FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
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LIFE 
 
 OP 
 
 JEREMY BELKNAP, D.D. 
 
 THE HISTORIAN OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE 
 AND OTHER WRITINGS. 
 
 COLLECTED AND ARRANGED 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS GRAND-DAUGHTER. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HARPER AND BROTHERS, 
 
 82 CLIFF STREET. 
 
 1847. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847 
 
 BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The subject of the following memoir left, at his 
 decease, many letters and some other manuscripts, 
 in the possession of his family, which were care- 
 fully preserved, though at the time they had no 
 thought of making them public. 
 
 During the many years that have since passed, 
 most of his contemporaries have disappeared. The 
 results of some of his labors have been claimed for 
 others, and some of his actions have been errone- 
 ously represented. His name, already indissolubly 
 connected with the history of New Hampshire, has 
 recently been given to a new county formed in that 
 state, and has been used to designate several private 
 corporations. Those who may desire to learn some- 
 thing of his life and character may find that obitu- 
 ary notices, and the periodical publications of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 former years, yield but scanty and unsatisfactory 
 
 information. 
 
 These and other reasons have led his immediate 
 
 descendants to encourage the publication of this 
 
 volume, which is composed chiefly of his own 
 
 writings. 
 
 J. B. 
 
 Boston, July 19tli, 1847. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface. 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1744—1767. 
 
 Birth and Parentage of Dr. Belknap. — His early 
 Education. — College Life. — Schools at Milton 
 and Greenland. — Studies for the Ministry. — " 
 Correspondence with Dr. Byles. — Invitation to 
 Boston. — He proposes to teach the Indians. — 
 Begins to Preach. — Halfway Covenant. — In- 
 vitation to Dover. — Ordination 9 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 1767—1774. 
 
 His Marriage. — Correspondence with Capt. Wal- 
 dron. — Letters to Peter Thacher. — Letter to 
 his Father. — Sandemanians. — Letter to Capt. 
 Waldron. — Sermon on Military Duty. — Cor- 
 respondence with Governor Wentworth. — Letter 
 to the Selectmen. — Letter to a Collegian. — To 
 Rev. Joh a Stafford. — Sp in n ing Match 34 
 
4 CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 1774—1782. 
 
 Journey to Dartmouth College. — Correspondence 
 with Colonel Phillips. — Excitement at Ports- 
 mouth. — Address to People of New Hampshire. 
 — Address to British Officers. — Extracts from 
 Commonplace Booh. — Breaking out of Hostili- 
 ties. — Mr. Belknap is invited to be Chaplain to 
 the Troops at Cambridge. — Visits the Camp. — 
 Letters of Dr. A. Eliot 65 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1782—1786. 
 
 Condition of the Family. — Journey to White 
 Hills. — Election Sermon. — Journey to Phila- 
 delphia. — Parish Difficulties. — He leaves Do* 
 ver. — Letter to President Willard. — Various 
 Proposals of Friends. — Letter from Exeter... 102 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1784—1788. 
 
 The History of New Hampshire. — Letter to Gen. 
 Washington, and Reply. — Invitation from the 
 Church in Federal Street, Boston. — Letter from 
 Proprietors, and Reply. — Anonymous Accusa- 
 tion, and Defence. — Installation. — Various 
 Occupations. — Correspondence with Dr. Rush. 126 
 
CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1788—1792. 
 
 Exertions to abolish the Slave Trade. — Tliree Bills 
 of Sale, and Certificates of Manumission. — 
 Letter of Cato Baker. — Anecdote. — Cor res- 
 pondence with Moses Brown. — Correspondence 
 with David Howell. — Adoption of Federal Con- 
 stitution. — Visit of Washington to Boston. — 
 Death of Mr. Belknap's son Samuel. — Sermon 
 at the Installation of Dr. Morse. — Extracts 
 from Letters of John Adams. — Degree of D.D. 
 conferred on Mr. Belknap. — Increase of Fed- 
 eral Street Society. — Century Discourse 159 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 1791—1797. 
 
 Historical Society of Massachusetts. — Correspond- 
 ence with Governor Wentworth. — Ante- Colum- 
 bian Discovery of America. — Third Volume of 
 the History published. — Attempt to reprint it 
 in a Newspaper prevented. — The Foresters 
 published. — Extract from the Foresters 184 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1794—1797. 
 
 American Biography published. — Judge Jay's 
 Opinion. — Extracts from the Preface of Hub- 
 bard's New Edition. — Letter to Mr. Hazard. 
 
6 CONTEXTS. 
 
 — General Knox. — Dissertations, Extract. — 
 Psalms and Hymns. — Letter from a Gentle- 
 man of Portland. — Dislike to Controversy. — 
 Anecdotes 212 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1796—1798. 
 
 Convention Sermon. — ATissionary Visit to the 
 Oneida Indians. — Letters from Dr. Clarke. — 
 Correspondence with Mrs. John Adams. — Expe- 
 dition to Cuttyhnnk. — Last Illness and Death. 
 
 — Character. — Theological Opinioris. — No- 
 tice of Mrs. Belknap. — Dr. Belknap's Life of 
 Dr. Watts 228 
 
JEREMY BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1744—1767. 
 
 Birth and Parentage of Dr. Belknap. — His early 
 Education. — College Life. — Schools at Milton 
 and Greenland. — Studies for the Ministry. — 
 Correspondence with Dr. Byles. — Invitation to 
 Boston. — Se proposes to teach the Indians. — 
 Begins to Preach. — Half Way Covenant. — In- 
 vitation to Dover. — Ordination. 
 
 The name of Belknap appears to be of Norman 
 origin. It is found in the list of those among whom 
 the lands of England were divided after the con- 
 quest by the Duke of Normandy ; and, in the follow- 
 ing reigns, several of the name are mentioned as 
 judges, as sheriffs, and as otherwise connected with 
 the practice of the law. It is also observed in the 
 early records of the settlement of this country. 
 How many of the name came over from England 
 has never been ascertained. Abraham Belknap was 
 a resident in Lynn, Massachusetts, in the year 1637 ; 
 
10 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 and the next year, in a division of lands there, he 
 received forty acres. Joseph Belknap, one of the 
 earliest members of the Old South Church, is the 
 first of the family known to have lived in Boston. 
 He died in 1712, aged 82, and is buried in the old 
 burying ground adjoining King's Chapel. 
 
 Jeremiah, a son of the preceding and grandfather 
 of Dr. Belknap, owned houses and lands in several 
 parts of Boston ; and a street, near some of his prop- 
 erty in the western part of the city, bears the name 
 of Belknap. He had nine children, two of whom 
 were sons ; the elder named Joseph, the younger, 
 Jeremiah. The latter was the father of Jeremiah 
 and Mary Belknap, who, in 1830 and 1832, made 
 large bequests to the Massachusetts General Hos- 
 pital. The elder son Joseph, father of the subject 
 of this memoir, was born on the 12th of February, 
 1717, and married, on the 30th of July, 1741, Sarah 
 Byles, niece of the celebrated Mather Byles. He 
 carried on the trade of a leather-dresser and dealer 
 in furs and skins, and had a shop in the front part 
 of his house in Ann Street. 
 
 Jeremiah Belknap was their eldest child. He 
 was born on the 4th of June, 1744. There were 
 several other children, only one of whom, a daugh- 
 ter named Abigail, lived to mature age. 
 
 The earliest relic of Jeremiah's childhood is a 
 paper containing notes of sermons preached at the 
 Old South Church by "Dom Williams," in the year 
 
HIS EDUCATION. 11 
 
 1754. Each sermon is divided into its different 
 heads, and carefully dated ; showing that the habits 
 of order and neatness which distinguished him 
 through life were thus early acquired. 
 
 His education was commenced at the school of 
 Mr. Lovell, where he must have been studious ; for 
 he entered Harvard College on the 5th of Decem- 
 ber, 1758, in his fifteenth year. 
 
 At this period he noted down the weather daily, 
 and such events as were worthy of remembrance, in 
 the first of a series of interleaved Almanacs, which 
 he continued to employ in the same manner, with the 
 exception of a few years, during his life. The most 
 important events noted in this year are the reduc- 
 tion of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne, and the 
 expedition to Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Com- 
 mencement day, the 18th of July, 1759, is remarked 
 upon as " excessive hot ; " a quality which usually 
 belongs to it now : but an item written in the follow- 
 ing September is rather strange to those who are 
 acquainted with Cambridge in these days : " A 
 great many bears killed at Camb : and the neigh- 
 boring towns about this time, and several persons 
 killed by them." Beside these Almanacs, he had 
 little manuscript books entitled " Quotidiana Miscel- 
 lanea 1, 2, 3, &c," into which he copied extracts 
 from the various books he was reading or studying ; 
 and the first entry in the earliest of these is an ex- 
 tract from " Eckard's Roman History, vol. i. preface 
 
12 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 — page 1," which is interesting, as showing his 
 estimation, at this youthful period, of a character 
 he subsequently sustained so well : " There are 
 required so many qualifications and accomplish- 
 ments in an Historian, and so much care and nice- 
 ness in writing an history, that some have reckoned 
 it one of the most difficult labors human nature is 
 capable of." 
 
 Among his college exercises, several of which are 
 still preserved, is one styled a " Theme, being the 
 employment of some leisure time, Xov. 4th, 1759." 
 The subject treated is " The generous man is a 
 blessing to all mankind." It is divided into propo- 
 sition, reason, similitude, example, testimony, and 
 conclusion ; which conclusion is, " Wherefore every 
 one who is in a capacity to do good to others is 
 bound both by the laws of God and nature to do it ; 
 and it behoves every one to relieve those of his fel- 
 low-creatures who stand in need of it, as far as in 
 him lies, that he may be at last remunerated by his 
 God with this Euge, ' Well done, good and faithful 
 servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord ! ' J. Bel- 
 knap." — How truly these were the sentiments of his 
 heart, and how constantly through life he acted upon 
 a principle thus early adopted, will be seen by the 
 reader of the following pages. 
 
 His college life was passed quietly in the pursuit 
 of his studies, with some intervals occasioned by 
 sickness. He was graduated on the 21st of July, 
 
ENGAGES IN TEACHING. 13 
 
 1762, and on the 10th of August began to keep 
 the public grammar school at Milton ; an employ- 
 ment then, as now, often chosen by young men, 
 while preparing for the business of after life. 
 
 As the master of a public school, he held a 
 responsible station for one so young ; yet he acquitted 
 himself to the satisfaction of the town ; for, after 
 leaving Milton a short time during the next winter, 
 he returned at the unanimous request of the select- 
 men, and remained until March in 1764. 
 
 He was one whom companions and friends not 
 only love, but reverence at an early age. The sin- 
 cerity of his character, and his affectionate desire to 
 serve those around him in any way in his power, 
 even though he could not approve the matter him- 
 self, are shown in the following extract from a letter 
 written the autumn after he was graduated, to a 
 young friend at Cambridge who had requested his 
 aid in composing a theme on the Immortality of the 
 Soul. He sent the theme, and in the letter he 
 says : 
 
 "Milton, October 8th, 1762. 
 
 " My dearest Friend, 
 
 " I received yours of the 3d inst. and have 
 endeavored to comply with your request ; whether 
 satisfactorily or no, you may judge. As I never 
 showed any reluctance in obliging you in any re- 
 spect, you may be assured that I did this with the 
 
14 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 greatest pleasure. And though I shall never be 
 loth to serve you in the same manner, yet I cannot 
 recommend it to you to pursue this method, but wish 
 that you would endeavor to acquire a better talent 
 at composition. It would be an unspeakable advan- 
 tage to you. Do not let your genius lie uncultivated, 
 and your abilities and faculties be any longer dor- 
 mant, but only put them once in action, and they will 
 continue to supply you with whatever you want in 
 this way with the greatest ease. I speak experi- 
 mentally." 
 
 He continued to keep school while completing his 
 studies for the ministry, and in December, 1764, he 
 removed to Portsmouth in New Hampshire to take 
 charge of the English school, and boarded in the 
 family of the Rev. Samuel Haven. The next sum- 
 mer he kept school at Greenland, a small town six 
 miles from Portsmouth, where he remained until 
 called to the duties of a minister of the gospel. His 
 conscientiousness was very great, and he forbore to 
 preach, until he felt himself qualified. Meanwhile 
 he suffered much from misgivings and fears. 
 
 His parents anticipated with eager hopes the time 
 when this their beloved and only son should enter 
 into the Christian ministry ; and while he was under 
 the influence of feelings which made him fear he 
 should disappoint their expectations, he wrote the 
 following letter to his mother's uncle, Mather Byles, 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. BYLES. 15 
 
 disclosing the state of his mind, and requesting him 
 to communicate it to his parents : 
 
 " September 5th, 1765. 
 
 " Rev. and Honored Sir, 
 
 "You have often talked with me about 
 preaching, and I have seemed to decline it ; but I 
 never gave you my reasons for it, nor could I have 
 done it so clearly and distinctly by speaking, as I 
 can by writing. 
 
 " I think myself bound in duty to let my parents 
 know of my grand objection ; but, having never yet 
 revealed it to them, I hereby request you to do it, 
 when you have opportunity, in such a manner as 
 you think most proper. 
 
 " It is a fixed and settled opinion with me, that 
 no person ought to take on him the office of a min- 
 ister of the gospel, unless he has experienced the 
 renovating power of it on his own soul ; but, un- 
 happy me ! I have never experienced this, and 
 therefore I dare not preach, though I have been 
 much urged to it. 
 
 " But now this thought will immediately start 
 into your mind : How dare you join with the church 
 of Christ in their sacred communion ? Alas ! dear 
 Sir, when I asked admission into the church, I was 
 deceived with regard to my condition. I had be- 
 fore had many agonies of soul, and in the midst of 
 these agonies resolved to be the Lord's ; but God 
 
16 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 himself knows that I never experienced a saving 
 change. I thought myself a proper recipient of the 
 Holy Supper, according to Dr. Sewall's descrip- 
 tion, viz. — one that hungered and thirsted for right- 
 eousness and salvation by Jesus Christ, and was 
 content to be saved in the gospel way. But since, 
 I have found by undeniable evidence, that I am yet 
 in a state of unrenewed nature, and farther from 
 God than ever ; and, in consequence of this, I have 
 for some time refrained my sacrilegious hands. 
 ******* 
 
 " This is my present condition. I request your 
 most fervent prayers for me, and your best advice. 
 " I am, Rev. Sir, with sincere esteem and respect, 
 " Your unworthy Friend, 
 
 "J. B." 
 
 To this letter he received the following affection- 
 ate reply : 
 
 "My Dear Child, 
 
 "It is with a mixture of pleasure and sor- 
 row that I read your letter. I am pleased to see 
 your great care not to enter the ministry in a state 
 of unrenewed nature ; and I am grieved at your 
 censure upon yourself. It is impossible for your 
 uncle to write particularly to so general a state of 
 the case ; but I wish I could have a personal con- 
 ference with you. That divinity is undoubtedly 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. BYLES. 17 
 
 true which Dr. Sewall gave you : ' He that con- 
 sents to be saved by Christ in his own way, has 
 saving faith.' ' He who hungers and thirsts after 
 righteousness, has a right to the Lord's table.' 
 Nor have you informed me how you are certain 
 this was not your case. Perhaps you are conscious 
 to the prevailing power of some temptation, which 
 yet you abhor, and pray and watch against. But, 
 while your sin really is your burthen, the way to 
 obtain strength under it certainly is not to turn 
 your back upon the Lord's table. God, who sees 
 your infirmities, sees also your resistance, your 
 agonies, your repentances. But I talk at random. 
 Could I see you, I might perhaps speak more to 
 the purpose. 
 
 "I am pleased to see your regards to the work 
 of the ministry. ' 'T is what you choose.' And 
 why do you choose it? Perhaps answering this 
 very question to yourself may relieve your anxious 
 heart. 
 
 " May God bless you, my son, and sanctify and 
 comfort you ; and introduce you, with the noblest 
 preparation, into the ministry. 
 
 " So prays your affectionate 
 
 "M. Byees." 
 
 In the rejoinder to this letter of Dr. Byles, 
 Mr. Belknap writes as though relieved in a meas- 
 ure from his previous state of doubt and depression. 
 
18 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Greenland, October 7th, 1765. 
 
 " Rev. aot) Dear Sir, 
 
 " I thank you for your kind letter, by my 
 father. I hope your prayers and the prayers of 
 my other friends have been presented on the 
 golden altar before the throne of God, and been 
 acceptable to him, as sweet incense. Pray to God 
 for me, that I may not be mistaken in a matter of 
 such everlasting importance ; that I may not build 
 on a false foundation. I should be glad of a per- 
 sonal converse with you on the important affairs of 
 my soul and eternity, but am afraid I should not 
 be able to express my thoughts with that freedom 
 and ease that you would expect and desire. I be- 
 lieve I shall not be able to come to Boston till 
 November. In the mean time I beseech you, dear 
 Sir, to use your interest at the throne of grace in 
 praying that I may be thoroughly furnished to 
 every good work. 
 
 " Your dutiful and obliged." 
 
 In November, 1765, the usher of the free gram- 
 mar school at the North End of Boston died ; and 
 the selectmen unanimously elected Mr. Belknap to 
 fill the vacancy ; requesting him to come speedily, 
 as Mr. Wiswell, the master of the school, was very 
 aged and infirm. 
 
 This tempting proposal he steadily declined, — 
 thinking the increase of salary, and the more eligi- 
 
INVITED TO BOSTON. 19 
 
 ble position it offered, no excuse for leaving unful- 
 filled his engagement at Greenland. The prospect 
 of home and friends failed to shake his sense of 
 justice and right, and he remained quietly where 
 he was. A mutilated portion of his reply to the 
 letter of the town clerk remains : 
 
 " To accept your invitation at this time would 
 be vastly less advantageous to the town of Boston, 
 than detrimental to the people of this place ; and 
 I am not willing to injure them in the least degree. 
 A quiet and comfortable country life is the greatest 
 temporal happiness that I wish to enjoy, and I am 
 perfectly contented with my present situation." 
 
 Shortly after refusing this inviting proposal, the 
 reading of Wheelock's Second Narrative suggested 
 to his mind the idea of devoting himself for a time 
 to the work of instructing the Indians at the school 
 in Lebanon, Connecticut. In pursuance of this 
 design, he wrote the following letter to the Rev. 
 Mr. Haven, requesting his advice : 
 
 " To the Rev d . Mr. Haven, at Portsmouth. 
 
 " Greenland, January 1st, 1766. 
 
 " Rev d . akd Dear Sir, 
 
 " Being prevented from visiting you, both 
 by the severity of the season and the necessity of 
 a close attention to the duties of my station, I 
 take this method of asking your friendly advice 
 
20 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 on a point which at present engages most of my 
 thoughts. 
 
 " I am sensible that a great load of guilt lies 
 heavy on this land in neglecting the means which 
 may be used for the conversion of our Indian neigh- 
 bors and countrymen to Christianity ; and that it is 
 the duty of every person, who professes a regard 
 to the kingdom and interest of Jesus Christ, to 
 contribute his part for this glorious purpose. 
 
 " The Charity School in Lebanon seems to be 
 the right plan ; inasmuch as divine Providence has 
 so remarkably smiled on that institution, and hith- 
 erto succeeded the design of it. It is, therefore, 
 of the utmost importance that it should be con- 
 tinued, and I am sincerely willing to lend what 
 assistance is in my power. I do not suppose that 
 it absolutely needs any of my help for its support ; 
 but only ask you whether you would advise me to 
 offer my service as a teacher to those poor aborigines 
 there, for some months, without desiring any other 
 reward than a subsistence during the time. I have 
 thought much of it since I have had the pleasure 
 of reading Mr. Wheelock's Narrative, [A Brief 
 Narrative of the Indian Charity School in Leb- 
 anon, Connecticut. Printed in London. 1766.] 
 and my stipulated time at this place will cease 
 about the beginning of next April, when I shall be 
 at my liberty to tarry here or not. But as I do 
 not choose to make such a proposal on a sudden, I 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 21 
 
 desire your kind advice. Please to confer with 
 Dr. Langdon on the subject, and let me know your 
 joint serious thoughts concerning it. 
 
 u I desire that this letter, and the contents and 
 design of it, may be kept an inviolable secret from 
 every other person. 
 
 " With much esteem for you both, and proper 
 respects to your families, I am 
 
 " Your friend and servant, 
 
 "Jer. Belknap." 
 
 Mr. Haven's reply expresses his approval of this 
 plan. He says, " I have taken your proposal into 
 serious consideration, and am at present inclined to 
 favor it." But Dr. Langdon " thinks proper to 
 dissent from the above advice ; giving this for a 
 reason, that he supposes the school does not stand 
 in need of such a charity." 
 
 This project disturbed his parents very much, as 
 we learn from a long letter of counsel written to 
 Mr. Belknap by his friend and classmate, the Rev. 
 Penuel Bowen : 
 
 " Cambridge, 23d January, 1766. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " This being the first opportunity since the 
 beginning, I now greet you upon the commence- 
 ment of a new year ; and even the long-predicted 
 1766, to be memorable for some extraordinary 
 revolutions both in the natural and moral world. 
 
22 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 A happy new year I wish you, from the profoundest 
 part of the sincerest heart. May this year be 
 
 memorable for the repeal of the S p A — t, and 
 
 other burthensome impositions ; for the liberties 
 and enlargement of America ; and for the exalta- 
 tion of the English nation, both in spirituals and 
 temporals, especially the former; and, as a most 
 signal part of this, may proper methods be used 
 for converting the heathen; and oh may they be 
 attended and crowned with a blessing from on high ! 
 Lastly, may this year be remembered with glad- 
 ness for being that which may boast of ushering 
 you, my worthy friend, into the office of a preacher 
 of the gospel, and a minister of Jesus Christ. 
 
 "I, having been to Boston this day, and having 
 the favor and happiness of being one of your good 
 parents' friends, had the pleasure of being pre- 
 sented by your father with your last letter to him, 
 wherein you say so much about going to Lebanon 
 to keep Mr. Wheelock's school awhile gratis. The 
 thought seemed no less new and surprising to your 
 parents than to me ; and you seem to acknowledge 
 it is new to yourself too, as you intimate the par- 
 ticular cause of it now is your just having read 
 Mr. Wheelock's Continuation, &c. Not that I can 
 suppose, my friend, any thought of good to be new 
 to you : I know it is your old habitual turn to be 
 meditating the common good." 
 
DESIGNS FOR THE MINISTRY. 23 
 
 He then asks him to consider whether it is not a 
 sudden notion ; if there is not some better way of 
 promoting this charity, and reminds him of his 
 parents' expectation that he would "in proper time 
 undertake the blessed work of preaching the gos- 
 pel;" and says that any other change in his situa- 
 tion would " rather give them pain than pleasure. 
 You can hardly imagine how their comfort depends 
 on you, and how they are grieved when your de- 
 sires counteract their judgment. And, to conclude, 
 my advice is, if they seem to wish you would not 
 insist in this matter, by no means to do it." 
 
 What effect this letter had, does not appear ; 
 but the design was abandoned on his learning that 
 the school was properly supplied with teachers, and 
 that accordingly there was no need of his services. 
 
 This desire to teach the Indians probably arose 
 from the disturbed and unsettled state of his mind 
 as to his qualifications for a gospel minister ; and 
 as soon as he was assured on this point, he devoted 
 himself to his appointed work. On this subject 
 he says himself, 
 
 "It has been my constant, habitual thought, ever 
 since I was capable of judging, that I should 
 preach the gospel. With this view, my parents 
 educated me, and to this my friends have often 
 urged and persuaded me ; but for a long time all 
 these things were in vain. I knew myself to be 
 destitute of the grand fundamental qualification of 
 
24 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 a true minister of the gospel, and was determined 
 never to undertake preaching until I had obtained 
 a hope in Christ. A glorious discovery of the 
 riches and freeness of divine grace, and the infinite 
 worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ which I trust 
 was made to mj soul by the Holy Spirit, at once 
 changed my views and dispositions ; and from that 
 time I devoted mvself to the service of God in the 
 gospel of his Son, thinking it my duty to glorify 
 God in this way. My qualifications have been 
 judged of by others. My conscience acquits me 
 of having any mercenary views : a decent, com- 
 fortable subsistence, while I continue in this vale 
 of tears, is all the present reward that I desire. 
 
 U I know that God has no need of any of my 
 services ; but if it shall please him to make me a 
 humble, zealous, faithful instrument of building up 
 the Redeemer's kingdom, and turning sinners from 
 the error of their ways, I shall esteem it the 
 greatest dignity and happiness I am capable of 
 receiving." 
 
 His first appearance in public as a preacher 
 was in Mr. Haven's pulpit, at Portsmouth. Mr. 
 M'Clintock, the clergyman at Greenland, wrote a 
 letter to Mr. Belknap's father on this occasion, in 
 which he speaks of him as bidding fair to be an 
 eminent preacher, and says he thinks the people 
 who may be so happy as to obtain him for their 
 minister will in him receive a " precious gift of our 
 
 
THE HALF-WAY COVENANT. 25 
 
 ascended Lord." In the same letter, mention is 
 made of his valuable services as a teacher, and the 
 loss his removal would be to the people of the 
 town, as it was feared his successor would not have 
 "such a natural, parental care for the welfare of 
 the children." 
 
 The half-way covenant he thought very unscrip- 
 tural, and wrote to several clergymen for advice 
 upon the subject. A letter written to Dr. Lang- 
 don states the matter thus : 
 
 " You know it is the prevailing practice in most 
 of the Congregational churches of Xew England to 
 administer the ordinance of baptism to the children 
 of persons who are not in full communion with the 
 church, and who are not thought to be under any 
 obligations, by virtue of their engagements in oivning 
 the covenant, to sit down at the Lord's table, with- 
 out a second covenanting or formal admission to full 
 communion. I have for some time had a doubt in 
 my mind whether this custom can be justified by 
 scripture ; and, as it seems probable that I shall 
 soon enter on the important work of the gospel min- 
 istry, it greatly concerns me to be satisfied in this 
 particular branch of it. If this distinction of full 
 communion and half communion has its foundation 
 in the word of God, I desire with all reverence to 
 admit and own it as of divine authority ; but at pres- 
 ent I cannot see the grounds on which it is vindi- 
 
26 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 cated. My earnest desire therefore to you is that 
 you will be pleased to communicate your thoughts 
 on this subject to me by letter, which will be es- 
 teemed and acknowledged as a particular favor, by, 
 Sir, 
 
 " Your respectful and obliged friend and servant, 
 "Jeremy Belkxap." 
 
 On this subject he wrote to his friend Mr. 
 Bowen who declined the labor of answering his 
 important questions, but said : " Truly as to that 
 matter of admitting to baptism without coming to 
 the other sacrament, I believe that all admitted to 
 baptism by the apostles were also counted qualified 
 to partake the other sacrament, and doubtless in 
 general did ; and it is my sentiment that so it 
 should be at this day : but then after we have ad- 
 mitted duly qualified persons to baptism, they may 
 be left to themselves whether to come to the Lord's 
 table or not." 
 
 Mr. Bowen then expresses his joy, and that of 
 Mr. Belknap's other friends, at his having become 
 a preacher. He says, " I find you are fired with a 
 laudable zeal in the good cause of Christianity : the 
 great Head of influences raise you, by still greater 
 gifts and graces, to the highest pitch of usefulness ! 
 This, I know, is the height of your desires. You 
 would not be famous but for doing good. Your 
 praise beginneth to be in all the churches where vou 
 
THE HALF-WAY COVENANT. 27 
 
 have labored in word and doctrine. May it greatly 
 increase and on good foundation ! " 
 
 The following is an extract from Mr. Belknap's 
 reply : 
 
 * * * " I desired to know your sentiments 
 whether those persons who, though they profess faith, 
 repentance, and obedience (which are all included, 
 or ought to be, in owning the covenant), yet live in 
 the habitual neglect of attendance at the Lord's 
 table, have any right, according to the apostolic or 
 gospel constitution, to present their children to bap- 
 tism. I argue on the matter thus : If the children 
 of any have a right to baptism, they must be those 
 of believers. jSow all true believers do (visibly at 
 least as far as they are obliged to do it) yield 
 obedience to all the commandments of Christ. But 
 when we see persons live in the constant habitual 
 disregard of any one of his commands, especially 
 one of his own ordinances, which he has appointed 
 in his church to be a visible sign of membership 
 among his people, and a standing seal of our engage- 
 ments to keep his covenant ; I say, when we see per- 
 sons do so, we cannot extend our charity to them so 
 far as to think them true believers (I except cases 
 of idiotism, infancy, sickness, or any other natural 
 or providential impossibility of attending on the or- 
 dinances) ; for Christ has ordained it as a test of the 
 
28 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 sincerity of professors, that they keep his command- 
 ments. 
 
 " I can see no reason in the plea that though they 
 think themselves so far interested in the covenant 
 as to bring their children to baptism, yet they are 
 afraid to approach the Lord's table on account of 
 their unworthiness, &c. ; because I know no differ- 
 ence, according to scripture, between the qualifica- 
 tions requisite for one and the other. Are not bap- 
 tism, and the Lord's supper, seals of the same cove- 
 nant ? How, then, can we have a right to the one, 
 and not to the other ? 
 
 " I have taken pains to inquire into the rise and 
 establishment of that arbitrary and unscriptural dis- 
 tinction between owning the covenant and fulfilling 
 the commandment, and find in the Magnalia" *** 
 Here followed a quotation, which, in the copy pre- 
 served, is omitted. 
 
 " I might make many remarks on this passage, 
 considering how artfully and cautiously it is worded ; 
 but I shall only say, that, although it is far more 
 likely a puny New Hampshire pedagogue should be 
 mistaken, than all the reverend heads in New Eng- 
 land consolidated into a grand synodical Caput Cap- 
 itate, yet there is at least a possibility that these 
 venerable fathers were mistaken ; and it is my poor 
 opinion that then the churches of New England took 
 a grand leap in the dark from the primitive purity 
 and simplicity of the gospel. If we must give im- 
 
THE HALF-WAY COVENANT. 29 
 
 plicit faith to the determination of fathers and coun- 
 cils, let us throw away the Bible at once, and adopt 
 the infallible decrees of Trent, Xice, Dort, and 
 Boston, as the pure, uncorrupted Catholic faith. 
 For, allowing the members who composed all these 
 celebrated councils aforesaid to have been honest, 
 guileless, unprejudiced men, there is as much reason 
 to adopt the decrees of one as of the other, however 
 absurd and contradictory. But I think it is time 
 that the Scripture should be regarded as the only 
 infallible form of sound words, and all trimming and 
 temporizing and truckling to the humor of a de- 
 praved world entirely laid aside by the professors 
 and preachers of a gospel which owes its origin to an 
 independent God. 
 
 * " There are some, and I may rank you 
 among the number, who dare to think for themselves, 
 and are not overborne by the torrent of prevailing 
 custom, or browbeaten by clerical authority. You 
 may show this letter to whom you please." 
 
 For some months Mr. Belknap preached occasion- 
 ally for the clergymen of the neighboring parishes ; 
 and on the 31st of July, 1766, a committee of the 
 parish at Dover invited him to preach there as 
 assistant to the Rev. Mr. Gushing, whose health was 
 very infirm. Dr. Langdon wrote to him at this time, 
 advising him to accept the invitation, and said, 
 ' Perhaps Providence may open the way for your 
 
30 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 settlement there, which is a good situation for a 
 minister, and probably will be more and more agree- 
 able." 
 
 He continued to preach at Dover to the satisfac- 
 tion of the people ; and, the following winter, they 
 gave him a call to settle as colleague of Mr. Crush- 
 ing, which was accepted. Meantime the custom of 
 the half-way covenant still troubled him, and he 
 finally addressed the church upon the subject, in a 
 letter which concludes thus : — 
 
 " If it should please God to settle me in a pas- 
 toral relation to any church, it must not be expected 
 that I should ever admit persons to own the cove- 
 nant, without at the same time receiving them into 
 full communion. God grant that I may never ad- 
 mit them to this blessed privilege, unless they give 
 evidence sufficient for a charitable hope, that they 
 have believed in Jesus to the saving of their souls. 
 
 " If you desire to know my sentiments on any 
 other points, I am willing to declare them openly 
 and unreservedly. I am 
 
 " Your unworthy brother and servant in Christ, 
 
 " Jer. Belkxap." 
 
 A letter from Mr. William Whitwell, of Boston, to 
 Mr. Belknap, written about this time, is worthy of 
 notice for the very concise definition of gospel 
 preaching it contains. 
 
IS INVITED TO DOVER. 31 
 
 Boston, 26th July, 1766. 
 
 " To Mr. Jer. Belknap, Jux. 
 
 " Whom I trust doth and will preach the 
 Gospel, namely, Christ is the end of the Law for 
 righteousness ; — he that belie veth shall be saved ; 
 he that believeth not shall be damned. 
 
 " Mr. Erskine's book accompanieth this, and is 
 presented to him by, Sir, yours to serve, 
 
 " Wm. Whetwbll." 
 
 There was but one sentiment among the people 
 of Dover with regard to Mr. Belknap. After he 
 had preached " as a probationer " for a month, the 
 church committee voted unanimously in his favor ; 
 and at a meeting of the parish, the same unanimity 
 prevailed. 
 
 It was " unanimously voted, that said parish pay 
 Mr. Jeremiah Belknap one hundred pounds, lawful 
 money, yearly or every year, as a salary from the 
 time of his accepting said call, during the time he 
 shall continue our minister, and in full therefor." 
 
 Also, " unanimously voted, that the parish give 
 Mr. Belknap one hundred and fifty pounds, lawful 
 money, and to be paid at the following periods, viz. : 
 fifty pounds in three months, and fifty pounds in six 
 months, and fifty pounds in nine months next after 
 his ordination, to be raised by the selectmen of said 
 parish for the time being, which is to provide him- 
 self a convenient house to dwell in during his minis- 
 
82 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 try amongst us ; or, instead of said one hundred and 
 fifty pounds, that the parish shall provide him a 
 convenient house, barn, and garden, during said 
 term ; and that it is left to his determination and 
 choice to accept the said one hundred and fifty 
 pounds, or the house, garden, &c." 
 
 To these proposals he replied as follows : 
 
 " To the Parishioners of the first parish in Dover : 
 
 " Your late call and proposals to me made I have 
 taken into serious consideration ; and as, from vari- 
 ous concurring circumstances, the joint invitation of 
 the church and parish here seems to be the voice 
 of Divine Providence, I think it my duty with all 
 humility to accept it, looking to the great Head of 
 the Church for grace and strength to fulfil the duty 
 of a gospel minister. 
 
 " Concerning the proposals of settlement, though 
 I had no objections to make to them, yet I did not 
 think myself qualified to judge whether they were 
 sufficient for my comfortable subsistence in life, if it 
 should please God that I should have a family ; and 
 therefore I thought it advisable to consult with some 
 of my friends who were judges. Their opinion is, 
 that, since I am to have no parsonage land, there 
 ought to be added to my annual salary, as many 
 cords of wood as will be necessary for the use and 
 convenience of a family during the year ; but, see- 
 ing you have your aged and venerable pastor to 
 
IS ORDAIXED AT DOVER. 33 
 
 care for in the decline of life, I shall waive that mat- 
 ter, — not without hope, that, should I live to see 
 some of your present expenses terminate, you will 
 make some provision of that kind for me, if you 
 shall judge it necessary. The salary of <£100 per 
 annum I accept, on condition that two payments 
 be made every year, namely, one half at the end of 
 every six months from the date hereof ; and as you 
 have offered me the choice of a house, or £150 in 
 lieu thereof, I accept the said £150, to be paid in 
 the manner proposed. 
 
 " Having now devoted myself to the service of 
 God in the gospel of his Son, and (as I trust), 
 agreeable to the divine will, taken on me the care 
 of your souls ; sensible of my own insufficiency to 
 discharge this duty in a right manner, I must ask 
 your earnest prayers for me, that I may obtain 
 mercy of the Lord to be faithful, and that my labors 
 may be rewarded with abundant success ; so shall 
 your souls be my joy and crown of rejoicing at the 
 second coming of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Jeremy Belknap. 
 
 "Dover, January 19th, 1767." 
 
 On the 27th of January, at a meeting of the 
 church, it was voted to send to twenty-two churches, 
 and the ordination took place on the 18th of the 
 next month. The sermon on the occasion was 
 preached by the Rev. Dr. Haven, of Portsmouth. 
 
34 LITE OF DB. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 1767—1774. 
 
 His Marriage. — Correspondence ivith Capt. Wal- 
 dron. — Letters to Peter Thacher. — Letter to his 
 Father. — S andemanians . — Letter to Captain 
 Waldron. — Sermon on Military Duty. — Cor- 
 respondence ivith Governor Wentworth. — Letter 
 to the Selectmen. — Letter to a Collegian. — To 
 Rev. John Stafford. — Spinning Match. 
 
 Ox the loth of June, 1767, Mr. Belknap was 
 married to Miss Ruth Eliot, daughter of Samuel 
 Eliot, bookseller in Cornhill, Boston ; a lady pos- 
 sessing many amiable qualities. The following con- 
 cise account of the wedding journey to and from 
 Boston is taken from the interleaved Almanac for 
 this year : 
 
 " June 12th. Set out for Boston, lodged North 
 Hill. 
 
 13th. Travelled to Ipswich ; met Governor Went- 
 worth on the road ; he entered Portsmouth this day. 
 
 14th. Preached at Ipswich. 
 
 15th. Reached Boston ; evening married. 
 
 18th. Set out on our return, rode through the 
 rain, and lodged at Hampton, Mr. Thayer's. 
 
 19th. Got home to Dover in the evening safe and 
 well." 
 
LETTER TO CAPTAIN WALDRON. oO 
 
 Thomas Westbrook Waldron was, at this period, 
 one of the most influential men in Dover. He was 
 the first volunteer from New Hampshire in the ex- 
 pedition to Cape Breton, in 1745, where he bore a 
 captain's commission ; and he was subsequently a 
 member of the general court. His friendship was 
 much relied upon and highly esteemed by Mr, 
 Belknap, who, in returning to Dover from Boston in 
 the spring of 1767, rode, on the journey, Capt. Wal- 
 dron's horse, which died shortly after from some 
 injury received. This occasioned the following cor- 
 respondence : 
 
 from mr. belknap to capt. waldron. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I never heard till this day, that your horse 
 was dead of the wound which he got by my riding 
 him from Boston. Justice demands and gratitude 
 obliges me, to offer a compensation. I therefore 
 sincerely and readily make you an offer of my 
 horse (valued at c£12, which is the sum I gave for 
 him) , and will give you a promissory note of as much 
 more as you shall judge will make an equivalent. 
 
 " I am very sorry for your loss, and that I was 
 the occasion of it ; but can truly say, I shall be glad 
 if you will accept what I have offered above. 
 " I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 
 
 " Your obliged, humble servant, 
 "Jer. Belkxap." 
 
 "July 15th, 1767. 
 
36 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 Captain Waldron replied as follows : 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " My horse slipped his wind the 20th June 
 last, under the care of Farrier Coleman. If some 
 unconcerned, officious gabbler had not blabbed the 
 secret, I trust a jubilee year from that Hegira would 
 have passed, without its reaching your ears. 
 
