ift- r UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | AT LOS ANGELES lAMFCiH CHAMBERS. pueLishE:R> tz^ie: LIFE AND LABORS OF H NOCH Mather Marvin, Late Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, BY REV. THOS. M. FINNEY, D.D. ILLUSTRATED WITH ST. LOUIS, MO.: JAMES H. CHAMBERS. 1880. Entered according to act of Congress, in Uie jear 1S70. by JAMES H. CHAMBERS, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. ^ PREFACE . Biography has been likened by Hannah More to the monu- ment over a distinguished grave— a memorial of affection and a tribute to departed worth. It is the privilege of love to write the epitaph. A friend may be partial ; an enemy cannot be just. Bishop INIarvin was widely known and alike beloved. Many hands would bring spices for the emlialmment of his memory. This vol- ume represents the heart of the Church. Appropriately, room has been given in these pages to many other pens for a testimonial of love and contribution of honor. By the Author, Bishop Marvin was well known, highly appreciated and dearly loved. When living, the writer venerated his virtues, and honored him, as he might be able ; it is a privilege and a joy to reproduce his Hfe and contrib- ute to his posthumous renown and influence. More especiallv, it has been a constant reflection and a weighty consideration presiding over these pages, that a large denomination of Christians and the whole body of the Christian Ministry had concern in his public life and have claim upon the best work of a biographer. In regard to performance, no pretension is made ex- cept that no pains have been omitted, no labor spared, to secure authenticity and completeness in the narrative of his Life and Labors ; and paiticularly, a just and adequate exhibit of the dis- charge of his office as a Minister of Christ and a Bishop in the Church of God. Research has extended throug-hout his v«iars from ^ earliest childliood, and throughout the length and breadth of his M continental and world-wide travels. The most distant contempo- '§ raries have furnished their recollections. Tributes have been cheerfully rendered by his Episcopal Colleagues, some of wliom have been personally cognizant of his entire ministerial develop- §ment and of the whole course of his great career from the first dawn of his public reputation. These pages contain his memora- Fw bilia in all the Conferences ; and in representative voices, his stand- 437614 insiror :\rAmTX. ing and inflnence ill .-ill. Siidi aid has hi-eii not merely A'aluable, tut iiulispensalilr ; aiinA, Mo., December 31st, 1879. '■ill wv^y . .1 >xl« OO- •» O*-* 1 PUBLISHEE'S NOTICE. When we issued our prospectus of ' ' The Life and. Labors of IBishop ]Marvin, ' ' we expected to have the work ready for delivery more than a 3-ear ago. The delay was, upon our part, as unavoid- able as it was unexpected, being wholly due to the fact that the manuscript was not furnished us in the time specified by the writer of the book. T. M. Finney, D. D., who was chosen by the Epis- copal colleagues of tlie deceased and his bereaved family to "v\Tite this book, has pursued his task con aviore in the midst of the most onerous duties imposed upon him by the appointments of the Church. Performing- the work of a PresidiuG: Elder and President of a College at the same time, he has, nevertheless, thoroughly exhausted the resources of information necessary to prepare him for a faithful execution of his trust. He desired to give to the public a BiogTaphy and History of the Life and Labors of Bishop Marvin in which all who knew the Bishop would recognize a faith- ful portrait of the man they loved, the scenes through which he passed, and the work which he did for the Master. The trust is discharged, and we believe our readers will say it is well done. The work, as it here appears, contains 229 pages more than was first announced. This, in connection wdlh the delay abeady referred to, has greatly increased the cost of issuing the work, and has been much to our disadvantage financially. Our desire to be just to the memory of the eminent dead and to the many friends who contributed paper's to the work, made us unwilling to exclude the matter which has so swelled the size of the volume. We give the advantage to our subscribers, and cheerfully consent to bear the financial biu'dens, hoping that thus the public may feel fully indemnified for their patient waiting for the appearance of this book. James H. Chasibers, Publisher. CONTENTS. IXTROnrCTION" » CIlAPTKli 1.— Ills Ancestry 17 The American brancli of the Marvin family — Its finuidei-s — Kmigralioii to America — Amoiif? iirst f^ettlers of llai-tford and oilier towns in Connecti- cut — Social iiositioii and jmblic services — Colonial vvai's and War of In- dependcMice— Characteristics of the family— Tlieir miifrations — Direct line of descent from Keinold traced throiig't 24-i years— I.ieut. Keinold — "Lyme's Captain "—The Mather family— Intermarriages with the Alar- vins — All honorable line of ancestry. CHAPTKR II.— The Five Ckdars 28 Location of the homestead— Origin of its name— The lionses of the [le- riod— Dwellers at the " (Md I'lace "— Tlic garret-room— The schoolroom —Parents his teachers— His advantages of education— spelling match— The times iu his boyhood— Incidents of Iirst steamboat-navigation ou the Mississi|)pi and Missouri— Mather's Alma 3/aier— Church-houses— Primitive customs— The boy at work— At house-raisings— Taught school — The Debating .Socielv- - His first speech— Uncle Billy Pratt, the first Dar- winian—The boy-preacher- The contention over a deer— Characteristics of his youth— lieaUh and per.-onal ai)pearance— The story of his sister, Marcia— Death of liis hioiher, Nathaniel- -Touching letter of the Bishop-- The home of the dead at the Five Cedars- -Last look at the Old Place. CILVPTKR III — " This >r.\x w as Bo r\ There." 49 (i.id's liist Cliiirch— \Vhendoes educatioubegin ?— .Mother's influence— Jiibson aiiiii of tears— His father a D.'ist- The niotlier his Clii'istian teacher— The Sabbath School in her house— The first in Warren Count v— The family governinent— Happy domestic relations -Father's tniining-Kdncation of circumstances— Un- seen infiueuces— Incident of the wounded finger— Saintly v\()mcn— Old neiglibors— Godly men— Contact with :Methodist influences— Chief factors in religious u-aiiiing, liis Mother and Methodism. CXIAI'TKH IV.— Ills Conversion .. 6S The sciiiiHiral idea of conversion- New Birth, the great fact— .\n epoch of life— -Methodist views— The ministration of the Church— His own accoH.il of his conversion— Time and iilace— Rev. D. T. Sherman's account -i; ti-ed a Baotist— Change of views— .\n Episode in history ()f his opinions ou Baptism— .loined the Church as a seeker— Human in- KtrumiMits in his conversion— His vow as a seeker s<'verely tested — His faith— ('losurc with Christ— Conscious acceptance- Born from above — testifies la tlie gloii.vus change. CIIAPTZH V — Tie Chosen Vessel 77 ins father's ])lans for him— Called ti> the niini^try- Chosen agents- Basis of selection— Gifts and graie— Conviciion of duty to preacli thor- ou-'hlv e\ imiucd—Srveroly tested— Incident— Sense of the Divine call posiiiVe and profound- Pernlexities and struggle— His "farewell to the world"— I'reparat on for the ministrv— His divinity school— His studies— G es to 1\ ar Minit— 'li-i call te =t d"by the Church— Licensed to exhort — Th • fu.ic'jon of Cic Church i i inioisteri;J imeslilure— Careless excrci»e a.i labii.,eof it— The intuitiou of the Church true- Licensed to preacli. CHAITUI VL-G-TUXPY Mission ;^. 95 Ilis lli-st serm a at Old lielhleiieni— The Dinner —Manner of ineachmg Varying o|Uuions— < )i her sermons— Kecommended for the traveling Con. leclion— Called to the Itin.rancv— Receivi'd on trial in Annual Confer- ence- Appointment to t;ruiidv .Mission— His ouilit— Leave taking— On liis travel t > fir-t Circuit- Incident of a Sunday at Fayette- His lield of lab )!•- I're.iching phn-es— His acceiilal)illty Life in cal)ins-Frontler t,..iv Is— Vne(;d.ite of Ilis morning aljlutlons — Privatimis and hardships— Fruits of h.s l.ibor Mrs. Peery's conversion— The first convert of his mi.iislry. CUAPTK I VH.— \i)MirTi;i> Into Fri.r, Connection Ill I'he fi.sttNHiference attendt <1 bv him, at .leflerson City— Clothes— Home at Jouference -An observer of the body— .V suggesthe inculent on the wiy to Conference- I'he session to him a .spiritual feauy ami his tricli— Tlie regulation coat— Kales of a ^readier— runcluulitv— Tlie broken bridge and swollen stream— Judged by tlie ele\intli rule, " to save souls"— The Methodist inilpit— His indust.'y— JMethods and motives of work— Enterprise- The Texas ])reachei— '• Uegions beyond," a thrilling incident— The Quarterly Conference Record of Liberty Circuit— In the judicial seat— The forged church- letter— The disci|)linarian— " Sense and grace " —Poor i)ay— The unparalleled stipend—" How did he get along? " —Incidents— The itinerant training school— Self-educated and well- cducated— A faithful Son of the Church— A true itinerant- A Methodist Preacher. CILVPTEIl IX.— Graduatkd in the Ministry 165 Fourth Street Station, St. Louis— Tlie assistant preacher— Trial ser- mon—Dawning reputation— his work— Incidents and anecdotes— Sup- plementary ministerial training— Study of men— Student of nature— His theory— Sayings— Experiences— Incidents— 15iioks—i ollateral studies —"We tell one another"— The Conference curriculum— Kible- student —Habit; and mannerof study— His examination— Ordained elder— Official honors— Incidents— His life a cojjy of the Pitual— Ordination vows— The sworn oflicer— A letter— The portrait of a Methodist preacher drawn by Marvin. CHAPTER X.— At Home I87 The Conference session of 184r> at Cohimbia-A prominent session- Signal in Marvin's history— His majority in years and in the Conference— A Southern IMethodist- A married man— The i)reacher's ^vife— Hariiet Brotherton Clarke— Courtship— The vow of itinerancy— Marriage— The preacher's hou.-e— The Marvin-home— An itinerant's h(inie-farm and its sale— Debt —" Wife is fl.iancier"— Her household ai'imnistration— The children- Tlie hne for his family— Diary records— Exi:o during the war— Kecollections— Asylum in .Arkansa— The Doty home— The McGehee "Ketreat"— Letter— Away from home explained— The family govern- ment—His views— Principles— Ministers' children— Training at a Meth- odist parsonage— Letters to his chihJren—Tlie Home Altar— The House of God— Household of Eaith-" Paradise of Home." CHAPTER XL— Hannibal Station 214 Conference of 18t(i— Stationed at Hannibal— A second year- The first station— His adyaucement— In the order of the Churcli— Oii his own mer- its— Humilitj- — The connection of Weston and liannilial appointments — Home and work at Weston— Mrs. Marvin's recollections— His own — Came to Hannibal in debt— Ministerial support— His creed— His ex- perience— Sacritice and exultation- Default exemplified and reproved —A Presiding Elder's financial administration— The argument— Testi- timonj-- The Caples-Marvin Avarning— Financial embarrassment at Han- nibal explained— Deliverance— The later wisdom and better rule— The wages and work at Hannibal— P.isliop I'aine's recollection.s— The post of honor— The stag>.:s of his public life— Hannibal Station an epoch. CHAPTER XII. -EccT.ESiA.'^TicAT. Relations 233 Relations to other Churches— Hiolory and governing principles— The Churcliman and Christian— As a controversialist— Relish for contro- versy in youth— Menial idiosyncracy— Incident to the times— His contro- yer.sial record— A p(Jiiular lea Station 409 Alipointed to Marshall Station- Joined by his family— Their journey— ISIrs. .Marvin's narrative— The meeting of tlie family— "On the roail — Inci- dents— Reuben and Sukey— .\t the Louisiana (-'onference — Fast Texas Conference at Jelferson— Tin; Waco (.'ontereiico— Third visit to I.,ou- isiana ConftMcnce- His relation to S(. Louis Conference-Its sessions resumed in isct — Ucmained in the South at .Marshall — His last jjastoral charge — .\. characteristic sentiment. CHAPTKR XXII.