Class. 
 
 L •'(.'v 
 
 Book lUAB 7 
 
DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION SOCIETY, 
 
 BEFORE THAT SOCIETY, 
 
 AND THE '■*'y ^ 
 
 STATE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI, 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF 
 
 ^^en. (Onrutohner ^~u^aadaen^ 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10^, 1805. 
 
 BY NATHANIEL BOWEN, A. M. 
 
 RECTOR OF SAINT MICHAEL^S, 
 
 AND .iMBER. OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE REQUEST OF -KIE^TWO SOCIETIES, 
 
 3X^^-^^,^<E- 
 
 CHARLESTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY W. P. YOUNG, FRANKLINS-HEAD, 
 
 NO. 41, BROAD^STREET. 
 
p^ 
 
 •Gj^ B^J 
 
 
9i ®i0cour0e* 
 
 Mark VI. — Pari of the zoth Verse: 
 HE WAS A JUST MAN^ AND AN HOLY.' 
 
 X O pay the tribute of respect to departed 
 worth, to drop the tear of regret over its tomb, 
 and to demand for it the lasting remembrance of a 
 bereaved and mourning country, is the purpose 
 for which we are now assembled. It is a purpose, 
 which heaven must regard with peculiar appro- 
 bation, whilst it gratifies the heart of piety, and 
 fills the patriot's bosom with exultation. Yes, 
 my friends, ''the God of the Spirits of all Flesh," 
 cannot but receive as an incense, most acceptable 
 to himself, these honors done his faithful and 
 distinguished servant: The friend and advocate 
 of the christian cause, here beholds a testimony 
 in its favour the most grateful to his heart; and 
 patriotism animates her younger sons to glory, 
 by these tokens of the respect, in which the 
 name of their Elder Brother is had, by an af- 
 fectionate and grateful country. 
 
 A 2 Rarely 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 Rarely have we seen funeral honors celebrat- 
 ed, in which the heart bore so large a share^ as 
 in these in which we are now engaged. Rarely 
 have we mourned the death of one, in w^hom all 
 felt so undivided an interest, as in him whose 
 death we have assembled to honor. On that 
 mournful day, on which you followed his lifeless 
 body to the tomb, who does not remember the 
 gloom of sadness spread over every face, and 
 the starting tear suffusing every eye, that be- 
 spoke the sincere regret with which, long as in- 
 dulgent heaven had blessed them with his life, 
 his fond countrymen resigned him to the desroy- 
 er ? Who does not remember the ready zeal with 
 which all, of every rank and age, crowded to 
 pay the last sad honors to the remains of him, 
 in whom every citizen had lost the object of his 
 warmest veneration ; and every parent, the ex- 
 ample of piety, integrity y and p:Hriotisni, to whose 
 imitation he taught his children to aspire ? Who 
 then can wonder, that you should consider your 
 duty unfinished, so long as any thing remained 
 to be done, that might serve to express your lo^^' 
 of his virtues, your gratitude for his sei*v 
 and your sorow for his death. 
 
 It was under such an impression, you orde 
 the solemn exercises which we have met here to 
 perform. In obedience to an authority, which 
 I am bound to respect, I appear, with an humble 
 tribute, to the name of the revered object of 
 your regret. Had not motives, unconnected with 
 any regard to personal qualifications, constrained 
 your choice of the speaker, talents, which, on 
 
 similar 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 similar occasions, you have employed, to poiirtray 
 to you the virtues of the il/mlrinus victims of 
 death, would have done justice to the character. 
 I can only offer the plain dictates of a heart, that, 
 early taught to reverence the deceased, fully 
 participates in every emotion which his removal 
 from the world has caused. 
 
 The general terms of the text, applied to the 
 character of the venerable Baptist, may be found, 
 on a particular consideration of them, to compre- 
 hend every thing which the most partial affection 
 would ascribe to the subject of present eulogium. 
 In order, then, to ascertain the propriety of an 
 application of these terms to the character of 
 him whose death we deplore, it is necessary to 
 consider what they severally imply. 
 
