Journey to the North

RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENTSHIP — JOURNEY NORTHWARD — DR. WADDEI

RAMOS THOMPSON — FREEMAN THE FANATIC — PHILADELPHIA THE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY — PRINCETON — NEW-YORK — GENERAL ASSOCIATION

OF CONNECTICUT — HARTFORD — DR. STRONG NEWPORT — DR. HOPKINS

AND DR. PATTON — DR. EMMONS.

AFTER remaining at Hampden Sidney until the spring of the year 1801, Mr. Alexander resigned his office as president, and resigned his pastoral charge. His motive was twofold; first, the restoration of his health, which had been impaired by several severe attacks of illness, and a desire to visit New England, which he had long cherished. The college was committed to the care of Messrs. John H. Rice, William S. Eeid, now the Rev. Dr. Eeid of Lynchburg, and Andrew Shannon. An expectation prevailed among most of the people that he would return after a few months to resume his post, and hence no efforts were made to fill the vacancy. Indeed, he was assured by the Trustees of the college, and the elders of the churches, that they would gladly receive him after the temporary absence. He re- 226 JOURNEY NORTHWARD.

solved, however, to fetter himself by no engagements, so that he might be free to accept any situation of greater usefulness which might be presented. He was chosen by the Hanover Presbytery as a commissioner to the approaching General Assembly.

Travelling on horseback, and at a time when bank-notes were little in use, he carried his money in his saddle-bags. The first night after leaving home, in the county of Cumberland, he was robbed, by some one who cut the leather containing his little store. On the day after leaving this place, he was seized with so violent a chill, that he was obliged to turn into a house not far from the road, and seek permission to lie down. Pursuing his journey, he is led to observe, that the whole course of a man’s life may depend on a determination which he makes from motives of very little weight. For he hesitated for some time whether he should go the upper road, by the Kev. Dr. Waddel’s, or the lower road, by the Kev. John Todd’s, who had requested him to attend the communion of their church. His preference of the former led to one of the most important events of his life.

The Kev. Dr. James Waddel, celebrated as the Blind Preacher of Wirt’s British Spy, was now in old age residing on his estate, at the junction of the three counties of Louisa, Orange and Albemarle; his dwelling being in the first named of these. He was born in Ireland, in 1739, and was educated in Pennsylvania, under the care of the Kev. Dr. Finley, afterwards president of New Jersey College. He was licensed as a probationer by the Presbytery of Hanover,

in 1761, and in the same year received calls from five congregations at once; none of which he accepted. In 1762, he became pastor of the churches of Lancaster and Northumberland, lying between the great rivers Potomac and Kappahannock. Here he would cheerfully have spent his life, amidst extraordinary usefulness, and in the bosom of a loving people, but for the ill effects of the climate. About the year 1775, with a constitution almost ruined, he accepted a second call to the church of Tinkling Spring, in Augusta. The last earthly removal of Dr. Waddel was to an estate called Hopewell, on the other side of the mountain. It was here that Mr. Alexander was about to visit him.

Dr. Waddel was one of the most distinguished clergymen of his time. To great learning, he added an eloquence so remarkable, that the traditionary accounts of it seem almost fabulous. It was of that sort which electrifies whole assemblies, transferring to them the speaker’s passion, at his will; a species, we must own, which has prevailed very much at the South. Under his preaching, audiences were moved simultaneously and irresistibly, as the trees of the wood are shaken by a tempest. Especially was his power great, in so painting his sacred scenes as to bring the hearer into the very presence of the object. When he rose in scornful argument, it was like a sweeping torrent, which carries every thing before it. He died on the 17th of September, 1805. During some years of his life, he was afflicted with blindness. A cataract seized first one eye, and then the other, leaving him in total darkness. By means of the operation of couching, he recovered the sight of one eye.

During this great privation, he still retained his ardent thirst for knowledge, and caused many volumes, some of which were in the Latin tongue, to be read to him by his daughter Janetta, whose name now becomes connected with our narrative.

