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HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OP 
 
 S, PAUL S CHAPEL, NET YORK. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 BEY. MORGAN DIX, S. T. D., 
 
 EECTOK OF TRINITY CIIUKCH. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PKEFIXED 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE THREE DAYS* SERVICES HELD IN THAT 
 
 CHAPEL ON OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF ITS 
 
 CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY, 
 
 Oct. 28th, 29th, and 30th, 1866. 
 PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE VESTRY OF TRINITY CHURCH. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 F. J. HUNTINGTON AND COMPANY, 
 
 459 BROOME STREET. 
 
 1867. 
 
v_; 
 
To avoid the inconveniences incident to gratuitous distribution, 
 this pamphlet will.be sold, and the entire proceeds of the sale 
 will be given in aid of the charitable work done at Saint 
 Barnabas House, 304 and 300 Mulberry Street, under the 
 direction of the CITY MISSION SOCIETY. 
 
 M206224 
 
INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 
 
 IT was on the 30th day of October, in the year of our Lord 
 1766, that the Chapel of Saint Paul, in the parish of Trinity 
 Church, in the City of New York, was first opened for the 
 worship of Almighty GOD. Upon the approach of the hun 
 dredth anniversary of that day, the subject was formally 
 brought before the Vestry of Trinity Church by the B-ector 
 of the parish ; and at his request a special committee was 
 appointed to act with him in making arrangements for the 
 .due observance of the occasion. This committee consisted 
 of five, as follows: Messrs. Wm. E. Dunscomb, Henry 
 Youngs, Samuel Davis, Benjamin E, Winthrop, and John 
 Travers. Frequent meetings were held, before and after the 
 Centennial, as circumstances required 5 and the Hector avails 
 himself of this opportunity to offer to those gentlemen his 
 thanks for their services, and for their cordial co-operation 
 in the plans and suggestions which were, from time to time, 
 presented by him for their consideration. 
 
 It was decided, after due reflection, to observe the Centen 
 nial by a series of services, to continue during three days; 
 and, since the 30th of October fell on a Tuesday, it was fur 
 ther decided to commence the commemoration on the pre 
 ceding Sunday. It was also thought best that, on each of 
 the three days, there should be a solemn celebration of the 
 
6, ^ 
 
 Holy Eucharist, since that lias always been regarded as tlie 
 highest act of Christian worship, the distinctive expression of 
 praise and thanksgiving, and the spiritual sacrifice of the 
 children of GOD. Several of the Clergy of the parish were 
 invited to prepare discourses on topics in harmony with the 
 occasion ; and, in view of the antiquity of the building, and 
 the many events of historical importance which have trans 
 pired within or near it, the Rector undertook to prepare a 
 narrative-lecture, in which there should be recorded such 
 facts and well-authenticated traditions concerning S. Paul s 
 as deserve to be held in remembrance. Moreover, since the 
 attention of our own branch of the Church is now drawn to 
 the subject of the Choral Service, and since a growing love 
 of that ancient and delightful mode of worship is happily 
 perceptible among us, it was thought advisable that, of the 
 many services of the three days, some should be performed 
 with the aid of a competent choir of men and boys, in hope 
 of presenting, at that memorable time, a more than ordi 
 narily impressive tribute of gratitude for past mercies, 
 through the instrumentality of the Choral Song. Such were 
 the general outlines of the plan. The statement of details 
 will be made in the order of the successive days of this 
 observance. 
 
 SUBTDAY, OCTOBER 28 r m. 
 Feast of 8, Simon and 8. Jude, and 2%d Sunday after Trinity. 
 
 The beauty of the American autumnal days, so widely 
 lauded and so intensely enjoyed, could not have had a more 
 favorable illustration than on this first day of the week. A 
 large congregation assembled at the usual hour of morning 
 service in the venerable building. And here it seems proper 
 to mention the decorations which had been made, as free-will 
 offerings, by some devout persons who valued the privilege 
 of giving in this way to the house of the LORD and the shrine 
 of His Presence. These decorations, though few and simple, 
 were rich and costly ; and confined almost exclusively to the 
 chancel and altar. The reading-desk and pulpit were fur 
 nished with frontals of white merino, beautifully embroidered 
 
in silk by a lady of the congregation, and similar hangings 
 covered the book-boards of the sedilia within the sacrarium. 
 In and about the chancel stood cedars and arbor- vitas trees, 
 of great size and beauty ; these had been brought from the 
 country-seat of a family of the congregation, and were select 
 ed with great care for that sacred office of making beautiful 
 the place of the sanctuary. The altar was vested in an 
 entirely new and lovely garb ; the frontal and super-frontal 
 were of the richest white moire, exceeding costly ; the frontal 
 being relieved by vertical orphreys or bands of red and gold 
 silk, embroidered with the sacred monogram, and enriched 
 with gold-colored silk fringe. These vestings of the Holy 
 Table were not returned around the ends; but the "fair, 
 white linen cloth," perfectly plain, without embroidery, cov 
 ered the top of the altar, and fell over either end to the foot 
 pace. The altar-ledge bore, as usual, the cross and vases : it 
 was one bed of living flowers, which were connected by 
 long trailing branches of ivy, with more flowers in the ledges 
 and window-sills above ; while pots of flowers and flowering 
 shrubs were set on the footpace at the north and south ends 
 of the Lord s Table. The vestments of the altar were the 
 gift of one member of the congregation, who, rich in faith 
 and good deeds, and hitherto an efficient helper of the Clergy 
 in their work among the poor, made this noble offering to 
 the Lord from the savings of her laborious trade, patient 
 ly laid by for a long time past, with a view to this final 
 disposition. The font was filled with choice and fragrant 
 flowers ; and in the chancel, at either end of the altar, 
 stood candelabra with wax candles. The flowers were 
 renewed, from time to time, during the continuance of the 
 festival. 
 
 The hour of Divine Service, 10J o clock A. M., having 
 arrived, the officiating Clergy, the Rev. Rector, the Rev. 
 Benj. I. Haight, D. D., and the Rev. Frederick B. Van 
 Kleeck, A. M., entered the church, and proceeded with the 
 Morning Prayer, Litany, and Ante-Communion Service, as 
 usual. Instead of the Psalter for the day, Proper Psalms 
 were chanted, being the 10th, the 19th, and the 53d. The 
 Nicene Creed was sung to the 8th Gregorian tone. After 
 
8 
 
 the Gospel, an Anthem by Stevenson was sung ; the words 
 being taken from Ps. viii., " O Lord, our Governor." 
 
 The sermon at this opening service was preached by the 
 Rev. Dr. Haight. His text was Ps. cv. 1-6. In this dis 
 course, which appropriately introduced the series, after due 
 commemoration of the mercies of the past century, the 
 preacher gave many interesting recollections of persons who 
 have in former years worshipped in S. Paul s, referring to 
 clergymen, vestrymen, and others, now departed from us. 
 The discourse was of the nature of a brief memorial of the 
 faithful, who have gone hence with the sign of faith, and 
 now do rest in the sleep of peace. The closing remarks of 
 the Rev. preacher were singularly beautiful, touching, and 
 affecting ; they prepared the mind for the service which was 
 to follow, in which all the true children of GOD, however 
 widely separated, and whether in the body or out of the 
 body, do yet make but one Communion in Christ. 
 
 The sermon being concluded, there followed the adminis 
 tration of the Lord s Supper, the Rector acting as Celebrant. 
 About 200 persons received the Blessed Sacrament ; and 
 thus the first service was happily and devoutly brought to an 
 end. 
 
 At 3J p. M., an informal meeting of the children of the 
 Sunday Schools and Daily Parochial School of S. Paul s 
 Chapel was held in the church. On this occasion many per 
 sons were present who had been, in past years, connected 
 with these schools, as superintendents, teachers, or catechu 
 mens. The exercises consisted of a short service, the singing 
 of hymns, and the delivery of brief addresses. The hymns 
 were all taken from " Hymns Ancient and Modern ;" those 
 selected were, " Blessed city, heavenly Salem" " We love the 
 place, O GOD," " Jerusalem, the golden" and " Now thank 
 we all OUT GOD." The Rev. Dr. Haight gave many interest 
 ing personal reminiscences concerning the rise and growth 
 of the Sunday School system in this city, and the history of 
 S. Paul s School in particular. He was followed by the Rev. 
 Samuel II. Hilliard, of S. Barnabas House, and the Rev. 
 Stephen II. Battin, formerly a scholar of this school. Lastly, 
 the Rector distributed to the children an illuminated Memo- 
 
9 
 
 rial Card, designed for this purpose, and printed in many 
 colors, by Mr. J. M. Kronheim. Each member of the schools 
 received a card. 
 
 At 7-J- o clock P. M., a very large congregation was present, 
 filling the church. Evening prayer was commenced by the 
 Eev. Dr. Haight. 
 
 The sermon was preached by the Rev. Francis Vinton, D. D. 
 The text was taken from S. Mark iv. 30, 31, 32, being the 
 Parable of the Mustard-seed, and the subject was, "The 
 Church in Two Centuries" The following abstract of this 
 very able, interesting, and important discourse has been fur 
 nished from a reliable source, and is printed in the shape in. 
 which it was received : 
 
 The history of the Catholic Church, as foretold by our Lord in the 
 Parable of the Mustard-seed, is verified also in the annals of the Protest 
 ant Episcopal Church, as a branch of the Catholic Church in this coun 
 try, and especially in the biography of Trinity Church, in New York. 
 
 1st. The planting of the Church was, like the sowing of the mustard-. 
 see d the least of all seeds- without observation, in the chaplaincy of 
 military forces, in A. D. 1664. 
 
 2d. The rooting of the seed was a period of persecution and tolera 
 tion of the Churchv The phase of persecution extending to A. D, 1713 ; 
 and passing thenceforward into the phase of mere toleration, until A. D. 
 1786. 
 
 3d. The growing up of the seed was evinced in the organization of the 
 Church, through the consecration of the bishops, and organization of 
 the General Convention, and the publication of the Common Prayer 
 Book. This period may be characterized as the apology or defence. 
 First, the defence of liturgical worship, as against the custom of extem 
 pore prayers ; and second, the defence of the Apostolic Succession, 
 against the claims of schismatic and unauthorized ministrations of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 4th. The becoming great of the seed was when the Church proclaimed 
 to her children their missionary obligations to our country and to the 
 world, and her subsequent expansion into fresh dioceses. 
 
 5th. The shooting out of great branches from the seed was indicated 
 by the consecration of foreign and domestic missionary bishops and by 
 the Oxford tract movements, whence the souls and bodies of men were 
 cared for, in preaching the Gospel and in works of charity. These 
 characteristic times reach to this our day, in A. D. 1866. 
 
 6th. The giving shelter to all, that illustrated the full and perfect 
 maturity of the mustard-seed, is marked in the history of the Church by 
 
10 
 
 her provisions for ministering to the whole nature of mankind, by apply 
 ing Christian art in subservience to piety, and subsidizing the beautiful 
 to adorn religion. 
 
 This may be named as the aesthetic era y when architecture and music 
 and the ritual claim particular prominence. In this- complete aspect of 
 the Church we discover the operation of all the spiritual forces of the 
 former periods, just as, in the mustard-tree, the life of the seed pervaded 
 all stages of its growth onto perfection. 
 
 This is the glorious era on which the Church has just entered, and 
 which future annalists may note as contemporary with this celebration 
 of the Centennial of St. Paul s Chapel. 
 
 MONDAY, OCTOBER 29l^H. 
 
 At 94 o clock A. M., there was a celebration of tlie Holy 
 Eucharist. The office was commenced by chanting Psalm 
 132, Memento r Domine, as the Introit, after which the Com 
 munion Service was said, as far as to the Prayer of Consecra 
 tion, by the Rev. Dr. Haight, the Epistle being read by the 
 Eev. George T. Rider, A. M., of Poughkeepsie. The Nicene 
 Creed was sung, after the Gospel, to the 8th Gregorian ; the 
 versicles ? responses, and Amens throughout the service were 
 also sung. The Rector celebrated ; and a considerable num 
 ber of the faithful communed, including a number of clergy. 
 
 After the conclusion of the celebration, the church remaining 
 open, many stayed, enjoying the tranquil scene ; and these 
 were joined by others, until, as the hour of noon approached, 
 a large assemblage was present again. There now appeared, 
 in addition to the members of the congregation, many per 
 sons who had in former years worshipped in S. Paul s, or 
 who had received there some rites of the Church ; and among 
 these were some who had travelled long distances in order to 
 be present. So remarkable an assemblage of the old citizens 
 of New York, and persons interested in her history, has 
 never before, perhaps, been seen within those walls. The 
 reverend, the wise, and the venerable were there the men 
 of past years with those of the present. The accommodations 
 within the chancel and in the church being limited, it had 
 not been deemed expedient to give special invitations to the 
 Centennial Services, except in a few particular cases ; but a 
 
11 
 
 general invitation, addressed to all persons " traditionally 
 connected with S. Paul s," to revisit the church at such 
 times as might be most convenient, during the three days 
 term, was cordially accepted, to judge from the number who 
 came together to listen to the promised sketch of its history. 
 The Rev. Samuel R. Johnson, D. D., and the Rev. John 
 Brown, D. D., now for more than fifty years Rector of S. 
 George s Church, Newburgh, were among the eminent per 
 sons present. 
 
 At 12 o clock, the hour appointed for the delivery of the 
 historical lecture, the Rector ascended the pulpit. The 103d 
 hymn, "From all that dwell below the skies" &e., was sung 
 to that grand old tune "Duke St" The Lord s Prayer, and 
 the collect, " Direct us, O Lord," were then said by the Rev. 
 Dr. Haight ; after which the Lecture upon the History and 
 Antiquities of S. Paul s was read. The time did not permit 
 the reading of the whole of what had been prepared : it will 
 be found herein, however, printed in full, with the addition 
 of notes and memoranda of great interest. When it was 
 finished, the whole congregation united in singing the Gloria 
 in Excelsis, after which they reverently received the Blessing 
 of Peace. But long did they linger, broken into groups and 
 dispersed throughout the church, exchanging salutations, 
 conversing together about bygone times, and giving and 
 receiving such pleasant and curious items of information as 
 were suggested by a comparison of recollections, until, at 
 length, this charming interchange of friendly sayings and 
 not unprofitable observations came to an end, and the people 
 reluctantly withdrew. 
 
 At 7-J o clock in the evening, the Choral Service was sung 
 for the first time in S. Paul s Chapel. The crowd assembled 
 on the occasion was very great, the whole building being filled. 
 The choir was a very large one, numbering about 60 men 
 and boys, of whom the greater part were choristers of Trinity 
 Church and Trinity Chapel, the whole being under the direc 
 tion of Dr. William II. Walter, to whose industrious and 
 laborious efforts the marked success of the two choral ser 
 vices was due. The staircase at the northwest corner of the 
 church had been previously arranged as a temporary robing- 
 
12 
 
 room ; and, when the hour of service arrived, the procession 
 entered the chapel by the west door, in the following order : 
 1st, the junior choristers, some 4:0 in number, vested in sur 
 plices ; 2dly, the senior choristers, similarly vested ; 3dly, a 
 select choir of Priests, in surplice and stole, consisting of the 
 Kev. J. I. Tucker, D. D., of Troy, the Rev. J. S. B. Hodges, 
 of Newark, K J., the Eev. E. M. Pecke, of Riverdale, the 
 Rev. H. A. Neely, D. D., of Trinity Chapel, the Rev. W. II. 
 Cooke, of Lansingburgh, "N. Y., the Rev. O. B. Keith, of 
 Jenkintown, Pa., the Rev. "W. G. Farrington, of Hacken- 
 sack, !N". J., and the Rev. George T. Rider, of Poughkeepsie ; 
 4thly, the officiating clergy. The service was commenced by 
 the Rev. the Rector of the parish ; the Creed and Prayers 
 were said by the Rev. Dr. Young. The following printed 
 memorandum of the order of services contains the particu 
 lars : 
 
1766-1866. 
 
