ILD 1731 D713 Copy 1 $n ^K^4^uytiaA4^. Samuel Fletcher Drury. • A MEMORIAL OF THE LIFE OF Samuel Fletcher Drury. 1/ ^Y " Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant?" 1 J. X.4i.° ■■!■v v NOTE. The Memorial Address on the opposite page, by Rev. N. J. Morrison, D.D., President of Drury College, was delivered on the evening of Monday, June n, 1883, in the Opera House, Springfield, Mo. The evening — a part of "Commencement Week" — was given up to this commemorative service ; Professor F. A. Hall, of the College, and George M. Jones, Esq., a prominent citizen of Springfield, also speaking in eulogy of the common benefactor of college and city. On pages subsequent to this address follow a sketch of the life of Mr. Drury, and tributes to his memory in connection with the funeral services in Olivet College, Feb. 16, 1883. Circumstances, not needful to mention here, have prevented the publication of this Memorial until this late day, February, 1885. HEN a man of distinguished achievements in war, or statecraft, or authorship, dies, his con- ^^tc temporaries are wont to stop in their eager quest for gain or pleasure to contemplate the life which has just reached its period, to review the finished career, to count up the illustrious deeds of the dead, to measure his character, and weigh the loss of society. But lately all France, with bowed head, followed the bier of the Re- public's chiefest statesman up the acclivity of Pere La Chaise, and rostrum and public press, from Calais to Nice, resounded with ardent eulogium of the great dead. And this was honorable in the gallant nation. Gam- betta's great services to his people in the extremity of their national humiliation, and all along the hard road of national recovery, deserved this grateful recognition and lofty pane- gyric, albeit in private morals the Gallic statesman may offer us too little to admire. A year ago, we Americans put on sackcloth when the telegraph told us that our national poet had sung his last song, and gone to his rest in our Westminster Abbey. The very school-children of the Republic laid aside their books and games and gave a day to the memory of Longfellow. This public eulogy of greatness in death, this human habit of applying the Latin maxim, Nil nisi bonum de mor- tuis, of even exaggerating elements of greatness in the 4 careers of men lately deceased, is noble and praiseworthy. By this public eulogy we help to idealize in the sentiments of the people, especially of the young, the shining qualities of the illustrious dead. An ideal standard of noble living, impersonated by the hero of the hour, is thus held up for popular admiration — a most powerful means of educating men in the direction of unselfish and noble living. Hold up the mirror of great deeds before the gaze of admiring youth, and you may change them — some of them — "into the same image from glory to glory." We are convened to-night to do honor to the memory of a man whom no one would class with the world's great heroes ; who could lay no claim to honor for achievements in arms, or literature, or to any other form of greatness which challenges wide and popular acclaim. Our friend was lately among us as one of us ; in genius and intellect- ual attainment not greatly superior to the average of his associates ; in what the world dignifies as success in life, falling far behind many ; living among us a modest, though earnest and aggressive, Christian life, without attracting particular notice. And because he was thus, in natural advantages and material success, a man of no great dis- tinction, does his greatly useful life all the more deserve from us words of warm and grateful eulogy ; for when you praise the illustrious career of Washington or Web- ster, you indeed challenge my admiration, perhaps arouse my ambition, but you scarcely kindle my hope. The very grandeur of such Alpine heights of greatness discourages, while it awes me. Such climbing in lofty deeds is too high for me ; I cannot attain unto it. But when you portray for me the character of William E. Dodge, or of Peter Cooper, showing what sturdy work, economy, pluck, and spotless integrity can do for men of very ordinary genius, and how these heroes of philanthropy used their wealth solely to bless their fellow-men, you offer to me an ideal that I can follow as well as admire. It is the distinctive glory of our age that our heroes are not crowned tyrants and blood-stained warriors, who climb into undeserved prominence in the world's gaze by tramp- ling down their fellows, but such as have become great through the greatness of their services for humanity. This is the " age of the people ; " and he is surest of immortality among men, even in their songs and literature, whose heart-beats pulsate most in unison with the great heart of humanity. Herein do the words of the Master verify themselves more and more, as the world advances into the full sunlight of Christianity : " Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." In this acceptation of true heroism, — greatness of self-sacrificing services for mankind, — Mr. Drury deserves no mean place among the Christian heroes of our time- So, then, the modest career and moderate worldly at- tainments of our friend are not only no bar to our public eulogy, but rather a strong incentive, since in the simple record of his noble life we shall note high achievements of which we ourselves are possibly capable. The story of his life is a brief one, already familiar to many of you. The son of poverty, though of honorable lineage in two States, he was born and bred in a country village in Central Massachusetts, the tall spire of whose white parish church on the hilltop is a striking feature in the landscape to the eye of the traveler who journeys westward from Worcester toward Albany. Had Mr. Drury lived until last Thurs- day, he would have been exactly sixty-seven years of age. On reaching the age of fourteen the lad Samuel left his home, henceforth to make his way in the world un- aided, first in a neighboring village, then in the growing city of Worcester, and by and by as clerk in a store in Boston. While in Worcester he first publicly consecrated himself to Christ, uniting with the Baptist Church of that city. Later, but still a young man little beyond his majority, he removed to the West, a pioneer of civilization and the Christian religion near the western border of Michigan. It was prophetic of Mr. Drury's whole subsequent life to give a part of the first day he spent in this new settlement to an eager search for kindred through the blood of Christ. He was able to find in the pioneer village but a single believer ; and they two on the next day, which was Sunday, held the first religious services and organized the first Sunday-school of the place, and, I think, of the coun- ty. Thus at the outset did this young man put in prac- tice, as the rule of his life, the Saviour's injunction to the twelve, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his right- eousness." At this place he soon engaged in merchandis- ing, and prospered. Here he first met, and afterward married, the noble woman thenceforward to be his wise counsellor and strong helpmeet in all humane and Chris- tian work throughout his subsequent career, — a union in wedlock as nearly ideal in its beautiful completeness as is often met with in human experience. Twelve years later, 7 by great industry and economy, having accumulated a modest competence, he removed to Olivet, in the same State, to become a chief burden-bearer and worker in the arduous enterprise of establishing Olivet College. This school, though founded six years before, was at that time (1850) in straitened and most precarious circum- stances. Its devoted founder had been stricken with sud- den death almost at the hour of the school's birth. Its friends were few and feeble in resources, though strong in faith. Visiting the school at this time, and coming into quick sympathy with the heroic Spirit of its friends, the very pathos of its need, and the precariousness of its life, won Mr. Drury's adherence and help. Soon after he re- moved to Olivet, and thenceforward identified himself with the school and the people of the place in a loyalty and devotion that never faltered in all the subsequent years of his toilsome life. Here, henceforth, he diligently plied one hand to the business of the village store to earn his daily bread, while with the other he ministered to the support of the child College, from time to time breaking away for a season from merchandising in order to labor for souls in revival-work in the villages of Michigan, or speed- ing his way to the distant East to solicit, from door to door, the means of prolonging the doubtful life of the school ; early and late, on all occasions, and everywhere, urging the claims of that " School of the Prophets," as he called Olivet College, on the attention and sympathy of good people, until the very persistency of his appeals won re- luctant recognition from distinguished clergymen and lay- men in the churches of the State — from synods and as- sociations. 