B 
 
 m\
 
 IsIBKAMY 
 
 ^-^^^ ^^-^^^ 
 
 mnmB iii@ii, 
 
 No mcnil-CT of tlic Schocl is to be | 
 allowed to have out more than one Book | 
 at once, nor to retain any Book more j 
 than two weeks in succession. 
 
 Headers arc requested to he careful 
 j in using this book, and punc tual in rc- 
 j turning it. To injure a lihrarv look, 
 1 or to retain it lonpcr than is right, is to 
 ' do an injury to others which cannot be 
 cas!!v repaired.

 
 THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 SKETCH OF CHARLES MORSE, 
 
 OP NEWBURYPORT, MASS. 
 
 WETTTEN FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, AND 
 APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE OP PUBLICATION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
 Depository, No. 13 Cornhii.l. 
 
 S\<
 
 I^ntered, according to Act bf Congress, in the yfeat 1859) 
 
 BY THE MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 WeU'^pring: Press, N<?. 4 Spr-nff L>an9j
 
 IT 
 
 CONTENT S . 
 
 CHAPTEE. PAGE. 
 
 I. EARLY LIFE 5 
 
 n. HIS MOTHER 14 
 
 m. THE DARK CLOUD 33 
 
 IV. DOMESTIC RELATIONS 42 
 
 V. UNION WITH THE CHURCH 93 
 
 VI. A SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER 108 
 
 Vn. ONE OF HIS SABBATH SCHOOL SCHOL- 
 ARS HIS PASTOR 121 
 
 Vlli. MR. MORSE AS A PARISHIONER 150 
 
 IX. INTELLECT CULTIVATED FOR GOD 162 
 
 X. FAITHFUL IN FRIENDSHIP 171 
 
 XI. INTEREST IN PUBLIC MORALITY 184 
 
 XII. RELIGION IN DAILY LIFE 189 
 
 XTTT. MISSIONARY SPIRIT 204 
 
 XW. LIFE OF PRAYER 214 
 
 XV. LAST DAYS 225
 
 T HE 
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHAxNlC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 * In presenting to the public eye tlie life 
 of this humble and devoted Christian, 
 the writer is not influenced by any 
 variety of incidents, or any peculiarity 
 of circumstances, which might invite 
 description. It is the record of a very 
 simple, retired life, apparently like thou- 
 sands of others, except as its interior 
 
 ^ purpose shaped and colored it.
 
 6 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 His pastor, in a sermon preached to 
 his people, on the Sabbath after the 
 death of Mr. Morse, remarked : " Human 
 character is so subtle in its nature, so 
 difficult to be understood, and if under- 
 stood, often inexpedient to describe, that 
 I seldom speak to you publicly of indi- 
 viduals, even when I know that a light 
 has gone out, leaving many sorrowful 
 hearts darkened by the stroke. But, in 
 thisi' instance, %as a life departed, so 
 transparent and so consistent, so full 
 of the purposes of duty, so ripe in 
 those Christian fruits whereby we are 
 told we ' can know of the doctrine ' 
 professed, that I can but follow it from 
 its source to its final entrance into the 
 vast sea of immortal life. The stream 
 was clear, reflecting the image of heaven 
 above, and enriching and blessing the 
 earth through which it flowed."
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 7 
 
 Charles Morse was born in Newbury- 
 port, Mass., August 8th, 1803. His 
 parents were Mr. William and Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Morse ; and he was the fourth 
 child in a family of eleven children, 
 ten of whom lived to mature age. It 
 is rather a remarkable circumstance, 
 that the commencement of his mother's 
 married life, was also the commence- 
 ment of her religious life, her attention 
 having been arrested by the prayer offered 
 at the marriage ceremony. That occa- 
 sion, which is suggestive often of merri- 
 ment to the thoughtless, or of conven- 
 tional parade, was that on which hinged 
 the momentous decision of her destiny. 
 God, who had especial designs in her 
 onward path, led her thus to that self- 
 consecration which is the first step towards 
 the guidance of others. Her husband 
 made a profession of religion later in
 
 b CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 life ; and both were respected members 
 of Rev. Dr. Dimmick's church, at the 
 time of their decease. 
 
 From early childhood, Charles mani- 
 fested a docile, affectionate disposition. 
 The wish of his parents seemed to be 
 his law. In his sports and in his work, 
 he showed much natural energy, and a 
 strong will, but it was not suffered to 
 interfere with wholesome subjection. He 
 has been heard to express gratitude for 
 the obedience inculcated in his child- 
 hood. When he could not always see 
 the reason for a command, he was 
 taught to obey it; and this habit both 
 exercises and strengthens the whole char- 
 acter. The obedience of the child, is a 
 preparation for tlie faith of the Christ- 
 ian. It is " the first commandment with 
 promise ; " and the blessing of Cod fol- 
 lows its observance. " I thought," he
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 9 
 
 said, " that my parents could not bid 
 ine do a wrong action." 
 
 A large family circle develops the 
 character of each of its members, for 
 the tastes and interest of others must 
 be consulted, and this brings into play 
 the peculiar traits of each. Selfishness 
 cannot easily remain latent, where there 
 are constant occasions to call it out. 
 The family is the world in miniature, 
 with its hopes and fears, its successes and 
 disappointments, its rights and wrongs. 
 As a boy, Charles Morse was the kind 
 and affectionate brother, as well as the 
 dutiful son. He entered into the arrange- 
 ments of the others, with great forget- 
 fulness of self, and was anxious to do 
 more, and not less, than his share of 
 any required duties in the family. If 
 any pleasure reached one of his broth- 
 ers or sisters, it was reflected in his
 
 10 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 ready smile of sympathy, and he was 
 constantly thinking of something for the 
 comfort of his home. While he enjoyed 
 the society of other lads of his age, 
 he returned to his seat at home with 
 evident satisfaction. 
 
 As a pupil at the public school, those 
 who knew him there, speak of him as 
 " a good boy," " never getting into quar- 
 rels, and very attentive to the rules of 
 the school-room." He was diligent in 
 study going to it with relish, and not as 
 to a task. He would have been delighted 
 to pursue his studies farther, but he 
 knew that the circumstances of his family 
 would not permit it, and he would not 
 suffer himself to repine, when compelled 
 to relinquish school for active labor. 
 
 He was rather quiet in his manners - 
 as a school-boy, and avoided that rough 
 class of boys who delight in rude and
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 11 
 
 cruel sports, or indulge in vulgar and pro- 
 fane language. His sensitive spirit could 
 find no fellowship with such, although 
 he formed a very strong attachment to 
 a few chosen companions. These earlj 
 associates were always dear to him. 
 
 When he was about seventeen years 
 of age, he was apj^renticed to his father, 
 to learn the trade of a ship-carpenter, 
 and remained with him for four years. 
 During tliis time, he labored hard and 
 faithfully, ever ready to regard the wishes 
 of his father, and, as far as he was 
 able, relieve him amid the exposure 
 and toil attending that kind of work. 
 
 Thus nearly twenty-one years of his 
 life passed. He was looking forward, 
 as it is natural for the young, te many 
 years of unclouded pleasure. Although 
 he was amiable in disposition, and had 
 no inclination for the low amusements
 
 12 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 which consume the time and means of 
 many of his age, still, he had not yet 
 given himself to Christ. As he after- 
 wards expressed it, he " was making 
 preparations only for this world. '^ 
 
 It is not to be supposed, that during 
 this period he was without any reflec- 
 tion in his immortal destiny. This wa& 
 hardly possible, living as he did under 
 the influence of a prayerful mother, and 
 listening to the Word of Life, dispensed 
 by the now venerable Dr. Dana. He 
 was exemplary as a moral young man, 
 punctual in his attendance on the Sab- 
 bath school, and in the choir, of which 
 he was a member; but the Holy Spirit 
 had not yet been the guest of his soul. 
 And without the Divine influence to 
 seal instruction, how many hear it to 
 wonder, and perhaps admire, and yet 
 remain aliens from God, and His love.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 13 
 
 But a cloud was rising in the hori- 
 zon of that youth, although as yet, 
 unseen by him, and behind that cloud, 
 dark and gloomy as it appeared, there 
 was light, mercy, salvation. The Lord 
 had need of him, but he was to be 
 disciplined and prepared for service.
 
 14 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HIS MOTHER, 
 
 " For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my peti- 
 tion, which I asked of him ; Therefore, also, I have lent him to the 
 Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord.", 
 
 1 Samuel, 1 : 27, 28. 
 
 It would be very pleasant to trace the 
 influence of a Christian mother on the 
 character and life of her child. But its 
 extent, its result, can never be fully 
 comprehended here, since they are as 
 endless as that life itself. The religious 
 experience of Charles Morse was too 
 intimately connected with his mother's 
 prayers and untiring efforts, for us to 
 separate them. It is evident that she
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 15 
 
 was the " Household Angel," living in 
 constant intercourse with Heaven, and 
 through her fervent pleadings, bringing 
 down blessings from above. Hers was 
 that frame of mind which the apostle 
 enjoins when he bids us to " pray 
 without ceasing;" hers the prayer which 
 Montgomery describes as 
 
 " The soul's sincere desire, 
 
 Uttered or unexpressed ; 
 The motion of a hidden fire 
 
 That trembles in the breast. 
 Prayer is the burden of a sigh, 
 
 The falling of a tear, 
 The upward glancing of an eye, 
 
 When none but God is near." 
 
 A peculiar affection and sympathy 
 united this mother and son. They had 
 many traits in common ; and the im- 
 plicit trust of the child strengthened 
 into the confidence of maturer years,
 
 16 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 when her character was fully under- 
 stood. 
 
 That which the devout soul craves 
 first, and most of all for a loved friend, 
 is God's choicest gift — eternal life. He 
 has higher aspirations for him than are 
 known to eager ambition. Mrs. Morse 
 labored unweariedly for the salvation of 
 her son. It was her custom to set 
 apart days of fasting and prayer in his 
 behalf ; and on such occasions she 
 poured forth her supplications with an 
 importunity that could not be denied. 
 She not only prayed for him, but it 
 might be truly said that she " watched 
 unto prayer," noticing every providence 
 which might seem to have any bearing 
 on his spiritual welfare ; and wlien the 
 days of his trial came, she had a 
 strong feeling that the deep affliction 
 was designed by a merciful God to
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 17 
 
 lead him heavenward, and she was not 
 disappointed. 
 
 She was unwearied in her care for 
 her household, but in rendering to her 
 son every earthly aid, slie did not for- 
 get his higher nature, or the fact that 
 his undying soul needed that light, with- 
 out which no one can " see God." Most 
 tenderly did she soothe his sorrows, 
 and strive to bring to him help higher 
 than hers. It was at this time a cir- 
 cumstance occurred, which was after- 
 wards related by Mr. Morse to a friend. 
 " I used," said he, " to notice, while I 
 was confined to my room, that my 
 mother was in the habit of frequently 
 stealing over the stairs, which led to a 
 little attic chamber, and tarrying there 
 for a long time. These visits would 
 also be made after all the household 
 were in bed ; and often, if I awoke 
 
 2*
 
 18 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 early, could I hear her stepping very 
 softly over those stairs ; then there 
 would be a low murmur, as if some 
 one was speaking in a hushed but 
 earnest manner ; once or twice I heard 
 a sob, as if there was weeping. I knew 
 not what to make of it. Does she go 
 there, thought I, to weep over my 
 misfortunes ? Or does she (I hardly 
 dared think of this,) go away into that 
 chamber to pray for my soul ? J was 
 soon convinced that the latter was the 
 case, and that I was the object of her 
 agonizing supplications. But oh I how the 
 thought distressed me ! I felt that a 
 praying mother like mine was bringing 
 down on me a weight of responsibility 
 which I could not bear. I shrank from 
 the thought, Init it haunted me contin- 
 ually. Go where I would, that little 
 attic chamber, and that mother's pleading
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 19 
 
 ■voice was ever before me." " How did 
 you rid yourself of this trouble ?" asked 
 his friend. " By going there to pray 
 for myself," was the reply. 
 
 At another time he said, '' My mother 
 did not make a practice of preaching 
 long sermons to us, on the importance 
 of coming to Christ. If she had done 
 so, I think it would have had a tendency 
 to harden my heart ; but she set before 
 us the beauties of religion by a holy, 
 consistent. Christian deportment. We 
 could not help knowing that she lived 
 near to Jesus, and that her whole heart 
 and soul were devoted to His service. 
 She was always saying some little words 
 for Him. And, oh ! those precious little 
 ivords, how they told upon my mind, 
 and how deeply are they still fixed in 
 my memory." 
 
 Speaking one day of the importance
 
 20 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 of cultivating perfect truthfulness, he 
 said : " This was one of the beauties of 
 my mother's character, and I think her 
 example in this respect has ever had a 
 great influence over me." 
 
 To another friend he said, " That 
 dear, praying mother, how often have I 
 seen her coming out of her room, with 
 a countenance which almost seemed to 
 shine, looking as I could imagine Moses 
 looked when he came down from the 
 Mount of Communion. While I have 
 sometimes gazed on that peaceful face, I 
 have inwardly blessed God for such a 
 treasure." 
 
 Those who were intimately acquainted 
 with Mrs. Morse knew how solicitous 
 she was for the conversion of her son. 
 She hardly ever received a call from 
 any Christian friend, to whom she could 
 speak freely, without disclosing, in the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 21 
 
 course of the conversation, her ruling 
 desire. " I want my Charles to be a 
 Christian ; will you remember him in 
 your prayers ?" On being told at one 
 time that a certain individual, who was 
 not then particularly acquainted with 
 him, had been led to make him a spe- 
 cial subject of prayer, she appeared 
 almost overwhelmed, and exclaimed — 
 " Oh, I will be faithless no longer ; — 
 united prayer tvill be answered." 
 
 When he began to express a trem- 
 bling hope that he had found the Saviour, 
 then her desires expanded still farther. 
 " I want him," she said, " to be a con- 
 sistent Christian, to walk very near to 
 God, to honor his Master in all he does." 
 In this connection, she observed to a 
 friend, " I am almost afraid to move, 
 lest I should do something to cause in 
 my son a low estimate of Christian
 
 22 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 duty. I want him to set his standard 
 high, and to be a ivhole Christian." 
 Those who knew Mr. Morse most inti- 
 mately, can best testify how remarkably 
 these desires were answered. 
 
 When we speak of her feelings in 
 respect to this son, we would not imply 
 any indifference to the immortal interests 
 of other members of her family ; for 
 never was a mother more scrupulously 
 attentive to the temporal and spiritual 
 welfare of all those who were committed 
 to her care. 
 
 A friend called on her one day, and 
 found her with a countenance exceed- 
 ingly distressed and anxious. On inquir- 
 ing into the cause of her sorrow, Mrs. 
 Morse replied, " How can I feel that I 
 have done my whole duty as a Christian, 
 while I see one of my children remaining 
 out of the kingdom of Christ? I think
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 28 
 
 there must be something very defective 
 in my prayers, or unholy in my daily 
 walk, which prevents their salvation. 
 How terrible is tlie thought, that I — 
 their mother — should, in any way, be a 
 stumbling block, over which they may 
 fall and perish 1 " 
 
 An intimate neighbor, on entering her 
 house one day, found her standing amidst 
 her work, in the attitude of prayer, her 
 eyes closed, and her hands clasped tightly, 
 as if in very agony of spirit. On being 
 spoken to she very modestly said, '' Al- 
 though my hands are full of labor, yet a 
 prayer-hearing God is ever nigh, and we 
 can at any time cry out, as Abraham 
 did, ' Oh, that Ishmael may live before 
 thee.' " 
 
 This fervent petition was, doubtless, in 
 behalf of a daughter, in whose heart the 
 Holy Spirit had been striving, and for
 
 24 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 whom this faithful mother had felt the 
 most intense anxiety. 
 
 Said one who was in the habit of 
 seeing her frequently, indeed, almost 
 daily, " I cannot now remember that I 
 ever passed half an hour with her with- 
 out hearing her say something which 
 related to Christ, or the interests of his 
 kingdom. Once, when about leaving the 
 house after a pleasant interview, she laid 
 her hand affectionately on my shoulder, 
 and with her peculiar, gentle smile, said, 
 " Well, we have spoken freely of earthly 
 things, shall we not also, as Christian 
 disciples, have a word to say of Him 
 who suffered for our redemption ? 
 
 ' We, alas, forget too often, 
 What a Friend we have above.'" 
 
 Mrs. Morse possessed a mind of un- 
 common refinement, and it seemed ever
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 25 
 
 to be in harmony with all the works 
 of the Creator. Notwithstanding her 
 many in-door duties, she snatched time 
 to cultivate flowers, and her little gar- 
 den afforded her great pleasure. " These 
 flowers," she would say, " are truly 
 living preachers ; they have to me a 
 sweet voice, continually speaking of 
 God's goodness and love, in thus adorn- 
 ing a world which would seem to be 
 dark without them." The writer well 
 recollects a morning offering she made 
 her, froni a favorite rose-bush. " I give 
 them to you," she said, " because they 
 are so beautiful, but we must not 
 worship the rose, but the God who has 
 power to create such beautiful things." 
 Would that all to whose taste flowers 
 minister, might also read their message, 
 and feel with Horace Smith :
 
 26 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 " Youi' voiceless lips, oh, flowers ! are living 
 preachers ; — 
 Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book, 
 Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers 
 From loneliest nook." 
 
 " I do love flowers," said Mrs. Morse, 
 one morning, to a friend, who found 
 her bending over a little plant she had 
 been watering, " and when I think of 
 the great variety there is among them, 
 of the many different forms and colors, 
 and remember that they, too, like us, 
 must fade and die, I cannot help feeling 
 a kind of joy in knowing that there 
 will be never-fading flowers in heaven." 
 It was thus with all the objects in 
 nature which she saw ; her mind im- 
 mediately turned to their beauty and 
 liarmony of design, and glanced " from 
 nature up to nature's God." 
 
 Mrs. Morse enjoyed the social privi-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 27 
 
 leges of a Christian, and it was her 
 delight to open her doors to those 
 who met to pray. There are those who 
 can look back with the most cherished 
 recollections to those precious seasons in. 
 that neat and quiet parlor, which had 
 been so sacredlv dedicated to the ser- 
 vice of God. " It always seems easy to 
 pray in Mrs. Morse's parlor," said one, 
 ** for the very atmosphere of the room 
 seems holy." 
 
 It was certainly a consecrated spot, 
 and to this day it is felt that the ben- 
 efits which many are now enjoying in 
 spiritual things, are in answer to the 
 earnest supplications which rose like in- 
 cense from that room. 
 
 Many of that precious praying band 
 have now gone home, and she who so 
 cheerfully welcomed them to her earthly 
 dwelling, is among the number. Their
 
 28 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 prayers are turned to everlasting praises. 
 On whom shall their mantle fall ? 
 
 It would be natural for us to con- 
 clude that the closing scenes of such a 
 life would be full of triumph, that such 
 a sun would set without a cloud. But 
 it was not so. Mrs. Morse, for the last 
 few years of her life, became, in con- 
 sequence of a severe illness, subject to 
 an almost entire loss of memory ; during 
 the last year she did not know even 
 lier own children. 
 
 After the death of her husband, in 
 1847, she removed to Topsfield, where 
 she made her home with a married 
 daughter. About a year before she 
 died, she made her last visit to New- 
 buryport. Although she was apparently 
 in usual health, (except perhaps that her 
 face was more pale than formerly,) and 
 mild and lady-like in all her movements.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 29 
 
 yet it could be clearly perceived that 
 her power of memory was wholly gone. 
 She was taken by a friend to the house 
 where she had spent so many years — 
 where she had seen some of her chil- 
 dren come into the kingdom of Christ 
 — from which she had seen the husband 
 of her youth carried to his long home 
 — and around which so many sacred 
 associations clustered ; but it was all 
 strange to her. She was then led into 
 that parlor — that precious, holy spot. 
 " Do you remember this place ? " her 
 friend inquired. " 1 think not," she 
 replied, " I believe that I was never 
 here before." " Did you ever know 
 of a Mrs. Morse who used to come 
 here to pray for her children ? " "I 
 do not remember any such person," 
 was her reply. " Well," continued her 
 friend, " did you ever hear of Jesus
 
 30 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 Christ, our Saviour ? " " Jesus Christ," 
 she repeated, with a sweet smile ; " oh, 
 yes, I think I remember Him — He died 
 for sinners, did He not ? " 
 
 This precious name, ^' swedt to the 
 believer's ear," and dearer to her than 
 any earthly tie, this liame could not be 
 forgotten. Soon after this last visit, a 
 heavier stroke still fell upon her, and 
 her reason was entirely dethroned. She 
 soon, however, passed away, and was at 
 rest. 
 
 The following obituary notice, written, 
 it is supposed, by some member of a 
 praying circle in Topsfield, appeared in 
 the paper soon after her decease : 
 
 "In Topsfield, Aug. 28tli, Mrs. Elizabeth, 
 widow of Mr. William Morse^ of Newburyporty 
 aged 77. 
 
 "We retain a most delightful recdiection of 
 our departed sister. Her sweetness of character, 
 iver highly cultivated mind, her gentle and grace-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 31 
 
 fill deportment, rendered her a model well 
 worthy of imitation ; and I am sure that not one 
 of our circle would be longer lamented than she 
 will be. Her truthfiil and conscientious spirit 
 gained her the confidence of all who knew her, 
 and her lovely and noble qualities of mind and 
 heart won their affection. In the arduous duties 
 that devolved upon her, she was habitually cheer" 
 ful, while upon all around she exerted an 
 influence, gentle, yet beneficent as the distilling 
 dew. 
 
 " As a wife and mother, her tender affection 
 and fidelity were never surpassed. It was in her 
 family that her retiring and attracting virtues 
 shone with their own peculiar lustre. Her views 
 of religious truth were clear, distinctive, and 
 scriptural ; and superadded to a natural consci- 
 entiousness, was her high sense of personal respon- 
 sibility. This was the controlling motive-power 
 of her life — a power maintained and strengthened 
 by her daily habit of studpng the oracles of 
 Di\4ne Truth, and of communion with God in 
 prayer. 
 
 " However manifold and arduous might be her 
 duties, or distracting her cares, she did not for- 
 get where to look for guidance and support ; 
 and long in the memory of her children will 
 linger her image, as she sat by the window, 
 perusing together the book of Nature and the 
 book of God. Priceless is the value of such a
 
 32 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 habit, clearing away the clouds which earthliness 
 gathers around the spirit, and through the puri- 
 fied atmosphere, giving the soul sweet visions of 
 the heavenly land. It was this perpetual inter- 
 course with the invisible world which brought to 
 our friend strength from above, and gave consis- 
 tency and spirituality to her character, and 
 invested her with a peculiar charm."
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE DARK CLOUD. 
 
 " Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
 But trust Him for His grace : 
 Behind a frowning providence 
 He hides a smiling face." — Cowper. 
 