Mr. Alexander had seen this young lady before, in visits which he had made at Hopewell, the residence of Dr. Waddel. Her beauty had struck him, but the impression was transient. When he now saw her again, waiting with filial piety on her venerable father, and during a sojourn of several days learned more fully the excellencies of her character, he determined to seek her hand, and being accepted, proceeded on his journey with a pleasing obligation to return; though, as he says, his resolution had been to go to the North untrammelled.

“While I remained here,” so says the narrative, “a clergyman came to the house, of whom I had often heard, though I had never seen him. The Rev. Amos Thompson, who had long resided in Loudon County, Virginia, was a man of gigantic frame, but not in the least inclined to corpulency. His bodily strength was prodigious, several proofs of which I had from himself. He came to the northern part of Virginia, before the Revolutionary War; and before Iris arrival, the Baptists were the only dissenters in that part of the country. Old Father Thomas, one of their leading preachers, and a man of many oddities, had been threatened with personal violence by a set of profane and lawless men, if he should ever show his face in a certain pulpit, where he had preached for some time. The old man took a journey of twenty or thirty miles, to obtain the presence of Amos Thompson at the aforesaid place. Thompson, being fearless and fond of adventure, at once agreed to go and preach for him. When they arrived, a great multitude had assembled, some to hear the preacher, and some to see the sport, for the ruffians had sworn that they would beat old Thomas. While Mr. Thompson was at prayer, a company armed with bludgeons entered the house, and took their position just before the pulpit; but when they saw the brawny arm and undaunted appearance of the preacher, they became alarmed, and permitted the service to go on to its conclusion. I ought to have stated, that at the close of his discourse, Mr. Thompson addressed himself directly to these men, and expostulated with them on the unlawfulness of their proceedings; assuring them, that Mr. Thomas, though a dissenter, was under the protection of the law, and that if a ringer should be raised against him, the law should be put in force, for that he would spend all the little property he possessed in seeing that justice was done. He concluded by saying, that although he was a preacher, and a man of peace, he held it to be right, when attacked, to defend himself, which he was ready and able to do. When the meeting was ended, he went out of the house and inquired for the captain of the band. Being led to the spot where they were collected, he approached this man, and asked him to go aside with him. A stout, bold-looking man walked off with him towards the wood, on entering which he appeared to be panic-struck, stopped, and raised his club. Thompson said, ‘Fie, man, what can you do with that? ’ and in a moment wrested it

out of his hand, adding that he intended no violence, but that if so disposed, he could hurl him to the earth in a moment. The ruffian was completely overawed, and was glad to escape from so powerful an antagonist. Father Thomas received no further molestation.

“Thompson was a graduate of Princeton College (in 1760), while Mr. Davies was President. He was, I think, a native of Connecticut. Soon after being licensed, having heard that the Kev. Samuel Hopkins had adopted some novel opinions in theology, he took horse and travelled to Newport, to converse with this celebrated man, and if possible to convince him of his errors. The result was, that after discussing the disputed points for several days, he came away a thorough convert to Dr. Hopkins’s system, to which he tenaciously adhered until his dying day, and which he preached on all occasions, filling the minds of the untheoiogical Virginians with astonishment, and often with displeasure.

“When I met Mr. Thompson at Hopewell, he was about seventy years of age, and had been journeying to Henry Court House, more than three hundred miles from his residence, to attend on a lawsuit, for a piece of land to which he thought that he had a title; I travelled for several days with him. As he often alighted to get fire for his pipe, which he kept almost continually in his mouth, we made slow progress. Soon after this, the old gentleman died suddenly, I believe,”

Pursuing his journey northward, Mr. Alexander passed through Alexandria, Georgetown and Washington. At the last-named place, he met with Adam Freeman, lately a minister of the Gospel, but now a wild enthusiast. The case of this unfortunate man is too full of warning, to be passed over without particular notice.