- 1860 422 The General Conference at New Orleans— I'he state of the Church— The .\diiress of the IJishops— Strengthening the Kjiiscopacy- Action of the Conference— Klectirn of four Pishops— His nanu; |ironiinent— Choice of (he West — Proviflential marks— Incidents of his manifestation to the Church— The ollice not souglil— The vot(! — .\rri\;il at New Orleans — First information <>i his election — Hesitation to acci'pl the ollice — Incidents — Ordaincii Iiisho]i. CHAPTKR .\XII1.— In the College ok Bishops 43T His age at Consecration- -Personal appearance— The Episcopal Col- CONTENTS . < lege of Southern jrelhoclism— Its first Western Bishop— Providential nuinifestation— I'ersoiiiil lelatioiis in tlio College ot Hishojis— Tlie his- tory of liis election sclf-inlerpreting-IIis views on tlie Episcopal olUce — Methodist Episcoiiacy at the Nortli and South— The veto jiower- Dr. Smitli's SouIeMemorial Sermon— The Constitution of tlie Church— Tes- timony of the Fathers— Constitutional Episcopacy tested by trial and maintained intact. CHAPTER XXI v.— In Texas 455 Episco|)al residence— First round of Conferences— Indian Mission Conference saved— First preaching— Funeral Sermon of Gov. Allen— Ante-railroad travel in Texas— On the road— " Charioteers "—" Co and preach "— Itoadside dinner— llie night sojourn— Notes by the way— First sail on a sloop— The insurance agent— Texas sense— Quarterage-bacon —At Conference— Religious tone of sessions— On guard to i>urily of the Church -Three sessions of Northwest Texas— Division of Conferences — Transfers— East Texas Conference— Organized Colored Conference- Two (Jonfcrences held at once— Tlie German Work— Reminiscences of War Itinerary— New Churcli at Galveston dedicated— Texas Cohference Educational AVork— Publishing Interests— West Texas— Revival— First Conference pulpit— Mexican Border Mission— Hernandez-Missionary platform -After Conference labors— Testimonial. CHAPTER XXV.— On tfie Pacific Coast 479 The vovage on ocean and return by rail— Experience at sea— Ac quaintances-By boat and stage to Columbia Conference— Shasta— " The Teuton "—Old friends and former companions in labors— '1 he session of Conference— "Oregon crossed from side to side "—The next session- Projected preaching tour— Sick--" Went as long as I could "—Pacific Conferenc! at Sacramento— The next session— Address at opening- Characteristics of the man and oflicer -Preaching Prelate— Sheaves— Official communication to the College of Bishops— Sabbath-year— Fruits of Visitation- Seven years afterwards— Last words to Preachers of Pa- cific Coast. CHAPTER XXVI.— On The Atlantic Seaboard 498 From Ocean to Ocean— Baltimore Conference— Its proceedings— Pul- pit and platform— Commencement Sermon at Staunton— At Washington- Lee Universitv— The Guest of Gen. Lee— The prayer-meeting and the banquet hall— N'otes of travel East— Punctuality illustrated— The eye of Bishop and tourist exemi)lifled— Ministerial vacation— Leave-taking of the Vallev— The Ilundred-years-old Church- The Natural Bridge— A sketch by 'Lattertv— At Washington City— Seruions at Alexandria— Wes- ley Grove Camp— The Winchester Conference— A Monograph by Dr. Sam- uel Rodgers — Virginia and the Caroliuas. CILVPTER, XXVII —In the Mountains • • 51T Itinerancy— Preaching on the way-Fort Bridger— The stage-ride— Mountain-drives— At the head-waters of the Missouri-Missourians— His Continental travels— Montana Methodism— Its founder— The Missionary Bishoi)— Western Conference— First visitation in 1871— Preaching tour— The informal Conference— Brother Stateler's quartcrage-The Montana Conference— Second visitation— Sermons-Church dedications— A last let- ter — Montana on his heart. CHAPTER XXVIII. —From the Ohio to the Gulf 533 Soutiiern Methodism in the Nortli— A first re|)resentalive— From across " the old line"— The Paltimore Conference— The Christian Union— The Compact of 1844-Organizatioii and growth of Illinois Conference-Visita- tions and labors- Intere.-tin thatConference— Letter of Bishop Andrew— Tlie Indiana Conference— Northward movement of the Church, South- A in-ophecv-The West Viginia Conference— The Conference in Louisiana —A post-bellum visit— Condition of the Conferences— " Disintegration and absiirption "— " Stanton-Ames order "—"The Government not run- ning- the Churches"— Andrew Johnson's oider— Abraham Linc(dn'8 record— The order an offense to brethren of ihe Northern C'hurch— Bish- op Marvin's strictures— The colored peo]ile of the South— C^onferences at Minden and at Baton Rouge- Personalities— An heirloom of Methodist Episcopacy, the McKendree watch-seal -Love-tokens— The lapsis htigucB and its significfluce-Stauding and labors in the Gulf States. CHAPTKR XXIX.— The Conference President • 552 Bishop Marvin's Prentice hand in the Chair— Qualities as Chairman— An estimate by the oldest surviving Missouri irineraiit— Testimony from the Gulf Stales and the Atlantic seaboard— The platform-Addre.s.s to can- didates and ordination service— Scenes at Conferences in Alabama— The Missionary speech-The charge to the preachers at residing our ap- pointments—The stationing-room-Planning the work— Bishop Soule s policy-Supply of the city pulpit— " Local itinerancy" deplored— Ihe integrity of the economv of Methodist itinerancy— Just and sympa- thet?c-Painstaking-Burden of responsibility-The pvilpit--Notable occasions— At Tennessee Conference -At Atlanta, Ga.— In Alabama- Chief sermons—" The Church the Uride of Christ." 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTKU XXX— AS ruEACHEH ...........o69 Ihe inilpU and llie j.indv— " ComitellC'l to stuared- „cciousness managed- Sense of self-importance regulated- An "itch- ing ear"-" The manufacturer"— Before God, " dust aud ashes." CII \PTE K X X XI .—Tn E rRKACHING 587 Travel in order to preach-Tlie District Confercnce-Tlie business rou- tine -Keligious services prominent— The preaching— Mis jiulpit— Its ,l„.„,es— Censor ami reformer— A Methodist iiulpit—.V Gospel of immor- tality-Revival pulpit— Sketches of Seriiioiis— After- meeting— Teaching by parable— The Texan wife— The scarred hand— Christ a rock— Tenl- lireaching. ClIAPTEU XXXir.— In I.Ai'.oitS More Aisundant • 601 Intervals of Conference sessions— A i'.ishop's Circuit— Headquarters in tlie ticld— Kxtra-ollicial labors-A Mason and Odd Fellow— Addresses- Temperance advocate— A debate— Lectures- Church dtletbodists— 1 ledication at Erownsville— An examiile-AtNew Floi;ence—" No debt "—The collection Nerve force-Dedication sermons— Mi>ncy value— (^mservatism of real estate titles— Camp meetings— Monroe camp-ground—" The Marym Camp "—Red Oak— Seashore Kncaminnent— w esley Grove— Preaching tour— Pleasant Hill to IS eosho— College commencements— Books-" ilard at work and happy in it." CHAPTKU XXXIII.— Pastor of tiii; People 028 "Traveling at large among the i)eo)ile "—Wayfarer and sojourner-- AVelcouie guest— Christ ianfiHn\\>hii)-- The Gospel of the Fireside- -Par- lor-i)reacliiiig--VisilJiig from lioii^c- to house- -The Cluircli-Fireside--'I lie Kuplial-P.ishop Pascom's seiil iineiit - -The lirst iiiariiage ceieiiiony--'J'he liapti-iiial Font--Miiiistrv to Childreii-The Child spirit in liim--Preach- ing to Childre..--Names;ikes--At thesick bed-The Pier and the Grave. CHAPTKK XXXIV.--T11E Press and the Schooi (^2 " He being dead, vet speaketh "-■" Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy tiiiies and the strength of salvation." CIIAPTKIt XXXV. -As A ]\rAN • •■ *>'^ In the s cial cii(de--social cpialities--Given to liospitalily--At table-- Tabletalk-Storvof spirit-rai))iiiigs -The Arkansas fanner-Andrew Mon- roe's slumber- The lianMn-ll sermon -Humor- -Sobriety-Tlie Man of God- Tone of T'ielv- - Fxperiiiienlal godliness -Faith and coiisecralion-- Testimonv-The I.iind of P.eulah-- Fellowship and friendships- -" Fover of good meii "--I'eisonal force- Authority of character -lllustrations-- l';pis(;o|(al residence- -St. Charles College Fndowiiient-Nalural traits-- (;raiitiide--(;enerosity--Use of money - -Huniility--Simplicity and sin- cerity--Personal magnetism- - ' Reliold the jMan." CHAPTKU XXXVI - - 1870 isvf, • ■ 70<> TlietuMie'-al Confeieiice of ISTOand 1S71- -Measures of public iiolicy-- Theological education - Denominational schools - His ar;;iiiiienl--Gen. Lee's testiinoiiv--The College ill bis dving liand-The itinerancv--Pas- loral term— Lav representation-- An iiicideiit - - IJelations of the two American Koiscopal Methodisms- -Formal fraternity . -Fraternal Messen- ger to the British Wesleyan Conference--Soiitlierii Methodist .Missions- Tlie home work- Foreign fields- -China visitation- -Kxploration of Heath- endom- ■" The whole world converted to Christ." CHAPTKU XXXV1I.--IHS Missioxarv Tour around the ■World 741 CHAPTER XXXVIII. --IN MISSOURI- -LAST Days '"I IN MEMoUIAM.-The Burial, Home and Monument "•'" A DDREss AT Dedication of M(^nument ^0;5 Memorial Triultes At Meini)his Conference ^y At North Carolina Conferenci; ^}f_ At the (jciieral Conference, 1S78 ^\'> Kecollections, bv I'p. U. Paine, I). D »2n As Methodist Preacher, bv Pp. (i. F. Pierce n^S Missionary Tour— Lines by Bp. J. C. Keener »-S INTRODUCTION. To REPRODUCE and study at leisure the features of a good mail's life, is one of the purest pleasures of every no- ble mind. Besides the interest that is taken in the steps by which any great success has been achieved, there is a special desn-e to understand and imitate any one who is be- lieved to have surely gained Heaven. Immediately upon the death of Bishop Marvin it was the universal wish that a career so marked as his was for public usefulness, and a universal sympathy with everything that properly belonged to his race, should be gathered up and put in permanent form ; hence the present volume. The selection of Dr. Finney by the family of Bishop Marvin as his Biographer has been heartily approved by the Church, as the one of all others best fitted to discharge this labor of love, from his intimate association as w^ell as from thorough personal and professional sympathy with the Bish- op during his ministerial career, both before and after his election to the Episcopacy. The wisdom of the selection will be fully acknowledged by the reader of this biography. Bishop Marvin, when nineteen years of age, stepped on the stage of life — of a great life, as it proved to be ; but the Holy Spirit had already enriched and filled the highest parts of his being with many noble qualities, and, thus " led," his development went steadily forward to the very last of his career. The Methodist Itinerancy, with its training, found 10 IJISIIOP MARVIN. ill liiiu an apt scholar; it kept him in active employment, and, on the other hand, he was not to be diverted from his first allegiance to its obligations. This first proper move- ment of his opening life insured all the rest. He "was true to this service : he souii:ht oniv this ; no solicitations "svere heeded to turn aside to business or honor, either before, or (lining, or after the war. He would not be entangled in the affairs of this life. His controversy with the Romanists opened to him a new field and was fraught personally Avith important results. It gave him the use of the pen, showed and cultivated polem- ical power, and gave prominence to his a])ility before the Church. At the opening of the war the divided opinion of Mis- souri and the fierceness of those avIio stood bj' the Northern States forced him to choose openly between the cause of the South and that of the North. He chose the former. Ho niaintiiined his citizenship as St. Paul did his. This he did at all hazard. No one loved home more dearly than he ; yet when he had to choose between his principles and his home, he went into exile. For three years he preached in the armv and amon<»; the Churches of the South. Gen. Sterling Price was his personal friend ; in his command he dischai'ired faithfullv the offices of a chai)lain, and through- out the Western Division he preached to vast numbers of armed men in camp, by torchlight, as well as on the Sab- l)ath. He made friends everywhere in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. It was his visit to the Texas Conferences during his chaplaincy, in aid of the work in the aniiv, which gave those Conferences the opportunity of knowin"- his fitness for anv work within the raiiue of a Methodist preacher. He was elected to th*} Episcopacy while on his way to New Orleans, on the river. The day of his election he felt so distinct an impression of the event that when he arrived INTRODUCTION. 