Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/servicesinmemoryOOarli Services IN MEMORY OF Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett, D.D. LATE PASTOR OF THE ARLINGTON-STREET CHURCH. BOSTON: PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 1871. EZRA STILES GANNETT Born at Cambridge, May 4, 1801 ; Ordained Associate Pastor of the Federal-street Church, Boston, June 30, 1824; Became sole Pastor of that Church, after the death of Rev. W. E. Channing, D.D., October 2, 1842; Died at Revere, August 26, 1871. 5 6-i c rs2.s SERVICES AT THE FUNERAL, August 30, 1871. ORDER OF SERVICES. Voluntary. Anthem. “Thy will be done.” Prayer. Rev. George L. Chaney. Reading of the Scriptures. Rev. George E. Ellis, D.D. Address. Rev. Rufus Ellis. Hymn. “ The hour of my departure.” Read by Rev. John Cordner. Prayer. Rev. Calvin Lincoln. Anthem. “ Nearer, my God, to thee.” Benediction. Rev. Calvin Lincoln. Voluntary. HYMNS. I. T HY will be done ! In devious way The hurrying stream of life may run Yet still our grateful hearts shall say, Thy will be done. Thy will be done ! If o’er us shine A gladdening and a prosperous sun, This prayer shall make it more divine, Thy will be done. Thy will be done ! Though shrouded o’er Our path with gloom, one comfort, one, Is ours, — to breathe, while we adore, Thy will be done ! II. The hour of my departure’s come ; I hear the voice that calls me home. At last, O Lord ! let trouble cease, And let thy servant die in peace. The race appointed I have run ; The combat’s o’er, the prize is won ; And now my witness is on high, And now my record’s in the sky. BURTON HIST, COLLECTION N DETROIT EXCHANGE DUPLICATE 6 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF I come, I come ! at thy command I yield my spirit to thy hand : Stretch forth thine everlasting arms, And shield me in the last alarms. The hour of my departure’s come ; I hear the voice that calls me home. Now, O my God ! let trouble cease ; Now let thy servant die in peace. III. Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee : E’en though it be a cross That raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee. There let the way appear Steps unto heaven ; All that thou sendest me In mercy given, Angels to beckon me Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee. Then with my waking thoughts, Bright with thy praise, Out of my stony griefs, Bethel I’ll raise ; So by my woes to be Nearer, my God, to thee. Nearer to thee. [REV EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D. 7 Or if on joyful wing, Cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, Upward I fly, — Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee. READING FROM THE SCRIPTURES. BY REV. GEORGE E. ELLIS, D.D. JT is appointed unto all men once to die. For it is written : Thou earnest forth out of the ground, and unto it thou shalt return. Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return again. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit : neither hath he power in the day of his death : and there is no discharge in that war. For then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. When my heart is overwhelmed within me, O lead me to the Rock that is higher than I ! O Lord, in Thee have I trusted. Let me never be confounded ! And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. 8 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day ? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jer- icho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off : and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing : nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder ; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. REV. EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 9 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright. For the end of that man is peace. And Jesus opened his mouth and taught them, saying : Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God. I am the Resurrection and the Life. He thatbelieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whoso liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye do believe in God: believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions : I go to prepare a place for you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, — even our faith. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so also them that sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him. For we know that if our earthly house of this taber- nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. IO SERVICES IN MEMORY OF For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and re- vived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This man having served his generation, according to the will of God, fell on sleep, and is gathered to his fathers. And I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And one of the elders said unto me : These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. He that over- cometh shall inherit all things. REV. EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D. II And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me — Write : Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors : and their works do follow them. ADDRESS. BY REV. RUFUS ELLIS. L ET us not fail, dear friends, to recognize the wise and loving God even where the utmost charity may be compelled to confess the shameful recklessness of man. A cruel hand may bring the sparrow to the ground, and yet not without the Father does the sparrow fall. There is deep mean- ing, if only we have faith to discern it, in the brave question of the old prophet, " Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” Not in the way which we should have chosen for him, — nay, by a way which we must try to close up for ever, — and yet not without that heavenly Father in whose providence he so heartily believed, this man of God has passed beyond the reach of our weak senses. It would be a small thing to bless a world in which all men are faithful. Only He with whom all things are possible can make the grievous short- 12 SER VICES IN MEMORY OF comings of his erring children accomplish a loving purpose. Not swift to anticipate inquiry or to lay the whole of this heavy burden upon this man and upon that, but ready rather to admit a common fault, we recall with horror, with the deepest sym- pathy, with indignation, the event which has left for us of earth only these remains, — and yet God was not far from any one of those sufferers. Of his faithfulness there is no end. Let man, our- selves included, be held to a strict account, and yet let us not lose the sweet and soothing refuge of a wise trust in Him who cannot forsake his world even because its offences do so abound. But enough of the way! What matters it, so it be short, when the end is to be for ever with the Lord, for ever in the fulness of the light and life of God. O my God, how beautiful are thy tabernacles, even though we must come to them through the sharpness of death! The days which were strength and usefulness have been many, the threescore and ten years which make up the days of the years of our pil- grimage. May I say that I take a kind of satisfac- tion in the thought that he who has been snatched from us, near as he is to our hearts in this hour, cannot stop me from telling what a sense I have had from my boyhood up, — from the days when I REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 13 swelled the crowd that listened so eagerly to his clear expositions of Christian doctrine to the mo- ment when I heard of his last gospel errand, — what a sense I have had of the abundance of his work in Christ? It is pleasant in this hour to speak of it; but there is no need, certainly not in this city, cer- tainly not in this house of prayer. I said ” days which were strength,” and yet almost so far as my remembrance of him runs back, it was strength of the spirit rather than of the flesh; it was outward weakness which seemed to provoke him to labor, when the strong with almost one consent would have made excuse. Which of you has not heard from the silent street the fall of the two staves upon the sidewalk in the evening hour, signal- ling, against his will, the way of our dear friend to some one who needed sympathy and counsel? I think it must have rested him to work; at least I have tried to think so when dividing vacation-time with him: it was so hard to keep him away for a few much-needed weeks of relaxation from his pulpit and his people. Body, soul, and spirit, ” as much as in him was,” and that was not a little, he has done the work of an evangelist in this city for nearly half a century, in word and in act; and vari- ous as are the duties of the minister of the Gospel, who ever said to him, ” This ought ye to have H SERVICES IN MEMORY OF done, and not have left the other undone ” ? who ever said to him, "The sermon last Sunday was earnest and able; but during the week a bereaved parishioner looked for you in vain ”? who ever said, "We were glad to see you in our home, but we missed in the discourse from the pulpit what we gained in the parlor”? His fidelity was a proverb and an axiom, a first principle from which we rea- soned when we discussed the mission and the pros- pects of the preacher and the pastor in our day. And it was not the fidelity of an official person, but of the man in Christ, who is the same man in the pulpit, in the study, in the street, in the social gath- ering, in his