8 This struggle to secure for Olivet College recognition and support from the Congregational and Presbyterian churches of Michigan, occupied nearly twenty years. Many wise men in the churches doubted the need of a Christian college at Olivet, believing that the State Uni- versity would afford to the people of the State all require- ments for the higher education. Others were, for a time, suspicious of the orthodoxy of the young school, ground- ing their suspicion not on any discovered irregularity of teaching or tenet in the school itself, but rather on the supposed taint of heretical descent from its noted Ohio mother. Others yet were deterred from full committal to its fortunes by the small prospect of large success. As one distinguished minister said, " It was folly to attempt a college at Olivet without at least half a million of ready cash." But the steady growth of the school, its adoption by the College Society of New York, and the unwearied assiduity of its friends, finally triumphed, so that repre- sentatives of Olivet College came at length to be wel- comed to Association and Synod. In this protracted struggle for life and just recognition by the churches which the college served, no one bore a more prominent, or wiser, or more efficient part than Mr. Drury. Words fail me adequately to describe my sense of Mr. Drury's loyalty and devotion to Olivet throughout this protracted period of struggle. He gave more of time, more of watching, and labor to the interests of the school than to his own business, and always without pecuniary recompense — putting, in fact, the interests of the College foremost in all his plans, and toils, and thoughts. When money for the salaries of teachers failed he canvassed his friends for help, or got from the bank, on his own credit, the needed relief. When the outlook for the final success of the College was most doubtful, and the courage of trustees and teachers was almost gone, Mr. Drury's faith never faltered. More than any other man, Mr. Drury was the source and center of that rare Christian enthusiasm and devotion which bound the teachers together during this period, and held them to the College. His consecrated and hopeful spirit was our bond and our consecration. In sharp crises, Oli- vet has had other steadfast friends and open-handed help- ers, yet was Mr. Drury the one to whom all first looked for an inspiration of our flagging faith, for the clear-toned exhortation to " go forward." During this period of struggle for the College Mr. Drury suffered the great affliction of his life, in the death of an only son, who was also an only child. This son, Albert Fletcher, was a young man of singular purity, no- bility, and benevolence of character, seeming to combine in his own person the highest qualities of both parents. Mr. Drury had expected his son to be his successor in business, the heir to his property, and to take up his Chris- tian and philanthropic work after he himself should cease from his labors. When, therefore, this great hope of the father's heart had gone out in sorrow, the stricken father felt (as he subsequently said to me) : " Henceforth, I alone must do the work for Christ intended for both Albert and myself The little estate that would have been his, is now dedicated to his memory in wider service for my fellow- men. " Hence, when Mr. Drury decided to aid in estab- lishing a Christian school here in Missouri, his contribu- tion of means, labor, watching, and love were intended to be a memorial of his noble son rather than of himself. IO During this period, also, and near its close, Mr. Drury suffered the loss, by fire, of his place of business and all its contents. He did not rebuild the store, nor afterward enter on the prosecution of active business. In the year 1872 circumstances seemed to indicate to Mr. Drury that the period of his active personal service for Olivet College was drawing to a close. The school had suc- cessfully passed the period of obloquy, critical difficulty, and doubt. It had grown from the narrow conditions of a small village academy to the dimensions of a true college of the New England standard; had acquired high rank for solidity and excellence of scholarship — in these respects falling not one whit behind the famous University near by, the pride and glory of Michigan. Its resources had greatly augmented. Scores of influential friends now stood for the college where one advocate formerly could be found. He, perhaps, could henceforth be spared from the enterprise. Other and fresher hands might serve it better. He would look about for other and kindred work. So he reasoned with himself. At this time — the autumn of 1872 — the efforts of the Missionary Congregational Churches of Southwest Missouri to establish a Christian college, first attracted his notice, and led him the next year to use here, rather than in Colorado or Nebraska, as he had at different times contemplated, the pecuniary means which, probably, has rendered the exist- ence of this College possible. When, in December, 1873, " Springfield College " became ''Drury College," Mr. Drury transferred to the Board of Trustees the ownership of most of the property which he possessed, the value of which was estimated at twenty-five thousand dollars. 1 1 Compared with the gifts of Girard, Vanderbilt, and Hopkins to the schools which bear their respective names, or with the noble contributions lately made to us by Mrs. Valeria Stone, this gift by Mr. Drury to the institution which bears his name, may to some seem small and inad- equate. Yet the now honored name of Dartmouth de- scended to the infant school in the New Hampshire woods with a legacy of barely fifty pounds sterling. John Har- vard, with his name, gave to the future famous University but two hundred pounds ; Yale, to the University at New Haven, a smaller sum. But compared with the pecuniary ability of Mr. Drury, his offering on the altar of Christian education here was one, in noble generosity and self-sacrifice, rarely equaled in the annals of Christian beneficence. He gave, or con- tracted to give, substantially, his earthly all. In estimating the value of this benefaction, also, we are not to forget that Mr. Drury's gift was the necessary prerequisite and condition precedent to all subsequent gifts for the same purpose. His act was the hinge on which turned the question of a Christian college here. Citizens of Springfield predicated their pledges toward the future school on the guaranty of Mr. Drury's promise ; friends of the movement in St. Louis, Ohio, and New York did the same ; and the thousand streams of benevolence which have since flowed hither from every point of the compass, were made possible by the liberality of this rare man. Let us also remember the risk of pain and of mortify- ing defeat which he incurred by allowing his name thus to be associated with the nascent school, at the time scarcely more than a sanguine hope and an advertisement ; over 12 whose management he could exercise little control ; whose perpetuity would naturally remain for years an unsolved and anxious problem ; and whose development into the rounded proportions of a well-established college, rich in an affluence of endowments and a constellation of learned and distinguished instructors, and richer yet in a great family of influential and honored alumni, could be to him but a dim, and distant, and scarcely real vision. Thus to commit himself, his property, his peace of mind, his reputation, to the fledgling school, required strong courage in Mr. Drury, as well as sublime faith and a broad beneficence. The College has now many valued friends abroad and at home. Not a few intelligent people are proud of it, — of its standard of training and scholarship ; of the company of young people who have already received intellectual stimulus here to go forth to benefit society ; and of the honorable reputation which the school has won in this Commonwealth. But at several crises during our history of ten years, how many of this audience would have cov- eted the doubtful ''honor" of giving name to the institu- tion. With the pressure of want which he had not the re- sources to relieve, of debt, of misconception of his per- sonal motives, of uncertainty as to the future, which occa- sionally has come upon him during the ten years of our corporate history, Mr. Drury has more than once said to me, "T/izs name on the College is a millstone about my neck rather than an occasion of joy, and a title to honor." Mr. Drury never removed his residence from Olivet till called to mansions on high. He never ceased to take the 13 warmest interest in the Christian school in Michigan which first won his affection. Yet, naturally, the school which bore his name claimed his chief regard and solicitude. At the time of our organization, it was expected that Mr. Drury would come here and engage actively in the work of "winning friends and funds'' for the school, for which he had great aptitude. But he found it necessary to remain in Michigan, to care for the property which he had destined for the College. Then, somewhat of the vigor and enthusiasm with which he had pleaded and toiled for Olivet College was already abated