I
 

 
 A VOICE 
 
 FROM THE PARSONAGE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 LIFE IN THE MINISTRY. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 EDWARDS A. PARK, D. D., 
 
 ABBOT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY THEOL. SEM., ANDOVER. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED BY S. K. WHIPPLE AND COMPANY, 
 
 100 WASHINGTON STREET. 
 
 1854.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 5T1 
 BO-STOK
 
 SIDNEY B. MORSE, ESQ., 
 
 OF BOSTON, 
 
 For his varied expressions of friendship, rendered not only when a parish- 
 ioner, but subsequently to the sundering of the pastoral tie, when frequently 
 the motive to generosity is weakened, thereby evincing the power of sympathy 
 and liberality to produce sunshine and pleasure in a " Life in the Ministry," 
 and make " A Voice from the Parsonage " vocal with praise ; though in reli- 
 gious belief not in harmony, yet differing in the spirit of charity, 
 
 18 MOST RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 (3) 
 
 2064884
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 WHILST with the ministry of the sacred word in this land of 
 the Pilgrim Fathers are associated all the benefits which make 
 life happy, it is passing strange that the people often suffer 
 themselves to be deprived of any of the influences which this 
 blessed institution of Heaven is designed to impart. 
 
 Prominent among the ways in which these influences are im- 
 paired is the frequency of change in the pastoral office. The 
 causes that lead to such change are often the best evidence for 
 demonstrating that the people have not profited as they might 
 and ought to have done under those utterances of the word with 
 which they have become weary, and which they desire to have 
 cease that more welcome ministrations may be enjoyed. Whilst 
 these causes, which are many, are being nourished, as they fre- 
 quently are in some parishes for months and years, and in the 
 efforts which are put forth, after a pastorate has become vacated, 
 to obtain an incumbent suited to the sphere, it is evident the word 
 preached doth not profit ; for the seed which is scattered by the 
 1* (5)
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 sower doth not fall on susceptible soil, where it can bring forth 
 fruit, " some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold" 
 
 It is the design of the present work to aid in counteracting 
 this evil in our parishes, which has become truly great and for- 
 midable. By it, already, has spiritual famine been occasioned 
 in many a garden of the Lord ; and many a good husbandman, 
 placed there by the glorious Proprietor, has been driven from 
 his place, or has yielded to discouragement and despair, and 
 sought relief in some less exposed position. Except the remedy 
 for this evil, which is readily suggested by an enlightened and 
 tender conscience, be vigorously applied, it is not pleasant to re- 
 flect upon the consequences of its enlargement which may sur- 
 round our children and our children's children. Then it may 
 have dreadfully mai'red and disfigured the church of God, and 
 have made every form of infidelity victorious, and this land 
 which for the love of truth was sought after and obtained, and 
 which became a goodly land, where the gospel for centuries had 
 free course and was glorified have become a desolate land, 
 forsaken of God, and a place of idols and of every abomination. 
 
 Many months ago the plan and general features of this work 
 were conceived and drawn out, and before any other work, with 
 the slightest resemblance to it, was known. The author, there- 
 fore, feels that he is not an imitator of others. The same judg- 
 ment, too, it is thought, will be formed by the reader, as it will 
 be perceived that the general train of thought prevalent in the 
 succeeding pages is upon subjects which are not imbodied in any 
 other work.
 
 PREFACE. 7 
 
 Because a conversational, and not a didactic style has been 
 employed it need not be supposed that the present work is a fic- 
 titious narrative, without the authority of facts and truth. Had 
 it not been for facts the necessity of the work would not have 
 been suggested nor would it have been undertaken. It is pre- 
 sumed that every reader who has had acquaintance with the 
 course of events relating to pastors and churches for the last 
 quarter of a century can readily call to mind cases correspond- 
 ing to those which are brought to view in the present volume ; 
 and other readers, who may not have been particularly conver- 
 sant or concerned with the history of American and New Eng- 
 land churches within this period, will find it to be no difficult 
 task, when the mind is addressed to the investigation, to gather 
 a multitude of facts of as exciting a character as any which are 
 disclosed in this work. The author feels that nothing but the 
 truth is here presented, and that it is important that every lover 
 of Zion feel such truth, and be incited by it to those efforts 
 which a knowledge of this truth must suggest as being absolutely 
 demanded, both that the fulness and richness of the ministry of 
 the word may be enjoyed and the prosperity and stability of the 
 churches may be advanced. 
 
 Should the pastors of our churches and those their friends of 
 Zion who have long mourned over the evils which are in this 
 volume portrayed take an especial interest in its circulation and 
 commend the work to public attention in their respective localities, 
 it is thought they would soon have evidence that they had been 
 doing an important work for their own particular Zion and for
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 the completeness and permanency of their own particular min- 
 istry. 
 
 If in any degree the present volume shall contribute to the 
 accomplishment of these objects, the design of its mission will 
 be fulfilled; and that it may, is the author's most fervent 
 prayer.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAG 
 
 ORDINATION 13 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 MARRIAGE AND COMMENCEMENT OF HOUSEKEEPING, . . 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HARMONIOUS STATE OF THE PARISH AND PECULIAR INTEREST 
 
 IN THE PASTOR, ... 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 CROOKED STICK, 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OF PRAYER 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE PASTOR A SOUND THEOLOGIAN AND DILIGENT STUDENT, 77 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OF BENEVOLENT EFFORTS, . . 88 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PASTOR'S ACKNOWLEDGED CARE OF THE YOUNG. IN- 
 TEREST IN THE AGED AND THE IGNOBLE, . *. , . 98 
 
 (9)
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE PASTOE A REVIVAL PREACHER, . 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 VISIT OF A CONNECTICUT PASTOR, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 AvDESTITUTE PARISH, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 MISS BEMIS, 152 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT, 102 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL, 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 AN INCIDENT AT AN ASSOCIATION, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 AN EVENING IN BOSTON, .... 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 BROTHER'S TROUBLE, 
 
 CHAPTER XVILT. 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE, 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTORAL TAX, . . . 221 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 THE PASTOR'S WIFE, 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT, .
 
 CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE REQUEST, 
 
 CHAPTER XXIH. 
 A MODEL PARISH, 264 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 THE LETTER, . 278 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 THE DIFFERENCE, ....... 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP, . . 296 
 
 4 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT, ... .... 309 
 
 CHAPTER XXVLTI. 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL, .... 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 THE OTHER STORE 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH, 340 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 THE DEACON'S SON, . . ' 350 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 A DONATION PARTY 36! 
 
 CHAPTER XXXILT. 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN, 373 
 
 CHAPTER XXXTV. 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE . . ; 384
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 THE PASTOR'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DEACON 411 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 REQUEST FOR A DISMISSION, 418 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVni. 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL, 430 
 
 CHAPTER 
 THE EX-PASTOR "
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 THE object of the work which this brief essay introduces to 
 the public must be regarded, not by the Christian only, but by 
 the mere philanthropist likewise, as one of serious moment. The 
 book is designed to awaken the sympathies of men in behalf of a 
 profession, the members of which render to the world a laborious 
 service, and receive from the world a comparatively meagre re- 
 ward. In furtherance of this design, it cannot be amiss to offer 
 here a few words on the influence of the Christian ministry. 
 
 It may be said that every office and every art have an influence 
 over men ; and therefore the power exerted by a preacher and 
 pastor is no very distinctive or peculiar argument in his favor. 
 The genius of Robert Hall received no inconsiderable aid from 
 the conversation of a tailor ; and perhaps that conversation pro- 
 duced effects which no finite mind can comprehend. A single 
 leaf from Boston's Fourfold State, found and perused by an indi- 
 vidual in Virginia, led to the small gathering at Morris's Read- 
 ing House, and to the preaching of Robinson in that house, and 
 to the assistance of Samuel Davies in his education for the min- 
 istry, and to the subsequent employment of that "prince of 
 preachers " in the vicinity of that same reading house, and to the 
 long-continued results of his labors in the region which was first 
 enlightened by a leaf from the Fourfold State. It has become a 
 proverb, that vast influences result from apparently trivial events ; 
 but, from the circumstance that all things are important in their 
 operation upon society, it were singular to infer that the Christian 
 a (i)
 
 11 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 ministry is not important. The agency of many causes is, in the 
 common language, accidental ; that of the pulpit is the uniform 
 operation of known laws. It is a prominent agency, attended 
 with consequences eminently far-reaching. It is more direct, 
 more uniform, more radical than other causes in meliorating the 
 state of man. True, the influence of the preacher is not always 
 tangible. He founds no cities which are called after his name ; 
 there is no pillar like Trajan's, no Coliseum, no Simplon, to re- 
 main as a specimen of his skill. Such effects may be, indeed, 
 produced indirectly and ultimately by the minister ; but, in gen- 
 eral, what is stately and imposing, filling the eye of the million, and 
 fit to be celebrated with bonfires and illuminations, is not the imme- 
 diate result of his labors. His direct influence is refined and in- 
 ward. It is upon the soul, is felt oftener than honored, but is cer- 
 tainly none the less sublime because of its intangible value. Not 
 seldom is it' too modest to be even discovered, or to be described, 
 save by negations. That bad men are no worse, rather than that 
 good men are so good, that moral evil stops where it does, 
 rather than that goodness prevails and triumphs, is often the 
 chief praise of the clergyman's usefulness. The father of our 
 country displayed his generalship not so much in his victorious 
 onset upon the hostile invaders as in preventing their depreda- 
 tions upon him ; and sometimes a spiritual shepherd has had no 
 success in aggressive movements, but his great and only honor is 
 to have guarded his flock from the wolves, and to say, " Those 
 that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost." We 
 wrong the good man's ministry when we disparage it for its want 
 of positive acquisitions. Bad as his people are, no one can tell 
 how useful he has been in preventing them from becoming worse. 
 The great parade they make of indifference to his teaching is 
 often an attempt to hide their real alarm, and they are restive 
 against him because they are held in by the curb. The bravado 
 of wicked men is often a eulogium upon their minister, and their 
 ostentation of sin comes from their very fear of doing Avhat they 
 boast to have done, and from an unwillingness to let any one 
 know how much they dread the reproofs of the pulpit.
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Hi 
 
 The preacher has an influence upon the intellect of his people. 
 He presents to it the most enlivening and enlarging thoughts ; 
 and nothing takes so deep a hold of the reasoning powers as the 
 series of proofs which he may enforce. The mind is invigorated 
 by grappling with the objections that have been urged against 
 the omniscience and omnipresence of God, the responsibility of 
 man, the whole scheme of moral government. A sermon, if it 
 be in good faith a sermon, reaches the very elements of the soul, 
 and stirs up its hidden energies ; for such a sermon is a message 
 from God ; is pregnant with what the mind is made for the 
 solemn realities of eternity ; is prolific, if need be, in stern and 
 skilful argument ; holds out a rich reward to man's desire of mental 
 progress ; and allures, as well as urges, to an intense love of study. 
 It is a book of mental discipline to its hearers, and its author is 
 a schoolmaster for children of a larger growth. A late professor 
 in one of our universities, who has been famed throughout the 
 land for his effective eloquence at the bar and on the floor of Con- 
 gress, says that he first learned how to reason while hearing the 
 sermons of a New England pastor, who began to preach before 
 he had studied a single treatise on style or speaking ; and two 
 or three erudite jurists, who dislike the theological 'opinions of 
 this divine, have recommended his sermons to law students as 
 models of logical argument, and affording a kind of gymnastic 
 exercise to the mind. It is thus that one of the most modest of 
 men, while writing his plain sermons, was exerting a prospective 
 influence over our civil and judicial tribunals. The pulpit of a 
 country village was preparing speeches for the Congress of the 
 nation. The discourses and treatises of such divines as Chil- 
 lingworth and Butler have been often kept by lawyers and states- 
 men on the same shelf with Euclid and Lacroix. Patrick Henry 
 lived from his eleventh to his twenty-second year in the neigh- 
 borhood of Samuel Davies, and is said to have been stimulated 
 to his masterly efforts by the discourses of that thoughtful divine. 
 He often spoke of Davies in terms of enthusiastic praise, and 
 resembled him in some characteristics of his eloquence. 
 
 Working as the preacher does upon the mental powers, he of
 
 IV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 course modifies the literary character of a people. Whitefield 
 made so little pretensioo to scholarship that men often smile when 
 he is called the pioneer of a great improvement in the literature 
 of Britain. They overlook the masculine and transforming 
 energy of the religious principle when stirred up, as it was, by 
 his preaching against the pride, and indulgences, and selfishness 
 of men. They forget that influence often works from the lower 
 classes upward, and that, when the mass of men become intel- 
 lectual, the higher orders must either become so or must yield 
 their supremacy. Whatever operates deeply on the soul of the 
 humblest mechanic will modify the character of popular litera- 
 ture. The sermons of a parish minister are the standard of 
 taste to many in his society ; his style is the model for their con- 
 versation and writing ; his provincial and outlandish terms they 
 adopt and circulate ; and his mode of thinking is imitated by the 
 school teacher and the mother, the merchant and the manufac- 
 turer. You can see the effects of his chaste or rude style in the 
 language of the ploughboy and the small talk of the nursery. 
 He has more frequent communion than other literary men with 
 the middle classes of the people, and through these his influence 
 extends to the higher and the lower. He is the guardian of the 
 language and the reading of the most sedate portions of society, 
 and in their families are trained the men of patient thought and 
 accurate scholarship. His influence on the popular vocabulary 
 is often overlooked, and is not always the same ; but he often 
 virtually stands at the parish gate to let in one book and keep out 
 another, to admit certain words and to exclude certain phrases, 
 and to introduce or discard barbarisms, solecisms, impropriety, 
 and looseness of speech. The sermons of Leighton, South, 
 Howe, Bates, Atterbury, and Paley show somewhat of the ex- 
 tent to which the literature of England is indebted to her priest- 
 hood. When Lord Chatham was asked the secret of his dig- 
 nified and eloquent style, he replied that he had read twice, from 
 beginning to end, Bailey's Dictionary, and had perused some of 
 Dr. Barrow's sermons so often that he had learned them by 
 heart.
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. V 
 
 By the influence which a minister's own mind receives from 
 his habit of sermonizing, and which he sends forth from the 
 pulpit and from the fireside, he often raises the standard of 
 scholarship, and excites the youth in his society to a course of 
 liberal education. Very much through the instrumentality of a 
 single clergyman, living in a retired part of Massachusetts, 
 thirty young men of his parish were trained for professional life. 
 More than this number have gone to our colleges from a single 
 religious society in New Hampshire. The Rev. Moses Hallock, 
 of Plainfield, Massachusetts, prepared about a hundred youth for 
 college. Dr. Wood, of Boscawen, New Hampshire, prepared 
 the same number, and among them his two parishioners, Ezekiel 
 and Daniel Webster. A hundred and sixty-two young men were 
 educated by a plain pastor in the neighborhood of Boscawen, 
 and about thirty of them are members of the learned profes- 
 sions. Each of these clergymen will long live in his pupils, and 
 whatever may have been his own literary attainments, will pro- 
 duce, and has produced, a visible effect on the literary character 
 of multitudes. This effect was not, indeed, produced by sermons 
 altogether, but in some degree ; not merely by their direct in- 
 fluence upon the auditor, but also by their reflex operation upon 
 the preacher himself. His appropriate work inspires and pre- 
 pares him for subordinate literary labors. He cannot fitly 
 prepare his sermons, without feeling a stimulus to labor in the 
 cause of general education. From his habit of oral address he 
 derives a certain kind of directness and energy of thought and 
 expression, which qualify him for exerting an important influence 
 from the press. Had not Martin Luther been trained for and 
 in the pulpit, he had never been so forceful and popular in his 
 written essays. It was in no small degree by his sermons that 
 he woke up his own mind and that of his countrymen. The lit- 
 erature of Germany and of the world has been animated and 
 enriched by the results of his preaching. Who can estimate 
 the intellectual influence of the Bishop of Hippo upon his own 
 age, upon the Augustinian and other monastic orders of suc- 
 ceeding ages, upon John Calvin, and through him upon Switzer- 
 a*
 
 VI INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 land, and, by the intervention of John Knox, upon Scotland, 
 England, and America, upon Schleiermacher, and through him 
 upon Germany? It is not too much to say that Augustine 
 would never have wielded this power over the race had he not 
 been a preacher ; for his sacred calling stirred up the depths of 
 his soul, and gave him a strength and completeness of character 
 also a venerableness of name which a mere philosopher, 
 even one like Aristotle, can seldom, if ever, acquire. 
 
 The minister's influence is obvious upon the morals and busi- 
 ness of a people. He touches the main-spring of the political 
 machine, and its extremities are quickened. Waking up the in- 
 tellect, he stimulates to enterprise ; refining the taste, he throws 
 an air of neatness over the parish. He pleads for industry and 
 method, for honest dealing and temperate habits, for good 
 order in the family, and school, and state. He preaches from 
 that text which is the mother of friendship and thrift, " Study 
 to be quiet and to do your own business." * He infuses new vigor 
 into the counting room and new faithfulness over the farm. 
 Where the true preacher is at work, you will see the fruits of his 
 labor in even roads, and strong walls, and thriving arts, and a 
 wholesome police ; but where the doors of the meeting-house are 
 left unhinged, and the windows broken out, and the pulpit is 
 given up to swallows' nests and the pews to sheep, there you 
 will find a listless yeomanry and ragged farms, thin schools and 
 crowded bar-rooms. The history of a church is often the history 
 of a town ; when the one flourishes, the other feels its influence. 
 More than twenty parishes in New England might be mentioned, 
 where the settlement of a faithful pastor was the prelude to rapid 
 improvements in agriculture and trade, the style of building and 
 of dress, the complexion of politics and the whole cast of char 
 actcr. What one preacher does for a parish, thousands do for 
 the nation. To the complaint that the ministry is expensive, we 
 may reply in words like those of Dr. South : " The money given 
 for preaching must be given away ; if not for churches, then for 
 
 * 1 Thess. 4: 11.
 
 SSAY. vii 
 
 more jails ; if not for houses of prevention, then for new houses 
 of correction ; and it is as good economy to support religious 
 teachers as to support more watchmen and busier hangmen 
 to raise new whipping posts and pillories." Even the history of 
 the name clergyman illustrates the humane relations that subsist 
 between the ministerial office and the literature, the morals, the 
 penal code of the community. In the books of English law we 
 often read of criminals convicted with or without " the benefit of 
 clergy." This benefit was an exemption from the kind and degree 
 of punishment prescribed for lay offenders, and the exemption 
 was once extended to all criminals who could read and write. 
 Still it retained its instructive name, the benefit of clergy, 
 because nearly all who had any acquaintance with the rudi- 
 ments of education were clergymen, and an ability to read was 
 a legal sign of the sacred office. Hence clergy, scholars, and 
 clerks were convertible terms in the old English style, and clerk 
 is still the law term for a preacher of the gospel. When a man 
 was convicted of felony or manslaughter, he was " put to read in 
 a Latin book, of a Gothic, black character, and if the ordinary of 
 Newgate said, Legit ut chricus, i. e., he reads like a clerk, he 
 was only burned in the hand and set free ; otherwise he suffered 
 death for his crime." It is indeed a sad feature of past ages, 
 that the circumstance of having received a clerk's education 
 should have released an offender from the punishment which he 
 deserved. Still there is a pleasant meaning in the fact, that such 
 an education was supposed to be incompatible with the grossest 
 forms of sin, and that the term clergyman was regarded as sy- 
 nonymous with the terms learned and good. 
 
 But let us take higher ground. The preacher has been shown 
 to exert an influence upon the perceptions, the business, the 
 morals, and politics of a community. His great effect, how- 
 ever, is produced upon the religious character. We shall not be 
 suspected of implying that he transforms the heart without the 
 special interposition of the Holy Ghost ; and yet there is a sense 
 in which a dependent apostle may declare, " I have begotten you 
 through the Gospel." Although the soul is in its nature percip-
 
 Vlii INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 lent, yet, when it has been quickened by the supernatural grace 
 that often attends the instructions of the man of God, it exclaims, 
 " Whereas I was once blind, I now see." Although its very 
 essence is to feel and act, it may still be so much animated by 
 the divine power which is sometimes given to the preacher's 
 word as to confess, " I was dead, but am alive again, was buried 
 in sin, but am risen, and now walk in newness of life." Love 
 to God, penitence for transgression, faith in Christ, and the 
 specific virtues involved in these, are the noblest attainments 
 of the soul ; they are essential to the harmony between the 
 intellectual and the moral nature, and without them man can 
 never gain his appropriate honor and strength. But these are 
 the qualities which the minister aims to call forth, and which are 
 seldom manifested in the life of such as are not hearers of the 
 word. Pain, the evil which all men would avoid, and by the 
 fear of which they are hurried into the very courses which end 
 in what they dread, can be ultimately averted only by yielding 
 to persuasives like those of the preached Gospel. Happiness, 
 the first thing which man desires, and the love of which is 
 essential to him as a voluntary agent, can be ultimately attained 
 through the influence of such truth only as is declared from the 
 pulpit. Not his own happiness alone does the minister secure, 
 but that of his neighbor also ; not mere animal or intellectual 
 happiness, but spiritual ; not for a day or a life, but for eternity ; 
 not merely eternal, but eternally increasing. He procures this 
 inward, immortal, and ever-augmenting bliss for a soul that 
 would otherwise endure an inward and ever-increasing misery. 
 It is not one soul only that he benefits, nor two, nor twenty, but 
 perhaps a hundred ; and a hundred eternities, otherwise spent in 
 the darkness that no light cheers, are now spent in the paradise 
 of God. Of the hundred immortals thus transformed by the 
 instrumentality of a single preacher, who knows but some one 
 may be the means of interminable good to a hundred more ? 
 may be a Fuller, or a Payson, or a Harlan Page, or a Mrs. 
 Judson ? Is it not a moderate-calculation that a hundred faith- 
 ful disciples will exert an influence which God will bless to the
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. IX 
 
 spiritual welfare of at least two hundred of their fellow-men, 
 their kindred or friends, for whom they toil and pray, each one, 
 on an average, bringing two additional talents into the sacred treas- 
 ury ? And these two hundred Christians may impart as parents 
 are a means of imparting in a kind of legacy their religious 
 character to their children, and a thousand of their children's chil- 
 dren may lahor, each one in his own circle, for the renovation of 
 other souls. Each one in his own circle of friends ; and here 
 are a thousand different circles, and each member of each of 
 these circles has a separate band of his own associates, and the 
 influence thus branches out into a new sphere, and will continue 
 to widen and amplify, and to include still other multitudes. 
 
 It is well to reflect minutely on the manner in which influence 
 is propagated, filling one area after another, transmitted from a 
 few ancestors to a numerous posterity, and flowing on like a 
 stream, broader and deeper, till it becomes a mystery how such 
 great effects can result from a cause so limited. We should also 
 consider the new impressions which are often produced by the 
 minister's printed works long after his death. Many a clergy- 
 man never dies. If his name were forgotten, he would still be 
 producing effects of which he is not recognized as the author ; 
 but sometimes a clergyman like Chrysostom lives and preaches, 
 generation after generation, among a larger community of readers 
 than he ever orally addressed ; and in addition to the good that 
 flows from the multitude who were benefited by his life is a still 
 greater good, that is constantly springing up in minds conversant 
 with his posthumous sermons. He is still beginning to put hi 
 train systems of moral influence which are entirely distinct from 
 the systems originated upon the minds of his contemporaries, and 
 continued, by the natural laws of transmission and expansion, 
 from one age to another of their posterity. 
 
 It were easy to fill a volume with illustrations of the wide- 
 spread and long-continued results flowing from the life and the 
 words of a Christian minister not merely the eloquent and 
 the eminent divine, but the humblest pastor of the obscurest 
 hamlet. But this essay must needs be limited to a few pages,
 
 X INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 and has perhaps already suggested some hint which may prompt 
 the reader to peruse the following pages, designed as they are to 
 secure a more cordial sympathy with the man who labors for the 
 education of his race , in the noblest of all sciences, and for the 
 preparation of the soul for the highest and the purest of all 
 rewards. 
 
 EDWARDS A. PARK. 
 ANDOVER, July 13, 1854.
 
 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORDINATION. 
 
 FROM one of the beautiful towns of New England two 
 sons and brothers went forth together, soon after attain- 
 ing their majority, to enter on the active duties of life in 
 the State of Virginia. These sons, by their mother, de- 
 scended from one of those distinguished clergymen of 
 which -their native state has furnished so many, who during 
 a long life was the minister of the town and parish. Their 
 mother was the daughter of a highly respectable and af- 
 fluent merchant of the place, and was greatly distinguished 
 by the beauty of her person, the refinement of her man- 
 ners, the intelligence of her mind, and the fervor of her 
 piety. Their father was of Connecticut origin, but left 
 the place of his nativity when a young man, and entered 
 on mercantile pursuits in the town where they were born. 
 He, too, was a gentleman of considerable education, was 
 possessed of what is popularly called strong common 
 sense, and was long confided in by the community as a 
 man whose example it were safe to follow and whose 
 opinions it were unwise to disregard. Such being the 
 character of the parents, it is easy to infer the influences 
 which would control the education of the children. It is 
 therefore sufficient to remark that they were nurtured in
 
 14 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the fear of God, and with continued supplication at hig 
 gracious throne that they might each be beacon lights in 
 the community to guide and persuade all around into ways 
 of virtue, philanthropy, and general usefulness. Although 
 it was the happiness of Squire and Mrs. Davidson to see 
 some of their children exhibit the blessed fruits of the in- 
 fluences which they so sedulously employed in their ed- 
 ucation, they were not all developed in the sons Charles 
 and Edmund, of whom the reader is now being informed, 
 in the period of their history to which this chapter relates. 
 Having been conversant with fashionable life, for no 
 circle was higher than that in which their family moved, 
 and having always known the blessings of affluence, 
 their buoyant spirits had not yet been mellowed by the 
 genial influences of piety. Whilst their parents prized 
 them for their general dutifulness and saw no tendency to 
 disreputable life, they had many seasons of grief because 
 their God was not the God of these their sons. Nor were 
 ^hey strongly averse to all the influences- of religion, nor 
 "extremely restive when these influences were tightly in- 
 twined around them ; but the mother, when every feature 
 of her face was serious and earnest, as she strove with 
 them to pursue things eternal rather than what were 
 earthly, often found it extremely difficult to prevent her 
 pleasant eye from being in sympathy with her lips as 
 something more than a smile was seen there at play, whilst 
 some unlooked-for pleasantry escaped from them. 
 
 From the character the mother had given them of their 
 grandfather, before alluded to, as well as from the friend- 
 ly relations subsisting between their parents and many of 
 the clergy, and from the position their father occupied in 
 the parish as one of the principal men, if not the leading 
 character, therein, all their children were sensitive to every 
 thing pertaining to the prosperity of the church. 
 
 At the period when the ordination we are now de-
 
 ORDINATION. IS 
 
 scribing was to occur in their native town, Charles and 
 Edmund had been residents of Virginia about twelve 
 years, and had made but one visit to the home of their 
 childhood and youth. Each had married and become a 
 parent, and both had prospered in business ; and Charles, 
 by his marriage, had become exceedingly affluent. One 
 day in the month of April, as he was sitting at dinner in 
 his splendid mansion, he remarked to his wife, 
 
 " My dear, I have had a letter from mother to-day ; and, 
 among other things, she informs me they are to have an 
 ordination there on the 10th of June." 
 
 " Ordination ! " said a little boy of some eight years, as 
 he turned his sparkling blue eyes in surprise on his father. 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " Well, Arthur," replied the father, " if your grandmoth- 
 er Davidson were here I rather think she would be sur- 
 prised at your question, and would think that I had not 
 endeavored to make you familiar with scenes in New- 
 England which are ever regarded with the greatest 
 interest." 
 
 " I think not, husband," remarked the wife. " I think 
 her candor would incline her to make allowance for differ- 
 ence in circumstances. She would not be surprised at 
 Arthur's question ; for you know our worship is different 
 from hers, and ordination among Episcopalians is not a 
 very common service only in the parish where the bishop 
 resides. I do not think Arthur's question a very surpris- 
 ing one." 
 
 " Papa," said little Arthur, impatient at the digression 
 which had retarded the answer to his question, "what is 
 ordination ? " 
 
 " Well, now, my son," the father said, as he put his arm 
 around the neck of Arthur, " I will tell you. Ordination 
 is making a minister." 
 
 "Minister! What is that ?"
 
 16 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 At this question both Mr. and Mrs. Davidson 
 nearly convulsed with laughter, which almost bewildered 
 poor Arthur, who ' was far from thinking of provoking 
 even- a smile. As soon as the father had recovered him- 
 self sufficiently to speak, he remarked, 
 
 " My dear, if mother were here now I rather think she 
 would conclude there was no Puritanism in this quarter, 
 and that I had abjured the faith." 
 
 " I really thought," said Mrs. Davidson, " that Arthur 
 knew what a minister is ; for you know how many times 
 we read of the minister in the prayer book." 
 
 " I rather guess," said Mr. Davidson, " the boy don't 
 read the prayer book much." 
 
 " Well, he hears from it almost every Sunday at church," 
 Mrs. Davidson replied. 
 
 " But you know, my dear, there is not any thing said at 
 church about the minister. What is in the prayer book 
 is only direction to the minister to say or do thus and so. 
 Arthur knows what a minister is ; only he knows him 
 under another name. He seldom, if ever, hears Mr. 
 Crocker spoken of only as our rector, you know." 
 
 " Is Mr. Crocker a minister, papa ? " 
 
 " Yes, my son ; Mr. Crocker is a minister. We call 
 him rector because we are all of us in this region Episco- 
 palians. Where I was born there are a few Episcopa- 
 lians. The great majority of the people are Methodists, 
 Congregationalists, or Baptists ; and they call their preach- 
 ers, when settled, pastors, or ministers." 
 
 " I think you said, papa, ordination meant making a 
 minister. I should not think that that was any great 
 affair." 
 
 " It is, Arthur, in New- England," said the father. 
 " When they ordain a minister where grandpa Davidson 
 lives it is a great day. Much more do they make of it 
 than we do of our Christmas."
 
 ORDINATION. IT 
 
 " " Is it any like Christmas, papa ? 0, I like Christmas ; 
 for then we see our friends and have all the good things 
 to eat. 0, I like Christmas ; I wish it was all the time." 
 
 " I have been thinking, my dear, since I received moth- 
 er's letter, that perhaps we had better conclude to make 
 our visit at the north this season instead of the next. I 
 should really like to be at home when they have their or- 
 dination. If you approve, I think we will go on, and take 
 Louisa and Arthur with us." 
 
 " Yes, papa, that is good ; do go. I want to go." 
 
 " I rather think,?' said the father, " if you go, I shall be 
 under the necessity of giving you a little instruction to 
 prepare you to meet grandpa and grandma Davidson. I 
 must get some Puritanism in you to have you of good 
 savor with them." 
 
 It was finally concluded by both Mr. and Mrs. David- 
 son that they would visit New England and be present at 
 the ordination in the town where he had passed his early 
 life. Accordingly, about the middle of May they set out 
 on their long journey, and arrived at the paternal mansion 
 on the Monday preceding the ordination. As no intima- 
 tion had been given of the intended visit, it may easily be 
 imagined what was the surprise depicted on every coun- 
 tenance as young Davidson unceremoniously opened the 
 sitting-room door, that opened from the hall into which he 
 and his wife and children had silently entered. 
 
 " Charles Charles Davidson! " exclaimed his mother, 
 as she let fall the cup of tea which was half raised to her 
 lips, " is that you ? " instantly rising from the table where 
 the family were at tea. 
 
 " Why, Charles ! " burst forth from the squire, letting 
 his knife suddenly fall on his plate, " how you surprise 
 us ! " and, following the example of his wife, left his seat 
 to grasp the hands of his children. 
 
 " And you, Ann," turning from Charles to his wife, said 
 2* ft.
 
 18 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the mother, " how do you do ? and, Louisa and Arthur, 
 how are you ? " as she rapidly seized their hands and im- 
 printed on their faces a succession of kisses and various- 
 ly expressed her surprise and joy. 
 
 As soon as Squire and Mrs. Davidson had given vent to 
 their feelings and had relaxed their grasp of the hands of 
 their visitors, the other members of the family had oppor- 
 tunity of testitying their love and joy to the brother and 
 sister and nephew and niece. Among these was an aunt 
 of Charles, the sister of his father, ever regarded by all 
 the children of the squire with the greatest affection and 
 respect. Being now greatly enfeebled by age and dis- 
 ease, she slowly approached the group, manifesting her 
 great interest in the new comers by many expressions of 
 tenderness and love. 
 
 " "Well, Charles," concluded aunt Sarah, after having 
 given her first salutations, " you will be here now at our 
 ordination, Wednesday." 
 
 "Yes, aunt," said Charles ; " that is what excited the 
 idea of this visit, I confess. I did not think of coming on 
 this season until I received mother's letter in April last, in 
 which she informed me you were to have an ordination 
 here." 
 
 " Why," exclaimed the squire, " did you not inform us 
 you were coining in the letter I received from you two 
 weeks since, when you were at Baltimore ? I did not 
 dream you were then on your way here. I thought you 
 were there on business, and had your family with you vis- 
 iting their relatives." 
 
 " I thought, father, I would not excite expectation ; and, 
 moreover, I pictured to myself the very scene which has 
 been enacted here this evening, and I thought I should en- 
 joy very much the surprise which has been manifested 
 since our arrival." 
 
 " Well," said aunt Sarah, " Charles is Charles yet.
 
 ORDINATION. 19 
 
 When he was a boy there was no calculating on his 
 capers." 
 
 " There was no great criminality attending my boyish 
 capers, was there, aunt Sarah ? " 
 
 " 0, no," aunt Sarah replied. " They were so different 
 from other boys' that I was never exactly prepared for 
 them." 
 
 The evening wore away while the whole family group 
 were busy in conversation on various subjects connected 
 with home scenes, and it was rather a late hour before re- 
 sort was had to slumber. 
 
 The next morning at the breakfast table, the conversa- 
 tion turning upon the important event that was to trans- 
 pire on the ensuing day, Charles asked of his father who 
 and what kind of a man was to be ordained. 
 
 " He is from the State of Vermont," the squire replied ; 
 "and his name is Mr. Eldridge. He was educated at 
 Yale College, and pursued his theological studies at An- 
 dover. I believe he is twenty-nine years of age, and comes 
 recommended by the professors as a young gentleman of 
 high talents, extensive acquirements, and ardent piety. 
 He has been preaching here about four months ; and I 
 must say I never heard many better sermons from a young 
 man, or sermons better delivered from any man." 
 
 "That is saying considerable, father," Charles observed ; 
 "for few individuals have seen more of ministers than 
 yourself, or have heard more preach." 
 
 " Well, I acknowledge," returned the squire, " I am very 
 much carried away with Mr. Eldridge, and am very happy 
 that he is to be our minister." 
 
 " How is he out of the pulpit ? " asked Charles. 
 
 " 0, he is very sociable and dignified, and interests the 
 entire family he visits." 
 
 " Is he married ? " asked Ann of Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " No, not yet," was the answer.
 
 20 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "He is engaged, then, is he not?" 
 
 " Yes," said the squire ; " he is engaged ; and I am 
 glad of it." 
 
 " Why are you glad ? " Ann inquired. 
 
 " Because, if he were not engage'd, all the young ladies 
 in the parish would be thinking of their own prospects for 
 the prize, and there might be a door opened for trouble," 
 replied the squire, as he turned a significant look at his 
 youngest daughter, a young lady of nineteen years, who 
 sat at the table. 
 
 Breakfast being over, and family worship having been 
 observed, Mrs. Davidson excused herself from the circle 
 by remarking, her domestic cares at this particular time 
 demanded her attention in another part of the house. As 
 she left the room Arthur followed her, and soon found 
 himself in the kitchen. Here he saw many things which 
 reminded him of home and of that particular season of 
 the year before alluded to as bringing him many sources 
 of happiness. As he saw what was going on in the prep- 
 aration of pies, cake, <fcc., he burst out, saying, 
 
 " Grandma, this makes me think of our Christmas ; but 
 it is not exactly like it here," looking about and eying 
 two female domestics busily at work. 
 
 " Why is it not exactly like it, my dear ? " asked the 
 grandmother. 
 
 Looking up, as if he wished to reply in a whisper, which 
 brought down the ear" of Mrs. Davidson to Arthur's head, 
 he said, 
 
 " We don't have whit%people to do our work, grandma ; 
 we have black servants." 
 
 Mrs. Davidson pleasantly remarked, 
 
 " Yes, Arthur, I know you have black servants at the 
 south ; but I don't care about having such here." 
 
 " Why not, grandma ? " inquired Arthur. 
 
 Mrs. Davidson went on and told her grandson many
 
 OKDINATION. 21 
 
 reasons for not wishing the labor of slaves ; which only 
 drew from Arthur the general reply, that his father's ser- 
 vants were not treated in the manner described, but art- 
 lessly said he knew of some masters and mistresses on the 
 plantations in the district where he lived who did treat 
 their slaves pretty much as grandma had said. 
 
 Arthur, having sufficiently satisfied his curiosity in the 
 kitchen, went out of the back door into the yard in quest 
 of other objects of amusement on the premises. 
 
 As the family were sitting in the parlor after dinner, 
 engaged in social chat on various matters, the hall door 
 was opened, and Mr. Eldridge, the pastor elect, was an- 
 nounced. After being received by the squire and his 
 lady with great cordiality and introduced to their chil- 
 dren from the south, they all sat together interchanging 
 remarks on different subjects for a considerable time. It 
 was evident to the spectator that both Charles and his 
 wife were very warmly interested in the appearance and 
 conversation of Mr. Eldridge, which they unmistakably 
 evinced in the earnestness with which they seconded the 
 invitation of the squire, that he would prolong his visit, 
 when he arose to leave, and favor them with further pleas- 
 ure from his society by stopping to tea. But the morrow 
 being ordination day, all saw the propriety of his reasons 
 for being in undisturbed meditation during the evening ; 
 and he withdrew. The door had scarcely closed after 
 him as he passed into the hall before Charles exclaimed, 
 
 " What a wonderful young man that Mr. Eldridge is ! 
 How easy and graceful his manners ! how at home he is on 
 almost every subject! and withal how he makes prominent, 
 and without any ostentation too, the minister 1 I declare, 
 I wish we had him at the south." 
 
 " Well," the squire remarked, " he makes the same im- 
 pression almost every where." 
 
 " What an eye he has ! what a pleasant voice ! I dare 
 say he is an orator," continued Charles.
 
 22 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 So much enraptured was Charles with Mr. Eldridge 
 that it was difficult for him, during the entire evening, to 
 avoid introducing his name and manifesting his pleasing 
 impressions in regard to him. He was almost impatient 
 for the ensuing morning, that he might have an opportu- 
 nity of seeing him in circumstances which would, if any 
 circumstances could, draw out the whole man. 
 
 The morrow came, and it was one of June's most lovely 
 days. Nature around seemed to smile auspiciously on the 
 scenes in prospect ; and gratefully were the hearts in the 
 household of Squire Davidson impressed towards the gra- 
 cious Author of the seasons for furnishing such a day for 
 such a purpose. All were in readiness for breakfast at an 
 earlier hour than usual, to be prepared for the council 
 which was to assemble in the noble mansion at half past 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 As many individuals in the parish had friends abroad 
 who were strong in their attachments to their respective 
 pastors, and, by reason of this strong attachment, had been 
 brought thither for relaxation and health, and had made 
 deep impressions on the people in the parish, it was there- 
 fore natural that such should be invited on the council ; 
 and for this reason was this body unusually large, as com- 
 mon usage required the extension of an invitation to the 
 adjacent churches. The council, at the appointed hour, 
 was organized, and the great business of its assembly at 
 the mansion at once commenced ; viz., the examination of 
 the candidate. The moderator proposed leading questions 
 on the fundamental doctrines of Scripture, which were 
 promptly and most intelligently answered. There was 
 such fulness of reply and such nicety of discrimination, 
 that, when the examination became general and each mem- 
 ber of the council had the privilege to interrogate, all 
 were eager to propose questions, not so much for satisfy- 
 ing themselves of the fitness of the candidate for the great
 
 ORDINATION. 23 
 
 work before him as to refresh their own minds with many 
 a train of pleasing reflection on different truths of revela- 
 tion, which his replies gave them the fullest opportunity 
 for doing. When the examination touched on the re- 
 ligious character of the young man, his personal experi- 
 ence of the power of those great truths he designed to 
 preach, his views in entering on the onerous work of 
 the ministry, it came out to the satisfaction of every mind 
 that he had felt the plague of sin in his own bosom, and 
 that, for the love he bore the great Deliverer of the sinner, 
 he wished most ardently to be instrumental in glorifying 
 him, in beseeching his fellow-men, in his stead, to be 
 reconciled to God. It appeared that no earthly rewards 
 had influenced him in the choice of his profession, and that 
 his only motive seemed to be, to aid in the salvation of 
 his fellow-sinners. He seemed to be happy in his pros- 
 pects of usefulness in the field where he had been called 
 to labor, and, by more than one remark, left the impression 
 on those who heard him that he expected to live and die 
 among the people of his first love. 
 
 The examination closed with the warm and unanimous 
 decision of the council to go forward and set him apart 
 as the minister of the church and pastor of the people. 
 
 Whilst the council was engaged in the preliminary work 
 of the day, little Arthur was busy at one of the windows 
 watching the carriages which passed his grandfather's 
 house in thick succession towards the church where tho 
 public services were to take place. So great was their 
 number that he declared he never saw so many horses be- 
 fore in all his life ; and he wondered where the people 
 came from who were being conveyed by them. 
 
 When the council had adjourned to the church, to en- 
 gage in ordination services, Arthur was wide awake 
 in his movements over the house, and was particularly at- 
 tentive to the kitchen ; for here he saw very much more
 
 24 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 of " merry Christmas " than on the preceding day. As 
 the council was to dine at his grandfather's, the note of 
 preparation was neither low nor slow ; and it was a matter 
 of no small wonderment to him what was to become of all 
 the puddings he saw, as well as of the chickens, turkeys, 
 &c. He thought ordination day was far before his Christ- 
 mas ; and frequently wished he could live here in New Eng- 
 land, that he might enjoy many such days. 
 
 A little after two o'clock the noise of carriages began 
 again to be heard ; for the great event had passed, and 
 the people were dispersing for dinner. Little Arthur was 
 there at the windows and doors, highly excited at the 
 velocity with which carriage after carriage was drawn 
 along the road. Whilst he was thus engaged he turned 
 to aunt Sarah, who was sitting by, and inquired if all the 
 people who passed along lived in town. 
 
 " 0, no," she replied ; " not a quarter of them." 
 
 " Will they all go home to dinner? " 
 
 " I presume not," aunt Sarah said. 
 
 " Where will they get their dirfner, then, aunt Sarah ? " 
 
 " 0, they will get it at their friends', who live in the 
 parish. Every house will have more or less of them ; for 
 all the people are expecting company to-day." 
 
 " Well, they'll have a good time of it, won't they, aunt 
 Sarah?" 
 
 At this juncture those who were to dine at Squire Da- 
 vidson's began to enter the house ; and soon three large 
 rooms, with extended tables spread therein, had a numer- 
 ous company of guests busily at work on what little Ar- 
 thur had seen in the kitchen in the morning. Whilst thus 
 attending to their bodily wants there was no lack of intel- 
 lectual activity ; for remark was frequently heard from 
 different parts of the tables upon the various performances 
 at the church which the people had so lately left. The 
 company seemed to be of one mind as to the high order
 
 ORDINATION. 25 
 
 of talent which these varied services brought forth, as well 
 as to their peculiar appropriateness and solemnity. So 
 much impressed were they with their rich excellence, that, 
 for upwards of an hour after the tables had well minis- 
 tered to their necessities of body, they continued their 
 conversation upon what they had heard and upon subjects 
 in illustration of the different truths which had been pre- 
 sented. 
 
 Then, sitting and standing a while in conversation on 
 other topics, the company began one after another to 
 leave ; and, before the sun went down, all but three clergy- 
 men had left, and the family of the squire was restored 
 almost to its usual quietude. 
 
 In the evening, the scenes of the day furnished the 
 themes of conversation in the family of the squire. 
 Whilst all were highly interested in the different parts of 
 the public services of the ordination, the prayers, the ser- 
 mon, charge, right hand of fellowship, it was evident that 
 what made the deepest impression was the manner in which 
 their new pastor acquitted himself at his examination in 
 the morning. From this it was argued that his usefulness 
 would not be small nor his reputation narrowly bounded, 
 and that all the parish might well rejoice that such an 
 ascension gift had thus been conferred as existed in the 
 Rev. Mr. Eldridge. 
 
 On the Sabbath following the ordination, the pastor 
 was very happy in the choice of subjects most appropriate 
 to the new relations which had been recently consummated. 
 It was most affecting to hear him speak of the responsi- 
 bility which attached to his duty of preaching and to the 
 duty of his people of hearing the word. It was evident 
 that he had large expectations of usefulness in his present 
 charge, and that it was his long and settled determination 
 to employ his various researches and attainments for the 
 -emporal and eternal good of those who might be commit- 
 3
 
 26 A VOICE FROM THE PABSONAGE. 
 
 i 
 
 ted to his spiritual care. It was evident, too, that t?io 
 new pastor contemplated his present field of labor as his 
 only charge, and that he relied for permanency and suc- 
 cess on the power of God, as such aid might be vouch- 
 safed in answer to 'his own and his people's earnest and 
 persevering supplication at the throne of grace. The 
 pastor was trustful to the promises of his Savior and to 
 the pledges of the people who had called him to labor in 
 the midst of them ; and, by reason of such trust, he re- 
 marked, in his morning discourse, he should lay broad his 
 plans for extensive. and permanent usefulness among them. 
 "I have not sought wealth as my portion, nor honor, nor 
 ease ; but the glory of Christ in the salvation of souls. 
 For nearly ten years have I been preparing for the great 
 and responsible work on which I have now entered, and 
 nearly two thousand dollars have I expended whilst mak- 
 ing -this preparation. And no w^ have I been sent hither to 
 make proof of my ministry to you ; and here by the grace 
 of God will I labor, relying on the good faith of the peo- 
 ple who have called me and on those promises of Jehovah 
 to his faithful servants which are neither few nor small." 
 As might be expected, his discourse, containing many 
 such paragraphs as the above, when speaking of the scrip- 
 tural duties of the pastor and people, made a deep impres- 
 sion on many a heart ; and it is fair to presume that from 
 more than one bosom went forth the prayer that the large 
 expectations of the pastor might be more than realized.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 MARRIAGE AND COMMENCEMENT OP HOUSEKEEPING. 
 
 ABOUT six weeks from his ordination Mr. Eldridge made 
 a visit at the house of Squire Davidson. After mingling 
 a while with the members of the family, who were sitting 
 together in the parlor, he signified to the squire a desire 
 to confer with him in private. Upon the compliance with 
 this request, after the two had withdrawn from the circle, 
 a wonderment on the part of the ladies was at once ex- 
 pressed of the object of the interview. Various causes 
 were conjectured. Mrs. Davidson thought there might be 
 a difficulty somewhere in the parish at which Mr. Eldridge 
 was disturbed ; for she well remembered the frequency 
 with which their late pastor had called and sought the ad- 
 Vice of her husband in private in relation to the troubles 
 which were thick about him. Aunt Sarah was not so 
 fearful. She did not believe any such reason had prompt- 
 ed the young pastor to seek an interview with her brother. 
 It was her opinion that he wished to disclose some plans 
 whereby his general usefulness in the parish might be 
 greatly augmented. She remarked, 
 
 " I always thought, if Mr. Eldridge should settle with 
 us, that he would devise some new ways for benefiting his 
 people, and yet would be cautious how he proceeded. I 
 rather guess he wanted to consult with brother in relation 
 to some of his plans." 
 
 C27)
 
 28 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Here Ann laughed aloud, and remarked, in apology for 
 her merriment, 
 
 " I always have heard that the Yankees were noted for 
 guessing. Since I have been in New England 1 have 
 heard the expression similar to the one aunt Sarah has 
 now used so often that it is difficult for me to restrain a 
 smile whenever it is repeated." 
 
 " Don't people guess any at the south ? " aunt Sarah 
 inquired. 
 
 " I presume they do," was the reply ; " but they do not 
 use the word guess as you use it here. I do not know 
 that I ever heard a southerner say, ' I guess so and so.' " 
 
 "No, aunty," Charles observed ; "we southerners don't 
 guess any." 
 
 " That's pretty well for you, husband," remarked Ann. 
 " I wonder what Mr. Carl ton would say if he were here." 
 
 " What would he say ? " Charles asked. 
 
 " You know, my dear, how much he enjoys himself over 
 your Yankee expressions, and especially when he hears 
 you say, 'I guess.'" 
 
 " Then they use the term reproachfully at the south ? " 
 aunt Sarah remarked. 
 
 " Not exactly so, aunt," Ann replied ; " but we always 
 know a Yankee before we have been in his society five 
 minutes, because the expression, ' I guess,' is sure to be 
 made within that period." 
 
 " Well," said Charles, " I would really like to know 
 what the minister wants of father. I wish he would come 
 in and favor us with his society." 
 
 Though many speculations were afloat in the circle in 
 relation to the interview of the pastor with the squire, yet 
 all failed to satisfy. There was therefore a general im- 
 patience for its termination, that relief to their anxiety 
 might be afforded by the lips of the squire himself. This 
 time did not quickly come ; nor till long after the usual
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 29 
 
 hour for tea was suspense removed by the presence of the 
 squire in the room from which he had been absent for up- 
 wards of three hours. 
 
 " What has closeted you all this afternoon with Mr. 
 Eldridge ? " was the quick inquiry of Mrs. Davidson of 
 her husband. 
 
 "Important business" was the reply gravely returned. 
 
 So sober was the utterance and manner of the squire 
 that Mrs. Davidson was certain of being the correct in- 
 terpreter of the reason of the interview, and she almost 
 tearfully asked what were the difficulties which were per- 
 plexing and trying the young pastor. 
 
 " His trouble is pretty great and serious, and " 
 
 " 0, what is it ? What is it ? What is his trouble ? " 
 asked four or five voices at once, thus preventing the 
 squire from completing the sentence. 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge wishes to be married and to go to house- 
 keeping, but he cannot find a house," the squire remarked. 
 
 On this reply, sighs, which before were heavy and nu- 
 merous, suddenly were exchanged for peals of laughter 
 which almost shook the room. 
 
 " You are too cruel, Mr. Davidson," said his wife, when 
 she was recovered from her laughing sufficiently to speak ; 
 " you are too cruel," she said, still smiling in tears. "How 
 could you act so when you saw how we all felt ? " 
 
 " You asked me, my dear, for the trouble which was 
 perplexing Mr. Eldridge ; and before I had time to give 
 an intelligent reply, which I was proceeding to do, you 
 all became so excited and were so loud in your inquiries 
 that I was somewhat embarrassed. Did I not explain as 
 soon as I had opportunity ? " 
 
 " But then you looked so sober, father," said Ann, " that 
 we could not feel otherwise than excited." 
 
 " Well," said the squire, "is not Mr. Eldridge in trouble ? 
 I think he is. I am sorry that you have so poor an opin- 
 
 a*
 
 30 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 ion of our people as to think that there were any parish 
 troubles for him thus early in his connection with us." 
 
 " You know, husband," Mrs. Davidson remarked, " how 
 often our late pastor used to come to see you about the 
 difficulties with him ; and it was natural for me to fear 
 that some such reason might have prompted the desire cf 
 Mr. Eldridge to see you in private ; and I said to the 
 children that I was apprehensive Mr. Eldridge had heard 
 something said to his disadvantage, and was somewhat dis- 
 turbed, and wished for your counsel." 
 
 " Well," said the squire, "my dear, you see the trouble 
 is not very formidable." 
 
 " O, yes," Mrs. Davidson replied ; "yes, yes. I think 
 such a trouble can easily be removed. He can have our 
 Allen house." 
 
 " How so ? " the squire asked. " Mr. Tucker has a 
 lease of it for two years, you know ; and it is not six 
 months since he moved into it. Well, that is the only 
 house near the church which will accommodate Mr. El- 
 dridge ; and that is the house he wants. He told me Dea- 
 con Smith suggested that I might arrange it with Mr. 
 Tucker so that he would vacate it and move to the new 
 house of ours on the Gray lot. I finally told Mr. Eldridge 
 I would see what could be done for him." 
 
 " How soon does he wish for a house ? " Ann inquired. 
 
 " Within two months," the squire replied. 
 
 " I suppose, father, you now know who the lady is to 
 whom Mr. Eldridge is to be married," Frances said, the 
 squire's youngest daughter, alluded to in the previous 
 chapter. 
 
 " Yes, my daughter ; it is no longer a secret. He told 
 me her name and all about her, and gave me permission to 
 use my knowledge at my discretion. She is the daughter 
 of a farmer in the State of New York by the name of 
 Whiting. She is twenty-two years old, and, Mr. Eldridgo
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 31 
 
 Rays, is well educated, of good sense, intelligent, and a 
 very devoted and active Christian." 
 
 " I presume she is a suitable companion for him," Mrs. 
 Davidson remarked, " or he would not have selected her." 
 
 " I hope she will be a suitable wife for the minister of 
 our parish," aunt Sarah said. " Our people are rather 
 particular, you know, about the wife of their minister." 
 
 " We shall soon see her, I hope," the squire observed. 
 " I shall go in the morning and see Mr. Tucker, to ascer- 
 tain if he will move." 
 
 " I presume he will," Frances remarked. " He is a very 
 accommodating and reasonable man, and thinks every 
 thing of.his pastor." 
 
 The next morning the squire called upon Mr. Tucker 
 and made known to him the situation of Mr. Eldridge, and 
 directly asked him if he would be the means of early in- 
 troducing Mrs. Eldridge to the parish. After a few mo- 
 ments' deliberation he expressed his readiness to move if 
 his wife would consent ; but suggested that he thought she 
 might not be disposed, as she was now well satisfied with 
 her house. The matter being laid^ before her by Mr. Tucker 
 and the squire, she at once manifested an unwillingness to 
 leave her present abode. However, after further consul- 
 tation and by a liberal offer' the squire made Mr. Tucker 
 if he would accommodate Mr. Eldridge with the house, 
 his wife finally yielded, and the Allen house would shortly 
 be vacated. The squire returned home and despatched a 
 note to his pastor, acquainting him with his success and 
 that he could occupy the wished-for house at his own con- 
 venience and pleasure. 
 
 In about six weeks from this period there might have 
 been seen new furniture carried into the Allen house, and 
 various other indications of an approaching important 
 event in the history of the new pastor. The Sabbath fol- 
 lowing these indications Mr. Eldridge was not in his
 
 32 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 pulpit, and his place was supplied by a stranger. Rumor 
 from a hundred tongues had it that the pastor had gone to 
 be married. However false and deceitful in relation to 
 ministerial matters this dame often is, yet in the present 
 instance of her cry her report was soon confirmed ; for 
 on the next Sabbath the parish pew which had never 
 known other occupants than such as were attached to the 
 pastor's household was in the occupancy of two ladies 
 and a gentleman, who, before the services in the afternoon 
 had commenced, were generally known as being the pas- 
 tor's wife and her brother and sister. It was amusing to 
 notice the glance of the eyes as they were directed from 
 almost every part of the house to the slip where these 
 strangers were seated. Even the little boys and girls 
 from the galleries might be seen every now and then rising 
 up and bending their heads and backs down below to 
 catch a glimpse of the object of general curiosity. Nor 
 was all attention confined to the pew. There seemed to 
 be an unwonted attraction in the pulpit ; and the pastor 
 had, if not more attention than formerly, yet attention 
 from motives which had not before influenced the hearers. 
 This attention abated not from the commencement to the 
 close of his services ; for there were many there watching 
 for blushes, if not for allusions to the new scenes on which 
 he had lately entered. He, however, evinced both his sense 
 and his thoughts of something beyond what was passing 
 in the minds of many of his auditors. After the manner 
 of many of his brethren in similar circumstances, Mr. El- 
 dridge did not take for his text, " I am the rose of Sharon, 
 
 and is the lily of the valley ; " nor, " He setteth the 
 
 solitary in families ; " nor, " I have married a wife." Nor 
 was his subject the government of a household, which some 
 clergymen have been known to discuss on the first Sab- 
 bath of their appearance in the house of God with a wife. 
 Mr. Eldridge wisely avoided all such themes, and so went
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 33 
 
 through with the various services of the day, that a 
 stranger present left the house unimpressed that any thing 
 had happened to the pastor of late more than a new unc- 
 tion from the holy 'One. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of the services and when the con- 
 gregation were in motion, there were more than the usual 
 groups along the aisles, in the entry, on the steps, and in 
 the yard of the church. It was, therefore, unavoidable < 
 not to overhear some of the conversation which was so 
 eagerly escaping ; and much that was heard pertained to 
 the marriage of the minister and the appearance of the 
 wife. " Did you see her ? " might often be heard. Like- 
 wise, "How do you like her looks?" "I guess she'll an- 
 swer," <fcc. 
 
 In the evening at Squire Davidson's, the Connecticut 
 custom in that family prevailing of "keeping Saturday 
 night," the conversation . turned on the pastor and wife 
 and such remarks of the people concerning them as had 
 that day been heard. The squire's pew, being at the 
 right of the pulpit, afforded a fine view of the one occupied 
 by the family of the clergyman, so that the eye would in- 
 voluntarily fall upon the latter from the former. The 
 Davidsons, therefore, could notice, without any particular 
 effort, the countenance, dress, deportment, &c., of the pas- 
 tor's wife. 
 
 Ann, in answer to the question addressed to her by her 
 husband, " What did you think of the appearance of Mrs. 
 Eldridge?" remarked, 
 
 " I was somewhat disappointed ; she did not appear as 
 I expected." 
 
 "What was the matter?" Charles asked. "Was she 
 not as handsome as you had supposed ? or was she not 
 dressed so elegantly?" 
 
 " There was nothing very elegant about her dress,"
 
 34 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Frances remarked. " I wonder if she was married in that 
 dress. I presume, however, she was not." 
 
 " What kind of a dress had she on ? " aunt Sarah in- 
 quired. 
 
 " It was a light-colored, figured silk, aunt, very plainly 
 made, and did not appear like a wedding garment," Fran- 
 ces replied. % 
 
 " I rather think it was her wedding dress," Mrs. David- 
 son observed : " and it was no ordinary one either, if I am 
 any judge. It is true, it was not trimmed in the very 
 height of fashion ; but I dare say it cost much more than 
 many a dress which you, Frances, would decide to be far 
 more expensive. It was a very suitable dress, and I ad- 
 mired it very much indeed." 
 
 " What did you think of her bonnet, Frances ? " Charles 
 asked. 
 
 " 0," Frances said, " I thought that was very beautiful." 
 
 " What did you think of her face, daughter ? " asked the 
 Bquire. 
 
 "She has no beauty to spare," Frances replied. 
 
 " Was there no beauty in her eye, my daughter ? " the 
 squire continued. 
 
 " I thought she had a rather pleasant eye, father." 
 
 " Yes, I thought so too," the squire observed ; " and I 
 thought that she appeared remarkably well. I have no 
 doubt that she is a lady of very good sense and worthy 
 of the position in which she is now placed." 
 
 " Yes," added Mrs. Davidson ; " that is my opinion. I 
 was very much pleased with all that I saw. Every thing 
 about her indicated worth, and made me anxious to be- 
 come acquainted with her." 
 
 " They will have a levee soon, will they not, father," 
 Charles inquired, " to afford the people an opportunity to 
 be introduced to their minister's wife?"
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 35 
 
 " There will be something of the kind, I presume, from 
 a remark made to me by Mr. Eldridge yesterday," the 
 squire said. " He remarked, he thought it might be well 
 for the people to become acquainted with his wife at once, 
 and he had concluded to give a general invitation, to all 
 to visit them next week, Tuesday." 
 
 The Tuesday came, and the invitation to the parsonage 
 was very generally accepted by the people of the parish. 
 The entire house was thrown open, and the good ladies 
 had the privilege of going whither they pleased to notice 
 all the furniture and conveniences of the premises. Mrs. El- 
 dridge was introduced to all, and acquitted herself to the 
 entire satisfaction of that portion of the parish represented 
 by such individuals as Squire Davidson and wife. There 
 were those present, however, who took exceptions to her 
 character and appearance. Some affected to think she 
 was not equal to her position because she did not dis- 
 close all that she knew at once. The reserve, ever the 
 mark of merit and the ornament of character when it ap- 
 pears in a stranger placed in circumstances like those 
 which then surrounded the young wife of the pastor, was 
 interpreted as the result of inability to converse. Some 
 thought Mrs. Eldridge was not sufficiently respectful to 
 her company because her dress was not all puffs, laces, 
 and embroidery. Some thought she was too old womanish 
 because her attentions were so many to the aged who 
 were around her. Some thought she was small and con- 
 tracted, because, in providing for the comfort and pleasure 
 of her guests, her own hands sometimes aided and not 
 those of a servant always. The good young wife little 
 thought of the variety of remark of which she was the 
 subject in the little circles which were forming in different 
 rooms by the people who were passing to and fro about the 
 house ; and, had she been all the while conscious of the 
 scrutiny which was constantly upon her, her movements
 
 36 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 could not have been more judicious nor her speech more 
 becoming in the view of such as were competent to pass 
 an opinion in any way entitled to regard. 
 
 The company continued till a suitable hour in the even- 
 ing, when the pastor made some fitting remarks, closing 
 them with prayer. Then the more advanced in years be- 
 gan to retire, and the remainder followed their example ; 
 and soon the house showed only the confusion of chairs 
 and fragments of refreshments, some on tables, some on 
 carpets and window casements, that significantly admon- 
 ished Mrs. Eldridge what might be her employment on the 
 morrow if not on the day succeeding that. 
 
 About four weeks from this gathering at the parsonage 
 there was a small company at the house of Deacon Smith, 
 invited out of respect to the pastor and wife. The David- 
 sons were there, and some others about the " centre," and 
 the others were from families in the immediate vicinage of 
 the deacon. In the course of the afternoon many of the 
 company found themselves remarking upon the manner in 
 which Mrs. Eldridge was received and upon different 
 opinions that had been expressed respecting her. At 
 length Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. Smith were left so near 
 each other and so distant from others that their conversa- 
 tion could not well be overheard, when Mrs. Smith ob- 
 served, 
 
 " How foolish it is to make such a hue and cry because 
 Mrs. Eldridge has no one to assist her but that litile 
 girl!" 
 
 " Ah," responded Mrs. Davidson, " I have not heard 
 any thing of it. You know I have been away three or 
 four weeks with my husband to Connecticut and New 
 York, and I have heard nothing of what has been passing 
 in the parish. What do they say?" 
 
 " There is much said," Mrs. Smith remarked. " A great 
 many don't like it at all that Mrs. Eldridge does not have
 
 MARRIAGE AJM) HOUSEKEEPING. 37 
 
 a woman in her family to do her work. They say her 
 sphere ought to be out of the kitchen and abroad in the 
 parish. Whilst she is confined with domestic care's her 
 influence over the people is lost." 
 
 " I cannot think,-" said Mrs. Davidson, " that there are 
 many who feel thus : at least not many sensible people. 
 Only think, there are but two of them in the family, and 
 the house is so convenient that the work is most easily 
 done. Who are they who feel as you describe ? " 
 
 "There are Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Jones, Mr. Otis, and many 
 others who have said much about it." 
 
 " Does Mrs. Jones allow herself to censure Mrs. El- 
 dridge for this ? " inquired Mrs. Davidson. " I am aston- 
 ished ut her. I am not at all surprised that the others 
 are disposed to find fault. I don't think they are alto- 
 gether prompted to their censures by any strong desire 
 for Mr,s. Eldridge's usefulness in the parish. Some other 
 feeling is with them." 
 
 " What feeling ? " asked Mrs. Smith. 
 x " Pride has something to do in this matter," Mrs. Da- 
 vidson continued, "and an unwillingness to have our pas- 
 tor lay by any thing from his salary. < You know how 
 very proud Mrs. Gray is. She thinks it very derogatory 
 in a lady, and especially in a minister's wife, to do any 
 thing that is menial." .yL 
 
 " If she thinks so," Mrs. Smith observed, " it is strange 
 I have never heard her talk about you in this respect ; for 
 you know you assist very much in the work of your family. 
 Perhaps there is no lady in town who is more conver- 
 sant with the labors of the kitchen than yourself." 
 
 " I hope there is none who is less conversant," Mrs. Da- 
 vidson remarked, " who has a family as large as mine. I 
 do not know' how we should get along if we trusted en- 
 tirely to servants. Mrs. Gray may take exceptions to my 
 4
 
 38 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 course if she pleases, and may rail about my working in 
 the kitchen ; but I think she will speak rather low, so that 
 I shall not hear of it. I cannot understand why Mrs. 
 Jones, who is distinguished for good sense, should feel as 
 she does." 
 
 " There are her daughters, you know ; and they have 
 such feeling as that which you say affects Mrs. Gray," said 
 Mrs. Smith. 
 
 " Yes, 0, yes," returned Mrs. Davidson ; " that is the 
 reason, is it not ? How much Mrs. Jones is influenced by 
 her daughters ! " 
 
 " Who do you think there is unwilling that our minis- 
 ter should be any the richer for his salary ? " Mrs. Smith 
 inquired. 
 
 "Mr. Otis is," Mrs. Davidson replied. "He objected, 
 you know, to giving Mr. Eldridge more than six hundred 
 dollars. When told that such a sum would be insufficient, 
 he said he could not think but that Mr. Eldridge might 
 live with such a salary. He was told that he might possi- 
 bly live, but that he ought to do more than barely make 
 the two ends of the year meet he ought to lay up a part 
 of his income. To this Mr. Otis objected most earnestly, 
 and said a minister ought not to desire to grow rich he 
 ought not to lay up a cent." 
 
 " That is something new to me," Mrs. Smith remarked. 
 " Mr. Smith never mentioned this to me. How very un- 
 feeling, such a remark ! Mr. Otis must have changed his 
 opinion of a minister's duty lately, I think. How he for- 
 merly censured Mr. Eldridge's predecessor for his extrav- 
 agance ! How many times I have heard him say that he 
 ought to look out for a rainy day and lay by something 
 for a time of need 1 " 
 
 " Ah, you li-dl know ivhat Mr. Otis is" Mrs. Davidson 
 said, with a somewhat elevated tone, caused by an excess 
 of feeling.
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 39 
 
 By this remark the attention of some of the company 
 was arrested, particularly that of Mrs. Bates, an elderly 
 member of the church and a most worthy mother in Israel. 
 Changing her position that she might have her curiosity 
 gratified by being near Mrs. Davidson and her friend, 'sho 
 asked, 
 
 " What is it about Mr. Otis ? Has he begun again ? " 
 
 " Have you not heard," inquired Mrs. Davidson, " that 
 some of our people are pretty severe in their remarks 
 about our minister's wife because she don't have a hired 
 woman ? " 
 
 " 0, yes," replied Mrs. Bates ; " I have heard of this ; 
 but I do not consider it worthy of notice." 
 
 "I think as you do," said Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " Now, I think," continued Mrs. Bates, " that I am as 
 well informed in relation to this matter as some others. I 
 called upon Mrs. Eldridge last week, and, seeing a little 
 girl busily sewing there, I asked Mrs. Eldridge who she 
 was. In reply, she said that Mr. Eldridge and herself 
 had had much conversation upon the matter of expenses, 
 and that he had seen how often ministers had become in- 
 volved in great trouble by extravagant and injudicious 
 expenses and by being negligent of pecuniary concerns, 
 and that he had determined to strive against this source 
 of difficulty by being prudent and careful. In this feel- 
 ing Mrs. Eldridge said she most truly sympathized with 
 her husband, and she said to him that there was one item 
 of expense which might be avoided ; and that was, a 
 hired woman. She said she told Mr. Eldridge that if she 
 had a little girl to assist she might be able to do the work 
 of the family. He started many objections to this course. 
 He asked her what she would do when she,was invited 
 out, when the sewing circle met, &c. She told him she 
 thought some way for her .accommodation, when it was
 
 40 'A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 necessary for her to be abroad, could be devised. Soon 
 Mrs. Eldridge said she had a call from Mrs. Darling, who 
 manifested great interest in their welfare, and regretted 
 that it was not in her power to contribute more towards 
 Mr. Eldridge's salary. She said that perhaps she could 
 assist her some in sewing, &c. Mrs. Eldridge then said' 
 that she thought Providence was smiling on her endeavors 
 at retrenchment, and she at once disclosed to Mrs. Dar- 
 ling her plan of dispensing with the services of a hired 
 woman and of having a little girl to assist her. In such 
 circumstances it would be a great favor to have her come 
 in occasionally and assist her when it was necessary for 
 her to be abroad. Mrs. Darling assented most cheerfully 
 to this proposition, and said, as she lived so near, she could 
 come in any time. Mrs. Eldridge then told her that, if 
 she thought it would be in her power thus to accommo- 
 date her, she would say to her girl that she could leave 
 before the expiration of her month for which time she 
 was engaged if she was disposed, and return to her 
 father's, whose family she left very reluctantly to accom- 
 modate them. The next day after she had this conversa- 
 tion with Sally they heard of this little girl, whom they 
 had taken to remain with them till she was eighteen years 
 of age. I told Mrs. Eldridge,'' said Mrs. Bates, " that I 
 commended very highly her prudence, and that I thought 
 she had acted very wisely. Do you think, ladies, that I 
 did wrong ? " 
 
 " No, no, by no means," both Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. 
 Smith at once exclaimed. 
 
 " I think," said Mrs. Smith, " that Mrs. Eldridge is a very 
 uncommon young lady ; and I intend to stand by her firm- 
 ly, and, if need be, to say some things to those people who 
 are censuring her on account of her domestic arrange- 
 ments which may not be very pleasant to them."
 
 MARRIAGE AND HOUSEKEEPING. 41 
 
 " That is right," Mrs. Davidson remarked ; " I will be 
 with you. I think we have a rich jewel in the wife of our 
 minister. She has good common sense ; and intends to act 
 from principle, I have no doubt. If people find fault with 
 her, I shall think the fault is in themselves." x 
 
 Here tea was announced, and the conversation was in- 
 terrupted.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HARMONIOUS STATE OF THE PAEISH AND IECUMAR 
 INTEREST IN THE PASTOR. 
 
 ALTHOUGH, from the description of the manner in which 
 M<'S. Eldridge was regarded by some of the parish as 
 given in the preceding chapter, an inference might be 
 made unfavorable to the popularity of the pastor, yet the 
 inference "would not be correct. The individuals who 
 were heard to animadvert with severity upon the wife 
 were loud in their praises of the husband. Their feeling 
 of disapprobation of the former was rather superficial 
 than deep ; for, in the course pursued by individuals like 
 Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Davidson, it was not many months 
 before it all died away, and not a whisper was heard to 
 the disadvantage of Mrs. Eldridge. From many expreV 
 sions, moreover, from the sources whence formerly pro- 
 ceeded censure, it became evident that mortification for 
 imprudent speech and hasty judgment had, at least for a 
 season, closed the aperture of trouble which on the part 
 of some was feared would eventually prove great. Mrs. 
 Jones, Mrs. Gray, and others, though, as ever, mingling 
 much with the people, were not known to express them- 
 selves as formerly to the discredit of Mrs. Eldridge, but, 
 on the contrary, were heard to speak of her with praise 
 and highly to commend her as a lady of great prudence 
 in her domestic arrangements, and well adapted to the 
 
 (12)
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 43 
 
 important sphere in which she was called to act. That 
 unanimity in relation to all ministerial concerns was great 
 was acknowledged in all parts of the parish ; and it was 
 proverbial in adjacent towns that the people to whom Mr. 
 Eldridge ministered had at length found a clergyman of 
 whom they were all exceedingly proud. 
 
 "Father," asked Frances Davidson, about ten months 
 after the settlement of Mr. Eldridge, " why do not our 
 people now build a vestry? You know they tried two or 
 three years since, but failed because our former pastor was 
 so unpopular. I should think there might be one built 
 now, as everybody likes Mr. Eldridge so well." 
 
 " What should put such an idea into your head, child ? " 
 the squire asked. " Have you heard any one speak about 
 building a vestry?" 
 
 " No, father ; I have not heard a word about it for a 
 long time. The thought came to me just as I was making 
 some preparation for the meeting this evening at the town 
 house." 
 
 " When you asked the question, daughter, I did not 
 know but that you overheard our conversation as you 
 came into the room when Mr. Sheldon and Deacon Smith 
 were in." 
 
 " Were you talking about building a vestry, father, this 
 afternoon ? " asked Frances, highly delighted with the 
 prospect. 
 
 " Yes, daughter ; and the parish committee have this 
 afternoon inserted an article in the warrant for the an- 
 nual parish meeting, which will be held in about two 
 weeks, to see if the people will build a vestry this sum- 
 mer." 
 
 " I think they will do it, father do you not ? " 
 
 " I rather think they will, daughter. We very much 
 need such an accommodation."
 
 44 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "Husband, when are you going to see your old friend 
 Mr. Billings.?" asked Mrs. Davidson of the squire one 
 Monday morning. " It is so pleasant to-day ; and, as I do 
 not feel very well, I have thought I would propose a ride 
 over there this afternoon." 
 
 " My dear," the squire replied, " it is our annual parish 
 meeting this afternoon ; and I cannot be away from that, 
 you know." 
 
 " 0, 1 forgot that. No ; you will of course wish to be 
 present. It is singular I should have forgotten it when 
 we have talked so much of the feeling which building a 
 vestry would excite. "Well," continued Mrs. Davidson, 
 " I think I will send John with a note to Mrs. Smith, and 
 invite her to ride up here this afternoon with the deacon 
 when he comes to the parish meeting." 
 
 " I would do so, my dear. I should very much like to 
 have the deacon come in here after meeting and talk over 
 matters." 
 
 A note was accordingly sent. The invitation was cor- 
 dially accepted ; and Mrs. Smith came early in the after- 
 noon. As Frances had gone out to be absent a short 
 time, there were only Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Davidson, and 
 aunt Sarah together. These friends being very sociable, 
 and were so much engrossed with conversation on sub- 
 jects which exceedingly interested them, that Mrs. David- 
 son was unconscious of the flight of time, and was hence 
 surprised at the appearance of one of her domestics on 
 an errand that denoted the hour for tea to be near. 
 
 " Is it possible," she asked, " that it is five o'clock ? " 
 instantly turning her eye to the clock incased on the shelf. 
 " Dear me ! I had no idea it was so late. Well, as it is 
 parish meeting to-day, Mr. Davidson will not be in for 
 tea at the usual hour ; and it will be no matter if we are 
 a little tardy." 
 
 Excusing herself, Mrs. Davidson followed Margaret to
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 45 
 
 the kitchen, where remaining a few minutes, she returned 
 to the parlor and found Frances in most animated conver- 
 sation with Mrs. Smith and her aunt. 
 
 " What news now, my daughter ? " inquired Mrs. Da- 
 vidson. 
 
 " mother, what a large parish meeting they are hav- 
 ing ! It seemed like Sunday as I passed the town house, 
 there were so many carriages about. I guess they will 
 have a vestry now." 
 
 " Perhaps not," aunt Sarah replied. " We can't tell 
 what so many people have come out for. It may be there 
 is warm opposition to the project." 
 
 " 0, no," remarked Mrs. Smith j_" if there was opposition, 
 we should have heard of it before this. I presume the 
 people are all in favor of building." 
 
 " O, I hope they are," Frances said. " I do desire some 
 other place in which to hold our evening meetings than 
 the cold, dirty town house." 
 
 The company continued variously discussing the proba- 
 bilities of the exciting subject now before the parish meet- 
 ing being favorably received till the arrival of Squire 
 Davidson and the deacon. As soon as the gentlemen 
 were seated, Mrs. Smith, addressing her husband, inquired 
 how the matter of the vestry was disposed of." 
 
 " We have decided to build," was the reply. 
 
 " I am truly rejoiced at this decision," Mrs. Smith ob- 
 eerved. 
 
 " That is good news," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 
 " Yes," said the squire ; " it will be a fine thing for the 
 parish ; and I feel very grateful that we have so fair a pros- 
 pect for a vestry. We have had a very harmonious and 
 pleasant meeting." 
 
 " Was there more harmony this afternoon than there 
 was at the meeting at which the people gave a call to Mr. 
 Eldridgc to settle ? " aunt Sarah asked. 
 
 .
 
 46 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "There could not be more harmony; for. the people 
 were unanimous in their call," the squire replied. " There 
 were many more out this afternoon than at that meeting, 
 however." 
 
 " I thought there was a very large attendance this 
 afternoon, father," said Frances, "as I passed the town 
 house." 
 
 " Yes, daughter ; it was the largest parish meeting that 
 I ever attended. Did you not think it the largest we ever 
 had, deacon?" 
 
 " Certainly ; by far," the deacon replied. " I was not 
 expecting to see half the number out. It really does me 
 good to see so much interest in our pastor as was mani- 
 fested this afternoon." 
 
 " Was it not wonderful, deacon, that there was no more 
 opposition exhibited?" the squire asked. "I always 
 supposed that we should carry the vote to build by a 
 handsome majority ; but I had no idea that it would be 
 unanimous." 
 
 "Was it a unanimous vote?" aunt Sarah asked. 
 
 " We must call it so, I think ; must we not, deacon ? " 
 
 "I think so," the deacon replied. "When the con- 
 trary minds were called I did not see any hands raised." 
 
 " I did not," the squire observed. " I thought that Mr. 
 Otis, Mr. Brown, and Colonel Presbury would certainly 
 vote against building." 
 
 "Yes," said the deacon ; "and Captain Fletcher like- 
 wise." 
 
 "I did not think of Captain Fletcher," the squire re- 
 marked. " Did you ever know him vote with us before ? " 
 
 " I never did," the deacon said. " I shall almost 
 think that I did not vote right, seeing that he was with 
 me." 
 
 "I do not much wonder you think so," the squire said. 
 
 Here the company were summoned to the tea table, at
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 47 
 
 which little Arthur was seated by the side of his grand- 
 father. As was perfectly natural, Mrs. Smith, knowing 
 that he was no unimportant character in the family, and 
 that he was a bright, well-behaved child, directed her con- 
 versation to him. 
 
 "Well, Arthur," she said, "don't you get homesick 
 sometimes ? " 
 
 " No, ma'am," he replied, looking up to his grandfather, 
 smiling. 
 
 "Not much homesick here with his grandpa," the squire 
 said, as he placed his hand on the head of the little fellow. 
 "He and grandpa have fine times." 
 
 "Does he love to attend school?" Mrs. Smith inquired 
 of the grandmother. 
 
 " Yes, pretty well," Mrs. Davidson said. " He some- 
 times, however, requests to stay at home." 
 
 " Well, I suppose you are not very urgent for him to go 
 at such times," Mrs. Smith. said, with a significant smile. 
 " Grandparents are inclined to be indulgent, you know." 
 
 Little Arthur looked up and burst forth in loud laughter. 
 
 "What now, dear?" inquired the grandmother. 
 
 "I was thinking what papa said as he stood on the door- 
 way when he was leaving for home." 
 
 " What did he say, child? I do not remember." 
 
 The boy manifesting a little shyness in replying, but be- 
 ing urged to speak by both his grandparents, at length 
 said, 
 
 " Don't you remember that papa said, ' Don't spoil Arthur 
 now by letting him have his own way, as grandparents are apt 
 to do 1 ?" 
 
 " 0, yes, dear ; yes, we remember that." 
 
 "Well," said the grandmother, "does Arthur thihk that 
 he is in danger of being spoiled ? " 
 
 Arthur smiled and said, "I don't have to mind hero 
 as I did at home, I think."
 
 4.8 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " The little fellow," said Mrs. Davidson, " is here alone, 
 with no young children around ; and we can't always re- 
 fuse his requests, you know." 
 
 " 0, no, no," said Mrs. Smith ; " it is not in the nature of 
 grandparents to refuse." 
 
 " I understand" said Mrs. Davidson ; " I understand. 
 We'll see one of these days how Mrs. Smith manages with 
 her grandchildren." 
 
 " We do not intend to treat Arthur in any very different 
 manner from that in which we treated our own children," 
 the squire observed. 
 
 " 0, no, I presume not," Mrs. Smith said ; " but somehow 
 or other grandparents seem to forget how they formerly 
 treated their own children. Don't you think so, squire ? " 
 
 " I don't know," the squire replied, " but that they do. 
 You must not rub us too hard. You know we like to see 
 the little folks enjoy themselves." 
 
 " That is it," continued Mrs. Smith. " No wonder 
 grandchildren are so fond of going to see grandpa and 
 grandma. They have fine times together." 
 
 "I don't think Arthur's grandparents often remember 
 what Charles said to them about being too indulgent," aunt 
 Sarah said, with much gravity and deliberation. 
 
 " Why so, sister ? " the squire asked. " Do you think 
 we are very indulgent ? " 
 
 " I remember how you formerly brought up children ; 
 and I think your present mode of management is very un- 
 like that." 
 
 " Well," said the squire, " we will try not to spoil Arthur 
 entirely," as he helped him to a second piece of cake in 
 answer to his request. 
 
 " There," said aunt Sarah, " what you have now done 
 you never would do to your own children." 
 
 "0, well, sister, perhaps I am wiser than formerly,' \ the 
 squire replied, with a smile.
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 49 
 
 Arthur having despatched his cake, betraying all the 
 while the consciousness that he was in pretty indulgent 
 hands, the company retired from the table. Mrs. Smith 
 remaining with Mrs. Davidson, the squire and the deacon 
 returned to the parlor and resumed conversation on the 
 doings of the parish meeting. At the recital by the dea- 
 con of what he heard Captain Fletcher remark, both gen- 
 tlemen were indulging themselves in a hearty laugh when 
 the ladies entered. 
 
 " You seem to be very merry, gentlemen," Mrs. Smith 
 observed. "I hope we ladies will not be any interrup- 
 tion." 
 
 " By no means, madam," said the squire. 
 
 " Now, husband," said Mrs. Davidson, " let us hear all 
 about the parish meeting. You remarked before tea that 
 the vote to build was unanimous ; was there no opposi- 
 tion?" 
 
 " Not when the vote was taken. The question was 
 pretty fully discussed, and there were a few who thought 
 the expense might be avoided. Mr. Otis thought the town 
 would be willing to have the parish repair the town house 
 and control it. If such an arrangement could be made, lie 
 argued, it would be better to repair than to build. Colonel 
 Presbury took a similar view, and so did Mr. Brown." 
 
 " These gentlemen did not vote to build, did they ? " 
 Mrs. Smith inquired. 
 
 u No, madam," the squire said ; " nor did they vote not to 
 build. They thought something ought to be done, but 
 wished to avoid the great expense required in building a 
 vestry." 
 
 " They were thinking of their taxes," the deacon said. 
 
 " I dare say this," Mrs. Davidson observed. " They are 
 always complaining of high town and parish taxes." 
 
 " What induced Captain Fletcher to vote as he did?" 
 Mrs. Smith inquired. 
 5 
 
 '
 
 50 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "He surprised us all," the squire replied. "He not 
 only voted in favor of building, but he advocated the meas- 
 ure in a somewhat lengthy speech." 
 
 " Captain Fletcher make a speech, father ! " said Fran- 
 ces. " What was it ? " 
 
 "He began by remarking," the squire said, "that he 
 supposed a vestry would not be of much use to him or any 
 of his neighbors unless we all alter very much. We have 
 not a very good character there in Hard Scrabble for go- 
 ing to meeting Sundays in the meeting house, or for our 
 treatment of ministers, or for any thing relating to re- 
 ligion ; but, said he, we know some things, after all. We 
 can tell a good minister any time by just seeing him. 
 Now, Mr. Moderator, they have got a first-rate minister 
 now, in the opinion of Hard Scrabble folks at least. He 
 has been in that neighborhood and called at every house ; 
 and he 'preached not long ago in the school house there, 
 and we all turned out and filled up the building for him. 
 We all like Mr. Eldridge ; and I told my wife, when I saw 
 the warrant up for this meeting, that I meant to go and 
 rnstke a speech and vote to build a vestry for Mr. Eldridge, 
 because I like the man. Now, I have done what I said I 
 would ; and I shall vote to build a good large vestry equal 
 to any in " the parts ; " and I see many of my neighbors here 
 who have said that they should vote to build too, because 
 they like the minister. There is Mr. Frost, or, as we call 
 him, the 'general :' he told me that, if I would attend this 
 meeting and make a speech here, he would likewise. Now, 
 I hope the old gentleman won't back out." 
 
 " Why, Mr. Davidson ! " his wife remarked, in a tone of 
 great surprise. " Captain Fletcher did not say all this, did 
 he?" 
 
 " Certainly he did, my dear, and much more. He spoko 
 for a good half hour, and he astonished us all." 
 
 " Were there many down from Hard Scrabble ? " Fran- 
 ces inquired.
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 51 
 
 " Yes, daughter ; there were fifteen or twenty." 
 
 " Did they all vote for a vestry ? " aunt Sarah asked. 
 
 " I presume so," the squire replied. " They all looked 
 interested and pleased." 
 
 . " I hope," said Mrs. Davidson, " that General Frost, as 
 they call him, did not make a speech as he was challenged 
 to do by Captain Fletcher." 
 
 " Why not, my dear ? " 
 
 " I should not think a drunkard like him would have 
 influence on any one." 
 
 " He has left off drinking now, you know," Mrs. Smith 
 remarked. 
 
 ' No, I never heard of that," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 
 "It is a fact, I believe," continued Mrs. Smith. " It is 
 now nearly a year since he has drank any." 
 
 " That is really cheering intelligence," Mrs. Davidson 
 said ; " and now I hope he did make a speech in the parish 
 meeting." 
 
 " He did make one," the squire said, " and said many 
 good things which it was interesting to hear. As I re- 
 ported Captain Fletcher, I must ask the deacon to report 
 the general for the gratification of the ladies." 
 
 The deacon accordingly proceeded, and said that Mr. 
 Frost began with saying, 
 
 " I did tell Captain Fletcher that, if he came to this 
 meeting and made a speech, I would do the same. I did 
 not think he would come ; and, if he came, I did not 
 think that any person in this meeting would expect to hear 
 him speak any more than they would me ; and I am sure 
 no one would have expected a speech from me any more 
 than from that old crazy Jenkins who was buried last 
 week. But v Mr. Moderator, here I am ; and I will try to 
 say something about building a vestry. I think there 
 ought to be one built. This place is not fit to hold meet- 
 ings in. It is cold and dirty ; and there ought to be a
 
 52 A VOICE FEOM THE PAKSONAGE. 
 
 better place. My daughter comes down here to evening 
 meetings sometimes ; and she complains because it is so 
 uncomfortable and not clean. Mr. Otis pretends that the 
 town would consent to have this building repaired ; but I 
 am opposed to the town's business being done by the par- 
 ish. I go for a new vestry. I think we ought to build 
 one because they tell me the minister wants one. Mr. 
 Eldridge is a nice man, I believe. I, for one, like him 
 much. He -has been up our way and preached in the 
 school house, as the captain told you ; arid he preached a 
 right smart sermon ; and he prayed right smart, too. I 
 tell our folks I must come down here some Sunday and 
 hear him further ; and if you build a vestry I ain't sure 
 but that I shall come to the evening meetings sometimes 
 when there is a moon." 
 
 " The general acquitted himself well," Mrs. Davidson 
 observed. 
 
 " Certainly he did," the deacon replied. " Mr. Frost 
 is a very sensible man, and, but for his intemperate habits, 
 would have made a very valuable citizen." 
 
 "I think he would," the squire said. "I've often 
 thought, when he has been in the store, that I did not 
 know of a shrewder man than he." 
 
 " I hope," aunt Sarah said, " he has reformed and will 
 continue a sober man. Who knows but that he may be a 
 Christian yet?" 
 
 " Were there any there from Kenyon's Corner, father ? " 
 Frances inquired. 
 
 " Yes, daughter, a large number ; and they appeared 
 much interested in having a vestry." 
 
 . " Did any of them say any thing ? " Mrs. Davidson 
 asked. 
 
 " No, dear, not in meeting ; but I talked with Mr. Brown 
 and Mr. Freeman after the meeting was over, who told 
 me they thought the people in that neighborhood were all
 
 PARISH AND PASTOR. 53 
 
 in favor of building. They had much to say about Mr. 
 Eldridge, and thought that he was just the man for us." 
 
 " It seems," Mrs. Smith remarked, " that people in every 
 part of the parish feel as they do in Kenyon's Corner to- 
 wards our pastor. I saw Mrs. Duncan from Union Vil- 
 lage last week, who informed rne the people in her neigh- 
 borhood were carried away with Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " From all that was said in the meeting this afternoon," 
 the squire remarked, " I judged the people were very much 
 united in Mr. Eldridge, and that their esteem for him was 
 increasing the more they saw of him." 
 
 "I was similarly impressed," the deacon said. "I think 
 we have great cause for gratitude that such a good minis- 
 ter has been sent us. I do not hear any thing said against 
 Mr. Eldridge ; but almost every week I hear much in his 
 favor." 
 
 " You are very favorably situated for knowing the 
 minds of the people," Mrs. Davidson said ; " as almost 
 every family in town sends to your mill." 
 
 " Did they decide where to locate the vestry ? " Frances 
 asked. 
 
 " 0, -yes, daughter," the squire said ; " they decided to 
 set it where I told you I thought they would on Mr. 
 Duncan's lot, if he will sell half an acre. I rather think 
 he will ; as he is in favor of building and knows that his 
 lot is the best location." 
 
 " What kind of a building will they erect ? " aunt Sarah 
 asked. 
 
 " A one-story building," the squire replied, " large 
 enough to have one spacious room and two smaller ones 
 to open into the larger one. These small rooms will 
 be convenient for many purposes. In one of them the 
 Sabbath school library and parish library can be accom- 
 modated. The ladies can hold their sewing circle in one 
 of these small rooms ; and, on the Sabbath, .the people 
 5*
 
 54 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 who do not return home during the intermission can have 
 a very warm and comfortable place in which to remain." 
 
 " People will be much accommodated by such an ar- 
 rangement," Mrs. Smith observed. 
 
 " And Mr. Eldridge likewise," said Frances. " He has 
 always wished for a vestry ; and I am much pleased that 
 there is now a prospect of his being gratified." 
 
 " Had Mr. Eldridge not been very popular throughout 
 the parish we should not have had such a prospect," Mrs. 
 Smith remarked ; " do you think we should, squire ? " 
 
 " We are undoubtedly indebted to his general popular- 
 ity for the vote to build a vestry, I think," the squire 
 replied. 
 
 " Most certainly," said the deacon. " We could never 
 have obtained a vote to build had not Mr. Eldridge been 
 very popular in the parish."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CROOKED STICK. 
 
 SUCH in every parish as are interested in the ele- 
 ments of its prosperity, and upon whom no small share 
 of responsibility devolves, who look upon the parish with 
 almost the interest with which they contemplate their own 
 families, sensitive to every passing breeze, watching it to 
 discover if health or disease be odorous therein, know 
 full well that there is no parochial union that is impreg- 
 nable, and that, however united a people may be in their 
 pastor to-day, there is no security against disrupture to- 
 morrow. The minister is peculiarly the victim of caprice, 
 of distorted vision, of disappointed hopes, and of diseased 
 minds and hearts. If there be deaf persons in the parish, 
 he is sure to be reported as having said that of which 
 he never thought and of having omitted to say what 
 he did. If there be hypochondriacs in the parish, in some 
 way or other he approaches them on the dark side ; so 
 that he is not seen as he is. If there be great news gath- 
 erers and news spreaders there, he must take it for granted 
 that his presence in the company of such for ten minutes 
 will furnish materials for the gossip of a week ; and he 
 must not wonder if some brother minister whom he meets 
 when he next goes to the association should call him to an 
 account for some of his speeches or conduct which are 
 making much excitement in neighboring towns, in relation
 
 56 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to which he is as disconnected as the missionary to Japan, 
 and of which no mortal ever breathed to him before. If 
 there be vain persons in the parish, men who are impor- 
 tant only in their own conceit, who have wisdom which 
 they care to impart and counsel for every emergency, but 
 who, withal, are very careful of their pockets, not exactly 
 understanding how to pay much towards the salary of the 
 pastor, or how to assist in making up any parish arrear- 
 ages, or do any thing to make all things move onward 
 smoothly and pleasantly, the minister need not lay it 
 much to heart if he hears from such individuals strange 
 stories and doleful forebodings after any important meas- 
 ure has been adopted, and in relation to which the dea- 
 cons, squires, and other principal men had not seen fit to 
 call upon and consult these wise men previous to the meet- 
 ing at which such measure was carried. "We are all famil- 
 iar with the adage, " It takes all sorts of men to make a 
 world ; " and most generally it can be affirmed of parishes 
 that they are composed of every variety of material. 
 There are times when this versatile material seems to 
 have a oneness about it ; as there are seasons when the sea 
 is tranquil and calm, presenting to the unpractised eye 
 impoteney to surge and wave. Clouds, however, often 
 suddenly gather ; and where but a few moments before 
 there was a placid sheet of water, with hardly a ripple 
 to meet the view, may now be seen the mountain wave and 
 the yawning depth. So of parishes where the diversity 
 of material composing it may seem to have no variety ; 
 in a time unlocked for discordant elements may appear, 
 threatening destruction to all which makes pastoral and 
 ministerial comfort and usefulness secure. 
 
 A little more than two years from the settlement of Mr. 
 Eldridge, as little Arthur was on his way 'from school, he 
 stopped, as was his frequent practice, at his grandfather's 
 Store to furnish his pockets with a little variety of confec-
 
 CROOKED STICK. 57 
 
 tionery, to bo able to gratify his own appetite as well as 
 confer ever-welcome gifts upon favorite schoolfellows. 
 There happened to be no one in the store at the time but 
 his grandfather, Mr. Billings, and Deacon Smith. Little 
 Arthur noticed that his grandfather was a little excited, 
 and, by one of the expressions which escaped the old gen- 
 tleman, he was somewhat impressed. He could not apply 
 it as was his desire, nor decipher it as he tried hard to do ; 
 so, not waiting for his grandfather to accompany him 
 home N as usual, for he saw no indications in him of any 
 thought of dinner, he went off alone to his home. As 
 soon as lie entered the room where his grandmother was 
 arranging the table he somewhat eagerly and loudly in- 
 quired, 
 
 " Grandma, what is crooked stick ? " 
 
 " Crooked stick, child ! Don't Arthur know what that 
 is ? " his grandmother said. " Why, it is a piece of wood 
 that is not straight." 
 
 " Is Mr. Otis a stick of wood, grandma ? " 
 
 " Wljy do you ask such a question, child ? " uttered his 
 grandmother. " Mr. Otis is a gentleman, Arthur." , 
 
 " Well, then," inquired the little fellow, " what did 
 grandpa mean when he said that Mr. Otis was a crooked 
 stick ? " 
 
 " Did you hear him call Mr. Otis a crooked stick, my 
 child?" 
 
 " Yes, grandma, I did. I heard him say so twice just 
 r.ow at the store. He said, 'It don't signify ; Mr. Otis is 
 a crooked stick a crooked stick.' " 
 
 " Who did he say this to, Arthur ? " 
 
 " To Mr. Billings and Deacon Smith, grandma." 
 