 When Mr. Morse was within three weeks 
 of being twenty-one years of age, he 
 was at work one day at his usual occu- 
 pation, when, on attempting to drive a 
 nail, it broke, and a piece of it struck 
 his eye, effectually destroying the sight, 
 and prostrating him on a bed of great 
 suffering and agony. He was confined to 
 the house for many weary months, and 
 most of the time to a darkened room ; and
 
 34 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 his constitution, never very strong, became 
 at that time so injured that it never 
 fully recovered. His nervous system 
 received a severe shock, and in conse- 
 quence, he ever after was a sufferer 
 from dyspepsia, and its attendant evils. 
 When sufficiently recovered to go 
 abroad once more, he was changed from 
 the ruddy, vigorous youth, to the pale, 
 attenuated, feeble man. This event made 
 him always look prematurely old. Pos- 
 sessing naturally great sensibility, with 
 unusual refinement and delicacy, he felt 
 very keenly the change in his appear- 
 ance, and it is not strange that when 
 he looked forward to his future life, his 
 heart should sink within him. He had 
 arrived at that period of life when the 
 imagination of the young man paints 
 the future in glowing hues, and fills it 
 with busy plans, when the present is
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 35 
 
 but the bridge over which he longs to 
 pass to reach the independence to come. 
 He, too, had formed his plans, marked 
 out his onward path, and supposed that 
 his " mountain stood strong." But God, 
 by His providence, spoke to this young 
 man, " crossed all his fair designs, blasted 
 his pleasant grounds, and laid him low." 
 None but those who have been placed 
 in a similar situation, can conceive of 
 the emotions which agitated him. Nor 
 were they those of mere personal suffer- 
 ing, or selfish disappointment. His father 
 was advanced in life, with a large 
 family around him needing his aid, and 
 no doubt expecting that a son, so active 
 and affectionate, would be to him a 
 strong support on which he could lean 
 — the staff of his old age. But there 
 he was in that darkened room, liis 
 physical frame racked by intense agony,
 
 36 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and his mind suffering still more acutely. 
 This afflicted young man could not see 
 through the dark mystery which over- 
 whelmed him, and he began to have 
 gloomy views respecting the justice of 
 God. How many are there who have 
 been through the same temptation. We 
 receive constant and continued mercies, 
 but we heed them not, yet when trials 
 come, the natural heart rises in rebellion. 
 To a person of his peculiar sensibility, 
 the disappointment was most keen ; and 
 he shrank from the thought of min- 
 gling again with his former associates in 
 his altered state. His was not yet the 
 peace of reconciliation, he could not yet 
 feel that in God's purposes 
 
 " The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 But sweet will be the flower." 
 
 Had not his lieavenly Father revealed to
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 37 
 
 him his love, planting new hope in the 
 soul, he would in all probability have 
 become a prey to morbid sensibility, 
 and shunned all society. But God had 
 other designs, and by this discipline of 
 suffering, was fitting him to become, 
 what he so eminently was in subse- 
 quent life, the friend of the suffering, 
 and a son of consolation to all in trial. 
 In the darkened chamber of this suf- 
 fering youth, was one faithful attendant, 
 ever near, ever ready to minister to his 
 wants, and, as far as possible, to alle- 
 viate his distress. Similar as they were 
 in natural character, the mother well 
 read the anguish of her son, even in 
 his silence, and met it with the deep- 
 est sympathy. At the time of the acci- 
 dent, which had caused him the loss of 
 his eye, she cried : "Oh, if I could 
 purchase back that eye, by parting witli
 
 38 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 one of mine, how gladly would I do 
 it." But her sorrow was not without 
 hope. This praying mother believed that 
 God designed by this affliction to save 
 the soul of her child, and most eagerly 
 did she watch every opportunity to say 
 some of those " precious little words " 
 which were so fondly remembered in after 
 years. But her duty did not end here. 
 In the deep stillness of the slumbering 
 household, there, in that little chamber 
 up yonder, that same mother is prostrate 
 before the mercy-seat. She is in ^earn- 
 est; she knows that a covenant God is 
 ever faithful to his promises. He hath 
 said, " Ask, and ye shall receive," — 
 and so she pleads : " Lord, send down 
 the influence of thy Spirit upon this 
 afflicted child, that he may in this time 
 of darkness and suffering, turn to Thee.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 39 
 
 Bind him to thy service, and seal him 
 as wholly thine." 
 
 " The effectual, fervent prayer of the 
 righteous man availeth much." It was 
 during the time of his confinement at 
 home, that Mr. Morse began to feel the 
 strivings of the Holy Spirit. They were 
 heard like " the still, small voice." The 
 work of introspection and self-knowledge 
 began, and he saw himself as a lost 
 and ruined sinner, condemned for- 
 ever to sin and the consequences of 
 sin, unless rescued by the sovereign 
 atonement. His convictions of sin were 
 very deep and pungent, and there were 
 seasons when he was almost driven to 
 despair. So strong were these feelings 
 that at one time, he dissolved his con- 
 nection with the choir, considering him- 
 self unworthy even to join in '• the
 
 40 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 service of song in the house of the 
 Lord." 
 
 When his health was restored, and he 
 once more went abroad, and engaegd in 
 his former occupation, he continued to 
 feel the heavy load of sin bearing him 
 down. He stood as a condemned crim- 
 inal, listening to the thunders of Sinai 
 without once daring to lift his eye to 
 Calvary. 
 
 This state of mind continued for two 
 or three years, and when at last, hope 
 began to dawn, it was not as the sud- 
 den effulgence of the noonday sun, but 
 like the first faint ray in the eastern 
 horizon, slowly increasing, until we may 
 call it light. He was accustomed to say 
 that he could point to no definite period 
 when the first ray of light entered his 
 bosom, piercing the deep darkness which 
 had so long brooded there ; but gradu-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 41 
 
 ally he became sensible of its existence, 
 and the effect of light was peace, such 
 a peace as he well knew " the world 
 could not give or take away." 
 
 Thus we see that dark cloud lifted, 
 and we are permitted to behold its 
 '' silver lining." We are constrained to 
 acknowledge God as infinitely merciful, 
 even when he hedges up our path, and 
 crosses every earthly plan. Mr. Morse 
 used to say that " the loss of his eye 
 was the means of saving his soul."
 
 42 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 DOJMESTIC RELATIONS. 
 
 '' Love is the golden chain tha^t binds 
 The happy souls above ; 
 And he's an heir of heaveu, who finds 
 His bosom glow with love." 
 
 The dutiful spirit which we have seen 
 in the early life of Mr. Morse, was 
 ripened by grace into that thoughtful 
 and generous affection which made him 
 the centre of his family, and of all who 
 were brought into any social relations 
 with him. He never suffered one of the 
 links of love to break, or grow rusty. 
 No matter how scattered the different
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC, 43 
 
 members of his family might be, or how 
 many new ties might spring up around 
 them, he still kept them distinct in his 
 interest, and ministered constantly to 
 their happiness. Had any one of them 
 a sorrow— he, too, felt with them, and 
 hastened to pour the balm of Christian 
 consolation on their wounds. Had any 
 one a want — he endeavored, if possible, 
 to relieve it. Although his own pecu- 
 niary means were always quite limited, 
 he was generously proznpt in sharing 
 his money with them. But far more 
 valuable still, he gave them counsel and 
 sympathy- — and his relatives and friends 
 all felt that he was to be relied on 
 as most disinterested and true at all 
 times. His presence and his letters were 
 ever welcome to them all. 
 
 When Mr. Morse had a home of his 
 own, at some little distance from his
 
 44 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 mother's dwelling, if bis form was seen 
 crossing her threshold, she would ex- 
 claim with joy, '' Here comes my son 
 Charles ! " 
 
 In 1831, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lucy D. Saunders, a member 
 of the First Presbyterian Church, New- 
 buryport. He had peculiarly exalted 
 ideas of the family relation, founded as 
 it is by Him who " taketh the solitary, 
 and setteth him in families," and hal- 
 lowed by its origin, its uses, its eternal 
 influence on character and destiny. It 
 was not his aim solely to bring comfort 
 and affection to the hearth-stone, care- 
 ful as he was to do that, but to make 
 it the scene of constant improvement. 
 He was as attentive to the nourishment 
 of the mind as to the provisions of the 
 table, and always shared at home his 
 reading and subjects of thought. It is a
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 45 
 
 rare thing to find a man, especially one 
 engaged constantly in manual, hard la- 
 bor for his support, who makes it his 
 daily habit to read aloud from some 
 author of excellence, comparing and 
 studying the truths conveyed, thus turn- 
 ing his hours at home into fruitful op- 
 portunities of mental and moral progress. 
 This was a constant practice with Mr. 
 Morse, even when it was difficult to 
 tell how his necessary labor at his trade, 
 and his unvaried charities could have 
 left him the time for it. 
 
 That he did every thing to make his 
 home happy, no one ever doubted ; and 
 his wife once remarked in conversation, 
 ^' I never imagined that 'any person 
 could be so utterly unselfish as Mr. 
 Morse ; the longer I knew him, the 
 more I felt how ditFerent he was from 
 most people in this respect."
 
 46 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 For a few years, a little daughteF 
 blessed this home, but she was early 
 transplanted to the home above. Her 
 sweetness of disposition and winning- 
 ways, entwined her yery closely aronnd 
 her father's heart, and, as is so natural 
 to a parent, his hopes reached forward 
 into the future, promising himself increas- 
 ing comfort from her love and com- 
 panionship. He was accustomed, even 
 before she could speak, to take her 
 with him as he went to his noontime 
 season of devotion, and she enjoyed it 
 highly. Her mother once asked him if 
 she did not disturb him, and he replied : 
 " Never, she remains perfectly still, with 
 her little liands in mine, and never 
 manifests any appearance of weariness.'^ 
 So fond was she of sharing with her 
 father, this noontime hour of prayer^ 
 that she never needed any other check
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 47 
 
 for any little misdemeanor, than to tell 
 her if she was not obedient she could 
 not go into the room with father. 
 Young as she was, she had formed a 
 little ])rayer for herself, and would be 
 found kneeling, and in her childlike 
 manner, asking for a new heart. A day 
 came when the tiny form could no 
 longer kneel by him, and his heart bled 
 at the thought that nevermore on earth 
 could it be. This bud was one culled 
 by the reaper, Death, who 
 
 •• Gazed at the flowers with tearful eves, 
 He kissed their drooping leaves ; 
 It was for the Lord of Paradise 
 He bound them in his sheaves.'' 
 
 Thus this little one became a pre- 
 cious memory in that home, — a sweet 
 hope, too, for she had only " gone before." 
 
 The fondness which existed between
 
 48 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 Mr. Morse and all children, was quite 
 remarkable, especially so when it is 
 remembered he was not mirthful and 
 loquacious, but rather grave and pensive 
 in his manners. He was a special favo- 
 rite among the children of the families 
 whom he was accustomed to visit, the 
 youngest often manifesting the strongest 
 attachment. Children are said to be 
 great discerners of character ; and they 
 read the tenderness with which he en- 
 tered into their wishes, and the pleasure 
 it gave him to serve them. 
 
 There was one family, who, for some 
 years, resided under the same roof with 
 himself, and in all of whom he felt a 
 deep interest. To one twin sister of 
 this band, a fair, blue -eyed, delicate 
 child, he was exceedingly attached, even 
 in her infancy, from a real or supposed 
 resemblance to his own lost darling.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 49 
 
 Their mutual delight in each other, it 
 was very pleasant to witness. Earlier 
 than one would have supposed possible, 
 she would watch for his approaching 
 footsteps, and catch the well - known 
 tones of his voice. She was never hap- 
 pier than when with him, ..^nd she spent 
 much of her time in his dwelling. She 
 would watch the hour for his return, 
 and if she could see him coming home, 
 would run to meet him, satisfied if she 
 could put her little hand in his and 
 walk home with him. He never con- 
 sidered her an interruption, even of his 
 busy and carefully husbanded hours, 
 but he was fertile in inventing methods 
 to amuse and gratify her. During his 
 illness, little Flora was often with him, 
 and manifested the deepest sympathy 
 for him in his affliction. Many an hour 
 did she spend by his bed-side, and by
 
 50 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 her childish prattle and affectionate ex- 
 pressions, while away his pain. On these 
 occasions, when about to leave him, she 
 would give him a parting kiss, and ask 
 with a beaming face, " Have n't I taken 
 good care of you ? " It is believed she 
 will never forget that kind friend, who 
 used to take her on his knee, and talk 
 so sweetly of heaven, where God and 
 the good angels dwell, and of Jesus and 
 his love for the little ones, and His 
 words of invitation, " Suffer little chil- 
 dren to come unto me." 
 
 We give a few letters which remain, 
 of the many which Mr. Morse wrote to 
 the scattered members of his family. 
 The mechanical exertion of writing was 
 very tedious and painful to him, and 
 generally caused a severe nervous head- 
 ache. But his affection for his friends 
 was ever so thoughtful of what would
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 51 
 
 gratify them, that the inconvenience to 
 himself did not prevent hjm from ex- 
 changing expressions of kindness and 
 Christian counsel with them. For this 
 reason are they added, not for literary 
 interest, but because they show his warm 
 heart, and the permeating influence of 
 his piety: 
 
 " January 10th, '46. 
 " My dear Mother : — 
 
 " I was truly glad to hear from 
 you by Mr. D., and though you did not 
 say any thing in regard to your health, 
 I concluded that you were in the enjoy- 
 ment of usual health, and contented and 
 happy ; that is, comparatively so, for 
 you and I have long ago learned, that 
 positive and permanent happiness is not 
 to be found on this soil, where ' thorns 
 and briars grow,' and, as our pathway
 
 52 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 lies through a land abounding with 
 them, how can we expect but we shall 
 be often torn ? 
 
 " Dear mother, I often think of you, 
 and long to see you again, and it is 
 very trying to me, that you are so far 
 from us and your acquaintances here, 
 and that we can see you so seldom. I 
 know too, that you must feel the loss 
 of your meetings with your Christian 
 friends ; but, dear mother, you are still 
 as near the Fountain of all happiness, 
 all hope, all consolation as ever, and I 
 hope in spirit still more so ; and all 
 the sorrows and changes you have expe- 
 rienced, are working out for you ' a far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory.' 
 
 " There is still much left to you, my 
 mother; many mercies still remain to 
 you in this world, and what is above
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 53 
 
 and beyond all, 'a good hope through 
 grace,' that when ' your earthly taber- 
 nacle shall be dissolved, you have a 
 building of God, a house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens.' 
 
 " I send with this, two numbers of 
 the ' Missionary Herald,' and one ^ Home 
 Missionary.' If you desire it, I will 
 send them every month by mail. 
 " Yours, 
 
 " Charles." 
 
 " Dear Mother : — 
 
 " I long to see you, and hope to 
 enjoy a visit from you soon ; but in 
 the mean time, I hope that we shall 
 all, by the rich mercy of our God, be 
 kept in peace. May you ever receive 
 constant supplies of grace, and faith, 
 and hope, love and patience to cheer 
 and comfort you in your declining years,
 
 54 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and fit you more and more for that 
 happy land where are no sad changes, 
 and no sorrow, because no sin. There, 
 my mother, all is holiness, and peace 
 and joy. I am sheathing a vessel, and 
 oh, how it reminds me of father ; but 
 I trust that he is resting from his 
 labor. 
 
 " Miss E., a member of your church, 
 met with a severe accident a fortnight 
 since, on her way to an evening lecture, 
 and she will be obliged to lie still for 
 thirty days or more. Thus is she laid 
 aside. Surely we may say, 
 
 'Dangers stand thick througli all the ground.' 
 
 "When C. writes again, please, dear 
 mother, send some word of maternal 
 love. 
 
 " Your affectionate son, 
 
 " Charles."
 
 christian mechanic. ob 
 
 " Dear Mother : — 
 
 " In dating this letter eighteen 
 liundred and fifty, I am reminded of 
 the rapid flight of time, and my thoughts 
 revert to the years and scenes of my 
 childhood and youth. Some of the rec- 
 ollections of life's early morning are 
 very vivid and pleasant, while others are 
 painful. Some of the first and longest 
 to be remembered, are of my mother — 
 of her love, her affectionate care and 
 solicitude, both for my temporal and 
 spiritual welfare, her patience with the 
 waywardness of her son Charles, and 
 his brothers and sisters, who, in the 
 folly and vanity of childhood and youth, 
 often gave her occasion for grief and 
 tears. 
 
 " Again, my thoughts return to the 
 present time, and how changed is the
 
 56 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 scene ! The family scattered, father re- 
 moved to ' that bourn from whence no 
 traveler returns,' (and I trust ' it is 
 well with him,') and you, dear mother, 
 separated from most of your children, 
 and very far from some of them ; and 
 I sometimes fear that you may imagine 
 that amid the busy cares and employ- 
 ments of life, they may have forgotten 
 you. Let me assure you that it is not 
 so. I wish that I could see you to 
 tell you so ; but you well know ho^ 
 it affects me to write at all, and I am 
 now nerving myself up, in order to 
 give you some account of the revival 
 of religion which we are all now enjoy- 
 ing." 
 
 After giving a minute account of the 
 progress of the good work around him, 
 Mr. Morse continues to write : " These 
 were indeed melting seasons, and just
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 57 
 
 such, dear mother, as you would have 
 enjoyed. Oh, how often did I wish that 
 J., and S., and W., could have been 
 here ; it seems to mc they would have 
 come at once to a decision, and have 
 given their hearts to the Saviour. 
 
 " My dear mother, I think of you con- 
 tinually, and anxiously hope that you 
 are comfortable. It is a source of great 
 consolation to me, that your best portion 
 is not in this world of sin and woe, 
 but that you can by grace say to the 
 worlding, 
 
 ' Your heaps of glittering dust are yours, 
 But my Redeemer's mine.' 
 
 '^ Your affectionate son, 
 
 " Charles." 
 " P. S. — I received a letter fi-om sis- 
 ter H., about four weeks since, by Rev.
 
 68 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 Mr. Stearns, who exchanged with Dr. 
 Cleaveland. She is well established, and 
 happy in her Christian hope. Can it 
 be that sister H. is a Christian ? I 
 fully believe it ; better evidence for the 
 time being I could not expect or desire. 
 Mother, j^ou did not go up into that 
 
 little attic chamber, in S street, to 
 
 pray for your children in vain." 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 " Dear Mother : — 
 
 " I know that you are longing to 
 hear from me, and have often said to 
 yourself and others, ' Why don't Charles 
 write, as he said he would ? ' So I 
 did, mother; but it must be in my own 
 way and time, for I need not remind 
 you how much it costs me to write, 
 and how much it affects my poor head
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 59 
 
 and nerves. A dread of this has alone 
 prevented. But now mj affection for you 
 must overcome every other consideration, 
 and under its influence I seize my pen 
 to express that affection, and my re- 
 membrance of you continually while you 
 are absent from us. 
 
 " Dear mother, I shall never forget 
 your pious and faithful instructions, to 
 my latest breath ; and since father died, 
 (do you continue to feel his death as 
 keenly as ever ?) you are scarcely ever 
 absent from my mind. Oh, how happy 
 and relieved I felt, when I found, by 
 
 a letter from C , that you are now 
 
 boarding with S , and that C 
 
 was in the same house with you. Tell 
 
 J and S that they have my 
 
 warmest thanks, and my affectionate re- 
 membrance. 
 
 " Mother, I trust you are enjoying the
 
 60 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 comfort which a hope, a -good hope, of 
 a better world can give you, for you have 
 found, and we all find, that 
 
 ' This life's a dream, an empty show.' 
 
 Now, I suppose you will commence, and 
 repeat the whole psalm from which this 
 is taken. 
 
 " We have now a line of telegraph, 
 extending to Boston. Professor Morse, 
 the inventor, is a descendant of our 
 ancient family, at the head of Market 
 street. So says the Newburyport Herald. 
 " Your affectionate son, 
 
 '' Charles." 
 
 The sister H mentioned in one 
 
 of these letters, was the youngest child 
 of the family, who, after the death of 
 her father, went to Providence, and was 
 there awakened to new spiritual life.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 61 
 
 and soon after united with the church 
 there, under the pastoral care of Rev. 
 Dr. Cleaveland. Three years afterwards 
 she went to Springfield, 111., to make 
 her home with her brother, who was 
 an active and engaged Christian, and 
 very useful in that part of the coimtry. 
 Here the hand of disease was laid upon 
 her, and she died a few months after 
 her arrival. The following letters show 
 how deeply Mr. Morse made the afflic- 
 tions of his kindred his own : 
 
 " Deae Brother and Sister : — 
 
 "We have received your letter of 
 Sept. 18, informing us of the loss of 
 your dear little boy. Very truly did 
 you say that * Charles and Lucy could 
 sympathize with you, for none can truly 
 understand the pangs and agonies of a 
 bereaved heart, but those who have gone 
 
 6
 
 62 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 through the same trial themselves.' We 
 understand your feelings, yet how little 
 can sympathizing friends do toward re- 
 moving, or even alleviating, each other's 
 woes. There is one Friend, and only 
 one, who is able, and not only so, but 
 ready and willing to help. 
 
 ' Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your 
 anguish, 
 Earth has no sorrows which Heaven cannot heal/ 
 
 " You feel that ' God has a right to 
 
 reclaim his own.' Dear C , once 
 
 you could not have said this, your 
 heart would have violently rebelled. And 
 why this change of feeling ? Is it not 
 by the grace of God ? Then, ' Oh, to 
 grace, how much a debtor,' not only 
 that when we pour out our sorrows and 
 tears into His gracious bosom He hears 
 us, and gives us needed strength to
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 63 
 
 bear the heavy load, but has He not 
 also promised heaven at last to His 
 weary ones, if they make a sanctified 
 use of the crosses and afflictions He lays 
 upon them ? " 
 
 June 12. 
 ^ " I rejoice still to learn of your trust 
 in God. To Him I commend you con- 
 tinually. He only can console and com- 
 fort you, and do for you and us ' far more 
 than we can ask or think.' Strive still to 
 confide in Him, and in those dark hours 
 which you experience, say, ' Lead me 
 to the Rock which is higher than I.' 
 I always remember you in prayer to 
 our heavenly Father, who. alone can 
 relieve effectually, or give you grace, 
 and patience, and strength •• to suffer 
 all His righteous will,' and enable you 
 to endure unto the end.
 
 64 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 " I bless God that He does so much 
 for you, by giving you a good degree 
 of trust in Him, and He has promised 
 more grace, even, for * as thy day is, 
 so shall thy strength be.' 
 
 ******* 
 
 " My dear C , do strive to remem- 
 ber that it is your Father's hand which 
 inflicts the rod, and He does it, not 
 willingly, but for your profit; and I do 
 tliink your profiting has appeared by 
 your patience, submission, and trust, 
 and, I believe, by your increased spirit- 
 uality. Be assured that your Saviour 
 and Redeemer is constantly watching 
 the process of the trials He is calling 
 you to endure ; watching, too, with deep 
 interest, and most tender sympathy, for 
 * He is touched with the feelings of our 
 infirmity.' May you feel Him ever near. 
 
 " Mother was here about a month
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 65 
 
 since. Poor, dear mother, she has for- 
 gotten almost every thing but her God 
 
 and Saviour. And what, dear C , 
 
 are all things else compared with these ? 
 I trust that these are the true riches 
 which you can call your own. 
 
 ******* 
 
 ^' It is seldom you are absent from 
 my thoughts, and never from my peti- 
 tions ; and I trust that I am remem- 
 bered in yours, for I value greatly the 
 prayers of the children of God ichile 
 they are under affliction, for I believe 
 that they are precious in the sight of 
 the Lord. I hope you have the light 
 of His countenance, and experience some, 
 at least, of the joy of His salvation ; 
 but this, in its perfection, is found alone 
 in heaven. Let us, then, with patience 
 wait for it. Heaven — shall / ever enter 
 there ? " 
 
 6*
 
 66 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 m 
 
 " Neivburyport, Sept. 12, 1854. 
 " Dear Brother and Sister : — 
 
 " You have probably heard ere 
 this of the death of our dear mother. 
 You were aware of the feeble state of 
 her health, and of the sad condition of 
 
 her mind, and through brother L 
 
 you learned the particulars of her last 
 sickness, and were not, I suppose, much 
 surprised or unprepared when the sad 
 tidings reached you that she was gone. 
 Yet we must ever deeply feel her loss, 
 for she was a good mother, and loved 
 her children wisely and tenderly. 
 
