r bli:,,:'~i
iiliflffrlil;
ii.II
-ii~'~ --
~.l:ttl;;. E.
tb "
i.l i
jlli
i'aerss I::;ii
658
/ijI
f!
1-; I1 iI
I I'
j'j: 1
II
IRRU',~ h'~








MEMOIRS
OF
JOHN FREDERICK OBERLIN,
PASTOR OF WALDBAOH, IN THE BAN DE LA ROCHE.
COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES,
CHIEFLY FRENCH AND GERMAN.
WITH A DEDICATION AND TRANSLATIONS,
BY REV. LUTHER HALSEY.
NEW  YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,
No. 530 BROADWAY.
1857.








DEDICATION.
O MY YOUNGER BRETHREN IN THE MINISTRY OF
THE GOSPEL.
I COULD wish that we might ever set up as our model,
the ministerial character of our blessed Lord and the
Apostles. The more closely these are studied and copied,
the more perfect and effective will be our ministry. Yet
when their history is read, as there was so much that
was peculiar and extraordinary, we are not enough inclined to contemplate them as models for present ministerial character. But when a successful pastor of modern
times is exhibited, we feel that we are contemplating " a
man of like passions with ourselves," whose example is
imitable-that, in like circumstances, what he has done,
we may accomplish. This disposition to admit the claims
of modern examples, has induced me to desire that the
Memoirs of Pastor OBERLIN should be republished, and
thus find their way to the study and heart of American
pastors.  One thing, belonging to these memoirs, is
adapted to render them signally useful beyond most other
pieces of clerical biography. While in their subjects
there is often a splendor of genius, a fortunate combination of circumstances, or some peculiarity in the direction of Christian exertion, which, not belonging to us,
therefore discourages or forbids competition —we feel
that we are not fairly matched by nature or circumstances,
and are excused from  similar success. But the subject of this memoir is one that comes down to " the business and bosom" of every pastor. Here we see no peculiar grandeur of intellect or acquirement-no proppings
of unusual circumstance to sustain him; but a pious,
humble, unattended pastor, with whose intellect and attainments we feel some fellowship, entering on a field, as
humble, as arduous, as unpromising as ours; yet, in the




iv                   DEDICATION.
exercise of such resources as we may command, trans
forming a wilderness into a garden of the Lord. Memoirs like this, instead of discouraging, make the reader
conscious of new powers, diminish the influence of impediments, and strengthen the hope of success in our
own field of moral effort. The mind that does not rise
from this memoir excited and mightier for God, has a
heartlessness and apathy none will covet. Among the
peculiar benefits derived from this memoir, I may mention
the idea the reader will receive,
First, Of the comprehensiveness of the ministerial
office. Too commonly this office is restricted to the mere
business of preaching, and administering the sacraments.
These are indeed divinely appointed and important; but
even these lose much of their efficacy without the aid of
external circumstances.  The early Apostle, when he
rose to preach, was attended by that interesting recommendation as " a man of God," the wondrous miracles he
wrought.  This collateral qualification gave impressiveness to his address.  When the modern Apostle would
preach with due impressiveness, he too needs the collateral aid derived from the character of " a man of God."
This character cannot be furnished by miracle-that has
ceased; nor by apostolical succession-that requires
proofs; but, his character as a man of God must be
evinced by those " fruits of the Spirit," the purity, the
benevolence, the usefulness of his life. The preaching
that is carried home by such collateral aid, will and must
be heard.  Such a pastor, whose active  benevolence
reaches the necessities of young and old, the ignorant,
unskilful, sick, poor, and friendless, "with a godliness
that is profitable unto all things," will interest the cold
and careless, silence the penurious and gain-saying, and
triumph over all opposition to the kingdom of our Lord.
Such a pastor was Oberlin. Such, required at all times
and places, are peculiarly necessary to our country
Ours are a people that move not in the dull, mill-horse
circle of prescription; they think, judge and act for
themselves. Enterprising, laborious, jealous, and calculating, they will judge of ministers by their character, of
character by its worth. We must therefore prove ourselves warth something to society. It is not enough that




DEDICATION.                     V
we are officially sacred and negatively good-we must
be vigilantly, actively, efficiently, universally and constantly, the benefactors of our race. This is the genius
of Christianity. Such was our blesseo Lord, not a mere
preacher, but one that "went about continually doing
good."  Such is the very law of our profession-" whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things." [Phil. 4: 8.]
A second lesson of value, furnished by these memoirs,
is, the striking exhibition they give, that a parish, no
matter how obscure, ignorant and poor, contains work and
reward sufficient for a Christian pastor. Such parishes
none should despise. Let them  rather be coveted by
those men who, possessed of the benevolent heroism of
Paul, desire not to " build on another man's foundation."
The post of hardship is the post of honor among enterprising and patriotic soldiers-why not among the servants of Christ, " who war a good warfare?" Every inch
of Satan's empire in this world has been given by grant
to our Redeemer, and must be gained to him  by the
moral energies of his people. If it must be gained by
some, why not by us? Think not that duty calls us only
to work the cultivated field, when the "wilderness and
solitary place might be made glad."  Not only is this' covenant of promise" for our encouragement, but the
history of Stouber and Oberlin evinces, that a parish secluded, rough, barbarous and poor, furnishes scope for
all the piety, talents, and attainments of a pastor; all the
Christian co-operation and aid of his family and friends;
is compatible with the moral and intellectual improvement of his children; is adequate to his and their support; admits of the purest and warmest friendships that
can cheer us in our pilgrimage, and the attainment of a
reputation and influence by which a man may reach to
distant countries and bless the world. The name, example, and work of Oberlin will live, when a hundred
pastors of Strasbourg and Vienna, Lyons and Paris, will
be forgotten!
A 2




vi                DEDICATION.
A third important lesson will be strikingly exhibited
in these memoirs: that the religious state and improvement of a parish are much dependent on physical circumstances. Unskilful husbandry, neglect of mechanic arts,
badness of the roads, (beside rendering the people subject
to want and famine,) prevent religious and kindly intercourse, render them  incapable of sustaining schools,
reading and procuring the law of the Lord, supporting
and enjoying the means of grace, and by sharing their
substance to the family of Christ, growing in the sentiments of Christian benevolence. The politician will
therefore study to improve the resources of a country
from motives of political economy; the minister of the
gospel will engage in this work, because it is indispensable to moral happiness and improvement in the kingdom
of the Lord on earth. Not to concern ourselves in the
physical and intellectual advancement of our people,
evinces a want of philanthropy, or of enlargedness of
mind to comprehend the providential government of God.
It is just that we should suffer for our imbecility or
apathy. Let us know, and feel, and attempt our duty,
watching, however, as to motives, "that whatever we do,
all is done for the glory of God."
A fourth lesson, strongly impressed by these memoirs,
is, the true philosophy of laboring constantly and mainly
for the young. Supported by the aged, finding them our
companions, and addressing their understandings from
the desk, there is a tendency to overlook the youth.
Hence the fact, that notwithstanding constant and labored
preaching, so many congregations are stationary or even
retrograding. The lambs are the future flock, and the
Master's charge is, "feed my lambs."  He accepted and
defended the " hosannas" of the children in the temple.
He vindicated their claim to his regard when apostles
opposed, and left to his church this solemn and ever-bind.
ing declaration, " Suffer them to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."In childhood the character of the man is forming. Then
the sensibilities are most impressible, the memory most
tenacious, and mind most wakeful, active, and avaricious
of improvement. Then time for moral and intellectual
cultivation is most in their power. Years will soon bring




DEDICATION.                    Vii
with them cares and embarrassments, so that they will
be no longer masters of their time or of themselves. WVe
might be instructed by the enemies of truth and righteousness. How soon do they begin the policy of error
and destruction! As soon as a passion can be kindled,
or a prejudice against the truth excited, the young are
appealed to, and engaged. Let us, then, make the youth
of our congregations the objects of constant regard,
labor, and prayer, that they may " remember their Creator in the days of their youth," and form the noblest
characters for time and for eternity. Thus will our
labors be most rewarded by the constant advance of intelligence, industry, and moral feeling, not only among
the young, but among the aged who will be influenced
by the improvement; and when the days of feebleness
shall come upon us, we and our work will be sustained
by the piety, intelligence, activity, and filial affection of
the young.
Afifth lesson from the history of Oberlin is, that our
own disinterestedness and usefulness will be the best security for our support-a security that will triumph over'every revolution and disaster. The retaliatory principle
in human nature, is applied to virtue as well as vice.
" With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to
you again."  When the pastor himself exhibits a generous spirit, and though his resources be small, yet freely
shares them for another's good, the people, while they
yield more to the influence of his precepts, from this evidence of their sincerity, are by natural justice apt to reward the kindness he has bestowed. In reference to the
administration of Providence, the principle is the same.
The man that trusts in the Lord, and does good with a
self-denying spirit, shall verily be fed. While the man
that " liveth to himself," is often left of God to mourn
the loss of property and influence, as well as find in man
a stinted charity in the hour of calamity. The life of
Oberlin had been one of self-denial, liberality and usefulness; and in the time of his changes and privations, his
people were prompt and faithful to share their morsel
with their kind and valuable pastor.-But I have already
detained you too long from the pleasure and profit of the
volume I introduce, which was, in the Providence c' God




Viii              DEDICATION.
compiled by an English author from  unquestionable
documents, for the very purpose of carrying on the valuable schools which Oberlin began. May the blessed
Lord whom we serve, make us fruitful, " always abound.
ing in the work of the Lord." This is His will, and the
sincere prayer of
Your brother
In the Gospel and hope of Jesus,
LUTHER HALSEY
Western Theological Seminary,
October, 1830.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary remarks-Account of the Ban de la Roche-Its state
previous to M. Stouber's time-Stouber's exertions there. P. 11.
CHAPTER II.
Oberlin's birth and childhood-Instances of his early benevolence
-His act of self-dedication-Influence over others-Arrival in
the Ban de la Roche....................................  24
CHAPTER III.
Oberlin's first impressions on reaching Waldbach-State of the
parish-Improvements needed-Opposition manifested by the
peasantry-Correspondence with M. Stouber-Letters from the
latter-His marriage,! and prayer-Improvements in the condition of the roads-Agricultural improvements, &c........ 40
CHAPTER IV.
Oberlin's address to his parishioners on the commencement of a
new year-Erection of a new school-house in the Ban de la
Roche-Progress of civilization-Four other school-houses
erected-Introduction of infant schools, under the care of conductrices-Public schools-Weekly assembling of the children
at Waldbach, to receive religious instruction-Establishment
of a circulating library-Almanac-Christian Society established in 1782-Abrogation of that Society................ 70
CHAPTER V.
Death of Mrs. Oberlin-Its effect upon Oberlin's mind-Louisa
Schepler becomes his housekeeper-Letter from the latterLetter, taken from a German Magazine printed at Tubingen.
containing an account of Oberlin and his family, in the year
1793-Death of his eldest son Frederic..................... 93
CHAPTER VI.
Unmolested state of the Ban de la Roche during the period of the
Revolution-Oberlin's generous renunciation of his own interests for the sake of his parishioners-His school for the children of foreigners-His sentiments respecting the payment of
tithes-Letter containing a plan for their disbursement-Purchase of assignats-His influence in exciting a spirit of Christian charity among his people-Account of Sophia Bernard,
&c.-Oberlin becomes a correspondent of the British and Foreign Bible Society-Letters addressed by him to members of the
London committee-Mode of collecting subscriptions and donations for charitable purposes, in the Ban de la Roche-Letter
to his scholars........................................ 109




10                      CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Henry Oberlin's removal to Riga-His sister Henrietta's mar.
riage-Their return to Waldbach-Letter from Oberlin to P. J.
Heisch, Esq.-Letter from Henry Oberlin to ditto-Mr. Legrand's
settlement in the Ban de la Roche-Introduction of cotton
spinning; silk ribbon manufactory, &c.-Termination of a
long impending law-suit-Henry Oberlin's death-His father's
resignation on that occasion, displayed in a letter to Mr.
Heisch................................................... 140
CHAPTER VIII.
Medal presented to Oberlin by the Royal Agricultural Society of
Paris-Oberlin's private character-His description of himself
-Mr. Owen's letter, containing an account of a Ban de la
Roche Sabbath-Oberlin's ministry-Sermons- Ministerial
labors, &c.-His paternal influence over his flock-Questions
addressed to his parishioners-Circulars.................. 157
CHAPTER IX.
Oberlin's pastoral visits-Interview between Dr. and Mrs. Steinkopff, and the Conductrices of Bellefosse-Their visit to the
cottage of Madeleine Kruger; also to that of Sophia BernardLetter written by Mrs. C. during a visit to the Ban de la Roche
in the summer of 1820-Letter from Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris
Bible Society, containing an account of the death of Sophia
Bernard, &c.-Amount of the sums raised at different times in
Waldbach, in support of various charitable institutions... 206
CHAPTER X.
Oberlin's last illness and death-Letter respecting Louisa Schepler, found after his decease-His funeral-Prayer delivered on
that occasion-Fragments of an address to his parishionersConclusion.................................       225




MEMOIRS
OF
JOHN FREDERICK OBERLIN.
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary remarks-Account of the Ban de la RocheIts state previous to M. Stouber's time-Stoulr's exer.
tions there.
THE memoirs of an individual, whose whole
life has been devoted to pious and disinterested
exertions for the temporal and spiritual good of
mankind, have not unfrequently proved the means
of awakening the desires, and strengthening the
resolutions of others to follow him in his career
of benevolence.
Such an individual was JOHN  FREDERICK
OBERLIN, a person whose indefatigable efforts
for upwards of fifty years, to benefit the simple
villagers who constituted his flock, entitle him
to universal esteem and admiration. The writer
earnestly hopes that the recital of his labors may,
under the divine blessing, tend to confirm the
zealous and encourage the weak, and lead all
who hear it to catch a portion of that sacred
glow by which he was himself animated.
His character, as displayed in the uniform
tenor of his life, presented a remarkable combination of varied excellencies; for whilst much
exalted sanctity and intrepid zeal were conspicuous, an unwearied ardor in loing good, and an




12          IMEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
habitual willingness to renounce his own interests to promote the well-being of his fellow-reatures, were equally evident. In addition to
this, his extreme simplicity, conscientious integrity, sweetness of temper, and refinement of
manner, caused him to be both ardently loved
and sincerely revered; whilst his industry, his
agricultural skill, his knowledge of rural and
domestic economy, and the energy with which
he carried his plans into effect the moment he
was convinced of their utility, rendered him not
only an example but a blessing to the people
among whom he resided, and afforded a delightful proof of the advantages that may accrue from
a union of secular and spiritual duties.
Before I proceed with my narrative, it will be
proper to present the reader with some description of the Ban de la Roche, the scene of Oberlin's long and useful labors, and to state what
had been previously effected there by his predecessor, M. Stouber, a Lutheran minister of
congenial spirit with himself.
The Ban de la Roche, or Steinthal,* derives
its name from a castle called La Roche, round
which the Ban, or district, extends.  It is a
mountainous canton in the north-east of France,
between Alsace and Lorrain, forming part of the
declivities and western ramifications of the Haut
Champ, or Champ de Feu, an isolated range of
mountains, detached by a deep valley from th
eastern boundary of the chain of the Vosges. It
consists of two parishes: the one is Rothau; the
*Steinthal is the German name for the Ban de la
Roche. Its literal signification is the Valley of Stone.
-DR. STEINKOPFF.




BAN DE LA ROCHE.              13
other, including three churches, comprises the
five hamlets of Foudai, Belmont, Waldbach,
Bellefonte, and Zolbach.'These last mentioned
are almost exclusively inhabited by Lutherans.
The Champ de Feu, as its name implies, bears
traces of volcanic origin. It is higher than
Snowdon, rising 3600 feet above the level of
the sea. The village of Waldbach, at which
Oberlin resided on account of its central situation, stands upon its acclivity, at the height of
1800 feet; and the usual road from Strasbourg
thither lies through the towns of Molsheim,
Mutzig, and Schirmeck. Behind the little town
of Schirmeck the extensive and fertile valley
in which it is situated, separates into two
smaller ones: the well-wooded vale of Framont
on the right, and that of the Ban de la Roche,
of which Rothau is the first and principal parish,
on the left. The approach to the latter place
is romantic in the extreme; the road winding
down the side of a steep precipice towards the
southern side of the valley, where, after crossing the stream, which flows through its bottom
in the character of a mountain torrent, it rises
again, and the cottages of the peasantry become
visible, partly embosomed in plantations of pine,
and beneath immense masses of overhanging
rocks.*
The mountains of the Ban de la Roche are composed
of granite, porphyry, and argillaceous schistus, which are
commonly even with their convex surface: sienite, trapp,
and grundstein, projecting on the sides and summits in
irregular columns, and pointed cliffs, appear originally to
have formed the general covering.
These rocks exhibit great variety in their grain and
constituent parts. The granite, which is coarse, and less
B




14          iMIEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
The hamlet of Foudoi, at the distance of
two miles from Rothau, is next in course, and
occupies an almost equally picturesque situation.  It is succeeded  by  Walbach, whose
tapering spire and straw-thatched cottages are
surrounded  by orchards of pear and  cherry
trees, and by the intermingled foliage of the
alder, the ash, and the sallow. The temperature  varies  extremely, according  to  the
height and position of the districts. On the
summits of the mountains, for instance, the
climate is as intensely cold as at Petersburgh
though in the valleys below it is so soft and
delightful as to resemble that of Geneva, and
parts of the Jura. The winter months generally
commence in September, and the snow usually
remains undissolved till the following May or
June, when the wind blows from  the south,
thus leaving only a period  of four or five
months for summer weather.  The produce of
the canton necessarily varies with the elevation of the several communes; the highest are
cultivated notwithstanding, though to so little
purpose, that it is said the wife can carry home
in her apron all the hay her husband has mown
in a long morning.  The  harvest differs in
time as well as in quantity.  At Fouda, it is
compact towards the base of the mountains, presents the
fineness of marble about 2500 feet above the valley; in
these regions it is also found without quartz, taking the
appearance of sienite or granite, according to the arrange.
ment of the mica and feldspar.-WILKS.
For further particulars relating to the topography of
this district, See Propositions Geologiques pour servir, &c.
Par H'  Berlin, Doct. en Medicine. 8vo. Strasbourg
1806




BAN DE LA ROCHE.            1
about a week later, and at Waldbach a fortnight
later, than at Rothau, which is about 400 feet
below.
The district of the Ban de la Roche comprises about nine thousand acres (of 48,000
French feet), between three and four thousand
of which are covered with wood, two thousand
are occupied with pasture, one thousand five
hundred are employed in meadows or garden
land, and the remaining fifteen hundred only
are cultivated with the plow.*
In the reign of Louis XV. the whole of this
territory was in a most desolate state; for having been partially the seat of conflict during
the thirty years' war (terminated in 1648,) and
again in the time of Louis XIV. it was so laid
waste as to be scarcely habitable, there being
no road from one place to another, and but little
land under cultivation.  About eighty or a
hundred families earned indeed a scanty subsistence on its precarious soil, but, being destitute of all the comforts of civilized life, they
existed in a state of misery and degradation,
more easily conceived than described.
This remote district partook, however, with
the rest of Alsace, in a privilege denied to the
ancient French provinces. When it was incor.
porated with France, it was stipulated in the
decree that its inhabitants should continue to
enjoy the entire liberty of conscience: and
whilst the persecuted Protestants of Languedoc,
and other parts of France, could not find a sufficiently setcure retreat for the celebration of
* 4 or 500 potatoes, 600 rye, 4 or 500 oats-1500.




16          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
their worship, here they possessed their own.
churches, and no restraint was laid upon their
religious assemblies.
When M. Stouber, therefore, (who has been
already mentioned as the predecessor of Oberlin,) entered upon his ministerial duties, in
1750, he had not to proclaim the " glad tidings
of salvation" in the midst of intolerance and
persecution, nor had he to apprehend any danger
from the subtleties of theological controversy
on the part of a people almost entirely destitute of the means of religious instruction.
Many difficulties, however, stood in his way,
in consequence of the deplorable ignorance
and extreme wretchedness that universally prevailed-difficulties that would have baffled the
endeavors of a mind less ardent and less-energetic than his own.
The following anecdote will convey some
idea of the state of the parish on his first arrivai
there. Desiring to be shown the principal
school-house, he was conducted into a miserable cottage, where a number of children were
crowded together without any occupation, and
in so wild and noisy a state that it was with
some difficulty he could gain any reply to his
inquiries for the master.
" There he is," said one of them, as soon as
silence could be obtained, pointing to a withered old man, who lay on a little bed in one
corner of the apartment.
" Are you the schoolmaster, my good friend?"
inquired Stouber.
" Yes, Sir."
"And what do you teach the children?"




STOUBER'S EXERTIONS.           17
"Nothing, Sir."
"Nothing — how is that?"
"Because,  replied the old man, with characteristic simplicity, " I know nothing myself."
" Why then were you  instituted  schoolmaster?"
" Why, Sir, I had been taking care of the
Waldbach pigs for a great number of years,
and when I got too old and infirm for that employment they sent me here to take care of the
children."
The schools in the other villages were of a
similar description; for, if the schoolmasters
were not swine-herds, they were shepherds,
who, in the summer, followed their flocks over
the mountains, and, during the winter months,
imparted to their little pupils the knowledge
they possessed. This, however, was so trifling
that many of them were scarcely able to read
with fluency, and very few could write at all.
A total want of method in teaching and of elementary books, also raised additional hindrances
to the learners. If shown the commencement
of a chapter in the Bible, it is reported of them
that they could seldom find the end of the preceding chapter, and that even the most accomplished of the masters found it difficult to collect the sense of what he was reading, and
would allow the children to say Jesus for Je
suis, canaille for canal, or to make other mis.
takes equally egregious, without being aware of
the error.
Stouber's first step, therefore, was to procure
some schoolmasters willing to  perform, and
competent to discharge, the duties of their
B 2




18         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
station.  This was no easy task, for the office
had sunk into contempt, and the more respectable of the inhabitants, regarding it as a disreputable trade, would on no account allow their
sons to embrace it. The pastor's ingenuity,
however, soon contrived to overcome this difficulty.  He changed the name of the office, and
the objection no longer existed. " Well then,"
said he, "let us have no schoolmasters, since
that would not become people of your situation
in life; but allow me to select the most promising of your young men, and to make them superintendents, (Messieurs les regents,) of the
schools." To this proposition they readily acceded. His next business was to arrange a
regular alphabet, and draw up a series of spelling and reading lessons for their use, which
were printed at the expense of a benevolent individual of Strasbourg, who also presented
Stouber with a thousand florins (about $220)
that he might encourage those schoolmasters
whose pupils made the most rapid progress, by
giving them the interest of it annually, in addition to their salaries, which were necessarily
very small.
The next want to be supplied was that of a
school-house, and for this purpose Stouber begged
that the necessary timber might be gratuitously
furnished from the surrounding forests, a privilege which the inhabitants of the Steinthal generally had in their power to bestow. The following anecdote shows the persevering character
of this remarkable man. In the bad state of
the woods at this period the Abb6 de Regemorte
(royal Praetor of Strasbc. g) found an excuse




STOUBER'S EXERTIONS.           19
for refusing the humble request for wood to
build a school-house.-" But your Excellency,"
said Stouber, after having for a long time solicited in vain, " your Excellency will allow me
to make a private collection among charitable
individuals towards the erection of our new
building?"  This request was immediately
granted.  "Well then," continued the pastor,
presenting his hat, " you are, please your Excellency, known as a charitable person, and I
will make the beginning with you." On hearing these words the Preetor quickly forgot all
the objections he had just been adducing, and
gave him liberty to cut down as much wood as
he pleased, under the express condition that he
should dine with him every time he visited Strasbourg.
Having thus happily succeeded in procuring
materials, a small building, or rather a log hut,
was constructed under Stouber's direction and
superintendence; but as he had found obstacles
in the worldliness of the governor, so now he
had to contend with the ignorance and prejudices of the people. They still opposed themselves to his benevolent efforts; for as schoolmasters had always hitherto been hired, like
laborers, at the lowest price, the cheapest were
regarded as the best, and the peasants began to
fear that if an increase of knowledge were required from their candidates, there would be a
proportionate increase of expense. Nor was
this all; for on seeing the unconnected syllables which were proposed as lessons for the
scholars, they were at a loss to comprehend
their meaning, and for a lor g time opposed their




20        M1 EMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
introduction from the idea of some concealed
heresy or divination
On perceiving, however, in the course of a
few months, that by means of the new spellingbook little children were enabled to read any
book that was put into their hands, their elder
brothers and sisters, and even the parents them
selves, astonished at the rapid progress they
were making, and ashamed to remain behind,
came forward, and begged to be instructed
also. A system of regular instruction for adults,
during part of the Sunday and the long evenings of winter, was consequently established,
in addition to the schools.
Another great object of Stouber's solicitude
was to disseminate and make known the Holy
Scriptures, as soon as he considered the people
prepared for their reception. Hitherto they
had only heard of the Bible as of a large book
that contained the word of God; and when
their pastor, in order to circulate the Scriptures
as widely as possible, divided each of fifty
French Protestant Bibles, he had procured from
Basle, into three parts, and bound those portions in strong parchment, to enable him to
make a more general distribution, he had some
difficulty in convincing his parishioners that
these thin volumes would answer the same purpose as the large book which they had been
accustomed to see, and that they were equally
the Word of God; still more to give them an
idea of what was meant by the Old and New
Testament, or a book, chapter or verse. They
were not aware that the preceding minister had
been in the habit of adhering to any particular




STOUBER'S EXERTIONS.           21
text in his sermons; this, however, is not sur
prising, as he himself had not possessed a Bible
for upwards of twenty years. No sooner, however, had Stouber placed these Bibles in the
schools, with permission to the pupils to carry
them  home, than the Scriptures began to be
read in their differentfamilies. Some of them
even found their way to the Roman Catholic
villages in the vicinity. The priests, it is true,
strictly forbade their perusal, but this prohibition only served, in many instances, as an additional stimulus to the inquirer after truth. The
people secretly procured them for themselves,
and sometimes, considering their poverty, at a
very high price.  I might, indeed, mention
many anecdotes of the eager delight with which
this new and precious privilege was embraced,
but it is sufficient to say that the desire of possessing it continually increased, and that the
diffusion of Spiritual instruction, both in the
Ban de la Roche and its environs, was beginning to be attended with the most cheering
results.* A blessing also attended Stouber's
discourses in the pulpit, for they were admirably adapted to the capacity and situation of his
hearers. He endeavored in the simplest language to lead their minds to a knowledge of the
happiness enjoyed by the people of God, and
the means of attaining that happiness; and to
convince them that, notwithstanding the poverty
of their external circumstances, the Almighty
would protect and bless them if they earnestly
* For one singular instance, among many others, of
the avidity with which the Bible was sought at this
period, See a letter of Oberlin's, Chap. VI




22         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
soug At to do his will. He then brought them
to consider the all-important doctrines of the
Cross, that we can only be regenerated by the
influence of the Holy Spirit, and that we must
rely solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon and redemption.  In 1776, when he had
resided about six years at Waldbach, he was
appointed pastor to the market town of Barr on
the other side of the Vosges. His parishioners,
who, though still wild and uncultivated, had
begun to feel the value of his instructions, expressed the greatest regret at his removal, as
his intended successor was little more enlightened than his predecessors had been.
Four years afterwards Steinthal again became vacant; and M. Stouber, notwithstanding
the reproaches and contempt cast upon him
by many of his friends, who could not understand the principle of the love of Christ which
constrained him to exchange a very profitable
and respectable living in a town for a physical
and moral wilderness, felt impelled to return
to his beloved Steinthal. The pleasure with
which this intelligence was circulated through
the valley was extreme.; the inhabitants of
the different villages, both young and old,
went to the top of the mountain, which had
separated him from them, to witness his arrival
and to bid him welcome with tears of grateful
joy.
It was during this latter part of his residence
in the Ban de la Roche, that M. Stouber's
ministerial labors were so peculiarly successful
and that, under the blessing of God, a general
improvement appeared to take place.




STOUBER'S EXERTIONS.             2~
He had resided altogether more than fourteen years in this spot, actively engaged  in
promoting the welfare of his flock, when he
had the affliction of losing a wife to whom he
was tenderly attached, and who, animated by
the same spirit as her husband, had warmly
participated in all his labors of love. She was
buried in the church-yard of Waldbach, and
the following touching  epitaph  adorned her
monument, until it was destroyed, with many
others, at the time of the Revolution:
During three years of marriage
MARGARET SALOME, wife of G. STOUBER,
Minister of this Parish,
Found at the Ban de la Roche, in the simplicity of a
peaceable and useful life,
The delight of her benevolent heart, and, in her first
confinement, the grave of her youth and beauty.
She died August 9th, 1764, aged twenty years.
Near this spot,
Her Husband has sown for immortality all that was
mortal;
Uncertain whether he is more sensible of the grief of
having lost
Or the glory of having possessed her.
Three years after this afflictive dispensation
which he bore with Christian fortitude, and
just when he was beginning to rejoice in the
happy transformation effected by his exertions,
he was offered the station of pastor to St.
Thomas's Church, at Strasbourg. He accepted
it, and it was greatly feared that the Ban de la
Roche would relapse into its former melancholy condition. To prevent this, he concerned,
himself to secure a suitable successor, and his
mind fixed on Oberlin, to whom  he communicated his wishes.




24         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
Oberlin perceived the emergency of the case
his benevolent mind strongly felt the importance of such a field of labor; it was a sufficient inducement for him to undertake its duties that others disdained them, and the very
misery and moral degradation which had to be
remedied, rendered it in his eyes the more interesting; he therefore left a spot in which the
brilliance of his mental powers might have attracted universal homage; and led, as he conceived, by the hand of Providence, became
the successor of M. Stouber in this retired and
desolate scene of exertion.
CHAPTER II.
Oberlin's birth and childhood-Instances of his early
benevolence-His act of self-dedication-Influence
over others-Arrival in the Ban de la Roche.
JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN was born at Strasbourg, on the 31st of August, 1740.  His
father, a man of considerable attainments and
respectability, though not in affluent circumstances, held an office in the Gymnasium of
that city, and devoted his hours-of leisure to
the instruction of his nine children, to all of
whom he was most tenderly attached.  They
in return looked up to him with devoted fondness, and acquiesced in his wishes rather from
motives of sincere affection than filial duty,
ever anticipating his desires, and anxiously
promoting his happiness by every means in their
power.
Notwithstanding the scantiness of his income, he was in the habit of giving each of




HIS CHILDHOOD.              2 
his children a present of two pfenninge- every
Saturday to spend as pocket-money in fruit or
cakes; and the following pleasing anecdote, in
allusion to this circumstance, is related as an
early trait of the little Frederic's character:when the tailor's or shoemaker's bills were
brought home on a Saturday night, as he knew
that his father, who was a man of remarkable
integrity and punctuality, always liked to discharge them immediately to their full amount,
without deducting, as the tradesmen frequently
wished him to do, and as is the usual practice,
the odd pence, he used to watch his countenance, and, if he imagined from its downcast
expression that he was in want of money, to run
to his savings'-box and return in triumph to
empty all his little store of weekly pfenninge
into the hands of his beloved parent.
But this was only one among the thousand
instances of generosity and benevolence for
which he was, even from his earliest infancy,
so peculiarly distinguished. Self-denial ever
seemed his ruling principle; and he was never
so happy as when an opportunity of relieving
the oppressed, or the distressed, presented itself
to his notice. I shall mention some more anecdotes of a similar description, because it is interesting to trace the germ of those dispositions, which, when  ripened  into maturity,
brought forth such remarkable fruits.
As he was one day crossing the marketplace, when his little box of savings was nearly
* The smallest copper coin in the country, and not
cTnal in value to an English farthing.
C




26         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
full, he saw some rude boys knock down a
basket of eggs which a country-woman was
carrying upon her head. The woman was in
great trouble, when Frederic not only rebuked
the boys with much spirit, but ran home,
fetched his box, and presented her with all its
contents. Another day he was passing in Strasbourg market, by the stall of an old clothes
vender. A poor infirm woman was endeavoring, without success, to procure an abatement
in the price of some article she appeared to be
particularly desirous of purchasing. She wanted two sous to complete the sum demanded,
and was on the point of leaving the stall from
her inability to give them. Frederic, pretending to be engaged with something else, only
waited for her retiring, when he slipped the
two sous into the dealer's hand, and whispered
him to call back the poor woman and let her
have the gown; and then, without stopping for
her thanks, instantly ran away.
He at another time saw a parish officer illusing an invalid beggar in the street; and following the impulse of the moment, totally regardless of consequences, he placed himself in
a spirited manner between what he thought the
oppressor and the oppressed, reproving the
former in strong terms for his inhumanity. The
officer, indignant at such an interruption,wished
to arrest the little fellow; but the neighbors,
who knew and loved the boy, came running out
of their shops to his assistance, and compelled
the man to desist. A few days afterwards he
happened to be walking in a narrow lane, when
he saw the same person at a distance. "Shall




HIS EARLY BENEVOLENCE.         27
f run away?" thought he to himself. " No: God
is with me. I relieved the poor man, and why
should I fear?" With these reflections he proceeded on his way; and the officer, smiling at
him, allowed him to pass unmolested.
This early horror of injustice and oppression
was implanted by his parents, whose wise instructions and virtuous example were, in his
case, crowned with the most gratifying success.
To his pious and highly accomplished mother
he often acknowledged himself indebted for his
love of " things that are excellent," and for
the desire that he subsequently felt of dedicating his talents and his powers to the good of
others. She was indeed a truly admirable woman, and conscientiously endeavored to bring
up her children " in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord." She was in the habit of'assembling them together every evening, and of reading aloud some instructive book, whilst they
sat around the table, copying pictures which
their father had drawn for them; and scarcely a
night passed but, when on the point of separating, there was a general request for "one
beautiful hymn from dear mamma," with which
she always complied. The hymn was followed
by a prayer; and thus their infant steps were
conducted to Him, who has said, " Suffer little
children to come unto me."
About this time, by way of relaxation, their
father used to take them every Thursday evening at least during the summer months, to his
family estate at Schiltigheim; and on arriving
there, he would fasten an old drum to his waist,
place his seven blooming boys in a line, and




28           MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
precede them  in the capacity of a drummer
making them  face to right and left, and go
through all the military evolutions. The extreme delight which little Frederic took in this
exercise probably induce/d his early partiality
for the military profession, for, whilst quite a
lad, he would mingle with the soldiers and
march with them; and, having attracted the at.
tention of the officers by the display of his
knowledge respecting sieges and battles, he obtained permission to join them in their exercises.  His father, however, having destined
him to a learned profession, at length interfered, telling the young soldier it was time to
renounce this child's-play for study and serious
labor.  Frederic was of an ardent and lively
temperament; but he readily coincided in his
father's views, and devoted himself with the
same enthusiasm to his literary pursuits, resolving to tread in the steps of his elder brother.
the celebrated scholar of the same name, who
was at this period pursu:ig his philological
studies in the academy at Strasbourg." By industry and application he soon regained  the
time he had lost; though indeed, his military exercises, having had the happy effect of strengthening and hardening his bodily frame, formed
an important part of his preparation for the fatigues of the service which awaited him in the
* Jeremiah James Oberlin, a learned antiquary and laborious philologist. He wrote "Un Essai sur le Patois
Lorrain des Environs du Compte du Ban de la Roche, 1776,
petit in 8vo.," which contains some very curious notes
upon ancient French, and in which he endeavors to prove
that the patois is a corruption of the Latin language.




PREACHING OF DR. LORENTZ.        29
remarkable and arduous course which he was
destined to follow.
The circumstances that induced him to resolve upon devoting himself to the ministry of
the Gospel, are not known; but it appears from
various memoranda found amongst his papers
after his decease, that he was, from his very infancy, the subject not merely of pious convictions, but of holy affections towards his heavenly Father. " During my infancy and my youth,"
he says, " God often vouchsafed to touch my
heart, and to draw me to himself. He bore with
me in my repeated backslidings, with a kindness and indulgence hardly to be expressed."
Even at a very early age his frequent prayer was,
" Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth. 0 God,
teach me to do thy will."
About this time, Dr. Lorentz excited a great
sensation in Strasbourg, by the ardent zeal with
which he preached a crucified Savior. Frederic's mother, attracted by the general report,
went to hear him, and was so much struck with
the powerful manner in which he set forth the
grand doctrines of redemption and remission of
sin, that she entreated her favorite son to accompany her on the following Sunday. Being a
student in the theological class at the University, and having been warned by his superiors
not to go, it was with some reluctance that he
was prevailed on to accompany her. In compliance with her urgent solicitations, he however
at last acceded, and was so much delighted
with the evangelical truths he heard preached,
that he became a regular and diligent attendant of the Doctor's sermons; and this circumC2




30              EMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
stance probably contributed to strengthen his
religious impressions, and to confirm him in
the resolution he had made.  At the age of
twenty, he solemnly renewed his baptismal consecration to God by a formal covenant, agreeably to the method  recommended by Dr. Doddridge, in his " Rise and Progress."' Although
this interesting document differs but slightly
from the original, I shall transcribe it, because it displays so remarkable a union of
glowing zeal and lively faith, with humility and
self-distrust.
* "I would urge you to make a solemn surrender of
yourself to the service of God. Do not only form such a
purpose in your heart, but expressly declare it in the divine
presence. —Do it in express words. And perhaps it
may be in many cases most expedient, as many pious divines have recommended, to do it in writing. Set your
hand and seal to it,' that on such a day of such a month
and year, and at such a place, on full consideration and
serious reflection, you came to this happy resolution that
whatever others might do, you would serve the Lord.'
"Make the day of the transaction, if you conveniently
can, a day of secret fasting and prayer; and when your
heart is prepared with a becoming awe of the divine Majesty, with an humble confidence in his goodness, and an
earnest desire of his favor, then present yourself on your
knees before God, and read it over deliberately and
solemnly;' and when you have signed it, lay it by in some
secure place, where you may review it whenever you
please, and make it a rule with yourself to review it if
possible, at certain seasons of the year, that you may
keep up the remembrance of it."-Doddridge's Rise and
Progress of Religion in the Soul. Chap. 17. p. 343.