Adam Freeman was a schoolmaster at Lexington, during the revival times. He was remarkable for a long visage, large mouth, very black hair, and lips which scarcely concealed his teeth; he was tall, raw-boned, and of knotty joints. He attended a dancing-school, but with no very notable amendment in his carriage. In 1789, having been lately admitted to the bar, Freeman became interested in the great revival, of which much has already been said. From the first, he seemed to possess a full assurance of the favour of God. He was licensed to preach the Gospel, and inveighed earnestly against intemperance in eating, and the excesses of female dress. After obtaining a settlement, he became much distressed at the wicked and corrupt state of the church, and after revolving the matter for some time, resolved to demand of every communicant in his charge a full account of his inward state, and to warn such as seemed unfit, against approaching the Lord’s Table. He was next led to attribute the corruption of the church, to the membership of infants, and published a pamphlet, entitled “The Death and Burial of Infant Baptism.” The principle which he now adopted, was, that nothing in religion was to be practised, for which we can find no example or explicit command in Scripture. Hence, he would neither pray nor sing before preaching, and likewise disused family worship. But he had not been many weeks among the Baptists, before he found that they needed further reformation.

Being unsuccessful in his endeavours, he published a philippic against the Baptists, and gave notice that he had set up a church of his own; into which, however, he could gather but nine persons.

Giving a literal interpretation to the last chapter of Mark, he next attempted to perform a miracle, by healing a woman who was ill. The failure on this occasion only convinced him that his faith was not genuine, and he went home in the greatest distress. He gave himself up to fasting and prayer, and after much study came to the conclusion, that no part of the Bible is inspired except the books of Ezekiel and Kevelation. In process of time, he declared himself to be the Shiloh of the prophecy. While in this frenzy, he went to a neighbouring town, directed as he said to observe a fast of three weeks, and to warn the people of impending destruction. For months he had allowed his beard to grow, and now wore a long white garment, so that his appearance was terrific. He passed through the streets in this guise, crying, “Wo, wo, wo!” He was apprehended, and on being brought before the magistrates, made a defence of great ability and severity. He left the place denouncing anathemas, and shaking off the dust of his feet against it. Soon after this, he appeared at the house of a gentleman of Alexandria, clothed, and in his right mind, but declaring, that as to religion, he would have nothing more to do with it. He went to the remote south, and resumed the practice of the law; but was seized with a fever, which soon put an end to his life.

But we must accompany Mr. Alexander on his journey

northward. He arrived at Philadelphia, and attended the General Assembly, which met on the twenty-first of May, 1800. He was the only commissioner from his Presbytery, and there were only three from the Southern States. It may remind us of the growth of our church, that seventeen Presbyteries were represented. Here, however, he was brought into a nearer acquaintance with several eminent men, among whom were the Kev. Dr. Jonathan Edwards, Dr. McMillan, the patriarch of western Pennsylvania, Dr. Green, Dr. Woodhull, and Dr. McKnight. Here also he first met with the Kev. Samuel Miller, with whom he was to spend more than thirty-five years of harmonious labour, but who was now in the early bloom of manly vigour. Reports were brought to this Assembly, of the remarkable revivals in the West, by which our churches were largely extended in that growing region; and the Synod of Virginia made it known, that they had employed six missionaries to labour west of the Allegheny. This Assembly was further remarkable for the adoption of regulations for the government of churches in the new settlements, where Presbyterians and Congregationalists are intermingled. The whole acts of this Assembly bear marks of a zeal for the extension of the church, and of a missionary spirit in regard to the heathen. Mr. Alexander was appointed a delegate to the General Association of Connecticut, together with Dr. McKnight, of New- York, and young Dr. Linn, of Philadelphia.

Here he had another attack of remittent fever, the last which ever visited him. We were informed by the late Rev. Dr. Hillyer, of New Jersey, that he fell in with Mr. Alexander during this sojourn; that the latter considered his state of health as threatening, and was much impressed with a belief that his labours were soon to end.

On leaving the great city, he proceeded, still on horseback, through New Jersey to New-York. His companion was Mr. Charles Coffin, a young minister of New England, who had been sent out to East Tennessee, where he united with the Kev. Hezekiah Balch, in gaining many adherents to the new views of Hopkins. He was an alumnus of Harvard, and a man of respectable talents, but strongly attached to the scheme of Emmons. On the first day they reached Trenton, where they lodged with the Kev. James F. Armstrong.