 " I never had the slightest thought of your 
 making any satisfaction for him, and now freely 
 declare, that I disclaim any demand that could be 
 made relative thereto on Mr. Belknap by his 
 " Most respectful, humble servant, 
 
 " Thomas W. Waldron." 
 
 July 16th, 1767." 
 
 Peter Thacher, the eldest son of Oxenbridge 
 Thacher, w T ho was an eminent lawyer in Boston, 
 was one of Mr. Belknap's early friends. Their 
 acquaintance commenced at Milton, when Peter was 
 only twelve years old ; a very young companion, it 
 w r ould seem, for Mr. Belknap ; but he was of a seri- 
 ous nature, so that it was said of him, " he was 
 never a child." In one of his letters he mentions the 
 conduct which secured his regard. 
 
 " Do you not remember, when you kept school at 
 Milton, how openly and unreservedly you treated 
 me ; how you admitted me to your confidence, 
 although I was a child ? That treatment won my 
 soul." 
 
LETTER TO PETER THACHER. 37 
 
 In 1765, Oxenbridge Thaclier died, and his son 
 Peter entered Harvard College at the age of thir- 
 teen years. He continued to correspond with Mr. 
 Belknap. He thanks him for u kind, friendly, father- 
 like advice ;" and, conscious of possessing no ordi- 
 nary powers of mind, he says : " I am very sensible 
 there is a great talent put into my hands, and I 
 beg your prayers that I may improve it to the best 
 advantage." To do this, he resolved to become a 
 preacher. In February, 1769, he wrote to Mr. 
 Belknap as a " friend and father," to announce his 
 determination, and request assistance and advice in 
 his studies. In compliance with this request, the 
 following letter was written : 
 
 to mr. peter thacher, at college. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I am extremely pleased with your late letter. 
 It is not a want of regard, but of leisure and oppor- 
 tunity, that has prevented my writing to you for 
 some time past. However, I will now break through 
 all impediments, and express to you the joy I con- 
 ceived at reading your letter, and endeavor to give 
 you some cautions and advice which you have re- 
 quested. I trust you will receive them with candor, 
 and not think me dictatorial. 
 
 " Nothing would please me more than to hear of 
 your entering Christ's kingdom, and determining to 
 devote yourself to the gospel ministry. In order to 
 
38 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 this, it is essentially necessary that you be renewed 
 after the image of God. "The change you have 
 experienced, you trust is saving." I have no rea- 
 son to suspect you of insincerity in this declaration ; 
 but let me remind you of these words, 1 Kings xx. 11, 
 ' Let not him that girdeth on his harness, boast him- 
 self as he that putteth it off.' You are but just set- 
 ting out in the Christian ministry, and you must 
 expect to meet with many difficulties and discourage- 
 ments ; you will find many things to damp your 
 hopes, and shake your confidence, if you are a true 
 Christian. The more you grow acquainted with 
 your own heart, the more odious will you appear in 
 the sight of God, and the less reason will you have 
 to value and approve yourself. You will find that 
 the assurance of hope is not to be obtained, but by 
 the most laborious and painful pursuit ; that you 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, but through 
 much tribulation. You must remember, that hu- 
 mility and meekness are distinguishing marks of a 
 Christian, and self-flattery a certain mark of an 
 hypocrite. Let not my friend think that I suspect 
 him of hypocrisy, but only that I am giving him 
 some faithful cautions, which I find of unspeakable 
 use and service in the Christian life. 
 
 " As to your studying Divinity, I would impart 
 my very soul to you in Christian tenderness and 
 faithfulness. In the first place, you must remember 
 that Divinity is the knowledge of divine things, and 
 
LETTER TO PETER THACHER. o ( J 
 
 not human opinions : therefore, in the pursuit of 
 this noble science, you must take this for your motto, 
 Isaiah ii. 22, ' Cease ye from man, whose breath is 
 in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to be accounted 
 of?' 
 
 " Would you know the virtues of any particular 
 sort of water, it would be more irrational to seek it 
 in the muddy streams, than in the pure original 
 fount ; so, if you would know the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, you must not seek it in the writings of unin- 
 spired men, but in the oracles of unerring truth. 
 Divinity is not the art of disputing about divine 
 truth, nor of puzzling yourself and others with meta- 
 physical subtleties ; but it is the knowledge of God 
 and Christ, and the Gospel. And where is this to 
 be found, but in the revelation which God has made 
 to the world ? To these pure and unerring oracles, 
 I would direct you ; there you may search for and 
 receive divine truth, without the least suspicion of 
 being deceived, provided you come with an humble, 
 meek, and teachable soul, as a new-born babe desir- 
 ing the sincere milk of the word, &c. 
 
 " But, if you make systematical and polemical 
 authors your chief study, you will be in danger of 
 having your mind turned away from the simplicity 
 of the Gospel, and of being led into some scheme of 
 religion that will be set up as an idol in your heart, 
 and be made use of as a standard to try all other 
 opinions by. Many persons are carried away with 
 
40 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 the reigning opinion in the place where they hap- 
 pen to live, and yet their minds are so prejudiced in 
 favor thereof as to be deaf to the conviction of 
 its falsity. 
 
 "But let my dear friend remember, that he is to 
 call no man master ; for one is his Master, even 
 Christ. 
 
 " As to directing you to books, I would be very 
 cautious ; and I would advise you to take heed how 
 you hearken to the advice of any men, how great 
 soever be their knowledge and attainments. What- 
 ever books you are directed to, read them as the 
 opinions of men only ; for there are many deceivers 
 gone forth into the world, and it is not safe for you 
 to give implicit faith to any of them. 
 
 " Another hint may be serviceable, that is, when 
 you are studying divine truth, remember that it is 
 not a speculative science like mathematics, or astron- 
 omy, but 't is of the utmost importance to your own 
 soul ; 't is the knowledge of what is necessary to 
 your own eternal well-being. Let this influence you 
 to make personal and particular application to your- 
 self of what you read : thus you will not only im- 
 prove your understanding, but grow in holiness, 
 which you will find of unspeakable advantage to 
 your future ministrations, especially in private visits 
 and conversation. A minister must not only know 
 divine truth as a distant, speculative notion, but have 
 it in his heart as a living, operative principle. There 
 
LETTER TO PETER THACHER. 41 
 
 is a coarse proverb somewhere, that sound may pass 
 through a ram's horn without straightening it, which 
 may be very well applied to many that preach the 
 gospel now-a-days : they only are instruments of 
 conveying sound to the ears of their auditors, and 
 that sound affects themselves no more than if it were 
 of no importance. The Lord keep you and me from 
 being of this unhappy number. 
 
 " In searching the scriptures, it will not be of any 
 real advantage to you to run to comments whenever 
 you meet with a passage whose meaning is not obvi- 
 ous : use a Bible with a translator's margin. 
 
 "The shortest way of coming at the truth is the 
 best. I would have you prefer such books as aim 
 directly at it, without a tedious, circumlocutory string 
 of arguments to prove self-evident propositions, 
 which is often the case with polemical and system- 
 atical writers : perhaps Dr. Doddridge's lectures 
 may serve instead of a vast catalogue of authors, 
 as he shows their various opinions in a clear and 
 compendious view. 
 
 * * * " The lives of good ministers. * * 
 
 " A preacher ought to be conversant with the his- 
 tory of the church, where he will find indeed much 
 to exercise his patience, especially from the time 
 when the heathen persecution ceased, to the reform- 
 ation ; but the whole is improving, and much of it 
 will serve to show the folly of departing from the 
 word of God, and recurring to the opinions of men. 
 
42 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " For experimental divinity, Mr. Edwards on the 
 Affections, and Stoddard's Safety of Appearing, are 
 excellent ; but even these must be read with circum- 
 spection. Mr. John Erskine gives a clear account of 
 Faith, &c." Here the rough draught of the letter, 
 from which the above is copied, terminates abruptly. 
 
 The attempt to reform the church, so conscien- 
 tiously made, disturbed his friends ; and some ex- 
 tracts from a letter to his father, in reply to one 
 expressing uneasiness on this account, show the sin- 
 cerity and purity of his intentions, and give his rea- 
 sons for opposing the prevailing custom : 
 
 "July 31st, 1771. 
 
 "Hox. Sir, 
 
 "lam sorry that any thing which you have 
 heard of me gives you uneasiness. "What I have 
 done was the free and voluntary act of my own 
 mind, upon a deliberate and full conviction of its 
 being agreeable to the will of Christ, and an indis- 
 pensable duty required of me as his servant. 
 
 **********" The Puritans 
 in England carried their ideas of reformation farther 
 than any set of men in their day ; and some of 
 the first settlers of New r England, who were of this 
 stamp, set up churches very near the ancient apos- 
 tolic model ; but has it not been the common topic 
 of our Fast-Day sermons for seventy or eighty years 
 past ? ' How is the gold become dim, and the fine 
 
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 43 
 
 gold changed ! ' ' We are become the degenerate 
 plants of a strange vine,' kc. Upon these occasions 
 how common is it to lament the sad degeneracy of 
 the times, and urge the necessity of reformation, 
 bringing into view the pious example of our fore- 
 fathers, and contrasting it with the appearances of 
 the present day, praying for a revival of religion, 
 and the outpouring of the Spirit ! But after this 
 annual task is over, what becomes of the desired 
 reformation ? "Who stirs a step towards it ? It is 
 all blown away in the wind, and we hear no more 
 of it till the next anniversary. Is not God mocked 
 by such prevarication ? Does not his jealousy burn 
 against such a nation as this, who draw nigh to him 
 with their lips, while their heart is far from him ? * * 
 " The voice of Christ to us is, Repent and do the 
 first works ; but who hears and obeys it ? If an 
 individual is so affected with the solemnity and im- 
 portance of this voice, as to think himself inexcusa- 
 ble in not obeying it, what must he do ? Must he 
 wait for the whole body of the clergy to unite in 
 this work, to deny themselves, and forsake all to 
 follow Christ ? As soon may he expect to see the 
 scattered stars in the firmament unite into one com- 
 pact body like the Pleiades. The body of the clergy, 
 in all ages and nations, have always been the most 
 bitterly set against reformation ; and why the clergy 
 in Xew England should be thought any more dis- 
 posed to it than those of other countries, no man can 
 
44 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tell. The reason is plain and evident : their interest 
 is too nearly connected with the corruptions of re- 
 ligion in the present day, to suffer them to discoun- 
 tenance it. For instance, what would become of 
 their interest if they should discountenance the pre- 
 vailing mode of owning the covenant, considered as 
 a distinct thing from admission to full communion ? 
 * * * * « How was Mr. Edwards, of North- 
 ampton, treated, because he could not remain un- 
 equally yoked with unbelievers ? 
 
 " If a general reformation in this and other re- 
 spects is not to be hoped for from the united efforts 
 of the clergy, what must a poor individual do, who 
 is determined to live godly in Christ Jesus, and 
 follow after that purity in faith and practice which 
 he believes Christ requires in his people now, as 
 much as he did in his primitive churches ? What 
 but make known his sentiments, with the scriptural 
 reasons on which they are founded, to the particu- 
 lar society with which he is connected, to see 
 whether they will hear the voice of Christ or no ? 
 This I have done, and have done it in a way that 
 I thought liable to no exception, namely, by confer- 
 ence. * * * * 
 
 u I desire your prayers that I may be directed by 
 God, and enabled to seek the true interest of relig- 
 ion, though it should prove to be a distinct thing 
 from my own temporal interest, &c. 
 
 " Yours, J. B." 
 
THE SAXDEM ASIANS. 45 
 
 In consequence of his exertions, all the former 
 members of the church renewed their covenant, ex- 
 cept " scrupulous consciences or scandalous sin- 
 ners." The children of the former were admitted 
 to baptism ; the latter were denied the privilege, and 
 admonished to repent : but no new members were 
 admitted without acknowledging their obligation to 
 attend the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and their 
 intention by the help of the divine Spirit to act 
 accordingly. 
 
 The sect called Sandemanians appeared about 
 this time in New England. The chief of this relig- 
 ious party, from whom their name is derived, was 
 Robert Sandeman, first a Congregational preacher 
 at Edinburgh : he was a disciple of Mr. John Glas, 
 from whom this denomination are called Glasites in 
 Scotland. Sandeman came to New England, about 
 the year 176-1 ; his peculiar doctrines attracted 
 much attention ; and societies were formed in Boston, 
 Portsmouth, and several other places. 
 
 This zealous reformer, with some of his allies, 
 would have been very glad to have numbered Mr. 
 Belknap among their converts ; and his dissent from 
 one prevailing custom of the New England churches, 
 probably gave them some hope of success. Their 
 efforts for this end were unavailing, as the penetra- 
 tion of that gentleman was not slow in discovering 
 their design, though craftily hidden under various 
 pretexts ; and all they effected was a misrepresenta- 
 
46 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tion of his character by Robert Sandeman, in a 
 letter to one of bis friends in London, which was 
 read in their public meeting, April, 1769. 
 
 The paragraph is as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Belknap, a preacher at , who is so ex- 
 asperated and wilfully blinds his eyes from the truth, 
 that he has raised a bone of contention among his 
 people. I had a long conference with him on the 
 scriptures, but he is wilfully obstinate in his way. 
 Thus we see the words of our Saviour justly come 
 to pass, that they will not come unto him, &c." 
 
 The above paragraph is an apt illustration of the 
 way in which malice defeats itself. These violent 
 expressions, instead of injuring the person to whom 
 they were applied, only serve to show clearly the 
 vexation and disappointment of Sandeman himself, 
 at having failed to gain so important a convert ; and 
 the blow aimed at Mr. Belknap's character recoils 
 upon his own. 
 
 He died in Danbury, Connecticut, 2d April, 1771, 
 aged 53 years. His epitaph contains the distin- 
 guishing tenet of the sect — " that the bare work 
 of Jesus Christ, without a deed or thought on the 
 part of man, is sufficient to present the chief of sin- 
 ners spotless before God." 
 
 For a further account of this sect, the curious 
 reader is referred to the " View of Religions, by 
 Hannah Adams." They seem to have passed quietly 
 away, leaving behind scarcely a trace of their 
 
HISTORICAL INQUIRIES. 47 
 
 existence except a few forgotten volumes, and their 
 place is occupied among us by more modern extrav- 
 agances. 
 
 Mr. Belknap was very modest in estimating his 
 own powers, and willing to be guided in the use of 
 them by friendly advice, as is shown by the follow- 
 ing letter to Captain "Waldron : 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " You cannot help having observed in me an 
 inquisitive disposition in historical matters. I find it 
 so strong and powerful, and withal so increasing with 
 my opportunities for gratifying it, that it has become 
 a question with me, whether I might not freely in- 
 dulge it, with a view to the benefit of my fellow-men, 
 as well as for my own improvement. As it is natural 
 for us to inquire into the ancient state and circum- 
 stances of the place of our own abode, and to enter- 
 tain a peculiar fondness for such inquiries in prefer- 
 ence to more foreign matters ; so I have applied 
 myself in some leisure hours (making it of late my 
 principal amusement) to learn what I can from 
 printed books and manuscripts, and the information 
 of aged and intelligent persons, of the former state 
 and affairs of this town and province. 
 
 " The knowledge I have yet obtained is at pres- 
 ent very imperfect ; but I find a disposition to pursue 
 it with a view to the collecting some memoirs, which 
 may in future time, after much reviewing and cor- 
 
48 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 recting by myself and others, be made public. And 
 as I have never in a formal manner acquainted you 
 with it, I now take this method of doing it for this 
 reason, namely, because I have such a value for 
 your judgment, and must depend so much on your 
 favor and assistance in the prosecution of such a 
 work, that it would be arrogant in me to determine 
 to pursue it without your approbation, and the 
 promise of your help ; and I am loth to put you to 
 the trouble of an immediate answer, but should be 
 glad if you would think of it, and let me know your 
 mind at such time and in such manner as will best 
 suit you. 
 
 " I desire you would speak freely ; and if you 
 think that my age or abilities, or circumstances as a 
 minister, or opportunities for collecting fit materials, 
 or any other matters, are objections against my un- 
 dertaking it, I shall immediately give up all thoughts 
 of making public any thing of the kind, and shall 
 confine myself entirely to my own amusement. 
 
 "July 17th, 1772." 
 
 A muster of militia was to take place in Dover in 
 November, and Captain Waldron expressed a wish 
 to Mr. Belknap, that he would preach a sermon to the 
 soldiers on military duty. At first he declined, think- 
 ing the subject not a fitting one for a clergyman ; 
 but his own words are the best. 
 
 " Such a discourse, on such an occasion, delivered 
 
INVITED TO ADDRESS THE MILITARY. 49 
 
 by a statesman, with that flow of pathetic eloquence 
 which the subject naturally tends to inspire, would 
 be a most graceful and pleasing entertainment, and 
 might be reckoned the most useful performance of 
 the day ; but for me to attempt any thing of the 
 kind, would, I think, be rather improper. 
 
 " The business of a gospel minister is to promote 
 the kingdom of the Prince of Peace, by enlightening 
 the conscience, or reforming the morals of mankind ; 
 but I do not at present conceive how such a formal 
 discourse can tend to either of these purposes. 
 Perhaps you may think that the same objection will 
 lie against my engaging in another design, with 
 which you are already acquainted ; but if I did not 
 think it might be so managed as not only to be a 
 detail of facts, but also a conveyance of reflections 
 tending to the advancement of religion and morality, 
 I would entirely lay it aside as unbecoming my pro- 
 fession. ' An historian,' says a judicious author 
 at my elbow, ' ought to demand of himself, at every 
 touch, whether that reflection will assist in promot- 
 ing the knowledge, virtue, and happiness of human 
 nature : he ought to reject whatever does not carry 
 that end in view.' " 
 
 A week later, Mr. Belknap wrote as follows : 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " My attempts for obtaining a conference 
 with you unon the subject of your last week's letter 
 4 
 
50 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 having proved ineffectual, I am not apprised of year 
 sentiments on the objection which I made to the pro- 
 posal. My desire of gratifying you, added to the 
 natural love which I bear to my country, and will- 
 ingness to promote its best interests, has led me 
 further to consider the matter which you referred to 
 my attention ; and I have placed it in such a point 
 of view as I think brings it under a moral consider- 
 ation. 
 
 "War (though in some cases lawful and neces- 
 sary) is such an evil as ought to be dreaded and 
 guarded against as much as is in the power of hu- 
 man wisdom. Every community ought to use the 
 most likely means to guard and protect itself against 
 every kind of injury, and maintain that public peace 
 which is so desirable and essential a part of public 
 happiness ; without which, life, liberty, and prop- 
 erty, cannot be safe. And if it should appear that 
 the promoting military discipline is a means of pre- 
 serving peace ; of rendering ourselves formidable, 
 so as to keep an enemy from disturbing us ; then it 
 ought to be encouraged as such, and not as a means 
 of destroying mankind. 
 
 " If I surround my house with sharp palisadoes, 
 it is not from a desire of hurting my enemies, but to 
 keep myself secure : if they will assault me, they 
 must take the consequence." 
 
SERMON OX MILITARY DUTY. 51 
 
 The sermon was accordingly written, and was 
 preached at Dover, Nov. 10th, 1772, before his 
 Excellency, John "Went worth, Esq., governor of His 
 Majesty's province of Xew Hampshire, at a re- 
 view of the second regiment of Foot in said province ; 
 and met so favorable a hearing, that the officers re- 
 quested a copy for the press, which was granted. 
 
 This discourse was referred to by Governor Went- 
 worth, in a letter to Mr. Belknap, written more than 
 twenty years after its delivery, as having convinced 
 him of the folly of attempting to destroy Christianity 
 by force of arms, and afforded him consolation dur- 
 ing the calamitous events of the French Revolution. 
 
 The text was that reply of Jesus to Pilate, u If 
 my kingdom were of this world, then would my ser- 
 vants fight, that I should not be delivered to the 
 Jews ; but now is my kingdom not from hence." A 
 few extracts will serve to show how the subject is 
 treated. 
 
 " The meek and compassionate Redeemer of the 
 world, who ' came not to destroy men's lives, but to 
 save them,' though he commands his disciples to 
 ' live peaceably with all men, to be tender-hearted 
 and forgiving, even toward their bitterest personal 
 enemies,' yet does not expect that, considered as 
 members of civil societies, they should tamely sub- 
 mit to such injuries as tend to overthrow the peace 
 and safety of the kingdoms of this world in which 
 they dwell." 
 
52 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " What a striking proof of the lawfulness of self- 
 defence has our blessed Lord given us in that noble 
 testimony which he bore to ' the truth,' when he 
 stood unjustly arraigned before Pilate's bar, ex- 
 plaining and vindicating his claim to the kingdom 
 of Israel ! In answer to Pilate's demands, ' whether 
 he was king of the Jews,' and ' what he had done,' 
 our Lord declares, ' My kingdom is not of this 
 world : if my kingdom were of 'this world, then 
 would my servants fight, that I should not be deliv- 
 ered to the Jews ; but now is my kingdom not from 
 hence.' By this ' good confession,' he cleared him- 
 self from the charge of being an enemy to Caesar, 
 and proved that he had no design to set up as a 
 rival to the Roman government, yet still holding his 
 claim to the title of King, and declaring the nature 
 of his kingdom to be entirely different from all the 
 kingdoms of this world, which cannot subsist with- 
 ont the means of 'self-defence. It is plain that 
 Christ did not allow his disciples to fight in his de- 
 fence ; for he had just before reproved Peter for 
 drawing his sword and smiting the High Priest's 
 servant, and it is as plain from our Lord's own de- 
 claration, that if his kingdom had been of this world 
 he would have allowed them to fight for him." * * 
 
 " That Christ makes a distinction between his 
 new kingdom and the ancient kingdom of Israel, 
 appears from this clause, ' but now is my kingdom 
 not from hence.' The word now implies that there 
 
SERMON ON MILITARY DUTY. 53 
 
 was some alteration made in the nature of his king- 
 dom, or that what was before his kingdom did now 
 cease to be so, and give way to a more pure and 
 spiritual dispensation." * * * 
 
 "We are, then, to consider our Lord's words as 
 holding forth to us these two contrasted truths : 
 That when God's kingdom subsisted under a tem- 
 poral form, as a kingdom of this world, it was both 
 lawful and necessary that it should be defended by 
 the sword. But, 
 
 " That that ancient constitution is now dissolved, 
 
 and the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, not 
 
 of this world, and therefore not capable of being 
 
 defended by the sword." 
 
 ********** 
 
 " Whoever understands the nature of Christ's 
 kingdom must be sensible that an attempt to de- 
 fend it by arms would be equally rash and ridicu- 
 lous, it being absolutely impossible to do it. Men 
 may defend what they call the kingdom of Christ ; 
 they may defend a fomi of Christianity which has 
 been interwoven with their civil government, and 
 makes a part of their constitution. Such establish- 
 ments may be defended and may be destroyed by 
 the sword ; and if every such establishment were 
 actually destroyed, the kingdom of Christ would 
 still subsist unhurt ; for it is not in the power of men 
 or devils to abolish that glorious constitution which 
 is " built on the foundation of the apostles and pro- 
 
54 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 phets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
 stone.' " 
 
 " It is in vain, then, to think of using the sword 
 in defence of Christ's kingdom : it is so spiritual and 
 heavenly in its nature, that no weapon formed 
 against it shall prosper, nor can any weapon used in 
 its defence be of the least avail. It is able to sub- 
 sist in the world, not only without help from the 
 kingdoms of the world, but even in defiance of all 
 their art and strength, all their malice and enmity, 
 against it. And as it receives no support from, so 
 it does no injury to them. It does not interfere 
 w T ith any of their natural rights and privileges. It 
 makes no alteration in their constitutions. It does 
 not deprive the prince of the allegiance of his sub- 
 jects, nor the subjects of the protection of their sove- 
 reign ; but it leaves all matters relating to civil 
 society and government in the same state as it found 
 them, only enforcing the natural duty of subjection 
 and obedience to the higher powers from the noblest 
 motives ; and as to the natural right which all the 
 kingdoms of this world have to defend themselves 
 by the sword, Christ has never made the least alter- 
 ation, but has rather implicitly recognized and 
 allowed it." 
 
 The Governor had a high opinion of Mr. Belknap, 
 and wished him to educate his nephew. To induce 
 him to undertake this charge, he wrote the following 
 letter : 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WENTWORTH. 55 
 "Portsmouth, January 1st, 1770. 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " Being very solicitous for the future wel- 
 fare of my nephew Mark AYentworth (who is now 
 more than seven years old), which I know wholly 
 depends on a wise, kind, and virtuous education ; 
 and considering the utter impossibility of my having 
 sufficient time to undertake so important and so 
 interesting a charge ; I am therefore induced to 
 request this essential favor of you. This boy is 
 intimately dear to me. Fine health, a good dispo- 
 sition, and great vivacity, promise every improve- 
 ment if under your care. Permit me, then, to beg 
 you '11 receive him into your family : under such 
 circumstances, I shall delight in any expense, and, 
 relying on your goodness, have no terms to propose, 
 only that you '11 take the lad, and give me leave to 
 embrace yours : which will extremely oblige, 
 " Reverend Sir, 
 
 "Your most obedient Servant, 
 " J. Wentworth." 
 
 The following is an extract from the reply to this 
 letter : 
 
 "Dover. January 8th, 1770. 
 
 " May it please your Excellency, 
 
 " I acknowledge myself much honored and 
 greatly obliged by your Excellency's good opinion 
 of me, implied in the very important request made 
 
56 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 by your letter of the 1st inst. Permit me, Sir, to 
 express my sincere wish, that I may not be so un- 
 happy as to forfeit your favorable sentiments, by the 
 answer which I am obliged to return. 
 
 " Were my situation such as to permit my close 
 attention to the business of education, nothing would 
 equal the pleasure with which I should embrace such 
 an opportunity of showing my duty and respect to 
 your Excellency, and my tender regard to the child 
 who is the object of so much affection. But divine 
 Providence has committed to my immediate and par- 
 ticular charge an increasing family, the due regu- 
 lation of which requires as much of my time and 
 thoughts as will consist with the pastoral care of a 
 great number of immortal souls, to whom I must 
 devote the principal part of my time ; being obliged 
 thereto, not only by my solemn vows, but by their 
 kindness to me, and the competent provision which 
 they have made for my support. 
 
 " That sense of my duty which lies always on my 
 conscience, forbids my admitting of any unnecessary 
 interruption to its faithful discharge ; and that im- 
 provement of my time therein, which I am bound to 
 by the most sacred engagements, leaves me no va- 
 cant hours for so constant, regular, and critical an 
 attention, as the education of a child of such a rank 
 in life, and such raised expectations, demands ; and 
 should I give him only such an irregular and im- 
 methodical education as my present circumstances 
 
DECLINES THE EDUCATION OF YOUTH. 57 
 
 will allow, it would be a mispence of money, and 
 would afford neither profit to the child, nor credit to 
 myself. 
 
 " If, to use your Excellency's words, you * find 
 the utter impossibility of your having sufficient time 
 to undertake so important and interesting a charge,' 
 by reason of the public business with which our gra- 
 cious sovereign hath intrusted your Excellency, I 
 may justly hope to stand excused in your view T from 
 engaging in that which would in any measure hin- 
 der me from faithfully discharging the trust com- 
 mitted to me by the Supreme Ruler. 
 
 " Captain Waldron has made me a visit, to sec- 
 ond your Excellency's request, and offer me his son 
 of the same age as a companion to your nephew ; 
 and could I attend the business, I would readily un- 
 dertake it ; but I find so many weighty reasons 
 operating the contrary way, that I must deny my- 
 self the pleasure which would otherwise result from 
 it ; nor is this the only time that I have been 
 obliged to withstand pressing requests of the same 
 nature from kind and worthy friends both here and 
 elsewhere." 
 
 The ' competent provision,' mentioned in this let- 
 ter, was a salary of £100 a year, to be paid once in 
 six months ; and the failure of the parish to fulfil 
 their obligations in this particular, finally caused hi3 
 departure from Dover, after a great deal of suffer- 
 
58 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 ing. A letter to the selectmen in October, 1773, 
 shows the difficulty with which any payment was 
 obtained. 
 
 " Gextlemen, 
 
 " As the appointment of the same person to 
 be collector both of the province and parish taxes has 
 been a detriment to me, because my salary has not 
 been paid so punctually as when the collector for 
 the parish had no other office ; and as I understand 
 that the collector this year has an additional service 
 to perform, and is to pay a large sum to the county 
 treasurer in December, and to the province treas- 
 urer in January, whereby I have reason to fear, 
 from former experience of this kind, that I shall not 
 be able to obtain from him a seasonable supply of 
 money for necessary purposes at this time of the 
 year ; this is therefore to put you in mind, that, by 
 the terms of my settlement which you may see in 
 the parish records, I have a right to the payment 
 of my salary every six months ; and if these terms 
 were complied with, I should have had fifty pounds 
 paid me by the 19th of September. 
 
 " I desire therefore, Gentlemen, that you would 
 consider my claim of fifty pounds in September to 
 be prior to the demands, either of the county or 
 province treasurers, and would direct the collector 
 accordingly. 
 
 " That the payment of it may not be difficult, I 
 
LETTER TO A COLLEGIAN. 59 
 
 shall consider what I have received by the contribu- 
 tion, and of particular persons with whom I have deal- 
 ings, as part of it ; so that I suppose, if ten or fifteen 
 pounds is paid me by the collector by the 19th of 
 November, it will be sufficient to answer my present 
 purposes." 
 
 Mr. Belknap possessed one important qualifica- 
 tion for the ministerial office, which requires him 
 who holds it to be the adviser or reprover, as occasion 
 demands, of those who are under his pastoral care ; 
 by this is meant a singular felicity in expressing dis- 
 agreeable truths in a pleasant manner, so that no ill 
 feeling was roused in the person addressed. One 
 of his friends used to say he was the only person 
 within his knowledge, who could communicate to pa- 
 rents the fact of a child's want of capacity, without 
 giving offence ; and he says himself, l Where the 
 matter of any subject is in itself disagreeable, it is 
 no easy thing to represent it in such a manner as 
 will make it agreeable.' Yet the following letter to 
 a young collegian, though on a very unpleasant sub- 
 ject, his own follies and sins, is written in a spirit so 
 truly kind and Christian, that it could hardly have 
 been unwelcome or disregarded : 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I hardly know how to address you on such 
 an occasion, as letters of this kind seldom gain a 
 
60 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 favorable reception, and I have exposed myself to 
 resentment by such means ; but an honest regard to 
 your welfare must prevail over every other consider- 
 ation, and I am certain I cannot deserve contempt, 
 though I should chance to experience it. 
 
 " My indistinct knowledge of particular circum- 
 stances may apologize for mistakes ; but the common 
 report concerning your behaviour, and my knowledge 
 of the temptations of a college life, have for some 
 time past given me great concern on your account, 
 and strongly urged me to write to you ; but hoping 
 that the advice of your worthy President, whose 
 friendship for your family is very great, would have 
 some good effect upon you, I forbore till I heard 
 the melancholy account of the public disgrace to 
 which you have exposed yourself. And now, my 
 dear friend, I must express my very hearty sorrow 
 to you on the occasion. 
 
 " I have been a witness to the tender solicitude 
 of your worthy parents concerning you, ever since 
 you have been at college. "When they have exerted 
 themselves so much beyond their ability to give you 
 an education, and experienced such kind assistance 
 from their friends in hope that it would turn to good 
 account, and that all would be richly repaid by 
 your improvement in knowledge and virtue, and 
 other amiable accomplishments for usefulness in the 
 world, — how mortifying must it be to them to hear 
 of your unworthy behavior, and exposing yourself 
 to the reproaches of a malignant world ! 
 
MINISTERIAL TRIALS. 61 
 
 " Were the eccentricities of your conduct con- 
 fined within the circle of your intimate acquaintance, 
 or known only to God and yourself, they would call 
 for deep self-abasement and humiliation ; but when 
 they are so public, how much louder is the call to a 
 serious consideration of their unhappy effects on 
 your own reputation and usefulness, as well as their 
 pernicious influence upon others ! 
 
 " My dear friend, I am far from thinking you the 
 worst or most abandoned of sinners. I know very 
 well the temptations to which you are exposed, hav- 
 ing experienced them all ; and I know the good 
 effects of faithful admonition. You cannot but 
 know, in your retired hours, that you have disgraced 
 yourself and offended your best friends, however 
 fond a youthful imagination may be of palliating 
 crimes ; * * * and you cannot take it amiss, that 
 I should assume this character, and advise you to 
 wipe away the stain you have brought on your char- 
 acter, by a serious repentance and visible amend- 
 ment." 
 
 Mr. Belknap's life was now one of constant and 
 laborious occupation. Devoted to the duties of 
 his calling, to which he would gladly have given his 
 whole time, the failure of the parish to pay him his 
 salary, which was barely sufficient for the support of 
 his family, obliged him to practise the most severe 
 economy in the management of household affairs ; 
 
02 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 and, as his children advanced, the want of a school 
 compelled hira to become their instructor. 
 
 The unsettled state of public affairs, the prevailing 
 discontent vrith the mother country, and the effects 
 which the policy pursued were producing, are thus 
 forcibly described in a letter to Mr. John Stafford, 
 a dissenting clergyman in London : 
 
 u The paper on which I write is the manufacture 
 of this country, where many valuable arts and man- 
 ufactures, unknown till of late, are now gaining 
 ground, and yield a pleasant prospect of our future 
 wealth and greatness. If the present despotic sys- 
 tem formed on your side the water is continued, 
 we expect to see our seaport towns diminished ; but 
 our inland territories will be vastly improved, and a 
 foundation laid for a considerable empire in time to 
 come. Your ministry and parliament are undesign- 
 edly taking the most direct steps to accomplish this 
 end. Had the lenient spirit of George the Second's 
 reign continued to this time, our pockets would have 
 been emptied, and our lands mortgaged to the Brit- 
 ish merchants, while we should have had nothing to 
 show for them but idle superfluities. 
 
 " But the rage of jealous prerogative has awak- 
 ened our native spirit of freedom, and taught us the 
 wisdom of saving our money, and improving our own 
 country. Your manufacturers are frequently com- 
 ing over to us ; and every regiment sent to keep us 
 
LETTER ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 in awe, furnishes artists of various kinds, who prefer 
 a quiet settlement in their proper business, to the 
 noise and discipline of a camp, and, by deserting 
 their military slavery, serve this community in an 
 honorable and important way. 
 
 " The tyranny formerly established in Great 
 Britain drove our forefathers hither, and began the 
 settlement of this valuable country. Wiser princes 
 who succeeded, reaped the benefit thereof, in the 
 commerce, bravery, and affection of this people. 
 
 " The tyranny now establishing will, while it 
 subsists, hinder our being serviceable to the British 
 kingdom, but will cause such a vast increase of 
 power as will make future monarchs esteem Ameri- 
 can loyalty the brightest jewel in their crown. 
 
 " These sentiments are not the reveries of enthu- 
 siasm, but the most probable consequences that can 
 be foreseen. However, I can venture to assure you, 
 there is not a man in America who would wish for 
 a divorce from the British nation, if the equity and 
 moderation of the last reign could be restored." 
 
 Dover, which is now one of our principal manu 
 facturing towns, had not at that time made use of 
 the power to create wealth that lay concealed in the 
 waters of the Cocheco ; and the force of steam was 
 yet undeveloped, so that all the spinning and weav- 
 ing was household labor. To encourage industry, 
 spinning matches were held from time to time ; and 
 
6-i LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 an account of one at Mr. Belknap's house is given 
 in a small memorandum, as follows : 
 
 "After the laudable example of the ladies in 
 divers towns of this and the neighboring provinces, 
 on Thursday last, about forty ladies met at the 
 minister's house in Dover, some of whom brought 
 with them flax and cotton to spin, and others the 
 yarn ready spun ; and, after spending the day in a 
 very industrious and agreeable manner, they gene- 
 rously presented to Mrs. Belknap the fruits of their 
 labor, which amounted to 2^2 skeins of seven knots 
 each, beside the surplus of their materials, which 
 the time did not allow them to spin. They behaved 
 with the utmost order and decency, and were enter- 
 tained with the best refreshments the season afforded, 
 which were kindly and plentifully supplied by those 
 who were well-wishers to industry." 
 
JOURNEY TO DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. 65 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 1774—1782. 
 
 Journey to Dartmouth College. — Correspondence 
 iv'ttli Colonel Phillips. — Excitement at Ports- 
 mouth. — Address to People of Neiv Hamp shire. 
 — Address to British Officers. — Extracts from 
 Commonplace Book. — Breaking out of Hostili- 
 ties. — Mr. Belknap is invited to be Chaplain to 
 the Troops at Cambridge. — Visits the Camp. — 
 Letters of Dr. A. Eliot. 
 
 Ix the summer of 1774, Mr. Belknap journeyed 
 to Hanover, to attend the Commencement at Dart- 
 mouth College. The distance to be travelled from 
 Dover was one hundred and thirty miles, which oc- 
 cupied nearly six days. He left home on Thursday, 
 August 18th, at six o'clock in the morning. The 
 first day's ride was enlivened by such companions 
 as chance threw in his way ; the second day he 
 joined several gentlemen who had the same object 
 in view ; and before they reached their destination, 
 the party consisted of eight or ten, who at Lime 
 were joined by a number of gentlemen from the 
 College, to which they rode through the rain, and 
 arrived about two in the afternoon of Tuesday the 
 23d. The intervening Sabbath was passed at Ply- 
 mouth, and Mr. Belknap's journal says : 
 5 
 
66 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " By invitation from Mr. Ward, the minister, I 
 preached. The congregation was considerably large 
 and very attentive ; the meeting-house small, but 
 well-contrived. Mr. Ward informs me the church 
 consists of forty members, has two ruling elders and 
 two deacons. There have been two seasons of re- 
 ligious impression among them, one about four, and 
 the other five years ago, when divers were added to 
 the church. The way of admitting members is by 
 relation ; the practice of owning the covenant is laid 
 aside. Mr. Ward appears to be, and bears the 
 character of, a very pious, meek, and charitable man. 
 He has eleven children." 
 
 The following account of his visit is transcribed 
 from the same journal, which gives curious but inter- 
 esting details of the early condition of this literary 
 institution : 
 
 " Dined with the President (Eleazer Wheelock), 
 who appeared somewhat disappointed at the Gover- 
 nor's not coming. After dinner, walked down to 
 Connecticut river opposite to the college, where is a 
 ferry, — observed on a tree where the bark was cut 
 off, the figure of an Indian painted, which was done 
 by one of the Indian scholars. 
 
 "At evening prayers, by the President's desire, I 
 preached a sermon in the college hall ; — supped 
 and lodged at the President's. In the evening, the 
 front of the college was illuminated, 
 
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. 07 
 
 " The plain where the college stands is large and 
 pleasant, and the land good. The college is about 
 seventy or eighty feet long and thirty broad, con- 
 taining twenty chambers. The hall is a distinct 
 building, which also serves for a meeeting-house ; 
 and the kitchen is in one end of it. The President's 
 house stands on a rising ground east of the college ; 
 and to the north of this is the place proposed to build 
 the new college, near a quarry of grey stone, which is 
 intended for the material of the building. There is 
 another quarry much larger, about three quarters of 
 a mile distant. The tutors are Messrs. Woodward, 
 Ripley, Wheelock, and Smith ; the two former are 
 married to the President's daughters. Several 
 tradesmen and taverners are settled round the col- 
 lege, in good buildings, which gives the place the 
 appearance of a village. 
 