 " In them, memory now wakes to the 
 many instances of her Christian love 
 and fidelity, to her anxious cares for 
 their best good, her pious counsels, her N^ 
 constant, earnest prayers for their salva- 
 tion, her patience with them in the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 67 
 
 obstinacy of their youth, and, indeed, 
 in the whole of her consistent Christian 
 life. ' Her memory, indeed, is blessed.' 
 * Her children rise iip and call her so.' 
 How can we, then, but mourn her loss, 
 or rather, our loss ? Yet we cannot, 
 must not, mourn as those without hope, 
 for we have as much assurance as we 
 can have, that death to her is infinite 
 gain. 
 
 " Let us bless God that He continued 
 her to us so long, and, that, though 
 in her later days, her mind and memory 
 were so weakened as to make it painful 
 and distressing to us to witness, yet 
 spiritual and eternal things still remained, 
 and clung fast to memory. I will men- 
 tion one instance of this. When she 
 was here last fall, though she knew me 
 at times, she would soon forget where 
 she was, or who we were. 1 was speak-
 
 68 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 ing to her of father ; she said, ' Did 
 you know him ? ' I told her tliat I was 
 his child, and hers also. ' Oh,' said 
 she, ' I have forgotten almost every 
 thing, but I do not forget my Saviour, 
 and I hope I shall never forget to pray.' 
 Nor did she forget, for though God, in 
 His mysterious providence, visited her 
 with distressing insanity in her' last sick- 
 ness, yet near and at its close. He gave 
 intervals of reason, when the soul would 
 rise to God in prayer — the God she 
 loved and served so faithfully — the 
 Saviour on whose atoning blood she 
 relied alone for pardon, acceptance, and 
 eternal salvation. 
 
 " And now, she is gone ! Our dear 
 mother is at rest I Her spirit is released 
 from infirmity, suffering, and sin ; and 
 with all its powers invigorated, drinking 
 in joys, of which we can form no con-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 69 
 
 ception. How comfortiug and consoling 
 is this assurance to us ! Does it not 
 take away the sting of death, and for- 
 bid our sorrowing as those do who have 
 no comfortable grounds of hope for their 
 departed friends ? 
 
 " I hope, dear sister, that we shall 
 always remember, in earnest, persevering 
 prayer, those of our friends who are 
 still out of the Ark of Safety, and 
 that the providence of God, in remov- 
 ing this beloved mother, may awaken 
 us all more and more to the realities 
 of the eternal future. 
 
 " I had a conversation with mother, 
 when she visited us in July, in rela- 
 tion to her Christian hope. It was in 
 the evening, and for more than an hour 
 she conversed rationally and feelingly ; 
 and though some of the time she was 
 unconscious who we were, yet her answers
 
 70 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 to the questions of Lucy and myself 
 were exceedingly satisfactory, just such 
 as we could have desired. To the 
 question, ' Do you not think that, as 
 you have professed Christ, and honored 
 Him in your life, trained up your chil- 
 dren as faithfully as you have, and been 
 in some degree useful in the world, it 
 will avail something towards your salva- 
 tion ? ' she replied, with great earnest- 
 ness, ' Oh, no, no ; do you ? My only 
 hope is in Christ — precious, precious 
 Saviour ! ' Afterwards, while speaking of 
 herself as ' a great sinner,' she was 
 asked, ' On what, then, do you hope 
 for salvation ? ' She answered by repeat- 
 ing the verse, 
 
 ' There is a fountain filled with blood, 
 Drawn from Immanuel's veins, 
 And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, 
 Lose all their guilty stains.'
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 71 
 
 " Oh, it would have done joii good, 
 dear sister, to have heard her. The 
 recollection of that scene is very grati- 
 fying and comforting to us now. I held 
 this conversation with her, to ascertain 
 how far, when every thing else was for- 
 gotten, religious truth had its hold on 
 her mind ; and surely it must have con- 
 vinced any skeptic that religion was a 
 divine reality. 
 
 " Mother passed away from earth on 
 Wednesday, August 30th, at 10 o'clock, 
 after much suffering, both bodily and 
 mental ; but it is all over now. No 
 more sin, no more darkness or pain, no 
 more weeping, no more death. Yes, 
 sainted mother, thou art 
 
 'Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep, 
 From which none ever wakes to weep.' 
 
 "And now, dear sister H., and father
 
 72 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and mother have had a happy meeting, 
 to part no more forever. 
 
 " Your brother, 
 
 *' Charles." 
 
 " Dear Sister C. : — 
 
 " Your letter, written in March, 
 was received last week, and, with deep 
 regret, we learn that you have been sick 
 and afflicted. I have long feared this, 
 by what has been written, from time to 
 time, and have been kept in a state of 
 painful solicitude. How does my heart 
 bleed for you, dear C. Truly, you are 
 the ones who have ' seen afQiction,* but 
 let us not add, with impatience and in- 
 gratitude, by the * rod of his wrath.' 
 
 " I rejoice to learn that you do not 
 feel inclined to say so, but thank God 
 for it, for once you would have rebelled. 
 Now you find what comfort and support
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 73 
 
 faith in Christ can give, both in want, 
 sickness, or distress of any kind. 
 
 " While reading the account of your 
 sufferings, I could not help weeping for 
 you ; but when you wrote that ' your 
 husband was resigned to the will of God, 
 and not only so, but that he was, at 
 times, happy and longing to depart, and 
 be with Christ,' I could and did rejoice, 
 more than if you had found gold ; yea, 
 more than if you had in possession all 
 the good things of this perishing world, 
 for what would all this avail the soul, 
 if it had no better or higher portion ? 
 
 "■ And you, too, dear sister, can say, 
 I am resigned to the will of Him who 
 has said, ' I will never leave thee, nor 
 forsake thee !' Oh, my dear C, the pro- 
 cess by which you have both been brought 
 to this state of submission and resigna- 
 tion to the Divine Will, has been pecu- 
 
 7
 
 74 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 liarly painful. How many years of pain- 
 ful suffering did you endure before you 
 left home, and even since, you have but 
 doubled your sorrows. At the West you 
 experienced sickness, misfortune, be- 
 reavement, and now — but it is all right. 
 It is just the way in which you must 
 be brought to trust in God. 
 
 Afflictions are the only blessings which 
 God has profnised without our asking for 
 them. Still, tliey are afflictions, and we 
 feel for you, and continually remember 
 you at a throne of Grace, for they are 
 at present, ' not joyous, but grievous ;' 
 but being sanctified they will work out 
 for you ' a far more exceeding and eter- 
 nal weight of glory.' 
 
 " You do, I trust, go unceasingly to 
 Him who alone can help you. Look con- 
 stantly to the great physician of body 
 and soul, to ' the Rock that is higher
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 75 
 
 than you,' to the only sure refuge, the 
 brother born for adversity, the Almighty 
 Saviour, the Infinite Redeemer, the faith- 
 ful God. Here, and here only, is 
 strength and consolation to be found. 
 Pardon also and peace ; yea, life ever- 
 lasting in that blessed world where there 
 is no sin, consequently no suffering, and 
 where the inhabitants shall no more say, 
 ' I am sick,' where all is holiness and 
 joy, infinite, eternal. Oh, dear Catharine, 
 how rich the grace that makes us wretch- 
 ed sinners partakers of such glorious 
 hopes I 
 
 ^' Yours in love, 
 
 " Charles Morse." 
 
 " My Dear Sister : — 
 
 " I fear that some of my letters 
 may not reach you, and 1 have felt some 
 anxiety about them, as it would be such
 
 76 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 a loss to you, (that is, the money,) for I 
 am conscious that the written contents 
 cannot be of much value, though I do 
 not think you would lightly estimate my 
 attempts to comfort you, and, as far as 
 may be, to alleviate your sufferings. But 
 I feel my own impotency, dear C, to 
 remove, or, very essentially, to mitigate 
 your sorrows. Nothing but Omnipotence 
 can effect this, and I do rejoice that 
 you kno.w and feel it a privilege to 
 leave yourself in His hands, who doeth 
 all things well. 
 
 '' Although ou.r heavenly Father does 
 not promise to remove afflictions always, 
 even when we pour out our petitions 
 before him, yet He has promised to make 
 ' His grace sufficient for us.' I believe 
 that you are in a good and increasing 
 degree, realizing this, and by the feeling 
 and experience expressed in your letters.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 77 
 
 bearing testimony to the faithfulness of 
 your God. 
 
 " You do feel, sometimes, when you 
 go to the mercy-seat, a degree of light 
 and quiet trust in Him ; and then there 
 is peace, and you are disposed to hope 
 that you are his child, and that He 
 regards you with favor. But, ah, you 
 say, ' these feelings are transient, and 
 clouds return, and all is dark and dreary ; 
 faith staggers, corrupt nature rises, com- 
 plains and rebels.' I suppose that at 
 such seasons you discover more of the 
 hidden evils of your heart, and are ready 
 to write bitter things against yourself, 
 and despondingly, if not despairingly, say, 
 ' I cannot be a child of God.' But I be- 
 lieve that if the compassionate Saviour 
 regards His followers with more love and 
 favor at one time than another, it is 
 ivhen the soul, pressed down with a
 
 78 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 sense of its guilt and unworthiness, and 
 its utter inability to do any thing of 
 itself, stretches out the hand, amid the 
 darkness and gloom, and cries, ' Lord, I 
 believe ; help Thou my unbelief.' It is 
 then that the Saviour, full of all mercy, 
 is watching with infinite interest and 
 favor, the soul, which is by this process 
 to be sanctified, and made meet for the 
 inheritance of the saints in light. 
 
 " Such scenes as this are like those 
 of Bunyan's Pilgrim in his conflict with 
 Apollyon, in the Valley of Humiliation. 
 But he conquered, and so will every 
 Christian, and be made even more than 
 conquerors, ' through Him who loved 
 us.' If Christians are to be sanctified, 
 this is the way ; and affliction is the lot 
 of all Christ's followers, for it is written, 
 ' These are they which have come out 
 of great tribulation, and washed their
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 79 
 
 robes, and made them white in the 
 blood of the Lamb.' Again, we find, ' In 
 this world ye shall have tribulation.' 
 ' By grace are we saved,' and by grace 
 we must live. You, dear sister, have, I 
 trust, tasted this grace, and what could 
 you now do without it ? 
 
 " You might have been called to suffer 
 all you now endure without the helping 
 hand of a covenant God. Do you ever 
 think of this ? Can you not then sing 
 or say, 
 
 'Oh, to gi*ace, how great a debtor ?' 
 
 " Grace is increased by sanctified 
 
 affliction, because in seasons of severe 
 
 affliction the soul has no refuge but in 
 
 God ; it finds no adequate support but 
 
 i in the Omnipotent Ai-m. 
 
 " I do think, my dear sister, that your 
 profit has appeared during your pro- 
 tracted trials, and tliere is evidence that
 
 80 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 you have made some spiritual attain- 
 ments in the divine life. Remember, I 
 do not say this to flatter you, for it 
 would be an unkind and wicked thing 
 so to do, but I say it to encourage and 
 comfort you. You are constantly re- 
 membered by me at the throne of grace, 
 and I trust that you will there remem- 
 ber us ; will you not ? Let us be mu- 
 tual helpers to each other heavenward. 
 
 ' When througli the deep waters I call thee to go, 
 The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow ; 
 For I wiU be with thee, thy troubles to bless, 
 And I sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 
 When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, 
 My grace, aU-sufficient, shall be thy supply ; 
 The flame shaU not hurt thee, I only design 
 Thy dross to consume and the gold to refine.' 
 
 "I do long to see you, and I indulge 
 in the hope that somehow^ in God's
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 81 
 
 kind providence, circumstances may be 
 favorable, so that I may visit you. But, 
 in the meanwhile, let us continually pray 
 for each other to our blessed Saviour, 
 who is a brother born for adversity. 
 
 " The state of business here, as you 
 probably know, is distressing, and so, 
 indeed, it is throughout the country. 
 God help the poor, or they must suffer. 
 But I hope there are better times 
 coming. Times ! times I It is eter- 
 nity which should occupy our anxious 
 thoughts. 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, 
 
 " Charles." 
 
 " My Dear Sister C. :— 
 
 " From necessity, I have delayed 
 answering your letter, and now what 
 shall I say to console or strengthen you ?
 
 82 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 You need something more than it is 
 in my power to impart. I feel that your 
 condition is one of no ordinary trial. 
 A long, protracted season of sickness and 
 suffering, away from the help and sym- 
 pathy of friends, must and will, at 
 times, wring from the agonized heart, 
 the cry, ' Why, oh why is it thus V But, 
 dear, suffering sister, this is not the cry 
 of faith, but of poor, weak, suffering 
 human nature. It is God's own hand 
 which is laying on this rod, Catharine, 
 and none other ; will you try to re- 
 member this wlien you are ready to say, 
 ^ This evil is of the Lord, why should I 
 wait for Him any longer ?' Remember, 
 I say, that despair will not help you, 
 will not remove one evil, but rather 
 increase it. 
 
 " You will say, ' I know all this, but
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 83 
 
 it avails me nothing.' Well, then, dear 
 sister, look to Jesus ; He knows all your 
 sufferings, and is watching, with all the 
 interest of infinite love, the effect of 
 your trials and temptations, and He will, 
 if you endure faithfully, cause them to 
 work out for you ' a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory.' You know 
 who it is that ^ sits as a refiner ' over 
 the furnace where he has placed His 
 richest treasures, and when He can dis- 
 cover his own image written there. He 
 will bring them forth and use them for 
 His own honor and glory. May God give 
 you grace and patience to suffer a little 
 longer, and then, how sweet will heaven 
 be! 
 
 " I am aware of the truth of your 
 remark, that 'it is easy for those who 
 do not suffer to preach patience ;' and
 
 84 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 SO conscious am I of my own weakness 
 that I fear I should faint in the day of 
 adversity ; but I can assure you, my 
 dear sister, that I am not without trials 
 myself, and indeed, who is ? I should 
 like to suggest some words of comfort to 
 you, if I could, and you know that I do 
 tiot end by saying, ' Be ye warned, &c.' 
 " In your letters you have quoted 
 largely from David's complaints, to ex- 
 press your own sorrows, and they are 
 very appropriate ; but does he not also 
 say, ' Why art thou cast down, oh my 
 soul, and why art thou disquieted within 
 me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet 
 praise Him,'* And you, dear sister, will 
 yet praise Him ; if not in this world, 
 you will in a better, where you will 
 again meet your departed ones, and 
 where you will see and understand the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 85 
 
 wisdom and love of all God's dealings 
 with you here. What you know not 
 noio you icill know hereafter. 
 
 ' God is His own Interpreter, 
 And he ■will make it plain.' 
 
 '' Truly yours, 
 
 " Charles. 
 " Enclosed is ten dollars." 
 
 " Neivburyport^ Aug-. 8. 
 '^ Dear Brother James: — 
 
 " How earthly flowers do fade ! 
 You, my brother, have witnessed the 
 sad and painful truth of this in your 
 own case. The most valuable and 
 choicest flower in your domestic enclos- 
 ure is ' cut down and withered,' even 
 while you were rejoicing that another 
 precious bud had been added to your 
 number. How was I surprised to learn
 
 bb CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 that your Sarah was no more. It was 
 so sudden, so unexpected, that I can- 
 not, even yet, realize it. 
 
 " To you, my dear brother, it must 
 have been a heavy blow, and I try to 
 sympathize with you in this sudden 
 bereavement. Your loss, I know, must 
 be deep, painful, distressing, for she was 
 your companion in life, ever by your 
 side, your other self. Now you know 
 the full meaning of that word, alone I 
 She was your counselor, your tried 
 friend, the sharer of your sorrows and 
 joys, and a helper in your every bur- 
 den. You walked hand in hand with' 
 her, along the pathway of life, helpers 
 of each other in the Christian course. 
 She was the mother of your little ones, 
 too, their instructor and guide in the 
 way of truth and duty. All this, and 
 more than all this, is in one moment
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 87 
 
 torn from jou, and in view of this, I 
 do not wonder that you cry out, ' my 
 heart is desolate.' How gladly would I 
 suggest some topics of consolation in 
 this, your hour of deep affliction, but 
 I feel incapable of doing it, for your 
 heart alone knows its own bitterness. I 
 said, alone. No, brother, there is One 
 other who knows full well all your trial, 
 all your sorrow. He knows ^ for his own 
 hand inflicted the painful blow. He 
 feels, for His heart is made of tender- 
 ness and love, and ' He does not will- 
 ingly afflict the children of men.' ' As 
 a father pitieth his children, so the Lord 
 piticth them,' even whom He eludes, if 
 they fear Him. 
 
 " Think of the mercies attending the 
 sickness and death of your dear one. 
 You had the privilege of doing for her 
 all that could be done. You were not
 
 88 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 at that time absent from home, but 
 were with her to conyerse and pray 
 with her, and hear her express such 
 peace and joy in the near view of 
 death. You have comfortable assurance 
 that, as a Christian believer, she has 
 now gone to be forever with the Lord, 
 These are mercies you should not over- 
 look, and do not allow the tears of 
 grief so to dim your eyes that you 
 cannot see the mercies and comforts 
 whicli still remain. Remember the throne 
 of grace, where, 
 
 ' Our sorrows and our tears we pour, 
 Into the bosom of our God: 
 He hears us in the mournful hour, 
 And helps «s hear the heavy load.* 
 
 " Oh, my brother James, may this 
 affliction be sanctified to you, for it is 
 sanctified affliction only that will profit;
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 89 
 
 and may we learn by this providence 
 that we do all fade as a leaf, and be 
 quickened to diligence and fidelity in 
 the performance of duty, patiently suf- 
 fering all the righteous will of our 
 heavenly Fatlier unto the end. 
 
 " I will conclude by committing you 
 to the care of Him who careth for iis all. 
 " Your brother, 
 
 " Charles.'' 
 
 EXTRACT FRO INI A LETTER TO 
 HIS BROTHER JAI\IES. 
 
 " Your remark as to the state of the 
 churches among you, may, with truth, 
 be applied to the churches in this 
 region. Still, there are some few con- 
 versions among us recently, which encour- 
 age God's children still to pray, and
 
 90 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 labor, and hope for greater things than 
 these. 
 
 " I am glad to learn that your Sab- 
 bath school is in an encouraging and 
 prosperous condition. I hope you will 
 be instrumental of much good in that 
 part of the Lord's vineyard, but tliere 
 must be devotion to the cause in order 
 to be successful. I am sorry to say 
 there is nothing particularly interesting 
 in our school, but we ' labor in hope."^ 
 
 " Business here, at present, is very 
 dull, but it has been very good the 
 past year. Four hundred dollars with 
 you in Illinois is better than eight 
 here ; at least, I think so. But I obtain 
 a comfortable living, and keep free from 
 debt, and have no disposition to com- 
 plain ; yet I should like something more, 
 if it was the will of Providence, that
 
 CHRISTIAN M E C H A NIC. 91 
 
 I might be able to give more to those 
 who are needy. 
 
 ''• And so, brother James, I must rehn- 
 quish the hope of seeing you again 
 very soon, judging by what I gather 
 from your letter ; but do write oftener, 
 won't you ? Do you remember your 
 visit here ? Does not your heart cling 
 with tenacity to the fond associations 
 connected with tliat visit? Was it not 
 sweet and pleasant to us ? I can never 
 forget it ; those were some of the hap- 
 piest moments of my life, and my heart 
 is now rising and swelling while I think 
 of them. But they have passed away 
 — father has passed away — our friends, 
 many of them, have passed away, and 
 2ve stand among the ' fallen and fall- 
 ing,' and soon we also shall be gone, 
 and oh, may it be to that
 
 02 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 ' Happy land, far, far away, 
 Where saints in glory stand, 
 Bright, bright as day.' 
 
 " And now, my dear brother, I com- 
 mend you to God, witli all that is 
 yours, trusting that we shall yet again 
 see each other's face in the flesh ; but 
 if not, Ihe will of God be done. 
 " Your affectionate brother, 
 
 " Charles.'*
 
 CHRISTIAN RI E C H A N I C . 93 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 UNION WITH THE CHURCH. 
 
 In June, 1830, Mr. Morse united with 
 the First Presbyterian Church, of New- 
 buryport, then under the pastoral care 
 of Rev. Dr. Proudfit. This step was 
 not taken without reflection and prayer, 
 and even long struggle, for the gradual 
 unfolding of God's purpose in his soul 
 Avas so quiet, so characterized by deep 
 humility, that he liesitated whether, in- 
 deed, he bore " the Spirit's seal." AYhen, 
 at length, the trembling Christian took 
 liis stand, wlien he put on the armor 
 which was waiting for him, he made
 
 94 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 an entire consecration of himself to his 
 Maker's service. 
 
 From the hour in which he united 
 himself to the visible church, he gained 
 strength and cheerfulness, and his course 
 was evidently onward and upward. He 
 had laid all on the altar of God, and 
 the one controlling question of his life 
 henceforth was, " Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do ? " He did not recoil 
 from duty, however arduous ; he did 
 not ask, is it pleasant or convenient, 
 or try to shape it to his plans. The 
 simple question settled, " Is it my duty ? " 
 he went forward, doing his best to per- 
 form it. This sanctified determination 
 of character led him where many 
 a good man might have halted, and 
 kept him to a purpose from which many 
 might have desisted, in discouragement. 
 He was wont to say, " By the grace
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 95 
 
 of God, wluit any man can do, I can 
 do." 
 
 The views of Mr. Morse in refj:ard to 
 the central doctrines of the gospel were 
 very clear and decided. From the first 
 dawning of spiritual light, he was accus- 
 tomed to go to the Word of God with 
 all his difficulties, never admitting a 
 doctrine because it was currently received, 
 or found in his own denomination, but 
 requiring for its sanction, ^' Thus saith 
 the Lord." When this was evident, it 
 was enough, and no matter how myste- 
 rious, or how much assailed it might 
 be, he stood firm and immovable. His 
 assent was not easily won and lightly 
 held, but a matter of slow formation, 
 the result of earnest, prolonged and 
 prayerful investigation, and once formed, 
 he clung to it. His regard for evan- 
 gelical truth was no mechanical adher-
 
 96 CHRISTIAN 1\I E C H A N I C . 
 
 encG to a system, but a reverent loyalty 
 to the truth God had revealed — truth 
 as precious as it was vital. Some one 
 remarked of him, '' He was of such 
 material as martyrs were made of, and 
 lie would have gone to the stake in 
 defense of truth, if duty had called him 
 to it." 
 
 One of the most marked cliaracteristics 
 of his belief, was a conviction of the 
 utter sinfulness of the human heart. So 
 deep and pungent had been the testi- 
 mony of liis own consciousness in regard 
 to depravity, so clearly did he see it 
 painted in the sacred Scriptures, as in- 
 herent in man, that he spoke of it 
 always in the most strong and direct 
 terms, as a terrible fact, terrible in its 
 nature and in its consequence. Ho 
 turned then to the atonement of Jesus 
 Christ, as the sovereign remedy, the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 97 
 
 Almighty rescue for man ; and with 
 melting gratitude, he made it the foun- 
 dation of his own hope, and the plea on 
 which he rested all his appeals to others. 
 While the other doctrines of revealed re- 
 ligion were dear and sacred, having tlieir 
 place in his mind, they were all clus- 
 tered around this great central one of 
 the atonement. 
 
 His union with the church of Christ 
 was not to Mr. Morse merely an indi- 
 vidual act of obedience to Him who 
 has bidden such remembrance, but it 
 was a fraternal act. Like one who has 
 enlarged his family connexions, he had 
 new ties, and the children of the same 
 communion became especially dear to 
 him. He interested himself in the pub- 
 lic and private prosperity of the church. 
 Yet his interest was very different from 
 that mere business participation in duty.
 