 ST. PAUL S CHAPEL, 
 
 (NEW YORK.) 
 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 
 
 Monday Evening, Oct. 29, 1866. 
 
 FULL CHORAL SERVICE. 
 
 VOLUNTARY. 
 
 PROPER PSALMS, 68, 87. . (Trinity Psalter, pp. 125, 166.) 
 
 FIRST LESSON. 
 
 Isaiah, 45, 11-25. 
 BONUM EST. . . . (Chant on p. 166, Trinity Psalter.) 
 
 SECOND LESSON. 
 
 Ephesians, 4. 
 BENEDIC, ANIMA MEA; . . (Same Chant.) 
 
 HYMN 152. . . . "The God of Abraham praise." 
 
 (No. 253, "Walter s Manual.") 
 
 SERMON. 
 
 ANTHEM Ps. cxxxii., 8, 9, 10. . . (W. H. Walter, 1853.) 
 
 " Arise, O Lord." 
 
14 
 
 The Sermon was preached by the Kev. S. H. Weston, D. D., 
 from Psalm cxi. 4 " The merciful and gracious Lord hath 
 so done His marvellous works that they ought to be had in 
 remembrance." The Rev. preacher addressed the congre 
 gation upon the subject of the Past and Present of S. Paul s 
 Chapel. He regretted the want of statistics, by which he 
 might have been able to give the whole result of what had 
 been done during the hundred years through which the 
 church had been open for divine service ; the numbers of the 
 baptized, the confirmed, the married, the buried, thus far ; 
 the bishops consecrated here, the priests and deacons ordained. 
 Had these walls a tongue, what sermons would they preach, 
 of the vanity of earth, the brevity and uncertainty of life, 
 the unwritten history of so many individual souls! The 
 preacher then went on to speak of the changes which have 
 taken place in the lower part of tl^e city, and gave some sta 
 tistics of the churches and houses of worship which have 
 been removed ; in consequence of which removals not fewer 
 than 120,000 souls are left destitute of the means of grace. 
 He proposed to remedy the deficiency of church accommoda 
 tion by holding more services in those buildings which still 
 remain, thus making one church do the work of many, and 
 also by constructing new ones of greater capacity, suggesting 
 that we should put in more galleries, and borrow an idea 
 from the places of amusement, public halls, &c., in which, 
 as is well known, thousands hear better than hundreds can 
 in some of the modern churches. It was also recommended 
 that divine worship should be invested with all the attrac 
 tiveness consistent with solemnity, decorum, and the reve 
 rence due to Almighty GOD ; then, and not till then, may 
 we hope to reach the masses of the neglected poor now 
 perishing in our midst, under the shadows of our spires, 
 and within the sound of our bells. " Brethren, let us do 
 our part," said the preacher, in conclusion, " to hasten this 
 consummation so devoutly to be wished ; let us do our part 
 to make the history of the next hundred years of this sacred 
 temple as illustrious as the past. Time will at last crumble 
 even these massive walls ; but if, while they stand, they are 
 a home for Christ s poor, the glory of the latter house shall 
 
15 
 
 be greater than the glory of the former, saith the Holy 
 Ghost." 
 
 Mention should be made of the anthem, " Arise, O Lord," 
 the chorus parts of which were admirably given, while the 
 solos and duets were sung by the Rev. Dr. Neely and the 
 Rev. Mr. Hodges. The duet by those priests, on the words, 
 " Let thy priests ~be clothed with righteousiiess" was most 
 devotionally and feelingly rendered. 
 
 The Blessing of Peace, . followed by the full " Amen," 
 closed this beautiful service; a "Sacrifice," indeed, to the 
 praise and glory -of the Triune GOD, offered with intense 
 earnestness by thankful hearts, and fitly ushering in the com 
 memoration of the morrow. 
 
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30TH. THE CENTENNIAL DAY. 
 
 A furious rain-storm from the southeast prevailed during 
 the night of the 29th ; but by 9 o clock on the morning of 
 the 30th all was clear, bright, and beautiful. 
 
 The first service held on this day was at 11 o clock. Pre 
 vious to that hour the altar had been dressed anew, with 
 fresh flowers ; and just before the commencement of the ser 
 vice there was received, by the Rector, a very beautiful cross 
 of flowers, with the following note : 
 
 " Will the Reetor <*f Trinity Church permit this memorial cross, from 
 the great -great-grandchildren of Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, Mary Auchmuty 
 and Allan Tucker, to be placed on the altar of S. PauPs ChapeL 
 
 " The Centennial, October 30, 1866." 
 
 The service was commenced by the Rev. Dr. Haight. The 
 Psalms were chanted, being those appointed to be used at 
 the consecration of a church or chapel the 84:th, the 122d, 
 and the 132d. The Lessons also were taken from the Con 
 secration Service, and were read by Dr. Neely and Dr. "Wes- 
 ton. The Meene Creed was chanted to the 8th tone. After 
 Morning Prayer, the 1 52d hymn was sung; and, after the 
 Gospel, an anthem from the oratorio of the Creation, " The 
 marvellous works behold amazed," &c. The Rev. Edward 
 Y. Higbee, D. D., Senior Assistant Minister of Trinity 
 
16 
 
 Church, then ascended the pulpit, and read, to an exceeding 
 ly attentive and interested congregation, the sermon preached 
 by the Rev. Samuel Auchmuty, JD. D., in that pulpit, and 
 about that hour, just one hundred years before. Dr. Higbee, 
 before reading it, made some brief but impressive remarks, 
 with that good taste and peculiar felicity of expression which 
 are so characteristic of him, referring to the admirable quali 
 ties and faithful services of the venerable servant of GOD 
 whose words were about to be recited in our ears, and to the 
 presence of his descendants to the third and fourth genera 
 tion. It seems proper to add a few words respecting the 
 sermon. The title-page is as follows : 
 
SERMON, 
 
 Preached at the Opening of 
 
 St. P A u L S CHAPEL, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 City of NEW-YORK, 
 
 On the Thirtieth Day of Ottobcr, A. D. 1766. 
 
 By SAMUEL A U C H M U T Y, D. D. 
 
 Redor of Trinity-Church ; and Chaplain to the Right Hon, 
 William, Earl of Stirling. 
 
 Quifquis adcs, tu mafic nova pietati, parumper 
 Exuc mortales Curas, & te quoque Dignum 
 Fingc Dto. 
 
 Publifhed at the Requeft of the Church- Wardens and Veftry. 
 
 N E W - Y O R K : 
 
 Printed and Sold by H. GAINE, at his Book-Store, and Prmting-Officc, 
 at the Bible and Crown, in Hanover-Square. 
 
 [Price, ONE SHILLING.] . 
 
18 
 
 To the sermon the following letter is prefixed : 
 
 To the HONOURABLE Joseph Reade and Daniel Horsmanden, Esqrs, 
 Church- Wardens; And the other Gentlemen of the Vestry. 
 
 Worthy Sirs, In compliance with your Request, I now deliver you a 
 Copy of my Sermon preached at the Opening of ST. PAUL S CHAPEL. 
 
 IK in any Shape it may tend to promote the Glory of GOD, the Good 
 of Religion, and a just Idea of the Sacredncss of BUILDINGS dedicated to 
 the immediate Service of ALMIGHTY GOD, which I am confident can be 
 your only Inducement for desiring this Publication, I shall be most amply 
 re \varded. But it will afford me an additional Pleasure, if what is now 
 offered to the Public, may have any Influence in exciting others to fol 
 low so laudable an Example of Diligence, Benevolence, and Disinterest 
 edness, as you have exhibited to the World, in the Undertaking, Con 
 ducting, arid Completion of so beautiful and magnificent an Edifice. 
 THAT it may answer these important and laudable Ends, is, 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 The Sincere Prayer of, 
 
 Your Faithful Pastor, 
 
 And Much Obliged Servant, 
 
 S. A. 
 
 New York, Dec. 5, 
 1766." 
 
 The sermon is printed in small quarto form, 19 pages. 
 The text is taken from Exodus, chap, iii., verse 5, "And he 
 said, Draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off .thy 
 feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." 
 The preacher, in arranging the heads of his discourse, under 
 takes to show : 
 
 " 1st. THAT ALMIGHTY GOD is eminently present in one 
 Place, more than in another ; and therefore, that sucli Place, 
 with great Propriety, may be called holy. 
 
 " 2dly. THAT CHURCHES dedicated to the ALMIGHTY S Ser 
 vice may be justly looked upon as such Places. 
 
 " From whence will appear 
 
 " Sdly. THE Obligations which we are under, while in 
 such a Situation, and in the more immediate Presence of so 
 holy a GOD, of behaving with Respect, Reverence, and De 
 votion." 
 
 The sermon is a fine specimen of the pulpit oratory of the 
 1 8th century ;,the arguments presented are drawn from Holy 
 
19 
 
 Scripture, the Ancient Fathers, and the Divines of the Church 
 of England; the style is clear, elevated, and impressive. The 
 copy from which it was read bears the autograph of Aaron 
 Van Nostrant ; it was presented by the Rev. Win. L. John 
 son, D. D., of Jamaica, to his brother, the Rev. Samuel R. 
 Johnson, .D. D., Professor in the General Theological Semi 
 nary, to whose kindness the congregation was indebted for 
 the pleasure of hearing again a discourse of which another 
 copy could hardly be found. 
 
 The Holy Communion was administered to a large congre 
 gation, including some 30 or 40 clergymen, and about 300 of 
 the laity. 
 
 The concluding service of the Centennial was held on 
 Tuesday evening, commencing at 7-J- o clock. Like that of 
 the previous evening, it was choral, the music being under 
 the direction of Dr. Walter. The printed order was as fol 
 lows : 
 
1766-1866. 
 
 ST. PAUL S CHAPEL, 
 
 (NEW YORK.) 
 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 
 
 Tuesday Evening, Oct. 30, 1866. 
 
 FULL CHORAL SERVICE. 
 
 VOLUNTARY. 
 
 INTROIT PSALM xxiv. . . (Trinity Psalter, p. 52.) 
 
 PROPER PSALMS, 46, 48. . . (Trinity Psalter, pp. 93, 96.) 
 
 FIRST LESSON. 
 
 Isaiah, 55. 
 
 CANTATE DOMINO. . .... (" Hodges in C. v ) 
 
 SECOND LESSON. 
 
 Revelation, 22. 
 
 DEUS MISEREATUR ("Hodges in C.") 
 
 HYMN 222 "Hosanna to the living Lord." 
 
 ("Chorals and Hymns," p. 72.) 
 
 SERMON. 
 
 ANTHEM Ps. cxxii (Dr. Hodges, 18^4.) 
 
 " I was glad." 
 
 HYMN 276 "Jerusalem, the golden." 
 
 (" Chorals and Hymns," p. 66.) 
 
21 
 
 The following notice of this closing service was written by 
 a person present on the occasion ; and is inserted here as 
 conveying the impressions of a very competent judge, and 
 rendering unnecessary any other observations on the points 
 touched on by the writer : 
 
 "The concluding service of the Centennial Series at S. Paul s Chapel, 
 on Tuesday, October 30th, crowned and completed the solemn climac 
 teric of the three days in a memorable and fitting manner. For whether 
 we consider the numbers in attendance, the excellence of the choral 
 element, or the enthusiasm and earnestness of worship, nothing was 
 more plainly manifest during this remarkable three days of public ser 
 vices than a climacteric spirit of zeal, fervor, and devotion, from the 
 first to the last. And with a tender recollection embracing all of 
 them, we do not hesitate to pronounce the final service queen of all the 
 rest. 
 
 " From an early hour throngs filled the sacred building ; indeed, it is 
 almost doubtful whether, at any time during this privileged season, the 
 church was at any time during the day or evening quite deserted. 
 Worshippers found themselves strangely stayed to the sacred precincts. 
 On this occasion, at the proper time, the choirs of boys, men, and 
 priests, entered the church chanting antiphonaily the 24th Psalm of the 
 Psalter, passing through a standing and crowded congregation, .and 
 joining in the Gloria Patri when they had reached their stations in and 
 about the chancel. The opening part of the service as far as the Psalms 
 was devoutly intoned by the Rev. Dr. Neely, of Trinity Chapel. The 
 Psalms (the 46th and 48th) followed antiphonaily, with most stirring 
 spirit, to single Anglican chants. The first Lesson was read by Dr. 
 Weston, and the second by Dr. Higbee ; while the Cantate Domino and 
 Dens Misereatur were sung in full anthem to Dr. Hodges familiar ser 
 vice in C. The Nicene Creed followed in unison on a monotone, closing 
 with triumphant emphasis, as the organ harmonies came pealing and 
 pouring in about the final sentences. The prayers were intoned very 
 effectively by Dr. Haight, the Amens and responses being given with 
 splendid precision and fervor by the great choir. 
 
 "Dr. Hodges anthem, a well-remembered Consecration sentence, fol 
 lowed, in which the baritone solo I was glad (originally written for 
 him) was superbly given by the Rev. J. Sebastian B. Hodges. The 
 Prayer of the three Priests in the same anthem, given by the Rev. 
 Messrs. Cook, J. S. B. Hodges, and Dr. Tucker, all of the Decani choir, 
 will long be remembered for its unexampled beauty of rendering and 
 profoundly religious quality. Such vocal conjunctions, unfortunately, 
 are almost as rare as the Pauline Centennials themselves. Then, after 
 a few collects by the Rector of the parish, the Rev. Dr. Dix, came the 
 
22 
 
 ever-welcome Jerusalem, the, golden, sung rapturously, and seemingly 
 by every one, to its own glorious chorale, when, after the Blessing, the 
 choir and clergy returned in procession to the vestry-room, the congre 
 gation remaining in their places. 1 
 
 It is not necessary to speak particularly of the sermon, as 
 it was published in full in several of the city newspapers 
 on the following morning. It contained a statement of the 
 financial history and actual condition of the Corporation of 
 Trinity Church ; corrected some of those mis-statements 
 which have been, and still are, rife respecting the value of 
 the property of Trinity Church, its present and prospective 
 income, and the management of the same ; and sketched an 
 outline of work to be done hereafter, for the temporal and 
 spiritual welfare of the Poor in the lower part of the City of 
 Kew York. 
 
 The narrative of the Three Days Services being now com 
 pleted, it remains to present, in full, with notes and illustra 
 tions, the historical account of Saint Paul s Chapel. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 THE work to be performed "by me this morning is one of 
 the most agreeable that could have fallen to my lot. A hun 
 dred years will have elapsed to-morrow since the first act of 
 worship was offered, within these now venerable walls, to 
 Almighty GOD. This is the Eve of the Centennial Day of 
 S. Paul s Chapel ; and you have been led hither through a 
 feeling of affectionate interest in the sacred fane. A wish, 
 or at least a readiness, to know more than you do at present 
 of its history is, no doubt, generally felt; and as in foreign 
 lands it is customary for a guide, familiar with the places 
 resorted to by travellers, to accompany them from one shrine 
 to another on their curious pilgrimages, and point out at 
 each place the things most worthy of attention ; so, on the 
 present occasion, do I offer my services as your companion, 
 proposing to draw aside with reverent hand the curtains 
 which have veiled, for many years, the recorded annals of 
 this sacred edifice, to exhibit, as among our most precious 
 relics, this dear old church, and to recount the particulars 
 concerning it which I have been able to gather from the lips 
 of History, or from the less authentic, but interesting, reports 
 of Tradition. It is gratifying to feel an assurance that the 
 guide will have the attention and the sympathy of his audi 
 ence, even though his task should be but imperfectly exe 
 cuted ; for this old chapel holds so secure a place in the 
 affections of good and true New Yorkers, that nothing which 
 relates to it can be deemed unworthy of a hearing. The 
 sole intact survivor of an era among the most critical in our 
 
24 
 
 history, and of which, in this vicinity, almost the vestiges are 
 lost, it still retains respect in the eyes of an age which has 
 made all things new ; each year adds dignity to its form and 
 outline, and each successive generation brings to these pre 
 cincts the tribute of admiration and love. 
 