household, speaking the truth, because he can no other. Sometimes he saw, or thought that he saw, interpretations and methods which would make the work of the ministry more telling. I wish that he could have seen them to be also scriptural and true; but failing that, he accepted the overweight and the smaller result, and hoped and labored for what he saw not, always intellectually honest, true to the reason and understanding and revelation by the Christ which God had given him, and to that abundance of the heart out of which his mouth spake words as fit and well ordered as they were burning. And this life-long work of his was a work of love. Conscientious service, the most REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 15 eminent, could never have called forth such affec- tionate loyalty as waited upon this ministry, and made you willing — as myself I always was — that he should call you brother, because you knew that upon his lips it was no word of custom or of cant, that he loved the brotherhood, sympathized with the young clergyman, and was ever ready to be- friend the less favored. And though he laid upon himself burdens heavy and grievous to be borne, there was in his nature a great capacity for enjoy- ment, a keen delight in human fellowship, very often great joy in the common conditions and fel- lowships of life. And so I say they have been years to thank God for, as indeed all years may be, though not so manifestly. We are here because for this world they are ended. And I am sure that those who loved him best find it in their hearts even now to rejoice that he is at rest in the Father’s bosom. The days which were so likely at any moment to become labor and sorrow are no more. It pains our imag- ination, and we cannot bear to think that one whom we so honored and loved should have been so cruelly handled; but the angel of death was one of the swiftest, and the departure, though sudden, was not unprepared for, and for one who could not learn to be idle and be happy, the best lay on the other 1 6 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF side. How thankful we should be that after much weakness and suffering he had reached a season of recovered strength, and power to serve and so to enjoy ! It was good to see again the old smile, and to be told that the word of truth went forth as strongly and persuasively as ever from his lips. But those who should know best say that this could not have lasted. Presently the grasshopper would have become again a burden, though the desire to serve would not have failed, but would only have increased with the failing strength. He was not fitted to be ministered unto, though a multitude waited to discharge that gracious office. He never could learn that lesson. He loved his work so much that in the days of health the wages of it seemed to him excessive, and when his health was broken the very thought of compensation was in- tolerable. In this he was sometimes unreasonable; but it is an unreasonableness of which the world has little occasion to complain. In that last hour he was on his way to serve, — the burden of the Lord upon his heart for a waiting people. Characteris- tically enough he will be helpful to us, even in the way of his dying. One life is indeed as sacred as another. The humblest of earth should be the Commonwealth’s care as much as the highest. And yet it is but natural, if it is not right, that the REV EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 17 violent deaths of men widely known and widely loved should emphasize our protests against those who trifle with the lives which are committed to their care. Think of him, leader, counsellor, father in the Israel which he loved and to which he was so loyal; think of him, the eloquent preacher, the de- voted pastor, the constant, tender friend; think of him, dear friends of his household, children born and adopted and children’s children, — think of him as he might have become, with that frame which had already won a full discharge, broken and hope- lessly enfeebled; and then with that eye of faith which he ever sought to train to a clearer vision, behold him, not unclothed but clothed upon, with the body which it pleaseth God to give, — behold him no longer knowing in part and prophesying in part, but with so much resolved for him and made clear to him, the light of the Lord’s countenance never to fade again from his face, a ministry which is never to end opening for him, no more fatigue, no more distress, the love with which God loves Christ in him, and Christ in him for ever, his persist- ent faith that the mystery of our life is altogether a mystery of love, fully justified, and need I say to you, Be comforted! We are on our way to an open grave. We may 3 1 8 REV. EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. not linger to speak at length, and as one would, of this gifted and devoted minister of Christ. We may not attempt to gather up the lessons of his life. That must be reserved for other days. My privi- lege in this hour reaches only to these few words, poor indeed and inadequate, and having no merit save their sincerity. May they help to make us still before God, as one who takes us only because He has need of us, and pleads with us by our hu- man loves to embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life in Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory in his church for ever! Amen. fflje jFattfyful Servant : A Sermon preached in Arlington-Street Church, on Sunday, Sept, io, 1871, in memory of EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D., LATE PASTOR OF THAT CHURCH. BY FREDERIC HENRY HEDGE, D.D. WITH AN ADDRESS , DELIVERED ON THE SAME OCCASION, BY REV. CALVIN LINCOLN. SERMON. “ And Ezra blessed the Lord , the great God. And all the people answered , Amen , Amen” — Nehemiah viii. 6. Friends of the Arlington-Street Church, — venerable and venerated man of God, your pastor of many years, so suddenly, and with such dread baptism of ruin and slaughter, translated from this sphere of his labors to other scenes and trusts. It is with great hesitation, and a painful sense of my unfitness for the task, that I have ventured to accept the part assigned to me in the ordering of these rites, — a part which seems rather to belong to some near associate of our reverend brother, than to one whose less intimate acquaintance saw little beyond his official function and public walk. I crave your indulgence for whatever on this account may prove inadequate in my representation. To eulogize is easy; to do justice is hard. But the dead are most truly honored when Justice, not Flattery, weaves the garlands we place on their commemorate in our worship to-day the 22 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF graves. Where the subject is really worthy, con- scientious characterization is the best panegyric. Pardon me if, seeking to avoid indiscriminate praise, I fail to satisfy your idea of the man. I wish to present my own idea of Dr. Gannett as it shaped itself in my reflecting when the tidings came, which so overwhelmed us all, of his violent death. Ezra Stiles Gannett, son of Caleb and Ruth Gan- nett, was born in Cambridge, on the 4th of May, 1801. His father was a man of some eminence in his generation; a graduate of Harvard College, of the Class of 1763, ordained and settled as a preacher for a while away in Nova Scotia; then, returning to Cambridge, appointed to the office of mathematical instruction in the College; member at one time of its Board of Fellows; and, from 1780 until his death in 1818, the faithful and much approved Steward of its funds. His scientific at- tainments for the time in which he lived were very considerable. He was one of the projectors of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The mother of our friend, lost to him in his fifth year, was a daughter of the Rev. Ezra Stiles, well known in his day as the able and honored President of Yale College. Young Ezra was entered a student at Harvard in 1816, and took his Bachelor’s degree with the REV EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 23 honors of the University in 1820; first in rank, or first but one, of a class which gave fourteen minis- ters to the service of the Church, among whom, beside our brother who is to speak to us of his class-mate to-day, I may name, as especially dis- tinguished in our communion, Dr. Furness of Philadelphia, the late Dr. Hall of Providence, and the late Dr. Young of this city. As a baccalaureate of promise, Mr. Gannett entered at once and pursued for three years the Divinity course of the University, whose honorary degree of S. T. D., I may mention here, was con- ferred upon him in 1843. On the 3oth'of June, 1824, he received his ordina- tion for the ministry of the gospel as colleague with Dr. Channing of the Federal-street Church; and, with brief intervals of foreign travel or bodily illness, continued, though latterly freed from the care of his parish, to labor in that calling until his death. These, and his marriage with Anna Tilden, daughter of Bryant P. Tilden of Boston, in 1835, taken from him by death on Christmas Day of 1846, are the principal dates of his uneventful, but how toilful and dutiful life. For nearly half a century Dr. Gannett occupied the post, first of associate, then of sole pastor, of the 24 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF Federal-street, now Arlington-street Church; win- ning for himself by his talents and virtues, his