“The next stage,” says he about 1849, “we travelled no further than Princeton; the first time I ever saw the place where I have already spent above thirty years of my life, and where I shall in all probability lay my bones. Such a view of futurity as should have presented to me the events of my life, would then have appeared very strange.” He renewed his acquaintance with President Smith, who had known his father and grandfather, and had been seen by him at meetings of the General Assembly in Winchester and Philadelphia. In those days the talk in Princeton was about Godwin’s Political Justice, a book which has lost its interest, and about a young man, lately a tutor in the college, whose eloquence was awakening attention. This was the celebrated Henry Kollock.

“The next day we went on to New Brunswick, where we intended to pass the Sabbath. Colonel John Bayard,

the father of Andrew, Samuel, James, and John, had met me in Philadelphia and kindly invited me to stop at his house. In the afternoon I preached for the Kev. Dr. Clark, in my usual Virginia style, without notes, on the conversion of Paul. Here I became acquainted with Judge Paterson, with whom I was greatly pleased. With great talents, extensive knowledge, and profound legal attainments, he was as gentle and unassuming as any man I ever met with. Dr. Clark was an excellent man and greatly esteemed by his people. Col. Bayard was a gentleman of generous feelings, who had been much in public life, both civil and ecclesiastical; for he had been President of Congress, and often in the General Assembly.

A single stage brought them to New- York, where Mr. Alexander was courteously entertained by the Kev. Dr. McKnight. There he was brought into more close acquaintance with the Kev. Samuel Miller, as yet unmarried, and resident with his distinguished brother, Edward Miller, M. D. Dr. Kodgers was now advanced in years, but still occupied the pulpit of the First Church in his turn.

At Horse Neck, in Connecticut, now Greenwich, they enjoyed the hospitality of Dr. Isaac Lewis, at the finely situated dwelling which is still occupied by his descendants. Dr. Lewis was a man of science, and had been thought of as qualified for the presidentship of Yale College, when his neighbour, Dr. Dwight, was chosen. This excellent clergyman was the father of Mr. Zechariah Lewis, of New- York. Their next stage was Norwalk, on the Sound, where they were kindly received by Dr. Burnett, who had received his

education at Princeton. At Banbury they fell in with Doctors McKnight and Linn, on their way to the General Association, and the whole company was entertained by a wealthy deacon. Here they saw a few Sandemanians collecting for their worship. Here, also, they saw still in use the pillions on which women rode to church behind their husbands and fathers. At every step they had cause to admire the unaffected hospitality of New England. Some sketches in the words of the manuscript journal will be acceptable to the reader.

“From Danbury we proceeded to Litchfield, and arrived early in the day on which the General Association was to meet. The appearance of the old country clergymen was to me novel and grotesque. They came into town on horseback or in chaises, wearing cocked hats, and sometimes queues dangling down the back. The opening sermon was preached by Dr. Perkins, of Hartford. The ministers all met at the house of the pastor, Mr. Huntington; and the first thing was a distribution of long pipes and papers of tobacco, so that the room was soon filled with smoke.

“According to usage the delegates were lodged at the house of the pastor, a very polite and hospitable man, who soon afterwards became a Unitarian. Dr. Linn requested me to go into the pulpit with him. About the time of assembling, a black cloud arose, causing such darkness that long before he had got through his sermon he was unable to decipher his manuscript. Mr. Huntington sent the sexton for candles, and these were placed in candlesticks on the pulpit. The windows however were open, and the wind being high,

the lights flared so much that Dr. Linn could not make out to read what lay before him, and taking the paper in his hand, held it first to one candle and then to the other, until at length he impatiently threw down his manuscript, and attempted to conclude his sermon extempore. But he succeeded poorly in a kind of preaching to which he was little accustomed. He was, nevertheless, a man of genius and a splendid orator. He died by the rupture of a bloodvessel, at the early age of twenty-six. His ability as a writer may be learnt from from his controversy with Dr. Priestley respecting the divinity of Christ. He was the colleague of Dr. Ewing, whom he succeeded in the First Church in Philadelphia.

