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YALE UNIVERSITY
librarg of the Btoinitg School
GIFT OF
| IMglas Qlgde JWacintosh
DW1GHT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY
DWIGHT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
1916-1942
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ASSOCIATED ALUMNI AND AlUM!f*
— of —
WOODSTOCK COLLEGE
(FORMERLY THE CANADIAN LITERARY INSTITUTE)
MOST OF WHOM WERE EITHER FELLOW-TEACHERS,
OR
DILIGENT AND EXEMPLARY STUDENTS,
AT THE INSTITUTE
DURING THE PRINCIPALSH1P OF HIM WHOSE LIFE AND
LABORS ARE HERE COMMEMORATED,

_ IN MEMORY OF THE PLEASANT INTERCOURSE AND
o d ASSOCIATIONS of THE PAST,
s£> THIS LITTLE WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
O BY THE AUTHOR.
ou
(UVI o s*u aiu
J3

PEE FACE

This little volume is the outcome of a desire whicji has
for some years waited only opportunitjr to take shape as
a purpose. As soon as circumstances seemed to make it
possible, the work was undertaken as a labor of love. It
is now sent forth, not indeed without a painful sense of
its many defects, yet with confidence in its kind recep
tion by those for whom it has been prepared, the friends
and admirers of him whose life-work it records.
The writer can but express his regret that the work is
not worthier of its subject, and especially that it does not
contain more of those incidents of private life and social
intercourse which are always of interest in memoirs of
a departed friend, and which are often pleasingly illus
trative of endearing traits of character. It was hoped at
the outset that much material of this personal- kind would
be forthcoming from the correspondence and recollections
of intimate friends of the deceased. This hope has been
to some extent disappointed, owing partly to dimness of
recollections, and the absence of records, and partly, it
may be, to a dread lest in this way the sanctity of private
confidence should be in some measure violated.
Notwithstanding, however, the scarcity of available
material of the kind indicated, the narrative of Dr. Fyfe's
superabundant labors for the denomination and the public
will, it is believed, be found tolerably connected and

PREFACE. 7
complete, and drawn from reliable sources. Thus the
chief and" most legitimate end of biography has been, it
is hoped, attained. It will be found, moreover, that a
large part of it has been given in the most satisfactory
of all forms — the words of Dr. Fyfe himself.
It may not be amiss to allude here to an impression
which, judging from certain intimations, seems to have
been received by some, that both Dr. Fyfe and Mrs. Fyfe,
and especially the latter, dreaded the "inevitable memoir,"
and did what was possible to prevent its appearance, by
destroying the papers which might be used as material.
Had the writer shared this impression, a very delicate
question would have arisen, as to how far such a feeling
on their part should be regarded as binding and sacred.
That Dr. Fyfe would, himself, have been the last person
to let his modesty, or any other purely personal feeling
stand in the way of anything which might promise to bo
of service to th; cause for which he lived, is abundantly
clear from his whole life-history. In any case the life of
a public man, in so far as it stands related to historical
events, must be hel 1 to be, to a certain extent, public
property. Bat, in any case, the writer is happy to say that his
mind is troubled by no misgivings in regard to this
matter. From a long and intimate personal acquaintance
with both, he is convinced that neither Dr. Fyfe nor his
wife, however their sensitiveness would have shrunk
from auy attempt to invade the sanctity of their own, or
any other person's private affairs, would have had any
objection to the kind of memoir that is attempted in these
piges. Satisfactory evidence of this is afforded so far
as the latter is concerned, by her careful preservation

S PREFACE
and arrangement of the manuscripts, letters, and other
papers, from which this narrative is, to a considerable
extent, compiled, and which, labelled with her own hand,
were left to her executors to be disposed of as they might
think best. The following words, from a letter written by
Dr. Fyfe himself, a few years before his death, to the son
of the Rev. Mr. Gilmour, set forth clearly his own views
in this matter : —
" I trust you may be able to make arrangements by which
his (Rev. John Gilmour's) life and labors may yet instruct
others. It is not every man's life that is worth remembering in
public, much less worth being put on permanent record, but I
think his was ; and I think a proper record of it would extend
our knowledge of the grace of God; and would help to stimulate,
cheer and mellow many christian hearts."
No better warrant could be wished for the work at
tempted in this volume.
With the earnest hope and prayer that the noble ex
ample it so imperfectly sets forth may prove helpful to
many earnest workers, and devout seekers after truth ;
this little book is submitted to the former students of the
Institute, to the many personal friends of the departed,
to the members and adherents of the Baptist Churches of
Ontario and Quebec, and to the Christian public.

INTRODUCTION.

-^ EVEN t^ars have now passed away since Dr. Fyfe
entere into his rest. These have been years of
marked progress in the denomination in which he was so
long a leader, and in the educational work to which his
best years and energies were consecrated. One of those,
who were his fellow-workers in that chosen sphere has.
already followed him to the world of untiring service.
Of the rest, several are scattered abroad in various new
fields of toil, while others are still devotedly carrying on
the work which he so well planned and so nobly begun.
That work has, in this short period, undergone a degree
of development exceeding the most sanguine expecta
tions he could have cherished ten years ago. Other men,.
good and true, have not only entered into his labors, but
have been enabled to broaden their scope, enlarge their
aim, and multiply their appliances. The rill of private
munificence which so often gladdened his heart and
strengthened his hands has expanded into a broad and
still broadening river. The school whose foundations
he laid v\ ith a wisdom and foresight which future genera
tions will appreciate even better than the present, and
whose structure he reared with an intensity of toil,
anxiety and self-sacrificing zeal which, there can be little
doubt, materially shortened his days, has already become
B.

10 INTRODUCTION.
two vigorous and flourishing colleges, working on dif
ferent lines, but each making its influence felt throughout
thej[ land. And now. such is the fertility of noble ideas
and endeavors, there is good reason to hope that we
shall shortly see the uprising of a third, on a yet broader
foundation, to fill a space unoccupied by either. Such an
institution is still needed in the interests of the Denomi
nation and the cause of Christian culture, and when once
established we may well hope to see it, by virtue of the
larger sphere of its operations and the wider sweep of
its influence, not only complement their work, but eventu
ally even surpass them both in its usefulness as a benefi
cent and permanent educational force. Such a consum
mation would have delighted the soul of Dr. Fyfe, could
he have lived to see it. Who that believes in another
and higher life can doubt that it will still be his in the
company of the principalities and powers in the heavenly
places, to whom is being " made known, through the
Church, the greatly diversified wisdom of God," to watch
over and rejoice in this great development of his life-
work ?
t is evident, then, that there is little cause to fear the
failure of the grand enterprise to which and for which
our departed brother gave his life. Why then, some may
be ready to ask, should we now, after the lapse of years,
go back to review the unfinished work of that vanished
life? What matters it if even the name of the first
master workman should be forgotten, so long as the work
goes bravely on ? The spirit of the time cries " Forward,
ever forward !" The men of action who are pressing on
in all parts 'of the widening field occupied by the Baptists
are too busy to have either time or inclination for look-

INTRODUCTION. 11
ing backward. Their hands are to the plough, their eyes
on the yet distant goal. They naturally, almost neces
sarily, forget the things that are behind. Had the story
of Dr. Fyfe's life and labors been put on record immedi
ately after his decease, it might, no doubt, have been not
only gratifying to his friends but profitable to many.
But now, when we have so ample evidence that the
stimulus to be derived from his example is no longer
needed to urge on the educational work of the denomi
nation, many, even of his warmest admirers, may think
that the progress and perfection of that work are the
best, perhaps now the only needful tribute to the memory
of its founder.
There is much force in these considerations, and, were
the question simply one of tribute to the memory of the
departed, they might, perhaps, be conclusive. That they
are not conclusive in the minds of many has, however,
been made abundantly clear to the writer by the
kindly interest that has been taken in his project since
it was announced. What is the best time for bringing
out a biography is a question the answer to which
depends largely upon the character of that biography and
the ends it is designed to serve. If the chief aim is to
glorify the dead, it is clear that the record of the -deeds
cannot follow too closely upon the completion of the
career. There is that in the passing away of a busy and
useful life which acts powerfully upon the imagination
as well as upon the sympathies. Amidst the excitement
and passionate grief- of the moment, the faults and
frailties of the departed are forgotten, and his talents
and virtues magnified, often into dimensions almost
superhuman. A striking illustration has just now been

12 INTRODUCTION.
given in the case of the Ex-President of the United
States. No one can doubt that first his business mis-
fortunes and then the tragic details of suffering patiently
borne and slow-coming death bravely met, had a large
share in kindling the popular enthusiasm which has
finally enshrined him amongst the demi-gods of the
Republic, and paid him almost more than mortal honors.
Seven years hence, when the impulse of hero-worship
shall have passed away, a calmer and juster estimate of
the man and his deeds will be formed, though it may
remain for another generation to assign him his true
place in history.
If, again, the aim of a posthumous biography is to
gratify the curiosity of the living by laying bare to the
gaze of the public the sacred privacy of the home and
the individual life, the effect will be vastly greater when
the unveiling process takes place while the closing scenes
are still fresh in the popular memory. Of this, too, we
have lately had a striking and somewhat deplorable
instance, the result being that one who had long been
revered as a prince and seer amongst literary men, had
the sancity of his private life so ruthlesdy invaded, and
the faults of his personal disposition so pitilessly laid
bare, that the prominent features of the popular hero
became almost lost under the process in those of the
dyspeptic grumbler and petty domestic tyrant. Carlyle,
too, will find his true place in history, but had his
manuscripts been left in the desk for even less than the
nine years the Roman satirist recommends for the
would-be poet, the popular appetite would have lost its
edge, and many of those pitiful details would probably
never have seen the light.

INTRODUCTION. 13
But biography has surely a higher mission than either
to gratify the curiosity of the living, or exalt the memory
of the dead. It can matter little to the departed what
honors survivors pay to their memories. We cannot but
think sometimes that if those who have passed within
the veil and entered upon the holier service of the upper
sanctuary are permitted to retain their interest in the
persons and things left behind, and to watch with purified
vision the march of events in the familiar spheres, they
must often be strangely moved by the exaggerated and
distorted views of themselves and their works, which are
presented to the public under the name of biography.
The true mission of biography is to serve, not the dead,
but the living. It is greatly wise to take counsel with
departed worthies, to study the lessons of their lives, and
to held up to emulation whatever was noble in their
conduct or spirit. Biography, no less than history, is
philosophy teaching by example. The value of the lesson
will always be in exact proportion to its fidelity to truth.
This being so, it will ordinarily be found better to defer
its production until the force of those strong emotions
which becloud the perception and warp the judgment
has spent itself, and the task can be approached dis
passionately. Not least among the advantages to be
gained by delay will often be delivery from temptation
to exaggerate virtues and conceal defects, in order to
soothe and gratify the wounded spirits of those to whom
the departed was nearest and clearest.
Biography is, moreover, the hand-maid of history. The
record of important events becomes doubly interesting
when it has for its setting the story of the life of a promi
nent actor in the scenes depicted. It is impossible to set

14 INTRODUCTION.
forth a human life detached and isolated. So far as it
was a life worthy of remembrance, it can be exhibited
only in its relation to other lives and to passing events.
It must have for background the history of the period in
which it moved as a living force. All history is largely
a record of the doings of individual men and women.
The Bible itself is mainly a chain of sacred biographies.
And so the true story of Robert Alexander Fyfe's life
and labors cannot be divorced from the important move
ments in which -he took so prominent a part. The history
of his early years of active life in Canada is, to a con
siderable extent, a history of the great struggles for
religious liberty and denominational equality, in which
he and other Baptists were amongst the foremost fighters.
The inequalities connected with the Clergy Reserves,
the Endowment of the Rectories, and the attempts to
sectarianize King's College, now the University of
Toronto, were by few, perhaps we might say by none,
more trenchantly laid bare, or more persistently opposed,
than by him and his Baptist compeers, and to them belong
many of the laurels of the hard-won victories.
The story, again, of the latter half of his active life is
essentially the history of the Woodstock Institute, and
of Baptist ministerial education in Ontario and Quebec.
After the failure of two ambitious attempts to found a
Baptist College in these provinces, his sagacious brain
planned, and his strong hand laid, the foundations of the
noble structures of which we are to-day so justly proud.
I say "structures" advisedly, for without the educative
process he carried on so indefatigably for a score of years,
both within and without the walls of the Woodstock
College, the McMaster Hall of to-day would have been

INTRODUCTION. 15
an impossibility. Two conditions were indispensable to
the establishment of that institution so speedily upon its
present prosperous basis. The work demanded not only
abundant means in liberal hands, but also a people pre
pared to appreciate and profit by the training which it
is the business of such an institution to give. That the
latter condition exists to so encouraging an extent as
is evidenced by the goodly number of students in the
Toronto Baptist College, is due, I venture to affirm, more
to the long years of arduous pioneer work clone by Dr.
Fyfe in the Institute and amongst the churches, than to
any other cause, or all others combined.
But Christian biography has another and still higher
service. In these days of scientific scepticism, and of
too frequent degeneracy on the part of those who profess
to be Christians, the witness of lives, noble and sym
metrical to the very end, to the power of Christianity, is
greatly needed. It is one of the best of testimonies. It
defies the assaults of philosophical criticism. It puts to
fault the acumen of sceptical logic. It proves the. reality
of the life from above. It demonstrates that there are
motives and impulses, which are not of this world, which
have power to beget and sustain life-long and whole
hearted consecration to unselfish ends. To round off this
unanswerable argument, and , give it its full force, the
testimonyof the whole,completedlifeis needed. As has been
well said by a recent writer in reference to the danger
that men in these days should lose faith in the reality of
Goodness : " There is, indeed, a great deal to provoke it
(the scepticism referred to) : the daily betrayal of trust
in business, the transparent mockery in the political
world, the clear hypocriey in the religious world. Tiiese

16 INTRODUCTION.
are almost enough to lead one to say, ' Is there such a
thing as honesty, or truth, or religion ?' 
What is called a religious life, gets its vindication and
comes to a full proof of its reality only as it is continuous
and lived out to the full." The testimony of a long,
active and consistent life is one which no sophistry can
evade, no infidelity gainsay.
The foregoing remarks are intended mainly as an
answer to the question which is sure to suggest itself,
Why was this little book ever written ? Is it still asked
what special claim has the brother and fellow-laborer
who was taken from us seven years ago to the distinction
of a biography ? We might generalize the inquiry.
What constitutes any man's claim to a biography ? Who
are the men whose lives are worth recording in a book ?
To this it might be replied, not, perhaps, exhaustively,
but confidently : —
I. Those who were conspicuous by reason of extraordi
nary talents or extraordinary virtues.
II. Those who stood forth as leaders in trying times,
and fought manfully for great principles, or made
themselves felt as individual forces in determining
the issues of stirring controversies.
III. Those who, in social and moral spheres, proved
themselves possessed in large measure of the will
power, or personal- magnetism, or whatever we
may please to call it, which enabled them to obtain
strong and lasting influence over the minds of
others, and who wielded that influence for right
and noble uses.
To a place in the first class Dr. Fyfe himself would
have repudiated all claim, and, in a realm so dubious, the
author will not attempt to set up one on his behalf. In

INTRODUCTION. 17
regard to the second and third grounds of distinction,
the facts recorded in the following pages will show that,
within the somewhat narrow provincial field in which he
labored, he had few equals and fewer superiors.
If the views above expressed in respect to the true ends
of biography be admitted there is the less cause to regret
the scarcity of mere personal and family details in this
memoir. To a certain extent this is undeniably a defect
in a narrative of the kind. In proportion as we are
forced to admire certain strongly marked traits in a
grand character, in that proportion most of us would
gladly trace those traits back to their secondary sources.
We are naturally curious to know from what type of
ancestry they sprung, under what kind of home influences
they unfolded themselves, what part boy playmates, and
early schools and schoolmasters had in their develop
ment, how they were fanned by the favoring breezes
of opportunity, how rooted by the blasts of adversity.
In regard to such details of Dr. Fyfe's boyhood, the
writer's best efforts have failed to gain more than the
meagre facts presented. This result is probably due
more to the absence of anything specially noteworthy in
his parentage and youth than to the failure of friends to
remember and record. The common law no doubt holds
good. The unusual is remembered and handed on, the
commonplace forgotten. But whatever the explanation,
such are the facts, and the following pages will be found
to be rather the story of Dr. Fyfe's labors than of his
life, though no known and authentic event of interest in
connection with the latter has been omitted.

OHAPTEE I.

Dr. Fyfe a Canadian — His Birthplace — Parents — Early Educa
tion — Occupations — Somnambulism — Physical Strength— A
Sound Mind in a Sound Body.
[JD OBERT ALEXANDER FYFE was born in Lower
^ V Canada, now the Province of Quebec, in the
Parish of Ste. Philippe, which is in the seigniory of La-
prairie, and some nine or ten miles south of the City of
Montreal, on the 20th of October, A.D. 1816. He was of
Scotch extraction, his parents having emigrated to Canada
from Dundee, in 1 809. One would wish to know more
of the father and mother of such a son than the meagre
details the writer has been able to collect. They seem
to have been a plain, unpretentious couple, but possessed,
no doubt, their full share of the sturdy independence
and sterling integrity so characteristic of the Scotch
middle classes. We can readily believe, too, that they
were not without their quota of the keen intelligence and
canniness for which the genuine Scot is renowned the
world over. Mrs. Fyfe, Robert's mother, had been pre
viously married to a husband named Anderson, by whom
she had several children. Probably some of her stalwart
sons of that name may still be found amongst the aged
inhabitants of that section of the lower province. In
view of the rule, so often illustrated, that the mother's

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 19
training and influence are generally very large factors in
the production of a noble character, we should expect to
find in Robert Fyfe's mother some prophecy of the traits
which were distinctive of her son. There are not wanting
indications that, had we reliable data, we should not be
disappointed. The late Rev. Daniel McPhail, who was
intimately acquainted with the family, and who traveled
over a great part of both Eastern and Western Canada
in company with young Robert in his student days, on
pioneer missionary tours, used to tell some anecdotes
which went to show that she was different somewhat
from the commonplace type. A single incident, trifling
in itself, but yet suggestive, is remembered by one of our
most esteemed ministers, who heard it from Mr. McPhail,
and repeated it to the writer. She was one clay deplor
ing the dissensions that were racking the church of
which she was a member. " Why then," asked the friend
to whom she was speaking, "do you not leave that
quarrelsome church and join the one in  ?" naming
another of the same faith and order, and known to be
peaceful in character. " Oh !" she replied, somewhat
contemptuously, "the members of that church don't
know enough to quarrel." The words may have indicat
ed merely a Scotch contempt for intellectual dullness,
but it is easy to belieye that they were the utterance of
the intensely earnest spirit which perceives that even
unseemly wrangling about doctrines and duties is some
times a better indication than the stolid indifference of
those who are not sufficiently active in the search for
truth to be in danger of quarreling about its minor forms
and manifestations.
Of the pursuits and associations of Robert's boyhood

20 LIFE AND LABORS OF
we have few particulars. We can readily believe that
the country schools of the lower province, sixty years
ago, were not of a high order, and his early education
was no doubt defective and rudimentary. A gentleman
who, though somewhat younger, remembers him as a boy,
says that his early impressions of young Fyfe were that
"he was slow, not bright, but conveying the idea that
there was a good deal there." This opinion is to some
extent offset by that of a friend of the other sex who
knew him in the early years. She says " he was a
cheerful, off-handed, clever boy, not trivial, but happy."
The testimony of others confirms the impression that,
like so many others who have become men of action and
power, he was mentally rather slow in developing. The
summers of his boyhood were probably spent mainly in
the hard but healthful labors of the farm, though it
would seem that, during some portion of this period of
his life, he learned the trade of shoemaking. John A.
Cameron, Esq., of Thurso, an old and attached friend of
Dr. Fyfe, who knew him when, as a student, he was
spending his vacations in missionary labor in the Ottawa
region, remembers having known him, while at Petite
Nation (now Papineauville), make a pair of slippers for
himself, and says they were very neatly made. Another
friend, however, who knew him in the earlier days as a
student missionary, thinks he never learned the trade,
but resorted to it from sheer necessity, or as the readiest
means that offered to earn money to enable him to go on
with his studies. If this be correct, he must have been
endowed with more than an average share of mechanical
skill, as well as fertility of resources. It would appear
from an incident referred to elsewhere, and which the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 21
writer had from his own lips, that one or more of his
winters, when on the verge of manhood, must have been
spent in the lumber camps in the depth of some grand
old Canadian forest.*
When he was well up in his teens, the family removed
to the village of Laprairie, a few miles nearer Montreal.
Here he was for some time employed as a clerk in the
store of a relative, a position which he filled with credit
to himself, and satisfaction to his employer. It is related
of him that, at this stage of his life, he was a profound
sleeper, and did not always arise in -time to open the
store and attend to his morning duties at the appointed
hour. A sharp rebuke that was once administered by
his employer on this account, seems to have taken a deep
hold of his mind, though the impression showed itself
in a somewhat peculiar manner. His employer, having
risen at a very early hour the following morning, was
astonished to find the store already opened, swept and
dusted, and everything in readiness for customers, except
the clerk, who was found, on investigation, still in bed
and sound asleep. The only explanation of the affair,
and no doubt the correct one, was that young Robert
had arisen in his sleep, gone through the usual round of
morning duties, and returned to his bed without having
awaked. His only recollection was that he had dreamed
of having done the work. The incident is not only
curious as an instance of somnambulism, to which he is
not known to have been subject in after years, but it is
also suggestive of a strong moral purpose, which, if not
able to burst the physical bonds of sleep, accomplished
*See paper by the author from memorial number of The, Tyro.

22 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the task which had been made a matter of conscience, in
another and less fatiguing manner.
As can readily be believed by those who knew Dr.
Fyfe in his manhood's prime, he was in his youthful
days remarkable for his physical strength. He seems
to have taken special pride in this, and used often, in
later years, to be fond of recounting some of his athletic
feats as a young man, such as carrying great weights,
lifting bags of flour with his teeth, etc. One can readily
believe the latter act symbolical of a very different type
of strength. Students of physiognomy are fond of tracing
a real or fancied connection between the configuration of
the mouth and chin and the will-power or obstinacv of
the individual. Those who have noted, on some special
occasion when strong opposition had to be met, or serious
obstacles overcome, how that square massive chin, those
strong lines about the mouth, and those firmly set teeth
would combine, at the bidding of the iron will, in giving
the whole face an aspect of invincible determination,
can almost imagine that those youthful exercises of
muscle had a moral as well as physical significance.
Certainly no one can doubt that, for much of the personal
influence he always wielded, and for much of his success
in overcoming difficulties, he was indebted to his splendid
physique, and vigorous health. Up to the date of the
railway accident which gave a shock to his nervous
system from which it never recovered, he presented a
fine type of a sound mind in a sound body. In view of
the pioneer character of much of the ministerial and
educational work that fell to his lot in after life, it is
easy to see that more valuable to him in those early
years than the forcing processes of any educational hot-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.

It

house, were the healthful, manly toil, and the constant
communion with nature in her varied aspects, which
developed that sinewy frame, and that spirit which
despised petty hardships, " scorned delight, and loved
laborious clays."

CHAPTER II.

Conversion — Experiences Varied — His Later Views — The Tree
Known by its Fruit — An Unexplained Phenomenon — The
Change Radical and Abiding — A Great Struggle Decided —
Baptism — Rev. John Gilmour — Work Immediately Begun.

fT WAS either during or immediately preceding the
period of his clerkship in the village of Laprairie
that the great change came which made him a new man.
Of the particulars of his conversion we have no record.
Whether the regenerating spirit came as the gentle
breeze of spring, almost imperceptibly awakening the
dead nature to newness of life, or as the mighty, rushing
wind, shaking his deep nature to its very foundations,
we know not. Dr. Fyfe was not the man who could
touch freely or often upon the sacred experiences which
belong to the individual soul. Nor was he one who set
great store by past agitations and emotions as evidences
of spiritual life. No doubt, like other strong men and
women, his soul had its sacred inner chambers into which
not even his dearest friends were invited, its memories
of hallowed moments known only to itself and its God.
But he always seemed to hold with a firm grasp the
great truth that religion is a present power, not a past
experience. He cared little for a faith which failed to
" work by love and purify the heart." Having been for

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 25
many years Secretary of the Ministerial Education Com
mittee in connection with the Woodstock Institute, the
writer had many opportunities of learning his views in
this respect. Every young man who wished to be
recognized as a student for the ministry was required to
appear before the committee and state, first, his reasons
for believing himself to be a Christian, and, second, his
reasons for believing himself called to the work of the
Gospel Ministry. The writer cannot recall any instance
in which Dr. Fyfe questioned the candidate minutely in
regard to his spi cial exercises of mind at the time of his
alleged conversion, though he often inquired closely into
the motives and spirit that actuated him at the time
then present, and in his work as a student. He sought
in every case for evidences of an abiding faith and zeal.
So in his own soul the new life came, we know not
how or where. The tree was known by its fruits. By
whatever experience, divinely rapturous or divinely
peaceful, the change may have manifested itself to his
own consciousness, to the world it was evidenced by the
Master's infallible test. The whole outer man trans
formed showed the whole inner man renewed. No
matter by what infirmities compassed about, by what
inconsistencies shaded, by what human passions and
frailties marred, his future life from that turning point
to the very end was emphatically a new life1— a life
shaped by new motives, animated by new hopes, impelled
by the expulsive power of a new love. Apart from the
New Testament doctrine of the regeneration there is no
science or philosophy on earth that can account for the
phenomenon of a genuine conversion — a phenomenon
that is happily of every-day occurrence. The new life of
c

26 LIFE AND LABORS OF
a truly regenerated man is, so far as all natural law is
concerned, an effect without a cause. Nay, more, it is a
clear departure from the natural order, an unexplained
violation of all scientific law. As an eloquent writer
has lately remarked, it is a change which is not even
traceable to will power. " This power that transforms
rescues alike the wilful and the weak of will. It seizes
on the inebriate book-binder just when all hope is gone
and all purpose lies limp and helpless. If any credit is
to be given to human testimony, this is ' a power, not
ourselves, that makes for righteousness ;' if any credit is
to be given to the deductions of philosophy, it must be a
power not ourselves. For a soul can no more create its
own moral force than a machine can create its own
physical force  Nor is this forgiveness of
sins a mere individual phenomenon. The history of the
race is the history of the forgiveness of sins, of the
transformation of character, of the development of a
higher, purer, better manhood."* The lives of a Saul of
Tarsus, a John Bunyan, a Muller of Bristol, are facts,
and facts for which modern science is utteily unable to
account. The New Testament philosophy expounded by
Christ in his discourse with Nicodemus, affords the only
explanation. These remarks are not meant to imply that the early
life of the subject of this narrative was marked by any
such irregularities or vices as would cause the great
change to be specially striking to others. So far as
appears the contrary was the truth. There seems no
reason to suppose, either from any allusions by himself,

* Aids to Faith ; by Dr. Lyman Abbott, in Christian Union, Sept. 3,
1885,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D D. 27
or any recollections of his friends, that he was ever other
than a steady, well-behaved lad. None the less the great
truth pointed out above is one which Dr. Fyfe himself
would have been the first to emphasize. No previous
Uprightness, no correctness of deportment, could render
less necessary the radical change, the uprooting of
natural selfishness as a ruling principle, and the substi
tution of new motives, new affections, a new life purpose.
From this time forth until the end of his earthly course,
his life bore uniform testimony to the completeness of
the change. With a thoroughness not often surpassed
he reduced to practice Paul's great principle of entire
consecration. With him he could say at all times " One
thing I do." In this rare singleness of purpose his
example was worthy of all imitation. In a notice which
appeared in the Canadian Baptist shortly after his
death, written, it is believed, by one who knew him well
it is said that " on one occasion when troubled with
doubts as to the reality of his conversion, after his
baptism, he ended the conflict by a firm and fixed resolve
to devote his life to seeking to benefit and save others,
whatever became of him ; and we all know how grandly
he carried that resolution into practice throughout his
whole subsequent career."
The young eon\ert was baptized by the Rev. John
'Gilmour, a familiar name in the early annals of the
denomination in Ontario and Quebec. In a letter written
to J. W. Gilmour, Esq., after his father's decease, which
has been kindly entrusted to the writer by Miss Gilmour,
¦of Peterborough, Dr. Fyfe saj's : " No man had more of
my love and reverence than your late father. It is now
more than thirty-four years since he baptized me, and I

28 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
am getting up among the older men myself. I have had
two or three very loud warnings, and I know not how
much more of this life God will give me, but I am sure
that whether it be much or little I shall never forget to
thank God that I knew your father, and that I received
benefit from him. . . . Please accept for yourself
and for Mrs. Gilmour my sincere sympathy, and at the
same time the expression of my joy at the assurance that
it is well, very iuell, with John Gilmour, the good minister
of Jesus Christ."
A private memorandum made by himself a year or
two later, states that the baptism took place on the 27th
day of April, 1835. He was received into the fellowship
of the Church on the following Sunday. From the
recollections of T. M. Thompson, Esq., of Toronto, who
was a brother of Dr. Fyfe's first wife, and to whom the
author is indebted for some of the foregoing particulars,
it appears that the young convert must have begun
immediately to take part in the active work and social
worship of the Church, and to witness for Christ as he
found opportunity. Nor did he long hesitate as to his
life-work, for he himself tells us that in the latter part
of June, or beginning of July, he commenced preparing
for his departure to Hamilton, the seat of Madison
University.

CHAPTER III.

Eoucation Sought — Obstacles— Enters Madison — "Remembered in
the Religious Meetings — Mistakes of Students — A Season
of Great Darkness — A Great Crisis Passed —Renewed
Consecration — Dr. Fyfe's Advice to Students — The Cause
of Many Spiritual Maladies.

Irr-^

ILLED with zeal for his Master's service, and
believing himself called to preach the Gospel,
young Robert soon resolved to resign his position, and
abandon all secular pursuits, in order to prepare himself
for the ministry of the Word. Whether he was helped
or hindered in carrying out this resolve by his parents
and other members of the family, it seems impossible
now to discover with certainty. From the recollections
of some who knew something of him in those early days,
the impression was received that both his parents were
at that time Presbyterians, and that they disapproved
and opposed his joining the Baptists, and preparing for
the Baptist ministry, though they afterwards changed
their views, and not only approved his course, but became
Baptists themselves. But Mr. James Macdonald, of
Huntingdon, Quebec, whose wife was Dr. Fyfe's sister,
and whose recollections on this point seem to be definite,
writes that Robert's father was at that time a Presby
terian, but his mother a Baptist, and that he never heard
of any opposition to his course. As Robert's parents

30 LIFE AND LABORS OF
lived with him, Mr. Macdonald, for a year after selling
their farm, he thinks he must have known had anything
of the kind existed.*
On the other hand, there are, as will presently appear,
evidences that the first few years of Robert's student life
were embittered by very serious 'trials. His own refer
ence to the dark clouds that seem to have filled him at
times with doubt and dismay, must refer to something
that pierced him more deeply, and harrassed him more
sorely, than any of the ordinary obstacles arising from
want of means and of early advantages could have had
power to do. Those who had opportunities in after years
. for observing, on the one hand, the depth and tenderness
of his nature, and, on the other, the resoluteness of his
will and his loyalty to his sense of duty, can readily
understand that, however any disapprobation of loved
ones might have grieved his spirit, no opposition, even of
those nearest and dearest, could have power to turn him
aside from the work to which he believed himself called
of God. In' reo-ard to all these interesting details, how-
ever, the information now available seems exceedingly
indefinite, and even the above statements are made with
reservation. One thing is certain, in any case. Not
without much toil and tribulation did he obtain an
education, and enter upon the ministry of the word.
* J. A. Cameron, Esq., of Thurso, says : " I knew Dr. Fyfe's father
in Quebec some thirty or thirty-five years or more since. He attended
Rev. Mr. Marsh's Church (Baptist)." Mr. Marsh himself kindly sends
the following extract from the records of his church, July 21st, 1846 :
" The ordinance of Baptism was administered by the Rev. D. Marsh to
James Fyfe and Klizabeth Y\ ells, formerly pedobaptists." He adds :
" Miss McDonald, the Superior of the present Girl's High School of
Queb'.c (his granddaughter), tells me that, though she does not know
the date of his death, she believes that both old Mr. Fyfe and his wife
are interred in the Mount Hennon Cemetery of Quebec.''

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 31
Madison University, at Hamilton, New York, seems
at that early day to have offered special inducements
to young men preparing for the Baptist ministry, and
thither, there being at that time no Baptist college in
Canada,* he directed his steps. In the memorandum
before referred to, he says: "I left home on the 7th clay
of July, 1835, with some unpleasant auspices. I arrived
in Hamilton on the 14th. I was introduced to Prof.
Taylor by Bro. Read (now in Burmah)." He thus com
menced the work of preparation in his nineteenth year.
Persistent inquiry has failed to elicit any important
particulars in reference to this year in college. After the
lapse of fifty years it is difficult, if not impossible, to
find any surviving fellow student who was sufficiently
intimate to be able to recall incidents of a personal
character. Rev. Dr. Spear, now a professor at Madison,
who was a senior collegiate at the time Mr. Fyfe was in
the Academy, had no personal acquaintance with him,
but can " remember him in the religious meetings," a
recollection not without its own significance.
There is, however, one circumstance in the history of
this, his first year at college, with which we are tolerably
familiar from his own lips, and which is worthy of record,
as well for the valuable lesson it conveys, as for the light
it incidentally casts upon the depth and intensity of his
nature and his fervor in the prosecution of his studies.
There are few things more interesting to the student of
human character than the avidity with which a vigorous
young mind, admitted for the first time into the sacred
* Acadia College, Nova Scotia, was then, of course, in operation, but
Nova Scotia was not at that time a part of Canada, and there was little
intercourse between the provinces.

32 LIFE AND LABORS OF
groves of Academia, sets at work to pluck the fruits of
learning. It feels itself in a new world. The gates of
Paradise have been opened. "Hie richly laden trees of
knowledge are on every hand. For a time the hunger is
is all-devouring. The young student feels that every
moment is precious. He grudges the hours necessary for
rest and sleep, and too often cheats his physical system
in the effort to cuitail them. Needful recreation and
exercise are forsworn, and the poor body, the mind's
indispensable servant and organ, is in every way neglected
and abused. Of this type was young Robert Fyfe. But
in his case, to the fervor of a mind glorying in exertion
and craving knowledge for its own sake, was superadded
the fervor of intense moral earnestness. He was inspired
with a lofty and absorbing purpose. He was preparing
for a great life service, to which he felt himself called
from above. Driven by these combined impulses, he
gave himself to the work set before him with an excess
of zeal that not only tended to defeat its own object, but
in the end well nigh cut short a useful career. Such, at
least, seems a fair inference from such facts as have come
to our knowledge, chiefly from allusions he, on rare
occasions, himself made to this phase of his personal
history. This much, however, seems certain. Entering
college at the beginning of the school year full of sturdy
life and high resolve, he left it at or before the close of
the year enfeebled and well nigh broken down in body
and mind. It is pleasing to be able to infer, both from
such recollections as that of Dr. Spear, above mentioned,
and from what we know of his subsequent career, that
his spiritual life was in the main sustained, and that he
remained steadfast in his great resolve. And yet, even

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.
this statement must be made with modification. The
case would have been almost riiiraf&ulous were it other
wise. He himself tells us in a scrap of diary: "I had
not been long in Hamilton before I found that study
without care is death to the soul. I soon felt very lone
some. I wished to rejoin that little flock I hold so dear.
• . . . I felt down-hearted many times through the
winter, on many accounts  During the spring
nothing in particular happene 1, except disappointments,
which served to irritate my feelings. On the loth of
April I was taken sick, and during my sickness, I thrust
I experienced some of the love of God. But, as I grew
in strength, my wicked heart gradually relapsed. I
suffered all the horrors of temporal and spiritual want.
Repeated disappointments irritated me, and bad health
filled up the cup. But now I am thankful to God for
what He has done for me, for I am sensible that He
taught me many lessons in that way that I could have
learned in no other."
No one who knows anything. of the intimate relation
that exists between both mental and spiritual health and
that of the body, will be surprised to hear that he was at
the crisis fiercely assailed by despondency and doubt. On
one memorable occasion the enemy seems to have come
in like a flood, and to have driven him to the very verge
of despair. No doubt the lack of means to enable him
to continue his studies co-operated with the effects of
physical ill health in reducing him to this unhappy state.
We can readily believe that he fought the battle long and
well. But one never-to-be forgotten day the influences
pressing upon him seem to have culminated, and with
irresistible force drove him forth for a time from the

34 LIFE AND LABORS OF
presence of his fellows. In a frame of mind which those
who have passed through like crises will readily imagine,
and which it would, perhaps, be useless to attempt to
depict to those who cannot set the picture in the light of
some inner experience, he betook himself to a retired
spot, where, secure from interruption, he might open all
the flood-gates of his troubled soul. For thirty-six long
hours he sat there without food or drink and oblivious
to all outer conditions, wrestling, as we may well believe,
in awful agony of soul, with his spiritual foes. All the
billows of unbelief rolled over his head. The tempter
told him there was no God, no Heaven, no future life.
He whispered that life was a dream, Christianity a sham,
all religion a delusion, and all moral earnestness folly.
Such are some of the impressions left upon the mind
of the author from a brief account of this terrible ex
perience he once heard from Dr. Fyfe's own lips. The
circumstances were described by Mrs. Fyfe to the writer
of the sketch of his life given in the memorial number
of the Christian Helper-, an follows: — "He had, in his
wretched state of health, baen beset with doubts of a
serious nature. On his partial recovery he one day wan
dered off to the woods (I think), time passing unnoted
till a fellow-student discovered him sitting by a hollow
stump and roused him. From circumstances he found
that he had probably been there thirty-six hours. I am
pretty sure my memory is correct in this. His mind, he
told me, went through a process of reasoning at that
time, which he regretted he had not then written clown.
It seemed always to him to have been unlike what he
found in books. But never again did he doubt God or
the truths of the Bible. No ancient or modern sceptic,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 35
or imaginative speculator, shook him in his convictions
for a minute after that time."
One is reminded, in reading such a passage, of the three
days and three nights in which Saul of Tarsus neither ate
nor drank before " there fell from his eyes as it had been
scales," and he arose to enter upon a life of unremitting
consecration — a life, so far as appears, uncrossed there
after by a shadow of doubt. It was mentioned in a pre
vious chapter tha1: in an earlier stage of his spiritual
history, when tossed on a sea of doubt, he had found a
haven of peace in the resolve to forget self, dismiss all
selfish fears and perplexities, and devote all the energies
of his life to the work of savino- others. That grand
purpose was, we cannot doubt, renewed as one of the
issues of this supreme struggle. We may be sure he was
not left long to fight the battle in darkness and tempest.
The " peace in Jesus, the Christ," which he preached to
others, would soon flow back and become an abiding pre
sence in his own soul. The waters of life he adminis
tered would become in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting life.
May not Christian ministers, and all others who have
to deal with human souls struggling in the meshes of
doubt and longing for the liberty of the sons of God, gain
a valuable hint from such experiences in such lives ? Too
often the spiritual anguih seems begotten of the mere
selfish instinct which seeks assurance of personal safety.
Through even this narrow wicket many may no doubt
enter on the path which leads to the celestial hills of
Christ-like philanthropy. But might it not be wiser and
worthier of the Gospel of " so great a salvation '' if the
eyes of such terror-stricken ones could oftener be lifted

36 LIFE AND LABORS OF
from the quagmires of selfish anxiety in which their feet
are sinking, and fixed ^ipon the world's great harvest-
fields, to which the Mast.fer is beckoning all who would
be his true followers ?
We must not, however, overlook the humbler yet im
portant lesson which Dr. F\ f e drew from his own bitter
experience, and which he sought to impress upon his
students. That lesson was the necessity and duty laid
upon every young student to care for his bodily health
— to regard conscientiously the laws of his physical
being. In a lecture on Education, delivered at the
opening of the school year in 1S76: from which more
copious extracts may be given in another connection, he
expressed himself strongly o.i this point. " We sometimes
meet men," said he, " of high intellectual, moral, and
social culture who are unable to make any good use of
this high culture because they have destroyed their
physical constitution in acquiring it. They have failed
to educate the outer man, and hence it is ready to perish.
When they are ready to enter upon the active duties of
life their bodies are tottering over the grave. Souls
without bodies are not of much use in this world. They
are little better than ghosts."
Let young students, especially those fresh from active
pursuits, ponder these words and beware how they neglect
the conditions of physic il well-being. Apart from a
sound body a sound mind is impossible, or, if not impos
sible, is comparatively impotent, so far as influence for
good is concerned. More than that, in a neglected and
diseased body may be found the real cause of many an
otherwise mysterious spiritual malady. Good food,
abundant exercise, and a liberal allowance of time for

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 37
daily rest and recreation, are amongst the highest duties
a student owes to his Master and to his fellow-men as
well as to himself. God's laws are written in our physi
cal natures as well as in His book, and those laws can no
more be violated with impunity in the one case than in
the other*

* It is proper to explain that while the main facts of the terrible
experience above related are clear in the wiiter's own memory, as well
as otherwise fully attested, there seems to be no means of determining
the exact period of Mr. Fyfe's college life in which the incident oc
curred. From a certain passage in a private letter, written while he
was atf Newton, which loiter has come to hand since the above was
penned, the author is now inclined to be.ieve that the occurrence
should have been assigned to the year 1840, during his theological
course at Newton. Reference will be made to the passage in the proper
place. The interest and value of the cxpeiience are not materially
affected by the date, and in view of the uncertainty, it seems as well to
leave the account as originally written, with this explanation.

CHAPTER IV.

A Memorable Year — Dark Days and Lowering Clouds— Studying
n Montreal — Goes to Newton — Disappointments — A Rail-
way Accident — Perplexity — Foreboding — A Faithful
Friend — Decision — Worcester High School — Sudden Fame
— Delight in Study — Love for Canada.
^'(^
\-M'/f ACATION brought with it no surcease of the pecu-
't\Y(/ liar anxieties and trials, of whatever nature they
may have been, that pressed upon him. It is not clear
whether he remained at Hamilton till the close of the
school year, or was compelled by ill-health or want of
means to leave before the time of the summer holidays.
Nor is it on record just where he spent the greater part
of that, to him, memorable year, 1836. There is little
doubt, however, that he returned to Canada immediately
on leaving Hamilton, and was part of the time at his
home in La Prairie. On the 19th of June he writes: —
" This clay we are surrounded by dark clouds. It seems
as if nothing could pierce that maze of darkness but the
faith of the humble Christian penetrating through the
veil." A week later he speaks of having enjoyed study
ing a part of a sermon, from which it may be inferred
that he was engaged in preaching, at least occasionally ;
but in a private letter, dated Jan. 16th, '36, he says: " I
have not preached any for some time, though I have ex
horted frequently at the meetings." On the 3rd of July

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 39
he records : " My feelings are peculiar, from certain cir
cumstances being prevented from attending the church."
His brief notes at this period are full of aspirations after
nearness to God, and ardent prayers that he may have
more of the Spirit of Christ and be a more faithful min
ister of the Gospel. On July 4th he rttended a missionary
meeting, at which letters from some who were serving in
the foreign field were read. He says : " My soul was
stirred within me at the description of the state of the
heathen as given in these letters. May the Lord be my
director in all things.
" 'To thee, O Lord, commands belong,
To me, naught but obey.'"
The inference is pretty clear that he was inquiring
whether it might not be his own duty to devote himself
to foreign missionary work. It will be seen that a year
or two later he thought seriously of going to Africa.
Though he finally decided that his own field' of labor
was amongst his countrymen in Canada, he was all his
life an ardent advocate and friend of foreign missions. He
was a chief mover in the organization of the Ontario and
Quebec Auxiliary Baptist Foreign Mission Society, and
afterwards took a prominent part in the establishment
of the independent Canadian Mission among the Telugus.
On the 24th he expresses a fervent wish that he were
ready to go into the work-field, and that the Lord would
accompany him there, but. adds: "But if it is not Thy
will that I should preach, I must say, 'Thy will be done.' "
His way was evidently still hedged by difficulties that
appeared to him at times almost insurmountable. The
nature of those difficulties is perhaps hinted at in a note
on the 30th, in which he says; "This day I have sue-

40 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ceeded in getting books, and have received a letter from
my folks cont;ii,ing good news." His heart is jubilant.
On the 31st he says : " I heard a preacher to-day who, I
think, had better study his sermons more. May I be
warned by this never to enter the pulpit before I have
well studied my subject. It is folly to try to preach
otherwise." From this date until Oct. 11 the entries in the diary
are intermitted. In a note under that date he explains
that the interruption is due to his being " tossed about
without any settled place of abode," adding that he is
now settled in Montreal. Here he seems to have remained
through the winter engaged in study, probably at the
Montreal Academy, which had just been commenced, the
Rev. Newton Bosworth having taken charge, pro tempore.
In a private letter on Dec. 29, he writes: "I have not
enjoyed as good health as I did at Hamilton." Again,
Jan. 16 ; " My studies are the same as when I wroteyou
last, with the addition of Hebrew, which I recited to-day
for the first time." In the same letter he tells his friend,
" You must know that I am not quite so Calvinistic as I
was." He must have previously held "hyper" views, as
he remained, as is well known, moderately " Calvinistic "
to the end of his life. His purposes and aspirations are
still unchanged On the 12th and 13th he speaks of him
self as having studied with some degree of pleasure.
Yet he is much distressed by anxious thoughts respect
ing the past and the future, and craves Divine support
should severe disappointments be in store for him. The
last entry which has been preserved in this bit of diary
contains the following touching prayer : " Thou, Lord,
seest my heart. Thou «eest the cloud that hangs over

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 41
my hopes and happiness. 0 Lord, dispel it and give an
answer to my prayer, for Jesus Christ's sake. Thou
knowest how heavily it has hung upon me for some time
past. There is no merit in this, yet Thou hast promised
to hear all those that call upon Thee in faith. Dispel
these clouds, and make me live nearer to Thy throne."
The nature of those peculiar trials which pressed so
heavily on the mind and heart of the young student at
this stage of his course must be left mainly to conjecture.
They were partly, but can scarcely have been wholly, or
even chiefly, the result of pecuniary straits. The way of
the poor student, striving to educate himself for the
Master's service, was more rugged in those early days
than now ; the helping hands held out were fewer, and
the countenance and sympathy of brethren in our own
denomination less freely bestowed. But it is hard to be
lieve that any discouragements arising from such sources
could have so deeply affected one so clear of head and so
strong of will as Robert Fyfe. " The heart knoweth its
own bitterness," and it is pretty clear that there was
somewhere in the depths of his heart a fountain of bitter
ness whose springs were concealed even from his own
familiar friends.
The following year, 1837-8, was spent in Worcester,
Mass. The circumstances which led to his going thither
instead of. remaining at Newton, as he originally in
tended, are related in a letter to his friend Mr. McPhail,
who was during the same year attending the Hamilton
Seminary. He informs his friend that for some time be
fore he left Laprairie, where it would seem he passed
the summer or a part of it, he h#d been obliged to leave
off studying and go to work — very likely at Carey's old

42 LIFE AND LABORS OF
trade — in order to earn the means necessary to complete
his outfit. He left for Newton Centre on the 26th of
May. The terms in which he describes his emotions on
leaving Laprairie give us a glimpse of the depth and
tenderness of his nature. He speaks of the great kind
ness with which he had been treated there, and of the
pain caused by the parting from those "dear as his
heart's blood " for three years, as he left with the inten
tion of remaining at Newton until his course was com
pleted. His soul sickened at the thought as he saw his
native land fading from view, and he was almost ready
to repent and return to the companionship of those he
loved so well. But he "had put his hand to the plough"
and " must go forward." From subsequent allusions it
appears that he and two young friends were at this time
under the direction and receiving the assistance of a
society which he calls the "Education Society of
Canada." *
When he arrived at Newton he found the institution
almost deserted, the professors and nearly all the students
being absent attending anniversary meetings. On their
return two or three days later a fresh disappointment
'was in store for him. he Preparatory Department at

* The writer has been unable to learn any particulars in regard to
this society, unless, as seems most probable, it was the organization re
presented by the committee who founded the Montreal College, and
which seems either to have grown into, or been a branch of, the Canada
Baptist Missionary Society. The Canada Baptist Mission originated
with the Ottawa Baptist Association in 1836. The Society was formed
in 1837. Within twelve years from that date it had expended for
ministerial education (not including cost of college building or salary of
its president) between $14,000 and $15,000, had aided 26 young men in
obtaining education, and had been instrumental in bringing more than
fifty ministers into the Canadian field. See Montreal Register, Jan.
4th. 1849

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 43
Newton had been discontinued, and, on inquiry, it was
found that it would be inadvisable for him to enter upon
the Theological course proper without further prepara
tion. " After consultation, the professors agreed to ad
vise me," he writes, " to go to Worcester High School.'
" They told me that I had better study one year longer.
They even told me that my youth should induce me to
take a collegiate course before entering upon the study
of theology ! I told them that under present circum
stances it was impossible for me to do so." They still
advised me to get one year of preparatory training, i.e., a
year from the following October. " I told them that I
could not promise to do that either, but that I had no
objection to go to Worcester until October, knowing that
I would have sufficient time to consult the wishes of my
Canada friends during that period. . . . Thus I was
once more thrown out of a home ! Let me add here, in
justice to the professors and students, that I never ex
perienced so much kindness from strangers as I did from
them, especially from Professor Chase. No father could
have been more kind to his son than he was to me."
jfe.In travelling by rail from Newton to Worcester he
had a narrow escape from death by a railway accident.
He says : " I got into one of the foremost cars. There
were about twenty men in it. We had not proceeded
above two miles when we heard an unusual rumbling.
In a moment we were thrown more than fifteen feet from
the track, our carriage being literally broken in pieces.
There were no lives lost, but five carriages were reduced
to almost as many thousand pieces ! So great a wreck,
with so little individual injury, has never been known on
a railroad, there being only one man slightly injured"

44 LIFE AND LABORS OF
After some references to other matters, he proceeds to
ask his friend's opinion as to whether it is his duty to
spend another year and more " in the study of dry Latin
and Greek" * before entering Newton. He gives the list
of subjects prescribed for entrance — a rather formidable
one — and adds naively: "I have not fully come up to
this work ; but, if my life is spared, I will fully come up
to it before the commencement of their next term. Now,
is it my duty to wait a year from next fall before enter
ing Newton ? My taste would soon decide what course
to pursue, but there are other interests at stake. There
is poor, benighted Canada 1 There are millions of heathen
perishing for lack of knowledge ! I feel that I want
knowledge, and I feel that there are millions of souls
perishing. These are feelings which eat up my rest."
He begs his friend to give his candid opinion, formed
while his " eyes are fixed on our perishing fellow-
creatures, not on the temple of fame." He goes on to
mention another feeling which influences him. It is not
produced by gloomy forebodings, or by melancholy, or
by imagination. It is a settled conviction that his health
is breaking up, and that " his days will soon be num
bered." This conviction which, happily for the many
who were afterwards profited by him, proved, as we
know, unfounded, is easily explained by his over-wrought
nervous system, and health temporarily shattered by too
much work and anxiety and too little rest and recrea
tion. An incident of a different kind mentioned in this

* It will be found that his opinions were afterwards very materially
changed, both as to the dryness of Latin and Greek, and as to the
necessity of a full preparatory course.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 45
letter, in the confidence of friendship, shows that the
same moral courage and faithfulness which were charac
teristic of the man in the maturity of his powers, were
conspicuous in youth. He refers with expressions of the
deepest sorrow to the course of a mutual friend, of whom
they seem to have expected better things, but who had
turned aside from the path of rectitude and gone wof ully
astray. Mr. Fyfe says : " I wrote to him twice and
received as many answers. In my last I did not spare
him, but laid his conduct before him in its true light, (I
trust I did so in a Christian spirit). In his answer he
begs me to write to him again, but to have ' mercy' on
him. O, may God have mercy on him ! "
Robert A. Fyfe's name appears in the Catalogue of
the " Manual Labor High School," of Worcester, Mass., as
one of the students for the school year 1837-8. This
institution, we are told in the prospectus, had no shops
for mechanical labor, but there were sixty acres of land
connected with it, and whatever employment the cultiva
tion of the land could furnish was given to the students,
who were allowed at the rate of eight cents an hour for
their labor if they did a man's work and less in propor-
tioh as their ability diminished. In this way an indus
trious student could pay a part, but not the whole, of his
expenses. The fact of Robert Fyfe's attendance at this
school indicates apparently that his means were insuffi
cient to enable him to return to Madison, else he would
have gone back to the old school and the companionship
of his bosom friend. It shows also that his indomitable
resolve to obtain an education was not to be thwarted by
financial obstacles so long as he had a pair of strong arms
to help him through. The will was there, and the way

46 LIFE AND LABORS OF
was to be found or made. Many a youth made of less
stern stuff would have quailed in the face of lesser
difficulties. Amongst those obstacles were some which weighed
vmore with him, as they would with any generous spirit,
than those presented by scarcity of funds. In a letter
to one of his friends, dated Worcester, September 1st,
1837, he says: "I have taken your advice. I am deter
mined at all hazards to study as long as is consistent
with my circumstances. But in coming to this deter
mination I have had some painful reflections, because I
knew that to this not only the church at Laprairie and
Mr. Gilmour, but also the Education Society of Canada,
would be opposed, and would probably withdraw from
me their countenance and support. Not that I care a
very great deal about their withdrawing their support,
but that it grieves me very much to forfeit their esteem
and good will. In fact, I would submit to anything but
a direct violation of conscience to please them. I will
not, however, feel hard against them if they do withdraw
from me their aid, but I trust I will ever feel grateful to
them for what they have done." To another friend he
says, under the same date : " I have decided to study one
year more before entering Newton, but I have not de
cided not to go through college before entering. That
part I leave to Him who does all things right. In the
meantime I am determined (with Divine aid) to employ
every moment to the best advantage, and should Provi
dence seem to direct me to go through college I will go,
if not, I will not go." It will be seen that his views as
to the desirability of a thorough preparatory course were
already somewhat modified. No doubt the recollection

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 47
of his own impatience of delay in entering upon his life-
work often came to him in after days, and made him
more tolerant of the impetuosity of many of his own
students, who, like himself, made the mistake of fearing
that their Master's work could not wait two or three
years more, while they were cultivating their powers
and fitting themselves to become " workmen who needed
not to be ashamed."
It was mentioned in a preceding chapter that some of
those who knew Robert Fyfe as a lad did not think him
particularly clever, though they recognized the under
lying strength and solidity of his mental structure. His
schoolmates at Worcester seem to have formed a very
different estimate of his talents, as we shall see. It is not
unlikely that his was a mind o that not unusual type
which, though at first slow in development, as it ap
proaches maturity astonishes us by its versatility and
the tenacity and power of its grasp. In one of the pri
vate letters quoted from above he introduces the matter
referred to, and, though writing in the freedom and confid
ence of personal friendship, does it with a modesty and
humility which were eminently characteristic of his
earlier years, however contrary to the conceptions which
might easily have been formed by those who knew him
only in the strong self-reliance, often verging on obstinacy,
and one might almost say on egotistical self-sufficiency,
which was characteristic of him at middle age. He says:
" The situation which I occupy here exposes me more to
temptation, and lays more responsibility upon me, than
the one I occupied at Hamilton. For, in the first place,
the students are not all religious ; and, secondly, they
have got it into their heads — where they got the erro-

48 LIFE AND LABORS OF
neous idea I know not — that I am a smart fellow, and
consequently they look up to me. They have put me
into all the offices of dignity that they could think of.
This constitutes a source of pain and pleasure to me :
pain to see the workings of my own corrupt heart, how
like a balloon it is ready to be puffed up by air, and
pleasure that God has given me faculties which can com
mand influence when properly directed. 0 may He
direct me so to cultivate my powers of soul and body
that I may be the instrument of doing good !"
His prayer was answered even before it was uttered,
as appears from another passage in the same letter.
Further on in another connection he says : "I have on the
Sabbath days attended a Sabbath school, Bible class, and
conference meeting (one succeeding the other), held about
four miles distant. I have addressed the meeting some
times when the Spirit of God seemed to be in its midst
— when the tears have trickled down the cheeks of those
whose tongues had been roughened by oaths and blas
phemy. Two or three have been baptized from this
place, and I believe some more wish to be. yTou see, then,
my brother, that it is not eloquence or anything human,
but the Spirit of God that does the work."
One circumstance that occurred during this year at
Worcester shows that the estimate his fellow-students
had formed of his abilities was not so far beside the mark
as his modesty led him to suppose. The close of the term
was approaching, and his fellow-students were preparing
what they called an "exhibition," i.e., a series of recita
tions, dialogues, &c, for public presentation. His fellow-
students evinced the estimate they had formed of young
Fyfe's abilities by requesting him to write an original

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.

49

dialogue for the occasion. They would not take " No "
as an answer. No excuses would satisfy them, so he had
to undertake the task. His first effort pleased the stu
dents amazingly, but was objected to by the Principal,
who thought it was too severe a satire upon the ladies.
The students then requested him to prepare another,
introducing five or six characters. He did so. The
second production was also satisfactory to his constituents,
but the Principal ruled it out because it required more
time than could be provided for it in the programme.
He was asked to write a third, and again he complied,
this time with complete success. The dialogue was ap
proved by all parties, and the teachers showed their
appreciation of the burlesque by assigning to the writer
the comical part. The nature of the piece is not described,
but it " brought down the house," convulsing the audi
ence with inextinguishable laughter, and compelling
six or seven reverend gentlemen who were present to
" hold their sides." Mr. Fyfe writes confidentially to one
of his most intimate friends that the fame of the dialogue
" had spread as far as Boston and Providence," and that
he could scarcely go into any company without being
rallied upon it. Nor was this all. It had raised what
he called a " crusade" of ministers to compel him to go
through college, offering to take him under the wing of
their " beneficiary societies." His head does not seem to
have been at all turned, nor his purpose shaken, by this
flattery. " Though I feel thankful for their kindness,"
he writes, " I feel no disposition to comply. I mean not
to bind myself in any manner, but act just as Providence
seems to direct."
Many young men under similar circumstances would

50 LIFE AND LABORS OF
have seen, perhaps rightly, the guiding finger of Provid
ence in such a proposal. It is quite possible that young
Fyfe would have done so, too, had he not been pre
possessed with opinions which may have been largely the
offspring of early association with those who held secular
learning in low esteem as a preparation for the ministry)
and whose views he himself a few years later would have
been amongst the first to pronounce short-sighted. In
fact his prejudices were even then beginning to give
way, and the process of his gradual emancipation may
be traced in his subsequent correspondence. He was still
holding them fast with the tenacity which was a charac
teristic of his strong mind ; but he finds it necessary to
fortify himself by argument in his letters to his friends.
To one who took the broader view and asked the perti
nent question, " Whether does our usefulness depend
upon the number of years we labor, or upon our com
petency to our work ?" he replies : " A little good man is
better than a great bad one. A man who strives to be a
great scholar is generally a poor minister. Great popu
larity is too intoxicating a draught for frail man." He
seems not to have digested well the morsel of truth in
the first line of Pope's familiar couplet, " A little learning
is a dangerous thing"' nor was he yet in a position to
understand that the deepest humility is the legitimate
offspring of the profoundest learning. In a letter to
another friend, written a few months later, he is almost
ready to bewail his growing love of study, as if it were
becoming a snare and a hindrance in the Christian work
which he seems never to have intermitted. ' Referring to
a religious revival which had taken place in the neigh
borhood, he says : " I did not preach, but have frequently

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 51
led meetings. I have to do so now almost every Sunday.
But I have not time to study what I say to them. I am
all the time engaged with Latin, Greek, Logic, &c, of all
of which I am afraid I am too fond, and my fondness for
them is daily increasing. The natural sciences and lan
guages have power to charm me from food and sleep.
Yet, while I plainly perceive this, my soul still reaches
onward after them. If my feelings in this respect are
wrong may God forgive me ! I want to consecrate all
the knowledge I may ever acquire to his service."
Another fact of special interest must be noticed in this
connection. It indicates that his deep religious feeling was
mingled with intense patriotism. His heart is constantly
yearning over Canada. He mourns for his native land
as an abode of spiritual darkness. He desires above all
that his friends and himself shall return to labor in and
for Canada. " You were not decided upon going to
Canada the last time I saw you. Now let me entreat
you, as your term of study will soon close, to think of
the land where darkness reigns." " The Saviour is be
ginning to dispel the moral gloom that hangs so heavily
over the poor Canadians." "A letter I received from
Thomas" (no doubt his future brother-in-law, T. M.
Thompson, Esq., now of Toronto), "descriptive of the
state of the churches in Upper Canada, made my spirit
groan within me." Such expressions are constantly re
curring in his letters to one and another during his col
lege course. It is gratifying, after the lapse of half a
century, to know that the desire of his heart was so fully
bestowed, and that he was enabled to do so much for
his beloved native land.

CHAPTER V.

Interruptions — School Teaching — Sickness — A Trip to Canada —
Death of a Friend — A Memorable Scene and a Glowing
Description — Solicitations and Precautions — Love for
Canada — A Hiatus — Evangelistic Labors in Osgoode —
Letters — A Fixed Purpose — Creditable Pride — A Dark
Extract — A Pen Picture.

3HIS year at the Worcester Manual Labor School was
not a year of continuous study. His work was
twice interrupted ; first by a term of school teaching, no
doubt necessary to replenish his attenuated purse, and
again by sickness. He writes April 16th, 1838 : " Last
winter I taught school, having about forty scholars under
me, for which I received $20 per month, together with
board and washing. I did not like it very well, though
I suppose it has done me good." He gives no further
particulars. It was while thus engaged in teaching that
the revival services mentioned near the close of the last
chapter were carried on. From the reference then made
to his studies, it is evident that he was carrying on, in
part or in whole, the work of the High School course, in
addition to performing his duties as a teacher, and at
the same time conducting religious services every Sun
day ! It appears, too, that it was at this time the famous
dialogue was written. Involving, as it no doubt did, a
very heavy draft upon his time and energies, it operated

REV. H. A. FYFE, D.D. 53
as the proverbial "last straw." In the end he had to pay
a heavy penalty for his popularity and literary ambition.
No wonder if, while thus attempting to do the work of
two or three strong men, he used to hear, as he hints in
one of his letters, the '' cocks crowing " before his self-
imposed tasks were completed for the night.
The natural result followed. His health again gave
way, and he was obliged to devote the last term of the
school year to travel and recreation in order to regain his
strength. Under date July 2nd, he writes : " The latter
part of last term my health began to fail rapidly. In
fact, I had not recovered from last winter's complaint. It
affected me first when I was teaching school. My symp
toms were a severe headache, pain in the chest, incessant
cough, and want of appetite. I was, however, pretty
well at the beginning of last term, but my studies pressed
hard upon me, and I had an immense quantity of writing
to do for an exhibition that was then on foot. This so
wore upon me that I had a relapse, and was confined to
my bed and room for more than a week. By this time
the term closed, and I was worn to a skeleton and still
unwell." This illness compelled him to anticipate a trip to
Canada which he had previously projected for the sum
mer holidays. In a previous letter, written in April, he
had said : " I intend, if nothing happen, to visit Canada
in the month of August. I will strike off in a south
westerly direction, on foot, to Lake Champlain, whence
I may take the steamboat or go on foot, as I please."
Something did happen, as we have seen. At the end of
the week's confinement, acting under advice, he started
on the projected tour. It is worth while to follow him,

54 LIFE AND LABORS OF
if only to commend to the more tender-footed students of
these days the kind of medicine he found good to restore
flesh to his wasted frame and vigor to his shattered
oonstitution. He first went to Boston, where he remained a week,
attending the anniversaries and cruising about a little on
the sea. He then made a bee-line for Canada, crossing
the country and setting foot on his native soil after five
days' journeying by stage and on foot. He thought he
had improved much in appearance, but his friends found
him " very thin." He stayed in Canada two weeks, dur
ing which he visited Montreal, where he was shocked to
hear of the death of Mr. Whipple, a young friend who
seems to have been like-minded with himself and pre
paring for the same sacred work. " The ways of the
Lord are past finding out !" he cries in anguish, but im
mediately adds, "Yet, blessed be His name, for He is
good !" A few weeks previously he had written con
cerning this brother: "I am inexpressibly shocked and
grieved on account of the sickness of dear Bro. Whipple.
. . . Shall he be cut down ere he enter the field ? . . .
But perhaps the Lord has determined otherwise concern
ing him. Perhaps he has only been cultivating his mind
and laying the foundation of that knowledge which he
will pursue with renewed energy in another and a better
world. Yes, brother M., I think angels look upon us
cultivating our immortal faculties with far different
emotions from those of men, for angels know better than
men the value of 'those minds which are to be eternally
stretching out toward the infinite dimensions of Deity."
At the expiration of the two weeks he returned to
Worcester, having travelled nearly one thousand miles

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 55
and more than one hundred on foot. He adds: "That
course very much strengthened me. I sweated out a
good many of the bad effects of my complaint."
One page of the letter from which the above extracts
are made is filled with a description of some of the
scenery through which he passed on this somewhat
memorable journey. The passage is worthy of being
transcribed at length. The reader will not expect fault
less rhetoric from a youth whose schooling thus far had
been so limited, and gained in the face of so many diffi
culties, and who was not yet fitted for college. But he
will welcome the extract as showing a new and pleasing
phase of the character we are studying. The passage is
touched with true poetic feeling. It betokens an
almost passionate love of the beautiful in nature, and re
veals a glimpse of the emotions of a soul attuned to
sympathy with those lofty moods which are vouchsafed
only to those finer susceptibilities of human nature which
hint at its kinship to the divine. It will be remembered,
too, that these lines were penned, not for the public eye,
but in the artless confidence of a private letter to a
eouple of friends:
" Some of those scenes I passed through — the magnificent
forest, the lovely dell, the rushing rivulet, now gambolling
wildly over the rocks and anon murmuring hoarsely through
the deep caverns of the earth, and the bland, mild heavens
that overshadowed the whole — filled me with feelings that can
be forgotten only when memory resigns her office. How could
I help exclaiming, 'These are Thy glorious works, Parent of
Good.' 'The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord, and the firma
ment showeth Thy handiwork.' One place in particular I
remember. I was weak from ill-health, and worn out by want
of rest and the jolting of the stage. I concluded, therefore, to
walk a few miles. I left Woodstock, Vt., about one o'clock p.m.
on Saturday. I travelled about twenty miles, I was insensible

LIFE AND LABORS OF
to fatigue. My mind seemed to perform the office of a physi
cian. It lent of its elasticity and vigor to its tottering tene
ment, and I hurried along insensibly, like one entranced. On
either side arose a chain of tremendous hills, whose towering
peaks were frequently concealed in the clouds of heaven. In
the east was 'God's bow,' with all its varied colors, reminding
me of His unwavering fidelity to faithless man. The sun
sinking in the west had given to every cloud that floated
loosely in the heavens a crimson tint. Every leaf and herb
had been refreshed by a slight shower. They sparkled, as it
were with pearls ; while the little river, clear as crystal, mur
muring over its pebbly bed, sent forth a hoarse bass, which
arose voluptuously from among the trees and mingled sweetly
with the shrill notes of the birds, each one of which seemed
vying with the others to bid farewell to the setting sun. I
cannot describe the scene, but I was charmed. I could not
move when I came to this spot. My soul seemed, as if insulted
at being enclosed in so narrow a cell, to have burst every fetter
and soared away into regions more congenial to itself. The
gathering gloom and dampness of the evening aroused me from
my reverie ; so I walked on a little further and put up for the
night." Another fact which crops out in the letters of this date
may serve to throw an incidental ray of light upon the
nature of some of the difficulties which caused him at
times so much anxiety and worry. It at least shows
clearly that, however unsettled were his purposes in re
gard to extending his literary studies, he still felt deeply
his need of further training before entering upon the re
sponsible duties of the ministry, and was resolved to have
at least a theological course at any cost. In announcing
a few weeks beforehand his intention to make this visit
to Canada, he says: "The committee at Montreal wrote
to me a few days since inquiring whether I wished to
return to Montreal and study under Mr. Davies, whom
they expect out on the first of May. But at present I
have no inclination to do so, however good a teacher he

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 57
may be. They asked also when I thought I should be
prepared to enter on a field of labor ! At this my heart
sank, and I felt indeed like one 'born out of due season';
for what can they expect from me as yet ? How can I,
who as yet know nothing, undertake to guide immortal
spirits ? I think I could tell all I know in two sermons."
He tells his friends that he intends, when he makes his
visit to Canada, to leave all his effects behind him at
Worcester, " lest the people want to keep him."
This resolution was carried out. Nor was the precau
tion vain, as the sequel proved. The influence brought
to beafupon him to prevent his return was such as few
young men would have withstood. Speaking of his visit
to Montreal, he adds: "I saw the committee, and was
solicited by them to return to Montreal to finish my pre
paratory studies. This I refused to comply with, and
the consequence was that they withdrew their assistance
from me because they could not send their funds to sup
port American institutions, while they were trying to
start one in Canada. In doing this they undoubtedly
did right. I shall always feel grateful for the friendly
assistance they have lent me. May God bless them for
this, and enable them to establish a permanent institution
in poor Canada. In the meantime, however, I have to
shift for myself. I feel assured that God, who has ever
• been kind to me, will not now leave me, but will open a
way in which I may attain that object for which I have
labored for years." How many young men under the
circumstances would have been able to take so broad and
fair a view of the action of the committee, and accept it
in so excellent a spirit ? In this same connection — the
letter is dated Worcester, M. L., High School, July 2nd,
E

58 LIFE AND LABORS OF
1838 — he says further: "Should God spare me, I expect
to be yet three years in preparing myself. How I shall
be supported during that period I do not yet know. I
nin at present studying a little and working as much as
I can. The warm weather and heavy work come rather
hard on me, as you may see from my writing, but the
lesser evils must be borne to obtain the greater good. I
probably shall not go to Newton this fall, but put it off
one year longer."
All through the correspondence of this period are scat
tered pleasing indications of the intense moral and spiri
tual earnestness of the young student. The ideal of the
Christian minister upon which he held his eyes con
stantly fixed was a high one. To his friend McPhail,
who was about to assume the solemn responsibilities of
the pastorate, he speaks many modest but warm-hearted
words: "I am not able to advise you, for I have neither
experience nor wisdom I am but a stripling, yet let me
entreat you to be faithful. Keep the word of God before
your eyes, and let not the fear of man or devil deter you
from speaking the truth, the whole truth. And go armed
with the weapon with which Bunyan arms his pilgrim,
all-prayer. This is a weapon which I fear ministers, and
all are too much in the habit of letting rust. Use this
much as you hope to prosper." Again: "I cannot but
think of the responsible situation in which you will soon
be placed where not only the eyes of Him who sees you
at all times, but also the eyes of all the angels, and of all
the men by whom you may ba surrounded, will be turned
upon you to see how you discharge your duties, &c."
Here we lose sight of our student for a whole year,
owing to an unfortunate hiatus in the correspondence.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 59
The next letter is dated, "Petite Nation, July 25th, 1839."
How the intervening time was spent cannot now be de
termined with certainty. Our last record in July, 1838,
left him at the Worcester High School, whither he had
returned after his visit to Canada a few weeks before.
From his reference to the hard labor which he was com
bining with his studies, it seems not improbable that he
continued in Worcester during the next school year, very
likely keeping up the alternation of mental and bodily
toil throughout the year. He had, he tells his friends, a
few weeks before the close of the school year in 1838,
some thought of returning to Hamilton, and had written
to make inquiries with a view to doing so. But from
information kindly given by both Dr. Spear and the
Secretary of the Madison University it seems certain that
he did not accomplish that object. We must, however,
content ourselves to lose sight of him for the year, though
we may safely picture him plodding on in the path of
study with indomitable perseverance, and tu ning aside
only at the bidding of stern necessity to work with his
hands in order to maintain a scanty supply of " the
needful." The summer of '39 finds him again in Canada. His
letter of the date above-mentioned shows us clearly how
he was engaged during a part of the time, and from the
part we may safely infer the whole. The somewhat
copious extracts from this letter given below are doubly
interesting as not only presenting a picture of Mr. Fyfe's
work as a student-missionary, but also giving us a glimpse
of the early history of the denomination in Osgood and
vicinity. Perhaps nothing better can be given by way of
preface than the following passages from a report of a

60 LIFE AND LABORS OF
meeting -of the Committee of the Canada Baptist Mis
sionary Society, held August 19, 1830, and reported in
the 'Canada Baptist Magazine and Missionary Register
for September of that year: —
"Our missionary brother, the Rev. D. McPhail, who has
been stationed since last fall at the Indian Lands, was lately
induced to pay a visit to Osgood for the purpose of declaring
to the people in that destitute settlement the unsearchable
riches of Christ. By the following letter to our brother Milne
it will be seen that the labors of Mr. McPhail have been
crowned with signal success. Many have been converted from
ihe error of their ways, brought to believe in the Lord Jesus,
and to walk in newness of life. We understand that when
'tidings of these things came to the ears of the churches at'
Bread albane and St. Andrews, Brethren Fraser and Edwards,
jun., proceeded to Osgood; who will doubtless, on seeing 'the
grace of God,' be glad, and exhort the disciples 'that with pur
pose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord.' We hope to
have it in our power soon to give some further details of the
work of the Lord amongst that people."
Following is the first part of Mr. McPhail's letter. It
is dated 'Indian Lands, July 20th, 1839:—
"The Lord has wonderfully displayed his power in the con
version of sinners in Osgood. I visited that part of the coun
try about five weeks ago, and have only returned the other
.day. During the first week I preached every day, excepting
Saturday. Nothing special was manifested, except an increas
ing anxiety to hear. I spent the second week in visiting from
house to house, and conversing with the people about the state
of their souls. This I find to have been of great benefit, as
some of themselves afterwards expressed. Many began to feel
the effects of a wounded conscience, but 'the power of the Lord
was present to heal.' A number have professed to receive
peace of mind by believing. Twenty-six have been 'buried
with Christ by baptism unto death'; a number more are hope
fully converted, and there are a number yet enquiring ' what
they must do to be saved.' The greater part are heads of
families and in the vigor of life, so that much good to our Zion

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 61

may be expected from them The last week, in a great mea
sure, has been employed in instructing these young disciples
' to observe all things whatsoever Christ commandeth them.'
A gospel church was formed last Lord's Day, numbering forty-
six ; and afterwards we attended to the ordinance of the Lord's
Supper. In looking back I can truly say, ' Surely the Lord
was in that place,' and to a g.eat degree T knew it not.' I
left them with deep affection, in hopes of returning whenever
the Lord, in his providence, will permit. What I adverted to
in my last letter I advert to again, their great 'want of a minis
ter. They are making preparations for a place of worship; but
where is the person to occupy the pulpit? What can be done,
or to what side cm we look? Nowhere, but to yourselves, for
the present. Rslax not your efforts, therefore, in preparing
men for the ministry."
Mr. Fyfe thus continues the story: —
"Petite Nation, July 25, 1839.
" Dear Brother McPhail :
" I take this opportunity of writing to you lest I should not
again be so favorably circumstanced, for I know not where I
may be tossed next time, having been led so singularly through
my late wanderings. I left Osgood on Monday, 21st. During
the week previous I visited nearly all the families in the settle
ment. Indeed, brother, my spirit was stirred within me as I
went from house to house, pointing the mourning and distressed
souls to Him who has power to forgive sins, even on earth. I
conversed with some who seemed not at all concerned for their
souls, but the next Lord's Day these same individuals were
weeping and enquiring the way to Zion. Two or three profess
to have met with a change since you left. . . . We num
bered sixteen who were still anxious on the morning I left.
There seem to be new cases of conviction every day. I never
found it harder to leave any place. On the Sabbath (20th) I
preached three times, and, notwithstanding a fearful quantity
of rain had fallen, the barn was full, and I conversed with. the
anxious after service till nearly dark. The Lord is certainly
doing wonders in that place.
" Well, I left them on Monday with tears. I may say with

62 LIFE .AND LABORS OF
Ezekiel, T went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, but the
hand of the Lord was strong upon me,' for I felt it to be duty
to leave. I went to Hull and found Mr. Jamieson, and laid
the case before him, but he could not go.
" When I found that Jamieson could not go I did not know
what to do. My heart was sore for the people of Osgood. I
could not sleep for two nights. I committed my ways to the
Lord, and examined whether it were not my duty to return ;
but, after considering all things, I concluded it was not. So I
wrote to Bro. Fraser, and urged him, if possible, to visit them
now.* The letter will probably reach him this week, and if the
Lord see fit He will send him.
"It seems to be the universal opinion, Bro. McP., of all
those who know the state of the case, that you should go to
Osgood. Though I am not able to say that you should go, I
can say that some one ought to go, and that immediately.
And further, Hermes, or Apollo either, would not please them
so well as you would. It is not to be wondered at. Indeed,
I would think it strange were it otherwise. But the question
may be put and answered by an echo, 'Whom will we get, if
you don't come V
"And now, brother, I have said nearly all I can say. I have
had hard application from Bro. Tucker. He had concluded
that he was going to keep me right or wrong, and Bro. Milne
helped him. I had education enough. I would be sick if I
went back to study. It was sinful to lose my precious time,
&c, &c. But, though my heart is pained for poor, destitute
Canada, yet I think I must go back. I think it a duty due to
myself and to the cause of Christ that I have at least a little
more preparation. So all their arguments cannot move me, for
my mind is made up.
"Will you write to me within three weeks from this date,
directing to Laprairie ? For this reason : I want you to tell

* This appeal was successful. Mr. John Ferguson, sen., an aged
resident of Osgood, writes that he heard Mr. Fraser say, on his arrival,
that tie statement made to him of the movement was such that he had
to come.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 63
me who is the secretary for the 'Society of Enquiry'* at
Hamilton. I want to write and lay before that society the
destitution of these regions, and also the desire that seems to be
everywhere manifested to hear the everlasting Gospel in this
country. I will 'fill my mouth with arguments,' and plead
with them. And who knows but that the Head of the Church
will send one from there to help in this wide field 1 If I am
spared to go to Newton, I will lay the case in person before
them there, and plead with all my eloquence for one from that
place also. Two or three would be a great acquisition to
Canada in its present state. May the Lord send some laborers
into this vast harvest. .......
"Your Friend and Brother,
" R. A. Fyfe."
His zeal in evangelistic work, passionate love for
Canada and its people, and fixedness of purpose in re
gard to further study, all stand out clearly behind
the faded lines and time-yellowed paper of those
letters. The second to Mr. McPhail, alluded to in the
foregoing foot-note, though bearing marks of great
haste, contains two sentences of a more directly personal
bearing. From one of them it appears that the want of
means Still harassed his steps, and that at the solicita
tion of his friend he had almost resolved to seek assist
ance in some shape from a certain person who would be
likely to give it if asked. He says : " Well, I saw Mr-
R  , but I had not courage to ask him. If I should
be six years in getting through, I cannot clo it. I must
fight on though my way is dark. Don't tell me it is
pride prevents me. Whatever it may be, you know
what such feelings are and can easily sympathize with

* Repeating the request in a note a week or two later, he asks for
the name of the " President of the Missionary Society."

64 LIFE AND LABORS OF
me. They are feelings that are painful and often dis
advantageous, yet they are strong."*
The reader, too, will sympathize with those feelings
and admit that there is a species of pride which elevates
and ennobles. When the Christian brother who has
means really feels that he is Christ's steward, and that
he is giving of the Master's for the Master's work, the
young man who is conscious that his single aim is to fit
himself for that work will probably do well to accept the
aid in the spirit in which it is given. But feelings and
motives are apt to get sadly mixed on the part of both,
and as a rule better things may be expected from the
student who is slow, than from him who is swift, to ask
or accept gratuitous assistance. No reader will think
the less of Robert Fyfe because he could not do it.
The other passage is more subjective still, and more
mysterious. It is added in a hasty postscript : " If I
wrote you anything about my feelings at present you
would find them a strange jumble — hope, despair, hate,
love, courage, cowardice, all mingled together." It would
be as unbecomiug as useless to attempt to |>ry too
* It may have been on the occasion of this missionary trip that a
pleasing incident, remembered by some of his old friends who still sur
vive, took place. While standing in the bow of the Ottawa boat, with
threadbare clothes, patched shoes, and discouraged and downcast by the
gloomy outlook, a fellow-passenger, some say at that time a stranger,
came up, drew him into conversation, succeeded in getting from him an
inkling of the cause of some of his troubles and anxieties, and, after a
few kind and encouraging words, handed him a sum of money sufficient
for all present needs. According to another and perhaps, in view of his
reluctance to accept aid, more probable version, a roll of bank notes was
dropped stealthily into his pocket, and not discovered until some time
afterwards when he chanced to put his hand into the pocket. "This
broke the clouds," says the brother who tells the story, who makes it
doubly interesting and characteristic by adding : " The messenger from
his Heavenly Father was none other than good, earnest, thoughtful
Stephen Tucker."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 65
curiously into the nature of the secret troubles which
seem still to weigh so heavily upon his mind. Some
cause more powerful than mere pecuniary embarrass
ments must have been at work to move so deeply so
brave and resolute a spirit.
The writer has before him a few outlines of a pen pic
ture of young Fyfe as he appeared probably during this
summer visit to the Ottawa region. They are drawn by
one who was at that time one of Mr. Tucker's household.
Here they are. His face and figure are not described, but
can be easily imagined by those who knew him in later
years. He wore during his evangelistic labors a short
pea jacket, and in the pulpit, or perhaps more correctly*
on the platform in the barn, behind the pine board to
which he afterwards alludes as a pleasant and sacred
memory, a " somewhat worn-looking brown frock coat,
or long surtout. The dress evidenced poverty, but it was
always scrupulously neat." He was " always speaking
with the employes of Mr. Tucker about their souls.'' He
was " attractive and popular," and was always listened
to in public with " marked attention." " His conversa
tion with the young people was free and friendly, and
he possessed great tact in approaching the unsaved. He
particularly interested the young in his sermons."
In regard to his preaching at this time, another aged
friend still living in Osgood says that while he was not
so ready and fluent as many young men, his speaking was
marked by " thought and strength." " It was predicted
ai the time that he would become a great and good man."

CHAPTER IV.