 " Wednesday, Aug. 24th. — Walked to the mills, 
 about a mile distant. Here are a saw and grist- 
 mill, and a house in which six scholars reside, who 
 take the mills to the halves, and live a kind of philo- 
 sophic, laborious life : they maintain themselves 
 by their labor. Their house, which is entirely of 
 their own construction, is a curiosity. It consists 
 of one room and one chamber, the stairs outside. 
 The chamber is arched with boards, for the better 
 sound of the voice in singing. The chairs and 
 tables are contrived in an odd manner, and they 
 have a wooden clock. At the door is an upright 
 
68 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 pipe, with a spout like a pump, which is continually 
 running with brook water, conveyed down a covered 
 descent ; so that they have only to hold a vessel 
 under it, and it is immediately filled. They have 
 a neat poultry house, built of sawed strips of wood, 
 in the form of a cob-house, with four apartments. 
 
 " I went round and visited all the Indian scholars, 
 most of whom could speak good English ; one little 
 boy was so shy that he would not be seen. Here is a 
 likely ingenious Frenchman, Joseph Marie Verrueil, 
 who came hither of his own accord, and, being 
 taught to read the Bible and judge for himself, has 
 now become a thorough Protestant. 
 
 " The President appears to be much affected with 
 the reports that are circulated concerning the bad- 
 ness of the provisions, on which account some have 
 left the college. Last evening he entered into a 
 large and warm vindication of himself, declaring 
 that the reports are all false, and that he did not 
 doubt but ' God would bring forth his righteousness 
 as the light, and his judgment as the noon-day.' 
 He has had the mortification to lose two cows, and 
 the rest were greatly hurt by a contagious distem- 
 per, so that they could not have a full supply of 
 milk ; and once the pickle leaked out of the beef 
 barrel, so that the meat zvas not sweet. He had 
 also been ill-used with respect to the purchase of 
 some wheat, so that they had smutty bread for a 
 while, &c. The scholars, on the other hand, say 
 
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. 69 
 
 they scarce ever have any thing but pork and greens, 
 without vinegar, and pork and potatoes ; that fresh 
 meat comes but very seldom, and that the victuals 
 are very badly dressed. The trustees have drawn 
 up something of a vindication, after a full inquiry 
 into this matter. 
 
 " I observed, in the President's prayers, such ex- 
 pressions as these ; speaking of this institution, 
 4 Thou thyself hast founded it, Thou hast preserved 
 and supported it, when its beginnings were small, 
 and in the opinion of many contemptible, and thy 
 gentleness hath made it great.' There seems to be 
 also too much said in the exercises concerning its 
 enemies ; and the college is constantly spoken of as 
 in a state of victory over them, which serves to keep 
 alive a spirit that I think ought to be discouraged. 
 
 44 About eleven o'clock, the commencement began 
 in a large tent erected on the east side of the col- 
 lege, and covered with boards ; scaffolds and seats 
 being prepared. 
 
 " The President began with a prayer in the usual 
 strain. Then an English oration was spoken by one 
 of the Bachelors, complimenting the trustees, kc. 
 A syllogistic disputation on this question ; Amicitia 
 vera non est absque amore clivina. Then a clio- 
 sophic oration. Then an anthem, 4 The voice of my 
 beloved sounds,' &c. Then a forensic dispute — 
 Whether Christ died for all men? which was well 
 supported on both sides. Then an anthem, 4 Lift 
 up your heads, ye gates,' &c. 
 
TO LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " The company were invited to dine at the Pres- 
 ident's and the hall. The Connecticut lads and 
 lasses. I observed, walked about hand in hand in pro- 
 cession, as ? t is said they go to a wedding. 
 
 " Afternoon. The exercises began vrith a Latin 
 oration on the state of society, by Mr. Ripley. 
 Then an English Oration on the imitative arts, by 
 Mr. J. Wheelock. The degrees were then conferred ; 
 and, in addition to the usual ceremony of the book, 
 diplomas were delivered to the candidates, with this 
 form of words : ' Admitto vos ad primum (vel secun- 
 dum) gradum in artibus pro more Academiarum in 
 Anglia, vobiscpie trado hunc librum, una cum potes- 
 tate publice prelegendi ubicunque ad hoc munus 
 avocati fueritis, (to the masters was added, fuistis 
 vel fueritis) cujus rei hrec diploma membrana scripta 
 est testimonium.' Mr. Woodward stood by the 
 President, and held the book and parchments, de- 
 livering and exchanging them as need required. 
 Rev. Mr. Benjamin Pomeroy, of Hebron, was admit- 
 ted to the degree of Doctor in Divinity. 
 
 " After this, MeGregore and Swetland, two 
 Bachelors, spoke a dialogue of Lord Lyttleton's be- 
 tween Apicius and Darteneuf, upon good eating and 
 drinking. The Mercury (who comes in at the close 
 of the piece) performed his part but clumsily ; but 
 the two epicures did well, and the President laughed 
 as heartily as the rest of the audience ; though, con- 
 sidering the circumstances, it might admit of some 
 
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. 71 
 
 doubt, whether the dialogue were really a burlesque, 
 or a compliment to the college. 
 
 " An anthem and prayer concluded the public 
 exercises. Much decency and regularity were ob- 
 servable through the day, in the numerous attending 
 concourse of people. 
 
 " There is a very fine brass horizontal dial, fixed on 
 a post in the President's yard ; it was given by Capt. 
 Holland ; it cost ten guineas. The latitude of the 
 place is 43° 38' N. 
 
 " I saw the hut where the President first lived ; 
 it is a log-house, about twenty feet square, but will 
 soon rot, it being built mostly of beech sticks. This 
 is called the ; first sprout of the college.' The 
 scholars built huts round it to live in. It is really 
 surprising to observe the improvements that have 
 been made in four years. 
 
 " The college library is kept at Mr. "Woodward's. 
 It is not large, but there are some very good books 
 in it ; the seal is also kept there. They have two 
 good globes of eighteen inches, and a good solar 
 microscope. 
 
 " Thursday, August 25th. The trustees were 
 upon business all day. Colonel Phillips gave six 
 hundred pounds for Christianizing the Indians. 
 
 " I attended, with several others, the examination 
 of Joseph Johnson, an Indian, educated in this 
 school, who, with the rest of the New England In- 
 dians, are about moving up into the country of the 
 
72 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 Six Nations, where they have a tract of land fifteen 
 miles square given them. He appeared to be an 
 ingenious, sensible, serious young man ; and we gave 
 him an approbamiis, of which there is a copy on the 
 next page. After which, at three P.M. he preached 
 in the college hall, and a collection of twenty-seven 
 dollars and a half was made for him. The auditors 
 were agreeably entertained. 
 
 "The approbamus is as follows : 
 
 " These may certify all whom it may concern, 
 that Joseph Johnson, an Indian of the Mohegan 
 tribe, in Connecticut, has offered himself before us, 
 who were providentially together, for examination 
 as a candidate to preach the Gospel, with a principal 
 view to the benefit of his own nation. We have ex- 
 amined him as to his knowledge and understanding 
 in the doctrines of the Gospel and experimental relig- 
 ion, and other accomplishments needful for his use- 
 fulness among his own nation, and also the churches 
 in a Christian land, where in Providence he may be 
 called and have opportunity to preach. We are well 
 satisfied as to his qualifications, and heartily recom- 
 mend him for said purpose. 
 
 Lemuel Hedge, of Warwick. 
 
 Jeremy Belknap, Dover. 
 
 Josiah Dana, Lebanon. 
 
 Willam Conant, Lime. 
 
 Silvaxus Ripley, Tutor of Dartmouth College. 
 "Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, Aug. 25th, 1774." 
 
RETURNS HOME. 73 
 
 The next morning, Mr. Belknap commenced the 
 journey home. The Sabbath was passed at Keene, 
 where he says : 
 
 " By desire of Mr. Jones, who is preaching 
 here, I preached. The congregation pretty large 
 and very attentive. Two prisoners in chains attend- 
 ed meeting ; they are here under confinement for 
 murder. 
 
 " Mr. Blake, at whose house I kept, was taken 
 from here by the Indians, in 1746 or 7, and kept 
 two years. Much mischief has been formerly done 
 here by them. It was formerly called Upper 
 Ashuelot. 
 
 " Wednesday, August 31st. Got home, and found 
 all well there." 
 
 On the ride up, one of his companions for a time 
 was Colonel "William Stark, brother to General Stark. 
 While riding through Romney, he narrated to Mr. 
 Belknap the story of their surprise by the Indians, 
 when hunting there in 1752, which is detailed in 
 the Life of General Stark, in " Sparks's American 
 Biography." On his return, Colonel Phillips, of 
 Exeter, was in company with him, the founder of 
 Phillips's Academy at that place, and a man of rare 
 benevolence, which the following incident will serve 
 to illustrate. 
 
 In 1776, when the war troubles were severely 
 felt in Boston, a grandson of Dr. Sewall, who had 
 
74 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 been maintained in Harvard College for three years 
 and a half by the charity of friends in that city, was 
 left without resources by the dispersion of his bene- 
 factors, which rendered it impossible to collect their 
 subscription money. Mr. Belknap was interested 
 in him, not only as a worthy youth, of excellent 
 abilities, whom a liberal education would render a 
 valuable member of society, but also as the grand- 
 son of the religious teacher and friend of his own 
 childhood, whose memory he fondly cherished. 
 Accordingly, he wrote letters to several clergymen, 
 asking them to interest their " wealthy and generous 
 friends " in the matter. One letter was addressed 
 to the Reverend Mr. Rogers, of Exeter, and occa- 
 sioned the following correspondence with Colonel 
 Phillips : 
 
 "Exeter, 23d March, 1776. 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " The Rev. Mr. Rogers has made me acquainted 
 with the (even) necessitous circumstances of a grand- 
 son of the venerable and truly pious Dr. Sewall, of 
 blessed memory. 
 
 " You are pleased, dear sir, to interest yourself 
 in his behalf, and by this mean I come to share the 
 sacred pleasure with you. My love to the good 
 doctor and his church, afflicted and scattered 
 abroad, and of consequence less able to afford relief 
 in this case, induces me very eagerly to embrace 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH COL. PHILLIPS. 75 
 
 such an opportunity of expressing a most cordial 
 affection for one whom the good people of Boston, 
 of that church in particular, must wish well to ; and, 
 as I trust it is a service acceptable to God, how 
 happy am I, and how thankful ought I to be ! 
 
 " I now send you fifty pounds, hoping, if after the 
 frugal expenditure thereof, there should be occasion 
 for more, you will be pleased to give yourself the 
 trouble — no ! the pleasure — of letting me know 
 what further sum would be serviceable. 
 
 " I am, with respect, yours affectionately, 
 " John Phillips." 
 
 Mr. Belknap replied as follows : 
 
 " To John Phillips, Esq., Exeter. 
 
 "March 25th, 1776. 
 
 " Worthy Sir, 
 
 " Not only the generous donation which you 
 have been pleased to make toward the education of 
 a much esteemed youth, but the obliging manner in 
 which it is conveyed, demands my thankful ac- 
 knowledgments to the Giver of every good and 
 perfect gift, that he has blessed you with such ability 
 and inclination to be rich in good works. I thank 
 you also, dear sir, for the honor you have done me, 
 in passing it through my hands, and that you have 
 thereby increased the ' sacred pleasure ' I feel, in 
 being anywise instrumental to promote the comfort 
 and usefulness of a descendant of that excellent 
 person whose memory you so justly revere. The 
 
76 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 assistance you have hereby afforded him is so liberal, 
 as, I imagine, will supersede the necessity of any 
 farther application ; but should that necessity appear, 
 I shall take the liberty you give me of mentioning it 
 to you. 
 
 "I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, your much 
 obliged and very humble servant, " J. B. 
 
 In June, 1774, during the excitement occasioned 
 by the Boston Port Act, the town of Portsmouth 
 chose a committee of correspondence, who sent a 
 circular letter to all the towns of the province, and 
 the form of a covenant, to be signed by all adult 
 persons of both sexes, to the end that no more 
 goods might be imported from Great Britain. The 
 subsequent general agreement to that effect is mat- 
 ter of history ; but this was a private and premature 
 attempt, and was looked upon by Mr. Belknap 
 as highly improper and assuming, and he refused to 
 sign the covenant. 
 
 He said tyranny in one shape was as odious as 
 tyranny in another, and that this attempt of a few 
 unauthorized individuals to impose their opinions 
 upon other people, under penalty of being consid- 
 ered enemies of the common safety, was as danger- 
 ous in its tendency as any acts of the British Parlia- 
 ment it was intended to oppose, and unworthy the 
 descendants of men who had fled to this country to 
 avoid similar impositions in England. That it was 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF N. HAMPSHIRE. 77 
 
 very oppressive and unjust to the merchants, who 
 had ordered their goods, and would not have time to 
 countermand them ; and that it would create hatred 
 and ill will in the community, as those who did not 
 sign the covenant would be looked upon as enemies 
 to their fellow-citizens, merely because they differed 
 in opinion on a point of a political nature, which 
 ought not to produce any such effect. That such a 
 measure concerned all the colonies ; and for one or 
 two to come forward without the prospect of being 
 supported by the rest, was to rush upon their own 
 ruin. The result of the matter was, that the select- 
 men and committee of correspondence in Dover met, 
 and agreed to wait the decision of the approaching 
 Congress upon the subject. 
 
 The neighboring provinces were not slow to aid 
 suffering Massachusetts, and provisions and other 
 necessaries were sent to Boston for the poor. To 
 assist in promoting this work, Mr. Belknap wrote an 
 address to the people of New Hampshire, on the 
 Boston Port Act, which shows that the character of 
 that city for benevolence was even then of long 
 standing. It has since been well sustained. 
 
 " To the inhabitants of the province of New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 " Remember them that are in bonds as bound with 
 them, and them that suffer adversity as being your- 
 selves also in the body. 
 
78 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 "My Dear Brethren, 
 
 " Our late house of Deputies, which met at 
 Exeter, having recommended it to the several towns 
 in this province to consider the distressed situation 
 of our poor oppressed brethren in Boston, who are 
 suffering the rigor of a cruel and unjust act of par- 
 liament which deprives them of the means of subsist- 
 ence for an indefinite time, and lend them what 
 help we can afford to support them in their sufferings ; 
 I beg leave to lay before you some considerations, 
 which may serve to show you, not how much they 
 need, for that your own humanity must inform you, 
 but how much they deserve your assistance. 
 
 " The people of that town and colony have ever 
 been remarkable for their humanity and generosity 
 to the distressed. Their bounty has been extended 
 to Jamaica, Nevis, Carolina, and other places which 
 have suffered by fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and 
 other calamities ; yea, London itself has experienced 
 their kindness, when, by the fire in 1666, great num- 
 bers there were reduced to poverty. 
 
 " To their tender and benevolent hand this pro- 
 vince in particular is greatly indebted, if not for its 
 existence, yet certainly for its protection and sup- 
 port, both in matters of civil government, and in the 
 furious Indian wars during those forty years we 
 were united to that colony. The settlement here 
 must have been broken up, had we been left to stand 
 alone, vexed as we were by intestine divisions and 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF N. HAMPSHIRE. 79 
 
 the want of an orderly government, laboring under 
 poverty, and attacked by a savage enemy, whose 
 tender mercies were cruelty. The sense of their 
 kindness was most gratefully expressed in a letter 
 written by President Cutts and his council, in 1680, 
 to that colony, upon the separation which then took 
 place by the king's authority. And since that time, 
 every one that is acquainted with the state of this 
 province knows, that it owes much of its importance 
 to the neighborhood of the Massachusetts govern- 
 ment. 
 
 " Though the people of Boston have themselves 
 suffered greatly by fires, and by the frequent spread- 
 ing of the small pox among them, yet they have 
 always been at a prodigious expense in supporting 
 the poor, most of whom are not natives of the place, 
 but strangers who have fallen in among them. For 
 several years past, as I have it from the best au- 
 thority, their annual poor's bill has amounted to 
 about two thousand pounds sterling ; besides which, 
 there is a voluntary quarterly contribution for the 
 poor at a public evening lecture in Faneuil Hall. 
 
 " Distressed persons of all sorts have ever found 
 Boston the best place to go to for relief and assist- 
 ance. Prisoners of war have found there the kind- 
 est treatment, and returned captives have been 
 received with the tenderest commiseration. Mr. 
 Williams, of Deerfield, in the narrative of his cap- 
 tivity, bears them this testimony : " The charity of 
 
80 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 the whole country of Canada, though moved with 
 the doctrine of merits, does not come up to the 
 charity of Boston alone, where notions of merit are 
 rejected." 
 
 " Xow shall such a people as this suffer unpitied, 
 unassisted ? He who hath established this rule, 
 4 The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal 
 things shall he stand,' has disposed the hearts of 
 our brethren in the southern colonies to contribute 
 handsomely already : and, when the crops come in, 
 we expect they will do much more. And shall 
 not we, though our ability is but small in propor- 
 tion to theirs, do what we can to enable our breth- 
 ren who are foremost in the conflict, to maintain the 
 cause in which they are engaged by a firm and 
 manly perseverance ? Will not such communications 
 of charity strengthen the bonds of society, and endear 
 us to each other ? And when a firm union is thus 
 cemented, happy in our mutual affection, in the 
 increased cultivation of our lands, in our frugality 
 and economy, we shall securely bid defiance to all 
 the enemies of our peace, and leave this land of 
 liberty a sacred legacy to our posterity. 
 
 1 Terra potens armis, atque ubere glebae/ 
 
 " Amicus Patriae." 
 
 The conclusion of the above piece shows the 
 writer to have been a true ' son of liberty.' It was 
 published in the Xew Hampshire Gazette, and was 
 
BRITISH TROOPS IN BOSTON. 81 
 
 followed by a notification to convene in town meeting, 
 to grant relief to the poor in Boston. At the time 
 of its publication, the town-clerk of Boston was in 
 Dover ; and the governor, in one of his letters to 
 Lord Dartmouth on the state of the province, attrib- 
 uted it to him as being a zealous leader of the popu- 
 lar opposition. The letter forms No. 23 of the 
 appendix to the History of New Hampshire, and the 
 mistake is corrected in a note at the bottom of the 
 page, which is as follows : 
 
 " The publication here referred to was written 
 by a person whom the governor did not suspect, and 
 the town-clerk knew nothing of it." Appendix, No. 
 30, gives the address itself, but with no hint as to 
 the authorship ; and were it not for the imperfect 
 manuscript remaining among Mr. Belknap's papers, 
 the writer would still be unknown. 
 
 Governor Gage had, at this time, a large body of 
 troops in Boston, to the great annoyance of the in- 
 habitants ; and more were arriving as the crisis of 
 the controversy between the mother country and the 
 colonies approached. In September, Mr. Belknap 
 wrote an address to the officers, calculated to make 
 them very much ashamed of their position. It was 
 intended for the Massachusetts Spy ; where, how- 
 ever, it did not appear. Whether it was printed 
 elsewhere, is not known. 
 
82 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " To the Gentlemen of the Army, now encamped 
 on Boston Common. 
 
 "September, 1774. 
 "Every one who understands the importance 
 of your profession knows it to be noble, generous, and 
 humane ; noble, as it is influenced by the love of 
 glory ; generous, as it disdains the low arts by which 
 superiority may be often gained ; and humane, as it 
 seeks the welfare of mankind. You are justly en- 
 titled the guardians of the state, as the design of 
 your equipment is to defend from every hostile 
 attack that system of virtuous liberty which is but 
 another name for the British constitution. Your 
 valor and prudence have been signalized in the 
 greatest dangers, and you were in the road to honor 
 and preferment. 
 
 " But, gentlemen, I pity you, — what have you 
 done to deserve such disgrace ? You are sent over 
 into America for the meanest and basest purposes ; 
 to terrify the wretched inhabitants of this oppressed 
 town with the apprehension of being murdered in 
 the streets in some insignificant night-brawl ; and to 
 check that noble spirit which once animated their 
 predecessors to brave every danger, to secure liberty 
 and peace to their posterity, and which still breathes 
 in our present exertions to the same worthy and vir- 
 tuous purposes. 
 
 " Were you employed like the victorious troops 
 under the late illustrious Duke of Cumberland, to 
 
HIS ADDRESS TO BRITISH OFFICERS. 83 
 
 suppress a rebellion excited by the avowed enemies 
 of the British crown, — had you any prospect of 
 meeting an armed foe in the field of battle, and there 
 giving proof of your superior skill and courage, 
 your breasts would glow with martial ardor, and you 
 would have something in view, worthy the dignity 
 and design of your noble profession. But, gentle- 
 men, you must be ashamed when you consider that 
 the noblest purpose for which you can be here em- 
 ployed, though you are ever so successful, will not 
 raise your characters above the rank of a constable 
 or a watchman ; you will have nobody to encounter, 
 unless some hairbrained rioters should disturb the 
 silence of the night with their senseless vociferations, 
 and amuse themselves with the rattling of broken win- 
 dows. The highest manoeuvres in which you can then 
 engage will be street firings, and the fiercest oppo- 
 sition you can expect will be the throwing of brick- 
 bats, in which exercise the despicable chimney- 
 sweeper, perched on the top of his fuliginous pinnacle, 
 will have a manifest advantage over you. 
 
 " Should you be called to an honorable engage- 
 ment with an equal or superior number of troops, 
 disciplined like yourselves, and any of you be slain 
 in the battle, your names would be enrolled in the 
 annals of fame, like the immortal heroes of Mara- 
 thon, or the noble victims on the plains of Abraham ; 
 the glowing canvass would exhibit, and the immortal 
 bard sing, your deathless actions to future genera- 
 
84 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tions. But, alas ! gentlemen, though there be even 
 a Miltiades or a Wolfe among you, the only 
 honor you can derive from falling in the service on 
 "which you are now sent, will be to have it said that 
 you were trampled in a gutter, or scalded with hot 
 water from the ladle of some American Amazon, 
 who may be celebrated in a two-penny ballad, long 
 after your names are forgot. 
 
 " Such being the disgraceful service on which 
 you are sent, it will not be strange if your mag- 
 nanimous breasts glow with resentment at your base 
 employers, and burst in vengeance upon them 
 whenever you have an opportunity to do yourselves 
 justice. 
 
 " For ourselves, we fear not their utmost malice ; 
 trusting in the goodness of our cause, and depending 
 that gentlemen of true valor and generosity will 
 scorn to degrade their characters so far as to be- 
 come instruments of oppression, and lavish those 
 lives, in enslaving their fellow-subjects, which are 
 too precious to be sacrificed but for the love of 
 their country, and the preservation of its dearest 
 interests." 
 
 The following extract from Hume, and Mr. Bel- 
 knap's observations upon it, give his view of the ques- 
 tions at this time agitating all minds, and rapidly 
 bringing on the revolution. 
 
 " Mr. Hume, after giving some account of King 
 
THE REVOLUTION. 85 
 
 Charles's principles of government (vol. 5, p. 204), 
 says, — ' That these principles were derived from the 
 uniform tenor of the English laws, it would be rash 
 to affirm. The fluctuating nature of the constitu- 
 tion, the impatient humor of the people, and the 
 variety of events, had, no doubt, in different 
 ages produced many exceptions and contradictions. 
 These observations alone may be established on both 
 sides, that the appearances were sufficiently strong 
 in favor of the king, to apologize for his following 
 such maxims, and that public liberty must be so 
 precarious under this exorbitant prerogative, as to 
 render an opposition not only excusable but laudable 
 in the people.' 
 
 " Much the same is the case in the controversy 
 between Great Britain and the colonies concerning 
 the right of taxation. There are precedents on both 
 sides, and nothing explicit was ever so determined, 
 as that both sides acquiesced, but different senti- 
 ments and practices have prevailed at different times. 
 It is pleaded by the defenders of the present reve- 
 nue laws, ' that in every state there must be a 
 supreme power somewhere ; and, in the empire of 
 Great Britain, what power can claim or exercise 
 supremacy, but the parliament ? However easily 
 we might have allowed this sentiment at a time 
 when the parliament were actually engaged in secur- 
 ing or defending the general interest of the empire 
 against foreign violence, yet our complaisance can- 
 
86 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 not lead us to subscribe to it when we see this power 
 becoming a party in a quarrel between one part of 
 the empire and another. ' Tis but begging the 
 question to urge this in the dispute. 
 
 " If the principles that brought on the revolution, 
 and established the house of Hanover on the throne, 
 are just, then the supreme power of government lies 
 in the people ; consequently the people of America 
 have a right to say who shall or who shall not gov- 
 ern them ; and if they say that the parliament of 
 Great Britain shall not govern them, then the claim 
 exercised by the parliament is null and void. And 
 though, as in the case of Charles, above mentioned, 
 appearances arising from some former precedents 
 when the constitution was less understood, and not 
 precisely defined, may be sufficiently strong in favor 
 of the parliament to apologize for their making such 
 a claim, yet our public liberty is so precarious under 
 this exorbitant prerogative, that opposition in us 
 ' is not only excusable, but laudable.'" 
 
 Concerning the order passed by the king in 
 council, prohibiting the exportation of gunpowder 
 and warlike stores to America, Mr. Belknap re- 
 marks : 
 
 " Luxury and effeminacy have always been found 
 the surest means to corrupt and enslave a people, 
 while frugality and hardiness have always been 
 favorable to liberty. Our taskmasters, it seems, are 
 trying to reverse this, — they are shutting up our 
 
EXTRACTS FROM HIS COMMONPLACE BOOK. 87 
 
 ports and ruining our trade, thereby stopping the 
 sources of wealth, and consequently of luxury and 
 effeminacy, and driving us into measures of frugality, 
 economy, industry, and invention (for necessity is 
 the mother of invention), and all this with a view 
 of enslaving us. Admirable politicians ! If the 
 event proves contrary to their expectations, they 
 will- have high reason to compliment their own 
 sagacity ! May the councils of these Achitofels be 
 turned into foolishness ! " 
 
 The above is taken from a commonplace book, 
 containing notices of events occurring in 1774, 
 and some years after, from which the following 
 extracts may be interesting, as illustrating what is 
 already publicly known. 
 
 The feelings of the people, in the spring of 1775, 
 varied with the varying news from England ; and 
 the proposal of Lord North, which was carried in 
 parliament, that if any colony, by their Governor, 
 Council, and Assembly, would engage to make pro- 
 vision for the support of civil government, and the 
 defence, &c, the tax acts should be suspended with 
 regard to them, but the troops to remain, and the 
 refractory colonies to be punished, — this was called 
 joyful news; "but/' says Mr. Belknap, "for my 
 part, I conceive it is nothing but a bait thrown out 
 to divide us, and make us desert the Massachusetts 
 government, who cannot comply with the proposal, 
 
88 LIFE OF DR. HELENA?. 
 
 without submitting to the alteration of their govern- 
 ment, and acting with their new council." 
 
 This state of suspense did not long continue ; the 
 battle of Lexington putting an end to all conciliatory 
 measures. 
 
 The tories in Boston had constantly assured Gen- 
 eral Gage, that the country people would never dare 
 to face his troops, and he had been blamed in par- 
 liament for doins: nothing. 
 
 On the ISth of April, he issued writs for calling 
 an assembly, to see if the people would join with the 
 governor and council, in complying with the terms 
 of Lord North's proposal : it was to meet on the 31st, 
 and he was persuaded to believe, that if he should 
 strike a bold stroke, and destroy the magazine at 
 Concord, it would so intimidate the people and unfit 
 them for defence, that they would easily be induced 
 to accept the terms. " The ill success of the expe- 
 dition fully demonstrated the falsehood of what he 
 had been made to believe, and effectually taught 
 him that this people were not to be so easily frighted 
 as he imagined/' 
 
 The tidings of the breakin^-out of hostilities 
 reached Mr. Belknap, when he was at the ferry, 
 midway between Dover and Portsmouth ; and he 
 went directly to Boston, to provide for the safety 
 of his parents, leaving the following note for his 
 wife : 
 
LETTERS TO HIS WIFE. 89 
 
 At Mr. Knight's, 9 H°- 
 
 "My Dear, 
 
 " Before you receive this, you "will hear the 
 awful news by the Express I met just now at the 
 ferry, of the devastation the troops have made at 
 Concord, and the commencement of a civil war ; 
 which makes it absolutely necessary that I should 
 proceed immediately to Boston (if it is not in ashes 
 before I get there). I shall try to get a chaise at 
 Greenland. As necessity has no laws, the people 
 must excuse my absence next Sabbath, if I should 
 not return before it. 
 
 " Your affectionate husband, 
 
 "J. B. 
 " N.B. The Dragoons have arrived at Boston." 
 
 From Cambridge he wrote again as follows : 
 
 u Cambridge, Lord's Day morning, April 23, 1775. 
 
 " My Dear, 
 
 " I am arrived here, but cannot hear any 
 news of my parents since this day week, when they 
 were in Boston, where I suppose they are now, and 
 must partake of the fate of the place. I think it 
 best, and am advised by Dr. Langdon, to tarry in 
 some of the neighboring towns a few days longer to 
 see whether any way is opened for their escape. It 
 is talked that an assault will be made upon the en- 
 trenchments at the Neck, by pressing large bundles 
 
90 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 of wet-screwed hay forward to shelter our men from 
 the cannon-balls. Dr. Warren, who is one of the 
 Committee of Safety, told me the town must be 
 cleared, and would be soon. General Gage has 
 made such a proposal to the Bostonians as the Ro- 
 mans to the Carthaginians, that if they would deliver 
 up their arms they should be safe. But they w r ere 
 not such fools as to comply. * * * * 
 
 " The army here is pretty well regulated. * * * 
 Don't let my gun and ammunition get out of the 
 house, if you can help it. * * The posts are stopt, 
 and the mails opened by the Committee of War sit- 
 ting here, so 'tis in vain to write by post. 
 
 " Don 't be frighted at my situation, for well am I 
 guarded by at least ten thousand men. There are 
 here more men than they want. You will doubtless 
 have many false alarms. The tories have given out 
 that they would keep us in alarm all about the coun- 
 try, to divert and distract us. I have been in two 
 already ; one at Newbury, and another at Maiden. 
 Couriers are established between here and Newbury ; 
 it would be well if our people took some care of that 
 kind. 
 
 " I add no more, but that all our trust and confi- 
 dence must be in God, and not in an arm of flesh. 
 " Tours affectionately, 
 
 "J. B." 
 
DEATH OF HIS MOTHER. 91 
 
 He remained at Cambridge several days, finding 
 communication with the town difficult. The removal 
 of his parents was finally accomplished, and they 
 went to Dover, where they passed the remainder of 
 their lives. His mother, whose domestic qualities 
 and kindly affectionate character won the regard of 
 all who knew her, died in 1784 ; her death was re- 
 corded by Mr. Belknap, in the Almanac for that 
 year, in these words : 
 
 " Oct. 12th. My mother died this morning, as 
 the sun was rising, aged 69." 
 
 His pious and much honored father died the 30th 
 August, 1797, aged 81. They are buried near 
 each other, in the town burial ground on Pine Hill, 
 Dover. 
 
 In July, Mr. Belknap was chosen by the commit- 
 tee of safety of New Hampshire, chaplain to their 
 troops at Cambridge ; a service upon which he de- 
 clined entering, but expressed his willingness to do 
 his part towards supplying the army by preaching 
 in turn with the other clergymen of the province, 
 if such a plan should be adopted. The care of his 
 people, his family, and his own precarious health, 
 united in obliging him to decline the honor of a per- 
 manent residence there in that character. 
 
 In October he visited the camp at Cambridge. 
 The following extracts are from a journal of occur- 
 rences and observations during his stay : 
 
92 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 " Oct. 19th. It being foul weather, I was hin- 
 dered from taking a view of the lines ; visited sev- 
 eral friends, and rode to Roxbury ; lodged at Mr. 
 Robert Pierpoint's, where General Ward resides. In 
 conversation with Mr. Joshua Ward, aid-de-camp 
 to the General, I found that the plan of indejjen- 
 dence was become a favorite point in the army, and 
 that it was offensive to pray for the king ; that the 
 Continental Congress had prepared a league offen- 
 sive and defensive between the several colonies, 
 w T hich was to take place if the king should reject 
 the continental petition. In this league it is stipu- 
 lated that each colony shall have such a form of 
 government as they shall choose, and that an annual 
 Congress of the whole continent shall assemble by 
 turns in each colony, so that they may be the better 
 acquainted with one another, and the people with 
 them. 
 
 " Oct. 20th. By desire of Mr. Mansfield, the chap- 
 lain, I prayed with General Thomas's regiment, 
 quartered at Roxbury, and afterward visited the 
 lines in company with an officer of the picquet guard. 
 Nothing struck me with more horror, than the pres- 
 ent condition of Roxbury : that once busy, crowded 
 street is now occupied only by a picquet guard. The 
 houses are deserted, the windows taken out, and 
 many shot-holes visible ; some have been burnt, and 
 others pulled down, to make room for the fortifica- 
 tions. A wall of earth is carried across the street to 
 
EXTRACTS FROM HIS JOURNAL. 93 
 
 Williams' old house, where there is a formidable 
 fort mounted with cannon. The lower line is just 
 below where the George Tavern stood ; a row of 
 trees, root and branch, lies across the road there, and 
 the breastwork extends to Lamb's Dam, which makes 
 a part thereof. I went round the whole, and was 
 so near the enemy as to see them (though it was 
 foggy and rainy) relieve their sentries, which they 
 do every hour. Their outmost sentries are posted 
 at the chimneys of Brown's house. 
 
 " After dining with General Ward, I returned 
 to Cambridge ; in the evening, visited and con- 
 versed with General Putnam. Ward appears to be 
 a calm, cool, thoughtful man ; Putnam, a rough, fiery 
 genius. 
 
 " In conversation with Mr. Ward at Roxbury, I 
 learned that the reason of our throwing up the in- 
 trenchment at Charlestown, on the night of the 16th 
 June, was, that there had been intelligence received, 
 such as could be depended on, that the regulars 
 had determined to make a push for Cambridge after 
 the arrival of their three generals and reinforce- 
 ments, who landed a few days before. That Dr. 
 Warren was the last man in the trenches after they 
 were forced, and died on the breastwork, with his 
 sword in his hand. That his body was stripped 
 naked, and buried so ; his coat was sold in Boston 
 by a soldier for eight dollars. His body was dug 
 up several times, and buried again, to gratify the 
 
9-i LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 curiosity of those who came to see it. That divers 
 persons were permitted to go from Boston over to 
 Chariest own to view the field of battle. 
 
 " Oct. 21st. Detained at Cambridge all day by 
 the rain. Met General Sullivan, who told me he 
 was ordered to Portsmouth on the report of the de- 
 struction of Falmouth, and that General Lee was 
 ordered to Rhode Island, to defend them. Dined, 
 by invitation, with Mr. Mifflin, Quarter-master-Gen- 
 eral. The company present were Dr. Franklin, 
 Mr. Lynch, of Carolina, and Colonel Harrison, of 
 Virginia (a committee from the Congress, to settle 
 a plan with the generals for a new army, to be kept 
 up till December, 1776) ; General Lee, Adjutant- 
 General Gates, Colonel Reed and Mr. Baylor, aid- 
 de-camps to General Washington, Lieutenant-Gover- 
 nor Griswold, and Judge Wells of Connecticut, and 
 Mr. Leonard, chaplain. 
 
 u General Lee is a perfect original, a good 
 scholar and soldier, and an odd genius, full of fire 
 and passion, and but little good manners ; a great 
 sloven, wretchedly profane, and a great admirer of 
 dogs, of which he had two at dinner with him, one 
 of them a native of Pomerania, which I should have 
 taken for a bear, had I seen him in the woods. A 
 letter which he wrote General Putnam yesterday, 
 is a copy of his odd mind. It is, as nearly as I can 
 recollect, as follows, being a letter of introduction of 
 one Page, a church clergyman : 
 
GENERAL LEE. 95 
 
 M Hobgoblin Hall October 19th. 1775. 
 
 "Dear General, 
 
 " Mr. Page, the bearer of this, is a Mr. Page. 
 He has the laudable ambition of seeing the great 
 General Putnam. I therefore desire you would 
 array yourself in all your majesty and terrors, for 
 his reception. Tour blue and gold must be mount- 
 ed, your pistols stuck in your girdle, and it would 
 not be amiss if you should black one half of your 
 face. 
 
 " I am, dear General, with fear and trembling, 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 " Charles Lee." 
 
 The following account of the death of this eccen- 
 tric general, in Philadelphia, Oct. 2d, 1782, was 
 communicated to Mr. Belknap, by. Dr. Clarkson of 
 that city : 
 
 " General Lee died in the second story of a tav- 
 ern, after a few days' illness, in some degree his own 
 physician, and but badly attended, except by two 
 faithful dogs, who frequently attempted in vain to 
 awaken their dead master. They laid themselves 
 down by his corpse for a considerable time ; so long, 
 that it became necessary for new masters to remove 
 them. He lies buried in Christ's Church Yard : 
 no stone marks his bed. Indeed those who saw his 
 open grave can scarcely show the site, as it is con- 
 
96 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tinually trodden by persons going into and coming 
 out of church. Behold the honor of the great ! " 
 
 " This Page is suspected by some to be a spy, as 
 he has a plan of the lines, and is bound to England. 
 At table, the chief talk was about the best men for 
 soldiers. General Lee said the Portuguese had the 
 best materials for soldiers, if they were well disci- 
 plined ; but that the Turks of Asia Minor were the 
 stoutest men in the world. Adjutant-General Gates, 
 who is an experienced officer, said he never desired 
 to see better soldiers than the New England men 
 made. All joined in execrating the Irish. Many 
 of the riflemen are of this nation, who are continu- 
 ally deserting to the enemy, lynch, Harrison, 
 and Wells, wished to see Boston in flames. Lee 
 told them it was impossible to burn it, unless they 
 sent men in with bundles of straw at their backs to 
 do it. He said it could not be done with carcases 
 and hot shot ; and instanced in Isle Royal, in St. 
 Lawrence River, which was fired at in 1760, a long 
 time with a fine train of artillery, hot shot, and car- 
 cases, without effect. 
 
 " General Washington was to have been at this 
 dinner ; but the weather prevented. He is said to 
 be a very amiable gentleman ; cool, sensible, and 
 placid, and a resolute soldier. I had no opportunity 
 to see him. 
 
 " Oct. 22d. Preached all day in the meeting-house ; 
 after meeting, I was again told by the chaplain that 
 
EXTRACTS FROM IIIS JOURNAL. ffj 
 
 it was disagreeable to the generals to pray for the 
 king, I answered, that the same authority which 
 appointed the generals had ordered the king to be 
 prayed for at the late Continental fast ; and, till that 
 was revoked, I should think it my duty to do it. 
 Dr. Appleton prayed in the afternoon, and mention- 
 ed the king with much affection. It is too assuming 
 in the generals to find fault with it. 
 
