/; 
 
 BISHOP RAVENSCROFT. aX 
 
 >i| U) ; Lua*^ ^ffc^c a^ y. tin 1L ^ 1^ / 
 
 It is now just forty years since the first Bishop of North Caro- j 
 lina ended his brief Episcopate in death. . T 
 
 Elected in 1823, and consecrated the same year, he entered im- , 
 mediately upon his High Pastoral office, and with a success which, J 
 alas for the Church ! was of scarcely seven years' duration. His ^J 
 course was like that of the meteor, suddenly — appearing, bright, % 
 
 and soon ending in darkness ; but still more resembled that of the 
 sun which sets not until it has first given warmth and fruitfulness 
 to the earth. 
 
 The "Memoir" of Bishop Ravenscroft, prefixed to his two vol- 
 umes of sermons, though written by one of the most finished 
 scholars of the South,* was necessarily imperfect, from the want 
 of those many little details and private marks of character which 
 more than the most labored biography serve to individualize the 
 man. It is proposed, in this sketch, by one, who more than any 
 other of his clergy was admitted to his confidence, not to say af- 
 fection, to set forth that great and good Bishop just as he was, or 
 as he appeared to the writer's view, during an intimacy commenc- 
 ing previous to his consecration and ending only at the side of his 
 death-bed. 
 
 The name " Ravenscroft" is undoubtedly of German origin. On 
 a visit to a colony of that people in the valley of Virginia, soon 
 after he took orders, he was told by one of their patriarchal men 
 that he did not spell his name rightly; that it should be Ravens- 
 crofcft. 
 
 Of the Bishop's parents but little is known. He is said to have borne 
 a strong resemblance to his mother, in feature, as well as in the char- 
 acter of his mind. His birth (in 1776) was in the southern portion 
 of the city of Petersburg, Va., for a long time, if no.t now, known by 
 the name of " Ravenscroft," and once the property of the family. 
 When he was but a few months old his father, in order to avoid 
 the political convulsions then threatening the country, moved back 
 
 * The late Hon. Walher Anderson, Chief Justice of Florida. 
 
2 Bishop Raven scr oft. 
 
 to his former residence in the south of Scotland, and soon after- 
 wards died. Very little is known of the son's boyhood, except 
 that he lived for some time with an old aunt while attending: an 
 excellent classical school in Northumberland. It was while at 
 this school, and in the twelfth year of his age, that he was the 
 subject of one of those strange appearances which can be as little 
 questioned as accounted for. He was playing marbles, with his 
 school-fellows, in the middle of the day, at the side of a hedge. 
 In the midst of the game he distinctly saw his aunt walking 
 towards him on the top of the hedge. After approaching very near 
 to him she suddenly disappeared. Before he could recover from his 
 wonder and alarm a servant of the family rode hastily up to inform 
 him that his aunt, whom he supposed to be in perfect health, had 
 suddenly died. This story the writer received from the Bishop's 
 own lips. Another incident of his boyhood is not without interest, 
 inasmuch as it illustrates that Providence which so kindly preserves 
 our childhood amid dangers both seen and unseen. He was in his 
 ninth year, and playing in front of his mother's dwelling, when a 
 large bull suddenly broke into the yard and ran after him. Be- 
 fore he could reach the house the furious creature overtook him, 
 and getting him between his horns endeavored to gore him first 
 with one, then with the other, until the screams of the child 
 brought the servants to his relief. He added that the prints of 
 those horns were distinctly visible on the side of the house when 
 he left Scotland eight years afterward. 
 
 On returning to this country to look after his large estate, he 
 entered "William and Mary College;" but before his gradua- 
 tion he was enticed from his books by the charms of a lady 
 whom he soon after married, and of whom he always spoke in 
 terms of the warmest affection, and of the highest admiration for 
 her piety and many virtues. Being the possessor of a large for- 
 tune and of a commanding intellect, he soon became a leading 
 spirit in all the active sports and public amusements which occu- 
 pied so much of the life of the more wealthy and aristocratic sons 
 of Virginia at that day. Few were more conspicuous than he on 
 the race-course, at the card-table, or around the cock-pit. And 
 he once confessed to the writer, with a heavy sigh, that he had 
 one day gone upon the race-field prepared to horse-whip and, if 
 resisted, to shoot down a fellow-sportsman; a man who afterwards 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 3 
 
 became a distinguished citizen of another State. By the ordering 
 of a kind Providence his intended victim was that day absent from 
 his usual place, a thing observed by all, and never accounted for. 
 It was not from any sense of fear, for that man was as insensible 
 to such a feeling as Mr. Ravenscroft himself, who could see in it 
 nothing but the preserving and restraining hand of God, extended 
 in mercy to his soul. But the worst practice to which he, with his 
 godless companions, was addicted, was that of profane swearing. 
 In speaking of this, after he became a Bishop, a lady of Peters- 
 burg, whose doors were ever open to him, remaiked to the writer 
 that, although at that day oaths were in every gentleman's mouth, 
 in the parlor as well as in the street, yet when Mr. Ravenscroft 
 swore she "trembled." 
 
 It is with anything but pleasure that these sins of his early life 
 are brought to view. Much as they may shock the pious and sensi- 
 tive mind of the present day, to no one could the thought of them 
 bring more pain than to himself. The writer well remembers, on first 
 visiting him, and alluding to his great change of life, how his deep- 
 toned voice trembled with emotion as he said: " Forty years, sir, 
 was I an outrageous and outbreaking sinner ; and it is only by the 
 grace of God that I am what I am." 
 
 But painful as it may be to think of those misspent and God- 
 defying years, it is wonderful to see how out of such a course of 
 sin there could be anything extracted that might give increased 
 power to his future ministry. But this he freely acknowledged 
 one day, in the following manner to one of his clergy : 
 
 "Brother G., I have one great advantage over you." The an- 
 swer was, "Not one only, Bishop, but a good many." 
 
 "Pshaw ! 110 compliments. I mean this, that whereas you were 
 brought up in the fear of God, and in ignorance of the great 
 wickedness that is going on in the world, I know all about the 
 sinner's ways, and can therefore track the scoundrels into all their 
 dens and hiding-places, and strip them of their self-deceits and 
 refuses of lies." 
 
 When asked how his thoughts were first turned to the subject of 
 religion, he answered that, under God, he owed it to his excellent 
 wife. When, after many weeks of inexcusable absence, he would 
 return home, she would invariably meet him in a gentle and lovely 
 spirit, and make no allusion whatever to his neglect of her, or to the 
 
4 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 manner in which his time had been spent. This truly Christian 
 forbearance and sweetness of temper, exhibited again and again, 
 led him, at length, to ask himself, " What can be the cause ? Why 
 does not the woman reproach and revile me, as I deserve? This 
 is not natural. Where does it come from?" In this way he for 
 some time vainly questioned with himself, while, his proud spirit 
 was unwilling to seek the solution from her own lips. He re- 
 membered, however, that her daily companion was her Bible, and 
 that he had often surprised her in reading it, when he supposed 
 her to be otherwise engaged. Thinking that he might there find 
 the wonder explained, he resolved to become himself a reader of 
 the Scriptures. In that divine mirror he soon saw what a sinner 
 he was, and that his only hope for pardon and salvation lay in a 
 thorough and speedy change of life. Under this imperfect view of 
 his case he resolved that he would, as he expressed it, "try to be- 
 come a better man, by breaking off first one sin, and then another, 
 until he had made himself a good Christian." Here the writer 
 will use his own words, as well as he can recall them; and he must 
 say that they are, and ever will be ; deeply engraved on his memory: 
 
 " Knowing that profane swearing was my besetting sin I determined to 
 take the bull by the horns, and master that first. Accordingly, by great effort, 
 I kept myself from it, first for a day or two, then for a week or more, and at 
 length for full three weeks. By this time I began to think of taking up 
 another sin, and in like manner, putting it under foot, when one day, being 
 absent from home, under some slight provocation, my old habit returned 
 upon me with a pent-up force, and my oaths were shocking even to myself. 
 Never, in my life, was my pride more humbled and my weakness so plainly 
 set before me. In deep mortification of spirit I hastened home, and, with- 
 out even speaking to my wife, shut myself within my library, and threw 
 myself upon my face on the bed, in an agony of contending feelings that 
 words cannot describe." 
 