by the ad- vance of years, and the effect of the previous strain. Moreover, he doubtless found the name of the new school a serious embarrassment to his pleading with wealthy men for aid So, while he made frequent visits to Springfield, always highly appreciating the courtesies shown him by our grateful citizens, and ever bore this school on his heart as a mother the latest child of her love, he never considered himself a resident here, nor undertook for the College any prominent service. Of the personal characteristics of Mr. Drury, beyond what have already appeared by incident, brief mention must suffice. Of Puritan lineage, he was characterized by somewhat of Puritan strictness, Puritan sobriety, and tem- perance — physically as pure a man as I ever knew; of quick and sensitive temperament, yet, by long schooling, of remarkable patience and self-control ; deliberate and painstaking in reaching a conclusion, but firm as a rock when the conclusion was once reached ; of unflinching tenacity of purpose in pursuing what he deemed right and duty ; of perfect purity of speech everywhere and in all 14 companies ; gentle and complaisant in manner and utter- ance, but capable on occasion of a scorching severity ; keenly sensitive to the approbation of his fellows, yet ca- pable, when principle required it, of meeting popular odium and even persecution unflinchingly ; full of an ar- dent sympathy for his kind, especially for the lowly and the unfortunate, and quick to run to the relief of want and suffering ; fond of little children, and ministering to them, wherever even casually met with, almost as a mother to her own offspring ; in his own household a model husband and father; in the neighborhood, first of all men to be sought after by the suffering and the sorrow- ing ; in his business relations prompt, just, exact, his word as good as any bond, never surety on any other man's note, and never needing another's indorsement on his own ; in- dustrious in labor, and economical in the use of the prod- ucts of labor, saving, not so much to accumulate, not at all to expend on himself, but rather that he might have "wherewithal to give to the poor." But to his friends and to the casual observer alike, the most prominent characteristic of Mr. Drury, the one which earliest impressed itself on first acquaintance, and the one most permanent when the chance acquaintanceship had ripened into years of familiar association and friendship, was his piety — his sense of loyalty to God. He carried his reli- gion everywhere — into his business, into his relaxation from business ; and where he thought his loyalty to the Saviour would be unwelcome, he would not himself enter. He had a stalwart faith. He believed in God, and in his Son Jesus Christ, without a tremor of doubt. As a former pas- tor said of him, " His faith in Christ was absolute, and his 10 love for Christ a flaming fire." He took the Bible to be God's authoritative, complete, and final revelation to man. "To the law and to the testimony" was for him,- an end to all personal incertitude as to duty and belief. He had a most vivid sense of the reality and supremacy of the unseen world. He " endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." The plans of the present were formed and en- tered on, the requisite labor done, and the resulting bur- dens borne, not so much because of expectation of speedy personal advantage, as with a view to their effect on the progressive triumph and glory of the kingdom of God among men. He believed that all men have sinned, and, until re- newed by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, are children of wrath, menaced with perpetual banishment from the pres- ence of God. This belief, coupled with an ardent love for mankind, fired his heart with apostolic zeal for the salva- tion of those who are out of Christ. In his eagerness to seek and to save the lost, no obstacle of personal interest, convenience, expense, time, labor, was allowed to have place. He wOuld drop important business matters and hurry to a revival meeting, where he might invite men to "come to the Saviour." With tender solicitude he per- suaded men to become reconciled to God, while sitting at their family firesides, while transacting business across the counter of his own store, when casually meeting people by the wayside, or in the crowded railway car. In a few hours' travel with a coach full of passengers, he was pretty sure to have had a few words with each on the subject which filled all his own mind and heart. And such was his tact, such the overmastering love with which Mr. Drury i6 approached men on this important subject, that he rarely gave offense. On the contrary, hundreds and thousands now thank him for his faithful admonitions. To us who were gathered at his burial came this message from the sick-bed of a man formerly notorious for his wickedness, but who had been won to Christ and virtue by Mr. Drury's persuasions : tl Brother Drury's faithfulness salved me ! " Numbers of men of every walk in life, former students, business men, railway conductors, and brakemen, have lately told me of their great pleasure in recollecting "the talks they have had with that good man" on the subject of personal religion. Mr. Drury was a man of prayer, carrying with him con- stantly, as a heavenly fragrance, the spirit of filial com- munion with the Father in heaven. He was instant in prayer, in whatever circumstances, or company, or place, not forgetting the soul's daily cry for daily bread. He believedin the power of prayer, assured that exigencies in his own life, in the lives of his friends, and in the history of each of the twin schools which so largely owe their being to him, were shaped by the Divine hand in accord- ance with his prayer of faith. Others, also, who observed the man of God at certain crises, and heard his strong sup- plications, and then noted the remarkable turn in related events afterward, were impressed with a similar convic- tion. I have heard scoffing enemies of God say "they were afraid of Mr. Drury's prayers." Prominent friends of Olivet College have said that they had considered his "prayer of faith" a chief factor in the upbuilding of that school of learning. And not a small measure of my own confidence in the perpetuity and growth of this school, and i7 in its enlarged and ever enlarging power for good as the years of its history shall pass away, is grounded in the efficiency of the prayers of this man of God. Mr. Drury was a very strong Christian, not only in overcoming the evil in himself, but in drawing others to the same Christian living and hope. By exhortation in public assemblies, and by private conversation on personal religion, he would move men toward the higher life as able and eloquent preachers of the gospel might in vain aspire to do. He was a man of great and ceaseless activity in his Father's business. Regularly attendant at public worship on Sundays ; always at the church prayer-meeting; often closing his place of business in mid-afternoon, and taking with him to the place of prayer his employes ; for more than thirty years a devoted and most efficient superintend- ent of Sunday-schools ; always among the foremost in all church work and church benevolences, — he was naturally a "pillar'' in each of the several churches to which he at different times belonged. Mr. Drury's natural love for men quickened by his in- tense love for his Saviour, made him one of the kindest of men. All the poor and lowly looked to him as their friend. The troubled and afflicted naturally sought him for counsel and sympathy. Sooner, even, than the beloved pastor, would Deacon Drury and his wife be summoned to the bedside of the sick. Their gentle hands must smooth the pillow of the dying ; their loving care must suitably dispose the stiffened limbs of the dead, and arrange the final obsequies. It was a common saying in Olivet that no funeral was quite complete unless Mr. Drury was pres- i8 ent with his sympathetic face and voice to supervise. He was the unfailing friend of youn^ students. Often coming to Olivet poor, friendless, awkward, bashful, he used at once to seek them out, encourage them with friendly coun- sel, perhaps take them into his own hospitable home, or, if needful, extend pecuniary aid. Not a few gentlemen, now honored among the most useful members of society, attribute their perseverance in a course of liberal education to the encouragement given them at a critical moment by this friend of the young. His beautiful and bountiful home was always open to welcome the students and friends of the College. During a great part of the early years of his residence in Olivet he had students boarding in his family. These were more often the sons or daughters of parents whom he wished particularly to interest in the College, or such as might not, with prudence, be assigned to the pub- lic halls for residence. Prominent strangers visiting the place were invited to his house, where they received such Christian hospitality as caused them ever after to remem- ber their visit to Olivet with grateful pleasure. His house was the village hotel for the College. By