 " Oct. 23d. Mr. Mifflin assured me, there was 
 no design to make an assault upon Boston very soon, 
 and that it would not be done unless it was found 
 that nothing else could be done. Flat-bottomed 
 boats are preparing, which will carry sixty or sev- 
 enty men at once. Barracks are also building for 
 the army's winter quarters. The army is healthy, 
 and well supplied. I visited the works at Prospect 
 Hill. The weather being hazy, I had not so good a 
 view as I should wish ; but I could see the enemy's 
 lines and buildings at Bunker Hill, and the desola- 
 tion at Charlestown. Visited also the works at 
 Plowed Hill and Winter Hill, and set out on my re- 
 turn ; at night got to Haverhill, where the rains had 
 caused a great flood, in Merrimac river ; vast quan- 
 tities of wood floated down, which was eagerly seized 
 by the people along shore. 
 
 " Oct. 24th. Got home, and found the town full of 
 Portsmouth people, who have been moving, with 
 their effects, ever since the destruction of Falmouth, 
 apprehending the same fate." 
 7 
 
98 LIFE OF DR. EELKNAP. 
 
 The uncle of Mrs. Belknap, Doctor Andrew 
 Eliot, pastor of the New North Church in Boston, 
 sending his wife and daughters to Fairfield, where 
 one of his sons was settled, remained in Boston 
 himself through the siege, from a sense of duty to 
 his people. Some extracts from his letters to Mr. 
 Belknap, during this period, afford an interesting 
 example of the steadfast faith and fervent piety 
 which made the oppressed strong against the tyrants 
 so vastly superior to them in wealth and power. 
 The son here mentioned was the Rev. John Eliot, 
 who, obliged to leave college on account of the dis- 
 turbances, had gone to Dover to keep school, and 
 was living with Mr. Belknap. 
 
 " Boston, June 5th, 1775. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I just received a letter from my son, 
 wherein he informs me of your very great kindness 
 to him. It gave me unspeakable pleasure to find 
 you had not forgotten him, as from some circum- 
 stances I thought you had ; but I freely own, I 
 ought not to have entertained the least suspicion of 
 one of whose benevolence I had so much experience, 
 both to me and mine ; but what gave me the greatest 
 pleasure was, that he would have your advice, direc- 
 tion, and assistance, at a time when he greatly 
 needs it, and is deprived of the help of his father. 
 You will advise him * * * * In short, my dear sir, 
 
LETTERS FROM DR. ANDREW ELIOT. 9 ( J 
 
 you must be a father to him, and do with him as if 
 he were your own son. I commit him to God and 
 to you. Whether I shall ever have it in my power 
 to make you amends is uncertain ; at present, I am 
 in a melancholy situation, and yet dare not leave it. 
 I have a larger congregation than when I had only 
 my own people ; and how can I go away, and leave 
 them without ordinances ? My heart recoils at the 
 thought ; and yet to tarry here long, will overwhelm 
 me. I desire to do that which will be most agree- 
 able to the will of God. Let me have your prayers : 
 I doubt not your tender sympathy. I have very 
 comfortable news from my son at Fairfield. * * * 
 You see I have my mercies amidst all my trials, 
 and I esteem it no small favor that John will be 
 with you. Blessed be God, I can leave myself and 
 mine with him. What will be the end of these diffi- 
 culties between Great Britain and the colonies, God 
 only knows. It is a dark day we live in ; but Infi- 
 nite Wisdom directs all. I doubt not you will 
 rejoice with me, in the thought of the divine gov- 
 ernment, all will end well. 
 
 " Could you see Boston, it would break your 
 heart. God will revive it, and make it a quiet habi- 
 tation. This is the fixed belief of your affectionate 
 " Friend and humble servant, 
 " Andrew Eliot." 
 
100 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " August 3d. 
 
 * * * " I can do but little for God and his 
 people, but hope my tarrying here has been of use. 
 I am continually employed in visiting the sick, who 
 are numerous ; in attending the prisoners, though it 
 has not been thought proper I should see them 
 of late. * * * My situation is difficult enough ; 
 but my God strengthens me. Things will, I am 
 persuaded, issue well in God's time and way. I 
 leave all with him. 'Tis a comfort that the gospel 
 opens to us prospects far superior to any this world 
 can yield. 
 
 "November 19th. 
 
 " I have no hope of leaving town this winter. 
 God knows whether I shall survive the difficulties I 
 am called to go through. You cannot conceive the 
 anxiety I am in. Nothing but the religion of Jesus 
 Christ could support me. Whatever I meet with, 
 nothing will erase till death the affectionate regard 
 which is due to you from your grateful and affec- 
 tionate friend." 
 
 "Boston, March 26th, 1776. 
 
 " My Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have only time to write very briefly, in 
 answer to your kind letter. Through the goodness 
 of God, I am well, but have endured much. I have 
 not received any remarkable insults from our late 
 despots. I kept as much as possible out of their 
 
LETTERS FROM DR. ANDREW ELIOT. 101 
 
 way. I hope the manuscripts in the Old South 
 steeple are not meddled with. Dr. Byles is well ; 
 he removed a few nights, I am told, during the can- 
 nonade, by which he was endangered : I have not 
 seen him since. It is surprising no one was killed, 
 and only a boy hurt of the inhabitants, by all the 
 shells and shot thrown in upon us of late. * * * 
 
 " The British troops are not all gone from Nan- 
 tasket ; some departed to-day. I never expect to 
 see them or any other British soldiers in Boston. 
 
 " God hath done great things for us, whereof we 
 are glad. God grant we may never forget his works. 
 
 " My regards to your dear wife, your parents, 
 and all friends. I have much to write, but have 
 time only to add that I am, 
 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 "A. Eliot." 
 
 "I am told the province records are carried off, 
 probably the Probate, I believe no other." 
 
 Dr. Eliot died in September, 1778, and was suc- 
 ceeded in his pastoral office by his son, Dr. John 
 Eliot. 
 
102 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1782—1786. 
 
 Condition of the Family, — Journey to Wliite Hills. 
 
 — Election Sermon. — Journey to Philadelphia. 
 
 — Parish Difficulties. — Se leaves Dover. — Let- 
 ter to President Willard. — Various Proposals 
 of Friends. — Letter from Exeter. 
 
 In the autumn of 1783, Mr. Belknap sent his 
 eldest son, Joseph, then nearly fourteen years old, 
 to Philadelphia, where he was bound as an appren- 
 tice to Mr. Aitken, printer. The following summer, 
 the second son, Samuel, went to Boston to live with 
 his uncle, Mr. Samuel Eliot, who was an importer 
 of British goods. The other children, four in num- 
 ber, two sons and two daughters, remained at home. 
 
 In July, 1784, was accomplished the tour to the 
 White Mountains, an account of which is given in 
 the third volume of the History of New Hampshire, 
 without any intimation, however, that the author 
 of it was one of the company of gentlemen there 
 mentioned. 
 
 There were seven gentlemen in the party, three 
 of whom were clergymen. On Tuesday, July 20th, 
 they left Dover, and on Friday night they encamped 
 at the foot of the mountains. The next morning 
 the ascent was attempted. Dr. Fisher, of Beverly, 
 
JOURXEY TO WHITE HILLS. 103 
 
 at the first steep ascent found himself disabled by a 
 pain in the side, and turned back. Mr. Belknap's 
 breath failed him after two hours' hard climbing ; 
 and, upon a consultation, he decided to return to the 
 camp alone. The rest of the party succeeded in 
 gaining the summit of Mount Washington ; but the 
 view was obscured by clouds, and they were obliged 
 to pass the night upon the mountains, a fire they 
 kindled being their only defence against the rain. 
 
 An extract from Mr. Belknap's journal of this 
 tour, says : 
 
 " As we passed through Eaton and Conway, the 
 appearance of so many persons, more than ever had 
 been seen travelling that way, was very amusing to 
 the people. "We had three guns and one pair of 
 pistols in the company, the barometers were slung 
 across the back of one, and the sextant was carried 
 in a large bag. This uncommon appearance was 
 the subject of much speculation ; and the good 
 women, understanding there were three ministers in 
 the company, were in hopes we should lay the spirits 
 which have been supposed to hover about the White 
 Mountains, — an opinion very probably derived from 
 the Indians, who thought these mountains the habi- 
 tation of some invisible beings, and never attempted 
 to ascend them. 
 
 " Tuesday, July 27th. This afternoon a thunder 
 shower. The people of this place — called Mr. 
 Whipple's plantation, who are five or six families 
 
104 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 — assembled in Mr. Whipple's barn, and I preached 
 them a sermon, the first ever preached here, from 
 1st Corinthians, vi. 19, 20 : 
 
 " ' What, know ye not that your body is the tem- 
 ple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye 
 have of God, and ye are not your own ? 
 
 " ' For ye are bought with a price : therefore, 
 glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 
 are God's.' 
 
 " Mr. Little, of Wells, baptised eight of their 
 children. Mr. Cutler, of Ipswich, made the con- 
 cluding prayer. Thirty-eight people of the place 
 were present, and seemed pleased with the attention 
 paid them." 
 
 Dr. Fisher was left behind at the Notch, to collect 
 birds and other animal and vegetable productions ; 
 and the rest of the party returned home. Mr. Bel- 
 knap reached Dover on Saturday evening, July 31st. 
 
 On June 2d, 1785, by appointment of the Gen- 
 eral Court of New Hampshire, Mr. Belknap 
 preached the Election Sermon. The next day a 
 committee was appointed to thank him for his " in- 
 genious discourse," and request a copy for the 
 press. 
 
 The text was Psalm cxliv. 11, 15, and the sub- 
 ject, the true interest of the State, and the best 
 means of promoting its prosperity ; namely, the 
 education of youth, the improvement of the country, 
 peace, and religion. 
 
HIS ELECTION BKRMOK. 105 
 
 u What will become of your republican govern- 
 ments," he says, " if they are not nurtured by 
 public education, and strengthened by public virtue ? 
 If these points be not attended to, you may expect 
 a domineering aristocracy to succeed your present 
 democratic forms; and what that will degenerate 
 into, let the nature of aspiring ambition, and the 
 histories of fallen republics, tell." 
 
 The improvement of inland navigation and the 
 encouragement of home manufactures are strongly 
 recommended, and also the preservation of peace by 
 every possible method, concerning which, he says : 
 
 " It is a melancholy consideration, that one of 
 the most effectual methods to preserve peace is to be 
 prepared for war ; but such is the present constitu- 
 tion of things in this unhappy world, and such it 
 will be till the gospel of peace shall so far prevail 
 and extend its influence, as that the nations will 
 either avoid all occasions of controversy, or agree to 
 refer their disputes to some arbitrating power, with 
 a peaceful design to abide its determination. The 
 distant hint of such a proposal does honor to the 
 benevolent heart that conceived it, and will do more 
 honor to the states or nations that shall publicly 
 recommend and adopt it. But at present it seems 
 as if things must go on in their old course. The 
 lust of power has been a ruling passion ever since 
 the days of Nimrod, and there is no effectual way 
 to check it, but by forcible resistance. Convinced 
 
106 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 that a nation cannot preserve itself from insult, but 
 by rendering itself formidable, as a lover of peace 
 I must wish to see my country prepared for war ; 
 to see every cannon which now lies carelessly about 
 our streets and wharves, and in our forts, properly 
 secured from decay ; every musket and sword fur- 
 bished and kept in the nicest order ; our militia 
 officered, instructed, arranged and accoutred, and 
 ready for the field on the shortest notice ; our arse- 
 nals and magazines well supplied ; our fortifications 
 repaired and strengthened, and garrisoned at least 
 with invalids. God only knows who our next ene- 
 mies may be, or how soon we may have occasion for 
 our veteran officers and soldiers, and our foreign 
 friends and allies." 
 
 To promote the fourth and last object of national 
 prosperity mentioned above, he recommends a na- 
 tional religion, and then explains his meaning as 
 follows : 
 
 " Let no man here take an alarm as if by a na- 
 tional religion I would recommend the establishment 
 of any modes or forms in preference to others. The 
 world has too long been abused with attempts to 
 impose uniformity ; and our constitution has wisely 
 avoided that fatal rock, on which conscience and 
 truth have often suffered shipwreck. By a national 
 religion I would be understood to mean an acknowl- 
 edgment of the being, perfections, and providence of 
 one Supreme God ; a sense of his moral government, 
 
JOURNEY TO PHILADELPHIA. 107 
 
 both in this and a future state ; and a careful ob- 
 servance of the eternal laws of justice, truth and 
 mercy, in all our public conduct. If these princi- 
 ples be admitted into our national councils, and our 
 national character be formed upon them, we may 
 truly be said to have the Lord for our God, however 
 different our speculations or practice may be as in- 
 dividuals or religious societies. These are princi- 
 ples in which honest men of all denominations will 
 agree ; and if, by a strict adherence to them, we 
 acknowledge God in all our public ways, we shall 
 have reason to hope and believe that he will direct 
 our steps." 
 
 Other extracts might be made of equal or greater 
 interest ; but the above will show that though so 
 many years have passed since the discourse was de- 
 livered, the truths it contains are not obsolete, and 
 the practical application of some of them is equally 
 important to us in our present condition. 
 
 On the 17th of September, 1785, Mr. Belknap 
 left home on a journey to Philadelphia ; on the first 
 day, Saturday, proceeding only to Portsmouth, 
 where he remained over the Sabbath. On the 21st 
 he reached Boston, and stopped there for a week, 
 preaching on the 25th at Charlestown. The follow- 
 ing letter to his wife gives his prospects as to pur- 
 suing his journey : 
 
108 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 ' ; Boston, Tuesday, Sept. 27th, 1785. 
 
 "My Dear Wife, 
 
 " I am disappointed of my intended journey 
 to Providence, by the means of a set of English 
 factors, or something else, who, after I had engaged 
 a passage for myself in the coach, went and hired 
 the whole of it to themselves ; and the base fellow of 
 a coachman shut me out. Your brother is vexed 
 on the occasion as much as myself. Another coach 
 is expected in this evening, and I have laid in for a 
 place in it ; but as these stages do not go on any 
 fixed day, but only as they find company, I may be 
 detained here till Thursday : however, I have time 
 enough before me, the whole month of October, at 
 the end of which I hope to see you again. I have 
 received fifteen dollars of my Charlestown friends, 
 which has paid my expenses of outset, and leaves 
 me about seventy or eighty dollars for my further 
 expenses. I hope to hear from you when I get to 
 New York, which may be about the beginning of 
 next week." 
 
 On Thursday, the 29th, the stage coach was 
 again ready, and Mr. Belknap took a place in it for 
 Providence ; the illness of a lady passenger obliged 
 them to pass the night at "Hatch's," in Attleboro', 
 and they reached Providence the next morning. 
 While here, Mr. Belknap endeavored to gain infor- 
 mation concerning the early history of the town. 
 
VISIT TO PROVIDENCE. 109 
 
 On Sunday, he preached twice for Mr. Hitchcock ; 
 and on Monday, he says : " Spent the day in 
 searching among some of the ancient people, and 
 those of a literary turn, for some anecdotes of Rog- 
 er Williams and the old settlers of this place. Da- 
 rius Sessions, Esq., formerly Governor, informed me 
 that Williams came from Boston to Pawtucket river 
 in the winter, and that he passed it above the falls, 
 on the ice, and came to the high plain on the west 
 side of Moshawsick river, from whence he saw the 
 bay, which he was rejoiced to find was an arm of 
 the sea ; that he crossed Moshawsick creek, and on 
 the eastern side found a spring issuing from under 
 the hill ; of this he drank, having been without 
 water for some time before, the. streams being fro- 
 zen ; and observing that God in his providence had 
 taken care for the supply of their wants, gave the 
 place the name of Providence. Governor Bowen's 
 tradition differs from this only in one particular, 
 namely, that he came down to Pawtucket river in 
 a canoe, and up the stream to Moshawsick, and 
 landed near the said spring. From the nature of 
 the place and the season of the year, I think the 
 former account most probable. 
 
 " Governor Bowen also told me that the last in- 
 terview which old Roger Williams had with Philip, 
 Sachem of the Wampanoags, was just at the begin- 
 ning of the troubles in 1675, when Philip with his 
 warriors had been driving cattle from Rehoboth, and 
 
110 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 came to the hill opposite Williams's house at Provi- 
 dence. Williams took his staff, and crossed the wa- 
 ter at the fording-place (where the mills now stand), 
 to go and expostulate with them. Philip, seeing 
 him, came down the hill to meet him, and forbade 
 his going up, telling him the young Indians would 
 kill him. Williams pressed for leave to go up, but 
 Philip would not permit him ; he then expostulated 
 on their warlike appearance, asked if any injustice 
 had been done, and vindicated himself and his 
 neighbors from any blame. Philip answered that 
 his young men had grown jealous that the English 
 wanted to dispossess them of the country, and were 
 determined to make a bold push to exterminate them, 
 and that he could not restrain them. He then led 
 the old man back to the water, and stood by to see 
 him safe over ; but, before he could ascend the hill 
 to return home, the young Indians fired at him. 
 They then held their feast. Williams never saw 
 Philip after this." 
 
 Mr. Belknap obtained, by the kindness of a 
 friend, Governor Hopkins' account of the planting 
 and growth of Providence ; and his journal contains 
 the following observation on the principles of its 
 founder : 
 
 " Upon the whole, I think that although Roger 
 Williams was right in his idea of liberty of con- 
 science, upon which principle the colony of Rhode 
 Island was established, yet there ought to have been 
 
VISIT TO NEWPORT. Ill 
 
 more care taken by the early settlers here for the 
 cultivation of the minds of youth, by erecting and 
 endowing schools and seminaries of learning. In 
 that case, youth, being properly instructed and prin- 
 cipled, would have known what use to make of 
 their liberty, when they had come to years of un- 
 derstanding ; but this early cultivation being want- 
 ing, an unlimited liberty of conscience and freedom 
 from the obligation of supporting ministers, has in 
 too many instances produced -an unrestrained licen- 
 tiousness of manners, and a careless disregard of 
 virtue. Massachusetts on one side, and Connecticut 
 on the other, were at the same time very strict in 
 regard to settling ministers, and enforcing the pay- 
 ment of taxes for their support ; it may be that the 
 Rhode Island people were fond of showing them- 
 selves too much in the other extreme, and were led 
 into more licentiousness by means of these exam- 
 ples." 
 
 " Tuesday, Oct. 4th, P. M. There was an 
 incipient meeting of the Rhode Island Association, 
 at Mr. Hitchcock's. Dr. Stiles, Mr. Rogerson, and 
 Ellis of Rehoboth, White of Bristol, and Smith of 
 Dighton, present. In the evening, a lecture, which, 
 after much discussion, fell to my lot by vote to 
 preach. Mr. Ellis prayed, and I preached from 
 Acts xxvi. 28 : ' Almost thou persuadest me to be 
 a Christian.' " 
 
 The next day he sailed in a packet for Newport, 
 
112 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 where many sad marks were visible of its late sub- 
 jection to the British. The public library was 
 pilfered by them of its most valuable books ; the 
 elegant building in which it was deposited also suf- 
 fered much damage. The meeting-houses were 
 turned into barracks and storehouses, and some 
 elegant buildings burnt or otherwise destroyed. 
 
 After many delays, on Monday morning, Oct. 
 10th, between 8 and 9 o'clock, he landed at Crane 
 Wharf, in the city of New York. Of the passage, 
 the following portion of a letter to his wife gives 
 some account : 
 
 "New York, Oct. 11th, 1785. 
 
 "My Dear Wife, 
 
 " From the letter I wrote while at Provi- 
 dence, you will see that I survived the storm which you 
 mention, being all the time of it at Boston. Several 
 squally days which we have had since, I was either 
 at Providence or Xewport, in one and the other of 
 which places I was detained eight days, waiting for 
 a fair wind and a freight of passengers. 
 
 " On Friday last Ave sailed ; but, before we left the 
 harbor, the wind came ahead, and we beat to wind- 
 ward (a species of sailing I never before was ac- 
 quainted with, and never wish to be again), till we 
 found it impossible to weather Point Judith, and 
 then we returned to port. Saturday morning, with 
 three more passengers, seven in all, we sailed again, 
 
ARRIVES AT NEW YORK. 113 
 
 with a fair wind, and had a very pleasant passage 
 up the Sound, in a very swift-sailing sloop, with ev- 
 ery desirable accommodation for eating, drinking, 
 and sleeping." 
 
 Among the passengers were a newly married 
 pair, on their way to a new settlement, one hundred 
 and thirty miles above New York, towards Albany. 
 The letter continues : 
 
 "lam treated here with every possible mark of 
 attention, by Mr. Hazard and his very cheerful and 
 obliging wife. I hope to spend the next Sabbath in 
 Philadelphia. I am sorry our people cannot get a 
 supply of preaching ; but it is impossible for me to 
 return before the end of this month, do the best I 
 can, with the best winds and weather." 
 
 Among other items, is this, which still has interest 
 for us : 
 
 " At Providence, I met with Dr. Stiles, who in- 
 troduced me to a very worthy family at Newport, 
 by the name of Channing. 
 
 " In short, I have met with as much good com- 
 pany and good treatment as I could possibly wish ; 
 and except the beating to windward, on Friday last, 
 w T hich made me downright sea-sick, I have not had 
 an unpleasant hour since I left home. Adieu, my 
 dear, and believe me your most 
 
 " Affectionate friend, 
 
 " Jere. Belknap. 
 
114 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Oct. 12th. A mail in to-day from the eastward, 
 and no letter for me. I go to Philadelphia to-morrow." 
 " Heaven bless you ! " 
 
 The sittings of Congress had been removed from 
 Philadelphia to New York ; and Mr. Belknap gives 
 the following description of the room occupied by 
 them, in the old City Hall, in Wall Street : 
 
 " The chamber where Congress sits is ornamented 
 with full-length portraits of the King and Queen of 
 France, in rich frames, covered with a silk curtain : 
 these pictures are highly finished, and were presented 
 by the king to Congress. The President's seat is 
 a plain arm-chair, on a raised step, under a green 
 canopy. Over his head is a large sun, surrounded 
 by twelve stars ; before him, a desk ; at his right 
 hand, sits the secretary, with a green desk ; several 
 tables serve for the members, who sit in plain, green 
 chairs. 
 
 " Having spent four days at New York with my 
 friend Hazard, who was so kind as to show me all 
 worth seeing in the city, on the afternoon of Thurs- 
 day, October 13th, I crossed Hudson's river to 
 Paulet Hook, about sunset, to be ready to go in the 
 Neiv Flying Diligence the next morning. 
 
 " Friday, 14th. Between 3 and 4 in the morn- 
 ing, I set off in the stage for Philadelphia. We 
 rode nine miles to Bergen Neck, and then crossed 
 a ferry, which brought us to Woodbridge. Just 
 
ARRIVES AT PHILADELPHIA. 115 
 
 before we reached the second ferry, we perceived 
 the dawn of day, and the sun rose when we had 
 ridden two miles from it ; so that we had travelled 
 sixteen miles and crossed two ferries before sunrise, 
 and shifted horses twice. The third stage brought 
 us to Brunswick, where we breakfasted. We here 
 crossed the Raritan in a scow, open at both ends, 
 to receive and discharge the carriage without unhar- 
 nessing or dismounting ; and the scow was pulled 
 across the river by a rope. We passed through 
 Princeton about noon, and got to Trenton to dinner ; 
 then passed the Delaware in another scow, which 
 was navigated only by setting-poles. We then 
 drove thirty miles over a plain, level country, at a 
 great rate, and arrived at Philadelphia just at sun- 
 set, being ninety-six miles. We changed horses 
 seven times in this route, and the carriage four 
 times." 
 
 Here his first object was to see his son, who was 
 apprenticed to Mr. Aitken, the printer of the first 
 volume of his History. The meeting is thus de- 
 scribed, in a letter to his wife : 
 
 M I sent for Josey to the inn where the stage put 
 up, and the dear child was overjoyed, and shed 
 tears at seeing me. They had heard of my arrival 
 at New York, and the family talk had ever since 
 been about me. A lodging was prepared for me 
 at Mr. Aitken's, and I was received with all the 
 cordiality of an intimate friend. 
 
116 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Saturday, 15th. Attended a famous trial in 
 the State House, where the King of France was 
 plaintiff, and Robert Morris defendant. The jury 
 gave it to the latter. The judges were dressed in 
 scarlet robes, and sat with their hats on. Their 
 names were McKean, Bryan, Atlee, and Rush. 
 The lawyers had black coats, but no gowns." 
 
 On Sunday, Oct. 16th, in the morning, Mr. Bel- 
 knap " attended divine worship at the Scots Sece- 
 ders' Church ; " in the afternoon, he preached for 
 " Mr. Duffield, pastor of the old Presbyterian Soci- 
 ety ; " and, remaining in Philadelphia through the 
 next week, he preached on the next Sabbath for Dr. 
 Ewing and Dr. Sprout, also presbyterian clergymen. 
 
 He visited Bishop White, then Dr. White, min- 
 ister of Christ Church, " an amiable and wor- 
 thy man," and saw, likewise, Dr. McGaw, another 
 episcopal clergyman, whom he calls " a sensible, 
 modest, candid man." The latter informed Mr. 
 Belknap, that the late convention of the episcopal 
 churches in Philadelphia had agreed upon a reform 
 of the liturgy, &c. Mr. Belknap says, "There 
 seems to be a spirit of candor, liberality, and inde- 
 pendence, in all their proceedings, which is a good 
 sign of a further reformation. 
 
 " The presbyterians, in this part of the country, 
 seem to be forming an union, and laying aside their 
 former distinctions : this is another good sign. 
 
 " The many religious distinctions in this place 
 
THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 117 
 
 have, doubtless, some ill effect on the tempers of 
 some of the people ; but there is observable in the 
 greater part that I conversed with, a spirit of can- 
 dor and benevolence. Persons of various denomi- 
 nations frequently assist each other to build churches 
 and schools. The Quakers are an opulent and 
 independent society ; some of the richest of them 
 ride in coaches and chariots, and their women wear 
 umbrellas; and some of the younger, hoops and 
 sashes, and gold watches ; others are very plain." 
 
 Of the Philosophical Society, of which he was a 
 member, Mr. Belknap gives the following account, 
 in a letter to a friend : 
 
 " As to the Philosophical Society, it is neglected 
 by most of the members ; scarcely six or eight get 
 together, unless on some extraordinary occasion. 
 One meeting happened while I was there, and I 
 fully expected to attend it ; but though at the ap- 
 pointed hour I was in company with my very worthy 
 friend, Dr. Clarkson, who is a member, and urged 
 him to go, as he had partly engaged before, yet his 
 indifference to the matter prevailed on me to sacri- 
 fice my philosophy to friendship, and we spent the 
 evening (as he thought) much more pleasantly. I 
 afterward learned that there were five or six of them 
 together ; and their entertainment was a piece that 
 Dr. Franklin sent them, on a method to make chim- 
 neys carry smoke well. As to printing another vol- 
 ume of transactions, their papers have been scattered 
 
118 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 and lost in the late war; but it is said they have 
 enough to make another volume, if any body would 
 put it forward. I hope the publication of ours will 
 set them about it ; for they will not like to be rivalled 
 by the New Englanders, being already before us in 
 point of improvements of almost every kind, not 
 merely in their own opinions, but in the estimation of 
 some candid countrymen of ours, who have visited 
 them." 
 
 On Monday the 24th, he returned to New York. 
 The journey varied from that to Philadelphia, by a 
 sail of fifteen miles, from Elizabethtown Point to 
 New York. 
 
 " Wednesday 26th, at half past 2 P. M., set sail 
 in the Polly packet, Godfrey, jun., commander, 
 for Rhode Island. The wind north-west, and a fresh 
 gale, passed Hellgate rapidly, wind and tide in our 
 favor ; had a steady fine gale all night, and made a 
 long run ; course, east by north. On the morning of 
 Thursday, Oct. 27th, at sunrise, found ourselves be- 
 tween Fisher's Island and Stonington ; at quarter 
 before twelve, we landed at Newport ; the voyage 
 twenty-one hours only, which is esteemed a very 
 fine one. Dined this day with Mr. William Chan- 
 ning, and lodged at his house, being persuaded to 
 stay here over the Sabbath." 
 
 On Sunday, Oct. 30th, Mr. Belknap preached in 
 the morning, for the second congregational church, 
 late Dr. Stiles', then President of Yale College ; in 
 
EMBARRASSMENTS AT DOVER. 119 
 
 the afternoon for Mr. Hopkins ; and in the evening 
 for Mr. Foster, a Baptist clergyman. 
 
 In the course of this journey, Mr. Belknap preach- 
 ed for Presbyterian and Baptist clergymen, as well as 
 for those of his own denomination, Congregationalists. 
 This interchange was cnstomary then, and must have 
 had a beneficial influence in enlarging the views of 
 the different sects, and promoting a spirit of tolera- 
 tion and charity toward one another, of which there 
 is always need in a religious community like ours, 
 where every man is free to do that which is right in 
 his own eyes, and yet, notwithstanding this privilege, 
 is often ready to condemn his neighbor for looking 
 in a different direction. 
 
 On Monday, the 31st, he sailed up the bay to 
 Providence ; and on Saturday, November 5th, he 
 reached Dover in safety. His journal concludes 
 with this statement, so satisfactory to the returning 
 traveller, " Found all my family well." 
 
 The embarrassment occasioned by the non-payment 
 of his salary grew more and more distressing, and 
 the unwillingness of the parish to do their duty was 
 more and more apparent. In 1774, Mr. Belknap 
 applied to them for a supply of wood, reminding 
 them that he had relieved them from it at the time 
 of his settlement, on account of their aged pastor's 
 requirements. Mr. Cushing died March 25th, 1769, 
 at the advanced age of seventy-nine years ; and the 
 necessity for this application so long after, shows the 
 
120 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 disposition of a people from whom there was every 
 reason to expect a contrary course of action. Four 
 years later, in a letter to a friend, which was never 
 sent, he thus describes his position : 
 
 " I scarcely think from what I have experienced, 
 that I shall be able to obtain the necessaries of life 
 another year, without the most strenuous exertions 
 of those who are my friends from principle ; and 
 their influence will not prevail on others to do their 
 duty, so that my support is absolutely become a 
 burden to a people who, I used to think, bore it 
 cheerfully. 
 
 " Was it owing to their poverty, or sufferings in 
 the cause of the country, I could not only bear it 
 patiently, but should think it my duty to partake of 
 their sufferings to the utmost possible degree ; but, 
 the truth is, they have been growing rich on the spoils 
 of their country, and you know the adage, ' Crescit 
 amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit.' 
 
 " There are at this day hundreds of bushels of 
 bread-corn withheld for a price. It is with diffi- 
 culty I can get a supply. I am actually obliged 
 to plant my own bread-corn this year, and expect 
 to handle the hoe as a common laborer, as my 
 wife is forced to do the wheel, to the great in- 
 jury of her health, and the neglect of the other 
 necessary business of the family ; and my neighbors 
 have their flocks and herds so multiplied, that I can- 
 not even get pasturing for my cows. 
 
HE LEAVES DOVER. 121 
 
 " These things are a continual source of vexation 
 both of body and mind ; thej take off my attention 
 from my proper business, and unfit me for the duties 
 of my station." 
 
 These troubles kept his mind in perpetual agita- 
 tion, until the final decision to leave Dover, in Sep- 
 tember, 1786 ; which was a great relief to himself 
 and his friends, though it threw him upon the world 
 with a family to support, and only his own powers 
 of mind to depend upon for subsistence. 
 
 He bore his trials with Christian fortitude. He 
 did not speak harshly of those who had shown them- 
 selves so unworthy ; very few of his friends were 
 made acquainted with his difficulties ; and even to 
 his own children, then and in after years, he was 
 always silent on the subject. 
 
 A narrative of his efforts during four years to ob- 
 tain compliance with a contract made by unanimous 
 consent, and of the evasions and procrastinations by 
 which these efforts were defeated, was written by 
 Mr. Belknap, and is still in existence ; but it may 
 be passed over in silence, as it relates to the actions 
 of a generation that sleep with their fathers, and a 
 better instructed people now occupy their places, 
 some of whom have shown a respectful remembrance 
 of his name. 
 
 The only contemporary of Mr. Belknap now living, 
 is the venerable Dr. Ezra Green, of Dover, who 
 
122 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 was an active member of the parish, and was always 
 his firm friend, and a worthy and honorable man. 
 He is now more than one hundred and one years old, 
 yet still retains his mental faculties, and cherishes 
 the memory of his former pastor. 
 
 On dissolving his connection with the Dover 
 parish, Mr. Belknap wrote a letter to President 
 Willard, of Harvard University, of which the follow- 
 ing is an imperfect sketch : 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " The kindness which you have shown at 
 several times in inquiring into my circumstances, 
 and offering your assistance in case of need, encour- 
 ages me to inform you, that, after long waiting on the 
 people of this parish for a just and amicable settle- 
 ment, and finding no methods practicable to form 
 such an union as would be mutually agreeable, I 
 have now finally quitted them ; the relation being 
 dissolved by mutual consent. 
 
 " I am now again a candidate for the ministry, 
 and can, if need be, procure sufficient testimonials 
 from the neighboring ministers and other gentle- 
 men. As Providence has placed you in a situation 
 which renders you capable of diffusive benefit to 
 ministers and churches, it may be in your power — I 
 doubt not it is your inclination — to serve me as well 
 as others in my circumstances. I wish to be ser- 
 
CONTINUES IX THE MINISTRY. 123 
 
 viceable to the best interests of mankind, and to be 
 still employed in the vineyard, if the Lord of it shall 
 appoint me a place." 
 
 He had no thought of leaving the ministry, hold- 
 ing the opinion that any other occupation would be 
 a descent from that dignified station ; but preached 
 for several months to vacant parishes, where he was 
 invited, obtaining the usual compensation, until he 
 received an acceptable call from a society in Boston, 
 the ensuing winter. During this time, he preached 
 at Exeter, Concord, Beverly, &c, and his friends 
 proposed various plans for his acceptance. 
 
 Dr. John Eliot suggested a belles-lettres school 
 in Boston ; the proprietors of the Columbian Maga- 
 zine, of Philadelphia, offered him one hundred pounds 
 per annum, if he would edit that work ; and Mr. 
 Matthew Carey, who was one of them, offered him 
 twenty guineas for the historical part of an Ameri- 
 can Annual Register, which he proposed to publish. 
 These proposals did not reach Mr. Belknap, until 
 he was otherwise occupied and engaged. 
 
 The first place he went to on leaving Dover was 
 Exeter ; and, while there, the insurrection broke out, 
 of which an account is given in the History of Xew 
 Hampshire. The following is an extract from a 
 letter written on the spot, at the time of the oc- 
 currence of the events which it describes : 
 
124 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Exeter, 24th Sept., at night, 1786. 
 
 " The week past has afforded a very busy and 
 important scene here. A party of about two hun- 
 dred men, headed by the Chairman of a late con- 
 vention, appeared in arms on the 20th inst., "Wed- 
 nesday last, and beset the house where the general 
 court was sitting, to demand an answer, in half an 
 hour, to a petition which they had before sent, for an 
 emission of paper money. They kept the court 
 prisoners all the afternoon ; but, as soon as it grew 
 dark, a few old continental officers, with some others, 
 formed an association, shouted ' Huzza for govern- 
 ment ! ' got out an old field piece, and set them 
 scampering over the fences so as to release the mem- 
 bers from their confinement. The mob retreated 
 about a mile or two, and passed the night in some 
 houses and barns. In the evening, Gen. Sullivan 
 sent out expresses, and collected the militia and 
 three companies of light horse; early the next 
 morning, he despatched a party of thirty horsemen 
 by a private road, who came on the rear of the in- 
 surgents, took possession of a bridge which cut off 
 their retreat, and then advanced with the militia 
 toward the bridge, where thirty-nine of the insur- 
 gents were made prisoners, without any other dam- 
 age than a few slight cuts. Parties of light horse 
 were afterward despatched as far as Londonderry, 
 and some more taken in their own houses, and 
 brought here. They have been examined ; some of 
 
INSURRECTION AT EXETER. 125 
 
 them appeared extremely humble and ashamed ; 
 they were led into the mischief by artful men, who 
 have kept themselves out of the way. The greater 
 part were released, and sent home ; but six of the 
 most culpable are in prison here, to be brought be- 
 fore the Superior Court to-morrow. This evening a 
 report is brought in, that a rescue is to be attempted ; 
 and the Chief Justice has issued a warrant for a 
 strong guard at the prison. ****** 
 
 "Monday before sunrise. No disturbance has 
 happened, so I hope the culprits are safe. The 
 whole conduct of this affair on both sides, I trust, 
 will prove beneficial. The riotous spirit has met a 
 severe check, which will give a deep wound to the 
 knavish system ; the hands of lawful government 
 will be strengthened ; it will give a spur to the 
 militia, and each side will now know their own 
 strength and weakness. Our General Sullivan be- 
 haved with great prudence, firmness, and despatch ; 
 and success crowned his exertions. General Ceily 
 distinguished himself by rushing sword in hand 
 among the rioters, and pulling them out as a butcher 
 would seize sheep in a flock. Several other conti- 
 nental officers and soldiers did eminent service. 
 The rabble were struck with a panic at the sight of 
 the light horse, and the very name of artillery. 
 They fled over fences and into the woods, and scat- 
 tered in all directions." 
 
126 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1784—1788. 
 
 The History of JVeiv Hampshire. — Letter to Gen. 
 Washington , and Reply. — Invitation from the 
 Church in Federal Street, Boston. — Letter from 
 Proprietors, and Reply. — Anonymous Accusa- 
 tion and Defence. — Installation. — Various Oc- 
 cupations. — Correspondence with Dr. Rush. 
 
 The next event of importance to be noticed in Mr. 
 Belknap's life, and it is one of the most important, 
 is the publication of the History of New Hampshire. 
 In the preface to the first volume, he gives this ac- 
 count of the causes which led him to engage in the 
 work : " The compiler of this history was early im- 
 pelled, by his natural curiosity, to inquire into the 
 original settlement, progress, and improvement of 
 the country which gave him birth. 
 
 " When he took up his residence in New Hamp- 
 shire, his inquiries were more particularly directed 
 to that part of it. Having met with some valuable 
 manuscripts which were but little known, he began to 
 extract and methodize the principal things in them ; 
 and this employment was (to speak in the style of a 
 celebrated modern author) ' his hobby-horse.' " 
 
 The work was commenced during the administra- 
 tion of Governor Wentworth, who w r as much inter- 
 
THE HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 127 
 
 ested in its progress, and had the command of books 
 and papers, which he lent to Mr. Belknap, or had 
 transcribed for him. In a letter dated July 6th, 
 1774, thanking the governor for some papers and 
 books, he says : 
 
 " When I consider the trouble I put your Ex- 
 cellency to, and the expectation you and other gen- 
 tlemen may probably form from thence, I am 
 ashamed to think that, after all, the mountain may 
 bring forth but a mouse, and that even that will be 
 a long while in coming ; for I find, since my late 
 sickness, that study greatly disagrees with my 
 health." 
 
 And again, in a subsequent letter : 
 
 " I write like one that expected to live to finish 
 what I have begun ; but, alas ! how uncertain is hu- 
 man life ! My health is now in so precarious a situ- 
 ation, that I am advised to abandon study, and 
 betake myself to physic and exercise. What will 
 be the event is known only to Him who superintends 
 the universe ; but, if I should not live to perfect 
 this work, my collections will be left in such a man- 
 ner as that I trust they will not be lost or scattered ; 
 and they may serve as a help to some other person, 
 better qualified for such an undertaking." 
 