11 at New Orleans, and was first told of the fact, he replied : "I know it.'' In this new field of usefulness which his election had opened he appeared to great advantage. His powers were all of God and for God ; he felt as if no labor was too much, no call upon his sympathy too wide ; he be- lono-ed to the Church. He assumed nothing ; there was no reserv'e by which men in high office frequently fence them- selves, no patronizing sufficiency in his intercourse with others ; but eas}^ unpretentious, communicative, he was ac- cessible equally to all. In the spirit and manner of his official work he- was quiet, patient, thorough ; neither seek- ing nor avoiding responsibility ; slow in coming to a decis- ion, but clear and firm in its maintenance. Grace and nature united in giving to his person, voice and countenance an interesting and commanding expression. It was most ao-reeable to listen to his words and tones, and to follow the clear anah^sis of his theme and the apt language in which he presented it. In one respect he was troubled no little : in the temptation to come up to public expectation upon great occasions. He had no desire for himself to be accounted a great preacher, but he knew that his brethren felt a solici- tude, not to say pride, in the success of their chief pastor upon the important Sabbath hour of the Conference. And to rise above all such secondary incitement in the great work of his Master was to him a matter of concern and much prayer — to preach to multitudes in the simplicity of the Gospel as if but a handful, and to a mere handful with all the strength of his soul. His life was now practically not only that of a Chief Su- IDcrintendent, hut that of a chief pastor. He visited and prayed with the people. He loved to turn from presiding over Conferences to the greater work of winning souls. Revival meetings, and songs and the altar were the atmos- phere in which he took the deepest inspiration, and where he gave most delight to the Church, even as her Bishop. 12 BISHOP MARVIN. The production of " Tlie Worlc of CJirist " is to be set down to the period of his chiiphiincy — the thoughts if not the fruits of ("iiup lif(\ A\'hen few books were :it hand, he eniiiloycMl his mind upon the great problems of revoalcd truth. Then foUowcd his '■^ Life of CapJes,''^ u book which showed a remarkal)le memory for words and events, for he scarcely had a letter-sheet of materials furnished him out of which to construct it. It was a work of love. The suffer- inirs of those who were true to the Confederate cause in Missouri are here portrayed, and the life and death of a no- ble spirit. Caples had said, while preaching in the town of Mexico : " Take away my life, and I "will raise a shout on the other shore that will astonish the angels;" and wlicn dvinir — from the fragment of a shell — he said: "I shall soon be on tlie other shore. * * O, what gain ! — «;ainin<>- — jraiiiing — gaininix ! " Next appeared his book of " Sermons,'' a faithful re- i:)roduction of what had been uttered in the pulpit to the delight and edification of the Avhole Church. It was to him a very unlooked for turn in the events of life, when, passing through the Golden Gate of the Pacific, he found himself on the Missionary highway of the Church, traveling, as St. Panl, when led l)y the Holy Ghost, steadily westward. Like the Apostle, he too was on shipboard, but movinf by steam — surpassing in method that first Mission- ary vovage, from Seleucia to Salamis. (Oh, if the Apostle had had steam!) I'or this unlooked for providence his mind had been unwittingly pre[)ared. At the AVest Texas Conference in l'S72, a man sent forth by the Spirit of God from the then hoix'less region of Mexico, ai)peared in search of the ]M. E. Church, South ; a man looking for Christ, wiio found the Savior and the Southern Methodist Church very nearly at the same time. At that Conference Bishop INIar- vin presided, and his soul was stirred to its depths by the appearance and history of Hernandez; and wdien, the year INTRODUCTION. 13 following, he was placed in the City of INIexico and the work there begun, the Bishop said that he could not help envying those who were permitted to share in that enterprise. Pre- vious to this he had taken upon himself to sustain by appeal to the Churches the Indian preachers, and by his prompt and generous efforts had saved that work from serious in- jury. The proposition to visit China had been matter of jjersonal conference between us in Missouri. No doubt from that time his heart revolved the matter until he desired to go. The College of Bishops most wisely determined that of their body he was the fittest man for this enterprise. He said when nominated : " I confess that thouo'h I had not expected it, I am by no means unwilling, but would rather prefer to go." It was a mission worthy of him ; he caught inspiration from it ; could he not serve his Lord by this la- bor? His frail constitution must have presented itself in the solution, but all the heroism of love for his Lord rallied to the purpose. His letters indicate the martial fire which enthused him when he cauo;ht, at the si2:ht of the stronii'- holds of Satan, those dark plains where only Buddha and Brahma are worshipped. To this add the pity with which he saw souls " sold for nought," which had once commanded the price of the blood of the Son of God. Then there came up to his soul the lethargy of his own Church, when he saw what other Churches were doing in the field of tlie w^orld, until his cheek and brow burned with holy indignation. O, could he but have lived long enough to ring forth upon the Missionary platform all that he felt ! — the rage of his love for men — we should, may be, have thought that too much religion and travel had made him mad ; but if " be- side himself" it was " to God." Bishop Marvin was a true man — true to his original spiritual impulse when converted. He sifted his soul daily of all mere earthly aims and motives. By daily prayer he sought holiness of heart — to displace self and the thought 14 BISHOP MARVIX. of self by the life and thought of his Lord. Inheriting a constitution that indicated an early death, a sense of nior- tality pervadccl liis mind and left its traee of sadness upon the habitual expression of his face and life. His deep sym- pathy Avith all conditions and persons led him into regions of i)ublic sentiment that few public speakers yenture upon. He did not hesitate to present to an audience the most sa- cred relations and incidents of life, -which he did in language as proper as the theme "was eleyating and tender. Only the readiest and nicest command of speech could safely attempt that Avhich he so easily and charmingly accomplished. Usually the delicate bloom of home joys and home life can- not be displayed in public -without risk of injury ; but he could preserve all the beauty and fragrance of this heavenly Eden while opening its doors to the modest gaze. His unselfish spirit was evidenced in his admiration for good men, and for all good in all men. A friend might be sure of all he had or could command of snl)stance or of love. He lived for others — how he loved his home, his wife and children, Heaven and his closet alone can witness. But that which stamped his face and carriage, his voice and soul, his person in public and private, with such sweet dig- nity and magnetic power, was his daily and hourly " fel- lowship Mitli the Father and Avith His Son Jesus Christ." The friendship of God and Christ was to him as the friend- ship of a man. The love of God and the i)ersonal sympa- thy of Christ, his dying Lord, his living Kedeemer, were the constant thought of his experience, the reality of his existence, and the breath of his spirit. This noblest aspira- tion of an immortal nature was the strength of his inner life, and gave shape to the life without. It gave him the art of being loved. It enabled him to penetrate the dis- guise which in the parable had perplexed equally the right- eous and the wicked, and to see his Lord in the person of every one who needed meat, or drink, or sympathy. So INTRODUCTION. 15 that every household welcomed him as a relative, and every youth and maideu, every saint and sinner of his acqaintance felt him to be a personal friend. To godliness he added brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. He grew up " unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." He was the full statement of the Avortli of the Itinerant school to make or mar a preacher. He neither copied mas- ters nor had the manner of the school-room. He preached rather than taught. The Gospel was vital in him, and was delivered with an unction that convicted and persuaded men. His words, tones and thouohts all blended in his ministration with sentiments which properly belonged both to the man and the Minister. He spake as a man among men to men. Language was with him a gift of extraordi- nary power ; the syllables which held so much persuasion weighed to the ear as well as portrayed to the eye the ex- actest shade of thought and feeling. His analysis was pro- found and his arrangement was suited to the most ordinary capacity ; he anticipated nothing, and yet placed at once in the possession of the hearer the scheme of his discourse or the object of a sentence. It was a pleasure to rest in his periods; not too profound, not too superficial. His dis- courses sprang from the depth of sentiment which he had found in the text, as well as from the depth of its thought. He had reason enough and fancy enough, but the soul of his theme concerned him mainly. His perorations taxed all the wealth of his powers and laid open his very heart before the audience. The Cross, the " Eloi, Lama Sabacthani " of his Lord, were the favorite study of his soul and burden of his preaching. He had many seals to his ministry. He carried all our hearts with him round the round world ; he imao-ined our- selves Avith him by field and flood, and now — that he has moved on yet farther, we go with him into " The land that 1(, BISHOP MARVIN. is afar off, where the King sits in his beauty." O, who will catch his inspiration and take the stamp of liis Missionary exit ! John C. Keener. New Orleans, xVugust 4th, 1879. V CHAPTEE I. HIS ANCESTRY. The American branch of the Marvin familj'— Its founders— Emigration to America — Among first settlers of Hartford and other towns in Con- necticut — Social position and public services— Colonial wars and War of Independence— Characteristics of the family— Their jnigrations — Direct line of descent from Reinold traced through 242 j-ears — Lieut. . Eeinold— "Lyme's Captain"— The Mather family — Intermarriages with the Marvins — An honorable line of ancestry. •N antiquarian, who was occupied in the year 1842 with ^ searching for materials to illustrate the early annals of New England, found a MS. volume, in folio, in one of the offices of the Record Commissioners, Westminster Hall, London, which the discoverer says may not have been seen by more than two or three persons for two hundred years. It contains the names of persons permitted to embark for America, at the port of London, after Christmas, 1634. Under date "15th April," 1635, is an entry of a list of per- sons by the name of Marvin, with the note prefixed : "To be transported to New England, imbarqued in the Increase, Robert Lea, master." This was the beginning of the Amer- ican branch of the Marvin family. At its origin, it consisted of two brothers, Matthew and Reinold, with their families, and an unmarried sister, Hannah. Of her history there