“The General Association seemed to have little business, and there were no set speeches. The famous ‘Plan of Union, which made so much noise in after years, had been adopted by the Presbyterian Church this year, under the influence of Dr. Jonathan Edwards, president of Union College, and was ratified by the Association without discussion. Dr. Nathan Strong was evidently the leading spirit.

“After the General Association was over, Coffin and I mounted our horses and took the direction of Hartford. About the middle of the day we arrived at the house of the Kev. Mr. Cowles, whom Coffin said we must not pass, as he was a clergyman of some distinction and a writer on Infant Baptism. At Hartford I went to the Kev. Dr. Strong’s, who had reached home before us, and now received me cordially. Dr. Strong was somewhat humorous in his conversation. The next day was the Sabbath, and I preached for

him. I found throughout New England that expressions of approbation and even admiration in regard to sermons, were much more unreserved than in Virginia; and it affected me strangely to have my preaching praised. My sentiments suited Dr. Strong, on this account, that he had drawn back from the ultraism of Hopkins, Emmons and others, and that Coffin, as it appeared, had delivered a discourse in which he recognised the doctrine, that God is the efficient cause of sin. With this Dr. Strong was dissatisfied, and in the morning spoke to us both, as though we entertained that opinion; but I immediately disclaimed it, and left Coffin to defend his own tenets.

“The year before there had been a glorious revival in Dr. Strong’s congregation, more considerable than any which had occurred since the great awakening in the time of President Edwards. The enthusiasm and divisions which brought disgrace on that work, had left in the sober-minded a dread of all religious excitements. When the revival began in Hartford, as Dr. Strong told me, he was alarmed and thrown into great perplexity, as to whether he should encourage or suppress it. Labouring under this anxiety he went for advice to Chief Justice Ellsworth, on whose judgment he placed great reliance. The Judge counselled him to go forward, encouraging the seriousness, but to guard against extravagances. A similar awakening was experienced in most of the congregations in the State; of which a full account may be seen in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine. Dr. Strong took me in his chaise to visit Judge Ellsworth in North Hartford. I had a particular desire to see this distinguished man; but we were not so fortunate as to find him at home. In returning we called and took tea with Mr. Kowland, the minister of North Hartford. We found here the Kev. Dr. Lyman, of Hatfield, on his way to New Haven, to plead for a church there against their minister. He was famous, as I learned, on such occasions, and was sent for from far and near. Dr. Lyman, though dry and metaphysical, and apparently not susceptible of tender feeling, was a sound theologian, and a clear-headed and truly benevolent man. The zeal and constancy with which he sustained the cause of Foreign Missions, furnish good evidence of his enlarged and Christian views. I was told that there was not a family in Hatfield which did not belong to his charge; and that the manners of the people retained all the puritanic simplicity of the preceding century.

“Much attention was paid to church music at this time in New England; but the taste was not the most pure and refined. Choirs were found every where, and the singing was very much confined to them. This struck me unfavourably. There was little appearance of devotion in the choir, and less in the congregation. In Dr. Flint’s church, I was informed before I went, that the chorister would send into the pulpit the psalms which were to be given out.

“In the evening of the Sabbath we had a delightful meeting in Dr. Strong’s lect are-room, where I was again called upon to speak. A large portion of the assembly was made up of new converts, fruits of the late revival, with whose appearance I was greatly pleased. The Kev. Mr. Cooley has informed me, that he came there that evening in great distress of mind, under which he had laboured for months, and that he found peace and comfort to his soul. There still remained some cases of obstinate dejection. Among these was a young son of Dr. Strong, about sixteen or seventeen years of age. I conversed with him, at the request of the father, but could not succeed in dispelling the darkness which hung over his mind.