never-tiring zeal, his wide relations with the eccle- siastical and social interests of his time, by his long service in a city which has more than quadrupled its population since he entered on his office, a place than which none, I think, ever occupied a higher in the confidence and reverent regard of his fellow-citizens and of all associated with him in the bonds of faith. As a fellow-townsman by birth, my first recol- lection of him dates from a period anterior to his public career. We were pupils together for a few months — I just entering on my classical studies, he far advanced in his preparation for college — in a private school, taught by Dr. John G. Palfrey, former minister of Brattle-street Church, then a resident graduate and student of theology in Cambridge. I recall, looking up to this older school-fellow then with the mingled awe and admiration with which a boy of nine years is apt to regard a superior youth of fourteen, his brilliant recitations from the Latin text-book, his flowing speech, his maturity and choice of diction, the fascination of which to my boyish ear was such that I could not choose but listen in the single rude school-room where all the lessons were audible to all, neglecting my own REV EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 2 5 tasks at the risk of the penalty which, under Dr. Palfrey’s wholesome rule, awaited such neglect. I well remember how his school-mates looked upon him then as quite an exceptional youth. w Stiles Gannett,” it was whispered among us, ” is very religious”; and anecdotes were current of his ex- ceptional piety. Boys are not usually charmed with that quality in a school-mate, and boyish criti- cism is apt to cavil at whatever seems a damper on boyish mirth; but no ridicule ever attached to young Gan nett’s serious ways. From the time of that brief and distant associa- tion — our ways diverging — I knew of him only by hearsay until, as a member of the same pro- fession, I occasionally met him in professional intercourse, and latterly more often in social con- verse. Of his ministry among you, of its rare fidelity, its incessant toils, its perfect devotion, its trials, its influence, its success, you know so much more than I could tell you, that I feel it would be an imper- tinence in me to do more than merely allude to this side of his life. A full and sufficient account of that ministry must come from one of his parish; and such a record I trust in due season will not be wanting. I will only say in this connection that no parish in this city had ever a more faithful and 4 2 6 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF devoted pastor, nor the city itself a more shining example of clerical worth. As a preacher he took high rank, though not among the foremost in that line, if intellectual pre-eminence or theological leadership or rhetorical splendor constitutes greatness in a preacher. As a pulpit orator he had not the fame or the following of Buckminster or Everett, or Channing or Theo- dore Parker. Yet when, aside from the usual routine of pulpit labor in his own church, he ad- dressed the general public on theological topics, his efforts were crowned with supreme success. None who heard them will forget those Sunday evening lectures on Christian doctrine, unwritten, extempo- raneous, but marked by all the exactness, the clear- ness of conception, the lucidity of statement, the method and the ease of a written and revised per- formance. Nor will they forget the crowded assemblies whose rapt attention reflected and rewarded the earnest intent of the speaker. An immense activity occupied his days. Here was a mind that knew no rest, or found it only in intensest action, as the earth reposes in and because of its swift career. His strictly official and what may be called obligatory labors, arduous enough for one man’s strength, were only a part of his steady employ, and were even exceeded by volun- REV EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D. 2 7 tary and self-imposed tasks. You all know, but the time would fail me to speak, of the many enter- prises, — philanthropic, reformatory, ecclesiastical, — affecting the welfare of city, Church, and State, to which he bent his resolved will, and set his inde- fatigable hand. Suffice it to mention, among others, the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, having for its object the systematic support of a ministry at large, which owes its existence mainly to him as chairman of a small committee appointed by a meet- ing which he had called in the spring of 1834, to organize measures w for the moral and religious improvement of the poor of this city.” Of this organization, which I venture to say has done more for the moral and spiritual health of the poor and unchurched of Boston than any other institution of the kind, as he was the principal author, so he has been for the nearly forty years of its existence the ever watchful guardian and the main support. In the prime of his manhood an attack which threatened to be fatal to further usefulness, if not to life, left him crippled, with shattered health and prematurely aged. The young of his acquaintance, accustomed to look on that bowed and maimed form, and that halting gait in which every step seemed a special effort and a new pain, can hardly picture to themselves, and we his coevals who have 28 SER VICES IN MEMORY OF known him of old can hardly recall, the supple, graceful figure and elastic movement of his earlier days. For thirty years we have known him as a cripple, and have thought perhaps that one so en- feebled was fully entitled to take his rest, and might with just propriety claim exemption from the bur- den of an office which his fidelity loaded with exceptional weight. But Dr. Gannett, viewing the situation, could not see it in that light. Those last thirty years, those maimed and crippled years of his life, proceeded in their courses with unslacked effort, and yielded each its undiminished harvest of good. So long as a sinew would respond to orders from the brain, while a nerve would obey the indomitable will, there could be no stopping of work for him. He treated his body as a hard master his slave, or as I have seen some impatient rider urge and lash his lagging, jaded, drooping beast. As Goethe said, when heavy-hearted and bowed with sorrow he girded his soul for the self- imposed task : “ The spirit is willing, the flesh mustP He needs “ must ” whom such a spirit drives. It was a saying of Dr. Johnson : “ I do not envy the clergyman’s life as an easy one, and I do not envy the clergyman who would make his easy.” It is impossible to associate the two ideas of Dr. Gannett and an easy life. REV. EZRA STILES GAJVJVETT, D.D. 2 9 Measured intellectually, he was not one of those to whom we accord the name of genius and place in the highest rank of minds ; and yet intellectually, in his own way, a man of very extraordinary ability. If we class the minds of intellectual men in two categories, the intuitive and the executive, Dr. Gannett would rank, I think by general consent, in the second class. His was not an intuitive mind, not the sort of mind that discovers truth, that receives it at first hand ; not the sort of mind we call original, not a leader in new paths, not an originator of new ideas or new methods; but rather one who rested in authority, who followed tradition without question, and leaned on the past ; intellect- ually conservative, cautious, although by tempera- ment impulsive, daring, who if his vision and theological convictions had pointed in that direction would have been among the boldest of the radicals. For never was man more faithful to his vision, never one with whom conviction and avowal, conviction and action, were more indissolubly joined. Not a man of commanding imagination or exuberant fancy, and without the charm and play of thought which those qualities engender, but one who pos- sessed in a supereminent degree the faculties proper to his class, the executive class of minds: a clear- ness of perception, a precision of understanding, a 30 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF thoroughness and tenacity of mental grasp, a vigor and alacrity, withal, a facility of representation and a power of industry in which he had few superiors among us, and which in early youth secured for him the foremost place in school and college. He was unsurpassed by any of his fellow-laborers in the power of saying precisely what he meant, of set- ting forth in clear and cogent speech what he saw and thought. For thought and feeling with him were one : he thought through his feelings, and he felt with his thought. And this mutual interpenetration of the sentimental and intellective in him constituted the charm and power of his dis- course. Very eloquent he was, as all who heard him in the days of his strength will testify, when engaged upon a topic he had thoroughly mastered, or which through the interest he felt in it had mas- tered him. And the secret of his eloquence was his intensity. He surrendered his soul, his entire being, to the theme he handled : it bore him irresistibly on as a strong, swift river bears a floating thing on its bosom ; and it bore his hearers with him, if not by intellectual assent to all his positions, yet in uncontrollable sympathy with the torrent sweep of his impetuous soul. He was greatest, I think, in extempore speech. The exactitude of his perception, the perfect precision of his thought, and REV