 Here he seemed disposed to stop, but being urged to go on, 
 added : 
 
 " What passed in that hour I cannot tell you, my good brother, or any 
 other man ; but this I will say, that before I left that bed God was pleased, 
 of his abounding mercy, to reveal me to myself, to show me that I had been 
 standing upon the foundation of my own strength, and with my own arm 
 beating down my sins; to convince me what a vain work it was, and to point 
 me to the true and only source of salvation from the guilt as well as the 
 power of my sins. From that hour no oath has ever passed these lips, nor 
 have I felt the least temptation to swear." 
 
Bishoj? Ravenscroft. 
 
 Upon being asked why he was so unwilling to disclose what 
 had passed within that hour, he said that what is called the " re- 
 ligious experience" of believers is so widely different that it is 
 unsafe to make one the test of another ; and that, occasionally, 
 there is, at the turning point of a man's religious convictions, 
 something so marked and out of the common track, as to make it 
 unwise and even dangerous to publish it, lest others should look 
 for the same in their struggles to renounce the world, and turn to 
 God. 
 
 Soon after his change of life became known, it was widely re- 
 ported that his conversion was brought about by the over-heard 
 prayers of an old negro servant whom he had just cruelly chas- 
 tised. There was, of course, not a word of truth in this sensa- 
 tional story ; but it was nevertheless extensively circulated, and 
 believed at the time, although it was well known to his neighbors 
 and friends that he treated his servants with almost a criminal in- 
 dulgence. 
 
 His residence in Mecklenburg County being remote from any 
 settled place of worship, he was thankful for the occasional visits 
 to the neighborhood of a worthy Minister of the Reformed Metho- 
 dist denomination, and even accompanied him through several of 
 his appointments, helping him with an occasional exhortation or 
 prayer. Whilst thus zealously engaged, it pleased God to incline 
 him to devote himself wholly to the work of the Ministry. But 
 where should he go ? The number of conflicting sects around him 
 was almost as great as at the present day, each claiming to preach 
 a purer Gospel than the rest, and all striving to get liim into their 
 ranks. Of the One Apostolic Church of Christ little indeed was 
 then known in Virginia. He had, while at " William and Mary," 
 and during his subsequent married life, learned something of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church ; but, alas ! he had learned, only to 
 despise it. This was doubtless owing, in part, to his early Scotch- 
 Presbyterian training : but mainly to the worldly, not to say god- 
 less, lives of many both of the clergy and laity of that Church 
 whom he saw around him. It is well known that at the beginning 
 of the present century that Church was at the lowest point of de- 
 pression. It had yet to show its true character in the lives and 
 labors of such men as Bishops Moore and Meade and the saintly 
 Nicholas Cobbs. When Mr. Ravenscroft, therefore, resolved to 
 
6 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 search out for himself an altar at which he might serve, it was 
 with a truly honest mind, and with a firm determination to follow 
 wherever his convictions might lead him; but, as he confessed to 
 the writer, he had a lingering prejudice against the Episcopal 
 Church, and a kind of presentiment that any other would be 
 that of his choice. With the Bible as his chief guide he came out 
 nevertheless from that examination, to use his own words, " as 
 thorough a Churchman" as ever he was afterwards; viz., as firmly 
 rooted in catholic principles, although not so able to defend 
 them. When asked in what parts of the Bible he saw most plainly 
 the distinguishing features of that Church, he answered promptly : 
 "Everywhere, but especially in the Epistles to Timothy and 
 Titus." 
 
 After receiving both Deacon's and Priest's Orders at the hands 
 of Bishop Moore, he. preached at several small places within the 
 county, and built, principally, with his own means, a plain church 
 about three miles distant from his residence. In this humble 
 sphere he continued to serve for some years, though sought after 
 by several parishes, and invited by Bishop Moore to become his 
 assistant in the Monumental Church in Richmond. 
 
 While thus content to labor in one of the obscurest corners of 
 his Master's vineyard he was unexpectedly called to the chief 
 pastorship of the young but important Diocese of North Carolina. 
 
 When the Convention of that Diocese met in Salisbury, in 
 April, 1823, to elect their first Bishop, the minds of very few, 
 either of clergy or laity, were centred upon any one individual. 
 That truly godly man, the Rev. Adam Empie D. D., of St. James' 
 Church, Wilmington, was, in a good measure, the favorite of the 
 clergy, but not sufficiently so of the laity. When, as President of 
 the Convention, he announced that the moment had come for 
 entering into the election, there was a pause of some length, and 
 the eyes of several of both clergy and laity were turned on the 
 writer, then the youngest of the clergy, as if expecting him to 
 make a nomination. Having been a pupil of the good President, 
 and allied to him also by family ties, it was truly painful to 
 him to pass by his many claims and propose the name of another. 
 That youthful clergyman had never before spoken in Convention, 
 and was, therefore, startled at the sound of his own voice as 
 he mustered courage enough to nominate the Rev. John Stark 
 
Bishop liavenswoft. 7 
 
 Ravenscroft of the Diocese of Virginia. The inquiry soon 
 arose on all sides, " Who is Mr. Ravenscroft ?" It was ascer- 
 tained that not six members of that Convention had ever heard of 
 him ; two only had once seen him ; and one of those two had 
 heard him preach; and yet, after a few stammering words from 
 the nominator, he received the unanimous vote of the Convention. 
 This detail, however needless it may appear to some, will be re- 
 garded by others as one of those unlooked-for orderings of Provi- 
 dence out of which have grown, and are daily growing, some of 
 the richest blessings of the Church. 
 
 The scene which occurred at the moment when the election of 
 Mr. Ravenscroft was announced to him has elsewhere been de- 
 scribed by the writer, but may well bear to be repeated in this 
 sketch, intended, as it is, to portray some of the more peculiar 
 features of his character. 
 
 To the same young Brother who had the honor of nominating 
 him was allowed the gratification of informing him of his election. 
 The account of it may best be given, as at first, in his own 
 words : 
 
 "When I rode up to his humble dwelling he met me, as usual, with both 
 hands extended, saying, ' Why, brother G-, what has brought you here?' 
 To this I answered, in the same vein, that it was not usual for one gentle- 
 man to ask another what had brought him to his house. ' Well, well,' he 
 said, ' come in, come in, my wife has a nice cup of tea for you.' When tea 
 was over, he drew his chair close to mine, and laying his hand on my knee, 
 said, 'But, come, tell me, what brings this God-send of a visit to me?' 
 Without replying, I placed in his hands the certificate of his election and 
 watched his countenance as he read it with an incredulous and startled look. 
 When at length he fully comprehended its purport, he dropped it in his 
 lap with a deep groan. His wife started at the sound, looking painfully at 
 me to know what was the matter. With a smile and a gentle motion of my 
 hand I quieted her fears, and requested her to say nothing. After a few 
 moments of impressive silence he arose and paced the room several times, 
 groaning at every turn, as if some heavy calamity had befallen him. At 
 length, approaching his wife, he laid the letter in her lap, and retired to the 
 darkness and solitude of his study; — solitude, so far as any human presence 
 was concerned, but in manifest intercourse with Him who alone can direct 
 and rule the heart. After the absence of a half hour he returned with a 
 composed countenance, and standing before me, said: 'Brother G., God's 
 hand is in this thing; I dare not resist it' The next day I bore his letter 
 of acceptance to a rejoicing Diocese." 
 