his gracious hos- pitality he won lasting friendship and support for the young College, and at a period in the development of the school when such friendship was more valuable than gifts of gold. The direct gifts of Mr. Drury to Olivet College must amount to a large aggregate. But his indirect bounty, in aid to students and the necessary cost of an unstinted hos- pitality, was much greater ; yet all these gifts of money are insignificant in value compared with the service ren- dered by himself and his wife to the school in this unvary- ing and abounding kindness to students and patrons. Such 19 * was the prominent identification of Mr. Drury with the College, that he was sometimes addressed by strangers as " Professor Drury." With a modest blush he would at once rejoin, "I am no professor in Olivet College — only a hewer of wood and drawer of water for it." There was no needful service which he would not gladly render for this school of Christian learning. He rejoiced to be a " servant of servants " in the work of the Lord. All through his life Mr. Drury was very prominently identified with the interests of the Congregational denom- ination in the State of Michigan. He was constant in at- tendance on all district and State meetings. " Brother Drury," as all called him, was the standard delegate from the Olivet Church to all these larger ecclesiastical assem- blies during the time I lived in Michigan. And during these years (i 859-1 872), if there was another Congrega- tional layman in the State more useful, or more valued in all these religious convocations, I did not know him. In the earlier years of his residence in Olivet he often accom- panied the eminent evangelist, Rev. John T. Avery, in his successful labors in various portions of Michigan. Mr. Avery always very highly valued this co-operation. The most diligent of men in his Master's business, his type of piety, though fervent and aggressive, was by no means hard-featured or intolerant. He was too childlike in spirit to be intolerant. He had too big and warm a heart for him to be a bigot. All good causes, having for their end the uplifting of society, found ready welcome to his heart and his purse. Though duly loyal to his own denomination, he entered with hearty sympathy into co-operation with all men, of whatever distinctive name, who earnestly sought the advancement of the kingdom of God in the earth. 20 He was one of the most thoroughly practical Chris- tians that I ever knew, in this sense — that his Christian faith entered into, and became the propelling and guiding force of, every part of his daily life. In him faith de- scended through the intellect to the heart, whence, as the currents of the natural life-blood, it permeated and ener- gized his whole being. It was easy for him to commend Christ to others, because the Saviour was already formed in his own heart the hope of glory. He was the Lord's, not so much by formal surrender and profession, as out of a heart overflowing with love, the consecration reaching from center to circumference of all his possessions and belongings — property, abilities, time, comfort, reputation, family, all for Christ ! In the thoroughness and extent of this personal consecration to Christ, I think Mr. Drury surpassed any other person whom I ever intimately knew. Passing now a probably final earthly review of the life of our friend and brother, it is fitting in us briefly to count up, as best we may, its sum. What, beyond an ordinary human life, has the earthly career of Samuel F. Drury achieved ? What lasting me- morial of a life lived "here in the body" does he leave behind ? He leaves no opulent estate in lands and stocks, as do many, to his heirs, — alas! inheritance of his blood and name had already perished, — though doubtless he might have amassed large wealth, since he had in eminent degree the prime faculty of accumulating, namely, the habit of eco- nomical saving. But he never aimed at wealth. His thrifty savings were altogether that he might have the means for 21 giving. Sometimes his friends thought his indifference to wealth-getting was excessive, and that he should do less for "holy charity's sake," and more to render the even- ing of his own life comfortable in an abundance of this world's goods. Few know the extent to which Mr. and Mrs. Drury carried personal economy and self-denial, in respect to ma- terial advantages, that their Christian benefactions might be the larger. A plain statement of the facts pertaining to this matter known to myself, would probably seem in- credible to many here present. They provided for de- pendent relatives, gave to the poor, and contributed to be- nevolent causes, with the large generosity of the rich ; while in the outlay for personal and household expendi- tures they were as moderate as the family of a prosperous artisan. Yet were they far from living meanly. On the contrary, their home was always a model of comfort and good taste, united with moderation. No ; Mr. Drury leaves little in the way of material wealth as a memorial of a laborious and successful life. Few men have had more numerous or stronger friend- ships ; few are in death more fortunate in leaving em- balmed in human hearts such fragrant and precious mem- ory. "Good deeds," 'tis said, "will never die." What man of your personal acquaintance, still living or already " passed over to the majority," can claim a rarer collection of these immortal testimonials to human worth than could he ? Few Christian laymen, few ministers, even, have been equally successful in "turning many to righteousness' How many seals to his untitled ministry for souls in Otsego, Kalamazoo, and other villages of Michigan ! How 22 many casually met by the wayside, at hotels, during or- dinary business engagements, were persuaded by Mr. Drury's tender earnestness to become reconciled to God! What a noble army of young men, students in Olivet Col- lege, during the twenty-five years of Mr. Drury's power in Olivet, recruited by him ! In this respect his career has been strikingly successful and beneficent, not un- worthy to be compared with the life of Harlan Page. But the characteristic, the most lasting, the chief earthly memorial of this consecrated life, we shall find in his great service to Christian education in Michigan and in Mis- souri. If I believe that God now, as of yore, calls particular men to render particular services to mankind, I must be- lieve that this Samuel was early called to a great office in laying the foundations of Christian learning, — specially fitted for this work by divine grace in the heart, trained for his appointed mission by the discipline of suffering, and mightily inspired to undertake and endure by a sub- lime faith in the Invisible. Other noble lives spent themselves with his in this service in Michigan. I would not forget one name or one deed of sacrifice for Christ in connection with the found- ing of Olivet College. Some were martyrs in this labor and sacrifice — heroes all ! But who of all wrought with equal labor, was exhausted with such ceaseless watchings, or poured out on the work such consuming love ? Some have contributed more money ; others may have served the school longer ; but none have given it such unquenchable zeal, such patient energy, such unrequited sacrifice. 23 While, then, Olivet College gratefully honors the mem- ory of " Father Shipherd " as her founder, and will always head her long roll of benefactors with his name, who from all this goodly company so clearly deserves the second place in honor as the subject of this eulogy? Of whose career is this school, with its honorable past, and the pos- sibilities of a long, shining future, more fittingly a memo- rial than of Samuel F. Drury ? The College, the completion of whose first decade of useful activity we this week celebrate, is the second and chief enduring monument to this beneficent life. No friend will claim for Mr. Drury the original concep- tion of a Christian school here in Southwest Missiouri. That honor belongs of right to three home missionaries, and the little cluster of churches to which they ministered. They saw the great intellectual destitution, and the great opportunity. But Mr. Drury appeared here, as did John Harvard at Boston in 1638, with his offering of substan- tial aid at the opportune moment to crystallize into fact their devout dream and prayer. Not unworthily, then, his name has consecrated the infant College, — a just recognition of a life devoted to the interests of Christian education, as well as a grateful re- turn by us for great and valued service here. With the highest propriety we call him Our Founder. Here, then, on soil dedicated by Mr. Drury in prayer to the service of Christ and his Church before the spade had removed the sod for the foundations of the first College- building, is rising an eternal monument to his memory. Not so much the spacious grounds with their buildings, li- brary, and the various paraphernalia for instruction, that 24 now are ; not so much the numerous erections of taste and higher convenience that shall hereafter gradually supple- ment or supplant these pioneer structures, as