 98 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 wliicli makes itself felt principally in 
 every new arrangement or external fact 
 of the churcli, and comes in with a 
 bustling air of dictation, sure to be of- 
 fended if not implicitly followed. What- 
 e\er was best for all, was best in the 
 view of this brother. He labored in his 
 quiet but most faithful way, to promote 
 mutual growth and progress. He was 
 prompt in kind counsel, and his counsel 
 was as judicious and delicate as it was 
 kind, prompt in sympathy, and in all 
 friendly offices. If any member suffered 
 in body or mind, among the first to 
 visit him, to feel for him, and, as far 
 as might be, act for him, was this 
 brother in Christ. In all this he was 
 not clanish. No ! he was only true to 
 his covenant obligations. 
 
 The following letter, written after 
 twenty-five years of service had proved
 
 . CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 99 
 
 the union of his practice and tlieory of 
 faithful discipleship, was addressed by 
 him to a young friend who had just 
 united liimself to the church of Christ. 
 
 " Newhuryport^ July 18, 1855. 
 " My Deae Xephew : — 
 
 '' I have just received the joyful 
 intelligence that God, in His rich grace, 
 has given His Spirit to convince you of 
 the infinitely important truth that you 
 were a lost sinner, and that Jesus Christ 
 died to save you. and that you have 
 made a public profession of repentance 
 towards God, and faith in the Saviour, 
 and have determined to devote your life 
 to His service. 
 
 I wish, if it is so, to rejoice with you, 
 and ascribe the glory to tlie riches of 
 His distinguishing grace. And now, per- 
 mit me, my dear young friend, to give
 
 100 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 you a word of counsel and encourage- 
 ment, for interest in your future wel- 
 fare and influence as a professed disciple, 
 prompts me to do it. 
 
 " You know that it is of the utmost 
 importance to commence aright the du- 
 ties of a Christian course. I hope that 
 you have counted the cost, for your work 
 is but just begun, and it is a work 
 from which you must never recede — 
 never look back. It is a constant, self- 
 denying work, with crosses to endure, 
 your own corrupt nature to contend 
 with, opposition from the avowed ene- 
 mies of religion, and, too often, hostility 
 from its professed friends. 
 
 " Well may you ask, ' Who is suffi- 
 cient for these things ? ' Oh, not one ! 
 God knows that of yourself you can do 
 nothing ; yet, if you are a Christian, He 
 has called you to this work by His grace,
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 101 
 
 and that same Omnipotent grace is 
 pledged for your support. ' Lo, I am 
 with you always.' 
 
 "Trust then in Him, my dear young 
 friend, and if faithful to your Master, 
 to the souls around you, and to your- 
 self, you will find that though the work 
 He gives you to do be arduous, still it 
 will be a delightful work. 
 
 " And, now, my dear Edward, as you 
 go forth into the vineyard, by your 
 Saviour's command, let me entreat you 
 that whatever duty He calls you to per- 
 form, you will do it promptly, faithfully. 
 "Whenever you have occasion to speak to 
 sinners around you, of His love and the 
 great salvation, to warn them, to be- 
 seech them to be reconciled to God, or 
 whenever called upon to take an active 
 part in meetings of devotion, (this has 
 been a great trial to some young Christ-
 
 102 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 iaiis, the neglect of which has greatly re- 
 tarded their progress, limited their use- 
 fulness, and prevented their future com- 
 fort and enjoyments,) or to discharge 
 any duty from which you may be tempted 
 to shrink, depend upon it, dear Edward, 
 that you will find it more easy, more 
 comfortable and pleasant not to hesitate, 
 or confer with flesh and blood, not to 
 parley with pride or self-ease, but to 
 decide immediately to ' take up your 
 cross,' ' looking to Jesus,' who has 
 promised the aid of His Spirit to teach 
 and strengthen you. 
 
 " But I trust that you will not be 
 satisfied with acting from the mere con- 
 viction of duty alone ; no, there is a 
 higher, nobler, stronger motive of action, 
 ^ the love of Christ constraining you.' 
 This love will not only enable you to 
 do His will, but patiently to suffer it,
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 103 
 
 to bear reproach, and to endure perse- 
 cution meekly for His sake. 
 
 " The Bible abounds in rich promises 
 and instructions for you ; make it then 
 your counselor and guide, study it daily, 
 constantly, for it is ' able to make you 
 wise unto salvation.' And while there 
 are so many conflicting views of religion, 
 even among those who profess to take 
 the Bible for their standard, this we do 
 kriou'^ for Christ has declared, that, ' If 
 any man will do His will, he shall know 
 of the doctrine, whether it be of God.' 
 
 '' Edward, you may not have been ac- 
 customed to hear much of Orthodox 
 preaching ; I mean the great doctrines 
 of depravity, man's utter ruin, the atone- 
 ment, regeneration by God's Spirit, jus- 
 tification by faith, ka. But if you are 
 a Christian you will desire to know 
 more and more of these things, espe-
 
 104 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 cially of this one, that Christ died for 
 sinners, atoning for their sins by shed- 
 ding His own blood ; for does not the 
 Bible, (both the Old and New Testa- 
 ments,) declare that ' Without the shed- 
 ding of blood there is no remission of 
 sin.' Read the fifty- third chapter of 
 Isaiah ; read all the Bible ; come to it 
 with earnest prayer, and God will, by 
 His Spirit, reveal to you all needful 
 truth, and I trust make you wise to de- 
 fend His truth, and to win the souls of 
 those so dear to you to Him, to ' the 
 truth as it is in Jesus.' 
 
 " I trust that you have found before 
 tliis, that ' prayer is the Christian's vital 
 breath.' All real Christians have proved 
 that spiritual life cannot exist without 
 it. I trust that you have a place of 
 daily, secret resort, where you meet 
 with your Saviour, and where you can
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 105 
 
 make a full confession of sin, seek the 
 application of His precious blood, ob- 
 tain the influences of the Holy Spirit to 
 sanctify, quicken, comfort and strengthen 
 you, and so prepare you for usefulness 
 in the church, and in the world. God 
 has promised ' all grace ' to those who seek 
 it, and more than this. He has promised 
 to crown that grace with glory. 
 
 " 1 have written thus plainly in regard 
 to what I believe to be gospel truths, 
 and I think you will pardon me, for they 
 are of vital importance. It is of in- 
 finite consequence what a man believes, 
 as his belief will influence his practice, 
 and the results vrill extend into the 
 eternal future. Therefore study, ' cearch 
 the Scriptures,' that you may be wise in 
 its truths ; seek by earnest prayer for 
 the influence of the Holy Spirit to keep 
 you, to sanctify you, and enable you
 
 lOG CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 SO to live that your example may re- 
 commend the religion you have professed. 
 Let your motto be ' Onward and up- 
 ward.' Who knows but what God has 
 called you out of that family circle into 
 His kingdom, that you may become the 
 instrument, through Him, of leading 
 them to Jesus, of pointing them to the 
 Lamb of God ? It is your duty so to 
 live before them that this may be the 
 case. 
 
 " I desire most earnestly to see you, 
 for I have many things yet to say, 
 which I cannot write. May I not hope 
 that you will visit us soon ? In the 
 meantime I wish you would write me, 
 and freely and fully express your views 
 and feelings, for you have many Christ- 
 ian friends here, who feel a deep in- 
 terest in you. 
 
 " And now, I commend you to God,
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 107 
 
 desiring that you may be ' kept by His 
 mighty power, through faith unto sal- 
 vation.' 
 
 " Your affectionate uncle, 
 
 '• Charles Morse."
 
 108 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 A SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER. 
 " Feed my lambs."— John 21 : 15. 
 
 The religious training of the young 
 was regarded by Mr. Morse as a most 
 sacred obligation of the church. He 
 felt that He who had signified his un- 
 willingness that any one of these little 
 ones should perish, required this work 
 of love at the hands of his people. 
 Christ had left this duty as a precious 
 legacy, and who would disown it by 
 neglect 'i 
 
 Everv Christian, then, should have
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 109 
 
 some direct instrumentality in tlie cul- 
 tivation and direction of the young. 
 From the time he first professed himself 
 a follower of Chiist, until he was 
 withdrawn from all earthly labor, Mr. 
 Morse was in some way connected with 
 the instruction in the Sabbath school. 
 He regarded the institution as " the 
 nursery for heaven," and he loved its 
 service. He was not drawn to it by a 
 cold sense of duty, nor did he labor in 
 it mechanically, as if it were a necessary 
 toil, but with genuine earnestness, be- 
 cause he loved the Saviour, and yearned 
 to have the young around him made 
 holy and happy by early consecration. 
 
 Such was his conviction of the impor- 
 tance of the mission of the Sabbath 
 school teacher, and his intense desire 
 for usefulness in it, that it became one 
 of the most prominent aims of his life.
 
 110 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 to qualify himself for it. By prayer, 
 by study, by extreme watchfulness, did 
 he strive to enrich the recitations with 
 knowledge, to present truth clearly to 
 the mind, and to direct it to the heart 
 and conscience. 
 
 In an unusual degree, Mr. Morse 
 sought to become acquainted with the 
 individual character of his pupils. They 
 were not considered as persons connected 
 with a school exercise merely, but as 
 those whom he must know and influ- 
 ence, and whose relation with himself, 
 when once formed, would never be 
 forgotten. He tried to secure the affec- 
 tion of his pupils, and he was always 
 in the habit of visiting them in their 
 own home, that he might learn more of 
 their tastes and habits of thought, and 
 more effectually secure the confidence 
 and co-operation of their parents.
 
 CHRISTIAN M E C H A NIC. Ill 
 
 Each recitation ^vas to him a subject 
 of fresh interest. In preparing for it, 
 his method was to study the given por- 
 tion of Scripture, and draw from it all 
 the instruction he could obtain. After 
 meditating on this, and arranging it in 
 his own mind, he sought the help of 
 such notes, commentaries and illustra- 
 tions, as were accessible to him. He 
 used to say — 
 
 '• For my part, I should prefer to 
 form my own questions, but my expe- 
 rience has been that the lesson is better 
 studied, and more thoroughly under- 
 stood, by most classes, with the aid of 
 a question book." 
 
 His strong desire to do good pre- 
 vented him from passing over the 
 lesson in a hackneyed manner. '• I 
 often wonder now," said one of his 
 pupils, who became an educated man,
 
 112 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 " when I remember the intelligence and 
 information Mr. Morse used to bring to 
 his class. I did not think much of it 
 then, of course, but for a man whose 
 time was spent in hard labor, it now 
 seems to me quite remarkable." fie 
 endeavored, by every means in his 
 power, to interest and instruct his 
 pupils, but he did not forget that their 
 spiritual progress was the great object 
 in view. Hence, he was eminently direct 
 and practical in his teaching, striving to 
 make each one feel that he had a 
 personal interest in the subject. He was 
 not satisfied with the routine of the 
 class, but he often detained one and 
 another after the usual exercises, or 
 sought other opportunities for conver- 
 sation, tliat he might press home upon 
 the conscience tlie importance of a re- 
 newed life.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 11 o 
 
 If, on these private occasions, he found 
 any signs of awakened sensibility, he 
 renewed his efforts through the week, 
 never wearying in his own exertions, 
 and never wearying in his fervent pe- 
 titions that the Holy Spirit would direct 
 and bless those efforts. 
 
 In his discipline he was kind, but firm. 
 It was interesting to see how the inat- 
 tentive and discourteous manner of some 
 lads, yielded to the magic of his mild 
 yet decided spirit. He seemed to expect 
 courtesy from them, and they learned 
 to respect him too much to be willing 
 to lower themselves in his esteem. He 
 encouraged them to ask questions, and 
 made them feel that he, in turn, was in- 
 terested in what they had to say. Some 
 teachers, who had unruly boys in their 
 classes, would bring them to him, say- 
 ing, '- Mr. Morse, I can do nothing 
 
 10*
 
 114 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 with this boy, and you must take him ; 
 you ^Yill know just how to manage 
 him.'* 
 
 One Sabbath morning there was brought 
 to his class, a hid over whom no one had 
 succeeded in gaining any control. In- 
 deed, he had given so much trouble, 
 that it v/as thought if Mr. Morse would 
 not try him, it would be necessary to 
 have him dismissed from the school. 
 After Mr. Morse had studied his char- 
 acter for awhile, he said to him, one 
 morning — 
 
 " You might be something ; there is 
 enough in you to make a good man 
 yet. You are like a gem, surrounded 
 with a rougli, unsightly exterior, and 
 it depends very mucli on your own will 
 whether this gem shall ever sliine, or 
 be hidden forever in darkness." 
 
 And then with affectionate earnest-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 115 
 
 ness, and that tenderness of manner so 
 peculiar to himself, he so pointed out 
 to him the importance of raising for 
 himself a higher standard of conduct, 
 that the lad was wholly subdued. 
 
 ^' Why," said he, '' no one ever talked 
 to me in this way before. I did not 
 know that there was any thing good in 
 me ; I did not even think that I might 
 be a better boy." 
 
 After this, there was no further trou- 
 ble with the lad. 
 
 A superintendent once said to liim, 
 " I don't know how it is, Mr. Morse, 
 but an influence is all the time- going 
 out from your class, which seems to 
 pervade the whole school." 
 
 AVe have already alluded to one trait 
 of character which is too little culti- 
 vated by Christians, generally — we mean, 
 a willingaess to, surrender individual
 
 116 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 tastes and preferences for the good of 
 the whole. Mr. Morse was very sensi- 
 tive to a refinement and harmony of 
 feeling in those around him, and very 
 tenacious in his attachments, so that it 
 was peculiarly agreeable to him to avoid 
 all change ; yet more than once he gave 
 up an interesting class, who were very 
 congenial to him, to take one less 
 promising and more difficult. Such sac- 
 rifices of feeling are a rarer offering to 
 God than even money or energy, and 
 they show very significantly where the 
 heart is. 
 
 One who has arrived at mature age, 
 and who, when quite a young lad, was 
 in his class at the Beck Street Chapel, 
 recently remarked that he always thought 
 that Mr. Morse was entirely different from 
 any teacher he had ever had before. " He 
 not only wanted to make his pupils good,
 
 CHRISTIAN IMECHANIC. 117 
 
 but he tried also to make them happy. 
 During tlie summer, he would often 
 hire a boat, and take his class to sail, 
 and thus try to secure their confidence 
 and love." 
 
 " Oh," said another, wlio, during the 
 winter of 1858 became a hopeful sub- 
 ject of renewing grace, " when I look 
 back, and think of Mr. Morse's instruc- 
 tions, how earnestly he labored with me, 
 how faithfully he warned me, how affec- 
 tionately he entreated me to give my 
 heart to the Saviour, I wonder how I 
 could resist so long, and how much I 
 regret that I did not at that season 
 consecrate my all to the service of 
 God." 
 
 During the same gracious visitation 
 of the Divine Spirit, the heart of this 
 faithful teacher was made glad by hear- 
 ing that one, and another, and another,
 
 118 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 who had once been liis scholars, had 
 united themselves to the people of God. 
 It is believed that he never forgot one 
 of those who had ever been connected 
 with his class in the Sabbath school ; 
 but as they passed out from under his 
 instructions, he kept up his knowledge 
 of them, as far as he was able, followed 
 them with his prayers, and with his 
 sympathy in their adversity or their 
 prosperity. He seemed to grasp, as it 
 were, every soul who had ever been 
 under his influence, and one who well 
 knew, speaks of his constant remem- 
 brance in his devotions, of all his pupils, 
 not only those at the time associated 
 with him, but all, all who had ever 
 listened to his voice. 
 
 He was a very successful teacher. 
 His name, we trust, is written among 
 tliose who have been honored as instru-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 119 
 
 ments of ^' turning many to righteous- 
 ness." Some who were benefited by 
 his instructions had passed away to the 
 higher home before him. Others are 
 traveling in the upward path, who, it 
 is believed, will yet be '^ stars in his 
 crown of rejoicing." Two of his schol- 
 ars became preachers ; one is now a 
 missionary on heathen ground, and 
 others are filling offices of trust and 
 usefulness, both in his native town and 
 elsewhere. Said one who was not per- 
 sonally acquainted with him, but who 
 knew the good influence he had exerted 
 in the Sabbath school, " I think he was 
 the best Christian man I ever heard 
 of." 
 
 It is very pleasant now, even while 
 he is sleeping in his grave, to hear the 
 many testimonies given of his faithful- 
 ness and affection as a religious teacher.
 
 120 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 May those who remember it as a privi- 
 lege to have listened to him, deem it 
 one to imitate him in his fidelity to the 
 Sabbath school. Were it possible to 
 collect all the names of those who had 
 ever been placed under his care, from 
 the time he first engaged in this service, 
 until he laid it down to die, and if 
 against those names could be recorded 
 all the faithful admonitions, the earnest 
 exhortations, the kind and affectionate 
 entreaties which had flowed out from a 
 heart longing for their salvation — and 
 the result, either as lost or improved, 
 could be given in legible characters — 
 how full of interest would be the 
 record ! 
 
 Such a record has been kept, and in 
 the great day of accounts, it will be 
 opened and read before the assembled 
 universe.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 121 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ONE OF HIS SABBATH SCHOOL 
 SCHOLARS HIS PASTOR. 
 
 When Mr. Morse was a teacher in the 
 Beck street Sabbatli school, he was ac- 
 costed one Sabbath morning by a lady, 
 who was leading by the liand a deli- 
 cate little boy, about eight years of age, 
 whom she requested him to receive into 
 his class. He consented, and taking the 
 hand of his new scholar, he passed on. 
 Finding that the lad was timid and 
 fearful of the new and untried duties 
 before him, he endeavored, with his 
 usual kindness of manner, to banish his
 
 122 CHEISTIAN MECHANIC, 
 
 fears, and win his confidence, and he 
 succeeded. Before the exercises of the 
 school had closed, the boy, with the 
 quick instinct of childhood, felt that he 
 had found a new friend, and from that 
 hour, he gave his teacher his warmest 
 confidence and affection. 
 
 There was much to attract the two 
 to each other, and sympathy of charac- 
 ter overleaped the difference in age, and 
 commenced a friendship never to end. 
 They were both gentle, delicate in their 
 feelings, and strong in their attachments ^ 
 and they felt an affection for each other 
 which time only strengthened. When, 
 at the age of ten years, the pupil 
 became personally interested in spiritual 
 subjects, next to his parents, it was to 
 his beloved teacher that he freely spoke 
 of his new-found joys, his hopes, and 
 fears. When twelve years old, John
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 123 
 
 Emerson felt it his duty to profess his 
 faith in Christ, and it was his teacher 
 who went with him to converse with 
 his pastor ; and in every important event 
 of his future life, the same friend was 
 his adviser and his counselor. 
 
 No parent could have watched with 
 more solicitude his whole course, than 
 did Mr. Morse study the unfolding of 
 his mind, the shaping of his purposes, 
 and the formation of his character. He 
 took the greatest interest in his pleas- 
 ures, his studies, his plans, and was 
 always ready to give him that cordial 
 sympathy which the young so much 
 crave, and which is not only a delight 
 to them, but a great blessing when it 
 comes from a warm-hearted and judi- 
 cious friend. Many a young person has 
 been preserved from temptation, and for- 
 tified in virtue bv the confidence lie
 
 124 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 received from, and felt in, an older 
 friend. During his collegiate and theo- 
 logical course, a familiar and constant 
 correspondence was maintained between 
 Mr. Morse and his former pupil, who, 
 when at home during the vacations, was 
 always welcomed with heartfelt affection 
 by him and his family. 
 
 Perhaps it may not be amiss to say, 
 that in the story of " Millwood," the 
 touching friendship between this devoted 
 young Cliristian and his Sabbath school 
 teacher, has been so truthfully portrayed 
 by a sister of the former, that Mr, 
 Morse has been repeatedly recognized as 
 the original of "■ Mr. Mills," even through 
 the thin guise of fiction thrown over it. 
 
 It is to be regretted that so few of 
 Mr. Morse's letters to Mr. Emerson can 
 be found, as they express, better than 
 can any description, the deep interest
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 125 
 
 he took in his welfare. We give those 
 which remain, without any opportunity 
 for selection : 
 
 '' MR. JOHN E. EMERSON, AMHERST. 
 
 '' My Dear Friend : — 
 
 " I was gratified to receive a let- 
 ter from you, after your arrival at 
 Amherst ; or, I should say ice^ for, as 
 you may suppose, we are all interested 
 in your welfare, and are truly glad to 
 hear from you. I had rather receive 
 two letters from you than write one, 
 for though my affectionate regard for 
 you should make it a pleasant privilege 
 to communicate freely my thoughts and 
 feelings, yet I must say it is one of the 
 most difficult things in the world for 
 me to write a letter. But I am indebted 
 
 to you for writing to me, and I will 
 11*
 
 1 26 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 act on the principle of honesty, and ' owe 
 you not any thing but love.' 
 
 " But, dear John, how are you ? Not 
 liome-sick, or weather-sick, I trust, for 
 soon after your arrival at Amherst, your 
 letters manifested strong symptoms of 
 both. Probably one occasioned the other ; 
 but time and change, I hope, have healed 
 them. I had some anxiety in regard to 
 the duties and responsibilities of your 
 situation at Monson ; your youth and 
 inexperience, your being a stranger there, 
 and the possibility of your having some 
 pupils much older than yourself, and 
 knowing, too, that you did not possess 
 a superabundance of confidence and self- 
 esteem, led me to fear that you would 
 have many difficulties to overcome, before 
 you could make yourself contented. I 
 was truly glad to learn that you were 
 getting along so well with your own
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 127 
 
 studies, and with your little urchins. I 
 was glad, also, to learn that while there 
 were some evils and inconveniences exist- 
 ing in your patli, (and when, indeed, 
 will there not be ?) you were girding 
 yourself for your work, by remembering 
 tliat you are in the path of duty, and 
 can therefore seek the blessing of your 
 heavenly Father, whose promise to give 
 strength, grace, and wisdom in every 
 time of need, remaineth sure. 
 
 •' I wish I could write you something 
 new and cheering, in re2:ard to the state 
 of religion among us. You have doubt- 
 less heard how earnest and enijaged 
 Rev. Mr. Stearns is in his labors. He 
 has strongly expressed his desires for a 
 revival of pure religion among us. He 
 has visited and preached in a number 
 of towns adjacent, where God is pour- 
 ing out his Spirit, and he has evidently
 
 128 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 caught much of the sacred flame him- 
 self. Our meetings are well attended, 
 in the old brick chapel, (where some- 
 times, no doubt, you imagine yourself 
 to be,) and at times, Mr. Stearns appoints 
 a meeting for inquiry. There have been 
 as many as sixteen who attend as 
 inquirers, but, alas, many of them appear 
 to be willing so to remain. 'They know 
 their duty, but they do it not.' 
 
 " I do really hope that we may soon 
 witness a revival of that religion which 
 is pvre and peaceable^ for there is much 
 among us, at the present time, which 
 assumes the name of Christianity, while 
 it is wholly destitute of its power. It 
 exerts no healthy influence on the every- 
 day life of its possessor. 
 
 " Truly yours, 
 
 " Charles Morse."
 
 CHRISTIAN M K C H A N I C . 129 
 
 '' Dear Friend : — 
 
 " I have a leisure hour, and will 
 attempt to improve tlie opportunity it 
 affords to communicate to you a few 
 thoughts, and an expression of my undi- 
 minished affection and esteem. 
 