HIS SELF DEDICATION.          31
A solemn Act of Self Dedication to  God,
Written by OBERLIN, the 1st of January,
1760, and renewed by him the 1st of January, 1770.
" ETERNAL and infinitely holy God! Under
a feeling of deep humility and heart-felt contrition, I earnestly desire to present myself before
thee. I well know how unworthy such a sinful
worm is to appear before thy Divine Majesty,
before the King of kings and Lord of lords,
more especially on such an occasion as this,
even to enter into a covenant transaction with
thee.
" But the scheme and plan, O Father of mercies, is thine own; thou hast, in infinite condescension, offered it me by thy Son. Thy grace
hath inclined my heart to accept of it. I come,
therefore, to thee, acknowledging my numerous
transgressions; and, with the repentant publican, strike my breast, saying, " God be merciful to me a sinner."  I come, because I have
been invited by the name of thy Son, and I rely
entirely upon his perfect righteousness. Be
pleased, I entreat thee, for his sake, to pardon
my ingratitude, and no more remember my sins.
Be reconciled, I beseech thee, to thy disobedi.
ent creature, who is now convinced of thy right
to him, and desires nothing so much as to belong to thee. Holy God! I this day surrender
myself to thee, in the most solemn manner.
" Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth." I
this day acknowledge the Lord is my God! I
this day declare myself to be of the number of




32          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
his children, and that I make one of his people.
Hear my words, 0 my God, and write in thy
book that I henceforth devote myself entirely
to thee. In the name of the Lord God of Hosts.
I this day renounce all former lords that have
had dominion over me; the joys of the world,
in which I have too much delighted, and all
carnal desires. I renounce all perishable things,
in order that my God may constitute my All. I
consecrate to thee all that I am, and all that I
have; the faculties of my mind, the members
of my body, my fortune and my time. Grant
me grace, 0 Father of mercies, to employ all
to thy glory, and to live in obedience to thy
commands; with an ardent and humble desire to
continue thine throughout the endless ages of a
happy eternity. Shouldest thou be pleased to
make me, in this life, the instrument of leading others to thee, give me strength and courage openly to declare thy name. Enable me
not only to devote myself to thy service, but to
persuade my brethren to dedicate themselves
to it also.
" Grant that through the assistance of thy
Holy Spirit, I may be supported in life, and kept
faithful unto death. Enable me during the rest
of my days to acquire that of which I stand
most in need, and to amend my ways. May the
things of time no longer exercise dominion over
me; but may I, during the short remainder of
my life, live solely to thee. Grant me grace
not only to tread in the path which, I am convinced, is the best, but enable me also to be
always most active in walking in it. I resign
myself, and all I am and have, to thy direction,




HIS SELF DEDICATION.          33
to be disposed' of in whatever manner thine in.
finite wisdom shall see good. I leave the management of all events to thee, and say, without
restriction, "Thy will, not mine, be done!"
Employ me, O Lord, as an instrument consecrated to thy service. Look upon me, as con
stituting one of thy flock. Wash me in the
blood of thy beloved Son.  Clothe me with
his righteousness. Sanctify me by his Spirit.
Transform me more and more into his image.
Impart to me, through him, all needful influences of thy purifying, cheering, and comforting Spirit; and grant that my life may be passed
under the habitual sense of thy presence, 0
my Father, and my God! And, after having
endeavored to obey thee, and do thy will on
earth, take me hence at what time, and in
what manner, thou shalt see good. When the
solemn hour of death approaches, and I stand
on the verge of eternity, grant that I may remember this covenant, and employ my latest
breath in thy service. And be pleased, 0 Lord,
when thou seest the anguish I may have to endure in my last moments, and when I may not,
perhaps, have sufficient strength to recall it, to
remember it too. Then, 0 my I eavenly Father,
look down with pity on thy feeble child, and
enable him to struggle with death. I wish not
to prescribe to thee, 0 my Father, in what manner thou oughtest to take me to thyself. I wish
not to ask thee to preserve me from agonizing
pain. No; nothing of that kind shall form the
object of my prayers. What I earnestly entreat,
in the name of Jesus, is, to be enabled to glo.
rify thee in the last hours of my life, and to




34         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN
evidence, amidst whatever sufferings thy allwise providence may see meet to afflict me with,
patience  and  submission to thy holy will.
Strengthen my soul; give it confidence when
thou shalt call it hence; and receive it to the
embraces of thine everlasting love. Admit it
into the mansions of them that sleep in Jesus
-into the mansions where indescribable joys
will be its portion for ever. There permit it
peacefully and joyfully to await the accomplishment of the promise thou hast made to all thy
people-even that of a glorious resurrection,
and of eternal happiness in thine heavenly
presence.
" And when I am gone to the grave, if these
pages should fall into the hands of any of my
surviving friends, Oh, grant that their hearts
may be sensibly affected; grant them grace not
only to read them as the expression of my own
sentiments, but to feel for themselves also what
I have expressed. Teach them to fear thee, 0
Lord my God, and to seek refuge with me, under the shadow of thy wings, through time and
through eternity; that they may partake in all
the blessings of thy covenant, through Jesus
Christ, the great Mediator. To Him, and to
Thee, O Father, and to the Holy Spirit, be
everlasting praises ascribed by the millions of
redeemed spirits, and by all those other celestial beings, in whose work and blessedness thou
shalt call them to share.
" My God, and the God of my fathers  Thou
who keepest thy covenant, and who scatterest
thy blessings to a thousand  generations, I
humbly supplicate thee, since thou knowest




HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS.          35
that " the heart of man is deceitful," to vouchsafe to me grace to enter into this engagement
with all sincerity of heart, and to remain faithful to my baptismal covenant.  May the name
of the Lord be an eternal testimony, that I
have signed this covenant transaction, in the
%edfast and earnest desire of keeping it.
" JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN.
"Strasbourg, 1st of January, 1760."
"Renewed at Waldbach, 1st of January, 1770."
After having completed his studies, Oberlin
was ordained, but he remained for some years
without undertaking any pastoral engagement,
either because he did not feel himself as yet
sufficiently mature for so responsible a charge,
or because no situation offered itself, adapted
o the view which he had formed of his own
character and suitableness. Like the admirable
Fletcher,+ a man of kindred spirit, who refused to undertake the care of a parish because
the emoluments were too large, and the duty
was too small, Oberlin wished only for a station where he might find ample scope to be
useful:-for having devoted himself to his
Master's service, he sought neither worldly
distinctions, nor worldly honors, but determined to be actuated only by the specific and prevailing desire of pleasing God. and of living
to his glory. During this interval, which lasted
from the year 1760 to 1767, he employed himself in private teaching, and became domestic
tutor to the family of the then distinguished
surgeon, M. Ziegenhagen, of Strasbourg.
* The Rev. J W.'letcher, Rector of Madely, Eng.




36         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
Whilst in this situation he acquired that surgical knowledge, and acquaintance with medicine, which, in his subsequent life, proved so
peculiarly useful, and enabled him to render
such eminent services to his parishioners..   is conscientious uprightness, amiable disposition, and entire dependence upon God in
the daily events of life, caused him to be held
at this time in high estimation among his fellow-citizens; and the following occurrence is
related, as a proof of the influence he had
almost imperceptibly acquired over them.
An honest tradesman, relying on the power
of Oberlin's faith, came to him one day, and,
after a long introduction, informed him, that a
ghost habited in the dress of an ancient knight,
frequently presented itself before him, and
awakened hopes of a treasure buried in his
cellar; he had often, he said, followed it, but
had always been so much alarmed by a fearful
noise, and a dog which he fancied he saw, that
the effort had proved fruitless, and he had returned as he went.  This alarm  on the one
hand, and the hope of acquiring riches on the
other, so entirely absorbed his mind, that he
could no longer apply to his trade with his former industry, and had, in consequence, lost
nearly all his custom. He, therefore, urgently
begged Oberlin would go to his house, and
conjure the ghost, for the purpose of either
putting him  in possession of the treasure, or
of discontinuing its visits.  Oberlin replied,
that he did not trouble himself with the conjuration of ghosts, and endeavored to weaken
the notion of an apparition in the man's mind,




HIS INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS.        37
exhorting him  at the same time to seek for
worldly wealth by application to his business,
prayer, and  industry.  Observing, however,
that his efforts were unavailing, he promised
to comply with the man's request. On arriving,
at midnight, at the tradesman's house, he found
him  in company with his wife and several
female relations, who still affirmed that they
had seen the apparition. They were seated in
a circle in the middle of the apartment. Suddenly the whole company turned pale, and the
man exclaimed, " Do you see, Sir, the count is
standing opposite to you?" "I see nothing."
" Now, Sir," exclaimed another terrified voice,
" he is advancing towards you."  "I still do
not see him."  "Now he is standing just behind your chair." " And yet I cannot see him;
but as you say he is so near me, I will speak to
him."  And then, rising from  his seat, and
turning towards the corner where they said
that he stood, he continued, "Sir count, they
tell me you are standing before me, although I
cannot see you, but this shall not prevent me
from informing you that it is scandalous conduct on your part, by the fruitless promise of a
hidden treasure, to lead an honest man, who
has hitherto faithfully followed his calling, into
ruin-to induce him to neglect his businessand to bring misery upon his wife and children,
by rendering him improvident and idle. Begone, and delude them no longer with such vain
hopes."
Upon this the people assured him that the
ghost vanished at once. Oberlin went home,
and the poor man, taking the hint which in
D




38          MEMOIRS OF OOBERLIN.
his address to the count he had intended to
convey, applied to business with his former
alacrity, and never again complained of his
nocturnal visitor.
In the year 1766, the appointment of a
chaplainship to a French regiment was offered
to Oberlin. As the situation accorded with
the military predilections he had imbibed in
his childhood, and promised to open a sphere
of extensive usefulness, he partly agreed to
accept it, and soon afterwards left M. Ziegenhagen's employ, and commenced a preparatory
course of reading. Whilst thus engaged, the
curacy of the Ban de la Roche became vacant,
in consequence of MI. Stouber's removal to
Strasbourg. No sooner had the latter decided
upon taking this step, than it occurred to him,
that Oberlin, with whose piety and zeal he
was well acquainted, would be admirably calculated for the vacant post, and, with the view
of communicating this intelligence, he went to
his lodging.
It was a little attic up three pair of stairs.
On opening the door, the first object that
caught his attention was a small bed, standing
in one corner of the room, covered with brown
paper hangings.  "That would just suit the
Steinthal," said he to himself. On approaching the bed, he found Oberlin lying upon it,
and suffering from a violent tooth-ache. He
rallied him about the simplicity of his curtains, and the homeliness of his apartment
" And, pray," continued he, after having taken
a survey round the room, " What is the use
of that little iror -an that hangs over your




HIS MODE OF LIVING.           39
table?" "That is my kitchen," replied Oberlin; "I am in the habit of dining at home
with my parents every day, and they give me
a large piece of bread to bring back in my
pocket. At eight o'clock in the evening, I
put my bread into that pan, and, having sprinkled it with salt, and poured a little water upon
it, I place it over my lamp, and go on with my
studies till ten or eleven o'clock, when I generally begin to feel hungry, and relish my selfcooked supper more than the greatest dainties."
Stouber congratulated him on the happiness
of possessing so contented a disposition; and,
assuring him that he was exactly the person
he had wished to find, communicated the object of his visit.
Oberlin was rejoiced at the proposition; but
having nearly concluded his engagement to
undertake the office of military chaplain, he
would not accept the parish until a free discharge from his engagement was obtained, and
until he was convinced that no candidates for
clerical preferment, who had a prior claim to
himself, would accept the situation.
Those two points were soon arranged, in
consequence of a candidate making application for the one office, whilst the other, which
offered scarcely any emolument, was left unsolicited. The Ban de la Roche, as a sphere
of pastoral labor, was wholly uninviting to any,
but those who, in singleness of heart, were
wishing to forsake all for Christ; Oberlin,
therefore, after many earnest prayers that a
blessing might rest upon himself and upon the
little flock committed to his charge, accom.




40          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
panied his new friend and patron thither, and
arrived at Waldbach on the 30th of March,
1767.  He was at this time in the twentyseventh year of his age. But how much good
may be done, after this period of life!
CHAPTER III.
Oberlin's first impressions on reaching Waldbach-State
of the parish-Improvements needed-Opposition mani.
fested by the peasantry-Correspondence with M. Stouher-Letters from the latter-His marriage, and prayer
-Improvements in the condition of the roads-Agri.
cultural improvements, &c.
ON Oberlin's arrival at Waldbach, he took
up his residence in the parsonage house, a
tolerably commodious building, formerly occupied by M. Stouber.  It had a court-yard in
front, and a good garden behind, and stood ip
a delightful situation very near the church
being surrounded by steep dells clothed with
wood, and rugged mountains, the tops and
sides of which were partially covered with
pines, and a few other straggling trees.
The first glance which he threw over the
mountains destined to be the scene of his ministerial labors, convinced him, that notwithstanding the partial reformation effected by
M. Stouber's exertions, neither the necessities
of his flock, nor the difficulties which opposed
their removal, were of any ordinary kind.
They were alike destitute of the means of
mental and social intercourse; they spoke a
rude patois resembling the Lorrain dialect, and




STATE OF THE PARISH.          41
the medium of no external information; they
were entirely secluded from the neighboring
districts by the want of roads, which, owing to
the devastation of war and decays of population, had been so totally lost, that the only
mode of communication, from the bulk of the
parish to the neighboring towns, was across
the river Bruche, a stream thirty feet wide,
by stepping stones, and in winter along its
bed; the husbandmen were destitute of the
most necessary agricultural implements, and
had no means of procuring them; the provisions springing from the soil were not sufficient
to maintain even a scanty population; and a
feudal service, more fatal than sterile land
and ungenial climate, constantly depressed and
irritated their spirits.
Confident, however, that strength would be
afforded, if rightly sought, Oberlin at once
resolved to employ all the attainments in science, philosophy, and religion, which he had
brought with him from Strasbourg, to the improvement of the parish and the benefit of his
parishioners.
Those individuals over whom  M. Stouber
had gained an influence, silently acquiesced
in the projects of his successor; but a very
determined spirit of opposition soon manifested
itself among the opposite party, under the
supposition that old practices are always safe,
and that whatever is new must be pernicious.
They resolved therefore, not to submit to innovation, but to try what they might be able
to effect by determined resistance. On one
occasion, soon after his arrival, they laid a plan
D2




42         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
to waylay their new minister, and inflict upon
him a severe personal castigation, judging that
such a measure, at the commencement of his
career, would prevent his future interference.
Oberlin happily received information of their
intention, and, without being disconcerted at
the intelligence, immediately determined upon
a mode of correction, in which the peculiar
gentleness and decision that formed such leading traits in his character were remarkably dis
played.
Sunday being fixed upon for the execution
of this attempt, when the day arrived he took
for his text those words of our Savior, in the
fifth chapter of St. Matthew:-" But I say unto
you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also;" and proceeded from these
words to speak of the Christian patience with
which we should suffer injuries, and submit to
false surmises and ill usage. After the service the malcontents met at the house of one
of the party, to amuse themselves in conjecturing what their pastor would do, when he should
find himself compelled to put in practice the
principles he had so readily explained. What
then must have been their astonishment, when
the door opened, and Oberlin himself stood
before them!
" Here am I, my friends," said he, with that
calm dignity of manner which inspires even
the most violent with respect; " I am acquainted with your design. You have wished to
chastise me, because you consider me culpable. If I have indeed violated the rules which




OPPOSED BY THE PEASANTRY.       43
I have laid down for you, punish me for it. It
is better that I should deliver myself into your
hands, than that you should be guilty of the
meanness of an ambuscade."  These simple
words produced their intended effect. The
peasants, ashamed of their scheme, sincerely
begged his forgiveness, and promised never
again to entertain a doubt of the sincerity of
the motives by which he was actuated, and of
his affectionate desire to promote their welfare.
A few weeks after this event another circumstance, of a similar nature, occurred in one
of the adjoining villages. He was informed
that the young people belonging to it had
determined to seize him the following Sunday,
on his leaving their place of worship, and duck
him in a cistern. He consequently took occasion to speak, in his sermon, of the happiness
and security enjoyed by those who trust in the
Lord; of the special protection which he
vouchsafes to his servants; and of his firm belief that not a hair of our heads can be injured
without his express permission. He was in the
general habit of returning home on horseback,
but this time he set out purposely on foot, desiring a peasant to lead his horse. He had not
proceeded far, before he saw two or three men
partly concealed behind the hedge, and awaiting his approach. He passed them, however,
with so calm and composed a countenance and
step, that, they were daunted, and did not venture to put their plan into execution.
These occurrences are believed to have had
a good effect in accelerating the execution of
his projects of reform; for those who had c-n



44         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
nived in the plots against him, anxious to reinstate themselves in his good esteem, and
conscious that they had no better means of
succeeding than by warmly  seconding the
views which they had hitherto opposed, were
henceforward among the foremost to assist him.
During the first years of his residence in the
Ban de la Roche, Oberlin found an enlightened
and experienced guide, and a wise and faithful
counsellor, in his predecessor, M. Stouber.
The following letter, addressed by the latter
to his young friend, is full of excellent counsel and advice; and proves that he had himself
felt the responsibility attached to so peculiar a
situation:
" Strasbourg, June 2d, 1768.
*       *       *        *       *
" Do not, my dear friend, suppose that I
could have done any thing better than you have
done it. God alone can enable either of us
to do just so much as he pleases, and no more.
The little experience that it cost me long years
of labor and difficulty to obtain, you will acquire more speedily.  You possess it already
in some degree, though  still insufficiently.
When I was in your situation, a single circumstance, or even a single word, would sometimes
discourage and discompose me so much that I
did not know what to do.  I could not help
perceiving almost every day that I had ignorantly committed the greatest mistakes-ignorantly escaped the greatest dangers-ignorantly
lost or acquired the greatest advantages:



CORRESPONDENCE WITH STOUBER.   45
that what I sought was evil, and what I shunned good; —that what I hoped for was nothing
and what I supposed nothing, something. If it
was God's purpose that any scheme of mine
should succeed, he caused the heads of the
parish to listen to me even when I least expected it, and had made the least preparation for
it; and, as frequently permitted the plans upon
which I had grounded my hopes of success, and
taken the most pains to carry into effect, to become of no avail.
" In so deplorable a state are the people of
the unfortunate Steinthal, that one in your situation can do nothing but commend them  to
God, and look for succor and assistance from
him alone. If he should see meet to let things
go on for a period in their present state, and
without any visible improvement, do not be
discouraged. He undoubtedly will, in his own
good time, effect such changes among some of
the members of your flock, as neither the folly
nor the taunts of the remainder, nor the craft
and malice of the enemy, shall be able to subvert; and whilst you trace his finger through.
out the whole, and thank him for having crowned your exertions with even this partial success, you will find increased cause for the exercise of self-distrust, patience, and humility.
God will, I feel assured, bless your endeavors,
if you continue to maintain that devotedness of
spirit, which your letter so sweetly and fervently breathes.  Only trust every thing to
him; and pray for the blessing which he alone
can bestow. You have more influence over
others than I have; and this, provided you fear




46         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
no one but God, and guard against forming too
many schemes, will render you in truth more
useful than I have been. But I must remind
you, that, even when deeply engaged in good
works, it is possible to depart from spiritual
Christianity; and I would, on this account,
urge you to maintain a constant guard over
yourself. You have been brought under the
influence of religion, and, in the usual sense
of the term, converted to God; but, without
constant prayer to him, and the most zealous
watchfulness, there is a danger lest you should
rest satisfied with this, and relapse into indif
ference. By being so incessantly occupied in
the prosecution of your favorite schemes, and
destitute of stimulating society, you may become cold and lukewarm in your religious duties, and less devoted in your service to God,
even though busily employed in promoting the
well-being of your fellow-creatures.  I would,
therefore, earnestly exhort you, my dear friend,
to be always " fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord," living only to, and for, Him. Thus you
will be enabled to overcome difficulties; you
will find comfort and peace in believing, and
He will protect, guide, and bless you. Your
work will prosper, not perhaps in the manner
which you design, but in the way which God,
has purposed.
" I have no other end in view in this ex
hortation than your good. I wish you to understand that this is, literally, my only object
in writing thus plainly. I speak frankly and
sincerely to you, because I know  that our
hearts are closely allied, and because I have




CORRESPONDENCE WITH STOUBER.    47
sometimes observed with deep concern the
dangers incident to young persons; coldness
and lukewarmness after the first fervor of religious feeling has subsided; self-sufficiency in
what they have effected, and too great tendency to absorption of mind in even laudable and
benevolent pursuits.
" This is the motive that induces me, once
for all, to warn you on this point; for the heart
of man is deceitful, and naturally tends to
earth, if it is not constantly drawn upwards.
" There are yet two things to which I particularly wish to direct your attention;-prayer and the Holy Scriptures. I find it necessary, in order to keep up habitual communion
with God, and to fan the spirit of Christianity
in my own bosom, to have constant recourse to
them.
" It is by reading the writings of the Apostles, almost exclusively, that I am enabled to
press onward in my spiritual course, and to encourage myself to prayer.
Yours, my dr 
" Yours, my dear friend,
"In the bonds of Christian love,
"G. STOUBER."
Warned and encouraged by such powerful
xhortations, Oberlin went on his way rejoicing,
and eventually became established in Christian
faith and holiness.
But I have now to speak of an event which
materially contributed to enhance his temporal
happiness. This was his marriage with a very




4-8         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
pious and amiable young lady of Strasbourg,
named Madeleine Salom6 Witter.
Previous to his settlement in the Ban de la
Roche, his mother had anxiously desired to see
him united to one who would participate in his
labors, relieve him from domestic cares, and
cheer and solace him in the remote and lonely
situation in which he was about to be placed.
He, however, was easy on the subject, but, out
of regard to his parents, agreed to accede to
their wishes, provided they could select a suitable companion for him.  Mrs. Oberlin had
been told, in confidence, that her son would
probably meet with success by asking the hand
of the daughter of a rich brewer's widow. He
was persuaded to try his fortune in person; but
as it had, from early youth, been a principle
with him to wait for some intimation from Providence, whenever his reason proved an insufficient guide, he earnestly prayed that God would
be pleased to reveal his will to him, and to direct him in his judgment, whether the marriage
would be likely to conduce to his happiness,
by the manner in which the mother should receive him. If she should herself make the
proposition, he resolved to regard it as a sign
of providential approbation; but, if not, to consider it his duty to abstain from mentioning
the subject.  He then proceeded towards the
house, and rang the bell.  The mother gave
him  a courteous reception, and even called
down her daughter, whose appearance did not,
however, particularly please him; they sat down
talked of a pretended cause of the visit, of the
weather, and of the news about the town, till




OBERLIN'S MARRIAGE.           49
at length all topics being exhausted, a silence
succeeded; the parties looked at each other in
some surprise, for Oberlin was a novel visitor
there, and then looked down again. This scene
of " silent state" lasted about two minutes,
when the latter, who had decided in his own
mind how to act, made a polite bow, opened
the door, shut it again, and took his departure,
leaving both mother and daughter at a loss to
conjecture the cause of this singular visit, and
the marriage was never again thought of. The
apprehensions of his fond parents were, however, continued. They had long maintained a
friendly intercourse with the family of Frederic's former schoolmaster, and he was himself
warmly attached to the person of the latter.
He had one daughter, a young woman of an
agreeable disposition, for whom Oberlin had
long entertained a cordial esteem. With his
consent the parents drew  up a preliminary
marriage contract between them; but a more
wealthy suitor was finally preferred by the
family of the schoolmaster, and this circumstance induced the young lady to withdraw
from  the contract.  A  few weeks only had
elapsed after this circumstance, when Oberlin
received a note from her father expressing a
wish to renew  the connexion. Upon its receipt he immediately repaired to the schoolmaster's house, with the note in his hand,
which he returned, saying, " My dear Sir, I
am  accustomed to follow the intimations of
Providence.  I consider what has recently occurred, as an intimation that a marriage between your daughter and myself would neither
E




D09         MIEMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
tend to her happiness, nor to mine. Let us,
therefore, say no more about it, and forget all
that has passed. Allow me again to participate
in your affection, as I can assure you that mine
has not been in the least diminished; nor have
I lost a particle of the gratitude I owe you, for
all your instrn ctions."
He then continued the conversation on gene.
ral subjects, and the intercourse between the
two families remained undisturbed.
These two plans having successively failed,
Mrs. Oberlin yielded to the wishes of her son,
and allowed him to set out for his parish. She,
however, accompanied him to Waldbach, and
assisted in arranging his domestic establish.
ment, the care of which devolved on his younger sister, Sophia. About a year after his settlement there, Miss Witter, who was a friend
and relation of the family, came to pay a visit
in the Steinthal, and stopped some weeks at
the parsonage.  She had lost her father, who
was a professor in the University of Strasbourg,
at a very early age, and her mother died shortly afterwards; but although deprived of the
benefit of parental instruction, she possessed a
sound understanding, and a highly cultivated
mind, deeply imbued with religious principles.
She was, however, at this time, more expensive and worldly in her habits than her cousin
Frederic, and their dispositions did not entirely
harmonize.
The time of her departure at length drew
near.  Only two days before the period fixed
upon for her return to Strasbourg, Oberlin felt
as though a secret voice within, whispered,




OBERLIN'S MARRIAGE.           51
"Take her for thy partner!" He, however, resisted the call.  " It is impossible," said he,
almost aloud,-" our dispositions do not agree."
"Take her for thy partner!" the voice still
continued. He spent a sleepless night, and, in
his prayers the next morning, solemnly declared
to God, that if he would give him a sign, by
the readiness with which Madeleine should accede to the proposition, that the union was in
accordance with his will, he would cheerfully
submit to it, and consider the voice he had
heard as a leading of Providence.
After breakfast, the same morning, he found
the young lady sitting in a summer-house in
the garden.  Placing himself beside her, he
began the conversation by saying, "You are
about to leave us, my dear friend;-I have had
an intimation that you are destined to be the
partner of my life. If you can resolve upon
this step, so important to us both, I expect you
will give me your candid opinion about it before your departure."
Upon this Miss Witter rose from her seat,
and, blushing as she approached him, placed
one hand before her eyes, and held the other
towards him. He clasped it in his own. The
decision was made:-a decision which he never
found cause to regret, for, notwithstanding the
determination Madeleine had made not to be
allied to a minister, she became truly devoted
to his interests, and the most cordial attachment
ever after subsisted between them.
The marriage took place July 6th, 1768.
The following affecting prayer, written by
Oberlin at this period, will give some idea of




52          MIEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
the feelings with which, in conjunction with
those of his affectionate partner, he entered
into the sacred engagement, and also of the
spirit which ever afterwards pervaded their
peaceful household.
Oberlin's Prayer on his Marriage.
"HOLY SPIRIT! descend into our hearts; assist us to pray with fervor from our inmost souls.
Permit thy children, 0 gracious Father, to present themselves before thee, in order to ask of
thee what is necessary for them.
" May we love each other only in thee, and
in our Savior Jesus Christ, as being members
of his body. Enable us, during the whole
day, to look solely to thee, and to walk before
thee, that we may be gathered together in
thee, and thus become daily more spiritually
minded.
" Grant that we may be faithful in the exercise of our duties, that we may stimulate each
other therein, warning each other of our faults,
and seeking together for pardon in the blood
of Jesus Christ. When we pray together, (and
may we pray much and frequently,) be thou,
0 Lord Jesus, the third in the midst of us.
Anid do thou, 0 heavenly Father, enable us to
be very fervent; and grant, for the sake of Jesus Christ, that which thine Holy Spirit shall
teach us to ask.
"Seeing that, in this life, thou hast placed
the members of our household under our authority, give us wisdom and strength to guide
them in a manner conformable to thy will. May
we always set them a good example, following




PRAYER ON HIS MARRIAGE.         53
that of Abraham, who commanded his children
and his household, after him, to keep the way
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.  If
thou givest us children, and preservest them to
us, 0 grant us grace to bring them up to thy
service, to teach them early to know, to fear,
and to love thee, and to pray to that God who
has made a covenant with them, that conformably to the engagement which will be undertaken for them at their baptism, they may remain faithful from the cradle to the grave. 0
neavenly Father, may we inculcate thy word,
according to thy will, all our lives, with gentleness, love, and patience, both at their rising up
and lying down, at home and abroad, and under all other possible circumstances; and do
thou render it meet for the children to whom
thou hast only given life as a means of coming
to thee.
"And when we go together to thy Holy
Supper, 0 ever give us renewed grace, renewed strength, and renewed courage,,for continuing to walk in the path to heaven; and, as
we can only approach thy table four times in
the year, grant that in faith we may much more
frequently be there, yes, every day and every
hour; that we may always keep death in view,
and always be prepared for it; and, if we may
be permitted to solicit it of thee, 0 grant
that we may not long be separated from each
other, but that the death of the one may be
speedily, and very speedily, followed by that of
the other.*
* The designs of the Lord were different, and this
prayer was not answered. Oberlin, for the happiness of
E2




54          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
"Grant us our requests, O gracious Father
in the name of Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved
Son.  Amen.  And 0, merciful Redeemer
may we both love thee with an ardent devotion,
always walking with thee and holding communion with thee, not placing our confidence in
our own righteousness and in our own works,
but only in thy blood and in thy merits. Be
with us; preserve us faithful, and grant, Lord
Jesus, that we may soon see thee.  Holy Spirit, dwell always in our hearts: teach us to lift
up our thoughts continually to our gracious
Father; and give us according to our need,
strength and consolation. And to thee, to the
Father, and to the Son, be praise, honor and
glory, for ever and ever. Amen."
Mrs. Oberlin soon became an invaluable assistant to her husband in all his labors of love,
tempering his zeal with her prudence, and forwarding his benevolent plans by her judicious
arrangements. In the prosecution of those
plans much Christian firmness was requisite,
for they had, as we have already seen, to encounter the prejudices generally attendant on
ignorance, and such as the most unwearied patience and self-denying virtue could alone have
surmounted.
About this time she wrote the following act,
renewing her baptismal covenant:
his fellow-creatures, lived forty-two years after the death
of his wife. " My thoughts are not your thoughts, nei.
ther are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Isaiah
55: 8,




BAPTISMAL COVENANT.          55
"Act of sincere renewing my covenant of baptism; made in presence, and in the name of
the most holy Trinity, of God the Father,
of God the Son, and of God the Holy
Spirit.
" As the anniversary of my baptism approach
es, I ask myself if it is in the service of God
that I have employed the many years of existence that he has given me; but alas! I must
confess, full of shame and sorrow, that I have
stolen the most precious of my time from God,
and given it to the service of the god of this
world; and yet I feel no shame, no grief, no
true horror of the sin in my soul. Thou, my
God, must operate all this in me. Thou wilt
do it. Thou hast opened my eyes to the subject, to make it appear to me that I have not
served thee. Thou wilt accomplish the remainder; yes, I am sure of it, and although
thou hidest thyself, yet at last thou wilt make
thyself known to my soul with thy divine efficacy. I dare speak, even as I have already had
the proof of it.
" In the name of the most Holy Trinity, and
in the presence of the holy angels, I promise
that by his assistance I will consecrate to God
the remainder of my life; but Lord Jesus,
what have I promised? I take too much upon
me, poor worm of the earth as I am; me, with
my extreme coldness, who see nothing but obscurity around me and in me, still I would consecrate myself to the service of God. Yes, I
would! It is there precisely that my Savior
loves to manifest his name, to make clear his




56          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
mercy and his infinite tenderness, where mar
has no more merit nor strength.  Dear Savior
I see nothing but evil in me; I am so much
the more diseased, since I feel not even my
malady.
" My Savior, thou wilt not abandon me, thou
canst not but take pity on me, thy promise is
clear. Thou canst not but take pity on me;
thou hast given me this word in my heart, " I
will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him,
with long life will I satisfy him, and show him
my salvation." What is this salvation but spiritual benefits? what is this long life, but the
life eternal, and best happiness?
" It is from thee that I hold this gracious
promise; it is thou who hast many times comforted my soul by it in afflictive events. I have
it alive in my soul.  When Satan would deprive me of this consolation, grant that it be
powerful in my heart.  Send back to the enemy his envenomed darts, that he shoots at me;
grant that, conducted by thy dear Holy Spirit,
I may continue my pilgrimage as a person who
desires to be truly thy child, and who feels herself redeemed by thy blood.
"Behold, dear Savior, my heart and my
hands; I am thine; I with my dear husband
and my dear children.  I will that we may be
all entirely thine, soul and body; take and possess all that I have; bring us near, and arrange
our hearts so that we may at all times appear
in thy sight built upon thy merits only.
" If this writing fall after my death into the
hands of my children or of other persons, grant




BAPTISMAL COVENANT.           57
that it may make a salutary impression upon
their souls.
"Once more, my very dear Savior, I give
myself to thee; grant me thy Holy Spirit, to
conduct and govern me; give me a heart docile
and obedient, and a faithful attention to thy
voice. Give me the spirit of a child who loves
thee, and who has not a slavish fear of thee
Give me a living faith, that no unbelief may
separate me from thee. To the hour of my
death, dear Savior, remember thy poor servant,
that thine angels may bring me even to thy
throne; make me to hear then thy voice of
peace and of grace, which says,-" Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from  the foundation of the
world."  Lord God, Jesus Christ, my lovely
Savior, add to all this thy precious-" yea!"
Most holy Trinity, grant thy "yea," thine
" amen," to my prayer.
" I have composed this act and sign it with
my hand, according to the movement and the
full choice of my heart.
" MADELEINE SALOME OBERLIN."
"Waldbach, 1777."
Almost the first object of Oberlin's provident
activity was to repair and widen the roads. In
a country where rocks hanging on the steep
declivity of a chain of mountains, and rapid
torrents pouring from their summits, are perpetually causing considerable falls of loosened
earth, the formation and preservation of roads
involve an expense far beyond the resources
of a poor and isolated parish; and all the rmads




~58        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
belonging to the Ban de la Roche were, consequently, during the greater part of the year
absolutely impassable.
To rescue his parishioners from  the halfsavage state in which he found them, he judged
it necessary, as a preliminary measure, to bring
them into contact with the inhabitants of other
districts, further advanced in civilization; and
for this purpose to open a regular communication with the high road to Strasbourg, by which
means the productions of the Ban de la Roche
might find a market, and materials be procured
for exercising their industry and ingenuity.
Having, therefore assembled the people, he
proposed that they should blast the rocks, and
convey a sufficient quantity of enormous masses to construct a wall to support a road, about
a mile and a half in length, along the banks
of the river Bruche, and build a bridge across
it near Rothau.'The peasants were perfectly astonished at
the proposition. The project appeared to them
totally impracticable, and every one excused
himself, on the plea of private business, from
engaging in so stupendous an undertaking.
Oberlin, still intent on the prosecution of his
scheme, endeavored to refute the objections
raised on all sides: "The produce of your
fields," said he, " will then meet with a ready
market abroad; for, instead of being imprisoned in your villages nine months out of the
twelve, you will be enabled to keep up an intercourse with the inhabitants of the neighboring districts. You will have the opportunity
of procuring a number of things of which you




IMPROVEMENT IN THE ROADS.         59
have long stood in need, without the possibility
of obtaining them, and your happiness will be
augmented and increased by the additional
means, thus afforded, of providing comforts for
yourselves and your children." But his arguments were concluded with a more touching
appeal. He offered them his'wn example in
the undertaking.  " Let all," said he, " who
feel the importance of my proposition, come
and work with me."
Oberlin had already traced the plan, and no
sooner had he pronounced these words, than,
with a pick-ax on his shoulder, he proceeded
to the spot; whilst the astonished peasants,
animated by his example, forgot their former
excuses, and hastened, with unanimous consent, to fetch their tools and follow him. He
presently assigned to each individual an allotted
post, selected for himself and a faithful servant
the most difficult and dangerous places; and,
regardless of the thorns by which his hands
were torn, and of the loose stones by which
they were occasionally bruised, went to work
with the greatest diligence and enthusiasm.
The emulation awakened by his conduct quickly spread through the whole parish. The increased number of hands rendered an increased
number of implements necessary; he procured
them from Strasbourg; expenses accumulated;
he interested his distant friends, and, through
their assistance, funds were obtained; walls
were erected to support the earth, which appeared ready to give way; mountain torrents,
which had hitherto inundated the meadows,
were diverted into courses, or received into




60          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
beds sufficient to contain them; perseverance
in short, triumphed over difficulties, and, at the
commencement of the year 1770, a communication was opened with Strasbourg, by means
of the new road, and a neat wooden bridge
thrown across the river. This bridge still bears
the name of " Le Pont de Charite."
The immediate advantages resulting from
this great undertaking, increased the influence
which Oberlin was already beginning to acquire over his parishioners, and rendered the
adoption of his successive plans, particularly
that of a regular communication between the
five hitherto separated villages, still more practicable. It seemed as though nothing could
daunt their ardor; and the pastor, who, on the
Sabbath, had directed their attention with that
earnestness, and warmth, by which his own
soul was animated, to " the rest that remaineth
for the people of God," and to the " city which
hath foundations," was seen on the Monday,
with a pick-ax on his shoulder, marching at the
head of two hundred of his flock, with an energy that neither fatigue nor danger could diminish.
One of the next wants that he found it necessary to supply, was a depot in the valley,
for agricultural tools and implements of husbandry; for whenever any of them happened
to break, or to get out of repair, two whole
days' work must be lost in going to Strasbourg
to procure more, and even then the poor peasants were destitute of ready money to purchase them.  To remedy this inconvenience,
he stocked a large warehouse in Waldbach




INTRODUCTION OF TRADES.          61
with tke necessary articles, and gave the purchasers credit till their payments came round.
He also established a sort of lending fund,
under such strict regulations, that those whc
did not punctually repay the money they had
borrowed on the prescribed day, were deprived,
for a certain time, of the liberty of borrowing
again.
Another measure, which he considered essential to' the progress of civilization, was the
introduction of trades.  There were neither
masons, blacksmiths, nor cartwrights, in the
country, and the inhabitants were subjected to
numerous privations, and to great expenses, in
fetching from the neighboring towns what was
needful for the supply of their wants. Oberlin, therefore, selected from among the elder
boys some of the readiest abilities, and sent
them to Strasbourg, to learn the trades of a
carpenter, a mason, a glazier, a cartwright, and
a blacksmith. By this means he succeeded in
procuring good workmen, who, on their return,
not only instructed others in their newly acquired arts, but saved the people of the Ban de
la Roche the expense and loss of time they
had formerly incurred: nor was this the only
advantage accruing from so judicious a step,
for the money which had hitherto been sent to
a distance was now  circulated among themselves. So scarce had money previously been,
that the gift of a single sou is said to have
overwhelmed a poor woman with joy, as it en.
abled her to procure a little salt to eat with he.
potatoes.
Finally, Oberlin's solicitude extended to
F




62          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
their dwellings. They were generally wretch.
ed cabins hewn out of the rocks, or sunk intc
the sides of the mountains; and without cellars sufficiently deep to preserve the potatoes,
which formed their principal sustenance, from
the frost. Under his superintendence and direction, however, cellars were constructed, and
comfortable cottages erected.
In the prosecution of these plans, as well as
those introduced at a later period, Oberlin was
much indebted to the counsel and experience
of his paternal friend, M. Stouber, with whom
he maintained a regular correspondence. The
following extract from one of his letters, deserves insertion in this memoir, because the
advice it contains may prove of utility to others,
as well as to the individual for whom it was
originally designed:" MY DEAR FRIEND,
" The best advice I can give you, is to care
chiefly for the souls of your flock. I would
not have you too anxious to render them eager in the pursuit of worldly good; for, as they
become Christians they will naturally become
active, industrious and provident. You must
not allow them to be either idlers, or the slaves
f mammon.
" By endeavoring too much to induce them
to adopt your plans in preference to others, and
on account of some supposed superiority over
those to which they have been accustomed, you
will defeat your own purposes, and excite their
suspicion and disgust I advise you, therefore