 The place at which we are assembled forms the verge 
 of the old classic ground of Manhattan Island. Let me 
 remind you of some facts which few among us remember. 
 The City grew and extended itself, at first, along the East 
 Eiver : upon the western side of the island, for a long 
 time, scarcely any progress was made. Thus it happened 
 that, at the era of which I speak, some century or more 
 ago, Broadway, above Trinity Church, was very thinly built, 
 if, indeed, it could be regarded as built at all ; it pre 
 sented, on either side, a prospect of fields, orchards, and 
 gardens, among which appeared at intervals the friendly 
 outline of a public-house. This scarcely discernible street or 
 highway, pursuing its vague course, terminated at length in 
 a wide tract anciently known as "the Fields," and more 
 recently as " the Common." That Common is now the City 
 Hall Park. Originally the property of the States General of 
 Holland and the West India Company, it was ceded, in 
 1686, to the Corporation of the City of New York, and 
 remains to this day in their possession. In the early history 
 of the Colony, it is conspicuous beyond all other spots. 
 There the people were accustomed to assemble for the asser 
 tion of their political and civil rights; and many were the 
 spirit-stirring transactions which occurred during the provin 
 cial era, on that debatable ground. The Common afforded 
 ample room for such threatening demonstrations as were 
 made, from time to time, by our forefathers, against the 
 policy and measures of the ministry of King George III. ; it 
 witnessed a resistance to the Stamp Act as vigorous and per 
 sistent as that at Boston, and, if I mistake not, prior to it in 
 time. Upon the Common, the " Sons of Liberty," as they 
 styled themselves, came to blows, again and again, with the 
 British troops, around a certain liberty-pole, which one party 
 would cut down as fast as the other set it up : and there, in 
 the year 1774, did Alexander Hamilton, though but a boy of 
 
25 
 
 17 years, address a vast concourse of people, thrilling them by 
 the fire of his oratory and bearing captive their judgments by 
 the vigor of his thoughts. Such was the " Common," or " the 
 Fields ;" a place upon whose outskirts, in one of the most 
 anxious and unquiet years of the history of the province, a 
 building began to arise, which was destined to remain the 
 sole survivor of an age now unregarded and all but forgotten. 
 The Common is still an open space ; it bears, however, an 
 other name; and at this hour there is to be seen, of all that 
 once surrounded and adorned it, not one vestige, save the 
 brown walls, the portico, and lofty spire of this old church ; 
 they still abide unchanged, in the position from which they 
 have observed, calm and motionless, the shifting scenes and 
 revolutions of this troubled world. 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1763, there was, on the line of 
 Broadway, and at the point where it struck the southern and 
 western edge of the Common, a field of wheat, which waved, 
 full bearded, in the breeze. On the 3d of November, in that 
 year, the Vestry of Trinity Church adopted an order or reso 
 lution providing for the erection of a second Chapel in the 
 parish, and fixing upon " the Church-ground on Broadway, 
 at the corner of Partition Street," or, as we call it. Fulton 
 Street, for the site. Thus, in that place where grew the 
 wheat, there came up in due time, from the generous ground, 
 a holy House, sacred to Him Who told us of His Mission in 
 the parable of the Sower, and called Himself the Bread of 
 Life. The order was given in November; materials were 
 collected, and it is said that the mortar was mixed, so that it 
 might be the harder for having stood some months before 
 use; and in the spring of 1764 the \vork of building was 
 commenced. The New York Gazette of Monday, May 14, 
 1764, has the following item of intelligence : 
 
 u We are told that the Foundation Stone of the third English Church, 
 which is about erecting in this City, is to be laid this day. The Church 
 is to be 112 by 72 feet." 
 
 The -autumn of 1766 saw it so far completed as to be ready 
 for use ; and four days had yet to run of the three years since 
 
26 
 
 the Vestry order for its erection was given, when the first 
 service was held within its walls. 
 
 And here it may not be amiss to mention some facts in the 
 general history of the Parish, which, although known to 
 many of you already, may help others in forming a correct 
 idea of the changes which have occurred. The services of 
 our Church were first statedly held in a chapel inside a fort 
 which stood near the Battery. The service of the Church of 
 Holland had been performed there during the old Dutch 
 regime. In 1664, when the Colony was surrendered to the 
 British Crown, the rites and order of the Established Church 
 of England were introduced in place of those which had pre 
 viously been used there. Thirty-two years afterwards, A. D. 
 1696, Trinity Church was built r the Rev. William Yesey 
 being the first Rector of the Parish.* On the 1st day of 
 July, 1752, during the rectorship of Dr. Barclay, Saint 
 George s, the first chapel of ease, was opened : in January, 
 1814, it was destroyed by fire, with -the exception of the walls, 
 which still stood ; but in the following year it was rebuilt 
 and restored.- Dr.. Barclay, having seen S. George s Chapel 
 erected, formed the design of providing a second for the 
 increasing wants of the people ; he did not, however, live to 
 carry out the project, which was accomplished, not long 
 after, under his successor, the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty. 
 
 The architect of S. Paul s Chapel was a Scotchman, named 
 McBean. Mr. Isaac Bell, who died A. D. 1860, at the 
 advanced age of 92, was personally acquainted with Mr. 
 McBean many years after the Revolution,f the architect 
 being at that time a resident of New Brunswick, New Jer 
 sey. There are good reasons for supposing that McBean was 
 a pupil of Gibbs, a man much more widely known. Gibbs 
 was a Scotchman by birth, and a practical architect in Lon 
 don at the time of his death, which occurred A. D. 1754. He 
 built that greatly admired church, S. Martin s-in-the-Fields, 
 an edifice which S. Paul s so much resembles in the interior, 
 
 * See Note A at the end. 
 
 f See an article in the "Crayon" of June, 1857, from the pen of the Hon. 
 Gulian C. Verplanck. 
 
27 
 
 that there is no difficulty in tracing the ideas of the teacher 
 in the work of his disciple, if, as seems highly probable, 
 McBean and Gibbs held that relation to each other. 
 
 The builders are mentioned in a memorandum on an old 
 plan of the Church ; it is an elevation of the south side, and 
 on the back this inscription appears : 
 
 "This is the plan designed for the new church to be executed by 
 Messrs. Gautier and Willis, 17th of July, 1764. Jos. Keade, Danl. 
 Horsmanden, George Harison, Andw. Barclay, Elias Desbrosses." 
 
 These five gentlemen were probably the Building Com 
 mittee of the Yestry. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1766, a year memorable in 
 the annals of the Province for uncompromising opposition 
 to the Stamp Act by the citizens of New York, and for san 
 guinary collisions between them and the royal troops, this 
 chapel was, in the main, finished : and on the 30th day of 
 October, in that year, it was opened for the first public 
 service. The New York Gazette of October 20th, 1766, con 
 tains the following notice : 
 
 " On Monday, 27th instant, at 10 o clock in the forenoon, the pews in 
 S. Paul s Chapel will be let at public auction in said chapel, and on 
 the Tuesday following the chapel will be opened, and a sermon preached 
 on the occasion by Dr. Atichmuty." 
 
 The service, although fixed for the 28th, did not, however, 
 take place until two days later. Then, with unusual cere 
 mony, the new Chapel was formally opened. From the 
 New York Journal and General Advertiser of November 
 6th, 1766, I take the following interesting and curious ac 
 count of the scene : 
 
 "Thursday last, the new Episcopal Chapel in this city called St. 
 Paul s and esteemed one of the most elegant edifices on the continent, 
 was opened and dedicated to Almighty GOD. The concourse of people 
 of all ranks and denominations (who attended on the occasion) was 
 very great. 
 
 "At 10 o clk., the Council, Clergy, Church Wardens, and Vestry of 
 Trinity Church, the Mayor and Corporation of the City, waited on his 
 Excellency, Sir Henry Moore, our Governor, at Fort George. From 
 thence .they went in procession to the Chapel in the following order, viz. : 
 
28 
 
 u I. The Mayor, Aldermen, and other Members of the City Corpora 
 tion, preceded by the Charity Children of Trinity Church. 
 
 41 II. The Clergy. 
 
 "III. The Governor s Council. 
 
 44 IV. Their Excellencies Sir Henry Moore and General Gage. 
 
 " V. The Church Wardens and Vestry. 
 
 "After Divine Service, which was adapted to this particular occasion, 
 an excellent Sermon was preached by the Revd. Doctor Samuel Auch- 
 muty, Rector of Trinity Church. His text was taken from Exod. iii. 5, 
 * And lie said, draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet, 
 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 
 
 41 A suitable band of Musick,* vocal and instrumental, was introduced. 
 Several pieces of Church Musick and psalms were sung and played by 
 them in concert at the usual intervals; and the judicious Execution 
 contributed much to heighten the solemnity. The whole was conducted 
 with the greatest Decorum. The decent behaviour of the Audience, 
 consisting of many Thousands of People, their devotion during Divine 
 Service, and fixed attention to the Sermon, did Honour to themselves 
 and to the Preacher." 
 
 Thus, with much reverence, this beautiful edifice, the pride 
 and wonder of the city in its day, was opened and set apart 
 for holy uses. And here it is in order to refer to that much 
 mooted question, whether S. Paul s has ever been conse 
 crated. There is no evidence that it ever had a consecra 
 tion, in the full sense of the word. There was no Bishop in 
 this country at the time when the Chapel was opened, nor 
 until 18 years afterwards ; and we have no intimation that 
 any Bishop was at any time called on to remedy the supposed 
 defect. But it must be observed that the Rector of Trinity 
 Church was Commissary of the Bishop of London, and that, 
 in the account of the opening services, it is expressly stated 
 that they were adapted to that particular occasion, while in 
 the Minutes of the vestry (Vol. I., November 4, 1766) we find 
 special mention of the ceremonies of October 30th as those of 
 "the Dedication of Saint Paul s Chappell." Hence I con 
 clude, 1st, that a consecration was intended, and, so far as 
 
 * As to this "Band of Musick/ it appears that Sir Henry Moore made formal 
 application to the Vestry for permission to introduce it, and that such permis 
 sion was granted, not without hesitation, out of respect for him, and on condi 
 tion that nothing unsuited to the solemnity of the occasion should be performed. 
 Minutes of Vestry, Vol. I., Oct. 29, 1766. 
 
29 
 
 practicable in the absence of a Bishop, performed ; and 2dly, 
 that the proceedings had, constructively if not formally, the 
 license and sanction of that Prelate who held in his jurisdic 
 tion, the Province of New York. And now, having spoken of 
 the erection of the Church, and of those ceremonies with 
 which it was solemnly set apart for sacred uses, I shall pro 
 ceed to review its subsequent history, and to mention some 
 of the more memorable of the occurrences which have taken 
 place here. 
 
 The vears 1775 and 1776 were full of agitation in the 
 
 v 
 
 Province and City. In the month of October, 1775, Try on, 
 the British Governor, terrified at tiie look of affairs, took 
 refuge on the frigate " Halifax," and left Xew York, practi 
 cally, in the hands of the revolutionists. Early in the year 
 1776, an American force, commanded by General Lee, and 
 acting under the orders of Washington, entered and held the 
 city. It was then that the Clergy of the Church of England 
 closed their churches, on being forbidden to read the prayers 
 for the King : to use the language of a contemporary, " the 
 allegiance they had sworn to their lawful Sovereign, and an 
 affectionate Attachment to his virtuous Character, compelled 
 the Clergy to shut the Doors, rather than omit the dutiful 
 Addresses which the Church enjoined them daily to offer to 
 Heaven for his safety." S. Paul s Chapel remained closed 
 for several months, during which time those events occurred 
 which are so familiar to the student of the history of our 
 revolution.* On the 14th of April, 1776, Washington ar 
 rived in New York, and assumed command of the American 
 forces ; and on the 29th of June Admiral Howe arrived at 
 Sandy Hook with a fleet and transports bearing the troops 
 to whom had been assigned the task of capturing the town. 
 Then followed that disastrous campaign on Long Island, and 
 the summer of reverses, the end of which saw the Americans 
 in disorderly retreat and the royal arms victorious. On Sun 
 day, the 15th of September, the British forces, under Lord 
 Howe and Sir Henry Clinton, took possession of New York, 
 
 * See Note B at the end. 
 
30 
 
 which remained from that day until November 25th, 1783, 
 in their hands. 
 
 That same week, early on the morning of Saturday, Septem 
 ber 21st, between 1 and 2 o clock, the great fire broke out, 
 in which about one-eighth part of this city was destroyed.* 
 Trinity Church, the Rectory, and the Charity School, were 
 among the buildings that were burnt. Saint Paul s was in 
 imminent danger; its preservation was due, under Provi 
 dence, to the remarkable energy and strenuous personal 
 exertions of Dr. Inglis, the Rector of the Parish. On the 
 following Sunday, September 22d, one week after the occu 
 pation of the city, and but one night after the fire, Saint 
 Paul s was re-opened for Divine Service. The occasion was 
 in all respects a memorable one. The preacher was the 
 Rev. Thos. L. O Beirne, Chaplain to Admiral Lord Howe : 
 his sermon was printed at the request of the congregation. 
 The title is as follows : 
 
 "A Sermon preached at St. Paul s, New York Sept. 22, 1776. Being 
 the first Sunday after the English Churches were opened on General 
 Howe s taking Possession of the Town and the Day subsequent to the 
 Attempt to destroy New York by Fire. By the Reverend Mr. O Beirne, 
 Chaplain to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Howe. Published by 
 Particular Desire of the Congregation. New York, 1776." pp. 20. 
 
 His text was taken from Jer. xii. 15, " And it shall come 
 to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and 
 have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every 
 man to his heritage, and every man to his land." The 
 preacher was an Irishman by birth ; he begins with an 
 impassioned earnestness characteristic of his race : 
 
 * "About one o clock in the morning of the 21st * * * * a fire chanced 
 to break out in a small wooden public-house of low character near Whitehall 
 Slip. The weather had been hot and dry, a fresh gale was blowing from the 
 southwest, the fire spread rap dly, and the east side of Broadway, as far as 
 Exchange Place, became a heap of ruins. * * * * The wind veering to 
 the southeast, the fire crossed Broadway, above Morris Street, destroyed Trinity 
 Church, and the Lutheran Church, and, sparing St. Paul s Chapel, extended to 
 Barclay Street * * * * of the four thousand tenements of the city, more 
 than four hundred were burnt down. In his report, Howe, without the slight 
 est ground, attributed the accident to a conspiracy." Bancrofts Hist. U. S., 
 Vol. IX., p. 129. 
 