Entering Newton — How Well Prepared ? — Specious Reasoning —
Dr. Fyfe's Maturer Views — Entrance Examination— The
"Thorn in the Flesh" — His Heart's Desire — Regular
Work and Overwork — Writes Magazine Articles — Educa
tion oe the Feelings— A Season oe Darkness — More Sick
ness — Shall he go to Africa?
r«n
Y?|YCTOBER of that year (1839) found Robert Fyfe at
~c£j£ Newton Theological Seminary, regularly entered
for the full course. An important point in his strenuous
race was now reached — not a halting-place for rest and
repose, but a height from which he could catch sight of
the long-desired goal. The stimulus to redoubled exer
tion was not needed, but the encouragement from the
nearing prospect of ultimate success perhaps was. The
inspiration of an invigorated hope is now manifest in his
letters. Judged by ordinary standards, it must be confessed
that his literary or preparatory course had not been com
plete or satisfactory. One year, broken by illness, at
Hamilton, and one, possibly two, broken both by illness
and by other causes of interruption, at Worcester Manual
Labor High School, would seem a rather insufficient pre
paration for entering a theological college. It is almost
painfully clear, as we shall see, that Robert Fyfe himself
growingly felt that he was placed at serious disadvantage

REV. R. A. FYFE, D D. 67
by the lack of more extended preparation. He repeatedly
assigns it as a reason for putting forth all his energies
while at Newton. Of his eighteen class-mates, fourteen
were college graduates.
But it would be a great mistake to attempt to measure
the mental discipline he luid attained by the number of
school sessions he had attended. Whatever his mental
habits may have been prior to his conversion, there is
abundant evidence that the four years which had inter
vened between his entrance into the Hamilton Academy
in 1835 and his entrance into Newton Theological Semi
nary in 1839 had been years of intense mental activity, in
school and out of school. No one knew better than he
that the tale of months or years at college is no reliable
measure of a student's actual attainments. The following
passage from a letter written shortly before the close of
his first year at the Worcester school, and while he was
anxiously revolving, in the light of possibility and duty,
the question of taking the college course which was urged
upon him and which he had come to desire, shows the
turn which his thoughts sometimes took : —
"One consideration has presented itself to me since I wrote
the first part of this etter, respecting going through college.
Mr. Barley (Principal of the W. M. L. High School), who is
considered to be a very good scholar, told me candidly that
when he graduated, though among the first in his class, he
could not conjugate tvtttu, and that during the four years he
had been teaching he had learned three times as much of every
thing as he learned during his preparatory and collegiate course
put together, and I was told that he was a good student too !
He did not tell me this to prevent me from going through col
lege, for he wishes with all his soul that I should go. Now, if
a man can become learned out of college; if, after he has
learned the first principles of things, he can in four years learn

68 LIFE AND LABORS OF
three times as much out of college as he can in seven years in
college, is it not best to get the first principles well learned
and iet the collegiate course go ? I do not, however, despise a
collegiate course; for, were it consistent with my circum
stances, there is nothing I would like better."
It may be that this book will be read by some young
men who find themselves in the same quandary as young
Fyfe at the time the foregoing was penned. The difficul
ties in the way of a complete and thorough course of
preparation may seem almost insuperable, and they may
at times be tempted, as he seems to have been, to persuade
themselves that they will lose little or nothing by fore
going it. Such will quickly see, unless their judgments
should be biassed by the pressure of discouraging circum
stance--, as his evidently was, that the inference which he
was more than half inclined to draw was quite unwar
ranted by the premises. To base a broad generalization
upon a single case, and that clearly a very exceptional
one, was to do terrible violence to the laws of the logic
which was one of his favorite studies. Whatever may
have been the fact with some of the American colleges
fifty years ago, there is good reason to hope that the case
of a graduate from any college of standing, who should
be amongst the best students and yet unable to conjugate
run-™, would be to-day a rare phenomenon. Theke may,
it is true, be many instances in which students* learn
more in four years after graduation than in seven before
it, but the question is to what extent the achievement is
due to the power gained in the seven. Could Mr. Bailey,
without the seven years' training, defective as it seems to
have been, have learned in ten years, or in a lifetime,
what he learned in the four to which he brought all the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 69
accumulated strength gained in the seven ? "But," it may
be objected, " see what Dr. Fyfe learned and accomplished
in after years without the full collegiate course." Two
questions will suggest the reply. How many young men
have the strength of will, the thirst for knowledge, and
the invincible moral purpose which made Dr. Fyfe what
he became ? and, Who can say how much more he might
have accomplished had all the elements of power which
were welded into his character been reinforced by three
or four years more of college discipline ?
But, lest some further correction of the influence of his
reasoning and example be needed, it may be well to give
in this connection the verdict of his ripened judgment in
after years upon the question at issue. His views, as set
forth in a lecture on Education which he delivered on
one or two occasions to his Woodstock students, are so
clear and satisfactory, so consonant with the sound com
mon sense which characterized all his deliberate utter
ances, that no apology is thought necessary for the
following extract : — ¦
" I wish to brand in the strongest manner what I deem a
grave popular error, viz., that of associating education altogether
with school or college training. Under the influence of this
error, men qall Peter, and John, and James, Bunyan, Fuller,
Thomas Scott, Ferguson the astronomer, Bloomfield the poet,
and Hugh Miller the geologist, and a host of such men unedu
cated. There never was a greater misnomer. True, these men
never attended college; they had no titles appended to their
names; they carried no parchment diplomas in their pockets;
but uneducated they certainly were not. They were most
thoroughly educated if we mean by education the development
of their mental, moral, and social powers, that which gave them
command of the faculties which God had bestowed upon them.
They could think strongly and clearly. They could investigate
thoroughly any subject which was presented to them. They

70 LIFE AND LABORS OF
could control their passions and appetites. They could treat
their fellow-men in a proper and becoming manner, adapting
themselves to the position in which God in His providence had
placed them. In what place they acqui' ed this culture ; by
what means they obtained this command over themselves, is
clearly a very subordinate matter. ... If a man acquires the
commond over himself, using the word in its widest sense, it
matters not v/hether he have made this great acquisition in
academic halls, or, as did Bloomfield, in following the plough ;
in the libraries of a university, or, as did Hugh Miller, in a
stone quarry. It matters not whether he graduate, as one
eminent man told me he had done, at 'the north-east corner of
a log-heap,' or in splendid convocation. The point is to obtain
this culture. ... I am not speaking against seminaries of
learning. My associations and the position I hold sufficiently
declare my estimation of such institutions. Nor am I intimat
ing that it is as easy for a man to acquire what may be property
called education out of colleges as in them. Far from it. None
but those who have toiled without the aid of institutions of
learning to fit themselves for usefulness, or to discharge the
obligations laid upon them, can know all the difficulties which
beset their path, all the bitterness of the struggles which they
have to endure, or the slow, tedious, up-hill work which they
have to perform. ... In this world no man can effect
anything but by the sweat of his face, — by hard work, whether
he is in an institution of learning or out of it. The chief
difference between the ins and the outs is that the one has to,
work hard and the other has to work harder."
It is easy to read between the lines of those last sentences
a graphic chapter in the lecturer's own experience.
As before said, an intermediate goal of young Fyfe's
noble ambition was reached when he entered Newton
Theological Seminary. His three-years' course at that
institution would be the last stage in the preparation for
the life-work on which he longed to enter. In the
learned and able men who constituted the staff of instruc
tion of that institution he would find those well skilled
in ministering to the cravings of a hungry mind eager for

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 71
fuller explorations in the broad fields of philosophical
and religious truth. He would now sit with great delight
at the feet of such men as a Ripley, a Chase, and a Way-
land. The pressure of pinching poverty would henceforth
be less painfully felt, as the opportunities for self-help
would be greater, even if he declined to avail himself, as
he probably did, of the aid proffered by such associations
as the Northern Baptist Education Society. While de
clining such aid for himself, not so mnch, perhaps, from
the pride which forbade him from asking help from indi
viduals as from his fixed resolve to lay himself under no
obligation that might afterwards hamper him in any way
in his choice of a field of labor,* his after life showed
that he heartily believed in extending the helping hand
to young men struggling with poverty in their efforts to
fit themselves for the ministry of the Word.
Those who were Dr. Fyfe's associates in labor at Wood
stock know well how warm and active was his 'sympathy
with needy students in their truggle to secure an educa
tion, and how much toil and self-denial it cost him to
keep the fund for ministerial education replenished for
their benefit. Nor can we doubt that the large company
of those whose paths to the fields of usefulness they are
now occupying were smoothed by the help thus supplied,
will ever hold in grateful memory his unselfish service
in this regard. In the good, but not always congenial
work of soliciting contributions for this purpose he may
have been stimulated both by thankful memories of
generous help in his own time of need, and by bitter re-
* He says in a letter written about this time : "I am not yet under
the Education Society. I am afraid to let the Americans have any
claim on me, lest I be drawn away from where I am more needed."

2 LIFE AND LABORS OF
collections of hardships and privations w hich the Christian
Jiberality of his Master's stewards should have rendered
unnecessary. He passed the entrance examinations successfully.
Writing to his friend McPhail shortly after his admission
he refers first to his wanderings since they had last met.
"Since I saw you I have been to Quebec and over four of
the New England States, besides a great many short fifty
and sixty-mile journeys, si have preached twice since I
came to the States, and I do not intend to preach more
for six months." He then proceeds : " I entered Newton
on the first of October. The examination was pretty
close. Only think of me, poor little thing, sitting before
four of the most learned men in the country, trying to
read Greek and Latin and to go over philosophies of all
kinds, when I had not looked at some of these things for
two years 1 However, I was received into the regular
course. Indeed I surprised myself, for I did not think I
could do half so well." He is making a specialty of
Hebrew. Though pitted against fourteen college gradu
ates, he has been assured "by pretty good authority" that
he can take the second, if not the first, place in Hebrew.
After giving a brief outline of his regular studies, he goes
on to say : " I have commenced reading a very excellent
French work on criticism. I read the Greek classics one
hour daily. I find this beneficial. It gives me a more
thorough knowledge of the language, and I read 'Butler's
Analogy' eyory day. I do this for the twofold purpose
of making his arguments my own and disciplining my
powers, for not having had the advantage* of a college
course, I must indemnify myself for that loss by every
lawful measure." He praises the beauty of the place,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 73
the comfort of the rooms and board, is pleased with his
society, and delighted with his teachers. He " loves the
place much." There is one drawback — the great expense
for books. His for the term cost thirty dollars. He had
been obliged to buy them at six months' credit, but they
must be paid for then, and this is already troubling him.
The laws of the institution do not permit students to
accept money for preaching during term, and he is not
certain of getting a place in vacation. He fears poverty
is to be his " thorn in the flesh" through life. " I need it
to keep me clown. I get more of everything than I de
serve." "I must trust to Providence."
In another part of this letter he speaks to his friend
from the fullness of his heart of his fears and hopes and
aspirations. The words reveal the man, and may be help
ful to others : —
" But oh ! my brother, I may acquire all these things I have
mentioned" — referring to his list of studies — " and yet go forth
not to bless, but to curse, mankind. When I think of such a
result my soul sinks within me, and I could weep like a child,
for ' who is sufficient for these things V Indeed I am well
satisfied that without cultivating the heart there would arise
no good, but evil, from cultivating the intellect. Still, I be
lieve that He who was a 'mouth' to Moses can be the same to
me. But as he knows well what we are and what are the
duties of ministers, he will give us ' grace according to our
day,' and strength to bear any weight of responsibility he may
put upon us. O ! if I have asked for anything in earnest — if
I have pleaded for anything with tears — it is that God would
prepare me to be a useful minister. I have been -so impressed
with this idea that for days in succession it has been the bur
den of my prayers. I do not know how to cultivate my
powers to the best advantage. I do not know what is best for
me, and I entreat Him to show me. I do not feel satisfied
with a cultivation that will pass, but I want to cultivate my

74 LIFE AND LABORS OF
powers to the best advantage. I do not think it is presumption
to think that God will direct me in this."
We do not again hear from him until near the close of
the college year, in June, 1840. He has been studying
Hebrew and Greek throughout the year, writing out his
own translation of every Psalm read, and of Romans, with
notes and criticisms. He finds it no light task to dig his
way through old Latin and Greek commentaries. He
has also compared the Old Testament in Hebrew with
the Greek version, had lectures on the manuscripts of the
Old Testament, &c. All this in the regular college
course. He has had to preach about once a fortnight
and to attend two "enquiry meetings" every week, besides
regular class and society meetings. But over and above
this he has privately, for his own behoof, read "over and
over" two works in Mental Philosophy, and two of the
Greek classics, Xenophon and Sophocles, and has trans
lated for Professor Hackett a Latin work on the Immor
tality of the Soul, " an abominably hard thing." He does
this extra work because, as he says, "I feel deeply the
disadvantages under which I labored in my youth," and
" the importance of that work for which an angel is in
adequate, or at least not so well suited as a devot?d
Christian is." He feels more keenly than ever his own
inability, and trembles to think how soon he must o-o
out. He has never had " the burden of souls " lie up in
him with such weight as during the last four months.
He feels that he '¦ must seize every moment and use it to
the best advantage."
The extent to which he did thus seize every moment
becomes still more apparent when we find that notwith
standing all the above mentioned abundant and exhaust-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 75
ing labors, regular and extra, he managed to find time
during the year to contribute two or more articles to the
Canada Baptist Magazine, which was then being pub
lished in Montreal. These articles were published over
the nom de plume "Julius." The first appeared in the
number for April, 1840. Its subject was " The Source of
Mental Power Neglected in our Present Systems of Edu
cation." The article sets out with the statement that
men in those days " attempt too much, and therefore do
nothing well, or leave undone something that ought to
be done." " We must now not only be instructed 'in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians,' but we must also scourge
our poor students through the fearful catalogue of modern
discoveries," Our young ministers must, if they pay any
deference to an unreasonable public feeling, know nearly
everything that can be known by mortals. In obedience
to this unreasonable demand, the poor student rises up
early and sits up late, striving to satisfy what is insati
able. The result is that the student neither satisfies the
public as to the quantity nor himself as to the quality of
his studies."
He then poes on to arsru \ that want of thoroughness
is not the only evil arising out of thus attempting too
much. " While we are striving to meet the exorbitant
demands made upon our intellect, we neglect to cultivate
our feelings, and therefore students, after poring over
sections and cones, Butler's Analogy, Lat:n, Greek, and
Hebrew roots, go out into the world 'as dry as summer
dust.' " " How much effect have students upon the pub
lic mind before they change the frozen style they possess
just after leaving our institutions of learning ? The fact
is they have neglected to cultivate their feelings, the
source of all their mental power.'

76 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Perhaps the working's of the mind and heart of the
young writer, at this period of his history, cannot be
better portrayed than by quoting entire a couple of
paragraphs in which he illustrates his theme. The
sentiments, too, are suggestive, and may not be without
value to students even in 1886.
"Just call to mind the young man who was earnestly
inquiring whether it was not his duty to prepare for the
ministry. Do you remember how you loved to hear him
exhort ? Why ? Because his ideas were profound ?
No. Because his language was polished and his manner
graceful ? No. But because he felt what he said ; and
therefore could touch the hearts of his hearers. The
young man enters the seminary, finishes his preparatory
studies, and returns to his friends. He rises to speak
in the meeting. Presently some begin to yawn, others
pull out their watches, etc. Now why is this ? Are not
his thoughts good, his language polished, and his manner
graceful ? ' Yes,' says one, ' but how cold it was ' What
a sparkling, but cold icicle he delivered to us !' Here is
the trouble. The intellect and feeling of the young man.
when he commence 1 studying, were nearly balanced.
But since then his intellect has been constantly expand
ing, while his affective faculties have remained about
stationary. There is, therefore, a vast disproportion
between the two. Bat had he kept up the same relation
between the two classes of his faculties that existed
between them when he began to study nothing could
have withstood him. Take some D.D. who has spent all
his lifetime poring over musty folios. His sermon is
splendid. His thoughts have a sparkling brilliancv —
but it is a brilliancy like that which comes from the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 77

icebergs of the north, cold and chilling. ' 'Tis the burning
bush, but there is no anp-el in it.'
"Is not the benumbing coldness which our learned men
so generally manifest the secret of the popular prejudice
against an educated ministry ? Our learned men do not
cultivate those feelings which they possess in common
with the mass of humanity ; and, therefore, they need<
not expect to touch the chords that vibrate in the
human breast. Why is it that woman has such power
over us ? Because she has more intellect than we ? No.
Because she is a WOMAN ? No such thing. But because
she has educated her feelings more thoroughly than we.
She can sit night after night by the cradle of her suffer
ing darling, when the more sturdy form of a man would
sink with fatigue. She can melt the stern judge, when
all the persuasive strains of the lawyer have proved
fruitless. This, too, is to be attributed to the superior
strength of her feelings. Take, too, the successful play
actor, whose business has been to cultivate his feelings,
almost all his life. You will find him behind the screen,
just before appearing on the stage, working up to the
highest pitch of excitement his feelings which are already
strong. However, when he appears before the audience,
the whole strength of the actor's nature sheds a glory
upon the sentiments of the author, which carries lasting
conviction to his hearers. They weep or laugh just at
the will of the speaker, for his feelings are so much
stronger than theirs that he completely masters them.
They are captive at his will. The stronger a man's
feelings are the better, provided that his intellect be able
to balance them."
The other article referred to, which was to appear in a

78 LIFE AND LABORS OF
later number of the Magazine, we have been unable to
find. The object of the article as foreshadowed was to
show that originality of mind depends in a great measure
upon the cultivation of the feelings.
Reference was made in a previous chapter to a feaiful
season of dnrkness and doubt thtough which he passed,
presumably while at Hamilton. As there intimated, it is
possible that that terrible experience is out of place, and
should be assigned to this, his first year at Newton. In
the absence of any definite date-marks, it seems impos
sible to decide the point with certainty. In any case he
passed through the deep waters and the thick clouds
during the winter of '39 40. He thus describes the
event : —
"During the winter I had a season of fearful darkness
— even despair. I thought I was without God in the
world. Perhaps you know the anguish of such feelings.
I had these feelings for two or three months. I thought
it was not my duty to preach, and therefore asked a dis
mission from the Faculty. But they would not let me
go. Soon the Lord had mercy upon me. He breathed
upon me and bade me live." "Ever since he has been
pleased to smile upon me." One is disposed to wonder
whether he does not unconsciously put cause for effect
when he adds : "But my health was gone, and I therefore
left the institution for a short time."
In view of so much persistent overwork and, as we
may be tolerably sure, neglect of fresh air and exercise,
it is no wonder that he goes on to tell his friend . " I
have had a poor turn this spring. I pot 'run down'; had
no mental rest for seven months. My nervous system
was out of order, and a liver complaint was the conse-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 79
quence. I am so that I can attend to my duties, but
have rather too much on my hands. As to enjoyment —
that smooth peace and tranquillity of which I have heard
others speak — I do not have much of it. My great desire
is to see Christ glorified in the conversion of souls." As
if any one had any right to expect " smooth peace and
tranquillity" while daily sinning against God's laws as
written in his physical and mental structure, and reaping
the bitter but legitimate fruits in ailments of the liver
and other organs 1
He is obliged to travel for his health during vacation,
and longs to visit Canada ; had almost determined to do
so, but finds that it will be out of his power for want of
funds. He does not expect to be able to see Canada
again until after his graduation, unless "something very
unexpected shall happen." As we shall presently see, the
unexpected must have happened, though in what form it
came does not appear. He sends touching expressions of
solicitude and affection for the people of Osgood, where
his friend Mr. McPhail has now entered upon his long
pastorate, and adds : " I have preached in mahogany
pulpits covered with silk velvet, but I had rather preach
behind that little pine board in D. McM  's barn."
Notwithstanding that his love for those amongst whom
he had labored is thus unchanged, he now for the first
time intimates the possibility that he may not return to
Canada to labor. His warm sympathies are being drawn
out in another direction: "As to the certainty of nr
turning to Canada finally I cannot yet decide. My heart
is divided between Canada and Africa. I think of
Africa, not only on account of its degradation, but be
cause few are willing to go to that degraded race. The

80 LIFE AND LABORS OF
greatest obstacle there is in the way of my going to
Africa is the fear that so hot a climate will not agree
with my health. However, if the Lord sees fit to send
me, I shall have no fears for my health."
The history of the vacation to which he was then
looking forward with uncertainty must be reserved for
another chapter.

CHAPTER YII.

The Unexpected Happens — Again in Canada — Evangelistic
Work in Beckwith — Hard Work and a Long Ride — After
Many Days— A Bird in a Cage— Theological Studies— The
Brookline Church — An Old Resident's Recollection —
Heart-Searchings— Shall he Visit Canada ? — Last Newton
Letter — The Course Completed.
^.ONTRARY to his expectations, the summer of 1840
found Robert Fyfe again in Canada, in the midst
of the familiar scenes and amongst the people to whom
be cherished so true an attachment. He was able again
to join his faithful friend McPhail in his missionary
tours. In what shape the "unexpected" had happened to
enable him to do this we are not informed, nor does it
matter. As before intimated, his earnest wish arid the
heart's desire of the people of Osgood had been fulfilled.
Mr. McPhail was now settled as pastor of the church
organized by the two co-workers the preceding summer.
This pastoral relation so happily formed in 1840 lasted a
quarter of a century. After the arrival of his zealous
young friend from Newton the two set out together in
apostolic fashion on a missionary tour in the township of
Beckwith. Their joint labors were once more abundantly
blessed. None of the letters of Mr. Fyfe that have come
to hand refer specially to this tour, but an interesting
account of it is given by Mr. McPhail in the Canada

82 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Baptist Magazine. The letter is dated Oct, 14th, 1840,
but appears in the December number of the magazine-
The following extracts will be found interesting as show-
ing the whole-souled devotion of those pioneer mission
aries, of whom Mr. McPhail was a worthy typ?, as well
as in relation to the subject of this memoir: —
"The Lord has mercifully visited the people of Beckwith with
an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. About rive weeks ago I
visited that township, accompanied by- Bro. Fyfe, from Newton
Theological Institution, "U.S. We'arrived there on Wednesday
evening, and remained about twelve days with them. We held
a prayer-meeting that same evening ; and also kept meetings on
Friday and Saturday evenings, at which time some interest be
gan to be manifested among the people.
" On Sabbath the people gathered out well to hear — many
having come ten miles to hear the Gospel preached, and some
sixteen. They listened with profound attention, and some were
considerably affected. We continued public service every even
ing in some place or other of the settlement till the next
Sabbath. When released from, public engagements we were
employed in private instruction or in visiting from house to
house. " Our meetings were protracted to a very late hour; and
sometimes it would be two or three o'clock in the morning be
fore the people would retire. As often as we would pronounce
'the benediction, some of them would sit down, unwilling to
depart. " The last Sabbath we were in Beckwith will long be remem
bered. Early in the morning we heard a number relate their
experience, and then proceeded to public worship. We had a
crowded and an attentive audience, and many were deeply
affected. Towards the evening we had a baptism in the Lake
Mississippi. As soon as we could get in order we commenced
public service again. We both addressed the people that night,
and after we had done a number remained and spent the night
till daylight in religious exercises.
" When the morning appeared we all prepared for our respee-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 83
tive homes. Again we prayed, and commended one another to
the Divine care and protection.
On Monday morning we took our journey on horseback, and
arrived in Osgood in the evening (a distance of sixty miles or
upwards), and the next day proceeded to Bytown ; but, being
detained by the steamboat till Friday, we could not arrive at
Petite Nation* till Friday evening. Our arrival was announced,
and a company was soon gathered. We continued our meetings
till Tuesday — preaching only in the evenings on week clays.
The Lord was among us, and blessed His word to the conversion
of a few souls. Two young men were baptized in this place.
" The time now arrived that Brother Fyfe must return to his
studies, and I return to my own people; accordingly we took
leave of each other and departed. Never did I labor with a
more active and zealous brother than he is."
How many of even our most devoted ministers and
missionaries in these later days would relish a horseback
ride of s;xty miles or more in one day, following nearly
a fortnight of unremitting toil by day and by night, and
followed by a new departure "next day" for another dis
tant section to preach the Gospel and renew the labors
there ?
From an allu ion in a subsequent letter it appears that
the young student's labors during this vacation extended
to other places, and were, as he seems to have afterwards
thought, too much "scattered." As will appear presently,
it is not clear whether he returned to Canada during his
next and last vacation or not. If he did, it was no doubt
to repeat the history of these two summers, by zealous
work in the Ottawa region. The effects of those labors
are still clearly manifest. The churches and people in
that region were always dear to him. They were the
objects of his first love as an evangelist. In no part of
* Now Papineauville.

84 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the whole broad field which he so often traversed in later
years in the interests of ministerial education could he
count on a heartier welcome. From no people did he re
ceive more liberal contributions, in proportion to their
means, in aid of his good work. And certainly no
churches in Canada have furnished, in proportion to
their numbers, so many earnest and devoted young men
as students for the ministry. These statements, though
made without statistical proof, on the basis of the obser
vations and impressions of some fifteen years in the
Woodstock Institute, are ventured with a good deal of
confidence. It was with Dr. Fyfe himself a frequent
subject of regretful comment that the large city churches,
notwithstanding their superiority in point of numbers,
wealth, and other advantages, fell so far behind their
sister churches in the country in the number of laborers
they sent out into the vineyard. A glance over the
names of those who have gone out from the Institute and
McMaster Hall, and who are now doing so good service
in various localities, will, it is believed, afford ample evi
dence that the churches of the Ottawa Valley and neigh
borhood have been hitherto the most prolific of students
for the ministry. The fire kindled in those regions
nearly half a century ago by a Gilmour, a McPhail, a
Fraser, and a Fyfe, and other men like-minded, has
burned into this day. The fathers seem to have trans
mitted a goodly portion of their zeal to their spiritual
children, and the representatives of the latter are doing
good service to-day in many places, not only in Ontario
and Quebec, but in other lands. One, at least, has been
for years a devoted missionary on the plains of India,
and still toils on beneath its fiery sun.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 85
A letter written to Mr. McPhail from Newton in
December gives some account of the manner in which
the last days of this vacation were spent : "I arrived in
Laprairie on the Friday after I left you. On the Sabbath
morning nothing would do but I must preach in Mont
real. Well, they set me up in that hateful barrel of a
pulpit 1 I, who had been accustomed to be on a level
with my hearers, felt like a bird in a cage. I could't
sing 1 There was scarcely any one to hear me — about
fifty or sixty. I saw my father and mother, and was
thankful that I had it in my power to make them a small
present. I saw them only one night. On Wednesday I
went to Napierville, and returned to Laprairie in time to
take the cars on Thursday morning, expecting to reach
Newton that week. But I was disappointed. I suffered
some from the cold, having no overcoat. Spent the Sab
bath in Springfield, Mass. I preached once there. When
I came to Newton I found that I was a whole fortnight
too late, which gave me hard work to make up. This,
with a bad cold I caught on the way, threw a gloom over
the first part of the term ; but I have entirely got over
both my cold and my loss of time."
He then goes on to speak of his school work : " My
studies are entirely theological. We are upon the attri
butes of God. To-morrow we examine the omnipresence
of God. We make but little use of the Scriptures, except
when we cannot get along without them. I am very
fond of the metaphysical way in which we are now going
over theological subjects. We first examine the subject;
read frequently some old Greek or Latin author, and
then present essays on the question and have it fully
discussed before Professor Sears. I have learned nothing

86 LIFE AND LABORS OF
new so far. The chief advantages I have derived from
my studies so far are:— 1. I have been more clearly con
vinced of the incomprehensible nature of the God whom
we worship. 2. I have learned to think more exactly on
these subjects. 3. I have learned to be more guarded in
my statements respecting God. 4. I have learned that
the Scriptures are fully and verbally inspired, else they
have no inspiration at all."
Respecting his religious work he says : " I have not
preached much since I came here. I had the privilege of
preaching in one place where the Lord is now manifest
ing His power. The church with which I am now-con
nected (Brookline) is in a very interesting state. I still
keep up a Bible class there. The people there are cer
tainly the best, i.e., the most spiritual (as a church) I
have known in the States. They are very kind to me.
By the way, I preached last week to a Socinian church !"
It would have been pleasant to be able to put on
record some reminiscences of his connection with the
Brookline church and people. He seems to have been
deeply attached to them and they to him. He was, after
graduation, as we shall see, ordained under the auspices
of that church. But alas! inquiry only reveals the fact
that "almost all of those who knew him there in the
' long ago '.are, like him, now among those 'on the other
side.'" One lady, however, writes: "I remember him
well in connection with Jacob R. Scott while they were
students at Newton. They were both at Brookline very
often, and very frequently in my father's house. I re
member also Mr. F}rfe especially at the evening prayer
meeting, and was always much impressed with his ear
nestness in prayer and exhortation, and considered him
then a devotedly good man."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 87
A feature which continually reveals itself in the letters
in which the young student unbosoms himself so freely
to his most intimate friends is his devout frankness in
the analysis of his own feelings and motives. Several
illustrative passages have already been quoted. Such
passages, penned for no eye but that of the one trusted
friend, reveal the inner man as no public act or utterance
could do. They lay bare the otherwise hidden springs of
action. The maturing, but often chilling influence of
time and study seem to have as yet but slightly, if at all,
abated the warmth of his evangelistic zeal or the fervor
of his religious emotions. Now that he has nobly lived
and passed away into the enjoyment of the full fruition
of the higher life, we may, without fear of indelicate in
trusion, and for the sake of the instructive teaching',
glance into the sacred privacy of confidential corre
spondence : —
" Respecting my personal feelings, I must lament that I do
not feel so deeply interested in the cause of Christ as I have
clone. I need not tell you how difficult it is to cherish deeply
pious feelings at an institution like this. Yet I am not wholly
without interest. God has been pleased often to give me rich
seasons of communion with Him. He has been pleased to re
veal to me my own vileness so that I have lain down- and
writhed in self-abhorrence. He has enabled me to believe, too,
that Jesus will wash the last stain from my spotted soul, and
kill the last sinful desire that may linger about me. Blessed
be His name forever ! If ever I have felt my soul drawn out
in prayer, it is wl en I have been remembering you and your
kind people and the people of Beckwith. I can truly thank
God that He is still among you. I promised, while in Canada,
by the help of God, to keep the salvation of souls before my
mind as the great object of all my studies. May the Lord
help me to keep my word !"
As " the child is father to the man," so too is the stu-

88 LIFE AND LABORS OF
dent preparing for his life-work the father of the future
worker. It is not wonderful that from such spiritual
wrestlings should have been begotten a life of singular
devotedness and singleness of purpose.
The last of the Newton letters in possession of the
writer is dated June 30th, 1841. It is self-explanatory,
and may be given in full, with the exception of some
unimportant details in reference to studies, &c. :—
"It is now a very late hour of the night and the whole in
stitution is still as the grave, yet I feel little disposition to
sleep. I have been thinking and praying for poor Canada, and
asking the Lord to direct me what to do during the coming
vacation. And now I am seated to ask you a few questions.
You need not expect what may be called a friendly letter; I
am only going to talk about business. . . . The last letters
I have received from my friends have asked me the question
whether I should visit Canada during my next vacation. To
all these inquiries I have given a negative answer, though it
was sorely against my feelings. 1. My health has not been
good (though it is very much improved, thank God). The
spring was a very trying one on the constitution. 2. I have
been and am much afraid that if I should go to Canada you
will try hard to prevent me from returning to finish my studies,
which I am fully determined, God willing, to do. 3. The
church close by the institution have spoken to me about
preaching for them during my next vacation. 4. Folks know
that I am poor, and if 1 spend £12 or £14 every year to visit
my friends, and do not tell them how my expenses have been
met, they will think me very extravagant. And, of course, 1
can't tell every one how my expenses have been defrayed. Now,
all these considerations have led me to give a negative answer
to their anxious inquiries. Still my spirit is restless and 'un
satisfied, and what to do I know not. 1 know the delicacy of
your own feelings, and can therefore have more confidence in
your answer. What would you do in my plac - ? I do feel a
delicacy in receiving money from the poor people up in that
region, and yet I can't go without it."
He goes on to explain that some money which he had

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 89
saved, thinking he might need it for the purpose of
making this visit, he had been obliged to spend for medi
cal advice and medicines, so that now he had not a cent
to spare. He expresses warm gratitude to the people
"up there" for their great kindness to him in the past.
But the memory of this very kindness operates as an
additional reason why he is reluctant to draw upon them
in future. He thinks he could spend five or six weeks
in that region should he come to Canada, and in case of
doing so would not scatter his labors as he did the pre
ceding year, or bind himself to a day in a place, but
should hold himself free to act as the Lord might direct.
He proceeds to ask definite answers to the following
questions : —
" 1. What would you do in my place?
" 2. Is there any field that seems to be open for you and me
to enter?. Is Mountain open, or any other promising field? For
if there is not a prospect of doing good of course I shall not go 1
" 3. Would my expenses be paid, for I should not think of
anything more ?
" 4. Would you be at liberty to labor with me ? I was going
to ask you a question about my returning here, but that is
fixed — I feel quite resolved upon that.
" Remember me affectionately to the kind brethren and
sisters of Osgood. I often think of you and them, and pray
for you although I am far away. Tell them to 'look unto
Jesus.' This may be an old story to them, but I can't think of
a better advice. The more I think of the exhortation, the more
important does it seem. Looking unto Jesus is what, by the
grace of God, I intend to do on earth, and what I know all
Christians will rejoice to do in Heaven.
"Please write me as soon as you get this, if you think it
worth noticing. I shall hold myself free from engagements
here till the first of August. After that I may give up all
G

90 LIFE AND LABORS OF
thoughts of going this summer. I entreat you to be perfectly
free with me. Tell me your mind without reference to my
feelings ; for, after all, I greatly doubt whether it would be
worth my while to go, and I may do some good here."
The letter closed with an apology on the ground that
it had been written in great haste and while he was half
asleep. It is uncertain what answer he received, or whether he
visited Canada in 1841 or not. The probability seems to
be that he did not, but spent the vacation with the
Brookline people. Be that as it may, he adhered to his
purpose, and returned to Newton next year. No par
ticulars of his work during that year, either within or
without the college, have come to hand. We only know
that he finished his course with credit to himself and
satisfaction to his teachers. Our pleasing task is now to
follow him into the outer world, and see how he acquits
himself on its stern battle-fields.

CHAPTER Till.

Ordination — Charge by Prof. Chase — Once More in Canada 
Work at the Scotch Line — Organization of the Perth
Church. Incongruous Material — Scotch Baptists — A
Modest Stipend — The Church Constitution — Disabilities of
"Dissenters "—Baptists not Wanted—" Valid Ordination "
— Apostolic Succession — A Logical Dilemma.

,HE twenty-fifth of August, 1842, was, no doubt,
marked as a memorable day in Dr. Fyfe's calendar.
On that day he was solemnly set apart to the work of an
evangelist. The ordination service took place in Brook
line, Mass., and at the instance and request of the church
in that place. At the council convened by the church
ten days before, for the examination of the candidate,
there were present, in addition to Rev. W. H. Shailer
the Pastor, and several other delegates of the Brookline
Church, Professors Ira Chase and Henry J. Ripley, of
Newton Theological Seminary, and from the First Baptist
Church in Roxbury, Mass., Rev. T. F. Caldicott, after
wards so well known in Canada as Pastor of Bond Street
Church, Toronto.
In accordance with the arrangements made at that
conference the. ordination services were conducted on the
day above named. A sermon was preached by Rev. W.
H. Shailer, prayer offered by Prof. Ripley, charge ad
dressed to the candidate by Prof. Chase, and the welcom-

92 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ing right hand given by Prof. Ripley. The Christian*
Watchman of Boston, adds :¦ —
"The charge was happily adapted to the peculiar circum
stances and expectations of brother Fyfe, just about to leave
this vicinity for Canada, the field where he will commence his
labors in the ministry.
The Right Hand of Fellowship was presented in a manner
which would not fail to satisfy all how largely the candidate
enjoys the confidence and affection of one who has had the best
opportunities of becoming acquainted with his character and
capacity for usefulness.
The services throughout were very instructive and solemn,
Our brother leaves in this region many friends who will
long remember him with respect and esteem, and whose
prayers we trust will follow him to his important but arduous
field of labor
A natural inference from the foregoing would be that
Mr. Fyfe had finally decided to follow his earliest and
strongest impulses and give himself to the ministry of
the Word in Canada. Such was not, however, the case,
for we find him two months later in Canada, indeed, but
in a state of most painful suspense and indecision in
regard to the question of his future location. Writing
on the 31st of October from the " Scotch Line " in which
neighborhood he had had both labor and conflict, as will
be noticed presently, he says : — " I design to go down the
country on a week from next Thursday. Whether it be
forever or not I cannot tell. But with the help of the
Lord I mean to decide this question before leaving. Oh
that the Lord would direct me ! If I know my own
heart, I am willing to go to any place or stay any
where He may desire. . . . But I am in great
distress of mind, and I can't live long this way. Yet to
decide so important a matter wrong at the very outset

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 93
of my ministry, what harm may it not do ? Lord, direct
me, for it is not in me to direct my steps." That his
perplexity could not have been caused by discouragement
arising out of any apparent want of success in his labors
is evident. "The people both at Bathurst and at the
Scotch Line are coming out in crowds. I never saw
•such a jamb as we had at McDiarmid's the other evening.
More than one hundred and twenty grown-up people in
that little house ! The school-house in the Scotch Line
was as full last evening as it ever was. May the Lord
bless His Word to them."
On the same day on which the letter from which the
above extract is taken was written, but probably at a
later hour, as the fact is not mentioned in the letter, the
¦church in Perth was organized by Mr. Fyfe. His own
brief statement of the circumstances, as given in a letter
to the Register, is quoted below. At the earnest solicita
tion of the newly-formed church he was finally induced
to become its first pastor. Whether he made his contem
plated journey " down the country " or not is not known.
If so, he must very shortly have returned to enter upon
the duties of his first pastorate.
The Baptist church in Perth is historic. It was in con
nection with its pastorate that the late venerable and
beloved Dr. Cooper commenced his work in Canada. The
lamented Dr. Davidson held his church membership in
this body, of which his father and mother were also
members, and from which he, in the words of an aged
brother who is still one of its members, "when but a raw
¦country lad first went to attend college."
The town of Perth is, as most readers well know, about
forty miles to the north of, or, in the phrase of those

94 LIFE AND LABORS OF
days, " back from" Brockville. The Rev. J. Girdwood de
scribes in the Montreal Register, in a letter dated Nov.
8th, 1842, a trip from Brockville to Perth, undertaken at
the "urgent invitation" of Mr. Fyfe. He says: "The
country through which I passed was beautiful. With
the exception of seven miles the road was dreadfully
rough. About Perth the scenery in general — the river
Tay and the town itself — do not remind one of the " fair
town," except it be by contrast. For there is no hill of
Kinnoul, or verdant slopes. Perth is, however, a fine
town." Mr. Girdwood then goes on to say: "In the Bap
tist chapel I preached to a good congregation, considering
it had rained all day, bad roads, and a short notice. Next
day I rode back five miles to Bathurst with Mr. Fyfe,
and preached to a deeply interesting congregation. The
Baptist friends remained when the rest retired, and we
conversed together respecting their prospects. They are
exceedingly anxious to secure the labors of Mr. Fyfe. I
trust the Lord will guide him to choose Drummond as
his field of labor."
Mr. Fyfe, as we have seen, decided to remain at Perth.
In a letter to the Register, dated Dec. 14th of this year,
he gives a concise account of the commencement of his
work there :• — •
" When I came to this place (in the latter part of September)
all the Baptists, with a few exceptions, were members of the
Beckwith church, of which our lamented Bro. McEwen was pas
tor. A number of our brethren, however, who lived in the neigh
borhood of Perth were very desirous of having a church formed
to meet statedly in this village. Accordingly on the 21st of Octo
ber a general church meeting was called at a central place to>
take the matter into consideration. After the matter was laid
before the meeting our brethren from Beckwith and Carlton
Place cheerfully agreed to dismiss any who desired to connect

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 95
themselves with the church about to be formed in Perth I
think it greatly to the praise of the brethren in these places
that they cheerfully dismissed all who desired to be, even when
their own strength was very much reduced thereby. May the
Lord reward them by sending them a pastor who shall build
them up ; they greatly need one. At this meeting twenty-two
were dismissed, who with four others, after severally "giving
a reason for the hope that was in them," were formed into a
church on the 31st October. A large delegation from the
other church was present and, after witnessing our order, sat
down with us to commemorate the death of our common Lord.
I preached on the occasion from the words, "that there might
be no schism in the body." Since that time I have been absent
two Sabbaths. Our audience has steadily increased every
Sabbarth, so that now it numbers more than double what it
was at first. Our Presbyterian friends have generally shown
a truly catholic spirit. They seem to rejoice whenever the
Gospel is preached. Our Methodist friends have also mani
fested their good will.
" I preach twice every Sunday in Perth, and once a v/eek,
alternately, at the Scotch line and at 6th line of Bathurst.
The attendance is very good and the interest seems to be
deepening." Notwithstanding the excellent spirit thus manifested
by the members of the sister, or rather parent, churches
named, the unanimity and harmony that finally prevailed
at the organization of the Perth church were not attained
without great labor and anxiety on the part of the future
pastor. Here, at the outset of his public career, a large
demand seems to have been made upon the combined tact
and firmness which were so abundantly displayed on
many subsequent occasions in the course of his history.
In the private letter above quoted, written before he had
decided to remain in Perth, he gives some particulars
" Twenty-three were dismissed to form the church in
Perth, and after talking, etc., they parted in a better
state of feeling than they have had for eighteen months.

96 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Of the twenty-three, Mrs.  stayed back. She is
afraid we are going to take in Mr.  . But, if the
Lord show me it is my duty to stay here, Mrs.  shall
stay where she is till she manifest a different spirit. She
must show more confidence in her brethren. What right
has she to say, 'Take in this one, keep out that one, or I
will leave you' ? . . . You cannot conceive of the
trouble and labor and anxiety I have had in forming
this little body. I mean so that there should be perfect
harmony in all cases. I have never seen the brethren
here in a better state. K.  is in. The foundation of
his views has given way. He says he has never been so
confused as within the last six weeks. I have seen that
he was gradually admitting a few simple principles which
have eaten the foundation from under him. Mc  is
not received. By patient labor and great kindness, with
the blessing of our common Father, he may be won back
to the truth as it is in Jesus.." It is probable that the
communion question, of which more anon, was amongst
the sources of the troubles hinted at. But there were
evidently other difficulties of a personal kind, and his
language in respect to some of those implicated is less
conciliatory. " That  family is a perfect pest. But
I have my thumb on the back of J  's neck, and if he
will not be ruled by me he must at least hold his peace.''
The pernicious liquor question, too, was involved. "L  's
case is a pest — some for him and some against him. I
spent a night with him last week, and told him a few
things which would take place if I should remain. I
told him I was a thorough teetotaller, etc. But, though
the^man may be a Christian, yet he would do us an in
jury, and I am really of opinion that he should stay

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 97
where he is till he give up his brewery. Of course I
shall use my influence to this end." The reputation of
a fellow-laborer seems to have been bad. "  is shut
out of the Beckwith meeting-house. He will consider
me his enemy for having decided against letting him
in. But I really cannot away with I. Tim., iii., 7. If
others can, I cannot, in a case like his. In reference to
 I have nothing to say. I am sorry for him, and
wish I could do him good, but I can't."
On the whole it is evident that the new church had to
be formed out of pretty heterogenous and intractable
material, and it must have taxed his inexperienced
powers to the utmost to bring about a state of " perfect
harmony." That the original constituent members were
almost exclusively of Scotch descent is evident from the
fact that of the small number five were McDiarmids, four
Campbells, four McLarens, three McCallums, and three
McFarlanes, and almost all the other names, amongst
which was Thomas L. Davidson, were as unmistakably
redolent of the heather. No doubt they were still more
or less inclined to the peculiar doctrines and practices of
the Scotch Baptists, which would render the work of
organization and management more difficult. The min
utes of the jubilee meeting of the Ottawa Association,
published in 1885, contain a very interesting resume of a
paper from the pen of Mr. McPhail. For the sake of the
light it throws, not only upon the constitution of the
Perth church, but upon other facts referred to in the
course of this narrative, and especially the difficulties
between the Baptists of the East and of the West, the
resume is quoted in full : —

98 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" The Principles and Practices of the Early Baptists ist
the Ottawa Region.
" They adhered to the ordinarily accepted orthodox doctrines
respecting the Deity, the Scriptures, redemption, and the future.
They believed that baptism is to be administered to those alone
who profess faith in Christ, and that the immersion of such
persons in the name of the Trinity is the only Christ ian baptism.
They regarded the end of the church as its own edification, and
the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and that in these things
they glorified God. As many of them afterwards confessed,
they did not in those early days understand their relation to the
world. .
" They were strong in their views respecting the absolute
independence of the local church. All creeds, confessions of
faith, and books of discipline were rejected. They believed the
Scriptures sufficient guide for their practice as well as for their
faith. With the exception of the church in Montreal, all the
first churches were organized in accord with the principles of the
Scotch Baptists. The minister was regarded only as a speaking
brother. Officially he had no powers other than that of any
other brother. Pastors ought to labor with their own hands, as
Paul left them an example. They believed that evangelists
ought to be sustained while preaching the Gospel to the world.
Mr. Edwards, sen., received nothing from the church for all his
labor. Some of the first ministers, who divided their time be
tween pastoral and evangelistic work, had ' strange times with
many of their brethren ' on this score.
"The plurality of elders, the weekly celebration of the Lord's
Supper, ordination as a mere appointment to office or the recog
nition of one whom God has already appointed, the liberty of
the unordained to administer ordinances, exhortations on the
Lord's day as a duty binding on the entire brotherhood, were
all strongly cherished principles. Separating themselves visibly
from the world, they would worship with none but those
with whom they were in full fellowship. The ungodly were
instructed that they had no right to take part in divine worship
till they were converted. These views were confined chiefly to
the churches of Chatham (Dalesville) and New Glasgow.
"Unanimity was required in all their decisions. If a minority
dissented, the majority took their reasons for dissent into con-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 99
sideration. If the reasons were found valid, the majority
altered their decision. If not, the majority exhorted the
minority to repentance, and if they repented not, they were
excommunicated, after ample time for repentance had been
given them. The exercise of discipline on the Lord's day was
a part of divine worship. To purge out the old leaven was a
duty by no means neglected. Mr. Fraser did more than any
other man to rectify his countrymen's peculiar notions.
"The revival of 1835 introduced a materially different element
into the churches. They were more liberal in their views, less
virulent against state churches, made greater efforts for the
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, and were less strict
in former practices of church order and discipline. Of course
these things were a grief to the old people.
" For several years all the ministers in the association were
open-communion, and most of the churches were open in their
practice. Even Breadalbane had in her bosom those who
were not baptized. Yet the members of the churches were
inclined to strict communion. All the churches formed or
remodeled after 1840, were organized on strict communion
principles, and when the church in St. Andrews resolved to
restrict her communion to the baptized, all the churches in the
Association were close communion. Although the ministers
were open-communion in their sentiments, as were the teachers
in the Canada Baptist College also, yet, with a single excep
tion, they never attempted to force their views on any of the
members, nor are we aware of a single student who came out
of the College an open-communionist."
That the Perth church had, as early as 1 842, outgrown
some of the views above recorded is evident from the
following resolutions, which appear amongst others in an
extract from the church records, which has been very
kindly made and forwarded by Mr. Kellock, of Perth
The first bears date November 7th, 1842, and is preceded
by another expressive of the great satisfaction which
Mr. Fyfe's ministrations had afforded to the members of
the church and congregation, and their earnest desire
that he may "continue amongst them."

100 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" Resolved, That the congregation shall pay the Rev. Mr. Fyfe
the sum of sixty pounds currency per annum, with this provi
sion also: that should they be enabled to raise more for the
support of a minister Mr. Fyfe shall have the full benefit of it,
and his first year's salary shall commence on the first day of
July last and end on the first day of July next."
At a church meeting for business, held June 25, 1843»
the following motion was carried : —
" That the sum of sixty pounds currency and as much more
as can be collected be paid to Mr. Fyfe as his salary for the year
which shall end on the first day of July, 1844, and that the
Committee of Management be instructed to solicit subscriptions
for the payment of the same, to be paid in half-yearly payments
in such kind as Mr. Fyfe will accept, provided a portion shall
be, at the option of the payer, payable in produce or goods
acceptable to Mr. Fyfe, the said portion being not to exceed
one-half, the other half being to be paid in cash."
Dr. Kellock adds : " The minutes are very scanty and
imperfect, but it appears that a parsonage was erected
for Mr. Fyfe in June, 1844, at a cost of £120."
Three hundred dollars per annum, payable one-half in
goods, seems certainly a modest stipend for one who has
expended many years and all his means in securing an
education for his work and who has a family to support.
Let not our modern churches, however, be too severe on
their brethren of half a century ago in Perth. Taking
numbers and means into the account, there is little doubt
that the people of Perth ministered more liberally, and at
greater sacrifice, of their " temporal things," than most
congregations of the present day. "If there be first a
willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath,
not according to that he hath not."
Amongst the papers left by Dr. Fyfe is one in his own
hand writing headed " Constitution of the First Baptist

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 101
Church in Perth, C. W., Founded Oct. 31st. 184%." As
this was no doubt prepared by himself, and is marked by
the directness and conciseness which were characteristic
of his style at all stages of his subsequent history, and as
it may be taken to embody what were at that time, in
his estimation, the essential features of a Baptist Church,
it seems worth while to give it in full : —
1. "A Church is a company of baptized believers, who, from
a sense of duty to their Saviour, have cordially united them
selves together for the purpose of more fully carrying out the
doctrines and precepts of the Gospel. Acts ii, 41, 42.
2. " The offices of a church are two, — that of pastor, bishop,
or elder, and that of deacons. Phil, i, 1.
3. " The positive institutions of the church are only two, —
baptism, or the immersion of the believer in water, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
and the Lord's Supper, or the partaking of bread and wine in
commemoration of the death of Christ. The former is to pre
cede the latter. Acts ii, 38, 41 ; Luke xxii, 19; Matthew
xxviii, 19, 20, etc.
4. " We believe in the Word of God as the only rule of faith
and practice, in the unity of God, the depravity of man, the
necessity of repentance, and of faith in the atonement of Jesus
Christ, the necessity of holiness, the resurrection of the body,
the endless misery of the finally impenitent.
" Holding the above simple principles we cordially unite
together (calling ourselves the " First Baptist Church in
Perth,") in church fellowship, pledging ourselves to sympathize
one with the other, to watch over one another, and to bear one
another's burdens, as the law of Christ directs."
It is unnecessary to explain to the readers of this little
volume that the position of the so-called " Dissenters"
generally and of the Baptists in particular, in the Pro
vince of Canada West in 1842, was very different from
that of the same bodies in 1886. A most determined
effort was made, and for many years with too much suc
cess, to secure and maintain for the Church of England

102 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in Canada the same supremacy it held in England by
virtue of its establishment and endowment as the nation
al church. A brief account of the Clergy Reserves and
University struggles will be given in another chapter. It
will suffice for our present purpose to remark that
the Baptists seem to have come in for a double share of
¦contempt and contumely. As an example it may be
mentioned that in the same month and year in which
Mr. Fyfe was first installed in the pastorate of the
Perth church, the Monarch, a journal of that period,
actually published a letter from a correspondent, who
took refuge behind the letters " 0. P. Q.," in which the
writer gravely called on the coroners and magistrates to
exert their official power to put down the Baptists, as a
set of fanatics ! The author of that letter and the editor
who published it were at the time fittingly rebuked by
¦" Lego " in the Woodstock Herald, after the following
fashion : " Fanatics indeed ! Then Gill, and Fuller, and
Hall, whose writings do honor to the English language
and nation, were fanatics. Then Carey and the Seram-
pore missionaries, who have given the Holy Scriptures
to forty Asiatic nations and tribes, comprehending a
population of 370 millions of human beings, were fana
tics, and should have been put down. Then also the
West India missionaries, who have broken the iron yoke
of colonial slavery, and said to the oppressed, ' Go free !'
who have civilized and instructed a barbarous race, and
fitted them for the liberty they presented to them, are
all fanatics," etc.
It is, too, matter of local history that in some in
stances, notably in the town of Woodstock, the Rector of
the parish actually went so far as to forbid the holding

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 103
of Baptist " conventicles," as a trespass upon his clerical
domain. It will readily be imagined how much atten
tion would be paid to such an edict. But, truly, progress
has been made in both political and religious enlighten
ment in Canada, in the last half century.
This subject, which will frequently meet us in the
course of this biography, is referred to here by way of
introduction to an incident in Mr. Fyfe's history, which
occurred shortly after he settled in Perth. It was not
until a few years previous that any minister not a clergy
man of the Church of England could legally perform the
marriage ceremony, and for many years thereafter the
¦concession which was wrung from the Government at
that date was hampered by restrictions and conditions
which it will be seen were as annoying as they were un
necessary. The experience of the Perth Baptist minis
ter, as told by himself in a letter to the Register, dated
December 26th, 1862, is a case in point.
" On my return from the country (where 1 went to baptize)
I found our friend, Mr. James Smith, of Lanark, anxiously
awaiting my return. He had applied to the District Court
which was then in session, for a license to perform marriages.
But the Court having some difficulty in deciding what the
Baptists considered 'valid ordination,' hesitated to give him
the license. He explained what are the Baptist principles on
this point, and so did others who were present. Still he was
kept waiting till I should be present to confirm his statements.
My statements were in substance the same as Mr. Smith's, and
at last he got his license, after having been kept waiting for
nearly three days.
" In reference to this case I would remark, lest similar cases
should occur in other parts of the Province, that the ' men of
the law ' should either acquaint themselves with the principles
of the denominations in the matter of ordination, or else they
should acquaint themselves better with the meaning of their

104 LIFE AND LABORS OF
own statutes. The statute says 'ordained, constituted, or
appointed, preacher, pastor, or minister,' etc.
" Now all that is necessary is that the applicant be ascer
tained to be ' constituted or appointed ' pastor or minister in
any given place. If men must wait till they get two or three
ministers to explain what their particular denomination con
siders ' valid ordination,' in many parts of the Province the
statutes regulating the matter of licenses will be of little use.
"After the settlement of the above case I applied for the same
right. I handed in my certificate of ordination, thinking with
myself, surely I shall escape the whirlpool which so nearly
engulfed my friend. Then, behold ! a new obstacle rose in the
way. My ordination had taken place in a foreign land, and
was null and void ? Upon enquiring I was informed that the
same is true of all ordinations which take place out of the
British dominions. I was then advised by some of the gentle
men of the Court, to call a meeting and be ordained over again,
just as if the whole were a mere farce. This, however, could
not be done.
" I at last obtained what I applied for by producing evidence
that I had been ' constituted or appointed pastor, etc., but not
upon the ground of my having been already ordained, and
acknowledged as such by the Baptist denomination in this
country." Mr. Fyfe proceeds to apply the doctrine of the statute,
as interpreted by the court, in a way that would be
rather embarrassing to the believers in apostolic succes
sion, as were probably most of the law-makers of that
period. " I cannot help stating one reflection which arises out of the
fact stated in court, ' that no ordination out of the British
domiiuons can be considered valid (in a legal sense) in these
dominions.' Then, genuine apostolic succession must be con
fined to the British dominions. In England, of course, we
have the true succession, and ordination conferred by any one
of that venerated chain must be valid. Now suppose an
Episcopal bishop should be regularly consecrated in England,
and so receive the Holy Ghost, and all the mysterious qualifi
cations for his office, by the laying on of the Episcopal hands

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 105
at ordination. Though he has now fully prepared himself to
confer the same gifts upon others, yet let him only migrate to
the United States, and ordain a man there, he can confer no
gifts upon the candidates, for he is not on British soil. Then
again those ordained by this bishop in the States, may come
over to Canada. But, alas ! the moment they should set their
feet on British soil they would lose their genealogical table,
and with it all power of tracing their descent from the
Apostles. Their ministerial qualifications would evaporate,
leaving them weak like one of us — unable legally to administer
the ordinances of the Church. This case was proved not long
since — not over one hundred miles from Brockville. It
matters not who performs the ordination, if it be in a foreign
land it is not valid in the eye of the law in the British
dominions. It will not meet the point to say this a civil
disqualification, for it evidently arises from the notion that
^here is also a spiritual disqualification. The former is founded
upon the latterr How did this mysterious succession get into
the British dominions ? And how did it come to confine itself
to them?"
Leaving the believers in the true succession to settle
this knotty question amongst themselves, and leaving
Mr. Fyfe also for a short time engaged in the trying
duties of his first pastorate, it may be well to glance for
a little at the condition of the country which was to be
the scene of most of his future labors.

CHAPTER IX.

Canada West in Former Days — A Dominant Church — The Clergy
Reserves — Their Origin and History — The "Protestant
Clergy " — The Imperial Act of 1840 — The Episcopal Church
Well Cared For — But Not Satisfied — The Question Re-
Opened — Baptists in the Field — The Endowed Rectories —
Episcopacy Steals a March — Public Indignation — The Deed
Confirmed.
CANADA WEST was, in 1842 and following years,
at a very critical stage in its history. In order to
understand facts and incidents to which frequent allu
sions must be made in subsequent chapters, it is necessary
that the reader should have a clear conception of the
political and religious condition of the country at the
period at which this history has now arrived. The battle
for constitutional government had been fought and won,
but the fruits of victory were to be reaped only by dint
of perpetual vigilance in guarding them. Many members
of the Family Compact — that odious oligarchy which had
so long ruled Upper Canada according to its own sweet
will — -were still in positions of authority, and their bane
ful influence was yet to be felt in public affairs. Being
almost without exception members of the Episcopal
Church and accustomed to regard its ascendency and
domination as a matter of right in the Mother Land,
-they very naturally were ready to claim for it a similar

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 107
position in the colonies. Refusing to accept as final the
settlement of the Clergy Reserves' question made in the
Act of 1840 — all too partial though that Act was to the
claims of Episcopacy — they caused the whole question to
be re-opened in 1845, and thus brought back for a time
the heart burnings and unseemly wranglings which it
was fondly hoped had been forever quieted. The
struggle thus renewed between the determined advocates
of a dominant state church and the champions of religious
freedom and equality, was prolonged for years. Mr. Fyfe
was not the man to stand coolly or timidly aside while
such a battle was being fought. He threw himself into
the contest with all the force of his strong" convictions
and all the warmth of his ardent nature, and, as will be
hereafter seen, contributed not a little to determine some
of the issues in favor of the liberties we all enjoy to-day.
In order to appreciate the spirit in which these now
almost forgotten contests were carried on, it is necessary
to understand clearly the principles involved and the im
portant interests at stake. The Clergy Reserves, the
Endowed Rectories, and the King's College struggles, will
be still within the memories of some readers and to others
will be familiar as a " twice-told tale," but to many of
a younger generation the facts are already becoming
misty if not almost unknown.
The Clergy Reserves had their origin in what is known
as the Constitutional Act of 1791. By the. thirty -sixth
section of that Act provision was made for reserving out
of all grants of public lands in Upper and Lower
Canada, past as well as future, an allotment for the sup
port of a "Protestant clergy." This allotment was to be
" " equal in value to the seventh part of the lands so

108 LIFE AND LABORS OF
granted." By the next section it was provided that the
rents, profits, and emoluments arising from the lands so
appropriated were to be applicable solely to the mainten
ance and support of a Protestant clergy. In these and
the companion clauses providing for the endowment of
rectories, were enfolded the germs of the worst evils with
which the colony was ever afflicted. They were prolific
of the bitterest political and sectarian strife. They
wrought intolerable hardship and wrong to many in
dustrious settlers. They retarded the growth of the
province, hindered the development of its resources,
kindled in the bosoms of many of its inhabitants a deep
and lasting resentment, and aroused in many others the
spirit of hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. They
were the means of arraying those who should have gone
forward hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder in the
path of material and moral progress, in two hostile camps,
and they became eventually one of the exciting causes
of the rebellion and bloodshed of 1836.
Such legislation was of course wrong in principle, and
in any case could have wrought only evil. It involved
the noxious element of state-churchism, and was, conse
quently, in itself an infringement on the rights of citizen
ship, a violation of liberty of conscience and a gross
perversion of the spirit of Christianity. But these
inherent evils were intensified by faults of administra
tion and stimulated by the greed of the adherents of the
would-be-supreme sect. Those to whom was assigned
the duty of making the appropriations, not satisfied with
the too liberal provisions of the Act which decreed that
the lands reserved for the clergy should be equal to one-
seventh of all grants made by the Crown, and so to one-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 109
eighth of the whole in which they were included, were
accustomed, by a strained interpretation of the clause, to
set aside for that purpose one-seventh of the whole, thus
making the Clergy Reserves actually equal to one-sixth
part of all the lands granted for other purposes. Mr.
Dent, in his History of the Rebellion, vol. 1, page 65,
adds, that from the fact that this method was confined
to about two-thirds of the surveyed townships, as well
as from the obvious construction of the statute, " it is to
be inferred that the excessive reservations were made
deliberately, and not from mere oversight or inadvert
ence." The surplus thus unjustly appropriated on
behalf of the clergy had in 1838 footed up to a total of
three hundred thousand acres.
No prophetic powers were needed to foretell the bale
ful effects of such legislation. The catastrophe was
hastened by another vicious practice followed in carrying
out the provisions of the Act. Instead of having large
blocks set apart in certain localities, the reserves were
interspersed amongst the grants made to actual settlers,
in order that their value might be enhanced by the im
provements made on the contiguous lands. The clergy
would thus be doubly endowed, first by the free gift of
immense quantities of the public domain, and second, by
the large and constant increment resulting from the
industry and enterprise of the settlers in the adjacent
districts. In some parts, however, as in the Niagara
peninsula, and in certain townships along the St.
Lawrence, this plan could not be followed as large grants
had already been made en bloc. Hence, in these cases,
large tracts of neighboring townships were reserved for
the clergy.

110 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The pernicious tendencies of such reservations in either
case, are apparent. They increase immensely the diffi
culties of the early settlers in road-making, both for
purposes of intercommunication and as a means of reach
ing the nearest markets. By separating the settlers from
each other they become serious barriers to combined
action for municipal, school, and other purposes. They
debar them; in many cases, from that social intercourse
which is so much needed as an alleviation of the hard
ships of pioneer life. And they do all this in order that
the owner of the reserves may be made rich by the im
provements wrought by the settlers' toil and privation*
The evil effects of such a system of reservations, though
some of them are made for more public and juster ends,
are seriously felt to-day in Manitoba and the Northwest.
It would be aside from the object of the present work to
dwell upon this aspect of the Clergy Reserves' trouble.
This brief reference will suffice to show that the people
had good reasons, apart altogether from the denomina
tional issues involved, for feeling that the Clergy Reserves
were an injustice and an outrage. As a matter of fact
it would seem that the grievance was first felt by the
settlers in their private capacity, and that the first pro
tests were uttered and the first combinations formed
against the reservations, on purely secular grounds.
But murmurs of discontent soon arose in other quar
ters. The Clergy Reserves became a bone of contention
amongst the denominations. The ambiguous wording of
the enacting clause made tbem a veritable apple of dis
cord amongst the various Protestant sects. The dispute
turned, of course, on the meaning of the words " Protes
tant clergy." The word " Protestant," on the one hand.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. Ill
might well be regarded as simply the antithesis of
Catholic, and the reserves understood to be for the benefit
of all the denominations which abjured the tenets of the
Romish Church. But, on the other hand, the word
clergy, it was urged, was commonly used in reference to
ministers of the established Church of England only,
and, it was averred, had never been applied in any
British statute to design te any ministers except those
of the Churches of Rome and of England. Various other
clauses of the Act were adduced in support of the one or
the other interpretation. The claim put forward by the
Church of Scotland was particularly strong, inasmuch as
it was also an established church in one section of the
Mother country, and had been expressly recognized as
a " Protestant Church " in the Union Act of 1707.
But, it may be asked, can it be that absolutely all the
denominations in the province were engaged in this dis
graceful struggle for the loaves and fishes of state endow
ment ? Were there no exceptions to the discreditable
rule — no church, or association of churches, prepared to
take the high New Testament ground and to repudiate
all desire or inclination to accept state pay or support ?
The reply is that so far as appears there were no excep
tions. The leading denominations at that day were few
in number. It was before the " Disruption," and conse
quently there was no free Presbyterian Church to vindi
cate, as that church did nobly a few years later in
Canada, the liberty and spirituality of the Church of
Christ. The Baptists were as yet few in number and
without any organization which could either have de
manded its share of the public plunder, or maintained the
grand principle of church independence of which Baptists
have been in all ages, consistent champions.

112 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The battle raged fiercely. The claims of the Presby
terians were allowed: This was a signal for other
Protestant denominations to press their demands for a
share of the spoils. The opinions of the constitutional
lawyers were invoked to declare the meaning of the Act,
and were found to be as various as the views of the
bodies which employed them.
Meanwhile as was to be expected from the fact that
the holders of public offices were, almost without excep
tion, members or adherents of that church, the Episco
palians got the lion's share of the booty. " According to
a return to the House of Assembly of lands set apart as
glebes in Upper Canada during the forty-six years from
1787 to 1833, it appears that 22,345 acres were so set
apart for the clergy of the Church of England, 1,160
acres for ministers of the Kirk of Scotland, 400 for
Roman Catholics, and 'none for any other denomina
tion.' " *
It is unnecessary to enter here more minutely into the
history of the first Clergy Reserve struggle. After much
and fierce contention the question was supposed to be
settled by the Imperial Act of 1840, entitled " an Act to
provide for the sale of the Clergy Reserves in the
Province of Canada, and for the distribution of the
proceeds thereof." By this Act the Governor and
Council of Canada were empowered to sell the fee simple
of the reserves, but not more than 100,000 acres in any
one year, and to invest the produce of the same in some
public fund, and the interests and dividends on all such
investments were to be drawn by the Receiver-General of

* Dent's Rebellion, Vol. I. , page 67.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 113
Canada, and to be paid by him to satisfy all such stipends
and allowances as had been made to the clergy of the
Churches of England and Scotland, or other religious
bodies to which the faith of the Crown was pledged.
The amounts with which the funds were thus annually
chargeable was £9,280. The Act further provided that
as soon as the income from the fund should exceed this
sum, the interests and dividends accruing from the first
of the Clergy Reserve funds, that created by the Act 7
and 8 George IV, should be divided into three equal
parts, of which two should be appropriated to the Church
of England and one to the Church of Scotland, and those
accruing from the second fund, that created by the Act
of 1840 above described, should be divided into six equal
parts of which two should be appropriated to the Church
of England, one to the Church of Scotland, and the
remaining three be placed at the disposal of the Gov
ernor for the time being, to be applied by him " for pur
poses of public worship and religious instruction in
Canada." Notwithstanding this very favorable settle
ment of their claims, a settlement which was denounced
as unjust by other religious bodies, but acquiesced in for
the sake of peace, the English Church authorities were
dissatisfied and caused the whole question to be re-opened
in 1845, by petitioning the Legislature to have the unsold
portions of the Reserves divided and the proportion
accruing to the Episcopal Church invested in the Church
Society of Toronto. This petition, if granted, would of
course have had the effect of endowing the English
Church with immense areas of the public lands, and
enabling it to withhold them from sale or settlement at
pleasure, until such time as the occupation or cultivation

114 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of surrounding districts had vastly increased their value.
It would, in short, have made the English Church a state-
endowed church, and paved the way for its becoming
in fact, what Bishop Strachan of Toronto actually styled
it in a circular letter addressed to the clergy and laity
about this date, the " Established Church in Western
Canada." The battle for religious equality thus indiscreetly re
newed by the friends of episcopacy, was waged with
vigour and bitterness for several years. It was during
this second stage of the conflict that the Baptists entered
the arena as an organized body. Mr. Fyfe, though still
quite young, took from time to time, as we shall see, an
important part in this contest and others of a similar
nature. It need scarcely be added that he and other
leaders contended not for a share of the spoils, but for
absolute civil and religious liberty and equality. They
denied the right of other denominations to what they
on principle repudiated for themselves, any special privi
leges purchased for them with the public funds, which
were the common property of the whole people, without
respect to creed or sect.
Closely connected with the clergy reserves trouble was
that arising out of the endowed rectories. By sections
of the Act of 1791, subsequent to those already referred
to, provision was made for the erection and endowment
by the Lieutenant-Governor, under instructions from the
Crown, of one or more parsonages or rectories in every
township, or parish, according to the establishment of
the Church of England, and for the presentation of in
cumbents, subject to the Bishop's right of institution.
The stern opposition which the clergy reserves provision

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 115
aroused and the keen contests which ensued year after
year, prevented any action being taken to give effect to
the clauses respecting the rectories for nearly half a
century after the passage of the Act. In view of the
fact that the Imperial authorities had requested the
Provincial Parliament to legislate on the reserves ques
tion with a view to eliminating its more objectionable
features, and in view of the further fact that colonial
secretaries, and particularly Lord Goderich, had given
what were understood to be pledges that no steps would
be taken to dispose of any part of the reserves, except in
accordance with the views and wishes of a majority of
the Canadian people, the public mind seems to have been
quite at rest so far as the rectory endowment clauses of
the obnoxious Act were concerned. The popular sur
prise and indignation may be imagined when the fact
leaked out that Sir John Colborne, yielding no doubt
to the persistent solicitations of his High Church ad
visers in the Executive Council, had, as one of his last
official acts, and only eight days before the arrival of
his successor, Sir Francis Head, signed patents creating
and endowing forty-four rectories. It afterwards came
out that patents had actually been made out for thirteen
more but had for some reason been left unsigned, and so
could not be made available. To the forty-four were
assigned more than 17,000 acres of the public lands, an
average of nearly 370 acres to each rectory. The trans
action was kept secret as long as possible, both from the
Home authorities and from the Canadian people. The
deed was consummated in January, 1836, but did not be
come generally known until after the close of the session
of Parliament in the spring. For the sequel we cannot

116 LIFE AND LABORS OF
do better than quote the concise summary given in a
recent historical work :*
" No sooner did it become known than the public indignation
began to manifest itself in lurid speeches and newspaper
articles. Meetings were held to denounce Sir John Colborne
and those who had prompted him to this high-handed iniquity.
The Wesleyan Methodist Conference and the Synod of the
Church of Scotland in Upper Canada, if agreeing on no other
subject, were of one mind as to this, and officially pronounced
upon it with a vehemence which commended itself to popular
opinion. Petitions without number were sent over the sea. '
' The Imperial Government,' says Mr. Lindsay, ' was besieged
with petitions, praying for the annulment of the Rectories.
The temper of the public mind became imbued with that
sullenness which a sense of injury begets, and which forbodes
the approach of civil commotion. It was the idea of violated
Imperial faith ; of a broken compact between the Sovereign
and his Canadian subjects, that constituted the sting of the
injury. The people recurred to the promise of Lord Goderich
that their wishes should be the Sovereign's guide in the matter,
and regarded themselves as the victims of a deception which
brought dishonor on the Crown and distrust upon Imperial
faith.' The Home Government were in two minds about
repudiating the transaction. The right of the Lieutenant-
Governor to create and endow without the express assent of
the King was not perfectly clear, and the Law Officers of the
Crown were consulted on the question. Those gentlemen, on
the case submitted for their consideration, pronounced the
opinion that there had been an excess of authority ; and that
the creation and endowment were invalid. Dr. Strachan, upon
becoming acquainted with this circumstance, prepared a report
embodying certain facts and documents which had not been
before the Law Officers, to whom the case was now submitted
a second time. The additional data placed a different face upon
the question, and the Law Officers arrived at a conclusion con
trary to that which they had formerly expressed. The grantees
were accordingly permitted to retain their property undisturbed,
but the name of Sir John Colborne continued to be execrated in
Upper Canada for his share in the transaction for many a year."
* Dent's History of the Rebellion, Vol. I, p. 294.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.

117

Such in brief was the origin of another of the politico-
religious disputes which continued to agitate Upper
Canada for years after Dr. Fyfe commenced his public
labors in the Province. So much seemed necessary to
make clear the position of the miscalled " Dissenters "
during the earlier years of his ministerial work, and the
relation of himself and other Canadian Baptists to the
strenuous and bitter struggles which finally issued in the
free civil and religious institutions we now possess.

CHAPTER X.

Toronto University — Its Early History — The School Lands — A
Clever Scheme — A Clerical Opinion of Dissenting Teachers
— Dr. Strachan Goes to England — His Misrepresentations
— A Royal Charter Secured — Popular Indignation — Peti.
tions and Corrections — An Obstinate College Council — ¦
The Charter Amended — One-sided Appointments — The
Struggle Renewed. #¦
>HE Royal Charter of 1828 for the creation of King's
College, Toronto, constituted the third strand of
the three-fold cord with which Dr. Strachan and his
High Church associates in the Executive Council and the
Family Compact sought to bind hand and foot all the
sectaries in Canada who ventured to renounce the
"Mother Church," and to reject the dogma of the apos
tolic succession. A brief sketch of the history of this
institution is necessary to enable younger readers to un
derstand Dr. Fyfe's share in another bitter contest, and
to appreciate the boon of an unsectarian provincial uni
versity which we enjoy to-day, and for which we are
largely indebted to the brave stand against church
aggression made by him and others like-minded in the
old war days.
The history of King's College, now the University of
Toronto, dates back nearly a century. In 1796 the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 119
Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Upper
Canada united in a joint address to King George III.,
•" imploring that his Majesty would be graciously pleased
to direct the appropriation of a certain portion of the
waste lands of the Crown as a fund for the establishment
and support of a respectable Grammar School, and also of
a College, or University, for the instruction of youth in
different branches of liberal knowledge." A gracious reply
was duly returned, promising on the part of his Majesty
"to comply with the wishes of the Legislature in such
manner as shall be judged to be most effectual." During
the following year the Executive Council reported in
favor of a grant of 500,000 acres, or ten townships, which
it was thought would suffice, after deducting Crown and
clergy sevenths, as a foundation for four grammar schools
and a university. But the public lands were at that
time being portioned out to a few favorites of the ruling
faction with a recklessness and profusion which went
far to destroy their value. Immense tracts were locked
up in the name of this and that member or hanger-on of
the Family Compact. The nominal owners neither im
proved these themselves nor permitted others to do so.
The consequence was that the magnificent school grant
remained unproductive for about twenty years.
At this inauspicious period of Canadian history all
positions of authority and influence were monopolized
by members of the High Church party. The Legislative
and Executive Councils were under their control. They
manipulated all the machinery of government. And
their influence, it need hardly be said, exerted steadily,
was not favorable to general education or to equal rights
and privileges for all, irrespective of class or sect. On

120 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the contrary their constant study seems to have been to
conserve and extend their own exclusive powers and
prerogatives, and those of the Church they represented.
Conspicuous amongst the ruling spirits of this clique
was Dr. Strachan, Archdeacon of York. Under his lead
and, it may fairly be assumed, at his instigation, an
attempt was made in 1879 to divert the school grant
from its original purpose. Certain memoers of the Ex
ecutive, amongst whom Dr. Strachan was prominent,
secretly planned and carried into effect an arrangement,
the purport of which was to postpone indefinitely the
erection of the proposed grammar schools, and to use the
whole available school fund for the establishment of an
Episcopal University. To further the design it was pro
posed to divest the Legislature of the control of the
grant and place it entirely at the disposal of the Execu
tive Council. Accordingly Sir Peregrine Maitland, the
Lieutenant-Governor, was recommended to obtain from
the Imperial Government permission to " sell, lease,
grant, and dispose of '' the 500,000 acres of school lands,
for the purpose indicated. It was also recommended
that a permanent commission should be created with full
powers to dispose of the lands and manage the revenues,
under the direction of the Executive Government.
Another interesting part of the scheme was that the
University should be established by Royal Charier.
The effect of this would be, of course, to take it out of
the sphere of Provincial legislation and to place its man
agement and control quite above the reach of the Can
adian Legislature and people.
In order to facilitate the carrying out of this scheme
the Council proposed that as a great part of the school

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 121
lands were still unsalable, the portion appropriated for
the University should be exchanged for an equal portion
of marketable Crown reserves. This, however, Sir
Peregrine Maitland refused to permit without special in
structions from the Home office. Consequently Dr.
Strachan was deputed to go to England and in person
negotiate the transfer.
This visit of Dr. Strachan to England became famous
in the course of the bitter controversies which followed,
by reason of the gross misrepresentations — his opponents
did not hesitate to use a still stronger term — by means
of which he prevailed upon the Colonial Secretary and
the British Government to accede to his request. As an
illustration of the spirit in which he went on the mission
and, at the same time, an indication of the mental atti
tude which he, in common with many of his fellow-
churchmen, at that time maintained towards the so-
called Dissenters, the following extract from a sermon
preached by the Archdeacon just before his departure
for England is in point. Strangely enough, in view of
the character of the passages quoted, the occasion was
the funeral service of Dr. Mountain, first Bishop of
Quebec: —
" Even when churches are erected the minister's influence is
frequently broken, or injured, by numbers of uneducated,
itinerant preachers, who, leaving their steady employment,
betake themselves to preach the Gospel from idleness, or a zeal
without knowledge, by which they are induced, without any
preparation, to teach what they do not know, and which, from
their pride, they disdain to learn.
"When it is considered that the religious teachers of the other
denominations of Christians — a very few respectable ministers
of the Church of Scotland excepted — come almost universally
from the Republican States of America, where they gather
I

122 LIFE AND LABORS OF
their knowledge and form their sentiments, it is quite evident
that if the Imperial Government does not immediately step
forward with efficient help, the mass of the population will
be mustered and instructed in hostility to the parent church,
nor will it be long till they imbibe opinions anything but
favorable to the political institutions of England.
"It is only through the Church and its Institutions that a
truly English character and feeling can be given to and pre
served in any foreign possession."
Dr. Strachan arrived in England in 1826, and immedi
ately set to work to solicit subscriptions from friends of
the High Church in aid of the projected university. In
a pamphlet entitled "An Appeal to the Friends of Re
ligion in behalf of the University of Upper Canada " he
distinctly stated that it would be a missionary college
for the education of missionaries of the Church of Eng
land. From the "Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts" he claimed assistance on the
ground of "having been instrumental in establishing a
scheme in Canada by which the education of the whole
population is virtually under the direction of the Church.'
But the most astounding assertions were those contained
in a memorial and chart sent to the Under-Secretary of
State, in which the religious statistics of Upper Canada
were given as follows : — Church of England, 39 clergy
men, 58 places in which regular or occasional services
were held, 45 churches, and 31 regular parishes. There
were 7 ministers of the Independent, or Presbyterian,
order, and 2 in connection with the Kirk of Scotland.
The Methodists had no settled ministers, but a consider
able number of itinerants, perhaps 20 or 30 in the whole
province. Other denominations had very few teachers,
and these very ignorant.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 123
Dr. Straehan's untiring zeal and persistence, backed
up by his intrepidity in the matter of assertions and
statistics, prevailed. The Royal Charter was granted.
The university was to be erected in the then town of
York (Toronto), and was to be constituted upon the most
exclusive Church principles. The Archdeacon of York
was to be President, ex-ojficio. Besides the Chancellor
and President, the College Council was to consist of seven
members, who were to be required to sign the thirty-nine
Articles of the Church of England. The Bishop of the
diocese was to be ex-offi,cio the Visitor, etc. The Arch
deacon not only got the Church college and the honors
and emoluments of the presidency in futuro, but, it was
said, the very substantial present solatium of £1,300, in
payment for his services as delegate.
As may readily be imagined hot indignation and
wrath were aroused throughout the province when the
result of his mission became known. Petitions and
remonstrances poured in from all parts of the country,
representing the monstrous injustice that was being
perpetrated and the evils that must follow. In response
to the earnest prayer of the representatives of all other
denominations a special committee was appointed by the
House to inquire into the truth of Dr. Straehan's repre
sentations as to the strength of the various religious
bodies in Upper Canada. The result was embodied in
an address to the British House of Commons, which was
agreed upon at a public meeting called in fork, and
afterwards signed by about 8,000 people of all denomina
tions. This address was sent to Mr. Hume and by him
presented to the Commons. In his speech, based upon
the information elicited as the result of the investigation

124 LIFE AND LABORS OF
instituted by the Canadian Legislature, Mr. Hume stated
that the members of the Church of England in Canada
were found to be but one-tenth of the entire population ;
that there were in all 325 clergymen of all denominations
in Upper Canada of whom only 31 belonged to the
Church of England, 117 being Methodists, 45 Baptists,
and the rest of other denominations ; that while 133 out
of the 162 Methodists and Baptists had been born and
educated in Her Majesty's dominions, the same was true
of but 11 of the Church of England clergymen. In like
manner other ascertained facts were found in sharp con
tradiction to the allegations of the versatile Archdeacon.
Meanwhile the Canadian Legislature in its turn ad
dressed His Majesty in a somewhat similar strain. The
proofs of the genuineness of the excitement and indigna
tion in Canada were so clear that the attention of the
British House of Commons was aroused and a special
committee of its members was appointed to inquire into
the whole subject of civil government in Canada. The
portion of the report of this committee which touched on
the college question recommended the establishment of
two theological chairs for the Churches of England and
Scotland respectively, but the withdrawal of all religious
tests so far as the President, Professors and all others
connected with the institution were concerned. The
Commons adopted the report, the Colonial Secretary
approved it and the Lieutenant-Governor was instructed
to give the matter his attention with a view to bringing
about the necessary changes.
This, however, was not so easily done. The Executive
had lost no time. A College Council had been formed
under the Royal Charter, which Dr. Strachan had pro-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 125
cured. When Sir J. Colborne succeeded Sir Peregrine
Maitland in 1828 he found the popular excitement still
intense. Repeated requests mide by him for the sur
render of the Charter, in order that its provisions might
be amended by the Legislature, as the Colonial Secretary
had directed, were unheeded by the College Council, and
the Lieutenant-Governor was at last compelled to sus
pend the operation of the Charter.
The excitement continued. Another petition to the
British House of Commons was adopted at a public
meeting in York, in December, 1830, and forwarded with
10,000 signatures, praying amongst other things for the
amendment of the charter. Her Majesty's ministers
took alarm, and instructed Sir J. Colborne to insist on
surrender of the charter. The College Council still obstin
ately refused. For several years the struggle went on.
The House of Assembly made fruitless efforts to have
the charter amended. It passed bills by immense majori
ties only to have them thrown out by the Upper House.
Meanwhile Dr. Strachan, on behalf of the High Church
party, finding that it would be impossible to carry out
the provisions of the Royal Charter in all their original
monstrosity, began to propose concessions and com
promises. These, while maintaining the worst features
of the bill intact, were dangerous to the popular rights
and liberties by reason of their insidious appeal to the
cupidity of certain other denominations. In short, see
ing that it was now impossible to monopolize the whole
spoil, the High Church party proposed to divide it with
some of their most formidable rivals, reserving, of course,
the lion's share for themselves. Unhappily two or three
of the leading denominations eventually fell into the

126 LIFE AND LABORS OF
snare. The judgments of some of their leading men
were so blinded by the tempting prize that they were
for the time being unable to see that if it is unjust and
wrong to divert the public funds for the behoof of one
sect, it could hardly be just or right to do so for the
benefit of three or four. As a consequence the hosts
that should have been arrayed as one man against every
proposition involving the iniquity of using public funds
for the endowment of sectarian institutions, were hence
forth divided, and two or three, "faithful amongst the
faithless," were left to fight the battle for themselves
and the people.
But this is anticipating. The state of the case in the
year 1840, is so concisely set forth in an article in the
Toronto Examiner, published in April of that year, that
it may as well be quoted entire, especially since it sup
plies some particulars omitted in the preceding sketch :
" It is well known to our readers that in the 8th year of
King George IV, a royal charter was granted for an university
to be erected in this city, (then the town of York), upon the
most exclusive church principles. The Archdeacon of York
was to be President, ex-officio, the College Council was to con
sist, besides the Chancellor and President, of seven members
who, previously to their admission, were obliged to sign the
thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, and the Bishop
of the Diocese was to be Visitor, ex-officio. For several years
the House of Assembly made fruitless efforts to procure a
modification of this charter. At length Earl Ripon, when
Secretary of the Colonies, invited the Provincial Lesiglature to
deliberate on the subject. In the first session of the twelfth
Provincial Parliament a bill was passed by a very large
majority in the House of Assembly, but rejected by the Legis
lative Council. Its object was to do away with all tests, and
further to prohibit all teaching of divinity within the walls of
the University, and to establish a council of twelve, one half
to be appointed by the Legislative Council, and the other half
by the House of Assembly.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 127
" On the meeting of the thirteenth Parliament Sir Francis
Head called attention to the subject of King's College in a
speech from the Throne, and during the session a Bill was carried
through both branches of the Legislature, and assented to by
His Excellency, amending the Charter most essentially. This
Bill enacted that the judges shall be visitors of the college, and
that the council shall consist of twelve men, viz. : — -the Chan
cellor, the President, the Speakers of the two Houses of the
Legislature, the Attorney and Solicitor Generals, the five
senior Professors of the Arts and Faculties, and the Principal
of Upper Canada College.
" It enacts that it shall not be necessary that any member of
the College Council, or any Professor, to be at any time
appointed, shall be a member of the Church of England, or
subscriber to any articles of religion other than a declaration
that they do believethe authority and divine inspiration of the
Old and New Testament, and in the Doctrine of the Trinity ;
and, further, that no religious test or qualification be required
or appointed for any persons admitted or matriculated as
scholars within the said college, or of persons admitted to any
degree of faculty therein.
" We trust that the amended Charter will be carried out in
the spirit in which it was framed, and that such confidence will
be reposed in the university that the youth of all religious
denominations will be sent to it for their education. The
Legislative Assembly as the especial guardians of popular
rights will, of course, watch the proceedings of the College
Council with attention, and will necessarily exercise some
influence over its proceedings. All the appointments are
vested in the Governor General (the Chancellor, ex-officio), and
we cannot doubt but that the patronage will be discreetly
exercised." The Examiner's hope was doomed to disappointment.
The constitution of the College Council was still such as
to throw the management into the hands of the High
Church party. It soon became clear that the victory
was only half won, and that the battle would have to be
fought over again before the institution could be made
practically unsectarian and national. On the 23rd of

128 LIFE AND LABORS OF
April, 1842, the foundation stone of Toronto University
was laid "amidst great pageantry and some pedantry," as
the Register put it. " It was apparently," added this
journal, whose information was drawn from a report in
The Church, "an occasion of great exultation to Bishop
Strachan and his friends; and from this circumstance
we may augur that this college, wholly endowed and
supported out of the national resources, is to be made in
some way an engine of High Churchism."
The way was soon revealed. The amended charter
was found to have at least one fatal defect. The appoint
ing power in connection with the University was vested,
it will be observed, in the Governor-General — not the
Governor-General in Council, where, under the newly
inaugurated system of responsible government, he would
have been amenable to public opinion — but the Governor-
General in person. The result was seen in the first batch
of appointments, which could have been scarcely more
pronouncedly sectarian had the original Royal Charter
arrangement been still in force.
One of the provisions of the amended charter was that
no sectarian and none but the most general religious
test should be applied in the appointment of Members of
Council or Professors, the object evidently being to open
the way for the appointment of well-qualified men of
different denominations, so as to prevent the institution
from becoming narrow or sectarian. Again, the charter
made no provision for the appointment of any theological
professors. The manner in which the spirit and evident
intent of these provisions of the charter were observed
in the first appointments is trenchantly exposed in an
editorial article in the Toronto Examiner of May 3rd,
1843, from which the following is an extract : —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 129
" Every appointment, without a single exception, unless one,
has been made from members of the same church, and is con
sequently sectarian. What are these appointments ? First, we
find his reverence the Bishop of Toronto* appointed as
President of the University ; next we find the Rev. Dr.
McCaul, another clergyman of the Church of England, ap
pointed Vice-President, and of course to fill one of the chairs in
the University; next we find Dr. Bevin, a fresh importation
from Oxford, also a clergyman of the Church of England,
appointed Theological Professor, contrary to the provisions of
the charter; and we find the Rev. Mr. Scadding, a clergyman
of the Church of England, appointed as Chaplain! Attend,
reader — Mr. Scadding appointed Chaplain to a college, the
charter of which has been modified for the express purpose of
providing against sectarian influences ! In fact, every appoint
ment that has yet been made, as far as we are able to learn,
with the exception of Dr. King, has been from the same
Church — the Church of England. Who can say that the pre
sent aspect of the University of King's College is not in the
deepest degree sectarian, and, as such, unsuited to the wants
and conditions of this country? But there is something yet.
The completely sectarian character of the appointments affects
the internal discipline of the University. Being a very re
ligious body, and having a chaplain appointed, of course prayers
are read every morning and evening by a Church of England
clergyman from the liturgy and formulas of that Church, at
which prayers, all the students are required to attend."
Well might the Register cry out : " What are our re
presentatives about ? Will not the people of this free
colony call on their legislators to interfere, and rescue
the University from the grasping hand of Prelate
Strachan ?"
As an amusing illustration of the blinding effects of
early education and sectarian prejudice, the following
from an Episcopal clergyman, which appeared in the
* Dr. Strachan, the late Archdeacon, who had now been exalted to
this dignity.

130 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Church, with the commendation of the editor, at about
the same date as that of the foregoing extract from the
Examiner, is too good to be lost : " The Dissenters cry
out that we are become uncharitable, because we will not
contribute to the support of their teachers, — but if they
will have them, let them pay them themselves."
Such was the state of affairs in regard to Toronto
University in the early part of the year 1843, which we
have now reached in the course of the biography. The
outcome of the struggle will appear as the narrative
proceeds.