“Dr. Strong was a graduate of Princeton College, and in principle a Presbyterian as to church government. He was much celebrated for his powers of wit and satire. He published two volumes of sermons, such as he preached to his people. They are more practical and experimental than any discourses issued in New England about this time. But they are deeply imbued with the new theological opinions now generally embraced in that country. He published also a volume on Universal Salvation, in answer to a posthumous work of his intimate friend, Dr. Joseph Huntington, entitled Calvinism Improved, The argument is founded on the optimistic principle, that the introduction of sin and its eternal punishment tend to the highest possible degree of happiness in the universe. On this principle, the reasoning is ingeniously and forcibly conducted. The work gave great satisfaction to all Hopkinsians in New England, but has been little read elsewhere. Nevertheless, Dr. Strong, like Dr. D wight, drew back from the opinion that God is the author of sin, and also from making a willingness to be damned a sign of grace, and from denouncing the use of means in the case of the unregenerate. These three things they were accustomed to name as the characteristics

of Hopkinsianism; so that when Dr. James P. Wilson visited President Dwight, he was assured by him that there were no Hopkinsians among them, and was referred to these tenets as the criterion.

“Leaving Hartford, we directed our course towards New London. About the middle of a very hot day we arrived at Lebanon Crank, where we observed that the church was full of people. We put up our horses at the tavern, went into the assembly covered with dust, and took our seats near the door. The clergyman, a middle-aged man of low stature, had just finished the introductory services, and seeing us enter, suspected us to be travelling ministers, came down to inquire, and finding his surmises correct, entreated and insisted that one of us should preach for him. He informed us that an extensive revival was in progress among his people. Mr. Coffin put the service off upon me, and up I went with all my dust unbrushed, and gave an extempore lecture on the Parable of the Sower. The pastor thanked me over and over for the discourse, which he said was exactly adapted to his people’s present condition; but expressed some astonishment that I could go regularly through such an exercise without any sign of a note. He said that the aid was most opportune. He had been so occupied with counselling inquirers and preaching lectures, that he had never before had so little preparation. He took me home with him, and gave me a particular account of the origin and progress of the awakening, which may be found described in the magazine above named,” Twenty or thirty years afterward, the Kev. Mr. Wright, a missionary to the Choctaw Indians,

called on Dr. Alexander, and informed him that he was then present, under his first religious impressions.

The following day they were at Norwich, with the Rev. Joseph Strong, a brother of Dr. Nathan Strong of Hartford. “In the morning we arrived at New London, and having been previously invited, lodged with the Rev. Mr. Channing, an uncle of the great Channing of Boston, a sensible man, but evidently no friend to evangelical religion or to revivals. Crossing the Thames next day we came into the wildest part of the State of Connecticut, which borders on Ehode Island. The change became more manifest every mile we travelled, and we were soon in the midst of the Narraganset country, famous for its milk and cheese. About noon we met crowds of people in the road, returning from a Baptist meeting,, where nearly thirty ministers had convened to ordain a brother over a vacant church; but we were informed that the ordination did not take place, because the church refused to promise any salary to the candidate. The evident rudeness and want of courtesy in the people whom we met, differed widely from any thing which we had before observed in New England. When we came to the church, we found a concourse of hearers still there, and could hear the voice of a preacher, with the intonation with which I had been well acquainted at home. But going a quarter of a mile further, I saw what I had never known to take place at an ordination, namely, a horse-race, in a field adjoining the highway, and hundreds of people collected for the sport.

“In passing over to the island, I began for the first time to breathe the bracing and exhilarating air of the ocean.

Its effect on me was suddenly and sensibly beneficial. The first day I spent on the island restored me to vigorous health; at least I grew better from that time. Mr. Coffin, to whom I resigned myself, took me to the house of the Rev. Mr. Patton, afterward Dr. Patton, one of the meekest and gentlest men I ever saw. It was every where a matter of curiosity to hear an orthodox man from Virginia, which was supposed to be given up to Deism. Here for the firsttime I entered the pulpit in a gown; and it sat awkwardly upon me, for Mr. Patton was a much taller man, the pulpit was high, and the stairs steep, so that in mounting I became entangled in my own train. I found that Mr. Patton had fully adopted the opinions of Dr. Hopkins. Against these, as he informed me, he was much prejudiced at first, but had been brought over by degrees, since which time his mind had been completely at ease. Coffin had been somewhat reserved in bringing out the whole system, and we had disputed so much on the way as to several points, that he did not consider me open to conviction. But Mr. Patton considered all my questions in the most candid manner, and admitted all the legitimate consequences of the principles which he entertained. In particular, he admitted, which was unusual, that it would be nowise incompatible with God’s holiness and goodness to create beings in a state of total depravity. I received from him a more satisfactory account than I had obtained, of the entire system of Dr. Hopkins, who was still alive. I spent a day with him, but he was now about eighty years of age, and unable to enter much into abstruse reasoning. He seemed perfectly placid.