is only the record of her marriage to Francis Barnard, at Hartford, Conn., in 1644 ; her removal thence to Hadley, Mass., and 2 18 BISHOP MAKVIN. hor cloath in 1G7G. The first loctitioii of llic faiiiily avjis at Hartford, of wliich tlic two Ijrothors were aiDonjj: the oriixi- iial settlers and "were hmd-owners. The location is known of Matthew's residence, on the corner of Villaire and Front Streets. At a date previous to 1054: he removed from Hartford and became one of the pioneers in 'the settlement of Norwalk, where he died, in 1680, in his 80th year. Eeinold removed from Hartford to Farminiiton, and "was probably one of the first settlers of that town. His place of residence is described as '' a prominent home-lot, having Mr. Willis, of Hartford, on one side, and INIr. Hopkins on the other; it was on the west side of the INIain Street." The town records report the sale of this propert}^, on which he had built a new house, with other lands, in. the year 1048, when he removed to Saybrook, and settled in that part of the town Ij'ing on the east bank of the Connecticut River, and which, in the division of the town in 1GG5, was named L3'me. There he died, in 1GG2. B}"" marriage the family became allied in the most re- specta]:)le connections, and with names which are historic in the early annals of New England, and arc still extant in distinguished walks of life. The INIarvin name appears, also, well established in good reputation in the history of the Colonies and of the Revolutionar}^ War. The origi- nal progenitors, it has been seen, were founders of com- munities. Matthew was representative of Norwalk in the General Court, in 1G54. Subsequently, the same office was filled by two sons, successively, and by a grandson. Record is frequent of public service in nmnicipal and legislative councils, and in the military, as well as the civil service, from the days of the Indian and French wars in the Colonial times, down to the war of 1812. In the first generation there is a Lieut. Marvin ; in the next, the famous " Lyme's Captain ;" later, a General, and one, " killed in a skirmish with the Indians on the Susquehannah." In the War of HIS ANCESTRY. 19 Independence, the house of a Marvhi, at Nonvalk, was the headquarters of his brother officers ; two others received honorable mention and recognition for important services rendered ; still another, on the approach of the British to retake Crown Point and Ticondcroga, at the call of Col. Arnold for reinforcements, raised a company of young men of his acquaintance, and advanced the money for its equipment, supplies and pay. In the war of 1812, a Captain Marvin acquitted himself with "gallantry and credit." During the present century, and in the present genera- tion, descendants are found in useful and eminent stations — in the halls of Congress, at the Bar and on the Bench ; one, of the Supreme Court of the State of iSew York, and an- other', of the United States District Court for Florida, They are on the roll of the alumni of colleges, one a graduate of Yale as early as in the class of 1748, Mho became a lawyer at Litchfield, and among distinguished connections by marriao-e is the present President of that venerable institu- tion. In tracing the Genealogical Sketch of this family, it is evident by every token that, from the beginning, it occu- pied the front rank of sul)stantial citizenship, and Avas held in high honor ; its daughters cultured women and goodly matrons, and its sons gifted and upright, industrious and thrifty, public-spirited, adventurous and brave, at- taining to prominence, and, in many instances, to rare eminence. It has been noted that the two brothers removed from Hartford, Matthew to Norwalk, and Rcinold to Saybrook, now Lyme. These two places were for along time ancestral seats of the family. In its prolific growth, and by alliances of marriage, it soon spread over Connecticut and became settled in most of its principal towns — Fairfield, Litchfield, Guilford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and notablv at Norwich, a widowed daughter of Matthew having been married, in 20 BISHOP MARVIN. 1660, to Deacon Thomas Aldgato, one of the original pro- prietors of that town. It Avas taken to ]\Iassaeliusetts injhe family of Hannah, and others followed, known to have been ■located, among other places, at Pittsfield and Boston, where descendants now reside. Some of the Reinold's hranch are found, in 1767, as far north as New Hampshire, at Surrey and Alstead, and, of the line of Matthew, as far Avest, in 1769, as Michigan, where they appear, in 1828, settled at Oakland. After the Revolutionary "War, about the year 1790, some of both branches beuan to remove to the State of New York. They have settled, at various dates, in Her- kimer, Chantauque, and Ontario Counties, and, at later dates, appear resident at the political capital and the com- mercial centres of that State. There is, also, a New Jersey family. There was little southward movement — a single family, besides the District Judge in Florida, located, in 1827, at Georgetown, South Carolina. It will be seen, hereafter, how the wave of \Yestern emigration, at its first flow, brought one family to the wilds of Missouri. In the intermediate country, families were dropped at Erie, Phila- delphia, and Pittsburg, and in Ashtabula County, Ohio. On lateral tides some were ])oi'ne up into Iowa and down to Texas, and the migration went onwai-d till it struck the Pacific coast, in California and Oregon. Though wide dispersion of families is not an uncommon fact in American life, it is interesting, at this distance of time, to note how, in this instance, the migration received its first and an al)iding impulse from the enterprising and hardy spirit of the man who stood before the Record Com- missioner, at London, for enrollment, with his six children, and his wife with a six-months' babe in her arms, " to bo transported to New England." In the middle of the third century afterwards, an illustrious descendant took, up the westward movement and carried it for^vard to the gates of the East. The same spirit survived in him, subject to higher HIS ANCESTRY. 21 control and pursuing nol)lcr ends. Having his chief home wherever his fields of hibor laid, and his emigrations always about his " Master's business," he made the circuit of the earth. On the way, he stood on the banks of the Thames, where the first Marvin " imbarqued " for America. He doubled on the track of that first approach to its shores, and largely in the places of the dispersion of his kindred, in a wonderful and unparalleled itinerary, has preached the Gospel of the Son of God. This later son of a generation which has made annals for the history of the New World, and has mingled not a little, nor feebly, in the elements and energies of its pro- o-ress and culture, had his descent through its not least dis- tin2:uished line, in that from Eeinold. That brother had two children, a daughter, and a son who bore his father's name, and is known on the town records as Lieutenant Reinold, and who was the father of Captain Eeinold, as already noted, famous as." Lyme's Captain." About the centre of the old burial ground in Lyme, is the earliest gravestone record of tlie family. It bears the inscription : 1G7(3. Lieut. REINOLD MARVIN, Aged 42. In that ancient cemetery, the Machpelah of this family, there is a grave Avith a footstone, on which is inscribed : R. M., Oct. 18, 1737. The epitaph on the headstone tells, in quaint lines, the story of his character and rank in life, an ofiicer of the church as well as of the army : 22 msiior makvix. This Deacon, apcod sixtj'-eislit, Is freed on e;irth from serviiiir; May for a crown no lonixer wjiil, Lyme's Captain, Reiuold Marvin. Many anecdotes are related concerning liim, -which, how- ever, the liistorian of the family, after careful investigation, attril)utes to his son, Avho had the same Christian name, and was also a deacon in the Conu'rcaational Church at Lvme. Some of the anecdotes are related in the JS^eio EnrjJand Historical and Genealogical Register , which says truly, that Deacon Marvin appears to have been remarkable for his eccentricity. There is an amusing incident of liis courtship told, in which it will bo seen his future Avife was a kindred soul, congenial, at least, in style of piety. Having one day mounted his horse, with a sheepskin for his saddle, he rode in front of the house where lived Sarah, or Betty Lee, (Lay was the true name, and she was a widow) and, without dismounting, requested Sarah to come to him, and told her the Lord had sent him there to marry her. Without much liesitation, she replied, the will of the Lord be done. From Captain Keinold Marvin descended ElisJui, and from him Enoch, whose youngest child, in a family of nine children, was Wells Ely, the father of the subject of this biograph}^ Enoch Mather Makvix. On the maternal side of this line of ancestry, beyond his mother, who is more particul:irly to be mentioned hereafter, we lind the name of IJuth Ely, of a very noted family of the town of Lyme, who was the wife of Enoch. Bearing the name of this grandfather, his second Chistian name, Mather, connects him with that historic Ncav luigland name. There were four intermarriages of the ]\Iarvins and the Mathers — that l)elongingto this history being of Elisha with Catherine ]\I:ither, al)out the year ITPxS. She Avas a descen- dant in the lifth generation, through his son Timothy, from llichard Mather, the original progenitor of the AmericaD HIS ANCESTRY. 2 o branch of that family. Ilis fame is well known as one of the early and most distinguished Fathers of Nqw England. The name has been made illustrious by the piety, learning, and public services of himself and his descendants, notably of Increase and Cotton Mather. The epitaph of the founder of the family contains a scale of their comparative reputa- tation : " Under this stone lies Richard Mather, Who had a son greater than his father, And eke a grandson greater than cither." The father ^vas remarkable, more than for talents, for weight of character, solid judgment and practical ability. He possessed large knowledge of ecclesiastical affairs and controversial skill, and, after the death of John Cotton, was considered the most influential man of the Massachu- setts Colony. His greater son was pastor of the chief church of the colony and twice elected President of Har- vard College, accepting the second election on condition of retaining his pastoral charge. He was distinguished for great energy and practical sense, and a clear and strong, but not adventurous, intellect. In his career there were tests of coiiscience which showed, it is written of him, a heart that was equal to all duties and dangers. In his great and useful life, he earned the testimony, pronounced in his funeral oration, that there was no man of his time who was more honored when living or more lamented when dead. The biography of Cotton Mather, manifesth^ was written l)y an unfriendly pen. But his history vindicates itself and compels the wonder and admiration of posterity, as it did of his own generation. His foibles were as spots on the sun, and never more signally were mistakes made in public life atoned for by the spirit and benefactions of a great philanthropist. His talents were of a high order, characterized by original genius, and certainly by rare 24 BISHOP IMARYIX. culture. Amoni» mental traits was an extraordinary faculty of memory, and power of fixed attention, and patience and force of investigation. Of his erudition it is said, that there was scarcely any book in existence with which he was not acquainted. Few, if any, have been more industrious and prolific in authorship, his own publications, great and small, numberiiio; three hundred and eiohty-two. His literary fame reached across the ocean, and secured him honorary mem- bership in the Societies of tlic literati of the OknVorld. His social equalities were admirable. His powers of conversation were brilliant and, though not distinguished as an orator, he was ready and eftective with extemporaneous speech in pulpit address. At the early age of eighteen years he was gradu- ated at Harvard Colleire, and became associated with his father in the pulpit of Old North Church, Boston, and after his death became his successor. His religious character had its roots in 3'outhful piet}'. He began to pray as soon as he began to talk, and made a Christian profession at the age of sixteen. Of his moral traits, benevolence was predomin- ant. "What was prominent in his religious affections was fervor of spirit, tending to enthusiasm, and earnest aspira- tions after inward holiness, subjected to the scrutiny of rigid self-introsjDection and the tests of a liigh standard of spiritual purity. His mother was the widow of John Cotton. That renowned name joined to that of iiis noted patron3'mic, made, what was then called, in a good sense, *' an ominous name." Upon liis matriculation at Harvard, the President exclaimed, " What a name." Its history in the world has justified the prophecy, which a poet of the day put in a terse couplet : " Where two great names their sanctuary take, And in a third combined a greater make." Other sons of Richard Mather were mmisters of the gospel, and settled in prominent stations on both sides of the HIS ANCESTRY. 