CHAPTER XL

Marriage — Discouragement in the Work — Anything Better than
Stagnation — An Unexpected Call — Canadian Baptists
Fifty Years Ago — History or Montreal College — The
Canada Baptist Missionary Society — Two Serious Diffi
culties — The Montreal Committee — Liberal Givers and
Faithful Workers — The University Bill — A Vigorous
Letter — One-Sided Liberty — Unfaithful Stewards — Waste
ful Extravagance.

i T Laprairie, on the 17th instant, by the Rev. J.
Girdwood, the Rev. R. A. Fyfe, of Perth, to
Jane, third daughter of James Thomson, Esq., Laprairie."
This announcement, under the head of " Married," in the
Montreal Register of February 23rd, 1843, marks the
next important event in Mr. Fyfe's history. The Miss
Thomson referred to was a sister of T. M. Thomson, Esq.,
whose name was well known as that of an earnest and
influential worker amongst the Baptists of Canada for
many years. He still survives, though in feeble health,
and now resides on Bloor street, Toronto. During the
years, unhappily few, in which he was blessed with her
companionship, Mr. Fyfe found in her whom he had
chosen a faithful helpmeet, a wise and sympathizing ad
viser — in a word, a true wife. As he himself afterwards
writes to a friend, he had no thought or anxiety which
she did not share, and, we may be sure, no burden of

132 LIFE AND LABORS OF
which she did not bear a part. He had evidently chosen,
in the home of his youth, one whom he had known and
by whom he had been known long and intimately, and
his own loving testimony to the excellence of her charac
ter proves that he had chosen wisely.
With the exception of one or two unimportant refer
ences to his presence at associations, we hear nothing of
him for a few months. Towards the end of May he
writes from Perth to his old friend McPhail in a some
what despondent mood. We can easily understand that
one who had become so accustomed to the atmosphere of
revivals and had so often been permitted to see the im
mediate fruits of his labors, would suffer keenly in
presence of the reaction sure to follow religious as any
other excitement. He writes : " Nothing cheering has
occurred since I saw you. I believe I was about preach
ing a temperance sermon when you were here. I did so,
to a tremendous crowd. Since -that time my audience
has considerably increased. In the afternoon the house
is generally very fall. But nothing further. I do not
seem to be making any more headway than Ezekiel was
when, in obedience to the command of the Lord, he was
crying, '0 dry bones, live 1 ' And until the Lord breathe
upon this great valley of dry bones not one soul of them
will come to life, for behold they are very dry. O how
deeply do I feel my own nothingness ! Lord, what is
man ?
He goes on to propose with much earnestness and
some minuteness of detail, a missionary tour to Brock
ville in which he is very anxious for his friend to join.
He had been urged to go by Mr. Smart, of that town,
and was desirous of going for two or three weeks about

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 133
the latter part of June. Whether the journey was
actually made and with what results does not appear.
After some particulars of a painful kind in reference
to individuals whom they both knew, he again takes up
his lamentation : " A stagnation like that of the Dead
Sea, over which sweeps no refreshing breeze and near
which grows no healthful fruit, prevails amongst us.
The only spark of life I find is rage against me, for
meddling with the Scotch people — telling them from the
pulpit that thousands of Scotch people had a form of
religion without its power. You have no idea of the
rage it excited. I told them the truth and am not sorry
for it. Give me a storm, or anything but a dead calm.''
. . . " Old Mr. B — has begun to belabor the Baptists
and I am going (D.V.) to baptize and preach a sermon
next Sunday. Whether we shall have anything from all
these clouds remains to be seen. There is one thing that
cheers me. The Lord reigns. Then let the earth,
especially His people, rejoice. If things do not change,
if there be not a very considerable addition to our
strength, I fear I shall have to leave this place in the
fall."° The question of his removal in the Fall was settled for
him by an unexpected call of duty from another quarter.
The principalship of the Baptist College in Montreal had
become vacant. Dr. Davies, who had been at the head
of the institution during the five years it had been in
operation, had left for England to accept the presidency
of Stepney College, (now Regent's Park College). Thus,
as Dr. Fyfe said, referring to the matter in a sketch of
the History of Baptist Ministerial Education in Canada
which he published in a series of articles in the Canadian

134 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Baptist in February and March, 1878, the " Canadian
school, which could not yet walk alone, was left without
a head." What followed may be given in his own modest
words : — " In their utter inability to think of any other,
the committee turned to me — then having just completed
my first year's settlement over a little church I had
formed in the village of Perth. I was first Informally
asked to take permament charge of the college. This I
refused to do, for two reasons. One was because I
doubted my special qualifications for such work, and
another was because the committee could easily find an
educated man to come to Canada to be the head of a
college, when they could not secure such a man to go to
a village, or the backwoods, and preach the Gospel. I
was then formally asked to take charge of the college
till the committee should procure a suitable successor to
Dr. Davies. I made a greater sacrifice of feeling and
comfort in meeting the wishes of the committee than
they, or any one else, in those days, gave me credit for.
From the autumn of 1843 till the autumn of 1844, I did
my best for Montreal college, as its principal."
As this institution represented the first effort made by
the Baptists of old Canada in the direction of ministerial
education, a brief sketch of its history will be in place in
this work. To quote again from Dr. Fyfe's article in
1878 : " More than forty years ago it was deeply felt
that the Baptists in Canada could never do their work in
this great country, without a native educated ministry.-
But how was this to be obtained ? There were at that
time (1836) not more than 5,000 .Baptist communicants
in Ontario and Quebec. They were poor in worldly
goods and very widely scattered. They were not by any

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 135
means agreed, especially in regard to their views of com
munion and church order, and their means of communi
cation in this new country were tedious and uncertain in
the extreme."
Under these circumstances Rev. John Gilmour, who
had lately resigned his pastorate of St. Helen's Street
Church, Montreal, visited England in order to raise funds
" (1) To aid in organizing a college to train native
Canadians and others for the ministry among the
Baptists in Canada. (2) To aid in carrying on home
mission work in Ontario and Quebec."
Mr. Gilmour succeeded, in 1836-7, in raising £1,250 stg
for the purpose named. The college was opened with
two students, on the 24th of September, 1836, with Dr.
Benjamin Davies as Principal. The Colonial Society in
England undertook to pay the principal's salary, also a
certain proportion of that of each Canadian Home
missionary appointed by " The Canada Baptist Home
Missionary Society," a society which had been founded
for the furtherance of the two objects represented by Mr
Gilmour in his mission to England.
The two obstacles referred to by Dr. Fyfe continued
to obstruct the work of the society during the whole
period of its existence. In the absence of railroad com
munication the difficulty caused by the distance of the
college from the centres of Baptist population was
insuperable. "It was situated four hundred miles east of
where the largest body of the Baptists were;" and even
these " did not then care very much for an educated
ministry, and least of all, for a ministry educated under
the auspices of sympathizers with open communion !"
The point of difference indicated by this last clause

136 LIFE AND LABORS OF
became not only a formidable stumbling block in the
way of the college, but was for many years a constant
source of distrust and division between the Baptists of
the East and those of the West. The Montreal commit
tee, the officers of the college, and the leading members of
the society, being English in their antecedents and sym
pathies, were naturally disposed to favor the open-com
munion views and practices of the English Baptists. At
least they were unable to free themselves from the
suspicion of such leanings, in th? minds of their brethren
in the West. The churches in the latter region had been
formed largely under the ministry and influence of
American Baptists and most of them held tenaciously to
the strict or close-cummunion tenets of their American
brethren. This unfortunate difference gave rise, as wiil
from time to time appear, to perpetual jealousies —
jealousies which tended to render cordial co-operation
difficult, if not impossible,, and which were sometimes,
by some of the western churches and associations, carried
to an unbrotherly and absurd extreme. On the other
hand, the protestation of the Eastern brethren that
their society, being not a church but a mere missionary
organization, had nothing to do with a question of
church order, and as a matter of fact never interfered
with the subject of communion, though made and ob
served, so far as appears, in good faith, failed, naturally
enough perhaps, to allay the distrust of their Western
brethren. It will be seen hereafter that Mr. Fyfe, though
from the first a consistent strict cpmmunionist,had nosym-
pathy with the petty mistrust of some of his ultra friends,
and refused on occasion to be made a partner in what he
regarded as a narrow-minded and unworthy policy. As

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 137
this narrative has to do only incidentally with the future
of the Montreal College, its history may be briefly
summed up in passing. This may be done mainly in Dr.
Fyfe's own language :
" The Montreal committee, some time after commencing the
work of instruction, purchased a large stone house, two stories
high, with dormer windows in the roof (a real French-Canadian
structure), to which there was a considerable piece of land
attached. At that time this property seemed very far out of
the city — among the green fields and farms — now it is in the
heart of the city. The house they fitted up for the temporary
home of the college, and the land they cut up into building
lots, which, at the proper time, they intended to sell for the
benefit of the school. As the Baptists were then few in num
ber, and as a very large majority of them distrusted the
soundness (on the communion question) of the chief managers
of the college, but few students entered at first. Indeed there
never was a large attendance of students at the Montreal
college, and some of them were not the best kind of material
out of which to make ministers. Some excellent men were
indeed trained there, the benefit of whose labors the whole
denomination feels to this day. I need only name Dr. Davidson,
W. K. Anderson, J. Dempsey, A. Slaght, and others, to sug
gest to my readers some of the services rendered by that
college to the Baptists of Canada.
" When Dr. Cramp came it was felt that something must be
done to give new life and impulse to the educational work. It
was decided to build a new home for the students, which would
settle the question of location, and would perhaps be a pledge
and an indication of progress. The committee resolved to
build in Montreal, because there was no one place, aside from
Montreal, at which there were a sufficient number of business
men, who were Baptists and interested in the work, who would
act as a committee to take charge of the school. At this time
necessity seemed to be laid upon the Montreal brethren. They
could not help themselves. Hence the college building was
erected in Montreal.
"The Montreal committee of the 'Canada Baptist Mis-
J

138 LIFE AND LABORS OF
sionary Society' erected a fine cut stone building upon a beau
tiful site which they had reserved from the land they had
bought. It was a beacon which could be seen from a great
distance, and brilliantly proclaimed the enterprise of the Bap
tists. For some time the enterprise seemed to feel the onward
and upward impulse of this 'new departure.' The attendance
of students was considerably increased, and a number of those
who had not the ministry in view were received into the school.
" After a time, however, financial embarrassments began to
be felt. The Canada Baptist Missionary Society, under which
the whole educational and missionary work of Canada was
carried on, had taken under its patronage the Grand Ligne
mission also. It is well known that this society, like most
others, has, always been able to use more money than it could
raise ; and the obligation to provide for this society drew
heavily upon the general organization. This, taken with the
fact that they had incurred a very heavy debt in erecting the
college building, taxed the committee heavily. They hoped to
be aided from England to the extent of at least $10,000 to
wards the building, but were utterly disappointed. In addition
to all this, the great body of the Baptists in the west never
warmed up towards the Montreal college, and consequently
contributed neither men nor money to it. Then the hard times
of 1848-50 came on, and utterly prostrated the few who had
struggled so hard for ten or eleven years. The Grand Ligne
had to be thrown mainly upon its own resources. ' The
Canadian Baptist Missionary Society' was disbanded, and the
college property was sold to pay its debts, so far as possible !
The library, which had made a very fine beginning, was sold
and scattered all over Canada."
Before dismissing this first effort of Canadian Baptists
in the direction of ministerial educition it may be proper
to attempt some estimate of the work and its results. In
a previous foot note some statistics of the fruits of the
society's labors were given, which speak for themselves.
Dr. Fyfe, in the sketch above quoted from, does ample
justice in a manly spirit to the Montreal committee:
" Never did a body of men labor more faithfully, or struggle

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 139
harder to succeed. I know that we have no men now among
the Baptists — and we never had any — who would work harder,
or give as liberally as the Montreal committee did, according to
their means, to make the school succeed. But they were
striving to make water run up hill.
" This eastern enterprise, of which I am writing, has often
been severely criticised, and its managers have been greatly
blamed ; but, from my experience for the last twenty years, I
can no longer join in this. A more liberal and large-hearted
body of men, in proportion to their means, I never expect to
see. It is well known that I never agreed with the views of
most of them in regard to communion and church order, nor
with the idea of locating the college at Montreal. But aside
from these differences of opinion it is but just that we should
recognize the important services which they rendered, and their
self denying exertions to accomplish their work. No intelligent
Baptist can look back forty years, and ignore the great impulse
imparted to the Baptist cause, by the Montreal society. Of the
men educated at this Montreal College, we have one in England
and six in .Canada, still engaged in preaching the Gospel.*
There are, besides, seven in Canada who are not engaged in the
ministry. I can recall four others who are in the United
States, and several who have finished their course and gone
home. Besides, there were a number of ministers who were
induced to come to Canada by the Montreal society, who
rendered good service to the cause of the Master. From my
heart 1 gratefully thank God for the good work done by the
Montreal society."
Any references that have been found to Mr. Fyfe's
extra official labors during his temporary principalship
of the Montreal College are few and incidental. They
are sufficient, however, to show that he was active and
prominent in general denominational work. In the
minutes of the Johnstown Association which met at
Augusta on October 5th it is recorded that Brethren
* This was, of course, in 1878. Of the six, one, at least, Dr. David
son, has since "entered into his rest."

140 LIFE AND LABORS OF
McPhail and Fyfe were present as messengers from the
Ottawa Association. It is significant that Mr. Fyfe's
name appears on four out of five committees appointed
during the session of this association, that in three of
the four it is first in orders that he was appointed to
preach at the evening service, and that he was invited to
preach the introductory sermon at the next meeting of
the association. Evidently his strength was already
making itself felt, and he was being pushed into that
leading position amongst his brethren for which he was
so well fitted by nature.
A vigorous letter appears in the Register of December
7th of this year over the subscription " A," which is be
lieved, both from the impressions of an elderly brother
in Toronto who was familiar with the events of these
far-off days, and from internal evidence, to have been a
nom de plume of Mr. Fyfe. A number of valuable
articles appeared over this signature in the Register dur
ing 1844 and 1845. The one here referred to is on the
vexed University question. A University Bill had been
introduced in the Legislature and had received a first
reading. It annulled or amended many of the worst
abuses of the " Prelatical Monopoly " which had been
foisted into the university under the provisions of the
" Amended Charter." One of the leading features of the
new bill was the division of " King's College " into two
institutions, one to be called the " University of Toronto "
and the other " King's College '' in said university. The
university was to consist of King's, Regiopolis, Queen's
and Victoria Colleges, the High School, and such other
colleges as might afterwards be established in accord
ance with the very liberal conditions prescribed. A

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 141
Board of Control was also to be instituted, to consist of
representative men of the different religious denomina
tions possessing endowed colleges, and professors, lec
turers and teachers were to be appointed by the Chan
cellor on the recommendation of a majority of this Board
of Control. No religious tests were to be imposed, either
in the university or collegiate school, except with refer
ence to professorships, etc., of divinity, and all professor
ships of divinity were to be maintained by voluntary
endowments, subscriptions or donations, and not out of
the funds of the university.
This bill, though opposed by the representatives of
the High Church party, and characterized by Dr. Beaven
as a " hare-brained, impracticable scheme, only fit to fur
nish food for laughter," was manifestly a great improve
ment on its predecessor, and might have been supposed
to be sure of the. support of all those not directly inter
ested in maintaining the old order of things. It was
cordially approved by the Board of Trustees and Visitors
of Victoria College. But the principle of religious free
dom on which it was based was seriously wounded " in
the house of its friends" by the action of the Trustees of
Queen's College, who sought to procure certain, amend
ments tending to be subversive of this principle. One
of the most objectionable of these amendments aimed at
maintaining the religious test laid down in the " amended
charter of King's College and applying it to " all pro
fessors and persons concerned in the executive and legis
lative government of the proposed university and of all
colleges therein." Well might the Register believe such
a test " to undermine the foundation of religious liberty'
and ask : " What right has any man — what right, has

142 LIFE AND LABORS OF
any body of men, to frame the credenda in accordance
with which persons are either to be admitted into the
chairs of science in any national university or excluded
from them ? "
" A's " trenchant manner of dealing with these amend
ments may be judged from the following extracts from
the letter above referred to :
" Many of our Presbyterian friends have taken a noble stand
in favor of liberty and truth. All this I have observed with
joy. Some, however, of our Presbyterian friends (not- the
supporters of the Banner) have of late taken such high grounds,
that I am half inclined to think they do not care about any
more having the privileges of the University than themselves and
Episcopalians. Some of the ' amendments ' to the bill manifest
a narrowness unworthy of liberal minds. I think I know the
reason of this, and may yet see it my duty to state what I know
about the matter. There has been among some Presbyterians,
of late, too much of that narrow spirit which characterized the
age of Knox. They are noble champions of religious libei ty —
so far as they go. The Presbyterians of the Revolution resisted
unto blood, striving against prelatical domination. They
fought and bled to secure liberty of conscience ; but they
sought this not for the human family but for themselves.
Hence, they had no sooner obtained what they sought, than
they petitioned Parliament for the privilege of taking from
others that liberty which they themselves fought so stoutly to
maintain. And I see with grief that some in the 19th century
are striving to play a similar game. They want the university
to be free, i. e., to themselves and Episcopalians. I cannot
interpret the ' amendments ' otherwise than thus. But I would
solemnly warn all who have anything to do with the framing
or passing of the ' University Bill ' that they may amend or
modify it just as they please ; but, should it, when passed, not
secure equal rights and privileges to all classes of Her Majesty's
subjects in Canada, ' it will not be done when it is done.' The
spirit of the people is alive to this subject. The nerves of the
bishop will again be disturbed by fear, and he may feel himself
again called upon to utter a long, whining complaint, like a
flogged child. The friends of civil and religious liberty in

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 143
Canada will not, like the foolish king, smite thrice and then
stay ; but they will smite till their enemies ' be consumed.'
There has been much cry about the 'spoliation of King's
College.' A fine theme for declamation truly ! Who wants
to spoil it ? I wish every farthing of the noble endowment to
be sacred for college purposes. -But it must be a college
managed upon the liberal principles of William IV, whose
opinions and wishes I value quite as highly as I do those of
George IV. This would be the spoliation of the bishop but not
of King's College. It would be nothing more than just were
the bishop made to refund every copper he has drawn since
1837.* "The cry is raised by many, chiefly churchmen, against mak
ing the University free, lest by so doing too many sects should
be nourished and cherished. And this has been deemed a valid
objection by many whose better feelings incline towards free
institutions. "But who appointed churchmen, or any other men, a com
mittee on schismatics and sects in Canada ? The very mention
of this matter is the most aggravating kind of petitio princ.ipii
— if I may so call it. It is taking it for granted that there is
an Established Church in Canada. The Church party, by
their actions, show that 'in their books they have written in
continuance all the members' of an establishment; but, thank
God, there are as yet none of them in existence. I repeat it,
it is too late now to make any attempts to cajole the public
upon the great subject of religious liberty and religious
eq lality. If any such attempts are made, there is a spirit
abroad in the land which will cause its voice to be heard, even
in the halls of legislation and the sanctum of the bishop."
* The funds of the University had been shamefully misappropriated
under the old management. The enormous sum of £34,000 l5s. 2d. had
been most improperly advanced from the endowment, realized by sale of
lands, to meet the current expenses of Upper Canada College, a school
with an ample endowment of its own. An illustration of the extrava
gance with which the latter was carried on is afforded in the fact that
with an attendance of 120 boys, of whom tho?e in the seventh or highest
form were reading Cieero and Horace, and the Collectanea Majora, it
had a. Principal at a. salary of £800, three classical masters anil one
mathematical master at salaries of £300 each, and several other masters
with large salaries. £11,843 8*. id. had been disbursed for books,
boarding expenses, and contingencies. Evidently some people's friends
enjoyed good situations, and some people's sons got cheap education.

CHAPTER XII.

'A's" Letters in Montreal "Register" — The Authority of the
Church — Church Independence — Canada Baptist Union —
Strong Resolutions — An Outspoken Petition — The Work
at the College — A President Found — Scanty Recognition
— Private Opinions — A Badly-Planned Course — The First
born — Delegation to Upper Canada — A Busy Tour— Local
Notes — A Visit to March Street.
3HE series of letters to which reference has been
(39. made, contributed by " A " to the Montreal Register
during 1844, were timely and valuable, especially in rela
tion to the politico-theological controversies which were
at that time rife. The writer of the letters, not feeling
inclined to brave "war's horrid front," did not en'er into
the vexed questions of Church polity which were then
being warmly discussed in the denomination, but dealt
generally with the organization, the management, and
the institutions of the Christian Church, taking the New
Testament as the only authoritative teacher on the points
at issue. Premising that the term "church" is u-ed in
several widely differing senses, and that while some
make the door of the church so wide that it might as
well have none;" others "make it so narrow that no one
can. get in," he proceeds to give the following as the
best definition of a particular church which he is able to
gather from a careful perusal of the New Testament: —
" A company of immersed believers who, from a sense of

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 145
duty to their Saviour, have voluntarily united them
selves together, for the purpose of more perfectly carry
ing into practice the doctrines and precepts of the
Gospel." Setting out from this general statement he proceeds to
argue in successive letters that the membership of the
church proper is limited to "believers;" that as an
organization it is voluntary, "(1) as opposed to union
with the State, and (2) as opposed to clerical domination;
but that it differs from an ordinary voluntary association
in that the Scriptures have made it the duty of every
Christian to connect himself with it ; whereas the joining
of an ordinary voluntary association is a matter of choice
with the individual.
Speaking of the Church as the source of spiritual
blessings he says :
" Much eloquent declamation has been uttered about the
great power and the vast resources of the Church; about the
unspeakable blessings she has in store for the world. There
are many from whom you will hear scarcely anything but
declamation about the unity, the power, and the 'authority of
the Church.' This kind of declamation (for I can call it
nothing better) is the more dangerous because there is some
truth in it. The Church has vast power and great resources.
She is destined to bestow unspeakable blessings upon mankind.
But is she thus qualified per se, by herself alone ? The Church,
like each of the individuals of whom she is composed, is
nothing in herself. She is 'perfect weakness.' She can keep
no stock of spiritual blessings on hand. She is rich in spiritual
blessings only while she is distributing them. As it was with
the widow's pot of oil, so long as she kept pouring out abund
ance came, but when she ceased pouring 'the oil stayed'; so it
is here. A church which is alive and active has an abundance
of all good things, because she asks of 'Him in whom (not in
the Church) all fulness d /ells; but an idle Church has posi
tively nothing to give away. . . . There is no vis inertia:

146 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in the Gospel, nothing but power in action. All the power
and spiritual blessings which a Church possesses are derived
immediately from Christ; nor is he accustomed to give a large
supply of these at a time — only daily food — only as fast as it is
consumed. Is it then proper to speak of the Church as the
great object which should attract our attention? Should we
so hold her up to the world that she will veil the glories of her
Master ? Do we speak of the clouds as worthy of admiration
because they give us rain? Do we thank the earth because it
brings forth food for man and beast? . . . The simple
union of a number of fallible creatures cannot make the
totality infallible, any more than finites multiplied can make
the infinite."
The force and appropriateness of the foregoing are
brought into clear relief in view of the rampant " High
Churchism" of those early colonial days. The following
is not less direct, or less wise, in its application to the
Baptists themselves, and the attitude of some of the
western churches towards the Canada Baptist Missionary
Society :
" The only security of an independent church is in the in
telligence and piety of its members. Does a church of this
kind stand aloof from the benevolent operations of the day,
through fear of some error held by any of our voluntary
associations? It is just as much in danger of being corrupted
by that error as if it took an active part in the association.
The Church which pursues such a course does no good, and
runs just as great a risk of being corrupted as if it took part
in the good work. For corruption in doctrine or sentiment
must spring up among the members themselves. Hence a
single individual of erroneous views in a church is more dan
gerous than fifty associations out of it. An independent
Church, like an independent man, should be able to say to all
the world: "You may hold any opinions you may see fit, and
I shall do the same; and whilst I join with you in furthering
this good object, you must not force your opinions upon me,
nor will I force mine upon you."
The last two or three letters of the series dealt with

REV. R. A. FVFE, D.D. 147
the choice of the two classes of church officers, viz.: —
Bishops and Deacons, their respective qualifications, the
obligations of church members, etc. Close adherence to
New Testament authority and standards is maintained
throughout. «
Another event of some importance during this period
was the formation of the " Canada Baptist Union," an
organization which did good service for a time in several
directions, but was especially useful as enabling Baptists
to take action as a body in the important struggle for
religious liberty which characterized the period. For
years the union continued to voice in the clearest and
most emphatic manrer by means of resolutions, addresses,
and petitions, those advanced views on the relations of
Church to State which have been held by Baptists from
time immemorial. From the report of the first annual
meeting of this union, which was held in the Baptist
Chapel in March Street, Toronto, on the 26th. of July,
,1844, it appears that the idea of the union was first
conceived in 1842. Toward the latter part of that year,
it is said, several ministers and members of Baptist
churches, in their occasional or incidental interviews,
began to discuss the desirableness of some such means of
bringing the different sections of the denomination more
closely together, so as to secure greater frequency of in
tercourse and more harmony of operation amongst the
numerous bodies holding Baptist sentiments. At length
early in 1843 a few friends met together to consider the
matter more seriously and as a result of their delibera
tions a larger meeting was called near Paris, on the 19th
of June, at which the union was formed, and an Execu
tive Committee appointed, of which David Buchan

148 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Esq., was Secretary. It is clear that the movement
met with a good deal of distrust and even opposition on
the part of individuals and churches holding ultra views
on the subject of church independence.
Amongst the resolutions put on record at this first
annual meeting were the following, showing unmistak
ably the position of the Baptists represented there, on the
great questions then agitating uhe public : —
"That the right of every man to the enjoyment and exercise
of complete Religious Liberty is a principle we hold to be
unquestionable ; that it ought to be maintained, inculcated,
and unfolded on every suitable occasion, and that Mr. F.
Bosworth be requested to furnish a copy of the Discourse he
delivered last evening, to be printed at the expense of the
Union. "That the University of King's College being originally in
tended for the general benefit of the youth of this Colony,
ought to be equally open to all classes of Her Majesty's sub
jects, without distinction; and that the following Petition,
founded on this conviction, be presented to the Legislature
from this Union, signed by the Chairman and Secretaries,
praying that the Institution may be established on such a basis .
as to secure this important object : —
Unto the Honorable the Legislative Assembly of the Province of
Canada in Provincial Parliament assembled :
THE PETITION OF THE CANADA BAPTIST UNION
HUMBLY SHEWBTH
" That the denomination of Christians called Baptists has
ever been foremost in maintaining the principle that, man
being not responsible to man for his belief, civil governments
have no right to distinguish between different religious sects,
by giving to one a privilege, or imposing upon another a dis
ability ;-- that each member of the civil community, of whatever
faith, is entitled to an equal share in the benefits conferred by
Government upon the people ; and that the exhibition of
favoritism to any one, oc even a plurality of sects, to the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 149
exclusion of others, instead of advancing the interests of re
ligion, encourages religious dissension, promotes political dis
content, places a premium upon hypocrisy, and is a direct
violation of the rights of conscience.
" That your Petitioners are under the necessity of again
-representing to your Honorable House, that the great prin
ciples of Religious Liberty which they thus hold, have been
grievously violated in the manner in which the Episcopalian
sect of Christians have been allowed to divert a large portion
of the funds set apart for the education of the youth of the
province from their original purpose, and to obtain an undue
influence in the distribution of the benefits, and management
of the affairs, of the University of King's College at Toronto.
"The circumstances in which that Institution is placed have
been so often brought before your Honorable House, and the
injustice and impolicy of allowing its charter to remain in its
present condition have been so ably demonstrated that it is
unnecessary for your Petitioners to enter into particulars.
Your Petitioners, in common with a great majority of the
inhabitants of Canada, are desirous of seeing the public Educa
tional Institutions entirely freed from the preponderating
influence of any denomination of Christians, and put upon
such a footing as to ensure perfect equality to persons of all
religious sects, not only in the enjoyment of their educational
privileges, but in the supply of their various chairs of learning,
and the management of their general affairs.
"Your Petitioners would further beg leave, most respectfully,
but firmly, to assure your Honorable House that they cannot
be satisfied with partial measures in a matter where Religious
Liberty is involved ; and that they will continue their appeals
to your Honorable House, until perfect Religious Liberty is
established in the management of the public Institutions of the
Province. "May it therefore please your Honorable House to take the
premises into your early and serious consideration, and so to
alter and amend the charter, and regulate the management of
the University of King's College, as to meet the wishes of your
Petitioners. " And your Petitioners will ever pray, etc."
This was plain talk. The force of the word " again "

150 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in the first sentence of the second paragraph of the
petition is not quite clear, as this must have been the
first appeal made by the Union as such. The reference
may be to petitions previously presented by other repre-
tatives of Baptist bodies, such as associations, or, more
probably, to two forms of petition which had been
drafted previously by the Committee of the Union, one
for the use of the committee itself, and the other for that
of individual churches. In any case this may be regarded
as the organized entrance of the Baptists into the battle
field in which they, in accordance with the purpose so
clearly intimated, continued to stand shoulder to shoulder
with the friends of civil equality and religious liberty
in other denominations, until the full and final victory
was won.
Amongst the representatives and delegates at this first
annual meeting of the union were Revs. John Girdwood,
E. Bosworth, and Rev. R. A. Fyfe, from Montreal. As
was to be expected the latter took a prominent part in
subsequent meetings.
But it is time to return to the work of the Montreal
College. In regard to this, however, there is little to be
said. The routine duties of the position of Principal
were no doubt faithfully and efficiently performed. But
there are few situations more embarrassing to a man of
strong character and independent spirit, than such a
pro tempore one as Mr. Fyfe then occupied. To " keep
a place warm" for another, is at least a somewhat
delicate and thankless task. No power is more difficult
to wield with satisfaction either to one's self or others,
than a power simply delegated for a brief and uncertain
period. No matter how many weaknesses or deficiencies

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 151
one may detect in plan or management he feels that he
can make no innovations, propose no reforms. If he can
but manage to maintain respect for his short-lived
authority, and keep the machine in operation after the
old fashion, without visible falling off, it is the best he
can hope for. He may be conscious, without cherishing
undue self-esteem, that he could make important im
provements upon the methods he finds in vogue, but he.
feels that he is bound, by every consideration of delicacy,
to do, at most, no better than his predecessor. Whatever
may have been Mr. Fyfe's feelings under the circum
stances he made no sign. But from subsequent events
as well as from an expression or two dropped in a
private letter which may be presently quoted, there is
little room for doubt that he saw clearly that the college
was on the wrong track in its methods, and that it was
foredoomed to failure on that account as well as by
reason of its un-central location, and the distrust of its
management on the part of the great body of strict coni-
munionists in the west.
In the meantime, pursuant to the plan of the com
mittee and the condition upon which Mr. Fyfe accepted
the temporary principalship, inquiries had been made in
England for a suitable successor to Dr. Davies, and had
resulted in the appointment of Rev. J. M. Cramp, M.A.,
who filled the position of President of the College so long
as it continued in operation, and who was for many
years afterwards so well and favorably known in con
nection with Acadia College, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Cramp and family arrived in Montreal on the 29th
of May, 1844, just in time for him to take some part in
the closing exerc'ses of the College, which took place on

152 LIFE AND LABORS OF
that same evening. The Register's report of the exercises
tells us that " the Rev. R. A. Fyfe gave the introductory
address, in which the trials and encouragements of the
missionary in Canada were very appropriately dwelt
upon." The Report of the Canada Baptist Missionary
Society for the year 1844 contents itself with chronicling
the arrival of Rev. J. M. Cramp, M.A., to take the Presi
dency, and remarking : " Up to the close of last session
Mr. Fyfe continned his labors in the College. He has
since removed to Toronto, and it affords your committee
much pleasure to hear that his efforts there are acceptable
and useful." The matter is of slight importance, but
some curiosity is naturally excited as to the cause of this
rather unusual reticence in regard to one who, as we at
least know, made a considerable sacrifice of feeling in
order to perform the service asked of him, and who, it can
scarcely be doubted, performed it well. It is possible,
of course, that the brevity is simply the outcome of what
was considered becoming to official dignity and propriety.
As Mr. Fyfe's assistant, Rev. F. Bosworth, M.A., had been
connected with the College before Dr. Davies' departure.
and continued his connection with it after Dr. Cramp's
arrival, and as he seems to have been a man of education
and ability, though perhaps not well adapted for a posi
tion requiring high administrative capacity, it is also
possible that the Committee and papers were restrained
from further comment by considerations of delicacy.
On the 29th of February, 1844, Mr. Fyfe wrote as
follows to his friend McPhail. No harm can now arise
from publishing the extract in full, and it sets in a pretty
clear light his capacity, even at that early age, tor inde
pendent thinking and acting : —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 153
" The Register of this week will tell you the pleasing news
that a permanent successor to Dr. Davies ha.s been appointed,
and is expected out in the spring. May the Great Head of the
Church make him abundantly useful in Canada ! He is a man
of years and talent; has a large family, etc. So I shall be
leaving Montreal by the end of May at latest. Whither 1
shall turn my course I know not. O that God would direct
me ! I hope and believe you will make this a subject of
prayer. I am beginning to feel like a literal stranger and
pilgrim on the earth. There is a probability that I shall leave
Canada, but I am quite undecided as to the particular part of
the world I shall steer for, probably New England. I do not
want to leave Canada, if I knew where to go. Private. — I do
not like the missionary plan of the committee, and should I
remain in Canada I would certainly spend all my might in
changing, or making them change, their plan. Western
Canada has been divided by them, and they mean to make
another effort to get all the Western Baptists to join the
present association for the purpose of aiding the Institution,
etc. Well, this is all very good. But what benefit will the
Western Baptists derive from this Institution ? Just none at
all. Would it not be better to unite all the Western Baptists
around an institution of their own ? Would they not give
more and be more benefitted ? I have no great learning to
boast of, but I am certain that I could give young men a far
better preparation for the real work of the missionary than
they have been getling here. I have got most of the best
members of the committee to see many glaring defects in the
management of this Institution. What will a young man do
at five languages in four years ? And if he could learn them
all what help would they be to his preaching ? What though
I can give a horse six different names, do these tell me any
thing more about a horse than one would ? They had not
had a lesson on moral philosophy, not a lesson on natural
philosophy, not a lesson on the government of churches and
pastoral duties, not a lesson on rhetoric or reading, &c. I
think very highly of Mr. Bosworth's piety, and of his acquire
ments, but nothing at all of his wisdom or manliness.* He
* This word is evidently used in the sense of energy, or force of
character, and not with the moral significance usually attached to it.
K

154 LIFE AND LABORS OF
has no nerve in him, no capacity to be anything but what he
is, a tutor under some one who can manage affairs.
Since I have been here I have had to work very hard, but I
have done so in a very quiet way. I have avoided everything
like notoriety, and I shall leave in the same quiet way. I
have, however, derived some benefit. I have had an oppor
tunity to try what I could do, to mature some of my thoughts,
review some points upon which I was getting rusty, and form
some systematic plan for a course of study which should Le
pursued in institutions like this."
The letter concludes with some personal and family
references. Neither his own health nor that of Mrs. Fyfe
had been very good. Of their infant son, who had been
born six or eight weeks before, he says : " The ' beginning
of our strength ' is growing like one of the Sons of
Anak.' We have great reason for gratitude to God. He
is a very good boy, and has not had an hour's sickness
since he was born."
In regard to his own future course : '' I never felt more
my need of Divine guidance. . . My next move will
probably decide my destiny."
It appears, therefore, that his pastoral connection with
the Perth church had been permanently severed. Mrs.
Mc Williams, the only survivor of those who formed the
membership of the church at its organization, recollects
that the church was requested by the Montreal com
mittee to give Mr. Fyfe leave of absence for three
months. As his stay in Montreal had been prolonged
for a whole year, he, no doubt, thought it better for both
parties that he should resign and leave the way clear for
the engagement of another pastor.
In the eighth report of the Canada Baptist Missionary
Society presented at its annual meeting in Montreal
February 6th., 1845, it is stated that a deputation, con
sisting of Messrs. Fyfe, Bosworth and Girdwood, was

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 155
appointed to visit the churches and attend the associa
tions in the west, during the preceding months of June
and July. This action ensued on the withdrawal of the
Rev. W. H. Landon from the position of general agent
for the western part of the Province, a position he had
filled for some time, and which he had been obliged to
resign in consequence of his having undertaken the
mission to the Tuscarora Indians.
The committee further report that Mr. Bosworth
having been prevented from joining the deputation,
Messrs. Fyfe and Girdwood had performed its duties
with pleasing results. Three associations in Upper
Canada had agreed to co-operate with the society, and
new auxiliaries had been formed in addition to those
previously existing. The very intere-ting report of the
delegates is given in the Register of July 25th. 1844. In
the course of their mission they visited Queenston,
St. Catharines, Chippewa, Drummondville, Dundas,
Hamilton, Tuscarora, Brantford, Paris, Woodstock, Blen
heim, Oxford, London, Southwold, St. Thomas, Aylmer,
Fredericksburg, Vittoria, Simcoe, Boston, Beamsville,
Toronto, Markham, Whitby, Hope, Peterboro, Haldi-
mand, Cramahe, Rawdon, Cobourg, Kingston, Brockville,
Farmersville, and other places. In all these places
meetings were held, and the cause of the Society
pleaded. Several associations wore visited, and in some
instances, as before said, auxiliary societies were organ
ized. When it is remembered that this was before the eia
of railroads, and added that Messrs Girdwood and Fyfe
were absent from their home in Montreal only forty-
seven days, it will be correctly Tnf erred that the dele
gates must have had " a mind to work." No doubt aged
brethren in many of the places named will recall the

156 LIFE AND LABORS OF
visit with pleasant reminiscences. The report is full of
local references and brief but skilful touches descriptive
of places and scenery. Queenston already began to
" exhibit the signs of old age," though it was shrewdly
suspected that the use of intoxicating liquors "may have
had some hand in tracing some of the deep wrinkles''
on the brow of the " nurse of Brock s glory." But the
people showed "no decrepitude in the matter of hospi
tality," and received the delegates in " truly patriarchal
style." They proceeded along " a very firm plank road,"
from Hamilton to Caledonia, the latter "stern and wild"
enough, but no fit " nurse for a poetic child." When
they left the plank road and followed the left bank of
the Grand River, there was " little poetry in the road,"
however much in the scenery. At Tuscarora, with their
'' beloved brother Landon," they met their Indian breth
ren, and had a four hour's " talk " with the leaders in
the open air, and in " true Indian style." London was
" the city of the woods." " The forest is solemnly eyeing
the town from nearly every quarter, and the stumps are
firmly, nay, impudently, standing their ground in the
middle of nearly all the streets." Their description of
St. Thomas was more correct than their forecast of its
future. " This village presents a rather singular appear
ance, being built upon the elbow of a very high, clay
hill, exposed to ' every wind that blows,' except the
south. It will probably never be large, for the business
will be very much drawn off to London on the one hand
and Port Stanley on the other." They went in company
from Alymer to Fredericksburg " having quicksand
beneath and a burning sun above. The whole region is
covered with an exceedingly thick growth of gigantic

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 157
pines, which rise like a 'crape clad army,' and give forth
a perpetual sigh over their dreary prospect." At King
ston, July 10th. they " had a very good meeting, and a
very large one considering the torrents of rain that fell
during the afternoon and evening, and considering,
moreover, that upon that evening 'the Free Church of
Canada' was shaking the dust from off its feet for a
testimony against the tyranny and corruption of the
state connection." At Woodstock, destined to be the
scene of the great life-work of one of the members of
the deputation, they attended, on the 11th of June, the
first anniversary meeting of the Woodstock Auxiliary
Baptist Society and " took an active part in the proceed
ings, which were also enlivened by addresses, in moving
and seconding the resolutions, from Rev. E. Topping,
Messrs. Buchan, Burtch, and Malcolm, also from Presby
terian and Methodist brethren who were present.
It was in the course of this tour that Messrs. Fyfe and
Girdwood attended the first anniversary of the Canada
Baptist Union, in March Street Church, Toronto, to
which reference has already been made. Pursuant no
doubt to the acquaintance thus begun, Mr. Fyfe returned
to Toronto from Rawdon, on his homeward journey, to
supply the pulpit of the March Street Church, which was
to be his next field of labor.

CL^q^^J?

CHAPTER XI IT.

Founding of March Street Church — Some Slight Discrepancies —
Their Probable Explanations — A Curious Question — Mr.
Fyfe's Ministrations — Peculiar Convictions — A Formidable
Correspondence — A Troubled Pastorate — An Unsavory
Street — Removal Resolved On — Raising Funds — A Hetero
geneous Membership — Peculiar Stones — Troublesome Con
sciences — Wingless Angels— A Pastor's Provocations* —
Meekness Under Rebuke — The Household Idols.

fHE Canada Baptist Magazine for December, 1840,
contains the following : " On October 31st, 1840, a
Baptist Church was formed in March street, Toronto.
consisting of thirteen individuals." In the historical "
sermon preached in 1875 on the occasion of the removal
of the church from Bond Street to its present magnificent
edifice on Jarvis Street, Dr. Fyfe says : " This church is
forty-six years old, if we reckon from the first record
which we find of its meetings as an organized body.
. . . The first meeting of which we have any special
record was "held on the 16th of October, 1829." The fact
which harmonizes these conflicting statements is probably
that the original church or churches — for there were it
appears actually two — to which Dr. Fyfe alludes, had
become defunct. Consequently the " strong rally " to
which he subsequently refers, as being made in 1840 was
in reality the organization of a new church, as stated in
the Baptist Magazine.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 159
Another discrepancy in the two accounts is not so
easily explained. The Magazine puts the number of
constituent members of the new church at 13, which
Deacon Carter, now of the Dovorcourt Road church, who
is perhaps the sole survivor of the original members, be
lieves to be correct. But Dr. Fyfe in the sermon above
quoted says: "This Church was much feebler in 1844
than it was in 1840, for when the present speaker
became pastor in 1844 he found that nearly half of the
members c'aimed in 1840, and more than half of the
wealth, was gone. In 1844 there were only sixty-four
members on the books (and these could not all be found)
and they were barely able to raise $400 for the new
pastor's salary." If a membership of sixty-four in 1844
was only a little more than half that of four years pre
vious, the church must have had something like one
hundred and twenty members in 1840, instead of only
thirteen. An explanation is suggested in a paragraph
quoted by Dr. Fyfe a little further on in the sermon,
from "a paper drawn up by the authority of ths Church
in 1839, and signed by six of the leading members, and
sent to the Committee of the Canada Baptist Missionary
Society in London." The paragraph is as follows :
" But these encouraging prospects were blighted by a
succession of laborers, who were defective either in character, or
talent, and therefore failed to bring in and keep united the
elements of which a church of Christ is composed. The mem
bers, one after another, retired to other denominations, or
formed themselves into lesser divisions, either with or without
a ministry, their usefulness being restricted thereby almost to
themselves. After the lapse of years, however, these lesser
divisions have dwindled away to a mere nominal existence,
and the difficulties which but recently stood in the way to
render re-occupancy of the station in some measure painful or
embarrassing to the Christian laborer, no longer exist."

160 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The membership of the orginal churches had thus no
doubt been divided and dwindled until it had well nigh
disappeared. In giving his figures, Dr. Fyfe says at the
outset that no list of constituent church members has
been found in the meagre records of those early efforts-
It would seem that he may have made the mistake of
taking the names as they were entered successively on
some original roll as the actual membership claimed in
1840. As he himself says in another connection, much of
the population of Toronto was in a state of flux in those
early days, many immigrants making it their home as a
convenient centre for a few months, while they were
informing themselves about the country and choosing
permanent abodes.
In September 1844, as already hinted, Mr. Fyfe ac
cepted a call from the March Street Church. A some
what peculiar phrase in the scanty minutes of the church
a year later suggests a question, rather curious than
practically important, as to the exact nature of the
relation in which he stood to the church. In Septem
ber, 1845, it is recorded that ballot papers bearing the
question "Is it your wish that Mr. Fyfe become your
pastor?" had been sent to every member of the church in
the city and Yorkville, and that the result of the count
was yeas 84, nays 6. A committee was appointed to
make known the result to Mr. Fyfe, and solicit his
answer. That answer was that having received an
invitation to become the Pastor of the church, he must
decline accepting it at present, but that he would " con
tinue on as he was," as he had been requested to do, in
case he could not see his way clear to become the Pastor.
And yet in the sermon above referred to he says dis-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 161
tinctly that he was called to the pastorate of the church
in 1844. What subtle distinction the hair-splitters of
that period may have drawn between the ministerial and
pastoral offices it is hard to say. This at least is certain,
that for four years during which he ministered to them, he
preached, administered the ordinances, presided at church
meetings, visited the members, in short performed all the
offices of the regular pastor. That he discharged these
duties faithfully and on the whole successfully is well
evidenced by the fact that on the resignation of his
successor some years after he had left the field, the church
immediately turned to him again as one whose former
labors amongst them had been " owned and blessed of
God," and invited him to return and become once more
their pastor.
It is evident, however, that his work during these first
four years in Toronto, was largely that of laying found
ations and building for the future. His pastorate was
not marked by any large increase in the membership.
The Secretary's annual report at the close of the year
1S47 showed the whole number on the books to be 81, and
added that of these 17 lived at a distance and seldom
attended, leaving the actual number of city members 64>
exactly the nominal membership at the time he entered
upon the work in 1844. These figures, however, afford
no criterion even of the numbers added to the church
during his ministrations, owing to the fact above alluded
to, that members were constantly leaving the city and
taking letters of dismission to churches in other localities.
Such references as the following, from the Register of
April 10, 1845, are suggestive as to the nature of his
work and the measure of success attending it :

162 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Toronto. — On Lord's day, the 23rd ult., the Rev. R. A.
Fyfe baptized three persons in the Bay of Toronto, in the
presence of a vast multitude, most of whom, it is believed, had
not before seen the ordinance of baptism administered in the
primitive manner. In the evening of the same day Mr. F.
delivered a discourse on the subject to a large congregation.
We are happy to hear that our esteemed brother's prospects
are very favorable, and that the erection of a new chapel,
which has long been, wanted, is in contemplation."
That he preached the word faithfully, was instant in
season, out of season, gave himself mind and heart to the
work, can be doubted by no one who knew the man, and
is substantiated by many proofs. The scanty church
records show that the internal management involved
much toil and anxiety. The minutes consist largely of
the history of the settlement of " difficulties " between
members, the appointing of committees to visit negligent
or recalcitrant brethren, and the action of the church
upon the reports presented. Though Dr. Fyfe states in
his memorial sermon that he found no reason to believe
that the original church was conducted in accordance
with the doctrines and practices of 'the Scotch Baptists,
indications are not wanting, even in the minutes, of the
existence of some peculiar " convictions," in the minds of
some of the members. For instance, on April 2nd was
recorded the following : " Brother Hall gave notice that
he should resign his office as secretary that day month,
as it was his conscientious belief that the appointing of
such officers in a Christian church was not sanctioned by
the Scriptures."
Another illustration of the great stress laid by some
believers of that period upon nice doctrinal distictions is
afforded by two letters, or essays, found amongst Dr.
Fyfe's papers. These constitute part of a correspondence

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 163
which seems to have followed a conversation in which
the point at issue was debated. The other party to the
correspondence was J. Lesslie, Esq. The question at
issue was, "whether any special influence of the Holy
Spirit is given to lead unconverted men to believe."
The first paper addressed by Mr. Lesslie to Mr. Fyfe, (in
reply to a communication of which no copy is preserved)
and dated May 1st, 1845, maintains the negative of the
proposition in twenty-one very closely written foolscap
pages, and the rejoinder by Mr. Fyfe, upholding the
affirmative, covered twenty-four pages of the same des
cription. It is pleasing to observe that the controversy
was conducted in the most courteous and kindly spirit
throughout. But those must surely have been clays in
which men sat apart
" In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high
Of providence, foreknowledge, will and fate."
Though the subsequent history of this church suffi
ciently shows that its early teachers digged deep and
laid good foundations, there is no doubt that these four
years in March Street constituted one of the most trying
and anxious periods in Dr. Fyfe's life. The material of
which the early church was composed seems to have been
heterogeneous in the extreme. The members appear to
have been by no means unanimous in calling him, or re
taining him, during those first years of his ministry to the
church. He had from the first to suffer much from the
opposition of unreasonable brethren. This may have arisen
in part at least from his recent connection with the Mon
treal College and the Canada Baptist Missionary Society.
whose operations were regarded with distrust by the
extreme strict communionists of the west, who seem to

164 LIFE AND LABORS OF
have been well represented in the March Street Church.
In view of all the difficulties which beset him it is greatly
to his credit that he was able to labor on so faithfully
and patiently during four full years, and to leave behind
him such a record as led to his hearty recall in 1855.
Those who knew Dr. Fyfe only in his later years, when
the great force of his character had been fully developed
under the pressure of heavy responsibilities, and had
made him the foremost man in the denomination, might
naturally enough be disposed to query whether that very
quality of mind might not, in a less disciplined and chas
tened stage, have tended to increase the difficulties in his
way by bringing him into unnecessary conflict with
other strong-willed men about him. He was conspicu
ously a man whose opinions and convictions were very
decided and who did not hesitate, upon occasion, to avow
them. But it is reassur.ng to know, from the testimony
of one who knew him well in those early days, that he
was as far as possible from manifesting these traits in
any arbitrary or obstinate bearing, being unobtrusive,
unassuming, and conciliatory to a degree.
One great obstacle to the progress of the work arose
from the unfortunate location of the place of worship.
At the time of its erection no one could have foreseen
the unenviable notoriety that would be earned by March,
afterwards Stanley, now Lombard Street. As Dr. Fyfe
himself says : " At that time, (1832) the street had indeed
been laid out but there were scarcely any buildings on it
and no one could have predicted that it would not become
one of the very best streets in the city. But such was
not to be its favored destiny. The chapel itself was not

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 165
very attractive to look at, besides being very small.*
It could seat comfortably more than 160 people. Miser
able houses sprang up all around it, and what is still
worse, many of them were inhabited by the most vicious
and miserable kind of people, so that the whole street
became extremely unsavory in every sense of that term.
For sixteen long years the Baptists of this city might be
compared to those unhappy criminals who were, by their
Tuscan tyrants, tied hand to hand and face to face with
the rotting dead. The surroundings of the church were
constantly growing worse, so that the last part of their
sojourn there was worse than the first. Often on Sabbath
evening a policeman was asked to patrol the sidewalk in
front of March Street Church, to keep down the uproar
which the children and others would thoughtlessly make
in the neighborhood.
Getting the church away from March Street and its sur
roundings was, humanly speaking, the first step towards
permament prospeiity. Indeed it is a wonder that it
grew at all in that evil atmostphere. During the last
four years of its stay in that unfortunate locality its
membership increased only about fifty per cent."
To effect this removal Mr. Fyfe directed his energies
almost from the first. Owing to the feebleness of the
Church both numerically and financially this was no
light task. To add to the difficulty the members were
not all in favor of removal. To some, no doubt, the
*The building subsequently passed into the hands of the Catholics by
whom it was enlarged and is still occupied. The outlines of the old
building are yet visible, owing to the different shade of the tricks used
in making the enlargement, and may be traced by any one who has the
curiosity to visit it, on the north side of Lombard Street.

166 LIFE AND LABORS OF
obstacles in the way seemed insurmountable. Others
opposed removal on the ground that the building already
possessed was not yet filled to the extent of its seating
capacity. A brave and persistent few, it may be, were
unwilling to own themselves worsted and leave the field
in the hands of the enemy. There are even yet those to
be found who think it cowardly and wrong for the Chris
tian Churches of the city to flee the haunts of poverty
and vice, where the regenerating power of the Gospel is
most needed, and to erect their domiciles on the rich and
fashionable streets. To most persons, however, retreat
from such a locality as March Street became, will appear
the part of true wisdom as well as discretion. If one
of the objects in erecting a church is to provide a quiet
and restful place in which young men and maidens, old
men and children, may gather for social and public wor
ship, such a place is certainly not to be found in the
purlieus of drinking dens and brothels. Churches are,
however, surely under the most solemn obligations to
see that such places are not left destitute of religious in
fluences and given over wholly to the powers of darkness.
Whether March and Bond and Jarvis Street Baptists
have done and are doing their whole duty for such quar
ters as March, alias Stanley, alias Lombard Street, is a
question worthy of the most anxious consideration.
The first action in the direction of removal was taken
in April, 1845, by the appointment of a committee con
sisting of Messrs. Cathcart, Maitland, and Hall, to "make
enquiries after a suitable place that may be purchased
on terms to suit us." The names of Thomas Bond, Wm.
McMaster, and Rev. R. A. Fyfe were subsequently added
to this committee. In pursuance of this resolution a lot

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 167
was purchased at the corner of Yonge and Albert Streets
and a further committee appointed to solicit subscriptions
to a building fund. The lot at the corner of Yonge and
Albert Streets was afterwards disposed of and one on
Bond Street procured. A building committee was ap
pointed and the work of raising funds slowly but
steadily prosecuted. In the summer of 1845 Mr. Fyfe,
by request of the Church, visited Rochester and other
places in the United States to solicit aid for the building
fund. In a letter to a friend he says that in the course
of a five weeks' tour he succeeded in obtaining somewhat
over $400, besides paying his own expenses. He thinks
this "not bad," and feels disposed to thank God and
take courage. The work was finally accomplished and
the removal effected. By getting the church away from
March Street into Bond, in which he was no doubt the
chief mover, he set its feet firmly upon the highway of
its subsequent useful and prosperous career.
But a source of still greater trial and difficulty was the
heterogenous character of the church membership. He
himself speaks somewhat plainly on this point in the
memorial sermon from which we have already two or
three times quoted :
" Another obstacle to progress was encountered in the want
of homogeneity of a considerable portion of its membership.
Without reflecting on the character of a single individual, it
cannot have escaped the notice of the observant that in a new
country, where immigrants from all points of the compass are
thrown together, even good men, of the same faith, are often
illy adapted to work together. Men of strong individuality,
with set habits, made angular by the peculiarities of some able
minister in the old world, under whom they were trained, are
generally more anxious to lead than to follow. Half-a-dozen
such in any church would be likely to make severe friction in
its working, and the smaller the church the worse would the

168 LIFE AND LABOBS OF
state of things be. Each one would think, as the work was not
done as he was accustomed to see it done, that it must be
wrong, and he could not in conscience sanction what is wrong.
O that conscience ! What a queer instrument it is ! And
practically it often happens that such men will do nothing
because they cannot have their own way exactly. Their
principles are so strong and so sharply defined that they con
stantly stand in the way of their practice. If they were not
men of such sterling principle they might do something for God
and their fellow men. But as it is they have too much prin
ciple to have much practice. A man has made great progress
when he has learned to co-operate heartily with his brethren,
with the full approbation of his own mind. It requires a
many-sided and self-forgetting person to see that it is rarely of
much importance how a thing is done, so that it really is done,
and that in all organizations it is better to co-operate with our
brethren in a less perfect scheme than to stand alone admiring
the most perfect.* Opinions regulate the ways and modes of
doing things, principles rarely do. Such people have a very im
perfect idea of the design of the Gospel upon earth. It is chiefly
remedial, and its loving spirit should be wrapped around all
we touch and do. A few members such as I have described
would soon influence a church, and without intending it, male
that church feel that work for God and for souls is not the
greatest thing. Building up is not the thing, but building up
in their way. Such principles introduced amongst the mem
bers of any organization infallibly lead to disintegration.
I believe no denomination in this country is yet free from
spiritual stones so peculiarly cut that no other stone can be
laid beside them. The state of things was much worse twenty-
five years ago. f When a church becomes large and strong a
few such stones do no great harm. They can be put upon the
top of the wall to keep the over-forward folks from climbing
over. The church has been retarded in its progress, too, by some
who suddenly became too pious to walk with their brethren ;
some who sunk all their interest for the lost and perishing in
* This was a favorite saying with Dr. Fyfe, as his intimate friends
will remember, and was one of a few simple maxims which entered
largely into his rules of conduct.
t This it will be borne in mind, was written in 1875.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 169
their all-desire for their own spiritual comfort. They lost
their sympathy with humanity, through the professed greatness
of their love for Christ. St. Augustine says if one should
reach up to kiss the Saviour's lips and in doing so should
lacerate the Saviour's bare ¦ feet with the spikes and nails of
his shoes, he would be aske , ' Why do you wound and pain
my feet in your endeavors to kiss my lip . ?' So the Saviour
asks 'Why do you trample upon and wound my people,
through your professedly great love for me.' Such persons set
up to be angels before their wings are grown."
These words are. copied for their practical wisdom as
well as for the light they throw upon the views and
motives of the writer. Though probably intended to
apply mainly to a period in the history of the March
Street Church antecedent to his own pastorate, yet the
portraits are no doubt drawn from life, as he had oppor
tunities for studying it personally there and elsewhere
in his pastoral experiences. The following extract from
a private letter written just after his return from his
collecting tour in New York State, will serve to complete
the picture, by showing the more personal aspects of the
tribulations he was called to undergo during this first
Toronto pastorate. As no names are mentioned and no
unkind personal allusions made, there can be no impro
priety in giving the words just as they were written for
the eye of a friend in the United States. The tone and
spirit are all that could be desired ; the meekness under
rebuke, admirable :
" We have not yet commenced building. I can give you no
adequate idea of the almost insurmountable difficulties which
lie in my way. Were it not for the blessed assurance that
God is above all I would give up in despair. I am fully per
suaded that of the whole catalogue of the Apostle's ' perils '
those arising from 'false brethren' are the worst to contend
with and the most painful. I think I could amuse you for an
L

170 LIFE AND LABORS OF
hour by retailing to you viva voce the personal mortifications
to which I have been subjected during the past few months.
Ignorance and narrow views are bad enough, but still they are
to be met everywhere and may be borne. But when ignorance
puts on the long visage of a professor — to bear this with the
meek and gentle spirit of Christ requires a great deal of the
spirit of God, an uncommon degree of watchfulness. And yet
what are all the provocations to which any man is now
exposed compared with those which assailed the pure and
gentle spirit of our blessed Lord. O for a conformity to that
spirit ! A spirit that hopeth all things, endureth all things !
Did you notice an article in the Watchman of the 5th inst.,
entitled 'Pastoral Visits?' That bears some faint resemblance
to my history. I have received some twenty lectures during
the past week upon some one of my many faults. And there
is nothing for me but to smile and take them, promising
to mend as fast as I can, a promise which I sincere'y mean to
perform. But enough. These are my provocations, not my
difficulties. I am still, however, in hope by the good hand of
the Lord upon me, to raise a cause in this city."
The letter, which was to a lady friend, proceeds with
some playful and tender references to his two boys. His
second, " Robert Thomson Fyfe," had been born on the
10th of June preceding. " He is a fine, dark, burly
little fellow, very nearly as dark as his father, but very
much better looking, of course. For the first two months
of his existence he used his pipes most lustily, but now
he is much quieter and will listen to reason." " Master
James continues to grow amazingly. He ought to have
been a girl; his skin is as fair as alabaster. We of course
think that he gives signs of prodigious intelligence." He
speaks also of Mrs. Fyfe's health as being very good,
better than for a long time previous. It is clear that his
heart's tendrils are entwined very closely about these
household idols. The tearing away, so soon, alas! to
come, will be indeed terrible.

CHAPTER XIV.

The University Struggle Continued — Energetic Action by -ihe
Canada Baptist Union — A Stirring Appeal — More Letters
from " A " in Montreal " Register " — An Imminent Danger
— Something very like an Established Church— The "Par
tition Scheme " Denounced — A Noble Plan Outlined— The
Union's History Summarized— A Great Meeting in Toronto
— Mr. Fyfe one of the Chief Speakers —Extracts from a
Telling Speech — The Friends of Liberty Triumphant — The
University Secularized — A Pungent Letter.
<JJT?g)EAVING the record of toil and trial in the March
-^ Street pastorate the reader will be glad to turn to

the larger field without and see what share Mr. Fyfe had
in the general work of the denomination in Canada
during those four years of his first residence in Toronto.
In the Register of November 7th, 1844, his name
appears as one of the General Committee of the Canada
Baptist Union. He was appointed by the March Street
Church as one of its delegates to the second annual
meeting of the Union held at Beamsville, June 24th and
25th, 1845, and seems to have been given at least his full
share of work and responsibility in connection with that
organization. The University and Clergy Reserves agita
tion occupied, as before, much of the time and attention
of the Union and strong resolutions were again passed
in reference to both. That dealing with the University
question was moved by Mr. Fyfe and seconded by Mr
Girdwood, and was as follows
" Whereas a munificent endowment has been made for the
purposes of university education in that part of the province

172 LIFE AND LABORS OF
formerly called Upper Canada, designed to be equally free for
all classes of Her Majesty's loyal subjects ; and whereas that
endowment has been exclusively claimed and appropriated by
a sect constituting but a small portion of the inhabitants of
this province, therefore Resolved, —
1 . That tne charter by which the Episcopalians of the pro
vince now unjustly hold the university endowment, should be
altered, and the present management of King's College so
changed as to secure for all classes of Her Majesty's faithful
subjects an equal share in the honors, emoluments, and privi
leges of the University, which was evidently designed to be
the case when its endowment was made.
2. "That the Bill presented at the last session of the Pro
vincial Parliament, although more liberal than the present
charter of the University, is yet objectionable in several
respects, viz., in its general principle, which sanctions the
division of the endowment for the purpose of sustaining
denominational Theological Schools ; — in several of its minor
details, as the sectarian character of the Caput, the limited
number in the Hebdomadal Board, the requirement of a Royal
Charter, the religious test, and the mode of appointing Pro
fessors. 3. "That, in our estimation, the most just, and ultimately the
most satisfactory settlement of the so-called University ques
tion, would be founded on the following general principle : —
To confine the funds of the University exclusively to the
Faculties of Arts, Sciences, Law, and Medicine, giving no sup
port whatever to Theological Professors of any denomination,
but leaving each sect to support out of its own resources its
teachers in divinity."
The resolution in respect to the Clergy Reserves,
moved by Mr. Landon, and seconded by Mr. Booker, was
equally outspoken, sound and emphatic.
The following was moved by Mr. Landon, seconded by
Mr. W. Bright :
" That the Rev. R. A. Fyfe be requested to prepare an ad
dress to the Baptist denomination in this province, calling
upon them to exert themselves in the cause of civil and religi
ous liberty, and that it be published in the Register and other
papers, under the direction of the Executive Committee."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 173
The following, also moved by Mr. Landon and seconded
by Mr. Fyfe, is significant of the truly Christian and
Catholic spirit which animated the Union during its too
brief existence :
"That this Union desires to record its utter abhorrence of
slavery and the slave trade, in all their forms, its indignation
at the degraded position in society which persons of color hold
in some countries, and its deep sympathy with the suffering
slave and his suffering friends throughout the world."
The " Address to the Friends of Civil and Religious
Equality in Canada," which appears in connection with
the minutes of the Union meeting, is no doubt the one
prepared by Mr. Fyfe, in response to the request of the
Union. It earnestly invites the attention of those ad
dressed to the movements of those who would infringe
upon their liberties, and brings a vigorous indictment
against the Episcopalians generally and the Episcopalian
Bishop of Toronto in particular, as the parties who are
making strenuous efforts to do this. It reiterates, on
behalf of the Union, not as a favor but as a simple right,
the demand that " the Clergy Reserves should not be so
used as to interfere with any of the civil or religious
rights of the community, and that the public institutions
of the country should be entirely freed from sectarian
influences." Following are the closing paragraphs :
" The present appears to us a favorable time to reiterate our
claims, to arouse ourselves to the full realization of the magni
tude and importance of our object. Our native country, or the
country of our adoption, is yet young. Its institutions are
only forming. All the elements are, as it were, fused, and
soon they will be cast into the mould to receive their perman
ent impression. Let us see that the image and superscription
which these institutions shall wear, shaU be such as our
children will delight to contemplate when we shall have passed
off the stage. Who can calculate the miseries or the blessings

174 LIFE AND LABORS OF
which may be made permanent to generations yet unborn,
through our wise and energetic efforts, or crimina.1 apathy, at
the present time.
.
" In this great matter the interests of all classes and denomi
nations who love liberty in its widest and most exalted sense,
are one. We are alike interested in being kept free from the
crushing burden of a state church. We are alike interested in
obtaining for ourselves and for our sons an equal share in the
privileges, honors, and emoluments of the publicly endowed
institutions of our land. Why then should we not unitedly
and earnestly seek to obtain these worthy objects 1 As lovers
of pure religion, as lovers of our common country, we should
unite in this struggle, and never fold our arms till the great
contest for perfect civil and religious equality be decided in our
favor. "If we would secure this ' consummation devoutly to be
wished,' we must let our representatives know our virws and
wishes. They may have heard them before, but it will be
necessary again to stir up their minds by way of remembrance.
Let us watch every movement of the foe, and hold ourselves in
readiness to petition, or to take other means which may, at the
next meeting of Parliament, inform our representatives of what
we expect from them. Let us make known our views courte
ously but boldly, in the language of men who feel on these
subjects, and who feel that they are in the right. Should this
course be pursued p.omptly and unitedly, we venture to pre
dict that attention will be given to our just demands.
"Friends of freedom and religious equality in Canada
Dangers are hovering over > ou, yet the times are such that, by
a hearty effort on your part, the clouds of danger may be
swept from our horizon forever. The accomplishment of this
is an object worthy of a great effort. Will you put it forth. ? "
A letter in the familiar style and over the signature of
"A" had appeared in the Register on March 6th and
another from the same pen on December 18th of this
year. In the former "A" refers to the expression "The
Established Church of Cauada," which some were so fond

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 175
of using despite its impropriety and offensiveness, and
which others were too prone to treat with contempt as
an assumption too absurd to be worthy of serious notice,
and points out some circumstances which create a possi
bility and danger that the people of Canada might come
to have something "very like an Established Church,
without a legal charter." These circumstances arise out
of the facts that a very large portion of the Canadian
population have grown up in blissful ignorance of the
blasting and withering effects of Church establishments,
that the ministers of the Church of England in Canada
had been imported from the land of establishments, had
brought their predilections with them and proceeded to
preach and to teach as if they were in their own native
land,, that the weight and influence of the ministers
of the Church of Scotland were also in favor of an estab
lished religion, and that the most of the public men of
. Canada had come from the land of establishments, and
cherished, many of them, a " sneering contempt for our
free institutions." He pointed in illustration to the
history of the Clergy Reserves, the persistent attempt
to seize and hold for the Church the public colleges of
the country, and the most iniquitous but accomplished
fact of the Endowed Rectories, and summed up a long
letter as follows :
" The ' conclusion of the whole matter' is that many of
the people of this colony are in a state to be easily
imposed upon by the strong influences in favor of estab
lishments from the Father Land, from the men in high
official standing in the country, and from a great body of
the clergy."
The letter of December 18 was devoted to '' King's

176 LIFE AND LABORS OF
College," and was intended to warn the people of the
great danger involved in the scheme which it was
well understood was to be submitted to the Legislature
at the approaching session, for the settlement of this
vexed question. The projected scheme was that one for
the division of the endowment which subsequently gave
rise to so violent a struggle. "A" attacks it vigorously
in advance. He foresees that the scheme is much more
likely to take effect than many suppose. " The Metho
dists, who boast of holding the balance of power in their
own hands, make no secret of their desire for such a
division. They openly advocate it, attempting to prove
that, as the inhabitants of Canada are made up of de
nominations, so a denominational division of the Col
lege fund will, of course, benefit the people of Canada!
The Presbyterian body in connection with the Church of
Scotland will, in all probability, fall in with this scheme.
. . . And it is to be feared that some of the Catholics
also may be drawn into the unrighteous compact."
He then proceeds to criticise the scheme itself. It may
contemplate the division of the endowment among three
or four of the leading sects. We should then have four
Colleges more feeble and contemptible, if possible, than
the present sickly and wretched one. Moreover if this
division scheme were adopted no public provision would
be made for the instruction of the young men in Ontario,
above everything an agricultural country, in agriculture.
Such a scheme would not answer the design of the
original educational grant, but it would make the public
educational institutions instruments to perpetuate the re
ligious distinctions already existing.
Suppose the divison should be made with regard to th

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 177
size of the various denominations. In that case the
larger denominations would have wretched Colleges, the
smaller none at all.
Suppose again all sects to share alike. " This proposi
tion comes nearest to fairness, but it also comes nearest
to annihilating every facility for acquiring a liberal edu
cation in the Province." But the larger denominations
would never hear of a sharing of the endowment with
thirty small denominations.
"A" thus concludes that "any scheme for dividing the
College funds must be ruinous to the cause of sound and
liberal learning in Canada, oppressive to those who are
sighing for a thorough education, unjust to the smaller
sects, and, finally, it must perpetuate and extend that
sectarianism from which the Province has already suf
fered so much."
He then proceeds to " point out a nobler way." In so
doing he outlines an unsectarian national institution,
with no Theological teaching at all, no religious tests, and
ample guarantees for independence of religious sects or
parties. It is unnecessary to recapitulate here the gene
ral features of the scheme of management and control by
which "A" proposed to accomplish these objects and
provide these safeguards. Nor need his vigorous reply
to the anticipated cry of "a Godless Institution!" and
other objections be repeated. But it is certainly note
worthy that he should have been among the first, if not
the first, to propose a Provincial University agreeing in
all essential features with that which we have to-day as
the outcome of the practical wisdom developed during
many years of thought and discussion. Both letters
were able and comprehensive, bearing the impress of a
broad and thoughtful mind.

178 LIFE AND LABORS OF
But Mr. Fyfe's efforts on behalf of an unsectarian
University, based on a sound and liberal foundation,
were not confined to articles in the press, and petitions
and remonstrances through the agency of the Associa
tions and the Baptist Union. The latter body kept up a
vigorous agitation through the medium of its Executive
Committee. The Register of April 16, 1846, contains
copies of three petitions forwarded to the Legislative
Assembly during this year by this committee. The first
prayed for reform in the management of King's College,
and deprecated any division of the endowment. The
prayer of the second was directed against any partition
of the Clergy Reserve fund as desired by the Episco
palians. The third entreated the House to refrain from
granting pecuniary aid to " Theological Colleges," or to
schools exclusively connected with any religious denomi
nation, or in which the principles of that denomination,
whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, are taught by
paid teachers, as incompatible with just legislation, and
opposed to right views of religious freedom.
It may be added here that the Canada Baptist Union
continued to hold its annual meetings and work ener
getically through its executive committees until 1849 at
least. Year by year it repeated its energetic protests
against the Clergy Reserve iniquity, and continued to
demand by resolution and petition the establishment of
the endowed schools and the university on an unsectar
ian and national basis. The last annual meeting of
which any record has been found was held at Kingston on
the 28th June, 1849.
This meeting, unlike its predecessors, was largely one
of jubilation over the triumph of the principles of the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 179
Union and the accomplishment of one of the great objects
for which it was formed, in the complete secularization
of the university by the Reform Government led by Hon.
Robert Baldwin. The meetings of the Union were, how
ever, very thinly attended. It was evidently viewed
with mistrust by many of the brethren in the West, and
probably ceased to exist with or soon after the organiza
tion of the Regular Baptist Union of Canada, in the
West, in 1849. Mr. Fyfe continued to work energetically
with and for the Union, during its existence, and was
present and took a prominent part at the Kingston
meeting. A great meeting on the university question was held
in Toronto early in February, 1847, — the Hon. Adam
Ferguson in the chair — which, the Examiner of that
date sa}7s, " was largely attended and exhibited a union
and harmony among the numerous interests represented
on the platform, as well as throughout the assemblage,
highly cheering to the friends of this all-important edu
cational movement." The first resolution was " moved
by the Rev. Mr. Fyrfe (Baptist), seconded by the Rev.
Adam Lillie, Tutor of the Congregational Academy, and
supported by R. H. Brett, Esq., member of the Canada
Wesleyan Methodist Church," and was as follows :
" That the funds of King's College ought on no account to
be partitioned, but kept entire, and applied exclusively to the
endowment of a university, or college of literature, science,
and art."
It should be premised that the Wesleyan Methodists,
or rather their organ the Christian Guardian, and some
of their influential men, under the leadership of Dr.
Ryerson, had, as above intimated, gone over to the enemy,

180 LIFE AND LABORS OF
and were putting forth strenuous efforts in favor of the
partition scheme. The following extracts from Mr.
Fyfe's speech in support of the resolution quoted above
set the whole question in a clear light, and show in a
striking manner his outspoken fearlessness and his power
as an incisive and effective public debater. After sketch
ing briefly the origin of the endowment and the history
of the college up to date, he proceeded : —
" It now, however, became evident to the High Church
Party that this grant would be an excellent affair for them,
provided they could get the whole arrangement of it into their
own hands. But how was this to be done ? It was undoubt
edly made for the Province, and not for a sect. It occurred to
the ingenious mind of him who is now Bishop of Toronto, that
this might easily be done, provided the officers of the Home
Government could be made to believe that the people of Canada
were Episcopalians. (Cheers and Laughter.) With this bright
idea he hastened home in 1827, with the religious chart of the
Province in his pocket. He thus represented to the Colonial
Secretary (Lord Bathurst) that there wereonly twenty or thirty
Methodist preachers in the Province, and these rebels; that
there were only four Presbyterian Congregations, and but two
ministers, one of whom was on the verge of becoming an Episco-
polian ; that there were only six Independent ministers, while
there were thirty-nine Episcopalian clergymen. He never
noticed the existence of some denominations which had at that
time a greater number of ministers than his own, (cheers.) The
facts were as follows: — There were 118 Methodist Ministers,
45 Baptists, 22 Presbyterians, 20 Mennonites and Quakers,
and only 31 Episcopalian Ministers! By this foul means he
attained his object. He obtained a charter compelling all to
sign the thirty -nine articles."
He then traces the history of the agitation which
resulted in establishing the fact that the original grant
" was meant for Canada" and in securing the amended
charter. " What now was to be done ? How were the views of the
High Church Party to be advanced under this arrangement ?

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 181
It occurred to the Bishop, that as President, he might exert a
very efficient influence still, provided he were made Professor
of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Christian Ethics and
Political Economy. Professor of Moral Philosophy and Chris
tian Ethics ! ! (Cheers and Laughter.) Think of that ! This
proposal the Province scouted. What next was to be tried ?
At length they agreed by Statute of the College Council, if not
to change the provisions of the new charter, at lea 3 / 1 1 >
them. By this means nearly the whole power — I may say
the whole power — was vested in one individual favorable to
exclusive views. All things are now managed, or rather
mismanaged, according to the views of this individual.
" The voice of the country is again being heard, and the
present holders of the property are afraid lest they may not
be able to hold it much longer — they are therefore considering
how they may secure, if not all, at least the greater part of it
themselves. To effect this, they are trying to secure aid from
every quarter, saying, 'Help us to defeat any liberal measure,
and should you not secure the division of the funds, you will
be otherwise taken care of.' In favor of this division or par
tition scheme — a partition scheme, 'on some ratio to be found,'
— the Methodists, or more properly the Cliristian Guardian,
has lately expressed itself very strongly. Let me be understood
here. In any allusions which 1 may make to denominations, I
am not speaking against the peculiarities of these denomina
tions. If I mention Methodists, I am not to be understood as
opposing Methodism, but opposing the performance of an act
which I sincerely believe will ruin Methodism. (Cheers.)
It will certainly ruin, in the estimation of the Canadian people,
any denomination which takes part in this mquitous scheme
of partition.
" Were I to look on this partition plan merely as a pru
dential matter, which did not involve the interests of the
country — were I to look upon it merely .as a feasible scheme
for settling the question — I should be satisfied to let the
matter go on. For well am I assured that the most learned
among the Methodist body who advocate this partition, knows
no algebraic equation whereby this unknown ratio of division
is to be found. I should be satisfied too, that the present
occupants would serve all claimants for shares as the traveller
did the clowns who contended for the ownership of the oyster^-

182 LIFE AND LABORS OF
they would suck the oyster and give ach a shell ! (Laughter.)
But I cannot view the partition scheme merely as a question
of wisdom or folly in the proposers. It involves great prin
ciples. It involves the rights of every inhabitant of Canada.
(Cheers.) And here 1 cannot but lament a state of things
which is far too prevalent in this country. Men came to this
country from Ireland, England, or Scotland, retaining all
their peculiarities — nay even their nationalities. The Scotch
man still flourished his Thistle, the Irishman his Shamrock,
and the Englishman his Rose. (Cheers.) And often do we
hear the cry, this interferes with the Scotch, this crushes the
Irishman, and the other thing comes in contact with the Eng
lish. Now I am not finding fault with this feeling. It is
natural and right that we should love our native land : — ,
' Where our holiest memories pilgrim-liko throng. '
But while all this is true, we must remember that when we
take up our abode in this country, we ought to consider its in
terests. We ought to look upon ourselves as Canadians, and
earnestly inquire by what means we can advance the interests
of the country of our birth or adoption as a country. (Cheers.)
"Nor is Canada unsettled simply on the score of national pre
ferences ; there are contracted denominational views also. One
cries 1 am Baptist, or I am a Presbyterian, or a Congregation-
alist, or Methodist, and can see no good in any measure which
does not directly benefit his particular sectj — so wretchedly
little are the views of men.
" Now, the great Provincial Institution which my resolution
contemplates would tend to remove both these evils. It would
form a nucleus for a national feeling in Canada. The young
men educated together would form attachments for each other
— they would look back to their alma mater with reverential
affection, and thus they would have at least one common tie
to bind them together — they would remember that there they
first learned to think, in a wide sense. Their mod s of thought,
their tastes and habits, would be formed under the same
teachers; — in a word, they would feel to a ceitain extent like
members of the same family. Farther, the Episcopalian.
coming in contact with the Presbyterian, would find that a
man may be a Presbyterian, and not be a blockhead ; or
hejmay be a Congregationalist, and not be a firebrand ; or
a Baptist, and not be a monster ; so each would discover

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 183
that a man may be an Episcopalian and not be a bigot. In
deed, the very idea of a great Provincial Institution such as
my resolution contemplates, founded upon a liberal basis, could
not help imbedding itself into the minds of the students and
producing most favorable results, even though not a single
lecture upon civil and religious liberty should ever be delivered
within its walls. There is such a thing as a great idea working
itself into the mind of a man, even when he is unconscious of
the fact — and such I should conceive to be the case in the
present instance. The present holders of the property have
veil considered these points ; they know how narrow notions
are indirectly wrought into the mind ; they know that young
men who study together in the same university, form many
ties to bind them together, and this it is which makes them
hold so pertinaciously to their position. They are bent upon
forming the minds of the rising youth of the province, but —
upon their own model. Now we should like a model which is
not quite so contracted in its proportions as the one they have
set up for themselves. We, therefore, propose to keep the
funds entire, and apply them to the support of a university of
literature, science, and art."
He goes on to expose very trenchantly the absurdities
involved in the Partition Scheme, and the impossibility
of finding the " ratio " of division. " The Christian
Guardian" he proceeded, " says that
" Such a scheme would injure Methodism ; mark me, not that
it would injure the Province, but Methodism ! It says that
Methodists know best how to make Methodists. I grant this
most heartily. . . But surely it does not follow, because
they know well how to train up people to their own views, that
the inhabitants of Canada are obliged to furnish a portion of
the means munificently given to them to educate their sons in
the"' various branches of liberal knowledge,' for the purpose of
making Methodists, or Puseyites, or any other kind of ' ists ' or
'ites,' in creation."
It is unnecessary to pursue further this able speech or
to follow the history of the great controversy to which
it was a contribution. The partition scheme introduced

184 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in 1845 as a Government measure and withdrawn, and
re-introduced as a private bill in 1846 and thrown out
on division, was again brought forward by the Govern
ment in 1847 and again withdrawn under the pressure of
aroused public opinion. In 1848 came the defeat of the
Government and the accession to power of the Liberal
Administration led by Robert Baldwin, and in 1849, this
Government introduced and carried through a measure
for the complete secularization of the University, by the
abolition of all religious tests, of every description, all
Professorships, Lectureships, or Teacherships in Divinity,
etc. This bill, though afterwards modified in detail, was
in principle all that the friends of religious liberty had
contended for and formed the basis of the University
system as it exists to-day. Thus were the arduous
efforts of the friends of civil and religious equality
triumphant so far as the University system of the Pro
vince was concerned. T.ie Clergy Reserves continued
for years to be a fruitful source of controversy and
heartburnings. The following letter will form an appropriate conclu
sion to this sketch of one of the most important and
bitter struggles in the History of Upper Canada. Many
had hoped that the withdrawal of the Government Par
tition Scheme in 1847 would be followed at least by a
cessaiion of the struggle until a new departure could be
made and a settlement effected on some more equitable
principle. This hope was disappointed. The struggle
for partition was renewed, and, strange to say, renewed
on this occasion by those who might have been expected
to be the staunchest friends of reform, some of the lead
ers of the Wesleyan Methodists. On the 28th of October,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 185
1847, the " Conference Special Committee," adopted a
series of resolutions approving of the thrice defeated
partition scheme, exception being taken only to the
smallnes3 of the sum apportioned for the Wesleyan
College. An address was accordingly issued to the
"members and friends of the Wesleyan Methodist
Church in Canada " calling upon them to petition the
House of Assembly for the settlement of the University
question in accordance with those resolutions. Thus the
vexed question was again brought forward, and the
partition scheme supported with all the great influence
of Canadian Methodism. The first signature to the
report of the " Conference Special Committee," was that
of M. Richey, D.D., and to him the letter was addressed.
If Mr. Fyfe's speech placed him high in the ranks of
powerful public speakers, this letter equally shows his
ability as a close reasoner and trenchant letter-writer: —
THE WESLEYAN METHODISTS AND THE UNIVER
SITY QUESTION.
To the Rev. De. Richey.
Sik, — I have read with no little surprise, and with deep
regret, a preamble and resolutions, approving of the principle
of Mr. Sherwood's College Bill, which were signed by you, as
chairman of the body that adopted them. That some of the
leading members in your large and respectable connection
hold the sentiments advocated in the document referred to, I
was well aware. Of them nothing of a really liberal nature
was expected, but I had hoped better things of you. I had
hoped to see you pursuing a course more consistent with your
character as a Christian and patriot than that marked out for
you by the preamble and resolutions which you signed. I have
been deeply, painfully, disappointed, But my object in
addressing you is not to tell you a fact so unimportant to you
as the personal regret which your act has occasioned. I wish
M

186 LIFE AND LABORS OF
to bring under your notice the view which at least one-half of
the inhabitants of this Province must take of your conduct.
You solemnly profess to have been actuated purely by Chris
tian motives in the step you have lately taken. It is very
hard to question the sincerity of a professed minister of Christ,
and yet I fear, sir, (whatever your friends may think), yours
will be very generally questioned. You will be asked why
this official document was published on the eve of a general
election ? Why the messengers, who are to carry it to every
member of your connection, are pressed and hurried, as if life
and death depended on its immediate delivery ? Couple these
circumstances with the very peculiar position of political
parties in this Province at the present moment, and the public
can scarcely be expected to believe that the motives professed
by you are purely religious — unmixed with baser metal. Men
at the present day seldom associate pure, disinterested Chris
tianity with a strong, manifest desire to secure £1,500 a
year.* Thus you have alleged motives for your conduct in
the affair, for which the public will scarcely give you credit.
And can £1,500 annually given to your body indemnify you
personally for placing yourself before the public in the attitude
of one who is attempting to mislead or deceive them ? Observe.
sir, I am not speaking of what your motives really were, for I
do not know, but of the view which the public, from the
peculiar circumstances of the case, will take of them. In so
far as they deem you guilty of an attempt to mislead them, in
so much will Christianity be injured by your act.
On what plea does your denomination meddle with the
present settlement of the College property ? Is it not on the
ground of the unfairness, the injustice, of allowing public
property to be monopolized by any one section of the com
munity 1 This I deem the only valid reason for impugning
the present settlement of this important question. Here,
then, is the grand argument against the present holders of the
endowment. "It is public property; you, being only J a
portion of the public, have no right to claim the exclusive
control of it. Give the property up to the rightful owners."
Such, sir, has been your argument again and again, when
* The financial basis of the Government Bill was as follows : — King's
College to receive £3,000 a year, and Queens, Victoria and Regicpolis
each £1,500 a year.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 187
denouncing the unjust monoply of King's College. But how
do you reason now? Shall I give your argument in the
syllogistic form ?
King's College belongs to the people of Canada.
We four denominations are a part of the people of Canada.
Therefore King's College belongs to us.
Because that property was set apart for the benefit of all,
therefore I shall use my influence as a Christian minister
(Christian influence, shall I call it?) to have it confined to the
use of a part. Because it was given to the many, therefore it
ought to be appropriated by the few. Is there logic, morality,
or religion, in such reasoning ? There can be no other ground
for striving to unsettle the present holders of the estate, but
the injustice of the tenure by which they hold it. Is the one
you propose to substitute just ? Not unless might makes right.
If the Episcopalian denomination were only fifty per cent.
stronger than they are now, their right to the property,
according to the principles which seem to have guided the
movements of your body on this subject, could not be effectively
disputed. The only rigid which the four denominations can
present is that they have the might to take the property.
But I humbly conceive, sir, that a moral, upright man, to say
nothing of a Christian, must have another principle to guide
him beside the rule " la plus fort."
The Episcopalians have always claimed to be the dominant
Church. You have always disclaimed, on behalf of your
connection, such pretensions. The former never pretended to
be voluntary; you always have. And yet, sir, you place
yourself on a par with them, in claiming a share of the spoils
of this Provincial institution. It is evident that you must
either confess your speeches on religious equality to have been
a farce, or admit all religions denominations to share with you
in proportion to their numbers. The cry of godless univer
sities is very popular among those who scarcely know what
they mean by the language, but you are not a man to think
that the adoption of a formula, or creed, will, like a charm,
drive the evil spirit from the walls of the university. Some
thing of infinitely greater importance than a creed must be
placed in the college, else, alas ! it will be godless enough.
Good and able men must be secured as professors, else there

188 LIFE AND LABORS OF
will be no religion in the university, though a thousand creeds
should be adopted.
It seems to be with justice that independent denominations
dread all large ecclesiastical bodies ; for they, like corporations,
often appear to have no soul, no sense of right and wrong.
What a man would blush to think of in his private capacity,
he sometimes votes quietly to do as an integral part of a large
body. The guilt of the transaction is divided, and the booty
is shared among all. Hence, " nobody in particular does the
evil," and " nobody in particular is benefited by it." If this
appear to be severe, I must remind you that the body of
which you lately acted as chairman furnished a painful illus
tration of its truth. Had an estate been left to a whole
family, you as an honest man would shudder at the wicked
ness of lending your influence in any way to deprive one-half
of the family of its legal rights. And yet by what other
illustration can you describe so truly the transaction in which
you were, a few days since, a prominent actor ? Surely a
.question does not cease to have a right and a wrong, because
it is a national one. Nor can the immutable principles of
justice taid right be abrogated by the selfish policy of the
High Church.
If it was wrong for the High Church party to seize upon
that property, then it is wrong for you to be a partaker in that
public robbery. And if it was not wrong of them to do so,
then neither have you nor any one else a right to disturb
them in their possession. I am aware that it has been urged
that, as these four denominations are the largest, they have
the best right to the college property. This may be a politi
cian's argument, but it is certainly neither a moralist's nor a
Christian's. I cannot, therefore, allow you the benefit of it,
since you are acting solely as a Christian. If the denomina
tions which were excluded by the Bill of last session are small
and poor, common sense and common justice would tell us that
they should receive the greatest share, for they stand most in
need of it. A father does not divide his property among his
children according to their size and strength. But the grant
was not made for denominations, as such, at all, but for the
people of Canada. To them, therefore, it should be cheerfully
given up by all denominations. I therefore call upon you in the
name of justice, and for the sake of the interests of literature

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.ll. 189
to consider what you are doing. You cannot but know that
the multiplication of small, petty colleges must be injurious to
sound scholarship. And can you, the earnest, the eloquent
advocate of Christian union, perpetuate and legalize (I was
about to say,) the bitterest denominational hostility 1 Or have
you renounced union as the French patriot renounced the
constitution of his country. "A la lanterne la Constitution! Elle
ne m'a jamais donna six sous."* If you succeed you will pit all
the other denominations in. Canada against four, and the four
against them.
And then, too, can you, the mortal enemy of Puseyism,
consent to be ranked with Puseyites ? For if you persevere in
your endeavor, all will see that your principles are no more
pure, are no more honest, and scarcely so consistent as theirs.
And can' the bold denouncer of the corruptions of Romanism
consent to fight under the same banner ? Be not deceived,
sir ; your measures, if successful, will draw the line between
you and those you have always professed to respect, and will
throw you into the arms of those you have hitherto denounced.
Thus :— " Thou shalt leave each thing
Beloved most dearly ; this is the first shaft
Shot from the bow of exile. Thou shalt prove
How salt the savor is of others' bread ;
How hard the passage to descend and climb
By others' stairs. But that shall gall thee mo3t,
Will be the vile and worthless company
With whom thou must be thrown into these straits."
And, farther, you will most foully requite the kindness of
the very denominations whichi helped to raise your own to its
present position.
You are lending your influence to rend in pieces a noble
national institution ; to blight the prospects of learning in this
country ; to rob the present generation of their rights ; to
embitter and perpetuate denominational differences, and to
make your own denomination " a by-word, and a shaking of
the head," throughout the country. Sir, in urging you to
refrain from dividing the noble endownent of King's College,
I am asking from you no favor. I am pleading for simple
justice to my native land, and for the rising generation.
* "To the gallows with the Constitution ! It never give mo a six
pence."