and fully resigned to the will of God. He had just received a volume of Scott’s Works, in which the extreme opinions of New England are spoken of as tending to Deism. Dr. Hopkins, in the calmest manner, undertook to show that Scott had mistaken his meaning.

“Dr. Hopkins had nothing assuming or dogmatical in his manner, but showed a childlike simplicity and entire submission to the will of God. His labours as a pastor were by no means successful. The church of which he was now, and had long been pastor, was at this time in a very feeble condition.

“Having preached for Mr. Patton in the morning, I supplied Dr. Hopkins’s pulpit in the afternoon. There was a mere handful of hearers, and when the psalm was given out, it appeared that there was no one to lead the music, and the Doctor directed me to proceed without singing.”

From Newport the travellers made their way to Bristol, where they were hospitably received by the clergyman. They visited Mount Hope, famous for its prospect and for its connection with the history of King Philip. At Providence they enjoyed the kind attentions of Dr. Hitchcock, a Congregational clergyman of what were called liberal views. They received much kindness from Professor Messer, afterward President of Brown University.

The name of Dr. Emmons was perhaps as extensively known as that of any divine in New England. The perspicuity, vigour and terseness of his style, the ingenious concatenation of his arguments, his adventurous boldness, the startling nature of his conclusions, and the increasing number of his adherents, made him a master not to be despised or overlooked. “Franklin,” says our narrative, “the town in which Dr. Emmons lived, joined the State of Ehode Island. Mr. Coffin was desirous that I should see this champion of the new divinity. I have no doubt that he had a design in taking me to this venerable theologian, believing that by his conversation I should be brought over, for I was already quite a follower of Edwards, Nor had I the least objection to receive light from any quarter. We, therefore, turned aside from the main road, and came to the Doctor’s house early in the evening. The country around was better cultivated than any I had yet seen in New England, and Dr. Emmons occupied a large and commodious farm-house very near to his church. I found him to be rather taciturn than talkative. He did indeed make many and earnest inquiries of Mr. Coffin respecting the progress of the new opinions in Tennessee, whither Dr. Balch had carried the seed from Massachusetts.

“Mr. Coffin proposed to me, as did Dr. Emmons, to remain there and preach, as he had promised to supply a vacancy at some distance. I consented without hesitation; expecting, however, to undergo a thorough sifting, and perhaps to be under a moral necessity of changing my creed. I found that my remaining for so many days was likely to be an inconvenience to Mrs. Emmons, who appeared to be a discreet, sensible and pious woman. But on the first day of my sojourn, the Doctor took me to a monthly meeting of ministers at old Mr. Sandford’s, within a few miles, which, however, he was not in the habit of attending, as he did not belong to the club. A dinner was always provided, after which there was a sermon in the church. The two old gentlemen had long been neighbours, but did not agree in their views either of doctrine or church discipline; but they were friendly when they met. And as the Doctor had brought a Virginia preacher, a nondescript, they made him doubly welcome. They differed even more in politics than in religion; for Mr. Sandford was a democrat of a school hitherto unknown to me, holding that when the church was fully established, there would be no need of civil government. On that day the sermon came in turn to be preached by the Rev. Mr. Alexander, of Mendon, a man of some learning. But he was understood to have gone to Boston, and it was doubtful whether he would be there. It was therefore put upon me to preach, and Mr. Sandford took me up stairs into his study, and left me to make such preparation as I needed. In the mean time Mr. Alexander arrived, having ridden twenty or thirty miles in a very hot day. To his inquiries as to what arrangement had been made for preaching, Mr. Sandford replied, ‘We certainly expect Mr. Alexander to preach, Mr. A. declared it to be out of the question, but Mr. S. continued to repeat, c We expect a sermon from Mr. Alexander, and no other, Thus he continued the hoax, until the bell rang for public service, upon which I descended and was formally presented as the Kev. Mr. Alexander from Virginia. I never saw a man more surprised or relieved. We went to the church, and found a respectable number for a week day and a busy season. At that time I used no notes in the pulpit, but being in a country where all sermons were read, I felt it to be incumbent on me to make my discourses as methodical and accurate as I could. And though I never could commit words so as to depend on my memory, I had long accustomed myself to follow trains of thought, and the regular array of an argument. I took as a text, ‘He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, I undertook to show

