Letters While a Licentiate, 1825–1827

NEW BRUNSWICK, October 19, 1825.

Where should I bo but in New Brunswick? Here therefore I am, attending the meeting of the Synod of New Jersey, and enjoying the company of one or two friends. On returning home, I spent part of a day, and might spend many, in looking over the library of Professor Patton, which I had never before seen. In his own department, (languages,) his collection is superior to any thing I ever saw. He has the best editions, ancient and modern, of all the classics; and every book which can be named affording any facility in these studies. I found there also a uniform edition of the whole range of Italian literature; and all the German writers of eminence. Among other curiosities which his residence in Europe enabled him to pick up, he showed me a Dante, of A. D. 1497. and an immense work containing views of all the ancient ruins of Rome. His collection of Atlases and Plates is noble indeed. I went to Freehold on Saturday and preached twice. The only business of importance which has presented itself as yet to the Synod, is the case of two complaints; one is from the congregation of Wall street, N. Y., against the Presbytery of Elizabethtown, who have refused to put their call into the hands of Dr. McDowell: another is the appeal

of, who has been suspended from the ministry of the Gospel.

20th. — Mr. Hamilton, of Newark, preached a very long ser mon last night upon Slavery.

1 Mr. Alexander was licensed as a probationer for the ministry, October 4, 1825, by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in session at the village of Cranbury. His trial-sermon was on John iii. 3. The first discourse, under his license, was preached in the lecture-room of the Cedar Street church, New York, on the 8th October, from Jeremiah ii. 19. On the next day, which was Sunday, he repeated the sermon in one of the churches of Brooklyn, and preached in the Cedar Street church from Galatians ii. 16.

HOME, November 14, 1825.

I am so shortly to bid .adieu to Princeton that I am more sensible than ever of the pleasures it has afforded me as a home. Since I saw you, I have been called to preach every Lord’s day; and as this has always been out of Princeton, it has laid me under the necessity of riding up and down continually. Brunswick detained me a willing prisoner during the session of Synod; thence I went to Freehold — Trenton — Lawrenceville — Cranbury — and have just arrived here, after riding in the face of a cold November storm.

From your letter, you seem to be truly alive in Philadelphia. Surely you have no excuse for not being orators, when so much eloquence is sounding in your ears. I have been introduced to a Dr. Barber, an Englishman; but as he is of II. M. navy, it can not be the lecturer [on elocution] of whom you tell. Griscom, you remember, speaks at some length of Thelwall and his system. I have no faith in these systems — being of the creed “Orator nascitur” &c. The Seminary has commenced with more than a hundred students; among the rest a coloured man from Schenectady — a very sensible, genteel personage. Our Legislature gave me amusement while I was in Trenton. The motion for an adjourned “Setting” (so the mover proposed it) was lost. I saw Seixas and his [deaf and dumb] pupils there, seeking patronage. Some of our Princeton folks have petitioned for a bank. What next 1 The proposed canal [Delaware and Raritan] will come, it is thought, within a mile and a half of Princeton. We are pleased with the thought of being able then to get Lehigh coal, with less expense of transportation.

My departure towards Virginia is fixed (Deo volente) at the 1st December. I feel not a little anxious with regard to my future course Yet two things support me: 1st. I have, devoted myself to a good work, and am willing to be spent in it. 2d. I am under the care of a merciful Providence, by which all things will be conducted aright. Something of my own insufficiency I feel — deeply feel — and sometimes am conscious of an ardent desire to live only for the work of Christ: but alas! my ordinary tempers and manners savour little of the cross. Yet I know the excellence of what I try to preach, and am ready at all hazards to proclaim it, and recommend it to others.

BALTIMORE, December 5, 1825.