190

LIFE AND LABORS OF

I entreat you, for the sake of our common Christianity, not
to allow your name and influence to be associated with a
spoliation so foul and so iniquitous. Several ministers in this
Province, by the unrighteous course which they pursued, have
done more mischief to the cause of religion than ten common
men could do in a lifetime. My earnest desire and hope is
tl at you will not allow your name to be added to that un
happy list. I am, Rev. sir, truly, &c,
R. A. Fyfe.
Toronto, November 18th., 1847.

CHAPTER XY.

Evangelical Lecture — A Dilemma for Believers in Baptismal
Regeneration — Connection with the Canada Baptist Mis
sionary- Society — Various Notices — Agency for Grand
Ligne Mission — A Priestly Anecdote — A Friendly' Criti
cism — Resignation of Pastorate — A Harmlkss Resolution —
History of Communion Question — A Widening Fissure —
Action of Associations — Mr. Cramt Refused a Hearing —
Western Canada Baptist Home Mission Society — Rev.
Jas. Inglis — The Evangelical Pioneer — Regular Baptist
Union — What Constitutes Close Communion — Mr. Fyfe a
Strict Communionist — The Cause of His Resignation.
tHE following from the Toronto Banner of February
5, 1846, shows that Mr. Fyfe was making his in
fluence felt in other directions than those already in
dicated : —
" The second Evangelical Lecture was delivered on Wednes
day evening, in the new City Hall, by the Rev. R. A. Fyfe, of
the Baptist church here.
"The subject was : 'The Nature of Spiritual Religion, as con
trasted with the Religion of Sentiment and of Form.' This
lecture was eminently successful, and was received with great
approbation by a crowded audience. Mr. Fyfe gave a distinct
and impressive sketch of the nature of spiritual religion. He
then showed the process by which it was gradually corrupted
after the early ages, and how the religion of state and cere
mony was introduced in its stead, till the life of Christianity
seemed to be almost extinguished in the visible Church. The
simple rites of Baptism and the Lord's Supper had been per-

192 LIFE AND LABORS OF
verted from their true meaning, and represented as in them
selves conveying salvation, provided they were administered
by persons qualified for that purpose. Mr. Fyfe alluded in
pointed terms to the attempts to revive false and unscriptural
doctrines in the present times. He stated emphatically that if
they who asserted that Baptism within their own Church was
regeneration, actually believed it and knew it to be true, they
were bound to employ force to compel all to receive the salva
tion of their souls."
During these years he continued to act as one of the
local agents for the Canada Bapist Missionary Union.
The Register each year contains lists of appointments to
be filled by him in various localities. The ninth annual
report of the society, (1846,) contains the following in
reference to his work in Toronto : —
"Your committee are called upon to sympathize with the
Rev. R. A. Fyfe, of Toronto, who has to encounter difficulties
peculiar to that station, and which would produce in many
minds very disheartening effects. At the same time they
rejoice that his labor is not in vain in the Lord. Souls have
been converted under his ministry. The Sunday school, con
taining about 100 scholars, is going on well. The esteem and
respect in which Mr. Fyfe is held by the Christians of other
denominations in Ontario cannot fail to encourage him. The
committee fully concur in the sentiment expressed in Mr.
Fyfe's last communication: "By the good hand of God, and
by patient waiting upon Him, we shall prosper.' "
The report of the following year speaks still more
hopefully : —
" The Rev. R. A. Fyfe, pastor of the church at Toronto, has
communicated interesting information to your committee re
specting the state of religion in that important city. Not
withstanding the inconvenient location of the Baptist chapel,
it is well filled with attentive hearers. ' The church is very
much united, and is working well.' There are many anxious
enquirers in the congregation, several of whom have applied
for fellowship. The Sunday school is in a flourishing condition."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 193
The committee go on to speak of the efforts which are
¦ to be made to erect a new building in a more desirable
locality, and commend the project, with best wishes for
its success, to the liberality of the Christian public. The
progress of the movement has been previously indicated.
The Register of Oct. 22, 1846, contains the following :
"The friends of the Swiss Mission (Grand Ligne) are in
formed that Madame Feller has undertaken another journey
to the United States for the purpose of soliciting contributions
and exciting further sympathy on behalf of the Mission. She
is accompanied by our esteemed brother, Rev. R. A. Fyfe, of
Toronto, who kindly consented, though at much inconvenience,
to perform this service, and thus render essential aid to the
society in its present embarrassments. The prayers of the
churches in their behalf are earnestly requested."
This visit was quite successful. Madame Feller and
Mr. Fyfe received about $1200 in contributions for the
mission, and several associations connected with Baptist
Churches in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other
places became interested in the work and engaged to
remit further contributions.
The following is from the Christian Watchman's report
of a meeting held in the Bowdoin Square Church, Boston:
" Mr. Fyfe related an incident in his own experience,
illustrative of the confidence placed by them (the French
Canadians) in their spiritual rulers. A few years since,
in his younger days, he had occasion to call upon a priest
of considerable influence in the Canadas. He was ushered
into his study by a servant, who, upon opening the
door, turned her back, as if fearing to look within its
sacred precincts. In the course of a familiar conversation
he asked the priest the question, ' Do you really believe
what you teach ? ' ' That is a strange question,' said the
priest. ' Why do you ask ? ' 'I cannot think it possible,'

194 LIFE AND LABORS OF
replied Mr. F., 'for an intelligent man to believe the
Catholic Creed.' After a little hesitancy the priest
replied : ' Well — I do not believe it.' ' Why then teach
it ? ' asked Mr. F. ' Ah, I have got my bread to get.
Must I starve ? ' ' What would your parishioners say,
should I tell them of this ? ' continued Mr. F. With a
smile and a shrug, the priest replied : ' That would be
useless, they would not believe you.' ' And that remark,'
said the speaker, ' was but too true. It is among such a
people that we have to work, and from such are the
fruits of our labor.' "
But while Mr. Fyfe thus continued to work heartily in
connection with the Missionary Society, he still retained
the opinion expressed in a private letter before quoted,
respecting the mistakes and faults in the Society's modes
of working. In a letter to the Register in July, 1846, he
speaks very plainly on this point, and sketches a plan
for more perfect organization and more thorough work.
The suggestions were well and thankfully received by
the committee, who promised to take them into most
serious consideration.
At a regular church meeting on the 6th of June, 1848,
Mr. Fyfe intimated to the March Street Church his wish
to resign the pastorate, and asked to have his resignation
take effect on the first of September following. On the
following Sabbath he detained the members of the
church, after the administration of the Lord's Supper,
and gave them a full explanation of the reasons which
had induced him to take this step, and said that though
he had reconsidered the matter he still wished to press
upon them the acceptance of his resignation. At the
next regular meeting, July 4th, he made some further

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 195
explanations, after which a resolution was passed, sol
emnly declaring the conviction of the church members
that it " would be for the glory of God that Mr. Fyfe re
main as pastor of the church." A copy of the resolution
was sent to him but failed to change his fixed purpose,
and on the 20th of July, he made his resignation final.
The foregoing are all the facts connected with the
change which can be gleaned from the meagre Church
records. In the absence of fuller particulars there is
room for surprise that after having toiled so arduously,
and on the whole successfully, after having overcome so
many obstacles, and when on the eve of entering into a
new and commodious house of worship, in a good
locality, and under favorable auspices, he should have
resolved on quitting this important field. The Bond
Street Church, which was now about ready for occupa
tion, had been built only by dint of his most strenuous
and persevering efforts. In a letter written a few
months before from Beamsville to a friend he says : " I
came here yesterday to exchange with the Baptist
minister of this place, and also to solicit aid to erect our
place of worship. By the way, you may be astonished
that we are only so far on with the building yet. I can
only say that it is not my fault, and that if Cheops
or Cephernes had half as much vexation and labor to
raise the great pyramid as I have had in getting up
a place of worship, I pity their shades." " Trebor," the
Toronto correspondent of the Montreal Register, repeat
edly bears incidental testimony to the efficiency of his
labors during the latter year or two of the pastorate.
In one letter he says, " I learn that the Rev. R. A. Fyfe
preached a rather elaborate sermon on baptism a short

196 LIFE AND LABORS OF
time since, which produced a good effect. Yesterday he
baptized two persons out at York Mills, as he has not
the convenience of a baptistry in the city. This is pro
bably only the beginning of a good work, for I under
stand that a good deal of interest is felt in the subject of
religion by his congregation, and some have given evi
dence of a change of heart lately." Again a few months
later : "Our friend, Mr. Fyfe, of Toronto, has again, I
learn, visited the waters and immersed six persons in the
name of the Triune God. Others are expected to follow
soon. May the good Lord continue to bless his cause in
that city. It languished long amid trials and difficulties.''
These are indications that his discouragement did not
arise here, as in Guelph, from any real or fancied waning
of interest on the part of his Church and congregation-
Why then did he leave at a juncture so auspicious for re
newed efforts ?
The answer is, no doubt, to be found in a resolution of
the Church which is recorded immediately before the
minute of his first announcement of an intention to re
sign. It reads thus : —
" Resolved, In reference to the communication made by Mr.
Fyfe respecting Dr. Davies' intended visit to Toronto, that he
be invited to preach a sermon on behalf of the Grand Ligne
Mission, and that a collection be taken up in aid of its funds."
A harmless, a laudable resolution, one would say. But
thereby hangs a tale. Frequent allusion has been
already made to the distrust of the soundness of their
Eastern brethren on the communion question entertained
by many of the Baptists of the West. This distrust
seems to have grown rather than waned with lapse of
time. In vain the responsible managers of the Canada

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 197
Baptist Missionary Society pointed out that their Society
never interfered with the subject of communion; that
being a Missionary Society and not a Church it had
nothing to do with questions of Church organization. and
order ; that, as a matter of fact nine-tenths of the
churches connected with the College and the Grand
Ligne Mission were close-communion churches; that, as
Mr. Cramp showed in the Register of August 5, 1847,
what the Eastern brethren were ready for and desired
of their brethren in the West was simply "union and
co-operation in the advocacy of Baptist principles, with
out compromise on either side, (in reference to the
modes of action adopted by the respective societies)."
Under the influence of leaders who made a matter of
conscience of what many excellent Baptists in the East
regarded as " ultra views," the fissure widened day by
day until it became an almost impassable chasm. The
result was that while three of the five associations of
Western Baptists gave in their adhesion to the Canada
Baptist Missionary Society, the other two not only held
aloof but went so far as to refuse a hearing to the dele
gates of the Society. The following resolutions show
clearly their respective attitudes. The Eastern Associa
tion (comprising the churches in the Niagara and Gore
districts) at its meeting in 1847 passed the following: —
"Resolved, That we hereby record our increased confidence
in the Canada Baptist Missionary Society, and rejoice in the
success that has attended its labors of love; and as it is still
extending its operations, and as new calls are being constantly
made upon its funds, we would respectfully urge upon our
churches the necessity of making every exertion to sustain and
extend such a glorious work."
Similar resolutions were passed in the same year by

198 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the Haldimand and Johnstown Associations. The West
ern Association, either in the same or a preceding year.
adopted the following : —
Resolved, "That it is the opinion of this association, that
the repeated attempts made to induce our churches to join the
Canada Baptist Missionary Society, which is founded on
principles that are, in our view, unscriptural, justifies us in
refusing this and all future deputations, a seat in our associa
tion, until they conform to the practice of Regular Baptists."
The Grand River Association took a similar position,
and both accordingly refused to hear Mr. Cramp, Presi
dent of the College and editor of the Register, when he
presented himself as the agent of the society. Mr. Cramp,
on his return to Montreal addressed an open letter,
through the Register, to the "Ministers and Messengers"
of these two Associations, in which he took occasion to
deny the report current amongst them that the Baptist
Church at Montreal was an open Communion Church,
and that the Canada Baptist Missionary Society, being
managed chiefly by persons connected with that church,
was an open Communion Society. He said :
" The Baptist Church of Montreal is a strict Commun
ion Church. Its rule is that fellowship is to be restricted
to baptized believers. The Canada Baptist Missionary
Society is connected with the Baptist Missionary Society
in England, the managers of which institution have
never interfered with the subject of communion. They
send out Missionaries to preach the Gospel and form
Baptist Churches, but they leave those churches in the
full exercise of their freedom to make their own arrange
ments. The same policy is necessarily adopted by the
Canada Baptist Missionary Society. As a society, it
knows nothing, either of open communion, or of strict

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 199
communion. It is simply a Baptist Society. At the
same time it is proper to state that nearly all the
churches assisted by it are established on strict com
munion principles."
The difficulty was enhanced by the formation in 1845,
or earlier, of the " Western Canada Baptist Home Mis
sion Society," in connection with which the " American
Baptist Home Mission Society " had undertaken to con
duct missionary labor in Canada West. Both these
societies were composed of and managed by strict com-
munionists of the straitest se t, and as the former natur
ally regarded the Western Province as its peculiar field,
its existence and influence no doubt led to the passing by
some of the associations of the resolution already quoted,
hostile to the Canada Baptist Missionary Society. The
Eastern Baptist Association, at its meeting in Louth, in
1845, was attended by Rev. J. M. Cramp, and Rev. E.
Savage, agents of the Montreal and American societies
respectively. Both were heard before the Association
and after some discussion a resolution moved by the
latter and seconded by the former was passed, asserting
in substance that the two societies were engaged in pro
moting the same objects in Canada West, and recom
mending both alike to the churches. But the action of
Mr. Savage did not meet the approval of those he repre
sented. The exact origin and drift of the resolution be
came the subject of controversy between him and Mr.
Cramp in the Register, and the action of the Eastern
Association was probably not repeated by it, or followed
by any other Association.
One of the most influential leaders of the extreme
party in the West in 1848 and 1849, was the Rev. James

200 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Ino-lis. Mr. Inglis, who was at the time editor of the
Michigan Christian Herald, attended the meeting of the
Western Association at Bayham in 1847. On his return
home he wrote an account of his tour, for the Herald.
His reference to the Grand Ligne Mission and the Mon
treal College, two of the chief institutions supported by
the Canada Baptist Missionary Society, contained the
following passage:
" The laxity of principle and practice amongst the churches
with which these institutions are immediately connected, must
stand in the way of their receiving the cordial support of the
churches in the west. The latter are, almost without excep
tion, consistent and uncompromising in the maintenance of
Baptist principles, and on the question of communion feel
strongly and act unhesitatingly."
This and other allusions in Mr. Inglis' report called
forth somewhat sharp rejoinders from Mr. Cramp, editor
of the Register, and others. Mr. Inglis, in September of
the same year, removed to London, C. W., where he be
came the first editor of the Evangelical Pioneer, which,
under his editorship for nearly two years in London, and
afterwards under that of David Buchan, Esq., in Toronto,
did good service as the organ of the strict Baptists of the
West. One of the chief objects of the Pioneer was soon
accomplished in the organization of the "Regular Baptist
Union of Canada," whose recognized organ it became after
a few months. It would be aside from the purpose of this
work to follow the history of this society, or the Pioneer.
They were no doubt indirectly the means of hastening
the downfall of the Montreal College" and the discontinu
ance of the Register, by dividing or withdrawing the
support these had hitherto received from Western Can
ada. Mr. Inglis returned to Michigan near the close of

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 201
1879. He seems to have been a man of great worth and
more than average ability, though perhaps one of those
who " when they once grow fond of an opinion," are
prone to " call it honor, honesty, and faith." Mr. Buchan
had. been a foremost and whole-hearted supporter of the
"Canada Baptist' Union," as he afterwards became a
main pillar of the "Regular Baptiso Union." Whether
the change of allegiance from one to the other was due
more to a growing conviction of the intrinsic importance
of the points of difference in matters of church organiza
tion and order, or to a recognition of the fact which was
becoming more and more apparent, that any large degree
of success was impossible on the old lines, the writer has
no means of judging. In either case he rendered excel
lent service for many years as the advocate of the prin
ciples of the "Regular Baptists," and no doubt did so, as he
himself says in the prospectus of the third volume of the
Evangelical Pioneer, " not from interest or convenience
but from a sincere conviction of their scripturality and
their importance to the advancement of pure Gospel truth
in the world."
In view of the facts above stated which seem to have
been indisputable, that nine-tenths of all the Baptist
churches in the Montreal region were founded on close
communion principles, and that the subject of communion
was never touched upon by the Canada Baptist Mission
ary Society, or in the College.or discissed in the columns
of the tiegister, the question naturally arises whence the
necessity for division and the organization of the Regular
Baptist Union. The difference seems to have been one
not so much between open and close communion views
as between diverse views and practice in regard to what
N

202 LIFE AND LABORS OF
constituted true close, or strict communion. The differ
ence is brought out pretty clearly in a correspondence in
the Register in 1846 and 1847 between the Rev. J.
Winterbotham, then of Brantford, and others, arising out
of the account given by Mr. Wintherbotham, who as
" J. W.'' was a frequent correspondent of the Register, of
the ordination of a young man, Mr. John Bray, at St.
Thomas. " J. W." said in his letter : —
"There was no great difficulty on any point except that of
communion. Although he avowed himself a strict com-
munionist, this did not give satisfaction to the council, owing
to the very ultra vieios entertained by the western friends on
this subject, which views are manifestly of a dangerous
kind and tendency. It is good to be zealous for the order of
God's house, but it is bad to lord it over the consciences of
others." To this remark Mr. Bray took exception in a lengthy
letter, alleging that it brought him into contact with
many jealous surmisings and suspicions which threatened
very materially to injure his influence in Western Can
ada, if not his comfort and usefulness. His animadver
sions called forth from the editor the following clear ex-
planation of some of the points of difference in ques
tion :—
"It is due, however, to 'J. W.' to state that the ' ultra
vieios ' to which he refers in his communication have not been
mentioned by brother Bray. On the subject of communion,
undoubtedly, they think alike; they hold that fellowship at
the Lord's table should be restricted to baptized believers, and,
unless we greatly mistake, they would not refuse fellowship to
baptized believers, even though they should not belong to
regular Baptist churches. The ground they take is, that
baptism is an indispensable prerequisite to the Lord's Supper.
Herein they agree with the English Baptists. Many of our
brethren in this hemisphere go much further. They will not
carnmune with a baptized believer, if he holds open-communion

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 203
sentiments — or is a member of an open-communion church —
or of a church in which there are members of open-communion
principles — or which would abstain from exercising discipline
on buch members, should they, under any circumstances, act
on their principles. The communicant must not only be a
baptized believer, but a member of a regular Baptist church of
their particular kind."
Rev. George Wilson, moderator of the council which
ordained Mr. Bray, also writes an explanatory letter in
which he says that the hesitation was owing to the fact
that " The council were well aware that there were different
views of the subject, even among those who call themselves
strict communionists. Some advocate communing with all per
sons immersed on a profession of their faith, and who are
sound in the faith. Others advocate communing with open-
communion Baptists, though they commune with Psedo-Bap-
tists. Some, again, think that all Baptists should commune
together, and yet call themselves strict communionists. This
being the case, we could not know what brother Bray's views
were, by his avowing himself a strict communionist, and
therefore we think it ought not to seem strange that we were
not satisfied simply with that avowal."
This brief sketch of the state of affairs will suffice to
make clear Mr. Fyfe's position and his reasons for resign
ing the pastorate of March Street Church, on the eve of
its removal. Mr. Fyfe, himself, be it remembered, was
and had been from the first, an ardent strict communion
ist. Even while a student at Newton, having learned .
that his friend McPhail was having serious difficulties in
his church, arising out of the divergent views of mem
bers on the communion question, he wrote to him, urging
him to stand firm at all hazards, and arguing at length
from Scripture in support of the views of the strict com
munionists. He even went so far as to say " Should I go
to Canada and find you and your people turned because

204 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the other party is popular, I should feel rather lonely.
If the Lord spare me I think I shall stick out as long as
I can find a Baptist to stand by me.'' .Again: "If close
communion (falsely so called) should become so unpop
ular that there should be but one strict church on the
earth, I would say, ' God grant that I may stand in that
Thermopylae of the moral world."
Holding so firmly these sentiments it is a proof of
Jbis breadth of mind that he found in them no hindrance
t > cordial co-operation with the brethren in the east. He
h 1 1 be jn and was, as we have seen, an earnest worker in
connection with the Canada Baptist Missionary Society
from the commencement of his labors in Canada. Near
¦the close of 1848 he writes to Mr. McPhail on behalf of
the Register, urging him to raise contributions towards a
i'und to be used as a guarantee to the publisher against
Joss, if he would continue its publication for another
year, at least. He had given his own pledge for $10 out
of , is small salary, and would do what he could in his
.church. His motives he sums up as follows: — "I am
very anxious to see the Register go on on many grounds,
ib ,t c nefly because *its doing so would be a guarantee
ithat an -effort would be made to unite at some time the
Biptists of the East and of the West. If it should go
down, theu the West would set up its intolerable ar romance
.so that none of us could co-operate with them. I hope
.that when the heat of partyism subsides, some com
promise will be made. I am very anxious to see this
take place, and but for the hope of being instrumental, in
>some small measure, in bringing it about, I shoul I not now
be in Canada at all. Alas, the curse of Reuben seems to
Jiave fallen upon us Baptists in Canada ! "

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 205
In view of these sentiments it will be readily under
stood that when Dr. Davies, who had returned to Canada
in 1847, and was laboring zealously in the Lower Pro
vince, presented himself as the agent of the Canada
Baptist Missionary Society, Mr. Fyfe would do all in his
power to aid him, and would desire that he should have
every facility for pleading the cause of the Society be
fore March Street Church. When that Church, which
had as yet joined no association and was in a position to
act freely, refused — the resolution above quoted being no
doubt an indirect refusal — to give the agent of the
Society a hearing, its pastor would naturally feel, not
only that his own views and influence had failed to carry
their legitimate weight, but that he could no longer
work comfortably and successfully with a body the
majority of whom could take what was, in his opinion,
a very narrow view of the obligations and spirit of the
Christian religion. Whether his views and action were
right or wrong each reader will judge for himself. His
course is so far, at least, instructive, in that it shows
that clear cut opinions and great strength of character
are quite compatible with the sincerest respect for the
convictions of others, and a thorough dislike for anything
savoring of intolerance.

(Ls^Tafcf5^-?

CHAPTER XVI.

The Tragedy of Life — A Bundle of Letters — Their Brief, Sad
Story — A New Orpheus and his Eurydice — With a Differ
ence — Love in a Cottage — The Two Sons — The Rest of
Heaven — Mrs. Fyfe's Decline — A Bed of Suffering — And of
Triumph — A Peaceful Death — A Heavenly Trance — A
Faithful Wife — Utter Desolation — Obituary Notice.

y\«ID it, reader, ever fall to your lot to read the

t

<Cs££o tragedy of a human life — and, viewed apart from
its relation to the world to come, every life is a tragedy —
in the faded correspondence of the sufferer himself ?
There are few sadder tasks. The mellowing influence of
the years which separated one event from another is
removed. The mists of distance no longer affect the
vision as we glance from scene to scene. The successive
events, the terrible contrasts, are seen, not in the dimness
of perspective, but set Mde by side in all the distinct
ness and intensity of present reality. In one letter we
trace the ecstasy of the young bridegroom rejoicing over
the bride who is henceforth to be the joy of his home
and the light of his life. Beneath it lies the sheet which
tells the tale of sore bereavement and loneliness unutter
able. Here we have the outgushing of the fond mother's
heart as she details with a mother's pride the wonderful
antics and innocent prattle of her darling firstborn. In
the self-same bundle is the tear-stained, incoherent note,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 207
which tells that the loved one lies cold and stark beneath
the graveyard clods. One epistle reveals the confidence
with which a whole loving home circle anticipate a brilli
ant career for the noble youth who is just putting on his
armor, and going forth exultantly to the battle of life.
Beside it lies the terrible record of hopes blighted and
temptation yielded to, — the familiar, but none the less
awful, tale of vice, crime and earthly perdition.
Not often, happily, is one poor victim called upon to
see in his experience more than a few phases of the varied
miseries of which life is so full, else who could endure
to the end ? Bat few, indeed, live out their lives to an
average fulness,, without feeling the iron of some over
whelming sorrow enter repeatedly into the soul. Blessed
are those, and only those, who have learned to hope and
patiently wait for the revelations of the great future.
Such a panoramic glimpse of a section of the life of the
subject of this memoir is given in some half-dozen letters
now before the writer. They are all within the space
covered by the first Perth and Toronto pastorates, and
are all addressed to an invalid lady friend in Brookline.
They tell a story of trial and bereavement which it is
heart-rending to read even now, and which makes one
wonder at the Christian fortitude of the man who could
endure so much, and yet go on with all the abounding
labors recorded in preceding chapters, making no sign.
The scene opens with the following, from a letter
dated Perth, August 8th, 1843, and reveals a delightful
glimpse of "love in a cottage'-: —
" Your letter came to hand at a very peculiar period in my
history. I had just returned from ' the lower regions,' (as
Montreal and its neighborhood are quaintly called by those of

208 LIFE AND LABORS OF
us who are nearer the North Pole), bringing up, like another
Orpheus, my wife along with me. But, unlike that renowned
hero, I brought up the said Mrs. F. in a cutter, and wrapped
up in skins, instead of carrying her, as that clumsy gallant did
Eurydice ; nor did I lose her by looking behind me. This
affair, together with the troubles incident, I suppose, to those
'settling down,' and the various duties of my uocation, have
compelled me to neglect the claims of friendship longer than I
should otherwise have done. The only house I could then get
was all in disorder, and the little garden was twice as bad.
The one I repaired, painted and whitewashed with my own
hands. The other was laid out, broken up and cultivated by
the same instrumentality. When we came to the house our
friends were pitying us. Now it is quite the reverse, and
several have resolved, in laying out their gardens, to pattern. by
ours. Our house is neat but very small, not much larger than
a respectable swallow-house, and the whole establishment is on
the same scale."
A quotation has already been given from a note to
another friend in which the proud and happy father
refers to his promising first-born son James, " the begin
ning of their strength." The advent of "Robert Thomp
son," was also chronicled in another extract, which
portrayed the fond parental hopes which clustered
around them both. In this letter were enclosed a lock
of beautiful auburn hair from the head of the elder and
a newspaper clipping containing the following exquisite
lines : — ' ' A little son — an only son — have we ;
(God bless the lad and keep him night and day
And lead him softly o'er the stony way !)
He is blue-eyed, and flaxen hair has he,
(Such, long ago, mine own was wont to be —
And people say he much resembles me.)
I've never heard a bird or runlet sing
So sweetly as he talks. His words are small,
Sweet words ! — Oh ! how deliciously they fall !
Much like the sound of silver bells they ring,
And fill the house with music. Beauty lies

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 209
As naturally on his cheek as bloom
Upon a peach. Like morning vapor flies,
Before his smile, my mind's in frequent gloom.
A jocund child is he, and full of fun ;
He laughs with happy heartiness ; and he
His half-closed eyelids twinkles roguishly,
Till from their lashes tears start up and run.
The drops are bright as diamonds ; when they roll
Adown his cheek, they seem to be the o'erflowing
Of the deep well of love, within his soul,
The human tenderness of his nature showing.
'Tis pleasant to look on him when he sleeps ;
His plump and chubby arms and delicate fingers,
The half-formed smile that round his red lips creeps ;
The intellectual glow that faintly lingers
Upon his countenance, as if he talks
With some bright angel on his nightly walks.
We tremble when we think that many a storm
May beat upon him in the time to come —
That his now beautiful and fragile form
May bear a burden sore and wearisome.
Yet so the stain of guiltiness and shame
Be never placed upon his soul and name, —
So he preserve his virtue though he die,
And to his God, his race, his country prove
A faithful man, whom praise nor gold can buy,
Nor threats of vile designing men can move —
We ask no more. We trust that He who leads
The footsteps of the feeble lamb, will hold
This lamb of ours in mercy's pasture-fold,
Where every inmate near the loving Shepherd feeds. "
Neither storm, nor burden, nor stain, was to come
upon either of those loved ones. Both the tender lambs
were full soon forever safe in the fold of the Good Shep
herd. It would seem almost as if the shadow of the coming
sorrow must have stolen imperceptibly over the spirit of
the husband and father even as he wrote. He goes on
to sp -ak of his own trials and discouragements in his
pastoral work and adds : — ¦

210 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" Well, the world in which we live is, morally, a gloomy and
turbulent place. How rich and how sweet must be the rest of
Heaven. How precious will be the contrast to those who
enter there. There the wicked cease from troubling and the
weary are at rest. ' No rude alarms of angry foes,
INo cares to break the long repose.'
And what seems most precious is that we shall be near Him
who loves us. The heart often yearns for an object upon
which it can pour out the whole treasure of its affection with
out fear of sinning, without anxiety lest it should commit the
sin of idolatry. Our faith is so weak that we but imperfectly
do this here. But when we shall see Him as he is, without
a veil between, then will the fountains of our love be fully
broken up. From the taste which we have here of divine love
I can conceive of no exercise so delightful as the full, unre
strained affection which the redeemed must feel when they
stand in the presence of the One altogether lovely."
In or about the month of June, 1846, both the
cherished children were laid in the tomb. " They were,"
says a writer in the Register, " lovely, and pleasant in
their lives, and in death they were not divided, for the
elder followed the younger within seventeen days.
The sequel may be told in a few extracts. Writing
shortly after his return from his visit to Massachusetts
in 1846, the bereaved father says : —
"Mrs. Fyfe has been growing worse in health ever since I
returned home, and my anxieties on her account have very
fully occupied my thoughts. The hand of God is heavy upon
me. O that I may have patience and see what is His will and
submit to it. Her case has baffled all the physicians we have
cal.ed in, and she is now so feeble as to require to be lifted and
carried like a child. She has not been able to sit up an hour
for months. . . I sometimes think God has sent me here
to bury everything most dear to me."
This was in March, 1847. Again in April he writes:
" Mrs. F. continues to decline rapidly. She has now to be

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 211
lifted and turned, being so weak as to be unable to help her
self. I can hear now her low moans of pain, and feel per
suaded she is hastening to that place where pains and trials
are unknown. I ought to rejoice, but I cannot — I cannot — as
yet. There are many that have some knowledge of her worth,
but I alone can fully estimate my loss. She is remarkably
cheerful and happy, so that many wonder at her."
The next letter is dated July 31. In the meantime
the last terrible blow has fallen. He is trebly bereft,
and alone. The letter is written from Beamsville : —
" I have delayed answering your letters till now for several
reasons. One is, I have been unusually busy for the last two
months, and this, in my present state of mind, 1 reckon as one
of my many blessings. Had I not been thus employed 1 could
not have obeyed the old Latin command, " Cor ne edito," I
should have been in great danger of eating my heart. But my
Heavenly Father furnished me with appropriate employment.
This, however, has interfered with such pleasing claims as
yours. " Another reason for my delay has been that the subject
which would naturally be expected to occupy my letter is still
exceedingly difficult for me to discuss. But it is probable that
it will be long, long, ere it will be other than painful to me.
Hence I may as well attempt it now while I have a few hours
of leisure. I came here yesterday to exchange with the Bap
tist minister of this place, and also to solicit aid to erect our
place of worship.
"One the day when little Robert was borne to his last earthly
resting place (June 5, 1846), Mrs. Fyfe went to the graveyard
with us. It was a cold, damp day. Whether she took cold
or not I know not, but she was very poorly when she returned.
She went to bed and was confined to it for over two months.
In the meantime James, our first and last, was laid beside his
little brother. Oh, how fresh and living they are to me yet !
It seems but as yesterday. ' Time the impression deeper
makes, as streams their channels deeper wear.' In the fall,
Mrs. F., still it very poor health, accompanied me to her
father's, where she remained during my tour in the States.

212 LIFE AND LABORS .OF
Sha was belter for two or three weeks after our return late in
November. But she soon began to fail again. . . . For
more than three months before she died her suflerings were
fearful. Up to the last day of her earthly existence the
intensity of her suffering seemed to increase. On the last day
and previous night she had no pain. In mind she was per
fectly calm, cheerful, and composed throughout. It was not
resignation, it was triumph.' There was not a clo'.d, doubt, or
fear, to disturb her spiritual frame. I scarcely ever read of, I
never saw, a deathbed where the power of the glorious Gospel
was more strikingly displayed, — 'Never saw a deathbed, &c„
did I say ? — I never saw but three persons expire, and alas, alas,
they were all that I loved most dearly on earth !
" It was matter of the greatest astonishment to those who.
visited her — and we had many kind friends — that she was so
uniformly cheerful and happy, in her greatest anguish. Her
faculties were in perfect action till within twenty-five minutes
of her death. She had fixed her mind upon one glorious
passage which she often repeated : ' Because I live ye shall
live also,' About a month before she died I read, among
others, the hymn commencing as follows :
' The hour of my departure 's come
I hear the voice that calls me home
And now, O Lord, let trouble cease
And let thy servant part in peace.'
The last two lines she often repeated with great fervor, when
recovering from some of her severe paroxysms. The last aud
ible words she uttered, in reply to my question, were : All is
peace, glorious peace, not a cloud. I am fixed there, ' Because
I live ye shall live also.' Anything she made us understand
after this was delivered in broken whispers and signs. On
Friday evening, (11th June), she had her severest paroxysm.
For an hour and a quarter she seemed to be in the greatest
agony. She then broke out into a most violent perspiration.
She was free from pain and quite sensible, but so calm, so
strange, like one astonished or amazed, and so solemn, that it
was almost as painful for me to see her then as when she was
suffering. About a quarter before eight on Saturday evening
her eyes began to grow dim, her breathing became slower and
feebler, and about ten minutes past eight she breathed her

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 213
last, without a struggle or a sigh. She finished her work on
Saturday night and went to commence the new Sabbath above.
My space will not permit me to enter fully into a singular
kind of trance into which she fell about three weeks before her
death. She was perfectly conscious during the fifteen or
twenty minutes of its duration. She knew every one around
her, but such visions of glory and happinrss were given her as
no tongue could express. She afterwards could analyze her
feelings at the time, with much clearness. I could give many
other particulars, for they are all graven on my heart as with
the point of a diamond, but I must forbear. Few men can in
dulge my hope, that all my family are in Heaven. I do at
times feel thankful to God for this and for all his dealings. I
know that all is designed for good. I feel that Heaven is
licher to me and earth is poorer. And yet, as a man, I feel
unspeakably desolate. I have many kind friends from whom
I have received much sympathy. One has opened his house
most generously to me and I have taken up my abode with
him. All these things call for gratitude on my part. And
yet there are times, yes, often, often when my desolation
i ppears to me awful. I had met with many trials in my
little chufcch and found few in whom I could fully confide.
This ' made', me live more in every sense in my family. I had.
a friend from whom I never concealed any matter. I could
always consult her strong sense and noble heart. But I have
now a blank instead. It is perhaps designed to teach me-to
look more to Him who is wise in counsel and conceal nothing
from Him. May His grace teach me the suitable lesson ! I
cannot praise the departed. The fact that I love any one
seems to me the highest praise. And that I loved her and the
dear pledges of her affection but too well, God Himself
knows." "I have been urgently requested to visit the States this fall,
in company with Madam Feller but have decidedly refused. I
should meet too many of my old friends and I cannot yet per
mit many physicians to lay their hands upon my wounds."
Sorrow and bereavement are the lot of all, but few
are called upon to drink the brimming cup so quickly to
the dregs. The vicissitudes of that single eventful year
were surely terrible. To be thrust down in one short

214 LIFE AND LABORS OF
year from the heights of domestic happinness to the low
est deep of utter desolation, was an experience which
might cause the stoutest heart to quail and the strongest
faith to waver. But in all this, so far as appears from
his confidential correspondence, Mr. Fyfe " sinned not,
nor charged God with foolishness."
The wife who was thus taken from him in the prime
of life seems to have been no ordinary woman. A few
quotations from an obituary notice which appeared in the
Register of December 2nd, 1847, may fittingly close this
chapter: —
"She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, 12th April, 1815, and
emigrated to this country in the year 1821, along with her
family. Being from a child of delicate health, and her parents
residing in a country parish, she was deprived of the ad
vantages of a liberal education ; yet, possessed of a masculine
mind and gifted with a quick observation, strong memory and
uncommonly sound judgment, with great decision of character,
she could scarcely, under any circumstances, fail to form
correct habits of thought, and acquire enlarged intelligence.
She was distinguished for the elevated purity and correctness
of her feelings, and those qualities which make the Christian
useful and the companion lovely. The lines which marked her
character were neither harsh nor forbidding, but gentle and at
tractive. This is confirmed by the fact that the young were
devoted to her, — and those who enjoyed her intimate acquaint
ance, benefited greatly by her example and teaching. And
there are many now living who, amidst their tears for her loss,
can bless God for her friendship, and whose characters will
eternally exhibit the traces of 'her quiet but powerful in
fluence. Hers were peculiarly the excellencies which could make her
husband praise her. His heart could safely trust in her for ' she
opened her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue was the law
of kindness.' She took a deep, living interest in her husband's
employment. Never was a home more happy than her hus-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 215
band's during her lifetime. Her smile welcomed him, and made
him forget his anxieties and toils. She was his friend, from
whom he never felt it necessary to conceal anything. This
perfect confidence made home very dear. Her constant flow
of love made her accommodate herself to the wishes of him to
whom she had plighted her faith.
As her end drew nigh she seemed as calm, as collected, as
if about to retire for a night's rest. Though her affection for
her husband and friends was deep and intense to the very last,
yet a strong desire to depart and be with Christ was very
manifest. She had been spared long enough by her Heavenly
Father to see both His wisdom and His goodness in the double
bereavement which had been so painful to her ; so that, while
she shed the tear of sympathy for her stricken companion,
about to be thrice bereaved, she thanked her Heavenly Father
that her darling babes would not be left motherless ; they had
already been taken care of."

CHAPTER XVII.

Again in Perth — A Toronto Tribute — An Old Friendship —
Second Marriage — Sketch of Miss Kendall — A Loving
Wife — Her Sore Bereavement — Longing for Home — A
Happy Release — Progress in Perth — Word from Old
Friends— A Good Work in Brockville —The Canada Baptist
Missionary Society — A Special Meeting — Mr. Fyfe Seeks to
Amend Constitution — An Earnest Debate — A Resolute
Stand — Old Memories Revived — The Rrsult — Views of
Church Independence — The Warren Letter — Alleged In
consistency — Dr. Fyfe's Defence.
|E)LEASINGLY significant of the estimation in which
"~£>> Mr. Fyfe was held by the church he first served, is
the fact that on his resignation of the pastorate in March
Street, he was immediately recalled to the scene of his first
pastoral labors. The invitation of the Perth Church was
accepted and he returned to that town in the fall of
1848. Tiie fo. lowing from the Toronto Globe, shows that he
had won for himself a high place in the esteem of the
Toronto people of other denominations as well as his
own : —
" The departure of Mr. Fyfe from Toronto has been deeply
regretted by a numerous circle of friends of other persuasions,
as well as those to whom he ministered. Mr. Fyfe was a most
valuable member of society in this city. To many religious
and benevolent institutions he gave the benefit of his great
zeal and activity, both at public meetings and in the transac
tion of their business. A warm friend of civil and religious

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 217
liberty, he took a deep interest in the recent struggle for the
ascendency of liberal opinions in the province. In the ques
tion of opening up King's College, he took a more than ordi
nary share. His pen was ever ready in promoting the liberal
cause, which was essentially promoted by his exertions during
his stay in Toronto, and it will not be easy to fill up the blank
which his departure has made."
The history of the next five or six years must be
hastily passed over. Most of them, as will be seen, were
spent in the United States, though still in the faithful
service of the Master whose field of labor is the world.
During the brief interval which elapsed between the
close of the Toronto pastorate in September and the
cimmencement of that in Perth in October, Mr. Fyfe had
visited Massachusetts and married Miss Rebecca S. Ken
dall, of Brookline. Miss Kendall was the daughter of
Deacon Kendall, a very respectable and influential mem
ber of the Brookline church. Mr. Fyfe had formed the
acquaintance of the family while a student at Newton.
From allusions in his earlier letters it appears that he had
found Deacon Kendall a true and reliable helper while
he was ministering to the Brookline church, as he did
during a part of his college course. He was aa frequent
visitor in the family, and a deep and lasting friendship
was formed with its various members. Miss Kendall
was and had been for years an invalid, and, as she often
said to her friends later in life, nothing was, during these
years, farther from her thoughts than that she should
ever undertake the cares and responsibilities of married
life. Owino- to this circumstance and to the fact that
she, being incapacitated for mire active duties, acted as
her fathers' amanuensis, she became the medium of cor
respondence between the family and Mr. Fyfe during.

218 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the years that followed his graduation. She it was to
whom the letters from which quotations have already
been made in respect to the first Mrs. Fyfe's decline, and
other matters, were addressed. Her health having in the
meantime improved it was quite natui al that, after the
keenness of his great sorrow had been somewhat allevi
ated by time, the long and faithful friendship should
have culminated in a tenderer feeling.
Mrs. Fyfe, as is well known, survived her husband by
a few years. Of her loving devotion to himself, and
her anxious interest in all his labors and cares, it is
unnecessary to speak here. Her high intelligence, her
piety, her intense desire for usefulness, are no doubt well
known to most of the readers of this volume. Her
chronic ill-health and consequent feebleness were a pain
ful hindrance to the Christian activity towards which
mind and heart constantly impelled her, but as the daily
companion and confidential friend of her husband, the
sharer of all his burdens and sympathizer in every trial,
she exerted, through him, an influence whose full force
and meaning e'ernity alone will reveal. After Dr
Fyfe's death her deep sense of loss and loneliness
struggled* hard with the spirit of Christian resignation
which she conscientiously cherished, and these feelings,
combined with the consciousness that she was physically
unequal to any active service, gave rise to a deep-seated
and almost abnormal longing to depart and be with
Christ and her loved ones. Consequently it was with
something akin to a sympathetic joy that her most inti
mate friends witnessed or heard of her release after a
long period of weakness and suffering, in the month of
May, 1884. The hour of her departure brought the ful-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 219
filment of her deepest desire. It was the arrival of a
welcome messenger to bear her to the home towards
which her eager eyes had long been turned.
Mr. Fyfe's second pastorate in Perth was apparently
much more quietly prosperous than the first. He was
in fact, reaping the fruit of his faithful toil and plain
speech of five years before. During that earlier term of
service he had written thus to a friend : —
"1 meet with much opposition. Indeed everything short of
open violence has been done to oppose me. I have had three
ministers threshing me from the pulpit in the same day !
They find that a rather small business, however, as I have never.
paid the least attention to them. Some of my sermons have
sent my hearers away cursing me, and caused them to lampoon
me in the papers. But they come back again. And my con
stant aim is, by God's blessing, to get at their consciences. I
' therefore continue to ' use great plainness of speech.' "
Beside this may be placed the recollections of some of
the older members of his Perth congregation, written
with special reference to his second pastorate. Dr. J. D.
Kellock says : —
" Mr. Fyfe was very popular with all classes, the congrega
tions being large and drawn from all denominations. Even a
few Roman Catholics frequently attended the afternoon ser
vice. . His memory is cherished by all who were then
privileged to attend his ministrations, and in after years he
was warmly welcomed when he now and then visited this
scene of his early ministry."
Referring more particularly to his own personal im
pressions, Dr. Kellock continues: —
"I would only add to this that Dr. Fyfe is the first minister
of whom I have any recollection. He was a frequent visitor
at my father's house, and his genial presence and kindly smile
endeared him to us all. I can well remember his faithfulness
in • personal dealing. Plainly, pointedly, and earnestly he
warned, and placed before myself and other young people the

220 LIFE AND LABORS OF
dinner's guilt and the Saviour's love. Indeed, he was one of
the few who, in my experience, let no opportunity pass with-
¦ out testimony, in some way, for Christ Jesus. He seemed to
feel the great responsil>ility which rested upon him to care for
rthe souls of those around him, and was especially tender and
faithful in dealing with the young And so, to many of us,
.he ' being dead yet speaketh.' "
Mr. James Robertson, another of the old settlers in
Perth, knew Mr. Fyfe in Montreal, when he had charge
¦of the College there. Mr. Robertson afterwards removed
;to Perth. To some particulars, the substance of which
ibas been already given, he adds: —
"1 was a member of the Perth Church during his second
pastorate and I can heartily testify that Mr. Fyfe's every
effort was marked by the true devotedness to his work, which
always characterized the man. He was greatly beloved by
the people, and the fruits of his labors still remain. He was
most zealous in every good work, and it was with heavy
hearts that the members of his church heard of his intended
removal from their midst."
It is worthy of note, as an indication that a consider
able advance had been made daring the interim. between
;the two pastorates, that the invitation of the Perth
¦Church, which resulted in the second, specified £100 as
ithe stipend proposed.
The following brief extracts will show that his labors
during this period were not confined to his own Church,
but were abundantly blessed in another locality. The
R-sv. Mr. Boyd, of Broqkville, writes to the Pioneer, on
.March 17th,
"On Sabbath, the 25th ult., we began a series of special
meetings ; on Monday, Brother Fyfe, of Perth, came to our
assistance, and continued with us for upwards of two weeks
preaching the Word with much affection and power. We
have now kept up meetings for nearly three weeks, and the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 221
results appear most delightful. In the mornings at eight
o'clock, we held an inquiry meeting, to which persons, some
times to the number of sixty, came, under deep conviction.
The time at these meetings was spent in conversation and
prayer. Twelve persons were baptized last Lord's Day, and I
am to baptize eleven or twelve to-morrow."
Mr. Fyfe writing to his wife from Brockville daring
these meetings says, March 1 : —
" The meetings are growing rapidly in interest. Last night
the house was very full, and tears were flowing copiously. I
feel that I cannot — I dare not leave at present. Providence
has defeated my plans. ... I must just let the friends at
Perth shift for one Sabbath. The place is solemn and our
hands are full of work, visiting, <fcc. I have not seen such a
crowd of people for a long time as we had out last night, and
we expect more to-night."
Again, March 5 : — •
" Here the hand of the Lord has been wonderfully displayed.
Yesterday was a day of great crowds and deep solemnity. I
have preached every evening and twice yesterday. Last night
ab»ut one hundred remained for prayers. As many as sixty
of these were newly awakened. May God give them peace
through Jesus Christ."
Again, March 9 : —
" I am indeed very anxious to get home for I long sadly to
see you and to attempt something for poor Perth. But after
the most prayerful consideration we adopted the arrangement
now carried out. I could not leave this interest in its present
state. . Mr. Boyd will give you the particulars of the meetings,
and I am sure the good people of Perth will rejoice though I
should stay away a month, provided the same work keeps me.
I am quite well, though my work has been pretty constant.
On Wednesday I lectured and then came down to the church
and as good as preached immediately after. My throat slightly
troubles me this morning. I have bathed it in cold water, and
if it does not bebaye I shall tie a wet cloth about it,"

222 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The files of the Montreal Register show that during
this year, as in previous ones, he visited various places
and filled appointments on behalf of the Canada Baptist
Missionary Society. Owing to the existence and work
of the Regular Baptist Union and its organ The Evan
gelical Pioneer, and the attitude taken by most of the
Western brethren, the power of the society was evi
dently waning, and both the college and The Register were
tottering to their fall. The following correspondence,
though some of it belongs chronologically to a much later
dale, is given here as completing the history of Mr.
Fyfe's connection with this society, and also as throwing
light incidentally on the causes which led to his leaving
the Province for several years, and to his subsequent
return. The first letter indicates that he was engaged in
an earnest and determined effort to bring about a reform
in the constitution and action of the Society. The author
has failed to find any record showing the nature of the
changes he so earnestly advocated, but the last letter
quoted makes it clear that they were specially aimed to
promote union and co-operation between the Baptists of
the East and those of the West.
The Register of June 20th, 1849, contains a notice of a
special meeting of the Canada Baptist Missionary Society,
" to consider the state of the society and its future man
agement." The meeting was to be held in Kingston on
¦ ¦- o O
June 27th. and the attendance of the members of the
corresponding committee, and other members of the
society, was most earnestly requested.
The Register, whose publication was discontinued the •
following month, contains no report of the meeting. The
following, from Mr. Fyfe to Mrs. Fyfo, dated Perth, June

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 223
30, contains all the information available in regard to it*
It should be borne in mind, that the letter was intended
for Mrs. Fyfe's eye only, and that even to her he apolo
gized for having unwittingly, or for convenience' sake,
cast the story in so egotistical a mould :—
" It is needless to make any attempt at following the discussion.
I can only give you a few hints. While I was absent, it had
been stated by Dr. Davies and Mr. Girdwood that, if the con
stitution were changed, the majority of the Committee might
resign. I asked whether this were settled, for if it were so, then
I at once would withdraw my resolution, and with it I should
myself withdraw from all connection with their affairs— only I
wished them to publish to the world this feeling said to be
entertained by the Committee at Montreal ! This they dared not
do, and they would not have me withdraw. Therefore, the state
ment was explained away. We adjourned at seven till after the
sermon. Mr. Gilmour preached on brotherly love, and called
upon me to pray. After the congregation left, we proceeded to
vote. Three times there was a tie. Then Hewson's and Boyd's
letters were received as proxies, which gave me two of a majority.
But, after a little manceuvering, these were withdrawn, and one
more having decided to vote for no change, my motion was lost
by a majority of one. Here I arose under pretty strong feelings,
and stated that, having always acted in an open and candid
manner respecting this matter, I would do so once more. Having
used all constitutional means for putting an end to the constant
irritation in the churches on the subject of communion, and failed,
I now begged leave to withdraw my naflie from the list of the
Corresponding Committee, as I intended to appeal to the denomi
nation, stating my reasons for leaving, and for wishing the change.
That I did not act from personal feeling, for if there were any
brethren dearer to me than others, they were now before me.
Just fourteen years and two months ago that day, I had walked
into the great St. Lawrence hand in hand with Mr. Gilmour,
and boon immersed by him in the name of the Triune God, etc.
I almost broke down. Well, Mr. Gilmour, after the meeting
had sat perfectly silent and motionless for three or four minutes,
proposed to adjourn till next morning at nine. In the meantime
we might pray over the matter, and see whether something could

224 LIFE AND LABORS OF
not be done to prevent this issue. I went home dejected enough
and pretty thoroughly excited, resolved to leave by the morning
boat for Brockville. It was of no use for me to attend any more
meetings. I could not sleep till four o'clock a.m. Then I did
not wake till within ten minutes of seven. As the boat left at
seven, I could not get away that morning. So I went to the
meeting. I was asked whether I had anything further to pro
pose. I said: 'No. I had intended to leave before the meeting,
but having been unable to sleep till four, I had over-slept the
time.' Here Mr. Gilmour arose, and in his peculiar manner
spoke something as follows : — ' Bro. Fyfe just stated that he did
not go to sleep till four o'clock, and I am glad of it. It is very
remarkable that I, in another part of the city, should wake up
just at the very time Bro. Fyfe went to sleep, and that the very
first person that should occur to me on regaining my conscious
ness should be the brother who was just losing his. I thought
of the time and circumstances to which he alluded last night.
I recalled the occasion (I had forgotten the number of the years)
when I took his hand and we walked out, six of us, into the
majestic St. Lawrence ; and I never thought that noble river
more highly honored, nor more appropriately graced, than it was
on that occasion. I remember afterwards his coming to me, and
asking a recommendation to go to Himilton Institution. And
I, who had just before recommended three, felt ashamed to re
commend any more, and I told him lie would just have to tight
his own way. Thaukful, very thankful, am I that he has fought
it so honorably and so well. I know that, though we may differ,
we can never cease to love one another. No, death itself
cannot divide us.' After this, Mr. Gilmour moved a resolution
(Dr. Davies and he had spent a good while together), which,
after some modification, resolved itself into three parts, which,
though in a different form, covered the whole ground, and rather
more than that covered by the resolution which had been lost.
This passed without a dissenting voice. Dr. Davies did not vote
at all, I believe. The whole meeting ended well, and I believe
'not one left without feeling highly gratified with the result. Of
course, the action there was not definitive, but it has put the
whole in train. And as the meeting refused to do anything
toward raising money till the Executive Committee should take
sonic action which might tend to restore the confidence of the
churches, they cannot delay in this case. You will pardon me

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 225
for throwing this narrative so much into this egotistical shape.
It win to save time, and define before you my own action, and
not because the efficient efforts of others were undervalued by
me. I cannot enter into further details at present. I send you
a slip cut from the Courier. You can make your own comments
upon it."
Though we have no further particulars as to the
character of the resolution thus carried, or its issue, sub
sequent events make it pretty clear that the action of
the special meeting was not followed up by the Society,
or its agents, the Montreal Committee.
Two years and a half after the events here recorded,
Mr. Fyfe, being then pastor of the Church at Warren,
Rhode Island, penned another private letter which
throws some further light on his own views and motives1
and on the history of the intervening years. The
Pioneer had in the meantime followed its predecessor,
and for a time contemporary, the Register, in its demise.
Like it, too, it had involved its enterprising and liberal
publisher in heavy loss. To the Pioneer succeeded the
Christian Observer, a monthly paper, edited partially or
wholly by Dr. Pyper, of Toronto, and published under
the management of A. T. McCord, Esq., for many years
the highly respected Chamberlain of the city. The
letter in question was published in the Observer for
Marc'i, 1852, with an introductory note by Mr. McCord.
It will be observed that the immediate occasion of the
writing of the letter was the formation of "The Regular
Baptist Missionary Society of Canada." This Society
was organized at Hamilton in October, 1857, at a meet-
ing of delegates from Baptist churches called together by
a circular issued by A. T. McCord, Esq., of Toronto.
The constitution of the Society was extremely simple

226 LIFE AND LABORS OF
and practical, as will be seen from Articles II and III,
which constitute its gist : —
II. "The design of the society shall be to promote the
preaching of the Gospel, and to disseminate the Word of God
in the Province of Canada. In order to accomplish this work
efficiently, the society may, guided by the exigency of the case,
aid young men in preparing for the Gospel ministry ; and ap
propriate a portion of the funds in the payment of salaries of
suitable persons as colporteurs."
III. " The Society shall be composed of animal members,
who skill be in good standing in our churches, and who shall
contribute one dollar annually to the funds of the Society."
" To the Editor of the Christian Observer :
"Toronto, February 24, 1852.
"Dear Brother, — I have received the enclosed letter from
Brother Fyfe. It was not intended by the writer for publica
tion; but as it contains so much information, and so many
valuable suggestions suited to our denomination in our present
circumstance^, I trust you will find a place for it in the next
issue of the Observer. "I am, Dear Sir, yours, &c,
" A. T. McCord.

"Warren, R.I., December, 1851.
"A. T. McCord, E*q.:
"Mr Det.yu Brother, — I was glal to learn, from a recent
number of the Observer, that a Regular Baptist Missionary
Society has been formed in Canada. I have long been satisfied
that nothing but a Canadian Society can effectively carry on
the work of ministerial education and of domestic missions in
the Province. None but Canadians or those who have lived in
the country some time with their eyes open, can understand the
wants of the people. The peculiar affliction of the Baptists in
Canada has been foreign interference and influence — at one end,
too English — at the other, too American. Society in Canada is
neither like that of England, nor that of America : and it is as
absurd to insist upon conforming it in every respect to either, as
it would be, upon miking Corinthian metal, pure silver or pure
brass.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 227
" The Baptists of Canada ought to be the sole judges in regard
to the proper location for their Educational Institutions, and in
regard to the basis or platform on which the energy and the
intelligence of the denomination can be made to co-operate in
missionary work. I am glad to see that you have taken both
these points into your own hands. Let your present platform
receive a liberal interpretation. Let it be carried out fairly,
firmly, and kindly ; and there is yet hope for the Baptists in
Canada. It will require patience and persevering kindness to
secure the co-operation of those whose origin, views, and sym
pathies are so varied. But I am persuaded it can be secured on
a liberal basis. "Be of good courage and do it." There is too
much intelligence and piety among the body of the denomina
tion to be long influenced by the arts of the demagogue,
especially when practised by men who have themselves boxed
the compass on the chief points in debate.

" It is high time the Baptists should learn to rely fully upon
their own Church polity. And the brethren in Canada, if fairly
dealt with at home and abroad, will soon learn that co-operation
with any society for a given end does not imply church fellow
ship, nor the approbation of all the sentiments which may be
holil by the various members of that society. The venerable
Dr. Cone, who has always been the strictest of the strict — a
regular of the Regular Baptists — who has written and preached
long and ably in defense of his practice, actually now co-operates
with bona fide Campbellites, for the purpose of securing a new
translation of the English Bible. He does not agree with them
on all points, he does not commune with them : but he co
operates vigorously with them to secure the object on which
they are agreed. No man living understands better than Dr.
Cone what Society connections involve. He knows well that
each Baptist church is an independent body, which no society
nor association can meddle with. It has not only the right, but
it is bound to guard its own communion, making it just what
the New Testament lequires. And this obligation is neither
increased nor diminished by the breadth or the narrowness of
the platform on which any general society or association may be
based. Still each particular church is responsible for the purity '
of its own communion and for that only. This is the first prin-

228 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ciple of independency, as it is the first principle of liberty.
Canada, of all places under f'10 heavens, should be familiar with
these first principles ; for there is no country where co-operation
is more essential to success, and no country where greater for
bearance is required in order to secure it. A missionary society
is not a church, nor a synod of churches. It is a company of
individuals who are agreed to co-operate for one object, and it
may be for no more.
"Strict communion has been carried on in Canada beyond
anything that is known here. I know there is not a church
reported on the minutes of the Hamilton Convention (except it
may be Peterboro', and I know not but that is practically strict)
which is not as strict so far as receiving unbaptized communi
cants is concerned as the churches in New England. Some of
the strongest churches in this country have for many years
communed with the baptized members of pedo-baptist churches.
" The correspondents of Dr. Williams and Brother Lathropi
and also those of the New York Recorder, have practised (it may
be unconsciously to themselves) a mystification on these esteemed
brethren as to the open communionism of the Canadian churches.
The words should have been defined by the accusers of the
Canadian brethren. For the sake of stating my meaning in few
words, I shall give a definite case. The first Baptist church in
Providence, the oldest in America, has always, since the days of
Roger Williams, communed with baptized believers, restricting
the ordinance only thus far. None need be told of the ability
and intelligence of this church, The faculty of Brown Univer
sity have been members of it successively for three-quarters of a
century. Now some Canadians would call this church "open
communion," but it has never occurred to the brethren on this
side to do so.
"I mention the above things simply as facts. Now, if less
strictness is insisted upon in this country, where it is much
easier to be rigid than it is among such a diversified population
as that of Canada, we cannot fail to see that the rule attempted
to be enforced by some in the western section of the Province,
must scatter the Baptist forces. I am persuaded that the narrow
interpretation given by many to the word "regular," and the
harsh spirit in which unhappily sometimes their interpretation
has been enforced, have made more irregular Baptists than all

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 229
the open communion preachers and semi-Campbellite teachers
put together. Whatever is overdone will produce a reaction.
" When the first principle of Baptist Church polity is fully
guaranteed, viz., that each church is the exclusive guardian of
is own discipline and ordinances, surely no church can fear con
tamination by aiding an olg'ect of which it heartily approves. If
the society that asks the assistance of a church should directly or
indirectly claim any power over its affairs, it should, say " No!" in
tones of thunder. But this can never be the case in a society of
individuals and not of churches.
"Surely all the Baptists in the Province must be agreed in
the important work of sending the gospel to their destitute
fellow-countrymen. 0, were the whole denomination in Canada
to unite, shoulder to shoulder, in this, leaving all those points
which no society has the right or the power to regulate, to the
exclusive management of the several churches, what a glorious
day would soon dawn on the whole body !
"I love the Baptists in spite of their faults, and though it is
not probable that I shall again lift my voice in the assemblies of
my Canadian brethren, yet " I canna forget them." I will ever
rejoice in their prosperity. May God bless the efforts of Brother
Pyper, and of the other good men and true who have yet
longer borne the burden and heat of the day for their good.
"One word about education before I close this communica
tion, which has spun itself out to such a length. It must be
self-evident to any clear-sighted man that nothing but a Cana
dian Institution can supply Canada with a ministry. I have
lived on both sides of the line, and am satisfied that the de
nomination in Canada lose much in every way by sending their
sons to be educated in this county. Society on the two sides'
of the line differs widely in sympathy, modes of thought, &c.
If the candidates for the ministry are young men of talent, they
are almost sure to be picked up here ; if they are not, Canada
scarcely wants them. They lose in sympathy and in patriotic
feeling when their tastes and habits of thought are formed here.
I do not think any well- wisher to Canada would like to see it a
mere appendage, a kind of spiritual fief, of the United States.
And those who are educated here can scarcely help imbibing the
notion or feeling that all countries under the sun are secondary
to this. I do not blame the Amerh-ans for their high apprecia
tion of their country. 1 think it is proper and amiable in men

230 LIFE AND LABORS OF
to love their country. But it is quite a difierent affair when
this feeling is rooted in the heart of one who moans to spend
his days in a different land.
" Your enterprise fully proves that you are all aware of these
things in Canada; and I have only to wish you most heartily
'God's speed' in your efforts. If you are fortunate in your
choice of a professor I have no doubt of your ultimate success."
" With kind wishes for yourself and family,
" I remain, yours truly, "R. A. Fyfe."
The independence of the individual church, the prin
ciple that "each church is the exclusive guardian of its
own discipline and ordinances," is, it will be noted, in
Mr. Fyfe's view, the corner-stone of. Baptist Church
polity, and the true safeguard of Baptist order and
orthodoxy. The stress he was disposed to lay upon this
principle is very clearly seen in a letter which he sent to
the Register in July, 1849. The occasion was a difficulty
that arose at the meeting of the Johnstown Association
in that year, in consequence of the peculiar action of the
church at Farmersville in rejecting councils, and the im
position of hands, in the ordination of its pastor. An
effort was first made to bring the church under censure
or exclusion for violation of the constitution of the
Association. The Farmersville brethren replied effec
tively that said constitution contained nothing definite
or decisive on the point. It was then proposed to bring
the offending church to the test of Scripture in regard to
their action. Though Mr. Fyfe evidently thought the
church entirely wrong in its views and practices, he
states the doctrine of independence clearly, ably, and
with manifest sympathy as follows, showing both his
candor and his loyalty to sound doctrine : —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. £31
"This course was at once opposed, on the very sensible
ground that, though a voluntary union ha.s the right to discuss
any question which it may think proper, it has no right to try
or judge any person by any other standard than its own constitu
tion and laws. That a voluntary society has a right to frame
its own constitution and by-laws cannot bo doubted. These
may be too lax, or they may be over rigid. Such points must
be examined by the parties about, to join the society. After
having joined the body, all parties become amenable to its con
stitution and laws. But a voluntary society entirely changes its
character when it appeals to an authority paramount to its own
constitution. An association proceeding to judge one of the
churches comprising it by Scripture, and not by its constitution,
becomes at once a presbytery, because it assumes that Scripture
has made direct provision for its existence and endowed it with
certain powers and authority."
In after years, when Dr. Fyfe had returned to Western
Canada and been long and cordially engaged in labor in
connection with its strict communion churches, some of
those who had been originally in accord with him, though
perhaps on narrower grounds, were unable to see the
consistency of his course. The criticisms of such finally
drew forth the following letter in the Canadian Baptist,
which will form an interesting addition and a fitting
close to the history of this long and mischievous con
troversy : —
" Some of those who once hailed as my friends have been
making efforts, at various times, to show up my supposed incon
sistency, by publishing extracts from a certain letter which I
wrote eleven years ago from Warren, R.I. ; and by representing
the views I now hold in regard to certain ecclesiastical matters
as utterly irreconcilable with the views I then held. I think I
have some claim upon your columns for a merely personal de
fence ; and I owe it to myself, and to the relation I hold to the
denomination, to make one. I might remark that I am not one
of the number who would brand a public man for a mere change
of opinion. I cannot see wherein consists the shame in a man

232 LIFE AND LABORS OF
saying that he is wiser to-day, in some respects, than he was
eleven or more years ago. Yet there are those, and they, perhaps,
the very parties who could least afford to have the views which
they held at one period of their lives set by the side of those
which they held at another, who are ready to seize upon any
change in the views of public men as an occasion of reproach to
them. 1 think this course is neither generous nor just. But to
my point — 1 have not changed my views an atom. I endorse at
this moment every sentiment expressed in the extracts from that
now celebrated Warren letter as heartily, as truly, as I did on
the day I wrote it. I have not varied a hair's breadth ; and
were parties and things just as they were in Canada when I
penned that letter, I would this day protest against them as
strongly as ever. As the large majority of the leading Baptist
ministers, west of Kingston, were not in Canada at the time that
letter was written, I must be allowed to refer to a few facts.
Fortunately there are a sufficient number of ministers still left
who can attest, if need be, the statements I have to make.
" When I commenced my labors as a minister in Canada, now
nearly twenty-one years ago, there was no general missionary
society among the Canadian Baptists, except the 'Canada Baptist
Missionary Society,' the prominent managers of which held open
communion sentiments. On conversing with Dr. Davies and
Mr. Girdwood about that time, they told me that they held
communion with Pedobaptists, merely as a Christian privilege,
which they could and would forego if the exercise of this
privilege was a grief to their brethren ; for that they felt a
greater affinity even for strict Baptists than they did for Pedo
baptists. These were their principles. Moreover, their ' society '
aided chiefly strict Baptist churches. As there was no other
society, I co-operated with this, rather than do nothing. I tried
to amend the constitution more than once, so as to make it more
acceptable to strict Baptists ; and I should have succeeded, had
strict Baptists taken hold of the society, for by our numbers we
could have easily controlled it.
"In 1844 I settled in Toronto, still being a supporter of the
C. B. M. Societ}'. In the west, however, strong objections were
felt to this organization and to me, strict Baptist as I always
was, for advocating its claims. The continued efforts of the
friends of this society to get the 'regular' Baptists of the West
to co-operate, raised such a feeling among the regulars of those

REV. R. A 7YFE, D.D. 233
times, that it became almost a:i article of their creed, that they
would have no fellowship with the society, or with any that
supported it. The following facts will illustrate this: In 1845,
when pastor in Toronto, I went west to organize, if possible,
some educational movement. I was authorized by some friends
in Toronto to promise $IJ00 per annum for four years, on Certain
conditions. But though all the western brethren there present
at the meeting (not a very large company) could only promise
$200, they would not allow a single director to be appointed
from Toronto ! The church and I were to be distrusted. At
last one said, "We cannot co-operate with you in anything; but
give us your money, and we will take care of it !" A year before
that, one of the "regular" Baptist ministers travelled on in
advance of one member of a deputation from the C. B. M.
, Society, to break up his appointments before he could reach
them. In 1848 a regular Baptist minister, who attended a
chapel dedication with myself, refused to commune with me,
because 1 told him I would commune with an open communion
Baptist, provided he would abstain from practising his. views
to the grief of his brethren. And my associate at the chapel
dedication actually sat in a corner, without communing, while
I broke bread to the church, after having preached a sermon !
In the st! me year, in the Niagara Association, regarded at that
time as the most favorable to a liberal policy, 1 was refused a
seat in that body, (though my church was strict, and I had
always been strict,) because I represented the C. B. M. Society;
and the leader (not now* in Canada) of the "regulars" assailed
me personally after he had closed my mouth by getting the as
sociation to refuse to allow me to speak! Well, at the close of
the next year, I left Canada and went to Warren, R. I., and
there I wrote the letter referred to, against the kind of regular-
ism that I had known in Western Canada — against the spirit
and tendencies indicated by the above facts. Any person can
see the very plain meaning of my Warren letter in the light of
these and similar facts. I was absent from Canada six years ;
durin" this time the "irrepressible conflict" went on and
wrought out some important changes ; and unless these had
taken place, I never should have again set my feet in Canada.
In i83:5, when the Bond Street Baptist church recalled me to
the pastorate, I received urgent letters —(no less than seven-

234 LIFE AND LABORS OF
teen were sent to me before I consented to return) from all
parties, pressing me to accept the call 
When I returned, I found the following to be the state
of things. The leading open communionists, (Dr. Davies,
for example) had become very sore, and had changed their
ground on the subject of communion. Dr. Davies no longer
regarded communion with Pedobaptists as a privilege which he
could forego in deference to the views of his strict brethren, but
as a duty which he must perform. A more radical change can
not well be conceived. And he was followed in this by his
friends. And yet these people severely censure me, because I
cannot co-operate with them, as I did before this change took
place in them. If any desire confirmation of this statement
in regard to Dr. Davies, they will find it in the fyles of the
Watchman and Reflector, where the Doctor avows his change
over his own signature, and expresses his regret that he had
not changed earlier.
After I came back to Canada, then, I found, on the one
hand, my old friends among the open communionists changed
in spirit and tendency ; while, on the other, I found a
very marked and favorable change among the " regulars,"
of which I had been fuily informed by open communion
correspondents themselves. Iu 1853, at a very large Con
vention, they had agreed to define what they meant by
" regular Baptist " — one of the most important acts ever per
formed by them in Canada. They declared that churches which
restrict their communion to baptised believers, and administer the
ordinances generally through ordained Elders, should be con
sidered regular. This platform I found when I returned to
Canada. I cordially embraced it. I believe it is liberal enough
on the one hand, and none too liberal on the other. Finding
then, on my return to Canada, people who held the views
which I had always held, and who were prepared to co-operate
with all who held the above views, I have taken hold and
wrought with them, as I should have done, had the same state
of things existed when I first entered the ministry. I fearlessly
assert that the scenes which were enacted between 1842 and
1852, among the Baptists, could not possibly occur now. There
is no tendency in that direction among us. " Regularism,"
which some find it so convenient to hurl as a term of reproach
against their Western brethren, has been very difierent during

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 235
the last ten years from what it was during the ten years pre
viously. And no man at all acquainted with the history of the
denomination could pretend that the " ism " was just the same
during the two periods. Now, out of some hundred and ten
settled Baptist ministers, west of Kingston, over sixty have
come into the field within ten years, and these include a great
majority of our most prominent ministers. Besides, the mem
bership has nearly doubled in our churches during that time.
So that, with a liberal platform, with a majority of new minis
ters and members, the " ism " cannot be the same. Any honest
man might be justified in opposing the spirit and measures of
the first decade, while he might be a defender of those in the
last decade. During the last twenty-one years, I have never
changed in my views or practice in regard to church order.
Since I returned to Canada, 1 have avoided mentioning these
old grievances, so many were grieved and pained by them ; and
I should not now have alluded to them, had I not wished to
vindicate myself, and to remind my brethren in the ministry, of
the blessings we enjoy as compared with the past. We are in
the enjoyment of peace now, and all we require is to cherish
the spirit of confidence and brotherly love toward each other,
and to maintain, in the spirit of Christ, the platform on which
we have so comfortably co-operated for the last ten years.
"I am, very truly, etc.,
" R. A. Fyfe.
"Woodstock, Feb. 9, 1863."

-*0^J

CHAPTER XVI ri.

Reasons for Leaving' Canada — Resignation Opposed — Ax Earnest
Protest — Settlement ii* Warren — Plain Preaching and
its Effects — A Successful Pastorate — A Fault Confessed
—A Proffered Honor — A Critical Period — Extracts from
Sermons — Should Christians Meddle with Politics— Obli
gations of Christian Citizenship — The Fugitive Slavf.
Law — Principles Discussed — A Rule Laid Down — Are
Slaves Morally Bound by the Laws of Their Masters ?
HkjHERE can be no doubt that the facts and corre-
(ctl, spondence given in the preceding chapter indicate
Mr. Fyfe's main reason for resigning the pastorate of the
Perth church and leaving the Province. On the one
hand his loyalty to the Canada Baptist Missionary
Society and the cause of Baptist union had, as he him
self intimates, made his relations with his Western
brethren constrained, if not painful. On the other, the
failure of his effort to reform the constitution of the
.Society, and the modes of working of his brethren in the
East, had disheartened him and caused him to despair of
.any cordial co-operation, to say nothing of closer union,
between the Baptists of the two sections. With the
hope of such union, the main bond which had for some
•time previous held him in the Province, was taken away.
Hence his determination to seek a more congenial and
'promising field of labor.

SEV. K. A. FYFE, D.D. 237
His brethren of the Perth church were, as has already
appeared, filled with disappointment and regret at his
intended departure. They did their best to prevent it.
The minutes of the church state that the members at first
refused to accept his proffered resignati.on, and only did
so reluctantly at an adjourned meeting. The following
letter explains itself : — "Pekth, Sept. 29th. 1884.
"Dear Beother, — In church meeting to-day, Bro. Thomson
moved, seconded by Bro. Kellock, the following resolution,
which was carried unanimously, and which I was instructed
to communicate to you : — ' That the church having heard the
determination of Mr. Fyfe, in regard to his resignation, feels
very great regret on account of the step which he is taking,
and, although unable, from the terms of their connection, to
claim his remaining as a right, it cannot but express its con
viction that his leaving at this time does not appear to it to
be altogether the path of duty. It, therefore, very strongly
urges him to a reconsideration of the matter, before taking his
final step.
" 'The very evident tokens of Divine favor which have been
given in connection with his labors in Perth, make this
expression of the church's opinion, a duty of the most im
perative kind. '
" I need not add, dear brother, that my sentiments are in ac
cord with those expressed by Brother Thomson and Brother
Kellock. Nor need I say how much it will grieve me to know
that your determination cannot be altered. I know that God
can work in this place by another, as well as he can by you ;
but will another ever be to » < what you are 1 Will any people
ever love you as we do ? No never !
"Yours truly, M. McDonnell."
Mr. Fyfe left Perth probably in October. In that
month or November, he was invited to preach for a few
Sabbaths for the church in Warren, Rhode Island. His
hearers were so well pleased that on the 6th of Decern-

238 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ber the church voted that he be invited to become its
pastor. He accepted the invitation, and for about three
years and a half labored very acceptably in that field.
Through the kindness of the present clerk of the Warren
Church, and of Rev. Louis A. Pope, its pastor, some few
facts have been gathered in respect to his work in
Warren. His preaching there was characterized by the
same straightforwardness and plainness of speech for
which it had been conspicuous in Toronto and Perth.
His words, the clerk says, speaking from ^recollection as
well as from the book, were so direct and pointed that
some -persons in the congregation became solicitous to
know who had been describing their personal characters
to him. Soon after the commencement of his ministra
tions there was a marked increase of religious interest.
" Converts offered themselves for baptism, and wanderers
returned to the fold. The congregation continually
increased in numbers, and the church was greatly bless
ed." Here, too, as in Canada, he interested himself
warmly in the missionary cause, and exerted himself
specially on behalf of the Grand Ligne Mission. He was
the means of awakening a greatly increased interest in
missions. During the first year of his pastorate the
church, by no means a strong one, raised about $700 for
missionary and other benevolent purposes, not including
a box of clothing, valued at $150, contributed by the
sisters of the church for the Grand Ligne Mission. In
1852 the benevolent contributions, under the operation
of a systematic method introduced by the pastor, reached
the largest total known in the history of the church.
There is, surely, no better criterion of the spirituality of
pastor, or flock. Nor did they wholly forget their own

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 239
interests, for in this year the church purchased a fine
organ, costing $2,500.
Mr. Pope adds that Mr. Fyfe "was very popular, and
gathered by far the largest congregation in the history
of the church." "The congregation came to average, on
pleasant Sundays, five hundred persons, an immense
number for any church. Mr. Fyfe's eloquence and
general winningness of manner largely accounted for
this great enlargement. The increase in the congregation
continued up to the very end of his pastorate. It may
be safely said that the Warren church never was served
by a better preacher than Mr. Fyfe."
" While he was at Warren, R. I., I often met him and
formed a very pleasing acquaintance. I felt that he was
a man of most lovely spirit and of great promise." So
writes Rev. A. P. Mason, D.D., Secretary for New England,
of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. There
is a pleasure, which we would not readily forego, in
accumulating testimony, and especially the testimony of
those who are themselves occupying posts of distinguished
usefulness, to the virtues of our departed friends.
There is no perfi ction in human character. Dr. Fyfe
would have been one of the last to claim any approach
to it in his own history. Even some of the traits which
were the very source of his power, such as his native
strength of >\rill, and his warm-hearted impulsiveness
verging on impetuosity, may have occasionally betrayed
him into indiscretion, and given occasion for reproach.
Some such shade seems to have been momentarily cast
upon the otherwise bright picture of his Warren pas
torate. No particulars are to hand, nor are such neces
sary. The incident is alluded to only as a biographical

240 LIFE AND LABORS OF
fact. Suffice it to say that the fault, of whatever nature,
involved no moral turpitude, and was repented of as soon
as brought home to consciousness. Perhaps no nearer
approach to absolute rectitude can be hoped for in fallible
humanity than that of the man who, while always striv
ing earnestly to do the right, and generally succeeding,
is, when he now and then fails, quick to discover, and
brave to confess, his errors in opinion or conduct.
Nothing but a grand Christian manliness could give one
grace to say, as Dr. Fyfe said, in substance, on the occa
sion referred to: "Though innocent ii act and intention,
I have done wrong. I have brought pain to the la arts
of my brethren. I have given to those who are not
followers of the Master occasion for reproach. I am
deeply sorry. Brethren, forgive me!" It n.ed not be
told that the forgiveness asked was freely and heartily
bjstowed, and the strong bond of mutual confidence and
love thus re-knitted, maintained, so far as appears, un
broken to the end. When he left for another locality in
June, 1853, he and Mrs. Fyfe carried with them letters
of cordial and affectionate recommendation from the
church he had so well served.
Amongst the few private papers referring to this
period of his life is one from Providence, by the corre
sponding seeretarj' of the Rhode Island Alpha of the
Phi-Beta-Kappa Society, notifying him that he hud been
elected a member of the society, at its annual meeting.
There is nothing to show whether he availed himself of
the proffered membership, but this spontaneous action on
the part of that society affords an indication of the esti
mation in which his character and talents were held
beyond the limits of the locality in which he lived and
labored.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 241
At the time of his sojourn in Rhode Island, Mr. Fyfe
may justly be considered to have nearly reached the full
maturity of his powers. Some of his sermons, which
bear internal evidence of having been prepared during
the Warren pastorate, are amongst the finest he ever
delivered. Those were stirring times in the United
States history. Political excitement was at fever heat,
and great moral issues were involved. Like the years of
stiuggle for liberty of conscience and religious equality
through which Canada had just passed and even in a
still greater degree, it was one of those occasions in the
history of a people which the pulpit cannot ignore-
When such a struggle as that which arose in connection
with the Fugitive Slave Law is in progress, the minister
( f Christ cannot look on in cowardly silence, without
proving recreant to the very spirit of Christianity.
Robert A. Fyfe was not the man to shirk duty in such a
case. He spoke out freely, boldly, yet with singular
calmness and moderation. The limits of this volume
will not admit of more than a couple of extracts, but
those will be read with interest, not only for the sake of
the very important principles discussed, but also for the
clearness and ability, rising sometimes into genuine
eloquence, with which the speaker's views are presented.
The following is from his Thanksgiving Day sermon,
Nov. 25, 1852. The text is Exodus xviii., 21 : —
"At certain times, and among certain people at all times, it
is common to denounce party politics, to speak as if there was
something very corrupt and bad in the mere connection] with
any organized political party. This horror is professedly felt,
not with any particular party, but with partyism.^r And
specially are religious men denounced, if they meddle' with
party politics. And many simple-hearted, good people refuse

242 LIFE AND LABORS OF
to join any of the organized political parties. On the one hand,
it must be confessed that there is often a great deal of corrup
tion, venality and trickery, connected with party politics ; and
good men and true may feel ashamed and mortified to be in any
.way connected with such things. And there may be times and
circumstances when men may refuse to act with the party
which they have usually sustained, without meriting the
reproach of being deserters. For example, the great leaders of
the party may suppose that a crisis has come — and if we are
to believe politicians this country has experienced very many
crises — and they may commit the party to a certain policy.
That is a new issue and I may refuse to adopt it. if 1 am
under some obligation to respect the principles and judgment
of the leaders, they are under obligation to respect those of the
people by whom they are sent. If the leaders have a right to
think for themselves, so have the members of the party. And
they can be kept together only by mutual concessions. But
though there may be circumstances which justify breaking away
from a party — such as gross corruption or change of platform
by the leaders, yet, on the other hand, we must bear in mind
what all this outcry against party politics generally means.
The cry ' I do not believe in party politics,' may be reduced
practically to this, ' I want to join a third party.' In popular
governments a company of neutrals has in some sense the in
fluence of a third party. And very generally third parties, no
matter what called them into being, become more venal, and
really occasion more corruption, than both the leading parties
could have perpetrated without them. Like Lord Stanley's
army at the battle of Bosworth, they in the end join the party
tha.t will pay them best. Whatever may be the professions of
men, this is generally their practice. Years of observation in
another country, and the perusal of the records of the past, have
convinced me that third parties in politics must, if they would
not remain mere cyphers, combine with those who will give
them most influence and weight. And this very necessity in
their case would 'in time corrupt angels.
" Again, political parties in a state, if conducted upon hon
orable principles, are a blessing and not an evil. I should
deprecate the putting of all the power and patronage of this
vast country into the hands of any class of men, unless there
were a strong party whose interest it was to watch their pro-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 243
ceedings. If men were perfect this would not be needed, but
human perfection does not exist. And in every free country
on earth there are parties, and the 'outs' are a check upon the
ms. ^ The mere fact that a politician belongs to a particular
party is no reason why he should be denounced, for those who
denounce party politics are themselves virtually members of
another party, whose creed is not avowed, and which is not so
thoroughly organized.
" But is it meant by denouncing party politics to condemn the
dishonorable tricks, the frauds and corruptions which are
practised? These things are quite as worthy of denunciation
when associated with any politics as when they are connected
with parties. The dishonorable course and the corruption
should be denounced wherever found, but I know not that they
belong necessarily to parties any more than to politics gener
ally, or to the conduct of fallen men generally. I am suspicious,
therefore, of this outcry against party politics. It seems to me
that a good citizen will act with that party which is, in his
judgment, upon the whole, more nearly right. He should not
leave it because it does not in everything meet his ideas.
Unless it violates fundamental principles of right, it should not
be forsaken.
"It is a common thing among some Christian people to
counsel against meddling with politics. They are corrupting.
And sometimes the most venal of the partisan newspapers will
piously repeat this advice to Christians and to Christian
ministers. I question not the piety and sincerity of many
Christians who feel thus, yet I have long questioned the wis
dom, or, indeed, true piety, of their course. I see not how
Christian men can consistently pray God to give them righteous
rulers if they give up their election to the devil and his ser
vants. I see not how they can have wise and good men in
authority unless they help to place them there. It is true, if
a Christian man engage in politics he is in danger of going too
far. He may become a mere partisan without principle or
honesty, or" he may become involved in some of the dishonor
able movements which are too often taken as proof of political
wisdom. He may have his spirit chafed or cankered by coming
in contaot with others. All this is true ; and the only safe
guard I can think of is great watch-care and Divine protection.
The question is, Has God made it my duty to. take any interest

244 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in the characters of those who may be appointed to authority ?
If he has, then there must be a way in which I can discharge
my duty without disgrace or stain. Nay, there must be a way
in which I can please God in so doing. There is no necessity
for acting in a wrong manner, or in a bad spirit, even in party
politics. , I do not think, therefore, any Christian man should
shrink from his duty in political matters mote than in anything
else. A man is in great danger of becoming too worldly if he
engage in business. And yet no one thinks of saying, 'You
must give up all business for fear of cultivating the spirit of
covetousness or avarice.' All we can say is, 'Set a double
guard at the point of danger.' "
Arc not lbo-e wise words? If there is so much of
corruption, of venality, of extravagance and fraud in
Canadian politics to-day, as most of us are apt to think
and declare, would it not be well for Canadian Christians
and Canadian ministers to ask themselves whether they
are doing their whole duty in the matter ?
Another sermon, based on Mark xii., 17, and bearing
on the Fugitive Slave Law, contains the following spirited
passage : —
"It is asked, Should this law be strictly enforced? Some
are found also on both sides of, this question. There are those
who would regard this law as a mere form, as something passed
to blind or pacify the South. To this view there are decided
objections. Legislators should never play at law-making. It
is too solemn an employment to be treated iu this way. And
that law which is not designed, or is not fit, to be enforced
should not be retained in the Statute Book. Does this law
violate the law of God? Some affirm and others deny. On
this point we can judge for ourselves. 'Thou shalt not deliver
unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master
unto thee. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that
place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh
him best. Thou shalt not oppress him.' There are many
other passages of similar character and import, but one direct
passage is all that need be presented. I suppose that this

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 245
principle laid down in the Word of God is not to be used to
protect a criminal — a slave who has robbed his master and
then absconded. And in the case of Philemon and Onesimus,
of which so much use has been made by slave-holders, the fact
is overlooked that Onesimus robbed his master, and was pro
bably restored to "him by the Apostle on that account. There
is no way that I can conceive of evading the force of the above
passage quoted from the 23rd chapter of Deuteronomy, 15th and
16th verses. This precept was given to the Jews, what then?
Surely it will not be asserted that Christianity is less humane,
less anxious to protect the rights of suffering humanity, than
was Judaism. And those masters who are so eager to recover
their slaves that they are willing to bear all the difficulties and
obloquy which slave-catchers must meet in almost any part of
the Northern States, are very often the very characters to
whom slaves should not be returned. I should question or
doubt the existence of kindly or generous feeling in those
who should show themselves so anxious to recapture the fugi
tive, and so indifferent to public sentiment. Be this correct or
not, I say we cannot overlook the law of God already quoted
in regard to those who have been guilty of nothing but escaping
from bondage. Or, take the practical rule laid clown by our
Saviour : 'Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them.' Apply this principle
to the case in hand. Neither the color of a man's skin, nor his
poverty, nor his ignorance, or want of intelligence, can possibly
affect the force of this great rule for the guidance of human
conduct. I conclude, then, that the recent enactment in regard
to fugitive slaves clashes with the requirements of the Holy
Scriptures — that the claims of Csesar interfere with those of
G id. The question is, How are we to act in this case ? Why,
1 suppose we must suffer the consequence of that law till we
can, by constitutional means, effect its repeal or modification.
Suppose a fugitive should come to me and ask shelter and pro
tection, he should have the best I could give him, always
supposing that he is not a criminal. The new law tells me I
do so at my peril. Well,! shall meekly face the peril. If I
am called upon to assist in capturing a slave, I refuse, dis
tinctly understanding that I am liable to a heavy fine for eo
acting. On the other hand I would not join any mobs to res
cue captured fugitives from the hands of the officers of the

246 LIFE AND LABORS OF
law. In the principle I am endeavoring to explain, there is no
active opposition to the law, but a passive obedience to it. For
in one point of view law always gives man a choice, It says to
him : — ' Do this and such shall be the results,' or 'Leave it un
done and other consequences shall follow.' We make our
choice between obeying men, and obeying'God, and we are
ready in His strength to meet all the consequences which a
modest, humble and meek obedience to his requirements may
entail upon us. It appears to me that somewhat too sweeping
doctrines have been proclaimed in high places in regard to the
obligatoriness of the instruments of human governments. For
example Judge Judson recently said : ' We are led to believe
and know that the constitution of the United States, framed
a^ it was in wisdom and patriotism, is our paramount law, and
must guide and govern every man who has taken his oath for
its support. No man's conscience can justify its infraction or
excuse its rejection, in whole or in part.' Now this latter part
especially appears to me to contain a very grave, and somewhat
dangerous, doctrine. And it is the more dangerous because
the whole opinion contains so much truth. According to the
above doctrine, it would be impossible to amend any constitu
tion that had been confessedly framed in wisdom and patriot
ism, and there could be no possible progress in the science of
government. Every man would be compelled to perpetuate
forever an error which his forefathers had not discovered. I
protest against any human instrument whatever being exalted
to a dictatorship over conscience, except so far as that instru
ment accords with the revealed will of God in respect to the
matters of which it treats. But whilst I would reject the
doctrine of Judge Judson as trenching upon the true province
and authority of conscience, I would with equal earnestness
rebuke the spirit that would trifle with so solemn an instru
ment as the constitution of a great country. It is not every
hand that should be permitted to touch such a document. Nor
are the men who will do nothing till it be altered or explained to
their liking, worthy of being heard on so serious a subject as
altering a constitution, for they have not yet learned the first
principle of a good popular government — viz , forbearance.
Wise men have long ago learned that there is nothing human
which is entirely perfect, and should everything be pulled to
pieces and altered as soon as an imperfection is discovered in

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 247
it, nothing human conld be established for twenty-four hours
together. It is a happy circumstance that in most of the real occur
rences of life, there are accidental properties which will help to
teach a really sincere and honest man his duty in the case. In
the case of each fugitive slave, for example, there will be cir
cumstances that will help to guide us in our treatment of him.
It may be a woman fleeing to preserve her virtue, or a man
escaping from cruel oppression, and the wrath of an unreason
able master. For though such things are happily of compara
tively rare occurrence, yet I believe they do occur. There
may be a hundred circumstances of a similar character that
may direct the honest and benevolent. On the other hand
the whole system of sending to the South, or any where else, to
entice away slaves, to preach insurrection or circulate in-
flamatory publications, is worse than foolish ; it is a violation
of the whole Spirit of Christanity. And the fugitive who
should arm himself and defy the law, would most certainly, so
far as 1 am concerned, be left to fight his own battle. For a
man with his spirit could be no good citizen in a free country.
The ground which I should take, and try to defend, is this. A
simple fugitive, not being a criminal, who should quietly seek
protection from us, should have it — and should such a one be
accused of crime, let his guilt be shown as that of another man
would be. He could not be tried fairly at the South under
existing laws ; then let him be at the North. And if found
guilty of nothing but claiming his freedom, then he should not
be given up, because this is expressly forbidden by the word of
G0d: — "Thou shalt not deliver unto his master, the servant
which is escaped from his master unto thee." Because it is in
human to do so. The fugitive comes to us, an outcast, a home
less wanderer. He is destitute of means. He is without friends.
His heart knoweth its own bittterness and alas, it is an utter
stranger to joy. Wife, or child, or home, he has never been
permitted to call his own. He comes therefore as a living draft
upon our humanity and charity, and it is cruel to dishonor the
only human confidence that he has ever been permitted to
cherish. He sho-ild not be given up because doing so, would
violate the sacred law of hospitality to the stranger. Thus we
are forbidden as Christians, as men, as social beings, to deliver
up the fugitive to his master."