 ''• If we may estimate the value of a 
 thing, not according to its intrinsic worth, 
 but by what it costs, why tlien, be so 
 kind as to remember, dear friend John, 
 that what I offer you in the way of let- 
 ter-writing costs me something. Xo doubt 
 the great difficulty is, I write so sel- 
 dom, and while penning this line, tlie 
 reflection strikes me suddenly that the 
 reason why we so often find but little 
 freedom at the mercy-seat is because 
 we do not habituate ourselves to constant 
 communion with God. There is not a 
 continued out-going of our hearts to
 
 130 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 Him who has sent us the epistles of 
 His love, and who is ever giving us new 
 expressions of His kindness and mercy. 
 
 "Oh, John, how ungrateful we are 
 to our best friend, that we should ever 
 allow any object to intervene between 
 Him and our souls I Yet, alas, so it 
 is, and when by His grace we return, 
 and with melting hearts seek to renew 
 the delightful intercourse, how kind, how 
 ready to forgive, do we ever find Him, 
 and how willing yet once more, to man- 
 ifest himself to us, unworthy as we are. 
 I have said we, but perhaps I had bet- 
 ter ask, dear brother, is it ever so with 
 you ? I feel that you need to exercise 
 much care and watchfulness to keep the 
 heart in a spiritual frame of mind 
 amid your complicated studies, lest it 
 wander from God. 
 
 " The state of religion among us, at
 
 CHRISTIAN X E C H A N I C . 131 
 
 the present time, is not a subject of 
 pleasing interest for me to write upon, 
 but rather a mournful one. I was going 
 to say, that since you left us all remains 
 as it was, but in the nature of things, 
 we know that it cannot be so, for the 
 course of the church, or of indiTidual 
 Christians, must be either onward or 
 retrograde. That the latter is the alarm- 
 ing and humiliating truth, facts warrant 
 me in saying. I believe there has not 
 been one addition to either of our four 
 united churches since you were here. 
 The ways of Zion mourn because few 
 or none ' come up to her solemn feasts.' 
 ''To this lamentation, dear John, let 
 us add with all our heart and soul, 
 the prayer, ' Lord, revive Thy work.' 
 " Yours, 
 
 " Charles Morse."
 
 132 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 " Dear John : — 
 
 " 111 writing to yovi I have gen- 
 erally prefaced the letters, and Mrs. 
 Morse has filled the pages ; but some- 
 thing I must, and ought, to write you 
 now, in return for your last interesting, 
 and very welcome, letter. Indeed, your 
 letters are all interesting, but that one 
 more particularly so, on account of that 
 same preaching excursion of which you 
 wrote. 
 
 " And you have preached ! I have 
 always looked forward to such an event 
 with the deepest interest, and shall con- 
 tinue to do so, and when you shall 
 have finished your preparatory studies, 
 and are called and sent, not only like 
 John the preacher, to preach repentance, 
 but a whole gospel, which will be either
 
 CHKISTIAN MECHANIC. 133 
 
 ' a savor of life or everlasting death,' 
 anxiety will be added to that interest. 
 " I was about to speak of the fear- 
 ful responsibility of a minister of the 
 gospel, of his desponding views of his 
 own insufficiency, of trials in great 
 variety, of times when, not only all men 
 do not come to him, but when few 
 even of his own parish are careful to 
 attend on his preaching, and lightly 
 esteem those sermons, which, in prepa- 
 ration, have cost him many hours of 
 anxious study, of throbbing temples, 
 (more painful, even, than mine at this 
 moment,) and a sinking heart. But 
 enough of this. You, doubtless, have 
 gone over the same ground in your own 
 imagination, and liave been led to exclaim, 
 ' Who is sufficient for tliese things ? ' 
 Paul, who said this, also added, 'I can 
 do all things through Christ.' So you 
 
 12
 
 134 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 must say. It is His work. He calls 
 you to it, and Avliile you patiently and 
 faithfully perform your duty, you must 
 be willing to leave the events with the 
 Lord. 
 
 " Dear John, Avhen I commenced writ- 
 ing, I did not mean to give you a 
 sermon, but I fear you will so consider 
 it ; let us now turn the leaf, and view 
 the other page. What is here ? A settled 
 pastor, honored and beloved for his 
 ' work's sake,' by a kind and attentive 
 people ; a church increasing in num- 
 bers and graces, fed with the Bread of 
 Life broken to them by your hands ; 
 mourners comforted and the weak estab- 
 lished ; a Sabbath school ; a full and 
 attentive audience, listening to the 
 messages of the gospel with deep, 
 but silent, emotions ; sinners awakened ; 
 an inquiry meeting — tears of penitence
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 135 
 
 — souls saved — Christ honored — God glo- 
 rified, and crowns of rejoicing through- 
 out eternity. This, blessed be God, is 
 no fiction, and it is on this side of the 
 page that I would have you dwell. 
 " Ever yours, 
 
 " Charles Morse." 
 
 The following extract from a letter 
 addressed by Mr. Emerson to Mr. Morse, 
 on hearing of his recent illness, shows 
 with what affection and gratitude he 
 reciprocated the warm interest of his 
 Sabbath school teacher : — 
 
 *' Oh, how gladly would I have flown 
 to your bed-side to minister to your 
 wants, and, if possible, to soothe your 
 pains ; but that privilege was denied 
 me, and I could only bear you on my 
 heart in supplication at the throne of 
 grace. God has been better to me than
 
 136 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 my fears, and has raised you up, I 
 trust, to be an instrument of great and 
 extensive usefulness in the world. To 
 me you have been, as it were, a spiritual 
 father. Your kind admonitions, counsels, 
 warnings, and anxiety for my welfare, 
 can never be effaced from my memory. 
 Your unwearied efforts for my good, 
 your desires for my growth in grace, 
 your tender and watchful solicitude lest 
 I should go astray, your affectionate fare- 
 well tlie night before I left for college, 
 cannot soon be forgotten, and will en- 
 dear you to me by a thousand ties." 
 
 Mr. Emerson was licensed to preach 
 tlie gospel, April 26, 1849, and his first 
 sermon was preaclied in the First Pres- 
 byterian church of Ncwburyport, where, 
 twenty-four years previous, he had been 
 baptized, and where, twelve years before, 
 he had confirmed that rite of consecra-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 137 
 
 tion, by a Christian profession. Kev. 
 Mr. Stearns said, on meeting Mr. Morse, 
 soon after this occasion, " Well, brother 
 Morse, I suppose you feel now as if you 
 had a son in tlie ministry." 
 
 In 1849, a small society, called the 
 Whitefield church, assembled at Market 
 Hall for worship. Eev. Mr. Emerson, 
 after preaching to them with great ac- 
 ceptance, was invited to become their 
 pastor. The decision called for much 
 deliberation, as his delicate health seem- 
 ed hardly equal to tlie formation of a 
 new enterprise, which- yet had entwined 
 itself very much in his affections, and 
 which had a great attraction in offering 
 him a home in his native town, and 
 among the cherished associations of his 
 childhood. He consulted Mr. Morse, 
 whose opinion was adverse to his ac- 
 ceptance of this invitation. He knew 
 
 12*
 
 155 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 that his young friend was winning and 
 attractive, and admirably fitted to be 
 the centre of such an enterprise ; but, 
 considering his slender healtli and deli- 
 cate sensibilities, he would have desired 
 for him a more quiet and less arduous 
 and responsible field of labor. 
 
 But when, after frequent conversa- 
 tions, in which his objections were freely 
 stated, he found that Mr. Emerson, with 
 different convictions of duty, had decided 
 to go forward, lie remarked, " Well, if 
 this work be of man, it will come to 
 naught, but I will no longer oppose it, 
 lest I be found to fight against God." 
 
 Mr. Morse did not, however, identify 
 himself with the new parish movement. 
 As a friend, he was consulted in every 
 important step ; and, at the request 
 of several young men, who had formerly 
 been his pupils, he took a class in the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 139 
 
 Sabbath school, which was held at differ- 
 ent hours from his own, so that the 
 duties of the two did not conflict with 
 each other. 
 
 Mr. Morse was not impulsive ; caution 
 was a natural and a cultivated trait of 
 his character, and he wcip;hed every step 
 of his life with mental exactness and 
 scrupulous conscientiousness. He was 
 the last man to change his religious 
 home easily, or to , suffer some mere 
 personal preference, or slight convenience, 
 to determine his church connection. Such 
 paltry trifling with that which should be 
 permanent, such loose attachments to 
 that which should have a sacred place 
 in the heart is, in many instances, the 
 bane of our churches, and a great hin- 
 derance to steadfast, elevated, and pro- 
 gressive piety. Whenever tlie possibility 
 of connecting himself with " the new
 
 110 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 enterprise," as it was often called, was 
 presented to the mind of Mr.. Morse, it 
 caused many conflicting emotions. On 
 one side, was an almost paternal affec- 
 tion for this young friend, and on the 
 other was a strong attachment to his 
 pastor and the church with which he 
 had, for so long a period, been connected 
 by the most endearing ties of Christian 
 fellowship. 
 
 It was in the .spring of 1850, after 
 much prayer and deliberation, that he 
 came to a final decision to cast in his 
 lot with that infant church. The most 
 powerful motive which led him to take 
 this step was that he could be more 
 useful there. The church with which he 
 had been so long associated was a large 
 and efficient one, and could afford to 
 spare some of its members without dis- 
 advantage. To the infant church everv
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 1 il 
 
 additional help was important. The fol- 
 lowing extract, from a letter written at 
 the time, expresses his view of it : 
 
 "I hope, my dear mother, that yoii 
 will not be surprised when you hear that 
 I have made up my mind to unite my- 
 self with the Wliitefield church, or think 
 that I have acted rashly. I have given 
 the subject mature deliberation, and have 
 asked direction from God. I think I 
 may be made more useful in this infant 
 church, the number of male members 
 being very small. You, I trust, will 
 remember me at a throne of grace, al- 
 ways, that I may be guided, and quick- 
 ened in Christian duty, and do some- 
 thing, however small it may be, and 
 though it may be in some obscure corner 
 of Christ's vineyard, although for this 
 even, I am unworthy." 
 
 This decision was an event which filled
 
 142 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 the heart of the youthful pastor with 
 joy. His mother said to Mr. Morse, the 
 evening after he had made known his 
 determination, '' This, I believe, has been 
 one of the happiest days of John's life." 
 The Sabbath that Mr. Morse was re- 
 ceived by letter into his church was re- 
 corded in the pastor's journal as " a 
 most solemn and interesting day." From 
 that time, lie gave the church of his 
 adoption his warm affection and most 
 untiring efforts. He was always present 
 at the meetings for business or prayer, 
 and never excused himself from any 
 duty, however arduous, by which its 
 welfare could be promoted ; and it is 
 believed that, in proportion to his means, 
 no one did more in a pecuniary point of 
 view. A few days before his death he 
 was asked if he ever regretted the step 
 he had taken, or the sacrifices he had
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 143 
 
 made for the church, and he replied 
 with much emphasis, " No, never ! I 
 have ever loved that church, I shall 
 love it Tvhile life lasts, and I shall love 
 it in heaven." 
 
 But soon an unexpected trial was laid ^ 
 upon him. He had hardly taken his 
 stand as helper at tlie side of his former 
 scholar, now his beloved pastor, when it 
 became too visible to every beholder that 
 the disease which had threatened the 
 youthful preacher on his very entrance 
 into the ministry, was making rapid 
 strides. Soon it was evident that the 
 seal of death was upon him, and his 
 winning voice could no longer be heard. 
 God had called him, and the yoTithful 
 herald was fast hastening to his eternal 
 home. Mr. Morse once said to a friend, 
 when speaking of Mr. Emerson's death, 
 '• It would be impossible for me to de-
 
 144 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 scribe the sensations I felt when I first 
 became convinced that he could not live. 
 I could not dwell upon the thought for 
 a moment, it was too keen agony for 
 me to bear." In a letter to his sister, 
 he wrote, " Oh, Catharine, my minister, 
 my dear friend and pastor, Mr^ Emerson, 
 is fast sinking into the grave. He is 
 even now at the very gate. Oh, with 
 what anguish have I watched each step 
 of this fatal disease as it advanced ; and 
 now we have no hope — none. He may 
 live a few days longer, but he must 
 die. It seems that prayers and tears 
 can avail nothing in his case, though 
 his people weep and pray without ceasing. 
 He will be a public loss, for I feel that 
 we shall hardly find another like him. 
 I am confident that I never shall. But 
 he is ready, waithig, quite on ' the verge 
 of heaven.' God and his Saviour are
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 145 
 
 with liim, and I feci it a blessed privi- 
 lege to stand, as I often do, at the side 
 of his dying bed, listening to that sweet 
 voice, now almost lost in death, wliile 
 he speaks of a Saviour's love and faith- 
 fulness, and urges the impenitent to 
 seek Him. 
 
 " And must he go ? Lord, help 
 me to bow submissively, and adore thy 
 deep designs, for I know that they are 
 just and right. Pray for us, dear sister, 
 that God may still bless this infant 
 church, and that this dark providence 
 may be sanctified to us." 
 
 Every moment he had to spare was 
 passed at that sick bed, watching every 
 favorable symptom, and exerting every 
 energy in attempts to comfort and cheer 
 him; and when the final hour drew 
 near, and he had followed him to the 
 very brink of Jordan, and the youtliful 
 
 18
 
 146 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 pastor was receding from his sight, oh, 
 there was an agony in that faithful 
 teacher's heart it had never known be- 
 fore. From his first knowledge of him 
 as a child, through the forming years of 
 youth, into the early manhood in which 
 he passed away, the intimacy and. aifec- 
 tion between them constantly increased ; 
 and when Mr. Morse witnessed the last 
 sigh which set the spirit free, it is no 
 wonder he exclaimed, '' Half my life 
 seems to have gone from me." 
 
 At the funeral of Rev. Mr. Emerson, 
 Rev. Mr. Stearns touchingly alluded to 
 Mr. Morse, in his sermon. " Among the 
 members of that church, I see one here 
 whose emotions are peculiarly deep on 
 this tender occasion. It is he whom our 
 deceased brother ever used to call ' My 
 Sabbath school teacher,' who for many 
 long years watched and prayed with all
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 147 
 
 a father's fondness over his childhood ; 
 and then, changing places with his du- 
 tiful pupil, sat in turn at his feet for 
 instruction, and received from his hands 
 the tokens of the Saviour's sacrifice. 
 Ah, faithful one, God has given thee 
 thy prayer. Through His grace, thou 
 hast at length got him safe in among 
 the churcli of the first born." It is said 
 that, at this allusion, the Christian for- 
 titude of Mr. Morse almost forsook him, 
 and an audible groan testified to his 
 agony of spirit. 
 
 And now, these two have met again ; 
 the teacher and his pupil, the pastor and 
 his friend. They now fully understand 
 the reasons which required the youthful 
 preacher to be so soon withdrawn from his 
 chosen field of labor. They see clearly 
 how beautiful are all the designs of In- 
 finite wisdom. There is no obscurity in 
 
 *
 
 r 
 
 148 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 their vision, no lingering doubt respect- 
 ing the welfare of Zion, no fear that 
 among the dark things of earth the Ark 
 of God will not be safe, or outride the 
 storm, resting, as she does, on the rock 
 of ages. 
 
 If their mission on earth was so 
 beautiful, shedding around their path 
 continually the fragrance of piety and 
 holy love, what must be their ministra- 
 tions in heaven ! It is very pleasant to 
 think of them as united again, having 
 laid aside their robes of mortality, and 
 being " clothed upon" with celestial gar- 
 ments. May they not be ministering 
 spirits to some now on earth, whose 
 names are written in the Book of Life 
 as " heirs of salvation ?" Was their 
 work all accomplished when they passed 
 away from our sight ? May there not 
 be some one for whom they prayed and
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 149 
 
 affectionately labored, apparently in vain, 
 whose prodigal return to the Father's 
 house they are now watching with in- 
 tense interest. 
 
 13*
 
 150 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RIR. MORSE AS A PARISHIONER. 
 
 As SO many people sustain the relation 
 of parishioner somewhere, it is important 
 that it should be clearly understood and 
 well filled. It is too often supposed to 
 imply only a pecuniary contribution to 
 preaching, and a fitful attendance on 
 that preaching ; or, perhaps in addition, 
 some private criticism of the public 
 exercises of the church, and an assertion 
 of wliat may happen to be liked or dis- 
 liked in them. It is possible that we 
 may gain, from looking at the simple life
 
 CHRISTIAN xM E C H A N I C . 151 
 
 before us, an intimation of some farther 
 duties in that relation. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was inter- 
 ested in every thing that aflected the 
 prosperity of the parish. He was a 
 laboring man, working daily at his 
 trade, which yielded him but small 
 means ; but he bore a generous share 
 in any expenses that arose, and always 
 -encouraged any improvements. Xo one 
 knew him to give grudgingly, or sus- 
 pected him of any backwardness in pecu- 
 niary aid ; he rather rated his own pro- 
 portion as larger than did others, who 
 knew his circumstances. He attended 
 business meetings, and gave that time 
 and attention, which is as essential as 
 money, to- tlie external prosperity of a 
 religious society. ^ 
 
 He w.as alvvays at church on tho 
 Sahb^^Jj,. a^id in the conference room at
 
 152 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 all the appointed services. When these 
 occurred on the evenings of the week, 
 they must often have found him wearied, 
 if, indeed, labor did not crowd down 
 upon the actual time ; but his work 
 was dismissed, and he went to religious 
 exercises as to refreshment. It became 
 a matter of certainty, if he was absent, 
 that he was either sick, or out of town. 
 He was there not only in body, but in 
 attention, giving a receptive hearing to 
 all that was uttered, and ready to bear 
 his own part, when a word of exhortation 
 was expected from the laymen. 
 
 He endeavored to become acquainted 
 with those who were associated with 
 him in the parish. Though a man of 
 very quiet habits, who naturally preferred 
 friendship with a chosen few, rather than 
 general, promiscuous acquaintance, he 
 studiously cultivated a knowledge of.
 
 OHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 15S 
 
 and kindly intercourse with, those aroimd 
 hini. There was an evening gathering 
 once in tvro weeks in the society, for 
 the purpose of promoting social feeling 
 among the members of it, and whenever 
 it was possible, he made it a point to 
 be present, although with his habits of 
 reading, his taste might have led him 
 to prefer spending the evening at home. 
 To his minister, he was an attentive, 
 reliable friend. Ke did not show his 
 interest by compliments, nor by exacting 
 demands, but by a kind appreciation of 
 services, and that generous interpreta- 
 tion which is alike remote from petty, 
 suspicious criticism, on the one hand, 
 or empty praise on the other. He did 
 not consume the time of their interviews 
 by stereotyped reproaches about the in- 
 frequency of visits. We knew of a 
 clergyman who once called on a parish.
 
 154 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 ioner who was accustomed to keep up a 
 debt aud credit account of this kind, 
 and a sudden and violent snow-storm 
 detained him at the house until the 
 next afternoon. As he was entering 
 his sleigh to return home, his host said, 
 in a complaining tone — • 
 
 " Well, I do hope the next time you 
 come to see us, you will stop and let 
 us see something of you." 
 
 The clergyman turned around, to see 
 if his parishioner was ironical ; but no, 
 he was uttering, in sober earnest, his 
 oft-repeated remark on such occasions. 
 
 It was not by professions to that 
 effect, but by the spirit with which he 
 entered into such duties, that Mr. Morse 
 showed a readiness for any service that 
 might be necessary in the parish. If 
 any arbitration or counsel was needed, 
 in any difficult matter, his brethren felt
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 155 
 
 that all confidence could be placed in 
 bis caution, bis kindness, bis patience, 
 and bis desire for justice. He was 
 peculiarly a safe man in all delicate and 
 perplexing affairs, and altbough they 
 sometimes weighed more on bis mind 
 than they would in a man of more 
 buoyant temperament, be never shrank 
 from them. 
 
 If private expostulation or public 
 measures were really expedient for the 
 benefit of individuals, or the safety of 
 the church, be was willing to encounter 
 whatever of unpleasant experience might 
 lie in the way ; yet such is the force of 
 a simple, consistent character to make 
 itself understood even among dissimilar 
 elements, that the writer does not re- 
 member ever to have heard him called 
 officious. 
 
 At one time, a Council was convened
 
 156 CHRISTIAN BIECHANIC. 
 
 to adjust same difficulties in a neigh- 
 boring church, where personal prejudice 
 and anger, had usurped the place of 
 " brotherly love," and Mr. Morse was 
 sent by his church as delegate. After- 
 wards an adjustment was effected, and 
 another Council called to settle a min- 
 ister over that people. " Do send brother 
 Morse on that Council," said one of his 
 brethren, " be has grieved so much over 
 the strifes in that town, that he ought 
 to have the satisfaction of going there, 
 now there is peace." 
 
 An individual came into town with a 
 letter of introduction from a brother 
 minister of another city — where he had 
 previously spent some months — addressed 
 to the pastor of Mr. Morse. He was 
 a stranger, and nothing was known of 
 his former history, but he proved to be 
 a man of considerable literary attain-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 157 
 
 ments, and possessed of a very analytical 
 mind. He was exceedingly interesting 
 in conversation, particularly on moral 
 subjects, for which he seemed to have 
 a decided inclination, and on which he 
 displayed much discriminating thought. 
 As his acquaintance with him advanced, 
 the clergyman to whom he had been 
 introduced, felt a great interest in him, 
 and especially when there appeared to 
 be added to his other traits a deep relig- 
 ious experience. He professed to be a 
 humble Christian, an«f received entire 
 confidence as such. 
 
 Soon after this, he had a slight illness, 
 and took some medicine, of which spirit 
 was an ingredient. To the surprise of 
 those around him, it roused an appetite 
 for intoxicating drink, which, it then 
 appeared, had previously controlled and 
 degraded him, and had only been lying 
 
 14
 
 158 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 dormant for awhile. He was missed 
 from his boarding-house, and from his 
 place of employment, and was found by 
 his pastor in a state of intoxication. 
 Not all the restraining motives which 
 could be presented to him — not his rep- 
 utation as a man and as a Christian,— 
 sufficed to recover him. He seemed to 
 be in the clutches of a demon he could 
 not resist. His pastor would not give 
 him up, yet he could restrain him from 
 intoxicating liqviors, only while he kept 
 him in sight. 
 
 He went to Mr. Morse, and told him 
 the circumstances of the case, and he, 
 in his readiness for every work of mercy, 
 offered to take charge of him, until the 
 paroxysm was passed. It was a very 
 busy season, but he laid his work en- 
 tirely aside. It was a very difficult 
 office, for the man was beyond the appeal
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 159 
 
 of reason, yet he must not feel coercion, 
 or it would drive him to fury. He had 
 a great deal of pride to be soothed, yet 
 if he was not firmly dealt with, he 
 would rush to his own senseless ruin. 
 Wretchedly degraded was he then, and 
 it was a very revolting spectacle to a 
 man of sensibility like Mr. Morse. Nev- 
 ertheless, like the good Samaritan, he 
 strove to bind up the wounds of sin, 
 and restore him to himself and to 
 virtue. 
 