 In the first place, the just man is he, who in 
 all his intercourse with the world, and in the 
 common transactions and pursuits of life, is in- 
 variably upright and sincere. That this v/as a 
 ^^^^.king distinction of General Gadsden, is the 
 mimous sentiment of his fellow citizens. Those 
 his survivors, whose recollection reaches to the 
 ly and most active periods of his life, are ready 
 __ attest the universal confidence which he com- 
 manded. Despising the arts of dissimulation and 
 deceit, to whatever purpose applied, or under 
 whatever profession concealed, he disdained to 
 use any artifice, by which interest might be advanc- 
 ed, or popularity obtained. During the many 
 years, which he devoted to the most industrious 
 and spirited pursuit of business, no one was 
 
 ever 
 
( e ) 
 
 ever heard to whisper a suspicion of his integrity. 
 Frank, ingenuous and liberal in his transactions, all 
 were compelled to confide in him, and none ever 
 found confidence in him misplaced. On every 
 point, in a word, that touched, or seemed to touch 
 integrity and honor, the man lived not who was 
 more scrupulous or more inflexible. In the or- 
 dinary course of affairs, numberless temptations 
 occur to seduce men to forego the obligations of 
 integrity. Opportunities of evading them, not 
 only with impunity, but with high advantage, fre- 
 quently present themselves to him, who is willing 
 to improve them ; and the example of iniquity 
 trii^mphant and prosperous, has sometimes charms 
 too potent for effectual resistance. But none of 
 these temiptations, whatever exertion and self 
 denial they require from others, had any power 
 or any attraction for him. With indignant pride 
 he spurned them; and would have preferred 
 poverty with its bitterest conditions, to any advan- 
 tage he might have gained by the infringement 
 of a fellow creature's right, or the violation of 
 the sanctity of his word. - 
 
 In the next place, the truly just man is he, 
 who, sensible what he owes his fellow-crea- 
 tures in general, and that portion of them in par- 
 ticular, to whom he is allied by the social tie, 
 devotes himself with cheerfulness and assiduity, 
 to the advancement of their happiness and their 
 good. Call not him just, my friends, who has 
 no more to boast, than that, in the common ac- 
 ceptation, he has done wrong to none; or who, 
 possessing the power of usefulness, is satisfied 
 
 with 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 with the negative merit of having done 
 nothing injurious to society. He, who makes 
 his own immediate welfare the great ob- 
 ject of reasonable solicitude, and deems himself 
 at liberty to feel no interest in other's good, is 
 either wretchedly ignorant of the end of his be- 
 ing, or shamefully violates conscious obligations. 
 The great Creator has given no man being, with- 
 out the unalterable law annexed to it, thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself: And he, who, in- 
 sensible to this condition, either regards the ad- 
 vantages which nature, rank or fortune gives 
 him, as designed only to serve the purposes of 
 his own convenience and enjoyment, spends his 
 days in useless inactivity, or in an activity that 
 has personal benefit only for its object, though 
 civil justice can record against him no violation 
 of her laws, yet exhibits a character which nei- 
 ther man can honor, nor God approve. If he 
 has withheld from human necessity, the relief, 
 wliich, in any shape, it was in his power to give, he 
 has withheld from it its reasonable due, ^and' to 
 it has been guilty of injustice. If he has with- 
 held from his country any services, by which he 
 might have promoted its interest, its honor, 
 or its happiness, he has wronged his country^ 
 and is unworthy of its esteem. 
 
 These, you are aware, are sentiments, which 
 early possessed the mind, and always actuated 
 the conduct of the venerable patriot we mourn. 
 Those of my hearers, who followed him the 
 nearest in the path of life, will readily recollect 
 numerous proofs of a generous and energetic 
 
 concern 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 concern for the common interests of humanity^ 
 which every where marked his course. Called, too, 
 by the favouring voice of his country, at an ear- 
 ly period, to scenes of public action, he cheer- 
 fully sacrificed every consideration of private 
 interest or convenience to her desire; and, with 
 an indefatigable assiduity, dedicated his time, 
 his talents, and his affections to her service. 
 The journals of the Cormnnn^ House of Assembly 
 of the Colony, are a faithful record of labours, 
 that justly entitle him to a high rank, among the 
 most virtuous and valuable statesmen of our 
 country. 
 