LETTER FROM STOUBER.          63
to leave them, for the present at least, pretty
much to their own devices, and to labor, in
charity and love, for the salvation of their souls,
firmly believing that by so doing you will obtain the greatest blessing.  This is the last
thing that experience taught me, during my
residence in the Steinthal, or rather since I left
it. I must regret having occasionally induced
the people to do things against their will. If I
were now there, I would leave them much more
to themselves; and, however indifferent might
be the appearance of their external affairs, the
state of their finances, or the conduct of their
schools, I would say little to them on the subject of economy or management; but, by
evincing a sincere interest in their concerns, I
would endeavor to gain their confidence, and
induce them to regard me as their friend; and
then having once obtained this confidence, and
a proportionate degree of influence, I would
exert it to the utmost of my ability, to theil
advantage, both in the instruction of the young
and the conversion of the old, seeking to win
their affections by my earnest desire to promote their spiritual interests.  If you adopt
this method, my dear friend, God will take care
of the rest. Necessity will compel your people
to employ themselves, and they will think a
thousand times better of their own schemes,
than of any that you can propose to them.
" I am far from wishing you to give-up your
projects, (many of which have been already
attended with such admirable success,) but I
acknowledge that I have, for my own part, felt
the danger of bestowing too much attention




64           TIMEMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
upon such things, rather than upon more essential and important duties.  At the same
time, I would not have you by any means neglect a ready acquiescence in such practical
schemes as may suggest themselves to the
minds of your people, or the adoption of such
as may occur to yourself:-only do not make
them your primary object."
Oberlin particularly felt the importance of
the latter part of this advice in his efforts for
the improvement of agriculture; a branch of
rural economy in which the mountaineers, how.
ever readily they might acquiesce in his other
plans, evinced great reluctance to be instructed, supposing that their own knowledge of the
subject must necessarily exceed that of their
pastor, whose life, previous to his arrival in the
Ban de la Roche, had been generally spent in
a town.
He knew this so well that he determined to
appeal to their eyes rather than their ears, believing that they would be more easily led to
coincide in his views when they had seen his
theories reduced to practice. Belonging to his
parsonage were two gardens, crossed by very
public foot-paths, and these he chose for the
scene of his labors. Assisted by a favorite and
intelligent servant, he dug trenches, four or
five feet deep, and surrounded the young trees,
that he planted in them, with such soil as he
considered best adapted to promote their growth.
He also procured slips of apples, pears, plums,
cherries, and walnuts, and made a large nursery
ground of one of the gardens, hitherto noted
for the poverty of its soil and then waited




AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS.         65
with patience for the time when his parishioners, observing the success of his experiments,
should come of their own accord to express
their astonishment, and to ask his assistance in
raising trees for themselves.
His expectations were not disappointed; the
rees grew and flourished; and, as the peasants
had to pass through the gardens in going to
their daily work, they could not help stopping
to observe the surprising contrast between the
scanty supply of their own, and the rich produce of their pastor's land, and at length repaired to him, anxiously inquiring how such
very fine trees could grow in such a soil. Oberlin, according to his accustomed method of deriving instruction from every incident, first directed their thoughts to Him who " causeth the
earth to bring forth her bud," and who " crowneth the year with his goodness," and then proceeded to explain the mode of cultivation, by
which, under his all-superintending  Providence, their exertions might be followed by
similar success.
The taste for planting trees was thus diffused, and the art of grafting, in which he himself instructed those who wished to understand
it, became a favorite employment. The very
face of the country, in consequence, underwent
a complete change;, for the cottages, hitherto
for the most part bare and desolate, were surrounded by neat little orchards and gardens;
and, in the place of indigence and misery, the
villages, and their inhabitants, gradually assumed an air of rural happiness.
So barbarous before Oberlin's time had been
F2




66         MEMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
the state of the Ban de la Roche, with regard
to the most simple agricultural arts, that the
old men told him  they remembered to have
heard from their fathers, that previous to the
year 1709, the people of this canton subsisted
chiefly upon wild apples and  pears.  The
dreadful famine that took place that year, compelled them  to devise means for procuring
some other sustenance; and, with this view,
they partially cleared away an immense forest,
which extended nearly all over the country,
and planted a sort of potatoes, (quemattes, or
cruattes de tierre in the patois,) which were
then first introduced. Owing to the rigorous
seasons, and to the soil having been often
swept away from the rocks it covered by the
rain, this primitive potatoe had so far degenerated, that, when Oberlin came to the Ban de
la Roche, in 1767, fields that had formerly
yielded. from  120 to 150 bushels, furnished
only between 30 and 50.  The people imagined that the ground was in fault, but no means
of remedying the evil ever occurred to them.
Oberlin, attributing the circumstance to its true
cause, pointed out to them the means of recovering the crops, made them  acquainted with
Parmentier's useful work on the subject, and
procured some seed from Switzerland, Holland
and Lorrain, to renew the species. The sandy
soil of the mountains being peculiarly favorable
to their vegetation, abundance soon returned;
and potatoes of a superior quality and flavor,
soon became, and are to this day, celebrated as
the great production of the place, furnishing
not only a sufficient store for home consump




AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS.               67
ion, but also a profitable article of exporta.
tion.
Believing that great advantages would accrue from the cultivation of leguminous plants
and productive herbs,' before unknown in that
part of the country, Oberlin's next attempt was
to raise saint-foin; but, as this plant strikes
its root perpendicularly, and the soil of the Ban
de la Roche is not deeper than two feet at most
on the rocks and sandstone, it did not succeed,
though the flax, which he raised from seed imported from Riga, and the Dutch clover, which
he also introduced, answered perfectly well,
* Having acquired, during his residence in M. Ziegenhagen's family, a thorough knowledge of botany, Oberlin
made his people acquainted with the properties of their
indigenous plants, particularly with such as were serviceable for food, health, and the useful arts. The names of
some of them will excite surprise, accustomed as we are
to pass them  by unnoticed. Among them  were the
stripe-flowered cabbage, brassica oleracea; common
chick-weed, stellaria media; water mouse ear chick-weed,
cerastium aquaticum; common goose-foot, chenopodium
bonus-henricus; common dandelion, leontodon autumnale;
mountain willow-herb, epilobium montanum; butter-cup,
ranunculusficaria; yellow dead nettle, galeobdolon luteurm; white dead nettle, lamium album; common hop, lumulus lupulus; red pimpernel, anagalis arvensis; great
plantain, plantago major; upright crow-foot, ranunculus
acris; twisted snake-weed, polygonum bistorta; common
sorrel, rumex acetosa; lamb's lettuce, valeriana locusta;
bladder campion, cucubalus behen; water-cress, sisymbrium nasturtium; and corn cockle, agrostemma githago.
He taught them to mix the seeds of the latter with corn
in making their black bread; and to procure a sort of
wine, called piquette, from the wild cherry, prunus cerasus; juniper, juniperus communis; dog rose, rosa ca.
nina, &c. to distil brandy from elder-berries, and to obtain
oil from beech-nuts.




68          MEMOIRS O OBERLIN.
and considerably augmented the resources of
the inhabitants.
This success was probably owing in part to
the attention he paid to the management of
manure, which constitutes a chief secret in
agriculture. He not only directed his laborers
to the means of enriching it by fermentation,
but taught them also that all sorts of vegetable
substances, even the leaves of trees, the stalks
of rushes, moss, and fir apples, might be converted into a useful compost. Acting upon his
favorite maxim, "gather up the fragments, that
nothing be lost," he also instructed children to
tear old woollen rags into pieces, and to cut up
old shoes for this purpose; and to facilitate
their labors, he paid them sixteen sous for a
bushel, and one souL for the smallest quantity
they liked to collect.
These incidents may appear trifling and unworthy of record to some of my readers; but
they are mentioned, together with others in
the course of the narrative, as characteristic
proofs of the real interest with which Oberlin
entered into every thing likely to conduce to
the welfare of his flock.  As soon as he was
fully convinced that they began to recognize
the utility of his instructions, he endeavored to
point out to them the advantages that would
arise to them from converting the least productive pastures into arable land, and feeding
the cattle in their stalls; in order to increase
the quantity of milk and butter, which constituted not only so large a part of their subsistence, but also an article of commerce.
This conversion of grass into arable land, in




AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS.         69
a country where rocks were piled upon rocks,
and where in some places large masses must
be blasted, and in others removed and covered
with good soil, before the plow could possibly
be employed, required of course a great deal
of time and labor; but the industry and zeal
with which Oberlin himself began to put in
practice every scheme that successively occurred to him, had such an influence upon the
minds of his parishioners, that, after the prejudices of the few first years had entirely subsided, they seldom failed to enter into his views,
and to imitate his example: the plan was tried,
and answered his most sanguine expectations.
In the year 1778, he formed, at the Ban de
la Roche, a little Agricultural Society, cornposed of the more intelligent farmers and the
best informed inhabitants of his parish; and,
having invited the pastors of the  adjacent
towns and some of his friends to become members, he connected it with that of Strasbourg,
in order to secure the communication of periodical works, and assistance in the distribution
of prizes; and the latter Society, wishing to
encourage its interesting auxiliary, intrusted to
its disposal the sum of two hundred francs, to
be distributed among such peasants as should
most distinguish themselves in the planting of
nursery grounds and in the grafting of fruittrees.
The good effects resulting from this measure
induced Oberlin likewise to form a fund, supported by voluntary contributions, for the distribution of prizes to the farmers of each commune, who should rear the finest ox.  A short




70          IMEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
time afterwards, with a view  to prepare the
rising generation for continuing the works
which their fathers had begun, and to give the
opportunity of acquiring useful information, he
commenced the plan of devoting two hours
every other Thursday morning to a familiar lecture on the subjects of agriculture and of useful science.
Such, indeed, was his assiduity, that not a
year rolled away in which some astonishing improvement was not effected in the condition or
the morals of his people; and the surrounding
districts beheld with admiration the rapid progress that civilization was continually making,
in the once neglected and apparently forsaken
Steinthal.
CHAPTER IV.
Oberlin's address to his parishioners on the commence.
ment of a new year-Erection of a new school-house
in the Ban de la Roche-Progress of civilizationFour other school-houses erected-Introduction of infant schools, under the care of conductrices-Public
schools-Weekly assembling of the children at Waldbach, to receive religious instruction-Establishment
of a circulating library-Almanac-Christian Society
established in 1782-Abrogation of that Society.
WHILE Oberlin was thus zealous in encouraging the progress of agriculture, and in forming his people to habits of industry, he attended
with equal solicitude to what related more immediately to his pastoral functions, as the following address to his parishioners, on the comr
mencement of the New Year, 1779, bears ample
testimony.




ADDRESS TO HIS PARISHIONERS.    71
"JANUARY 1, 1779.
"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new."-Rev. xxi. 5.
"Through the grace of God we have entered
upon a new year. 0, that it may be new with
espect to our sins, our sufferings, and the
temptations with which we may have to combat.
"As to sins, may their number diminish day
by day, and may we be more constantly animated, and governed, by the spirit of our Lord
Jesus.Christ. As to sufferings and tribulations,
may they produce the effect which God designs
in sending them, namely, that of detaching our
affections from this transitory.world, and of rendering us attentive to his will and Word. May
they quicken us to prayer; and induce us to
strive more earnestly to enter in at the strait
gate, and to'press toward the mark for the
prize of our high calling.' And, as to the
temptations which may be placed in our way,
may we live entirely to Jesus Christ, and maintain constant communion with him, in order
that we may receive, from time to time, fresh
supplies of grace and strength to resist them
and be enabled to bring forth fruits of right
eousness, to the glory of God, and to the hono.
of his Holy Gospel. 0 Lord, be thou pleased
with the renewal of the year, to renew onu
strength. 0 Lord Jesus Christ, thou hast said' I make all things new.' 0 make our faith new
also.
".May this year be marked by a more lively
more deep, and more serious repentance; h
greater fervor in supplicating the influences o




72         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
God's Holy Spirit; by renewed earnestness in
devoting ourselves to Him, and to his service.
May we look to Him, and employ all our mental and bodily powers, our time, and our property, to his glory, and to the purpose for which
Jesus quitted his throne, namely, the conversion
and happiness of mankind. O may we, this
year, apply ourselves, with renewed faithfulness, to obey all his commandments, and all his
precepts.
" May this year be distinguished by an in
crease of the number of the children of God
and of the followers of Jesus Christ; by the
weakening of the kingdom of Satan within us,
and by the coming of the kingdom of God.
" May we, not only during the present, but,
also, during each succeeding year which God
shall grant us in this probationary world, become more and more prepared for a blessed
eternity-abound more in prayers of intercession and supplication-shed more tears of penitence, contrition, love, and pity-and perform
more good works, in order that we may reap
an abundant harvest on that day, when God,
through Jesus Christ, shall'make all things
new.' "
The instruction of the young also engaged,
in an especial manner, a large portion of Ober.
lin's care and attention. When he entered on
his charge, in 1767, the only regular schoolhouse in the five villages, was Stouber's hut,
which, having been constructed of unseasoned
wood, was in a most miserable and ruinous
condition.  His parishioners were, however,
very averse to his proposition of erecting a




PUBLIC SCHOOLtS.            73
more convenient one; and, instead of feeling
grateful for the benefit he intended to confer
on their children, complained that, notwithstanding their extreme poverty, he wished to
burden them  with fresh expenses; alleging,
that as the old hut had answered very well
hitherto, they were sure it would do for a long
time to come.  He had no other way of silencing their objections, than by entering into
a formal engagement with the overseers of the
commune, that neither the expense of building nor repairing the projected school-house,
though erected for the public good, should ever
become chargeable on the parish funds. Had
he not made this stipulation, he would have
found in the parents themselves, the most obstinate enemies of his plans for the happiness
of their children.
He then applied to some of his benevolent
friends at Strasbourg, for assistance in defraying the expenses of the erection. But though
the money thus collected, was by no means
sufficient for the purpose, and his own little
property and narrow income (not exceeding
$200) scarcely admitted of his prudently embarking in any undertaking which involved
pecuniary responsibility, he resolved to commence it; for neither personal considerations
nor the fear of being unable to meet contingent
expenses, ever deterred him from putting into
execution schemes of usefulness. He had an
unbounded confidence in the goodness of his
heavenly Father, and was convinced, as he
often said, that if he asked for any thing with
faith, and it was really right that the thing
G




4         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
should take place, it would infallibly be grant.
ed to his prayers. —   When, indeed, are our
plans more likely to succeed, than when we
enter upon them in humble and simple dependence upon God, whose blessing alone can render them successful?"
The event afforded a fresh evidence of this
truth.  Not only was the projected building
completed, without material injury to his own
slender finances, but, in the course of a few
years, a school-house was erected in each of
the other four villages; and, such was the progress of civilization, that the inhabitants came
voluntarily forward, and seconded the projects
of their pastor, by offering to take upon themselves both the trouble and the expense attending them.  During the construction of these
necessary buildings the preparation of masters
continued; but as Oberlin had observed with
concern the disadvantages to which the younger
children were subjected, whilst their elder
brothers and sisters were at school, and their
parents busily engaged in their daily avocations, he laid down a plan for the introduction
of infant schools also; probably the very first
ever established, and the model of those subsequently opened at Paris, and still more recently in this country. Observation and experience had convinced him, that, even from the
very cradle, children are capable of being
taught to distinguish between right and wrong,
and of being trained to habits of subordination
and industry; and, in conjunction with his
wife, he therefore formed conductrices for each
commune, engaged large  ooms for them, and




INFANT SCHOOLS.             75
salaried them at his own expense. Instruction,
in these schools, was mingled with amusement,
and whilst enough of discipline was introduced
to instil habits of subjection, a degree of liberty was allowed, which left the infant mind
full power of expansion, and information was
conveyed which might turn to the most important use in after life. During school hours,
the children were collected on forms in great
circles. Two women were employed, the one
to direct the handicraft, the other to instruct
and entertain them. Whilst the children of
two or three years old only, were made at intervals to sit quietly by, those of five or six
were taught to knit, spin and sew; and, when
they were beginning to be weary of this occupation, their conductrice showed them colored
pictures relating to Scripture subjects, or natural history, making them recite after her the
explanations she gave. She also explained geographical maps of France, Europe, or the Ban
de la Roche, and its immediate environs, engraved in wood for the purpose, by Oberlin's
direction, and mentioned the names of the
different places marked upon them; in addition
to this, she taught them to sing moral songs
and hymns.  Thus she varied their employments as much as possible, taking care to keep
them  continually occupied, and never permitting them to speak a word of patois.
With minds thus stored and trained by discipline, the children, when arrived at a proper
* By this means correct French was introduced into
the Ban de la Roche, and the patois, which resembles the
old French of the twelfth century, partly abolished.




76         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
age, entered what may be called the public
schools, and the masters were relieved and encouraged in their duties (which, in such a situation, were sufficiently arduous) by the progress they had already made.  Reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, the principles of
agriculture, astronomy, and sacred and profane
history, were regularly taught in the higher
schools; but, although Oberlin carefully superintended the whole proceedings, he reserved
for himself, almost exclusively, the religious
instruction of this large family. Every Sunday
the children of each village, in rotation, assembled at the church, to sing the hymns they
had learned, to recite the religious lessons
which they had committed to memory during
the week, and to receive the exhortations or
admonitions of their common father.
Besides this Sabbath service, with a view to
excite a spirit of emulation between the several schools, and to improve the modes of instruction by comparing those of the several
masters, Oberlin established a weekly meeting
of all the scholars at Waldbach. This proved
a means of stimulating them to industry, for
they  knew  that the  " Cher Papa," (dear
father) as he was designated by all his parishioners, attentively watched their progress, and
they were most anxious to secure his approving
smiles: so universally was he beloved, that
those smiles were regarded by the children, as
a sufficient reward for all the labors of the past
week.
The success that attended these benevolent,
and interesting exertions, inducec his friends




HIS ALMANAC.              77
at Strasbourg to increase their subscriptions;
endowments were even added, (which were
lost at the Revolution,) and Oberlin was thus
enabled to establish a library of valuable works
for the private use of the children; and to
have a number of school-books, such as the' Coup d'ceil sir la nature," and " L'Ami des
Enfans," printed for the exclusive use of the
Ban de la Roche; he also made a collection of
indigenous plants, and procured an electrical
machine, and other philosophical and mathematical instruments.  Prizes were  likewise
awarded to both masters and scholars; and various works upon natural history and other
branches of science, some of which he printed
at his own expense, put in circulation on the
plan of'a little book society, being retained for
three months at a time, first at one village and
then at another, passing successively fiom
house to house, in order that the younger
members of the family might be supplied with
a continual fund of useful and agreeable information.
Oberlin about this time, drew up an almanac, divested of all the falsehoods and superstitions with which those in use were filled,
thinking that their tendency was to mislead
and deceive uneducated persons.  I do not
possess a copy of this almanac, but it concludes
with the following passages, in reference to the
purposes for which it was written, which show
that he thought nothing beneath his notice that
seemed likely to please 3r instruct his parishioners.
G2




78         MIEMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
" Advice to my countrymen of the Ban de la
Roche, upon this Almanac.
"1. The people of Germany have private
almanacs, divided, by means of ruled lines,
into a number of partitions. In each partition
the names of the different individuals of the
family are written, with a little blank space
below them, in order that some notice may
there be made of the manner in which the day
has been past, or any necessary memoranda inserted. I have at length prepared such an almanac for your use.
" 2. The Strasbourg children are accustomed to find their baptismal names in their almanac, and to celebrate the days on which
they are recorded. You may also do the same
with yours. They will all be found in this almanac.
" 3. The fathers and mothers of large and
numerous families are often puzzled to find
pretty baptismal names, to distinguish their
children from those who bear the same family
name. Henceforth, if they will consult this
new  almanac, they will soon be enabled to
decide.
" 4. In your common almanacs you find, and
pay for, a number of incomprehensible things;
for others absolutely useless; and for others
contrary to the commands of God, such as
prognostics of the weather, nativities, predictions from the planets according to birth-days,
lucky and unlucky days, or good or bad omens.
This new almanac is divested of all such non.
sense.




HIS ALMANAC.              79
"5. The changes of the moon, eclipses, and
even some information respecting the course
of the planets; the names and figures of the
twelve signs of the zodiac; the time of the
sun's rising and setting; and even the number
of the months, and that of the weeks, are, you
will find, nevertheless, inserted here.
"6. I have been frequently asked the signification of names of a strange origin. By
means of this almanac, I am enabled to give a
reply to all my parishioners, for it contains the
signification of every-name, which can be ascertained with certainty.
" 7. What a pity, you will perhaps say, that
it is come so late! I say the same. It ought
to have been completed before the end of January. But what good do you possess, the acquisition of which has not been retarded by
various delays and obstacles? For my own
part, I am so accustomed to expect this, in
every thing I do for you, that I am heartily
glad it is accomplished, even at this late period.
" 8. What does it cost, you will inquire.
Dear friends! this almanac is the fruit of my
long-cherished desires to promote your good.
Accept it as such. If it proves of any real
benefit to you, or affords you a moment's gratification, look up to your heavenly Father, and
say,' Thy goodness, 0 Lord, has crowned me
with blessings. Permit me to thank thee for
them; and do thou strengthen, by whatever
means it may please thee to employ, the feeble
faith of thy too feeble child."'
Oberlin knew how to blend amusement with
instruction in the wisest and most judicious




80            MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
manner; and whilst his primary object ever
was to ground the young people in the principles of our Christian faith, and to induce them
to consider religion as the guardian and inspirer of their happiness, he had also the talent
of diffusing amongst them that taste for pastoral and agricultural life, which their circum
stances rendered so peculiarly desirable.
In order to familiarize the children of twelve
or fifteen years of age with these pursuits, they
were accustomed to write, under the direction
of their teachers, short essays on agriculture
and the management of fruit trees, selected
and extracted from  the best authors.  These
they afterwards committed to memory; and, at
the annual examination, they were expected to
give answers to the questions proposed.
The Ban de la Roche presented a delightful
field for botany,* and they were, even at a still
earlier period, initiated in the principles of
that pleasing science, being allowed to ramble
in the woods, in summer, in search of plants,
of which they had learned the names and properties during the winter, and to transplant them
into little gardens of their own, which their
* Of 4874 species of plants, which compose the French
Flora, nearly 700 are found growing naturally in the
small extent of uneven surface forming the Haut Champ.
The flora of these primitive mountains might be estimated at about 1003, including the hypoxylons, and other
azotic plants.
The evergreens, such as the lichens, mosses, horse-tails,
brakes, hepatice, coniferae, and the families which delight
in elevated or umbrageous situations, and little vegetable
ihould, form the principal clothing of the heights of the
Ban de la Roche.-WILS.




PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION.            81
parents had been induced to give them for the
exercise of their industry and skill. They
were also taught to draw the flowers; an art
in which some of them succeeded remarkably
well.From what has been related, it will be sup.
posed that the schoolmasters were, at this period, persons of a somewhat different description from the shepherd schoolmasters in Stouber's time.  Individuals of the first distinction
in the village were generally fixed upon for the
office, now become a very important one; and
indeed at Bellfosse the character of mayor and
schoolmaster were at one time united in the
same person. They were still called " Regents,"
according to M. Stouber's original suggestion,
and were paid on a plan fixed by law: widows,
masters of families and each particular child
sent to school, had a certain proportion topay.
Among other things, the r6gents were required to impress upon the minds of their pu* The editor has seen several groups of flowers copied
from nature by Oberlin's scholars. She has in her possession a garland of roses and heart's-ease, upon which
the children of our charity schools would look with astonishment, were they told it was painted by a poor little
boy in similar circumstances with themselves. The following text is neatly written, in French, in the centre:Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the
Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God."Isaiah 62: 3. And underneath are inscribed these
words:-" Will you, Mr. Legrand, accept this slight
token of sincere gratitude, from your humble and dutiful
scholar,                "GUSTAVUS SCHEIDECKER."
Thus were the little children of the Ban de la Roche
accustomed to acknowledge their obligations, to those who
kindly took charge of their ed -'ation.




82           IMEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
pils, that, from the peculiarity of their local
circumstances, (their maintenance depending
almost entirely on the products of the valley,)
it was a duty  incumbent upon the youth to
contribute their share towards the general prosperity; and, previously to receiving religious
confirmation, they were expected to bring a
certificate from their parents, that they had
planted, in a spot described, two young trees.''A It is the injunction of the Apostle that "whether we
eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory
of God," —1 Cor. 10: 31. The views of religion, which
Oberlin entertained, made him bring the greatest principles to the minutest operation. He would take a stone
out of the road, if it were likely to incommode a traveller, on the principle of love to his neighbor; and, in this
manner, he argued respecting all the duties in which
mankind are engaged. Take, for instance, a direction to
his people on planting trees. This, with other men,
would be an affair of convenience; with him, in his circumstances, it was a religious duty. He thus addressed
his parishioners:
" November 13, 1803.
"Dear Friends,
" Satan, the enemy of mankind, rejoices
when we demolish and destroy. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
on the contrary, rejoices when we labor for the public
good.
"You all desire to be saved by Him, and hope to become partakers of his glory. Please Him, then, by every
possible means, during the remainder of the time you
may have to live in this world.
"He is pleased, when, from a principle of love, you
plant trees for the public benefit. Now is the season. Be
willing then to plant them. Plant them also in the best
possible manner. Remember you do it to please Him.
"Put all your roads into good condition; ornament
them; employ some of your trees for this purpose, and
attend to their growth."




CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.            83'The day on which the first fruit was presented
to their beloved pastor, was an interesting and
useful festival.
Thus Were the clouds of ignorance, which
had, for a long period, settled on the Ban de la
Roche, gradually dispelled by the enlightening
influence of Christian education; and this at a
time when knowledge was considered unnecessary, and dangerous for the poorer classes; and
when the modern systems of cheap and mechanical instruction were almost entirely unknown.  The change, that was, in the course
of a few years, effected in this place, is the
more extraordinary, when we reflect upon the
state of the people, previous to Oberlin's arrival; and, in contemplating it, we are involuntarily led to unite with him, in ascribing the
praise to that great and glorious Being to whom
alone it is due, and who had thus caused " the
waters to break out in the wilderness, and
streams in the desert." The total renunciation
of any thing'like merit of his own, formed a
remarkable and striking feature in Oberlin's
character; he regarded himself merely as the
instrument whom it had pleased God to employ,
and was frequently heard to say " I have little
merit in the good I have done; I have only
that of obedience to the will of God.  He has
been graciously pleased to manifest his intentions to me, and has always given me the means
of executing them."
In the year 1782, Oberlin, in the hope of ad
vancing the spiritual interests of his people
established a society, which he denominated
" The Christian society." The following is a




84         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
summary of the Rules, translated from  the
original, in his own hand-writing.
Rubrics of the Christian Society, for assisting
the memory of the Members, and especially
that of the Superintendents, whose duty it is
to see that they are duly observed.
1. Regeneration.
2. Sanctification.
3. " We are all one in Christ Jesus."
4. "Abide in me."
5. "Christ is all, and in all."
6. "Bring forth much fruit."
7. "Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world."
8. Nourish the inner man, by
(1.) The word of God.
(2.) Continual prayer.
(3.) The frequent use of the Holy Sacrament.
9. The Superintendents are the Overseers,
whom the members choose from among themselves.
10. Not only the superintendents, but also
all the members, ought to watch over each
other for good; to exhort, and to warn each
other.
11. With sweetness, charity, humility, and
patience.
12. As to the incorrigible-follow the exam
ple of Jesus Christ, Matt. 18: 15, 16.
13. Meet for prayer on this subject.




CHRISTIAN SOCTETY.          85
14. B1t submissive to your superiors. All the
members are fellow-workers with their pastor.
15. Good management.
16. Good education.
17. " Wives, be in subjection to your own
husbands."
18. " Search the Scriptures," diligently.
19. Diligence. Diligence with application
and energy-that is to say, industry.
20. " Be careful for nothing."
21. Lose no time.
22. Allow of no idleness or negligence, on
the part of those confided to your care.
23. Honest and exact payment; no artfulness
or cunning.-See Rom. 12: 17.
24. " Be kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love."
25. Endeavor to promote the happiness of
all.
26. " Provoke unto love and to good works."
27. Appropriate part of your earnings, at
stated intervals, to the public good."
This Society seems, by the account which is
given of it, to have been established for the
purpose of prayer and religious conversation.
It appears to have been violently opposed, and
spoken against, by some persons in the parish,
which induced Oberlin, in the supposition that
the scandal of the bad prevailed over the advantage of the good, to put it down about a
year and a half after its formation. At its dissolution, he delivered an address on the subject,
to his parishioners. It alludes to the cause of
its abrogation; and affords such complete evi
dence of his devotedness to God, and love to
H




86           MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
his Savior, as well as boldness in reproving sin
and prudence in preventing any just cause of
censure, that I give it entire:
MAY 1, 1783.
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which
shall believe on me through their word. That they all
may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us; that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me.-John 17: 20, 21.
" THESE verses contain the last desire, the
last prayer of our gracious Redeemer-his
earnest prayer, since it was four times repeated-the  union  of all his beloved  disciples
among themselves and with him, as he and the
Father are one.
" As the pastor of your parish, a minister of
the Gospel, and a servant of Jesus Christ, my
aim ought to be to do the will of Jesus Christ;
to bring souls to him; and to unite them together in him. Such was my aim, in establishing two years since the Christian Society.
"Every end requires means.  I could have
wished that all my parishioners might by degrees have associated themselves with it. I
have often publicly invited them. Some have
complied.  Mlore than one hundred and thirty
individuals have been friends to it, and have
willingly kept company with us, to listen tc
what was going forward.  Some have declared
themselves enemies.  Some have calumniated
it, without even understanding its purport, or
wishing to understand it, although the doors of
the church were open, and they had, more
than two hundred times, the opportunity of re.
maining to se- what passed.  Some amongst




ABROGATION OF THE SOCIETY.        87
them, have calumniated it against their con.
science. They have said that I placed sentinels at the doors, to prevent those who were
not members from entering. This was a downright falsehood.
"By what means then did you come, you
from all the five villages-who were so often
auditors without being members?
" The greater part of the members did not
announce themselves to be such, till they knew
and understood the principles, by which the
Society was regulated.  How were they able
to do this, if sentinels were posted to prevent
their approach? How did Mr.  -  the elder, of
Waldbach, and Mr.      of Foudai, manage,
-who, without being members, have been
present so frequently? How did Messrs. 
manage?-the family of Marechal, of Wald.
bach, the founders of Rothau, the wife of M
le Regent, and many other persons, who were
so often with us, that we were never once alone
There have been many other individuals, who
were not members, present.
" If they have had the hardihood to invent
such falsehoods respecting us, as they now refuse to acknowledge, how much greater may
they have invented?
" Your gracious Lord earnestly desires that
you should all be true Christians-such as the
Gospel portrays-and such as I have endeavored to make you, whether through this Society,
or through any other means.
" But, on account of some atrocious calumnies respecting it, I am come to the resolution
of abrogatingits name and external form:-a




88         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
thing which I can do the more easily, because
Christianity does not consist either in names,
or in external forms.
" I abrogate it then to-day; and I abrogate
it as fully assured of God's direction in doing
so, as I was assured of his direction in its establishment. And this partly for the following
reasons:
" 1st. I have, in a great measure, obtained
the end I had in view.
" 2d. Names and external forms are not essential, but are subject to vicissitude.
" 3d. In the event of my death or removal,
this external form would have been liable to
change; and the members, overtaken by surprise, would have resembled, in some degree,
sheep without a shepherd, and would not have
known what to do. It is better that this should
happen during my life-time.
" I have said that I have, in a great measure,
obtained my end.
" FIRST. With respect to those who have
been willing to become members.
" 1st. They have had the opportunity of declaring themselves on the side of their Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, and of acknowledging
him, which is a thing of no trivial importance,
if we recollect that passage in Matth. 10: 32,'Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before
men, him will I also confess before my Father
which is in heaven.'
"2d. They have learned to know more of
their spiritual wants; and how necessary it is
for them to be found in Christ Jests,' without




ABROGATION OF THE SOCIETY.        89
spot and blameless,''rooted and built up in
him, and established in the faith.'
"3d. They have felt, more than ever, the
duty and necessity of prayer. Many, previous
to the formation of this society, had not even
an idea of that continual prayer of the heart,
which Jesus Christ recommends to his disciples,
Luke 18.
" 4th. They have been led to feel that many
souls are anxious for their salvation. They
know, now, where to seek the friends of God.,
and of Jesus Christ, in order to enjoy the edification and benefit of Christian communion.
" 5th. They have learned' to be kind to one
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another,
even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven
them.
4" SECONDLY. With respect to those who have
not been members. A  number of precious
souls have been awakened from their sleep, and
although they could not resolve to declare
themselves members, yet they have been induced to pay more attention to their spiritual
necessities-have been led to look upon themselves as sinners-have learned to tremble for
their salvation-and have become also' instant
in prayer.'
"1st. I cannot sufficiently thank God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the
good that he has, through this medium, been
pleased to effect in my dear parish; and for the
evident blessing that has rested upon it.  May
he watch over it, and grant that the good fruits
brought forth may be perfected, and rendered
permanent.  May the kingdom  of our Lord
H 2




90          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
Jesus Christ be promoted, and extended, by
any other means that he may see meet to appoint.
" 2d. May he sustain his church, according
to his promise, Mat. 16: 18, so that'the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it.' May He,
who said to his disciples,' He that receiveth
you, receiveth me,' register all its members in
his Book of Life.  May he abundantly shed
his Holy Spirit upon them, and'grave them
upon the palms of his hands,' so that no one
may be able to draw them away, or to turn
them from him. May he protect them, sanctify them, purify them, and prepare them for
their heavenly inheritance.
"3d. I thank God also, for all those who'have shown themselves friends to this Society.
May He reward you for the joy which you have
thus imparted to your distressed and afflicted
pastor.
" May He bring you nearer and nearer to
Jesus. May you become of the number of his
own dear people-a people zealous of good
works-the sheep of his beloved little flock.
" 4th. I thank those who have permitted
their wives and children to belong to it, and to
declare themselves openly. May God recompense them for all that they have done'unto
the least of my brethren.' May he recompense
them also richly and eternally, for the good
which they have done to their wives and children, in permitting them to participate in the
contempt which Jests Christ suffered; to bear
his cross; and to bee )me partakers in the prom



PRAYER MEETINGS.             91
ise which our Lord has made to those who con.
fess his name before men.
" 0 my dear auditors! leave, leave, I entreat
you, the ways of Belial. Devote yourselves to
the Lord Jesus. He is able and willing to receive every soul that earnestly seeks him; he
will cast out none that come unto him; having
shed his blood for all, he desires to receive all
into his arms. Hasten then to be saved. Time
flies away; death draws near.' There is none
other name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved,' than Jesus Christ,
whom I preach unto you. Hasten to him. Fly
to him.  Pray, mourn, weep; seek after him
in the secret of your hearts, until you find him.
Amen.
In the course of the year 1784, Oberlin
had the following paper printed in French and
German, and placed in a conspicuous station
in every cottage throughout his extensive parish. It serves to prove at how early a period
the subject of missions occupied his mind, and
led him to form those monthly prayer meetings
to promote this object, which are now carried
forward by most of the denominations of Chris.
tians throughout the world.
"Our Lord Jesus Christ desires his followers
to espouse his interests; to aid him in his great
work; and to pray in his name.  To conduce
to this end, he has himself furnished them
with one common prayer.
" For the satisfaction and assistance of some
individuals amongst us, a sort of Spiritual Association was established a few years ago; and




92         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
by means of printed sheets, the following articles were agreed upon, and circulated:" FIRST. Every member of this Society shall
pray, on the first Monday of every month, that
the Missionaries employed in the conversion
of savage and idolatrous nations in all parts of
the world, may be supported and sustained,'against the wiles of the devil.'
" SECONDLY. Besides  habitual' watching
unto prayer,' every individual, if he be able,
shall prostrate himself in mind and body, every
Sunday and Wednesday, at five o'clock in the
evening, to ask of God, in the name of Jesus
Christ"1st. That every member of this Society
may be saved, with all his household, and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
"2d. Every member shall add to the list, all
the friends of God of his acquaintance, and
pray for them.
" 3d. Every member shall include in his
prayer all the children of God, in general, upon
all the earth, of whatever religion they may
be, supplicating that they may be united more
and more in Christ Jesus.
"4th. Every member shall pray that the
kingdom of Satan may be at length destroyed,
and that the kingdom of God, and of our Lord
Jesus Christ, may be fully and generally established among the innumerable Pagans, Turks,
Jews, and nominal Christians.
" 5th. Every member shall pray for schoolmasters, superiors, and pious magistrates, of
whatever name or rank they may be.
" 6th. For faithful pastors, and male and fe



HIS FAMILY.                   93
male laborers in the vineyard of the Lord Jesus, who, being themselves devoted to his service, desire, above all things, to bring many
other souls to him.
" 7th. For the youth, that God may preserve
them from the seducing influence of bad ex
ample, and lead them to the knowledge of our
gracious Redeemer.
"THIRDLY. Every Saturday evening all the
members shall ask God to bless the preaching
of his Holy Word on the morrow."
CHAPTER V.
Death of Mrs. Oberlin-Its effect upon Oberlin's mindLouisa Schepler becomes his housekeeper-Letter from
the latter-Letter, taken from a German Magazine
printed at Tubingen, containing an account of Oberlin
and his family, in the year 1793-Death of his eldest
son Frederic.*
ANIMATED by desires of usefulness, habitually relying on the goodness of their heavenly
Father, and stimulating each other to active
exertion in the performance of every Christian
* The editor regrets that she has not been able to procure any particular documents relative to Oberlin's proceedings, in the interval between the death of his wife,
in 1784, and that of his son Frederic, in 1793. That his
exertions for the good of his flock were, however, carried
forward with unrelaxed energy, the improved appearance
of the Ban de la Roche, and the extraordinary change
effected amongst the young people there, during that period, bear ample testimony. Since writing the above
lines, the editor has had the gratification of receiving a
corroboration of her statement, from Mr. Heisch. " It
was during this period," he writes, " that I mostly visited




94           MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
duty, Oberlin and his beloved Madeleine passed sixteen years in a union cemented by the
ties of the strongest affection. Their family
now consisted of seven children, Frederic, Fidelite Caroline, Charles Conserve, Henry Gottfried, Louisa Charite, Henrietta, and Frederica
Bienvenue, all of whom were brought up under
the paternal roof.`
On the 18th  of January, 1784, it pleased
God that an event should take place, which
had a most powerful influence both upon the
cast of his mind and the whole of his future
life.  This was the loss of his wife.  She died
rather suddenly, about ten weeks after her last
confinement.  No  unfavorable  symptoms, no
incipient disease had prepared Oberlin for this
distressing  separation.  When  first informed
of it, he was so much overpowered as to remain
for some moments plunged in the deepest silence, and unable to give utterance to his feelings. At length, after this interval of melanthe Ban de la Roche once a year for a few weeks. I
found the different intellectual, religious, and moral engines always at work, with more or less energy; and
practical alterations and improvements always going forwards."
* "I knew Oberlin," says Mr. Heisch, "as the playfellow and instructor of his children when they were
young, and as their friend and counsellor when they arrived at years of maturity. In the character of instructor, he so well knew how to mingle affection with earnestness, and even with severity when requisite, that his
children both loved and respected him; and in that of a
friend, there was an endearing tenderness that not only
constituted their happiness, but formed also a constant
stimulus to their exertions."