248 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The Fugitive Slave Law is happily long since a dead
issue, and, more happily still, the "institution" itself
lies buried in the same grave. Were it not so, some of
us mig' t be disposed to question the soundness of the
views expressed in the foregoing, in one or two par
ticulars. The assumption that the slave was morally
bound as a citizen by the constitution and laws, not of
his own country, for alas ! he had none, but of his
master's, seems especially open to objection. Much might,
perhaps, be said in favor of the converse of the proposi
tion based on this assumption. Had a Canadian or
American Anglo-Saxon been the slave and the negro the
master, we are not suio but that even Mr. Fyfe's views
would have been so much modified, unconsciously, of
course, that he would have been rather inclined to say
that the fugitive slave who would not, if opportunity
offered, arm himself and resist recapture to the death'
could be no good citizen. But those were ticklish times,
and it was no doubt wise for the moulders of public
opinion to keep well within the mark so long as any
hope of a peaceful solution remained.
The following extract from Mr. Fyfe's letter making
his resignation of the Warren pastorate final, sufficiently
explains itself : —
" About a month since Iintimated to the Committee that on
account of my not being able to live upon my salary, and
for reasons personal to myself, 1 should have to resign my
charge of the church. Subsequently the friends came promptly
forward and proposed raising my salary so as to remove that
difficulty out of the way. When this was first intimated to me '
I for a moment wavered. But upon a review of the case I have
concluded to tender my resignation notwithstanding,. My reasons
are mainly of a personal character and fully satisfy me that this
is the best course, although I do not think it best to communi-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.

249

cate those reasons. I am aware, my brethren, that many are
tried, and it may be saddened, by my decision, and some may
think me unwise or unreasonable. It is painful to me to grieve
or sadden my brethren, or to forfeit their good opinion, yet I
believe that all will give me credit for at least intending to act
for the best."

CHAPTER XIX.

Call to Milwaukee— Also to Canada — Milwaukee Chosen — Two
Busy Years— Peace-Making — Founding Educational Insti
tutions — "Spiritism" — Recall to Toronto — Farewell
Words— Reasons for Leavinu— Christianity Cosmopolitan
— Faithful Friendships.
j;lO ECEIVED a unanimous call from the Milwaukee
J£pV church and accepted it, on Thursday, Nov. 3rd
1853. Left Brookline Nov 15th, and reached Milwaukee
on the 19th."
Such is the brief record, in a few pages of diary which
;have been preserved, of Mr. Fyfe's next pastoral engage
ment. The original letter of the church clerk, conveying
ttb.e call, contains no further particulars except that the
stipend offered was at the rate of one thousand dollars
per annum.
In a notice of the call and acceptance the New York
Recorder says that " Mr. Fyfe was at the same time invited
to a post of importance in Canada West, the scene of his
earlier ministry, but declined it in view of considerations
which gave the Milwaukee pastorate — among the most
important in the North -West — the preference."
A letter from Bowmanville, dated Oct. 22nd, 1853, and
signed by Rev. William Hewson, indicates the nature of

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 251
the invitation to return to Canada, above referred to. Mr.
Hewson writes, on behalf of a committee which he says
'' consists of more than twenty of our leading men," to ask
Mr. Fyfe to return to Canada, — from which, in Mr. Hew.
son's opinion, he "ought never to have gone," — "to take
the editorship of a Weekly Baptist Paper, to be the organ
of the Regular Baptists of Canada." The paper was to
be commenced -on the first of the ensuing year, immedi
ately upon the discontinuance of the Monthly Observer,
and was, like it, to be published in Toronto. Mr. Hewson
assures Mr. Fyfe that his wras the only name which had
met the unanimous approbation of the meeting, and
assigns the following as some of the reasons which in
duced the committee to hope that he would accede to their
request : —
"I. You are a man in whom all parties have confidence as
a man of talent and sound principle.
"II. You are a Canadian, and as such will at once secure
the confidence and sympathy of the people.
" III. You are intimately acquainted with the history of
our denomination in Canada, and know all the men who have
been active in the cause.
" IV. As the editor of a public journal you will be able to
exert a more widespread influence than you could in the more
limited sphere of a pastoral charge.
" "V. You will find more able backers than any Baptist
editor in Canada has ever had, and more than any other man
could have.
"The denomination is much changed for the better since you
were here. It is much larger. There is more intelligence and
a much better spirit than formerly. All that can have confi
dence in one another are now united. Our Missionary Society
is prospering. Maclay College is nearly endowed and will soon
go into operation.
" The political aspects are such as to demand from the
denomination a manly and talented support of a sound policy
in respect to the Clergy Reserves, <&c."

252 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Mr. Hewson's letter is very warm and urgent through
out, and in closing he says that he is so elated with the
prospect of Mr. Fyfe's return that language cannot
express his feelings. His ardent hopes were, as we have
seen, doomed for the present to disappointment. Mr.
Fyfe, for reasons satisfactory, no doubt, to his own mind
and conscience, elected to go to Milwaukee. Probably he
felt that the time was not yet ripe for his return to
Canada. The Milwaukee pastorate, though less than two yeais
in duration, was. like all Mr. Fyfe's engagements, crowded
full of active and efficient service. During all his life,
until fatal disease had laid its wasting hand upon body
and brain, intense energy was one of his ruling charac
teristics. To what extent his work in Milwaukee was successful
depends upon the meaning given to the term " success."
In the highest sense no faithful labor for Christ can
fail. Its results are as sure as its rewards, and both are
secured by the safest of all guarantees — the eternal
promise and purpose of Him whose plans never- fail.
From the point of view accessible to human observation,
which is obliged to content itself with measuring rates of
progress by reports and statistics, his pastoral work
seems to have been much less fruitful than that expended
in the broader fields of missionary and educational effort.
Through the kindness of some who were associated with
him in those early efforts, and who happily are still
serving the Master in the West, the following facts have
been ascertained :
Rev. J. W.' Fish, now of Chicago, writes : —
" I knew Dr. Fyfe intimately during his pastorate in Mil
waukee, as during that time I was serving as General Missionary

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 253
of the American Baptist Home Mission Society in the State of
Wisconsin. I am not able to give the statistics of the church
during his pastorate, but can say in general that his work was
successful and very acceptable to the church. He was active in
the work of organizing our missionary and educational societies,
was one of the corporate members, and one of the Committee of
Location, of what is now Way land Seminary at Beaver Dam.
"No man ever labored among the Baptists in that State who
more endeared himself to his brethren, or left a better record for
integrity and efficiency in every regard."
Rev. E. D. Underwood, of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is
able to enter more fully into particulars. He writes:' —
"He came to the First Baptist church in Milwaukee, Wis
consin, late in 1853 and left in 1855. If judged by appn-ent
results, his pastorate was not a success. No one felt this more
than he. Indeed, it would have been almost a miracle had it
been otherwise. The church was in debt and divided in council.
It had not been prosperous for some years previous, nor was it
for several subsequent pastorates, Dr. Pyper's among them. Yet
I am sure Bro. Fyfe's pastorate was by no means a failure. His
sound wisdom and excellency of spirit, like an unseen under
current, cut away much of the foundation of the difficulties
which threatened the existence of the church, so that he left
them much stronger than when he came. This want of apparent
success, together with his strong attachment to the work in
Canada and the solicitations to return, inspired his early
resignation. "To our general work in the State Bro. Fyfe rendered a most
valuable service — a fact now nearly forgotten, but still fresh in
the minds of some of us who were actors at the time. From the
anti-slavery agitation of the day and the conservative position of
our National Missionary Societies, together with the fact of their
eastern location and a fancied inefficiency in their administra
tion, there was great diversity of sentiment among us, — much
hike-warm co-operation and threatened division. At this junc
ture Bro. Fyfe's coming was opportune. He had not been
identified with this controversy pro or con, had strength of
character, sound judgment, and was eminently conciliatory in
spirit. At our State convention held in Madison, Oct. 24, 1854,
a committee was appointed to report on this subject with a view

254 LIFE AND LABORS OF
to harmony, which for some years had seemed impossible.
There (it was Bro. F.'s first meeting with us) he was made
chairman of a special committee, the other members representing
the different phases of the question at issue. Bro. F. wrote the
resolutions I send marked No. 1,* which were adopted by the
committee and convention. This made a final settlement of that
vexed question, and was the dawn of a new era in our mission
work in this 'State.
"At the time Bro. F. came to Wisconsin there had been no
organization entered upon for the establishment of a Baptist
School of Christian Education. Rev. 0. 0. Stearns, J. W.
Fish, A. Miner, M. D. Miller, D. D. Road, with others equally
prominent, had often agitated the question, but for reasons
incident to a new country — where each person is supposed to
occupy the centre around which the future is expected to unite
— little or no progress had been made. Bro. F. at once united
with others to bring about some tangible results by union of
effort. To this end an informal consultation was held at my
* The following are the resolutions referred to : —
"The committee appointed to draft resolutions in relation to the
threatened division of the Baptist Home Mission Society reported the
following, which was unanimously adopted :
" Whereas a most unhappy division in the ranks of the friends of
the Bible cause has existed for several years, and whereas the spirit which
has too often prevailed, and the language which has been frequently used,
in this painful controversy, have brought reproach upon the Christian
name, and dishonor upon our denomination ; and whereas it is now
threatened to introduce the same division and party feeling into the A.
Bap. Home Mission Society; therefore,
"Resolved, 1st. That we deprecate this whole controversy, and de
plore the spirit in which it has been conducted.
"Resolved, 2nd. That whether the Board of the H. M. Society be
removed to one point or another, we protest against the introduction of
this Bible controversy into any other of our great national benevolent
societies. "Resolved, 3rd. That the bringing of this strife into the A. B. H. S.
would inflict injuries upon the churches in the Western States which
would more than counterbalance all the many benefits which we have
received from the noble institution which is our foster mother.
"Respectfully submitted. "R. A. Fyfe, \
"0. 0. Stearns, S'ER, >(

'.I. T. Westover, V Committee..''
'A. Miner,
' W. H. Doug ass, j

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 255
house Jan. 25th, 1854, at which several brethren were present.
The result was the appointment of an advisory committee to
work up the thing, get it into shape, and, if deemed wise, call a
convention of the friends of education at an early day for future
action. Rev. D. D. Read was chairman in deference to the fact
that he had been some years in the State. Bro. F. was next in
order, and the real working member. Revs Fish and Westover
were associated with him. This committee called the friends of
the movement to meet in convention at Watertown March 1,
1854. At this meeting the Wisconsin Baptist Educational
Society was temporarily organized, Bro. Fish chairman. Mea
sures were taken for a complete organization and incorporation
of the society, the location and equipment of the school, etc.
Bro. F. was made chairman of the Committee on Finance, also
chairman of the committee to nominate a board of managers.
He was also on the committee to locate and name the university,
as it was called, which was incorporated as " Wayland Univer
sity," at Beaver Dam. An Act of Incorporation was obtained from
the State Legislature, Bro. F. being one of the incorporators.
The provisional organization above named took the form and
assumed all the functions of a legal body Sept. 24th, 1854, at
Madison, Bro. F. being the first permanent President.
" You will see by what I have written that Bro. F- was the
prominent figure in this movement. This shows what he was
to us in the few months he was with us."
The subject of "spiritualism" was at that time attract
ing considerable attention by reason of the fantastical
phmotnena attributed to it, and the wild vagaries of its
votaries. The minds of thousands were affected by the
alleged manifestations, and for a time numbers even of
the more sobar-minded fancied that the world was on
fie eve of some great discovery in the realms of either
natural or spiritual law. Mr. Fyfe had, partly from a
sense of professional duty, and partly from a " fondness,
which had clung to him from his youth, for investigations
into thoss mysteries which lie in the broad, debatable
grounds between the natural and the supernatural," given

256 LIFE AND LABORS OF
a good deal of attention to the subject. The results of
his researches were embodied in a discourse wl ich he
delivered under the title of "Spiritism" in Milwaukee in
1854, and afterwards in several places in Canada. The
discourse was very highly appreciated, and a request for
its publication was made at the time by a number of
prominent members of the Milwaukee congregation. It
was probably printed, though only the manuscript copy
has been seen by the writer.
In July, 1855, Dr. Pyper felt constrained, on account
of failing health, to resign the pastorate of the Bond
Street Church, Toronto. At the same meeting at which
Dr. Pyper's resignation was accepted, it was moved by
Mr. McCord, seconded by Mr. Dadson, and resolved : —
"That the Rev. R. A. Fyfe, whose former labors amongst
us in the cause of Christ were owned and blessed by
God, be, and hereby is, respectfully invited to become
the pastor of this church." This invitation was, after
due consideration and a visit to Toronto, accepted, and
Mr. Fyfe returned to the scene of his former labors in
October. His departure from Wisconsin was much re
gretted, not only by the members of his church* and
* The following resolutions were passed by the First Ba^t'st Chinch
of Milwaukee on the occasion of his resignation : —
" Resolved, That we esteem our dear brother Fyfe as a true Christian
gentleman, a warm and ardent friend, and, above all, as a faithful and
devoted minister of the Gospel of Jesns Christ.
"Resolved, That in his eeparation ficm us, no other than the kindest
feelings exist ; and we ai e persuaded that, in eevei ing his relations with
the church, he has been prompted by no other motive than that which
seemed to him his duty, after devoutly asking direction from the Great
Head of the Church.
"Resolved That his labors amongst us, in the building up of the
educational cause of our denomination in this State, as a Christian
minister, and as a brother and friend, will long be cherished, not only

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 257
congregation, but by representative men in the denomi
nation in other parts of the Union. Amongst others,
Dr. Wayland wrote from Providence, expressing deep
regret at his determination.
In his " Farewell Sermon" to his people in Milwaukee,
Mr. Fyfe states very frankly the causes which have led
to his resignation. He has no special griefs or injuries
to complain of. On the contrary, he has received many
and repeated kindnesses from his heareis, of which he
will ever cherish a grateful remembrance. As to any
faults or failings he has noticed in his congregation, he
calls them to witness that he has not failed frankly to
reprove them at the proper time. Hence he has "no'
store of sharp and pungent things with which to season
a farewell discourse." Nor does he wish to make a
public display of his attachment to them, or to draw
forth such a display of their attachment to him. But
when a pastor and people part it is very natural to ask
why they separate, and he proceeds to state the reasons
which have influenced his decision as follows: —
" Some of you are aware that I was born and brought up in
Canada, and when God called me, as I hope, from darkness to
light, more than twenty-five years ago, I felt that my life labors
as a Christian man were due to the land of my nativity. There
I labored in the ministry seven years, and I should never have
left the country had not the majority of the Baptist denomina
tion adopted a policy which I thought would bo very injurious
to them. After a seven years' trial of that policy many of them
by the immediate members of the church and congregation, but by an
appreciating public.
" Resolved, That we congratulate the church of his future charge, on
having obtained so faithful and able an advocate of 'the truth as it is
in the Lord Jesus ;' and that, wherever his lot may be east, we shall
ever cherish a lively interest in his welfare, and iu the success of his
labors in the great work of winning souls to Christ."

258 LIFE AND LABORS OF
feel that I was right. Just at this stage of affairs the members of
the church where I spent four of the best years of my life, and
which I might almost say was created under my labors, have
unanimously and urgently asked me to return as their pastor.
Believing, from my peculiar relations to Canada, that I can, by
God's blessing, aid in harmonizing the denomination, besides
serving the particular church of my early labors, and feeling
assured that another pastor can speedily be obtained to fill my
place here efficiently, I have decided to sever the strong ties that
bind me to Milwaukee and return to Toronto.
" I do not leave Milwaukee because my salary is too small. I
have never asked the church for more. If I h id done so, I am
persuaded that the church and congregation are of that type that
they would have promptly granted me any reasonable increase
of salary. I believe, moreover, that good ministers of Jesus
vChrist are not wont to make salary a very prominent considera
tion in either forming or dissolving their pastoral relations.* I
do not leave because of any division in the church itself, nor
because of any want of harmony between my views and those of
members of the church. I never expect to find a church more
united, nor one which will more promptly sustain me. It is true
I have found iu this church too much of what seems to be the
besetting sin of the churches in Milwaukee — I mean want of
religious enterprise. Yet were we to measure ourselves as a
church with other churches in the city, we should see that,
during the past year, more has been given and pledged for
objects of benevolence by this church than by any other in the
city. Still, I think we must confess a want of religious enter
prise in general. I have reason, however, to hope very confi
dently that this fault will be corrected ere long.
"I do not leave because I do not love this beautiful city and
State. May God bless them and send them spiritual prosperity
proportioned to their great temporal prosperity, lest in their
wealth they should forget the Giver of every good and perfect
gift. * It is well known to some of Dr. Fyfe's more intimate friends that
thh was, in his case, no empty sentiment. ( )n several occasions after
his return to Canada he is understood to have declined some very
tempting offers to return to the Uuited States. In one or two cases, at
least, the salary offered was very much in advance, not only of what he
was actually receiving, but of any he could hope to receive in Canada.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 259
" Nor do I leave because I do not love my fellow-members in
the church. There are many here whom I shall remember till
my heart is as cold as death can make it. I leave simply be
cause it seems my duty to do so, and I leave in the full assurance
that my place will be ably filled before long."
Thus, contrary to his purposes and expectations, and
above his hopes, Mr. Fyfe found himself again on his
native soil, after six years of earnest toil in a foreign
country. " Foreign" seems, indeed, too harsh a term to
denote a land so intimately associated w ith our own
commercially and socially, and a people connected with
us by so many living bonds of Christian activity and
sympathy. The expression is used in no invidious sense,
otherwise it would very falsely interpret the spirit he
always cherished towards his brethren " across the bor
der." The spirit of christanity is cosmopolitan. It knows
no international boundary lines. Those who have drunk
deeply at its living fountains clasp hands across contin
ents and oceans. They recognize in each other fellow-
citizens in the highest of all citizenships, fellow-laborers
in the same broad field, fellow-heirs of the same glorious
inheritance. Well would it be for the church and the
world, if Christians generally could grasp this expansive
truth, and rise to the height of this lofty conception,
in as great a degree as did the large-soujed christian
worker whose life history is here sketched. Nor was it
in the least inconsistent with these broad views that he
should have felt a special attachment and a special obli
gation to his own country. Even the Apostles began
their work at Jerusalem, and that too with the highest
of all sanctions.
-But not only did Mr. Fyfe leave behind, when he re-
crossed the border, many brethren to whom he felt the

260 LIFE AND LABORS OF
warmest attachment and who ever after lived in his
memory. He left also many who had learned, and never
afterwards forgot, to cherish him in their hearts as a
brother beloved.
In Canada he found the prospects cheering beyond
anything he could have hoped for seven years before.
Old difficulties were less formidab'e. Old animosities
had grown feeble, or died, in many breasts. Old pre
judices and errors were rapidly giving way to larger
views of truth and duty. In a word the Baptists of
Canada were feeling the thrill of fresh Christian impul
ses and aspirations. The denomination was awaking to
a new and higher life.

<$ywm

CHAPTER XX.

Resuming Work in Canada — The Pastoral Relation— The Pas
tor's Obligations — Those of the Church — A Double Success
^-Friendships and Animosities — Taking Hold of the Young
— A Young Man's Testimony — A Telling Sermon — Normal
School Visitation — Sermon at Madison — Mi sionary Work
in Canada — An Exploring Commission — The Church a
Missionary Organization — The True Missionary Spirit — A
Glowing Tribute — The Clergy Reserves Settled — The
Christian Messenger.
tHE SPIRIT in which Mr. Fyfe re-entered the Can
adian field is well indicated in what was probably
the first discourse he delivered on resuming the pastoral
charge of his old church. To few Christian ministers,
probably, has it fallen to be twice re-called to spheres of
labor which they have voluntarily left, and he might well
feel that the omen was good ; the proof of confidence and
love, inspiring. Under the circumstances he could with
all modesty, as well as with much assurance, adopt the
language of. Paul, in Phil, i, 25, 26, 27, and say. "I know
that I shall abide and continue with you for your f uther-
ance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more
abundant in Jesus Christ for me, by my coming to you
ao-ain. Only let your conversation be as becometh the
Gospel of Christ." He remarks at the outset that not
only this text, but the whole epistle from which it is
taken is " a beautiful and affecting exhibition of the feel
ings which should subsist between a true- hearted Christian

2G2 LIFE AND LABORS OF
minister and the people among whom he had labored in
the Gospel, and whom the Lord had made him the means
of benefitting." He proceeds to lay down some grand
principles and to draw some useful lessons: —
" A true minister must have a proper appreciation of his
work. . . . It is the work of saving men, the ministry of
reconciliation. It is not to acquire place, or power, or fame, or
wealth. . . . It is not to please large and fashionable con
gregations. It is not to build up large and rich churches.
"Many, either in theory or in practice, place the edification
of the church not only as the first object of the minister's efforts,
but as the very design of all church organization. Hence we
find a great many little religious organizations which seem to
think they accomplish their whole duty when they comfort each
other. This is a grand mistake, and every person or organiza
tion which adopts this notion, either in theory or in practice,
has gone far towards forfeiting all claim to evangelical character.
The very nature of the Christian religion is benevolence.
"I assert not that a Christian minister has no duties in
connection with teaching the members of his church the way of
God more perfectly. This undoubtedly is a very important
part of his work, but unquestionably the great aim should be to
turn men from sin. This work of the ministry is the one thing
to which the true minister devotes his all — his love and his life."
The preacher then goes on to show that the pastoral
relation implies mutual obligations. The church has a
"work to do as well as the pastor : — ¦
".Some seem to imagine that the Church, instead of being
fitly compared to an army, should be likened to a storehouse. It
is not a body that must go forth and win victories for God,
and make constant aggressions upon the territories of sin and
evil, but it is a quiet receptacle whose office is to receive what
is put into it.
"The first pledge of the church is to co-operate with their

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 263
pastor. I do not mean that they must adopt all his plans and
modes of doing things. I mean that they promise to enforce by
word and by example the truths which he proclaims.
"I refer to the cultivation of the spirit of the Gospel. Our
conduct cannot become the Gospel unless we exhibit its spirit.
We may perform all the outward duties enjoined by the Chris
tian religion in the spirit of evil. There are many who seem
utterly destitute of the love and tenderness enjoined by the
Gospel — of the mellowness of spirit which is the fruit of the
love of Christ shed abroad in the heart.

" If the minister faithfully fulfils his pledge and preaches the
truth as it is in Jesus — if the people discharge their Christian
duties faithfully in the spirit of the Gospel and in devout
reliance upon God for the blessing, then indeed will the connec-
on this day publicly renewed between us further your joy of
aith. " A number now hearing me can remember days gone by —
our trials and our blessings, our sorrows and our joys, and the
hand of our God which was good upon us. I have returned to
you again, I can honestly say, feeling that the strongest desire
of my heart is, by the blessing of our Heavenly Father, to do'
good among you — to add to the joy of your' faith and to the
abundance of your rejoicing in Jesus Christ by my coming to you
again. To this end I, iu this public manner, with diffidence,
yet with humble assurance of help from the Head of the
Church, resume the duties of preaching the everlasting Gospel
and of laboring in the pastoral office. I solemnly promise, God
helping me, to discharge the duties to which you have called
me to the best of my ability. Will you, my Christian brethren
and friends, renew this day before God your pledge to discharge
faithfully the duties devolved upon you by the Word of God 1"
It is a common remark that few ministers excel both
in the pulpit and in the pastoral work. Those who take
high rank as preachers are very often said to be inefficient
pastors, neglecting pastoral visitation, showing themselves

264 LIFE AND LABORS OF
deficient in personal sympathy, and failing to get deeply
into the hearts and lives of the individual members of
their flocks. Those, on the other hand, who give up much
of their time to cultivating an intimate acquaintance with
the members of their congregations, and their families, are
frequently said to do so at the expense of impoverished
minds, and feeble, uninstructive discourses. Mr. Fyfe seems
to have held the balance remarkably even and to have
been more than ordinarily successful in both directions.
Constantly increasing congregations of attentive hearers,
not simply for a few months at the commencement of his
ministrations, but throughout the whole periods of his
several pastorates, attested his power in the pulpit, while
to few Christian ministers has it been given to secure so
lasting a hold upon the confidence and affection of the
members of his flock, of every age and class. Very few,
indeed, are those who, throughout their whole course,
and whether present or absent, stand in the relation of
faithful friend and trusted counsellor to so large a num-
ber of their brethren, as did Dr. Fyfe, especially during
the latter half of his life.
It is equally true, doubtless, that he sometimes aroused
strong personal antipathies and even animosities. This
fact is almost a necessary corollary to the other. The
man who makes no enemies is seldom the- man who
attracts to himself devoted friends. The same strength
and warmth of nature which enabled him to " grapple to
his soul with hooks of steel " those who thoroughly knew
and appreciated him, were often the means of repelling
and sometimes deeply wounding, those whose natures
were uncongenial, or whose views and aims were incom
patible, possibly antagonistic. Nor can it be denied that

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. ' 265
he was naturally somewhat impatient of contradiction,
and would occasionally summon his reserve of power to
crush rather unceremoniously the brother who stood too
persistently in his way. But, on the other hand, few were
more frank in confessing to haste or error, or more gen
erous in making, or meeting, overtures towards recon^
ciliation.- It is not too much to say that very few, if any,
brethren of genuine worth and manliness were perman
ently estranged from him, especially if events ever
brought them within the sphere of his strong personal
magnetism. But this is a digression. It would be unnecessary,
even did not want of space forbid, to dwell at length
upon the particulars of this second Toronto pastorate, the
last he ever held. Though not naturally fluent, or
largely endowed with native oratorical talents, his speak
ing and preaching were always characterized by power..
His style was direct and effective. His- words lived in.
the memory, and often went home todaeart or conscience.
His mode of thinking generally camried him right to' the
core of his subject? But all this is too' well known to«
the majority of the readers of this- book to requi re-
special proof or illustration here.
As to his faithfulness in pastoral work, his visiting
book affords good evidence. A course of systematic pas
toral visitation was commenced within a week or two of his
return to Toronto, and kept up with regularity from year
to year. An inspection of the private record of his round
of daily duties, for a few weeks, would put to shame the
pleas of many a pastor who, with half the demands upon
his hours and energies, complains that it is impossible for
him to find time to become acquainted with his flock,
R

266 LIFE AND LABORS OF
One important secret of his power and success was his
hearty sympathy with the young. He had great faith in
young men. He cultivated their friendship. He inter
ested himself in their highest welfare. He knew their
value in Cnristian work, and, like the apostle, appealed to
them because they were strong. The consequence was
that in his pastorates, as iu his later work at Woodstock,
he acquired a place in the esteem and admiration, and a
hold upon the affections, of scores of young men through
whose lives and labors his influence is making itself felt
all over Ontario, and in other lands, to this day.
The following voluntary tribute from one of these
young men, — one who was a member of his congregation
during his second Toronto pastorate, and afterwards one
of his students at Woodstock, and who has since been
doing good service as a faithful minister of Christ, may
be taken as a sample of the testimony which hundreds
would cheerfully bear, and will sivve to illustrate the
imanner and spirit in which he wrought, both in and out
ithe pulpit, during these years. The writer is Rev. J. S.
Ross, now of Caspar, California : —
"I was attending the Normal School at Toronto in 1855-6
¦when Rev. R. A. Fyfe was pastor of the Bond street Baptist
church. He was then in the very prime of life, the picture of
health, majestic in appearance, a tuwer of strength physically
and intellectually. The house could scarcely hold the largo
congregations, especially at the evening service. I heard him
preach a sermon to young men from I. John, ii., 14. I cannot
now recollect the arrangement of his discourse, enumerate the
divisions, or recall the sentences, but there has been left on my
mind by that sermon an impression of the invincible energies of
young men, their power to do and dare, which remains to this
clay. That sermon might seem prosaic if seen in print, but
coming from the warm heart, uttered by the living voice, in

REV 11. A. FYFE, D.D. 267
mellowed tones and with the fire-touched accents of its author,
that large audience listened spell-bound. I heard Elihu Burritt
seveial years later speak on 'The Power of Young Men;' I
listened to the rounded and finished sentences of Dr. Punshon
on 'Daniel in Babylon ;' but both these masters seemed only to
awaken thoughts and retouch truths which came so forcibly
years before from the lips of Rev. R A. Fyfe.
"Mr. Fyfe must have, been pressed then with. duties varied
and absorbing, but at three o'clock Friday afternoons he came to
give counsel and religious instruction to students of his own
persuasion. Dr. Burns, of Knox church, attended for the
Presbyterians, and he and Mr. Fyfe arranged to unite their
classes, and came alternately to the Normal School. I was at
that time under a cloud, being under deep conviction for my
sins. The late Deacon Geo. W. Cameron, of Thurso, gave me a
note of introduction to Mr. Fyfe, he having known him in early
years when making missionary tours with the sainted McPhail
of precious memory. I called on Mr. Fyfe. My welcome was
cordial. He questioned me closely, and I expect he found out
that I was 'possessed with a dumb spirit.' I was striving hard
to conceal my feelings, and fighting my way to the light and
libei ty others enjoyed. He must have known where 1 stood, for
he illustrated as follows : ' You have seen water flowing. It was
of different shades and degrees of clearness. It all depends on
the kind of soil through which it runs. That flowing through
swamps and marshes of decayed vegetation will be dark and
turbid ; that through open soil, porous and pebbly, will be clear
as ciystal. It is water in each condition. So with the grace of
Gud running through these earthen vessels. Christian experi
ence assumes many phases according to our different organiza
tions, mental and physical.' He prayed with me and for me. I
was invited back, and went in a few weeks with great expecta
tions and hopes. He was away from home. Another minister -
was there, a stranger to me. I was almost on the brink of
despair, and came for some word of comfort. The manner in.
which this man introduced the subject of religion was so repul
sive to me that my feelings were shocked. I wilted under the
ordeal, and left with a sad heart.
'• When I called on Mr. F. again more than a year had passed.
I had been baptized, and being in the adjoining county, he knew
of me and recognized mo at once. I told him my plans and in-

268 LIFE AND LABORS OF
tention of studying for the ministry. I had to work my way
with a lean purse, and I wanted to know where I could obtain
the best advantages, as I was situated. He advised me to go to
Madison, N.Y. He encouraged me and gave me a hearty good-
speed. "While I was at Hamilton in 1858, the Society of Inquiry
connected with the University invited the Rev. R. A. Fyfe to
preach the annual sermon in connection with the Commence
ment exercises. That is an unusually great occasion at Hamil
ton. The men of Israel were never more loyal in coming to the
"city of their solemnities" than are the Hamilton students in
convening at their annual convocations. The chapel on the hill
was crowded. It was at night. His text was, if my memory is
to be trusted, Eph. i, 10, 11. He had attention throughout.
He gave us an excellent sermon. There were a number of us
there from Canada attending as students, and we were proud to
claim him as one of our men. It was then the University gave
him his D.D."
It was not in Dr. Fyfe's nature, at any period of his
life, to be an idle or indifferent looker-on, while his
brethren were engaged in any Christian enterprise. He
at once threw himself, with his intense earnestness and
indomitable energy into the general work of the denom
ination. The minutes of the Regular Baptist Missionary
Society begin almost immediately to give indications of
his activity. In 1856 his name appears as Corresponding
Secretary of the Society. In this office he undoubtedly
did much efficient service, both in the wray of general
direction and oversight, and in personally visiting the
churches as he had opportunity. In the summer of 1859
he and Rev. T. L. Davidson were appointed by the
Missionary Board a Deputation " to visit the scattered
churches and mission stations occupied by the mission
aries of the society in the counties of Bruce, Grey, and
Huron, with a view to succor the feeble interests and
promote the Home Mission Work in the North- West,"

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 269
and to elicit useful information in respect to the work
and prospects in that region. In the prosecution of this
tasjc they endured many hardships by reason of rough
roads and exhausting labors, but were received with open
arms and were no doubt the instruments of much and
lasting good. An interesting report of the journey was
made by Mr. Fyfe in a series of letters to the Messenger*
Those who attended the missionary and other anniver
saries at a later period in his history must have been
often struck with the extent and minuteness of his
acquaintance with the circumstances and characteristics
of the various churches and mission fields, throughout
Ontario and Quebec. We can readily understand that it
was in his extensive correspondence and travels in the
service of the Society in these earlier days, that he laid
the foundations of this local knowledge, — a knowledge
which was afterwards turned to excellent account in con
nection with the educational work at Woodstock.
It is proper to note, in this connection, that from first
to last Mr. Fyfe was an ardent friend and advocate of
mission work, at home and abroad. The largeness of his
views and aims in respect to this work is the key to
much of his success. He regarded Christianity as, above
all, thoroughly aggressive in its nature. Its very soul
was its sympathy with lost men everywhere. Its pro
fessors were true to themselves and their Master only as
they were striving to scatter abroad the blessings they
themselves enjoyed. There could be no true religious
life, no healthy growth, in the individual or the church
whoso thoughts and efforts were concentred all in self.
In his opinion " every Christian minister must be in
* In reference to the Christian Messenr/er, see below.

270 LIFE AND LABORS OF
some sense, a missionary." These views happily seem
almost like truisms at the present day, but they were not
always so regarded by Canadian Baptists. •
It would be easy to illustrate this important article
in his working creed from many of his sermons and
other writings, but one or two quotations must suffice.
In a lecture delivered before the students of the Institute
on "The True Missionary Spirit," after remarking that the
tendency of all things is to pass from a state of change
into one of fixity, and that human lives and habits strik
ingly illustrate this tendency, he goes on to warn his
hearers against the danger of having all religious duties
and exercises lapse into lifeless formalities. This is a
danger which specially besets religious societies and
enterprises. The relation of pastor, for instance, which
was intended to be an elevated, spiritual, holy relation
often lapses into a mere bargaining, "two-cent," set of
regulations. Everything pertaining to our spiritual exer
cises is in danger of being reduced to a mere institution.
The church, the missionary society, the prayer meeting,
may clegenerate into institutions not merely fixed, but
lifeless. The very profession of our faith itself may
become a form without power — a body without a soul.
How may this great danger be most effectually guarded
against ? The answer is, by each individual member
imbibing and cherishing the true missionary spirit.
This spirit comes from Christ. It is implanted by the
Holy Spirit. It is fed and nourished by drinking into
the Spirit of Christ. It knows neither sex nor country.
It is confined to no one nation or age.
Two main elements of this missionary spirit are pointed
out. The first i3 profound love to Christ as the con-

REV. R. A FYFE, D.D. 271
straining motive. This must in all cases be the great
central force. Not the necessity to make a living, not
the desire for fame, not oven the mere conviction of
truth, can supply its place. Truth is not God. Not any
deduction of intellect, not even a deep sense of duty,
nothing but uncalculating, unselfish love to a living,
loving Saviour, can supply the true inspiration. A
thousand influences may contribute to the result. None
of these may be wrong of itself. Bat towering above all
other considerations, swallowing all up, must be the con
straining love of the Master. The second element of the
true missionary spirit is sympa'hy for our fellow-man —
a sympathy rooted in and springing from profound con
viction of the sinfulness of sin, of his lost condition as a
being ruined by sin. This is someth.ng different from,
and infinitely deeper than, any mere natural sympathy,
or any spirit of partyism, or propagandism.
This spirit is unselfish. It stays not to ask, What
shall I eat ? etc. It demands no particular status in
society. It does not even wait to see all the way made
plain before it. It will take a man anywhere — to India,
Africa, or the destitute places of Canada, which often
require more self-denial, more patience, and more piety
than the foreign field.
_ Such is, in bare outline, a sketch of the ideal of the
Christian life he held up before himself, and, in later
years, before those who were preparing themselves for
the Master's work under his training. This ideal he
would have carried into every department of Christian
service. The writer well remembers the impression
made by the closing sentence of one of the first com
munications received from him, when, writing as a

272 LIFE AND LABORS OF
stranger to a stranger, he conveyed the invitation of the
Trustees of the Institute to fill a vacancy on the teaching
staff After sketching clearly but briefly — for brevity
was with him both a principle and a habit--the duties
and difficulties of the position, he wound up in substance
with : "If, in view of all this, you can come to the work
in the true missionary spirit, come; not otherwise."
Holding such views and animated by such a spirit, he
was prepared to admire the devoted, whole-souled herald
of the cross, wherever found. The following eloquent
passage from another lecture upon a different theme,
shows with what rare liberality and breadth of mind he
» as able to do justice to the noble qualities even of men
holding and propagating doctrines which he deemed cor
rupt and mischievous. The sublime enthusiasm and
self-sacrifice of such men as the founder of the Jesuits
touched a chord which vibrated to the depths of his soul.
He was illustrating the thought that missionaries in the
past have made permanent impressions for good upon the
world "only in proportion to the amount of the Word of
God which they succeeded in planting in the minds of
men." Amongst other illustrations he uses the following:
" A young enthusiast, wounded at the battle of Pampeluna,
and confined in consequence by a long and feverish illness,
was being trained in this way to make as deep a mark on the
world, and, by his associates, to make as deep a mark upon mis
sions, as ever a man made. This young lieutenant saw visions.
He dreamed dreams. From trying to conquer the world with
the sword and spear he would become a soldier of the cross, and
wield only spiritual weapons. He would conquer the world for
Jesus. What a magnificent dream ! It might create a soul
beneath the ribs of Death 1 He gathered around him some of
the finest spirits of his own age. They bound themselves by
vows the most solemn, ami were fired by an enthusiasm the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 273
most ardent. For culture, fiery zeal, and dauntless courage and
enterprise, the band of missionaries they raised up have never
been excelled. There was no country in Europe in which they
did not plant the cross. The blazing suns of Africa scorched
them. The everlasting snows of Siberia drifted around them.
The primaeval forests of this continent were intimate with the
intrepid sons of Loyola. All the way from the Bay of Chaleur
to the thunder-shaken regions of Lake Superior; all along the
banks of the Mississippi, that Father of Waters, we can trace
their steps. In Mexico, in South America, the almost omni
present society of Jesus was largely represented. 0, had they
only labored with as much zeal to plant the cross in Hie hearts
of men as they did to plant the crucifix at the roadside and on
the hill-top, the story of missions would be differently written
to-day !
"To no country on earth was a finer type of men sent by any
society than were the first Jesuit missionaries, to China for
example. I do not mean to say that their views were correct —
far from it — nor that their labors were all favorable to Chris
tianity ; but I mean that no men of nobler intellectual endow
ments, of higher culture, of a more unselfish spirit, and, in many
cases, of a more devout (though not always enlightened) piety,
have ever gone to heathen lands. It is true the whole spirit of
this society soon changed, but the first men who went out de
served a better following. Such men as Francis Xavier are no
mean men. His appeal for missionaries is in the following
terms : 'I have often thought to run over all the universities of
Europe, and especially that of Paris, and cry aloud to those who
abound more in learning than in charity : 0, how many souls
are lost to heaven by your neglect ! Many would be moved !
They would say, Behold me in readiness, O Lord 1 How much
more happily would these learned men then live ! With how
much more assurance die ! Millions of idolaters might easily be
converted if there were more preachers who would sincerely
mind the interests of Jesus Christ rather than their own.' This
man, on the coast of Malabar and Travancore, baptized 10,000
in one month with his own hands. In Japan the order, by
following his plans, soon reached 200,000."
The burning question of the Clergy Reserves, which
had been alluded to by the Rev. W.. Hewson — in his letter

274 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in 1853 offering Mr. Fyfe the editorship of the projected
weekly paper, as one of the public questions requiring
vigorous handling— had been finally, though by no means
satisfactorily, settled in 1855. The Imperial Government
had previously passed an act empowering the Canadian
Parliament to deal with the question in accordance with
the wishes of the Canadian people, with the sole condition
that those clergymen of the Episcopalian and Scotch
churches, and the few beneficed ministers of the Catholic
and Methodist churches, who were in receipt of State
pay, should have their stipends continued during life.
To this the great mass of the people who had for more
than thirty years been fighting to save the country from
being saddled with the incubus of one or more State
churches, were generally agreed, it being distinctly under
stood that the balance of the fund should be immediately
secularized and applied to educational or other public
uses. A parliament was elected, the majority of whose
members were believed to be distinctly pledged to dispose
finally of the question on this basis. But to the intense
disgust and indignation of the Baptists and other
voluntaries, the Coalition Government of 1855 hurried
through Parliament a secularization bill with a commu
tation clause attached. This clause as afterwards
construed by the officials charged with carrying out its
provisions, did not permit the beneficed ministers to com
mute save with consent and by means of the churches to
which they respectively belonged, thus by a " side wind,''
bringing in the essence of the objectionable feature of
church endowment by the state. In vain the opponents of
such a provision rallied their forces and recommenced the
agitation, as soon as their eyes were opened to the true

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 275
character of the measure. The act had been passed, and
its provisions were carried into effect with such expedi
tion as gave no time for any organized movement for
repeal. But notwithstanding the march thus stolen by
the friends of state-churchism, it was a blessing to the
country to have this root of bitterness finally and for
ever cast out. The attitude and energetic action of the
Baptist body from first to last, in regard to this question,
do them great credit. Even so late as 1853 the Mission
ary Society, at its second annual meeting in Beamsville,
speaking for the denomination, declared " in the most
emphatic and decided manner its determination never to
rest satisfied until the Clery Reserves are secularized by
the Government," and " its fixed resolution, and that of
the churches throughout the entire province of Canada,
to resist by every lawful and available means any and
every attempt which may be made by the Government,
or otherwise, to induce the Baptist denomination in
particular, and the other religious denominations in
Canada, to accept of any partition of the Clergy Reserves
fund for any purpose whatsoever."
The two great politico-religious questions, arising out
of the University and Clergy Reserve Endowments, hav
ing thus been removed from the arena of public debate,
Mr. Fyfe found, on his return to Canada, that he had
fallen upon more peaceful times. It is true that the
renewed demand made by Dr. Ryerson and other leaders
of the Wesleyan body, acting on behalf of Victoria
University, and supported by the Conference, for a por
tion of the income of the University of Toronto Endow
ment, threatened for a time to re-open the college
controversy. The proposal to divide a p< rtion of the

276 LIFE AND LABORS OF
said income amongst the various denominational colleges,
pushed with all the power and persistence of the Wesley-
ans and their redoubtable leader, was opposed with equal
energy and persistence by the leading Baptists and other
friends of religious voluntaryism. Mr. Fyfe being at the
time editor of the denominational paper, the Christian
Messenger, afterwards the Canadian Baptist, was in a
position to render excellent and effective service. He
opposed the proposed partition with the same determin
ation and, largely, as a matter of course, with the same
arguments, which had told so well during the former
struggle. It is unnecessary to trace here more minutely
the history of the attempt which, as we all know, was,
happily, ineffectual.
A few words in regard to the paper to which allusion
has once or twice been made, may close this chapter.
The efforts of the committee whose secretary had written
to Mr. Fyfe in 1853, do not seem to have been im
mediately successful in establishing a Baptist weekly.
But in October of the following year, the publication of
the Christian Messenger was commenced in Brantford.
This paper, which did good service in its day, was
founded by the liberality of William Winter, Esq., not,
we may be sure, as a commercial speculation, but in the
interests of the denomination. Rev. T. L. Davidson, and
Mr. R. W. Sawtell were joint editors during the first
year of its existence, and afterwards, for some years, it
was conducted by Rev. J. Winterbotham and others.
After Mr. Fyfe's return to the province he became a
frequent and valued contributor. In 1856-7, in par
ticular, he contributed a series of characteristic articles
on " The progress of Baptist Principles," amongst

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 277
which were enumerated as specially distinctive : Liberty
of Conscience, a Converted or Spiritual Church Mem
bership, Personal Faith as a Pre-requisite to the
Ordinances of the Church, &c. In 1859 he, "in com
pany with a young friend," as he writes to Mr. McPhail,
purchased the Messenger and removed its publication
to Toronto. He assures Mr. McPhail that "there is
perfect good feeling all round, and no partyism in
the matter." It need scarcely be added that in his
hands the paper was greatly improved. The editorial
articles became shorter, crisper and more telling in every
respect, and it may well be doubted if The Canadian
Baptist, as he re-named it a few months afterward, has
ever, during its successful career of over a quarter of a
century, been more vigorous, or, in proportion to its size,
rendered better service to the denomination and to
Christianity, than during the brief period of his pro
prietorship.

CLTAPTEll XX F.

The Great Life- Work — Other Experiences Preparatory — A
Series of Failures — Rev. J. Inglis' Plan — Maclay College
Projected — A Successful Canvass— A President Appointed
— New Difficulties — Fatal Delays — Dr. Maclay Resigns —
Maclay College Wound Up ¦ - Mistakes of Agents — A
Troublesome Ghost — An Encouraging Experience — A
Sensible Letter — Two Characteristic Features — A New-
Proposal — A Practical Scheme — Plan of the Proposed
School.

>\\AM E COME now to Mr. Fyfe's last and greatest
y^y work for the denomination and for his native
country. All his other labors, many and important
though they were in themselves, acquire a double value
when regarded as leading up to this. They were but the
various schools in which he was being trained and
disciplined for his crowning life-work. Almost from the
moment of his entrance into active service, he seems to
have been deeply impressed with the necessity for some
such institution as that which he was finally instrumen
tal in founding. His dissatisfaction with the unpractical
and impracticable character of the Montreal College ; his
strongly expressed opinion in the Warren letter ; the
earnestness with which he threw himself into the work
of founding Baptist educational institutions in Michigan,
— all bear witness to his deep interest in religious educa
tion. Believers in Divine foresight and oversight will see
no presumption in deeming that to lay the foundation of

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.D. 279
Baptist educational institutions in Ontario was his predes
tined work ; that he came into the church, if not into the
world, endowed with the impulses which were to urge him '
steadily, though by a circuitous route, in the direction of
that work ; and that all the hard experiences of student,
pastoral, editorial and controversial service were but
so many stages in the disciplinarj' course, in which he
gained the self-control, self-confidence, and soldierly
hardiness, which enabled bim to succeed where so many
had failed.
The history of these various failures is in itself the best
evidence that the necessity for a Baptist educational
institution had been continuously and deeply felt. The
idea of founding a college of some kind had never been
long absent from the minds of the leading men in the
denomination. As early as 1849, even while the Mon
treal College was still in existence though in the throes
of approaching diss dution, the Regular Baptist Union in
Canada West had appointed a committee to consider the
subject of Ministerial Education and report at its First An
nual Convention, in St. Catharines, held in June of that
year. The elaborate report presented by the committee,
through its chairman, Rev. J. Inglis, formulated a plan
which served for a time as a centre around which the
thoughts and hopes of the more progressive minds in the
denomination could rally. The scheme proposed was
briefly as follows:
The projected school, was to be purely theological and
was to be in Toronto, which, in view of the change that
had been happily effected in the constitution of King's
College, was regarded as affording the best facilities in
every respect.

2 SO LIFE AND LABORS OF
Three professorships were to be constituted, viz., one
of Christian Ethics and Logic, another of Theology and
Biblical Criticism, and the third of Ecclesiastical History,
Sacred Geography and Natural History. All the profess
ors were to unite in the direction of the general studies
and literary improvement of the students. Should there
be difficulty in obtaining the services of three professors,
the whole work thus outlined was to be divided between
two. There was to be but one, or at most two, short sessions
in the year. A session of six weeks in the fall, and
another of the same length in the spring, were suggested.
The scheme contemplated also the establishment of a
library as soon as possible, from which students during
vacation, and also Baptist ministers, were to be permitted
to borrow under certain restrictions.
The students of this institution were to have prefer
ence in the appointment of colporteurs by the society. A
fund also was to be created for the support of young men
laboring as missionaries in destitute localities during
their long vacations.
That which no doubt seemed to its projectors the most
practical and hopeful feature of the scheme was that the
professors to be appointed were expected to give their
services free of charge, the only cost to the denomination
being the payment of travelling and other unavoidable
expenses, and the supplying of their pulpits during their
absence. This project was certainly sufficiently modest in regard
both to the character and the cost of the proposed school.
But no practical results followed, and, so far as ascer
tained, no direct attempt was made to give to it "the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 281
name of action." Probably the difficulty in finding in
the ranks of the ministry in Canada three men qualified
for the work of instruction, and able and willing to give
their services gratuitously for six or twelve weeks in the
year, may have proved greater than was anticipated,
while the smal'ness of the educational results to be ex
pected from one or two sessions of so short duration would
be discouragingly manifest to those who seriously consid
ered the scheme. The matter seems to have been post
poned from time to time, until a new impulse was given to
denominational enteiprise by the formation of the Regu
lar Baptist Missionary Society of Canada. At the first
annual meeting of this society, held in Toronto in
October, 1852, a Committee on Education presented the
following report, which was adopted : —
"Your committee, being deeply convinced of the necessity
and practicability of an institution for the education of young
men for the work of the ministry, and, at the same time,
knowing the facilities (after an arduous struggle) afforded in
the Toronto University, for the attainment of a thorough
literary education, to persons of all denominations, do strongly
recommend our denomination to aid young men in enjoying its
advantages. But as this merely embraces a literary education,
they further recommend that steps be immediately taken to
procure an endowment for a theological institution; and they
suggest that the sum of ten thousand pounds be raised for that
purpose (to provide for the professors, literary, and other' inci
dental expenses), provided that no subscription be paid until
at least £5,000 be subscribed.
"Your committee, under the circumstances, are happy to
report that, to aid them in this most desirable undertaking,
Dr. Maclay's services might be secured. Indeed, they are
adven to understand that he has all but offered his services for
the purpose. Your committee, therefore, recommend the con
vention forthwith to invite him to engage in this important
work. S

282 LIFE AND LABORS OF
"Your committee also recommend that a committee be
appointed to carry out the object of this report, and take any
other steps which they may deem necessary or desirable to
make temporary provision for the instruction of young men."
In pursuance of this recommendation a committee was
appointed to open negotiations with Dr. Maclay, or other.
wise provide for securing, if possible, an endowment for
a Baptist theological school in the Province. This com-
.mittee held a meeting at Hamilton in November, 1852, at
which an agreement was made with Dr. Maclay to under
take the work. This venerable brother, who was a
famous collector and an enthusiastic friend of ministerial
.education, not only at once consented to undertake the
work, but generously offered to give his services gratui
tously and to commence the list with a subscription of
$100 on his own account. The object, as stated by the
committee, was the establishment of a theological school
only, they being unanimously of opinion " that it is no
part of their duty as Baptists to provide a school for
classical or professional students." It was provided,
•though somewhat ambiguously, that the subscriptions
^should hold good on condition that no less than five
.thousand pounds be subscribed. Another peculiar fea
ture of the scheme, which afterwards gave rise to some
.trouble, was a provision for cumulative voting, a sub
scription of $100 entitling the subscriber to one vote;
$200, to two ; $400, to three ; $700, to four ; and $1,000,
to five votes ; with an additional vote for every $500, so
long as the number of votes held by any one subscriber
did not exceed ten, which was fixed as the largest number
of votes to be cast by any one individual. Rev. James
Inglis, Rev. Dr. Pyper, and A. T. McCord, Esq., were

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 283
appointed a sub-committee to complete arrangements and
assist Dr. Maclay in carrying out the financial part of
the scheme.
The canvass was pushed with vigor and apparent
success. A meeting of subscribers to the Endowment
Fund was held in Toronto in February, 1853, at which
"The Regular Baptist Theological Education Society of
Canada" was organized and a constitution adopted. Dr.
Maclay had "succeeded in raising a sufficiently large
amount on subscription to more than endow one chair,'
aid good hope was entertained that the churches still
unvisited would swell the sum to a figure which would
suffice for the endowment of a second. The committee
appointed to examine Dr. Maclay's subscription book
reported contributions to the amount of £5922 9s. 8d.
The next step was to appoint a President and set the
college in operation. Dr. Maclay himself was in the first
instance elected, no doubt unanimously. He accepted
the appointment, but was for some reason unable to give
himself to the work, and being called on by the Execu.
tive Committee in January, 1854, to prepare to enter
upon his duties in April of that year, the result was his
resignation. Then the real difficulties of the managers
commenced. The constitution, which was probably
framed, as Dr. Fyfe suggested in his " Sketch of Baptist
Ministerial Education in Canada," "to avoid the evils of
the then divided state of the denomination," proved really
unworkable. Amongst other awkwardnesses, the choice
of professors was vested, not in the Executive Board, but
in a special committee appointed for the purpose. Suffice
it to say that this committee, in consequence partly of
difference of opinion either amongst themselves, or be-

284 LIFE AND LABORS OF
tween themselves and influential subscribers, failed to
confirm an appointment. Delay after delay occurred,
until the time limit within which the bonds of subscribers
were valid had passed, and some of these being with
drawn, the minimum endowment of £5000 was no longer
available. The sequel is contained in the following
preamble and resolution which were adopted at the Third
Annual Meeting of the Society, in Brantford, January
16th, 1856:—
"Whereas the Regular Baptist Theological Education Society
of Canada omitted to secure a charter of incorporation empower
ing it to hold property; and whereas several of the subscribers
to the endowment, through misunderstanding in the manage
ment of the proposed college, felt themselves released from
their obligations to pay their subscriptions, and thus the
amount requisite to authorize the appointment of a professor;
was not forthcoming in time ; therefore,
"Resolved that we authorize the Treasurer honorably to
return the bonds to all those subscribers who have paid, or are
disposed to pay their share, or pro rata, of the expenses, and
also to offer to return to those who have paid their subscriptions
to the funds, the sums so paid."
It may not be amiss to observe that there are hints and
indications that the effort, which thus ended so disap
pointingly, was not free from the besetting vice of almost
all movements of the kind, viz. the making of promises
or admission of conditions, by the agent, or agents, in
their laudable desire to swell the subscription lists, which
promises and conditions either cannot be made good, or
operate to deceive and disappoint the supporters of t1 e
movement in regard to the real degree of success achieved.
All experience shows that such tendencies cannot be too
carefully guarded against by the managers of special
enterprises of this kind.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 285
Though the endowment thus fell to the ground the
Education Society was not dissolved. The members
present proceeded to revise the constitution and to elect
officers for the ensuing year, Mr. Fyfe, who appears
hitherto to have had little connection with the Society,
being now made president. Nothing further of import
ance seems to have been done through the medium of this
organization, a new movement having been commenced,
on new lines, before the close of the year then current.
This sketch of the MacLay College attempt is here
given for two reasons. It is necessary, in the first place,
in order to show the exact position in which the denom
ination stood, in reference to educational matters, at the
time the Woodstock College was projected, and it serves,
in the second place, to indicate the peculiar difficulties
with which the projector of any fresh enterprise would
have to contend. The outlook must have been in many
respects, singularly dark. The Montreal College had,
after bravely struggling for years, succumbed for want
of support and sympathy. The economical project
elaborated by Mr. Inglis and his co-adjutors, had failed
to secure even a foothold from which any advance could
be made. And now the more ambitious attempt of Dr.
Maclay, for a time so well supported by the leading men
of the denomination, existed only on paper. Dr. Fyfe
used sometimes to say in later years, when recalling the
infancy of the Institute, that the hardest part of his work
had been to "lay the ghost of Maclay College." Still
even that experience had its useful and hopeful side. In
the sketch of Baptist educational efforts before quoted he
refers to it in the following terms : —
"The first meeting which I attended in behalf of education,

286 LIFE AND LABORS OF
after I returned from the States to Canada in 1885, was one
called to raise means, if possible, with which to pay off the
debts incurred in connection with Maclay College, whose
president was then a member of my church. Money was
raised, his salary was paid, — at least for a portion of his
time, — and he left the country.* This was the closing up of
Maclay College! A large number of our best men had freely
and promptly pledged their means for its support, and the
hopes of all were high. Its failure therefore was undoubtedly
a heavy blow and sore discouragement. Many of the brethren
in the country, (some of whom seemed to fancy that the organi
zation and management of a college ought to be a very easy
and simple affair) laid the chief blame upon Toronto, and have
scarcely yet forgiven her. In spite of the great depression
Occasioned by the failure of the Maclay movement, one clear
benefit remained. Their ability to raise so much in a short
time towards an endowment clearly showed to the denom
ination what they could do when they pleased. This lesson
was a clear gain any way. But under the effect of the loss of
confidence and disgust produced by the failure, how can the
denomination be again aroused to do what it is well able to do?
Who can inspire them with the needed confidence?"
In the Christian Messenger of November 8, 1885,
appears a letter criticising the amended constitution of
the Education Society. The letter is subscribed "One of
Your Readers," but from internal evidence there need be
little hesitation in ascribing it to the new president him
self. The letter is so sensible, so straight-forward, and
contains so much that was characteristic of Dr. Fyfe as
a practical leader and worker that no apology is needed
for a copious extract: —
* The reference is probably to Dr. Lillie who had been appointed to a
professorship, or the presidency, and had at considerable expense
removed with his family to Toronto, for the purpose of entering upon his
work. The legality of his appointment seems to have been disputed,
and as, for reasons before given, there was no prospect of the college being
opened for some time, a special meeting of the Society was called at
Woodstock, and a committee appointed to confer with Dr. Lillie, and
settle his claim on the Society. The sum of $600 was paid him, though
as Dr. Fyfe says, " there never was a student in Maclay College."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 287
" We wish to have a wise and practical constitution for our
Education Society. Then let us make the aim of that Society
as simple and direct as possible. Let it be an Education
Society merely, — let its aim be to educate pious young- men for
the Baptist Ministry. Let the constitution say this as clearly
and briefly as possible. Make the terms of membership in
this Society as popular as may be consistent, then proceed to
get a charter of incorporation, with power to hold a given
amount of property, and power to transfer a part of it to an
other corporation if thought best. This latter clause, or some
thing equivalent, should be in the charter for reasons which I
shall mention presently.
"We have now, according to the supposition, an incorporated
Education Society. The next inquiry is, how shall we realize"
our plans? We need funds to help indigent and deserving
young men, and we need a school to teach them in. Then we
set about raising funds ; one fund for purely educational pur
poses, and another for endowment. The question now arises,
how shall we manage these funds when raised? I should sug
gest this course. Get a number of men, competent to manage a
literary institution — say ten, or twelve, — incorporated as the
College Board, and transfer to them the Endowment Funds,
a.nd the management of the college. In the articles of transfer
state the terms, conditions and purposes, on which and for
which they are entrusted with the management of the institu
tion. If they should violate these terms, the property would
revert to the Education Society. It is at this point, and in
this way, that we can guard our property. It is in a legal
document which is permanent, and not in a constitution which
may be changed every year, that we should lay down our posi
tions. By this plan the Education Society would have a simple
aim. All could understand it, and the College Board would be
free to make its own constitution and by-laws, so long as it did
not infringe upon the conditions on which it received the
man igement of the school.
'' An Education Society cannot conduct a literary institution.
It is not organized for such a purpose. It is not composed of
materials competent for such a work. The simpler all our
organizations are the better. We can then all understand them
and see their operations more clearly.
" There must also be confidence in each other. If we, as

288 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Baptists, cannot trust a great deal in each other's honesty of
purpose and straight-forwardness, in carrying out the aim
agreed upon, we had better have no organizations at all. Here
then is my opinion. — Let us have a brief and simple constitu
tion for our Education Society. Under this let us obtain a
charter, and when we are about to organize a college, let us^
create a legal body to take care of it for us on certain con
ditions. If we organize one, or more, institutions of learning,
let us pursue the same plan, while we keep on with our appro
priate work, as a benevolent, churitahle organization. In this
way there will be no confusion, no misunderstanding.
" Permit me now to state one or two objections to the con
stitution as 'amended.' It lacks simplicity and directness of
«aim. . . . its elaborateness indicates want of confidence
in brethren generally. It is not sufficiently simple to produce
a strong moral impression, and yet not sufficiently accurate to
guard against any who may be ' twisted.'
"My last objection to the 'amended constitution' is this; it
vitiates all the bonds, if indeed they are not already vitiated.
A constitution which partakes of the nature of a subscription
paper, (as the constitution adopted in 1853 unquestionably does)
cannot be altered, except by consent of the whole. If I sub
scribe £100 under a certain heading, then, whenever the sense
of that heading is altered, my subscription is vitiated. If every
stockholder signs the 'amended constitution,' then each may be
morally held, but none can be held except such as chose to
adopt the 'amended constitution.' And to visit each stock
holder and present the ' amended constitution ' to him, would
be tantamount to raising a new endowment."
Two points in the foregoing — besides the good reasons
it suggests why we hear nothing futher of the Education
Society and its endowment — are worthy of note as emi
nently characteristic of views which Dr. Fyfe often
reiterated and which amounted with him to regulating
principles. These were his love of simplicity of method
and his reliance on mutual confidence and good feeling
amongst brethren. The one he regarded as the best
safeguard against waste of power, the other as the best

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 289
security for harmony. He had little faith in the useful
ness of complicated machinery in Christian work. He
distrusted the efficacy of elaborate constitutions or in
tricate rules. If Christian men could not work together
for the promotion of a common object without having
their respective spheres defined, and their rights guarded,
at every point, of contact, by rigid mathematical lines,
they were not likely to do so with the help of the nicest
regulations human ingenuity could devise. His im
patience of anything like hampering r strictions or soul
less mechanism sometimes almost created a source of-1
difference between him and his associates in educational
work, some of whom were by nature or education more
disposed to wish everything reduced to the nicety of a
perfected system. When we can rise to the height of
renouncing faith in the old copy-book maxim, "Order is
Heaven's first law," so far as that maxim applies to
living agents endowed with intellect, heart, and con
science, and when we can give its due weight to the
exercise of a large mutual trust as a great educative
moral force, it is probable that most of us will agree that,
within certain broad limits, Dr. Fyfe's was the "more
excellent way."
In the Messenger of December 13, 1855, under the
head of " A Proposal," and over the signature of " F,"
appears a letter which may well be regarded as the seed
in which the germ of the Woodstock College of to-day
was enfolded. The writer proposes " the starting, at
some central and accessible point in the West, a good
academy for the young men and the young women
belonging to our denomination." He believes that "there
are very many Baptists who have sons and daughters to

290 LIFE AND LABORS OF
whom they wish to give a different and a better educa
tion than any they can obtain in their own neighbor
hood," but who do not know where to send them. He
thinks it " a little mortifying that the Baptists have not
an Educational Institution of any grade in the Province,"
and regards them as " abundantly able," to do anything
needed in that line provided they will but " cultivate a
little more largeness of soul, a little more forbearance,
one with another." The school he proposes is not to be
theological, but it " would obviously be a very good pre
paratory school for a college ; while it would furnish to
all a means of social and intellectual culture," of which
they afe greatly in want. He proceeds to meet antici
pated objec'ions by showing that the sum needed for
endowment would be but small as the place where the
academy was located could be relied on to do much in the
way of furnishing land and buildings, while those who
wished to patronize it would contribute enough to furnish
the building, and be the guarantee fund for the teachers."
As an illustrative case he gives some striking details of
what had recently been done in two or three instances
by villages in Wisconsin. The letter concludes with
characteristic directness: — "Can we not unitedly and
heartily go about getting up such an academy on simple,
straightforward, business principles ?"
This letter, it will be observed, strikes a new key-note-
It does not propose to commence at the wrong end by
establishing a purely theological college without pro
viding any steps by which the illiterate young farmer or
mechanic, who felt it his duty to preach the Gospel, could
climb up to its entrance. The writer evidently does not
pin his faith to the ill-considered and illogical dogma

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 291
that a Christian people, as such, can have nothing to do
with providing facilities for the secular or literary cul
ture of their sons and daughters, and he evidently
believes that education under religious influences is the
best training for other spheres of Christian activity, as
well as for the pulpit.
The good seed thus dropped fell into good soil and
brought forth fruit in due season. People were led to
think about the matter and to talk about it, at first, wc
may be sure, with hesitating approval. A plan so. emi
nently simple and practical was sure to commend itself.
After the lapse of a year it reappears it its next stage of
growth. Here we have Dr. Fyfe's own account of the
matter : —
" When we began agitating once more about ministerial
education in 1856, I found but two or three men who had any
confidence that the Canadian Baptists could be again induced
to lay hold of this work. I had no confidence — and never
had — in being able to raise and conduct in Canada a really
satisfactory theological school by itself. The Grammar schools
in Canada, twenty-two years ago, were of little value, and fully
five-sevenths of all who should attend them would have to
leave home to do so. I was in favor of a literary department
in our theological school, where we could exercise some over
sight over the pupils. This department if thrown open for
pupils not having the ministry in view would interest a larger
number, of the Baptists, and help us to enlist their co-operation.
This idea of the school commended itself to the brethren, and
was finally adopted, as 1 shall more fully state in my next.
"In the autumn of 1856 two or three ministers, with myself.
held a meeting in my study, to consider " the situation" in re
gard to ministerial education. After long consideration, apian
for a new movement, (to be submitted to a public meeting
which was proposed to be called) was drawn up. The main
features of the plan were as follows:
" 1. We will aim at organizing a School with two depart
ments, a Literary and a Theological. We need a literary

292 LIFE AND LABORS OF
department, because as yet the Grammar schools are generally
very inferior; and chiefly because, were they all first-rate, over
five-sevenths of all our young men would have to leave home to
attend them. And then no provision has been made to furnish
for them suitable boarding places, and proper oversight; and
having to attend fifty different schools, no two of them would
have the same kind or degree of preparation for the study of
theology. Whereas if our students should attend a preparatory
school of our own, they would have not only the same curricu
lum, but the same incidental training and discipline.
"No person who has not had experience as a teaiher can tell
how much, how very much, this incidental training and discip
line amounts to.- It gives the students a thorough acquaintance
with each other; a unity and compactness which must tell
largely upon their life work. At the drawing up of our plan
for a new departure, it was deemed essential therefore that we
should have a preparatory department for our Theological
School ; and I may add now, after nearly twenty years' experi
ence,* — notwithstanding the very great improvements in our
Grammar Schools and Collegiate Institutes, — the necessity for
a preparatory department seems more clear and imperative that
ever. "2. It was decided to admit ladies also into the preparatory
department. We had no place in which to educate our young
women. Many of them were going to American schools. And
the co-education of the sexes was receiving more aud more con
sideration, and increasing numbers were favoring the practice.
Indeed, very great and rapid advances, both in England and
the United Spates, have been made during the last ten years in
favor of the admission of the ladies to the same institutions of
learning as the men. We certainly could not then have raised
two schools, one for the gentlemen and another for the ladies,
so we put them together : and for the overwhelming majority of
our people in Canada we find we have been doing the very kind
of work which they required to have done.
" 3. As to the location of the School, it was resolved that it
should not be placed west of London, nor east of St. Cathar
ines; that its location should be on some great thoroughfare
and thus be accessible : that the place should be healthy ; and
* This was written in 1878.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 293
should have a good Baptist Church, out of which an executive
committee could be chosen. These conditions being premised,
then the place which would, furnish, a site, and the largest
amount <f money toward the building, should have the School
located in it. In drawing up this scheme, we felt that it
would be an object, especially for a small town, to have such a
School located in it. Since the founding of the School, there
have been spent in Woodstock, by the School and its pupils,
not far from $400,000. The whole expenditure is now fully
$30,000 per annum. We therefore justly expected that there
would be some competition between the various localities, to
secure the location of the Institute."

CHAPTER XXII.

Tje Work Begun— A New Design— Ministerial Rather than
Theological Education — A Preparatory School Needed —
Also a Christian School for Young Men and Women —
The Secular Work of the Institute — A Gain in Economy
— Dr. Wayland's Views— Public Meeting in Brantford —
The Scheme Endorsed— A Locating Committee — Woodstock
Chosen — Regular Meeting of Subscribers — An Important
Crisis — A Constitution Adopted — The First Board of
Trustees — The Corner- Stone Laid — Plan of the Building
— The Building Committee — A Hard Struggle — In Labors
Abundant — Some Noble Cautions.
^HE WORK was now fairly begun. A definite,
(Jfe), practical scheme for a Canadian Baptist College had
boon at last devised and adopted, and — a thing even
more indispensable to success — a man of power and per
sistence, in the prime of life, and full of the enthusiasm
kindled by a lofty purpose, stood behind the scheme,
ready, if need be, to devote all his energies to pushing it
forwar A. It seems pretty clear that Mr. Fyfe had not at
first or until it was forced upon him by the unanimous
suffrages of his brethren, any thought of becoming him
self the head of the institution. His purchase of the
Messenger, amongst other indications, points in the oppo
site direction. His correspondence with Dr. Way land
also shows that the latter had been requested to recom
mend, if he could, a suitable man for the position.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 295
It will be noted that the Institute, as planned by him
and afterwards constituted and worked, differed radically
in its essential features from the colleges previously
projected or attempted. The bases of Montreal and
Maclay Colleges were purely theological. According to
the views of the promoters of those institutions, it was
the duty of the Baptists of Canada to provide for the
training of its future ministers in theology and kindred
subjects, but no part of its duty to engage in the work
of secular education. That was the business of the
State, and was provided for in the Public Schools. There
are still some in the denomination who hold this opinion,
and have no sympathy with any project for perpetuating
and enlarging the work of collegiate education proper, in
which the Institute has been so long and successfully
engaged. Mr. Fyfe's views were quite different and, as the
sequel proved, were at least more practical and practic
able. It is probable that he, too, had in mind, as the
main end to be reached, ministerial education. But, if
so, it was, as the late Mrs. Fyfe pointed out in a letter to
the Baptist, ministerial as distinct from theological edu
cation. From his intimate knowledge of the circum
stances and needs of the great majority of the young
men who entered the Baptist ministiy, he saw that no
mere veneering of doctrinal instruction could fit them
for the high calling to which they aspired. As a rule
they were the sons of farmers and otheis living in the
country, and out of the reach of even an efficient G' am-
mar School. Endowed though they often were with
sturdy intellects and sterling moral and Christian prin
ciples, they had received no thorough or systematic

296 LIFE AND LABORS OF
mental training, .and, in many cases, scarcely a good
common school education. For such, a theological college,
however well equipped, would be of little value. What
they needed first and most it would be quite unable to
supply, without departing from its proper sphere. The
result, if such an institution were established, would be
that a few, whose means were sufficient to enable them
first to attend some college, might eventually enjoy its
advantages, while the majority would either become
discouraged and enter into other pursuits, or go forth to
the sacred work with the very insufficient preparation
which a purely theological institution could impart to
minds uninformed and undisciplined.
But, as will be seen from his own words already
quoted as well as from the whole history of the founda
tion and development of the Institute under his direction,
Mr. Fyfe's views went much farther than this. He held
decided opinions as to the value of a thorough education
under positively Christian influences for young men and
women of all classes. He saw that, under the circum
stances of the country at the time the Institute was
formed, not one in fifty of the residents in the rural
districts could obtain even a High School training with-
out leaving home for the purpose; and that, in a majority
of cases, to send lioys or girls to the towns and cities for
the purpose of attending purely secular institutions was
to expose them to temptations and dangers from which
every thoughtful parent must shrink. Holding these
views, he might well conceive that to found an institu
tion to which parents might send their children for
purposes of higher education, for one, two, three, or more
years, with full confidence that they would not only

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.I). 297
receive careful and thorough mental training, but would
also be brought under healthful moral and religious
influences, would be to confer a boon upon the denomina
tion and perform a work acceptable to the Master.
It would be manifestly out of place to enter at length
here into a discussion of the vexed question of denomina
tional versus purely secular education. One question in
regard to a matter of fact suggests itself. We are accus
tomed, in calling to mind the benefits that have resulted
to the denomination and the country from the work of
the Ca-sadian Literary Institute, . to fix our attention
mainly or exclusively upon what has been clone and is
being done by the ministers educated there. What
about the influences that have been and are being exerted
in churches and communities by the hundreds of Chris
tian men and women who have gone forth from it to
various secular pursuits, many of whom were either con
verted, or received their deep'st and most permanent
moral and religious impressions, within its walls ? Are
not these doing a work for the Master second only, if
second at all, ti that of the ministers? Let those who
have means of judging ponder the question, ascertain
what these men and women are doing in the churches,
and then ask themselves whether it would be wed or ill
if the number of those subjected to -such training for
longer or shorter periods could be multiplied tenfold.
Bat another and most important element in the calcu
lation must not be lost sight of. In enlarging the scope
of the college so as to provide facilities for secular
training the pecuniary difficulties of the undertaking
were lessened, not increased. This is a point upon
which much misconception prevailed, notwithstanding
T

298 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Dr. Fyfe's repeated explanations. The question was
often asked by the faint-hear led or disaffected : " Why
should I tax myself to help educate the children of my
neighbors, especially those of other denominations ? I see
the necessity for a theological school and am willing to
aid in sustaining it, but I do not wish to be taxed twice
for purposes of secular education."
Dr. Fyfe's ready and effective answer was, in substance:
" You quite misconceive the true state of the case. The
necessities of the churches compel us to provide this
preparatory training for our young ministers. It costs
little if any more to educate one hundred students than
twenty, when all are pursuing the same studies. If
therefore, twenty of our students are preparing for the
ministry, and eighty for secular pursuits, it is clear that
the fees paid by the latter help to pay for the instruction
required by the former, which would have to be provided
in any case. Hence, each secular student, instead of
being educated at an expense to the denomination, is
actually helping it to educate its ministry."
While maturing his educational scheme in 1856, Mr.
Fyfe wrote to his old friend and preceptor, Dr. Wayland,
giving an account of his project in its inception. His
letter drew forth from this eminent man and most able
educator the following hearty commendation : —
"It gives me great pleasure to receive at last one letter
containing common sense views of Baptist Education for the
Ministry ; views which appreciate our state as it really is, and
not as it is not, and which look to improving us as we are at the
present moment. We must begin from where we are, meet our
present wants, and then, as things advance, extend and advance
with them. Your views seem to me in an eminent degree
practical and practicable. I think that they must succeed.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 299
You need a good academy, good as an academy, and also
adapted to the wants of young men preparing for the ministry.
This done, the way wilt be prepared for something further. if
this be the will of the Master."
A public meeting of those interested in Baptist Educa
tional work was held at Brantford, and the scheme
substantially as outlined in the document quoted in the
preceding chapter, was submitted for consideration.
After full and careful discussion the plan proposed was
adopted in substance, and it was resolved to make imme
diate and vigorous efforts to put it into operation. Rev.
H. Lloyd, M.A., was appointed to co-opera'e with Mr.
Fyfe in bringing the project fully before the public.
These two brethren were also authorized to act as a com
mittee to call for propositions from the vario is eligible
towns w Inch might compete for the Academy, with a view
to eliciting the most favorable offer . and to decide upon.
the location of the school, in accordance with certain coni-
ditions laid down by the meeting.
This question of location is always a most difficult and
delicate one in the case of any public institution, and
particularly in the case of one which is to depend upon
voluntary contributions for its establishment and sup
port. It is always easier to be wise after the event, and
yet it is difficult even at this day to see how the promo
ters of the movement could have acted more wisely in
the matter. There were, no doubt, reasons, which seemed
at the time good and sufficient, for the preliminary deter
mination of the eastern and western limits. Whether
t!:e adoption of such limits, to the exclusion of the chief
city of the province, was determined solely in view of the
ccn re of Baptist population, as at that time existing, or

300 LIFE AND LABORS OF
whether other considerations, such as the local jealousy
of which Mr. Fyfe had had so unpleasant evidence years
before, had their weight, the writer has no means of
determining. There were always amongst the influential
brethren in Toronto those who naturally thought the
city the proper place for such an institution. While there
is much to be said in favor of that view, it is clear that
there must have been strong arguments on the other
s'de, as Mr. Fyfe, himself a resident of Toronto, and
bound to it by strong ties both of feeling and of interest,
-would naturally be prepossessed in its favor. As it was,
there seems to have been always an expectation, if not a
tacit understanding, that- the Theological Department
would be removed to Toronto as soon as the independent
existence of the Literary school could be secured.
Following is Mr. Fyfe's own account of the action of
the locating committee, who had previously announced
that on a given day they would meet at Paris, to exam
ine the tenders and give their decision : —
"Unfortunately, the Brantford meeting had not instructed
their L'. eating Committee as to the form of the money pledges
.or bonds which they should exact from the place in which they
. decided to place the school. The .committee had therefore to
be guided simply by their own judgment. Three places desired
In have the Institute with them, viz., Fonthill, Brantford, and
Woodstock. When the documents sent by these places to the
committee were opened at Paris, it was found that Fonthill pro
mised, in the form of a legal guarantee, $18,000; Brantford
offered about $6,000 in the form of a list of bona fide subscribers,
and Woodstock $16,000, in the form of a guarantee from re
sponsible parties. Fonthill was rejected for several reasons
chiefly because it was so difficult of access. The choice then
lay between Brantford and Woodstock. The committee con
sidering a legal bond or guarantee more easily managed and
better than a list of subscribers, even where the amounts were

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.: . 301
equal, gave the preference to Woodstock, which guaranteed that
$16,000 should be raised, and that more than half of that sum
should be raised iu Oxford county. This decided the question
of location ; and we were taught afterward that God's hand
directed this decision. If ever a committee pleaded for guid
ance, Mr. Lloyd and I did, and I think we were answered.
Soon after the decision Mr. Zimmerman was killed in the
DesjarJins Canal accident, and after his death his estate was
unexpectedly found to be embarrassed. Had we chosen Font
hill, therefore, we should have lost at least $10,000 of the
$18,000 promised. About the same time the church edifice of
the Brantfoid Baptist Church was consumed by fire, and nearly
all the subscriptions on the list which they offered us would have
been necessarily withdrawn in order to rebuild a chapel which
they must have. The Institute buildings, therefore, would have
had to be postponed for years, if not aloogether."
What may be regarded as the first important regular
meeting of subscribers to the "Canadian Literary Insti
tute" fund was held at Woodstock on the 18th of March,
1857. A preliminary meeting had been held at which
committees had been appointed to draft a constitution,
prepare a general plan for building, etc., to report at this
general meeting, which seems to have been looked for
ward to as about to mark, as it certainly did, a most
important era in the history of the Baptists of Canada.
The venerable Rev. J. Winterbotham, editor of the Chris
tian Messenger, doubtless reflected a very general feeling
when he wrote editorially as follows a few weeks before :
"During the period of forty-five years of public life,
we have never felt any measure or project take a deeper
hold of the mind than this. ... So strongly are we
assured that a crisis of the most eventful kind is now at
hand, as respects the interests and progress of our de
nomination, that words are inadequate to express the
ardency of our wishes that there may be no holding back,

302 LIFE AND LABORS OF
no negligence, no indifference, on the part of those who
are the pillars of our churches, to whom God has given
wisdom and wealth, which, if rightly used at this time,
may, for ages to come, be the means of securing to the
Regular Baptists, and others who may embrace the privi
lege, blessings more valuable than mines of gold."
The Woodstock meeting was harmonious and enthusi
astic. The report of the Building Committee was
received and approved, and, on Mr. Fyfe's motion, the
trustees about to be appointed were authorized "to carry
out the plan presented so far as this can be done within
the limits of four thousand pounds, it being the clearly
understood view of the subscribers that they do not
sanction a greater outlay at present on buildings."
The report of the committee appointed to draft a
constitution was received, and, after due discussion, a
constitution was agreed upon and adopted. In addition
to the usual prescriptions in regard to the officers to be
appointed and their respective duties, the modes of
appointment, etc., the most important provisions of the
constitution were : that the Canadian Literary Institute
should be located in the town of Woodstock ; that it
should be under the supervision and general management
of a board of fifteen trustees, of whom not less than ten
should be members of regular Baptist churches ; that
these trustees should be divided into three classes, one of
which should retire each year, their places being filled by
the subscribers at their annual meeting; and that the
Board of Trustees should be authorized to appoint an
Executive Committee of six of their own number, who
should, in conjunction with the President, superintend
the affairs of the Institute, under the direction of the
Board, in the interim of their regular meetings.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 303
The subscribers elected as the first Board of Trustees
were :— A. Burtch, E. Topping, J. Hatch, A Carroll, J.
Kintrea, J. Charles, W. Winter, T. L. Davidson, R. A.
Fyfe, H. J. Barber, W. Wilkinson, O. May bee, R. Kilborn,
R. Baker, E. V. Bodwell. W. Winter, Esq., of Brantford,
was eleeted chairman of this Board ; John Hatch, Esq.,
of Woodstock, vice-chairman; James Kintrea, Esq., of
Woodstock, treasurer ; and E. V. Bodwell, Esq., of Mount
Elgin, secretary. Messrs. A. Carroll, H. J. Burtch, Frank
Wardle, and Rev. J. Cooper were appointed a Building
Committee, with instructions to proceed as rapidly as
possible with the erection of the building, subject to the
limitation above named in regard to expenditure.
On the 23rd of June the corner stone of the Institute
was laid with appropriate ceremonies in the presence of
a large assembly of interested spectators. The honor of
laying the stone was assigned to Archibald Burtch Esq.,
of Woodstock, who was from the inception of the insti
tution to the end of his life one of its most liberal and
self-sacrificing supporters. Addresses were delivered on
the occasion by W Winter Esq. chairman of the Board
of Trustees, Mr. Fyfe, Rev. T. L. Davidson, Rev. Dr.
Ryerson, Chief Superintendent of Education, George
Alexander Esq., and Rev. W. Wilkinson. Thus the
enterprise was inaugurated, and the Baptists of Canada
West committed to this important educational work.
The building thus commenced was designed to be plain,
comfortable and substantial. The central part of the
structure was 38x72 feet, four stories above basement,
and had two wings, each 38x38 feet, three stories above
basement, thus giving a frontage of 114 feet. The build
ing was designed to furnish, in addition to all the rooms

304 LIFE AND LABORS OF
necessary for purposes of instruction, accommodation for
136 boardeis.
The work of the building committee proved indeed a
toilsome and anxious one, and it was about three years
before they were able to get the edifice so far advanced
towards completion as to render it possible to commence
the school. To quote again from the Historical Sketch :
" Deciding where to build the Institute did not end our diffi
culties by any means ; it rather increased them. We obtained
our guarantee of $16,000 just as the flush times of 1855-56
began to ebb; and the latter part of 1857 and 1858-9 were very
hard indeed. The main Institute building, whose foundations
were laid in the early part of 1858, was not completed for more
than two years — indeed it was never quite completed.
" The Executive Committee at Woodstock struggled and
toiled on through those dark years. To show how some of this
Executive Committee felt during those days, when the Institute
had no money and scarcely any friends, the late Deacon Archi
bald Burtch, who was for some time Treasurer, mortgaged his own
dwelling-house in order to carry on the work. I question whether
any other man in the denomination would at that time, when so
few had faith in the enterprise, have done so much. This is
something to be held in remembrance."
Dr. Fyfe had, as he tells us in his " Historical Sketch,''
little to do with the scheme during these years. He was
sufficiently occupied with his work in Toronto. He says
" I then had little expectation and no wish to be made
principal of the school."
But the duties of the Toronto pastorate, through ardu
ous and responsible, by no means exhausted his energies
during this period. As we have already seen he had for
a time the chief care and labor involved in the manage
ment and editorship of the weekly denominational
paper. It was he who originated and prepared in 1857

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. , 305
the first number of the Canadian Baptist Register, and
for several j-ears he continued to compile and publish it,
not only without remuneration, but for a time at his own
risk, though the actual loss incurred was afterwards very
properly borne by the Convention. The Home Mission
Convention was indebted very largely to his practical
wisdom, foresight and energy, for its efficiency and the
good work it was enabled to accomplish. He was a
regular attendant at its meetings, and when not actually
filling one of its most important offices as Secretary, was
constantly engaged as a member of the Board, or as a
local agent visiting neighboring churches in its behalf.
Thus during these years in which the educational enter
prise was in process of incubation, he was constantly "in
labors more abundant." In 1857 he read before the Con
vention, by appointment, a valuable paper on "Encourage
ments and Cautions,'' and in 1859 on '' Baptists in
Canada — their Introduction, Progress and Present con
dition." The following noble passages from the former
are worthy to be engraven on Christian hearts and to be
handed down from generation to generation in Baptist
families and churches : —
"We must each guard against being swayed by sectional or
local interests. Nearly all our trials as a Christian people
may be traced to the predominance of local interests, or of per
sonal likes and dislikes; our Missionary Society has been to a
great extent crippled by these, and our institutions of learning
have been broken down by them. Brethren have held back
from confessedly great enterprises, because they were planned
or pushed by men they did not like, or because some particular
place was likely to be benefitted by the enterprise. Is this
worthy of Christian men 1 Is this true nobility of soul 1 What
though we, as individuals, should be injured if the general good
will be promoted thereby ? Could we not bear this for the sake

306 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of the cause? We are happy in the belief that this narrow
species of selfishness is passing away, and giving place to more
largeness of mind and generosity of heart. We must learn yet
more perfectly to rise above self and local feeling when the
denomination is to be benefitted. We are brethren. We are
one family. We have one interest. When the most remote
member of the family is cheered and comforted we should all
feel a thrill of joy. Our paper, for example, is designed to be a
denominational one —not a Brantford paper. And if it would
redeem its pledge, it must overlook location. It must forget
that it is published at Brantford, and set aside what may please
any particular neighborhood, so that it may suit the tastes and
promote the good of the whole body. So of our missionary
convention. It belongs not to east, or west, or middle, but to
the whole Baptist body, and must aim at promoting the interes's
of the whole Province, as far as the means are furnished it for
for so doing. The like remark might be made in regard to our
Institute. It belongs to the Province. There is not a corner
in the land to which its blessings may not reach. It is not the
Woodstock Institute, but the Canadian. This mode of looking
at things enlarges the mind and quickens the sympathies of the
professed followers of Christ.
"We need to cultivate, with special care, .good will and
brotherly love among the members and ministers of the de
nomination. We need that charity which suffereth long and is
kind, that vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up and thinketh no
evil. No sins are more common than tale-bearing and slander.
Men and women profess to be the followers of Christ — to love
each other wi',h a pure h-mrt, fervently — yet eagerly retail each
other's failings and faults. Grave deacons and reverend minis
ters often engage in this devil's service, deceiving themselves.
Do men take pleasure in retailing the faults of their wives or
daughters ? Do women blazon the infirmities of their husbands 1
Certainly not. The reason is, they love and feel so united to
each other that they would feel personally humiliated in the
humiliation of wife or husband, son or daughter. And if our
union as Christians were what we profess it is, we would feel in
the same way in respect to a brother or sister's faults or failings.
Christian men and women lie when they profess to belong to
Christ and love each other with a deathless affection, and yet

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 307
strive to depreciate each other's character or lessen each other's
influence. That disposition which wishes to rise by the depre
ciation of others needs to be converted. It is the devil's dis
position, which God abhors. The Christian temper rejoices not
in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. There is a class who
preface their evil tales with strong expressions of sorrow. They
are very sorry to hear of Brother or Sister So-and-so doing this
or that. You can set them down as canting hypocrites. They
are not sorry at all, else they would not for ever retail their
trash. If we, as a Christian people, would work well together,
if we would enjoy the smiles of our Heavenly Father, we must
cherish kindly feelings towards each other. Love worketh no
ill to his neighbor. Surely the world is ready enough to find
fault with Christians — to traduce them — without our helping
them. O, for more of the spirit of Jesus Christ ! May the love
Christ be shed abroad iu our hearts by the Holy Spirit given
unto us."