 The comprehensive view of the character of 
 the just man, under consideration, also exhibits 
 him invincibly resolute, in the pursuit of every 
 object of conscious duty. The ruftis of human 
 nature, exhibit nothing that more strongly attests 
 its original excellency, than the character of him 
 who, superior to discouragement from ideal dif- 
 ficulties, and undaunted in the midst of real ones, 
 with steady firmness, holds the course which 
 conscience bids him to pursue. Humanity, mourn- 
 ing over the disgrace, in which her cause has 
 been involved, by the treacherous timidity of 
 some, and the indiscreet rashness of others of 
 her friends, finds in such a character her present 
 consolation and her future confidence. Equally 
 remote from the pusillanimous dread, and the 
 foolish contempt of danger, the resolution of 
 the just man braves those only that are unavoid- 
 able, and yields not to them till it has lost the 
 power to contend. Of this resolution a few 
 
 illustrious 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 illustrious examples, adorn the history of evefV 
 country, raised up by providence for the ex- 
 ecution, of its grand and beneficent designs. 
 America has produced her full proportion of 
 them. The events of her history demanded the 
 utmost exertion of this ennobling virtue; and 
 heaven richly bles ,ed her with sons, in whom it 
 was found, in a degree equal to her exigencies. 
 Of these, the man, we mourn, was one of the 
 most distinguished. An aversion, natural to a 
 mind virtuous and humane as his, to revolution and 
 the' horrors that attend it, made the amicable 
 adjustment of differences that arose> between the 
 colonists and their sovereign, the object of his 
 anxious wishes and his fervent prayers. But soon as 
 his penetrating mind foresaw, that no concession 
 short of that, of every right of freemen, could con- 
 ciliate the favor of the throne ; convinced that 
 nothing but resistance, and revolt, could rescue 
 his fellow subjects from abject slavery, and that, 
 therefore, they became a duty, which they owed 
 themselves, the honor of human nature and the 
 welfare of posterity, he became their zealous, 
 resolute and persevering advocate. To embolden 
 the timid, to confirm the wavering, to animate 
 the desponding, and produce an unanimous 
 acquiescence in the dreadful necessity of war, was 
 the constant object of labors, from which no 
 opposition, no reproach, no danger, nor ridicule,* 
 B could 
 
 * It is well attested, that no one of the popular leaders, in South- 
 Carolina, labored with more industry and perseverance than General 
 Gadsden, to subdue the strong prejudices that prevailed against 
 making a common caufe with New-England, in oppofition to the arbi- 
 trary 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 could divert him. Behold him, too, through all 
 the varying scenes of that arduous struggle, whose 
 happy issue gave America the high rank she 
 holds among the nations of the earth, v.ith a 
 more than Roman resolution, pursuing the great 
 object of the contest, and exhibiting to the ad- 
 miration of his country and its enemies, an 
 ardent and sanguine spirit, v/hich no danger 
 could intimidate, no misfortune discourage, and 
 no persecution subdue. You, who were cotem- 
 poraries and companions of his toils, know that 
 it was a strong conviction, that the cause in 
 which he was engaged, was " the raus^ of lihe}iy 
 find of huTficninanne,"^ that inspired this resolu- 
 tion. It was reasonably, therefore, the object 
 of your admiration; and so long as virtue is ho- 
 nored, W'iil make his name the boast of her 
 friends, and the ornament of her cause. 
 
 iVnother quality that belongs to the character 
 of the truly just man, is, a (hsi^ihres^eilfuss that 
 scorns to make private benefit the motive to any 
 labors, by which it is in his power to promote 
 the welfare of his fellow-creatures and his coun- 
 try. Pitiful, indeed, are all pretensions to phi- 
 lanthropy and patriotism in him, whom, as the 
 hope of personal advantage only could invite into 
 
 their 
 
 trary and oppressive measures of the Biitish p.'rliament : And he was 
 ably and strenuously advocating the rccr>n;mer.d.ati n of a coijgress of 
 deputies irom the different colonics, to concert such an uniform line of 
 conduct as the season required, when by a respectable member of the 
 assembly it was publicly ridiculed. iSce Ramiaj^i History of the War 
 in South-Car clinay vol. I, page 13. 
 
 * Speech of General Gadsden on his declining to accept the office of 
 governor of the state, in the year 1782. Ram^uiy's History ^ vol. II, 
 page 350. 
 