 In his relation of events, he was very desirous to 
 avoid that partial coloring which so often makes a 
 history unfaithful, and took great pains to ascertain 
 the truth for himself, that the work might be original, 
 
128 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 and not too dependent on previous publications. To 
 form a correct estimate of the labor of such an un- 
 dertaking, the condition of the country must be con- 
 sidered ; — without any written history of authority ; 
 the materials to be gathered from manuscripts scat- 
 tered here and there in the possession of individuals, 
 or from the lips of those who had passed through the 
 scenes and events to be described ; and the troubles 
 of the existing war, which occupied men's minds so 
 entirely, that it was exceedingly difficult to gain at- 
 tention for any literary object. Notwithstanding 
 these and other difficulties, which made him doubt the 
 possible success of his labors, Mr. Belknap, encour- 
 aged by discerning friends, steadily persevered. 
 
 The first volume was published in 1784, at Phila- 
 delphia, under the superintendence of Ebenezer Haz- 
 ard, Esq., Postmaster-general, and compiler of the 
 State Papers ; a collection of historical documents, 
 in two large quarto volumes, which he labored with 
 unceasing industry to complete ; contenting himself, 
 like a true patriot, with the humble but arduous 
 task of a compiler, whose work should form a foun- 
 dation for the future historian of his country. He 
 was the most constant and confidential correspond- 
 ent of Mr. Belknap, and executed the trust re- 
 posed in him with the fidelity of disinterested friend- 
 ship. 
 
 The second and third volumes were published in 
 Boston, in 1791 and 1792. 
 
THE BEE NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 In the preface to the third volume, the author 
 
 •• Twenty years have n since this work 
 
 first undertaken ; daring which time it has 
 
 with many embarrassments, and has more 
 
 than once been thrown by as impracticable : but 
 
 the favorable ir has met with from the 
 
 itinual importunity of its friends, 
 
 have prevailed on me to complete ir : for which pur 
 
 a have been spared. The receipt on 
 
 the sale of the volumes . falls short of the 
 
 actual expense of the impression. How productive 
 
 it may prove in future, is uncertain. As some en- 
 
 nent to the work, the Legislature of New 
 
 Hampshire have granted fifty pounds, -which I 
 
 have received, and for which they again have my 
 
 thanks.' * 
 
 From thi pecuniary reeom- 
 
 r continued at intervals throng 
 years, was little or nothing ; but the reputation of 
 the work, founded on its impartiality and accuracy, 
 
 the sound and liberal views of the author. Lai - 
 only been maintained, but increased; and that writer 
 who ifi -edly the most philosophical in his re- 
 
 gies into the hi n of our coun- 
 
 . ' . c-vpieville (Democratie en Ameii 
 
 Is: vol. note F. -0), thus £ it : 
 
 •• The History of Xew Hampshire, by Jeremy 
 Belknap, is a work held in merited estimation. The 
 
130 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 author gives extremely precious details concerning 
 the political and religious principles of the Puritans ; 
 on the causes of their emigration and their laws. 
 The reader of Belknap will find more general 
 ideas and more strength of thought, than are to be 
 met with in other American historians, even to the 
 present day." 
 
 In the third chapter of the first volume, which is 
 especially commended by De Tocqueville, are the 
 following remarks, concerning the civil and ecclesias- 
 tical government of the infant Puritan colony : 
 
 " As they were fond of imagining a near resem- 
 blance between the circumstances of their settlement 
 in this country and the redemption of Israel from 
 Egypt or Babylon, it is not strange that they should 
 also look upon their i commonwealth as an institu- 
 tion of God for the preservation of their churches, 
 and the civil rulers as both members and fathers of 
 them.' The famous John Cotton, the first minister 
 in Boston, was the chief promoter of this sentiment. 
 When he arrived, in 1633, he found the people di- 
 vided in their opinions. Some had been admitted to 
 the privileges of freemen at the first General Court, 
 who were not in communion with the churches : 
 after this, an order was passed, that none but mem- 
 bers of the churches should be admitted freemen ; 
 whereby all other persons were excluded from every 
 office or privilege, civil or military. This great man 
 by his eloquence confirmed those who had embraced 
 
EXTRACTS FROM THE HISTORY. 131 
 
 this opinion, and earnestly pleaded ' that the gov- 
 ernment might be conducted as a theocracy, where- 
 in the Lord was judge, lawgiver, and king ; that the 
 laws which he gave Israel might be adopted, so far 
 as they were of moral and perpetual equity ; that 
 the people might be considered as God's people, in 
 covenant with him ; that none but persons of ap- 
 proved piety and eminent gifts should be chosen 
 rulers ; that the ministers should be consulted in all 
 matters of religion ; and that the magistrate should 
 have a superintending and coercive power over the 
 churches.' 
 
 " At the desire of the court, he compiled a sys- 
 tem of laws, founded chiefly on the laws of Moses, 
 which was considered by the legislative body as the 
 general standard ; though they never formally 
 adopted it, and, in some instances, varied from it. 
 
 " These principles were fundamentally the same 
 with those on which were grounded all the persecu- 
 tions which they had endured in England, and nat- 
 urally led to the same extremes of conduct which 
 they had so bitterly complained of in those civil and 
 ecclesiastical rulers, from w T hose tyranny they had 
 fled into this wilderness. They had already pro- 
 ceeded a step farther than the hierarchy had ever 
 attempted. No test-laiv had as yet been made in 
 England; but they had, at one blow, cut off all 
 but those of their own communion from the privileges 
 of civil offices, however otherwise qualified. They 
 
182 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 thought, that, as they had suffered so much in laying 
 the foundation of a new state, which was supposed 
 tu be i a model of the glorious kingdom of Christ 
 on earth,' they had an exclusive right to all the 
 honors and privileges of it ; and, having the power 
 in their hands, they effectually established their 
 pretensions, and made all dissenters and disturbers 
 feel the weight of their indignation. 
 
 " In consequence of the union thus formed between 
 the church and state, on the plan of the Jewish 
 theocracy, the ministers were called to sit in council, 
 and give their advice in matters of religion and 
 cases of conscience which came before the court ; 
 and without them, they never proceeded to any act 
 of an ecclesiastical nature. As none were allowed 
 to vote in the election of rulers but freemen, and 
 freemen must be church members ; and as none 
 could be admitted into the church but by the elders 
 who first examined, and then propounded them to 
 the brethren for their vote, the clergy acquired 
 hereby a vast ascendency over both rulers and peo- 
 ple, and had, in effect, the keys of the state as well 
 as the church in their hands. The magistrates, on 
 the other hand, regulated the gathering of churches, 
 interposed in the settlement and dismission of minis- 
 ters, arbitrated in ecclesiastical controversies, and 
 controlled synodical assemblies. This coercive pow- 
 er in the magistrate was deemed absolutely necessa- 
 ry, to preserve ' the order of the gospel.' 
 
EXTRACTS FROM THE HISTORY. 133 
 
 " The principle on which this power is grounded 
 is expressed in the Cambridge Platform, in terms as 
 soft as possible, and (like divers other articles in 
 that work) is curiously and artfully drawn up, so 
 that there is an appearance of liberty and tenderness, 
 but none in reality. For, although the magistrate 
 was not to restrain any good works, yet he was to 
 be the judge of the good or evil of the works to be 
 restrained ; and what security could churches have 
 that they should not be restrained in the perform- 
 ance of what they judged to be good works ? They 
 might, indeed, think themselves safe, whilst their 
 rulers were so zealous for the purity of the churches 
 of which themselves were members, and whilst 
 their ministers were consulted in all ecclesiastical 
 affairs ; but if the civil powers had acted without 
 such consultation, or if the ministers had been in- 
 duced to yield to the opinion of the magistrates, 
 when contrary to the interest of the churches, what 
 then would have become of religious liberty ? " 
 
 The first and second volumes contain the history 
 of the state from the discovery of the river Piscat- 
 aqua to the adoption of the Federal Constitution ; 
 and the third consists of a geographical description 
 of Xew Hampshire, with sketches of its natural his- 
 tory, productions, improvements, and present state 
 of society, laws and government ; all demanding 
 different researches and results, many of which 
 were obtained only by sending circular letters to 
 
134 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 the clergymen and other principal persons in each 
 town in the state, requesting communications on the 
 various subjects of inquiry. 
 
 In a notice of the work by the London Monthly 
 Review for October, 1793, the hope is expressed 
 that a general account of the country may be un- 
 dertaken ; and the opinion is advanced, that in such 
 a work the natural history of the several states 
 would be the most interesting topic, as we are desti- 
 tute of antiquities, and the histories of the provinces 
 will combine into one general account of the whole. 
 Notwithstanding this opinion of the English Review- 
 er, the omission of the third volume, in the edition 
 issued by the late Dr. Farmer of Concord, since 
 the expiration of the copyright, has mutilated the 
 work, and done great injustice to the author. The 
 agreeable style in which the descriptions of plants, 
 animals, &c, are given, makes it by no means the 
 least interesting portion of the history ; and there 
 are many observations on subjects important to the 
 welfare of the state, which the author, undoubtedly, 
 hoped would have a beneficial effect on its inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 The volume closes with an address to the people 
 of New Hampshire ; and the concluding paragraph 
 gives the author's idea of a happy people. He says : 
 
 " Were I to form a picture of happy society, it 
 would be a town consisting of a due mixture of hills, 
 valleys, and streams of water. The land w r ell 
 
EXTRACTS FROM THE HISTORY. 135 
 
 fenced and cultivated ; the roads and bridges in 
 good repair ; a decent inn for the refreshment of 
 travellers, and for public entertainments. The in- 
 habitants mostly husbandmen ; their wives and 
 daughters domestic manufacturers ; a suitable pro- 
 portion of handicraft workmen, and two or three 
 traders ; a physician and lawyer, each of whom 
 should have a farm for his support. A clergyman, 
 of any denomination which should be agreeable to 
 the majority, a man of good understanding, of a 
 candid disposition, and exemplary morals ; not a 
 metaphysical nor a polemical, but a serious and prac- 
 tical, preacher. A schoolmaster, who should un- 
 derstand his business, and teach his pupils to govern 
 themselves. A social library, annually increasing, 
 and under good regulation. A club of sensible men, 
 seeking mutual improvement. A decent musical 
 society. No intriguing politician, horse-jockey, gam- 
 bler, or sot ; but all such characters treated with con- 
 tempt. Such a situation may be considered as the 
 most favorable to social happiness, of any which 
 this world can afford." 
 
 The following paragraph shows the condition of 
 mineralogy and its kindred sciences at that time, 
 which contrasts strongly with their present and con- 
 stantly increasing importance, even then foreseen by 
 the writer : 
 
 " Mineralogy is a branch of science which is but 
 little cultivated. Men of genius and science have 
 
186 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 not leisure to pursue objects from which present ad- 
 vantages cannot be drawn. The disappointments 
 which have attended some expensive attempts, the 
 air of mystery thrown over the subject by ignorant 
 pretenders, and the facility with which every min- 
 eral may be imported from abroad, have discouraged 
 inquiries. But, from the specimens which have ap- 
 peared, there can be no doubt of the existence of 
 mineral and fossil treasures, in the search of which, 
 future generations will find employment." 
 
 The first volume of the History was sent to Gen- 
 eral Washington, in July, 1784, through Mr. Haz- 
 ard ; but, by some delay, did not reach its 
 destination till the following January, w r hen Mr. 
 Hazard says, in one of his letters : 
 
 " General Washington has received your History, 
 and sends the enclosed acknowledgment of it, which 
 I am persuaded you will consider as a part of your 
 valuables. The General writes me about it as fol- 
 lows : ' I thank you for your attention in this mat- 
 ter, and pray you to be at the trouble of forwarding 
 the enclosed to that gentleman (Mr. Belknap), for 
 whose pleasing remembrance of me I feel myself 
 obliged.' This sentence -from Greneral Washing- 
 ton is worth more, and contains more honor, than 
 all the monumental stones erected to the memory of 
 British poets ! " 
 
 The following letter, to which Mr. Hazard en- 
 closed the reply, was sent with the History : 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH WASHINGTON. 137 
 
 " To General Washington : 
 
 " Dover, N. H. July 19th, 1784. 
 
 " Great and Good Sir, 
 
 " After the multitude of addresses which 
 have been presented to you in the course and at the 
 conclusion of the late war, it would be needless for 
 an obscure individual to repeat the voice of admira- 
 tion and gratitude which has resounded from every 
 part of America for the eminent services which you 
 have rendered to this country. It shall be my part, 
 Sir, to ask your acceptance of the first volume of a 
 work, in which you will see the early struggles and 
 sufferings of one of those states which now claim the 
 honor of being defended by your sword. Though in 
 the late arduous contest it has not been so much ex- 
 posed as in former wars, yet, having long been a 
 nursery of stern heroism, it has bred an hardy race 
 of men, whose merits as soldiers are well known to 
 their beloved general, and who will always glory in 
 having assisted to plant the laurel which adorns his 
 brow. 
 
 " I am, Sir, with a degree of respect approaching 
 to veneration, 
 
 " Your Excellency's most obedient servant, 
 
 "J. B." 
 
 ' ; Mount Vernon, 5th January, 1785. 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " A few days ago, under cover from Mr. 
 Hazard, of Philadelphia, I was honored with your 
 
138 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 favor of the 19th of July, and the first volume of 
 your History of New Hampshire. 
 
 " For both, I pray you to accept my thanks ; 
 but my acknowledgments are more particularly due 
 for your favorable expression, in the former, of my 
 past endeavors to support the cause of liberty. 
 
 " The proof you have given of your approbation 
 of this is interesting : I receive it with gratitude, 
 and am, with great respect, 
 
 "Reverend Sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient, humble servant, 
 " Geo. Washington. 
 " The Rev. Mr. Belknap." 
 
 The church in Long Lane, now Federal Street, 
 Boston, was originally Presbyterian, but had lately 
 relinquished this form of government, and adopted 
 the Congregational order. The founder of the 
 society, Rev. John Moorhead, came over from 
 Ireland with the first members, who were mostly 
 farmers, in the year 1727, to escape the enormous 
 rent required of them for their lands. They erected 
 a building at the corner of Berry Street and Long 
 Lane, in 1729. It was a low wooden building of 
 one story ; and, when the church was rebuilt, the 
 original house was moved to Cow Lane, now High 
 Street, and used as a bakehouse by a man named 
 Kettle. 
 
IS INVITED TO BOSTON. 139 
 
 The society increased, and the pastor was much 
 beloved ; he died December 3d, 1774, in the seven- 
 tieth year of his age. The history of the church 
 from this period to the settlement of Rev. Robert 
 Annan, remains in obscurity : this took place in 
 1783, and in 1785 he was dismissed by the pres- 
 bytery at his own request. 
 
 The invitation to Mr. Belknap was resolved upon 
 at a meeting of the proprietors, and others of the 
 church, January 28th, 1787, and is as follows : 
 
 ■ Boston, January 30th, 1787. 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " Our manifest wants have long pointed out 
 to us the necessity we are in of a gospel minister. 
 The character we have had of you, and our own good 
 opinion of your talents and ability, have induced us 
 to come to a serious resolution of calling and inviting 
 you to become our pastor, which we now do in the 
 name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the 
 great Head of his church, and on the behalf of our 
 society. 
 
 " We promise to love and obey you in the Lord, 
 and assure you, that you shall be as honestly wel- 
 come to us in all well-timed admonitions, as in your 
 administrations of comfort and consolation to our 
 distresses. 
 
 " Suffer us, we pray you, to subjoin the obliga- 
 tions which we have laid ourselves under, for your 
 
140 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 comfortable support, so long as the Lord shall be 
 pleased to continue you to be our minister. 
 
 " We are, Sir, with love and esteem, your most 
 obedient and humble servants, 
 " Simon Elliot, 
 Eob. McNeill, 
 Robert Wier, 
 Jno. Boies, 
 Moses Black, 
 Archibald McNeil, 
 Thomas Lamb, 
 
 Proprietors' 
 Committee" 
 
 The obligations were, " to pay him for his sup- 
 port, from the time he commenced his charge, the 
 sum of two pounds eight shillings lawful money per 
 week, or quarterly if he chooses it, during the whole 
 time of his ministry among us ; and in case our 
 society shall increase, and the pews be all occupied, 
 the salary shall then be increased to a comfortable 
 support." 
 
 This invitation w r as sent to Mr. Belknap on the 
 2d of February, and his reply is dated, 
 
 "Boston, Feb. 7th, 1787. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " Be pleased to communicate to the church 
 and congregation whom you represent, my accept- 
 ance of the invitation which they have given me, to 
 take the pastoral care of them according to the 
 Word of God. 
 
HE ACCEPTS THE INVITATION. 141 
 
 " The unanimity which you have discovered in 
 this transaction, and the affectionate manner in which 
 you have communicated your request, indicate such 
 a spirit of love and fidelity, as gives me the surest 
 pledge of peace and usefulness among you. 
 
 " Fully convinced of the truth and importance of 
 the Christian religion, and desirous to preach to 
 others that Gospel by which I hope to be saved my- 
 self, I ask your prayers for me, and shall always 
 depend on your hearty cooperation with me, in 
 my endeavors to promote the cause of truth and 
 righteousness, and the welfare of the society. 
 
 " From the character which you bear among your 
 neighbors, as well as your own expressed in your 
 votes, I have full reliance on your sincere intentions 
 to afford me that comfortable support which will keep 
 my mind free from embarrassment with regard to ex- 
 ternals, and enable me to pursue my studies, and 
 attend to the several parts of my ministerial work, 
 with ease and cheerfulness. 
 
 " That the blessing of God may be on you and 
 your families, that additions may be made to your 
 number of such as shall be saved, and that you may 
 be my joy and crown in the day of the Lord, is the 
 sincere prayer of, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and servant 
 in the gospel, 
 
 "Jeremy Belknap. 
 
 " To the Committee of the Congregational Society 
 
142 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 in Long Lane, to be communicated to the said 
 Society." 
 
 The installation took place on the fourth of April. 
 The writer of a sketch of Mr. Belknap's life and 
 character makes the following remark on this 
 event : 
 
 " Nothing could have been more agreeable to the 
 ministers and people of other churches, and to all 
 who regarded the interests of the University of Cam- 
 bridge, with which he became officially connected ; 
 being fully confident that he would be a great in- 
 strument in promoting the cause of religion and 
 learning." 
 
 Between the time when Mr. Belknap accepted 
 the call, and the day appointed for his installation, 
 some person who was apparently annoyed by the 
 change in the church government, and by the liberal 
 views of the chosen pastor, tried to persuade the 
 brethren of the church, that he was a Universalist 
 and a follower of Murray ; and to this end, an anony- 
 mous letter was written to one of the deacons, an 
 account of which, and the proceedings thereupon, 
 Mr. Belknap has left recorded in the following 
 words : 
 
 " March 16th, 1787. — An anonymous letter to 
 Deacon Wright, intimating that their pastor elect is 
 a Universalist, wondering that they should choose 
 such a man as much as if Murray himself were 
 
AN ANONYMOUS LETTER. 143 
 
 chosen ; asking, ' Is there not a man of discernment 
 among you ? ' — advising them to put these questions 
 to me : 
 
 " Whether I believe that any of the human race 
 will be miserable in a future state ? Whether I be- 
 lieve that the punishment of the wicked will be of 
 equal duration with the happiness of the righteous, 
 and both with the existence of God ? Whether I 
 believe that all children are born into the family of 
 Christ ? and concluding thus : ' If he answers these 
 questions according to the Calvinistic scheme, he has 
 lately altered his sentiments.' 
 " Signed, 
 
 " Moorhead's Ghost. 
 
 " Directed to the once Presbyterian Society in 
 Boston. 
 
 " This letter was shown me in the afternoon. In 
 the evening, the committee were to meet in order to 
 regulate the intended instalment. I was invited, and 
 met with them, and took the opportunity to tell them 
 that such a letter had been received. 
 
 " Who the writer is, and what his design, we can 
 but conjecture, and that must be left to future inquir- 
 ies ; but, as to the matters objected, it is proper I 
 should give you satisfaction. I am not fond of con- 
 troversy, and always endeavored to avoid it ; but, 
 when any proper occasion calls for a declaration of 
 my sentiments, will freely do it. 
 
144 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 u My practice has always been to study the scrip- 
 tures, in order to find out truth and duty. What 
 there appears sufficient evidence for, I admit as 
 truth : where the evidence is not sufficient to induce 
 belief, I allow myself to doubt. This every man has 
 a right to do. 
 
 " As to the controversy about Murray, I never 
 conversed with him but once : what he said was 
 new and strange. On examining my Bible, I saw no 
 reason to admit it, and therefore passed it by. 
 
 a Some years ago, Murray came into my parish. 
 Some people wished to hear him, and asked me for 
 the liberty of the pulpit. I said it was mine 
 when I wanted it, and theirs when they pleased to 
 use it. They got him to preach. I did not attend ; 
 but, understanding that he had been on the parable 
 of the tares and wheat, I took the liberty, which I 
 thought it was my duty, to preach the next Sabbath 
 against what I deemed the errors adopted by his 
 followers. (Here I read the sermon.) These were 
 then my sentiments, and they are the same now. 
 I never had a doubt, that faith, repentance, and 
 holiness, or a change from a state of sin to newness 
 of life, is necessary to prepare us for heaven. 
 
 •• When the Chauncy controversy came abroad, 
 which engaged every body's attention more or less, 
 it was natural for me to incline to one side or the 
 other. I was inclined to call in question the im- 
 mortality of the wicked in a state of future punish- 
 
HIS DOCTRINAL VIEW 146 
 
 merit, though I had no doubt of the certainty of the 
 punishment. There are difficulties attending the 
 subject on every side in which it can be viewed ; and 
 after much thought upon the matter, I am inclined 
 to this opinion, that the revelation which God has 
 given us in the Scriptures is intended to regulate 
 our present conduct in this world, and to give us to 
 understand what will be the consequences, in the 
 future state, of our good and bad behavior here. 
 
 " I believe the resurrection of the just and the 
 unjust ; that the life which the just shall receive from 
 Christ, at their resurrection, will be immortal ; and 
 that they shall never die any more ; but doubt 
 whether it can be proved from the Scriptures, that 
 the life which the wicked shall receive at their resur- 
 rection is immortal — if it can, it will follow, that 
 their misery will never end ; but am rather inclined 
 to think, that the life which they will then receive 
 will be a mortal life, that they will be subject to a 
 series of misery and torment, which will terminate 
 in a second death. Whether this second death is 
 an utter extinction of being, or whether they will be 
 delivered from it by another resurrection, are points 
 which I cannot determine, nor do I think the Scrip- 
 tures afford us full satisfaction on these subjects ; so 
 that I expect no full solution in this world, and am 
 fully contented with believing that the surest way 
 for us is to believe in Christ, to fear God, and work 
 righteousness, in obedience to the Gospel, and thus 
 10 
 
146 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 secure our own happiness, without prying too curi- 
 ously into the secret and future designs of God. 
 The apostles themselves declared, ' We know but in 
 part, and we prophesy but in part.' If the chosen 
 and inspired ambassadors of Jesus Christ were im- 
 perfect in their knowledge, how can we expect per- 
 fection in this life ? 
 
 " If, upon this declaration of my mind, you see 
 fit to recommend to the society to recall the invita- 
 tion they have given me to settle with you, I am 
 content. 
 
 " The committee did not think the matters in 
 question were so essential as to suspend their pro- 
 ceedings. Some of them said they differed from me 
 in their apprehension of these points ; but as we 
 agreed in the main truths of Christianity, faith, 
 repentance, and holiness, and salvation through 
 Jesus Christ, there was no need of further debate ; 
 and then proceeded to make preparation for my in- 
 stalment. 
 
 " The names of the committee were Robert "Wier, 
 William Mackay, Simon Elliot, Francis Wright, 
 Moses Black." 
 
 The Boston clergymen at that time, with few ex- 
 ceptions, were obliged, by the inadequacy of their 
 salaries, to resort to other means of support for their 
 families ; and, for this object, Mr. Belknap received 
 at his house a few young men to instruct in higher 
 
HIS POSITION IN BOSTON. 147 
 
 branches than were taught in the public schools. 
 One or two of them, whose parents resided at a dis- 
 tance, lived in his family; but generally they were 
 day scholars. He was a constant contributor to the 
 Columbian Magazine ; the publication of the first 
 volume of his History had been rather a loss to him 
 than a gain, in a pecuniary point of view ; the coun- 
 try was so impoverished, that, as one of his friends 
 said, most people loved money much better than 
 books ; many subscribers did not fulfil their agree- 
 ments ; some of the shopkeepers where the books 
 were deposited for sale, failed ; and a needy clergy- 
 man, to whom he had entrusted some, wrote him as 
 follows : 
 
 " I have sold your books, and got the money ; but 
 I can 't spare it ! " So that the satisfaction of hav- 
 ing advanced the cause of literature and the history 
 of his country was the most solid one for all his 
 labor. 
 
 Notwithstanding these and other difficulties, Mr. 
 Belknap's position, as a Boston clergyman, was much 
 more advantageous for himself and the community, 
 than it could have been, had he remained in Dover. 
 There he was without literary associates or advan- 
 tages, and always felt himself to be in a remote 
 corner of the world, which obliged him to leave to 
 others in more central situations the execution of 
 plans for the public benefit, in which he took the 
 greatest interest. Boston was then, as it is now, 
 
148 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 highly favored in literary advantages. Here he 
 was surrounded by congenial spirits, and found am- 
 ple room for the exercise of his active mind and 
 benevolent heart, in the promotion and encourage- 
 ment of the numerous and growing schemes for the 
 welfare and improvement of his native place. 
 
 The town was just recovering from the disastrous 
 effects of the Revolutionary war, and, with the energy 
 of newly restored freedom and the revival of com- 
 mercial enterprise, was laying the foundation of its 
 present prosperity : but the ill consequences of the 
 past disturbances were not wanting. Public morality 
 was impaired : infidelity, with the evils of which it is 
 the source, was widely extended ; principles were 
 unsettled ; the cause of education languished ; and 
 the churches not only felt the influence of all these 
 adverse circumstances, but were disturbed by contro- 
 versies more peculiarly their own. The difficulties 
 of a minister's position, and the discouragements and 
 trials he was called to encounter, are fairly set 
 forth in Mr. Belknap's sermon before the Massa- 
 chusetts Convention of Congregational Ministers in 
 1796. 
 
 Beside the occupations mentioned above, he was 
 one of the Overseers of Harvard College, and one 
 of the Library committee, a member of the Humane 
 Society, one of the committee for visiting the public 
 schools, and a member of the American Academy 
 of Arts and Sciences ; he had been for some years 
 
MINISTERIAL DUTIES. 149 
 
 an honorary member of the Philosophical Society in 
 Philadelphia. He not only nominally belonged to 
 all these associations, but actually labored to ad- 
 vance their objects heartily and with steady and 
 persevering efforts. 
 
 The superintendence of the public schools was no 
 slight part of a minister's occupation. The selection 
 of books, the arrangement and supervision of stud- 
 ies, and the periodical examinations, were principally 
 committed to the clergy. The education of the 
 young was a favorite object with Mr. Belknap, as he 
 duly estimated its great importance to the welfare 
 of the state ; and evidences are yet remaining, 
 among his papers, of the zeal with which he per- 
 formed these duties. He took much pains to pro- 
 cure the publication of suitable books for the young ; 
 and his services in their cause are honorably men- 
 tioned in the various notices of his character at the 
 time of his decease, and remembered by some now 
 living, who, as children, were won by the kindness 
 and attraction of his manner, and who speak of him 
 with a warmth of feeling which nothing but a con- 
 viction of his sympathy and love for them could 
 have preserved through the trials and changes of 
 so many intervening years. 
 
 As an overseer of the college, he had duties to 
 perform which were indefinitely extended by his 
 filial love for it, and his pride in its advancement. 
 It is only of late years that the relations of the 
 
150 
 
 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 overseers to the college have been almost entirely 
 nominal. When the Board was composed of the 
 Congregational clergy of the six towns nearest to 
 Cambridge, a continual oversight was exercised by 
 its members. A close relation was maintained be- 
 tween its head, its officers and the clergy ; and the ad- 
 vice of the latter was constantly sought, not only in 
 emergencies, but in the regulation of its ordinary 
 affairs. That Mr. Belknap lent them gladly all the 
 aid in his power is evident from the frequency of 
 his attendance in the various committees, and from 
 the careful consideration he gave to various plans 
 for the improvement of the college. 
 
 Mr, Belknap's historical pursuits required an ex- 
 tensive correspondence : and his desire of doing good 
 to his fellow-men induced him to cooperate eagerly 
 with the benevolent and philanthropic, in their en- 
 deavors to lessen the burden of existing evils, or to 
 improve the condition of social institutions. The 
 following letter from Dr. Rush of Philadelphia, a 
 zealous philanthropist, and Mr. Belknap's reply, 
 show the efforts that were then making in the cause 
 of Temperance, and the opinions of the waiters on 
 several other important subjects: 
 
 "Philadelphia, July 13th, 1789. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " Mr. Hall, the printer, has neglected hith- 
 erto to republish the essay upon spirits, probably 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. RUSH. 151 
 
 from an opinion that it was less necessary than for- 
 merly. Much less rum will be used this year than 
 last, in this and the adjoining states of New Jersey, 
 Delaware, and Maryland. From the influence of 
 the Quakers and Methodists in checking this evil, I 
 am disposed to believe that the business must be ef- 
 fected, finally, by religion alone. Human reason 
 has been employed in vain ; and the conduct of New 
 England in Congress has furnished us with a melan- 
 choly proof, that we have nothing to hope from the 
 influence of law, in making men w T ise and sober. 
 
 "Let these considerations lead us to address the 
 heads and governing bodies of all the churches in 
 America, upon the subject. I have borne testimony 
 (by particular desire), at a Methodist conference, 
 against the use of a;dent spirits, and, I hope, with 
 effect. I have likewise written to the Roman Cath- 
 olic Bishop, Dr. Carroll, in Maryland, to set an as- 
 sociation on foot against them in his society. I have 
 repeatedly insisted upon a testimony being published 
 against them by the Presbyterian Synod of this city, 
 and have suggested to our good Bishop, Dr. White, 
 the necessity of the episcopal church not standing 
 neuter in this interesting business. Go thou, my 
 friend, and in your circle of influence or acquaint- 
 ance ' do likewise.' 
 
 " You will find an essay upon the inutility of the 
 Latin and Greek languages, in the last number of 
 the Museum, which has been ascribed to me. I wish 
 
152 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 it could be republished in Boston. It has some 
 able advocates in this city, particularly Dr. Frank- 
 lin, Mr. Clymer, and Mr. Coxe. ***** 
 
 " I am now preparing an address, to be delivered 
 before the visiters of the Young Ladies' Academy, 
 in this city, at the next quarterly examination, 
 ' upon the necessity and advantages of teaching- 
 children to read by means of the Bible.' I consider 
 this as a matter of more importance in the world, 
 than keeping up a regular gospel ministry ; and yet, 
 strange to tell ! there are religious men, and even 
 ministers of the gospel, who disapprove of it. The 
 great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, 
 never invented a more effectual means of extirpating 
 Christianity from the w^orld, than by persuading 
 mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at 
 schools. 
 
 " The more I attend to the methods in which ed- 
 ucation is conducted in our country, the more I am 
 disposed to suspect that our schools and colleges do 
 more harm than good, to the interests of humanity, 
 virtue, and religion. What are Latin and Greek, 
 and mathematics and philosophy, if the} 7 do not lead 
 us nearer to the Parent of the universe, and the 
 Source and Centre of all perfection and happiness ? 
 " From, Dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours, sincerely, 
 
 "Benjn. Rush." 
 
correspondence with dr. rush. 153 
 mr. belknap's reply. 
 
 " Boston, July 29th, 1789. 
 
 "My Dear Sir, 
 
 " The originality and independence of sen- 
 timent in your letters and other writings render 
 them exceedingly grateful to me, although I am 
 obliged sometimes to withhold my assent to what you 
 deliver ; but when your thoughts coincide with my 
 own, there is generated a double satisfaction. On 
 the several subjects touched upon in your last, of 
 the 13th inst., I could w T rite a pamphlet, if it were 
 necessary ; they having been frequently the theme 
 of my contemplation. 
 
 " With respect to spirituous liquors, I believe 
 some good has been done ; but much more remains 
 to be done. The distilleries here are so ready a 
 source of gain, that till the auri sacra fames shall 
 cease to be a ruling passion, I fear there will be no 
 end put to them : however, we do what we can by 
 way of precept and example, and we do not intend 
 to be discouraged. The demand from abroad, I am 
 told, increases, particularly from the north of Europe ; 
 and while the stills are kept going, there will be a 
 large home consumption. In an excursion of about 
 eighty miles into the country, a few weeks since, I 
 met many loads of pot and pearl ashes coming 
 down ; and, on my return, the teams which I met 
 were loaded with dry fish, hogsheads of salt, and 
 
154 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 barrels of rum. The thirst for spirits in the back 
 country is so ardent, that in the fall and winter they 
 will sell their wheat for this sort of pay, and then, 
 in the spring and summer following, go forty or fifty 
 miles after bread. 
 
 " What you say on the use of the Bible in schools 
 agrees perfectly well with my own idea, and, i strange 
 to tell,' I have been obliged to controvert this point 
 with men who, in other respects, are laudably zeal- 
 ous and exemplary in the cause of religion and 
 virtue. 
 
 11 But, my dear doctor, why banish Latin and 
 Greek ? Was not the New Testament written in 
 Greek ? and may not the Greek and Latin Testa- 
 ments, and the Selectee e Veteri, &c, lately reprint- 
 ed in Philadelphia, and used in the schools there, 
 have as happy an effect in impressing the minds of 
 youth with religious sentiments, as the English Bi- 
 ble ? I have not seen what you refer to in the 
 Museum. The names which you have cited as ' able 
 advocates ' for the disuse of Latin and Greek, are 
 truly respectable ; I could also cite some very 
 ' able advocates ' for the disuse of the Bible in 
 schools : but both are cases which require to be de- 
 cided by their own merits, and not by the respecta- 
 bility of advocates ; though that may induce a more 
 critical examination of the merits, since it must be 
 presumed that such gentlemen would not patronize 
 an opinion of so much consequence, without very 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. RUSH. 155 
 
 good reasons. I can conceive, and am by my own 
 experience and observation persuaded, that, by a 
 judicious attention to students while they are learn- 
 ing the Biblical Greek and Latin, there may arise 
 such a variety of questions and observations, as may 
 not only make the study entertaining but instructive ; 
 and that they may by gentle degrees be led into an 
 acquaintance with, and veneration for, the character 
 and work of our blessed Saviour, at the same time 
 that they are reciting the language in which his 
 evangelists and apostles wrote, or into which their 
 works have been translated. 
 
 " That schools and colleges may be better con- 
 ducted than at present, I am fully persuaded. It 
 is, however, difficult, and in some cases impractica- 
 ble, to alter old foundations ; but were I to be con- 
 sulted in the establishment of a new college, I should 
 utterly discard the residing of the students in bar- 
 racks, their eating in common, and the establishment 
 of academical discipline separate from municipal 
 law. I would have students reside in sober, decent 
 families, and be under the same government with 
 their fellow-citizens. At stated hours they should 
 resort to the public rooms, to perform their exercises ; 
 and they should receive the honors of the universi- 
 ty when they are qualified. Are not your universi- 
 ties upon some such plan ? Ours partakes too much 
 of the nature of a monastic institution, and, like an 
 antique building, needs many subsidiary props and 
 
156 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 additional repairs. However, there are great ad- 
 vantages to be reaped by an education in it, pro- 
 vided the students give their minds to their business ; 
 and without that, no means will be effectual. There 
 is a special injunction laid on the professors to take 
 frequent occasion to introduce reflections on the be- 
 ing, perfections, and providence of the Creator ; 
 and I believe this injunction is strictly attended to, 
 as well by the professor of natural philosophy as 
 by those of anatomy and botany : and these occa- 
 sions perpetually occur, for — 
 
 4 There 's not a plant or flower that grows, 
 But makes his glories known ; 
 While clouds arise and tempests blow 
 By order from his throne/ 
 
 " The main business of all philosophical researches 
 is to fix our attention to the great ' Cause uncaused ;' 
 and the deeper Ave penetrate the arcana of nature, 
 the more reason do we find for wonder, love, and 
 praise." 
 
 At the Commencement of Harvard College this 
 year, 1787, John Quincy Adams was graduated. 
 Mr. Belknap requested, for the press, a copy of the 
 oration delivered by him on that occasion. The 
 young gentleman expressed himself highly honored 
 by the request, but wished that his piece might ap- 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH J. Q. ADAMS. 157 
 
 pear in company with the poem of his friend, Mr. 
 Harris, and also that his name should not be affixed 
 to it. 
 
 Mr. Harris positively refused a copy of his verses, 
 and Mr. Belknap wrote again to Mr. Adams on 
 the subject, as follows : 
 
 ■ Boston, August 3d, 1787. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have perused your oration with a repeti- 
 tion of the pleasure which I enjoyed in hearing it, 
 and am much obliged to you for putting it into my 
 hands. But you have at the same time laid me 
 under an embarrassment from which I wish to be 
 relieved. ******** 
 
 " Nothing is more amiable in a young gentleman 
 of acknowledged genius, than modesty ; but is it not 
 an attribute of that wisdom which adorns modesty, 
 that it is ' easy to be entreated ' ? 
 
 " Why, then, should the refusal of Mr. H. influ- 
 ence Mr. A. ? Can your modesty suffer by yielding 
 to a proper solicitation ? * * * * 
 
 " And why should the name be suppressed ? — a 
 name which calls up every grateful and affectionate 
 feeling in the breasts of Americans ? Without the 
 name, your Alma Mater will be deprived of half the 
 honor which she deserves ; but, if that be added, the 
 friends of liberty and virtue will have the farther 
 satisfaction to see the features of the parent in the 
 
158 LIFE OP DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 sou ; and, may I not add, your country will have a 
 pledge of a succession of abilities in the same fam- 
 ily, still to aid her cause and espouse her interest. 
 
 " I hope that further consideration will induce 
 you to take off the embargo you have laid on my 
 wishes, and beg you would, as soon as possible, let 
 me again hear from you." 
 
 Mr. Adams finally left the matter entirely to the 
 discretion of Mr. Belknap, who sent the Oration to 
 Philadelphia, for publication in the Columbian Mag- 
 azine. It appeared in the number for September, 
 1787; and the author's name was given. The sub- 
 sequent history of Mr. Adams makes it interesting 
 to see Mr. Belknap's early appreciation of the char- 
 acter of a man who has devoted his life to the 
 service of his country, and has enjoyed the highest 
 honors and offices in her power to bestow. 
 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 159 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1788— x 792. 
 
 Exertions to abolish the Slave Trade. — Three Bills 
 of Sale, and Certificates of Manumission. — • 
 Letter of Cato Baker. — Anecdote. — Corres- 
 pondence tvith Moses Brown. — Correspondence 
 with David Hoivell. — Adoption of Federal Con- 
 stitution. — Visit of Washington to Boston. — 
 Death of Mr. Belknap 's son Samuel. — Sermon 
 at the Installation of Dr. Morse. — Extracts 
 from Letters of John Adams. — Degree of D.D. 
 conferred on Mr. Belknap. — Increase of Federal 
 Street Society. — Century Discourse. 
 