25 ol may be of curious interest to some readers. Tlie Arms urc four scythes counterchanged. The Crest repre- sents a husbandman, liolding in the right hand a horn phiced to the moutli and the left hand grasping a scythe in ui)right position. The motto, in ohl Knglish — moioe ivarilie — is taken from the Saxon derivation of the family name Math, to mow. Such mottoes become watclnvords, and often make, as well as indicate, character. That of the Scotch family, associated with the symbol of an eagle, is, fortUer et ceJeriter — strongly and swiftly ; and of the "Welch, Deus iwovidehit — God will pi'ovide. The name and descent of Enoch Mather Maryin had the historical connections recorded in the pages of this intro- ductory chapter. The significance and use of such record iu biography will l)e appreciated according to the yar^-ing opinions and tastes of the readers. Too much may be made of it ; the tendency of American sentiment is to make too little of it. It has valuable uses, both practical and senti- mental. When vanity parades it, the spectacle is ridiculous ; and it is absurd and contemptible when, like a gnarlofl and unshapely l)ranch of a goodly tree, the boast of renowned lineage is the sole title to distinction ; or — in the use of a simile, certainly forcible and not too homely to appear iu the pages of the Gentleman s Magazine of forty years ago — when,bke the potato plant, the best part is underground. Homage to a noble ancestry is, in itself, a laudable sen- timent, kindred to the filial virtue of a son honoring his fa- ther ; and when ancestral names are Avoithy of honor, they are a ricli legacy of potent influences, which arc wasted on natural imbecility and perverlc-d successivelv in the limits of Montjyomerv, or o W M w o > O w M « O o ■a W o THE FIVE CEDARS. 29 Both houses were built of losrs, accordins: to the custom of the people, and the first built, it is said, was covered with clapboards weighted down with poles, which were fastened to the roof with wooden pins. It was not until 1818 that the first frame house was erected in Montgomery County. The dwellers there, in its entire history, were among the best educated, most cultivated and refined of the community ; and were held in great respect and universal honor. Among them, of the original family, was a grand- sire, as he was called b}'" children and grandchildren, and was held in utmost reverence. He was seated and served first at table, and his quiet and comfort promoted by all manner of kindh^ attention, which might help him through the long days, remove fears from the way, and interest failing desire. He was a native of Lyme, and died in 1841, in his ninety-fifth year. Tall and large, he had a remark- able presence, and his appearance in earlier years must have been very imposing. After his marriage with Ruth Ely, of Lyme, he removed to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where his famil}^ was brought up, of which Wells Ely was the youngest child. Other children were living in the East at the time, but his heart, as is common, was with his last born, whom he followed in his several Western emigrations. With the responsive filial reverence and devotion, it makes one of the lovely memory-pictures which hang around the walls of this house. The beautiful face of the grandmother, who was of small and graceful person, appears in it, who lived long enough to find the pleasant pastime of a matriarch in the pranks and prattle of three of her grandchildren. She died in her seventy-sixth year, in the summer of 182G. The lone- liness of the following years of her consort was a dark line in the touch of sadness which had shadowed their later life. Reduced from considerable affiuence by suretj^ship for friends in Massachusetts, he was removed from the most favored and cherished associations, and spent the remnant of daj^s 30 p.isnop :\rAiivix. in the quiet and deep retirement of the wiklcrncss. They were passed in dijrnilicd composure and patience, and, per- haps, the mehmcholy twilight of vanished fortune was not an unwelcome, as it Avas a protital)lc prehide to an end of days and entrance on a better life, of wliich they had the sohice in incipient experience, and tlie hope in death. The chief interest of the Five Cedars to the reader, lies in its connections with the great life which had there'its bud and nurture. In the liglit of subsequent fame, we look for its presage in boyish days, and even the familiar and common thini^s in childhood scenes and youthfnl years appear invested with a charm. In the gable, not in view in the engraving, is the en- trance, approached from the yard, to the upper room, where the ploughboy took rest after the toil of the day, and the short social evening at the fireside, or under the Cedars. AVhen he was the pastor of a great city church, on leave of absence to visit his family and for rest during the week days of August, after the first long, sound sleep he W'as busied in the same apartments and under the same shade in the study of books, more in number and of weightier contents than those on the little shelf of his garret-room, but not of fresher interest, nor read with more eager zest than when he first read books on rainy days, and at nooning, and even at the plough handle. In one of those apartments he was first taught letters, and had his schooling till he was eleven or twelve years old, and the most of it. His mother was teacher in sunmier and \m, father in winter. They had both been teachers before coming to the West, and now it Avas a necessity for the edu- cation of their own children, in the absence of all convenient school privileges. It hence became a neighborhood school, and indeed, a boarding-school, l)y special favoi', for some of the children of the neighl)orho(Hl. Mr. Sandy Pratt, of AVright City, whose father settled in the neighborhood in THE FIVE CEDARS. 31 1831, at a farm two miles aAvay, and wlio was a faithful and cherished friend of the family, among full notes, kindly fur- nished for these pages, says his brother was one of the pupils and his sister, now Mrs. Pendleton, was a boarding scholar. Similar data, in great fullness and interest, have been con- tributed by Dr. INIoses Hubbard, of Texas, and by Rev. D. T. Sherman and Rev. Carr W. Pritchett, all of whom were contemporaries of Enoch Mather, and write from personal knowlcdaml)()at naviga- tion, the emigrant wagon was the mode of travel westward, and goods were transportecl in barges floated down the ( )hio or cordelled from >sew Orleans up the ]\rississip])i and its tributaries by the hardy and jolly Canadian boatmen. Not till some years after that ei"a of improved connnunication with distant markets and ohhn- communities Avere its advan- taires nuich r<'ali/ed in the interior counties of Missouri. It Avas late in the decade of 1.S20-3O that the tick" of Avestern omiirrati(m was in lari2:e flow. At the orjranization of War- ren County, as late as 1833, its population Avas 4,000 souls, THE FIVE CEDARS. • 35 and the conditions of social and domestic life were corre- spondingly primitive. Under such conditions of the country and of social life, as described by Mr. S. and otliers, the early eliildhood and youth of Bishop iSIarvin Avero passed. Convenience and luxury in modes of life "were then unknown among that people. Some, like the Marvin family, were well educated and had been accustomed* to better comforts Avhere they came from ; ])ut with great good sense they adapted them- selves to prevailing habits and conditions of life in their backAVoods home — especially they Avere not of the sort of peo})le to think, for themselves or their children, that man- ual labor Avas not honorable or that clothes made the man. The boy IMather, Ave know, was like the boy of that period in a ncAV country, in dress, occupation and social surround- ings. The slave population Avas sparse and few families had serA\'ints — there Avere none at his fathei-'s house. We Avill find him driving the plow and swinging the scythe, feedino; the stock and on the Avav from the field in the even- in2j drivino; home the cows and milkinii; them too. In the intervals of field and farm-A'ard work, he is doins; chores about the house, cutting and bringing in the Avood, and, as his mother was feeble and sickly, he helped among the skillets and pots around the large. open fireplace in vogue before the days of the modern cooking stove. Once, as re- ported by Mr. Perkins, he took the job of making soap off her hands to relieve her perplexity when a company of visitors called to spend the day. One of those visitors, still livino;, says he did it Avell. She Avas struck with his kind, frank and manly bearing in the offer of service. Later in the day she observed him carefully manipulating the job ; and the intelligent lady saw in it the beauty of a kindly disposition and especially of love for his mother. Indoors he has often stood before her with hanks of 3'arn upon his arms patiently akimbo ; and his hands have been busy with 36 TUSTIOr MAUVIX. hobbins of cotton and tlax Ihi'cad and plyinjr the loom. As lie told lii> .i:-()ver and industrious boy is found in oilier occupations, and away from home in tlio iiiulnal help of good neighbourhood. Long years after- Avards, when he met T)r. IIubl)ard in a distant State, in a talk over their young days, he said the hardest day's work he ever diu of his pnivcr was a lon of lln' house. Tlu-re three of his own l)al)e5> sleep, Enoch, Avhose days did not coniplctc tlic circle of a month, anrother Elisha found him, Avandering about and saying with sobs, "I can't find Jesus." The childish conceit was the heart echo to one of his Mother's songs, " Oh, when shall T see Jesus." Down in the barn-yard is the oid-fas]iione(l log corn-crib of which he spoke in Ids sermon on " The Corn of Wheat." There had been a killing frost in the fall. In the si)ring suc- ceeding came the question of seed. It hap|)ened when lie was a mere child. ''I'he rest his own words shall relate : My father cntei-ed th(» old-i'ashioned log crib to select the somidcst ears. * * Child-like I followed him into the cril). Half the corn had ]>vvi\ fed away and the ])ile of unhusked ears lay in a bank with a face tliat was almost TilE FIVE CEDAES. 47 perpendicular. Father began at a spot Avhere the best of the corn had been })hiced. 