the College slowly develops in the revolving years toward its high ideal ; but rather the intellectual and spiritual life here quickened, — the successive generations of noble youths and maidens here trained "for Christ and humanity," and sent into all the regions round on missions of light and life, throughout all coming time. SKETCH OF MR. DRURY'S LIFE. Samuel Fletcher Drury was born at Spencer, Mass., June 7, 1816. His father and grandfather were for many years prominent and highly esteemed physicians of that town. His maternal grandfather was General Samuel Fletcher, of Townsend, Vt., of Revolutionary fame. His mother was a woman of unusually earnest religious char- acter, who early trained her son in religious doctrines and duties. At the age of fourteen Samuel went to reside in the family of a relative at Millbury, Mass., where he experi- enced his first particular religious awakening. In 1834, while living in Worcester, he made public profession of Christ by uniting with the First Baptist Church of that city. In 1837 ne l e ft Worcester, and found employment as clerk in a dry-goods store in Boston. Here he promptly connected himself with the Federal Street Baptist Church, in whose vigorous Sunday-school he had his first experi- ence as a teacher of the Word of God. He was also very active in a mission Sunday-school, in the outskirts of the city, sustained by the same church. In 1838 the " Western fever" seized Mr. Drury, as it did, and still does, so many of the enterprising young men 26 of New England. Michigan was then the " Far West ; " so he removed from Boston and fixed his residence in the then pioneer village of Otsego, Allegan County, Mich., near the shore of the lake. Like most other new settlements in the West, the people of Otsego were at that time of a very miscellaneous sort, gathered from all quarters, of various nationalities, of varying degrees of intelligence and moral- ity. Of orderly society there was as yet very little ; of permanent institutions, nothing. There was no church, no Sunday-school, no house of worship, no established religious service of any kind. True to a marked characteristic of his life, on arriving here this young Christian at once sought for other be- lievers, whose sympathy he might enjoy, and whom he might help in the Master's service. He found, in the village, one young man of like feelings and purposes, and they together proceeded to give notice of religious services to be held on the next day (Sunday), when a Sunday-school would also be organized. The meeting was held. A goodly number of children and adults were present to be organized into a Sunday-school, of which Mr. Drury was chosen superintendent. This was prompt and efficient zeal for a young man of twenty-two years, in a strange community, one thousand miles from any earthly friend. Not long afterward a Home Mission- ary Congregational Church was organized in Otsego, and with this Mr. Drury united, there being no Baptist church in the place. Here he established himself in business, organizing and managing a country store for the sale of general merchan- dise. Closely attentive to his business, energetic, syste- 27 matic, economical, conciliatory and persuasive of manner, he rapidly won his way, and prospered. During this period he made the acquaintance of his future wife, Miss Angeline M. House, recently arrived from Vermont. They were married at Otsego on the 29th day of December, 1839. Mrs. Drury survives her husband. While resident at Otsego there was born to Mr. and Mrs. Drury their only son and child, Albert Fletcher, Feb- ruary 15, 1 841. Albert died at Olivet, Michigan, Novem- ber 5, 1863, — a young man of rare excellence of character and of much promise, whose untimely death was univer- sally lamented in the community where he had lived. About the year 1842 the system of free public schools, which has in later years done so much to dignify and adorn Michigan, was in process of organization. With the projectors and friends of this enterprise Mr. Drury promptly identified himself. His acquaintance with a similar system in his native State, and his disposition to second all meas- ures tending toward the enlightenment and happiness of his fellow-men, naturally fitted him to take an intelligent and efficient interest in this movement for popular educa- tion. With his pastor and others he organized a " Teach- ers' Institute " for Allegan County, probably the first ever held in Michigan, out of which, aided by the co-operation of Mr. Drury, grew the State Normal School, at Ypsilanti — the pioneer normal school of the West. While living in Otsego he came to take very advanced ground on the subject of temperance — rather, total absti- nence. Though but a young man, he was a recognized leader in the community in all efforts to dissuade men from the use, and to suppress the sale, of ardent spirits. His 2& zeal and prominence in this reform exposed him to much obloquy, pecuniary loss, and persecution. This radical opposition to the use and sale of intoxicants character- ized his whole life. He would not keep or sell liquors in any form. He would not employ in his service any one who drank ; would not use liquors as a remedy in sickness, nor consent that alcoholic wines should be employed in the sacrament by the church of which he was an officer. In meetings of the church, in the Sunday-school, and when- ever he could get an audience of men, especially of young men, he unceasingly urged the duty of total abstinence. He also believed in the rightfulness and expediency of seeking to suppress the destructive rum traffic by the strong hand of the law. He lost no opportunity to vote "prohibition," or to help execute the law which the pop- ular voice had enacted. His opposition to the use of to- bacco was scarcely less radical. Though he was propri- etor of a country store for most of his life, and the demand for "the weed" was always active, and might have been to him lucrative, he refused to sell it or to keep it in any form, even for the use of farmers in treating medicinally their afflicted flocks. In the year 1848 the Otsego Church appointed Mr. Drury a delegate to the Marshall Association of Congre- gational Churches, which was to be held that spring at Olivet, Eaton County. Olivet was at that time an infant school and colony after the order of Oberlin, in Ohio, and founded, in 1844, by a company of earnest Christian men and women from Oberlin, organized and led by Rev. John J. Shipherd, the heroic founder of the Oberlin colony and College. Mr. 2Q Shipherd had died during the first few months of his work in Olivet, and found his last resting-place, at the early age of forty-two, in the soil on which he planted his second school of Christian learning. At the time referred to the Olivet School was in great need of friends and funds. Fire had not long before burned down its single school-edifice. The colonists had rallied after the conflagration, and with their own hands cut- ting and shaping the timbers, had re-erected the building so far as to inclose it. Here their resources utterly failed them. They could go.no further without outside help. The Marshall Association convened in this half-com- pleted structure. At the close of the session of the As- sociation, the condition and wants of the school were de- scribed by one of the instructors. The story of faith, and prayer, and self-denial greatly moved Mr. Drury. He asked permission to speak. He urged upon the Associa- tion the duty of aiding the struggling school, and proposed an immediate effort, then and there, to raise the money needed. Under his lead and example the whole sum nec- essary to complete the house was speedily secured. Before leaving Olivet for his home in Otsego, Mr. Drury was urged by the colonists to become one of them, and give his zeal, and faith, and energy to the work of establishing and equipping the institution. This call to service for Olivet weighed long and painfully on his heart. On the one hand were his own personal interests, the de- mands of an active and prosperous business, and the prom- ise of large success; on the other, the urgent and touch- ing call of this young school of Christ for help. Not having been able to rid himself of the feeling that God called him to engage in this work, during the sum- mer of 1849 he voluntarily undertook an extended canvass for funds for the school, visiting many portions of Michi- gan in this quest. And his efforts were successful. So, finally yielding to the entreaties of the people of Olivet and his own growing conviction of duty, he decided to abandon his business and home in Otsego, and take up his residence in Olivet. He arrived there September 24, 1849. The greater part of the year I850 he devoted to rais- ing funds for the Institution in Michigan. In 1851 he made his first visit to New England in the service of the school. He obtained timely and liberal aid from many in Boston, particularly from members of the Park Street and Mt. Vernon Churches. Of the latter church the distin- guished Dr. E. N. Kirk was pastor, and gave earnest sym- pathy and aid to Mr. Drury. On his return to Michigan he