 Ix the month of February, 1788, three negroes 
 were decoyed on board a vessel in Boston harbor, 
 and taken to the Danish island of St. Bartholomew, 
 where they vrere offered for sale. This infamous 
 transaction excited great indignation in the commu- 
 nity ; and Mr. Belknap consulted some of his friends 
 as to the practicability of improving this feeling, to 
 effect the abolition of slavery in the state. His 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Samuel Eliot, agreed with him 
 that the time was most opportune, but said the diffi- 
 culty in such cases was, who should step forward, — 
 and recommended him to suggest to the Association 
 
160 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 of ministers, at their next meeting, a petition to the 
 General Court, whose session was then about to 
 commence ; if he failed to gain the cooperation of 
 the ministers, to apply to the Humane Society, and 
 at all events to have a petition drafted. 
 
 This advice Mr. Belknap complied with : he drew 
 up a petition, which his friends pronounced " incapa- 
 ble of amendment," gained the support of the associa- 
 tion, and of a large number of citizens beside. The 
 blacks also presented a petition, written by Prince 
 Hall, one of their number ; and there was one from 
 the Quakers, presented at a former session, lying 
 on the table. The effect of this movement, so judi- 
 ciously timed, was the passage of an Act, March 
 26th, 1788, " to. prevent the Slave Trade, and for 
 granting relief to the families of such unhappy per- 
 sons as may be kidnapped or decoyed away from 
 this commonwealth." 
 
 Mr. Belknap had long been a friend to the free- 
 dom of the blacks. He had published essays in 
 their favor ; and, during the revolutionary war, seve- 
 ral of them deposited with him the bill of sale, and 
 certificate of manumission which they had gained by 
 three years' service in the army. 
 
 Three of these still remain among his papers, 
 and they are given here as specimens. They were 
 enclosed in sealed envelopes, marked as belonging 
 to the person named within. 
 
MANUMISSION OF SLAVES. 161 
 
 "Newport, Dec. 6th, 1773. 
 " I do hereby acknowledge to have received of 
 Mr. Otis Baker, of Dover, in New Hampshire, one 
 thousand four hundred pounds, old tenor, in full for 
 a negro boy named Cato, whom I have this day sold 
 to him ; which negro lad to him the said Otis Baker, 
 and his assigns for ever, I hereby promise to defend 
 against the lawful claims of all persons whatsoever. 
 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, 
 
 "Hexry Ward." 
 
 "Dover, June 4th, 1777. 
 
 " This may certify all persons, that I, Otis Baker, 
 do hereby give to the within-named Cato his free- 
 dom, and discharge him from my service and the 
 service of my heirs for ever. 
 
 " Otis Baker. 
 "Witness, Jeremy Belknap." 
 
 " Know all men by these presents, that I, George 
 Waldron, of Portsmouth, in the province of Xew 
 Hampshire, yeoman, for and in consideration of six 
 hundred pounds, old tenor, bills of public credit to 
 me in hand paid by Dudley Watson, of Dover, in 
 said province, gentleman ; the receipt of which to 
 full contents and satisfaction, I hereby acknowledge ; 
 have bargained and sold, and herewith deliver unto 
 the said Dudley Watson, one negro servant boy, 
 about eight Years of age, a slave born in Portsmouth 
 11 
 
162 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 aforesaid, to serve him the said Dudley, his execu- 
 tors, administrators, and assigns, as a slave for and 
 during the life of the said boy named Glouster. To 
 have and to hold the said negro boy named Glouster 
 to him the said Dudley Watson, his executors, ad- 
 ministrators, and assigns,, as a slave for and during 
 the life of the negro boy ; and I, the said George 
 "Waldron, by these presents, for myself, my heirs, 
 executors, and administrators, do covenant, grant, 
 and engage unto and with the said Dudley Watson, 
 his executors, administrators, and assigns, that I am 
 the true and lawful owner of the said negro boy, 
 and will warrant the right and possession of the said 
 negro, against the lawful claims of all persons what- 
 soever. — Witness my hand and seal, the 26th day 
 of July, 1758. 
 
 " Geo. Waldron. 
 " Witness present, 
 
 Thos. W. Waldron, 
 
 Nathl. Muchamore. 
 
 "Dover, June 4th, 1777. 
 
 " This may certify all persons, that I, Thomas 
 Watson, as administrator to the estate of my father, 
 Dudley Watson, deceased, do hereby give the within- 
 named Glouster his freedom, and discharge him 
 from the service of the heirs of said estate for ever. 
 
 "Thomas Watson. 
 
 " Witness, Jeremy Belknap." 
 
MANUMISSION OF SLAVES. 163 
 
 "Dover, July y e 19th, 1756. 
 " Received from Mr. James Chesley, six hundred 
 pounds old tenor, in full for one negro man-servant, 
 named Corradan, aged about sixteen years ; which 
 said negro I have sold to the said Chesley, the day 
 and year above written. — Witness my hand, 
 
 11 William Shackford. 
 "Witness, Jos. Hanson, 
 
 Ephm. Hanson." 
 
 " Dover, April 13th, 1778. 
 
 "Received of the within-named Corydon the sum 
 of seventy-five pounds lawful money, for which he 
 is hereby discharged from the service of the heirs 
 of the within-named James Chesley, and is now 
 free. 
 
 " Otis Baker, one of the Administrators, 
 
 her 
 
 " Lydia + Chesley, Administratrix." 
 mark. 
 
 The certificates of manumission are all in the hand- 
 writing of Mr. Belknap. 
 
 Cato Baker, the first of the above-named negroes, 
 had received some education, enough to enable him 
 to write letters during his term of service in the 
 army. One of these, addressed to Mr. Belknap, is 
 quite a curiosity in orthography and expression, and 
 gives an interesting glance at the condition of the 
 corps to which he belonged. 
 
164 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Danbury September 26th 1778. 
 
 " Mr. Jaramiali Balknap j have met with this 
 appettunity Rite to you and your famalay wall as 
 thos few lin have left me. Sir j am wall in good 
 health and j thank God for it of his good will he 
 hath been my Gard in all those Beatle j have bein 
 in and j had the small pox in V ally forg last march 
 24d but now j am of Good health but now at this 
 present time j have no money at this present times 
 but j shall Draw som son and j will send it to you but 
 j have Dron som mooney and j let it Go to Ltunant 
 Chas and to on anotheir for it is hard tim with ous in 
 this prasent for Cloathing and for otheir thing me 
 Drow one pound of beef and one pound of bread 
 and one jiel of Rum Every otheir Day but our duty is 
 not so hard as it was but we fair hard in Clothing 
 for we are fost to pay for our Clothin. Whitch 
 Doth mak me think it hard for bein that j Los all 
 my Clothing now j am fost to pay for all. 
 
 "Cato Bacaker. 
 
 To 
 
 Mr. Jermiah Balknap 
 
 att 
 
 Dover in 
 
 Newhamshire." 
 
 The following anecdote connected with this sub- 
 ject, it is believed, has never been made public. In 
 1790, a census was ordered by the General Govern- 
 
SLAVERY IN MASSACHUSETTS. 165 
 
 ment then newly established, and the Marshal of 
 the Massachusetts district had the care of making 
 the survey. When he inquired for slaves, most 
 people answered none, — if any one said that he 
 had one, the marshal would ask him whether he 
 meant to be singular, and would tell him that no other 
 person had given in any. The answer then was, " If 
 none are given in, I will not be singular ; " and thus 
 the list was completed without any number in the 
 column for slaves. 
 
 Some of this improvident race had sagacity 
 enough to refuse the offer of freedom, and remained 
 under the master they had served in their youth, 
 that he might provide for and protect their old 
 age. 
 
 After the publication of the first volume of his 
 History, in w r hich are mentioned the early prohibition 
 of slavery by the first settlers, and the subsequent 
 inconsistency of keeping slaves and at the same time 
 struggling for our own liberty, Mr. Belknap receiv- 
 ed the following letter : 
 
 "Providence, 28th 1st Mo., 1786. 
 
 " Respected Friend, 
 
 "From observing in thy History of New 
 Hampshire, an account of a negro's being ordered 
 back from New England to Africa, that was unjustly 
 brought from thence, and thy remarks thereon, I 
 conceive thou art a friend to the liberty of that op- 
 
166 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 pressed people, and of course opposed to that iniq- 
 uitous trade to Africa for slaves, which remains to 
 be carried on in several of the United States, to the 
 dishonor of the whole, and the Christian name in 
 that heathenish country, where the name of Christ- 
 ian, from the abusive treatment of those people by 
 such as possess it, is abhorred. I have therefore en- 
 closed thee three pamphlets on that subject, which 
 perhaps may not all of them have reached thee, for 
 thy inspection and disposal where they may be useful. 
 I should rejoice thou hadst as a historian to record, 
 to the honor of any of the states, prohibitory laws 
 against the slave-trade to any part of the world. 
 Though a stranger, professing myself a friend to 
 liberty and mankind, however differing in sentiments 
 as to non-essentials, I have taken this liberty, and 
 conclude thy friend, 
 
 " Moses Brown." 
 
 The following is an imperfect copy of the reply to 
 this letter : 
 
 " To Mr. Moses Brown, of Providence. 
 
 " Dover, July 15th, 1786. 
 
 " Worthy Sir, 
 
 " Your very obliging favor of the 28th 1st 
 M° came to my hands yesterday, and I am particu- 
 larly grateful to you for the pamphlets inclosed. 
 The subject of them has long lain with weight upon 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MOSES BROWN. 167 
 
 my mind ; and what I have said in my History 
 which you so kindly notice, is but a small specimen 
 of what I have thought and written on the subject. 
 It is a pleasing circumstance to me, that so many 
 able pens are employed, and so many pertinent and 
 weighty arguments are used, and that the press so 
 frequently teems with productions, on the subject of 
 the African slavery. ' The words of the wise are 
 as goads ; \ and Heaven grant that these goads may 
 wound and torment the consciences of all the abet- 
 tors of slavery, till they find it hard to ' kick against 
 the pricks ' ! 
 
 " Great changes in the principles and habits of 
 mankind must, in the nature of things, be brought 
 about slowly ; but nil desperandum I Truth is great, 
 and will prevail ; and all lovers of truth, liberty, and 
 religion, must unite their endeavors, and persevere in 
 them, until their voice shall be heard. I wish your 
 society in England may petition and remonstrate 
 annually to the parliament, until they obtain their 
 desire. Who knows but in time there may be such 
 a man as Joseph of Germany on the throne of Brit- 
 ain ; or such a man as Montesquieu may be at 
 the head of her councils ? Blessed be the name of 
 Anthony Benezet, for what he has written and done 
 toward abolishing the trade in ' slaves and souls of 
 men ; ' and let the highest praises be given to the 
 memory of the late Dr. Fothergill, for that noble 
 projection of sending missionaries into Africa, to 
 
168 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 persuade the negro princes to employ their people 
 in cultivating the sugar cane in their country, and 
 instruct them in the work, instead of selling them to 
 foreigners for this purpose. Can you tell me, my 
 dear sir, whether this proposal is likely to be 
 executed ? 
 
 " I wish with you that it may be in the power of 
 future historians to record laws made in all these 
 states for the abolishing of slavery. But quid le- 
 ges sine moribus vance projiciunt? I wish the time 
 may come when the owner and master of every ves- 
 sel employed in this sanguinary trade shall be con- 
 sidered as a felon ; as guilty of a cruel, unprovoked, 
 offensive war against the innocent, and punished as 
 a murderer, whom vengeance suffereth not to live. 
 But until this desirable change can be effected, I 
 would recommend one method as a means of grad- 
 ually extirpating the evil, and that is, making it a 
 part of education to instil into the minds of children 
 the principles of universal liberty, and an abhor- 
 rence of slavery. If the Lacedemonians taught 
 their children to abhor drunkenness by showing 
 them a drunken man, may we not hope that, by rep- 
 resenting to our children the horrors of predatory 
 quarrels in Africa, the loathsome, dismal condition 
 of a ship loaded with sick, dying, or discontented 
 and mutinvin2: slaves, and the rigors of a West In- 
 dia plantation, we may be able to excite in their 
 minds such an abhorrence of this diabolical traffic as 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MOSES BROWN. 169 
 
 may accompany every stage of their improvement, 
 and every sphere in which they may act in future 
 life ? And who knows what beneficial consequences 
 may result from it ? It should be a frequent sub- 
 ject of discourse in families, a theme of declamation 
 in schools and seminaries ; and it is no matter how 
 numerous are the publications from the press on this 
 subject. 
 
 " I wish you, and all the friends of peace and 
 liberty, the most happy success ; and if you can 
 point out to me any method wherein I can assist in 
 promoting the desirable object of our mutual wishes, 
 I shall be glad to receive your communications and 
 commands." 
 
 Mr. Belknap was elected a member of the society 
 for abolishing the slave-trade in Rhode Island ; and 
 in 1790 he received a letter from the president of 
 the society, expressing a desire that a similar asso- 
 ciation should be formed in Boston, and. that Con- 
 gress should be petitioned on the subject. His reply 
 shows a discernment and discretion which are very 
 important in the treatment of this delicate question : 
 
 - Boston, June 14th, 1790. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Sometime ago I received a letter from 
 you, expressing a desire that an association might 
 be formed in this place, for the abolition of slavery, 
 and to petition Congress for that purpose. 
 
170 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " Having taken time to think and make inquiry 
 on the matter, I am of opinion that such an associ- 
 ation is entirely needless here, as we have no slavery 
 to abolish ; all persons who can claim the privilege 
 of being descendants of Adam being declared free 
 by our constitution ; and I sincerely wish, that 
 the multitudes of blacks among us might enjoy the 
 same blessings which other people enjoy, as the fruit 
 of their liberty ; but, alas ! many of them are in a 
 far worse condition than when they were slaves, be- 
 ing incapable of providing for themselves the means 
 of subsistence. 
 
 " As to the proposed application to Congress, if any 
 such be made, it can be considered only in the light 
 of an admonition to them to do the duty which they 
 are bound to do by the constitution. I very much 
 doubt the prudence or propriety of such an applicar 
 tion from any body of men whatever, unless it 
 should appear that Congress are negligent of their 
 duty. Should I live to see that day, I hope I shall 
 not be wanting in any endeavors which may be in 
 my power to cooperate with my fellow-citizens, in 
 advising or remonstrating, as there maybe occasion. 
 
 " I am sorry that I am obliged to differ in opinion 
 from you, and the society in w T hose name you write. 
 I beg you to accept what I write with candor, and 
 I am, sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 "Jeremy Belknap. 
 " David Howell, Esq." 
 
WASHINGTON VISITS BOSTON. 171 
 
 The Federal Constitution was adopted by Mas- 
 sachusetts in 1788, and Mr. Belknap attended the 
 debates of the convention, and kept minutes of 
 the proceedings ; but they are already matter of 
 history. The inauguration of Washington, as 
 President of the Federal Union, took place April 
 30th, 1789 ; and in October he visited Boston, and 
 was received with great rejoicings. Mr. Belknap's 
 interview with him is thus noted down in his 
 almanac : 
 
 "27th. General Washington having appointed 
 this day for the clergy of this town to wait upon 
 him, we went at ten o'clock to his lodgings, and 
 paid him our respects. 
 
 " When I was introduced to General Washington, 
 he said to me, 
 
 " ' I am indebted to you, sir, for the History of 
 New Hampshire, and it gave me great pleasure.' " 
 
 This is the only instance that appears of his re- 
 cording the approbation of others, and it shows how 
 highly he valued these few and simple words of 
 courtesy from the Father of his country. 
 
 In the spring of this year, Mr. Belknap's second 
 son, Samuel, died, an account of which was written 
 at the time by the bereaved parent, as follows : 
 
 " March 28th. This evening, at half after nine 
 o'clock, my dear son Samuel died, aged 17 years 
 and three months. He had a long and painful ill- 
 ness, which he bore with the most exemplary pa- 
 
172 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tience ; and the nearer he approached towards his 
 end, the more did his patience shine. He had 
 strong exercises of mind some weeks before his 
 death, and obtained a comfortable hope in the mer- 
 cy of God, through Jesus Christ, and gave us very 
 good satisfaction respecting his repentance and 
 faith in Christ for salvation. His senses held till a 
 few minutes before he expired. I asked him wheth- 
 er he could commit himself into the hands of Christ ; 
 he answered with a strong and lively voice, ' Yes. 9 
 I asked him if he had a good hope of the mercy of 
 God in Christ ; he answered, ' Yes. 9 I then prayed 
 with him ; this was about half an hour before he 
 died. Blessed be God for the consolation we have 
 in his death ! He was a faithful, useful, diligent, 
 and affectionate child." 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1T89, Mr. Belknap 
 preached the sermon at the installation of Rev. 
 Jedediah Morse, in Charlestown, from this text — 
 1st Peter, v. 3: "Neither as being lords over God's 
 heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." This 
 discourse he sent to the Vice-President, John Ad- 
 ams, who, in a letter thanking him for the attention, 
 makes the following observations : 
 
 " The more the subject is considered, the sooner 
 all men will be convinced, that human passions are 
 all insatiable ; that, instead of being extinguished, 
 moderated, or contented, they always strengthen by 
 indulgence and gratification ; and therefore, that 
 
LETTER FROM JOHN ADAMS. 173 
 
 the only security against them is in checks, whether 
 in civil or ecclesiastical societies. 
 
 " This is no more true with regard to the love of 
 power, than it is with regard to the love of riches, 
 of fame, of honor, or of pleasure. While we see 
 and acknowledge it to be the constitution of our na- 
 ture ; the quality to which we owe our activity and 
 industry, our virtues and our happiness ; we ought, 
 instead of quarrelling with it, to be only on our 
 guard against its tendency to abuse to vice and mis- 
 ery when uncontrolled. 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for giving me this opportunity 
 of assuring you that I am, with great esteem, 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 " John Adams. 
 " The Rev. Mr. Belknap." 
 
 An extract from another letter of the Vice-Pres- 
 ident is subjoined, for the sake of the anecdote con- 
 cerning Franklin, which it contains. 
 
 "After the loss of Canada, the vast addition to 
 the naval power and commercial advantages of Eng- 
 land alarmed the French very much, and there is 
 no doubt that the thought of assisting the British 
 Colonies to throw off the yoke occurred to them ; 
 as the loss of America, now rankling in the hearts 
 and tingling in the veins of the English nation, is 
 every day suggesting to them the project of assist- 
 
17-i LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 ing the Spaniards of South America to separate 
 from Spain. 
 
 " Monsieur Le Roy, a French academician, who 
 had been acquainted with Dr. Franklin in England, 
 upon introducing him at Paris to some members of 
 the Academy of Sciences, said : 
 
 " ' Voild Monsieur Frankland, qui est de ce pays 
 la en Amerique. qui nous debarrassera un jour de 
 ces Anglais.' 
 
 " This, Le Roy told me in presence of Dr. Frank- 
 lin, who said he remembered it very well. This 
 sentiment, I doubt not, had its influence in procur- 
 ing Franklin to be elected a member of that acade- 
 my. But it was a vague though general presenti- 
 ment, and no explicit advances were ever made to 
 him, or any one else, by the French court, till 1775." 
 
 At the Commencement in 1792, the degree of 
 Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon Mr. Belknap, 
 by Harvard University. This honor he would 
 have modestly declined, and was about to write a 
 letter to the corporation of the College for that pur- 
 pose, but was prevented by his friend, Dr. Clarke, 
 who entreated him not to affront his Alma Mater by 
 refusing the honor she offered for his acceptance. 
 
 The Society in Federal Street were very much 
 attached to their pastor, and additions to their num- 
 ber enabled them to increase his salary to a com- 
 fortable support, so that he was no longer obliged to 
 receive scholars ; and his life, after his removal to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 175 
 
 Boston, was in every respect more free from harass- 
 ing care and anxiety than it had been for many 
 years. 
 
 On the 23d of October, 1792, Dr. Belknap, at 
 the request of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 delivered a centennial discourse, intended to com- 
 memorate the discovery of America by Christopher 
 Columbus. In this discourse, after giving an ac- 
 count of the preparatory steps, and the final discov- 
 ery of the continent, he proceeds to consider the 
 effect it has had on the advancement of science, and 
 on the civil and religious liberty of mankind. Some 
 considerable extracts are given from this portion of 
 the discourse : 
 
 "It is both amusing and instructive to review our 
 former notions of liberty, both civil and religious ; 
 and to see what imperfect ideas we had on these sub- 
 jects, derived by tradition from our European ances- 
 tors. Like them, we boasted of English liberty ; 
 as if Englishmen had some exclusive rights, beyond 
 any other people, on the face of the earth. And 
 what was English liberty ? Its origin must be 
 sought in ancient charters, and particularly in magna 
 charta, granted by, or rather forced from, one of the 
 worst princes that ever disgraced a throne. The 
 liberties of Englishmen, after the Norman Conquest, 
 were the grants of their kings ; and the prerogative 
 was the claim of those kings to power and dominion 
 supposed to be founded on a divine right. 
 
176 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " In the early stages of our controversy, we had 
 formed an idea of liberty, as an inheritance, de- 
 scended to us from our ancestors, who were English- 
 men ; some of whom, when they quitted England, 
 had received of the then reigning prince, charters 
 under the great seal ; by which it was supposed 
 that their privileges were confirmed to them and 
 their posterity ; and the colonies which had these 
 charters plumed themselves on possessing more and 
 greater privileges than those styled royal provinces, 
 which were governed by temporary commissions from 
 the crown, revocable at the royal pleasure. 
 
 " In like manner, our title to religious freedom 
 was supposed to be derived, partly from the same 
 charters and commissions ; in which, liberty of con- 
 science was granted by the king to such of his sub- 
 jects as should settle in the plantations ; partly from 
 acts of toleration, made in England, and construed 
 to extend to the colonies ; and partly from our own 
 laws made to favor the religious opinions and prac- 
 tices of those who dissented from the majority. 
 Religious liberty was not placed on its right founda- 
 tion, nor derived from its true source. The world 
 was. not obliged to the statesman or the divine, for 
 the first acknowledgment of this darling right ; but 
 to the spirit of commerce, and to the interested views 
 of the merchant. Religious toleration was intro- 
 duced into the European countries for the benefit of 
 trade. When the merchants of Holland struck out 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 177 
 
 the idea, it was regarded by their neighbors with 
 the same horror as a pestilence. It was imported 
 into England with William, Prince of Orange, under 
 whose patronage it was formed into a law ; but it 
 has never been there so extensively admitted, as to 
 put all sects and parties on an equal footing. 
 
 * * * * ***** 
 
 " But though imperfection is more or less inter- 
 woven with all human constitutions, yet a spirit of 
 improvement is evidently pervading this country. 
 Several of the first forms of government which were 
 made for these states have been reviewed and 
 amended. Religious tests have been gradually 
 abolished ; and our national form of government is 
 entirely free from them. It leaves religion where 
 all civil government ought to leave it, — to the con- 
 sciences of individuals, under the control of the 
 Supreme Lord. 
 
 * *** ***** 
 
 " From our example of a government founded on 
 the principle of representation, excluding all family 
 pretensions and titles of nobility, other nations are 
 beginning to look into their natural and original 
 rights as men, and to assert and maintain them 
 against the claims of despotism. As far as the 
 present struggle in Europe against civil and spirit- 
 ual usurpation is conducted on virtuous principles, 
 we cordially wish it success. But have we not rea- 
 son to fear that the cause of liberty may be injured 
 12 
 
178 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 by the intemperate zeal of its friends, as much as 
 by the systematic opposition of its enemies ? If 
 wisdom, harmony, and fortitude were combined 
 with patriotism on the side of liberty, we might hope 
 that the time was approaching, when an hereditary 
 right to govern a nation would appear as contempti- 
 ble as the royal touch for the king's evil, and when 
 the loftiest prelates of Europe would find themselves 
 reduced to the same level with the curate of a par- 
 ish. But what scenes of anarchy and distress may 
 take place before these desirable events, we must 
 wait for time to unfold. 
 
 ******** 
 
 " Let us now turn our attention to another sub- 
 ject of debate, arising from the knowledge of this 
 continent. If the Gospel was designed for an uni- 
 versal benefit to mankind, why was it not brought 
 by the apostles to America, as well as propagated 
 in the several regions of the old continent ? To solve 
 this difficulty, it has been alleged, that America was 
 known to the ancients, and that it was enlightened 
 by the personal ministry of the apostles. With 
 equal propriety it might be solved, by denying that 
 America was at that time inhabited by any human 
 being ; and it might not be impossible to maintain 
 this negative position, against any positive proof 
 which can be adduced to the contrary. But both 
 are attended with difficulties which require more 
 light to unravel, than has yet appeared. If America 
 
 
MMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 179 
 
 was peopled at that period, perhaps the state of hu- 
 man society was such, that the wise and benevolent 
 Author of Christianity saw no prospect of success 
 to the propagation of his Gospel here, without the 
 intervention of more and greater miracles than 
 were consistent with divine wisdom or the nature of 
 man to permit. 
 
 " Nearly akin to this, is another difficulty. The 
 native inhabitants of Peru, for some centuries be- 
 fore the Spanish invasion, are represented as wor- 
 shippers of the sun ; whose universally benignant 
 influence to the world they thought themselves 
 bound to imitate. Accordingly their national char- 
 acter was mild, gentle, and humane. They made no 
 offensive wars ; and when they repelled the invasions 
 of their savage neighbors, and conquered them, it 
 was done with a view to reduce them from their 
 native ferocity, under the government of rational 
 and social principles ; and to incorporate them with 
 themselves, that they might enjoy the benefits of 
 their own pacific system. Their code of laws, de- 
 livered by the founder of their empire, was a work 
 of reason and benevolence, and bore a great resem- 
 blance to the divine precepts given by Moses, and 
 confirmed by Jesus Christ. In short, they seem to 
 have made the nearest approach to the system of 
 Christianity, I mean the moral part of it, of any 
 people who had never been formally instructed in 
 its principles. 
 
180 THE LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 " It would seein, then, to human reason, that they 
 were fit objects for an apostolic mission ; and that, 
 if the pure, simple, original doctrine of the gospel 
 had been preached to them, they would readily have 
 embraced it. 
 
 " But when we find that these mild and peaceful 
 people were invaded by avaricious Spaniards, under 
 a pretence of converting them to the catholic faith ; 
 w T hen, instead of the meek and humble language of 
 a primitive evangelist, we see a bigoted friar gravely 
 advancing at the head of a Spanish army, and, in a 
 language unknown to the Peruvians, declaring that 
 their country was given to his nation, by the Pope 
 of Rome, God's only vicar on earth, and command- 
 ing them to receive their new masters on pain of 
 death ; when we consider this parade of arrogant 
 hypocrisy as the signal for slaughter, and see the 
 innocent victims falling by the sword of these minis- 
 ters of destruction ; when we see the whole nation 
 vanquished, disheartened, and either murdered or 
 reduced to slavery, by their savage conquerors ; 
 when, instead of the worship which they addressed 
 to the luminary of Heaven, and which needed but 
 one step more to conduct them to the knowledge of 
 its invisible Creator, we see the pomp of popish 
 idolatry, with the infernal horrors of the Inquisition, 
 introduced into their country ; our astonishment is 
 excited to the highest degree, and we can only ex- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 181 
 
 claim, ' Thy judgments, Lord, are a great deep ! 
 and thy ways are past finding out ! ' 
 
 " It would give me the greatest pleasure, if, in 
 concluding this discourse, I could say any thing, with 
 respect to the propagation of Christianity among 
 the original natives of America, which could be con- 
 strued into a fulfilment of the prediction of Daniel, 
 concerning the progress of knowledge. 
 
 " Every European nation, which possesses any con- 
 siderable share of the continent, has made this de- 
 sirable work a part of their professed design, in 
 planting and settling the country ; and it must be 
 acknowledged that some very zealous and well- 
 meant endeavors have been made by men who had 
 neither wealth nor power in their view ; but the 
 success has not been answerable to the goodness of 
 the design, nor to the wishes of those who have en- 
 gaged in it. If we survey the whole continent, 
 from the first discovery of America to the present 
 time, the number of converts to Christianity among 
 the Indians bears but a small proportion to those 
 who have been destroyed either by war, by slavery, 
 or by spirituous liquors. And, with respect to many 
 of those w T ho have been called converts, it may justly 
 be inquired, whether any thing more can be said in 
 favor of their conversion, than that they have ex- 
 changed their original superstitions for others more 
 glittering and refined. 
 
 " If the truths of our holy religion are to be pro- 
 
182 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 pagated among the savages, it will become us to 
 consider, whether we had not better first agree 
 among ourselves what these truths are. For w T hilst 
 they see diversities of opinion among us, and that 
 some of the more zealous advocates of particular 
 tenets are endeavoring to instil the peculiarities of 
 their respective sects among them, and to prejudice 
 them against others ; the native sagacity with which 
 these people are endowed, will lead them to avoid 
 confounding themselves with our distinctions, and to 
 retain the religion of their ancestors, till they can 
 find one more free from perplexity than Christ- 
 ianity appears by the diversity of our opinions con- 
 cerning it. 
 
 " It is also worthy of consideration, whether the 
 vicious lives and conduct of our own people, and 
 especially those on the frontiers, with whom the 
 Indians are most acquainted, be not a great obstruc- 
 tion to the spreading of divine knowledge among 
 them. It is very natural to estimate the goodness 
 of any religion by the influence which it appears to 
 have on those who profess it ; and, if they are to re- 
 gard the conduct of the people by whom they have 
 been cheated, robbed, and murdered, as a specimen 
 of the influence of Christianity on the human mind, 
 it would be a greater wonder that they should em- 
 brace it than reject it. 
 
 " If the Christian religion is to be propagated, 
 without the assistance of miracles, among the savages 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 183 
 
 of this continent, it must be in some such manner as 
 the Moravians have attempted. These people seem 
 to have an art of attaching savage nations to their 
 faitli and manners, and of forming them into civil- 
 ized and laborious society, beyond any other denomi- 
 nation of Christians ; and, for the honor of the 
 common cause, I cannot but wish them all that sup- 
 port and encouragement which their zealous and 
 benevolent efforts deserve. 
 
 " It is much to be wished, that the spirit of bigotry 
 and the shibboleth of party were totally abolished ; 
 that the Christian religion may appear in its native 
 simplicity and purity ; and that the professors of it 
 would distinguish themselves by that love, that meek- 
 ness and gentleness, which marked the character 
 of its author and his primitive followers. By these 
 marks all men will know us to be his disciples ; 
 our light will so shine before men, that they will see 
 our good works, and glorify our Father who is in 
 heaven." 
 
184 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1791—1797. 
 
 Historical Society of Massachusetts. — Correspond- 
 ence tvith Governor Wentworth. — Ante-Colum- 
 bian Discovery of America. — Third Volume of 
 the History published. — Attempt to reprint it in 
 a Newspaper prevented. — The Foresters pub- 
 lished. — Extract from the Foresters. 
 
 The history of New England has always been 
 identified with that of its churches, and its minis- 
 ters have been also its annalists and historians. It 
 is mainly for his successful labors in this department 
 of literature, that Dr. Belknap is entitled to grate- 
 ful remembrance. Others had collected documents 
 and materials for history from garrets and private 
 repositories ; among whom the principal were, Hub- 
 bard of Ipswich, Prince of Boston, and also Gov- 
 ernor Hutchinson ; but neither of these had formed 
 the design of a society, of united efforts, or (if we 
 except Prince's collection in the steeple of Old 
 South Church, part of which was destroyed by the 
 British invaders), of a public place of deposit for 
 the preservation of those frail materials, which with- 
 out such means are scattered and lost before their 
 true value becomes known. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 185 
 
 The Massachusetts Historical Society, instituted 
 in 1791, owes its existence in the first place, un- 
 doubtedly, to Dr. Belknap. His historical research- 
 es had convinced him of the importance of such an 
 institution, for the collection, preservation, and mul- 
 tiplication of important papers ; and the first plan of 
 it is contained in the following sketch, found among 
 his papers, and marked " Plan of an Antiquarian 
 Society, Aug. 1790." 
 
 " A society to be formed, consisting of not more 
 than seven at first, for the purpose of collecting, 
 preserving, and communicating the Antiquities of 
 America. 
 
 " Admissions to be made in such manner as the 
 associated shall judge proper. The number of mem- 
 bers to be limited. 
 
 "A President, Recording and Corresponding 
 Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, and Cabinet-keeper 
 to be appointed. 
 
 " Each member to pay- at his admission, and 
 
 yearly. This and other money to be applied 
 
 to promoting the objects of the society. 
 
 " Each member, on his admission, shall engage to 
 use his utmost endeavors to collect and communicate 
 to the society, manuscripts, printed books and 
 pamphlets, historical facts, biographical anecdotes, 
 observations in natural history, specimens of natural 
 and artificial curiosities, and any other matters 
 
186 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 which may elucidate the natural and political history 
 of America, from the earliest times to the present 
 day, and — 
 
 " All communications which are thought worthy 
 of being preserved shall be entered at large in the 
 books of the society, with an index, and the origi- 
 nals kept on file. 
 
 " Letters shall be written to gentlemen in each 
 of the United States, requesting them to form sim- 
 ilar societies ; and a correspondence shall be kept 
 up between them for the purpose of communicating 
 discoveries to each other. 
 
 " Each society through the United States shall 
 be desired from time to time to publish such of 
 their communications as they may judge proper ; 
 and all publications shall be made on paper, and in 
 pages of the same size, that they may be bound to- 
 gether, and each society so publishing shall be de- 
 sired to send gratuitously to each of the other 
 societies one dozen copies at least of each publica- 
 tion. 
 
 " Quarterly meetings to be held, for the purpose 
 of communicating ; and in this State the quarterly 
 meetings shall be held on the days next following 
 those appointed for the meetings of the American 
 Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 " When the society's funds can afford it, salaries 
 shall be granted to the secretaries and other officers. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 187 
 
 " Persons to compose the first meeting : 
 Wm. Tudor, Esq., James Wixthrop, Esq., 
 
 Rev. John Eliot, Jere. Belkxap." 
 
 Rev. Peter Thacher, 
 
 To the gentlemen here mentioned were added five 
 others ; and their first publications were made in the 
 Apollo for 1792, a weekly paper printed by Belknap 
 and Young. The former was Dr. Belknap's eldest 
 son, then in business for himself. 
 
 In 179-1 the society was Incorporated by the name 
 of the Massachusetts Historical Society : the num- 
 ber of members at this time was twenty-nine. The 
 first president was Hon. James Sullivan ; the Rev. 
 James Freeman was the recording, and Dr. Belknap 
 the corresponding secretary. The library and mu- 
 seum were deposited in an apartment in Faneuil 
 Hall, and were removed subsequently to an upper 
 chamber over the Boston Library, in Franklin Place, 
 which was presented to the society by the proprie- 
 tors of the building. 
 
 The usefulness of the library was not limited to 
 such narrow bounds as that of Prince had been by 
 the terms of his will, in which he desires, in order 
 that the collection may be kept entire, " that no 
 person shall borrow any book or paper therefrom." 
 This Dr. Belknap called imprisoning the books, and 
 considered it a great hindrance to the benefit of the 
 donation, a valuable part of which has since been 
 
188 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 released, and, in the possession of the Historical 
 Society, is subject to their more liberal regulations. 
 
 In an account of the society contained in an early 
 volume of their collections, they express a desire for 
 the increase of the library and museum, and add as 
 an inducement, M All benefactions will be thankfully 
 acknowledged, and the names of the donors pub- 
 lished ; " which at the time had a good effect. 
 
 According to the plan of the sketch quoted 
 above, there are now similar societies in fourteen 
 other states, as follow : 
 
 Maine, Maryland, 
 
 Xew Hampshire, Virginia, 
 
 Vermont, North Carolina, 
 
 Rhode Island, South Carolina, 
 
 Connecticut, Georgia, 
 
 Xew York, Ohio, 
 
 Pennsylvania, Kentucky. 
 
 Some of the original materials collected by Dr. 
 Belknap for the society have been lost ; but enough 
 remain to identify him with its promising begin- 
 nings, and to indicate that he put it in a right course 
 for the successful pursuit of its objects. He was a 
 constant attendant at its meetings. He began and 
 pursued an extensive correspondence over the coun- 
 try, to enlist help in its designs ; and he contributed 
 the results of his own investigations, not only to the 
 published volumes and the cabinet of the society, 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WEXTWORTH. 189 
 
 but also to the more widely circulated papers and 
 pamphlets of the day. 
 
 Before completing the second volume of his His- 
 tory, Dr. Belknap wrote to Governor Wentworth, 
 then residing in Halifax, for some further informa- 
 tion concerning his administration. This letter, the 
 Governor's reply, and their subsequent correspond- 
 ence, give a pleasing view of the character of a 
 man who was forced, by causes beyond his control, 
 to relinquish the government of New Hampshire, 
 which he administered with integrity, and to the gen- 
 eral satisfaction of the inhabitants. 
 
 "Boston, March 21st, 1791. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 "I have written you several letters, both 
 while you was in England and since you have been 
 in Nova Scotia, but never had the pleasure of a 
 line in return. 
 
 " When the first volume of the History of New 
 Hampshire was printed, I gave one to Mr. John 
 Pierce, to be sent to you. I have also delivered to 
 him several of your books, which I borrowed out of 
 the library at Wolfboro' before it went to wreck with 
 your other property, in our late tumults. 
 
 " In the list of subscribers for my second and third 
 volumes, I observe with pleasure your signature. 
 This encourages me to hope, that, as you formerly 
 patronized the work, you will not take it amiss that 
 
190 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 I should apply to you for some assistance. I have 
 endeavored to explore every fountain of intelligence 
 that is accessible, and have succeeded in some in- 
 stances beyond my expectation ; nor would I leave 
 any method unattempted by which it is possible for 
 me to obtain as complete a knowledge as possible of 
 the persons and things concerning which I write. 
 
 " For that part of the history of which you may 
 say, w T ith the ancient hero of Troy, ' quorum pars 
 magnafuij I am furnished with * * * * 
 With these and what I shall collect from the public 
 records in New Hampshire, whither I am now going 
 to complete my compilation, and what I have min- 
 uted and remember of the transactions of that pe- 
 riod, I shall form the chapter of your administration. 
 But I do most sincerely wish that I could converse 
 with you on some of these various topics, because it 
 is my intention and desire to give as candid an ac- 
 count of things as is consistent with truth. 
 
 "It is true I always was, and shall appear in 
 this work to be, an advocate for the American side 
 of the question, which was so long in debate with 
 Great Britain, and which is now determined by the 
 Supreme Arbiter. But there were some things done 
 by my countrymen which I did not approve at the 
 time, nor has the length of time which has elapsed 
 altered my opinion. One of these was the havoc of 
 private property made by confiscations. On this 
 and some other circumstances I could enlarge, but 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WENTWORTH. 191 
 
 shall say no more than what is necessary to give a 
 
 just idea of the subject. 
 
 ********* 
 
 " If there are any other matters which, in your 
 judgment, I ought to be acquainted with, and which 
 I shall not be able to obtain without your assistance, 
 will you be so good as to mention them to me ? I 
 shall receive such communication as a particular 
 favor. 
 