 How kindly, how unweariedly did he 
 devote himself to the task, endeavoring 
 to calm and soothe the agitation which 
 the sudden withdrawal of a powerful 
 stimulant produced, and to procure for 
 him such remedies as might allay the 
 morbid irritability of the nerves. With 
 all the tenderness of a brother, he 
 watched over him, following him in his
 
 160 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 wanderings, persuading him to go with 
 him to different spots of interest in town^ 
 and diverting his mind by the recital 
 of pleasant incidents and reminiscences 
 of his own youth, and gently withdraw- 
 ing him from the poison he craved. 
 Amid discouragements and rebuffs, this 
 course was firmly continued, until, at 
 length, reason was once more restored. 
 Then the gratitude of the poor inebriate 
 knew no bounds, and he exclaimed, 
 " Oh, brother Morse, you and my pastor 
 have saved me ! " 
 
 When this fallen man came to himself^ 
 and began to see his own infatuation, 
 and its terrible effects, his distress was 
 most painful to witness. The world saw 
 his sin, but they did not see the remorse 
 and anguish, the self-loathing and de- 
 spair, which followed. But Mr. Morse 
 soothed him in his mental sufferings, as
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 161 
 
 he had in his paroxysms of mad appetite. 
 Xor did his kindness stop here. Findinp^ 
 the man was in debt, and fearing tliat 
 his pecuniary embarrassment might har- 
 ass him, and lead him to drown his 
 distress in the fatal cup, he went to 
 friends, and solicited the necessary funds 
 for his relief. 
 
 Thus it was that his pastor, his 
 brethren, and all who were associated 
 with him, found in Mr. Morse a reliable, 
 faithful friend, shining the brighter the 
 more he was tried. 
 
 14*
 
 162 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INTELLECT CULTIVATED FOR GOD. 
 
 Amid all the varied duties in which 
 Mr. Morse was so constantly engaged, 
 joined to the exposure and toil attend- 
 ant on his trade, as a ship-carpenter, 
 one would naturally suppose that he 
 could pay but little attention to the cul- 
 tivation of his mind. It would be in- 
 ferred that if a leisure hour ever did 
 present itself, the wearied man would 
 pass it in relaxation and rest. But it 
 was with him a matter of conscience, 
 no less than of pleasure, to secure time 
 for study.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 163 
 
 The value of a soul which Christ had 
 died to redeem, made it seem a duty 
 to improve every faculty to the utmost, 
 and thus offer no barren or sluggish 
 nature to Him who had paid such ran- 
 som for it. He cultivated his memory, 
 his reasoning powers, his general intel- 
 ligence, by every means within his reach. 
 Notwithstanding he rose early and con- 
 tinued late at work, and often returned 
 home with a wearied and aching frame, 
 he managed to secure two hours every 
 day for reading. We have seen how 
 punctual he was in his attendance on 
 religious services, how devoted to the 
 calls of friendship, and of charity, yet, 
 in this matter of study, he was scrupu- 
 lously systematic. 
 
 In his selection of books, Mr. Morse 
 sought such as were calculated to strength- 
 en and enlighten his mind, and render
 
 164 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 him more useful in the station where 
 his Master had placed him. For light 
 reading and miscellaneous literature, he 
 had no time, and probably no taste, but 
 he enjoyed works of science which showed 
 the creative power and wisdom of God, 
 and the harmony of the universe. Such 
 authors as Thomas Dick, and Hugh Mil- 
 ler were peculiar favorites, and he gave 
 to the subjects they presented, the most 
 attentive thouglit. Clear reasoning like 
 Butler's Analogy was very attractive to 
 iiim, and link by link he made the argu- 
 ment his own. Books of history and 
 biography were read, and re-read, until 
 he had domesticated the facts they con- 
 veyed in his own mind. His reflection 
 and systematic arrangement of the stores 
 gained in reading, enabled him to find 
 them for illustration when they were 
 needed.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 165 
 
 With his humility of character, (that 
 lowliness of mind which esteems others 
 better than himself, of which the apostle 
 speaks,) he made no display of his infor- 
 mation, but those who heard him speak 
 frequently, knew that he often brought 
 forth beautiful gems from his mine. He 
 never gave his books a cursory perusal, 
 but tried to cull from each something 
 to enrich his mind and increase his use- 
 fulness as he came in contact with others. 
 He was fond of good poetry. Milton's 
 Paradise Lost was a favorite work, and 
 Pollock's Course of Time was so famil- 
 iar that he could repeat a great portion 
 of it. He generally subscribed for five 
 or six periodicals, and, of course, kept 
 himself well acquainted with the religious 
 movements of the day. 
 
 The remarkable unselfishness of his 
 character is strikingly illustrated by his 
 
 4m-
 
 166 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 habit in regard to those two hours of 
 daily reading. Mr. Morse was not a 
 strong man, and was subject to dyspep- 
 sia, and it was painful to him to read 
 aloud. Beside this, he had a peculiar 
 aversion to it. But with a determina- 
 tion in this, as in every thing else, to 
 forget his own wishes in the desire to 
 benefit others, he made it his almost 
 constant habit to read aloud to his 
 family whatever he might find of inter- 
 est in the pages before him, and, as 
 he was a good reader, and entered 
 heartily into the spirit of the author, 
 it was a great pleasure to listen to him. 
 In this way, while receiving he was 
 communicating instruction, and while 
 forgetting himself, he was adding to the 
 happiness of others. Nothing seems to 
 speak of him more than do those unopened 
 books, which now lie upon the table or
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 167 
 
 on the shelf ; they almost seem with a 
 mournful aspect to ask for their friend 
 who once appreciated them so highly ; 
 but he no longer needs their aid, he 
 has gone to the fountain. 
 
 While Mr. Morse was thus interested 
 in the results of learning and genius, 
 he sought, with peculiar earnestness, all 
 those aids which helped to unfold or 
 illustrate the rich meaning of the Script* 
 ures. He generally read some portion 
 of the Bible three times a day, besides 
 reading it in course in his family, with 
 a commentaiy. How different is this 
 from the mechanical perusal of a few 
 passages of the Bible, in the hurry of 
 the morning, or just as the drowsiness 
 of night is creeping over the mind. It 
 has been beautifully said, " The careless 
 reader, in lightly skimming the surface, 
 may catch the sheen of here and there
 
 168 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 a gem, the glimmer of gold dust ; but 
 the rarer jewels of truth, the deep- 
 chambered veining of the precious ore, 
 are to such eyes hidden treasures. The 
 thoughts of God, by which He would 
 make us, the pupils of his tuition, wise 
 unto salvation, are not, in their clear 
 but profound depths, so easily fathomed. 
 Shutting up all this lore of spiritual 
 things in one volume, our divine Teacher 
 has meant us to search and master that 
 one book with a patience and thorough- 
 ness of acquisition beyond those of all 
 other scholarship." With Mr. Morse the 
 Bible was law, and he sought to know 
 and understand it. He could say, " Thy 
 word have I hid in my heart, that I 
 might not sin against thee," and from 
 his heart he could add, "Oh, how love 
 I thy law ! it is my meditation all the 
 day." A friend of his earlier years once
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 169 
 
 made the remark, '^ You must always 
 expect that Charles Morse will live about 
 right, for he is governed by Bible laws ; 
 and if you admit that the Bible is true, 
 you will also admit that he is a good 
 man. You would not expect that such 
 a man would knowingly do wrong." 
 
 If every one who wishes to be a 
 disciple of Christ, would be thus intent 
 on knowledge and mental improvement, 
 how much ignorant misapprehension of 
 duty might be prevented, how much 
 strength and richness added to the work- 
 ing power of the church ! Many a man 
 who is industrious in business, and fru- 
 gal of his means, considers his hours of 
 leisure his own, to be squandered on 
 whatever may drift along, or if any 
 portion is spent on books, they are so 
 many and so heterogeneous that to skim 
 over them is a kind of mental dissi- 
 
 15
 
 170 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 pation which exhausts instead of invig- 
 orating his powers. The faculty of 
 imagination was designed for cultivation, 
 since it helps us the more readily to 
 understand and sympathize with what is 
 remote from us, and embellishes and 
 multiplies the pleasures of life, but its 
 intemperate indulgence in promiscuous 
 fiction is not only waste, but ruin. A 
 few books well chosen and well read, 
 was the secret of our friend's improve- 
 ment ; and we would that others of 
 larger leisure and more abundant advan- 
 tages, would look at him, with his hard 
 manual labor, his feeble frame, and 
 many calls of duty, sacredly setting 
 apart those two hours of study every 
 day, as belonging to God, and be quick- 
 ened to greater diligence and thorough- 
 ness of mental application.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 171 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 FAITHFUL IN FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 It is eyident from the strong attachment 
 felt for Mr. Emerson, that Mr. Morse 
 was capable of very warm friendship. 
 His refinement of taste, delicacy of feel- 
 ing, and extreme conscientiousness, re- 
 quired that the individual whom he called 
 friend should possess corresponding tastes 
 and principles. He was kind and cour- 
 teous to all who were associated with 
 him, but from early youth, he showed 
 discrimination in the choice of friends, 
 and tenacity in his attachment to them. 
 With his love for the service of his
 
 172 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 Master, it was natural that he should 
 be peculiarly attracted towards the mes- 
 sengers of that Master. His affection 
 for each of the ministers on whose 
 preaching he attended, was very strong. 
 He held them in the highest estimation, 
 " esteeming them highly for their work's 
 sake." The pastors of the church where 
 he made his profession of Christian 
 hope, were always peculiarly dear to 
 him. His affection for Rev. Mr. Emerson 
 is well known, but it was not all buried 
 in the grave of his youthful pastor. 
 There was an empty pulpit to be again 
 occupied, and a bereaved people who 
 were early left " as sheep without a 
 shepherd." We can well imagine with 
 what emotions Mr. Morse would enter 
 his closet at that time, and those who 
 knew him best, can seem to hear, even 
 now, the fervent petitions which welled
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 173 
 
 forth from his full heart, as he prayed 
 that the " Jehovah of Hosts " would 
 guide that stricken band as " a pillar of 
 cloud by day and of fire by night." 
 When the present pastor. Rev. Mr. 
 Spalding, came among them, he regarded 
 the choice as an answer to the prayers 
 of the church ; and was ready to give 
 him a cordial welcome. He continued 
 to identify himself with his pastor, ral- 
 lying around him in aid or advice, 
 ever prompt to second all his plans of 
 benevolence, and heartily rejoicing in his 
 prosperity. 
 
 It may not be inappropriate to men- 
 tion, in connection with his faithfulness 
 to all interests of his friends, his devo- 
 tion to one sacred trust left him by 
 Rev. Mr. Emerson. A short time before 
 he died, he called Mr. Morse to his 
 bedside, and requested that the care
 
 174 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and tenderness which had been bestowed 
 on himself, might be transferred to his 
 beloved mother, who was soon to be 
 left sorrowing behind. The pledge was 
 given, and most sacredly kept. Shortly 
 after the death of her son, she was 
 again bereaved, and left a solitary widow, 
 and then he was unwearied in his exer- 
 tions to supply the place of the loved ones 
 she had lost. He did not from that 
 hour " take her to his own home," 
 but he was a son to her in her lonely 
 dwelling. Not a day passed in which 
 he did not visit her once or more, 
 endeavoring to lighten her every burden, 
 shield her from care, and perform for 
 her many of tliose household services 
 which, in a family, depend on the hus- 
 band or son. Mrs. Emerson, though 
 a sensible, intelligent woman, a social 
 companion, and a devoted Christian,
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 175 
 
 was, as all her acquaintances knew, 
 a person of a highly excitable temper- 
 ament, often the yictim of her feelings, 
 and sul)ject to seasons of deep depres- 
 sion. On these occasions he would listen 
 with the greatest of patience and ten- 
 derness, while she poured into his ear 
 the sad talc of all her real and imagi- 
 nary griefs. His efforts were unwearied 
 to soothe her morbid sensibilities. With 
 a nice discrimination of the case, with 
 a tact and skill peculiarly his own, he 
 would present topics of consolation, and 
 suggest such methods of relief as he 
 felt were best adapted to meet the vari- 
 ous changing phases of such seasons, 
 and he had the satisfaction of knowing 
 that he was often successful in sooth- 
 ing her distress, restoring her composure, 
 and giving her more cheerful views of 
 things aroun(^ her. He never grew
 
 * 
 
 1^' 
 
 176 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 weary in liis attentions, as time and 
 increasing infirmities made them more 
 difficult, but rather redoubled his efforts 
 until she no longer needed human aid. 
 
 During the illness of Rev. Mr. Emerson, 
 Mr. Morse was requested by him to visit 
 a young shipmaster who was sick. He 
 went immediately to the sick-bed, and 
 carried him his usual blessing of a 
 kind, sympathetic presence, and Christian 
 words, and there sprang up a strong 
 attachment between him and this young 
 man. The long thoughtfulness of sick- 
 ness, its solemn warning, and the pious 
 counsels he received, were blessed to 
 the invalid, and his return to health was 
 not a return to his accustomed habits of 
 feeling, for a new interest had been 
 given him, and he became a humble 
 disciple of Jesus. 
 
 To Mr. Morse, this new friend gave
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 17 < 
 
 great pleasure, and he felt the greatest 
 interest in the development of his 
 Christian character. His uprightness, his 
 decision, his energy, made liis influence 
 very valuable. His business on the sea 
 brought him into close contact with 
 men who were rough in manners, and 
 not accustomed to much respect for re- 
 ligious scruples ; but their shrewdness 
 led them to see that he had the ring of 
 the true metal, and if they were not 
 changed, they were modified by his 
 manly piety. 
 
 " He had a way with him," said one 
 of his sailors, " that you could not get 
 round. I never used to be very choice 
 in my words, but somehow I did not 
 want to swear when he was near, and 
 the other hands felt just so." When 
 on shore, he entered very warmly into 
 all the duties of the church, and spoke
 
 178 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 clearly and forcibly in the conference 
 room of his experience and his views. 
 
 All his brethren loved him, and to 
 Mr. Morse he was especially dear, and 
 many an hour of Christian fellowship 
 did they have together, strengthening 
 each other in faith. At the close of the 
 year 1852, he was to sail for Norfolk, 
 Ya., and great interest was taken to 
 furnish religious books and papers for 
 him to distribute among the crew and 
 otliers, as he had opportunity. He bade 
 good-bye to his friends, with high hopes 
 of life, but was never heard from ; it 
 is supposed he was lost in a storm 
 which occurred at that time. Mr. Morse 
 mourned for him as for a brother, and 
 in his last sickness he gave particular 
 directions for two handsome Bibles — one 
 for the only son of this friend, who 
 bore the name of Charles Morse, and
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 179 
 
 the other for the little girl, Flora, whose 
 young life had given him so much 
 pleasure. To the last, he thought of 
 his friends. 
 
 In speaking of his Christian attach- 
 ments, we may name one who still lives 
 to mourn liis beloved friend. This was 
 a friend of his riper years, in whom he 
 reposed the utmost confidence, and whose 
 sympathy was, through life, a source 
 of pure enjoyment to him. Tliey first 
 met in 1826, when both were on a 
 water excursion during the summer. In 
 many respects, their tastes were ver^ 
 similar, and both had set their faces 
 heavenward. 
 
 In speaking of their intercourse at the 
 time of their first acquaintance, partic- 
 ularly of the nights when they were 
 sailing together, Mr. Morse used to say, 
 during his last sickness, '* Brother P.,
 
 180 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 those were happy seasons to us. We 
 used to talk together, read together, and 
 sing together, and I wonder now that 
 we did not pray together ; but I sup- 
 pose we hardly felt ourselves strong 
 enough for that." 
 
 These friends soon became members 
 of the same church, and were ever after 
 helpers of each other's joy. When, in 
 the course of events, Mr. Morse felt 
 constrained from conviction of duty to 
 change his church relationship, the sun- 
 dering of this tie was one of the most 
 painful circumstances connected with that 
 event. Perhaps his friend never knew 
 how much this struggle cost him. They 
 had labored side by side in the church 
 and the Sabbath school — their feelings 
 and opinions had been in harmony — and 
 now, though still members of the same 
 great Cliurcli, they were to labor in
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 181 
 
 different fields, their interests asunder, 
 and liable possibly to clash. But their 
 friendship stood the test. Their harmony 
 was not interrupted, and their confidence, 
 esteem and affection were not dimin- 
 ished. 
 
 The devoted attachment exhibited by 
 these friends durino^ the sickness of Mr. 
 Morse, was very touching. Like David 
 and Jonathan, whose friendship has been 
 sculptured for all time by inspiration, 
 they were '• very pleasant " to each 
 other. Mr. Morse would say, " Brother 
 P. is 'a brother born for adversity,' " 
 and no brother could watch with more 
 tenderness than did he over the sufferer, 
 striving in every way that affectionate 
 kindness could suggest, to add to his 
 comfort or mitigate his sufferings: 
 
 During the spring of 1858,- when the 
 religious meetings of the town were so 
 
 16
 
 182 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 frequent, and so full of rich spiritual 
 interest, Mr. P. would deny himself 
 an attendance on what he enjoyed so 
 highly, and wend his way to the cham- 
 ber of his sick friend, and endeavor 
 by his presence and sympathy to beguile 
 his weariness. When, in the arms of 
 faith and prayer he had carried his 
 suffering friend to a compassionate Sav- 
 iour, Mr. Morse would often exclaim, 
 " Oh, if the communion of saints is so 
 sweet on earth, what must heaven be ? " 
 Sometimes he would say, " If it is more 
 blessed to give than to receive, brother 
 P. must be doubly blessed." 
 
 In both the churches with which Mr. 
 Morse had been connected, he had many 
 warm friends, to whom his own heart 
 was strongly united. He, indeed, loved 
 the image of Christ wherever he saw 
 it, and when he found any one living
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 183 
 
 very near to Jesus, and striving to do 
 his work faithfully, there his heart rested. 
 He once remarked, that " there was 
 nothing which seemed to give him a 
 sweeter view of heaven, than the friend- 
 ship existing between two faithful Christ- 
 ians, whose aims were to honor the 
 Saviour, and, as far as it was in their 
 power, to do his will on earth."
 
 184 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INTEREST IN PUBLIC MORALITY. 
 
 Whatever concerned public virtue or 
 justice was of interest to Mr. Morse. He 
 was too constant a student of sacred 
 Scripture, too much imbued with the 
 spirit of prayer, to be led away by one 
 moral topic, in utter disproportion to all 
 others. 
 
 It has been said of some men, that 
 " they do not possess opinions, but are 
 possessed by them," and it is sad that 
 so many well-meaning persons should 
 suffer some particular moral interest, 
 which is true and noble of itself, to 
 usurp the place of the whole Christian 
 system, and thus place the truth they
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 185 
 
 advocate in false relations. Thence arise 
 angry disputes, separations of brethren, 
 and all the evil train of discords, but 
 these are no part of the truth itself — 
 only of its perversions. 
 
 Mr. Morse was earnest in his desire 
 that vice should be banished from the 
 community, and injustice, oppression, and 
 corruption should cease in the affairs of 
 the country. He informed himself on 
 these subjects, and spoke of the beneficent 
 reforms of the day impartially, but ho}je- 
 fully. At one time he was conversing 
 with one who had allowed political 
 prejudice to blind his eyes to the sin 
 of human bondage, and the enormity 
 of any laws which would extend and 
 perpetuate it. After bringing facts and 
 arguments to bear upon the subject, and 
 seeing that his opponent only grew more 
 positive in his declamations against free- 
 
 16*
 
 186 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 dom, the tears started, and he quietly 
 closed the door, and went away. " It 
 was a most forcible rebuke," said one 
 who was present. 
 
 At the time that Mr. Morse was an ap- 
 prentice, the subject of temperance had 
 not begun to agitate the public mind. 
 In the ship-yard where he worked, it was 
 the custom of all to take liquor at 
 certain hours of the day, feeling that 
 it strengthened them for labor. He saw 
 that the custom, if not dangerous to 
 every individual, was often an injurious 
 example to those who were weaker, and 
 at the age of nineteen, he came to the 
 resolution to abandon the habit. He 
 had never read or heard any thing on 
 the subject, but he felt that it was a 
 useless, expensive and dangerous custom, 
 and though in his own case he appre- 
 hended no evil result, yet he saw, from 
 the experience of those around him,
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 187 
 
 that it was not safe to parley with 
 temptation. With the firmness for which 
 he was always remarkable, he was de- 
 cided in his purpose. This exposed him 
 to ridicule and opposition from his 
 companions, who deemed his refusal an 
 absurd scruple. But from that, hour, 
 he was a warm friend and advocate of 
 total abstinence. 
 
 Wlien temperance became a subject of 
 popular movement, he met with Dr. 
 Beecher's Lectures, which struck him 
 as having a right bearing on the subject, 
 and calculated to do much good. He 
 immediately purchased the book, and 
 placed it the hands of as many as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Tliere was one friend, in whom he 
 felt a deep interest, who did not take 
 the same view of the subject that he 
 did. Mr. Morse felt very desirous that 
 he should become acquainted with the
 
 188 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 contents of the book, and knowing that 
 he was not very fond of readmg, he 
 took pains to go to his house, evening 
 after evening, and there read the entire 
 volume aloud to him. This was the 
 greater effort, because it was painful 
 and irksome to him to read aloud, but 
 the result was good, and his friend 
 came over to the side of strict tem- 
 perance, and there he still stands. 
 
 We have given this brief chapter, 
 because it seems to us to enforce two 
 excellent points. One is, that it is the 
 duty of every man, however humble 
 may be his circumstances, to form his 
 own opinions on all matters of right 
 and wrong ; the other is, that every one 
 has some acquaintances, with whom he 
 can use persuasion and argument, that 
 they also may rally around the truth. If 
 this is done, reform and progress will 
 be no longer doubtful.
 
 r' H E I S T I A N MECHANIC. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SELIGION IN DAILY LIFE. 
 
 '• The tcmal round, th« common task, 
 Would furnish all we ought to ask; 
 Room to deny ourselves; a roid 
 To fcring us daily nearer God." — Keble- 
 
 As Mr. Morse was not one of those 
 who excel in some prominent traits of 
 character, which are in strong contrast 
 with certain deficiencies, it is difficult to 
 do justice to him in detail. We must 
 say of him, as did his pastor, in a ser- 
 mon preached after his death, " His re- 
 ligious principle permeated his whole 
 life. As a mechanic it made him faith- 
 ful to his employer, truthful in all his
 
 190 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC, 
 
 statements. It was with him as much 
 a Christian duty to execute a contract 
 according to the letter of the agree- 
 ment, as it was to pray or to read his 
 Bible. His religion went with him into 
 the dock, and, influenced by its holy in- 
 spiration, he wrought at his daily task. 
 He did not have devotion in the church 
 and duplicity in business, but as if ever 
 under the watchful eye of Heaven, all 
 his steps were taken in the fear of the 
 Lord." 
 
 It is believed that no one who was 
 much acquainted with his character 
 would ever hesitate to commit any trust 
 to him. A man who knew him at his 
 trade, said, " When you gave him any 
 tiling to do he did it thoroughly, whether 
 he got the value of his time or not. 
 If you gave him a boat to repair, he 
 made it as tight as a cup. There was
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 191 
 
 no mistake about him, he was a down- 
 right faithful man." Another, who had 
 good opportunities for knowing him, re- 
 marked, " I have often said that he was 
 almost the only person whose word I 
 could fully believe. I never knew him 
 to break a promise, and I could receive 
 his statements without doubt or qualifi- 
 cation." 
 