 The grandmother, understanding more than the child, 
 and being grieved with fearful apprehensions of trouble in 
 the parish, diverted the further curiosity of Arthur by re- 
 questing him to go out to the hennery and bring her in
 
 58 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 some eggs. Whilst the little boy was out the squire came 
 in, and, not seeing Mrs. Davidson or Arthur, he asked aunt 
 Sarah, 
 
 " Has not Arthur come home yet? " 
 
 " 0, yes," she replied ; " he came home some time ago. 
 His grandmother sent him out just now to look for some 
 eggs. Has any thing new happened, brother ? " 
 
 " Why do you ask such a question, sister ? " 
 
 " 0, I thought from what Arthur told his grandmother 
 something or other was brewing in the parish." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " He came home and told his grandmother that you 
 called Mr. Otis a crooked stick twice ; and he wanted 
 his grandmother to explain what you meant." 
 
 " Well, if he lives as long as I have and has much to do 
 with the world, he'll find out what crooked stick means to 
 his sorrow." 
 
 " What now, brother ? " asked aunt Sarah, somewhat 
 alarmed at the decided tones of the squire. " What has 
 Mr. Otis been doing ? " 
 
 " 0, nothing very alarming, but something very pro- 
 voking," the squire replied. " He wants to have Deacon 
 Smith resign his post as chorister and be succeeded by 
 Mr. Nelson." 
 
 Mrs. Davidson now entering the room, her husband at 
 once remarked, 
 
 " Sister tells me that Arthur came home with some 
 startling news." 
 
 " Yes, husband ; and pray tell me what the man is up 
 to now." 
 
 " I have just been telling sister about it. Mr. Otis 
 wishes to have Deacon Smith retire from the seats and 
 have Mr. Nelson lead the singing." 
 
 " Mr. Nelson ! " exclaimed Mrs. Davidson. " Why, he 
 has not been in the parish six weeks yet ; and who
 
 CROOKED STICK. 59 
 
 knows what his character is or what his excellence as 
 a singer? " 
 
 " Who knows? " said the squire, with emotion. " Why, 
 Mr. Otis knows ; and that is sufficient." 
 
 "I thought," aunt Sarah observed, "that Mr. Otis had 
 a very high opinion of the deacon as a singer. He was 
 ycry anxious that he should take the lead." 
 
 " He was," said the squire, " three years ago but I sup- 
 pose he has become tired of the deacon's tunes and wants 
 something new." 
 
 " Will our people consent to have the deacon give up ? " 
 Mrs. Davidson inquired. 
 
 "This matter of singing," the squire said, "is a delicate 
 affair. The singers must do as they please, or there will 
 be trouble, you know. Mr. Otis has been circulating a 
 paper among them, and several have signed it, in which a 
 preference is given to Mr. Nelson for chorister and a de- 
 sire expressed that he may be appointed." 
 
 " Who has signed the paper? " 
 
 " Mr. Gushing, Mr. Everett, Mr. Humphrey, Miss Lord, 
 Miss Simons, and others whose names I have forgotten," 
 the squire said. 
 
 " Has Mr. Nichols, or Mr. Parker, or Miss Wilson, or 
 Miss Carter?" 
 
 "No, not either of them, my dear ; and they will not, 
 the deacon tells me. They and many others have been to 
 him to urge him to take no notice of- what Mr. Otis is 
 doing. Mr. Parker told the deacon that Mr. Otis was a 
 crooked stick, always had been, and always would be, till 
 he was straightened in his grave. It was when Mr. Bil- 
 lings was telling me of this that I said what Arthur men- 
 tioned." 
 
 Previous to going to the store after dinner the squire 
 proposed to his wife to ride down to Mr. Clay's after tea 
 and spend the evening. Mr. Clay occupied an important
 
 60 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 position in society. Having been liberally educated, and 
 with fair prospects of success in professional life, he was 
 under the necessity, from regard to his health, of not pros- 
 ecuting the study of law, on which he had entered, and of 
 devoting himself to agricultural pursuits. A valuable 
 farm being offered for sale in the town about the time 
 he came to the conclusion to abandon study, and noticing 
 the advertisement in the papers, he was induced, by his 
 knowledge of the scenery about it, and of the character of 
 many of the people of the place, many of whom he person, 
 ally knew and had visited, to become its purchaser. He 
 accordingly soon took possession of the same, having pre- 
 viously married a very estimable and pious .young lady. 
 He became a resident of the place about two years before 
 the settlement of Mr. Eldridge, and had attained an ex- 
 tensive influence in the community when this event oc- 
 curred. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clay were ardently attached 
 to Mr. Eldridge, and in every thing relating to his happi- 
 ness they were most deeply interested. Their house was 
 the frequent resort of the pastor and of other individuals 
 -who could appreciate intellectual and moral worth. 
 
 Squire Davidson and wife had not long been seated in 
 the parlor of these friends before Mrs. Clay inquired of 
 Mrs. Davidson if Mr. Parker had called upon them in re- 
 lation to a subscription to procure for Deacon Smith a 
 valuable family Bible in token of the esteem in which he 
 was held for his services as chorister. 
 
 " Do you hear that, husband ? " said Mrs. Davidson to 
 the squire, who was engrossed in conversation with Mr. 
 Clay. 
 
 " No, my dear ; what ? " 
 
 Mrs. Davidson then repeated the remark of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " No, Mrs. Clay," said the squire, " we have heard noth- 
 ing of the kind. It is a very timely manifestation of re- 
 gard for a most worthy man, and I hope it may do good."
 
 CROOKED STICK. 61 
 
 " Did Mr. Parker say any thing in relation to a desire on 
 the part of some for a new leader of our singing ? " Mrs. 
 Davidson inquired. 
 
 " He did not," Mrs. Clay replied. " He appeared to be 
 in haste and did not stop long. Are not all satisfied with 
 the deacon ? " 
 
 " We never knew of any dissatisfaction with him till 
 to-day," Mrs. Davidson replied. 
 
 " Who is opposed to him ? " Mr. Clay asked. 
 
 " I believe Mr. Otis is at the bottom of the opposition," 
 the squire said. " The deacon was in at my store this 
 morning somewhat troubled about it. I never heard of it 
 till he mentioned the subject to me. He says that Mr. 
 Otis has been to him and pretty broadly hinted that it 
 would be pleasant to a number of the singers and many 
 of the people if they could have Mr. Nelson for chorister." 
 
 " Mr. Parker didn't like this arrangement, I rather 
 think," Mr. Clay remarked. 
 
 " He does not," said the squire. " He is very much dis- 
 turbed about it, and means to prevent it if possible. I 
 am very glad to hear, as you have informed us, that he is 
 now engaged in obtaining means for showing the deacon 
 how highly he is regarded by us for his services as choris- 
 ter. It is a capital plan." 
 
 " What kind of a man is this Mr. Otis ?" Mr. Clay in- 
 quired. " I never had much acquaintance with him." 
 
 " 0, I do not know," the squire said. " He has some 
 good traits of character ; but, somehow or other, he has 
 many enemies." 
 
 "I thought this might be the case by what I have 
 beard," Mr. Clay said. " Mr. Billings was in here the 
 other day highly excited by some of his conduct in rela- 
 tion to the school house they are building in his district ; 
 and, from what he said of the man, I could not help think- 
 ing of what my father used to say of some people." 
 6
 
 62 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " What was that ? " the squire asked. 
 
 " Why," said Mr. Clay, " there was a man in our neigh- 
 borhood who greatly annoyed every one about him by his 
 course in regard to any thing relating to town matters, or 
 school matters, or parish matters. He was never satisfied. 
 How many times I have heard father say he was a crooked 
 stick ! " 
 
 This remark very much excited both the squire and 
 his wife, who at once manifested their emotion by a 
 most hearty laugh, in explanation of which the squire 
 observed, 
 
 " That is just the remark some people about here make 
 respecting Mr. Otis. Mr. Billings was telling me to-day 
 that Mr. Parker had said that Mr. Otis was a crooked 
 stick, always had been, and always would be till he was 
 straightened in his grave. It is a fact, Mr. Clay ; that 
 individual is a very troublesome character. There is no 
 dependence upon him. If he is satisfied with a thing to- 
 day, he may not be to-morrow." 
 
 " These crooked sticks are very inconvenient," Mr. 
 Clay said. " I suppose Mr. Otis is not the only one we 
 have among us." 
 
 " I am sorry to say," said Mrs. Davidson, " that there 
 are others." 
 
 " There is such a piece in this neighborhood," said 
 Squire Davidson. & 
 
 " Who do you refer to Mr. Andrews ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " There is another near you," said Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " Mr. Scott, I suppose you refer to," said the squire. 
 " Yes ; he is one of this species of timber. If it were 
 not for these men and a few others, and three or four 
 jwomen in town, asking your pardon, ladies, I should 
 have but little fear of any parochial trouble ; but now 
 I am in constant apprehension that every month may
 
 CEOOKED STICK. 63 
 
 start something against Mr. Eldridge that will give us 
 trouble." 
 
 " I admire your independence, squire," said Mrs. Clay, 
 " in the declaration of the truth, though it brings us ladies 
 under condemnation. I really think there are crooked 
 sticks among us as well as among the gentlemen, and of 
 equal, if not greater, harm sometimes." 
 
 " Your good sense, madam, is to be applauded." the 
 squire replied, bowing very pleasantly, " in being willing 
 to admit the truth" 
 
 " What a dreadful thing it would be," Mrs. Clay ob- 
 served, " if any of our crooked sticks should be the means 
 of the dismission of Mr. Eldridge ! " 
 
 " I know it," Mrs. Davidson replied. " We often speak 
 of it at home." 
 
 "I think it ought not to be so," Mr. Clay observed, 
 " that one or two individuals can break up the peace of a 
 parish and be the means of the dismission of a pastor." 
 
 " I know that," the squire said ; " but it is so very often. 
 I know people ought to rise at once and put these indi- 
 viduals down who are ever ready to make or increase 
 difficulties in a parish ; but, for some reason or other, 
 there is often an indisposition on the part of the people 
 to take a firm stand in favor of right and against wrong. 
 Were there firmness on the part of the friends of law and 
 order, and should they manifest their determination to 
 abide by the right and put down the wrong, there would 
 be more security for pastors and more stability for church- 
 es. I suppose the great reason for the apathy of the great 
 body of the people, when a few malcontents have created 
 troubles in the parish with the minister, is their unwilling- 
 ness to be drawn into contention. They do not want to 
 burn their fingers by meddling with the fire, I suppose." 
 
 " Such conduct, I think, is decidedly wrong," Mr. Clay 
 remarked. "It involves a species of cruelty which I call
 
 64 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 ^c. 
 
 intolerable. When these crooked sticks make a fire 
 which might with perfect ease be suppressed at once if 
 the many would rally to the effort, and thus the peace, 
 comfort, and usefulness of a minister be promoted and con- 
 tinued the pastor is sacrificed, his family distressed and 
 famished, by reason of the backwardness of the people to 
 interpose and show such crooked sticks their proper 
 places and that they cannot accomplish their disorgan- 
 izing an-d destructive ends. How such people who are 
 satisfied with their pastor can calmly look on when these 
 destroyers of his prospects, happiness, and usefulness are 
 at work, and not manifest their indignation and their de- 
 termination to rescue him from their power and preserve 
 him unspoiled, is more than I can reconcile with the exer- 
 cise of a good consciences When the fire might be ex- 
 tinguished with a very small effort, rather than subject 
 themselves to the least exposure, people suffer it to burn 
 and do its worst ! !L -f- 
 
 " That is cruel indeed ! " Mrs. Davidson exclaimed. " A 
 good minister, one that most of the people love and re- 
 spect, who has been and may long be useful, allowed, with 
 wife and children, to be burned up in a fire kindled by a 
 few uneasy, restless spirits, when with a very little effort 
 it might be put out, and the pastor, his family, and his 
 parish be saved from distress or ruin, what is such con- 
 duct but extreme cruelty?" 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Clay, " if any of our crooked sticks 
 attempt to make any such fire for our dear pastor, I hope 
 there are enough of us who will be ready to sound the 
 alarm and labor to extinguish it." 
 
 " I fear you would be disappointed," the squire ob- 
 served. " Though all arc ready, as they think, to pluck 
 out their eyes for Mr. Eldridge, y^t, if the time should ever 
 come when our crooked sticks have 'made a difficulty with 
 him, I fear there would be an unwillingness on the part
 
 CROOKED STICK. 65 
 
 of the great body of the people to interpose. Those who 
 made the trouble would be suffered to work on without 
 resistance from an unwillingness of the people to be drawn 
 into a conflict. People love ease and quietude, and are 
 amazing slow to do or say any thing to jeopardize either. 
 The difficulties with Mr. Eldridge might be exceedingly 
 regretted and the conduct of the individuals making them 
 might be severely censured, and at the same time there be 
 no disposition to resist and remove them for the purpose 
 of retaining our pastor. People would say, or, if they 
 did not say this, they would act as though they did, ' It is 
 really shameful that there is this trouble with Mr. El- 
 dridge when there is no good reason for it. He has been 
 very useful here ; and, but for this opposition from a few 
 restless .individuals, he might continue to be useful ; but, 
 then, those who are opposed to him will not be easy till 
 he is dismissed ; and we don't know but that, all things con- 
 sidered, it will be better to let him go than to contend. He is 
 such a good man and such a smart preacher that he would 
 not be troubled any to get another parish, and perhaps a 
 much better one than this.' " 
 
 "If our people ever do act in this manner," said Mrs. 
 Clay, with great decision, " I hope they will be made to 
 smart for it." 
 
 "You and I will keep a sharp lookout for our crooked 
 sticks, won't we, Mrs. Clay ? " said Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " That is the only way for a people to do," the squire 
 remarked. ^ "If our parishes would realize the danger they 
 are in of being disturbed by a few uneasy and unprinci- 
 pled persons, and would be resolute in putting down the 
 slightest attempts at disorganization, we should not hear 
 of so many dismissions of ministers. There would be 
 more stability in our churches and a greater permanency 
 to the pastoral relation." 
 G*
 
 C PI AFTER V.* 
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OF PRAYER. 
 
 THE attention of several gentlemen having been at- 
 tracted to some landed property belonging to the parish 
 of Mr. Eldridge, who expressed a desire to purchase the 
 same, and for which a liberal sum was offered, a parish 
 meeting was called for the consideration of the subject. 
 After suitable discussion it was voted to commit the sale 
 of the land to a committee of which Squire Davidson, 
 Deacons Smith and Barnes, and Mr. Clay were a part. 
 This committee having had three sessions, so far completed 
 the negotiation as to be able with a little further atten- 
 tion to announce to the individuals desiring to purchase 
 their readiness to consummate a sale. They accordingly 
 adjourned their third meeting to the evening on which the 
 next weekly prayer meeting would be held, when, on the 
 conclusion of the services, they would finish what remained 
 to be done for the completeness of their work. 
 
 At the termination of the next prayer meeting, Mrs. 
 
 * In this and a few subsequent chapters will be presented the elements of 
 Mr. Eldridge's character as they were developed in the course of three years 
 from the commencement of, his ministry and which in all parts of the parish 
 were accorded to him. It may be well here to state that, in the subsequent 
 years of his ministry to the same people, iiwtead of waning in the least, this 
 character shone with a brighter lustre, as was from time to time conceded and 
 with pride acknowledged by his parishioners. The remembrance of this cir- 
 cumstance by the reader will aid much in understanding the sequel. 
 
 (CO)
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OP PRAYER. 67 
 
 Davidson, with her characteristic politeness, invited such 
 ladies as were in the care of the committee to accompany 
 her home and there remain whilst the committee were in 
 session. Accordingly Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Clay accepted 
 the invitation and directly proceeded to the house of Mrs. 
 Davidson, which was situated at but a little distance from 
 the vestry. Upon entering the room they were warmly 
 greeted by aunt Sarah and Miss Frances, and after a little 
 time the whole company were engaged in most interesting 
 conversation. Aunt Sarah, ever interested in things per- 
 taining to godliness, did not long forbear to inquire after 
 the services of the devotional season in which those who 
 had just entered the room had been participating. In re- 
 ply to her question, Mrs. Clay remarked, 
 
 " 0, yes, Miss Davidson ; we have had a most precious 
 meeting this evening, I assure you. I wish it had been in 
 your power to be there. You are not aware what a great 
 loser you are in being unable to unite with us in these 
 weekly seasons of prayer. They are so heavenly and 
 sweet as makes me always regret when they close." 
 
 " It would be a great privilege, I know," said aunt Sa- 
 rah, "to attend these meetings, and I feel it to be a 
 most severe trial in being deprived of it. I rejoice, how- 
 ever, that others are blessed with it and that there is so 
 much spirituality on the part of our church, which makes 
 these prayer meetings so precious." 
 
 " There might be much more spirituality in the members 
 of the church who attend these meetings," Mrs. Clay re- 
 marked. " I wonder that there is not more, when we have 
 such a godly and praying pastor. It is to Mr. Eldridge 
 that our prayer meetings owe their interest. Were it not 
 for him, I fear these seasons would not be so profitable as 
 they now are. It always seems to me that his whole soul 
 is absorbed with God and Christ and desires to have 
 all the people under the power of religion. I never heard
 
 68 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 a minister pray as he does or seize hold of circumstances 
 and events to interest and excite the people to prayer." 
 
 " I have always thought," said aunt Sarah, " that our 
 pastor was a very devout man, from his conversation and 
 prayers here when he calls. I am always exceedingly 
 pleased when he comes in, for I know I am to have a rich 
 spiritual feast." 
 
 " Did you ever know our prayer meetings so fully at- 
 tended, Mrs. Davidson, as they have been almost from the 
 very first of .Mr. Eldridge's being with us?" Mrs. Clay 
 inquired. 
 
 "I am not aware," Mrs. Davidson replied, " that there 
 ever was before so large an attendance when there was 
 no special religious interest." 
 
 " In a revival season I think I never saw more out/' 
 Mrs. Smith remarked, " than are now, or than there have 
 been for most of the time since Mr. Eldridge has been 
 with us. People come from all parts of the town from 
 Union Village, and even from Hard Scrabble." 
 
 " You know," said Mrs. Clay, "that it is a very common 
 remark among our people that our minister is great at 
 prayer and makes the prayer meetings very interesting. 
 People in our neighborhood, when they call in to see us, 
 often speak of Mr. Eldridge's prayers and of their deep 
 interest in being present at his prayer meetings. Old Mr. 
 Osgood was in last week, and he had much to say of Mr. 
 Eldridge in this respect." 
 
 " He was jesting, I suppose," said Frances. 
 
 "I thought he was at first," Mrs. Clay replied, "and 
 answered him accordingly ; but he really seemed hurt that 
 I did not consider him sincere in his expressions of inter- 
 est in Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " I am really glad to hear of this," aunt Sarah said. 
 " Mr. Osgood may be a converted man yet." 
 
 " I have noticed, of late," said Mrs. Davidson, " that he
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OF PRAYER. 69 
 
 has been at meeting on the Sabbath, and thought that the 
 circumstance denoted interest in Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " 0, he is much interested in him," Mrs. Clay said. 
 !t There can be no mistake about this. He has had much 
 to say of a visit Mr. Eldridge made lately at his house, and 
 he thinks him the best minister he ever knew." 
 
 " If I mistake not," said Mrs. Smith, " I have seen him 
 out lately at some of our prayer meetings." 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Clay. " He has been there several 
 times ; and he tells me he intends to go as often as he can, 
 he is so much pleased with Mr. Eldridge's prayers and 
 exhortations." 
 
 " I think this intelligence of Mr. Osgood is very % en- 
 couraging," said Mrs. Davidson, " If Mr. Osgood is inter- 
 ested in Mr. Eldridge's services, we can hope that all oth- 
 ers will be who have hitherto been indifferent to religious 
 concerns." 
 
 " Certainly," said aunt Sarah, " there is reason for such 
 a hope ; for I always supposed Mr. Osgood to be almost, 
 if not quite, an infidel." 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mrs. Clay ; " he was an infidel at the 
 time Mr. Eldridge was ordained, and had been such for 
 many years ; he has often told me this. He has told me 
 that he heard. so much about Mr. Eldridge's prayers and 
 other services that he thought he would go and hear him 
 preach. After going once he wanted to go again ; and 
 so, he said, ' I have got to be a pretty constant hearer. I 
 think he is a good man if there be one on earth, and that 
 he is very sincere ; and I can't help feeling sometimes 
 when I hear him pray.'" 
 
 " Mr. Osgood may be the means of inducing others over 
 whom he has influence to follow his example," aunt Sa- 
 rah said. 
 
 " That is very probable," said Mrs. Clay. " I think he 
 has attempted to persuade some of his companions in sin.
 
 70 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to go to meeting. He told me that he thought he should 
 see Mr. Tibbits in church before long." 
 
 " He was there last Sabbath," Frances said. 
 
 " 0, yes," Mrs. Davidson remarked ; " I saw him there, 
 and was much surprised. Mr. Osgood was the means un- 
 doubtedly of his attendance. That will be a happy cir- 
 cumstance for Mrs. Tibbits. How much she has desired 
 that her husband would attend church ! " 
 
 " If Mr. Osgood has become interested in going to meet- 
 ing," said aunt Sarah, " I presume his family will be more 
 happy than formerly." 
 
 "They are so already," Mrs. Clay replied. "You can- 
 not^ imagine what a new face Mrs. Osgood now wears. 
 You know how sad, dejected, and forlorn she formerly 
 appeared ; and now she is cheerful, sociable, and very 
 happy." 
 
 " Poor woman ! " said Mrs. Davidson ; " how much she 
 has suffered in years past ! She formerly was in the habit 
 of coming here to tell us something of her trials. Her 
 husband, when he saw her with the Bible, would be in the 
 greatest rage, would seize the book and wrest it from her, 
 and then would tear it up leaf by leaf and- put it into the 
 fire. She has told me that he has destroyed several Bi- 
 bles for her in this manner. He would storm most blas- 
 phemously about religion, and ministers, and every thing 
 connected with the Bible." 
 
 . "Indeed!" Mrs. Clay said, mournfully. "I never heard 
 any thing of it before." 
 
 " It is all true," aunt Sarah said. " I never pitied a 
 woman more in my life than I have Mrs. Osgood. She 
 told me once that her husband was so incensed at his little 
 boy for crying hard to go to meeting that he took him 
 and gave him the most severe whipping that he ever gave 
 one of the children, and that weeks passed before the little 
 fellow recovered from the effects of the blows."
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OF PRAYEE. 71 
 
 "0, dear me!" said Mrs. Clay. "How could he be so 
 cruel ? He does not appear like such a man now." 
 
 " He is not naturally a cruel man," aunt Sarah said ; 
 "but he is very excitable, and he was formerly bitter in 
 his opposition to the Bible, Sabbath, and every thing con- 
 nected with religion." 
 
 "What you have now said," Mrs. Clay remarked, "ex 
 plains some things Mr. Osgood has said to me. He has 
 told me that he has not done just right in time past about 
 going to meeting himself and having his family go like- 
 wise ; but I thought he did not refer to any thing uncom- 
 mon that he may have done in the matter." 
 
 " 0, he did, I think," said aunt Sarah. " He doubtless 
 thought how wickedly he had acted towards his wife and 
 children. I rather think he has not much pleasure in 
 thinking of what he formerly did to them." 
 
 " Well, if he now sees his wrongs and repents of them, 
 that is encouraging," Frances said. 
 
 " It is truly so," Mrs. Smith replied ; " and we ought to 
 be grateful that God has sent us a minister to be instru- 
 mental of good to such .a man as Mr. Osgood." 
 
 " We ought so," Mrs. Davidson remarked. " There is 
 no earthly blessing more to be valued than a devout and 
 devoted minister." 
 
 " I think," -said aunt Sarah, " it must be acknowledged 
 that our pastor is all that." 
 
 " Yes," Mrs. Smith said. " People in all parts of the 
 parish will acknowledge this to be true of Mr. Eldridge. 
 Mr. Kent, who lives near us, remarked in at our house, 
 not long since, that he heard more said of Mr. Eldridge's 
 prayers than he ever before heard of the prayers of all 
 other ministers." 
 
 " That is considerable for him to say," Frances replied. 
 " I did not know that he could use his tongue for any other 
 purpose than to speak of making money."
 
 72 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Why. Frances ! " exclaimed her motlier. " Are you not 
 rather severe?" 
 
 - "Well, Mrs. Smith," said Frances, "does Mr. Kent 
 have much to say about any thing but his bargains and 
 property ? " 
 
 "Property is a pretty engrossing subject with him, I 
 confess," Mrs. Smith replied. 
 
 "Then, mother," said Frances, "do you think I was 
 much out of the way?" 
 
 "0," said Mrs. Davidson, "I never knew much of Mr. 
 Kent. I seldom see him but at church." 
 
 " Nor do I," said Frances ; " and Sunday noons, when I 
 come out from the Sabbath school, I frequently overhear 
 some of his conversation as he stands about the door or 
 in the yard, and it is all about what he has bought or is 
 intending to buy, or something similar." 
 
 " You have a pretty correct idea of the man," Mrs. 
 Smith said, smiling. 
 
 " Mr. Kent, then, thinks our minister is a prayerful 
 man?" said aunt Sarah. 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mrs. Smith. " He had considerable to 
 say about Mr. Eldridge in this respect. He told me that 
 Mr. Lawrence said to him lately, that, if he should happen 
 to be a special subject of Mr. Eldridge's prayers, he would 
 surely be converted. He asked me if I thought Mr. El- 
 dridge prayed much in private." 
 
 " That is rather a singular question," Mrs. Davidson re- 
 marked ; " and an impertinent one likewise, I should 
 think." 
 
 " Perhaps Mr. Kent had better inquire of the little girl 
 who lives with Mr. Eldridge," aunt Sarah said. " She 
 might give him a little insight into Mr. Eldridge's private 
 devotions." 
 
 " What do you refer to ? " asked Mrs. Davidson. " Does 
 little Maria talk about Mr. Eldridge in this respect ? "
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OF PRAYER. 73 
 
 Aunt Sarah, with a smile, proceeded to say that last 
 week, when Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge called to leave the lit- 
 tle girl to remain here whilst they were away from town, 
 she had considerable conversation with her about the min- 
 ister's family. " I do not now remember what occasioned 
 the remark ; but the little girl said, ' Mr. Eldridge prays a 
 great deal in his study.' I asked her how she knew that 
 lie was praying, and not reading aloud. ' 0,' said she, 
 ' I hear him say, " Lord, I beseech, I pray," &c.' I 
 asked her if he prayed every day. She replied that she 
 hears him very often at prayer." 
 
 " Maria would not be bad authority in the case, I con- 
 fess," said Mrs. Smith. " I rather think I will refer Mr. 
 Kent to her if he ever should ask me the question again." 
 
 " You never told me, sister, of this conversation with 
 Maria. She told you this when I was out, I suppose," re- 
 marked Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " 0, yes, you were out," said aunt Sarahf " I remember. 
 I never thought it worth while to repeat what the child 
 said, and should not now have done so but for the ques- 
 tion which Mr. Kent put to Mrs. Smith. She gave me no 
 new information. I took it for granted that Mr. Eldridge 
 was a very devoted closet Christian." 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mrs. Clay ; " his sermons prove this. 
 He could not produce the sermons that he gives us were 
 he not assisted in his preparations from above." 
 
 " He could not, indeed," Mrs. Davidson said. " Any 
 Christian can see from his whole manner that he enjoys 
 refreshings from his Savior of no ordinary character." 
 
 Mr. Clay now entering the room where the ladies were 
 sitting, unaccompanied by either the deacon or the squire, 
 a little concern was manifested by Mrs. Smith and Mrs. 
 Davidson at the cause of the protracted absence of their 
 respecti v* husbands. This was, howe\er, at once abated 
 by the remark of Mr. Clay that the deacon had gone to 
 7
 
 74 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the store to make a few purchases, and that the squire accom- 
 panied him. The conversation of the company was then 
 directed to the business which had been occupying the 
 committee and to other desultory subjects, which afforded 
 them both entertainment and instruction for nearly an 
 hour. Mrs. Smith at last became impatient for the ar- 
 rival of her husband, knowing that she had three miles to 
 ride before reaching home. Looking at the clock and 
 seeing that the hour was nearly that of ten, she remarked, 
 
 " I should really like to know what detains Mr. Smith 
 till this late hour." 
 
 " You need not be concerned about him," said Mrs. Da- 
 vidson ; " for he is in good company" 
 
 Soon, however, all anxiety was removed by the presence 
 of the tardy husbands ; and Mrs. Davidson at once re- 
 marked, 
 
 " Your wife, deacon, has been much alarmed about you 
 to-night, and I'did not know but that I should have to 
 send for you." 
 
 " It is rather a late hour at which to be three miles from 
 home, I confess," said the deacon ; " but I could not very 
 well break away before." 
 
 "What has detained you, husband?" Mrs. Smith in 
 quired. 
 
 "Mr. Osgood was in the store," the deacon replied, 
 " who had considerable he seemed very anxious to commu- 
 nicate ; and so we remained to hear." 
 
 "Ah," exclaimed Mrs. Clay, with a glow of the deep- 
 est interest, " have you been conversing with Mr. Osgood ? 
 He interested you, I presume, judging from the pleasant 
 interview I had with him last week when he called at our 
 house." 
 
 " What he said was very encouraging," the deacon re- 
 marked. " I had no idea the man was in such a state of 
 mind.'
 
 THE PASTOR A MAN OP PRAYER. 75 
 
 " What is his state of mind ? " Mrs. Davidson inquired 
 with much feeling. 
 
 " He hopes he has become a Christian, ma'am ; and he is 
 full of wonder at the mercy of God for having continued 
 him so long in the world, when his sins have been so 
 great. He wept like a child as he spoke of his former 
 treatment of his wife and children, and of his own expres- 
 sions about God, the Bible, ministers, and all things of a 
 religious character." 
 
 " Indeed ! Is that possible ? can it be true ? " said Mrs. 
 Davidson. 
 
 " Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? " aunt Sarah in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Wonderful, it is wonderful, if Mr. Osgood has become 
 a Christian," exclaimed Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " Yes," the squire remarked, " it is wonderful ; but I really 
 believe Mr. Osgood is a new man. His conversation de- 
 notes great sincerity and very deep feeling. He observed 
 that he had been interested in religion for two or three 
 years ; that what excited this interest was, noticing how 
 much importance Mr. Eldridge attached to prayer when 
 he called at his house, and how earnest and sincere he 
 was when praying for all the family, and especially for 
 himself. Said he, 'When Mr. Eldridge first called at 
 our house there was something in his appearance that 
 made me almost love him ; and when he called again and 
 I saw more of him, I yas almost afraid to be where he 
 was, I felt so ashamed of my past life; but,' said he, 'I 
 wanted to hear him pray ; for I felt that he was no hypo- 
 crite.' If I had not been persuaded that he was a very' 
 godly and prayerful man, he never would have interested 
 me more than other ministers have done. I have ever 
 been pleased to have Mr. Eldridge call and to be where 
 he is.' Said he, ' Squire, you never saw me at meeting 
 -much till since Mr. Eldridge was settled, and you never
 
 76 A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 saw me at a prayer meeting till lately ; and I bless God 
 that he sent Mr. Eldridge here ; for no one else could 
 have made the impressions on me which that man has.'" 
 
 " Has Mr. Osgood seen our pastor lately ? " aunt Sarah 
 inquired. 
 
 " I asked him that question, sister, and he said that he 
 had not. He said that it was not a week since he in- 
 dulged a hope that he was a Christian, and that he had 
 had no time since to see Mr. Eldridge or hardly any one 
 else." 
 
 " "What great good Mr. Osgood may yet be instrumental 
 in doing ! " Mrs. Davidson said. 
 
 " It appeared to be a great object with him," said the 
 squire, " to endeavor to do good. He told us that he had, 
 in years past, labored hard to prejudice his friends against 
 religion, but that now he intended to labor as hard to per- 
 suade them to seek religion. He said he had already had 
 conversation with several of his acquaintance upon the 
 subject." 
 
 " I dare say," said aunt Sarah, " that we shall soon hear 
 of more cases like this of Mr. Osgood." 
 
 " It is to be hoped so," Mrs. Smith remarked. " Mr. 
 Eldridge will be much encouraged, and so will others." 
 
 " Mr. Osgood," the deacon observed, " thinks that we 
 shall soon have a great revival. He says people are very 
 much interested in the minister, and are persuaded that he 
 is a very holy and prayerful man^and are led to think 
 much of what he says to them on this account." 
 
 " I think there is now very good reason to expect a re- 
 vival," said aunt Sarah. " I have long thought we should 
 have one in answer to our pastor's prayers, jf not to those 
 of any others'."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PASTOE A SOUND THEOLOGIAN AND DILIGENT STUDENT. 
 
 IT was an article of agreement with Mr. Eldridge at 
 the period of his settlement that he should have an annual 
 vacation of four weeks at any period of the year which 
 would best accord with his interest or pleasure. This va- 
 cation he highly valued as furnishing him with an opportu- 
 nity to relax from his severe pursuits. He improved it in 
 visiting cherished friends and such places as would allow 
 him, without much intellectual effort, to be adding to his 
 storehouse of knowledge. One such period of respite 
 from parochial toil he passed on the consecrated hill 
 where he pursued his preparatory theological studies. 
 Another found him at the Capitol of his country, the at 
 tentive listener to important debates in Congress by men 
 whose eloquence and fame were the pride of their con 
 stituents and the glory of the nation. The vacation he 
 took in the fourth year of his pastorate was spent among 
 the hills of his native state, at the home of his childhood 
 and youth. That his wife and children might have the 
 benefit of the journey and the pleasure of knowing the 
 scenes arid the places which in his boyish days had en- 
 grossed so many of his hours, he made this journey in a 
 private carriage. 
 
 A licentiate from Andover, whose parents resided in an 
 adjacent town, was engaged by the parish committee to 
 
 7 * (77)
 
 78 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 supply the pulpit of the pastor for the Sabbaths he might 
 be absent. As one of these Sabbaths would be the regu- 
 lar period for the communion service, Mr. Eldridge sug- 
 gested that the young man might effect an exchange for 
 that day with his own pastor, the Rev. Mr. Fisher ; which 
 was accordingly done. As the house of Squire Davidson 
 was near the church, and Mr. Fisher being in feeble health, 
 he was directed to make this hospitable mansion the place 
 of his rest and refreshment. If such direction had not 
 been given, the horse of Mr. Fisher, which had often 
 tested the horsepitableness about the premises of the squire, 
 would have made it difficult for his driver to pass the gate 
 without a more resolute exercise of the whip than a cler- 
 gyman would care to practise on a Sabbath morning, 
 especially when such driver would account it a fortunate event 
 thus to be brought up at the door of the individual who was 
 known in all the region as the warm friend of the ministry. 
 
 After service in the afternoon, as the squire and Mr. 
 Fisher were sitting together, the latter remarked, 
 
 " I perceive, squire, you take the New York Quarterly, 
 probably for the sake of enjoying the articles which your 
 pastor furnishes from time to time." 
 
 "Is Mr. Eldridge a contributor to the pages of that 
 work ? " the squire exclaimed, with much surprise. 
 
 " Were you not aware of that ? " in as much astonishment, 
 though assumed, Mr. Fisher inquired. 
 
 " I was not," most certainly," the squire replied. " Mr. 
 Eldridge never mentioned to me that he was a writer for 
 that work. For the life of me I cannot see when he finds 
 time to write for any thing else than for his pulpit." 
 
 " That is a capital article of his in the last number on 
 decrees" Mr. Fisher continued. 
 
 "Did Mr. Eldridge write that?" eagerly inquired the 
 squire. 
 
 ' That is from his pen," Mr. Fisher rejoined.
 
 THE PASTOR A THEOLOGIAN AND STUDENT. 79 
 
 " I thought that article," the squire said, " the best of 
 the entire number. I was exceedingly interested in it 
 so much so that I requested my wife and sister to listen to 
 me as I read it to them." 
 
 " That is my opinion, squire. I think there is no other 
 article in that number equal to this written by Mr. El- 
 dridge, both as to literary and theological merit. Your 
 pa'stor is getting to be one of our best theologians." 
 
 " I have thought for some time," said the squire, " as I 
 have heard different ministers speak of him, that he was 
 much regarded as a scholar/' 
 
 " 0, yes," Mr. Fisher said ; " and as a theologian like- 
 wise. There is no individual in the association more con- 
 fided in for correct opinions on theological points than 
 Mr. Eldridge. If we have him to agree with us we feel 
 that we are not heretics." 
 
 " What is his signature ? " the squire asked, at the same 
 time rising to take the quarterly from the table. 
 
 " CALVIN," was the reply. 
 
 " 0, yes, I see," said the squire, as his eye glanced at 
 the article. " I have read a large number of communica- 
 tions over that signature in this work. Are they all from 
 our pastor ? I have often told my wife that Calvin was 
 the best writer of the lot, and that I really would like 
 his acquaintance." 
 
 " You will not need any introduction to him, you see," 
 Mr. Fisher remarked. 
 
 " No no, sir," the squire replied ; " I am very happy 
 to know that I am already well acquainted with Calvin. 
 I hope I shall ever value him as he deserves. He is the 
 author, then, of that series of articles on sin," the squire 
 continued, highly delighted at the discovery of the writer 
 who had interested him so much. 
 
 " I perceive," Mr. Fisher said, " that you are somewhat
 
 80 A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 interested in the nice points of theology, being pleased 
 with these articles on decrees and on sin. It is not often 
 that I meet with a layman whose attention is particularly 
 taken by such subjects." 
 
 " I suppose you ministers think that we common people 
 know but little on any other subject but that which re- 
 lates to our own business," the squire said, with a rather 
 comical expression of countenance, but with great good 
 humor. 
 
 " That is very far from being the case with me, I assure 
 you," Mr. Fisher replied. " All that I intended was, that 
 such articles as those referred to, being foreign to the busi- 
 ness of other men than clergymen, would not be likely to 
 attract the interested attention of any but ministers." 
 
 " O, I understand perfectly," said the squire. " It is 
 not often that I find a layman who is equally interested 
 with myself in such subjects. Perhaps the reason for this 
 is, that I am oftener favored with the society of clergy- 
 men than most laymen." 
 
 " I am well aware, my good sir," said Mr. Fisher, " that 
 there is a prophet's chamber in your house, and that your 
 hospitality to clergymen is often the subject of their most 
 grateful remark. It is not, therefore, surprising that you 
 should, by your frequent intercourse with ministers, be 
 much in sympathy with them, not only in their trials, but 
 in their reflections upon subjects which most interest them." 
 
 " I am obliged to you," returned the squire, " for the 
 honor you do me by your remark." 
 
 " Those articles of Mr. Eldridge must have cost him 
 great research and study," Mr. Fisher observed. " I sup- 
 pose he exchanges frequently ; does he not ? " 
 
 " It is very seldom that we hear any other voice in our 
 pulpit but that of our pastor," the squire replied. " He 
 does not exchange more than eight or ten times in the
 
 THE PASTOR A THEOLOGIAN AND STUDENT. 81 
 
 year. He never preaches old sermons that we know of; 
 and it is seldom that he preaches without notes." 
 
 " He is an uncommon man, I confess," Mr. Fisher said. 
 " He must be a most diligent student." 
 
 " That he must," said the squire, " to accomplish for the 
 people here what he does. I have often wondered how 
 he could produce the discourses he gives us with all 
 those interruptions to study which the care of our large 
 parish brings to him. Really, I am at a loss to determine 
 when he finds time to write for the press." 
 
 " He writes, not only for this review, but for others," 
 Mr. Fisher observed. " One of the most important dis- 
 cussions which we have had of late is indebted to your 
 pastor for its chief interest and victory. He demolished 
 every argument of his opponents, and made the old-fash- 
 ioned New England theology stand aloft and clear of all 
 the trappings which sophistry and heresy had intwined 
 about it." 
 
 " You very much surprise me," the squire said. " It is 
 very singular I never heard of this before. I shall begin 
 to fear that we shall not have our pastor long if he is 
 such a man with his pen as you have proved him to be." 
 
 " It is by no means singular that you were ignorant of 
 your pastor's efforts which I have now mentioned," said 
 Mr. Fisher. " I do not think there are five individuals 
 who know of them ; and I would not have been the means 
 of adding you to the number were it not that I know con- 
 fidence can be placed in you." 
 
 "I thank you, sir, for the compliment. If it be impor- 
 tant that the matter be preserved from the public, of 
 course I will not speak of it. Why does Mr. Eldridge 
 wish to be unknown in his character as a writer for the 
 press?" the squire inquired. 
 
 "He has told me that he only lived for his people," 
 Mr. Fisher responded ; " that he did not wish for the
 
 82 , x --. A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 annoyance that would be about him were it known that he 
 wrote for the press. He remarked that he saw the points 
 in the case with different optics from some who had par- 
 ticipated in the controversy, and that he thought he would 
 present what he saw, hoping to be the means of scattering 
 at least some clouds, if not of producing a clear sky. You 
 need have no apprehension, sir, of losing your minister, 
 as you have just now expressed, in his being called to an- 
 other sphere of duty ; for I have heard him repeatedly 
 declare, that, when he had done with his parish, he had done 
 with every thing of a public character." 
 
 " I am glad to hear this last remark," the squire ob- 
 served. " I trust it will be long before he will have fin- 
 ished his labors in his parish most sincerely I do." 
 
 " I presume such is your wish and expectation," Mr. 
 Fisher replied, " arid that there is no reason to apprehend 
 that, from any action of your parish, there will be a suc- 
 cessor to Mr. Eldridgc till death has made a vacancy here 
 in the pastoral office." 
 
 " Though at present I am not aware of any dissensions 
 in the parish relative to Mr. Eldridgc," the squire re- 
 marked, "yet who can tell what a day may bring forth? 
 There is such a disorganizing spirit now prevalent in the 
 community as makes it uncertain how long any pastor 
 will remain with his people. Were our blessed Savior 
 now on the earth and in the pastoral office, I fully be- 
 lieve he would have no better assurance of permanency 
 than he had when he went from city to city in the days of 
 his stay on the earth. People at the present day, for a 
 slight cause, or for no cause at all, forget the worth of a 
 pastor which had been unanimously conceded for years, 
 and turn him off with all the coolness and indifference 
 that would be manifested in parting from a foreigner of a 
 few days' acquaintance." 
 
 " You have not much sympathy, I perceive, with the
 
 THE PASTOR A THEOLOGIAN AND STUDENT. 83 
 
 spirit of which you speak," Mr. Fisher observed. " I think 
 your influence would preserve quiet here were there an 
 attempt to disturb the elements." 
 
 "I cannot agree with you at all," the squire said. " Cer- 
 tain elements exist in our parish, which, if roused, would 
 ride over me, and all others like me, in attempts to preserve 
 quiet. Every parish is like a volcano ; and the minister 
 is never secure against an eruption. I am glad we have 
 such a faithful pastor and such a thorough and accom- 
 plished theologian as Mr. Eldridge is reputed to be 
 abroad. I hope he will not injure his health by his in- 
 tense application to study." 
 
 " Your people are highly favored in their pastor," Mr. 
 Fisher said. " He is much respected wherever he is 
 known. As a preacher, he is seldom surpassed. There 
 is no clergyman who preaches for me that is more thought 
 of than Mr. Eldridge. The whole people love to hear 
 him preach ; and there is, I am told, a greater attendance 
 when I exchange with him than at any other time. So, if 
 you do here maltreat him, you may expect to have the 
 whole region to condemn you." 
 
 " That would be no consideration at all," the squire re- 
 marked. "What does a parish care for the opinions of neigh- 
 boring parishes when they are determined to carry a point ? " 
 
 Mrs. Davidson now entering the room, her husband at 
 once said, 
 
 " My dear, Mr. Fisher has been giving me some new 
 information respecting our pastor." 
 
 " Ah ! What is it, husband ? " 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge is a frequent contributor to that quar- 
 terly from New York which we take and to other period- 
 icals likewise." 
 
 " That is new, indeed," Mrs. Davidson replied. 
 
 " He wrote that article in the last number on decrees 
 which I read to you and sister."
 
 84 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Did he, indeed ? " exclaimed Mrs. Davidson. " How 
 much we admired it ! We should not have been more in- 
 terested had we known who the author of it was ; should 
 
 " No, not any more, my dear ; so they cannot say that 
 we admire Mr. Eldridge's sermons because we like the 
 man, and for no other reason ; can they ? He writes the 
 articles over the signature CALVIN, which I have so fre- 
 quently spoken of as being uncommonly excellent." 
 
 " Was he the author of those articles ? Indeed ! How 
 much you have said in their praise ! " Mrs. Davidson ob- 
 served. 
 
 " Mr. Fisher tells me, likewise, that our pastor is 
 thought by the clergy about here to be a great theolo- 
 gian." 
 
 " We think he is, husband ; and why should not others ? 
 You know how deeply interested our people have been in 
 the course of lectures which Mr. Eldridge has been de- 
 livering." 
 
 " Course of lectures 1 " said Mr. Fisher, with surprise. 
 " May I ask on what subjects, madam ? " 
 
 " He began, about a year since," Mrs. Davidson replied, 
 " to deliver a course of sermons on the being of God, the 
 inspiration of the Scriptures, and on the doctrines and 
 duties made known in the Bible. The last which he de- 
 livered was on the necessity of regeneration. He delivers 
 one on each Sabbath morning." 
 
 " I never heard of this before," Mr. Fisher observed. 
 " Mr. Eldridge must need much time for the preparation 
 of these discourses." 
 
 " They could not be hastily prepared," Mrs. Davidson 
 replied, " as is evident to us all. Mr. Eldridge tells me 
 that they cost him great labor and research. They are 
 exceedingly well written, and as good as any sermons I 
 ever read on such subjects. I have been more interested
 
 THE PASTOR A THEOLOGIAN AND STUDENT. 85 
 
 in hearing him than I ever was in reading Dr. D wight on 
 the same subjects." 
 
 " My dear, Mr. Eldridge is a young man, and has not 
 yet been settled in the ministry five years. How can you 
 think him superior to Dr. D wight ? " the squire inquired. 
 
 " I know he is a young man," Mrs. Davidson replied ; 
 " but he is a great man, too." 
 
 " He must be a very hard student to accomplish what 
 lie does," Mr. Fisher said. 
 
 " He is such," Mrs. Davidson replied. " Mrs. Eldridge 
 tells me that he is not in bed on an average more than six 
 hours ; that he studies all the morning, and will not be 
 interrupted but by some most pressing call ; that, when 
 he visits, it is in the afternoon, and that not more than 
 three afternoons of each week are thus devoted ; and that 
 he spends all his evenings in his study when not at the 
 lecture, or prayer meeting, or a wedding. There can 
 be no doubt, therefore, that he is very frugal of his 
 time." 
 
 " Do the people like to have their pastor so much con- 
 fined to his study ? " Mr. Fisher inquired. " Do they not 
 wish him to visit more than he can in three afternoons of 
 the week?" 
 
 " There is occasionally a remark made on the subject," 
 Mrs. Davidson said, " by some who would be better pleased 
 with a little more pastoral visiting. But the people know 
 where their minister is when he is not among them, and are 
 generally willing that he should be in his study if he pre- 
 fers ; for they feel that they shall be more profited on the 
 Sabbath if he is mostly in his study during the week. 
 Some of us, however, are fearful that he will break down 
 because he is so studious." 
 
 " There is not much danger of that whilst he continues 
 in his present habits," the squire said. "He is very 
 8
 
 86 .T% A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 abstemious and very regular in his exercise. I rather 
 think he understands how to take care of his health." 
 
 " I hope he does," Mrs. Davidson remarked. " He is 
 such a useful minister that it would be lamentable indeed 
 if he should lose his health." 
 
 " I do not perceive any indications of declining health," 
 said Mr. Fisher, " as I meet him from time to time. He 
 endures well, I think." 
 
 " His health is very good at present," said the squire ; 
 " and I hope his present journey will contribute to its con- 
 tinuance. Whilst he is so highly esteemed abroad among 
 his brethren for his correct theology and varied accom- 
 plishments, I want he should continue to pour his light 
 around on them all, some of whom I fear are in* darkness." 
 
 "Very true," said Mr. Fisher, "very true. Some of 
 us are in the fog if not in greater darkness. All the 
 light you can spare we will receive and employ to the 
 best possible advantage. See to it, if you please, that 
 you do not break the lamp from which so much light ra- 
 diates, or so conduct that it mil be wrested from its place" 
 
 " Thank you, sir, for the caution," the squire remarked, 
 " always a timely one ; and I would that all the people 
 might heed it." 
 
 After tea, as Mr. Fisher was leaving for his own parish, 
 which was distant only four miles, he remarked that he 
 should go away with very pleasing impressions in regard 
 to the prospects of his friend their pastor. His people 
 manifesting for him the warmest affection and highest 
 respect, and he anxiously and studiously devoted to their 
 best spiritual good, made his situation most useful and 
 happy. 
 
 " It may be," said the squire, " that occasion might ren- 
 der it expedient and useful for me to divulge what you 
 have said in regard to Mr. Eldridge. If there be this
 
 THE PASTOR A THEOLOGIAN AND STUDENT. 87 
 
 occasion, may I say from you that our pastor is regarded, 
 in the association and by others without, as a very sound 
 and safe theologian ? " 
 
 " You may say all that," Mr. Fisher replied, " and add 
 that he is rising rapidly in favor with the great and good, 
 and that, if he is not well cared for here, some other peo- 
 ple will be for attempting to improve his condition by 
 securing for their own advantage his valuable services."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 * 
 
 THE PASTOE A PROMOTER OP BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 
 
 THE various enterprises of the times which shadow forth 
 that day of glory when the dark and direful effects of the fall 
 shall pass away, leaving in their place the transcendently 
 beautiful hues of righteousness, had from Mr. Eldridge the 
 warmest sympathy and the most energetic aid. None of 
 them escaped his eye nor were without an impulse from 
 his aid ; for in them all he saw signs of triumph to that 
 cause to which he had consecrated his life. 
 
 On a Monday morning following the Sabbath on which 
 -he had commended one of these enterprises to his people 
 in an earnest and truthful presentation of its worth, not 
 only to the church, but to society in general, Colonel Pres- 
 bury, Deacon Barnes, and one or two other gentlemen 
 happened into the store of Squire Davidson about the 
 same time. The conversation for a while was upon the 
 great embarrassments of financial affairs in the country at 
 that time prevailing, and which was almost every where 
 the frequent topic of remark. At length, in apology per- 
 haps for the exercise of more than ordinary prudence in 
 the use of that which " answereth all things," Colonel 
 Presbury observed, 
 
 " Our minister, Deacon Barnes, seems to think that we 
 are not suffering much from the scarcity of money ; he 
 
 (88)
 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OF BENEVOLENCE. 89 
 
 appears to feel that we have enough yet and to spare. He 
 was down upon us yesterday pretty hard, I thought." 
 
 "None too hard," said the deacon. "Mr. Eldridge did 
 grandly yesterday. Though he was very earnest, yet he 
 did not oblige any to give who were not disposed. He 
 left the matter about right." 
 
 " Of course he did not oblige any to give ; for he could 
 not do that," the colonel replied. "But, then, a man can- 
 not avoid doing something, after his duty is made so plain 
 and the cause so important and imperative. Besides, one 
 feels rather small in refusing to sign something when his 
 neighbors are giving pretty liberally." 
 
 "I am pleased to hear you admit," said the deacon, 
 " that our minister exhibits the duty of benevolence with 
 clearness and force, and makes the particular cause he ad- 
 vocates tell its own claims to patronage." 
 
 " Yes, deacon, I suppose I must admit that ; if I did 
 not, I should be in a rather small company. I think Mr. 
 Eldridge does pretty well when he undertakes with the 
 pocket. Somehow or other he makes the money come. 
 But what is the use of his tak-ing up so many of these 
 causes, deacon ? He has one a month, and sometimes two." 
 
 "He considers them all very important, I suppose ; as, 
 indeed, they are. They all seem to be necessary for the 
 benefit of our fellow-creatures and for bringing forward 
 the day when religion shall generally prevail and all 
 wickedness and oppression shall cease." 
 
 " Well, deacon," said the colonel, "neither you nor I 
 will live to see that day." 
 
 " But we may hasten its approach, colonel, if we are 
 pretty liberal and perform our other duties connected with 
 this great event." 
 
 " It costs too much, deacon, it really costs too much for 
 me," said the colonel, with an expression of countenance 
 that made it evident he was sincere in the utterance.
 
 90 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Last year, what I gave and what my wife and daughters 
 gave, after the appeals of Mr. Eldridge from month to 
 month, amounted to one hundred and twenty-seven dollars." 
 
 " I am really glad he was so successful," the deacon re- 
 plied with a smile. " If he had obtained twice that amount 
 it would have been no matter. Your purse is deep, you 
 know." 
 
 "Really, colonel," said the squire, "you did well last 
 year. I presume you lost no sleep by your liberality." 
 
 " No ; but then I lost some money. I shall have to 
 stop giving if Mr. Eldridge continues to call as often as 
 he has done. He'll drain me all dry." 
 
 "You need not flatter yourself," said the squire, "that 
 the calls upon you will be any the less frequent or urgent 
 by reason of any backwardness on the part of our pastor 
 in soliciting." 
 
 "I suppose not," the colonel mournfully said; "I sup- 
 pose not. Mr. Eldridge thinks he is right, and there is no 
 stopping him ; he will go ahead." 
 
 " I think our people have done very well for a few years 
 past in their contributions to benevolent objects," the 
 squire remarked. 
 
 " They were not much disposed to give when Mr. El- 
 dridge first came here," Mr. Parker said. 
 
 "They were not, that is true," the squire replied. 
 " They had not been trained to benevolent habits. We 
 are indebted to Mr. Eldridge for this process." 
 
 "Yes, yes, we are," quickly responded Colonel Pres- 
 bury. " Mr. Eldridge has not been slow in this department 
 of labor. We have had line upon line and precept upon 
 precept, here a little and there a good deal, by way of in- 
 struction and appeal. If it had not been for Mr. El- 
 dridge I should have been a thousand dollars richer 
 yes, a thousand dollars richer ! I was reckoning recently 
 what our family have given that I know of to different
 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OP BENEVOLENCE. 91 
 
 benevolent societies for the last four years ; and principal 
 and interest make the amount a little rising one thousand 
 dollars." 
 
 " Perhaps," said Deacon Barnes, " you would not have 
 been so rich as you now are by several thousand dollars 
 had not our pastor been instrumental in opening your 
 heart and purse somewhat. I believe public opinion de- 
 clares that you have added more to yiour property for the 
 last three years than at any former period." 
 
 " I have not lost quite so much lately by bad debts as I 
 formerly did," the colonel replied. "As for making 
 money, you know any one can do that." 
 
 " If every one can make money," the deacon replied, 
 " there are very few who succeed as you have done. You 
 have been wonderfully prospered. I hope you will give 
 over two thousand dollars to benevolent societies for the 
 next four years ; and I advise you to resolve to do this, or 
 more, if you wish to continue to grow rich. I believe in 
 Scripture promises and Scripture threatenings, colonel. I 
 believe in this one, for instance : ' There is that scattereth 
 and yet increaseth ; and there is the withholding more 
 than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty.' " 
 
 "Well, well," said the colonel, "I shall do in the way 
 you mention for the next four years, if I should live, just 
 as little as I can." 
 
 " 0, colonel," the deacon replied, " how can you be 
 thus ungrateful after having been blessed in the period 
 when you have been somewhat liberal more than in any 
 such length of time before ? " 
 
 " I was not expecting such a decision from you, colonel," 
 said the squire, " to give as little as you could." 
 
 " If I continue to go to meeting," the colonel replied, 
 " and if we have Mr. Eldridge for our minister, I do not be- 
 lieve that it will be possible for me to give less than two 
 thousand dollars for the next four years. I tell you what,
 
 92 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 gentlemen, Mr. Eldridge lias a wonderful faculty for get- 
 ting away money." 
 
 "If this be your feeling," said the deacon, "I am glad 
 of it. I hope and believe Mr. Eldridge will remain with 
 us. If you do as you think you are likely to do, you may 
 advance very much in property whilst you remain benevo- 
 lent." 
 
 "Now that our pastor has gotten us in such a good way 
 of giving, as you call it, I think," said the colonel, " it 
 would be well for him to go to some of the neighboring 
 parishes and stir them a little. Some of them might be 
 benefited, perhaps, by his services. I should like to have 
 him try some of them ; and if he bled them pretty smartly 
 I would not object. It would be a capital plan for the 
 American Board or some other benevolent society to em- 
 ploy him. He would raise the money for them." 
 
 " The attempt has been made by one benevolent society," 
 said the squire, " to secure his services." 
 
 " It has ! " said the colonel. " He has been invited to 
 leave us, then ? How much salary has he been offered ? " 
 
 " Much more than he has here," was the reply. 
 
 " How lately was this offer made him ? " the colonel in- 
 quired. 
 
 " About two months since," the squire said. 
 
 " He is not intending to leave us," the colonel remarked, 
 " or he would have asked for a dismission before this, I 
 suppose." 
 
 " I think Mr. Eldridge will not leave us at present," the 
 squire said. 
 
 " What a noble agent Mr. Eldridge would make 1 " Mr. 
 Parker observed. " His heart is so deeply interested in 
 all the benevolent societies that he would be very likely 
 to infuse his own interest into any audience he might ad- 
 dress." 
 
 " If he should succeed in all con.orefrations as he has in
 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OF BENEVOLENCE. 93 
 
 our own," said the deacon, " he would truly accomplish 
 great things for any society which might have the good 
 fortune to secure his services." 
 
 " It is sometimes really amusing," the squire observed, 
 " to hear what is said of Mr. Eldridge's manner of reach- 
 ing the heart. You know Mr. Andrews don't believe in 
 these benevolent societies. A few Sabbaths since it was 
 announced that on the next Sabbath a subscription would 
 be taken up in behalf of the sailors. In the course of the 
 week Henry Andrews a roguish fellow, you know im- 
 portuned his father for five dollars, for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing a gun. His father, being disinclined to give him 
 the sum, remonstrated with Henry. He told him that he 
 had other and better uses for his money, and said a va- 
 riety of things to dissuade the boy from pressing his re- 
 quest. Henry at last became impatient and said, ' You 
 will give next Sunday, I dare say, to Mr. Eldridge's sail- 
 ors twice as much as I ask you for now.' His fathe'r told 
 him if he did, or if he gave any thing, he would certainly 
 give him five dollars with which to buy the gun. Henry 
 said no more, but was willing to wait. You remember 
 how very earnest and interesting Mr. Eldridge was that 
 Sabbath when he pleaded the cause of seamen, how elo- 
 quently he described their perilous condition and their in- 
 dispensable agency in bringing to our shores the products 
 of foreign climes and of taking to these regions our own 
 surplus commodities, and withal how truthfully he painted 
 the representative character of the sailor, and thence de- 
 duced the importance that he be both qualified and dis- 
 posed to give the true representation 'of the land of his 
 birth. Well, after the subscription had been taken and 
 the services were closed, I met Henry Andrews as I was 
 passing out, and from his looks I perceived he wished to 
 speak to me. I addressed him, and gave him opportunity. 
 So he at once said that he would like to sec the subscrip-
 
 94 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 tion paper which had just been circulated. Taking the 
 paper from my pocket, I handed it to him. I saw he 
 looked confused after examining it a moment, and I asked 
 him if I could assist him in any way. He said his object 
 in looking at the paper was to ascertain if his father's 
 name was on it. I informed him that it was, and at once 
 showed it to him. ' Good good? said he ; ' father is 
 down for ten dollars.' His joy was so great that I could 
 not resist the promptings of my curiosity, and I asked him 
 what pleased him so much at discovering that his father 
 had given ten dollars. He then told me the story of the 
 gun, and appeared sure that he should now have it." 
 
 " That is pretty good," said the colonel. " I knew Mr. 
 Andrews gave ten dollars, for I heard him speak of it. 
 He said that he did not intend to give a cent. When he 
 went to meeting he determined that he would not patron- 
 ize these societies that he would keep his money for 
 useful purposes ; but he said Mr. Eldridge obtained the 
 advantage of him. He lost control of himself, and was 
 forced to surrender his own judgment to the reasoning 
 and conclusions of the minister ; and he put down ten 
 dollars for the sailors." 
 
 " You heard of the effect of that sermon on Mrs. Pitch- 
 er ; did you not, colonel ? " 
 
 " I have heard nothing," was the reply. 
 
 "My wife was telling me," said the squire, " that a sis- 
 ter of Mrs. Pitcher, who resides in Boston, has been out 
 on a visit lately, and that Mrs. Pitcher was very much 
 taken up with a silk dress worn by her sister, and was 
 determined to have one of a similar pattern. She sup- 
 posed her husband would begrudge the money, and that 
 fifteen dollars would come hard from him for a single 
 dress. However, she ventured to encounter his rebukes 
 of her extravagance, and requested the requisite sum, at 
 the same time saying that she knew of no reason why she
 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OP BENEVOLENCE. 95 
 
 should not have a dress equal to that of her sister. So, 
 after the exercise of all her tact and eloquence, she suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining from her husband the amount she 
 desired. Her sister was expecting to return home the 
 next week, and Mrs. Pitcher was intending to send by 
 her for the dress. The Sunday following Mr. Eldridge 
 preached in behalf of seamen ; and when the subscription 
 paper was handed to Mr. Pitcher he did not look at it ; 
 but, being passed onward in the pew, his wife took it and 
 put down ten dollars. After she returned home she ac- 
 quainted her sister with the fact, and remarked that she 
 did not know but that she should have to do without her 
 silk dress ; for she was so much overcome by Mr. El- 
 d ridge's sermon she could not resist her convictions of 
 duty, and subscribed ten dollars for the sailors." 
 
 " That's good ! " exclaimed the colonel. " I am really 
 glad Mr. Pitcher got bled so ; but I hope his wife did not 
 lose her dress." 
 
 " No ; she did not," Mr. Parker observed ; " but her 
 husband was mighty poor for some time afterwards. I 
 had occasion, about that time, to borrow some money for 
 a few days ; and, as I had often been accommodated be- 
 fore by Mr. Pitcher, I called upon him for the loan. He 
 replied that he did not know as he had so much money as 
 I wanted that he was poor and did not know what he 
 should do. ' My family,' said he, ' are getting to be very 
 extravagant. I have had to give Mrs. Pitcher lately thir- 
 ty dollars to buy a dress ; but ten of it, I hear, went to 
 dress the sailors.' As he said this he looked not very 
 kindly at his good wife ; but she explained the matter and 
 laughed very heartily all the while ; and I could not avoid 
 joining her. Her husband at last was obliged to give in 
 and laugh too." 
 
 " Poor man ! " said Deacon Barnes. " I suppose Mr. 
 Pitcher is worth seventy-five thousand dollars."
 
 96 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Yes," said the colonel, " all of that ; but he is poorer 
 than most men who are not worth five hundred dollars. I 
 am glad his wife gets some of his money ; I wish she 
 might obtain three hundred dollars where she now gets 
 but thirty." 
 
 " People don't seem to think any the worse of Mr. El- 
 dridge for his efforts in raising money for objects of be- 
 nevolence, do they, squire ? " Mr. Parker inquired. 
 
 " Not that I have heard," was the reply. " I believe 
 they are pleased that he is so successful." 
 
 " He does some good at home, I confess," said the colo- 
 nel, " when he labors for money to be sent abroad. He 
 opens some hearts that never showed any doors before. 
 Some people are the better, I have found, for giving ; they 
 are more like human beings than formerly ; they have 
 more feeling ; they show a better spirit." 
 
 " That is one of the effects of benevolence," the squire 
 rejoined. " I have often heard Mr. Eldridge remark that 
 he valued the benefits which accrued to his own people 
 from their giving about as much as those produced abroad 
 by their benefactions. The reflex influence of benevolence 
 he thinks very great and powerful." 
 
 " That is a new idea to me," said Mr. Bolles, who had 
 entered the store after this conversation began ; " but 
 there may be some foundation for it, I confess. So Mr. 
 Eldridge is thinking of home when he is laboring for ob- 
 jects abroad ? " 
 
 " Certainly, my good sir," said the squire ; " he thinks 
 of his people first and last ; and in all that he undertakes 
 he has an eye to their good." 
 
 ' Well, then, no one can blame him for being so wide 
 awake in his efforts for all the benevolent societies," Mr. 
 Bolles continued, " when he sees that the influence of the 
 liberality of his people is to benefit them." 
 
 " I do not sec how Mr. Eldridge can be censured," said
 
 THE PASTOR A PROMOTER OF BENEVOLENCE. 97 
 
 the squire. " For my part, I value him the more for his 
 energy and perseverance in advocating the different be- 
 nevolent societies. If Mr. Eldridge imitated the example 
 of some ministers and was silent in relation to the calls of 
 .these societies through fear that his activity would con- 
 flict with the attachment of his people to their money, he 
 would not accomplish half for our good that he now does, 
 nor be half so much worthy of our love and respect."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PASTOE'S ACKNOWLEDGED CARE OF THE YOUXG. IN- 
 TEREST IN THE AGED AND THE IGNOBLE. 
 
 THE wealthy and learned in the community are not tho 
 . only individuals of influence ; there are other classes who 
 at times wield a tremendous power. There are those who 
 are set aside by the popular voice as incapable of much 
 effect, who nevertheless exert an influence by which the 
 greatest ends are sometimes achieved. It often becomes 
 important to collect the scattered fragments of influence 
 and for this purpose the partisans enthusiastically engaged 
 in achieving a triumph for their cause with the greatest 
 energy and perseverance explore every nook and corner 
 of society to discover any thing to aid them, and with joy 
 and exultation hail any power, however feeble or obscure, 
 which promises the least assistance in accomplishing their 
 object. This last source of power, though usually ac- 
 counted by the multitude as of little moment, is yet often 
 great and decisive, both in the arena of political and civil 
 strife and in ecclesiastical concerns. As a party in either 
 sphere may have such power in its favor, so its vote is 
 triumphant and its cause victorious. The little children 
 of a religious community, who are never consulted when 
 their parents are canvassing the qualifications of the dif- 
 ferent candidates in nomination for political promotion, 
 and the aged men and women, who are contemplated as in 
 
 (98)
 
 THE PASTOR'S CARE OF THE YOUNG, ETC. 99 
 
 waiting for an introduction to another sphere of existence, 
 having long since been made of no practical account in 
 the one where they are now numbered, and the poor and 
 ignoble, who are regarded more like an incubus than a 
 blessing to society, are made to come forth at times in a 
 parish and exert a power that controls the destiny of its 
 pastor. Hence it is always considered a fortunate posi- 
 tion for a pastor when he has the interest of the children 
 enlisted in his favor when he has the expressions of love 
 and attachment from the poor and the ignoble. Hence, 
 too, a minority opposed to a minister account it much to 
 their advantage when able truthfully to report that he is 
 lightly esteemed by the children and un object of dislike 
 by the poor and the lower classes of society. 
 
 Whatever was the motive of Mr. Eldridge, or whether 
 he was prompted by any specific policy in his movements, 
 one thing was very apparent ; and that was, that he had 
 the blessings of the aged abundantly upon him, the warm- 
 est affection of the poor bursting forth from hut and hovel 
 at his side, as well as all the interest which sparkling eyes 
 and prattling tongues of children could convey whenever 
 the pastor was in their circle or his name mentioned in 
 their presence. 
 
 " What are those boys and girls trying to do ? " said 
 Mr. Lovell, from New York city, who was the guest of 
 Squire Davidson, when walking with him about the 
 village. 
 
 " What boys and girls ? " inquired the squire, looking 
 about in search of them. 
 
 " Over there by the tavern, a little this side ; there are 
 thirty or forty of them," Mr. Lovell replied. 
 
 " 0, yes ; I see them now," the squire remarked, looking 
 that way. " Let us stop a while and see what they are 
 up to." 
 
 Soon Mr. Eldridge was seen coming from the post office.
 
 100 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 As he advanced towards the children there was greut 
 commotion laughing, shouting, and a variety of move- 
 ments which denoted that great pleasure was in anticipa- 
 tion or in enjoyment. When Mr. Eldridge had approached 
 very near where they were the children opened on the 
 right and left, the boys with their hats and caps off, and 
 the girls courtesying, and all most respectfully greeting the 
 minister they loved. Having passed through the line, Mr. 
 Eldridge turned round and stood as if speaking to his 
 young friends. Then they gathered around him, and he 
 took them severally by the hand, exchanging congratula- 
 tions with them. The squire and his friend were the while 
 approaching and much enjoying the scene. 
 
 "The little folks seem highly pleased with their minis- 
 ter," Mr. Lovell remarked, addressing Mr. Eldridge. 
 
 " They usually anticipate seeing me here about this 
 time of the day as I go to the post office," Mr. Eldridge 
 replied. "Their school has just closed, and they want 
 Borne diversion." 
 
 "They do not appear to be afraid of you," said Mr. 
 Lovell. 
 
 " I hope not," Mr. Eldridge replied. " I should regret 
 very much to have any boys and girls in the parish in the 
 slightest fear of me. I ever encourage all to approach 
 me with the same familiarity that they do their parents." 
 
 " I have often noticed," said the squire, " the same kind 
 of regard for you before ; and when my attention was 
 called to the children by my friend as we were walking 
 by the graveyard, I stopped to allow him to witness their 
 doings." 
 
 " It is a very pleasing spectacle, truly," said Mr. Lovell, 
 " and auspicious of good, when children manifest such 
 deep interest in their pastor ; for children are a mirror 
 in which their parents can be seen." 
 
 With a grateful and gracious bow Mr. Eldridge bade
 
 THE PASTOE'S CARE OF THE YOUNG, ETC. 101 
 
 adieu to these gentlemen, being desirous of speaking with 
 another individual who was passing in a carriage. Re- 
 suming their walk, Mr. Lovell remarked, 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge must have a very strong hold of the 
 young people of his parish, I should judge." 
 
 " He has an uncommon share of their interest and affec- 
 tion," the squire replied. "I do not remember ever to 
 have known a pastor so generally beloved by the younger 
 portion of his flock as is the case here. As much interest 
 would be expressed in as many children in other parts of 
 the parish as was manifested here just now." 
 
 " It is a fine thing that it is so," Mr. Lovell remarked. 
 " If the children have affection for a pastor they will be 
 pleased in hearing him preach, and will be inclined to 
 treasure up his instructions in their hearts." 
 
 " We have found this to be ca'se," the squire replied. 
 " We often hear that children in the parish consider it a 
 very heavy trial when it is necessary for them to be absent 
 from church on the Sabbath. They are so much interested 
 in Mr. Eldridge as to be unwilling to be deprived of the 
 pleasure of hearing him preach even for a single Sabbath. 
 That they remember what he preaches we know, from the 
 fact that in the Sabbath school they give us a very ac- 
 curate account of the sermon. It is truly astonishing to 
 hear some of them repeat what they have heard. They 
 will give the text, chapter and verse, the subject and 
 divisions, of the discourse ; and frequently, in answer to 
 the questions of the teachers, will bring out quite a re- 
 spectable portion of the sermon. I often think that I 
 could not have given so intelligent an account of the 
 preaching as I frequently hear from some of the children." 
 
 " They are not excited to treasure up so much of the dis- 
 course by any expectation that Mr. Eldridge will know of 
 it, are they?" Mr. Lovell asked. 
 
 " 1 presume that consideration has influence upon them," 
 <J*
 
 102 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the squire replied; " for it is often that the pastor visits 
 the school and is present when the children are giving 
 their account of his discourse." 
 
 " It must be a great source of pleasure as well as hope 
 to him to know that he has such retentive hearers in the 
 younger part of his audience," said Mr. Lovell. 
 
 " Undoubtedly it is," said the squire, " and very grati- 
 fying to the children likewise to have Mr. Eldridge aware 
 how well they remember his sermons. I have often heard 
 that some of the children have been much pained at not 
 giving so full an account of the sermon in the Sabbath 
 school as they had previously given to their parents, be- 
 cause they supposed their failure was noticed by the 
 pastor." 
 
 At the dinner table, around which the squire and his 
 friend were summoned, as they entered the hous'e on the 
 conclusion of their walk, Mr. Lovell, addressing Mrs. Da- 
 vidson, remarked, 
 
 "I have been highly delighted this morning with the 
 discovery of excessive interest on the part of your young 
 people here in their pastor." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the good lady. " And what may it be ? " 
 
 The gentleman then proceeded and narrated what has 
 just now been under the eye of the reader, when Mrs. Da- 
 vidson observed, 
 
 " That was an interesting spectacle, was it not, Mr. 
 Lovell? It is always pleasant to notice in children re- 
 spect and affection for their minister. Mr. Eldridge has 
 many such demonstrations of regard by his little parish- 
 ioners." 
 
 " He has a wonderful faculty of interesting the young," 
 Frances remarked. " They all think much of him. In a 
 neighborhood about three miles from here, where there 
 are quite a number of children, last spring the girls were 
 in the habit of meeting every Saturday afternoon in the
 
 THE PASTOR'S CARE OF THE YOUNG, ETC. 103 
 
 school house for the purpose of preparing some testimonial 
 of respect for the pastor. They met in this way for two 
 months, we heard, and made, a large and splendid bed- 
 spread. When it was ready to be put together and quilted 
 their mothers and older sisters were invited to Mrs. Kim- 
 ball's, where they had a fine quilting party. An invitation 
 was given to Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge to favor a few of 
 their friends with their company in the evening. The 
 work was all completed before dark and ready for a for- 
 mal presentation. Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge in the evening 
 joined this happy company, and were somewhat surprised 
 at noticing that pretty much all the people in the neigh- 
 borhood were present, and that, instead of seeing a few, 
 they had the pleasure of welcoming many of their friends. 
 They had not been at Mr. Kimball's an hour before it be- 
 came evident to them that some other reason than the 
 enjoyment of a mere social visit had gathered their friends 
 together. There was the arranging of chairs around the 
 room in a peculiar order, and the company taking their 
 seats upon them, with an expression of countenance every 
 now and then upon some of them that unmistakably told . 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge there was a secret about to be 
 revealed. Then a large table was rolled into the centre 
 of the room, and soon two young ladies entered, bearing 
 a long roll, tastefully folded and tied with ribbons. Then 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge were asked to occupy two chairs- 
 near this table and roll ; and opposite them three young 
 girls seated themselves. Whilst all this was going on 
 conversation was generally suspended. On the part of 
 the pastor and his wife there was the silence of suspense ; 
 but on the part of the others there was the impatience for 
 the crowning scene of the evening. All the preliminaries 
 being arranged, one of the young ladies, who sat opposite 
 the pastor and his wife, arose, and in a neat and appropriate 
 manner made known the real cause of the present gathering.
 
 104 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 In doing this many very complimentary things were said 
 of the pastor and his companion. To prove that the 
 heart was in these expressions of respect and affection, 
 and not the tongue only concerned in them, she observed 
 that her young associates and friends who were present 
 had for weeks been engaged in fashioning a memorial of 
 their feelings, and which it was now her happy fortune, in 
 their name, to present to her pastor and wife. Instantly 
 the other girls by the side of the speaker unrolled the 
 fabric that had lain on the table, and it appeared most 
 beautiful indeed. Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge were taken by 
 surprise, being wholly unaware that any such expression 
 of friendship was intended, and both were much affected." 
 
 " That must have been a most interesting occasion to 
 them, I confess," Mr. Lovell remarked. "I suppose the 
 article presented cost the young ladies much labor and 
 anxiety." 
 
 " 0, yes," said Frances, " and not a little money too. It 
 was certainly a magnificent piece of work for the kind. 
 It was composed mostly of silk and satin, and very richly 
 embroidered. It was thought that it would sell readily 
 at auction for thirty or forty dollars." 
 
 "As Frances has given you information of the gener- 
 osity of the girls," the squire observed, " I will tell you 
 what the boys did last winter." 
 
 "I should be happy to hear," Mr. Lovell said. 
 
 " Last winter," the squire continued, " we had a large 
 quantity of snow in this region, and some of the older 
 boys started the project of making the minister a present 
 of a load of wood. The plan was, that each boy should 
 obtain from his father as much as he was disposed to give 
 and deposit the same on a piece of ground near the school 
 house. When all had made their contribution, a day was 
 fixed upon to convey the wood in a single load to the 
 parsonage. Accordingly, at the appointed time, the boys
 
 THE PASTOR'S CARE OP THE YOUNGJ ETC. 105 
 
 met at the school house to load up. They first loaded one 
 sled and drove it along a little way. Then they loaded 
 another and drove that along to the first load, and at- 
 tached it firmly to the same by chains. In this way they 
 proceeded till the whole lot of wood was all loaded up. 
 They then put on their team, which consisted of seven 
 yoke of oxen, and drove down to the minister's in high 
 spirits. This team, and those interested in its manage- 
 ment, attracted great attention along the road ; and when 
 it reached its destination there were more than a hundred 
 men and boys around, who had fallen in along the route. 
 Mr. Eldridge, hearing quite a tumult about his premises, 
 was somewhat alarmed, on opening the door, to see such 
 a collection of people. Somehow or other the wood es- 
 caped his notice ; and he was not aware that it stood by 
 till he was asked by a little fellow, who, for his brightness 
 and intelligence, had won the name of John Quincy Jldams, 
 if he would accept of a small load of wood." 
 
 " He made no objections, I suppose," said Mr. Lovell. 
 
 " Of course not," the squire proceeded ; " but he was ex- 
 ceedingly overcome, I assure you. In common with others, 
 as the load passed my store, I followed on. After the 
 wood was unloaded, little John Quincy Adams, in behalf 
 of the donors, addressed Mr. Eldridge in a short speech, 
 which was touching in the extreme. It must have made 
 Mr. Eldridge feel that he was beloved by all the young 
 people of the parish. In concluding his remarks, John 
 Quincy said that, if agreeable to Mr. Eldridge, the boys 
 would meet on the^next Saturday and saw, split, and pile 
 up the wood." 
 
 " That was a very handsome thing," said Mr. Lovell. 
 " How much wood did the load contain ? " 
 
 " It was thought there were over eight cords of it," thd 
 squire replied. 
 
 " That was a most valuable present, I confess," said-
 
 106 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Mr. Lovell. " They met, I suppose, and sawed and piled 
 the wood as proposed ? " 
 
 " That they did," the squire replied ; " and there was a 
 large company together at the time. The news had 
 spread ; and boys far and near were there with saws and 
 axes, which were used most industriously till the whole 
 work was done ; and the whole lot of wood was sawed, 
 split, and packed away in the the wood house before one 
 o'clock." 
 
 " The minister had a large company at dinner that day, 
 I suppose," Mr. Lovell said. 
 
 " He might have had, had not his intentions been frus- 
 trated by some of the people in this neighborhood, who 
 thought they would like a share in the doings of the day. 
 They got up a dinner at the tavern for about two hundred 
 persons ; and all who were at Mr. Eldriclge's, whether as 
 workers or spectators, were invited there to dinner." 
 
 " The dinner must have cost a large sum," said Mr. 
 Lovell. "Tavern keepers don't work for nothing, you 
 know." 
 
 " It must have cost something, of course," said the squire ; 
 " but the dinner was not provided by the landlord of the 
 house. The families in the village here furnished the 
 tables, each contributing meats, puddings, pies, &c. The 
 landlord, being a generous man and a lover of good times, 
 offered the gratuitous use of his hall, tables, crockery, &c." 
 
 "All this is worth knowing," Mr. Lovell remarked. 
 " Was an account of the affair ever published ? It ought 
 to have been." 
 
 "Along article in reference to it was written by one 
 of our young men," the squire replied, " and would have 
 been published had not Mr. Eldridge interfered to pre- 
 vent it. He said he did not like to have a great noise 
 made about himself in the community. He acknowledged, 
 however, the kindness in a brief card in the papers, but
 
 THE PASTOR'S CARE OF THE YOUNG, ETC. 107 
 
 not in a manner to bring out all the facts as I have now 
 stated them." 
 
 " I should think," said Mr. Lovell, " Mr. Eldridge must 
 feel that he has one of the very best of parishes." 
 
 "There is human nature here, after all," the squire 
 somewhat dryly replied. " "We are by no means perfect." 
 
 " We have a pastor, Mr. Lovell, who understands very 
 well how to get along with all classes of his parishioners," 
 aunt Sarah said. " He is attentive to every one, and all 
 seem to think he is their peculiar friend. You would be 
 much interested in hearing some of our poor people speak 
 of him and to know of many expressions of their attach- 
 ment." 
 
 " That is another star in your pastor's crown, I suppose," 
 Mr. Lovell replied. 
 
 "It is much in his favor," aunt Sarah said. "Some 
 ministers seern to think it is not of much consequence 
 whether they pay any particular attentions to the poorer 
 classes or not. They appear to feel that, if they can keep 
 on the right side of the more influential members of their 
 paribh, they will have no cause for trouble. I don't know 
 as this is their feeling, but it looks like it." 
 
 "0 sister, you must not judge ministers so harshly," 
 interposed the squire. " They are not all constituted 
 alike, you know." 
 
 " Ah, well," aunt Sarah continued, " I think a minister 
 ought to be conversant with all his people ; he ought to 
 know them all, and especially those in the lower walks of 
 life. They are greatly comforted by being noticed by the 
 minister, and greatly benefited likewise. Only think how 
 much pleasure widow Tompkins takes in telling of the 
 attentions she receives from Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " This is all true," said the squire. " I acknowledge it 
 all. It is very important that a minister does not over- 
 look the poor and the -ignoble ; but you know that some
 
 108 A VOICE FKOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 clergymen are of such a temperament as leads them to 
 neglect particular attentions to any. Some neglect the 
 rich as much as they do the poor ; and they are good min- 
 isters, too, for all this." 
 
 " I wish all who neglect the poor would come here and 
 take lessons of our minister," aunt Sarah rejoined. " Let 
 them go with him to Mrs. Snowden's, and widow Tomp- 
 kins's, and some others whom I could mention ; and, if I 
 mistake not, they would be induced to search out for simi- 
 lar persons in their own parishes, and be comforted and 
 encouraged in their labors by their conversation and ex- 
 perience." 
 
 " I should judge from this remark, Miss Davidson, that 
 these cases to which you allude were interesting ones," 
 Mr. Lovell observed. " Will you enlarge a little ? " 
 
 "I must refer you to Frances," aunt Sarah replied, "as 
 she often accompanies Mr. Eldridge to widow Tompkins's 
 and some other individuals like her." 
 
 " As Mr. Eldridge often has our carriage," Frances pro- 
 ceeded, " he frequently invites me to ride with him ; and 
 I always feel it a privilege to accept his invitation. I 
 have been with him several times to Mrs. Tompkins's, who 
 resides some four miles from here, and has been confined 
 to her room for several years with the dropsy. She is very 
 poor, and has but one child at home. Last week I was 
 there without Mr. Eldridge, having begged the privilege 
 of accompanying father, who was going by her house, that 
 I might remain with her till his return. I had scarcely 
 been seated before she expressed her great regret that Mr. 
 Eldridge had not come with me. ' You don't know how 
 much I enjoy his visits,' she said. 'His conversation 
 makes me think of his great Master, who sought opportu- 
 nities to do good to the poor, the sick, and the afflicted. 
 He seems' to be very different from other ministers I have 
 known ; he cares for all, whether rich or poor, high or
 
 THE PASTOR'S CARE OF THE YOUNG, ETC. 109 
 
 low. Sometimes when he has been here I have thought 
 he cared for the poor more than he did for the rich, and I 
 have heard a number of poor people say it seemed just so 
 to them. He comes to see me about once a month, and I 
 have a feast when he is here that lasts me a great while. 
 He makes me forget my pains and trials, and carries me 
 away to heaven, so that I long to be there. You can't 
 think,' she said, ' how different he is from our former pas- 
 tor. He used to come once* or twice a year, but did not 
 seem to enter into my case. I did not get much sympathy 
 or much good either from him. He always seemed to 
 come because he thought he must, and not because he wanted 
 to. Now, Mr. Eldridge appears to have pleasure in calling, 
 because he feels that he is doing good. 0,' she continued, 
 * I am under the greatest obligations to him, blessed man ! 
 He has taught me a great deal about Christ and heaven.' 
 She went on in this way for some time, giving expression 
 to her exceeding interest in our pastor. I could not help 
 thinking whilst she was speaking that all she said was 
 true ; for certainly when I have been with Mr. Eldridge 
 he appeared just as she described." 
 
 " How long has she been sick ? " Mr. Lovell inquired. 
 
 "About twenty years," Mrs. Davidson replied. 
 
 "She ought to have sympathy from some quarter, I 
 think," Mr. Lovell said. 
 
 " She certainly ought," said Mrs. Davidson ; " but, poor 
 woman ! she does not receive much. She lives on a road 
 that is not much travelled, and there are not many who 
 are sufficiently interested in the poor to go and see her. 
 ] am highly gratified with Mr. Eldridge's attentions to 
 her." 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge treats all the poor and afflicted just 
 
 after this manner," aunt Sarah remarked. " There is Mrs. 
 
 Snowden, a pious woman I believe, but who, for some 
 
 reason or other, lias not been much cared for, who thinks 
 
 10
 
 110 A VOICE FROM TUB PARSONAGE. 
 
 a great deal of Mr. Eldridge. She has a very bad cancer 
 in her face, and looks so disagreeable that people don't 
 like to go there. She is very poor, and cannot for this 
 reason do as she would keep herself and room looking 
 neat. Mr. Eldridge goes there once a week, I believe ; 
 and people tell me that she is very much comforted by his 
 visits. Brother says, when he calls there to make her a 
 present of things she needs for her comfort that she is 
 almost all the time talking about our good minister. 
 'He can't think himself a bit better than I am,' she often 
 says." 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge must be a most excellent man," said Mr. 
 Lovell. " I always like to hear that a minister is praised 
 by the poor and those in the humbler walk of life." 
 
 " This class here all speak well of Mr. Eldridge," Fran- 
 ces remarked. " I never heard a word of complaint from 
 any of them that he was proud or indifferent to them."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL PREACHER. 
 
 ON a pleasant day in February, as Squire Davidson was 
 standing at the window after dinner, he noticed a sleigh 
 approaching the house from the road below, and ex- 
 claimed, 
 
 " I wonder who is coming here ? 0, I see now ; it is 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jaquith, from Linebrook parish." 
 
 " Are they here, husband ? " said his wife. " I am very 
 glad of it. They have come over, I dare say, to attend 
 some of our meetings." 
 
 Soon Mr. and Mrs. Jaquith were seated around the 
 cheerful fire, apparently much pleased that they were 
 again with those from whose society they had derived so 
 much happiness on repeated occasions heretofore. 
 
 " We hear you are having precious times over here," 
 said Mrs. Jaquith ; " and I have been telling husband for 
 a week or two past that we must ride over and attend 
 some of your meetings. I hope you are to have a meeting 
 this evening." 
 
 " We are," Mrs. Davidson replied ; "and this afternoon 
 likewise." 
 
 " It seems you have heard of our revival," the squire ob- 
 served. 
 
 " We have Jieard very much about it," Mrs. Jaquith re- 
 plied. " Mr. Mandel, you know, is over here from our 
 
 (ill)
 
 112 A VOICE FKOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 place two or three times a week ; and if any individual 
 would be likely to know of a revival, he is the one. He 
 is very much interested in calling upon us from time to 
 time to give us particulars of the work. He says he 
 must always call when he is passing and tell us the glori- 
 ous news." 
 
 " It is a glorious season, I assure you, that we are now 
 enjoying," Mrs. Davidson remarked. "I never before 
 knew such a revival as this." 
 
 " You are highly favored here, I think," Mrs. Jaquith 
 said, " in having such frequent revivals. This is the fourth, 
 I believe, since Mr. Eldridge was settled." 
 
 " I believe we have had three seasons of interest before 
 the present," Mrs. Davidson said ; "but neither of the oth- 
 ers approached this in power and extent." 
 
 " It is a great blessing to be favored with such a revival 
 preacher as Mr. Eldridge," Mrs. Jaquith observed. " I 
 often tell our people that if we had such a preacher we 
 should have revivals." 
 
 " Is not your minister, Mrs. Jaquith, a good preacher ? " 
 the squire asked, in an earnest, if not in a reproving, manner. 
 "We call Mr. Sibley a most excellent man, and preacher 
 too, over here." 
 
 " Certainly," Mrs. Jaquith replied ; " Mr. Sibley is a 
 good preacher, and a very consistent and conscientious 
 man ; but then he is no revival preacher." 
 
 " My husband," Mrs. Davidson interposed, " is not par- 
 tial to comparisons of ministers, being a great friend to 
 them all. You will therefore, Mrs. Jaquith, excuse his 
 earnestness, and place it to the account of his long ac- 
 quaintance with you. We think as you do, that our minis- 
 ter is a revival preacher." 
 
 " I would not have you think, squire, that I undervalue 
 Mr. Sibley," Mrs. Jaquith observed, with a good-natured 
 smile. " Perhaps I did not express myself with as much 
 propriety as I might have done."
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL PREACHES. 113 
 
 "Such modes of speaking are very common, madam, 
 and indicate a feeling with which I confess I have not 
 much sympathy," the squire replied. " I have long been 
 of the opinion that both ministers and churches were much 
 injured by such comparisons as you have just made between 
 your minister and Mr. Eldridge. Churches are injured 
 because they serve as a palliation for their neglect of duty, 
 and ministers are often injured by these comparisons be- 
 cause their tendency is to prejudice minds against the one 
 who appears to the least advantage in the comparison. 
 If a stranger to both ministers were here, he would un- 
 doubtedly have had an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Sibley 
 from your remark. All ministers are not alike, and it is 
 for important purposes that there is a diversity of gifts. 
 I think there may be as fair a prospect of a revival under 
 the preaching of Mr. Sibley as under that of Mr. Eldridge, 
 if the people do their duty faithfully " 
 
 " 0, then, you think the people in Linebrook are not as 
 good and faithful Christians as your own people?" Mrs. 
 Jaquith said, with a little excitement. 
 
 " Not exactly that, my good friend," the squire replied. 
 " I have had the impression that your people attached a 
 greater load to their minister than he could carry that 
 they expected more of him than is. reasonable. It will 
 not answer for the members of a church to feel that they 
 have no responsibility in relation to the progress of reli-. 
 gion that they may attend to their own concerns and 
 yet the work of the Lord be carried prosperously along 
 by the minister. I have thought that your church had the 
 feeling that it all depended on Mr. Sibley whether reli- 
 gion prospered among you, and that his success was in no 
 way connected with their prayers, sympathy, and general 
 cooperation. I may be deceived, however ; I hope that I 
 am. Now, with us, we think Mr. Eldridge is a man ia 
 need of kelp, encouragement, and of our persevering prayers ; 
 10*
 
 114 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and that he will be prospered or hindered in his work in pro- 
 portion to our own fidelity in these several respects. Now, I 
 think, if your people would rally around their minister, 
 and manifest an interest in him and in his labors, and 
 would pray much for him and his success, you might have 
 revivals as frequently as we do here." 
 
 " There is some truth in your remarks, I confess," Mrs. 
 Jaquith said. "We are in the habit of thinking that it 
 depends upon the minister ; and, in helping or encour- 
 aging him much, I think we are very deficient. You 
 know our people are very industrious and think they have 
 no time for other matters but those which relate immedi- 
 ately to their own business." 
 
 " There, that is it," the squire said ; " but your people 
 wish to be like other people ; they want as successful a 
 minister as any parish enjoys, and yet are indisposed to 
 make the necessary sacrifices. Now, they must alter radi- 
 cally, or no minister will be successful among them." 
 
 " Well, squire, I wish you would go over there and tell 
 us our duty and endeavor to infuse into our people the 
 right spirit. They think much of you ; and I do not know 
 of an individual who would have more influence over 
 them." 
 
 " I am obliged to . you for the compliment," the squire 
 replied. " If I could be of any benefit to your people, it 
 .would give me much pleasure to be with you at some of 
 your meetings." 
 
 " 0, you could be of great benefit, I have no doubt," 
 Mrs. Jaquith remarked. ' 
 
 " What evening do you have a prayer meeting ? " the 
 squire asked. 
 
 " We have no particular evening," Mrs. Jaquith replied. 
 " Formerly it was Wednesday evening ; but of late we 
 have not had prayer meetings often. Mr. Siblcy became 
 discouraged. The members of the church did not have
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL' PREACHER. 115 
 
 any interest in them. Sometimes there would be a deacon 
 there, but not very often ; and at last it was very com- 
 mon for no other male member of the church to be present 
 but the one at whose house the meeting was appointed. 
 However, if you will go over, we could have a prayer 
 meeting appointed almost any evening." 
 
 " I am really afraid it would not amount to much should 
 there be a meeting called merely to hear me talk a little 
 while," the squire said. " I do not see what ground there 
 is for expecting success to any religious efforts whilst the 
 people are so spiritually dead as their indifference to a 
 prayer meeting fully demonstrates." 
 
 At the appointed hour the squire and wife, with their 
 friends, repaired to the vestry to attend a meeting for 
 conference and prayer. The spacious room was crowded, 
 and the adjoining rooms could hardly seat all who were 
 present. The deepest solemnity sat on every countenance, 
 and strong anxiety was on many an awakened sinner. 
 
 " What a meeting we have had ! " said Mrs. Jaquith, as 
 she was seated in the parlor of the squire. " How very 
 solemn and interesting ! How animated and eloquent Mr. 
 Eldridge was ! 0, 1 should think people would feel where 
 he is 1 He certainly understands how to get to the 
 heart." 
 
 " He does," Mrs. Davidson replied ; " there can be no 
 mistake about that. I do not know what he might do in 
 a place where the people were all spiritually dead ; but he 
 has certainly been instrumental of great good since he 
 has been here." 
 
 " Hon't you think he would wake up a dull and worldly 
 church if he should be settled over such ? " Mrs. Jaquith 
 inquired. 
 
 " I cannot tell," Mrs. Davidson replied. " There is 
 a kind that goeth not out only by prayer and fasting. 
 Paul may plant, Apollos water ; but God must give the
 
 116 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 increase. If there were not a praying church there could 
 not be much ground for hope. I think Mr. Eldridge 
 would not remain long with a people who were indifferent 
 to spiritual progress and neglectful of the means for ef- 
 fecting it." 
 
 "I cannot but think," Mrs. Jaquith said, "that your 
 pastor would rouse up careless professors ; his appeals 
 could not fail to do this. They would have to feel, act, 
 and pray, I am sure. Don't you think some ministers can 
 do this work with more success than others ? " 
 
 " Certainly," was the reply. 
 
 " Well, that is what I think," said Mrs. Jaquith ; " and 
 I meant only that this morning in the remark that excited 
 your husband a little, you remember." 
 
 " I rather think," said Mrs. Davidson, " that our minis- 
 ter would not have much success among your people unless 
 the Holy Spirit was with him." 
 
 " No, certainly not," Mrs. Jaquith replied ; " but would 
 he not be instrumental in stirring up the church so that 
 they would pray for the Holy Ghost ? " 
 
 " 0, 1 do not know how that would be," Mrs. Davidson 
 replied. "You know it is hard for the Ethiopian to 
 change his skin or the leopard his spots. From what I 
 have heard, your deacons and leading men in the church 
 are excessively worldly. They much prefer being where 
 they can advance their temporal interest than at a prayer 
 meeting. Unless they felt differently from what they now 
 do, I do not believe Mr. Eldridge or any other minister 
 would do much good there." 
 
 " It is very trying, I confess," Mrs. Jaquith said, " to see 
 such individuals as you mention so bound up in this world. 
 I know our people look up to them, and they are much 
 censured for their worldliness ; but could not a minister 
 rouse them such a minister as Mr. Eldridge ? " 
 
 " Perhaps for a little time they might be more engaged
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL PREACHER. 117 
 
 outwardly if they had a new minister ; but it would not 
 last long, I think," said Mrs. Davidson. " You know how 
 greatly Mr. Richardson, your former pastor, was tried by 
 the worldliness of your church. He was a rousing preacher, 
 I am sure. He used to tell us he was discouraged because 
 the deacons and other men of influence would not work 
 with him, being so much engrossed with their plans for 
 making money. He mentioned that he had labored hard 
 with them to persuade to a different course, but that all 
 his labor was lost. There is your Deacon Merill : Mr. 
 Richardson used to say of him that he appeared much 
 more interested in his own business than in the conversion 
 of sinners or the prosperity of the church." 
 