I. The foundation of love to Christ, as it relates both to

the object and subject of the affection.

II. The properties of love to Christ; which I made to be

1. Sincerity.

2. Supremacy.

3. Constancy.

III. The evidences of love to Christ;

1. A desire of pleasing, and fear of offending.

2. A desire of conformity to his character.

3. A desire of communion, and sorrow on account

of absence.

4. A desire to promote his glory, and sorrow when he

is dishonoured, or when his cause declines.

“As I insisted strongly on the position that love must terminate on the true character of the object beloved, I gave them all great pleasure, as this showed that I did not hold to the selfish scheme of virtue. When I got into the chaise with the old Doctor, he made me quite ashamed with his laudation, and assured me there was nothing in the sermon which he did not approve.

u The next day Dr. Emmons took me to a much greater distance, to a weekly lecture. The audience was small.

My text was Luke xiv. 18, ‘But with one consent they all began to make excuse, The next day, being the Fourth of July, he took me to a neighbouring town, where an oration was to be delivered by a certain Dr. Manning, who had once resided in Virginia. The Doctor was greatly out of his element at this meeting, for the oration was rabidly democratic, and the people assembled were generally of this party.

“The next day was Saturday, and Dr. E. left home for the place of his appointment. During the visit he never attempted to enter into any controversy, but seemed rather to avoid all doctrinal discussion. He had a young man studying with him, who was principally occupied in writing two discourses for the Sabbath, and these, according to the custom, he read to his preceptor. I was present on one of these occasions. The main object of the sermon was to prove man’s dependence on God for every thing, including every thought and emotion. After this exercise, the young man, whom I took to be very stupid, propounded to the Doctor this question: If man is dependent for all thoughts and feelings, and if the law of God requires him to be holy, while his thoughts are sinful, then does not God require the creature to be independent? I wondered how he would answer it, when, after a few moments’ pause, he turned to me and asked me how I should reply to the question. I begged to be excused from any such attempt, and so the matter went off without an explanation.

Cf In person, Dr. Emmons was a little inclined to be corpulent. His hair was thin, and his countenance rather florid than pale. His knowledge of the Southern States was imperfect. He had just published a sermon on the character of Jeroboam, which was considered excessively severe against Jefferson, who had just ascended the presidential chair; yet, as far as I could judge, he cherished no malignity against any one, on religious or political grounds,”

We insert here, for the sake of connection, a statement found in another manuscript. “Old Dr. Emmons once said to me, in defending the bands and cocked hats which were then used in New England; c Clergymen, when they travel or go abroad, should have some badge of their profession. It preserves them from many unpleasant rencounters, and causes them to remember their sacred office. For, added he, when a clergyman thinks that he is not recognised as such, he is very apt to yield to unsuitable compliances; and often, when he seeks to be incognito, he is known to all the company, This is a sage remark,”*

In the frequent mention which Dr. Alexander was accustomed to make of this visit, he always spoke of him in high terms of respect; while he entertained, as is well known, very different theological opinions. But it was characteristic of him to treat with great liberality, and in some respects with esteem and affection, those whom he at the same time regarded as seriously erroneous. In the next chapter we shall take up his narrative, in regard to Boston, the grand object of his curiosity.

* MS. Life of the Rev. William Graham.