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Principalship Accepted — The Right Man in the Right P.. \cr. —
A Unanimous Appointment — "The Soul and the Kingdom '' —
"The Abraoiamic Covenant" — Letter to a Doubting Cihtkch
Member — Warm Testimonials — From The Young People i f
the Church -From The Temperance Reformation Society- -
A Memorable Night — A Baptist Triumvirate — Removal iii
Woodstock — The First Session — The Ship Launched.

fia

OTlN THE spring of 1860 the parties most closely con-

C^=, nected with this latest phase of our educational
work thought I must give up my pastoral charge, and
devote my whole time and strength to this new under
taking. This was not what I coveted for myself-
After much thought' and prayer I accepted the position.
At that time I did not expect to take up a permanent
residence in Woodstock. I supposed that, in a compara
tively few years, the Theological Department would be
removed to Toronto, and that I should be removed with
it." Such is Dr. Fyfe's own modest account of his appoint
ment to the position of Principal of the new Academy.
It is not probable that the promoters of the institution
had thought of any other arrangement from the first.
Maclay College had failed more through lack of a suit
able man on whom all could agree for President than
from any other cause. No doubt the strength of the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 309
new movement was clue largely to the belief that this
difficulty no longer existed — that the right man could be
found for the place as soon as the place could be made
ready for the man. A note from Mr. Fyfe to his friend
McPhail, written during the interval between his accept
ance of the p isition and bis removal to Woodstock, shows
incidentally how unanimous were the leaders of the de
nomination in regard to the appointment: —
" I thank you sincerely for your kind expressions about the
Institute and my connection witii it. The confidence which my
brethren in the ministry have, almost to a man, expressed iu
me as Principal, has affected me in a manner beyond my
power to describe. While it encourages me, it makes me
tremble. Who is sufficient to mould and train our rising
ministry? I hope you and the ministry generally, as well as
the churches generally, will remember me at the Throne of
Grace. Will you not have some set time, some monthly season,
of prayer for God's blessing on the Institute ? In many
respects I would much rather remain where I am. But if we
are ever to learn our duty from the deliberate opinions of
good men, I feel that the opinions of my brethren point to
my removal to Woodstock as my duty. I did not seek the
position, nor did I seek a "D.D." The latter title I will sell to
you for a very small sum.*
To return to my own feelings. I love to preach the Gospel.
I love to recall the times — now far in the past — when you and
I visited many destitute fields together. And, if I had my
own way, I wou'd ask no better work than to be. without
pastoral charge, with enough to live upon. Let me go from
place to place and seek out ' the few sheep in the wilderness.'
One of the considerations which induce me to go to Woodstock,
is that I shall still have opportunities to preach.
" I should be glad if I could get a few days or weeks rest,
before entering upon my new duties, for I feel weary and my
toils and anxieties for the past year have been very great.
But I fear I shall get no rest."
* The degree of "Doctor of Divinity" was conferred by Madieon
University in 1858.

310 LIFE AND LABORS OF
During this pastorate " The Soul and the Kingdom," a
little volume embodying the substance of several ser
mons, was published. The theme, the spirituality of
the Christian religion, may be regarded as quite a
favorite one with him. He delighted to dwell upon it.
" The grand fundamental rinciple of all true religion,
viz. its personal and spiritual character" was also the
key-note of a sermon on " The Abrahamic Covenant,"
which was preached before the Grand River South
Association in 1868, and published by request of that
body. But in none of his numerous sermons and public
discussions, do we find this grand principle, with its cog
nate doctrine of the independence of the individual church,
more clearly and forcibly set forth than in a private
letter, written to a member of the Bond Street Church
who was proposing to withdraw for reasons sufficiently
indicated in the letter. The following extract is some
what lengthy, but the views so well enunciated have a
double biographical value. They enable Mr. Fyfe to
state his views for himself, not through an interpreter,
and they go on record for the information of all who may
choose to study and compare them with those of the
Text-book: —
" 1. In speaking of religious truths and practices, we must
distinguish between what is esseutial, and what is merely
incidental to any system ; between what is enforced, and what
is voluntary; what God positively requires, and what is merely
a way in which some good people suppose they are carrying out
the spirit of their Heavenly Father's instructions. You are
aware that there are many practices and customs at the present
day, respecting which the Scriptures give us no precise direc
tions. The New Testament says nothing, for example, about
Missionary Societies, Tract, Bible, Education, Temperance
Societies, or Protestant Alliances. These are voluntary associa-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 311
tions, which men may or may not join without disobeying God.
Among the Baptists we have no ecclesiastical systems — we have
simply churches with their elders, or bishops, and deacons.
Phil. i. I; Acts xiv. 23, xx. 17. All the members of the
church are to be spiritual members who obey their Lord. The
brethren manage their 'own alfairs. They meet weekly to break
bread, to hear the word of God explained, and to edify and
exhort one another. But all the organizations, the associations,
the conventions, the missionary and education societies, which
exist among the Baptists, are purely voluntary organizations.
Some of our members think they can do good by connecting
themselves with all these organizations. Some have confidence
in only two or three of them. Some do not confide in any of
them. But co-operation or non-co-operation in these societies,
councils, dedications, etc., does in no way affect membership in
particular churches. Did we say, ' My brother you must
believe in all these things and sustain them, else we shall
disfellowship you,' then you might justly answer, ' Your system
oppresses my conscience; it is wrong.' All that a member of a
Baptist Church can guard is his own church. Have we, for
example, iu Bond Street departed from the Scriptures? If so,
in what respects? What commands or institutions of God are
we neglecting? Wherein are we infringing upon Christian
liberty by enforcing or making disciplinary anything that God
has not required ? We may have customs respecting which
God gives no express instructions, but in regard to these,
(though I have nothing definite in my mind at this moment,)
there must be liberty. We may, as a church, come far short of
being so spiritual as we should be. It is my prayer to God, and
I believe it is also the prayer of many besides, that we may be
more fully transformed, by the renewing of our minds, .into the
inage of Christ. The ' Baptists' System ' then is this: they
insist that those who have fellowship with them should obey
the plain teachings of God's word and no more. When we pass
beyond plain teachings to things respecting which God has
given no positive instructions, we are guided by the law laid
down in Romans 14th Chap , and in ii. Cor. 8th Chap.
"2. You object very strongly to 'Baptist Customs,' eg.,
dedications, ordinations, councils, theological schools, etc. Bear
in mind, please, that these are strictly voluntary, that no man
is in any way bound to sustain them, except as they commend

312 LIFE AND LABOUR OF
themselves to his own conscience. Perfcit enjoyment of all the
privileges of the Church may exist in any and every case, in
entire independence of, and isolation from, all these things.
And surely this is freedom enough. It would savor of
captiousness to find fault with this as being restrictive of
Christian liberty. While this broad margin is freely allowed
to those who cannot see as I do respecting a. point which God
his not fixed — for this is the class of subjects I am speaking of
— I can see very great benefits which may be reapsd from a
proper use of many of these societies or customs, e. g. a
proper theological school mxy be a very great blessing. That
there were sotn^ 1113 ins adopted to teach man for the ministry
in New Testament t'uwi is very evident. See 2 Tim. ii. 2 ;
Titus i. 9 ; Acts xviii. 26. The principle of teaching men with
reference to future preaching is clearly involved iu these pass
ages. The disciples of Christ were three and a half years with
Him after they were converted, that He might illustrate and
explain truth to them. Paul did not enter upon his labors for
three years after his conversion. Christ, during that time, as I
suppose, revealed to him in a miraculous nunner the great
doctrines of the Gospel. It does not matter where a man gets
his information, but he must possess it, else he cannot teach.
.Suppose I knew of some brother deeply verged in the knowledge
of God's word, would I do wrong if I asked hiin to commit .to
some faithful young men, who had been less highly favored
than himself, what he had received of God, that they might be
able to teach others ? A good theological school does neither
m >re nor less than furnish to young men, in whose hearts God
has already planted his grace, the best facilities for a careful
study of the word of God. In regard to ordinations I may
remark, in passing, that Timothy is exhorted to lay hands sud
denly on no man, i.e., ordain no man suddenly. Titus ordained
men in Crete, and there are other cases, e.g., that mentioned in
Gal. ii. 9, where som t mode of public recognition was adopted, when'
no special gifts were conferred. But I need not enlarge on these
points, as they are of the number in regard to which no positive
law is laid down, and iu regard to which men are free.
";1 You object much to ornaments in places of worship. So
do I, not as a matter of piety, but as a matter of taste ; for I
cannot find that the Scriptures say one word in regard to this
subject. God looks at the state of the worshipper's mind. If

REV R. A. FYFE, D.D. 313
the heart be lowly and contrite, God will dwell in it as readily
in a cathedral as iu a cabin. And my experience and observa
tion have been that there may be as much pride and carnality
in a hut as in a cistle, and these dreadful sins as often assume
the garb of humility as any other dress. If a person's mind is
taken up with his dress, or the shape and grandeur of his
place of worship, then his mind is wrong. But the poverty or
plainness of a place of worship does nut necessarily add to the
spirituality of the worshippers. I have in my memory many
illustrations of the reverse. As I feel in regard to this I would ¦
build a house of pure gold (could I afford it) if by this means I
could bring a greater number of persons, than by any other,
statedly under the sound of the pure truth. God dwelleth not
in temples made with hands whether they be plain or decorated,
large or small. It is with the humble worshipper alone that
he dwells. If a people should say, a house of worship must
have a certain shape, size or decoration in order to make it
acceptable to God ; then I would rebel at once.
"4. 'Strict communion' you object to. At this I confess I
am a little, surprised, for if I rightly understand your other
views this objection seems inconsistent with your strong desire
to adhere stiictly to the Scriptures. Pardon my plainness. It
is a simple question of fact. Did inspired men have at the com
munion table any who were not baptized? If not, we depart
from inspired example, and introduce a ' worldly element ' into
the discipline of our churches, when we introduce unbaptized
persons at the communion. Baptism is a positive command, and
it cannot be treated in the same way as other things respecting
which God has given no express precept. You speak of leaving
the Baptists, although you do not charge them, as I understand
it, with neglecting any express command of God, and you pro
pose to take to your arms those who neglect the clearly revealed
will of Christ. * I state this matter as it presents itself to my
mind, and I am sure you will not misapprehend my feelings
while I am endeavoring to make plain my views to you.
" 5. I do not know that you stated very distinctly your ideas
respecting church organizations, and therefore lean only state
my own at this time. I do not regard the church as a voluntary
society which one may join or leave at his own option. And
hence as wc mast join a church in obedience to Gil's revealed
will, so must we Lav,: it iu obedience to that will. We slimld
U

3. Li LIFE AND 1.AI10RS OF
r? ¦-
have a 'Thus saith the Lord' for joining, and a 'Thus saith the
Lord' for leaving. I do not find that Christians in N. T. times
left a church except when the church departed from the failh,
ie., either loft undone what they were commanded to do, or did
what they were forbidden to do. Or else when the person him
self departed from the faith as in 1 John ii., 19.
Further, I regard the church as a witnessing body. See the first
three chapters of Revelation. Any notion that it was designed
merely, or mainly, for the mutual edification and comfort of the
members, is a defective view, a partial conception. Neither
the Apostle Paul, nor his Master, spent anything like the time
and effort iu directly edifying and comforting the church that
thev did in turning men from sin. Whenever mutual edifica-
.tion, important as this duty is, is made the great object, the
chihf end of church organization, the spirit of the gospel is
sacrificed to a refined selfishness, which will inevitably work
the ruin of the organization sooner or later. The stream of
time is strewn with the wrecks of such churches. 0 how anx
ious and indefatigable was the Saviour, and also the Apostle
Paul, to save sinners J "
Dr. Fyfe's departure from Toronto called forth many
flattering,, and no doubt s;ncere, expressions of regret,
both from within and from without h s own church and
congregation. One that we may be sure was by no
¦means the least acceptable and gratifying was an address,
accompanying a parting gift, from "the young members
¦of the church and congregation." " You are leaving," say
they, " those who have not only learned to love you and
admire your character as a man, a Christian, a pastor, and
' father in Israel,' but who desire to be grateful that you
have been the instrument in God's hands of turnino- their
wandering feet into the fold of Christ, and establishing
them more firmly in the faith of our blessed Redeemer."
" We desire to express to you," they continued, " our
appreciation of, and sincere thanks for, that care and
anxiety, that devotedness and attachment, which you

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 315
have ever manifested towards us, and especially for the
extra labor you have performed in lecturing and teaching
for our improvement. Be assured, Dear Sir, that for all
these you have our most sincere thanks, and our fondest
hopes and most earnest prayers for your future welfare."
While giving himself with exemplary zeal and devo
tion to the special work of his own pastoral sphere, Dr.
Fyfe was always ready to throw himself with impas
sioned energy into every great moral movement that
enlisted his sympathies and needed his services. He
was throughout an ardent friend and advocate of the
temperance, or rather total afistinence, reform. While in
Perth he had connected himself with the Sons of Tem
perance, had filled the highest office in the local branch
of the Order, and on leaving had received strong assur
ances of the regard in which he was held by the members,
and their regret at his departure. So, too, in Toronto, at
a time when the temperance organizations were much
less popular than now, and ministers of the various de
nominations were still chary of committing themselves
in favor of the movement, he had not hesitated to give it
his warmest support. A public address was presented to
him, on the occasion of his leaving the city, by the " Tem
perance Reformation Society of the City of Toronto,"
which spoke in the strongest terms of his. "eloquent,
sincere, and forcible advocacy of the cause of total absti
nence" — a cause which he " had fearlessly, zealously, and
faithfully urged upon the public in the pulpit, on the
platform, and in the press," ever since he came to the
city fifteen years before. The society proceeded to con
vey to him the heartfelt thanks of its officers and mem
bers for the valuable services he had s > frequently and

316 LIFE AND LABORS OF
earnestly and with so much success "rendered in the
cause of temperance and truth " — services "doubly blessed
as coming from a minister of Christ whose daily walk
and conversation had been in strict accordance with his
preaching and teaching."
Rev. J. S. Ross, now of Caspar, California, sends us
the following graphic picture of a night at Dr. Fyfe's
house in Toronto shortly before his removal to Wood
stock : —
"I was intimate with the late Joseph McGregor of Caledon,
a benefactor of the College, and also one of its students during
its first term. He spoke of spending a night at Dr. Fyfe's before
the latter removed from Toronto to Woodstock. He said it was
the memorable night of his life. The late Rev. Mr. McPhail
and Rev. T. L Davidson, came as guests for the night. It was
a joyful reunion of kindred spirits, who had not met for many
years. They were old-time friends, and that friendship never
waned or lost its fervor. They were three self-made men who
had courageously conquered difficulties and won fame in God's
vineyard. Each knew how nobly the others had struggled
to reach the positions they now occupied. It was a Baptist
triumvirate in session. Dr. Fyfe was in his happiest mood.
They reviewed the chequered past, recalled old associations and
renewed pleasant memories. They had seen, but had outlived,
the day of small things. Each was inquisitor in turn. Every
field where Baptists existed was considered, from Windsor to
Quebec, and from Owen Sound to Lake Erie's shore. Every
pastor came in for his own share of impartial criticism, words
of praise or blame. The censures ware the wounds of a friend,
the penalty we inflict upon those we love and which would rouse
our indignation if spoken by others. There were sallies of mirth
and abundance of wit, serious inquiries and sober reflections.
There was perfect freedom and no restraint. They planned,
deliberated and projected schemes for the future. They wanted
to promote the glory of God and they sought the welfare of the
Baptist denomination. Their past success, God blessing their
labors, encouraged them for the future.
" I think he said that they lay down but never slept. No

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 317
sooner was one theme disposed of than another would come up.
He learned more of our people that night than he ever knew
before. His interest and sympathy had been awakened in our
educational work, and his bequest is still helping the college. It
was the last night these three worthies were to spend together
on earth and poor McGregor went to his reward in 1861. They
are all gone but their works follow them."
In June, 1860, Dr. Fyfe took up his residence perma
nently in Woodstock, and on the 4th of July following
the school was opened. He says : —
"At that time the building was incomplete. We had only
one fiat of dormitories finished. Our first beginning was a half
term, six weeks. At the end of this short term we had forty
pupils on the roll. During the vacation that followed the first
term I went out and raised nearly money enough to finish an
other flat of dormitories. In the Autumn term, up till the
Christmas vacation, we had on the teaching staff: Miss
Brigham, Miss Vining, Mr. (now Dr.) Stewart, and the late Mr.
Hankinson, besides myself. There seemed to be a growing
interest in the school, and the promise of a large attendance at
the beginning of January, 1861. We closed the term in pretty
good spirits and looked hopefully to the future. And yet we
had no endowment and very few friends."
At the opening of the next term, on September 12th,
really the first regular term of the school's existence, the
Principal was able to report to the Baptist that seventy-
nine pupils were on the roll, and several more expected.
Ten of those already there, and some of those to come, had
the ministry in view. This was good, practical, proof
that the Institute was needed and likely to be appre
ciated. The toils and worries of that first term, or rather first
term and a half, which intervened before the close of
1860, can well be conceived by those who know anything
of the working of such enterprises. For a vivid picture,

318 LIFE AND LABORS OF
drawn by one who was a sharer in the labor and the
burden-bearing, the reader is referred to Mrs. Yule's
"Memories of Dr. Fyfe and his Work," near the end of
this volume.
Thus the goodly ship, built with so much toil and
anxiety, and freighted with so many grand possibilities
and precious hopes, was launched upon the uncertain sea
of voluntaryism. The readers of this volume know to
what extent those hopes have been fulfilled, those possi
bilities realized, through more than a quarter of a century
of labor and struggle, up to the present day. It remains
for generations yet unborn to rejoice in their ampler
fulfilment and realization as the good work goes on and
the harvests multiply from one decade to another.

CHAPTER XXIV.

The Institute Burned — Cast down, but not Destroyed--A Ray of
Light — Hope Revived — Financial Statement — Woodstock
Moves — Character Tested — The School Re-opened — Volun
taryism on Irs Trial — A Successful Canvass — Canadian
Baptists Vindicated — New Building Erected — Trials of the
Executive Committee — And of the Trustees — Dr. Fyfe
Overworked— A Bequest Lost — Appeal Follows Appeal — An
Enormous Burden — The Question of Endowment — The
Scholarship Plan — Half the Loaf not Wanted — History of
The Ministerial Education Society.

iHIS MORNING, about half past three, a fire broke
out in the wing of the Institute, and in a short
time enveloped the whole building in flames. The labor
of years is a mass of smouldering rubbish. Alas! alas!
In less than an hour and a half that which had so long
been a subject of prayer and interest to the Baptists of
Canada was a mass of ruins Little or nothing could be
saved. One cause for devout gratitude is the fact that
but few of the students had arrived. They will be pour
ing in to-day and to-morrow. God is trying us sorely ;
but I am persuaded that this is meant for good. The
origin of the fire is a mystery. No fire had been in the
room where the conflagration broke out. during the da}'.

320 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Matters look dark, but a searching investigation will be
made into the whole affair.*
"I have no strength to write more ; but one thing I can
say : We feel ' cast down, but not destroyed.' I am not
discouraged. I feel sure many a true Christian heart
will draw nigh to God on our behalf. 0, brethren, pray
for us. I do not think we shall stop the sch ol, although
I do not yet know how we shall carry on our work. I
feel sure we shall have the sympathy of many in this our
great calamity."
So wrote Dr. Fyfe for the Baptist, on the eighth of
January, 1861, the very clay when the new pupils'were
coming up for examination and classification, preparatory
to the opening of the term. The sequel cannot be better
told than in his own words, in the " Historical Sketch,"
written seventeen years after.: —
"How the burning of the Institute still throws its lurid glare
over the horizon of the past ! Some thought it was a judgment
upon ns, which w add quiet Baptist ambition for ever. Had
the Baptists not failed twice, and this was the third and last
time. But God meant for us good, and not evil. On the even
ing of the day on which the Institute edifice was burned, eighty
students came in to join the School. They were billeted in
Woodstock families (who showed much sympathy with us,) till
the Committee should be able to decide what to do. Hamilton
offered us the use of a building, and so did Brantford, if we
woidd move. After long and earnest, effort, ' Woodstock
Hotel,' (lent free for two years) with all its furniture, was pro
cured for us by citizens of Woodstock, though we had to pay
part of the price at which the hotel furniture was valued. It was
pioposed to assess the town for $600, for our benefit, but this
* The mystery of the origin of the fire has never been solved. The
fact that two attempts were subsequently made to burn the buildings
points strongly to incendiarism, but no evidence was forthcoming, nor
even proof of malice or other adequate mjtive on the the part of any
ndividual.

RE>r. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 321
we refused, and paid the money ourselves. The Institute
building was burned on Tuesday, and classes were reciting on
Friday in the old Hotel !
"Still there was not a ray of light showing us where we were
to get another building. After paying out the whole insurance
we had on the building, we were more than $6,000 in debt !
" Before the end of the week on which the fire occurred, the
Hon. W. McMaster wrote, saying that he would contribute
$1,000 toward a new building. This clearly pointed out to the
Trustees that they should make a vigorous effort to build again.
From all quarters expressions of sympathy poured in. One
minister, now in a better world, rode up on the day after the
calamity, and told us to ' Be of good cheer ; he was sure we
were destined to have a good school here, else the Devil would
not be jo mad at us !' The Trustees met, and resolved to raise
$20,000, in the form of promissory notes, the notes to be bind
ing only on condition that the whole $20,000 were actually
pledged befo:e July following. I was appointed chief solicitor,
along the main thoroughfares, (for I could not be spared from
my classes) and Mr., now Dr., Peddic, who was then a student
in Madison University, was engaged to canvass the churches off
the chief lines of travel. For the love he bore to his native
land, (and I think he still loves Canada), he was willing to
undertake this arduous and not over pleasant work. And most
efficiently did he clo his part. He raised about $4,000 in the
country churches. The rest of the canvassing was done by my
self and volunteers. In about fourteen weeks from the com
mencement of our agitation, we had $21,600 pledged. The fire
had warmed up the whole country ! Canadian Baptists before
the fire, and Cana lian Baptists after the fire, were entirely
different people ! "
The following extract from a " Financial Statement"
prepared under direction of the Board of Trustees in
1862, by the late Rev. Hoyes Lloyd, M.A., may serve to
supplement the foregoing : —
" At the time the former building was burned, there were
$11,372.33 of debt upon it, to meet which the notes held
against various parties amounted to the small sum of $896.81,
leaving $10,475.59, to be provided for, even if all the notes
should be promptly paid.

322 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" The Insurance Companies made good the amount of :
for which the building was insured, and thus reduced the
liabilities to $3,373.33. This, then, was the financial position
of the Board after the fire. Their building in ruins, over $3000
in debt, and $896 in old notes, many of which were utterly
worthless. Heavy was the blow, and dark indeed were the
prospects 1 They hardly knew what to do or where to turn.
But He who opened a path for His ancient people through the
midst of the sea, had not forsaken them. So that they might
say with the sweet singer of Israel,
' The Lord is my strength and my shield,
I trusted iu Him, and am helped.'
" Saddened with the intelligence he had received of the
destruction of the building, a brother sought repose, but sleep
fled from his eyes. He is one of the Lord's stewards, and his
Master was giving him a commission that night. When the
morning dawned he did not disobey the promptings of the Holy
One, who had given him his life, his wealth, and his hopes of
Heaven ; but sitting down he penned a letter to Dr. Fyfe,
pledging $4000 towards the erection of a new building, provided
that the balance of the sum required should be raised from
other sources.
"This munificent offer from the Hon. William McMaster of
Toronto, caused light to beam through the darkness. The cam
paign was opened, and there was a general girding on of armor,
with a sanguine hope of success. Responses to the appeals
that were made came in from all quarters with rapidity, and
in the course of a very few months $21,186.04 were secured by
notes and pledges.
" The inhabitants of Woodstock offered the Woodstock Hotel
for the purposes of the Institute, for twelve months, and $1000
of the amount required for the rent of it were pledged. The
balance of $600 not being obtained by private subscription, the
Town Council passed a resolution to levy a special tax upon the
inhabitants to that amount, which the Board declined to accept,
preferring to advance that amount out of their own treasury, at
the risk of having none refunded, to making any compromise
of Baptist principles of voluntaryism."
It will be observed that there is a discrepancy of about
$3000 between Dr. Fyfe's statement and that of Mr.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 323
Lloyd, in regard to the amount of the debt after the fire.
Both statements are probably correct, Mr. Lloyd's being
official and certified to by Messrs McMaster and Craig,
as auditors, while Dr. Fyfe was not the man to make a
broad error in a matter of fact of that kind; but just how
they are to be harmonized is not clear. No doubt they
reckoned from different dates. It may be that the
explanation lies partly, or wholly, in the fact mentioned
by Dr. Fyfe, that the Trustees became responsible for
half the price of the furniture of the hotel, and for the
balance of $600 on account of rent to be paid. There
may, also, have been other equally necessary liabilities
immediately incurred.
The refusal of the Trustees to permit the Woodstock
Town Council to raise the balance of the rent money by
taxation, is worthy of more than a passing notice. The
offer to place the hotel at the disposal of the Trustees'
rent free, had been made spontaneously by the citizens,
at a public meeting presided over by the mayor. Why
should the friends of the Institute care by what means
the town fulfilled the pledge thus made on its behalf ?
The principle on which the Trustees acted in declining
to receive anything beyond the amount voluntarily
subscribed by individuals seemed no doubt to many,
overstrained, if not incomprehensible. The author first
heard of the incident years after, from an influential
magistiate, a Presbyterian, living in the neighborhood.
He condemned the action of the Board as mistaken and
foolish. The temptation, under the circumstances, must
have been pretty strong, and very plausible reasons would
suggest themselves why the money should be accepted,
and the odium, if any resulted, cast upon the town

321 LIFE AND LABORS OF
officials, or the citizens. AU honor to the Board for their
loyalty in a trying time to the grand principle of re
ligious voluntaryism 1
The occasion was one of those which try men's mettle.
In her " Memories," in another part of this volume, Mrs.
Yule, who, as Miss Vining, was a witness of the calamity,
as well as a sufferer by it, and who had her part, as one
of the teachers, in all the toils and trials which followed,
bears witness to the nobility of soul which Dr. Fyfe
manifested throughout. He did not, she assures us, give
way to despondency for an hour. His unfailing self-
reliance and fertility of resource were never more
c mspiciously manifest, nor the power of his inspiring
presence more strikingly felt. Nevertheless it was to
him, doubtless, a season of great darkness, and he used
often in later years to refer gratefully to the receipt of
Mr. McMaster's letter, as the first rift in the clouds.
One who was at the time one of the theological stu
dents, and who arrived in Woodstock on the next day
but one after the catastrophe, after referring to the char
red ruins, the despondent teachers and the liberal action
of the citizens says : —
"A few days after, Dr. Fyfe stood up after chapel exercises
and while his face showed indications of anxiety and care, spoke
as follows, as nearly as I can recall his words. 'Young ladies
and gentlemen, we have passed through a fiery trial. God
moves in a mysterious way. Wo often cannot understand his
purposes till they are developed in the fulfilment. I want your
help, your prayers and sympathy in this trying time. We have
abundant reason to thank God that all our lives have been
precious in his sight. Had this calamity taken place a day
later when the school was in session, how many might have
perished in the building. I wish you all to exercise a spirit of
patience and put up with such accommodations as we have in

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 325
the meantime. If you are willing to do this, I think I can
promise you at a day not very far distant, a better building,
with ampler accommodations than we had in the old one. Keep
up your courage, and acquit yourselves as men and women."
The biography of Dr. Fyfe from this time forth is so
closely interwoven with the history of the Canadian
Literary Institute, that the two are well-nigh insepar
able. The history of the Institute itself presents two
very distinct aspects, which may be better viewed separ
ately. The first is its financial, the second its educational
side. The former is, from first to last, a story of strug
gle, poverty and debt, lighted up at frequent intervals
with gleams of noble Christian liberality and self-
denial. The latter is for many years a record of
continuous progress in extent of course, in thoroughness
of instruction, and in attendance of pupils.
It should have been mentioned before that during the
summer and autumn of 1860, in addition to the general
canvass that had been previously made for the building
fund, Dr. Fyfe and Mr. Hewson had been authorized to
make a special appeal to the denomination for the addi
tional sum of $1200, needed in order to prepare the third
flat of the building for the accommodation of the large
number of expected students. The:e were then going on
at the same time movements to collect overdue subscrip
tions to the original building fund, a plan for getting the
head of each Baptist family in Canada to contribute a
York shilling for each member of his family to a fund for
wiping out the debt already contracted, and this sp; cial
appeal for $1200 to complete the building. It will thus
be seen that the voluntaryism of the denomination was
being pretty thoroughly tested, even before the fire.

326 LIFE ANTD LABORS OF
We have already seen from Dr. Fyfe's statement that,
within six months from the date of the appeal, somewhat
more than the $20,000 asked for the purpose of re-building
had been subscribed. This result was not reached with
out much earnest effort. In addition to the energetic and
constant appeals of Dr. Fyfe and Mr. Peddie, many
ministers and other warm friends of the cause took hold
heartily and pushed forward the collection in their
r.-spective localities. The result was as indicated, and at
the expiration of the time-limit Dr. Fyfe was enable! to
say in the Baptist : —
"The notice which we publish in another column of the
successful issue of tne effort to raise $20,000 to rebuild the
Institute edifice, will gladden many a heart. Many lips will
utter, ' Thank God for this token of His favor ! ' Yes, grati
tude to God is the first feeling which should be indulged, for
His hand has been in this matter throughout. He opened the
hearts of the people, and raised up zealous laborers in many
quarters, so that in less than fourteen weeks, embracing the
period when the roads in this new country are at their very
worst — all but impassable — the Province has been canvassed
and $21,000 pledged. And the aggregate outlay for this
great work does not exceed $300.
" Never before have the Baptists of Canada so generally
taken hold of any enterprise ; never before have so many
hearts and hands among the Baptists contributed to any one
enterprise. We thought that this work could not be done
unless the rich men of the denomination ca.me forward and
helped. But, with two or three honorable exceptions, our rich
Baptists have done least of all for us — so much the worse for
them, so much the better for the others who have had a heart
to give. We confess that while we thank God for His favor
to His people, we think we have reason to feel proud that the
Baptists have so promptly shown what they can do.
"In conclusion we must heartily thank the many, many,
friends who have taken hold of this work so vigorously, for the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 327
great moral lesson they have given, not only to the denomina
tion, but to the whole Province. They have shown what
harmony and determination can effect in a good cause. They
have shown what voluntaryism can do when it sets about it,
how much it is superior to dependence upon State help. And
they have proved that the ' Regular Baptists,' who have so
often been accused of » love for ignorance, do appreciate
educational advantages."
The contract for the erection of the new building was
taken by Messrs Nicholson and Chisholm of Hamilton,
and by midsummer of 1862 the new edifice, in some
respects better and more commodious than the former,
was completed. Voluntaryism is not without its draw
backs and disadvantages, and some of these were ex
perienced by Dr. Fyfe and the Trustees, in consequence
of the failure of many subscribers to redeem their pled
ges promptly at the specified time. The amount of
anxiety and worry that were devolved upon the Princi
pal and his co-workers of the Executive Committee, both
at this time and all through the subsequent history of
the Institute during his life-time, by their lack of funds
to meet obligations, can be understood best by those who
were in a position to know the facts. Again and again
did these unselfish workers, rather than let the Institute
suffer in efficiency or in reputation, become personally
responsible for sums which threatened sometimes to prove
ruinous to them personally. The indebtedness of the
denomination to some of those who were for meaiy years
active members of the Executive Committee at Wood
stock, has probably never been fully appreciated, but
they have the satisfaction of knowing that they were in
this respect, in common with Dr. Fyfe, burden-bearers
in a good cause.

323 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Behind the committee and ever ready to sustain them
to the extent of their ability, were, of course, the Board
of Trustees. Tlu history of the financial labors and
tria's of the Board becomes monotonous, from the recur
rence from year to year of substantially the same state
of affairs. The internal growth of the college, the in
creasing number of students from year to year, the higher
qualifications and wants of these students, and the neces
sity for constant improvement in order to keep the Insti
tute abreast of the other rapidly improving educational
institutions of the Province — all these were so many
sources from which a cons. ant pressure was brought to
bear in the direction of increased expenditure. On the
other hand, owing partly to this increase and partly to
the failure of many to pay the amounts subscribed,
when due, nearly every annual meeting would show a
considerable deficit and a necessity for some special
action to meet the emergency. More than once was the
denomination appealed to to wipe out debts of several
thousand dollars, unavoidably forced upon the manageis
by the necessities of their great work; and nobly, on the
whole, did the denomination respond. The columns of
the Baptist teemed year after year with appeals. The
greater part of every vacation, when body and brain
were crying out for rest and relaxation, Dr. Fyfe was
obliged to devote to the toilsome, and growingly irksome,
task of a personal canvass of individuals and churches in
aid of the exhausted treasury. Not only so, but on
every available opportunity during the progress of the
school sessions, he was obliged to run hither and thither
in the hope of picking up a few dollars to help to meet
the deficiencies. It was not wonderful that this not onlv

.REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 329
doing the work of two men, but also enduring the anx-
iety and worry incident to two distinct and responsible
vocations, his health should have given way prematurely.
It is easy to say after the event that he should not
have attempted so much, that from the very lowest
point of view it was bad economy, a tremendous and
woful waste of power which the denomination could ill
afford to lose ; that agents should have been employed to
do the collecting, etc. But at the time and under the
circumstances there really seemed no help for it. Many
subscribers were always ready to complain if a consider
able part of their contributions was diverted to the
payment of agents. The strongest appeals constantly
made through the Baptist, and by means of circulars,
were often unavailing. Nor could any other agent whom
it was found possible to secure, meet with anything like
the degree of success which attended his own personal
efforts. The force of his magnetic personality alone
sufficed in many cases to open reluctant purses. Nay, it
sometimes happened that in their desire for a visit from
him, individuals and churches would say in effect, some
times in so many words, " It will be of no use to send an
agent. Come and visit us yourself and we will do what
we can. Otherwise you need expect little or nothing
from us."
The financial difficulties of the enterprise were unex
pectedly increased in its earlier years, and in fact
throughout its course, by the failure of the Trustees to
receive the income of $900, or $1000 a year for the
Theological Department, on which they had confidently
relied from the Beam estate. Through some failure in
legal formalities, the bequest of that excellent friend of

330 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Theological education, Deacon Beam of St. Catharines,
-was rendered unavailable, and the design of the testator
frustrated. A few samples taken almost at random from the let
ters and appeals over Dr. Fyfe's own signature in the
Baptist, which would make a volume of themselves, will
perhaps convey clearer conceptions of the magnitude of
the task set him by the denomination, on its financial
-side. For instance, in 1863 he writes: — ¦
" At the last regular meeting of the Trustees of the Canadian
Literary Institute, the state of the treasury was taken into
anxious consideration. It was found that those appointed to
.manage the .affairs of the Institute had, (depending on the
notes and pledges given, as they supposed, in good faith,)
incurred for the purposes of the Institute heavy pecuniary
liabilities, and there were no funds to meet them. Anticipn-
ting these liabilities, the Trustees last autumn appointed a
competent agent, (Rev. H. Lloyd) personally to lay before the
.churches the state of the enterprise, and to organize local
societies to aid the Theological Department. But outsiders
raised an outcry against the expensiveness of an agent, and
not wishing to prejudice any friend against the. cause in its in
fancy, (he Trustees reluctantly released Mr. Lloyd from his
¦ engagement. Appeal after appeal was sent out to the subscri
bers, and at last each one was personally addressed by circular.
And what was the result of all the efforts of the Trustees
:to realize funds to carry on the work committed to them 1
Why this. At the meeting referred to they found that they
held notes representing between six and seven thousand dollars,
whilst they owed over three thousand dollars and had ' nothing
to pay.' The question arose, ' What is to be done ? The
'Trustees are personally held for these. debts. How are they to
be met ? One says, ' Call on the parties whose notes are so
long overdue to pay up.' Well, that has been done again and
again in vain. What next? Ought delinquents to be sued?
Or should an attempt be made to shame them into paying their
voluntary obligations ? The Trustees, depending upon the
notes given them, incurred large debts for the denomination ?

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 331
Should the parties who really led them to do this, leave these
men to pay these debts out of their own pockets? Is it right
in the sight of God, or man, to make those who incur very
considerable expense and devote much time to serve the
denomination, bear this heavy load of anxiety and responsi
bility ? Let subscribers ask themselves how they would like
to be put in the position in which they have put the Trustees.
Friends, is this right, is this right ? "
Again in 1866 : —
"For the year just closed the Trustees received $1,849.14
from the Ministerial Education Society, towards the salaries of
the teachers. When wo ask whence these funds came, we find
that a greater uumber of churches contributed last year than
in any former year. And yet only 55 out of the 260 regular
Baptist churches took up collections for the Society. A
number of individuals belonging to churches not included in
the 55 gave generous donations, but only 55 churches con
tributed. . . Then if so small a proportion as 55 out of 260
can raise so respectable a sum for Ministerial Education, how
easily could we raise all the funds which we may require to
make the Institute all we can desire it to be 1 "
Again in 1870 : —
"There are still some friends who, for good reasons doubtless,
have not yet found it convenient to cash their pledges. We
are anxious if possible to pay off all our indebtedness incurred
for the improvements and the debt by the 7th of April next,
the close of the present term. There are special reasons why
we desire to do so. I have written to nearly all who have
unredeemed pledges in our hands ; but there are some whose
addresses I do not at present know. Will all such who do not
hear from me by letter, take this friendly reminder instead, and
if possible, remit by letter registered to my address, or to the
Treasurer?' Few knew how much relief we feel when enabled
to meet our liabilities, and go about our work without being
crushed under a burden of anxiety. Will you each do your part
to enable us at the close of the present term, when we are giv
ing a public report of our work and of the work of the
students ; when we are distributing the prizes to the successful
competitors, and otherwise rejoicing generally, to say to all the
world 'We are also out of debt.'"

332 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The above extracts serve simply to suggest the
enormous buiden of labor and care of a merely inci
dental kind, and aside from his proper work as professor
and Principal, which, was borne almost constantly by Dr.
Fyfe during those seventeen eventful years. The ques
tion naturally suggests itself why did he not fall back on
the old plan of endowment, and by one great effort seek
to raise the Institute above the necessity for this per
petual clamoring for help. Surely if an endowment
fund could be secured for an abortive scheme, such as
the Maclay College, there should have been little
difficulty in raising a much larger one for the practical
and successful Canadian Literary Institute, or at least
for its theological department. Right glad would Dr.
Fyfe have been to bend all his energies to the attempt
had he seen any reason to hope for complete success.
He had, in fact, said in 1878 " we have now reached a
stage in our work when an adequate endowment is an
imperative necessity. The strain of conducting our
work, as we have been doing, has shattered my health,
and is beginning to do the same for others. Brethren is
this right ? Our school must be endowed. If it remain
here it must have at least $120,000."
But in saying this, and at all times when speaking on
the question of endowment, Dr. Fyfe would lay a very
special stress on the word " adequate." He had a great
dread, begotten partly of experience, of a partial
endowment. When the work was commenced in Wood
stock the school was in debt, and without library, books
of reference, or apparatus of any kind. It was also
without any fund for helping needy students for the
ministry.

REV. E. A. FYFE,, D.D. 383
"This being our condition, we could scarcely ask for money
to procure such necessary implements for our work and to aid
poor students besides. Again, we did not expect that for the
first three or four years, before the school became known
and appreciated, the mere tuition fees would pay the salaries
of the teachers. To tide over this somewhat unpromising
period a scheme of scholarships, which was adopted with the
first plan of the school, was carried into effect. Over one
hundred and twenty-five scholarships, at $80 each, which pro
mised four years' instruction in the Institute, and which were
payable in four annual instalments of $20 each, were sold.
This gave us about $10,000 to use for teachers' salaries and the
like." _
This scholarship scheme, thus described in his "Histori
cal Sketch," operated in some measure as a partial
endowment. It was a convenience, perhaps a necessity,
for the time, but it mortgaged the teaching facilities
of the Institute, and almost entirely cut off its revenue
from tuition fees, for several years. The operation of a
small endowment, Dr. Fyfe argued, would be somewhat
similar. When the Rev. W. Fraser, amongst others,
made a noble appeal for an endowment, in 1867, Dr.
Fyfe, while thanking him most cordially for his interest
in the work, pointed out that the sum of $20,000 or
$25,000 proposed would be utterly inadequate. In fact
he always thought any such sum contributed on this
basis would be worse than useless. It would be
positively crippling. " Of one mistake," said he, " we
must beware. If we are going to raise an endowment
for any one department of the Institute it must be a
complete provision, for the present wants of that depart
ment. If we do not act on this principle we shall
certainly injure rather than help the school. For as
soon as we have raised an endowment we shall be pre
cluded from asking voluntary contributions from year to

331 LIFE AND LABORS OF
year." This, then, was the source of his dread. He felt
sure that, should he go out to ask contributions to
supplement the income from such endowment, he would
be immed ately met with the rejoinder, " Surely the maw
of your Institute is insatiable. Have we not given you
an endowment for the very purpose of doing away with
these perpetual appeals for help ?'
S mie of his associates were n-iver able quite to agree
with him in this view. "Half the loaf," it seemed to them>
would bj better than nothiag and might possibly help in
securing the whole. Men are readier to invest in an
institution which has some capital than in one which has
none. During the latter years of his career the writer
used sometimes to urge upon him and others that the
scheme of endowment by chairs might prove practi
cable and afford substantial relief from the overwork
and anxiety which were plainly cutting short his days.
The endowment of the Principal's chair alone would have
been a great help and could probably have been accom
plished. This would have relieved him from a necessity
that was often peculiarly gading to his sensitive nature,
the necessity of asking for contributions for his own
salary. To doubly earn the small stipend he received by
hard labor in the college, and then be obliged to go out
in vacation and collect it, was what the denomination
should not have required or permitted. It is probable
that had his strength held out a little longer, this, at
least, might have been accomplished, but the inexorable
Reaper refused to delay.
For several years after the establishment of the
Institute the Trustees were aided in the work of collect
ing funds for the theological department by the

REV. 11. A. FYFE, D.D. 335
Ministerial Education Society, though, as Dr. Fyfe was
the moving and directing genius of both bodies, it is not
easy to see how his labors were in any wise lessened by
the division. It gave him, however, another body of
efficient helpers, and kept the work of ministerial educa
tion more prominently before the public. This society
was projected by Dr. Fyfe in 1860. In May of that year
he suggested its formation in a private letter to Mr.
McPhail. Its organization followed in the autumn of
that year. D. Buchan, Esq., then of Paris, was one of
its first presidents, and Rev. W. Stewart, B.A. was
Secr.-tary, or Secretary-Treasurer, throughout its exist
ence. The work was largely carried on by an Executive
Committee, of which Dr. Fyfe was usually, if not. always,
chairman. During the first year or two the operations
of the society were confined to the collecting of funds in
aid of needy students for the ministry, though it after
wards also helped to raise money for the general
expenses of the Theological Department. This enlarge
ment of the sphere of its operations led to some dissatis
faction with the position accorded to the society. Mr-
Buchan and others naturally felt that the powers of the
society were not proportioned to its functions — that
there was something unfair and anomalous in expecting
it to collect funds over whose appropriation it had no
control. On the other hand it was thought, no doubt,
that the Trustees, as the incorporate body responsible for
the management of the Institute and its funds, could not
properly share that responsibility with any other bodv,
or that, even if it might legally do so, the experiment of
a divided management would bo a doubtful and danger
ous one to make. The experiment was, however, tried

336 LIFE AND LABORS OF
for a short time. A conference between the two bodies
was held at Hamilton in 1864 as the result of which it
was resolved that the maintenance and oversight of the
Theological Department of the Institute be entrusted to
a joint committee of fourteen, composed in equal numbers
of representatives of the Society and of the Board of
Trustees. In consequence, however, of the expressed
wish of the Trustees, and after mature and deliberate
consideration on the part of all concerned, the existence
of the Ministerial Education Society as a separate and
distinct organization was brought to a close by the
unanimous adoption of the following resolution at its
annual meeting in Woodstock in 1866 : —
" Whereas it is desirable to secure simplicity of management
in the plan for theological education ; and
" Whereas the Trustees of the Institute have expressed their
readiness to appoint a Committee on Ministerial Education ;
be it therefore
"Resolved, By the members of this society assembled in
annual meeting that, instead of appointing office-bearers, as
formerly, we pledge ourselves to co-operate with the Committee
on Ministerial Education that may be appointed by the Trus
tees of the Institute."
During the six years of its operation the Society col
lected for ministerial education over $6,000, its annual
income having risen from $274 the first to $2,319.80 the
last year of its existence. A considerable portion of this
sum was disbursed in aid of indigent theological students
and others pr. paring for the stud}- of theology, and the
balance in aid of the fund for payment of the professors
in the Theological Department. To the Executive Com
mittee of 'the Society was assigned, during those years,
the duty of examining candidates preparatory to their

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D.

337

admission as students for the ministry, a function wdiich
afterwards devolved upon the Ministerial Education
Committee appointed by the Board of Trustees,

CHAPTER XXV

A Record of Progress — Denominational, not Sectarian —Death
of Professor Hankinson — The Staff of Instruction — Well-
Chosen Associates — A Hard-worked Principal — The Theo
logical Course Extended — Additional Theolooical Pro
fessors—Death o-' Professor Yulf. — Death of Professor
Torrance — Stages of Institute Growth — The Burtch Farm
Purchased — The Edifice Enlarged— Ladies' College Erected
Educational Reunion — Affiliation with Toronto Univer
sity — Disastrous Sickness — A Question of Poltcy — An
Advance Agreed on — Promised Aid not Forthcoming — A
Retrograde Movement.
tURNlNG to the internal, or more strictly educa
tional, side of the Institute's history, we will find,
as before said, a record of stea ly progress of the most
encouraging kind. As has already been seen, the Insti
tute opened in 1860 with a staff of four teachers, besides
the Principal, and an attendance, at the beginning of
what was really its first working term, of 7!) pupils, of
whom 10 had the ministry in view. The Catalogue of
1862 shows an aggregate attendance of 158 pupils, of
whom 31 were in the Theological Department. Two,
Revs. George Reeks and Charles J. Shrimpton, had
already gone forth to fields of labor. Mr. W. D. Ballan
tyne had been added to the staff of instruction as tutor
in French and English, and Mrs. Revell as teacher of the
pianoforte and organ. Both these continued for a lcng.h

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.l. 339
of time to render excellent service to the Institute. The
former was for some years Teachcr-in-charge of the male
department. Mr. Ballantyiu was preparing for the
ministry of the Presbyterian Church, and Mrs. Revell
was the wife of an invalid clergyman of the Church of
England. The fact well illustrates how, under the man
agement of a broad-minded man, a denominational college
may be truly Christian without being narrowly sectarian.
It may be added, too, that throughout the whole course
of the Woodstock College, a considerable percentage of
its students, as -well as of its teachers, have been members
or adherents of other than Baptist chu dies. In a few
instances even Roman Catholics have attended with
satisfaction both to themselves and to the Faculty.
In 1863 Rev. William Stewart, B.A., retired, and was
succeeded by the author of this volume as instructor in
Classics and Logic.
In 1867 the resignation of the lamented Professor
Hankinson, M. S., who had been connected with the
Institute from its inception, and who was a most enthusi
astic and successful teacher in the departments of Mathe
matics and Natural Sciences, was made necessary by his
failing health, and was followed by his dea h in a few
weeks. He was succeeded by Professor Jabez Montgomery,
M.S., of Michigan University, whose efficient services
were continued at the college for some time after the
death of Dr. Fyfe. To Professor Montgomery's exertions
the college and the denomination are largely indebted
for the observatory, telescope, and some other scientilic
apparatus now in use at Woodstock.
In the Catalogue for 1873-74 we find that the staff of
instruction had increased to twelve, and in 1878, the year

340 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of Dr. Fyfe's death, to sixteen. S. J. McKee, B.A., now
of Rapid City, Manitoba, came to the Institute on his
graduation from the University in 1873, and continued
to labor indefatigably in its interests until shattered
health compelled his retirement in 1881.
M. S. Clark, B A, was added to the staff in 1876, and
rendered excellent service until 1882, when he left in
order to complete a special course of study in Modern
Languages. Prof. McKee and, after him, Prof. Clark
occupied the position of Teacher-in-charge, one of the
most onerous and responsible in connection with the
institution. Rev. Newton Wolverton, B.A., the present energetic
Principal, was summoned by Dr. Fyfe from his pastorate
in Onondaga, in 1877, to take charge of a department of
instruction.* Other gentlemen of our own denomination who were
connected with the teaching staff for longer or shorter
periods daring Dr. Fyfe's principalship were: Messrs. H.
G. Phillips, H. N. Chute, Hugh McQuarrie, and J. I. Bates.
The last named, as will be known to many readers, has
since graduated from the University of Toronto, and has

*The correspondence between D.1. Fyfe and Mr. Wolvorton affords
a characteristic and somewhat amusing illustration of the kind of pres
sure the former sometimes brought to bear when he thought the cause
demanded it. Mr. Wolverton's church was loth to lose him, and, iu
view of its opposition, he hesitated to accept the appointment. A
letter, stating the diffi ulty and asking to be excused in consequence,
elicited the following rather peremptory reply ¦. —
" My D -ar Young Brother, —The claims of the denomination are
superior to those of individual churches. It calls you here, and we
shall expect you to be on haud for duty on the first of September.
" Yours very sincerely, "R. A. Fyfe."
" When.-two days later," says Mr. W., " I received the Catalogu
containing my name as teacher of Mathematics, I submitted."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 341
been for some years, as he still is, filling an important
position in the college Faculty.
Amongst those belonging to other denominations who
rendeied efficient service from time to time as teachers
may be mentioned Mr. H. B. Spotton, B.A., now Principal
of Barrie Collegiate Institute; George Dickson, B.A.,
now Prncipal of Upper Canada College ; J. E. Wetherell,
B. A., now Principal of Strathroy Collegiate Institute ;
and Rev. S. J. Taylor, B.A., now pastor of the Presby
terian Church, Moose Jaw, N. W. T.
One of the most difficult and delicate situations in the
institute is that of Governess or Lady Principal. On the
opening of the new building in 1861 Mrs. S. T. Cooke
was appointed to that position. She was succeeded two
years later by Mrs. J. E. Wells, and the latter in 1867 by
Mrs. Elizabeth Hendrie, (now Mrs. Thompson, of Guelph),
whose deservedly popular tenure of office was continued
until 1872. Miss Dorr, Miss Giddinos and Mrs. Nott,
all from the United States, were aftei wards successively
appointed, and held the position for shorter periods. Of
other ladies whose names will be familiar to many
readers, and who rendered faithful .and valuable service
as teachers in the Institute at different periods during
Dr. Fyfe's administration, those of Miss McGinn, (now
Mrs. J. W. A. Stewart) ; Miss Brown, of Nova Scotia ;
Miss McNeal, of Rochester, N. Y., and Miss Read, of
Nova Scotia, (since Lady Principal and now Mrs. J. I.
Bates), will immediately suggest themselves, with others,
to those familar with Institute history.
In view of the recognized ability and scholarship of
many of the above-named, and the prominent positions
now filled by several of them, this brief mention will

342 LIFE AND LABORS OF
suffice to show that, amongst other qualifications for his
high office, Dr. Fyfe possesssed in a good degree the
ability to. select, and to attach more or less permanently
to himself, fellow-workers of the right stamp. This dis
cernment is, to one occupying such a position, a matter
of the first moment. Every one knows that the highest
success of any institution of learning depends scar
cely less upon the ability than upon the harmony and
enthusiasm of its teachers. Of course it cannot be
claimed that his penetration never failed him, or that
all his Appointments were equally well-advised, but he
was quick to discover, frank to admit, and prompt to
remedy a mistake, though the latter was always done, as
far as possible, with an exceptionally tender regard for
the feelings of those concerned. On the whole it may
safely be said that few men occupying similar positions
have been more uniformly successful in securing associa
tes of the right stamp in mind and in heart. With him
the moral always took precedence of even the mental
qua ifications.
For about eight years from the opening of the Insti
tute Dr. Fyfe continued to bear alone the heavy burden
of instiuction in the Theological Department. The fol
lowing extract from a private letter written in the fall
of 1861, will convey some conception of the amount of
labor involved, and the terrible strain to which his ner
vous system must have been subjected by years of that
kind of work. Apologizing for delay in answering a let-
t;r lie says: —
"The truth is, I suppose, that my work is very hard this
term. To say nothing of the general care 1 have of all matters
pertaining to the Institute, and the very great amount of cor-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 343
respondeuce which the receipt of the money throws upon me,
I have work enough for a much abler man than 1 am. You
may judge. I lecture on Theology three times » week ; on
Church History three times a week. I have » class in Romans
twice a week. I am requiring the students to write out a new
translation, commit to memory a thorough analysis of each
chapter, and examine every important word. I have a class in
Natural Theology three times a week ; a class in Mental
Philosophy three times a week ; a class in Moral Science twice
a week ; and a Senior Reading Class twice a week. Nor am
I skimming these subjects. I intend to put the classes into the
hands of professional examiners at the end of the year, and I
think they will not discredit me. In Theology we have spent
nearly ten weeks on the Attributes of God. So you can see we
are working over the topics. You can readily imagine that I
have enough to do, for I have not examined many of these sub
jects for twenty years. My aim is to give to each class just as
much work it can do, and do well. I have a Bible class on
Sundays, besides preaching as I find opportunity. But I like
my work and thank God that He has given it to me, though it
is not of my seeking."
In 1868 the extension of the theological course, ren
dered necessary by the higher qualifications and growing
wants of students, made an addition to the staff
imperative, and Rev. John Crawford — who, a few years
lat'T, received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the
University of Acadia College, Nova Scotia — was ap
pointed. Dr. Crawford continued to labor assiduously
and harmoniously with Dr. Fyfe until the latter's death.
In the Institute Catalogue for 1875 appears the name of
J. C. Yule, B.A., as Professor of New Testament Inter
pretation and Evidences. The story of Professor Yule's
short term of service seems, when viewed from the low
standpoint of earthly plans and expectations, very sad.
In him high scholarly ambition, and devoted, self-denying
piety, were blended in a rare combination. After years

344 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of toil and strusjo-le that might almost be called "heroic,"
he seems to have come within sight of the goal of his
high purpose when, having graduated with honors from
the University of Toronto, he was appointed to a pro
fessorship in the Theological Department of the Institute.
The subjects assigned him, too, were those which were
most congenial to his tastes, and for which his training
and talents admirably fitted him. But, after two short
terms of intermitted and painful work, he was called to
lay aside his books, say "Good-bye" to his students, and
depart to a higher service. His struggles, his achieve
ments, his lofty aims and hopes, have been fittingly
recorded by the one who knew him best, — his devoted
wife. It is, therefore, needless to dwell upon them here.
As he had been, however, a student of the Institute, and
may be regarded as, in a certain sense, one of its products
— -a, noble specimen of the kind of young men it was
adapted, by means of the spirit which Dr. Fyfe had been
mainly instrumental in breathing into it, to call forth
from obscurity and train up for usefulness — it may be
interesting to quote a few sentences from Dr. Fj'fe's own
truthful description in the funeral sermon which he
preached by request of the departed : —
" The life and labors of Mr. Yule stand out as an example
to students for the ministry. He did ' covet earnestly the best
gifts.' 'This one thing he did.' Few men ever more eagerly
or more persistently sought to cultivate their powers, and
store their minds with useful knowledge. His aim was to pre
pare himself ' to vindicate the ways of God to men,' to expound
the Scriptures, and to teach others to expound and enforce
them. And he largely succeeded iu accomplishing this aim.
He obtained a clear insight into the word of life, and a nice
appreciation even of those delicate shades of meaning, which
(in the original) enrich and adorn the sacred Scriptures. He

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 345
had a cultivated taste as a writer, and a just appreciation of
the force of language. In a word he laid a broad and solid
foundation on which to build for the benefit of others, a
grand structure of Scripture knowledge. One great object
stood out before him, inmely, to make known to his fellow-men
the u'1 searchable riches of God's truth. No higher aim can be
placed before any man, and none is more worthy to employ
our noblest endowments in this world and the next."*
Meanwhile the natural development of the theological
course had made a third professor a necessity. Happily
it was no longer difficult, as in the earlier years of the
Institute's life, to find suitable men, men of extensive and
accurate scholarship, and high Christian character, with
out leaving Canadian soil. The thoughts of Dr. Fj-fe
and the Trustees were at once directed towards another
of the sons of the Institute, who had also carried off high
honors from the Provincial University ; and the late Rev.
John Torrance M.A., was appointed to the vacant profess
orship. As is well known he not only remained as a co-
laborer with Dr. Fyfe till the latter was summoned
to the Master's presence, but succeeded him in the prin-
cipalship of the Theological Department. His unexpected,
and as it would appear in our superficial range of vision,
untimely death, on the eve of his entering upon the
duties of the professorship to which he had been
appointed in McMaster Hall, will still be fresh amongst
the melancholy recollections of readers.
This brief review of the personnel of the Faculty of
the Institute during the period of Dr. Fyfe's presidency
may, it is hoped, serve two useful purposes. It will
illustrate to some extent what may be called the internal
*From "Records of a Vanished Life.'' I know not whether the
edition of this little work is exhausted. It ought to be in the hands of
every Baptht theological student in Canada.
W

LIFE AND LABORS OF
growth of the school, that is, the enlargement of its
courses of instruction, both by constant increase of the
number and range of the subjects taught, and by the
gradual addition of three or four years of study to the
number originally prescribed. It will also recall to the
memories of those in the denomination who take an
Interest in its educational work, the names of those who
¦were the chief co-workers with the lamented Principal,
and to whom he would have heartily accorded their
meed of credit for the grand and imperishable work the
Institute did, under his management, for the denomina
tion and the country.
Two causes conspired to make this steady enlargement
•of the staff of instruction a necessity to the best interests,
if not to the very life, of the Institute. These were
the constant increase in the number of students which
was the rule for many years, and the rapid rise in the
general educational status of the Province. To the for-
iiier of these it may be well to refer a little more
particularly. The growth of the Institute exhibits several distinct
.¦stages. The first of these may be roughly said to have
terminated about the year 1869 or 1870. Up to this
time the number of students in attendance had steadily
increased at the rate of from ten to twenty per cent.
each year. This result had been obtained without any
special effort, such as is generally put forth by institu
tions of the kind, the fact being that the limited accom
modations were such as would have rendered any very
large accession of students a source of embarrassment
rather than of strength. The first enlargement was
made in the summer of 1869. This was in the shape of

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 347
tho small building at the west of the main edifice, which
was afterwards used as a Theological Hall. This building
was hastily erected in order to provide accommodations
which it was foreseen would be immediately and urgently
needed. Owing to the sale of scholarships at the outset
the income for tuition fees had, up to this period, been
very small. The consequence was that the Institute
found itself about $4,000 in debt. A successful canvass
was made for contributions to wipe this out and for the
additional sum, about $2,000, required for the new build
ing. The response was so liberal that Dr. Fyfe was able
to announce at an educational meeting held in St.
Catharines in 1870, one year after the opening of the
now building, that the institution was entirely free from
debt. This result was not, however, reached without
many urgent appeals and much hard and persistent can
vassing. This happy state of affairs was of but brief duration.
The very prosperity of the Institute impelled the Faculty
and Trustees to organize advance movements and incur
new responsibilities. The second stage of growth was
immediately entered upon with an accelerated rate of
progress. Even while making the above announcement
in 1870, Dr. Fyfe found it necessary to add as follows : —
" The new edifice which was occupied a year ago for the first
time, provided rooms for sixteen male boarders, besides two
class-rooms, and two other rooms for the objects of the Insti
tute. There has been a steady increase in the attendance for
several years, but more especially during the last four terms,
that is, since the new building was provided. The aggregate
number on the roll for the year 1886-7 was 282 ; for 1867-8,
297; for 1868-9, 303; for 1869-70, 322. Last autumn term
we had on the roll at the close of the term, 114; this autumn
we had during the first month of the term 125. And the

348 LIFE AND LABORS OF
prospects are that we shallhave 150 in actual attendance dur
ing the winter term. Last winter we had 134. The question
presses itself upon ns. Where shall we put them? Our
present state is this : we have only three vacancies for female
boarders, and two of these are spoken for ; we have but one
vacancy for male boarders, and this is the case after four stu
dents who intended to board in the Institute Hall, have taken
private board. Our dining-room is full, and our class-rooms,
with some of our classes, are over-crowded. What shall we
do?" The necessity for further enlargement was obvious
and urgent. About this time another event occurred
which stimulated the action of Dr. Fyfe and the Execu
tive Board. Mr. Henry Burtch advertised for sale his
farm, which was immediately adjoining and in front of
the Institute grounds. It would never do to let this fall
into the hands of speculators, and so run the risk of
having the Institute grounds hemmed in by incongruous,
possibly objectionable, surroundings. More land, too,
was essential to the future growth and prosperity of the
Instituta, which had hitherto only six acres for all pur
poses. The Hon. William McMaster, already the largest
contributor to the College, on being consulted, agreed
with Dr. Fyfe and the Committee that the farm must be
secured. With characteristic liberality he went further.
He and T. J. Claxton, Esq., of Montreal, another of Dr.
Fyfe's most intimate friends, and of the Institute's most
generous benefactors, agreed to provide $6,000, which
was considerably more than was necessary for the pur
chase of the whole farm of sixty acres, on condition that
the denomination would subscribe an additional $12,000,
which, with the amount accruing from the sale of any
surplus land, might form the nucleus of an endowment.
The farm was purchased for $4,000. Dr. Fyfe, in

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 349
response to another earnest appeal and laborious canvass,
obtained pledges and promises to the amount of about
$13,000. As the necessity for larger accommodations
was imperative, the surplus, instead of being directly
invested as the beginning of an endowment, was, by
mutual consent, employed in making extensive enlarge
ments and improvements in the original building, and in
erecting the Ladies' Building on the eastern side of the
quadrangle. This appropriation of the fund was agreed
to on a condition which made it equivalent to a per
manent investment of the money for the promotion of
ministerial education, in which the donors were chiefly
interested, and in aid of which they wished their contri
butions applied. It was found, on careful computation,
that the annual income that might be reasonably
expected to accrue from the sum thus diverted for
building purposes, would suffice to pay for the tuition of
twenty students in the Literary Department. The
-Trustees therefore, on behalf of that department, bound
themselves, for all time to come, to furnish free tuition
to any required number of students not exceeding
twenty, having the ministry in view. To the Ministerial
Education Committee was assigned the duty of determin
ing what students shoul 1 from term to term have the
benefit of this provision. The arrangement was, prob
ably, the best possible under the circumstances, but it
had the effect of placing a burden of perpetual debt upon
the neck of the Literary Department, which it was ill
able to bear; the tuition thus provided gratis being
equivalent to a payment of several hundreds of dollars
of interest yearly.
During the years. 1870 to 1875 the tide of Institute

350 LIFE AND LABORS OF
affairs was at full flood. The curriculum was improved
and extended, and the sessions were re-arranged and made
symmetrical; the school year being divided into four
terms of ten weeks each, instead of, as previously, into
three terms of unequal lengths.
In October, 1873, an Educational Re-union was held at
Woodstock to celebrate the completion of the Ladies'
Building, and the other extensive improvements which
had been made in the old edifice and in the grounds.
In reference to this meeting the Baptist said : —
" It was calculated that nearly 400 visitors were present,
many of whom had never seen the Institute before. The neat
and substantial character of the buildings and the fine appear
ance of the large body of students (about 175 being at present
in attendance), e.icited frequent and gratifying remarks. A
sumptuous collation was served in the spacious dining-hall,
and the public meeting was afterwards organized in the chapel-
room by the appointment of Dr. Fyfe to the chair. Dr.
Castle's address was a rare treat. In earnest and eloquent
terms he advocated the necessity and importance of a thorough
Christian education, not for Ministers of the Gospel alone, but
for every profession in life. The address was frequently
applauded, the speaker evidently carrying wdth him the entire
sympathies of the audience as he proceeded step by step in the
development of his theme. At the close aii interesting finan
cial statement was read by the Treasurer, Bro. R. W. Sawtell.
The Hon. W. McMaster moved a resolution, seconded by
William Craig Esq., expressing great gratification at the
enlarged facilities now provided for the accommodation of stu
dents, and affirming that the Institute merits and shall receive
the hearty and united support of the Baptists of Ontario and
Quebec. Nearly $1000 was raised in a few minutes before the
meeting closed."
But the sky was not yet clear, nor the sailing all plain.
The financial statement referred to showed that in spite
of the most earnest efforts and the most rigid economy

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 351
in building and management, the amount of paid sub
scriptions fell far short of the actual need. Within a
very few weeks Dr. Fyfe was obliged to make another
earnest appeal, showing that over $7000 more were
required to free the Institute again from debt, and sup
ply indispensable additions to the library, philosophical
apparatus, etc. The unpaid balance of this debt was
afterwards provided for in the fall of 1874, as Dr. Fyfe
says in a circular issued in April, 1875, "by pledges given,
not by the churches generally, but by a few generous
friends who came to our rescue."
In the winter of 1874-5 the attendance in all depart
ments of the Institute was larovr than ever before, almost
or quite up to the limit of the increased accommodations.
Arrangements had been or were being completed with
the Senate of the University of Toronto, in virtue of
which affiliation with that Institution was made real and
effective, instead of as theretofore, nominal and worthless.
Henceforth students could pursue their studies at the
Institute to any extent, and go up to the University
examinations on an equality with the students of Uni
versity College. The staff of teachers was large and
efficient, and everything seemed to indicate that an
other stage of progress had been entered upon. But just
at this point matters took a turn for the worse. In the
middle of a most promising session, an epidemic fever
broke up the school. The students were scattered so
widely that many failed to return at the appointed time.
All the expenses for tuition and general management
were of course going on during the interval, and with the
largely diminished attendance afterwards. The result
was a very- serious financial deficit at the end of the

352 LIFE AND LABORS OF
year. Close upon the heels of this disaster came the
long, memorable, years of business depression. Those
" hard times," though they did not further diminish the
attendance, effectually - prevented any material increase
for several years. The annual expenses of the Theological
Department too, had now become heavy, the salaries of
three professors, and the funds in aid of students, having
all to be provided by voluntary contributions. During
the "hard times," the contributions fell considerably
short of the amount necessary to meet these obligations,
and the Trustees were obliged to provide for the defici
ency out of the income of the Literary Department.
The inevitable consequence was the "accumulation of still
another debt.
Duang the years now under consideration an import
ant question arose in respect to the Literar}'' Department
Owing to the great increase in the number, and the
great improvement in the character, of the High Schools
and Collegiate Insti.utes, the competition for students
became very keen in the studies covered by the earlier
years of the Institute course. There was, consequently,
a tendency to the falling off of pupils in the Preparatory
Department. At the same time, in consequence of the
rapid elevation of the standard of Baptist education,
both for the ministry and for secular pursuits, aided by
the influence of the affiliation which had now been
effected, a constantly increasing number of students were
ambitious of a full university course. This was regarded
by the Faculty as a healthful and worthy ambition, and
encouraged accordingly. But it was found or feared
that two undesirable results would follow, unless some
further advance could be made at Woodstock. Students

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 353
having the ministry in view, after spending three or four
years at Toronto, would in many cases be unable or
unwilling to return to Woodstock for the theological
cour e. They would be tempted either to enter upon the
work of the pastorate without adequate theological
training, or to go abroad to institutions more amply
endowed, in which case, as all experience proves, a large
percentage of the best men would be lost to Canada.
Said Dr. Fyfe, in one of his reports, referring to these
points, " If any one mistakes a B.A. for an adequate
preparation for the ministry, he will make a woful
blunder. And if he go to another country to study,
there are fifty chances to one that he will do his life-
work there."
In regard to other classes of students, also, it was felt
to be undesirable that, after having remained long
enough at the Institute to become somewhat imbued
with its spirit, but not long enough, in many cases, to
have characters fully formed, or convictions strongly
fortified, they should be obliged to leave and enter into
an atmosphere not charged with the same powerful
moral and religious influences. The Professors, too,
several of them university graduates of high standing,
werd naturally reluctant to have the best students con
stantly drafted out of their classes, just when the
relationship of teacher and student had become most
profitable to the latter and most pleasant to both. In
the great majotity of cases it was found that these
students would gladly continue their collegiate studies at
the Institute, were it possible to do so. Still further it
was known that many promising young men and women,
who could not, or would not, go to Toronto, would gladly

3oi< LIFE AND LABORS OF
pursue their studies a year or two longer at the Institute,
were provision made for their fuller instruction.
These facts and considerations were frankly and fully
set before the denomination through the press and in its
representative assemblies, and especially at the Conven
tion in Toron.o in 1876. It is quite possible that the
opinions and preferences of Dr. Fyfe and other professors
made them too partial advocates of a course for which
the denomination was not yet prepared. But it was, at
least, clearly shown that the Literary Department had
already been developed considerably beyond the point
up to which there could be any reasonable hope of
making a college self-supporting, and that, if the pro
posed extension of the course to cover the pass and honor
work of the Second Year of the University curriculum,
should be made, an additional inenne of at least $1,500
a year must be guaranteed from outside sources.
Dr. Fyfes own words may be quoted as a succinct
account of what followed. In an address to the friends
of the Institute, dated November 1876, he savs : —
" At the largest meeting ever held in the interests of the
Institute, a plan was unanimously and most cordially adopted,
for the two-fold purpose of paying off the debt of the Institute,
and of adding another year to the curriculum.
"The plan was this. It was conceded on all hands that the
stringency of the times forbade any attempt to raise a perman
ent enebwmeut for our school at present. But it was hoped
that in three or four years the state of the country would be
such, financially, as to warrant the effort to raise an adequate
endowment. In the meantime, what could be done to help on
our educational work without overtaxing the denomination in
these hard times? It was resolved :
" First to pay off the debt of $5,500 a-esting on the Institute,
in two yearly instalments of say $3000 each ; the first payable
in November, 1877, the second in November, 1878. It was

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 355
proposed to secure pledges from the friends of education to meet
these two instalments of the debt. It was felt that this could
be easily done by the denomination without ' feeling it.'
" Secondly, in order to secure a very important improvement
in the school, the large meeting in Toronto voted to raise
$1500 a year, for three years, (that is till we may be able to
take steps to raise a permanent endowment,) to supplement the
fees of the Institute. This is to be a special contribution dis
tinct from the $4000 required for ministerial education.
Towards these $1500 we propose to secure pledges payable in
1877, 1878 and 1879. That the good friends at the meeting
in Toronto were sincere in regard to their plan is proved by
their pledging considerably over one-third of all we ask."
Owing to causes amongst which the increasing
stringency of the money market, and the failing strength
and energy of Dr. Fyfe, were probably chief, the
simple plan thus outlined was not successfully carried
out, so far as the all-important financial part of it was
concerned. The jTear was added to the course. The
students who went from the Institute to the various
University examinations met with very gratifying suc
cess, and most of them returned to the Institute to
pursue their studies ; but supplementary funds to meet
the heavily increased expenses were not forthcoming,
The resolutions of the Toronto meeting were but very
imperfectly acted upon by the denomination. The
consequence was an increasing burd> n of debt. The
imperative necessity for making an immediate effort to
raise an endowment was coining to be acknowledged on
all hands. But at this critical juncture the whole aspect
of affairs was changed by the death of him who had been
from the first the moving and guiding spirit of the whole
educational enterprise.
The sequel is well known to most readers, and is, of

356 LIFE AND LABORS OF
course, beyond the proper scope of this book. The
denominational leaders concluded that the attempt to do
University work proper at the Institute was at least
premature, involving expense which the body was, as
yet, unable or unwilling to bear. Wisely, perhaps, under
the circumstances, it was resolved to inaugurate at once
a policy of retrenchment by cutting off the last year of
the Institute course. A movement with a view- to rais
ing gradually a partial endowment was commenced, and
is still being pushed with a fair prospect of ultimate
success. The present writer may, however, be permitted
to express his earnest hope that the curtailment of the
College curriculum may prove to be, as intended
but temporary, and his unshaken conviction that the
Baptists of Ontario will never be in a position to accom
plish fully their high mission, and to place themselves
abreast of the foremost religious bodies of the country in
Christian influence and power for good, until they shall
have in operation, in Woodstock or elsewhere, a well en
dowed College thoroughly equipped for full university
w irk.

CHAPTER XXVI.

A Public Benefactor — Thr Question of Removal— Dr. Fyfe's
Attitude — His Reasons (Sound — The Conditions Ciiangfd —
Hii Beneficiary System — Religious Influence in the
School — Some of its Fruits — The Judson Missionary
Society— Its Gifts to Foreign Missions — The Associated
Alumni — The Institute Library — Outside Labors — Ser
vices to Home Missions — The Foreign Mission Work
Organized — Rev. John Bates— Reflex Influences of Mis
sions — Woodstock and Other Churches— A Denominational
Counsellor — A Beneficent Pope — Means and Ends.

Hri>fIE MAN who is successful in founding an institu-
(3^), tion of learning, under such conditions that thorough
mental training is perpetually combined with the pre
sence of the highest moral and religious influences, is
one . of the best benefactors of his race. He sets in
motion a train of causes which must in the nature of
things go on operating, not only while the college endures,
but through all time, for the highest good of humanity.
Such a philanthropist, the writer is firmly convinced, was
the subject of this memoir.
The full scope of the beneficent influence of the Insti
tute is not measured by its direct work as an educa
tional institution. The fructifying power of its animating
principle is sure to manifest itself indirectly through side
agencies and enterprises. Without a brief reference to
some of these, that soon sprang up in connection with

358 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the Institute, this work would fail in an important par
ticular, in the attempt to furnish material for a just
estimate of Dr. Fyfe's life and labors.
Bjfore leaving, however, the history of the college
proper, a remark may be ventured on Dr. Fyfe's attitude
in relation to the removal of the Theological Department
to Toronto, since effected under so happy auspices. It
has already been seen, incidentally, that Dr. Fyfe from
the first considered such removal as proba'le, and, no
doubt, regarded it favorably. In his "Historical Sketch,"
in 1878, he says : —
"A strange notion prevails in some quarters that I am the
great obstacle in the way of removal — that I am personally
bound up in the idea of the school remaining at Woodstock.
There never was a greater mistake. I spent some of the best
years of my life in Toronto, and a number of my oldest living
friends are there ; it would be strange if I did not personally
prefer Toronto. My sole reason for preferring to remain here,
for the present at least, is because I think it best in the present
state of the denomination for us to do our work here, — I am
as certain of this as I am of any opinion I ever formed from
experience and observation, — and because we have not the
money, nor d> I believe we can raise it to warrant moving."
This same opinion — that it would be perilous, if not
ruinous, to the enterprise, to attempt the removal of the
Theological Department — he had strongly expressed on
previous occasions. As will be remembered by some, he
had even gone so far at one time, when the question of
removal had been broached bv Dr. Castle, as to bes him
to have it in abeyance till he, Dr. F., should be "under
the sod."
Nor was his usual penetration at fault in this matter,
notwithstanding the removal was so soon afterwards
brought about with every prospect of the happiest results.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 359
The memorable discussions at Guelph and other places,
which preceded the change, made it abundantly evident
that Dr. Fyfe had rightly guaged the feeling of the de
nomination, .and that any attempt at removal, under
ordinary circumstances and by ordinary methods such as
hi had in mind, would have resulted either in failure or
in the split in the denomination which he so much
dreaded. Of course, when one brother came forward and
munificently provided the whole sum required for the
ne v building, and for at least a partial endowment, the
aspect of the situation was entirely changed. The chief
root of the objections was cut away at a stroke. The
great burden, which Dr. Fyfe in his enfeebled state of
health felt unwilling oven to touch, was lifted at once.
Those who knew Dr. Fyfe most intimately know well
that the dread of another great financial struggle was the
crucial point with him. He dared not enter upon it. For
nearly twenty years he had been canvassing for money;
pleading with his friends and the denomination for
money, more money. He had, by dint of personal appeal
and effort, collected funds for erecting all the Woodstock
buildings, for the support of the Theologicd Department
during all those years, for aiding needy theological stu-
denis, and for the wiping out of debt after debt.
The c numns of the Baptist, from month to month and
year to year, teemed with his requests and remon
strances. The greater part of his vacations which he
should have held sacred for rest and recreation, as well
as every available occasion during term, had been spent
in the irksome and too often thankless work of personal
solicitation. He had now become utterly wearied ; worn
out in the service. His nervous system shattered,

360 LIFE AND LABORS OF
and his physical strength failincr, bis old courage and
energy were deserting him. Hence, when confronted
with a proposition which seemed like a demand that he
should do all this work over again, and recommence
what began to look to him almost like' a labor of
Sisyphus, it is no wonder that he recoiled from the task.
Had he lived to see the McMaster Hall of to-day pro
jected and established, his heart would have indeed been
glad. It is now, doubtless, gladdened by all that is good
in so noble a work.
The Beneficiary System adopted early in the history of
the Institute and adhered to throughout, is deserving of
record and of commendation. It was found at the outset
that while some means of assisting indigent students for
C1 CD
the ministry was absolutely essential to the furtherance
of the great object in view, it would be quite out of the
question to offer aid on anything like the princely scale
adopted in many American Institutions. Moreover Dr.
Fyfe and his associates more than doubted whether such
a system would be beneficial or desirable, even were it
possible. The following from the ' Historical Sketch,"
written a few months before Dr. Fyfe's death, clearly
outlines the course pursued at Woodstock : —
"With us during the last twelve or thirteen years, our stu
dents for the ministry, in all stages of preparation, have
averaged from fifty to eighty. At the present time we have
seventy-three. Had we aided all who need help as they aid
them in the States, during their whole course, we should have
required nearly five thousand dollars, in addition to the pro
fessors' salaries — about eight thousand a year from the de
nomination I Yet there are schools, not a whit better than
ours, which require, to keep them going, nearly twice eight
thousand annually !

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 361
" Our poverty compelled us to adopt a system of aiding the
needy more nearly within our reach.
" 1. We determined, as far as possible, that all our students
should aim at supporting themselves, and thus develop all the
self-help that was in them.
" 2. Wo made ourselves acquainted with all the destitute
churches and promising mission-fields in the country, and all the
students who could preach or act as colporteurs were sent out to
these fields during the long (five months) vacation, care being
taken to send the right man to the right place, so far as we
could judge. In this way many would receive nearly enough
remuneration to keep them during the next seven months of
study. "3 By a special arrangement,* we are enabled to give free
tuition to as many is.i twenty students in the Literary Depart
ment (students in the Theological Department proper are never
charged tuition), which furnishes a much-needed relief to a
number. " To some who actually require our aid v/e make a money
grant, not exceeding $60 per annum. And though we have
never refused any really deserving student 'who applied ta us, we
have not paid out in any year, I think, more than $800 in cash
to aid students.
"5. In 'addition to the foregoing provisions, some two. or
three students, under our advice, stay out for a year to teach, or
to preach, to earn means to complete their studies. Some two
or three more are aided by churches, or by private individuals, in
acquiring an education. Here, then, is our beneficiary scheme
developed gradually during the last thirteen years.. What it has
done in developing the self-help and self-reliance of-' our young
men ; what it has done for mission-fields and destitute churches ;
and how it has contributed to cany on our work of ministerial
' education, which otherwise could not, have been carried on for
want of means, "The Day'1 only can declare. Let any able
business man take into consideration the amount, and. quality of
the work which we have done, and how we have- husbanded and.
managed our little means to do it, and if he does. not, say " WMV
done /" I shall be much surprise;!."