The introduction you were so good as to give me to Mr. Laussat has proved a source of much satisfaction: his company

1 Antony Laussat, then a student of law, and afterwards a member of rendered agreeable the passage which would otherwise have been almost insufferable. To him I refer you for all the curiosities of our journey, viz., the circus riders, the odd and ludicrous disputes of the stage coach, the enlightened Senators, &c., &c., to the end of the chapter on steamboat adventures. On arriving here I went to Barnum’s great establishment, which, extensive as it is, sinks to nothing in comparison with a new hotel which he is erecting, and which is larger than the New York City Hotel. After breakfast, I went to the house of the Rev. Mr. Nevins. He resides in a very large and handsome mansion in Belvidere street. No one could be more cordial and friendly than he has proved himself. On Sunday morning I heard Mr. Nevins preach, .and there is no man living, whom, with my present knowledge of men, I should prefer to him as a preacher after my own heart. In the afternoon I filled his pulpit, and at night that of Dr. Glendy. At the latter place, I was pleased with discovering, after sermon, Mr. Laussat. Had I discovered him before, I should have felt less at ease. Last night I was inveigled into an address at the Monthly Concert of prayer. Baltimore surpasses my highest expectations. I looked for much splendour in this great emporium and thoroughfare, but so much elegance, and neatness, and commercial bustle, and public improvement, I was not prepared to find. And the people whom I have as yet seen, are in manners and kind attention, superior to any class of persons I have ever known. There is something in the dialect of the Marylanders, especially as it flows from female lips, which is truly enchanting, being a golden mean between the curt and succinct enunciation (ut ita dicam) of the Yankee, and the fullmouthed rotundity and carelessness of the Virginian. It is worth your while to come to Baltimore, were it only to see the painting by Paulin Guerin, presented to the Cathedral here by Louis XVIII. Nothing in the arts ever so transfixed me. It is the taking down Jesus from the cross. The Cathedral itself I take to be the noblest piece of ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. It has a noble simplicity of design which enables you at a coup d’oeil to apprehend its vast expression of sublimity. It is filled with paintings. The Unitarian synagogue which stands opposite is elegant. The Exchange contains a large hall or dome similar in its impression to the interior of your Bank. The Atheneum, Masonic Hall, Court House, Washington Monthc Philadelphia bar, but removed by death at an early period of what had already become a distinguished career. He died in 1833.

1 On Wednesday of the same week he preached in the lecture-room of the First Church, and on the following Lord’s day twice in the Second Church, (Dr. Glendy’s,) and once at the Orphan Asylum.

ument, and Monument in honour of the battle, &c., are all, in their several details, truly interesting public works. I am in suspense with respect to my movements; shall probably go to Washington next Monday, and thence on through Fredericksburg to Petersburg. Mr. Laussat kindly called, but I was so unfortunate as to be absent. If you write within a week, please to direct here, to the care of the Rev. Mr. Nevins.

PETERSBURG, December 23, 1825.

When I came into Virginia, it was with little notion of the manner in which my time would be engrossed by necessary business, and constant avocations. Scarcely had I reached this place, before I found myself tinder” commands to hold forth at the rate of five or six times in the week; and in addition, there is hardly a day in which nine or ten hours are not taken up in giving and receiving visits; and these not your short, formal city calls; but bona fide visitations, a houseful at a time, enlivened by the peculiarly abundant good cheer of this bountiful land, and the copious flowing of rum toddy, and the like refections. Could you see me galloping in the neighbourhood upon a high-blooded horse, in company with fellow equestrians, and a carriage load of beauty and vivacity, you would declare that all the Virginian in me had been at once resuscitated and matured. Corn bread and bacon, oysters and hominy, and toddy, dining out every day, and tongue wagging every hour, have kept my blood well in motion. But you wish to hear something of the country. Petersburg, as you know, is the county seat of Dinwiddie, situated upon the river Appomatox. It is an old settlement encircled by hills on almost every side. Population 8,000, and thickly built upon very uneven ground. In external appearance it would strike you, like most Southern towns, as squalid and slovenly: yet there are not a few very splendid mansions in this vicinity. The principal trade was once in tobacco; this has now been transferred to Richmond; and the markets here are chiefly stocked with cotton, which is becoming the staple article among planters here. As to society; I am free to declare, that 1 have never so enjoyed social and Christian intercourse in my life, as here. Without trying it, you can have no conception of what Southern hospitality means. After all my preparations and previous knowledge, I find myself daily surprised with the winning cordiality and kindness of the people. And this not merely in expression and words. Every house seems at once a home, and every individual devotes himself heartily and with manifest satisfaction to your service. If you look for splendour, you would be disappointed, except in the particulars of servants’