1 remember now how he stripped the Imsk from the ear and removed a few Ji'rains, breakins: them and examinino; the "• heart" — the oemi point. Jf the fresh aspect of vitality Avas wanting it Avas thrown aside. So, many ears were examined, condemned, and throAvn aside, and the sound ones shelled for seed. In imitative effort, I, too, tugged at the husk and strii)ped an ear and broke the grain and examined the "heart," not knowing what it was. I remember how the pile of loose-hMng husks grew and a cavernous opening appeared in the perpendicular face of the bank as the work went on. I remember, too, another thing, as if it were vesterdav, the anxious face of my INIother appeared at the little crib-door. As I gaze upon it now, throuuh the recollections of fortv-iive vears, it looks like the face of an angel, only the glow and the glory seemed touched with a shade of sadness. "Wells," she said, calling him ])y his Christian name, "can you get seed?" Little did I comprehend it then ; but it was a ques- tion of bread for her children, the question of questions for a mother's heart — " can you get seed?" It remained for his own hand to introduce into the pic- ture the form of his father and the face of his mother, and to add his own comment upon the mystery of life and of sorrows which shadowed this home. Except in the two first statements they are words of reference to family histor}^ and they contain the solace, " What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." Then, he writes, all the perplexing problems of an inexplicable providence shall })e made plain ; I shall know why the tongue of the slanderer was permitted to make havoc of goodly names and rend the very Church of God ; I shall understand the secret of baffled hopes and ruined fortunes ; I shall know why my mother suffered so, and my father was a sou of grief ; why my sister died at the threshold of early 48 BISHOP MARVIN. womanhood and my eldest brotliei- fell under the hiiirht of fruitless efforts iind defeated expectation ; J shall understand the mystery of that sti'oke und< r which my hahy boys died U[)on the l)reast of their mother — tlie l)ud perishing with all the glorv of its possibiHties infolded in its ow n bosom. My own tiery trials wdl be seen in their most giacious effect on character and destiny, and the glory of (Jod Mill appear in the white liaht of its own spotless and inlinite })erfection of wisdom and love. The " Old Place " in Warren County, Mo. — its sad and sweet memories locate it, also, on the " Magical Isle of the Kiver of Time,"' of which B. F. Taylor sung, in well-known, touchinu' lines : And the name of flic Isle is the Long Ago, And wc bury our treasures there; There ure brows of l)eauty and l^osoms of snow, There are heaps of (Uist, but we loved them so ! There are trinkets and tresses of hair. There are fragments of songs that nobody sings, And a part of an iufaiit's prayer; There's a lute unswept, and a harji without strings, There are broken v/vvs and pieces of rings, And the garments that she used to wear. There are liands that waved wlien the fairy shore. By the mirage is lifted in air; And we souietiuies hear through the turbulent roar, Sweet voices we heard in the days gone before, When the wind down the river is fair. /<< CHAPTEE III *' THIS MAN WAS BORN THERE." PsalmS. God's first Church — When does education begin? — Mother's influence — Jobson and his mother's prayers — Bishop Andrew and his mother — Enocli Mather on his mother's knee — The holy song and baptism of tears — His father a Deist— The motlier liis Christian teacher — The Sabbatli School in her house — The first in Warren County— The family government— Happy domestic relations — Fatlier's training — Education of circumstances— Unseen influences — Incident of the wounded flnger — Saintly women— Old neighbors— Godly men— Contact with Metho- dist influences — Chief factors in religious training, his Mother and Methodism. I REVISITED the ' Old Place,' and sat down in the room where I used to sit on my mother's knee " — there, at that first altar of childhood prayer and holy place of maternal benediction, was the birthplace of the earliest religious impressions of this Man of God. The fecmidity of maternal piety was a form of words frequently used by Bishop Marvin — in that was engendered the first quickenin^s of his own faith. It has l)een said, beautifully and truly, the family was God's first church, in godly discipline its instruction and ministries antedating the ordinances of Tem- ple worship and service directly referred to in the caption of this chapter. Learned authors have asked and answered the question, when does education begin. They locate the tirst school- house on a mother's lap, and for the time, "while the father is yet marking the moment of birth." The tirst pulse of the bal)e, it is written, has already dated its trainin<»- for eternity. Solitary and unrelated as it may seem, cascades 4 50 Bisiior :.i AK\ i.\. of innuciu'e stream in \i\)(m\ it from all sidrs ; wrvy ohjoct soon Ix'comos a l)Ook, cnci y ])lace a school-hoiisc. and cxcry event ploULi'lis in some Avinu'cd seeds \\lii(Ii will lie hcarinii" their a[)i)ro})riato fruit a thousand ai:cs ii('n((\ Tn strong" teinis, it has been .--aid by another, tlio first six years of life is man's " ereation week " — those yeai:s* iu which a child may he used to l>lay on lln^ lloor ai'ound a mother's chair and not too old to sit on her knee. The only recorded memory connected with that visit of a Bishop to the "Old l^lace '" tinds a ])aral!el in the first utterance of Jobson, on taking the chair of the l*resident of tlie British Wesleyan Conference — it is in answer to prayer that I am luu-e, the prayer of my mother. Another such fact is stated in Bishoj) Keener's discourse at the ])urial of Bishop Andrew, who used to tell of the face and words of his mother — "James, 1 had rathc^r see you a faithful preacher of th(> Gospel than emiieror of the world :" and in tcllinu- it exclaimed, " And, O, how she looked when she said it." She taught him, says Bishop K., uiany passages of poetry, which he could repeat to the close of life, though he had never seen them in any book. She was a woman of fine natural taste, strong intellect, fond of llowers and poetrv, and deei)ly i)ious. ]\Iuch like her was the mother of Bishop Marvin — mothers Avho give bishops to the church. Of the prerogative of a mother's inlluenct' and its func- tions, which no hired substitute can perform, lie himself wrote: No hands can caress a child or swathe it like a mother's ; no eye can beam upon it like hers ; no voice can baptize its heart with such a Avealth of tenderness ; no other eai- can be so (piick to the faintest cry. None hke her can bear with all its weaknesses ; none on earth can so train its tongue to truth and form its soul to honor. In writing of his dear friend and co-laborer, Ca))les, in whom, he im- ao^ined, a casual observer would see onlv a verv irrei^ressiblc boy, running over with vitality and fun, he wrote — but his " THIS MAX WAS BORN THERE." 51 onotlier "would discover .soniething nmeli deeper. She Avould see the young spirit opeuinij: it.self to everA^tliing divine in nature and in the Bible. Under the -watch-care of such a teacher, he was sure, as years advanced, there was an ever- deepening sense of God. Words like those would appropriately clothe his re- flections while he sat in that room alone, except in company with the most hallowed memory of his childhood. Many readers will note in them the lineaments of his own mother's portrait, as he often pictured it in spoken sermons. The author of " Our Children" had fineness of vision of a sen- sitive soul to reproduce it in print. It was a companion picture to some which hung on the walls of his own heart, and under the inspiration of kindred memories he has made a good copy of the original. We have heard, he writes, one of our hishops tell of his child-experience in religion. Even he, with all his gift of expression cannot tell it all in words. The gesture, the tones, the look on his face, told more than his tomrue could tell. How distinctly he recalled the time when his mother held him in her lap and looked down into his face as she sang her favorite hynm : "Alas! and did my Saviour bleed? And did nij- Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head For sucli a worm as I?" And as the good mother sang the last stanza : "But drops of grief can ne'er repay The debt of love I owe ; Here, Lord, I give myself away, 'Tis all tliat I can do." tears dropped from her eyes as she looked down upon the child in her lap and fell upon his face. As the good Bishop told us these things his voice trembled and his e3^es filled, as if he still felt his mother's arms about him. How 52 BISHOP MARVIN. deeply llie iiiq)res.sioii Avas llicii iiiadi- on liis tender mind — how intensely it lias been retained — that a irood and sinless One had died for liini. ( )n(^ scene he reealled AvitJi ])athetic simplieity. A\'lien a little child — his mother's soncfs in his ear and his mother's ])raA'er in his hcai't — he Avas plaAinu" near the house in a skirt of woods Avherc the autumn shadows and sunshine Avere minirlini^ on the ground and the autumn gold and jiurple Avere upon tin; leaA'es. He began to think over the somi::, "Alas! .iikI did my Saviour bleed?" The thought went down into his heart, " Jesus died for me — for me;" and he Avondered, "Shall I ever see Jesus? "Will he eA(>r come to me?" If, as the same author propounds in substance the in- quiry, an infant soul is prejjared for heaven Avhen it is ealled hence, may not the same gracious PoAver shed its light upon the 3'oung mind at an early daAvn of intelligence, and move silently and mysteriously, but efficaeioush', ujion the moral nature in its transition into form, shaping it in a divine mold? If so, tlie Holy Spirit descended on that scene — at that baptism of a mother's tears. They floAved at the spec- tacle of Calvary. At first floAV and ever afterAvards they Avere to liini an cAangel of Chi'ist. To his u})turned eye, he has said, the; saintly face often ap[)eared, still looking upon him from out the shadoAvy past, like a celestial vision through rifted clouds lie spoke of her voice as not Avith.out culture and as naturally musical : and the cadence of that song slie sang Avas a conslanl iiiehxh' m hi.^ ear, and seemed like a note, estray on eailh, of the Song of the ]>aiul). The value of the incident just i-elatcd is enhanced in vicAV of the theological ()j)ini()ns Avhich, it is generally mi- derstood, wei-e held l)y his father. So far as ])aternal ex- am[)le and inllnenee might he j»re\aleiit , it Avas a (juestion Avhether his son should not heeonie a Deist. It is not in evidence that the father souirht or desired to indoctrinate " THIS MAN WAS BORN THERE." 53 his children in that system of l^elief. On tlie contrary, he committed them to the religion of the mother. Tliat se- cured them early and irrcvoeablv to " the faith in Christ." In counteraction to the authority of a father's opinions and the unintended but inevitable influence of example, that sono- she sansr embodied the divinity and grace of the Gospel of the Son of God. Her tears were a solvent of infidelity. In that vision he met in the path of childhood the son, who afterwards preached Jesus, became Christian, and on his heart, copied from a bright image of its love-compelling power, there was stamped the ineffaceable credo — "And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, the Lord of Glory crucified." It is proper to say, that different understanding concern- ing Mr. jNIarviir s religious belief is had by Rev. Mr. Pritchett, whose discernment and opportunity of observation entitle his judgment to respect. His remarks, it will be noticed, are in confirmation of what has been written concerning the salutary home influences exerted in that family. In seckino; for the oriirin of early relioious impressions produced in the mind and heart of Enoch Marvin, says Mr. P., there is one factor likely to be omitted, and yet it is one of great importance. His father and mother had been reared in the faith and usages of Calvinism. His mother for years was a member of the old Regular Baptist Church. His father was not in the communion of the Church. He was a man of silent, uncommunicative manner, yet one of t\\Q most patient, enduring i\\\(\ even-tempered of men. He bore the great burdens of his life with a spirit l)orn of Re- ligion. It Mas mainly, I think, his traditional faith which kept him out of the formal communion of the Church. He waited for a development of grace, and an overpowering Divine Impulse, which should compel him into the Kingdom of God. His meeh, pure and devoted life was no doubt the offspring of a conscientious faith and of a moral haliitude. 