 Strict as he was in his own rules of 
 conduct, when the dishonesty of others 
 affected him, he exercised true forgive- 
 ness and charity. A man once employed 
 him on a piece of work, for which he 
 could have had no intention of paying 
 him, as he had previously made an as- 
 signment of all his property to his 
 creditors. ^Ir. Morse went on with his 
 engagement, entirely ignorant of this, 
 and purchased materials from his own 
 means, until the work was completed,
 
 192 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 when he was informed that his employer 
 was bankrupt, and could not pay him. 
 He showed no resentment for this, and 
 would not suffer others to speak harshly 
 of the circumstance. But although he 
 could so generously forgiye an injury to 
 himself, it grieved him to tlie heart 
 when the dishonest life of any one 
 brought disgrace to the church of Christ. 
 He was once asked, " Why was not 
 your Toice, which is always so welcome, 
 heard in the prayer-meeting to-night.' ' 
 " I will tell you," he replied, " for you 
 ought to know. On my way to the 
 chapel I was told of one who had 
 named the name of Jesus, and had 
 made high professions, and yet had been 
 attempting to wrong his neighbor and 
 keep him from what he knew to be his 
 just due. When I took my seat, my 
 heart sank within me, it was too full for
 
 CHRISTrAN MECHANIC. 193 
 
 me to • speak. I wanted to prostrate 
 myself on the floor of that chapel, and 
 in agony cry out, " 0, Lord, give not 
 thy blood-bought heritage over to re- 
 proach." 
 
 Mr. Morse was remarkable for doing 
 just the work at hand, whether it was 
 in his business, or in his spiritual life. 
 It is not necessary to wait for extra- 
 ordinary opportunities for usefulness ; to 
 him who patiently " does the duty 
 nearest him," God will send the special 
 occasions. One day, while Mr. Morse 
 was at work in the hold of a vessel, 
 lying at the wharf, he heard the hurried 
 rush of footsteps, and the cry " A boy 
 overboard ! " He immediately sprang to 
 the deck, but only in time to see the 
 lad sinking for the last time. Without 
 waiting to divest himself of his clothing, 
 he jumped overboard, but the tide was
 
 194 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 coming in, and when lie rose to the 
 surface, the strong current had borne 
 the boy so far under the vessel that he 
 was beyond his reach. In the very 
 death-struggle, he threw out his arms,, 
 and Mr. Morse succeeded in grasping 
 his hand, and drew him out of the 
 water. The lad was apparently lifeless, 
 but he was resuscitated ; one moment 
 more and he would have been so far 
 under the vessel, that no earthly arm 
 could reach him. A number of persons 
 on the wharf were anxious spectators 
 of the thrilling scene, but no other 
 person made any effort to save him. 
 
 Another similar circumstance illustrates 
 the wonderful providence which often 
 causes the most important results to 
 hinge on apparently trivial incidents. 
 One day, when Mr. Morse was at his 
 work, there arose in his mind a strong
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 195 
 
 inclination to go home. He knew not 
 wliy he should feel this desire, as there 
 seemed to be nothing imperative to call 
 him there, and he resisted the impulses 
 and continued his work. Again the im- 
 pression came, and grew stronger and 
 stronger. He must go home^ and with- 
 out delay. Finally, he dropped his tools, 
 feeling that he must obey that inward 
 voice, and walked towards his home, 
 though he knew not the reason why he 
 should do so. As he reached the door, 
 his mother stood there, waiting to see 
 some one who would do a small errand 
 for her, which she could not conveniently 
 defer, and as she saw her son approach- 
 ing she asked the favor of him, and he, 
 with his usual kindness, instantly com- 
 plied with the request. As he passed 
 into High street, in the vicinity of the 
 Pond, he heard the cry, '' My child ! my 
 child ! will no one save him ?" He
 
 196 CHRISTIAN QIECHANIC. 
 
 rushed to the spot whence the sound 
 issued, and found a mother wringing 
 her hands in agony, while her little child 
 was sinking in the water. Mr. Morse 
 was just in season to rescue him from a 
 watery grave, and restore him to the 
 arms of his grateful mother. Tlie little 
 one had wandered, in its play, to the 
 pond, and the mother, in seeking for it, 
 had found it in that dangerous position. 
 In speaking of this circumstance subse- 
 quently, Mr. Morse said, " I should like 
 to know the future history of that child, 
 the providence of God was so striking in 
 its deliverance. I was neither supersti- 
 tious, nor governed much by impulse ; I 
 never remember to have had my mind 
 so impressed before, yet had I resisted 
 that inward voice, and continued at my 
 work one moment longer^ the child would 
 have perished ! " 
 
 We have spoken of Mr. Morse's in-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 197 
 
 diistry and faithfulness in daily labor at 
 his trade, and of those two hours of 
 study every day, that he might graft 
 knowledge on to the stock of his natural 
 abilities, that thus the Great Husband- 
 man might find fruit. But there was 
 another part of his work in which he 
 was just as constant and faithful. We 
 mean his ministrations to the aged, the 
 lonely, the destitute ' and the afflicted. 
 These were not occasional, when very 
 peculiar cases came to his knowledge, or 
 when any direct claims were made upon 
 him. They were desolated or suffering 
 households which became known to him 
 in his daily walk, and after they were 
 known they were never forgotten or neg- 
 lected, while their necessities continued. 
 His was not a kind of benevolence which 
 gains enthusiasm in co-operative efforts 
 with others, which is attracted by 
 
 17*
 
 198 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC, 
 
 novelty, or held by gratitude. He waiy 
 sensitive and grateful in his own nature, 
 but he did not ask for a grateful ap- 
 preciation of his services, nor withdraw 
 them if it was wanting. There was one 
 old lady who was not remarkable for 
 amiability of temper or any feelings of 
 gratitude, yet not a week passed for 
 nearly twenty years, but she received 
 some donations from him, either a dinner 
 from his own table, or some other offer- 
 ing. She had no claim on him, except 
 that she was needy, and a member of 
 the church to which he formerly be- 
 longed. When others spoke of her 
 peculiarities, he once designated her as 
 *' one of the unlovely Christians," and 
 playfully remarked, " Grace is sometimes 
 grafted on a crab-stick." So it was, that 
 he always had some particular individuals 
 who were the special objects of his 
 bounty. But he literally obeyed the in-
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 199 
 
 junction, " When thou doest alms, let 
 not thy left hand know what thy right 
 hand doeth." 
 
 In order to be charitable, he denied 
 his tastes. He had a great fondness for 
 books and pictures. He used to say to 
 his wife, " If I could afford it, there is 
 one luxury I should enjoy exceedingly, 
 and that would be to surround myself 
 with beautiful pictures." A friend on 
 whom he sometimes called, says, "I al- 
 ways noticed that whenever he came to 
 our house he looked with great pleasure 
 at the different engravings in the room. 
 I remember when he first saw them, 
 he went to each one, and examined it 
 particularly, and I was struck with the 
 justice of his criticisms. He discerned 
 very quickly the best points of a picture. 
 I once heard him comment on a large 
 lithograph of ^ The Translators of the 
 Bible,' which interested him very much,
 
 200 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and he spoke with a nice discrimination 
 of the characteristics of Luther, Melanc- 
 thon and the others, showing his famil- 
 iarity with the subject, and his natural 
 taste." 
 
 That he might be true to his religious 
 obligations, and charitable to the needy, 
 Mr. Morse practiced the most rigid 
 economy. As every one should do, who 
 wishes to be just, he kept a strict ac- 
 count of all his expenses, and never, for 
 the last thirty years of his life, allowed 
 the 1st of January to pass without settling 
 all his accounts, and paying all his 
 debts. His income never exceeded five 
 hundred dollars a year, yet of this 
 amount, it was his rule to give, at least, 
 one eighth part in charity. In the 
 sermon, to which reference has been 
 made, it is said that, " Of his charities 
 he made no account in detail, lest, per- 
 haps, the review might incite to spiritual
 
 christia;^ mechanic. 201 
 
 pride. How strikingly does this teach 
 us the Christian spontaneity which is one 
 of the crowning graces of the sanctified 
 life — the Holy Spirit creating such har- 
 mony with God's will in the heart, that 
 benevolent acts spring from it like the 
 vegetation of the rich soil. Of worldly 
 expenditure he took note and careful 
 watch, but the charities which were for 
 God's service sprang from the fullness of 
 love, and passed unrecorded." 
 
 May we linger yet longer on the ex- 
 ample of Mr. Morse, which shows the 
 value of being " just before one is 
 generous." It is to be feared there are 
 some who will cast large gifts into the 
 Lord's treasury, while, at the same time, 
 they withhold what is due to their fellow- 
 men ; and of such may not the Master 
 inquire, as they present their offerings, 
 " Who hath required this at your hands ? 
 Wash ye, make you clean, put away the
 
 203//; CHRISTIA.2^ MECHANIC. 
 
 evil of your doings before mine eyes, 
 seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
 judge the fatherless, plead for the 
 widow." Mr. Morse often observed, " A 
 religion that did not make men honest 
 was not worth much." He was asked 
 one day if he believed there could be 
 such a thing as a dishonest Christian. 
 He looked suddenly into the face of the 
 inquirer, and answered, with great em- 
 phasis, " No ! There may be dishonest 
 professors ; and, to my grief, I fear there 
 are too many such at present; but a dis- 
 honest Christian^ — why there is no 
 meaning in the phrase ! Christianity, we 
 are told, is to love God with all our 
 hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves, 
 and, knowing this, can we cheat, rob, or 
 take an unfair advantage of him to 
 benefit ourselves, and yet suppose that 
 we love and obey the law of God ?" 
 If we look at his practice of a strict
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 203 
 
 account and regular settlements of ex- 
 penses, simply as it relates to personal J 
 benefit, the wisdom of it must be ac- 
 knowledged. He could walk abroad with 
 peace of mind, conscious that he " owed 
 no man any thing but love," and that 
 such a course was in obedience to the 
 law of God. He felt that a Christian 
 should be scrupulously honest, and he 
 often said, " the cause of Christ suffers 
 much from the failure of its professed 
 friends to pay their little debts ; it is 
 these dead flies that cause the ointment 
 to send forth an unpleasant odor — it is 
 these little foxes that spoil the vines." 
 Truly, it may be said of Mr. Morse that, 
 
 " What his charity impairs, 
 He saves by prudence in affairs, 
 And thus is just to all mankind."
 
 204 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MISSIONARY SPIRIT. 
 
 " Sow in the morn thy seed, 
 At eve hold not thj' hand ; 
 To doubt and fear give thou no heed ; 
 Broadcast it o'er the land ! 
 
 '' Thou canst not toil in vain : 
 
 Cold, heat, and moist and dry, 
 Shall foster and mature the grain 
 For garners in the sky."— Montgomert. 
 
 Full as Mr. Morse's life was of religious 
 duties, of busy charities, of heartfelt 
 sympathy with those around him, he 
 did not forget the interests of Christian 
 extension — the legacy of missions which 
 Jesus has left to all his disciples. He. 
 was careful to inform himself of all
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 205 
 
 that the messengers of the gospel were 
 doing in different parts of the world, 
 and he arranged this information in his 
 own mind, so that each portion of the 
 missionary field should be distinct, and 
 he could understand the relation of each 
 part to the entire result. It is to be 
 feared that an intelligent comprehension 
 of missionary operations is not suffi- 
 ciently common, and this want is prac- 
 tical in its consequences, for we cannot 
 sympathize with that of which we have 
 no knowledge — hence lukewarm zeal fol- 
 lows dim perceptions. 
 
 The monthly concert of missions was 
 one of peculiar interest to Mr. Morse, 
 and his contribution of intelligence to 
 the reports of the evening was very 
 valuable. It was customary at his church 
 to assign to each brother some partic- 
 ular post of missions to report, in order 
 
 IS
 
 206 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 to stimulate to greater diligence in 
 inquiry, and to give freshness and indi- 
 viduality to the subjects of the meeting. 
 The plan seemed to insure more dis- 
 tinctness and thoroughness of investiga- 
 tion, and greater interest in presentation 
 to the audience. Mr. Morse had China 
 assigned to him, and he spared no 
 pains to collect every item of informa- 
 tion respecting that nation, and every 
 indication of future good to the people. 
 He entered into its political history, the 
 character and customs of the inhabit- 
 ants, and the particular application of 
 Christianity to their wants. He inter- 
 wove his reflections in a most interest- 
 ing manner, with the facts he presented, 
 and clustered around them his own 
 thoughts in a way peculiar to himself. 
 The philosophical turn of his mind and 
 his habits of analysis were very evident
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 207 
 
 in his remarks in the conference room, 
 and they prevented the often told truth 
 from ever growing hackneyed from his 
 lips. His faith threw a beautiful light 
 and heat over his subjects. He believed 
 that China would one day be open to 
 receive the message of salvation, and 
 for this he prayed most fervently. Those 
 who have listened to his voice in the 
 chapel, as he spoke of that nation, and 
 of the rescue of the whole heathen 
 world from darkness, cannot forget him, 
 nor, it is to be hoped, the interests so 
 dear to him, and made so interesting 
 by him. If this memory can incite to 
 the same faithfulness in others, his mis- 
 sionary work on earth is not yet finished. 
 " The seed springs up while the hus- 
 bandman sleepeth." 
 
 To the cause of missions, and of 
 every pious enterprise which claimed his
 
 208 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 attention, Mr. Morse was very liberal. 
 He considered his contributions to such 
 as much due, as any debt he owed to 
 a fellow-man. We have stated how 
 small his income was, but no matter 
 for that ; he often said, " I don't think 
 much of that charity which gives what 
 we think we can spare without any 
 self-denial ; we ought to give till we 
 feel it." Some one made the objection, 
 " There are so many calls," and pressed 
 him for his opinion, when he said, " I 
 believe that I never said no to a call 
 in my life, and never but once did I 
 regret giving." He not only gave lib- 
 erally to objects of benevolence, but he 
 performed a large amount of labor as 
 solicitor of subscriptions. In this duty 
 his delicacy of feeling and ready per- 
 ceptions gave him great advantage ; he 
 knew hoio to approach persons, and to
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 209 
 
 be earnest in his cause without being 
 untimely or unduly importunate. He 
 was very successful, and would often 
 succeed in applications where others 
 failed. He once said, " I believe beg- 
 ging is my forte." 
 
 In the autumn of 1856, the Whit- 
 field Church engaged, by the advice of 
 the pastor, in a home missionary effort 
 to supply the spiritual wants of the 
 needy, and to draw to the house of 
 God those who had no stated place of 
 worship. A benevolent individual in the 
 society gave, for this purpose, a large 
 number of the " Messenger " and the 
 " Child's Paper." The city was districted, 
 and different members of the church 
 volunteered their services, taking such 
 districts as they chose for their own, 
 to visit the destitute families in them, 
 distribute tracts, and papers, and by 
 
 18*
 
 210 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 other methods, endeavor to interest them 
 in religions truth. Reports of the suc- 
 cess of this mission were rendered every 
 month, at a meeting held for this pur- 
 pose, and they were very interesting to 
 those who heard them. 
 
 This method was very congenial to 
 the Christian activity and benevolence 
 of Mr. Morse, and he took an earnest 
 part in the movement. He always chose 
 for his districts those localities that 
 would be most likely to have the greatest 
 destitution. He was indefatigable in the 
 good work, and often spent entire days 
 in going from house to house, convers- 
 ing personally with individuals, and 
 endeavoring to persuade those who had 
 no religious home, to attend some church, 
 and to gather the destitute children into 
 the Sabbath school. 
 
 In all these efforts he was never treated
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 211 
 
 ill, and seldom were his tracts or papers 
 refused. When he effected an opening, 
 he did not forget it, but followed the 
 entering wedge with repeated strokes. 
 Where he called a second time, he was 
 sure to meet a cordial welcome, especi- 
 ally if there were any children in 
 the family. His kindly manner, and 
 his Child's Paper were ever a passport 
 to every youthful heart. If he saw 
 children at play round the door of a 
 dwelling, or saw them hanging around 
 some of the inmates, he took courage, 
 and felt he had some clue to the sym- 
 pathies of the elders. 
 
 In these walks of usefulness, he would 
 sometimes find one of " God's hidden 
 ones," as he used to call them, some 
 poor, afflicted, and perhaps neglected^ 
 disciple, and well did he feel himself 
 repaid for all his efforts, if he could
 
 212 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 by sympathy and kindness, give conso- 
 lation to such, and turn their darkened 
 thoughts to the great Fountain of light. 
 Although this mission had a direct Tefer- 
 ence to spiritual want, yet he did not 
 neglect the temporal destitution which 
 often met him in these haunts. He fol- 
 lowed the example of his beloved Master, 
 who " fed the multitude,"* and gave 
 them healing for disease, while he taught 
 them eternal life. 
 
 Mr. Morse continued in this mission 
 until his last sickness, and it is to be 
 deeply regretted that no written reports 
 of these labors can now be found. Many 
 a story of touching pathos did he tell, 
 and many a useful lesson did he extract 
 from his visits of mercy, but they were 
 not preserved. The flower has faded, 
 though the perfume lingers still. We 
 cannot present specific instances, as we
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 213 
 
 could wish, but we can see that he 
 closely imitated Him who " went about 
 doing good," both to the bodies and 
 souls of men, and that he literally 
 obeyed the injunction, " Bear ye one 
 another's burdens, and so fulfill the law 
 of Christ." His Christian life was one 
 continued mission, and though he has 
 departed, leaving no written record of 
 his deeds of mercy, yet they are recorded 
 on high, and will one day be known.
 
 214 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 LIFE OF PRAYER. 
 
 Mr. Morse was a man of prayer, and 
 here was the secret of his strength. A 
 plant shut up where the rays of the 
 sun cannot reach it, grows sickly, and 
 finally withers and dies ; but if placed 
 where it can receive light and heat, its 
 life advances, and it will reach matu- 
 rity and beauty. So with the Christian. 
 If lives continually beneath the beams 
 of the Sun of Righteousness, he will 
 grow, and thrive, and be " strong in 
 the Lord," and bring forth abundant 
 fruit.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 215 
 
 Prayer, to be constant and effective 
 to the individual, requires regularity of 
 time and place. With Mr. Morse, it was 
 the custom always to retire three times 
 a day to his closet ; and whenever any 
 burden, either of a temporal or spirit- 
 ual nature, oppressed him, he did not 
 rush into the world, and lose his anxiety 
 by mixing with its busy scenes, but he 
 went to that Friend of friends, and 
 poured out to Him every perplexity and 
 sorrow ; then and there, with childlike 
 confidence, he would leave them, feel- 
 ing that his heavenly Father would order 
 all things well. He frequently remarked 
 that " there was no trial too small for 
 us to carry to the throne of grace ; 
 and if we should pray more, and com- 
 plain less, God would be honored, and 
 religion would not present the gloomy 
 aspect it now does before the world."
 
 216 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 All who ever heard him pray, felt at 
 once that he lived very near the mercy 
 seat. A lady was asked if she was 
 acquainted with Mr. Morse, and she re- 
 plied : '' Not personally, but I have fre- 
 quently heard him pray at the School 
 Street Chapel, and I think I can judge 
 something of his character from his 
 prayers." A little boy who once heard 
 him pray with a family who were in 
 affliction, noticed that some one was 
 speaking of a person by the name of 
 Morse, and inquired if it was " the Mr. 
 Morse who prayed so good." When he 
 led the devotions of others there was an 
 appropriateness of expression, a fervency 
 of spirit, and depth of feeling, combined 
 with such profound reverence and deep 
 prostration of the soul before God, that 
 those who heard him felt he was one 
 who " walked with God." But it was in
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 217 
 
 his home devotions, as priest over his own 
 household, and before the family altar, that 
 he excelled. Here in the bosom of his 
 family, without any restraint, would he 
 bring in the arms of faith those who 
 were so dear to him, and with simple, 
 childlike confidence, commit them and 
 all their concerns into the arms and 
 keeping of his heavenly Father. He 
 who was so constantly in communion 
 with God, could not fail to carry about 
 with him a savor of heavenly and divine 
 things. 
 
 " ^Vlien one who holds communion with the skies, 
 Has filled his urn where these pure waters rise, 
 And once more mingles with us meaner things, 
 'Tis e'en as if an angel shook his wings ; 
 Immortal fragrance fills the circle wide, 
 That tells us whence his treasures are supplied." 
 
 Mr. Morse was peculiarly welcome to 
 
 19
 
 218 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 all in trial and affliction. He felt 
 acutely the sorrows of his fellow-men. 
 Perhaps if there was one marked trait 
 of character in which he shone most 
 brightly, it was in his efforts to mit- 
 igate human suffering and woe. He 
 almost seemed to be made for this very 
 purpose. Having himself been chastened 
 and disciplined by suffering, he became, 
 as one expressed it, an angel of mercy 
 to every sorrowing heart. There was 
 something in the placid but subdued 
 expression of his cou.ntenance, and his 
 peculiar tone of voice, which told at 
 once on the heart of the afflicted, 
 secured their confidence and love, and 
 led them to feel that they had his sym- 
 pathy and prayers. 
 
 We have spoken of his benevolence, 
 but with him charity and prayer were 
 so associated together that we cannot 
 separate them. When he had spoken
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 219 
 
 his words of kindness, or breathed his 
 petitions to the Giver of every good and 
 perfect gift, he often opened that little 
 purse, which was most frugally con- 
 sulted in his own behalf, and left some 
 tangible token of his interest. If he 
 visited a family where he saw that the 
 want of a little money was severely 
 felt, and it was not at that time con- 
 venient for him to give, he would call 
 on friends, and represent the case to 
 them, and when a donation was obtained, 
 it was carried to the needy one with so 
 much delicacy, that it was felt to be a 
 token of esteem, and not alms. There 
 is a vast difference in the manner of 
 bestowing charity. Some will visit a 
 needy friend, whose heart may be sensi- 
 tively alive to a new position of trial, 
 and their assistance will prove a soothing 
 balm ; others may bring a similar offering,
 
 220 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and it will be like a dagger, only to 
 open a wider wound. 
 
 " Oh," said one of the children of 
 sorrow, " what a blessing were Mr. 
 Morse's visits to me. Often, when I 
 felt crushed, and ready to sink under 
 my troubles, he would come in, and his 
 wonderful prayers, uttered in those gentle 
 tones, and his deep and soothing sympa- 
 thies, were like balm to my troubled 
 soul." 
 
 Said another, " I can never forget his 
 visits to me in a time of deep affliction. 
 He came again and again, conversing 
 and praying with me ; and oh, such 
 prayers as he offered ! Surely, I thought, 
 they must be answered. His visits were 
 always full of comfort and consolation." 
 Another exclaimed, " How my heart 
 rejoiced when I saw that precious man 
 coming in at the door. He would always
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 221 
 
 say something to encourage me amid my 
 difficulties, and often bring some little 
 delicacy, either from his table or his 
 garden, and inquire into my wants, and 
 pray for me and mine, as no other 
 person ever did. I shall never again 
 find a friend like him." One who had 
 been sick said, '' I shall long remember 
 his visits to my sick-chamber. However 
 others might neglect me, he never did. 
 There are but few so well qualified to 
 visit a sick-chamber, as he was. I was 
 always comforted and profited ; his calls 
 were like angels' visits." 
 
 He once visited a dwelling where 
 death had entered, and removed two 
 of its inmates. One of them was a 
 father, who had left a little family 
 of children. It was on a lovely Sab- 
 bath evening, and the little ones were 
 gathered around their widowed mother, 
 
 19*
 
 222 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 when the footsteps of Mr. Morse were 
 heard, and he took his seat among them. 
 As this family did not worship at the 
 same church with him, he was a stranger 
 to the children, but as he entered into 
 conversation, and spoke of the unseen 
 realities of the other world — of the 
 wisdom of God in sending affliction to 
 his creatures — of his gracious designs 
 in every trial, — the attention of the 
 children was arrested, and they gazed 
 upon him with a kind of admiring 
 wonder. 
 
 At the close of the evening, at the 
 request of the mother, he knelt down 
 and prayed. Language would seem in- 
 adequate to describe that prayer. He 
 appeared like one talking face to face 
 with God. The solemnity of his manner, 
 the deep humility and prostration of soul, 
 the earnest pleading, the strong faith, the
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 223 
 
 melting tone — can it ever be forgotten ? 
 It almost seemed as if one needed to 
 be sheltered in the " cleft of the rock," 
 and covered by the Omnipotent hand, 
 while " tlie glory of God was passing 
 by." 
 