( n ) 
 
 their service, the disappohitment of that hope 
 will alienate. Yet, alas! how often has their 
 cause been disgraced by such pretenders ? From 
 the numerous instances of this, which every where 
 present themselves to its view ; with what delight 
 do we turn our eye on such an example as is found 
 in the chara61er before us Wliilst the well known 
 benevolence of his nature, justifies the presump- 
 tion that his personal interest and comfort were 
 frequently a secret sacriiice to the demands of in- 
 digence and distress; the disinterestedness of his 
 public services stands attested by facts, that grace 
 the page of the living historian, and which the 
 memory of his fellow-citizens will long cherish 
 with conscious pride. Anxious to avoid even that 
 appf^mafice afevV, that mi ;,ht bring a reproach 
 upon the name of patriotism, he refused to bring 
 any claims against his country, even \!i\z moil rea- 
 sonable and just ; nor would receive any remune- 
 ration * for losses sustained by the ravages of war, 
 nor any compensation for labors in the public 
 service, the most arduous and dangerous.^ Re- 
 gardless of the wreck of his fortune, and the ex- 
 haustion of his private resources, intent only on 
 
 B z the 
 
 * It is worthy to be remembered, that not an indent has ever been 
 seen in the name of General Gadsden. 
 
 + " The indefatigable and persevering General Gadsden undertook 
 the bridge that conneaed SuUivan's-Islan*^, with (he main, what 
 many thought impraaicable, and accomplished it without charg- 
 ing one farthing for his services. The general assembly voted him their 
 thanks. This,'' and the applause of his countrymen, with the heart-felt 
 satisfaaion of promoting a cause to which his whole soul was devofed, 
 was all the reward that distinguished patriot received for the many public 
 services he performed, in securing the liberties, and advancing the happi- 
 sess of his country." Mamsafs History, voUy ^^gQ 130- 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 the success of the common cause, he gloried in 
 forgetting that he had any interest separate from 
 that of his suffering country. As he had refused 
 to derive from his labors, in the public service, 
 any pecuniary emolument, so neither would* he 
 accept any honors designed as an expression of the 
 gratitude and affection of his fellow-citizens ; ex- 
 hibiting at the close of a political life, replete 
 with usefulness and glory, an example of disinter- 
 ested and unambitious patriotism, which in the best 
 ages of antiquity, the beft men that lived would 
 have deemed worthy to be had in immortal honor. 
 
 Lastly, the really just man is he, who will suffer 
 neither prejudice, passion, nor personal or party 
 animosity, to interfere with the claims of hu- 
 manity, or to divert him from the course of 
 conscious rectitude. The poison of passion, 
 often infusing itself into a system of generous 
 action, mars its beauty, and robs it of its glory. 
 How often, as we trace the course of the enlighten- 
 ed statesman, are we forced to pause and weep over 
 the frailty of human nature ! How often does the 
 man, high in the confidence of his country, for- 
 get its interest and honor, in pursuit of the 
 
 ignoble 
 
 * Anxious to express their sense of the value of his services, and 
 strongly confiding in his political abilities and integrity, the Legislature 
 elected him in 1782, to the office of chief magistrate. Although he 
 was, at that period, upwards of 58 years of age, yet so little appearance 
 was there of decay upon him, that no one, except himself, suspect- 
 ed that he was in any degree incapable of executing this high and 
 arduous trust, with honor to himself, and with advantage to the state. 
 He, however, was too diffident of himself, to admit, that at so advanc- 
 ed a period of life, and under the circumstances which then existed, he 
 could administer the office well ; and he was too true a patriot to be 
 
 willing 
 
( IS ) 
 
 ignoble purposes of the partisan ! A magnanimous 
 superiority to all such iniirmity as this, was the 
 rare glory of him, whom we are endeavouring 
 to honor. His mind, by nature formed for great- 
 ness, early assumed an elevation, from which it 
 was never known to descend. He was too just 
 for prejudice, too good for hatred, and too gene- 
 rous for revenge. That period of trial, which so 
 fully proved the other excellencies of his charac- 
 ter, oave occasion for a o^iorious attestation of 
 this. When, inflamed by protracted suffering, 
 and that scene of outrage and inhumanity which 
 their country every where exhibited, his fellow- 
 citizens were proceeding to the persecution and 
 ruin of those enemies of the revolution, who 
 were in their power, regardless of reproach, and 
 unmoved by insult^^ he strenuously endeavoured 
 to arrest the progress of a measure, which, in 
 his view, justice, humanity, and the dignity of 
 the cause forbad. Common minds, incapable of 
 comprehending views like his, knew not how to 
 
 reconcile 
 
 willing that his fellow.citixens should honor him, as he supposed, at 
 the hazard of their interests. He, therefore, declined the office. Had 
 it been possible to suspect him of being governed on this occasion, by 
 any other than the most pure and patriotic principles, his subsequent 
 conduct would have put the suspicion utterly to shame ; for, in an infe- 
 rior station, and in every manner in which he felr that he cculd promote 
 the public weal, he still continued active and indefatigable ; nor relaxed 
 his labours, till the return of peacTe dismissed him into retirement, ac- 
 companied by the affections, and loaded with the blessings of a grateful 
 and ad niring country. 
 