"- See ««&, page 349.

362 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The history of the strong religious influence which
always, in a greater or less degree, pervaded the school,
and found expression in the active, earnest, piety of very
many of its students, cannot be written. One shrinks
from statistics in such a matter, even were statistics
possible. The following from the same source as the
preceeding quotation merely suggests the direction in
which such fruits are to be found. " The Day " itself
alone can reveal the full harvest : —
" Since the Institute was opened we think fully four hundred
have been hopefully converted within its walls, arrd several of
them are now preaching the gospel. Besides the many hundreds
who have been educated by us for business pursuits, and the
many trained to be school teachers, we have graduated from the
Theological Department fifty-five, and in a few weeks six others
will be added to this number. In addition to these, about forty
have settled as ministers, who have not completed our course of
study. That is, nearly one hundred laborers are in the Lord's
vineyard to-day who have been more or less trained by us for
their work. Fourteen of our students have graduated from
Toronto University, and ten are there as ttnder-gradirates. Two
have graduated in the arts department of American colleges,
sixteen have studied medicine, six have studied law, and ten
ladies have taken our full course, which entitles them to our
diploma. This exhibit, wo know, is far from perfect, but it
approximates toward a fair statement of what we have done, so
far as figures can state it."
Nor should we forget to take into the. account, as a very
important element in any attempt to estimate the per
manent results of Dr. Fyfe's educational work, the influ
ence of the hundreds of students of both sexes who
without completing any regular course, went out from
the Institute, after longer or shorter periods of study, to
various spheres of industry, and whose minds and hearts
and lives were, in very many cases, the better for the im-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 363 •
pressions there made and the influences there brought to
bear upon them.
Amongst the more permanent organizations which have
caught and reflected, in a good degree, the spirit of the
Institute and its founder, the Judson Missionary Society
and the Society of the Associated Alumni are deservino-
of special mention. Not only did the former foster a
missionary spirit which is still making itself felt in many
churches in Ontario and Quebec, but, considering the
straitened means of the great majority of its members, it
managed to make up a sum total of contributions for
Home and Foreign Missions which would surprise many
societies and .churches possessing much larger means but
narrower conceptions of duty in this respect. At an
early stage in its history a printing press was purchased
by the efforts of this society for the use of the Telugu
Mission. Best and most precious gifts of all, it gave to
that foreign field three of its most successful and devoted
missionaries. By cherishing the memory of school clays, ly the elec
tric girdle of ever-fresh sympathy with which it en
circles the college and its workers, as well as by its
actual contributions and the tangible support it affords
in other ways, the Associated Alumni are d ing much to
strengthen and perpetuate the educational impulse which
Dr. Fyfe imparted to the denomination.
To attribute so much of the credit for what has been
done to the departed, is not by any means to depreciate
the merits of the individual workers composing these
societies. The good seed was skilfully sown, and it fell
upon good soil. The abundant harvest, is the fruit of
both condition^. It takes true men to appreciate a true

364 LIFE AND LABORS OF
man. Only living spirits can catch the inspiration of a
livino- spirit and send it on in an unbroken and ever-
widening current of Christian activity. But this book
has to do only with the first mover.
Another institution, of a somewhat different kind,
which will long stand as a memorial of the foresight and
energy of the founder of the Institute, is the College
Library, which he was the means of getting together. As
modern college libraries go, this is, of course, but small.
But the few thousands of volumes thus collected as
the permanent property of the college and the denomina
tion, were in the main, well chosen. They represent'
moreover, a great deal of thought and activity. When
the want of money for the absolutely necessary daily ex
penses of the school was always so pressing, there never
came a time when a general appeal could be made to the
friends of religious education for funds for library pur
poses. The contributions for this purpose, were in nearly
every instance the special and supplementary gifts of a
few warm friends of Dr. Fyfe and his work. Such notices
as the following, appearing from time to time in his reports
to the Baptist, show the process by which so many use
ful books were gradually got together^ " We have made
a very valuable addition to the Institute Library, in the
departments of history, mathematics, metaphysics and
natural science, and more especially in the several
branches embraced in the Theological Department The
generous friends who contributed the funds by which we
have thus greatly added to the permanent efficiency of
our school, are the Hon. Mr. McMaster and Mrs. McMaster,
T. James Claxton, A. R. McMaster, Mr. Beemer of Brant
ford, Thomas Lailey, and Wm. Byland of Manchester.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 365
This valuable addition has given an impulse to the whole
school." Mr. Claxton, it should be added, was for years,
without detriment to his other large subscriptions, a
regular and liberal contributor to the library fund. Both
Woodstock College and McMaster Hall are now profiting
by his wiso gifts, and those of others in those early days,
for the purchase of books. The spirit in which Dr. Fyfe
wrought for the establishment of a good library at Wood
stock, was fittingly and nobly followed up after his death
by the act of his widow in placing his own valuable
private collection in an alcove of the college library, for
the perpetual benefit of its students and teachers.
Passing beyond the sphere of college life, we can but
glance at the outside labors of this indefatigable worker.
His relations to the work of the Home Mission Conven
tion have been already touched upon. It need only be
said further in reference to these, that his interest in the
work was deep and abiding during all those eighteen
years he spent at Woodstock. He was a regular attend
ant at the meetings of the Convention, and of its Board,
on the latter of which his name was always prominent.
With the exception, perhaps, of Dr. Davidson after years
spent in the secretaryship, there was no other member
who approached bim in the extent and minuteness of his
knowledge of the Churches and the Home Mission
Stations. His opinion and advice were generally the end
of all controversy on questions of policy. The fact, too,
that he in reality controlled the movements of the Theo
logical students, who usually spent several months of
each year in missionary work, and were amongst the
most laborious and successful of the missionaries of the
Convention, gave to his services- in this connection a two
fold value.

366 LTFE AND LABORS OF
The Foreign Mission work of the Baptists of Ontario
anil Quebec, he may be said to have originated. During
the year 1866, or earlier, a brother remarked in his hear
ing that it was a reproach to the Denomination in these
provinces that they were doing nothing in. any regular
or systematic way in aid of the great mission of the
church, to make known to the heathen world the un
searchable riches of Christ. The remark seems to have
sunk into his mind. With characteristic promptitude
and energy he set about seeing what could be done. He
opened a correspondence with the Baptist Foreign Mission
Board in Boston, and as the result of that correspondence,
as the secretary informs us in the first annual report of.
the Canadian Society, " Dr. Murdock was deputed to visit
the Province and invite co-operation with the American
Society. An informal meeting of six ministers was held
in the parsonage at- Beamsville, and a conference held
with Dr. Murdock. The result was the organization of
"The Canada Auxiliary to the American Baptist Union,"
by the appointment of a Secretary and Treasurer. The
late lamented A. V. Timpany, was ready and anxious to
give himself to the work, to which he felt himself irre
sistibly called. Having completed his full literary and
theological course at Woodstock, he proceeded to Boston,
and was at once examined and received by the Executive
Committee of the Union, and, accompanied by his devoted
wife, the eldest daughter of the late Rev. John Bates, he
went forth as the first Canadian Missionary on the Telugu
field — the first offering of the Baptists of Ontario and
Quebec, and of the Judson Missionary Society. With
what unflagging devotion he gave himself to the great
work; how abundantly his labors were blessed; how he

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 367
was followed in a few years by John McLaurin, a friend
and brother like-minded, and likewise a son of the In
stitute, and a member of the Judson Missionary Society ;
how McLaurin was also accompanied by a daughter — the
only other daughter —of that same servant of God, John
B ites*, who was herself, too, a student of the Institute and
a member of the Judson Missionary Society ; how the In
dependent Canadian Mission was soon organized; how
Titnpany nobly laid down his consesrated life on the field,
and how the others are still bearing witness for the
Master, and rejoicingly winning the poor Telugus to His
sjrvice, need not be told to the Canadian reader of this
volume Never was Dr. Fyfe more honored of God than
* No more whole-souled worker for Christ ever honored the ranks
of the Baptist denomination in Ontario than the lamented Rev.
John Bates. It mattered not whether the work was Home Missions
Foreign Missions, his pastoral work, or Ministerial Education, he was in
it with mind, heart, and purse. He was for many years Secretary of the
Baard of Trustees of the Institute. The following extracts from a letter
written to the Baptist in 1869, when an effort was being made to wipe
out a debt of 551000, is so characteristic that it deserves a place on the
record of good deeds done for the Institution :
" Who does this debt belong to ? Part of it belongs to the reader.
As the Institute building was erected for the Baptists, and as the debt
is on the building, it honestly belongs to the 16,000 memb'-rs of our
churches, and every Baptist is under a moral obligation to help pay it.
I will be
One of 40 who pledge $50
80 " " 25
100 '¦ " . '20
200 " " 10
400 " " 5
" 1000 " " '2,
" 2000 " " . 1
Surely, surely, there are men out of the 16,000 Biptists who will
meet the above. But as the Institution is a denominational necessity,
anil this debt, a just debt, contracted in good faith, which must be met, I
will be one of 20 who pledge §100 if nineteen more genuine Baptists can
be found." As Mr. Bates was a Baptist minister in Ontario, it need
hardly be added that such offers as the above, which were frequent with
him, were not out of his abundance.

368 LIFE AND LABORS OF
when he was made His agent in arousing the Baptists of
these provinces to a sense of their duty as custodians of
the Gospel for the heathen Nor was the work in all
respects a simple and easy one. Some good and influential
brethren had no faith in foreign missions; some thought
there was quite enough for Baptists to do at home, and
it Would be wrong to divide the energies and sympathies
i>f tho churches. There were, even amongst Dr. Fyfe's
chosen friends, those who had to be re- converted from
their prejudices against foreign missions before they
could be induced to put their hands heartily to this new
enterprise. Probably no intelligent Baptist could be now
found in Ontario or Quebec to deny that the Churches,
the Home Missions, and the Educational Institutions, have
all been gainers, rather than losers, through the impulse
given to the spiritual life of the denomination, by the for
mation of the Foreign Mission Society, and that what has
been contributed for the good work amongst the Telugus
has been blessed to those that gave as well as to to those
that took. The contact of the out-tretched hand of Chris
tian love and sympathy with the appalling sin and misery
of heathendom, sent back a responsive thrill of divine pity
that stirred the hearts of Canadian Baptists to attempt
higher things both at home and abroad. Tbe—corinec-
tion cannot be too closely kept up. The gracious outflow
and the reflex current are still and always needed to
maintain a healthful circulation, and develop the fullness
of the true "higher life." .Till we know what paganism
is, we cannot fully know what Christianity is. The
Christian whose heart has never yearned over those who
are perishing in utter darkness, has .never entered into
full sympathy with the mind of Christ.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.I). 369
In later years, Dr. Fyfe became, also, the founder and
father of the Manitoba Mission, another living and prac
tical proof of the keenness of his foresight, as well as of
the largeness of his heart. To that same foresight, as
the writer of an obituary notice in the Christian Helper
reminded us, we are largely indebted for the formation
of the Superannuated Ministers' Aid Society. It is safe
to say, in a word, that there was not one work of
Christian philanthrophy in which the Baptists of Ontario
engaged during the last twenty years of his life, which
was not either originated in his fertile and energetic
brain, or materially helped by his strong and willing
hand. In the midst of his abounding labours in all these
various directions, he still found time to preach the
.Gospel. His services in the pulpit were in constant de
mand. No arrangements for church opening, or ordina
tion, or other special occasion, within any reasonable
distance of Woodstock, were thought complete unless
Dr. Fyfe's name was upon the programme. His services
to churches destitute of pastors were in frequent
requisition. The Church in Woodstock, in particular, he
laid under many and weighty obligations. The following
resolution passed by that church in November, 1863,
affords a striking illustration : —
" Resolved, That the most cordial and grateful thanks of the
church be tendered to Dr. Fyfe for the very faithful and generous
manner in which he has fulfilled his agreement to supply the
pulpit during the past year, thereby enabling the church to pay
eight hundred dollars towards its debt."
In addition to all these multiplied labors, were those
he performed as the unofficial, but very real and hard-

370 LIFE AND LABORS OF
worked counsellor of the churches, and of individuals.
His correspondence was voluminous. He was consulted
from east and west, in cases of personal, pastoral and
church difficulties. The piles of closely written sheets,
filled with details of troubles in regard to which he was
asked to advise, or mediate, that would sometimes lie
before him on a Saturday, were appalling, or would have
been so to one less gifted with powers of keen insight and
close condensation. The readiness with which he would
strip a vexed question of its unnecessary complications,
and the comprehensive, and usually satisfactory, brevity
of his answers, were remarkable.
No one could wield so much personal influence, how
ever legitimately acquired, in a democratic body like the
Baptists, without exciting jealousy and dislike. It is no
wonder that he was by some regarded as a kind of Bap
tist "pope," and accused of autocratic ambition. Some,
even of his sincere friends and admirers, used to question
seriously whether that could be a healthy state of the
denomination in which a single individual did so much
of the thinking and acting for the whole body. Had this
marked pre-eminence been consciously sought for its
own sake, or had it been conferred in any other way
than by the tacit and well-nigh unanimous consent of his
brethren, there certainly would have been good ground
to fear for the integrity of Baptist principles. But he
was remarkably free, as every one who knew him inti
mately must have known, from the contamination of
self -seeking, as well as above the artifices of the demagogue
and the devious devices of the caballer or wire-puller.
He usually not only set his object before him with un
usual distinctness, but went straight towards it. He

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 371
scorned to make his way by any by-paths or shady
circuits. He did not possess the confidence of his brethren
more fully than he deserved it by the unselfishness of his
motives and the singleness of his methods. He was natur
ally somewhat impatient of tedious discussions, and some
times lost sightof the advantagesof prolonged deliberation.
He failed, it may be, to take into account the fact that
various persons come to their conclusions by various pro
cesses, and that few are able to reach the stability of assured
conviction by so short a route as seemed often to suffice
for himself. It is doubtful if he sufficiently estimated the
value of the slower method, as the only way in which the
minds of the larger number can be interested, and their
sympathies permanently enlisted, in anypublic enterprise.
For this reason he would, perhaps, have failed as a leader
in a larger body, or one in which more of the members
were prepared to assert themselves and to take their full
share in discussion and action. When he visited the
Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces a few
years before his death he was struck with the numbers
who seemed to take part in every deliberation. He was
by nature, or habit, impatient of a multitude of coun
sellors. He was disposed to rely on a strong executive
rather than a well-balanced legislature. Hence he gave,
very unintentionally, some offence by the free expression
of his opinion as to the methods of transacting business
which prevailed in the East. In his anxiety always to
reach a certain well defined end, he no doubt often failed
to remember that the means may be quite as important
as the end. Important principles may be involved. The
right of private judgment; the equality of the brother
hood ; the necessity of having the largest possible number

372 LIFE AND LABORS OF
interested in the work and committed to it ; above all,
the educative influence of unfettered discussion — these
he may have undervalued. The circumstances in which
he worked and lived were exceptional. To bring unity
out of chaos, and energy out of torpor ; to fuse into har
monious activity the most incongruous and discordant
elements; to put a stop to endless divisions on questions
of "mint, anise, and cummin," and enlist the disjointed
Baptist forces in a united and effective campaign against
the common foe ; such was the denominational work
given him to do'. This work he did as no other man in
Canada, as few men in the world, could have done it. If
the methods were in some respects exceptional, so were
the circumstances. Neither the one nor the other are
likely to be repeated in Ontario. It is to be devoutly
hoped that God will raise up many other men as able
and good and true to do his work here, but it is in the
highest degree improbable that the Baptists of Ontario
will ever again be under the rule of a one-man influence
at all comparable to that which Dr. Fyfe wielded so
beneficently for a score of years.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Toronto USiVersity Auajn —The Grapes not Sour — University
Reform Needed —The Agitation Commenced — Letters to
.the "Globe" — A Crying Injustice — An Unprogressive
Senate — A B\d Examination System — Definite Reforms
Demanded -A "Quixotic Expedition" — It Proves Success
ful — Great Advances Made — University Examinations for
Women — By Whom Secured — The University Modernized
— Honor to Whom Honor.
>HE services rendered by Dr. Fyfe to the cause of
higher education in connection with Toronto Uni
versity did not stop with his ardent advocacy of the
secularization of King's College, and its transformation
into an undenominational and truly national university,
nor even with his equally earnest opposition to any and
every movement looking to a partition of its endowment
fund or income. We have already seen how, when this
latter question was re-opened by the application of several
of the denominational colleges for a share of the annual
proceeds of that endowment, he was amongst the fore
most in stern and successful opposition. True to the
same uncompromising voluntaryism, he was again to the
front when the last strand in the bond of union between
Church and State was severed, by the final withdrawal,

374 LIFE AND LABORS OF
by Act of the Ontario Legislature, of all grants to de
nominational colleges. The first petition sent from
Oxford County, in opposition to all such grants, was
headed by Dr. Fyfe himself, and subscribed by all the
members of the Institute Faculty. Nor can it be said
that in thus moving' he and his associates, and other
Baptists, were actuated by any petty jealousy, or ex
posed themselves in any way to the taunts of those who
would cry " Sour grapes 1 " Had the Baptists been so dis
posed, no govern nent or legislature could have resisted
their claims fo be put on an equality in this respect with
the Methodists, and other bodies, whose colleges were so
long in the receipt of annuities from the public chest. It
had, in fact, been clearly intimated to Dr. Fyfe b}r those
in authority, that the supporters of the 'Woodstock in
stitution had but to stretch forth their hands to receive
their solatium from the provincial treasury. They stead
fastly refused to do so. While it is certainty desirable
and proper that the voluntary colleges should work in
all harmony with the state university, it is to bo
hoped that in the concessions being made, and about
to be made to the Theological Institutions, care may be
taken by the friends of voluntaryism, lest the thin
edge of the Church-and -State wedge be again inserted,
and the good work of the past unconsciously undermined.
But there was another great service rendered by Dr.
Fyfe and his co-adjutors to the cause of higher educa
tion in Ontario, for which due credit has never been
given, and which seems to have been forgotten. Events
soon proved that the end of the contest had not been
reached when victory had at last perched upon the
banners of thuse who had fought so long and well to free

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.D. 375
the provincial institution from the trammels of sectarian
ism. The University Bill of 1849 effectually cut the
cords which bound the University to the narrow tradi
tions of the past, but failed to infuse the liberal spirit
which alone could speed it in the path of future progress.
The new life needed for its development a new regimen
which was not at once supplied.
It was not till the year lb70 that Dr. Fyfe commenced
an agitation for reform in the management of the Uni
versity of Toronto. To that agitation the whole province
is largely indebted for the high status the University has
since achieved, and the great stimulu-s it has given to the
cause of liberal culture in the province. It is true that
the attention of Dr. Fyfe, and those he represented, was
first forced to the evils complained of by the peculiar
circumstances of their own College at Woodstock, and
the felt injustice of the manner in which it was practically
discriminated against at Toronto. The Institute had
been formally affiliated with the University, in accord
ance with the provisions of the Act under which the
latter was constituted, but it was found in practice that
such affiliation was an empty name, carrying with it no
recognition of work done, no benefit or privilege of any
kind. This was so manifestly contrary to the intention
of the Act, and placed the Baptist College at so great dis
advantage as compared with other denominational in
stitutions, that it was at last resolved to sift the matter
to the bottom, in order to discover and remove the source
of the injustice.
It may be premised that Dr. Fyfe had, in 1863, been
appointed by the Governor-General a member of the
University Senate. Some moral courage was, therefore,

376 LIFE AND LABORS OF
required to appeal to the public, through the new.spaper
press, against the action, or rather want of action, of his
brother senators. To do so gave occasion, and some co'or,
to the cry of disloyalty. We may be sure he did not
adopt that means of securing the needed reforms until
all proper efforts, within the body itself, had proved un
availing. There are, in fact, few more conservative
institutions in existence, than the Government-appointed
managers of an educational institution. In this case, the
proverbial vis inertia: of a body of placemen was fully
displayed. Efforts to move it from within proved futile.
But the evils complained of, and the difficulties in the
way of reform, are so clearly set forth in the following
letters, which were published in the Daily Globe, on
November 22nd and 25th, and December 26th, 1870;
that further introduction is needless : —
REFORMS NEEDED IX TORONTO UNIVERSITY.

(To the Editor of the Globe.)
Sm, — With your permission, I wish to call attention to some
reforms required in the working of our national University. I
have for many years observed that your paper is always ready to
admit a fair ami candid statement on any subject which relates
to the public welfare. As in what I have to say about Toronto
University I have no special charges to bring against any indi
viduals, nor any personal grievances of my own to air, I trust
you will give me space to lay before the publie sonu facts and
arguments in which many others are interested besides myself.
There are two sections in the "Act respecting the University
of Toronto, University College," &c, to which I at present wish
to direct attention, viz., the 25 and 26, chap. 62 : "In order lo
extend the benefits of colleges and establishments already insti
tuted in this Province for the promotion of Literature, Science,
and Art, whether incorporated or not incorporated, by connect-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 377
ing them with the said University, all persons shall be admitted
as candidates for the respective degrees of Bachelor of Arts and
Master of Arts in the said University, on satisfying the Chan
cellor, Vice-Chancellor, and members of the Senate, by proper
certificate, that such persons have, in airy of the institutions
hereinafter mentioned, gone through and completed such course
of Instruction as the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and members
of the Senate, by statutes made as aforesaid from time to time,
shall determine. The institutions in which such course of
instruction may be completed shall be all colleges in Upper or
Lower Canada incorporated by Royal Charter, or by Act of Par
liament of this Province, or of either of the late Provinces of
Upper or Lower Canada, and also such other institutions incor
porated or unincorporated, now or at any time after this Act
takes effect established for the purpose of education within this
Province, as the Governor from time to time prescribes to the
Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and members of the Senate, under
his hand and Seal at Anns."
The object of this Act seems to have been broad and generous
enough. When the " Senate " was created it was em [lowered to
put the Act in force. And it was assumed that the Senate
would pass such statutes as would fairly carry out the spirit anil
intent of the laws toward all affiliated institutions. Now my
first charge is, that the Senate has entirely failed to do its duty
in this respect.
The Statutes of the Senate admit students from any university
in Her Majesty's dominions, "ad eundem statum" — that is,
admit students of any college in the Dominion having power
to grant degrees, to the same year's studies in University College
which they were entitled to pursue in their own college. And
this they do without examining these students even when they
have pursued a course of instruction not prescribed " by the
statutes made as aforesaid from time to time" by the Chancellor,
Vice-Chancellor and members of the Senate. The Senate never
had anything to say respecting the curriculum adopted at Queen's
College, Cobourg College, Belleville, or Regiopolis, and yet a
student from any of these Colleges is, by statute, admitted on
his own application ad eundem statum, in Toronto University.
Others can judge as well as I whether the Act which created
the Senate contemplated such a course on their part. But this
is not all. Affiliated institutions which have not power to. grant
Y

378 LIFE AND LABORS OF
decrees, and which are so expressly mentioned by the Act, have
not been noticed in any way whatever by the Senate. Was it
not intended that the University Senate should adopt some
regulations in respect to such schools ? Suppose the Senate had
passed a statute lo the effect that students who should come
from affiliated schools which have not the power to grant
degiees, bringing with them certificates from the authorities of
said schools that they had passed creditable examinations in the
studies prescribed for any given year by Toronto University',
should be admitted ad eundem statum in the University, would
not the effect have been beneficial to the school, and not in
jurious to the University? Such a comsc would have been a
great incentive to the school to raise its standard, and have its
men as well prepared as possible. Fairness requires either that
the above course should be pursued, or else that all students
who receive any kind of standing in Toronto University should
receive it only on the examinations of the University. They
should not recognize the examinations of other schools at all.
I return to my point — the Senate have failed to carry out the
law that called them into existence, and whatever may have
been the reasons which influenced them, they could not have
had the single aim of raising the standard of education in the
province at large. This assertion is proved thus : — The cur-
•riculum adopted by Toronto University claims to be higher than
that of any other university in the Dominion, and yet students
from all the incorporated institutions with the lower curriculum
.are received ad eundem statum. ; but students from schools
which are not incorporated, even though they may adopt the"
highest curriculum, cannot be so received. Can any one say
why 1 Was it designed to compel all denominational schools to
get the p-iwer of granting degrees ? This is certainly contrary
to the spirit of the University Act. That act assuredly did not
contemplate the idea of requiring each affiliated school to have
the power of granting its own degrees. Why, then, have the
Senate taken a course which tempts comparatively weak schools
to seek university powers, in order (if for no other reason) to
have their work recognized? It cannot be pretended that, when
a school has the power to grant degrees, there is in that of itself
any guarantee for the thoroughness either of the instruction or
of the examination. It is perfectly notorious that when ap
plication is made to the Legislature for corporate powers to

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 379
grant honors, &c, the parties who give this power trouble them
selves very little as to the conditions on which the corporation
will bestow its honors.
I close this letter by repeating that Toronto University has
failed to do its duty as contemplated by the University Act ;
and, I think I have furnished proofs of the justness of this
charge. In my next I propose to call attention to some other
points. I am, very respectful lv, &c,
R. A. Fyfe.
Woodstock, Nov. 15th, 1870.

THE SENATE OF TORONTO UNIVERSITY.

(To the Editor of the O.'obe.J
Sir— This body consists now of about fifty persons ; many of
them seem to have been appointed for reasons which will prob
ably never be made known ; at least these reasons, whether
wise or otherwise, do not yet appear. Fully two-thirds of the
whole number seldom or never attend the meetings of the Serrate.
If the members are urged to attend to vote for some aspirant for
one or other of the few offices which this body has under its'
control, then a somewhat larger attendance is secured. The
Senate has become nnwieldly, and few comparatively of its
members have any adequate idea of the important work com
mitted to them. There is, however, one strong reason why a larger
attendance cannot be secured at the Senate meetings. The
whole business, legislative and executive (and most of the
business is of the executive and merely routine kind), is con
ducted by the whole Senate at its periodical meetings. Most
of the time of the Senate, therefore, is taken up with little petty
details, which could be carried out far better by an Executive
Committee. The consequence of the present arrangement is,
that members of the Senate are summoned from Kingston, Belle
ville, Cobourg, Woodstock, or London, and they find that
nothing but the merest details are to be acted on. And as men
from a distance cannot attend all the meetings which are called,
they cannot keep the run of the business, and hence their
presence is of little use when they do come. Moreover, those
members who live at a distance have to pay their own travelling

380 LIFE AND LABORS OF
expenses, from $5 to $10 per meeting. When men find that
they have to pay frnn five to ten dollars for the privilege of
sitting as dummies at a meeting whose business they do not
understand on account of previous absences, they will not repeat
the visit very often. The result of all this is, that the whole
business of the Senate is performed by less than a dozen men in
Toronto. I am casting no personal reflections when I say, as I
do now, that the whole business of the senate is practically under
the direction and-control of four Professors of University College.
I do not blame them for this. They are only faithfully dis
charging their duties, by attending the Senate meetings, and
carrying on the business which comes before them. But I blame
the system. There could not be a better plan than that now in
.existence for shaking public confidence in the fairness of our
present University scheme. The theory is, that the Senate
is the source of University honors, and this body has
adopted a number of children — " affiliated " them. But the re
presentatives of one of these children not only hold all the
money — this we are willing, nay, we are determined, they should
hold — but they make all the laws, and carry them all into effect.
And they would be more than human, or less, if they did not
make these laws, and interpret them also, in the interest of their
own College. I feel sure that no unprejudiced man would say
that the friends of higher education in Ontario should have con
fidence in the Senate as at present constituted and managed. It
is absurd that a body of men like the University Senate should
be confined to making regulations and laws to carry out the ideas
and plans of a single college. It may be — it is — a question
whether the curriculum adopted by University College, on which
to examine its students, is the very best. It has been changed
in some respects very recently, but I do not remember that any
were specially consulted about these changes, but the professors
of University College. May not some questions be fairly raised
on matters of this kind 1
For example, why should the Senate fix upon four years of
University studies before granting A. B., Because some of the
professors in University College prefer this? In England the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have only about three
years, and London University has only two years, after matricula
tion before conferring the A. B. In a young country like this,
where men are so anxious to get to work, it scarcely seems need
ful to keep them longer than they are kept in England before

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 381
commencing the' study of their profession. Let the honor work
_ be kept up at a high standard, but the majority of students can-
' not profitably undertake it.
At present there is much of jeering and gibing at the degrees
conferred by some of our Canadian Colleges. If a greater uni
formity could be obtained in regard to the requirements for a
degree, this state of things would be changed. Arrd that much
may be done in that direction I have not a doubt, if the right
steps be taken. But, it may be asked, what are some of the
changes you desire ? I answer : —
1. I wish the Senate to be simply an examining body, and
that it should not recognize any examinations but its own.
Moreover, it should not have so large a preponderance of any
one denomination as it has now. Srrrely — now that there can
be no question of the division of spoils — a fair representation of
the educators of Ontario could get nearer together than they are
at present.
2. The Senate should hold a session once in three or six
months, at which the University " Statutes " and general busi
ness should "be attended to, and a small executive committee
could then carry out the instructions of the Senate.
3. The heads of affiliated Colleges should have their travelling
expenses paid when attending Senate meetings. This amend
ment, as well as that immediately preceding it, has been fre
quently spoken of by others besides the writer.
4. I would not take a farthing from University College
Endowment, but would rather increase it, if I could. I would
not have the College interfered with. Its professors are men
abundantly competent to carry on their work so as to make
theirs a model college. At the same time, I object to there
being so many professors from one college on the Senate.
I have always objected to this, and years of observation have
not lessened my objections. Let that college lead us by its high
example and scholarship, and not by its law-making power. I
shall not at present, Mr. Editor, longer trespass on your space.
There is pretty widespread dissatisfaction felt, I know, and I
shall be glad if any steps are taken which may remove this.
Without unsettling the foundations already laid, it seems to me
some changes may be adopted which will materially aid in the
erection of the superstructure. I am, truly, &c,
Woodstock, Nov. 21st, 1870. R. A. Fyfe.

382 LIFE AND LABORS OF

TORONTO UNIVERSITY AGAIN.
(To the Editor of the Globe.)
Sir — My last letter to you intimated that I had not com
pleted what I had to say respecting the management of Toronto
University. I propose, with your permission, to do so in this
communication. I have already referred to the fact that the
University has for nine or ten years utterly ignored the existence
of every affiliated school which has not the power of granting
degrees; and yet the law evidently intended that they should
be recognized in some way. The consequence has been that a
pressure has been brought to bear upon these schools by their
friends to have them secure the power of granting their own
degrees without reference to the so-called National University.
By this course the " Institution " at Toronto, endowed with
funds belonging to every inhabitant of Ontario, is likely to be
come the University of a small portion of the people of Canada.
It is quite certain that the denominational colleges will not be
given up — nor indeed ought they to be. They are "doing a work
which no one college (however well manned) could do; not only
in the matter of teaching, and of moral and religious training
and oversight, but in the general stimulus in favor of education
which they impart to the denominations with which they are
connected. Could not Toronto University safely institute an
enquiry in all the schools which stand affiliated with it, on some
such questions as the following, viz. : —
1. Can anything be done more nearly to assimilate the cur
riculum of studies in all the schools or colleges connected with
this university ?
2. Can we agree upon a standard which will make the degree
granted of the same value, or nearly so ?
3. Can we adopt a uniform system of examinations ? Or to
state the questions more generally — What can be done to make
the higher education of the Dominion more thorough and uni
form, and at the same time to draw those engaged in this work
nearer to each other ?
Instead of any such course as this being adopted, the only
proposal which I remember to have been made by any member
of the Senate was that the denominational colleges should give
up their university powers, and merge themselves in Toronto

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 383
University. At that time I did not understand how much' this
proposal meant. I know now it meant about this : " Give up
your power of granting degrees, and then we shall not notice you
as schools in any way whatever. You will have to send up all
the pupils which your zeal for higher education has enabled you
to draw around you, and whom you have taught and trained
during the most difficult and irksome part of their education, to
Toronto, to be examined by some five or six professors of Uni
versity College." This was no great temptation to these chartered
colleges ! Surely this cannot be the fair interpretation of the
seemingly generous law passed by the Government ? The law
creating the University of Toronto is either a sham and a decep
tion in its promises to the colleges, or else the Senate has not yet
appreciated either its letter or spirit. The truth is, the Senate,
as at present employed, is little more than an appendage of Uni
versity College. The " Council " of that College could easily do
all that is now done by the University, and it is probable that
the work would bo done very much as it is now were the Uni
versity done away ! Yet this "Council" is, I fear, somewhat
remiss in its duties also. In the 53rd section of the University
Act we have the following passage : — " The Council of the said
College shall annually report to the Governor, at such time as he
may appoint, on the general state, progress, and prospects of the
College, and upon all matters touching the same, with such sug
gestions as they may think proper to make." The italics are
mine. With such a duty before them, how is it that for years
and years one (if not more) of the professorships in that College
remains so inadequately filled? Clasj after class of students is
subjected to a kind of martyrdom, but things remain as they
were in the beginning. I wonder if a professor of any other re
ligious denomination' would have been hime so patiently with
by the council? I grant that some public duties are very un
pleasant, but after all duty must be done.
Still further : The Senate, which was appointed practically to
" extend the henefits of colleges and establishments already in
stituted in this Province," has not only passed by all those
affiliated institutions which have not the power of granting
degrees ; but the statutes which have been passed in regard to
institutions which are incorporated with University powers, are
seemingly framed so as to injure those institutions, by drawing
away students from them. In other words it does not seem

384 LIFE AND LABORS OF
that the aim is to stimulate these institutions or colleges to do
their work better, but to take away their work from them alto
gether. With professedly liberal aims, the management of the
University has been such as to make it — so far as its relations
lo colleges out of Ti ronto are corn-erred — a real monopoly. I
challenge fair and car.did inquiry into this subject, to see whether
my statements are not fully borne out by facts
But I must not close this letter without calling special atten
tion to the examinations for standings, degrees, and honors, in
connection with Toronto University. By whom are these con
ducted ? The answer is, chiefly — not exclusively, but chiefly —
by the Professors of University College. The questions aie
prepared mainly by there Professors, and printed. These printed
questions are distributed in the class-rooms to those students
who come up for examination. When the students have written
out the answers to the aforesaid printed questions, they sign
with their own names the papers which they have prepared. In
this way the Examiners know the authors of the several papers
— where they come from, and all about them. There are several
very serious objections to this whole course :
1. By the present plarr it is scarcely possible for the Examiner
to be uninfluenced by what he knows of the student, outside of
the paper which is presented to him. And of course this operates
badly for those students who have not been taught in University
College, and who are probably not known to the professor. The
papers should not be signed by the student. They should be
marked merely with a cypher, and the cypher and real name of
the student should be enclosed in a sealed envelope, not to be
opened till the paper had been examined and its value ascer
tained. 2. It is scarcely possible for a professor, however conscientious
he may be, not to have some leaning towards the students who
have all along attended his own classes. Besides, when students
from two or more colleges are examined by a professor, rhuse
students who have been trained by the examining professor will
always have a decided advantage, because they know how their
old professor puts questions. That this is strictly true, even
where the two or more classes are equally " well up " every man
who has had experience in teaching or conducting examinations
knows. Let Professor A. prepare the questions for his own
students, and Professor B. for his, and then let them reverse this

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 385
order. Let B. prepare tire questions for A's students, and A.
prepare questions for B's students, and they will find that the
results of these two examinations thus conducted will vary from
five to ten per cerrt. This is another reason why the method of
conducting the examinations irr Toronto University should be
changed. The examiners should, if possible, be unconnected
with any of the teaching colleges, or else they should represent
all the affiliated colleges.
Still further. Why should all the students have to go to
Toronto to be examined ? Would it not be better to copy more
fully the plan of London University ? The questions are. printed
by that University, and then a trusty agent, representing the
University,' is sent with a sealed packet of these printed ques
tions. This packet is opened only in the class-room, in the
presence of the president of the affiliated college, and the papers
are distributed to the students who are to be examined. Then,
¦ when their time is up, their paper's are marked with their cyphers,
and all put in an envelope and sealed, and taken to the ex
aminers for their scrutiny. According to the plan at present in
operation in Toronto University, some ten or twenty poor stu
dents have yearly to go on a pilgrimage to Toronto, and pay
their own travelling expenses; whereas the University would
have to pay the travelling expenses of but two or three agents
at most.
The eauses of complaint which I have enumerated in my two
former letters, together with those mentioned in this, are, I
think, sufficient to claim a candid inquiry on the part of those
in authority. I may be permitted to say, in closing, that both
the Quebec and Ontario Baptist Conventions declared with great
unarrimity that the attention of the Government should be called
to this subject, and that all those changes required to secure the
fair treatment of the affiliated colleges should be secured if pos
sible. I am, &c, &c, R. A. Fyfe.
Woodstock, December 8th, 1870.
The friends of Toronto University are now so familiar
with the reforms here suggested, as reduced to practice,
that they may not readily realize how startling the inno-

386 LIFE AND LABORS OF
vations proposed seemed to many'at the time. Even "A
Baptist " was found in Toronto, ready to deprecate them
in his own name, and that of five " leading members" of
the Baptist Convention. This writer declared " that the
attempted crusade is as unnecessary as it is useless," and
did " most earnestly protest against his (Dr. Fyfe's)
attempt to represent the Baptist denomination as march
ing after him on his present Quixotic expeditim."
As every one who pays attention to educational affairs
knows, there is scarcely one of the reforms proposed or
suggested in those three letters, which is not to-day em
bodied in the legislation of the Senate and in actual
operation in University practice. Students of affiliated
colleges not having degree-conferring powers, are no
longer required to go up to Toronto for each of the five
undergraduate examinations. Examinations are now con
ducted in affiliated colleges, when desired, in the manner
suggested in letter III. The examiners are no longer
chiefly or entirely chosen from the professors of Univer
sity College. The certificates of the heads of affiliated
colleges are recognized and accepted in lieu of certain of
the University Examinations. Students are no longer
permitted to sign their own names to the p ipers they
submit. The curricula of the colleges affiliated with the
University have been to a considerable extent assimilated.
Very much now blood and new life have been infused
into the University Senate. The staff of University
College has been so far renovated that it can no longer
be said that " class after class is submitted to a kind of
martyrdom," at the hands of professors who have out
lived their usefulness. Not a bad show of results from a
Quixotic expedition.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D D. 387
But the above are by no means all the Unive: sity re
forms of which Dr. Fyfe was first advocate, or chief
promoter. The plan of " Local Examinations for Women,"
now happily extended to students of both sexes and of
all classes, emanated from Woodstock College. The first
informal meeting to consider the matter was called by
Dr. Fyfe, and met at the residence of the Hon. William
McMaster in Toronto. The first rough draft of the
statute which was afterwards passed by the Senate, estab
lishing such examinations, was prepared by members of
the Institute Faculty, and virtually if not actually sub
mitted by Dr. Fyfe. Much progress has since been made
in the direction of liberalizing both the University and
its College, and in doing away with the narrow and un
just discrimination against women. These reforms were
of course inevitable. They must have come sooner or
later. But it is the fir^t step that tells. A reform of this
kind well begun is half accomplished. Who can say how
long the progress of University Education in Ontario
would have been blocked by the fogyism that paralyzed
the University Senate, had not Dr. Fyfe possessed the
combined strength and courage to pull clown the conven
tional barriers, let the light of public criticism into the
dim Senate Chamber, and set the healthful breezes of
liberal sentiment playing through the musty corridors of
the Provincial University ?
True the work is not even yet complete. One import
ant reform proposed by him remains to be accomplished,
and others cognate to it are even now being agitated.
The blind injustice of requiring non-resident members of
the Senate to pay their own travelling expenses, in at
tending its meetings, is still suffered to exist. The

388

LIFE AND LABORS OF

kindred reform of fixed periodical sessions has yet to be
accomplished.* Year by year the membership is being
made more representative in character. The curriculum,
though vastly improved, is not yet fully in accord wi.h
the spirit of the day, especially in regard to its courses
in English classics, and in Political and Sociological
science. But the impetus imparted sixteen or eighteen
years ago has never ceased to be felt. The momentum is
still increasing as the University moves on in the path of
progress. It is not too much to say that had the origina
tor of the movement been the Principal of University
College, Toronto, instead of the Baptist Institute, Wood
stock, his name would have gone down to posterity, as
an educational benefactor and a father of university re
form. Perhaps history may yet give honor to whom it
is due. *The report of a meeting of the Senate published since the above
was in type indicates that this long-desired and most sensible arrange
ment has at length been agreed to.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

A Promiscuous Chapter— Opinions and Incidents— Dr. Fyfe as a
Teacher — Prof. Montgomery's Views— A Student's Tribute —
A Pioneer Preacher— Peculiar Students— Teachers' Trials
— The Call to the Ministry — Responsibility of Churches —
A Sympathetic Heart — A Sister-in- Law's Memories — Instan
ces of Ges-erosity — Rising above Prejudice — A Dinner-
Table Incident — An Inspired Utterance — The Virtue of
Endurance — Mind-force in Action.
>LD PROVERBS are not always reliable. It may
not be either literally or figuratively true that " a
straw best shows how the wind blows." It is not at all
clear that a man's lighter, more thoughtless, acts and
expressions afford a better index to his real character
than his deliberate words and actions. But it is certainly
true that no estimate of that character can be correct,
which fails to take account of its lighter moods and less
premeditated words and acts.
The impressions made upon those with whom one is
brought into more or less intimate contact afford another
valuable criterion of what manner of man or woman an
individual really is. The verdict of the many, especially
in cases where the many are substantially agreed, is
perhaps entitled to more weight than the studied criti
cisms of the few. It, at any rate forms one important
factor which cannot be omitted from any truly impartial
estimate of character.

390 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Since it was announced that this work was being pre
pared a number of more or less intimate acquaintances
and friends of Dr. Fyfe have kindly submitted opinions
and recollections. Some of these are fragmentary, but
are nevertheless interesting and suggestive. Others are
more systematic in form and prepared with greater care.
Two or three of the latter are reserved to be given entire
at the close of the volume. It may be both pleasing and
profitable to group together in a chapter, without much
attempt at chronological or other order, a variety of in
cidents and opinions from various independent sources.
Prof. Montgomery, now of Kalamazoo College, Mich.,
U S., was for ten years a member of the Institute Fac
ulty, under Dr. Fyfe's presidency, and had thus exception
ally good opportunities for studying his principles and
methods. Having taken the degree of M S , at the
University of Michigan, and been brought into somewhat
intimate contact with many of the professors in that and
other American Institutions, Prof. Montgomery has had
favorable opportunities for comparing Dr. Fyfe with
others, and estimating his relative merits. He writes as
follows : —
" As a teacher he had ndt many superiors and I doubt if he
had many equals. His ability to grasp the essentials of a sub
ject and to ascertain whether the pupil had done the same or
not was remarkable.
" Then he had in a high degree that indefinable something
which enabled him to impart to each student an impulse that
had a life-time influence. And yet he did not impress himself
upon men in such a way as to make little repetitions of him
self. His influence was rather to induce the student to
develop his own individuality. His influence was to make
the most of the pupil rather than to mould him into a copy of
himself.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 391
"A third characteristic of the true teacher was his own high
personal manhood. No man can become a teacher of the
highest type who is not the possessor of positive character. He
developed in himself a noble Christian manhood and endeavored
to have teachers around him who did the same. A thorough
student; an honest, earnest, sincere man; a fervent Christian
himself, he inspired the desire in each pupil to make the most
of the powers God had given him.
"I was often very much impressed with his eminent execu
tive ability. He had remarkably clear ideas of the work to be
done. He was capable of carrying the details in his mind to
such an extent that he could at any time think over or discuss
the work in which he was engaged. This was not only true of
the educational enterprise at Wocdstock, but of all of the
leading objects of the denomination.
"He was ever ready for improvement, and always willing to
give courteous attention to the suggestions of others, although
he liked his own way, and his way was almost always a good
way. He was as prompt and energetic in the execution of his
plans as he was clear-headed framing them. He treated bis
subordinates with perfect frankness and with the utmost sin
cerity and hence he generally succeeded in winning the highest
regard of them all. Even in dismissing inefficient teachers he
was so honest and straight-forward with them that he seldom
lost their friendship and esteem.
"Then he was so thoughtful in regard to the rights and pre
rogatives of all his subordinates. Many a time has he sent a
student all the way from his house to me for permission to
leave town to preach, because it was my business and not his,
he said, to grant such permission.*
" 1 do not think Dr. Fyfe was perfect, but in the office of the
teacher and college president he was very far above the aver-
age,=if indeed, not almost perfect as men attain perfection ; and
as the Christian gentleman, as a Minister of the Gospel, as »
denominational man, as a citizen, he was certainly a greater
man than very many whose praises have been more loudly
sounded. I deem it of vast importance to me that I spent so
many years associated with him. I shall ever revere his memory."
To this estimate of one who was so long an associate

* Prof. Montgomery was Registrar of the College.

392 LIFE AND LABORS OF
teacher may be added that of an old student, whose
opinions formed in the class-room, have since been modi
fied or matured by many years of experience. Rev. J. G.
Ross, some of whose words have been before quoted on
another topic says : —
" In the class-room Dr. Fyfe was at home. He was cheerful,
free and familiar. He was always very reticent on things
pertaining to himself. I never came in close contact with any
man who made so few allusions to his early life.
"He always maintained a dignity and reserve becoming his
position. His manner was genial and his bearing towards the
students frank and affable, but no one ever took advantage of
these amiable traits. His anecdotes were always apposite, and
his jokes pointed and mirth-awakening. They were never
aimed to hurt or charged with malice. He was patient, good-
natured and indulgent. We students were often impatient
and impetuous, dull in apprehension, rash in our conclusions
and 'slow. to learn.' It was hard for us to see points and
when we did we could hardly comprehend them fully. I never
saw him out of temper. He was always kind, courteous and
considerate. He practiced himself the 'Christian politeness,'
he so often enjoined upon us.
" I have seen him when he seemed to feel anuoyance. It
was when those far advanced in years would act unworthy of
their experience and manhood. At such times he would be
slow to speak, but would probably quote and emphasize Paul's
words, 'Be children in malice but in understanding be men.'
He held a high opinion of woman's power, sphere and mission.
I have heard him say that the reason the kings of Israel were
so bad was that 'they had no mothers.'
"He impressed upon us that we never should indulge in
personalities in the pulpit. Our grievances were never to find
a place or seek redress there. We must never be mean enough
to assail our fellowmen from that sacred place, where they can
not have the opportunity of defending themselves.
" On one occasion he said : ' Thank God that he did not
make me a judge of men. I should not know what to do with
them, where to place them, or how to classify them.' He meant
that their profession and conduct he could not reconcile ; their
words and acts did not agree.

REV. R. A FYFE, D.D. 393
" He was an admirer and true friend of those early pioneer
preachers who, without educational advantages and the facili
ties of our own time, did so much good. The name of Elder
Wm. McDermand then living, but nearly at the allotted limit,
came up. Dr. F. passed a high eulogy on the man and his
ministry. He spoke of him as a royal preacher, working often
alone on a hard field, wdth little remuneration. He represented
him as travelling on foot in bad roads, in new settlements,
exposed to the inclemency of heat and cold. He would preach
for months almost without missing a night ; his sermons full
of fire, his arguments powerful, his logic convincing, his illus
trations apt, and his hearers coming by hundreds night after
night. His discourses were animated and always original.
' No educated man in America could wield greater influence
over the masses than the venerable Wm. McDermand. That
man of God has worn himself out in the work and never
wavered in purpose nor swerved in his fidelity. I honor him
as a brother beloved and a faithful minister of Jesus Christ.'
" I heard Dr. Fyfe commend Dr. Wheaton Smith's ' Baptists
not Exclusive,' as 'one of the finest things he had ever read. It
manifested such a gentle spirit. It was just speaking the
truth in love.'
" I have heard men who never saw him say some hard things
about him. Others thought they had reason to he angry on
account of something he said or did. When after a year or so
he came along and they saw him face to face and had heard
him, their prejudices vanished like melting snow and they be
came his firm friends through life.
'"Do not be disappointed nor discouraged,' he said to us, 'if
you are severely censured and criticised. Remember human
nature is no better now than when Paul hail to pray to be
delivered from unreasonable men. People have often told
me, 'You preach very poor sermons.' 1 would ask them if
they were capable of judging. I had made the preparation of
sermons my lite-work, and I considered myself better able to
understand what my hearers needed than those whose highest
aim in life seemed to be to find fault.
"'Act always with a conscience void of offence and show
yourselves workmen that need not be ashamed. Be thorough
in your work. Never take for granted that your hearers know
things because you do.' ' Go into details,' he would say to his .
z

394 LIFE AND LABORS OF *
classes. 'Explain minutely.' He was a staunch friend of
Toronto University. I attended a public meeting in the Town
Hall, Woodstock, when there was an agitation abroad to do
away with the provincial University and divide the spoils-
among the Sectarian schools. The building was jammed.
The spoliutionists affirmed and spoke first. Dr. Fyfe was
thoroughly aroused. He took up the gauntlet and threw him
self into the subject. I never heard him speak with greater
freedom. His ' boys ' as he called us were there and he
expressed himself with no uncertain sound. "
Mr. Ross's remark with regard to the dullness with
which Dr. Fyfe would have sometimes to deal in the class
room, might be illustrated by numerous anecdotes. No
doubt his Woodstock students, as a whole, were fully
up to the average of those whose opportunities had been
similar. Most of those who came to prepare for the
ministry, especially in the early years of the school, were
from the farm. Few had had even the advantage of good
common schools. Many were well up in years, and some
came with grey hairs. There was always a goodly pro
portion whose intellects were strong and keen, and whose
footsteps it was a pleasure to guide. In many other cases
hard labor and determined plodding would go far towards
overcoming- the dullness superinduced and strengthened
by long years of mental inactivity. But of course there
would be generally a sprinkling of hopeless cases. These
would not often remain long, but generally long enouo-h
to try the souls of the teachers. He was quick to discern
whether there was any latent capacity for improvement,
or any adaptability for usefulness in special fields, and,
if found, it would be skilfully developed. But his
patience was occasionally sadly tried by those who,
though mentally and morally incapable of becoming apt
either to learn or teach, would persist in going out to

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.L. 395
preach after a few weeks or months of useless stay at
Woodstock. Such men sometimes brought unmerited
and vexatious reproach upon the Institute. They would
be accepted in certain quarters as samples of the " kind
of men they turned out at Woodstock." Dr. Fyfe would,
however, when the reports of the sayings and doings of
such men were brought in, usually manage to dispel his
own vexation and that of his associates with a laugh.
He had a fund of amusing anecdotes from which he could
readily draw on such occasions. The case of a fellow-
student of his own, whom he had in vain striven to help
while at college, and who, when on the point of leaving,
after having utterly failed to grasp the simplest princi
ples of some of the most elementary subjects, had come
to him to beg for a lesson or two in algebra, " in order
that he might be able to say when he went out that he
had studied algebra at college," was often brought to his
mind. The case was sometimes almost paralleled by
young men going out to the churches after a few well-
nigh useless weeks spent at Woodstock, and pos'ng as In
stitute students. But such cases were comparatively rare.
On the whole, the young men who came up to prepare
for the ministry were of a class of which no college need
be a-hamed, if they could but manage to remain for even
two or three years. Their poverty was generally the
most serious 1 indrancc to their progress.
In regard, however, to cases of serious and manifest
unfitness, Dr. Fyfe occasionally felt it his duty to turn
the tables and throw the blame upon the churches,
which were really the most to blame, for encouraging
such young men to engage in a work for which they
possessed no qualification. He did not believe that fail-

396 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ure in other pursuits was any proof of fitness for the
ministry, or should be regarded as a valid " call " to its
sacred duties. In one of those incessant appeals through
the Baptist, by which he did so much to educate the
churches up to a sense of their high calling, he speaks as
follows upon this point: —
"In regard to candidates for the ministry, there are a good
many mistakes made, (as indeed there are in everything which
imperfect men largely influence), and they are usual. y laid upon
a good many different heads. But according to the theory of
Baptist Church polity, the responsibility rests chiefly upon the
churches. An indolent or shiftless young, man, who has tried
a dozen things and settled down to nothing, takes a notion
that he would like to be a minister. It is, as he thinks, an
easy and genteel work ; and his friends think that this would
be the very thing for him, and they would like to have him
engage in it. An application is made to the church for a letter
for the young man. The pastor and the deacons consider the
case, and conclude that they are not very sure what the young
man is fit for ; he may turn out well in the ministry. And
then, if they should refuse a letter they would wound the
young man, and, perhaps, alienate his friends from the church.
So they recommend him to go and study for the ministry.
Now here is a case in which the church has not a single
reason for thinking that the young man would be of any use in
the ministry. He has not succeeded in anything else he has
tried, because he was either too indolent, or lacking in ability;
and yet he is recommended to study for the grand and glorious
work of preaching, which demands an amount of brain, en
thusiasm, energy and soul, greater than any other employment
on earth. When a young man is started in this way it is prob
able he will continue to the end, whether he is fitted for the
work or not. It is scarcely possible to get him out of college.
The Faculty of the school cannot dismiss him so long as he
prepares his lessons passably, and does not violate the regula
tions of the school. He is like an impenitent man received
into the church. He will remain there so long as he does not
do anything bad enough to deserve expulsion.
I say this case should rest, with all its painful and mis-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 397
chievous weight upon the church that gave the letter. Why
did you give him this fatal letter, recommending him to study
for the ministry ? You had no evidence of his fitness for this
great work. You gave the letter simply to avoid wounding
the young man, or grieving his friends. You did not fear
wounding the cause of God, or grieving the Holy Spirit.
Brethren of the churches, do not give young men letters en
couraging them to study for the ministry, until you have some
evidence of their fitness. It is sometimes supposed, if a young
man is unfortunate in his business, or meets with some accident
disqualifying him for manual labor, that it is thus intimated to
him that he should engage in the work of the ministry. The
Lord has in this way rebuked his worldliness. I would not say
that God never thus intimates that he wishes a man to leave
his secular pursuits ; but it is certainly his exceptional way of
calling a man into His work. As a ride, failures in business
and maiming are indications of the person's unfitness for the
special service of God. Here, if anywhere, a man needs all
the faculties he ever had. The ministry must never be regarded
as a make-shift. I charge my brethren in the ministry, and
the churches of Christ, to see to this matter. We want the
best gifts in the church for the work of the ministry."
Dr. Fyfe had a large and sympathetic heart. Under
the great pressure and worry of his work at Woodstock.
he would still find time to write words of tender and
affectionate sympathy to brethren in affliction. He knew
how to weep with those that wept.. And yet he possessed
in a marked degree, rare delicacy of feeling, which would
save him from intrusion upon the sacred privacy of
sorrow. His words in such cases were few, but the
genuineness of his feeling could never be doubted.
Miss Kendal, of Chicago, a sister of the late Mrs. Fyfe i
referring to a visit of some weeks at his house in Wood
stock, fifteen years ago, writes : —
"It is forty-five years since I first knew Brother Fyfe, a
young student at Newton, but never had I fully appreciated

398 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the loveliness and ' nobleness ' of his character and the depth
of tenderness and sympathy in his nature, as then, during six
weeks spent in his home. I saw no fault in him. He was
always kind, patient, loving and true. I had just lost my
precious mother and my home. I shall never forget one even
ing -when we were at brother Daniel's — Mrs. Revel played
' Home, sweet home.' He was sitting between his wife and my
self. He knew it was more than I could bear calmly ; took my
hand and whispered 'I'm sorry for you.' That was all he ever
said, but how it comforted and soothed my poor desolate
heart. "You probably discovered his sense of the luclicious. How
keenly he enjoyed a joke ! ' And did you ever hear a merrier
laugh ? ' Yet it was one which guarded carefully others feel
ings — so kind of heart was he.
"Then I think he was very unselfish. When he used to
return from his tours into the country among the destitute
churches, I never heard him complain of hard beds, poor fare
or rough roads. Truly he had the spirit of the Master he
loved and served."
Many instances of Dr. Fyfe's generosity might be
given, commencing from the time when in his young stu
dent days, having been driven by pecuniary straits to
take up shoe-making as a means of eking out his scanty
resources, he found " a fellow student more needy than
himself and divided with him the small amount he had
in this way earned." In one of the early reports in ref
erence to the efforts being made to aid needy students for
the ministry at Woodstock, it is incidentally remarked
that one of them had been provided for by the Principal.
Throughout his whole life his salary was small, but seldom
was an appeal on behalf of a worthy cause or person, — -
one wh ch commended itself to his judgment, as well as
his heart — made in va n. His subscriptions as a member

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 399
of the Woodstock church were very liberal, as were all his
contributions to the great denominational enterprises.
Dr. Fyfe was, probably, not freer than many other
men from prejudices of education, race, etc., but few could
so soon rise above them wh-n occasion demanded. The
writer well remembers a visit paid to the Institute by
the venerable Dr. Angus, of Regent's Park College,
England, when he was visiting America, a number
of years since. Dr. Fyfe had seen much controversy
and ill-feeling arise from what he regarded as the illogical
and erroneous views of English brethren on the com
munion and kindred questions, and could not conceal a
certain feeling of distrust towards so eminent an expon
ent of these views as Dr. Angus. But when the latter
came to Woodstock and shared his hospitality ; when he
had seen the face, heard the voice, and come into contact
with the spirit, of this clear-headed, yet gentle and lov
able, disciple, his prejudices melted and his whole heart
went out to him as a brother beloved, and a true fellow-
servant of the Master.
A well-known brother in one of the churches of Ontario,
relates the following incident : —
"In 1873 or '74 the  Association met with the first
church in  , of which I was and still am a member. Being
one of the Billeting Committee, and having a kind regard for
Dr. Fyfe, I had him billeted at the house of  Esq., it be
ing almost the nearest residence to the chapel, and the family
a highly respectable one, although neither the parents nor any
of the children were members of any church. On the Sabbath,
when the number of guests was largest, there came amongst
the number to Mr.  's house, an Indian. Whence he came,
or why, was a profound mystery to the family, none of whom
had invited him, Nevertheless, he was quite welcome to share
their hospitality. ' But how can it be done without risk of

430 LIFE AND LABORS OF
giving offence to Dr. Fyfe?' queried the anxious lady of the
house. ' Can I seat him and the Indian at the same table ?
Will he not feel annoyed or humiliated?' The good lady felt
honored in having Dr. Fyfe as her guest, and was anxious to
do him honor accordingly. However, as some strange Provi
dence had brought the Indian there at the same time she came
to the conclusion that she would trust the same Providence to
relieve her of the difficulty. Her trust was not misplaced.
When dinner was announced, Dr. Fyfe arose from his seat with
the remark, 'Come, Brother, dinner is ready,' at the same time
directing the Indian to a seat at the table next his own, and
bidding him occupy it. During the meal he paid special atten
tion to his Indian brother. The lady of the house was at once
relieved of her burden of anxiety, though some of the other
guests were not a little surprised at the incident. The Indian
referred to was Rev.  , a representative of one of the
Indian churches in the West, belonging to the Association."
There was, of course, nothing specially meritorious
in the act itself. No Christian could have done less
without proving recreant to the first principles of the
grand doctrine of the essential unity and brotherhood of
the great Christian family. But the hearty, whole-souled
manner in which the act was done seems to have made
a deep impression on those who witnessed it, and within
whose bosoms there may have been a battle going on of
which, in their higher selves, they were ashamed.
Rev. J. H. Best, one of Dr. Fyfe's old students, now
doing a good work in Brandon, Manitoba, writes to ex-
press his great pleasure that a memoir of Dr. Fyfe is
being prepared, and adds : —
" I shall never forget one day when in one of his classes — I
was then a junior student of Theology — he was" counselling us
previous to our going out to enter upon our Summer mission
work. I shall never forget his look, the deep solicitude of his
voice, the almost paternal interest and concern which over
spread his countenance, as he foretold to us the difficulties to be

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 401
met and overcome in our work ; of the lack of sympathy we
would meet with in many cases ; of some natures cold, sordid,
selfish and unfeeling, which must needs jar against finer and
more sensitive ones. He then added : ' My young brethren,
you must learn to bear, bear, bear. More depends upon what
you are able to bear, than what you can do.'
" On many occasions since have these words came back to me
in hours of need until they seemed almost inspired in their
utterance." The subject of endurance is one upon which Dr. Fyfe
frequently touched. The value of this quality in public.
and especially in ministerial character, he estimated very
highly. Its necessity seems to have been, indeed, " burned
into him," by sharp experiences. In a private note to his
old time friend McPhail, written in 1861, he says :—
" All seem to be anxious to show by their treatment of me
that they are sorry for the conscious suffering they inflicted on
me. * * * God has cared for me, (blessed be His name),
in the past, and He will care for me in the future. He will
give me patience to wait His time. I believe if I have accom
plished anything for His cause it has been by endurance. And
I am satisfied by long observation that a Christian man's use
fulness depends more upon what he can bear than what he can
do. Endurance has been burned into me by pretty warm ex
perience."' The reference in the first sentence is probably to a
painful incident which occurred soon after the opening
of the school at Woodstock. As the parties to blame in
the matter deeply regretted the wrong they had done
him, and made all the atonement in their power by full
retraction and apology, it is unnecessary to refer to the
case further than to say that he was for a short time
made to suffer keenly in consequence of suspicions and
accusations which were afterwards confessed by their
authors to be baseless and unworthy. His forgiveness
was generously and fully bestowed.

402 LIFE AND LABORS OF
A special characteristic of Dr. Fyfe was his great will
power, and the magnetic inffuenc r it sometimes enabled
him to exert over men, even under very trying circum
stances. His late brother-in-law, Daniel Kendall, Esq.,
of Woodstock, used to relate an incident which set this
power in a striking light.- Mr. Kendall was, probably at
an early period in their relationship, engaged in a busi
ness which employed a good many men in putting
merchandize, presumably lumber, on shipboard. On one
occasion, when he himself was unavoidably absent, and
much depended upon having the lading of a vessel
completed as quickly as possible, some difficulty arose
between the men and the stevedore, or other agent,
under whom they were at work. The men quit work,
and refused to resume it. Great loss was resulting
to Mr. Kendall. On the circumstances becoming
known to Mr. Fyfe, though he was a stranger to the
men and without authority, he went to the spot and
by dint of the purely personal power he was able to bring
to bear, succeeded, not only in inducing the sullen and
angry men to resume their work, but in actually keeping
them at it throughout the night, and until the whole
task was accomplished. What peculiar persuasion he
brought to bear does not appear, but he seems to have
exhibited in a striking manner the supremacy of mental
force, or the power of will, that inheres in a strong and
lofty manhood.
Other instances of a somewhat different kind are told,
6uch as the following : He once felt it his duty, when
acting as a member of a Council called to consider the
propriety of ordaining a certain brother to the work o
the ministry, to take strong ground against such ordina-

REV. R. A. FVFE, D.D. 403
tion In this view he was in a decided minority, if not
quite alone. The point had been argued at length, and
he had brought forward his strong reasons, apparently in
vain. His brother councillors were bent on laying their
hands, as he thought too suddenly, on the candidate's
head. While matters were in this state, the hour arrived
at which he was obliged to leave to catch a train. Rising
to depart, he turned for a moment to his brethren and
spoke, with the emphasis he knew so well how to use on
occasion, somewhat as follows: "Brethren I cannot re
main longer, but THIS ORDINATION MUST NOT TAKE PLACE."
By what considerations the other members of the council
justified themselves in so speedy a change of purpose,
deponent saith not, but the istue was that the council
decided against the ordination.
There are other instances in which he had to deal, not
with a few brethren differing in opinion, but with large,
excited, and determinedly hostile audiences, whom he
first, by sheer force of will, compelled to hear him, and
then, by stress of logic in a righteous cause, brought
squarely over to his way of thinking. One case is still
fresh in the memories of many in Woodstock. There had
been a tumult, almost a riot, in the town, consequent, if
memory serves, upon the advent of some whiskey de
tectives, who had been roughly and lawlessly assaulted.
The better class of citizens had called an " indignation
meeting," to denounce the lawlessness of the rioters, but
the latter and their sympathizers came out in force, and
for a time bid fair to control the meeting. When the
mover, or seconder, of one of the resolutions had utterly
failed to gain a hearing, Dr. Fyfe took the platform, and
not only compelled attention, but in a short time so com-

404 LIFE AND LABORS OF
p'etely turned the current that the resolutions of the
party of order were carried triumphantly.
Though sufficien ly conservative of denominational
views and usages, he was by no means a servile adherent
to traditional customs. The following incident, which is
told on excellent authority, shows that he was sometimes
rather disposed to encourage innovation, when the good
of the cause was likely to be promoted thereby : —
"Dr. Fyfe was at one time asked to preach in a country district-
He arrived at the church after the time for beginning the service
and took his seat in the body of the building. One of the
deacons preached the sermon and conducted the service. It was
communion Sunday, and before beginning the communion
service, one of the officers walked over to where Dr. Fyfe was
sitting and requested him to come forward and conduct the
service. He asked, 'why?' and the answer was 'because you
are present and should do so.' He replied that he had listened
with pleasure to the deacon who had preached, and he saw rro
reason why one who had given evidence of special gifts, fitting
him for the office of preacher, should not also lead the church
irr the breaking of bread. This argument prevailed, aird Dr.
Fyfe afterwards remarked that he believed that what he had
done was quite scriptural, though irregular."

CHA.PT ER XXIX

A Man of Action -His Views on Inspiration — Personal History
Resumed— Another Fire— Was it Personal Malice ?— Gi t
of a Homestead — An Imperfect Testimonial — Railway
Accident — Seriously Injured — The Seeds of Disease —
Gradual Decadence — A Happy Expedient — Gratifying
Testimonials — From Outside Friends — From the Alumni —
From Present Students — Words of Thanks — A Trip to
Europe.
DJLT WAS originally intended to devote at least one
C^, chapter of this book to extracts from Dr. Fyfe's
sermons and theological lectures to indicate his views on
various questions of controversial interest. On second
thoughts, this part of the p'an has been set aside for two
reasons': first, because the volume has already outgrown
the dimensions within which it was intended to confine
it ; and second, because it was felt that it would be
scarcely just to Dr. Fyfe himself to invite comparison
between his necessarily brief and imperfect discussions
of such questions, and those of men who made their
study a life-work. He was a man of action rather than
a man of thought. The limitation of human life and
human faculties render it ordinarily impossible that the
same man should be an energetic and indefatigable
worker and an original and profound thinker. One of
the evils inseparable from an institution originated and

406 LIFE AND LABORS OF
carried on like that at Woodstock is that the amount of
labor devolved upon each member of the staff of instruc
tion is so great as to preclude the possibility of study or
research, beyond that necessary for the discharge of each
clay's duties in the class-room. What was true in this
respect of every teacher during Dr. Fyfe's regime, was
emphatically true of the Principal. What he might have
been able to accomplish in the way of close, original
thinking, had the conditions of his life rendered such
possible, can never be known. His writings abound with
suggestive and even striking passages. They are every
where marked by sturdy common sense, and often by a
robust vigor of thought. The main points are clearly
conceived and presented. To expect close, consecutive,
and prolonged ratiocination, or the fruits of profound in
vestigation, would be utterly unreasonable. Yet there
is much of practical wisdom, and much of lofty spiritu
ality, in his sermons and lectures, which should not be
wholly lost to the denomination. It is to be hoped that
some means of making them at least temporarily, useful
may yet be found.
Justice to Dr. Fyfe, however, demands a fuller elucida
tion of his views upon one vexed question — that of
inspiration. On page 86 he is quoted as saying, in a
letter from Newton, "I have learned that the Scriptures
are fully and verbally inspired, else they have no inspira
tion at all." To what extent his matured thought and
riper judgment modified his views upon this point may
be gathered from the following extracts from the lecture
he was accustomed to give to his classes upon the sub
ject, a verbatim copy of which has been kindly furnished
by the Rev. D. A. McGregor, of Stratford : —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 407
" Inspiration, properly so called, is an idea common to all
nations and all religions. We mean by it an extraordinary
Divine influence on the minds of teachers of religion when
speaking or writing truth for the guidance of others. It is
dynamic and not mechanical. One distinction between inspira
tion and revelation is, that the revelation was designed to
benefit or guide the individual receiving it. Inspiration was
meant to direct a man in the guidance of others. In some
cases, a prophet inspired, might not comprehend his own
message, see I. Pet. i, 11 ; but a man who had a revelation
understood it. Very diverse views of inspiration have been
held. Men have undertaken to show how this divine influence
acted on the mind. They speak of
(a) Inspiration of direction.
(b) Inspiration of elevation.
(c) Inspiration of prescience,
(d) Or of merely strengthening the mind.
These distinctions, in my estimation, are not only unsatis
factory, but impertinent. We might as well undertake to tell
just how, and in what measure, the divine nature of Christ in
fluenced the human in each utterance and action. In inspira
tion there is
(1.) The divine influence perceived partly through our
spiritual perception, and partly from the truths themselves.
(2.) The human element is seen clearly in the style and in
the individual peculiarities of the inspired man. God in every
case employs the human element to appeal to humanity, to
arrest the attention, and to lay hold of human sympathy, and
He fills the human vehicle with that view of truth which He
wishes to present. But just how this is done, or what is the
measure or nature of the divine influence in. any case is beyond
our comprehension.
(3.) This combination of the divine and human, presents an
infallible view of the truth which God wishes men to see. It
is not truth absolute, but truth meant for men here and here
after. (4.) We hold to plenary inspiration, not necessarily verbal,
but inspiration which infallibly directs all who follow its teach
ings in regard to life and godliness.
(5.) The inspiration of the poet, the man of genius, etc.,
which is sometimes spoken of, is not even kindred to this.
God is not infallably guiding them as teachers of others."

408 LIFE AND LABORS OF
It is now high time to resume the thread of biographi
cal narrative. In the outline of the history of the Insti
tute already given, incidents of a more strictly personal
character were passed over without notice. Some of
these may now be given before passing to the sad sequel.
Allusions have already been made to renewed attempts
to repeat the catastrophe of 1861. The indications of
deep-seated malice on the part of some individual or
party were conclusive", though, as before said, no evidence
was ever adduced to bring it home to the guilty parties.
It is impossible to determine whether this malice had for
its object the college itself, or simply its founder and
head. The latter seems at least quite as probable as the
former; and, though it is almost incredible that the pique
of personal jealousy or disappointed ambition could carry
anyone to such dastardly lengths, no more satisfactory
theory has been suggested.
Of an abortive attempt which was made to fire the
hotel while the school was being conducted in it, no par
ticulars are at hand. In a letter to the Baptist, dated
May 25th, 1863, Dr. Fyfe gives the following account of
a secontl [or third (?)] attempt directed against the new
buildings, which was partially successful : —
" The friends of the Institute were aroused from their beds
on Saturday morning last, at half-past two, by the alarm of
fire. They found the barn enveloped in a sheet of flames, and
i i a very few mmutes it was a mass of embers. Among these
embers they were pained to find the remains of a horse, a cow,
and a hog, that had been cruelly burned alive. Upon examina
tion it was found that the water closets in the boys' yard,
(which stand about 150 feet from the main building), had been
set on fire also, but on account of dampness, the fire had gone
out after burning through the partition. Up to the present
time, there were some who maintained that the previous in-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 409
cendiary attempts were only accidents ; now there are none
who doubt that the Institute is a great eye-sore to somebody —
that some would gladly destroy it. After the attempt made a
year ago last fall, a night watch was regularly kept up, until
the commencement of the present term, (six weeks ago), and
during that time there was not the slightest attempt made. I
opposed, as long as 1 could, the removal of the night watch
man ; but the hardness of the times, and the failure of sub
scribers to meet their liabilities, silenced my opposition, though
they did not convince my judgment of the wisdom of dismissing
the watchman. And these are the evil fruits. The whole loss
is somewhere about $300, on which there was no insurance ;
$130 of which loss falls upon Mr. Cook and myself."
The long years of hard, unintermitted labor, during
which Dr. Fyfe sometimes conducted as many as six
classes daily, in addition to all the toils and cares of
management, collecting, &c, were often pleasantly varied
by manifestations of cordial appreciation and affection
on the part of students a-.d outside friends.
In 1863, the students presented him with a small
service of plate, accompanied with an address filled with
expressions of gratitude and esteem. Almost every year
thereafter, some token of the high regard and admiration
in which he was held by students and teachers served to
cheer him in his arduous work.
About the year 1870 a very pleasing and practical
proof of the esteem in which he was held, for his work's
sake, by influential brethren, was given him. Up to this
time he had been occupying a rented house in Wood
stock, and had once or twice been put to the expense and
annoyance of removal. It having been ascertained that,
owing to the probable sale of the premises he was then
occupying, he was about to be compelled to cast around
once more for new quarters, it occurred to some of
a2

410' LIFE AND LABORS OF
those connected with the Institution that the Baptists
of Ontario owed it to him and to themselves to furnish
the self-denying Principal of their Theological School
with a residence. Hon. W. McMaster was accordingly
communicated with, and not only cordially agreed with
the view presented, but announced that he and his friend,
T. J. Claxton, Esq., of Montreal, would gladly contribute
the $2000 necessary for the purchase of the premises then
occupied by Dr. Fyfe, or any other that might be chosen.
Many other friends of Dr. Fyfe, when they heard of
this generous proposal, earnestly desired to participate
in the gift. But it was felt that to throw the matter
open to the denomination, in the form of a genera]
testimonial, would interfere with the success of the great
effort which was just then being made to enlarge and im
prove the Institute Jbuildings and grounds. Hence Dr.
Fyfe would not consent to the extension of the original
scheme. At the solicitation of several a kind cf com
promise was adopted. Messrs. McMaster and Claxton
consented to transfer to the enlargement fund, from the
$2000 donated by them to purchase the homestead, an
amount equal to the sum of any contributions other
friends might wish to make for the purchase of the
homestead. The sum of $329 was given under this pro
viso, but very many who were anxious to express their
good will to the Principal were not willing to do so in
this indirect way. The conclusion of the matter is in
dicated in the following extract from a feeling " acknowl
edgement," in the columns of the Baptist, written Oct.
20th, 1871 :—
" On the 55th anniversary of my birthday, I desire to ac
knowledge the munificent present of $2,000, which have been

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 411
invested in the house which I now occupy. I wish, in this
public manner, to express my grateful sense, not merely of the
value of the gift itself, but chiefly of the confidence and esteem
of which this gift is the symbol. I include in this expression
of my hearty thanks, Messrs. McMaster and Claxton, and those
who were afterwards admitted as partners in this generous gift.
Nor can I omit the grateful recognition of the many who sent
assurances of their confidence and esteem, but who preferred
a different way of showing it than the only one which, in the
circumstances, was left open to them. I must not try to ex
press all that I feel on this occasion, but I may close by affirm
ing my belief that all the friends referred to will feel that I shall
show my sense of their confidence and generosity best, by devoting
myself with yet greater earnestness to the great work com
mitted to me. And this, by God's help, I promise to do."
The contributions were received ana the fund managed
by Henry E. Parson, Esq., one of Dr. Fyfe's most esteemed
friends. It may not be out of place to add that at least
one of those who had to do with suggesting the testimo
nial always felt that, with the best intentions, he had per
haps made a mistake in point of time. From the spirit
manifested by many it was evident that had the proposal
been made at a time— could such indeed have been found
— when no special appeal was being made on behalf of
the Institute, and had the testimonial fund so generously
started been thrown open without limitation as to
amount, the gratitude and good will of the whole denomi
nation would have been manifested in a manner worthy
of itself and of the recipient.
In the summer of 1865 a serious accident befell Dr.
Fyfe  0ne which not only entailed much immediate suf
fering and loss of labor, but which, there can be little
doubt, if it did not actually originate the fatal disease
which cut short his days in the midst of his use
fulness, at least left the system more exposed to the
incursion of the subtle and insidious destroyer.

412 LIFE AND LABORS OF
He had been attending the Baptist anniversaries at
St. Louis, Missouri, and was returning. When within
about one hundred miles of Chicago another train col
lided with that in which he was riding, overturning the
car, or throwing it from the track, and giving him so
severe a shock as to cause concussion of the brain. For
a length of time he was in imminent danger of inflam
mation, and was enjoined by his physicians to refrain
from all mental excitement, or effort. He gradually
recovered from the shock, and after a few weeks was
able to go to the seaside for further rest. After the
lapse of a term, during which he was obliged to mitigate
the severity of his labors, he was so far restored as to be
able for years to resume his almost crushing burdens.
But it is doubtful if his nervous system ever regained to
the full its healthful tone. Those most intimately associ
ated with him could see that never after was he exactly
the same i-trong man as before. The decadence was very
gradual, and was not conspicuously manifest for several
years. But the old-time self-reliance, the courage which
quailed before no obstacle, the indomitable strength of
will which refused to be balked in its purpose, began
slowly to fail. It is possible that, could he have taken
the year's rest which the Trustees voted him, hut to which
he could not see his way, the evil might have been aver
ted. But to one of his temperament prolonged rest, in the
sense of cessation from work, is an impossibility, and it is
likely that the change, even had the exigences of the
school permitted it, would have been but from one. form
of labor to some other almost equally exhausting. He
.could wear out, but never rust out.
For several years he continued as has been seen from

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 413
the sketch of College history, to push on the work. The
addition of at first one, and afterwards a second professor
in the Theological Department, somewhat lightened his
class room labors, but increased the toil and worry in
separable from the collection of the larger sums required
annuady for current expenses. And this was the part
of his work from which he shrank more and more as
years and infirmities grew upon him.
Thus matters went on for a number of years until, in
1873, the ravages of disease began to tell so plainly that
his friends at last became alarmed. Already, no doubt,
the fatal disease was at work, although the local physician
whom he consulted was unable to detect its presence, or
to see cause for special alarm. But the fine physique
was unmistakably impaired. His face became pale, and
his eyes sunken. His figure lost something of its erect-
ness, and his brisk gait of its firmness and elasticity,
while his clothes began to hang loosely about him.
It was at this juncture that a few of his anxious friends
consulted together and adopted the happy expedient of
making up amongst them a sufficient purse, and inducing
him to take a trip to Europe. Thomas Lailey, Esq., took
the initiative, and sent a private circular to thirty or
forty friends, to whom, it was thought, the request should
be confined, it being well known that anything like a
general application would not be agreeable to Dr. Fyfe.
The writer has before him the letters sent in answer to
this circular. It is a pleasure to read them. Such cor
dial responses to an appeal for money, such manifes
tations of esteem, appreciation and hearty good will
one does not often meet with. The tone of the answers
must have been even more gratifying to Dr. Fyfe than

414 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the contents themselves, though the latter enabled him
to gratify a life-long desire.
Aside from the more immediate object of the trip, few
men were better fitted by nature and habit both to" enjoy
and to profit by foreign travel than he. His mind was
intensely active, and his powers of observation unusually
keen. His knowledge of history, and his store of general
information, were remarkable for one whose whole life
had been laboriously busy, and were ample to qualify him
for making the most of the scenes and objects of interest
he might visit. The one great drawback was the en
feebled state of body and brain which forbad the exertion
which would otherwise have made every excursion a
source of delight and profit.
The closing exercises of the school year of the Theolo-
. gical Department, in April, 1874, were of unusual interest.
It was the time for one of the tri-ennial re-unions of the
Associated Alumni, and the old students flocked back in
large numbers to bid their beloved Principal "good-speed!''
on his tour. They took advantage of the occasion to give
a tangible expression of their esteem and affection in the
shape of a purse of $160. The students then in attend -
dance followed this up by the presentation of a valuable
gold watch. In addition to all. and no less helpful tow
ards the main end, a number of his brethren in the
ministry undertook to do his work at the associations, in
order to relieve his mind in this respect. Thus cheered
with manifestations of good will from every quarter, and
upborne by many earnest prayers for his complete restor
ation to health, he took his departure for the historic
shores of the Old World. In returning thanks to his
numerous friends on the eve of his departure he said : —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 415
" Surely if general good-will can restore health and strength,
I have much reason to hope for the best. All this I receive,
not merely as indicative of interest in me personally, but also as
indicative of interest in education. The best return I can m ik s
for all this kindness is to do my best, with the blessing of God,
to fit myself to do, if possible, more and better for the future.
Permit me, brethren and friends, in bidding you good-bye for a
few mouths, to ask an interest in your prayers, that it may please
God to restore me, that I may serve His cause and promote the
welfare of His people. I devoutly believe, notwithstanding the
theories of the Positivists, that God hears and answers prayer."
On his return Dr. Fyfe wrote a series of very interest
ing letters to the Baptist, giving an account of his tour,
persons and places of interest visited, etc. These wer,',
no doubt, generally read at the time, and are quite too
voluminous to be reproduced here. But in another chap
ter will be given a series of extracts, written perhaps in
a more off-hand and familiar-style, but no less interesting
in substance, from his letters to Mrs. Fyfe during the
progres > of his journey.

CHAPTER XXX.

The Trip to Europe — Its One Great Aim — The Ocean Voyage — The
Great City — The Disease Diagnosed — ' Home Swfet Home' —
Sfurgeon'sTabernaclb — The New England Society- -English
Watering Places — The Isle of Wight — London Sights — The
British Museum — A Visit to Ireland — A Land of Misery —
The Prospect of Recovery — A Year of Rest Imperative —
Memorable Journey in a Phaeton — Paris and Its Sights —
The Lakes of Switzerland — Sights and Scenes in Scotland. —

CONSIDERABLE part 'of each of the series of
^2j£x letters written to'his wife, from various points in
Great Britain and on the continent, was naturally taken
up with details of his interviews with the physician he
consulted in London, and in regard to the state of his
health. These and other particulars have been eliminated
as of no special interest to the public, now that the fatal
termination of the disease is a matter of denominational
history. The extracts that follow are intrinsically wor
thy of perusal. They are also valuable as matters of
biography, on account of the keen and intelligent obser
vation they disclose, and the superabundant mental
activity they indicate.
One fact is brought out in these letters, which were of
course intended for the eyes of his wife alone, with almost
painful emphasis and iteration. It is that the object of
the trip ii not pleasure or recreation, but restoration to

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 417
health. It is constantly a matter of conscience that
everything must be subordinated to the one aim — health-
seeking. His duty to the friends who have facilitated the
trip, to the Denomination he serves, to the great work to
which he has consecrated himself — in a word, to his Mas-
t3r— demands that everything else shall be made second
ary. The restless activity of a mind which is always urging
him on, the intensest longing to see scenes which have
been to him objects of life-long desire, every personal and
selfish impulse, however innocent, must be sternly held
in check, in order that this one sacred duty may be kept
paramount. Thus even the coveted trip became, under
the controlling influence of a high sense of duty, in some
respects a continued act of self-denial.

"Brooklyn, N. Y., May 16th, 1874.— I write from Mr.
Parson's house, just before going on board the ship. I reached
here about 11 a.m., and found that the ' Macedonia' has not yet
arrived, and that I shall sail by the ' Alexandria ' of the same
line, as good a ship as the ' Macedonia.' * * I have a very
good state-room, amidships, and the company is small.
It seems strange for me to be going off for so long a time
' without a mission.' But I shall try hard to fit myself for the
Lord's service, making this my mission. I feel assured of God's
presence with me."

" Glasgow, June 1st. — I did not reach here till this day,
at 2 p.m. We were sixteen days, less three hours, on the water.
The fault was in the boat. We had fine weather on the whole,
except Sunday, 31st May. That day was very rough. But I
have enjoyed every minute of the journey thus far. * * We
had only five cabin passengers. The captain and clerk were
very pleasant, and indeed all did all they could to make things
agreeable. And I rested. I read a number of the books I found

418 LIFE AND LABORS OF
on deck. Some of them were valuable and new to me. I read
also some of the lighter literature.
On the first Sabbath so many were sick, (there were thirty-
two steerage passengers), that we had no service on board. I
slept, or dozed, through nearly thirty hours. I must have been
very tired, I suppose.
Of the sixteen days we were out, eight were foggy and re
quired the fog whistle about every three minutes, night and day.
It rained, more or less, for seven days. Two days the waves
ran high, and Oh, how I enjoyed ' the sea, the deep, blue sea,'
and the pitch and roll of the ship. I shall never forget the
many, many hours I spent in the unoccupied smoking rooms on
the upper deck, looking at the sea. I wanted the waves to run
higher and higher. But on last Sunday, yesterday, they ran
very high, and would have gone much higher but for the pouring
rain which beat them down. We could have no service that
day for the waves were very often making a clear ' breach ' over
the upper deck.
I should have told you that on the second Sabbath, I preached
in the cabin to a nice little congregation. They seemed to enjoy
the service and so did I."
"Mitcham, Jan. 10th. — I left Glasgow on Tuesday at 10.15
a.m., and reached London at 9.45 p.m. I did not see any one
at the station because Mr. Lailey had left London two weeks
before, and Mr. James McMaster lives ten miles from the station.
It was the night before the Derby raees, and every hotel was
full. I took a policeman with me to search for some decent
pla^e to lodge for the night. At last he found a queer little
place, but entirely respectable, where I got some supper and a
bed. The English railways give a stranger but little chance to-
get even a bite to eat.
On the morning of the 3rd, I took a stroll to look at the big
city, till it should be time to hunt up James McMaster at his
office. I took a cab and drove three miles, reaching his office
before he had come to town. But I was expected by the clerks
and most kindly received. He soon came, and gave me a most

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 419
hearty welcome to London and to his house and home. I went
out with him in the afternoon, after having spent three hours
with him in the Royal Academy of Arts, viewing the best
pictures I have ever had the privilege of seeing.
Everything that loving hearts could do has been done for me.
I do feel very grateful to them and thankful to God.
I had a letter from Mr. Lailey on Thursday last, desiring me
to join him in his tour, or a part of it. I wrote thanking him
for his kindness, but telling him that my main search is for
health, and I must first find a skilful physician and get his
opinion. The country is all it has eter been represented to be, perfectly
lovely." Here follow some particulars of his first interviews
with his physician;- the regimen prescribed, etc. The
disease was pronounced an unmistakable case of diabetes-
It had been too long neglected, but the eminent physician
was hopeful that it was not yet too late to effect a cure :
" The doctor said that, without a doubt, my railroad accident
had involved me in this trouble. Then the pressure of work
upon me had broken a strong constitution. I must avoid efforts
which weary me, whether mental or physical.
My tour on the continent I hold as yet in abeyance, till I
know more definitely what treatment I am to be subjected to.
We are in God's hands, and I shall take all the care
possible. I wish to recover strength that I may serve God, and
I think I shall. ... I should have stopped work for a time
two years ago. But I feel a strong conviction, and Dr. Phillips
is quite sanguine, that it is not yet too late.
On Sunday morning, Mr. McMaster drove me over to hear
James Spurgeon, whose ministry he attends, and in the evening
he drove me in to hear the Spurgeon. The Tabernacle and its
congregation is a sight to see. I never saw such a congregation.