 " The deacon formerly felt very different from this. He 
 was once a very engaged Christian." 
 
 " Yes, I have heard that he was," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 " Mr. Colton, who preached for you considerably in a revi- 
 val you had fifteen or twenty years ago, told us ^that the 
 deacon was then very much engaged and very active. But 
 he has changed his opinion of late. He was here lately, 
 and, in speaking of your parish and of Deacon Merill, 
 remarked that he was astonished to notice his very great 
 decline in piety." 
 
 41 He made the same remark at our house," Mrs. Jaquith 
 said, " when he called there as he was on his way to visit 
 you. He said that until Deacon Merill was a changed 
 man, as he had such influence, it would be impossible for 
 Mr. Sibley or any other minister to do much good there. 
 I thought he was rather severe on the deacon at the time ; 
 but I have since altered my mind." 
 
 " Well, Mrs. Jaquith," said the squire, who had just 
 come in with her husband, " how were you pleased with 
 our meeting this afternoon ? " 
 
 " Very much pleased indeed," Mrs. Jaquith replied. 
 " I do not remember that I ever was at a meeting which I
 
 118 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 enjoyed more. I thought all were very much engaged, and 
 that your minister was particularly so. I should think 
 there was great depth to the religious feeling here." 
 
 " Yes, I think there is," the squire remarked, " and that 
 the interest is daily becoming greater. I have just been 
 conversing with Mr. Eldridge, who gives a very favorable 
 account of the work." 
 
 " I hope that I shall derive much benefit myself from 
 being with you," Mrs. Jaquith said. " I already see things 
 in a new light, both as respects myself and our people." 
 
 " That is encouraging," said the squire. " I trust we 
 shall all be profited by the interesting occasion we have 
 enjoyed." 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge is very well fitted to promote religious 
 feeling, I think," said Mrs. Jaquith. 
 
 " He is," said the squire. " He is a very good man, and 
 rejoices in seeing the work of the Lord prospered. We 
 have every reason to be satisfied with him. He does all 
 that a man can do." 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mrs. Jaquith. " He looks very much ex- 
 hausted. His labors must have been very great." 
 
 "They have been excessively arduous," Mrs. Davidson 
 replied. " He is at work all the time, and we are fearful 
 that he will overdo and be under the necessity of suspend- 
 ing all effort." 
 
 " That would be a great trial to you all as well as a 
 hinderance to the revival, would it not?" Mrs. Jaquith 
 inquired. 
 
 " We should all very much feel the trial if Mr. Eld- 
 ridge's health should fail and he be unable to continue his 
 labors. The interest here might be checked, I think, by 
 such an event." 
 
 "How many conversions have there been among you 
 since the commencement of the present revival ? " Mrs. 
 Jaquith inquired.
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL PREACHER. 119 
 
 "We do not know exactly," Mrs. Davidson replied. 
 " We have heard that between sixty and seventy are indul- 
 ging hope." 
 
 " That is a large number," Mrs. Jaquith said. " Should 
 there be no others, the accession of these to your church 
 would very much increase its strength. Your church now, 
 I believe, is very large." 
 
 " It is one of the largest in the region," Mrs. Davidson 
 said. " It has increased very much since Mr. Eldridge has 
 been with us. Forty-seven a year is the average number 
 which has been received by our present pastor." 
 
 " That is a large number," Mrs. Jaquith observed. " I 
 cannot avoid feeling that your great prosperity is in a 
 great measure to be ascribed to the engagedness of your 
 pastor. He must be a revival preacher, or you could not 
 have had such constant additions to your church." 
 
 " We know that Mr. Eldridge is a revival preacher," 
 the squire replied. "He is called such all over the parish, 
 and has had this character for years." 
 
 " I inferred from what you said in the morning, squire," 
 Mrs. Jaquith observed, " that you did not allow that he 
 was more of such a preacher than other ministers. I 
 thought it was your opinion that he was mainly indebted 
 to his church, under God, for his usefulness," 
 
 " I do think so," the squire replied ; " that is, I think, if 
 our church did not sympathize with Mr. Eldridge and co- 
 operate with him, that he would not be as useful as he now 
 is and as he has been." 
 
 " Supposing any other minister to be your pastor, would 
 his usefulness be as great as that of Mr. Eldridge, pro- 
 vided your church were faithful in the discharge of duty ? " 
 
 " Some other minister might have equal success," the 
 squire replied ; " but not every minister would. I would 
 not be understood as saying that it all depends upon the 
 church whether a minister is or is not successful. I
 
 120 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 acknowledge that much is depending upon the talents and 
 devotedness of the minister. Some ministers would do 
 well here who might not be equally successful elsewhere ; 
 and so some ministers might be instrumental of accom- 
 plishing great good elsewhere who would fail here 
 altogether." 
 
 " Now, squire," Mrs. Jaquith asked, " do you not think 
 that some ministers are more revival preachers than 
 others ? " 
 
 " I suppose I must say that I do," was the reply." 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge is one of those preachers, you have said. 
 You and I agree much better now than in the morning, 
 I think," Mr. Jaquith said. "You have said that it is 
 difficult for one to avoid feeling under Mr. Eldridge's 
 preaching ; and I said in the morning, that, if we had such 
 a preacher as Mr. Eldridge, I thought he would make our 
 church feel and do their duty." 
 
 " He might make them feel, I acknowledge," the squire 
 replied ; " and yet, when they went out from his presence 
 and mingled in the world, their own business would make 
 them feel more. I do not doubt that Deacon Merill and 
 others in your church often feel under Mr. Sibley's preach- 
 ing." 
 
 " 0, 1 know they do," Mrs. Jaquith said. 
 
 " Why, then, do you not have revivals ? " the squire 
 asked. 
 
 "I do not know," was the reply ; "but, then, I think we 
 should if Mr. Eldridge was our minister ; he is different 
 from Mr. Sibley." 
 
 " It might be," the squire said, " that Mr. Eldridge would 
 be successful, with the blessing of God, in rousing your 
 church, and thereby inducing them to be more consistent 
 and active ; but he would have a hard matter of it, I ap- 
 prehend. Should he do this, you might have revivals. 
 Until Christians do their duty, the ministry will not be
 
 THE PASTOR A REVIVAL PREACHER. 121 
 
 successful ; the word preached will be powerless. I wish 
 your church and every church felt this, and then I think 
 we should hear less fault found with ministers because 
 they were unsuccessful, and more said in their praise be- 
 cause of their instrumentality in leading many souls in the 
 path to heaven." 
 
 11
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VISIT OF A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 
 
 SQUIKE DAVIDSON being a native of Connecticut, as has 
 already been stated, cherished that particular interest in 
 the noble state which her character for all that is good 
 ought ever to inspire in her children. After his removal 
 from her territory he continued to cultivate that intimate 
 acquaintance with whatever affected her prosperity which 
 could be done by frequent visits and correspondence. By 
 a large circle of warm friends there as well as in the state 
 of his adoption he was regarded with the highest respect 
 for the uniform consistency of his piety, and for his straight- 
 forward, decided course in relation to every project which 
 had for its end the good of his species and the glory o f 
 his Creator. Often has his house enclosed a happy com- 
 pany who had journeyed thither from the vicinage of his 
 native home to strengthen or renew the acquaintance 
 that began in youth. Often, too, have many who never 
 knew him but by report been incited by the fulness, of this 
 report of his worth to attest the truth of what they had 
 heard by a visit to his hospitable abode. 
 
 Many a clergyman from Connecticut and other parts 
 had been directed, for miles around his house, as they asked 
 the way to Squire Davidson's ; and all these worthy men 
 ever found themselves the welcome guests of a man whom 
 they confided in as one of the strong pillars of the church. 
 
 (122)
 
 VISIT OP A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 123 
 
 The good minister of his native town, who was often 
 among the crowd during election or anniversary week in 
 Boston, was frequently heard by his wife to declare that 
 he hardly knew which motive had the strongest power to 
 urge him on to Boston in the month of May either that in 
 the opportunity for seeing and hearing the great and the 
 good in the various convocations of the church, or that 
 of a visit to the minister's firmest friend, in the person of 
 Squire Davidson, near whose house his route lay to Boston. 
 Probably, when meditating on the journey at the period 
 now to be described, the good man was at no loss to de- 
 termine the strongest incentive to his course. The desire 
 to enjoy the wise counsels and warm sympathy of the 
 squire was predominant ; for he did not allow himself but 
 one day in Boston, preferring to pass between three and 
 four with the squire. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Edmands, the clergyman above alluded to, had 
 been settled in the native town of Squire Davidson eleven 
 years. Though not the greatest theologian of the times 
 nor the most eloquent preacher, yet his talents were very 
 respectable, his acquirements equal to the average class 
 of ministers, and his piety and devotedness to his Master's 
 service were far beyond those of many of his brethren in 
 the region. In the years of his pastorate he had been 
 singularly successful among a people who had been riven 
 by previous strife ; and he had won over, by his humble, 
 wise, and consistent course, many an individual who had 
 avowed erroneous doctrines, and who had gone down to 
 practices* at a great remove from the way to heaven. The 
 great truths of revelation which had been the subjects of 
 ridicule ceased almost entirely to yield mirth ; and tho 
 obloquy which had, in no contracted measure, been poured 
 out on those who were attached to the visible kingdom of 
 Christ, was so far wiped away as to allow the common 
 remark, that there was something in religion of advantage
 
 124 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to man in the present life, and of indispensable moment 
 to him in the life which follows. The church under his 
 ministry had repaired its foundations, which former conten- 
 tions and inconsistencies in its members had greatly shaken 
 and enervated. It had been greatly strengthened, too, by 
 additions of those who had formerly been the opposers of 
 its doctrines and the scoffers in the community. The 
 Sabbath congregation, instead of the meagre assembly 
 within the house of God when Mr. Edmands began his 
 ministry, had waxed so great as to make it necessary to 
 enlarge the sanctuary to give the worshippers room. 
 Business had greatly prospered, and the general aspects 
 of the place had undergone a most pleasing revolution. 
 Common acclamation ascribed all these important events, 
 in a great measure, to the prudence and devotedness of 
 the pastor. So many expressions had Mr. Edmarids of 
 the confidence and affection of his people as to induce 
 within his breast the feeling that no other parish would 
 ever be sought by him. The remark in neighboring towns 
 was frequent among the people there residing, and who 
 often interchanged feeling with Mr. Edmands's parish- 
 ioners, that he was just the man for them, and that they 
 were wonderfully attached to him. No intimation of dis- 
 satisfaction reached his ears from year to year ; and every 
 thing favored the conclusion, till a few months before his 
 present visit to the squire, that Mr. Edmands's parish 
 would never think of another pastor till his grave had 
 been made in their own cemetery. 
 
 In the annual visits of Squire Davidson to the home of 
 his childhood and youth he had taken great pleasure in 
 hearing from the people of their growing attachment to 
 their pastor and of witnessing the beneficial results of Ids 
 ministry. He, too, thought that it would never again be his 
 grief to know of another change in the pastoral office 
 there, unless it was effected by the death of the present
 
 VISIT OF A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 125 
 
 pastor. It was, therefore, no pleasing object to him that 
 Mr. Edmands disclosed as the reason of his present visit 
 that of seeking counsel in relation to the difficulties which 
 had suddenly overtaken him. The squire, however, was 
 not wholly taken by surprise ; for a letter from his sister 
 living in her native place, which he received a few weeks 
 before, had apprised him that clouds now darkened her 
 pastor's sky. As his friend broke to him the unpleasant 
 intelligence he betrayed no previous knowledge of the 
 case, being desirous to have Mr. Edmands unembarrassed 
 in his statements of the causes and kinds of troubls 
 which threatened the rupture of his pastoral relations. 
 
 With these preliminary remarks the reader can enter 
 with greater interest in the following conversation of the 
 Connecticut pastor with his friend, after the two had been, 
 together but a brief period. 
 
 " Is there any thing new in your parish ? " the squire in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Some of the people are expecting something new, I 
 believe," was the facetious reply. 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " A new minister," Mr. Edmands replied. 
 
 " A new minister ! a new minister 1 What do you 
 mean ? " the squire with emotion asked. 
 
 " I mean that I am thinking of asking for a dismission," 
 Mr. Edraauds replied. 
 
 "I have thought such a thing impossible," the squire 
 observed. "When I have been to your place from year 
 to year I have been greatly gratified in witnessing in- 
 creasing attachment to you from your people ; and I have 
 supposed, after what has been brought about by your in- 
 strumentality, as they all allowed, that you was fixed there 
 for life. When I was there last fall I never heard more 
 satisfaction expressed with their minister, and I comfort- 
 ed myself with reflecting that the good old times were 
 11*
 
 126 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 returning to ray native town when the people looked upon 
 their pastor as settled with them for life." 
 
 " I had no thought of leaving my people last fall when 
 you were there," Mr. Edmands replied. " I was then as 
 contented and satisfied as ever ; but you know the tables 
 with ministers nowadays suddenly turn." 
 
 " I know it," said the squire ; " I know it to my bitter 
 sorrow. The churches are in a sad condition. The pas- 
 toral relation is too lightly esteemed, and almost any 
 cause can sunder it ; and frequently for no cause at all it is 
 annulled. I often wonder how any young man dare look 
 towards the profession of a clergyman, when there is so 
 much evidence at hand that it is often a life of servitude to 
 the facetiousness and cupidity of the people." 
 
 " There must be ministers, you know," Mr. Edmands 
 said, "and " 
 
 " Yes," said the, squire, very quickly, thereby abridging 
 the remark it was the intention of Mr. Edmands to make, 
 "I know there must be ministers; but I am sometimes 
 afraid there will not be many soon." 
 
 " If poor human nature rules," said Mr. Edmands, " I 
 think ministers may by and by be few. The precarious- 
 ness of the tenure which now holds a minister to his 
 people is so great, and the consequences to himself and 
 family of its rupture are so disastrous often, as makes the 
 office of a minister any thing but desirable, so far as the 
 present world is concerned." 
 
 " That is true," said the squire, " and my heart has often 
 bled at the distress I have seen in the very best of minis- 
 ters, who have been dismissed for no fault whatever of 
 their own, but merely to gratify the pride or some other 
 selfish interest of their people. It is for this reason, I fear, 
 that young men may be deterred from entering the minis- 
 try. But what is the reason of your thinking of asking 
 for a dismission ? "
 
 VISIT OF A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 127 
 
 " I fear," said Mr. Edmands, " that I can be no longer 
 useful to my people." 
 
 " What is the matter, pray ? " asked the squire. " You 
 must have been guilty of some conduct which has suddenly 
 alienated your people from you, if you can do them no 
 more good. You have been doing them good now for ten 
 or twelve years, and I can't think they are yet perfect." 
 
 " Ah, well," said Mr. Edmands ; " but I think I have 
 done all for them which I can do whilst the present feeling 
 continues. I suspect they want a different minister." 
 
 " Have they found any fault with you ? " the squire asked. 
 
 " They have not,'-' Mr. Edmands replied. " I have not 
 heard a word of fault found with any of my conduct ; and 
 Deacon Glover says that he has never heard a syllable 
 uttered to my discredit." 
 
 " Well, Deacon Glover, I suppose, does not approve of 
 your proposed course ? " said the squire, " Or have you 
 had any conversation with him on the subject ? " 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mr. Edmands ; " I have talked with him 
 freely on the subject, and I rather think it is his opinion 
 that I had better leave." 
 
 "Deacon Glover thinks you had better go away?" 
 eaid the squire. " Last fall, when I was there, he told me 
 that the people were never better satisfied with you than 
 they were then, and that it was the general opinion that 
 you had not only saved the church from ruin, but that you 
 had been the means of all the prosperity of both the 
 church and parish. He said the people felt very grateful 
 to you because you had been the means of so much good 
 to them. ' Why,' said he, ' our meeting house never would 
 have needed enlargement had it not been for the kind 
 and conciliatory course of Mr. Edmands.' The deacon 
 cannot now think that you had better go away." 
 
 " He does, for all that," said Mr. Edmands ; " for he 
 told me as much as to say ' that I might be mare useful
 
 128 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 elsewhere.' He said that he was satisfied and did not wish 
 for any change on his own account, but that there were 
 some of the people who did." 
 
 "Who are they," asked the squire, "who are they, 
 who wish you to go away ? Did the deacon inform you ? " 
 
 " I asked the deacon the same question," Mr. Edmands 
 replied ; " but he said he thought he had better not inform 
 me. He said there was not any one who had any thing 
 against me that all the people respected me and loved 
 me." 
 
 " I have heard before of such honeyed reasons for the 
 dismission of a pastor," said the squire, "and I most 
 heartily condemn a people for their use. Why not state 
 frankly and freely the true cause? I should think Deacon 
 Glover would be ashamed of himself to converse with you 
 after this manner. If I was satisfied with my minister, 
 and there were some who thought he had better ask for a 
 dismission, whilst they said they respected and loved him 
 withal, I should say to them, I would never advise him to 
 leave, and that I would sustain him with all the power I 
 could command." 
 
 "If Deacon Glover would take this course," Mr. Ed- 
 mands said, " he would have great influence, I have no 
 doubt. He might be instrumental in quelling any little 
 excitement which might exist unfavorably to me ; but I 
 rather think he will not take a decided stand in my favor." 
 
 "Has not the deacon told you of any reason urged by 
 the people in favor of your going away ? " the squire 
 asked. 
 
 " No ; he has not," was the reply. " He says there is 
 not much of any reason given. My wife, however, tells 
 me that she heard from old Mrs. Goldsmith that some of 
 the people wanted a smarter man than the present pastor." 
 
 " That is it, is it ? " said the squire, rising and pacing 
 the floor. " They want a smarter man."
 
 VISIT FBOM A CONNECTICUT PASTOE. 129 
 
 ""Yes. She said that Mr. Sampson, who bought the 
 house and store near the tavern about a year ago, thought 
 that the people were now able to have a first-rate minister. 
 They had a good large meeting house ; and they might 
 get as smart a minister as any other parish had. She 
 said there were several young men and women who felt 
 as Mr. Sampson did." 
 
 " I suppose, then," said the squire, " that this Mr. Samp- 
 eon has been exerting himself against you pretty much 
 ever since he moved into town. As he has some property 
 and can make a good appearance, people look up to him 
 some. Probably he has flattered Deacon Glover consid- 
 erably, and inflamed his pride, and fixed him up for an in- 
 strument to aid in your dismission. It may be Mr. Samp- 
 son has made the deacon feel that the parish will run 
 down if they do not have what he would call a smart 
 man. Well, how does Deacon Greene feel ? " 
 
 " The deacon, at first," Mr. Edmands answered, " was 
 very warm in denouncing the whole movement. He 
 talked with me with tears in his eyes when I first spoke 
 to him about going away ; but last week I saw him again, 
 and I inferred that he was leaning towards Deacon Glov- 
 er in feeling." 
 
 "Did not Deacon Greene tell you that Mr. Sampson 
 wanted you to go because he wanted a smarter preacher?" 
 the squire inquired. 
 
 " Pie did not," Mr. Edmands said. " He told me, at my 
 first interview with him, that he did not know of any one 
 who wished for another minister, though he had heard 
 there were some who had such a wish. He then said ho 
 hoped that I wpuld not think of going that he never 
 would vote to have me dismissed. Last week when I 
 saw him I did not ask him if he knew who wished me to 
 leave, nor did he tell me. I considered it strange that ho 
 should appear so reconciled to my going away when he
 
 130 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 was so strenuous for my continuance the first time I con- 
 versed with him on the subject." 
 
 " He lives one side, you know," said the squire, " and 
 don't see many people. Probably he had not seen Deacon 
 Glover nor heard any thing from him in relation to the 
 case when you first saw him. Before your second inter- 
 view he had conversed with Deacon. Glover, and probably 
 was influenced by him ; as I have long known he is in- 
 clined to hearken to what he says." 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Edmands ; "he told me when I last 
 saw him that he had heard nothing only from Deacon 
 Glover." 
 
 " That is the way 'tis done," said the squire. " One or 
 two restless spirits in a parish, for some pretence or 
 other, wish for another minister ; they get up a little 
 commotion, and then go to a deacon, and either flatter or 
 frighten him, or both, and get him started on their side. 
 He puts in a paddle with them and stirs the waters a 
 little, and by and by some others join ; and in this way 
 they soon have the poor minister all spattered over ; and 
 then the multitude begin to cry, he is so spotted that wo 
 must have another minister. Well, Mr. Edmands, from 
 what you tell me, I think pretty much as you do that 
 your usefulness among your people is over whilst the 
 present feeling continues. You have given me no new in- 
 formation ; for I had a letter from sister a short time ago, 
 in which she stated to me the substance of what you have 
 now related." 
 
 " Ah, " said* Mr. Edmands. " Has your sister written 
 to you upon the subject ? Had I been aware of that, I 
 would not have been so particular in my statements." 
 
 " I thought such might be the case," the squire replied ; 
 "and, being anxious to have a correct account of tho 
 matter, I thought I would not apprise you that I was in 
 any way informed respecting your difficulties. Sister's
 
 VISIT FROM A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 131 
 
 letter and your conversation essentially agree. I will 
 read you what she wrote on the subject." 
 
 " 1 should be happy to hear," Mr. Edmands replied. 
 
 The squire, taking the letter from his desk, read as 
 follows : 
 
 " You will be very much surprised to learn that there is 
 some trouble here in relation to our good minister. Not- 
 withstanding our fond hopes that he would be permitted 
 to spend his days with us, I fear we shall be disappointed. 
 It seems that Mr. Sampson, who bought the store and 
 house here about a year ago, has never thought that Mr. 
 Edmands was a very great man, and has been exerting 
 himself to raise a party against him. He has not, how- 
 ever, obtained many to join him in open opposition. There 
 are a few young men here, over whom Mr. Sampson has 
 had great influence, who sympathize with him. They have 
 been very active of late in their efforts to prejudice peo- 
 ple against Mr. Edmands. As they belong to different 
 families, their influence will be felt. It is said Deacon 
 Glover has become much alarmed, and fears the parish 
 will be broken up if Mr. Edmands does not ask for a dis- 
 mission, and that he thinks he had better do it. It seems 
 very strange to me that the people are willing to lose Mr. 
 Edmands when there are so many here who esteem him so 
 highly. If his friends would only bestir themselves and 
 take a decided stand, I have no fear that Mr. Edmands 
 will go ; but somehow or other they are disinclined to 
 move. I have heard a great many say that they set every 
 thing by our pastor and cannot bear the thought of his 
 leaving ; and yet they don't do any thing to show their 
 warm attachment or to put down the opposition. I was 
 talking with Mr. Rawson the other day, and he said it was 
 really too bad for Mr. Sampson to come into town to mako 
 trouble arid excite opposition to our minister ; but that
 
 132 - A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 he did not know but it would be the easiest way to have 
 peace to let Mr. Edmands go. Deacon Greene, they say, 
 talks pretty much in the same manner. All say that Mr. 
 Edmands is a good, nice man, that he has been the means 
 of doing a great deal of good here, and that they never 
 shall have another minister who will be so much devoted 
 to the spiritual good of the people ; and yet they will be 
 still and let a few turn him away. I think Mr. Edmands's 
 friends act very wickedly in not rallying around him and 
 manifesting a strong determination to keep him. If Dea- 
 con Glover would take a firm stand in his favor ho 
 would stay, I know, for the deacon has great influence ; 
 but he is afraid, if he acts in favor of the minister, the 
 church will be destroyed and the meeting house de- 
 serted. He says it will not injure Mr. Edmands to go; 
 he is such a good man that he will soon find another place. 
 Now, I think it will be a great damage to Mr. Edmands 
 to go. He has built him a pretty house, and has set 
 out a great many trees, and the people have encouraged 
 him all along with the belief that he would spend his days 
 among them. If he should go away, I am much afraid he 
 will be discouraged and will never again labor with the 
 zeal and resolution he has manifested here. When I think 
 upon the subject I am almost distracted. Only think a 
 good, faithful, and' successful minister being driven away 
 by six or eight individuals, when the great body of the 
 people are satisfied with him, and yet will not exert them- 
 selves to have him remain through fear the parish will be 
 broken to pieces ! I wish you were here as one of the 
 parish ; for I know you would not be afraid to act. I 
 understand Mr. Edmands is going to Boston the latter 
 part of the month ; and I presume he will call and see you 
 on his way. I hope you will comfort him all you can." 
 
 " That is a very kind expression of feeling towards you," 
 the squire remarked, as he folded the letter. t
 
 VISIT OF A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 133 
 
 " Certainly it is," Mr. Edmands replied. " I am obliged 
 to her for it." 
 
 " Do you owe any thing on your place ? " the squire in- 
 quired. 
 
 " No, sir, I do not ; I paid the last dollar for it about 
 eix months ago." 
 
 " That is good," said the squire. " Well, I suppose the 
 place would sell for more than it cost you, as property has 
 advanced there considerably within a few years." 
 
 " I suppose it would," Mr. Edmands replied. " It might 
 sell for two or three hundred dollars more. Mr. Sampson 
 would like to buy it, I guess, for his son. He has asked 
 me several times if I would sell." 
 
 "He has?" said the squire. "Well, I should not be 
 surprised if he has been actuated by some selfish motive 
 in his opposition to you as much as by a desire for a 
 smarter preacher. His son is in business with him, I sup- 
 pose." 
 
 "Not yet, I believe," Mr. Edmands replied. "He is 
 about twenty years old. The report is, that when he is 
 of age he is going into partnership with his father." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the squire, " I see. Your house is near 
 his store, and a very pretty house it is too. You have a 
 variety of fruit trees and of shrubbery which are now val- 
 uable, and the eye of Mr. Sampson has been directed that 
 way. If, now, you go away and wish to sell your place, 
 you just let me know if Mr. Sampson makes you an offer 
 for it. If it is not as much as you think the place worth, 
 I will make you an offer too. You need not fear that you 
 shall lose any thing by building. You have been settled, 
 I think, about eleven years," said the squire, " and are now 
 about thirty-five years of age ? " 
 
 " I was somewhat advanced when I graduated," Mr. Ed- 
 raands answered, " and afterwards I taught school three 
 years for the purpose of paying some of my college bills 
 12
 
 134 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and of getting a little something for my expenses in the 
 theological seminary. I was not settled till I was thirty- 
 one years old." 
 
 "You are now forty-two," said the squire, "and tho 
 best part of your life has been spent with your present 
 charge, doing them good great good. You have now 
 five children. Well, it is a hard case to be obliged to 
 seek a new home, I confess." 
 
 " I think it is," Mr. Edmands replied ; " and I dread it. 
 A dismissed minister does not have so fair a prospect of 
 being settled as one who has never been ordained." 
 
 " Many times that is true," said the squire ; " but I hope 
 there will be no difficulty in your case. You ought not 
 to be under the necessity of seeking a new parish. I can- 
 not get over the conduct of some of your people in being 
 willing to have you leave merely to gratify the pride and 
 perhaps advance the pecuniary interest of one or two in- 
 dividuals. If you should go, I shall feel that God will 
 visit this iniquity on the church in some way or other, to 
 bring them to realize what they have done. I have 
 known of instances where good and faithful ministers 
 have been dismissed for reasons as weak and wicked as 
 those which are influencing your people, and their par- 
 ishes have smarted under the scourging of divine Provi- 
 dence." 
 
 Soon after Mr. Edmands returned home he was induced 
 to request a dismission from his people. He advertised 
 his house for sale, and it was not long before Mr. Samp- 
 son made him an offer for it less by two hundred dollars 
 than it cost. One or two other similar offers were ten- 
 dered. At last Mr. Edmands wrote to the squire and ap- 
 prised him of the matter ; and in return he. received a 
 letter from his friend, in which he made him an offer of 
 three hundred dollars more than would cover the expense 
 of building. Accordingly, the squire became the pur-
 
 TISIT OP A CONNECTICUT PASTOR. 135 
 
 chaser. He had not been in possession of the estate many 
 months before Mr. Sampson made proposals to him to 
 buy. The squire fixed his price, which was two hundred 
 dollars in advance of what he paid ; and, after vain at- 
 tempts on the part of Mr. Sampson to induce him to take 
 less, he paid the squire his price and received a deed. 
 The squire enclosed the two hundred dollars to Mr. Ed- 
 mands and was satisfied altogether with the speculation, 
 with the reflection that he had saved one minister at least 
 from the jaws of a shark. 
 
 The reader, and especially if he be a minister, and one, 
 too, who has been dismissed, with a valued* house and cher- 
 ished fruit trees planted and nurtured by his own hands 
 in his possession, will doubtless think that a Squire David- 
 son is not in every community.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 s 
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 
 
 MR. EiJDRiDGE^having been settled about eight years, had 
 acquired a high reputation in the community and was a 
 favorite clergyman in the adjacent parishes. Consequent- 
 ly, in the absence of regular pastors on journeys or other- 
 wise, his services were often requested in the solemniza- 
 tion of marriages and in the attendance of funerals. No 
 pastor in the region performed so much out of his 
 own parish as was rendered by Mr. Eldridge. Death 
 having deprived a somewhat large society of a highly re- 
 spectable and beloved pastor, after the members of the 
 association to which . the deceased belonged had alter- 
 nately supplied the pulpit for the benefit of the widow 
 and children, his people began to hear candidates for settle- 
 ment. Being a desirable location, many individuals were 
 recommended to the committee of supply by clergymen 
 and others'as being well worthy to succeed to the pastoral 
 office among them. The people were led to believe from 
 the large number of candidates thus recommended that 
 they were an important people ; and of course they erected 
 such a standard of ministerial perfection as made it neces- 
 sary to hear candidate after candidate. Though all had 
 a high standard, yet there were not many among the peo- 
 ple who bad the same ideal of the man who was worthy 
 
 (136)
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 137 
 
 of the place in their pulpit and affections. It had not 
 been noised abroad that they were remarkably discrimi- 
 nating and speculative in their theology ; but in their 
 new position it came out that there were old schoolmen 
 and new, Hopkinsians, &c. They were not known abroad 
 as a remarkably literary people ; for the reason, perhaps, 
 that so long a time had elapsed since they were favored with 
 a settled ministry, and there was no particular occasion of 
 their manifesting all that they knew. But now it was sur- 
 prising to notice the value they placed on scholastic ac- 
 complishments and literary attainments. Their neigh- 
 bors in adjoining parishes had not supposed from their 
 every-day manifestations that pride had much to do with 
 them ; but their mistake was duly discovered and acknowl- 
 edged before the eighteenth candidate departed. 
 
 In the period of their destitution, after a large number 
 of young men and men in middle life had been to this 
 parish, tried in the balances and found wanting, a request 
 was made by one of the deacons, who went over to see 
 Mr. Eldridge, that he would preach the lecture prepara- 
 tory to their sacramental occasion. With this request 
 Mr. I^dridge agreed to comply, and accordingly went 
 over and fulfilled his engagement. Before the services 
 he had no conversation with any one of the people ; for 
 he did not arrive in town till about the hour at which the 
 lecture was appointed. As he was well known to the 
 people and highly respected by them, there were many in 
 waiting in the aisles, and in the porch and yard of the 
 church, to take him by the hand and have a little conver- 
 sation with him. If they all had been a special committee 
 appointed for the very purpose, they could not have better 
 discharged the duty of consulting him in regard to their 
 condition and*of inquiring for a suitable man for their 
 pastor. 
 
 When he descended from the pulpit and had reached 
 12*
 
 138 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the aisle, he was first sakted by a good old lady, who 
 manifested great joy at seeing him once more. 
 
 "I've been wishing a long time to see you, Mr. El- 
 dridge," she said ; " for I thought you'd know of a good 
 minister for us." 
 
 " I hear, my good friend," Mr. Eldridge replied, " that 
 you have had a large number of good men to preach for 
 you of late. "Were there none among them who would 
 answer?" 
 
 " I know we've had a great many candidates ; but, some- 
 how or other, the people don't take to any of them. We 
 ought to have a settled minister here ; for we now have no 
 one to attend funerals and see the sick." 
 
 " Well, ma'am, if I could help you to a pastor it would 
 give me great pleasure." 
 
 Passing on a step or two, Mr. Eldridge was greeted by 
 a gentleman and his wife, who were very glad to see him. 
 Said the lady, 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge, what do you think is going to become 
 of us ? Do you think we can ever find a pastor who will 
 answer for us ? " 
 
 "I hope so, certainly," Mr. Eldridge replied. 
 
 " Well, I am almost discouraged," said the lady. " I 
 do not see any prospect of our being suited." 
 
 " Have not any of the individuals who have preached 
 for you given satisfaction ? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " Some of them ought to have satisfied us," the lady re- 
 plied ; " for we have had already no less than forty-three 
 different candidates." 
 
 " That is a large number out of which to make a choice," 
 Mr. Eldridge observed. " Have you not been united in 
 any of them ? " 
 
 "No, sir, we have not," said the husband <$ "and I think 
 it is discouraging." 
 
 "I am fearful," Mr. Eldridge remarked, "that your
 
 .* A DESTITUTE PARISH. 139 
 
 church do not look aright to the great Shepherd to send 
 them a pastor after his own heart ; for, if he is properly 
 inquired of, he will answer prayer." 
 
 " That is what I have been telling our people," said the 
 lady. " We forget God, and are trying to phase ourselves." 
 
 Stepping a little farther, Mr. Eldridge was brought to 
 a circle of four ladies and gentlemen. Said one of the 
 gentlemen, 
 
 " Mr, Eldridge, don't you think it is time we had a 
 pastor ? " 
 
 " I do, most assuredly." 
 
 Said another gentleman, 
 
 " Do you think we shall ever find any one who will 
 unite us?" 
 
 " If among the forty-three candidates you have had, as I 
 am just informed that is the number, there was none fitted 
 for you, I do not see much prospect of there being one found, 
 I confess, who will unite you," Mr. Eldridge replied. " I 
 have known of your having had preach for you some of 
 the very best of men ; and there were two or three young 
 men in the number who for talents and promise are equal 
 to any." 
 
 "I know," said one of the gentlemen, "we have had 
 most excellent men here to preach for us, but none of them 
 seemed to unite us." 
 
 " I should think from your remarks," said another gen- 
 tleman, " that it is your opinion that we ought to have 
 been united in some one of the ministers who have 
 preached for us. I would like to know which of them 
 you mean." 
 
 " There is Rev. Mr. Allen, who preached for you four 
 Sabbaths, he told me ; and a better minister I do not 
 know," Mr. Eldridge replied. 
 
 " Well," said the last gentleman, " he was a good 
 preacher, and he suited tolerably well; but some of the
 
 140 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 people thought he would not answer because he had not a 
 very good delivery." 
 
 "He is thought to be a very good speaker," Mr. El- 
 dridge said. " Perhaps he is not the very best ; but he is 
 much more than an ordinary orator." 
 
 " He would have suited us if it had not been for this 
 one thing." 
 
 "What was the matter with that Mr. Lane who preached 
 here ? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " Mr. Lane, Mr. Lane," repeated the gentleman. " I do 
 not seem to remember him." 
 
 " 0, that little man, father," said his wife, "that little 
 man that they talked so much about." 
 
 " 0, yes, I remember now Mr. Lane. 0, he would not 
 answer for us ; he was nothing more than a mere boy. 
 As soon as he was seen entering the pulpit we all thought 
 he would not answer; for he was not dignified enough 
 for us." 
 
 " That was all the objection to him, was it," said Mr. 
 Eldridge, " his small stature ? " 
 
 " I never heard of any other. His preaching all liked 
 very much," said the gentleman. 
 
 " Well, what objection was there to Mr. Reed ? " Mr. 
 Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " We ought to have settled him," said one of the ladies. 
 "He was a fine preacher, and a very sociable, pleasant 
 man. He was very well liked ; but, because he had red 
 hair, some of the people said they could not vote for him. 
 They said the hair was a small circumstance ; but it made 
 some talk among the young folks, and that, when they 
 Were about it, they might as well as not get a minister 
 who was good looking." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Eldridge ; " I suppose your people think 
 they can have what minister they please, if they can only 
 find one who will please them."
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 141 
 
 "That is it," another of the ladies remarked ; "that is 
 just what I have often told some of the people. They 
 think any minister would accept a call to settle here pro- 
 vided a call was given. Such a feeling I do not like my- 
 self. I think it will be some time before we get a pastor 
 unless the people alter some of their notions." 
 
 " I am fearful that this may be the case," Mr. Eldridge 
 replied. 
 
 " I don't believe in being so particular about every little 
 thing in a minister," the last lady said. " I think it is 
 very sinful. Now, we have had, I believe, some of the 
 very best of ministers to preach for us. Almost any one 
 of them was, if any thing, too good for us ; and yet some 
 little trifling thing or other has kept us from giving a call 
 to either of them." 
 
 "You know, Mrs. Dimmick," said one of the gentlemen, 
 " we were going to give a call to one of them, but " 
 
 " Yes, yes," she said. " There was a clergyman from 
 New York who preached here one Sabbath who was out 
 of health, and was spending a few weeks in the town 
 where the young man who was then supplying us resided. 
 It being communion Sabbath, and as the young man was 
 not ordained, he requested this New York minister to 
 come over and administer the sacrament. This circum- 
 stance was not generally known, and so he was taken for 
 a candidate of course ; for every one who preached here 
 was looked upon as a candidate. This man was not liked 
 by many at first, because he spoke so low ; but when they 
 found out that he was settled in the city they were going 
 1o give him a call. They would really have done this had 
 not the young man, when he came back, told us it would 
 do no good." 
 
 " I never heard of this before," Mr. Eldridge remarked. 
 " Perhaps the New York minister would have felt himself 
 highly honored with a call from your people."
 
 142 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Our people feel a little mortified about this," Mrs. 
 Dimmick continued, "and don't like to hear any thing 
 about it." 
 
 After this manner did our Mr. Eldridge make his egress 
 from the pulpit through the aisle to the porch of the 
 church, where he met with others, who, before they left 
 him, had something to say of their prospects of having a 
 settled minister. Why they remained destitute when they 
 had so many candidates, some assigned one reason and 
 some another ; and it was a fact which made no slight 
 impression on Mr. Eldridge's mind that no two individuals 
 assigned the same reason ; yet all appeared extremely anx- 
 ious to have a pastor, and were willing to submit to almost 
 any sacrifice if tJiey could only obtain the right kind of a man. 
 When he. reached the yard and was making his way to 
 the shed back of the church, where he left his carriage, he 
 was-followed by three gentlemen, whom he found to be 
 the committee for supplying the pulpit. They seemed to 
 think that they had a pretty difficult task to fulfil, and all 
 were rejoicing that the annual meeting of the parish was 
 near, when they could resign their committeeship into 
 other hands. One of them remarked, 
 
 " I had no idea that we should be troubled so to find a 
 minister to suit us. I thought there were a plenty of min- 
 isters, and that we should find the right kind of a man in 
 two months ; but I have been sadly disappointed. Minis- 
 ters are rather scarce, I should think ; are they not, Mr. 
 Eldridge ? " 
 
 The gentleman appeared so sincere in his bewailment 
 over the dearth of candidates that Mr. Eldridge found it 
 no easy matter to so adjust his facial expression as not to 
 betray the true sentiments of his heart as his laughing 
 powers should have full play ; for he was thinking of the 
 forty-three candidates the parish had already had ; but he 
 succeeded in preserving his equilibrium and gravity, and 
 coolly remarked,
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 143 
 
 " I fear there may be a scarcity of ministers, if tv^re be 
 not one already." 
 
 " We've had a pretty hard time of it," said another of 
 the committee ; " and, for my part, I am completely dis- 
 couraged. I have been to Boston six or eight times on 
 purpose to inquire of the city ministers if they could not 
 send us the right kind of a man ; and I have been to An- 
 dover four times on the same errand. I told the profess- 
 ors there what kind of a minister we must have ; and yet 
 here we are without a pastor and without any prospect of 
 one, so far as I can see." 
 
 " Did not the professors think they could send you a 
 suitable man ? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " 0, yes ; they mentioned several young men, who they 
 said were very promising as to talents and piety ; and I 
 went and saw them all, and agreed with them to come 
 here one after another if it should be necessary." 
 
 " Did they all come ? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; they all came, every man of them, one after 
 the other, and preached ; but neither of them was just the 
 thing for us." 
 
 " It is extremely unfortunate," Mr. Eldridge remarked, 
 " that there is no one to be found who is just the man 
 for you." 
 
 " Well," the last gentleman said, " I am going to make 
 one pull more for a pastor ; and if I don't succeed, I've 
 done. I am going to start next week for New York, to 
 see if there ain't some ministers that way. We've tried 
 pretty much all we could hear of in this region." 
 
 Said Mr. Eldridge with great solemnity and earnest- 
 ness, 
 
 " Gentlemen, it appears to me that putt, as you call it, is 
 not so good a one as another I could mention." 
 
 This remark of Mr. Eldridge excited hope in the minds 
 of all the gentlemen that relief would speedily be brought
 
 144 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to them in the person of a clergyman whom he could 
 recommend as being just the man to unite all parties and 
 humor all tastes. Particularly the one who was design- 
 ing to make one more "pull" was unusually excited, and 
 at once asked, 
 
 " What is your plan, Mr. Eldridge ? " 
 
 " Since I have been here," Mr. Eldridge replied, 
 " since I have been here, engaged in conversation for a 
 few moments, I think I have learned from one and another 
 what is the real condition of this people. It has been im- 
 pressed upon my mind that you did not realize what you 
 wanted in a pastor, and had not looked to the great Be- 
 ing who giveth pastors and teachers, and asked of him, 
 with humility and submission, to send you a suitable min- 
 ister. Now, my advice to you is, to stop hearing candi- 
 dates for a few weeks, and get your pulpit supplied by 
 some one who does not wish to settle, and, in the mean 
 time, for your church and people to humble themselves 
 before God and seek from him a pastor. If you do this 
 sincerely, I have no doubt that the Lord would inter- 
 pose and send you a pastor in whom you all will be 
 united." 
 
 Whilst Mr. Eldridge was thus speaking it was observed 
 that the gentlemen of the committee and particularly 
 the one who was intending to make another " pull " 
 were somewhat abashed and disconcerted ; for after he 
 had done there was profound silence, neither of them 
 having an answer at hand. At length one said, 
 
 " I think your advice, Mr. Eldridge, is very good ; and 
 I will mention it to the people." 
 
 Mr. Eldridge had no more interruptions and proceeded 
 to his carriage, in which he was soon conveyed to the 
 house of Deacon Follet, where he had engaged to stop for 
 tea. When he entered the house he found there an old 
 clerical friend of his own as well as of the deacon, who a
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 145 
 
 few moments before had rode up to make a call as he was 
 passing on to his home in a neighboring town. 
 
 " You were detained some time," Mrs. Follet remarked, 
 " were you not, Mr. Eldridge, by our people ? We waited 
 at church a few moments for you ; but, seeing you busy in 
 conversation, Mr. Follet said we would go on without you." 
 
 " I have had quite a time of it," Mr. Eldridge replied ; 
 " but I have acquired a pretty good knowledge of the 
 state of your people. I had no idea you were in such a 
 condition." 
 
 " I suppose," said Mrs. Follet, " the people have been 
 talking to you about a minister. That seems to be the 
 only topic of conversation nowadays." 
 
 " Yes ; they have," Mr. Eldridge replied ; " and, from 
 what they said, I think your parish is not in a very hope- 
 ful condition." 
 
 " We are in a most dreadful condition" Mrs. Follet re- 
 marked. " There is no such thing as a minister's suiting 
 us. I don't know what will be the result. Sometimes I 
 think we shall be broken all to pieces. Only think, we've 
 had above forty different ministers preach for us since last 
 December, not quite a year, and none of them seemed 
 to answer but one ! A gentleman from New York preached 
 last summer one Sabbath ; but the people did not know 
 who he was or where he was from at the time. They sup- 
 posed he was a candidate of course ; and there were some 
 who thought he would not answer ; but when it was as- 
 certained that he was from New York the case changed, 
 and there was quite a stir about a parish meeting for the 
 purpose of giving him a call ; and I really believe they 
 would have done this had not Mr. Byron, who was then 
 supplying for us, assured the people that it would be of 
 no avail." 
 
 The deacon coming in from the barn, where he had 
 13
 
 146- A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 been to take care of Mr. Eldridge's horse, Mrs. 
 observed, 
 
 " Husband, Mr. Eldridge has had quite a time of it at 
 the meeting house since lecture. He has heard considera- 
 ble news about us here." 
 
 "I presume so," said the deacon. " I dare say he has 
 been applied to by a dozen or more to recommend can- 
 didates." 
 
 " Well, deacon," said Mr. Eldridge, " I shall not recom- 
 mend any candidates to you at present. I think there 
 have been already far too many." 
 
 " That is a fact," said the deacon ; " and if I were in 
 your place I would not encourage such a state of things 
 as we have here. Our people are not in a fit condition to 
 hear candidates. They don't know what' they.want. We 
 have now had forty or more good men here, and yet none 
 of them suited. Some were too short and some too tall ; 
 some had light hair and some red ; some had too many 
 children and others had not any ; some were old-school 
 men and others new ; some walked too moderately and 
 were lazy ; others walked too fast and were not dignified ; 
 some stammered and others talked like lightning ; and 
 in this way one little foolish thing or other has been 
 raised into a bugbear to keep us from having a settled 
 minister." 
 
 " husband," said Mrs. Follet, "you are exaggerating. 
 No one has objected to any of the ministers on account of 
 their hair." 
 
 " Yes, my dear, there has. Mr. Olney and Mr. White 
 had no other objection to Mr. Reed but his red hair." 
 
 "How do you know that? " the wife inquired. 
 
 " 0, it leaked out through their children," the deacon 
 replied. 
 
 " I knew they were not inclined to settle Mr. Reed,"
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 147 
 
 Mr. Follet said. " I asked Mrs. Olney one day what ob- 
 jection she had to him. I saw she did not seem ready to 
 answer, and that she had no very definite objection. I 
 should not think they would object to a man's hair, if 
 what was under it was good." 
 
 " I rather suspect," Mr. Eldridge remarked, " that you 
 are not among the difficult ones, Mrs. Follet." 
 
 " I think," she replied, " that I could have been satis- . 
 fied with almost any one of the candidates we have had. 
 Our people ought to have been united in one of them and 
 settled him before this. A large part of them have been 
 ordained or installed over other paris/ies, some of which, 
 for numbers, wealth, and intelligence, are far before our 
 own." 
 
 " Then you think all parishes are not as difficult and 
 fastidious as yours ? " 
 
 " Indeed I do," Mrs. Follet replied, " though I think a 
 very wrong spirit enters very often into a people when 
 looking for a pastor." 
 
 " There are some parishes, however," Mr. Eldridge ob- 
 served, " when destitute of a pastor, who act with great 
 wisdom and with much Christian principle. They show 
 themselves to be competent judges of the qualifications of 
 a pastor." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Follet, " I know there are some such 
 parishes. It really does one good to think of them. They 
 do not appear to feel that they must have perfection in a 
 pastor, and wait and wait, hearing different ministers 
 continually, in expectation of finding perfection at last. 
 However, parishes of this description at the presenftime 
 are few and far between. The great majority, when hear- 
 ing candidates, are in the exercise of a very improper 
 spirit." 
 
 " I do not know but, that is true," said Mr. Eldridge. 
 "I see too much of such a spirit, I confess."
 
 148 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " It is melancholy," said Mr. Harris, the clergyman be- 
 fore alluded to, "it is melancholy to notice the fastidi- 
 ousness of many of our parishes when they are seeking to 
 settle a minister. I have thought that the influence of this 
 feeling has checked a desire on the part of young men to 
 study for the ministry." 
 
 " It may have been one cause to produce this result," 
 Mr. Eldridge said. " Many pious young men, I know, 
 when they leave college study other 'professions. It is by 
 no means surprising that a young man should be affected 
 by such a state of things as we know exists among this 
 people, for instance." 
 
 " It was new to me," said Mr. Harris, " that the people 
 here have already had upwards of forty candidates. They 
 have rather surpassed the people in G- ." 
 
 " Have not the people there yet settled a minister ? I 
 thought brother Swift was going there," said Mr. El- 
 dridge. 
 
 " No ; the call 'was not sufficiently unanimous to suit 
 him," Mr. Harris said. " There was a large minority who 
 were opposed to his settlement." 
 
 " I am really sorry to hear of this," said Mr. Eldridge ; 
 " for I was hoping that parish was now satisfied. Who is 
 preaching there now ?" 
 
 " Mr. Anybody, I believe," said Mr. Harris. 
 
 " Well, there are quite a number of clergymen by that 
 name," said Mr. Eldridge. " I very often hear of them in 
 vacant parishes, and I think they must be a very poor 
 supply." 
 
 " But a little better than Mr. Nobody, I think," said 
 the deacon. 
 
 " From what I have heard," said Mr. Harris, " since I have 
 
 been here, I should think the parish in G to be very 
 
 much like this people. I was coaversing the other day 
 with brother Thompson, who formerly was settled there,
 
 A DESTITUTE PAEISH. 149 
 
 but who was dismissed on account of ill health. In remark- 
 ing about his old people, he said, ' They are in a sad state 
 there now.' He recently received a letter from one of his 
 former parishioners, from which he inferred that the pros- 
 pect of their having a pastor was very dark. He read to me 
 a paragraph descriptive of the state of things there, which 
 so accurately portrays the condition of many other parishes 
 when hearing candidates that I was induced to request 
 of him a copy, which he at once wrote and gave me. I 
 put it in my wallet ; and I believe I have it with me now, 
 and will read it if you please." 
 
 " If it describes our case," said the deacon, " I should 
 like to hear it ; for I cannot believe there is any other 
 parish so difficult as ours." 
 
 " You can judge now for yourself," said Mr. Harris, as 
 he proceeded to read as follows : " ' We have no settled 
 minister yet, and I do not know as there is any prospect 
 of our having one very soon. From thirty to forty dif- 
 ferent men have preached here ; but not a perfect man was 
 there in the whole lot. One preached too long, another 
 was too brief ; one was too slow, another spoke too fast ; 
 one spoke too loud, another quite too low ; some were too 
 flowery in their style of writing, others quite too plain 
 and old fashioned ; one was too proud, and did not suit 
 because he was married ; still another because he was not 
 married. Now we are very anxious to settle a minister ; 
 but we are probably setting our standard quite too high.' " 
 
 " That is a pretty good description of our case," said 
 the deacon. "Where do you say that place is, Mr. 
 Harris?" 
 
 " G ," was the reply. 
 
 " 0, yes," said the deacon ; " I know where it is. I have 
 been there." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Follet, " I think we have had quite 
 too many candidates. I wish the people had done hero 
 13*
 
 150 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 -\ 
 
 as they did in the place where my father lives. Dr. E. 
 wished for a colleague, and the people were inclined to 
 comply with his request. Before the time came, however, 
 for him to quit preaching, he urged upon the people the 
 importance of not having many candidates. It is not neces- 
 sary, he said, to hear many ; and besides, he said, there 
 was much evil occasioned by so doing. The people be- 
 come divided. A few become attached to one candidate 
 and a few to another ; and so one party, by and by, will 
 not like the man popular with the other party, out of re- 
 venge. ' Now,' said he, ' my advice to you is, to inquire 
 for some suitable young man to come here and preach. 
 If one be recommended, let the committee make very par- 
 ticular examination of those who are well acquainted 
 with him as to his talents, piety, acquisitions, discretion, 
 &c. If after this examination they are satisfied that the 
 young man would be a proper person, let the committee 
 go and see him ; and if from his appearance they infer 
 that they have had a correct account of him, let them 
 partly engage him to come and preach a few Sabbaths. I 
 would not,' the doctor said, ' have him fully engaged until 
 the committee had returned home and made known to the 
 people the result of their interview, and ascertained if there 
 was any probability of their being united in him. If the 
 people then favor his coming and seem inclined to give 
 him a call, if he makes good the representations which 
 have been made of him, then I would have the young man 
 sent for and employed to preach.' " 
 
 " That is very judicious and most excellent advice, I 
 should think," Mr. Eldridge remarked. " I hope the peo- 
 ple followed it." 
 
 " Yes, sir, they did ; and they did not hear but one can- 
 didate. No one preached before Mr. Kingsbury ; and the 
 people, by being prepared to like him, were well satisfied 
 with him, and gave him a call, which he accepted. The
 
 A DESTITUTE PARISH. 151 
 
 committee made inquiries about quite a number of men and 
 went to see several of them ; but they did not feel satisfied 
 that any one of them would answer whom they could 
 obtain but Mr. Kingsbury." 
 
 " I advised the committee here this afternoon," Mr. El- 
 dridge said, " to pursue a course which might lead to a 
 similar result. I advised them to suspend hearing candi- 
 dates for the present, and to urge upon the church the 
 importance of humbling themselves before God for their 
 past sinfulness, and especially for not looking to him for a 
 pastor. I told them, if they would do this in sincerity, I 
 thought the time would not be distant before they would 
 have sent unto them a pastor in whom all would be united." 
 
 " That is good advice," said the deacon ; " and I rather 
 think it will have some effect."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MISS BEMIS. 
 
 ^v_ /f)l'4S*fa4 &~~ ytsr' u 
 
 " Do you think you will be able to visit Mrs. Clay, my 
 dear, this afternoon ? " inquired Mr. Eldridge of his wife. 
 
 "I have been making iny arrangements to do so, hus-' ^ 
 band. I think it will do to leave Mary in the care of 
 Hannah, she is so comfortable. She is usually contented, 
 I perceive, when Hannah is with her." 
 
 " I am pleased to hear you say this," Mr. Eldridge re- 
 plied ; " for I was fearful that you might not be inclined to 
 go. I think it will be perfectly safe and proper to leave 
 daughter with Hannah." 
 
 " Were I to consult my own feelings," said Mrs. El- 
 dridge, " I should much prefer visiting Mrs. Clay at some 
 other time ; for you know I am not very partial to these 
 large parties." 
 
 " There will not be many there, will there, wife ? " 
 
 " 0, yes, dear. Did I not tell you that Mrs. Clay re- 
 marked, when she called to invite us, that she was intend- 
 ing to ask all her acquaintance in town and some from 
 other places ? " 
 
 " You might have said so," Mr. Eldridge replied ; " but 
 I have hardly thought of the visit ; for you know how en- 
 tirely engrossed I have been of late with that translation. 
 If Mrs. Clay is intending to have so many of her friends 
 together I think we ought to go ; for she would be much 
 
 (152)
 
 MISS BEMIS. 153 
 
 disappointed if we were not there. Mrs. Davidson would 
 like to have you ride with her." 
 
 " Yes, dear ; she sent word over this morning that she 
 would be happy to have me accompany her, but that she 
 could not be ready before late in the afternoon." 
 * * * * * # 
 
 When Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. Eldridge arrived at 
 Mrs. Clay's, they found a large collection of ladies both 
 from their own town and other places. The company was 
 much larger than they had anticipated ; but, being generally 
 old acquaintances, their presence was for their increased 
 satisfaction. Mrs. Davidson was particularly happy in 
 recognizing some of her friends whom she had not met 
 for a considerable length of time. The evening brought 
 an accession to the assemblage in the gentlemen who be- 
 longed to the different families with which the ladies were 
 connected. 
 
 As is usual in such gatherings, large and small circles 
 were seen, made up of individuals of similarity in tastes, 
 or between whom existed strong friendship. For a while 
 Mrs. Davidson was surrounded by several of her particu- 
 lar friends in animated conversation on different matters ; 
 and so happy were they, as an occasional loud laugh testi- 
 fied, that the attention of others was directed to them, 
 with -the remark that there must be something very amus- 
 ing going on where they were. It turned out that the 
 source of their interest was in the conversation of Mrs. 
 Whately with Mrs. Davidson on scenes she had lately 
 witnessed in a journey for the benefit of her health. This 
 being the fact, and the others perceiving that Mrs. David- 
 son and Mrs. "Whately had very much to say to each 
 other, though by no means manifesting a disrelish for the 
 society of those around them, one after another changed 
 their locality, till the two friends were left entirely by 
 themselves in one corner of the parlor. "When thus alone, 
 Mrs. Davidson remarked,
 
 154 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " We seem to be left to ourselves, Mrs. Whately." 
 
 " So it appears," Mrs. Whately replied ; " and I will 
 now improve the opportunity of asking you who that 
 lady is, sitting by the side of Mr. Eldridge, who has been 
 conversing with him for so long a time." 
 
 " That is Miss BEMIS," said Mrs. Davidson, " a member 
 of our church." 
 
 " She seems to be rather partial to your minister, I 
 should think," Mrs. Whately observed ; " for I see she has 
 been conversing with him pretty much ever since he 
 came in." 
 
 " She has probably been giving him some advice or mak- 
 ing some suggestions as to his duty," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 " She appears to feel as if the care and oversight of the 
 parish devolved upon her. She is quite a ministerial sort 
 of a lady, and very fond of being noticed by the clergy." 
 
 "Is she a minister's daughter ?" Mrs. Whately inquired. 
 
 " 0, no," said Mrs. Davidson. " Her father was a 
 farmer in moderate circumstances. He lived and died in 
 this town. She formerly lived with Mr. Loririg, who was 
 settled here before Mr. Eldridge came, and was made con- 
 siderable of in his family. She there saw much of minis- 
 ters, and has since always manifested a large share of 
 interest in their matters." 
 
 " Where does she now live ? " Mrs. Whately asked. 
 
 " She has a room in Mr. Bently's house, near Mr. Dixon's 
 store. She is rather poor, and takes in sewing, binds 
 shoes, and can turn her hand to a variety of things." 
 
 " Is she not over nice ? From her appearance I should 
 think she was," said Mrs. Whately. 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " said Mrs. Davidson, with 
 a very expressive smile. 
 
 "0,1 don't know ; but she appears to me to be one of 
 your very particular sort of persons." 
 
 " She has that character here in town," Mrs. Davidson
 
 - MISS BEMIS. 155 
 
 replied. " She tliinks she is a sort of a standard. I rather 
 suspect she feels competent to decide almost any point of 
 propriety. At any rate, she takes it upon herself thus to 
 decide." 
 
 " She is pretty free, then, to express her opinions, is she 
 not?" said Mrs. Whately. 
 
 " She is not at all backward, I assure you," Mrs. David- 
 son said, " especially in matters pertaining to the minister 
 or the church and parish. She exacts a great deal of the 
 whole of us, minister and all. There is no such thing as 
 any of us doing enough we are always behindhand in 
 some thing, not up to the mark in any thing. My husband 
 can hardly endure her. She is very much given to making 
 comparisons between the engagedness of Christians here 
 and those elsewhere, and between Mr. Eldridge's preach- 
 ing and his activity among the people and the preaching 
 and conduct of other ministers. She is so very particular 
 as to be seldom satisfied." 
 
 " She is a very engaged Christian herself, I suppose," 
 said Mrs. Whately. "Her own mark is ,high, and she 
 thinks others ought to have a similar standard." 
 
 Mrs. Davidson smiled and said, " If speaking of the 
 failures of others, and being of constant annoyance to her 
 pastor and others, by her improper interference with his 
 concerns and those of his family, make an engaged Chris- 
 tian, Miss Bemis is surely such a one. We think she 
 keeps her eye too much abroad and not enough within" 
 
 " I should think,'-' said Mrs Whately, " that Mr, Eldridge 
 would endeavor to show her the sin of such conduct, and 
 persuade her to change her character in this respect." 
 
 " I rather think," said Mrs. Davidson, " Mr. Eldridge 
 will not make the attempt. He has a very correct idea 
 of her character." 
 
 " If she is given to censure," said Mrs. Whately, " and 
 if her remarks lead to mischief, I really think your minis-
 
 156 A VOICE FEOM THE PAKSONAGE. 
 
 ter ought to attempt to make her sensible of her influence 
 and induce her to amend." 
 
 " She is so very severe on ministers and on Mr. Eldridge 
 and his wife that he is not inclined to enter into any very 
 personal conversation with her. It would not do any 
 good if he should." 
 
 " Ah," said Mrs. Whately, " does Miss Bemis allow her- 
 self to speak hard of Mr. Eldridge? I should think, 
 from the manner in which she treats him this evening, that 
 she was one of his warmest friends." 
 
 "I told you, you recollect," said Mrs. Davidson, "that 
 she loves to be noticed by the clergy. She would be 
 much flattered if they would notice her enough to follow 
 her dictations. She prides herself so much on her knowl- 
 edge of ministerial duties as qualifies her, in her own 
 opinion, to give ministers important'instructions." 
 
 " She is a sort of ministerial supervisor, I should think, 
 from what you say," said Mrs. Whately, " and church m-em- 
 bers' guide." 
 
 " I never heard her called by such title," Mrs. Davidson 
 replied. " If should be added, ' and advisor or guardian of 
 the ministers wife,' the title would be more complete, and 
 would well apply to Miss Bemis. A minister and his 
 family must walk on her line, or be reported in no very 
 measured terms as extremely delinquent." 
 
 As this last remark was finished, Mrs. Durant, from 
 another town, approached the two ladies and seated her- 
 self, saying she thought they ought not to engross so much 
 of each other's society. 
 
 " We are very happy to have your company," said Mrs. 
 Davidson ; " for we are talking just now on a subject that 
 has interested you, I believe." 
 
 " What is that ? " inquired Mrs. Durant. 
 
 "You may remember," said Mrs. Davidson, "when my 
 husband and myself spent an afternoon with you last
 
 MISS BEMIS. 157 
 
 spring, your conversation with me about Miss Simons, of 
 your parish." 
 
 " 0, yes," said Mrs. Durant ; " but you have not been 
 talking about her this evening, have you?" 
 
 " We have not been talking about her" said Mrs. David- 
 son, " but we have about one like her" 
 
 " You have no such character over here, I hope," said 
 Mrs. Durant, with great feeling. 
 
 " I rather think," Mrs. Davidson replied, " your place is 
 not peculiar for having these ministerial supervisors, as 
 Mrs. Whately calls them." 
 
 Mrs. Durant, laughing heartily at this apt denomination 
 of character, remarked " that her friend was peculiarly 
 fortunate in her title for such individuals. They are very 
 troublesome, very mischievous, persons. They are so an- 
 noying to ministers and their wives, and so very meddle- 
 some in what does not concern them, that I have no sort 
 of patience with them. I really believe they occasion 
 more uneasiness in parishes than almost any other cause 
 of trouble, and are oftener the primary instruments in the 
 dismission of ministers than is usually imagined." 
 
 " You are excited," Mrs. Whately remarked. 
 
 " I know I am" said Mrs. Durant. " As I said, I have 
 no patience with these meddling sort of folks, who are 
 eternally prying into a minister's affairs and constantly 
 deserting him, and who are running hither and thither 
 about the parish with the news they pick up in regard to 
 the minister and his wife or children, making a mountain 
 often out of nothing. I have seen so much evil brought 
 about by these individuals that I hold them an intolerable 
 nuisance. Has Mrs. Davidson been saying any thing to 
 you, Mrs. Whately, of our Miss Simons." 
 
 " She has not. I have never heard of her before," Mrs. 
 Whately replied. 
 
 "Well," continued Mrs. Durant, "she occasions a good 
 14
 
 158 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 deal of commotion among us, I assure you. She might 
 not be taken to be such a character on a slight acquaint- 
 ance, being of a retiring habit and not very talkative ; 
 but then it is in her to do vast mischief in a parish. I 
 have no doubt she is a pious woman, and is really anxious 
 to have the cause of Christ prosper ; but she is so con- 
 tracted in her views as to be a very incompetent judge of 
 many things pertaining to the conduct of ministers or 
 of the members of the church ; yet with a certain class 
 she has great influence, and she excites them often to 
 dangerous action. They hear Miss Simons's stories about 
 the minister and some prominent members of the church, 
 and forthwith report all over the parish ; and in this way 
 we have every now and then quite an explosion." 
 
 " How does Miss Simons collect her materials for stir- 
 ring up such a strife ? " Mrs. Whately inquired. 
 
 " 0, she visits at our minister's considerably," Mrs. Du- 
 rant replied, " and is abroad among the people very much. 
 It puzzles me to account for her conduct when she is so 
 retiring in her manners and not a very great talker. If 
 she was a great talker I could well reconcile her conduct. 
 When she visits the people treat her with much attention, 
 but many of them are very careful not to give her any 
 occasion to talk. She, however, makes occasion. A half 
 hour in our parsonage often gives her material for accom- 
 plishing a great deal. Sometimes she finds the minister, 
 when she calls at his house, looking, as she says, rather 
 slovenly by that we understand that he is not dressed 
 for the pulpit or a wedding. So the report goes round 
 that Mr. Plummer is a sloven. Sometimes she finds him 
 holding the baby whilst his wife is in another room en- 
 gaged in some necessary avocation ; and then we hear that 
 Mr. Plummer don't study that his wife prevents him. 
 Sometimes Mrs. Plummer and the children are the subjects 
 of her remark for not being exactly in that trim in which
 
 MISS BEMIS. 159 
 
 she thinks they ought to be ; and then we hear that Mr. 
 Plummer ought to be ashamed of himself for not providing 
 his wife with help, so that she may keep herself and family 
 looking decent. She don't consider that our people only 
 give the minister but a little more than four hundred dol- 
 lars a year, and that he finds it very difficult to get the 
 necessaries of life. In this way you can easily see how 
 much evil she may do. She thinks a minister ought never 
 to say any thing only on the subject of religion, and ought 
 always to be as solemn as if he were at a prayer meeting." 
 
 " It is not at all surprising, if Miss Simons has any in- 
 fluence, that she should occasion much trouble in a parish," 
 Mrs. Whately observed. 
 
 "As I said," Mrs. Durant replied, "there are some who 
 are disposed to think considerable of Miss Simons ; and 
 then, you know, nowadays people don't stop to consider. 
 If they hear any thing about a minister or his wife that is 
 to their disadvantage, they are ready to believe it all true 
 and to herald it forth far and near. Last fall our minis- 
 ter, not having much for his horse to do, and being willing 
 to avail himself of the earnings of the animal, let him to 
 a friend to go on a journey. As it was something unusual 
 for the minister to be without a horse, Miss Simons con- 
 jured up the idea that the horse and minister's chaise 
 had been taken for debt. This intelligence was spread 
 about as a fact, both in and out of the parish, to the dis- 
 credit of the minister. He came to know of the report 
 by his being called upon one day by one of, his friends to 
 inquire of him if he wished to purchase a horse. The 
 minister was surprised at the question, and remarked that 
 he had one horse, and a very good one too, and did not 
 wish for another. ' Why,' said the friend, ' I thought you 
 had no horse. I heard that you had been obliged to part 
 with him. Miss Simons and some of her brothers have 
 reported such a story, and I really thought it was a fact.
 
 160 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 I supposed that you could not well do without a horse, 
 and so I called to sell you mine.' The minister felt very 
 much hurt by this species of intelligence ; and, on inquiry, 
 he traced it back to Miss Simons and her bachelor broth- 
 ers. They did not know why the minister's horse was 
 away ; and being disposed to have a reason for all his con- 
 duct, if they are not in possession of the true one, they 
 will manufacture one to suit them." 
 
 " These characters are really very vexatious and tro.uble- 
 some," said Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 " Yes, they are," replied Mrs. Durant. " Our minister 
 has lately been dismissed, you know ; and the trouble with 
 him all arose from this meddlesome Miss Simons and her 
 brothers. She was at the bottom of it. They would re- 
 port stories of no better foundation than the one I just 
 told you about the minister's horse ; and these were spread 
 and believed, and a, prejudice excited which resulted in 
 the conviction on the part of many that it would be better 
 for the parish to have another minister." 
 
 "It is strange people will allow themselves to be influ- 
 enced as they are in matters relating to a minister," Mrs. 
 Davidson observed. " I cannot see why they should be- 
 lieve every thing said to a minister's disadvantage, as 
 some are disposed to do. If all felt as I do, Miss Bemis 
 and Miss Simons, and others like them, would have but 
 small encouragement to pry into a minister's affairs and 
 report the result of their officious meddling among the 
 parish." 
 
 " I wish," said Mrs. Durant, " there were more like you, 
 Mrs. Davidson, who can appreciate the peculiar situation 
 of a pastor and his family, and who have candor and com- 
 mon sense to influence them in their judgment. If such 
 were the case, there would be fewer difficulties in our 
 parishes." 
 
 "I thank you, Mrs. Durant, for your good opinion,"
 
 'MISS BEMIS. ' 161 
 
 Mrs. Davidson said, " and I hope I may ever have the 
 character you give me. I cannot endure these persons 
 who are forever making trouble in parishes with the min- 
 ister." 
 
 " I wish there was some way/' said Mrs. Durant, " to 
 prevent such characters as Miss Bemis from doing so much 
 mischief." 
 
 "I wish so, too," said Mrs. Davidson, "with all my 
 heart. The only way I think of is, not to listen to them." 
 
 "But then, you know, there are always to be found 
 those who are disposed to give an ear to the gossip of a 
 Miss Bemis, to swallow all her perversions, and wonder 
 with her at all the fancied inconsistencies of ministers 
 and their wives, and " 
 
 The sentence was not finished ; for Miss Bemis was 
 seen approaching the circle, and was soon seated near 
 Mrs. Davidson and her friends. 
 14*
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT. 
 
 MR. ELDRIDGE had been out all the afternoon making 
 pastoral calls, and returned home about the hour for tea 
 in most excellent spirits, from the reflection upon the pros- 
 perous condition of the parish and the many expressions 
 of strong attachment of his people to their pastor. After 
 removing his boots, and putting on slippers, and exchan- 
 ging his coat for his study gown, he seated himself near his 
 wife, who was sewing by the window, and remarked, 
 
 " How I wish that old parish debt was paid ! If that was 
 only out of the way, I should be comparatively happy." 
 
 " You can't bear debt, can you, husband ? " his wife 
 replied. 
 
 " No, I cannot ; and especially when there is not the 
 least cause for it." 
 
 " Why don't the people pay this debt ? " Mrs. Eldridge 
 inquired. 
 
 " There are many who are very anxious to have it paid, 
 and I suppose all would feel better if it were settled ; but, 
 then, there is a difference in opinion as to the best way of 
 paying it," Mr. Eldridge replied. 
 
 " I should think a part of the fund might be taken for 
 this purpose," Mrs. Eldridge suggested. 
 
 '.' Some individuals wish to do this," Mr. Eldridge said ; 
 " but there are more who think it would be the wiser way 
 
 (162)
 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT. 163 
 
 io have the debt paid by a tax. I have been thinking 
 that I must bring up the subject in my next anniversary 
 discourse, the time for preaching which is now near. It 
 is eleven years since I have been here, and this debt has 
 been the cause of no little vexation to many of the parish 
 and of trouble to me. I have conversed privately with 
 different individuals upon the importance of having this 
 matter adjusted until I have become discouraged. I think, 
 if I should lay myself out and preach a strong sermon 
 upon the subject, something might be accomplished." 
 
 " I do not know about this," said his wife, thoughtfully. 
 " It is a delicate subject, and perhaps some might take ex- 
 ceptions to your course, and the consequence might be a 
 difficulty which might end in your dismission" 
 
 " Well, what if it should ?" Mr. Eldridge replied, with 
 energy. "I cannot help it. This debt is a hinderance to 
 the prosperity of the parish ; it has occasioned hard feel- 
 ing at times among the people. It can be paid ; all would 
 be glad if it were paid ; and it must be paid. I rather 
 think it is my duty to preach on the subject." 
 
 In about a month from this period the anniversary dis- 
 course was preached, and was heard, too, by all the large 
 assembly. Seldom had the pastor equalled this pulpit 
 effort, and never, perhaps, were the people more disposed 
 to remark on a sermon. On the afternoon next after its 
 delivery Mr. Eldridge was out calling on his people, and 
 was surprised to discover what a deep impression his ser- 
 mon on the previous day had made. He was, moreover, 
 highly gratified in hearing the importance of its subject so 
 generally commended and in noticing how general was 
 the disposition to attack at once the old parish debt and 
 annihilate it. In passing from one house on his way to 
 another he met Mr. Osgood, whoso conversion in the 
 early part of his ministry was alluded to in a previous 
 chapter. Though somewhat bowed down with age, yet he
 
 164 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 held on to his first love with enthusiastic ardor. Ever 
 alive to what enters into the welfare of the church and 
 success and happiness of the pastor, as soon as the com- 
 mon salutations were over Mr. Osgood remarked, 
 
 " They say you preached a great discourse yesterday, 
 Mr. Eldridge a great discourse. I was glad to hear 
 about it. I wish I had been to meeting ; but I had to 
 stay at home to let my wife go." 
 
 " I noticed you were not present," the pastor replied. 
 
 " One of us," continued Mr. Osgood, " must stay at 
 home with our poor sick daughter, you know ; and I 
 staid yesterday ; but I reckon I have heard about all you 
 said. My wife told me a great deal ; and then almost 
 every one I have seen to-day has been talking about it. I 
 rather guess they'll pay off the old debt now." 
 
 " I hope they will, most certainly," said the pastor. " It 
 ought to have been paid years ago." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; it ought," Mr. Osgood acquiesced ; " but 
 then, you know, the money was not wanted. The man who 
 holds the note is satisfied to have the parish owe him, for 
 he feels that his money is safe. Colonel Presbury likes to 
 have his property secure, you know." 
 
 " I had rather our parish would not be in debt," Mr. 
 Eldridge continued, " as there is not the least reason for 
 it. If Colonel Presbury don't want his money, he can 
 easily invest it elsewhere. I don't like to have any one 
 with whom I am connected in debt, Mr. Osgood." 
 
 " I know," said the old gentleman, " you don't like debt, 
 Mr. Eldridge, and the people know it too ; and they are 
 all glad that you keep out of debt. You were just the 
 man to preach such a sermon as you did yesterday. I 
 guess you'll make them pay the parish debt. If they do, 
 they will all be glad of it ; for they have been saying 
 these twenty years or more that it ought to be paid." 
 
 Passing on, Mr. Eldridge next called on widow Rich-
 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT. 165 
 
 ards, a very worthy member of his church, though in the 
 humbler walks of life. She was a tenant of Col. Pres- 
 bury, who lived in a large house near by. The pastor 
 had not long been seated before the good lady began 
 about the sermon of yesterday, and 'observed, 
 
 " I was very glad to hear you preach about the parish 
 debt, Mr. Eldridge. As long as the people are able to 
 pay it off, I think they ought to do so." 
 
 " Certainly," said the pastor ; " and I trust they will 
 shortly do so." 
 
 " I rather think they will," Mrs. Richards replied. 
 " Colonel Presbury told me this morning, when I was in 
 to pay ray quarter's rent, that he supposed the people 
 would rally now and do something. The colonel was in 
 favor of having it paid if the money was wanted ; but he 
 said that was not the case. He said he did not want the 
 money, and that it would do no harm to let the thing re- 
 main as it now stands ; but he said he supposed the people 
 would pay it off." 
 
 " Did he say how he thought it ought to be paid ? " Mr. 
 Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " He said that, if the people concluded to pay it, he 
 thought the best way would be to use part of the fund ; . 
 but he said he was afraid they would resort to taxation. 
 That he would not like, you know. His tax would amount 
 to something." 
 
 " The colonel is able to pay a good tax," the pastor ob- 
 served. " Where the Lord gives property, there ought to 
 be a disposition to do what is right. I hope the colonel 
 will be ready to come in with the wishes of the majority." 
 
 "But he won't, sir, if they make a tax. He will never 
 get over it. I know him well, for I have lived by the side 
 of him these forty years. He loves his money, sir, better 
 than any thing besides." 
 
 Finishing his visit here, the pastor directed his steps
 
 166 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 homeward. As he entered his house he heard busy con- 
 versation in the parlor ; and as he stood in the hall, lay- 
 ing aside his hat, <fcc., he overheard the remark from one, 
 " I was truly rejoiced to hear him preach so yesterday." 
 And thus the pastor was made to know that his sermon 
 of the day previous was the theme of conversation. He 
 had scarcely been seated before Mrs. McKay observed, 
 
 " We have been talking about your ' debt sermon? Mr. 
 Eldridge." 
 
 " Ah," said the pastor with a smile. " I have not heard 
 that my sermon had been named." 
 
 " 0, yes, it has," said Mrs. Morrison ; " I have heard a 
 number of individuals to-day speak of Mr. Eldridge's 
 debt sermon." 
 
 " "Well, I hope none take exceptions to the discourse," 
 the pastor said. 
 
 "No no, sir ; it was a very popular discourse," Mrs. 
 McKay remarked. " All liked it very much indeed. My 
 husband thinks it will do good in more ways than one. 
 He thinks it will not only be the means of paying the 
 parish debt, but likewise of inducing sundry delinquent 
 debtors about, who have almost exhausted the patience 
 of their creditors, to consider of their obligations and at 
 once ' square up.' " 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Cummings, a friend of Mrs. Morri- 
 son from another town, " if the sermon can have such an 
 effect, I wish Mr. Eldridge might preach it to our people. 
 We have some among us who need a little quickening upon 
 the duty of paying their debts, particularly our deacon. 
 He is very negligent in this respect, and has brought the 
 office into great disrepute by not paying what he owes 
 when it is in his power to do so. He can have every thing 
 for himself and his children which is desired by either ; 
 but when any of his creditors call they must be put off." 
 
 " That is a sad case," said Mr. Eldridge. " I should be
 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT. 167 
 
 much tried if one of our deacons should have this char- 
 acter." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Cummings ; " I presume you would, 
 Mr. Eldridge. Almost any minister, or, indeed, any indi- 
 vidual, would be tried to have a deacon owe almost every 
 body when he practised no self-denial. Our deacon can 
 have the best carriage in the parish, and can dress his 
 children in the height of fashion ; but he cannot pay his 
 debts. He did not act thus when his first wife was 
 alive." 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Eldridge, " if my sermon of yesterday 
 answers a double purpose, as you intimate, Mrs. McKay, it 
 will accomplish more than I designed. I shall indeed be 
 highly gratified if it will be instrumental in rousing the 
 parish to pay off its debt ; and if delinquent debtors are ex- 
 cited to do justly, so much the better" 
 
 " I wonder our people have suffered this debt to remain 
 so long," said Mrs. Morrison. " It has been standing more 
 than fifty years I am told." 
 
 " You know," said Mrs. McKay, " the people have often 
 talked of paying it. No one has before taken up the 
 matter in earnest, and commended the importance of hav- 
 ing it cancelled, and got the public attention seriously 
 turned towards the debt. I rather think now six months 
 will not pass before the debt will be paid." 
 
 " I hope they will make a tax to liquidate this debt," 
 said Mrs. Morrison, " and not disturb the fund." 
 
 " That would suit the greater part of the people best, I 
 dare say," Mrs. McKay observed ; " but some would be 
 highly incensed should a tax be levied for this purpose." 
 
 " Not many," Mrs. Morrison replied. " We were speak- 
 ing on the subject at dinner to-day, and my husband said 
 he did not believe there would be more than four or five 
 who would be strenuous for taking any portion of the fund 
 to settle this debt."
 
 168 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Did lie say who the four or five individuals were ? " 
 Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " He mentioned Colonel Presbury, Mr. Benson, Mr. 
 Otis," Mrs. Morrison said. 
 
 " These gentlemen have some influence," Mr. Eldridge 
 observed, " and of course their feelings will be regarded." 
 
 " I don't believe they can prevent the majority doing 
 as they please, however," said Mrs. Morrison, with much 
 feeling. " I think there are a good many who would vote 
 for a tax the sooner, if they thought Colonel Presbury and 
 Mr. Benson were opposed to it." 
 
 " That would be wrong, would it not ? " said the pastor. 
 
 "I suppose it would," Mrs. Morrison replied; "but hu- 
 man nature will out with itself, you know, sometimes." 
 
 " Yes," said the pastor ; " and the exhibition is often 
 very odious, you know. I really hope there are none among 
 us who would vote for a tax merely to oppose the gentle- 
 men who have been just named." 
 
 "Perhaps that would not be all the motive," said 
 Mrs. Morrison. " I really hope, however, they will soon 
 have a parish meeting and vote to pay off this old debt 
 by a tax ; for I think the prosperity of the parish would 
 in this way be best promoted." 
 
 After their visitors had left, and as the pastor and his 
 wife were alone, the latter remarked, 
 
 " Your sermon yesterday will be remembered, I think, 
 husband. There have been several ladies in this after- 
 noon before those who have just gone came, who had a 
 great deal to say about your preaching yesterday." 
 
 " Who have been in, my dear ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Barnes, Mrs. Thorndike, Miss Gill, 
 Mrs. Lovell, and Miss Bemis." 
 
 " You have, indeed, been highly favored, I think. Did 
 they all speak of the sermon ? " 
 
 " I believe they all did but Mrs. Barnes. She was take*
 
 AN OLD PARISH DEBT. 169 
 
 up in telling me about her sister, who lately died, you 
 know. All the other ladies had much to say about the 
 parish debt and your sermon." 
 
 " What did Miss Bemis say about it ? " 
 
 "She called with Mrs. Lovell. Mrs. Lovell was de 
 lighted that you took up the subject and was highly 
 pleased with your manner of treating it. Miss Bemis 
 said that she was, but that she thought it would have 
 been wiser to have preached it on a fast or thanksgiving 
 occasion rather than on the Sabbath." 
 
 " Of course," said Mr. Eldridge, dryly ; " and if I had 
 preached it on either of these days, it would have been 
 wiser to have preached it at some other time ; or, if not, 
 to have not preached at all. Well, wife, it is my opinion 
 that all the people heard my sermon yesterday, and, as 
 you say, that it will not soon be forgotten. I never 
 preached a sermon that I have heard so much about as I 
 have of this. I met fifteen or twenty individuals whilst I 
 was out this afternoon, and I believe every one of them 
 had more or less to say about the parish debt and my ser- 
 mon yesterday. I think all this talk will lead to some 
 action, and that soon the old parish debt will live only in 
 memory." 
 
 The ruling subject throughout the parish for several 
 days continued to be the parish debt. The pastor was 
 gratified to learn before the week was out that there 
 would be a warrant up on the next Sabbath for a parish 
 meeting, " to see whether the parish will take any action 
 in relation to the parish debt." The meeting was accord- 
 ingly held and most numerously attended by an interested 
 company of voters and others. There seemed to be a 
 general feeling that, all things considered, it would be for 
 the interest of the parish if its debt was paid. When, 
 however, the question came, How shall the debt be paid ? 
 there was more division of sentiment. Mr. Benson 
 15
 
 170 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 advanced the policy of paying the debt from the fund. 
 Colonel Presbury sympathized in feeling with Mr. Benson 
 and waxed warm in a speech on the matter. Mr. Dixon, 
 a merchant of the place, sided in very warmly with the 
 colonel. Against this policy there was very strong oppo- 
 sition from a large number of individuals ; and when the 
 motion to pay the debt from the fund was put. it was de- 
 cided in the negative by a very large majority. Mr. 
 Clay then moved that the debt be paid with money raised 
 by a tax ; and after a long and very spirited debate the 
 motion prevailed, there being not more than seven or 
 eight out of some one hundred and fifty voters whose 
 hands were raised in opposition. 
 
 In about two weeks from the period at which this parish 
 meeting was held, some six or seven gentlemen called on 
 the pastor. Squire Davidson, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Clay, 
 and Deacon Smith were of the number. They proved to 
 be a delegation from a large portion of Mr. Eldridge's 
 parish to convey to him some expressions of gratitude for 
 his agency in the matter of liquidating the parish debt. 
 The squire was appointed to take the lead in the premises ; 
 and he acquitted himself, as few could have done, well and 
 handsomely. In his address he touched upon many things 
 in the history of the pastor which could not have failed to 
 produce in the breast of that worthy man the most pleas- 
 urable emotions. In closing, the squire remarked, " For 
 your interest in this important matter, reverend sir, your 
 friends, hich appear to be almost the entire people, have 
 raised the sum of one hundred dollars, which I now have 
 the happiness of tendering to you." As such a delegation 
 for such a purpose had not, in any breeze nor by any 
 tongue, been intimated to the pastor, he was taken by 
 storm, and for a moment utterance failed him in his at- 
 tempts to conquer the tempest of feeling which was raging 
 within him. However, but a moment thus bound the
 
 AN OLD PARISH 1)EBT. 171 
 
 gratitude of his heart ; for he soon spoke forth manly sen- 
 timents, grateful words, thanking heartily his people for 
 their abiding interest in himself. He was particularly 
 grateful for the evidence borne by the present interview 
 with their delegation, of the unanimous satisfaction expe- 
 rienced in the parish at the extinguishment of the debt 
 which had troubled him so much, and been no inconsider- 
 able source of disquietude, at times, in the parish. 
 
 Whether the few opposed to the tax were aware of this 
 expression of feeling in the many, none could then tell. 
 That one of these few laid the tax heavily to heart, think- 
 ing of it by night and meditating on it by day, thus allow- 
 ing it corroding power for years before its development 
 to the world, may appear by and by.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 
 
 " ARE you any acquainted with Mr. Hanly, father, or 
 any of his people ? " asked Frances of Squire Davidson. 
 
 " I believe I met him once, daughter, at a council some- 
 where ; but I do not now remember where. I do not 
 know as I- am acquainted with any of his people." 
 
 " I thought such might be the case, as in the letter mis- 
 sive it was requested that you might be appointed dele- 
 gate from our church to the council for his dismission." 
 
 " I presume some of the people or Mr. Hanly may know 
 something of me, as I have been on a large number of 
 councils, you know," the father continued. " I am afraid 
 that I shall be under the necessity of going alone, as Mr. 
 Eldridge will probably think it his duty to remain at 
 home." 
 
 " What is the matter, husband, that Mr. Eldridge can- 
 not go ? " 
 
 " I saw him this morning," said the squire, " and he told 
 me that he felt afraid his little Henry was going to be 
 sick, and that, if he were no better in the morning, he 
 should not go to the council." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear that he has more sickness in his 
 family," Mrs. Davidson said. " I hope the dear little boy 
 will not be sick." 
 
 Early the next morning Mr. Eldridge called on the 
 
 (172)
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 173 
 
 squire and informed him that the illness of his son had 
 increased, and consequently that it would not be consis- 
 tent for him to leave town. 
 
 " What need is there of your going, husband ? " Mrs. 
 Davidson inquired, after Mr. Eldridge had left. " As the 
 distance is great and the people are strangers to you, I 
 would not go. I don't see why they sent so far for a 
 council. It is upwards of fifty miles from here, is it not ? " 
 
 <; Yes, dear," the husband replied ; " it is upwards of 
 sixty, I believe. As Mr. Hanly and his church have sent 
 to our church, and as I have been chosen a delegate, I 
 feel that I ought to go ; and I must start this afternoon, 
 too, by one o'clock, or I shall not be there to-morrow in 
 season." 
 
 The squire accordingly set off ; and the next day, after 
 a long ride in his own carriage, he found himself with 
 others in council for the dismission of Mr. Hanly. This 
 ecclesiastical body he soon discovered was composed of 
 pastors and delegates of no ordinary discernment, wis- 
 dom, and piety ; and the squire felt himself happy in the 
 reflection on their capacity to act as valuable advisers in 
 the case now before them. 
 
 It appeared from the documents submitted that Mr. 
 Hanly had been settled about six years, and had been sin- 
 gularly blessed in his labors for the conversion of the im- 
 penitent and for the general welfare of his people. His 
 efforts for the younger portion of his flock had been 
 blessed to the advancement of this important part of his 
 charge in every thing which tended to their increased 
 promise and worth. It appeared, likewise, that Mr. Han- 
 ly had a young and rising family about him, and that he 
 was not apprised of there being any necessity for his 
 seeking another parish until about three months anterior 
 to the session of this council. Indeed, he almost felt as- 
 sured, from the many expressions, not only from leading 
 15*
 
 174 A VOICE FKOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 individuals in his society, but from all classes therein, 
 which had been repeated almost every month, that he oc- 
 cupied a deep place in the confidence and affections of his 
 people, and that it would be no easy task to create ani- 
 mosity and alienation towards him. Being a young man 
 and enthusiastic in his love for his chosen profession, he 
 was not looking for any interruption to his usefulness, 
 whilst he was increasing in his efforts and power to ren- 
 der unto his people more and more service. He so read 
 that word of eternal truth the unfolding of which to his 
 fellow-men was the great object of his life as to draw 
 therefrom the inference, at no infrequent intervals and in 
 no measured strength, that, if he was true to his God and 
 to the entire people of his charge, he had reasonable 
 ground for the expectation that his people would be true 
 to him: It was, accordingly, his constant endeavor to be 
 thus true ; nor did any evidence in the slightest form, ap- 
 pear in all that was said by the people before the council 
 that their pastor had deviated from the general line of 
 true ministerial fidelity. It became, therefore, rather a 
 difficult enigma for the council to solve how the useful- 
 ness of the pastor was over with the people of his charge 
 when it was universally admitted that he had labored 
 faithfully, both in and out of the pulpit, during the entire 
 period of his ministry, and that he was generally respected 
 and beloved throughout the society. In the solution of 
 this enigma the pastor and a few others could at once 
 have rendered important aid ; but, inasmuch as the 
 council had been called to consider all matters superin- 
 ducing the necessity of the pastor's dismission, he and 
 others deemed it proper for a time to stand in the rear, 
 to allow the individuals who had been prominent in the 
 creation of this necessity to make out their case and illus- 
 trate their general reason that Mr. Hanly had lost his use- 
 fulness. At almost every step made by the opposition to
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 175 
 
 the pastor it was evident that they were embarrassed with 
 the lameness of their cause ; and not unfrequently was 
 there a strange irritation about the bronchial region at 
 some question from one member of the council and an- 
 other, which for a moment so choked the utterance of the 
 respondents as to make it rather difficult for them to pro- 
 ceed. However, after three or four hours had been con- 
 sumed in making out their case, the committee announced 
 to the council that they had nothing more to offer. As the 
 hour was near at which the council had voted to adjourn 
 for tea, it was voted that the pastor and his friends defer 
 their statements to the evening session. 
 
 At the evening session the pastor addressed the council 
 in a few sentences, which breathed so much self-possession, 
 candor, reliance on rectitude of motive, a clear conscience, 
 and of general trust in God and in the impartial trust in 
 the judgment of the wise and good, that they made most 
 happy impressions on all who were present. He closed 
 by saying that he would proceed to call a few witnesses, 
 from whose testimony he had no doubt the council would 
 soon discover if he had lost his influence, and conse- 
 quently his usefulness among the people of his charge 
 in what way this disastrous result had been accomplished. 
 He accordingly first called the name of a very prominent 
 member of the parish, who had influence over, many by his 
 extensive wealth, and asked him if he would have the 
 goodness to come forward. This was a course which had 
 not been anticipated. As the gentleman thus summoned 
 had been taken by surprise, he was not very prompt in his 
 movements towards the table of the scribe, where he was 
 requested by the moderator to appear. However, at last 
 he made his way through the crowd and stood at the 
 table, by the side of which Mr. Hanly had his seat. The 
 pastor then said, 
 
 " I would ask you, Mr. Wilcox, when opposition to the 
 pastor, to your knowledge, was first manifested ? "
 
 176 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I never heard of any opposition to speak of until last 
 December," was the reply. 
 
 " If there had been any before that period you would 
 probably have known it, would you not, sir ? " 
 
 " I think I should," was the answer. 
 
 " Is it your opinion that the usefulness of the pastor in 
 this church and society is at an end ? " 
 
 " I have thought so for some time past ; yes, sir." 
 
 " What has the pastor done to destroy his usefulness ? " 
 
 " He'm he'm ; well, I don't know as I can exactly 
 eay." 
 
 "If the pastor has lost his influence, Mr. Wilcox, he 
 must have done this by some act or acts. Either he has 
 committed some offence or omitted some important duties. 
 Now, I would like to have you state to the council if the 
 pastor has been negligent of any ministerial duty, or been 
 guilty of any conduct which ought to have destroyed his 
 usefulness." 
 
 The gentleman hesitating and changing his position, 
 evidently betraying an inability to answer, Mr. Hanly 
 varied his question by asking, 
 
 " Has it been supposed that the pastor, within the last 
 ten months or previously, has neglected his studies, or 
 neglected his people, or been guilty of any species of im- 
 proper conduct ? " 
 
 " I have never heard any thing said that has led me to 
 suppose that the pastor was negligent of his studies or 
 that he did not take proper care of his people. No one, 
 to my knowledge, has ever said that you have committed 
 any crime." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Wilcox, I will ask you one other question. 
 If the pastor had been in Europe throughout the last No- 
 vember, do you think there would have been any com- 
 plaint that his usefulness was lost?" 
 
 " I do not know as he lost his influence in the month of 
 November last."
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 177 
 
 " Well, sir, did your pastor vote for governor and for 
 president last November?" 
 
 "He'm he'm," with a sudden reddening of the face. 
 Mr. Wilcox finally remarked, " I believe that he did, sir. 
 It is generally supposed that he did." 
 
 " Well, sir, have you heard that any of our people were 
 dissatisfied with the manner of his voting?" 
 
 "I have heard something of the kind, sir." 
 
 " There was considerable political excitement in this 
 town, was there not, sir ? " 
 
 " There was." 
 
 " Did you ever know of the pastor's taking any active 
 part in political matters, or that he was disposed to make 
 the subject a matter of conversation when visiting the 
 people ? " 
 
 " I never heard much said about the matter." 
 
 " Have you heard any of the party with whom the pastor 
 was supposed to vote complain of him for voting ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of." 
 
 " Did the pastor vote the same ticket with yourself? " 
 
 " I suppose he did not." 
 
 "Have you heard any thing said by your party about 
 the pastor's voting ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I have." 
 
 " Have you heard more from your party than from any 
 other?" 
 
 " I suppose that I have, sir." 
 
 The moderator, inquired if the pastor voted with the 
 party that was the largest in his parish. 
 
 " He is supposed," Mr. Wilcox replied, " to have voted 
 with the party which is the largest in the town, but not in 
 our parish, sir." 
 
 A member of the council inquired, 
 
 "Had the pastor voted with the party which was the
 
 178 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 largest in his own society, would there, in your opinion, 
 have been the opposition to him which now exists ? " 
 
 The gentleman not answering at once, the member pro- 
 posing the interrogatory remarked that he would not 
 press the question. Whereupon Mr. Hanly said he had 
 no further questions to ask Mr. Wilcox ; and the witness 
 retired. 
 
 Mr. Hanly next called on Mr. Goodwin, who, appearing 
 at the stand, was asked, 
 
 " Will you please to state to the council, Mr. Goodwin, 
 your views of the present state of feeling in our church 
 and parish in relation to the pastor ? " 
 
 "I don't know as I have any thing in particular to 
 offer," the gentleman remarked. "There appears to be 
 considerable bad feeling at the present time. Many think 
 it is time to have another minister." 
 
 " How long has the dissatisfaction of which you speak 
 been manifest ? " 
 
 "I never heard of any alienation towards the pastor 
 tiir within a few months. The people until lately all 
 thought a great deal of the minister ; but, somehow or 
 other, there does not appear so much interest in him now 
 as formerly." 
 
 " Have you heard any charges brought against the pas- 
 tor for neglect of duty or improper conduct ? " 
 
 "I do not remember to have heard of any such." 
 
 "Do you think that the present difficulties with the pas- 
 tor are in any way connected with the exercise of his 
 political rights ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, to be frank, I am free to say, if you had 
 voted last fall a certain ticket, those who are now op- 
 posed to you would not have acted as they have." 
 