8 . Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 How unlike was this to the conduct of some clergymen who am- 
 bitiously court the distinction of the Episcopal Office, and of 
 others who as inexcusably shrink from its responsibility, though 
 called to it by the unsought suffrage of their brethren. 
 
 In the fall of that year he made his first visitation of the 
 Diocese, attracting many by the affability of his manner, others 
 by his power in the desk and the pulpit, and rejoicing the heart of 
 every Churchman at seeing how graciously God had provided for 
 their spiritual need. Alas, that these visitations should have been 
 so few ! Six times did he pass through his Diocese, from moun- 
 tain to sea-board, in all weathers, and over the roughest roads. 
 "When the opening of the seventh spring invited him to a renewal 
 of his labors it found him upon his last bed. For three years his 
 health had been gradually giving way, and on the 5th of March, 
 1830, he slept in death, in the city of Raleigh, under the roof of 
 a friend * who had been to him even as a son and a brother. 
 
 In person Bishop Ravenscroft was of a commanding figure, so 
 much so as to attract attention wherever he moved. In answer to 
 the question sometimes asked him as to his height, his reply was, 
 "I am just six feet in my stockings." To this noble stature 
 were added limbs finely rounded and well proportioned, with not 
 an ounce of superfluous flesh upon them. From what is told us of 
 Washington they might have been cast in the same mould, both 
 physically and as regards many traits of mind and manner also. 
 His voice was deep and solemn, and when excited, like the roar of 
 a lion. There are some now living who can remember how, in 
 answer to the questions put to him at the time of his consecration 
 in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, his deep-toned voice seemed 
 to shake those venerable walls, and to impress the congregation 
 with an almost painful awe. His head was small in proportion -to 
 his general size, with a rather narrow forehead, high cheek-bones, 
 and a projecting brow. His eyebrows, which he himself called his 
 "dormer windows," were so large and prominent as completely to 
 shade the eyes, and give them the appearance of being of a dark 
 color, when, in reality, they were a greyish blue, and quite inex- 
 pressive, if not dull, when their possessor was silent ; but kindling 
 with the lightning's flash when accompanying the roar of his voice. 
 
 * Gavin Hogg. 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 9 
 
 In dress he was simple, plain, and unvarying. Its general style 
 was that of a well-born English gentleman of a century ago. 
 Nothing could have induced him to wear the modern pantaloon. 
 Aquaker-likecoat, and knee-breeches, with boots and worsted stock- 
 ings in the winter, and shoes and silk stockings in warm weather con- 
 stituted his daily and uniform apparel. His gait was firm, 
 measured, and it might almost be said, majestic, and as such truly 
 indicative of his character. On all occasions he seemed to bear 
 himself with such unusual dignity that he could scarcely cross a 
 room without drawing all eyes upon him. The year before his 
 death the writer was with him at the General Convention in Phila- 
 delphia, and being desirous of obtaining a good likeness of him, 
 took him to the studios of several of the most approved portrait 
 painters, by way of selecting the mo§t skillful. At each place 
 his striking face and commanding mien so attracted the interest 
 of the several artists and excited such an unusual desire to try 
 their pencils upon him, that one of them approached the writer 
 as he was leaving the room and whispered, "I will take your 
 friend for nothing; lam so struck with his appearance." The 
 choice, however, fell upon one (Eichholtz) who was said to be self- 
 taught, but true to nature. The portrait which he painted was 
 indeed a faultless likeness, and now adorns the parlor of the 
 writer, as the remembrance of the original still warms his heart. 
 One of the peculiarities of the Bishop was occasionally to use a 
 coarse word in a kind and playful way. It was whilst sitting for 
 this portrait that he preached that great sermon of his in St. 
 James' Church, from the text "What shall I do to be saved?" 
 On returning from church, he said to the writer: "Did you see 
 that rascal in church to-day ?" "What rascal, Bishop?" "Why, 
 that fellow Eichholtz. I know that he came there not so much 
 to worship God as to look at me." This was indeed the truth, 
 for the artist confessed afterward that, through the agency of a 
 friend, he had obtained a seat in the centre of the church, with 
 the view of catching the spirit and expression of the Bishop, to 
 give life to his canvas. 
 
 Such was the man to whom a gracious Providence had, in an 
 unlooked-for way, directed the infant Church of North Carolina; 
 and such his manner and appearance as he first stood before a 
 people to whom he was so lately a stranger even in name, with 
 
10 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 but a short experience of the pastor's life, and himself a com- 
 paratively recent convert to the faith that he was about to preach, 
 and to the Church in which he was to be a ruler. And yet, in less 
 than seven years, what a work did he accomplish ! It would be 
 difficult for any one who was not a member of the Diocese at 
 that time to conceive* the obstacles which then stood in the way 
 of the Church's progress. As a regular organization the Dio- 
 cese itself was only in its sixth year, with barely enough clergy- 
 men to entitle it to a Bishop. The congregations, few in number, 
 were widely scattered, with no medium of intercommunication 
 better than the common wagon road, and what was still harder to 
 be overcome, so connected were they by marriage and other ties 
 with the different denominations around them, as to be under a 
 species of vassalage which repressed, even where it was most 
 fervently entertained, the true spirit of the Church. Although 
 the clergy were sound in their views of the Church as a heaven- 
 ordained agency distinct from the self-appointed authorities of 
 the sects around, there was but one of them * that fearlessly and 
 habitually set forth her Catholic and Apostolic Character. It was 
 not long, however, before the trumpet voice of their Bishop 
 cheered the faint-hearted, and rallied his people around him firm 
 and united as a Grecian phalanx. A few months after he entered 
 the Diocese a distinguished layman, Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, said to the writer: "Sir, you have a noble 
 Bishop. He is already making a wide breach in the enemy's 
 walls; you must stand by him." 
 
 In dealing with a people but little acquainted with the true 
 character of the Church, his policy was to strike at the more in- 
 tellectual and influential class of society, and then, with the aid of 
 their example, build up congregations and parishes as opportunity 
 might offer. " Example descends," he was frequently heard to 
 say. And such was the effect of his labors in that way that at his 
 death there were very few prominent men in the State that were 
 not either members of our communion, or else its warm friends 
 and advocates. In defence of that policy the writer more tban 
 once heard him repeat the story of the Turkish Sultan who, upon 
 being asked by one of his Satraps what he should do in order to 
 
 *Rev. Thomas Wright. 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 11 
 
 put down an insurrection within his Province, as his only reply, 
 took him into the garden, and standing in the midst of a bed of 
 poppies, drew his scymetar and cut off the heads of some of the 
 tallest. 
 
 From what has been said it will be seen that Bishop Ravens- 
 croft was indeed a man of marked characteristics. But, though 
 strikingly unlike most men in many particulars, he scorned the 
 affectation of appearing singular. If ever a man was just what he 
 appeared to be, Bishop Ravenscroft was that man. His honesty 
 of character was a positive transparency. He had no conceal- 
 ments, no system of tactics, nothing of what the world calls 
 " policy." Walking with him one day in the streets of Philadel- 
 phia, and speaking on this subject, he said to the writer: "There 
 is not a thought in this heart that I would not be willing to pub- 
 lish from Christ's Church steeple." Once at the table of Mr. 
 