EZRA STILES GANNETT ) D.D. 31 the marvellous command he had of his powers, their prompt obedience to his will at all times, in all places, gave him a mastery and success in that kind of performance, — a combination of fluency and force, which I have rarely seen equalled, never surpassed. Predominant in his mental constitution was the logical faculty, — the faculty of consequential reason- ing from given premises. His premises might be defective or erroneous: they were not original per- ceptions, but derived from external authority, — he had, as I have said, no original sight of first truths; but, such as they were, his reasoning from them was always cogent, and if you accepted the prem- ises always conclusive. And this logical faculty and habit gave him perhaps a greater currency and a wider acceptance than a more original but other- wise less gifted mind would command. As a theologian he was fixed and defined by every demonstration we had of his faith. A thorough and zealous Unitarian. A Unitarian not by lineage or home influence or early bias, — for his boyish associations, I think, were very averse to that way, — but a Unitarian by election, by deliberate investigation, by independent conviction. A Uni- tarian of the old type, with Arian proclivities in his doctrine of Christ, and with Puritan leanings in 32 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF practical religion, but on the question of Divine Unity, in opposition to all Trinitarian dogma, fast grounded, immovable ; a zealous champion of Uni- tarian views, and through all his professional life an efficient co-worker in all institutions and instrumen- talities aiming to establish or promote the Unitarian cause. Of most of these indeed — and I name here especially, as the oldest and most important of them all, the American Unitarian Association — he was one of the founders ; for many years a hard-working member of its Executive Committee, and always, when not its official servant, its faithful coadjutor, adviser, friend. Unitarian literature, and more especially the periodical literature of that denomi- nation, is largely indebted to his critical and edito- rial labors, as founder and conductor of some and diligent contributor to all of its journals. The Christian Register, the Christian Examiner, the Unitarian, the Scriptural Interpreter, the Christian World, the Monthly Religious Magazine, enjoyed in turn the efficient aid of his ever ready and care- ful pen. It is hoped that selections from these papers, as also from his printed sermons, — which though never collected in a volume are still extant, — with additions from his manuscripts, maybe given to the world as a witness and memorial of so fruitful a life. REV EZRA STILES GAJVJVETT, D.D. 33 Devoted as he was to the special and denomina- tional interests of the ecclesiastical body to which he belonged, Dr. Gannett was by no means neglect- ful of the wider interests of the Church universal — of universal Humanity. He sympathized with most of the social reforms of the day, and in some of them took an active part. Particularly dear to him was the cause of international peace. A friend and admirer of the late Noah Worcester, he fol- lowed the steps of that mild evangelist, uniting with his parishioner Mr. Blanchard, with Henry Ware, Jr., with Mr. Ladd of Portsmouth, and other worthies who conspired in this most worthy cause, persuaded that the gospel of Christ was charged with the mission of peace to the nations, and fondly believing, whether rightly or not, that the course of history must bend at last to the views and wishes of Christian men. A deeper interest, and one more urgent in its claims, as dealing with a nearer and more pressing evil, appealed to him in the cause of Temperance. In this so needful reform, from its first initiation among us, he engaged with characteristic zeal and untiring effort. Profoundly impressed with the evils attending the prevalent indulgence in intoxi- cating draughts, feeling in his Christ-like heart all the burden of the woes and crimes which flow from 5 34 SER VICES IN MEMORY OF that fatal source, he was willing to co-operate with any of his fellow-citizens in any measures that promised suppression, or even mitigation, of this wide-spread, body and soul destroying vice. The resolutions passed at a meeting of the Temperance Society of this city on occasion of his death bear witness of the value his associates in that reform attached to his labors. It might have been expected that so true and so ardent a friend of humanity would have been among the first to enlist with heart and tongue and pen in the cause of slave-emancipation. Certainly it would not have surprised us if the grandson of President Stiles, who was president also of the first Abolition Society in New England, and an ally of Plopkins of Rhode Island in the anti-slavery in- terest, had felt an hereditary call in that direction. I have to record the contrary. Pie was not among the earlier, nor, so far as I know, among the later champions in that reform. Whatever he might feel in his heart, whatever might be his secret wishes for the slave, he was not an abolitionist in action. In the days when the topic was rifest in the church and most sharply debated in our Coun- cils; in the heat and stress of the anti-slavery con- flict, there were not wanting among the zealots of emancipation some who taxed with indifference to REV EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D. 35 human weal, with deficiency of moral sentiment or of moral courage, or ascribed prudential motives in the baser sense to such of the clergy as refused to join issue with them in this cause. Even so good a man as Mr. Samuel J. May, whom to name is to praise, has not scrupled in his "Recollections of the Anti-slavery Conflict” to say hard things of the Unitarian clergy in this regard, and to institute a pillory for those who would not and could not set their hands to that ploughing, where the furrow went so deep into the nation’s life, and " under it was turned up as it were fire.” So difficult is it for the zealous philanthropist at one and the same time "to do justice and love mercy.” To suppose that Dr. Gannett could be actuated in that or any other matter by any prompting of self-interest, by any motive of fear or favor; to doubt that Dr. Gannett, if born a slaveholder, would have been among the first to manumit his slaves and to care for them with a brother’s love, — is possible only to one pro- foundly ignorant of the nature of the man. The fact is, the subject for him had a legal as well as a philanthropic side; the legal as well as the philan- thropic involving a question of moral obligation. Like Desdemona, distracted between father and husband, he did "perceive here a divided duty”; or rather the duty for him, as one inclined by his SER VICES IN MEMORY OF 36 mental constitution to be governed by precedent and written authority rather than general principles and abstract right, — the duty for him was on the side of law and tradition and the ancient order. Theoretically, I think he erred in his decision. My own views of duty did not then, and do not now, on reflection, coincide with his. But who shall dare question his entire conscientiousness, his abso- lute integrity of soul in the views he embraced, and the course he adopted in conformity with them? Strictly considered, it might be said to be over-conscientiousness that dictated that course. Differing from him as I did in this particular, and sympathizing with the opposite side, I saw more to admire in his stern abstinence than in most of the demonstrations and cheap enthusiasm, the mouth- ing and the railing of the anti-slavery platform. I have spoken of our brother’s intellectual gifts, and I have shown just a glimpse, no more, of his activities. But Dr. Gannett occupies his niche in my memory, and I doubt not will live in yours, by his moral image rather than by any endowments or achievements I can name. A man of rare and shining virtues! — I shall not call his a perfect char- acter, for I wish, as I have said, to sketch with dis- criminating lines, and not to daub with exaggerated praise; and I picture to myself how shocked the REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 37 good man would be by any encomiums which his consciousness belied. Not perfect, for I missed in him that serene self-possession, that patient repose of spirit, that " holy calm within the breast” which no opposition can ruffle, and no failure fret, “Which looks on tempests and is never shaken.” Not perfect, — he had his faults : who has not? — but yet, I repeat, a man of extraordinary virtues. Con- scientious devotion to duty was the ground-element in his character. He never spared himself where the faintest shadow of obligation seemed to call for effort or sacrifice. As associate with Dr. Chan- ning, the early years of his ministry were rendered peculiarly trying by the shadow which the great- ness and fame of the elder pastor cast upon the efforts of the inexperienced, struggling youth. He had the mortification of seeing often strangers, who thronged the vestibule of a Sunday, expecting to hear the renowned preacher, vanish with swift retreat when they learned that the colleague was to be the preacher for the day. His professional brethren noticed in him in after-life a humility, amounting almost to morbid self-depreciation and self-distrust, which might be ascribed to the lesson learned too well in that hard