 " I have no further questions," Mr. Hanly observed. 
 
 As Mr. Goodwin was retiring, a member of the council 
 inquired,
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 179 
 
 "Did the pastor vote as you voted, Mr. Goodwin?" 
 " He did not, sir, I believe. I wish that he had. I 
 think it would have been vastly better for him if he had 
 voted right" 
 
 Squire Davidson inquired, 
 " Who has decided that the pastor voted wrong ? " 
 Mr. Goodwin smiled, and retired in the midst of a 
 gentle laugh of the council and of all the spectators. 
 
 The testimony of many other individuals was given, 
 and was much in accordance with the foregoing evidence. 
 It came out, however, from one of the witnesses, that, in 
 contracting a second marriage, the pastor had not paid suf- 
 ficient deference to tfie suggestions of Mr. Wilcox's family, 
 whose desires had been excited that a niece of theirs might 
 be the wife of their pastor. There was no testimony in- 
 troduced which in any form reflected on the character of 
 Mr. Hanly. He was shown to be a faithful, studious, la- 
 borious, efficient, consistent, and successful minister. In- 
 cidentally, as well as directly, it appeared that no clergy- 
 man among the many with whom Mr. Hanly exchanged 
 was as acceptable to the people as himself, and that before 
 that "fatal vote" and perhaps that " unfortunate election" 
 of a wife, in utter disregard of the wishes of those who 
 arrogated to themselves the dictatorship over their minis- 
 ter, he had a firm place in the affections of all. Nor 
 could any mistake, from the entire disclosures which were 
 made, what was the true and real ground for the termina- 
 tion of the pastor's usefulness among his people. This 
 loss of influence was not owing to the warm opposition of 
 the entire political party in Mr. Hanly's society with 
 which he was not in sympathy. The real cause appeared 
 to be, that there were a few in the party who thought no 
 consideration second to that of their own kind of politics, 
 and whose care for its success was their religion ; whose 
 zeal for this success was so great as to make them ready
 
 180 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to annihilate all opposition, even if the destruction of pri- 
 vate character, or happiness, or prosperity were the con- 
 sequence of their conduct. Mr. Wilcox was a rich man, 
 a man of many farms, of many manufacturing works, and 
 tJiere were many under him. He could say to one, Go, and 
 he goeth ; to another, Come, and he cometh ; to another, 
 Vote, and he voteth. The society of which Mr. Hanly was 
 pastor had grown up under the auspices of the Wilcox 
 family till it became an independent body and able to 
 provide for its own interests. Whilst many were for do- 
 ing this, and thus retain their pastor, others of the same 
 political party with Mr. Wilcox, though not condemning 
 the minister for voting as it seemed to him good, a pre- 
 rogative which they claimed for themselves, and which 
 they were willing every freeman should enjoy, yet 
 thought it might be best, for the sake of peace in the parish, 
 that he should leave. It appeared that all the opposition 
 to the pastor began with one or two individuals, as before 
 stated, and that they had variously labored to increase 
 dissatisfaction and provoke to their way of thinking, until 
 at last, from prudential and politic considerations on the 
 part of some, themselves willing that Mr. Hanly be re- 
 tained, a state of feeling existed which would oppose the 
 pastor's usefulness and happiness. This was the view 
 taken by the council of the whole matter in their secret 
 session for deliberation and result. This they formally 
 declared on the morning of the second day of their sitting. 
 From the feeling which had been developed, it was their 
 opinion that the pastor could no longer be useful unless 
 there was a change in this feeling. Taking it for granted 
 that there would be no change, they advised the dismission 
 of Mr. Hanly. In doing this, the council said all in his 
 praise which a pastor in his situation could desire. They 
 likewise admonished the people kindly but 'faithfully. 
 The great sin of destroying a pastor's usefulness, when ho
 
 SQUIRE DAVIDSON A DELEGATE TO A COUNCIL. 181 
 
 had in an eminent degree demonstrated his fitness for the 
 station to which they had called him, merely for exercis- 
 ing his immunities as a man and a citizen, was set forth in 
 no very measured terms. The rights of a pastor his 
 civil, political, social, and religious rights were well de- 
 fined and ably defended. The assumption of any to a 
 dictatorship over him was severely condemned. " No 
 people," said the council in their result, "no people nor 
 individuals in a parish ought ever to question, or do any 
 thing to embarrass, a pastor in the exercise of all the 
 rights which belong to him as a man and as a member of 
 the community. His political and social rights are no 
 more to be controlled by his people than are theirs to be 
 by him." 
 
 . In shaping this result, and in the rebukes which were 
 faithfully administered to the few who had labored in all 
 ways to effect the removal of Mr. Hanly, perhaps no indi- 
 vidual had more influence than Squire Davidson. To his 
 large and comprehensive mind, his generous and expansive 
 heart, every act of a people towards their pastor which 
 tended in the least to impair his personal rights or dimin- 
 ish his happiness would have no other appearance but 
 that of evil. Consequently, every utterance from him 
 would be condemnatory, and every expression a severe 
 though deserved rebuke. " A minister is a man," he would 
 often say ; "let him live as a man, be treated as a man, 
 enjoy as a man, with every help from his people to smooth 
 his path ; for, after all, his situation has so much that is 
 trying about it he can enjoy but little this side of heaven." 
 16
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AN INCIDENT AT AN ASSOCIATION. 
 
 EVERY clergyman in New England, and, indeed, through- 
 out our country, is in connection with some association 
 which has for its object ministerial progress. To such an 
 association Mr. Eldridge was attached. Whilst its meet- 
 ings are for the general improvement of the mind and 
 heart, and for opportunities in which counsel can be ob- 
 tained by its members either on matters of a parochial or 
 of a personal character, yet the study of the Greek and 
 Hebrew, the critical reading of sermons or literary or 
 theological dissertations, does not occupy the minds of 
 those present from the opening to the adjournment of the 
 association, or presbytery. Having in general the same 
 object in life, there is sympathy in its members one with 
 another ; and when, therefore, they come together, as they 
 do at infrequent intervals, it is to be supposed that there 
 will be some expressions other than what are strictly lit- 
 erary or theological. It would be strange if the opportu- 
 nity were not improved fqr general relaxation and the 
 diversion of the mind from its severer exercises in the 
 performance of the arduous and often perplexing and try- 
 ing duties of the pastorship. The recess had for dinner 
 or tea is very often the opportunity which is improved for 
 this purpose. 
 
 As a few members of the association with which Mr. 
 
 (182)
 
 AN INCIDENT AT AN ASSOCIATION. 183 
 
 Eldridge was connected were standing, after dinner, under 
 a large elm tree that spread its many branches over his 
 house, a remark was made, in a somewhat loud utterance, 
 that arrested the attention of another circle which stood 
 near the door. So one of this latter circle, to satisfy the 
 curiosity which was awakened, not only in his own mind, 
 but in the minds of others about him, observed to the 
 brother under the tree who made the remark, 
 
 " What is that, brother Martin, you just said ? " 
 
 " 0," said brother Martin, " we have been discussing 
 here since dinner the subject of pastoral security ; and I 
 remarked that I did not believe there was a; pastor in the 
 commonwealth who was at ease on his saddle." 
 
 " That is rather a random shot, is it not ? " inquired the 
 brother for whose gratification the remark was repeated. 
 
 " Of course it is," Mr. Martin replied ; " I intended it as 
 such to hit every way." 
 
 "Well, I cannot agree with you," said Mr. Ellis, the 
 brother before alluded to. 
 
 By this time pretty much all the brethren had been at- 
 tracted towards the tree and were together under its 
 shade. Said brother Martin, 
 
 " I perceive we have about all the members of the asso- 
 ciation here ; and I move the question be put to each one 
 as to his own views and feelings of the permanency of *his 
 relation to his people. I think the response would be a 
 very fair illustration and representation of the position of 
 all the pastors in the state." 
 
 Without waiting for the formality of a vote upon his 
 motion, Mr. Martin at once asked the brother nearest him 
 for his expression. 
 
 " I don't know about this," brother Parker said ; " but 
 I very often tell my wife, when I plant my" garden in the 
 spring, that I do not know who will have the fruits thereof 
 iu the autumn. There is nr thing now very alarming
 
 184 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 among my people ; but as for feeling secure for even a 
 year, that is altogether out of the question. I have felt 
 that I might be dismissed almost any time." 
 
 " Brother Taylor, how is it with you ? " 
 
 " As yet I have not had any great fears about going," 
 Mr. Taylor said. " You all know that our people have run 
 largely into debt in building their meeting house. They 
 think they have quite a burden to carry, and don't trouble 
 themselves about me much. Besides, my people feel that 
 I am a business sort of a man, and are relying on me to 
 financier for them and help them. If they were not em- 
 barrassed and were going on smoothly, I should feel that 
 I might find myself suddenly so situated as to make it for 
 my comfort to seek another parish." 
 
 " Well, father Stowe, will you have the goodness to 
 favor us with your experience in relation to this matter?" 
 
 " As I have now weathered it for upwards of thirty 
 years among my present people, I do not know as I have 
 any very particular fears of being dismissed. My people 
 would be rather mortified to turn me off in my old age 
 after I have endured the battle so long. I presume, how- 
 ever, many of them would have no objection if I was in 
 heaven. If I had not been with them for such a length of 
 time, I have no doubt there would have been a movement 
 \vithin a few years past in relation to another pastor. I 
 hear now occasionally that some of the young folks are 
 talking about a colleague for me." 
 
 " Brother Sandford, how is it with you?" 
 
 "If I had not been blessed with the means of living 
 without my people, I should have been routed two or three 
 times within the last ten years. I almost know that I should 
 not have been where I am at present if I had been depend- 
 ent on my people. They know I can live without them ; 
 and I suppose they are rather proud of the fact. If the 
 salary now is not promptly paid, they arc not much troubled
 
 AN INCIDENT AT AN ASSOCIATION. 185 
 
 by the delinquency. If I were poor, they would be under 
 the necessity of being punctual." 
 
 " Brother Haven, what.can we hear from you?" 
 
 "I feel pretty much'with brother Parker, that, when I 
 set out a tree in my garden, I am by no means sure that, 
 if I live, I shall see its first blossom. I am fully of the 
 opinion that there are but few, if any, who are at ease on 
 their saddle, as the brother said." 
 
 In this manner was each member of the association ques- 
 tioned ; and it appeared that there was not an individual 
 member who felt that he had any hold of his people which 
 would survive the resolute effort of a few to put asunder 
 the pastoral relation. All confessed to a continued anxie- 
 ty as to a rupture ; arid, on the whole, it was very generally 
 conceded that the brother whose remark at the onset was 
 deemed by some as too broad had only related a truth, 
 which the experience of the brethren fully confirmed. 
 
 " This is really a melancholy state of things," Mr. 
 Parker observed, "for the pastors of our churches to be 
 thus 'disturbed with anxiety as to the permanency of their 
 continuance among their people." 
 
 " It is truly," acquiesced Mr. Martin, " a very great evil, 
 not only to pastors, but likewise to churches. I have no 
 doubt this conscious insecurity of pastors subtracts from 
 their usefulness at least twenty per cent. They are now 
 on the watch, and .are sensitive, to every passing breeze, 
 not knowing but a storm may be gathering. Considera- 
 ble time is consumed in watching events and in calculating 
 probabilities ; and with some pastors there is that feverish 
 excitement which greatly impairs efficient action." 
 
 " This may be all true of some of our brethren who are 
 very nervous and sensitive," said Mr. Selden ; " but I 
 rather think there are some who do not spend much 
 lime in borrowing trouble." 
 
 " I think," continued brother Martin, " that Mr. Selden 
 10*
 
 186 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 is not exactly a competent judge in the present matter. 
 Very few men have your nerve, brother Selden ; very few 
 can stand up as you can in times of trouble. You have 
 just now stated that every one or two years there was 
 quite a stir among your people in relation to your removal, 
 and that you would have been dismissed long since had 
 not your people been afraid of you. Now, supposing I 
 had been in your situation ; don't you think I should have 
 been so much oppressed with what I might have heard as 
 would have essentially hindered my usefulness ? " 
 
 "It is not best to be chicken hearted," Mr. Selden 
 replied. 
 
 "But I cannot think it is chicken heartedness," said 
 brother Sandford. " This anxiety is almost inseparable 
 from humanity. I agree with brother Martin, that you 
 are not a proper judge in the premises. Very few men 
 have your nerve." 
 
 " I would like to inquire of brother Selden," said Mr. 
 Eldridge, " if the excitement among his people from time 
 to time in relation to his removal has not occupied much 
 of his time, if it has not depressed his spirits ? " 
 
 " 0, yes," said brother Selden ; " it has cost me many 
 hours, I dare say, to think over matters and to prepare to 
 meet events." 
 
 " If your thoughts had not been engrossed with prepa- 
 ration to meet the obstacles to your ministry which accu- 
 mulated under the operation of the uneasiness of some of 
 your people, you would have been occupied in doing some- 
 thing directly for their benefit, would you not? " Mr. Mar- 
 tin inquired. 
 
 " Very likely, brother." 
 
 " Your own admissions," said Mr. Eldridge, " prove 
 that the disposition on the part of your people to disturb 
 for trifling causes is very hurtful both to the pastor and to 
 them. I suppose all the trouble in your parish has been.
 
 AN INCIDENT AT AN ASSOCIATION. 187 
 
 from fanciful rather than from real causes. No charges 
 are brought against you to affect your character in the 
 least, either as a preacher, pastor, or a man. From what 
 I am able to gather, your people acknowledge that there 
 is no preacher in the association who is superior to you, 
 and that the attempts made to displace you have pro- 
 ceeded from a few, who hardly know what kind of a min- 
 ister would please them. These wish for frequent changes 
 merely to gratify a sort of capricious feeling. Though 
 you have not been cast down when these individuals have 
 been agitating, there are not many, if there be any, of us 
 who would have stood up. We should have felt our use- 
 fulness to be at an end in such a fire and racket." 
 
 " It is very strange," father Stowe remarked, " that our 
 churches and parishes do not realize the vast injury they 
 are doing themselves when exercised with this restless 
 spirit of which we have been speaking. Take brother 
 Selden's case for illustration. He has been settled about 
 twelve years ; and for some time past, as often, I should 
 think, as every other year, I have heard of trouble there. 
 The great body of his people have been satisfied with him, 
 and are now, I presume ; but how much injury indirectly 
 have they received when in these fomenting states ! They 
 could not listen to preaching with any profit, for their minds 
 were disquieted. Nor could they maintain that spirit of 
 earnest prayer for the revival of God's work among them 
 which is, indispensable to a successful ministry of the word. 
 If our churches would feel that the pastor they have is 
 God's servant and gift, and that they are under the high 
 est obligations to derive the greatest good from his minis- 
 try, if they would not suffer themselves to think that 
 there was a possibility of his being taken away from them 
 except by death, I think there would be both better 
 preachers and better Christians than there are now. In a 
 great many parishes nowadays the people are pretty much
 
 188 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 all the time either hearing candidates, or settling a minis- 
 ter, or quarrelling one away. Now, what effect has the 
 word preached among such a people ? " 
 
 " Brethren," said Mr. Avers, " I think we ministers must 
 take some of the responsibility for this restless spirit be- 
 ing in our churches ; for some of us, at least, encourage it. 
 There are, you know, ministerial lawyers whom these 
 restless spirits in our churches consult, and by whom they 
 are often indirectly, and many times directly, aided in their 
 attempts at disorganization. It is pleasant to poor hu- 
 man nature to be flattered and be had in high estimation 
 for our wisdom ; but I do not think it right for a minister, 
 for a pastor, to take up against his brother pastor, and 
 be a sort of semi-lawyer for these people in our churches 
 who are forever making difficulty." 
 
 Here the colloquy was interrupted by the arrival of the 
 hour for the afternoon session of the association.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AN EVENING IN BOSTON. 
 
 IN the prosecution of his mercantile pursuits in tho 
 country, it was necessary that Squire Davidson should 
 frequently visit the city. At the period of one of these 
 visits the legislature was in session ; and as Mr. Adams, 
 the representative from his town, was one of his particular 
 friends and a member of the same church with himself, 
 he availed himself of his earliest leisure to call at the 
 State House and seek an interview with his friend. The 
 squire was not designing any protracted stop in the lobby, 
 but only to acquaint his friend with the fact of his being 
 in the city, witli the expectation of calling upon him 
 again at his hotel. After a brief interview, made briefer 
 than was anticipated by the fact that the house was about 
 passing to be engrossed a bill which had long been before 
 the body and which had awakened strong feeling and 
 elicited lengthy debate, the squire took his leave, accept- 
 ing, however, an invitation from the representative to call 
 upon him again at the Bronificld House. 
 
 There being several members of the legislature in whose 
 acquaintance Mr. A dams had found great pleasure, he invited 
 them likewise ; for he felt assured that their acquaintance 
 with the squire would on every account be an increased 
 source of their pleasure as well as a great gratification to 
 
 (189)
 
 190 A VOICE FKOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 him. When, therefore, the company were together in tho 
 evening, it was found that eleven individuals, representing 
 different portions of the state and various professions, 
 were happy in each other's society. For a while their 
 conversation was on general subjects ; and it- was some- 
 what remarkable that most of the gentlemen discovered a 
 similarity of tastes and feelings, which contributed to 
 enhance in no small degree their enjoyment. At length 
 one of the gentlemen inquired of Mr. Adams who he 
 thought would be chosen election preacher, as the morrow 
 was the period assigned for the choice. This question 
 brought up the subject of ministers ; and as the company 
 were chiefly professors of religion, they soon evinced their 
 interest in this important class of the community. No 
 subject more interested the squire, as his sympathies had 
 for a long period, and in a remarkable manner, been with 
 the men who were so conspicuous to every eye and so 
 often the subject of remark from almost every tongue. 
 All noticed his eager interest, and all were delighted 
 with the zeal in which he expressed himself in relation to 
 the men whose position was so peculiar and trying. At 
 length Mr. Davis, of Boston, observed, 
 
 " I wonder sometimes how any young man dare enter 
 the ministry." 
 
 " How so ? " inquired Mr. Adams. 
 
 " The situation of a clergyman is so uncertain, per- 
 plexing, and trying as to present but few inducements to 
 become a minister," Mr. Davis replied. 
 
 " Ah, well," said the squire, " the reward is to come. A 
 faithful minister will have no low place in heaven nor 
 small enjoyment there." 
 
 " That is about all the inducement that I can see." said 
 Mr. Davis, " to dispose any man to be a minister. Theve 
 is much in this consideration, I acknowledge. The reflf c-
 
 AN EVENING IN BOSTON. 191 
 
 tion must be pleasant, that, by entering the ministry and 
 continuing faithful therein, an individual will be the in- 
 strument in saving souls and preparing them for heaven." 
 
 " That is the greatest motive," said Mr. Adams, " to the 
 young man who makes choice of the clerical profession." 
 
 " A man must have strong faith and but little care for 
 the things of this world," Mr. Davis observed, " who de- 
 cides to become a minister." 
 
 "It is high time, I think," remarked Mr. Talbot, " that 
 a different feeling prevailed in the community in relation 
 to the ministry. It seems to me, when I see and hear 
 how ministers are treated, that there is but little humanity 
 in the consideration of them. Often when they are taxing 
 all their physical and intellectual power for the advan- 
 tage of the people, and when they are really accomplishing 
 vast benefits for them, not only for time but for eternity, 
 how sadly are they traduced and how suddenly their user 
 fulness arrested ! This is done, too, without the show of 
 reason, and only to gratify pride, or caprice, or some more 
 criminal feeling. The effects of such conduct on the 
 happiness of the pastor and family are at times painful i 
 the extreme." 
 
 " That is all true," replied Mr. Davis ; " and it was be- 
 cause a minister is so very insecure in his relations to his 
 people that I remarked just now as I did, wondering how 
 any young man could consent to become a minister. A 
 clergyman can make no calculation ahead. He has no 
 foundation for hope, if he be faithful in the discharge of 
 his duties to his people, that they will cherish him in their 
 affections and sustain him in their service. Any trifling 
 cause may set him afloat." 
 
 "From your expressions, Mr. Davis, I should judge," 
 said the squire, " that you were familiar with the vicissi- 
 tudes of the pastoral office in our country towns. I have 
 supposed that your city ministers were regarded with
 
 192 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 much more consideration than the clergy are in the coim 
 try by their people. Instances of the dismission of 
 pastors in the city are not rery common, I believe." 
 
 " We intend, of course," Mr. Davis replied, " to be 
 reasonable and just towards our ministers, but perhaps 
 fail in this respect as often as you do in the country. 
 Perhaps there is something in the circumstances of a city 
 population which tends to the greater permanency of the 
 pastoral relation over that which exists in the country." 
 
 " I do not know," the squire observed, " as I understand 
 wherein the circumstances of the city people differ from 
 those of the country in this respect." 
 
 " We have, you know, a variety of churches with us ; 
 and if any individuals become dissatisfied with their 
 pastor, it is a very easy thing for them to leave and go to 
 another church." 
 
 "There is something in this consideration," said the 
 squire. " It never occurred to me before. I can under- 
 stand now how a pastor in the city may remain settled in 
 the same church for years." 
 
 " Our population," continued Mr. Davis, " is made up to 
 a large extent of those who formerly lived in the country 
 and have not that strength of attachment to locality 
 which exists with you. In the country people think much 
 of their church. All their early and strong associations 
 are with it. There worshipped their fathers there they 
 were wont to go from early childhood to maturer years 
 there they have formed and strengthened their strongest 
 friendships. A thousand considerations bind the people in 
 the country to their own sanctuary and make them indis- 
 posed to leave them for another, were such an alternative 
 practicable, which you know is not often the case. If a 
 parishioner in the country becomes dissatisfied with his 
 pastor, he must either absent himself from church and 
 remain at home, or ride every Sabbath much of a distance
 
 AN EVENING IN BOSTON. 193 
 
 to another town for worship, or make an effort to effect 
 the removal of his pastor. This latter course is most 
 usually pursued ; and it is for this reason, I apprehend, 
 that dismissions in the country are more frequent than in 
 the city. When we are dissatisfied, it is the easiest thing 
 to change our place of worship for the enjoyment of a 
 more welcome minister." 
 
 " Your people in the city," said the squire, " virtually 
 change ministers very often." 
 
 " Exactly so," said Mr. Davis. " Some congregations 
 so change in course of a few years that very few of the 
 people who were prominent in the settlement of the pastor 
 are to be found in them. Some move out of the city, 
 some go to other churches, sometimes because they are 
 better pleased with another clergyman than their own, 
 and at other times because in changing their place of resi- 
 dence they are remotely situated from the sanctuary where 
 they have been accustomed to worship. I have no doubt 
 there are pastors here who will say that their congrega- 
 tions have changed almost entirely within the last six or 
 eight years. I know of some individuals who have be- 
 longed to two or three churches within this period." 
 
 " There might be added another reason," Mr. Allen 
 suggested, " why the pastoral relation is less frequently 
 sundered in the city than it is in the country ; and that 
 is, city ministers are less watched. In the country, you 
 know, a clergyman cannot move without half a dozen or 
 more are observing him. His whole daily conduct as well 
 as that of his family is liable to be known and remarked 
 upon all over the parish." 
 
 " A clergyman should do nothing," Mr. Marvin said, 
 " which should be to his disadvantage were it made 
 public." 
 
 " You know, sir," the squire quickly remarked, " people 
 sometimes but partly see, and then speak of a thing as if
 
 194 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 it had* been fully observed. I know there are many people 
 who are much disposed to talk about ministers, and these 
 gather materials for their gossip from their observations 
 of them as they go out and come in. They often manu- 
 facture a large story out of a circumstance which was but 
 partly seen by them. They thought they saw what they 
 reported ; but from an examination into the facts, which 
 became necessary from the commotion which had been 
 excited, it appeared that the individual who started the 
 story but imperfectly saw, and his imagination supplied the 
 place of perfect vision." 
 
 "That is it," Mr. Allen observed. "In the country the 
 tongue must go as well as in the city ; but the causes to 
 excite its motion are less variable in the former. So the 
 people must make the best use of the materials for gossip 
 which they have. The minister is a prominent man ; ho 
 is public property ; and so he is made, unfortunate man, 
 
 the subject of daily and common remark. Mrs. A , a 
 
 near neighbor, sees him ride away from home in the 
 morning. Soon Mrs. B calls on Mrs. A and pres- 
 ently asks where the minister is gone, for she saw him 
 
 ride by their house. ' 0,' says Mrs. A , ' I don't know 
 
 where he goes ; he seems to be going somewhere all the 
 time.' In this way the mill often starts 'in the country, 
 and before the gate is shut quite a grist is ground- Now, 
 the changing scenes of the city continually give rise to 
 varied subjects of engrossing thought and remark, and the 
 minister thus escapes. Besides, people in the. city are 
 full of business and "have no time to watch their neigh- 
 bors ; and, if they had this time, there are too many of 
 them, so that the minister would of necessity be passed 
 by to a great extent." 
 
 " I trust," said the squire, " our friend Allen does not 
 charge to the ladies the entire responsibility of the mis- 
 chief done to our country ministers by the tongue."
 
 . AN EVENING IN BOSTON. 195 
 
 " Far from it," Mr. Allen replied. " I am not one who 
 supposes that gentlemen cannot and do not indulge them- 
 selves in watching the movements of ministers and in 
 reporting the result of their observations. I have seen 
 too many a Paul Pry in my day, who have directed 
 their scrutinizing glance at their minister so effectually as 
 to imagine they were perfectly acquainted with his ways, 
 not to believe that the gentlemen are as much, if not more, 
 in fault than the ladies. I think they hoist the gate quite 
 as frequently as the ladies." 
 
 " You have sufficiently acquitted yourself of the charge, 
 Mr. Allen," the squire replied. " Were there any ladies 
 present, I presume they would be satisfied." 
 
 "I should hope so," said Mr. Allen; "for I should be 
 very unwilling to make them exclusively responsible for 
 the indulgence of that idle curiosity over a minister and 
 his affairs from which so many evils have originated in 
 our country parishes and have fallen so disastrously on 
 ministers." 
 
 "I have no doubt," Mr. Talbot observed, "that the 
 cause assigned by Mr. Allen for the greater permanency 
 of the pastoral relation in the city than in the country 
 is true. My own observation confirms me in this opinion. 
 People must talk, and consequently they must have some- 
 thing to talk about ; and the minister is about as fruitful 
 a subject as can be found in the country. I regret that 
 it is so ; but we must admit the fact, there is a disposition 
 to talk about a pastor to his discredit. I will not affirm 
 that all who say improper things about him always de- 
 sign to do him any injury ; but, then, what is thus spoken 
 seldom fails to produce this effect. A minister in the 
 country is pretty narrowly watched ; for he is a very 
 prominent man there. In the city this is not so much the 
 case. There are individuals here, and a large number of 
 them too, as prominent as the minister, and perhaps more
 
 196 A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 so. The city minister, therefore, is not alone viewed from 
 an eminence. Were I a country minister, I should wish 
 to live remote from neighbors. I would have a house, if 
 I could by any means obtain one, in a secluded spot, so 
 that it would not be known what was going on about my 
 premises. Lately I visited a relative of my wife, who is a 
 clergyman. I found him in an unhappy condition. There 
 was trouble in his parish. To my inquiry, ' What occa- 
 sioned this trouble?' he took me to his window and asked 
 me to look up to a house opposite to his own, on a rising 
 eminence, from which his premises are easily seen, and, 
 directing my eye to a particular window, remarked, 
 ' There ! that window has made all this disturbance.' I 
 learned that neither the pastor, nor any of his family, nor 
 a stranger could go in or come out, nor a carriage be 
 driven up to his door, without there being generally at 
 ' that toindow ' one or more individuals to watch. And 
 what they actually saw and what they thought they wit- 
 nessed was sure to be a subject of remark all over the 
 parish within four and twenty hours ; for they who lived 
 in that house were very fond of telling the news, and gos- 
 sip was their chief delight. Now, these people had re- 
 ported things which they fancied they saw in relation to 
 the minister, and others had added a little, till there was 
 considerable of a fire kindled in the parish. I advised 
 my friend to sell his place and move into the woods, or 
 else into the city, where he could escape such searching 
 eyes and those prattling tongues." 
 
 " I most fully believe that all this is true," said Squire 
 Davidson. " A man's neighbors in the country often do 
 him great harm, and a minister is oftentimes more harmed 
 in this manner than other people. I have always deemed 
 it of the first importance that our pastor should have a 
 house in a neighborhood of consistent and reasonable 
 people ; for I have felt that if he should have a certain
 
 AN EVENING IN BOSTON. 197 
 
 class of neighbors his usefulness, his happiness, and his 
 respectability might be very materially affected and in- 
 jured. I have known of great difficulties in parishes 
 which have resulted in the dismission of their pastors, be- 
 ing commenced by the unwise, uncharitable, and unrea- 
 sonable course pursued by the minister's neighbors. With- 
 out being aware, often, of the mischief their remarks are 
 fitted to produce, they indulge themselves in idle gossip, 
 of which people in other parts of the parish take hold, 
 and thus persons evil disposed towards a pastor are fur- 
 nished with materials for doing him great harm. The 
 same result would be effected towards any other individ- 
 ual than the minister, provided this individual were an 
 object of equal interest to people in general. I think the 
 neighbors of a minister, would they consult his peace and 
 the good of the parish, ought at times to be blind, or, if 
 Dot blind, be dumb. There is no manner of use of telling 
 all that we see and know, even if the matter of our obser- 
 vations and knowledge be entirely of an innocent char- 
 acter." 
 
 A servant now entering with refreshments changed the 
 subject of remark. 
 
 17*
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A BKOTHEK'S TROUBLE. 
 
 AN agent of the American Board, having passed a Sab- 
 bath with Mr. Eldridge and presented to his people the 
 pressing claims of the heathen, improved the Monday fol- 
 lowing in calling among the families for the purpose of 
 receiving subscriptions in aid of his important enterprise. 
 As he was about entering the door of the parsonage on 
 his return to dinner he saw Mr. Eldridge advancing from 
 the road towards the house ; and, waiting on the steps, the 
 two entered the dwelling together. 
 
 " I have just been to the post office," Mr. Eldridge ob- 
 served, as they were seated, " and have been pretty well 
 recompensed for my trouble. I have received these five 
 letters and seven pamphlets. "With your permission, 
 brother, I will read the letters, and you can be looking 
 at the pamphlets." 
 
 For about fifteen minutes both were thus engaged, and 
 then silence was broken as Mr. Eldridge folded his last 
 letter by his observing, 
 
 " It is really shameful that some parishioners have so 
 little consideration for their pastor's usefulness and com- 
 fort as well as for their own improvement. Here is a 
 letter from brother Elton informing me 'that he shall be 
 under the necessity of remaining at home, and thus be de- 
 prived of his great anticipated pleasure from an attend- 
 
 (198)
 
 A BROTHER'S TROUBLE, 199 
 
 ance upon the meeting of the American Board as he had 
 arranged with me to do." 
 
 " Is he prevented from going by any interference of his 
 people ? " the agent inquired. " I am led to believe such 
 to be the case by the manner of your remark." 
 
 " I am mortified to say," Mr. Eldridge replied, " that he 
 is, and that he is prevented by an individual, as the prin- 
 cipal cause, who ought to have been the most anxious to 
 have him attend. It need be no private matter ; an indi- 
 vidual in the station occupied by the man who figures 
 largely in the letter, when entirely forgetful of the spirit 
 and temper that become him, ought to be exposed. I will 
 read the letter on my own responsibility." 
 
 Mr. Eldridge then read as follows : 
 
 " ' MY DEAR BROTHER : I find myself under the necessity 
 of informing you that I have concluded not to go to the 
 meeting of the American Board week after next as I had 
 fondly anticipated. I trust it will not make any differ- 
 ence with you. I have come to this decision from pru- 
 dential reasons, and am deeply pained and mortified at 
 their existence. You know something of the character 
 of my people, and therefore can enter into my feelings 
 more than it is possible for a stranger to do. In conver- 
 sation with one of my deacons a few days since, I told 
 him that I hoped he could make it convenient to see that 
 my salary for the last quarter was soon paid, as I wanted 
 some money to go on a journey in the course of a week or 
 two. He asked me where I was intending to go.. I re- 
 plied that I was desirous of being at the meeting of the 
 American Board, which was to be held the present year 
 at New York. He at once burst out in a perfect rage 
 you know he is a very irritable and passionate man and 
 extremely nervous and said," Mr. Elton, I advise you 
 not to go, if you mean to stay here as our minister. Now,
 
 200 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 you were off a whole week in May attending the anniver- 
 saries in Boston, and then you were off again at the meet- 
 ing of the general association in June ; and a good many 
 of us think that you are off too much at such meetings. 
 It takes a good deal of money to travel so much, and you 
 ought to be more prudent. If you have more money than 
 is necessary for your support, you ought to give it to the 
 society to help pay for the meeting house.' 7 After this 
 manner he expressed himself at some length. I attempted 
 to argue the matter a little with him, setting forth the in- 
 terest manifested by many of our people in hearing my re- 
 port of the doings of the board, which I am in the habit of 
 giving the Sabbath following its annual meeting, and like- 
 wise that my health required the relaxation of the journey, 
 and that my enlarged usefulness to my people demanded 
 my attendance ; but all to no purpose. The deacon re- 
 mained fixed in his opposition to this waste of time and 
 money, as he termed it, and remarked that others in the 
 parish coincided with him in feeling. So I have con- 
 cluded to remain at home and humor the man this time. 
 I deeply regret that there can be found in this enlightened 
 age of the church a deacon so much lost to all that per- 
 tains to the usefulness of the pastor and the enlarged good 
 of the people as to manifest the feelings I have now de- 
 scribed. If there be others among my people who sympa- 
 thize with him in opposition to my going to such meetings 
 as that of the American Board, I have no doubt that he is 
 the cause. I shall doubtless have more knowledge on this 
 subject by and by, as there will be many inquiries made 
 for my reasons in not going this year to the meeting of 
 this missionary body.' " 
 
 "There, brother," said Mr. Eldridge, "what do you 
 think of that letter ? " 
 
 " Think ? I hardly know what to think," he replied. " I
 
 A BROTHER'S TROUBLE. 201 
 
 pity brother Elton from the very bottom of my heart for 
 being nnder the necessity of having such a deacon in his 
 church." 
 
 " The deacon does not seem to realize that his pastor 
 needs influences from beyond the parish for his extended 
 usefulness," Mr. Eldridge observed. "He does not ap- 
 pear to understand that his pastor is really engaged in. 
 seeking ways and means of usefulness when he attends the 
 anniversaries in Boston or New York or the meeting of 
 the American Board." 
 
 " No," said the agent. " I think the soul of this deacon 
 is in a most melancholy condition. Were he in the exer- 
 cise of true Christian feeling, he would at once perceive 
 what excitements to zeal and what encouragement to re- 
 newed labors his pastor would have after mingling with a 
 great body of Christians who are deeply interested in the 
 progress of the Redeemer's kingdom." 
 
 " It is strange a people will be so unwise," said Mr. El- 
 dridge ; " but so it is. Brother Elton is a devoted pastor 
 and a most diligent student. He feels the need of these 
 meetings, both as a stimulus and as means of relaxation. 
 He rarely exchanges, and is at home most of his time, la- 
 boring for the advancement of his people in all Christian 
 virtues. I shall pity some of his good people ; for I have 
 often heard them say that they always were glad when 
 Mr. Elton could be abroad in attendance on the various 
 anniversaries of the church, because he was so free to com- 
 municate the knowledge he obtained. As he has a very 
 retentive memory, they feel that his reports make them 
 about as well acquainted with what is said and done at 
 these meetings as they would have been had they been 
 present themselves." 
 
 "I am acquainted with no better way for having the 
 missionary spirit infused into a people than for the pastor 
 to attend the annual meetings of the board," the agent
 
 202 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 remarked. " He both hears and sees there what he would 
 not otherwise know ; and he acquires an unction, & mission- 
 ary unction, which often endures for months. I am ac- 
 quainted with a large number of brethren who say they 
 will not allow ordinary obstacles to prevent their attend- 
 ance upon our meetings. They say they there acquire an 
 interest in missions which is a most invaluable help to 
 them in sustaining the monthly concerts." 
 
 " I trust that there are but few of the brethren who are 
 prevented from attending such meetings by reasons such 
 as Mr. Elton assigns," Mr. Eldridge continued. 
 
 "I am not aware that I ever before heard of a brother 
 being opposed in this manner by a deacon" said the agent ; 
 " but I have often heard ministers lament that some of 
 their people complained of them for spending so much 
 money in being away at the meetings of the board and 
 others of a kindred character." 
 
 "I dare say," Mr. Eldridge observed, " there are some 
 minds which cannot appreciate the situation of a minister 
 his mental wants his heart wants the need he has 
 of stimulus and encouragement. There are many indi- 
 viduals who suppose it to be the easiest task to write a 
 sermon that all a minister has to do is to take his pen 
 and perform the mere manual labor of using it. They do 
 not consider that any previous study is necessary. How 
 he can be aided in this work by spending a week abroad 
 in attendance upon the meetings of our benevolent socie- 
 ties is to them a mystery. Many parishioners appear to 
 think that we ministers go to such occasions for our own 
 enjoyment only. It never enters their minds that we are 
 moved and induced almost entirely to such attendance by 
 our great desires to be to them of the most advantage 
 that we go to the anniversaries and to the meetings of the 
 American Board on the same principle and from the same 
 motives ivhich send us into our study ; viz:., to be prepared
 
 A BROTHER'S TROUBLE. 203 
 
 to serve Mem with more fidelity, acceptance, and profit. 
 This contractedness of soul, which would tie up a pastor 
 to his own parish the year in and the year out to satisfy 
 the people that their hired servant has not run off, and is 
 not wasting their money and their time too, I wish might 
 not exist. It cannot be, when professors of religion urge 
 such reasons, that they have much Christian feeling. How 
 can they have any desires for the spread of the gospel 
 and the conversion of the heathen when they are not 
 willing to allow their pastor to employ the most valuable 
 means, which are alone found in these anniversary meet- 
 ings, for equipping himself fully for his great and arduous 
 work ? Were not the flame of godliness flickering in the 
 heart, it appears to me, we should not hear of any such 
 opposition." 
 
 " Your remarks," said the agent, " make me think of a 
 people in Vermont who are what may be called a ' peculiar 
 people, zealous of good works.' I was with them about 
 six months since, and passed a few days with the greatest 
 pleasure. They were all alive to the condition of the 
 heathen, and have for some years past contributed nobly 
 to our treasury. I ascertained that this interest was ex- 
 cited mainly by the narrative of the pastor of the doings 
 of the board and the speeches which were made at its 
 anniversary meetings. I found they were in the habit of 
 remembering the annual meeting in their prayer meetings 
 for weeks before it was to occur, and that of late years it has 
 been their practice to make up a purse to encourage their 
 pastor to attend. The flame of godliness, I assure you, 
 burns brightly up that way. The church there is one of 
 the most energetic and prosperous churches in our land." 
 
 " I am most happy to hear of such a bright example of 
 Christian activity," Mr. Eldridge remarked. " I very much 
 wish it might be extensively followed, and that those in our 
 churches who would interpose obstacles to the attendance
 
 204 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 of their pastors on the meetings of our benevolent socie- 
 ties might feel themselves rebuked by it. I dare say that 
 Vermont pastor has a light heart and goes on his way 
 rejoicing. As he goes forth bearing precious seed, he can- 
 not feel that there may be many of his people who will 
 trample it down to prevent it springing up and bearing 
 fruit." 
 
 " No, no," said the agent ; " the good Vermont brother 
 feels that his people water where he plants, and that they 
 are equally interested with himself in the success of his 
 labors." 
 
 " His joy at the judgment as well as the joy of his 
 people must be rich," Mr. Eldridge continued, " when he 
 appears before the righteous Judge, saying, ' Lord, here I 
 am arid the children which thou hast given me.' I could 
 wish brother Elton's deacon might think of that great 
 day. If he is not careful, I am afraid he will not be found 
 among the number when the brother shall present his 
 children."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTOEAL LIFE. 
 
 THE health of the good wife of Squire Davidson having 
 * been for some time in a very precarious state, it became 
 necessary to seek its restoration and her comfort in travel- 
 ling. Consequently she was much away from home, some- 
 times on a long journey and at other times on a short ex- 
 cursion. The last winter she passed at the south with her 
 children in Virginia, and returned in April somewhat im- 
 proved in health, though by no means out of danger from 
 that insidious disease, so common at the north, that con- 
 signs numberless victims to the last resting-place of man. 
 She had not been at home many weeks before she was 
 admonished of the need of another journey ; and her hus- 
 band, having important business to transact in Greenfield, 
 some seventy miles distant from their residence, proposed to 
 her to take an excursion thither. It was now the commence- 
 ment of the beautiful month of June, and it was first 
 decided that they would set off the next week ; but the 
 suggestion being made by aunt Sarah, who was rapidly 
 verging towards that bourn from whence none return, 
 that the anniversary of her pastor's settlement would 
 occur on the next week, Mrs. Davidson said she could 
 not possibly forego the pleasure of hearing Mr. Eldridge's 
 anniversary discourse. She had already heard fourteen 
 such sermons from him, and perhaps she might not live to 
 18 (206)
 
 206 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 hear another should she be absent when the fifteenth was 
 delivered. Accordingly it was not till the 'Monday fol- 
 lowing this event that the squire and his wife left home 
 for Greenfield. Not being in any measure urged to 
 rapidity in their movements, indeed, the health of Mrs. 
 Davidson absolutely interdicted this, they did not reach 
 their destined town until the following Thursday. 
 
 Having completed his business at an earlier period than 
 was anticipated, the squire proposed to vary their route 
 homeward for the purpose of passing the Sabbath with a 
 much-esteemed clerical friend, Mr. Willy, who was settled 
 in Stanly. The suggestion was very pleasant to Mrs. Da- 
 vidson, as she had long been wishing to redeem a pledge 
 made to Mr. and Mrs. Willy of a visit. Accordingly, 
 after dinner on Friday, the squire directed his course to- 
 wards Stanly, at which place he arrived on the following 
 afternoon long before the sun was shaded in the west. 
 Their reception at the parsonage was the more gratifying 
 because it was so very unexpected. Many a time had the 
 wish been expressed by Mr. and Mrs. Willy that they might 
 have the pleasure of a visit from them ; for the remem- 
 brance of the days they passed a few years before under 
 their most hospitable roof had afforded them at many 
 intervals since the most lively satisfaction. They were 
 anxious for an opportunity to attempt the reciprocation 
 of their kindness, and indulged the hope that such a 
 desire might be gratified ; but perhaps they were not very 
 strong in. the faith that such desire would be realized, 
 as they were well aware how very large was the circle of 
 their friends who moved in the same elevated sphere in 
 which a kind Providence had placed them. Not because 
 Squire Davidson was accounted an aristocrat, and could 
 find no enjoyment in the humble abode of a country cler- 
 gyman in a secluded territory, was the faith of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Willy slender that they should one day have them as
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OP PASTORAL LIFE. 207 
 
 their guests. Far from this. Though very wealthy, and 
 though he and his family moved in several cities in the 
 highest grade of society, yet there was not the first feeling 
 in the heart of Squire Davidson and wife that begat in 
 them the sentiment that they were in the least descending 
 when they were in the company of any of their Christian 
 friends who lived, not for this world alone, but for a 
 higher, a purer state. Because their presence among 
 the hills of Stanly and in the parsonage of its people 
 surely evinced an interest which, perhaps, could not have 
 been more strongly expressed in the occupants of this 
 parsonage, did Mr. and Mrs. Willy greatly rejoice when 
 they welcomed them to their door. 
 
 Stanly was not a very remarkable place. Seldom was 
 a carriage seen passing through the town that was not 
 recognized as belonging either to some of its inhabitants 
 or as coming from an adjacent territory. "When, there- 
 fore, the squire rode up to Mr. Willy's with his large 
 gray horse in an elegantly sparkling harness, and attached 
 to a splendid chaise, the little folks within, of whom there 
 were six boys, were in no little commotion. There was 
 ejaculation among them and wonderment. Such an estab- 
 lishment, perhaps, they had never before seen. True, 
 Colonel Hollis and Captain Handy had covered wagons ; 
 but most of the carriages which moved in their vicinity 
 were of the ruder sort, without any top, either of canvas 
 or leather. The little hands ^were so busy with the differ- 
 ent parts and trappings of the harness, and the questions 
 to papa were so many about this and that, as retarded 
 Mr. Willy somewhat in disencumbering the steed and in 
 securing the chaise under cover. At last, however, the 
 task was accomplished, and, divesting himself of his 
 working frock, put on always for service like this, Mr. 
 Willy was in the parlor with his distinguished guests. 
 Mrs. Willy thereupon left the room for the labor of
 
 208 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 preparing tea, which, perhaps, would have been less perplex- 
 ing and sooner accomplished if she had not been a pastor's 
 wife, but that of a mechanic or farmer, or even of a common 
 day laborer, who was promptly paid for his services. Pay 
 day had not been recently in her husband's parish ; and 
 many articles which would have been in the house, out of 
 which a respectable supper could be prepared, had such a 
 day not been very remote, were not there. A little flour 
 had been saved from the barrel presented by an unknown 
 friend some four months before, and from this the good 
 wife proceeded to make some biscuit ; but as for cake or 
 pies, alas I Mrs. Willy longed most wistfully for the means 
 of making them ; but the country parsonage was, and had 
 been for a long time, unblessed with them. Whilst thus 
 perplexed and mortified, she involuntarily burst forth with 
 saying, " I declare, I only wish some of our people were 
 here now who say so much about the good living of 
 their minister and the easy task of his wife ; I rather think 
 they would alter their opinions somewhat. I guess they 
 would find that we did not live on the fat of the land.". , 
 However, checking her impatience and murmuring, she 
 proceeded to her work, made her biscuit, spread her table, 
 using the cloth, china, and other table furniture which be- 
 longed to the outfit her father gave her at her marriage. 
 She drew from the oven the baked beans and brown bread, 
 and presently announced to her husband and friends that 
 tea was waiting. When all were seated at the table, and 
 as Mrs. Willy was pouring the tea, she discovered the 
 absence of her best sugar bowl. Calling to her child, she 
 asked him to go into the parlor and bring it out. The 
 child obeyed, and, returning, said there was nothing in it. 
 This announcement crimsoned the face of the mother ; for 
 she well knew that, if there was no sugar there, the house 
 did not afford the article. 
 
 " I really thought there was sugar there," Mrs. Willy
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 209 
 
 remarked. " Well, I hope our friends will excuse us if we 
 help them to brown sugar." 
 
 " 0, certainly," Mrs. Davidson replied. " "We are not 
 at all particular." 
 
 "Your acquaintance with the circumstances of minis- 
 ters, squire," Mr. Willy observed, " has doubtless led 
 you to feel that they often have to do as they can, and not 
 as they would." 
 
 " I am sorry." said the squire, " that the churches will 
 allow it ; but it is a most melancholy consideration, that 
 often the greatest injustice is done to the clergy, both in 
 deficiency of compensation and in the great irregularity in 
 the payment of their paltry salaries. I could wish it were 
 otherwise ; for no class in the community are entitled to 
 better compensation than ministers." 
 
 " I really wish," said Mrs. Willy, " that some of our 
 people could hear you make remarks like this, as it of tea 
 comes to our ears that they think Mr. Willy has too large 
 a salary." 
 
 " How much has he ? " Mrs. Davidson inquired. 
 
 " Only four hundred and fifty dollars ; and that is very 
 tardily paid," Mrs. Willy said. "They are now owing 
 two hundred dollars for the last year, which closed in 
 February, and we have had but about thirty dollars from 
 them on the first quarter of the present year." 
 
 " How do your people think you can get along, Mr. 
 Willy," the squire asked, " if they are so dilatory in 
 paying you your salary?" 
 
 " 0, I do- not know as they think at all on the subject," 
 Mr. Willy replied. "I have a little land, and perhaps 
 they think that I can raise enough from that to live upon." 
 
 " Well, it is unjust for them to withhold from you your 
 due," said the squire, "even if your land does produce 
 enough to support your family, which I presume is not 
 the case." 
 
 18*
 
 210 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Far from it," said Mr. Willy. " I have not more than 
 twelve acres, and seven of that is fit only for pasture. 
 I can keep one cow and horse only ; and I never plant 
 much more than a single acre." 
 
 Tea being over, and the squire and his wife having 
 gone back to the parlor, Mrs. Willy stopped her husband, 
 who was following them, and detained him a while in the 
 room where the tea table stood, to deliberate upon the 
 state of the pantry. 
 
 " What shall we do, husband ? We have no more flour 
 in the house. The last two quarts, which I have carefully 
 kept for these three weeks for an emergency, I have used 
 for the biscuit we had for tea. We have no fresh meat, 
 you know ; no white sugar, and but little of brown ; no 
 pies, nor any thing to make them of ; and here we are, 
 with these rich people with us to stay over the Sabbath, 
 and perhaps longer 1 " 
 
 " I will go right away, my dear, to Deacon Foster and 
 borrow of him five dollars, and will go to the store and 
 the butcher's and get a supply. Deacon Foster, you know, 
 always has a little money by him, and he has often told 
 me that he would share the last dollar with me if it were 
 necessary for our comfort or convenience." 
 
 " I know that, husband, and I thought there was no 
 other way for you to do but to go to him. He will un- 
 derstand the case, and so will his wife." 
 
 Returning to the parlor, Mr. Willy sat a while con- 
 versing with his friends until Mrs.. Willy had completed 
 the task which always falls to the wife, in the absence of a 
 daughter or maid, after a meal. When she appeared, her 
 husband excused himself from the circle by saying that he 
 had a little business to transact which would oblige him 
 to be absent for a short time. 
 
 As we are now to follow him to the house of his good 
 deacon, it may be interesting to the reader to know more
 
 ANOTHEE PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 211 
 
 of the man from whom he was sure of receiving important 
 aid in this the pastor's time of need. Deacon Foster can- 
 not be set forth as a man remarkable either for general 
 intelligence, or refinement of manners, or greatness of 
 wealth ; for, though " a good liver," his farm and stock 
 which were neither extensive constituted all his proper- 
 ty. Having always lived where his pastor found h*m, and 
 never been thirty miles from home in his life of sixty years, 
 his intercourse with the world would not very materially 
 enlarge his mind or improve his manners. The authors 
 with Avhom he was most familiar were greatly antiquated ; 
 but, because they treated of subjects which for some reason 
 or other interested him more than all others, he chose to 
 devote what leisure time he had which was not much 
 on the weekdays to them almost exclusively. These 
 authors were such men as Moses, and Joshua, and David, 
 and Solomon, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
 John, and Paul. He read them and pondered what they 
 wrote so much as to have his mind and heart very much 
 imbued with their spirit ; and, because of this, he most 
 nobly filled the important office in the church which gave 
 him the title of deacon. All thought that he was a fit 
 man for a deacon because the Bible had so much to do with 
 his thoughts and his conduct. Somehow or other, there 
 was no craftiness about him, nor overreaching, nor hy- 
 pocrisy. His face on the Sabbath was no longer than on 
 other days ; and he was, withal, bound up in his pastor 
 and in ministers in general ; and the impression very 
 generally prevailed that he was thus singular because he 
 read the Bible so much and was so careful to practise 
 what he read. 
 
 After a ride of some ten minutes the pastor of Stanly 
 was at the door of this good deacon, which, in answer to 
 his knock, was soon opened by a lady whose countenance 
 was the personification of goodness, and was therefore
 
 212 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 every way worthy to be the companion of the man whom 
 all the community around had long called the good deacon. 
 
 " We are very glad to see you, 'Mr. Willy," Mrs. Fos- 
 ter remarked. " Mr. Foster and I have just been talking 
 about you ; and he is getting ready to go to your house, I 
 believe. You've got some company, have you not, Mr. 
 Willy ?" 
 
 " What makes you ask that question, my good woman ? " 
 inquired the pastor. 
 
 " 0," she replied, " neighbor Porter was here about two 
 hours ago, and he told us he saw you taking out a very 
 beautiful horse from a grand carriage as he passed your 
 house this afternoon. We thought it was likely some of 
 your friends had come to spend the Sabbath with you." 
 
 " Well, it is even so," Mr. Willy observed. " We have 
 been taken altogether by surprise by two of the best peo- 
 ple on the earth ; and, what is a little unfortunate, we 
 have but very little in the house wherewith we can de- 
 cently entertain them. For this reason I have come down 
 here to see the deacon and get a little help." 
 
 " We have been talking about this since neighbor Por- 
 ter was here," Mrs. Foster observed. " I told my hus- 
 band I was afraid your wife would not be prepared for 
 company, and I said to him he must go up there to-night 
 and see you." 
 
 " You are a very thoughtful woman," observed Mr. Wil- 
 ly ; " and I am much obliged to you for your considera- 
 tion." 
 
 " It is too bad that our people are so backward about 
 paying the salary," Mrs. Foster said. 
 
 " It is very unfortunate for us," Mr. Willy remarked. 
 " I should not have been down here to-night in this anx- 
 ious state of mind if I only had my salary paid with any 
 decent promptness. Where is your husband ? " 
 
 " He is out to the barn dressing a calf. When he heard
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 213 
 
 that you had company, he said he would kill the calf im- 
 mediately, and not wait till next week, as he was calcu- 
 lating to do. He thought the leg of veal he was intend- 
 ing to give you might be as acceptable at this time as at 
 any other." 
 
 This announcement was too much for the sensitive na- 
 ture of the pastor, and, overcome with emotion, he had to 
 rise and turn his face to the window to conceal the tears 
 which were trickling down his face. " 0," thought he, 
 whilst brushing away the tears, " if all my people, or but a 
 small part of them, felt as this family feel for their minister, 
 what a load of care and anxiety would be removed and 
 what strong encouragement there would be to labor hard 
 for their good ! How freely I would study and how cheer- 
 fully labor!" 
 
 " I believe," said Mr. Willy, " I will go out to the barn 
 and see your husband." 
 
 " He is coming in, sir ; I hear his steps," said Mrs. 
 Foster. 
 
 Presently the door opened, and the good deacon ap- 
 peared with a fine leg of veal in his hand, and, as he laid 
 it down on the table, humorously said, after welcoming 
 his pastor, 
 
 " You did not hear the pig squeal, did you, Mr. Willy ? " 
 
 The pastor, comprehending the significance of the re- 
 mark, (what minister of a few years could not?) good 
 naturedly said, 
 
 " My ears have not been greeted by such a sound ; if 
 they had been, I should have been tempted, within the 
 last few hours, to have followed the direction of the noise, 
 I confess. Deacon, I have come down here to say to you 
 that I have got company at my house, and nothing for 
 them to eat but pork and beans and brown bread ; and 
 I want to borrow five dollars to go to the store and get a 
 supply."
 
 214 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the deacon ; " I was afraid so. I heard 
 you had company, and was going up to see you. You may 
 have the five dollars ; but perhaps it won't be necessary 
 for you to go to the store to-night. Mrs. Foster, have you 
 got the basket ready ? " 
 
 " 0, yes," the good woman said. " Mr. Willy, I told 
 you my husband was going up to your house with a leg of 
 veal ; and I have put into a basket two loaves of white 
 bread, and some cake, and half a dozen pies. Now, if 
 there is any thing else that you want, if we have got them, 
 you are welcome to them. They are your due from the 
 parish." 
 
 "As the deacon has loaned me five dollars," said Mr. 
 Willy, " I guess I'll go to the store." 
 
 " What are you going there for ? " asked the deacon. 
 " Do tell ; for it is some way there, and I don't want you 
 to go if it is not necessary. I want you to save your 
 money for some other time." 
 
 " Well, to be frank, I was going to get some flour, and 
 some meat, and some white sugar. The meat, through 
 your kindness, I shall not have to get, and the bread will 
 last till Monday ; but we have no white sugar, and but a 
 little of any kind." 
 
 " You need not go to the store," Mrs. Foster said. " I 
 will get you some sugar." 
 
 The clean napkin was soon withdrawn from the new 
 bushel basket, which had never before been used, and there 
 was just space enough left to admit two papers of sugar 
 which the good woman had carefully put up. The cloth 
 was then tied down, and the deacon took the basket to the 
 wagon of his pastor and gently laid it therein. Returning 
 to the house, the pastor, in the overflowing of his heart, 
 thanked both him and his wife for their very acceptable 
 donations, and, taking from his pocket his wallet, handed 
 back the five dollars he had but a few moments before
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 215 
 
 received from the deacon, saying he should not need it 
 now. 
 
 " Well," said the deacon, " you are very welcome to it. 
 I shall not take it. You ought to be with money in your 
 pocket ; and I mean to make some stir in the parish now 
 that I think will make the people pay up. It is wicked 
 that things should be so. They can't agree to give half 
 what they are able ; and it is a shame that they don't pay 
 up the little they agree to give." 
 
 Mr. Willy, touched in every part of his soul by the 
 tender, generous impulses of both the deacon and his wife, 
 which led him to feel how well they appreciated the situ- 
 ation of their pastor, was soon on his way to his home. 
 Twilight had nearly gone as he rode into his yard. As 
 he was taking his horse from the wagon the squire came 
 out, and, noticing a new basket therein, remarked, he 
 was afraid his friend had been put to some inconvenience 
 by having company come in so unexpectedly. 
 
 " I suppose you have been to the store, Mr. Willy ? as I 
 see you have a new basket in your wagon." 
 
 " No, sir. I have been prevented from going by the 
 generosity of one of my deacons." 
 
 " Well, I am glad you have some green spots in your 
 field," said the squire. " They are very refreshing to a 
 pastor's heart." 
 
 " I have got but one such spot" Mr. Willy said, " in my 
 territory ; and I have been to that to-night." 
 
 " Better have one than none," the squire remarked. 
 " Some pastors that I know have but an arid plain for 
 their field." 
 
 ."Yes, yes. I know that, squire. It is but a poor 
 reward that most ministers get in this world." 
 
 " The riches are to come, then," the squire observed. 
 
 " That is all the consolation and encouragement which 
 the great body of the clergy have," Mr. Willy said.
 
 216 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 The pastor's horse was now in his stall, and the wagon 
 under cover, and the large basket was taken right into 
 the room where Mrs. Willy and Mrs. Davidson were sit- 
 ting ; and, as it was laid down by the feet of the former, 
 Mr. Willy said, 
 
 " There, wife ; there is a present from Deacon Foster." 
 
 " As you have brought in the basket here, I suppose you 
 intend that I shall open it at once/' Mrs. Willy replied. 
 So with her scissors she cut the cord which confined the 
 covering and proceeded to take out the contents. As she 
 took the two papers Mr. Willy observed, " That is white 
 and brown sugar, I suppose." "And there," said Mrs. 
 Willy, " are two loaves what large ones ! of white 
 bread ; and here are two, four, six pies." " And here," 
 said Mr. Willy, catching up the other, " here is a large 
 leg of veal." 
 
 " Very acceptable and very opportune are all these 
 articles," Mrs. Willy remarked. "Now, to tell the truth, 
 Mrs. Davidson, we have pretty nigh run ashore for eat- 
 ables except of the ruder kind, and these articles are just 
 what we need. I remarked at tea, you know, that our 
 salary was not paid very promptly ; and we have had to 
 live of late almost any how. It is very trying ; but 
 so it is." 
 
 "There is not all," Mr. Willy remarked. "The deacon 
 gave me a five-dollar bill. 'Tis true I x went down there 
 expressly to borrow the amount for the purpose of going 
 to the store and the butcher's ; but they had anticipated 
 our wants in part and insisted on knowing all ; and thus 
 I have been prevented from going farther. They had 
 heard that we had company ; and the deacon, intending to 
 kill a calf the beginning of next week and give us a part, 
 thought he would not wait, but killed it just after Mr. Por- 
 ter told him he saw me taking care of a splendid horse, 
 and was intending to come up here this evening with the
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 217 
 
 veal, and, I suppose, the bread and pies. I handed him 
 back the money which he loaned me ; but he would not 
 take it. He said I ought not to be without money, and I 
 was very welcome to the five dollars." 
 
 " The deacon and his wife are parishioners worth hav- 
 ing," Mrs. Willy observed. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Willy, cannot any thing be done to get 
 your people into better habits?" the squire asked. 
 
 " A change might be effected, I think," said Mrs. Willy, 
 " if husband would think it to be his duty to make a little 
 stir about their delinquency in paying the salary. It is 
 nothing but inconsidcration on the part of the people. 
 They are an able people, and might pay double what they 
 agree to pay and not feel it at all." 
 
 " I never like to say much about my salary," Mr. Willy 
 remarked ; " but I have thought for some time past that I 
 should be obliged to do something. But perhaps I shall 
 be saved that necessity now ; for the deacon told me he 
 intended to make an effort which he thought would bring 
 the people to their senses." 
 
 "I have been telling husband," Mrs. Willy said, " that 
 he ought to insist on having another hundred dollars 
 added to his salary, and to have it paid promptly." 
 
 " That would be unwise, I think," remarked Mr. Willy, 
 " to ask for more salary." 
 
 "I don't think so," the wife replied. "The parishes 
 about us who have settled ministers lately pay six and 
 seven hundred dollars now, and they are not so able as 
 our parish to do so. I presume, if we should leave here, 
 the people would not think of paying less than seven 
 hundred." 
 
 " I have no doubt of that," Mr. Willy said ; "but they 
 only agreed to give me four hundred at first ; and I ac- 
 cepted the salary." 
 
 "But times have changed, you know, husband, since 
 10
 
 218 A VOICE FROM THE 
 
 you were settled. Money don't go so far now as it did 
 then." 
 
 " The people ought to think of this, I confess," said Mr. 
 Willy, " and ought to come up unasked and pay a suita- 
 ble salary ; but it would be unwise in me to insist on their 
 doing any thing more than fulfilling their agreement with 
 me and every quarter promptly make a payment.'-./ 
 
 " That is a fact," the squire remarked. " Parishes 
 who settled pastors years ago, when the means of living 
 were not so high as they now are and when the expenses 
 of the clergy were not so many as at the present time, 
 ought to be reminded of their obligations to add to the 
 compensation of their ministers by the consideration that, 
 were they now to settle a pastor, they would be obliged 
 to pay a much larger salary." V 
 
 " Certainly it is but justice for them to do so," Mr. 
 Willy remarked. "Because I was fortunate enough to 
 have a few hundred dollars by my wife, sufficient to pay 
 for the place where I now live, it is wrong for the people 
 to think that I shall not move away if my salary is not 
 raised, and to be willing that I should have a less sum 
 than what they know they would be obliged to pay 
 another minister." 
 
 " It is morally wrong, I think, to treat a pastor in this 
 way," the squire said ; " and I cannot believe he would be 
 thus treated if the people would only consider a little with 
 the Bible in their hands." 
 
 " 0," said Mr. Willy, " if people had this precious book 
 in their hands more, and if divine truth had more reflec- 
 tion by them, ministers would never have any reason to 
 complain. If all the people were like good Deacon Fos- 
 ter, what blessed times these would be ! And he is only 
 what the Bible has made him." 
 
 The evening being now far spent, worship was ob- 
 served, and the friends separated for the night.
 
 A NEW PHASE OF PASTORAL LIFE. 219 
 
 On Monday morning the squire remarked, 
 
 "I have been thinking anew, since I have been here, 
 how mucl\a people lost by cutting short a pastor's sup- 
 port. When a minister is pinched he cannot be a free 
 man ; he cannot study with his whole mind ; he cannot 
 give his whole heart to his work. He -must be anxious, 
 often very anxious, about his family ; so much so as to unfit 
 him for duty." 
 
 "There is too much truth in that, squire," Mr. Willy 
 remarked. "I know all about it from much deep and 
 bitter experience." 
 
 " Now, your people," the squire said, " you have told me, 
 were all well off, and there are some hundred families of 
 them ; they ought to be ashamed of themselves to treat 
 you as they do. They ought to pay promptly your salary, 
 and to give you at least seven hundred dollars. They 
 make a very respectable congregation, I see. They have 
 a fine house for a sanctuary ; and really they ought to be 
 mortified that they do not handsomely support you and 
 a little more. They would gain by it, I know." 
 
 " I rather think they would have more sermons from me 
 which were better if they should do this," Mr. Willy 
 observed. 
 
 " I have no doubt of it, sir," said the squire. " It is not 
 in ordinary humanity to do much when perplexed and 
 burdened with anxiety, especially in the way of profound 
 study." 
 
 " I am sorry to see you getting ready to leave us," Mrs. 
 Willy observed to Mrs. Davidson, who entered the room 
 in a manner that denoted such an event to be nigh. 
 
 "We have made a long visit, and I feel somewhat 
 anxious to return home," Mrs. Davidson replied.
 
 220 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Soon the carriage was at the door, and the baggage in 
 the chaise ; and, as the squire was about getting in, he 
 handed Mr. Willy a very small piece of paper, folded into 
 the dimensions of a pipe stem, and remarked, " This may 
 be of some use to you, Mr. Willy, after we are out of 
 town." Then, bidding all anew good by, the horse fleetly 
 moved out of the parsonage yard towards his own plenti- 
 ful stable. 
 
 On entering the house and unfolding the thin paper, the 
 reader may judge of the use it would be in the straitened 
 pastor's family when informed it was a twenty-dollar 
 bank bill.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTORAL TAX. 
 
 ' I BELIEVE I shall not subscribe so much this year as I 
 did last," said a parishioner to a committee man whose 
 office it was to raise the pastor's salary. " Our minister 
 must be getting rich." This remark illustrates a feeling 
 often expressed in many a country parish. The minister 
 becomes opulent out of a sum at which many a mechanic 
 would scout as being far too meagre a compensation for 
 his services ! The minister lays up money when his next- 
 door neighbor, with a smaller family and no public expenses 
 to meet, who practises rigid economy withal, finds it a 
 difficult matter to live on two hundred dollars more than 
 the pastor receives ! The minister lays up money ! Ask 
 his wife, whose wits are often so severely taxed in making 
 as it were, something out of nothing, because their circum 
 stances are so straitened that they have not the where- 
 withal to supply their wants after the manner of the great 
 majority of their people. For this class of parishioners 
 the parsonage has often a voice which might relieve them 
 of their fears. 
 
 In one of his vacations Mr. Eldridge passed a few days 
 with a relative of his who was the pastor of a large con- 
 gregation. Whilst reading one morning in the parlor, a 
 stranger to him was introduced into the sitting room 
 adjohing. The door being partly opened, enabled him 
 19 * (221)
 
 222 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to hear the conversation which there was had as readily 
 as he could have done had he been present. The gentle- 
 man had not long been seated before the doctor entered, 
 when the following conversation took place, which both 
 amused and edified Mr. Eldridge : 
 
 " I thought I would run over, doctor," said Mr. Fisher, 
 "and see you about that council which is to meet next 
 week, and ascertain how it will be best for us to go." 
 
 " I do not know," the doctor replied, " as it will be con- 
 venient for me to attend. The distance is so great that I 
 can hardly afford the time which an attendance would re- 
 quire. It would about spoil the week." 
 
 "I suppose it is an important case," Mr. Fisher ob- 
 served, " and your presence is much desired, or they 
 would not have sent such a great distance to our church." 
 
 "Yes," said the doctor ; "I regard it as an important 
 case. Since the letter missive arrived I have received a 
 letter from one of the committee of the church urging me 
 by all means to be present." 
 
 " I rather think you had better conclude to go, doctor. 
 It is a pleasant season of the year, and the journey, un- 
 doubtedly, would be beneficial to you. You need relaxa- 
 tion. If you will go it would give me pleasure to defray 
 all the expenses of your journey." 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for your generosity," the 
 doctor replied ; " and perhaps you have made the induce- 
 ment sufficiently strong. I will think over the matter 
 and inform you to-morrow morning of my decision. It 
 will be considerable of a tax upon you, Mr. Fisher, should 
 I conclude to go as you so kindly propose." 
 
 " I never before have been chosen a delegate," Mr. 
 Fisher remarked ; " but I supposed it was expected that 
 the pastor would not be at any expense in attending a 
 council. The delegate usually pays the charges at these 
 times, docs ho not, doctor ? "
 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTORAL TAX. 223 
 
 The doctor, with a smile, observed, " Sometimes, when I 
 have been called to a council in the adjacent towns, my 
 delegate has invited me to ride with him ; but I rather think 
 I have the more frequently gone at my own expense, and, 
 when I have gone in my carriage, carried my delegate" 
 
 " I do not think," Mr. Fisher said, " that you have been 
 treated fairly by your delegates. They ought to have 
 borne all the expense." 
 
 "I am not sure about that," the doctor replied. "I do 
 not think it decided yet that a delegate, any more than 
 a pastor, should meet the charges incurred by attending 
 councils," 
 
 " The pastor, you know, doctor, always goes ; but his 
 delegate is not often the same individual. It would be 
 better, therefore, for the delegate to bear such expense 
 than for the pastor ; for in this way the burden might, in 
 the course of years, fall equally upon all the brethren of 
 the church, as they might every one be chosen to this service." 
 
 " I think," the doctor remarked, " there is something in 
 this consideration in favor of a delegate's meeting the ex- 
 pense rather than the pastor ; but I have long been of the 
 opinion the tax ought to be borne directly by the church. 
 Now, I have been settled in the ministry upwards of forty 
 years ; and, as I have kept an account of my yearly ex- 
 penses, I know what it has cost me to attend councils. In 
 the early part of my ministry I was not called to any 
 great distance by such occasions ; but for many years past 
 I have been often required to go very far from home for 
 the purpose of attending councils. Now, Mr. Fisher, what 
 do you think my expenses have been on an average for 
 forty years past in attending councils, computing my time 
 at ordinary day wages, and my travelling charges, includ- 
 ing, of course, pay for my horse and chaise, when I have 
 gone with them?" 
 
 " It would be impossible for me to answer your ques-
 
 224 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 tion," Mr. Fisher replied. " I am aware that you have 
 been to a large number of councils for several years past. 
 Perhaps it has cost you twenty dollars a year, and perhaps 
 forty." 
 
 " Well, sir," said the doctor ; " since I received the let- 
 ter requesting my attendance at the council next week, I 
 have computed the expense which I have incurred for the 
 last forty-two years in attending councils, and I find that 
 it will average thirty-four dollars and sixty-three gents per 
 year." 
 
 " That is a large sum, doctor,"" said Mr. Fisher, who, 
 taking his pencil, proceeded to find the full amount ; and 
 having done this, he exclaimed, in great astonishment, 
 " It makes fourteen hundred fifty-four dollars and eighty- 
 six cents." 
 
 " Yes, sir, that is the amount ; one thousand four hun- 
 dred dollars and eighty-six cents," said the doctor. 
 
 " The people do not understand this subject," Mr. Fisher 
 observed, "do they, doctor?" 
 
 "That is a fact; they do not," the doctor replied. 
 " Neither ministers nor people are aware of the great tax 
 imposed on the clergy by attendance on councils. It is a 
 great item in the expenses of many ministers, a very great 
 item." 
 
 " Well, I suppose you are oftener called to councils than 
 ministers in general," said Mr. Fisher. 
 
 " Not more frequently than many others," the pastor re- 
 plied. " I very often meet the same brethren on different 
 councils. The more a minister is called to attend on such 
 occasions, the more he will be. The longer a minister 
 lives, the more he is called on councils in important and 
 difficult cases." 
 
 " I think, sir, in these days, when so much is doing to 
 improve the age, something might be done in relation to 
 this evil, for it is a great evil to pastors," Mr. Fisher re- 
 marked.
 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTORAL TAX. 225 
 
 " I have long thought," the doctor observed, " that the 
 churches ought to be enlightened on this subject, and that 
 some principles ought to be agreed upon whereby pastors 
 can be relieved from this heavy tax." 
 
 " Well, doctor, if you go next week, I'll see that you 
 are not the poorer for your journey." 
 
 " Y&u will be, however," said the pastor, smiling. 
 
 " I'll take care, doctor, not to get in as deep in such 
 matters as you have, I assure you," Mr. Fisher observed. 
 
 " I presume so," said the doctor j " laymen have a better 
 wisdom in these concerns than pastors." 
 
 " I do not think there are many laymen to be found who 
 would expend nearly fifteen hundred dollars in the course 
 of forty years in attendance on councils," Mr. Fisher re- 
 marked. 
 
 " Ah, well," said the doctor, " I think the church ought 
 to meet these expenses : either the one inviting a council 
 ought to pay those composing it, so that they will suffer 
 no loss in attending, or each church sending ought to 
 defray the expenses of both pastor and delegate." 
 
 " Either of these ways would relieve the pastor, and not 
 be any great tax upon the delegate, too, would they not, 
 doctor ? The suggestion is a new one to me, I confess, 
 and I think it would be new to most of our churches," 
 Mr. Fisher observed. "I should think there might be an 
 equitable plan adopted in relation to this matter. Which 
 of the methods do you think would be best, doctor?" 
 
 " I have not yet fully made up my mind on the subject," 
 the pastor replied. "There are weighty "considerations 
 in favor of each ; but I am leaning strongly towards the 
 one that brings the entire expense on the church which 
 calls the council. In the first place, it is more accordant 
 with the principle that regulates the general transaction 
 of business. Now, if the machinery in your factory does 
 not work well, and you cannot tell exactly what the
 
 226 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 matter is, you would not think of writing a letter to some 
 individual who resides fifteen or forty miles from you, 
 who you thought could remedy the evil, requesting his 
 presence at your establishment to advise and assist you in 
 the premises, without expecting to remunerate him well 
 for his attendance and services. Nor would the individual 
 come without expecting a fair compensation." 
 
 " That is all true, doctor. 7 ' 
 
 " Well, if our town," the pastor continued, " has business 
 to be transacted in another part of the state which requires 
 the cool and patient consideration of some practical men, 
 they would not think of sending one of the selectmen into 
 the neighborhood where the business is to be done, and 
 ordering him to look up some wise and fit persons there, 
 and ask their advice and attention to the matter, without 
 paying them for their trouble." 
 
 "Certainly not," Mr. Fisher replied. "We should ex- 
 pect a good round bill would be the consequence." 
 
 " To illustrate the case a little further," the doctor re- 
 plied : " supposing your factory company and the other 
 one near you should have a dispute about the right of 
 water ; the two corporations, in agreeing to refer their 
 differences to an arbitration, would not expect the arbiters 
 to come here and spend one or more days in considering 
 the matter without compensating them fully for their 
 trouble." 
 
 " Of course not," Mr. Fisher said. " They would come, 
 not for their pleasure or profit, but for the advantage of 
 the parties calling them." 
 
 " Very true," said the doctor. " Now, for whose benefit 
 docs an ecclesiastical council convene ? Manifestly for 
 the advantage of the party or parties calling such council. 
 Now, why not have those who invite the council pay the 
 expenses of those composing it ? " 
 
 " I can see no good reason why they should not," Mr. 
 Fisher replied.
 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTORAL TAX. 227 
 
 " There is another consideration," the pastor observed, 
 " which has much influence with me in having the expenses 
 of a council borne by the party calling it ; and that is, 
 councils would not be so frequent as they now are, nor would 
 they be as large. If a church knew they would be liable 
 to pay a large amount if a council were called, the occa- 
 sion for convening such a body would be really urgent. 
 Every possible endeavor would be made to avoid the 
 necessity of such an expense ; and I have no doubt that 
 many difficulties would be adjusted, without being made 
 public through a council, to the great saving of private 
 reputation and of scandal to the cause of Christ. When 
 every attempt for a private settlement of difficulties had 
 failed and there was real necessity for advice from without, 
 care would be taken when a council was called to have it 
 as small as possible ; for the smaller the number a council 
 contains, the smaller would be the expense." 
 
 " I think, doctor, you have made out a pretty clear case, 
 that it would be best to have the party calling a council 
 be at all the expense attending its convocation. I wish 
 you would publish something on this subject in the re- 
 ligious newspapers. I have been astonished at what you 
 have told me this afternoon in relation to the tax which, 
 has been levied on you by your attendance on councils ; 
 and I think people in general, were they to have a few 
 such facts laid before them, accompanied by such sugges- 
 tions as you have made to me, would be for having some 
 method adopted whereby the clergy would not be im- 
 poverished as you have been. ' Every pastor, to a greater 
 or less extent, must be a sufferer under the present system 
 of calling councils." 
 
 " That is true," the doctor remarked. " Ministers in 
 general may not think much on the subject; but their 
 attendance in council is no small item in the expenses to 
 which they are subject."
 
 228 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Just now a carriage was driven into the doctor's yard, 
 and presently a neighboring minister was introduced. 
 ****** 
 
 " I can't stop long, doctor. I was riding by, and I 
 could not very well resist iny inclination to call a mo- 
 ment," Rev. Mr. Annable observed. 
 
 " Sit down, brother, sit down," said the doctor ; " don't 
 be in such haste ; our tea will be ready soon." 
 
 " 0, I cannot possibly stop ; I have a lecture this even- 
 ing, and I must hasten home. I did not know how to 
 leave ; but I could not well avoid it. I have been over to 
 brother Tenney's parish to attend a funeral. He has gone 
 on a journey, you know. I don't know how they happened 
 to send for me ; but the friends of the deceased did ; and so 
 I hired a horse and buggy and travelled eleven miles over 
 there ; and now I am on my way home." 
 
 " They paid you for your carriage hire, I hope," the 
 doctor said. 
 
 " Not a word was said about that," Mr. Annable said-. 
 " The friends thanked me very much for my trouble ; but 
 nothing more was said." 
 
 "There, Mr. Fisher," said the doctor, " there is another 
 outlet to a minister's salary. The attendance of funerals 
 in adjacent towns which happen to be destitute of pastors 
 often is the occasion of much expense to a pastor. 
 
 " Mr. Fisher and I," the doctor continued, " have been 
 conversing before you came in, brother Annable, on the 
 tax to which pastors were subjected by reason of their 
 being called so frequently to sit in councils ; and now your 
 having been abroad to a distant parish to officiate at a 
 funeral suggests another way in which we are often 
 taxed." 
 
 "It is something of a tax, I confess," Mr. Annable ob- 
 served. " I shall have to pay out for carriage hire this 
 afternoon about two dollars. Week before last I was
 
 AN UNREASONABLE PASTOEAL TAX. 229 
 
 called to Highland parish, about seven miles from my 
 house, where you know they are without a minister, to at- 
 tend a funeral, and I spent one dollar and a quarter for 
 horse hire. I presume I pay ten or twelve dollars every 
 year for a conveyance to the funerals I am called to at- 
 tend abroad ; and I do not know as ever I was offered a 
 cent for my trouble. Well, I must be going, or I shall 
 not be in season for my lecture." 
 
 ****** 
 
 After his departure Mr. Fisher observed, 
 
 " I have discovered this afternoon, doctor, no small 
 channel through which a pastor's salary passes out with- 
 out being of any benefit to himself or family." 
 
 " Don't you wonder now," inquired the pastor, " that 
 ministers don't lay up something handsome out of their 
 salaries ? " 
 
 " I think," Mr. Fislier replied, " the wonder is, how they 
 can get along as well as they do and live. It is high 
 time, I think, that the community were better informed in 
 relation to these unthought-of expenses of ministers, such 
 as those arising from their attending councils and funerals 
 abroad." 
 
 " There might be much said to enlighten the people in 
 relation to this matter," the doctor observed ; " and I 
 think something ought to be done. When the services of 
 a clergyman at a funeral out of his own parish are re- 
 quested, the friends of the deceased sending for him ought 
 by all means to remunerate him would they be just in 
 their dealings." 
 
 " Most certainly they ought," Mr. Fisher replied. " A 
 minister, of all men, ought not to be required to pay 
 from his scanty salary a single dollar unnecessarily ; and 
 I am sure it is not necessary for him to do it when called 
 abroad to attend funerals ; for he ought to go at the ex- 
 pense of those who desire his services." 
 20
 
 230 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Taking his hat in hand to leave for home, Mr. Fisher 
 continued, 
 
 " Well, doctor, I can see no other way to remove the 
 evils of which we have been speaking but to agitate the 
 subject in the community. I think, if the attention of the 
 churches was directed to this matter, they would soon be 
 disposed to abate the injustice which is now so often prac- 
 tised towards ministers. I cannot think many years would 
 pass before pastors would find themselves much relieved. 
 It is now almost intolerable that these heavy items of ex- 
 pense of which we have been speaking should be allowed 
 to diminish the value of a pastor's salary. I am persuaded 
 that it is nothing but inconsideration on the part of the 
 people that now imposes these taxes upon ministers, which 
 I desire to see speedily removed. Agitate, then, the sub- 
 ject, and invite your brethren to assist in this important 
 work ; and you may depend upon it there will be better 
 times for the ministry in respect to these evils."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE PASTOR'S WIFE. 
 
 MRS. DAVIDSON, though in very feeble health, was yet 
 benefited, as she conceived, by being out in the open air. 
 Consequently, on almost every pleasant day, she might be 
 seen abroad. On an afternoon in September she called at 
 the house of her pastor, and was introduced by the girl 
 who answered at the door into the parlor. Mr. Eldridge 
 being absent, Mrs. Davidson sat some time alone, and, be- 
 ing informed that Mrs. Eldridge was at home, wondered 
 at her long delay in coming into the room. At length the 
 door was opened and the pastor's wife entered, having a 
 countenance that denoted that she had been seeking relief 
 from grief in tears. Having always received so much 
 sympathy from her friend who had called as to regard her 
 with some of those feelings which exist in the heart of a 
 confiding daughter towards a kind, watchful, and indul- 
 gent mother, she was not, therefore, embarrassed or dis- 
 trustful, but at once remarked, on seeing Mrs. Davidson, 
 that she had been up stairs for upwards of an hour having 
 " a good cry." 
 
 " You know, Mrs. Davidson, that a minister's wife is in 
 a peculiar situation, and that her trials come sometimes in 
 a sudden and unexpected manner." 
 
 " 0, yes, dear," the good lady observed ; "I do know 
 that your position in life is very trying ; and sometimes I 
 
 (231)
 
 232 A VOICE FKOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 have wondered that any young lady would consent to 
 marry a clergyman." 
 
 " I have thought that I should never be so affected 
 again as I have been this afternoon," Mrs. Eldridge re- 
 marked, " by any thing which might be said to me by indi- 
 viduals in the parish." 
 
 " What have you heard recently, my friend ? " Mrs. Da- 
 vidson inquired. 
 
 " 0, nothing more than I have heard before, I suppose. 
 Miss Bemis has called here this afternoon, and she has had 
 considerable to say in regard to my domestic matters and 
 my influence here in the parish." 
 
 " I really wish Miss Bemis had something else to do 
 besides gathering up the gossip of the community and 
 coming here to report to you," Mrs. Davidson observed. 
 
 " She annoys me very much, and has done so ever since 
 I have been married," Mrs. Eldridge said. "It almost 
 makes me shudder whenever I see her ; for I always ex- 
 pect to hear some unpleasant tale." 
 
 " What has she been saying to-day ? " Mrs. Davidson 
 inquired. 
 
 " She has been talking about the appearance of our 
 house for one thing," Mrs. Eldridge said. 
 
 " The appearance of your house ! Why, what of it ? 
 Does it not appear well enough to suit her ladyship ? " 
 Mrs. Davidson asked. " I do not know of a house in 
 town where there is more neatness displayed, both in doors 
 and out, than what I have -seen here ; and I have heard 
 the same remark made a thousand times, I dare say, by 
 different people in the parish." 
 
 " I suppose the house did not look very neat week be- 
 fore last," Mrs. Eldridge said. "You know I was sick most 
 of the week, and our girl was sick too. A strange girl 
 could not be expected to keep all things in their places 
 and to preserve the house in the same neatness as sho 
 might if I had been about to assist and direct her."
 
 THE PASTOR'S WIFE. 233 
 
 " Did Miss Bcmis particularize the appearance of you* 
 house week before last ? " Mrs. Davidson asked. 
 
 " She was obliged to at last," Mrs. Eld ridge said ; " for 
 I thought it was my duty to be pretty plain with her, she 
 was so direct in her insinuations ; and I asked her when 
 she or any one else had ever seen the confusion and dirt 
 here which she had the impudence to describe. I told her 
 I had never seen the house looking as she said it did ; and 
 I asked her to tell me when it did look after this manner. 
 Then she was obliged to say it did look so week before 
 last." 
 
 " How cruel, how very cruel and inconsiderate, it was 
 in Miss Bemis to say any thing about such things when 
 she knew that you were sick at that time and that Han- 
 nah was sick too ! I should have thought she would have 
 had more discretion," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 
 " She remarked, by way of apology, at last, that she 
 should not have said any thing about it ; but she had 
 heard so much said in the parish in regard to the state of 
 the house then that she felt it to be her duty to converse 
 with me in relation to it." 
 
 " You had a good many in to see you that week, did you 
 not ? " Mrs. Davidson asked. 
 
 " 0, yes ; there were many who called in to inquire after 
 my health ; and I suppose there were some who took oc- 
 casion to gratify their curiosity and look round where, 
 perhaps, it was not proper they should be. Indeed, I 
 know two or three ladies went pretty much all over the 
 house ; for Margaret has told me since Miss Bemis was in, 
 in answer to some of my inquiries, that Mrs. Otis and Miss 
 Drew asked her if they might not just look round a little. 
 She said, too, they asked her a great many questions about 
 my concerns, and she said, '/ thought, ma'am, they were 
 Ti al impudent.' " 
 
 " Well, such things are really trying," Mrs. Davidson 
 20*
 
 234 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 observed ; " but they will not detract in the least from 
 the high estimation in which you are held by the good 
 people of the parish." 
 
 " No, I suppose not," Mrs. Eldridge said ; " but, after 
 all, these stories do have some effect. You know there 
 are many families who seldom call here, and never see 
 me only when I call upon them. These may have their 
 prejudices excited against me by hearing such things said 
 about my house appearing as Miss Bemis describes." 
 
 " You have been here too long a time to be injured in 
 the least by these things," Mrs. Davidson said ; " your 
 character is too well established." 
 
 " I hope you are correct," Mrs. Eldridge remarked ; 
 " but then I always am fearful that such stories have some 
 effect to lessen the good opinion of one in relation to whom 
 they are circulated. There are many people who only hear 
 the fact ; and they take it for truth, and never know to tho 
 contrary. From my experience and observation, I have 
 found that foolish and groundless reports of ministers' 
 wives often do much towards prejudicing a people against 
 their minister. I was at Mrs. Washburu's last fall, whose 
 husband is settled in the next town to where my father 
 lives, and she was complaining to me of what some of their 
 people said in relation to herself and husband. She is not 
 a very robust lady, but yet one who is a most excellent 
 wife and housekeeper ; and, because she is sometimes laid 
 aside by sickness and has to rely entirely on hired help, 
 the people say she is extravagant and it is no wonder that 
 her husband can't live on .his salary, or cannot study more, 
 as he has so much to 'do in the care of his wife and chil- 
 dren. She told me that her husband intended to be on 
 the lookout for a new field of labor ; because he was con- 
 vinced that these stories were not only injuring his use- 
 fulness, but likewise contributing to the prostration of her 
 health."
 
 THE PASTOR'S WIPE. 235 
 
 " You need not fear that any such result will follow the 
 stories Miss Bemis has been telling you, my dear friend," 
 said Mrs. Davidson. "I do think it was very unfeeling in . 
 her to come here with them." 
 
 " 0, it was ; and when I considered that I was sick, and 
 Hannah was sick likewise, and that we had a new girl, 
 and there was so much to be done, I could not but weep 
 most freely. If I had been well and the house had been 
 in confusion, I could have heard of it with more com- 
 posure ; but, as it was, I could not help feeling it was 
 almost barbarous in any one to feel like censuring me." 
 
 " There are some people who never make any allowance 
 for a minister's wife. I do not know why it is, but some 
 people take great delight in seizing hold of almost any 
 tiling which they can convert to the disadvantage of one 
 in your position," Mrs. Davidson observed. "The only 
 way is, to do right and be indifferent to the sayings of 
 such." 
 
 "Miss Bemis told me people thought it very strange 
 that we made our children work as they do. She said 
 our daughters were confined in the house most of the 
 time when they were not at school, and that our boys 
 were very seldom seen out in the street in play with other 
 boys." 
 
 "I do not think persons have any right to interfere 
 with the management of your children," Mrs. Davidson 
 said. " I wish all children were as well behaved and as 
 promising as yours. I have 'of ten remarked to our friends 
 that I thought your children were models, both in habits 
 and conduct." 
 
 "We are not indifferent to the observation of our 
 friends of course," Mrs. Eldridge observed ; " but our chil- 
 dren are managed both by husband and myself after our 
 own convictions of duty. We feel that it is very impor- 
 tant that they acquire habits of industry, and that they
 
 236 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 learn to consider that they are to be sources of interest 
 and pleasure to each other. Mr. Eldridge is very par- 
 ticular to have employment for his sons, and I am no less 
 so in regard to the daughters. It is not true that they 
 are confined most of the time and that they do not mingle 
 with other children ; for we are anxious to have them 
 learn the ways of others ; and, at suitable times and with 
 proper companions, we have them go abroad." 
 
 " I would not have you alter your mode of education," 
 said Mrs. Davidson ; " for I think it very judicious." 
 
 "I do not think we shall, except for very good reasons," 
 said Mrs. Eldridge. " We are governed by principle in 
 the care of our children, and do not mind much about tho 
 gossip of the multitude in that regard." 
 
 " Did Miss Bemis hint that your children were not well 
 behaved ? " Mrs. Davidson asked. 
 
 " 0, no ; she said they were very promising children, 
 and she wished every family of children was like them." 
 
 " Why, then, does she suggest that you alter in your mode 
 of management ? Perhaps if you did they would not be 
 as promising as they now are," Mrs. Davidson remarked. 
 " I should think she would be willing to have you go on in 
 your usual course if she thought your children were more 
 promising than those of others. I should think she was 
 rather inconsistent." 
 
 " I thought so likewise," Mrs. Eldridge said ; " and won- 
 dered at the time how she could wish us to do differently 
 with our children, when she remarked every body said 
 our daughters were little ladies and our sons little gentle- 
 men." 
 
 " She is so ready to find fault and so eager to spread 
 gossip, that I suppose she thought she must remark about 
 your children, and make some suggestion to assist you in 
 their education," Mrs. Davidson remarked. 
 
 " She had much to say about my not being more abroad
 
 THE PASTOR'S WIPE. 237 
 
 in the parish. She said people thought I ought to be out 
 more visiting the families," Mrs. Eldridge said. 
 
 " Perhaps your house would be in confusion if you were 
 visiting all the time ; and, if such were the case, I have no 
 doubt people would say you ought to stay at home and at- 
 tend to your family," Mrs. Davidson remarked. 
 
 " That is all true," said Mrs. Eldridge. " I have no 
 doubt, should I visit more than I now do, I should be un- 
 der the necessity of neglecting my children and family ; 
 and then there would be a great hue and cry, and Miss 
 Bemis would have more than her hands full of business. 
 I told Miss Bemis that I visited all that I could, and always 
 went when and where I thought my duty called, and that 
 I intended to do this whilst I had health. I was pretty 
 plain with her ; and I do not think she will again allude 
 to the subject. She has hinted to me often before that I 
 did not go abroad in the parish enough ; but I never said 
 much in reply till to-day." 
 
 "I have often wondered," Mrs. Davidson said, "how 
 you found time to visit as much as you did, seeing you 
 had so much company and that your domestic cares were 
 so numerous. I never hear people censure you for not 
 visiting more, and I do not believe there are many who 
 do. Miss Bemis may have heard some three or four per- 
 sons say that you did not visit enough because you do not 
 visit tJiem more than others." 
 
 " I thought the same," said Mrs. Eldridge, " and told 
 Miss Bemis that I was particular, as a general thing, to 
 distribute my visits equally among all classes in the 
 parish." 
 
 " Yes, I know you are," said Mrs. Davidson ; " and some- 
 times I have felt sorry that you were so particular, be- 
 cause your visits at our house are so infrequent." 
 
 " If I visited any more often than others, I think there 
 are the best of reasons why I should be frequently at
 
 238 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 your house ; for your favors to us have been unbounded, 
 and your sympathy and encouragement unfailing." 
 
 " I do not know about that," said Mrs. Davidson. " Wo 
 have always taken great pleasure in doing what we have 
 for you and your family, and it would have afforded ine 
 greater pleasure if you had visited us oftener. I do not 
 think you call at our house much oftener than you do at 
 other places." 
 
 " I know I do not ; and the reason is, as you know, 
 that I wish to avoid every cause of complaint," Mrs. El- 
 dridge said. 
 
 " Yes, I know it ; and I suppose your course is proper. 
 A minister and his wife must be prudent." 
 
 " 0, yes, we know that ; but I have often thought that 
 it was impossible for a minister or his wife to be so pru- 
 dent as to escape censure from some quarter. Why is it 
 that a minister's wife should be censured when she does 
 precisely the same things which another lady does who is 
 much applauded for her conduct ? Now, there are certain 
 courses which I have taken in relation to certain matters 
 which have been, I acknowledge, in imitation of your con- 
 duct, and I have very often heard you highly praised by 
 the same individuals who, I am informed, have condemned 
 me in no measured terms." 
 
 Mrs. Davidson, smiling, remarked, "I have often thought 
 in astonishment of the same inconsistency, and could not 
 explain it in any other way than by supposing that you were 
 a public character, a sort of target mark, and that I 
 was a private individual. People feel that a minister and 
 his wife are somewhat their property, and are dependent 
 on them. Thus they take liberties which would be con- 
 demned as exceedingly uncivil and uncourteous if prac- 
 tised towards others." 
 
 " I do not think there is any reason Tor such feeling," 
 Mrs. Eldridge observed. " I do not know why we are
 
 THE PASTOR'S WIFE. 239 
 
 any more beholden to the people than the doctors are or 
 the lawyers. My husband works as hard for the people 
 as any doctor in the place or any lawyer, and yet does 
 not receive half the compensation for his services which 
 these gentlemen obtain. I never heard that the people 
 ever hinted that Dr. Brown or Squire Morton were de- 
 pendent on them, or that they could not live without them, 
 or that their management or that of their wives was ever a 
 subject of much conversation." 
 
 " I agree with you," Mrs. Davidson said, " that no doc- 
 tor or lawyer in the place works so hard for the people as 
 your husband, and that none receives so small a compen- 
 sation as Mr. Eldridge does. You know people regard 
 the body and the will with more esteem than they do the 
 soul, and they are more ready to pay for services to the 
 body than they are for those to tlursoul, and that they some- 
 times will sacrifice all to the gratification of the will. 
 Somehow or other, people feel when they employ a doctor or 
 a lawyer that they are dependent upon them, and not that 
 the doctor or lawyer are beholden to them. But towards 
 a minister the feeling of dependence is the other way." 
 
 "Yes, I think it is," Mrs. Eldridge replied. " I do not 
 think that I am any more beholden to the people here than 
 Mrs. Brown or Mrs. Morton are. I wonder if these 
 ladies think they are dependent and must stop and think 
 before they act to ascertain whether it will answer to do 
 thus and so, just because their husbands happen to be one 
 a doctor and the other a lawyer?" 
 
 " Of course they do not feel their dependence," s&id 
 Mrs. Davidson. "I warrant you Mrs. Brown will do 
 as she pleases for all the people here will say ; and that 
 Mrs. Morton, too, will not ask leave of any how to act." 
 
 " Well, now," Mrs. Eldridge asked, " why should my con- 
 duct be so much watched, and why should people be so 
 free to speak of me and my actions, when they let Mrs.
 
 240 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Brown and Mrs. Morton go unscathed ? The people pay 
 Dr. Brown and Squire Morton, and they pay Mr. El- 
 dridge. The doctor and lawyer make money ; but my 
 husband barely lives. I should really like to know why 
 I should be singled out and shot at as I am." 
 