DEATH OF MRS. OBERLIN.           95
choly stupor, he was observed suddenly to fall
on his knees and return thanks to God, that
the object of his tenderest solicitude was now
beyond the reach or the need of prayer, and
that he had crowned the abundance of his mercies towards her, by giving her so easy and
gentle a dismissal.  He has himself commemorated, in a written fragment, which will be inserted in a future part of this memoir, the emotions by which he was ag tated in these moments of bitter suffering.  " Upon this occasion," says he, "as upon a thousand others i;i
the course of my life, notwithstanding my overwhelming affliction, I was upheld, by God's
gracious assistance, in a remarkable manner."
From that time the passive graces shone as
conspicuously in his character as the active
virtues had hitherto done. Neither complaint
nor murmur escaped his lips. It might be said
that he had not ceased to live in the society of
the Christian wife whom he had lost. Every
day he devoted whole hours to holding communion with her in those elevated frames of
mind, which require not the aid of superstition
to make us conscious of the presence of those
whom  we love.  A  speedy reunion, in the
mansions of our Father's house, was, nevertheless, one of his most cherished desires.  " I
hope," he would often say, " that the world in
which God will reunite me to my beloved wife
will soon open to me."
This desire had nothing of a transitory character; it was not the mere result of acute grief,
nor the effect of any habitual melancholy
Although his sorrows might have contributed




96         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
to strengthen it, it had its origin in a religious
feeling. Like St. Paul, he desired to depart to
be with Christ, which to him was far better.
He longed to be able to unite his voice with
hers he had lost, in singing the song of the
Lamb, and to participate in that " fullness of
joy" which " God hath prepared for those who
love him."  " I have had all my life," he-says,
in the paper to which allusion has been already
made, and which was written the very year he
lost his wife, "'a desire, occasionally a very
strong one, to die, owing, in some degree, to
the consciousness of my moral infirmities, and
of my frequent derelictions. My affection for
my wife and children, and my attachment to
my parish, have sometimes checked this desire,
though for short intervals only."
These few words seem  to lay open the very
secret of his soul.  While he was blasting
rocks, levelling roads, building bridges, fertilizing fields, improving the morals and promoting
the happiness of his flock, the expressions just
cited, prove what was the moving principle by
which he was actuated. That which induced
him to become the benefactor of these districts
-that which led him to devote so much time
to the prosecution of his plans, was the everpresent thought of death and eternity; and the
habitual remembrance of the responsibility attached to talents, and to opportunities of usefulness. He knew that his soul would be required of him; he desired that it might be so
speedily; and, in order that he might hear'the
joyful sound, "Well done, good and faithful
servant," he dedicated every faculty he pos



LETTER TO A LADY.             97
sessed to the interests of others, living himself
by faith in the Son of God, and resting entirely
on his propitiation.
His patience and resignation not only under
this, but under every other affliction that it
pleased God to award to him during the whole
course of his life, was striking and exemplary.
After the first bitterness of grief was over, his
soul always seemed " to be girding itself up,"
and, as it were, "stretching its wings" in expectation of that joyful period when it should
leave mortality behind, and soar to the regions
of everlasting blessedness-to join " the innumerable company of angels, and the general
assembly and church of the first-born." " Millions of times," he continues, in the paper mentioned above, " have I besought God to enable
me to surrender myself with entire and filial
submission to his will, either to live or to die:
and to bring me into such a state of resignation,
as neither to wish, nor to say, nor to do, nor
to undertake any thing, but what He, who only
is wise and good, sees to be best."
The following extract from a letter which he
wrote to a lady, who had been tried by many
successive bereavements, in the hope of convincing her that such dispensations are permitted, to strengthen our graces, and to promote our spiritual refinement, will illustrate his
lively faith and fervent piety, as well as the
simple and original mode in which he was accustomed to pour out the language of his heart
ir epistolary converse. " I have before me two
stones, which  are in imitation of precious
stones. They are both perfectly alike in color;
I




98          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
they are of the same water, clear, pure, and
clean; yet there is a marked difference between them, as to their lustre and brilliancy.
One has a dazzling brightness, while the other
is dull, so that the eye passes over it, and derives no pleasure from the sight.  What can
be the reason of such a difference? It'is this.
The one is cut but in a few facets; the other
has ten times as many. These facets are produced by a very violent operation! it is requisite to cut, to smooth, and polish. Had these
stones been endued with life, so as to have
been capable of feeling what they underwent,
the one which has received eightyfacets would
have thought itself very unhappy, and would
have envied the fate of the other, which, having
received but eight, had undergone but a tenth
part of its sufferings. Nevertheless, the operation being over, it is done for ever: the difference between the two stones always remains
strongly marked; that which has suffered but
little, is entirely eclipsed by the other, which
alone is held in estimation, and attracts attention. May not this serve to explain the saying
of our Savior, whose words always bear some
reference to eternity:'Blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted.'-Blessed,
whether we contemplate them apart, or in comparison with those who have not passed through
so many trials. Oh! that we were always able
to cast ourselves into his arms, like little children-to draw near to him, like helpless lambs
-and ever to ask of him, patience, resignation,
an entire surrender to his will, faith, trust, and
a heartfelt obedience to the commands which




LOUISA SCHEPLER.             99
he gives to those who are willing to be his disciples.'The Lord God will wipe away tears
from off all faces.' Isa. 25: 8."
Mrs. Oberlin's death was deeply felt among
the poor people of the Ban de la Roche; for
although less active and energetic than her
husband, she had always evinced the liveliest
interest in their concerns, sought to administer
to their wants, both secular and spiritual, and
to assuage their griefs.
Her loss was in some degree supplied to her
own family by a pious orphan, named Louisa
Schepler, who had already lived eight years in
Oberlin's service, and who now undertook the
management of his household and the care of
his children.
She was at this time twenty-three years of
age; a sensible, pleasing-looking young woman,
of mild and gentle manners, habited in the costume of the peasants of the country. She had
been a kind of helper in the village of Waldbach, and long one of its most active and zealous conductrices; but her health was beginning
to be impaired by the severe colds she took in
the snows. This circumstance did not, however, lessen her usefulness; and no sooner had
she accepted the station of housekeeper to the' dear father," than, refusing offers of marriage,
she took the resolution of devoting herself tc
his service, and would never accept any salary,
but lived in his family rather as a friend than
a servant. What her few wants required she
asked for-nothing more; and on some occasions, when Oberlin endeavored, through indirect channels, to put money into her hands,




100         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
she, conjecturing the source from whence it
came, uniformly returned it.
The following note, dated " Waldbach, First
of the New Year, 1793," addressed by Louisa
to her benefactor, is a sweet little proof of her
disinterested and grateful affection.
"Dear and beloved Papa,
" Permit me, at the commencement of
the new year, to request a favor which I have
long desired. As I am now really independent,
that is to say, as I have no longer my father
nor his debts to attend to, I beseech you, dear
papa, not to refuse me the favor of making me
your adopted daughter. Do not, I entreat you,
give me any more wages; for as you treat me
like your child in every other respect, I earnestly wish you to do so in this particular also.
Little is needful for the support of my body.
My shoes, and stockings, and sabots, [wooden
shoes,] will cost something, but when I want
them I can ask you for them, as a child applies
to its father.
" Oh! I entreat you, dear papa, grant me this
favor, and condescend to regard me as your
most tenderly attached daughter.
"LOUISA SCHEPLER."
The humble request was acceded to, and
Louisa was ever afterwards considered as one
of Oberlin's own children.
1 shall here introduce the following interest.
ing letter, because it presents so lively a picture
of the domestic happiness enjoyed under the
good pastor's roof at Waldbach, and of the




LETTER IN THE GERMAN MAGAZINE.  101
mode of proceeding there, at this period. It is
dated March 11th, 1793.
" During the space of nearly thirty years, in
which M. Oberlin has been Christian pastor of
this canton, he has completely  changed  it.
The language is, from an unintelligible patois,
altered into pure French; the manners of the
people, without degenerating, are civilized;
and ignorance is banished without injuring the
simplicity of their character.  Many of the
women belonging to his parishes, trained for
the purpose under his paternal care and instruction, (and called conductrices,) assist him
in  his  occupations.  They  teach  reading,
writing, and the elements of geography, in the
different villages where  they  reside; and
through their medium  the children  are instructed in many necessary things, but, above
all, have the seeds of religion and morality
sown in their hearts. The excellence of these
schools is so well established and appreciated,
that girls of the middle ranks are sent to him
from distant parts, and the title of a scholar
of Pastor Oberlin is no less than a testimonial
of piety, cleverness, and gentle manners. His
countenance is open, affectionate, and friendly,
and bears a strong impress of benevolence.
His conversation is easy, flowing, and full of
imagination, yet always adapted to the capacity of those to whom he is speaking. In the
evening we accompanied him a league on his
* " Although Oberlin narrated with the vivacity of a
painter," says Mr. Heisch, who knew him intimately, " he
was extremely strict as to facts, and in all his investigations paid the utmost regard to integrity and truth."
12




102        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
way back to Waldbach. We had a wooded hill
to ascend; the sun was just setting, and it was
a beautiful evening.' What sweet thoughts and
pious sentiments you have uttered, during this
interesting walk,' said M. Oberlin, in a tone of
confidence; for he considered us as friends to
religion, and servants of God. Our hearts were
indeed in unison; and he related to us the circumstances of his past life, and spoke of his
views and ideas, and the fear and love of God,
in a most touching manner.  Sometimes we
stood still to admire the beauties of nature, and
at others to listen with earnest attention to his
impressive discourse. One moment was particularly affecting; when, stopping about halfway up the hill, he answered in the softest tone
to our question-' Yes, I am happy.' These
words are seldom uttered by an inhabitant of
this world, and they were so delightful from
one who is a stranger to all the favors of fortune-to all the allurements of luxury-and
who knows no other joys than those which religion and benevolence impart, that we longed to
live like him, that we might also participate in
the same happiness.
" The moon rose in all her majesty, and night
drew on, before we recollected that the time to
return was approaching; when pastor Oberlin
exclaimed,' If five years are necessary to bring
a ray of light from Sirius to this world, though
travelling at the rate of twelve millions of miles
in a minute, how much swifter must the communications of the Spirits be? (Dan. 9: 21.)
What is so swift as thought?' and he then im
aged to us the facility with which he apprel end



LETTER IN THE GERMAN MAGAZINE.  103
ed we should approach one another in a future
state.
" The following morning we set off to return
the visit which he had paid us on the preceding
day. We found the worthy pastor in his morning gown; it was plain, but whole and clean.
He was just on the point of concluding a lecture; his pupils had, like their master, something soft, indeed almost heavenly, in their
look.
" The house stands well, and has, from the
garden side, a romantic view; in every part of
it that kind of elegance, which is the result of
order and cleanliness, prevails. The furniture
is simple; yet it suggests to you that you are in
the residence of no ordinary man; the walls are
covered with maps, drawings, and vignettes,
and texts of Scripture are written over all the
doors.  That above the dining-room  door is,' Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled.'
And over the others are texts enjoining love to
God and our neighbor,  The good man implicitly follows the divine command to write them
over the door-posts.* On our first entrance, he
gave us each, as a welcome, a printed text,' Abide in me, and I in you,''Seek those things
which are above,' &c. His study is a peculiar
room, and contains rather a well chosen, than
numerous, selection of books in French and
German, chiefly for youth.  The walls are
covered with engravings, portraits of eminent
characters, plates of insects and animals, and
* See Deut. 6: 6, 7, 8, 9. and 11: 18, 19, 20.




104         MEMOIRS oI OBERLIN.
colorec  drawings of minerals and precious
stones; it is, in short, literally papered with
useful pictures relative to natural history and
other interesting subjects.
"The dinner commenced with a blessing.
His children, two maids, and a girl who receives her instruction there, were at the table;
there was a remarkable expression of softness
in all their countenances.
" Oberlin has a peculiarly happy method of
improving occurrences, under the form of similies; and we are mistaken in supposing him a
mystic.-' The Gospel,' said he,' is my standard.
I should be afraid of trusting myself alone without it.' He then related to us many of the difficulties he had to encounter, and the sacrifices
he had to make, at the commencement of his
career in the Ban de la Roche.'But now,'
continued he, checking himself,'let me observe, it is as great a fault to talk of our own
virtues as of the faults of others.'
" It is surprising to witness the sound sense,
refinement, and superiority of mind. evinced by
these simple peasants; the very servants are
well educated, and are clothed with that childlike spirit, which is one of the truest tests of
real religion.  One of them, who is a widow,
made many good remarks to us on the duties
of married life.'In order to introduce and
preserve domestic peace,' said she,' let us turn
to Him who is peace.'
" I am writing this at his table, whilst he is
busy preparing leather gloves for his peasant
children. His family are around him, engaged
in their different avocations; his eldest son,




LETTER IN THE GERMAN MAGAZINE.  105
Frederic, is giving a lesson to some of the little
ones, in which amusement and instruction are
judiciously blended; and the dear father, without desisting from his employment, frequently
puts in a word. He took me this morning into
his work-shop, where there is a turner's lathe,
a press, a complete set of carpenter's tools, also
a printing-press, and one for book-binding. I
assisted him in coloring a quire of paper, which
is intended for covers of school-books. He
gives scarcely any thing to his people but what
has been, in some measure, prepared by his
own or his children's hands.
"He will never leave this place.  A much
better living was once offered to him-' No,'
said he,' I have been ten years learning every
head in my parish, and obtaining an inventory
of their moral, intellectual, and domestic wants;
I have laid my plan. I must have ten years to
carry it into execution, and the ten following
to correct their faults and vices.'
" Pastor Oberlin is too modest and generous
not to bear testimony to the worth of his predecessor, who had begun to clear this wilderness,
and to raise the superstructure, which he has
so beautifully completed.
" Yesterday, I found him encircled by four or
five families who had been burnt out of their
houses; he was dividing amongst them articles
of clothing, meat, assignats, books, knives,
thimbles, and colored pictures for the children,
whom he placed in a row according to their
ages, and then left then to take what they preferred. The most perfect equality reigns in his
house;-children, servants, boarders,-are al




[06        METMAOIRS OF OBERLIN.
treated alike; their places at table change, that
each in turn may sit next to him, with the exception of Louisa, his housekeeper, who of
course presides, and has two maids, who sit at
the bottom of the table. As it is his custom to
salute every member of his family, night and
morning, these two little maids come very respectfully curtsying to him, and he always
gives them his hand and inquires after their
health, or wishes them  good night.  All are
happy, and appear to owe much of their happiness to him.  They seem to be ready to sacrifice their lives to save his. The following reply
was made by one of his domestics, on his questioning her about her downcast looks during
some trivial indisposition:'I fear, dear papa,
there will be no servants in heaven, and that I
shall lose the happiness of waiting upon you.'
"Oberlin appears to be looking forward to
his eternal home with holy confidence and joyful hope."
The following are specimens of the texts referred to in the preceding letter.  They were
printed by Oberlin himself. He always kept a
large supply of them, and distributed thousands
and tens of thousands of them  to his friends
and visitors, often writing a few appropriate
words on the back of the paper, or some short
sentence expressive of his affectionate remembrance.
My mother and my brethren
are these
which hear the word of God,
and do it.
Luke 8: 21.




SPECIMENS OF TEXTS.             107
And let us
consider one another,
To provoke unto love and to
good works.
Hebrews 10: 24.
Sometimes, instead of a text a few  verses
were inscribed on the cards.
My God! to obtain happiness!
Thou hast put me upon earth.
Thou knowest better than I,
What my true wants are:
The heart of thy child
Gives itself back to thy care;
Give me those virtues
Which will enable me to please thee.
Oberlin's house was, as the writer of the preceding letter remarks, literally papered with
pictures, inscriptions, verses from the Bible,
and directions for missionary and other prayers;
and on the door of one of them  the Moravian
text-book was fastened. The inscription placed
on that of another will give some idea of the
cordial and warm  reception  with  which  he
always greeted his visitors, and formed, indeed,
throughout, the law by which they were governed:
"Constant goodness.
Steady sweetness.
Vigorous and unalterable charity."
Towards the latter end of the year 1793,
Oberlin's eldest son Frederic, to whom he was




108         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
most tenderly attached, entered the army as a
volunteer, and was one of the first who were
killed, being, at this time in the twenty-fourth
year of his age.
His father's patient resignation, and submission to the will of God, shone forth in as remarkable a manner on this afflicting occasion
as they had done on the death of his wife.
"I went soon afterwards," writes Mr. Heisch
"to Waldbach, and naturally expected to find
a tinge of melancholy spread over the family at
the parsonage; but instead of that, I observed
only an air of quiet seriousness, and the usual
tone of reciprocal communication was uninterrupted among them.  They spoke of Frederic
not as of the dead, but as one gone before them
to heaven, where they confidently hoped, sooner
or later, to meet him again. Every thing proceeded as usual, except in rather a more serious manner, whilst they thus conversed about
him, and it was evident to all around them that
they placed the most unlimited confidence in
God's unerring goodness."
The firm belief that every event of our lives
is under the guidance and direction of a superintending Providence, and that Infinite Wisdom can, from a variety of dispensations, pro.
duce a uniformity of good and an uninterrupted
series of benefits, formed, indeed, a leading
trait in Oberlin's character; in proportion as
he suffered under affliction, his mind seemed
to open to the consolations of faith; and it is
not surprising that the influence and example
of one so much beloved and respected, should
induce other individuals, and especially those




FRENCH RE'OLUTION.             109
of his domestic circle, to adopt the same sentiments, to utter the same language, and to act
upon the same principles.-Happy are those
who can thus trace the hand of God in every
circumstance, prosperous or adverse-who can
regard even the heaviest trials as an intended
means of sanctification, and of drawing us
nearer to Jesus: —and  hence, learning  to
"glory in tribulation," can anticipate with joyful hope that period "when sorrow and sighing
shall flee away."
CHAPTER VI.
Unmolested state of the Ban de la Roche during the period of the Revolution-Oberlin's generous renunciation of his own interests for the sake of his parishioners-His school for the children of foreigners-His
sentiments respecting the payment of tithes-Letter
containing a plan for their disbursement-Purchase
of assignats-His influence in exciting a spirit of
Christian charity among his people-Account of Sophia Bernard, &c.-Oberlin becomes a correspondent
of the British and Foreign Bible Society-Letters addressed by him to members of the London committee
-Mode of collecting subscriptions and donations for
charitable purposes, in the Ban de la Roche-Letter
to his scholars.
DURING the period of the Revolution, which
was at this time  agitating the country, and
plunging the people into misery and distress,
Oberlin was, like the rest of the clergy, deprived of his scanty income.  Soon after its
commencement, indeed, it had been agreed
by the heads of the parish that a collection of
1400 francs should be made for him, by perK




110           MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
sons going about from house to house for the
purpose; but although their benevolent efforts
were exerted to the utmost, they could not
raise, during the year 1789, more than 1133
francs, and in the following one not so many
as 400.  This sum  therefore, for two successive years, constituted nearly his sole revenue;
for no fees were admitted. " lMy people," he
used to say, "are born, married, and buried,
free of expense, at least as far as their clergyman is concerned."
At length the " reign of terror," which had
for the last four years been preparing, by the
gradual breaking down of every religious and
social tie, raged in all its horror-spreading,
like the sirocco of the desert, devastation, famine and dismay.  The Ban de la Roche alone,
seemed to be an asylum of peace in the midst
of war and carnage.  Though every kind of
worship was interdicted throughout France, and
almost all the clergy of Alsace, men of learning, (among whom was his elder brother, Professor Oberlin,) talents and property were imprisoned-Pastor Oberlin was allowed to continue his work of benevolence and instruction
unmolested.*  His house, in fact, became the
* Once, indeed, in the year 1789, he was cited before
the Supreme Council of Alsace, and had to clear himself
from the accusation of having induced his parishioners
to enrol themselves under the banners of Joseph the Second. He was not merely acquitted, but the court, informed by means of this proceeding of his virtues, and
of the good that he had effected, after pronouncing judgment in his favor, expressed regret that so estimable an
individual should have been drawn from his solitude, to
the inter  -ption of the exercise of his charitable labors.




THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.         111
retreat of many individuals of different religious persuasions, and of distinguished rank,
who fled thither under the influence of terror,
from Strasbourg and its environs, and who al
ways received the most open-hearted and cordial reception, though it endangered his own
situation. "I once," says a gentleman, who
was then residing at Waldbach, "saw a chief
actor of the Revolution in Oberlin's house, and
in that atmosphere he seemed to have lost his
sanguinary disposition, and to have exchanged
the fierceness of the tiger for the gentleness of
the lamb."
It is pleasing to see how a Christian minister
could meet the difficulties of times like these,
and how-one of Oberlin's courage and aptitude
could make the circumstances of so alarming a
period, bend to his aim of profiting those committed to his charge.  I will here insert a
paper which he addressed to the younger members of his flock, in 1794, and wherein he took
advantage of the actual state of the government to teach them  what true  republicans
should really be:
"' Young people are precious in the sight of
God and of good men, when they are truly
what they ought to be,-noble-minded, courageous, diligent, modest, pious, humble, docile,
willing to employ all their energies for the
welfare of their families, full of respect towards
their superiors, and desirous of keeping the
commandments.
" I desire that the numerous members of the
French Republic should be animated by truly
republican sentiments. I wish them to under



1.12        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN
stand that public happiness const.utes private
happiness, and  that every individual ought
therefore to endeavor to live for the public
good; and to remember that his actions will
only secure the favor and love of God, according to the motives from which they are performed.
" We are Republicans, when we neither live,
nor act, nor undertake any thing, nor choose a
profession or situation, nor settle in life, except
for the public good.
" We are Republicans, when from love to
the public we endeavor, by precept as well as
by example, to stimulate our children to active
beneficence; and seek to render them useful
to others, by turning their attention to such
pursuits as are likely to increase the public
prosperity.
"' We are Republicans, when we endeavor to
imbue the minds of our children with the love
of science, and with such knowledge as may be
likely, in maturer life, to make them useful in
the stations they are called to occupy; and
when we teach them to' love their neighbors
as themselves.'
" Lastly, we are Republicans, when we preserve our children from that self-interested spirit, which, at the present day, seems to have
gained more ascendency than ever over a nation
whose people have, notwithstanding, sworn to
regard each other, and to love each other as
brethren, but the greater part of whom care
only for themselves, and labor only for the pub,
lie good when they are compelled to do so




THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.        113
Ahl! far from us be this infernal spirit, as antirepublican as it is anti-christian.
"Oh, may you, my young friends, be count.
ed henceforth among the active benefactors of
your country.
" Oh, may you render yourselves worthy of
this honorable title, by endeavoring to devote
to the public good, and to the general happiness, your strength, your abilities, your leisure,
and your talents; and by dedicating to this
purpose all your attainments in knowledge,
philosophy, and science.
" You will then become precious in the sight
of all good men, and God will protect and love
you, and cause your undertakings to prosper.
He will also one day recompense your faithful.
ness, by loading you with honor, and glory, and
power, and riches, and happiness, and by saying to you, in the presence of the assembled
universe,' Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord. Matt. 25: 23. O
God, grant that the Republic, and all true republicans, may prosper. Amen."
Upon the re-opening of the churches, in
1795, that benevolent renunciation of his own
interests for the good of his flock, which, as I
have frequently had occasion to observe, formed so distinguished a feature in Oberlin's character, was strikingly displayed; for he declared
that in consequence of their, reduced means he
was willing henceforth, as long as God should
grant him strength, to do so, to serve them with'
K 2




114          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
out any given salary, and that he wanted no
annual collections; adding, that as every one
knew how to find his way to the parsonage, he
might bring his share, to whatever amount, and
at whatever time he pleased; for he considered
it unjust that the poor, who were at times unable to procure either salt or bread, and who
formed the greater part of the community,
should pay as much as those who were in more
affluent circumstances. Nor had they, he assured them, any reason to fear his displeasure,
even if they brought nothing at all, since he
should consider that it was only for want of
ability to do so; and it always afforded him
more gratification to relieve than to oppress
them.  With respect to the payment of the
schoolmasters also, they were to adopt the same
plan, that is, to contribute according to their
means, and to bring whatever they could afford,
either for this, or other charitable purposes, to
him, in the form of goods, provisions, or cash.
This they regularly did; and his faithful Louisa
was accustomed to assist him in the judicious
distribution of the articles or money thus collected.* In return for these gifts, he always
presented the donors with a few words of acknowledgment on the back of one of the papers
on which his texts were printed, and of which
* " In spite of the smallness of his resources, he knew
how to make them sufficient for every thing; and had
by his example, made his parishioners contract the precious habit of putting aside, each week, a portion of their
savings for pious purposes; and by this means, they found
themselves in a state to encourage, and assist in sustaining, many of the institutions established in the true spi
rit of the gospel."




HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS.        115
specimens have been given. He always kept
the most strict account of every expenditure,
and was never known to owe even so much as a
single sou to any person. One of the maxims
which, among many others, he used to endeavor to impress upon the minds of his people,
was that they "ought to avoid debts as they
would do the evil spirit."
Notwithstanding the poverty of its inhabitants, scarcely a mendicant was ever seen in
the valley, unless indeed some pauper from the
neighboring communes, attracted by the wellknown disposition of the pastor and his people,
might have wandered thither to implore that
assistance which, if deserving, he never failed
to receive.  "Why do you not work?" was
Oberlin's usual interrogation.  "Because no
one will employ me," was the general reply.
"' Well then, I will employ you. There-carry
these planks-break those stones-fill that
bucket with water-and I will repay you for
your trouble."
Such was his usual mode of proceeding; and
idle beggars were taught to come there no
more.
But how, it will naturally be asked, were
Oberlin and his family supported, and even enabled to assist others, when deprived not only
of their little income, but also of the annual
contributions of their parishioners?
It appears, indeed, to have been owing to the
extraordinary interposition of Providence, that
they were watched over and cared for in so peculiar a manner, at a time when many individuals were reduced to the most forlorn situation,




116         MEMOIRiS OF OBERLIN.
and compelled to forsake their home and their
country. The gospel reduces to very little the
sufficiency of the Christian; and as, in the
days of greater prosperity, they had accustomed
themselves to habits of the strictest economy
and the most rigorous self-denial, in order to
facilitate their power of assisting others, so
now, in the season of adversity, God did " not
leave them comfortless," but supplied all their
necessary wants, and supported, strengthened,
and blessed them. The principal circumstance
that gave Oberlin any uneasiness, was the diminution in his means of doing good; and in
the year 1794, with the hope of increasing it,
he announced his intention of undertaking the
charge of ten or twelve pupils whose education
should devolve almost entirely upon himself,
although he had to provide for his own family
of six children, the youngest of whom  was
now ten years of age, and to superintend their
instruction.
The children of several foreigners of distinction were soon committed to his charge;
and, in the true spirit of philanthropy, he appropriated a considerable part of the emoluments which he received for their education
to the improvements and institutions of his
parish.
The duty of devoting a certain portion of
his property to charitable purposes, was a subject that had weig led heavily on his mind for
some years previous to the Revolution.  He
had happened to read one day, with more attention than usual, the accounts of the tithes
in the Books of Moses, and had been so struck




IlIS SENTIMIENTS AS TO TITHES.    117
with some of them as to resolve from that moment to devote three tithes of all he possessed
to the service of God and the poor. The resolution was no sooner made than put into execution, for whatever Oberlin conceived it to be
his duty to do, he conscientiously, and without
delay, set about it. From that period till the
end of his life, even during the most calamitous
seasons of the Revolution, he always scrupulously adhered to the plan, and often said
that he " abounded in wealth."
The following letter contains an account of
the passages that struck him so particularly,
and of the manner in which he set about the
dedication of the tenths.
"My dear friend,
" You ask me for some explanation respecting the different tithes which God has
commanded us to pay. I will tell you how 1
manage. I endeavor to devote three tithes of
all that I earn, of all that I receive, and of all
my revenue, of whatever name or nature it may
be, to his service, or to useful objects.
"For this purpose I keep three boxes; the
first for the first tithe; the second for the second; and the third box for the third tithe.
" When I cannot pay ready money all at once,
I mark how much I owe upon a bit of paper,
which I put into the box; and when, on the
contrary, a demand occurs which ought to be
defrayed by one of the three allotments, and
there is not sufficient money deposited, I advance the sum, and make the box my debtor
by marking upon it how much it owes me




118        tMEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
" By this means I am always able to assist in
any public or charitable undertaking; and as
God  has himself declared that'it is more
blessed to give than to receive,' I look upon
this regular disbursement of part of my prop.
erty rather in the light of a privilege than a
burden.
"The first of the afore-mentioned boxes contains
a deposit for the worship of God.
"I put a paper, with the following verses
from the Old Testament written upon it, into
this box:"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of
the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is
holy unto the Lord.-Lev. 27: 30.
" Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it.-Mal. 3: 10.
" I devote the contents of this box to the
building and repairing of churches and schoolrooms; the support of conductrices, and the
purchase of Bibles and pious books; in short,
to any thing connected with divine worship,
or the extension of the knowledge of our Redeemer's kingdom.
"My parishioners are at liberty to recall
from  this tithe any present that either generosity, or the supposition that I expected it, may
have induced them to make me.




DISBURSEMENT OF TITHES              119
" The second box contains tithes for useful pur,
poses.
"I have written the following passages in it:
"Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed,
that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou
shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which
he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy
corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of
thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to
fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too
long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if
the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God
shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God
hath blessed thee: then shalt thou turn it into money,
and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto
the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou
shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth
after, for oxen, or for sheep, for wine, or for strong drink,
or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat
there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice,
thou and thine household, and the Levite that is within
thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no
part nor inheritance with thee.-Deut. 14: 22-27.
"Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose;
in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of
weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall
not appear before the Lord empty.-Deut. 16: 16.
"I employ this tithe for a variety of purposes:
"1. For the improvement of the roads to
the churches and schools.
"2. For the schoolmasters' salaries.
"3. For all works of public utility.
4. For the little expenses incurred by my
becoming godfather.
" 5. For Sunday dinners to my poor people




120          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
of the other villages. [My parishioners might
add to this catalogue.]
"6. For the churchwardens.  [For whether
they do their duty voluntarily from  love to God
or make a claim  upon me, I always pay them
well.]
"7. For expenses incurred among the peasantry of Belmont, Foudai, and Zolbach.
" 8. For what the poor of Waldbach spend,
by inviting the poor of the other villages to
come and see them.
" 9. For the repairing of injuries.
" The third box contains tithes for the poor.
[That is, it contains the third tithe every three
years, or the thirtieth every year.]
" I have written there the following texts:"At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all
the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay
it up within thy gates. And the Levite (because he hath
no part nor inheritance with thee), and the stranger, and
the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates,
shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord
thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand
which thou doest.-Deut. 14: 28, 29.
"And when you reap the harvest of your land, thou
shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither
shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And
thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou
gather every grape of thy vineyard: thou shalt leave
them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God
-Levit. 19: 9, 10.
"I devote the contents of this box to the
service of the poor; to the compensation of
losses occasioned by fire;* to wood, flannel,
* Oberlin one year devoted part of the contents of this
box to the purchase of a largefire-engine, as well as of a




OBERLIN'S MISSIONARY SPIRIT.    121
al.a bread, for those who stand in need, &c.
&C."5
It must not be supposed from this statement
that Oberlin's benevolence was, however, confined to the Ban de la Roche, for the knowledge of several pious and excellent institutions had reached the secluded valley before it
spread to the rest of France. One of the first
that attracted his attention, as I have observed
in a previous chapter, was the Missionary Society.  No sooner had he learned that there
were pious Christians who left their homes to
convey to the benighted heathen the promises
of the Gospel, than he parted with all his plate,
with the exception of one silver spoon,* and
contributed the proceeds of the sale to that noble undertaking, as he rightly designated it,
only regretting that he was unable to send more.
He was indeed himself actuated  by the
genuine missionary spirit; and in the early
part of his ministry, he for some time hesitated
whether he should not accept an invitation to
undertake a station in Pennsylvania.  For two
years a pastor had in vain been sought to fill
the vacant post.  When informed of this circumstance, Oberlin, considering it to be the
duty of a minister of Christ to repair whither
others were unable to go, and thinking that
the Ban de la Roche might be more easily provided for, than so distant a charge, expressed
his readiness to set off.  His wife participated
small one that could be easily transported to the mountainous districts.
* Oberlin bequeathed this silver spoon to the Mission
ary Institution at Basle.
L




122         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
in his sentiments, but, whilst they were wait
ing for more specific directions, the war broke
out between England and America, and prevented their departure. From that time he rejected every station that offered, showing himself to be proof against repeated and urgent
solicitations. " Some persons," said he one
day, "think it a merit in me to have refused
more considerable cures than this; but you,"
continued he, addressing himself to a military
gentleman, who had been expressing his surprise that he had not accepted the charge of
larger parishes, "if your general had given
you a post to defend, would you quit it without
positive orders?" On being answered in the
negative —" Well," said he, " God has confided
this flock to my care; and why should I abandon it? Where could I find better parishioners,
or more grateful hearts?"
His imagination had been powerfully affected also by a description of the wretched condition of the negro slaves in the West Indies,
employed in the cultivation of sugar and coffee, which induced him to form the resolution
of never again tasting either the one or the
other, a resolution to which he strictly adhered,
although, having been accustomed to them from
his earliest infancy, it cost him some little self
denial to submit to the deprivation.
Another proof of Oberlin's benevolence, an
perhaps a more extraordinary one, considering
his very narrow resources, than any that has
yet been adduced, was the point he made of
buying up assignats, (the paper-money of the
Revolution which was never redeemed,) when



HIS PURCHASE OF ASSIGNATS.           1 23
ever they were introduced into the Ban de la
Roche.
" His fidelity in great and little things indis
criminately," says Mr. Legrand in a letter to
Mr. Heisch, "was so scrupulous, that he would
have believed it displeasing to God, in the remembrance of whose presence he habitually
lived, to have written a word, or even a single
letter without care.  He thought it his duty to
give every letter its due honor.
"When the assignats lost their value, he
feared  that this would  bring  a curse  upon
France, and diminish the confidence that the
people  ought to have in  the  government.*
Convinced that it behooved every individual to
use his utmost endeavors, as far as his influence or means extended, to prevent such a calamity, (leaving it to God to bless the example,)
he made a public sale every year of agricultural implements and other useful articles amongst
X "The Directory, which succeeded the convention of
1794, tried to renew the system of paper-money in France
in the shape of territorial notes (mandats territoriaux),
by means of which it was intended to withdraw the assignats from circulation at the rate of thirty for one, and
they were to circulate as money. An issue of territorial
notes to the amount of 2,400,000,000 of francs, was decreed by the councils. They possessed this advantage,
that they might be changed immediately on presentation
for the national domains which they represented, and a
great portion of which were by this means sold. In this
manner was completed the revolutionary cycle of assignats, of which they formed the second period. They
procured the Directory a momentary supply, but they in
turn also lost their credit, and insensibly led the way to
bankruptcy, which was the transition from paper to cash
payments."-Mignet's History of the French Revolution.




124         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
his parishioners, or rather offered them in ex
change for assignats. By this means he managed to redeem, in the space of twenty-five
years, all the ass;gnats of the Ban de la Roche,
and of some of its environs.
" Thus the formation of a single letter was
not too small an object to claim the attentio
of this true servant of God; nor the redemp
tion of thousands of assignats too great an object to be conceived and begun by the poor
pastor of the Ban de la Roche."
I possess one of these assignats purchased
by Oberlin. It is dated Waldbach, May 9,
1798, and has this superscription upon it in his
own handwriting.
"Thus thanks to God, my nation is again
discharged in an honest manner of this obligation of 125 francs."
He gave texts of scripture, as a receipt for
the assignats, and generally wrote on the back
of the card: " Assignat of-  received of M.
the minister 0." with the date.
Such extreme devotedness to the interests
of his flock, combined with his peculiarly endearing and affectionate manners, necessarily
caused Oberlin to be loved and revered as a
father. Every lip became eloquent in  his
praise-every voice pronounced his name with
grateful benedictions-and the stranger wh
visited the pine-covered hills and verdant vale
of the once wild and forsaken Ban de la Roche,
found there in the place of a set of rude and
ignorant savages, an industrious, decent, orderly, and well-informed peasantry, many of whom
had been so far initiated into both the doc.




HIS INFLUENCE AMONG HIS PEOPLE. 125
trines and the spirit of the New Testament, as
to live in the constant exercise of that love
which is said to be the " fulfilling of the law,'
and which the Apostle inculcates as a necessary mark of true religion when he says, " He
who loveth God must love his brother also."
The exemplary conduct and sincere piety of
ome of these individuals, indeed, proved that
they had not received " the grace of God in
vain."  Among other fruits of faith, their
charity to orphans was particularly striking.
When a poor father or mother died, leaving a
numerous family, it was a thing of course for
some poor person to offer to take upon himself
the charge and care of the orphans; so that
many of the households contained one or two
of these adopted children, and they seldom
thought of mentioning that they were not their
own.
Three individuals more particularly noted in
the annals of the Ban de la Roche for their
disinterested benevolence, were Sophia Bernard
and Catherine Scheidecker, of Foudai, and
Maria Schepler of the hamlet La Hutte, near
Belmont, whose names will appear again in a
subsequent part of this memoir.
The former, Sophia Bernard, although depending for subsistence on her own labor and
he scanty produce of a morsel of land, reolved in early life to devote herself entirely to
the care of orphans, and with this view collected, first under her father's roof and afterwards in the old parsonage, several children,
whose parents were of different denominations,
and taught them bt spin cotton in order to asL2




126         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
sist in their maintenance, which would other
wise have devolvell entirely on herself. Before she married, and when her little family already consisted of seven children, she and her
sister Madeleine* received a letter from a poor
tailor, named Thomas, who lived in the neigh
boring Roman Catholic village, entreating them
from  what he had heard of their charitabl
(eeds, to take charge of his three little children, all of whom were under four years old,
as his wife was near her confinement, and he
was utterly unable to provide for them.
Following the benevolent impulse of the moment, or rather the dictates of that benevolence
by which they were habitually actuated, the
two sisters immediately set out, although the
evening was already far advanced, and they had
dangerous roads to traverse, with their baskets
on their backs. At length, regardless of fatigue
and exertion, they reached the summit of the
mountain upon which Thomas's cottage was
situated. Softly approaching it, they peeped
in at the window, and were confirmed in the
truth of the statement they had received, by
the evident marks of wretchedness and poverty
that the little apartment exhibited. Upon entering it, they found the little creatures in as
forlorn a condition as the poor man had described, miserably nursed, and weak and dis
eased from neglect. They, therefore, withou
farther deliberation, wrapped them up in flannel, packed them in the baskets at their backs,
* Now Madeleine Bernard the regent of Belmont's
wife, and a truly exemplary character. She and Sophia
married two brothers.