brought with him a fine Chickering piano, the gift of the liberal maker, and the sweet-toned bell which, in the tower of Colonial Hall, has for these many years continued to call students and townspeople to their daily tasks and to the house of God. This visit to the East also secured to the infant College the nucleus of a library and needed physical apparatus. Mr. Drury continued to be at intervals a " college beggar" for many years, visiting the bountiful East again and again in this hard service, and also faithfully canvass- ing his own State in the interest of the school. Mr. Drury was frequently a very efficient helper in re- vival meetings held with the churches in various parts of Michigan. In such visits he always carried with him, in 3i heart and on lips, the interests of the beloved school of Christ. So, from out of the warm atmosphere of a revi- val in some Michigan village, where Mr. Drury had la- bored from house to house, would speedily come to Olivet a delegation of young disciples intent on gaining an edu- cation to fit them for the Master's service. Not a few such " recruits " for Olivet are now successful preachers and teachers of the Word of God. Not infrequently gifts of money to the needy school followed such visits from its devoted agent. Mr. Drury was always remarkably successful as a so- licitor for Olivet School and College, especially if we con- sider the circumstances of the period. Few men were ever so earnest or so persuasive in this difficult but need- ful work as he. The spirit of consecration to the service of this Christian school and of utter self-abnegation, ex- pressed in look, and tone, and manner, was well nigh irre- sistible. Hence, some men who did not like to relax their grasp on their purses, dreaded the approach of "Brother Drury" when on a collecting tour for Olivet, declaring that "he was a dangerous man to have round." In the year 1859 "Olivet Institute" — as the Olivet school had been previously called — became "Olivet Col- lege," by virtue of a charter from the State of Michigan, under the general statutes provided for such corporations. Mr. Drury was very active and prominent in the work of obtaining this charter, and in organizing the College Faculty under it. Indeed, most of the first teachers who united in lifting the curriculum and standard of the school from the grade of an academy to the honorable standing of a true college were secured, not by the emoluments 32 offered by the Board of Trustees, but by the personal in- tervention and persistent persuasions of this earnest man. He believed in the important mission of Olivet with all his soul, and had, in rare degree, the power to cause other men to see the future of this school through his own dilated vision, however much the facts as to its equipment and exchequer might at the time oppose. His son, then (1859) a student in Oberlin College, he called home to help form "the quintette" — three young men and two young ladies — which constituted the first Freshman class in Olivet College — a fine nucleus, around which successive classes formed until the young College was fairly on its feet. This was a sore trial to the feelings of the son, though the sacrifice was cheerfully made, be- cause he was already entered as a student in a widely- known college, with a large class of students to whom he was greatly attached. But Mr. Drury rightly reasoned, that if he were to encourage the sons of other men to seek their education at the fledgling college in Michigan, he must first place there his own son. During the period 1859 to 1872, Mr. Drury was the representative working Trustee of Olivet College. Every- where, on all occasions, with marvelous fidelity, he worked for, advocated, personated, the College. He gathered stu- dents, won new friends, placated enemies, collected re- sources. He was the close friend of every instructor, — often supplying to the latter the means on which to live, denied him too often by the stinted revenues of the Col- lege. His counsel very largely shaped the plan of the College and moulded its life, and greatly influenced the whole administration. That it was always wisest no one, 33 least of all himself, would have claimed ; but that his strong, personal influence in all the affairs of the College was wisely exerted, the steady growth of Olivet in all the elements of a successful Christian college abundantly testified. In 1872, a change in the administration of the College occurring, Mr. Drury largely withdrew thenceforth from active participation in its management and service, though he remained a trustee, and continued to the end of life to take a lively interest in the welfare of a school which had been enriched with the prayers and the self-denying labors of a full score of the best years of his life. To the end, Olivet was his "first love.'' Early in the spring of 1873 he decided to join his friend, Rev. N. J. Morrison, in a second experience at college founding. Overtures had previously been made to them from California, Colorado, Crete, Neb., and Spring- field, Mo., to induce them to select each of the localities referred to as the site of the proposed college. To- gether they visited Nebraska and Missouri, and finally decided that the propositions from the citizens of Spring- field, Mo., offered, in the prospect of rapid growth to the proposed school and great permanent usefulness, the larg- est inducement. In making this decision, Mr. Drury felt that he had chosen for the site of an important Christian college the best location in the whole country at that time unoccupied. The preliminary organization of the school occurred on the 29th day of March, 1873. The incorporation was com- pleted early in August of the same year, the corporation taking the name of " Springfield College/' with Mr. Drury 34 as a trustee and Mr. Morrison, President. On the 25th day of September following, the school opened with thirty- nine students and three instructors, in a brick building costing over seven thousand dollars, whose foundations had been begun less than six weeks previously. On the 29th day of December of the same year, by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, the name of the College was changed, in honor of its chief benefactor, to u Drury College." After the burning of his store, in 1867, Mr. Drury gradually withdrew from active business affairs. He had little inducement to rebuild and continue his business, since the hope of a successor had perished in the untimely death of his son ; so he occupied himself with settling the accu- mulated accounts of his past merchandising, in caring for the interests of Olivet College, aiding in revival work in various churches, and " lending a hand " to every good work within his reach. The organization of the College called after his name, naturally gave new employment to the last ten years of his life — entering with fresh enthusiasm into all the planning for its advancement, rejoicing with much joy over its unusual successes, and bearing a double solicitude as the enterprise, from time to time, passed through the usual straits and perils. Retaining his residence in Olivet, he made frequent visits to the Southwest, spending months at a time in Springfield, and watching the growth of the child-college with the anxious love of a father. It was during one of these protracted visits that he contracted the disease which finally ended his life. At the special request of President Morrison, who was obliged 35 to be absent in search for funds, Mr. and Mrs. Drury spent most of the winter of 1882 in Springfield, arriving in Jan- uary, and returning to Michigan in April. He found great enjoyment in familiar intercourse with the students of the College, encouraging them with wise counsel and needed pecuniary aid. He showed much of his old earnestness and power in religious meetings, and in private confer- ences with individuals. A good deal of religious interest prevailed in the College and in some of the churches of the city— a source of great comfort to Mr. Drury. From a sud- den cold he was seized with a sharp attack of pneumonia, and for several weeks was confined to his room, his case at times being regarded as critical. Before he was fully re- stored, too soon it was thought for safety, he returned to Michigan. As the summer came on he seemed to improve, and it was hoped that he would in time fully recover, and again be himself. But his work was done, and his earthly career was nearing its end. He was aware of it, and fully "set his house in order." He had time during the suc- ceeding months of increasing weakness to review the past. He thanked God for the opportunity to suffer and to do for his cause, particularly in connection with the two Chris- tian schools with which he had been so closely identified. Within a few hours of his death he said to his faithful wife, who had watched by his side through almost a twelve- month of suffering, joyfully said, " Could I live my life over again, I would choose the same course of labor and sacri- fice for Christian education." He calmly passed away to his rest on Monday, the 12th of February, 1883. Friday morning