 " 0, 1 do not know of any good reason, I confess," Mrs. 
 Davidson remarked, " only that is the fashion. Ministers' 
 wives, of late years, have had rather a hard lot ; for my 
 part, I pity them very much." 
 
 " They are deserving of commiseration, I think," Mrs. 
 Eldridge replied ; "for often, let them do as they may, 
 summon to their aid all the wisdom which can be com- 
 manded, they are sure to meet with censure and reproach 
 from some quarter."
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 VISIT OF MB. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 
 
 A SUDDEN change in the health of Mrs. Davidson having 
 excited the apprehension of her friends that her days on 
 earth would soon be finished, a messenger was despatched 
 to her only surviving sister, Mrs. Bancroft, who resided in 
 the State of New York, summoning her at once to the pres- 
 ence of the invalid. But a few days, therefore, elapsed after 
 the receipt of this most melancholy intelligence before the 
 affectionate sisters again were together, the one in the most 
 anxious and assiduous care of the other, who was far 
 reduced by disease. 
 
 In a few months later it had been the design of Mrs. 
 Bancroft to visit the place of her birth and the scenes of 
 her childhood and youth ; for it had ever been her practice 
 since her marriage to do this as often as once in a twelve- 
 month. Her attachments were exceedingly strong to her 
 native hills and valleys ; and, with these, her affection for 
 the only sister she ever had made a motive altogether- 
 irresistible to overcome every hindcrance which might 
 interpose an annual journey thitherward. In the present 
 instance of her leaving home there had been no pleasing 
 anticipations as there formerly were for weeks before such 
 a journey. But one idea was with her, and that engrossed 
 every thought of her mind and absorbed every feeling of 
 her heart. Her sister, her only sister, sick and dying, was
 
 242 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 sufficient to keep her most thoughtful and sad. Upon her 
 arrival, however, at the mansion of the squire, her melan- 
 choly forebodings were much relieved ; for in Mrs. David- 
 son there had been an alteration for the better, and hope 
 again existed in all the family that the period of her disso- 
 lution might not soon arrive. 
 
 A few days subsequent to the arrival of Mrs. Bancroft 
 and her husband, as Mr. Eldridge had just left the chamber 
 of the sick one, Mrs. Bancroft observed, 
 
 " How differently you are situated in respect to a pastor, 
 sister, from what we are ! All here seem attached to the 
 minister ; and the minister appears to reciprocate the 
 interest, and to be devoted to the highest interests of the 
 people." 
 
 " We are highly favored in our pastor, I acknowledge," 
 Mrs. Davidson replied. "Mr. Eldridge certainly is a 
 most excellent man. I arn sorry to know that you are not as 
 fortunate in a pastor. Perhaps, however, it may be that 
 your people are in fault, in not paying him those attentions 
 which belong to a minister." 
 
 ' I cannot think," said Mrs. Bancroft, ",that our minister 
 knows how to appreciate tender and devoted attentions from 
 a people. He always appears to be looking after but one 
 interest ; and that is his own. I think, and others think, 
 that he is a very selfish man" 
 
 " I am astonished, sister," said Mrs. Davidson, " to hear 
 such a character given to Mr. Caldor. When I have met 
 with him at your house I have been rather pleased with 
 him." 
 
 " I know you were pleased with him," Mrs. Bancroft 
 said, " as strangers are inclined to be. When you have 
 been with us we did not care to disclose our feelings in 
 regard to him and find fault with the minister ; for we 
 were aware of your very extreme repugnance at hearing a 
 minister censured ; and besides, we have been living in hope
 
 VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 243 
 
 that Mr. Caldor would become sensible of his inconsis- 
 tencies, and reform. But now we have given up all hope 
 of this." 
 
 " You feel then," said Mrs. Davidson, " that he can no 
 longer be useful to you, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Yes; I think Mr Caldor can do no more good in our 
 parish. The council we had a few months since gave it 
 as their opinion that it was best that he be dismissed." 
 
 " Ah, have you had a council ? " Mrs. Davidson inquired. 
 
 " Yes ; the people at last obtained the consent of Mr. 
 Caldor to the calling of a council ; but he told them he 
 should not abide by the result unless it accorded with his 
 judgment." 
 
 " He is somewhat independent, I should think," Mrs. 
 Davidson said. 
 
 " He is a very set man," said the other. " He is not the 
 man to be moved when he has once made up his mind. 
 His contumacy has been very instrumental in increasing 
 the dissatisfaction of our people with him. If any one 
 differs from him and conscientiously acts in opposition to 
 his views, he is sure to hear of it, and sooner or later to 
 feel the effects of Mr. Caldor's displeasure." 
 
 " Such a trait of character," said Mrs. Davidson, " is not 
 very becoming in a minister, I think." 
 
 "No, sister ; it very ill becomes a minister to condemn 
 every one who. happens to disagree with him and to follow 
 such a one with his wrathful treatment. This is the 
 coarse which Mr. Caldor has long pursued, and it has been 
 a powerful cause in bringing our people to their present 
 feeling." 
 
 "Did it appear before the council," Mrs. Davidson 
 inquired, " that Mr. Caldor was such a man as you rep- 
 resent?" 
 
 " Certainly it did," was the reply, "and that pretty fully 
 too. The testimony was abundant that Mr. Caldor fol-
 
 244 
 
 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 lowed such as walked not on his own line with his dis- 
 pleasure and improved every opportunity to do them an 
 injury. Some of the council were utterly confounded with 
 the disclosures which were made under this charge, and 
 they were amazed that the people had borne with him as 
 long as they had. It appeared that one man was turned 
 out of the church because Mr. Caldor became angry with 
 him for not quietly submitting to his arbitrary dictation." 
 
 " But how could this have been done ? " Mrs. Davidson 
 inquired. 
 
 " Our church have long been in a very sluggish state, you 
 know," Mrs. Bancroft replied, " and withal have stood in 
 fear of Mr. Caldor. They knew he would be a match for 
 them if they contended with him ; and so he has been 
 allowed to do pretty much as he pleased. The brother 
 who was cut off would not bow down to Mr. Caldor, and 
 so at some private meeting of the church he was cut off." 
 
 " Were there no preliminary steps taken with this indi- 
 vidual ? " Mrs. Davidson asked. 
 
 " No ; there were not. When he was excommunicated 
 there were but a few present, and those were people who 
 would not dare to do otherwise than as Mr. Caldor told 
 them." 
 
 " I should have thought the brother would have appealed 
 to a council," Mrs. Davidson suggested. 
 
 "He did request a mutual council ; but Mr. Caldor so 
 managed that the request was refused. The people, how- 
 ever, did not feel right about this ; and, on the whole, mt>re 
 harm was done to Mr. Caldor than to any one else." 
 
 "I should think," Mrs. Davidson said, "conduct like 
 this in a minister would be likely to excite a people." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; it did our people, I assure you. They waked 
 up at once after this," Mrs. Bancroft said, " and there was 
 no backwardness in people's saying what they thought 
 about Mr. Caldor. One would tell this and another that ;
 
 VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 24 
 
 and so from different quarters there came a variety of re- 
 ports of his conduct, which made him appear in a very 
 unministerial position. There was, soon after this, a de- 
 termination on the part of many to exert themselves and 
 have him dismissed." 
 
 " What charges did they bring against him before the 
 council ? " Mrs. Davidson inquired. 
 
 " His being arbitrary and vindictive was one, and his 
 being very penurious was another." 
 
 " Perhaps he was only provident and frugal, and not 
 penurious," Mrs. Davidson said. 
 
 " 0, but it came out most fully before the council," the 
 sister exclaimed, " that he was exceedingly fond of money, 
 and would do almost any thing to get it. It appeared 
 that he had driven some of the very hardest of bargains, 
 and that often with the poor of his flock. There being 
 no cause for this, Mr. Caldor having a good farm, money 
 at interest, and a good salary, his conduct appeared much 
 more reprehensible. As a specimen of his love of money 
 and of the meanness he often resorted to to get it, it was 
 proved before the council that a poor neighbor of his 
 went to him to buy a rooster, of which he had many large 
 and fine ones. The pastor was very complaisant and 
 ready for a bargain, and descanted largely upon the su- 
 periority of his poultry. A fowl having been selected by 
 the neighbor and the price inquired, Mr. Caldor said, 
 ' That's a noble fellow. It is not more than two months 
 old, and I dare say he would weigh five pounds dressed. 
 I will sell him to you for fifty cents ; and if you can't pay 
 for him nojv, you may take him home and keep him all 
 winter, and return him in the spring.' The neighbor said 
 he would not take him then, but would see about it, and 
 let Mr. Caldor know in a few days what he would do. 
 This conversation took place towards the close of a day 
 in the mouth of September. In the evening a knocking 
 21*
 
 246 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 was heard at the door of this neighbor, and, on its being 
 opened, lo and behold, there stood the pastor with the 
 fowl under his arm ! ' I have brought over the fowl,' he 
 said. ' Mr. Bradly, he is rather in my way ; he fights the 
 others. You can keep him, and, any time you please, can 
 pay me the half dollar.' The neighbor had concluded 
 that he would not give such a price for the fowl, and was 
 intending to have told his minister so when he next saw 
 him ; but, inasmuch as his reverence had brought him 
 over in his own arms, he said, 'Very well, Mr. Caldor.' 
 So he took the fowl. A few weeks after this Mr. Bradly 
 went over to the minister's, and, after being there a while, 
 he took out half a dollar and laid it upon the table by the 
 side of which Mr. Caldor was sitting, and remarked, 
 ' There is your rooster.' l 0,' said his reverence, ' I can't 
 let you have him for that ; he is worth seventy-five cents. 
 I sold three to-day smaller than yours for that sum.' Upon 
 being reminded that this was the price agreed upon, Mr. 
 Caldor said, ' If I told you so, you can have it ; but the 
 fowl is worth more money.' " 
 
 " Do you say, sister, that it was proved before the coun- 
 cil that Mr. Caldor was guilty of this meanness and dis- 
 honesty?" 
 
 " I do," the sister persisted ; " and several other cases 
 similar were proved too. It came out that Mr. Caldor 
 had been in the habit of taking his wife and three small 
 children and going abroad in the parish, spending a day 
 here and one there, and being thus absent from his own 
 house for three and four days in succession ; and all this 
 for the mere purpose of saving" 
 
 " How could it be proved that this was his object ? I 
 should think it would be a difficult matter to prove this," 
 Mrs. Davidson suggested. 
 
 " What other object could the man have," the sister 
 aaid, " in being gone from home with his wife and children
 
 VISIT OP MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 247 
 
 from Monday afternoon till Friday morning, and that, too, 
 very frequently in the course of the year ? Besides, it was 
 proved that saving was his object by a hired girl. This 
 girl testified that she overheard Mr. Caldor say to his 
 wife one day, ' My dear, I guess we'll go abroad in the 
 parish next week and live on the people for a few days. 
 Mary takes good care of the hogs and the cows when we 
 are away ; and you know she likes bread and milk, and it 
 saves considerable when we are all away for three or four 
 days. 7 '' 
 
 " How happened it to be known that Mr. Caldor said 
 this ? " Mrs. Davidson inquired. 
 
 " The hired girl, Mary, told of it, to be sure," the sister 
 replied. " She never liked it to be left alone so much 
 with all the barn work to do ; and she was vexed when 
 she came to know what the reason was. After hearing 
 this reason from the lips of Mr. Caldor himself, she made 
 it known to some of the neighbors. The people had often 
 wondered why the minister and his family were abroad so 
 much in the parish, and many had said that they could 
 think of no other reason than a desire, to save ; but then 
 there was no proof of this until the disclosures of the 
 hired girl." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Davidson, " if your minister is such 
 a man as this, I can't blame the people for wishing him 
 away." 4 
 
 " He is just such a man" was the reply ; " and I hope 
 there are few like him who preach the gospel." 
 
 "I think there are not many of this description," Mrs. 
 Davidson said. " Our acquaintance with ministers is very 
 large, you well know ; and I am sure, as a general thing, 
 they are sincere, worthy men, whose chief desire is to do 
 good. I have often thought that a desire for money, for 
 its own sake, existed more feebly in clergymen than in 
 any other class of the community."
 
 248 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " That has always been my opinion/' rejoined the sister ; 
 " and I think that Mr. Caldor's is one of the rare cases of 
 ministerial misconduct. But then it is all true of him 
 that I have now told ; and I think he ought no longer to 
 preach. If he were poor there would be some excuse 
 for him ; but he is not ; he is richer than most of his 
 people." 
 
 " I hope most sincerely," Mrs. Davidson continued, " that 
 he will be influenced by the advice of the council 
 and take himself off from your parish without further 
 trouble." 
 
 " I am very much afraid that he will not," said Mrs. 
 Bancroft. " He very well knows that he would stand but 
 a small chance to be settled again ; and he likes a six- 
 hundred-dollar salary too well to relinquish it readily. 
 But I am persuaded, if he stays, that he will have but a 
 very few people to hear him preach. He may, however, 
 take himself off. Should he do this at once the parish 
 may be saved from ruin." 
 
 " But can he not be compelled to leave ? " Mrs. David- 
 son asked. 
 
 " They say he is settled for life," was the reply ; " and 
 unless he can be impeached for immoral conduct, or change 
 of sentiment, or neglect of duty, he cannot be dismissed 
 against his consent. That was in the contract at the time 
 of his settlement." 
 
 " I should say that he might be impeached for immoral 
 conduct," Mrs. Davidson suggested. 
 
 " So some of the council thought," the sister said ; " and 
 I believe there are those among the people who intend to 
 resort to this course if he will not leave soon." 
 
 " I cannot understand how a minister can be willing to 
 preach to a people who has the opinion of him which you 
 gay is held by your parish respecting Mr. Caldor," Mrs.
 
 VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 249 
 
 Davidson said. " Most clergymen would retire at once 
 upon the discovery of any very general dissatisfaction, no 
 matter whether there was any reason for it or not. I 
 have often thought that they were too much inclined to 
 leave their people upon very slight appearances of dissat- 
 isfaction among them. I have supposed ministers often 
 erred in thinking their people were tired of them without 
 cause." 
 
 "I have no doubt of this, sister, myself. I think, and 
 have often heard the opinion expressed by others, that 
 ministers were too sensitive and too suspicious. I have 
 known instances of ministers leaving good situations, 
 thinking that their people were anxious for a change. 
 There, was Mr. Parsons, who was settled about fifteen 
 miles from us, who left his people because he imagined 
 they were dissatisfied. They did not know at the time 
 that this was the reason ; and they were much pained 
 when convinced that such was the fact* They thought 
 much of him, and never thought that he was not a very 
 useful minister among them." 
 
 " I have no doubt that ministers often err in this re- 
 spect," said Mrs. Davidson. " They see things frequently 
 through a diseased brain, brought on by much study 
 and anxiety. I think a people ought to take especial 
 pains to guard their pastor against such a feeling, which 
 might be easily done. Let them often call upon the pas- 
 tor and speak words of cheer to him speak of his ser- 
 mons and his other labors, to encourage him. How easily 
 this might be done ! Let them, too, make him or his fam- 
 ily a present occasionally no matter if it be ever so 
 small and trifling, if a larger one be not convenient and 
 practicable. 'A gift/ you know, 'pacifieth wrath;' and 
 certainly a gift might have equal effect in removing 
 despondency and in sending encouragement to a pastor's 
 heart."
 
 250 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Yes, sister ; what you say is all true. Not long since 
 I went a short journey, and stopped over the Sabbath 
 with a friend of ours, a Mr. Branch, who is settled over a 
 large church. I remember very well hearing him say to 
 his wife that he wished he might hear something from 
 his preaching. I asked him if he never heard any thing 
 from it. ' No/ he said ; he did not remember ever to 
 have heard any allusion made to his sermons more than 
 once or twice since he had been settled. He remarked 
 that he considered it very singular that, as often as he 
 met his people in private, they should be so silent in re- 
 lation to his labors. He said it would do him good to 
 hear from his preaching ; he should be encouraged, be in- 
 spired with confidence, if he knew that his people were 
 satisfied with his preaching." 
 
 " That is just what I think," said Mrs. Davidson. " A 
 minister is greatly encouraged when he hears his people 
 speak favorably of his labors. He feels that he is not 
 laboring in vain. I think a people err often in being 
 negligent in this respect. A little more consideration on 
 their part might show them the usefulness and importance 
 of "their encouraging their pastor. Should they do this, 
 and pay him kind attentions, they might be paid a hun- 
 dred fold. People are ready enough to talk to their 
 minister about his sermons and other labors when he is 
 first settled and does not need encouraging. I would 
 have them as communicative ever afterwards. We all 
 like to feel that we are successful in what we undertake ; 
 and it must be gratifying to a clergyman to hear from 
 his people evidence that he is useful. I am acquainted 
 with no better way for a minister to have this evidence 
 than for his people to speak to him occasionally about his 
 sermons." 
 
 " Y.es, sister ; if a people wish for a good minister, the best,
 
 VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. BANCROFT. 251 
 
 way is for them to be good themselves. They must treat 
 him kindly and considerately. If they do this, and have 
 not such a man as our Mr. Caldor for a pastor, I am per- 
 suaded they will be rewarded for all their pains and 
 trouble."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE BEQUEST. 
 
 IT accorded well with the feelings of Mr. Eldridge that 
 an invitation was given him to preach the sermon at an 
 ordination of a friend who was to be settled about ninety 
 miles distant from him ; for, at the period when this invi- 
 tation came, he was exhausted by his multifarious pastoral 
 labors, and longed for a journey to recruit him. Ho 
 therefore willingly consented to perform the service, and 
 left his family and parish towards the close of the week 
 preceding the Wednesday on which the ordination was to 
 occur. He left thus early that he might pass a few days 
 with a much-esteemed clerical friend, who lived about 
 fifteen miles this side the town which was to terminate his 
 journey. 
 
 In his visit at this friend's, conversation was directed, 
 as was perfectly natural that it should be, to the situation 
 of ministers at the present day and as it had been for a 
 number of past years. In the progress of this conver- 
 sation the pastor of the place incidentally alluded to a 
 letter which had lately been put into his hands by one of 
 his most promient parishioners, with a desire for his opin- 
 ion on the request which it contained. This letter was 
 from a son who had received a liberal education, had 
 passed through a regular theological course, and entered 
 the ministry, in which he had been blessed for nine years, 
 
 (2.52)
 
 THE REQUEST. 253 
 
 serving two churches successively in the pastoral office. la 
 point of ability and general acceptableness as a preacher he 
 was far above the ordinary class. He had his own ideas of 
 propriety, and could not well be happy or contented in a sit- 
 uation where such views could not be realized and enjoyed. 
 Because this was not his condition in his first charge he 
 sought and obtained a release from it, thinking he might, 
 among another people, be differently situated. Such was 
 his popularity as a preacher, he found it*no difficult matter 
 soon to secure an invitation from another parish ; and the 
 compensation being more than that usually given out of 
 our cities, for ministerial services, he concluded to accept 
 the invitation, and was accordingly installed. Among this 
 people be had lived four years at the time he wrote the 
 letter to his father to which allusion has been made, and 
 was happy in their confidence and esteem ; yet here he 
 found that his own ideas of propriety were not met, and 
 it was his serious purpose to leave. 
 
 The letter was read to Mr. Eldridge, and it was as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " MY DEAR FATHER : From what I said to you when 
 you were here six months since, the impression was proba- 
 bly made on your mind that we were not happy and con- 
 tented here, and for reasons somewhat similar to those 
 which occasioned my first dismission. In my first settle- 
 ment, I had a salary, as you remember, of five hundred 
 dollars. I soon found, as you are aware, that such a sum 
 was wholly inadequate to a comfortable living and yet 
 meet those other calls made upon me from my library and 
 the benevolent societies of the age. Were I not a minis- 
 ter and expected to be an example to the flock of benevo- 
 lence, and to have all things upon and about me fair 
 and comely, and expected, too, not to resort to other 
 ways than my regular salary for the means of enabling 
 22
 
 254 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the people to realize their expectations, were 1 . farmer 
 or a mechanic, I doubt not I could live comfortably on 
 five hundred dollars, and perhaps put by a hundred on 
 interest. But being a minister, I could not, as you know I 
 did not, live on five hundred dollars in one of the five 
 years of my first settlement ; and it was for this reason only 
 that I sought a dismission. When I was invited to settle 
 where I am now located, and oifered one thousand dollars 
 salary, I judged I -might fulfil my desires and duty on that 
 amount ; but I have not been able. The expenses of living 
 here are great ; the expectations of the people of the style 
 in which their minister is to live are great ; and a thousand 
 dollars here go no further towards answering the many calls 
 made upon the pastor than five hundred did in my former 
 settlement. Had I no more family now than I had then, I 
 could not live and do as I am expected to do on the salary 
 I now have. Now, I am troubled, and have long been troubled, 
 to know what course to pursue. My people think they 
 pay a large salary ; and so they do, if a large salary be 
 more than what most ministers in the country receive. 
 But, then, it is not a salary sufficient to enable a minister to 
 maintain the position in society which is assigned him by the 
 people. Here is my trouble. People assign a minister 
 a position which the salary they give him will not enable 
 him to keep ; whereas he ought to have a larger salary 
 than his position demands to be able to provide against 
 a season of disability to preach by reason of sickness and 
 age; as the community now feel a minister cannot be 
 backward in any benevolent effort without incurring the 
 charge of meanness, nor can he be economical and save 
 a portion of his salary without an exposure to the charge of 
 being avaricious. I have neighbors about me, whose in- 
 come has never been a thousand dollars a year, who are 
 comparatively wealthy ; but if the minister had attempted 
 to follow their way of becoming rich he would have been
 
 THE REQUEST. 255 
 
 most severely frowned upon. I am tired of drawing on 
 you and on iny wife's father for money from year to year 
 to help in maintaining my position in society ; and both 
 myself and wife have made up our minds that it is no 
 longer duty. My wife's father was here lately, and we 
 had a long talk upon the subject. He sympathizes with 
 us, and is willing to assist us in living here, and would pre- 
 fer thus to do than to have us leave. We told him how 
 we felt in relation to being supported in any other way 
 than from our own exertions, and that we had made up 
 our mind no longer to be from year to year dependent on 
 the bounty of our relatives. At last I disclosed to him 
 my plan, which I will now submit to you. 
 
 " When I first proposed to you the idea I had of trying 
 to obtain a collegiate education, you may remember that 
 you did not fully fall in with me ; that you said you 
 intended that I should have the Holmes Place, which you 
 thought would afford me the means of obtaining a hand- 
 some livelihood and perhaps more than that. Well, that 
 place is not sold yet, and I have thought I would apply for 
 it now. I think I could live if I had it, and not suffer so 
 much as I now do from being pinched as I am in living on 
 a scale not of my own making, which I am not able to 
 sustain with the means now afforded me by the people. J 
 cannot hope for an increased salary, nor that the people 
 will be less moderate in their expectations. I do not like 
 to lh r e where I cannot be more independent in the manage- 
 ment of my affairs than I can in the ministry in the pres- 
 ent state of popular feeling. A minister, ordinarily, is not 
 permitted to graduate his expenses according to his own 
 estimate of his ability. His people or the ruling spirits 
 among them must do this work for him; and, whilst the 
 means of living according to such graduation arc with- 
 held, I cannot longer, with a good conscience, submit. I 
 think the influence is pernicious. If now, my dear father,
 
 256 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 you think favorable of this plan of mine, and will let me 
 have the Holmes Place, I shall abandon the pastoral office 
 and seek a living from the cultivation of the soil. You 
 know I always was a good farmer ; and I think I can suc- 
 ceed well now in the business. My wife's father gen- 
 erously offered to give us two thousand dollars to repair 
 the house and stock the farm. 
 
 " Should I do this and leave the pastoral office, it is not 
 my intention to abandon the ministry. Far from this. I 
 could supply feeble churches for what they were able to 
 pay, and I doubt not could make myself useful in preach- 
 ing. This I should aim to accomplish. I am hoping to 
 be with you in a few weeks, when we can confer together.''' 
 
 " There is much truth in that letter," Mr. Eldridge re- 
 marked, "and many considerations deserving profound 
 attention, I confess ; but I do not know that a minister 
 would be justified in leaving the pastoral office for the 
 reasons set forth in this letter. I should wish to think 
 and pray much over the matter before I came to such 
 a decision." 
 
 " The brother who wrote this letter, I can assure you, 
 is no ordinary man," Mr. Pearson remarked. "He is far 
 above mediocrity as a preacher, and has always mani- 
 fested a spirit of the most fervent piety and devotedness 
 to his profession. I never knew any thing of the feeling 
 this letter discloses until I read it. I supposed my young 
 friend was happy and contented in his work." 
 
 " I know the amount a minister receives for his com- 
 pensation does not answer the same purpose for the bone- 
 lit of his family which the same sum would accomplish for 
 almost any other family in the parish," Mr. Eldridge ob- 
 served. y"He is expected to do more for the public in 
 various ways than other men ; and he must rcg ilate his 
 expenses with his eye on the accommodation and gorxj of
 
 THE BEQUEST. 257 
 
 others. It is expected that a minister will always enter- 
 tain a certain class of strangers who happen to be in the 
 parish ; and then he must lead off, often, if not always, 
 subscriptions for all the benevolent objects of the day ; 
 whereas, if he were in private life, he could make his 
 own selection of the objects of his charity, or, if he judged 
 it duty, withhold giving altogether. Besides, his own 
 dress and that of his family must be more expensive ; and, _ 
 indeed, all his family expenses are necessarily more than 
 what they would be if he was not the minister of the par- 
 ish and expected to please every body."L 
 
 " This subject/ 7 remarked Mr. Pearson, " enlarges the 
 more it is considered, I confess. I do not know as I ever 
 thought so much of it until lately ; and I really think our 
 churches do not realize as they might and should the 
 difference between the expenses incident to the support of 
 a minister's family and position in life and those of a 
 private citizen. All the agents who plead the cause of our 
 benevolent societies, of course, make the minister's house 
 their home ; and then, again, if they would succeed well 
 in their different objects, the minister must head the sub- 
 scription paper. He must do all this if he has not paid 
 for his last suit of clothes or for his winter's wood ; and 
 so he is subjected to great anxiety in relation to such ex- 
 penses, and meets them only by the most rigid economy." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Mr. Eldridge ; " it must be acknowl- 
 edged a minister has a hard time of it at the best, let his 
 salary be what it may. A people will find some way to 
 make it not worth so much to him as the same amount would 
 be were he in private life." 
 
 " I have been thinking," remarked Mr. Pearson, " of 
 going to visit the father of the young man who wrote this 
 letter, after dinner to-day, and would be pleased to have 
 you accompany mo. Perhaps from us both he may be 
 able to obtain some satisfaction as to- his duty in relation 
 22*
 
 258 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 to the request of his son. It may be the son is there ; and 
 if so, we shall have an opportunity of learning from him 
 more of his own trials." 
 
 After dinner the two gentlemen proceeded to the house 
 of Mr. Mosely, which was a ride of about two miles. 
 Having reached the place and entered the house, they 
 were very cordially welcomed by Mrs. Mosely and her 
 daughters, and soon by Mr. Mosely himself, who was 
 summoned from the field to be gratified and entertained 
 by a visit from his pastor and clerical friend. After 
 indulging a while in general conversation, Mr. Mosely, 
 addressing Mr. Pearson, inquired what he thought of the 
 letter from his son. 
 
 "I have attentively read the letter," Mr. Pearson re- 
 marked, " and must confess there is too much reason for 
 the feeling which prompted your son to write it ; yet I 
 cannot bear to think that he must leave the pastoral 
 office." 
 
 " I don't want him to do this," replied the father ; " it 
 tries me very much ; but I think there is some ground for 
 his being dissatisfied with the manner in which he is 
 obliged to lay out his salary, unless he has more than at 
 present." 
 
 " Have you heard from him lately ? " Mr. Pearson in- 
 - quired. 
 
 " He is at home," was the reply. " He arrived yester- 
 day, but is now gone to the village. We expect him back, 
 however, very soon." 
 
 " Does he seem to be persuaded to follow out the plan 
 detailed in the letter? " Mr. Eldridge asked. 
 
 " I should think he did," Mr. Mosely answered. " He 
 says he cannot live any longer and be supported by chari- 
 ty, or feel that he cannot expend his earnings after the 
 promptings of his own judgment, and be ruled by the 
 caprice and pride of a people."
 
 THE BEQUEST. 259 
 
 " Then you have decided to accede to his wishes," Mr. 
 Pearson remarked, " and we shall have him among us ? " 
 
 "Yes," Mr. Mosely replied. "If he really thinks it 
 best I shall gratify him, and let him have the Holmes 
 Place. There, he has come, I believe," rising and looking 
 out of the window at the carriage approaching the house. 
 
 Mr. Mosely, the son, soon made his appearance in the 
 parlor, where this conversation was going on ; and, after 
 the usual inquiries and salutations, he remarked, 
 
 " I don't know, Mr. Pearson, but that you will have 
 some new parishioners soon." 
 
 " Yes," said the latter ; " from what has been said since I 
 came in, I have thought it probable ; but I do not know 
 as I ought to have just such parishioners as it is intimated 
 I may have." 
 
 " Dismissed ministers, they say, make bad parishioners, I 
 know," said the young clergyman ; "but if I come home to 
 live, I hope there will be no trouble from me." 
 
 " 0, 1 did not make my last remark," Mr. Pearson said, 
 " because I apprehended any trouble from the family who 
 contemplate occupying the Holmes Place, I assure you. I 
 have no doubt both our parish and myself would be much 
 advantaged by such an accession to our number. I am 
 not yet fully persuaded that duty would be done if Mr. 
 Mosely should become a parishioner." 
 
 " Well, sir," said Mr. Mosely, " I have thought very 
 much on this subject, and have most sincerely and pain- 
 fully regretted the necessity of such a step, but have 
 about made up my mind to take it. To live as I have 
 lived since I have been settled in the ministry I cannot 
 any longer, and so I must live if I continue a pastor ; for 
 I do not think I could eifect any difference in public sen- 
 timent in relation to the compensation of ministers which 
 would bring me any relief. Now, I have what is called a 
 large salary one thousand dollars a year. I know it is
 
 260 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 difficult to make people believe that I cannot live handsomely on 
 that sum ; but I have tried to live, and have not been able 
 to make the two ends of the year meet. Now, I will tell 
 you how my money goes. My house rent is two hundred 
 and fifty dollars. I am obliged to keep two girls, whom 
 I pay two hundred and fifty more, besides their board. 
 My parish being large and out of the village, somewhat 
 scattered, places me under the necessity of keeping a 
 horse, and that costs me one hundred and fifty dollars 
 more ; so my house, hired help, and horse cost me six hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars : then there are but .three hundred 
 and ffty dollars left for food, clothing, books, and inci- 
 dental expenses. Now, you may ask, ' Why have such an 
 expensive house, and why keep two girls ? 7 I will tell 
 you. My people, or the ruling spirits among them, RE- 
 QUIRE me to live where I do ; and the house being large, 
 more help is required to keep it in order. My wife must 
 be a l&dy, or the parish would rebel ; she must visit and be 
 ready to receive calls ; and so two girls are absolutely 
 needed. The second year after I was settled in my present 
 place I resolved that I would take a cheaper house, and 
 thus reduce my rent and other expenses. I partly en- 
 gaged a suitable house about a mile out of the village, 
 where I could have been contented and happy ; but when 
 it came to be known that I was thinking of moving there, 
 there was such a clamor about it from certain quarters that 
 I and my best friends thought it would not be prudent to 
 move. Had I gone there, I could have saved all of three 
 hundred dollars annually" 
 
 " If such be the expenditures you are obliged to make 
 from year to year," Mr. Eldridge observed, "for house, 
 help, and a horse, I do not see how you could meet the "other 
 calls made upon you with three hundred and fifty dollars ; 
 and I do not think I should feel very comfortable in being 
 under the necessity of calling upon relations to make up to
 
 .'r THE REQUEST. 261 
 
 me the amount needed to make the two ends of the year 
 meet. I should want my people to understand the matter ; 
 and perhaps they would either give more salary or be 
 willing to have me live within that they now pay." 
 
 " Well," Mr. Mosely said, " a people are governed by 
 custom in offering a salary to a minister. Most ministers 
 have about the same amount which is paid in their com- 
 munity, and regard is not had so much to the necessities of 
 a pastor's family as to custom. A religious society would 
 not be willing to pay less to a minister than what other 
 religious societies of their own ability in the neighborhood 
 pay ; nor would one be very likely to advance much 
 on what their neighbors give. There ought to be taken 
 into account the difference of expenses between living in one 
 parish or another ; but such difference is apt to be over- 
 looked ; and it is thought that, because a neighboring minister 
 gets along well on a certain sum, another minister might do 
 the same in a parish where the expenses of living are 
 double, arising from the habits of the people among whom 
 he lives in part. I have talked with my people on the 
 subject, and they say when I talk with them it ought not so to 
 be ; that I ought to have more salary ; but somehow or 
 other it is difficult to bring them to feel so intensely on 
 the subject as to induce them in their parish capacity to 
 act. Talking in the parlor or in private, private sympathy 
 with a pastor, is a very different thing from a parish vote to 
 relieve a pastor. My people, whilst they say to me pri- 
 vately that my present salary is insufficient, would not in 
 parish meeting say this. Should I ask more salary, I might 
 possibly get it ; but then it would be the occasion of ill 
 feeling that might lurk secretly in the bosoms of the 
 people for a while, and in a few years be the means of an 
 open rupture. I shall not ask for an increase of salary. 
 I think I must leave my people, and thus leave, too, the 
 pastoral office."
 
 262 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I do not like the plan of asking for an increase of 
 salary," Mr. Pearson remarked. "In ninety cases out of 
 a hundred it is disastrous; and as brother Mosely says, 
 whilst people privately say what they now pay is insuffi- 
 cient, yet they would not raise their hands and advocate 
 earnestly in parish meeting for an increase of salary. I 
 do not know how to reconcile the expression of private 
 sympathy from parishioners towards a pastor with inac- 
 tivity in their parish capacity to afford relief, unless it be 
 that the parish think the pastor will same way or other 
 elbow his way out of his embarrassments" 
 
 " That's it, father Pearson," said Mr. Mosely. " Now, 
 my people think that I shall elbow my way out as I have 
 always done, with the help of my father and my wife's 
 father; and here is the sore place. I cannot bear it ; and it 
 is my duty to prevent it. I do not think a parish ought 
 to be encouraged in having their minister supported by 
 his friends who live out of the parish. There is brother 
 Parker, settled near me among a people who are abun- 
 dantly able to support him handsomely ; and yet they 
 think that, because his wife has rich friends in Boston and 
 New York who make them many valuable presents, it is 
 710 matter if they do not pay him more than four hundred 
 dollars a year, and even that sum most reluctantly and 
 tardily. I am tired and sick of these things, and I really 
 think our churches ought to be brought by some means or 
 other to alter and to do very differently." 
 
 "Well, how would you effect the revolution you de- 
 sire ? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " You see what I am intending to do," Mr. Mosely re- 
 plied. " I would have these churches who will not pay a 
 pastor a sufficient sum to enable him to live go without "a 
 pastor, be compelled to go without a pastor, until they 
 are ready to do their duty. Now, my people pay me
 
 THE BEQUEST. 263 
 
 enough, provided they would allow me to expend my sal- 
 ary as they would expend a thousand dollars a year." 
 
 As this remark was finished some new company was in- 
 troduced, and further conversation on this topic was inter, 
 ruptcd. It may be remarked, however, that the Holmes 
 Place was fitted up and handsomely stocked with all need- 
 ful implements of a well-cared-for farm, and that the Rev. 
 Mr. Mosely there happily lived, meeting all the expenses 
 of his numerous family from its productions. A weak and 
 worthy parish in the neighborhood for a long time had his 
 ministrations, till, through the strength derived from his 
 wisdom and care, with the blessing of God upon his labors, 
 they were able to sustain a pastor. Though not in the 
 pastoral office, the ministry of Mr. Mosely continues useful 
 and acceptable.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A $IODEL PARISH. 
 
 WHILST Mr. Eldridge was passing a vacation at the 
 west his good wife and children were making a visit to 
 the place of her nativity, the home of her parents. Whilst 
 there she received a letter from one of her female friends 
 proposing to her an excursion of about fifty-five miles, and 
 promising to introduce her to a parish which would afford 
 her real pleasure. This parish had often been described 
 in the correspondence which had for many years existed 
 between the two friends, and Mrs. Little had frequently 
 intimated to Mrs. Eldridge that she hoped one day to 
 have it in her power to visit there in her company. The 
 incumbent of the pastoral ofifice in this parish was an 
 uncle of Mrs. Little's, and had been settled something like 
 forty years, enjoying the pleasing satisfaction of minister- 
 ing to the spiritual necessities of his people from divine 
 truth and of witnessing many full and extensive harvests. 
 So much had been written to her of this parish that Mrs. 
 Eldridge had a strong desire to visit it ; and though the 
 invitation to do so now came to her when she was alike 
 absent from her husband and their home, yet she could not 
 find it in her heart to deny herself the pleasure of responding 
 favorably to the offer ; and she accordingly wrote to Mrs. 
 Little that she Would gladly avail herself of her generous 
 proposal and be in readiness to meet her at the depot, a 
 
 (264)
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 265 
 
 few miles from her father's residence, on the day she speci- 
 fied. Accordingly, the next week, on the appointed day, 
 Mrs. Eldridge was accompanied by her father to the place 
 where the cars would bring Mr. and Mrs. Little on their 
 way to the abode of the honored pastor and the respected 
 and beloved uncle in whose family and from whose people 
 great pleasure had often been experienced in days that 
 were gone. After waiting at the depot about half an 
 hour, the iron horse was seen at a distance on the road 
 that had but a few years been opened in the long woods 
 of pine, and soon he came up with mighty majesty, and at 
 length stopped for wood, water, and passengers. The 
 train had hardly stopped before Mr. Little was on the 
 depot platform by the side of Mrs. Eldridge and her 
 father, -with a smiling face and ready hands, to assist a 
 most valued friend of his wife to a seat in the cars which 
 had been kept vacant for her occupancy, in close proximi- 
 ty to Mrs. Little, that they might at once enter on that 
 pleasure, long anticipated, which friends strongly attached 
 always experience when they meet after a long separation. 
 The baggage was quickly located in its appropriate place, 
 the aged father's hand was quickly pressed, a good by was 
 hastily uttered, "All aboard!" was quickly shouted, and 
 then the iron horse was off, and with lightning speed was 
 soon beyond the reach of the old man's vision. 
 
 As soon as the conversation began to run on quiet 
 themes, after the many incidentals to a sudden meeting 
 of old friends, Mrs. Eldridge remarked, 
 
 " I hardly know what my husband will say when he finds 
 me absent from my father's." 
 
 " When is he expected there ? " Mrs. Little inquired. 
 
 "This week, Saturday," Mrs. Eldridge replied. "I 
 
 should have written and informed him of this excursion 
 
 had I known where he was ; but, as he was unsettled 
 
 which course to take when he last wrote, I did not know 
 
 23
 
 266 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 where to direct a letter With any certainty that it would 
 find him. I left a letter for him at father's, explaining my 
 position, and saying that I should not be absent more than 
 four or five days." 
 
 Mrs. Little smiled and said, 
 
 " I rather think your husband will have to wait longer 
 than that before he will have the pleasure of seeing his 
 wife. We intend staying at uncle's ten days or a fort- 
 night." 
 
 At this remark Mrs. Eldridge was overtaken with pain- 
 ful surprise, and quickly said, 
 
 " I cannot possibly remain so long. Husband's vacation 
 is up in three weeks, and he wished to return home by the 
 way of New York city and stop and see some friends on 
 the route. Besides, there are a number of places 'in the 
 vicinity of father's where we intended to visit ; and it 
 will be impossible for me to be absent for ten days now." 
 
 " Perhaps you may think it best to remain with us," 
 Mrs. Little remarked. " We want to have you do so, for 
 'we think you would never regret it. Your husband, I 
 guess, would not object to a week's addition to his vaca- 
 tion. It is so terrible hot he won't do much before the 
 middle of September." 
 
 " 0, but he engaged to be at home on the first Sabbath 
 in next month," Mrs. Eldridge said. " The committee 
 only provided for the supply of his pulpit till that time." 
 
 " Well, my good friend," Mrs. Little said, " when we 
 get to uncle's and find that we cannot spare you for a fort- 
 night, I will write to a young minister of my acquaint- 
 ance and engage him to supply your husband's pulpit at 
 my expense. till he returns." 
 
 This kind offer somewhat relieved the anxiety of Mrs. 
 Eldridge, and she thought that it might not be attended 
 with any serious consequences if one or two weeks were 
 added to her husband's absence, provided the parish did not
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 267 
 
 have to bear the expense of supplying the pulpit. Indeed, 
 Mr. Eldridge had intimated to some of his people that, 
 if any thing should detain him into the month of Septem- 
 ber, he would arrange himself for the supply of his desk. 
 
 The mind of Mrs. Eldridge being thus relieved of it\\ 
 anxiety, she soon found herself in animated conversation 
 with her friends on various themes that naturally came up 
 both from past associations and events, and objects which 
 were of more recent date. The country, too, through 
 which they were passing brought her in contact with 
 many places where lived friends both to herself and Mrs. 
 Little ; and conversation naturally ran at times in rela- 
 tion to these individuals. After a ride of about two hours 
 and a half in the cars their mode of conveyance was 
 changed to a stage coach, in which they proceeded about 
 nine miles, to the residence of Mrs. Little's uncle. This 
 place they reached about five o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 were most cordially welcomed both by the uncle and aunt 
 as well as by the cousins. 
 
 As these visitors entered the house and were proceeding 
 to the parlor, the eye of Mrs. Eldridge observed in the 
 opposite room a new roll of carpeting half spread on the 
 floor, and one or two ladies anxiously looking on as if in 
 perplexity how to arrange the figures so as to have the 
 carpet well and properly cut. She thought the one that 
 was already on the floor was a very comely covering, and 
 it was a matter of a little wonderment to her that a new 
 carpet was thought to be necessary. However, it was but 
 a passing thought, as such thoughts on other people's con- 
 cerns will come unbidden at times and are soon forgotten. 
 Mrs. Eldridge soon found herself seated in a very hos- 
 pitable family and surrounded by those who sought to 
 make her happy. 
 
 At the tea table, which was surrounded in about an 
 hour after their arrival, Mrs. Little, who sat at the right
 
 268 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 hand of her aunt Howe, in a whisper remarked to her rel- 
 ative, 
 
 " I see a piece of carpeting in the corner of the room. 
 You wear out carpets as well as other people, don't you, 
 aunt ? " 
 
 " 0, yes," the good lady audibly replied ; " but then we 
 are not now in need of a new carpet for this room." 
 
 A little blackeyed girl of about seven years, who sat 
 next to Mrs. Little, a granddaughter of Mrs. Howe, with 
 a blushing cheek and a most interested countenance, quick- 
 ly remarked, 
 
 "That carpet is a present. The carpet that is on this 
 room is going to be put on grandpa's new study floor." 
 
 All at the table were now fully informed of another act 
 of generosity of the people of the parish, when Mr. Howe 
 proceeded to give his friends a little further account. 
 
 "You know, Mary," he said, turning to Mrs. Little, 
 " that I have for a number of years been thinking of build- 
 ing a study at the south-east corner of our house ; and this 
 summer I have accomplished my long-cherished plan. It 
 was completed about a week since. Before it was done, 
 some of the good ladies here whispered to your aunt that, 
 if it would be agreeable, some of our friends in the parish 
 would like to do something about furnishing it. So they 
 came and talked over the matter here, and finally con- 
 cluded, as the carpet on this room had been in wear about 
 two years, they would remove it to the study and put a 
 new one in its place. So this morning a valuable new 
 carpet was sent in, and this afternoon several ladies have 
 been in to cut and make it." 
 
 " Your people hold out yet, it seems, in their kind and 
 generous acts," Mr. Little observed. 
 
 " I wish my people had a better minister," Mr. Howe 
 replied ; " for a better parish cannot be found." 
 
 As the remark was finished the door bell rang, and Mr.
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 269 
 
 Howe was called to the parlor. He however quickly 
 returned, followed by a brother clergyman of a neighbor- 
 ing parish, who was soon seated with the family at the 
 table. 
 
 The afternoon following the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Little, at six o'clock, was the weekly prayer meeting in 
 the vestry by the side of the meeting house, that stood on 
 the common, directly in front of the parsonage. It was a 
 most pleasant act on the part of their visitors to accept 
 the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Howe to accompany them 
 to this hallowed place. Whilst they were participating 
 in these services a most joyful surprise entered the hearts 
 of these occasional guests. Such surprise, in part, was ex- 
 cited by the large number in attendance and by the readi- 
 ness of the brethren to take part in the exercises, and the 
 intelligence and piety they manifested whilst thus doing. 
 So deeply were they impressed with this uncommon spec- 
 tacle that they could not resist the inclination to make it 
 the subject of many inquiries and pass many encomiums 
 on their return to the parsonage. 
 
 When they were all seated in the parlor, Mrs. Eldridge 
 with great interest asked Mr. Howe, 
 
 " Do you always have so full an attendance at your 
 weekly prayer meetings ? " 
 
 " In pleasant weather there are always as many, and 
 often a much larger number out," Mr. Howe replied. 
 
 " It speaks well for the people, I confess," Mrs. El- 
 dridge remarked, " to be so much interested in these 
 meetings." 
 
 " I think it does," Mr. Howe observed. " It is a great 
 source of encouragement to me." 
 
 " 0, it must be," said Mrs. Eldridge ; " it must encour- 
 age and comfort you very much." 
 
 " My people are a very good people, and I have reason 
 to bless God for sending me here," Mr. Howe remarked. 
 23*
 
 270 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I could wish that many parishes might follow their ex- 
 ample. Were it followed, there would doubtless be more 
 fervent piety in our churches and greater stability in our 
 ministry. It would not, moreover, be a difficult matter to 
 follow such an example, if the members of our churches 
 were interested as they ought to be in the great things 
 of eternity." 
 
 " They must find it difficult sometimes, I should think, 
 to be present," Mrs. Eldridge observed. 
 
 " Undoubtedly they do," Mr. Howe said ; " but not so 
 difficult as one might at first suppose. The members of 
 our church know that it is a fixed fact that there will be 
 a weekly prayer meeting, and they generally know and feel 
 that it is their most sacred duty to be present. I believe 
 they wish to be present. Accordingly, they arrange their 
 business so as not to have it interfere with the prayer meet- 
 ing. Many of our brethren follow marketing at a neigh- 
 boring village, where there are many factories. Some are 
 obliged to go every day. But, then, those who are under 
 obligation to send produce every day contrive on the day 
 of our prayer meeting to be at home in season to come to 
 the vestry ; and others, who are not obliged to go every 
 day, arrange it so that they will not go down the day of 
 our meeting" 
 
 Whilst Mr. Howe was thus speaking a smile might be 
 seen on the very interested countenance of Mr. Little, 
 who improved the first opportunity to remark, 
 
 " I think it would do one of our deacons good to come 
 and pass a little time here ; do you not, wife ? " 
 
 " husband, I would not reflect on any of our friends 
 at home," Mrs. Little remarked. 
 
 " Well," Mr. Little said, " I do like to see consistency 
 of conduct, and I think the people here manifest this, and 
 I thought one of our deacons might be profited by passing 
 a few weeks up here." 
 
 " How so ? " Mr. Howe inquired.
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 271 
 
 " We have a deacon," Mr. Little observed, " who gave 
 very good evidence of piety and was for a number of 
 years a very engaged Christian ; but latterly he is very 
 much troubled with a diseased stomach, so much so as to 
 be unable to be punctual in his attendance on prayer 
 meetings .and on Sabbath services, for that matter. He 
 works hard, is out in all weathers ; and if there happens 
 to be an auction, or any other gathering, on the day of a 
 prayer meeting, his diseased stomach is not apt to be in 
 the way of his being present ; but, somehow or other, his 
 disorder works curiously at about the hour of prayer meet- 
 ing ; he has to lie by then ; he can hardly stir. If, how- 
 ever, his business calls him ten or twelve miles from home 
 the next day, no matter if he must be at this "distance 
 by sunrise, he is sure to be there. He gets pretty well 
 worn down by Saturday night, and his disorder is very 
 apt to be violent on the Sabbath; so that he is not at 
 church more than half the time. I really think, if he could 
 only come up here and inhale this atmosphere, he might 
 soon be an altered man. I wish he would ; for he is want- 
 ed down our way for a deacon, and, if his health was good, 
 he might do extensive good." 
 
 " Does this deacon excuse himself from attending your 
 prayer meetings and on the Sabbath by alleging his dis- 
 eased stomach, when he will not allow such reason to 
 detain him from his business ? " Mr. Howe inquired. 
 
 " 0, sometimes, when business is not very driving, 
 lie is troubled with his disease," Mr. Little said ; " but it 
 is amusing to see how convenient it is for him to have 
 this disease when we have our prayer meetings and on Sun- 
 days. I have no doubt the deacon is somewhat diseased ; 
 but, then, if he was now what he once was, he would not let 
 his disease detain him from our religious meetings if ho 
 could attend to his business." 
 
 " I think," Mr. Howe observed, " Christians should mani-
 
 272 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 fest their piety, should show a difference from the people 
 of the world ; and I know of no better way for them to do 
 this than by honoring God in his sanctuary, and by their 
 engagedness in calling upon him at the throne of grace. 
 If professors are what they ought to be, they will forego 
 their own interest for the sake of spending an hour together 
 during the week in seeking God's blessing on their church 
 and ministry and on a world lying in wickedness. I do 
 not think there are many in our church who would enjoy 
 themselves much in being absent from our prayer meetings 
 or from Sabbath services, unless they were prevented in 
 the providence of God from being present. The great in- 
 terest which the members of our church have in these 
 meetings is a marked peculiarity in their character." 
 
 " If your deacon is really uninterested in religious 
 meetings, as I should judge he was from his being able to 
 attend to his business in all weathers notwithstanding his 
 diseased stomach," Mrs. Howe observed, " I should think 
 his influence would be disastrous in your parish." 
 
 " Well, it really is," Mrs. Little said. " The other dea- 
 con is very aged and infirm, and is unable to go from 
 home much ; and therefore we have, as it were, but one 
 deacon ; and to have him so worldly is a serious evil. 
 He is looked up to for an example ; and, because he is so 
 infrequent at our prayer meetings, other brethren justify 
 themselves in being absent ; and the consequence is, we 
 have a very small attendance, and such meetings exist 
 only in name." 
 
 A few days from this conversation, as Mrs. Eldridge 
 was alone in the parlor, with the entry door ajar, she heard 
 Mrs. Howe remark to a little girl whom she was accom- 
 panying to the door, 
 
 " Give my love to your mother, and tell her I am very 
 much obliged to her for her present, and hope we are very 
 grateful to her, and to your father likewise, for all their 
 kindness."
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 273 
 
 Entering the room, then, where Mrs. Eldridge was sit- 
 ting, Mrs. Howe said, 
 
 " Look here, Mrs. Eldridge, and see the valuable present 
 I have just received ! " 
 
 " That is a present indeed," Mrs. Eldridge said. " What 
 very nice silk ! It must have cost a dollar and a quarter a 
 yard. It will make a fine dress. You seem to be highly 
 favored with such attentions from your people." 
 
 " Yes, we are," Mrs. Howe observed. " We have a. 
 very kind and considerate people. It is very seldom that 
 we have to purchase any article of dress. The ladies are 
 very attentive to me, and the gentlemen look out well for 
 Mr. Howe. I believe he has not purchased but one suit 
 of clothes for twenty years. His hats, and cloaks, and 
 other garments all come in as this piece of silk has ; and 
 it makes a great difference in our salary, I assure you." 
 
 " 0, it must," Mrs. Eldridge observed. " It must save 
 you a hundred and fifty or two hundred dollars a year." 
 
 " That is what we have thought," Mrs. Howe said ; 
 " and then our children have been pretty much all clothed 
 with presents from the people. There are few such par- 
 ishes as ours, Mrs. Eldridge." 
 
 "So I have long thought," Mrs. Eldridge observed, 
 "from what Mrs. Little has often informed me of your 
 people ; and, since I have been here, I have thought ' the 
 half had not been told me.' I should think you had presents 
 almost every day." 
 
 " We do have them very often. The truth is, I believe 
 almost every family in the parish mean to give us something 
 every year ; the very poorest send some trifling expression 
 of their regard ; but, then, we always more than make it 
 up to such parishioners. It is very pleasant, however, to 
 have them disposed to remember us." 
 
 "I should like to have it so," Mrs. Eldridge said. 
 " Presents coming from families in different parts of tho
 
 274 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 parish furnish much, encouragement to a minister, inasmuch 
 as they indicate a good state of feeling ; and, you know, 
 ministers are very sensitive creatures ; they like to have 
 their people feel kindly towards them, for then they can 
 be more instrumental of good." 
 
 " I wonder people don't think more of this than they do," 
 Mrs. Howe observed. " It is truly a great encouragement 
 to a pastor to know and feel that his people all regard 
 him with affection ; and then, again, how very much they 
 might relieve him by doing as oar people do send him 
 from time to time such things as they can spare without 
 feeling it in the least, and which would save the minister 
 many dollars in the course of the year ! " 
 
 " 0, you do not mean to say that people could send such 
 a present as you have just received without feeling it ? " 
 Mrs. Eldridge said. 
 
 " 0, no, indeed. People in general could not do so ; 
 but the family from which this dress came don't feel such 
 a present. They are rich, and Mr. Hanson is making 
 money very fast. But, then, our farmers could send a little 
 butter, or potatoes, and such like, you know, and not feel 
 what they sent in the least. Now, our people do so. We 
 have beef and pork, apples, potatoes, &c., sent in from dif- 
 ferent families ; and in the course of the year it amounts 
 to much, I assure you." 
 
 " How much is your husband's salary ? " Mrs. Eldridge 
 inquired. 
 
 " Mr. Howe was settled, you know, about forty years 
 ago, with a salary of six hundred dollars ; and this is his 
 present salary ; but, then, times have changed since, and 
 expenses of living are much larger. Our people feel this, 
 and would have raised the salary ten or fifteen years ago ; 
 but Mr. Howe thought it would not be best, and has dis- 
 couraged it. The people told him they were able to pay 
 more and were willing to do so, and, if they were called
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 275 
 
 to settle a successor, should expect to pay two or three 
 hundred dollars more ; but husband said he had rather 
 not have his salary raised. He was satisfied with what 
 he received. I suppose he has the more presents by rea- 
 son of this, as our people do not mean to have it said that 
 parishes around us who are settling new ministers pay 
 more than they do. I have no doubt that we receive as 
 good as ten hundred dollars a year." 
 
 "Well, I suppose," Mrs. Eldridge said, "if your hus- 
 band should be taken away, your people would have to 
 pay a salary of a thousand dollars." 
 
 "0, yes ; that is what they say ; and they do not feel like 
 paying Mr. Howe less than what they would have to pay a 
 young man." 
 
 " I admire this trait in the character of your people," 
 Mrs. Eldridge said. " Now, I know several parishes who 
 pride themselves on saving three or four hundred dollars a 
 year because their ministers were settled some -years ago, 
 when salaries were not so high as they are at present ; and 
 I think it is shameful in them." 
 
 " It is, truly," Mrs. Howe said. " When pastors have 
 
 grown gray in the service of a people they ought to be 
 
 well cared for and treated as generously as they would 
 
 treat a young man. Our people would not be guilty of 
 
 such meanness, I know. At any rate, they are not." 
 
 During the visit of Mrs. Eldridge she took occasion to 
 inquire of Mr. Howe if the waters of his parish always 
 ran smoothly ; if there had not been sometimes tumultuous 
 waves. 
 
 " I have a very considerate people, madam," the good man 
 replied, " and to their candor and good sense I am indebted 
 for uncommon quietude in my ministry thus far. Had I 
 been in some parishes I have no doubt my course would 
 have been very uneven, and it is probable I should have 
 been dismissed twice or thrice. There have been times
 
 276 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 when clouds have darkened my horizon ; but they have 
 stood but for a moment. I have always had parishioners 
 who acted from principle and were guided by intelligence 
 and the spirit of the gospel. They have seen failures in 
 me, and have apologized for them to those who would have 
 made use of them to my great disadvantage. The leading 
 characters in the parish have felt that ministers were but 
 men ; and they have always been disposed to put a, favor able 
 construction upon my conduct, and to hold me up when any 
 restless spirits have attempted to bring me down. The fact is, 
 the great body of my people, Mrs. Eldridge, have no 
 manner of sympathy with that spirit which exists in so 
 many parishes at the present day that leads to such fre- 
 quent dismission of ministers. They think it is wrong, 
 that it is wicked, and that it is ruinous both to parishes 
 and ministers. They feel that a people ought to bear and 
 forbear in their treatment of pastors, and that tJiere is no 
 otJier way of getting along this side heaven, seeing all 
 men, ministers as well as others, are frail and imperfect. 
 They know that they cannot have a perfect minister, and 
 they are wise enougli not to make the attempt after such." 
 
 " The more I become acquainted with the history and 
 character of your people," Mrs. Eldridge said, " the more 
 I discover to admire and commend. I think they deserve , 
 a premium for having discovered that tJiere are no perfect 
 ministers, and for not trying to obtain what they know tJiey 
 cannot find." 
 
 "That is a great thing to know, and to feel, and to be 
 governed by ; there are no perfect ministers," Mr. Howe 
 said. ",The ministry is committed to earthen vessels. No 
 doubt ministers might be better than they are, for one, I 
 feel that I ought to be much better than I am, but they 
 are but men, and people ought to regard them as entitled 
 to the same candid consideration which is accorded to 
 other men.
 
 A MODEL PARISH. 277 
 
 " If our parishes would thus regard ministers," Mrs. El- 
 dridge observed, " how much better it would be for them ! 
 and how much more good might be accomplished by minis- 
 ters, to say nothing of the pleasure and peace ministers 
 would then enjoy ! Now, people know that there is no 
 perfection this side heaven ; they know they cannot have 
 a perfect minister ; and it is strange that they will attempt 
 to obtain one. I know a number of parishes who within 
 the last twenty years have dismissed several most excellent 
 ministers, as good men as are to be found, as talented, as 
 eloquent, as learned ; and the reason was, that they saw 
 some things in them which did not exactly suit ; and so 
 they turncd f them off, expecting to be better phased ; but they 
 have not bettered themselves yet; and the probability is, some 
 of them will be rent to pieces whilst contending about 
 what makes a perfect minister ; for you know there is a 
 di/erence of opinion on this point" 
 
 " But you know," Mr. Howe was proceeding, but was 
 
 interrupted by the entrance of his wife with a letter for 
 Mrs. Eldridge, who, upon seeing the superscription, ex- 
 claimed, " This is from my husband I " Craving permission 
 to read it, the further conversation was suspended. 
 24
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 THE LETTER. 
 
 THE epistle which was put into Mrs. Eldridge's hands, 
 and that interrupted the conversation detailed, in the pre- 
 ceding chapter, was from her beloved husband. The main 
 object of this letter was to convey to her the most melan- 
 choly intelligence that their firm and steadfast friend Mrs. 
 Davidson was just lingering on the borders of time, with 
 the expectation of her friends that every day would intro- 
 duce her to the eternal world. Mr. Eldridge, therefore, 
 wished her to excuse his waiting at her father's for her 
 return, as he should leave at once for the scene of his pas- 
 toral duties, that he might be once more with one who had 
 been to him such a valued friend, and do all that he could 
 to comfort the dying saint and administer consolation to 
 her afflicted family. 
 
 Mrs. Eldridge could no longer enjoy herself away from 
 her husband and the scene where were those sorrows 
 which had gathered in the mansion of the squire. She 
 hastened her return to her father's, and from thence to her 
 own home, and was but two days behind her husband in 
 arriving there. It was, however, too late to see the liv- 
 ing Mrs. Davidson. Her last enemy had conquered the 
 evening preceding the noon when Mrs. Eldridge arrived 
 at home ; and Death had her cold and emaciated, in readi- 
 ness for the tomb. 
 
 (278)
 
 THE LETTER. 279 
 
 More severe grief could hardly have torn both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Eldridge had an own parent been thus despoiled of 
 earthly existence ; for from the friend who had lately left 
 them they had for years most constantly received the 
 warmest, tenderest expressions of friendship and love. A 
 stranger, on entering the parlor where was the venerable 
 squire, bowed down in the dust by the loss he was bemoan- 
 ing, with his sons and daughters, all of whom had been 
 allowed to meet in the chamber of a dying mother, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge, would have found it difficult to dis- 
 tinguish any difference in the grief in those stricken hearts. 
 Probably there was not much difference; for all were 
 bound to the dead most firmly. Affection, we know, when 
 it is true and real, hath cords as strong as those of Nature's 
 creation ; and surely none ever doubted the genuineness 
 of the love in both Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge for the departed 
 friend or her honored companion. 
 
 When the last offices of affection had been rendered 
 and the grave had received another token of its power, 
 when the mourners began again to look after the affairs of 
 earth after having had their attention completely absorbed 
 by the things which are not of this world, Mr. Eldridge 
 took the letters which had accumulated in his absence, and 
 began their perusal. There was one among them which 
 made a deep impression on his mind, and drew from him 
 the greatest attention ; for it touched on a theme that ever 
 interested the friend who had lately been called away, and 
 upon which s/ie never was too feeble or fatigued to dwell ; 
 viz., the trials of a gospel minister. This letter was from 
 a clerical friend who had been settled in Mr. Eldridge's 
 vicinity about seven years, in which he gave the unpleas- 
 ant information that he was about asking a dismission. 
 
 This information was no more unpleasant than it was 
 surprising ; for Mr. Eldridge had supposed that his friend 
 was ardently attached to his people and that they were
 
 280 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 happily united in love and affection to him. He could not 
 brook the consideration that the tie that bound them 
 together should be severed ; and, moreover, he was not 
 ready to have one held so dear by himself leave his own 
 vicinity and go where their intimacy would be interrupted, 
 if not entirely broken off. He sat an hour or more in his 
 study contemplating the subject, and at last concluded that 
 he would, in the afternoon, ride over to the parish of Mr. 
 Bertram, and, if possible, prevent his carrying into execu- 
 tion his plan of leaving. Accordingly, Mr. Eldridge, after 
 dinner, made his way to his valued friend, whom he found at 
 home, and with his request for a dismission already writ- 
 ten, to be communicated to his people on the following 
 Sabbath. 
 
 "I am happy to find that you have not presented your 
 request," Mr. Eldridge remarked ; " and I think you must 
 secede from your determination to do so, at least for the 
 present. I have come over to prevent your leaving, if I 
 can. Now, tell me what has transpired to induce you to 
 think of doing so." 
 
 " I have always determined that I would not remain 
 among my people," Mr. Bertram replied, " after I ascer- 
 tained that there was any dissatisfaction with me ; and I 
 have within a few weeks discovered that there is uneasi- 
 ness here, and so I shall take myself off." 
 
 " What have you heard against you ? " Mr. Eldridge 
 inquired. 
 
 " 0, I have not heard any thing very particular. It has 
 been pretty strongly hinted, however, that the people 
 would like a new minister." 
 
 " Hinted ! " said Mr. Eldridge. " By whom ? Has Deacon 
 Brown or Colonel Lowe said any thing like this to you ? " 
 
 " 0, no. I have not changed a word with them on the 
 subject. I have not seen many of our people of late ; for 
 I supposed what I had heard to be true, and I did not care
 
 THE LETTER. 281 
 
 about conversing on the subject, as I have made up my 
 mind to leave." 
 
 " Well, you have heard from some one that the people 
 desired a new minister, you say ; and I wish you would 
 inform me from whom you had the information." 
 
 " I have no objection to telling you," said Mr. Bertram. 
 "About three weeks ago Mr. Peabody and Mr. Cady 
 called in to see me, as they said, for the purpose of con- 
 versing upon the state of the church and parish. I readily 
 entered into conversation with them on the subject, sup- 
 posing they had some plan on foot for the accomplishment 
 of good here, and in which they wished my cooperation. 
 I soon found, however, that they came to inform me that 
 my services as pastor were unacceptable, and that it would 
 be pleasing to the people if I would in a quiet way take 
 myself off. They said they supposed I was not aware of 
 the state of feeling towards me ; that they felt that I 
 ought to be apprised of it ; and that it was the duty of 
 some to make me acquainted with the facts in the case. 
 They said it was a very painful subject to talk upon, and 
 that they had hesitated long before coming to see me in 
 relation to it ; but at last their consciences would not allow 
 them to be longer silent, and so they came this evening to 
 discharge their duty. I asked them what was alleged 
 against me. They said, nothing in particular. The people 
 all liked me very much as a man ; but they should be better 
 pleased and edified with a different minister. This was 
 the substance of all they said, although they were here 
 talking about two hours." 
 
 " Well, yo'u say you have never conversed on the sub- 
 ject with any of your people, and are yet intending to 
 ask for a dismission?" Mr. Eldridge remarked. 
 
 " Yes ; I have had no wish to talk about my matters 
 with my people. If they are dissatisfied with me, I am 
 ready to leave," Mr. Bertram said.
 
 282 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Have you any objection to my seeing a few of the 
 people and making them acquainted with the state of 
 your present feeling ? " 
 
 " No, not that I know of ; but I should prefer that you 
 would not. I am not very particular about it, however, 
 as they will all know it on the Sabbath." 
 
 Mr. Eldridge, being well acquainted in the parish, was 
 induced by his deep interest in Mr. Bertram to move with 
 considerable energy among his people, that he might be- 
 come acquainted with the state of feeling towards their 
 pastor, and, if possible, prevent his being dismissed. He 
 first called on Deacon Brown, who lived near the par- 
 sonage. After the first salutations were over, he began by 
 inquiring after the condition of Mr. Bertram. He soon 
 found that the deacon was wholly ignorant of any dis- 
 satisfaction with the pastor, and, when told of the present 
 state of Mr. Bertram's feelings, was greatly surprised and 
 exasperated at the cause. 
 
 " I have supposed," said the deacon, " all of our people 
 were very much attached to Mr. Bertram ; and I really be- 
 lieve they are." 
 
 " He thinks there is dissatisfaction, and has his request 
 for a dismission already written, and is designing to pre- 
 sent it next Sabbath," Mr. Eldridge observed. 
 
 " He must not" the deacon said. " It will not do. Mr. 
 Bertram has been deceived has been grossly misin- 
 formed." 
 
 " Well, deacon, I wish you would get into the carriage 
 with me, and we will call on some few individuals. If 
 there is any uneasiness here, we can soon discover it, I 
 think." 
 
 The deacon was ready at once to join Mr. Eldridge in 
 such a mission. They accordingly passed about among 
 the people, and found the leading characters in the parish 
 in the same ignorance of a desire for a change of ministry
 
 THE LETTER. 283 
 
 as the deacon was. One individual who lived near Mr. 
 Peabody's, whilst expressing his hot displeasure at this 
 plan, this infamous plan, to effect the dismission of a most 
 valuable pastor, as he expressed himself, remarked, 
 
 " I now understand what Mr. Cady and Mr. Peabody 
 have been up to of late. I have seen them together al- 
 most every day for a number of weeks past, and I could 
 not imagine what their particular business was ; but now 
 it is all out. I rather think they will find themselves 
 ashore this time without any cargo." 
 
 "When Mr. Eldridge and the deacon had satisfied them- 
 selves that Mr. Bertram had been greatly deceived and 
 grossly misinformed in relation to the state of feeling 
 towards him in the parish, they returned to his house and 
 let him know the result of their investigations. 
 
 " Can it be possible," Mr. Bertram said, after having heard 
 the many expressions of confidence and esteem which had 
 been repeated to him from his people by both Mr. Eldridge 
 and the deacon, "can it be possible that Mr. Peabody 
 and Mr. Cady would come here and tell me the great 
 body of the people were desirous of a new minister, when 
 you say there is hardly an individual besides them but 
 would mourn at my departure? I confess I am aston- 
 ished." 
 
 "I don't see," the deacon said, "how these brethren 
 could have told you what they did. They must have 
 known to the contrary, I think. Well, it is pretty cer- 
 tain that they would like to have you go away." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Eldridge ; " there can be no doubt of 
 that ; and it was a plan of theirs to effect Mr. Bertram's 
 dismission." 
 
 " Well," said the deacon, " I am glad we found it out 
 as we did, before Mr. Bertram had presented his request ; 
 for I never like to have a minister ask for a dismission. 
 There is always some unpleasant consequence or other 
 from it."
 
 284 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I thought," Mr. Eldridge said, " that brother Bertram 
 ought not to leave. I could not bear to have him do so. 
 I could not bring my mind to the belief that it was neces- 
 sary that he should leave ; and so I came over to prevent 
 it if possible." 
 
 " We shall all be under great obligations to you," Dea- 
 con Brown observed, " for coming over and manifesting 
 the interest you have. It would have been unfortunate 
 if our first knowledge of dissatisfaction with our pastor 
 had come to us in his request for a dismission. I do not 
 think he would have got his dismission ; but he might if 
 he was not so much liked, however. I have heard of a 
 minister's asking for a dismission in consequence of the 
 efforts of one or two individuals upon him, when his peo- 
 ple were not dreaming of his leaving them, who was dis- 
 missed without much trouble." 
 
 "How was that?" Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " 0," said the deacon, " the people of this minister were 
 rather a stupid set, and they did not have interest enough 
 in ministers' matters to turn out to the parish meeting ; and 
 so a few, four or five, did the whole business, and he was 
 dismissed. If he had not asked for a dismission he might 
 have died among his people ; for they never would have 
 turned him away if there had been a good reason. But 
 there was no reason whatever for his dismission. The 
 people said they liked him well enough; but, if he wanted to 
 go, he might for all them. Most of the people in the 
 parish did not know for some time after he was dismissed 
 that he had been induced to ask for a dismission by the 
 representation that he was not popular with tlie people" 
 
 " Ministers are very sensitive creatures," Mr. Eldridgo 
 remarked ; " and one or two crafty parishioners may take 
 advantage of this weakness and easily effect the dismis- 
 sion of a minister. They can tell him that his people 
 don't like him ; he will believe it, and treat them with
 
 THE LETTER. 285 
 
 coldness, and so make enemies. I have known several in- 
 stances of pastors being dismissed in this way. Ministers 
 ought not to hear every wind that blows. When they 
 have evidence that any are dissatisfied with them, they 
 ought not to show this knowledge in coldness, or indifference^ 
 or hard speeches. If they alter any in their conduct, they 
 should be more attentive to the individuals opposed, more 
 conciliating. The fire would often go out and contention 
 and animosity cease*. I have known one or two ministers, 
 who have grown old in the service of their people, who 
 would have been dismissed long ago if they had asked for 
 a dismission. Frequently have they been waited on by 
 individuals and been told that a new minister would be 
 acceptable to the people ; but they maintained their temper 
 all the while, and never let it be known by the least whis- 
 per or the least variation of their kind treatment to any 
 that they had heard that any dissatisfaction existed to- 
 wards them." 
 
 " How could such pastors do good if the people wished 
 them to leave ? " Mr. Bertram inquired. 
 
 " There was nothing which could be brought against 
 them," Mr. Eldridge said. "They are good preachers 
 and consistent men ; but they are not great men. Some 
 of their people thought, as the parishes had greatly in- 
 creased in consequence of railroads which run through 
 them and of manufacturing which had been introduced, 
 that they ought to have ministers who were more eloquent 
 and popular. They knew they could not effect the dismis- 
 sion of these ministers if they were disposed to stay ; and 
 so they resorted to the contemptible course of waiting on 
 them and telling them how this and that individual felt 
 towards them, hoping to work on their feelings and induce 
 them to seek a dismission. But these ministers were both 
 of them very prudent and good men ; and they received all 
 these interpositions of busybodies with meekness, and
 
 286 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 never made any stir, but continued on in their old way ; 
 and are now, and ever have been, very much respected and 
 very useful. They don't believe that a fluctuating minis- 
 try is a useful ministry. They are convinced that fastidi- 
 ousness in a people is a great sin and has produced great 
 evil in parishes ; and, from principle, they will not encour- 
 age it by any conduct of theirs." 
 
 " They are right," the deacon said ; " and I wish there 
 were more like them. I wish ministers would not be so 
 sensitive that they would bear and forbear, and outlive 
 the little tempests that will come up in parishes. They 
 might easily do it if they would but endure the sacrifice 
 of feeling ; and, should they, the effects on their ministry 
 would be most happy." 
 
 Much of this conversation was had as Mr. Eldridge stood, 
 with hat in hand, waiting to return home ; and it was late 
 in the evening before he could release himself. At length 
 he departed, with many thanks from Mr. Bertram and his 
 deacon for the very friendly interest he had manifested 
 in their welfare as pastor and people. 
 
 By the time he arrived home all lights were extin- 
 guished in the houses around, and but one burned feebly in 
 his own abode ; for it was almost midnight. To his great 
 delight he ascertained that a most valued brother in the 
 ministry and his wife, who lived remotely from him, were 
 their guests, having reached the place about two hours 
 after he had left on his visit to Mr. Bertram. The next 
 morning at the breakfast table he gave an account of this 
 visit, which elicited from- all expressions of wonder that 
 so much mischief to a minister might be wrought by one 
 or two designing, crafty men in a parish. Mr. Cook, the 
 friend and brother above alluded to, remarked that this 
 case reminded him of an instance of ministerial dismission 
 which was lately effected in his neighborhood through the 
 wily conduct of a collector of the salary. This collector
 
 THE LETTER. 287 
 
 was opposed to the minister, but veiled his opposition so 
 artfully that it was not manifest till it had accomplished 
 its end and the minister was dismissed. In the course of 
 his travels around the parish he was in the habit of repre- 
 senting the prosperous condition of the pastor's financial 
 concerns, and of remarking that he probably did not wish to 
 have his people put themselves to any inconvenience to make 
 out his salary. Credit was accordingly given to his say- 
 ings by many who really had so many calls for money in 
 the economical support of their families that the stipend 
 they felt bound to pay their minister was assuredly felt to 
 be a tax. Yet they paid it cheerfully heretofore because 
 they considered it a just debt, and would have been will- 
 ing to have sacrificed more rather than have had their 
 pastor in the least straitened ; for he was well beloved by 
 his people. They were dilatory in paying only because 
 the collector had represented that there was no want of 
 the money, and not because of any unwillingness to main- 
 tain their minister. After the collector had gone over 
 the parish and paid into the treasury what he had received, 
 it was discovered that the salary fell short more than a 
 hundred dollars. When asked for information on the 
 subject, he remarked that he could not account for the fall- 
 ing off in any other way than by supposing that the people 
 were becoming tired of their minister. This declaration 
 astonished both the treasurer and parish committee, who 
 were unwilling to believe that such was the fact. They 
 talked much on the subject, and each one remarked that no 
 rumor of dissatisfaction with the pastor had reached them;, 
 and they thought that there must be some other reason. 
 They closely interrogated the collector as to his faithful- 
 ness in calling upon all, and were replied to that he had 
 seen every individual in the parish and requested all to pay. 
 The committee and treasurer all knew that the want of the 
 money would be seriously felt by the pastor, as they knew
 
 288 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 he was depending upon every dollar to enable him to keep 
 out of debt, which was to him a very sore evil. More- 
 over, they said, if our pastor should know that there was 
 a falling off in the payment of his salary, the effect would 
 be very great upon him. Being all of them well off in 
 the world and of generous dispositions, and having strong 
 attachment to their pastor, they concluded that they 
 would say nothing about the deficiency to any one, and 
 would make it up from their own pockets, which they did ; 
 and the salary was fully and promptly paid. The com- 
 mittee, however, were disturbed ; and they agreed that 
 they would, as occasion might offer, sound the people, 
 and ascertain if there was any root of bitterness spring- 
 ing up among them towards their pastor. 
 
 In the course of a few months, as the committee and 
 treasurer were in session, the subject came up again, and 
 each one reported that they had not found any who were 
 seriously opposed to the minister, and were happy in the 
 conclusion that the pastor stood high in the estimation of 
 the people. No suspicion having arisen in the minds of 
 any "that the collector was an enemy to the pastor, he was 
 chosen the second year ; and when he finished up the 
 work of this year it was found that a larger amount was 
 wanting to complete the salary than the last year revealed. 
 The collector appeared grieved at the fact, as he said, but 
 was led to believe that the people were really intending 
 to give the minister a gentle hint that it was time for him 
 to be seeking another home. The committee were greatly 
 tried, and were led to believe that such might be the case. 
 They were troubled what to do, as they knew the pastor 
 was expecting his salary ; and they were inclined to think 
 that, if the people were becoming tired of him, it was im- 
 portant that he should be apprised of the fact. They 
 concluded that they would not make up the deficiency 
 then, but would pay the pastor what had been collected ;
 
 THE LETTER. 289 
 
 which was done accordingly. As they supposed, the pas- 
 tor was sorely disappointed ; but from none of the com- 
 mittee did he obtain any clew to the reason. The pastor, 
 soon after pay day, met the collector and inquired of him 
 the cause for the deficiency. The collector was glad 
 of the opportunity of informing him, and told him that 
 he supposed the people were withholding his salary to 
 convey to him the information that his services were no 
 longer wanted. The pastor was taken altogether by sur- 
 prise, and was greatly overcome with sadness and per- 
 plexity. He had not dreamed of such a thing ; for he had 
 discovered no abatement of affection or confidence in his 
 people. However, being a man of nerve and energy, he 
 soon rose above it all, and for a few weeks was absent 
 from his people. When he returned he brought with him 
 a call to another pastorate. He speedily announced the 
 fact to his people and requested a dismission. The peo- 
 ple were taken by surprise ; for they all loved their pastor. 
 He was beset from all quarters for the reasons of his con- 
 duct, which he frankly gave them, when their indignation 
 became great at the course pursued by the collector. The 
 deficiency of his salary was only a matter of convenience 
 to some of the people, and not an indication of disaffection 
 or indifference to the pastor. They were ready to make 
 it all up, and more, if Jie would withdraw his request and 
 remain among them ; but this he could not do ; for he had 
 virtually sought the call he had received, and felt in honor 
 bound to accept it. He persisted in his request, and was 
 dismissed ; and the collector had to leave the place with 
 the curses of the people resting upon him. 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Eldridge, " all this goes to show what 
 one or two men in a parish can do with a minister. I won- 
 der people don't learn something by such facts as these." 
 
 " They ought to learn ; but they are rather slow at im- 
 provement, after all," Mr. Ilartwell observed. " I rather
 
 290 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 think, however, the people of whom I have just spoken 
 will be pretty careful who they put in as collector 
 again." 
 
 " A parish ought to be careful about this," Mr. Eldridge 
 said ; " for a minister's good is in the collector's hands. 
 If he is a friend to the pastor and a man of energy, he 
 can put up the people to promptness and liberality in the 
 payment of the salary ; and no man ought to be a col- 
 lector who is not the minister's friend, and a wise and pru- 
 dent man too ; for when he goes round after the salary he 
 must of necessity hear the people talk. They will talk at 
 such times, and say things which they don't mean often ; 
 and the collector ought to be such a man as will give a 
 right turn to conversation and maintain the pastor's side." 
 
 " Yes ; that is true," Mr. Hartwell observed. '* I know 
 when you feel in the pockets of people you touch them ; 
 and a collector has it in his power to do a minister vast 
 good or much injury at these times. He can often fan a 
 flame or put it out."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE DIFFEKENCE 
 
 IT is well to contemplate the clerical profession in con- 
 trast with the other learned professions, together with 
 our merchants, farmers, mechanics, railroad and manufac- 
 turing agents, and even with some of our common day 
 operatives. The contrast may disclose a spirit, not by all 
 readily accorded to them, which is the ruling, absorbing 
 influence over those who enter the ministry, both in elect- 
 ing the profession and in continuing in it. This contrast 
 may show how self is set aside, and what are the sacrifices 
 made by our clergy of the wealth, and honors, and ease of 
 the present world. 
 
 A social interview between Mr. Eldridge and one of his 
 early acquaintance who visited him may present this con- 
 trast. The two were natives of the same town, were 
 neighbors, schoolfellows, and had contracted for each 
 other, when children, a friendship which was not forgotten 
 when they were men. Though many years had rolled by 
 since their. last interview, and though their spheres of 
 action were very dissimilar, yet both were pleased at meet- 
 ing again, and were made happy in a retrospection of 
 former scenes and pursuits and in a remembrance of old 
 acquaintances and friends. Though Mr. Brayton was a 
 blacksmith and Mr. Eldridge a clergyman and scholar, yet 
 they met as equals, and together talked and laughed about 
 
 (291)
 
 292 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 other days with great satisfaction. The former had a 
 strong mind, which had been kept informed of all the gen- 
 eral subjects of the day ; and it was with much pleasure 
 that the latter often discovered in his friend rather unusual 
 acquaintance with men and things, which denoted that the 
 anvil had been left at times for the library, and that the 
 head must have labored hard as well as the hands. It 
 came out in the course of the visit that Mr. Brayton had 
 by his own exertions acquired a handsome property and 
 that he was living in rather princely style. As he was 
 incidentally speaking of his affairs, thereby disclosing the 
 above fact, Mr. Eldridge unconsciously remarked, 
 
 " How differently circumstanced we arc, friend Brayton ! 
 You probably are worth fifty thousand dollars, and I have 
 not three thousand. It cost me between one and two thou- 
 sand dollars to start in my profession, and you probably but 
 three or four hundred. I have worked hard all my days 
 and have just obtained my bread, and you have acquired a 
 fortune." 
 
 "You know," Mr. Brayton observed, "your profession 
 is not a moneymaking concern. The men who enter the 
 ministry, I suppose, do not care to be rich." 
 
 " Well, but why should they not be as well paid for 
 their labors as other men are?" Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 "They ought to be, I confess," said Mr. Brayton ; "yet, 
 somehow or other, people think, if they can only keep life 
 in a minister and his family, that is all they ought to do." 
 
 " I know this is apt to be the feeling of a parish. The 
 expenses of a minister's family are graduated on the most 
 economical scale, and then the salary is voted him accord- 
 ingly. Well, so it is ; and yet, for all that, I would not 
 give up my profession," Mr. Eldridge remarked. " There 
 is a higher consideration than money or any thing earthly, 
 I hope, which moved me to enter the ministry or to con- 
 .tinue in it.
 
 THE DIFFERENCE. 293 
 
 " How does the Bragg family make out ? " Mr. Eldridge 
 inquired. "I have hardly heard from them since we were 
 at school." 
 
 Mr. Brayton remarked that there were " but two of the 
 boys living, three having died before becoming of age. 
 One is a carpenter and the other is a farmer ; and both are 
 very likely men, and are wealthy too." 
 
 " How is that George Hale ? Is he living ? " Mr. Eldridge 
 asked. 
 
 "0, yes," Mr. Brayton replied, "and is a flourishing 
 merchant in Buffalo. They say he is worth two hundred 
 thousand dollars. We did not think he was very promis- 
 ing when we went to school together, did we?" 
 
 " He was about the dullest scholar I ever knew," Mr. 
 Eldridge said. " You know the teachers lost all their pa- 
 tience with him. Well, I am astonished if he has made 
 out so well." 
 
 After inquiring in this manner after his early friends, 
 playmates, and schoolfellows, and having a favorable 
 account of most of them who survived to manhood, Mr. 
 Eldridge again alluded to the great difference there was 
 between his own temporal condition and theirs, and yet it 
 was done in such a manner as to leave no impression on 
 the mind of Mr. Brayton that he repined at his lot or 
 regretted that he had entered the ministry. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Eldridge," said Mr. Brayton, " we have been 
 over the ground pretty well with our early friends. I 
 should like to know how your college friends have turned 
 out. I have some acquaintance with college matters, you 
 know, as my oldest son has been through, and he has had 
 much to say about things there." 
 
 " 0. yes," said Mr. Eldridge ; " I should like to compare 
 their history now, seeing we are on the subject." So, taking 
 the triennial catalogue, he turned to the years of his con- 
 nection with college, and went over the names of both W 
 25*
 
 294 A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 own classmates and of the members of the other classes 
 who were with him there, and remarked on the history of 
 each one, so far as he knew, of his own class. The one 
 who had the highest honor at graduation was a respect- 
 able country minister. The one who had the second 
 honor was himself ; the one who had the third was dead. 
 He found one classmate a judge of the supreme court of 
 his native state, and remarked, "He is rich as a Jew." 
 He found two who had been in Congress, and he believed 
 were wealthy. He found seven who were ministers now 
 living with a bare competency as a salary ; five who were 
 ministers had deceased. He found several were phy- 
 sicians and merchants, and most of them were well off in 
 the world. 
 
 " It seems all but the ministers have got along well," 
 Mr. Brayton remarked. 
 
 " Yes, it does," Mr. Eldridge replied. " There is San- 
 ders, the fag end of our class ; I am told that he is a very 
 wealthy man at the west. He studied law, and for a 
 while had an office ; but he gave up his profession and went 
 to speculating in lands, by which course he has amassed a 
 large fortune." 
 
 " If you had turned your attention to law rather than 
 theology, I suppose you would have been as wealthy as any 
 of your old friends by this time," Mr. Brayton remarked. 
 
 " Very likely," Mr. Eldridge replied ; " but, had I been 
 assured of this, I presume it would have made no difference 
 in my course. I felt called on to devote myself to the 
 ministry, and I have no reason now to regret my course." 
 ' " You expect your reward in another world, I presume," 
 Mr. Brayton observed. 
 
 " Of course I hope to be approved at last as a servant 
 of my Savior, though I feel that I have been very unfaith- 
 ful. If I should reach heaven and find that I had been 
 the means of turning some Of my fellow-beings to the Lamb
 
 THE DIFFERENCE. 295 
 
 of God who taketh away sin, I think the reward will be 
 great for all that I have suffered here in my ministry." 
 
 " Well, I acknowledge that it would ; but then I do not 
 see why ministers in our country, where the people are all 
 able to do well by them, are not more considered, and 
 have not a compensation more like that which lawyers and 
 physicians obtain," Mr. Bray ton said. " The great mass of 
 the people acknowledge the ministry to be more important 
 to their temporal welfare than the legal or the medical 
 profession and they feel that to their eternal interest the 
 ministry is indispensable. I should think, therefore, they 
 would better provide for the ministers than they do. and 
 not have such a wide difference in their temporal circum- 
 stances from those who are around them. I am sure min- 
 isters would do good with money, and I feel that they 
 ought to have it." 
 
 " I agree with you, " Mr. Eldridge remarked, " that a 
 people should so provide for their minister as to enable 
 him to have money at command ; for by so doing he could 
 be more useful in many ways. He would be free from 
 anxiety which now often cripples him ; and he would be 
 enabled to set a good example to others in the use of 
 money. Furthermore, the great difference of which we 
 have been speaking between a minister's worldly circum- 
 stances and others would be done away, and doubtless 
 many would enter the ministry who now turn from it be- 
 cause it is regarded as so poorly provided for, and as the 
 sure way for great anxiety, sacrifice, and suffering. I really 
 wish our churches might be induced to look into the sub- 
 ject, and then I feel that there might be a change for the 
 better. I know of no reason why a minister of a parish 
 should not receive as much from the people as a lawyer or 
 physician. Yet they do not ordinarily receive half as 
 much."
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 
 
 SEVERAL times during the ministry of Mr. Eldridge 
 there were extended to him semi-official invitations to 
 leave the people of his charge and occupy pulpits which 
 the fashion of this world would characterize as more pop- 
 ular and eligible than his own. But to all such soundings 
 on the part of parish committees and others he gave no 
 encouragement, as his views ever had been partial to a 
 settled and permanent ministry, and strongly opposed to a 
 fluctuating one. He was peculiarly sensitive on this sub- 
 ject, having seen the deplorabk consequences, both to minis- 
 ters and churches, that follow dismissions for reasons 
 other than those which were not insurmountable, and 
 most obviously indicative that it was the will of the 
 great Head of the church that such dismissions should 
 take place. Whenever he was on councils for the settle- 
 ment of pastors he would oppose with all his energy the 
 introduction of the seeds of dissolution of the relation he 
 was invited to aid in consummating, as he frequently 
 found them in the " three or six months' notice " of either 
 party which might desire a change. So successful was he 
 in his opposition to these ways of settlement that in more 
 than one instance did the people who had inserted such a 
 clause in the^r pastor's call pledge themselves before the 
 council that it should be rescinded, and no conditions 
 
 (290)
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 297 
 
 whatever attach to the settlement other than those fixed 
 by law and sanctioned by ecclesiastical usage. 
 
 Although Mr. Eldridge might have left for a more ex- 
 tensive charge, and where the emoluments of his office 
 would have been much enlarged, yet his people were kept 
 in ignorance of these matters. He did not care to have 
 them disturbed nor his own time and feelings engrossed 
 with discussions in relation to such considerations. As 
 the overtures to him from abroad were privately tendered, 
 so his decisions were rendered in silence ; and thus all 
 tumult and inquisitiveness were saved. 
 
 After he had been settled seventeen years he received 
 an invitation to a vacant professorship in one of our theo- 
 logical institutions. So well adapted was he to this office, 
 and so much more useful might he be in it, that it was 
 taken for granted that he would see as others saw and ac- 
 cept the situation. The announcement of the appointment 
 was made in the papers ; so that the people of his parish 
 heard of it almost as soon as the mail which brought the 
 invitation to Mr. Eldridge arrived in town. Of course 
 there was commotion in all parts of the parish, and every 
 little circle might be heard discussing the probabilities of 
 their pastor's leaving, and variously expressing their feel- 
 ings in relation to the call. 
 
 So far as public rumor had it, Mr. Eldridge stood at this 
 period of his ministry as high among his people as at any 
 former time. If animosity or dislike existed in any breast 
 towards him, it lay there smothered and concealed. It 
 was not known that any desired a change of ministry ; 
 and, from the manner in which the pastor's recent invita- 
 tion to a professorship was received, it might have been 
 inferred that all the people were satisfied with him still 
 and anxious to retain him in their service. 
 
 A large party was assembled at the house of Doctor 
 Howard soon after this appointment, and it was made 
 the subject of very free discussion there.
 
 298 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Arc we to lose our pastor ? " Mrs. Jones inquired of 
 Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "I hope not, most assuredly," was the reply. "I hope 
 and trust Mr. Eldridge will not think of leaving us. Do 
 you feel as though he would, Mrs. Jones ? " 
 
 " I don't know," she replied. , " I hope he will not ; but 
 I am afraid he will. The situation to which he is invited 
 would afford him such a large field of usefulness, and 
 would enable him to be so entirely devoted to study, that 
 I have thought he might be disposed to leave here for the 
 sake of being situated more to his mind." 
 
 " How can you think so? " Mrs. Clay asked, in an ex- 
 cited manner. " I have not thought it possible that Mr. 
 Eldridge could leave us." 
 
 " Have you heard that he was going to leave us ? " Mrs. 
 Parker inquired. 
 
 " 0, no, I have not," Mrs. Clay said ; " I have hardly 
 heard a word on the subject till I came here this evening. 
 Mrs. Jones just said that she thought there were strong 
 inducements in the situation to which Mr. Eldridge had 
 been invited to persuade him to accept his appointment." 
 
 " 0, I thought I heard Mrs. Jones say that he would 
 leave ; and I thought I would draw up to you and inquire 
 more particularly about it." 
 
 " No ; I did not say that he would leave, but that I 
 feared he might," Mrs. Jones observed. 
 
 "I hope he will not," Mrs. Parker remarked. "It 
 would be a great misfortune to us were he to do so. I 
 can't think he would be any more pleasantly situated any 
 where than in his present place. The people are all ar- 
 dently attached to him, and he understands them very 
 well, and can do more good here, I am persuaded, than 
 any one else." 
 
 " That is the way I feel," said Mrs. Clay. " You know 
 it takes time to become thoroughly acquainted with a
 
 TEE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 29fr 
 
 people ; and now, as Mr. Eldridge has been here so long 
 and knows all about us, he is better qualified to be useful 
 to all classes than any other minister could be. The 
 people, you know, love and respect him ; and when a 
 minister has gained the confidence of a people he can 
 do great good to them." 
 
 " That is true," Mrs. Jones said ; " and I hope our pas- 
 tor will feel so, and remain with us." 
 
 " Of it would not be right for Mr. Eldridge to go away 
 after having been here so long," Mrs. Parker said ; " and 
 I don't believe he will go. He is opposed to ministers' 
 leaving their people, you know." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Jones, " he has said a great deal about 
 such practices, I know ; but then there may be sufficient 
 reasons for a pastor's being dismissed." 
 
 Mrs. Clay, finding Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Parker in ani- 
 mated discussion of the question, rose and took a vacant 
 seat by the side of Mrs. Smith, who was very grateful for 
 having an opportunity to converse with her upon the now 
 absorbing subject. 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge won't leave us, will he, Mrs. Clay ? " 
 
 "I cannot think he will," Mrs. Clay replied. "I have 
 not heard any thing said about it before I came here. In- 
 deed, I have not seen any one since the news came till 
 this afternoon ; but I don't believe Mr. Eldridge will go 
 away." 
 
 " That is right," Mrs. Smith said. "I feel just as you 
 do. I have hardly thought of any thing else since I heard 
 of his appointment. It would kill me if he should go. I 
 tell my husband the parish would be ruined if Mr. El- 
 dridge should be dismissed." 
 
 " Does the deacon think there is any probability of Mr. 
 Eldridge's accepting the offer? " Mrs. Clay asked. 
 
 " No ; he does not. He says he cannot leave us ; tha 
 people wpuld not submit to it."
 
 300 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Has your husband beard much said about it ? " Mrs. 
 Clay inquired. 
 
 " 0, yes ; almost every one who comes to the mill talks 
 to him about it. He was up in town here yesterday, and 
 he said he did not know as he should be able to get home 
 and do his business, there were so many stopping him to 
 talk with him about our pastor." 
 
 " Do you know how Colonel Presbury feels on the sub- 
 iect?" Mrs. Clay asked. 
 
 " No, I do not. Mr. Smith said that he saw him yester- 
 day with several others, but he did not know as he opened 
 his mouth on the subject." 
 
 " I did not know but that he might be willing to have 
 him go," Mrs. Clay said. " You know he felt pretty badly 
 about being taxed to pay the parish debt some years ago, 
 and I have thought he has felt differently towards Mr. El- 
 dridge ever since ; for, you know, he was the means of 
 having that old debt paid." 
 
 " I know he was," Mrs. Smith said ; " and it was a capi- 
 tal thing for the parish too. My husband every now and 
 then speaks of it, and says Mr. Eldridge did a good thing 
 when he preached that debt sermon. _I know Colonel 
 Presbury felt rather sour about being taxed ; but, then, ho 
 said the debt ought to be paid." 
 
 " Yes, I know he said so ; but, then, he was for selling 
 the parish lands, and paying it with the proceeds," Mrs. 
 Clay said ; " and because the lands were not sold and a 
 tax was made he did not like it at all, and he said hard 
 things about Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " Ah, I never heard of that," Mrs. Smith said. " If I 
 did I have forgotten it, it is so long since the debt was 
 paid. Colonel Presbury always speaks well of Mr. El- 
 dridge when I see him." 
 
 " 0, yes, I know he docs," Mrs. Clay said ; " but, then, 
 Jie don't forget being taxed so roundly.' 11
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 301 
 
 " 0, well," Mrs. Smith remarked, " he has not laid up 
 any thing against our minister, I dare say ; he has too 
 much good sense for that, I know." 
 
 Mrs. Howard passing along, Mrs. Clay remarked, 
 
 "I am sorry not to see your father here to-night, Fran- 
 ces. I was expecting to have a good chat with him." 
 