31 
 
 " Was it then Reserved for a Stranger to your Persons and your Altars 
 to address you on this happy Restoration of your Public Worship ? This 
 solemn Re-establishment of your Religious Assemblies? Was it to have 
 been the good Fortune of One, to whom you were unknown but by your 
 Sufferings, to be among the first of the Ministers of God to bring the 
 Comfort and Consolation of his Word to an afflicted and persecuted 
 People?" 
 
 He draws a very graphic picture of the troubles of the 
 day : 
 
 "Who that was a Witness of the cruel and disastrous Deed of the 
 Night before last, could promise himself that you should be assembled 
 this Day in the House of God, to praise Him for your wonderful Deliv 
 erance ? Who could have hoped that this Temple would remain a 
 Monument of the returning Favour of Heaven, amidst the Horror of the 
 Ruins through which you must have passed to approach it? Which of 
 you could have said to himself, that he should see those Doors opened 
 once more for the Reception of the Faithful, tho as yet but as the 
 Shaking of an Olive Tree, and the Gleaning Grapes when the Vimtage is 
 done ? or hear these Walls, so long silent and unfrequented, filled again 
 with the Praises of him to whose Name you had raised them? Is not 
 this the Lord s Doing? Is not this our God for Whom we have waited? 
 We have waited for him, he hath saved us, and we will be glad and 
 rejoice in his salvation." 
 
 I must make one more extract from this sermon : the 
 words which I shall quote seem to have been uttered in 
 an almost prophetic spirit : 
 
 "This has never been, and I am confident never will be, the Pulpit of 
 Contention and Strife. No Prophets, prophesying Lies in the Name of 
 the Lord who sent them not, shall ever turn it into a Stage for Sedition. 
 The Words of Truth and Life will never be perverted here in promoting 
 Violence and Bloodshed, under Pretence of consulting the Interests of 
 the God of Peace ; to cause the Religion of the lowly, mild, and meek 
 Jesus to speak the Language of Ambition, Slaughter, and Revenge ; or 
 to consecrate and deliver out in his Name the Sword that is to be 
 plunged by his Followers into each others Breasts." 
 
 These were remarkable words, especially when it is con 
 sidered that they were spoken by a military chaplain to a 
 people intensely excited by alarm and passion. And how 
 marvellously have they been fulfilled, not here only, but 
 throughout our Church at large, which, sedulously avoiding 
 
32 
 
 political questions, has confined herself to her proper work of 
 preaching the Gospel, and ministering the ordinances of 
 Divine Grace, and now stands united after the dreadful con 
 flict of the civil war!* 
 
 Thus was this Chapel re opened ; and for some years it 
 held the position of the most "important Church in the City. 
 The ruins of Trinity remained untouched during the Revolu 
 tionary War ; the grass grew in the crevices and the birds 
 had shelter in the roofless walls ; and for twelve years Saint 
 Paul s served as the Parish Church. Meanwhile the strug 
 gle for independence went on r and the power of King George 
 III., waning from year to year, declined towards that point 
 at which the sun was destined to set in heavy clonds of dis 
 appointment and defeat. At last we find ourselves, after the 
 passage of those stormy years, once more assembled in this 
 Church; the day is April 30th, 1789, and the occasion is 
 
 * " Thomas Lewis Beirne r D.D., a learned prelate of tho Established Church, 
 and a native of the County of Longford, in. Ireland, born in 1148. was descended 
 from a Roman Catholic family, by whom he was sent to St. Omer s at an early 
 age, together with his brother John, to study for the priesthood. In due course 
 John took orders, and became a Roman Catholic priest in the diocese of which 
 his brother was afterwards the Protestant Bishop. Thomas, on the contrary 
 renounced the Roman Catholic creed, and at the commencement of the American 
 war, having taken orders, accompanied Lord Howe as chaplain of the fleet. On 
 his return to England he published a vindication of his patron, whose conduct 
 was at that time a subject of Parliamentary inquiry, and his connection with 
 that noble family introduced him to the Duke of Portland. In 1782 he accom 
 panied the Duke to Ireland as private secretary, and the following year obtained 
 from that nobleman two valuable livings in Northumberland and in Cumber 
 land. He was subsequently first chaplain to Earl Fitzvvilliam, and was pro 
 moted to the See of Ossory, whence, on the death of Dr. Maxwell, he was 
 translated to that of Meath. The writings of this popular prelate were, The 
 Crucifixion, a poem, 4to, 1775; The Generous Impostor, a comedy, 1780; 
 A Short History of the Last Session, of Parliament, Svo, anonymous; Con 
 siderations on the Late Disturbances, by a Consistent Whig. Svo; Considera 
 tions on the Principles of Naval Discipline and Courts Martial, 8vo r 1781; and 
 several sermons and charges. He died 1 February 15th t 1823." Blake s Biog. 
 Diet. 
 
 See also Croly s Life of George IV., for some very curious and entertaining 
 incidents respecting O Beirne. The author mentions a famous sermon preached 
 by him in New York, and remarks that he was the only one connected with 
 Lord Howe s conciliatory mission who brought back any laurels. 
 
33 
 
 that of the Inauguration of George Washington, First Presi 
 dent of the " United States of America." 
 
 The old Confederation had terminated, and the First Con 
 gress under our present Constitution assembled for the august 
 ceremony. It took place at the City Hall, which then stood 
 in Wall Street, at the head of Broad, just where the Treasury 
 now stands. That building, a stately edifice in the Tuscan 
 and Doric styles, known after 1789 as Federal Hall, arid still 
 remaining, in 1813, a rare old relic of other days, had been 
 fitted up for the occasion, with many alterations and embel 
 lishments, under the direction of an architect and engineer 
 named L Enfant, of whom I shall have occasion to speak by 
 and by, in connection with that strange piece of workman 
 ship, the altar-piece of this Chapel. In the gallery of the 
 City Hall, which looked on Wall Street, the oath of office 
 was administered to the President, in the presence of what 
 was called in those days " an immense assemblage of people:" 
 he then proceeded to the Senate Chamber, and delivered to 
 both Houses of Congress his inaugural address. After this 
 the President, attended by the whole company, proceeded on 
 foot to S. Paul s, to invoke the divine blessing on that nation 
 which it had pleased Almighty GOD to call up on the face of 
 the earth. Appropriate services were said by Bishop Pro 
 vost, who had been appointed by the Senate one of the chap 
 lains to Congress. At the inauguration of our rulers, scenes 
 like that are no longer beheld : we have removed the ancient 
 landmarks which our fathers set, and have declined to follow 
 their reverent and religious example. 
 
 After his inauguration, Washington attended S. Paul s 
 Chapel until Trinity Church was rebuilt. In his Diary, 1789 
 to 1791, as regularly almost as the Lord s Day comes round, 
 we find the entry, " Went to St. Paul s Chapel in the fore 
 noon." An interesting record occurs in that diary, under 
 the heading of Monday, July 5th, 1790, as follows : 
 
 "About one o clock a sensible oration was delivered in St. Paul s 
 Chapel by Mr. Brockholst Livingston, on the occasion of the day the 
 tendency of which was to show the different situation we are now in, 
 under an excellent government of our own choice, to what it would 
 have been if we had not succeeded in our opposition to the attempts of 
 3 
 
34 
 
 Great Britain to enslave us; and how much we ought to cherish the 
 blessings which are within our reach, and to cultivate the seeds of 
 harmony and unanimity in all our public councils. There were several 
 other points touched upon in sensible manner." Washington s Private 
 Diaries, edited by Lossing, p. 144. C. B. Richardson, New York, 1860. 
 
 Let us pass on, in our historical review, to the early part 
 of the present century. Its first few years were years of 
 great excitement and uneasiness, caused by the position 
 which the British Government assumed on the Right of 
 Search. The records of those days sound more like fable 
 than sober fact. Incredible, and even absurd, as it now 
 seems, English cruisers were in the habit of sailing up and 
 down our coasts and into and out of our bays, of stopping 
 and searching our trading vessels, and of taking from them 
 whomsoever they chose to claim as subjects of the Crown. 
 Thus, for instance, on Friday, April 25th, 1806, at 5 o clock 
 in the evening, a poor little sloop, laden with market produce 
 and stores and hailing from the Delaware, was quietly making 
 for the Narrows on her way to New York. Preposterously 
 as it sounds to us, when off Sandy Hook she was fired into 
 by a huge man-of-war of two decks of guns, bearing his 
 Britannic Majesty s commission and named the " Leander." 
 At the first shot, the little craft very submissively hove to. 
 The frigate, however, fired again, and by this second shot, 
 John Pierce, the brother of the captain of the sloop, who was 
 standing at the helm, was instantly killed. "When the sloop 
 came up to the city, bringing the news and the corpse 
 together, there occurred one of those movements which are 
 prophetic of coming trouble. The affidavits of the captain 
 and master, containing a full account of the outrage, were 
 laid before the Common Council by the Mayor, and it was 
 thereupon ordered that the funeral of the murdered man 
 should take place at the expense of the city. At 12 o clock 
 meridian, on the 28th of April, the ceremonies were performed, 
 in such a manner as to testify the depth and intensity of the 
 public indignation. The body, having been taken from the 
 City Hall, was carried in procession down Wall Street to 
 Pearl, through Pearl and Whitehall Streets to Broadway, and 
 up Broadway to St. Paul s. The flags on the shipping were 
 
35 
 
 set at half-mast ; all the bells tolled sullenly and ominously. 
 The corpse was preceded by the clergy in white scarfs, and 
 followed by the brother of the deceased and the hands of the 
 sloop ; after them came shipmasters and sailors, and a great 
 concourse of citizens. The funeral service was read in St. 
 Paul s by Dr. Hobart, and .the body was buried in the church 
 yard. The scene, no doubt, produced the desired impression. 
 When we read such stories in the records of the past, we com 
 prehend better the principles which were involved in the 
 " War of 1812," and perceive the necessity laid on our fore 
 fathers of fighting it out as they did. 
 
 Pursuing the chronological order, we make our next pause 
 on reaching the year 1817. In that year the Lutherans cele 
 brated the 300th anniversary of the commencement of the 
 Reformation. Similar commemorations had been held in 
 Europe, A. D. 1617 and 1717. The Evangelical Lutheran 
 Synod of the State of New York adopted resolutions in the 
 year 1815, inviting the attention of their synods and churches 
 throughout North America to the approaching jubilee. The 
 31st day of October, 1817, having been fixed upon for the 
 solemnities and exercises, they were held in the German lan 
 guage in the Lutheran Church in the forenoon, and in English, 
 in the afternoon of the same day, in St. Paul s Chapel, by 
 permission of Bishop Hobart. The Rev. Frederick Christian 
 Schaeffer, the Lutheran pastor, had the general direction of 
 the commemorative proceedings, which consisted mainly of a 
 musical performance and a discourse. In the forenoon Mr. 
 Schaeffer was assisted by the Eev. Mr. Milnor, one of our 
 own clergy, and the Rev. Mr. Labagh, of the Reformed 
 Dutch Church ; in the afternoon, by the Rev. Mr. Mortimor, 
 of the Moravian Society, and the Rev. Messrs. Feltus aad 
 Milnor, of our church. Tickets of admission were gratui 
 tously issued ; many thousands of persons, it is stated, were 
 present; and great numbers found themselves unable to 
 obtain access to the church. Mr. Schaefier, in his account 
 of the solemnities, presents his thanks " to Messrs. Erben and 
 Taylor, to the gentlemen that constituted the orchestra, and 
 to all the ladies and gentlemen who in both churches assisted 
 in the attractive and excellent musical performances." .The 
 
36 
 
 order of solemnities, in the German and English languages, 
 was nearly the same. Mr. Peter Erben was engaged to 
 superintend the musical performances in the German lan 
 guage, while the Handel and Haydn Society, under the 
 direction of Mr. S. P. Taylor, conducted the music in the 
 English tongue. The New York Historical Society, at a 
 meeting November llth, 1817, passed a resolution thanking 
 Mr. Schaeffer for his discourse, and requesting a copy of it 
 for publication. It was accordingly published by Kirk & 
 Mercein, 93 Gold Street, together with a narrative, and a 
 programme of the services, in pamphlet form, 12mo, pp. 56. 
 
 In the summer of the 12th year after that in which 
 S. Paul s witnessed the obsequies of the murdered sailor, it 
 was opened for another ceremony which fixed the attention 
 of the entire community. The occasion referred to was that 
 of the translation of the remains of Montgomery, and their 
 interment beneath this chancel. General Richard Mont 
 gomery fell, as is well known, at Quebec, Dec. 31, 1775, in 
 an assault on the lower town, and was buried near the spot 
 where he died. The design of removing his bones to New 
 York, long entertained, was successfully accomplished in the 
 year of our Lord 1818. " After resting in peace for 42 years, 
 within the walls and under the sod of this garrison," writes a 
 correspondent of the " Commercial Advertiser," of July 7th, 
 1818, from Quebec, " the skeleton of General Montgomery 
 was on Saturday last raised from its place of deposit and took 
 its departure for New York, where it is destined to a more 
 distinguished place of interment in the Church of S. Paul of 
 that city." The coffin, when taken up, was found in com 
 plete preservation ; the skeleton of the brave soldier was 
 perfect, save the lower jaw which had been shot away. The 
 remains were brought down under an escort of Revolutionary 
 officers and a guard of regular troops ; they were carried 
 ashore at Fort Gansevoort, received by the Governor s Guards, 
 and taken to the City Hall. On Wednesday, July 8th, 1818, 
 the funeral took place. No scene so imposing had been wit 
 nessed since the funeral of Washington. The coffin was 
 brought to Saint Paul s, under a military escort, followed by 
 an immense procession ; the pall-bearers were Colonel Yarick 
 
37 
 
 (President of the Cincinnati), Colonel Trumbull, Colonel 
 North, General M. Clarkson, Colonel Willett, Colonel Fish, 
 Captain Tiebout, and General Giles. The burial service 
 was read by Bishop Hobart ; and a brief eulogium was pro 
 nounced by Dr. Mason. The choral parts of the service were 
 performed by the Handel and Haydn Society, while Mr. 
 S. P. Taylor played the organ. The bones were laid to rest 
 under that monument, with the aspect of which you are so 
 familiar, and which had been previously erected to his mem 
 ory by order of Congress. 
 
 Six years afterward, A. D. 182tt, La Fayette arrived in the 
 United States, having accepted an invitation to revisit the 
 country which he had helped to raise from the humility of a 
 province to the honor and dignity of a nation. His arrival 
 and progress from city to city and State to State were 
 attended by such demonstrations as might have better befitted 
 a demi-god than a man, so exuberant was the joy with which 
 he was again beheld, and so unbounded the evidences of 
 attachment to his person. Indeed, on reading the narrative 
 of that tour, the final wonder is that human nature could 
 have sustained such fatigues, and that he ever reached his 
 home alive. On the 16th of August, 1824, he landed at 
 Staten Island ; on the following day he came to New York. 
 Among the tributes of respect shown to him, there must be 
 mentioned a grand concert of sacred music which took place 
 in S. Paul s, and at which he was present, attended by his 
 suite. The notice of this entertainment is as follows. I take 
 it from the " Commercial Advertiser " of September 9th. 
 
 "Grand Musical Performance. The Marquis de La Fayette has 
 appointed to-morrow morning, at 12 o clock, to attend the Grand Per 
 formances of the New York Choral Society in S. Paul s Church. An 
 appropriate selection of Sacred Music from the best masters will be per 
 formed. James H. Swindells, Conductor. Tickets at One Dollar may 
 be had at J. H. Swindells, 65 Bowery; W. N. Seymour, 6 Chatham 
 Square ; E. Riley, 29 Chatham Street ; J. Cooper, 6 Maiden Lane ; T. 
 Birch, 235 Chapel Street, near Canal ; of the members in general, and 
 at the door of the Church from 10 till 12 o clock. By order, T. Birch, 
 Secretary." 
 