 S , a distinguished lawyer of that city, where a number of 
 
 Bishops and clergy were dining, Bishop Ravenscroft made one of 
 his fearless declarations of what he either would do or had done in 
 a case then under discussion. Bishop Hobart, in his usual courtly 
 manner, observed, "But, my dear sir, that would not be good 
 policy." He had scarcely got the words out, when Bishop 
 Ravenscroft, bringing the handles of his knife and fork down with 
 some force upon the table, said, in a tone that made the company 
 start, "Policy ! sir, policy ! there is no such word between the lids 
 of the Bible." To this the amiable Bishop of New York very 
 quickly responded, " But you know, my good brother, that Saint 
 Paul tells us how he made himself all things to all men." From 
 this slight incident some little insight may be gained into the 
 characteristics of these two great and good men; the one unspar- 
 ing, fearless, and uncompromising in the cause of truth ; the other 
 equally bold in its defence, but more skillful in his warfare, and 
 more desirous to conquer without wounding. It would have been 
 well for Bishop Ravenscroft's comfort, but not for the cause of the 
 Church, if he had known something of the art of those who, on 
 what they call "proper occasions," know how to give truth the 
 " go by." He would thereby have avoided that unpleasant contro- 
 versy into which he was drawn in relation to the Bible Society. 
 Unpleasant to himself, on account of the unfairness of his oppo- 
 nents, but profitable to the Church, because affording him so good 
 
12 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 an opportunity of setting forth her true character and defending 
 her claims. 
 
 But devoid as Bishop Ravenscroft was of any dishonest conceal- 
 ment of his views, he was equally so of all fearfulness in proclaim- 
 ing them. Indeed, he seemed truly not to know what fear was. 
 If any one in his presence happened to doubt the consequences of 
 any proposed course of action, he would exclaim, in his overpower- 
 ing way, "Consequences, sir, consequences ! what have you or I 
 to do with consequences?" He might well have taken for his 
 motto, "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted 
 shall be rooted up." Several instances of this fearlessness of 
 spirit are treasured up by his friends. The writer of this was told 
 by a brother-in-law of the Bishop that, when at the age of eighteen, 
 he was crossing the ocean to come to this country, the ship in 
 which he was a passenger became so entangled among icebergs 
 that even the Captain himself begain to despair of deliverance, 
 when young Ravenscroft, accompanied by another like spirit, with 
 a hatchet in hand, went out on the bowsprit, and by cutting off 
 the end of it enabled the ship to swing off and thus disengage 
 herself from her perilous situation. Another amusing instance of 
 his personal fearlessness may not be without interest to those who 
 may wish to know the man as he was. He was once preaching 
 not very far from his residence, when two young men whom he 
 knew came stamping into the church with their high-heeled boots, 
 rather desirous of attracting attention, than of avoiding the dis- 
 turbance of the congregation. Taking their seats in one of those 
 old-fashioned square pews, with high backs, they commenced a 
 regular interchange of loud whispers — loud enough to attract the 
 attention of the congregation as well as the preacher. After bear- 
 ing it for some time Mr. Ravenscroft stopped in his discourse, and 
 mildly said that he would be glad if there would be less talking in 
 the congregation. This checked for a time the conversation be- 
 tween these two young gentlemen ; but dropping their heads be- 
 low the backs of the pews so as to be out of sight, they soon renewed 
 it with increased vigor. When, at length, he couli bear it no 
 longer, in one of his thundering tones, and pointing with his finger, 
 he said: "I will thank those two young men in that pew to keep 
 silence, while the Word of God is being preached." Springing 
 from their seats and snatching up their hats they stamped out of 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 13 
 
 the church with more clatter than when they came in, whilst the 
 preacher proceeded with as much composure as if that little episode 
 had been a part of his sermon. After getting out of the church a 
 council of war was held by them, and it was resolved that nothing 
 short of the cudgelling of the offender could retrieve their lost 
 honor and avenge so gross an insult. Accordingly they adjourned 
 to a neighboring thicket, where each armed himself with a stout 
 club. It was then agreed that one should stand behind the church, 
 while the other should wait for Mr. Ravenscroft at the door. 
 When he came out in his gown the following passed between 
 them : — 
 
 "I wish to speak with you, Mr. Ravenscroft." 
 
 "Very well, sir; here I am." 
 
 "Will you step behind the church with me?" 
 
 "Certainly, sir, certainly." 
 
 On arriving where the other stood holding his club with a 
 trembling hand there was an awkward pause, broken at length by 
 Mr. Ravenscroft himself asking, "Well, young gentlemen, what 
 do you want with me?" One of them mustered courage enough 
 to answer, " We wish to know what you meant by so insulting us 
 just now." "What insult?" demanded Mr. Ravenscroft, in one 
 of his startling tones. When they stated that it was his speaking 
 to them in the church, and that they demanded an apology from 
 him, the apology came at the top of his voice, in these words, 
 "Boys, I am ashamed of you; and you ought to be ashamed of 
 yourselves. You are shaming your parents, too, for they have 
 
 taught you better than this. You Jim B k are the son of a 
 
 good old Presbyterian Elder, who would be grieved to know how 
 
 you have behaved to-day. And as for you, Jack B , you 
 
 have had Church training, and ought to know better, sir. What 
 would your mother think of you, if she could see you as you are 
 at this moment? Go home boys, go home." The end of the 
 matter was, in his own peculiar manner of relating it, that they 
 " tucked their tails between their legs and went away." 
 
 Another instance of a somewhat similar kind occurred on his 
 visit to Tennessee and Kentucky the year previous to his death. 
 One evening the stage-coach, in which he and several others were 
 passengers, took in a man who was considerably intoxicated, and 
 soon began to be very talkative and very profane. After a little 
 
14 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 the Bishop, in a kind manner, told him that his language was un- 
 pleasant to his fellow-passengers, and requested him to speak 
 without the addition of any oaths. To this, the man replied that 
 his mouth was his own, and that he would do with it as he pleased. 
 The Bi?hop made no reply ; but when his profane language was 
 renewed in a more offensive form he again kindly reminded the 
 man that, when he came into the coach, the passengers were all on 
 good terms with each other, and each in his turn contributing to 
 the pleasure of the others, whilst he was making himself disagree- 
 able to all. To this came another and more insulting reply, with 
 a renewal of his outrageous language. The Bishop then, thinking 
 that longer forbearance was ceasing to be a virtue, clapped his 
 hand with some force on the shoulder of the offender, who was sit- 
 ting next to him, and in his most terrific tone, said, " Utter 
 another oath, sir, if you dare, and I will drop you under the 
 wheels of the coach." A clap of thunder could not more suddenly 
 or more effectually have silenced the wretchel man. Not a word 
 was, for some time, spoken by any one in the coach, and the 
 frightened creature never opened his lips during the remainder of 
 the night. ' As day began to dawn, the poor fellow, to use the 
 very words of the Bishop, "stole several timid side-glances at him, 
 to see whether it was a human being or a grizzly bear that had so 
 growled at him, and laid so huge a paw upon his shoulder." At 
 sunrise next morning he got out at his home, which was not far 
 from the road-side. But before leaving, he turned towards the 
 coach, and said, " Ladies and Gentlemen, I humbly beg your par- 
 don for«my conduct last night;" and, addressing himself to the 
 Bishop, said, " Sir, I particularly ask your pardon, and thank you 
 for stopping me, as you did." He then stated that he was not "a 
 drinking man ;" but that he had got with some old friends the day 
 before, and had made a fool of himself. The Bishop, a good deal 
 affected by the man's humble apology, said, "My friend, I freely 
 forgive you, but remember that there is One, up 'there," point- 
 ing with his finger, "from whom you must yet receive pardon, and 
 strength also, if you want to be a better man." He then shook 
 his hand, and said, "I hope you may find all well at home." 
 
 At another time, on his first visit to Philadelphia, when porters 
 and hack-drivers were allowed to rush into a newly-arrived steam- 
 boat like a set of Algerine pirates boarding a cutter, a stout Irish 
 
Bishop Ravensoroft. 15 
 
 porter seize*! the Bishop's trunk and was in the act of lifting it 
 upon his shoulder, when a stentorian voice made him as quickly re- 
 turn it to its place. On a slight movement being made among 
 some persons standing near, the man again began to lift the trunk, 
 when "Put it DOWN," in a voice of thunder, made him once 
 more release his hold. A third attempt was made before the 
 Bishop was ready to move, when, in a lower, but equally terriffic 
 tone, he said, "Touch that trunk again sir, before I tell you, and 
 I will drop you into the Delaware." This was enough for Pat, 
 who stood fixed by the side of his anticipated prize, looking with 
 a mixture of fear and wonderment on its owner. After a moment 
 or two more, the Bishop said, "Now, my friend, take the trunk 
 and go ahead of me; but take care to keep within six paces of 
 me." As the writer was then walking at the Bishop's side he 
 was amused to see Pat looking back, every few steps, to be sure 
 that he neither exceeded nor fell short of the prescribed distance. 
 This is a rough story to tell of the good Bishop, and does indeed 
 show him in one of his unflattering points. But let the reader re- 
 member that the monarch of the forest is often known to roar in 
 his most pacific moods. The truth is, the Bishop "knew his 
 man," and by that very roughness of manner not only accom- 
 plished his present purpose, but very probably gained in that 
 stout Irish heart a friend and admirer for life. 
 
 While thinking, one day, of his habitual fearlessness and self- 
 command, the writer was tempted to ask, "Bishop, were you ever 
 '•put ouf in your life?" "Yes, twice," was the immediate answer. 
 "Pray tell me how it was." " Once when my light went out, and 
 again when Brother Hawley's pulpit ran away with me." Upon 
 being asked to explain, he said that, on the first occasion, he was 
 holding an evening service and lecturing at the house of a friend 
 in Richmond; a large number had filled several of the rooms; the 
 ■ prayers were through, and he hail, for about five minutes, to use 
 his own words, "got on swimmingly with his subject,'' when all at 
 once a curtain, as it were, fell before his mind. lie could re- 
 member neither his text nor a word that he had been saying, and 
 had, after a brief apology, to di-miss the congregation, saying, 
 "My friends, my light has gone out." In the second instance, it 
 will be remembered by many of the older church-goers of the city 
 of Washington that the lofty pulpit of the old St. John's Church, 
 
16 BisJiop Ravenscroft. 
 
 of winch good Dr. Hawley was so long rector, was within the 
 chancel-railing, and placed on wheels, in order that it might be re- 
 moved to one side on Communion occasions. 
 
 "When I was preaching there, one Sunday," said the Bishop in a playful 
 manner, "seeing so many 'big folks' before me, I thought that I would be 
 big too, and accordingly I put a little additional powder into my gun. In 
 the middle of my sermon, when all eyes were directed towards me, I un- 
 fortunately lifted my hand somewhat higher than usual, which gave the 
 pulpit a start, and away it went, apparently bent on settling in the midst of 
 the foremost pews crowded with ladies. It was a bare moment, however, be- 
 fore its progress was arrested by the rail of the chancel ; but during that 
 moment the church presented a singular scene, the women screaming, and 
 the men springing from their seats with hands uplifted to stop the strange 
 thing." 
 
 Another incident may here be noted which may serve to illus- 
 trate one of his peculiarities, although some may think that it was 
 carried a little too far. A church had been built in the town of 
 
 M n by a general subscription. Although the members of the 
 
 church were the largest contributors, it not long after fell into the 
 possession of the Presbyterians, but was nevertheless open to the 
 occasional use of others. On one of the Bishop's visits to that 
 place, the writer, as usual when traveling with him, read the 
 prayers, the worthy minister of the church sitting in the pulpit at 
 his back. When the "service" was over, the writer came down 
 and motioned to the Bishop to go up and take his place ; but was 
 answered by a shake of the head. Another motion was made, 
 supposing that the first was not understood ; but was met by 
 another and more determined shake. A whisper in his ear was 
 equally unavailing to move him. He said that he was not willing 
 to preach with another man in the pulpit behind him. The thing' 
 ended rather awkwardly in the worthy man's being requested by 
 a common friend to come down in order to make way for the 
 Bishop. When the writer, as they came from the church, said, 
 "Oh, Bishop, how could you act in chat way to-day?" His 
 answer, though amusing, was not equally kind and just. "I have 
 no idea, sir, of a man's sitting behind me and making mouths at 
 me while I am preaching the Word of God." I will add that the 
 worthy minister took it all in a good spirit, until some of his peo- 
 ple told him that it was a great insult, when he began to get as 
 angry as they were. 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 17 
 
 And yet, under all this lion's hide there beat a truly kind 
 and loving heart. Well does the writer remember, as though it 
 were but yesterday, almost the last words uttered by that dear 
 man, a day or two before his death, "Brother G., I have been a 
 rough creatur" — as he often purposely pronounced that word — 
 "but," he added with deep feeling, and striking his broad breast, 
 " God knows there was no roughness here." He was very fond 
 of little children, although he often addressed them as little "trou- 
 ble-worlds ;" and they became equally fond of him, after they got 
 over the fear of his shaggy eyebrows. A kinder or more thought- 
 ful husband never lived. His devotion to his wife during her last 
 illness was constant and untiring, being scarcely one moment from 
 her bedside, and insisting upon performing for her every office that 
 propriety would admit. And when the writer was committing her 
 body to the ground he asked to be permitted to take the conclud- 
 ing portion of the service at the grave. When he came to "Earth 
 to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust," his voice was so choked 
 and his whole frame shook so violently that it was feared by many 
 that he would fall into the grave. It was, indeed, a strange and 
 moving spectacle to see tears streaming from those eyes that 
 looked in general as though they could not be forced to weep. 
 
 The nature of that thing called tact was unknown to Bishop 
 Ravenscroft. His straightforwardness could never be induced to 
 give way to mere expediency. His unbending character was not 
 long in being perceived by his people ; but they soon learned 
 that, so far from being obstinately wedded to his own views, he 
 was not only open to the reasoning of others, but would often ask 
 the opinions of some of the youngest of his clergy. It was this 
 straightforward, fearless, and uncompromising character that 
 prompted Chief Justice Henderson, when, at a large dinner party, 
 he was called upon for a " toast," to say, " Gentlemen, I give you 
 Bishop Ravenscroft, the St. Paul of the South, in all things," 
 and then pausing for a moment, added, " except in making himself 
 all things to all men." 
 
 His want of tact in a measure unfitted him for the task of cate- 
 chising children or conducting a Bible Class. His mind grasped 
 the larger points of a subject so fully as seemingly to leave no 
 room for those lesser details that are easily comprehended by 
 young minds, and serve as convenient stepping-stones to higher 
 2 
 
18 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 and larger truths. For instance, the writer of this had once pre- 
 pared a very intelligent class of girls for examination by the 
 Bishop on the New Testament, and was anticipating the result 
 with no little pride, when the very first question "puzzled" both 
 teacher and scholars. "Young ladies, what is the principal peti- 
 tion in the Lord's Prayer?" The only answer was a blush, a 
 frightened expression of the eyes, and a pleading look at their in- 
 structor, who had to confess that he had not taught either himself 
 or his class to set any one petition of that prayer before all the 
 others. The Bishop then said that, in his view, its distinguishing 
 feature was that which related to the forgiveness of injuries. 
 
 Bishop Ravenscroft was an impressive and deeply interesting 
 reader. That interest was owing more to his evidently under- 
 standing and thoroughly feeling his subject than to any skill in the 
 arts of the Rhetorician. His voice, though apparently incapable 
 of much inflection, never palled upon the ear. Not a syllable was 
 lost ; for whether he was in the Pulpit or the Desk, a perfect still- 
 ness reigned throughout the congregation. The writer was often 
 surprised to see the apparent attention of children who were of 
 too tender an age to understand either the Prayers or the Sermon. 
 
 As a Preacher he was justly entitled to be called evangelical 
 in the proper and unabused sense of that term ; for any one who 
 will look into his sermons cannot fail to see that the Depravity 
 of man, the Atonement of the Cross, and the need of the renew- 
 ing power of the Holy Ghost were his favorite topics. His ser- 
 mons were long, seldom less than forty or fifty minutes ; but even 
 then, too short to many of his hearers. His only gesture was a 
 - slight elevation of the right hand. Although he very seldom 
 preached an unwritten sermon, he had the art of so reading his 
 manuscript that his eye was, for a mere instant, taken from the 
 congregation. He was often asked to hold an Evening Service 
 in the house of a friend; on which occasions he always spoke with- 
 out either written sermon or notes, and from the first passage that 
 presented itself. And it was frequently remarked by those who 
 heard those lectures that they were even superior to his Pulpit 
 exercises. Though strictly adhering in public, to the prescribed 
 Forms of the Church, he frequently used extempore Prayer in 
 his own family, and amid his friends ; and beyond all other 
 men known to the writer, he possessed what may properly be 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 19 
 
 called the " gift of prayer". Not a mere redundance of expres- 
 sion, nor expertness in crowding in a multitude of Scripture phra- 
 ses, but words warm from the heart, and well-befitting the wor- 
 ship of Him to whom they were addressed. 
 
 The style of his sermons was plain, as was also their meaning. 
 His straightforwardness was to be seen there as plainly as in his 
 general action. He had no stomach for hair-breadth distinctions ; 
 and positively hated what is generally understood as " Metaphy- 
 sics." His mind was of a character to grasp the strongest points 
 of a subject, leaving all side issues and minor considerations to be 
 dealt with by others. He read but few books, but digested them 
 thoroughly. For the " Fine Arts" he seemed to have but little 
 taste. The Church which he built in Mecklenburg County, on 
 account of its very high pitch and almost square form, was laugh- 
 ingly compared by his friends to a "Tobacco-barn." Both in 
 writing and in conversation he was as fond, as Homer was, of using 
 compound words, such as Heaven-descended, God-ordained, and 
 Man- appointed. There was one word which he frequently used 
 out of its usual meaning, — the word concerning, for instance, a 
 " concerning truth," a " concerning thought." And he would 
 even sometimes purposely misspell a word, if it seemed to him to 
 give more force to its meaning : — thus he always wrote " I am sett 
 for the defence of the Gospel." Though generally correct in pro- 
 nouncing his words, he would occasionally take a way of his own ; 
 and if reminded as he frequently was, by the writer, that he was 
 going contrary to "Walker's" rules, he would burst out, "Who 
 is Dick Walker ? I have as much right to make a Dictionary as 
 he has." 
 
 Notice has already been taken of his command over his Con- 
 gregations. A striking instance of this occurred at a small neigh- 
 borhood Church in Virginia. He had got, in the Service, as far 
 as the " Creed," and had repeated the first Article, " I believe in 
 God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and jearth," when 
 he perceived that not one mouth in the Congregation responded 
 to those words. Turning his Prayer-Book over on the Desk, and 
 looking over the congregation with a mixture of trouble and sur- 
 prise, he said, in a voice that startled every one, " Brethren, am 
 I in the midst of a Heathen or a Christian people ? Can it be pos- 
 sible that there is no man or woman present, who believes in ' God 
 
20 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth ?' " Then, after 
 pausing a moment, as if to let the people recover themselves, he 
 said, "Let us try again." On commencing a second time, his 
 great voice was nearly drowned in the mingled responses of every 
 man, woman, and child in the house. After thus frightening this 
 Congregation, he not long after endeared himself to them by a 
 little piece of thoughtfulness which they hardly expected from 
 him. Soon after the commencement of his sermon a very dark 
 cloud arose, threatening a speedy and heavy fall of rain. Both 
 men and women, who had all come on horse-back, began to feel 
 uneasy about their saddles, and to look wistfully out of the 
 door ; but such was their fear of disturbing that big man in the 
 pulpit, that not one of them ventured to leave his seat. Their 
 uneasiness, however, was perceived by Mr. Ravenscroft, who kind- 
 ly said, " My friends, I will pause five minutes in my discourse, in 
 order that you may take care of your saddles." The house was 
 soon emptied, the saddles thrust under the Church, and, every one 
 reseated before the five minutes were out. From that time forth 
 Mr. Ravenscroft was in high favor with that Congregation. 
 
 Although deeply engaged in his work whilst preaching, he sel- 
 dom failed to notice any marked attention or immediate effect pro- 
 duced on any of the Congregation. When he was preaching that 
 great sermon in St. James' Church, Philadelphia, the Congrega- 
 tion embraced many of the leading men of the Bar and Bench of 
 the City ; and the writer, being in the Desk, could plainly see the 
 marked effect of the words of that man of God. The Bishop act- 
 ing up to his principle of "striking high," had aimed some of 
 his stoutest shafts at a distinguished lawyer, who sat before 
 him. After coming out of the Church, he said, " Did you notice 
 B — y to-day ? Why the man was sitting upon a hackle through 
 the whole sermon." Those who are at all acquainted with flax-mak- 
 ing will be amused with the figure thus used to express the un- 
 easiness of that distinguished man under the smitings of God's 
 Word. But before we left the Church an amusing, or rather char- 
 acteristic scene took place in the vestry-room, between the Bishop 
 and the Rev. Dr. Montgomery, Rector of the Church, who yielded 
 to none of the Bishop's own Clergy in love and admiration for the 
 man. The Dr. entered the room with an evidently dejected and 
 dissatisfied look, and addressing the Bishop, said, with tears in his 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 21 
 
 eyes, " Oh, Bishop, that I could preach as you do !" " Why don't 
 you, sir?" was the blunt reply. "I can't, Bishop." "You can, 
 sir. Did I preach anything but the simple Gospel to-day?" "No, 
 Bishop, no, but I cannot preach in that way." The Bishop then 
 took his hand and reminded him that it was not by the might or 
 power of man but by the Spirit of God that the Gospel was to 
 accomplish its ends. 
 
 Having already introduced the name of a late distinguished 
 Chief Justice of North Carolina, it may not be out of place to 
 record another incident illustrative of the characters of the two 
 men. Near the close of his life the Bishop resided for a year or 
 two in a small village within a mile of the Judge's residence. Hav- 
 ing the highest reverence for the Bishop's character, and an equal 
 admiration for the powers of his intellect, the Judge was rejoiced 
 at the prospect of hearing him frequently, and was accordingly 
 early in his pew at the Bishop's first appointment ; but strange to 
 say, was never there afterwards. On being asked the reason, he 
 promptly answered with his usual and only oath. " By blood, sir, 
 J couldn't stand it. Why, the man poured the whole of his ser- 
 mon right down into my pew ; and didn't seem [to have a word for 
 any body else." What stronger proof could be given on the one 
 hand, of the convincing power of God's word ; and on the other 
 of the force and faithfulness with which that noble Bishop dis- 
 pensed it. 
 
 Bishop Ravenscroft was what the world is pleased to call a 
 "High-Churchman," but was, in no sense, a Party-man. In a 
 letter to the writer, he said : 
 
 " Everything serves to convince me more and more of the injurious ten- 
 dency of all half-way measures. I will therefore, have nothing to do with 
 them. Every circumstance also confirms the propriety of being open and 
 candid in declaring our principles. I see that success follows them; and 
 that loss and dilapidation are the result of a different system. No other 
 course can effectually expose and defeat the sectarian arts of our adversa- 
 ries. So long as they can have it to say, from the conduct of our people, 
 that the differences are, as they endeavor to represent, unimportant, so long 
 will our exertions be neutralized by our own unjustifiable indifference to 
 their vital consequences." 
 
 But whilst thus uncompromising in his views of the nature of 
 the Church, and of the Divine authority of a threefold ministry, 
 he knew how to make allowance for those Brethren who, out of a 
 
22 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 mistaken kindness to others, lower the claims of the Church to a 
 level with those of the multitudinous Denominations that surround 
 her. When a late Professor of the Theological Seminary of Alex- 
 andria was once the subject of conversation, he broke in, "What 
 R — 1 K — h ! If there is a man in the world that lives close to 
 his God, it is R — 1 K — h; but, sir, he knows no more of the 
 Church than my horse." The wretched system of Calvin, which 
 finally disordered the intellect of that worthy Professor, was held 
 by Bishop Ravenscroft in perfect abomination. He could scarcely 
 speak of it with patience. And, he had just as little sympathy 
 with those itinerant Revivalists who were going about, as he used 
 to say, in his rough way " dispensing the Holy Ghost from their 
 breeches' pockets." "You can't," he was more than once, heard 
 to say,—" You can't weld a Christian out, at one heat." 
 
 Although he lived when the Church in America was compara- 
 tively in its infancy, he was as hopeful and as confident of its fu- 
 ture growth as if it were then before his eyes ; and was as fearless 
 in setting forth its Apostolic and authoritative character as if the 
 whole world stood at his back. Hence it comes that " North 
 Carolina Churchmanship " has almost grown into a proverb ; and 
 that his successor in the Episcopate, when leaving her pure com- 
 munion for the corruption of Rome, could carry with him only 
 one weak woman who subsequently returned, not to the bosom of 
 the Church she had deserted, but united herself with one of the 
 least enlightened sects of the land. 
 
 Never was there a man who entertained juster ideas of what a 
 Bishop of the Church ought to be, or who more fully acted up to 
 that character. To his Clergy he was a loving father, as well as 
 a wise ruler, and took a lively interest in all that concerned them. 
 That he was even proud of them he evidently showed when one 
 day, standing in front of Trinity Church, New York, conversing 
 with one of the D. Ds., of that City, he placed one hand on the 
 shoulder of the writer, and addressing the Rev. Gentleman, said, 
 with a snap of the fingers, " I wouldn't give my fourteen Boys, 
 sir, for your whole Diocese." And this reminds the writer of an- 
 other evidence to show how justly he appreciated the character of 
 his holy Office. It was once hinted to him that he was likely to 
 be invited to a much larger Diocese. He immediately, and in his 
 strong manner, said, " No, sir; I would lose this right arm sooner 
 
Bishop Ravenscroft. 23 
 
 than set the first example of 'Translation ' in the American Epis- 
 copate." To each of his Clergy he bequeathed some little le- 
 gacy to assure them that they were remembered by him to the 
 last. And it is not doubted that he continued to pray for them 
 after he felt in his last hour, that prayer was no longer needed by 
 himself. No Bishop was ever more prompt at the call of duty, or 
 spared himself less in its performance. Punctual to a moment, 
 he kept no man, and especially, no Congregation waiting for him. 
 If an appointment was to be met he took no thought of the weath- 
 er, and to use his own words he would " be on hand " at the ap- 
 pointed hour; and if he found "no congregation there, would 
 ride around the Church, and leave his horse's, tracks in the snow, 
 as a testimony against them." There was no duty which he more 
 frequently impressed upon his Clergy than that of faithfully pre- 
 paring their Candidates for Confirmation. One of his letters now 
 lies before the writer, in which he says, " If Judge R . . . . n 
 thinks of Confirmation he will, when I come, have an opportunity 
 Avhich may not soon recur. Examine faithfully, by giving him 
 the true grounds on which the worth of the Ordinance rests, — 
 hearty repentance, and true faith." 
 
 From all that has been stated it may be easily seen that the 
 manner of Bishop Ravenscroft was rather of the commanding 
 than winning order. By a casual observer it might have been 
 pronounced harsh and dictatorial. He was himself aware of his 
 want of the suaviter in modo. For he once playfully said to the 
 writer, " Brother G. you have too much milk-and-water in your 
 composition, and I have too much vinegar. Now, if we could be 
 kneaded together, and rolled out, and divided, what two capital 
 fellows we would make." Though full of such little pleasantry, he 
 never let himself down for a moment from his habitual dignity of 
 deportment ; and through a seven years' intimacy the writer never 
 knew him to laugh aloud. He was no great talker in mixed com- 
 panies, because he had no taste for those inferior subjects which 
 make up the staple of general conversation. He often produced a 
 smile by his strong and homely comparisons, some of which have 
 already been noted. To a lady who was thinking of removing 
 from his Parish, in Virginia, to a place where there were no 
 Church privileges, and no Christian communion, he said, " Sister 
 G — e, I tell you, what, A chunk, by itself, will go out." To a 
 
"24 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 brother Clergyman of Virginia, who told him that his Vestry 
 would not let him use a Surplice, he said " If they were my Ves- 
 try, sir, they should either pull or balk." To a friend who was 
 borrowing from him a horse that trotted very hard, he said, " You 
 are welcome to him, sir, but there will be plenty of day-light be- 
 tween vou and the saddle." 
 
 4/ 
 
 While penning these lines, the following incident was related to 
 the writer as a true story ; and it certainly fits in with what has 
 been shown of the Bishop's unceremonious and summary way of 
 treating a subject. 
 
 On one of his journeyings he encountered a worthy old Baptist 
 Preacher who had long desired to see him and to break a lance 
 with him on his favorite subject of immersion. As soon as they 
 were introduced to each other the old gentleman challenged the 
 Bishop to a regular discussion as to the proper mode and proper 
 subjects for Christian Baptism. He readily consented, but said, 
 " There is one preliminary question which I would like to have 
 settled before we begin ;— that is, ' Where, sir, do you get your 
 authority to baptize any body, or in any way V '" This was an unex- 
 pected thrust for which the good man was entirely unprepared, and 
 put an end at once to the hope which he had so confidently enter- 
 tained of an easy victory. 
 
 In his religious character Bishop Ravenscroft was an example to 
 all who knew him. He was emphatically a "man of prayer." It 
 was the good fortune of the writer to accompany him in many of his 
 visitations, and oftentimes to occupy the same room with him. He 
 had thus an opportunity of witnessing his morning and evening 
 devotions, at his bedside, when a more retired place could not be ob- 
 tained for the purpose. On one occasion finding a small adjoining 
 room unoccupied he shut himself in, with the hope of being out of 
 the hearing as well as of the sight of every one. The writer hap- 
 pening to go into the room which he had just left, was startled 
 and alarmed at hearing deep and repeated groanings proceeding 
 from that little chamber. Recognizing the well-known voice of his 
 beloved Bishop, and supposing him to be taken with a sudden and 
 painful illness, he was about flying to his relief, when he was ar 
 rested by distinguishing words of earnest prayer. It was that man 
 of God, not in bodily suffering, but mourning for the thousandth 
 time over his past offences, and wrestling, in all the fervency of his 
 
Bishop Ravemcrqft. 25 
 
 strong nature, to obtain renewed pardon, and more and more grace 
 and strength to meet the demands of his high and holy calling- 
 He was a constant reader of the Bible, and that without note or 
 comment. Indeed he seemed to set but little value on any Com- 
 mentator ; for, to use his own expression, " Whenever he consulted 
 them in any difficulty, he found that they were just as deep in 
 the mud, as he was in the mire." 
 
 To the poor he was a liberal giver ; and so little did he care to 
 accumulate or even to save, that after commencing life with a large 
 fortune he may be said to have died insolvent, inasmuch as the 
 little that was left was scarcely enough to cover a security debt 
 thrown upon him by an undeserving friend. His style of living 
 was plain and simple, and his house the abode of hospitality, and 
 a second home to his Clergy. But whoever sat at his table of a 
 Sunday had to be content with a cold meal, for he allowed no 
 cooking in his house on that day ; not only from obedience to the 
 commandment, but as he said, to allow his servants equal spiritual 
 privilege with himself. His dislike to all unnecessary expense and 
 display was strikingly shown in his directions about his funeral. 
 Some time before his death he inquired of a carpenter what would 
 be his price for a plain pine coffin, stained black ? Upon being 
 answered " Three dollars," he then ordered that just such a cof- 
 fin, and none other should be prepared for him. He would not 
 even sanction the show and expense of a hearse. In his will he 
 wrote : " Let the body of my sulky be taken off, and my coffin 
 placed upon the shafts. Let my little horse ; Pleasant' carry me 
 to the grave, led by my faithful servant 'Johnson.' Let four verses 
 of the 16th Psalm of David be sung at my burial ; but not a 
 word be added to the Service which the Church has appointed for 
 such occasions; for that is too good for me." 
 
 His last sermon was preached while sitting in the Chancel of 
 Christ's Church, Raleigh, from these words, " Thou, Lord, in the 
 beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens 
 are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt 
 endure ; they all shall wax old as doth a garment ; and as a ves- 
 ture Thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed ; but 
 Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail." Ps. cii. 25, 
 26, 27 verses. 
 
 From this time he declined rapidly. The writer, though living 
 
26 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 fifty miles distant, was frequently at his bedside ; and though 
 grieved at the thought of soon losing so loving a friend and father, 
 was comforted at seeing that Death had for him no terror, and 
 the grave was looked to only as a resting place. When the writer 
 was about to leave him, two days before his death, he took his 
 hand and said, " My dear father, you have served God faithfully, 
 and I feel sure therefore, that nothing is allowed to obscure your 
 view of the inheritance provided for you." His answer was, " Not 
 a cloud, sir, not a cloud." 
 
 The writer will here, in conclusion, introduce one mqre incident 
 in connection with the Bishop's last illness. His disease was of 
 a nature to unstring his whole nervous system, and produce an im- 
 patience and irritability utterly unknown to him when in health. 
 He would become strangely excited from the slightest cause ; but 
 the feeling would pass away as quickly as it came, followed by 
 an acknowledgment of his weakness and an humble request to be 
 forgiven. It should here be mentioned that previous to his last 
 sickness, he had promised to leave a portion of his sermons to be 
 published for the benefit of the Diocesan Missionary Society. He 
 had also in his will directed his Executor to burn every manu- 
 script of whatsoever kind that was not marked for publication. 
 Whilst in this unnerved state, and fast approaching his end it 
 was greatly feared that he had forgotten to mark those sermons, 
 or else that he had not sufficient strength to do it. Here was in- 
 deed a painful quandary ; for unless this was done, his Executor, 
 then present, declared that he would literally comply with the 
 Bishop's will by destroying, the day after his death, every scrap 
 of his pen, including of course, all his sermons. 
 
 In order to save this treasure to the Diocese and to the Church 
 at large, the writer was requested to approach the dying Bishop 
 on that subject. It was a truly painful undertaking to him, know- 
 ing as he did his extreme irritability as well as great bodily weak- 
 ness ; but the occasion demanded it. 
 
 Though the greatest caution was used in broaching the subject, 
 the effect upon the poor Bishop was truly distressing. For a few 
 moments his nervous excitement seemed as if it would extinguish 
 the last lingering spark of life. The scene was as painful then, 
 as it is indescribable now ; for the writer really feared that he 
 had given the death-blow to his beloved friend and father in 
 
f Bishop HaveJiscroft. 27 
 
 God. It -was not long however, before this strange paroxysm be- 
 gan to subside. Then followed a scene of a different character. 
 When the heaving of his breast was settling down, like the swell 
 of the ocean after a storm, in a voice scarcely audible he said, to 
 the writer who stood weeping at some distance from the bed. " My 
 son, come here, come here ; come closer ; Oh forgive your old fa- 
 ther; forgive him ; he is not himself; he is nothing but a child; 
 you know that he loves you, and would not willfully give you the 
 slightest pain." He then said, " Kneel down ; put your head lower ; 
 lower still." When it at last rested on the bedside his uplifted hands 
 fell upon it, and pressing with all his little remaining strength, he 
 poured forth, upon that head a stream of blessing, far exceeding 
 that which good old Jacob showered upon all his sons. At this 
 moment those hands still seem to press the writer's head ; and 
 whatever favor, either from God or man may since have come 
 upon him he willingly ascribes in good part, to the benedictions of 
 that dying hour. 
 
 He was subsequently informed that in a short time after he had 
 left the room the Bishop said to his servant, " Johnson, Prop 
 me up in my bed; give me my pencil; bring me that box; 
 knock off the lid, and hand me my sermons one by one." He 
 then, in that weak and almost unconscious state, glanced merely 
 at the subject or text of each, and put a cross mark on such as he 
 was willing to leave behind him. 
 
 This rather tedious narration may appear needless to many, 
 but it is not without its bearing on the reputation of Bishop 
 Ravenscroft. For among the sermons thus marked by his dying 
 hand, and contained in the first edition of his works were dis- 
 covered by the Publisher two discourses, with some slight altera- 
 tions, by a distinguished Divine of England. How they came to 
 be thus found among the Bishop's own sermons may be accounted 
 for in the following manner. 
 
 While a Candidate for Orders he acted as Lay-Reader for the 
 benefit of his neighbors. Finding that they were strongly prej- 
 udiced against sermons read out of a printed volume, but were 
 willing to tolerate them in the manuscript form, with the view of 
 removing that objection, he copied, with his own hand, a few of the 
 same sermons, making such alterations and omissions as would 
 better adapt them to the capacity and circumstances of the con- 
 
28 Bishop Ravenscroft. 
 
 gregation. These sermons, being in the same hand-writing with 
 the others, labeled in like manner, and unintentionally thrown 
 into the same box might, very naturally and excusably, be mistaken 
 for his own, when, as we have just seen, under extreme prostration 
 both of mind and body, he undertook, by a mere glance at their 
 texts or titles, to make the intended selection. 
 
 With this statement, unnecessary as it may appear to those who 
 knew him, the writer closes this tribute of affection, written less 
 with ink than out of the wellings of a fond heart, and extended 
 far beyond what was first designed. The interest of his subject 
 has led him on insensibly from one pleasant reminiscence to an- 
 other. His once idolized Diocesan has seemingly stood before 
 him in that mingling of grandeur and lovableness which were 
 ever contending for mastery in his true character. May he, from 
 the Paradise of the blessed, forgive his son, if he has said any- 
 thing of him but the truth. While making this feeble offering to 
 his memory the writer can truly say, after the manner of Bishop 
 Home, that the hours flew swiftly by ; he was loth to obey the 
 calls to both rest and food; his subject grew upon him with an 
 absorbing and almost painful interest to the very last ; and he 
 only sorrowed, when he found that his work was done.