 " "We urged him to come out," Mrs. Howard said ; "but 
 he don't care about being in such a crowd as we have here. 
 He has not been out much in company since mother died. 
 He says he prefers being at home." 
 
 " He has no fears that Mr. Eldridge will go away, I 
 presume ? " 
 
 " 0, no ; he was in here this morning, and said that he 
 did not believe Mr. Eldridge had the most distant thought 
 of leaving." 
 
 " Has your father had any conversation with him on the 
 subject ? " Mrs. Clay inquired. 
 
 " No. I think he said he had not exchanged a word 
 with Mr. Eldridge on the subject." 
 
 " Well, he would have said something to him about it if 
 he had any idea of leaving, I know," Mrs. Smith said ; 
 "for Mr. Eldridge always consults the squire, you know, on 
 every subject ; don't he, Mrs. Clay ? " 
 
 " I have thought so," Mrs. Clay replied ; " but perhaps 
 he may yet." 
 
 "What does your husband say about Mr. Eldridge's 
 leaving?" Mrs. Smith inquired. "He is about so much 
 he would be likely to hear what is said in the parish!" 
 
 "He says he shall be glad when the matter is settled, 
 for every one is asking him so many questions about it," 
 Mrs. Howard remarked. 
 
 " He don't find any who wish to have him go, does he ? " 
 said Mrs. Smith. 
 
 " O, I do not know as he does," Mrs. Howard replied ; 
 " but perhaps there are some for all that. They would 
 2*6
 
 302 A VOICE PEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 not dare to say so to him, you know, if they were opposed 
 to Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 "No," said Mrs. Clay. "People would be very careful 
 not to let any of your family know if they disliked our 
 pastor. Indeed, it would not be very politic for such to 
 let their feelings be kno'wn to any one, Mr. Eldridge has 
 so many friends." 
 
 " I see, Mrs. Clay," Mrs. Smith said, " you are inclined 
 to believe that there may be some who would be glad to 
 have Mr. Eldridge leave." 
 
 " 0, I do not know how you could make any such infer- 
 ence," said Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " You seem to think Colonel Presbury don't feel as ho 
 formerly did, do you not ? " 
 
 " 0, 1 think, as I said, that he was displeased about the 
 old parish debt, and I think he has never got over it ; 
 and if he thought it would answer, and Jie could succeed, he 
 would exert himself to have Mr. Eldridge go away." 
 
 " I never heard any one say before that there was a 
 single individual in the parish of any consequence who 
 would like a new minister," Mrs. Smith said, with great 
 warmth. "I don't believe Colonel Presbury does. If he 
 could be the means of having Mr. Eldridge dismissed, I 
 do not think he would use his influence for it.' ; 
 
 " I hope he would not ; but perhaps time may sAow," said 
 Mrs. Clay. " Mr. Clay has said for years that Colonel 
 Presbury never would forgive our pastor for that debt ser- 
 mon, and that he would one day make it the occasion of 
 trouble." 
 
 "I am astonished," Mrs. Smith said. " If I thought the 
 colonel felt so towards Mr. Eldridge I should cross him 
 out of my books. I cannot believe that he does." 
 
 " 0, well, I hope he does not," said Mrs. Clay. " I 
 would not say any thing about it to any one. I should 
 not have spoken to you as I have in relation to it had I
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 303 
 
 not supposed you would keep it a secret. I have never 
 spoken of it before only to Mr. Howard's mother. She 
 felt just as I do, and I have no doubt the squire does like- 
 wise ; Mrs. Davidson said that he did. Colonel Presbury 
 is a man of very strong prejudices, Mrs. Davidson used to 
 say. He never forgets." 
 
 " If he feels as you fear that he does, how could he have 
 acted as he has?" Mrs. Smith, inquired. "We should 
 have heard from his opposition before this. Certainly my 
 husband would have heard of it." 
 
 " Colonel Presbury is a very cool, cunning man" Mrs. 
 Clay said. " He knows when to act and when to be still. 
 He is only waiting for an occasion to act surely. When 
 an occasion offers, and if he can get a few to side with 
 him, you will find that he will make difficulty here." 
 
 " O, well, he could get a few almost any time to side 
 with him, as you say," Mrs. Smith remarked. " There are 
 Mr. Otis, and Mr. Scott, and Mr. Andrews, who are ever 
 ready to make parish trouble, you know." 
 
 " Ah, but such characters Colonel Presbury don't care 
 to walk with alone," said Mrs. Clay. " If he had your 
 husband and one or two like him, I guess he would be 
 moving as I have said. You know a deacon can do much 
 when opposed to a minister." 
 
 "If he can.get my husband to join him in opposing Mr. 
 Eldridge, there will be something new under the sun. If 
 he waits for him, Mr. Eldridge will live and die here. 
 My husband would no more help dismiss Mr. Eldridge than 
 he would try to get a new wife" 
 
 "No, I dare say he would not," Mrs. Clay said. "I did 
 not mean to insinuate that he would, but only to say that 
 Colonel Presbury would not do any thing unless he had 
 some persons of influence and standing to back him up." 
 
 About a week from this period there was a town meet- 
 ing for the choice of governor and other state and county
 
 304 A VOICE FROM THE -PARSONAGE. 
 
 officers, and the opportunity was improved in circles by 
 various individuals in conversing on the appointment of 
 Mr. Eldridge. At one time Deacon Smith, Squire David- 
 son, Doctor Howard, Colonel Presbury, and one or two 
 others were together talking over the matter." 
 
 " I should think," said Deacon Smith, " that if Mr. El- 
 dridge intended to leave us he would say something about 
 it by this time ; shouldn't you, squire ? " 
 
 " What do you mean, deacon ? " said the squire. " Say 
 something from the pulpit?" 
 
 " Yes ; that is the common way, I believe, for ministers 
 to do when they are thinking of leaving their people, is 
 it not?" 
 
 " 0, if he had determined to leave he would have an- 
 nounced such determination before this, I dare say," the 
 squire remarked. 
 
 "Has he said any thing to you about it, squire?" 
 Colonel Presbury asked. 
 
 "Nothing," the squire said. "He has not been at home 
 much of late, and I have not seen him but once or twice 
 since the news came. Besides, I do not think he would 
 say any thing to me on the subject, nor, for that matter, to 
 any one in the parish." 
 
 "No, I presume not," the deacon said. "He is not 
 inclined to converse-much on his own matters with any of 
 his people." 
 
 " No, I know he is not," Colonel Presbury said ; " but I 
 thought it very probable he might have conversed with 
 the squire about it. Well, squire, do you think he will 
 accept ? " 
 
 " I have thought not, judging from what I know of his 
 feelings in relation to pastors leaving their people. I 
 think he will decide to remain with us. I do not believe 
 it is his duty to go any where else - I should very much 
 regret it if he should leave us."
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 305 
 
 " I know," said the colonel, " he has a pretty strong 
 hold here ; but, then, I have thought he would go. The 
 situation of a professor, you know, would suit his habits 
 very well, and he would enjoy himself more where he 
 could have nothing to do but study than he can here 
 with so many interruptions. Besides, the salary he is 
 offered is much more than what we give him ; and that is 
 something, you know." 
 
 " He has a good salary here. I have never heard him 
 complain," the squire said ; " and I do not think he would 
 be influenced by money matters to leave us." 
 
 " No ; not he" the deacon said ; " nor by any other mat- 
 ters. I believe he will live and die among us. I hope so; 
 for we can never get a minister who will be so generally 
 useful here as Mr. Eldridge is. It would be a dark day for 
 our parish if he should leave." 
 
 " 0, 1 don't know about that," the colonel said. " Mr. 
 Eldridge is a very good man ; but it would be strange if 
 there are not others as good." 
 
 " Would you have him go, colonel ?" the deacon asked. 
 
 " No, not that I know of ; but I would accept a good offer 
 if I were in his place. He is growing old, you know ; and 
 perhaps in a few years some of the people might wish for 
 a younger man. If he takes this professorship, he will be 
 sure of a good, berth as long as he lives." 
 
 " How old is he ?" the squire inquired with energy. 
 
 " 0, he is rising of fifty, I suppose," the colonel said. 
 
 " Not fifty yet ?" the squire remarked. "He is just in 
 his prime. If he were as old as you and I, colonel, there 
 would be some sense in talking about his being old, but 
 not now. Mr. Eldridge will be more useful here for 
 twenty-five years to come, if he lives so long, than he ever 
 has been." 
 
 " Well, I do not know but he will," the colonel said. 
 " He preaches as well now as he ever did, I think." 
 26*
 
 306 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " He preaches better and better every year," said the 
 squire ; " don't you .think so, deacon ? " 
 
 " 0, yes ; that is a fact," the deacon said. " His age 
 won't hurt him these thirty years yet." 
 
 " Do you think, colonel, there are any of the people here 
 who would have Mr. Eldridge go away ? " the deacon asked. 
 
 " Why, no ; not that I know of. He is liked very well, 
 I believe, by most people." 
 
 Seeing some one pass whom he wished to notice, the 
 colonel left the circle, when the squire remarked, 
 
 " I rather think Colonel Presbury would have 720 objec- 
 tions to our pastor's leaving." 
 
 " His conversation looked that way certainly," said the 
 deacon ; " but he would not dare to say outright that he 
 wished Mr. Eldridge to leave." 
 
 " I was astonished," Doctor Howard said, " to hear him 
 talk so coolly on the subject. I thought he would have 
 no objections to his leaving from his manner of speaking." 
 
 " I never heard him express himself so before in regard to 
 Mr. Eldridge, I confess," the deacon said. " Something 
 or other he don't like about him, that is a fact." 
 
 " You know," the squire said, " he talked very hard some 
 years since when Mr. Eldridge took up the matter of 
 the old parish debt. He did not like it at all to be taxed 
 for its payment. I don't know of any thing else that has 
 happened but that to disturb the colonel. At any rate, I 
 never have heard of any thing else." 
 
 " That is an old affair," the deacon said. " That is 
 dead and buried long ago. The colonel has forgotten all 
 about it. I don't believe that is what disturbs him now, 
 if any thing does." 
 
 " I don't know about that," the squire said. " My good 
 wife used to say, ' The colonel never forgets ; he is a man of 
 strong feelings.' She used to say that the colonel would one 
 day mike trouble out of that debt sermon"
 
 THE PASTOR CALLED TO A PROFESSORSHIP. 307 
 
 " Well, let him try," the deacon said ; " he will find he 
 will have to work alone." 
 
 A few weeks passed along, and nothing was kntfwn of 
 the pastor's feelings in relation to his new appointment. 
 He must have known, however, that there was strong 
 anxiety on the part of his parishioners as to the disposition 
 he would make of it ; for on some of the many tongues 
 which were in motion it must have been borne to him 
 that his friends were enduring the anguish of suspense, 
 and that it was their strong desire that he would speedily 
 remove it. At length, before pronouncing the benediction 
 at the close of the afternoon services, he requested the 
 audience to be seated, as he had a communication to 
 make. If ever five hundred souls were in breathless 
 silence, it was then. Mr. Eldridge proceeded to remark 
 that he was aware that there had been considerable ex- 
 citement in the parish in relation to an invitation he had 
 recently received to a vacant professorship in one of our 
 theological institutions. He extremely regretted that 
 the appointment had been made public, as he always pre- 
 ferred to have matters of this character confined to the 
 parties immediately concerned until a decision could be 
 made. He remarked that his judgment had long since 
 been satisfied as to the duty of a pastor's continuance 
 among his people. He was now, and ever had been, op- 
 posed to ruptures of the pastoral relation. There were 
 circumstances attending his recent appointment,, he said, 
 which were to him very pleasant. He felt that he could 
 enjoy himself much in the situation to which he had been 
 invited, but that he felt that he could not with a good con- 
 science sunder the ties that bound him to the people over 
 whom he had been solemnly ordained. He had returned 
 such a decision in a verbal manner weeks before to one 
 of the trustees of the institution to which he had been 
 called. He was urged, however, to take more time for the
 
 308 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 consideration of the matter ; and, from respect to the body 
 from whence the invitation proceeded, he had taken such 
 time, but said the time only confirmed his first decision, 
 and that decision " I returned in a letter last week, which 
 I now here publicly declare. My views of my duty to 
 the people of my charge forbid my resignation. I have 
 consecrated myself to your service, and nothing that I can do 
 shall be done to sunder the relation now subsisting between us." 
 After this manner the pastor addressed his people, and 
 then pronounced the benediction, and the people began to 
 disperse. Their countenances bespoke their relief and 
 that they were most happily relieved. Throughout the 
 week, in that parish, there was generally the expression 
 of gladness that their pastor, who had served them so 
 long and so faithfully, would continue to minister to them 
 still. If there were exceptions, they were known only to 
 the excepted. The breath of regret was not heard by 
 others than those from whom it escaped. If such regret 
 had been open, it would have been at once swallowed up 
 in the general joy, and have drawn upon those expressing 
 it the severest frowns and indignation.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 THE impression must have been made upon the mind 
 of the reader that almost every excellence that attaches 
 to the character of a faithful pastor was to be found in 
 Mr. Eldridge. Not only had he from year to year ad- 
 vanced in theological learning and ability to preach ; not 
 only had he truly looked after the sick and sorrowful in 
 the many families belonging to his charge ; not only had 
 he a watchful eye continually out on all things which 
 would contribute to the prosperity of the church and 
 parish, whether in their corporate or ecclesiastical charac- 
 ter ; not only was he the friend and advocate of those be- 
 nevolent organizations the object of which is to lift the 
 veil of moral darkness from all mankind, and thereby 
 bring them under the genial influences of Scripture, of 
 science, and of every thing which can adorn human na 
 ture ; but he was more particular and specific, often, in 
 the objects of his benevolent regard. His motto seemed 
 to be, " Care for every one : do unto others as you would 
 wish others to do to you." If he saw that he could aid a 
 parishioner in any way, he was alert in sending him 
 assistance. Instances of such friendly interposition might 
 be cited by hundreds, which had occurred in the years of 
 his ministry, and many of them, too, which, in the process of 
 their manifestation, had been veiled from the public eye. 
 
 (309)
 
 310 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 A noticeable feature in Mr. Eldridge's character was 
 ais interest in mind. As this constitutes the great distinc- 
 tion between man and the brute creation, he wished to 
 see every where this distinction made as broad as it was 
 in the power of education to accomplish. Consequently, 
 almost every family in his parish experienced an impetus 
 from him in the care of their own intellectual powers. 
 Those who were parents in an especial manner were often 
 roused to a consideration in this respect of their obliga- 
 tions to their children. By Mr. Eldridge, more than any 
 one individual in the town, were the educational interests 
 advanced among the people far beyond those in the sur- 
 rounding community. From among his own people did 
 our colleges receive more youth to educate than from all 
 other towns in the county. Whenever he noticed a 
 sprightly, promising young intellect, he marked it, and in 
 his conversation with the parents excited them to care for 
 it well and see that it had the necessary means for its 
 culture. If he found such mind in a family where the 
 parents were unable to do it justice, he would himself 
 often look up friends who would assist in the important 
 enterprise ; and quite a number of lights in the legal, 
 medical, and clerical professions would never have been 
 known had he not interposed and prevented poverty from 
 casting them into obscurity as they began to emerge into 
 being. From almost the beginning of his ministry to the 
 period when we are now contemplating him he might be 
 heard facetiously alluding to his " boys whom lie, had to look 
 after," meaning those who were preparing for college or 
 already there. 
 
 At the period of his ministry in which we are now 
 considering Mr. Eldridge there was a young man in his 
 senior year in college who was indebted to him for 
 being thus distinguished. Henry Arnold was the son of 
 poor parents. Had his father lived, the destiny of tho
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 311 
 
 children would not probably have been any better ; for all 
 that he could do for them was to feed and clothe them. 
 He died when Henry was four years of age, and then the 
 care of him and of his sisters devolved on his mother. 
 Henry was a bright boy, and ever attracted the notice of 
 his pastor. In the school he was always diligent, and for 
 this reason prosperous in his studies. Before he was 
 twelve years old Mr. Eldridge was often heard to say, 
 " Henry Arnold must have an education." In one of 
 those revivals which so frequently blessed Mr. Eldridge's 
 ministry Henry was converted. He had lived then six- 
 teen years. Though the pastor had not heretofore seen 
 his way clear to put him in the preparatory course for 
 college, this event decided the matter. " Such a mind as 
 Henry Arnold has must not be lost to the church," was a 
 remark often heard about this period from Mr. Eldridge. 
 " He must have an education ; he must be a minister." 
 So enthusiastic was the pastor in the matter of the educa- 
 tion of this youth that he encouraged him to commence 
 fitting for college at once. He furnished him with books, 
 and for months heard his recitations and took the whole 
 charge of his education. Indeed, he fitted him for college. 
 He then found friends who contributed for his support 
 there ; for he was regarded by every one as a superior 
 young man and as well deserving the advantages of a 
 college. Nor did his career here in the least abate the 
 ardor of friendship. It rather increased it, and at the 
 same time furnished a satisfactory remuneration for the 
 aid which had been and was being rendered. Hope began 
 to be strong of him that he would make a most distin- 
 guished clergyman. All who knew him felt safe in the 
 indulgence of such hope ; for his talents from year to 
 year, in the facilities for improvement which were around 
 him, shone brighter and brighter, and thus indicated that 
 his path in this world would by no means be narrow or
 
 312 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 obscure. Mr. Eldridge, all saw, was proud of him. Among 
 the people he relished any allusions to young Arnold. 
 
 Two terms of his senior year had expired, and Henry 
 came home to spend the vacation. The second house that 
 saw him on his return from college was always that of his 
 pastor and friend. From his mother's he went always to 
 Mr. Eldridge's. When he returned to pass this his last 
 vacation Mr. Eldridge was out of town, and not expected 
 back for two days. He, however, had a warm reception 
 from the pastor's wife, and was in and out at the parsonage 
 several times before Mr. Eldridge's return. Mrs. Eldridge 
 thought she discovered in some of the expressions of 
 Henry an inclination towards some other profession than 
 that of the ministry ; but as all the circumstances of the 
 case seemed to forbid such an inclination, and as the mani- 
 festation was but slight, she could not realize that it could 
 have been designed by Henry. Of course she did not 
 converse with him as if there was a fear in her nriiid that 
 he would not be a minister. 
 
 Mr, Eldridge returned home the third day after Henry's 
 arrival. Of course there was much said of the friend 
 who had long been near and dear to the pastor and wife. 
 Whilst they were conversing respecting him during the 
 evening, Mrs. Eldridge remarked that she did not know 
 but that Henry was thinking of studying law, from some 
 expressions he made to her. " He did not say much about 
 it, and perhaps some people would not have noticed the 
 least tendency in his mind that way," she remarked. Mr. 
 Eldridge could not for a moment entertain such a sugges- 
 tion, and at once charged it to some imaginary influence 
 which had possession of his wife, which the good lady was 
 willing to have done. When Henry called the next day, 
 the pastor, in the course of the interview, remembering 
 what his wife suggested, without the least anxiety on his 
 part on the subject, but merely for the sake of a littlo 
 pleasantry, said to his friend,
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 313 
 
 "What do you think my wife hinted to me last night 
 after I returned ? " 
 
 Henry, either being at a loss for the right way of reply 
 or not being yet ready to make the disclosure, hesitated, 
 when Mr. Eldridge proceeded and said, 
 
 " She remarked that she did not know but that you in- 
 tended to study law." 
 
 Henry instantly colored, and with hesitation replied, 
 
 " I was not aware that I had said to Mrs. Eldridge that 
 such was my intention ; but I must say that I have been 
 greatly tried of late on the subject of a profession." 
 
 At this remark Mr. Eldridge was greatly affected, and 
 he made no reply for a few moments. At length, however, 
 he said, " I thought that question had been decided for years." 
 
 " Well, sir, so did I think so until the last term. I have 
 always contemplated the subject pro spec tively, you are 
 aware, and did not dwell upon every thing connected with 
 the ministry as I have been induced of late to do, as the- 
 time draws near for me to commence a professional prepa- 
 ration." 
 
 " I supposed," Mr. Eldridge remarked, " your whole 
 soul was absorbed with the glorious end of the ministry, 
 and that its incidentals were of minor importance." 
 
 " Well, sir, the incidentals, as you are pleased to call 
 them, may very much affect some minds, so much so as to 
 abridge their powers of doing good. I have thought tkat 
 it is in the power of a pious physician or lawyer to do as 
 much for God and man as a minister may accomplish. 
 Certainly either might do more if the minister be not able 
 to fulfil his ministry." 
 
 <( Not able to fulfil his ministry ? " Mr. Eldridge said. 
 "I do not know as I understand you. If a minister has a 
 heart to preach and is blessed with health, why cannot he 
 do so and fulfil his ministry ? There is an abundant call 
 for his labors." 
 
 27
 
 314 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I should not think there was a very abundant call for 
 ministers, judging from the manner in which they aro 
 treated. When farmers have any portion of their crops 
 cut off and they feel that they may fall short, they are apt 
 to husband what little they have with great care and to 
 use it with great economy. If, on the other hand, there is 
 a great supply, they are more careless and indifferent. 
 Now, it appears to me that if ministers were not very plenty, 
 and if people did not think it was one of' the easiest things 
 in the world to get a minister, they would not treat them as 
 they often do. Really, Mr. Eldridge, I have thought I 
 should be used up in a very few years and be of no manner of 
 service to the church, if I should study theology and enter the 
 ministry. There are many ministers of whom I have heard, 
 and some whom I know, who were thrown aside from their 
 work before they were fifty years of age. Some of these 
 were men of good talents, of fervent piety, and sound 
 preachers, and of irreproachable characters. Now, if 
 such had studied law or physic, they might have been 
 eminently useful as long as they lived. And then, again, 
 if a minister sustains himself among a people till he is 
 fifty or sixty years of age, he cannot reasonably expect, to 
 be useful much beyond that age. The cry is after young men, 
 and the cry would be after a young man, and the aged 
 pastor would hear it, and be compelled cither to retire or 
 have a colleague. Now, I do not like such things. I 
 think an aged minister deserves to be as well appreciated 
 as an aged doctor or lawyer. We all know that, when a 
 physician has acquired age, he is more sought after and more 
 confided in on that account ; so it is with a lawyer. Now, 
 as people when they are sick prefer the experienced and 
 aged physician to one who has had no, or but a very 
 small, experience, and as people, when they have property 
 in jeopardy, consult experienced and aged lawyers in 
 preference to younger and inexperienced men, I do not
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 315 
 
 see why, in the matter of their souls' concerns, they should 
 not prefer the ministers whose enlarged experience ena- 
 bles them far to transcend in ability to do good the 
 young man who just commences preaching. Now, Mr. 
 Eldridge, you must have seen that, the older a minister 
 grows, the less popular he becomes. Now, I do not wish to 
 die before my time J and I am very much afraid, if I become 
 a minister, / shall. I desire to do good as long as I live, 
 and to increase in power and ability ,nd opportunity to do 
 good till I die." 
 
 " Yo"u have made out something of a case," Mr. Eldridge 
 remarked, " I suppose you think. What if all young men 
 should reason as you do ; what would become of the church 
 and the world ? " 
 
 "They would both become better, I hope. I think peo- 
 ple would begin to reflect on their sinfulncss in their treat- 
 ment of ministers ; that they would repent and bring forth 
 fruits worthy of repentance. Sometimes I have of late 
 thought that it would be a good thing for the church if all 
 our pious young men in our colleges would turn their 
 attention to law, or medicine, or teaching for a few years, 
 so that there should be none in our theological seminaries 
 preparing for the ministry. If such should be the case, I 
 think ministers would be in demand and be treated as 
 though they were of some account." 
 
 " I am sorry to perceive," Mr. Eldridge replied, " that 
 you are inclined to punish them all alike. Now, what you 
 allege against people in their treatment of ministers is not > 
 true of many parishes. It is not true of mine. I have 
 been here now seventeen years, and I do not see but that 
 I am as much respected as ever I was and as much appre- 
 ciated. My people respect ministers, I have thought, and 
 are inclined to exalt them, perhaps, more than is proper. 
 And there are other parishes that I could mention who 
 always treat their pastors well, and who would be aggrieved
 
 316 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and feel themselves slandered by such remarks as you have 
 made." 
 
 "There are exceptions to every rule, you know, Mr. 
 Eldridge. I am aware that what you state of some par- 
 ishes is true. I am willing to concede that we find here 
 and there a minister who is appropriately treated by his 
 people and who grows in their affection and confidence ; 
 but I think, where one such parish is found, there can be ten 
 found of the opposite "character." 
 
 " Do you find much sympathy in the pious members of 
 your class with the views you have expressed to me ? " Mr. 
 Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " That I do. I do not think I should have felt as I do 
 had I not conversed with these irembers as I have. Our 
 whole class during the past year, almost every week after 
 recitation, have remained a while and debated on the in- 
 ducements held out by the three professions ; and I tell you 
 we have gone over the ground pretty thoroughly. What 
 has been said in these debates about the inducements at 
 the present day held out by the ministry has opdned my 
 eyes some and led me to close thought." 
 
 " What has been thus said ? " Mr. Eldridge asked. " It 
 would be a gratification to me to be informed." 
 
 " The precariousness of the pastoral relation is one of 
 the strong objections to the clerical profession. A man 
 don't know when he is safe. He may think himself strong 
 in the affections of his people one month, and before 
 another comes he may find that uneasiness has set in and 
 that many of his people desire some other minister. 
 
 " One member of the class said that the minister in the 
 town from which he came was dismissed last year because 
 some of his people became dissatisfied at the choice he made 
 of a wife. It was desired that he should marry a friend of 
 an influential family in the parish ; and, as he took the lib- 
 erty to select his own wife, this family took exceptions to the
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 317 
 
 course, and withdrew their influence from him, and silently 
 exerted themselves to his prejudice among the people, 
 which resulted in his dismission. 
 
 " Another member of the class remarked that there was 
 then a great commotion in the parish where he resided 
 because t/ie minister's cows got into his neighbor's corn. Tho 
 fact was, the neighbor would not keep up his fence, and 
 the minister did not feel that it was his duty to see to it 
 any further than to request the neighbor to keep it in 
 repair. He could not afford to hire his cows pastured else- 
 where than in his own pasture ; and so they went where 
 they chose, and much damage was done. The people gen- 
 erally did not blame the minister ; but the neighbor became 
 exasperated, and began to rave wherever he went about 
 the minister, telling for truth what never happened ; and 
 in this way he succeeded at last in creating a strong pre- 
 judice against him, which it was thought would terminate 
 in his dismission. 
 
 " Another member of the class mentioned that the min- 
 ister in the town adjoining the one in which he lived had 
 lately been dismissed because a certain D. D., who had 
 some considerable influence in the parish, had a relative 
 whom he wished to have settled there. To bring about 
 this result the doctor blew up a little fire which had almost 
 gone out, and started one or two others in a different 
 quarter of the parish ; and at length the pastor was so 
 warmly situated that he thought it for his comfort to 
 vacate the parish for another minister. . 
 
 " Another member of the class said that, in the town 
 where a brother of his resided, the minister was about 
 being dismissed because a pretty important lady in the 
 parish did not think he was the right kind of a man to 
 build up the parish. As she had much influence, many 
 people listened to her, and of course the minister had to go." 
 
 "Well," said Mr. Eldridge, "I should have thought 
 27*
 
 318 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 some of the class who advocated for the ministry would 
 have urged that ministers are sometimes dismissed when 
 the people are not in fault at all when the fault was alto- 
 gether that of the minister." 
 
 " They did, sir. There were two or three of the class, 
 who will study theology at all hazards, who did take this 
 ground ; and they mentioned several instances where pas- 
 tors had been dismissed on account of their own conduct. 
 It was said a minister had lately been dismissed for his 
 being too much of a horse trader ; that another nad left 
 his people recently because he would not study. He pre- 
 ferred the society of news tellers to his books, and was 
 more willing to b,e on the piazza of the hotel, conversing 
 with boarders there, than to being about among his peo- 
 ple laboring to benefit their souls. But, 7 ' the young man 
 said, " those who advocated for the ministry could not 
 bring up many instances where dismission had taken place 
 when the ministers were most in fault. The other side 
 could adduce five cases when the people were wholly to 
 blame to one cited where the fault was entirely the 
 minister's." 
 
 In this way did the pastor and his friend continue their 
 conversation for some time, the pastor feeling deeply 
 grieved at the tendency manifested by his friend towards 
 a diiferent profession from that to which he had supposed 
 he was devoted. Subsequent interviews only strengthened 
 the pastor's conviction that the talents and piety of Henry 
 Arnold would probably be lost to the ministry, and he 
 mourned most sincerely over his disappointed expectations. 
 
 Young Arnold at the close of the vacation returned to 
 college, and in a few months was graduated with the 
 highest honors of his class. He returned home, fixed in 
 his purpose to pursue the study of law, provided he could 
 do so with the approbation of those to whom he was in- 
 debted for his collegiate education. As he made known
 
 A DISAPPOINTMENT. 319 
 
 this decision his friends were much disappointed ; for they 
 were all induced to' render him their assistance, in the be- 
 lief that they would be thus adding another minister of 
 Christ to the world. In the present state of Henry Ar- 
 nold's feeling, however, they could not urge him to enter 
 on a profession against his own convictions, and therefore 
 yielded to his wishes and released him from all obliga- 
 tions to study theology. He therefore at once entered 
 the office of a distinguished lawyer, where he diligently 
 prosecuted the study of law till his entrance on practice. 
 Though he had turned aside from the ministry, he did not 
 allow the lustre of Christian character to become dim. 
 He was regarded as a devoted Christian, and his many 
 ways of activity for the advancement of the kingdom of 
 his Savior were most warmly appreciated by all who were 
 acquainted with him.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 
 
 MR. ELDRIDGE, on his return home to dinner, after having 
 "been absent all the morning in the discharge of his paro- 
 chial duties, found on the table of his study a letter mis- 
 sive from a church and pastor, requesting the presence of 
 himself and a delegate in an ecclesiastical council, to ad- 
 vise and act in some matters of difficulty. Of the pastor 
 whose name was attached to the letter he had for some 
 years heard pleasant things said ; and though a stranger 
 to him, yet Mr. Eldridge was accustomed to regard him 
 as among our most useful ministers. He therefore was 
 pained to learn, as the letter missive foreshadowed, that 
 untoward events had disturbed the relations of this brother 
 to his people which might result in his dismission. Al- 
 though the distance was somewhat remote, yet Mr. El- 
 dridge found himself possessed with a strong inclination to 
 be present at the council, and his church accordingly voted 
 to send. He therefore, with a delegate, at the appointed 
 time repaired to the scene of trouble. 
 
 When the period arrived for the pastor to expose to 
 the council his situation in relation to the people of his 
 charge, he remarked that he had for months past felt that 
 his pastoral connection with his present people must be dis- 
 solved, and that he should in a quiet manner have sought 
 a release had his judgment and conscience sanctioned the 
 
 (320)
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 321 
 
 course. He remarked, he was impressed that more than 
 himself were affected by the causes which had of late in- 
 terrupted his usefulness, and, therefore, that it was due to 
 other interests that he should sacrifice his own private 
 feelings and bring out to the public eye the course pur- 
 sued to satisfy individual animosity and gratify unholy 
 feelings, in attempts to undermine and destroy his useful- 
 ness. In consequence of these things, he remarked, great 
 and threatening evils had already appeared in our Zion. 
 The stability of our churches and the efficiency of our 
 ministry are greatly endangered ; and he felt called upon 
 to take a firm stand against the facilities which of late 
 have largely multiplied for destroying the usefulness of 
 pastors, for the purpose of effecting a change of ministry. 
 He was convinced something ought to be attempted to 
 stop the progress of the disorganizing spirit which had of 
 late affected our churches. He was fully convinced that 
 a public manifestation of the conduct of churches who 
 make it necessary by their own conduct for their pastors 
 to leave would operate to deter from such conduct ; and 
 therefore he had not heeded the partial hints of some of 
 his people in the first place, and their less gentle manifesta- 
 tions in the last place, that by giving up his pastorate to 
 a new incumbent he would be conferring a favor upon his 
 people. He felt that he would not work with those who 
 for no cause, and against cause, were striving for his ruin 
 an.ong the people of his charge. It was his belief that, if 
 they took the laboring oar, it was best that they alone, 
 without his help, should use it. Because of these convic- 
 tions, he remarked, this ecclesiastical council has been con- 
 voked to examine into the state of our affairs and to ad- 
 vise to the proper course for all parties to pursue. 
 
 The council then required of the committee a statement 
 of the difficulties in which both pastor and people were 
 involved and in relation to which advice was sought.
 
 322 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 This requisition was met by the chairman, one of the 
 deacons of the church, who arose and remarked that " the 
 people in this place have for some months past been agi- 
 tated by dissatisfaction with their pastor. It was hoped," 
 he continued, " that, when the pastor was made acquainted 
 with such dissatisfaction, he would see it most for his com- 
 fort and usefulness to seek some other field of labor; 
 but he paid no attention to complaints, and continued, 
 after he was apprised of them, to go on as usual. He was, 
 as a last resort, requested to unite in a council ; or, rather, 
 he proposed himself to submit the matter to a council, and 
 the proposition was acceded to by the church ; and thus it 
 is why this council has been called. We have been advised 
 by our pastor that the council would expect complaints to 
 be submitted in writing ; and so the committee have drawn 
 them up, and have furnished the pastor with a copy of the 
 
 The first charge is, that the pastor neglected to visit his 
 people. 
 
 The second, that he was not prompt in the payment of 
 his debts. Ho promised to pay, and did not fulfil his 
 agreement. 
 
 The third was, that the pastor failed in his pulpit per- 
 formances, and did not maintain weekly prayer meetings. 
 
 The fourth was, that the pastor's usefulness in this place 
 is at an end. 
 
 These several charges were supported with all the tes- 
 timony that could be obtained by the committee, and then 
 the pastor was called upon to defend himself. Accord- 
 ingly he addressed himself at once to the work before 
 him, and remarked, that in relation to the first charge, 
 that of visiting the people, he would say, that he had pur- 
 sued that course which his judgment admonished him was 
 wise and proper. " The people in this place, as a general 
 thing, wish for as little attention from a minister in his
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 323 
 
 professional character as possible. They are ready enough 
 to see him as a man, provided they are not engaged in their 
 worldly business, which is not very often the case except 
 in very stormy weather ; but to see him as a religious 
 teacher^as one who comes to them to converse on the great 
 interests of the soul, they are strongly and peculiarly disin- 
 clined. When I first came among them I began a course 
 of visitation, as I was in the habit of pursuing in my min- 
 istry in the first place of my settlement. I soon met with 
 very serious obstacles ; but, feeling that I might be instru- 
 mental in the accomplishment of good, I persevered and 
 went through, visiting ajl the people to whom I could get 
 access. To some I could get no access. When I was 
 seen approaching, certain families would close and bolt 
 their doors, and suffer me to wait and knock for admis- 
 sion in vain. Others would leave the house and conceal 
 themselves, as they supposed, from my eye. I well remem- 
 ber being in a certain neighborhood, and, as I was about 
 to enter a certain house, seeing the man of that house at 
 the door as I approached it. When I entered the house, 
 and whilst I sat therein, he was not to be seen. In answer 
 to my inquiries after him, I was told he was somewhere 
 about ; but neither wife nor child moved to look him up. 
 Finishing my visit, and wishing to call on another family, 
 my quickest route lay back of this house, over fences and 
 walls. I therefore took such route, and, as I passed out, 
 looking about me, I saw, crouching down under an out 
 building, the man whom I wished to see and who ran off 
 as I came up to his house. There I saw him, looking as a 
 truant child looks when endeavoring to conceal himself 
 from a parent or some one else who was in search of him. 
 I had no doubt then, I have no doubt now, that this indi- 
 vidual concealed himself there to be out of my way ; for 
 when I looked to this place of his concealment he started, 
 and there was shame on his countenance. He was not
 
 324 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 expecting me back of the house. He thought, as I en- 
 tered, so I should depart, through the front door. This 
 scene made a most deep impression on my mind, and 
 it gave me the general character of the people ; and I am 
 sorry to say that my subsequent acquaintance with them 
 has not altered this impression. With a minister of the 
 gospel they wish to have as little to do as possible. I 
 have felt that time spent in going from house to house 
 here, where the disinclination is so general to hear any 
 thing said on the subject of personal religion, was time 
 thrown away. Whenever and wherever I could visit to 
 profit I have done so. 
 
 " As to the next complaint, that I have broken my word 
 in regard to money matters, I have to remark, that I have 
 often engaged to pay sundry bills at a time which was 
 always past the period when my salary was due. The 
 individuals to whom I was indebted knew that I was de- 
 pendent upon the promptness of the people to be prompt 
 myself ; and I have not till recently heard that any blamo 
 was attached to me for delinquency. The backwardness 
 of the people in not paying my salary I have often heard 
 most severely censured ; and, too, I have often heard the 
 wonder expressed how I could get along as I did when 
 not a quarter part of the half-year's salary was paid when 
 the next half year had expired. I own that I have not 
 paid my debts as promptly as I agreed ; but I agreed to pay 
 them on the faith of the promptitude of the people. As 
 they have been backward and arc now greatly in arrears 
 to me, I submit it to the council if a complaint against me 
 for breaking my word in this matter comes with a good 
 grace from them. 
 
 " In relation to the next charge, that of failure in my 
 pulpit performances, I would remark, that I have never 
 equalled my wishes in this respect. I did not equal them 
 when I preached to this people as a candidate, nor in the
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 325 
 
 four years when the reports came to me and went forth 
 abroad from the people here that they had the smartest 
 man in the association. I think there has been no falling 
 off in the power of my preaching. I have endeavored, 
 to the best of my ability, to preach faithfully and to bring 
 no unbeaten oil into the sanctuary. I have with me here 
 the sermons I prepared and preached during the year end- 
 ing the last Sabbath, thirty-six in number ; and I can have 
 here thirty-nine sermons I prepared and preached the pre- 
 vious year, for the inspection of the council ; and there 
 are individuals of intelligence and education who will 
 testify that, in their opinion, instead of having failed in 
 my pulpit performances, I have advanced from year to 
 year in interest. I think, after the council shall have 
 heard their testimony, they will determine that my oppo- 
 nents have altogether failed in substantiating this charge. 
 As it respects the discontinuance of the weekly prayer 
 meeting, I would say, that I did so because there were but 
 two or three who would come together for the service. 
 I ever have felt the importance of these meetings have 
 felt the need of them for my own profit and encourage- 
 ment, and for the good of the church and the benefit of 
 the people ; but from the first there has been a disinclina- 
 tion on the part of the church to attend upon them. I 
 have preached on the subject. "When I have notified these 
 meetings from the pulpit, I have often urged the necessity 
 and importance of their being attended. I have con- 
 versed in private with the members of the church in rela- 
 tion to their own duty to attend the prayer meetings ; and 
 yet they have not been attended. Often I have been 
 to the place of prayer and not an individual was to 
 be seen. The fact is, the brethren of the church are 
 bound up in the world, and have no heart to pray, I fear. 
 As to the last charge, that my usefulness is at an end in 
 this place, I would say, that I fear it is if the present feel- 
 28
 
 326 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 ing continues. But how has it been destroyed ? I think 
 I can throw some light on this matter. For four years it 
 was generally acknowledged that I was just the man for 
 this people. All said this. And now, how has my useful- 
 ness been destroyed in the last two years ? which is the 
 time my opponents allege that I have not been useful here. 
 About two years ago I felt it to be my duty to preach on 
 certain subjects and rebuke certain sins. I felt called 
 upon thus to do by the good of the people. I did this, 
 and many, very many, there were who expressed them- 
 selves gratified at my course, and who gave it as their 
 opinion that good would be the consequence. There was 
 one man, however, who took exceptions to my preaching. 
 He thought I was personal, and he became actively op- 
 posed to me. The fact was, I never thought of this indi- 
 vidual in particular when I preached the sermons to which 
 he was so much opposed. It was the farthest from my 
 design to hold him up, as he alleges that I did, as on the 
 highway to the world of torment. I have told him this, 
 and I have told others this, before ; but he would have it 
 that I preached to him, and would not be pacified or 
 reasoned with. Being a man of wealth, he had influence. 
 A number of the people here were indebted to, and felt 
 their dependence, in a measure, upon him. There were 
 some such in the church ; one of the deacons is of this 
 number ; and this individual resolved on my dismission, 
 and he went to work accordingly to effect it. He went to 
 the deacon, who was largely indebted to him, and told 
 him that I must leave. He represented to him that many 
 here were dissatisfied, and he succeeded in souring the 
 mind of the deacon towards me and in making him an in- 
 strument to aid him in the work on which he was bent. 
 The deacon began to exert an influence to my disadvan- 
 tage. Of course he was listened to, aud what he said to 
 others had weight. In this way has it come to pass that
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 327 
 
 ray usefulness is at an end ; not by my negkct of duty, but 
 by my fidelity, as I fully believe. Had I preached so as to 
 have disturbed no one's conscience or heart, I verily believe 
 those who were the first to proclaim that my usefulness 
 was at an end here would have been silent." 
 
 Various individuals were called upon by the pastor, who 
 fully substantiated his remarks in relation to all the charges 
 which had been adduced against him. It was evident that 
 his opponents were not prepared for such a general raking 
 up of. their conduct, and had not anticipated that what 
 they had said in the ear would be proclaimed on the house 
 tops. Some who looked on thought that they read in 
 their looks that, if they had supposed that their course to 
 ruin and destroy a pastor would have been thus known, 
 they would have been still and not have engaged in this 
 work of meanness. 
 
 The parties, having made to the council all the exposi- 
 tion they desired of the difficulties in which they were 
 involved, were left by this body, who adjourned for private 
 deliberation from the vestry, where they had thus far met 
 to a private house. Here they were in session several 
 hours, carefully considering the testimony which had been 
 given in touching all the charges which had been pre- 
 ferred against the pastor. 
 
 At length the church bell rang, as a signal that the 
 council were prepared to communicate the result of their 
 deliberations, and in a little time the vestry was filled with 
 people. The moderator remarked that the council, wish- 
 ing to act fairly and impartially, had taken time to go 
 over all the facts in the case and to examine carefully all 
 the testimony which had been offered. For this reason,, 
 their session in private had been protracted. He was 
 happy to state that the council had been harmonious in 
 their views, and had unanimously come to the result which 
 the scribe would now read.
 
 328 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 From this document it appeared that the council, in 
 view of the evidence submitted, took the same view of the 
 propriety and expediency of the pastor's visiting his people 
 which he presented. If the people would not give atten- 
 tion to conversation on the subject of religion, if it was 
 manifest that they resorted to any measures to avoid it, 
 they had no right to expect of their minister that he 
 would consume his time in mere social visitation. In 
 respect to his not fulfilling his pecuniary engagements, the 
 council could not see how it was possible for him so to do 
 when his people were so remiss in paying him what was 
 his due. Had they promptly fulfilled their obligations to 
 him, and he had been backward in discharging his own 
 liabilities to any of his people, there would have been 
 ground of severe censure. Before a pastor can pay out his 
 people must pay in to him ; and it is unreasonable and un- 
 righteous for them to complain, as they were aware that 
 he was not in the receipt of his salary. In relation to any 
 failure on the part of the pastor in his pulpit performances, 
 the council, from the testimony given and from the exam- 
 ination of the discourses submitted to them, are happy to 
 feel that the pastor has been advancing both in literary 
 merit and theological knowledge and ability to preach. 
 Of the allegation that the pastor's usefulness to his people 
 is at an end, the council are pained to acknowledge that 
 in their opinion such is the fact. They feel, however, that 
 this usefulness has been destroyed by reason of the efforts 
 of some of his people. From the testimony brought for- 
 ward, it is evident that one individual began this work of 
 destruction when goaded up by a guilty conscience under the 
 faithful preaching of the pastor, and that this individual, 
 through his position in society and his relations to many 
 of the people, was successful in making instruments for the 
 furtherance of his own evil designs of some who ought to 
 have been the pastor's mos^ zealous supporters and friends.
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 829 
 
 The way in which the pastor's influence and usefulness is 
 at an end here would destroy the usefulness of every pastor 
 in the land. No minister could stand before the attempts 
 which have here been made to destroy him ; and the council 
 cannot refrain from expressing their most decided con- 
 demnation of the artifice of some, and servility of others, 
 by which difficulties here have been created and continued. 
 The council would exhort those who have been, by decep- 
 tion or through fear, induced to take up weapons against 
 a beloved and worthy minister of Christ, to pause and 
 reflect upon the sinfulness of their conduct, and repent. 
 The council are of the opinion that the pastor can no 
 longer be useful among his present people unless there is a 
 manifest change of feeling on the part of those through 
 whose instrumentality his usefulness has been destroyed ; 
 and, therefore, they recommend that his pastoral relation 
 be dissolved. 
 
 After the result had been read the council adjourned 
 and the members dispersed to their respective homes. 
 
 Whilst Mr. Eldridge, and his delegate, Dr. Howard, were 
 riding towards their home, considerable conversation was 
 had in relation to the matters which had occupied their 
 attention whilst they were present in council. Whilst thus 
 conversing, the doctor remarked, 
 
 "What an easy thing it is to dismiss a minister! Only 
 let one or two individuals of any standing in a parish set 
 themselves at work, and they will succeed in dismissing 
 any minister in the state." 
 
 "There is much truth in that remark," Mr. Eldridgo 
 said. "It is strange people will be led away as they are ; 
 that they will lend a helping hand to a work which is so 
 often productive of so many evils as the dismission of a 
 faithful pastor often occasions both to himself and family 
 and his people likewise." 
 
 " It is strange," the doctor said, " men of sense do not 
 28*
 
 330 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 soe such evils and at once nip all attempts made to encircle 
 difficulties around a minister. It might be done if people 
 felt as they ought." 
 
 " That is true," Mr. Eldridge remarked ; " and, before we 
 shall have a permanent ministry, the course you suggest 
 will have to be pursued." 
 
 "Well," said the doctor, "one thing has puzzled me 
 some the course some ministers who have been dis- 
 missed and who remain in the parish pursue. I should 
 think, of all men, they would be the last to do any thing to 
 make the situation of their successor uncomfortable. Yet 
 I find they are sometimes foremost in making a disturb- 
 ance. Now, there is Mr. Packard ; he must leave his 
 people." 
 
 " Brother Packard a-going to leave his people ! " Mr. El- 
 dridge exclaimed. " I am astonished." 
 
 " I was at his parish last week visiting some patients, 
 and I learned that he was going away." 
 
 "For what? " Mr. Eldridge inquired. 
 
 " 0, there is trouble there. The people, some of them, 
 think he might be more useful somewhere else. From all 
 that I could gather, I made up my mind that the principal 
 source of opposition to him was in his predecessor and his 
 family." 
 
 " Oho ! that cannot be," Mr. Eldridge said. " The old 
 gentleman is a man who would not be guilty of doing any 
 thing to injure Mr. Packard." 
 
 " I do not know ; but some of the people told me that he 
 and his children were thought to be opposed to Mr. 
 Packard. They were very intimate with a few who are 
 openly opposed to him." 
 
 " Well, I do not know but that it is so," Mr. Eldridge 
 said ; " it may be. I remember now hearing brother Pack- 
 ard say that Mr. Worcester was not very attentive to him, 
 and that his family were rather cold and distant. But I
 
 CALL TO ANOTHER COUNCIL. 331 
 
 thought nothing more of it. Ho said this two or three 
 years ago." 
 
 "The people there say," the doctor remarked, "that 
 Mr. Worcester and his children want to have Mr. Packard 
 turned away because they dismissed Mr. Worcester." 
 
 " 0, 1 cannot think that such is the feeling of Mr. Worces- 
 ter and his children," Mr. Eldridge said. " Mr. Packard 
 always speaks highly of Mr. Worcester, and I have noticed 
 that they frequently come together to the meetings of our 
 association." 
 
 " Well," said the doctor, " I believe that, if Mr. Worcester 
 and family had not exerted a secret influence against Mr. 
 Packard, there would not have been any very serious 
 trouble in his parish. I form my opinion of what some of 
 the best people there say ; and I think it very strange, 
 after the treatment which Mr. Worcester received, that he 
 and his children should do what they all condemned so 
 freely in others." 
 
 It was not long after this conversation before Mr. El- 
 dridge and Mr. Packard met. The latter was about being 
 dismissed, and he fully admitted to Mr. Eldridge that a 
 great cause of the trouble with him was in the course pur- 
 sued among a certain portion of the people by his predecessor 
 and children.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE OTHER STOEE. 
 
 AROUND the meeting house of Mr. Eldridge much of a 
 village existed. From the taste displayed in the location 
 of the houses, in the construction of the fences, and in the 
 multiplication of shade trees and shrubbery of different 
 variety, the village had acquired much celebrity in the 
 region for its beauty and loveliness. There had ever been 
 one store by the meeting house, filled with every variety 
 of merchandise that was necessary for the supply of the 
 wants of the community. For many years this store had 
 been in the occupancy of Squire Davidson, in whose fair 
 and honorable dealing all had the fullest confidence. As 
 he grew rich by trade, another individual thought that he 
 would attempt the making of a fortune in the same way. 
 Consequently, he built and furnished a store about two 
 years before the settlement of Mr. Eldridge; but, not 
 being of a commercial mould, instead of making, he lost 
 money by the transaction, and gave up the business. For 
 several years the store remained closed. It was, however, 
 opened again by a young man of enterprise and piety 
 when Mr. Eldridge was in the seventh year of his pastor- 
 ate ; and it yielded to its proprietor a handsome profit, 
 though by no means equal to that which Squire Davidson 
 received. Such profits as his were not expected ; for the 
 business transacted was not near as large as that prose- 
 
 (332)
 
 THE OTHER STORE. 333 
 
 cuted by the squire. Between the occupant of this store 
 (Mr. Fowler) and Mr. Eldridge there was ever the utmost 
 kindness of feeling, and no exceptions whatever were 
 taken to the pastor's trading with Squire Davidson. 
 "When Mr. Eldridge had been settled about sixteen years, 
 Mr. Fowler was taken suddenly away, and, in the settle- 
 ment of his estate, it became necessary to sell the store. 
 Colonel Presbury was the purchaser. It was soon re- 
 opened by a gentleman with the name of Dixon, who had 
 much of the spirit of trade and was anxious for all that 
 lie could command. As a matter of course he was an at- 
 tendant on the preaching of Mr. Eldridge, and was often 
 heard to say pretty things of the minister, especially wheu 
 he thought they would reach the pastor's ears. 
 
 A store in the country has frequently many visitors in 
 the evening. Some individuals, being busy all the 'day, 
 find it most for their convenience to purchase their little 
 articles of every-day consumption in the evening ; and 
 other individuals are in the habit of making such a place 
 their resort for the purpose of .hearing the current news. 
 Boys, too, often happen in, to gratify an idle curiosity or 
 to make some little purchases. Mr. Dixon had been in 
 business a little more than a year, when a son of Mr. Clay, 
 accompanied by a nephew of Mr. Eldridge, who had been 
 in- town but a few years, entered the store in the evening. 
 They were passing along, and seeing a number of people 
 therein, and hearing loud laughing and merriment, it was 
 natural for them to stop and see what was going on. So 
 many being together, they were probably unobserved, or, 
 if observed by some near the door, they could not have 
 been seen farther along, where the scene of conversation 
 was. They had not been there long before they heard 
 Mr. Dixon remark, 
 
 " Well, I can't get over it that Mr. Eldridge does all 
 his trading over at the squire's."
 
 334 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "Don't you know the reason of this?" a good-natured 
 gentleman, Mr. Crane, inquired. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose I do," Mr. Dixon said. " The squire 
 is a great man among us, and Mr. Eldridge thinks he must 
 keep the right side of him, or else he'll have trouble." 
 
 " You are greatly mistaken, friend Dixon, if you sup- 
 pose that is the reason. It is no such thing. The squire, 
 I am told, always sells Mr. Eldridge his goods at cost, 
 and, when he settles his bill, always makes him a hand- 
 some discount." ' 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Billings ; " that is a fact, I believe. I 
 always understood it so. Mr. Fowler used to say that 
 was the case, and he said he did not blame Mr. Eldridge 
 in the least. The squire was able to be liberal, he said ; 
 and, for his part, he was glad that he showed the minister 
 so great a favor." 
 
 " I should think," Mr. Otis said, " as long as Mr. Dixon. 
 has just begun here, that Mr. Eldridge ought to buy some 
 of his things of him, just to encourage him. You know it 
 would have influence on others ; for many people would 
 be influenced to do their trading here if the parson pat- 
 ronized the store." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Dixon ; " that is it. I dare say the 
 squire gets custom by being generous to the minister. 
 He gets good pay for all that he sells Mr. Eldridge, I'll 
 be bound." 
 
 " 0," Mr. Crane said, " it don't make a cent's difference 
 in the business of Mr. Davidson by having the custom of 
 Mr. Eldridge. He would sell just as much if Mr. Eldridge 
 bought all his goods out of town. The squire keeps a 
 great store, has been in business a great while, and people 
 like to trade there ; and they would trade there as much 
 as they do now if Mr. Eldridge did not buy any thing of 
 him." 
 
 " Well, I don't like it," Mr. Dixon said, " not to have
 
 THE OTHER STORE. 335 
 
 the minister trade here some. I would do well by him. 
 I could not afford to sell exactly at cost ; but then I would 
 give him good bargains." 
 
 "If I were in your place," Mr. Crane observed, "I 
 would not say any thing about not having the patronage 
 of Mr. Eldridge. He has a good many friends here, you 
 know ; and you might be injured yourself through their 
 influence, if they should know you said hard things of the 
 minister." 
 
 " I don't know about that," Mr. Dixon said. " I think 
 a minister ought to patronize all who hear him preach, 
 and I find others think so too. There is the colonel ; he 
 was in here the other day talking about it, and he said 
 that Mr; Eldridge did wrong in not trading with me some. 
 I rather think, if the parson don't trade here, he'll wish he 
 had." 
 
 Mr. Dixon's attention being directed towards one or 
 two customers who addressed him with considerable im- 
 patience at the delay he caused them in being thus en- 
 grossed in conversation, he at once dropped the subject 
 and proceeded to wait upon them. The son of Mr. Clay 
 thereupon left the store and returned home highly excited, 
 and related to his parents what he had heard. 
 
 " Is it possible." his mother said, " that Mr. Dixon would 
 allow himself to talk in this manner ? " 
 
 " Yes," Mr. Clay remarked ; " I should expect that he 
 would feel and talk pretty much as Thomas says. He is 
 a man of a very nervous temperament, I should judge by 
 what little I have seen of him, and not of very enlarged 
 views, and with a strong passion for gain. I am not at 
 all astonished that he should express himself as he has." 
 
 " He may be of great injury to Mr. Eldridge," Mrs. Clay 
 observed. " He probably has acquired a strong prejudice 
 against Mr. Eldridge ; and, by his talking as he did this 
 evening, we must infer that he is in the habit of speaking 
 to his disadvantage."
 
 336 -A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "Yes," Mr. Clay said; "Mr. Dixon will undoubtedly 
 endeavor to prejudice people against our pastor, and un- 
 doubtedly he will succeed to some extent. It is very un- 
 fortunate that he is not such a man as Mr. Fowler a 
 man who is capable of taking a right view of a thing, and 
 not entirely bound up in self-interest." 
 
 "Mr. Fowler never took any exceptions to Mr. El- 
 dridge's trading with Squire Davidson, did he, dear?" 
 
 " No, not he," Mr. Clay replied. " I have heard him 
 speak on the subject again and again ; and he uniformly 
 expressed himself happy that it was in the power of the 
 squire to treat Mr. Eldridge with so much generosity, 
 and at the same time regretted that his circumstances did 
 not allow him to do as much. He said that he should do 
 as Mr. Eldridge did were he in his situation." 
 
 " Mr. Fowler was a lovely man," Mrs. Clay remarked ; 
 " and it is a great pity that one so unlike him should take 
 his place in the store." 
 
 " Well," Mr. Clay said, rising from his chair and begin- 
 ning to pace the floor, " I am extremely sorry that Mr. 
 Dixon ever came here, if this is the way he is going to 
 act. He will exert an influence that will be very much 
 to Mr. Eldridge's disadvantage, I am afraid. Of course, 
 as he keeps a store, he will see a large number of people, 
 and he will have it in his power to say a great many 
 things against Mr. Eldridge, which will be believed, and 
 of course which will affect the feelings of the people hear- 
 ing, and sour them towards the minister. Whenever any 
 persons become a little excited by any thing which Mr. 
 Eldridge may say or do, they will have a place to go for 
 sympathy ; and Mr. Dixon's store will be a sort of rendez- 
 vous for such as may be inclined to make trouble in the 
 parish. I dare say Mr. Otis and Mr. Andrews have found 
 out that he feels sore, and that they are in his store pretty 
 often ; and, if Mr. Scott were alive, he would be there 
 too."
 
 THE OTHER STORE. 337 
 
 "Mr. Otis was in the store to-night, father," Thomas re- 
 marked. 
 
 " There, that's it ! " Mr. Clay said. " Was not Mr. An- 
 drews likewise ? " 
 
 " I did not see him," Thomas replied. 
 
 " Yes," Mr. Clay said. " Such* characters as Mr. Otis 
 and Mr. Andrews will be in there almost every even- 
 ing, and they will talk about Mr. Eldridge and set all 
 his conduct out in the worst possible manner ; and un- 
 doubtedly they will succeed in bringing over to their views 
 and feelings quite a number of people in the course of a 
 little time." 
 
 " husband," Mrs. Clay said, " if people find out that 
 Mr. Dixon is so much opposed to Mr. Eldridge they will 
 not visit his store." 
 
 "That may be the case with many individuals," Mr. 
 Clay said, " with such individuals as act from principle, 
 but, you know, there are more of the opposite character 
 in the world than such. It is greatly to be lamented that, 
 when we have but two stores in town, one of these should 
 be kept by an individual like this Mr. Dixou." 
 
 " There is the tavern," Mrs. Clay said. " People go in 
 there and talk; and, if they were inclined to talk against 
 Mr. Eldridge, they could go there and do so." 
 
 " Indeed they could not, if Mr. Shipley was about," Mr. 
 Clay said. " He would have no such men in his house as 
 were inclined to run out against Mr. ELdridge." 
 
 " Does Mr. Dixon own that store, husband, or does he 
 hire it of Mrs. Fowler ? " Mrs. Clay inquired. 
 
 " The store was sold soon after Mr. Fowler died," Mr. 
 Clay remarked, " and Colonel Presbury bought it." 
 
 " Ah, I never heard of that," Mrs. Clay said. " Then 
 Colonel Presbury owns the store. Well, he won't object 
 to his tenant's course, will he, husband ? " 
 
 " No, not in the least. We know how the colonel has 
 29
 
 338 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 felt towards Mr. Eldridge ever since he had to pay one 
 hundred and sixty dollars for removing that old parish 
 debt. I dare say Mr. Dixon has discovered how the colo- 
 nel feels, and that he is emboldened by him in the course 
 he is pursuing. It may be Mr. Dixon acts according to 
 instructions from the colonel." 
 
 " Yes," Thomas said. " Mr. Dixon told Mr. Crane this 
 evening that the colonel said Mr. Eldridge ought to do a 
 part of his trading at his store, and that he did not like it 
 at all that he did not." 
 
 "Mr. Dixon said this, Thomas, did he?" Mr. Clay 
 asked. "There is no doubt, then, that the colonel en- 
 courages Mr. Dixon. I should not be surprised if it was 
 a plan of the colonel to purchase that store and have it 
 occupied by a man whom he could use as an instrument to 
 disturb Mr. Eldridge. It certainly looks like it." 
 
 "Yes ; I think it does," Mrs. Clay said ; "but then the 
 colonel cannot expect to harm Mr. Eldridge very serious- 
 ly. He knows how attached the people are to their minis- 
 ter, and that any opposition of a few could not essentially 
 injure him." 
 
 " I don't know about that," Mr. Clay replied. " A con- 
 tinual dropping wears the stone. Colonel Presbury is a 
 man of property, and, if he really is determined to exert 
 himself against Mr. Eldridge, he can do him much harm. 
 Mr. Dixon's store will be t/ie place, I am persuaded, where 
 great mischief will be done." 
 
 " Colonel Presbury has not more property than Squire 
 Davidson and some others here who are friendly to Mr. 
 Eldridge. Deacon Smith is as wealthy as the colonel," 
 Mrs. Clay said. " These persons can outdo the colonel if 
 influence is to be measured by property ; and so there 
 will not be much for Mr. Eldridge really to fear. 
 There is no man in town who has the influence which 
 the squire has."
 
 THE OTHER STORE. 339 
 
 " The squire is growing old, you know, and his health is 
 failing, and he cannot be expected to remain with us long," 
 Mr. Clay remarked. 
 
 " I know that, my dear," Mrs. Clay replied ; " but then 
 if his son Charles moves on, as he probably will in the 
 spring, he will take his father's place, I dare say. You 
 know he is a great friend to Mr. Eldridge, and he would, 
 on his own, and on his mother and father's account, exert 
 himself with all his might to prevent any injury being 
 done Mr. Eldridge by Mr. Dixon or the colonel." 
 
 " That is all true," Mr. Clay said ; " but perhaps he will 
 not come on ; his wife, I thought, was opposed to it ; and, 
 if he should, he could not exert the influence his father 
 has exerted." 
 
 " He will come on in the spring, I know," Mrs. Clay 
 said. " When Frances (Mrs. Howard) called here yester- 
 day she told me that Charles's wife had altered her feel- 
 ings, and that she thought they ought to move on, as the 
 squire wishes them to do so much." 
 
 " Well, that will be a grand thing for the parish if 
 Charles should take up his residence here," Mr. Clay said. 
 " He is thought much of by many people here, and he is a 
 man of energy and decision, very much like his father." 
 
 A man in the employ 'of Mr. Clay entered the room and 
 announced that an accident had happened at the barn, 
 which of course suspended further conversation. The 
 reader, however, will know more of the other store by 
 aud by.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 
 
 WHATEVER might have been attempted at " the other 
 store " or in any other quarter for two or three years 
 after Mr. Dixon commenced business for creating a dis- 
 turbance in the prospects of Mr. Eldridge, yet no prog- 
 ress was reported which reached the general circles of the 
 parish. The pastor preached his eighteenth anniversary 
 discourse, feeling that his hold on the affections of his 
 people was as strong as at any past period of his minis- 
 try. In the course of this sermon allusion was made to a 
 variety of local matters touching the prosperity of both 
 church and parish, and a gentle hint was given that it 
 might bs well for the people to consider that both age 
 and fashion had given to the sanctuary of their fathers 
 and their own somewhat of a peculiar appearance, which 
 might be remedied by the application of some of the im- 
 proved forms of church architecture. If other parts of the 
 sermon failed to lodge in the minds and hearts of his hear- 
 ers, certain it was that this hint was remembered. It was 
 the very thing which the younger part of the parish had 
 long wanted to be sounded from the pulpit ; for they 
 thought the fathers would hear it and be excited to move 
 in the matter of making their house of worship more con- 
 venient, more attractive, and more in conformity to church- 
 es which had recently been erected. There was nothing 
 
 (340)
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 34'1 
 
 about thiii church which denoted neglect. It had been 
 well cared for. Both the carpenter and the painter had 
 been there as often as their services were in the least 
 needed ; but it had the disadvantage of age. It had 
 stood thirty-five years. The pulpit was high, the galleries 
 were high, the slips were high and roomy ; and, besides, 
 there had never been heard within its walls the sound 
 of the organ. If the old folks had not observed all these 
 things and mourned over them, the young people had ; and 
 it was a cause of great rejoicing to them when their pastor 
 gently hinted that the advancement which had recently 
 been made in the art of architecture might do much to- 
 wards the improvement of their own sanctuary. 
 
 As might be expected, a new subject began to be agi- 
 tated in all the circles of the parish ; and, because there were 
 advocates of the measure in almost every house, it became 
 absolutely indispensable to parochial quietude that it should 
 receive some official notice. It had been suggested that 
 the expense attendant on the repairing of the church could 
 be met by subscription, and thus it would throw no burden 
 on unwilling shoulders ; but as the meeting house was 
 parish property, and as every thing pertaining to eccle- 
 siastical expenditures had from time immemorial in that 
 parish been settled from the parish treasury, such a sugges- 
 tion did not meet with very popular favor. It was urged by 
 some few who were apprised of the effect which the parish 
 tax for the liquidation of the old parish debt had upon 
 a certain individual, that, as the sore had not yet healed 
 over, it might be politic not to make a tax for the object, ' 
 but to have the expense borne by those who were disposed 
 to contribute ; but the people generally were too demo- 
 cratic, and at last it was given over in private where the 
 matter had thus far been only discussed, and it was 
 thought that, if the church was to be repaired, it must be 
 done at the parish expense. 
 29 *
 
 342 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 A parish meeting was at length called for the consider- 
 ation of this matter, and the attendance was large. The first 
 question which came up was upon the necessity of repairing 
 the house. Upon this there was considerable debate. 
 Some thought the house was well enough as it was. 
 Some thought it might be well to make the pews a little 
 narrower, for it would increase their number, and more 
 were wanted ; but the greater number who participated in 
 the debate went for a thorough repair and remodelling of 
 the house. At last the motion was made to remodel the 
 house, and to furnish it with an organ which should not 
 cost more than eighteen hundred dollars. The expense of 
 remodelling the house had been set at about seven hundred 
 dollars ; and it was thought that twenty-five hundred would 
 do the whole. 
 
 Hitherto the debate had been on the article in the war- 
 rant to see if the parish will repair the meeting house and 
 furnish it with an organ. Now the question came a little 
 closer to the pockets, and of course a little nearer the 
 hearts, of certain individuals at least. After this motion 
 was made, Colonel Presbury had the floor first. He had 
 no objection to remodelling the church and having it 
 furnished with an organ. He was in favor of the project, 
 provided it could be accomplished in a proper manner. 
 He had no doubt money enough could be raised, and it 
 was his opinion that it would be best for the parish to 
 have a subscription taken for the object rather than make 
 a tax. He was ready to subscribe liberally, and he had no 
 doubt that every member of the parish would do the same ; 
 and if all had the privilege of giving what they pleased, 
 there would be no cause for trouble. Besides, he said, 
 there were many- who attended meeting here who did not 
 belong to the parish, and these would put down something ; 
 whereas, if a tax were made, we should lose this amount. 
 
 Mr. Crane, a gentleman of a very peaceable turn of
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 343 
 
 mind, and wished every individual accommodated, next 
 rose, and remarked, "that he cared not how the repairs 
 were effected, whether by tax or subscription. He was 
 for having people satisfied. As the colonel was a man of 
 considerable property, he thought it might be well to hear 
 him, and have a subscription paper opened, assenting to 
 his suggestion, 
 
 Mr. Otis, who always preferred subscription papers to 
 taxes, because he could get off with less money, and fre- 
 quently with no money at all, by being opposed to the ob- 
 ject subscribed for, was in favor of the colonel's plan, and 
 hoped it would be adopted. 
 
 Several others advocated it with much energy ; but then 
 there were those who strongly opposed it. Squire Davidson, 
 though in feeble health, rallied himself and made a long 
 speech in favor of having the house repaired by a tax. So 
 did his son, who had taken up his abode in the parish, 
 having removed from the south a year and a half before. 
 Deacon Smith, Mr. Clay, Dr. Howard, all advocated a tax ; 
 and when the vote was taken sixty-three were in favor of a 
 tax and eleven opposed ; so the house was to be remodelled 
 and furnished with an organ at the expense of the parish. 
 
 After the declaration of the vote, some who understood 
 the colonel's physiognomy saw, as they thought, some fore- 
 shadowings of trouble expressed therein. However, they 
 kept their own secrets, and whispered not abroad what 
 they surmised, but kept an eye out in watch after his 
 movements. Mr. Clay thought there would be some ex- 
 plosion that evening at Mr. Dixon's store ; and so he made 
 some errand for his hired man, who was of an intelligent 
 cast, and sent him down to perform it. As he was going 
 out of the yard Mr. Clay called to him and said, 
 
 " John, perJiaps there will be something said at the 
 store about the parish meeting this afternoon. If there 
 should be you can stay a whik and hear, and let me know."
 
 344 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 John went on, and when he arrived at the store he found 
 that there were quite a number of people there ; and as 
 he went in he heard much loud talking and saw some angry 
 faces, which led him to conclude some unpleasant subject 
 was being discussed. He soon heard some one say, who 
 he did not know, 
 
 " Well, I think this business will finish him up in these 
 parts." 
 
 " Yes," Mr. Dixon said, " I think it will ; that's a fact. 
 A minister had better let alone what don't concern him. 
 As for putting up the people to lay out two or three thou- 
 sand dollars on the meeting house he preaches in, just to 
 make it look grand, he'll find is rather poor business." 
 
 " Have I not said once or twice here this evening," Mr. 
 Parker remarked, " that it was a minister's duty to urge 
 his people to do what he thought would be for their pres- 
 ent and future good ? Mr. Eldridge has not made the 
 people repair the meeting house. They voted to do this 
 because they thought they had a right to do as they 
 pleased. If they had taken no notice of what he said in 
 his sermon he would not have thought it strange. He 
 merely touched them up a little about the meeting house, 
 and they took the hint, and have voted to do something 
 handsome for the church. I think this blaming the minis- 
 ter for what the parish does is rather unreasonable and 
 very silly." 
 
 " It is bad that they are going to make a tax for this 
 business," Colonel Presbury said. " I am afraid it will 
 make bad business. The whole thing might be done by 
 subscription, and theri there would be no hard feelings." 
 
 " You don't know that, colonel," Mr. Parker said. " It 
 seems there were only eleven who were opposed to a tax 
 and sixty-three in favor of one. You are not sure that 
 there would not have been very hard feelings in some of 
 these sixty-three if they could not have had a tax. \Ve 
 must let the majority govern in this country."
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 345 
 
 " Well, I insist upon it, this taxing people to pay parish 
 expenses is not politic," the colonel said. 
 
 " Our people here don't think so/' Mr. Parker said. 
 " We have always done this, you know ; and there are 
 not many parishes about who have less trouble than 
 ours." 
 
 "I know we have got along tolerably well," the colonel 
 said ; " but I am afraid we sha'n't much longer." 
 
 " What is going to happen, colonel ? " Mr. Parker 
 asked. 
 
 " 0, 1 do not know that any thing will ; but perhaps, 
 if you and I both live a few years longer, we may see." 
 
 " You don't mean to sign off, colonel, do you ? " Mr. 
 Parker inquired. 
 
 u Sign off! No, indeed 1 " the colonel replied, with much 
 feeling ; " that is not my way. I have belonged to the 
 parish ever since I was one and twenty, and my father 
 before me always was a member of the parish ; and I 
 rather think I shall stick by it as long as I live." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you talk so," Mr. Parker said. " We 
 should be sorry to lose you, colonel." 
 
 After this manner did conversation run for an hour or 
 more ; and John, thinking he understood the drift of the 
 discussion, took up his bundle which he had purchased 
 and proceeded homeward. Entering the room where Mr. 
 Clay was, and giving up his purchase, he turned to go out, 
 when Mr. Clay said, 
 
 " Well, John, were there many at the store to-night ? " 
 
 " Pretty good number of youngsters there," John said, 
 " but not more than six or seven men." 
 
 " Well, what was the topic to-night ? " 
 
 " They were talking about fixing the meeting house," 
 John said. 
 
 " Well, what did they say ? " 
 
 John then went on and narrated what he could remem
 
 346 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 ber, much of which conversation has been given above, 
 and then left the room. 
 
 " I knew," Mr. Clay observed to his wife, " there would 
 be some sparring at Dixon's to-night, and I made an er- 
 rand and sent John down. He understands." 
 
 " I could not think what your object was in sending after 
 nails to-night," Mrs. Clay replied, " when you sent by me 
 this afternoon to the squire's after them, and I brought 
 home ten pounds." 
 
 " 0, nails always come right. I could not think of any 
 thing else we wanted ; and so I told John he might get 
 on to Jerry and go to Dixon's to get a couple of pounds 
 of board nails, and that he might stay a while if there 
 should be any excitable conversation going on." 
 
 "I suppose you consider yourself paid by the report 
 John has brought back? "Mrs. Clay said. 
 
 " I am not at all disappointed at hearing what he says. 
 I knew the colonel was sore, and I expected to hear from 
 him through Dixon and his tribe." 
 
 " I suppose," Mrs. Clay said, " we must expect to have 
 trouble ; but I hope it will not be very disastrous. I 
 have strong confidence in the good sense of our people 
 and in the strength of their attachment to Mr. Eldridge. 
 It is not uncommon, we know, for a few people to be un- 
 easy in a parish and for such to attempt to make disturb- 
 ance. We have been as much blessed in having as little 
 of this kind of trouble as almost any other parish with 
 which I am acquainted." 
 
 "I hope we shall get along with this business better 
 than I fear," Mr. Clay said. " I feel that Mr. Presbury is 
 very much excited about this tax, and that he will in some 
 way or other make all the trouble which he can. That he 
 will have influence over many there can be no doubt ; 
 and if he be not reconciled in some way he will un- 
 doubtedly exert all his influence,-! fear, to displace Mr. 
 Eldridge."
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 347 
 
 " I suppose," Mrs. Clay remarked, " he will attempt to 
 vent his feelings in that way ; but it will be very wicked 
 in him to do this. Mr. Eldridge is not to blame for what 
 ithe parish does." 
 
 " No, not in the least. But the colonel reasons that, if 
 Mr. Eldridge had not moved in the matter of paying that 
 old parish debt, it would not have been paid, and so he 
 would not have been taxed ; and that, if Mr. Eldridge had 
 not brought up the subject of repairing the meeting house, 
 the people would not have thought of so doing. He thus 
 blames Mr. Eldridge for being the cause of these two 
 things, which take from him considerable money ; and so, 
 I fear, he means to punish Mr. Eldridge and others by 
 making a strong move to have him dismissed." 
 
 " 0, well, if the people stand firm, I do not think he 
 will be able to accomplish much," said Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " Of course he will not," Mr. Clay said ; " but a man 
 like the colonel can weaken the firmness of -some men. 
 The danger is, if the colonel takes a bold stand, and it be 
 known that he is opposed to Mr. Eldridge and desires his 
 dismission, that others, in some fitful moment of displeas- 
 ure, will join him ; and, being once committed, they cannot 
 retrace their steps, however they might desire to do this 
 when cool reflection comes to their aid. This danger I 
 have apprehended ever since it came to our ears that the 
 colonel was disturbed about the parish debt ; and I have 
 talked to you before in a manner similar to my present 
 mode of expression." 
 
 " 0, yes, dear, I know you have ; but, then, I ever 
 looked upon the possibility of the colonel's really starting 
 as remote, and did not treasure up your fears as I am now- 
 inclined to do." 
 
 ****** 
 
 In accordance with the parish vote, the committee forth-
 
 348 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 with proceeded to put it into execution. Having visited 
 several churches, both in city and country, and consulted 
 different architects, they at length determined on a plan, 
 and an energetic master workman had the enterprise in 
 hand. When he first beganjon the interior of the church 
 materials were being collected by an eminent musical es- 
 tablishment for the construction of the organ ; and in less 
 than seven months from the vote to repair the work was 
 accomplished. Through the skilful and most judicious 
 management of the committee, the entire revolution in the 
 aspect was so pleasing to all, and the pay day was so 
 adroitly set, that nothing was heard by way of dissatisfac- 
 tion. The organ, too, took charmingly ; and even Mr. 
 Otis was heard to say though he made the remark when 
 he was not aware that certain ears were near that it 
 was a capital thing in Mr. Eldridge to put the people up 
 to this thing. The colonel, too, inasmuch as the house had 
 been beautified to his acknowledged satisfaction, and at 
 an expense below his computation, without, as yet, any 
 call from his purse, could talk of the improvements with 
 composure and even with some degree of pride. All were 
 so pleased that Mr. Dixon's store was even for a while 
 silent about " breaking up the parish," <fec., and every one 
 almost felt and said their parish was about the best in the 
 land. The new and splendid clock which had not been 
 thought of when the vote to repair was taken, nor while 
 the work was in progress, but which had been presented 
 and put in its appropriate place before the eye of the 
 preacher when the carpets were being put down by the 
 generosity of Mr. Charles Davidson, had a wonderful 
 effect in removing the chill from many hearts, and in put- 
 ting smiles on many faces which had been cold and sullen 
 for months. 
 
 However, notwithstanding the expense attending these
 
 REPAIRING THE CHURCH. 349 
 
 things was gradually paid, yet in the course of two years 
 each man knew how much he had been taxed and had paid 
 for the repairs of the church. Then old feelings, which 
 many thought were extinguished, began to appear in a 
 few. The colonel was often heard to utter hard things. 
 Mr. Dixon's store rang again with dark sayings ; and fear 
 was on many hearts that trouble might yet come. 
 30
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 
 
 THE happy influence exerted by Mr. Eldridge over the 
 lambs of the flock was not among the slightest reasons 
 which fostered the attachment of the people to their pas- 
 tor. In the fear that might have arisen in any minds that 
 they might be called to surrender him, either at the call 
 of another station, or of death, or through discord and 
 strife, almost the first thought would be, " What would our 
 children do? what a loss it would be to the young of the 
 parish!" Thus were Deacon Smith and his wife fre- 
 quently heard to express themselves. 
 
 Whilst the pastor was useful among the young, and his 
 usefulness acknowledged universally in the parish to be 
 great, he was at the same time felt to be useful to all 
 classes. His church always had food from both his preach- 
 ing and conversation, and those who were not among the 
 followers of the Master he served felt that he was of great 
 service to them in different ways. 
 
 It was the practice of Mr. Eldridge to exert himself in 
 every way he could for the benefit of his entire people. 
 Whenever he saw that he could do good, he uniformly 
 attempted to test his ability. He thought he beheld in 
 the oldest son of Deacon Smith indications of feeling 
 which were far from being promising. Indeed, he had 
 heard from different sources that his conduct was not 
 
 (350)
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 351 
 
 only of evil tendency to himself, but to others by whom 
 he was known and with whom he associated. He men- 
 tioned his fears to the parents, and they each acknowl- 
 edged that what the pastor had observed in their child 
 had already caused them immense pain. They entreated 
 their pastor's interposition with their son. He informed 
 them it was his purpose to seek an opportunity for conver- 
 sation with him. To this they urged, and thanked him 
 heartily for having previously thought of thus doing. 
 
 This son was just rising to manhood. Another year 
 would give him his freedom. There were in him the ele- 
 ments of a character which might render him of great ser- 
 vice to the community. No expense had been withheld by 
 his parents in his education. Though he had been opposed 
 to a collegiate course, yet the schools he had attended had 
 given him almost, if not entirely, the accomplishments 
 which would have been his had he graduated at any of 
 our colleges. All along his parents and friends had 
 strong hopes that he would be a leader in all that was 
 good in society and be its great blessing. He had ever 
 been a favorite both with those of his own age and with 
 others, and his influence was consequently large. It was 
 therefore to be expected that to such a pastor as Mr. El- 
 dridge his early promise should be known and his ripen- 
 ing character be an object of lively interest. A good and 
 watchful pastor always sees the centres of influence, and 
 is deeply anxious that such should be sound and healthful. 
 He is much around such to add to these strength and 
 direction. By reason of his vigils he saw in young Smith 
 what greatly distressed him ; for he feared for the results 
 of certain developments if not speedily removed, both on 
 himself and on those over whom he had great sway. He 
 therefore sought, and at length found, a suitable opportu- 
 nity for the expression of his fears and the interposition of 
 Iris counsels. Knowing that his subject was of a spirited
 
 352 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 temperament, he proceeded cautiously and warily ; and, 
 in his first interview, was encouraged by the frank ac- 
 knowledgments of his young friend that his course had 
 not been approved by his own mind and conscience, and 
 his ready promise to amend, to anticipate that his interpo- 
 sition would not be in vain. The deacon, seeing the pas- 
 tor soon after this interview, met him with tears of joy, 
 and warmly thanked him for his fidelity to his son, and 
 expressed to him a conviction that good had already been 
 done, and that the child would yet be to him all that he 
 had hoped. The pastor continued to keep his eye out 
 upon the young man, and his ear open to that which was 
 said of him by those who had better opportunities than 
 his own for knowing his downsitting and uprising. From 
 both of these sources of knowledge he soon became again 
 disturbed ; and it was not long ere he had a second inter- 
 view with the young man. By reason of his former ac- 
 knowledgment and promise, and because, after both, he 
 was not improved, the pastor was somewhat discouraged. 
 He manifested this feeling, and young Smith appeared to 
 be troubled by it. Such was his expression, so fair, 
 so sincere, so sensible did he manifest himself that his 
 course, if persisted in, would despoil him of a good 
 name, rob him of all salutary influence, make him a pest 
 in community, and withal cloud the horizon of his affec- 
 tionate parents, and make it all night in the home of his 
 childhood and youth, that Mr. Eldridge allowed himself 
 again to feel that there yet was strong reason for hope 
 that his young friend would fortify himself against tempta- 
 tion, and retrace his steps, and be a strong stay for his 
 parents and a useful member of community. With such 
 feelings he parted from him. However, a few weeks 
 brought to Mr.JEldridge's heart greater sorrow on account 
 of the young man than it had previously experienced, and 
 he once more gained a place by his side for the purpose
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 353 
 
 of another effort to save him. When the pastor affection- 
 ately inquired of his progress in the promised work of 
 reform the young man endeavored to report favorably, 
 and might have succeeded with a less faithful friend in 
 leaving the impression that this reform was advancing 
 rapidly towards the most complete consummation. As 
 Mr. Eldridge inquired about this step and that in his 
 course, of which in his vigilance he had gained knowl- 
 edge, a crimson hue might be seen on the countenance of 
 his friend, significative of confusion and shame, and there 
 might be heard from his lips a strong denial of the allega- 
 tions suggested and an earnest assertion of his innocence. 
 When his assertions were confronted with the testimony 
 of faithful witnesses and there was no power to gainsay 
 or resist them, then the young man, as if in the hands and 
 under the guidance of a power from which all that is evil 
 in our world has arisen, sent forth torrents of wrath arid 
 cursing upon the friend by his side for his interference in 
 business which was not his own, and menaced him sorely 
 that such conduct of his would be visited upon him with 
 consequences far from being pleasant and desirable. Why 
 all this change in demeanor, was to Mr. Eldridge, at first, 
 a mystery. He had not been rough with his friend nor 
 unkind. True, he had faithfully depicted to him the end 
 of the way he was travelling. True, he had detailed 
 many scenes of pain and suffering he would pass through 
 before reaching this end, such as his being abandoned by 
 refined, virtuous, and respectable society, and his identity 
 with vice and profligacy ; but his every look, and word, 
 and tone were nothing but love, and denoted nothing but 
 a deep and tender interest in his highest welfare. As he 
 sat hearing peal after peal of abuse and defiance, the pas- 
 tor thought he could penetrate the mystery which this con- 
 duct at first created by the supposition that it was his 
 mighty effort to rid himself of reproof, and that he had 
 30*
 
 354 A VOICE FROM THE PAKSONAGE, 
 
 reached the turning point of his career. The subsequent 
 history of the young man proved that the pastor was 
 correct. 
 
 It was some weeks before the pastor met Deacon Smith. 
 He had designed calling upon him, but had been prevented 
 by the imperious call of other duties. He wished to sym- 
 pathize with the father and to condole with him in an 
 affliction which he had tried faithfully to avert, but which 
 had come-.in despite of all human power to prevent. It was 
 not at the deacon's house where Mr. Eldridge met him, 
 but in the street. As he approached him, and whilst ex- 
 tending the warm hand which had ever before met a hand 
 equally }varm in congratulations on meeting, Mr. Eldridge 
 thought he discovered a look about the deacon which was 
 uncommon to him. Unsuspecting that the changed look 
 was the effect of alienated feeling towards the pastor, 
 conscious that his whole course towards himself and fam- 
 ily had ever been prompted by the purest friendship and 
 most sacred fidelity, and believing that he had the warm 
 approval and gratitude of the deacon for all that he had 
 endeavored to accomplish, Mr. Eldridge had no doubt 
 that the present strange demeanor of his friend was the 
 product of sorrow from the conduct of his son. Accord- 
 ingly he soon alluded to him, supposing that his feelings 
 were absorbed in reflections upon him. Instead of relax- 
 ing under the tender tones of the pastor and the expres- 
 sion of his warmest sympathy, as would be natural did 
 the strange manner grow out of trouble from this source, 
 his bearing grew more stiff and indifferent. Of this the 
 guileless pastor thought nothing more than that his 
 troubles had a deep effect upon him ; and he continued 
 pouring into the deacon's ear, and, as he supposed, his 
 heart likewise, all that rich consolation which the gospel 
 so abundantly administers to the afflicted. Whilst he was 
 thus engaged the deacon uttered rarely a sentence ; and
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 355 
 
 they at length separated, the deacon and pastor going to 
 their respective homes. 
 
 Upon his arrival at his house Mr. Eldridge entered his 
 sitting room, in which there happened at the time to be 
 no one present, and seated himself in a rocking chair, 
 where he remained some moments in profound meditation. 
 At length his wife came in ; and, finding him resting his 
 head on his hand, which was his frequent practice when 
 pensive and thoughtful, she observed, 
 
 " 0, 1 did not know that you had returned, husband ; 
 what is the matter now ? " 
 
 " I have seen Deacon Smith, and I cannot keep him out 
 of my mind. I fear the conduct of his son will be almost 
 too much for him," Mr. Eldridge said. " I endeavored to 
 console him ; but, poor man ! I am afraid he is incon- 
 solable." 
 
 " I am very glad," Mrs. Eldridge remarked, " that you 
 have seen him. I have been much tried at the circum- 
 stances which have prevented your calling there before ; 
 for I knew that both the deacon and his wife would be 
 very anxious to see you." 
 
 " Ah, well, I do not think that any thing man can do 
 can be of service to the deacon ; poor, disappointed, most 
 afflicted man ! " Mr. Eldridge continued. " I hardly ever 
 met with an individual whom trouble had so greatly 
 changed. He did not appear like Deacon Smith. If I had 
 not been aware of his great trial, and were I but slightly 
 acquainted with him, I should have thought that he was 
 very sullen." 
 
 " That cannot be said of Deacon Smith, husband, that he is 
 sutten" Mrs. Eldridge said. " His feelings are so acute 
 that he does not act like himself ; and no wonder. Robert 
 is his oldest son ; he has made great calculations upon 
 him ; and to have him conduct as he does is a most severe 
 trial. The deacon has never had any trial before from
 
 356 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 his family. There has been very little sickness in his 
 family, and never a death ; and this takes hold upon him 
 most effectually." 
 
 " Yes, it does, poor man ! " Mr. Eldridge said. " I wish 
 I could do something for him ; but I feel that I cannot. I 
 most sincerely pity him." 
 
 In this way did the pastor express himself of his poor, 
 afflicted deacon ; and whilst this conversation was going 
 on at the parsonage, let us see the deacon at home. There 
 was visiting at his house for a few days a lady who was 
 much attached to her pastor, and one who was generally 
 beloved for her many virtues throughout the parish. She 
 had long been on very intimate acquaintance at the dea- 
 con's, and was regarded and treated by all the family rather 
 as one of their own number than as a common friend. 
 
 When the deacon came home his appearance was as 
 usual. There was the same pleasant smile on his counte- 
 nance and the same readiness at pleasantry which were 
 usual to him. His wife, as was her custom when he re- 
 turned from the village, inquired after the individuals he 
 had met. In reply to her questions he mentioned over a 
 number of persons with whom he had had a few words. 
 
 " Did you see any thing of Mr. Eldridge ? " Mrs. Smith 
 asked. 
 
 With a sudden change of voice and manner he replied, 
 " I rather think the man thinks he has seen me" 
 
 " Why, husband," said his wife, in painful astonishment, 
 "did not you promise me that you would not talk angrily 
 with Mr. Eldridge when you met him ? " 
 
 " Well," said the deacon, " I have kept my promise. I 
 did not say an angry word to him ; but I rather guess I 
 let him know that I don't like to have our Robert talked 
 to as he did the other day." 
 
 " Why, Mr. Smith ! I wonder at you. How could you do 
 any thing to wound the feelings of such a good and devoted
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 357 
 
 minister as Mr. Eldridge ? After what you told me I have 
 rested easy, thinking you would not let Mr. Eldridge know 
 that you felt injured. You know you have not the least 
 cause for feeling hard towards him. You have told Robert 
 time and again, and so have I, the very same things and 
 worse things than Mr. Eldridge did ; and I think it is very 
 unreasonable in you to blame him in the least for what he 
 has said. You requested Mr. Eldridge to see Robert, and 
 to exert himself all that he could to save him, and he has 
 been faithful ; and, instead of your feeling hard about him, 
 you ought to feel most grateful." 
 
 " Well, I don't like to have a man tell my son that he is 
 in danger of being a pest in the community, of being 
 shunned by all respectable people," the deacon said, 
 " when there is no call for it. Mr. Eldridge knows that 
 Robert has done much better since he had his first conver- 
 sation with him ; and if he had let him alone after that all 
 would have been well, and I should ever have been grateful 
 to him." 
 
 " We know, husband," said Mrs. Smith, " that our minis- 
 ter is not a rash, but a very prudent man. He never 
 says any thing until he is satisfied his duty calls him to 
 speak. I have no doubt all that he said to Robert was 
 called for. Mr. Eldridge would not have said any thing to 
 him unless his judgment arid conscience urged him, I am 
 persuaded." 
 
 " You know how Robert feels towards Mr. Eldridge," 
 the deacon said. "He feels that he has abused him, and 
 I think he has good reason for feeling so." 
 
 " No, you do not, husband ; you do not ; for you have said 
 to Robert and to me, many times, the very things which 
 Mr. Eldridge did, and you said more. You did not think 
 you were abusing the child when you said them, nor did I ; 
 nor do I now think that Mr. Eldridge has abused him. 
 How did Mr. Eldridge appear when you saw him to-day ? "
 
 358 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " 0, 1 don't know. He appeared as usual, I suppose," 
 the deacon -said. " I felt so, I did not pay much attention 
 to know how he appeared." 
 
 "I think you are very much out of the way, my 
 dear husband, in feeling as you do towards our faithful 
 pastor." 
 
 " Perhaps I am," the deacon said ; " but I do not think 
 so. I think Mr. Eldridge has done very wrong, indeed, in 
 saying any thing to make Robert so angry. I am really 
 afraid what he has said to him will be the means of his 
 ruin. I am not reconciled to such conduct. I never 
 can be." 
 
 " husband ! It grieves me to hear you talk so." 
 
 It was very unfortunate for the deacon that he did not 
 give ear more to his wife and less to his son. The truth 
 was, the son was on the highway to ruin, whilst the blinded 
 eye of the father could not see him as thus exposed. 
 Strong affection, unwillingness to have it so, credulity at 
 the deceptive sayings of the child combined to close the 
 eye of the parent to the real course of his son, and to 
 make his ear heavy that he could not hear from faithful 
 witnesses what this course really was. Had he sought an 
 interview with his pastor, according to the desire of his 
 wife that he should, and, in the exercise of candor and con- 
 fidence in the fidelity of the man whom he had hitherto 
 almost adored, borne himself whilst this interview lasted, 
 the deacon would have been as wise as his pastor in rela- 
 tion to matters involving the momentous interests of tho 
 child. Had the pastor suspected the possibility of the 
 father's being ignorant of the facts which he discovered 
 through his own affectionate vigilance, had he thought it 
 possible that his own interest in a parishioner could tran- 
 scend the interest of a parent in the child, of course Mr. 
 Eldridge could at once have given the deacon both light 
 and knowledge which might have put new feelings in his
 
 THE DEACON'S SON. 359 
 
 soul, and thereby softened the asperity of manner which 
 the pastor charitably mistook for the effects of deep sor- 
 row. The best men sometimes err ; therefore it must not be 
 accounted marvellous that a deacon should do what "is im- 
 proper. Had Deacon Smith only mentioned to his 
 pastor when he met him in the street the state of his feel- 
 ings, Mr. Eldridge in a few words would have disabused 
 him of his prejudice, were he willing to allow facts and 
 evidence their convincing power. But alas for poor 
 human nature! affection for an erring child had made 
 him his helper in vice, and induced him to sympathize with 
 the child in his wrath towards the faithful friend who had 
 endeavored to interpose and save the one from ruin and 
 the other from the keenest sorrows. However strange it 
 may seem that the confidence in and love and respect for 
 the pastor which had been strengthening for nearly twenty 
 years should be at once destroyed, and in their place bo 
 rancor and prejudice of no common character, yet such 
 was the revolution in the breast of the deacon. His dis- 
 cerning and amiable wife did much to keep the new 
 feelings which had entered her husband's heart in abey- 
 ance ; but she was not always with him, nor did the recol- 
 lection of her entreaties always overcome him to silence 
 when abroad. Though for months he did not speak out so 
 that the community became advised of his alienated feel- 
 ing, yet there were those in the parish who were apprised 
 of its existence. Somehow or other, Colonel Presbury and 
 the deacon grew more intimate. Goods came oftener from 
 Dixon's store than formerly, and numberless little things, 
 in a small, stifled utterance, for a year or two whispered 
 that all was not just right with the deacon. The pastor, 
 however, knew nothing of the change. When he called 
 at the deacon's, Mrs. Smith, through fear her husband 
 might say or do what would express his real feelings, 
 would be all attention to the pastor ; she really lived for
 
 360 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 his real worth ; and the deacon had sense enough to 
 restrain himself so that a discrepancy in feeling between 
 husband and wife would not be manifest. So the pastor 
 never dreamed that an enemy was in ambush before him 
 or that the deacon was changed from what he had ever 
 been. This kind of wary management was as successful 
 generally in the parish in concealing the real state of 
 the deacon's feelings. Even Colonel Presbury was charged, 
 -and solemnly promised to give no publicity to the secret 
 unless by permission. Save, therefore, a certain few. 
 the community for much time knew nothing of the true 
 state of tho deacon's feelings.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 
 
 WHILST Mr. Eldridge had so deep a place in the affec- 
 tions of his people as the preceding chapters must have 
 shown, it would have been singular if he were not often 
 remembered by the families of his parish at those times 
 when the favor of a propitious Providence had given 
 them an exuberant supply for their own necessities. He 
 was thus remembered. The farmers did this when their 
 fields contained the articles which are every day needed 
 for the table where the wants of the body are satisfied. 
 The few manufacturers who were here and there in his 
 territory did this ; and scarcely a single household in the 
 parish omitted in the course of every year to make the 
 pastor or his family some present with which to manifest 
 their affection and esteem. 
 
 . Aside from these informal and private acts of generosity, 
 it had ever been the practice of his people to go en masse 
 once a year to the house of their pastor to tender their 
 kind congratulations, and to leave in his family that which 
 would tell in the wardrobe, or on the table, or in the 
 library. These annual visitations were something more 
 than occasions for allowing the people to have a good 
 time at the parsonage, regardless of the injury to carpets, 
 paint, furniture, which often accompanies indifferent as- 
 semblages for fun and frolic which has marked some 
 31 (361)
 
 362 A VOICE FROM THE PAESONAGE. 
 
 donation visits of which we have heard. The parishioners 
 of Mr. Eldridge never incurred the charge of eating all 
 that they carried, and of leaving nought but the fragments to 
 testify of 'their respect and love for their pastor. If the 
 disposition thus to do had appeared in many it would have 
 been rebuked by the ruling spirits, which were powerful, 
 by their judicious and commendable counsel to have the 
 donation visit always amount to something of substantial 
 benefit to the pastor. It was well known what Squire and 
 Mrs. Davidson, and others like them, considered the 
 proper demeanor on these occasions, and likewise that it 
 would not escape the eyes of Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Clay, and 
 others, what was carried to the parsonage, and what re- 
 mained there, too, after the company had mostly retired. By 
 reason of these influences there was ever an anxiety and 
 care on the part of every family to have their gift of an 
 appropriate, and therefore of a serviceable, character. 
 