 " Our government appears at last to be happily 
 settled, and every friend to virtue and good order 
 must wish it permanency. I hope that twenty-five 
 years of controversy and revolution will be sufficient 
 for the space of time which I have to exist on 
 this globe. "Were I to live to the age of Methuse- 
 lah, I should not wish to see another such period. 
 
 " The publication of my work is unavoidably de- 
 layed by the severity of the weather, which has 
 made it impossible to procure the paper till spring. 
 It is now making in Pennsylvania, and I have the 
 prospect of receiving it in the course of next month. 
 You need not, therefore, fear that your communica- 
 tions will be too late if they come by the end of 
 May, or beginning of June. 
 
 " I am, dear sir, with equal respect and affection 
 as in 1773, 
 
 " Your obliged friend and servant, 
 
 "J. B. 
 " To Gov. Wentworth, at Halifax." 
 
192 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 GOVERNOR WENT WORTH'S REPLY. 
 
 " Friar Lawrence's Cell, 
 
 ' : Near Halifax, May 15th, 1791. 
 
 " My Dear Sir, 
 
 " It is a long time since I have received 
 such sincere pleasure as your letter of the 21st 
 March has given me ; and I should have acknowl- 
 edged it by the Alligator frigate, but she sailed so 
 suddenly that there was not time to send to me 
 here (about six miles from town) and return before 
 she got away. Some of the letters you mention to 
 have wrote to me I have answered, particularly those 
 I received in England, and I think once from this 
 country , but conveyances in our small coasters are 
 very uncertain ; the skippers are generally illiterate, 
 and do not think of any thing which does not imme- 
 diately concern their cargo. By this means corres- 
 pondence has hitherto been much obstructed. 
 
 " The books returned to Mr. Pierce arrived safe 
 during my absence into the woods, on my public 
 duty, which has hitherto generally taken from five 
 to six months in every year, and I find has loaded 
 my constitution with rheumatic complaints, but am 
 in hopes rest and a more comfortable regimen will 
 restore me. These I hope to enjoy this year, being 
 about to sail for England on business that may de- 
 tain me six months from this country. There and 
 everywhere else, I shall rejoice to render you every 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WBNTWORTH. I 
 
 agreeable service in my power ; for although my 
 letters have not reached you, and I have not done 
 my heart justice in writing more frequently, yet be 
 assured, I have not known the least diminution of 
 friendship and affectionate regard toward you ; I 
 accordingly was much pleased on hearing you were 
 continuing the History of Xew Hampshire, having 
 received so much satisfaction from the first volume, 
 and being myself more interested in the two next. 
 
 " I herewith send you the papers you desire, as 
 far as I can find them. Most of my papers were 
 destroyed during the late tumults ; both public and 
 private were at several times burned ; their loss has 
 been often very inconvenient to me since, and is 
 now particularly regretted, as they might have 
 been useful to you. However, all that remain I 
 confide to your friendly discretion, which will readily 
 suggest ********** ona 
 
 review of all my public conduct to this day, I acted 
 with honest zeal for the King's service, and the real 
 good of his subjects, which I always did, and do now, 
 think are inseparable ; nor did I ever know any in- 
 tentions to impose arbitrary laws on America, or to 
 establish any system repugnant to British liberty ; 
 and I do verily believe, had true, wise, and open 
 measures been embraced on both sides, that their 
 union would have been many years established, and 
 their prosperity wonderfully increased. The inde- 
 pendence having been consented to by the govern- 
 18 
 
194 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 nient which entrusted me with its powers, I do most 
 cordially wish the most extensive, great, and per- 
 manent blessings to the United States, and of course 
 rejoice at the establishment of their federal constitu- 
 tion as a probable means of their happiness. If 
 there is any thing partial in my heart on this case, 
 it is that New Hampshire, my native country, may 
 arise to be among the most brilliant members of the 
 confederation ; as it was my zealous wish, ambition, 
 and unremitted endeavor, to have led her to, among 
 the provinces, while under my administration. For 
 this object, nothing appeared to me too much. 
 My whole heart and fortune were devoted to it, and, 
 I do flatter myself, not without prospect of some 
 success. 
 
 " If the bundle of papers prove useful to you, 
 they will therein do me the best service ; if other- 
 wise, I hope their being transmitted will serve to 
 evince my ready disposition toward your wishes, 
 which you may be assured you will find me at all 
 times attached to, with all the steadfastness and zeal 
 of friendship and respect. 
 
 " I am, my dear Sir, very truly, 
 " Tour sincere friend, 
 
 " J. Wentworth. 
 "Rev. Jeremy Belknap." 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GK>V. WEXTWORTH. 195 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 "Halifax, June 2 2d, 1792. 
 
 " Be assured, my dear friend, I feel myself 
 happy in your congratulations on my appointment 
 to the government of this province. In every situa- 
 tion of life, the friendship of those I most esteem 
 and respect must be numbered among those things 
 that I most covet." 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 "Halifax, 23d October, 1792. 
 
 "My Dear Sir, 
 
 " Late last evening, I returned from an ex- 
 pedition in the woods, after thirty-four days' absence ; 
 the chief object of which was to open a road from 
 the settlements at Poictou on the Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, to this place. This has been long wanted, but 
 thought impracticable, from the expense, and the 
 supposed difficulty of the country. Both are, how- 
 ever, overcome, and a good cart-road is cut, made, 
 and bridged, by which the inhabitants of that popu- 
 lous, increasing, and fertile district have an easy 
 communication with the capital, and can enjoy the 
 benefits of its commerce, as well as all the advan- 
 tages of law and government ; of all of which, they 
 were before almost as much deprived as if they had 
 been resident on the White Mountains. This has 
 been accomplished without any burthen on the pub- 
 lic, from a revenue which has always been disposed 
 of by governors, but hitherto not appropriated to 
 
196 LITE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 such purposes as I think it my duty to apply it. 
 The distance is sixty-eight miles, of which I have 
 cut, bridged, and made entirely, forty, and made 
 the remainder comfortable (except eight miles 
 which was done before), and my funds diminished 
 not £150 currency. 
 
 " This business prevented my receiving your let- 
 ter of 27th August, until this morning. * * I 
 have only time to give you the preceding reasons 
 for the delay in answering it, and to assure you, I 
 will endeavor to obtain the information you desire 
 about the Ante-Columbian discovery of America. 
 
 " I feel a friendly impatience to see the discourse 
 you have this day delivered (the century discourse), 
 and beg you to send me a copy by the first vessel. 
 
 " The autumn is now so far advanced, and the 
 various duties of my offices in this government, 
 and in all the others as surveyor-general of the 
 woods, are so urgent, and require so much my im- 
 mediate attention, that I fear whether it will be in 
 my power to indulge my wishes in a visit to my 
 friends at Portsmouth and Boston, this season. 
 However, I do not yet entirely give up the hopes of so 
 desirable a gratification, which would be unfeignedly 
 increased to me in your friendly embrace ; for I pray 
 you to be assured, I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 " Your sincere friend, 
 
 "J. Wextworth." 
 "Rev. Jeremy Belknap." 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WEXTWORTH. 197 
 
 " I forgot to beg your assistance in procuring for 
 me one of the Hebrew grammars published by Judah 
 Monis, late of Harvard College, and used there, 
 while I was an undergraduate. It is intended for 
 my son, who is a student of Brazen Nose College, 
 Oxford, and has a taste for the Hebrew language, in 
 which he made great proficiency while at Westmin- 
 ster school. 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 "J. Wextworth." 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 "Halifax, 7th November, 1793. 
 
 " My Dear Sir, 
 
 "Amidst the urgency of public business, 
 exceedingly increased by paying and dismissing 
 upwards of one thousand militia-men, who have been 
 called in as a reinforcement to this garrison, I em- 
 brace a few moments afforded me by Mr. Walter, 
 to return my best thanks for your kind letter and 
 the Hebrew grammar, which I shall send to my son 
 by the packet arrived to-day, from New York, on 
 her way to England, which I shall despatch in three 
 days. 
 
 " The preparations for defence, and the frequent 
 alarms from New York [of a French invasion], 
 have so continually excited the apprehensions of 
 our inhabitants in this town for three months past, 
 
198 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 that my every moment has been occupied. The 
 alacrity and public spirit of our militia has given me 
 great pleasure ; and their orderly behavior, both on 
 their march and while in town, has been equally 
 honorable to themselves, and flattering to me. AYe 
 have not had one offence tried or complained of. 
 Every division were armed on their arrival in town, 
 and the next day assiduously applied themselves to 
 military exercises with so much zeal an<J diligence, 
 that their proficiency surprises every body. One 
 company marched one hundred and thirty miles in 
 thirty-five hours. Two other companies, hearing 
 many guns, ran thirteen miles in two hours, to come 
 in time. Instead of drafting to complete the levies, 
 many companies insisted upon their right to come ; 
 and the officers were obliged to draft those that 
 were to remain at home, and complete a second 
 reinforcement when wanted. The Acadians are 
 equally affected as the rest. Since my accession 
 to the government, I have earnestly applied myself 
 to comfort and establish them, by granting lands 
 without fees, appointing magistrates among them, 
 calling them to the grand juries and town offices, 
 enrolling them in the militia, and aiding their priests. 
 They sent me seventy-five volunteers upon this occa- 
 sion, under command of an English half-pay officer : 
 on their arrival, I gave the same arms and allow- 
 ances as the rest. Their old captain told me they 
 now first found themselves the same as Englishmen, 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WEXTWORTH. 199 
 
 and were perfectly happy, and would be as faithful 
 to the king and province as any men in it. I con- 
 fess recovering these poor people to their own hap- 
 piness, and as the old man said to me, that I had 
 made them forget all the miseries their people had 
 formerly suffered, gives me infinitely more comfort 
 than any other thing since my administration. I 
 know your benevolent heart will not only rejoice, 
 but also congratulate me on this event." 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 "Halifax, 24th July, 1795. 
 
 "My Dear Sir, 
 
 " The multiplied importunities of urgent 
 business have lately interrupted the gratifications 
 derived to me from private correspondence, and, 
 among others, prevented my writing to you as 
 often as I wished. I will no longer be restrained, 
 however, from so pleasing an intercourse ; more es- 
 pecially as it is, and has been some time, my wish 
 to express to you the solid comfort resulting to me, 
 in these distracted times, when the mighty power 
 of France is madly employed to destroy our religion, 
 and thereby bury social order, with all its beauties 
 and blessings, in barbarian ruins, from recollecting a 
 sermon you preached at Dover, in New Hampshire, 
 when I reviewed a regiment of militia there. In 
 
200 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 that discourse, you convinced me, that the kingdom 
 of Christ required not arms for its defence or sup- 
 port, nor could possibly be subverted by them. 
 From that hour my mind was satisfied, and I now 
 am fully persuaded, that the unexampled efforts 
 of the French to exterminate Christianity will not 
 only be frustrated by the decrees of Heaven, but 
 that it will be more signally established and extend- 
 ed by their malice ; and, of course, that safety, 
 benevolence, and all the other endearing charities 
 of life, will still be preserved under that great shel- 
 ter. Thus, although I see the ruinous torrent 
 deluge many countries, yet I am persuaded, that 
 bounds are set to their devastations, which cannot 
 be passed. Where these bounds may be appointed, 
 cannot be foreseen, — I most devoutly hope, beyond 
 the Atlantic, and that the pestilence may not pre- 
 vail in America. It would be a sin truly diabolical, 
 to plunge in darkness and horror the fair prospects 
 which now shine on the American union. 
 
 11 In the course of your studies relative to the 
 History of New Hampshire, it is possible you may 
 have met with some papers or anecdotes concerning 
 my family. If any have occurred, or that you can 
 procure for me, they will be of great use, and most 
 exceedingly oblige me especially — * * * 
 
 " I know not how to apologize for asking this 
 favor, which is so very interesting to me ; but, in your 
 kindness and friendship, I trust for excuse, and in 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WENTWORTH. 201 
 
 your extensive information for success, which will be 
 thankfully considered by, my dear Sir, 
 " Your sincere friend, 
 
 J. Wentworth. 
 "P.S. Should any expense occur in procuring 
 copies, searching records, or otherwise, I will gladly 
 repay it. 
 
 " J. W." 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 "Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sept. 15th. 1797. 
 
 "My Dear Sir, 
 
 " I am indeed exceedingly obliged and hap- 
 py in your kind letter of the 17th August, which 
 came to my hands the 12th inst. The inclosures 
 are very acceptable to me, and I also beg to repeat 
 my thanks for those communications you sometime 
 since sent to me : those respecting my family, though 
 not equal to legal evidence, yet had a good use in 
 satisfying those who were to determine that my 
 claims were well founded ; and the deficiency of 
 formal proof was supplied by the gracious commands 
 of my sovereign, in whose wisdom our constitution 
 places plenary powers in such cases. The interest 
 your friendship kindly takes in my happiness, justi- 
 fies me in mentioning, that, in the honors lately con- 
 ferred, an addition to my arms was granted, 
 signifying ability and fidelity in the public service. 
 These, however, merited more by honest zeal than 
 
202 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 brilliant execution, are a pleasing mark of appro- 
 bation upon principles applicable to all forms of 
 government. The next to this, I rejoice in and am 
 proud of the affectionate remembrance of my old 
 friend, the highly respected President of the United 
 States, and with perfect sincerity reciprocate his 
 kind expression ; for it is certain ' I always loved 
 John Adams.' Our youth was spent in confidence 
 and intimacy, which discovered to me so many vir- 
 tues and such preeminent abilities, that they created 
 an esteem which has not since been estranged, and 
 still affords me many hours of comforting reflection. 
 Perhaps no man can entertain a more exalted opin- 
 ion of our friend's political wisdom than I do ; nor 
 is it impossible that it may exceed the wisdom of 
 those you designate [the crowned heads of Europe] : 
 the most of them I really believe it does. In that 
 description, however, we have seldom the means of 
 a due appreciation. Their wisdom is often imputed 
 to others, and the reverse in its defect, redoubling 
 the balance against their reputation. You could 
 not more safely anticipate my concurrence, than in 
 the sentiment that my classmate is the most perfect 
 choice that could mark the good sense and sound 
 judgment of the United States. Nor are my best 
 wishes wanting for his prosperous and long adminis- 
 tration: therein, I verily believe, is included the 
 greatest good that can be wished for the United 
 States of America. ***** 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOV. WENTWORTH. 203 
 
 " I may not reasonably enlarge this long letter 
 with apologies. It is most my interest to commit 
 myself to your friendship, which has always been 
 very good and very dear to 
 
 " Your faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 "J. Went worth." 
 
 FROM THE SAME. 
 
 " Halifax, Nova Scotia, 23d March, 1798. 
 
 "My Dear Sir, 
 
 " An unexpected urgency requiring the im- 
 mediate sailing of the brig Earl of Moira, I have 
 not a moment (which literally is my own) ; but I 
 will snatch one wherein to thank you for your late 
 very kind and acceptable letter, and to ask accept- 
 ance of the picture of my late Grandfather, which 
 you mentioned. It is an original, and well execu- 
 ted. I am much flattered by its intended situation 
 among the good men of my natiye country, to which 
 I shall never cease to bear an honest affection. 
 [This picture is in the collection of the Historical 
 Society.] 
 
 " You will have received the European news by 
 the Halifax packet, arrived at Xew York, probably 
 before it reached us, and therefore it will.be un- 
 necessary to trouble you on that subject, if time 
 
204 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 remained more than to assure you of the sincere 
 regard and esteem of, Reverend and dear sir, 
 " Your faithful friend, 
 
 "J. Wextworth. 
 
 " P. S. I have directed to you a pamphlet pub- 
 lished by the late province of New York relative to 
 their contest with New Hampshire for Vermont. 
 Possibly it may be acceptable for your Historical 
 Society's collection, to which I shall gladly embrace 
 any occasions that may arise of contributing my 
 mite. J. W. 
 
 "Rev. Jeremy Belknap." 
 
 The result of the inquiry instituted by Governor 
 Wentworth concerning the ante-Columbian discovery 
 of America, as given in the advertisement to the 
 second volume of American Biography, is, that no 
 vestige of a settlement nor of grape-vines could be 
 found ; and though the tale has been more recently 
 related by Mr. Wheaton, in his History of the 
 Northmen, it is since put at rest by the following 
 note, in the first volume of " Scandinavia," by 
 Crichton and Wheaton, Edinburgh, 1838, page 23 : 
 
 " The alleged discovery of North America, under 
 the name of Yinland, by the Scandinavians, in the 
 year 1002, is not worthy of credence. The error 
 appears to have been the work of some designing 
 interpolator of the old Icelandic M.S. Chronicles." 
 
 In page 163 of the same History, is the following 
 
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 205 
 
 reference : " See an interesting dissertation on the 
 alleged discovery of America by the Scandinavians, 
 by J. H. Schroeder, in the Svea for 1818, torn. i. 
 p. 197, a periodical published at Upsala." 
 
 In 1792 Dr. Belknap published the third and 
 last volume of the History of New Hampshire. No 
 sooner was this work, which had cost so much time 
 and labor, completed, than an editor of a newspaper 
 in Keene attempted to profit by it at the expense 
 of the author, to which end he published the follow- 
 ing notice : 
 
 " In order to render this paper as useful and en- 
 tertaining as possible, the editor proposes in a few 
 weeks to commence upon the Rev. Mr. Belknap's 
 late History of New Hampshire, and continue a 
 small part of the same weekly. As every member 
 of the community is equally interested in this much- 
 approved History, the editor flatters himself that 
 the above attempt to please will meet with the ap- 
 probation of his generous patrons. This information 
 is given to accommodate those who have a de- 
 sire of becoming subscribers for the Cheshire Ad- 
 vertiser, that they may apply in season, and not be 
 disappointed of the first part of this valuable His- 
 tory." 
 
 This information reaching Dr. Belknap, through 
 the kindness of his friend, Mr. Isaiah Thomas, of 
 Worcester, occasioned the following letter to the 
 gentleman so desirous to please his customers : 
 
206 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 •"Boston, April 21st, 1792. 
 
 "To Mr. , 
 
 " Editor of the Cheshire Advertiser. 
 
 " I have observed in your paper of the 4th 
 inst., that you have promised your customers ' to 
 commence upon the Rev. Mr. Belknap's History of 
 New Hampshire, and continue a small part of the 
 same weekly, to accommodate those who have a de- 
 sire of becoming subscribers for the Cheshire Ad- 
 vertiser, &c.' As I am particularly interested in 
 the success of that literary adventure, I beg you 
 would set me down as a subscriber for the Cheshire 
 Advertiser for one year, to commence from the 
 first portion of the said History which you may re- 
 print, and send the papers to me regularly by the post. 
 If you are desirous of reprinting the certificate from 
 the Clerk of the Federal Court, which secures the 
 copyright of the said History to me and my heirs, 
 agreeably to the laws of the United States, be so 
 good as to let me know it, and I will send you an 
 authenticated copy. 
 
 " I am, sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 "Jeremy Belknap." 
 
 Thus, for a time, the threatened invasion of his 
 rights was repelled ; but, a few years after, a New 
 York printer was more successful in selling a Geog- 
 raphy, into which were transcribed large portions of 
 the work ; and though an attempt was made to 
 
THE FORESTERS. 207 
 
 obtain some remuneration from him, it was found 
 nothing but the application of the law would have 
 any effect ; and, this being too expensive a mode of 
 settlement, the injury remained without redress. 
 
 In this year also Dr. Belknap published " The For- 
 esters, an American tale, being a sequel to the His- 
 tory of John Bull the Clothier, in a series of letters 
 to a friend." It appeared first in successive num- 
 bers of the Columbian Magazine, and was afterwards 
 collected into a volume, which passed through two 
 editions during the author's life. This little book 
 gives a humorous account of the first settlement of 
 the country, and the troubles with Great Britain ; 
 it was printed anonymously, the copyright being 
 secured by the publishers. The second edition 
 was printed in 1796, and two letters were added, 
 continuing the story to that time. 
 
 A description of the hostility of Massachusetts 
 towards the Quakers and Anabaptists, and of the ex- 
 pulsion of the former from the state, is given in the 
 third letter as follows. It is headed, " John Cod- 
 line quarrels with Roger Carrier, and turns him out 
 of doors." 
 
 " John's family grew, and he settled his sons as 
 fast as they became of age, to live by themselves ; 
 and when any of his old acquaintance came to see 
 him, he bade them welcome, and was their very good 
 friend, as long as they continued to he of his mind, 
 and no longer ; for he was a very pragmatical sort 
 
208 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 of a fellow, and loved to have his own way in every 
 thing. This was the cause of a quarrel between 
 him and Roger Carrier ; for it happened that Roger 
 had taken a fancy to dip his head into water,* as 
 the most effectual way of washing his face, and 
 thought it could not be made so clean in any other 
 way. John, who used the common way of taking 
 water in his hand to wash his face, was displeased 
 with Roger's innovation, and remonstrated against 
 it. The remonstrance had no other effect than to 
 fix Roger's opinion more firmly ; and as a farther 
 improvement on his new plan, he pretended that no 
 person ought to have his face washed till he was 
 capable of doing it himself, without any assistance 
 from his parents. John was out of patience with 
 this addition, and plumply told him that, if he did not 
 reform his principles and practice, he would fine him, 
 or flog him, or kick him out of doors. These 
 threats put Roger on inventing other odd and whim- 
 sical opinions. He took offence at the letter X, and 
 would have had it expunged from the alphabet, be- 
 cause it was the shape of a cross, and had a ten- 
 dency to introduce Popery. f He would not do his 
 duty at a military muster, because there was an X 
 in the colors. After a while he began to scruple 
 the lawfulness of bearing arms and killing wild 
 
 * Anabaptists. 
 
 t Roger Williams' zeal against the sign of the Cross. 
 
THE FORESTERS. 209 
 
 beasts. But, poor fellow ! the worst of all was, that 
 being seized with a shaking-palsy* which affected 
 every limb and joint of him, his speech was so al- 
 tered that he was unable to pronounce certain letters 
 and syllables as he had been used to do. These 
 oddities and defects rendered him more and more 
 disagreeable to his old friend, who, however, kept 
 his temper as well as he could, till one day, as John 
 was saying a long grace over his meat, Roger kept 
 his hat on the whole time. As soon as the ceremo- 
 ny was over, John took up a case-knife from the 
 table, and gave Roger a blow on the ear with the 
 broad side of it ; then with a quick, rising stroke, 
 turned off his hat. Roger said nothing, but, taking 
 up his hat, put it on again ; at which John broke 
 out into such a passionate speech as this : ' You im- 
 pudent scoundrel ! is it come to this ? Have I not 
 borne with your whims and fidgets these many 
 years, and yet they grow upon you ? Have I not 
 talked with you time after time, and proved to you 
 as plain as the nose in your face, that your notions 
 are wrong ? Have I not ordered you to leave them 
 off, and warned you of the consequences ; and yet 
 you have gone on from bad to worse ? You began 
 with dipping your head into water, and would have 
 all the family do the same, pretending there was no 
 other way of washing the face. You would have 
 
 * Quakers. 
 14 
 
210 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 had the children go dirty all their days, under pre- 
 tence that they were not able to wash their own 
 faces, and so they must have been as filthy as the 
 pigs till they were grown up. Then you would talk 
 your own balderdash lingo, thee and Q 
 
 •oth ; and now you must keep your hat on when 
 I am at my devotions, and I suppose would be glad 
 to have the whole family do the same ! There is no 
 bearing with you any longer; so now, hear me, I 
 give you fair warning: if you don't mend your 
 manners, and retract your errors, and promise 
 reformation, Til kick you out of the house. I '11 
 have no such refractory fellows here. I came into 
 this forest for reformation, and reformation I ivill 
 have.' 
 
 " ' Friend John,' said Roger, ; dost not thou re- 
 member, when thou and I lived together in friend 
 Bull's family, how hard thou didst think it to be 
 compelled to look on thy book all the time that the 
 hooded chaplain was reading the prayers, and how 
 many knocks and thumps thou and I had for offering 
 to use our liberty, which we thought we had a right 
 to do ? Didst thou not come hitherunto for the sake 
 of enjoying thy liberty ? and did not I come to enjoy 
 mine ? Wherefore, then, dost thou assume to de- 
 prive me of the right which thou claimest for thy- 
 self ! ' 
 
 i; .' Don't tell me,' answered John, i of right 
 and of liberty : you have as much liberty as any 
 
THE FORESTERS. 211 
 
 man ought to have. You have liberty to do right, 
 and no man ought to have liberty to do wrong.' 
 
 " c Who is to be judge,' replied Roger, ' of what 
 is right or what is wrong? Ought not I to judge 
 for myself? Or thinkest thou it is thy place to 
 judge for me ? ' 
 
 " ' Who is to be judge ? ' said John, ' why, the 
 book is to be judge ; and I have proved by the book 
 over and over again, that you are wrong ; and there- 
 fore you are wrong, and you have no liberty to do 
 any thing but what is right.' 
 
 " ' But, friend John,' said Roger, ' who is to 
 judge whether thou hast proved my opinions or con- 
 duct to be wrong — thou or I ? ' 
 
 " ' Come, come,' said John, ' not so close, neith- 
 er ; none of your idle distinctions. I say you are 
 in the wrong ; I have proved it, and you know it. 
 You have sinned against your own conscience, and 
 therefore you deserve to be cut off as an incorrigible 
 heretic' 
 
 " ' How dost thou know,' said Roger, ' that I 
 have sinned against my own conscience ? Canst 
 thou search the heart ? ' 
 
 " At this John was so enraged that he gave him 
 a smart kick, and bade him begone out of his house, 
 and oflF his lands, and called after him to tell him, 
 that, if ever he should catch him there again, he 
 would knock his brains out/' 
 
212 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1794—1797. 
 
 American Biography Published. — Judge Jay's 
 Opinion. — Extracts from the Preface of Hub- 
 bard's New Edition. — Letter to Mr. Hazard. 
 — General Knox. — Dissertations , Extract. — 
 Psalms and Hymns. — Letter from a Grentleman 
 of Portland. — Dislike to Controversy. — Anec- 
 dotes. 
 
 In January, 1794, the first volume of the 
 American Biography was published, entitled, " An 
 Historical Account of those Persons who have been 
 distinguished in America as Adventurers, Statesmen, 
 Philosophers, Divines, Warriors, Authors, and other 
 remarkable characters." The first biography is 
 that of Biorn, the discoverer of Vinland, in 1001 ; 
 and the volume concludes with Henry Hudson, who, 
 in the endeavor to find a north-west passage, dis- 
 covered Spitzbergen in 1607, embracing a period of 
 six hundred years. 
 
 Biography, says a contemporary writer, " was a 
 literary path hitherto unexplored in this country," 
 when entered upon by Dr. Belknap. " No apology," 
 says the author, " is necessary for this work, if its 
 utility be admitted ; " and this, time has abundantly 
 
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. 213 
 
 proved. His previous historical studies and pur- 
 suits, as well as his accuracy and impartiality, emi- 
 nently qualified him for its successful accomplish- 
 ment. A letter from Judge Jay to Dr. Belknap, 
 upon the subject, contains the following sentence : 
 
 " To succeed in Biography has not been common. 
 To collect, select, and arrange the necessary mate- 
 rials, requires time and industry, as well as judgment ; 
 and it always appeared to me to be a matter of re- 
 gret, that although reputation was more valuable 
 than property, yet less care and accuracy were gen- 
 erally used in deciding on the former, than on the 
 latter." 
 
 A new edition of this work was published by 
 Harper and Brothers, in 1842 ; the editor of which, 
 Mr. F. M. Hubbard, gives the following testimony 
 to the correctness and fidelity of the author : 
 
 " In preparing a new edition of a work so highly 
 esteemed for its exactness and impartiality, the 
 editor has had a twofold labor. He has reexamined 
 all the statements of facts made by Dr. Belknap, 
 and compared them with the authorities he used, and 
 with others which were not accessible when he wrote. 
 It has been very seldom that he has found occasion 
 to differ from Dr. Belknap, and that most frequently 
 in cases in which documents recently discovered 
 have thrown light upon subjects which the want 
 
214 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 of them rendered necessarily obscure. It is believed 
 that no work has been published of such magnitude, 
 embracing such a variety of persons and events, and 
 extending over a period of more than six hundred 
 years, in which so few, and those so unimportant, 
 errors are to be found. The manuscript collections 
 yet remaining, from which the work was originally 
 written, prove a degree of careful diligence, and a 
 discriminating and impartial judgment, which have 
 been rarely exercised by the historical inquirer." 
 
 The first suggestion of this work is contained in 
 a letter from Dr. Belknap to his friend Mr. Hazard, 
 in 1779. He says : 
 
 " There is one thing I intended to mention to you, 
 which, if it meet with your approbation, may serve as 
 an underplot to your general design [of the State 
 Papers] . In the course of your travels through the 
 continent, and researches into antiquity, you will 
 naturally become acquainted with the characters of 
 many persons whose memories deserve regard, 
 either as statesmen, scholars, patriots, or otherwise. 
 Might not a collection of these, in the form of a bio- 
 graphical dictionary, be an useful work ? I have 
 had thoughts of such a thing, and have made the 
 beginning of a small attempt to execute it ; but as 
 your opportunities for perfecting such a plan are 
 much superior to what mine are, or will probably 
 
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. 215 
 
 ever be, I will gladly resign to you whatever I have 
 done, or can hereafter do, toward it." 
 
 Mr. Hazard's reply contains the following : 
 
 u Iam charmed with your proposal of an Ameri- 
 can Biographical Dictionary, and will cheerfully 
 contribute towards it any aid in my power ; but 
 upon considering, according to Horace's advice, 
 
 1 Quid valeant humeri ferre, quid ferre recusant/ 
 
 I dare not undertake it. When you attend to the 
 magnitude of my present design, and recollect that 
 at the same time I am forming an American Geo- 
 graphy, you will see the propriety of my declining 
 it. As you have begun, I wish you would go on 
 with it. It is unjust, and would argue base ingrati- 
 tude, that the characters of worthy men should be 
 buried with their dust." 
 
 The next letter of Dr. Belknap is as follows : 
 
 "May 12th, 1779. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I am much pleased that my proposal of an 
 American Biographical Dictionary meets with your 
 approbation. The promise of your assistance in 
 carrying it on is a great inducement to proceed in 
 it : but I had much rather you would take the work 
 
216 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 into your own hands. ' The magnitude of your 
 present design ' need be no impediment to it, as the 
 materials lie all in your way, and you need only 
 keep a memorandum containing an alphabetical in- 
 dex of names, with reference to the books and 
 papers where the characters or actions of the per- 
 sons are registered, w T hich may be transcribed at 
 some future period, when your other plans are com- 
 pleted. This is chiefly the method which I have 
 pursued : only where I meet with hints scattered in 
 books or papers which may not be easily collected 
 again, I have copied them. But I Lave done and 
 can do but little toward it. Confined, as Pope says, 
 to ' lead the life of a cabbage,' unable to stir from 
 the spot where I am planted, burdened with the 
 care of an increasing family, and obliged to pursue 
 the business of my proper station, I have neither 
 time nor advantages to make any improvements in 
 science. If I can furnish hints to those w r ho have 
 leisure and capacity to pursue them, it is as much 
 as I can pretend to. If, upon further consideration, 
 you should think more favorably of being the prin- 
 cipal instrument of perfecting the design, I will 
 promise to forward it to the utmost of my power ; 
 but, if not, I beg you would not only assist in it 
 yourself, but engage a number of gentlemen in dif- 
 ferent parts of the continent to make collections for 
 it, and let some person whose situation is more cen- 
 tral than mine be appointed to receive them. By 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. HAZARD. 217 
 
 this means, perhaps in a series of time the thing 
 may be done ; but if it lie solely upon me, and I am 
 to continue in my present situation, I am persuaded 
 it never will." 
 
 A letter from Mr. Hazard, dated Jamaica Plain, 
 the following August, gives some idea of the diffi- 
 culties a literary project had to encounter in such 
 troubled times. He says : 
 
 " I mentioned the dictionary to Dr. Gordon of 
 this place, Dr. Stiles of Xew Haven, the Rev. Mr. 
 Tennent of Greenfield, in Connecticut, and I think 
 to several gentlemen in Philadelphia ; but I men- 
 tioned it as you preach sermons, in hopes that it 
 might possibly take effect somewhere, but almost 
 despairing of it at the same time. In short, the war, 
 and the numerous avocations consequent upon it, 
 have thrown every man's mind into such an unset- 
 tled and confused state, that but few can think 
 steadily upon any subject. They hear of useful 
 designs; they give you all the encouragement which 
 can be derived from the warmest approbation of 
 your plan ; they will even promise you assistance : 
 politics intrude, and when you appear again, why, 
 they really forgot that the matter had been men- 
 tioned to them." 
 
 The second volume of the Biography begins with 
 the life of Sir Thomas Smith, treasurer of the Virginia 
 
218 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 Company in England, and one of the assignees of 
 Raleigh's patent ; and concludes with William Penn. 
 Dr. Belknap lived to complete it, but not to see it 
 published ; the printing being in progress at the 
 time of his decease. 
 
 Dr. Belknap's patriotism was active and vigilant 
 to repel all assaults upon the honor of his country. 
 General Knox, Secretary of War, on resigning his 
 office, addressed a letter to the President, Dec. 29th, 
 1794, in which he lamented that a our modes of 
 population had been more destructive to the Indian 
 natives than the conduct of the conquerors of Mex- 
 ico and Peru." This unjust aspersion roused Dr. 
 Belknap in defence of his country, and he wrote a 
 letter to General Knox, which w^as printed in the 
 Columbian Centinel, of 24th January, 1795, show- 
 ing that the first settlers had bought their land and 
 paid the Indians for it, and had made great efforts 
 to civilize and christianize them ; and that the de- 
 crease of their number was not owing to the causes 
 to which the General attributed it. Another instance 
 of this watchfulness and care of the honor of the Uni- 
 ted States is the correction of an error of Dr. Kippis 
 respecting the conduct of the American Congress 
 with regard to Captain Cook, which was published 
 at the time in the Collections of the Historical So- 
 ciety, vol. iv. p. 79, &c. 
 
 In 1795, Dr. Belknap published " Dissertations 
 on the Character, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus 
 
DISSERTATIONS. 219 
 
 Christ, and the Evidence of his Gospel ; with Re- 
 marks on some sentiments advanced in a book enti- 
 tled < The Age of Reason.' " 
 
 This compendium, designed for those who have 
 not leisure or opportunity to look into more volumi- 
 nous works, does not pretend to any new arguments. 
 An extract from the first dissertation, on the nature of 
 that evidence by which the Gospel is supported, will 
 give an idea of the manner of reasoning pursued in it. 
 
 " Where there is a prospect of advantage, and of 
 such vast, unspeakable advantage as the happiness 
 of a future state, — a subject which has engaged the 
 attention of good men in all ages, — surely it is ra- 
 tional to admit that degree of moral evidence which 
 is founded on credible testimony, — on testimony 
 w T hich cannot be contradicted by any testimony of 
 equal credibility, and from the certainty of which 
 no deduction can be made by any reasonable evi- 
 dence of a contrary truth. 
 
 " Such is the kind of evidence, and such is the 
 degree of that kind of evidence, on which the facts 
 which involve the gospel hope of eternal life are 
 grounded. It is the evidence of testimony ; the 
 testimony of Jesus Christ and his apostles. Jesus 
 Christ came from heaven into this world, and pointed 
 out to us the path of life by his doctrine and example. 
 Having delivered his testimony, and confirmed it by 
 a series of the most wonderful and beneficial works 
 which were ever seen and known in this world; 
 
220 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 having voluntarily yielded himself to the power of 
 death, and submitted to be laid in the grave ; he 
 hath resumed his life, and returned to heaven. Of 
 all this there is sufficient evidence ; there is written 
 evidence ; there is evidence from the written testi- 
 mony of credible witnesses, who could not be mis- 
 taken, because they did not believe it themselves 
 until, after doubting, they were convinced by the 
 most infallible and demonstrative proof; and who 
 could have no interest in deceiving us, because they 
 have ventured their own happiness on the credibility 
 of the same truths. If, then, we have any idea of 
 the benefit which is proposed to us by believing in 
 Jesus Christ, and obeying his Gospel ; if we have 
 any value for that salvation which is there revealed, 
 ought we not to attend to this evidence ? And if 
 it appears reasonable, and we have no contrary evi- 
 dence to detract from its credibility, is it not wise 
 and prudent for us to admit the truth of the facts, 
 and the importance of the consequences deducible 
 from them ; and, when we have admitted it, to build 
 our hope and expectations on it ? Ought we not to 
 exercise the same judgment and caution on this sub- 
 ject, which we do every day on things of less con- 
 sequence ? — and at the same time to place that 
 confidence, and entertain that hope, which shall an- 
 imate us to exertion ? Hope is the life of all busi- 
 ness ; and what nobler hope can we have than the 
 hope of eternal life ? Being persuaded of this 
 
PSALMS AND HYMXS. 221 
 
 truth, and possessed of this hope, Ave shall pursue 
 with vigor the path of duty ; and the farther we ad- 
 vance in the way of gospel obedience, the more 
 comfort and satisfaction shall we find : the ' righte- 
 ous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean 
 hands shall be stronger and stronger.' — Job xviii. 
 9." 
 
 In this year Dr. Belknap issued his collection of 
 Psalms and Hymns. This compilation was gathered 
 from a wider range of authors than those which it su- 
 perseded ; it was extensively used by the Congrega- 
 tional churches of New England for many years, and 
 more recent compilers have acknowledged its value 
 by transferring a large portion of its contents to their 
 pages. The author says, in his preface : 
 
 " In this selection, those Christians who do not 
 scruple to sing praises to their Redeemer and Sancti- 
 fier will find materials for such a sublime enjoyment ; 
 whilst others, whose tenderness of conscience may 
 oblige them to confine their addresses to the Father 
 only, will find no deficiency of matter suited to their 
 idea of ' the chaste and awful spirit of devotion.' " 
 
 Several of the hymns are of his own composi- 
 tion. Indeed, he freo^iently wrote occasional verses 
 for the entertainment of himself and friends ; but, as 
 he never considered these ephemeral productions as 
 of any great value, it has been thought best not to 
 introduce any of them into this volume, with the 
 exception of a fragment found among his papers 
 
222 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 after his decease, which was published in the obitu- 
 ary notices of him at the time, and is inserted in its 
 appropriate place. 
 
 The readiness of Dr. Belknap to help all who 
 needed or asked his assistance was remarkable, and 
 induced applications from more indolent persons, who 
 would gladly have availed themselves of his labors, 
 instead of their own exertions. As an instance of 
 this, a gentleman wrote him a letter from Portland, 
 to the following effect : 
 
 " I am preparing something which will soon be 
 delivered to the public. I find myself exceedingly 
 cramped by the want of books this way. My own 
 library is trifling. Will you permit me, for a mo- 
 ment, to intrude upon your precious time, devoted 
 to religion and science, by the following requests ? 
 
 " I wish to have, from your pen, a short sketch 
 of the rise and progress of the causes lohich finally 
 produced the declaration of independence, 4th of 
 July, '76. The favor shall be thankfully and pub- 
 licly acknowledged. What men of science have 
 emigrated to this country since the revolution ? 
 
 " If ivithin a iveek. Sir, after the reception of this 
 letter, you will be so kind as to gratify me in my 
 requests, you will confer an essential obligation 
 upon me. 
 