BIBLE SOCIETY CORRESPONDENCE.  127
and trudged home with them. But, as their
father's house would not accommodate so large
an accession to the family, Sophia hired a servant girl, and an additional room, where she
fed, clothed, nourished and educated them, so
hat they became strong, healthy and industrius. On some of his neighbors afterwards
asking the tailor how he could allow his children to be brought up by Protestants,-" Oh,"
he replied, "if they make such good Protestants of them as they are themselves, I shall
thank them for it."
Such are the delightful fruits of genuine
Christian benevolence! and how strikingly does
this fact speak for the admonition of many in
another rank of life from that in which these
poor women shone so brightly!
While the good effects of Oberlin's instructions and example were thus shedding their benign influence upon the more immediate scene
of his pastoral labors, his name and zeal became known in England; and in the year 1804,
on the first establishment of the British and
Foreign Bible Society in this country, it was
judged expedient to open a correspondence
with him, for the sake of forming a central
point for the distribution of Bibles in France.
Being firmly assured that the Scriptures are
indeed "the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth," he had long and ardently desired their general circulation. He
therefore gladly hailed the proposition, and became the first foreign correspondent of that
Society. The large principle on which this
Institution was established, admirably suited




128          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
the mind of Oberlin, and having for the course
of twenty years prayed expressly for Missionaries, as well as for a still longer period, "Thy
kingdom come," it would have been extremely
unnatural if he had not supported a Society,
whose express object it is to open channels fo
conveying the streams of the "waters of life'
to those parched and desolate portions of th
earth which they have not yet pervaded, and to
hold out the invitation-" Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters."
In conjunction with his youngest son, Henry
Gottfried,* a young man of truly eminent piety
and much evangelical zeal, Oberlin, under the
direction of the London Committee, shortly afterwards organized a little society at Waldbach; and, through its medium, depositories
were established in different parts of France,
and more than ten thousand copies of the New
Testament put in circulation. This was some
years before the Paris Bible Society was instituted.  The Ban de la Roche became also in a
manner the cradle of LADIES' Bible Associations, in consequence of a letter addressed by
the late venerable pastor to the Committee of
the Parent Society, in which he made mention
of the three humble but admirable women,
whose names, and especially that of Sophia
* The author of the Propositions Geologiques, &c. referred to in a preceding note. He took the degree of
Doctor in Medicine at Strasbourg in 1806, and was afterwards ordained. At the time the Archives du Christianisme were announced, he had formed the plan of a
religious magazine, and prepared the prospectus of the
work.




LETTERS TO TIE BIBLE SOCIETY.   129
Bernard, have already appeared in this chapter
as suitable persons for taking an active part in
this work of love, either by reading the Bible
to their neighbors, or by adopting the simple
and ingenious plan of lending them the Sacred
Volume. The Rev. John Owen, in his History
of the British and Foreign Bible Society, adverts to this circumstance, acknowledging the
obligations we are under to that extraordinary
man, whom he describes as " uniting the simplicity of a patriarch with the zeal of an Apostle."
The letter referred to, is so interesting that
no apology appears necessary for inserting it.
It is dated, Waldbach, Nov. 3, 1804.
"Accept, my dearest friend, our most unfeigned thanks for the sum of ~30, which you
have transmitted to us as a kind present from
some English friends, for the purpose of pur.
chasing French and German Bibles to distribute among the poor inhabitants of the Ban de
la Roche and its neighboring villages, in which
there are people of four different religious denominations, namely, Roman Catholic, Lutherans, Reformed, and Anabaptists.  May God,
for Christ's sake, impart his blessing to this act
of Christian benevolence, in order that his
name may be glorified, and his kingdom come.
"You will be glad to learn some particulars
respecting the use which I intend to make of
this money.
" I have ordered, and expect soon to receive,
fifty copies of the French Protestant Bible
printed at Basle.  Though the type is rather
too small for country people, yet we have great




130         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
reasoi to bless God for having enabled us to
procure even these. In the mean time, I have
made a list of such persons as I consider
most deserving of so valuable a present. Among
the large number of individuals and families to
whom a Bible is a most welcome gift, I first
put down such characters as are most active in
promoting the coming of the Redeemer's king.
dom, and in doing good to the bodies and souls
of their fellow-creatures.
"1. The Jrst Bible shall be given as a present to Sophia Bernard, who is one of the most
excellent women I know, and, indeed, an ornament to my parish. While unmarried, she undertook, with the consent of her parents, the
support and education of three helpless boys,
whom their inhuman father had often trampled
under his feet, and treated in a manner too
shocking to relate, when, nearly starving with
hunger, they ventured to cry out for food. Soon
afterwards she proved the happy means of
saving the lives of three Roman Catholic children, who, without her assistance, would have
fallen a prey to want and famine. Thus she had
the management of six children, to whom several more were added, belonging to parents of
three several denominations. She then hired
a house and a servant girl, and supported the
whole of the family entirely by her own work
and the little money acquired by the industry
of the children, whom she taught to spin cotton. At the same time she proved the greatest
blessing to the whole village where she lived;
for it would be impossible for any one to be
more industrious, frugal, clean, cheerful, and




LETTERS TO THE BIBLE SOCIETY.   131
edifying by her whole walk and conversation
more ready for every good word and work;
more mild and affectionate, and more firm an(
resolute in dangers, than she was. Satan once
so enraged some of her enemies, that they
threatened to destroy her old tottering cottage,
but God was graciously pleased to preserve
her. A fine youth, of a generous disposition,
made her an offer of marriage, and as she appeared unwilling to accept him, he declared
that if necessary he would wait ten years to
gain her hand. She then acknowledged that
her motive for refusing him was the grief it
would occasion her to part from her little orphans. " He who takes the mother takes the
children also," replied the young man. On this
condition the marriage took place, and all the
children were brought up under their mutual
care in the most excellent manner. They have
lately taken in some other orphans, whom they
are training up in the fear and love of God.
Though these excellent people pass for rather
rich, yet their income is so limited, and their
benevolence so extensive, that they sometimes
hardly know how to furnish themselves with a
new  suit of necessary clothes.  I intend to
give them a Bible because their own is very
often lent out in different Roman Catholic vilages.
"2. A second Bible I intend to give to an
excellent woman, named Maria Schepler, who
lives at the opposite end of my extensive parish, where the cold is more severe, and the
ground unfruitful, so that nearly all the householders are poor people, who must lend their




132        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
clothes to each other when they intend to go
to the Lord's supper. This poor woman is also
a very remarkable character; and I could say
much in her praise were I to enter into particulars.  Though distressed and afflicted in her
own person and circumstances, yet she is a
mother, benefactress, and teacher, to the whole
village in which she lives, and to some neighboring districts too. She takes the most lively
interest in all that relates to the Redeemer's
kingdom upon earth, and often groans under a
sense of the grievous inroads made by the
powers of darkness. She, also, has brought up
several orphans without receiving the smallest
recompense; keeps a free-school for females,
and makes it a practice to lend her Bible to
such as are entirely deprived of it.
" 3. A third Bible present I intend to make
to an excellent widow woman, Catharine Scheidecker, who is, like the former, a mother to or.
phans, and keeps a free-school; so also does
another young woman, who instructs little children, in a neighboring village, in such knowledge as may render them  useful members of
society.*
"I might easily enumerate many more characters of a similar description, whose eyes will
overflow with grateful tears, if they are favored
with the present of a Bible. I will make one
observation as to the Bibles which you may
send us. It is necessary in our parts, to have
a number of copies in readiness to lend out to
* Catharine Banzet, who voluntarily attended to all the
knitting schools.




LETTERS TO THE BIBLE SOCIETY.   133
the people of the neighboring districts, most of
whom are Roman Catholics; for if they pos.
sess a Bible of their own, they are in danger
of having it taken by some blind Popish priests;
whereas if it is only lent to them, they are generally permitted to return to it.
"Finally, farewell! May God be with you,
with your congregation, and with all those kind
friends who have so nobly come forward to our
assistance.
" JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN 
I shall also insert the following letter, addressed by Oberlin to a friend in England,
about six months after the last. It alludes to
the exertions of his predecessor, M. Stouber,
and relates some anecdotes, to which reference
was made at the commencement of this work,
respecting the avidity with which the Scriptures were seized upon at their first introduction into the Ban de la Roche:-an avidity
which greatly increased in Oberlin's time, more
especially when it became known that he possessed, through the medium of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, an ample supply of
copies for distribution.
" Waldbach, June 17, 1805.
" What shall I say, dearest friend-how shall
I thank the honorable Bible Society for the
gift of ~20 for the spread of the kingdom of
Jesus Christ? I will entreat God for a rich
blessing upon the Institution, and for wisdom
to enable me to dispose of its gift in the most
effectual manner.
"You ask if there is a desire for Bibles in
M




134         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
the interior of France.  I have various reasons
for believing that there is; though my personal
observation and knowledge extend to our own
neighborhood only.+  I must, however, refer
to what happened a few years ago.  The little
Steinthal was formerly the only Protestant spot
throughout the whole kingdom of France which
enjoyed perfect freedom of religious worship.
This the Roman Catholic clergy could hardly
bear, nor comprehend how God could permit
it; and envy and displeasure were but too visible in the countenances of some of them
when they happened to converse with any of
our Protestant clergy on the subject. Aboul
fifty years ago, God sent my excellent predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Stouber, here; a truly
apostolic man, who obtained considerable repu.
tation throughout all the Catholic neighbor.
hood. Many Roman Catholics openly declarcd
of him-' This is a man of God,' and the Lore
so blessed his labors that the Steinthal villages
began to be distinguished from all the Roman
Catholic villages in the vicinity.  He sent for
fifty French Protestant Bibles from Basle, and
lent them in the schools, even with permission
to the scholars to take them home. It must
be observed that he had them divided into three
parts, bound in strong parchment, making one
hundred and fifty volumes.
" He also distributed many other good French
books. The result of this measure, was that
the neighbors were made attentive to the Bible.
* Oberlin never went far from home. He had never
seen Paris, nor made any journey except to Fribourg and
to St. Dizier.




LETTERS TO THE BIBLE SOCIETY.   135
A Roman Catholic one day entered a house in
this place, and after some desultory talk, during which time he had carefully cast his eye
round the apartment, he espied in the window
a thick book with a lock; having heard that
Bibles had this appearance, he took it up, looked at the title, and asked,' Whether one could
have such a Bible for a crown?' On receiving
an answer in the affirmative, he threw down a
crown upon the table, and ran hastily out of the
cottage and away to his own village, with the
Bible under his arm, to the astonishment of
every one. From  that time the demand continually  increased;  several hundred  small
Bibles from Basle and Biela were partly sold,
partly given, and partly lent; and all the Biela
Bibles in folio, as well as many in quarto, were
procured  from   Switzerland, and  dispersed
among the Roman Catholics. Yet many copies
were taken by the Romish priests from their
people and burnt; sometimes a violent contention took place about it.
"A priest once surprised one of his people
over the Bible, snatched it fiom him with bitter
reproaches, and was going off with it; when
the man, who possessed some spirit, and had
often heard fiom his neighbors of the priest's
taking away their Bibles, jumped up, snatched
his hanger, placed himself before the door and
cried out:' Reverend Sir, replace the Bible on
the table. I respect your character; but a thief
is no pastor. I will certainly cut you in pieces,
rather than suffer you to steal a Bible which
has been kindly lent me.' The priest restored the Bible, but ordered the man to return




136         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
it to the owner; and thus many were returned
to us.
" Before the Revolution, I never gave any
Bibles to the Roman Catholics with my own
hands, but always through those of my parishioners; since the Revolution I have had more
freedom, so that I may even let the Roman
Catholics take the sacrament in our church, a
circumstance that has often happened.`  Now,
the priests excite a suspicion about the Swiss
Bibles, so that many of their people do not
know what to do respecting them. I am, however, in hopes of soon procuring some of the
Protestant Bibles, which are now printing at
Paris. About a fortnight ago, I had the unexpected pleasure of receiving the thanks of an
emigrant ex-priest for a Parisian New Testament. I wrote him that I should readily offer
him a whole Bible, had I any other than a Swiss
edition, which might appear to him suspicious,
though it was so to none who examined it by
the original. He replied he would thankfully
accept it.  At last he came to me in person,
and also took a German Bible, and some other
German books, having learnt German during
his emigration. I beg leave to add that many
French gentlemen of respectability have ac" Oberlin's tolerance," says the Rev. F. Cunningham
"was almost unbounded. He administered the Sacra
nent to Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists at the sam
time, and, because they would not eat the same bread,
he had, on the plate, bread of different kinds, wafer, leavened and unleavened. In every thing the same spirit
appeared; and it extended not only to his Catholic, but
also to his Jewish neighbors, and made him many friends
among them all."




LETTERS TO THE BIBLE SOCIETY.   137
vepted Bibles from me with, apparently, sincere
joy; and lately a lady came several leagues on
horseback in order to request one of me."
Athough through Oberlin's agency the Holy
Scriptures were not only circulated abroad, but
also among all the Protestants in his extensive
parishes, and in the surrounding Roman Catholic villages, there was not at this time any
regularly constituted Bible Society in the Ban
de la Roche.
"The inhabitants of the differeut villages,"
says Mr. Rauscher,-  "seem to be actuated by
some secret and spontaneous movement. They
assemble together in the evening of certain
days, when, after reading a few chapters of
the Bible, they all kneel down and join in imploring the divine blessing upon the whole
village, as well as upon the parish at large,
and upon every institution designed to circulate the truths of the gospel and to bring people
nearer to God.  They then make a collection,
which is deposited in a box kept for the purpose, and reserved there till the time arrives
for transmitting it to those Bible and Missionary Societies whose annual reports show that
they stand in the greatest need."
A reference to those reports will prove that
the collections made on some of these occaions, amounted to very considerable sums.t
* Frederica Bienvenue, Oberlin's youngest daughter
who was married, in the year 1806, to the Rev. Mr
Rauscher, of Barr.
t See the 3d, 5th, 6th, and 7th Annaal Reports of the
Protestant Paris Bible Society, &c.
M2




138        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
Having  been  themselves refreshed, and
cheered, and comforted, by the perusal of the
Sacred Volume, Oberlin's parishioners contributed their little donations in aid of the great
cause, with a liberality and readiness that
proved they were influenced in doing so, by
that spirit of love which the blessed gospel in
culcates.-Their own moral wilderness had
been made to "rejoice and blossom  as the
rose," by the vivifying rays of the Sun of
Righteousness, and they naturally and earnestly desired that other " waste places might break
forth into joy and sing together," and that the
" Word of the Lord might have free course and
be glorified."
I will conclude this chapter with the following sweet little letter, addressed by Pastor
Oberlin to his scholars, on their having presented him with some garlands in remembrance of
the 70th anniversary of his birth.
" Waldbach, September 16th, 1810.
" My dear Scholars,
"I am very sensible of the honor you have
intended me, in sending your garlands as a
token of your remembrance of my 70th birthday, completed the 31st of last August. You
seem, however, to have forgotten that an honor
which one is conscious of not deserving, is in
itself humiliating and abasing. If, by my feeble exertions, I have been enabled to be of
some utility to you, all the honor belongs to
God, who has kindled in my heart the love I
bear you, and who has given and preserved my




LETTER TO HIS SCHOLARS.        139
strength till this period to carry forward my
heart's desire, which is your good.
" The beautifil flowers with which your
great Creator adorned our country, gave you
the means of presenting me with this testimony
of your united love. These flowers will very
soon fade, but the impression they have made
on my heart will never die, and I earnestly pray
that you may become unfading flowers in the
Paradise of God.
" May he bless you, and may he bless the
persons who labor for your instruction, with
perseverance and faithfulness, that you may
prosper, and become useful in the service of
our dear and beloved Savior.
"But I have still one wish:-a wish that
though I am old in years is always fresh in my
heart:-a wish that reigns predominant in my
thoughts and never forsakes me. It is that my
parish might make one solemn feast before
God, a general and universal dedication, and
one in which all persons without distinction
might partake, every one according to his respective ability. That is, a dedication of the
heart, in honor and remembrance of, and in
faith in Him, who shed his blood for us in
Gethsemane, and permitted himself to be smitten, scourged, and spit upon, crowned with
thorns, and nailed to the cross, that we might
receive the heaven which our sins had forfeited.-This is the dedication that I so much desire every soul in my parish might join together to make,-even the surrender of himself
to Jesus, each one as he is, with all his faults,
with all his sins, in order to find in Him, par.




140          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
don, righteousness, sanctification and redemp.
tion.
" Your affectionate Papa,
" JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN."
CHAPTER VII.
Henry Oberlin's removal to Riga-His sister Henrietta's
marriage —Their return to Waldbach-Letter from
Oberlin to P. J. Heisch, Esq.-Letter from Henry
Oberlin to ditto-Mr. Legrand's settlement in the Ban
de la Roche-Introduction of cotton-spinning; silk
ribbon manufactory, &c.-Termination of a long impending law-suit-Henry Oberlin's death-His father's
resignation on that occasion, displayed in a letter to
Mr. Heisch.
IN the year 1808, Henry Gottfried Oberlin,
who has been already mentioned as his father's
active coadjutor in the distribution of Bibles,
left the Protestant theological school at Strasbourg, of which he had for the last two years
been superintendent, and went to reside as private tutor in the family of Count Richter, at
Riga.
His sister Henrietta likewise removed into
Russia during the same year, having married
the Rev. Mr. Graff, a missionary on the banks
of the Wolga.
Oberlin's advancing age, and increasing in
ability for that very active exertion which the
peculiar situation of his parish required, and
which he had been accustomed to use, induced
the former, however, in the year 1813, and
Mr. and Mrs. Graff, with their family of young




LETTER TO J. HEISCH, ESQ.            141
children, in the subsequent one, to come and
take up their residence again under the paternal roof at Waldbach.
The following note, addressed by Oberlin to
P. J. Heisch, Esq., speaks of his own increasng weakness, and alludes, with grateful pleasure, to Henry's return.
"Dear, not to be forgotten friend!
"On the 5th of December, God restored to
me my son Henry Gottfried from  Russia, who
now relieves me from part of my labor, though
there is still so much left to be done that six
of us could find ample employment. Your remembrance and letter have given me exceeding joy, and I only regret the impossibility of
having answered you before.  My situation is
unique in its way; and my labor seems to increase as my strength decreases, especially the
strength of my eyes. For these several years
past I have been repeatedly threatened with
sudden death.*   Now, thank God, I am  very
well.
X Oberlin had a most extraordinary and serious illness
during the period of the Revolution, in 1794, supposed to
be brought on by over-exertion, and he never appeared to
have entirely overcome the shock that his constitution
underwent. The prevailing disposition of the mind
sometimes displays itself during the intervals of delirium
and, whilst his fever lasted, he often distressed poor Louisa, by perpetually calling upon her to bring him thousands and thousands for the furtherance of his plans. He
used often to speak afterwards of the state of his mind
during this illness, and of the distinct ideas he had been
enabled to form of the difference between the natural and
spiritual man.




142         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
" May God be with you, dear and not to be
forgotten friend, and with your dear family. It
gives me no concern to think that we shall not
see each other again in this world; —in the next
our intercourse will be more frequent, more
easy, and more delightful. Adieu.
"Your aged friend of seventy-three,
" J. F. OBERLIN.
"My sincere respects to the Rev. Dr. Steinkopff."
Henry also wrote to Mr. Heisch about the
same time, and as his letter contains some particulars of his truly interesting family, and of
various circumstances to which I shall afterwards have to refer, I insert it.
" TValdbach, December 11th, 1813.
"Highly honored Sir, my valued friend, and
former teacher,
" My father received your friendly letter
on the 10th of April, and he allows me the
pleasure of replying to part of it.
"The Steinthal has, during the last few
years, witnessed many melancholy, but also
many cheering events. Conflagrations, formerly so rare, have destroyed many houses in most
of the villages; even the beautiful parsonage
of Rothau fell, a few years ago, a prey to the
flames. We have also lost since that perio
several of the most worthy inhabitants of ou
valley, who, both in word and deed, were brigh
and shining examples to their contemporaries;
-such were, for instance, Catharine Gagniere,
and Catharine Banzet.  We must likewise include among our apparent adversities the cir




LETTER FROIM HENRY OBERLIN.  i
cumstance of cotton-spinning having been on
the decline for several years, and as a similar
circumstance occurs with regard to weaving,
many families have been thrown into great distress. But God, who has always had an open
eye upon the Steinthal, and extended a helping
hand towards it, has also manifested himself in
the present juncture. Besides the excellent
magistrates (maires) with whom the whole of
my dear father's parish is blessed, God has given us, in the person of the Count Lezay Marnesia, a prefect who entertains an extraordinary
affection  for the  people  of the  Steinthal.
Through his means in particular, and  the
striking interposition of Providence, the long
pending law-suit about the forests, which had
been so oppressive to the inhabitants, has been
brought to an amicable conclusion this year. It
also pleased God to send, a short time since, a
gentleman into this country who formerly kept
a ribbon manufactory in Alsace, and who takes
a great interest in effectually assisting the inhabitants of the Steinthal. Our good and excellent Louisa Schepler is still alive, and always, in conjunction with my dear father, observing the same fidelity and self-devotion in
the performance of her duties. We, his children, have been very much dispersed, but we
were much more so a little time ago than we
are now. It is, indeed, remarkable how we are
concentrated  in the Steinthal.  My brother
Charles has been for some years past clergyman
of Rothau.-  My sister Frederica, who married
* Charles Conserve, Oberlin's second son, was born in
17"6. In the year 1803, he married Sophia Catharine




144           MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
the Rev. Mr. Rauscher, now resides at Barr
where Mr. Rauscher keeps a school, and also
exercises his ministerial functions. I am myself, in fine, come to the Steinthal from Russia,
or Livonia, though not by the shortest way. I
wrote to you, respected friend, from Riga, under. the date of August 2nd, 1811.  I wrot
also, at a later period, to Dr. Steinkopff, but
never received an answer from your country.
I ought to have mentioned above, that the gentleman who is introducing the ribbon manufactory into the Steinthal is a native of Basle;
perhaps he is not unknown to you. It is Mr.
Legrand, who was formerly a member of the
Directory  in  Switzerland.   My dear  sister
Louisa Charit6 is married to a good worthy
man, the Rev. Peter Witz, of Colmar.  She,
as well as dear Frederica, has several children,
and so also has sister Henrietta, in Russia.
Our beloved sister Fidelit6 has been for several years lost to us in this world, which grieves
me, in particular, even now.-The good Fidelit6-what a faithful sister she was!-as faith.
ful a sister as she was a mother and wife.*
Franck, of Strasbourg, the widow of an officer named
Berard. On account of his father's advancing age, he
was induced, in 1806, to relieve him of part of his pastoral duties, by accepting the living of Rothau, at which
place he still resides.
e Fidelite Caroline Oberlin was married, in 1795, to
the Rev. James Wolff, of Mittelbergheim. She died
May 9th, 1809, leaving two little girls, who soon followed
their mother to the grave. Her death was a great affliction to her near connexions, but especially to Henry, to
whom she was rernarkably endeared, and to her father.
In speaking of this circumstance, Mr. Heisch, the long




INCREASE OF POPULATION.            145
"I shall now conclude, as it is possible that
my dear father and Louisa may wish to add a
word themselves.
" I remain ever, your grateful old pupil and
friend,
" HENRY GOTTFRIED OBERLIN."
Although on Oberlin's first arrival in the
Ban de la Roche, the population consisted of
eighty or a hundred families only, it increased
in the course of a few years to five or six hundred, constituting altogether three thousand
souls.
To provide employment for so great a number of persons, even supposing that five hundred could be employed during four or five
months of the year in the cultivation of land,
and that one third were infants and infirm persons incapable of work, became a most important object, and gave rise to the introduction of
various branches of mechanical industry, adapted to local circumstances; such, for instance,
as straw-platting, knitting, and dying with the
and intimate friend of the family, says, "I particularly
recollect the warm attachment that subsisted between
Oberlin's daughter Fidelite, his son Henry, and himself.
Oh, he did love his children most tenderly! If I am not
mistaken, I saw him weep but once, and that was when
he married his daughter Fidelite to Mr. Wolff. Teara
of joy in the prospect of her happiness, were then min
gled with those tears of grief, which a separation from
this beloved child could not but occasion. Some time
after he repeatedly visited her at Mittelbergheim, and I
had once or twice the pleasure of accompanying him. It
is scarcely possible for any one, who was not an eye-witness to this scene, to form an idea of the tender affection
that subsisted between father and daughter."
N




146         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
plants of the country.  The former was intro.
duced by an invalid captain, whose gratitude
for the kind reception he met with, on soliciting the hospitality of the generous pastor of
Waldbach, induced him to proffer his services
in furthering the views of his benefactor, by
instructing the young persons in an art with
which necessity had previously made him ac.
quainted.
Besides these employments, Oberlin  had
succeeded in introducing the spinning of cotton by the hand; and, as he gave prizes to the
best spinners in addition to their wages, this
branch of industry for a time succeeded so well
that it once gained for the Ban de la Roche, in
the course of a single year, and from one manufacturer, the emolument of 32,000 francs-an
enormous sum, considering the extreme poverty and indigence to which the inhabitants
nad but just before been subjected.  Weaving
followed, and, notwithstanding numerous obstacles, promised a large increase of pecuniary
means; but, unfortunately, the introduction of
machinery at Schirmeck and some of the surrounding villages, produced an entire revolution
about the time the preceding letter was written, deprived them of this source of maintenance, and seemed likely to reduce them to
their former state of necessity and want.
During this emergency, Mr. Legrand, of
Basle, formerly one of the Directors of the
Helvetic Republic, and of whom Henry makes
grateful mention, attracted to the Ban de la
Roche by regard and affection for its pastor,
and the simplicity, intelligence and integrity




SILK MANUFFACTORY.'          147
of his parishioners, persuaded his two sons, to
whom he had relinquished business, to remove
their manufactory of silk ribbons from the department of the Upper Rhine to Foudai, believing that its introduction in the Steinthal,
by giving employ to a great number of hands,.
would become not only an advantage but a real
blessing to the peasantry there, who were at
this period sadly in need of work. The first
invasion of the allies, who took possession of
their workshops, induced Mr. Daniel and Mr.
Joseph Legrand to accede, without hesitation,
to the wishes of their father, and indeed proved
a means of hastening their removal.In the course of a short time, through the
exertions of this benevolent and highly respectable family, industry  and  happiness  again
smiled in the valley:-for whilst the introduction of the silk manufactory caused trade to be
carried on with renewed vigor, and gave employment to several hundred hands, it was attended with another great advantage, too seldom  experienced in manufacturing districts;
this was that the ribbon looms were distributed
about the houses in the different villages, so
that, contrary to the usual custom, the children
could remain whilst at work under the eye of
* The name of Daniel Legrand is well known in conexion with the Paris Bible Society, to which he has
ong been a warm and zealous friend. Having himself
experienced, in a striking manner, the renovating influence of religion, he now takes every opportunity of inducing others, as far as lies in his power, to become
"followers of Jesus," and to embrace those truths which
form the ground of his own faith and practice.




148         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
their parents, instead of being exposed to the
contaminating influence of bad example.
"Conducted by Providence," says Mr. Legrand, in a letter addressed to the Baron de
Gerando, "into this remote valley, I was the
more struck with the sterility of its soil, its
straw-thatched cottages, the apparent poverty
of its inhabitants, and the simplicity of their
fare (chiefly consisting of potatoes) from the
contrast which these external appearances formed to the cultivated conversation which I enjoyed with  almost every individual I met
whilst traversing its five villages, and the frankness and naivete of the children, who extended
to me their little hands. I had often heard of
Pastor Oberlin, and eagerly sought his acquaintance.  He gave me the most hospitable
reception, and anticipated my desire to know
more of the history of the little colony whose
manners had surprised me so greatly, by placing
in my hands the annals of his parish.*  I
there found an unconnected, but detailed history of the institutions for general instruction
founded by his predecessor, and continued by
himself.
" It is now four years since I removed here
with my family; and the pleasure of residing
in the midst of a people, whose manners are
softened and whose minds are enlightened by
the instructions which they receive from their
earliest infancy, more than reconciles us to the
privations which we must necessarily experiThe Annals of the Ban de la Roche were commenced
by Oberlin in 1770.




TERMINATION OF A LAW-SUIT.    149
ence in a valley separated from the rest of the
world by a chain of surrounding mountains."+
With regard to the long impending law-suit
mentioned in the preceding letter from Henry
Oberlin to Mr. Heisch, it seems necessary to
give some explanation, more especially as it will
afford another proof, in addition to the many already adduced, that the almost unbounded influence which Oberlin had acquired over his people,
was always exerted for purposes of beneficence.
The litigation, to which that letter refers, had been
carried on for upwards of eighty years, between
the peasantry of the Ban and the seigneurs of
the territory, with respect to the right of the forests which covered the greater part of the mountains. This ruinous contest, which impoverished
both parties by an enormous expense, and discouraged improvement, had survived even the French
Revolution, which swept away in a moment so
many absurd remnants of ancient feudalism. M.
de Lezay Marnesia,t prefect of the Lower Rhine,
who deeply lamented the disgraceful contention,
* M. Legrand soon became a most useful auxiliary to
Oberlin, devoting his leisure hours to benevolent purposes.
The superintendence and direction of the schools, which
he managed in a very superior manner, particularly claimed his attention; and so great was his ardor in the work,
that he was once about to take up his residence for the
seven winter months in Belmont school, had not his health
prevented it.
t M. de Lezay Marnesia entertained a peculiar affection and respect for Oberlin, although differing from him
in his religious tenets. He would sometimes consult him
on the sceptical objections to revealed religion which presented themselves to his mind, and appeared as well
pleased to yield as Oberlin was to gain the victory in argument.
N 2




150          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
and earnestly desired to see it terminated, at length
opened his mind to Oberlin on the subject, and
entreated him to use every effort in his power for
the restoration of peace, declaring that he knew
no other person so capable of effecting it. The
latter readily acceded to his wishes, for it was
what he himself had long and ardently desired,
though the impossibility of accomplishing it, until
sanctioned by the authority of the magistrate, had
hitherto prevented his taking an active part in the
business.*  No sooner had he received this intimation, than he began to take every opportunity
of convincing his parishioners, in private conversation, that this litigation was the scourge of the
country; assuring them that a voluntary sacrifice
on their part, for the sake of peace, would be far
preferable to the uncertainties of a prolonged lawsuit, and that the end they wished to gain could
only be obtained by a succession of the most
wearisome debates.  Nor was it in private conversation only that he urged his plea, for in the
pulpit also he frequently insisted on the duty of
avoiding subjects of dispute, and on the characteristics of that charity "which suffereth long and
is kind, seeketh not her own, beareth all things."
Having, in this manner, prepared his parishioners to listen to his proposal, and when he saw
that they were ready to receive it, he frankly declared his conviction that they were bound as
much by their interest as their duty to consent to
an accommodation.
X Oberlin had had for several years this motto affixed to
one of his doors. "0  Gott erbarme Dich des Steinthals,
und mache dem Prozess ein Ende." (" 0 God, have
mercy on the Steinthal, and put an end to the law-suit!"'




TERMINATION OF A LAW-SUIT.         151
His advice was followed. The parties acceded
to an agreement advantageous to both sides.
What so many years had not been able to effect,
Oberlin-the mild and gentle Oberlin-brought
about by a few conciliatory words. The prefect
was desirous that the inhabitants should not be
allowed to forget to whom they were indebted for
the restoration of peace. At his suggestion, the
mayors in deputation presented to their pastor the
pen with which M. de Lezay had signed the solemn engagement, entreating him to suspend it in
his study as a trophy of the victory which habitual beneficence, and the exercise of the Christian
graces, had enabled him to gain over long continued animosity and bad feeling. He modestly
complied with their request, and was often heard
to say that the day on which the pen was used,
June 6th, 1813, was one of the happiest of his
life.~
I must now advert to an affecting event, which
happened in Oberlin's family in the winter of 1817.
This was the death of his son Henry Gottfried,
who had only resided under the paternal roof for
about three years after his return from Russia,
before he was summoned hence, to taste, as we
have every reason to believe, of the joys of heaven.
" God's ways are not our ways, neither are
his thoughts our thoughts;" and it sometimes
pleases him to remove to a better country, and to
a higher state of existence, those whom we had
fondly imagined would become as shining lights
in the world, and instruments devoted to his ser* For several years this memorable pen retained its
station in his study; but it at length disappeared, without
any one being able to tell what had become of it.




152'   MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
vice; as though to remind us that he can effect
his own purposes in what way, and in what manner he sees best, without the aid of short-sighted,
and, at the best, fallible creatures like ourselves.
The immediate occasion of Henry's death was
supposed to arise from a cold, which he took in
assisting to extinguish a fire that had broken out
in the night in a town on his route, as he was
making, in 1816, a circuit of eighteen hundred
miles in the south of France, with a view to inspect the state of the Protestant churches, and to
ascertain the means of supplying them more generally with the Holy Scriptures.
The fatigue attending the remainder of the
journey, added to the seeds of incipient disease,
had so shattered his constitution, that, soon after
arriving in his native valley, he was induced to
remove to Rothau, instead of remaining at Waldbach, in order to receive the benefit of his brother
Charles's advice, who, in addition to his clerical
functions, was a medical practitioner. On perceiving, however, that the complaint rapidly gained
ground, he desired, with the greatest resignation
and composure, to be conveyed home again to
his father's house, that he might die there.
So universally was Oberlin beloved, that his
parishioners seized every opportunity of proving
their attachment to him and to his family; and
on this occasion a truly affecting scene presented
itself. No sooner was Henry's request made
known in the village, than twelve peasants immediately presented themselves at the parsonagehouse, and offered to carry him upon a litter to
Waldbach, which is about six miles distant from
Rothau. He could not, however, bear exposure




HENRY OBERLIN S DEATH.             153
to the open air, and it was therefore found expedient to place him in a covered cart; but, as it
slowly proceeded through the valley, the faithful
peasants walked before  it, carefully  removing
every stone, that the beloved invalid might experience as little inconvenience as possible from
jolting over the rough roads.
A few weeks after his arrival under the paternal roof, his life, which had promised such extensive usefulness, drew near its close. Faith, mingled with pious resignation to the will of his
heavenly Father, who was thus early pleased to
call him to himself, was strikingly exhibited in
his last moments, and on the 16th of November,
1817, without a struggle or a sigh, he "sweetly
slept in Jesus.""
A few particulars of his close are given in the
notes of the sermon which his father preached on
the occasion of his death. I shall here insert a
translation of them, fiom the original MSS.
"My son Henry Gottfried, in the midst of distressing bodily anguish, (for as to his mental
powers, he enjoyed the full and clear use of them
till the last moment of his life,) and under the
pressure of acute and lingering sufferings, often
said,'Oh mercy! mercy!  Oh God! hast thou
then ceased to be merciful?-Oh, it is a hard, hard,
hard thing to die!'
* His premature and lamented death is thus recorded in
the Fourteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible
Society: " Your committee think it due to the late Rev.
Henry Oberlin, of Waldbach, in Alsace, to bear their testimony to that zeal by which he was urged to sacrifice
his valuable life in exertions for distributing the Holy
Scriptures among his countrymen."




154         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
"Half or quarter of an hour before expiring,
his countenance exhibited less suffering, and he
said, (although with considerable difficulty,)' Now
a little repose-a little consolation-a little joy.'
Then he often repeated,' From death unto life'-'From death unto life.'
"At length he presented his trembling hand to
place it in mine; he pressed mine very sensibly
and retained it in his own,' from death unto life,'
for without our perceiving it he ceased to breathe.
Twice, believing him gone, Louisa Schepler closed
his eyes, but they opened again, and were raised
on high."
Henry Oberlin was buried in the church-yard
of Foudai, where a monument of wood, surrounded
by willows, is erected to his memory.
His venerable father was graciously supported
under this heavy stroke, and in his discourse over
the grave of his son, spoke tenderly and familiarly
of the departed, as having only preceded them a
little way in their pilgrimage, soon to be overtaken, and for ever reunited to those whom he had
left behind. The following letter to his friend
Mr. Heisch, exhibits the disinterested manner in
which he contemplated his own irreparable loss.
when dwelling upon his son's removal to eternal
glory.
" Waldbach, in the Steinthal, Jan. 8, 1818
"Accept, my dear, not to be forgotten friend
my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the many
proofs of your continued affectionate remembrance.
Your name is inscribed on my heart; and yet I
find it difficult to give you any assurance of it,
being extremely engaged with labors that are continually increasing, whilst the use of my bodily




HIS LETTER TO MR. HEISCH.         155
powers is greatly diminished. I particularly suf
fer in my eyes, which sometimes altogether refuse me their service, notwithstanding the excellent spectacles you presented to me, and one pair
of which Louisa gratefully uses.
"We all sincerely rejoiced at the departure of
our Henry from this world; for besides having
been subjected during his whole life to a chain of
complicated sufferings, he had suffered for some
months past (ever since his missionary journey
in France) with peculiar severity, so that his
emaciated  appearance awakened  every  one's
sympathy, and neither medicines nor any thing
else could procure him any real alleviation or
respite from pain. In consequence of the warm
recommendations of our friends, we were induced
to call in Dr. Stiickalberger, a very clever physician of Basle, a few weeks before our Henry's
decease; but no sooner had he seen him, and become acquainted with his symptoms, than he
said,' I shall not touch dear Mr. Oberlin with
any medicine or remedy, nay, not even with
medical advice, being perfectly convinced that if,
on the one hand, I may hope to effect any good,
or even may effect it, I shall, on the other hand,
do more harm than it may again be in my power
to remedy."  This was both kind and judicious;
and I had been endeavoring to persuade the other
hysicians to adopt the same plan, though in
vain; for, with the utmost kindness, they were
resolved to do all in their power to assist him.
God had, in this case, reserved to himself the exclusive prerogative of affording effectual help.
Henry, in addition to that spirit of universal benevolence by which he was animated, felt a pecu



156         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
liar interest for two nations, Livonia, together
with the whole of Russia, and France. No doubt
our and his good Lord now assigns to him some
more extensive sphere of activity than he could
have had here, not only, perhaps, for the benefit
of these two nations, but even for that of other
nations and other individuals. May we be his
servants; no matter whether here or there, if w
can but be faithful in his service, and of some
utility to others!
"Henry received your letter of the 17th of
October, as well as the elegant silver pencil.
cases, and commissioned me to return you his
sincerest thanks.  He gave them  as a remembrance of you to his brother Charles Conserve,
clergyman of Rothau, who has shown him extraordinary kindness both as a physician and a
brother.
"Louisa Schepler and all our dear friends
here, thank you cordially for your remembrance,
and assure you of their uninterrupted affection
and recollection.
"God grant that you may become useful in
his service.
" Adieu, my long endeared friend!
" JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN."