 While the subject of "grand musical performances" is 
 
before us, let me observe, that oratorios were often given 
 here in old time. Thus for example, to show how they were 
 produced and with what favor they were received, it will be 
 sufficient to refer to one, which was performed in the month 
 of May, 1816. The "Commercial Advertiser" of May 27 
 announces it as follows : 
 
 ORATORIO AT ST. PAUL S. 
 
 The public are informed, that the Oratorio, which has heen long in 
 rehearsal, will be performed in St. Paul s Church, on the evenings of the 
 28th and 30th May. Tickets (3 dollars) to be had of Messrs. Eastburn, 
 Kirk & Co., Messrs. T. & J. Swords, Mr. Peter Burtsell, and at Mr. 
 Goodrich s Circulating Library, New York, and of Mr. A. Spooner, 
 editor of the "Long Island Star," Brooklyn. Doors open at seven 
 o clock, and performance to commence at half-past seven. 
 
 Leader, Mr. GILLINGHAM. 
 
 Organist, Mr. 8. P. TAYLOR. 
 e 
 
 The order of the performance for Tuesday evening, the 28th, will be 
 as follows: 
 
 PAET FIHST. 
 
 Overture occasional Handel. 
 
 Recitative Comfort ye, my People 
 
 Air Every Valley " 
 
 Chorus And the Glory of the Lord " 
 
 Recitative and Air O thou that tellest good 
 tidings to Zion kt 
 
 Chorus Unto us a Child is born " 
 
 Solo Violin, by Mr. Gillingham Viotti. 
 
 Air Total Eclipse Handel. 
 
 Chorus Then round about the Starry Throne. 
 
 Recitative Ye Sacred Priests 
 
 Air Farewell a 
 
 Duett There is a stream Trajetta. 
 
 Grand double Chorus He gave them hailstones 
 
 for rain Handel. 
 
 Air Lord, remember David 4k 
 
 Air and Chorus Strike the Cymbal accom 
 panied by the six-keyed patent bugle Precetta. 
 
39 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 Overture Sampson ....................... Handel. 
 
 Chorus Give to the Lord .................. Trajetta. 
 
 Air Raptured Notes ...................... a 
 
 Recitative and Chorus Eloi ................ Dr. Harrington. 
 
 Dead March in Saul ........................ Handel. 
 
 Air Thou didst not leave his soul in hell ..... " 
 
 Chorus Lift up your heads ................. 4i 
 
 Air O ! had I Jubal s lyre ................. 
 
 Duett The Lord is a man of war ........... u 
 
 Grand double Chorus The Horse and his 
 
 A r /*u "i"- *iTc " "i ................. 
 
 Air Let the bright Seraphim ............... 
 
 Finale Grand Hallelujah ................... 
 
 To this advertisement another is added, as follows : 
 
 ORATORIO 
 
 At St. Paul s, evenings of 2Sth and 30th May. 
 
 The Committee again inform the public, that the objects of the 
 Oratorio are to aid in rebuilding Ziori Church, and should the nett 
 proceeds exceed $2,000, it is intended to present $500 to the Orphan 
 Asylum. A generous public are requested to further the laudable objects 
 of the Oratorio. A great expense has necessarily been incurred in order 
 to "get up " the performance in becoming style. 
 
 Tickets, three dollars, to be had at Messrs. Eastburn, Kirk & Co. ; 
 Mr. P. Burtsell, Wall Street; Messrs. T. & J. Swords, Pearl Street; 
 Mr. A. T. Goodrich, Broadway ; Mr. S. A. Burtis, Peck Slip ; Mr. E. 
 Riley, near the Museum, Chatham Street ; and Mr. Spoon er, Brooklyn. 
 
 
 
 That the people who went to hear the oratorio were not 
 ill pleased, t may be inferred from the enthusiastic expressions 
 of one who thus expatiates in the "Advertiser" of June 1, 
 1816 : 
 
 COMMUNICATION. 
 
 Having been present at the Oratorio on Thursday evening, will you 
 permit me, through the medium of your useful paper, to return those 
 ladies and gentlemen, from whom I received so rich a treat, rny sincere 
 thanks. In the advertisements of the gentlemen composing the commit 
 tee, they promised us something far superior to any thing we had heard 
 of sacred music in this city ; and indeed they have fulfilled their engage- 
 
40 
 
 ments. The Choruses \vere well sung and played both in time and tune. 
 The Double Chorus of the Hailstones was great, and repeated with won 
 derful effect. The Overture commencing the second part was sublime. 
 The Solo of the Leader, Mr. Gillingham, was played with great taste and 
 execution. But the Double Chorus of the Horse and his Rider exceeded 
 every thing I could have imagined from the power of music to pro 
 duce; and I declare it as my belief, that in no other city in the Union 
 have the lovers of music ever enjoyed so rich a repast. 
 
 With this enthusiastic panegyric I might bring to a close 
 the first branch of my subject, and, concluding the narrative 
 of historic and secular transactions connected with St. Paul s, 
 proceed to other matters relating to the structure itself. 
 Before doing so, however, let me refer, though briefly, to one 
 or two of the purely ecclesiastical services which have been 
 held here, as standing forth conspicuously in the even line of 
 the almost uninterrupted worship and devotion of a hundred 
 years. Such was that memorable service which was per 
 formed on Friday, June 29th, 1787, when the first Bishop of 
 New York was formally received by the Convention of this 
 Diocese, in St. ^Paul s. After a long and tempestuous voy 
 age, Bishop Provoost arrived in this port, from England, 
 whither, as is well known, he had gone to obtain Consecra 
 tion from the Prelates of our Mother Church ; and being 
 at length ready to assume the charge of the Diocese of New 
 York, he was installed, by solemn induction, in that sacred 
 and most responsible work and charge. Upon the day 
 already mentioned, the Convention of the Diocese met, ac 
 cording to adjournment, and went to the house of the Bishop, 
 where they were received by him. A procession was then 
 
 formed in the following order : 
 fo 
 
 1. The Charity Scholars. 
 
 2. Members of the Church at large. 
 
 3. Gentlemen of the Vestry of Trinity Church. 
 
 4. Lay Delegates of the Convention. 
 
 5. The Bishop and Clergy. 
 
 In this order they proceeded to St. Paul s Chapel. Upon 
 their entrance, an anthem suitable to the occasion was sung 
 by the Charity Children ; the morning service was read by 
 the liev. Mr. Rowland ; and there followed an address to the 
 
41 
 
 Bishop, and his reply. (Journals of Convention, Dioc. N. Y. 3 
 1787.) 
 
 I shall refer to but one more service ; it was held in St. 
 Paul s on Wednesday, the 31st of October, 1832, during the 
 session of the General Convention. The Rev. John H. Hop 
 kins, D. D., Bishop elect of the Diocese of Vermont, the 
 Rev. Benjamin B. Smith, D. D., Bishop elect of the Diocese 
 of Kentucky, the Rev. Charles P. Mcllvaine, D. D., Bishop 
 elect of the Diocese of Ohio, and the Rev. George W. Doane, 
 D. D., Bishop elect of the Diocese of New Jersey, were con 
 secrated to the sacred office of Bishop. The Rt. Rev. Wm. 
 White, D. D., was at that time the Presiding Bishop, and 
 there were assembled, on that occasion, as his coadjutors, 
 Bishops Griswold, Bowen, Brownell, H. U. Onderdonk, 
 Meade, B. T. Onderdonk, and Ives. The Consecration sermon 
 was preached by Bishop Onderdonk of Pennsylvania, from 
 the text Isaiah Ixvi. 21, "And I will also take of them for 
 priests and for Levites, saith the LORD." The only Bishops 
 absent were the Rt. Rev. Drs. Moore and Stone. 
 
 And now let us proceed to another division of our sub 
 ject. 
 
 This church remains, substantially, such as it was in its 
 first days ; alterations have been made in it, but they have 
 not changed its general appearance. For justness of propor 
 tion and elegance of style, it still holds a leading place 
 among our city churches, and must be regarded as a fine 
 specimen of its particular school of architecture. When it 
 was built, the western end commanded an uninterrupted 
 view of the river and the Jersey shores ; for the waters of 
 the Hudson then flowed up to the line of Greenwich Street ; 
 all beyond is " made land." The prospect must have been a 
 pleasant one, and charming to the eye ; we can imagine our 
 forefathers, in those old days, grouped in the porch, before or 
 after service, and standing still awhile to look down the 
 slope of the green fields, and through the trees, towards the 
 beautiful stream which rolled its waters to the bay. How 
 often, of a still afternoon on the Christian Sabbath, when the 
 day was declining, and when the skies were glowing above 
 the Jersey hills with the golden light of sunset, may the 
 
42 
 
 devout worshipper, in passing forth from the church, have 
 looked upon that fair appearance of gardens and groves, of 
 river and distant mountain, perhaps with a kindling fervor 
 of soul and a deeper realization of the truth that " there re 
 in aineth a rest to the people of GOD," or perhaps with the 
 melody of some old hymn floating through the spirit : 
 
 " Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
 Stand dressed in living green !" 
 
 How hard it is for us to form a correct idea of the ancient 
 aspect of these places ! King s College, erected in 1756, a 
 little to the north and west of this spot, on the block now 
 bounded by Murray and Church Streets, and College and 
 Park Places, was then quite out of town : it is described by 
 an English traveller of the period, as pleasantly situated near 
 the City of New York on the banks of Hudson s River.* 
 So stood the new church, beyond the city limits, away off in 
 the fields,f surrounded by groves and orchards, and hard by 
 the broad, bright river ; an object of surprise to the good 
 burghers, who scrupled not to comment with just severity on 
 the folly of that visionary set of men, the Yestry of Trinity 
 Church, who had put so large and ornate a building in a 
 place so remote and sequestered, so difficult of access, and to 
 which the population could never extend ! 
 
 I have before me the original plans of the church : from 
 them it appears, that the portico at the eastern end formed 
 a part of the design ; although this, has been, occasionally, 
 denied. And this may, perhaps, be the fittest point at which 
 to introduce the following carefully prepared table of dates ; 
 it gives, at a glance, the chronology of the edifice. 
 
 Nov. 3, 1763, order given for building St. Paul s Chapel. 
 
 May 14, 1764, corner-stone laid. 
 
 Oct. 30, 1766, first service held ; it being partially com 
 pleted. 
 _ 
 
 * See note C, at the end. 
 
 f A friend writes thus: "The late Mr. Robert Morris, of Fordham, West- 
 chester, told me he recollected walking into the country with my great grand 
 father from Queen Street, now Pearl Street, to see St. Paul s Church." 
 
43 
 
 March 9, 1767, order given for carrying on the building. 
 
 Sept. 28, 1767, order given for finishing the Portico and 
 fences. 
 
 May 14, 1781, churchyard ordered to be enclosed with a 
 ditch and temporary fence. 
 
 May 13, 1793, report in favor of building a steeple at the 
 K W. end. 
 
 March 24, 1794, ordered that the steeple be built, after a 
 plan designed by Lawrence, and then approved. 
 
 June 24, 1794, ordered that stoves be put in St. George s 
 and St. Paul s Chapels. 
 
 April 11, 1796, a clock and bell ordered. 
 
 Feb. 13, 1797, a new roof to be put on. 
 
 July 22, 1800, an organ ordered from England. 
 
 Dec. ] 3, 1802, chandeliers ordered for the better lighting 
 of the church. 
 
 May 10, 1804, a brick wall ordered to be built around the 
 churchyard. 
 
 There was, at first, no entrance to the galleries eastward ; 
 but it appears that there was at the end of each gallery a 
 room, communicating with it by a door. The room at the 
 eastern end of the north gallery, although no longer in ex 
 istence, deserves mention on account of its historical import 
 ance. It was known as the " Library Room ;" and was so 
 called, because certain books were kept there, which had 
 been sent over, from time to time, by Bishops of London and 
 by the Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning, 
 as gifts to the parish of Trinity Church. When the Revolu 
 tionary troubles began, other books belonging to King s (now 
 Columbia) College, were taken to St. Paul s for safe-keeping 
 and placed in the " Library Room," and subsequently, for 
 the greater security of its contents, the room was stoned up, 
 so that access to it by the door was cut off. Such, at least, 
 is the tradition ; and what makes it seem authentic is the 
 fact that similar precautions were elsewhere taken for the 
 preservation of property. I find, in the Vestry Minutes of 
 April 11, 1780, an Order, that the Committee appointed for 
 leasing the Church lands have power to employ proper per 
 sons to close up the doors and windows of the Parsonage and 
 
44 
 
 School-house, and also of Trinity Church, to prevent the 
 materials from being taken away. It mast have been at or 
 about that time that the Library Room was secured, as above 
 described. The story goes, and several living witnesses con 
 cur in vouching for its truth, that many years had elapsed 
 before the room was reopened, that the existence of the books 
 had in the mean time been forgotten, and that their reappear 
 ance was the occasion of an agreeable surprise. However 
 that may be, it is certain that the volumes were subsequently 
 used by candidates for orders, and students of theology, and 
 that, when the General Theological Seminary was erected in 
 Chelsea, they were removed to the Library of that Institu 
 tion, where they may be seen to this day. 
 
 And now I have to mention the great glory and honor 
 of that ancient " Library Room." In it, the General Theo 
 logical Seminary was born ; or there, at least, the first child 
 ren were nurtured, and thence were they sent forth. The Rev. 
 Samuel H. Turner, D. D., late Professor of Biblical Litera 
 ture in the Seminary, in a letter dated June 23, 1860, and 
 addressed to the Trustees of that institution, on the occasion 
 of the report of a Special Committee on the removal of the 
 Seminary, writes as follows : 
 
 " I venture also to remark on another statement made in the same 
 report in relation to the early history of the Seminary. Having heen 
 connected with it ever since its institution, and practically for more than 
 forty-one years, I may be presumed to know the correctness of what I 
 am about to say. 
 
 " The Committee make the following statement : The first seat of 
 the Seminary was in the third story of a building in Fulton Street, 
 opposite St. Paul s, afterwards removed to the upper room in the rear 
 of St. Paul s, corner of Vesey and Church Streets. If the Seminary 
 " ever had 4 a seat in Fulton Street, it must have been some time between 
 October, 1818, and May, 1819, and solely under the instruction of Dr. 
 Jarvis. I entered upon rny duties the first of May in the latter year, 
 from which time its localities were elsewhere. The original class was 
 then limited to six. I have inquired of the four surviving members, 
 not one of whom knows any thing of a seat in Fulton Street. I have 
 been told by one, that Dr. Jarvis began his course of instruction one 
 month before I did ; and by another, a resident then of this city, that 
 he met the class in the vestry-room of Trinity Church. The removal 
 afterward mentioned, to an upper room in the rear of St. Paul s, cor- 
 
45 
 
 ner of Vesey and Church Streets, 1 must be a mistake. I feel very con 
 fident that there was no building then at that corner but a small one- 
 story engine-house. This I know, that, from the beginning of May, 1819, 
 to the end of the term, and from the commencement of the next term 
 after the summer vacation, until the weather became cold, Dr. Jarvis 
 and myself met the class in a small apartment directly over the vestry- 
 room of St. Paul s, at the northeast corner of the church." [This was 
 the "Library Room;" and there the first class of the Seminary received, 
 its early instructions from those good and learned men, Jarvis and 
 Turner, whose names will be ever held in honor among us. I add what 
 follows, for its interest, although it does not bear upon our subject.] 
 " Thence we removed to St. John s, where we had a fire. Some time in 
 the winter, we availed ourselves of the offer of one of the kindest and 
 best members of the class, to use, in the afternoon, a school-room at 
 the northwest corner of Broadway and Cedar Street, on the second 
 floor, where in the morning he taught a young ladies academy. While 
 we were dependent for accommodation on this gentleman, who is now 
 a highly esteemed presbyter in the Diocese of Ohio, the Seminary was 
 removed to New Haven. On its subsequent reorganization in New 
 York, the classes were met occasionally in St. John s Church, afterwards 
 at the corner of Varick and Canal Streets, arid lastly at the present 
 library room in the Seminary, until the west building was erected." 
 (Proceedings Gen. Theol. Seminary, Board of Trustees, 1860, page 356.) 
 