 As in every trial of his own, his refuge 
 was the throne of grace, so did he 
 attempt to lead every sufferer there 
 also. Often, when visiting those who 
 were in affliction, he would speak of the 
 sweet privilege of drawing near to God. 
 He lived in this constant communion, 
 and he well knew the fullness of that 
 overflowing Fountain, and longed that 
 every weary soul should avail itself of 
 the rich supply. He once remarked — 
 " Prayer is a privilege of which we 
 seem to form a low conception. 'We 
 sometimes feel it a task to break off 
 awhile from the world, and retire to hold
 
 224 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 communion with the King of kings. 
 How strange ! we have sorrows which 
 none but God can heal, wants which 
 none but he can supply, sins which he 
 alone can pardon ; and the immortal 
 part of our nature has a thirst for some- 
 thing more than earth can furnish, and 
 yet, how far we live below our privilege ! 
 how little time we spend in prayer ! "
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LAST DAYS. 
 
 " Though the light of his life to our vision is o'er, 
 The light of his spirit will burn evermore." 
 
 It would be an omission in this sketch, 
 if no mention was made of the faults 
 of its subject. " The faults of a good 
 man should be exhibited like the scars 
 of a hero," says one. They show the 
 struggles through which he has passed, 
 and how much grace has had to over- 
 come. Faults subdued are the trophies 
 of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Mr. Morse spoke of himself as nat- 
 urally irritable, and from his quick and
 
 226 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 sensitive feelings we can easily infer 
 such a possibility; but if so, his weak- 
 ness was made strength, for his caution, 
 forbearance, and patience were very re- 
 markable. He had so much firmness 
 and persistency in the Christian course, 
 that perhaps without the controlling 
 influence which reigned in his character, 
 he might have been obstinate or " set in 
 his ways." He certainly felt that he 
 had a sinful nature to contend with — to 
 conquer. No one felt this more than 
 himself ; no one mourned more deeply 
 over the remains of indwelling sin. He 
 said one day to a friend — 
 
 " If, as a rebel, I have been pardoned, 
 and washed in atoning blood, and jus- 
 tified, I have a deep conviction, from 
 the experience of every hour, that I 
 am sanctified only in part, and should
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 227 
 
 I ever reach heaven, oh, it would be 
 a wonder of mercy." 
 
 His pastor said to the church, " Those 
 of us who have been acquainted with 
 him for the last few years, hardly know 
 the constitutional foundations of his char- 
 acter, he was so much transformed by 
 the power of grace." 
 
 He made but one impression, even 
 on very dissimilar people, and that was 
 of entire consecration to Christ. His 
 whole being was held by him as be- 
 longing to God, and this principle so 
 entirely permeated him, that, like a 
 mother's devotion to her child, it did 
 not need forcing or special motive, but 
 rose spontaneously and supremely above 
 every other consideration. This work 
 of the Holy Spirit gave a unity and 
 beauty to the humble life, and made it 
 fragrant with holy affections. His heart
 
 228 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and his treasure were one. Unobtrusive 
 as he was in appearance, retiring and 
 rather reserved in manner, earning his 
 living by hard, manual labor, and without 
 any of those abundant opportunities which 
 invite the sons of fortune to usefulness, 
 yet he made others so much better and 
 happier by his presence, and left a mem- 
 ory so " blessed," as we are told that 
 of "the just" shall be, that we would 
 fain linger before we speak of the last 
 days. 
 
 During the summer of 1857, Mr. 
 Morse's health, which was never firm, 
 began to fail, and he often complained 
 of lassitude and weakness. In October 
 of that year, while at his daily work, 
 his foot slipped, and he fell into the 
 water, by which accident he took a 
 severe cold. The result was a fever, 
 which finally terminated in a decline.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 229 
 
 His sickness was protracted, and from 
 a complication of diseases, his sufferings 
 were often severe. From the first he 
 had most distressing and sleepless nights, 
 and from January a severe cough racked 
 his whole frame. 
 
 During this painful sickness, he showed 
 the most meek, uncomplaining patience 
 and submission to the Divine will, and 
 no murmuring or fretful word escaped 
 his lips. He received, with deep emo- 
 tion, the sympathy of friends, and his 
 gentle " I thank you," testified to the 
 gratitude he felt for their efforts to re- 
 lieve his sufferings, and minister to his 
 wants. Like many victims of consump- 
 tion, he was for a long time flattered 
 with the hope of recovery, and indeed 
 there were times when his friends m- 
 dulged the same delusive dream. He 
 would, on such occasions say, " I believe 
 
 20
 
 230 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 that the bitterness of death is passed, 
 and I shall yet praise the Lord in the 
 land of the living." When his expec- 
 tations of recovery were thus bright, he 
 would often remark, " I cannot say, with 
 Paul, that I desire to depart. I should 
 love to live and labor for the church a 
 little longer ; but I have no will about 
 it ; I am willing to leave it with my 
 heavenly Father, to do just as he pleases ; " 
 and he would often close by repeating 
 the words of Watts : 
 
 *' Now I forbid my carnal hope, 
 My fond desires recall ; 
 1 give my mortal interests up, 
 And make my God my all." 
 
 In the winter and sprhig of 1858, 
 there arose one of the most remarkable 
 revivals of religion that our country has 
 ever known. From Maine to Georgia, 
 from the busiest marts of trade, an(^
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 231 
 
 from the most retired hamlets, there 
 came the report of the profound spirit- 
 ual inquiry, which was the one absorbing 
 topic of the people. This new interest, 
 which was without any external cause, 
 without any noise or excitement, was 
 prolonged and intense. Instead of busi- 
 ness or politics, the main subject of 
 conversation in the cars or the steamboat 
 was religion. Places of amusement were 
 - — converted into chapels of prayer, daily 
 meetings for conference and prayer 
 sprang up in the busiest places, and 
 were attended by all ages and classes 
 of people. The preceding year had been 
 one of financial calamity, and men had 
 been taught how utterly unreliable is all 
 material good, and had seen that 
 
 " He builds too low who builds beneath the skies." 
 
 The riches of Divine love were seen 
 in contrast with the disaster and poverty
 
 232 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 which had saddened so many homes. 
 Christians might well exclaim : 
 
 " Lo, thy church, thy garden now 
 
 Blooms beneath the heavenly shower; 
 Sinners feel, and melt, and bow : 
 Mild, yet mighty, is thy power.'* 
 
 Just such a blessing as this had been 
 the subject of constant prayer with Mr. 
 Morse, yet now that it came, he was 
 not permitted to mingle in the scenes 
 which would have given him the purest 
 joy; he was withdrawn by sickness. But 
 there was one petition ever on his lips, 
 not only through the day, but during 
 the solitude and suffering of the mid- 
 night, " Father, glorify thy name." As 
 the good work advanced, he was ex- 
 ceedingly interested in reports of it, and 
 many of his wakeful hours were spent 
 in pleading for Zion. Often would he 
 repeat that hymn of D wight.
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 233 
 " I love thy kingdom, Lord." 
 
 And add, with emphasis, " Yes, I do, I 
 do love Christ's kingdom, and rejoice in 
 her prosperity." With deep feehng he 
 would repeat the third verse : 
 
 " For her my tears shall fall, 
 For her my prayers ascend; 
 To her my cares and toils be given 
 Till toils and cares shall end." 
 
 That his own little church, for which 
 he had labored and prayed so con- 
 stantly, the church of his warmest affec- 
 tion, was also enjoying a Pentecostal 
 blessing, was to him a peculiar cause of 
 gratitude. 
 
 He would, at times, seem to forget 
 his sufferings, and his whole heart be 
 filled with the contemplation of the en- 
 largement of Zion, and when visited hj 
 Christian friends, who inquired for his 
 
 20*
 
 234 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 health, he would briefly answer their 
 questions, and immediately say, " Now 
 talk to me about the revival, the meet- 
 ings, and what new efforts are being 
 made to help on this glorious cause, for 
 this is all my comfort now." He re- 
 marked, on one occasion, " I do rejoice 
 in this work, though God does not honor 
 me by permitting me to labor in it ; but 
 I can stand still and see his salvation." 
 Some one said to him one day, " Oh, 
 brother Morse, how much we want you 
 now. We want you in the chapel, we 
 need your instructions, your counsels, 
 your prayers. You know so well how 
 to converse with the young convert, and 
 guide the inquirer, that it seems as if 
 we could not do without you." He 
 listened to the speaker a moment, and 
 then, with a solemn expression, inter- 
 rupted him, exclaiming, " Not so, not 
 so. God has nothing for 7ne to do in
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 235 
 
 this revival. He is saying to me, lie 
 here and cough.'''' At another time he 
 said, " I can do nothing to help forward 
 this glorious work but pray, and I do 
 this constantly. I know ' they also serve 
 who only stand and wait,' but it is 
 easier and pleasanter to do the will of 
 God than to suffer it." 
 
 He appeared to be in a waiting pos- 
 ture, anxious and hoping for a larger 
 number of accessions to the fold of 
 Christ. He inquired of a friend who 
 visited him, if there had been any new 
 conversions in the society to which she 
 belonged, and being answered, none^ he 
 sighed, and replied, with great solemnity, 
 •' When will the cliildren of God exer- 
 cise full faith in the Divine promise ? 
 Jesus says, 'Ask and ye shall receive.' 
 Do Christians believe ? Do they believe ? 
 Why then does this glorious work seem 
 to be at a stand still ?"
 
 After the first fruits of the harvest 
 had been gathered into the Whitfield 
 church, he said, " I should love to be 
 once more permitted to go into that 
 chapel, and listen to them while they 
 tell what God has done for their souls, 
 and give them a word of advice and 
 caution." When asked what his advice 
 would be, he said, " I would tell them 
 that they must not feel that their work 
 was all done, now they were united to 
 the people of God ; but just begun. I 
 would tell them they had just put on 
 the armor, and they must fight manfully 
 for the Captain of their salvation, looking 
 never for rest until he shall see fit to 
 call them home." 
 
 At another time he said, " Oh, that I 
 could be permitted to go once more to 
 that chapel, and speak three words to 
 those young converts." When asked 
 what he would say, his reply was, " I
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 237 
 
 would say, enlist for life ! enlist for 
 life !" 
 
 He seemed to lose no opportunity 
 during his sickness to speak a word for 
 his Master, whether it was to those who 
 ministered to him during the night 
 watches, or to others, who visited him 
 in his sick-chamber. To all, his testi- 
 mony was clear and fervent. On one 
 occasion he said, " I wish that I could 
 make those who feel that a sick-bed is 
 the favorable place for attending to the 
 concerns of the soul, feel as I do, how 
 mistaken and delusive is such an idea ! 
 Sure am I that if preparation for eter- 
 nity had not been made until now, it 
 must have been forever left undone. I 
 cannot fix my mind, for any length of 
 time, on any subject, and I am often so 
 exhausted that I have hardly strength to 
 pray. Like Whitfield, I can only wrap
 
 238 JHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 myself around with Christ's righteous- 
 ness, and so lay me down to sleep." 
 
 The spring of the year was a favorite 
 season with him. His love of nature 
 and refinement of taste made him keenly 
 alive to all its fresh beauty ; the spring- 
 ing grass, the opening bud, the melody 
 of birds, the soft, genial air, were sources 
 of great delight to him. As this season 
 advanced, he was very anxious to go 
 below, that he might once more look out 
 upon the face of -natur^, and, although he 
 was very feeble, it tv^as thought best to 
 gratify the desire. It was on a beau- 
 tiful morning in May that the first 
 effort was made. As he was led to the 
 door, and looked around upon the garden 
 and trees, which were just assuming 
 their bright summer foliage, and listened, 
 to the birds warbling forth their notes 
 of praise, his heart responded to the 
 joyful scene, and, with emotions which
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 239 
 
 could hardly find utterance, he ex- 
 claimed, raising his hands, " I bless God 
 for this, that I have once more been 
 permitted to breathe his air, and gaze 
 upon the work of his hands. This is 
 indeed a beautiful world." Once, when 
 a bunch of delicate blossoms was put 
 into his hand at his request, he looked 
 intently at them, and inhaled their 
 fragrance ; and when some one offered 
 to remove them, he signified his wish to 
 retain them, whiCh lie did nearly all 
 day, as if he cluilg to them lovingly. 
 Three times he was permitted the en- 
 joyment of going from his room to look 
 out on the fair face of nature, but the 
 last time his strength had so failed that 
 it was with extreme difficulty that he 
 ^returned to his chamber, and he then 
 said, " I shall never go below again." 
 
 He soon began -to fail rapidly, and was 
 confined most of the time to his bed,
 
 240 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 but though " the outer man decayed, the 
 inner man was renewed day by day." 
 " His peace was as a river." For him 
 "death had no sting;" and he often 
 said, " the grave no terror." He longed 
 to be gone, but would frequently re- 
 mark, " I hope I shall be willing to 
 wait the appointed hour." He took 
 great pleasure in hearing select portions 
 of Scripture, (especially the Psalms,) 
 read to him, and accompanied by some 
 favorite hymn. The sixty-third Psalm of 
 Watts, commencing with 
 
 " Great God, indulge my humble claim," 
 
 were frequently on his lips, and the last 
 two lines of the second verse, 
 
 " And I am thine by tenderest ties, 
 Thy son, thy servant bought with blood," 
 
 would be often repeated with deep emo- 
 tion ; and he would exclaim, again and
 
 CHRISTIAN MEtlHANIC. 241 
 
 again, as if to himself, '' Yes, yes, 
 bought with blood." 
 
 A few days before his death, the 
 99th hymn of the selection appended to 
 Watts' hymns, commencing, 
 
 *' On wings of faith mount up my soul, and rise," 
 
 was read to him ; and when he heard 
 the second stanza, 
 
 "" No gnawing grief, no sad, heart-rending pain, 
 In that blest mansion, can admittance gain ; 
 No sorrow there, no soul-tormenting fear. 
 For God's own hand shall wipe the falling tear," 
 
 he exclaimed, '• Can it be that ' God's 
 own hand ' will wipe away my tears V 
 It seems too great an act of conde- 
 scension. Oh, wonderful I wonderful ! 
 •How glorious I '' For some time he 
 talked in this broken but rapturous strain, 
 witli his hands lifted towards heaven, • 
 
 21
 
 242 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 and his whole countenance beaming witli 
 the joy which seemed to fill his soul. 
 After this, he requested to have the 
 remaining lines read, saying, " I inter- 
 rupted you, but I could not help it, it 
 was so glorious." A young relative who 
 was at that time staying with Mrs. 
 Morse, said, in a letter to her, subse- 
 quently, " Hereafter, that beautiful hymn 
 will have to me a sacred memory con- 
 nected with it, which I can never lose ; 
 and whenever I hear it read, a vision 
 will rise up of a wasted form, and a 
 pale face glowing with heavenly light, 
 caused by the inspiration of the words 
 which seemed to fill his whole being 
 with renewed faith, a faith, even then, 
 almost lost in sight." " Those who 
 listened to his words, as he lay on thal^ 
 death-bed, can never forget the earnest 
 tones in wliich they were uttered, or 
 the pleasant smile which accompanied
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 243 
 
 them ; and they had greater weight and 
 power, because all knew that they were 
 only an outward expression of the spirit 
 that was within. * * * Such a sick- 
 ness as his is full of blessing, both to 
 the sufferer and to those friends who 
 gathered so lovingly around him, for it 
 is a privilege to witness the triumphs 
 of the soul over the pains of the body." 
 Mr. Morse had once said to a friend, 
 " I do not desire riches or fame, and I 
 think on the whole, (and I have thought 
 it over a great deal,) that I can add 
 my ' amen ' to Agur's prayer. But there 
 is one thing I do most intensely desire, 
 and for which I most constantly pray ; 
 — it is, that I may have strength given 
 me to walk through life, in every 
 department of it, to go through the 
 dark valley, let the struggle with the 
 king of terrors be longer or shorter, 
 and finally lie down in my silent grave
 
 244 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 as a Christian, leaving 7io dark spot 
 on my memory which would lead others 
 to think lightly of a cause so dear to the 
 Saviour.'* Was not his request granted? 
 
 A sister in the church called to see 
 him, and he received her with a smile. 
 " You can smile yet, brother Morse," 
 said the lady. "And why should I not," 
 he quickly replied, " with such a glo- 
 rious prospect just before me." And then 
 after speaking more fully of his views 
 and feelings in regard to his approach- 
 ing departure, he added, at the close 
 of the interview, " Remember me to the 
 old ladies ; " (referring to two aged rela- 
 tives in her family,) " tell them I am 
 going to heaven a little in advance, and 
 shall be there to meet and welcome 
 them home." 
 
 One day, some one who visited him^ 
 was speaking of his untiring labors for 
 the welfare of Zion, of his constant
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 245 
 
 attendance on the vestry meetings, and 
 Ills efforts to render them interesting 
 and profitable, and added tliat these 
 reflections must be a source of comfort 
 to him. Mr. Morse immediately replied, 
 " Poor comfort this ! I have not the 
 least hope or dependence but in the 
 atonement and righteousness of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ," and quoted Tvith much 
 feeling, 
 
 " Nothing in my hands I bring, 
 Simply to thy cross I cling." 
 
 At another time he said, " What ground 
 of dependence has any one who does 
 not trust alone in Christ for salvation ? 
 Good works, I have none. Deeds of 
 righteousness, none. 
 
 ' Not a work that I can plead, 
 Not a glimpse of hope for me, 
 Only in Gethsemane.' " 
 
 His intimate friend, Mr. P , whose 
 
 21*
 
 246 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 society was a great comfort to him at 
 all times, and to whom reference has 
 been previously made, was with him 
 
 one day, when he said, ^' Brother P , 
 
 you come to me like an angel of mercy , 
 to minister to my wants, and you are 
 going with me down to the very entrance 
 of the dark valley ; but there you must 
 leave me. But the valley is not dark^ 
 and it is all light beyond.'' 
 
 A few days before his death, his 
 beloved pastor said to him, as he ap- 
 proached his bedside, " Well, brother 
 Morse, you have got almost home." 
 '' I hope so," was the reply, " but I 
 hope to be patient, and willing to wait 
 all the days of my appointed time, till 
 my change comes," and added, 
 
 " Oh, if my Lord would come and meet, 
 
 My soul would stretch her wings in haste^ 
 Fly fearless through death's iron gate, 
 Nor feel the terrors as she passed 1"
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 247 
 
 His pastor, with deep emotion, said, 
 " Brother Morse, I don't know how to 
 spare yon, or how to do without you. 
 I have ever looked to you for counsel 
 and advice, always feeling that on your 
 judgment I could safely rely." Much 
 more was said from the fullness of a 
 pastor's heart ; Mr. Morse listened in 
 silence, but before the interview closed, 
 however, he manifested the leading feel- 
 ings of his soul, by repeating the familiar 
 lines of Watts — 
 
 "But when liis holiest works are done, 
 His soul relies on grace alone. 
 This is the man thy face shall see, 
 And dwell forever, Lord, with thee." 
 
 • His pastor once inquired, " Brother Morse, 
 your state of mind during your sick- 
 ness has been that of peace, quiet sub- 
 mission and trust, rather than rapture 
 and joy, has it not ? " He replied, 
 *•' Such exercises as the latter would not
 
 248 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 have been in keeping with my charac- 
 ter and habits of mind." 
 
 Although as it regarded himself, he 
 was so calm and resigned, yet there 
 was one aspect of the case which called 
 forth his deepest feelings. This was the 
 approaching separation from his com- 
 panion, to whom he was a most tender, 
 devoted husband. Whenever he alluded 
 to this subject, his feelings overcame him, 
 and often bursting into tears, he would 
 exclaim, '' How can I leave you alone 
 in this cold, unfeeling, and selfish world ? 
 Would it were the will of Heaven that 
 we could take our flight together to 
 that better land; then how joyfully 
 could I go.'' " Do not weep so," he 
 said to her one day, " our separation 
 will not be long ; you will soon join me 
 again, and then — we shall part no more 
 forever." At another time, he said, 
 "God will comfort you, I know He
 
 CHRISTIAN MEGHAN 
 
 will. I leave you with him who has 
 promised to be the widow's God." " Per- 
 haps I may be permitted to come and 
 be a ministering spirit to watch over 
 you," he said to his wife. " Who knows 
 but our little one and myself may be 
 your guardian angels, and then you will 
 not be lonely." He would often seem 
 to lose sight of his own keen sufferings 
 in his efforts to console and comfort 
 her. Among other topics of consola- 
 tion, he loved to think and speak of 
 God's wisdom, and his overruling pro- 
 vidence, often saying, "Remember, dear 
 Lucy, that God makes no mistakes in 
 the administration of his government," 
 and quoting the lines — 
 
 "With patient steps, the path of duty run, 
 God nothing does, or suffers to be done 
 But we should do oursehes, did we but see 
 The end of all events as well as he." 
 
 A friend called on him, not lonsr
 
 250 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 before his death, and as she approached 
 him, he looked up mournfully, and 
 said, " Still, still in the furnace." His 
 friend replied, " Brother Morse, the 
 refiner always places his chosen ones 
 in the furnace until all the dross is 
 consumed, and the true gold appears ; 
 are you not willing to endure the trial ? " 
 He paused a moment, and then replied, 
 "I am trying to have no will about 
 it." Soon after, he exclaimed, " Can 
 there be any gold found in me ? Will 
 there be any thing but dross ? " 
 
 The last few days of his life, his 
 strength had so far failed that it required 
 a great effort to speak audibly ; yet still 
 to every one he had a word to say. 
 A young relative from a distant city, 
 called to see him, who had imbibed 
 skeptical opinions. Mr. Morse, while in 
 health, had often conversed faithfully 
 with him, and he now exerted his little
 
 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 251 
 
 remaining strength in attempting to give 
 his dying testimony to the reality of 
 religion, and the power of the gospel 
 to sustain the soul in all its conflicts. 
 He closed his solemn appeals by say- 
 ing, " Will you not, dear E , strive 
 
 by repentance and faith in Christ, to 
 meet me in heaven ? " "I will try," 
 was the answer. God grant that the 
 promise then made to this dying friend, 
 may not be forgotten. 
 
 As life drew toward its close, his suf- 
 ferings were severe, but not a murmur 
 or groan escaped his lips. To one who 
 stood by him after a violent paroxysm 
 of coughing, he quoted those lines which 
 have been so often the testimony of depart- 
 ing Christians : 
 
 "Jesus can make a dying bed 
 Feel soft as downy pillows are." 
 
 The last particular conversation he 
 had with any one was with his pastor,
 
 252 CHRISTIAN MECHANIC. 
 
 the afternoon before bis deatb. The 
 last sands were running, the lamp of 
 life was well nigh extinguished, and it 
 was with much difficulty he could be 
 heard to whisper: "Mr. Spalding, I 
 wish to send my last dying message to 
 the church. Tell them to labor for 
 God, to labor till they die ; it is the 
 only thing worth living for." 
 
 About three o'clock the next morn- 
 ing. May 18, 1858, his mind began to 
 wander. '-' The silver cord was loosed, 
 the golden bowl broken, the pitcher was 
 broken at the fountain, ' and the wheel 
 broken at the cistern ; " and in a few 
 hours the faithful laborer, and the devoted 
 Christian had gone home, to rest forever 
 in that mansion prepared for those who 
 love God. ^ 
 
 THE END.
 
 ,», ill lillll II : r/-vT.».i.» 
 
 3 1205 02528 6558 ^ornia 
 
 ^ 
 
 ° 000 019 486 " 
 
 It