 * Notwithstanding the bitter persecution General Gadsden had suf- 
 fered from the enemies of American liberty, and the immense loss of 
 property he sustained, he warmly opposed the law that was brought in, 
 during the Session of the Legislature at Jack&onborough, in 1782, for 
 
 confiscating 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 reconcile this conduct with sincere and zealous 
 patriotism ; whilst those^ with whom his patrio- 
 tism was as indubitable as his existence, acknow- 
 ledged its greatness/ and wished they could par- 
 take it. 
 
 Having laid before you the several points of 
 viev7, in which the first epithet in the text may 
 be applied to the character of the deceased^ we 
 have now to consider that of ''an holi/," with a 
 similar application. Here you have, doubtless, 
 anticipated the remark, that if by this expression 
 is to be understood religious principle in general, 
 it is the necessary concomitant of those properties 
 of character we have been contemplating. For, 
 in the fallen, corrupt, and frail condition of our 
 nature, virtue so pure, so firm, so exalted, and un- 
 der every varied aspect of circumstances, so im- 
 moveably true to its purpose, could not but be the 
 produce of the seeds of true religion early sown, 
 and by diligent and constant cultivation, tho- 
 roughly matured in the heart. But take what 
 particular view we will, of the character of holi- 
 ness, we shall find ourselves abundantly justified 
 in the use we are making of its name. For^ 
 
 If he is to be accounted holy, who, by diligent 
 and faithful investigation, has attained a strong 
 and animated belief in the revealed dispensations 
 of his maker, our lamented friend, in this view, 
 
 most 
 
 confiscating the estates of the adherents to the British Government; 
 This conduct, great and generous as it was, provoked the indignation of 
 some ; and a letter, couched in the most opprobiious terms, was found 
 under his chair. 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 most justly claims the character. A mind inqui- 
 sitive and scrutinizing like his, could not rest sa- 
 tisfied in ignorance of the origin and the end of 
 human existence. Without some other know- 
 ledge of these, than tlie light of nature could 
 afford, he considered the life of man as ail a 
 gloomy scene of ignorance and woe. In the 
 volume, therefore, that professed to record the 
 instructions which heaven had, in compassion, 
 given for the direction of its weak and erring 
 creatures into the way of truth and peace, he 
 earnestly sought the knowledge of himself is 
 There, to his full satisfaction, he discovered that 
 he was the creature of a God infinite in power, 
 in wisdom, and in goodness, placed a probation- 
 er for eternity, upon earth: There he no less 
 clearly saw, that though a corrupt, sinful and re- 
 bellious creature, in the mercy of God there was 
 '' plenteous redemption'' from the merited con- 
 sequences of disobedience : There a gracious in- 
 tercessor with the father stood confessed to his 
 view, sent into the world to proclaim the blessed 
 tidings of '' peare on earth, and good will to men ;" 
 fully convinced that " God so loved the world, 
 '' that he gave his only begotten son, to the end, 
 '' that whosoever should believe in him shouhl not 
 '' perish, but have everlasting life." And there he 
 saw the gates of immortality opened, and the 
 ascended saviour of the world, waiting, with 
 open arms, to receive to the blest mansions of his 
 father's house, all those, who, by faith and pa- 
 tience, by love unfeigned, and perseverance to 
 the end, should be entitled to inherit the pro- 
 mises he had given. 
 