 In the nineteenth year of his pastorate the people made 
 Mr. Eldridge a donation visit, which was like the others 
 which had preceded it a gathering of the multitude. 
 Smiling countenances, heavy baskets and boxes, full bar- 
 rels and bags, and large bundles were all there as usual. 
 Till an hour or two had passed after the company was 
 made up it was not discovered but that all the people were 
 there likewise. When, however, the novelty and excite- 
 ment of the scene were over, and it became a matter of 
 comfort for those who were there to sit rather than stand,' 
 when the time came for " taking observations," it was dis- 
 covered that several of the people who had heretofore 
 always been prominent on these occasions were absent. 
 Squire Davidson, of course, was not present ; for all knew 
 and greatly lamented his failing health. But why Colonel 
 Presbury, Deacon Smith, and one or two others were 
 absent, was a matter of wonderment to the largest part of 
 the company. Mrs. Smith was there, and it was remarked
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 363 
 
 "by some that the wagon in which she rode was unusually 
 freighted with good things for the pastor and his family ; 
 but why the hired man, and not the husband, was her at- 
 tendant, seemed greatly to confuse the many. Although Mrs. 
 Smith had ever been pi'ominent on these occasions, being 
 one of the few charged with the general superintendence, yet 
 at this time her activity transcended its usual boundary. . 
 This circumstance was noticed, and made the subject of 
 remark, in many circles about the house. It was considered 
 that her attachment to her pastor grew more and more 
 strong, because her attentions to him were so many and 
 so marked. It being no place for seeking an explanation 
 of the deacon's absence, when it was generally understood 
 that he was in town and in health, and that he had been 
 seen " up in town " by many just before they came to the 
 parsonage, those who were inquisitive for the cause did 
 not attempt to gratify their curiosity, but became engrossed 
 with the scenes that were versatile about them. 
 
 Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Clay, and Mrs. Howard, being leading 
 characters at this gathering, frequently were in consul- 
 tation in relation to sundry arrangements for the evening. 
 The entire parsonage being thrown open to the people, 
 these ladies felt at liberty to enter any room which might 
 be best suited for their purpose. When need of counsel 
 and especial care had ceased, towards the close of the 
 evening, Mrs. Smith indicated to Mrs. Clay and Mrs. 
 Howard that their company would afford her peculiar 
 pleasure ; and, herself leading the way, the three went to- 
 gether to the study of the pastor to commune one with 
 another, with none to disturb. 
 
 " This has been a most trying evening to me" Mrs. Smith 
 remarked. " It has cost me the greatest effort to restrain 
 my feelings ; for I have felt that probably this would be the 
 last donation visit our dear pastor would ever receive from 
 our people."
 
 364 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " What has occurred of late to make you thus con- 
 clude? " Mrs. Clay inquired. " Colonel Presbury's forces 
 are not increasing, I hope." 
 
 " I fear they are," Mrs. Smith replied ; " and " 
 
 The sentence was not finished, by reason of the excessive 
 weeping of Mrs. Smith. Soon, however, she rallied, and 
 continued, " The thought is too much for me. I was going 
 to observe that my husband was as much opposed to Mr. 
 Eldridge as Colonel Presbury is." 
 
 The effect of this announcement on Mrs. Clay and Mrs. 
 Howard may be conceived. It overpowered conversation 
 for a moment, and the three sat pensive and sad. At 
 length Mrs. Howard said, 
 
 " It cannot be that your husband has become an enemy 
 to our pastor." 
 
 Mrs. Smith, in explanation, proceeded to state that 
 Colonel Presbury had sent a large number of logs to her 
 husband's mill, of late, to be sawed into boards, and that 
 he had been there himself frequently to see about them. 
 Consequently her husband and the colonel had been much 
 together. 
 
 " The conduct of our son," she continued, " is no secret 
 to either of you. Our pastor, like a faithful shepherd, 
 had watched the youth and detected symptoms of his 
 unpromising course. Calling one day at our house, he very 
 tenderly and delicately alluded to the subject. Both Mr. 
 Smith and myself were very grateful to him for his sympa- 
 thy, and we each entreated him to endeavor to impress upon 
 Robert the danger he was in, and try to save him. He re- 
 plied that he had been seeking a convenient opportunity for 
 a conversation with him ; and we both thanked him for his 
 thoughtfulness in our behalf. He soon had an interview 
 with Robert, and we thought the effect of his conversation 
 with him was very salutary, and we were encouraged to 
 hope that a reformation would ensue. The interview with
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 365 
 
 Robert was repealed twice or thrice. The last time that 
 Mr. Eldridge conversed with him he was very plain with 
 him ; and, in consequence of his fidelity, Robert became 
 very much enraged, and came home with a long story to 
 his father, which much affected my husband. Mr. Smith 
 at once sympathized with the boy, took his part, and se- 
 verely censured Mr. Eldridge. I could not think that our 
 pastor had done wrong, though I could not see then the 
 occasion for his saying many things which he did. How- 
 ever, I was disposed to wait, before I blamed Mr. El- 
 dridge, until I had seen him and heard from his own lips 
 his reasons for his course. My husband would not hear 
 to my suggestions, but gave himself up entirely to sym- 
 pathy with Robert. It was not long before I saw our 
 pastor, and was entirely satisfied that he had pursued the 
 only course which the circumstances of Robert's case 
 pointed out to one who would endeavor to serve him. I 
 never had better evidence of his interest in our family, 
 and certainly never before felt under more obligations 
 to him, both as a pastor and a friend, than I did when he 
 was giving me an account of our Robert's conduct and his 
 efforts to save him from utter ruin. I thought I would 
 not hint to him that my husband felt himself injured, 
 and I presume he does not now know but that he is as 
 friendly to him as formerly," 
 
 " I should have thought," Mrs. Clay remarked, " that the 
 deacon would have waited with yourself for an interview 
 with Mr. Eldridge before he condemned him." 
 
 " He ought to have done so," Mrs. Smith replied ; " and 
 I tried hard to induce him to wait, and not blame our 
 pastor as he did in the presence of Robert. But my 
 efforts were of no avail. He did not appear to believe it 
 possible that Mr. Eldridge could have had sufficient 
 reasons for talking, to our son as he did. He said that he 
 knew Robert was not as bad a boy as Mr. Eldridge had 
 31*
 
 366 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 represented. 0, 1 fear that something will be done that 
 will pain many a heart in our parish and greatly distress 
 our good minister." 
 
 "The deacon, then," said Mrs. Howard, "has never 
 manifested to Mr. Eldridge his displeasure ? " 
 
 "No, I presume not," was the reply. "He promised 
 me," said Mrs. Smith, " that he would not say any thing 
 to Mr. Eldridge or any one else on the subject ; and 
 doubtless he is now entirely ignorant that his ' good 
 deacon/ as he calls him, is a bitter enemy." 
 
 It was remarked above that Deacon Smith was seeii 
 by some of the company in the village as they were pro- 
 ceeding to the parsonage. He informed his wife in the 
 afternoon that important business would prevent his accom- 
 panying her to the parsonage in the evening. So after 
 fitting her out, which he did very freely and pleasantly, 
 he took another horse and carriage and proceeded to the 
 place where his important business was to be transacted. 
 This place was at the house of Colonel Presbury. It had 
 been arranged that a party should there meet if three 
 or four can be called a party to deliberate and advise 
 in relation to an end on which the colonel and the deacon 
 had determined to reach. Whilst, therefore, the great 
 body of the people were joyous in their manifestations of 
 regard to a faithful pastor in the parsonage, and dream- 
 ing of no threatening danger to the permanency of the tio 
 which had for years bound them so happily together, Dea- 
 con Smith and Colonel Presbury, with one or two others, 
 were holding a caucus to concert measures for the de- 
 struction of this tie and for separating this devoted min- 
 ister from his attached flock! In this way it is that 
 clouds suddenly gather in a pastor's horizon. The sun 
 goeth down clearly, and before midnight there is a tem- 
 pest. Deacon Smith probably had forgotten how warmly 
 he had expressed himself in favor of his pastor, and that
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 367 
 
 he had most indignantly rejected the suggestion, pleasantly 
 and jocosely made, that perhaps Colonel Presbury would 
 have him for a coadjutor in the nefarious work of retali- 
 ating on the pastor. 
 
 The deacon's party having completed the business for 
 which they met before any began to leave the parsonage, 
 he was at home when his good wife returned. Although 
 she could not be happy, even when thronged by the multi- 
 tude who were variously testifying ardent love for one 
 she so highly valued, yet she remained to be one of the 
 last who left for home. 
 
 How many, on reaching their own abodes, and when 
 musing on the scenes of the evening, made any attempts 
 to conjecture the reasons which occasioned the absence 
 of Colonel Presbury and Deacon Smith from the parson- 
 age, is not known. Doubtless the subject was agitated in 
 many a household circle, and an attempt made to reach 
 the cause of this remarkable event. What passed at the 
 parsonage and at Mr. Clay's was treasured up. 
 
 "How happened it, husband," Mrs. Eldridge asked, 
 " that Colonel Presbury and Deacon Smith were not here 
 this evening ? " 
 
 " That is what I have thought of with much anxiety," 
 Mr. Eldridge replied. " I asked Mrs. Smith why her hus- 
 band was not with us ; and I thought she betrayed some 
 trouble as she replied that he was prevented by an en- 
 gagement." 
 
 " I confess," Mrs. Eldridge continued, " if it was not 
 Deacon Smith, whom we know so well as a very frm friend, that 
 I should suspect something was wrong. He has always 
 been at our donation visits and been very active, and it 
 seems very strange that he was away to-night. However, 
 I presume he had some business which came upon him very 
 suddenly, or he would have been here." 
 
 " It seems to me," said Mr. Eldridge, " that, if this had
 
 368 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 been the reason, he would have sent us a special message 
 to such an effect. From the troubled manner of his wife 
 when I alluded to his absence, I have thought that the 
 deacon might have been here had he been disposed." 
 
 "0, I cannot think there was any disinclination," Mrs. 
 Eldridge replied. " Deacon Smith is not the man to turn so 
 suddenly. Mrs. Clay told me that the deacon's wagon 
 never came to a donation party with so valuable a freight 
 as it brought this evening. If he had been alienated 
 towards us, that would not have been the case." 
 
 " It might have been," said Mr. Eldridge. " Mrs. Smith, 
 you know, does as she pleases, and it may be that she had 
 more put in the wagon for us on account of her husband's 
 coldness. From what I know of her, I should think that 
 such would be her course in the event of her husband's 
 estrangement from us. w 
 
 " I would not suffer myself, husband, for a moment, to 
 think it probable that good Deacon Smith could ever feel 
 differently towards us from what he has done." 
 
 " I cannot tell why it is ; but it seems to me," said Mr. 
 Eldridge, " that Deacon Smith was not here to-night be- 
 cause he did not wish to be. I have always considered 
 the deacon to be one of our best friends, it is true, and I 
 know of nothing that I have done which should make 
 him otherwise now ; but having had a pretty extended 
 knowledge of mankind, and of deacons in particular, I 
 have learned to feel that a deacon will take a sudden tack 
 round against a pastor. I cannot think that Deacon 
 Smith would do this ; but it may be that I have been 
 mistaken." 
 
 " I would not cherish the thought that Deacon Smith 
 had become unfriendly to you," said Mrs. Eldridge. " He 
 is the last man to do this. Only think how many people, 
 both in and out of our parish, have told us what Deacon 
 Smith has said in favor of his minister. He has been
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 369 
 
 exalting you, far and near, ever since you have been here, 
 as being the best minister in the state ; and it would sound 
 strangely now to hear him talk differently from this. I 
 would not, husband, allow myself to think it possible for 
 such a man as Deacon Smith to turn against me." 
 
 " I know," replied Mr. Eldridge, " that all the past mani- 
 festations of the deacon towards me make it very im- 
 probable that he is unfriendly now ; but then, after all, 
 deacons have acted as strangely as all this." 
 
 " Well, husband, if Deacon Smith is against you, others 
 will be soon. He has great sway here, you know." 
 
 " That he has," said Mr. Eldridge ; " I am well aware of 
 this. If the deacon is against me, I may as well think 
 my days here are numbered and will soon be finished." 
 
 " If you feel that he is unfriendly," said Mrs. Eldridge, 
 " I would call and see him, and know all about it." 
 
 " No, no, my dear wife ; that is not my way. No one but 
 yourself will ever know that such a thought is in my 
 mind. I shall go on as ever, endeavoring to do my duty 
 day by day, and shall not, either by word or deed, disclose 
 to any one a fear that Deacon Smith may be opposed to 
 me. I have already seen too many sad effects of pastors 
 helping their people dismiss them in doing what you sug- 
 gest. If Deacon Smith is opposed, he would be relieved 
 should I introduce the subject to him. I have long made 
 up my mind that, if ever there should be trouble in the 
 parish, I would know nothing of it. My opponents shall 
 never have any assistance from my words or actions with 
 which they can the more easily accomplish their work. 
 They shall have all the labor and all the pleasure." 
 
 After Mr. and Mrs. Clay arrived home, Mrs. Clay 
 rehearsed to her husband the conversation of Mrs. Smith. 
 
 " Can it be," Mr. Clay said, " that Deacon Smith has left 
 Mr. Eldridge ? the man he has praised so much, the man
 
 370 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 he has considered almost the personification of perfection. 
 Can it be that Deacon Smith is such a man ? " 
 
 " We must, indeed, now admit this to be the fact," said 
 Mrs. Clay, "Mrs. Smith being authority. It is sad to 
 think of." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Mr. Clay ; " if Deacon Smith is opposed 
 to Mr. Eldridge, Colonel Presbury will probably know it, 
 and the two will make serious trouble in the parish." 
 
 "There maybe some little trouble," said Mrs. Clay; 
 " but, then, it will not amount to much. There are enough 
 here, without the colonel and the deacon, who are able and 
 willing to stand by and support Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " These two individuals will carry many with them," Mr. 
 Clay said. " If they really undertake to dismiss our pas- 
 tor, they will succeed, I have no doubt. I never supposed 
 the colonel could do much unless he had some influential 
 members of the church to work with him ; and now, if he 
 has the deacon on his side, I should not be surprised if we 
 had a council here within a year for the purpose of dis- 
 missing Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " How is it possible for the colonel and deacon to get a 
 majority on their side," Mrs. Clay asked, " when now 
 nearly all the people are satisfied with our pastor ? " 
 
 " It is a very easy thing," said Mr. Clay, " for people to 
 be friendly to a minister when there are no particular 
 influences at work to make them otherwise. There are a 
 great many fair-weather friends in a parish, who are 
 always hid in a storm. The deacon and colonel will make 
 a flurry, and it will not be six months before they will have 
 on their side of the house a majority of voters in a parish 
 meeting. They are now, or will soon be, at work with 
 their minions. The deacon knows how the thing is done. 
 They will do here as is done in other places when the 
 effort is made to dismiss a minister. We shall have mis-
 
 A DONATION PARTY. 371 
 
 representation and lying about the minister, and all that 
 species of conduct, which always succeeds in prejudicing 
 certain minds against him." 
 
 " I cannot see as you do, husband," said Mrs. Clay. " I 
 do not believe that our people will ever consent to part 
 with Mr. Eldridge, let the colonel and deacon do what 
 they may." 
 
 " I hope you are right," Mr. Clay replied ; " but, then, I 
 think you will acknowledge your mistake before many 
 months."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 
 
 WITHIN a few weeks from the donation visit described 
 in the preceding chapter, Mr. Eldridge was called to his 
 native town on business connected with the settlement of 
 his father's estate. He was thus absent three weeks, being 
 detained ten days beyond the period at which he contem- 
 plated returning when he left home by an unlooked-for 
 concurrence of circumstances which transpired to oppose a 
 more speedy adjustment of the business which it was his 
 object to effect. It was unfortunate for him that his inter- 
 est required him to be away from his parish at this particu- 
 lar time, when the colonel and the deacon were beating up 
 volunteers to . a war ; for they had a far more favorable 
 opportunity for succeeding in their nefarious object with 
 the pastor out of town than they could have had had he 
 been among his people. 
 
 Both the colonel and Deacon Smith now acted as if it 
 was their purpose to effect the dismission of the pastor. 
 They did not propose this publicly, nor at first even pri- 
 vately, to those with whom they sought opportunities for 
 conversing on parochial matters ; but they so expressed 
 themselves as to start the fear or apprehension that Mr. El- 
 dridge's hold on the affections of his people was giving way, 
 and th&t perhaps some other minister might better unite the 
 parish, and consequently be more generally useful. The dea- 
 
 (372)
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 373 
 
 con was a wary man. He well knew that he had unbounded 
 influence, and it was not his purpose to do any thing by 
 which this should be diminished. He was determined to 
 have another pastor, and it was no very easy part for him 
 to act insidiously to undermine the popularity of Mr. El- 
 dridge without the discovery of any that such was his 
 object. Having been long acquainted with his pastor, ho 
 had discovered the weaker elements of his character, as 
 all men. however eminent, have these ; but the abounding 
 excellences which the pastor's character contained having 
 till row veiled these weaker elements, the deacon was 
 not in the habit of thinking of them, and was never known 
 to utter a word by which it could be conveyed that there 
 was any thing about the pastor which was not exactly as it 
 should be. Now, however, the deacon's object required 
 that the whole character should be exposed ; and if this 
 only had been attempted there would have been nothing 
 disclosed that would in the least have taken a particle of 
 real excellence from the pastor or have prejudiced any 
 mind against him. Whilst the deacon undertook to give 
 certain minds which it was his desire to convert to hia 
 way of thinking some new light on Mr. Eldridge's public 
 and private character, he went beyond the boundaries 
 which real truth prescribed, and drew to his aid what lay 
 in the boundless field of imagination, conjecture, and mis- 
 representation. He did not do this directly, so that any 
 particular remark of his could be repeated as hostile to 
 Mr. Eldridge ; but he did it in his own way, coloring a 
 little here, and making it light a little there, with a dex- 
 tercus stroke, so that the picture would appear after his 
 own desire, and yet he have no particular part in its draw- 
 ing. We all know that this is often done, and that many 
 a character has been thus tarnished when it would be diffi- 
 cult to charge home on the guilty offender the ways and 
 the means adopted to effect the wicked deed. It cannot 
 32
 
 374 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 be disguised, this part the deacon often acted to prejudice/ 
 the people against the pastor. When he had left the im- 
 pression he desired, or had prepared the way for a little 
 further development, he was not long without an oppor- 
 tunity for striking another blow, which of course did, as 
 it was designed, greater execution than the first attempt. 
 In this way he succeeded with some, and without their 
 consciousness, too, that such was his purpose, in alienating 
 warm affections from the current where they had run ten 
 or twenty years, and making it cold towards the pastor. 
 The way would thus be opened for more direct conversa- 
 tion, which would be commenced by others than the dea- 
 con, when it would be conjectured that he, too, was not 
 exactly satisfied with Mr. Eldridge, and that some other 
 minister would better please him ; and so the subject of his 
 dismission began to be agitated. 
 
 Of course there was a report at head quarters of all 
 conquests and of all circumstances which seemed to favor 
 conquests. It would then be in the way for Colonel Pres- 
 bury or some one else to follow in the wake of the deacon 
 for the purpose of confirming the deacon's converts and 
 assisting others leaning in the desired direction to fall 
 and be in full ranks with the deacon and his company. 
 Strange as it may appear, after this kind of manoeuvring, 
 in the short space of a few weeks many individuals who 
 had almost worshipped their pastor were transformed and 
 made ready to hail another minister. " The deacon of 
 course knows ; and, if he thinks so, there must be some 
 foundation ; " and so after the deacon many went, and 
 with him as their guide they felt safe. 
 
 Before the return of Mr. Eldridge, the small parlor at 
 Colonel Presbury's where the first meeting of the mal- 
 contents was held on the evening of the donation visit 
 was toe strait for the weekly conclave, the number had so 
 much increased. It became necessary for the colonel to
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 375' 
 
 open a larger room to accommodate those who were seek- 
 ing the good of Zion and the welfare of Jerusalem. It 
 was a part of the policy to invite none to this meeting 
 until there was complete evidence that they were of the 
 right stamp ; and it was another part of the same policy 
 that none who were present should make it known that 
 these meetings were held, or that any movement was 
 thought of for disturbing the pastoral relation. None, 
 therefore, but the elect were aware that Mr. Eldridge's 
 foundations were being shaken ; and the multitude thought 
 that all things relating to him were as prosperous as ever. 
 So it is that a pastor thinketh there is no cloud in his 
 horizon and the people at large see nothing but a bright 
 and cheering firmament, when in reality a terrible storm 
 menaces and shortly appears, confounding and distress- 
 ing confiding ones and those who have long been happy 
 under his various ministry. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge, while lingering in his native town to 
 have events transpire for the completion of the business 
 which called him thither, had a favorable opportunity to 
 revive former friendships and to know all about the things 
 relating to the church and parish with which his parents 
 were ^connected, and for which he had ever cherished the 
 most lively interest. He had not been long in the place 
 nor seen but a few individuals before he became impressed 
 that every thing was not as it should be with the incum- 
 bent of the pastoral office there. When he first began to 
 hear from the lips of parishioners the sad tale of their 
 sorrows and disappointments, he received their recital 
 with distrust ; for he was too wise in ecclesiastical con- 
 cerns to be ignorant of the fact that a faithful pastor is 
 often traduced. when there is no just cause on which to 
 found a charge. Indeed, so slightly was he affected by 
 what he heard that he did not for some time admit the 
 possibility that the sayings of the people could be true,
 
 376 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and he dismissed them from his mind as the tales of scan- 
 dal or of gross misrepresentation. However, he thought at 
 last he should know the estimate it would be proper to 
 put on the gossip of the people when he could have the 
 happiness to arrive at Deacon Babbit's ; for towards this 
 venerable man he had from childhood to the meridian of 
 life had the greatest respect and affection. When Mr. 
 Eldridge was a boy the name of Deacon Babbit ever drew 
 forth homage and love from all the people ; and the years 
 that had passed since only increased the affection and 
 confidence of every one towards him. He was a candid, 
 guileless, and godly man ; a man who honored and re- 
 spected the ministry, and one who ever stood up with a 
 square shoulder for the pastors who had been settled over 
 the people with whom he was connected. Not only for 
 his own ministers was he a support, but for all. He appre- 
 ciated their situation. He knew its difficult and perplexing 
 character ; and from principle, as well as from feeling, he 
 was the ready advocate of the minister. By reason of his 
 influence and example many were induced to tread softly by 
 the pastor's door and to make it as pleasant and as happy for 
 him as possible. Could they who have been his ministers 
 know the source whence many a benefaction came to their 
 abode, could they know why it was that gossip about the 
 minister and his family was of such a slender voice, and 
 even that so unfrequently raised, then would they know 
 more of the value of Deacon Babbit. If all the good 
 things which his pastors received did not come directly 
 from the house of this good man, it must be confessed the 
 greater part of them would never have been carried to 
 the parsonage had it not been for the sentiments it was 
 ever his practice to instil into the people. Deacon Bab- 
 bit was not thus impelled in his course towards ministers 
 because he thought they were perfect men and unable to 
 do wrong. He did not thus think. He had too much
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 377 
 
 good sense thus to think. Deacon Babbit thought minis- 
 ters could do right, and that, as a general thing, they were 
 full as consistent as other men ; and therefore he was their 
 friend and supporter. He was, moreover, urged forward 
 to throw around them his shield and to make their way 
 pleasant, because he considered, they were engaged in a 
 most noble work and had to struggle against peculiar ob- 
 stacles and trials. On this account he conceived that 
 ministers were entitled to the support and sympathy of the 
 people, and especially of those who were the professed 
 disciples of the great Master of the minister. Because 
 these were the sentiments of Deacon Babbit, and because 
 they commended themselves to the conscience and intelli- 
 gence of every man, he had great influence over the com- 
 munity in the treatment of ministers. Knowing all this, 
 it is not strange that Mr. Eldridge thought it would be 
 safe for him to form a judgment of the rumors that had 
 reached him respecting the present pastor after he should 
 have seen Deacon Babbit and heard from him the situation 
 of parochial affairs. 
 
 In due time Mr. Eldridge paid the venerable deacon a 
 visit. Though living nearly ten years beyond the ap- 
 pointed age of man, yet it was not manifest that the inner 
 man was old and enfeebled. On the contrary, all there 
 appeared sprightly and in vigor. It was cheering in the 
 extreme to Mr. Eldridge to find his aged friend thus ; and 
 it was a greater source of joy to him still to find him the 
 same man that he had ever been, with the exception of the 
 improvements accorded to him by grace and wisdom. 
 
 At a suitable period in his interview with the deacon 
 Mr. Eldridge alluded to some of the rumors which he had 
 heard since his arrival in town touching the minister of the 
 place. 
 
 ".Ah," the deacon said, "then they have been filling 
 your ears respecting our parish matters. I am sorry 
 32*
 
 378 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 the people here are so imprudent as to talk so much about 
 our minister. It is something new for them thus to do. I 
 have thought our people were rather different in this 
 respect from many parishes ; but I am fearful they are 
 losing their characteristic prudence. Some of the young 
 people here have acquired a deep prejudice towards the 
 minister, and they are not inclined to govern their feel- 
 ings or their tongues as they should. They are to blame, 
 I think, as well as the man against whom they talk so 
 severely." 
 
 " I am pleased to hear you say this," Mr. Eldridge re- 
 marked. " I thought, from my slight acquaintance with 
 Mr. Becket, that he was a good man and was inclined to 
 do good." 
 
 " Yes ; I believe our pastor to be a good man," the 
 deacon said, " and I think he wishes to do good ; but, 
 then, the young people and others have some cause for 
 being dissatisfied, I really think. But they have no excuse 
 for talking about Mr. Becket as they do. They say many 
 things which are utterly false." 
 
 " Well, deacon," Mr. Eldridge observed, " I have be- 
 come somewhat interested since I have been here in your 
 parish matters, and I should like to hear from you your 
 opinion of Mr. Becket's course. I have not paid much at- 
 tention to what has been told me ; for I have seen that 
 the people have been much excited, and I knew that all 
 could not be true that I have heard." 
 
 " No, no," the deacon said ; " not half of it is true, I 
 dare say. As I said before, I believe our minister is a 
 good man ; but he is not a man of very enlarged views, I 
 think. A very great cause of the trouble here has arisen 
 from Mr. Becket's unwillingness to leave his old, beaten 
 track. He thinks, I should judge from his conduct, that 
 all the benefit which the people need his two services on 
 the Sabbath are fitted to impart. Well, I have no doubt
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 379 
 
 that the people might be much more benefited than they 
 have been if they had made it their business to derive all 
 the good in their power from Mr. Becket's preaching. But 
 I really think he has been unwise in not having meetings 
 in the week time and in not giving the younger brethren 
 an opportunity to exercise their gifts. That is what they 
 want. They desire a meeting Sabbath evening, and they 
 want one or two meetings during the week ; and I think 
 it would be well to gratify them." 
 
 " Certainly," said Mr. Eldridge ; " I think so, decided- 
 ly ; and I am astonished that Mr. Becket does not think 
 so too. What reason can he give for not having such 
 meetings ? " 
 
 " All that I ever heard of his giving was, he was afraid 
 of excitement. He did not wish to have the people be- 
 come excited. Now, I think it would have been much 
 better for the pastor, and people, too, to have had the ex- 
 citement occasioned by frequent religious meetings than 
 the excitement which now exists." 
 
 " There can be no doubt of that," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 " The excitement which appears now I should take to be 
 a very destructive feeling if I were your minister. I could 
 not reasonably hope to be instrumental of much good 
 whilst it continued." 
 
 " It is very strange that Mr. Becket did not see it," the 
 deacon remarked. " He might have been the means of 
 allowing much good to be done had he encouraged the 
 young men and others who were for making efforts for the 
 good of souls, and appointed meetings, so that they could 
 have taken a part in the services. I have wondered how 
 he could conscientiously refuse to have these meetings 
 when he saw how strong the desire was for them. I should 
 have thought he would have been very much pleased and 
 encouraged by the feeling that called for them, and have 
 done every thing in his power to make them interesting 
 and profitable."
 
 380 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Has he never had more than two services on the Sab- 
 bath?* 7 Mr. Eldridge inquired. "Has he never had any 
 Sabbath evening meetings or conference meetings during 
 the week ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; sometimes, after he had been beset by the 
 people to appoint more meetings, he would have a confer- 
 ence meeting Sabbath evening ; but he would, in his zeal 
 to prevent excitement, endeavor to do away the effect of 
 the exhortations of the brethren ; and this only made the 
 matter worse. Because he has manifested opposition to 
 what the brethren have said at these meetings they have 
 been much displeased." 
 
 " I suppose I must consider all this true of Mr. Becket," 
 Mr. Eldridge remarked, "because you are the witness, 
 deacon. Had I heard the same elsewhere I should have 
 been disposed to question the statement somewhat." 
 
 " I am much obliged to you," the deacon replied, " for 
 your confidence. I never intended to slander any one, 
 and especially a minister. I regret exceedingly that the 
 truth requires as much as this to be said of our pastor. 
 Had he been more ready to have had extra meetings, and 
 treated the brethren whose pious feelings led them to ask 
 for such with more kindness, I think the cause of religion 
 would have prospered more here than it has." 
 
 "Undoubtedly," Mr. Eldridge replied. "Has Mr. 
 Becket treated with unkindness the brethren who were 
 anxious that greater efforts should be made for the ad- 
 vancement of piety here ? " 
 
 " I fear he has," the deacon said. " Several of the 
 brethren have repeatedly told me that he treated them with 
 great coldness, and at some times with great harshness. 
 From the manner in which I have heard Mr. Becket speak 
 of these brethren, I have no doubt they have reason for 
 saying what they do. I cannot think it is right for a min- 
 ister to conduct in this way. It is wrong to offend any
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 381 
 
 man, and particularly to offend those individuals who are 
 much engaged in the cause of religion, for no other reason 
 than that they are thus engaged and desire to have all feel 
 as they do. And then, again, it is wrong for a minister to 
 neglect to have meetings when they are really called for 
 by the people. It is discouraging to pious feeling, and it 
 is hindering the advancement of true piety." 
 
 " That is very manifest," Mr. Eldridge said ; " and I am 
 much astonished that Mr. Becket has not seen all this 
 himself." 
 
 " So am I," the deacon said. " I have often wondered 
 how the man could be easy to see things going as they 
 have been here for several years past. We have had no 
 revivals, and but a very few have been added to the church. 
 The congregation on the Sabbath has been dwindling 
 away ; and, if there is not an alteration soon, I see no rea- 
 son why the church here will not become extinct and there 
 be no interest in religion whatever. Already several fami- 
 lies have left the society and go to another parish to meet- 
 ing because of the position of Mr. Becket in relation to 
 progress ; and I am afraid others will do the same unless 
 Mr. Becket either alters or goes away." 
 
 " Why can he be so unwise," Mr. Eldridge inquired, " as 
 to do as he does ? Why will he place obstacles in the way 
 of revivals of religion and of the general progress of the 
 church and parish?" 
 
 "Sometimes I have thought our brother Addison told 
 the truth when he said, ' Mr. Becket does not wish for a 
 revival here, because he would then have more labor to 
 perform. His laziness is in the way.' That is a hard 
 speech ; but there is some truth in the remark. I think Mr. 
 Becket is rather an indolent man ; but I never say so here." 
 
 " He cannot expect to remain here long if he is aware 
 the people feel towards him as you represent," Mr. El- 
 dridge said.
 
 382 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " He has been told how people feel towards him ; and I 
 should think, if he had not been, he would think, from the 
 empty pews, that there was not much interest in him among 
 the people," the deacon said. 
 
 " What does he say for himself when he is informed that 
 there is a desire that he should leave ? " 
 
 " I am informed," the deacon replied, " that he does not 
 make any conversation whatever with those who have in- 
 formed him of the state of feeling here." 
 
 " How long since the first intimation was given him of 
 this state of feeling ? " 
 
 " Between three and four years," the deacon said. " I am 
 told by some of the brethren that they have bad conversa- 
 tion with him on the subject very often, as often as they 
 dare to, and that it amounts to nothing at all." 
 
 "Does he never converse with you on the subject?" 
 
 "No, sir," the deacon said. "He never alluded to any 
 dissatisfaction of the people with him in any of my inter- 
 views with him ; and, as I knew he was informed of the 
 matter, I have thought that I would not mention the sub- 
 ject to him. Deacons are apt to run before they are sent in 
 these matters of difficulty ; and I thought I would be still. 
 I never yet quarrelled with a minister ; and I am now too 
 old to begin." 
 
 "You appear to have some knowledge of individuals 
 who hold the same office in the church with yourself, I 
 should judge by this last remark," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " What do you refer to, sir? my saying that deacons 
 were apt to run to the minister who has difficulty in his 
 parish and inform him that it is time for him to ask for a 
 dismission before they are sent ? " 
 
 " That is the remark," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " That is true," the deacon said. " I have known of a 
 number of instances of ministers being dismissed wholly 
 for such a reason. People, when excited, said hard things
 
 THE PASTOR'S VISIT TO HIS NATIVE TOWN. 383 
 
 of their minister, and the deacons got wind of their say- 
 ings, and forthwith reported them to the pastor. Then 
 the "pastor would treat these individuals with coldness and 
 consider them enemies j and in this way alienation would be 
 fomented, and the end would be dismission." 
 
 " I see you understand it," Mr. Eldridge said. " Dea- 
 cons are not all alike ; but, then, I have no doubt they often 
 make matters worse by their interference" 
 
 " Yes, yes ; that they do. I do not think a deacon ought 
 to be more prominent in a parish difficulty with a minister 
 than any other man. For my part, I never would be a 
 cat j s paw for others" 
 
 " That is a very significant expression, deacon," Mr. El- 
 dridge said. "It expresses the idea exactly. People 
 sometimes wish to make a difficulty with their minister ; 
 they are ashamed to stir in the matter themselves, and so 
 they go to a deacon and get him to go forward ; and then 
 they stand back and coolly look on, and it may be exult 
 over the folly of their instrument." 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Eldridge, it is often just so ; and I have often 
 wondered that deacons would be made tools of for such 
 infamous purposes."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Mr. Eldridge had a salary equal to any other 
 clergyman in a country town, although his people had 
 from time to time in the course of every year of his pas- 
 torate made him generous presents, yet the aggregate 
 of his receipts by no means relieved him from the necessi- 
 ty of rigid economy. He was one of those individuals 
 who felt it to be a sacred duty to have an eye out for tho 
 future. It was his practice to lay by something every 
 year which could be called to his aid in the event that he 
 should be laid by from his professional labors by sickness 
 or by age. Then, again, he had a rising family ; and he 
 felt bound to care well for his children and give them all 
 a thorough education. In doing this he was at no small 
 expense. Two of his sons had already received a collegi- 
 ate education, and his daughters had been absent for 
 years in attendance upon school. So, for the payment of 
 the bills accruing from these sources, it is apparent no 
 small sum would ba required. Then, again, there were 
 the calls upon him by the benevolent organizations of the 
 age, which it was a pleasure and a privilege to him to 
 heed. His library, too, from year to year made drafts 
 upon him which he could not on any account dishonor. His 
 health required of him that he should at times relax his 
 severe pursuits and seek its renewal in travel ; and here 
 
 (384)
 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE. 385 
 
 \ras no small outlet for his money. In addition to all 
 these expenses must be mentioned those which arose from 
 the feeding and clothing of his family and in the entertain- 
 ment of company, with which, in no small share, he was 
 blessed. The manner in which Mr. Eldridge met these 
 various expenses had all along been to his people a source 
 of pride and pleasure, and various were the remarks in 
 approval of his course from every part of his parish which 
 were treasured up in his memory. He was always ap- 
 plauded by the many, and never loudly condemned by the 
 few, for his economy ; and this trait of his character was 
 almost universally regarded as one of great value. 
 
 It is to be remembered that parishioners are not under 
 bonds to continue their approval of excellence in their pas- 
 tor. There is a right reserved suddenly to change and to 
 condemn as strongly as it was ever their practice to ap- 
 plaud. If individuals, therefore, had for years lauded the 
 pastor for his economy, it is no marvel if they turn right 
 about and condemn the man for his meanness and con- 
 tractedness. " It is all fair in politics ; " and it is no less 
 so in ministerial matters when the object is to displace a 
 faithful pastor to gratify the caprice or the will of a fac- 
 tious few, who are determined on revenge, or who have 
 taken it upon themselves to secure another minister more 
 to their own particular taste. 
 
 A minister cannot be dismissed without cause ; that is a 
 settled matter. If a people should be guilty of such an 
 act, they would receive the unmeasured condemnation of 
 the whole community. A minister cannot be dismissed 
 without ihf, people are dissatisjied with him, unless he chooses 
 to go away ; then if a few wish to displace him they must 
 have some cause they must show dissatisfaction. If 
 there be none to exhibit, some must be manufactured for 
 the purpose. This very business Deacon Smith and Colo- 
 nel Presbury are now doing. They have been at work 
 33
 
 386 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 hard at it for several weeks, as the reader has been 
 apprised in preceding chapters. They are turning their 
 pastor over and over. They are going back to his ordi- 
 nation, and are carefully looking over every succeeding 
 year in search of something out of which to manufacture 
 material. Contemptible business, the reader thinks. No 
 doubt of that ; but it is a fact, notwithstanding ; and if 
 the business was confined to Mr. Eldridge's parish, perhaps 
 it would not be well to expose it. Charity might suppose 
 it would be repented of there, and fruits worthy of repent- 
 ance be exhibited. However, this business is not thus re- 
 stricted. It has for many years been extensively carried 
 on ; and the fruits thereof are many, as the community are 
 well aware. 
 
 " I really wish our minister would get him a new horse," 
 said Colonel Presbury, as he was conversing in the street 
 with Mr. Bangs whilst Mr. Eldridge rode by. 
 
 " Why, what is the matter with the one he now has ? " 
 Mr. Bangs inquired. 
 
 " 0, 1 think that horse is a disgrace to the parish," the 
 colonel replied ; " and I have heard others say the same." 
 
 " I don't know about that," Mr. Bangs said. " I don't 
 see but that the animal looks as well as he ever did. Mr. 
 Eldridge has had him ten or twelve years, I believe : and I 
 never heard any one say any thing against him before. 1 ' 
 
 " Well, I have," the colonel said ; " and there are many 
 who feel that Mr. Eldridge does not do right to drive 
 such a horse when his salary and presents enable him to 
 keep a better one." 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge's horse is a better looking animal than 
 half the horses about town," Mr. Bangs said ; " and he is a 
 good, faithful old creature. If I was in Mr. Eldridge's 
 place I would not part with him. Mr. Eldridge has ways 
 enough for his money without buying every new horse 
 that conies along. For my part, I am glad he makes his
 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE. 387 
 
 horses last so long ; and I hope the one he has now will 
 stand him these five years yet." 
 
 " Don't you think, Mr. Bangs, a minister ought to con 
 suit the feelings of his parish, and not disgrace thorn 
 abroad by appearing as though he wasn't half supported ? " 
 
 " Why, yes ; if a minister has a good salary he ought to 
 appear respectably, I think. Does not Mr. Eldridge ap- 
 pear well enough, I should like to know ? " 
 
 " I do not know but the man appears well enough ; but I 
 really think people out of town must think from the looks 
 of his horse that we don't do well by him." 
 
 " If people out of town, think so, I should suppose I 
 should have heard something about it before. I am in 
 neighboring towns pretty often, and I often hear Mr. El- 
 dridge spoken of, and well spoken of too. I never heard 
 a word said about his horse. I think his horse is good 
 enough for him or for any one else. Mr. Eldridge can- 
 not afford to be fanciful about a horse or any thing else. 
 He has a large family and an. expensive one ; and I think 
 he must find it difficult to do as he does with no more in- 
 come than he has from our people. You must know, colo- 
 nel, eight or ten hundred dollars don't go far in support- 
 ing many families here who have not half the number of 
 necessary calls for money that our minister has. There's 
 our doctor, with but two children ; he says he cannot get 
 along without spending fifteen hundred dollars a year. 
 I don't think he or his family appear any better than our 
 mininter and his family. As for the doctor's horses, nei- 
 ther of them is so good an animal as Mr. Eldridge's." 
 
 U 0, well," the colonel said, " the doctor is not supported 
 by the parish, and he can do as he pleases. No one has 
 any right to interfere with his matters." 
 
 ' I don't know," Mr. Bangs said, " as any one has any 
 right to interfere with our minister's matters. If any one 
 earns his money by hard work, I think Mr. Eldridge does.
 
 388 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 For my part, I think he ought to be better paid than he 
 is, and that no one ought to find fault with him for not 
 having a more expensive horse, or for any thing else. I 
 wonder how he can make his salary go as far as he does." 
 
 After a few other remarks Mr. Bangs and the colonel 
 parted, and whilst walking along Mr. Bangs met Mr. 
 Cummings, when the latter gentleman immediately said, 
 
 " Mr. Bangs, have you been called on to give any thing 
 towards getting a new horse for our minister?" 
 
 " No ; I have not. Are they going to give Mr. Eldridge 
 a new horse ? I have not heard any thing about it. If 
 he wants a new horse, I am ready to do my part to give 
 him one ; but I think his present horse is able enough yet 
 to do all his business." 
 
 "I never heard any thing about it before this morning," 
 Mr. Cummings said. " I just met Deacon Smith, and he 
 said some of the people thought Mr. Eldridge had driven 
 his horse long enough, and that he had been a disgrace to 
 the parish ; and they were for subscribing to procure for 
 him one which would be a respectable-looking animal." 
 
 " It seems to me," Mr. Bangs said, "some people must have 
 opened their eyes all at once. I have just been conversing with 
 ColoneJ Prcsbury, who has been running out at great 
 length about the minister's horse. He seemed to be vexed 
 that Mr. Eldridge had* no more regard for the reputation 
 of the parish than to drive such a horse. Now, it seems 
 Deacon Smith thinks the same. I should really like to know 
 what all this means. I have never heard any thing said 
 before this morning that the minister's horse was not well 
 enough. He certainly looks as well as he ever did." 
 
 " I don't know what it means, I confess," Mr. Cummings 
 said. " I did not have any conversation with the deacon 
 about the matter. I was in much haste, and did not stop 
 to hear him talk two moments. I thought, however, he 
 had a queer kind of a look with him when he asked me to
 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE. 389 
 
 subscribe ; and now, from what you tell me, I guess lie. was 
 not in earnest about getting up a subscription. He must 
 have been joldng." 
 
 "It strikes me as a very singular circumstance," Mr. 
 Bangs said, "that Colonel Presbury should talk as be 
 did to me about the minister's horse, and that Deacon 
 Smith should begin with you on the same subject. I don't 
 understand it. If I did not know that Deacon Smith was 
 very friendly to our minister, I should mistrust that there 
 was some under current at work not of a very promising 
 character." 
 
 " 0, there can be nothing of that kind," Mr. Cummings 
 said. " The deacon would not do any thing to prejudice people 
 against our minister. You know how well he likes Mr. 
 Eldridge." 
 
 Here the conversation was interrupted by a gentleman 
 riding up to converse with Mr. Cummings. Mr. Bangs 
 immediately left and proceeded homeward. 
 
 In a day or two from this period Mrs. Stimson and 
 Miss Bemis called together upon Mrs. Bangs for the pur- 
 pose of soliciting her subscription for the benefit of Mrs. 
 Eldridge. Mrs. Stimson remarked that there had been 
 much said among the people about the appearance of the 
 minister and his wife ; that it was a matter of mortifica- 
 tion to many that Mr. Eldridge drove such a poor horse, 
 and that his wife had worn the same old bonnet and shawl 
 for eight or ten winters. Many individuals have thought 
 that the salary which was paid the minister was amply 
 sufficient to enable him to appear respectably, and that, as 
 he was disposed to save his money and suffer himself and 
 wife to go looking any how, it was time he had a hint that 
 the people were not very well satisfied with such policy. 
 The gentlemen, she said, were going to give him a new 
 horse, and the ladies thought of presenting Mrs. Eldridgo 
 with a new shawl and bonnet. 
 -33*
 
 390 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " Dear me ! " Mrs. Bangs remarked. " I am perfectly as- 
 tonished. For my part, I did not know but that Mrs. El- 
 dridge had a new bonnet every winter ; and it was no longer 
 ago than yesterday that I told my daughter, as I saw Mrs, 
 Eldridge passing in the street, that I did not perceive 
 that her shawl had faded in the least. It looked as well 
 as ever. Now, I have no objection to making Mrs. El- 
 dridge a present, I should be happy in contributing for 
 such an object, but I cannot consent to give at this time 
 for the purpose of mortifying my valued friend." 
 
 " We thought," Miss Bemis observed, " that almost 
 every lady in the parish would be ready to do any thing 
 to promote the respectability of the town. For my part, 
 I think the people have reason to be displeased at the neg- 
 ligence manifested by the pastor and wife to their personal 
 appearance." 
 
 " How long have the people been thus sensitive in relation to 
 this matter ? " Mrs. Bangs inquired. " It cannot be a great 
 while. For my part, I never heard a single word on the 
 subject before. If there had been any discontent at the 
 bonnet and shawl of Mrs. Eldridge, or at the appearance 
 of Mr. Eldridge's horse, it seems strange that I never 
 heard of it before." 
 
 " Well, there is much dissatisfaction in respect to this 
 matter, I assure you," Mrs. Stimson remarked. " I find the 
 ladies willing to contribute for this object ; and I have no 
 doubt Mrs. Eldridge will have a new bonnet and shawl if 
 you do not subscribe." 
 
 " I am sorry," Miss Bemis said, " that Mrs. Bangs is will- 
 ing to have her minister's wife new trim her bonnet every 
 winter, just to save the expense of purchasing a new one. 
 I think it is disgraceful for her to do this." 
 
 " I do not see," Mrs. Bangs remarked, with much feeling, 
 " that Mrs. Eldridge needs any hints from us to make her 
 more particular about her dress. There is no lady in town
 
 THE PASTOR'S HORSE. 391 
 
 who dresses more becomingly, or who appears more neatly, than 
 Mrs. Eldridge. If she is disposed to take good care of 
 her things she is to be commended, and I have often 
 heard her commended for her good taste and for her 
 economy." 
 
 Here the conversation ended by the entrance of Mrs. 
 Clay, who had called upon Mrs. Bangs; and both Miss 
 Bemis and Mrs. Stimson withdrew. 
 
 As soon as Mrs. Bangs and Mrs. Clay were alone, the 
 former related the conversation of the two ladies who had 
 just left ; when Mrs. Clay remarked, under the influence 
 of the most painful feelings, 
 
 " You are not aware, Mrs. Bangs, what all this means. 
 I have never till now heard any thing about the shawl and 
 bonnet ; but I have about Mr. Eldridge's horse. It is all 
 the same thing, I have no doubt, from the character of Mrs. 
 Stimson and Miss Bemis. The fact is, Mrs. Bangs, there 
 is an effort making by a few to create a prejudice against 
 our dear pastor and have him dismissed." 
 
 " How you talk, Mrs. Clay 1 " Mrs. Bangs said. " It 
 cannot be ! it cannot be 1 " 
 
 " I have known of this for some little time past," Mrs. 
 Clay remarked, " and I have no doubt that we are to have 
 serious trouble here." 
 
 Mrs. Clay then rehearsed the conversation she had with 
 the wife of Deacon Smith at the last donation party. She 
 remarked, too, that her husband had lately heard what 
 Colonel Presbury and Deacon Smith were endeavoring to 
 do in relation to procuring a new horse for the pastor, and 
 then said, 
 
 " All this is being done to create dissatisfaction with Mr. 
 Eldridge. Every one knows," she said, " that Mr. Eldridge 
 dresses neatly and appropriately, and that Mr. Eldridge's 
 herse is as good now as he ever was that he looks as 
 well as ever. There is no more reason for making a hue
 
 392 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and cry now about these things than there was ten years 
 ago; and there would not be any thing said about them but 
 for the wicked feelings and cruel purpose of Colonel Presbury 
 and Deacon Smith. Colonel Presbury acquired a preju- 
 dice towards Mr. Eldridge because he had to pay a pretty 
 round tax to settle the old parish debt ; and this prejudice 
 was increased by the tax he had to pay within a year or 
 two for the repairs of our meeting house. Deacon Smith 
 became displeased with our pastor because he was so faith- 
 ful with his son Robert and tried to reclaim him and make 
 him a blessing to his parents and the community. Mrs. 
 Smith is almost distracted at the course the deacon is pur- 
 suing. She told me yesterday that it appeared to her that 
 her heart would break if her husband did not desist. He 
 has no reason for his conduct. Mr. Eldridge had done 
 nothing but his duty, and she felt very grateful to him for 
 his fidelity to her son." 
 
 " This seems but a dream," Mrs. Bangs observed. " It 
 cannot be a reality" 
 
 " It is distressing to think of," Mrs. Clay said ; " but it 
 is a reality. They are now at work to separate us from 
 our beloved and faithful pastor. Colonel Presbury, Dea- 
 con Smith, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Otis, Miss Bemis, Mrs. Stimson, 
 and a number of others are doing all that they can to 
 alienate the people from Mr. Eldridge. They don't care 
 a fig about Mr. Eldridge's horse or about Mrs. Eldriclgc's 
 bonnet and shawl. They seize upon these for a pretext 
 to call round on the people and to converse about the pas- 
 tor to misrepresent and defame him." 
 
 "They cannot succeed," Mrs. Bangs stiid, "surely they 
 cannot succeed, in turning the hearts of this people from 
 Mr. Eldridge." 
 
 " I thought so at first," Mrs. Clay remarked ; " but now 
 I am really fearful we shall have to part with our pastor. 
 Deacon Smith has great influence, and so has Colonel 
 Presbury."
 
 THE PASTOK'S HORSE. 393 
 
 " Well, they will both lose tJidr influence when it comes to 
 be known why they became dissatisfied with Mr. Eldridge," 
 Mrs. Bangs remarked. 
 
 " They jpught to lose it," Mrs. Clay said. " Men who 
 will act from such motives as now govern the deacon and 
 colonel ought not to have any influence in society, I 
 think." 
 
 " Do you think," Mrs. Bangs asked, " that Mr. Eldridge 
 knows any thing about these things ? " 
 
 " I am afraid not," Mrs. Clay said. " Who would wish 
 to communicate them to him? He ought to be apprised 
 of the movement which is now being made. My husband 
 has thought of informing him ; but, then, he says he cannot 
 summon the resolution necessary for so painful a duty. 
 Deacon Smith and Colonel Presbury are very shy in their 
 movements, and I presume they do not intend to have the 
 matter made public till all things are right for their object." 
 
 " It will not be possible to keep this movement from, 
 Mr. Eldridge," Mrs. Bangs said. 
 
 " What friend of our dear pastor would wish to divulge 
 the matter to him ? Would you ? " 
 
 " 0, 1 could not," Mrs. Bangs said. 
 
 "Neither could I," Mrs. Clay observed. "He must 
 know it some time ; but I presume he will not be informed 
 of it till Colonel Presbury or Deacon Smith do it them- 
 selves." 
 
 " This is a most melancholy affair, truly," Mrs. Bangs 
 said. " To have a minister who has been as devoted as 
 Mr. Eldridge has been turned off merely because of his 
 fidelity is really distressing ; but I cannot believe he will 
 leave." 
 
 " I hope he will not, surely," Mrs. Clay said, as she rose 
 to leave j " but we must prepare ourselves for the worst."
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 
 
 THE wife of an eminent clergyman in the western part 
 of Massachusetts, an amiable and lovely woman, whose 
 name we would give but for a promise of secrecy, once 
 said to a friend younger than herself, who was likewise 
 the companion of a minister, 
 
 " You know some people think they may give almost 
 any thing to a minister and it will pass for a present. I 
 have frequently had things given to me which I would not, 
 on any account, have given to the poorest person of my 
 acquaintance for whom I had the least possible regard." 
 
 Any one at all conversant with pastoral life, doubtless, 
 can attest to the truth of the above remark. Whilst it 
 does not apply to the majority of parishioners, who, when 
 they give any thing to a pastor, are very careful to have 
 their present of value, yet it does with great propriety de- 
 scribe the manner in which a few often remember their 
 minister. It is considered fashionable to give to a pastor, 
 and it is well that it is so ; for the salary of a clergyman 
 is seldom larger than to meet the necessities of a family 
 graduated on the most economical scale. By reason of 
 such graduation there are some in every parish who think 
 that the circumstances of their minister are such that al- 
 most any article of clothing or species of food would not 
 at some time come amiss. In the gift of such, some 
 
 (394)
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 395 
 
 parishioners feel that they are real!} 7 contributing to the 
 comfort of their pastor's family ; though what they give 
 would, but for such destination, be cast out and trodden 
 under foot. 
 
 In their purchases of their parishioners it not unfre- 
 quently occurs that ministers are subjected to the most 
 fraudulent impositions. This is not true of all their pur- 
 chases ; for there be many in almost every parish who pre- 
 fer when they sell to their pastor to bring forward the 
 most excellent of their material, and even then to make a 
 liberal abatement on the price. But there are others who 
 take a different view of the situation of the minister and 
 of their own favored opportunity to drive a good bargain 
 when he happens to call to make a purchase. They can 
 comprehend the delicacy of the pastor's feelings. They 
 can understand the danger always attendant on a pastor's 
 finding fault either with quality or measure. They often 
 think, too, that the minister is not a judge and will not 
 notice, and so, feeling that the staif is altogether in their 
 own hands, they can do as they please, and that will be the 
 last of it. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge had some such parishioners as the above 
 last described. He and his wife doubtless remembered 
 them long ; for their gross and fraudulent impositions were 
 often the subject of their conversation when they were 
 where they were sure no one could overhear their excla- 
 mations over the wrongs which had been done them. One 
 of these individuals we must bring out ; for his overreach- 
 ing propensities were so great as to induce Mr. Eldridge, 
 under the advice and urgency of friends, to deviate from 
 his established policy and demur to their righteousness 
 and his duty to patient submission. This individual had 
 never before the present year trafficked much in the neigh- 
 borhood where Mr. Eldridge lived. The produce of his 
 farm he had been accustomed to carry to a manufacturing
 
 396 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 village at but a little greater distance from his house than 
 was the residence of his pastor. He had not been much 
 known as a trader, though he was considered a respecta- 
 ble man and a man of influence. Having cut off a large 
 quantity of wood, and consequently wishing to dispose of 
 the same, and the manufacturing village before alluded to 
 being now a dull market in consequence of the embar- 
 rassments of trade, Mr. Conner sought a market for his 
 wood in "the centre?' and he succeeded in disposing of a 
 large quantity. Mr. Eldridge had noticed his wood in 
 different door yards, and, being pleased with its quality, 
 thought it might be well for him to look to Mr. Conner 
 for his supply. Accordingly he did so, and stipulated for 
 the number of cords, quality, and the price, the same as 
 others paid. Soon the wood began to appear ; and as the 
 first few cords were thrown off it appeared as well as any 
 Mr. Conner had brought to the centre. Mr. Eldridge was 
 well pleased with it and manifested his satisfaction. 
 Soon, however, Mr. Eldridge noticed that the quality of 
 the wood began to depreciate. More small sticks and 
 crooked ones, too, began to appear ; and, as the last cords 
 were being thrown off, the difference was so perceptible 
 as to excite from the youngest son of the pastor, a child 
 of eight years, the inquiry of his father why he did not 
 have all his wood alike. When Mr. Conner came with 
 the last load, Squire Davidson and his son Charles were 
 in the parsonage. It being a pleasant day, the squire 
 thought it might be for his health and comfort to ride a 
 little distance ; and so he made it in his way to call on his 
 pastor. After Mr. Conner had gone Mr. Eldridge and 
 his friends walked out into the garden, and in returning 
 to the house they came up by the wood. 
 
 "You have two kinds of wood, I see," Mr. Charles Da- 
 vidson observed. "I suppose you consider it economical 
 to buy some small wood, as it comes at half price."
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 397 
 
 "No," Mr. Eldridge replied, " I do not. All the wood 
 I have had of Mr. Conner has been of one price." 
 
 "Well," said Mr. Davidson, "you do not mean to say 
 that you give the full price for large and small wood ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do," Mr. Eldridge replied. 
 
 "How much do you give for your wood? "the squire 
 asked. 
 
 "I agreed to pay five dollars the cord." 
 
 " You do not expect to give five dollars for that cord 
 Mr. Conner has just left, do you?" the squire asked. 
 
 " Of course I do," Mr. Eldridge replied ; " though I do 
 not think I ought to give it. My wife has been telling me 
 now for a number of days, when Mr. Conner has been 
 throwing of so much little and crooked wood, that I ought 
 to speak to him about it and let him know that I notice it ; 
 but I have not, neither do I think I shall. It would 
 probably displease Mr. Conner." 
 
 "Well," said both the squire and his son, "you ought 
 not to pay full price for this wood. Not more than half, 
 if there be half, is merchantable wood ; and you owe it to 
 yourself and family to see to it that you do not pay for 
 the trashy stuff the same that you would have to pay for 
 first-rate wood. Five dollars a cord is the top price ; and 
 wood ought to be first rate to bring this sum." 
 
 Mrs. Eldridge overheard this remark at her window 
 where she was sitting, and soon she came out into the yard ; 
 and let it be known that she was aware of the subject 
 upon which the gentlemen were conversing, and that she 
 was happy to find that the squire and his son so well 
 agreed with her in opinion as to Mr. Eldridgc's duty. 
 
 "Should I now say to Mr. Conner," Mr. Eldridge 
 observed, "that I thought he ought not to exact of me full 
 price for this wood, I have no doubt he would feel himself 
 injured. It will not do for a minister to find fault with his 
 
 people." 
 
 34
 
 398 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Both the squire and his son urged Mr. Eldridge, when 
 Mr. Conner called for his pay, as he would the next day, 
 to object to paying five dollars per cord for all that wood. 
 They said so much, and were fortified so entirely by the 
 eloquence of the good wife in the matter, that the pastor 
 finally passed his word that he would deviate from the 
 course he had practised hitherto, and stand out. 
 
 The next day, as was expected, Mr. Conner called and 
 presented his bill for twelve cords of wood, at five dollars 
 the cord. Mr. Eldridge took the paper and held it some 
 time before he made any remark. At length he said, 
 
 " I have supposed, Mr. Conner, that five dollars for all 
 this lot of wood was more than a fair price." 
 
 " You agreed to give five dollars a cord ; and I suppose 
 there is nothing more to be said upon the subject," Mr. 
 Conner replied. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I agreed to give that price, I acknowledge ; 
 but, then, I expected that you would bring me wood which 
 is worth that price," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Eldridge, you can pay me for the wood as 
 you agreed or not, as you please," Mr. Conner said, taking 
 up his hat and preparing to go out. 
 
 "I do not think it to be my duty to pay five dollars per 
 cord for, the entire lot," Mr. Eldridge said. "The first 
 four or five cords you left was very good wood ; but the 
 last loads, seven or eight of them, have been a very differ- 
 ent article. I think you must have noticed a difference 
 yourself, Mr. Conner." 
 
 " I understand you to say, sir, that you will not pay me 
 for the wood what you agreed to pay," Mr. Conner said. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I think I shall not pay you to-day sixty dol- 
 lars for that lot of wood." 
 
 Upon this declaration Mr. Conner took his hat and very 
 abruptly went from the house of Mr. Eldridge under tho 
 influence of the highest excitement.
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 399 
 
 Mrs. Eldridge, hearing the outer door violently close, 
 hastened from her apartment to ascertain . the cause. As 
 she reached the door and opened it she saw Mr. Conner 
 at a little distance from the house, walking with the 
 greatest swiftness. She then entered the room where her 
 husband was sitting and remarked at once, 
 
 " Mr. Conner has gone, then ; and I should think, from 
 the way he walks, he is in great haste." 
 
 "He moved out here just now, with some velocity, I 
 thought, and shut the outer door with some force too," Mr. 
 Eldridge observed. "Mr. Conner is very much excited ; 
 and I am sorry almost that I manifested any dissatisfac- 
 tion with the wood. He is very much displeased, and 
 doubtless will be an enemy to me." 
 
 " I think, my dear, it would have been decidedly wrong 
 in you to have paid that man as much for the wood he left 
 here as you would have to pay for good wood. I don't think 
 you know how miserable some of it is. I have been try- 
 ing this morning to make a fire, and the wood is so soggy 
 that I have had much difficulty. I should think it must 
 have lain in Mr. Conner's swamp these five years. I don't 
 believe half of this lot of wood has been cut within 'a 
 year, as you said Mr. Conner told you it had been." 
 
 " I should not be at all surprised," Mr. Eldridge re- 
 marked, "if he had picked up the last loads he brought 
 here in different places on his farm. I noticed that much 
 of it looked like old wood that had been cut some time." 
 
 " Well, I hope, husband, you never will pay him any more 
 than the wood is worth. I think you have been imposed 
 upon as much as you ought to have been ; and undoubt- 
 edly every one knows that you take any thing people have 
 ' a mind to bring you, and pay just what they ask, without 
 saying a word. I presume Mr. Conner thought you would 
 not notice that the wood was not what it should have been, 
 arid that he could get a good round price out of you for
 
 400 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 wood that he could hardly sell any where else. I think 
 you ought before this to have let people know that you 
 were not to be imposed upon. It would have been money 
 in your pocket, besides being the means of giving us often 
 much better articles than we have had. You remember 
 the apples Mr. Otis sold you last year for first-rate Rhode 
 Island greenings, don't you, and how nicely they were 
 barrelled up for you, and how Mr. Otis told you they 
 would not need picking over till midwinter ? You know 
 that we did not touch them till the first of January ; and 
 then, as we had some company that day, we thought we 
 would get our best apples ; and you remember how they 
 looked little things, no more like greenings than they 
 were like oranges, and at the bottom of the barrel there 
 was not a sound apple to be seen." 
 
 " 0, yes, wife," Mr. Eldridge said, laughing most heartily 
 at the remembrance and the earnestness of his wife in the 
 matter ; " 0, yes ; I remember the apples." 
 
 " Well, now, Mr. Otis knew that he could get three dol- 
 lars a barrel out of you for those apples as well as not. 
 He knew they were nothing but cider apples when he 
 brought them here. I wish I had had them opened at the 
 time he left them, and had let him know that I could tell 
 a Rhode Island greening from a snarly cider apple." 
 
 " 0, well, wife, we had better submit to all these things 
 quietly than make a fuss and displease our parishioners." 
 
 " I think ministers ought not to bear all things," Mrs. 
 Eldridge said. " If they would now and then let it be 
 known that they understood the nature of trading, and 
 could tell a turkey from a goose, I think they would not 
 be so often imposed upon." 
 
 ****** 
 
 In the afternoon Mr. Eldridge and wife visited at Squire 
 Davidson's. The squire, on the day preceding, informed 
 them that he expected two or three clergymen, with their
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 401 
 
 wives, and some other company from out of town, and it 
 would add much to the pleasure of the party, he had no 
 doubt, if his pastor and lady should be with them. When 
 Mi*, and Mrs. Eld ridge arrived it was somewhat late in 
 the afternoon, as they were detained by the unexpected 
 call of some friends from abroad. On entering the par- 
 lor, they were somewhat astonished to notice a larger 
 number of visitors than they had anticipated ; but, as 
 most of the part}^ were old friends, it was a matter of very 
 great pleasure to them to meet so many. 
 
 Whilst Mr. Eldridge was conversing with Mr. Charles 
 Davidson in the evening, the latter gentleman alluded to 
 the wood about which so much was said when he was at 
 Mr. Eldridge's with his father on the preceding day. 
 
 " Have you seen Mr. Conner yet ? " 
 
 " 0, yes ; he called at our house this morning and pre- 
 sented me with his bill for twelve cords of wood, at five 
 dollars per cord." 
 
 " Well, you did not pay it, I hope," Mr. Davidson said. 
 
 "No, sir ; I have not paid it ; but I rather think I shall. 
 I think it would be better for me to do it than to have 
 any difficulty about it." 
 
 " I would not on any account pay that price for all that 
 wood. Father and I have talked about it considerably 
 since we were at your house yesterday, and he thinks it 
 would be wrong in you to do so. Mr. Conner could not 
 recover half price for two thirds of the entire lot. Do 
 you think he could, father ? " 
 
 The old gentleman, though sitting near, and was sup- 
 posed by the son to know the subject of their conversa- 
 tion, but did not, responded, 
 
 " What was your question, Charles ? " 
 
 " I thought you were aware that Mr. Eldridge and I 
 have bee i conversing about Mr. Conner's wood, and I 
 34*
 
 402 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 aslced you your opinion ; but it seems you have not been 
 listening to our conversation.'' 
 
 " No, no," the squire observed, drawing his chair up to 
 Mr. Eldridge ; " no, I have not heard a word." 
 
 " Mr. Conner has presented his bill," the son remarked, 
 and Mr. Eldridge declines paying five dollars a cord for 
 the whole lot." 
 
 " He does right," the squire said ; " yes, Mr. Eldridge, 
 you have done right. Mr. Conner ought not to take ad- 
 vantage of his minister as he has done." 
 
 The squire, giving utterance to this remark with much 
 energy, was heard by the whole company, and there seemed 
 to be a general desire to be acquainted with the history 
 of this matter. As the clergy was somewhat largely rep- 
 resented in the company, it was perfectly natural for such 
 a desire to be excited by any thing connected with im- 
 proper treatment of a minister. Mr. Davidson at once 
 gave a history of the whole transaction about the wood, 
 and closed by saying, 
 
 " I think ministers ought to stand up for their rights, 
 and then they would not be imposed upon as they now 
 often are." 
 
 " I agree with you in that remark," Mr. Sandford ob- 
 served. " I think self-respect, if nothing else, requires our 
 profession to let it be known sometimes that we are not all 
 fools in the matter of trade, and that we know when we are 
 honorably and honestly dealt by and when we are defrauded. 
 I have suffered somewhat after the manner of brother El- 
 dridge, though on a smaller scale. Last winter the runners 
 of my sleigh gave out, and, as I did not feel able to buy new 
 ones, I thought I would make a little eifort to got a set 
 that had been used some. To my inquiries after such, I 
 was at length directed to a certain individual in my 
 parish who was known to have such articles. I called
 
 THE LOAD OP WOOD. 403 
 
 upon this man, a member of my church, for whom I had 
 much regard, and who always professed to be a great 
 friend to me. He told me that he had lately sold a set of 
 runners ; ' but,' said he, ' I have a sleigh which I will sell 
 you for the same price that I should ask for the runners 
 alone.' Well, I went with him to look at it, and ascer- 
 tained his price. ' Now,' he said, ' you have here a good 
 top, which I give you, and the runners I only ask six dol- 
 lars for.' Well, I thought the top was better than mine, 
 and so I concluded to purchase ; and I paid him six dol- 
 lars and took the sleigh home. I had not driven a quar- 
 ter of a mile from the man's house before I was met by 
 one of my people, who informed me that he had been of- 
 fered, the day before, the same sleigh by the same individ- 
 ual of whom I purchased it for four dollars ; but he did 
 not think it worth even that." 
 
 After a hearty laugh all round, Mr. Patterson remarked 
 that he had some experience of the same kind of good 
 feeling, which he would rehearse for the amusement of the 
 company. 
 
 " When I left the place where I was first settled I sold 
 off many of my things, and there remained only one article 
 to be disposed of ; and this was in my barn cellar. My 
 deacon lived the next house to mine, and I asked him if he 
 did not wish to purchase. He said he did ; and so he 
 came over and looked at the heap and asked me my price. 
 I told him I was no judge, and that I would leave the 
 worth of it to him. He told me he thought there were 
 two cords of it, and he would give me ten dollars. ' Well,' 
 said I, ' deacon, if you think that is all it is worth, you 
 may have it.' He said he would be up the next day and 
 pay me for it. He had not been gone from the barn two 
 hours before another individual called who resided 'four 
 miles from my house. As he and I were walking about 
 the premises, looking about, he cast his eye under the
 
 404 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 barn and discovered the manure heap, and immediately 
 asked what I was intending to do with it. I asked him 
 to look at it and tell me what he judged it to be worth. 
 He accordingly did, and said there were nearly three 
 cords, and that he would give me fifteen dollars for it. 
 ' Well,' said I, ' I have sold it to the deacon yonder for ten 
 dollars ; but I presume he will not hold me to the bargain 
 if I tell him what you say.' ' Well,' he said, ' I will give you 
 fifteen dollars for it if the deacon don't take it.' I imme- 
 diately went to the deacon's, told him the offer I had just 
 received, and asked him to release me from the sale. But 
 he would not do it, and did not do it, though he was a 
 forehanded man, and knew that I needed every dollar I 
 could possibly command." 
 
 After Mr. Patterson had finished this recital there was 
 a pretty general pouring forth of animadversion upon such 
 ungenerous and unchristian treatment of ministers. The 
 opinion seemed to prevail among the company that the man 
 who would treat a clergyman thus might be guilty of far 
 worse deeds. When remark on this subject seemed to be 
 exhausted, Mr. Davidson observed, " Perhaps some of the 
 other clergymen present can give us their experience on 
 the matter." 
 
 " Don't, Charles, don't call for more such facts. I am 
 mortified now very much by what has already been said 
 of the disposition of people to take advantage of minis- 
 ters, and I do not want to hear any thing more." 
 
 " What is said does not alter matters in the least, 
 father," Charles replied. " For my part, I want to see the 
 ' whole critter,' as the man said. I should really like to 
 hear the other ministers' account of their experience, if 
 they have any to give." 
 
 " 0, well, if they are disposed to gratify you, I will not 
 make any objection," the squire remarked. 
 
 Mr. Bullard, a lawyer, was present ; and, from the
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 405 
 
 manner in which he appeared, it was evident that he had 
 something to say touching the subject ; and, to help his 
 friend Mr. Davidson draw out from the other ministers 
 present what was in their power to communicate, he said, 
 " After the clergymen have done, I have a fact or two to 
 relate on the same subject." So Mr. Fletcher, being 
 directly asked if he had not something to offer, proceeded 
 to say that he had hitherto escaped being the victim of 
 such undue advantage as had been taken of the others 
 who had preceded him. " But what has been said here this 
 evening reminds me of the case of brother Anderson, who 
 preached for a few years near me in the next town. I 
 have heard him and his wife tell the story with consider- 
 able feeling ; and no wonder. They did not keep house, 
 but boarded ; and they were somewhat troubled to get 
 suitable accommodations, 'and so they changed pretty 
 often. Brother Anderson became tired of this changing 
 quarters so frequently that he came to the determination 
 that if he could not have a steady boarding-place he would 
 leave the place. When his year was up he told the com- 
 mittee of the parish that he must be provided with a 
 boarding place for a year, if he made another engagement 
 to preach. At last a place was found. The family were 
 pleased with the opportunity of having the minister and 
 his wife of their number. The terms were arranged, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson went to their new home. By the 
 contract, they u:ere to remain for one year from April, and 
 Mr. Anderson was to have the gratuitous i?je of the horse 
 and carriage when either were not wanted by the other 
 members of the family. Three months did not pass before 
 the man with whom Mr. Anderson boarded sold his horse ; 
 and then, when he exchanged or wished to visit remote 
 parts of the town, he was obliged to hire ; and when 
 cold weather came, and the evenings were of some length, 
 it became inconvenient for the family longer to aceoui-
 
 406 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 modate the minister. ' They had us,' Mr. Jlndcrscn said, 
 ' when there was no expense for fuel and lights ; but when 
 these were necessary it became inconvenient to accommo- 
 date us ; and so I had to look up another boarding house 
 and to pay a higher price.' Mr. Anderson said he had no 
 doubt the family designed to get a good price for summer 
 board by agreeing to accommodate them for the year, and 
 he regretted that he had been the means of having his 
 landlord sell his horse" 
 
 " That was a pity," Mrs. Patterson remarked. 
 
 All eyes were now directed to the lawyer ; but he said 
 his time had not come yet; there were one or two more 
 clergymen to speak. " Come Mr. Murray, you have some- 
 thing to communicate," he said. 
 
 " Nothing," Mr. Murray said, " from my own experi- 
 ence ; but as Mr. Bullard seems determined not to give 
 his story till all have spoken, I will say something to 
 draw him out." So he remarked, "I exchanged, a few 
 Sabbaths ago, with a brother who is preaching about 
 twenty-five miles from me. Mr. Lesly, when he proposed 
 tlte exchange, remarked that it was a long distance, but 
 that many of his people wished very much to hear me preach, 
 and so he would like to gratify them. I started away 
 from home Saturday afternoon about two o'clock : and 
 about four I met brother Lesly on foot. I was astonished 
 to see him thus, for he was a feeble man, and I expressed 
 to him my feelings. He said he did not intend to walk ; 
 that he thought there was no doubt that some of the many 
 people who had frequently requested him to exchange with 
 me would gladly furnish him with a horse for his accommo- 
 dation if he should do so. ' But,' said he, ' I tried yesterday 
 in ten places, and this morning in four others, but could not 
 succeed in getting a horse ; and so, about nine o'clock, 
 set out on foot. I rested three hours in the middle of th<3 
 day, and so I am rather late. I am very much fatigued. I
 
 THE LOAD OP WOOD. 407 
 
 assure you. Had I known that I should have been obliged 
 to walk, I should not have proposed the exchange.' " 
 
 " That was a cruel thing," said two or three voices at 
 once." 
 
 " If I had been in your place," the squire remarked, " I 
 should have preached pretty plainly to that man's people." 
 
 "It was an abominable thing," Mr. Fletcher observed, 
 " for that people not to let Mr. Lesly have a horse, when 
 he made the exchange merely to gratify them." 
 
 So one and another expressed themselves, till all had 
 said something, when one remarked, 
 
 " Now, Mr. Bullard, we must hear you." 
 
 " / am ready now" Mr. Bullard remarked ; and at once 
 proceeded to say, " Most of you probably know that our 
 minister and I married our wives from the same town, 
 and that they were and are very intimate friends. Last 
 spring Mr. Davis was in my office, and in the course of his 
 call asked me if I knew who had any good potatoes to 
 sell. I told him I did not, unless Mr. Barnet, the store- 
 keeper, had them. I told him I believed we were nearly 
 out, and proposed going immediately over to the store and 
 see if we could not each of us obtain a supply. On our way 
 I was overtaken by a gentleman who wished to consult 
 me ; and so I left Mr. Davis and went back to my office, 
 lie went on and called at the store and found some pota- 
 toes. He engaged a barrel. When I went home to tea, 
 I likewise called at the store and asked Mr. Barnet if ho 
 had any good potatoes. He told me he had some of 
 the first quality. So I agreed to take a barrel. Mr. 
 Barnet agreed to send them along when he sent Mr. 
 Davis's, the next morning. We were not quite out ; 
 so the barrel was not immediately opened. The next 
 week I was absent at court, and my wife one day thought 
 she would go over and make Mrs. Davis a visit. She did 
 so, and was persuaded to stay to dinner. At the tablo
 
 408 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 she observed that there were some very excellent potatoes, 
 and, being superior to any she had seen for some time, she 
 was induced to ask Mr. Davis where he obtained them. 
 He told her. She remarked her husband bought a barrel 
 there lately, but they had not yet used any ; but, she said, 
 if they are like these, she would have the barrel opened 
 at once. A day or two after I returned she requested me 
 to open that barrel of potatoes, at the same time telling 
 me of the very excellent ones she had seen on the table at 
 Mr. Davis's. I accordingly went down cellar and opened 
 the barrel, when, instead of there being large potatoes, I 
 found them very small. I called my wife to come and 
 look at them and compare them with Mr. Davis's. She 
 came, and exclaimed at once, ' How very small they are ! 
 They don't look like those I saw at M,rs. Davis's.' ' No/ I 
 said ; ' nor do they look like the barrel Mr. Barnet showed 
 me.' I headed them up, and when I went to my office 
 called at the store and told Mr. Barnet that I wished he 
 would send and get those potatoes he sent to me the other 
 day. 'What is the matter?' Mr. Barnet asked. ' 0,' I 
 said, ' I don't want them ; they are not what I bought.' Mr. 
 Barnet at once called his Irishman, Michael, and asked 
 him if he made any mistake in the potatoes he delivered 
 at Mr. Bullard's ; if he did not deliver the barrel he 
 crossed as the one for Mr. Bullard. ' No,' said Michael ; 
 ' I carried that to Mr. Davis.' ' What did you do that 
 for?' with much excitement Mr. Barnet inquired. 'Und 
 I thut that I wud,' said Michael. 'You thought you 
 would ! Don't you know that you are to obey my orders ? ' 
 ' Fath,' said Michael, ' I thut I wud like to see whut the 
 lawyar wud do if he was sarved as ye sarve the praest. 
 I've curried poor butther and shanded sugar very often 
 to the praest ; and I made up me mind I would like to 
 know what the lawyar wud say to be trated so ; and I 
 curried the poor potatoes to thry him. The best barrel
 
 THE LOAD OF WOOD. 409 
 
 I curried to the praest.' ' Shut up, you blockhead ! ' Mr. 
 Baruet vociferated as Michael was explaining and as I 
 was laughing as if my sides would come off. ' Shut up, 
 you blockhead, and pack up your things and be off!' 
 As soon as I could recover myself I said to Mr. Barnet 
 that I would keep the potatoes and would most cheerfully 
 pay for them, and should feel a great pleasure in doing so, 
 inasmuch as my friend the parson had been fortunate 
 enough to have the good barrel intended for me." 
 
 It is perhaps superfluous to add that this recital of the 
 lawyer's occasioned such volumes of laughter as were un- 
 common in the quiet house of the squire. It seemed for a 
 while that the violent shaking of sides and bending of 
 backs might result in some serio.us injury to the whole 
 company. The squire was so affected that he could not 
 otter a word for many minutes ; and, indeed, the power of 
 speech seemed to be pretty generally suspended in all who 
 were present. At length Charles commanded himself suf- 
 ficiently to remark, 
 
 "That was capital, I declare." 
 
 " How well the storekeeper was punished ! " added the 
 squire. " I think the matter ought to be published." 
 
 After one and another had expressed themselves in re- 
 lation to the lawyer's story, Mr. Bullard added, 
 
 " This affair was a good thing for Mr. Davis, and for 
 Mr. Barnet, the storekeeper, likewise. Mr. Barnet was 
 most effectually mortified. He took me one side after the 
 excitement of the moment and earnestly entreated me 
 to keep dark, and promised that Mr. Davis should be a 
 special customer hereafter irx another way. He kept his 
 promise, I believe ; for I have often heard Mrs. Davis say 
 sinCe that Mr. Barnet's goods were much better than for- 
 merly, and that he had been of late very generous to 
 them." 
 
 When the company were preparing to leave, the ladies 
 35
 
 410 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 being up stairs putting on their bonnets, <fcc., Mr. David- 
 son stepped up to Mr. Eldridge and remarked, 
 
 " I really hope you will never pay Mr. Conner full prico 
 for that wood. The more I think of it, the more I am con- 
 vinced it would be wrong in you to submit to such impo- 
 sition." 
 
 " Would you have me stand out, if by the act I should 
 make Mr. Conner my enemy ? " Mr. Eldridge asked. 
 
 "I would not pay him the full price," said Mr. David- 
 son, " let the consequence be what it might." 
 
 " Mr. Conner was much excited when he left our house, 
 I assure you," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 "I presume he was giving Mr. Otis an account of the 
 matter," Mr. Davidson said ; " for I saw him yesterday 
 talking with the gentleman about twelve o'clock, and he 
 manifested considerable emotion, I thought, by the ges- 
 tures he made." 
 
 " I have no doubt he has told almost every one he has 
 met since," Mr. Eldridge said. " I am almost sorry that 
 I did not pay him all that he demanded."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE PASTOR'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DEACON. 
 
 ABOUT six weeks from Ihe period at which we left Mr. 
 Eldridge in the last chapter he was waited upon by Dea- 
 con Smith. Whether he had been informed that Mrs. El- 
 dridge was out of town for a day or two, and that the 
 pastor was almost alone with his children, and was in- 
 duced to take such a time for an interview, we know not ; 
 but it was a noticeable circumstance by Mr. Eldridge that 
 the visit should have thus occurred. Though the pastor 
 had recently been apprised that the deacon had taken 
 some exceptions to his course with the wayward son, and 
 that he was consorting with Colonel Presbury in attempts 
 at retaliation, yet, from what he thought he knew of the 
 feelings of the multitude, he had no special apprehension 
 that success would attend any efforts for disorganization 
 or disrupture. Therefore he was in no way disconcerted 
 when he found himself alone with the deacon. The 
 thought, however, did not occur to Mr. Eldridge that 
 the object of this visit was what it proved to be ; and 
 so, as had always been his manner, he treated the deacon 
 just as if all was smooth water on which his bark was 
 resting. The deacon for a while responded to this feel- 
 ing, and was apparently in the same friendly humor which 
 Lad for nearly twenty years characterized him whenever 
 
 (411)
 
 412 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 he met his pastor. At length, however, the new feelings 
 were manifested as the deacon remarked, 
 
 " I have been wishing, Mr. Eldridge, for some little 
 time to converse with you upon the state of matters in our 
 parish ; and, having a little leisure this evening, I thought 
 I would ride up and see you." 
 
 " I am pleased," Mr. Eldridge replied, " to converse 
 upon such a subject; for my thoughts are most usually 
 directed to the concerns of the people. Is there any thing 
 particularly new touching the interests of the church or 
 parish ? " 
 
 " I have thought," said the deacon, " that our pastor might 
 not be aware of the state of things among us ; and, though 
 it may not be a very pleasant subject for him to consider, 
 yet others besides myself have judged that he ought to be 
 informed in relation to it." 
 
 " Please to proceed," Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " Well, sir, to come directly to the point, there is not a 
 little dissatisfaction with our minister. Some of the people 
 have been dissatisfied for years, but have disguised their 
 feelings, not being willing to create any disturbance." 
 
 " I have within a few days been informed," Mr. Eldridge 
 said, " that there were a few individuals in the parish 
 whose feelings towards me were somewhat changed ; but 
 I have supposed that there was nothing very serious in 
 the matter." 
 
 " I do not exactly know," the deacon said, " how many 
 are opposed ; but I should think the number is not very 
 small." 
 
 " I have not heard that any others were opposed to me 
 but Colonel Presbury, and yourself, and two or three 
 more," Mr. Eldridge said. " Colonel Presbury became 
 dissatisfied, I am informed, because he thought I had been 
 too active in matters which did not properly concern me ,
 
 THE PASTOR'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DEACON. 413 
 
 and Deacon Smith's opposition was excited by my fidelity 
 to his family in endeavoring to make an erring son see tho 
 error of his ways and become a blessing to his dear par- 
 ents and the community." 
 
 " "Well, sir, do you think that you pursued the proper 
 course with our Robert? " 
 
 " I am not aware that I pursued an improper course," 
 was the reply. " I ever have been deeply interested in 
 your family ; and it was a source of the deepest pain to 
 know that Robert was in the way he was. You know, 
 deacon, how I felt ; and you probably remember how you 
 felt at the time I called at your house when the subject 
 was first introduced. You are aware that you and Mrs. 
 Smith entreated me, with tears in your eyes, to exert myself 
 to reclaim your son. I did endeavor to do this ; and had 
 Robert been my own child I could not have pursued a 
 more kind, and affectionate, and earnest course to snatch 
 him from destruction than I did." 
 
 " Yes, sir," said the deacon, brushing away his tears, " I 
 know you felt for us then ; but I think you went too far. 
 You did hot seem to think that Robert altered any for the 
 better after your first and second interviews with him. / 
 thought there was a great improvement in him ; and, if 
 you had let him alone then, I think he would have been an 
 altered person." 
 
 " I did think, for a week or two after my second con- 
 versation with Robert, that he would do better, I acknowl- 
 edge," Mr. Eldridge said ; " and I kept my eye upon him, 
 that I might have evidence of his reformation both for my 
 comfort and your own ; but I soon discovered that, instead 
 of improving, he was going from bad to worse. There- 
 fore I did not let him alone, as you intimate I ought to 
 have done. I sought for other opportunities to save him, 
 because I felt for you and his dear mother so tenderly, 
 and because I felt for the youth likewise." 
 35*
 
 414 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I was not aware that lie continued to go on in the evil 
 way after your second interview with him," the deacon 
 said. " I thought, from what Robert told me, that lie meant 
 to do differently, and I thought I saw good reason for be- 
 lieving that he began to amend." 
 
 " Well, deacon, had you seen all that I saw, arid heard 
 all that I heard, you would not have been thus blinded. I 
 think Robert endeavored to deceive both you and me ; ar d 
 had I not been very much interested in his welfare and in the 
 happiness of his parents, and kept a good lookout for 
 him, I have no doubt he would have succeeded in deceiv- 
 ing me as I fear he has you." 
 
 " Well, what you said to him made him excessively an- 
 gry, and he has acted worse ever since ; and he thinks you 
 abused him; and I cannot avoid thinking as lie does" the 
 deacon observed. 
 
 " You are both very much mistaken," said the pastor. 
 " Had you been present when I last conversed with your 
 son, as I very much wish you had been, you would not 
 have thought that I treated him otherwise than in a very 
 kind and affectionate manner. I endeavored faithfully to 
 point out to him the consequences of his present career, 
 and to awaken within him a resolution to reform, both for 
 his own sake and for the happiness of his parents and tho 
 benefit of the community." 
 
 " I cannot avoid feeling," the deacon said, " that you 
 abused Robert, and that you have been the means of 
 making him what he now is. I think you have done both 
 him and me a lasting injury." 
 
 " I am very much surprised that you can think so," Mr. 
 Eldridge said, " after what I have now stated to you. I 
 am certain you have ilo cause fpr such a feeling as you 
 express." 
 
 " I think I have," the deacon said. " Robert would not 
 be so angry with you if you had not abused him, I know. 
 Jfr will bear reproof when it is kindly given."
 
 THE PASTOR'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DEACOX. 415 
 
 " It appears to me very strange, deacon, that you have 
 never mentioned to me before how you felt. I have seen 
 you once or twice at least, since my last conversation with 
 Robert, and have met Mrs. Smith likewise. I should have 
 supposed you would have sought from me some explanation 
 of my conduct before this. It is now nearly three months 
 since I conversed with your sou." 
 
 " Well, I did not care about seeing you, I felt so about your 
 abusing Robert," said the deacon. 
 
 "I am perfectly astonished," Mr. Eldridge said, "at 
 your feeling, deacon. You may rest assured you have no 
 good cause to feel as } r ou do. Does your wife sympathize 
 with you ? I cannot think she does, for she never treated 
 me with more cordiality than she has of late." 
 
 " My wife is not here," the deacon said. " If she was, 
 she could answer for herself." 
 
 ****** 
 
 " There are quite a number of your people who feel that 
 they can no longer be benefited by your ministry," the 
 deacon remarked ; " and I thought I would call up and 
 tell you of it." 
 
 " Who besides yourself and Colonel Presbury ? " 
 
 " There are Mr. Dixon, Mr. Otis, and several families who 
 live near Colonel Presbury ; and t/iere are Mr. Conner, 
 a large number who live in /his neighborhood, and 0, I 
 cannot now think of half of them," the deacon thought- 
 fully said. " Your refusing to pay Mr. Conner for the 
 wood as you agreed to has made you a great many ene- 
 mies. I was surprised when I heard of it ; for Mr. Conner 
 is a man who is much respected in town, and has consid- 
 erable influence" 
 
 " What have you heard about the wood ? " the pastor 
 inquired. 
 
 " 0, nothing, only that you engaged twelve cords of 
 wood of Mr. Conner at five dollars per cord ; and that,
 
 416 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 after the wood was all delivered, you refused to pay 
 him." 
 
 " You did not hear what kind of wood he delivered me, 
 did you?" 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "Well, deacon, I will get my lantern, and I should like 
 to have you look at it. Some of it is sawed up and piled 
 in my wood house, and some is where Mr. Conner threw 
 it off." 
 
 "I don't care about seeing the wood" the deacon said. 
 
 " Well, deacon, I have no doubt, from what good judges 
 of wood have told me, that Mr. Conner could not have 
 sold that lot of wood for more than three dollars a cord, 
 if he could for that sum. I was astonished, when he threw 
 off the last seven or eight cords, that he should bring me 
 such wood and expect full price for it ; but I thought I 
 would not say any thing about it, and I never should have 
 done as I have had I not been urged very much by some 
 of the very best judges in this place to decline paying full 
 price for the wood. A number of people told me I ought 
 not to pay more than thirty dollars for the lot ; but I have 
 offered Mr. Conner forty-five dollars, and he has refused 
 to take the money. Have you ever heard that I made him 
 this offer?" 
 
 " Not that I remember," the deacon replied. 
 
 " I think you ought to have heard of this as well as the 
 other part of the story," Mr. Eldridge said. " What rea- 
 sons are urged by others for their being unable to be bene- 
 fited by my ministry ? " the pastor inquired. 
 
 " 0, I do not know as any particular reasons are men- 
 tioned, only that they think they should like another minister." 
 
 " Do you think, deacon, that such a feeling as you repre- 
 sent is such as ought to be noticed by a pastor ? " 
 
 "If I were a minister," the deacon replied, " I should not 
 want to preach where a considerable portion of my hearers 
 disliked me."
 
 THE PASTOR'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DEACON. 417 
 
 " I understand you to say, deacon, that you are dissatis- 
 fied with me so much as to desire my removal." 
 
 " That is my feeling," the deacon said. 
 
 "Do Colonel Presbury and Mr. Dixon feel as you do?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, and many others. A large number of the 
 female part of the congregation are very anxious for a 
 new minister." 
 
 " Well, deacon, I will think of this subject," the pastor 
 said. 
 
 '" I should think it best," the deacon said, " both for 
 yourself and the parish, that you act in relation to the 
 matter very soon. From what I know, I am confident that 
 those who are now dissatisfied with you will never feel 
 reconciled to your further ministry as their pastor. They 
 will agitate and agitate until they gain their object. Now, I 
 say this for your good, Mr. Eldridge ; and I think you have 
 seen enough of the manner in which ministers about you 
 have been dismissed to be viise enough to leave without 
 there being made a desperate effort to effect your dismission." 
 
 "I am obliged to you for your good feeling, deacon. 
 You know that / have experienced largely of your kindness 
 for t/ie last twenty years ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 BEQUEST FOR A DISMISSION. 
 
 THE conviction cannot have escaped the reader that 
 Rev. Mr. Eldridge cherished high and noble views of the 
 profession to which he was devoted, and that he consid- 
 ered a permanent ministry had all the advantage over one 
 that is transient and changing* Nor can the reader fail 
 to have noticed that he, at the outset of his pastoral con- 
 nection, laid his plans broad, so that he might be unto the 
 people of his charge a minister who should do them all 
 the good it were in his power to accomplish. Nor is it pos- 
 sible for the impression not to have been made that in each 
 successive year of his pastorate he had only one purpose 
 of life ; and that was, to spend and be spent wholly in the 
 service of that charge which he received when a young 
 man. There were many temptations laid in his path to 
 swerve from so high and noble a purpose. Offers of situa- 
 tions in many respects far more congenial to his taste, and 
 where the emoluments would greatly transcend the salary 
 on which he was settled, were often made to him ; but 
 from all these he at once turned, feeling that, should he 
 intermit preaching in the place where he took upon him 
 ordination vows, the usefulness of his ministry and life 
 would be very much abridged. He had no sympathy with 
 that pride and ambition which often under another name, 
 with more of the air of godliness about it, but with little of 
 
 (418)
 
 EEQUEST FOB A DISMISSION. 419 
 
 its power, induces pastors to change from a limited to a 
 larger field of pastoral labor because the opportunity for 
 usefulness would be augmented. He contemplated the 
 chasm left by the pastor who yields to such a "louder 
 call," as it is termed, and saw that, however useful he 
 might be in his new sphere, he could never repair the in- 
 jury which was on every side round his late charge, and 
 calling almost for vengeance upon the guilty cause. All 
 the evils which came in consequence of the pastor's leaving 
 the people of his first love he would subtract from the good 
 he might effect in his second pastorate, and the balance of 
 usefulness would be so small as to excite the feeling that 
 on the whole it would have been good for that man if he 
 had never entered the ministry. By reason of these con- 
 victions, Mr. Eldridge was determined that his ministry 
 should not be thus shorn of its usefulness, and that he 
 would not be the man over whom any part of his present 
 flock should weep and sigh because he left them when there 
 was no cause but that of pride and ambition. It may be 
 he carried his views to too extreme a point, and it may be 
 he did not. The evils flowing out of a fluctuating ministry 
 are so great, that, perhaps, if all pastors sympathized more 
 with this feeling of Mr. Eldridge, more good might be 
 accomplished by their ministry. Few, very few, are tho 
 occasions which will justify a pastor in sundering the 
 solemn ties which were in so much confidence and solem- 
 nity established at ordination. They who have watched 
 behind where these ties have been torn asunder, and have 
 heard the curses of the ungodly and the wailings of the 
 saints, and witnessed evil upon evil coming down on the 
 desolated fold by reason of the breach of so solemn a 
 trust and pledge, feel that the good to be effected in the 
 new field, let it be ever so great, can never compensate for 
 the evils which have been occasioned in consequence of the 
 yielding to the " loud call."
 
 420 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 Having continued thus long in the ministry with a high 
 estimate of the value of permanency in the pastoral rela- 
 tion ; having from time to time more than intimated to the 
 people of his charge that he should heed no overtures 
 made to him to occupy another field ; having not only at 
 home frowned upon the tendency in both pastors and 
 people to change, but abroad, when called to sit in councils 
 for the dismission of ministers, having raised high his 
 voice against this most deleterious practice, Mr. Eldridgo 
 could not be supposed to allow such a visit as the deacon 
 made him to move him to any rash action. From the 
 hour the deacon left him he meditated much, and that 
 prayerfully, upon the disclosures that were made to him 
 that he might learn his duty in reference to them. For 
 this purpose he consulted one or two of his parishioners 
 in whom he always had confided and who were thought 
 by him to be competent advisers in the matter. Squire 
 Davidson, Mr. Clay, and Dr. Howard were these individ- 
 uals. To the squire, who had been secluded by the in- 
 firmities of age from any considerable intercourse with 
 the people, the intelligence brought to him by his pastor 
 of the deacon's position was entirely new. Though his 
 daughter Frances (Mrs. Howard) had an inkling of the 
 matter, she felt it to be her duty to manifest nothing ; for 
 she was fearful that it would be too much for her venerable 
 father to bear. When, therefore, Mr. Eldridge broke to 
 this standard bearer in the church the state of affairs in 
 the parish ^as disclosed by Deacon Smith, jt seemed for a 
 while that he would sink under the disclosure. He knew 
 tho fidelity of the pastor. He knew how well both church 
 and parish had prospered under his ministry. He had 
 indulged most joyous feelings in anticipation of leaving 
 the parish united and happy under the present pastor. 
 He, too, recalled to his memory a great many pulpits in 
 the adjacent community which had changed incumbents
 
 REQUEST FOR A DISMISSION. 421 
 
 once, twice, and some thrice, since the settlement of Mr. 
 Eldridge ; and in view of this fact he remembered how 
 many times he had pointed people abroad to his own 
 parish, would they learn the rich benefits of a permanent 
 pastorship. Likewise the squire remembered well Deacon 
 Smith's position in relation to Mr. Eldridge for twenty 
 years ; and then the thought that he was now heading a 
 faction for the purpose of rending all these his cherished 
 sources of pleasure, and bringing sorrow to his pastor, ruin, 
 perhaps, to the church, and certainly reproach to the cause 
 of piety, well nigh prostrated the old veteran in Israel to 
 the dust. 
 