following, impressive funeral services were performed in the chapel of Olivet College, Rev. H. Q. 36 Butterfield, President of the College, conducting, and as- sisted by his colleagues, Rev. Dr. H. M. Goodwin and Pro- fessors O. Hosford and J. Estabrook ; Rev. C. O. Brown, of Kalamazoo ; Hon. Philo Parsons, of Detroit, and Rev. N. J. Morrison, D.D., President of Drury College, Mis- souri, but formerly President of Olivet College. Hon. J. W. Lisenby, of Springfield, Mo., representing the Board of Trustees of Drury College, was also present on the platform. The addresses made by Professors Hosford and Esta- brook are given below. That by Dr. Morrison appears, substantially, on the earlier pages of this memorial, re- peated by request at the following anniversary of Drury Col- lege. It is greatly to be regretted that we have no report of the touching tributes of Mr. Brown and Mr. Parsons to the memory of their dead friend. The former is an hon- ored graduate of Olivet College, who regarded Mr. Drury with almost the affection due a father. The latter had for many years been an intimate personal friend of Mr. Drury, a colleague in the Board of Trustees of Olivet College, and a munificent contributor to its resources. He gratefully portrayed how Mr. Drury's example of faithful Christian service and self-sacrifice for mankind had won his heart, greatly influenced his own life, and led him to do what he had done for Olivet College. After the services at the chapel the remains were car- ried to the little village cemetery near by, and laid beside the grave of his son, but a few yards from the mound which marks the resting-place of " Father Shipherd," Olivet's heroic founder. ADDRESS BY PROF. ORAMEL HOSFORD Mr. and Mrs. Drury first came to Olivet to attend a meeting of the Marshall Association, — he as a delegate from the church at Otsego. As our school-term was near its close at that time, the arrangement was made to have the closing exercises imme- diately after the adjournment of the Association, thus se- curing the attendance of the ministers and delegates, that they might become acquainted with the work here, and learn our purposes and plans. At the close of our exercises, Mr. Drury arose and wished to express his deep interest in what he had seen and heard. He had learned something of the purposes of those who had founded this Institution — that it was to be a distinctively Christian school. The enterprise, he said, met his most hearty approval ; he was ready to give it his warmest sympathy ; he could not leave without express- ing, thus publicly, his feelings. He had been looking over the frame for a three-story school-building, over on yonder hill. It had been standing there for a year or more, and was already suffering from exposure, and would soon go to decay unless protected. The funds were ex- 38 hausted — help was needed. He wished to leave some substantial token of his appreciation of the work here un- dertaken, and he hoped others would join him. Others did join him ; and although the sum raised was not large (yet much larger than it would seem to be now), it was sufficient for immediate use, and a series of labors were thus set in motion which resulted in the completion of what is now called Colonial Hall. That twenty minutes talk was most timely. Wearied and depressed as we were, the immediate future did not look promising to us. We had no doubt that deliverance would come from some quarter, but from whence we could not tell. Only those who have been in like circumstances can realize how great was the relief which thus came to us. The funds raised were greatly prized, but the words of sympathy and encouragement were worth far more. We were led to feel that Mr. Drury was the man we needed to help us, and at our earnest solicitation, after prayerful consideration, he came and heartily cast in his lot with us. Before this time but little effort had been made to raise funds, or to interest friends, except in this immediate vicinity. Mr. Drury's experience and business acquaint- ance enabled him to visit successfully the cities and large towns, not only in this State, but also in New England, and obtain funds, and also to interest business men in the work, thus lifting the whole enterprise to a higher level. His coming marked an epoch in the history of Olivet. For years, he was one of the earnest laborers whose efforts have resulted in bringing the College to its present standing. He has finished his work, and gone to his reward. 39 Could he return to us, after these few days of new experi- ence, do you think he would regret that he devoted this life to works so worthy, although wearisome, and to labors so exalted, although difficult and trying? We bury the body, and dust returns to dust — but he is not dead ; he is born into that new life which will never end. ADDRESS BY PROF. JOSEPH ESTABROOK. {For many years Principal of the State Normal School at Ypsilanti.') My first acquaintance with Bro. Drury was in a revival of religion in Ypsilanti, in 1858, in connection with a series of meetings conducted by Rev. J. T. Avery. He came there a stranger, drawn by his love for the revivalist and his work. He entered with all his soul into the efforts made, though almost an entire stranger to the people. Through his earnest prayers, and exhortations, and per- sonal labor the work received a new impulse. My last acquaintance with him was also in a revival in Olivet. During the last few weeks of his decline a series of meetings was held in a hall near his home, which he attended when it was possible. No one who was present will ever forget the last words he ever spoke in a religious meeting. It was with much effort that he ascended the stairs. He appeared much exhausted when he entered the room. When he had recovered, and an opportunity was given, he rose and testified as follows : — " I do not know how long I shall remain with you, my friends and neighbors. You have known me for many years. I have seen prosperous days. You have seen me in the midst of my active business life. My life has been 4' to me a great joy. You might think that these days of physical weakness must bring sorrow and gloom to my heart and home. " I may never meet you again in this world, but I want to bear testimony to-night that no period of my life has been so full of sweetness and joy as this. Christ is pre- cious, unspeakably precious to me. My prospects for the future have never been so glorious. From a full and deep experience I recommend this religion to each one of you. Oh, don't reject it! Accept it now!" These were his last words spoken in public. Bro. Drury was widely known as an earnest, conse- crated, and successful Christian worker. The following traits of his Christian character are worthy of careful con- sideration : — (i.) He believed in his inmost soul that the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the word of God, and given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. That question had been settled years ago, and upon it he had no hesitation or mis- givings. On this ground was based his intense convic- tions of the importance and necessity of the religion of Christ. (2.) Few men of my acquaintance had such an all- absorbing sense of the necessity of regeneration — of the reality of heaven and hell — of the truth of the promises, and the worth of souls. His prayers, his exhortations, his testimony for Christ, all breathed of the intenseness of his convictions. (3.) Another trait of his Christian character was his love for souls. His heart, like that of his Master, yearned for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died. This was 42 the secret of the persistent and successful efforts in win- ning souls to Christ. None but those who knew him inti- mately and in his deeper experiences could form a just es- timate of what was most Christlike in his character. When such a man departs, the world may well mourn. Such a man was Bro. Drury, whose departure we mourn to-day. As bringing out in distinct relief certain prominent characteristics of this very useful life, extracts are here- with published from letters received by the family after Mr. Drury's death. From the Rev, John T. Avery, Cleveland, Ohio. "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance " (Ps. cxii., 6). My acquaintance with Bro. Samuel F. Drury began in December, 1848, in the village of Kalamazoo, Mich. It was the commencement of a revival of religion in the First Congregational Church of that place. He had left his busi- ness and home in Otsego, some ten miles distant, and "come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel " in Kala- mazoo. He was speedily earnestly at work in the meetings. His winning manners, genial spirit, and clarion voice early drew me to him in a friendship and fraternal attachment which the lapse of years and joint experiences in thrilling revival scenes have only strengthened and confirmed. For many weeks he left the care of his mercantile busi- ness to others, while he and his noble Christian wife, — a most efficient helper, — by house-to-house visitation and *1 43< holding daily meetings, as real home