.attendance and diet. The tables of the seaboard Virginians are worthy of their fame. I am sometimes almost disconcerted with the multitude of servants waiting at table. “Four of us were attended the other night by at least six genteel waiters. An old bachelor of great wealth, who is laid up with the gout, gives me the freedom of his spacious mansion, where I walk in and out at my pleasure. I should feel no hesitation at any time to take a horse and servant from his premises, and ride out ten miles to dinner; and such a liberty would evidently gratify him. There arc in my uncle’s [Dr. Benjamin IL Kice] congregation about twenty-five young men, who profess religion, and are more active in the cause than many ministers. From this you may judge what the people in general are; and you will not judge too favourably. Among these are rich merchants in the Liverpool trade, lawyers, and physicians. The number of agreeable and pious ladies is remarkable; and the easy access to everybody’s [house] and heart, more free than I had ever expected in my fondest hopes. A man wTho conies here, must come with some equestrian skill, or expect to get his neck broken. I have to ride through narrow passes in the hills, going to make visits in the country, where you would suppose a horse could scarcely balance himself, and on steeds which seem to be trained to cur vet and run away. Let me assure you that I have been more than once in “bodily fear.” Labour is growing upon me. I am engaged to assist my uncle for a month, and have as much regular duty as though I wrere actually settled. This is well: it fills my thoughts, and directs my attention to the work of my vocation; and my daily experience is, that the world has fewest cares, and my heart purest peace, when I can in some measure live among earthly things without expecting my pleasures from them. Never shall I regret having made religion my choice, though it is every day my lamentation, that it has through my wilful inattention and unfaithfulness so little moderated my worldly affections, and lifted me above sublunary joys.

PETERSBURG, January 27, 1826.

You can have little idea of the manner in which I am pulled from post to pillar, or you would not wonder at my long silence. In Virginia, we pay longer visits, and more of them, than I have ever known anywhere else: and as much of my business consists of visiting among the people, especially the members of the church, I find my hours running away from me. Question. What news in Petersburg. Ans. None of any importance since the fire, which consumed about 50 houses. A number of attempts have been made within a few weeks to fire the town; which are traced to the negroes. One woman has confessed, and is in gaol. Item. The noted “Wm. B. Giles, after having proposed himself as a candidate for the Senate and the House of Representatives, has been foiled in both attempts. Dr. Crump, of Cumberland, is elected to fill the place of John Randolph. Quest. 2d. What strikes you as being new or remarkable? Ans. The whole face of society exhibits an appearance very different from what one perceives in the North. Slavery of itself is enough to stamp a marked character upon the Southern population. The number of blacks which I met in the streets at first, struck me with surprise, but now every thing has become familiar. When I consider how much of the comfort, luxury, and style of Southern gentlemen would be retrenched by the removal of the slave population, I can no longer wonder at the tenacity with which they adhere to their pretended rights. The servants who wait upon genteel families, in consequence of having been bred among refined people all their lives, have often as great an air of gen tility as their masters. The comfort of slaves in this country is greater, I am persuaded, than that of the free blacks, as a body, in any part of the United States. They are no doubt maltreated in many instances; so are children: but in general they are well clad, well fed, and kindly treated. Ignorance is their greatest curse, and this must ever follow in the train of slavery. The bad policy and destructive tendency of the system is increasingly felt: you hear daily complaints on the subject from those who have most servants. But what can they do 1 Slavery was not their choice. They cannot and ought not to turn them loose. They cannot afford to transport them; and generally the negroes would not consent to it. The probable result of this state of things is one which philanthropists scarcely ckvre contemplate. I cannot (to change the subject) say enough of the freedom and cordiality with which the social intercourse here is conducted. You must come and see for yourself. The money which in the North is spent upon the houses and furniture, is here laid out upon the table. I presume that no people in the world “live higher” than the Low Virginians, or Tuckahoes, and by these terms I mean all who live on this side of the Blue Ridge. There is a suavity and grace in the manners of gentlemen of the first rank in this State, and a peculiar fascination in their elocution, which you will understand better if you have ever seen Taxewell, Clay, or John Randolph. The ladies have a frankness which surprises a Northern man at first, and leads him to think that he is receiving special condescensions, when nothing more than common civility is intended.