54 BISHOP MARVIN. the resultant of rolii^^ioii. lie ihovcmI in liis family in lliat unpretentious, quiet why which nol (iiil\' won their venera- tion, hut which c()ininan(h'i| llieir wai-niest I()\('. Mrs. Mar- \]\\, j)revious to her ni-eat atlliction, was an cncrii'etic, con- scientious woman. She I'cad much, i'or that day, and had rules and system in her familw ( )n(' of these \\as to read the Serij)turt's with her <'hihh-<'ii on tlie Sabbath : and I am tohl, bv those now ii\ ini:", slic; sometimes invited lh(; chil- dren of lier neiii"hboi-s to join in these Scripture; r('adin<:;s. Ko doubt the life. and instructions of such i)arent.s liad their full moral ('tfet, tli;it lie was filled Avith the Holy (Jhost from his mother's woml), ;mun, that whatever name he made in the world would be the purchase of per- sonal worth and the achievement of his own right arm. There is an incident of his boyhood illustrative of the moral agencies just alluded to, and l)clonoinhe iiof do for others? A\ ife, mother, neighI)or. friend. Christian — what obligation do these words imply that she faile(l lo meet. All this sounds extravao-ant . Ibit a>k liei- old neighbors alxml \\'right ( "ity, if the life she li\c(l does not justify every word which 1 have written . But she was a pool', hard-working woman, not cultivated " THIS MAN AVAS BORN THERE." 59 nor oiftcd, except with great good sense. She had no per- sonal [)eauty — that is, of the outside sort. But her native ooodness o-'ive her an air of i>-ood breeding, and sweetness of manners that to me was charming. The purit}' and benevo- lence that always rested upon her face made it hjvely. Of gratitude she possessed an excess. After all the good deeds she had done to others it seemed only just that her wants, in old aofe and straiahtened circumstances, should l)e looked after by old friends. But every attention shown her, every little present made to her, every little piece of work done for her, seemed to oppress her. Sht) spent the day at my house just before I left home on this trip. She was l)owed with j^ears. The dear old saint ! how' my heart melted toward her. I did not once think that it was probably the last time I should see her. But I now think that she must have felt it. She was overcome by tears in taking leave. I had never seen her melt so fully. My eyes are dim with tears as I write. She is with God to- night. Oh ! that I mav have grace to meet her in the man- sions of the just. She was always self-depreciating. She even thought meanly of her own spiritual attainments. To every one else it was evident that they were of the highest order. The Church has never any trouble with such mem- bers. Oh ! that there might be many thousands like them everywhere. I am reluctant to take leave of them. But death has come in between us, and I must submit. Few" friends of my childhood remain, and to these I must say — farewell ! For all the old neighbors and their descendants. Bishop Marvin cherished through life the Avarmest affection. Some of them have already been mentioned. Among other good and tried friends of the family Avere EdAvin Pleasants, and Royal, a batchelor brother ; V. K. Pringle, noAV of Salem, Oregon, and Dr, Wright, the family ])hysician, avIio is now in extreme old ajje and resident at St. Louis. I can GO BISHOP .AIAKVIX. never forget, he said, how much I owe to tlio few godly moil and woincii J knew in the time of my own s[)irilual infancy. h\ Church ministrations Methodism was predomin- ant, as it was effectual, in the formation of the religious creed and s[)iritual character of Bishop ]Marvin. He has often spoken pul)licly of himself, as a product of Methodism. In a letter addressed to the writer of these i)ages, he said: To the Methodist people, under God, J owe all my hopes for eternity. Through thein the gospel became effectual in my awakeninji and conversion in early youth. Thr()U!j:h them 1 ha\(^ enjoye(l the means of grace and the sacraments of the Church, so helpful and necessary to my growth' in the life of religion. All this I owe to the Methodist people of Missouri, the State of my nativity. TTis mother Avas a Ba[)tist, ])ut neyer attached herself to that Church m the neighborhood, l)ecause, it is said, of the Antinomian doctrines so prevalent at that time in the Ikiptist Church of the State. She was not favorably disposed toward the jNIethodist Church, objecting to some of its usao-es. \n that community generally, Methodism, Mr. Pratt says, was uMp()[)ular, and the few who attended upon the ministry at Uncle Billy McConnelTs went as much for fun as for anything else. There, however, Bishoi) Marvin was brought into contact with Methodist influences. Meth- dist preachers seldom visited at his father's house. As he states it, the tirst who was eyer under the roof was a local preacher. Rev. Joseph Allen. His yisit, he said, Avas like the advent of an angel. Rev. D. T. Sherman, then a local preacher, also visited the family. Among the lirst ^letho- dist preachers he ever saw, was Robert II. Jordan, still a member of tlu^ Missouri (Conference, and, excepting Rev. din-ome C. Berryman, the oldest survivor of the pioneer preachers of the State. The earliest ]\Ieth()dist preaching place in the neighbor- hood was at Lyle's. Besides that at Mr. McConneirs, there "THIS MAN WAS BORN TIIEKE." Gl was circuit preacliinir at tlu; house of Mr. Pritclictt, who has given two sons to the ministry. The ehler, Rev. C. W. Pritcliett, has AvrittcMi of the indebtedness of Bishop Mar\in to the ministrations of the church, as complementary to tliose of his liomc. "Still athome,'' he writes, "he was not in direct communication with that permeating spiritual influ- ence, M'liich led his younii; heart to Christ. It is of interest to inquire how this clement of sjiiritual power was supplied. By what agency was he put into comnmnication with the sjiiritual forces of the Gospel ? It is of the more importance to ask this question, since our Heavenly Father emploj's human agencies in his work of grace in individual experi- ence, as well as in the ao-o-reixato results of His kinsjdom ; and there arc many such agencies, very humble it may be, and very much over-looked in their day, which future years and the day of Eternity will reveal as God's chosen and efficacious instrumentalities. The house of 'old father \\'\\~ liam McConnell, was about a mile and a half from the resi- dence of Mr. Marvin, and lower down the Creek. This house was for many years, not only the home of a hn-ge family, but it was the home of the Methodist Church for all that region of country. Here the regular circuit appoint- ments were tilled, and here were held the Class and Prayer meetings. Here was a centre of divine and spiritual power, whose influence permeated at that region. It was here that Marvin was brought into contact with the spiritual forces of jNIethodism. How much the church of the present and of the future will owe to the sclf-sacritice and devotion of AVilliam and Rachel INIcConnell, it can never know. The waves of Christian influence have widened out from their humble home, and their undulations are still felt in several cir- cuits of the iSlissouri Conference." These reflections Ijring the narrative back to the incident noted in the opening sentence of this chapter — the visit to his mother's room. He had oone there from the jSIonroe 1)2 lUSlIOP MAltVIX. Camp-p-ound, near AVriirlit City. It was the second annual encanipnuMit, in August/ 1^71. His Avords as (juotod are the coiichidinu- senteni-e of his letto- report iim- the occasion. The cniire h-ltcr is a sketch in outline of the huiuaii agen- cies, Avhich had l)een operative in the hand of (jlod upon his character and history. The chief factors in the result were his mother and ^Methodism — fJier(\ as locality of inlhience and other than the divine, it must he written, this man was l)orn. The Camp-uround was in the neighhorhood of the phice of his nativity, where he retired at the ch)se of the meetinir, on AVednes(hiv. Therc^ had been constant greet ings, on the riii'ht hand and the left, of old neigld)<)rs and friends. On Sunday the concourse of people had been immense. The sacramental service on Monday was a great solemnity. The jDresence of God in the encampment was felt by all. Quite a number wew converted. The members of the Church were strengthenetl and built up on their most holy faith. Amono- the i)reachers present there were old veterans — Andrew Monroe, one of them, the patriarth of Missouri Methodist itinerancy, who had come to the State when Mather was oidy al)out tifteen months old, and had pioneered the settlement of the Chm'ch. Of him and (leorge Smith and Horace Brown, Avho were also present, the BisJiop wrote: I met these three aged ministers with a feeling of reverence and affection that grows upon me. 1 ha\c had sweet eoim- sel with them all for many years, and have the feeling toward them of a son in the Gospel. ^^^' all feed that (iod has been gracious to the Church in sparing them to us so lono-. The incidents of the occasion, in his own descriptive words, dis(dosc the Christian influences which had been at work, in the formative period, upon his character — its birthplaces, on his Mother's liuee and at the altar of Meth- odism. 'm^-^^^ H pi > o o < instituted — " This shall he to you tlic l)ci:iimin«- of iiioiiths," It 'j:n\r a new dale to time, as if to teach men that then oiilv tlicy hcuin really to live, Avhen they live thi'ouiiii ('liri>t, in Christ, and I'oi' Christ. He spoke of the New Uirth as thei^i-eat fact in the (livinc^ workinii': Avitli a deeper enii)hasis he has written, the sui)i-eiue fact is [)urity of heart — the ai-eatc.st fact , Ihe Incar- luitioii, and second only to that is the New Birth, As he eoneeived and knew it, that is the divinest work of tlic IIolv Spirit, greater than inspiration, urealei- tiian miracles, great- er than the oriiiinal creation. '1 he Sj)irit broocUnl over the cliaos of ])rimeval nal nre, and gax c hirt h to forms which \vero l)ronounced •'"ood and wvy nood : the superior li'lorv is the new creation. Corresjjondinglj^ to he pure in heart is the true gh)ry of intelligent life. In a record of the conversion of a friend, he wrote of it, as the great epoch of his life. It hegins a higher life and a better history. As a life, it is capable of histoiT. It has a })arentho()d, distinct and di\ine, of which Bishop Pierce Avrote : " 8i)iritual I'eireneration is the noblest 2'enea- looy the oldest, the lara-est, the best." There is hirth and growth and the i)erf(H't man in Christ Jesus, As a life, it has self-consciousness; there are vital organs, ordained functions, and fornud exjiressions of life-foi-ce. The jNIethod- ist A'iews are sustained by the analogy of natural life. The life which is from abo\-e nuiy have clearh marked time and j)lace of nativity, is self-witnessing, and may be real- ized and enjoyed. In the conversion of Bishop Marvin there is a marked and interesting histor}^ of the agency of jn-ovidential occur- rences and of tlu! ministration of the Church. In the chanofe, it is true, from a carnal to a spiritual state, he Avrote, the agency of the Spirit is immedkite. All means are made etiicient by the S[)irit, in His direct agency ; and the actual transfonnatiou of character is the immediate work of God, HIS CONVEIISIOX, 65 to be prayed for and not just souirht through certain pre- scribed media. " The Church," he taught, " has no official custody of the sanctifying grace of God. Beyond all ques- tion, a man's relations with his Maker must be determined by himself. He can confer no power of attorney upon the Church to attend to the business of salvation for him."' It is true, nevertheless, that motives