 In the letter from which I have given this extract, Dr. 
 Turner describes the Library Room as being at the north 
 east corner of the church, directly over the Vestry-room. 
 This is strictly correct, for the robing-room used to be at that 
 end of the north aisle ; it was little more than a narrow 
 closet, lighted by the easternmost window on the north. At a 
 subsequent period, alterations were made ; staircases were 
 introduced adjacent to the Broadway doors, and the rooms 
 above became mere vestibules or landing-places, by which 
 the galleries could be entered from their eastern ends. The 
 robing-room was then removed to the southwest corner of 
 the church, where it is at present ; a staircase which for 
 merly stood there and gave access to the south gallery was 
 removed, and two rooms, one above and the other below, 
 were thus gained in place of those which were sacrificed at 
 the other end of the church. But alas! for the change. 
 Ever since that time, the clergy who officiate here, must 
 make perforce a long perambulation, and literally " walk 
 about Zion " on their way to and from the chancel, much to 
 
46 
 
 their own inconvenience and embarrassment, and greatly to 
 the astonishment of persons unaccustomed to the ways of 
 the place. Surely our fathers never intended this, nor 
 thought of the penance which they were imposing on the 
 timid and nervous if any such there be among their de 
 scendants. 
 
 The chancel remains as it was of old, the fitting place of 
 rest for our large and stately altar, one of the best and grand 
 est in the city ; built at a time when queasy maunderings 
 about " tables with legs " were yet unheard. The east win 
 dow was originally of plain glass, and shaded with curtains ; 
 it has since been replaced in colors. And this brings to the 
 mind the history of that marvellous altar-piece, by which the 
 stranger s eye is instantly caught, and at which we, who are 
 so well accustomed to it, still gaze with wonder as upon an 
 object endowed with the power of steady fascination. I have 
 spoken already of the death of Major-General Montgomery. 
 In the year ITS 7, the Corporation of the City of New York 
 asked leave of the Vestry of Trinity Church to erect in 
 front of the great window of St. Paul s, a monument to 
 his memory. Permission having been granted at a meeting 
 held May 23d, in that year, the work was commenced and 
 speedily completed. But since the new monument, standing 
 against the window on the outside, and showing through, 
 formed an unsightly object from within, the services of Col. 
 L Enfant were in request, to design something which might 
 at once conceal the back of the structure and form a decora 
 tion for the chancel. A plan submitted by him was, on the 
 18th of June, accepted, and the order was given for its exe 
 cution. Such is the history of our wondrous altar-piece ; 
 intended, as it seems, to symbolize, if not to represent, the 
 giving of the law on Mount Sinai, it is perhaps as inappro 
 priate as any thing that could have been invented to nil its 
 present place ; and yet I trust that the thought of removing 
 so quaint and curious an object would meet with no tolera 
 tion among us. 
 
 From the ceiling of the nave, and beneath the galleries, 
 there once hung glass chandeliers, of curious workmanship ; 
 their only surviving representative now serves as a Corona in 
 
47 
 
 the chancel. They were placed in the church A. D. 1802, 
 and removed in 1856, when, for the first time, the gas-fitter 
 invaded this old and classic scene. He plied, unmolested, 
 his " dreadful trade/ and the gas was first lighted on the 
 second Sunday after Christmas, January 4, 1857. 
 
 But if we mourn our beloved chandeliers, in what terms 
 shall we duly express our feelings as we think of those 
 greater curiosities, of which not even a true representation 
 is left, the President s and Governor s pews ! It appears 
 from the old ground-plan, a copy of which is here introduced, 
 that the chapel had originally a north and a south door ; 
 these doors have long ago been filled up, but on the outside 
 of the church their places can still be traced. It would fur 
 ther appear, that the north door must have been stoned up 
 first, and that in its place there was made a canopied pew, 
 elevated above the level of the pavement, and appropriately 
 decorated and fitted up for his Britannic Majesty s represent 
 ative and viceroy, the Governor of the province. The pro 
 babilities are that this was done after the destruction of 
 Trinity Church, in 1776, when St. Paul s became the principal 
 church of the city. After the Eevolutionary "War, this pew 
 was occupied, no doubt, by General Washington, on the 
 occasions of his visiting the church. But, as it was found 
 inconvenient to have only one pew for the heads of the State 
 and National governments, the Yestry took order for the 
 preparation of a second pew, similar to the first and opposite 
 to it. In their Minutes, May 13, 1785, the following record 
 appears : 
 
 " Resolved, That the Committee of Kepairs and Pews be 
 directed to view the south door of Saint Paul s Chappell and 
 report the practicability of shutting up the same and making 
 in lieu thereof a large elevated Pew with two smaller ones 
 on each side similar to the Governor s and the two pews 
 adjoining, so as to make both sides of the church uniform." 
 
 The south door, accordingly, disappeared, and a second can 
 opied pew took its place ; and thus the chapel was provided 
 with a President s and a Governor s pew. The canopies were 
 supported by slender shafts similar to those under the organ 
 gallery ; and beneath them were hung the emblazoned arms 
 
48 
 
 of the United States and of the State of New York. Al 
 though no vestige of the pews can now be found, the old 
 heraldic pictures have been preserved ; they survived the 
 destruction which, at some dreary day of modernizing and 
 miscalled improvement, overtook the old seats of state ; and 
 were consigned to an obscurity which had this only advan 
 tage, that it kept them safe. At length, emerging from their 
 concealment, they were hung up in the front lobbies, where 
 for a long time they remained, until, some ten years ago, they 
 were reinstated, as nearly as could be determined, in their 
 old positions, where you see them now. It has been strenu 
 ously disputed whether the President s pew was on the north 
 side or on the south. The facts which I have gathered seem 
 to show that he sat, at different times, on each side of the 
 church ; on the north side, in the place of the Royal Gov 
 ernor, until the new place was provided, and then, for a short 
 time, on the south ; because, after the rebuilding of Trinity 
 Church, it does not appear that he ever again attended St. 
 Paul s. Yonder then is the place where Washington sat, 
 with his wife, " Lady Washington," as she was called. There 
 came to this church, some three or four years ago, an aged 
 man, who talked to me at great length of those old times. 
 He said, that when a boy, he used to sit with the school-boy 
 tribe of that period, in the north gallery ; and that the Gen 
 eral and " Lady Washington were wont to drive up Fair 
 Street to church, on Sundays, in a coach and four ; and that 
 it was a never-failing delight to him and his comrades to 
 watch them in the canopied pew below ; nay, he said that he 
 thought it a scene impressive beyond all others in this world, 
 when they were there with all their state about them, while 
 the dignified, elegant, and portly Provoost, first Bishop of 
 New York, held forth in this pulpit as the preacher. But 
 time has changed all this. Where now, throughout the land, 
 are their own places set apart in church for the rulers of the 
 people ? And where is the reverence that formerly sur 
 rounded their persons ? 
 
 As an interesting and valuable contribution to this portion 
 of my subject, I insert the following communication from 
 the Rev. John Brown, D. D., the venerable Rector of Saint 
 
49 
 
 George s Church, Newburgh, who, in reply to a letter written 
 at my request by the Rev. Frederick B. Yan Kleeck, sent 
 what follows : 
 
 NEWBUBGII, Sept. 5th, 1866. 
 REV. AND DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have received your note, making inquiry concerning the pew occu 
 pied by Gen. Washington in St. Paul s Chapel. There was formerly in 
 that chapel a large square pew in the north aisle, adjoining the North 
 Wall, called the President s Pew. Over this pew was a canopy sup 
 ported by suitable columns. Against the wall was a painting in hand 
 some frame representing the spread eagle with shield, being the coat of 
 arms of the United States. Immediately opposite, on the south side, 
 was a corresponding pew, with the coat of arms of the State of New 
 York. This pew was called the Governor s Pew. Whilst I was acting 
 as Librarian to the Society for the Promotion of the Gospel, these paint 
 ings were removed, and at my solicitation were placed in the Library 
 Room, which was then over the north front door. When I left the 
 city for a residence in the country these paintings were in the Chapel, 
 and I suppose are there still. The President s Pew was without a doubt 
 On the north side. Of this fact I am positive. 
 
 When Gen. Washington died I was not yet 10 years old, and do not 
 remember to have seen him occupy the pew. But I remember to have 
 seen him and Lady Washington enter the Chapel by the north door 
 which led to the President s Pew. 
 
 Major Popharn was asked during his life if he remembered seeing 
 Gen. Washington receive the Holy Communion. His answer was that 
 he sat in the north aisle near the President s Pew, and that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Washington remained among the Communicants, and that he be 
 lieved without a doubt that they both received the Holy Communion. 
 
 When St. Paul s Chapel was first erected, there was a door on the 
 north and south sides. These doors, after the Revolution, were closed, 
 and the President s and Governor s Pews took their place. Subse 
 quently, when the pews of state were removed, the doors were stoned 
 up and windows took their place. They are about the centre windows 
 on each side. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Rev. F. B. VAK KLEECK. Jonx BROWN. 
 
 Let me next proceed to speak of the organ. It is ancient, 
 like the church, and has seen its vicissitudes. At a meeting 
 of the Yestry, held July 8, 1799, a petition was read from 
 sundry members of S. Paul s Chapel, requesting an organ for 
 the said church ; whereupon, a special committee was ap- 
 
50 
 
 pointed to ascertain the expense of providing organs for S. 
 George s and S. Paul s, and meanwhile the further consider 
 ation of the petition was deferred. On the 22d of July, 
 1800, authority was given to the committee to furnish, from 
 Great Britain, organs for each of those chapels ; and on the 
 12th January, 1801, the committee on leases was empowered 
 to raise funds, by the sale of lots or otherwise, for the pay 
 ment of the organs to be procured as aforesaid. Some time 
 between this latter date and the end of the year 1802 the 
 instruments must have arrived. They were made in London, 
 by Mr. E. P. English. I find, that on the 13th of January, 
 1803, the organ committee was instructed to consider the 
 propriety of placing ornaments on the organ ! And that on 
 the 10th of February following they reported adversely ! 
 What was it proposed to do ? Was the organ to have been 
 surmounted with figures of angels sturdily blowing through 
 gilt trumpets ? or what were the devices which were in con 
 templation by the over-sanguine progressives of the day ? 
 
 Mr. Kausch was appointed, Dec. 13, 1802, to perform upon 
 this unornamented organ, while Mr. Jackson was at the same 
 time appointed at S. George s Chapel. The organists have 
 been, Messrs. Kausch, Thos. Brown, W. Blondell, S. P. Tay 
 lor, Ed. Hodges, Mus. Doc., Wm. H. Walter, Mus. Doc., and 
 M. K. Erben. About twenty years ago this instrument was 
 furnished with pedals ; two years ago it was not only renovated 
 throughout, but still further enlarged and improved by the 
 addition of a swell. And now, in its richness, clearness, and 
 brilliancy of tone, it ranks among the most delightful and 
 effective organs in the country : differing very much from 
 those of modern construction, it impresses the intelligent 
 listener the more by qualities peculiar to itself. 
 
 From the church the transition is not unnatural to the 
 churchyard ; thither let us betake ourselves ; a few words 
 will not be out of place concerning that sacred and invio 
 lable spot. It contains not merely the bones and relics of 
 great numbers of the departed, but also many monuments 
 and headstones of more than common interest. High above 
 all rises the obelisk sacred to the memory of Thomas Addis 
 Emmet, bearing on its panelled base a memorandum of the 
 
51 
 
 latitude and longitude of the point on the earth s surface on 
 which it stands (40 42 40" 1ST., 74 03 21" 5 W. L. G.), and 
 exhibiting on the north face a long inscription in Latin 
 which few have had the patience to decipher. Close by it 
 is a modest stone, lately restored by the Vestry with a rev 
 erent care which does them honor; it marks the grave of 
 Philip Blum, Sailing Master of the " Saratoga," the Flagship 
 of the gallant McDonough, who fought and won the battle 
 of Lake Champlain. Nearly half way between the western 
 porch and the school-house, beside the churchyard path, 
 may be seen, enclosed by an iron railing, the monument- 
 erected by Edmund Kean to the memory of that renowned 
 actor, Geo. Frederic Cooke ; and somewhat to the south and 
 west of it there stands a lofty tomb, bearing the name of a 
 French soldier, E. M. Bechet, Sieur de Rochefontaine ; he 
 served in the War of Independence with the Count de 
 Rochambeau in 1782, was appointed Adj.-Gen. of the French 
 army in Saint Domingo, A. D. 1792, and afterwards entered 
 and died in the service of the United States of America. 
 This monument has also been in part restored, and since it 
 has an historic interest, I add to this mention of it, copies of 
 the inscriptions on its several faces : 
 
 On the West Face. 
 
 CI GIT 
 
 Etienne Marie Bechet 
 Sieur de ROCHEFONTAINE, 
 
 Ne Tan 1755, 
 Dans le Canton d Ay 
 
 en Champagne, 
 Departement de la Marne, 
 
 Et decede 
 
 Le 30 Janvier 1814 
 
 a NEW YORK. 
 
 Que son ame repose 
 Dans 1 inalterable paix 
 Du sejour cternel. 
 
52 
 
 On the South Face. 
 
 E. M. Bechet 
 
 SIEUR DE ROCHEFONTAINE, 
 Se voua a la carriere des armes, 
 
 Et s y distingua long terns. 
 II fit, sous le Comte de ROCHAMBEAU, 
 
 La campagne d Amerique, 
 Glorieusement terminee en 1782, 
 Par la prise du Lord CORNWALLIS, 
 
 Qui mit fin a cette guerre. 
 Louis XVI. le nomma en 1792 
 
 ADJUTANT-GENERAL 
 De 1 armee de Saint Domingue, 
 
 Et apres la mort du Roi, 
 II entra Col. au service des Etats Unis. 
 
 Enfin il se retira en 1798, 
 
 Pour jouir au sein de 1 amitie, 
 
 D une consideration justement acquise, 
 
 Et d un repos dignement merite. 
 
 On the North Face. 
 
 CE TOMBEAU 
 
 Qu a fait eriger 
 
 Made. CATHERINE GENTIL 
 
 A LA MEMOIRE 
 
 D un digne et vertueux PRE, 
 N est point 1 orgueilleux ouvrage 
 
 D une vanite mondaine, 
 Oest nn Monument consacre 
 
 PAR LA PlETfi FlLtALE. 
 
 Puissent les vceux d une pieuse Fille 
 S elever jusqu au trone 
 
 Du tout-puissant, 
 Et attirer la misericorde divine 
 
 Sur le respectable objet 
 De ses douloureux regrets. 
 
 On the East Face. 
 
 O vous qui visitez dans un saint recueillement 
 Ce silencieux asile 
 
53 
 
 DES MORTS 
 
 Joignez vos voeux 
 
 A ceux d une pieuse Fille, 
 
 Et priez avec elle 
 Pour le repos de Fame 
 
 de Feu 
 
 Mr. E. M. BECHET, 
 Sieur de ROCHEFONTAINE. 
 