school. Certainly, humility was one of the distinguishing traits of the man. 38 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF Another trait, equally marked, was his strong sense of justice combined with a generous courage in vindicating the rights and motives of those who differed from himself, and who followed a course which seemed to him fraught with danger to the Church. No minister of his communion, or any communion, had less theological sympathy with Theodore Parker, or felt himself more aggrieved by that stout assailer of the old traditions. But when in the Boston Association the question came up by what means to avoid the reproach of con- nection with one who diverged so widely from the trodden road, Dr. Gannett, it is said, unflinchingly defended the iconoclast’s rights within the terms of the constitution of that body, and would hear of no measures by which those rights could be infringed. Mr. Parker has often expressed to me his warm admiration of the talents, the oratorical ability, and the rare moral worth of this so widely differing brother. Of his active benevolence, his overflowing kind- ness of heart, his open-handed charity in the way of alms, his tender sympathy with all suffering, shown in ceaseless offices of love, I would like to discourse, and could give you abundant proof ; but my limits press, and you are waiting to hear from one who has a better right than I to speak of these REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 39 things. I content myself with a single illustration. Travelling in Europe many years since, he chanced upon a fellow-countryman, unknown to him before, journeyed with him for one or two days, then parted from him in some continental town, leaving him not dangerously ill, but too indisposed to con- tinue his journey, and needing longer rest. At the end of the second day this traveller, from whose own lips I had the story, saw to his great surprise Mr. Gannett return, having, as he said, retraced his steps some hundreds of miles, irresistibly drawn by the thought that a stranger in a strange land might need a compatriot’s aid. To sum up all in a few words, I deem this our friend to have been a most faithful, earnest, loving, just, and brave man. His nature was precisely the stuff of which martyrs are made. I marked him of old as one who, in times of persecution, had he lived in the days when opinion was punishable with death, would have braved the fagot or the rack for his faith’s sake. He lived a martyr’s life; and may, in a certain sense, be said to have died a mart}^r’s death, having fallen in the way of duty, victim not indeed of the persecutor’s wrath, but of human folly and neglect. On the Saturday evening of the 26th of August last a railway train left Boston with passengers 4 ° SERVICES IN MEMORY OF bound for various places along the road, some returning to their homes after longer or shorter absence, some quitting them for a season, some bent on errands of duty, others intent on recreation and pleasure ; all committed to the care of the various officials whose business it was to speed them on their way, to protect their going and con- vey them in safety to the place of their destination; all relying on the knowledge, skill, and caution of the agents charged with this important trust. Sud- denly the train is overtaken on its track by a swifter train rushing on from behind, is overborne, its rear car pierced, transfixed, disembowelled by the rending locomotive whose engineer had attempted too late to arrest its headlong course. A scene of indescribable horror ensues. The passengers are crushed by the shock, or drenched and flayed by jets of scalding steam. Some are killed outright, others die of their wounds a lingering and painful death. On the Sunday succeeding that night of sorrow, the religious society to which our friend was to have ministered assembled at the usual hour in their customary place of worship; but the honored and always welcome preacher whose word they expected fails to appear. They wait : he comes not. They still wait : the hour expires. At last the thought occurs that perhaps the slaughter REV. EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 41 of the previous night included the unit of that precious life in the sum of its woes. And so it proved. The earnest preacher, the indefatigable, had gone to join the larger congregation, in which it is pleasant to think of him as still a ministering servant. To the earthly congregation that vacant pulpit, that silent pulpit, had been preaching with an emphasis transcending speech its lesson of death, — the extinction, say rather the occultation, to human view of a star which for more than two- score years had shed its edifying light on the Church. But revolting as was the cause and shocking as was the manner of his death, I cannot regret the sudden decease from among us of the veteran ser- vant whose days had reached the limit beyond which it was said of old that life is w labor and sorrow.” Let us thank the High God that he left us, living not dead, — left us with unclouded intellect, his mind still glowing with its ancient fires. I am sure you must feel with me that if — “Alive we would have changed his lot, We would not change it now.” Friends of the Arlington-street Society, yours has been a privileged church • enjoying the ministra- tions of two men of whom, though differing with the widest difference, each has been a model in his 6 4 2 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF kind. The intellect of Channing, the heart of Gan- nett, have been yours. It were difficult to say from whose sowing has sprung and is to spring the richest fruit. The name of Channing has gone out through all the earth, and his word to the ends of the Chris- tian world. Translated into many languages, his wholesome and inspiring thoughts have been bread and wine to how many thousands who hunger and thirst for the unadulterated truths of the Spirit. The mission of Dr. Gannett will have, it may be, a narrower orbit, and shine with less conspicuous light ; but his work will strike as deep a root, and act, though unseen, with a power as great on the life of the world. His mission is his character as developed in his life: it is the influence that charac- ter has had and will continue to have on all who came within his sphere, and in and through them, by a law of moral solidarity, on others and count- less others who never saw his face and will never hear his name. Who can compute the radiations of a righteous soul, or guess how far its action may reach, or what latent germs of goodness in distant spheres it may quicken into life? The great Giver bestows no gift so precious as when he sends such a soul to dwell and work among us. Then he plants his own seed whose lineage never dies, but abides in the world, a power for ever. REV EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 43 ADDRESS. BY REV. CALVIN LINCOLN. J AM very grateful to you, my friends, for allow- ing me to join you in the services of this occa- sion, — in expressions of reverence and love for your long-tried and ever-devoted pastor, and for my life-long and ever-faithful friend. When our hearts are full w T e find relief in giving utterance to the emotions and sentiments with which they are crowded. Still with deep solicitude and self-distrust I approach the service which you have requested me to perform; and proceed to speak of Dr. Gan- nett’s " character in its personal relations.” Of his intellectual powers, of his attainments as a scholar, and of his rare gifts as an extempo- raneous speaker, others who have listened to his occasional sermons and to his unwritten addresses are in a measure qualified to judge: they, with you, can appreciate the strength and culture of the mind, and the purity and tenderness of the heart, from which these productions must have proceeded. But you have known, as others could not have known so well, the wealth of his affections, the constancy of his love, the delicacy of his attentions, the 44 SER VICES IN MEMORY OF appropriateness of his words in your own homes, in all the various experiences of this ever-varying life. You can never forget — when the voice of gladness was in your dwellings, or deep-seated sorrow in your hearts, in your successes and in your disap- pointments, when rejoicing in health or prostrated by disease — how entirely he became one with you; forgetting for the time that he had any life or any cares of his own to engage his thoughts or to occupy his time. He ceased to think of himself in an ab- sorbing desire to minister to your present comfort, and to advance your highest welfare. Therefore it is, that any descriptive terms from another’s lips will seem cold and inadequate to hearts filled with fond memories and warm with gratitude for past services. The mental and moral characteristics which dis- tinguished the more public efforts of your late pastor were equally manifest in the discharge of personal obligations in more private relations. His apprehensions of truth and right were always marked by clearness and strength; while his conscientious- ness would suffer him to evade the performance of no recognized duty. To his mind there was habit- ually present a most exalted ideal of the sacredness of the pastoral office. He considered himself, in the full meaning of the term, the minister of his REV EZRA STILES GANNETT, \ D.D. 45 people, religiously bound to perform for their benefit every service to which his time and