commence it, however, we must needs go thirteen miles to Ryde. At 1 1 we went on board a small steamer and proceeded westward. The compaiiy was genteel. I soon cottoned to an Anglican clergy- man, who cheered our whole voyage by his clever and witty talk. We had a capital view of Osborne House, Norris Castle, (the seat of Bell— "Life in London,") Hurst Castle, Lymington, Yar- mouth, &c. Where the island begins to turn southward, the scene becomes very remarkable. The chalk cliffs are cut straight up and down, and assume fantastic contours and colours, like cornices, like walls, like mantels, like tapestries, like ruled music- lines for giants. The streaks of ore, in and near Alum Bay and the Needles, are of many hues, and the formations unlike any thing I ever beheld. The Needles are exactly like monstrous icebergs, and they, with the rocks, present a spectacle not only interesting but sublime. Ventnor showed nobly on the terraced cliffs of the south point, but it is too fresh and American-looking to compare with such thatched, hedged, embosomed spots as Bowchurch or Godshill. We made our periplus in 4 hours 30 minutes. Next day we made a pilgrimage to Legh Richmond's place, Brading. We saw his church, and the grave of Jane, " the Young Cottager," and then by a delightful drive over high com- manding downs, to Arreton, where we saw another old church, and the grave of " the Dairyman's Daughter." We also called at her cottage, now occupied by her nephew, and saw her Bible, &c. After dinner we went to tea at Mrs. Pelham's, by her kind invitation. Her grounds join her brother-in-law's. Lord Yar- borough's, and we strayed over the whole— an earthly Paradise, which only great wealth can produce. Here she introduced us to her pastor, the Rev. Charles Livingston, rector of the tiny church. Mrs. Pelham is a grand-daughter of the duchess of 1857. 251 Manchester, and cousin of Lord John Eiissell and of the duchess of Wellington. Mr. Livingston lives in a superb place on an ornamented cliff, commanding the sea. It gave him pleasure to hear of his relatives in America ; and he several times related the story of his ancestor of the Kirk of Shotts. lie spent a long evening at our lodgings, and awaited our stage-coach at the avenue of his house to pronounce a blessing on us. Some of the best descriptions of the scenery of the isle are in Richmond's three tracts. For example, in the " Negro Ser- vant " he paints a series of scenes, which we instantly recognize, though he does not name them. They are the Down between Allerton and Newport, the vale of the Medina, the Solert, South- ampton, and Alum Bay. I shall never hear the name of the Isle of Wight without a thrill of recollections, nor without gratitude for having been allowed so leisurely and thorough a survey. Moreover, there my cough seemed to be suspended, if not ended. Paris, July 24, 1857. I am overwhelmed with the greatness of the changes in Paris, [since 1851.] The mere extension of the rue de Rivoli, with rows of palatial edifices, is but a part. Entire boulevards have been opened, with names gratifying to the Emperor, as B. de Strasbourg, B. de Sebastopol, &c. Two grand objects are plainly in view, the holding Paris as a great walled encampment, and the filling of the people to the brim with amusement. Without a nocturnal drive no one comprehends Paris. The world has no such turn-out of population ; no word but siuarming gives any idea of it. As we approached the Boulevards, where the great cafes seem one complex of glass, mirrors, and light, the rows on the broad pavements were often ten, twenty, perhaps thirty deep. Among these thousands, we heard nothing like outcry, observed no rudeness, and detected no signs of drunkenness. People drive out after dinner, and the stream of carriage-lamps continues till midnight. Mr. Stewart visited the Emperor at Plombieres, and was received by him in such a manner as would have been impossible at Paris ; dining, walking, and chatting with him for three hours, with every mark of sincere friendship and the absence of all ceremony.^ Macon, (Saone et Loire,) July 28, ISSY. Here w^e are, having come at one stretch (from Paris) 275 miles. This, and the region we have passed lately, is the country ^ The Rev. Mr. Stewart had known and befriended the Emperor during his stay in the United States, in his early career. 252 DUEING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. of the filmed Burgimdy wine. " Corn and wine " are given to these plains in abundance. The country wine is weaker than cider, and more refreshing. I never saw a town of uglier houses. In no instance do we see any flowers, or plants, trained over the doors and windows. Apricots and figs are by bushels, and the country wine is without charge. The people seem quiet, innocu- ous, and stolid — that is not precisely the word — unambitious and uninquiring. On this blazing day I look everywhere for what we call a shade-tree ; I see nothing but the stiff rows of poplars, and these in places where there are no houses. There is a promenade, with shadeless trees and no grass. Points observable in our rapid tour yesterday : All champaign country for 200 miles. No cottages, no barns, no lanes, or cross roads, no divisions, no groves, and almost no beasts of burden, except the human ones. Women universally the majority of workers in the harvests. Country fertile, thoroughly tilled, and pleasing for a first view, but unutterably monotonous. ^ People seem quiet, like so many sheep. In a few instances I descried little edifices, which I have no doubt were Protestant temi^les, and the sight was affecting. A little bread and a little wine seem to be the fare of the peasantry, who are universally temperate. Cha- lons-sur-Saone is a fine town, the Cabillonum of Csesar ; it is known to have been visited by Augustus, Constantine, Attila, and the Saracens. Geneva, Juhj 29 — August 6, 1857. Delightful place ; one can't help breathing the air of Protes- tantism Imd freedom. The lake and environs and mountains are as lovely as Kousseau, Cooper, and Byron have described. I drove to Dr. IVIalan's, at Vendoeuvre, a beautiful hamlet. The venerable man was sitting with his wife and daughter. At the Bergues I found Dr. Tyng, returning from Palestine. What a pitv that the very best descriptions of the Leman and its shores are in Ptousseau's worst work ! There are few places I ever saw in which I could more willingly reside. Shops, libraries, &c., are abundant ; there is the best of Protestant society and preach- ing ; schools numerous and good ; mild winters and luscious fruits ; neighbourhood of Paris, the Rhine, and Italy ; a perfect laissez-faire as to the way in which you shall live. Dr. Malan said : " Most of your countrymen have what I call the American venom— they want to feel before they believe." For a place of its size, Geneva has an air of polite letters and refined art, which reminds one of Athens. Like Athens it is also a resort for many nations. We had a beautiful view of Mont Blanc from Dr. Malan's, and afterwards from Col. Tron- 185T. 25 o chin's beautiful place. On a steamboat excursion around the lake I made the acquaintance of William Turrettini, lineal de- scendant of the great three ; he is an eminent lawyer and legis- lator, and a pious, orthodox man. The arch-duchess ]\Iarie of Russia was on board, with forty-five in party ; a handsome woman, with a handsome daughter. On Sunday I heard Dr. Malan ; who is certainly eloquent, though he evidently speaks without the least preparation. The congregation was about eighty. At seven we had a service in our own room, which was very delightful. Dr. Tyng expounded John xxi. The present government of Geneva is radical, Fazy being President. They favour Papists. Protestant and Popish interests are about in equilibrio. At the treaty of Turin, Geneva obtained increase of territory, but with it an accession of Papists. The Sabbath is much profaned here ; for an age the elections of the Canton have been held in the cathedral on a Sunday. There is a Greek chapel here, entirely for the con- venience of a sister of the late Emperor Nicholas. The princess goes there on Sunday, for some formal cause, and then rapidly drives to one of the French churches. Geneva is full of old covered alleys or passages, running clear through piles of buildings. They probably have some connexion with the defences of other times. One finds a remarkable number of ancient noble houses degraded into factories and dwellings for the poor. They are too massive to be pulled down, as would be done in the United States. I found one this morning, of grand proportions, with a defaced blazonry over the door. No one could tell me what it was formerly, (it is now an iron warehouse,) but a little street back of it, named la rue de vieux college, reveals the story. I have been at the cathedral, and once more saw the canopy under which Farel, Calvin, and Knox preached. They also have Calvin's professional chair. I suppose no place of its size has half as many book-shops as Geneva, and 1 have never seen a place so stocked with beautiful prints and engravings. The truffles of all this region of the Rhone are fine, succulent, and savoury. Every variety of fruits in market ; mulberries, im- mense yellow and crimson gages, strawberries, raspberries, pears, plums, apricots, and such potatoes as rival Ireland ; sold chiefly by a poor, withered-looking set of brown women, sitting on the ground, many with goitres, and though in this Alpine land, devoid of rosy freshness and all grace. At our breakfast we have honey, black cherries, and very large figs. Geneva is a sweet home-like place, which I am sorry to think I shall never see ao-ain. 254 DTJKING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. Berne, August 7, 185Y. It is surprising how many persons speak English, and how many Russians we meet. The Bernese are far better looking as a people than the Genevese. Among the latter, even. the young women look haggard and withered. Here there is much of the blonde character, which belongs to the better sort of Germans. Berne is a strange, solid, grotesque, middle-age place, built so mountainously that nothing but an earthquake could well alter it. The view of the Oberland Alps is very fine in good weather. IntePvLaken, August 9 — 20, 1857. Interlaken lies between the lakes Thun and Brienz. Never since Niagara have my descriptive talents been more tasked and baffled. The village combines every thing, both old and new, which the most romantic fancy could demand in Swiss architec- ture. The streets crooked, the houses tumbled about with all lines but straight ones, in a way to drive a Philadelphian mad, the eaves overhanging, stones on the roofs, every chraracteristic wdiich we see in the stone villages. All this in a little circular basin quite surrounded by irregular mountains, with the Jungfrau in full sight from our windows. This, as the most ravishing spot in Switzerland, has been seized on by the English. In the height of the season, I reckon there are two thousand of them here. I sit and muse with a sort of childish admiration at these great and lovely works of God, now half-veiled with clouds and mists, the fantastic changes of which make a new picture every minute. The thought of my dear and honoured father's pleasure in such sights, often comes to me ; he sees better than these — perhaps these also. The hour at which I write, allowing for longitude, is that of morning service in our church, a season which I always remember with a sense of communion. Our Sabbaths abroad have been memorable, and not the lesp so for the mingling of pages from God's two great records. I have just read the whole of Ezra, hard by the Jungfrau. Eor the first time (August 11) I heard a band of Swiss girls sing Alpine songs, with that peculiar falsetto voice which is called yodling. It was sweet, wild, and in such surroundings, delightful. I cannot think there is any more lovely place than this on the face of the earth ; a vale, a river, two lakes, a wall of mountains, snow Alps beyond, English shops, society and service, clear air and luxurious accommodation. A trip on horseback into the Ober- land gave me a thorough acquaintance with snow-peaks, mountain paths, avalanches, alp-horns, singing-girls, ranz-des-vaches, cas- cades, &c. The cow-bells of the innumerable cattle are large 185T. 255 and musical, and every cow has one, so that the sound while they graze is peculiar. Baden-Bade.v, August 23 — 31, 185Y. I never dreamed of such a Vanity-Fair. The Champs Elysees afford no such concentration of trees, lamps, dresses, music, crowds, and fashion as the promenade before the Conversations- Saal here ; all in full dress ; a ball-room out of doors, and the numbers 1,000 to 3,000 ; nothing heard but French. The waters are about 160° Fahrenheit. The Anglicans keep up service here, and in a Roman Catholic church. When I entered the door, I thought I had been mis- directed. The epistle and gospel our British brethren must always read at the altar ; and here the two parsons had the regular thing, with all its mantel-furniture, candles, and framed papers, more tawdry than usual. While I say this, I must do honour to the English for everywhere keeping up the service of God, and for the frequency and decorum of their attendance. How pro- found and distressing is my impression of the irreligion of these countries ! No Sabbath and apparently no grace ! The boors are so ground to the earth, that they look like slaves. Blessed Americans, sua si bona norint! I am refreshed by a handful of precious German tracts, (some by Ryle,) which Dr. Marriott, of Basle, sets forth. That hot but sincere man does much good ; and among these epicures and Sadducees (Phil. iii. 18, 19) every thing is notable, that tends towards the saving of the soul. Wo is me, if I seek it not more zealously on return. A series of tracts in large print, by old Andrew Read, entitled " Cottage Tracts, or Christ's Welcome to all comers," is very fine. You must consult Sir Francis Head,^ or some of the guide- books, about Baden-Baden. I had no idea of the grand scale on which every thing is conducted. It is a lap of earth among high, near, and round hills, which are cut into innumerable walks and drives. The water is drunk hot as well as used externally. But the great thing is raving, idolatrous, expensive pleasure. The princes of all the continental states are to be seen here during the season. Every moment we look for the king of Flanders, and a cloth is already laid for his feet. People suffer as much with heat as in America. Our windows are just beside the front door, so we see royalty [king of Belgians] whenever he goes or comes. The king is a good-looking old gentleman ; he is well made up with black wig, but no whiskers or moustache ; full suit of black, an orange something under his waistcoat. Legs a little shaky. In the ^ "Bubbles from the Brunnen of Xassau." 256 DUEmG HIS SECOND YISIT TO EUEOPE. afternoon a coach and four postilions, footman and outriding groom, drove up. Two ladies in white muslin ^ot out. The king descends — grand uncovering and bowing. lie ascends the coach, leaving one of the ladies. These are the princesses of Prussia, who have a summer-house here. The king travels incog., as Count d' Ardennes; his suite consists of seventeen per sons. The gamhling-scene at the Conversation Hall is very stirring. A woman very eager and prominent, booking her profit and loss. Mothers showing boys and girls how to stake. The roulette- table is just such as I have seen in my childhood, with sweat- cloth, &c. In Switzerland I thought much of Wordsworth's poetry con- cerning it, and of Scott's Anne of Geierstein. On the Rhine I consider Byron's stanzas descriptive of the same better than any painting. Goethe often occurs to me. People get to be great polyglots here. I often hear the same person speak three lan- guages in as many minutes. The African servant of a Russian j)rince has just been talking fluently under our window in Ger- nian, Italian, and French ; he says he is from Central Africa. The princess Helena of Russia is here, and the Emperor is to visit a camp at Stuttgart next month. We have had the best instrumental music I ever heard, from the band of the 28th regiment of Austria, now at the neighbouring city of Rastadt. The more I view Baden, the more I see its walks to be inex- haustible ; they wind around all parts of the valley, and creep up the numerous hill-sides, with clumps of trees, gravel-paths, parterres of flowers, and well-placed seats. The Old Castle has a grand site, and is a fine ruin. Every thing Mrs. Radcliffe could desire is afforded by this crumbling, ivy-covered castle. So long has it been vacant that numerous trees of the largest size grow within the walls. On our way home, we went to the New Castle, such only by comparison. It surmounts the acro- polis of the town. The old margraves of the Palatinate lived on the high place till 1471, when the modern Schloss was built. It was burnt by the French in 1689, but restored. The dungeons are horrible ; subterranean vaults of great extent through which we groped with candles. The contrast to the inhabited parts is striking ; here the rooms are brilliant. The young couple now" reigning live chiefly at Carlsruhe, but their private apartments here are very comfortable. The Orphan House of Baden was founded by Stultz, the famous London tailor, who was made a nobleman by his prince. 1857. 257 Heidelberg, September 1, 1857. The woman who accompanied us as guide through tliis castle of castles, and who spoke good English, was a most agreeable and accomplished person; thoroughly versed in history and literature, and quite intimate with Bryant and Longfellow. I heard some capital singing at St. Peter's, and a very legal sermon from a very young divine. The Church is Reformed. Here we have more Germanisms of the table— raw meat, rolled boiled pudding of meat, sourkrout, fish after flesh, sausage and omelette. I went to the University and Library before breakfast. Frankfort on the Main, Sejytember 2 — 4, 1857. This is a noble city. The Zeil is a broad street, resembling Broadway in cheerfulness, brilliancy, business, and crowd ; it is wider, and the trottoirs twice as wdde. ^Ye are next door to Eothschild's town residence. Statues in honour of Goethe and of the three inventors of printing adorn our neighbourhood. To crown all it is full Frankfort-tair ; and the booths, shows, and tantarara, beat all since I saw Greenwich Fair in 185L_ The deep gloom apparent everywhere in the English, about the Indian mutinies, awakens my sincere sympathy. How I wish America could at least speak some words of neighbourly cheer on this great occasion ; it w^ould be profoundly felt by the mag- nanimous part of the British people. The Romer is a famous old building. Here the Senatus was sitting, with men in scarlet at the door. I did homage to the mao-istracy of a great city-commonwealth. I saw the Golden Bufl of 1356, the fundamental law of the German empire ; it is in Latin, and perfectly well kept. The banqueting-hall is sur- rounded by full-lengths of fifty-two emperors, the last filling the last niche. Since Car. V. they are portraits. In this Kaisersaal the new emperor was always feasted, while princes waited on him. Some Prescott or Motley is wanting for this subject. Every available broad street and area is occupied by the (Michaelmas) fair ; miles of shops, booths, and stalls. The Jews predominate in this Eeast of Tabernacles. Imagine twenty Bear-markets, all in one, with tents and sheds for the stalls, and twenty different languages. I suppose it is chiefly for exchanges, and for giving and receiving orders ; but it is for more stirrmg than the got-up AYorld's Eairs, and has antiquarian relations of high interest. 1 see many Russian advertisements and stores of Russian books. The show and mountebank department is extremely broad. In the presence of many a oniles gloriosus, order was perfect. Every thing, all over town, came to a dead stop at 9 30'. I went to see the house of Goethe's birth, a 258 DCKIXG HIS SECOND VISIT TO ErEOPE. truly 2:>atrician old pile, seven windows across. The earlier parts of his autobiography and his Wilhelm Meister came very strongly before me. I see hair-dye advertised of " a celebrated American chemist, Dr. Wanylliam." I have seen forged labels for wares in immistakable German-English. American gum- shoes (Gummijschiihen) grace the fair. I traversed the Jews' Quarter. Formerly this old Jewry was locked up every night. The houses are tall and rickety, mysteriously dark and judaically dirty, and seem squinting and nodding towards one another. There are six thousand Jews in Frankfort. We have suffered much and unexpectedly from heat, but never from musquitoes, bugs, beetles, or those dire-voiced crickets, katydids, and night- frogs, which have been my dread from my infancy ; the dryness and wholesomeness of the night air is likewise creditable. But O how I long for home, and for the glory of all lands ! At the Public Library (200,000 volumes) saw Marchesi's fine statue of Goethe, also Cranach's portrait of Luther and wife, some autographs of Luther, and a pair of his shoes. Then around the former ramparts where now are fine avenues, to the Bethmann Museum, and saw Dannecker's Ariadne. In the even- ing, during a direct interview, a young lady of St. Gall, aged 21, and of very aood manners, addressed Mr. Stewart in German and Italian, and conversed with me in French. She is going to Hamburg, and then to England. Her stature is eight feet five inches. She is attending the Fair. The giantess is pretty- behaved, and shook hands at parting. WiESBADEX, September 5 — 7, 1857. First impressions of Wiesbaden are favourable. It is natu- rally less picturesque than Baden, and improved in a less pic- turesque manner, but with more elaborate beauty. The strong points are a dozen boiling springs, covered promenades near them, Kursaal with cafes, billiards, rouge-et-noir, le roulette, and immense colonnades, the court within shady and with fine jets, — behind is a grand promenade, where thousands take cofiee and ices to the almost perpetual sound of music ; an artificial lake with fountain, rustic bridges, innumerable seats in numerous groves, walks v,inding and climbing up into the eminences, a capital grand ducal residence, extraordinary cheapness of living. The com- pany is evidently two or three carats coarser than that of Baden. Church in the Ducal Palace, a temporary chapel ofi* the riding school. No sermon, but 1 enjoyed the service greatly. A large congregation ; among them Sir Frederick Thesiger. At dinner to-day (10th) ten Presbyterians of us sat together. We are commonly waked by a hymn-tune. When I rise I see the Koch- 1857. 259 brunnen steaming about fifteen yards off. The procession of all nations, holding tall glass cups of hot Avater, which many carry half a mile, is amusino^. They do it all to music. So perpetu- ally are we amidst English talk, that I must needs, from my imitative ear, pick up some brogues, though I shall not intention- ally carry home any English pronunciations. We are now eating the first ripe grapes. The white are like the Chasselas of our hot-houses, but with a more rich raisin flavour. The carp of the hot brooks are fine and healthy, testifying well of the bath; they serve it after the meat. The Germans have no moral scruples connected with gambling. The toy-shops contain little roulette-tables and sweat-cloths, which enter the youth early in the sport. Probably I have had a better glimpse of continental, and especially German life, than I could have had in months at ordinary places. My good opinion of the Germans, in all social relations, is much increased, and I think far more highly of their comforts than I did. As to religion, I have little means of judging. The negative marks are very black. The gambling here is more eager, hot, and vulgar than at Baden. The order of these countries, in things which they choose to order, is marvellous. Every street-noise is prevented, and every inn and cafe is cleared at the " police-hour." All the gambling regulations are by Ducal authority ; not only a tarif of cabs is settled by the same power, but every donkey-ride to this or that place is rated, and the very order of dances in the balls at the Kursaal is prescribed in a placard, signed by the Grand Duke's Commissary. Accidents to vehicles are severely punished. Pla- cards prescribe where wheels shall be locked and paces slackened. The Grand Duchy contains about 360,000 souls, half Romanists. Of Langenschovalbach nothing can be added to Sir Francis Head's " Bubbles " — a work full of entertainment, and less exag- gerative than I once thought. I refer you to it for this, Schlangen- bad, and Wiesbaden, as no one can say as well w^hat he has said. The Springs are powerfully chalybeate, delightfully cool, and sparkling with effervescence. The taste is far more winning than that of the Congress Spring. The baths are celebrated for their tonic character. The L.^is much what the Red Sweet [of Virginia] would be, if artificially improved. The surround- ing eminences strongly resemble American forests. The bath is incomparable for velvet softness, and the water is exported as a cosmetic. CoBLENz, September 9—11, ISSY. We had a very fine afternoon from Biebrich, doAm the Rhine, to this place. The four hours were of almost painfully exquisite 260 DUEING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. interest : the earth has no such shores. Our windows face the Gibraltar of the Rhine, Ehrenbreitstein. This fortress has cost five millions of dollars in its reconstruction. It can hold 100,000 men. I arose in the night, and saw the waning moon in the high heaven, and Orion just ascending obliquely over the grand fortress. Byron's descriptions of Rhine scenery are to me l)eyond any lengthened detail in prose, or even any painting. What a power of true poetry ! I feel it here on the spot.^ See his stanzas beginning " On the banks," &c., and " The castled crag of Drackenfels." We have visited the famous castle of Stolzenfels, (Rock of Pride,) now a summer residence of the King of Prussia. Thence to Ems, the most ancient of the aristo- cratic Brunnen of Nassau. The water is somewhat warmer than the Red Sweet. ^ The coincidence of the place and the subject, induces me to insert on this page the following lines by the late Professor J, Addison Alexander, which were " literally composed, though certainly not written, on recrossing the Rhine at Coblcnz, after an absence of several months to the eastward." This was during "a sleepless night in the month of March," 1834. STAGE-COACH STANZAS. I hail thee as an ancient friend, And as I cross thy line, My democratic knee I bend. To greet thee, royal Rhine. The day and hour, when last we met, Come o'er me like a dream. And then I saw, I see thee yet. Unchanging, changeful stream. The rush of waters o'er thy bed Distracts my labouring brain — Forever dying, never dead — Buried and born again. What is the secret of thy life ? What holds thy channel fast, Amidst the elemental strife. The earthquake and the blast ? Why is it that the swollen tide. Which ever northward sweeps, So warily on either side Its well-marked station keeps ? Why dost thou not, old Rhine, at length Break thy ignoble chains. And mustering all thy mighty strength Submerge the adjacent plains ? Thou art a king among the streams. Thou river deep and broad. In regal pomp thy surface gleams — To man, but not to God. Thy full deep current bold and proud, In his almighty view, Is but the sprinkling of a cloud, A drop of morning dew. Though thou shouldst empty every rill, And drain the neighbouring land, Thy giant-Avaters could not fill the hollow of his hand. The same almighty hand, that drives Thy current to the sea. Can well control it, when it strives, And struggles to be free. And if at times that hand grows slack, And lets thee do thy worst ; He brings thee still at pleasure back, And rules thee as at first. So when I bend my stubborn knee, To greet thee, royal Rhine, I render homage, not to thee, But to thv Lord and mine. 1857. 261 Cologne, September 11, 1857. On the steamer from Coblenz was Macaulay, (soon to be Baron,) and I fear I studied him more than the Rhine. He greatly resembles Inman's portrait : stout, broad, and stalwart, but pale and slightly flaccid in cheeks ; bluish gray eye ; gray hair and whisker ; blue surtout and cap, plaid waistcoat and gray trousers ; about five feet six ; gold spectacles near the end of nose. Very arch but subdued smile sometimes. An ugly but distingue man with him who read " Cicero de Republica," while the Baron read a vellum-covered Italian book, seemingly a history, inter- changeably with Murray, [Guide-book.] They ha-ha'd cheerily over some of Cicero's passages. Only one or two points at- tracted Macaulay; such as the Seven Mountains, Drackenfels and the Dom. I expected talent in his face, but I was delighted with its moral traits, tranquil content, gentleness, and benignity — the last finely displayed towards an infimt. I am sure he would break into tears sooner than into laughter.* Four hundred men are working on the cathedral. The row of windows presented by the late King of Bavaria is superb, but nothing to the ancient glass. Then to St. Ursula's and the oste- ology of the 11,000 virgins — to St. Peter's to see Rubens's great painting of St. Peter's death. In all these churches, as through- out Prussia, the children (Catholic) are gathered every morning before school hours. I heard a thousand sing German hymns at Coblenz. This tells powerfully on the next generation. Spa, September 12, 1857. We have to-day passed from Prussia to Belgium. The country is beautiful ; unlike all we have recently seen, and very like England in hedgerows and verdure, especially about Aix-la- Chapelle, which lies in a picturesque way beside a charming hill. S]3a is very famous in old Chesterfieldian times, and is still visited by kings, dowagers, and vieux moustaches. The water is carried all over Europe, as containing the most extraordinary mixture of iron and effervescence. The Germans are great tipplers of mineral waters, and those of other Springs are brought to each and sold in bottles. All agree in giving the palm to the genuine Seltzer-water from Niederselters, in Nassau. It is a most refreshing beverage, greatly useful to pulmonary patients. It is used at tables to correct the acid of the white wines. I have seen no one at table yet who did not drink wine, but I have seen no intoxication. The labouring classes are hard driven. A chambermaid at Frankfort gets $18 a year. Women are seen ^ Lord Macaulay died Dec. 28, 1859. 262 DUEING HIS SECOND TISIT TO EUROPE. yoked with cows in the plough. Nine-tenths of hay and harvest are carried on women's heads, and a horse is not seen in one field of a thousand. Women work at railway excavations in gangs. These remarks apply less to Belgium, and not at all to Hoi land. Belgian agriculture has a noble appearance ; a neatness like the English, but in kind, in extent, in absence of cattle, roads, and division, altogether French. No spot is in a state of nature ; weeds and brush quite unknown. Root-crops are predominant at this season. I see a blue clover, not knowm in America. A great deal of tobacco is grown on the Rhine, making good light cigars. Indian corn is frequent, but low, straggling, and with irregular ears. It is hard to think how large a portion of these crops goes to the crown. A crazy bridge, a rutty, rough, or stony road, or a miry spot, I have not seen, unless in the Alps. No apprentice or field-hand goes from one hamlet to another, without falling under the municipal argus. The creatures seem ruddy and merry. As a sort of indemnity, the government offers numerous public and accessible pleasures ; parks, music, bands of singers, illuminations, Sunday frolics. The grand instrument, however, of subjugation is the priesthood. You will hear it said that the hold of Popery on the masses is declining ; in my oj^inion the reverse is probably true, and I see an advance in six years. The priests are more numerous and obtrusive, the churches are fuller, and especially the rising race is more under their hand. Belgium is politically liberal, but religiously priest-ridden. The English service is performed at every principal place by a regular chaplain every Sunday. At least ten thousand persons hear the gospel in English, on the Continent, every Lord's day. Antwerp, September 14 — 15, 1857. The country from Spa hither through Lou vain and Mechlin, is flat but garden-like ; people contstantly dressing the crops with spades, hoes, rakes, and the hand. Our hotel is just over from the great Notre Dame. I was in the immediate neigh- bourhood of the 2;reat tower, 405 feet his-h, when the bells beaan to play before the stroke of seven ; it was in parts, and several minutes long. As I thus stood, in the dreamy twilight, in the irregular area in front of the majestic pile and surrounded by quaint old gables, I felt the impression to be deeper than even at Cologne. But these architectural emotions with me are not religions, as are those of Chamonix, the Jungfrau, or the Natural Bridge, [Virginia.] This piling of man's hand is Babel-like. I am deadly sick of popish ceremonies and of all liturgical aping of them, and approximations to them. Read John Owen on Liturgies ; read it ; read it ! 1857. 263 I went to early mass in the cathedral ; there were some hundreds, as it is a jubilee and octave of the somethhig, with plenary indulgence, &c. The music was seraphic. I have always thought men's voices in a vaulted cathedral attained the musical acme! The five aisles came out well in the morning gray. The nimiber of Rubens's chefs cVoeuvre which are in Antwerp is stun- ning. Though I had seen many of his works, I really had never conceived of his power till now. The Magdalene in his Cruci- fixion is, in Reynolds's judgment, the best profile extant. In the " Doctors in the Temple," he has given likenesses of Luther, Cal- vin, and Erasmus, all fine, and the first admirable. At the superb old church of St. Jacques we saw a funeral and three masses all at once. Different parts were in progress, and while the bell jingled, a beadle was trotting us about and explaining the pic- tures ; but whenever a tired lady took a gentleman's arm, it was arrested — it would have been promenacUnr/. There are ninety- nine bells in the great tower, one of which it takes sixteen men to ring. At St. Andrew's we saw the wonderful pulpit of wood- carving, representing the calling of Andrew and Peter from their nets. "^We had seen many such things and despised them, but this is a noble piece of sculpture. The figures are of life-size ; the boat is real ; the net and fishes marvellous ; the manner in which the pulpit and stairs are concealed in rocks and trees is most ingenious, and the expression of the forms and fiices masterly. The whole is about 30x20x15 feet. lyfost of the Walloons understand me when I speak German. The great fiivourite among their writers is Hendrik Conscience, who has ennobled the Flemish tongue as Burns did the Scotch ; a genial story-letter for the people; a Goldsmith in ease, a Franklin for adages, and a Scott for nationality : so they pre- tend. His whole works are publishing here, about 20 volumes, 18mo, being out. He has just been made viceroy of Flanders, and is considered as having given himself to the Catholic, or retrograde party. Bruges, September 16, 1857. There is certainly no spot so redolent of grandeur in decay. Once the Tyre or New York of the continent, it stands with its rows of towering, tottering, ghastly palaces and halls, a builded desert. The streets remind me of London before dawn. Great- ness and beauty arc in these streets. I would have missed any thing rather than this. the region we have just passed through is acknowledged to be the most highly cultivated in Europe ; small properties— 700 264 DUEINa HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. passed in 18 miles — not metaphoriccally but literally tilled like a garden — hundreds of women on their knees, weeding with the hand. Brussels, September 17 — 18, 1857. We breakfasted at Ghent ; saw old churches, old streets, and marks of that wealth which existed in Gand^ w-hen its great native Charles V. said he could put all Paris in his gand, (glove.) To- morrow we part with Mr. Stewart. London, September 19 — 23, 1857. To get back to green, clean, cool, Christian England, is just like enchantment. The verdure seemed an illusion, and "we were like them that dream," (with words following.') At the " Old Slip " in Dover, we resumed our flimiliarity with tea, toast, sole, big basins, thick towels, soap and.joogs of 'ot water. When we last saw the green meads of Kent, we undervalued them, being just from the Isle of Wight ; but coming now from rich but russet Flanders and Normandy, where are no grazing herds and flocks, and no detached cottages, we were in amaze. On Sunday (20th) to Mr. Noel's, and heard Mr. Muncaster, of Manchester, a Congregationalist, one of the clearest, ablest, and most theologic sermons I ever heard. The singing was delightful ; precentor and [Lowell] Masonic plain-song. My soul was melted within me by the fellowship of so many un- mistakably devout persons. Mr. Noel sat below in his pew ; an American face strangely reminding me of my father's, at the age of forty. Blessed Sabbath — blessed gospel— and blessed England still ! More than " the ten " are found in London. Prayers for Indian brethren very touching, and infinitely better than the " prayer in War and Tumult," "" which we have been hearing. To get away from printed pra^^ers and repetitions, is like Alpine air after a chapel full of torch-smell and incense. The Dissenters in England have universally abandoned standing in prayers, so far as I see. As I cannot consent to irreverence in worshipping God, I am as frequently an object of note as in our prayer-meetings at home, where grown men pray sitting, and sometimes staring. Two-thirds of the Episcopalians also sit. The Germans and Scotch all stand. To such as kneel I feel much respect. I heard Mr. Noel in the evening, (Philip, i. 23.) Lan- ^"Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." " The Lord hath done great things for us ; whereof we are glad." ^ In the "Book of Common Prayer." 1857. 265 guage simple but masterly, half an hour without a gesture, but very be^Yitching ; voice that of a parlour-talk ; perfect English, delivered with an absolute absence of all alien intonation. In this respect he is a study. A holy gentleness, with an almost death-bed solemnity ; experimental, mature, evangelical, and spiritual ; very fervent towards the close. No manuscript. When he stopped, I was like Adam with the angel. ^ His dulcet notes remind me of the Bruges carillons. I think Noel's idea of preaching the right thing ; just talking over the Word. My own flxther was not more simple. Only deep and long experience could have brewed such a sermon. The only man I ever heard preach with so little clamour was Dr. J. P. Wilson. After what I deemed adequate knowledge of London fog, I . am this morning (21st) surprised ; perhaps I ought to call it smoke, for it is not wet ; it fills the street so, that I see every object through a medium the colour of weak rum and water. Over the top of this fog, the sun is brightly reflected in the three- pair windows opposite. I record with feeling, that for now 118 days I have not lost an hour or a meal by sickness. I saw a young lady driving a carriage through the jam of High Holborn and Oxford street, with a liveried servant by her side. The shaded sun and autumnal temperature, without any decay of verdure, are just the thing for me. Sun comes out fine. I just missed the annual exhibition of the Blue Coat school and its 900 boys. I was actually within the cloisters, but could get no ticket. The subject of one of the scholar's hexameters w\as Funis Electricus. After viewing so many Gothic buildings, I have this result : My interest in them is scarcely that of beauty in form ; it is the dim association of history. Look at the matcldess row of painted windows in the south aisle of Brussels cathedral, or the minute finish of Freiburg — how intense, how continued, how widespread the sentiment which could produce such results ! The greatness of the mechanism is often astonishing. Above all, the English cathedrals are wondrous. Carlyle says, what I often think of in reference to better and Christian things and ages, which seem barren from want of record, '• greater men have lived in England than any of her writers ; and, in fact, about the time when these writers appeared, the last of those was already gone." American affairs are as much in men's mouths as Indian ; and the comments are not always courteous. Renew^ed reading of the newspapers renews my opinion, that those who have only ^ " So charming left his voice, that he a while Thought him still speaking, still stood fixed to hear." Paradise Lost, VIIL VOL. II. — 12 266 DURING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUEOPE. this way of judging (that is, nine-tenths of the English) cannot but despise America. The articles inserted are about Kansas, Slavery, Repudiation, Burdell, "Wallvcr, and especially the Mor- mons. NHmporte, we are a century ahead of them. The Times shows up the fogyism which has ruined India. Even now they are waked up to no real energies of reparation. Louis Napoleon must laugh in his sleeve. I believe no court in Europe is so lullabied with Lord Chamberlainism. Large numbers are per- petually busy about the pleasures of the Queen and Prince Consort. York, September 24, 1857. We tools: the Great Northern Railway at 11, and arrived at 5 15' — 191 miles. The points which most interested me were Marston IMoor, Newark, and Scrooley, where the little group lived who went to Holland and then to New Plymouth. For twenty miles around York all is flat as a prairie. Glimpses of this pure white Minster, which you would say was built yester- day. But I am sick of what they call Christian Art ; it is all an inferior stage of progress. This is the shooting season. At every station hares, grouse, and hampers of game were handed in or out. The number of hares one sees in the fields is surprising. Every day my provocation increases at the tone in which English people speak of and to Americans : it is ignorantly j^atronizing ; they think of our advancement, precisely as we do of that of Liberia. The Minster shines with a sort of celestial grandeur and beauty after the continental cathedrals. Tlie east window, the chapter-house, and the side-aisles are unique. Melrose, September 25, 1857. We left York at nine, and steamed through Newcastle and Morpeth to Berwick. Here we left the main line, and ran up the Tweed to this place, passing Kelso, an enchanting spot. We saw the Abbey with a glory of sunset breaking through its West window. At Abbotsford we heard a robin-red-breast sing. Edinburgh, September 26 — 30, 1857. Prince's street, where we are, looks right across the green ravine to the lofty houses of the Old Town. I never saw any thing more novel or beautiful than the play of thousands of lights as seen in the populous hill-side from these front windows of ours, flinging themselves not into right lines, but constellations. The Sabbath quiet is almost beyond belief. Only one vehicle has passed this house in the three hours I have been in our 1857. 