420 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Mr. Spurgeon is again ill. He was so ill after preaching that
I could not see him. He sent me word that he would see mc
after communion, but I did not remain."
" Mitcham, June 18th. —On Thursday last, the day I des
patched my letter to you, I went down by the Great Western
R. R. to Ross, 132 miles, expecting to meet Mr. Lailey, but as
I could not notify him of my intention, I suppose he had changed
his plan of travel and gone by Ross. But I saw a beautiful
country, and enjoyed three or four days of quiet there very
much. I never expect again to see so much quiet, harmonious
beauty of scenery, in this world. Bolder, grander, I may see,
but not like that. ... By the way, while I was sitting out
in the beautiful grounds of the hotel at Ross, at one o'clock,
suddenly the chime of bells in the parish church struck up
'Home, Sweet Home.' I could not help it, the tears came iirto
my eyes in spite of me.
The Governor of the New England Company seirt me a card
of invitation to the animal dinner of the Company at the Free
Mason's Tavern, and yesterday at six o'clock I went. The Com
pany was not large, but it was the grandest affair I ever saw.
. .Much to my surprise, the Governor made me the third
toast, immediately after the Queen arid Royal Family, and the
New England Society, and I made a little speech. It was a
very pleasant meeting ... I never felt more at home any
where than there. There was only one man who went with me
throughout in drinking water, but there was no bantering. To
day I am going into the city, on my way to call on Dr. Angus.
I find I must ' keep dark.' Mtich'to my surprise, I am deemed
of sufficient importance to be noticed and even feted by some,
and I cannot bear that.
1 think the prevailing state of my mind is thankfulness to
God for His great goodness to me."

"Mitcham, June 25th. — On the 20th, James, Arthur, and
Mrs. McMaster, went down to Brighton, fifty-five miles, arrd put
up at the ' Grand Hotel.' In the morning, Samuel McMaster,
from Toronto, came down. This is one of the great fashionable
watering places. The sea air is very good, and the place is a

REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D. 421
first-rate one in which to spend money, although they have per
sistently refused to let me pay for anything.
On Sabbath, we all went morning and evening to hear the
Baptist minister, who preached two very excellent serpions. The
minister was very anxious to hear me, but 'No I' On Monday
we went to Eastbourne, arrother great watering place. Away off
iir the distance, ten or twelve miles, we could see Hastings,
where the great battle of Hastings was fought, which decided
the victory of the Normans ; and here the great Harold, the
Dauntless, fell. On our way home in the evening, we passed
the place where the great battle of Lewes was fought, between
the Romans and the Britons.
We returned to Mitcham on Tuesday morning. Here I have
been resting since. I do not find it easy to be entirely idle. I
try to think it is the will of God and so submit."
"Ventnor, Isle of Wight, July 1st. — I came down here yes
terday and engaged rooms for a week. This is a queer country
to live in. The way I arrange at present is this. I came down
here and got a porter to carry my valise direct to Mrs. Acock's,
Dudley Terrace ; Mr. Lailey recommended me to inquire for this
place. I asked her if she had rooms I could have. She said
'yes.' I took a bed-room and sitting-room and paid $7.50 for a
week. Then I order what 1 want for my meals and she prepares
them and waits upon me, and I pay for just what I order. But
think of me having to plan what I am going to have for my
breakfast, dinner, tea and evening lunch ! I suppose I can stand
it for a while, but it seems queer for one who has been spoiled
for such work. I am now in my sitting-room which has a bow
window looking out upon the limitless ocean. The house is
upon a cliff at least 100 feet above, the sea. The town is one of
the quaintest places you can conceive. The streets twist and
wind in every conceivable direction, anil are very narrow and all
up and down hill. And such hills ! You can scarcely imagine
how horses can get up and down. The town is built, largely,
in terraces on the hill side, facing the sea. The highest terrace
must be six or seven hundred feet above the level of the sea. It
is reached by streets winding back and forth, and continually
rising on the hill-side. The hill at the back of the town must be

422 LIFE AND LABORS OF
a thousand feet above the sea. I went to the top of it to-day, and
the way the wind blew up there was grand. I feel that I shall
like the place for a week very much.
By the way, the town is reached by railroad from Ryde,
opposite Portsmouth, which is eighty miles from London. Just
as we reach Ventnor, we pass through a tunnel about one and a
half miles long, through the hill I have mentioned.
I think much more about the Institute than I thought I
should, and every morning and evening I remember them all, as
well as the young men who were sent out in the spring to preach,
before God. I intended to write a letter to the Institute, but I
find writing tires me more than I could wish. I feel the effects
of writing two pages for hours after."
"Mitcham, July 9th. — I returned from Ventnor on the 6th,
and found your most welcome letter of the 17th waiting for me.
Few sweets can be so pleasant as the letters from Woodstock are
to me. And yet I try to be patient, and to persuade myself
that I am now, if not doing the will of God, at least suffering
His good pleasure. As for me, I fear that suffering God's will
is not so pleasant as doing something for God. And yet I enjoy
much. I as yet see no definite plan for my future course here.
This one thing (health) I shall attend to, although I confess some
clouds will arise when I consider the slow progress I am making
as compared with my wishes. But I think God will give me and
you patience to wait and pray.
Day before yesterday we took a steamer from old London
Bridge, and went down to Westminster. We saw a little of the
Parliament buildings and of Westminster abbey. It was found
I could tell something about a large number of the great men
whose dust is gathered and commemorated there. I was greatly
interested, but found I was getting tired, and at once gave up
sight-seeing for that day. Daniel may rest assured I shall hear
Dean Stanley, if possible. Yesterday I went with Mr. Lailey,
and saw a little of St. Paul's Cathedral. We heard the service
intoned and accompanied by the great organ, which rolled its

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 423
volume of music along the prodigious aisles, until the very soul
within us was subdued by its grandeur.
On our way back we went into Guildhall, the great building
in which the municipal authorities hold their sessions. There
we saw ' Gog and Magog,' two tremendous wooden giants,
standing at opposite corners of a gallery at the end of the great
hall. ' When Gog and Magog hear the clock, they come down
to dinner.' Such is the legend which puzzles little folks 'not a
little.' To-day I intend to do some more of St. Paul's.
Tuesday evening I spent at the mission rooms, and was in
troduced to some twenty or thirty of the ministers present. I
had a card of invitation sent me by Dr. Underbill. All the
gentlemen were requested, or rather expected, to come in dress
coats. — A minister's dress is considered full dress. — For a mission
ary meeting, to welcome some eight or ten returned missionaries,
worn and ill through hard work for long years, I thought there
was just a little too much ' red tape.' It was however, a pleasant
meeting. "Mitcham, July 15th. — Yesterday I overdid a little, but to
day I changed my whole plan of procedure and errgaged an
agent to purchase the books for the Institute. I have been at
this work with Mr. Lailey for nearly a week, spending a few
hours each day. But in order to get the most and best for the
money, I visited many places and turned over such piles of old
books that I got tired of it. So I got about twenty catalogues,
went over them, selected the books I wanted, and employed an
agent to hunt them up, and collect them.
I have arranged to leave for Ireland to-morrow, to be gone
about ten days. The Doctor says it is an excellent plan, but I
must avoid overdoing. I shall faith fully bear his advice in mind,
but it is not always easy. It seems hard to be here and to be
able to do so little. But I must put up with it.
Next day Mr. Hill took me to the British Museum, and we
walked through its wonderful collections for over three hours.
I saw much to think of and wonder at, but to me the reading
room is the gem. It is an immense dome, I should think of at
least two hundred feet in diameter, with books all around, — four
stories of book-cases all around, with almost innumerable writing
desks !

424 LIFE AND LABORS OF
In one of my book-hunting expeditions, I passed by ' Burn-
hill Fields',' and could not help going m and taking a look at
Bunyan's tomb. On one side of the sarcophagus we see Chris
tian toiling up with his pack ; on the other we see him at the
cross ; on the top lies the effigy of the wonderful dreamer, as if
quietly taking his long rest."
"Greenore, July 23. — You see I am in Ireland. ... I
landed at Dublin on Friday morning, and spent twenty-four
hours in it. I took a 'low-back car' and drove around, or
rather was driven around, Phoenix Park, where I saw herds of
deer, hundreds of them, feeding like sheep. The Park is very
fine. I saw the Bank, College Green, the Customs House, the
Dock Walls, Sackville Street, etc., etc. I thought there was
an air of languor, or depression, all over Dublin, and, indeed,
yet much more, all over Ireland, so far as I have seen it. An
old man asked me yesterday what I thought of Ireland. I
told him Ireland seemed to me like that beach. Every wave
helped to carry off something from the stones. It was wearing
away, but nothing was brought back, not even a, grain of sand.
'Bedad, you have hit it !'• said he.
On Saturday I left Dublin for Enniskillen. I rode all the
way through a country where the impression above mentioned
was deepened at every stage. Enniskillen has pretty sur
roundings, but the town is full of the indications of base living
and even sordid poverty. Inismore Hall is four Irish miles
from Enniskillen. I hired a 'jaunting car,' and reached the
Hall about 3.30 p.m. I received a very cordial welcome from
both Mr. and Mrs. Gore. I spent from Saturday till Tuesday
afternoon with them very pleasantly.
This is only a landing-place for the boats from Holyhead.
It is on the shore of one of the prettiest bays I ever saw. The
hotel is good, and the air is pure. Yesterday I hired an old
Scotchman, one of the shrewdest and best informed men of his
class I ever met, to row me up to 'Carlingford.' I never was
more disappointed in my life. The Hill and its surroundings
are beautiful, but such a tumble-down, poverty-stricken, woe
begone hamlet I never want to see again. Each little thatched
hovel is whitewashed, as indeed, nearly every building in
Ireland is, but such an expression of hopeless poverty and idle-

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.D. 425
ness all over it ! There is an old castle, a very ruin, covered
with ivy, and another ruin of a monastery. The old Scotch
man said : 'Do you know, wherever you find an old monastery
you will find a w, etched state of things. They leave a kind of
blight !' There never could have been any such scenes as are
described in the ' Chronicles of Cariingford,' in this town.
To-day I went up in the steamboat to Warren Point, the
head of this beautiful bay, arrd then I took a car and rode down
along the shore for about three miles. The scenery is beautiful,
and swarms of tourists and health-seeking people are met at
every turn. This evening I am going to Belfast to spend the
night, and see, if spared, to-morrow, the Channel Fleet, which is
now lying there for a day or two. To-morrow evening I return
to Greenore, and take the steamer for Holyhea 1, on my way to
London. I wish my way was clear to start for home. I do wish to
see you all 1 But I must cheer up. My confidence in God re
mains firm and peaceful."
As before observed, a considerable part of each letter
consists of particulars in regard to the symptoms of the
disease, the mode and effects of treatment, etc., which
were at the time of the intensest interest to the dear
friends at home. The following in reference to this
matter is too sadly interesting, and suggestive of what
might have been to be passed over here : —
"Mitcham, July 30th. — I went yesterday and saw Dr.
Phillips. I had a long and' full talk with him about myself.
I lost two or three pounds of flesh on my trip to Ireland, but
beyond that I am improving steadily, though slowly. I told
him 1 must plan now for my return. I said, ' You feel assured
you can cure me, but my life here is an artificial one, and as
soon as I return arid 170 to work again, will not all my troubles
return ? ' His reply was : ' There is uot a doubt of it. I am
certain 1 can cure you, but you must have a year of complete, or
nearly complete, relaxation.' I said. ' I don't sec how on earth
b2

426 LIFE AND LABORS OF
I can get that.' ' Well,' he said, 'it is just a question whether
you will end your life in a year or two, or preserve it for years
of work.'
Of course this statement depressed me very much, for I feel
a strong craving to be employed again.
Just how I can get all the relaxation I require is not clear to
me, but I believe God will open the way — a step at a time. It
may be better than we fancy, however hopeful we may be.
I am continually picking up something which is worth know
ing, though I cannot, or rather, should not, put forth much
exertion in sight-seeing. Rome, I gave up long ago. I then
for a time held on to Paris and Switzerland. Now Switzerlarrd
ha-i been set aside forever, and Paris is just about set aside also.
I very much doubt whether I shall go, although I can reach
there in ten and a half hour*. Scotland I shall see but little of,
probably. So that you see my sight-seeing, or place-seeing, is
be oming circumscribed. Yet with all this, I do not regret
having come to England. It was worth while coming, not only
for the new views of life — new ideas of England, and Ireland,
and their people — but for the discipline of spirit which I trust I
Shave received. Everywhere I have met with unmeasured kind
ness, I serrd by this mail a short letter to Rev. Alexander Stewart.
I have, with some little trouble, succeeded in doing a good thing
ior him and for the Indians.
I am going to keep very quiet to-day — at least as much so as
I .can — for Mr. J. A. Spurgeon is coming to dine here. I
preached a short lecture for him — the only one in England — on
Tuesday evening last. He is just recovering from a very severe
illness." "Oxford, August 4th. — This morning we started, i. e., Messrs.
J. and A. McMaster, Mrs. McMaster and myself, on our Oxford,
Warwick and Kenilworth trip. We took the cars for Maiden
head, having sent the coachman with the carriage away on
Monday to meet us there. Thenee we went to Henley, on the
Thames, and lunched; then drove on to Oxford, which we

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 427
reached by 5 p.m. The country is delightful, the team is per
fection, and we all enjoyed very much, notwithstanding two or
three hours rain through which we drove. We were very well
protected. Oxford is a queer old place, full of suggestions, of old memor
ies. Here some poor Baptists — as many as thirty of them —
called Cathari, were condemned to starvation outside the gates
of the city in 1160, in the reign of Henry II, We spent about
two hours in walking about, viewing various colleges and look
ing at a magnificent old picture of ' The Judgment,' in a window
of the Magdalen Church. . . . To-morrow we are off for
Warwick and Kenilworth. I expect this ride alone to be to me,
in real pleasure and usefulness in various ways, worth coming to
England for.
"Mitcham, Aug. 13th. — We returned from our very fine
Oxford trip on Saturday evening. It was indeed, a memorable
journey to mo, — such an one as money could not procure. In
Oxford, in addition to the old colleges, churches and monuments,
we visited the Bodleian library, of 250,000 volumes, and St. Peter's,
in the East, part of which is eleven hundred years old. Then
we drove to Warwick, forty miles, and staid over night. Next
day we drove to Kenilworth Castle, the finest old ruin in Eng
land, if not in the world. We visited Stoneleigh Abbey, a.
lordly residence, (inhabited). We drove through Leamington,
the prettiest town in England, back to Warwick Castle. This
we went through, saw the pictures, the state rooms, armor, etc.
We saw the famous Grey of Warwick's coat of mail weighing
100 pounds, his sword weighing 20 pounds, and his porridge
pot which holds 120 gallons and is eight hundred years old.
It was three times filled with punch, and emptied, in one night,
when the present lord came of ago. We saw multitudes of other
things. We then drove to Stratford-on-Avon, and went through
the house in which Shakespeare lived, and into the room where
he was born. We also visited the church where he was buried.
The latter was more interesting than the house. We then drove
to Chipping Norton, a quaint old town set on a hillside. Here
we spent the night.
We next drove to Woodstock, the place where Charles II. hid
himself from Cromwell, just before he escaped to the Continent.
We saw Blenheim Castle and Park. The whole house and

428 LIFE AND LABORS OF
grounds are on the grandest scale, but the owner is poor, and the
place is not well kept. We next drove to Henley, -on-the-Thames,
a beautiful place of retreat, to which many flock in summer.
Here we staid over night. Next morning we started for Windsor
Castle. We could not, it being Saturday, get ir.to the Court
Chambers. But we looked all around the place, .and James and
I ascended the round tower, 226 stone steps. We had such a
view for thirty miles around as I shall never see again — so much
of historic interest ; the house that Wdliam Penn owned, the
church where Grey wrote his Elegy, etc., etc.
We next drove to Hampton Court. Here we saw the most
beautiful grounds, brilliant with flowers and laid out in the most
exquisite style. We werrt through the galleries of paintings.
We saw the great grape vine, over one hundred years old, and
covered with countless clusters of grapes. We then drove homo:
On Tuesday I went with Mr. Lailey and family to the
Kensington Museum. Tell the children I saw, amongst millions
of more important things, King Coffee's umbrella, with many
other trophies. He is evidently a miserable old savage. We
spent over three hours where one could spend a month profit
ably. Mr. Lailey and I then went to look at the Albert Memorial
and Albert Hall, and the drive along Rotten Row. To-day I
am going alone to the Tower, and this will finish London for
me, .with one exception, that is, Dore's Gallery."
" Paris, Aug. 17th. — You see I am in this great, famous and
fashionable city. I reached here Saturday morning about 5 a.m.
We had a very rough passage, and were very much delayed in
crossing the Channel. We should have been here about 7 o'clock
on Friday evening. However, my qualities as a sailor in rough
water are admittedly of a very high order. Scores and scores
were deathly sick around me. I, and only three others, entirely
escaped. We were drenched with sea water more than once.
I spent as much time as I could without fatiguing myself —
for 1 have a steady eye to that — on Saturday, in sunny Paris,
and to-day I have taken a long drive to see the most prominent
sights. ' Well, and what do you think of it?' I would not
have lost what I have already seen here, for half the expense of
my trip to Europe. There is certainly no city like Paris. It s
not kept so clean as London — I nieau its streets — nor is it so

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 429
well drairred. But the shops are the perfection of neatness, and
it is a city of palaces. I have seen its finest churches, its Champs
Elysees, its Tuileries, its Louvre, etc. On Sunday morning I
went to see Notre "Dame, for a short time after it was opened for
services. I then went to the ' Oratoire,' and heard a most ex
cellent sermon in French, from John iv., 32-40, on 'the Nature
and Reward of Obedience.' I could with perfect ease follow
the eloquent and pious Protestant divine, and felt really edified
and profited.
In the evening I heard Mr. Chown, the celebrated Baptist
preacher frpm Bradford. I went up and introduced myself
after service. He seemed delighted to see me, having heard of
me from Mr. Claxton and through the Baptist. Mr. Cook, of
the Voyages, one of whose special tickets I have taken — I go
when I like and where I like by it, and it saves me not only
some money, but also from all bother about change and cur
rencies — is stopping at the hotel where I am. There are
many English people and Americans, also some Scotch, with
one family of whom I have formed a very pleasant acquaint
ance. They all go out and stay out late at night to see Paris
by gaslight, but I have not deemed -it best for me. I have
been in bed each night before ten o'clock.
I have seen no vice whatever that I know of, but enough
vanity and frivolity to satisfy me for a lifetime. Saturday
was a fete day, which was kept by about one-third of the shops,
but Sunday was scarcely kept at all. And yet the pure Gospel
is certainly preached in some places. Rarely have I heard
more effective sermons than those preached by Chown and the
French minister. I leave this evening for Geneva, and expect
to be in London again on Friday evening.
I have saved the cost of my whole trip in the books which I
have purchased for the Institute. I feel that I have done my
whole duty in regard to this. £250 would not have bought
the books which I have purchased, when new, and yet but very
few of them are inferior to new books. Many of them are in-
the very best calf binding.
Mr. McKee, if he gets well, will greatly rejoice in the fine
supply I have got for his department, and so will Mr. Mont-

430 LIFE AND LABORS OF
gomery. As for Dr. Crawford, — I do not know how he will
feel. I fear he will forget even his meals when he gets among
them." " Edinburgh, Aug. 27. — You see I have shifted my quarters
since I last wrote to you. I arrived here last night, a little
after ten, and have as yet seen nothing of what is called the
most beautiful city in the British Empire. Let me give you a
bird's-eye view of what I have done since I last wrote you.
From Paris I went on to Geneva, arriving there about noon.
I stayed there twenty-four hours, as long as I wished to stay
unless I had company. The lake is all it has been described
to be. Its waters are indescribable, a beautiful blue, like
nothing but themselves. I 'did' the city pretty thoroughly. I
visited Calvin's church, the cathedral of St. Peter's. I sat
down in Calvin's chair, which is a fair emblem of his doctrines
— very straight in the back and very hard in the bottom. I
saw clearly (while at tea) Mont Blanc, about thirty miles off,
as the crow flies, about fifty-four by Ohamouni Valley. A
gentleman, who seemed to take a fancy to me, wanted me to go
with him and climb the 'Mere de Glace.' I told him my
climbing days were over, unless there was some object to be
gained. Thence I went to Lausanne, the birth-place of Madam
Feller. It is near the head of the Lake. This is all up and down
hill. It is a quaint old place, and well worth seeing. Thence
I went to Neufchatel and spent the night. Here is another
lake, having Basle at one end and Neufchatel at the other.
At no place did I enjoy more than I did there. On the after
noon of Thursday I started again for Paris, reaching there on
Friday morning, and London on Friday evening.
On Monday evening I left London for Glasgow, which I
reached on the morning of the 25th. There I called on Mr.
Maitland, uncle of Mrs. Hendrie, (that was). Every attention
that he could show me I have received. On the afternoon of that
day 1 started for the Highlands, travelled by rail to Balloch,
thence by steamer up Loch Lomond, to Inversnaid. There I
spent the night, at the foot of Ben Lomond. Yesterday I came
by stage, steamer and cars to the city. On my way I stayed
four hours at Stirling, perfectly crowded with historic recollec
tions. Right under my eyes when standing on the wall of
Stirling Castle, was il-e fj=H t1""!™ Wallae? d™*** the- Y-v.^-'h

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 431
out of Scotland. On the opposite side of the Castle, in the
distance, (about five miles) lies Falkirk, where Wallace was
defeated and afterwards lost his life. A few points to the east
lies Bannockburn, where Bruce defeated the English. In the
cemetery is the monument to the 'Wigtown Martyrs,' etc., etc.
I was greatly interested I It came out that the old cicerone —
' Old Andrew,' aged 87 — was a Baptist. A short time before,
he told me, some Baptists had been very kind to him and had
shaken hands with him. I told him I would shake hands with
him too. He said, ' My pastor was Mr. Lines.' ' Well,' said I
' Mr. Innes was my mother's pastor, in Dundee, before he was
your pastor.' ' Do you tell me so I '
I shall never cease to thank God for what he has permitted
me to see and enjoy. ... I have not been without seasons
of great depression and anxiety, but still the sun has shone
brightly through the clouds."
Manchester, Sept. 2nd. — I am now in the college (founded
by Mr. James McMaster) which is to be opened to-day. Since
I last wrote you I have ' done ' Edinburgh. I then went to
Glasgow and sailed up the Kyles of Bute, returning to Rothsay
on Friday evening. Here I attended a very nice soiree to the
minister there, and stayed over night with an old lady who
lives next door to where Mrs. Thomson lived for several years,
as Miss Mclntyre. On Saturday it rained and I returned with
Mr. Maitland to Glasgow. In the evening 1 went with him to
Paisley, and made a most delightful call on the ' Cootes ' — the
leading men of Paisley. On Sabbath I attended the old John
Street Church, and preached in the morning. I had great
liberty and never before, I think, have I seen people more
delighted. I attended the ordinance in the afternoon, and
enjoyed much. Next morning I started for Melrose. I visited
Abbotsford, Melrose Abbey, Dryburg Abbey. I stayed all
night at Melrose Abbey hotel. 1 cannot tell you bow much I
enjoyed on this trip, but if spared we shall talk over all this.
On Tuesday I started for this place. It is a High Day here.
To-morrow morning I start for Belfast, thence to Port Rush
and ¦ Londonderry, to take the 'Elysia.' I feel well. I am
conscious of great mental activity, compared with my state
when I left home. . . . Be of good cheer. God will do
better for us than we can ask or think."

CHAPTER XXXI.

A Sad Sequel — Steadily Toiling and Slowly Dying — The Last
Vacation— Visit to Gananoque — A Fatal Walk — The Death
of-the Righteous — Funeral Services in Toronto —Words of
Affection and of Eulogy— Others Entering into Rest —
Dead yet Speaking.
ffclE SEQUEL is, alas, soon told ! Dr. Fyfe reached
home early in Septem1 er, shortly after the com
mencement of the College year. That he did not take
the "full year," or indeed any part of it, of "complete
relaxation," has already been indicated. It may well be
doubted, he himself probably doubted, whether if would
have been possible for him to do so under any circum
stances. Having, as he said in one of his letters, notwith
standing his physical weakness more mental activity
than he knew what to do with, forced inaction would per
haps have been worse than the varied duties of the
principalship. Be that as it may, he resumed almost im
mediately, under the pressure of what seemed to him
neces-ity, not the whole indeed, but a large portion of his
accustomed work. Having now the aid of two efficient
professors in the Theological Department, his lecture-room
duties were somewhat lighter than heretofore. Much of
the worry of internal management and discipline was, as
indeed it had been for some time previously, transferred

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 433
to others. Still the responsibility of headship, and the
still more grinding responsibility of finding money to
meet the inexorable and ever-growing demands of the
school, he could not escape.
It is unnecessary to dwell upon the consequences.
They are well-known to the denomination ; " burned
into " many memories, as he would say, by the great sense
of loss which followed his demise. For two or three
years his strong purpose upheld him, and kept him reso
lutely at his post. But those about him could not fail to
trace, with melancholy forebodings, the indications of
growing feebleness. The inroads of disease became mani
fest in pale and sunken cheeks, and feeble step. His
once well-balanced nervous system had became shattered,
' so that slight excitements, such as he would not have
noticed a few years before, now affected him strangely.
More striking than all to the eyes that watched him with
affectionate solicitude, his whole countenance began to
put off, so to speak, its earthly hue, and to take on
that spiritualized expression, which is indescribable in
language, but which often manifests itself clearly to those
who are in daily contact with loved ones on whom death
has already laid its hand.
Thus things went on until the summer vacation in
1878, when he became conscious that his condition was
alarmingly crit'cal. In a private note to the Editor of
the Baptist he said. " I purpose giving my whole atten
tion to an effort to get better. I am sensible that it is a
life or death struggle with me."
After short sojourns at Port Dover, and at Winchester,
he went, accompanied by Mrs. Fyfe, to Gananoque. Here
he spent a few weeks taking, as his wife said, " such en-

434 LIFE AND LABORS OF
joyment in the beauties God had provided in the world
of nature," as she had never before known him to mani
fest. Rev. S. S. Bates, B.A., one of his former students
who was preaehing at this place for the summer, kindly
furnishes this brief account of his visit to this place, and
what were virtually his last days of active life : —
'' I well remember Dr. Fyfe's visit at Gananoque, in August,
1878. I was preaching that Summer in that village on the St.
Lawrence, about 18 miles below Kingston. The afternoon of
his arrival was hot and dusty, and both he and Mrs. Fyfe were
weary with their journey. A comfortable boarding place had
been secured for them in a summer hotel on the very bank of
the river. Here for some two weeks they remained, enjoying
every day the fresh air, the beautiful scenery of rocks, river and
islands, and he, especially the boating and fishing. At first he
thought he would care for neither of the latter pastimes, for his
hand for many years had been a stranger to fish-line and oar.
It was not many hours, however, before the calm surface of the
clear blue waters of that matchless river had charmed him into
a boat, and from that time he almost live 1 on the river during the
day, and, as he remarked to Mrs. Fyfe, he wished he could sleep
out on the river at night. On the second day he trolled and
caught his first pickerel, and from that hour he was as interested
as any boy could be in fishing. Some days, instead of boating
or fishing, he would take a ride on one of the many small
pleasure steamboats, which were constantly running up and
down the river. He many times expressed his delight with
Gananoque. He certainly thoroughly enjoyed his visit there — ¦
it was more completely, a time of relaxation and rest than any
thing he had experienced for years.
Twice while at Gananoque, Dr. Fyfe preached. His second
sermon, which was the last he ever preached, was listened to by
a small audience in the Town Hall, a room capable of seating
800 people. His text on this occasion was Jeremiah 3 :
19, 'How shall I put thee among the children?' He spoke
entirely extempore, with tender earnestnes and ready utterance.
Some hearts were moved with gratitude as he spoke of the great
joy of being placed by God among His children, aud some con
sciences were awakened as he gave reasons why certain ones
could have no place in His family."

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 435
On the 2 1 st of August, he returned to Woodstock. On
the evening of Wednesday, August 28th, he attended a
meeting of the Executive Committee. On the next day
he walked to the Post Office in the hottest part of the
clay. On returning home he was weak and thirsty, and
could with difficulty reach his house. On entering he
drank a copious draught, and presently fainted, and fall
ing forward, injured his head in the fall. From that
time his decline was rapid. A good deal of the time he
lay in a half conscious state, often talking with partial
incoherence. During the more lucid intervals his words
were full of trust and peace. At one time he said " The
good God will care for me." Again, in response to " The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin," he ex
claimed "Precious truth!" "Shortly before he died, in
an interval of consciousness," he took his beloved wife by
the hand and fervently commended her to God." On
Wednesday, the 4th of September, his spirit peacefully
returned to God who gave it.
Thus ended his labors and passed to his reward, in the
sixty-second year of his age, the strongest worker, and the
ablest and most trusted leader the Baptist denomination
in Canada has yet produced.
The funeral services were conducted partly in Wood
stock, but chiefly in Toronto, to which city his remains
were borne to be placed beside those of his wife and
children, who had been interred in the Necropolis.
A large number of friends accompanied the remains
from Woodstock to Toronto, including the Trustees,
Faculty and many of the students of the Institute. The
s rvices at the Jarvis Street Church presided over by Rev.
Dr. Castle, the pastor, were solemn and impressive. From

436 LIFE AND LABORS OF
a phonographic report furnished to The Christian Helper
by Mr. Thomas Bengough^ the following extracts from
the warm eulogies of some of those who best knew the
deceased, aie taken.
Rev. Dr. Castle said : —
" We are assembled here to-day under the shadow of a great
calamity. There has been nothing for a long time which has
come in tones so near and spoken so solemnly to many of us
as the death of our. beloved brother, the Rev. Dr. Fyfe. It was
proper that his funeral cortege should halt on its way to the
grave, and that we shou.d bear him, with reverent hands, into.
this place, into the midst of the people whom he loved and
guided in the pa.st as counsellor and friend. Our hearts are
sad, but we remember that God lives; that the workmen die,
but God's work goes on. It is intended to make this service
very informal, and a number of brethren have been appointed
in very brief addresses to speak out their thoughts and feelings
with reference to the departed, in the various relations in which
he stood to us in his chequeredj honorable and useful life. It
therefore does not become me to speak many words. I w'l 1
therefore simply call, one after another, upon those who are to
day to give voice to the deep emotions which fill all hearts. I<
will first call on Rev. Calvin Goodspeed to speak as the Pastor
of our honored friend and brother."
Rev. Mr. Goodspeed, M.A., of Woodstock : —
" To-day I feel under the shadow of a great cross." Dr. Castle
has kindly alluded to me as the pastor of our revered brother
who has departed from among us. I occupied that position ;
but he was my pastor, as he was the pastor of all young min
isters in the denomination. I regret exceedingly that it was
not my sad privilege to be near at hand to him in his last
hours, but I understand that his last hours were, — as all his
life, — happy. He seemed to be so much occupied with the
Lord's work, even until the end, that he had very few thoughts
to give to himself. The Saviour filled his whole life. I had
only been his pastor for a little over four years, and yet I feel I
have lost the dearest friend I ever had. During the four years
that it has been my privilege to be the pastor of the Woodstock

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 437
church, he has been my counsellor ; he has been my loving
friend ; he has been almost more than a father. I shall never
forget, when I have gone to him; knowing that he was pressed
with many cares and many heavy burdens, and fearing lest I
might be intruding, how he has received me. I shall never
forget, dear friends, how, in time of deep anxiety and trouble,
I have gone to him for sympathy, which he was ever ready to
give to me. I remember once particularly, on account of some
trouble that all pastors know very well, how, when I came
away, he put his hand upon my shoulder and said : ' Brother
Goodspeed, I want you to understand that you may come to me
whenever you think I can be of assistance to you.' I remem
ber the time when, during the last year, he could not attend the
regular prayer meeting, or the meetings of the church, and
whatever might be the policy adopted by the church he always
carried out his own rule that it was better to fall in with the
majority. I can feel this, that notwithstanding all the imper
fections of my pastoral life in Woodstock, Dr. Fyfe always
acted on the principle of making the best of a thing in order
that I might be benefitted. He has gone ; and though we say
his life on earth is ended, his life on earth has only just begun
He has stamped his life on hundreds, and the influence of that
life, that has been touching so many of our lives for a greater
or lesser number of years, cannot be lost. The influence of
his example will abide' and produce its fruits through coming
generations." Rev. Dr. Cooper, of London : —
"It is just thirty-five years next month since I entered the
dwelling of my dear departed brother in Perth. I came to the
country in 1843, in the month of October. In those days we
had no acquaintances, and we had scarcely any idea of where
we were going. I came to Montreal, spent one Sabbath there,
and I was m'aking my way to Kingston for the next Sabbath,
but it was told me there was a Baptist church in Perth, so I
made my way there and landed in the house of my brother
Fyfe. They were then just talking of getting him down to
Montreal to take the place of Dr. Davies, who was going to
England. He said to me : 'At any rate, you will stay over one
Sabbath'; but he did not tell me anything about the Montreal

438 LIFE AND LABORS OF
arrangement. I stayed over one Sabbath, and he started for
Montreal on Monday. It was then settled that he was to go
to Montreal, and it was also agreed that I was to stay at least
for the winter, — the winter was just setting in, — and have the
care of the church in Perth, for the winter at any rate. He
lefo for Montreal on Saturday first. That was the farthest
ever we were distant, — I in Perth and he in Montreal. From
that clay till this, we have been almost touching each other in
our work. He was interested in all the denominational work,
and I always found him, as you know, true to the work. He
1 ived the cause ; he loved the Saviour ; and he loved all good
men, and everything that tended for the good of the Lhurch
and the glory of the Saviour.. His heart was in it from that
day till the last day of his life. In 'this regard he was the
same, true and steady. One day, after a little general conver
sation that we had together, he brought in his hand a roll of
piper and he said: '1 have got an outline for a plan of a
school here; I would like you to look at it; I think we can
get up a building, and I think we can do something to get a
school for our young men.' We had talked about this gener
ally, — and somewhat particularly, too, — but now it was coming
to a point. I looked at it ; it seemed a huge undertaking.
There was a great prejudice against educated ministers in those
days, very deeply rooted in some of the dear brethren, good
and true, too, who had themselves fought the battle without
any education, and hence thought things were always to be so.
Well, the matter was settled, that the Institute was to be in
Woodstock. I was then pastor of the church in Woodstock, —
in 1860 or 1861, — and since that time we have been touching
each other all through. The last conversation I had with our
late dear brother, — we had a little quiet talk one day, — he
put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Brother Cooper, you
and I are getting very near the top of the ladder now.' I said,
'Yes, brother, a few more steps will bring us into the hi'<-her
regions.' I saw his clothes hanging so loosely, and O, how my
heart ached. I am somewhat his senior, — about five or six
years, — but my heart ached. I saw the dark shadow looming
up as the pal envelopes us to-day ; I saw it coming, and 1
asked myself, on whom will the mantle fall 1 and I thought to
myself again: 'The Lord will provide;' and I am satisfied,
dear friends, the Loral will provide. Brother McPhail, dear

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 439
good servant of God, has gone home. There was another in
timately associated with us in those early days, our dear brother,
Dr. Boyd, who has been laid upon his back with sickness for
twelve years, — I believe lying still. I wrote to him the other
day telling him that our brother Fyfe was gone. Brother
Peter McDonald is now in London, and that is about all of our
dear brother's companions. So we are getting nearer home.
And though I fefe.l very sad to-day, yet for some years past,
somehow, when I lay a child of God in the dust I do not like
to look at crape and sackcloth and ashes all the time. There is
a bright side ; and while we cannot but look at the dark side,
yet, it seems-to me, brethren, there is a bright side, and I think
we ought to look at that bright side. Look at it now, how the
Lord has taken our brother. He has done his work. The
Master has called him home, and we have no doubt at all where
he has gone. We know where he has been these years past, —
he has been in Christ, working in Christ ; and he was working
in Christ when his eyes were closed in death. He died in the
harness. He has left us to enter into the upper room, and
there is just a veil — and a very thin veil — which has to be lifted
before we will pass through it and meet him never to part
again." Rev. Dr. Davidson, Secretary of the Baptist Conven
tion : —
My heart is so full to-day that I can scarce find utterance for
the thoughts that till my mind. The emotions that are welling
up almost choke my utterance. The brother that first addressed
you told you the impression that had been made upon his mind
by four years intimate acquaintance and fellowship with out-
departed father in Israel. Our revered brother who has spoken
to you last has referred to his acquaintance with him for the last
thirty-five years. My memories of him go four years back of
that. 1 see but one brother in the house, — brother T. M. Thom
son, erstwhile brother-in-law of our departed friend and brother,
— who I think has known him longer than I have. I remember
him when he came as a student from Newton about the
year 1839, in company with the late Rev.- Darriel McPhail,
preaching peace by Jesus Christ through tfhe townships of
Drummond and Beckwith and Bathurst in the County of Lanark.
I remember well the deep impressions that were made by their

440 LIFE AND LAbORS OF
united testimony for Christ and earnest pleadings with sinners
to come to Jesus, and the impressions made upon my own poor
heart when I was then without God and without hope
in the world. I remember him coming again as a student in
company with our brother McDonald, — now retired, Ave may say,
from active labor, who is living in London, — and again going
over the same ground, before I knew Christ and before I loved
Him ; and it was after both those visits that I gave my wander
ings over 'by giving my heart to Christ.
He was Moderator of the Council that ordained me, and on
my head his hands were laid. I think I am perhaps the first
that he was privileged to participate in ordaining, of all the
living ministers of the denomination to-day. I remember well
his connection with the denomination in those times. Days
were dark and friends were few. We had a Missionary Society
known as the Canada Baptist Missionary Society. The Grande
Lio-ne Mission was not distinctly denominational then. But
oh how his sympathies went out toward those societies, and
how earnestly and heartily he worked with them 1 His heart
was in the work of his own church, and he did a very noble
work in the time when God permitted him to lead the band.
After he ceased to be pastor here he returned again to Perth,
and after a short pastorate there, was about five years absent
from the country in the United States ; and glad was I wheu
he returned again and became pastor of the church in Toronto.
When he returned to this country we had formed what is now
known as the Baptist Missionary Convention of Ontario. We
had formed that in 1851, in his absence, but he at once threw
his energies wholly and heartily into the enterprise of carrying
the Gospel to those that were living in the townships and back
settlements and rising villages of our country ; and there are
scores of witnesses here to-day in regard to the valued services
that he has rendered in connection with the all-important work
of home evangelization. On one occasion he and I were travel
ling to an ordination of a brother in Cheltenham. We have
been, perhaps, to fifty ordination councils, and I have been in
councils when sore troubles were afflicting us, and I believe I
have never known a man who possessed the same wisdom, the
same discernment, the same breadth of view and comprehensive
ness as he did ; and we owe our position in Canada to-day,
largely to his wisdom, his energy, and his power, as an organ-

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 441
izing and as -an executive officer. It was on that occasion to
which I am now referring, when we stopped at the house of
brother McKee, in Ciiinguacousy, in the Township of Peel,
that the first idea of the Canadian Literary Institute was dawn
ing upon his mind. We spent the whole evening talking about
it It appeared to me to be Utopian ; but the more we talked
about it the more it took form in his own mind, and by-and-
bye he drew out a plan ; and when he opened out the details
of that plan as it stood, to Brother Porter and others who are
here to-day, at the Grand River Association in Vittoria, there
was only ene minister beside myself who had faith in its suc
cess ; but there were three of us who had faith in its success
and we pushed it, and by God's blessing what was then an
acorn is now a mighty oak ; what was then a mere conception
of his noble and capacious mind has now yielded much fruitage
to this denomination, I need not speak to you of the vast
amount of labor he has performed ; the valuable services that
he has rendered in the work of training our rising ministry ; I
need not point you to those scores of young men who are coming
up tc fill the places of the fathers who are passing off the stage,
and who have received an impress upon their characters, and
impulses that shall never die while they live, from their contact
with him as an educator, as a father, as a counsellor, as a friend.
I have ever felt that in him we had a tower of strength in this
department of our denominational work. When the subject of
Foreign Missions began to press upon our attention we talked
over that matter earnestly ; and no man amongst us had more
faith in the successful establishment of the missionary enter
prise amongst the churches in Canada, than our departed father
in the Gospel ;' and when at that meeting at Beams ville we re
solved ourselves — shall 1 say? — into a society auxiliary to the
American Baptist Missionary Union, to send out the pioneer
missionary, brother Timpany — who is here to-day — we felt that
we were all deeply indebted to him for his wisdom, his needed
and wise advice, in regard to the movements that we should
make. - If I call your attention to the initiatory steps that
were taken to send out missionaries to Manitoba and the' North
west, you will find that there he. is ready to take the initiative ;
that he presses upon the Home Missionary Board the appoint
ment of a deputation to go out and explore the land ; and I
never performed any service more reluctantly in the cause of
C2

442 LIFE AND LABORS OF
my Master than I performed that arduous and perilous journey
in connection with our Brother Baldwin. Still I went out im
pressed with the thought that the work was an important one,
and all the events that have taken place subsequently have
borne out, to a very great extent, all the far-seeing wisdom
and prudence of our brother whose remains lie in this coffin to
day. And when, my brethren, I look at our other societies, —
especially at the work that has been and is now being accom
plished by the Widows and Orphans' Aid Society, and we can
never forget how hard he labored in council in that matter, —
from the beginning of this nine-and-thirty or forty years of my
acquaintance with him, till the last meeting in Paris, I stand
as a living witness to say I never knew a nobler or a truer man;
1 never had a dearer friend, or one who has acted a more fatherly
part to me."
Rev. Dr. Castle : —
" A clear, earnest, spiritual preacher ; a tender and loving
pastor; a wise counsellor in the denominational movements; —
yet his greatest work was as an educator. Noble is the office of
the teacher. We love to think of Jesus as the Great Teacher.
A teacher re-duplicates his power ; leaves his impress upon
others ; and doubles, and trebles, and quadruples, and sends
himself forth to the country. Such was his work. We will
hear for a few minutes from one of his earliest students, as the
¦representative of those whom he has given to the ministry of
reconciliation.'1 Rev. W. Muir :-—•
" It was impossible, I think, for any student, male or female,
to come in contact with Dr. Fyfe as a man, as a Christian, as an
instructor, and as the Principal of the College, without respecting
Dr. Fyfe. A poor, poor specimen of humanity must the in
dividual have been indeed who would not at least respect Dr.
Fy1^. The great mass of the students admired the Doctor ;
they revered the Doctor ; his influence over them was almost
unbounded ; and that, too, because of the various relations in
which he stood to them as students. In' the class-room he was
ever prepared for his work, — thoroughly prepared ; he did his
work well. 0, what a privilege it was to us,, in the early clays
of the College, to sit at his feet and learn of him! And as years

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 443
passed by, his experience and his power became greater, and yet
greater, for he was essentially a growdng man to his very last
hours. Dr. Fyfe was a wonderful man. I think I can say
conscientiously that I never knew a man who could so take hold
of underlying principles, bring them out, and spread them before
men in order, and before the students of Christ, — I am speaking
with special reference to them, — that they might see and grasp
the principles that would remain with them through life ; and it
very frequently occurs that you will hear one and another and
another to-day, as you mingle with them, speak of the instruc
tion they received from Dr. Fyfe. I benefit continually from
the principles he endeavored to impress upon my mind, — princi
ples that shall continue with me through life."
Rev. Dr. Crawford, of the Institute : —
"A painful duty has been laid upon me at this time, but in
another sense a pleasant duty. It is pleasant even in death to
think of our dear departed friends. I am to speak as representing
the Faculty of the Institute ; and what shall I say ? If I should
say that we respected Dr. Fyfe, that would be little; we loved
him as a father and a friend. As I was coming here, and speaking
with my associate, Professor Wells, he said, with deep emotion,
"We have labored together for fifteen years, and I have learned
to love him more to the last." Dr. Fyfe I have known for some
twenty years. He was my first friend in Canada. I preached
my second sermorr in Canada in his pulpit in this city, and from
that day until the day of his death he has been my best friend.
But I have been associated with him for ten' years in our work
at Woodstock, not merely iu the same college, but in the very
same department ; and yet iu those ten years there never was a
jar. He might differ from me in some unimportant thing, but
it never estranged us in the least. I loved him; I respected
him ; I worked earnestly with him and he with me. He was a
man of strong wall, but he was a man of strong common-sense.
He was a man of large heart, and therefore you could always
work with him; the fault would be yours if you could not.
To illustrate this, I would just say that Dr. Fyfe and I were
perfectly agreed upon all that was essential in every part of theo
logy. There were a few things of minor importance in which
we differed ; and I remember conversing with him on one occa
sion, some time after I went to the Institute, and he said to me,

444 LIFE AND LABORS OF
"Professor Crawford, this point will come up in your class;
don't feel hanrpered ; give your views ; and when it comes up in
my class I will give my views." Now, that showed a large man ;
it showed him to be just what you all know him to be. But,
my dear friends, we cannot detain you; I will just say that
while his heart was in every department of labor, — the Foreign
Mission, the Home Mission, everything, — yet that wdiich lay
nearest to his heart, I believe, was his own work in the Institute.
The ruling passion is strong in death, and when his memory was
fading away he did not forget the Institute. He said, on one
occasion when his mind was wandering : " I have to be at the
Institute at nine o'clock in the morning." On another occasion
he was delivering to his students his address at the opening of
Institute. It was very remarkable that he died on the very clay
on which it was to be opened ; and he distributed the prizes all
in his imagination ; but after that he forgot the Institute, he
forgot everything else. He knew but one thing : he did not forget
he Lord Jesus."
Others who took part in this solemn and memorable
service were Revds. George Richardson, W. H. Porter,
M.A., J. Denovan, and J. D. King. Two of those whose
words of grief and eulogy are quoted, have already fallen
asleep. The venerable and much beloved Dr. Cooper
spoke with prophetic prescience. The " very thin veil "
was soon lifted for him and he too passed within. Dr.
Davidson, the energetic worker, soon followed. But
the work still goes on in all its departments, Home Mis
sions, Foreign Missions, Education, in the hands of other
laborers, and with] multiplied resources; and by the lips
of many living speakers, and in the lives of many devoted
workers, Robert Alexander Fyfe, " being dead, yet
speaketh."

CONCLUSION.

MEMORIAL PIECES.
The following poems and essays, written in affectionate
remembrance of the deceased, may, it is thought, be
fittingly brought together here as just and loving trib
utes to his memory. The poems were written shortly
after Dr. Fyfe's death, and published, the first in the
Canadian Baptist, and the other in the Christian Helper,
and are re-printed here by permission of the writer, Mrs.
Yule, who has also very kindly prepared the paper,
"Memories of Dr. Fyfe and His Work," at the request of
the author of this volume.
The kindness of the Rev. S. F. Smith, D. D., in pre
paring the " Tribute " which follows Mrs. Yule's paper, is
also gratefully acknowledged. Both these papers will be
read with great interest.
Perhaps some apology is needed for the re-production
here of the first essay. The writer has only to sajr that,
though bearing the marks of somewhat hastypreparation,
it truthfully represents the impressions felt, and opinions
formed, at the time when the incidents of fifteen years
of close association and friendly intercourse were fresh
in his memory. The students, at whose request it was
written, and in whose paper, the Tyro, it first appeared,
may not object to see it placed amongst other records, in
this more permanent form.

446 LIFE AND LABORS OF

IN MEMORIAM.
R. A. P.
Rest, Brother, rest !
No voice shall bid thee gird thyself, to bear
Again the burdens that so long have lain
On thy unflinching shoulders, or to share
With fainter hearts the peril and the pain ;
Or call thee forth to scale some dizzy height
Which, haply, other feet were slow to dare ;
Or bear the banner through the stormy fight,
Foremost thyself where dangers thickest were.
Rest, Brother, rest !
The toil-spent reaper bending to his task
Shall grieving miss thee from the harvest-plain ;
And he who gleans the vintage-treasures, ask
Kindly the help ne'er sought before in vain ;
And he, who gropes in paths obscure and dim.
Or threads the tangled maze where dangers lie,
Will miss the clarion-voice that guided him,
And the clear lamp thy firm hand lifted high.
Rest, Brother, rest !
The sufferer tossing on his fever-bed
Will yearn to hear the step that comes no more ;
The stricken mourner weeping by his dead
Will, with his own, another loss deplore ;
The halls thy constant footsteps pressed for years
No more shall gladder, brighter grow for thee ;
Thy room, thy chair, shall call up sudden tears
As memory speaks of what no more shall be.
Rest, Brother, rest !
Thou had'st one resting-place, to which thy feet,
Weary, and bruised, and way-worn, still might turn ;
Whose cooling waters to thy lips were sweet,
Whose steady lights for thee did ever burn :
God pity her who weeps alone to-day,
And lift her faith above her grief's unrest,
To view thee basking in a clearer ray,
And rest serener on her Saviour's breast ?
Rest, Brother, rest !
Yea, rest in peace, long-tried and faithful one !
Called to repose while, midway down the West,

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 447
With undiminished radiance thy sun
Still shone, and thousands in its beams were blest ;
— A cloud prophetic of the coming night !
— A shadow ominous of deeper gloom !
—A vigil brief !— a strong wing plumed for flight '.
And what remains ? — the pall, the bier, the tomb !
Rest, Brother, rest !
Yea, rest ! for there remains far more of thee
Than thy pale shrouded dust, thy lowly bed ! —
A grand, imperishable legacy
Of noble deeds well done, and words well said ; —
Example blest of faith and courage high —
Patient endurance,— consecrated zeal, —
To God and man unswerving loyalty, —
And toil, not for thine own, but others' weal !
Rest, Brother, rest !
Earth has been brighter for thy blameless life,
And Heaven is brighter for thy entering in ;
And countless hearts are strengthened for the strife
They yet must wage with earth, and self, and sin,
By the high lessons of thy lip and pen,
And deeper lessons that thy life has given ;
And hosts shall rise from out the ranks of men
To call thee bless'd through all the years of Heaven !
Rest, Brother, rest !
It doth not yet appear what thou art now,
What glory crowns thee, what rewards are thine,
What Christ-imparted lustre gilds thy brow,
What arms of tenderest love around thee twine ;
And yet we know that thou hast kissed his hand
Who led thee safely to His people's rest,
Leaned thy tired bead on. His dear bo3om, and
Heard His sweet welcome — therefore, Brother, rest 1
Sept. 14th, 1878.

ROBERT A. FYFE : THE MAN AND THE CHRISTIAN.
BY' J. E. WELLS, M. A.
I have been asked to contribute something for the offering which
it is the design of this " Memorial " sheet to lay lovingly upon the
tomb of our honored dead. The task is too much a labor of love to
be declined, though I deeply regret that a service to which many

448 ¦ LIFE AND LABORS OF
hours of patient thought, and sad yet pleasing reminiscence, would
gladly be given, must needs be hastily performed in the swift
minutes which can be redeemed from the claims of pressing duties.
Others, with better knowledge of his earlier years, have, I believe,
undertaken to furnish elsewhere a record of the life and labors of
our late Principal. The tender history of the last days and hours
of that useful and noble life, sketched by the affectionate hand
which could most meetly lift the veil from those sacred scenes, will
be read with tearful interest, in this number of the Tyro, by hun
dreds of loyal friends and sincere mourners. It is my purpose — a
purpose for which fifteen years of happy social intercourse, as well
as of intimate companionship in labor and anxiety, should in some
measure fit me — to give in a few paragraphs some of my own
impressions in regard to the departed, viewed simply as » man and
a Christian, or rather as a noble Christian man. In so doing I have
no intention of assuming, <fr affecting to assume, the coldly critical
attitude. Any pretence of analyzing the inevitable faults as well
as the priceless virtues of such a character, and setting the one over
against the other in calm, judicial counterpoise, would be as repug
nant to my own feelings, as it would be harshly grating upon those
of my readers. The fitting time, if ever there can come a fitting
time, for so ungracious and ungrateful a task, is not yet. The
wounds caused by -the abrupt sundering of many strong and tender
bonds are yet too new, the memories of pleasant intercourse, of
sweet communion, of loyal, self-denying service, are still too fresh
and fragrant, for unimpassioned handling. To say that Dr. Fyfe
had faults would be simply to say that he was human. To say even
that those faults now and then flashed out conspicuously would be
to state but a corollary from the undeniable proposition that his was
essentially a strong character. And in this last remark, it seems to
me, we strike one of the keynotes that ruled the harmony of that
energetic and fruitful life, whose cutting off in the midst of its days
has inflicted heavy loss upon many human interests, as well as deep
sorrow on many loving hearts. From whatever point of view we
look upon that character, whether we study it upon the side o
intellect and will, or upon that of moral and religious principle,
one of its most prominent features is strength.
No one could look upon that tall and manly form, noting the

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 449
resolute eye, the massive chin, the self-reliant bearing, and the
energetic, unhesitating, purposeful movement, without feeling
almost instinctively that a strong man was before him— that who
ever had the good fortune to have Dr. Fyfe for a friend, had a
friend to be relied upon in time of need, and that he who, no mat
ter how great his prowess, entered the lists with him as his
opponent, would find "a foeman worthy of his steel." This
strength and force of character were, no doubt, to a very great
degree, inborn. But they could scarcely have attained their full
proportions had they not also been developed by self-culture, and
by the hard discipline of toil and conflict in early life. I have
listened with interest, on those rare occasions when he would relate
in the confidence of friendship some incidents of his early years >
and have sometimes felt that he was unconsciously illustrating the
truth of the maxim : ' ' The child is father to the man. " I well
remember one incident in particular. When quite a young man he
was placed, temporarily I think, in charge of a gang of lumbermen
in the depths of a Lower Canadian forest — a position which I
suppose often demands almost as much resoluteness and fearless
self-reliance as the captaincy of a ship in mid-ocean. One cold,
stormy evening, a rough, turbulent spirit amongst the gang had
risen in open rebellion. In spite of all remonstrance he persisted
in defying authority, and bringing strife and confusion into the dis
cipline of camp life. When all gentler measures had been tried in
vain, a pair of strong arms ejected the astonished offender rather
forcibly into the outer darkness and storm, and a voice and eye, no
longer to be trifled with, deterred any friendly hand from unfasten
ing the barred door until such time as the sharp lash of a Canadian
winter's night-blasts had done its perfect work, and the culprit was
ready to come back, subdued, penitent and peaceful, to his place in
the circle around the blazing fire. God has various methods of
training his servants for the work he has for them to do. Who can
doubt that he used the discipline of such difficulties and hardships
to develop that unflinching strength and steadfastness of purpose
which did so good service in other spheres on many a subsequent
occasion. Some who read this paper will doubtless remember an
illustrative incident of quite a different character. I refer to the
day on which, strong in the vigor of resolute manhood and the

450 LIFE AND LABORS OF
earnest conviction of right, he stood for hours in the face of a
prejudiced, angry, hissing crowd who were determined that his
voice should not be heard, until first by sheer force and persistence
of will he conquered a hearing, and then, by dint of manly
eloquence and incisive logic, completely turned the tide of opinion
and feeling into what he believed to be the right channels.
But mere strength of will is in itself but a doubtful merit. Under
the sway of narrowmindedness and prejudice it becomes often a
strong force on the side of evil. It is only when enlisted in the
service of a sound judgment, a broad intellect, and a lofty moral
nature, that it becomes a mighty force on the side of the right and
the good.
Strength was a characteristic of Dr. Fyfe's intellect no less thin
of his will. His thinking was broad rather than subtle, powerful
rather than profound. His grasp of truth was a grasp of power,
Though his mind was undoubtedly active and fertile, it would be
easy to find many who were his peers in originality of thought, and
in pulpit or conversational brilliancy.
His perceptions too, though <juick and keen, were probably not
more so than those of many others, of equal culture and experience.
But in that mental breadth and clearness which grasp a subject in
its whole extent, and promptly strip it of whatever is incidental or
unimportant, he had few equals. His keen analysis went promptly
to the root of the matter. When once the full powers of his mind
were turned upon a question, or investigation, its great underlying
principles were recognized as if by instinct, and once recognized
were, like true friends, " grappled to his soul with hooks of steel."
Yet, in spite of, or let me rather siy in consequence of, the
strength of conviction thus begotten, upon what he regarded as
essential principles and living truths, his views were generally free
from the unreasoning prejudice which affects so many otherwise
powerful minds. This was no narrowness in his theology. With
clearly defined opinions of his own he was not one of those who
hasten to brand as foolish, or dishonest, the views of all who have
reached different conclusions.
One of the first expressions to which I heard him give emphatic
utterance — and a good indication of his mental power and his fitness
for a teacher of young men was his ability to give expression from

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 451
time to time to wise and noble sentiments, in language which
burned .itself into the memory -was to the effect that he cordially
despised the mental and moral littleness which prompts a man to
keep perpetually harping, in public and in private, upon the small
distinctive peculiarities of a sect, or party. He saw clearly that
there are truths and truths — that the great temple of many-sided
Christian truth even, has its pediments and pinnacles as well as its
broad foundation stones. No better evidence of this characteristic
breadth of his thinking can be found than the fact that, while he»
was specially committed to one of the great enterprises of the
denomination, his time, his means, his thoughts and sympathies
were given freely to all, until he was abundantly qualified, by
virtue of the extent and accuracy of his knowledge, as well as by his
deep and genuine interest, to be a leader in respect to each.
Other marked features in Dr. Fyfe's mental character were his
wonderful promptness in decision, and his unhesitating self-reliance
in action. When once the duty or necessity of deciding even the
most delicate or the most complicated question became cl6ar to
him, all hesitancy was at an end. His judgment seemed to act like
an instinct, and his resolve followed like a flash of lightning.
While slower mortals would still be painfully weighing counter
balancing considerations, his course of action would lie plain and
straight before him, and he would be already marching firmly on in
it. To say that these quick decisions and actions were invariably
right ones would, of course, be to make him infallible. And yet
their general correctness, as seen in the light of subsequent events,
was wonderful, showing clearly that this promptness in decision
was an endowment, improved no doubt by habit, by virtue of
which he was able to take in at a glance the salient points of a
complicated question, when others were obliged to take their.
singly, in detail, or risk fatal errors in decision and action. And
with Dr. Fyfe to resolve was to do. When in the full vigor of his
manhood, he never burdened the morrow with to-day's tasks, or
suffered any important work to lag for want of energetic attention.
In addition to all this the type of Dr. Fyfe's mind was eminently
practical. It exhibited well the golden mean between the useless
visionary and the pitiable matter-of-fact orders. Strong common
sense marked all his plans and movements. This characteristic is

452 LIFE AND LABORS OF
illustrated in certain favorite maxims and proverbs which were
often on his lips. He always advised his brethren that it was much
better to adopt the " second best plan" upon which all can agree
than to quarrel about the absolute best. Notwithstanding his
remarkable promptness in decision and self-reliance in action, his
conduct was largely regulated by the wise resolve to take no
" leaps in the dark," to do nothing for mere doing's sake, but when
all was dark, and he could see his way clear to no definite
.issue, to simply stand still and wait for the light that was sure to
come. In following this course he often realized how much harder
it is to stand still than to move rashly and blindly. In some cases
at least I have known him to resist a great deal of pressure from
brethren, in obedience to this maxim, rather than act befcre he
could see that his action would be wise and right. Again, he
seldom borrowed trouble. He refused to "cross the bridges" of
the future until he came to them. In this he but assented to the
wisdom of the Great Teacher's maxim: " Sufficient unto the day is
the evil thereof."
But the crowning excellence of Dr. Fyfe's character is to be
found in the lofty principles and motives which ruled his life. His
moral nature was eminently pure and noble. All these strong
qualities of mind and will were subordinated to the highest aim a
human being can set before him— the aim to do right and to do good.
The same strength and largeness which were so characteristic of his
intellect were conspicuous in his moral nature. His was the high-
toned Christianity which refuses to do homage in the temple of
custom, or to creep along on the low level of expediency. In regard
to questions of right and wrong he was, I dare say, no more
infallible in his judgments than many other men. But few men
were more open to argument and conviction, and, let him once be
convinced that a, certain course of conduct was right, still fewer
would follow that course with the same fearless disregard of
consequences. There was that in his soul which could respond to
the lofty motives and principles of the Gospel he loved. An instance
recurs to my mind in which he and a number of his brethren had
partially committed themselves to a course of conduct, which,
while it might have been pronounced fair and honest by the grea
majority of upright men, and might have met the requirements of

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 453
ordinary codes of morality, was, perhaps, hardly in strict accord
with the eternal principles of the Sermon on the Mount. It is
unnecessary to particularize further than to say that the trans
action had a little of the appearance of a church taking advantage
of an accident to get some relief from the pressure of a hard
bargain. While the affair was in progress, and the action about to
be taken seemed right in the eyes of almost every one interested, a
sermon was preached in which the Spirit of Christ's broad precepts
was contrasted with that of the narrow maxims of worldly honesty.
Whether the sermon or some other influence brought up the matter
before him for closer scrutiny, I know not. But at the close of the
service he, with his usual prompt decisiveness, hastily called
together the brethren concerned and told them that he, at least,
could go no further in the direction proposed. Next morning his
brow was clear and his face radiant as he told me that they had
unanimously agreed to "give conscience the benefit of the doubt,"
and to take the hard, steep path pointed out by the highest
Christian law.
Love of justice and fair play was one of the most striking traits
in this noble character. Like other men of activity and power he
was not without enemies. But I doubt if any one would say he
knew Dr. Fyfe, in any instance, to suffer himself under any sense
of injury, any resentment of calumny, to be hurried into unchristian.
not to say unfair or underhand retaliation. I remember but one
occasion, during a long and intimate acquaintance, in which a,
remark of mine caused him deep pain. We were discussing an
absent friend of whose course in a certain case Dr. Fyfe strongly
disapproved. In reply to some expression of his opinion I replied,
"I think you are doing him a great injustice." "I would not
knowingly do him or any other man an injustice for my right arm."
Such may not have been the exact words of the reply, but they were
to that effect. But it was not the words so much as the tone and
manner of their utterance, that impressed themselves indelibly
upon my mind. The tone was not one of anger, or resentment, but
of pain, and the manner seemed to say, " Can it be possible that I
have allowed myself to be betrayed into an act or expression which
is unjust to my brother? I must examine this and see." The
conviction produced on my mind by the trivial incident was that

454 LIFE AND LABORS OF
there dwelt an innate love of justice such as is rarely found in
human nature.
Dr. Fyfe despised meaness in every shape and form. None know
that better than his students. If anything stirred up the deep
fountains of his indignation and drew forth the scathing torrents of
rebuke, it was that which savored of meanness, " sneakiness. "
May we not well believe that many an incipient act of this nature
has been, and will be, cut short by the memory of those ringing
denunciations of lying and pilfering, and all the petty train, which
used to be hr.rled forth from time to time from that well remem
bered desk in the Institute Chapel ?
But space would fail me to speak further of that large-hearted
generosity which was bounded only by his means ; of that unwaver
ing loyalty of soul which made him the best and truest of friends,
or of that catholicity of spirit which tempered strong convictions
with the charity that " thinketh no evil," and which made him,
uncompromising Baptist though he was, admired and beloved by
many of other denominations. To these I have referred before.
The flow of Dr. Fyfe's religious life was strong and deep and
calm. It was not interrupted by those "cataracts and breaks,"
which mar the harmony of so many earnest lives. But that simple,
unwavering trust in the Fatherhood of God, and that calm, con
stant reliance upon the promised aid and guidance of the Master
whose he was and whom he served, were reached in his case as in
that of most strong natures, only through cloud and storm. Many
of his old students will recollect the thrilling account he once or
twice gave, though he evidently referred to it with reluctance and
only in the hope of benefitting others, of the time in his student
days when, his money spent, his health shattered, his strength
consumed by the fiery but ill-advised zeal in study which well nigh
cut short his days, a "horror of great darkness'' fell upon him.
The tempter came almost in visible form, and hissed in his ear that
there was no God, no Heaven, no hereafter ; that life was a hideous
dream, and religion and lofty aspirations delusion and folly.
Seeking a secluded spot he there for many long and weary hours
without food or shelter, "fought the spectres of the mind," until
aided, may we not well believe, by a Divine Elder Brother, he
came off " more than conqueror," and went once more on his way

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 1 455
rejoicing. Such conflicts and such conquests come not in vain.
" When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren." Did not the
Divine voice speak thus to him ? Who can tell how many,
strengthened by him in the course of that helpful life, were blessed
through the invisible agency of that fierce conflict ?
This paper is already probajly too long, and must be closed.
Let us thank God that the influence of the character we have
sketched so imperfectly is not ended. It will never end. The
waves ever widening in their sweep cannot be lost even in the
ocean of the great future. L e, though dead, yet speaketh, and will
continue to speak so long as the impressions he was enabled to
make on many minds and hearts go on reproducing themselves
throughout untold generations. Meanwhile, if asked to name
three features in the character of the honored dead, which seem to
me most worthy of imitation by the students who loved him, I
would answer, his simple trust in God, his strong love of truth
and his fearless determination to do eight. And these three are
one.— T/ie Tyro, Oct, 1878.

MEMORIES OF DR. FYFE AND HIS WORK.
BY MRS. P. S. V. YULE.
Two pictures of Dr. Fyfe are before me to-day as I seat myself,
not unwillingly, to comply with the request of the compiler of these
memoirs — the gathering up of a few personal reminiscences of that
creat and good man — reminiscences that run through a period of
six of the most toilful, eventful, and anxious years of my own life
and his, as well as of several others who, during those first years of
its history, held the post of teachers in the Canadian Literary
Iustitute. In the first he stands in his own characteristic attitude — easy,
erect hands crossed in front, the right hand loosely clasping the
wrist of the left — a picture of vigorous, athletic manhood, yet on
the sunny side of forty-five, and full of that wealth of yet unim
paired vicor which ought to suffice to carry a man up to three score
years and ten with little abatement of physical force and energy.
His beard is slightly grey, but his rich, wavy, brown hair is as

456 LIFE AND LABORS OF
fresh and bright as that of boyhood. The dark, resolute eyes, the
grandly poised head, slightly inclining forward, the erect figure
and firmly planted feet, reveal a man born to command, — one in
whom fixedness of purpose and an indomitable will unite to form,
so far as they are concerned, a leader in any department of life
wherein they may find scope for exercise ; while a mouth, as flexible
and sensitive as that of a refined woman — a mouth around which
those who knew him well will remember there ever played, except
in his sterner moods, a smile as innocently playful as the smile of a
happy boy — reveals a tender, sympathetic, and compassionate
nature rarely found in either man or woman.
The second picture, taken some fifteen years later, would scarcely
be recognized by one who had seen only the first, so sadly, even
p linfully, does it contrast with that. He is sitting here, and the
attitude is that of one weary and worn with physical and mental
toil, anxiety, care, and failing health. The beard is almost snowy
white ; the hair, thin and grey, still curls gracefully around the
broad, handsome forehead and over the massive head, but its glossy
freshness is gone forever. The cheeks are hollow and seamed, the
lips thin and closely drawn, and a pensive drooping of the corners
of the mouth tells its own sad story of broken health and perished
vigor. The naturally heavy lids droop more heavily than ever
before over the calm, resolute eyes, into which has somehow come
a far-away, spiritualized expression, as of one who sees by faith more
clearly and more near the dawning glories of his day of rest, and
hears at times voices and accents from the unseen shores he is
nearing, that come only to himself.
The first time I ever saw Dr. Fyfe was on a Sabbath in the
summer of 1860. He was preaching for the Ingersoll Baptist
church, then worshipping in the Town Hall, and his text was
Romans vii. , 24. I remember the sermon as slightly disappointing
at the time, clashing a little, as it did, in its doctrine and teaching,
with my then settled opinions in regard to the meaning of the text.
I next met him a few days later at the Institute when I called, on
my way through the town, to visit the then unfinished building.
Dr. Fyfe happened to be there, and received us with great kindness
and courtesy ; leaving upon my mind an opinion which I never
had occasion to change, that he was a true Christian gentleman, —

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 457
one whose courtesy and affability sprang rather from the innate
nobility of the man and Christian, than from the conventional
maxims and rules of the polite world.
The next time I met him was at the railway station at Wood
stock, on the 12th of September following — memorable as the day
when the Institute commenced its first regular session, and to me,
especially, as the day when I began my toilful and anxious, but in
many ways pleasant six years' service there. One pleasing charac
teristic of Dr. Fyfe — his fondness for pets— revealed itself at that
meeting, which I mention here as showing the amiability — =the al
most womanly tenderness — of his nature. I had with me a Canaiy
bird, a great favorite on account of its unusual intelligence and the
sweetness of its song. Dr. Fyfe took the cage from my hand as I
descended the steps, and gave a kindly welcome to Woodstock not
only to me, but to my little feathered companion. From that day
the "little Brown Bird" had always a share in his kindly attentions.
Many a bunch of winter greenery he brought from the sunny side
of his house to the "caged bird ; " and he once wrote an exquisite
little poem in which the bird is represented as returning thanks for
his winter treat, a copy of which, sent me by Mrs. Fyfe, I have un
fortunately lost. Dr. Fyfe's fondnes for pets was one of his peculiar
and note-worthy traits. Many a poor child might well covet the
happy home-life he gave his dog, and the generous consideration
and care he bestowed upon his horse.
The first term of the Institute was one of peculiar anxiety and
care to Dr. Fyfe. Every feature of the work was new, untried, and
perplexing. Students, gathered from all parts of the country, came
with their own distinctive ideas, prejudices, and peculiarities, — very
few of them had any training beyond that of the common school ;
an l those who had anything to do with the educational work of the
period will remember that the facilities for learning were, through
out our country, vastly different then from those of the present
day. But through it all Dr. Fyfe mov ' rward, calm, careful,
resolute ; sometimes, indeed, making mistakes, but quick to dis
cern, and prompt to correct them where correction was possible ;
where it was not, patiently biding his time, and when his time
came, making sure work for the future. Thus, with A patient de-
liberateness and self-poise rarely equalled and more rarely excelled,
d2

458 ' LIFE AND LABORS OF
he held in restraint, or put effectively to rest, every disturbing ele
ment ; and thus brought the first, and in some respects the most
difficult, term of the school to a successful and satisfactory issue
Then, in the interval of the first Christmas holidays, and on the
morning of the day appointed for reopening the school, the fire, in
little more than one brief hour, swept away the results of years Of
patient, prayerful effort ; consumed the little earthly all of at least
two of the teachers, and sent teachers and students, some of them
well-nigh beggared, out in the inclemency of winter to find tempor
ary asylums among the charitable and sympathetic of the town and
its vicinity. The grandeur of Dr. Fyfe's character never showed
itself more conspicuously than on this occasion. His own house was
thrown open to all it would accommodate ; and without yielding
even for an hour to despondency and gloom, he at once began to
plan for re-opening the school ; and in less than a week a building
was secured, the students were re-assembled, classes re-organized,
and the routine of work begun. Then commenced the planning for
another building ; the stirring up of the churches to liberality ; the
soliciting of means wherewith to carry on the work ; and the push
ing foiward of that work rapidly on to completion. In all this
many earnest and willing ones cheerfully and loyally co-opeiated i
but, withal, there had to be one en whom necesEarily rtsted the
great burden of thinking, planning, and directing. It is needless
to say that that < ne was Dr. Fyfe ; and most faithfully did he do
his part, and most unflinchingly bear his burden. Happily the
securing of funds for re-building was not so formidable a matter as
at first was looked for.
Numbers of persons who had given very fparirgly for tire first
building, suddenly woke up to the consciousness that the fire had
done more than merely destroy the edifice they had erected with
many a sigh of hopelessness, and many a protest of fear. It had
burned away the locks- from their money boxes, the strings from
their purses, and the prejudices from their minds, vhile it had
melted the icy indifference from their hearts, and waimed them to
the claims of ministerial education as possibly nothing shoit of a
great denominational calamity could have done. It was a grand
sight to see scon s who had really, as they supposed, given "all
they were able to give" suddenly open their eyes to the fact that

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 459
they could quite easily give twice or thrice as much as before ; and
others, who had pinched hard to give five, ten, or twenty-five
dullars, discover it an easy matter to run up their little sums to
scores and hundreds.
Dr. Fyfe's bright, eager, happy face when news of such donations
came in, and the almost boyish enthusiasm with which the good
news was reported to his assjciate teachers, is something never to
be forgotten by the few who now live to keep it in memory. Those
who stood by Dr. Fyfe's side during that eventful period in the
history of our school will bear witness to the patience, the courage,
and the indomitable resolution with which he toiled on, and the
cheerfulness with which he bore burdens, and grappled with diffi
culties that would have overwhelmed weaker and less resolute
natures. Many of the trials of that period are things that need not
now be recalled. They were things that could only be borne ; and
in bearing them, as he did, in humble and steadfast dependence
upon God, his character matured and strengthened as possibly i
could not under any less severe discipline. Gud knows best by
what paths to lead his children, and it is certain He makes no
mistakes. After the establishment of the school in the new building things
moved on much more pleasantly and successfully, so far as the
school itself was concerned, than ever before. Literary and
missionary societies, bible classes, and regular religious meetings
had been established ; rules and regulations bearing upon all
departments of the School had been shaped and modified by
experience and the various exigencies that had arisen ; and the
c an plicated machinery of work had become more easy to manage >
and more satisfactory in its results. But the heavy strain upon Dr.
Fyfe remained. The increasing expenses of the school must be
met ; the Theological Department — expanding and enlarging year
by year — must be sustained ;¦ teachers, who were toiling hard upon
salaries wholly disproportionate to their work and their needs,
must be paid that little regularly ; and, as there was no endowment,
somebody must travel and solicit voluntary offerings from
individuals and churches. Who could do this so effectually, or
with half so many possibilities of success as Dr. Fyfe ? .
And so this man, whose talents, influence, and conseciation were

460 LIFE AND LABORS OF
needed daily in the school, must leave the work, travel hundreds of
miles, preaching publicly and entreating privately, summer and
winter, year by year, for the money that ought to have flowed
steadily in, the willing offering of God's people for the carrying on
of His work — their own work, indeed, if His children.
And Dr. Fyfe did it. Though the head ached, though the limbs
wearied, though the heart revolted and the courage wavered, he
did it ; and if he sometimes murmured a little at the needless toil,
is it strange ?— was it unnatural ?. And yet I can truly say that I
do not recollect a single instance of murmuring on the part of Dr.
Fyfe ; and as I view his life to-day, from the distance of almost
twenty years, there is nothing that surprises me more than the
sublime patience with which he carried on this weary, and often
discouraging, part of his work.
Oh how well I remember, returning from some of those weari
some journeyings, the tired, sad face he often brought back. Often
have I seen him walking back and forth in the lecture room or the
hall, buried in thought, talking to himself, as he was becoming
more and more in the habit of doing, and occasionally emphasizing
those whispered utterances with quick, expressive, but altogether
unconscious gesticulation.
Finally, as the school grew, and the demand for more room
became urgent, there came the building of the Ladies' College, the
erecting of a Theological Hall, the necessity of incurring expense iu
other departments of the work, and for all these money must be
had. How it was obtained is now a matter of history. All horn r
to those who toiled, and those who gave, in these much needed
enterprises. It is true that through it all Dr. Fyfe was far from
being the only burden-bearer ; yet, withal, much of the stress and
strain rested upon him, and he did not flinch. Still he travelled,
and preached, and plead for funds, although the ravages of disease
were becoming more and more apparent, although he was growing
prematurely old, and his form beginning to bend beneath the
weight of increasing infirmities ; often, too, with very little encour
agement or success. I shall not easily forget one of his visits at
our house in Toronto, seme seven or eight years before his death,
the weary way he sank into the arm-chair, and the almost plaintive
tone in which he related some recent disappointment he had met

REV. R. A. FYFE., D.D 461
wi:h in regard to'the securing of money for his work, where he had
confidently looked for and expected success.
But it is not pleasant to follow this subject farther. The bones
of God's martyrs whiten all the thoroughfares of Christian progres-.
From soil watered by the tears and blood of His witnesses, have
sprung the richest bloom and fruitfulness of Christ's garden of
delights. The workers falter and die ; but the cause for which
they spent their strength, and in prosecuting which they possibly
perished, lives on ; and in both the workers and their work the
Master is now being, and shall eternally be glorified.
Dr. Fyfe was not a perfect man. He had, like all others,
imperfections and faults. So much greatness needs some foil, or
we should place the man too high, and thus detract from the honor
of Him through whose grace alone all Christian excellence reaches
its highest possibilities. Dr. Fyfe had warm friends, he had also
bitter enemie3. A man of his positiveness, his strength of will, his
courage in asserting and maintaining his opinions, his unyielding
persistence in pushing his plans when ju Iguierit and conscience
united in pronouncing them right, as well as practicable and desir
able, and his uncompromising hatred of shams, and fraud, and
double-dealing, could not fail to irritate and prejudice many with
whose opinions and ways his own conflicted. Bat once let Dr. Fyfe
see himself in fault, or realize that he had wounded a brother, and
no one could be more ready than he to confess that fault and make'
reparation. I well remember a maxim of his which I think few persons
adhere to more strictly, or carry out more fully than he did. It
was to this effect : — "Do nothing, attempt nothing, against which
conscience utters the slightest protest. If you have any doubt in
respect to the right of any course, let the doubt decide the matter
in favor of conscience ;" and this seems to me, in the main, tc
furnish the key to the most of Dr. Fyfe's acts, whether public or
private. It is not asserted that he invariably came up to this high
standard ; but that such was his standard, honestly and prayerfully
aimed at, I am, after years of personal acquaintance and the best
opportunities for judging, fully persuaded ; and his humility in
confessing a fault when once committed was worthy of all imita
tion.

40 2 LIFE AND LABORS OF
It has been both painful and pleasant to review, as I have, tie
period during which I was associated in work with Dr. Fyfe —
painful because many half-forgotten things which sadden us all
spring up again in memory as I retrace in thought those old paths
now growing dim in the mists of vanished years — paths from which
many weary feet have passed away never to return — and pleasant
because it brings back, like some strain of old remembered music,
much that endears those years to memory. To have known, ai.d
honored, and been associated in work for Christ with such a man as
Dr. Fyfe, is no common privilege. His memory will long remain
with all who knew and loved him as a gleam of pleasant sunshine
amid the many shadows of this changeful life ; his influence In es
and will live through all the future of our denominational histmy ;
while the value and importance of his work Eternity alone will
reveal.

TRIBUTE TO THE LATE REV. DR. FYFE.
BY REV. S. P. SMITH, D.D.
My acquaintance with the late Rev. Dr. Fyfe was of long stand
ing but not very intimate. The relationship of Mrs. Fyfe to my
f.mily — she was an own and favorite cousin to my wife — laid the
fi undatiun for a more than passing interest, on my part, in Dr.
Fyfe and his life-work. But the spheres of our several duties being
far separated, our meetings were only occasional. Only brief
visits — liis to my home and urine to his — brought us together. In
addition, the published reports of his labors which I have seen,
intercourse with our mutual friends, the often expressed convic-
tiuns of his brethren in Canada which have come to my ears, the
noble work rn behalf of educaliun which he did f..r the Canadian
Baptists, that indefinable something which makes transparent
characters almost at once readable by those who are brought into
contact with them, and the many items of private life, and labor
and unwritten history, which have been communicated to me and
mine by his accomplished wife, all inspire the feeling that I may
speak with a degree of confidence a few words as a tribute to his
memory.

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 4 03
His public life was chiefly passed in Canada, and lie sincerely
loved her interests. A Canadian Baptist, he was devotedly
attached to the prosperity and elevation of the B iptist churches of
that Province. A well-educated and refined minister, he was
anxious to promote, in all feasible ways, the education and refine
ment, the depth and breadth of the ministry of Ca-iada. Catholic
in spirit, he cared especially for the Church and the Ministry which
were his choice from intelligent convictioi ; and his whole life was
consecrated to the one great aim of their enlirgemeut and pros
perity. By utmost diligence, by wearying toils as a teacher and
manager, in all the depirtments of his seminary, in term-time —
and by extended journeys, often full of hardships and discourage
ment, in vacations — and by personal appeals, often repeated, to the
benevolent for the funds necessary to carry on his work — he built
up for the Baptists of Canada an institution which will be a bless
ing for all time. His infl rence, through his ministerial and
missionary pupils, to say nothing of others, will be felt iu all the'
Provinces of Britain and on the opposite side of the globe, down to
the judgment. Out of the seed-time of his toils Iras com! a rich
harvest of intelligent ministers, teacher*, professional and business
man, and faithful and competent women. Under the crush and
pressure of his work at Woodstock was the g-rniinanng shoot
which has borne fruit in the academy of higher learning established
there, and, undoubtedly, also, in tho more advanced training school
for ministers and missionaries, now happily planted, under so
favorable aupices, in McMaster Hall. Apart fro:n his w se, effi
cient aud self-denying labors, which no money c > ild compensate,
whence would have arisen — and where, and how, and when — these
admirable institutions ? And by whom would the spirit of liberality
and desire for enlargement have been aroused and fostered, which
has asserted itself in buildings, endowments, an enlightened bxly
of church members, teachers, ministers, missionaries, Christian
converts and converted he ithen in the distant dark places of the
earth? He put his whole soul into his work, often amid discour
agement, oppressed by the consciousness of a lack of sympithy and
appreciation, but confi lent that he wa3 doing the Master's bidding,-
and laying foundations for a structure which should be a benedic
tion to men and bring glory to Gjd.

4G4 LIFE AND LABORS OF
A few words may be added as to Dr. Fyfe's personal characteris
tics. He was beautiful in person, and fascinating in manners and
conversation. Under the pressure of his many cares and labors, he
was ever cheerful, loving, discreet and hopeful. He had a know
ledge of men, and of the best modes of approaching them. He was
patient under rebuffs, and knew how to wait till he might hope for
a more favorable occasion. Dignified in appearance, but not stand
ing for the dignity of his own department of instruction, he was
ready to give his service in any department where it was needed. And
when he had done all, he knew how to wait till God should send the
fitting result. He won the confidence and affection of his pupils, as
well as of others with whom he had intercourse. His instructions
were after the pattern of New Testament teaching, and his theolog
ical pupils were fed and nurtured by sound doctrine. Calm, self-
poised, careful, judicious, earnest, firm in purpose, clearly foreseeing
the ends towards which his efforts were directed with unwavering
decision, he pursued his course, reposing on God ; and thus he was
diligent in his work, till he was not, for God had translated him.
A few words may be permitted respecting Mrs. Fyfe, who share 1
his labors in Woodstock, and sympathized with him in all his trials
and his work. She was the daughter of Thomas Kendall, of Brook
line, Massachusetts, known for many years as a deacon of the
Charles street Baptist church in Boston, in the days of its highest
prosperity. Brought up in a most hospitable home, and surrounded
by every reLiiement, she had enjoyed large acquaintance with
ministers and students in divinity, and was thoroughly grounded in
the principles of Christian truth and duty. She knew what she
believed, and she knew in whom she h.d believed. For many
years an invalid, and living, as it seemed, on the borders of eternity,
s'ae there learned lessons which not only built up her own character,
but also made her a fitting helper to her husband, and prepared her
to sympathize with him in all his difficulties and trials. Meditative,
discriminating, on account of her physical infirmities abstracted
from the world of activities, she was nevertheless interested in
everything which regarded the interests of her friends and her
adopted associates, and the welfare of the Redeemer's kingdom.
Bearing ab jut a feeble body, full of pains and infirmities, she still
loved and cared for the Institution at Woodstock as if it were her

REV. R. A. FYFE, D.D. 465
own personal affair. She rejoiced in its prosperity, and suffered in
its adversity, fulfilling in regard to it the apostolic command,
" Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
After the decease of Dr. Fyfe, she still made his people, his work,.
and his interests her own, spending her life till its close in the place
made sacred to her, — as if it had not been a land of strangers, — by
the memories and the labors of her husband. Loving, faithful, and
appreciative, she was a devoted wife, as he was a trusting and devoted
husband. And hand in hand they pursued their toilsome pilgrim
age, honored and useful, till its close. And though they were
without, children to perpetuate their names, thousands will rise up
to call them blessed.
Newton Centre, Mass.

MEMORIAL STANZAS.
IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF THE LATE REV. R. A. FYFE, D. D.
By Mrs. P. U. V. Yule.
" But He said : — ' Weep not ; she is not dead, but sleepeth ! ' "
"He saith unto them, ' Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that 1
may awake him out of his sleep.'"
Not dead, but sleeping-
Sleeping till the morning,
Up the fair East with kindling glories bright,
Rising, shall scatter Earth's long night of weeping
With the soft flush of Heaven's rejoicing light.
Not dead, but sleeping —
All the day's work ended, —
Ended the tumult and the battle-strife, —
Ended the pain, the care, the vigil-keeping,
The toil and weariness of mortal life.
Not dead, but sleeping —
Sweet the sleep and holy I —
Never a sigh to stir the tranquil breast,
Never a tear the folded eyelids steeping,
Never a pang to mar the perfect rest !

466 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Not dead, but sleeping ? —
Of the clay, 'twas spoken !
Sleep hath no power to bind the unfettered soul !
Earth cannot hold it in her narrow keeping,
Or its glad flight with mortal bonds control !
Nor dead, nor sleeping, —
With exultant soaring,
Upward it rose on swift rejoicing wings ;
Sun, moon and stars triumphantly o'er-sweeping,
To the dear presence of the King of Kings !
True ; yet he's sleeping — -
So hath said the Saviour,
Naming the body's rest, not death, but sleep ; —
Jesus, too, slept, the while His loved were weeping,
Yet woke, that Love thenceforth might cease to weep !
Sweetly, then, sleeping —
Thus, until the morning,
Gently to earth entrust the precious clay !
Calm shall it rest in God's most holy keeping,
And wake with singing at the dawn of day !
Salford, Sept. 20th, 1878.

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