strength were equal. In estimating the amount of labor required by this relation, I do not believe that his opinion was formed by inquiring how much might be rea- sonably demanded by a judicious and considerate people. I am very confident that he did not meas- ure his obligations by any conventional standard of pastoral fidelity. He found his law of life in his own affectionate heart, in his own generous and loving nature, purified and quickened by the Sav- iour’s spirit. When he accepted the office of a Christian pastor, he gave himself without reserva- tion to the service of his parishioners. In deciding what should be the extent of this service, he knew no limit inside of their wants and their wishes. In this department of labor I have no question that his ideal of duty was oftentimes more exacting than were the expectations or even the wishes of a thoughtful and affectionate people. However much you might value his presence and companionship at the fire- side, or his prayers and words of comfort in the chamber of sickness, you were not unfrequently aware of the physical exhaustion by which these satisfactions were purchased; and, taught by the great lesson of his life, would with cheerfulness have relinquished your own enjoyment for the sake of 4 6 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF sparing his strength and prolonging his ministe- rial life. These labors, in which he so abounded, were not performed from a mere sense of duty, and in obedience to an ever-wakeful conscience. He loved to work in the service of others. He became at once the personal friend of every family in his society. His acute perceptions, his ever- flowing sympathy and the sensitiveness of his own nature, enabled him to understand and appreciate the trials, and to share in the joys and hopes of those to whom he ministered. Hence it was that there was such a peculiar delicacy and tenderness in his manner, such appropriateness in his thoughts and language and in the tones of his voice, as gave you the assurance of his perfect sincerity and deep personal interest in your welfare, — that he entered your homes with none of the formal utterances of one who believed himself authorized to instruct others, but that he came to you because he wished to encourage and to help you, by bringing before your minds those great truths of the gospel which awaken life and strength and hope in the soul of the believer. The same qualities of mind and heart which marked his intercourse with his parishioners, so far as circumstances allowed, were manifested toward those with whom he was associated in efforts for REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 47 the diffusion of Christian truth, for the advance- ment of knowledge, and for the moral elevation of society. However great might be his satisfaction in contemplating the condition of his immediate charge, he could not look with unconcern on the ignorance and vice of the less-favored portions of society. He esteemed himself a debtor to every human being to whom he had the power of doing good. Hence he became an active member of numerous associations established in the interests of morality and religion. In accepting the advan- tages arising from united action, he never con- sented to surrender the right of private judgment or the right of obeying his own convictions of duty. His opinions regarding the rectitude and wisdom of any proposed measures were deliberately formed, distinctly avowed, and firmly maintained. Occa- sionally he encountered opposition. While true to himself and to the opinions which he advanced, he was always willing to accord their full weight to the arguments and conclusions of others. On such occasions, his uncompromising love of truth and justice was strikingly displayed. However ardently he might desire the success of any favorite measure, he would never allow it to be adopted through a wrong impression of its real character. His whole soul revolted from any thing like man- 4 8 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF agement and craft. Whatever he accomplished must be done in the full light of day. No failure could disappoint him so severely as the failure to do ample justice to the reasoning of an opponent. This love of justice, this keen sense of the re- quirements of honorable dealing, were if possible more conspicuous when, in speaking or writing, he referred to the motives and characters of those maintaining views of religion which he be- lieved to be false, and of hurtful tendency. He would always state with the utmost fairness any doctrine the truth of which he wished to disprove; and, while urging all fair arguments to show its unsoundness, he was always careful to give full credit to the purposes and characters of its de- fenders. In this connection, I am reminded of the remark of one who differed very widely from Dr. Gannett, in his estimate of the authority of the New Testament. After listening to his discourse at the funeral of a deceased brother, Theodore Parker remarked, w I would as soon leave my character with Dr. Gannett, as with any man living.” But in his home, in his care for those whom God had committed to his immediate protection, you beheld the full beauty of his character. His love for those around him was an exhaustless fountain. He lived in them, and for them. He was ever REV. EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 49 watchful for their virtue and their happiness. Faithful to his obligations as the head of a Chris- tian household, he was continually devising meth- ods to increase their comforts, — to secure for them some new satisfaction. He shared in all their joys and hopes. The advance of age had no power to abate the strength or the tenderness of his affec- tions. His heart was always young. He forgot himself in his efforts to make others happy. In their service no toils were too severe, no sacrifice of personal ease too great. These services of love were not confined within his own family circle. Connections and relatives, near and remote, shared most freely his kindest offices. All that he was able to do in advancing their welfare was as readily done as if they atone had a claim on his time and labors. He delighted in showing hospitality. He had, to an uncommon degree, the gift of placing his guests at ease ; and was never happier or more genial than when discharging the duties of a host at his own crowded table, or when his house had become the home of some brother who was a stranger in the city. He loved the society and he craved most eagerly the companionship of his brethren in the ministry. His manner toward them was deferential, encour- 7 5o SERVICES IN MEMORY OF aging, and courteous. He was always self-distrust- ful, — always fearful that he should encroach on another’s time, or interfere with his labors, or im- properly obtrude himself on his confidence. This humble estimate of himself, increased as it was by a peculiar sensitiveness and an enfeebled nervous system, at times I know gave him the appearance of being distant and reserved in his intercourse with others. But the manner was untrue to his heart. I do not believe there was ever one more ready to trust others, if worthy to be trusted, or more happy in receiving their confidence and love. His generosity and ready sympathy were well understood by the poor and desolate. They re- paired to his home free from all fear of a rude repulse. They sought his counsel and his assist- ance. These he willingly bestowed. He would leave his study, when by so doing he must protract his labors beyond the midnight hour and deny him- self the rest demanded by his wearied frame; and listen attentively to a long narrative of repeated plans and repeated disappointments, until he be- came strongly interested in the condition of the sufferer before him. He gave advice, and encour- aged the hope of more substantial assistance. The hopes thus awakened were never disappointed. He REV EZRA STILES GANNETT , D.D. 51 would spend days in endeavoring to find occupa- tion for the unemployed; and, when he could do for them nothing better, he gave of his means with a liberal hand. Without question, his confidence was sometimes abused. Still who would not rather enjoy the wealth of a trusting, loving heart, rich in that charity which hopeth all things and believeth all things, than that wealth which is accumulated by a selfish distrust, that closes the ear to the cry of the needy and shuts the hand against the claims of the distressed ? I have spoken, friends, not as I hoped to do, but as I was able, of one who was revered and loved by you, and had been from early life my most inti- mate friend. It is a great privilege to have known such a man, — to have had a place in his confidence and love. You can never forget his presence or his services in your homes, and in this house dedi- cated to Christian instruction and worship. You know how steadfastly he labored, how earnestly he prayed, for the true prosperity, for the spiritual life, of this society. Would you offer a worthy expression of gratitude for his life of devotedness to your service, and truly honor his memory, dedi- cate yourselves anew to the service of that Master to whose cause his life was consecrated. EXTRACTS FROM A SERMON, Preached in the Arlington-street Church, on Sunday, Oct. i, 1871. BY REV. A. P. PEABODY, D.D. EXTRACTS FROM A SERMON. “ I am the resurrection , and the life : he that helieveth in me , though he 'were dead , yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth , and believeth in me, shall never die ." — John xi. 25, 26. INTRODUCTION. r J''HE Lord’s table is spread here for the first time, since the venerable form of him who was wont to break its bread and pour its cup rested before it on the way to the grave. On that morn- ing who could think of him as dead, though we saw the insignia of death, and heard the knell and the dirge? Who of us did not feel that a life like his could not die ? Who of us did not breathe a whole- hearted Amen to those divine words, ” Whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die”? As I enter this church, with vivid and thrilling memories of that funeral service, I seem to be coming, not under the shadow of death, but into the sunlight of the resurrection morning. SEX VICES IN MEMORY OF 56 Communion with our Saviour is our special priv- ilege now. With the recent translation of your dear pastor and my dear friend fresh in our thought, what can be more fitting as a special theme for our communion than the Saviour at Bethany? Let us, then, join the sisters of Lazarus, and while our bereaved hearts sympathize with their heavy grief, let us enter also into their joy too full for utterance. CLOSE. Before I close, I must crave the privilege of a few loving words about your pastor, though from other lips you have heard the story of his life and the fervent tribute to his memory. I have never known a man who seemed to me to have more of his Divine Master’s spirit and character. What most impressed me in him was, not the fervor of his spirit, though where have we seen a warmer glow of devotion? nor the versatility of his powers, though who has had a wider range of benefi- cent activity? nor his eloquent utterance, though from whom have we heard more kindling thoughts or more burning words ? but the entireness of his consecration to duty, Godward, manward, and most severely and self-denyingly selfward, — his tender, REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 57 rigid, self-sacrificing conscientiousness, so that the words applied to the Saviour, w Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,” seem to have been the formula of his life; and as nearly as human infirmity will ever per- mit, he might, but for his lowliness of heart, have summed up the record of his threescore years and ten, w Father, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” His conscience knew no rest, made no truce or compromise, admitted no excep- tion or excuse ; and it was to him inspiration, genius, power. It made him master of his own soul; it gave him a kingly presence among men, and the unction of a holy priesthood before his God. A thorn, sometimes, in the flesh, it was ever a spur to the heaven-seeking spirit. A bondage, often, outward, it gave him the glorious liberty of the children of God. This is the type of character in which the disciple draws nearest to his Lord. Other gifts and graces of the spirit are the blossoms: this, the matured fruit of Christian piety. In your pastor, both in youth and in age, flowers and rich, ripe fruit hung together, as they do on trees in the sunny South, all summer and all winter long. Let us thank God that such a soul and such a life have been ours to honor and to love, and are ours still and ever to hold in fond and 8 58 REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. precious memory. And God grant that the event which has taken him from our sight may so hallow his example of Christian excellence for our imitation, that ours too may be that life of loving duty, in which he that liveth shall never die. PROCEEDINGS AT THE MEETING OF THE PROPRIETORS, Oct. ii, 1871. PROCEEDINGS. SPECIAL meeting of the Prudential Com- mittee was held on Monday, August 28th, immediately on hearing of the death of the Rev. Dr. Gannett, at which the following votes were unanimously adopted : — Voted , that this Committee have heard with profound grief of the sudden death of their beloved friend and pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gannett, after a devoted ministry of more than forty-seven years, and that Messrs. Sweetser, Hayward, and Smith, and the Chairman, Mr. Little, be a Committee to confer with the family of Dr. Gannett, and to make all necessary arrangements for public and appropriate funeral services in the church. Voted , that the same Committee make arrangements for a meeting of the Proprietors at an early date. In accordance with these votes, the funeral took place from the church on Wednesday, August 30th; and a meeting of the Proprietors was held on Wednesday, October nth. The Hon. Waldo Flint was chosen to preside at the meeting. 62 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF Mr. Flint, on taking the chair, said, in sub- stance, — Fellow Parishioners and Friends : A great loss has fallen upon us, as a society and as individuals, since we last met in this place. Our beloved minister, I use the term, which, I am sure, he w^ould have chosen before all others, to designate his calling, — our dear familiar friend, ” with whom we took sweet counsel and walked to the house of God in company,” has been taken from us. But his death, though sudden and in its manner most shocking to our feelings, came not too soon for him; for who can doubt, that, at any moment, for him w to die was gain”? but we cannot help feeling that it was too soon for us. His health had so much improved under the influence of rest from harassing cares and toil, that we indulged the hope that he might again be able to instruct us, at least occasionally, from the desk which he had so long and ably occupied and adorned, and that he would often gladden us by his presence in our families. But God, in his all- wflse providence, ordered it otherwise; and we would bow in humble submission to his will. And now that he is gone, we cannot but recall, even more vividly than when he was with us, his REV EZRA STILES GANNETT i D.D. ^3 constant and untiring labors for our benefit, — the exact learning and the persuasive eloquence and earnestness with which he addressed us from the pulpit, and the ever read}' and warm sympathy with which he entered into all our joys, as well as all our sorrows, in the more private sanctuaries of our homes. I was a member of this parish when Dr. Gannett was settled, and I have known him intimately for about forty years; and I can say, in the full assurance of its truth, that in the whole course of my long life, I have never known a more unselfish man, — indeed, it sometimes seemed to me that he went beyond the requirement of the law, and loved his neighbor better than himself, — a more devoted Christian minister, or a truer friend than he; and I call upon all who hear me, and especially on all who knew him as well as I did, to bear witness from their own personal knowledge that there is no exaggeration in what I have just said. We cannot fail to remember how humbly he thought of himself and of the work he had done among us; how depressed he was at times, because *his apparent success in his ministry had not risen to the height of his aspirations ; how often he lamented — and this was not cant: our friend was guiltless of hypocrisy in any of its forms — that he 6 4 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF was doing so little for us, while we thought, all the time, that he was doing more than he ought, — more than he had strength to do, — more than we had any right to expect of him. The fact was, I suppose, that his standard of duty was higher than ours, — higher perhaps than any one, in the present state of society, could reasonably hope to maintain. To one of his delicate temperament there must have been much, in his experience, to discourage and depress, — all good men have felt the same; but, for the comfort of all such, it should be remem- bered, that " God himself w T orks slowly”; that it takes, not years, but centuries to mark any decided and permanent advance in morals, and that it is in vain, therefore, to expect that the world can be redeemed from sin to holiness in a single genera- tion. And so our friend worked on and ever, and literally wore himself out in our service, — his indomitable will struggling all the while with incurable bodily disease, and, sometimes, by its determined persistency, seeming almost to have gained the victory. Let us thank God, that he was spared to us‘ through so many years, and that he was removed, as we have reason to believe, without, or with only a momentary, consciousness of suffering, in the REV EZRA STILES GANNETT D.D. 65 full possession of all his rare intellectual powers, and after a summer, as he said himself, of great enjoyment. Your Committee request me to say, that they regret exceedingly that this meeting could not have been held at an earlier day; but they thought it better, on the whole, to delay calling it, until more of our members had returned to the city, and could enjoy the privilege of being present. The following communication from the Secretary of the American Unitarian Association was then read, and ordered to be recorded : — Boston, Mass., 12th September, 1871. To the Arlington-street Church, Boston. At the regular Monthly Meeting of the Executive Committee of the American Unitarian Association, held on Monday, nth September, 1871, the following resolu- tions were offered by Rev. G. L. Chaney, and were unanimously adopted : — Whereas, in the recent death of Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett, not alone the private circle, but the public walk in this community has been bereaved ; and whereas, the Unitarian Church having received more than others from him in life, has the greater loss to bear in his death, we, the Executive Committee of the American Unitarian Association, do resolve : — 9 66 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF i st. That in this bereavement we put our trust in the providence of the Heavenly Father, under whose al- mighty care the accidents of this mortal life are but the incidents of an immortal career. 