MEDAL VOTED TO HIM.            157
CHAPTER  VIII.
Medal presented to Oberlin by the Royal Agricultural
Society of Paris-Oberlin's private character-His description of himself-Mr. Owen's letter, containing an
account of a Ban de la Roche Sabbath-Oberlin's ministry-Sermons-Ministerial labors, &c.-His paternal
influence over his flock-Questions addressed to his
parishioners-Circulars.
NOTWITHSTANDING Oberlin's advancing age,
and the loss he had experienced in the death of
his son, the Ban de la Roche still witnessed a
succession of useful improvements, and a progress
in civilization and prosperity. So much delighted were his friends at Strasbourg and at Paris
with witnessing the success of his indefatigable
exertions, that, in the year 1818, they agreed to
collect, without his knowledge, documents of the
good which he had achieved, and to submit them
to the Royal and Central Agricultural Society of
Paris.
M. le Comte Francois de Neufchateau, who
had repeatedly visited the Steinthal, was deputed
to this office, and requested to propose the vote
of a gold medal to the pastor of Waldbach, in
acknowledgment of the services which he had
rendered, during more than half a century, to
agriculture in particular, and to mankind in general.
"If you would behold an instance of what
may be effected in any country for the advancement of agriculture and the interests of humanity," said he, when addressing the Society upon
this occasion, "quit for a moment the banks of
the Seine, and ascend one of the steepest sum0




158          MEMIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
mits of the Vosges mountains.  Friends of the
plow, and of human happiness, come and behold
the Ban de la Roche! Climb with me the rocks
so sublimely piled upon each other, which separate this canton from the rest of the world, and
though the country and the climate may at first
sight appear forbidding, I will venture to promise
you an ample recompense for the fatigue of your
excursion.
"As for myself, after having formed the administration of the department of the Vosges,
in 1790, and presided over it, in 1791, I had, in
1793, to travel over those mountains as a commissioner of the government, at the very period
when the parishes of Rothau and Waldbach, before that time dependent on the principality of
Salm, were united to the department.  I have,
therefore, been long acquainted with the valuable
services rendered, for more than fifty years, to
the Ban de la Roche, by John Frederic Oberlin.
Ever since that time, and to the advanced age of
seventy-eight, he has persevered in carrying forward the interesting reformation first suggested
and commenced by his virtue, piety and zeal. He
has refused invitations to more important and
more lucrative situations, lest the Ban de la Roche
should relapse into its former desolate state;
and by his extraordinary efforts and unabated
exertions, he averted from his parishioners, in
the years 1812, 1816, and 1817, the horrors of
approaching famine-.
* The new crop of potatoes that Oberlin had introduced, formed the principal subsistence of the people
during those disastrous years, when the season was so
cold and rainy that they could not get in two-thirds of the




MEDAL VOTED TO HIM.             159
"Such a benefactor of mankind deserves the
veneration and the gratitude of all good men;
and it gives me peculiar pleasure to present you
with the opportunity of acknowledging, in the
person of M. Oberlin, not a single act, but a
whole life, devoted to agricultural improvements,
and to the diffusion of useful knowledge amongst
the inhabitants of a wild and uncultivated district.
*                                  *
" We have already ascertained that there is in
France uncultivated land sufficient for the formation of five thousand villages.  When we wish
to organize these colonies, Waldbach will present
a perfect model; and, in the thirty or forty rural
hamlets which already exist, there is not one,
even amongst the most flourishing, in which social economy is carried to a higher degree of perfection, or in which the annals of the Ban de la
Roche may not be studied with advantage."
On the conclusion of this report, the proposed
tribute of affectionate gratitude, was, by unanimous consent, awarded to M. Oberlin; upon
which the Baron de Gerando, Counsellor of State,
to whose care it was consigned, expressed the
gratification he should have in presenting it to the
corn at all; and the scarcity so great, that poor little
children, exhausted with hunger, were seen to drop down
n the streets. A sack of wheat during that time of distress rose to 145 francs, and the potatoes to nearly one
sou apiece.
The precise acquaintance which the inhabitants of the
Ban de la Roche had acquired, through Oberlin's assistance, with the vegetable productions of their canton, was
believed to be the means of preventing the most distressing diseases.




160         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
venerable pastor, not only because he regarded ii
as an act of justice due to his extraordinary services, but also because it would afford such great
pleasure to the inhabitants of the Vosges valleys,
to find their beloved benefactor, guide, counsellor
and friend, regarded as an individual deserving
of this token of public admiration and gratitude.
But whilst Oberlin was thus gaining the meed
of universal applause by his acts of public beneficence, his domestic virtues were endearing him
more and more to his family circle, where they
always displayed themselves in the most truly
amiable light. I shall, therefore, now reverse
the picture, and present my readers with a view
of Oberlin in his personal and more private, as
well as in his ministerial character. In this he
will be found to shine as brightly as in his public
capacity; thereby manifesting the pureness and
the extent of that Christian principle, which constrained not only the great movements of his life,
but his minutest actions.
Oberlin, in his person, was handsome, rather
under the usual height, but remarkably dignified
in his appearance. There was, however, nothing
affected in his manner of carrying himself. His
outward garb was evidently the mark of the
master mind within him. Dressed, as he usually
was when out of doors, in a cocked hat, and
with a red ribbon at his chest, the decoration of
the Legion of Honor,* his air was so imposing
* This decoration was awarded to Oberlin by Louis
XVIII. in acknowledgment of the services he had rendered to an extensive population. "The king," he used
to say, " has had the goodness to send me this decoration;
but what have I done to merit it? Who, in my situation.




HIS PRIVATE CHARACTER.         161
as to call forth the attention and respect of every
one who saw him.  His manner was grave, but
affectionate; condescending, but in the highest
degree gentlemanly.  His courtesy towards his
parishioners was constantly testified. He did
not pass those amongst them who were grown up,
without pulling off his hat and speaking a few
words of kindness: nor any of the children
without shaking them by the hand, or showing
them some little act of attention.  "Jesus," he
often said, "loved children.  It is to such as resemble them that he promises the kingdom of
heaven."  He was always extremely anxious, in
every part of his conduct, to prevent the possibility of misconstruction on the part of those
over whom  he watched.  "On one occasion,"
says one of my friends who visited the Ban de la
Roche a few years ago, " as we were walking up
a hill, he had the arm of his son-in-law, whilst
my wife was walking alone. Fearing this might
be considered self-indulgent or disrespectful by
some of his younger parishioners, whom he happened to pass, he stopped to make an apology to
them for this apparent disregard of the law of
civility and kindness."*
His manner of accosting his inferiors was perfectly unique.  "When our postilion, who appeared to have some previous acquaintance with
the Ban de la Roche, met him," continues the
same friend, " he and the old man were instantly
would not have acted as I have done, and perhaps better
still?"
* It must be remembered that Oberlin was then in his
eightieth year.
02




162         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
with their hats lowered to the ground, whilst Ober,
lin stepped forward to shake him by the hand;
and to make some inquiry about his friends at
Strasbourg.  This was done with all the sweetness of Christian feeling, whilst there was no departure from the dignity with which his situation
and circumstances naturally invested him. Goo
manners prevailed in these valleys to an exten
that is rarely witnessed. The practice of the
pastor produced the happiest effects upon the mass
of population. The habitual politeness of the
French character might have assisted in this work,
but I have never witnessed in any other poor
people such remarkable and universal suavity:such  complete refinement as in these hardy
mountaineers.
"As the Dear Father had the highest regard
for his people, so he had the best opinion of their
skill, and wondered that any one should doubt
about it. I happened one day, when we were
driven by a man who seemed to go on in a hazardous manner, to say'Prenez garde,' (take
care.) The old man appeared hurt at this admonition, both on my account and on that of the
driver. He assured me that all was safe, and at
the end of our drive, took the greatest pains to
prevent any feeling of vexation which might arise
in the mind of his parishioner."
Oberlin's habits were very orderly. Every
thing seemed to have its place in his house. There
was a box to deposit every morsel of litter, and
which could only be of service in the stove. His
books, a great number of which were in manuscript, were perfectly arranged, and written in a
beautiful hand, for it was a point of duty with




HIS PRIVATE CHARACTER.           163
him, as before stated by Mr. Legrand, to give
every letter its perfect formation.  His Bible was
marked throughout with different colored ink, according to the application which he, in the course
of his reading, had made of different passages.
In conversation he was fluent and very unreserved; willing to communicate all he knew, and,
on the other hand, inquisitive as to every thing
which he saw, and from which it appeared likely
he could derive information.
His activity was as astonishing as his zeal; he
never rode on horseback if he could help it, still
less in the inside of a carriage; and was accustomed, till prevented by increasing infirmity, to
climb the steepest summits of the Vosges, or penetrate through pathless snows, regardless of cold
or danger, in order to visit the sick, and administer religious consolation to the dying; often too,
after all the varied and arduous duties of the day,
would he travel to Strasbourg in the night to procure medicines, or to obtain assistance or information from his friends in that city, that not a
day might be lost to the interests of his beloved
Steinthal.*
The superiority of his intellectual powers appeared in all he said and in all he did; and he
* Oberlin was, at one time, not only minister, schoolmaster, farmer, and mechanic; but also general physician
to his parish; the knowledge which he had acquired
of medicine during his residence in Mr. Ziegenhagen's
family having qualified him for the post. He also learned
to open veins, and established a dispensary; and when his
ministerial functions would no longer allow of his devo.
ting so much time to the purpose as it required, he dele.
gated the office to his son Charles, and to a young man
of talent whom he had sent to study at Strasbourg.




164         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
possessed great influence over others, every body
loving and obeying him absolutely, though with.
out servility.  His mind was of a modest kind,
yet of a very energetic and decided order; though,
as he seldom, if ever, went from home, he had
seen little of the world, and, except in his younge
years, read little but his Bible. His conversatio
was never more eloquent, nor his views more ex
panded, than when he talked on the subject of the
extension of the kingdom of God, and when he narrated to his boys, as he would frequently do, particulars of the life and adventures of Dr. Vanderkemp,
the missionary, Vincent de Paul, and others, by
which means he riveted their attention and excited the warmest feelings of their hearts. His
views of religion were of a very simple and elevated cast: " no cloud of doubt crossed the serene
atmosphere of his tranquil joys:"-he continually
looked at God as his " Heavenly Father," present
with him, and rested all his hopes in Jesus, " the
Author and Finisher of our faith."
His dependence upon his Heavenly Father
made him order all the events of his life, in which
he felt any difficulty in deciding, by lot; for this
purpose he kept two little tickets, with yea and
nay upon them, in his pocket, and these, with
prayer, he was continually in the habit of using.*
Oberlin, as it may perhaps be supposed, was a
great physiognomist as well as a phrenologist
and the system of Gall had in him a zealous par
tisan; he was also a warm admirer and disciple
* Oberlin bequeathed his lot-box, the token of his peculiar faith, to the Rev. Mr. Blumhardt, of the Missionary
Institution at Basle.




LAVATER.                    165
of his friend Lavater,- and had collected a great
number of silhouettes, both of friends and strangers, under which he wrote his opinion, always
* In the year 1795, Henry Oberlin paid a visit at Zurich, and became acquainted with Lavater, in whose
family he was received with more than ordinary affection.
This acquaintance laid the foundation of the tenderest
and most intimate friendship between Oberlin and that
distinguished individual, which terminated only with the
life of the latter. He died at Zurich, where he had resided the greater part of his life, January 2, 1801, in consequence of a wound which he received from a French
soldier, whom, at the time of the siege, he ran out to separate from another with whom he was scuffling. After
lingering in agony for more than a twelvemonth, during
which time he evinced, by his patience and cheerfulness,
the power of that principle which in life had made him
so active, he resigned his soul into the hands of his Creator.
Lavater was a man of extraordinary powers, and universally beloved by all classes of people. He was as much
known in his own country as a zealous and devoted Christian minister, as he is in this country by his study of
physiognomy. This latter study, he used to say, was taken
up for little more than amusement.
The following note, written during the period of his
illness, to Henry Oberlin, who was at that time also
suffering from indisposition, is a proof of the sweet and
resigned state of his mind:
"Erlenbach, Feb. 1st, 1800.
"Dear Oberlin,
"We must both humble ourselves under the chastising
and fatherly hand of God. It will be good for us both to
be led in this way, and no other. Let us look forward
with hope, and expect the best, nor doubt his goodness
one moment. We cannot be better led than we are. If
we possess health, God of his love bestows it; if sickness
he ordains that it should be so. We have nothing to fear
His love will never forsake us; but will continue to direct
us to one goal-even to himself."




166         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
an indulgent one, of the talents and general char.
acter of the individual.
There was a striking simplicity and artlessness
in his character, which occasionally led him to
speak of himself, and of his own actions, in a
manner that some might attribute to egotism; but
this was far from being the case, for few individuals could be more truly humble, or disclaim all
merits of their own more sincerely than he did.
He wrote the following description of his own
character, to place beneath a profile, which was
cut out and highly approved by himself.* It will
account for the preceding remarks.
"A strange compound of contradictory qualities.  I do not yet exactly know what I am to
make of myself. I am intelligent; and yet possessed of very limited powers:-prudent and
more politic than my fellow clergymen; but also
very apt to blunder, especially when in the least
excited. I am firm, yet of a yielding disposition;
and both of these, in certain cases, to a great degree.  I am not only daring, but actually courageous; whilst, at the same time, I am often in
secret very cowardly.  I am very upright and
sincere, yet also very complaisant to men, and in
a degree, therefore, insincere. I am a German
and a Frenchman; noble, generous, ready to
render service, faithful, very grateful,-deeply
affected by the least benefit or kindness, which is
ever after engraven on my heart; and yet again
flighty and indifferent. I am irritable to a formidable degree.  He who treats me generously
* Oberlin presented this profile to the Rev. Francis
Cunningham, during his visit at Waldbach, in 1820.




OBERLIN S DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF. 167
soon gains the ascendency over me; but opposition creates in me an astonishing degree of firmness, especially in matters of conscience. I have
a lively imagination, but no memory, properly
speaking.  The histories which I have taken
pains to impress on my mind remain with me,
but dates and the names of persons I often forget
the next day, notwithstanding all the pains I have
taken to remember them.  I used to speak Latin
fluently and even elegantly, but now I cannot
utter three or four words together.  I make
selections from books, and instruct others in some
branch of science for a long time; but a few
years after, my scholars, even if they know nothing more than what I taught them, may in their
turn become my teachers, and the books from
which I made extracts (with the exception of
those of a certain description) appear wholly
new to me.
" I habitually work my way through my studies
till I obtain clear ideas; but if I wish to penetrate
deeper, every thing vanishes before me. I have
a great talent for removing difficulties in order to
render every thing smooth and easy to myself,
and to every body else. I am so extremely sensitive, tender, and compassionate, that I can find
neither words nor expressions corresponding to
my feelings, so that the latter almost overpower
me, and occasion me acute pain.  I am always
busy and industrious, but also fond of ease and
indolence. I am generally quick in resolving,
and equally so in executing. I have a peculiar
esteem for the female sex. I am a very great
admirer of painting, music, and poetry, and yet
I have no skill in any of therm. Mechanics,




168        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
natural history, and so forth, constitute my favor
ite studies. I am very fond of regularity, and
of arranging and classifying, but my weak memory, added to constant employment, renders it
difficult to me. I am  given to planning and
scheming, and yet endeavor, in my peculiar way
to do things in the best manner.
"I am a genuine soldier, but I was more s
before my bodily powers were so much weakened; I was formerly anxious to be the foremost in
danger, and the firmest in pain, but have now
lost that desire. From my childhood I have felt
a longing and preponderating desire for a higher
state of existence, and therefore a wish for death.
I am the greatest admirer of military order and
subordination, not however in a spirit of slavery,
but of that noble affectionate attachment which
compels the coward to show courage, and the
disorderly to be punctual. I feel no obstinacy or
disinclination to yield to strong internal conviction, but on the other hand a fervent heart-felt
joy in yielding to both great and small, high and
low, gentlemen and peasants, children and servants, and thence a willingness to listen and an
inclination to suffer myself, if possible, to be convinced. But when I feel no conviction I can
never think of yielding. I am humorous and a
little witty or satirical, but without intentiona
malice."
As the villages of Oberlin's little district wet
too far apart to allow of his preaching every
week in all of them, he took each of the three
churches in rotation, and the peasants made an
arrangement to come in turns with a horse every
Sunday morning to fetch him, and to take him




3IR. OWEN'S LETTER.          169
home to partake of their dinner after the sermon.
It was always a festival for every family who
could thus entertain the dear father, and afforded
him  an opportunity of conversing about their
temporal and spiritual wants. He made a point,
when the little repast was ended, of seeing the
hildren of the house one by one in succession,
according to their age, and of talking to them
like an affectionate father, in language adapted
to their respective capacities, as well as of making
a present to each.
I cannot here refrain from inserting the lively
picture which Mr. Owen has drawn, in his own
admirable manner, of a Ban de la Roche Sabbath; and in which he also makes an allusion to
those three excellent women whose names well
deserve to be put upon record with that of their
pastor.
"Basle, Sept. 16, 1818.
"The place from which my last was dated,
Waldbach, has completely filled my mind, and
laid such hold on my warmest affections, that I
can scarcely bring myself to think, or speak, or
write, on any thing but Pastor Oberlin, and his
Ban de la Roche.  You will remember that the
first foreign letter which awakened an interest in
our minds-the letter which made its way most
directly to our hearts, and which, at the celebration of our First Anniversary, produced  the
trongest, and, if I may judge of others by myself, the most lasting impression upon us all, was
that wherein this venerable pastor reported the
distribution he proposed to make of the Bibles assigned to him, and drew, with the hand of a master, the characters of those women who labored
p




170         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
with him in the Gospel, and to whom, as the
highest remuneration he could bestow, and their
ambition coveted, a Bible was to be presented.
"I cannot describe the sensations with which
I entered the mountainous parish, containing five
villages and three churches, in which this primitive evangelist, who more than half a century has
occupied this station, exercises his functions; and
still less those with which I entered his residence,
and approached his venerable person.  The reception he gave me was such as from the profound humility of his character might have been
anticipated.  My visit to him and his flock was
wholly unexpected; and when I announced to
him, in my introduction, that I appeared before
him as the Secretary of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, to testify, on their part, the respect
and affection with which they regarded him, as
one of the earliest and most interesting of their
foreign correspondents, the good man took me by
the hand, and drew me gently towards the seat
which he usually occupies, exclaiming, but without any turbulence of either voice or manner,-' Sir, this is too great an honor:-how shall I answer words like these?' After the first emotions
had subsided, our conversation became familiar;
and as it never ceased, from that time to the moment of our separation, to turn more or less upon
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, as
they appeared in the small scale of his own, or
the great scale of the Bible Society's labors, it
never ceased to be deeply interesting, and pregnant with edification.
* See page 132.




MR. OWEN'S LETTER.           171
"The Sunday exhibited this venerable man in
the pastoral character, under which it had been
so much my desire, might it but be permitted me,
to see him.  As he makes the circuit of his
churches, the turn on this Sunday belonged to
Belmont, distant about half a league from the
parsonageof Waldbach. At ten o'clock we began to move. Mr. Oberlin took the lead in his
ministerial attire, in a large beaver and flowing wig,
mounted on a horse brought for that purpose, according to custom, by one of the bourgeois of the
village, whose turn it was to have the honor of
fetching his pastor, and receiving him to dinner
at his table. I rode as nearly beside him as the
narrow track would allow.  Mr. Ronneberg, accompanied by Mr. Daniel Legrand, followed.
The rear was brought up by the bourgeois before
mentioned, carrying a leathern bag, slung across
his shoulders, which contained the other part of
the minister's dress, his books, &c.; and a respectable peasant as an attendant on the general
cavalcade. I will not detain you by particulars,
which, however interesting, would draw me too
far from the main object of my attention. I will
only say, that the appearance of the congregation, their neat and becoming costume, their order, and their seriousness, together with the
fervor, tenderness, and simplicity, with which the
good minister addressed them, both in his sermon
n the morning, and his catechetical lecture in the
afternoon, conveyed to my mind the most delightful impression-that of a sincere and elevated
devotion. The interval between the services was
passed partly in dining at the house of the happy
bourgeois, (for the duty of fetching and entertain



172        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
ing their pastor, is, in the estimation of these
simple people, a privilege of the highest order,)
and partly in visiting some of the excellent individuals, both men and women, particularly the
latter, in which this part of the parish abounds.
The affability and graceful condescension with
which the pastor saluted every member of his
flock, wherever he met them, and the affectionate
reverence with which young and old returned the
salutation, were peculiarly pleasing: it was, on
both sides, if a ceremony at all, the ceremony of
the heart. On our return to the parsonage, the
evening was passed in edifying conversation, and
concluded by a French hymn, in which all the
household united.  On the ensuing morning, I
had the honor of conveying my venerable host,
amidst the bowings of his parishioners, who
gazed with wonder at the unusual sight of their
stationary pastor seated in a travelling carriage,
to the house of Messrs. Legrand, at Foudai, another of the villages in this extensive parish.
Here we breakfasted; and, after much pleasing
conversation with this amiable, benevolent, and
well-informed family, I had the high honor of being introduced to Sophia Bernard, and Catharine
Scheidecker!!! Maria Schepler, the second on
the list of this memorable trio, had, I found, been
removed to her rest: the two whom I have mentioned, and who now stood before me, remaine
to fill up the measure of their usefulness in the
work of their Lord. Never shall I forget the
manner in which these interesting peasants received me, when, addressing them by name, I
told them that I had known them nearly fourteen
years, and that the account of their services,




MR. OWEN'S LETTER.           173
communicated to us by the pastor whom they
so greatly assisted, had been instrumental in
stirring up the zeal of many to labor after their
example.'Oh, Sir,' said Sophia Bernard, the
tears filling her eyes at the time,' this does indeed
humble us;' adding many pious remarks in relation to their obscurity, the imperfection of their
works, and the honor they considered it to labor
for Him  who had done so much, yea, every
thing, for them. The scene was truly affecting.
It was not without many an effort that I tore myself from it, and hurried from the Ban de la
Roche, that seat of simplicity, piety, and true
Christian refinement, to resume my journey along
the beaten road, and to pursue my object among
scenes, which, whatever pleasures I had to expect,
would suffer in the comparison with those which
I had left behind me."
In most of his religious tenets, Oberlin was
strictly orthodox and evangelical.  The main
doctrine that seemed to occupy his whole mind,
was that God was his Father.  " Our Father,"
as he would not unfrequently say, "and thus we
may always feel Him."  The doctrine of sanctification also held a high place in his creed,
though, in his discourses, he principally dwelt
upon the freeness of the Gospel, the willingness
of Christ to receive all who come to him in sin.
cerity of heart, the blessed efficacy of prayer
and the absolute necessity of divine grace.
It may here be considered necessary, for the
sake of biographical faithfulness, to observe that
upon some points he certainly held very fanciful
and unwarranted notions, more particularly upon
P2




174         MEMOIRS Or OBERLIN.
those relative to a future state. In the interpre.
tation of John 14: 2, for example, ("In my
Father's house are many mansions,) he considered that there was an exact relation between our
state here and the very mansion we should enter
hereafter; and this relation, or proportion of hap
piness, he seemed to himself to have so accurate.
ly ascertained, by the help of types drawn fiom
the different parts of the Temple, beginning with
the outer court of the sanctuary and ending with
the Holy of Holies, and from expressions denoting
the state of the redeemed in the Book of Revelations, as to be able to draw a map of the other
world; and this map he printed and hung up in
his church. He also held the doctrine of an intermediate state, which he supposed to be one of
continual improvement, and likewise believed
that we shall become progressively holy in heaven. He seemed to hope that the passage 1 Cor.
15: 28, where it is said that " all things" shall
be subjected unto the Almighty, and the Son also
himself shall be subjected, " that God may be all
in all," might include not only the little flock of
Christ's immediate followers, but, ultimately, at
some almost indefinite period, through the boundless mercy of God, and the blood of Jesus, which
was shed for the sins of the whole world, all the
race of mankind.  And he was strengthened in
this belief by understanding in another than the
ordinary sense, that as in Adam all die, even sc
in Christ shall all be made alive. It is needless
to say of these doctrines that they are fanciful
and mistaken, and not to be defended by an accurate application of Scripture. But, whatever
hold they had upon Oberlin's mind, they appeared




HIS MINISTRY.               175
very little in his preaching, and did not at all interfere with the plainest statement of the doctrine
of justification by faith in the merits of our Redeemer, and sanctification by his Spirit, and of
the absolute necessity of both the one and the
other to meetness for the heavenly inheritance.
Oberlin was accustomed to preach very alarmingly on the judgment to come, and the punishment of the wicked; though, at the same time,
he held out the fatherly love of God to every returning sinner, who would seek Him through Jesus Christ. These last mentioned doctrines may
be said to have constituted the leading features
of his ministry. He had a remarkable reverence
for the Bible, and especially for the Books of Moses, and the Gospels. He was led to adopt many
of the laws of Moses, because, he said, although
the ceremonial law is rejected, the object of that
law, the glory of God and the good of man, remains, and therefore the law itself ought to be
retained.  The subjoined note marks a number
of passages from the laws of Moses, which Oberlin adopted, and which he applied with great force
and interest in his own conduct, and in his instructions to his people.* Alms. Deut. 14: 28, &c. 15: 7. Mat. 3: 10.
Prevention of dangers. Deut. 22: 8. Exod. 21: 33.
Strangers. Exod. 22: 21. 23: 9. Lev. 19: 33, 34.
24:22. Num. 15: 14. Deut. 10: 18, 19. 24: 14, 19. 26:
12. 27: 19.
Also for Strangers. Exod. 12: 19. Num. 9: 14.
Solomon appointed a court for Strangers: 2 Chron.
6: 32. This court the avarice of the Jews suffered to become a market, and from this market Jesus drove the
buyers and sellers.
Fertility. To make a country fertile, it must be




176          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
It may, indeed, be doubted whether there wa.
not much in the history of Moses, as well as in
his law, which remarkably adapted itself to Oberlin's experience and views.
This coincidence has been pointed out to me
by the Rev. Francis Cunningham, who visited
the Ban de la Roche in 1820, when Oberlin was
in the eightieth year of his age. I-le thus writes
" In contemplating the history and circumstances of this venerable man, I could not but call to
mind that of the Patriarch, whose law, as well
as example, he seems so attentively to have followed.  Oberlin, like Moses, was trained to another service than that which he was ultimately
called to follow. He had to civilize, as well as to
instruct, a people degraded by long habits, deeply
rooted, and which sprung from wretchedness and
poverty.  Like Moses, he was a great lover of
order, and had a singular tact for government.
Like him  too, he united remarkable meekness
with occasional impetuosity, and the truest decision of character. As of Moses at the end of his
pilgrimage, so it may be said of Oberlin, his eye
guarded from bad seasons, dearth and famine. Lev. 26:
3, 14. Deut. 11: 13, 16. Mal. 3:10.
Politeness. Rom. 12: 10. 1 Cor. 13: 4, 5.
To protect ourselves from the evil of war. Lev. 25:
18,19. Deut. 33: 28,29. Prov. 1: 33.
Doctors. Exod. 15: 26. 2 Chron. 16: 12.
Law-suit. Mat. 5: 39, 40.
First-fruits. Exod. 22: 29. Deut. 15: 19.
Payment. Lev. 19: 13. Deut. 24: 14. Jer. 22: 13,
Rom. 13: 8. Mat. 5. 25.
Health. Exod. 15: 26. Mal. 4: 2.
Prolonged life. Deut. 4: 40. 5: 32, 33. 6: 2. 11: 9,
17: 20. 30: 17, 18. 30: 20. 32: 46, 47.




HIS MINISTRY.             177
was scarcely dim, and his natural force was
hardly abated. They each lived to testify of a
people following the ways of God, (Deut. 33: 29)' Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee,
0 people saved by the Lord;' and now as they
fought the same fight, passed through the same
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb, they dwell together before the throne of God, and serve him
day and night in his temple; they have entered
into the same joy, and are crowned with the same
reward. For there, this most holy, most devoted,
and most useful man, has now opened his eyes
to receive the recompense of his faith, his patience, and his labors:-and there, as one who
hath turned  many to righteousness, he will
shine in the crown of his Redeemer for ever and
ever."
In his sermons, Oberlin was simple, energetic,
and affectionate, continually speaking to his people under the appellation of "my dear friends."
He appeared to study a colloquial plainness, interspersing his discourses with images and allusions, which, had they been addressed to a more
refined audience, might have been deemed homely, but which were particularly adapted to the
capacities and wants of his secluded villagers.
He would frequently introduce biographical anecdotes of persons distinguished for their piety; and
the boundless field of nature furnished him with
striking illustrations to explain spiritual things.
But the Bible itself, " the dear Bible," as he exclaimed with tears of gratitude a short time before his last illness, was the grand source of all
his instructions. It formed the study of his life,




178         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
and, as he said, constituted his only consolation
under all trials, the source of his strength, and
the ruling principle of his actions:-how, then,
could he do less than recommend it to others''
He was in the habit of citing very largely from
it, from the conviction that the simple exposition
of the Word of God was the best means of efficaciously interesting  his flock.  His sermons
were almost always composed with the greatest
care: and when unable, for want of time, to
write them out at length, he made at least a tolerably full outline.  In general, he committed
them scrupulously to memory, but in the pulpit
he did not confine himself to the precise words,
and would indeed sometimes change the subject
altogether, if he saw that another was apparently
better suited to the circumstances of his auditory,
The following extracts, taken from the notes
of some of his autograph sermons, are characteristic of that originality and devotedness which
formed one of their distinguishing features.
The first was preached in the parish church
of Waldbach the very day after his son Henry's
death.  Some account of that beloved son has
been inserted in a previous part of this Memoir,
and it may there be seen that the chief comfort
which he experienced in his last moments, was
derived from the words which his father took for
his text, " From death unto life."
"Nov. 16, 1817.
(" The day after the death of my son, Henry
Gottfried.)
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life." John 5: 24. last clause.




HIS SERMONS.              17"
"I From death unto life! From death unto life!
That is the device, the motto, the rallying-word
of Christians, that is, of all those persons who
have faithfully guarded their covenant of Baptism.
And of all the persons who, though fallen from
he grace of God, repent sincerely, remembering
with sorrow their infringement of the covenant
of Baptism, and the violation of their covenant
renewed at the time of their confirmation-who
are returned to the Savior of our souls, and
have aspired to the honor and the happiness of
living before him, with him, and for him.
"From  death unto life!  Ah, what a serene
prospect in regard to the future! What joyous
hope, what delicious tints does it shed upon all
parts of their life here below! upon all the crosses,
upon all the paths sprinkled with tears; when one
has a lively feeling of the efficacy of this word of
the apostle of the Lord:-" All things work together for good, to them that love God," all, all
things, sad or joyous, sweet or bitter, and tribulations even the most grievous, "all things" contribute to their true good, to their happiness and
eternal prosperity.
" They are all, and especially the more bitterthey are all, the steps which God uses to lead us
from one degree of divine virtue to anotheralways tending to more perfection in faith and
confidence in God, in filial and cheerful obedience
to his commandments-in humility, sweetness,
gentleness, delicacy, in sentiment, taste, beneficence, in charity, purity, in a word, in all the
celestial virtues.
"But in advancing the Christian in virtue, it
advances him in resemblance to God, in the re.




180         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
establishment of the divine image, and consequently always to greater brightness in the regions
of light, always to greater nearness to the residence of God, our Creator and Father. For to
each one shall be assigned a dwelling more or
less great in glory, more or less near to the inexhaustible source of all felicity, according to h
greater or less resemblance, internal, spiritual an
moral, to our God.
" From death unto life! Ah, how, by this hope,
when it is well founded, the idea of death, otherwise so terrific, loses its terror, in proportion as
one is right in his expectation of this ravishing
change! When we are born, we enter upon
death:-for it is thus that our Creator and Father has constituted and described our present
life-poor, pretended life,-life full of thorns, of
sufferings, and of tears. God has called it death,
and so it is; since men are fallen from their glorious primitive state-since they have detached
their hearts from God by attaching them to that
which is transitory and perishable-since they
have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can
hold no water, or a water that is salt, offensive,
infected and poisonous.
"But when we open our hearts to the voice of
the Divine Shepherd, who calls us so often to
himself; when we aspire to the incomparable
honor and happiness of being received into the
number of his sheep: ah, what a change is then
made in us! —how from being worldly-minded do
we become heavenly! how then is the image of
God re-established in us!
" Then the aim of our actions, and the scope,




HIS SERMONS.                181
and the design of our enterprises become altogether different from what they were before. Ah!
it is no more then to become rich, and to gain
those advantages which are transient and perishable, that we desire, long for, aspire to, in our labors and our savings.  Oh, no! In the union of
our hearts and of our sentiments with the Lord
Jesus Christ, we espouse his interests, we seek to
aid even himself in his great work, in delivering
the poor human family from all its innumerable
evils of mind and body, from all its frightful moral
corruption, and from all the innumerable species
of sufferings which are in its train.
"That is the aim which animates Christians,
the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and for such,
Death, the king of terrors, loses that which renders him most formidable.  By these considerations they become indifferent as to living or
dying.
" Do they dwell long upon the earth? —it is for
glorifying the Lord as much as they are able, following their vocation, and serving him in his
great work.
" Are they recalled from this earth by death?it is for continuing to serve him in his great work,
and to labor that the name of God be glorified,
that his kingdom  may find access everywhere,
and that all the world may take pleasure in doing
his will.
" For this reason St. Paul would not concern
himself to choose between life and death-between
remaining longer in this world or going to the
other.  Lie declared that his desire would be rather to depart and be with Christ, but in reference
to those persons who by his means had been conq




182         M3EMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
verted to the Lord, it might be more necessary
that he should remain still in this lower life, for
his aim was, that the Lord might be glorified by
him whether in this world or in the other. Phil.
1: 20, 24.
" And, 2 Cor. 5: 15, he said; The Lord Jesus
died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves, but to him who died for
them.
" And, Rom. 14: 7, 8.  None of us (his disciples) liveth to himself, and none of us dieth to himself. But whether we live (in this world) we live to
the Lord; or whether we die, we die to the Lord:
whether then we live or we die, we are always the
Lord's.
" Ah, dear friends! may the consideration of
such a life, may the contemplation of that country
on the other side of death, ever be pleasant and
attractive!
"May we be able, when dying, to sing in heart
these verses of Drelincourt.
I.
Oh welcome sweet day, long so fondly desir'd,
When my holy Redeemer would gather my soul;
My heart springs to meet him-Roll on, minutes, roll,
Till I mount to those mansions to which I aspir'd.
II.
Sweet moment-brought near me so long by faith's eye,
Thou hast come to cut short the dark thread of my
woes;
Oh Jesus, in whom I believe and repose,
Exalt me from earth, where I liv'd but to sigh.
III.
Oh God, earth is cover'd with dangers and snaresEarth is full of transgressions, and errors and caresHer pleasures possess not one charm to my eyes,
As the runner, whose soul is intent on his prize,




HIS SERMONS.              18-3
Mortality now to thy hands I resign,
My soul will be full when thy glory is mine!"
Then follow the notes containing the particulars of Henry's death, which seemed to introduce
the personal subject, if it were introduced at all.
But it is the more probable that it was not, as the
calamity was so recent, and so deeply affecting
to his father.
The remarkable affection that existed between
the venerable pastor and his son, has been before
alluded to. But in this sermon we have a proof
that whilst he felt for the loss of his child, he
could not forget for a moment the state of those
before whom he was preaching, and upon whose
account he desired to make this occasion one of
unusual profit as well as interest.
Oberlin, as I have stated above, was fond of
drawing analogies between the natural and spiritual world.  The following extracts from  a sermon preached on a week day (November 16,
1819) will illustrate the manner in which he did
so. It also bears some marks of his peculiarities
of view as to a future state:
"The children of this world marry and are
given in marriage.
"But they which shall be counted worthy to
obtain that world and the resurrection from the
dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage,
neither can they die any more, for they are equal
unto the Angels, and are the children of God,
being the children of the resurrection."
" The Lord presents us here at a glance, a futurity highly transporting for any one who has
not a concern more grand and pressing than that




184         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
of becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ, a true
member of his body.  To comprehend this beautiful passage, we must explain certain terms.
" 1. What does the Lord intend by " this world,"
and by " that to come?"
" By this world the Lord understands the actual
state of the human race, since it has fallen from
its first glorious estate.
"By the world to come, he understands, the
state, marvellously glorious, of those in whom
God shall have perfectly re-established his image,
and the former glorious state for which we had
been created.
" 2. What does the Lord understand by being
"children of the resurrection?"  It is not the
general awakening of the dead at the last day, to
prepare them to appear before the tribunal of the
Supreme Judge. But it is that perfect deliverance
from all the evils that sin has brought upon us,
and the re-establishment of the primitive glory.
This is what the Lord intends by " children of
the resurrection."
"3. Who are they who shall be esteemed
worthy of this glorious resurrection, and of the
perfect re-establishment of the image of God?
" Those who give themselves, heart, soul, and
spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and strive to enter in at the strait gate, and who, to this end,
study and keep diligently all that the Lord ha
commanded  his disciples-who  by  continua
prayer from the bottom of their hearts, and frequent use of the Lord's supper, endeavor to be
always more and more closely united to the
Lord-who aspirae to love God with all their
heart, with all their soul, with all their strength,




HIS SERMONS.               185
and with all their mind-and to love their neighbor truly as themselves, and to be faithful man-servants and maid-servants of God in his vineyard.
" Those who labor to obtain these graces, not
only for themselves, but also for their families,
and their friends, and their acquaintances, as far
as they can reach by their prayers.
" When such persons, by their faith, humility,
zeal and charity, have passed through the different lower heavens, and shall have arrived at perfect holiness, the perfection of the saints complete
in righteousness, and shall be admitted into the
class and rank of dwellers on mount Zion or the
kingdom of heaven, then they shall receive their
glorified body, or " the resurrection" of which
our Lord here speaks.
" 4. Then they shall not die any more; or as
the Lord expresses it in the Revelations by John,
chap. 21: 4.' and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be
any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.''"Ye know, dear friends! that all terrestrial
nature is a representation of the spiritual. The
caterpillar, and all insects, pass through different
states which bear no resemblance to one another.
At first, issuing from the egg, they are only
diminutive worms; in time they strip off their
outer skin, and go forth as it were in a new form:
but finally they receive a form entirely new, that
of the chrysalis. This is, in a manner, a new
animal, different from the first in its figure and
properties. But this is not all. Under the form
of this chrysalis, it is prepared to become another
new animal, entirely more perfect than in its two
Q 2




1 8         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
former states-it is now the butterfly, ornamented
with beautiful colors, and having tastes and properties completely different.
"Now he disdains the gross nourishment of
his first condition, and takes that which is more
pure and more perfect, the honey of the flowers.
As to his movements, he has now no longer
need of his feet to transport him from place to
place: by means of his wings, he gaily lifts himself, and quickly darts over walls, rivers, and
mountains.
"In like manner, those who are in Jesus
Christ, pass, according to the degree of their advancement in humility, charity, holiness-they
pass, by different changes of their bodies, internal, spiritual, visible only to angels, but hidden to
us in terrestrial bodies. And these changes from
brightness to brightness, "from glory to glory,"
continue until their bodies are fashioned and are
like to the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Ah, dear friends! what a ravishing prospect
-what astonishing and delicious hope-O! let
us ever animate ourselves to pursue in Jesus
Christ our sanctification, and tighten the bonds
of our union with him.  It is by him, the dear
Lord-it is only by him, that any attains to all
this-for he it is, whom God hath given unto us
to find in him wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and glorious redemption and salvation."
1 Cor. 1: 30.
Oberlin always concluded the Sabbath afternoon's service with catechetical exercises; and
as this was intended more particularly for the
benefit of the children, he endeavored to render
his afternoon's discourse even more simple than




HIS MINISTERIAL LABORS.         187
that of the morning had been, and to adapt his
language to the age of his younger hearers.'My friends," said he, upon one of these occasions, wishing to give them, if possible, some
idea of eternity, "If a single grain of sand were
brought into this room once every hundred years,
many centuries must elapse before the floor could
be covered.  That moment would, however, arrive; but, even when it came, the spirits of the
blessed would be still in the enjoyment of heavenly
happiness, for they are immortal; and if a grain
of sand were to be brought at the same stated
interval for many thousands of centuries, until
the room were entirely filled, those happy beings
would still be immortal, and eternity would be as
boundless as when the first grain was brought."
"The good pastor," says Mr. Steinkopff, from
whose journal the editor has been kindly allowed
to make the following extracts, "considers his
flock as his own children, and they look up to
him with the most profound respect and veneration. I never witnessed so delightfully affecting
a scene as the church of Waldbach, quite full,
apparently, of attentive people. It stands very
near the parsonage, and is plain, neat, and clean,
with a gallery all round. When we were there,
on the 11th of June, 1820, it was completely
filled with peasants in the costume of the country,
and there was not a countenance among them
that indicated indifference; the greater part
evinced the utmost seriousness and attention.
When the reverend pastor entered, all stood up;
he placed himself before the communion table; it
was plain, covered with a white cloth, fringed all
round.  He first gave out a hymn.  When it




188         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
was sung, he read a prayer from the ritual, during
which all knelt, and covered their faces. He then
gave out another hymn; after which he went
to one part of the church where the children sat,
and called over their names, to see if any were
absent.  Then all knelt down again whilst he
prayed; then they sung, and he went into the
pulpit and gave out his text, after another prayer' He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied.' Isa. 53: 11. He spoke in the plainest and most familiar manner; mentioned the
errors of the times, against which he warned his
hearers, particularly dwelling on the importance
of sanctification.'Those who give themselves
up to intemperance,' said he,' and to the enjoyment of luxuries, without concerning themselves
about their poorer brethren, and yet think that
with all this they shall go to heaven, because
Christ died for sinners, are mistaken. No: the
Gospel says quite otherwise.  We must deny
ourselves, lay aside our sins, lead a holy and
godly life, and then our Blessed Redeemer will
save us.' He earnestly warned them against sin.
Not a sound was to be heard.  Every countenance expressed attention. When he had finished, he read some verses of a hymn expressive of
entire devotedness to God.'My dear friends,'
said he,' may these be the feelings of our hearts,
and as such let us sing them. They then sang
them with deep interest.
The following is a translation:"  Lord, thy heavenly grace impart,
And fix my frail inconstant heart.
Henceforth my chief desires shall be,,
To dedicate myself to Thee!
To Thee, my God, to Thee!