The trade of Petersburg received a dreadful blow from the fire of 1815, in which five hundred houses were destroyed; and is daily suffering from the transfer of the tobacco trade to Richmond. The chief dependence now is upon cotton, the culture of which is becoming an object of attention here. About 30,000 bales of the new crop have already come into town. The number of commission merchants here is very large, in proportion to the population. 1 suppose half only of the heads of families here are Virginians. The trade is maintained by Yankees, Irishmen, and Scotchmen. I find my time taken up altogether by my; duties as a preacher. There is no toleration here for reading sermons; so that my extemporary powers are called constantly into requisition. My business is one altogether delightful. In proportion to the zeal with which I devote myself to religion, I ever find my happiness increase; and I cannot but hope, that after having so long thought of religion theoretically, you will at length cast in your lot with us, and taste of the sweetness of piety, as a matter of experience and practice. I need not pretend to say with how much joy I would hail you as a Christian brother, if not a brother in the ministry of reconciliation. Will you not give £these] solemn claims a new hearing, and will you not seek’[grace to] overcome those bonds which fasten you to the world. Of the guilt and danger of impenitence, it is needless for me to wjirn you; but let me say, Why will you not determine, immediately, and at all hazards, to beseech of God to grant you the influences of his Spirit 1 1

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VA., May 19, 182G.

If you wish to know where Charlotte Co. lies, let me tell you that it is to be found in that rich plateau of Southern Virginia which has the fine Roanoke for its boundary on the south, just where that river is formed of the Staunton and the Dan. It is, moreover, the county of John Randolph, that greatest of oddities; for while I account him a great genius, an orator absolutely unrivalled in America, a ripe scholar, aye, and a consistent politician, I cannot help thinking him crazed. He arrived last night at his residence (Roanoke) in this neighbourhood, having travelled from Washington on horseback in two days, and after looking at his multitude of horses, he set out, about 8 o’clock, on his return to Washington. He has between three and four hundred negroes, who are treated writh great kindness, and regard him with a feeling allied to adoration. This is a rich and fertile

1 He remained in Petersburg until the middle of March. From the 19th of that month until the 9th of April, he was preaching in Richmond; on the llth he preached in Petersburg, and on the 16th preached his first ser mon in the church at Charlotte Court House, of which he was afterwards the pastor.

region, producing great quantities of prime tobacco, and, of course, growing wealthy. The manners of the people are plain, frank, hospitable, and independent; proud of their Virginianism, and all its peculiarities. I suppose that no set of people in the world live more at their ease, or indeed more luxuriously, so far as eating and drinking are concerned. No farmer would think of sitting down to dinner with less than four dishes of meat, or to breakfast without several different kinds of warm bread. It; is, moreover, (I speak of this county,) a moral country; no gambling, no dissipation or frolicking. The spring, with all its freshness, has opened upon us, and the early fruits are pouring in abundantly. The face of the country exhibits no great variety; indeed, the forests of pine in many places obstruct the prospect altogether. All my moving from place to place is on horseback; and I ride from sixty to seventy miles in mere visits to the people whom I serve.

I wish you would pay a visit to this part of the world. It is a region through which no great road passes, and of course hardly any travellers; whoever visits it must come on horseback. I am about two days’ ride from Richmond. Mr. Randolph is the Magnus Apollo of this county. Every one knows and fears him. His power of sarcasm and invective is such that no one pretends to contradict him. He has three several plantations in this county, all of them extensive. His horses (I mean those which are never used) are worth, I suppose, about $8,000. In conversation he is exactly what he is in the Senate; and from almost every one you will hear some of his repartees, or sarcasms. I think the Southern people begin to manifest some disposition to uphold Jackson in the next election. I have never yet met with a friend of Adams in this State. Nota lene. If you see my mother in Philadelphia shortly, 1 commission you to take her to some good miniature painter, and have her likeness. I want it small and portable, so as to be carried about my person. I leave the style to your taste. Remember, it is not to be framed for hanging up. Take notice, no “quaint device” of playthings in the hand; either bird, bible, or book, bodkin or barnacles, (I have seen them all.)1

RETIREMENT, CHARLOTTE Co., January 26, 1827. I have been waiting with anxiety to hear from you, and have

1 In June of this year, Mr. Alexander visited Baltimore and Petersburg, and returned to Charlotte before the end of the month. In July he preached frequently at Lynchburg, and in August at Lexington and other places in the county of Rockbridgc. After this he was ill with bilious fever. He then made a visit to Princeton, and was in the Charlotte pulpit again November 26.