 % 
 
( ^0 ) 
 
 If, in the next place, he is the holy man, 
 who, habitually repo ing a firm and tranquil tru t 
 in the providence of his God, humbly adores 
 his wiiidom and his goodness in every event of the 
 world, and in every incident of his life, this 
 man wa^ eminently holy. Who, that knew him, 
 did not honor and admire in him the power of 
 this excellent and amiable principle? Whom, 
 of his fellow-citizens, has not his example ani- 
 mated, in sea ons of calamity and distress, to 
 endure with equanimity, the ills which heaven 
 had dispensed? In his prosperity, he delighted, 
 with glowing gratitude, to acknowledge the 
 hand of God's undeserved goodness ; and under 
 the heaviest pressure of adversity, '' it is the 
 *' Lardy ht Jinn do what ^eemeth to him good'.'* 
 " SJiall we receive good at the hands of God, and 
 '' shall we nd receive evil?'' was the uniform lan- 
 guage of his humble and pious heart. To mur- 
 mur at the ills of life, was, in his estimation, 
 the extreme of impiety. For it was his strong 
 persuasion, that they were parts of a system of 
 divine moral government, the mo t just, wise 
 and good; sometimes designed for the chastise- 
 ment of sin, sometimes for the trial and improve- 
 of human virtue, and always for the advance- 
 ment of man's highest interest, and as his prepa- 
 ration for eternity. 
 
 A mind, thus armed, was prepared for every 
 ''fight of afflictions'' to which it might be ex- 
 posed. Even, therefore, amidst the sufferings of 
 
 an 
 
( i7 ) 
 
 an ignominious and crueF exile from his country, 
 this principle imparted to hk deportment a 
 composed and cheerful dignity, ^hich e\en his 
 persecutors were compelled to admire and revere. 
 Convinced that alike in the midst of enemies, as 
 of friends, alike ttiQ '' captive exile' m his cell, 
 as the leader of the councils of his country, alike 
 in hourly danger of death, as in the' day of 
 fearless security, he still was ''s.ife in the himds 
 ''of one disposing power' tranquility reigned in 
 his soul, and content sat smiling on his brow. A 
 long and merciless confinement, incurred under a 
 charge, as disingenuous as it was false, would 
 have broken a spirit less strong in conscious 
 integrity, and less capable every where of hoidino- 
 sweet communion with its God. But he, in- 
 capable of dejection by any weight of sulferinc^s 
 that could be heaped upon him, cheerfully employ- 
 ed the time in religious study and meditation, and 
 
 in the acquisition of useful knowledo-e 
 
 t> * 
 
 If, further we consider habitual and sincere 
 
 devotion, as constituting the holy man, in this 
 
 view, he was unquestionably entitled to the 
 
 character. Each opening day witnessed the fervent 
 
 ^ effusions 
 
 In 1780 General Gadsden, then Lieutenant Governor of the state, 
 with many other respectable and distinguished promoters of the 
 Amencancm^t were banished from Charleston, by order of Lord 
 Cornwalhsto^^ Augustine, on a false and unfounded charge, of having 
 vio ated their paroles, «. prisoners. Sternly indignant, at this base and 
 baroarous treatment, General Gadsden preferred imprisonment to the 
 privileges of parole, at the hands of men who had been guihy of so 
 unprincipled a breach of their engagements. He was, accordingly, closely 
 conhned, for more than ten months, in the Castle of St. Augustine; 
 ^rmg which time he was laboriously employed in the study of the 
 ilebrew, the Synac and the Arabiclanguages. 
 
( 1« ) 
 
 effusions of his soul to heaven, for its preserva- 
 tion ; and " tJie lifting up of his hands zvus an 
 " evening sacrifice to the JLoid." Constant in his 
 attendance on the public offices of worship, it 
 was impossible for any one, who saw him there, 
 to doubt the sincerity of his devotion. So much 
 was there in his aspect and his gesture, that be- 
 spoke the sincerest humility, and contrition, the 
 warmest gratitude, for the blessings of Divine 
 Providence, andgrace, and the fervent suppliant fcr 
 their continuance, that levity stood awed by his 
 example, and infidelity wished it could change 
 its character for his. 
 
 But if, in the last place, you can consider him 
 only^ entitled to the name of holy, who proves 
 the sincerity of religious professions, by a de- 
 portment in 'all the walks of life, and a temper 
 of mind, in the prospect of death, corresponding 
 with them, behold here the man, from whom, 
 it is impossible to withhold it. I am confident, 
 I hazard nothing by the observation, that free as 
 he was from all religious ostentation, no one 
 could be acquainted with him, in the ordinary 
 intercourse of life, and not be convinced that he 
 was under the strong and effectual influence of 
 Christian principles. In every situation, in which 
 he could be placed, every word and every action, 
 bespoke the sincere, the humble, the benevolent 
 and the pious christian. In private life, the 
 characters of husband, father, friend and master, 
 were seldom exhibited in a higher degree of ex- 
 cellency than in him ; and in social and public life, 
 I have already endeavoured to shew you in his 
 
 character 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 character, an assiduous, resolute, disinteresred 
 and magnanimous integrity, at once the offsprin ■ 
 and the evidence of the faith which he professed. 
 