HIS MINISTERIAL LABORS.            189
"Whate'er pursuits my time employ,
One thought shall fill my soul with joy;
That silent, secret thought shall be,
That all my hopes are fix'd on TheeOn Thee, my God, on Thee!
" Thy glorious eye pervadeth space,
Thou'rt present, Lord, in every place,
And, wheresoe'er my lot may be,
Still shall my spirit cleave to TheeTo Thee, my God, to Thee!
" Renouncing every worldly thing,
Safe'neath the covert of thy wing,
My sweetest thought henceforth shall be,
That all I want I find in Thee,
In Thee, my God, in Thee!
"Two children were then brought to be baptized; after which he pronounced the blessing.
Whilst the people were going out of church, another verse was sung.  Those nearest the door
went out first, all in order and in silence. There
are two doors in the church; the pulpit is placed
in the middle, next the back, so that the congregation is in front, down each side.  Before it
stands the communion table. All are seated on
benches.  There are, against the gallery, half a
dozen pictures; one is of our Savior on  the
cross."
Dr. Steinkopff writes the following letter, descriptive of the same interesting scene.
"Waldbach, in the Steinthal, i
June 12,1820. 
" I cannot describe the veneration I felt on approaching Mr. Oberlin, that servant of God, and
benefactor of man, who, in his eightieth year, is
still full of health, vigor, and activity, and gladly




190         MEIOIRS OF OBERLIN.
spends his remaining strength in doing good.
Serenity and cheerfulness are depicted on his
countenance; and he delights in communicating
to his Christian friends something of that peace
of God which possesses his own soul.
"Yesterday I attended divine service in his
church.  Notwithstanding a pouring rain, it was
completely filled. Mr. Oberlin's assistant in the
ministerial office, (the Rev. Mr. Graff,) assured
me that every house in the five villages under
his pastoral care, was now provided with a Bible,
and that every child who came to receive catechetical instruction brought a New Testament
with him. But for the sake of those who applied
from a distance, I gladly complied with his wish
to furnish him and his son, at Rothau, with one
hundred and twenty German Bibles and Testaments.  After divine service, three  Catholic
peasants applied for De Sacy's Testament. One
paid three francs for a copy.  He gave Mr.
Oberlin the pleasing information that many of his
Catholic neighbors had already procured the New
Testament, and were in the constant habit of
reading it. Mr. Oberlin's son, who lives on the
most friendly terms with the Catholic priest, lately presented his schoolmaster with a copy.
"I accompanied the venerable patriarch in
some of his pastoral visits.  Wherever he went,
respect and affection met him.  The children
hailed his appearance.  They immediately produced their Bibles, or Testaments, read to him, or
listened to his truly paternal exhortations and admonitions."
Every Friday Oberlin conducted a service in
German, for the benefit of those inhabitants of




HIS MINISTERIAL LABORS.       191
the vicinity to whom that language was more
familiar than French.  His congregation on a
Sunday consisted, on an average, of six hundred
persons, but on a Friday of two hundred; and
Oberlin, laying aside all form, seemed on such
occasions more like a grandfather surrounded by
his children and grandchildren, to whom he was
giving suitable admonition and instruction, than
the minister of an extensive parish. In order
that no time might be lost, he used to make his
female hearers knit stockings, during the service,
not indeed for themselves or their families, but
for their poorer neighbors, as he believed that
this charitable employment need not distract their
attention, or interrupt that devotional spirit which
generally pervaded the Friday evening assemblies.
When he had pursued for half an hour the train
of his reflections upon the portion of Scripture
which he had just been reading, he would often
say to them, " Well, my children, are you not
tired?-Have you not had enough?-Tell me, my
friends."  To  which inquiry his parishioners
would generally reply, " No, papa, go on;-we
should like to hear a little more," though on some
occasions, with characteristic frankness, the answer was " Enough, we think, for the present;"
and the good old man would leave off in the
midst of his discourse, or wait a little, and presently resume it, putting the same question again
at intervals, until he saw that the attention of his
congregation began to flag, or until they, perceiving that he spoke with less ease; would thank
him for the things he had said, and beg him to
conclude.
Such was the general esteem in which he was




192        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
held, that Catholics as well as Protestants were
fond of attending his preaching.  The following
conversation took place between an English gentleman and the driver of the car in which it was
found necessary to proceed from Schirmeck to
Waldbach; no apology can be deemed necessary
for introducing it, in illustration of the respect in
which Oberlin was universally regarded by the
peasantry.
"You are going then, Sirs, to see our good
pastor Oberlin," said the latter.
"Yes, we are going to see him. Do you
know him?"
"Do I know him!" continued the man, "yes,
I know him  well. I have heard him  preach
many a time."
"But you are a Catholic, are you not?"
" Yes, we are Catholics, we are of Schirmeck;
yet this does not hinder us from hearing the good
pastor of Waldbach sometimes."
"Do you find that he preaches well?"
"O  yes. I esteem  him  much. He often
makes us all rain the warm tears."
The honest charioteer spoke a very intelligible
French, quite distinct from the patois of Schir.
meek; and this circumstance, together with a
certain touch of military sang froid in his manner, not entirely concealed by his fustian jacket.
prompted the inquiry whether he had served un
der Napoleon.
"Yes, Sir, you are right," replied he, "I have
been a soldier. When one is a soldier, it is easy
to contract bad habits."
"For all that, I have found one contracts them
easily enough anywhere."




HIS MINISTERIAL LABORS.        193
"It may be," said the man.  " Fo  myself, 1
tell you frankly that I was not better than others;
and when I come to hear pastor Oberlin preach,
he makes me very much think that I am not any
too good now. He is right, the pastor is right;
for it is true, very true."
"Yes; but do you not think that this is a
truth very necessary to be learned? Do you not
believe that he who shows us our faults, is one of
our best friends."
"Yes: for in order to be healed, one must
know his malady."
"Certainly! You are then highly favored in
having a minister who makes you feel the truth."
"You are right.  And I assure you that he is
a man who endeavors to be of use to us in every
possible way."
" Tell me now what he has done."
"What he has done! He has done every thing
that could be done. See;-he has done every
thing. In the first place, this road here,-he
made it for us."
" Ah,-but it is not absolutely the best in the
world."
"That may be; but see, Sir, it has not been
many years since we would not pass it with a
little car like this. The pastor has superintended
the work upon all this road; he has even labored
with his own hands, to encourage others."
" And that little bridge there, that we are going
to cross?"
"Yes, indeed, and that bridge too;-he caused
it to be made."
"He must be rich, to do all these things."
"One might say both yes and no."
R




194         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
" How?"
"One might say yes; because if he had ah
that he has given away to others, he would be
very rich. And one may say no, because he
lays up nothing, —absolutely nothing; he gives
all to the poor; —all, Sir, all. You are going to
see his house. You need not think to find it
very elegant."
But to return to Oberlin himself.
One of his prevailing desires was that all, to
whatever class or denomination they might belong, whilst conscientiously adhering to their own
peculiar creeds, should grow in an acquaintance
with those common truths which constitute the'
essence of the Gospel.  "Are you a Christian?"
said he to a Catholic gentleman, who visited the
Ban de la Roche in the autumn of 1820;-" if
you are a Christian, my dear friend, we are of
the same religion. If you believe in the utter
depravity of human nature, in the necessity of
repentance, and whilst adoring God, pray to Him
to crown your efforts to become better, we are of
the same religion. Follow the law traced by the
dear Savior; it only is the true law. All the
forms and ceremonies that different sects have
added to this law are of little importance."
Perceiving that the eyes of his visitor were directed to a portrait of Luther that hung against
the wall of his study, " That man has been,'
said he, "like every founder of a sect, much applauded and much calumniated. And if you will
promise me not to be offended," continued he
smiling, "I will tell you something about him.
The popes, for a long time, arrogated to them.
selves temporal powers and privileges, in a very




THE REFORM1ATION.            195
different spirit from that spirit of humility by which
the first followers of Jesus Christ were distinguished.  Taking advantage of the credulity of
the people, they extended their dominion over
nearly the whole of Europe; Turkey alone being
free from their sway.  Leo X. wished to unite
the Christian princes against this latter kingdom,
but it was necessary to obtain money, in order to
secure their co-operation.  Leo, who was remarkable for the patronage he afforded to the
fine arts, was also in want of funds to finish the
famous cathedral of St. Peter.  He devised the
plan of selling indulgences. These were notes
payable at sight, for the enfranchisement of souls
in purgatory; a place never mentioned by Jesus
Christ and his apostles. Depots of them were
opened in the priests' houses, in the monasteries,
and even in the public houses. The priests were
employed in persuading the people to purchase
them.  An Augustine monk, the son of a blacksmith, of Eisleben, was led to consider what
power these indulgences could possibly possess,
and ascending the pulpit, after a priest who had
been inculcating these doctrines, he excited in the
minds of his hearers the indignation with which
his own was filled. This Augustine, whose name
was Martin Luther, proceeded to apply to several
princes, some of whom espoused his cause. He
spread the doctrines of the Reformation; abolished those of the monks; and, taking Scripture for
his guide, returned to the simple communion of
bread and wine; he denied the power of baptism
to take away original sin; condemned auricular
confession; and declared that popes and councils
had no authority to add any thing to the religion




196         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
of Jesus Christ and his apostles, seeing that if
Jesus Christ had wished his religion to be different from that which he taught, he would himself
have delivered it differently. Luther opened the
way for a great revolution, and violent means
were taken to oppose his proceedings. I will
add no more," continued he, "I only wished to
mention the causes and the principal effects of the
Reformation.  Luther was not the founder of a
new religion; he only brought us back to the religion of Jesus Christ. God will regard all who
adhere to the doctrines of his divine Son with
equal favor, be they Catholics or Lutherans."
The following anecdotes are illustrative of the
paternal influence which Oberlin exercised over
his flock, as well as of his readiness to assist
those who differed from  him  in their religious
tenets.  A young woman of Schirmeck, of the
Roman Catholic persuasion, had married a Protestant of Waldbach.  This man had enemies;
he was, comparatively speaking, rich, and his
fortune might possibly have some connexion with
the motives of their animosity. The young woman became the mother of a little girl, who, by
mutual consent, and in pursuance of the marriage
agreement, was to be brought up in the religion
of the former, and baptized by the clergyman of
Schirmeck.  To repair thither it was necessary
to take the road over the mountains; but, at the
moment of their setting off, they were informed
that the enemies of the husband had laid a scheme
to waylay them at a particular turn of the road,
to spring out upon him when he reached it, and
to compel him by menaces and ill-treatment to
consent to their unjust demands.




HIS PATERNAL INFLUENCE.         197
Their journey could not very well be delayed,
as the priest had been informed of their intended
arrival; and yet they were afraid to undertake
it, on account of the impending danger. In this
painful dilemma they went to consult Oberlin.
He, after exhorting them to place their trust in
God, most kindly offered to accompany them, to
render his aid and protection should they require
it. On arriving at a spot in the forest where there
was reason to fear an ambuscade, Oberlin knelt
down, and, extending his hands over the young
people, exclaimed with a loud voice, " Great God!
Thou seest wickedness lying in wait, and conspiring mischief. Thou seest innocence in alarm.
Almighty God!! avert the danger, or give thy
children strength to surmount it."
At this moment several men, who had been
concealed behind a thicket of beech trees, discovered themselves, and rushed forwards, uttering the most threatening exclamations. Oberlin
took the little infant in his arms, and advanced
towards them with a calmness which did not conceal his indignation, yet still left room for the
hope of pardon.  "There," said he to them, " is
the babe which has done you so much injurywhich disturbs the peace of your days." Dismayed at the presence of their pastor, whom
they little expected to meet with in the character
of an escort to persons going to perform a Roman Catholic ceremony, and finding from  the
few words which he had addressed to them that
he was not ignorant of their bad designs, they
did not attempt to dissimulate, but, confessing
their crime, begged pardon of the young man,
and offered terms of reconciliation. Thus provi.
R2




198        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
dentially rescued from  the danger which had
threatened them, the young people continued their
walk to Schirmeck, while Oberlin returned to
Waldbach with the men whom he had thus prevented from doing evil. When they reached the
entrance of the village, " My children," said he
as he left them, " remember the day on the moun
tains, if you wish that I should forget it."
Another morning (in the early part of his ministry,) as Oberlin was at work in his study he
heard a great noise in the village. Rushing out,
he perceived a foreigner whom almost the whole
population were loading with abusive and threatening language.  A Jew! a Jew!" resounded on
all sides, as the good pastor forced his way through
the crowd; and it was with difficulty that he
could obtain silence. As soon, however, as he
could make himself heard, he rebuked them with
great warmth for having proved themselves unworthy the name of Christians by treating the
unfortunate stranger in so cruel a manner. He
added, that if this poor man wanted the name of
a Christian, they wanted the spirit of Christians.
The same enlargement of mind distinguished
Oberlin on all occasions. And whatever men
might say, he still remembered the Apostle's injunction, Gal. 6: 10. "Let us do good unto all
men."
I shall conclude this chapter respecting Ober
lin's private and ministerial character, with the
following questions which he addressed to his
flock in writing, requiring from them satisfactory
replies to each inquiry.  They prove that his
solicitude for their welfare descended to the
smallest details, both with respect to their tem



QUESTIONS TO HIS PARISHIONERS.   199
poral and spiritual concerns, and that he neglected nothing to which he thought it his duty to call
their attention.
Questions addressed by Pastor Oberlin to his
Parishioners.
1. Do you, and your family, regularly attend
places of religious instruction?
2. Do you never pass a Sunday without employing yourself in some charitable work?
3. Do neither you, nor your wife or children,
ever wander in the woods on a Sunday, in search
of wild raspberries, strawberries, whortleberries,
mulberries, or hazel-nuts, instead of going to
church?-and, if you have erred in this manner,
will you solemnly promise to do so no more?
4. Are you careful to provide yourself with
clean and suitable clothes for going to church in
on the Sunday?*
5. Do those who are provided with necessary
clothes employ a regular part of their income to
procure them for their destitute neighbors, or to
relieve their other necessities?
6. Have your civil and ecclesiastical overseers
reason to be satisfied with your conduct, and that
of the other members of your family?
7. Do you so love and reverence our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, as to feel united in the
bonds of Christian fellowship with that flock of
which he is the Pastor?
* During the first years of Oberlin's residence in the
Ban de la Roche, the inhabitants were so miserably off
for wearing apparel that they could only go to church by
turns, being obliged to borrow each other's clothes in
order to appear decently attired.




200          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
8. Do the animals which belong to you cause
no injury or inconvenience to others?-(Guard
against this, for it would be as fire in tow, and a
source of mutual vexation.)
9. Do you give your creditors reason to be
satisfied with your honesty and punctuality?-or
can they say of you that you are more desirou
of purchasing superfluous clothes than of dis
charging your debts?
10. Have you paid all that is due this quarter to  the  churchwarden, schoolmaster  and
shepherd?
11. Do you punctually contribute your share
towards the repairing of the roads?*
* That Oberlin considered the repairing of roads as a
religious duty incumbent upon all his parishioners, (since
it conduced to the public good,) appears from the following curious and characteristic letter, which he addressed
to them Nov. 9, 1804.
" Road between Foudai and Zolbach.
"Dear friends of Foudai 
"Several persons at Zolbach have long been desirous
that a certain road in your district, which runs towards
Zolbach, should be mended and put into repair.
" Such a measure would tend greatly to the advantage
of Foudai. But for whose sake will you do it? Will you
do it from love to your Heavenly Father, to whom you
pray every day, and whom in the Lord's Prayer you call
Father, and who requires you to prove your faith by you
works? Will you do it from love to the Lord Jesu
Christ, who, during his stay upon earth, went about doing
good, and who has redeemed us in order to make to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works? Will you
do it from love to God's children who are at Zolbach?you know that all the services which you render to the
children of God, and the followers of Jesus Christ, God
regards as done to himself. Will you do it from love to




QUESTIONS TO HIS PARISHIONERS.   201
12. Have you, in order to contribute to the
general good, planted upon the common at least
twice as many trees as there are heads in your
family?
13. Have you planted them properly, or only
as idle and ignorant people would do, to save
hemselves trouble?
14. When the magistrate wishes to assemble
the commonalty, do you always assist him as far
as lies in your power; and, if it be impossible for
you to attend yourself, are you careful to inform
him  of your absence, and to assign a proper
reason for it?
15. Do you send your children regularly to
school?
16. Do you watch over them as God requires
you should do? And is your conduct towards
them, as well as your wife's, such as will insure
their affection, respect, and obedience?
17. Are you frugal in the use of wood? And
do you contrive to make your fires in as economical a manner as possible?
18. Do you keep a dog unless there be absolute necessity?
19. Have you proper drains in your yard for
carrying off the refuse water?
20. Are you, as well as your sons, acquainted
with some little handicraft work to employ your
he servants of mammon who are at Zolbach, in order to
set them a good example, and to win their affections by
your kindness?-or, will you do it from compassion to
the animals which your Heavenly Father has created,
and which he has himself honored by his covenant with
Noah after the deluge, Gen. 9: 9?"




202         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
spare moments, instead of letting them pass away
in idleness?
With regard to the purport of the fifth question, as Oberlin was most particular indevoting
a certain share of his own income to the alleviation of the wants of others, and in accustoming
himself to the strictest self-denial in order to in
crease his means of doing good, so he used his
utmost endeavors to persuade others to imitate his
example, and to avoid any superfluity in their
clothes or manner of living, that they might be
the better able to assist their poorer neighbors.
He addressed the following advice to the mothers in his parish, on observing that it was becoming a prevalent fashion amongst them to put
cambric frills to their little boys' shirts —an extravagance which he deemed extremely reprehensible:
"Various mothers are, I observe, beginning
to put frills of muslin or of cambric to their children's shirts. Do not do so, dear friends. Unpick them, cut them off, and seek not to increase
the vanity of your children, which is already
naturally too great. Cut off all the finery that
does not correspond with your station in life, and
employ yourselves in clothing the poor families
of this extensive parish; many of whom are in
an extremely miserable condition.
"Love your neighbors as yourselves.  Re
nounce every superfluity, that you may be the
better able to procure necessaries for those who
are in want. Be their care-takers-their fathers
and their mothers-for it is for this purpose that
God has blessed you with more temporal wealth
than he has done them.  Be merciful. The time




CIRCULARS.              200
may come when you yourselves will stand in
need of the mercy of God."
The following note bears also the same import:
its superscription is,
"Surplus of Hay."
" Waldbach, March 13, 1803.
"Dear Friends,
"Is not this one of the two principal commandments-'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself?' Matt. 22: 39. Is it not as much as to
say, when thy cattle can spare a little of thy hay,
supply those who stand in need? But as thou
canst not give to all who want, choose those who
are in the greatest necessity and poverty, and,
from among them, select such individuals as are
most earnest in obeying the commandments of
Jesus Christ, and in endeavoring to work out
their salvation with fear and trembling. Say to
thyself,' to such will I sell my hay,' and then let
them have it at so low a price, that they may rejoice and bless God.
"And afterwards be careful to furnish them
with the means of liberating themselves from the
debt which they have incurred, as far as thou art
able to do so.
" Be the father of the poor, and God will be
thy father.  Remember that it is impossible to
love God with thy whole heart, without loving
thy neighbor also.
" Tread not in the steps of others, but be thou
a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be the
father of the poor.  Choose those who fear God
most.  Make good speed about it, for perhaps




204         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
thou wilt not be much longer in possession of terrestrial riches."
The following little circulars, in allusion to the
sixteenth question, addressed at different times by
Oberlin to his parishioners, prove how constantly
he endeavored to instil into their minds the ne
cessity of bringing up their children in habits of
subordination, and under their own inspection.
Waldbach, Feb. 27, 1801.
"' Dear Friends, Fathers and Mothers!
" I have a request to make to you. You give
shepherds to your sheep, to lead them into green
pastures, to feed, tend, and preserve them from
danger, and you do well.
"But have you no fears for your children?
Does not Satan go about to tempt them to do
wrong? Then give them shepherds likewise, and
never allow them to be left to their own devices.
Let them  work and amuse themselves under
proper inspection and superintendence, but let
this superintendence be wise, prudent, gentle, kind,
and engaging, and whilst it leads you to take
part in their amusements, and to direct, animate,
and enliven them, let it also restrain them within
due bounds. Whatever it costs you, God will
restore it a thousand fold."
"May 29, 1803.
"'And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abe
thy brother? And he said, I know not; Am I
my brother's keeper?' Gen. 4: 9. The Lord
said to Cain,'Where is Abel thy brother?' Oh,
may these words resound continually in the ears
of every parent,'Father, where is thy son?'




CIRCULARS.              205
Fathers of Belmont! Fathers of Bellefosse, of
Waldbach, of Foudai, and of Zolbach! Father,
where is thy son? In what village; in what
house; in what company? How is he employed?
It behooves you to be able to answer these inquiries by night and by day; on Sundays and on
working-days; wherever you are, and whatever
you are doing. You are the guardians of your
children; and whether they are employed in
work or in relaxation and amusement, it is your
duty to superintend and direct their amusements
and pursuits.
"Do it; do it, henceforth, with faithfulness,
vigilance, and zeal; with earnest and secret
prayer that God may pardon you for past unfaithfulness, and deliver your sons from the sin and
danger into which your carelessness, and want
of parental watchfulness, may have driven them.
This is the desire of
"Your papa and minister,
" J. F. OBERLIN."
S




206          MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
CHAPTER IX.
Oberlin's pastoral visits-Interview  between Dr. and
Mrs. Steinkopff and the Conductrice of BellefosseTheir visit to the cottage of Madeleine Kriuger; also
to that of Sophia Bernard-Letter written by Mrs. C.
during a visit to the Ban de la Roche in the summer
of 1820-Letter from Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris Bible
Society, containing an account of the death of Sophia
Bernard, &c.-Amount of the sums raised at different
times in Waldbach, in support of various charitable institutions.
IT was not in the pulpit alone that Oberlin
sought to make known the truths of the gospel;
he was in the habit of paying pastoral visits to
all the cottages in his parish; of conversing with
their inhabitants on the subjects connected with
their eternal welfare, and upon the various plans
adopted by  benevolent individuals in different
parts of the world for the dissemination of religious knowledge.
In the hope of advancing their moral and spiritual welfare, he kept a book in which he made
private memoranda respecting their various states,
a task for which the insight he obtained in their
respective characters, during his frequent visits,
peculiarly qualified him. Amongst other heads
in the book were " Idlers" and " Bad Managers.
The Ten Commandments also  furnished him
with many distinct heads, under which he made
remarks upon the state of his congregation, par
ticularizing the conduct of such persons as he
deemed reprehensible, that he might be the better
able to adapt his discourses to their edification.




HIS PASTORAL VISITS.          207
The affectionate manner in which he entered
into familiar conversation with them upon such
subjects as the diffusion of religious knowledge,
the conversion of the heathen, and the exertions
of God's devoted servants in bearing to others
the "unsearchable riches of Christ," seldom
failed to gain their attention, and to awaken in
their hearts the warmest interest, whilst it had,
at the same time, a most happy effect upon their
manners, inducing, in some of the poor women
particularly, a refinement and softness not often
met with in persons of the same class, entirely
free from pride, awkwardness, forwardness, or
coarseness. The following anecdote is a pleasing
illustration of these remarks.
During Dr. and Mrs. Steinkopff's visit to the
Ban de la Roche, in 1820, they one day took a
walk up the side of the mountain with Mr. Graff.
The little path they were following, led to Belle.
fosse, whither they were going, to pay a visit to
Madeleine Kruger, one of the exemplary poor
women of that village.  Many peasants had
bowed to them as they passed, with an air of
courtesy, and the women had addressed them
with, " I have the honor of saluting you, Madame," making at the same time a curtsy that
would not have disgraced an English drawingroom. In the middle of a wood, through which
the road led, they met a peasant, simply attired,
with a pleasing open countenance, and a basket
at her back.  "Madame," said she, addressing
Mrs. Steinkopff, "I have the honor to salute
you," and a most profound curtsy accompanied
her words.
"Good morning! I am rejoiced to have met




208         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
you, my dear Priscilla," said Mr. Graff, returning the salutation; " I have the pleasure of introducing you to this lady and gentleman, from
England.  You are well acquainted with the
name of the gentleman.  He is Dr. Steinkopff,
one of the Secretaries of the Bible Society which
has supplied us with so many Bibles."  " Oh,
God be praised for it, my dear Sir!" replied the
peasant.  " Yes, I am well acquainted with your
name! I have read the reports which make mention of you. Is it possible," and she joined her
hands together, " that I have the honor of seeing
you here on earth! Often, yes, often, I think of
the people of whom I read, and who have been
brought to our dear Savior, through the means,
through the generosity, of that noble Society.
Ah, what reason have we to rejoice, who live in
the abundance of spiritual blessings; and how
much should we wish to procure the same advantages for those who are destitute of them!
Yes; we are very rich here, in this Ban de la
Roche.  Oh, that we may never be unfaithful to
that light which God has been pleased to grant
to us! I am truly delighted with all that I hear,
and especially that I have the pleasure of seeing
you. I recollect what our good pastor one day
said at a funeral, when he saw a poor child
weeping bitterly over its grandmother, whom
they were going to bury:' My dear child, instea
of weeping for your grandmamma, who is now
no more, endeavor to live in a manner conformable to the will of God; believe, dear, in your
Savior, and then, in his good time, you will meet
her again in heaven, never more to be separated.'
also pray, Sir, that it may please God to grant




VISIT TO SOPHIA BERNARD.       209
me grace to live the life of a Christian, that when
I die my spirit may join those pure and happy
spirits who have done so much good upon earth."
"The manners and expression of this interesting
young woman," says Mrs. Steinkopff, "were
very superior; for with all the animation and
sprightliness of the French, much zeal and humility were conspicuous."
" On reaching Bellefosse," continues the latter,
"we visited the white-washed cottage of Madeleine Kruger; its neat painted casements and
clean steps announced the comfort to be found
within.  We entered through a kitchen, with a
well furnished dresser and good oven.' Happily
come,r said she,' you do me too much honor. I
am this moment returned, and I should be sorry
not to have been here on your arrival; my door
is not yet unlocked;' and as she spoke she reached the key and opened it into a very good room,
at one end of which stood her bed with pretty
blue cotton curtains, and on one side a long table
with benches around it, all as white as wood
could be made; on the table lay a Moravian textbook open, in which she had been reading.
Whilst we were there, a tall agreeable looking
man, with a slouched hat and blue trowsers and
jacket, came in; he was mayor and schoolmaster
at the same time."
They afterwards proceeded to the neat, clean,
and comfortable cottage of Sophia Bernard, at
Foudai, with whom they were to take tea; she
met them at the door and showed them into a
good sized room, where, on a long deal table, al
most as white as snow, were placed some beautiful flowers, and cups and saucers, cream and
S2




210         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
cakes, supplied by Mrs. Legrand, who, with hei
husband, sons and daughters, drank tea with
them. The cups and saucers were very handsome, being of white and yellow china, and had
different German sentences upon them.  Upon
Mrs. Steinkopff's cup this motto was inscribed,
"Bete fur mich, ich will fir dich beten." (" Pray
for me, and I will pray for thee.") Two benches
were placed along the table, and Sophia stood behind, to wait. She was, like many of the female
peasants of the Steinthal, delicate in her appearance, with a mild and gentle countenance, and
peculiar humility of deportment. She looked
upon her guestswith the greatest pleasure and
satisfaction, listening to all that was said, and
lifting up her hands in gratitude to God, for what
she heard concerning the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom  on earth by the success of
missionary and Bible Societies. On the departure of her visitors, she knelt down, and prayed
very fervently for their protection.
The following letter, written by Mrs. Cduring her visit to the Ban de la Roche in the
summer of 1820, describes the same scene, and
also presents so lively and animated a picture of
the venerable pastor and his family, that it can.
not but be read with interest and delight.
"Ban de la Roche, June 7, 1820.
"My dearest,
My last letter from Strasbourg was written in
low spirits; the sun has since shone upon us.
We are now in a most uncommon and interest



31RS. C     S LETTER.        211
ing spot-every thing is novel, but the One Slii.
rit which acknowledges the Father, and the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, which is the same; and delightful it is to feel it the same, amongst other
nations and languages. It is confirming to faith
o find the children of God in every place lookng only to the same Savior, and built upon the
same foundation.
" I wish I had power to convey to you an idea
of our present interesting and curious situation.
In the first place, I must introduce you to the
room I am sitting in. It is perfectly unique. I
should think the floor had never been really
cleaned. It is filled with old boxes, and bottles,
and pictures, and medicines, and books, but every
thing is in its place.  Two little beds are stuck
up in each corner, and there are a few old chairs,
&c. The window looks upon the tops of the
mountains, near which we are,-separated from
the world; but this is a spot highly favored, remarkably illuminated by the blessed light of the
Gospel. I must now tell you of our journey
here, and arrival.
" On Saturday morning, after an early breakfast, we left Strasbourg. I was rather sorry to
quit our comfortable hotel, where I began to feel
a little settled, and the place, as a town, pleased
me. We soon left the high road, and as there
were no more post-houses, we took a pair of
horses to make our way as well as we could
through the mountains.  The roads were not
quite so bad as I expected, yet their narrowness,
and the steep precipice on one side, made me
nervous.  But we were charmed by the interest
and beauty of the scenery:-before we had gone




212         MEiMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
far we found the valleys luxuriant in vines and
fine trees; a mountain river running through the
valley, and presenting different views in every
turn of the road. F. and I both thought we had
never seen more exquisite home scenery. The
postilion lost his way, and led us up a delicious
valley.  Though we enjoyed the scenery, our
situation was not very pleasant, and we were
anxious to arrive early; for we went perfect
strangers, without any introduction, or having
given any warning, but we felt confidence in
going amongst Christian people. Having reached the right road again, we entered the pass
leading into the Ban de la Roche; it was exceedingly interesting; we were upon the famous
road, dug out of the rock, made by Mr. Oberlin
himself, and his parishioners, for before he came
the place was almost inaccessible.
" However good the roads were in comparison,
I could not be satisfied to stay in the carriage, so
we walked on to a very romantic little village,
where Mr. Legrand and his family live, intimate
friends of Mr. Oberlin.  I fear you have not
seen the book he wrote about Mr. 0. and this
place; it gives great interest to it. It is really
wonderful what he has effected.  We inquired
for their house. Mrs. Legrand was pointed out
to us; she had a fine open countenance, but was
dressed in a far commoner manner than any of our
maids, who would appear like ladies in this place
The women here are a hundred years at least
behind us in luxury and fashion, and outward
* Letters to the Baron de Gerando, on the Agriculture
of the Ban de la Roche, from which extracts have been
given in this work.




MRS. C'S LETTER.       213
appearance; such simplicity I never saw. I will
now introduce you to the Legrands, one of the
most cheerful and happy families one often sees.
Their house is complete in its way, and full of
comfort for a foreign habitation. The father and
mother, with their two sons, both married to
weet women, live together.  They  seemed
beaming with goodness and happiness; evidently
most domestic, and I should trust religious people, devotedly attached to Mr. Oberlin, their
friend and minister, for whose sake they settled
in this place.
"After this pleasant introduction to the Le"
grands, we again set off for Mr. Oberlin's, a mile
and a half further, (a romantic walk through the
valley,) accompanied by Mr. Legrand.  On the
way we met this most venerable and striking
man-the perfect picture of what an old man
and minister should be. He received us cordially,
and we soon felt quite at ease with him. We all
proceeded  together towards his house, which
stands on the top of a hill surrounded by trees
and cottages; if we live to return, you shall see
my sketch of it.  In consequence of my ignorance of French, and the fatigue of our journey,
I felt quite confused on our first arrival. I cou d
see nothing like a mistress in the house; but an
old woman, called Louisa, dressed in a long
woollen jacket and black cotton cap, came to
welcome us, and we afterwards found that she
is an important person at the Ban de la Roche;
she is mistress, housekeeper, intimate friend,
maid of all work, school-mistress, entertainer of
guests, and, I should think, assistant minister,
though we have not yet heard her in this ca



214         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
pacity.  Besides Louisa, the son-in-law  and
daughter, and their six children live here, two
young girls, proteges, and two more maids out
of the parish.  Mr. Graff, the son-in-law, is a
minister and a very excellent man.  There is
much religion and simplicity both in him and his
wife; but she is so devoted to the children tha;
we seldom see her.  We were ushered into thr,
dining-room, where stood the table spread for
supper; a great bowl of pottage-a pewter plate
and spoon for every body:-the luxury of a common English cottage is not known here. But we
see the fruits and feel the blessed effects of religion in its simplest form; it is a great privilege to
be herd, and I trust will be truly useful to us.
"Tuesday. —We are become more acquainted
with this extraordinary people. They are as in
teresting as they are uncommon.  I much regret.hat I cannot talk more fluently with them; yet I
get on as well as I can, and have had a good
deal of pleasing communication with them.  1
only hope you will read Owen's letters, with the
description of his visit on a Sunday to this place
it will give you an interest in our present situaion. Also, in the Appendix of the First Bible
Society Report, read Mr. Oberlin's letter.  I
aever knew so well what the grace of courtesy
was till I saw him. He treats the poorest people
-nd even the children, with an affectionate re
spect. For instance, his courtesy, kindness, an
Hospitality to our postilion were quite amusing
He pulled his hat off when we met him, took
lim by the hand, and treated him with really ten
ier consideration.  He is, I think, more than,:ghty-one of the handsomest old men I ever




MRS. C —--— S LETTER.          215
remember to have seen-still vigorous in mind
and spirit-delighting in his parish-full of fervent charity.  He has talked a great deal to Mr.
Cunningham. The meals are reailly amusing:we all sit down to the same table, maids and all,
one great dish of pottage or boiled spinach, and a
quantity of salad and potatoes, upon which they
chiefly live, being placed in, the middle. He
shakes hands with all the little children as he
passes them in the street, speaking particularly to
them individually:-it is quite wonderful to see
the effect and polish which this sort of treatment
and manner has had upon these people, uncultivated and uncivilized as they were before, from
all accounts.  I never met with any thing like
the cultivation of mind amongst poor people.
They have been taught a variety of things which
have enlarged and polished their minds; besides
religion-music, geography, drawing, botany,
&c.  My sketching has been quite a source of
amusement in the parish, and my sketch-book
handed about from one poor person to another.:
If you go into a cottage they quite expect you
will eat and drink with them; a clean cloth is
laid upon the table, washed almost as white as
milk, and the new milk and the wine,t and the
* As I was one day sketching upon the mountain, a
group of poor peasant women attracted my attention, and
I begged one of them to stand still for a few moments,
that I might sketch her in the costume of her country.
" Ah! Madam," she replied, smiling, " you shall sketch
me. I should like you to have a picture of me in your
book, because you will then be led to remember me, and
perhaps to pray for me."
t The usual wine of the country, called kirschen-wasser
is distilled from the fruit of the wild cherry.