at last concluded either that I have made a mistake in our reckoning, or that you have never received my last letter. It is strongly impressed upon my mind that 1 wrote to you from Fredericksburg. I hope that you will bring about the usual equilibrium by a speedy reply to this letter. Were I to commence with the topic most current here, I should speak of Mr. Randolph. His recent defeat has filled this county with chagrin, and ho will be returned for the lower House without competition. All the freeholders hereabouts treat the subject as if it were their own personal cause. How different just at this moment are our situations! You are enjoying all the recreations and delights of a great city, with such a multitude of attractions as to leave no excuse for ennui; I am almost a hermit, with no near neighbours, with no variety of scene. If I could for a little while drop into Carey & Lea’s, [bookstore, in Philadelphia,] or even walk down Chestnut street, it would act as an elixir. 1 am ashamed that I have nothing to communicate to you; but this is the lamentable case. You must answer this letter in mere charity, and give me something to think about. I wish particularly to hear what Mr. Ridgely [a fellow-student in Seminary] is doing, where he preaches, &c.; also the state of your congregations, the ministerial squabbles, (horresco referens,) and such matters as you know I take an interest in. I should be glad to hear of any new books, or literary intelligence. You can scarcely imagine what a dearth of reading there is here. I am tempted to send on for a supply of books, but scarcely know what to order, and have not yet received any of my salary. I think that our friend John Q. [Adams] is gaining ground in Virginia, though not in this quarter. Everybody in these parts hates him, hates the Panama measures, hates Clay, hates roads and canals, hates internal improvement, and abominates the tariff. General Edward Carrington is the only man who dares to lift up his voice here in favour of the Administration: he speaks at almost every assemblage of people, though without support, and without converts. If you love shooting, come here; and with out going off this plantation, you may bag your four dozen quails a day, with an occasional wild turkey. Pheasants and rabbits also abound. An acquaintance of mine has caught more than twenty foxes this winter, and is now following his hounds with great zeal. Who are to be the writers for this new [” American Quarterly “] Review 1 What European Magazines are republished ki Philadelphia 1 Any new French books of interest 1 Remember me to all inquiring friends, and very affectionately to your own family, and believe me,

With sentiments of very distinguished considering, your most obedient servant.

RETIREMENT, CHARLOTTE Co., VA., February 1C, 1827. I have just returned from Halifax, the county which lies between Charlotte and North Carolina, nnd have little else to tell you than some of the varieties of the trip. My visit was principally to the family of Mr. Bruce, to which I beg leave to introduce you. His house is noted for its hospitality, and presents to the boti vivant as great temptations as can well be found in Virginia. At Mr. B.’s, we seldom sat down to table, during the week I spent there, with le£s than ten strangers. I also visited Gen. Edward C. Carrington, who has a seat upon Dan River, (which with the Staunton forms the Roanokc.) Gen. C. lay sick nine weeks in Princeton during the last war, having received a ball in his arm at Sackett’s Harbour. He is a scholar and a gentleman, and has large possessions. The information which he has acquired in his travels in Europe, renders his conversation highly interesting. He is bold enough to advocate the cause of Adams and patriotism in the midst of this perverse and Jacksonian generation. Let me not forget to mention that Mr. Bruce proposed as a toast, at his table on Thursday last, the health of J. Q. A., which he, I, and about three more drank with right good will. You ask me what I am doing. It is a question soon answered: preaching, riding, visiting my charge, and studying, principally Hebrew. I have read a good deal of French lately, and also twelve books of the Iliad in Greek. I would try [to write] for the Quarterly, but I do not know what to review. Every thing becomes stale before it reaches me. The crocus and Persian iris are in bloom, and the frogs begin to sing, so that you may judge of the difference of climate. If nothing unforeseen occur to prevent, I shall be ordained on the 2d March. The solemnity of such an investiture is well calculated to excite some deep solicitude. Never did I feel more than at present my unfitness for the office. There is a frivolity and worldliness in my character, most remote from the sanctity of the Gospel. In my best moods, I feel great delight in its duties, and can with all my soul recommend its doctrines and spirit to all whom I love.