 " It cannot be" the squire remarked, " that any great num- 
 ber sympathize with the deacon. lam sure it cannot be ; and 
 my advice to you, Mr. Eldridge, is, to think so yourself, and 
 to take no notice of the matter. It might be well, as you 
 have suggested, to take some opportunity to confer with Dr. 
 Howard ; for, as he is abroad considerably in town, he 
 would probably know the state of feeling as well as any one." 
 
 Mr. Eldridge soon had an interview with the doctor, 
 which resulted in the conviction that, whatever might be 
 the power of opposition to the pastor in the circle repre- 
 sented by Deacon Smith, it did not reach beyond that circle 
 and pervade the majority of the people. Mr. Clay had 
 the same view of the matter ; and both he and the doctor 
 thought that there was no cause for Mr. Eldridge's alarm, 
 and advised liim most earnestly to continue on in the even 
 tenor of his way. The doctor remarked that he did not 
 believe the pastor ever had a stronger Jiold of the great body of 
 the peopk than he had at t/ie present time, and that he did 
 not think it possible for Deacon Smith or Colonel Presbury 
 to prejudice the minds of any against him unless they had 
 better materials to work with than they had produced. 
 In accordance with this advice, which corresponded well 
 with his own judgment, Mr. Eldridge neither in word nor 
 36
 
 422 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 action manifested any knowledge of the doings of the 
 deacon and his company ; and it was agreed by the doctor 
 and Mr. Clay that they would be perfectly ignorant of the 
 same. They each wisely concluded that they would fur- 
 nish no fuel for the fire by any action or word in relation 
 to the matter. If Deacon Smith and those confederated 
 with him pursued their evil work, they should have no 
 encouragement either from the pastor or his friends. 
 
 So sanguine was the deacon, however, in the feeling 
 that the hints he gave his pastor would be effectual, that 
 he really expected to hear on the next Sabbath his request 
 for a dismission. On his way to the house of God he 
 remarked to his wife, that, from what he knew, he " should 
 not be surprised if Mr. Eldridge should ask for a dis- 
 mission to-day." He did this to prepare her for the event, 
 knowing that she was not anticipating such a trial, and 
 that if it came suddenly upon her she might be most 
 severely overcome. Colonel Presbury, Mr. Dixon, Mr. 
 Otis, Miss Bemis, and others all went to church expecting 
 that the pastor would communicate to his people a desire 
 to vacate his pastorate. However, they were all disap- 
 pointed. Mr. Eldridge preached as usual, and indicated 
 nothing from which it could be inferred that any unusual 
 occurrence had transpired in the previous week to dis- 
 turb him. He did the same on the succeeding Sabbath, 
 and on the one following that, much to the chagrin and 
 disappointment of those who were looking for a commu- 
 nication. The week after the third Sabbath, Deacon 
 Smith and Colonel Presbury together called at the parson- 
 age. They had waited much beyond the period which 
 their patience had allotted as the full time it would be 
 necessary for the pastor to hold the subject under advise- 
 ment without any report of his feelings respecting it, and 
 they could wait no longer without making another effort to 
 rouse Mr. Eldridge to action. Both these gentlemen, after
 
 REQUEST FOE A DISMISSION. 423 
 
 they were seated in the room with their pastor, appeared to 
 forget the etiquette of civilized life, and manifested more 
 of the feelings of the forest than of the gentleman and 
 Christian. To the pastor's courteous inquiries after their 
 own health and that of their families nothing but dogged 
 replies' were returned, and it became at once evident to 
 Mr. Eldridge that they were now the victims of rage and 
 anger. 
 
 " We have called," said the deacon, in the most abrupt 
 manner, " to know if you are intending to ask for a dis- 
 mission soon. We have been expecting for upwards of 
 two weeks to hear such a request ; and, as we have been 
 disappointed, we would like to know if you intend to go 
 away." 
 
 Mr. Eldridge remarked, " For a pastor to leave a people 
 with whom he has been connected for twenty years there 
 ought to be the best of reasons. Since you were here the 
 other evening, deacon, I have thought much of the subject 
 of your conversation, I assure you, and have been endeav- 
 oring to learn my duty in the case." 
 
 " Then you haven't learned it yet, I suppose," the deacon 
 said. MVell, sir, we think that, if you knew how people 
 felt, you would not wish to preach here another Sabbath." 
 
 "I have endeavored to be advised on this point," Mr. 
 Eldridge observed, " and I have not yet been able to learn 
 that there is any very serious trouble away from the circle 
 represented by yourself and your friend the colonel. I 
 am told that this circle must be small." 
 
 "It is large enough," Colonel Presbury remarked, "to 
 make it very uncomfortable for a pastor to preach here 
 who takes the part which Mr. Eldridge has taken." 
 
 " Yes," said the deacon, " there is no doubt that the op- 
 position to you, Mr. Eldridge, is strong enough to effect 
 your dismission. But we do not wish to go forward in the 
 matter! We think it would be for your benefit ifyoushoidd
 
 424 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 leave of your own accord ! It always injures a minister very 
 much for the parish to act first! " 
 
 After this manner did the conversation continue for 
 nearly an hour, and as the gentlemen were about leaving 
 Deacon Smith remarked, 
 
 " We hope you will now be induced to ask for a dismis- 
 sion next Sabbath." 
 
 This interview produced a very marked effect upon the 
 pastor. The feelings manifested by the individuals who 
 had called upon him were those which he never before 
 witnessed in his parish, and they most deeply affected the 
 sensitive nature of the pastor. For an hour or more after 
 he was left alone Mr. Eldridge sat in the room pensive 
 and sad. Expecting him every moment into her own 
 apartment after she knew his visitors had gone, and won- 
 dering for some time why he did not come, Mrs. Eldridge 
 at length left her needle and went to her husband. As she 
 opened the door he raised not his head, which was reclin- 
 ing on his hand, nor uttered a word. When she reached 
 the chair in which he was seated he moved not nor spoke. 
 So unusual for him was this manner that the good wife was 
 alarmed, and nervously asked, 
 
 " Husband, what is the matter ? " 
 
 " I never thought it would come to this ! " he with a sigh 
 exclaimed. " I never thought it would come to this ! " 
 
 Instantly drawing a chair to his side, Mrs. Eldridge 
 again asked, 
 
 " Do, husband, tell me what it is that affects you so ! 
 What have Colonel Presbury and the deacon been saying ? " 
 
 " Their feelings ! their feelings ! " he said. " I could not 
 have conceived it possible for Deacon Smith to cherish the 
 spirit he manifested here this evening. I cannot endure 
 this any longer. I believe I shall ask for a dismission next 
 Sabbath." 
 
 " Have they said any thing new, dear ? "
 
 REQUEST FOR A DISMISSION. 425 
 
 " No, nothing ; but, then, how can I be here and have 
 even these two men feel towards me as they appear to feel ?" 
 
 " You must not give up to your feelings so, husband ; you 
 must rise above it. You ought to think you have been a 
 favored individual never before to have been treated in 
 this manner, after having been here twenty years. Some 
 pastors have to go through the same experience every year, 
 you know. There's brother Perkins; every now and then, 
 for a number of years past, some of his people have been 
 to him and talked most abusively to him, and have told 
 him he ought to go away ; but he remains yet, and is very 
 much beloved and respected by the great majority of his 
 society. Come, dear, don't think any thing more about it ; 
 throw it of." . 
 
 The efforts of the wife were successful in rallying her 
 husband to his wonted cheerfulness and equanimity ; and 
 he retired from his room relieved and comparatively hap- 
 py, and went with his wife to the sitting room of the 
 family. The next day he called upon Dr. Howard and ac- 
 quainted him with the interview of the deacon and colonel. 
 The doctor heard all, but was not in the least impressed 
 that any thing had been offered that ought in the least to 
 affect the action of the pastor ; and he advised him to be 
 still, and let the deacon and colonel sweat. " I am going 
 round considerable to-day," he remarked, " and will call at 
 your house this evening and report." 
 
 In the evening the doctor called and gave his pastor the 
 history of his attempts in developing the state of feeling 
 towards him. No individual could do better on such an 
 errand than he. Without its being known to the individ- 
 uals whose pulse he wished to feel that such was his object, 
 he succeeded well in his object, and generally found that 
 all was right, though in a few instances he discovered some 
 vague surmises that Deacon Smith did not appear exactly 
 as he formerly did in relation to prayer meetings, and that 
 bis bearing towards Mr. Eldridgc had somewhat changed ; 
 3G*
 
 426 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 yet in the circuit in which the doctor travelled during the 
 day he heard nothing to induce him to think that there 
 was any abatement of affection and respect for the pastor. 
 He purposely called at certain places where he would have 
 been likely to hear the full avowal of hostility were there 
 any to avow. He went up into Mr. Conner's neighborhood, 
 and was surprised to find so many speak so highly of Mr. 
 Eldridge. He heard but a few, and those few not the most 
 gifted and intelligent, who had any thing to urge against 
 the pastor by reason of his transactions about the wood. 
 So, on the whole, he was for reaffirming to Mr. Eldridge 
 the advice given after the first visit of the deacon to take 
 no notice whatever of the second call. He remarked 
 " that both Squire Davidson and Mr. Clay, whom he had 
 seen that day, agreed with him perfectly in opinion upon 
 the matter." 
 
 In the course of a few days Mr. Eldridge thought he 
 would call here and there in the parish, that he might 
 discover any new light on his pathway if any existed. 
 Wherever he went he was welcomed with the same confid- 
 ing, affectionate feeling as ever. He heard many things that 
 encouraged him greatly in his way ; and he returned home 
 with the conviction that he should not on the next Sabbath 
 propose to have his relations to his people sundered. In 
 this position he continued through the week ; and on the 
 Sabbath he preached as usual, and pronounced the benedic- 
 tion in the afternoon, without gratifying the few who were 
 looking for a special communication from him to the church 
 and parish. The next morning, as he opened the front 
 door of his house, he noticed a letter on the step below to 
 his address. As he opened it and looked for the name of 
 its writer, he discovered that it was anonymous. He then 
 proceeded to its perusal, and found it filled with the most 
 severe sayings, couched in the coarsest of our vernacular. 
 He folded it up, and returned with it to his study, where 
 he deposited it in a secure place. In the course of tho
 
 REQUEST FOR A DISMISSION. 427 
 
 week he received several others some through the post 
 office, and sortie at his own door or in his yard. They 
 all bore one character and had the same design. Of all 
 these he made no mention to any one, not even to his wife. 
 By them he was not much affected ; for he thought they 
 all emanated from the same source, and were intended as 
 a substitute for a third visit. The next Sabbath he ex- 
 changed , but he did not leave any communication to be 
 read to his people. At the close of the afternoon service, 
 when the people were dispersing for their homes, Deacon 
 Smith was observed to be moving rapidly about as if in 
 search for some individual. Dr. Howard, noticing the 
 fact, thought he would not be much in haste, and accord- 
 ingly loitered about at his leisure. He soon found the 
 deacon was in the rear of the church, surrounded by sev- 
 eral individuals whom he recognized as belonging to the 
 faction of which he was the life. Having ascertained all 
 that he wanted, the doctor moved along towards his home. 
 
 In the early part of the week the doctor met the dea- 
 con, when the latter asked him if he was aware what a 
 dreadful state the parish was in. The doctor replied that 
 he was not. 
 
 "Have you not heard any thing from Mr. Eldridge 
 about it," the deacon eagerly asked. 
 
 " Mr. Eldridge has said something to me respecting one 
 or two calls which you have made him recently," the doc- 
 tor said. 
 
 " He told you what I said to him then, I suppose ? " the 
 doctor continued. 
 
 " I presume he did," was the reply. 
 
 " Well, doctor, if the man don't take himself off, I fear 
 there will be serious trouble here." 
 
 " I do not agree with you," the doctor responded. 
 
 " Well," said' the deacon, " you will see before long, if 
 Mr. Eldridge does not very soon ask for a dismission. 
 
 "I <?o not see any call for this," the doctor remarked.
 
 428 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " I hear of no opposition to Mr. Eldridge but that which 
 comes from you, and Colonel Presbury, and a few others 
 over whom you have influence. I tell Mr. Eldridge to be 
 still and go on as usual." 
 
 " Yes, yes," the deacon said. "Well, doctor, you don't 
 hear much said in the parish, I know. All who are op- 
 posed to Mr. Eldridge/ have determined that we would not 
 act out at present. We want that he should quietly leave. 
 If he believes me, he might know that there is great oppo- 
 sition to him. Now, doctor, I tell you what just kt Mr. 
 Eldridge ask for a dismission, and then, if there be not a fair 
 vote to grant it, I will guaranty that all will be satisfied 
 who are now opposed to him. I think it would be great- 
 ly to his advantage to ask for a dismission. If ho does 
 not he will have a hard time of it here, I am persuaded." 
 
 Mr. Clay had a conversation with Colonel Presbury 
 about the time of the interview between the doctor and 
 the deacon ; and in the course of the week Colonel Pres- 
 bury met Mr. Eldridge in the street and conversed with 
 him for a long time ; and the result was of all this con- 
 versation with Mr. Clay, the doctor, and Mr. Eldridge 
 that it was mutually thought advisable, all things consid- 
 ered, for the request for a dismission to be made by the 
 pastor on the next Sabbath. Both the doctor and Mr. 
 Clay were strong in the opinion that it would not be 
 granted, and Mr. Eldridge had become so much annoyed 
 by the opposition as to desire most strongly to have the 
 feelings of the people tested. 
 
 The next Sabbath was a memorable day in the parish of 
 Mr. Eldridge. Outwardly it was a day of sunshine and 
 pleasantness ; and, by reason of the propitious weather, 
 there was a large assembly in the house of God. The 
 pastor never was more solemn and eloquent in his services, 
 and the people apparently were never more impressed. 
 Before pronouncing the benediction in the afternoon, Mr. 
 Eldridge remarked that he had a communication to
 
 REQUEST FOR A DISMISSION. 429 
 
 present, and requested the assembly to be seated. He then 
 proceeded to read his request for a dismission. The docu- 
 ment was brief and to the point. He remarked that it 
 had ever been his purpose to remain among his present 
 charge until removed by death or prevented from being 
 useful by any dissatisfaction towards him among his peo- 
 ple. Statements recently had been made to him, and feel- 
 ings exhibited, which led him to ask if the time had not 
 now arrived when he could be no longer generally useful 
 to his people. He could not answer the inquiry, but the 
 people could ; and it was his desire that they would ac- 
 cordingly give expression to their feeling. If the ex- 
 pression should be in favor of his leaving, he requested 
 the church to unite with him in the call of a mutual coun- 
 cil for the purpose of their advice in the premises. 
 
 Though he was calm when speaking, his people^ were 
 deeply affected when hearing. Never before, probably, 
 were more tears shed in that large house on one occasion 
 than then. Never before, perhaps, did the people linger 
 more, as if reluctant to leave their slips, than then. When 
 the pastor descended from the desk he was surrounded 
 by his weeping parishioners, and, as it were, with one 
 voice asked, " What does all this mean, Mr. Eldridge?" 
 " We shall not let you go." " Who has been making 
 statements to you ? " 
 
 At last, however, the sorrowing congregation separated. 
 It was frequently wished by some who were in the secret 
 that Deacon Smith and his company had not been in such 
 haste to leave the church when the services were over. It 
 was thought that, had they been present, a rebuke would 
 have been administered in terms that would have never 
 been forgotten by them. They knew, however, that they 
 had plunged the dagger, and did not care to witness its cruel 
 effects.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 
 
 How could the request detailed in the preceding chapter 
 be made without producing the greatest commotion ? All 
 classes were roused by it, and every household circle had 
 it for a common theme of conversation. Although some 
 of the people were aware that Deacon Smith and a few 
 others were restless and attempting the sundering of ties 
 which had most happily and prosperously bound both pas- 
 tor and people for twenty years, yet more were in entire 
 ignorance of the whole matter. The multitude felt that 
 Mr. Eldridge w r as as much as ever in possession of the love 
 and confidence of the people. 
 
 The few who were apprised that the waters of strife 
 were being stirred did not realize that any disastrous con- 
 sequence would follow. They relied for the safety of the 
 parish and the protection of the pastor upon what they 
 supposed was the general love and respect of the people 
 for Mr. Eldridge. Whatever Deacon Smith and those 
 leagued with him might attempt, it was supposed by such 
 individuals as Doctor Howard and Mr. Clay that all their 
 efforts would be futile. When the great body of the peo- 
 ple were enlightened in the course which had been pur- 
 sued to provoke a request for a dismission, they, too, were 
 not at a loss for the disposition such a request would have 
 from a parish vote. Consequently all the friends of Mr. 
 
 (430)
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 431 
 
 Eldridge were impatient for the time to arrive when they 
 could turn back this current which had been set in motion 
 for the destruction of the quietude of the pastor and the 
 peace and prosperity of the parish. They were persuaded 
 that this might be most easily accomplished, and the bright 
 prospects of their Zion in the continued usefulness of the 
 pastor be fully restored. If the rebuke which might be 
 administered in an overwhelming vote of both church and 
 parish in favor of the pastor should not indicate to the 
 opposition their complete impotency to do with Mr. 
 Eldridge as they pleased, and thus lead them to retrace 
 their steps and again be his friends and supporters, it was 
 supposed that these individuals Avould at once leave and 
 become attached to another religious community, and thus 
 be no longer the means of dissension in their present re- 
 lations. It was felt and argued that no increased burden 
 would be imposed upon the parish should such be the ?esult. 
 In the course of a week from the Wednesday following 
 the Sabbath on which Mr. Eldridge communicated his re- 
 quest for a dismission, there was a meeting of the church 
 for action upon it. It was a full and solemn meeting. To 
 the dismay of all, neither Deacon Smith nor the two or 
 three other brethren in sympathy with him were present. 
 The deacon well knew the position of his brethren in the 
 church in relation to the pastor. He well knew that he 
 almost stood alone, and that his conduct had deeply wound- 
 ed many a heart and exposed him to the almost general 
 censure of his brethren. He had not the manliness, the 
 moral courage, the encouragement of an approving con- 
 science which were requisite to enable him to confront 
 those whose peace he had invaded and whose prospects he 
 had attempted to cloud and freely and ungenerously to 
 state the motives by which he had been governed. The 
 communication of the pastor was read and duly consid- 
 ered, and the vote iii relation to it taken, from which it
 
 432 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 appeared that all the brethren present were in favor of the 
 continuance of the present pastoral relation. Because so 
 general a development was made at this meeting of the 
 greatest confidence in and affection for the pastor, all 
 who were present felt themselves greatly comforted arid 
 strengthened in their convictions that the enemy would be 
 easily foiled. 
 
 The parish meeting soon followed. When that oc- 
 curred it was a most exciting day ; for every one was im- 
 pressed that there was to be a most important contest. 
 The enemy might cower in the church and refuse a manly 
 struggle, and yet on the whole no important advantage bo 
 lost ; but in the parish there must be action, or there would 
 be defeat ; for the law has cognizance only of civil trans- 
 actions, and lays no claim to jurisdiction over those which 
 are ecclesiastical. All seemed to feel that there was some- 
 thing to be done ; and at the hour at which the parish 
 meeting was called a very large body of people had col- 
 lected in the vestry where the meeting was held. It 
 seemed as if every voter was present to share in the trans- 
 actions which were anticipated. Squire Davidson, to the 
 surprise of almost every individual, was out. Though long 
 confined almost to the house with the infirmities of age, 
 and. as he supposed, done with the active scenes of this 
 worW, yet his heart being deeply affected by the attempts 
 which were making to remove his most highly-esteemed 
 pastor from the pulpit he had long honored and the people 
 he had so usefully and faithfully served, the squire girded 
 himself up for the hour of battle, and appeared in tho 
 vestry with that energy and interest which perfectly aston- 
 ished every one present. His son Charles, who for years 
 had been a resident in the town where he was born, having 
 left Virginia soon after the death of his mother for the 
 purpose of relieving his father by his sympathy and care, 
 was likewise no uninterested individual in this assembly.
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 433 
 
 Always in many respects like his father, in later years the 
 resemblance became more complete by the addition of the 
 graces of the Christian, to whose power he had yielded his 
 heart almost from the date of his return to his present home. 
 Little Arthur, who was there twenty years before when 
 Mr. Eldridge was ordained, was in this meeting, and in- 
 vested with no small interest in its results ; for he was now 
 an inhabitant of the town, and in the occupancy of the 
 store over which his grandfather so long, so honorably, 
 and so successfully presided. The attendance at the meet- 
 ing was so large that it would be by far the easiest task 
 to mention the names of the few in Mr. Eldridge's parish 
 who were absent than to draw up a catalogue of those 
 who were present. It was generally reported all were 
 out at this meeting but such as were detained at home by 
 infirmity and sickness. 
 
 Of course, then, Deacon Smith was there* Yes, the 
 deacon was there, and all his league. There were more 
 in the parish than in the church who were in sympa- 
 thy with him in his feelings towards the pastor, and con- 
 sequently there was a shield here in an increased num- 
 ber, which emboldened him to appear. Though the wealth 
 of Colonel Presbury and the influence which opulence 
 often imparts were with him, yet the deacon was very far 
 from exhibiting in his countenance a happy frame of spirit. 
 As he entered the vestry, and. be fore the meeting was or- 
 ganized, he had every indication of a fear that he was a 
 condemned man in the judgment of those with whom he 
 had long been in fellowship in sustaining his pastor and 
 forwarding the best interests of the parish, and a con- 
 sciousness, too, that his own soul well approved, as most 
 merited, this condemnation. He and the colonel were 
 soon seated together, and near them were the minions 
 wha had aided them in bringing matters thus far to the 
 interruption of pastoral peace and of parochial prosperity. 
 37
 
 434 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 After the organization of the meeting and the reading 
 of the communication of the pastor, the committee of the 
 church presented to the parish the action of that body in 
 relation to it. "Whereupon a motion was immediately 
 offered that the parish concur with the church in the dis- 
 position of the pastor's request for a dismission. This 
 motion was made by a friend of Mr. Eldridge, who sup- 
 posed that it would be at once carried by a large majority, 
 and thus the unpleasant business of the meeting be summa- 
 rily despatched, to the confusion and shame of those who 
 had been laboring for another result. Other members of 
 the parish and ardent friends of the pastor were not in- 
 clined to have the matter thus pass off. They wished a 
 disclosure from those who had been active in creating the 
 present excitement of the reasons by which they had been 
 governed ; and so, as one and another opposed the motion, 
 the mover thereof at once withdrew it. A pause now 
 ensued. It was expected that some of the individuals to 
 whom it belonged to make this disclosure would at once 
 be sufficiently magnanimous to gratify the assembly with 
 a statement of the ground of their opposition to the pas- 
 tor ; but this magnanimity did not appear. At length 
 Doctor Howard, after a conference with Squire Davidson 
 and Mr. Clay, arose and gave to the meeting a history of 
 the difficulties as he understood them, and concluded by 
 calling on Deacon Smith and Colonel Presbury and in- 
 quiring of them if what he had narrated was not correct. 
 These gentlemen could not now well be silent. They had 
 been publicly implicated, and necessity was laid upon them 
 to speak. Deacon Smith accordingly arose and remarked 
 that he had, it was true, been dissatisfied for some time with 
 his pastor, and that others were likewise dissatisfied. He 
 supposed that Mr. Eldridge, upon becoming acquainted with 
 the fact that the feelings of many of his parishioners had 
 changed towards him, would at once perceive that ho
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 435 
 
 could no longer be as useful in his present relations as he 
 had been, and thus be disposed in a silent manner to seek 
 a dissolution of his connection with this people and enter 
 another field of labor. He further remarked that he had, 
 in company with Colonel Presbury, called upon the pas- 
 tor and made to him a statement of the difficulties in re- 
 lation to him. Colonel Presbury followed, and briefly 
 recapitulated the statements of the deacon, but not in the 
 least degree hinting at any conduct of the pastor which 
 had provoked his dissatisfaction. The indefiniteness of 
 these remarks from the head of the opposition to Mr. El- 
 dridge impressed the multitude present with great dismay. 
 It was supposed that, when Deacon Smith and Colonel 
 Presbury were drawn forth to define their position, they 
 would at length give their reasons for their conduct in 
 the form of complaints or charges against the pastor. 
 But no ; all that they uttered was the simple fact that 
 they and some others were dissatisfied! Squire David- 
 son, it was observed, sat ill at ease after this expose of 
 the opposition, and at once rose and begged the privilege 
 of putting a few questions to Deacon Smith. He asked 
 him how long he had been with his present feelings 
 towards his pastor. To this it was replied, "Not a year.' 
 " What was the cause of his opposition?" Here the dea- 
 con rendered several evasive answers, which of course 
 were unsatisfactory to his intelligent and searching cate- 
 chist. " Was not the beginning of your opposition the 
 fidelity of the pastor with your son, in whose behalf you 
 entreated him with tears to interpose, that he might bo 
 saved from ruin ? " The deacon here was dumb. " Did 
 you not," continued the squire, " say to a certain individual 
 that your son had deceived you in relation to his prom- 
 ised reformation, and that Mr. Eldridge had more eyea 
 than vourself, and consequently was better informed in re- 
 spect to the course your son was pursuing than you were,
 
 436 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and that, had you known at the beginning all that you 
 subsequently ascertained, your feelings towards Mr. El- 
 dridge would have been different?" To this the deacon 
 made no reply. "Have you not said,' 7 the squire further 
 asked, " that you thought our pastor had no business with 
 the conduct of individuals that it was wrong for him to 
 seek out the faults of children and youth in his parish and 
 blazeii them forth to the world ? " To these inquiries the 
 deacon answered not a word. 
 
 " As the deacon is not inclined to reply to questions like 
 those I have put to him," the squire remarked, "I will in- 
 quire of him further, if he was not well satisfied with Mr. 
 Eldridge up to the time that he requested him to endeavor 
 to save his son." The deacon at once replied that he was. 
 " Was it not your opinion a year ago that Mr. Eldridge 
 had the confidence and respect of all classes in the parish, 
 and that he had been from year to year increasing in his 
 usefulness among the people ? " The deacon replied it 
 was. "Have you not for twenty years thought that Mr. 
 Eldridge was peculiarly adapted to this people ; and have 
 you not, both in town and out, often declared such as your 
 opinion?" " Of course I have," the deacon said. "Now, 
 then," said the squire, " I will ask you one more question. 
 Do you think it fair and right to change your feelings 
 towards a pastor for being faithful in doing what you 
 earnestly requested him to do ? It seems that your son 
 became enraged at the watchfulness and fidelity of Mr. 
 Eldridge, and that you have sympathized with him and 
 become an enemy to your pastor, and been doing all that 
 you could do for his injury. Now, deacon, is this right ? " 
 The deacon was evidently sensible of his position, and yet 
 at a loss to know how to extricate himself from it. He 
 appeared to catch the popular feeling that it was unfor- 
 tunate for him to reply to some questions and be silent in 
 relation to others ; and so he rallied his energies and
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 437 
 
 attempted to answer the squire's last questions, but most 
 egregiously failed. He justified himself in his opposition 
 to Mr. Eldridge, and affirmed that he never could again be 
 reconciled to him as his minister. 
 
 Having drawn from the deacon thus much, which was 
 sufficient to show his palpable inconsistency, most glaring 
 treachery, and excessive cruelty to his pastor, the squire 
 turned to the colonel for the purpose of ascertaining his 
 reasons for being desirous that his pastor should leave. 
 The colonel instantly responded that he had been dissatis- 
 fied with Mr. Eldridge for many years. He thought that 
 he had gone out of his proper sphere of action frequently 
 and concerned himself with matters which ought not to 
 have occupied his attention. Though he had been thus 
 opposed, he had not made his feelings any way public un- 
 til recently. He did not wish to injure the minister ; and 
 therefore, whilst others were satisfied with him, he was not 
 disposed to disturb them in their enjoyment. The colonel 
 proceeded some time in this course of general, indefinite 
 remark, and of course did not satisfy any of those who 
 wished for some tangible matter in relation to the conduct 
 or preaching of Mr. Eldridge. Squire Davidson, as Col- 
 onel Presbury was about taking his seat, observed, that he 
 would be pleased to have the gentleman a little more ex- 
 plicit in his declarations of dissatisfaction with the pastor. 
 For this purpose he would inquire, " How many years since 
 the colonel became dissatisfied with the pastor ? " 
 
 The colonel replied " it must be ten or twelve since he 
 first began to dislike him ; and that he had been growing 
 more and more dissatisfied ever since." 
 
 "What was the occasion of this dissatisfaction," the 
 squire asked, " ten or twelve years ago ? It must have 
 been excited by some act or actions of the pastor, or by 
 some discourse or discourses of his ; and he would like to 
 have the gentleman particular and explicit in the matter." 
 37*
 
 438 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 The colonel replied " that he had thought for years that 
 Mr. Eldridge allowed himself to attend to things foreign 
 to his profession." 
 
 " What things? " " What things ? " inquired several indi- 
 viduals at once. 
 
 "Yes," said the squire, "what things, colonel, are there 
 with which our pastor has been imprudently concerned ? " 
 
 Whilst the colonel was reflecting a moment for a reply 
 his cogitations were assisted by the inquiry from a num- 
 ber of voices, if the old parish debt was not one of the 
 things, and repairing the church and supplying it with an 
 organ another. 
 
 " Yes," said the colonel ; " I confess these two things are 
 what have disgusted me with our minister. I think a 
 parish ought to be allowed to pay its own debts and to 
 repair its meeting house when and how it pleases. A 
 minister has no business to meddle with those affairs." 
 
 Mr. Clay then inquired of the colonel " if he were not 
 in favor of having the old parish debt liquidated, and if 
 he did not often say, before it was paid, that the parish 
 ought to sell their lands and pay their debts." 
 
 The colonel replied that he was desirous of having the 
 debt paid with the proceeds of the sale of the lands. 
 He was then asked if Mr. Eldridge ever expressed an 
 opinion as to the manner in which the debt should be 
 paid, and if the debt was not paid as the parish saw fit to 
 have it. 
 
 He replied that Mr. Eldridge never expressed any other 
 opinion on the subject, as he was aware, but that the 
 parish debt should be paid, and that the parish voted to 
 pay it by tax. 
 
 " Then why attach any blame to Mr. Eldridge in this mat- 
 ter ? " Squire Davidson asked ; " as you allow the debt 
 ought to be paid, and that the parish voted that it should
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 439 
 
 be paid by a tax, and that Mr. Eldridge never expressed any 
 opinion in conflict with your own in relation to the inatter" 
 
 " Now, colonel," inquired the squire, " were you not in 
 favor of repairing the church ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I was," the colonel said ; " but I wished it done 
 by subscription, and not by a tax." 
 
 "Did Mr. Eldridge advocate a tax?" 
 
 " Not that I ever heard," the colonel replied. 
 
 " Then," said the squire, "why Uame Mr. Eldridge in 
 the matter ? He was for having the debt paid, and then 
 he was for having the church repaired, because he con- 
 ceived the prosperity of the parish would be thereby 
 greatly advanced. He said nothing of the manner in 
 which these things should be accomplished, but left it to 
 the consideration of the people. Why Uame Mr. Eldridge, 
 colonel?" the squire asked, with much emotion. "It 
 seems that you were dissatisfied with the parish for think- 
 ing it proper to have the debt paid and the church re- 
 paired by a tax, and that you seek revenge for the doings 
 of the parish on the poor minister. He must be dismissed 
 because the parish voted to do thus and so, though he had 
 not any influence whatever in the doings of the parish, 
 nor had he attempted any influence." 
 
 Dr. Howard here remarked, " that he had understood 
 the colonel to say that he had confined his opposition to 
 Mr. Eldridge within his own breast until recently, because 
 lie was not disposed to interrupt the enjoyment of any in 
 their pastor. If this has been his position," the doctor ob- 
 served, " rumor has done him great injustice ; for he had 
 been charged with having said, when the tax was made for 
 the repairs of the church, that lie would in some way or other 
 effect the dismission of Mr. Eldridge. In accordance with 
 this assertion, this same rumor had charged the colonel 
 with having purchased the store now occupied by Mr. 
 Pixon for the ver$ purpose of having a place of rendezvous
 
 440 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 where recruits in the war against the pastor might be 
 drilled, and from whence an influence should go out to the 
 hurt of the pastor. This same rumor has charged him 
 with having opened his house for secret meetings to devise 
 ways and means for effecting the dismission of Mr. El- 
 dridge, and with having suggested to Mr. Otis to say to 
 Mr. Conner, who was then supplying the pastor with 
 wood, that he had better put in small trash, and yet charge the 
 same price as for merchantable wood, promising him if he 
 would do this vile thing that he would liberally reward 
 him. These and other charges rumor has made against 
 the colonel," the doctor remarked, " and he believed there 
 was considerable evidence at hand to show that she has 
 in these things not charged falsely." 
 
 Colonel Presbury now found himself in an uncomfortable 
 condition, which he manifested in abuse of the doctor and 
 others in no measured terms. He did not deny the charges 
 which had been recited by the doctor, but very boister- 
 ously and vehemently declaimed against the pastor, and said, 
 if he were not dismissed, the parish would be broken to 
 pieces. 
 
 Mr. Charles Davidson inquired of Deacon Smith " if he 
 or those opposed to Mr. Eldridge thought that there was 
 any abatement in the pastor's power in the pulpit or ac- 
 tivity among the people." 
 
 The deacon replied, " that every one confessed that Mr. 
 Eldridge was a good preacher, and a diligent scholar, and 
 an active minister. We all know these things," the deacon 
 said ; "but, then, there is now such a prejudice against 
 him that we think it will be most for his comfort, usefulness, 
 and reputation that he labor in some other community." 
 
 At this stage of the meeting Squire Davidson arose and 
 remarked, " that it must be evident to all the parish what 
 were the reasons which had governed the opposition to the 
 pastor. Colonel Presbury became dissatisfied because the
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 441 
 
 parish saw fit feo raise a tax for the liquidation of the old 
 parish debt and for the repairing of the church. The 
 colonel admits that he was in favor of both these measures, 
 but wished to have the manner of raising funds for their 
 execution different. He admits that Mr. Eldridge, to his 
 knowledge, never expressed any opinion in relation to the 
 way in which the debt should be paid or the money for 
 the repairs of the church be raised, and yet he grounds his 
 dissatisfaction with the pastor on the sermons which ho 
 preached to stir up the people to accomplish these very 
 desirable objects. Had there been no tax, it is clear the 
 colonel would never have been opposed to tlie. pastor. Had the 
 parish lands been sold for the one object, and a subscrip- 
 tion made for the other, the colonel thinks he would have 
 been saved a few hundred dollars ! Because he could not do 
 this he comes down with all his vengeance upon the minis- 
 ter, and must have him dismissed. In regard to Deacon. 
 Smith," the squire observed, " the case was simply this. 
 His son became enraged with the pastor for doing what 
 the father, with tears in his eyes, besought the good man 
 to do. The wayward child deceived his father, and made 
 him believe that the pastor was excessively uncharitable, 
 and unreasonably severe and slanderous in his accusations ; 
 and so the deacon at once sympathizes with the son, and, 
 without any conference with the pastor for explanation, be- 
 comes his inveterate enemy. Now," continued the squire, 
 " these two individuals, Colonel Prcsbury and Deacon 
 Smith, have fomented all the excitement which exists against 
 the pastor. About the period that the deacon's feelings 
 became estranged towards Mr. Eldridge Colonel Pres- 
 bury had many logs at the deacon's mill to be sawed. 
 Consequently he and the deacon were often together, and 
 it became manifest to each other that both felt alike to- 
 wards the pastor ; and from this time have they acted 
 together in relation to his dismission. There have always
 
 442 A VOICE FROM THE PAKSONAGE. 
 
 been those in the parish (it is so in every parish) who are 
 ready to take up arms against the minister under certain 
 influences which are excited by wealth and station. These 
 individuals have been summoned forth by the deacon and 
 colonel ; and there has been, it seems, constant agitation 
 for nearly a year in secret places, and always under covert, 
 for the purpose of effecting the dismission of our minister. 
 This agitation has been begun and carried on by the in- 
 fluence of Deacon Smith and Colonel Presbury ; and if Mr. 
 Eldridge should be dismissed, these two individuals will 
 have been the whole cause of such dismission. But for 
 them there would now have been peace and prosperity in 
 this church and parish." 
 
 Colonel Presbury and Deacon Smith each replied to the 
 squire, and they were both understood to admit that they 
 were not assigned a false position by the gentleman who 
 last spoke. They both urged the necessity of Mr. El- 
 dridge's dismission on the ground that, if he did remain, 
 there would be a great falling off in the congregation, as 
 a new meeting house would be immediately built and an- 
 other church and society formed. 
 
 To this a number of individuals replied at much length, 
 and illustrated in a variety of ways the impossibility of 
 another society being able to gather sufficient strength to 
 live and flourish. 
 
 Evening now being near, and as many present resided 
 remotely from the place of meeting, a motion was made 
 for an adjournment for two weeks. From the manner in 
 which this motion was received, it was evident that the 
 meeting was not yet prepared for an adjournment. From 
 several -parts of the house the desire was expressed that 
 there might be a declaration of feeling in relation to the 
 main business of the meeting ; viz., to act upon the com- 
 munication of the pastor. Accordingly, for the gratifica- 
 tion of this desire, the motion for adjournment was with-
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 443 
 
 drawn, when Mr. Clay moved that the parish concur with 
 the church in its disposal of the request of Rev. Mr. 
 Eldridge for a dismission. As soon as this motion was 
 seconded, Colonel Presbury arose and addressed the meet- 
 ing at great length. He set forth the ease with which the 
 whole difficulty might be settled by the quiet withdrawal of the 
 pastor to another field of labor, which he doubted not ho 
 could soon find. He spoke of the evils of having two 
 societies, where, in reality, only one was needed ; and ho 
 urged all to consider well before they voted on the mo- 
 tion now before them. 
 
 Mr. Otis, Mr. Dixon, and one or two others of the op- 
 position spoke pretty much after the manner of the colo- 
 nel. The motion being now called for by several voices, 
 it was put, when it was discovered that but nineteen were 
 in the negative. 
 
 When this vote was declared it was apparent that the 
 opposition were surprised at the comparative smallness of 
 their number. They manifested such surprise by an at- 
 tempt for a reconsideration of the vote, in which, through 
 the courtesy of one of the majority in moving for such re- 
 consideration, they were successful. The meeting was 
 then adjourned for two weeks. 
 
 Deacon Smith and the colonel, on the next day after 
 this meeting, were seen earnestly engaged in conversation 
 with different people belonging to the parish. It was 
 thought that they were invested with new zeal in their op- 
 position to the pastor ; for almost every subsequent day 
 brought the report of their activity hither and thither in 
 the parish. It was soon found that they were pursuing a 
 different policy from that which had hitherto governed 
 them. Instead of cautiously conversing with individuals 
 to ascertain how strong were their sympathies for the pas- 
 tor, and never betraying their own hostility when such 
 sympathy was strong in his favor, they now boldly avowed
 
 444 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 their dissatisfaction, and urged all who would not ha\e 
 the church and parish- rent asunder to favor the dismission 
 of Mr. Eldridge. Instead of waiting for individuals to 
 come in their way, they now went about among the fami- 
 lies and endeavored to bring all over to their own views 
 of church and parish duty and interest. It would have 
 been singular if, by such a course, they had not succeeded 
 in shaking the faith of some 'and changing the policy of 
 others. The deacon would urge a variety of reasons as 
 occasion might demand to induce those whom he called 
 upon to change their vote. He would appeal to the ava- 
 rice of some by showing how much more the taxes would 
 be for parish purposes if Mr. Eldridge should continue. 
 He would appeal to the pride of some whose boast had 
 often been that their parish was remarkable for its unity 
 and for the accommodating spirit of its members. He 
 would address the pacific feelings of some by portraying 
 the many evils which would come upon the people if there 
 should be two rival societies. Whether by the efforts of 
 the deacon or colonel or not the change was effected, it is 
 not known ; but it began to be rife in the community be- 
 fore the expiration of the time for which the parish meet- 
 ing was adjourned that several had altered tlieir minds, and, 
 all things considered, that they thought it would behest for the 
 people and best for Mr. Eldridge if he should go. Many 
 of these spoke in the highest terms of the pastor, and 
 deeply regretted the necessity for his leaving, when, had 
 they stood firm, and had all stood firm, there would have 
 been no such necessity, though Deacon Smith and Colonel 
 Presbury had not abated aught of their active hostility. 
 In consequence of its being believed that the rumor 
 above noticed was correct, it was judged best by Mr. El- 
 dridge and some of his best friends at last, in consequence 
 of his wishes to have it so, that if at the parish meeting it 
 should be found that any very considerable number, though
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 445 
 
 not amounting to a majority, should deem it expedient for 
 him to leave, for all to acquiesce in the measure. 
 
 The day to which the parish meeting was adjourned 
 having arrived, at the hour appointed might have been 
 seen about the same attendance as at the previous meet- 
 ing. As the attention of the parish was called to the first 
 business, to wit, the consideration of the pastor's request 
 for a dismission, Mr. Babcock, one of the pastor's friend?, 
 arose and remarked that he had a motion to make which 
 might astonish and pain many who should hear it. " Since 
 the last meeting," he continued, "I have hardly thought 
 long upon any other subject but the one which has here 
 called us together ; and I have come to the conclusion that 
 for the sake of peace, for the sake of preserving together this 
 parish, it might be best for our pastor to leave its. If he 
 should, I feel that I can never again have so faithful and 
 instructive a pastor ; but, for the sake of peace, I am willing to 
 give him up ! I therefore move that in the opinion" of the 
 parish, all things considered, it is best that the relation 
 of Mr. Eldridge as pastor should be dissolved." 
 
 Though it was known that Mr. Babcock was an amia- 
 ble and lovely man, yet it was a matter of surprise to 
 all that he should make such a motion, because of his 
 strong attachment to his pastor. This act of his was con- 
 sidered as ^.'precursor of a somewhat general change of feel- 
 ing on the part of Mr. Eldridge's friends, and of course it 
 was felt by some that the question was virtually decided 
 that the pastor must leave. There was much discussion 
 under this motion of the whole matter, in which a large 
 number of individuals participated. Squire Davidson, Dr. 
 Howard, and many others with great feeling opposed the 
 motion : whilst it was advocated, not only by Deacon Smith 
 and Colonel Presbury, but by several who were known to 
 be true friends to the pastor. These last advocated the 
 dissolution of the pastoral relation entirely on the ground 
 38
 
 446 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 of expediency ; and some of the thrusts which were made at 
 Deacon Smith and Colonel Presbury for their agency in 
 bringing matters to the present crisis were so direct and se- 
 vere as to make it almost impossible for them to consider 
 those individuals, though with them in the present measure, 
 as with them in any other. At length the vote was taken, 
 and it appeared that fifty-two were in favor of the motion. 
 
 This vote, though by no means approaching a third, was 
 deemed by some of the pastor's friends who had his pecu- 
 liar confidence as being such a test of feeling as he desired 
 should decide the question of his remaining. Accordingly 
 it was moved that the last vote be reconsidered, which 
 was done ; when the same motion was made and put again, 
 and carried by forty-three votes in favor and none against. 
 
 The church soon after had a meeting for the considera- 
 tion of this matter ; and inasmuch as a vote had been 
 carried in the parish in favor of the dismission of Mr. El- 
 dridge, the church so far acquiesced in the arrangement as 
 to vote to unite with the pastor in the calling of a council 
 to submit the whole matter to them for advice. 
 
 It may appear strange to those who take a cursory view 
 of the subject that such a change should have been effect- 
 ed in the feelings of Mr. Eldridge's parishioners as to 
 bring matters thus far to favor his dismission. Many con- 
 siderations in the period of dissatisfaction with a minister 
 affect the judgment of a people. When the question of his 
 dismission is remote, for the reason that the majority do not 
 think it probable that the alienation existing in the breasts 
 of a few will ever amount to any thing, it is very common 
 for them to feel and to act as though they would part with 
 a right hand as soon as part with their pastor. But when 
 this alienation waxes into hot opposition and it looks as 
 if there would be serious trouble to the church and parish 
 unless the cause of it be removed, then many who are en- 
 tirely satisfied with their pastor begin to think that, on the
 
 PARISH MEETING AND COUNCIL. 447 
 
 whole, the easiest and surest way to quell the storm and bring- 
 back harmony in the different circles of the community is 
 for the pastor to leave. It will be but a little thing for him 
 to look up another parish, and then the one he leaves will 
 be tranquil and happy! Thus easily is a minority, a 
 small minority, of malcontents in a parish successful by 
 the votes of those who all along have condemned their 
 course. Thus it is that such malcontents are encouraged in 
 their work of mischief and ruin. 
 
 In due time a council assembled, in accordance with 
 the invitation of the church and pastor. They spent two 
 days and a half in hearing testimony and in canvassing 
 the matters submitted to their consideration, and at length 
 arrived at a result, of which the following is the sub- 
 stance : 
 
 " The council have, with careful and patient delibera- 
 tion, examined into the condition of the church and peo- 
 ple. They are entirely satisfied in the belief that for 
 twenty years Rev. Mr. Eldridge had in a remarkable de- 
 gree the love and confidence of his people. This position 
 he enjoyed, as the council think, because of his uniform 
 character for prayerfulncss, for fidelity in preaching the 
 true doctrines of the Bible, for fostering with lively inter- 
 est the various benevolent societies of the day, and for hi* 
 interest in all classes of his parish. The young and the 
 old, the rich and the poor, have alike been the objects of 
 his faithful interest and care. From the testimony sub- 
 mitted there cannot be a doubt that the pastor has been a 
 most laborious student and a most faithful shepherd ; and 
 the council extremely regret that he should have been in- 
 terrupted by any dissensions among the people in his useful 
 labors and in carrying out the cherished purpose of his 
 life. The council have had no evidence presented to 
 them for showing that the pastor has not been wise and 
 prudent. On the contrary, much has been submitted
 
 448 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 which presents him as distinguished in a remarkable 
 manner for wisdom and discretion, and for having those 
 traits of character which fit him for extensive useful- 
 ness. 
 
 " In the present situation of both pastor and people we 
 have striking proof of the power of an individual to pro- 
 duce alienation and strife to produce discord and ca- 
 lamity. Truly ' one sinner destroyeth much good.' It 
 seems, by the evidence before the council, that one indi- 
 vidual took offence for having been obliged to pay a tax 
 at two distinct periods and for different objects when he 
 thought the parish could have gained their purposes in. 
 another manner. Because the pastor called attention 
 in his sermons to these different objects, which required 
 the attention of the parish, would they look out well for 
 their own prosperity, this individual became inimical to 
 him, though he confessed that the pastor had advocated 
 nothing more than what was reasonable and proper. If 
 the pastor had not preached two sermons, one in favor 
 of liquidating an old parish debt, and the other in favor 
 of remodelling the church, this wealthy individual 
 thought there would have been no call for money, and 
 thus his own purse would have been untouched. Because 
 it was touched, he became dissatisfied with the pastor and 
 vowed vengeance upon him. So craftily, though slowly, 
 this individual endeavored to undermine the pastor ; but it 
 probably would have been a hopeless undertaking had not 
 an officer of this church confederated with him. When the 
 council consider the circumstances in which Deacon Smith 
 was when he avowed opposition to his pastor, they are 
 overwhelmed with the deepest sorrow at the ingratitude 
 which followed the faithful efforts pf the pastor to restore 
 an erring son to his right mind, to the arms of an affec- 
 tionate father. From these two individuals, therefore, the 
 council are convinced the present difficulties in the parish
 
 PARISH MEETING AND ^COUNCIL. 449 
 
 have arisen. Had Colonel Presbury and Deacon Smith 
 not allowed themselves to act as they have acted, we are 
 satisfied we should have had no duties to discharge here. 
 The council exceedingly regret that the pastor's friends did 
 not all of them remain steadfast. Had they done so, there 
 probably would haw been no cause for the rupture of ties 
 which have bound pastor and people for so many years. 
 Had they remained steadfast, they had not encouraged evil 
 doers in their work of iniquity. 
 
 " As matters now are in the parish, the council see no 
 other alternative for the settlement of their difficulties but 
 the dismission of the pastor. Though painful in the ex- 
 treme to them, they do advise to his dismission ; and they 
 most sincerely commend him to the churches as a most able 
 and efficient minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 " The council would sympathize with their dear brother 
 in his blasted hopes. They know his views and greatly 
 appreciate them of the importance of the permanent 
 ministry, arid they deeply deplore the unrighteous causes 
 which have severed him from a people to whom he has 
 been singularly useful, and in whose service it was his 
 hope to remain till death. Their prayer is, that he may 
 be divinely sustained and directed." 
 38*
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 
 
 IT would be difficult to discover stronger emotions to- 
 wards those not connected with an individual by the bonds 
 of nature than what the faithful pastor cherishes towards 
 the people of his charge. His grand purpose of life, one 
 for which his entire education and his complete energies 
 are consecrated, being to serve his Lord and Savior here 
 upon the earth in gathering unto him many sons and 
 daughters, it is impossible for him to have any other feel- 
 ings towards the people of his charge but those of the 
 warmest sympathy and the most unwearied care. He 
 contemplates them all as born to immortality, and he feels 
 that he has been commissioned as an instrument for arrest- 
 ing their attention to this exalted birthright, and to guide 
 their feet in the narrow path which conducts to eternal 
 joys. He is impelled, therefore, to activity for their good 
 both by the deepest love for his Savior and the warmest 
 affection for his people. So much absorbed is lie in the 
 welfare of his people that he is interested in every event 
 in which they are interested. In their concerns of time, 
 their plans, and in their success, in their individual inter- 
 ests and their social capacity, the faithful pastor has al- 
 most the same strength of feeling which throbs in their 
 own bosoms. Are they prosperous in their worldly pro- 
 jects, he rejoices. Are they hindered in these and disap-
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 451 
 
 pointed, and consequently in trial at their disappointments, 
 
 he is likewise tried with them, and ready, by counsel and 
 
 other aid, to cheer them in further attempts at success. 
 
 Does disease attack any of his beloved people, the pastor 
 
 is at their bedsides to sympathize both with the invalid 
 
 and those bound to the sick one by love, and fervently 
 
 tg to the great Physician to send healing remedies, 
 
 once stop the wasting process and give strength and 
 
 . Does the great foe of humanity, Death, invade any 
 
 in community of the pastor, what friend is sooner 
 
 house of mourning than he, or with more compassion 
 
 heart or sympathy on his tongue ? Whatever may 
 
 5 condition of his people the pastor is quick to learn 
 
 ) know, and as ready to aid in making all their varied 
 
 ience contribute to work out for them a welfare as 
 
 complete, and durable as can be found around the 
 
 3 of Jehovah. 
 
 - the connection between pastor and people subsisted 
 ars ; has he received from them many and varied 
 dons of their affection, confidence, and esteem ; has 
 love for those over whom the Holy One made him 
 r augmented with every revolving year ; has ho 
 mg for joy and praised his God and Savior for giv- 
 ing him so many seals of his ministry and crowns of his 
 eternal rejoicing ; and does he with pride contemplate his 
 mature powers and enlarged experience as furnishing him 
 with greater power to do his Master's work and gather 
 still a larger number of seals and crowns than what are 
 already garnered up ; and in his revery is he disturbed by 
 a faint rumor that Dissension is taking her seat in the 
 breasts of one or two of the prominent individuals of his 
 charge ; does this rumor, though scouted by the multitude, 
 as telling of something which can never do harm, yet 
 haunt the good man in his study, and in his walks, and in 
 all his ways to such an extent as to give rise to the fear
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 
 
 IT would be difficult to discover stronger emotions to- 
 wards those not connected with an individual by the bonds 
 of nature than what the faithful pastor cherishes towards 
 the people of his charge. His grand purpose of life, one 
 for which his entire education and his complete energies 
 are consecrated, being to serve his Lord and Savior here 
 upon the earth in gathering unto him many sons and 
 daughters, it is impossible for him to have any other feel- 
 ings towards the people of his charge but those of the 
 warmest sympathy and the most unwearied care. He 
 contemplates them all as born to immortality, and he feels 
 that he has been commissioned as an instrument for arrest- 
 ing their attention to this exalted birthright, and to guide 
 their feet in the narrow path which conducts to eternal 
 joys. He is impelled, therefore, to activity for their good 
 both by the deepest love for his Savior and the warmest 
 affection for his people. So much absorbed is he in the 
 welfare of his people that he is interested in every event 
 in which they are interested. In their concerns of time, 
 their plans, and in their success, in their individual inter- 
 ests and their social capacity, the faithful pastor has al- 
 most the same strength of feeling which throbs in their 
 own bosoms. Are they prosperous in their worldly pro- 
 jects, he rejoices. Are they hindered in these and disap-
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 451 
 
 pointed, and consequently in trial at their disappointments, 
 he is likewise tried with them, and ready, by counsel and 
 other aid, to cheer them in further attempts at success. 
 Does disease attack any of his beloved people, the pastor 
 is at their bedsides to sympathize both with the invalid 
 and those bound to the sick one by love, and fervently 
 praying to the great Physician to send healing remedies, 
 and at once stop the wasting process and give strength and 
 health. Does the great foe of humanity, Death, invade any 
 circle in community of the pastor, what friend is sooner 
 in the house of mourning than he, or with more compassion 
 in his heart or sympathy on his tongue ? Whatever may 
 be the condition of his people the pastor is quick to learn 
 and to know, and as ready to aid in making all their varied 
 experience contribute to work out for them a welfare as 
 large, complete, and durable as can be found around the 
 throne of Jehovah. 
 
 Has the connection between pastor and people subsisted 
 for years ; has he received from them many and varied 
 expressions of their affection, confidence, and esteem ; has 
 his own love for those over whom the Holy One made him 
 overseer augmented with every revolving year ; has he 
 often sung for joy and praised his God and Savior for giv- 
 ing him so many seals of his ministry and crowns of his 
 eternal rejoicing ; and does he with pride contemplate his 
 mature powers and enlarged experience as furnishing him 
 with greater power to do his Master's work and gather 
 still a larger number of seals and crowns than what are 
 already garnered up ; and in his revery is he disturbed by 
 a faint rumor that Dissension is taking her seat in the 
 breasts of one or two of the prominent individuals of his 
 charge ; does this rumor, though scouted by the multitude, 
 as telling of something which can never do harm, yet 
 haunt the good man in his study, and in his walks, and in 
 all his ways to such an extent as to give rise to the fear
 
 452 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 among the many confiding ones in his parish that the pas- 
 tor's health is failing ; do the dissentients work on, scatter- 
 ing their baneful seeds, and diligently watch their germinat- 
 ing process, and joyfully espy them as they shoot forth here 
 and there in the parish ; and at length are they so rank 
 and offensive as to excite strong apprehension in almost 
 every mind that their removal is alone indispensable to 
 general health and happiness ; and, to their removal, must 
 the pastor's position be changed ? Must he be sacrificed ? 
 Ah, what then ? Not much. It is but a little thing ; let him 
 die. The event will cause a little commotion for a time ; 
 but soon it will be forgotten, and the community in which 
 he long lived and faithfully and successfully ministered, 
 when he is decently buried, will rise up and call him 
 blessed. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge endured the trial of separation from his 
 people in such a manner as made the cursory observers re- 
 mark that its effects on his health and spirits were far 
 more slight than they had anticipated. All in the com- 
 munity were fully aware of his sentiments and feelings in re- 
 lation to the pastoral office that he deemed & fluctuating 
 ministry of disastrous consequence both to the clergy and 
 the people. All knew, too, what had been his feelings in 
 relation to his own pastorate ; how that from the period 
 of his ordination, through each successive year of his pas- 
 toral life, he had planned and labored, not only for im- 
 mediate success, but for ulterior benefits to his people in 
 years to come ; that his foundations were so laid as to 
 require, not only the fervor of youth and the energy of 
 manhood, but the experience and wisdom of age, to rear and 
 complete the superstructure, so that those who should come 
 after him might comprehend the happy effects of his min- 
 istry and future generations be partakers of its benefits. 
 By reason of this knowledge, it was feared that, in being 
 arrested in his progress when his plans were but partly
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 453 
 
 executed and his work but partly completed, he would 
 exhibit some clear signs of sad disappointment and of deep 
 despondency. If such exhibition was not made to the cur- 
 sory observer, it was because Mr. Eldridge could control his 
 emotions and repress the risings of sadness when individu- 
 ajs were about him whom he did not care to introduce into 
 the inner chambers of his soul. It was not because he 
 was indifferent to the position in which he had been placed, 
 in consequence of being stopped in his pastoral career in 
 the period of life when he was best fitted by knowledge, 
 experience, and wisdom to perform the labor he had reserved 
 for this period of his ministry, that every individual whom 
 he met did not discover despondency and grief in him. 
 Of this there was abundant evidence from his intimate 
 friends, who had frequent opportunity for learning the real 
 effects his dismission were producing upon him. These 
 traced disappointment, and sadness, and woe in the many 
 expressions he made to them of his feelings and in the 
 mournful spectacle which they were compelled to witness 
 of his staggering courage and withering energies. The 
 intimate friends of Mr. ~Eildridge felt thai he was almost over- 
 come by the rupture of his pastoral relation. They feared 
 that he would be completely unfitted for further usefulness 
 to the church and the world unless by a change of scenes his 
 thoughts should be diverted from the parish and the things 
 therewith connected. Accordingly he was persuaded to 
 entez on a course of travel, by which he was detained from 
 home some two months, and to his partial benefit. 
 
 Though in his absence his sensibilities to what had 
 lately passed had become somewhat blunted, yet Mr. El- 
 dridge was an unhappy man. His friends made many at- 
 tempts to persuade him to anticipate another settlement 
 and to put himself in a way to invite such a blessing ; but 
 to all such kind interpositions for his own good he would 
 reply that he had once settled for life had planned, had
 
 454 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 executed, with all his wisdom and talents, to be the most 
 useful to the people of his charge, and that his pastoral lifo 
 had ceased. In process of time, however, he arranged his 
 course to his condition, and was occupied in literary 
 labors, in the care of his lands and trees, and in the occa- 
 sional supply of pulpits vacant for a season through the 
 sickness, vacation, or dismission of pastors. 
 
 It was five months from his dismission before he found 
 himself unoccupied in other pulpits ; and thus this length 
 of time passed without his spending a Sabbath at home 
 and appearing in the sacred temple as a parishioner. This 
 was a Sabbath of great trial to him, and, from appearances 
 and expressions, of great trial to the large body of the 
 people. Success had not attended the efforts made by 
 Colonel Presbury arid Deacon Smith, who were the com- 
 mittee for supplying the pulpit ; and the people were yet 
 hearing candidates. The one who officiated on this oc- 
 casion, though a goodly man and of srood reputation, was 
 singularly unfortunate in not securing the special favor of 
 any. Whether his complete unli/ceness to Mr. Eldridge, 
 or the rise of impatient or revengeful feelings on the part 
 of those who never desired a change of pastors, produced 
 a general outburst of, dissatisfaction among the^ people as 
 they emerged from the sanctuary in the morning, is not 
 known ; but the committee did not deem it advisable to 
 employ him further. Doubtless the presence of Mr. El- 
 dridge excited many to make comparisons much to the 
 prejudice of the man the committee had introduced as a 
 candidate for popular favor and the pastorate. 
 
 During the period that passed whilst the parish were 
 without a pastor of fifteen months, Mr. Eldridge received 
 many and varied expressions of respect and affection from 
 the largest part of his late charge. These, occurring at 
 intervals, had a happy effect in reviving his spirits and 
 soothing his feelings ; but, then, the fact would at last
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 455 
 
 ascend and overpower these expressions that he was an 
 exile from the people of his first love, and plunge him into 
 despondency and grief at the continued reflection that 
 further opportunity to complete to his mind his ministry 
 was forever cut off. Though he made vigorous attempts 
 to rise over such emotions, yet he could not succeed. At 
 his ordination he felt that he was set apart as the minister 
 of the church and parish till death or his own misconduct 
 should remove him ; and as neither of these had intervened 
 to end his ministry, he thought he ought still to have con- 
 tinued the recipient of the vows which were made to him 
 at that period by his church love. 
 
 It may have been an error in Mr. Eldridge thus to have 
 felt. Doubtless some, without hesitation, will pronounce 
 it so ; but if every pastor for the last half century had 
 been inspired with his feelings of the sanctity of the pas- 
 toral relation, and had attached his value to its perma- 
 nency, and had labored as wisely, as variously, as abun- 
 dantly as he did to be a minister that need not to be 
 ashamed, he probably might have been saved from such 
 error, in never being called to the trial from which it 
 sprung. There cannot be a doubt that, under such a min- 
 istry as his /or fifty years, our churches and our parishes 
 would never have passed through the rendiugs and the 
 wranglings which have enfeebled so many and sent a gen- 
 eral reproach upon them all ; for public sentiment would 
 undoubtedly have be'en encouraged by such a ministry in 
 the conviction that the permanent ministry is the most 
 productive of good. Had pastors for the period above 
 mentioned been as deaf to invitations popularly denomi- 
 nated " loud calls " as was Mr. Eldridge, the foundation 
 stones to the permanency of the pastoral relation might 
 not have been disturbed. Had they frowned upon the 
 fickleness of the people as he did upon their caprice, upon 
 their every attempt to disturb those bonds into- which they
 
 456 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 most solemnly entered with their pastors, and thus made it 
 not an easy matter for one or two restless spirits to operate 
 upon the entire mass, and remove, for a slight or no cause, 
 a faithful, useful, and devoted minister, the task of dis- 
 missing a pastor would not, probably, have been one to be 
 undertaken as a very feasible project. But for the example 
 which almost every parish around had set of the facility in 
 effecting a change of pastors, Mr. Eldridge would have 
 continued his ministrations to the people over whom he 
 was ordained till his Master took him to his reward in 
 heaven. Both Deacon Smith and Colonel Presbury were 
 well aware how successfully men like themselves had 
 worked in other places who had conceived a prejudice 
 towards faithful pastors ; and therefore they were en- 
 couraged to gratify their own wicked feelings in the imita- 
 tion of the same inglorious precedent. 
 
 A successor at length was found and settled in the par- 
 ish of which Mr. Eldridge had long been the successful and 
 useful minister. To many it was a matter of great sur- 
 prise that the people should have extended their suffrages 
 thus, when it was known abroad that they had rejected 
 many other candidates of far more promise both from their 
 talents and literary acquisitions. The man of their 
 choice had failed in other smaller parishes to gain a popu- 
 lar vote because he was deemed not sufficiently great and 
 talented to be the means of their prosperity. None 
 doubted his piety or questioned his sincerity ; but there 
 seemed to be the feeling in many places where he had 
 preached as a candidate that he had not the power de- 
 manded to build up and make flourish a religious com- 
 munity. However, he received the votes of the people 
 where Mr. Eldridge had ministered, and was duly com- 
 missioned as their pastor. 
 
 As was to be expected, the affections of the people 
 began to be intwiiied about the young minister. It was
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 457 
 
 right and proper that the shepherd should be loved. Nr 
 one was more ready to encourage such a feeling in all 
 over whom he had any influence than Mr. Eldridge. He 
 himself was well disposed towards his successor, and re- 
 garded him as able to do much good in the service of his 
 Lord and Master. Whilst, however, many of the parish 
 greatly loved their present minister, Mr. Eldridge had 
 very soon a new trial in the case with which the former 
 pastor could be put into the shade, and be treated with 
 indignity by those even who had to the very last period 
 of his connection with them, and even up to the time 
 when a successor was ordained, manifested the greatest 
 love and respect. Whilst he was not expecting nor de- 
 siring to have the affections and respect of the pastor 
 continued to him, yet, as he highly prized the ministerial 
 office and had done nothing to mar his own character as 
 one of its incumbents, he was expecting that the respect due 
 a minister of Christ would be awarded him. Whilst this 
 was done always by such characters as Dr. Howard, Mr. 
 Clay, and the Davidsons, yet there were others, who had 
 been equal to these in their expressions of respect and 
 affection, who were inclined now to treat him with the 
 equality and rudeness that governed them in their inter- 
 course with those who had ever been on the same level 
 with themselves. They seemed to think and to act as if 
 the dismission of a minister had destroyed his ministerial 
 character and left him a layman. By reason of this feeling, 
 manifested by a portion of the people in different ways 
 and on various occasions, Mr. Eldridge was most severely 
 tried. As he had regarded all classes in the community 
 with extreme interest, and labored abundantly for their 
 good, and been by all acknowledged instrumental of great 
 benefits to them as their minister, he was expecting that 
 gratitude for past services would prompt to kind and 
 39
 
 458 A VOICE FEOM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 respectful treatment when in the providence of God it wag 
 no longer in his power to minister to them ; but in such 
 expectation he was disappointed, and often had to mourn 
 over the ease with which he could be forgotten, or be 
 treated with indignity and coldness. For this reason he 
 could not in his private capacity do many things which 
 he would for the interest and edification of the commu- 
 nity. He did not wish to expose himself to the incon- 
 siderate animadversions of any, or to take upon himself 
 trusts which a few might wish to have fall upon another. 
 Therefore he preferred to keep himself aloof from a pro- 
 miscuous assembly, and, when not abroad on professional 
 duty, to confine himself within his own enclosures. Though 
 requested often by some to be present in meetings for con- 
 ference and prayer, he was obliged to deny himself the 
 pleasure and the profit of such means of spiritual improve- 
 ment in consequence of having heard or seen how ruth- 
 lessly some who were always at these meetings handled his 
 character and interpreted his motives. He lamented such a 
 state of feeling towards him, because it deprived him of 
 power to be useful in a private capacity where he had long 
 publicly labored. 
 
 Another trial of the ex-pastor had its source in the 
 smallness of value which was often placed on his official 
 services abroad. It was known that Mr. Eldridge was 
 dismissed. Parish committees who had in charge the sup- 
 ply of pulpits vacated by pastors who were enjoying 
 abroad their three and four weeks of vacation were aware 
 that Mr. Eldridge was dismissed. He was often applied 
 to in thesQ circumstances to supply the vacancy. But in 
 what manner was the application made? Often alter the 
 manner of the one we will now detail. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge had been at home on a Monday morning 
 but a few minutes, having spent the previous Sabbath in a
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 459 
 
 neighboring town, where for a few weeks past he had 
 been preaching, when he was visited by a gentleman who 
 introduced himself as Mr. Crosby. 
 
 *.*** 
 
 " I suppose our minister has left home to-day," Mr. Cros- 
 by remarked, " to be absent four weeks. "When he was 
 settled it was agreed by the parish that he might have 
 four Sabbaths in each year to himself, and that they would 
 supply the pulpit. Many of our people have expressed a 
 desire to hear you preach, Mr. Eldridge ; and I have called 
 to see if you could supply our pulpit the next Sabbath." 
 
 " I have no engagement," Mr. Eldridge replied, " for the 
 next Sabbath ; and I think I can accommodate you." 
 
 " I suppose," Mr. Crosby observed, " that I ought to say 
 that our people don't feel as if they ought to pay two min- 
 isters. They raise for our pastor eight hundred dollars a 
 year ; and many feel that they are already taxed too much 
 for his support. We don't expect to obtain a minister to 
 supply Mr. Freeman's place without giving a little some- 
 thing ; but we can't afford to pay the full price. Could 
 you go under such circumstances ? " 
 
 "How much do you propose to give ?" Mr. Eldridge in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Some of us have thought," Mr. Crosby said, " we might 
 raise four or Jive dollars a Sabbath." 
 
 " That would about meet the expenses of a journey to 
 your place," Mr. Eldridge observed. 
 
 " I suppose," Mr. Crosby said, " it would cost four or 
 five dollars to go there and back." 
 
 " Well," said- Mr. Eldridg?, " I suppose your , people are 
 able to raise much more than they now do for preaching 
 if they were disposed. I have often passed through your 
 town, and have noticed that you have a large population 
 and a very fine meeting house. Your farms indicate both 
 wealth and prosperity."
 
 460 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " 0, yes, there is considerable wealth in our place, I 
 know," Mr. Crosby remarked ; " and, as you intimate, the 
 people are sufficiently able to raise more money for preach- 
 ing than they now do ; but, then, they would not do it." 
 
 " Do you think it would be just in your people to employ 
 a clergyman to supply their pastor's place while he is ab- 
 sent and not remunerate him for his labor when they have 
 so much ability ? " 
 
 " Why, no," Mr. Crosby replied. " We expect to pay, 
 as I said, a little something" 
 
 11 But four 'or five dollars, the sum you named, would only 
 about pay nay expenses should I preach for you next Sab- 
 bath. There would be little or nothing left for my services" 
 Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " You would have an opportunity to preach" Mr. Crosby 
 remarked. " It would not be necessary for you to make 
 any preparation, as you probably have a great many old 
 sermons. Ministers who are dismissed, I have always 
 thought, love to preach whenever they canine? a place." 
 
 This latter remark very sensibly affected Mr. Eldridge ; 
 but, suppressing his feelings, he observed, 
 
 w I always am ready to preach the gospel whenever there 
 is a call of Providence for me so to do. I can have op- 
 portunity to preach nearer home than your place to a peo- 
 ple who are really unable to afford much compensation ; and, 
 when I have services to give away, I prefer going there. 
 I should expect to be far more successful in such a place in 
 doing good than in a community where there is abundant 
 ability, but no disposition to compensate a minister." 
 
 " I have supposed that it was comn^on for'parishes situat- 
 ed as we are, when their pastors were away in their vaca- 
 tion, to get their preaching for little or nothing from 
 dismissed ministers" Mr. Crosby said. 
 
 " That may be, said Mr. Crosby. I fear it is too true ; 
 but, then, it is nevertheless v.ry unjust. Dismissed minis-
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 40 1 
 
 ters usually need all the compensation they can obtain for 
 their services whenever they preach ; for it is from their 
 labors that their families are to be supported. I have 
 always thought that they should be fully compensated 
 whenever they were called upon to preach. It has ever 
 been my practice to pay a brother minister who supplied 
 my place in my absence the full price. A dismissed minister 
 can no better afford to give away his services than a pas- 
 101. The people in Bedford parish set a very good exam- 
 ple to other communities in the matter of paying clergymen 
 who supply the place of the pastor in his vacation." 
 
 " What is that? " Mr. Crosby inquired. 
 
 " I lately saw a minister, who had been supplying that 
 people whilst the pastor was relaxing himself abroad in 
 his vacation, who informed me that they gave their minis- 
 ter seven hundred dollars a year and the privilege of being 
 absent four Sabbaths. They considered these four Sab- 
 baths in which he was absent as important as any other four 
 Sabbaths ; and they usually paid the individuals who sup- 
 plied the vacancy each Sabbath in proportion to the salary 
 of the pastor. ' We do- so/ the good deacon of the church 
 remarked, ' because it is, in the first place, right ; and, in the 
 next place, from respect to our pastor. If we should beg our 
 preaching or but half pay for it,' he said, ' for four Sabbaths 
 every year when our pastor is absent, he would think we 
 did not value his vacation much. Now, he knows that his 
 salary is in reality equal to seven hundred and fifty dollars 
 a year ; for it costs us about fifty dollars to pay for his 
 four Sabbaths in which he is away.' " 
 
 "-Well, Mr. Eldridge," Mr. Crosby remarked, "if you 
 will come and preach for us next Sabbath you shall have 
 ten or twelve dollars, if I have to pay it all myself." 
 ****** 
 
 In the course of a few days after the above conversation 
 Mr. Eldridge received a visit from a friend from abroad 
 39*
 
 462 A .VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 with whom he had been in most friendly correspondence 
 for years. Though a layman, yet he was interested in the 
 condition of the clergy, and on various occasions had 
 evinced this interest much to the relief and encouragement 
 of this most important class of the community. Whilst he 
 was the guest of Mr. Eldridge a variety of subjects were 
 introduced, as well those of a general nature as of per- 
 sonal interest. From some inquiries made of her husband 
 by Mrs. Eldridge relative to the interview he had lately 
 had with Mr. Crosby above alluded to, and the facetious 
 replies of Mr. Eldridge, the curiosity of Mr. Lawrence 
 was awakened, to satisfy which it became necessary that 
 the character of the conversation be described. This 
 being done, Mr. Lawrence remarked, with deep emo- 
 tion, 
 
 " My feelings have often been severely tried at the man- 
 ner in which the services of dismissed ministers are often 
 treated. Many people seem to suppose that they can ob- 
 tain them, when they are not particularly engaged, to 
 preach a Sabbath for little or no compensation, and that 
 then they are rather conferring than receiving a favor in asking 
 them to preach." 
 
 " I have felt very differently since I was dismissed," Mr. 
 Eldridge said, "in relation to this subject from what I ever 
 did before, probably for the reason that I have known 
 more about it than formerly." 
 
 "I have a neighbor at home who is a clergyman," Mr. 
 Lawrence remarked, " who was dismissed on account of 
 ill health a year or two since, and from him I have learned 
 much of the manner in which people are disposed some- 
 times to treat the poor minister. I never heard him com- 
 plain with any degree of censure, but rather he always 
 alluded to the subject with sorrow ; for he is a most ex- 
 cellent man, and one to whom our people have become 
 much attached. He has told me that he has often been
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 463 
 
 called upon to supply the pulpits of parishes where there 
 was a vacancy for one or two Sabbaths, occasioned by 
 the absence of the pastors, when he was requited with 
 nothing more than the sum necessary to cover his expenses, as 
 the same were ascertained by the parish committee, whose 
 duty it was in behalf of the parish to give full compensa- 
 tion ; for the pastor had the right of absence. On one 
 occasion he said he was asked how much he would have to 
 pay for his horse and carriage ; and the sum being one 
 dollar and seventy-five cents, the committee man asked him, 
 on handing him a two-dollar bank bill, if he could give 
 him back the remaining quarter, as it was impossible for 
 him to make change." 
 
 " Why did he not demand full compensation," Mr. El- 
 flridge inquired, " if the service was rendered in accordance 
 with the request of the committee, and if it belonged to 
 the parish, and not to the pastor, to make compensa- 
 tion ? " 
 
 " He is a very modest man," Mr. Crosby replied, " and 
 trustful, and is disposed to receive what is bestowed rather 
 than to make a demand for what is justly his due." 
 
 "I cannot think that there are many parishes who 
 would be guilty of such niean injustice," Mr. Eldridge 
 remarked. 
 
 " There are some, however, who practise in this way, I air 
 persuaded," Mr. Crosby said ; " and you ministers, too" h? 
 continued with a smile, " sometimes do the thing in rela- 
 tion to a dismissed brother which is not altogether right." 
 
 " What do you refer to ? " inquired Mr. Eldridge. 
 
 " I have heard," Mr. Lawrence replied, "upon authority 
 which I consider unquestionable, that sometimes pastors have 
 found it for their interest to be absent from their people on 
 a Sabbath, and that, to supply their pulpit, they have sought 
 a dismissed minister who had no other source of supporting 
 a family but preaching, and have not been very liberal in 
 their compensation."
 
 464 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 " So far as my knowledge extends," Mr. Eldridge re- 
 marked, " I have found in pastors who were settled strong 
 sympathy towards their brethren who were without pas- 
 toral charge and a readiness to aid them in every way in 
 their power. I have known of many instances where pas- 
 tors have sought the aid of such brethren when they have 
 been sick or absent from their people, and have paid them 
 the full price for their services. Nevertheless, it may be 
 that what you intimate is correct. I have never happened 
 to know of any instances of illiberality in pastors towards 
 those whom they employed to supply their place in the 
 pulpit." 
 
 " Perhaps I have been in a better situation for hearing 
 about these matters than yourself," Mr. Lawrence said. 
 "At any rate, I have learned some pretty hard stories oa 
 this subject." 
 
 "What are some of them? " Mr. Eldridge asked. 
 
 "To be fair," Mr. Lawrence replied, " I must state that 
 I have known of great liberality on the part of some pas- 
 tors to the brethren who have preached for them in their 
 absence. I hope contrary instances are rare, but I am 
 afraid that they might be more uncommon. Not long ago 
 there was a pastor who thought he might be more eligibly 
 settled and who took some considerable pains to effect a 
 change of condition. He wauld seek an invitation to 
 preach a Sabbath in some large and popular parish where 
 they were in want of a pastor, and would supply his own 
 pulpit with the services of a brother in the neighborhood 
 who had been dismissed, giving him six dollars per Sabbath, 
 and receiving from the destitute p&i-'ish Jifteen. Now, what 
 do you make of such conduct ? ' } 
 
 " If that is true," Mr. Eldridge said, " I most sincerely 
 regret it." 
 
 " There is no doubt of its correctness ; for I happened 
 to hear of the case through the brother who supplied this
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 465 
 
 pastor, and he knew how much this destitute parish paid 
 the individual whom he supplied ; for he was soon after called 
 there to preach himself, and was informed by the parish com- 
 mittee. I have heard of several similar cases." 
 
 " It may be," Mr. Eldridge said, " that I shall yet know 
 more on this subject. Since I have been dismissed I have 
 learnea some things which I did not before know, a:id it 
 may be that I shall have some experience myself. I may 
 be called to supply the place of some brother who will 
 give me a third of what he receives." 
 
 " I have an instance in mind," Mr. Lawrence said, 
 " which greatly puts in the shad? this last case I men- 
 tioned. In our state, a clergyman who was settled over a 
 large congregation was sent by the people a representa- 
 tive to the legislature. He received for his services there 
 fourteen dollars a week. Sometimes he would preach at 
 home and sometimes he would exchange. Sometimes he 
 would be called upon to preach in some of the towns 
 near where the legislature met when they were destitute 
 of a pastor, and receive ten or twelve dollars ; and then 
 he would send to his own people a brother to whom he 
 would give Jive dollars. I have heard a poor minister, 
 with a large family dependent upon him, tell me that 
 he had five dollars for supplying the pulpit of this indi- 
 vidual, when he, the very week, was receiving for his ser- 
 vices in the kgislature and for supporting a destitute pulpit 
 twenty-six dollars, which, added to his regular salary at home, 
 would amount to about thirty-eight dollars. Now, what do 
 you think of this ? " 
 
 #*#### 
 
 Mr. Eldridge found another embarrassing trial as an 
 ex-pastor in his relation to his successor. He was aware 
 of the adage, almost as ancient as the practice of chan- 
 ging pastors, that "Dismissed ministers make poor parish- 
 ioners ; " but he always regarded it as a slanderous \\\\\<\\-
 
 466 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 tation, without good foundation. He saw no reason why 
 an individual who had filled the pastoral office should in 
 private life be in the least detrimental to the reputation, 
 comfort, success, or usefulness of the regular pastor. On 
 the contrary, many considerations were suggested to his 
 tnind whereby he was induced to believe the ex-pastor 
 -might be of great advantage in every way to his successor 
 or to the minister of the place in which he resided. An 
 ox-pastor knows the trials of the ministry, and is largely 
 in experience of the many ways of disposing of difficult 
 and embarrassing circumstances which are continually oc- 
 curring in the history of the pastor to give him heavy 
 trial and great perplexity. By reason of this knowledge 
 he is qualified to impart important aid in seasons of diffi- 
 culty, and his own sympathetic disposition would prompt 
 him to render such aid in the hour when it might be 
 needed. Mr. Eld ridge early determined that he would 
 thus assist his successor and be unto him a true friend and 
 counsellor. There was nothing in his soul to persuade 
 him to a contrary course ; for he was interested in the peo- 
 pk of his fate care, and was favorably inclined towards their 
 present minister. He neither allowed any censure to es- 
 cape his own lips upon any conduct of his successor, nor 
 would he hear such censure, without rebuke, from others. 
 In a variety of ways he endeavored to smooth the path of 
 his successor and to make all things move on easily and 
 for good. Yet he soon perceived that his efforts were not ap- 
 preciated, and at length had unmistakable evidence / that 
 there was no disposition on the part of the individual whoso 
 true usefulness and happiness he was consulting to recipro- 
 cate friendly attentions. Rumor brought to him the irtel- 
 ligence that he was regarded by his successor with jealousy, 
 and contemplated more like an enemy than & friend; and 
 this was strengthened by the demeanor of the successor. 
 The little courtesies in the power of one minister to show
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 467 
 
 another were intermitted, and there were formality and 
 coldness in. the manner of the successor whenever he met 
 the man who had preceded him in the pastoral office. 
 Mr. Eldridge was at length treated by him more like an 
 offended parishioner than a true friend and brother minis- 
 ter. It was a long period before he could understand the 
 reason of this treatment ; but the mystery was at length 
 removed in a conversation Mr. Eldridge had with a neigh- 
 boring minister, Mr. Waldo, who called upon him in the 
 expression of kindness and friendship which for years had 
 oeen unabated. 
 
 " I have been lecturing your successor a little this after- 
 noon," Mr. Waldo observed. 
 
 " Ah," replied Mr. Eldridge ; " pray tell me what he 
 has been doing to provoke your fatherly rebukes." 
 
 " / was not at all pleased with the manner in which he talked 
 about you," Mr. Waldo said. " From his conversation I 
 judged that he looked upon you rather as an enemy than 
 a friend." 
 
 " He is very much deceived if he considers me an ene- 
 my" Mr. Eldridge said. 
 
 " Yes, I told him so," Mr. Waldo remarked. " I told 
 him he had no more sincere friend or well wisher in tho 
 parish than Mr. Eldridge. I asked him for the least evi- 
 dence to sustain his position ; but he could not present 
 any ; he said he had nothing tangible. I asked him if he 
 had treated you as a friend, as one in whom he had confi- 
 dence. He replied that he had endeavored to treat you 
 with respect, but that he had never considered you among 
 his particular friends. He remarked that he had always 
 heard that dismissed ministers made poor parishioners; 
 and he determined from the first to be on the lookout for Mr. 
 Eldridge, and not suffer him to get the advantage of him. 
 The last expression unravelled to my mind the whole mat- 
 ter, and excited my indignation and sorrow. I told him
 
 468 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 that / knew you well, and that I knew that you would do 
 him all the good it were in your poVer to render him. 
 His attitude, ' being on the lookout? had made the entire diffi- 
 culty. ' Now,' said I, ' I will tell you how I treat dis- 
 missed ministers. I have two in myjparish, and they are 
 among my best friends. I call upon them often. I un- 
 bosom myself to them. I sympathize with them and en- 
 deavor to aid them. I treat them as ministers. I ask 
 them to preach occasionally, and among my people I al- 
 ways speak well of tJiem and encourage the people to treat them 
 with kindness and respect. I have never had any difficulty 
 from their being in the parish, and I never expect any 
 unless I make it.' I told him that I believed three fourths 
 of the trouble from dismissed ministers arose from the 
 pastors themselves, from their suspicions from their being 
 on the lookout for them. Would pastors treat their breth- 
 ren who happen to move into their parishes with kindness, 
 and as ministers, I do not believe there would be much 
 trouble from them as parishioners." 
 
 " You have expressed my sentiments," Mr. Eldridge 
 remarked. "I am of the opinion that, were pastors to act 
 the part of friends at all times to their brethren who hap- 
 pen to be their parishioners, and treat them as ministers 
 and brethren, they would find it both for their usefulness 
 and happiness." 
 
 " I advised our good brother to alter in his feelings and 
 course towards you," Mr. Waldo said, " and assured him 
 that he would most certainly find his reward." 
 
 " I should be very happy to have him more cordial," 
 Mr. Eldridge said ; " and I really think, if he became well 
 acquainted with me, that he ivould discover that lie had made 
 a mistake" 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 Two years passed away in the life of Mr. Eldridge 'as 
 an ex. -pastor. Whilst he was always well employed, either
 
 THE EX-PASTOR. 469 
 
 in the preparation of articles of sterling value for our lit- 
 erary and theological reviews or in preaching the gospel 
 to some destitute people, yet he continued to sigh and to 
 lament over the interruption of his pastoral duties and the 
 disarrangement of the plans he had formed at the beginning 
 of his profession a career for making his ministerial life 
 as complete and useful as possible. Efforts were frequently 
 made, both by his ministerial and other friends, to have 
 him look out for another pastorate ; but to them all 
 he turned a deaf ear. He had been once settled, and that 
 for life, and his sensibilities would not suffer him to settle 
 again ; for he was satisfied that he could not be useful, af- 
 ter his own ideal of usefulness, to another people. How- 
 ever, so many were the embarrassments attending his life as 
 an ex-pastor that he finally consented to entertain the plan 
 of a connection with a literary institution which some of 
 his friends were maturing. In process of time he was 
 elected a professor in one of our western colleges ; and, af- 
 ter much anxious suspense, he accepted the appointment. 
 
 Now a new trial came. Through legacies of relations 
 he had been enabled to purchase a well-built and beauti- 
 ful house, to which were attached about twenty acres of 
 land in the highest degree productive. He made this 
 purchase when all things in his parish favored the conclusion 
 that he would not need any other house or home than this. He 
 had expended much treasure in the improvement of his 
 lands. Trees of various kinds were on its hills and in its 
 valleys, and on its plains were seen the tall and waving 
 grass in its season, being evidence that a skilful, and prac- 
 tical, and industrious hand had correctly prepared the soil 
 for such a goodly return of crops. The garden, too, and 
 the large enclosure around the house, had signally changed 
 aspects since they had been in the occupancy of Mr. El- 
 dridge, exhibiting the most pleasing beauty as well as af- 
 fording many substantial comforts. Amidst the shrubbery 
 40
 
 470 A VOICE PROM THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 and under the trees .which his own hands had planted 
 his sons and daughters had gambolled and played ; and, 
 whilst he had seen them thus employed, he had often 
 thought that, whilst he lived, they would never 'know another 
 father's house. But now house and lands were to be sold, 
 to prepare the way for a removal to a distant home. Af- 
 ter refusing one and another offer as being far too small, 
 Mr. Eldridge at last succeeded in disposing of his estate, 
 but at a sacrifice of over a thousand dollars. Soon after he 
 and his famil}' were settled at the west he at once entered 
 on his new duties as professor. Here, however, he was 
 not happy, nor were his family contented. He was not 
 busy, after his strong desire, in searching the Scriptures 
 and bringing forth the beaten oil for the sanctuary, for the 
 edification and salvation of the people of his charge. At 
 the circumstances which interrupted this his chosen labor 
 he would often halt and over them would he in sadness 
 muse. He could not recover himself from this most melan- 
 choly retrospection ; and at last he fell a victim to disease, 
 superinduced, in the opinion of medical advisers, by grief 
 and despondency. He thus fell after a residence of a little 
 more than a year in his new home, to the grief of many 
 friends who had learned his worth in the short period of 
 their acquaintance with the man. 
 
 But for his dismission from a people among whom he had 
 been signally useful, through the crafty perseverance of one 
 or two individuals in operating to his hurt till t/ie many be- 
 lieved expediency demanded his removal, Mr. Eldridge, to all 
 probability, would have continued till old age or death 
 gathering stars for the crown of his rejoicing forever 
 amidst the people of las first and only love.
 
 A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE, or Life in the Ministry, with 
 an Introductory Chapter by PROF. PARK, D. D., of the 
 Theological Seminary at Andover. Boston : published by 
 S. K. Whipple & Co., 100 Washington St. A volume of 
 500 pages. Price, $1. Second Edition. 
 
 The object of this work is to benefit the Pastors of our churches, 
 and to help those in every religious community, who are anxious for 
 peace and prosperity in their own locality, to accomplish this desirable 
 object. Its wide circulation in every Parish cannot fail to accom- 
 plish great good. The matter of the work is so various, that almost, 
 every cause of disquietude to the minister is met by it. There is no 
 work so particular in its notice of every source of trouble in a parish, 
 and of anxiety to the pastor, as this. A pastor, therefore, in taking 
 special pains to have the volume extensively circulated in his parish 
 ivould be laboring to make the most of his ministry. The first edition 
 excited the interest and obtained the hearty approval of individuals 
 high in the confidence and respect of the community, and received 
 from the secular and religious press the most flattering notices. 
 
 To awaken in you an interest in the volume, and induce you to aid 
 in its circulation in your community, a few extracts from the opinions 
 which have been expressed, are here given. 
 
 From Rev. Dr. Ide, West Medway. 
 
 I have read the work entitled " A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE, or Life 
 in the Ministry," with much interest and satisfaction. It is a very read- 
 able and instructive volume ; one which few that commence the perusal 
 of its pages, will lay aside until they have read it through. It is, in my 
 view, suited to exert a good influence, both on ministers and people. It 
 brings vividly before the mind a great many facts which ought to be 
 more frequently and seriously considered than they are, and presents 
 them, too, in a light that will attract attention and make an impression. 
 Ministers would do well to encourage its circulation, as a means of prevent- 
 ing or counteracting many of the causes which often exert a most perni- 
 cious influence in the field of their labors. Every one who wishes success 
 to the ministry, and harmony, peace and prosperity in the churches, 
 might do something to accomplish this object, by directing attention to 
 this work.
 
 From Rev. Edward Beecher, D. D., of Boston. 
 
 In my opinion, the work entitled "A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE,' 
 is adapted to do great good, and deserves a general circulation among the 
 churches. It is true to nature and to facts, and will convey not only 
 pleasure, but important instruction, to all who read it. All Congrega- 
 tional churches need great wisdom and piety in order to avoid the evils 
 and temptations incident to their system, and to develop its true excel- 
 lencies unobscured. This work is adapted to aid them in obtaining 
 these indispensable qualifications. I therefore cordially recommend it to 
 general acceptance and favor. 
 
 From Rev. Edmund Dowse, Pastor of the Church in Sherborn. 
 
 Having examined the book entitled " A VOICE FROM THE PARSONAGE," 
 I am prepared to say, that though the last of the works issued from the 
 press on the same general subject, it is by no means the least. It not 
 only occupies new ground, but it meets evils that have not been noticed, 
 and avoids objections that have been found in previous publications. On 
 the whole, I regard it the best book of the kind, both for the ministry and 
 the people. 
 
 From the Boston Evening Transcript. 
 
 This volume is dedicated to Sidney B. Morse, Esq., by his former 
 pastor and friend. The author designs to aid in counteracting the great 
 evil of changing the pastoral relation for any slight cause. He says the 
 plan and general features of the book were conceived and drawn out 
 many months ago, and before any other work with the slightest resem- 
 blance to it was known. The volume contains sketches of various inci- 
 dents peculiar to the career of a clergyman, who sustains the relation of 
 pastor to a parish. It gives quite an insight into social life at a parson- 
 age, and the voice it utters is worthy the attention of all well wishers 
 of those who pass their lives in the ministry. 
 
 From the Boston Daily Advertiser. 
 
 The book details the course of a minister of the noblest character, 
 walking through his path of Christian duty in the most exemplary man- 
 ner, and aided by a faithful wife to do all that a Christian family can be 
 expected to do in the position of the pastor of a church. The picture is 
 filled out with other excellent characters, the Squire and his wife, and 
 others who aid the minister along his path, and do what they can to ren- 
 der it pleasant. But as there was a serpent in the garden of Eden, so in 
 this parish were there wicked and slanderous persons who undermine the 
 pastor in the affections of many of his people, and do not end till he is 
 compelled to leave the parish where he has passed the best years of his 
 life. The details of his connection with his parish, his successes and his 
 failures are drawn with minuteness, and frequently with considerable
 
 power and pathos. The picture is a painful one, and we would fain 
 hope has been somewhat heightened, as is allowable " to point a moral, 
 and adorn a tale." But the lessons should be carefully pondered, and 
 may serve to check a reckless spirit of gossip, which is often thought- 
 lessly indulged in, without any idea of the evil consequences which may 
 follow an "idle word," which is perhaps forgotten as soon as spoken. 
 
 The work will be read with interest, though often a painful one. It 
 is well written, and contains natural descriptions of a great variety of 
 character, and many valuable hints may be taken fiom it in all classes of 
 society. 
 
 From the Puritan Recorder, Boston. 
 
 This book is aimed particularly at that great and growing evil the 
 easy and frequent disruption of the tie that binds a minister to his peo- 
 ple. Though it takes the form of a story, consisting very much of con- 
 versation's between different individuals, it contains nothing that may not 
 be true to the letter, and nothing which, if it should be stated as fact, 
 would be regarded as at all extraordinary. The evil which it contem- 
 plates is a fearful one, and the author deserves well of the Christian 
 public at large, for this timely and ingenious effort to arrest it. 
 
 From the Middlesex Journal. 
 
 We have read this volume with great interest, and regard it as well 
 fitted to do great good in all our parishes. All sides of the subject are 
 here presented. Not only is the life of the pastor, in his trials and joys, 
 delineated, but the case of the parishioner is ako described. The author 
 does not blame the parishioner for all the evils which often befall the 
 pastor, but justly, in many instances, throws the responsibility on the 
 pastor himself. We regard the volume as well worthy a place in every 
 family, and advise all readers to get a copy and read it. 
 
 From the Mother's Assistant, Boston. 
 
 This is the work, after all, which our parishes need. Wherever it 
 shall be read, its influence will be most salutary. It will help the good 
 pastor, and his good wife, too ; and where there is an inefficient or selfish 
 pastor, his parishioners will be comforted in its perusal. We like the 
 book much, and deem it a very honest and fair echo of a voice from the 
 parsonage. We advise all our readers to obtain a copy. Its circulation 
 in all our parishes would be attended with the most beneficial results 
 
 From the Congregationalist, Boston. 
 
 This work seems to be characterized by a conscientious desire to por- 
 tray, with photographic fidelity, the reality of life in the ministry. It is
 
 4 
 
 more complete, and more exhaustive of its subject, than any other work 
 of its class, which has fallen under our eye. Certain very important 
 topics which have been overlooked before, are here brought out with 
 force and fulness. The tone of the book is simple, unartistic and ex- 
 perimental. It makes upon us the impression of having' been written 
 not by a professedly fine writer for the sake of making a fine book, but 
 rather as one might write an autobiography for some purpose of general 
 usefulness. It can hardly be read without the feeling that Virgil's 
 " quaeque ipse miserrima vidi, et quorum pars magna fui," would be its 
 most truthful motto. We have been, in our time, both a country min- 
 ister and the son of a country minister, and we can bear testimony to 
 the essential truthfulness of the story. "The other store," "the load of 
 wood," "the letter," &c., are especially veracious chapters. We think 
 this book is calculated to do extensive good. 
 
 From Rev. Mr. Huntington's Monthly, Boston. 
 
 The purpose of the work, clearly, is to exhibit the mischiefs and sins 
 which are likely to attend any relation between a minister and his peo- 
 ple that is not thoroughly generous and fair on both sides. The subtle 
 processes by which an immoral and destructive policy creeps into this 
 relation, the meannesses that may disgrace the parochial character, 
 the disorganizing power of a few factious malcontents, the fatal growth 
 of suspicion and ill-will, the errors of well-meaning pastors, are all. 
 graphically described. The narrative, though simple and straight-forward, 
 is not without a strong and painful interest. If a large preclominance is 
 given to difficulties of a pecuniary nature, it is probably because these 
 difficulties have really grown, in many places, into the most serious im- 
 portance. In this regard, the book does for the recent " Statement of 
 Facts," issued from Boston, disclosing the financial disabilities of the 
 New England clergy, what a set of plates does for a scientific treatise, or 
 a series of colored engravings for a work of physical geography. There 
 is certainly instruction in it. The story has a life-like air ; and many 
 readers will here find entertaining portraits of personages they have per- 
 sonally known, and individual names for generic foibles. Col. Presby 
 and Miss Bemis represent facts which have sorely tried many a minister's 
 Christian patience.
 
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