216         MEMOIRS OF OFBERLIN.
great loaf of bread are brought out; yet they are
in reality exceedingly poor. Their beds also
look so clean and good that they would astonish
our poor people.  In some respects I think they
are decidedly cleaner than our poor. Their dress
is simple to the greatest degree. The women
and girls all dress alike, even down to the very
little children.  They wear caps of dark cotton,
with black ribbon, and the hair bound closely
under.  Every body-maids, children, poor, and
rich, call Mr. Oberlin their "dear father," and
never was there a more complete father of a large
family.  We breakfast at seven; the family
upon potatoes boiled with milk and water-a little
coffee is provided for us. We dine at twelve,
and sup at half-past seven. Every thing is in the
most primitive style. I never saw such people
for not taking money. It is almost impossible to
pay any body for any service they do for you.
In our visits to the poor we have been afraid of
offering them  money; but we feel anxious to
throw in some assistance towards the many important objects which Mr. Oberlin is carrying on
amongst his people. It is almost past belief
what he has done, and with very limited means.
Three poor dear women are noted for their benevolence; one especially, who is a widow herself with several children, has taken to support
and bring up three orphan children; and she has
lately taken another from no other principle than
abounding Christian charity. One seldom meets
with such shining characters.  Mr. O. told Mr.
Cunningham the other day he did not know how
to pay Louisa, for nothing hurt her so much as
offering her money.  Nothing can be more de



MRS. C-'S LETTER.            217
voted to his service, and in the most disinterested
manner. Her character has impressed me very
much. We had a delightful walk to a church
about two miles distant, on Sunday morning; the
numbers of poor, flocking from the distant villages, dressed in their simple and neat costume,
formed a striking object in the scene. It happened to be the Sunday Mr. O. goes to the next
parish, where his son has him to assist in giving
prizes to the school children.
"' Wednesday evening.-The poor charm  me.
I never met with any like them; so much spirit.
uality, humility, and cultivation of mind, with
manners that would do honor to a court; yet the
homely dress and the simplicity of the peasant
are not lost. The state of the schools, the children, and the poor in general, is quite extraordinary, and as much exceeds our parish as ours
does the most neglected.
" We have spent our time in the following
manner: Since Sunday the mornings have been
very wet; we have therefore been chiefly shut
up in our own room, reading, writing, and drawing; the eldest of the Graffs, (Marie) a sweet
girl, is a good deal with me, to read and to talk
to me. The children and young people in the
house are becoming fond of me; our being here
is quite a gaiety and amusement to them. About
three o'clock Mr. Legrand comes for us, to take
us different excursions, &c. He seems to us one
of the kindest persons we ever met with, full of
conversation; nothing can exceed the torrent of
words they all have. The old gentleman delights
in talking to F-, and tells him every thing about
himself, his family, his parishes, &c. Our room
T




218         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
joins his library, and all the family are free to
enter whenever they like. The whole system is
most amusing, interesting and useful. It is a
capital example, and instructive for the minister
of a parish. I have felt it very enlarging and
good for us to be here. There is a spirit of good
fellowship and kindness amongst all the peopl
that is quite delightful. The longer we have
been here, the more we have been struck with
the uncommon degree of virtue which exists
amongst them.  On Monday  evening, after
sketching Legrand's house, we were taken to the
cottage of Sophia Bernard, where we found the
table spread in the most complete manner for our
tea, a luxury we had not enjoyed since we left
England. Here we passed some time, eating,
talking, and reading the Bible; and it ended with
prayer, by Sophia Bernard, in a sweet and feeling manner. We then had a charming walk
through the valley home.
" Tuesday.-In the afternoon we ascended towards the very top of the mountains, to another
of his villages, where we again found some delightful women, and a capital school. This afternoon we have been drinking tea with the Legrands; so comfortable and complete a house
and family is rarely to be met with in any country. The three pairs have each the most complete little dwelling, but in the same house. Our
intercourse with them has been truly pleasant;
they have treated us with real Christian kindness.
Farewell, for to-night, my dearest sisters, may
every blessing be with you!
*     *      *      *.  *
*     *      *      *      *     *




MRS. C'S LETTER.         219
"Colmar, Friday  evening.-Our scene is
again quite changed:-we are returned to the
common world; and I now find myself over a
comfortable fire at a good hotel, which is quite a
luxury after the primitive fare of the Ban de la
Roche. I believe Mr. Cunningham would have
suffered, if we had continued to live much longer
upon pottage and potatoes. There was but little
indulgence for the body, though we were treated
with genuine hospitality. They live sadly in the
clouds. The sun does not appear very often to
shine upon them. I never was so struck with
the difference of climate as I was to-day, in coming down into the plains. It poured with rain for
the last day or two; and all yesterday, in the
mountains, every thing was soaked with wet; but
on entering the plains the dust began to fly.
Delightful and uncommon as is this retreat, I
must acknowledge we have rather enjoyed the
comforts of the town, and the conveniences of
this place. It would be a trial to me to live surrounded and buried by mountains. I could not
help rather feeling for Marie Graff, who is sensible of her privations. However, they are happy
and contented, and highly blessed; and it is a
great privilege to have passed this time with
them; an event which must always be valuable
through-life. We parted from the excellent old
man with many kisses, in the full spirit of Christian love; and the same with the rest of the
family. We left them very early, accompanied
by many of the family, and proceeded to Foudai.
where the Legrands live. Here we breakfasted,
and parted with many tears on their part. They
are a most warm-hearted people. We then pro.




220         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
ceeded over such a road as would astonish our
Norfolk and Suffolk friends.  However, I am
thankful that we got through safely.  I am
getting more bold, and can bear the precipices
much better than at first. We passed some beautiful country, but whilst on the heights, the rain
and mist were so great we could not see much.
"The thoughts of the Ban de la Roche, an
the impression of this day, have been very pleasant to me, and I have a secret satisfaction and
comfort in the prospect of getting to Basle, where
I trust I shall have the great consolation of hearing from you."
*      8      *      *. ** 
The following extract, from a letter addressed
by Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris Bible Society,
presents a delightful picture of the good effects
resulting from the instructions and example of
her beloved parent, and from an education founded on the Holy Scriptures. It also speaks of the
death of Sophia Bernard, an event which happened in the spring of 1822, about two years
after the visit alluded to, in the preceding interesting letter.
This letter is dated March 14, 1826.
"Our parish  has now  possessed the Holy
Scriptures for more than a century, and they
form the basis of daily instruction in the schools.
In addition to this, the young people have long
been in the habit of receiving religious instruction from their pastor, so that a gradual and imperceptible improvement, resembling the growth
of plants in a well cultivated garden, has taken
place. You may form  some estimate of their




MRS. RAUSCHER'S LETTER.         221
more. progress, by the spirit of charity which
manifests itself on occasion of the death of a
poor father or mother leaving a numerous family;
and by the eagerness with which the relations,
friends, or neighbors of the deceased, take charge
of the children, not to treat them as strangers
and dependants, but as members of their own
household. These noble actions do not arise
from any fixed methodical rules, nor are they
confined to any particular epoch; but are owing
to the instructions of the good pastor, and to the
excellent regulations which he has led his parishioners to adopt.
"This delightful spirit of benevolence particularly manifests itself also, in the eager alacrity
with which the young people assist the old and
feeble in their rural labors.  No sooner are their
own tasks completed in the evening, than the
signal is given, and they set off to execute in
concert some labor, which, by its charitable object, becomes a recreation. Is a new cottage to
be built-the young people take upon themselves
the task of collecting the materials together, and
of assisting in its erection. Does it happen that
a poor man loses his cow-his only support-the
whole parish subscribe and raise a sum sufficient
to replace it. Is a poor man visited with a misfortune of any kind-he is not the only sufferer
-for all his neighbors participate in his affliction,
as the Apostle says,'If one member suffer, all
the members suffer with it.' 1 Cor. 12: 26.
" These admirable works are doubtless effected by the influence of the Holy Spirit from on
high, and by that spirit of Christian benevolence
T2




222         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
which the attentive and constant perusal of the
Holy Scriptures cannot fail to. inculcate
"I will just mention as a single instance,
among many others, of the transforming power
of religion, that one young woman refused to
marry, that she might devote her time, her talents, and her strength, to works of benevolence;
and, allowing herself only the bare necessaries
of life, she presented the fruits of her assiduous
and unremitting industry to the excellent and
pious institutions of the present day: she also
sold all that she thought she could do without,
and gave the produce to such objects as she believed calculated to advance the kingdom of our
adorable Lord and Savior.
" The excellent Sophia Bernard, after whom
you inquire, left her dwelling here below to inhabit a brighter mansion, about four years since,
to the great regret of the whole parish, and of
the inhabitants of the adjacent villages, who,
though of a different religious denomination, considered that they had lost in her a mother, consoler, and comforter.
" Catharine  Scheidecker and Maria Miller
still live, though the former is very infirm.*
They both continue to walk in the path of Gospel
truth; endeavoring to follow the steps of their
Divine Master, and praying to him  continually
for the salvation of their families, and that of all
the inhabitants of their parish, as well as for
every individual living.  Both are poor in the
* She died in the autumn of 1826, and has doubtless
received the "crown of glory" promised to those who are
" faithful unto death."




MRS. RAUSCHER'S LETTER.        223
wealth of this world, but rich in faith; and they
take every opportunity of evincing their gratitude to God, whose love is shed abroad in their
hearts.
"My venerable father sends you the salutation
of a friend and brother in Christ Jesus our Lord,
and implores the blessing of Almighty God upon
you, and the labors of your society. He longs
for the joyful period, when, released from his
narrow prison-house of clay, he may enter upon
that happiness which is to be acquired only
through the merits of the Son of God, whose
name is the' Wonderful, Counsellor, the Prince
of Peace."'
I have already stated that it was the practice
in the Ban de la Roche to meet on a particular
evening, at stated periods, to read the Scriptures
and pray for the Divine blessing on various religious institutions, and afterwards to make a collection for them.  The collections thus made,
consisted of voluntary contributions according to
the abilities of the donor, and the sums that were
sometimes raised  are truly astonishing; 290
francs having been at one time remitted to the
Paris Bible Society, and on another occasion, the
sum of 500, to the London Committee, in furtherance of the same object.
The following extract is taken from a letter
addressed by Mr. Daniel Legrand to Professor
Kieffer. It is dated July 17, 1825.
"As all that our venerable patriarch receives
and possesses, is only employed for the advancement of the kingdom  of his Divine Master, he
has again remitted to me 100 francs, desiring me
to forward them to the Bible Society at Paris




224         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
His Louisa, (the name of his faithful housekeeper,) has added to it ten francs for the same
purpose, and ten for the Missionary Society at
Paris.  She has a single field, and this is the
amount of the rent. May the Lord put a peculiar blessing upon it!"
It would be almost repetition to say that these
contributions towards public institutions did not
prevent the inhabitants of the Steinthal from appropriating large sums to charitable societies
nearer home. Their beneficence was not, however, confined to their immediate vicinity; for the
Foundation for Protestant Theological Students
at Strasbourg, the Reformed Theological Society
at Montauban, and particularly the Protestant
Institution for the Education of Poor Children of
the Neuhof, near Strasbourg, were indebted to
Oberlin and his people for much efficient assistance.
What can we add to facts so full of eloquence?
Whilst contemplating the rich blessings which
Oberlin disseminated around him, and which the
pervading influence of his example so greatly
augmented, we can only earnestly hope that the
"centre" of Christian benevolence being once
moved, "circle after circle" may succeed, and
tenfold good be effected.
" Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord,
and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as
a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth
out her roots by the river, and shall not see
when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green;
and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit."-Jeremiah 17: 7, 8.




LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH.            225
CHAPTER X.
Oberlin's last illness and death-Letter respecting Louisa
Schepler found after his decease-His funeral-Prayer
delivered upon that occasion-Fragments of an address
to his parishioners-Conclusion.
TOWARDS the latter part of Oberlin's life, the
infirmities of age precluded his discharging the
greater part of his pastoral functions, and he was
therefore compelled to delegate the charge to his
son-in-law, Mr. Graff, being able to do little more
than occupy himself in constant prayers for his
beloved flock.*  That no individual might be
omitted in his intercessions at the throne of grace,
he used in the morning to take his church register of baptisms in his hand, and to pray, at stated
intervals during the day, for every person whose
name was there mentioned, as well as for the
community at large. At all periods of his residence in the Ban de la Roche, Oberlin had a deep
feeling of the value of intercessory prayer; and
so alive was he upon this point, and so fearful
lest he should omit any one whom he particularly
wished to remember, that he wrote the names of
such persons in chalk upon the black door of his
chamber.
* In consequence of an apoplectic attack, Mr. Graff
was compelled to relinquish his pastoral duties in the Ban
de la Roche soon after Oberlin's decease, and to remove,
with his wife and children, to Strasbourg, where he now
resides. Mr. Rauscher is his successor, and occupies the
parsonage house at Waldbach. Louisa Schepler lives
witO  in and his family.




226         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
His strength  had  greatly diminished; his
figure indeed was not bent, but symptoms of infirmity had made their appearance, and his white
locks announced advancing age. He no longer
left his home but from necessity, and devoted
more time than formerly to the labors of his
study. Several essays, on various subjects,
found since his decease, appear to have been
written at this period, and a refutation of Cicero's
work,'De Senectute,' drawn up in 1825, was
probably the last he attempted.
His last illness attacked him suddenly, and
was of short duration. On Sunday, the 28th of
May, 1826, he was seized with shiverings and
faintings, which lasted till a late hour of the
night. The whole of the two following days
were passed in alternate consciousness and insensibility; but he  often  exclaimed, when  his
strength permitted, " Lord Jesus, take me speedily!
Nevertheless, thy will be done!" On the evening
of Tuesday, Mr. Daniel Legrand, who had been
absent on a missionary excursion to Basle, came
to see him. He appeared delighted at his return,
and, tenderly embracing him, said in a distinct
voice, and in an accent of paternal solicitude,
"' The Lord bless you, and all who are dear to
you! May He be with you day and night!" On
the Wednesday he appeared considerably weakened by the convulsions he had undergone, an
the want of nourishment, as a few drops of water
were all he had been able to taste; he however
still intimated by signs, when he was unable to
speak, the tender affection which he felt for his
children, his friends, his faithful Louisa, and all
the members of his flock.




LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH.         227
During the night, between Wednesday and
Thursday, the 1st of June, which was a very distressing one to his attendants, he continued almost incessantly to utter plaintive cries, as though
in pain, although in intervals of ease he would
seize the hand of either of his children who happened to be nearest to him, and press it to his
heart.  When  Mr. Legrand  arrived, at six
o'clock in the morning, from Foudai, he had lost
the use of speech, and his arms and legs had become cold and lifeless. He, however, recovered
strength sufficient to take off his cap, join his
hands, and raise his eyes for the last time towards
heaven; his countenance, as he did so, beaming
with faith, joy, and love.
After this effort his eyes closed, never again to
open; but it was not till a quarter after eleven
that his spirit forsook its mortal tenement, and
that the passing bell announced to the inhabitants
of the valley that they had lost the pastor, benefactor, and friend, who for nearly sixty years had
so unceasingly labored and prayed for them.
It would be impossible to describe the grief
which his loss occasioned: sorrow was depicted
on every countenance; and not only in his own
house, but in every cottage throughout his extensive parish, was his memory embalmed by the
tears and regrets of those who had participated
in his labors of love, or enjoyed the benefit which
his unremitted kindness afforded.
His care for those who had any peculiar
claims on his affection, extended even beyond
the grave.  He was particularly anxious to
evince his gratitude to the excellent Louisa, who
had faithfully served him during a period of fifty




228        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
years; and the following sealed letter, in which
he speaks of her good qualities, and begs his
children to treat her as a sister, was opened a
few days after his death. It is dated, Waldbach,
August 2, 1811.
"My very dear Children,
In leaving you, I commend to your care the
faithful nurse who has brought you up-the indefatigable Louisa. The services which she has
performed for our family are innumerable. Your
dear mamma took her under her care before she
had attained the age of fifteen; but, even at that
early period, she rendered herself useful by her
talents, her activity, and her industry. On the
premature decease of your beloved parent, she
became at once your faithful nurse, your careful
instructress, and your adopted mother. Her zeal
for doing good extended beyond the confines of
our own family. Like a devoted servant of the
Lord, she went into all the surrounding villages,
where I sent her, to assemble the children together, to instruct them in God's holy will, to
teach them to sing hymns, to direct their attention
to the wonderful works of nature, to pray with
them, and to communicate to them all the knowledge that she had herself derived from me and
your mamma. This was not the labor of a moment; and the innumerable difficulties which op
posed themselves to her benevolent employments
would have discouraged a thousand others; for
whilst on the one hand she had to contend with
the wild and froward characters of the children,
she had, on the other, to correct their patois, and,
consequently, after having spoken to them in that




LETTER TO.IS CHILDREN.       229
dialect, which was necessary to make herself understood, to translate all she had said into French.
The bad roads and the inclement weather, so
frequent on these mountains, presented another
difficulty; but neither sleet, nor rain, nor wind,
nor hail, nor deep snows under foot, nor snow
falling from above, detained her from her purpose; and when she returned in the evening,
though exhausted, wet, and weary, and chilled
with excessive cold, she would set herself to attend to my children, and to our household affairs.
In this manner she devoted not only her time
and abilities, but also her health, and all her
bodily powers, to my service, and to the service
of our God. For many years past indeed, her
lungs have been injured, and her constitution absolutely ruined, by over fatigue, and by sudden
transitions from heat to cold, and from cold to
heat, having often, when warm with walking,
crossed the snows and sank into them to such a
depth as to be scarcely able to get out. She received a sufficient recompense, you will perhaps
say, in the ample salary that I allowed her. No,
dear children, no: since the death of your dear
mother, I have never been able to prevail on her
to accept the least reward for her services; she
employed her own little property in doing good,
and in the purchase of her scanty wardrobe; and
it was always as a favor that she received from
me some light articles of dress, and provisions,
which I owed, notwithstanding, to her economy
and good management. Judge, dear children,
judge of the debt you have contracted, from her
services to me, and how far you will ever be from
repaying it.
U




230        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
"In times of sickness and affliction, how
kindly has she watched over both you and me;
how tenderly has she sought to mitigate our pains
and to assuage our griefs! Once more I commend
her to you. You will evince, by the care that
you take of her, how much attention you pay t
the last wish of a father, who has always en
deavored to inspire you with feelings of gratitude
and benevolence:-but, yes:-yes:-you will
fulfil my wishes. You will be, in your turn, both
individually and collectively, all that she has
been to you, as far as your means, situation, and
opportunity permit.
"Adieu, my very dear children, your papa,
"J. F. OBERLIN."
So well disposed were Oberlin's children to
fulfil this request, and to coincide in their father's
views, that they offered Louisa an equal share of
the little property he had left. This, however,
she refused, asking nothing more than permission
to remain an inmate of the family, and to be allowed to add the honored name of Oberlin to
her own. "It is almost superfluous to say,"
writes one of his children, "that whilst a descendant of Oberlin's remains, Louisa shall want
for nothing, at least, until they themselves are
destitute."
Oberlin's funeral took place on the 5th of June
During the four days that intervened between
his decease, and the simple and affecting ceremony which consigned his remains to their last
home, heavy clouds rested on the surrounding
mountains, and the rain poured down in incessant
torrents; this circumstance did not, however




HIS FUNERAL.             231
prevent the inhabitants of the Ban de la Roche,
of all ages and conditions, nearer or more remote, from coming to pay a last tribute of respect
to the remains of their " dear father," whose venerable countenance they were permitted to see
through a glass lid, which, under the direction of
Mr. Legrand, covered the coffin, which was
placed in his study.
Early in the morning of the day fixed on for
the interment, the clouds cleared away, and the
sun shone with its wonted brilliancy. As they
left the house, the president of the Consistory of
Barr, the Rev. Mr. Jaegle, placed the clerical
robes of the late pastor on his coffin, the vicepresident placed his Bible upon it, and the mayor
affixed to the funeral pall the decoration of the
Legion of, Honor.  At the conclusion of this
ceremony, ten or twelve young females, who had
been standing around the bier, began to sing a
hymn in chorus, and at two o'clock the procession took its departure, the coffin being borne by
the mayors, elders, and official magistrates. In
front of it, walked the oldest inhabitant of the
Ban de la Roche, carrying a cross, which Louisa
had given him, te plant on the tomb, and on
which the words, Papa Oberlin, were engraved
in open letters.
So numerous was the concourse of people asembled on the occasion, that the foremost of the
train had already reached the church of Foudai,
where the interment was to take place, before
the last had left the parsonage, although the distance was nearly two miles. The children of
the different schools formed part of the melan.
choly procession, chanting, at intervals, sacred




232        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
hymns, selected and adapted foi the occasion. At
the moment of their approaching the village, a
new bell, presented by Mr. Legrand in commenmoration of this day of general mourning, was
heard to toll for the first time, and to mingle its
melancholy sound with that of all the bells in the
valley. The burying-ground was surrounded by
Roman Catholic women, all dressed in mourning,
and kneeling in silent prayer. On arriving at
the church, the coffin was placed at the foot of
the altar, and as many persons entered as the little edifice would contain, though more than threefourths of the company had to remain in the
church-yard, and the adjoining lanes. Notwithstanding the pressure of so immense a multitude,
the utmost order and solemnity prevailed. Several females, who could find room nowhere else,
sat down on the steps of the altar, leaning with
melancholy affection against the coffin, as though
anxious to cling to the very ashes of one whom
they had so much revered and loved. Many
distinguished individuals were present on the occasion, and several Roman Catholic priests,
dressed in their canonicals, took their seats
among the members of the Consistory, and evidently participated in the general grief. Mr.
Jaegle then mounted the pulpit, and commenced
the service by reading a manuscript of Oberlin's,
dated 1784, and found among his papers after
his death. It is filled with so many expressions
of ardent attachment, and intercession for his
beloved parishioners, that I cannot refrain from
inserting it.




FRAGMENT.              233
Fragment, written by Oberlin, in 1784.
"I was born at Strasbourg on the last day of
August, 1740, and baptized on the 1st of Sep.
tember, in the church of St. Thomas.
"During my infancy and my youth, God
often vouchsafed to touch my heart, and to draw
me to himself. He bore with me in my repeated
backslidings, with a kindness and indulgence
hardly to be expressed.
"I arrived in this parish, in the capacity of
pastor, on the 30th of March, 1767, when twentyseven years of age.
On the 6th of July, in the year following, God
united me to that beloved woman, whom, (after
having received many services from her hands,)
you, six months ago, followed to the grave. Her
name was Madeleine Salome Witter. I have
had nine children. Two, who are yet living,
were born in the Ban de la Roche; the others at
Strasbourg. Two have already entered Paradise;
and seven remain in this world. On the 18th of
January last, ten weeks after her last confine.
ment, my wife, although in apparently good
health, was suddenly taken from me. Upon this
occasion, as upon a thousand others in the course
of my life, notwithstanding my overwhelming
affliction, I was upheld by God's gracious assistance, in a remarkable manner.
"I have had all my life a desire, occasionally
a very strong one, to die, owing, in some degree,
to the consciousness of'my moral infirmities, and
of my frequent derelictions. My affection for
my wife and children, and my attachment to my
parish, have sometimes checked this desire,
U2




234         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
hough for short intervals only. I had, about a
year since, some presentiment of my approaching end. I did not pay much attention to it at
the time, but, since the death of my wife, I have
frequently received unequivocal warnings of the
same nature. Millions of times have I besought
God to enable me to surrender myself with entire
and filial submission to his will, either to live or
to die; and to bring me into such a state of resignation, as neither to wish, nor to say, nor to do,
nor to undertake any thing, but what He who
only is wise and good, sees to be best.
" Having had such frequent intimations of my
approaching end, I have arranged all my affairs,
as far as I am able, in order to prevent confusion
after my death. For my dear children, I fear
nothing; but, as I always greatly preferred being useful to others to giving them trouble, I
suffer much from the idea that they may occasion
sorrow or anxiety to the friends who take charge
of them. May God abundantly reward them for
it! With regard to the children themselves, I
have no anxiety, for I have had such frequent experience of the m6rcy of God towards myself,
and place such full reliance upon his goodness,
his wisdom, and his love, as to render it impossible for me to be at all solicitous about them.
Their mother was, at a very early age, deprived
of her parents, but she was, notwithstanding, a
better Christian than thousands who have enjoyed
the advantage of parental instruction.
"Besides this, I know  that God hears oui
prayers; and ever since the birth of our children,
neither their mother nor I have ceased to suppli




ADDRESS TO HIS PARISHIONERS.    235
cate Him to make them faithful followers cf Jesus
Christ, and laborers in his vineyard.
"And thou, 0 my dear parish! neither will
God forget nor forsake thee. He has towards
thee, as I have often said, thoughts of peace and
mercy. All things will go well with thee. Only
cleave thou to Him, and leave Him to act. Oh!
mayest thou forget my name, and retain only
that of Jesus Christ, whom I have proclaimed to
thee. He is thy pastor; I am but his servant.
He is that good master, who, after having trained
and prepared me from my youth, sent me to thee,
that I might be useful. He alone is wise, good,
almighty, and merciful; and as for me, I am a
poor, feeble, wretched man.
"0, my friends, pray, in order that you may
all become the beloved sheep of his pasture.
There is salvation in no other than Jesus Christ;
and Jesus loves you, seeks you, and is ready to
receive you. Go to Him, just as you are, with
all your sins and all your infirmities. He alone
can deliver you from them, and can heal you.
He will sanctify and perfect you. Dedicate yourselves to Him! Whenever any of you die, may
you die in Him; and may I meet you, and accompany you with songs of triumph, in the man.
sions of felicity, before the throne of the Lamb!
"Adieu, dear friends, adieu! I have loved
you much; and even the severity which I have
ometimes deemed it necessary to exercise, has
arisen from my earnest desire to contribute to
your happiness.
" May God reward you for your services, your
good deeds, and the deference and submission
which you have shown towards his poor un



236         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
worthy servant. May He forgive those who
have pained me by opposition. They doubtless
knew not what they did.
O0, my God! let thine eye watch over my
dear parishioners; let thine ear be open to hear
them; thine arm be extended to succor and protect them. Lord Jesus! thou hast intrusted this
parish to my care, feeble and miserable as I am.
Oh, suffer me to commend it to thee, to resign it
into thy hands. Give it pastors after thine own
heart. Never forsake it. Overrule all things
for its good. Enlighten them, guide them, love
them, bless them all; and grant that the young
and old, the teachers and the taught, pastors and
parishioners, may all in due time meet together
in thy paradise! Even so! Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit!-even so. Amen!"
After the solemn reading of this pathetic docu.
ment, which was evidently intended for Oberlin's
dying charge, Mr. Jaegle read the following verses
from the 103d Psalm:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness
and tender mercies." And the 14th verse of the
7th chapter of the Book of Revelations, which
Oberlin had himself selected to serve as texts to
the discourse to be pronounced at his funeral,
conscious, as he often declared himself to be, that
however numerous and useful the good works he




MR. JAEGLE'S DISCOURSE.       237
had performed, they needed "to be washed in
the blood of Christ."
The Rev. Mr. Jaegle then delivered a discourse, which was listened to with the profoundest attention. On its conclusion the whole congregation knelt down, and repeated the following
rayer:
"Almighty God! our days are in thy hands,
thou governest all our destinies by thy supreme
wisdom. By thy will we enter on this life, and
we return to the dust at thy word. Thanks be
to thee for the sublime consolations given us in
the Gospel of thy Son, who has come to bring
life and immortality to light; consolations without
which we should be given up to despair; when
those whom we love are snatched away by death,
or when it approaches us with its terrors. We
pray that wisdom-that the love of that which is
good emanating from thee-source of all good,
may accompany us in our journey to the eternal
world, that we may pass our days as children
submissive and faithful, with a consciousness of
having followed thy commandments, and having
preferred the salvation of our souls to the deceitful interests and pleasures of earth.
"Oh Lord, our God, thou hast called to thyself our excellent pastor-our beloved father;
thou hast given him a place in those eternal mansions which are prepared for the righteous. Oh!
hat his memory may be preserved among us,
that the love of Thee and thy Son, with which
he has endeavored to inspire us-that the love of
religion without which there is neither peace nor
hope, may never be effaced from  our hearts.
Then shall we contemplate again in a better




238        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
world, when the sleep of death shall have closed
our eyelids, him whom we now mourn in this
moment of loss, and then shall we rejoice together
with him in that eternal salvation to which God
has called us through our Savior Jesus Christ.AMEN!
Another hymn having been sung, the coffi
was conveyed to the church-yard, where the
grave was dug on a little eminence on one side
of the edifice, under the shade of a weeping willow, planted over the tomb of Henry Oberlin.
The Rev. Mr. Braunwald, pastor of Goxviller,
and vice-president of the Consistory of Barr,
then delivered the following address:
"My Christian brethren,
"WE are brought to endure a great and
afflictive loss: the good father Oberlin has left us;
he has finished in peace his earthly career.
Around his tomb I see the faithful of the two
parishes of the Ban de la Roche: the faithful of
Waldbach and of Rothau, unite their sorrows
and their tears with those of the children and
numerous friends of the venerable dead. If,
penetrated with sentiments of love and admiration
for the venerable pastor of Waldbach, I speak in
this day of grief, I know well, my brethren, that
it is not in my power worthily to portray to yo
the exalted virtues and the estimable qualities of
the man we deplore.
"Our consistorial church has lost in this aged,
revered and zealous pastor, a man distinguished
by his talents and his virtues; the parish of
Waldbach, the Ban de la Roche in general, a




MR. BRAUNWALD S ADDRESS.        239
benefactor, a father the most affectionate-his
family-his friends, their model, the source of
their felicity, and human nature one of its brightest ornaments.  What a spirit pure and elevated,
what simplicity, what affability, what complacency,
what rectitude, what candor have we to admire
in this blessed man! More than four-score years
the venerable Oberlin devoted his wasting powers
to the glory of his God, and to his latest sigh, he
implored the blessings of the Eternal upon this
dear parish, centre of all his affections.
"What tender solicitude to cherish the flock
confided to his care and guidance! Worthy servant of his divine Master, zealous successor of
the apostles, he devoted himself entirely to benevolence after their example. During fifty-nine
years he has devoted all his physical and intellectual powers-all the time of his laborious life
to the improvement of this interesting region:
civilization already commenced by  the pious
Stouber, with disinterestedness the most noble,
with a firmness most invincible, with a zeal equal
to any undertaking, he has, in voluntarily sacrificing his fortune, done every thing for the security, the comfort and well-being of the inhabitants
of your humble dwellings. It is to the good pastor Stouber and to Oberlin, your father, that you
owe your churches and your schools; it is Oberlin who has formed your instructors; it is he who
has covered your naked and arid rocks with fertile soil; it is he who has changed all these hamlets into flourishing villages; it is he who labored
with you to repair and widen your roamds; it is
he who testified a noble compassion'for your
poor, who nourished them in times of scarcity;




240         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
it is he who has succored the widows and the orphans; who has protected the outcasts; it is he
-but I forbear: your hearts speak these recollections, you yourselves will finish this feeble picture of what he has done for your prosperity. In
his philanthropy, Oberlin never limited himself
by contracted views, he made no distinction in
forms of worship, persuaded as he was that intolerance dishonored charity.
" What was he in the bosom of his family?
Ah, who could see him there without being touched, moved, melted! What was he to his dear
companion; to thee, valiant Frederic; to thee,
pious Henry, to you blessed Fidelity, to you zealous Wolff; to you our friends, Charles and Sophia, Henrietta and Graff, to you excellent Graff,
who, in performing the duties of a filial piety,
would relieve the good father of all his painful
functions; to you Louisa and Witz, Frederic and
Rauscher; to you his grand-children; to you excellent Louisa Schepler?-What a spouse, what a
father and grand-father!-What harmony, what
unity, what love, what filial piety in this happy
family? —What was he to his numerous friends?
to thee noble, patriarchal and pious family of
Foudai, to you worthy and respectable Legrand?
"The pious Oberlin rekindled the torch of
faith, he brightened religion in our regions. Still
more than for the welfare of this life, did he exert himself for the salvation of your immorta.
souls. The glory of all his efforts, the price of
all his solicitudes was your spiritual welfare, believers of the parish of Waldbach!
"With what warmth, what energy, what simpIcity, what perseverance he preached to you the




MR. BRAUNWALD S ADDRESS.        241
gospel of Christ, the precious gift of heaven, the
truths of religion engraven in your hearts! He
taught you to find in the Holy Bible, in the precepts of Jesus Christ, the remedy for all your
evils, the refuge from all your miseries, the real
source of pleasures the most pure, of happiness
in the life that now is, and of that which is to
come. It is the gospel in possession, that purifies,
enlightens, consoles, and sanctifies you. Is it
not he who by his word and example has nourished in your hearts the love of God and man; is
it, not he who has conducted you near to the Re.
deemer who suffered for us-to this pre-eminent
virtue of the Christian-to this fervent faith
which constitutes the felicity of the Christian,
who has exhibited to you our adorable Savior in
the celestial mansions, where he waits for us;
where he is gone to prepare a place for us; is it
not he who has so often exhorted you to labor for
the meat which endureth unto everlasting life?
John 14: 2, and 6: 27.
" It is to your worthy patriarch that you owe
this word of grace; it is he who has distributed
to you this manna which nourished your souls;
it is he who has carried the gospel into your
houses and into the cabins of so many of the
poor beyond this parish. Oh! my brethren, draw
from this treasury which is inexhaustible, which
enriches in proportion as one draws! Bless the
name of Oberlin, bless the memory of this righteous man, who could say in truth with St. Paul,
the great apostle:' I have served the Lord with
all humility of mind, and with many tears and
temptations; I have kept back nothing that was
profitable unto you, but have showed you, and
V




242         MIEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
have taught you publicly, and from  house to
house, testifying repentance toward God, and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.  Nothing
moves me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry which I have received of the
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of
God. Among you, I have gone preaching the
kingdom of God, wherefore I take you to record
this day, that I am pure from the blood of all
men. For I have not shunned to declare unto
you all the counsel of God. I have coveted no
man's silver, or gold, or apparel.' [Acts 20.] Do
you not discover in these traits the image of your
venerable pastor Oberlin?
"And, my brethren, what has he done for the
propagation of the holy religion of Jesus Christ,
for the propagation of our sacred volumes? Speak,
ye Bible Societies of Strasbourg, of Paris, and
of London! Speak, ye institutions of the Missions
of Basle and of Paris! What sums he has contrived to amass-what donations he succeeded in
directing to these pious Societies, that the Bible
might be universally spread, that the doctrine of
Christ might penetrate even climates the most inclement, and nations the most barbarous; that
God and the Savior might be adored by every
inhabitant of earth! How delightful to him, to
see, in running over the reports of Bible and Missionary Societies, the blessing of the Lord descend upon his work!
"His career, full of trials, privations, and dangers, his long-suffering, has displayed his whole
soul, and those sublime virtues of which it was
the focus.  A patience that nothing could divert,




MR. BRAUNWALD'S ADDRESS.         243
a resignation thoroughly Christian, have always
rendered him perfectly superior to all his evils.
He had contemplated death with a steady eye,
with the composure and serenity of a saint.  In
taking his leave of earth, he committed himself
to his God, he prayed for his family, his friends,
his parish, and while he blessed them, his soul
was snatched to heaven.  Oberlin has left us;
his death was the recompense of a life replete
with goodness, with actions righteous and gen.
erous.
"What a throng in his funeral train, what
grief, what tears! Two parishes, eight communes,
this crowd of friends and strangers, all declare
with one voice-to a good man we render our
last respects-it is Oberlin, our father, our benefactor whom we mourn; friendship, veneration,
gratitude, have brought us to this tomb! His
ashes repose in the midst of you, kind inhabitants
of the Ban de la Roche. This tomb, which incloses his mortal remains, shall be to us all a
sacred spot. We will show it to our children,
and say, Here sleeps Oberlin our father! He has
made us happy-his image is graven in our
hearts-the love is stronger than death-Waldbach shall be a lasting monument to his glorythe names of Oberlin and Waldbach will be for
ever united in the memory of mankind.
"Adore the ways of Providence, my brethren.
In the place of the venerable father, the Lord
has given us the worthy husband of the daughter
of Oberlin, the friend he so dearly loved, a servant afte: God's own heart. It was the choice
of the ex ellent father, and the choice is a new
proof of the care of heaven over this flock,




244         MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
With perfect confidence did Oberlin commit into
the hands of this successor the sacred deposit
of which his divine Master had given him the
charge. Oh yes, Christians, adore this Providence which unites and separates us afflicts and
consoles us-enter into his views, complete his
designs. Be joined in the bonds of that charity,
which is the greatest of all the graces. Let us
love during this mortal life, and again in that to
come let us love. Let us love in God in whose
bosom we shall one day find ourselves eternally
reunited, if we serve him faithfully here below.
Vow to the God of all grace, a resignation complete, a faith unshaken-and may the Father of
mercies be the consolation and support of the
afflicted family, of the friends of the venerable
dead, of this parish filled with mourning!
" Adieu, venerable Oberlin! in heavenly mansions thou art reaping that which thou hast sown
-thy works do follow  thee; delivered from
every evil, thy Lord will say to thee,'I know
thy works, thy charity, thy faith, thy patience.'
[Rev. 2: 19.] Adieu, noble friend, adieu respected father! never shall thy image be effaced from
our hearts-ever shalt thou be the object of our
veneration; thy memory-the memory of the
righteous shall be blessed for ever.-Amen."
M. Bedel, a physician of Schirmeck, then
stepped forward amongst the crowd, and pronounced a short eulogy on the deceased; and
amidst the tears of the assembled multitude, which
formed, perhaps, the most eloquent funeral oration, his remains were consigned to the grave.
In delineating the character of this extraordinary man, we have not, it is true, had to trace




CONCLUSION.             245
his steps, with those of the philanthropic Howard,
through the desolate regions of Russia, nor to
witness his expiring sighs in the dreary wilds of
Tartary; we have not had to follow him, with
the pious and indefatigable Martyn, across the
sunny plains of Persia, to communicate the gla
tidings of salvation to the benighted heathen, nor
to see him, regardless of his own shattered health,
sacrifice his life to the glory of Christ amongst
the nations of the East:-OBERLIN'S sphere of
usefulness was at home.-But there, in the secluded recesses of his beloved Vosges, the benevolent ardor of Howard, and the self-denying zeal
of Martyn, were eminently displayed.
To get good from heaven, and to do good on
earth, constituted, indeed, the sole aim of his life,
and constrained the dedication of every talent
and the consecration of every power to the service of his Lord and Master. Humility was intimately blended with his other Christian graces;
and, deeply conscious of his own inability to advance one step in holiness, or to induce others to
follow him in his path Zion-wards, without Divine
assistance, he meekly depended on, and earnestly
implored, the aid of God's Holy Spirit: repeatedly uttering his favorite maxim, "Nothing without God."  So far from  being actuated by the
hope of reward for any personal worthiness, he
disclaimed all merit of his own, and, firmly believing in the divinity, rested entirely on the propitiation of Jesus. "All to the Savior," was his
constant motto, and constituted the moving principle of his exertions.  "What," said he to a
minister who visited him a short time before his
last illness, "did not our dear Savior suffer for
V 2




246        MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN.
us?-Nothing then is difficult when we do it for
Him. To Him let us wholly devote ourselves."
Through the all-sufficiency of that Savior's
atonement, he is now, undoubtedly, praising God
in that kingdom  of light and love, for which
whilst on earth he so ardently longed; and, having exchanged the graces of time for the glories
of eternity, is joining in the triumphant song of
the "ten thousand times ten thousand:" " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor,
and glory, and blessing."-" Blessing, and honor,
and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth
upon the thrcne, and unto the Lamb for ever and
ever!'
THE END.