2d. That we offer to the family and endeared friends of the deceased our heartfelt sympathy for their loss, while we would also share with them their grateful mem- ories of a life-work well done, their consoling faith in the new life already entered upon by the deathless spirit, and their hope of reunion where the blessing of those who die in the Lord is complete, — where they rest from their labors, and their works follow them. 3d. That we extend to the church, "whom having loved he loved unto the end,” the assurance of our sense of their loss and our grief at its cause, and invoke for them the continuance of that divine favor which in the past has been so signally illustrated in their worship and ministry. 4th. That in the death of Dr. Gannett this Association has lost a life-long friend and generous supporter, whose labors in its behalf, early begun as its first Secretary, have continued in other relations to the end ; equally true and unselfish, whether rendered in private or official capacity, and constant alike in times of confidence and times of doubt. 5th. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the bereaved family, and church ; and that the Secretary be requested to confer with the family in regard to the pre- paration of a memoir and a collection of his sermons, to be issued under the auspices of the Association. Very respectfully, Rush R. Shippen, Secretary of the A. U- A. REV EZRA STILES GANNETT, D.D. 67 Mr. Charles C. Smith spoke briefly of Dr. Gannett’s love of his work, and of the important services which he had rendered to the society, the community, and the denomination, and offered the following resolutions, which were seconded by Mr- John H. Rogers, with appropriate remarks, and unanimously adopted : - — Whereas it has pleased the All-wise Disposer of Events to remove our beloved pastor and friend, the Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett, D.D., from the labors of this world to the rewards of the higher life, and to close by a sudden death the relations which he has sustained to this society during more than forty-seven years, — Resolved , That, bowing in submission to the divine appointment which has filled our hearts with sadness, and remembering with gratitude Dr. Gannett’s life-long devotion to the cause of Christian faith and Christian liberty, we desire to place on record our deep sense of his fidelity to the whole work of the ministry. As a teacher of Christian doctrine and Christian morals he was learned, fearless, and consistent, illustrating in his own life of modest self-distrust and eager self-sacrifice the truths which he professed. As a preacher he was ear- nest, eloquent, and impressive, bringing to his pulpit ser- vice only the mature fruits of thorough and conscientious study. As a pastor he was faithful to the time-honored traditions of New England, — the friend and counsellor of his people, rejoicing in all their joys, and sharing all their sorrows. Finding his chief duty and delight in laboring within his own congregation, he was yet one of the foremost leaders of the denomination, ready at all times with voice and pen to recommend and to vindicate 68 SERVICES IN MEMORY OF the cause which he cherished with his whole heart. As a citizen he never overstepped the limits which he re- garded as circumscribing the sphere of ministerial use- fulness, while within those limits he took a strong and active interest in every thing which concerned the wel- fare of the community. Always taking counsel of his zeal, tempered only by a sound judgment and a large and generous charity toward all men, and finding in his conviction of the importance of the work to be done an incentive to unwearied labors, he was one of the founders of the American Unitarian Association, and of the Benev- olent Fraternity of Churches, an editor of our most influ- ential journals, and an honored and efficient officer of many of our minor societies and associations. Endowed with a mind singularly clear, acute, and logical, with an absolute fidelity to every demand of a very exacting con- science, and an energy which triumphed over all the infirmities of the flesh, he accomplished a work of unsur- passed extent and variety, and has left a precious mem- ory to this society and to the denomination whose history is identified with the record of his life. Resolved , That we sympathize deeply with the family of our venerated friend in their great loss, rejoicing with them in the recollection of what he was and what he did, and beseeching for them the consolations which can alone sustain and comfort. Resolved , That the Prudential Committee be requested to cause a suitably inscribed mural tablet to be placed in the church as a memorial of the affectionate regard of the Proprietors for our late pastor, and to take the neces- sary measures for securing the perpetual care of the burial-lot and monument belonging to the family of Dr. Gannett at Mount Auburn. REV EZRA STILES GANNETT \ D.D. 69 Resolved , That the family of Dr. Gannett be requested to occupy, free of taxes, the pew heretofore known as the minister’s pew, so long as it may be agreeable to them to do so, and that the Prudential Committee be au- thorized to designate another pew to be used for a minis- ter’s pew. Resolved , That a copy of the foregoing resolutions, signed by the Chairman and Clerk, be transmitted to the family of our late pastor. Resolved , That the thanks of the Proprietors be ten- dered to the Rev. George E. Ellis, D.D., the Rev. George L. Chaney, the Rev. Rufus Ellis, the Rev. Cal- vin Lincoln, the Rev. John Cordner, and the Rev. Frederic H. Hedge, D.D., for their very acceptable ser- vices on occasion of the funeral of Dr. Gannett, and the reopening of the church ; and that the Rev. Dr. Hedge, the Rev. Rufus Ellis, and the Rev. Calvin Lincoln be requested to furnish copies of the sermon and addresses delivered by them respectively, to be printed for the society. Mr. Smith then read the following letter from the children of Dr. Gannett : — Mr. C. C. Smith, Treasurer of the Arlington-street Church , Dear Sir, — It is with the deepest personal satisfac- tion that we send you the enclosed check, in accordance with the following clause from our father’s will : — " I give two thousand dollars to the Proprietors of the 'Arlington-street Church,’ whose kindness to me has known no limit of generosity, and to whom I bequeath this money subject to their disposition, yet in the hope that it may be used in aid of the erection of a parsonage 7o SERVICES IN MEMORY OF on the lot now owned by them, adjoining that on which the vestry stands.” With respect, your friends, Kate G. Wells. W. C. Gannett. Boston, 155 Boylston Street, Oct. 10, 1871. Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Francis Jaques, it was unanimously — Resolved , That in the testamentary provision in favor of this church, made by our late revered pastor, we recog- nize his desire to speak again — even after death — of his love for those for whom he had in life labored with such ceaseless devotion. That we earnestly appreciate the feelings which prompted him to make this offering, and we desire that the records of this church, so long as its history shall survive, shall testify of this token of his love, and of our gratitude for this last proof of tender affection. Resolved , That, while with deep emotion we take to ourselves, to be long remembered, this expression of his undying love for us, we decline to accept the legacy of the money therein involved, preferring that it should be added to the moderate store for his family, which his unselfish heart and hand, ever open to the needy, per- mitted him to accumulate for them. Resolved , That William C. Gannett and Samuel Wells, executors of the will of the late Ezra S. Gannett, be presented with a copy of these resolutions. On motion of Mr. Isaac Sweetser it was further unanimously voted — REV EZRA STILES GANNETT D.D. ' 71 Whereas, by a vote of the Proprietors, passed at a meeting held on the 24th of December, 1869, the salary of Dr. Gannett as senior pastor was continued at the rate of $3,000 per annum, which sum he declined to re- ceive ; and whereas it is due to his long continued and devoted labors in the ministry to this society that the wish of the Proprietors should be carried out, so far as may be practicable : — Voted , that the Treasurer be instructed to pay the sal- ary of our late pastor up to the 1st of October, 1871, at the above-mentioned rate. On motion of Mr. Edward Wigglesworth it was also unanimously — Voted , That the Treasurer be instructed to tender to the family of our late pastor, Dr. Gannett, the amount which has stood for several years to his credit, constitut- ing what is called the Gannett Fund. The meeting was then dissolved. Note. — In a letter, acknowledging the receipt of the foregoing votes, the children of Dr. Gannett declined to accept the several sums to which reference is made.