to repentance are appealed to ; the ordinary and the strange events of life are sancti- fied, and especially is the soul awakened l)y the mediate enlightenment of the written or spoken Word and helped in prayer and faith by the ordinances of worship. There is, also, the ministry of Annanias to Saul — servants of Christ, other than preachers, who are often strangely directed and are divinely qualified to show the way of salvation and ready for the service, when it comes to their ears, " Behold, he prayeth." Some historical incidents of his conversion have been recorded by his own pen. He could date it, in December, 1840. He could locate it. It was in a private house — in the same kind of place and in the same month of the year as that of Bishop Morris, who sat down in his home at Salumbria, Ohio, on Christmas night of 1:ton's father. So, also, of the conversion of Merle D'Aubigne, the historian of the Reformation, at a private house in Geneva ; and of John Wesley, God's chosen instrument in the great revival of the Eighteenth Century, at a house in Aldersgate Street, London ; and of Saul, in a certain street called Straight, in the house of Judas. It was at the hou^e of Brother Wil- liam McConnell, the Annanias of this history ; after a ser- mon and invitation to seekers of religion by Rev. D. T. Sherman ; in a certain room, kneeling at a chair, where he found peace wnth God and was born again. In the same letter already quoted from in allusion to Aunt Rachel 5 06 BlSIlOr MARVIN. McConiicll, ho writes, also, of her husband and his house as his spii-itii:il l)irtliphic(' : Ml", ami Mrs. McCohihU were Methodists. At first, and for some 3'ears, they were the only Mtlhodists in '.he immeiliaie neighborhood — say witliln three miles of our home. Their lioiise was open for meetings. The lirst circuit preaching in our neighborhood was under their roof. It was the only preaching place for many years. This involved a great deal of hibor, for many loungers would always stay for dinner. More than ouce, Avhen a thoughtless boy, 1 did so myself. A snnUl class was organized here after a time, and Brother McOonnell literally had a church in his house. All the means of grace and ordinances of religion were actively maintained. After sermon tiie preacher would meet the class. Quarterly meetings, with their incidents the love-feast uud the II )ly Supper, were held there within my recollection. In that house I experienced the lirst joys of the new life, in December, 1840. In it I received the ordinance of Baptism and was formally received into full connection in the Clmrcli. In it I received license to exhort. In the same house I have several times preached the Gospel to my friend? and neighbors. I have never known a man of more intense Christian character than Brother McConnell. lie conversed more on the subject of religion thait any one I ever knew. I believe I have never known one who spent so much time in reading the Bible. I am certain that I never knew any one ■who sang so much or devoted more time to praver. Moreover, it was only tl'iere/(j7to« of singing that he enjoyed — not the music. In nuisic he had Beither talent nor taste. It was the hymns, not the tunes, that he took pleasure in. He sang them instead of reading them, because the Word of God commanded singing of songs. Yet, much as he sang, he read the Ilyum Book a great deal besides. He was the only man I ever knew who could sing at all that had no idea of time in music. He had a word of admonition for every one, especially for the young. He was " instant in season and out of season." I can not doubt that he was a sanctilied man. Yet there were traits that his friends regretted. There wag a certain austerity that repelled the young. He wanted a per- ception of propriety. There was no adjustment to time, and place, and cir- cumstances. In the government of his children there was a severity that defeated itself. But his errors were of the head and of natural tempera- ment. They were not of the heart. He purposed to do right with the utmost intensity. During the war he died. He was never much of a politician; but lie felt instinctively that the invasion of the Southern States to subjugate them was an outrage u])on American liberty. He felt it, and revolted against it in the very deptlis of his ])eing. This cloud was upon the last days of his life. But upjn his soul there was no cloud. He died full of HIS COXVERSION. 67 years and full of peace. He rests from his labors and his works follow him. The class that was organized in his liousc, and that never flourished greatl}' while he lived, but which he nurtured and watered with prayers, entreaties and tears throughout his life, has grown at last to be the Church at Wright City. He was my first and only class-leader. My early Christian life was greatly helped and strengthened by him. I love aud honor his name. Rev. D. T. Sherman, who had such an interesting rela- tion to the conversion of Bishop jNLirvin, is well known in the "West. He has been in the ministry forty-two years, during the greater portion of them in the traveling connec- tion and serving important circuits and stations. Of his conversion on that memorable night in December, 1840, Mr. Sherman, in a modest narrative, says : In the fall of 1840, the Warrenton Circuit was orsran- ized from territory taken from the St. Charles Circuit. Eev. George B. Bowman was appointed to the charge and Eev. William Patton was presiding elder. The preaching- place nearest to the home of young Marvin was two miles distant, at a private house, Mr. "William McConnell's. There Mr. Bowman preached at a Aveek-day appointment, and I l^reached there on Sunday. In December, 1840, at night, after the sermon an invitation was extended to those seek- ing salvation to come forward. Young Marvin came and knelt at the chair occupied as the preacher's stand. There he found peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Then he entered upon a new life, the life of Faith. Of joining the Church, Mr. Sherman says : He wished the approval of his mother, and waited for it. At length it occurred under circumstances which he related (io the writer of this a few j^ears since. On returning from worship one Sabbath afternoon, his cousin, Mr. Perry Perkins, and the writer, who were both members of the Methodist Church, called at Mrs. Marvin's house and spent some time there in singing the so-ngs of Zion. After they left his mother remarked in his hearing: Perhaps the Methodists are as good as any other people. The remark contained what he had longed for — a token that his uniting with them might not displease his mother. It lifted a load from his heart £Lud determined him to join the Methodist Church. It was done in August, 68 BISHOP MARVIN. 1831), at the Bethlehem Camp-grouiid, near Wentzvillc, Mo., on the St. Charles Circuit, Rev. Silas Comfort preacher in charge. In the :il)ovc statement it appears how through his moth- er's iniliiriicc lie iiiiuht liave been a Baptist, as it l)as })eeu seen heretofore how throuuh th(^ hias of liis father's theo- loo-ic;il views ho niiulit have l)eeii a Deist ; but upon nitelli- gent com let ion and in(h'[)eii(leiit choice lie became a Cliristian and a jNIethodist. There is a very interesting episode in the liistorv of his ojjinions on tlie sid)ject of the mode of Baptism and tlie Comnumion of the Lord's I'able. Kev. ]\Ir. Jiowman, the preacher in cliarge of AN'aiTcnton Circuit, came West fi'om North Carolina, and througli him, it U likelv, a controvensial pami)ldet on those subjects by Rev. Peter Doub of that State fell into tiu; hands of Marvin. It consisted of a series of discourses oriuinallv delivered in the Methodist i)ulpit at Raleigh, N. C. After long years the young discii)le of Warrent(m Circuit appeared in the same pulpit as one of the Bishops of the Methodist Church, and subsequently, on the platform at the Centeimial celebration of North Carolina Methodism. In one of the addresses on that occasion the rest of the storv is told, thus : I*ossi])lv it was a pamphlet containing i);irt or all of these sermons of Dr. Doub that accomi)lished Avhat I will now state. Out in Missouri, a niiniher of years ago, a young man, the sou of a i)i()us r)a[)tist lady, attended a Methodist meeting and was convicted and converted. lb' very soon Ixname sensil)le that it was his duly to be a herald of the Cross. He loved those who had been instrumental in his conversion, and was inclined to tlu^ ^lethodists ; but he had serious doubts abont l)a[)tism. The Methodist Circuit-rider })laced in his hands a pamphlet l)y Peter Doni), on r)a[)tism and Communion. The young man has grown much older. He was in Xoi'th Carolina last yejir and made this statement (he is on the platform to- niirht.and hears the statement repejiled ) : '* I did not know who l^cter Doub was. 1 had never heard of him l)efore. HIS CONVERSION. 69 But that pamphlet forever settled my doubts ou that (jues- tion, and I have never had any since." That young man is now our beloved BisJiop, E. M. Marvin. Bishop INIarvin joined the Church as a seeker of religion. He was led to the altar, it is said, by his brother, Nathaniel, who performed for him the service of Andrew to Peter. He was a stranger at that Camp-ground, and, then, a boy only about fourteen vears old. The event, no doubt, was little noticed at the time, though it was the beginning of a Christian life and of an apostolical ministry. The history is in confirmation of the wisdom and value of that peculiarity of Methodism, which extends the pastoral care of the Church over the desire of salvation when first born, and in its first and feeblest motions affords helps, then, when they are most needed. In this respect, and in others which the reader will observe, there is a parallel illustrative history in the religious life of Bishop Morris, in the following narra- tive written bv his own hand : I had fully and firraly intended that day to stay in class-raeetins; and there join. Sermon ended, Mr. Brown said : " Having to preach elsewhere to-day, there is not time for class-meeting; but, as this ismy last day here, before we close I feel it my duty to open the door of the society for any who may wish to join," and began to sing: "Jesus, my all. to heaven is gone!" It was a cold, dull time then; no one had joined for a year and a half. I was not familiar with their usages, but seeing Robert Casebault, the class- leader, I asked him could I join now? "Certainly; all you have to do is to go forward and give your hand to the pieacher; " which I did, to the astonishment of all present. Now, suppose a man lost in the forest three days, witliout food or shelter, and never expected to see home or f liends again, but suddenly finds himself at home and among his friends, and you can form a just idea of my feelings that day. And I have felt at home with the Methodists ever since. Still I was not saved, was only a penitent seeker of salvation, and as such resolved to leave no means untried. Introducing Miller's Infant Baptism, Bishop Marvin wrote : There are two extreme views with respect to the Church, each of which is false and mischievous. In one view, the Church has official cus- tody of the grace of God, which it dispenses by authority, through sacra- mental channels of communication. In the other, the Church is made no- 70 BISHOP MARVIN. tliiiiEC of, or next to nothini;. ronnoftion with it is liold to bo of little or no value. Its ordinances and nicaus of grace are slighted as nothing wortli. It is tnif, l)eyoiid all (jiiestlon, that a man's relations -with his Maker are to be determined by himself. lie nmst come to God in his own person. In tlie vital process of repentance and faith, and in the mystery of the New liirth, no proxy can be employed. Yet it is also true that God has ordained in the Chnrch many elliclent aids, many means of grace, through which the earnest penitent, and the more advanced believer, are alike strengthened and hclpfd lurward in the Christian race. The fellowship of saints and the ordinances of religion in