 That the temper of his mind, in 'the contem- 
 plation of death, was no less conformable to 
 the profession, which, as a Christian, he had 
 worn, all wno were conversant with him in pri- 
 vate will attest. Few men ever considered 
 death, with more complete satisfaction, than he 
 
 Jf ^'l'^?' " ""^y ''^ '''^^'^' '^o'l'd this pro- 
 ceed, Had he committed no transgression of 
 heaven's perfect law? Yes ! like others he had 
 sinned : but deep and sincere repentance, earn- 
 est endeavors after holiness, and reliance upon 
 the Divine mercy, through the merits of a Sa- 
 viour s blood poured out upon the cross, had .ri- 
 ven him reason to hope that his offences were 
 blotted from the book of Divine remembrance. 
 T^ ''f^^\=^"«' the grave, no terrors for him ? 
 
 Jt% 1 r7 r "PP"^ °^ ^" their terrors by 
 the firm belief of a resurrection from the ruini 
 pi the grave to life and glory incorruptible and 
 
 Zm h • . ""' r " «'^^ '^"^ "° <=«"--' that he 
 InTttl *«™ fro™ possessions, kindred, friends, 
 and all the xond endearments of life ? His hopes 
 were fixed on far more durable possessions await- 
 ing him whither he was going : on the society of 
 J^indred and friends, from whom he could never 
 again oe severed, and on those joys which are re- 
 served for the faithful, at the nJht of God, for- 
 evermore, t^ j ^ j^r 
 
 Such, then, my friends, was the man whom. 
 Jiving, you delighted to honor, and whom you 
 ^ - mourn. 
 
( ^0 ) 
 
 • r:one down to the silent mansions of the 
 ^' • (lyLOL J u'it and reasonable is your sorrow on this 
 /'dJiPnon. For, long as heaven had, in kindness 
 to hi > country, protracted his summons from the 
 \\( !d ; though his age had exceeded the period 
 r .\]h: .jllotted to man, and J] ad come to four- 
 rs, yet was his life, then, full of useful- 
 ness and worth. At any period, indeed, the 
 death of that man is too early for the world, 
 who, exhibiting in his character an example of 
 every ennobling and venerable excellence, is 
 the object of universal admiration and respect * 
 Such was he, who, from among us, has been 
 gathered in peace unto his fathers. Though, in 
 retirement, the lustre of his character was not 
 extinguished, and it could not be hid ; but, pen- 
 etrating through the shades of his retirement, 
 continued to cheer and to delight his country. 
 
 Whilst, however, as patriots, you mourn over 
 the grave of your aged brother, you will not 
 forget, as christians, the duty of silent and hum- 
 ble submission to the will of that being, in 
 whose hands are the " issues of life and death,'* 
 and by whom all things in heaven and in earth 
 are ordered. In humble gratitude, that a life 
 you so highly prized, was so long defended from 
 • the stroke of the great destroyer, you will feel 
 it to be your duty to consider how the blessing 
 is to be improved. You w^ill make the remem- 
 brance 
 
 * Non cani, non rugae repente auctoritatem arripere possunt ; sed 
 honeste acta superior dEtas fructus, capit auctoritatis extremes. 
 
 Cicero de Senectute, 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 brance of his virtues your delight, and their im- 
 itation the object of fond solicitude. Anxious 
 that the memory of such a man, should not pass 
 away with the tide of time, that is sweepmg 
 your o-eneration into the ocean of eternity, you 
 will teach your children, and bid them teach 
 theirs, to love and to revere his name. Sensible 
 that the names of such men, are the best bul- 
 wark of a country's liberties and peace, you will 
 mak#it the object of your fervent prayers to 
 heaven, that it would not leave you comfortless 
 by their death; but prolong their succession so 
 long as the name of america shall endure. And, 
 finally having with the eye of faith, traced your 
 beloved and lamented dead, to that heavenly 
 world which Christ has opened to mortal view, 
 you will make it your duty, with unceasing ar- 
 dor and perseverance, to follow them through 
 the patlis they trod, to the glory that awaits the 
 just beyond the skies. 
 
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