 Inside the church there are many tablets, of more or less 
 interest. Six of these are inserted in the walls of the chan 
 cel, bearing the names, respectively, of Colonel Thomas Bar 
 clay, son of the Rev. Henry Barclay, D. D., and some time 
 British Consul at New York ; of Margaret, wife of the Rev. 
 Charles Inglis, D. D., some time Rector of Trinity Church 
 and Bishop of Nova Scotia ; and of Sir John Temple, Bart. 
 These tablets are on the north side of the chancel, and have 
 the arms of the respective families emblazoned on them in 
 colors. On the opposite wall are the tablets, similarly deco 
 rated, of Anthony Yan Dam, son of the Hon. Rip Yan 
 Dam ; of Elizabeth Franklin, wife of his Excellency William 
 Franklin ; and of a lady named Eleonora Hugget, whose quali 
 ties and character are thus celebrated : 
 
 " Sub hoc Marmore positas sunt exuvias 
 Eleonoras, uxoris Sigismundi Hugget 
 
 De Nova Eboracensi Armigeri, 
 
 Natae Lincolniensi urbis Magnas Britannias : 
 
 Cujus si indefessam in Deum pietatem, 
 
 Immotam in amicos fidem, 
 
 Amorem ad maritum illibatum, 
 
 Si in a2quales comitatem, 
 
 In egenos liberalitatem, 
 
 In omnes spectes benevolentiam, 
 
 Vix hasc aetas parem habuit, 
 
 Superiorem nulla. 
 Obiit III. Men. Decem. MDCCXCV. ^Etatis LVII." 
 
 Of all the monuments within the church, the loftiest and 
 most conspicuous is that erected to the memory of John 
 
54 
 
 Wells ; it stands at the west end, and has a long inscription*, 
 and a bust of that eminent jurist and counsellor. 
 
 But in speaking of the monumental stones in or about 
 S. Paul s, I must not omit to mention that one which is 
 apparently the oldest of them all, or rather the oldest in the 
 country, or even in this hemisphere. It bears date A. D. 
 1084, and has been visited by multitudes who were curious 
 to see so remarkable an object. "What other churchyard in 
 the land can boast a stone nearly coeval with the Norman 
 Conquest ? It may be found on the north side of the ground, 
 about three-quarters of the way westward from the front line 
 of the porch, and very near the railing. " Siste Viator," 
 may we exclaim ; pass not by, till you have seen what you 
 never saw before, and perhaps may never see again.* 
 
 In the memorandum of dates given some pages back, it is 
 shown that the burial-ground, originally an open plot, was, 
 in 1781, enclosed with a ditch and temporary fence, and that 
 in 1804 it was better protected by a low brick wall ; the iron 
 railing which now surrounds it is of comparatively recent 
 date. Long ago, the cattle used to stray into the church 
 yard, and browse among the monuments ; nay. there is an 
 old tradition, that once upon a time, while Divine service 
 was going on, perhaps of a warm and pleasant summer s 
 afternoon, a horse came into church and walked some dis 
 tance up the middle aisle. In his rambles, he had strayed 
 into the churchyard; his attention had then been turned to 
 the shady porch and open door ; and, meeting with no dis 
 couragement from sexton, churchwarden, or similar official, 
 he had proceeded on his tour of investigation, and thus had 
 made his appearance among the worshippers, to their ex 
 treme surprise, and to his ultimate discomtiture.f 
 
 * It is true that there are some who surmise, if they do not actually allege, 
 that the stone is not so old as it seems to be, and who have invented the theory 
 that the stonecutter has transposed an 8 and an ; but these are the captious 
 objections of that school which delights in finding solutions for every thing mys 
 terious, and in whose eyes the most venerable things are often held cheap, and 
 treated with unseemly freedom. 
 
 f A lady present at the delivery of this lecture, assured me afterwards that 
 this incident was true, and that she knew, personally, that the horse did so 
 
55 
 
 I have spoken already of a narrow escape of the chapel 
 from destruction by fire in the year 1776. It was in similar 
 peril in 1799 ; the fire was in Vesey Street, and the steeple 
 was actually in flames. It appears that on this occasion sev 
 eral persons rendered important aid, for the Vestry appro 
 priated $150 to be distributed to the most active in putting 
 out the fire (Minutes, vol. i., April 22, 1799). Two years 
 afterwards (March 9, 1801), we find a claim put in by one 
 John White, who thought that he deserved compensation for 
 services rendered, and up to that time unrewarded, and 
 accordingly the Yestry made him a grant of $30 for what he 
 did, a sum which fell $20 short of that which he had named 
 as, in his judgment, not beyond his deserts. Other fires, en 
 dangering the church, occurred in 1820 and in 1848, when, 
 for the first and second times, the Park Theatre was burnt. 
 But never, perhaps, did S. Paul s go through a more trying 
 ordeal than on the 13th July, 1865. On that well remem 
 bered day, about half an hour after noon, a fire broke out in 
 Ann Street, which very soon extended to the American 
 Museum. That immense building, little more than a gigan 
 tic packing-box of light inflammable stuff, was, in an incred 
 ibly short space of time, a mass of living fire. It hap 
 pened that I was on the spot, and saw the beginning of the 
 conflagration. Going to the portico on Broadway to observe 
 the progress of events, I remained there until we were driven 
 out by the intolerable heat ; and as it became evident that 
 the church was in imminent danger, I ascended to the roof, 
 with several persons, and remained there until half-past four 
 in the afternoon. Those were hours of intense anxiety ; but 
 under Divine protection the peril was again averted, and the 
 church, though badly scorched and defaced, was saved. To 
 this happy result two causes mainly contributed. The wind, 
 when the fire broke out, was so light, that the smoke ascended 
 
 enter as described. She writes thus : " In. my childhood I frequently heard 
 ray great aunts (the Misses Ludlow) relate the tale of the horse walking up the 
 aisle of St. Paul s Church, during the service, to say his prayers. They said 
 there were no fences round the churchyard in those days, and they looked 
 upon it as a walk into the country from their house in Hanover Square, which 
 was a part of Queen Street, now called Pearl." 
 
56 
 
 almost in vertical column to the sky ; soon, however, the 
 breeze freshened, but in doing so it shifted some six or seven 
 points until it came out from the !N". "W. Had it blown from 
 S. or E., no human exertions could have saved the church. 
 But, 2dly, I must mention the efforts of the generous and 
 devoted firemen, and others, as contributing to our escape. 
 Then for the first time did I realize how strong a hold this 
 venerable edifice has on the affections of all classes of our 
 townsmen ; since I was beset by volunteers who enthusi 
 astically offered their services to do any thing they could, in 
 that emergency ; their honest and hearty expressions cannot 
 be forgotten. Among them was a man who gave me his 
 name as Captain de Rohan, an old officer of Garibaldi s 
 army. His services were accepted ; he worked hard all day, 
 and kept watch all the following night ; he would receive no 
 compensation, and scarcely even thanks. And he was but 
 one of many whose services are hereby gratefully acknow 
 ledged 
 
 It would no doubt be possible to add considerably to the 
 reminiscences of Saint Paul s Chapel ; and this may yet be 
 done hereafter by some other hand. At this point, however, 
 I shall bring my task to a close ; a task which has certainly 
 been fulfilled con amore, if not as well as I could desire. 
 But enough has been collected to show the value and impor 
 tance of this historic relic, and to invest it with a deeper 
 interest in the eyes of our citizens, many of whom now hear, 
 for the first time, the records of its fame. If, however, it be 
 entitled to the reverence of the antiquary and the lover of 
 ancient things, how should I undertake to express those 
 deeper emotions with which it must be regarded by the reli 
 gious mind ? Veneration for old things is a quality too sel 
 dom found in the characters of our countrymen ; their wont 
 is, to disparage the judgment and wisdom of the past, to 
 remove what reminds us of our forefathers, and to lay the 
 ancient landmarks even with the dust. When, therefore, 
 men gather about some one of those bequests of the past 
 with a view not to demolish, but to protect it, when they 
 bestow some care and pains (though but a little) in keeping 
 safe from destruction some waif from the flood of time, they 
 
.57 
 
 render, unless we mistake, a positive service to their genera 
 tion, and help to elevate the tone of the community. Such 
 an office is ours ; and to it we add another ; since our work is 
 one, not merely of filial respect and piety, but of Christian 
 and religious duty. The object which we hold so dear, and 
 of which we are keeping the 100th birthday, has a double 
 sacredness ; not that alone which hoary years confer, but 
 that older and more awful sanctity imparted, by the Divine 
 possession, to the instruments wherewith GOD acts on man. 
 As citizens, and as Christians, therefore, we are doing that 
 which is lawful and right, what is expedient, and also what 
 is just. And may Almighty GOD bless and accept this ser 
 vice ! Long may this Church stand ! GOD forbid that any 
 eye should witness its destruction or removal, though twice 
 or thrice a hundred years should have rolled away ! So 
 long as New York shall stand, so long stand S. Paul s, 
 beloved and cared for of GOD and of man, wearing the palm 
 and honors of a hale and green old age, and of a fair and 
 worthy history, and having around it the daily growing 
 brightness of a divine and sacred light. 
 
NOTES 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 4 
 
 DR. BERRIAN, in his History of Trinity Church (page 23), makes the following 
 statement concerning the Rev. Mr. Vesey : 
 
 " The new Rector first performed divine service in Trinity Church, on the 
 Gth of February, 1697. 
 
 This is a mistake. Mr. Vesey was not ordained until August of that year, 
 and his first service was held March 13, 1698, as appears from documents in 
 the Surrogate s office in the city of New York, and from the Minutes of the 
 Vestry. The documents may be found in the " Record of Will, No. 2, 1682 to 
 1692," pages 100-104, from which I have transcribed them with care, and here 
 present them in full, as forming an interesting and important item in the history 
 of the parish. 
 
 " These following papers were recorded at the request of Mr. William Vesey, 
 Rector of Trinity Church in New York. 
 
 "TENORE p sentium Nos HENRICUS permissione Divina LONDINENSIS EPISCO 
 PUS notum facimus universis, quod die secundo Mensis augusti Anno Dom. 
 millesimo sexcentessimo nonagesimo septimo in Capella nostra intra pallatium 
 nostrum de Fulham Middlesexias, nos p fatus HENRICUS LONDINENSIS EPISCO- 
 PUS antedictus sacros ordines Dei omnipotentis p sidio celebrantes : Dilectum 
 Nobis in Christo Grulielmum Vesey A. M. ex universitate Oxofi de vita sua 
 Laudabili ac morum et virtu" m suarum donis Nobis multipliciter Comendatum ac 
 in Bonarum Liturarum studio et scientia Eruditum et per nos et alios quo ad 
 omnia in ea parte requisita examinatom et approbatum in Sacrum Diaconatus 
 ordinem juxta morem et ritum Ecclesiae Anglican in hac parte salubriter 
 editos et provisos admisimus et promovimus Ipsumque in Diaconum Rite et 
 Canonice tune et ibidem ordinavimus. IN GUJUS REI TESTIMONIUM Sigillum 
 Nostrum Episcopale presentibus apponi fecimus. Datis die et anno p dietis 
 Nostraeque translations anno vicesimo secundo. H. LONDON." 
 
 "TENORE p sentium Nos HENRICUS permissione Divina LONDINENSIS EPIS- 
 COPUS notum facimus universis, quod die secundo Mensis augusti Anno Dom. 
 millesimo sexcentessimo nonagesimo septimo in Capella nostra intra pallatium 
 nostrum de Fulham Middlesexiae, nos pfatus HENRICUS LONDINENSIS EPISCO- 
 PUS antedictus sacros ordines Dei omnipotentis p sidio celebrantes : Dilectum 
 Nobis in Christo Gulielmum Vesey A. M. ex universitate Oxon de vita sua 
 Laudabili ac morum et virtum suarum donis Nobis multipliciter Comendatum 
 ac in Bonarum Liturarum studio et scientia Eruditum et per nos et alios quo ad 
 omnia in ea parte requisita examinatum et approbatum in Sacrum Presbyteratus 
 ordinem juxta morem et ritum Ecclesias Anglicanas in hac parte salubriter editos 
 provisos admisimus et promovimus Ipsumque in Presbyterum Rite et Canonice 
 tune et ibidem ordinavimus. IN GUJUS REI TESTIMONIUM Sigillum Nostrum 
 Episcopale presentibus apponi fecimus. Datis die et anno p dictis Nostraeque 
 translationis anno vicesimo secundo. H. LONDON " 
 
 " HENRY, by divine permission LORD BISHOP OP LONDON, To all 
 to whom these presents Shall or may consern, health in our Lord 
 God everlasting. 
 
 WHEREAS, by an act of Parliament made in the first year of our 
 Sovereign Lord and Lady King WILLIAM and Queen MARY, Entitled 
 an act for the abrogating of the oaths of Supremacy and Alle- 
 
59 
 
 fiance and appointing other oaths, it is provided and Enacted that 
 Every person, at his or their respective admission to be incum 
 bent in any Ecclesiastical promotion or dignity in the Church of 
 England shall subscribe and declare before his ordinary in manner 
 and form, as in the sd. act is contained Now KNOW YE, that on 
 the day of the date hereof, did personally appear before us, Mr. 
 William Vesey to be admitted to the Ministeriall function in ye 
 II. LONDON. City of New Yorke, and subscribed as followeth, as by the said 
 act is required. I William Yesey do declare that I will Conform 
 to the Liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by law 
 established. IN WITNESS whereof we have caused our scale 
 manual to be affixed to these presents, Dated the second day of 
 -August, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred 
 Ninety-Seaven, and in the 22d year of our Translation." 
 
 * HENRICUS permissione Divina Londinensis Episcopus Dilecto 
 Nobis in Christo Gulielmo Yesey clerico Salutam et Gratiam : 
 ad peragendurn Officium parochi in Eclesia de New Yorke 
 in partibus occidentalibus in presibus Communibus aliisque 
 Ministeriis Ecclesiasticis ad officium parochi pertinentibus, juxta 
 formam descriptam in Libro publicarum precum authoritate par- 
 liamenti hujus Inclyti Eegni Anglias in ea parte edit, et provis. 
 et Canoues et Constitutiones in ea parte Legitime Stabilitas et 
 publicatas et non aliter neque alio modo tibi de cujus fidelitate 
 morum Integritate, Literarum Scientia, Sana Doctrina et Dili- 
 , gentia plurimum confidimus (prestito primitus per te luramento 
 
 II. LONDON, tarn de agnosendo regiam Supremam Majestatem Juxta vim, formam 
 etEftectum Statuti parliament! dicti regni Anglisein ea parte edit, 
 et provis. quam de Canonica Obedientia Nobis et Successoribus 
 nostris in omnibus licitis et honestis per te prestanda et exhi- 
 benda Subscriptisque per te Tribus illis Articulis mentionatis in 
 Tricessimo Sexto Capitulo Libn Constitutionum sive Canonum Ec- 
 clesiasticorum anno Domini 1604 regia authoritate Editorum et 
 promulgatorum) Licentiam et facultatem Nostram Consedimus et 
 Impertimur per presentes ad Nostrum beneplacitum Duntaxit 
 Duraturas. IN GUJUS REI TESTIMONIUM Sigillum Nostrum quo 
 in similibus plerumque utimur presentibus apponi fecimus." 
 
 "Dat. secundo die August!, 1697." 
 
 " BY His EXCELLY. Coll. Benjamin Fletcher, Capt., Genii., and Govr. in Chief 
 of the Province of New York, &c. 
 