missionaries, success- fully labored to win souls. After two months spent thus in Kalamazoo, during which many scores of all classes and every age were added unto the Lord, he heard the Macedonian cry from Gales- burg, a town nine miles distant, where similar labors and similar successes awaited him. Thence they were invited to Schoolcraft, a village six- teen miles distant, originally settled by infidels, and noted for irreligion, where similar labors by Mr. and Mrs. Drury were followed by like results. Infidelity was essentially crippled in the place, and religious institutions, before feeble, became strong and influential. In December, 1854, chiefly through Mr. Drury's planning and preparation, I was called to lead a series of meetings at Olivet, in which, church, college, and com- munity so largely shared. There, in the home of his adop- tion, he seemed emphatically to obey the apostolic injunc- tion, " Bear ye one another's burdens," being identified with the interests of every family and soul in the parish and the surrounding region. There, if any man since the days of the Apostle Paul followed in his illustrious foot- steps, "from house to house, to warn every man night and day with tears," that man was Samuel F. Drury. This meeting at Olivet opened the campaign for 1854-5, in which successful meetings were held in Charlotte, Flint, and Marshall, Mr. Drury everywhere participating. Dur- ing these meetings many incidents worthy of public note occurred, one of which I will mention, since it affords a key to the secret of his talent and success in "sowing beside all waters." 44 After the close of the meetings at Flint, on a Sunday night, Mr. Drury and myself took passage in the stage- coach before day-dawn of the next morning. The back seat was already occupied by a gentleman and lady, evidently husband and wife. Being myself peculiarly weary, I sought a quiet and silent position opposite. Mr. Drury, by my side, — full of the new wine of the kingdom of grace, — soon broke the spell of silence in a most happy, affable, Christian way, and brought forth an encouraging response. It soon appeared that the arrow had not missed its mark, though sent from a bow drawn at a venture. Before the end of our forty miles of stage-ride, there was good evidence that in the minds of that intelligent couple the great decision had been as intelligently and finally made to choose and openly profess Christ, as was made by the Ethiopian eunuch, riding in his chariot, under the guidance of Philip the evangelist ; for before they left the coach they declared their purpose, like Joshua, — "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," — and promised that night to erect a family altar in their own house in Detroit. The last of my personal contact and association with Brother Drury occurred at Kalamazoo, in 1880, where it had begun thirty-two years before. We again engaged in joint labors for the religious welfare of the Congregational Church of that place, now the mother of a family of other churches in the neighborhood. It was a great joy to me to note in him great growth and maturity of Christian character, — his heart and faith, as simple and child-like as a young convert's, united the calmness and strength which came from years of discipline in the school of Christ. Never did I, as a preacher, from any hearer, friend, or 4 5 assistant, receive such help in every way as from him. His conscious presence in the audience girded me with new strength, courage, and faith, especially when I en- joyed "the light of his countenance," reminding me of the trite truth, "as iron sharpeneth iron, so man his friend," and, "as in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.'' He also had great spiritual discernment. Often while listening to the Word in the public audience, he would cast his eye over the congregation, and read from their countenances the workings of many minds, while he seemed to be praying for the Spirit to accompany the Word and send it home. Then at the close of the services, like a skillful physician putting his finger on the patient's pulse, or the faithful nurse administering the needed pre- scription, he would gently approach the wounded hearer, engage him in conversation till the audience had passed out, and then, perhaps, in a prayer of personal consecra- tion ; from which many — oh, how many! — have dated their first step toward the cross, and their entrance within "the strait gate." I must believe that in the out-gushing of his love to the Saviour and to the souls of men, he patterned after the type of piety and manner of labor characteristic of Brainerd, Alleine, Baxter, Payson, Harlan Page, Net- tleton, and Finney. Dear, departed Brother Drury, farewell till hereafter ! I never expect to have, or look upon here another such helper. A former student in Olivet College, an inmate in the family of Mr. Drury > now a prosperous business man } writes : — When I was at school he always manifested the live- 4 6 liest interest in my welfare, and many are the long talks we have had about the future, he never failing to do me good by his counsel. One occasion I particularly recol- lect — shall never forget it to the latest day of my life. It was the last day of the year 1863. He called me to his desk in the store, and from a few minutes after nine p. m. until midnight, he talked to me as no one else ever did before or since. The tenor and burden of all he said was this : The nobility of living for others. Extract from a letter by Rev. yohn M. Barrows, A.M., formerly Professor in Olivet College y addressed to Mrs, Drury : — . . . But I smile through these tears, and exult in the joyous hope that cheered him through his life of labor for Christ, through his long sickness, and which made his dy- ing bed "soft as downy pillows are." From his sickness he never recovered. He said it was his last. Notwith- standing the encouragements of his friends and beloved physician, he was not deluded with a false hope. He was ready from the first, and testified to the sustaining grace of God, in public and private, to the church and to the world, in the prayer-meeting and on the street — "He was never so happy!" "God was so near ! " " Jesus was so precious ! " From the Rev. M. W. Fairfield, A.M., of Muskegon, Mich- igan, First President of Olivet College : — I have regarded Mr. Drury as one of the most remark- able and valuable men I have ever known. The measure of his usefulness will only be known when " the books are opened.'' I have no doubt hundreds of souls have been 47 brought to Christ through his direct instrumentality. The world is richer by his life. The cause of education never had a sincerer friend and worker. From Rev. W. M. B arrows y D. D., Secretary of the Ameri- can Home Missionary Society, New York : — My earliest and most pleasant recollections of Olivet are in connection with you and Mr. Drury. When I first went there, an awkward, bashful, country boy, you were kind enough to notice me, and speak kindly to me, and encourage me in my studies. Mr. Drury brought me out in the Sunday-school. Before I was sixteen he gave me a class of boys to teach. It was there I got my first expe- rience in Christian work, and had awakened the desire to become a minister of the gospel. And ever since he has been the same kind, generous, helpful friend. How we shall miss him ! Olivet will not be Olivet without our brother Drury. But what a precious memory he leaves behind him ! How many thousands are ready to rise up and call him blessed ! Olivet College and Drury College will always be mon- uments to his memory. And who could wish nobler ones? From Rev. John Henry Barrows, D.D., Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Churchy Chicago : — A good man, one who honored Christ, one who had a great influence on my early Christian life, one from whom I received every kindness, and never anything but kind- ness, has been called home. Few men that I knew seemed so thoroughly prepared to go. I bless God for all the good which he has accomplished. 4 8 Rev. J 'antes H. Harwood, D.D., prominently identified with the early days of Drury College, writes thus : — In all my acquaintance with Christian men, I know of no one to whom I felt more drawn than to Mr. Drury. He was so filled with the Spirit. He kept his heart so warm for every opportunity for Christian work. He was so faithful and loving in speaking a word everywhere to win souls to Christ, or to urge Christians to a faithful ser- vice. He was so kind and gentlemanly in all his inter- course with men. He seemed like a citizen of another country, sojourning a little while in this, and seeking to do all the good he could do while staying here. No words are too strong to express my delight in his memory, and my honor for his character and life. Extract from a letter from Prof. Sumner, of Worcester, Mass. : — ... It was the influence of that Godly man (Mr. Drury) that led me up to God, and I want to become like him : for his Christian zeal was constant, without wavering, always laboring, ever cross-bearing. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ■ III I Ill HMIIIIliirB ■ 029 923 645 6 M.