267 sitting-room. Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, whose truth abides here, and who has made this the happiest great city on the globe ! We have had great comfort by the way in read- ing good tracts, the varieties of which are very remarkable, both inEngland and Scotland. One finds here much more frequently than Avith us, those views in print which were so much our fathers' views, and which are so little prominent in some Old- School preachers ; I mean views combining sovereign freeness of gospel grace with inward spirituality and rest of soul. On the Sabbath I heard Dr. Bruce at Free St. Andrew's. Sermon on Christ's two quellings of storms in Matt. viii. and xiv. General doctrine, that afflictions are ordered not only to try our faith, but to try our utmost foith ; in. the second case, Jesus let them go alone. It was a profound piece of experience, viewed philosophically ; strong meat ; dense, witty at times, unexpected turns like Foster ; no elegance of manner, but im- mense impression. The prayers were almost inspired. Ah hero is the true Eutaxia^ without printed worship ! At 2 I went to Free St. John's. Strangers (how truly I comprehend*the term !) are admitted only after the first singing. I found myself waiting in a basement with about 500 others. At length I was dragged through a narrow passage, and found myself in a very hot, over- crowded house, near the pulpit. Dr. Guthrie was praying. He preached from Isai. xliv. 22, " Return unto me, for I have re- deemed thee." It was fifty minutes, but they passed like noth- ing. I was instantly struck by his strong likeness to Dr. John H. Rice. If you remember him you have perfectly the type of man he is ; but then it is Dr. Rice with an impetuous freedom of motion, a play of ductile and speaking features, and an over flowing unction of passion and compassion, which would carry home even one of my sermons ; conceive what it is w^ith his exuberant diction and poetic imagery. The best of all is, it was honey from the comb, dropping, dropping, in effusive gospel beseeching. I cannot think Whitefield surpassed him in this. You know while you listen to his mighty voice, broken with sorrow, that he is overwhelmed with the " love of the Spirit." He has a colleague and preaches only in the afternoon. As to manner, it is his own, but in general like Duff's, with as much motion, but more significant, and less grotesque, though still ungraceful. His English, moreover, is not spoiled so much. The audience was rapt and melting. It was just like his book,* all application, and he rose to his height in the first sentence. I disliked the singing at Dr. Guthrie's ; a choir, with twiddling ^ Either "The Gospel in Ezekiel," or "The City, its Sins and Sorrows: a series of Sermons from Luke 19 : 41." 268 DUEING HIS SECOND VISIT TO EUROPE. times ; a clear retrocession towards the way which is becoming unsavoury even to New England. The singers were in pews near the pulpit, and I saw an advertisement in the lobby for a tenor singer. They sing well with precentor at Free St. An- drew's. It is worth Avhile to come here to learn how a Sabbath may be kept. This great inn (Royal Hotel) has table d'hote at 5, to give rest to servants. The beautiful avenues of the New Town are thronged with grave but cheerful people, evidently with their faces Zionward, and most of them with Bible in hand. I have a great desire that H. should some day spend some months in Scotland to learn how to preach, catechize, and do pastoral duty. Gladly would I forego for him all that the continent has to offer, for the sake of this. In reflecting on the two great and precious sermons of yester- day, I wonder at the beautiful diversity of gifts. They were as unlike as an apple and a pine-apple. I have no remembrance of any preaching so analytically experimental as Dr. B.'s, except my own dear blessed father's. At each step he seemed to assume all that an ordinary preacher would have preached, and to go on beyond that. His prayers were the same ; so searching in con- fession that I winced, and so paternal and pastoral in intercession, that I could not but fancy his hand feeling all around and gather- ing sorrows out of every heart to bring before God. His stern- ness in no degree modified the graciousness of his gospel freedom, as I have too often seen to be the case with rigorous casuists in America. The Bruces have been ministers ever since the famous Bruce, who rebuked King James. Mr. Dickson's house [see p. 156] is a museum of Sunday School illustrations. His garret is filled with matters from Palestine, beautifully arranged and with appropriate Scriptures. As a single instance, you see in one series flasks of water from Siloam, and four other places, a bunch of wheat from Zion, and one of barley, a plate of vine-leaves, a pomegranate, a phial of oil, a pot of honey from Jerusalem, a loaf, iron .and copper ore — then the passage Deuteronomy viii. 7 — 9.' He has a hortus- siccus of Palestine plants ; minerals picked by himseK, and 400 views, which he sketched ; enough being finished in oils to line his back parlour. In a tour of two months, he left no spot west of Jordan without a sketch. Dr. Guthrie is the link between evangelical religion and the aristocracy. People of all sects go. ^ •' A land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and pomegran- ates ; a land of oil-olive and honey .... A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." 1857. 269 Nobility coming down from London and stopping here, cannot pass without hearing him. They arc willing to pay any sum for pews, in order to secure an occasional hearing. Dr. G. called on me, and was very cordial. Look at the " Fortunes of Nigel " and conceive him telling the story of Richie Moniplies' brag con- cerning Edinburgh to George Heriot ; telling it too in broad Scotch, and at a window overlooking the Nor'' Loch, or ravine. Dr. G. tells me he was sent in his youth to the Sorbonne for education. Americans might well be amused to consider that the United Presbyterians, who joined very invidiously in the cry send back the moneij, (of the slaveholders,) should now be the only body which has slaveholders in its communion ; a fact concerning their Calabar Mission. I have seen twenty times as much drunkenness here in a day, as in the wine-countries in ten weeks ; indeed I saw but one such in them, and he was only merry. Edinburgh, October 1, 185T. Auld Reekie^ indeed, but the sun is breaking out in a way that is peculiar. I regard Scotland as the flower and crown of all our tour. I could contentedly and profitably have spent my whole time in Britain. Emerson says you can't see England in a hundred years ; and I have often told Stewart that the grand requisite for travelling successfully would be to live as long as Methuselah. One great advantage here, is the short distances. Much as you have read of the country, you would be surprised at this. Thus you go from Liverpool to Manchester in an hour ; from Edinburgh to Glasgow in an hour and a half; and every- where towns and other localities, often famous, follow one another with rapidity. Every nook and brook and hill and mansion has its name, and in Scotland these are embalmed in ballads and legends. The position of a " minister " here is high. I remem- ber something of similar observance, when New York and Phila- delphia were smaller, towards Dr. ^lason, Dr. Green, and Dr. Wilson ; but Guthrie, Candlish, Bruce, Lee, Bonar, Tweedie, to say nothing of residuaries, are looked at all the length of Prince's street. The institution of the dinner is potent in Great Britain, and Edinburgh has a traditional geniality of intercourse, after the day's work is done. There is a free and happy mingling of copresbyters here, like nothing known to me elsewhere. Both Guthrie and Lee (before the Committee of the House of Lords) ^ Scotch for smoky. 270 DUEING ni3 SECOND VISIT TO ErKOPE. have formally ascribed the " canny " character of the Scotch, not simply to their being trained on the Scriptures, and to their reading Solomon, but particularly to the custom of using the book of Proverbs as a reading-book. The Anglo-Saxon words and short sentences, where books are rare, made it the thing for the children. There is a pious weaver mentioned in Guthrie's " Gospel in Ezekiel " as a man of prayer. The Doctor said to us " this man prayed, not as one going to heaven, but as one just come out of heaven. He would sit in his loom and super- intend our education. And what we read was such pith as ' he that hateth suretyship is sure,' &c." The deep, I may say awful impression, made by the events in India in their religious aspect, is very observable in the pray- ers. Generally Scotchmen do not give free vent to their inward experience in talk. 1 hardly ever was more solemnly wrought on by a prayer, than by Bruce's about this distress ; and not least by his tender thanksgivings for the spiritual good already done to bereaved and other suffering persons. I like the Free Church Tract and Book arrangement. They publish nothing, but keep up the machinery of supply from all sources, colportage, &c. They have, for example, 6,000 different tracts, including the American.^ ^ The same day on wliich this letter was written, Dr. Alexander, with his wife and child, left Edinburgh for Glasgow. A short tour in the highlands, which was in their plan, was prevented by bad weather, and a week was spent in Glasgow in delightful Christian intercourse with many of its princi- pal clergymen and others. They then proceeded to Liverpool, and em- barked in the steamship Baltic for New York. It is no more than a proper testimony to the liberality of the congrega- tion to their pastor to state, that of the sum placed by them at his com- mand for this journey, nearly three thousand dollars remained untouched. CHAPTEE XIY. LETTERS DURING THE REMAINDER OF HIS PASTORATE IN NEW YORK. 1857—1859. New York, October 26, 185Y. Through the tender mercy of our God, we reached the wharf ahout 5 yesterday, and home about 7. Our passage was short for a return, being eleven days, but very rough and even stormy, so that our Avheels were all but denuded of paddleboxes on our arrival. The "Baltic" and her captain (Comstock) are all that could be wished. The vessel is staunch and noble, and I have seldom had more sublime emotions, than when standing on the high poop I watched the plunge of the fore-parts, and the succeed- in? rise, with a spring and buoyancy of motion that seemed to mock at the roaring ocean. I caused our little boy to observe how apt is the Bible figure Ps. xciii. I preached yesterday, the first time since May.^ How deeply grateful we ought to be, that during six months' absence, no case of indisposition has occurred in our circle here ; all alive and all well ; let the God of our salvation be exalted ! I was everywhere a most reluctant traveller, and drew a lengthening chain. My own general health is almost robust ; and yet I have the same catch m my throat. T had not seen an American paper for a long time, and very seldom at all, so that I had much to learn on my arrival. In our ship's company of 160, we had some pleasing characters. A Major Copeland of Boston was with us, returning from Sebas- topo], (which he calls Say'-vast-o'ple,) after contracting to raise the sunken ships. I knew of only one Englishman. Major VV m. ^ This was in the ship. The text was 1 Peter iv. 3. On the next Lord's day (Nov. 1) he preached to his own congregation, at both services, trom Habakkuk iii. 17, 18. 272 DrEINO THE KEMAINDER OF HIS PASTORATE. Preston of S. C. was also a passenger. Beyond all expectation, our boys were waiting ns, one having come from Princeton, and the other from Freehold. On looking at the papers, I find my- self sadly behindhand, and in church-matters quite unable to enter into the spirit of the fight. Say some words of sincere kindness from us both to our A. friends. I do not know whether they got any account of my very delightful visit to their kinsman, the Rev. Charles Livingston, rector of St. Lawrence's, Ventnor Cove, Isle of Wisrht, one of the best men I saw durinsj mv exile. He is rather proud of his North River connexions, and asked numerous questions about them. Several deaths have occurred durino; the six months ; amonsj them were Mr. Rufus Daven- port, perhaps our oldest man, and Mr. James Struthers, who was an elder elect, and so flir as human judgment goes, one of the most spiritual Christians in our church. The people have generally returned, and are in a promising state, as to attend- ance ; 1 even hope for more, as there is a marked reviving of religious interest during the six months of our absence. It will take me some days to get the heavy roll of the ship out of my brain ; I don't remember ever to have felt it so much. Palx U so it ! New York, November 3, 1837. I am glad you think of coming this way. xVfter fast-day, preparatory lecture and communion, (next Sabbath,) I shall feel a little more ease of mind than now. I hitched at once into the old rut, Avrote two full sermons last week, and have been hard at visiting ever since my return. I am fleshier than need be, and harder than my wont, having roughed it in all weathers, and borne twice as much fatigue as in '51 ; but the ring of irrita- tion, phlegm, and strangle in my pipes remains much as before ; I mean D. v. to speak, &c., exactly as if it wasn't there, till some- thing decisive stops me. November 4th. — Good democratic turn in the election here. The new law, prescribing glass globes for the ballots, and forbid- ding ticket-booths within 150 yards, has wrought much quiet ; yet our plebs is very much in ferment. London amazed me more than ever by its size, being a sort of world. People of one part have no knowledge of people in another. This, how- ever, is much the case in New York. To-day my walk lay by the intersection of 4th and 10th streets ; I suppose thousands would be surprised to hear that these jDarallels meet. The clergy here seem all to be in good case, notwithstanding complaints of hard work. In Scotland, and I suppose in England too, the dinner-institution, always at six, when work is over, 185T— 1859. 273 with the free, hearty converse of numerous friends, 7ion sine Baccho^ tends to give a corpulency and a crimson, which make American clerks seem slim in comparison. Pastoral visiting in the cities is less practised than with us, but elders' visiting much more. Deacons were nearly obsolete at the Disruption ; the Free Church has made a point of reviving them, but the Kirk remains as before, and many in the United Presbyterian Church formally rejected them as needless. At baptisms, the fathers stand in a row, before the minister ; the mothers sit in some neighbouring pew ; the children are kept behind the pulpit-stair, or "in a room hard by, till the moment of affusion. Very sensibly, a napkin hangs over the rail. The above is an induction from two particulars. The reading of sermons has greatly increased among the Scotch, and greatly decreased among the Evangelicals in England. Sitting in prayer is all but universal among the Dissenters, and widely prevalent in the Church, though under pretence of kneeling. In Scotland, the prayer after sermon is usually as long as the one before, dwelling on intercession, &c. 1s"ew York, November 16, 1857. Lonesome, indeed, is this habitation, as my wife and children are in the Jerseys, and the dreary easterly rain makes egress undesirable for sore throat folks. Natheless, I have spent most of the day abroad, as the arrears of visits (occasioned by my absence) to cases of trouble are very large. If I had received your queries anent Maidenhead during my first and longest sojourn in London-town, I think I should have run down to see it, as many trains go every day ; it is 22^ miles W., up the Thames, from London 27 by railway, right bank, in Berk- shire, and in 18.51 had 3,607 population. It is partly in Bray parish, (vide Vicar of ditto,) and partly in Cookham, and is reached by the Great Western Eailway. The living is in diocess of Oxon. It is one long street, neat, paved, and like all English towns of thrift, lighted with gas ; it is not exactly on the river bank, being on the Bath Road. It used to be called South Ealington, and between the bridge and town you find a relic of antiquity in almshouses for eight poor men and their wives. The aforementioned bridge has seven stone arches, and three smaller arches of brick at each end. The railway crosses Thames at Maidenhead, by a magnificent viaduct. The market is on Wednesday, chiefly for corn. The scenery just above, is beautiful. Near are Cliefden, seat of the Marquis of Stafford, ^ What follows was in answer to inquiries I made of bim, (for the his- tory of the Trenton church,) as to the town in England from wliich the old name of the present village of Lawrenceville was taken. VOL. II.— 12* 2i4: DUEING THE EEiMAINDER OF HIS PASTOKATE. and Taplow Court, seat of the Earl of Orkney. At the Grey- hound Inn, Charles I. took leave of his family. Shortly before arriving at Maidenhead, you pass Salt Hill, famous for the Eton Montem, which ^vas abolished in 1848, and after clearing the town, you go through Maidenhead Thicket. I ought to say ^laldenhithe is the transition-name ; h7/ih or hi/d, as a termina- tion, denoting a landing, or accessible bank. My nearest ap- proach was at "Windsor and Eton, and I dare say I saw it in both visits from the top of Windsor Castle. Of all these towns and villages in the valley of the Thames, the same general observa- tions will hold good ; they are in summer embowered in green, with a moist delicate look about trees and herbage, which strikes an American as peculiarly enchanting ; and though all the trees are plantations, they are so dexterously placed, and often so ancient and cherished, that the full, round " bourgeoning " of their heads aflbrds a noble relief to peeping towers and spires. The old towns, if irregular, are romantic and quaint, and you see numerous buildings of which the pattern at least is as old as the Conquest. Instead of JSalington, I note that some give Arlington as the former name. In the 26 of Edward III. it was, nevertheless, incorporated by the name of the " Fraternity or Guild of the Brothers and Sisters of Maiden Hither When coaching or riding were the modes of locomotion on this great highway between London and Bristol, Maidenhead-thicket was in- fested by footpads. • The story of the Vicar of Bray (between Maidenhead and Windsor) is found in an old song, and in Fuller ; he changed his religion four times regno Henry VIII., Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., living and dying " Vicar of Bray." (For above valuable facts, we are indebted to Black's Picturesque Tourist in England ; Knight's Geogr. of Brit. Empire ; and Hughson's London and Neighbourhood, 1808, 6 vols. 8vo.) I continue to cough, and begin to think I shall as long as I preach, yet I am well up in colour, fat and paunch, cat well, drink kindly, sleep so-so, and altogether am in good case to retire on a pension, turn president, go to Congress, or negotiate a loan in Europe. New York, December l4, 1857. I scarcely recover from the stunning effect of the tidings.^ In such cases the mind falls back on former impressions, and I find my ties with the Doctor closer than I had thought. I knew him as a child, and then on, during many years, including my ^ Of the sudden death of our mutual friend, one of the elders of the Trenton church, Dr. Francis A. Evving, several times mentioned ia the first volume. 1857—1859. 2Y5 residence in Trenton. His early religious experience was re- vealed to me in detail. New York, January 1, 1858. I and we wish thee and thine a happy New Year in every high and good sense. There were sixty murders and one hang- ing in this city in 1857. My motto text is : " Thy kingdom come." I have been reading a lately found account of Bossuet's last days, by his private secretary. It appears that for years the Bible was his chief study. His secretary read the gospel of John again and again to him, and the seventeenth chapter sixty times, when the bishop was on his death-bed. Lying, stealing and bribery, perjury, covetousness and rapine, make things sometimes look to me like some prophetic tableaux. The • churches are using terrible blast-bellows to get up artificial heat in our city and neighbourhood. Our light mate- rials catch, and I am often anxious in the attempt to hold on our regular way. I know twenty young people, whom I could foment into any given amount of excitement in two weeks. What amazes me is, that the men who apply these methods, at set times, are at other times as little raised above worldly thoughts and deeds as common folks. New York, February 5, 1858. Yesterday I was invited to survey a clerical class of gymnasts, beating the air, &c., under Prof. Langdon, an Englishman. There were seven, viz., Drs. Hutton, Hitchcock, H. Smith, Cham- bers, Cook, Field and Ganz.' It was funny ; coats off, and all together, sometimes so — sometimes so. [Here were outline sketches of the postures.] Part of it would have answered Spurgeon's description of a male dance. They laboured (as the Shakers say) for an hour : it was evidently fine exercise. A blind woman is playing the fiddle very well in the streets ; we saw one lead an orchestra in Switzerland. It is dreadful to observe, after all our glorying contrast of Protestant with Catholic coun- tries, how deep is the popular degradation of London and Edin- buro-h. Pauperism in our own cities is becoming an institution. The number of books in France on the subject is amazing. If Col well [page 166] had given us what he knows in this department of literature, without his crotchets, he would have done great service. I am in great doubt whether the doctrine against casual alms [e. g. at the door) is not sacrificing plain scripture to doubtful theories of economic science. ^ He afterwards himself practised the " Langdonics." 276 DUEIXG THE EEMAINDEK OF HIS PASTOKATE. New York, 3Iarc7i 1, 1858. March comes in like a wet, half-grown lamb. I record with a sense of dependence that the last sign of my cough has left me for about three weeks, and that I am more fleshy. An undue and irregular beating of the heart, though lessened, remains. T am nearly fifty-four years old, (March 13.) In the serious retrospect of life, I see nothing so dark as my sins ; nor did they ever seem more hateful. We admit seven on examination, and eight on certificate. Preaching is assuming a more prominent place than heretofore. A great danger is lest a go-ahead, joyous, auction-like, unreverent elation take possession of the [daily] prayer-meetings. Up to"\vn this has been very much avoided by the lead which ministers have taken. Did I write of visits I am paying every day or two to the Eoman Catholic Hospital of St. Vincent de Paul ? A young medical student, a pay-patient, is there recovering from tyj)hoid fever, and was baptized by me. There are twelve sisters of charitv, and 120 beds. This vouno; man has been nursed in the best manner conceivable. I have seen five or six of the ladies, including the superior. They have treated me with a very graceful courtesy, and are altogether a winning generation. The tidings of the revival on every side certainly tends to set people a-thinking about their souls ; which is a point gained. I feel it overshadowing my own mind, and opening ways of address to the careless, as well as shutting me up to the most imj^ortant class of subjects.^ New York, April 2, 1858. I have generally discredited people who say they have no time to write, but lately I have been tempted to plead that excuse. Though I have aimed to keep down and regulate excitement among us, and have had no additional service but an exhortation on Monday to such as seek instruction on points connected with conversion, I perceive such a degree of inquiry as has never met me in my ministry. The number of declared inquirers is not more than twenty-five, and most of these have dates a good way back ; but the feelings of communicants and the indescribable tone of assemblies, are new to me. From the start I have held myself ready to adapt measures to emerging demands ; I how- ever feel glad I have pursued the repressive method ; which, by ^ About this time lie wrote " The Revival and its Lessons," a series of eleven tracts, published by Randolph. A large number of these "were dis- tributed at the police stations. The one addressed to firemen was sent to each of the engine houses in sufficient number to furnish a copy to each member of the department. A late Edinburgh paper advertises the fifth thousand of the " Revival Lessons." See page 23*7. 1857—1859. 277 the way, has lost me sundry good opinions even among my own flock. Study I cannot, being run down by persons, many of whom I never knew, in search of counsel. The uptown prayer- meetings are very sober and edifying. I am told that the general tendency in all is to increased decorum. The openness of thou- sands to doctrine, reproof, &c., is undeniable. Our lecture is crowded unendurably— many going away. The publisher of Spurgeon's sermons, says he has sold a hundred thousand. All booksellers agree, that while the general trade is down, they never sold so many religious books. You may rest assured that there is a great awakening among us, of which not one word, gets into the papers ; and that there are meetings of great size, as free from irreverence as any you ever saw. I have never seen sacramental seasons more tender and still than some meet- ings held daily in churches in our part of town. The best token I have seen of revival was our meeting of Presbytery. I never was at such a one. Brethren seemed flowino- toijether in love, and reported a great increase of attention in all their churches — and this within a very few days. The inquiring con- dition among ourselves is strange, and all but universal ; God grant it may be continued, or exchanged for true grace in them all. ^ • We are just setting up a daily (nightly) prayer-meeting in our Mission Chapel for the poor, (really not nominally.) It is superintended by a Committee of about ten leading gentlemen, under sanction of the session. Among the numerous cases of persons seeking me as pastor, most of the inquirers have been inquiring long. Numbers are often given rashly ; no man knows how many are convinced ; perhaps thirty such are known to me ; I lay little stress on registration in this matter, and deprecate publicity. I have found it a good way to aj^point a certain hour every day, for persons willing to be talked with. Never have 1 felt so much the need of plain elementary instruction as to the simplest matters in religion. The greater the excitements around us, the more I see the absolute necessity of knowledge. People come to me, who have not even the meaning of justification. New York, April 15, 1858. The attendance on the union meetino;s here is not lessened. Last week the meeting, which embraces Potts, Van Zandt, Hutton, Prentice, A. D. Smith, &c., was at our church. The house was filled. Every day but one it was as solemn and tender as most communion seasons. Constant attendance for weeks leaves my judgment unaltered, that it is bad to throw the meeting open for whomsoever to speak and pray. 278 DUEDsG THE EEMAINDEE OF HIS PASTOEATE. K'ew.York, April 29, 1858. While it is in my mind I will jot down something about Finney, whom I heard last night at Cheever's. Assembly mid dling. F. looks somid and well, but, of course, older. He preaches in spectacles, and with a " brief," which he mentions : '■ my little brief, here." Manner much subdued. Voice ringing and capital, but with Yankee twang and nasality. Perfectly colloquial and lawyerlike ; avoiding every big word, and as plain as any one could be talking to children. Says the same thing over and over and over, sometimes pausing between, with a singular effect on attention and memory. Doctrinal and argumentative, but not hortatory ; with numerous anecdotes and illustrations. Text was : " This is the record," &c. His sermon (exceptis excipiendis) might have been preached by the Erskines or McCheyne. It was all about Christ and believing. £J. g., " All you have to do is to helieveP "There is the record: God has given his Son.^^ " He says not ' I will give so and so, if J on do so, &c.,' but God hath given.''^ "You are all looking inward for feelings and experience, before believing. Believe first. Believe the record. Then you will have feelings." Fig- ure : A New Y^ork beggar. Steamer bring news of a great dona- tion to him ; £10,000. Certific^e of deposit in Wall St. ^\\i in his hands. But he does not believe it. ' I am no rich man ; rich men have fine clothes, money, coach and horses, my experi- ence is all the other w\ay.' " " Belief of the record brings soul into union with Christ, and experience ensues." He was able and tremendous against infidels. The interest, though intellectual, was intense. I find his plan and all the details graven in my memory. He keeps up the obsolete custom of an Inquiry Meeting, after sermon. Seriousness prevails among us. I have had no extra meet- ings, except four exhortations on doctrines connected with con- version, &LQ. The best means I have alighted on is an hour given out to receive persons seeking direction every day. This has brought many, and some very often ; and the interviews have been sometimes long and always private. I expect to take in on examination more than thirty-five, and less than fifty. The daily prayer-meetings are unabated in interest. Long attendance in no degree reconciles me to the license given to A B or C, to teach or pray ; nor to the advertisements requesting prayer. The presence of numerous ministers in fraternity, and their frequent remarks and expositions, produce a good impression. New York, May V, 1858. I am on the Committee of Examination of the Senior Class 185T— 1859. 279 in Princeton/ and expect to go thither on Tuesday. During that sojourn I wish to run down for an hour or so to your me- tropolis. I feel it almost necessary to interrupt the tension of thought and feeling. Our Session has admitted fifty-seven on examination, and four on certificate.' The majority are persons with whom I have been dealing for years.' I know of no abate- ment in religious interest. The noon-day prayer-meeting (this week in the Ist Church) was crowded. There must have been twenty ministers yesterday ; still, solemn, and tender ; more like a communion than a prayer-meeting. . jj^ay 10. — The whole lower floor of our church was filled with communicants yesterday. Dabney's sermon (by appointment of the Board of Foreign Missions) was a marvellous one, for logic, weight, and scholarship. Mary S., one of the loveliest of our new converts, died on the morning of the communion. New York, 2Iay 19, 1858 Last night [Tuesday] I concluded my series on Acts ; sixty- eight lectures. I have never put any one in my place, and never sul3stituted any other passage. The attendance has constantly increased. In no instance have I ever penned a line in prepara- tion for them. In the latter parts I have been unspeakably aided by Addison's Commentary. Professor M. is here under medical care, but one of those cases religiously which refresh the soul. A Jeffersonian-infidel, then a Channing-Unitarian, now I doubt not (though he doubts) a childlike Christian. He is a silver- haired old gentleman, of the true school. I have no plans for the summer. ]\Iy brain needs rest. Spurgeon's fourth volume shows improvement. The selection is made here, out of the " Pulpit," which contains all he ever utters. He preaches out of doors everywhere but in London, where he fears the tumultuous consec^uences. New York, May 26, 1858. In three days I have had three funerals. One was our penultimate African, a3t. 97^. Funeral in Black church. Sang four verses of . a Long Metre to " China," [Common Metre.] The entire congregation eflccted synalsepha and ecthlipsis of the ^ In 1851 he was elected a trustee of the College of New Jersey. Thus his name stands on the catalogue as a student, tutor, professor, and trustee. ^ The whole number of new communicants received in the years 1858- 9, was 125 on examination ; 32 on certificate. These numbers include those who worshipped at the Mission Chapel. . 3 Among those who came to their first communion on this occasion, Dr Alexander had the happiness of receiving one of his sons. Another son had lately received his license as a probationer for the ministry. 280 DUEING THE EEMAINDER OF HIS PASTOEATE. redundant syllables with great skill, and the singing was delight- ful. The General Assembly dissolved on Tuesday. The im- pression on New Orleans was favourable. A young Cuban has just called to get advice about religion, previously to his starting for Paris, where he will learn physic. Great numbers must have their views of religion modified by residence here. I fear, how- ever, often with skeptical results. The Cesarean simplicity of Thiers's histories increases as he goes on. "What point-blank lying he convicts Napoleon of ! New York, June 1, 1858. Having passed through a winter of unexampled employment with perfect health, I am seized with a severe cough upon the accession of summer. A conspiracy was detected yesterday of the " Forty Thieves," East River Mohocks, to break up a mission school by sending rowdies to make a noise, and then having a gang without. The captain of the police had wind of this, and placed the entire force of the ward in the station-house, and undress detectives in every neighbouring lot and resort; so they were dispersed. P.'s discourse at pleased numbers, not including " P. P. of this Parish." His speech was commonplaces garnished with sophomore rhetoric ; no method ; no force, except in terms ; no tincture of letters, and every here and there a demagogical lug- ging in of the dear de7nos, and their wrongs at the hands of science, &c. It was well delivered. Henry returned to-day from a very useful trip to the extreme North, where he has been fly-fishing in Moosehead Lake. Even after Adirondack and Lake Superior, he gives these mountains and lakes the palm. He lay out, i. e. in birch shanties, five nights, and brought home (with young Auchincloss) eighty pounds of trout in ice. The largest brook-trout was three pounds. New York, July 10, 1858 Addison is somewhere in town ; but he takes his carpet-bag and determines during his walk whether and whither he shall go. Duriiig his vacation he is all the time mo\-ing. My congrega- tion is almost all gone, but the church will not be closed. Samuel's and my flock will lie down together. We shall to- morrow receive one on certificate, and sixteen on examination. When will an American Statesman furnish three such volumes, as those of Gladstone on Homer ? ' Herodotus is also comina o ^ " Studios in Homer and the Homeric Age," by the Hon. W. E. Glad- stone, member of Parliament for Oxford University, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1857—1859. 281 out, under the Rawlinsons, with all the elucidations of Egypt and Nineveh. The sea-breeze has made the evenings and nights perfectly comfortable all this month, though the days were broil- ing a fortnight ago.^ Peinceton, August 9, 1858. AfKiirs at the Branch went on much as usual after your exit. I preached at Eedbank ; a very nice little church. I have not, for a long time, seen so much talking and laughing in church. Heligious revival has not much visited that country. During our period of epistolary commerce, now =x-j-2 years, no event has occurred so startling as the Oceanic-cable. I am stupefied. Yet, after all, the practical results may be less momentous than is said. I hope V. R. will send a religious sentiment, for it will be in every one's mouth. Still more'do I pray that it may augur and promote everlasting peace in the English-speaking world.^ AVeary, weary, am I of these [theological] controversies de lana caprina. I have a peculiar position ; being in ftxvour of strict subscription, but to a very short creed. If at any time you would like to inspect the views of the Plymouth Brethren, or Darby ites, I can lend you some able and pleasing tracts of theirs. Gosse, the naturalist, and Tragelles, the biblical critic, belong to them. New York, September 7, 1858. Almost for the first time in our lives, we old folks are Darby- and-Joan-ing it at home, without any progeny. It happens, without plan, that all our young are at Princeton. I stayed at Saratoga, after I had become more than conviva satur. The Daily prayer-meetings prevail there ; and, from the great conflux of clergy and laity, the good and evil of that institution are very prominent. I met there Drs. Woodbridge of Hadley, Bullock of Kentucky, Fowler of Utica, Parker of China, Worcester of Salem, Cook of Boston, Magoon of Albany, Ludlow of Po'keep- sie, Chauncey of Highbridge, Buddington of Brooklyn, and Cleave- land of New Haven. At our house lodged , the gambler of New York, McCormick of the reaping machine, and Christy of the Minstrelsy. The last is a well-behaved, grave-looking man, who drives a pair of milk-white Arabian horses, the gift of ]^ The correspondents met, during this month, at Long Branch. " The Queen's Message was a mere congratulation upon "the successful completion of the great international work ; " but the English directors of the company had added to their magnetic announcement of the supposed union of the two countries by telegraph, the quotation: "Glory to God in the highest : on earth peace : good will toward men." 282 DUEING THE KEMAINDEK OF HIS PASTOEATE. some potentate to our President. I have been very well. Our church is very thin, most of the hearers being strangers. We have been very much stirred up and entertained lately, by the visit and speeches of Jno. McGregor, Esq., of London, on the Open-air-preacliing, ragged-schools, and other philanthropies of England. He is a barrister of the Middle Temple, a downright, rapid, witty, merry speaker, whose description of low life in London and the means of dealing with it, was sometimes almost in the Dickens vein. It appears from his statements, that hundreds of open-air discourses are delivered simultaneously in London, by laymen, who do not sing, or pray, or even take off the hat. He lays great stress on all these ^particulars. Has himself spoken about five hours every Sunday, for several years. Erom his own mode, and the incidental specimens, these dis- courses, in the endeavour to gain attention, are in great danger of losing all reverence, tenderness, and unction. They are, how- ever, a good deal like Latimer's preachings at Paul's Cross. Many of the plans would require great modification for America, in regard to such differences as these : the immense over-peopling of Britain, the homogeneousness of the upper and lower classes as to nation, all being English, (and this applies to all such efforts as " Hearts and Hands,") ^ and the certain and complete protection afforded by London police. Yet his appeals were awakening in a high degree. After I am dead and gone, I feel sure our cities will have large and elegant free churches. I would not object to sumptuousness, if it went to elevate, solace, and enrich the j)oor. Trench's book on the authorized version is delightful. Our communion is coming on, with only three on examination. My volume of sermons is nearly printed, but will not be out I suppose, before November.'^ I have never sent a book to press with as little self-gratulation. What a purgatorial spot is Staten Island, " where every prospect pleases, and only man is vile." ^ The governor fulminates on paper, but I do not see what good will come of it. The Bench, which used to be our resource when the poj)ulace was corrupt, now lets the ringleaders slip through. I have little hope even of tardy justice in the way of mulct. I have been halting on one foot several weeks ; perhaps sprain — perhaps rheumatism — I guess no further. My brother's East Eiver mission school has grown entirely out of their accommodations. A number of the most prominent children, who sing hymns ^ A recent book on duties to the humbler chasses. ^ " Discourses on Common Topics of Chi'istian Faith and rractice," pub- lished by Scribner. ^ The aUusion is to the repeated burning of buildings in the course of erection for a pubUc hospital for contagious diseases. 1857—1859. 283 about Jesus, are Israelites. I heard them sing the ditty, " Where, oh where are the Hebrew children 1 " I most earnestly wish that these frequent prayer-meetings, which have now grown into regular feasts and fasts, could have infused into them some scriptural instruction. New York, October T, 1858. South [Sermons] has always been a stand-by of mine ; a powerful accuser, even to gall, and as un-Christlike in temper as if no gospel had ever appeared. By an association of contraries, I think of A. N. Groves, a Plymouth-ist, a missionary on his own hook, whose life is out by Nisteel. I do not think I ever came across a holier, lovelier, less worldly person. I do not think I ever was so much rebuked by a human composition. We admit twenty-two on examination, from Mr. Rowell's Mis- sion work ; two Germans, three Dutch, three English, the rest Scotch and Irish; all promising, all respectable working-folk. He must have gathered some sixty thus. I think J. A. A. has excelled in his commentary on ]\Iark. I await completion, before I make a sermon out of the cable. ^ Our sham Crystal-Palace is no more. The greatest loss [by its destruction] is probably that of poor inventors. No wonder ships may burn, when a building of iron and glass is consumed, with a hundred workmen and two thousand visiters in it, a reservoir next-door, and crack fire-engines all ready inside. New York, November 23, 1858. The weather is dismal. On Sunday night it seemed very much against our Opera-house service; but the door-keeper estimates the attendance at 3,000.' No doubt, on a clear night, the applicants will be 6,000. Numbers sat in the lobbies and saloons, of the very class who are never seen in church. The collection covered the whole expense, with 15 per cent. over. I wish I could see a free church to hold just as many, and as easy to speak in. Our fault-filiders, however, who spy the evil in all I)lans of others, and suggest none of their own, find objection to this night-meeting also. Carlyle's book^ is very funny in parts, but as a whole is as unreadable as a bill in chancery. The^ daily prayer-meetings down town keep up with great spirit, having an influx of strangers ; our uptown ones have no ^ Several clergymen had preached and printed discourses on the Ocean Telegraph, upon its first promise of successful operation. '^ "The Academy of Music" was opened on the evening of November 21st for a series of religious services. Dr. Alexander preached on that occasion from Rev. xxii. 17. ' " Frederick the Great." 284: DURIXG THE EEMAINDER OF HIS PASTOEATE. revival chcaracter, but simply the grave and occasionally tender character of an ordinary large meeting of Christians. Saw} er's translation reads lilve a travesty : " And after breakfast Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you you love me ? And Simon replied, Yes, Lord, you know that I am your friend." ^KavSaAt^erat is always rendered " offended with me," (fee. The tendency in our churches here is to gather enormously in a few favourite spots. I have never succeeded in getting a single man to leave us, for the purpose of building up weak churches, and I have had every occasion to ask it and press it. As population moves up, each of the lower churches in its turn dwindles. It is just the same with the Baptists and Methodists. The old John street incunabula cannot be cited as an exception, as that house is kept as a sort of relic. The Episcopalians are the principal free-churches, since the Methodists went over so largely to pews- yism. I observed in London that the parish system does not prevent this evil in towns ; the great throngs being generally at some newly erected shrine. New Tork, January 4, 1859. I wish you and yours a happy New Year. Ours always begins laboriously ; ^ and as it came in on Saturday, there was not much rest. My reins, by occasional suffering, instruct me, with regard to weakness and mortality ; and at this moment I am ailing — though unusually well in general health. I read a MS. by a Liberian minister, in which, not content with mention- ing their " ladies," he speaks of them as " fair ones." ^ly sentence for 1859 is : " God, my exceeding joy ; " Hehreio, " the gladness of my joy ; " Greek and Vulgate, " the gladdener of my youth ; " French (of Ostervald, giving the force of Vix) " le Dieu fort de ma joie et de mon ravissement." May He be such to us all ! I have just read 200 MS. pages of a journal kept by Williams, secretary of the China legation, during all the proceedings which resulted in the famous treaty. Thirty-two vessels were there. One is led to pity the poor Chinese ; and W., as a missionary, is very much on their side. They were, as you know, very near Peking ; in the Peiho River, 40'' N. He speaks of the British as selfish and surly, and is very severe upon the opium matter. Our negotiations were materially furthered by the wisdom, kindness, and peaceful tendencies of the Russian ambassador. Count Poutiatine. Williams thinks China will at once be flooded by Jesuits from France. They number their Catholic natives at 800,000. He also thinks it doubtful whether ^ Alluding to the custom of general calls on New Year's day. 1857—1859. 285 Protestant missions will be greatly benefited. The timidity of the people, in their greatest masses, is made more striking than ever. Their forts at the mouth of the river, were demolished almost instanter, and 3,100 were slain. New York, February 11, 1859. I have just come in from our Mission Chapel, where nineteen have been admitted on examination, making nearly 70 in the Chapel, during the year. A very able paper is struggling here, called the "Saturday Press," a really dignified literary print. Why does not Everett [in the N. Y. Ledger] give us his remi- niscences of Germany, Greece, St. James's, or even the Socinian pulpit ? New York, 3farcTi 4, 1859. Mr. Everett is now speaking, [Oration on Washington.] I had an offer of the devotional performance. This part of minis- terial duty has always been very revolting to me. I really miss Walsh,' and few perhaps do. About six months ago, I sent to the " Journal of Commerce " an article on Walsh, with, inter alia, some account of his "Appeal." How yearningly one's thoughts go after the destiny of a soul like his ! He had noble, rare moral traits ; his patriotism seemed never chilled by ex- patriation ; he was always the American, and of an old time type. Good, worthy, equable, honest Dr. Carnahan is gone; abiit ad 2^lures.^ Till your direct testimony came into court, I would have almost made oath to the statement of the preface.^ It has been ' Mr. Walsh died at Paris, February T, 1859. Many passages in pre- ceding letters show the high regard in which Dr. Alexander held the hterary character of Mr. Walsh. He attributed to the daily reading of the "Na- tional Gazette," while yet a young writer, some of the prominent peculiarities of his own style. Perhaps this influence caused him to sacrifice somewhat of ease and fluency to the exact and classical stateliness demanded by his model. He himself called it (m Walsh) "twists of diction." " Dr. Carnahan died March 2, 1859. ^ I had corrected a statement in the preface of his " Revival Tracts," which mentioned that the celebrated stanzas by his brother Addison, en- titled " The Doomed Man," inserted in one of the tracts, were then published for the first time with the author's consent. I informed him that the poem had been sent to me by Addison, and was inserted in the " Sunday School Journal," (April 5, 1837,) and that the original had a stanza which, at my recommendation, was omitted as being too horrible. It was the sixth, and read thus : " But angels know the fatal sign, And tremble at the sight ; And devils trace each livid line With desperate delight." 286 DUKING THE EEMAINDEK OF HIS PASTOEATE. the common on dit in the family for years ; he has talked of himself as " the doomed man " constantly, seeing the reprints, &c. I will try to alter the stereogram. You doubtless have received the " Prescott Memorial," and have read the alleged dictum of P. that Robertson's " style was that of a schoolmistress." But see Philip the Second, i. 356. " Robertson . . . recommended ... by a classic elegance of style which has justly given him a preeminence among the historians of the great emperor." I am, (as I suppose we shall say,) truthfully yours. New York, April 4, 1859. The signs look like war in Europe ; who can estimate the awfulness of such a conjuncture ! I find four or five letters from Walsh, chiefly about the Review. The last " Knicker- bocker " contains some irreverence to the manes of our quondam friend, Dr. McHenry.' My irritation of the larynx has been on me annoyingly for about two weeks. I have, for the first time, to treat a case of spiritualism. A man, well educated, sound health, good habits, strong mind in every other direction ; but perfectly hag-ridden by spirits of his wife, his father, and Robert Hall. He sits up sometimes whole nights, writing ; or rather his hand is used by the spirits ; the character varying with the spirit. He himself is willing to believe it demoniacal possession ; but I have not felt clear to take this ground with him. I have had a heavy stroke of indisposition these last few days, and was unable to preach yesterday afternoon. Mr. Jenkins [of Phila- delphia] preached last evening [in Academy of Music] with great acceptance ; Plumer comes next. A member of my church talks of building a church for some poor congregation in the West. New York, April 19, 1859. For the first time in my life I have been attacked with some- thing like chills — now about a fortnight. The beginning was a tremendous shake, which made all quake again; since then, crawls, or whatever be the name of those simulations. During these the feeling of " misery " has been very great. I have spoken to very few persons of it, but since the beginning of the year, I have lost all power in the middle-finger of my right hand. The finger stutters in writing; indeed, I cannot use it at all. Whether this is paralysis I know not, but I regard it as a Divine ^ Editor of the "American Monthly Magazine " in Philadelphia, for which ■ve had written in 1824. 1857—1859. 287 monition. I am under regular and active treatment. Writino- which was a solace, has become a very burdensome task.' °' ' On the 26th April he wrote : " I have to preach a Sunday School Per- mon next Sunday. My chills are suspended. Deo gratias." On the 1st of May I heard him preach the sermon referred to, which was delivered with what struck me as an unusual and unnecessary power of voice. He preached again on the following Lord's-day, (May 8, communion ; 1 Peter ii 94 ) which proved to be his last sermon. On the 9th he wrote to me, "3Iv health has steadily gone down : yet, through mercy, I was enabled to get through the commuDion services. I expect to sail for Richmond on Wed- nesday. I shall probably be addressable at Drake's Branch, Cliarlotte oa^u^'^'^^'Il *^'^ ^^*' *''.-^'^' ^"^^ afterwards at University of Virginia till 29th." On the next day (10th) he wrote : " A change in the signs of Provi- dence has changed my plans So obviously my cough has increased, and my flesh decreased, that Session and Trustees, motu propria, last ni-ht or- dered me to vacate from now till October 1. I propose to go to Vir|inia in about a fortnight. Don't stay at home an hour ; but if it be fair I will trv to drop in cliez vous some day this week." On the 12th his report was " Nb changes." On the 25th_" though all packed up, and on the eve of start- ing, we are forbidden by the doctor to go, in consequence of my severe cough, but more particularly a fever which comes on at ni-ht Plans un- certain. I have not gained any. I endeavour to cast my^urden on the J-iOrd. . ^" \^'? correspondence of this month he wrote, (in dissent from my opin- ion that It IS better for ministers to prevent actual invitations to new posi- tions which they know they would not accept) as follows: "All my little observations confirm me in the judgment, that such things should not be crushed z?i ovo; though my own practice has been different. A man runs belore Providence, who answers a question before it is asked. The case cannot be before him, till he knows the vote, &c. He has a right, as Christ's servant, to the testimonial in his favour, even of an appointment which ho declines. His congregation have a right to the credit derivable from his preferring them, m case of refusal. The simple, natural method is the It was also during the low state of his health in the middle of this May, that he wrote for - The Presbyterian " an affectionate notice of the Eev Henry V Johns, D.D., of the Episcopal Church, then recently deceased, from that article I extract a paragraph of biographical interest : Ihe hrst person with whom I ever talked freelv, respecting the infinite concerns of my soul, was Henry V. Johns ; and he has told me that a like reniark would be true of himself. It was in Nassau Hall, then the principal edifice of Princeton College; and in No. 27, in the 'second entry:' a lo- cahty fresh in the memory of old Xassovians. We were boys of sixteen • though I was about to commence bachelor of arts. Such conversations begin, one scarcely knows how ; in a short time we had unbosomed our- selves to one another, and entered upon a close and tender friendsliip which I trust in God is never to cease. During the days in which Henry was under the work of the law, and humbly doubting whether indeed he had at amed to justification or not, he used to walk in the grove behind the college, which, alas! with other forest shades of my boyhood, has long since vanished away. As he strayed, musing, his eye was attracted bv a small folded paper upon the ground ; this he picked up, and afterwards showed to me ; it contained these words : ' And they that are Christ's have crucified 288 DUUmG THE EEMAINDEE OF HIS PASTOKATE. New York, 3fay 28, 1859. As I am ready to catch at any little straw of amendment, I feel cheered by being very slightly better to-day, though after a bad night of vexing dreams and wakings. My cough is in abeyance ; the disguised chill and consequent fever return every eveninf'. I have taken a refreshing drive for three successive days. Upon any fair calculation of probabilities, how likely is it that a promiscuous assembly at Indianapolis will decide a ques- tion aright for the whole church % I have long looked in vain for any scriptural or rational foundation for supreme " courts," having half a continent for their scope. This feeling of mine does not extend to Presbyteries.' University of Virginia, June Y, 1859. Your alternative of a tour to the West [in preference to the South] would not have suited me at all. I know nobody there, and conveyances and railroads are not what I need. In Virginia I have mountains, numerous friends, at whose houses (as here) 1 can be sheltered, with sweet, rural quiet, and daily horse-exercise. I could not have come even here, if Dr. Cabell, with considerate kindness, had not gone to New York for me. At the time Dr. Delafield arrested my trip, my cough and expectoration were excessive. I had night-sweats, and my pulse was at 120. It has come down to 84. The journey has done me good, though I have very bad nights. The weather here has been almost cold ; the hills and mountains are beautifully clad, but the corn is not so hio;h as in Jersey. Strawberries still linger, of fine quality, and plentiful. We shall probably remain some weeks here, and at a magnificent farm of Mr. Franklin :Minor, about five miles off. After having written and printed a good deal about sickness, health, &c., I find there are pages of experience to turn over, which are quite new. Especially do I see that we may be brought into stumbling and stripping dispensations, of which the flesh with the affections and lusts, Gal. v. 24. Try yourself by this ! ' The incident made a deep impression on lis both, carrying to our apprehen- sions at that time something of the supernatural. We have talked it over in later years, and there is reason to beUeve that it had a moulding influence on Johns's experience and life. Soon after this we became communicants, at our respective homes." ^ May 30.—" I have had a somewhat refreshing night's rest, which I have not had before during some weeks." In a few days (June 2) he set out with his wife and youngest child for Virginia. Afl his arrangements indicated that he thouglit it probable he should never return ; and as the train passed Princetonliis emotions gave unequivocal signs of his reflecting that it was likely to be the last view he should have of that endeared place. 1857—1859. 289 during their continuance ^ve cannot comprehend the nature. I never felt more perfectly resigned to God's Avill, or more dis- posed to justify all his dealings, be it life or death, or disability. This is my strong permanent feeling. Nevertheless, with this, and perhaps from physical depression, all things seem sad. The chords are unstrung, and the instrument relaxed. Give my love to all yours, and to inquisitive friends.^ TJniyersity of Yirginia, June 23, 1859. By a dispensation very merciful to me, the summer heats have been held off thus far. The harvest is in full blast — what a cheering sight ! I presume I saw during a drive this morning several wheat-fields, of 300 acres each, under the process. McCormick's reaper is largely used. The improvements here are great, and still going on. To the Rotunda they have added a great projection with a new Corinthian prostyle on the North front. Their great room is very noble, and has a full-size copy of Raphael's School of Athens. At great expense they are now working to convey water from a neighbouring mount to every part of the precincts. A charming parsonage has been built for their chaplain, on a green hillside, among trees. One of the best-placed and finest buildings is an Infirmary for sick students. It is supplied with every convenience, aired throughout by Emer- son's ventilator, hot and cold baths, English water-closets, &c. They have a professional teacher of gymnastics, and two gym- nasiums, one for summer and one for winter. Russian vapour- baths are on the grounds, which Dr. C. takes every few days, leaping from the sweating one into a very cold plunge. Their " public day " is the 29th, when every thing breaks up. Dr. Gessner Harrison, now their oldest professor, has resigned. The demand for schools is truly surprising. I suppose there are a dozen country-grammar boarding-schools in this county. Gentle- men's sons are very glad to take such places. If they did not keep saying so, I should not know that I was any better than a month ago. I lie awake most of the night w^ith slight fever, and seldom fail of a chill during the twenty four hours. A slight dinner is the only meal for which I have * On the 9tli June Dr. Alexander wrote to his intimate friend, James M. Halsted, Esq., of New York — " Since our arrival here, I have on the whole been a gainer. While I cannot say that my cough is gone, it is wonderfully lessened, and quite suspended for long periods. My nights are bad, and I suffer from a dyspeptic colic, which makes very strict diet necessary. My appetite is good, and I am riding on horseback every day. My friends think I shall recover, against the fall. That is as God pleases, unto whom I desire to submit myself." VOL. II. — 13 290 duednG the eemainder of his pastoeate. any appetite. Quinine in large doses makes me for days as deaf as the late excellent " K. H." ^ They begin to let me have rasp- berries and ice-cream.^ ^ The newspaper signature of the Rev. Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. - The last letter but one, ever written by this faithful hand, so far as I have been able to discover, is the one I subjoin, from the Warm Springs, ad- dressed to his brother Addison, in Princeton. Like the preceding letters from Virginia to myself, it was written with a pencil, but with no signs of debility. " Bath Coxtet House, July 13, 1859. " Writing costs me so much, that this must go for an answer to A.'s and J.'s letters. We arrived here on the 13th, pex'haps the hottest day of the season. Though feeling the heat, we are all benefited by the marked change to mountain air. The bath agrees with me ; it is 38 feet diam- eter, 5 feet deep, and 98° Fahrenheit ; being moreover clear as crystal. The waters are also drunk, being weak Epsom salts, and a dash of sulphur. The hotel is well kept, the mutton is delicious, and venison is on the table twice a day. The guests do not number more than forty. This place is in danger of being left out of the fashionable range ; it is no longer on the way to the White Sulphur and Sweet Springs, and is accessible only by very heavy mountain staging. It is nevertheless, for picturesque scenery, above all the others. " Since coming here I have felt better in several respects ; better sleep, excellent appetite, and a slight accession of strength. I am taking no physic, except Dr. Delafield's tonic prescription of Citr. Ferri cum Cin- chona; it comes mixed chemically. My absolute strength is small: I was in error about my weight ; it is 142 lbs I think the heat must be very great in the plains. Drought prevails here ; there has been no shower for three weeks. " If my aunt and cousins are still with you, remember me to them kindly. I w^as so utterly unfit for visiting, that I did not fulfil my purpose of going to Staunton and Lexington. *' This is a very wild country ; venison, however, rises in price ; it is now six cents a pound. A buck is brought in, on an average, once a day. Partridges and pheasants abound. A fox crossed right before our horses' heads on the Warm Spring mountain. We shall probably remain a week, and then go for more permanent quarters to the Red Sweet Springs. I neglected to say, that I feel quite free of my intermittent, neither have I any regular cough." The final effort of his letter-writing was to address some lines to a young nephew in New York, who was suffering with a broken arm. CHAPTER XY. CONCLUDING NOTE. 1859. With the letter of June 23, this long, regular, and most affectionate correspondence terminated on the part of my faith- ful friend. I wrote to him on the 7th and 21st of July, mform- ing him in the latter, that I should leave home on the 27th for a journey of some weeks, and begging him to send me word to certain points on the 5th and 10th of August, of the state of his health. I had been desponding of his recovery from the time of our last personal interview, May 2 ; but was not prepared to receive the tidings of his departure so early as it came ; for before the first date I had fixed for his w^riting to me he was in his grave. Nothing, therefore, remains of my present undertaking, but to furnish a narrative of the events of these last few weeks ; which I am able to do in the language of those who had the privilege, providentially denied to myself, of being with him in the closing scenes. At the University of Virginia he had his home with his wife's brother. Dr. James L. Cabell, Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, w^hose sympathies and attentions as a compan- ion, friend, and physician, supplied every thing that either his domestic or religious wants could require. " During the first few days after his arrival at my house," (I quote the words of Dr. Cabell in letters to myself and others,) "he allowed himself to be distressingly exercised on the subject of his relations to the congregation, but letters received almost simultaneously from two of the Elders, in which they requested 292 CONCLTJDING KOTE. him to dismiss that subject from his mind imtil his health should be fully restored, had the desired result ; and from that time for- ward I had no reason to think that the subject ever disturbed him again. The remainder of his days was spent in tranquil enjoyment, evidently at peace with God through fliith in Christ, and in love and charity with all men. " Leaving the University at noon of July 12, we reached ISIillboro' station at four, and there took a chartered coach for the Warm Springs. The afternoon was exceedingly sultry, and when we reached the Bath Alum Springs, nine or ten miles from the station, and five from the end of our journey, it was found neces- sary to stop for the night. We made a fresh start at daybreak, (July 13,) and crossed the Warm Spring Mountain before break- fast. It was a fine bracing morning. He had enjoyed good rest during the night, and was in excellent spirits. When we drove up to the Warm Springs Hotel, he got out of the coach with a more elastic step than he had shown for months, and averred that he felt like a new man. After a day or two this, feeling of buoyancy deserted him, and was succeeded by an ex- pression of tranquil resignation which puzzled me. On the one hand, the absence of a painful expression was gratifying, in con- trast with the previously frequent indications of bodily and mental distress ; but, on the other hand, the ordinary signs of convalescence in improved appetite and buoyant spirits, were lacking. " The suspension of some of his most distressing symiDtoms soon after his arrival in Virginia, gave me for a time pretty sanguine hopes of his ultimate restoration ; but my mind gradu- ally received the impression that despite the abeyance of such symptoms, no ground previously lost was ever recovered. The flesh and strength he had lost were never regained ; and more than this, his weakness and emaciation increased progressively, though slowly. By insensible degrees my hopes were lessening and my fears were increasing. He himself never wavered in his conviction that he was not only hopelessly disabled, but that his end was much nearer at hand than others thought. He left New York early in June, six weeks later my house, in the firm con- viction that he would see neither place again. Still he was 1850. 293 impatient to get into the mountains. You know the force of his .esthetic susceptibilities. In his daily drives, his enjoyment of our mountain scenery, which is unsurpassed for its varied beauty and grandeur, was almost rapturous. It had never before, he said, been half so great. He would repeatedly say that he had no lano-ua^re of his own adequate to the expression of his feel- ings, and could only exclaim with the Psalmist : ' Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men.' Similar exercises were mani- fested on our journey to the Warm Springs, and especially at that spot of exquisite beauty, where we lingered a week. It must have been the effect of such mental exercises that produced so marked a change in the expression of his countenance, by removing the traces of suffering, as to cause both ourselves and strangers to mark the change, and to imagine that he was much better But I recall the fact that he several times said to me : ' I have a strange feeling of increasing debility.' On learning from my sister that he slept better than he had done for months, that he was entirely free from pain at night, and that his appetite and enjoyment of food were keen, I could not attach much sig- nificance to a feeling, which is temporarily experienced by most persons who take a warm bath daily. He was impatient to go on to the Red Sweet Springs, (Alleghany county,) his favourite resort in these mountains. Waiting for a rain to lay the dust and cool the air, we left the Warm Springs on the 20th July, the day after a heavy shower had produced this twofold change, on a bright and beautiful morning. But we had not gone many miles before we found, to our great regret, that the clouds of the precedmg day had not extended far in the direction of our road, and we were greatly oppressed by the heat and dust. Towards noon he requested me to stop the coach at the nearest house as he was suf- fering extreme pain. In about a quarter of an hour we reached an obscure country tavern, where we remained four or five hours, and then proceeded eight miles further to a more comfortable house, where well-ventilated rooms and good bedding could be obtained. Here, during the night, symptoms of dysentery appeared, but were relieved by prompt remedies to such an extent as to admit of his travelling the next morning over the 294: CONCLUDING NOTE. remaining eighteen miles of his journey, which brought us to the Eed Sweet Springs. Having here more comforts, conven- iences and appliances for gratifying his tastes, than could have "been brought together elsewhere, both he and my sister made it a subject of thanksgiving that he was permitted to reach a spot endeared to him by its rural and quiet charms and many pleasant associations. " Our determination to continue our journey was based upon the fact that the tavern at which we lodged, though in many other respects quite comfortable, was rendered unfit for invalids by reason of its being the night-stand for the enormous travel to the White Sulphur Springs. The stages were coming in or going out nearly all night, and there were not two hours of quiet during the entire night. He passed over the eighteen miles with so little discomfort, and with so frequent manifestations of delight as he recalled the familiar objects along the road, that I really thought the disease must have been extinguished. The symp- toms returned, however, after our arrival at the Springs, but with so moderate a degree of intensity as to awaken no alarm. The immediate cause of death was an uncontrollable diarrhoea supervening upon an attack of dysentery. His system responded readily enough to the remedies employed, and this circumstance induced us to indulge very sanguine hopes of his recovery until a few days before the termination ; but his physical constitution had been so completely wrecked that he had no recuperative power in reserve for such exigencies. On Wednesday morning, July 27th, after a night of fever, I sent telegraphic communica- tions to his friends respecting his condition. From this time till his death I did not leave his bedside, except to take my meals. Wednesday night the fever was scarcely perceptible, and his sleep was so refreshing that on awaking at dawn of day, he said to me : 'I slept delightfully and am much refreshed.' An hour or two later he said to my sister : ' I must be better — I feel entirely comfortable.' This delusive appearance of amend- ment continued all the day, and slightly revived our hopes. But Thursday night the fever recurred, and again on Friday night. On the latter occasion a collapse ensued on the subsidence of the fever, Avhich looked like the fmal sinking. He rallied, however. 1859. 295 but the fever recurred early Saturday night, and by midnight he was evidently and unquestionably sinking, though he continued to breathe till about five o'clock on the Sabbath morn. " Much of the time before his strength entirely failed, was spent in sending messages of farewell and comfort to his congre- gation and the absent members of his family. He said : ' I have not been in the habit of talking much on the subject of my own spirituab states of feeling. "With respect to my subjective religion, I have often disappointed people who look for mani- festations of a certain kind. But I have frequently made known to Elizabeth [his wife] the grounds of my hope.' It was now suggested to him that he was exhausting himself, and needed rest, but he added, ' Let me say one word more with respect to the solemn event to which you have called my attention. If the curtain were to drop now, and I were this moment ushered into the presence of my Maker, what would be my feelings ? They would be these : first, I would prostrate myself in an un- utterable sense of my nothingness and guilt ; but, secondly, I would look upon my Redeemer with an inexpressible assurance of faith and love. A jDassage of Scripture which expresses my present feeling is this : " I know whom " (with great emphasis) " I have believed, and am assured that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." ' In quoting this sentence he remarked, '• some persons read it ' in whom I have believed,' but there is no preposition. Christ himself was the direct object of the Apostle's fliith." This took place about twenty hours before his departure, after which he fell into a sweet sleep, which continued till the last. " We are apt to think of sickness and death at a public watering-place as peculiarly distressing. It was far otherwise in this case. Our party had the exclusive occupation of a large isolated cottage, with abundant attendance by excellent and sym- pathizing servants, and the kind-hearted and liberal proprietor (Mr. Bias) spared neither trouble nor expense in procuring every comfort and luxury which could be had." It increases our cause of thankfulness for the perfect j^eace- fulness and serenity of this passage through the valley of the shadow of death, to know that Dr. Alexander expected to suffer 296 coNCLUDrxG note. some severe spiritual conflicts before his release. In view of such a trial he had deliberately prepared the minds of those who might be expected to be most deeply moved by it ; reminding them of the nature of such temporary temptations of faith, as some- times occur in Christian experience before the final triumph, and bidding them not to be disturbed by Avhat might take place in his own instance. But no such darkness, doubt, or trouble came, even for a moment. His countenance, even in silence and sleep, bore such a happy and transported expression, that it was remarked by one who witnessed it that he was already looking into heaven. In this respect, those prayers appeared to be answered, wiiich were intimated by his speaking of the comfort he found on his death-bed in such stanzas as these, (translated from German :) Forsake me not, my God, Thou God of my salvation ! Give me thy light, to be My sure illumination. My soul to folly turns, Seeking she knows not what ; Oh ! lead her to thyself — My God, forsake me not ! Forsake me not, my God ! Take not thy Spirit from me ; And suffer not the might Of sin to overcome me. A father pitieth The children he begot ; My Father, pity me ; My God, forsake mc not ! Forsake me not, my God ! Thou God of life and power, Enliven, strengthen mo. In every evil hour ; And when the sinful fire "Within my heart is hot, Be not thou far from me ; My God, forsake me not ! 1859. 297 Forsake me not, my God ! Uphold me in my going ; That evermore I may Please thee in all well-doing ; And that thy will, Lord, May never be forgot In all my works and ways — My God, forsake me not ! Forsake me not, ray God ! I would be thine forever ; Confirm me mightily In every right endeavour. And when my hour is come. Cleansed from all stain and spot Of sin, receive my soul ; My God, forsake me not ! I place, here, principally on account of tlic interest now associated with it by the unexpected decease of the writer him- self in less than six months from its date, an extract from a letter addressed to me by Dr. J. Addison Alexander, on the day after his brother's death, but before the intelligence had reached New York. "New York, August 1, 1859. *' My dear Sir, " I left town on I'riday for a day or two, and on returning to resume my work [writing Commentary] this morning, find that James's sons set off that same day for the South, having heard unfavourable news from their flxther, and that my brother Samuel followed them last night after receiving a despatch saying that James was rapidly sinking. He w^as seized with dysentery on his way from the Warm to the Sweet Springs, where it seems that disease is epidemic. I hear indirectly through a member of Dr. Cabell's family, that at the beginning of this new attack he suffered nothing, but seemed nearly insensible. We are now in hourly expectation of later news, which will determine my own movements. In the mean time I think it right to let you know what we know, if you have not previously heard it. I cannot yet abandon all hope, though I stand prepared to hear the worst." In a letter a month afterwards, and in reference to another VOL II. — 13* 298 CONCLrDLN-G NOTE. bereavement, Dr. J. A. A. says: "I have no doubt you have often turned in thought to our departed ' son of consolation,' as if he were still living. With a strange but not unnatural forget- fulness, I find myself looking to him for support even under the irreparable stroke of his own death. I had no conception of my intellectual dependence upon James, until I caught myself continually laying things aside to tell him as the person who could best appreciate and enjoy them. All this says very loudly ' cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils/ and shows the grace and wisdom of that constitution which reserves the office of comforter for a divine person. The circumstances which you mention certainly go far to reconcile us to his death at this time ; but I feel now and then a disposition to repine at the circumstances themselves. I have no doubt that he shortened his own life by morbid anxieties, connected not merely with his health, but with his duties. I find it hard to acquiesce without a murmur in the loss of such a man from such a cause, or to reflect, without a momentary pang of discontent, that he might have preached for many years with ease and pleasure, but sunk under the weight of other cares. ^ " It seems an argument in favour of the old Puritan arrange- ment, which provided both a pastor and a teacher in such cases. But I have already said too much, and check myself." Ten days afterwards, referring to the modification in his Seminary duties, Dr. J. A. Alexander wrote : " The change in my employments is exceedingly agreeable, and none the less so from its having been a favourite plan of James's, without whose in- fluence it never would have taken place. This is not the only point in which he lived to see his hopes fulfilled in reference to his nearest relatives — another instance of the loving-kindness which arranged the circumstances of his death." The decease took place early on the morning of the Lord's day, July 31, 1859. After a proper interval, the body was taken to Princeton, and the interment was made on Wednesday, ^ The writer alludes to his brother's extreme, almost morbid consci- entiousness, which led him to attempt an amount of labour beyond his physical ability, and which oppressed his mind when he found he could not overtake his work. 1859. 299 August 3d The religious services connected with it were held in the First Presbyterian Church, and were conducted by the Eev. Dr. Thompson of New York, Dr. Magie of Elizabeth, Professor Hope, (since deceased,) of the College, and Dr. Hodge, the last of whom preached a discourse from the words m Matthew XXV. 34, " Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit ^the kmgdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The sympathy felt by Christians of all branches of the church, in the removal of Dr. Alexander from their communion, was strikingly displayed in a meeting which took place on the 5th of August, at the most largely frequented of American summer-resorts-Saratoga. At this assembly clergymen of the Episcopal, Congregational, Baptist, ]\Iethodist, and Peformed- Dutch, as well as the Presbyterian churches, expressed a common sentiment of brotherly affection and high esteem. The Session of the bereaved congregation m New iork, appointed the second Sabbath of October to be observed with special reference to their affliction. It had been expected tha the church would be closed during part of the summer and until that day, with a view to some extensive changes in the bui dmg to assist the voice of the pastor. But upon the reassemblmg of the congregation, a marble tablet, inserted in the wall near the pulpit, was the only change to be noticed. That tablet bears the following inscription : IN MEMORY OP JAMES WADDEL ALEXANDER, D.D., rOR THIRTEEN YEARS THE BELOYED AND RETERED PASTOR OE THIS CHURCH; WHOSE SINGULAR NATURAL GIETS, RIPENED BY GENEROUS CULTURE, WERE SUCCESSFULLY GIVEN TO HIS SACRED WORK ; AND WHO, BY HIS FERVENT PIETY, PURE LIFE, TENDER AFFECTIONS, LARGE BENEVOLENCE, AND UNSPARING LABOUR, SO ENDEARED HIMSELF TO HIS PEOPLE, THAT THEY MOURN AS FOR A DEAR BROTHER AND BELOVED FRIEND. He was BORN Marcs 13, 1804, He died July 31, 1859, DECLARING, AS THE SUM OF HIS FAITH AND HOPE, " I know Whom 1 have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day:' 300 CONCLUDmG J^OTE. AVith the services on the Sabbath alluded to, were connected in the morning a sermon by Professor Hodge of the Princeton Theological Seminary, from the words, (Acts ix. 20,) " He preached Christ ; " and in the afternoon a sermon by the Editor of these volumes, from 2 Peter i. 15, "Moreover, I will endea- vour that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance." From the former of these, I extract a few paragraphs : " Dr. Alexander united in himself gifts and graces rarely found in combination. God had endowed him with a retentive memory and a perspicacious intellect, with great power of ap- plication and acquirement, with singular delicacy of taste, witli a musical ear, and a resonant voice. These gifts were all culti- vated ancl turned to the best account. Probably no minister in our Church was a more accomplished scholar. He was familiar with English literature in all periods of its history. He culti- vated the Greek and Latin, French, German, Italian, and Spanish languages, not merely as a philologist, but for the treasures of knowledge and of taste which they contain. To this wide com- pass of his studies is in good measure to be referred many of his characteristics as a writer, the abundance of his literary allu- sions, his curious felicity of expression, and the variety of his imagery. " It was, however, not only in the department of literature that Dr. Alexander was thus distinguished. He was an erudite theologian. Few men were more conversant with the writings of the early fathers, or more femiliar with Christian doctrine in all its phases. He embraced the faith of the Reformed Churches in its integrity with a strength of conviction which nothing; but the accordance of that svstem with his relioious experience could produce. * -^ ^ Theology and philosophy are so related, that devotion to the former involves of necessity the cultivation of the latter. Dr. Alexander was therefore at home in the whole department of philosophical speculation. His last publication was an able exposition of the views of the meta- physicians of the middle ages on one of the most important questions in mental science.^ ^ " The doctrine of Perception, as held by Poctor Arnauld, Doctor Reid, 1859. 301 ''• Thus richly and vr.rioiisly was your beloved pastor endowed. These gifts, however, were but accomplishments. Underneath these adornments, in themselves of priceless value, was the man and the Christian. He was an Israelite without guile. Prob. ably no man living was freer from all envy and jealousy, from malice, hypocrisy, and evil-speaking. No one ever heard of his saying or doing "an unseemly or unkind thing. The associations conne'^ted with his name in the minds of all who knew him, are of things true, jpst, pure, lovely, and of good report. No one can think. of him without being the happier and the better for the thought. He was a delightful companion. His varied knowledge, his humor, his singular power of illustration, rendered his conversation, when in health and spirits, a perpetual feast. Having been brought early in life to a saving knowledge of the truth, his religious knowledge and experience were profound and extensive. He was therefore a skilful casuist, a wise counsellor, and abundantly able to comfort the afflicted with the consolation wherewith he himself had been comforted of God. He was evidently a devout man, reverential in all his acts and utter- ances, full of fiiith and of the Holy Ghost. " The pulpit was his appropriate sphere. There all his gifts and graces, all his acquirements and experiences, found full scope. Hence the remarkable variety which characterized his preach- ing ; which was sometimes doctrinal, sometimes experimental, sometimes historical, sometimes descriptive or graphic, bringing scriptural scenes and incidents as things present before the mind ; often exegetical, unfolding the meaning of the word of God in its own divine form. Hence, too, the vivacity of thought, the felicity of style, and fertility of illustration which were displayed in all his sermons. He could adapt himself to any kind of audience. * * ^ He preached Christ in a manner which seemed to many altogether peculiar. He endeavoured to turn the minds of men away from themselves, and to lead them to look only and Sir William Hamilton," in the Repertory for April, 1859. As I have in the progress of the volumes, indicated Dr. Alexander s artic e. m the Repertory,°as far as I can identify them, I will mention that m the cour.e of 1858 his contributions were, 1. "Ancient Manuscript Sermons, ^. " Sprague's Annals." 302 CONCLUDING NOTE. unto Jesus. He strove to convince his hearers that the work of salvation had been accomplished for them, and was not to be done by them ; that their duty was simply to acquiesce in the work of Christ, assured that the subjective work of sanctification is due to the objective work of Christ, as appropriated by faith and applied by the Holy Ghost. He thus endeavoured to cut off the delays, the anxieties, and misgivings which arise from watch- ing the exercises of our own minds, seeking in what we inwardly experience a warrant for accepting what is outwardly offered to the chief of sinners, without money and without price. He was eminently successful in his ministry, not only in the conversion of sinners, but in comforting and edifying believers. The great charm of his preaching, that to which more than to any thing else its efficiency is to be referred, was his power over the religious afiections. He not only instructed, encouraged, and strengthened his hearers, but he had, to a remarkable degree, the gift of calling their devotional feelings into exercise. In his prayers there were those peculiar intonations to which the Spirit of God alone can attune the human voice, and at the sound of which the gates of heaven seem to unfold, and the worshippers above and the wor- shippers on earth mingle together, prostrate in adoration. Your religious services, under his ministry, were truly seasons of devotion, the highest form of enjoyment vouchsafed to men on earth. The man who can give us this enjoyment, who can thus raise our hearts to God, and bring us into communion with our Saviour, we reverence and love. This is a power which no one envies, from which no one wishes to detract, which surrounds its possessor with a sacred halo, attracting all eyes and offending none. " Dr. Alexander's preeminence, therefore, was due not to any one gift alone ; not to his natural abilities, to his varied scholarship, to his extensive theological knowledge and religious experience ; not to his divine unction, or to his graces of elocu- tion. It was the combination of all these which made him, not the first of orators to hear on rare occasions, but the first of preachers to sit under, month after month and year after year." 1859. 303 [Tlie last letter ever ^Yritten by Dr. Alexander, as referred to on page 290, was as follows :] "Warm Springs, July 19, 1859. " My dear little Charley. — We have all been very much grieved to hear of your trouble ; your mother's letter is all we know, but we trust you are by this time over the worst. I am weak, and cannot write much, but I beg you to consider that it is your Heavenly Father who sends this affliction on you, for your good. And if you are patient and resigned to the will of God, it will please God as much as if you did the most laborious works. We were pleased to hear how manly you were, after you were hurt. This was God's gift ; and he will take away your timidity, if you ask him, and make you strong and cour- ageous. " Willy has a letter begun to you, but he is a poor writer, and every thing draws him away. Give my love to your dear parents, to my sweet little Netty, to Archy and Sam, also to your Uncle Sam ; all join in this. A letter is a great treat up here. Our address will be : Red Sweet Springs, Alleghany Co., Va. [J^^ Please let this be know^n to our friends. We expect to leave here to-morrow in a chartered stage. Mrs. Cabell is better. Your aunt is well ; so is Will. My own troubles are chiefly from extreme weakness. I gain little. " God bless you, Charley ! " I am your affectionate uncle James." APPENDIX. 'No. 1. PRESB YTERIAL CHARGE. 1841. [It will not, I think, be considered an inapi^ropriate addition to the friendly counsels contained in many of the foregoing Letters, to insert the public Charge addressed by their writer to his correspondent, as part of the prescribed services at his Ordi- nation and Instalment. This took place, August 11, 1841, in the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, the same over which Dr. Alexander was installed, February 11, 1829.] Invested as you have just been with the most sacred office known among men, you feel it, I doubt not, to be the most solemn hour of life, one to which you will look back with profound interest during all your pilgrimage— perhaps in your dymg moments— and certainly from the eternal world. And whether the retrospect be one of joy or grief will depend on the manner in which you shall have fulfilled these vows. If you perform the duties of a gospel-minister with faithfulness, to the end of your course, you will shine as a star in the firmament of glory ; but if you turn aside, seduced by sloth, fear, pleasure, literary or professional fame, ambition or lucre, your account will be as dreadful as your privilege is great. rr. i i i Consider what it is that you have vowed. To be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truths of the gospel, and the purity and peace of the church, whatever persecution or opposition may arise to you on that account ;— to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all personal and private duties which become you as a Christian, and a minister of the gospel ; as well as m all relative duties, and the public duties of your ofhce ; endea- Q 06 PEESBTTEKIAL CHAEGE. vouring to adorn the profession of the gospel by your conversa- tion ; and walking with exemplary piety before the flock over which God hath made you a bishop. And, finally, and specially, to discharge the duties of a pastor to this congregation. These, my brother, are the duties which you have just now recognized as yours ; and I am aj^pointed to charge you, yea in God's name, solemnly to charge you to persevere in them. But why need I enlarge upon them ? It is not the knowledge of our duties which is most needed, but the heart to perform them. We all know more than we do, and little would be gained if I were to rehearse to you the contents of all the volumes on the pastoral care. These you might know, and yet be a cast-away. But to do them is what only the Spirit of God in your heart will ever ensure. There is only one thing which will make you, and keep you a faithful pastor, and that is the new nature in vigorous life ; evincing itself in love to Christ, and love to souls. Take heed, therefore, to tJnjself, as well as to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made thee bishop, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; continue in them ; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Though you are a minister, it does not follow that you are a member of Christ. I am sure I speak your own convictions when I say, that all ministerial activity and success is hollow and deceptive, which does not flow from inward experience of the divine life. Without this, vanity is stamped alike on the tongues of men and of angels — on prophecy, mysteries, and all knowl- edge, on self-impoverishing alms and martyrdom itself. If you ever really preach Christ Jesus the Lord, it will be because God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shall have shined into your heart, to give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Have you, my dear brotlier, beheld that glory "? Having the same spirit of faith with Paul, can you say I believed and therefore have I spoken 1 Does the love of Christ constrain you 1 Beware of preaching an unknown Saviour. It is He who is to be the theme of all your ministrations. Make sure of an interest in his death ; and not only this, but strive to keep the fountain full, rather than to multiply the streams ; cultivate the graces of the closet, in order that you may come forth in public and private, fresh from divine communications. It is, after all, personal piety which makes the able minister. It is a mournful fact that the holiest services may degenerate into a routine, and wx may preach and pray with hearts as dead as those of our hearers. Even the measures supposed to indicate 1851. 307 the extremest zeal may be conducted in utter coldness and hypo- crisy ; and the preacher may come reeking from the heats of fanatical parades, to show in the domestic circle a frivolity and asperity, a sensuality, or a cupidity, at which even his unconverted hearers blush. O watch the fire within doors ! ;My brother, this is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop, then, must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good be- haviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre ; but patient ; not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Meditate upon these things ; give thyself WHOLLY TO THEM. If these precepts be observed, you will the less need rules as to the details of duty. Love is wiser than rules. Love is wisdom, nay love is power. The particular measures to be adopted as to the communication of divine truth, I leave to your own Christian discretion. Love is inventive and will find out Avays. Live in the Word of God ; be mighty in the Scriptures ; turn what you read into experience ; and you will save the souls of those who hear you. And now — May the blessing of God rest upon you, and the Spirit of Christ fill your heart ! Amen. 1^0. 2. ADDITIONAL LETTERS FROM EUROPE. 1851. [No more extracts from the correspondence were inserted in Chapter XL, than were sufficient to furnish a general outline of the first European journey, without giving those few months a disproportionate space in the memoir. The following additional selections have been made as not only entertaining in themselves, but eminently characteristic of the observer.] London, Jwie 9, 1851. As I am bent on old London, I caught at the coachman's say- ing this morning, that we might see Greenwich Fair. Down the New Road in an omnibus to the Bengk, (so is " bank " hight,) thence to Temple Bar in another ; thence to London Bridge in a 308 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. third, (always on top,) seeing Bow church, Guildhall, Mansion House, &c., to the stairs by the bridge. Hundreds on hundreds of vans laden with country folk. Scores of steamers, some for a penny, for the Fair. Such masses of heads I never saw. Yet the ever-present police prevent the slightest jam. Off we go, under London Bridge, seven miles downward to Greenwich. Such a sight ! Streets cleared of animals and vehicles for miles. All one raree-show. Thousands on thousands. Here is a mountebank ; there a Highland piper in tartan, and boys dancing the fling ; then theatres, with Hamlet and Ophelia begging the people to come in, price one penny. I saw three several Punch and Judys. Like ten old commencements [of Princeton College] in one. Yet among a hundred thousand people we saw no dis- order, heard no oath, and met but one tipsy man. They get warm toward night. Then to glorious Greenwich Park, acres of green turf, and trees centuries old. We supposed the number of separate stalls or places must have been several thousands. All laughing, all merry, all kindly, all rosy, all plebeian, and all Cockneys. We saw not one gentleman or lady. From time immemorial, the people at this Fair use a little noisy wooden scraper-wheel, called the "fun o' the foir." Everybody scrapes everybody's back unawares. Hundreds of babes in arms, and all this in a smart rain. But, as I said, London rains are play-showers. London, June 10, 1851. Holidays continue. Hundreds of people will come from all the railways. I am writing early at the south-east window of the house, four-pair back. Through one pane of glass, without moving, I count fifteen churches, including St. Paul's, over which the sun is trying to colour the black London smoke, but for which I coidd perhaps count forty steeples thus. I look down into the court of Somerset House, without rising from my chair. All about are chimney-tops, but by going to the flat roof, I see all this quarter— the Tower, Abbey, Lambeth, bridges, river, &c. It is what brought me here. [142 Strand.] The wonder of wonders is the police. There are 900 added. They arc so protected as to feel their respectability. A few days ago,\an uppish Captain of the Coldstream Guards, connected with the Duke of Devonshire, struck a policeman. Notwithstanding his extreme flouncing, he was sentenced to ten days' imprison- ment. These policemen are to the great machine of London exactly what our fifty engineers were to the engine of the Arctic. I have seen but one tipsy man, and heard but one . oath in England, yet I have been in the most populous parts. No 1851. 309 crowdin? is allowed. There is ten times as much collision at Fill on street, New York, as at the East end of he S rand, or LoXn Bridge. I have a passion for getthig lost m odd streets, and m-e done it to my heL-t's content here, resorting to po lee- ml for aid. It is believed .any 'hus-man, or officer, would he dismissed instanter who should be uncivil to a stranger. Our host came yesterday, 07 miles in two hours .and a quarter. Yet it was smooth as a sleigh. They are adoptmg some bars of solid iron, with no sills or sleepers between them and the gravel. All along the sides of road [railway] it is at this season like a parterre. A 'bus which 1 used was marked 636.5. As many a-top as in The 'bus coachmen are for above ours ; being often coach- men driven from the roads by the railways They never chojv, alk low, or behave surly. The one who last drove me to the Bank is a genuine Mr. Weller, Senr. ; was twenty-eight years ooadmig ; came out of Hessex-" did ye never 'ear of Hessex ? Many convicts in America? I has a ne^y in Adelaide. He S foe up, holds my umbrella, calls other 'buses, and covers my le-s wit^i a cloth when it rains. He kno^^;s me agam and eica^e's to take me up. This is true of all. Two can sit each s d% of coachman. He has nothing to do with the money, but drives from 7* A. M. to 12* night. Some days the Paddington says%e takes n his ten pounds, often only two. Price is sixpence ^ Having been at Greenwich Fair yesterday, and seen all CockneydSm in glorious delight, 1 went w^:. stream to-day to see tire other extreine, viz., AVindsor Castle. The contrast is extra- orfinary between 'this dead-level garden (like a magic praine) of matchless green, and the frowning fortress, which you see f„r miles and which you almost skirt m .arriving at it lt» irar'e a hundred 'feet high. AU.my ideas of castdkcd strength were quite feeble, conip.ared with the reality. Outsido it is a criant hold ; inside it is a scene of luxurious art. Al my conception of Go hie churches being from drawings,! was struck dumb when I first entered St. George's Chapel. It - -•>- ° - " laro-e on it What I cannot get over is the glorious airy loftiness, fetiiess and sweetness of this edifice, without one ^dea of gloom "One if the very prettiest things I have seen was a string of Quak r g rls at Windsor, no doubt wealthy, birt uniting the Seency of the pale Philadelphians with the British roses. It "r^Xs^ome litSe historic knowledge to survey -* f ^^j of art as these at the castle. One rooin is filled x^ ith the ^^ or s of Van Dyck, and one with those of Sir Thomas La-re. « The view from the top of the castle has often ll^en described, (see Gray's Ode,) but it seems endless, and may, for extent, be com 310 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. pared with Monticello, [Virginia.] The number of pedestrians is astonishing. Every one drinks the light malt liquor of the hostelries, but none seem excited. Games of cricket on the greens are often in sight. The boats on the river seem wholly gala-boats, and chiefly rowed by boys. The number of the boys' boats at Eton is surprising. June 11. — Before breakflist I surveyed Covent Garden Market near by, and saw the matchless flower and fruit emporium of London. Scores of large peaches, forced in hot-houses, ,and sell- ing for 2s. Qd. a-piece, [55 cents.] After breakfast across Water- loo Bridge to the South-Western Railway. It is Hampton Races. This caused a multitude to be going the same way. This also showed us every variety of sporting character. The course is a mile from the Palace. (As a proof of English exactness, Is. Id. is this moment sent in from the Post Office, to be returned to an unknown person in this house, which has been over-paid.) The palace of Hampton Court is on the north of the Thames, ten miles up the river, near Richmond. Way very. lovely ; green lanes, winding pathways, cricket parties, green winding banks of the gentle Thames, pleasure-boating, (the only use of wherries now,) amazing swiftness of the four-oar boats, rowed by ama- teurs. At length get out at Hampton. Roads full, full ; nobles, gentry, jockeys, pony-phsetons, donkeys saddled for races, grooms, j)ostilions, men in every livery, and colour of breeches. As they turn off* to the left, we turn oflf to the right, to the palace. The elms were planted by Wolsey, who planned this immense structure. The glory of the building is its paintings. Eor the first time I beheld works of M. Angelo, Corregio, Murillo, Guido, Titian, and the original Cartoons of Rafaelle. We visited thirty- two apartments and saw 1,026 pictures. June 13, — I was much gratified with the law-courts. Lord Chancellor Truro was on the seat of equity, and ]\Ir. Wood was speaking, in that hurried, clipping way common to all about St. Stephen's. Lord Campbell and Coleridge at Queen's Bench. Benches crammed with sergeants and barristers, in wigs, bands, and gowns. I also entered the court of the Vice Chancellor, Sir J. Knight Bruce. I hardly expected to see so many wigged ones on the benches ; they filled them like pews. Then dash out, and lose mj'self in the city — in the London of C. Lamb. After all my study of the localities, I can hardly believe my eyes. Such dark, dim, tall, narrow, winding ways, such lab}^- rinths, plainly just so for ages. People stare as I drive into the courts around St. INlary Aldermany church. Bow-lane, and j)eep into Friday street, Bread street. Old Change Alley ; often have to get into a doorway to let a single cart pass. Come out suddenly 1851 311 on St. Paul's Church-yard ; go round it, among the shops ; survey the Religious Tract Society, their beautiful committee-room and library. Portraits of Burder and Bickersteth. Invited to meet their Committee. See Arnold's face [portrait] in a shop, and go in ; it is Fellowes's, his publisher. . Greatly struck with New- gate street and Old Bailey. Wonderful old courts opening into I'arringdon St. AYithout. Down from High Holborn to Fleet street. O the thronsf ! Think of Johnson. Fleet street becomes the Strand, and in this I am now at home. A wondrous eating and drinking folk are the Cockneys. Pastry-cooks and chop-houses seem to be a fourth of the shops in some parts, and you can hardly look up without seeing bright pots of ale carried about. Yet nobody seems to be drunk in the streets. I begin, however, to be aware of desperate lazars, and see pallid, begrimed children. I have no time for telling of the ancient churches, which are numberless. Their names carry me back to Foxe's Records. Bow church I pass daily. St. Mary le Strand is very near me ; so is St. Dunstan's in the East, and St. Clement's. St. Sepulchre's (St. Pulchre's) is near Pie Corner, where the great fire stopped. In another direction I found my- self at the Seven Dials. I owe much to the cuts in the " Penny Magazine " for my familiarity with these spots.. June 14. — I went out before breakfast to revisit Covent Garden market, which I suppose is the greatest flower market in the Avorld.^ I could smell the rich odours long before I got into the street. I bought a moss-rose, a damask rose, a bud, a gera- nium, and a bunch of pansies, all for sixpence. You must know that no rose will any longer grow in the close air of the " City." After breakfast I went to . the Horse Guards, traversed the St. James's Park, and enjoyed the green grass, the water, the swans, the song of birds, and the play of a thousand children. These three great parks open into each other. Don't think of them as little patches like those in New York. In the middle of these parks you are out of sight of all the great city, but with gigantic trees, velvet turf, copses, thickets, artificial rivers, even with miniature ships on them ; thousands of people gently sauntering or resting, and children without number playing, romp- ing, rolling,- flying kites, and fishing. I pursued my w^ay to St. James's Palace, and found the Foot Guards just proceeding thither from Buckingham Palace with music. I followed them into the quadrangle of the ancient palace. There these noble red-coats formed a hollow square, and the band played for an hour the choicest operatic airs. I need not say a Queen's band is ^ He afterwards had to acknowledge the superiority of the Paris market, page 144. 312 LETTERS FEOM EUEOPE. uo mean affair. I then j)roceeded to another court, and approached one of the stiff sentinels. I showed him Mr. T.'s letter to his brother. He presented arms, and accompanied me to the right door. I rang and was admitted to the palace — to an ante- chamber. Four servants were in waiting. Mr. T. had not arrived. It was about eleven, and all the court-people had been up till four at a masquerade ball at the palace. I was ushered into his office, which was full of great ledgers about levees, drawing-rooms, presentations, &c. The servant brought me a fresh " Morning Post," which is the Court paper. Presently T. came in. I told him I had thus far fliiled to see the Queen. He directed me to go to Buckingham Palace, near Constitution Hill. Crossing Green Park I did so, and took a seat looking towards the Palace Garden. Presently there was a sensation. A coach, with four elegant outriders, approached with the Queen and Prince Albert. I saw both distinctly. They were coming home from the Crystal Palace. The people observed dead silence, and the general raising of hats was quiet and momentary. In the afternoon I went into Hyde Park, to see what I con- sider the greatest display in England. Every day before dimier (5 to 6i) all the aristocracy apj^ear, either in carriages, or on horseback. The drive is miles round. All the wealth and beauty of England is here represented. Coachmen, footmen, postilions, all in livery, all in white cravats, breeches and stock- ings, and many powdered. In Rotten Row the equestrians appear. Our Virginians stand aghast at the bold riding of the ladies. Such horses and horsemanship cannot be matched. Among this multitude I did not hear a loud word, or giggle, or see an arrogant or bold look. Very few of the women are beautiful in face, but the figure and port are incomparable. Nothing was apparent to distinguish noble persons, miless it were studied cleanliness and plaimiess. All the finery is on the horses and servants. The most graceful dressing was on the French ladies, of whom there are many. June 10. — Clear again ; but it will rain before night, as it has done every day. You don't see one in a hundred, even of women, with an umbrella. The water here is good, and so are the milk and butter. Such mutton and beef I never saw. Bacon (as they call it) differs from ours, and is very melting and delicious. Cherries have just come. No cheap strawberries yet. English eat cheese with salt. Their Cheshire is about like our Goshen. The Stilton is rich and altogether j^eculiar. The cream cheese and the sausage are better than we have at home. The bread is not always good. It is not dark all night now. I waked at two, and could have read large print. 1851. 313 To-day at Westminster Hall ; saw the Vice Chancellor on the Bench In the Common Pleas saw the Lord Chief Justice, Sir J. Jervis, and Sir T. N. Talfourd. In Exchequer, heard a funny case about tobacco samples. Lord Chief Baron, Sn- J . Pollock, displayed much keenness in bridling Mr. Humphrey, Queen s Counsel. Sir James Park, of the same bench, spoke often. In Queen's Bench again saw Lord Campbell. The lawyers wear not only the wig, with two rows of curls and two queues, and the gown, and very long bands, but also the strait coat of a century ago. I sat among them some time in the Exchequer court. . T . 1 T 1 The house next door to me, (No 141,) is that m which Jacob Tonson kept shop, and where were published Thomson's Sea- sons, Tom Jones, and the histories of Hume, Eobertson, and Gibbon. June 17. — I again visited Covent Garden market to see the matchless fruits, and flowers, and vegetables. Here are things which cannot be described. I passed by the old Hummums. Eevisited the Temple ; entered the house where Johnson lived and Lamb was born, and Johnson's house in Bolt court. Thence to the neighbourhood where the " Boar's head in Little East- cheap " once was ; now occupied by the statue of William IV. Then to the American Minister's, [Mr. Abbott Lawrence ;] great style ; he has an excellent manner, very English, and keeps up the American style. Then for the fourth time, to the Crystal Palace. This time I must say there was a crowd. There must have been hundreds of school boys an.d girls in uniforms. When- ever I see a well-dressed woman, I know she is French. The riding of the ladies in Hyde Park is a beautiful sight. Mr. Lawrence had given to ISIajor Preston and me an order to enter the House of Lords. Being a little too early I passed some time in Westminster Abbey, just opposite, among the tombs. Then I went out to see the Lords assembling. The day was fair, and it was a fine sight. The common mode was on a noble horse, with a groom on another, who immediately rides off* with both horses. Some came in coaches. Some walked, and I even observed some getting out of very or'nary cabs and paying the fiire. I had the uncommon pleasure of seeing the Duke of Wel- lington, for the second time. He was on horseback with _ a groom ; white trowsers ; much of Dr. Miller's look. He dis- mounted with much difficulty. I did not see him afterwards in the House. The Chancellor, Lord Truro, was on the woolsack. I saw Brougham, Grey, Sir J. Graham, (in the gallery,) Lord Lansdowne, Earl of Anglesea, (with one leg,) Archbishop ot Canterbury, Bishops of London, Nor^vich, and Oxford. Ihe VOL. II. 14 314: LETTEKS FEOM ETOOPE. bishops waddle u-p and down in their full roljes. The judges have their gowns and wigs. The Lord Chancellor has a wig with immense ears. The rest of the Lords are dressed in ordinary morning trim, generally in frock coats, very plain, but scrupu- lously clean. The Chancellor left the woolsack and made a very warm defence of Chancery. Lord Stanley made a powerful attack on the ministry in regard to the navigation law^s. Every other sentence was about the United States. He was answered by Lord Grenville, of the Board of Trade, and when I came away at 7| (still dinnerless) Lord Hardwick was just speaking. I thought the debate most able. Stanley is a truly eloquent man. Paris, June 20 — July 9, 1851. From London to Dover we went like lightning, flying through Kent, too fjist to see flinch. It was about like going from New York to Trenton. O the wretched little steamer across the channel ! They are half an age behind us in steamboats. We tossed like an egg-shell. The sea broke over us, so that the deck was soaking, and the spray like rain. Below — one pavement of emetic ladies. As for me, except the ducking, I never enjoyed any thing more. I could not stand up, but I felt perfectly trium- phant as we cut through the waves. Calais in sight. What a change for two hours ! Now for the customs. A little French- man, indescribably quick and habile, spies out the Americans in an instant ; attaches himself to us as commissionaire ; carries every thing ; takes us to ofhce to show" passports ; then to bureau to change our sovereigns for French money ; then to a room, where coffee and luncheon ; then to an office to get our ticket stamped ; then to the cars to secure a separate carriage for ladies, &c. ; then to weighing place (of trunks) ; then to another office where baggage-tickets are given ; then to cars to see us locked in. All this (which w^e could never have done ourselves) little Mons. Marguerite does for one franc. At four we are off on the newly-opened railway. Our carriage is as sumptuous as the finest coach, roomy and soft, in every way luxurious. We had 235 miles to go after 4 P. M. I can hardly collect my thoughts to tell about it. All the trees, even in what seem to be woods, are planted in rows ; all trimmed, except the innumer- able poplars, which look like green pillars. Perpetual sight of peasantry. As they stop to look, the scenes are for a painter. They wear the boldest colours, and seldom less than four ; high caps ; groups in the deep-green hay and barley, look beautiful. Dear little children, in hues of the rainbow, held up by fathers in blouses from the hay-fields. Villages on villages j all of one 1851. 315 story ; all either tiled or thatched, and some both at once. At Amiens the beautiful sun was going down in the western plains, and casting a blush on the ancient cathedral. How indebted I am to the " Penny Magazine " for its cuts and descriptions ! At Douai (where the Bible was translated) the whole neighbourhood is cut up into ups and downs by the fortifications, and the green sides of the moats and ramparts were filled with people. They gathered around us, but in the most civil way. The peasant women are as coarse as men. It was still daylight when we passed Lille, and these scenes were repeated on a larger scale. Arrived at an enormous station-house in the north of Paris, we take an omnibus for the Hotel, and roll through lighted streets. Thousands sitting out in the rue de la Faix, &c., even at midnight. After breakfast next day, I took a drive in a cab ; stopped to deliver my letters to Dr. F. Monod. The concierge says : " to the left, second floor." I ascend ; see door marked " Monod, Pasteur." I send in my name ; instantly I am seized and kissed on both cheeks, not by good Dr. M., but by Mr. Bridel, who remembers me in an instant. Adolphe Monod lives opposite.^ Besides our general view of the President [Louis Napoleon] at the review of the Champ de Mars, [p. 142,] we had two several occasions of looking him closely in the lace, at corners where our pushing driver drew up. We w^ere enveloped in the enthusiastic crowd, who began with Vive la Repvhlique, and ended with a universal shout of Vive VEmpercitr ! AVomen ran like mad among the tramping of the horses. The cortege was preceded by guards holding cocked pistols, and followed by the carabinicrs in brazen helmets and cuirasses, which sounded as they rode. All the troops were regulars. I never expected to see such a review, as they commonly Ml on Sunday. All the fine equipages seem English, as do all the beautiful children. The creatures that go about in sabots, and run after you with bouquets, or carry great panniers on their backs, are brutally hideous. The grisettes in shops, and the trim little women in caps, that trip along every moment, are well-dressed, and graceful to a degree. There is nothing in England like the Avenue cles Champs Elysees, or the Concorde, or the Louvre, or the fortifi- cations, or the middle age piles of the Cite, or the quays, or the Arche de Triomphe. this last fills my eye more than any thing architectural I have seen. But I love London more. I miss the ever-present police, always kind and ready, giving you a sense of protection wherever you are. And then there are not ten men in Prance whom I could care to go ten miles to see ; whereas I can name a hundred in London. ^ Dr. A. Monod died April 6, 1856. 316 LETTEES FEOM EUROPE. On the 23cl, I passed through lines of soldiers to the south side of the National Assembly. Place assigned me in the gallery, opposite the tribune and President's chair. Assemble at two. President has an enormous bell, which he rings to keep order. Heard a speech from Leroux, and a long one from Laurent. Then for a long walk, along the matchless Avenue, through the Tuileries, among hundreds of statues, deep shade of trees, and thousands of flowers to the Champs Elysees. Scores of amusements among the trees. All the working-people of Paris seem pouring into these artificial forests. Punch and Judy. Cripples with music. Flying-horses and circulating boats. Dancing dogs. Two little open-air theatres, with numer- ous singers and large orchestra. These immense forests, called gardens, are used by the Parisians as nursery, smoking-room, and study. The people live out of doors. All the men seem to be either priests or soldiers, so the women keep the shops. In the 2^(iys Latin I was in a little rapture. The Hotel Cluny gave me impressions for life. These old black, grim, fimous, conic-topped towers, fill all my mental blanks au sujet of the middle ages. In the rue St. Jacques^ that long, long, tumble- down street, I began to breathe afresh, as in the Old Jewry, &c., but with more hoary and romantic souvenirs. The inside of French churches is stable-like, compared with St. George's, "Windsor, or Henry VII.'s chaj)el. One morning I took my early coffee at a laiticre^s. Saw the sale of milk, and the perfect courtesy and elegance of the servants who came for it. I have learnt to bow to the lady when I enter a cafe ; this was, however, a plebeian shoj), the cafes were not open. On returning, I found that IMr. Rives had called in person, and afterwards had sent me his silver medal to admit me for the day to the diplomatic tribune, the best place for seeing and hearing ; so I shall go again. I have seen the chief notabilities of France in the Chamber. Soldiers are just as numerous as bees in a hive. The red-legged regulars are the meanest crea- tures, singly, I ever saw. The enthusiasm for Louis Napoleon is great. I am sick of seeing on every church, house, and wall, " Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite." It is positively babyish. I miss the noble English policemen. It is advised not to ask the soldiers ; they are provincials, and know nothing. I find the priests most suave and agreeable, and they speak such French ; for much of the jumble of the badaucls is incomprehensible. French 7ne)i do not compare with the English, but for one good- looking, gracefid English woman, there are 800 French. I observe two marked classes of women : the peasantry, who work like horses and walk like oxen, and the Parisians, who are light, 1851. 317 graceful, and bien mises. French chilclren are no touch to the little an^elic things of Kensington Gardens. I wish you could get one glimpse of the Boulevards. Con- ceive of a curved street, a bow, of which the Seine forms the bowstring. Make this twice as wide as Broadway. Line it with lofty hou'ses ; set two rows of large trees in a sidewalk twice as wide as the widest in New York ; illuminate this like daylight ; fill it with thousands on thousands of holiday-people ; imagme cafes and restaurants with fronts all plate-glass, and interiors all marble, mirror, and gold ; then add chairs filling almost all the space on the sidewalk, occupied by well-dressed people, eating and drinkinij, and this nearly all night. Even the poor do every thino- ill pu])lic view\ Before a bit of a shoe-shop, the man, woman, and children cut their loaf and hand about their bottle, and clack, and bandy compliments, as if no mortal were near them. This is repeated during this ambrosial weather every few paces for miles. In the old quarters, near the Pont Neuf, or Hotel de Ville, (town-house,) where the streets are about as wide as a bed, the swarms of people look, I suppose, just as five hundred years ago. They live on bread and wine. The bread is weighed in the shops. I even see broken crusts sold. The people live miserably inside of their houses. A tailor, for example, has a bedroom up eight pair of stairs, and over the river, and no sitting-room. His shop is all glass and gold. His wife keeps a brilliant cafe, as idol or presidente ; i. e. if she is very handsome. After work-hours they are all the time m the public gardens and places, breakfast and dine in the open air, and look like Ahasuerus and Vashti ; as Cobbett says : " pigs in the parlour peacocks on the promenade." Still these funny creatures are full of " Monsieur " and " Madame," and full af gesture and smiles. The genteel Trench people are perfectly graceful. When I go to while away an hour over an ice, always accom- panied by a wdiole decanter of ice-water, frozen around the inner surface, I study the groups of three, four, and ten. They are dressed to a marvel, as to fit, colour, and mise. They never stare at you, or seem to know you are near. They have no formal bows or motions. I observe nothing which would be unusual in a first-class New York parlour, except a certain smirk, arising from a feeling that one must always speak with a smile.' The people look American; for we get our fashions here. The better sort, as in the Chamber of Deputies, (Cavaignac, Lafayette, Lamartine,) are like very plain American gentlemen ; only some have a scarcely visible show of crimson ribbon m the second top button-hole— the decoration of the legion of Honour. Dr. Monod wears one. A. Monod is a beautiful, saintly man, 318 LETTERS FEOM EUROPE. for elegant, primitive simplicity. Every Thursday lie has a general reception, and probably does more good than by preach- ing. Prayers in French before tea. Fine singing from the " Chants Chretiens." I could not help thinking, at one of these soirees, I never saw so much simplicity, so much polish, and so much affection, mingled. My father would have been pleased with the sweet quietness of "'the girls. Almost all the conver- sation was religious. Parisians hear music every hour for nothing, which it would take large sums to procure in America. I catculated that one might hear gratis thirty orchestras and 150 singers, any evening in the Champs Elysees. The music in the Madeleine, St. Eocli^ Notre Dame, St. Etienne, Notre Dame de Lorette, and St. Vin- cent de Paul, is rococo, and probably equal to any out of the Pope's chapel. The solos of a distant, lamenting female voice, tremolo, 7ninore, diminuendo, contrasted Avith a crash of a hundred instruments, and then a hundred voices like Russell's, [deep bass,] and the interspersed canto fermo, or austere Gregorian chant, centuries old, combine with the tableau vivani of a priestly panto- mime of purple and gold chasubles, (the mantle with cross,) and the yet more imposing long white flowing robe of cambric over pink, girt with pink — the young priests being picked for their figure— to make a bewitching show, which intoxicates poor female worshippers into a trance of ambiguous rapture, which they deem religion. I think the magic of anti-christian pomp has attained its acme. Poor Puseyism, compared with what it imitates, is but pewter to gold and rubies. They have made a separate art of the dressing and marshalling of hundreds of officiating persons, who move or stand with the height of solemn grace, and the overpowering combination of costume, the prelates, the priests in heavy purple or crimson, gilt — the younger clergy, imitating the white-robed angels of their pictures,' the nuns, (most of them seemed crying, with swollen eyes,) the little boys in pure white, and the innumerable girls, in veils. I observed that men, who looked like emperors at the distant altar, were canal-men and bravos, when they passed me in the procession. "When an eminent speaker in the House of Commons said, this^ week, that none of the Dissenters went over to Popery, adding that the existing plan of Oxonian training tended to rear up Romanists, he uttered what any eye may see confirmed in Paris. Who would not, if he goes pomp-hunting, prefer the real old middle-aged mummery to the would-if-I-could-ish simula- tion of it ? Frequent visits to Popish celebrations, must lead truly Protestant minds to doubt the possibility of giving any aid w^hatever to genuine worship, by the appliances of costly archi- 1S51. 319 tectiire, graphic representations, and elaborate music. '• Christian Art," in the sense of the modern art-mad school, there is none. The highest philosophy of cultus — if the phrase may be allowed — leads to the most simple and apostolic rites. It is high time that America and Britain were bestirrino- themselves to send light and leaven into this continent. M. Gas- parin has lately given some frightful accounts of once evangelical Germany. Among his statements are these : Public worship is disregarded. In Berlin, out of four hundred thousand souls, there are three hundred thousand who never attend any of the thirty-two churches. Dr. Tholuck declares that, a few months ago, at Halle, in the principal service of the cathedral there were present fourteen persons ; in another church six, and in a third five ! Next day he attended a sermon, of which he was the only auditor ! The theatres are as full as the churches are empty. Is it wonderful, when we regard the tendency of German philos- ophy '? The papers of the tailor Weithing are published by the state authority of Zurich. Delecke makes fun of poor timid Voltaire and Diderot, " who never were prepared to look on man as the culminating point of existence." Marv and his fellows say : — " The idea of God is the key to the dungeon of mouldy civilization. Let us away with it. The true road to liberty, equality, and happiness, is atheism. Let us teach man that there is no God but himself." Wiehern testifies that emis- saries are out, that schools of atheism are founded very widely, under the guise of reading clubs and singing societies. M. Thiers has made a speech against free trade, which, independently of the topic, is considered the greatest speech of the session. All the left side, his opponents, joined in the accla- mation. I don't believe tliat Demosthenes ever showed more tact in " wielding the fierce democraty." His triumph as an orator is complete, though the question may go against him. This government feels itself in great danger. These amazing gatherings of soldiery show it. They are from distant provinces. Everywhere you see casernes taking the place of other buildings. People feel the mortification of this under a Republic. Two spies attend poor Mr. Close's little chapel ! The police is three- fold : 1, soldiers ; 2, police without uniform ; 3, unknown spies, (waiters, guards, valets, drivers, &c.) Thank God for our gospel and our freedom ! In the number of animals the Garden of Plants is surpassed by the London Zoological Gardens ; but what surpass its gar- dens, trees, walks, buildings, museums, fountains, and free lec- tures ? Constantly open to the people. Every tree of every climate ; all flowers of the world in numbers of enclosed gardens, 320 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. with paths between ; every plant labelled with the botanical name, and all arranged by families. The museums of natural history, the mineralogical and geological and paleontological collections of Cuvier, Hauy, and Jussieu, the collections of fossils and compara- tive anatomy, kept me perpetually wondering. The buildings are numerous and extensive. The Cedar of Lebanon, which is a colossal tree, repaid me for all my weariness. It is ten feet round, near the branches. The palace of Versailles might occupy a volume. It would take a month to see it well. In my ignorance I thought all these palaces, with their grounds, not a hundredth part so extensive as they are. I did not figure to myself miles of avenue, trees of all zones, thousands of statuary, spaces so ample as to remind one of American forests and prairies, and chambers so numerous that the foot wearies before they are half traversed. I attended a lecture on history in the College of Sorbonne. Entered the library, filled with quiet students reading ; a priest presides. Library of St. Genevieve; what a place! Tran- scendent loftiness and beauty ; 200,000 volumes ; 100 reading ; copy of Rafaelle's School of Athens as large as the side of a house. On the 5th (July) I went to church, expecting to hear Monod. The old psalms did me good. The old Huguenot look was in some of the Frenchmen. Just before the second singing, a sparrow tried to get into a window over the pulpit. Immediately they sang Psalm Ixxxiv. 3. The preacher was ]\I. Enfoux, of Geneva. I dined at the table d'hote ; nineteen changes of plates. On my right, a Russian lady and four daughters ; they spoke English, Erench, German, and Russ. On my left a party of fme Eno-lish. I love to meet decent English people ; you look in their^^faces and believe them. In the evening I went to Wes- leyan chapel, and heard the minister, young Mr. Close, preach a beautiful orthodox sermon ; full and able on original sin. About a hundred were there. I sicken at the everlasting sight of bayonets and swords, and the feeling of espionage. There never was a stronger police under an autocrat. I am weary of speaking broken French, though the courtesy of every class passes description. So do the vastness, beauty, and keeping of public institutions.^ Fifty thousand persons are maintained in these charities. Under a polish, which reaches almost the lowest of the canaille, there is a i^odlessness which is horrible. Leaving out a few names in Sa'iTlis, blessed ministers and people, whose love seems the greater for insulation, this beautiful, matchless, glorious capital is Satan's seat. Words fail— paper must not aid— to report the moral rottenness of a generation brought up hi bloody infidelity. The 1851. 321 fear of God, producing truth, is lacking. Yet of ceremonious religion there Is vast increase. The priests, in black garments, go about the streets. Yet evil as popery is, it owns a Saviour, prayer, a heaven and hell, and a God. There is a school growing rampant, which denies each or all of these. The chief thought I had in these fairy-land palaces and Eden pleasaunces, was of the monarchs, and great ones, who had been violently torn from them ; Louis XVL, Napoleon, Charles X., Louis Philippe. The chief thought as I gazed from the north balcony of St. Cloud on the incomparable view of Paris and the great spaces around and between, was, will God's justice suffer this wicked country to remain unvisited 1 The chief personal re- flections were, I love American simple nature more than ever, and American freedom of religion more than any words can utter. I love and covet these matchless and incredible wonders less than my dear fireside ; 1 less than ever wish ornaments for my church, or ornaments for my house. O for the purity and peace of Christ's religion for all I love ! Dijon, July 10, 1851. To-day I have been in a fairy-land all the while. O la belle France ! It is just the word. By stage I can understand how it might be very tedious, but by luxuriously rapid and well- appointed rails, it was just the sliding of one ravishing picture over another. A few elements in bewitching combination — this is the secret of French landscape. The time is flivourable. Every thing is in its glory. The early part of the day we were almost always dashing through the valley of some river. The valley is a prairie exactly ; we see the gentle barrier on each side. Towards evening we began to be sensible of a great change. The scene became rugged. We went through tunnels of thousands of feet. Bare rocks expose themselves, and at length the basin (in which we seem always to be) shows around its further edge mountains and beginnings of what we are going to have anon. We pass the watershed, and are in a new w^orld ; every thing is changed. Geology, houses, dress, almost sky, seem new. I have come into the land of St. Bernard ! I am in the heart of Burgundy, a dukedom greater than many realms. Every village has had some memory, all day long, but now we are nearing the central region of a country most famous. France is as green as England, and along here as much of a garden; but O how pensive from the total absence of cottages ! Every inch is tilled except where perpendicular. No forest, but tens of millions of trees, all planted and very scattering, now in clumps, now in rows. I have certainly this day seen a hundred miles of poplars. VOL. II.— 14* 322 LETTERS FEOM EUKOPE. In the boundless champaign of tiUage, they seem as necessary to the scene as the spires of HoHand. Why am I so often re- minded of Old Virginia ? I will tell you. In England, or even New England and New York, the eye would behold the plain cut up by hedges, &c. Here, as in Virginia, though for a different reason, all is open. Yonder is a view of rolling land, descending rounded towards the river we are skirting. Ten thousand acres lie over the round haunch of the broad swell, as perfect a garden as I ever saw, but so mottled that every one of us compared it, over and over, to a bedquilt ; a patch of wheat, a patch of rye, a patch of mustard, a patch of broom, a patch of walnuts, the ground of all being vineyard, vineyard, vineyard, in a green like distant Indian corn. Vineyards are exactly like pole beans of a certain height. In certain situations they are very beautiful, as to-day, Avhen ever and anon th6y hang over the round bank of land next the horizon, like hanks of green yarn over a hedge. Observe, the prospect is so vast, and so unobstructed by trees, that fields look like squares of chess, only oblong, and no division breaks the continuity except a sweet, fairy-road, winding away among vines and wheat, with, it may be, a cart load of girls, all colours, under broad brims of straw, with pitchforks. We have seen miles of hay-making, with five hundred groups, no one of which Avould disgrace a picture of Claude. You know all the people live in villages. These villages, at this season of deep verdure, seem always to be nestling. You wonder how the houses can squat and huddle so. They cluster around the little church, like sheep around the ram, as close, as irregular. All are of a colour, rusty russet red, tops are same as sides. In themselves ugly and mean, as parts of a rapid landscape very snug and beautiful. What remembrances crowd in during 200 miles of road carrying one deep into the ancient feudal soil ! Here were the Gauls ; here was Coesar ; we have passed several towns named by him. Here were the barons and monks of the middle ages. Here were Burgundian princes, who were all but kings, and yonder are their castles, black with age and awfully frowning over the sweet peaceful soil. Here, as you approach Dijon, were the walks of Bernard's and of Bossuet's childhood. Dijon ! I now understand what an old rocky French town is. I never can describe it. Everybody here as fresh as Irish. I wonder at the hale, happy look of all. But we are high up ; all the way from Paris to this vicinity, we have been going up the streams. Every thing in the air is like Lexington, [Virginia,] or Schooley's Mountain, [New Jersey.] At a glance we see we are in the old Burgundian capital. Quiet, pleasant old to^vn. Our first visit was to the celebrated Museum. Men and girls 1851. 323 are copying in the galleries. Among the signs of decreasing population, several churches are perverted to other uses — one is a corn-market, another a fruit-market, a third a fodder-market. Geneva, July 13 — 17, 1851. The complexion, though we go south from Dijon to Geneva, gets clearer and clearer as we ascend, and I see many a blue eye, reminding me of the Germanic origin of the Burgundian stock. The ploughs have a wheel and four horses, and they plough very shallow. Great industry. Nobody looks unhealthy or suffering. Roses abound, and many times I meet peasants in the road, carry- ing each a rose in his mouth. The houses, as we gradually rose, assume a trace of the Swiss cottage, so that when I saw a real chalet, I was not surprised at all. The great wooden shoe looks crippling, especially on children. Thatch on almost every house, about nine inches thick, often covered with a deep moss. Thus must these higgledy-piggledy towns have looked 500 years ago. These plains are rich, and tempted warriors. Therefore the houses are thick and defensible. Therefore also the people gathered in villages. We began to see single cows led by a string, to crop along the road's edge. Cattle generally a reddish dun. Oxen yoked from the horns. The expanse of hay-fields or prairies amazed and delighted me. The swell of the land increased as we advanced, and with it the beauty of the prospect. " That great mountain " Jura, which we thus approached, is very long and very broad, made up of parallel ridges, together shaped like' the back of a mighty ox. At certain turns we saw the peak of Mont Blanc, like amber. It is beyond Switzerland, being in Savoy. We breakflisted at Champagnolle, having left Dijon at oh A. M. I am perpetually asking myself " can this be France '? " when I look at the beautiful skins. True the hard workers burn nearly mulatto, but the children and some women are of perfect red and white, and even the men show such blond that you wonder to hear French out of their mouths. In descending these sides, the valleys and gorges begin to assume more and more an amphitheatrical shape, and we found ourselves running sheer round the shoulder of great cliffs, with the depth opening green and solemn below, often with herds and cottages in the very fundus. How little did I expect to be so long crossing Mt. Jura, or to ascend it at a canter and almost a gallop. Ghylls or becks, little foaming streams, dashed across our way. Greater streams, white with rage, ran beside us. 1 remember one cascade of snow, which poured out of a field of emerald. It was young hemp. Every inch is rescued where a hoe can enter. 324 LETTEKS FEOM EUROPE. One sees hay-making girls, under broad flats, in a little rug of land, away over among the inaccessible rocks. The valleys have a green, which is black ; the very air seems changed ; the effect is not melancholy but an awful serenity. As we get more among proper mountaineers, cut off from the rest of mankind, it is pleasing to observe how the family feeling becomes more manifest. Fifty times I saw what I thought a family, on some knoll, by some spring, down some well-like plunge of green with a house at the bottom ; three sisters with broad Leghorn flats, and haymakers under a tree ; babies held by others little bigger, that the mothers might hoe or drive. No poetry or fiction can reach the reality of such scenes, occurring every moment, and amid such sights and such air. On the beautiful evening of the 12th, we drove into lovely Geneva, a beauty in the midst of sublimity.^ AYe have been greatly favoured in weather, for it is said that there are not more than fift}' days in the year which furnish a perfectly clear view of Mont Blanc, and we have had three of them, and seen the full moon rise above it, which could only happen with great southing. As I now see it, it is rose-colour in one part, while, as the sun declines, the left-hand portion assumes a ghastly bluish pallor, which must remind every one of death. I had never thought much of this thing of hues. This very day (the • 14th) as I was walking along the delightful avenue, skirting the south side of the lake to Dr. Merle's residence in Eaux Vives, I suddenly found the perspective ending in the placid Leman. But what a j)lay of hues ! The foreground avenue all deep-green ; the nearer water pea-green ; the tilled lands just below, a veil of lilac ; the mountains beyond that a crystalline hue, shading off into pearly clouds and blue heaven. Who would have thouo;ht, that Geneva could have been turned into such a stamping-ground ! ^ The park or wood on the northern eminence is full of booths, stalls, shows, and gam- bling tables. The variety of gamblings is great. Women generally keep the tables, and children are inducted into the mysteries. Some are rolling balls for eatables ; some shooting a cross-bow at a taro;et, over which a rude Libertv rises, on each shot, with the appropriate information that she purposes to go round the globe. Here are flying-horses, more rapid and comical than in Paris or anywhere else, having one row of whirlers within another, going not merely on horses, but on ^ Dr. Alexander found great pleasure and assistance, during bis Alpine travels, and to Heidelberg, in tbe company of the Eev. J. "W". Newton, chap- lain of the TJ. S. Navy, and formerlv of the Edgehill School at Princeton. 2 The Tir Federal : see page 148. 1851. 325 swans, sleigli-"bodies, and so on. Here are lotteries, " ou Ton ne perd pas," and dice-playing, where you get gingerbread or knives. Here are booths of cirques, and jugglers, and posture- makers, most primitive in kind, and outvying Greenwich Fair. I never could have expected to see two such displays of un- American sportiveness. Swiss politics is in much commotion about these times. Enjoying freedom for ages, except when the French had them under, they are nevertheless practised on by every sort of French and Italian refugee. What is in the mouths of every one about aristocracy, is very much like the same talk in France, during the years preceding the reign of terror. Yet, when I think of the past, when I look on the face of nature here, and especially when I contemplate the thousands of mountain men and women now in Geneva, so fresh, frank, hearty, honest, and Protestant, I hope strongly that God has something better in reserve for the sons of Tell, as they love to call themselves. I have seen four priests going about in the black robes of their detestable order. There is a rookery of Jesuits here, and they have set the sisters of Charity a-going, as most likely to win our Protestants by acts of real humanity. The number of papists in Geneva is about 10,000. The more I see of the pomp of Romanism — and I have seen perhaps as much as could be seen out of Rome — the more I am in love with simple archi- tecture and simple worship. Geneva, Jid]j 19, 1851. I have just returned here, fifty-one miles from Chamonix. It is summer, and European summer, without summer-clothes, summer debility, or summer insects. Geneva is full of English. Sir R. Peel is near me, and Lord Vernon and Lady Vane prob- ably in the house. Lord Vernon put twenty balls in the centre of one of the targets the first day of the shooting match. The distant mountains interest me most ; near by they are too cold, cloudy, and frightful. The sights one sees are some\Ahat, but nothing to the'^millions of thoughts which the sights awaken. The sights are only the keys ; the thoughts are the music. Many a mark is in E.'s Bible of spots, where I have read God's words under the tremendous shadow of mountain walls reaching to heaven, and by torrents pure and beautiful, leaping and foaming down the perpendicular but broken sides of deep vales. The dark, but clear atmosphere, caused by the elevation, the un- paralleled verdure, the shadow of giant mountains, and the play of altogether novel lights and shades, affect me even more than the summits of the great Alps. I could slightly imagine the 326 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. latter ; the other is entirely beyond every descriptive power. I have thought of an eclipse ; but there is no melancholy. It is a serene, heavenly awe. The very potato blossoms look pearly, and shine like some sort of brilliant exotic. This shows that it is the air and light which produce the effect. The imminent and terrific passes and paths make even the horse and mule different from ours. In precipitous ascents, when the driver dis- mounted, the stout muscular horses took the carriage up as well without him. As to the mules, their footing is next to a miracle. They always take the outside edge, and go boldly along places more difficult than the bowsprit of a ship. It was almost like home when I reached Geneva. With its lake, its suburban parks and cain^mgyies, its nearer hills, and its Alps in view, it is the loveliest place I know. Mr. Newton and I united in thanking God for the wonders of these three days, and for good tidings from home. " Let the God of my salvation be exalted." The horrible priest-riding of the kingdom of Savoy, smites me everywhere. The priests are the largest, finest, and fattest. The churches are solid and often modern. O how a bell resounds in the green Alps ! The crosses are as frequent as milestones. If the Virgin could weep, it would be to see the puppets and frights which represent her in the wayside shrines. Swiss families seem to love one another with intensity. They love all their little livestock. What a blessed land do you and I live in, where poor woman is not turned into a beast ! I am sure I have seen girls of fourteen, carrying as much straw or green branches as would fill a cart. Their heads are used for this. I saw one woman carrying thus a closed um- brella, and another a heavy pick-axe. My soul is weary of soldiers. The sight of a soldier or a priest makes me first angry, and then sorrowful. As I surveyed the boundless arable lands on the slopes of the mountains, which contain the lower Arve, all one map of varying meadow, garden, and harvest, unincumbered by fences, dotted with sweet cottages, sprinkled with trees and vines, without a square foot in a state of nature, I remembered the numberless wars between Savoy and Geneva. And when I looked at the soldiers, and listened to the fierce, radical politics, and the sounds of rifle-shooting at the grand national match, I was made sure that unless God interpose, all this sweet land will be given up again to fire and blood. Yet these Swiss of the great cantons are a noble race. It was doubt- less the best of them I saw here, during the great democratic celebration. The mountain-girls, in costumes of every cut, were fresh as roses and brawny as boxers. The middle of the streets 1851. 32T was their walk. Not a loud word, nor a disorderly gesture. To tell the truth, they looked American to me, and 1 laid it to (1) Republicanism, and (2) to Protestantism ; but rather of their fathers than their own. Here the wheat-harvest is in its glory. I looked out on rising, and saw a company of young men and lasses going a-field. Their sickles were all fantastically ranged around a staff, sur- mounted with a grand bouquet, and borne aloft by one in the middle. They make a play of every thing. Yevat, July 21, 1851. We arrived at Vevay by steam from Geneva on the 19th, in order to spend the Sabbath in one of the loveliest, quietest towns in Europe. From the bank here, we look into the round- ing of the lake, and see the castle of Chillon. We took a caleche, and visited it on Saturday. Without an interval this road is walled the whole way. It has on the right the lake-shore, vine- yards to the very edge, and on the left, the swelling round moun- tains, vineyards to the very top. So populous is this region, that it is like one village all the way. Vevay is celebrated by Rousseau as the most enchanting spot on earth, and I see no reason to the contrary. The old cathedral is the chief Protes- tant church. The building bears date 1498. Alas ! the gospel of the Reformers who occupied it, is not preached there in French, but in English. I heard one of the most blessed gospel- sermons, of the Simeon sort, from an Anglican chaplain, Mr. Cleves ; John v. 42. About sixty English were present. It was a refreshment to my weary soul, which I shall remember all my days. When I came out, and looked from under the perfect shade over vineyards, town, lake, and nearer hills, to the silvery, heaven-like Alps, on a day of great clearness, with temperature making cloth dress indispensable, I trust my heart experienced some of God's sure mercies, and I was reminded that his cove- nant is more durable than the Alps, which must crumble away. The people are in great contrast to the mountaineers of Savoy. They are a ruddy, industrious, teeming, happy generation. The illusory view of a tourist is that they know no care. On Saturday evening, at dusk, the streets and neighbouring roads were full of people, coming in from the vines, and sitting at their doors. A most wonderful yocUer sang in the court, in the Alpine manner. It is as indescribable as inimitable, and does not sound like a human organ. The peasantry drink wine as freely as we drink water, but intemperance is very rare. Bread and wine are the universal meal. I am surprised to see how little flesh is used, even in twenty courses, at table d'hote. 328 LETTERS FROM EUEOPE. Indeed I think the air and climate lessens one's taste for it. There is no end to the confections. Their cakes are always dry, crisp, and macaroony. I am sure I have tasted 200 kinds in France and Switzerland. "W^arm bread is unknown. Lucerne, July 25, 1851. From Vevay I went to Berne, a stern old Protestant town, more noble in my view from my having just come out of Frei- burg, the chief Catholic canton. The Jesuits are in full blast there. I have no expectation of ever seeing such farms, such crops, such peasantry, such houses, and such babies as I saw in Berne. The chalets equalled all my best forethoughts, and erased the ill impressions of the Savoy Alps. Millions of bee- hives in these vales and heights. ]\Iorning or evening the honey is never absent. We entered Lucerne the 24th. The country people of Lucerne are not to be compared with those of Berne, wdiom I continue to think the finest yeomanry I ever saw. We took a little steam- boat yesterday, to survey the lake Lucerne, which, in the 0]3inion of Sir James Mackintosh and others, is the noblest lake in Switzer- land, i. e. in all the world. I read Schiller's " William Tell " among the very scenes it describes. The spirit of liberty waked up in me very strong at Riitli, the green ledge, where in 1307 the three Swiss conspirators met to free their country ; at Fl Lichen, by Altorf, where Tell shot the apple ; at the chapel where he leaped ashore out of Gessler's boat ; and in view of Kvissnacht, near which he slew Gessler. Five hundred years have not taken away the interest of the Swiss in these mighty deeds. At least three men, of whom two were quite common, indicated the localities to me, and the third told me the whole in English, with tears in his eyes. The music of the Lucerne church-bells is beyond any thing I have yet heard. Many of the people speak Italian, but most a horrible German patois. The Jesuits have a college here, and go about like princes. Zurich, July 26, 1851. Here I am, Deo favente, in tlic old Protestant city of Zuingle. We came from Lucerne in about 7^ hours across the Mt. Albis. We went through the canton of Zug ; all Papists : but I saw no such horrendous life-size imao-es of our Lord crucified as abound and stare at you in Lucerne. Crossing this little canton, w^e entered the sweet, rich, green, Protestant land of Zurich. The road went round and round the mountain (Albis) in successive platforms, for a length uncommon even in Switzerland, so that this enchanting imysage was every moment coming up afresh, 1851. 329 all lying flat and long and wide before us, so as to remind me of what they tell concerning views from a balloon. I begin to feel quite German since I slept under a feather-bed, and paid my bill in Gulden and Kreutzers. Our removes were nine : Soup ; bouilli and carrots ; trout ; tripe with oily mashed potatoes ; cherry fritters, with the stems sticking out ; volaille with lettuce ; strawberries dressed with wine and cinnamon ; cherries, cakes, d:c. ; a bottle of white wine at each plate. On Sunday I went to the cathedral where Zuingle preached. The church is awkwardly divided by a rude ill-painted screen through both nave and aisles, and is seated with deal forms, with backs° marked and numbered but unpainted. There is no paint, except some daubing at the pulpit end. I saw and heard no organ. About 200 persons seemed little where 2,000 might have been. I saw one man besides myself in the nave. A few old men sat along the side walls. One gentleman Avas near the platform. Two men were on it at the preacher's right ; about six singers at his left ; these were led by a blind young man, who read the hymn from a large book with raised letters. He is an admirable singer. They sang twice, but only one tune. The peasant women, who made up the assembly, sang almost perfectly. Every one had her black and gilt book, with a folded white handkerchief. The tune was ancient and slow. All sang, and all stood up in prayer. The preacher was in gown and bands. The sermon was on the fear of God, and seemed to be an attempt to be very pathetic upon mere moralities. The women almost all slumbered and slept. I saw whole rows thus exercised. The service was one hour ; viz. : 1. Hymn, (sitting.) 2. Prayer — read by the preacher standing. 3. Sermon, (he stopped at each head, turned round and employed a blue hand- kerchief.) 4. A prayer read, (Lord's prayer at close of both.) 5. Hymn. Minister then immersed himself in a hat, and people retired. I recognized no benediction. On retiring, some of the poor women bought fine cherries at the foot of the steps. A deader service, out of Quaker meeting, I never saw. No wonder they have forgotten Zuingle's name. The University here has about forty professors and more than 300 regular students ; but the Cantonalsdmle, like a [German] Gymnasium, has 400. Heidelberg, July 31, 1851. I left Zurich on the 28th for Basel. Some of the villages on the road were the worst I have seen. Dunghills all along the streets. They are just in wheat harvest, and the valley of the Rhine is one sea of corn and sheaves ; the more striking from the absence of fences and roads. All the people seem to be 330 LETTERS FEOM ETJEOPE. out. Old men sit among the sheaves. There are more women than men at the work, and babies lie about in abundance. The approach to the Ehine naturally awakened me. At first sight I compared it with the Passaic at Newark, but I soon thought it more like the Shenandoah. The flow of the stream is majestic. We entered Basel as the eclipse of the sun declined. It was my first view of mighty walls of the middle ages, though I have seen many walled towns. The first stork I saw at the place where we dined. "We left Basel in omnibus, and took rails at Heiltingen for Freiburg. Crossing the Ehine takes me out of sweet Switzer- land into Germany — the Grand Duchy of Baden skirting the east bank of the Rhine. I now go fully into German-speech. At Berne it began, but it has been mixed, everywhere the two languages and always English at the inns. The headman at Lucerne spoke English, French, Italian, German, and Dutch. He is a Hollander, and says he learned them by grammars, in order to be a waiter. Freiburg is a Romish town with a small University. It borders on the Black Forest, which, in truth, is a mountain-range, covered with firs, some of which are 120 feet high. The cathe- dral greatly impressed me. The sculj^tures exceeded my thoughts. The tower, 380 feet high, fill of stone, looked like a delicate and graceful nothing against the mountains or the sky. Living water flows in wide streams through all the streets. It is a healthy but wintry place. We left it (on the 30th July) by railway to Kehl ; by omnibus to Strasburg Cathedral ! Leaving S. in the afternoon, we passed Rastadt and Carlsruhe, and entered Heidelberg just after dark. Kenilworth is a plaything compared with the mountain-castle of the old Electors. Old ruins and new erections ; walls twenty feet thick in places ; twenty rooms at least with shrubbery full- grown in them ; vaults and dungeons ; towers, half fallen, where you have the city under your very feet, and a champaign country all gold and green, now falling before the mowers and reapers. There are about 650 students here. They swagger through the streets with little caps of every hue. The rowdyism of the boys passes belief. An apprentice let loose is a feeble comparison. The number of professors and lecturers is seventy. Many of these get not more apiece than a New York coachman. In the Medical Faculty some zeal is apparent. There are two courses of Medical Jurisprudence ; one for jurists, and one for medical men. There are lectures on the History of Medicine, on diseases of the aged, and on many subdivisions of anatomy and therapeutics. 1851. 831 Cologne, August 4, 1851. I left Heidelberg on the 1st. Tnough nominally at Frank fort, I did not really see any thing of the place. I saw a good' many troops, and one corps in white uniform, who were prob ably Anstrians. Biberich, where I took boat, may be called thr port of Wiesbaden. When I got to Cologne about 10 P. M.. my trunk Avas missing. All inquiries proved fruitless.^ A gentleman condoled with me, and offered to lend me from his wardrobe. I afterwards found it was Lord Dudley Ward. Visited the cathedral ; more than a hundred men are working in sheds at the costly carvings. That which most struck me in the interior is its awful grandeur, its vast extent. The Papists grow zealous in proportion as the Protestants have become erroneous and indifferent, and are regaining their hold on the young. In the cathedral I saw rows after rows of girls deeply engaged in devotions, in the side chapels. I dare not give the proofs I have of lax morals in the towns ; the natural consequence of forsaking God. The streets of Cologne are narrow, crooked, dirty, and with- out sidewalks. The filth of German inns is inexpressible ; yet the linen and beds are fine. Bread is capital, so is butter, which I have never seen salted in Europe. Since I left Paris, I have seen no painting that moved me so much as one at the Museum here — " the Jews at the willows of Babylon," by Bendeman, of Dresden. Cologne delights me wdth its Roman ruins and inscriptions, its labyrinth of old lanes, toppling houses, indescribable courts and markets, and quaint edifices. Yet I long to see our own fresh and progressive cities ; to see a land where there are no guards, watch-towers, passports, and over-worked women. Poor things ! their fur- rowed mahogany faces, their gray hair streaming from whimsical head-dresses, often make me muse sadly. I was in the great cathedral on a high day. The vaulted roofs resounded with an orchestral mass. A great number of instru- ments, joined with a grand organ, performed one of the most learned masses. But by far the most impressive part was purely vocal, and plain chant, all in one part, often by boys ; the per- formers being visible in stalls around the choir. I was very near the Archbishop of Cologne, who is also a great prince. The Priests' seminary, near by, has 400 young priests. I was at the Jesuits' church, which is fine ; also at St. Peter's, chiefly remarkable for an altar-piece, the apostle's crucifixion, which Rubens esteemed his best work. The only Protestant church, ^ The trunk was not recovered until August 8, at Rotterdam. 332 LETTERS FRO:Sl EUEOPE. borrowed from the Romanists, is for the soldiers here who happen to be Protestants. I saw yesterday (the Sabbath) a wonderful procession around St. Martin's church. It was St. Martin's day. Purple and gold, incense and tapers, chanting and mummery. I cannot describe the agony of devotion I often see in German Catholics, esj)ecially in old women and young girls, with their rosaries, &c. In my humble view a generation is growing up most craftily trained in every popish delusion. The German popery is altogether a different thing from that of France and Italy. The very advertisements on church-doors breathe a spirit of profound tenderness. God grant that some of the poor priest-ridden souls may find the true cross ! I attended the Episcopal service at the British Consulate. There were sixty present, apj)arently people of some mark. It was Puseyitish. The priest backed the people, had an Oxford cap, moved here and there, and had much mumming over the elements of the offertory. Twenty-one communed. Amsterdam, August 5, 1851. From Coloo^ne in steamer Rubens for Arnhem in Holland — the charmingest town for elegant neatness. We really know nothing of interior Holland in America. The East India trade enriches hundreds of men, who live at home, in a quiet grandeur, like Quaker princes. The fronts of some houses are just like white porcelain. The landscape gardening is English. The windows are the most chastely elegant ; adorned with little screens of Berlin-work, embroidery, or costly Japan. Apropos, the Japan trade is all with the Dutch. Of Java tin, a sale was yesterday made, (two million guilders,) all to a fellow-traveller and acquaintance of mine. The Dutch complexion is even better than the English ; and the people are quiet and happy. The sea- ports are indeed like others, and Amsterdam is filthy ; its canals smell like bilge water ; but Utrecht is like an island in a sea of tranquil academic verdure. I spent some delightful hours (in U.) traversing the China-like streets, the water-side-walks, and the cool still University and Library. Mr. Ader, the librarian, Avas all attention ; spoke English, German, Erench, Dutch, and Latin. All the theological lectures in Holland are in Latin ; the medical in Dutch. Utrecht is the seat of so-called orthodoxy. Leyden and Groningen are liberal. There are about 5,000 Jan- senists in Utrecht. Of the 200,000 population of Amsterdam 30,000 are Jews. There are 600 windmills. The Philadelphia " State House " is plainly a reminiscence of the palace. The very name is the same. I feasted my eyes at the ]\Iuseum with paintings of the Dutch school, which gave me the same pleasure 1851. 333 in comparison with Giiido and Eafaelle, that Boz does in com- parison with Milton. The conntry we passed is a perfect flat. Think of the meadows near Newark, [New Jersey ;] make these perfect green or yellow yelvet ; remove all fences ; intersect with narrow and broad canals full to the green edge ; cover them with myriads of cattle, always black and white ; dot them with low white houses ; extend this plain till the windmills all along the horizon look like chessmen ; add flowers, clean peasants, and .storks, and you have Holland. There is no country but America so belied as this. It is the only country I have thought I could live in. Arnhem, for example, is a little city of trim, lovely houses, pure streets, green parks, ramparts turned into prome- nades, and an appearance of wealth among the retired East India merchants which was new to me. But Utrecht gratified me yet more. Its hotel meets every demand of the most fastidious quietist. Though very large, it is so quiet that I never saw or heard another guest in it. The women going by were all dressed like a play, in clean caps, longish short-gowns, and black petticoats. All looked like toy milk-maids. In Holland people smoke at the dinner table, smoke while eating melons, smoke while setting the table. In Ley den noth- ing moved me more than the remembrance of Boerhaave. I came away with reluctance from his speaking portrait. It has some traits of our Franklin, but more heart and more love. I stood by his simple memorial in St. Peter's. " SALL'TIFEEO BOERHAYII GEXIO SACRUM." On a basrelief medallion likewise the legend Sigillum veri sim- plex. We were shown about the University by Prof. Dozy, to whom Dr. Robinson had letters. They have only one term and the holidays are now. The library has 1,631 oriental MSS., exclusive of Hebrew. Dozy has published one volume of a catalogue of these MSS. At the University I ascended the desk where Witsius often held his acts. But the Senate Hall is a place which, Niebuhr says, has no equal for academic memories. It contains 108 portraits of Ley den professors. We visited Siebold's Japan Collection, the only complete one in Europe. He was eight years in Japan, and one of these in prison. The " Museum van Oudheden " carried me back to Egypt, Carthage, and Etruria. Mummies of babies, who died 3,000 years ago. The Museum of Natural History has a world- wide feme. In ornithology and comparative anatomy, it beats Paris. Whole droves of skeleton genera, from an elephant to 334 LETTEKS FEOM EUEOPE. a mouse. The rector of the Leyden University is Dr. Nicholas Christian Kist. The Theological Professors are Kist, Van Hen gel, Van Oordt, and Scholten. Add, from the Philosophical Faculty, Rutgers, who reads on Exegesis, Antiquities, and San scrit ; Juynball, on Hebrew and Arabic, and Stuffken on Logic. According to a hasty enumeration the Professors amount to thirty-three. Both at Utrecht and Leyden, the libraries are in buildings devoid of all costly display. At Leyden the accommo- dation for books is altogether insufficient. Leyden is the only place where we have seen bills advertising students' rooms, in Latin ; several windows held out cuhicula locanda. But the med- ical lectures are already in Dutch, and the theologians will soon be forced to follow the example of Germany. Customs, how- ever, take deep root in Holland, and one sees many usages which are known in Bergen and Somerset [New Jersey]. In our inn at Utrecht — the neatest and most home-like I ever entered — five footstoves were in our breakfast room ; and there were at least twenty in a pile beside the door of the great lecture-room. In one of Wouverman's celebrated paintings at the Hague, we observed the same implement, of the same fashion, even to the rhomboidal cup for the charcoal, which always belongs to the Vuur Stoof. The same persistency might be exemplified in window-mirrors, storks, health-bulletins, and the clerical-looking undertaker, who invites to funerals in a dress as dignified as a bishop's. Take it altogether, Holland, in its rural portions, gave me such unexpected pleasure, that my chief regret is that I had only a passing glance. Of the moral and religious state of Holland, I must refer you to more authoritative statements, which may be expected at the Evangelical Alliance next week, in London. A hurrying visit, like mine, to inns and galleries, does not give much insight be- yond the surface ; every word I write on this head must be sub- ject to correction. We were of one mind in thinking that evan- gelical religion had not sunk in Holland so much as in Germany and Switzerland. A pious and intelligent officer, high in the service, declared to me his belief that the persecution of the Separatists was at an end. They abound in the province of Groningen, where also lax divinity is most rife. The Heidel- berg Catechism is too much supplanted by abridgments, but is still regularly preached on. Many good people in the National Church contribute to the support of the pious Separatists. ]^Iy informant himself does so ; and further expressed his belief that thousands of the common people hold fast to the divinity and atonement of our Lord. At the same time great coldness and formality are prevalent, as in Scotland under Moderatism. But the churches are full, and the people have that Protestant and 1851. 335 Presbyterian look, which is in contrast with what one sees on the upper Rhine. The works of the great poet and historian Bilcler- dijk are read with affection. His admirer and friend Dacosta is well known as an evangelical believer. Yet the book-shops reveal a portentous preference for German, and especially for French literature, and the days of vernacular Dutch theology seem to be over. Many versions of English practical works are for sale ; and at the Hague, in an open market, we found a tract-man vending Christian broad sheets and little books, of which I will show^ you a sample. Hopes are entertained that measures will soon be taken to restore in part the freer action of the Classical and Synodal Courts. The Hague, Atigust 6, 1851. I do wish I could for one instant show you a Dutch town. You will never believe me if I describe it. Broeck, as every- body knows, is the cleanest place on earth ; we failed to reach it, but know that there is neither horse nor cart road, that every pipe must have a stopper, that the pavements are in figures like mosaic, and the gutters running with pure water. English comfort is not so cosy, nor so universal. The Dutch of this city are the best-dressed people I have seen ; fashion without finery, and plainness without dirt. Positively, whole rows of houses look more like china-ware than bricks and mortar. The Hyde Park of Haag is called the Bosch. It is a forest, two miles long, w^ith a square green parade in the middle. Eor imitation of nature it surpasses the English parks. Dr. Robinson says it beats the Thiergarten of Berlin, and that of Munich. What music I have heard there just now at sunset ! All the better sort of people seemed to be walking there, but orderly and com- posed. Holland is not seen to advantage by Americans who hasten up the Rhine. All my days shall I remember Arnhem, with Vevay, Eton, and Heidelberg. True, I felt the contrast more after three days in Cologne, of which Coleridge says — " Ye nymphs who reign o'er sewers and sinks, The river Rhine, it is well known, Doth wash your city of Cologne ; But tell me, nymphs, what power divine Shall henceforth cleanse the river Rhine ? " The Hague, as a royal residence, adds a subdued splendour to the Dutch neatness. I do not therefore take it as a sample of Hol- land. The streets are clean. The canals are not so intersecting as at Amsterdam, AS'hich is cut into 95 islands. The houses are peculiar, but neat. Much marble is used for the whole pave- ments of halls, and for the trottoirs in a few places. The bricks 336 LETTERS FEOM EUEOPE. are so thin, and the ^Yhite pointing so exact, and the paint of the wood-work so redoubled and polished, and the plate glass so large, that the fronts have an indescribable porcelain look. It is like the quietest parts of Third street [Philadelphia] thirty years ago, with a great addition to finish. The Hollanders drink tea, which is very fine, and comes from Java. The quantity of East India furniture, japan-ware, &:c., in Holland is very great. The little frames, which lift up with the sash, are very pretty. They conceal the people spying out of the spions, or mirrors. I used one of these mirrors at Ley den, and could sit and see a great way up the street. They have an admirable linen curtain, which a simple cord pulls up, in fan- folds ; very cheap and pretty. Every parlour-window looks beautiful from outside. LoNDOX, AugiiM 19, 1851. I arrived here in the night of the 9th, in twenty-two hours from Rotterdam. The English being poor sailors avoid this by preferring Ostend, or even skirting along to Calais. I would not have missed the voyage for much. As soon as I got to the noble Boompje of Rotterdam, and saw the Indiamen, and flags of all nations, and the " General \Yashington of Alexandria," better-looking than them all, I began to take courage. A sniff of sea-air revived me after the unutterable stench of the canals, and every breath of the German sea did me good. We had more than 100 passengers, besides 108 calves. N. B, The veal of Holland is peculiar and a rarity. They serve it as the bonne- hoiiclie ; it is as white and delicate as chicken. I could not say with Voltaire, " Adieu canards, canaux, canaille ! " I shall always love Holland ; the more for that it took me unawares. Amster- dam and Rotterdam are all over like Chatham St. [New York] and South street [Philadelphia] combined. Amsterdam is alive with Jews, who seem the mobile part of the population. Eras- mus's statue at Rotterdam is in the very midst of a throng, not one whit above the Market street [Philadelphia] fishmarket, and we could scarce approach it for the folks taking down their movable stalls. Boats lie almost touching the really grand old image. The immense cathedral, frowning over the whole, is begirt with dark, musty shops, such as America has none of. The Boompje, or great maritime street, is a wide quay on the Maes, (the Rhme has here lost its name,) and is lined with such trees as are in the Philadelphia State House yard. But the heaviest shipping penetrates by canals into the very heart and bowels of the city, and is unloaded at the doors of stores. "What most pleased me in Holland, was to see how different 1851. 337 the lot of woman is from that of the sex in France and Germany. Here are no women carrying heavy loads, or doing men's work. Indeed, the Hollanders have a hundred devices to save the very men. Horses and carts abound in their fields. There are thou- sands of dog-carts ; and wind and water are levied on for every kind of work. In Holland the chief reading, if I may judge by the bookstores, is first of French, then of German, then of English. This is unfavourable. Col. S. says the Separatists are no longer persecuted; that the people would not bear it. He thinks most of the poor country people retain sound doctrine. The rationalists are city-men and professors, and even these do not openly impugn the doctrines of grace. The churches are largely attended ; wdiich differs from Germany. Here, in the thick of old London, a stone's throw from Milk street, in Cripple-gate Within, it is as quiet as a New England village. In the evening after my arrival, coming by the little old church of St. Mary's in the street (Aldermanbury) of our first lodgings, I saw lights and could even discern the preacher, whose motions indicated earnestness. I slipped in near the fur- ther door. The preacher, a middle-aged man, was very warmly engaged on Hebrews i. : " Thy throne, O God," &c. He had not uttered many sentences, before I found him to be evangelical. His third point was on the perpetuity, his fourth on the glory of Christ's Divine kingdom. He read part, but added much ex tempore, reading his numerous and fervent citations from a little Bible lying beside his MS. The application was full of point and unction. Coming just from the depths of popery and neology, and from the tossings of the German sea, I enjoyed as much as Jonathan when he found the honey-comb, and my eyes were lightened. On the 13th we got into very good snug quarters at 34 Great Ormond street, Queen's square, Lamb's Conduit street. I went to survey Billingsgate. It is well, for they are putting up a lofty pile to supersede the old classical place. The fish-people were more decent than I expected. Crossing several vessels, I boarded one of the oyster-sloops, and got acquainted with the skipper. He ordered up some oysters for me to taste, such as sell for thirty-two shillings a bushel. They have a high flavour, and are small, round, flat, and not clustered. Larger ones, for nine shillings, are coarse and repulsive. As I walked up Cheapside I met a school of little girls, belonging to some old foundation ; brown petticoats, white capes, caps and pinafores ; little old women of a former age. One can scarcely walk about in London, without seeing some token of the numerous charities of a better day. The supply of churches in VOL. II. — 15 338 LETTEES FKOM EUROPE. the " City " unquestionably surpasses that of any to^yn on earth. You sometimes pass a dozen in a five minutes' walk, almost every one bearing a name of history. To-day I came all of a sudden on St. Swithin's lane and church, and looked about for London Stone. I came near missing it, for an idle fellow, lean- ing against the wall of the church, entirely covered it. I feel a strange interest in the very old part east of the Monument, i. e. the part untouched by the fire of 1666. Some of the houses look as if Wiclif and Chaucer might have lived in them. I went to St. Paul's, and heard some of the cathedral singing. Then I perambulated the great precincts. Two statues held me long, and I went back to them — Dr. Johnson and John Howard ; and both are by John Bacon, the pious sculptor. Johnson's is a noble work of art, though the idea is ancient, being neither more nor less than a Hercules. As to the rest, I grew weary of attempts to ring the changes on Victory supporting a dying hero. Emblematic and allegoric sculpture has done me no good. The corner house opposite our lodgings is a gin-palace, brilliant as day. The next, a vintner's. The next, opposite to us, is a sweet dairy shop. Most of the other houses in this Sansom-like [Philadelphia] street, are private. I have scarcely been able to write for the delicious street music. No music has given me such soothing pleasure, as what I have heard by chance. The gin-palace has a stream from dusk onward — boys, women with infants, smart young women, errand people. I see sad signs of drink in London, on a closer inspection. No drunkards abroad — the police see to that — but men and women muddled, and in that sleepy state which daily imbibing secures. There is, in my judgment, a rancorous envy of America very general in a certain English class, and that a very large one. They lose no chance of laughing at the American part of the Exhibition, and ringing changes on Mexico, Slavery, &c. This is mingled with a certain dread and respect, which is flattering to us, but only implied. They think our cleverness amazing. Mr. Bull is somewhat slow to take an idea. Certain things in the American Exhibition will run all over England before they have done funning at us. For example, ^McCormick's threshing- machine will cut down hundreds of English harvests. A ruling- machine sets the stationers aghast. In the care of the soil and the housing of crops, and the saving of land and produce, we are very far behind them, but as far before them in tools and quick work. The American cradle is itself a century in advance of the old corn-growing countries. I travelled hundreds of miles through actual harvests. The sickle was universal, (so here also,) and the work slow, though neat. Ploughs and harrows were going 1851. 339 for the next crop, while the wheat was in the shock or wagon ; but nine-tenths of the ploughs I saw on the continent were shallow things, drawn by oxen or cows, and with a wheel. In Holland, thinors are more as in Somerset and Bergen, [New Jersey.] The Christian Evangelical Alliance meets on the 20th, and lasts twelve days. I do not expect to go, after their acts con- cernino; American slave-holders. I declared to Dr. Hamilton that whatever my private opinions were on slavery, I would sit in no body where my Southern brethren were excluded, and that I would not submit to any inquisition by English Dissenters. London, August 22, 1851. It is impossible to give an idea of the way the street-people talk. It is not this or that word, but all the words ; and hardly a name fails of some change. " Go by the Eondlin' sir, ye'll see no turnin' to put ye out, till ye git to Lamb's Cundick " — " theng' ye " — " hit's a good 'apenny " — "ye'll bean Ameri- can." Mr. , when I ask after his family, always says : " Nicely ! I assure you." I am now familiar with the sight of liveries, uniforms, and odd costumes. Postmen, servants, soldiers, proctors, bishops, some clergymen, coachmen, beadles, charity-scholars, wagoners, appear in a dress peculiar to each. The low population is very vile. The opening of the Evangelical Alliance on the 20th was the most elevated season of devotion I ever attended. I stayed from ten till two. It was a great prayer-meeting at Freemason's Hall. I had some delightful chat with Noel. Dr. R. Buchanan, of Glasgow, read an address of an hour, full of Presbyterian good sense. The Rev. Ed. Bickersteth (the son) made an address so full of modesty, humility, and love, that every one felt like embracing him. He is pale, small, and plain, but so simple, John-like, scholarly, and winning, that I rejoiced that the church of England had such men. When he alluded to his father, all the house was in tears. In this the English assemblies are just like the Virginians. There w^ere three hymns and three prayers. The first hymn was, " Come, let us join our cheerful songs." Another was Psalm 133, old version. The whole look of the assembly is English. So many stout, ruddy men ; more [than English] uncouth, peculiar faces ; more ugliness, greater strength, health, and play of countenance. Occasionally I w^ould see a swarthy, sour-looking one, like me ; he was always a Erench- man. Sir Culling E. Eardley, Bart., was made President. He 340 LETTERS FEOM EUEOPE. stepped up gaily; a fresh, smiling little man; youngish; green frock, yellow waistcoat, white trousers, checked neck-cloth, brown gloves, and umbrella under arm while he spoke. The meeting was more familiar than with us. The speeches were numerous, and generally short ; kindly, but often poor and sometimes very awkward. The sing-song tone of some was comical enough. The more educated and gentleman-like spoke most like Ameri- cans. A churchman, who offered an extempore prayer with open eyes, is the only Englishman whom I have heard say hyind and gy ide. Sir Culling says " urgin', givin', utterin', also illiistret, vindikeL The meeting, which was very long, was one of anima- tion, devotion, and many tears. There was much clapping of Bickersteth, and some '' hear ! hear ! " Next day (21st) I heard Mr. Noel's address at the Alliance. His manner is very easy, quiet, and perfectly colloquial. But he was never animated, and seldom made a gesture. My ticket at the Tower showed that I was the 4,002d visiter yesterday. At the Alliance to-day I entered the house when they were discussing a paper of Dr. Baird's, which I have not seen, but which is said to have been sound and patriotic. My name was mentioned by the President, Sir Culling E. Eardley, and I was suddenly asked whether I would consent to meet a Committee on the subject. Much surprised, I nevertheless replied as follows : "'I have been present. Sir Culling, only as a respectful and affectionate visiter, and am under obligations to leave town to- morrow.' " Sir Cidling E. Eardley. ' At what hour 1 ' " ' That question, let me answer, seems to imply that there is some hour in which I would engage in such a discussion. We, Sir Culling, who have preached to the slave, and stood by the slave in his dying moments, know too well the agitations which a question so complicated with other mterests can produce. I have joined in the prayers, and at a remote part of the circle, in the praises of this festival of Christian love ; and for one I am not willing to introduce an element into these conversations, which, happily, has been thus far absent ; and not willing to engage in any gladiatorial exhibition on the subject of Ameri- can slavery.' " The spirit of certain Independent and Baptist members of the Alliance is quite offensive. I would not give place to such, by subjection; no, not for an hour. Some of the Church of England men and the best heads of the Free Church, are willing to hear the facts and to discuss the matter candidly and frater- nally. 1851. 341 Lime-street, famous in theology/ is a narrow, crooked alley. The number and closeness of the old churches is surprising. The day was when great regard was had to the spiritual wants of London. If the Non-conformist Reformation had not been quenched by war and by Cromwell, this home-missionary zeal would have made London the glory of England, and England of the world. As it is, the star has gone westward. It is in Amer- ica that the genuine principle of English Protestantism has expanded itself The spirit of slumber has fallen on the titular Church of England, which has neglected God's poor. Little is to be hoped from the fiery fanaticism of political dissenters, who are constantly fevering themselves with some new excitement. God grant that American Christianity may go forward, with that life which I know so much better how to prize, after seeing the symptoms of moribund society here ! Street-shows and street-wonders would take up a book. This morning we had — 1, a venerable gray -haired man, without hat, led by a dog, cantillating his woes ; 2, a trio, Ilindoo man and two children, one beating a drum-keg with his hands, and singing his ills ; 3, a show of unknown contents, like a Swiss char-a-banc. Accompanied Dr. Robinson to the British Museum, the great object of my curiosity. We made at once for the antiquity gallery. Here are Layard's things. Most are figured in his books : the perfectly Caucasian and fine profile of the chief figures. The Egyptian faces show the Hindoo eye, unmistak- ably. Elgin Saloon ! Models of the Parthenon as perfect, and as in ruins ; representing even the friezes, metopes, and internal statue of Minerva. This is indeed the consummation of sculp- ture-art. Tangled, rumpled drapery, from the age of Pericles. My mind is made up in an instant. I am glad they are here. Here they are safe, and only here can they be examined nearly. Wonders on wonders in the Egyptian saloon, taking one back to the times of Moses. On the ITth, I heard Dr. Hamilton on Col. iii. 16. Service 1 hour 45 minutes. Prayers long, before and after. Order thus : 1. Singing part of Ps. cxlvii. 2. Prayer. 3. Reading Col iii., ending with " The Lord bless his word." 4. Singing of Psalm cxlvii. continued. 5. The Lord's Prayer. 6. Sermon. 7. Singing of remainder of Psalm cxlvii. 8. Prayer. 9. No- tices. 10. Blessing. The sermon was about an hour ; was exuberant in similitude, and full of pathos. Altogether different from the one in June. Just like his " Mount of Olives." Man ner warm ; sermon read, but with interpolations. Gown and ' " The Lime Street Lectures," by Non-conformist divines, ITSO-'SI. 342 LETTERS FROM EUROPE. "bands. Bible carried before him into pulpit. One of the deacons acted as precentor. All sang, but in bad time, and amazingly slow. I sat in a high pew, back, called the " Elders' pew." In it was Dr. Brown, Greek Professor at Aberdeen, former Mode- rator of the Free Assembly. The house was built for Irving. Some painted glass, on which the Scotch thistle and the burning bush. Seats in the aisles, and rush of people after the first prayer. Next day had good chat for an hour with Dr. Hamilton at his house, and thence with him to the British Museum. This morning I went to Westminster Abbey for a leisurely survey. My more mature thoughts differ from what I expected. In no view that I can get of it does the outside of Westminster present itself as one idea, like Freiburg, Strasburg, or Cologne. As works of art few of the statues in the wilderness of tombs, redeem the English school from the common censure. Chan- trey's, even, are not all I hoped for. The best in my humble judgment is a bas-relief by Elaxman, representing a sister pros- trate in all the effusion of hopeless woe upon a brother's tomb — that of George Lindsay Johnstone in the north aisle. Berwick upon Tweed, August 26, 1851. Before leaving Cambridge yesterday, I found the rooms of Martyn and Kirke White at St. John's. The chambers of Milton, at Christ's, are no longer known. We were warmly invited to dine with the Fellows of Trinity, but we had already dined in King's by invitation of the new Vice Provost, Mr. Heath. There are about sixty Fellows at Trinity College ; about eight get £300 ; about eight £250 ; the rest £200. King's about £250. Not necessary to reside. Thorwaldsen's statue of Byron, which had been refused at Wesminster Abbey, is in the library of Trinity. I am yet to behold any thing so enchanting in its mixture of antique art and perfect nature as King's College. The grounds are like green plush, without even a daisy, or an extra- neous leaf on the smooth-rolled turf. This extends over many acres to the river, and is encircled and broken by majestic trees. The Fellows live like princes. In six hours from Cambridge we reached Lincoln. We saw the noble exteriors of Elv and Peterborousfh cathedrals, the sur- passing tower of Boston Church, and more fully Lincoln Cathe- dral and York Minster. And here we are on the edge of Scot- land, England, Tweed, and the German Ocean. We are one day ahead of the Queen, who is to sleep at Doncaster to-morrow on the way to Edinburgh. I never saw so much wheat, even on the Rhine, as I have seen harvesting during a week. It is matter of unspeakable thanks. This I feel when I see often fifty persons 1851. 343 gleaning in a stubble field. The country gets tumbled and rumpled as you get into Durham. They most awkwardly cut the wheat with a scythe. But their stacks and ricks of immense height are worth going to see. Berwick is a fine old town ; the clear, black situation, with hillside, Tweed-vale and sea, took me by surprise. There is no railway known to me, which goes so- long by a river of picturesque beauty. Is there any lovelier- valley than that of Tweed 1 Edinburgh, Augxist 30, 1851. The way from Berwick was along the Tweed by Kelso tO' Melrose. Every name recalled Border history, Burns, and Scott- How often has poor Sir Walter's pony crept along the sweet, shaded lanes, through which I v/ent to Abbotsford ! 1 was in his superb library, and the study ; saw Chantrey's bust, with abun- dance of the things named by travellers. We crossed the Gala Water again and again. It is jrenerally said this borderland is the loveliest in Scotland. The little rivers, pure as crystal, and winding in green vales, come purling in every now and then, and each is known in history ; and here and there a castle or abbey 800 years old rises majestically among the verdant fields. The only trees are planted. The round hills are treeless, but green or purple with heather, and the eye runs over such waves of this green ocean, that the distant herds and flocks look like specks. We came near Flodden-field and saw Dryburgh Abbey, where Scott lies. When we got to the quiet little inn at Mel- rose, and had lunched on broiled salmon-steak, the host said : '• There is an American here, who has been walking over the hills." Presently he came in ; it was Major Preston. I had already given him two adieux. He accompanied us to Abbots- ford. How soon we lose the Northumberland burr on crossing Tweed, and what a diflerent look in everybody ! The children talking broad Lowland Scotch seem so funny. I hear some boys flying kites — " Jamie, I bate ye 'till be ower heevie — ye'll hae it agen the brae." This is not as stumping as the Yorkshire- " He maxum pikum," (he makes them pick them ;) and " Sneck yett " is " shut the gate," for they have no article. We are at 20 George's square. ]\fr. Dickson met us at the terminus with a cab and real Scotch hospitality. I enjoy a Christian house more than you can know, till you have been three months in hotels. Queen Square is a private street ; no horse or vehicle passes. Sir Walter Scott passed his boyhood in this row, No. 27. Back of us is Watson's Hospital, with the meadows, as the fine avenue is called, which leads to the green 34:4 LETTERS FROM EUROPE. outskirts. I cannot note a tithe of the sights. The University- rooms of Chalmers', Wilson's, and Hamilton's Lectures. Statue of Burns, by Flaxman, his last work. The Harrow, where Hogg lodged. liouses of Hume, Blair, Knox, Cardinal Beatoun. The Wynds ; the Tolbooth ; Grey Friars Church. The Castle. The Antiquarians' Museum. The Advocates' Library, where the librarian showed us a letter of Charles L, when a boy, a INLazarin Bible, and the autograph of Waverley. I find Edinburgh, as often described, " beautiful for situation," beyond all cities. ^ It has eminences, valleys, architecture, mountains, water, wide prospects, and thronging memories. Surely Scotland is " a field, which the Lord hath blessed." The intelligence, culture, and warmth of the excellent persons I meet, is delightful. They are the quickest people I ever saw, and this is united to great piety. I have fiillen into the very circle to which McCheyne's friends belong. Hewitson (his life is published in America) was an intimate of Mr. Dickson's, whose name occurs often in it. The piety of the Free Church folks of this school runs in the vein of exceeding tenderness and humility. Among many others, I must remember the Rev. Andrew Cameron, editor of the Christian Treasury ; the Rev. Mr. Gould, of the Reformed and Presbyterian church, editor of the new edition of Owen's Works ; Mr. Johnstone, of the house of Johnstone & Hunter, chief publishers for the Free Church ; Dr. Hetherington, the historian ; Dr. W. Lindsay Alex- ander, the Independent ; Mr. James Bonar, editor of the Assem- bly's Proceedings ; Mr. Hackett, of the Advocates' Library. On the 28th the Queen entered about 4 o'clock, through the Dumbiedykes to Holy rood. I had a close view. Prince Albert was by her in an open carriage. The next carried the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal. Instead of receiving the Queen in the narrow streets, the body of the population poured out and spread themselves in a broad, green valley, between Holyrood palace and the range of hills including Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, &c. This ravine was covered by tens of thou- sands, not in a level mass, but stretching up the sides of the hills on the clean turf, higher and higher, till the remote groups were almost too small "for vision. The crags resounded with enthusiastic acclamations and the roar of cannon. So happy a multitude and so sublime a gathering I had not seen. If the Queen has any heart, she must have been overcome. She looked hearty, though she had come 250 miles that day. Lord John Russell was very much cheered, but I heard some Popish hissing. He visited the New College of the Free Church. Tlie people love to speak of the Queen's punctuality and energy. On the 1851. 345 nio-ht of her arrival she went out to see Lady Buccleuch, who is ilf and the next morning she went to Donaldson's Hospital before her early start northward at 8 o'clock. At the Hospital provision i.^, made for the instruction of 300 boys. The building is so grand, and the grounds and prospects so delightful, that it is thought of for a palace. At the " Ragged School " we saw 300 children, all without means of living. They come every morning and go home every night. When they come they strip off all their tatters, go into a bath, put on school-clothes, learn, work, have three meals, then put on old tatters and go home. On the 1st of this month partridge-shooting began. The number is surprising of gentlemen with gun-cases, &c., that one meets. They have regular dog-tickets on the railway. At the College of the United Presbyterian Church we saw the Library, and the beautiful Hall in which their Synod meets. They have about 130 students. Their professors are all pastors, and their session is only seven Aveeks ! It is common for the ministers to live several miles out of town. Dr. Eadie comes here every day from Glasgow to his lectures. Almost every pastor is away at this season. Brigg of Turk, Perthshire, September 2, 1851. Dr. Robinson and I left Edinburgh yesterday morning. I sit at a window of my bed-room in this lonely mountain inn, just at the opening of the Trosachs, or pass to Loch Katrine, to which I expect to walk after breakfast. All day yesterday and all to-day, it is the scenery of " the Lady of the Lake," and this is really what draws people here ; for there is grander scenery in Europe, but men love to go where poets have been. On the way from Edinburgh were Linlithgow Palace, Bannockburn, and Stirling Castle. If I had got to Stirling a day sooner I should have seen the Highland Sports, such as pitching the stone, tilting, broad- sword, highland-fling, wrestling, &c. As it was I saw plenty of begcrars and barefoots, and part of the 79th regiment in the castle, all bare-kneed, but mighty brawny and big. I began to see the Celtic visage and hear the Gaelic, which is a sweet language and very like Irish and Welsh. This morning the sun rose beautifully over a mountain. The air was Alpine. Huts in the distance had low roofs, and sometimes no chimney, the blue peat-reek comino- out of the door. Wherever you looked, all was tumbled up and down in fantastic hills and dales, but perfectly soft and perfectly green, except where the purple heather covered the sides. An old Highlander sat in the fog, wrapped m his plaid, with his shaggy dog, watching a herd. Hay was making in VOL. II. 15* Si:6 LETTEES FEOM EUROPE. some little patches far off, and through my glass I saw a little girl using her hands for pitchfork, and a baby propped up in the hay. We got into a vehicle, without cover, and drove through the Trosachs to the Loch. While we waited for the steamboat I mounted a hill, and lay down in the heather. It is soft and fragrant, and the flower is beautiful. It is not unlike clover at a distance, but taller, and far more uneven, and when viewed closely, is a beautiful bushy flower. I can well understand now how people might sleep on it, and how the fleeing Covenanters, in hiding, could escape by means of it. No wonder it is the darling growth of Scots. Almost every one travelling carries some heather-bloom somewhere about him. On the boat we had a Highland piper. Why did he not play " Hail to the Chief," which was made for this lake ? He played " Eoy's Wife," and " the Campbells are comin'." We got out in sight of the house where Rob Roy was born. We then rode five miles to Loch Lomond. No woods, no farms, no cultivation ; all hills and muir-land, and peat-bog ; all green, with thousands of fern and heather ; and mountains before us to the north and on both sides. I saw peat or turf burning for the first time. They cut it in the moors, and pile it in stacks. It makes a nice, gentle fire, and the smell is pleasant. The people have little tillage, and live by their cattle and sheep. Almost every man wears a plaid around him, and so do half the gentle- men tourists. Stunted trees of tangled growth sometimes appear. Stone fences run irregularly up and down, often sur- mounted by scrubby dwarf-oak hedge, and with every crevice full of mingling fern, broom, and heather. Black cattle and black- faced sheep roam over the muir-land. The whole scenery is wild and novel, but thus far less lofty than I expected. The trip in a cart from Katrine to Lomond was very jolting, but O the sin- gular, dream-like wildness of those hills and moors, where a man would be lost in half an hour, if he left the only road, and yet no forest ! Look on every side, and see the horizon shut in sometimes by rocky mountains of every varied contour which primitive granite can take, but seldom bare, and for miles to- gether gently blushing with the flower of the heaths now in their glory. Within this bounding rim, see the country tossed up and down, as if the ocean in a long roll had suddenly been turned into green land ; for everywhere the green is perfect, and the matted grass is short and thick like moleskin. Mark the silver rill that meanders on the left to join Lake Artlet to Loch Lomond, showing that we have passed the water- slied, and go down. Observe the low piles of granite rocks, without mortar, without window, thatched or turfed, the smoke coming out of 1851. 347 the chimney or door, and the truncated pyramid of black peat standing by. Do not neglect the million gay- flowers with which God has beautified these solitudes, nor the fantastic mists and clouds that roll about the eminences of Ben An, Ben Venn, and Ben Lomond. Glasgow, September 10, 1851. At Balloch, on lake Lomond, we took rails for Dumbarton ; saw the wonderful castle, but did not hear " Dumbarton drums beat bonnie O." I had seen many castles, but for singular prominency this exceeds. The twin mount, on which it is built, rises out of the river beach, as if a gigantic elephant had pushed himself half vyay out of the flats. This, like Stirling, is kept garrisoned, by provisions in the treaty of union. Here we took steamboat for Glasgow, and ascended the broad Clyde. Every mile showed us the approach of a great commercial and manu- facturing city. It is a noble town, is Glasgow, (as the English express it.) The college is of the grand stone common here, and has some massy houses and quadrangles. The professors have quite a street of academic mansions. The Hunterian Museum is rich in MSS., printed incunabula, and medals. A Virgil of 1470. A Golden Legend, Caxton, 1483. An Antho- logia, by Aldus, 1503. A Plotinus, ed. princeps, 1513. A stereotype plate, used by Ged, in his Sallust, 1744, long before Didot. Principal Macflirlane preaches in the old cathedral. The beautiful choir is the place of worship ; behind this is a Ladv Chapel ; then a Chapter House, used as a vestry. The crypts are very old and in good repair. Here Scott makes Rob Roy to have li.«tened to the long sermon. The Green, or Common, a law]i with a drive of 2^ miles, was swarming with poor, drying clothes,^ and young folk playing and lying on the grass in a smar^t rain. The Bridge Gate, full of wretched poor, such as I have seen nowhere else. The Tron Church and St. John's, memorable for the labours of Chalmers. The new parts of Glasgow are better built than Edinburgh ; though the site is far inferior, yet equal to almost any other place. Houses of the finest sort rent for £100 to £120. They are built of a dark solid stone laid in large pieces. The smoke of factories keeps the town in such a smoke as I have not seen before. The Mitchells are full of hospitable warmth. Mr. Andrew Mitchell lives at Helensburgh, twenty-nine miles down the Clyde opposite Greenock, but comes up daily to his warehouse in Virginia street. I attended, at Grey Friars Church, the ordination of Mr. Leach^ the missionary for ]\Iadras, by the United Presbytery. Dr. King preached a great sermon from 2 John 8, It was 348 LETTERS FROM EUROPE. memoriter, and eloquent in a high degree; polished, ingenious, and faithful. They had a choir, and artificial music, but all sang. Dr. Symington, of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, (brother of the theological professor of Paisley,) showed me an original of the Solemn League and Covenant. I breakfasted with the Rev. David Brown, of Free St. James's — the writer on the Millennium. Went to Paisley and saw the Abbey and Dr. Witherspoon's old church. The 7th was spent in a visit among the Highland lochs, with the Mitchells, Rev. Mr. McEwen, &c. The great characteristics of Scottish scenery were here apparent. The granitic hills come down everywhere to the water, leaving little laps of land for towns and seats. They run dow^n in such wise to the great estu- aries that they are all cut into indentures like glove-fingers. These run up among the highlands, and are girt with soft hill- sides, beyond which mountains rise and peep. I was among these lochs, sometimes in steamboat, sometimes in row-boat, and often on foot. On every hand were towns, churches, man- sions, noble seats, but generally wild walks for cattle and sheep. We saw Loch Long, Gare Loch, Loch Goil, and Holy Loch. In so doing, we saAV Greenock, Gourock, Dunoon, (of which Dr. Mackay is minister,) Ardentinny, Roseneath, (where is the Duke of Argyle's seat.) The population of Glasgow fly to these seaward slopes. Some of the towns are made up of villas. Plenty of Gaels, with kilt and mull and guttural but soft lan- guage. The nestling churches and manses of Presbyterians differ- ing only in name, and the cheerful aspect of a pleasure- taking yeomanry, gave me an unwonted delight. The 8th — a lovely, placid Sabbath — was spent in Helens- burgh. Such places and such scenes must have been in the mind of Grahame when he wrote his " Sabbath." The hills lie softly on every side of the frith and around the neighbouring lochs. Small towns twinkle in the half veiled sun across the water. The harvests, only partly cut, shine over the rounded fields. There is a perfect stillness. The temperature just admits, but does not demand fire. The town seems about the size of Princeton, and has an Established Church, a Free Church, a United Presby- terian, and an Independent. I worshipped with the third of these. The assembly was about equal to yours in Trenton. They were plain people in general, with a considerable sprinkling of gentry. A sister of the Duke of Argyle is a frequent hearer. Mr. ]\IcEwen preached in the morning on Col. iii. 17, the next verse to what Dr. Hamilton preached on in London. I preached in the afternoon from Jude 20, 2L It was like a revival meet- 1851. 349 ing all day, for earnest hearing, looks of fire and affection, and psalmody that I never can forget. In the evening at IMr. Mitch- ell's, some one suddenly observed that every man in the room was a minister's son ; and we soon discovered that four of the five were ministers' grandsons. One of the company was Mr. Hugh Moncrieff, a descendant of the original Seceder. The Se- cession body gave more than two-thirds to the United Presby- terian Church. They are together the most liberal of the Scotch Presbyterians. They have much of the best pulpit talent in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The prayers affect me more than the preaching. The Duke of Argyle's domain is very large, and I passed on foot through that part of it which lies between Loch Long and the Gare Loch. I passed the solid, modest new Free Church, with its tent for sacraments, and visited the Established Kirk of Poseneath. Turning into a green lane, I found about twenty- six low stone cottages close side by side. Then came the ancient grave-yard, overhung by trees, with walled enclosures for noble families, &c. Outside of this is the parish school and school- master's house, very well built and snug. The dominie showed me the church, which stands in the midst of the grave-yard. It is on a very narrow parallelogram, by far the narrowest church I ever saw. The pulpit and pews are unpainted, and the stone floor is cold and even wet. Tlie sacramental table was longitudinally the whole length. Quality folks use the gallery, and the Duke's pew is just opposite to the pulpit and singularly near it. Going out of the grave-yard, you enter a park belonging to the kirk, with the most extraordinary avenue of yews within, and limes without. They mingle for such a length, that in the remote per- spective it is almost night-like. This charge of perhaps £180 cannot have more than forty hearers. The manse is a beautiful cottage, overgrown with vines, about half a mile off. From here you look over the Loch to Row, famous for the " Row heresy." We Avere accompanied on our return to Glasgow by Mr. James Smith of Jordanhill, who, at 70, has his yacht-pea-jacket on, and talks freely about Greek antiquities. He presented nie a copy of his learned monograph on Paul's Shipwreck. He is of the Establishment, [Presbyterian.] More walks over the city. Called on Dr. Runciman of St. Andrew's (Established) Church. He does well here, and has filled his church from the wynds. His reception of me was cordial and elegant. My mind, as you would expect, has been much on the Presby- terianism of Scotland. The surface-view, which a mere guest takes, is perhaps worth little, but I am seeing much and hearing 350 LETTERS FEOM EUEOPE. more in answer to my queries. In general, the absolute state of religion in Scotland is higher than I thought. The events following the Disruption have wrought more widely and deeply. The effect on the Establishments has been to make them better and not worse. There is not a parish [Established] preacher, who would not resent the charge of being Arminian. They have noble charities, and the Normal schools, &;c., are palatial. The Free Church is striving hard to keep up at the speed which they began. Nowhere, except in some new-measure spots of old, have I seen such signs of universal working, by Bible-classes, tracts, books, hymns, domiciliary visits, care of poor. Sabbath schools, &c. They cannot help remembering their undue zeal against Voluntaries, and burden themselves by claiming to be the Kirk, and so by planting a church beside every national church all over Scotland. Their mighty man is Hugh Miller. He is hot, excitable, and on occasion implacable. I see much to make me believe that the power of Scotch Presbyterianism is in the United Presbyteries. They have no hypotheses in petto. They are more like us. They have acquired a status by the Disruption, and work heartily with the Free Church. There never can be any vital pre- lacy here. The Episcopalians here are about as often mentioned as the Moravians with us. The clergymen of the Free Church whom I have seen are exceedingly well-informed as to our American churches, and acquainted with our literature. The education of the rising ministry is going forward with great zeal. In acquaint- ance with all the modern works of German interpretation, the new race of ministers will be much before those of the Anglican Church. When I speak of the Free Church, I mean that the remark should apply to all the Dissenters of Scotland, between the different classes of whom there is an increasing fellowship. Even the Reformed Presbyterians appear to be separated by a scarcely distinguishable interval from the others. The angriness of the controversy concerning the Atonement seems to have departed ; whether with any sacrifice of old Calvinistic tenets in any quarter it would not become a passing stranger to determine. Both in Edinburgh and Glasgow the eye is continually saluted by Presbyterian structures. Many of these are in the modern Gothic style, and some are florid in a high degree. Their interiors, however, are less airy and ornate than with us. All the Scottish churches have vestries, and all the ministers wear the Geneva gown or cloak, which has come down from the days of Knox. In some churches the preacher pronounces the Lord's Prayer immediately before the sermon. The old version of the Psalms is universal. The prayer after sermon is uniformly longer than with us, and the service varies from an hour and three-quarters 1851. 351 to two hours. At this season the usual hours in town are eleven and two. The custom of " turning up " the passage remains in all its strength, and hundreds of Bibles are rustling at once. So far as I can learn, the topics which fill the pulpits are just those which fill the Catechism ; and the general strain of preaching is not so much alarming as persuasive. The person and work of our Lord form a prominent part of public discourses. Great diversities, of course, obtain among men of various gifls and temper, but in general there is much earnestness in public addresses. In the cities many sermons are read from the manu- scripts, but the country parishes scarcely tolerate this. Belfast, September 16, 1851. If you knew that my letters are generally written on my knee, you would wonder that there is any handwriting about them. I write this, that you may know of my safe arrival in the land and province of my progenitors, after the dangers of the North Channel. There is something very solemn in approach- ing a new country by morning twilight ; both my views of Ire- land have been such. As this is the great mart of the linen trade, one of my visits was (with Dr. Maclean and Mr. Thomas Mitchell) to the Linen Hall, where we saw the article in all its varieties. An English Quaker gave us many explanations. He showed us the different bleached and unbleached fabrics. Some- times a linen-house pays a thousand pounds in a week to hand- loom cottage-weavers. But cottage-spinning, so famous in the days of my great-grandfather, has been done away by machinery. We saw how gaudily the shirtings are put up for the American market. Also the difference of the linen for the British trade, which has less starch and less " beetling," as a pounding is called, which flattens the thread. The British fabric looks as well after washing as before. No person whom I have questioned, knows any thing of the new operation for dressing flaxen thread, so as to remove the " cold feel " which distinguishes linen from cotton goods. It was boasted that this would make flax take the place of cotton. American flour is largely used here, as also in Glas- gow ; at about £1 \s. the barrel. A jaunting-car took us to Cave Hill, where we had as good a view of the Lough and surrounding country as this hazy at- mosphere allows. The Divis and other hills are fine. Abun- dance of water comes down from these heights. The country houses look well, but every thing lacks the trim finish to which my eye has been accustomed. The hills are without heather and often bare. In and near the town I see numbers of ne'er- 352 LETTERS FEOM EFKOPE. do-weels, half-naked children, and canal-digger-like men, but no tokens of absolute distress. I am surprised that things are so familiar. It arises from the American look of the brick houses, the imperfect keeping of the lawns, and the Scotch-Irish counte- nance of the peasantry. The drive along the sea-shore to the Giant's Causeway was delightful. The beach is not sand, but generally beautiful rock, often limestone, which keeps the water from being muddy. It is as clear as a spring, and the mottled bottom has a novel appear . ance. The curves of the bays are beautiful. But every thing derives its character from the cliffs and mountains, which were always on our left, rising high and magnificent, with basalt columns and wonderful freaks of the igneous rocks, giving pre- monitions of what appears in its perfection at the Causeway. The whole north-east shore derives its picturesque loftiness from the primitive and basaltic rock, which girdles the inner limestone and other stratified rocks of the island. When we began to turn inland, m'c had beauties of a different sort ; mountain prospects, long winding treeless glens, hill-sides covered with the chequered oat-fields and pastures, occasional moors with peat, cottages and flocks, browsing goats and merry peasants. On leaving Bally- castle, where is a fine old ruin, we found a highly cultivated country. The church of Ballintoy seems almost in the sea, and the manse is a cold, white solitary house looking over the water to Rathlin. I saw the sun go down, a disk of molten gold, over the foreland of Bengore. About nine in the evening I saw a beautiful Aurora Borealis — -well so called at this point. It was a zone arched over a chord of about sixty degrees of the horizon, having Arcturus in the centre, with bright radiations striking up from several points. The prints generally represent the scene about the Causeway, £0 as to give the neighbouring pi-ecipices as the Causeway. These precipices are grand, and are likewise columnar, but they are nothing to the main object. The Causeway is well named. It is a platform jutting out in three capes into the sea, toward which it inclines. It is not very high above the water. It is made of columns, side by side, perfectly dry and close. You cannot thrust a knife between some of the junctures. These columns go down unknown lengths. They are exposed on the hill-sides, so that you can see them joined together in pieces. Where one end joins another there is a concavity fitting a con- vexity, which is as wonderful as any thing. It is on the tops of these joined pillars that you walk. The surflice is a little uneven, but in general may be described as plane. The columns are of dark gray basalt. They are polygonal prisms — hexagons, pen- 1851. 353 tagons, a few heptagons. I saw one nonagon, one square, and one rhombus. The little concavities in some hold sea-water, which leaves salt ; and on most of them are numerous lichens, and even small flowers. Piles of these blocks are taken awav, even to America. Our guide delivers a set at Liverpool for about £4. There are two famous caves. I entered one of them, Port Coon. The effect is awful. You have at your back a cavernous depth of dark, and in front the wild ocean roaring in to your feet. Dublin, September 18, 1851. My first stage from Belfast was to Armagh, a fine old town, where the Papists are building a cathedral, which Dr. Cullen says shall surpass the Anglican one. Here we coached it across the county to Castle Blayney. The country has the same undu- lations, but looks worse ; smaller patches, ruder hovels, more wastes, later oats, and dirtier folks. At Blayney we took cars for Dublin. Drogheda is a seaport, and has a brisk commerce, fine edifices, a stern, middle-age gate, but we drove through long streets of blank, ugly, stone, one-story thatched hovels, and were infested with beggars. From there southward through the counties Louth and Meath, the beauties increased every mile. Often we were by the sea, and at Malahide Bay were carried over its noble arm. Howth Head is a grand eminence, and the ap- proach to Dublin is famous. Its capacious bay, its broad river, its eight bridges, and its superior public edifices, tell of grandeur, which is every day decreasing. Saw the poplin-looms at Atkinson's, Sackville street. He sells nothing but poplins, and only to retail-buyers. Got a sam- ple of a dress worn by the Queen, fifteen dollars a yard. Phoenix park is seven miles round, and contains 1,760 acres. I made a trip to Inch to inquire about the relatives of our servants at home. Their mother had gone to America, but was directed to a brother. I went there. Poor man ! he denied his name, and was afraid to come out, fearing no doubt some proctor or landlord's agent to turn him out. At this point I made known my purpose, and a great change came over them. As many as seven persons, old and young, came out of the cottage- door, and gathered around my jaunting-car. They asked many questions about the girls, and said all here were well. AVhen I rode away, the blessings of the whole group followed me in most hearty Irish. The country around Thurles, Drum, and Inch, is very beautiful and the roads are like a floor, with walls or hedges. Indeed I can no longer say Ireland is without levels, for we were in a stretch of flat land most of the way from Dublin. 354 LETTERS FROM EUROPE. But then on our right we had the blue ridge of Sliebh Bloom, which we flanked, and took its south-west on our right in going to Limerick. At Thurles Ave got out. The most of it is of white rough-cast stone houses thatched; with irregular streets and a little dirty market-place, where a score of women have piles of excellent potatoes on the earth. Beggars and tattered hordes of lazzaroni, more ragged than those of Drogheda, roamed in the ways. Thurles is a very churchly little town, and was once a great one. Three castles in ruins, a monastery, two nun- neries, a college, an English church, a chapel, barracks for the soldiery, barracks for the constabulary police, poorhouses, (here as elsewhere fine edifices, and lately containing 1,700 poor,) female schools, and other charities. Here the great Popish Synod met some months ago. I inquired at Inch for L.'s father, and saw him. He bears a good character, but is very poor, and patched to a mournful degree. He had heard nothing from L. for eighteen months. The poor old man has no longer any work at the college. Great numbers have gone to America from Tipperary. Twelve cottages were desolate on a mile of road. Only one tenant is left on :Mr. Trant's estate, which is six miles long. This is the worst county in Ireland for shooting landlords and proctors. The land is good, but the people look dogged and unhappy. From Thurles to Limerick we had broad pastures and romantic hills. Take it altogether, Ireland is a land of unsurpassed charms of the green, wild, and quiet sort. You are hardly ever out of sight of some ivy-crowned ruin, castle, church, or abbey, telling of the power which has gone by. Roman Catholic Ireland is depopulating in some sense. Small cottage-farms are disappearing, large estates are growing larger, fewer hands are required for pastures and sheepwalks ; better cultivation will make this beautiful, this enchanting island, more beautiful and enchanting ; the Celtic race will be increasing in America and Australia, and the over-stocked priesthood of Ireland will lose its slaves and its supports. Ulster is in a different case. It smiles with agricultural, pastoral, and manu- lacturing wealth, and has spots unsurpassed on earth. I found that our ]\Iinister, Mr. Abbott Lawrence, had been at Limerick and at Galway, and was down the river with Lord Monteagle and others. As to Limerick— 50,000 population— the new town is beautifully built, no place of it size is more showy. The people in the good streets are handsome and elegant ; but the masses in the over-croAvded lanes and along the quays and noble bridges, beat all I ever beheld for abandoned, rowdy, jovial, beggarly appearance. Such rags, such stench, such impu- 1851. 355 dence, such almost naked, though often ruddy and handsome Irishism, 1 find not even in Ireland. The grand old cathedral is begirt with offensive smells and fearful sights. I doubt whether Venice is more full of license than Limerick. Here popery- revels. The new part of Limerick is more fair and regular than Belfast, with streets like Chestnut street somewhat vulgar- ized. But who can describe the gangs of wretched, wanton, ro^^stering, impudent women and children, half-naked, tattered and foul, who sit, sprawl, lie, squat, bluster and laugh about the cathedral, the bridges, and the quays ! The mountains on our left after quitting Dublin, were no doubt part of the Wicklow cluster. Kildare was an interesting point. Its ruined abbey, and tower 130 feet high, are grand ob- jects. Portarlington is noted as the place of Wellington's education. A French colony till lately had French preaching here. There are many boarding-schools, and we saw a bevy of fine young girls going to the capital. All the country scenes rich ; much pasture, heavy hay, some oats, occasional bog with piles of turf, few cottages, few labourers in the fields, and these were more haggard and woe-begone than in even the middle counties. This whole vale is more wooded than usual. As we entered Tipperary the land looked flatter and more neglected, but with more numerous broken-down castles and some good mountains towards the south. Galway, September 21, 1851. On the 20th I left Limerick on the top of an old-fashioned mail coach, of Which there are more remaining in Ireland than in England. The roads were fine, and perfectly smooth all day, and as the country is limestone, and rocky, were without excep- tion lined by stone walls for all the sixty-four miles (Irish) to Galway. Castles and abbeys in ruins were scarcely ever out of sight. The country grew poorer and rockier as we went on, and the small dust of the limestone roads was exactly like rye-flour. At Clare, a small wretched town, with a beautiful site, we saw hundreds of young women and girls on the river bank. I was told their mates have gone to America. The fields look stony and poor, and the whole country is marked up by the ugly stone dykes. Moors or bogs are not very frequent. The roads abound with foot-people ; they are squat, flat-faced, homely, and often brown. At Ennis we left the coach for a jaunting-car. Ennis is the chief town of the county Clare. It is made up chiefly of one-story hovels, thatched. It was market-day, and the peasantry were crowding the market-place. This day, it seemed to me, that I saw more asses than in all my previous life. The same 356 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. poor, barren, stony, white land, prevailed all the way to Gort ; but when we came near to Gort, we arrived at the demesne of the Viscount Gort, extending some miles. We drove through it. Though he is poor, the castle is fine, and the grounds are in a fine style of landscape-gardening, with parks, deer, avenues of ash and beech, dark and romantic ; glimpses over the lovely lake Cootra of sloping mountains, and exit by a grand carved portal. A little beyond we got out to see a great natural curiosity. A river, called Blackwater, runs out of the lake, and then goes under ground, and reappears in a wonderful manner in a deep place fifty feet down like a goblet, and called the Punch Bowl. We are now in the county Galway, Province of Connaught. It was market-day at Gort also, and from the inn where we dined we looked out on the broad but irregular market-place. Here we w^ere among the aboriginal Irish. The women wear a dark blue cloak and hood, and red petticoat. The scene was novel and lively. Crowds and groups, stalls, booths, and tents. One was selling kitchen stuff by auction. A woman had four hats on a board, and another two. One had dulse, [an edible sea-weed.] There were carts of buttermilk packed in straw around kegs. Stalls of shoes, and of nails in little parcels. A woman brings a hen or a dozen eggs for a mile. A girl had a donkey to sell, and held it by a straw rope. Pigs, washed clean, were conducted by the same sort of line. Potatoes, of course, abounded. Hay in bundles ; heather brooms ; sacks of oatmeal. Plenty of rags and little appearance of dress. Red coats here and there pre- dominating over the sport, Connaught-men, and a good many in the constabulary uniform. We took another car, and posted to Galway. The same scene ; walls, ruined cottages, roads full of women in hoods, and groups of travellers from the market. Occasionally, a " plantation " announced a rich estate. Ruined cottages, with only walls. All gone to America. An English clergyman tells me he counted 114 such ruined cabins in eight miles in Mayo. Galway and Mayo suffered more than any other counties. I passed a hut, and saw the w^iman on the straw-bed, her only seat. All speak Irish. Two poor little boys, about four years old, came to beg. The larger one said, apologizing for the silence of the other, " he has no Inglis." Galway is the fifth city of Ireland, and has about 20,000. It has some fine buildings. The Queen's College is magnificent. There are also the two court-houses, the Union or Poor-House, the usual barracks, several monasteries, and several Catholic chapels. But whole streets are of one-story hovels, close to- gether, dark and thatched. The noble estuary and neighbouring 1851. 357 lake give dignity to a place which is far, far beyond all I ever dreamed of for squalor, filth, and poverty. On the Sabbath I found the principal street crowded with people even more than Princeton in an old-time Commencement. All talking Irish. Not one well-dressed person. Even the female sex shows no care for finery or cleanliness. Dark cloaks and broad-ruffled caps, without bonnets or shoes or stockings, and with red petticoats. Women carrying babies in their cloaks' behind them. ^It is difficult to get through the throng in the mid-street. Women in red wrappings. Lines of women sitting on the ground. Little appearance of drink or gaiety. No good faces, but many open, funny ones. I am reminded of squaws. I never saw such rags, holes, fringes of tatters, filth, combless black locks, and babies half exposed and shamefully uncovered. I saw a thousand such. These are Irish of the Irish. Men in knee- breeches. Beggars follow you for a furlong full of wit, comic entreaty, and prayers for your welfiire. A gentleman, who has been at Connemara, says their car was surrounded by a hundred at once. The stench of the w\ays is horrible. Near the chapels the crowds are indescribable. The English church was a Catho- lic one till the time of Edward VI. It is of fine stone, a regular cross, with a lady-chapel added to the west side of the south transept. Since the twelfth century it has had a foundation for a warden and six vicars, who still reside. The service was going on, and I heard the conclusion of an evangelical discourse (to the military) from Mr. D'Arcy, who is a Galway man. He kindly showed me over the house. The nave is walled up, and the service is in it and the choir and south transept. Mr. D'Arcy preached again (to the congregation proper) extempore, on Rom. v. 1, a right Calvinistic sermon upon justification by faith^ and imputed righteousness. I never heard better organ- playing. It was almost a cathedral service, and two voices in the choir were transcendent. I had not gone to the Presbyterian church, having heard that it was Arian ; but finding I had been misinformed, I went there in the afternoon, and heard a young man preach to twenty-five hearers. The Protestants are increas- ing, and are about one in twenty. Billingsgate is a paradise to the fish-market of Galway. A chatter rises from it to the bridge above, which is unlike all I have met with. Though so overcrowded and underclothed, these Connaught Irish seem peaceable. During the famine it was indeed otherwise. As I looked at an ass with panniers of bread, the post-boy said " a year or two ago that load could not have gone by here without an escort." As we entered the walled hill-road, which leads into Galway, we met cart after cart for 358 LETTERS FEOM EUKOPE. miles, all full, having more women than men, and in some cases all drunk. We met gangs of the same sort on foot in the road. The post-boy said robberies Avere frequent not long since along here, and that he should stop in Galway all night. An optical phenomenon was observed by Dr. Maclean, Mr. Mitchell, and me, near the Queen's College. Persons in some numbers, walking on a quay, or river-promenade, looked so much taller through a scarcely perceptible mist, that we all agreed the same appearance would, in ordinary circumstances, indicate a stature of thirty feet. It was fearful. The poor people are all emigrants in intention. I never talked with one among hundreds, who did not speak of America as of Paradise. The population still seems to an American eye immense. The priests walk among them like a superior race, elegantly dressed, and with an air not unlike that of our own clergy. I rejoice to add there is a M'ork of God going on among these lowest of European Papists. Last month in Connemara alone, 1,900 Papists were " confirmed *' under church-missions. In Mayo there is persecution. The Rev. Hamilton Townsend was thrice shot at in his own house. After all, my general con- clusion is, from repeated conversations with the most informed gentlemen, that a better day is coming. The very famine has tended to improve agriculture ; the very depopulation also has thrown thousands out into a new soil, and at home has aggre- gated innumerable ill-tilled patches barely sustaining life into large farms or sheep-walks requiring fewer hands, and gradually filling with new tenants. But this involved in part a change of race. Nowhere has the pure Celtic blood been energetic. Un- like as are a Highlander and a Connaught man, they are as to unthrift and idleness, identical. Large numbers of English labourers are coming into Mayo. In the east of Ireland the mixture of Celtic with Anglo-Norman blood has produced the finest physical result on earth. The better class at Dublin and Limerick, the people you meet in carriages, are by all odds the very handsomest people I ever saw. In Galway one has the population of a city with the squalor and brutality of a hovel. I dare say there are a thousand houses in the town without a floor. The contrast between these and the palaces of the regi- ment, the police, and the priests, tells a painful tale. I dwell thus on Galway, because it is the worst place I have been in. Dublin, September 23, 1851. Leaving Galway, we came directly eastward by the Midland Great South-western Railway, 127 miles across Ireland to Dublin. The first part of our way was stony like the road from 1851. 359 Gort. The number of ruinous cabins was great. Castles were numerous. As we advanced through the great limestone plain, the country constantly improved in verdure, houses, and crops. After leaving Cranmore w^e were in quite a plain. We were some time in the county Eoscommon, formerly the most turbu- lent in Connaught. Athlone is an imjDortant central point, but its glories are in ruins. Great fortifications, and signs of military force. The British government pursues a policy like that of the Romans, laying out vast sums on public works, which will last for ages ; these show Ireland to be a conquered province. Now, on leaving the Shannon again, we came into gentle w^ooded regions, which, nearer to Dublin, became perfectly English, with lodges and trimmed trees, and neater cottages. Great numbers of emigrants were in the trains, and we saw bitter partings outside. The people look far better in Leinster. But every- where, those who have the least pretension to gentle blood are the best-looking people I ever saw. A Spanish gentleman in the train told me he would have taken me for a Spaniard ; ho and I looked like mulattoes among the lily and rose of 'Jerne. Mullingar and Maynooth were passed. The grounds and colleges of Maynooth are stately, with an old castle and fine trees. Well- dressed, important-looking priests, were pacing, with the never- absent breviary, on the green banks of the canal. All over the island Ulster is spoken of as a happy model, and even in the mouths of the priests " Ulster-tenure " is a common word ; it amounts almost to fee simple. So many things crowd on me, that I am utterly unable to say what I wish on any one. As to the government policy — for some years I am fully convinced government has seriously in- tended the good of Ireland. The problem has been almost insoluble. It was perplexed by the potato rot, fear, dysentery, and cholera. If Providence had not opened the new world, the results would have been awfully worse. Mr. D'Arcy told me, that at one time he saw 130 putrefying corpses above ground in a field near Galway. The power of the government has been put forth to an extent which no man can estimate without being here. Let me hint at some of its indications. In the number- less towns and villages through which we passed, the majority of houses being hog-pens, and the people like beggars, there were always three or four noble structures of the finest building- stone in the world. You need not ask what these were. The largest is the Poor House ; the next is the jail ; the third is the regimental barracks ; the fourth is the guard-house of the Con- stabulary, who are in great strength, wear uniform, are fine picked men, always from a distance, and armed. Here we «ee 360 LETTERS FEOil EUROPE. the conquered Province, but who can say what else England could have done 1 Again, government has lent vast sums to the railways of Ireland, and these given (not to flourishing London- derry) but to Drogheda, to Enniskellen, to Cork, to Galway. They are fully equal to the best English roads. The station- houses, as a whole, are superior to the generality in England, being such as will abide for ages, to speak for England as the ruined roads and aqueducts do for Rome. I know England has sought her own power in this, but she has no less served the interests of Ireland by her recent policy. Even this matter of evictions has two sides, just as slavery has with us. The Pres- byterians of Ulster are perfectly satisfied with government. Truth is no doubt hard to.be got at among such differences. That the tenant-tenure and the absenteeism have wrought iniqui- tously and murderously no sane mind ought to doubt. Yet on this very head matters tend in the right direction. Under the Encumbered Estates Act (which is named every hour in Ireland) titles can be made good to purchasers. The beggared nobles of Ireland are selling to rich merchants, gentlemen, &c. In the long run this helps the populace, notwithstanding proximate evils. Just as you know how much more miserable are the slaves of a poor planter, or a bankrupt. Emigration (blessed be God !) has allowed hundreds of thousands to go to a country, where they may be happy. The priests have had their day. They are phrensied just now, under the Ecclesiastical Titles' Bill, and the ultramontane zeal of Dr. Cullen. But my belief is their time is short. Oxford, September 27, 1851. Leaving Liverpool day before yesterday, the train came by the beautiful Trent valley again, and I caught a glimpse of Lich- field Cathedral and Lord Lichfield's park. The first few stages I was alone in my carriage. From Blatehley to Oxford my com- panion was the Hon. • , son of Lord S., going to Eton. He was constantly opening his hat-box, which contained a pair of trousers, and his carpet-bag, which was swollen so as to be tied with twine. He was very oflish and affected, till the sky was covered by a rainbow of uncommon beauty, and then he was so carried away, and so lighted up, that he lost all sense of his rank, and submitted to be taught the word vibgyor.^ Islj gentleman had risen very early to take the train, and, I fear me, had not washed his hands ; and his beautiful hair streamed in the wind like elf-locks. At Oxford he furnish ed himself with a Benjamin's ' The mnemonic initials for the primitive colours. 1851. 361 portion of tarts and cakes, which he attended to while I dined, keeping his hat on ; (boys here all wear hats.) The Oxfordshire peasantry talk more like New Englanders than any I hear, but not in regard to their Us. My guide might pass for a Massachusetts man, in his very intonation, were it not for the pains he takes with his " aches." He industri- ously says " hentrance," " Hoxford," " Hariel College," " hinner closiiters." I employed a guide, and visited the exterior and grounds of Christ Church, Magdalen, University, Balliol, Merton, Exeter, Queen's, Ne^^, Lincoln, All Souls, Jesus and Pembroke Colleges, and Magdalen Hall. Happily the verdure is as yet un- touched. I rejoice in these genuine old English streets and yellow house-fronts, gables, square casements, oriels and projecting stories. They first won my affection at Eton. I foresaw that Oxford would take all the colour out of every thing else ; because I knew there was nothing like it on earth. I should like to be here again in term-time, yet I would not miss the solitude, silence, and me- morial ghastliness of such haunts as New College Garden, Christ Church ^Meadow, Maudlin Walk, Quadrangle of Jesus College, place of the martyrs, &c. King's at Cambridge greatly surpasses any one thing here taken singly, and Trinity College, Cambridge, is fully equal to any one structure here ; but all Oxford is im- mensely above all Cambridge. Things which strike me : — Christ Church ^leadow, walks, and trees. The avenue is nowhere so perfect as that of Trin. Coll., Cambridge, but is vaster, wilder, and if not so pensive, more captivating. The sunset meanwhile was American. The tower of Maudlin, from wdiich Dr. Phil- lips's church [Fifth Avenue, New York] is derived, as the Lenox Hall, [Princeton Seminary Library,] from Magdalen chapel. The walks of Magdalen, especially Addison's walk. New College, antique and massy ; its gardens and trees sans ^j)«?-e«7. Deer were at the very doors in Mag. College Park. The Bod- leian. The Clarendon. The Theatre. The Radcliffe Library. " Manners makyth Man," over the gate of New College. Jesus College, only for Welshmen ; its physiognomy like its namesake at Cambridge. The reading of my childhood was strangely and eagerly about the Universities, and it left deeper traces than I knew of before. These English boys have some peculiar and winning points. Being sent so early from home they gain a certain manliness. They abound in a slang idiom, which would be almost unintelligible in America. o Liverpool, September 30, 1851. ^ jmn to Livprn From Birmingham to Liverpool is five hours. There was much to please, in the winding of little rivers, the verdant VOL. II. — 16 362 LETTEES FEOM EUEOPE. pastures, the universal hedges and planted trees trimmed in an odd slender way ; the fine cattle, the thatched cottages, with roses ; the hayricks as trim and smooth as vases ; the rosy children ; the winding country roads and lanes ; the peeping spires, and mighty substructions, viaducts, and tunnels of the Great North Western Railway. On the Sabbath I proceeded to make a new trial to hear Dr. ]\IcNeile. His beautiful new church is in the country sub- urbs, for from houses, among gardens and villas, with abundance of well-kept ground about it. The congregation was very large, many being strangers, whom the gowned vergers led up. The assembly looked plebeian, but devout. The organ was simply played ; no interludes, no intoning, no musical Kyrie Eleison, only the Gloria was so given. The people all bowed at the name, but McN. not perceptibly, if at all. The hymns were of Bickersteth's collection ; a hymn opened the service and all the people sang loud and well. Dr. M. read the lessons well, but rhetoricallv. He has two voices, and his baritone voice is incom- para1)ly rich, but he makes too much of it, barely shunning the theatrical. He is tall and thin for this country, florid, with noble aquiline face, and hair very gray. He prayed extempore, both before and after sermon. He preached in the gown. The text was Matt. xi. 25, 26. He preached without manuscript, holdinsf a small Bible in his hand throuo-hout. His oratorio art was seldom apparent in preaching. His manner is the elevated colloquial. His discourse was clearly unstudied, but clearly un- written. There was no hesitation, nor any infelicity of expression, while he went often to the very edge of familiarity. He had no occasion for the pathetic, but was awfully solemn in places. His plan is evidently to be a teacher. He opened most flimiliarly from ver. 26, " Thou hast hid these things : — what things ? " His introduction was an answer to that from a perfectly plain, natural, simple, concise, but elegant exposition of ver. 16 — 24. He spent about half the body of the discourse in showing that some things were not hid from " the wise and prudent." He exalted the man of worldly wisdom, quoting largely from Sir John Herschel, and reading from two bits of paper, which he held up just as if at his fireside. He showed how much the great philosopher may learn of God. Here he horrified me by a most pernicious doctrine, viz., that God's benevolence cannot be inferred from creation and providence. I could scarcely keep quiet in my pew. He was clear and able on the incapacity of a carnal mind to see the spiritual objects. I have seldom heard this great but ticklish point more cleverly touched. Illustrations from the senses. Inter alia- " It is a peculiarity of spiritual light tliat it carries 1851. 363 its own evidence with it. At this instant you perceive in this house a great variety of colours. (At the moment the sun was breaking in very radiant, and even shining on half his face.) You need no jDroof that the objects have these hues. You pos- sess the senses for it. The light that appeals to these senses is self-revealing. Now suppose a blind man among you should say, ' there are no such colours — there is no such beauty — the per- ceptions of these people are delusive and their admiration is enthusiastic folly ' — would this disturb your persuasions ? Not for an instant. But many of you lack another sense. You see no excellence in the Gospel ; you discredit the witness of those who do. Why are some born with four senses instead of five 1 born blind ? (then with scarcely audible tones and a man- ner of unparalleled abasement) ^ even so Father, for soil seemed good in thy sight !^ And why are some born again with six senses instead of five 1 new born ? (then with the same pause and eloquent subduiug of tone,) ' Even so Father, &c.' " This was his transition to the second part, which was to refer all to Divine sovereignty. He was thorough-paced in his Calvinism, and ended most abruptly with one of'the very boldest demands on every hearer to bow and become a babe and believe it. I regard McNeile as a prince among extempore preachers. He escapes several evils to which such are very prone. He is very dense ; he says what he means, and goes on ; yet he lodges his meaniug completely, by a happy choice of words and by avoiding poetic terms, technical phraseology, and language un- usual among common people. Though "singularly happy in illustration, he is very sparing with it. The staple of" his discourse was exegesis, and argument on the exegesis. I have said his voice is perfect. He never employs effort, or Ijreaks into spouting tones. When most effective, he is most colloquial and least loud. At the warmer and more rapid places his native Irish broke forth most distinctly, never in pronunciation, which is classically English, but in the accent and cadences. As compared with Dr. Cook I note as follows : Cook is past his prime, being perhaps 6.5 — 68. Cook has a trifle of conventional pulpit tone, and becomes a declaimcr, so far as management of voice goes. Cook's sermon [p. 158] was much more articulate, and built up Presbyterian-wise. Cook plays the orator morej and soars into imaginative pictures and showers of similitude. I apprehend nine out of ten would give the palm to Cook. I am not sure but that I also should do so, when I get over the immediate impression of McNeile, as the last heard. Cook preached 69 minutes ; McN. 50. They are by a long way the most eloquent men I have heard in these dimates. Up to a 364: LETTERS FKOM EUROPE. certain point I thought Dr. King such. He is indeed a great preacher. But he has one set of faults inseparable from a Scotchman, and another set inseparable from a memoriter preacher. He cantillates, and more and more as he gets on ; never uttering one sentence as he would at his table. He ^Yrithes, and brings his right arm around, as if he were reaping. He makes you sympadiize with his pulpit sweats. Then his whole sermon, thouoh learned, ingenious, and richly original, smells of the lamp. There is an artful reserve of pungency for the last part of the sentence, which is often antithetical. This surprises and gratifies, but it hinders the great effect, and is a mannerism. Few can attain it, but those who do fall below the highest style. Dr. King abounds, even in prayers, in a cunning citation of texts so apt and so curiously tesselated, that it has almost the effect of wit ; it is an outgrowth of Seceder textual preaching, as cultivated in a soil of elegant literature. Yet it sins against nature, and so against eloquence. The best s^^ealcers I have heard, are Coquerel and Adolphe ]\Ionod. In no single word, gesture, or tone, do they ever transcend nature. I think McNeile sometimes does in regard to that deep organ-note which he cannot help using out of place. If I could hear Monod in a regular sermon, I should, perhaps, regard him as the nearest pulpit perfection. At present it lies between Cook and McNeile ; and as to matter, the praise is greatly on the side of Cook. I would not think of naming Dr. H. among " the first three," yet he is a great man in his way. In spite of his pronunciation and tone, he is an eloquent preacher. His flowers deceive and betray him, but he has more than flowers ; he has argument, original thoughts, and a pathos which redeems his metaphors and apologues. A few years hence he will probably be a far greater preacher than he now is. Next to all these above named I place Mr. Seholefield of Cambridge ; but he is as simple as a child, and as plain as a farmer, and not an orator at all. Steamship "Atlantic," October 1 — 15. 1851. October 3. — We loosed from moorings at 1 15, P. M., on Wednesday the 1st inst. At eleven on Thursday night the piston rod broke, and after stopping an hour we got under way with one engine. The repairs will require immense labour, and many of the passengers wished to return to Liverpool, or put into Cork. It is a mercy that the wind is not as high as it was, though the sea runs fearfully high. I occasionally hear a sea shipped over my head, running off the fore-deck like a river. 1851. 365 October 7. — For several days and nights it has been impos- sible to write. Indeed the place where I now sit has been filled with water during part of the time. We have now been six days going in the teeth of a gale, which, during many hours of Thursday, and especially that night, was a dreadful storm. It is a mercy to be remembered that our piston was repaired before the worst came ; for with one engine we could not have kept our head to the wind, and so should have gone into the trough of the sea and been submerged. As it was, the irruption of waters was fearful. The seas which followed us were as high as the pipes. The forepart plunged into mountains of water, which swept the decks, floating the water-casks and making it deep enough to swim. It broke through four bulwarks or break- waters, one of which was four inches thick. The sound of the labouring, creaking, smashing seams was like going to pieces every moment. The seas shipped forward came down the hatch- way, breaking the thick glass, and making it knee-deep in some state-rooms in an instant. Our own was floatino-. Iliofh as is the stern of the " Atlantic," the sea broke over the hurricane deck, and came through the dining saloon, and into the main saloon below. The thumps upon our counter were like tons of metal falling from a height. This lasted for part of a day and night, and even when it remitted on the morning of the 3d, we were still in a terrible gale. Anxiety was increased by a man's falling from the mast. We made onlv four or five miles an hour most of the time. During these awful hours every eye was turned towards Capt. West. His tall, noble form appeared everywhere, but for whole nights he was drenched. In the terror of that memorable night I believe many of us thought we should never get to land. It was too violent and noisy for prayer in common. Bishop Otey^ and I prayed in his state-room, together with my room-mate, (Capt. Cullum,) who was wrecked in the Atlantic, when Dr. Armstrong was drowned, [page 59.] We talked the matter over during the height of our tempest. Per- haps those suffered least who were deadly sick, as scores were. On the 5th, the Lord's Day, it was so far abated that I read the 107th Psalm, and prayed in the dining saloon. Soon after- ward it abated further, and we had quite a passable night. Yesterday it was very rough again, but not so horrible. About midnight the wind and sea were comparatively quiet. " O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonder ful works to the children of men ! " October 8. — At noon we had an observation, and found by ^ Of the Episcopal Church, Tennessee. 366 LETTERS FROM ETJEOPE. dead reckoning, that we were 1,212 miles from Liverpool. Yesterday, during a blow a white bird alighted on our vessel, and was caught by the cabin-boy. It must have been driven out six hundred miles from the Summer Isles. SONNET, WRITTEN ON THE STEAMER ATLANTIC, October 4, 1851. Tossed like an egg-shell on the heaving main, Our ship, that looked a giant at the quay, Shivers and groans a frighted babe on sea, As the wind roughens all the watery plain ; Till oak and iron own the wrenching strain. So weak is man's work in the mighty hand Of him who gives the howling surge command, To lift the wrestling waves that foam with pain. But yet the force which drives the wreck to land. Or whelms whole squadrons near some treach'rous strand, Or forks the lightning in the helmsman's face, Or shoots the waterspout in column grand. When gulfs.lay bare the deep uncovered sand. Is power all wedded to triumphal grace. October 10. — We approached the banks of Newfoundland, but the wind is stiff ahead, and it rains almost all day. Great gloom prevails in the company. Some are not yet come forth of their chambers. Some are lying about in the cabins, both day and night, wretched with a sickness which has no parallel. In the upper dining-cabin, on the quarter-deck, much of the day is occupied with meals ; breakfast from 8 to 1 1 ; luncheon at noon ; dinner at 4 ; tea at 8, and supper at 10. Towards even- ing the rain abates, and at 9 the full moon shines beautiful over the whitening sea. For the first time, in this gloomy voyage, the young folks gather in the dining-saloon for games and merri- ment. Every morning Bishop Otey and I have prayers in his state-room. October 11. — We are on the banks of Newfoundland. We had tremendous heavings, and one sudden pitch, which many thought greater than any during the gale. It threw down a sailor into the forecastle companion, and greatly injured him. Towards night a dead whale hove in sight, escorted by porpoises and birds. Grampuses are seen to spout, and sea-birds become numerous. October 12. — Lord's day. Divine service in dhiing saloon at 10^. Bishop Otey preached. The attendance was very good. After tea I preached in the same room on the prayer of the publican. The saloon was entirely filled, and the company was attentive. 1857. 367 October 13. — Fog. We blow the steam-whistles now and then, to give warning to poor fishing-vessels, which might be overthrown by onr tremendous weight of 2,900 tons going'fifteen miles an hour. We passed not a great way from Halifax. The bad weather, by preventing ventilation, has made many of the state-rooms quite offensive, so that when you pass by the doors you sniff a variety of odours, like the wards of a lazaretto. These ships are spoiled by the addition of new berths fdling up what used to be the fine open space of the forward cabin. Not only are these state-rooms all along the sides of the vessel, but a compact village of rooms fills the interior, leaving only some insignificant areas, where the stairs and skylights are, and some narrow entries. These rooms are close and dark, and here the rush of waters was greatest during the gale. The gay fellows have names for several parts, such as Cavendish Square, Pall Mall, and Rotten Row. October 14. — Shortly after breakfast it became evident that there was some cause of alarm. Presently we began to perceive breakers on our starboard bow. How beautiful are these deadly enemies ! It becomes apparent that we have missed our reckon- ing, and have run too near Nantucket shoals. The engine stops, and steam is let off. It is hard to think of peril under this clear sun and amidst this beautifid blue sea, and from those snowy surges that dash up and twinkle in the sun. We heave the lead twice, and find about 24 flithoms. October 15. — The wooded, flat shores of Long Island are in view. We soon pass the Narrows. It is an incomparable morn- ing, making one think meanly of European skies. Sun and moon are both visible. The grand bay Mith islands and shipping is in sight. We come to at the foot of Canal street, about 6 30 A. M. N'o. 3. SUPPLEMENT TO THE EUROPEAN LETTERS OF ISSY.' Liverpool, October 9, 1857. You will have learned from other sources, that the 7th of October was observed throughout the British Isles as a day of Humiliation and Prayer, in regard to the present Indian calami- ties. There is good cause to think that it has been a day of spiritual good to many thousands. The daily newspapers of yesterday from one end of the land to the other, are filled with ^ This is taken from Dr. Alexander's correspondence with " The Pres- byterian." 368 LETTERS FROM EUROPE. reports of the sermons prGached ; and from these, it is plain that the talents and piety of the best men were employed in this ^york. In Glasgow, where I was at the time, the shops were closed, and there was no appearance of business in any one of the numerous streets through which I walked or drove. In some churches, the services were of a freer character, familiar to us in America, and prayers were offered alternately with addresses. This is true of the United Presbyterian church in Wellin2;ton Street, of which the excellent Dr. Robinson is the pastor. He was assisted by the Rev. Dr. Archer of London, and from both we heard faithful and memorable exhortations, addressed to a very large assembly of solemn and sometimes deeply affected worshippers. I accepted it as a token of confidence in American sympathy and Christian love, that these good men and esteemed brethren forced me into the service, Mhich as a foreigner I scarcely knew how to undertake, especially after twenty weeks of silence, but which they were pleased to recognize as a tribute of unfeigned regard for the testimony which we uphold in com- mon. On that, as on other occasions, my soul was melted within me at the thought of these beloved missionaries of our own and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, who, I fear, have fallen asleep amidst the assaults of the murderous Sepoys. After the service of two hours, I saw the adjacent lecture-room, where the late venerable Dr. Mitchell, pastor of this church, for more than half a century, used to instruct the theological students of the Seces- sion Church. His portrait and those of two ruling elders adorn the walls. According to my best recollection the communion numbers about thirteen hundred. Not to confine myself to a particular body, I went in the afternoon to the Barony Church, belonging to the Establish- ment, in order to hear the Rev. Norman McLeod, who is at this time second to no j^reacher in Scotland, for what may be called a catholic popularity. Accustomed as we are in America to consider the Establishment and Moderatism to be much the same, we ought to rejoice and be thankful for the tidings that there are not a few ministers in that body who preach Christ, with a fidness, fervour, and spiritual unction, which no denomi- nation can surpass, and which would have been stigmatized a century ago as ranting Methodism. On this occasion I heard only the second of two discourses, which was on Lam. v. 16, " The crown is fallen from our head ; woe unto us, that we have sinned." Other topics had occupied the forenoon ; he was now upon the sins to be bewailed, and the ho23es to be cherished. Mr. McLeod has every advantage of external gifts, in stature, face, carriage, and gesture ; and in regard to voice, I have never 185T. 369 heard any more flexible, rich, and controlling ; I cannot suppose that in popular address our Dr. Mason was either more strong or more pathetic than Norman McLeod. I had not heard him utter Uyo sentences of devotion, before I ceased to wonder why crowds attend upon his ministry, while I less than ever was tempted to crave any liturgical crutches in the way of printed prayer. Let men pray thus, and we shall hear of no deviation from the way of our fathers ; and with a rubrical imposition of forms men cannot thus pray. I have no quarrel with " our excellent liturgy ; " I have gratefully joined in its best parts almost every Sabbath for months ; I believe it to be the best compilation from the Latin offices that has ever been made, nevertheless I hold on in our primitive and more excellent way, and should be pleased to read an answer to famous John Owen's tractate on Tree Prayer. Apropos of this matter, I have heard one of the most celebrated ministers in Scotland, eminent alike for the gift and the grace of praying, interlard his devotions with passages from the prayer-book. I cannot but make reclamation against this, on grounds of unity and sacred composition. Those collects, which 1 had often joined in with reverential admiration, seemed out of tune amidst the inspired breathings of David and Jeremiah, which were legitimately and beautifully introduced at the same time. I could not help wondering at the gifted utter- ances of the very minister to whom I here allude, and who is known in more lands than one. But to return, Mr. McLeod's sermon was a noble piece of free argumentation and passionate eloquence. He spoke like a senator on this occasion, and you may judge in how untram- melled a manner, when I add that he read from several volumes, and even from Tuesday's Tiines. The secret of the effects pro- duced by this preaching is, that his heart is bursting with the very emotion which he seeks to cause. I need scarcely add that he used no manuscript ; sometimes he does so ; but this was one of the discourses which cannot be written. There were several generous allusions to our own country in this delightful sermon, which gratified me all the more as contrasted with the crude, ignorant, and fiery attacks of many, on what they think American toleration of sin. Mr. ^McLeod's vindication of Mis- sions, his plea for national m^rcy, and his retorts upon the infidel party, were triumphant. But most of the time I was too near breaking out into tears to sit as a critic. When, on another occasion, I heard Mr. McLeod preach on a Sabbath afternoon, I was really lifted up to consider that God had still a testimony, in a large school of the younger churchmen, for the most evan- gelical doctrines and experience. This, however, need not be said 3Y0 LETTERS FROM ETTEOPE. to any one who has read the " Earnest Student," which is his work, or the " Footsteps of St. Paul," by another minister of the Kirk, in Glasgow. It would be very presumptuous in a passing stranger to pro- nounce upon the ministry of a great people, or to characterize their pulpit. He can at best hear only a few, and these may not be the representative minds ; I shall, therefore, indulge in no sweeping remarks, but content myself with saying, that so far as I can learn, there is no country on the globe, which is better furnished, in its rank and file, with a thoroughly orthodox and earnestly evangelical ministry than Scotland. How entirely ex- ceptional all but the Presbyterian element is, may be gathered from the fact, that in Glasgow alone there are more than a hundred Presbyterian ministers. I am not very far astray, when I say that of these the Established Church has thirty-four, the Eree Church thirty-three, and the United Presbyterian Church thirty- one. On the National Fast, it is to be supposed, all these, and many others, were engaged in leading the minds of their hearers to 2:)enitent reflections suited to the present crisis. In a word, the national mind has been thoroughly waked up to the religious aspects of this portentous theme. One mighty dictator of British opinion, the Times^ though sometimes admitting letter-writers who take the other side, nobly vindicates Christianity and Missions from the charge of having provoked these hostilities. It is honourable to the British people, that everywhere the most candid confession of national sin is fairly uttered. The opium business has especially come in for its share. I acknowledge that our British brethren, who often say hard things of our govern- ment, are just as ready to say hard things of their own. This is a land where free speech and a free press are high in influence ; nowhere more so. I felt the fellowship of the old Presbyterian temper, when I heard a pastor from his pulpit protest against the terms in which the Queen commanded the Fast to be ob- served ; a protestation which the venerable Dr. John Brown also made very prominent in his discourse in Edinburgh. As I sat in the gallery last Sabbath, when !Mr. McLeod re- ferred to a passage by chapter and verse, a thousand pocket Bibles instantly turned up the place ; it is so everywhere in Scotland. The practice of using ti reverent posture in prayer is universal here ; and I have never found myself the only person, besides the minister, who was standing, as has often happened to me among the indolent worshippers of England and America. The Presbyterians of this country, that is to say, the great body of the population, love the house of God, and are attached to their own particular forms. Churches are built for 1857. 371 use, and in most cases are very closely seated, so as to be full even to packing. I was delighted to observe that on an evening when I heard a Glasgow clergyman preach, the house, which had aisles and even pulpit-stairs crowded, was occupied largely by those classes of hearers who in some of our cities have so mucli left us for other denominations, or for none at all. If my experience is worth any thing, there is not a more hospitable land than this ; people talk of Highland welcomes, but you are met thus to Gretna and the very Tweed. A minister in Rosshire, whom I never saw, gave me a warm and cordial invitation to tabernacle with his family all summer, beside his lochs ; and no doubt would have given us Gaelic treats of salmon and grouse. What Emerson says, concerning England, of " fall dress and dinner at six," as a national influence, is just as true of Edinburgh and Glasgow ; and I question whether what Mrs. Hannah More said v/as already going out in London, to wit, con- versation, is anywhere more nobly upheld than in the better circles of the cities. Some of the most instructive and enter- taining — let me even add, edifying lessons I ever received, have been in such circles, as well six years ago as now. While so many of our young men go annually to Germany, year after year, bringing home no practical good that I can com- prehend, it is sincerely to be wished that some of them might go to Scotland, to see the Presbyterian machine really worked, by congregations having from twenty to thirty ruling elders each, and as many deacons, and to limber their academic sermonizing by a hearing of several commanding preachers, who unite athletic bodies with well-furnished, determined, and fervent minds. Some things I honestly believe they might learn of us, but in the faculty of carrying gospel truth with interest to promiscuous assemblies and the common people, they excel us. With hardly any exception, all the preachers of Scotland, w^ho are much fol- lowed by the multitude, are as remarkable for purely evan- gelical preaching, as for intellectual power and impressive elocution. Eew of them are what we should denominate good speakers. With thanksgiving to the God of our life, who has preserved me and mine through many changes, I record my desire to return to the land which I admire and love the more by reason of all contrasts and comparisons, and to the labours for which I trust I am in some slight measure better prepared in body, though not yet wholly relieved. INDEX TO VOL. II. -•♦♦- Abeel, 28, 40, 46, 49. Achilli, 134. Acs, 172. Acts, 209. Adams, 212. Advent Second, 54. Advertisements, 48. Affliction, 109. (See Condolence.) Agassiz, 115, 117. Agriculture. 262, 322, 338. Albany, 198. Alexander, A. ,28, 32, 35. 38, 44, 46, 49, 53, 67, 104, 111, 114, 123, 124, 128, 131, 157, 162, 165, 173, 175, 179, 180, 184, 186, 191, 193, 209, 222, 230, 236, 253. Alexander, J. A., 9, 30, 49, 50, 55, 56, 59, 72, 74, 75, 77, 79, 85, 94, 95, 100, 102, 112, 123, 126, 145, 146, 188, 190, 193, 194, 222, 227, 234, 235, 245, 260, 279, 280, 283, 297. Alexander, H. C, 190, 226. " S. D., 129. " Stephen, 126. Alliance, Evangelical, 68, 69, 154, 155, 339. Alps, 148, 252. America, (Central,) 220. " (South,) 204, 220, 230, 232, 233. " United States, 321. Amsterdam, 332. Amusements, 109. Anniversaries, 29, 31, 69, 96, 115. Anti-Christ, 34, 114. Antwerp, 262. Archer, 368. Architecture, 139, 155, 262, 265, 266, 318. Arctic, 134, 203. Area, 18. Argyle, 349. Armstrong, J. F., 87. " W. J. 59. Arnold, 20, 24, 25, 239. Arnott, 33. Art, Christian, 319. " Treasures, 238. Arthur, Prince, 245. Assembly, General, 32, 70, 83, 120, 129, 225, 280, 288. Assembly, (Scotch,) 39. " National, 143, 416. Astor Library, 36, 195. Astoria, 83, 85. Astor Place riot, 96. Atkinson, 94. Auchincloss, 5, 8, 110, 226. Augsburg Confession, S3. Augustine, 234. Backhouse, 205. Baden Baden, 255. Baird, 340. Baptism, 24, 25, 34, 72, 108, 273. Baptists, 200. Beach street, 95. Beers, 8, 9, 129. Begg, 49. Belfast, 158, 351. Belgium, 261. '" King of, 255. Bell, 180. Bells, 6. Bellows, 167. Bengel, 130, 203. Berne, 254, 328. Berrian, 16, 209. Berwick, 342. Bethune, 131, Bible, 12, 13, 14, 34, 41, 90, 125, 253. " Class, 221. " House, 203. Bickersteth, 40, 184, 198, 204, 339. Bigler, 12, 22. Bilderdijk, 335. Billingsgate, 337. Biography, 130, 131. Biot, 147. Bishop, (Mrs.,) 17. Bishops, 246, 314. Blacks, 18, 52, 54, 114, 131, 208, 222. (See Slavery.) Blanc, Mont, 149, 252, 323, 324. Bluecoat bovs, 153, 265. Boardman, 66, 178. Boerhaave, 333. Bonaparte, 99. Books, 41. Bookshops, 23. Bossuet, 209, 275. Boulevards, 317. Boyd, 59. Bride), 83, 85. Bridgeport, 225, 226. Brighton, 247. Bristol, 177, 227. Britain, (httle,) 153. Broaddus, 207. Brougham, 119, 245. Brown's Catechism, 25. Bruce, 267. Bruges, 263, Brussels, 263. Bulwer, 129, 133. Bunsen, 78, 140, 185. Burns, (Dr.,) 68. Burt, 131. Bush, 9, 18, 26, 38, 40, 194, 230. Business Men, 17. Byers, 187. 374: INDEX TO VOL. II. Byron, 256, 260, 342. Cabell, 71, 208, 211, 212, 213, 288, 291. Cable, 265, 281, 283. California, 92, 116, 119, 172. Calvin, 148, 184, 253. Cambridge, 155, 160, 342. Campaualoifians, 6. Campbell, 244, 245, 246. Candlish, 199. Candor, 108. Canova, 238. Capadose, 154. Cape Cod, 190. Capitals, 72. Carlyle, 9, 47, 171, 265, 283. Carnaban, 285. Castleman, 211. Catechism, 25, 27, 50, 87, 131. Catechumen, 170. Cathedrals, 157, 263, 266, 327, 329, 330, 331. Chalmers, 12, 15, 184, 198. Chambers street, 67. Chamonix, 149. Channing, 94. " Charge" Presbyterial, 303. Charity, 165, 166. " Charity and the Clergy," 205. Charleston, 173, 175. Charter Oak, 229. Cheever, 26, 28, 50, 227. Cherokees, 118, Children, 80, 215. China, 195, 198, 284. Christ, (life of,) 193, 197, 203. " as Lord, 221. Christ Church Hospital, 153. Cholera, 100, 101, 199. Church, (American,) 102, 105. » (English ,)192, 255, 262. " (Scotch,) 157, 185, 368. " (Brick,) 186. " (Duane st.,) 5, 99, 103, 106, 110, 113, 116, 119, 126. Church, (Fifth av.,) 163, 176,178,180, 181, 182, 198, 214. Clay, Cassius, 45. H Henry, 167. " Clerks Cheered and Counselled," 231. Cleeves, 327. Clirehugh, 35. Close, 319, 320. Coblenz, 259. Cock-lane, 242. Coleridge, 335. Collections, 16, 49, 59, 64, 66, 92, 169, 180, 183, 185, 193, 196, 233. Collects, 16, 369. Colleges, 105, 117. " Amherst, 180. " Christ Church, 160, 161. " France, 147. " New Jersey, 72, 100, 113, 123, 206, 279. " WilUams, 131. Collins, 212. Cologne, 150, 181, 261, 331,335. Colwell, 166, 275. Comfort (Rev. Mr.,) 194. Commons, House of, 139, 244. Communions, 16, 23, 45, 51, 97, 113, 115, 185, 194, 205, 215, 218, 224, 279. Concordance, 23. Condolence, 36, 48, 58, 189, 229. Conference, (Seminary,) 104. Congress, 217. Connecticut, 118, 227. Connitt, 227. " Consolation," 180, 197, 199, Cook, 158, 363. Conscience, Hendrik, 263. Cooley, 45. Cooper, 182. Coquerel, 95, 364. Corderoy, 69. Correspondence, 69. Covent Garden market, 310, 311, 313. Cowper, 54, 239. Cox, 11, 51, 67. Cranworth, 245. Crimea, 202, 206. Cromwell, 47. Crystal-Palace, 132, 138, 187, 192, 244, 283. Cuba, 203. Culbertson 124, 195. Cumming, 222. Cunningham, 89. Cuyler, 123. Dabnev, 279. Dacosta, 154, 203, 335. " Dairyman's daughter," 250. Dallas, 244. D'Arcy, 357. Davenport, 272. Davies, 133. Davy, 235. D. D.,118. Deaconesses, 102, 103. Death of children, 67. Delaroche, 87. Delual, 146, 168. Demission, 76. Demme, 113. De Witt, 67, 187. Dickens, 91, 102, 109, 138. Dickson, 156, 268, 343. Dictionaries, 108. Diion, 321. Dill, 89, 9L " Discourses," 182. Doane, 92. Dod, 42, 43. Doddridge, 102. " Doomed Man," 185. Douglass, 69. Duane street church. (See Church.") Dublin, 159, 353, 358. Duff, 118, 196, 197, 215, 267. Duncan, 94. Durbin, 68. Dueseldorf, 95, 151. Dwight, 215. Eardley, 339. Edinburgh, 156, 266, 343. Edwards, 115. Elders, 17, 26, 186, 272, 273. Electrical experiment, 187. Ellenborough, 246. Emerson, 170. Emigrants, 83, 92, 113, 141, 173, 176, 18&, 22(i 354, 356, 358, 360, Emmons, 85. Emplovers, 196. England, 135, 195. INDEX TO VOL. II. 375 English, 154, 264. " Theologj', 118. Episcopalians.. 59, 74, 111. Epochs, (chuvch,) 41. Erasmus, 18;^. Eton, 139. Etymology, 43. Europe, letters from, 134, 238, 307. Eutaxia, 209, 267. Everett, 285. Evi deuces of Christianity, 66. Ewing, Dr., 218, 274. " Examiner," 49. Extension table, 76. " Family "Worship," 67, 87. Farraday, 45. Fenelon, 209. Ferguson, 234. Fete Dieu, 142, 145, 181. Fiction, 53. Fifth Avenue Church. (See Church.) Fillmore, 230. Finley, 115. " W. P., 173, 175. Finney, 118, 124, 278. Fire, 106. Fitzwilliam, 245. Fliedener, 96, 102., Fog, 265. Foreman, 118. Foster, 56, 95. France, 81, 83, 145, 180, 314. Frankfort, 257. " Frank Harper," 63. Free-churches, 183, 187, 194, 205, 208, 223, 284. ) ) ) Free-love, 169, Freiburg, 330. French, 133, 172. " Friends' Meeting," 180. Froude, 26. Fry, 73, 79, 201. Fugitive slaves, 197. Funerals, 171, 242. Furs, 220. Future state, 215, 216, 218. Gainsboroneh, 238. Gallatin, 75,^84, 91, 94, 97, 98, 102. Galway, 355. Gambling, 256, 259. Garden of Plants, 319. Gavazzi, 187, 188, 194. Geneva, 148, 252, 323. George's (St.) Chapel, 139, 309, Germany, 319. Germans, 173, 176, 177, 187, 196, 227, 258. German hymns, 101, 117, 259, 296. " theory of church, 104. " preaching, 65. Ghent, 264. Giantess, 258. Giant's causeway, 352. Gilliss, 220. Gladstone, 280. Glasgow, 157, 347. Glossary, 218. Goethe, 257. Gort, 35C). Gothic, 155, 265. Gough, 65, 88,130. Graham, 191. Greeley, 164, Greenwich fair, 307. Greenwood, 123. Grenada. 215. Grote, 172. Gurley, 81. Gurney, 201, 205. Guthrie, 174, 219, 267, 268, 270. Guy on, 208. Guyot, 107. Gymnastics, 275. Hague, 335. Haines, 76. Hall, 95. Hallock, 236. Halsted, 186, 289, Hamilton, 41, 136, 140, 155, 239, 240, 241, 339, 341. 3 ) ) i Hampton Court, 310. Hare, Robert, 216. " Rev. O., 108. " Julius, 79. Harrison, 113. Hawthorne, 177. Hay, 115. Hazards, 226. Hazlitt, 34. Head, 285, 259. Heath, 241. Heather, 346. Health, 26, 173, 176, 185, 201, 213, 235, 272, 276, 286, 290. ' ' "Hearts and Hands," 282. " Hebrews," 12, 22, 24, 41, 43, 60 Heidelberg, 257, 329. Helensburgh, 158, 348. Henry, 45, 107. Herodotus, 86. Herschell, 33. Hippolytus, 185. Hodge G., 146, 225, 298, 299. " C. W., 118. " A. A., 1.30. Hogarth, 238. Holland, 151, 332. Homoeopathy, 17, 76, 205. Hopkins, 131. Hosier-lane, 242. Housman, 49. Howe, 216. Hue, 209. Hume, 124, Huidekoper, 218. Humphrey, 225. Hungarians, 172. Hyde- Park, 312. Hymn-book, 40, 172, 238. Hymnology, 117, 124, 141. Inauguration, 103, 109, 110. Inch, 354. India, 111, 257, 270, 307. Indians, 51, 178, 189. " Infants' library," 20. Inman, 45. Inns of Court, 240, 241, 245. Inquiry meetings, 224. Inspiration, 126. Installation, 5, 88, 305. Interlaken, 254. Ireland, 158, 351. Irving, (Washington,) 104, 125, 220. 376 INDEX TO VOL. II. Irvingites, 169, 171, 194, 196, 206, 241. Italians, 115. James, (Apostle,) 132. Janeway, 41. Japan, 333. Jay, 204. Jefferson, 115, 220. Jenks, 68. Jersey City Church, 88. " Jerusalem, mother dear," 103, 105 Jeter, 207. Jews, 8, 40, 49, 213, 257, 258. Johns, 101, 287. Johnston, 22, 59, 88, 125. Jones, 43. " Journal of Commerce," ISO, 285. Judson, 201. Juvenal, 91. Kalley, 14. Kansas, 225, 234. Kennedy, 113. Kent, 68, 77. Khur, 74. Kidder, 10, 28, 33, 46, 48. King, 111, 348, 364. Kinnev, 110. Kirk, 212- Kirkwood, 126. Kitto, 73. Knox, 119, 121. Kossuth, 164, 166, 167, 172. Lalor, 24. Lamb, 44, 153, 154. Lanneau, 116. Lark, 239, 248. Lawrence, 184, 313, 354. Lawrenceville, 273. Leamington, 239. Leckie. 57. Leeser, 7, 17. Le Grand, 19, 21, 208. Letter, ironical, 174. " Last, 290, 303. Letters, 123. " Letters to Young Minister," 96. Lewis, 37. Leyden, 334. Liberia, 132, 284. Lichtenstein, 69. Lime street, 341. Limerick, 354. Lincoln's Inn, 241. Lind, 124, 126, 130. Lindsay, 32. Lindslv, 130. Linen Hall, 351. Lisco, 124. Liturgy, 119, 195, 209, 262, 264, 267, 369. Liverpool, 135, 238, 361, 367. Livingston, 41, 249, 250, 272. Lochs, 345, 346, 347, 348. London, 135, 144, 152, 240, 264, 307,315, 336. Long Branch, 72. Lonsdale, 239. Lord, 88, 131, 204. Lord's Snpper, 169, 185. Lords, House of, 141, 244, 313. Lou sh ridge, 64. Louis Napoleon, 142, 168, 181. 234, 250, 315. Louis Philippe, 81, 125. Lowrie, 79, 172. Lucerne, 328. Luther, 112, 117, 125, 258, 26L Lutherans, 120. Lyndhurst,246. Macaulay, 218, 219, 235, 261. Maclean, 132, 133. Macnaughten, 10, 11. Macon, 251. Mac Tavish, 55. Madeira, 14. Madeleine, 145. Madison, 91. Magdalen, 88, 103. Magnetism, 18. Maidenhead, 273. Maine Law, 170, 177. Malan, 148, 252. " Man of Business," 231. " Man of Sin," 114, 143, 144. Marriage Laws, 98, 123. Marriott, 255. Marsh, 75. Martineau, 171. Masters, 8, 9. Mason, E., 94, 125. " L.,72, 191, 197, 262. Mauch Chunk, 230. Maurice, 199. Maxwell, 245. Mayer, 222. Mayhew, 131, 152. Maynooth, 359. Mazarin Bible, 77. McCheyne, 11, 26. McCormick, 289. McEwen, 348. McFarland, 225. McG-regor, 282. McHenry, 286. McKemie Church, 53. Mc Lean, 14. McLeod, 368. McNeile, 162, 362. Medals, 97. Melrose, 266. " Memoir of A. Alexander," 895. Mercersberg. 120. Merle, (d'Aubigiie,) 7, 8, 10, 33. Methodists, 10, 12, 41. Mexico, 51, 53, 59, 66, 70, 73, 74, 76, SO, 175. Microscopes, 122. Milburn, 217. Millennium, 118, 192, 198, 199. Miller, Hugh, 235, 350. " John, 104. » Samuel, 85, 97, 104, 108, 110, 116, 146, 165. Millerite, 7. Milman, 105, 136. Miluer, 234. Milnor, 11, 28. Milton, 265. Missions, A. B. C F., 115. Missions, American, 51, 53, 89, 91, 111,204. Mission Chapel, 217, 219, 277, Missions, City, 42,43, 167, 186, Mis^;ions, Foreign, 41, 44, 04, 132, 140, 167. Mitchell, 158, 347. Moderation!, 12, 74, 77. Moligny, 146. 28. 188, 70, 285. 191,195. 81, 119, INDEX TO VOL. H. 377 Monod, 114, 143, 146, 315, 317, 364. Monsaltvage, 230. Moravian, 20, 61. Morell, 125. Muhlenberg, 167, 188, 205, 217. Mulattoee, 212. Muncaster, 264. Murray, 68. Museum, British, 154, 341. Music, 87, 132, 136, 143, 241, 263, 318, 338. Miitter, 134, 135. Napoleon. See Louis. Neander, 82. Nebraska, 197. Nevin, 82, 87. Newark Advertiser, 66. New England, 179, 200, 226, 227, 228. Newport, 177, 199, 226. New School, 8, 10, 17, 81. Newton, (N. J..) 201. " J. W.,'324. New Year's, 15, 232. See Year-texts. New York, 5, 128, 164, 271. Niagara, 55. Nicholas. 207. Noah, (M. M.,) 8. Noel, 91, 100, 155, 246, 263, 264, 340. Nott, 221. Oberland, 253. 0'Connell,-73. Old age, 228. Old hundred, 92. Olney, 240. Olyphant, 180. Omnibuses, 309. Onderdonk, 16. Opera House service, 283, 286. Oratorio, 143. Ordination, Law of, 120, 122. " of Dr. A., 221. Organs, 197, 206, 208. Origon, 25. Orthography, 41, 43, 90, 94, 218. Ostend, 203. Otey, 365, 366. Otterson, 210. Owen, 233, 262, 369. Oxford, 160, 360. Paintings and Sculpture, 155, 237, 238, 257, 258, 261, 263, 310, 331, 341, 342. Palace, 311. Paralysis, 20. Paris, 142, 251, 314. Parker, 191. Parochial schools, 52. Pascal, 23. Pastor, 63, 231. Pastoral Theology, 179. Paterson, 114. Paul's, St., 136, 138. Pays, Latin, 144, 316. Pay son, 44. Peace, 59. Peat, 346. Pelham, 250. Pennington Church, 78. Penny Magazine, 311, 315. Periwigs, 35. Perrin, 105. Pews, 39, 194. Philadelphia, 37, 89, 151, 195, 231, 332, 336, 355. " Plain Words to Commimicants," 203. Plumer, 182. Plutarch, 20, 86. Plymouth brethren, 281, 283. Pocahontas, 88. Police, 308. Politics, 7, 9, 12. Pollock, 82. Poor, 38, 165, 275. Poperv, 77, 144, 159, 166, 168, 186, 209, 262, 318, 331. Portrait, 138. Post Office, 20, 310. Posture, 222. Potts, George, 8, 33, 39, 42, 50, 125, 133, 182 " S. G. 212. " W. S., 172. Powers, 75. Pratt, 220. Prayer, 30, 169, 204, 234, 263, 273. Prayer Meetings, 17, 170, 198, 277, 278, 279. " Preacher and King," 185. Preachers, 12, 13, 22. See Sermons and Preaching. Preaching, 24, 29, 30, 64, 68, 95, 117, 125, 130, 137, 170, 171, 174, 176, 179, 192, 200, 204, 223. Presbvterians, 89, 157, 176, 370. Prescott, 286. Preston, 272, 313, 343. Prevost, 199. Primer, 45. Princeton, 99, 163, 281. " Magazine, 112, 114. Pronunciation, 39, 52, 63. 91, 137, 152, 172, 174, 175, 213, 247, 339, 340, 343, 361. Protracted meetings, 47. Proudiit, 131, 197. Psalmody. See Singing. Pulpit, 263. " Punch," 14, 29, 175. Puritanism, 35. Pusey, 160, 161, 234. Puseyism, 318. Quakers, 25, 44, 55, 57, 119, 131, 200. Queen of England, 156, 281, 312, 344. Quotation, 46. Rafaelle, 320. Railway accident, 101. Randolph, 243. Raphael, 110. Read, 255. Reading, 46, 124. Red Bank, 281. Red Sweet Springs, 209, 210, 260, 293. Religion, State of, 8, 9. Renwick, 7. Repertory, 20, 31, 33, 38, 49, 56, 87, 107, 116, 118, 121, 125, 218, 300. Review, British and Foreign Evangeli- cal, 203. " Eclectic, 113. " Evangelical, 203. " Mercersburg, 87. " North British, 12, 125, 133. " Revival and Lessons," 276. Revivals, 21, 22, 50, 112, 113, 114, 172, 196 223, 237, 276. 378 INDEX TO VOL. II. Reynolds, 238, 263. Rhine, 151, 260. Rice, B.il.,) 54, 180, 221. » '(J. n.,)267. " (N..) 73. Richmond, (Va.,) 70. " Legh, 248, 249, 250, 251. Ripley, 131. Ritchie, 145. Rives, 143, 316. Robinson, 68, 151, 155, lo7, 232. Rock Alum Springs, 210. Romer, 257. Roseneath, 349. Roiith, 161. Rowell, 283. Ruffin, 212. Rugby, 160, 240. Runciman, 349. Rush, 119. Ruskin, 132. Russia, 202, 207. u cc Sabbath, 183, 253, 268. ^ Sailors' and Soldiers' Manual," 67. Salary, 193, 204. Sandberg, 140. Sandran, 101. Saratoga, 84, 281, 298. Savings Bank, 96. l3:5Mll,132,16S.m Schenck, 112, 113. Scherer, 114, 126. Schiedam, 252. Schiller, 328. Scholefield, 156, 364. Schools, 35, 205 " Industrial, 217. . „ " Sunday, (and Journal,) 21, w, = 123, 231, 240, 268 ct " American and adjuncts," Zoi. Scotland, 91, 156 266 343 Cliurch, 118, 119, ooO. Preachers, 49, 51, 55, 62, 68, 86. Publication Scheme, 11. Rhetoric, 23. Scott, Walter, 156, 343. leSirt; (Princeton,) 97, 98, 99, 116, 164, Bemoil!l06,125,129,132,219. " Bowen, 239. Bruce, 267. Clevee, 327. Cook, 158, 363. D'Arcy, 357. De Witt, 187. Finney, 278. Guthrie, 267. Hamilton, 241, 341. King, 348, 364. Malan, 253. McLeod, 368. McNeile, 162, 362. Muncaster, 264. Koel, 246, 264. Ritchie, 145. Scholefield, 156, 364. South, 283. Spurgeon, 241. Trench, 241. Wells, 241. u (C IC (( (( 1[ (C IC (C (( ({ a II n (( i( cc (1 (C (( l( Session, 61. Sexton, 6, 206. Shaftesbury, 246. Shakespeare, 23. Sharon Springs, 188, 190. Shaw, 115. Shippeu, 115. Silius Italicus, 57. Sigourney, 27. I^Se '^'2 \t' 49, 62, 72, 92, 169, 177, 191, ^200! 264:216, 219,' 241, 242, 262, 263, 267, 279, 329. Sisters of Charity, 2T6. Sleighins, 46. Smith, Albert, 146, 248. " John B., 21. " S. S.,21. » T. U., 186, 208, 214. " of Jordanhill, 349. Smithficld, 242. Smyth, 8, 24, 45, 17o. Sonnet, 365. Sorbonne, 320. South, 43, 283. Southey, 34. South Hampton, 107. Spa, 261. Spain, 224. Spencer, 125. Spiers' Dictionary, 108. Spiritual rapping, 171. Sprague, 124, 1(2, 198, Z6Z Spring, 78,96,168,1.0. Spurgeon, 242, 279. Stage-coach stanzas, 260. Stanmer, 248. Staplers, 245. Staten Island, 36. Steamers, 36 Steel, 182, 193. Sterling, 171. |witze'rland,148, 251,323 Stewart, C.S., 248, 249, 251,264. I' " jr., 60. Stewart's store, 57. Stockton, 106. Story, 171, 242. Stoves, 105. Stowe, 199. Struthers, 272. St. Sulpice, 146. Sweet Springs, 211. Swedenborgians, 9, i», o4. Synod, 47, 179. Systems, 26. Tablet, 299. Tarlsen, 6, 206. Tavlor, (Dr.,)73. '" Jane, 66. S?;Sce%,150,152,166,170. Temple, 140, 242. Texas, 18, 62. Texts Isaiah 53 -.3, 109. ^^'Ezekiel 53 -.10,95. " 36, 37, 243. Matt. xi. 29, 57. " 16 : 18, 197. INDEX TO YOL. II. 379 Texts, Luke 20 : 30, 215. John 17 : 12, 132. Acts 15 : 1-35, 231. " 19:3,193. Rom. 7 : 7-25, 68. " 16:25,52. 1 Cor. 13 : 12, 34. " 15:7,132. 2 Cor. 1 : 17-19, 93. " 3 : 5-6, 106. «' 3:6, 182. " 4 : 8, 106. " 11 : 28, 182. Gal. 1 : 19, 132. Eph. 4:16,93. Phil. 2 : 3, 47. " 3 : 18, 19, 255. 1 Thess. 2 : 7, 76. 1 Tim. 3 : 11, 103. Heb. 5 : 11-15, 31. « 13 : 16, 31. James 1 : 9, 208. Rev. 22 : 3, 24. And see Year-texts. Thanksgiving, 180, 232. Thayer, 178, 227. Thiers, 280. 319. Tholuck, 135. Thompson, 212. Thomson, 230. Thorburn, 126. Thornwell, 70, 225. Thurles, 354. Tir Federal, 148, 324. Torrey, 117, 122. Tract Society, 7, 8, 10, 17, 32, 67, 90, 188, 193, 236, 270. Tracts, 255, 267. Transcendentalism, 222. Trench, 204, 232, 242, 282. Trinity church, 132. Trumbull, 111, Truro, 137, 310, Trustee of College, 279. Tuileries, 142. Tapper, 134, 135, 312. Turks, 195, 202. Turrettini, 253. Tyng, 85, 125, 252, 253. Ulster 359. " Uncle Tom's Cabin," 175. Underworld, 218. Unitarians, 167, 194. United Presbyterians, 269, 345, 350. Unity, 46. University Chapel, 164. " of Virginia, 71, 126, 127, 208, 288. Upham, 209. Utrecht, 151, 332. Valentines, 48, 169. Van Rensselaer, 16. 53. Venable, 124. Ventnor, 249. Versailles, 320. Vevay, 327. Victoria, 156, 281, 312, 344. Virginia, "70, 126, 197, 207, 210, 288. Visiting, 50. Voice, 222. Voltaire, 148, 236. Voyage, 129, 130, 134, 236, 364. Vulgate, 23. Waddel, 57, 89. "Wainwright, 8, 12. Waldegrave, 245. ■ Wales, 233. Walker, 117, Walloons, 263. Walpole, 235. Walsh, 49, 87, 112, 130, 145, 146, 180, 285, 286. " Wandering Jew," 17, War, 51, 53, 74, 202, 217. See Mexico. " Warder," 34, 49. Warm Springs, 210, 211, 290. Waterbury, 54, 91, 197. Watson's " Annals," 89. Waugh, 179. Wayland, 115. " Wayside Books," 237. Webster, D., 170, 179. " Dictionary, 108, Welsh, 225, Wellington, 140, 313, 355. Wells, 241. Wcslej-, 222. Wesleyan Chapel, 145, 146, 319. Westminster, 137, 310, 313. " Abbey, 141, 342. West Point, 116. Wetmorc, 43, 56. Whatelv, 217. White Sulphur Springs, 210. Wiesbaden, 258. Wight, 249. Wilkinson, 155. Willerup, 125. Williams, 210, 216, 219, 294. Willis, 11. Wilson, J. L., 81, 207. " J. P., 29, 265. " Thomas, 47. Windsor Castle, 138, 309. Wines, 150, 151. Winthrop, 204. Witherspoon, 88, 348. Words, 83, 104, 108, 110, 175, 188, 192, 235. Worship, 171. Yale 44 Year teits, 63, 78, 91, 110, 181, 184, 194, 233, 275, 284. Yellow fever, 228. Yeomans, 67. Yodling, 254, 327. Yoke, 57. York, 266. Yorkville, 88. Young men, 64. Zinzendorf, 61. Zuingle, 150, 329, Zurich, 328, THE END. KEAV AND IMPORTANT WOUTiS. JUST BEADY, REV. JAS. ¥. ALEXANDER, D.D, FORTY YEARS' FAMILIAR LETTERS FEOM JAS. W. ALEXANDER, D.D., TO A FRIEND ; CONSTIT0TING, WITH THE KOTES, A. IMEMIOIR OW HIS IjIinE]. EDITED BY THE SUBTITING CORRESPONDENT, REV. JOHN HALL, D.D. In tvDO vola.y small ociatio, with two Foriraits, engraved ly Ritchie. Price $3 00. ALSO, READY AT TEE SAME TIME, New Editions of DR. JAS. W. 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The book will, for this very reason, reach and interest a much larger number of readers. We have spoken warmly of this volume, for it has both interested and instructed VlS.'"— Atlantic Monthly. " These Lectures could have been written only by one himself profoundly versed in the depart- ment of knowledge to which they relate. The style is graceful and attractive — the opinions are sound and ably vindicated — the purest taste, as to words, idioms and authors pervades the entire work — and its thoroughlj', yet not obtrusively, didactic character commends it as a manual for those who would speak or write accurately and elegantly, or would read with discrimination and profit. So much learning and wisdom, weighty thought and just criticism, have seldom been condensed into an equal space, and still more rarely presented in a form so well adapted to all classes of intelligent readers."— iW)ri{A American Review for 1860. " Every page is full of interest from the information which it imparts, or the analogy which it traces, the law which it expounds, the knowledge of our common nature which it displays ; and the lucid style of the writer, the richness of his thought, the aptness of his illustrations, and, when rare occasions offers, his gleams of humor, and delicate (though on that account not less pungent) satire, diffuse their charms throughout this work Mr. Marsh's book is that of a master. He deals with the subject in the largest style— comprehensively and with breadth of view, and yet with rare completeness of detail."— i^. Y. Albion. " It is a book upon which the scholar may feast, while at the same time it will entertain every intelligent reader." — Presbyterian Banner. "These lectures are intensely interesting; the vast range of reading, the spontaneous fertility of illustration, the keenness of analysis, the ready grace of argument, the clear beauty and manly strength of style, and the compactness and solid maturity of the results set before us, contribute fresh deUght on every page Moreover, there is, every now and then, a touch of genial humor that gives warmth, or a gradual and natural kmdling into a glow of true eloquence, such as stirs the heai-t to its depths."— i^. Y. Church Journal. Cyclopaedia of Missions. BY REV. HARVEY NEWCOMB, One volume, octavo. 800 pages, with 32 Colored Maps. Price $3 00. This work contains just what is needed by all who are interested m the great movements of the age for evan"-elizing the world. It furnishes a succinct history of the missionary enterprise as it has been pr°osecuted by all denominations throxcghout the world ; and it will always remain a permanent standard history up to the date of its publication, and will_ not be super- seded by any late compilation. The publisher does not contemplate any change m this volume. If anvthino- further is called for, another volume will be added. No one can obtam an ade- quate impression of the progress of Christianity by reading the pubUcations of one denomina- * TiiVork gives the operations of all the various Societies on the same ground and in connec- tion : the history of each leading denomination having been prepared by members of the 8(wne. The sketches of missionary history are many of them of thrillmg mterest; and the book contains more information in regard to the reUgious movements of the age, than can be WORKS PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNEE. anywhere else found within the same compass. Many pastors who have used it, testify to ita value, and regard it as an indispensable aid in their preparations for the monthly concert ; and in many churches it has been found invaluable in carrying out the plan of conducting this meeting by reports from laymen. Any church wishing it for this purpose can have Ten Copies for $20, the retail price "being $3. " "We can conscientiously do Mr. Newcomb the justice of saying, that in careful research and pains-taking accuracy, his work is greatly superior to any other work of reference on the subject within our knowledge. It is a work which should be in the hands of all who desire to become familiar with the past history of the efforts for sending the Gospel to the heathen." — ^. Y. Examiner {Baptist). " No pastor and no intelligent Christian should be without a copy of this work."— i^. T. Chris- tian Intelligencer (Dutch Reformed). _ " Comprehensive and reliable, it presents in dictionary form a view of missionary opera- tions^ throughout the world, making a work of reference which every minister and every intelligent Christian wishes to have always at hand, and it is so well arranged that the name of any missionary, or mission station, or important work may be readily looked up." — New York Observer. " This is an invaluable work for mmisters, Sabbath-school teachers, and indeed for all intelli- gent lajTuen. The amount of information which it contains is very great, and such as cannot be elsewhere found in a single volume ; on the score of economy — that is for the saving of time and money — we do not see how any one who takes an interest in missions, and wishes to know what has )>een done and is now doing for the conversion of the world, can afford to do without 'iV— Boston Recorder. THE ART OF EXTEMPORE SPEAKING: Hints for the Pulpit, the Senate and the Bar. BY PROP. M. BAUTAIN. EDITED BY A MEMBER OP THE NEW YORK BAR. TTT-ITKC -A^IDIDITIOIsrS, I?,XJIjES OIP 3DEB-A.TB, ETC One vol., 12mo. Price $1 00. This work is by a distinguished pulpit-orator of France — long habituated to address some of the most polished auditories of the French capital. It is the fruit of his studies and experience, and deals with the subject con am,ore. Many who are in the habit of delivering public addresses, will read a faithful portraiture of their own embarrassments, and will also discover many valuable solutions of the peculiar diffi- culties which beset them in their trying vocation. " This work has no counterpart or rival in the English language ; other works teach how tc write — this contains suggestions on the art of speaking — easily, agreeably, forcibly, etc." — Christian Observer. " The value of such a book as this cannot be computed— it is a wonder that there are not more like it." — Boston Express. " The whole is written with great clearness, and with a skill possessed only by one thoroughly conversant with the subject. To all speakers, this book will be invaluable." — Troy Whig. " Prof. Bautain is entire master of his subject, and presents it with fullness, vigor, and, above all, with a sparkling clearness which invests it with a genuine charm The sugges- tions made are simple, practical and distinct — the results evidently of personal experience." — Boston Journal. " It is no common book, and deals in no commonplaces— it is original and suggestive. No person can read it without becoming indebted to it, consciously or unconsciously."— 5a TWior of the Cross, „„ceton Theological Se-;n=',7,5P"' L'!';^// , 1 1012 01093 1451 DATE DUE \ ^WSS^^^^^^x^ > 1 «B^Sto«^S?i^ ^mim>mm 1 ] DEMCO 38-2< 37