 " Reverend Sir, 
 
 " With perfect esteem and obligation, 
 
 " I am yours, for ever" 
 
OCCUPATION OF HIS TIME. 223 
 
 This modest request was made to one who, " not 
 by slighting any of the public or private duties of 
 his office, but by superior economy of time and in- 
 dustry, seizing the early hours of the day, superior 
 to the enticements of indolence, abhorring idleness, 
 finishing whatever study or inquiry he had begun, 
 and using recreations and visits as preparations for 
 serious pursuits, redeemed leisure to carry his re- 
 searches into other fields of literature, suited to 
 gratify his taste, and increase his usefulness." — (Dr. 
 Kirkland on Dr. Belknap.) 
 
 The delay of the above letter rendered the appli- 
 cation unavailing, as it did not reach Dr. Belknap 
 until after the time had elapsed within which an 
 answer would have been of use. 
 
 Of the constant and full occupation of his time, 
 he says, in a letter to Dr. Lettsom : 
 
 " I know what it is to h&vefull employment, and 
 that a man who wishes to fill up his time with duty 
 is obliged to husband his hours, and even to borrow 
 some from sleep to accomplish his purposes. Were 
 it possible to buy time from idlers and loungers, 
 there might be an accommodating bargain on both 
 sides ; but, in the present state of things, we must 
 be thankful that we can get time to do good in any 
 way, as well as sorry we can do no more. He who 
 ' went about doing good ' will know how to estimate 
 our services to his brethren, and will take it all as 
 done to himself.'' 
 
221 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 Dr. Belknap's dislike to controversy is pleasantly 
 shown in the reply to the following note : 
 
 "Kind Sir, 
 
 " In the year 1780 I printed a piece against 
 your discourse from John xviii. : ' If my kingdom 
 were of this world,' &c. ; and in that piece I han- 
 dled you severely. 
 
 " Now if you was right, I have done very wrong, 
 and it is expedient that my piece should be an- 
 swered, if capable of an answer : therefore, if you 
 are able, you will kindly undertake an answer, or to 
 show the error. Otherwise, my cause is established, 
 and you are found in an egregious deception. 
 
 "Nov. 9th, 1796. W. S." 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 " If Mr. S. is disposed to enter into contro- 
 versy, he is very unfortunate in the choice of an 
 antagonist ; for if his performance has passed six- 
 teen years without a reply, it is not probable that it 
 will receive any at this distance of time, when both 
 that and the sermon which gave occasion for it, are 
 almost forgotten. Those who have read them can 
 judge for themselves." 
 
ANECDOTES. 225 
 
 There are several anecdotes preserved which 
 illustrate Dr. Belknap's character. The following 
 was related to the writer by Rev. Dr. Parkman : 
 
 " A clergyman of a neighboring town, who was 
 a native of Charlestown, had been very imprudent, 
 when young, in building a house beyond his means, 
 and was very unhappy that he could not pay the 
 laborers employed upon it. He went to see his 
 friend, and told him his troubles, not without a few 
 tears, for he was easily moved. Dr. Belknap, after 
 hearing his story, took from his desk and gave him 
 a classical medal, with an unfinished or broken 
 tower upon it, and a motto, signifying the wisdom 
 of one who commences no more than he is able to 
 complete ; as though he would say to him, for he was 
 himself poor, ' Silver and gold have I none, but 
 such as I have give I unto thee.' The clergyman 
 went away, feeling that he had received a rebuke, 
 mild and classical, but nevertheless a rebuke from 
 his friend. In a few days came round the Thurs- 
 day Lecture ; after which, Dr. Belknap sought his 
 friend, and said to him, 
 
 " You must dine to-day with Mr. Thomas Rus- 
 sel, the rich merchant." 
 
 " I do not know him, I am afraid to go," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " But you must : he expects you, and politeness 
 requires that you should." 
 
 Conquering his timidity, the clergyman accepted 
 15 
 
226 LIFE OF DP-. BELKNAP. 
 
 the invitation ; and after dinner. Mr. Russell inquired 
 into the state of his affairs, and when he was informed, 
 asked what sum would relieve him. 
 
 " I do not know," was the reply ; " but I think 
 four hundred dollars would make me a happy man." 
 
 The benevolent merchant gave him a check for 
 five hundred dollars, saying : 
 
 " You may repay it when you are able, and 
 never, if you are never able. Dr. Belknap told me 
 of your distress, and I am happy to be able to 
 relieve you." 
 
 During the revolution, while poverty pressed 
 heavily upon nearly all the inhabitants, a man in 
 Dover had the large buttons on his coat made of 
 sole leather, and came to show them to Dr. Bel- 
 knap. 
 
 " There," said he, pointing to his leather substi- 
 tutes, " you see I am not proud : I have leather 
 buttons." 
 
 " I see no proof of that," was the reply ; " I think 
 you are proud of your humility." 
 
 A rough countryman asked him, one day, if he 
 really believed there was such a man as Job. The 
 Doctor took the Bible, and bade him read. 
 
 " There was a man in the land of Uz, whose 
 name was Job." 
 
 " You see the Bible says so." 
 
 " So it does," drawled out the man ; " and I am 
 Sure I don 't know any thing to the contrary." 
 
 
ANECDOTES. 227 
 
 " Neither do I," said Dr. Belknap, and thus 
 ended the inquiry. 
 
 In a mixed company, hearing a person speak in a 
 very free manner against the Christian religion, he 
 asked, 
 
 " Have you found one that is better ?" And, the 
 reply being in the negative, added, 
 
 " When you do, let me know, and I will join 
 you in adopting it." 
 
228 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1796 — 1798. 
 
 Convention Sermon. — Missionary visit to the Oneida 
 Indians. — Letters from Dr. Clarke. — Corres- 
 pondence ivith Mrs. John Adams. — Expedition 
 to Cuttyhunk. — Last Illness and Death. — 
 CJiaracter. — Theological Opinions. — Notice of 
 Mrs. Belknnp. — Dr. Belknap's Life of Dr. 
 Watts. 
 
 Dr. Belknap's sermon before the convention of • 
 the clergy in Boston, May 26th, 1796, has been 
 referred to previously, as giving a fair representa- 
 tion of the trials of a minister in our community at 
 that period, many of which are equally real at the 
 present time, as a few extracts will prove. 
 
 " Both our public performances and our private 
 conversation are exposed to the attacks of malicious, 
 cavilling, and prejudiced tempers ; and he must be 
 more than human, who can behave so uprightly and 
 circumspectly as in all cases to avoid giving offence, 
 especially when we consider that we can recommend 
 no duty but what some person neglects, and con- 
 demn no sin but what some person commits." 
 
 Concerning the treatment of political subjects in 
 the pulpit, he makes the following observations : 
 
 4 'Another of the afflictions to which wo are ex~ 
 
EXTRACTS FROM CONVENTION SERMON. 229 
 
 posed is the resentment of pretended patriots, when 
 we oppose their views in endeavoring to serve our 
 country. There is a monopolizing spirit in some 
 politicians, which would exclude clergymen from all 
 attention to matters of state and government ; which 
 would prohibit us from bringing political subjects 
 into the pulpit, and even threaten us with the loss 
 of our livings, if we move at all in the political 
 sphere. But, my brethren, I consider politics as 
 indirectly connected with morality, and both with 
 religion. If the political character of a people is 
 bad, their morals are equally bad, and their religion 
 is good for nothing. The same man who appears in 
 the character of a politician is also a subject of 
 moral government, and a candidate for immortality. 
 Therefore, if he act right or wrong as a politician, 
 he acts equally right or wrong as a subject of God's 
 moral government ; his character as a politician 
 will be brought into the grand review at the last 
 day, and his future state will be determined accord- 
 ingly. This doctrine, I am sensible, is not agreea- 
 ble to the practice of some men, who act with a 
 tolerable regard to the principles of morality in their 
 common business ; but, when they get into a political 
 body, relax their ideas of morality, and endeavor 
 to carry a point by any means whatever. Against 
 such an idea of politics I think it my duty to pro- 
 test ; for I believe that honesty is the best policy, 
 both in private and public life. * * * * 
 
230 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 "It is very strange that we may not preach on 
 the same subjects which are recommended to us as 
 subjects of prayer. In the annual proclamations 
 for fasts and thanksgivings, we are exhorted to pray 
 and give thanks on a great variety of political sub- 
 jects, foreign and domestic. And what good reason 
 can be given why the same subjects should not be 
 discoursed on, as well as prayed over ? It is ex- 
 pected, that we bring them into the pulpit in our 
 prayers, and it is by some people highly resented if 
 we do not. When we have them in our mind as 
 proper subjects for devotion, why should we not 
 speak and discourse on them for the instruction of 
 our hearers ? Must we make an address to God on 
 political subjects, and may we not make an address 
 to our brethren on the same subjects ? I would not 
 be guilty of so strange an inconsistency. 
 
 "It should be considered that we are men of 
 like passions with others. We feel ourselves inter- 
 ested equally with our brethren in the same relig- 
 ious, moral, and political matters ; and where there 
 is freedom of speech, as I trust there always will be 
 in this happy country, we ought not to be blamed 
 if we use the liberty of Americans to speak our 
 minds at proper times, and in a decent manner, on 
 political as well as on moral and religious topics. 
 
 " But ' there is a generation that are pure in 
 their own eyes, though their teeth are as swords ! 9 
 And how liberal are some tongues, some pens, and 
 
EXTRACTS FROM CONVENTION SERMON. 231 
 
 some presses, with their abuse, when we appear 
 warm and zealous in the cause of our country ! 
 When we speak or write in support of its liberties, 
 its constitution, its peace, and its honor, we are stig- 
 matized as busybodies, as tools of a party, as med- 
 dling with what does not belong to us, and usurping 
 authority over our brethren. 
 
 " Whatever may be the views of those who are 
 of a different opinion from me respecting this matter, 
 yet I consider their principle, that the clergy have 
 no right to meddle with politics, and their endeavor 
 to stop our mouths, as ' pregnant with mischief,' 
 tending to keep the people in ignorance, and expos- 
 ing them to be misled by those who would always 
 pretend that the people shall govern, provided that 
 they shall govern the people. 
 
 " The time has been when some of these same 
 persons were very fond of engaging the clergy in 
 politics, encouraging them to write and preach, or, 
 to use a phrase of their own, ' blow the trumpet,' in 
 defence of the liberties of their country. But, alas ! 
 how changed, how fallen! From such politicians 
 and such patriots, the good Lord deliver us ! " 
 
 The phrase, "blow the trumpet," is taken from 
 the thirty-third chapter of the prophet Ezekiel, 
 where it is made the duty of a watchman to give 
 warning of an approaching enemy by this means ; 
 and during the revolution it was applied to the 
 clergy, who were urged to encourage and support 
 
232 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 the people, by preaching in aid of the cause of 
 liberty. 
 
 The following paragraph is not without more mod- 
 ern application : 
 
 " It is a fact, confirmed by long and repeated ex- 
 perience, that the work which we are obliged to do, 
 and the trials which we are called to endure, are 
 more wasting to the health and spirits, than any 
 kind of bodily labor which men usually perform. 
 Exercise of body tends to confirm and establish 
 the health ; but the exercise of the mind, which falls 
 to our lot, often proves ruinous to the health, and 
 wears away the constitution in a most unaccounta- 
 ble manner. The thoughtfulness, the watchfulness, 
 the self-denial, the anxiety, the close application, 
 and intense stretch of the mental powers, in deep 
 study and contemplation, which form an essential 
 part of our work, are exercises unknown to the bulk 
 of mankind. If, on any particular occasion, they 
 are called to such kind of labor, how painful and 
 tedious is it to them, and how eagerly do they em- 
 brace the first opportunity to get rid of it ! But it 
 is our constant employment. The inward labor of 
 our mind, our conflicts with our own corruptions, 
 and our application to sacred studies, are objects 
 which the world does not see, and therefore can 
 form no idea of them. Our public discourses are 
 the result of deep thought and strict inquiry ; and 
 yet how often does it happen, that those discourses 
 
MISSION TO THE INDIANS. 233 
 
 are least regarded ; whilst the tinsel trumpery of 
 him ' that beateth the air ' is admired as the per- 
 fection of wisdom and rhetoric ! The beaten oil of 
 the sanctuary is quickly consumed, and its light ap- 
 pears to have been spent in vain ; whilst the twink- 
 ling of an ignis fatuus shall draw after it crowds of 
 admirers ! If our brethren did but know the labor, 
 the patience, the self-application, the trials and dis- 
 couragements which fall to our lot, they would pity 
 us, and pray for us, rather than think our work light 
 and easy." 
 
 In 1796, the Board of Commissioners of the 
 Society established in Scotland, for Propagating 
 Christian Knowledge, chose Dr. Belknap and Dr. 
 Morse a committee to visit the Indians who were 
 objects of their mission at Oneida and New Stock- 
 bridge. This required a long and tedious journey 
 of near six hundred miles in the heat of summer, 
 and occupied nearly a month. Dr. Belknap left 
 Boston on the 9th of June, and returned the 6th of 
 July. The report which was made to the Commis- 
 sioners was drawn up by him, and is published in 
 the Historical Society's Collections. 
 
 From Boston to Albany was five days' journey, 
 including the Sabbath, which was passed at Pitts- 
 field, where he preached for Mr. Allen. At New 
 Lebanon, the condition of the Springs seems to have 
 been much the same as now ; they had been in repu- 
 
234 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 tation about thirty years, there were several boarding- 
 houses in the vicinity, and a considerable resort of 
 people from all parts. 
 
 In going over the mountains in Berkshire, the 
 carriage broke down twice ; but no great damage 
 was done, except a little detention and working in 
 the rain to repair it. An account of this was prob- 
 ably written to his friend, Dr. Clarke, which occa- 
 sioned the following reply : 
 
 " Our brothers are well, and do not forget you at 
 their social meetings. Do write often, and let all 
 your letters assure us, that, though your carriage 
 breaks down, your bones are whole ; though your 
 beds are hard, your sleep is sound ; though your fare 
 is coarse, your hunger is allayed ; and, though you 
 part with your money, you keep your spirits." 
 
 At Albany he was invited by Lieutenant-Governor 
 Van Rensellaer to lodge at his house, and General 
 Schuyler took him in his carriage to Schenectady ; 
 whereupon Dr. Clarke writes : 
 
 " Before this reaches you, your mind will be at 
 ease, both as to your family and your pulpit. It 
 seems indeed to be at ease already, if I may judge 
 from the tenor of your last letter. Caressed by 
 generals and lieutenant-governors, visiting classic 
 cities and breathing classic air, I think vou have 
 
MISSION TO THE INDIANS. 235 
 
 enough to make you happy. How insignificant 
 must Boston have appeared to your imagination 
 when you were at Rome ! What majestic ideas 
 must have possessed your mind when you were at 
 Troy ! And how must Jerusalem have belittled all 
 other cities which you have visited in the course 
 of your travels ! I anticipate a most entertaining 
 volume of travels as the fruit of your excursion. 
 Do be very particular in your description of customs 
 and manners. Let your readers know, whether at 
 Rome you did as the Romans do ; whether you met 
 with any Hectors at Troy, or were regaled with 
 pork at Jerusalem." 
 
 The information gained concerning the Indians is 
 contained in the printed report. Dr. Belknap was 
 fully convinced of the hopelessness of the endeavors 
 to make them conform to the religion and mode of 
 life of the Whites ; and this probably induced him 
 to relinquish his connection with the society, which 
 he did, not long after. They had no habits of indus- 
 try, and thought it degrading to cultivate the soil ; 
 " they must lay aside the character of hunters, be- 
 cause their game is gone, and its haunts are rendered 
 infinitely more valuable by cultivation. They can- 
 not be warriors, because they have no enemies to 
 contend with. If, therefore, they continue to despise 
 husbandry, the only remaining source of opulence 
 and independence, they must either retire to some 
 
236 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 distant region of the American forest, or live as 
 spendthrifts on the price of their lands ; or become 
 strollers and beggars ; till, like their brethren of 
 Natick, they shall cease to have any political exist- 
 ence among mankind." 
 
 This melancholy anticipation has been fully real- 
 ized ; and in the midst of our happy homes and cul- 
 tivated fields, our civilized society, and our Christian 
 philanthropy, the history of the past will call forth a 
 sigh for the sad destiny of the Indians, the original 
 possessors of our country ; upon whom, notwith- 
 standing the most earnest endeavors to improve 
 their condition, the presence and prosperity of the 
 white man has brought inevitable destruction. 
 
 The wife of President Adams was one of the cor- 
 respondents of Dr. Belknap, during the last months 
 of his life ; and the following are extracts from some 
 of their letters. 
 
 FROM MRS. ADAMS. 
 
 "Philadelphia, May, 1798. 
 
 * * * * « I take the liberty, Sir, of 
 sending you a work lately reprinted here : it is called 
 " Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and 
 Governments of Europe, by John Robison, A.M. 
 Professor of Natural Philosophy, and Secretary to 
 the Royal Society of Edinburgh." It ought to be in 
 the hands of every man of science in America, as a 
 key to the mighty revolutions which astonish the 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MRS. ADAMS. 2i>l 
 
 world ; and as a proof, if one could be wanting, that 
 no free government can stand, which is not sup- 
 ported by religion and virtue. 
 
 " That our country may still be preserved from 
 that dissolution of religion, government, and man- 
 ners, which by the French revolution is spread- 
 ing through the world, and laying them all prostrate, 
 is devoutly to be prayed for by every friend of 
 humanity. That your health may be preserved and 
 your life of usefulness continued, to aid, as it has 
 hitherto done, both religion and virtue in the world, 
 is the sincere and ardent wish of her who subscribes 
 herself 
 
 " Your friend and humble servant, 
 
 " Abigail Adams." 
 
 reply. 
 
 "Boston, May 30th, 1798. 
 
 "Dear Madam, 
 
 " Yesterday morning, I had the honor of 
 writing to the President, and enclosing a copy 
 of my Fast sermon. At noon I had the very great 
 pleasure of voting for him as President of the 
 Academy, and of hearing his election announced by 
 an unanimous vote ; and, before night, I received 
 your obliging favor, with the book enclosed. * * * 
 Your kind wishes for my health and usefulness re- 
 quire my warmest acknowledgments of gratitude. 
 
238 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 It is every one's duty, at this critical time, to say 
 and do all in his power to serve his country in its 
 political and religious interests ; and I hope I shall 
 not be backward in performing mine. Should there 
 be any services in my power for the cause of truth, 
 virtue, liberty, and humanity, or the public safety, 
 I shall be happy to receive your commands, or those 
 of the man you love best. 
 
 " After our last Commencement, I sent Governor 
 Wentworth one of our catalogues, and mentioned to 
 him the pleasure I took in seeing the names of two 
 of my friends printed in capitals, in the class of 
 1755, and also repeated some expressions of affec- 
 tionate regard toward him, which I had heard a 
 little before from the President. I added, respect- 
 ing the latter, that I felt very happy in his advance- 
 ment to the chief magistracy of the Union, because 
 I believed there was as much, or more political wis- 
 dom in his head than in any or all of the crowned 
 heads of Europe. His answer, which was not de- 
 signed for any eye but mine, I take the liberty of 
 sending for your perusal. (See p. 202.) 
 
 " Notwithstanding the dark and threatening as- 
 pect in the political hemisphere, yet, under the pres- 
 ent executive administration, I have as much tran- 
 quillity of mind as iEneas enjoyed when navigating 
 the strait between Italy and Sicily, under the con- 
 duct of Palinurus, while Scylla and Charybdis 
 frowned on either side, and iEtna thundered over 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MRS. ADAMS. 239 
 
 his head. I pray most sincerely for the preserva- 
 tion of the life, health, and vigor of our Palinurus, 
 and hope he will not think of a retreat, till, like 
 his friend Washington, he shall have the prospect of 
 a successor to whom the helm may be safely trusted. 
 Let his heart be fixed, and his confidence be in that 
 Almighty power which i rides the whirlwind and di- 
 rects the storm.' I think nothing would be a more 
 proper subject of his contemplation than the text of 
 John Cotton's election sermon in 1633, which you 
 may find in the book of Haggai, chap. ii. ver. 4." 
 
 The text referred to is this : 
 
 " Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, saith the 
 Lord ; and be strong, Joshua, son of Josedech, 
 the high priest ; and be strong, all ye people of the 
 land, saith the Lord, and work : for I am with you, 
 saith the Lord of hosts." 
 
 FROM MRS. ADAMS. 
 
 "Philadelphia, June 11th, 1798. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " The President was gratified in reading the 
 expressions of friendship and kindness liberally be- 
 stowed by the friend and companion of his youthful 
 years. The school and the college are the sources 
 of the dearest friendships ; the heart is then open 
 to strong and deep attachments, and, where it meets 
 with congenial sentiments, forms unions which death 
 
240 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 itself does not dissolve. I have seen these attach- 
 ments transferred to the children, and this is one 
 among many other advantages derived from a public 
 education. 
 
 " The President joins his friend in the sentiment 
 expressed by him, that kings and princes have not 
 an equal chance with their subjects ; from the re- 
 sponsibility of their stations, their knowledge and 
 talents are often unjustly estimated ; they are fre- 
 quently obliged to hear with the ears of those most 
 interested to deceive them, and to see with eyes be- 
 fore which a veil is drawn. 
 
 " The President directs me to assure Dr. Belknap 
 that he has no intention of becoming an imitator of 
 Palinurus, by falling asleep, and losing the helm 
 napping ; though he will willingly resign it to a 
 more watchful and skilful pilot. " 
 
 On the 20th of June, 1797, Dr. Belknap sailed 
 from Xew Bedford to ascertain, if possible, the 
 island discovered by Gosnold, in 1602, which in the 
 first volume of the American Biography is supposed 
 to be Xashawn. Finding this supposition incorrect, 
 he went himself, with several other gentlemen, to 
 Cutty hunk, where he had the " supreme satisfac- 
 tion " to find the remains of the cellar of Gosnold's 
 storehouse " on an islet in the middle of a pond of 
 fresh water," as described in Gosnold's journal. 
 
 The more accurate information gained by this 
 
HIS DEATH. 241 
 
 visit to the spot required so great an alteration in 
 the life of Gosnold, which had been given in the 
 first volume, that he re-wrote it for the second, 
 where a description of the island may be found, 
 page 114. 
 
 We are now approaching the last scene of Dr. 
 Belknap's life. For a year before his death, he was 
 conscious that each moment might be his last, and 
 he prepared himself and others for the final event. 
 His correspondence during this time frequently ex- 
 presses the entire uncertainty he felt of the contin- 
 uance of his earthly existence. Two slight attacks 
 of paralysis, which did not impair his activity of 
 body or mind, impressed him with the necessity of 
 being in readiness for the call of his Divine Master ; 
 and he redoubled his diligence, that he might ac- 
 complish the more in the short time allowed him. 
 In April, 1798, his friend Dr. Clarke died ; and he 
 preached the funeral sermon, and wrote a sketch of 
 his life and character for the Historical Society's 
 Collections. When it appeared in their next publica- 
 tion, his own character, by the hand of another 
 friend, Dr. John Eliot, accompanied it. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th June, 1798, at four 
 o'clock, he was attacked with apoplexy, which de- 
 prived him of the powers of speech and motion ; 
 and he died before eleven. 
 
 The manner of his death was singularly in ac- 
 cordance with his own preference, expressed in the 
 16 
 
242 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 fragment of poetry previously mentioned. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 u When faith and patience, hope and love, 
 Have made us meet for heaven above, 
 How blest the privilege to rise, 
 Snatched in a moment to the skies ! 
 Unconscious, to resign our breath, 
 Nor taste the bitterness of death. 
 Such be my lot, Lord, if thou please, 
 To die in silence and at ease. 
 When thou dost know that I 'm prepared, 
 O seize me quick to my reward. 
 But if thy wisdom sees it best 
 To turn thine ear from this request — 
 If sickness be the appointed way, 
 To waste this frame of human clay ; 
 If, worn with grief and racked with pain, 
 This earth must turn to earth again ; 
 Then let thine angels round me stand — 
 Support me by thy powerful hand ; 
 Let not my faith or patience move, 
 Xor aught abate my hope or love ; 
 But brighter may my graces shine, 
 Till they 're absorbed in light divine." 
 
 The funeral took place on the 22d of June. Dr. 
 Kirkland preached on the occasion a sermon which 
 expressed the sorrow of the community for the loss 
 of one so loved and honored. Though many years 
 have since passed away, the influence exerted upon 
 society by the life of such a man does not cease 
 
HIS CHARACTER. 243 
 
 -with his breath. He was an earnest and successful 
 laborer in the cause of learning and literature. To 
 such men as Dr. Belknap we owe the advantages 
 now possessed by the inquirer into the past history 
 of our country. His patriotism was pure and fear- 
 less, and he was ever ready to devote himself to 
 his country's good. He was not remarkable for a 
 splendid intellect or a wonderful genius, w r hose 
 flights were beyond the comprehension of ordi- 
 nary mortals, but for a character harmonious in 
 all its parts ; an industry unceasingly exerted to 
 promote the noblest objects ; a nice discernment and 
 discretion which tempered his natural enthusiasm ; 
 a heart truly beneficent, delighting to bless all within 
 the sphere of its influence ; and a life of purity and 
 unaflected piety and devotion to his calling as a min- 
 ister of the Gospel. He considered this relation as 
 the noblest that man could sustain to his fellow-man ; 
 and he faithfully fulfilled its requirements from the 
 time when he entered upon its sacred duties, to the 
 last hours of his earthly existence. 
 
 As a preacher, he was earnest in his exhortations, 
 but simple in his manner of address. His voice was 
 clear and well modulated ; but he used no gesticu- 
 lations to enforce his arguments. His sermons were 
 eminently practical, and his aim was to improve the 
 hearts and lives of his people, rather than to disturb 
 their minds with the discussion of controverted 
 points of Christian doctrine. His death took place 
 
244 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 before the fever of controversy, which has since so 
 ■widely separated the congregational churches of 
 New England, reached its height ; and much curi- 
 osity has been felt and expressed as to the probable 
 course he would have pursued, had his life been 
 spared. Thus much may be said with safety, that 
 he condemned no man for speculative opinions. His 
 own views of the doctrine of the Trinity are given 
 in the conclusion to a Life of Dr. Watts, which he 
 wrote and published a few years before his death. 
 It was published anonymously in 1793, together with 
 a Life of Dr. Doddridge by Andrew Kippis ; and 
 the title of the volume is, " Life of Watts and 
 Doddridge." It has now become quite a scarce 
 book. The Conclusion is added to this memoir, as 
 containing Dr. Belknap's views on this subject, which 
 he said were the result of thirty years' study. 
 
 Dr. Belknap at his death left a widow and five 
 children; three of whom, one daughter and two 
 sons, are still living. 
 
 This volume cannot be fitly concluded without a 
 tribute to the memory of the worthy and beloved 
 companion of more than thirty years of his life. 
 She died January 20th, 1809. The following no- 
 tice of her character was written, at the time of her 
 decease, by the late Hon. John Davis, always a 
 highly valued friend of the family. 
 
 " The amiable qualities and endowments of this 
 respectable lady deservedly gained her the love and 
 
CHARACTER OF MRS. BELKNAP. 245 
 
 esteem of her family and friends. To a cheerful, 
 social, and friendly temper, she added the solid at- 
 tractions of a cultivated mind ; and her deportment 
 was uniformly regulated by the religion which she 
 professed. For many years the estimable compan- 
 ion of a man of distinguished reputation in the 
 church and in the literary world, she cherished his 
 memory with reverence and affection. It was often 
 the occupation of her leisure hours to examine, ar- 
 range, and peruse his extensive manuscript collec- 
 tions, and to indulge a fond attention to his favorite 
 objects, by a recurrence to his valuable library. 
 These characteristics rendered her an interesting 
 companion to those who had the pleasure of an ac- 
 quaintance with that ornament to our country ; it 
 was a source of satisfaction to converse with her on 
 his character, publications, and pursuits ; for, in 
 temper and in taste, she appeared the ' softened 
 image ' of their departed friend. Since his decease, 
 her society has been limited to a small circle of 
 friends, who will gratefully remember the sincere 
 and affectionate interest which she manifested in 
 their welfare. The duties of her station she dis- 
 charged with fidelity and propriety ; the sorrows of 
 life she sustained with composure ; enjoyed its vari- 
 ous blessings with grateful cheerfulness ; and, during 
 her last brief but severe illness, exhibited the peace- 
 ful serenity and humble hopes which the Gospel 
 inspires." . 
 
246 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 The fragment which follows in relation to the 
 opinions of Dr. Watts, has an interest in connection 
 with that controversy which began in the New Eng- 
 land churches during Dr. Belknap's ministry, though 
 it did not during his life involve the acrimony which 
 afterwards attached to it. He took no very promi- 
 nent part in the controversy. After Dr. Watts's 
 death, much was said and written about his precise 
 views on the subject of the Trinity, and it was un- 
 derstood that he had modified the opinions of which 
 in his early years he had been a prominent advocate. 
 The fact that his Psalms and Hymns were used so 
 extensively in the New England churches, and that 
 precisely the same modifications of theological opin- 
 ion through which he was said to have passed were 
 in progress here, turned much attention toward him. 
 Dr. Belknap, in the preface to his own collection of 
 sacred poetry for the churches, had adverted to the 
 extreme views of the Trinity maintained by Dr. 
 Watts ; and, of course, his own attention was partic- 
 ularly engaged in the matter. It was known that 
 Dr. Watts had expressed a wish to soften and modi- 
 fy some of the expressions used by him in some of 
 his poems, though the liberty to do so had been 
 denied him by the holder of the copyright. 
 
 In the following piece, therefore, it was the object 
 of Dr. Belknap to state the precise views held by 
 Dr. Watts on the doctrine of the Trinity. It will 
 
HIS VIEW OF DR. WATTS' OPIXIOXS. 2-17 
 
 be found, on perusal, to be a rather perplexed and 
 abstruse statement. Its perplexity, however, is inci- 
 dent to its subject. Many sermons of the same sub- 
 stance and tenor were delivered at the time ; and, if 
 they did not minister to edification, they at least 
 served to show that there was abundant room for the 
 exercise of charity upon subjects which it was bo 
 difficult to state with perspicuity. 
 
 " On a review of this publication, so far as it re- 
 spects Dr. Wafcts's notion of the Trinity (which, I 
 confess, it was a leading object with me to bring for- 
 ward), I can easily imagine that some intelligent 
 readers will be dissatisfied, and will think his scheme 
 liable to equal objections with other schemes. I do 
 not apprehend that it is incumbent on me to defend 
 it, nor am I sanguine in my opinion that it is the 
 true one : though I confess that, in the main, it ap- 
 pears to me at present to be nearer the truth than 
 that commonly received as orthodox, which main- 
 tains three real persons, or distinct intelligent beings, 
 in the Godhead. If I am mistaken, I should be 
 truly glad to be better informed. Err are possum, 
 Saereticus esse nolo. As I can have no interest to 
 serve in opposing any article of sound doctrine, 
 neither have I any ] Measure in dissenting from pop- 
 ular opinions or modes of speech. I am fully per- 
 suaded, however, that the mode of explication here 
 brought to view is n3t so essentially different from 
 some others which have been usually allowed to be 
 
248 
 
 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 orthodox, as some persons imagine. All that I here 
 intend is to offer a few observations in proof of this, 
 for the satisfaction of serious Christians, who have 
 imbibed an early prejudice in favor of long-estab- 
 lished systems, and certain human modes of speech, 
 and who may be alarmed under a suspicion (which 
 certain persons of better information have taken 
 pains to promote) that my design is to promote 
 Socinianism or Arianism ; terms of reproach which 
 too many (and some without understanding their 
 meaning) are ever ready to apply to such as ven- 
 ture to think for themselves, and to adopt language 
 different from that which human creeds have stamped 
 as sacred, though the most remote from the lan- 
 guage of the Bible. If such will be attentive in 
 reading, and candid in judging, I hope to convince 
 them, whether they fall in with my mode of expla- 
 nation or not, that I have done nothing against the 
 truth, but for the truth. 
 
 " According to Dr. Watts's view of the present 
 subject — ' The Father, the Word, and the Holy 
 Ghost, are the one living and true God.' To this 
 proposition, I give my ready assent. And whoever 
 does so, whatever be his peculiar mode of explica- 
 tion, I will maintain has as just a claim to the charac- 
 ter of Orthodox, as they who do it in the Athanar 
 sian sense. And for any, who adopt that or any 
 other mode of explication, to monopolize Orthodoxy 
 to themselves, is a degree of presumption unbecom- 
 
HIS VIEW OF DR. WATTS 1 OPINIONS. 249 
 
 ing fallible creatures, especially those who allow that 
 the mode of subsistence in the Sacred Three is not 
 ascertained in Scripture ; and, indeed, it is incon- 
 sistent with the avowed Catholicism of the ablest and 
 best writers, who are the most partial to the general 
 Calvinistic system. 
 
 " With respect to the idea of Personality, as 
 applicable to the Father, Son, and Spirit, Dr. Watts 
 differed from many Trinitarians, as he denied, (and 
 I think with very sufficient reason,) " that there are 
 in Deity, Three Infinite Spirits, or really distinct 
 persons, in the common sense of that term, each 
 having a distinct intelligence, volition, power, &c. ; " 
 thinking such a supposition inconsistent with the 
 proper unity of the Godhead ; which is doubtless 
 one of the most obvious and fundamental doctrines 
 of revelation. 
 
 " But it is to be remembered, that, with regard 
 to the definition of personality, Trinitarians widely 
 differ among themselves. While some suppose it to 
 be real, others think it only modal, or nominal ; 
 and others, somewhat between both. Some of the 
 two latter classes have charged the former with 
 Tritheism ; and to me it seems difficult to clear the 
 doctrine from the imputation. Nor can I conceive 
 what Tritheism is, if this hypothesis does not come 
 under the description. To assert a mere unity of 
 essence or nature will not obviate the difficulty : 
 for three divine persons, or beings, though of the 
 
250 LIFE OF DR. BELKXAP. 
 
 same nature, or — in other words — all of them 
 exactly alike, (which seems to be the meaning 
 of the term, and is the popular idea,) would be as 
 really three Gods, as three human persons of the 
 same nature, were they in all respects alike, would 
 be three men. Such a sentiment, I think, ought to 
 be zealously opposed as heretical. 
 
 " I grant, however, since they who maintain this 
 doctrine do not see the consequence, but utterly 
 disclaim it, and profess to believe in only oxe God, 
 whom they worship as one Infinite Being, through 
 one Mediator, it would be uncandid and unjust to 
 pronounce them Tritheists ; and in my idea it would 
 be schismatical, for this reason alone, to separate 
 from their worship and communion. Many such, 
 whom I have known, I venerate as the excellent of 
 the earth. And whatever peculiar modes of speech 
 they may adopt in controversy, their language and 
 apparent ideas, when engaged in divine worship^ 
 are such, that, in uniting with them, I literally com- 
 ply with the apostolic injunction, Rom. xv. 6 : \ With 
 one mind and one mouth to glorify God, even the 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
 
 "But then on the same principles I must censure 
 those Trinitarians as violating the laws of Christian 
 candor, who upbraid such as hold the same general 
 doctrine with the opposite heresy, and refuse to hold 
 communion with them, because, on such a controver- 
 ted matter as that of personality, they express them- 
 
HIS VIEW OF DR. WATTS' OPINIONS. 251 
 
 selves differently, and choose to adhere to the sim- 
 plicity of Scripture language. This is particularly 
 unbecoming in those who adopt the modal scheme, 
 since the difference between them and the followers 
 of Watts can be but small. 
 
 "As to those who think personality in the God- 
 head to be somewhat between a person and a mode, 
 if there be any rational idea included in the term, 
 they who consider i the Manifest Wisdom, and the 
 Active Energy of Deity, as the Word and the 
 Holy Ghost,' may with good appearance of 
 reason be admitted as coming within the same de- 
 scription. And they who talk of three distinctions 
 in Deity, without any definition of the term, have 
 little reason to censure such as in fact equally main- 
 tain three distinctions, but with a determinate mean- 
 ing. 
 
 "As to those who use the common Trinitarian 
 language in the Sabellian sense, (which, upon 
 a close inquiry, I have found to be the case with 
 some, and have reason to think it so with many,) 
 they have little reason to cry out ' heresy ' at the 
 mode of interpretation for which I am here apolo- 
 gizing. 
 
 " That it should by any be stigmatized with the 
 name either of Socinianism or Arianism, appears 
 to me peculiarly uncandid and unjust. The Ante- 
 Nicene Fathers evidently adopted this hypothesis. 
 And if I understand the great reformer Calvin 
 
252 LIFE OF DR. BELKNAP. 
 
 aright, he in like manner conceived of the Word^ 
 and Spirit of God as the wisdom and power of 
 Deity personified. The pious Mr. Baxter adop- 
 ted a like personification, and severely reproves 
 those orthodox men who anathematize them that es- 
 pouse such a mode of explaining the Trinity.* Cer- 
 tain it is that Socinians reject such kind of lan- 
 guage, and disavow the notion of a Trinity in any 
 form ; not now to say any thing of the atonement, 
 which they universally deny, but which those I am 
 defending as strenuously maintain. 
 
 " As to Arians, properly so called, if I have any 
 idea of their sentiments, they consider the Logos 
 and the Holy Spirit as created beings ; which I 
 think, with Dr. Watts, is an error, most manifestly 
 repugnant to Scripture doctrine. 
 
 " It is true, Dr. Watts maintained the Man 
 Christ Jesus to have been a created being. But if 
 on that account his followers are justly charged with 
 heresy, I know not who will be exempt ; for I sup- 
 pose all will allow that Christ was properly man, and 
 as such created. Some, indeed, maintain that he 
 was a human person, as really as any other man is 
 so, and on this ground deny that his Divinity was 
 a real person, distinct from that of the Father, (for 
 otherwise there would be two persons in Christ ;) 
 while others strangely and arbitrarily suppose, (to 
 
 * Baxter's Works, vol. ii. page 132. 
 
HIS VIEW OF DR. WATTS* OPINIONS. 253 
 
 avoid this last absurdity) that the method of Christ 
 was merely a created nature. But both allow c the 
 Deity of Christ to consist in the union of the God- 
 head and the manhood in the person of Emanuel, 
 so that in him God teas manifest in the flesh? This 
 general agreement I look upon as all that is essen- 
 tial to true orthodoxy, and a sufficient bond of 
 union. How much farther Christian charity may 
 safely extend, it is not my present business to in- 
 quire. I will only observe, that they who have 
 investigated subjects of doctrinal controversy with 
 the greatest care and impartiality will be the most 
 ready to confess, that there are difficulties on all 
 sides, where the Scripture has not explicitly decided ; 
 and will see the greatest reason for diffidence of 
 themselves, and candor towards one another. These 
 are two principal lessons which I have learned from 
 the study of more than thirty years, and these I am 
 principally solicitous to inculcate upon others. If 
 this publication should in any degree contribute to 
 answer this end, I shall be thankful, even though it 
 should expose me to the censures of some good men 
 to whose esteem I am by no means indifferent, 
 though their charity is much more confined than my 
 own ; and whom, whatever they may think or say of 
 me, I will love and honor." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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