 " These are to certifie unto all to whom these presents shall come or may 
 Consern, that on Sunday, the 13th of March Instant, at the first opening of 
 Trinity Church in New Yorke, after ye reading the Morning and Evening Ser 
 vice, Mr. William Yesey did declare before his Congregation his unfeigned as 
 sent and consent to all and everything contained and prescribed in, and by the 
 book Entituled the book of Comon prayer, and administration of the Sacra 
 ments and other rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of 
 the Church of England, together with the Salter, or psalms of David, pointed as 
 they are to be sung or said in Churches in the form and manner of making, 
 consecrateing, and ordaining and consecrateing of bishops, priests and Deacons, 
 and in the Time of divine service did read a certificate from the Rt. Reverend 
 father in God, Henry Lord Bishop of London that he had subscribed the ac 
 knowledgment or Declaration according to the act of uniformity. 
 
 " IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto Sett my hand scale at New York 
 the 25th of March. Annoque Domini, 1698. BEN. FLETCHER." 
 
 From the Minutes of the Yestry of Trinity Church we get further light on 
 the subject of the opening of the church for divine service. The meeting at 
 which the Rev. Mr. Yesey s name first occurs as present, was held Monday, 
 January 31st, 169 8. At that meeting the following order was adopted : 
 
60 
 
 " Ordered, That Trinity Church be cleared to-morrow, Divine Service being to 
 be read therein the next Sunday. Mr. Jeremiah Tothill having accepted to 
 oversee the performance thereof, this board promising to refund him in the ex 
 pense thereon." 
 
 It appears, however, that the doors were yet unfinished, that the windows 
 were still unglazed, and that the pulpit had not been set up ; so that it could 
 not be got ready. After a delay of more than a month, another resolution was 
 adopted on Monday, March 7, 1698, as follows: 
 
 "Ordered, That Capt. Thos. Clarke, Mr. Wm. Huddleston, and Mr. John Crooke 
 do take care that the Church be cleared and put into the best posture they can 
 in order that Divine Service and the Communion be there administered the 
 next Sabbath day." 
 
 The next Sunday was March 13, and G-ov. Fletcher s certificate shows that 
 on that day the Church was opened, and that the rector officiated there for the 
 first time. 
 
 Dr. Berrian s error is accounted for, as to the day of the month, by his sup 
 posing that the order of Jan. 31st was carried out, and as to the year (which 
 he makes 1697 instead of 1698), by the fact that he was misled by a clerical 
 error; for in the transcription of the Minutes, the copyist has carried the date 
 1697 into the year 1698, as far as to March 26th, when it would appear that he 
 discovered his mistake, but did not take the trouble to go back and correct it, 
 fearing, perhaps, to spoil the looks of his beautiful penmanship by erasures. 
 
 NOTE B. 
 
 The following communication has been received from Miss Auchmuty, of 
 "Washington, D. C., a grand-daughter of Dr. Auchmuty, and is inserted with 
 much pleasure, as an authentic contribution to the history of the times ; the 
 writer says : 
 
 " I write what I have heard from earliest childhood were the incidents re 
 lated. It may not be uninteresting to Trinity Parish, which has, in the cen 
 tennial celebration of St. Paul s, done so much honor to the memory of my 
 grandfather, to know why he was led to leave New York when all his best 
 feelings prompted him to remain with the devoted flock, to whom he was a 
 faithful pastor. 
 
 "In the most serious times of the Revolutionary War, when the Americans 
 took possession of New York, Dr. Auchmuty s position as Rector of Trinity 
 Church caused him to be a peculiar mark for the persecution to which the 
 clergy and loyalists generally were subjected, by a people regardless of aught 
 but their zeal to relieve their country from the sway of England ; and he had 
 necessarily much to endure, in consequence of what were deemed his obnox 
 ious principles. On two or three occasions Dr. Auchmuty had been forbidden 
 by the authorities to use the prayers for the king ; but nothing would induce 
 him to swerve from his decision to read the service in the usual form. 
 
 " The students of King s College, and a number of his friends, having under 
 stood that violence might be anticipated, went to church in order to proiect 
 him, should it be necessary. After service, Dr. Auchmuty held a consultation 
 with his vestry, when they delivered to him the keys of Trinity, St. Paul s, and 
 St. George s, which he took, saying that the house of G-od must no longer be 
 subjected to desecrations; and with the promise to return to his flock as soon 
 as they could be permitted to worship without molestation, he went into the 
 Jerseys (as New Jersey was then called) to the protection of the British lines. 
 
 " When the English again took possession of New York, he applied to Gen 
 eral Washington for a pass through the American lines, that he might be en- 
 
01 
 
 abled to return to his charge. This was refused ; but not daunted thereby, Dr. 
 Auchmuty determined to make the attempt to return without it. By walking 
 through the woods at night, at the expiration of a week his painful journey was 
 accomplished, and he reached his beloved flock only to find the church he so 
 venerated burnt to the ground, with the parsonage attached to it, and the val 
 uable archives mostly destroyed. 
 
 "With a heart overwhelmed with sorrow, he preached twice in St. Paul s 
 Church on the Sunday after his return, and the following week was taken ill 
 with erysipelas, brought on by the exposure and fatigue he had just under 
 gone. He died within a few days afterwards, and his remains were placed 
 beneath the chancel of St. Paul s. 
 
 " His life was thus cut off in its full vigor, and in the midst of his usefulness 
 a martyr in the cause of the Church, in whose service that life had scarce been 
 spent." 
 
 NOTE C. 
 
 Although it is not directly connected with the subject, the reader may not 
 take it amiss if I present the following copy of verses written by Dr. Cooper, once 
 President of Columbia College. A strong maintainer of the Royal prerogative, 
 he became so odious to the people, that on the 10th of May, 1775, they attacked 
 the College, and would no doubt have taken his life, if he had not been so for 
 tunate as to escape in the darkness. These- lines were written by him on the 
 anniversary of that day, May 10th, 1776, when he was safe in England; they 
 contain an account of his precipitate flight. Note especially what the good 
 Doctor writes respecting the "sounding shore 1 of the Hudson, and its "&eac//," 
 along which he wandered in great and just alarm : 
 
 To thee, God ! by whom I live, 
 The tribute of my soul I give, 
 
 On this revolving day. 
 To thee, God ! my voice I raise, 
 To thee, address my grateful praise, 
 
 And swell the duteous lay. 
 Nor has his orb unceasing run 
 Its annual circle round the sun, 
 
 Since when the heirs of strife, 
 Led by the pale moon s midnight ray, 
 And bent on mischief, wend their way 
 
 To seize my guiltless life. 
 At ease my weary limbs were laid, 
 And slumbers sweet around me shed 
 
 The blessings of repose, 
 Unconscious of the dark design, 
 I knew no base intent was mine, 
 
 And therefore feared no foes. 
 When straight a Heaven-directed youth,* 
 Whom oft my lessons led to truth 
 
 And honor s sacred shrine, 
 Advancing quick before the rest, 
 With trembling tongue my ear addrest, 
 
 Yet sure in voice divine. 
 " Awake 1 awake! tho storm is nigh, 
 
 Mr. Nicholas Ogtlen. 
 
62 
 
 This instant rouse this instant fly, 
 
 The next may be too late ; 
 Four hundred men, a hostile band, 
 Access importunate demand, 
 
 And shake the groaning gate." 
 I wake I fly whilst loud and near, 
 Dread execrations wound my ear, 
 
 And sore my soul dismay. 
 One avenue alone remain d, 
 A speedy passage there I gain d, 
 
 And wing d my rapid way. 
 That moment all the furious throng, 
 An entrance forcing pour d along, 
 
 And fill d my peaceful cell,* 
 Where harmless jest and modest mirth, 
 And cheerful laughter oft had birth, 
 
 And joy was wont to dwell. 
 Nor even the Muses hallow d fane, 
 Their lawless fury can restrain, 
 
 Or check their headlong haste, 
 They push them from their solemn seat, 
 Profane their long rever d retreat, 
 
 And lay their Pindus waste. 
 Not yet content but hoping still 
 Their impious purpose to fulfil, 
 
 They force each yielding door ; 
 And whilst their curses load my head, 
 With piercing steel they probe the bed. 
 
 And thirst for human gore. 
 Meanwhile along the sounding shore, 
 Where Hudson s waves incessant roar, 
 
 I work my weary way, 
 And skirt the windings of the tide, 
 My faithful pupil by my side, 
 
 Nor wished the approach of day. 
 At length ascending from the beach, 
 With hopes revived ; by morn I reach 
 
 The good Palemon sf cot ; 
 Where, free from terror and affright, 
 I calmly wait the coming night, 
 
 My weary fear forgot. 
 Twas then 1 scaled the vessel s:): side, 
 Where all the amities abide 
 
 That mortal worth can boast ; 
 Whence with a longing, lingering view, 
 I bid my much lov d York adieu, 
 
 And sought my native coast. 
 Now all composed, from dangers far, 
 I hear no more the din of war, 
 
 Nor shudder at alarms; 
 But safely sink each night to rest, 
 Xo malice rankling through my breast, 
 
 In freedom s fostering arms. 
 
 * King s College, now Columbia. 
 
 t Mr. Stuyvesant a seat in the Bowery. 
 
 J Kingfisher, sloop-of-wur, bound to Enghin 1, 
 
63 
 
 Though stripped of most the world admires, 
 Yet torn by few untamed desires, 
 
 I rest in calm content ; 
 And humbly hope a gracious Lord 
 Again those blessings will afford, 
 
 Which once his bounty lent. 
 Yet still for many faithful friends, 
 Still day by day my vows ascend. 
 
 Thy dwelling, my God 1 
 Who steady still in virtue s cause, 
 Despising faction s mimic laws, 
 
 The path of peace have trod. 
 Nor yet for friend alone for all 
 Too prone to heed sedition s call, 
 
 Hear me, indulgent Heaven 1 
 ! may they cast their arms away 
 To Thee and George submission pay, 
 
 Repent and be forgiven. 
 
 NOTE D. 
 
 In speaking of O Beirne, allusion was made to some entertaining particulars 
 related of him by Croly. They are recorded in the " Life and Times of Geo. 
 IV." chap, vii., and as the work may not be easily accessible to many of those 
 into whose hands this pamphlet may fall, I give the passage in full : 
 
 " Another Irishman, introduced at this period to the Prince, was a memo 
 rable instance of the power of accident. This was O Beirne, afterwards Bishop 
 of Meath, in Ireland. He had been educated at St. Omer s for the Roman 
 Catholic priesthood. Returning to his college from a visit to his friends in Ire 
 land, he happened to stop at the mn of some English village, so humble, that 
 its whole stock of provisions was but one shoulder of mutton; which he im 
 mediately ordered for dinner. While it was preparing, a post-chaise with two 
 gentlemen stopped to change horses ; the roasting shoulder of mutton attracted 
 their appetites ; they had travelled some distance, were weary, and they agreed 
 that the next half hour could not be better spent than in dining on what they 
 could get. 
 
 " But a new difficulty arose, on their being told that the only dinner in the 
 house belonged to a young Irish gentleman above stairs. The travellers were 
 at first perplexed ; but after a little consultation, agreed with the landlady s 
 idea, that the shoulder should be theirs ; but that, to save the credit of her 
 house, the young Irishman should be invited to partake of it. She was des 
 patched as ambassadress; but returned, after an ineffectual attempt at persua 
 sion, announcing that the young gentleman was not to be softened ; but, on 
 the contrary, protested that no two travellers, nor any ten on earth, should de 
 prive him of his dinner. This menacing message, however, was followed by 
 the appearance of O Beirne himself, good-humoredly saying, that though he 
 could not relinquish the shoulder of mutton to anybody, yet if they would 
 partake of it with him, he would be happy to have their company at dinner. 
 
 "The proposal was pleasantly made and pleasantly accepted. The party sat 
 down; the bottle went round; none of the three was deficient in topics; and 
 before the evening closed, the travellers were so much struck with tiie appear 
 ance and manners of their entertainer, then a very handsome young man, and 
 always a very quick, anecdotical, and intelligent one, that they asked him 
 What he meant to do with himself in the world? His destination for the 
 Irish priesthood was immediately set down as altogether inferior to the pros- 
 
 
64 
 
 pects which might lie before his abilities in English life. On parting, the trav 
 ellers gave him their cards, and desired him to call on them on his arrival in 
 London. We may judge of his surprise, when he found that his guests were 
 no less personages than Charles Fox and the Duke of Portland ! 
 
 " Such an invitation was not likely to be declined. His two distinguished 
 friends kept their promise honorably; and in a short period O Beirne enjoyed 
 all the advantages of the first society of the empire. "What his graceful appear 
 ance and manners gained in the first instance was kept by his literary acquire 
 ments and the usefulness of his services. He was for a considerable period on 
 a confidential footing in the Duke of Portland s household, and much employed 
 in the party negotiations of the time. Among his lighter labors were two 
 dramas, from the French, which he assisted the Duchess of Devonshire in 
 translating and adapting for the stage ; and of whose failure, for they seem to 
 have been blown away by a tornado of criticism, the assistant gallantly bore 
 the blame. But O Beirne had now securely fastened himself on prosperity, and 
 neither domestic treason nor foreign levy, neither the check of a negotia 
 tion nor the overthrow of a drama, could uproot him. On Howe s concili 
 atory mission to America, O Beirne was sent with him as chaplain, and in 
 some measure as secretary. The mission was flung into utter scorn by the 
 Americans, as every one predicted that it would be ; but the chaplain preached 
 a famous sermon at New York, and brought home the only laurels of the em 
 bassy. On Lord Fitzwilliam s fatal appointment to the viceroyalty of Ireland, 
 O Beirne accompanied him as chaplain and private secretary, and with the usual 
 promise of the first diocese. The viceroyalty lasted but six months ; yet six 
 months which were long enough to lay the foundations of the rebellion. The 
 alternate feebleness and violence of this brief government, of whose results 
 the noble viceroy was probably as unconscious as the babe unborn, made the 
 change one of imperious necessity. Yet O Beirne escaped from the wreck, 
 floated where all was going down around him ; and had scarcely reappeared in 
 London, when he was raised to the peerage, and the opulent bishopric of 
 Meath, valued at 8,000 a year. Whether this accession of rank and wealth 
 added equally to his happiness, is a graver question. 
 
 "It may well be presumed that they were not gained without envy, nor, at 
 such a time, held without attack. His change of religion, though at an early 
 period of life, and on conviction, was not forgotten by his fellow-students at 
 St. Omer s, who were now scattered through Ireland as priests. His political 
 connections were at an end; their debt had been paid, and except a solitary 
 letter from the Duke of Portland, his English intercourse was closed. The 
 party fiercenesses of Ireland are always bitter in the degree of their unimpor 
 tance ; their patriotism tears the country with the passion and the impotence of 
 children. And to this worthless and nameless strife was a man relegated, 
 who had spent the flower of his days in the first society of England, among 
 women, the cynosures of elegance and fashion ; in constant intercourse with 
 men of first-rate ability and national influence ; and in the centre and living 
 glare of those great transactions which moved all Europe, and which will shape 
 its history for ages to come. 
 
 "The restlessness natural to such a strife, rather than the necessity for 
 reform, urged him to a hasty reform in his diocese. But there is no operation 
 more delicate, under any circumstances ; and no reliance on the value of his 
 intentions could shield their practice from long and bitter animadversions. He 
 died a few years ago, after a career which might have made an instructive and 
 curious biography, and no bad manual of the art of rising in the world. " 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY