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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commen9ant par la premidre page qui compors une emprelnte d'Impresslon ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle emprelnte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas. le symbols — ^ signifle "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifle "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fllm^s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cllch6, II est film* d partir de Tangle sup*rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la methods. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 8 6 ( PAST AND PRESENT, OftrA DESCRIPTION OP PERSONS AND EVENTS CONNECTED WITH CANADIAN METHODISM FOR THE LAST FORTY YEARS. BT A SPECTATOR OP THE SCBNIiS. ' Come, let my Carper to his life now look, And find there darker lines than in my book. He flndeth any— yea, and let him know, That m his best things there are worse things tool" John Bttktan. ^ TORONTO : NO ^ PUBLISHED BY ALFRED DREDGE, 88 TONGE 9TBKBT. aJ 1860. /r -^ TO THE REVEREND ENOCH WOOD, Sppbrintendent op Canadian Wesleyan Missions foe the last thirteen years ; AND President op the Canada Conference during the long period OP SEVEN YEARS, -from EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE TO EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT,— WHOSE BROTHERLY AND INFLUENTIAL PATRONAGE HAS ENCOURAGED HIM IN A BOLD AND UNTRIED UNDERTAKING ; AND WHOSE CARE AND OVERSIGHT HAVE DIMINISHED ITS DEFECTS AND BLEMISHES,— THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE APPRECIATING THOUGH HUMBLB AUTHOR. Ottawa, April 3, 1860. \ \ PREFACE. About twelve years ago I was in the receipt, monthly, of the Ladies' Repository and Gatherings op the West ; and felt myself much interested in the sketchy and memorial part of it. I naturally thought, " Why should not similar memo- rials be preserved of what God has done by the instrumentality of Methodism in Canada ?" During that year, at several in- tervals of leisure, mostly at night, after being wearied out with severe studies, a few of the following sketches, substantially, were thrown off— although without any definite decision about publication in any form. My occupation of an invalid station, about eight years later, afforded me leisure to add a few more ; when all of those which related to deceased persons in my re- miniscences, to the number of ticenti/-stx, were given to the public in the columns of the Christian Guardian, over the signature of "A Voice from the Past"— to test what recep- tion matter of that description would receive. So far as I learned any thing about them, they were regarded with som*» favor. Relief from the full amount of pw/j:>i« work, about a year after, by the presence and labors, in my next station, of the Rev. James Caughey, gave me time to retouch them ; the rest I had by me ; and I then arranged them pretty much in the order they now assume, with the persuasion that some day they might see the light. Mr. C encouraged me to have them published ; still I hesitated, mostly because I thought they would scarcely make a sizable book. There the i'l fi PREFACE. i ', 11 Watsons Taws and Takixgs, and the notion possessed i, .elf of n,y mind-more fully expounded in anoLTpTac^"; adding some sketches of K.™^ Ministers and XT 7""^°^ medium vnlnm. r ■'i'nisters, and thus make out a medium volume. I was now pretty much decided to publish •fit met the approval of disinterested and judicious Orient' This course was followed. The rest i. ).„„<• Circulars. ' '" ''"™° ^""^ -"y By those who can think of nothing being worthy of perusal «ri, . ^ r. ^ picture of manners in P-enPrnl why not of Canadian manners? Or ..h.r .1 »» general, literature ? If a picture of r ' r ^ ^^''' ^'"^^^^^ . AT- . . P^^'^^^e ot Canadian manners in general wh^ not that particular phase of them found in its .rf.V^II'odeTv ? And religious society within the pale of AM^^-lJo wUhin the circle of its influence? Such a description would „ot necessarily ignore, much less disparage, what has bee'enacted wi hin ho operations of other evangeli'cal communi tes (wh m -.erta-rtTh^rlS'^-^^ ture IS addressed, she will always respond. The arteof tht ^^ra.«.. the unpretending author knows nothi Jf^^b tl Se'thZr' r""*'- " "'"^"^ °^*- '""'^-'^ "the and probably some outside of Methodism. For, "„s i77L tace answereth to face, so the heart of man to man " 'T, you wrote the sketches merely to am,se peop^.' a seril' Preface. til brother exclaims. Not wholly so ; but if I had, I would have done a good work in furnishinpj a book that was mirthful without being harmful, which, alas ! cannot be said of all books of amusement. But I further aspired to the production of a work, which, while it was adapted to amuse tlie young people of our Methodist families, would reveal to them some- thing of its heroic animus, and attach them more fully to its institutions ; and aggressive, onward efforts. Was that wrong ? And will our favored land and Church furnish no materials for such a book ? Shame on the Canadian Methodist who says "no " ! As to what relates to "matters personal," I refer the reader to the article " The Conference and the Crayons." Some will have prejudged the .vriter's ability to accomplish creditably the task undertaken : to such our only answer i?, the work must testify ; it will give us pleasure if those who thus object will write a better. Having written most of the articles at different periods and under the difficulties of interruptions, and some of them after the previous ones were sent to the press, there may be a want of congruity between some of its parts, as well as some repetitions ; if so, we promise to correct and reduce them to greater confor- mity in a second edition, if a generous public buy up the present. Such are some of the reasons for our presumption in at- tempting this piece of authorship. We have yet another, no*- before revealed. We hoped the avails of our publication might furnish us the means of educating liberally our two children, which we find our ministerial salary wholly unequal to. With this frank disclosure of our position and views, we shall pati- ently await the ordeal of criticism* TO THE KEADEK. JhT T?" °'""™' '° ""'•"■ '"''""'•^' »■!**« "ftto Prlnto- „«.. . "''^'""^•'''*- TI"»»"SiMl spelling is pre«,n'oa:_ no ho.ie .0 SoZiZ '' ,7 "™ " "" ""' '"' ''^"' ™» '-' ^ *^" cidriiiecl but hath some drees • flnfliHo «« i, but hath some defect • mprv.i, . ... ' ' ^"""^^ ^*=*^«"' oKJui^. ueiect . mervell not then, (eood readers -» that *u- »n«..o,.„„a„ie Icav., linos, an,',! J 12 ~™T' feme ana ma.ter, a fault or two doo escape , we,» tie «„ ■ ^.^ " CONTENTS PART I. PAGE. Preliminary Annals, 9 The Old Framed Meeting House 37 My Spiritual Father, 40 An Early Classmate, 44 An "Elect Lady," 47 Sammy Richardson ; or the Zealous Irishman, 50 One of my first Pastors, - 55 A Nation Born in a Day, , 56 A Canadian Camp-Meeting Thirty-five yeara ago, 62 " Father" Youmans, 66 One of our Supplies 68 " The Venerable Thomas Whitehead," 73 The Two Soldier Preachers, 79 ,The Rev. Thomas Madden, 86 The Rev. James Wilson, 90 Rev. Franlilin Metcalf, 95 Ezra Healy, 99 The Rev. Alexander Irvine, 103 The Outset, 106 " My First Circuit," 110 My First Colleague, 114 An Estimate of Prindel, 121 An Old Fashioned Quarterly Meeting, 123 The Last Night of a Youthful Homicide, 127 Rev. William Smith, 134 Lorenzo Dow, 139 " Father Magraw," 147 Bread Cast on the Waters 152 Scene in a Feny-Boat 157 Admonitory End of an Early Colleague, 160 My Fellow Candidates IQ'i I •: X CONTENTS. Traditionary RecoIlectloM,. Revival Coincidence,... ' 189 GemusinPovertyand Obscurity,... 182 The Big Snow Storm, 197 Remarkable Answer to Prayer'!.' 203 TliePatlier of Canadian Missions...... 213 220 PART II. Rev. Enocli Wood, Rev. Samuel Rose,. RevS.D. Rice '" Doctor Stinson,., Rev. H. Hurlbiirt,! !'.'.'.'.!'.' \' Rev. James Brocli Rev. S.\VaIdron,. .'!."!!;; " Father Wri.^'ht,". Rev. Henry Wilkinson.' '" Rev. Richard Jonea,. Rev. William Tomlin,. . . . .' Rev. James Masson.. . . Rev. Robert Robinson,. Rev. Edmund Sweet,. Rev. L. Warner,. . . "" Rev. E. B.Harper,..'.'.'.'." Rev. Wm. Pollard,. Rev. William Ryei-son. Tho"TwoPhilpg," •'TheTwoCoIemans,'''.'.'.';;; Rev. James Musgrove Rev. Wellington Jeflers,.' Rev. Thomas JelTcrs,.. Rev. Michael Faivcetf.....! Rev. John Gemley Rev. Lachlin Taylor,. ..,,] Doctor Anson Green. ..'. Rev. James Spencer.. ..., Doctor Egcrton Rvereon Doctor Ephraim Evans,.' • . . 235 • ■ . 242 . • . 244 • . 246 .. 247 • . 248 .. 250 .. 252 .. 254 .. 256 .. 258 . 260 . 2G1 . 263 . 264 ■ 264 . 265 2G7 268 270 273 275 275 277 279 278 260 282 289 293 2(m ,;^*^efc5r:.-,- ^ -_-_. . CONTENTS, jf Rev. BylresterHurlburt, ifev. Thomas Hurlburt, ' ] ' ' * ' '^ Rev. Erastas Hurlburt, ^^^ Rev. James H. Bishop, [[ ^^* Rev. Jonathan Scott, ^^^ Rev.W.H. Poole, .....[..[... ' ^^"^ Rev. President Nelles, ^^^ Rev. G. R. Sanderson, ^^^ Rev. Robert Cooney, D. D * ^^* Rev.I. B. Howard, ^^^ Rev. William McFadden,... • ^^^ Rev. C. Vandusen, "''' 320 Rev. J. W. McCoUum, . 322 Rev.N. F.English ...[ 325 Rev. R. A. Flandera, 22T Rev. Richard Whiting, 328 331 •-•-•- w whic scrib estiin " woi time theS relati first GUAI Bang to ins tory « own theG SKET( Ai Metlu solicit ments PAST AND PRESENT. PAKT I. PRELIMINARY ANNALS We had intended begmning our sketches with the article which will now succeed to this ; but the wish of dome sub- scribers to the book, communicated through an aged and estimable minister, whose judgment we greatly value, that I "would try and extend ray 'Recollections' back to the time when the first Wesleyan Missionaries visited the banks of the St. Lawrence," has induced me to republish some sketches relating to Methodism and written on the very spot where it was first planted in the Province, published in the Christian Guardian in 1834-~to wliich we append so much of Dr. Bang's History of the M. E. Church relating to Canada, as to make this compendious chain of Provincial Methodist His- tory general and complete, down to the period from which our own individual " recollections" date. We extract now from the Guardian : — SKETCHES OF THE EARLY' SETTLEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OP UPPER CANADA. A low weeks sinoo, we addressed a series of questions to the Methodist Ministers throughout the Province, to which we solicited answers, illustrating the early settlement, improve- ments, und local advantages of those parts of the Province 10 I'AST AND PRESENT. which were within the bounds of theii- several circuits ; embrac- ing likewise a History of the establishment and progress of the Methodist Church. The Superintendent of the Matilda Cir- cuit has commenced a sketch of the Townships in his field of labor, and we hope he will persevere until he has answered all our questions; and that his example will be followed by the preachers on every circuit in the Province : Matilda, August 24th, 1834. , Having no more to say on business, I employ the remainder of my sheet in answering the first four questions which you recently proposed. This circuit is bounded on the north by the townships of South Gower, Mountain, Winchester, and other back settle- ments ; on the east by the eastern part of the township of Cornwall; south by the river St. Lawrence ; and west by the western part of the U)wnship of Edwardsburg— including with- in it part of the last mentioned township, Matilda, Williams- burg, Osnabruck and part of Cornwall. The part of this section of country immediately on the river, was settled as early as June, 1784. Its original settlers were principally disbanded revolutionary soldiers, belonging to Sir John Johnson's regiment, and of Scotch and German extraction, but most of the latter. The inhabitants of the back parte of the above mentioned townships, which have been settled at different periods from that time to this, are a mixture of almost all nations. { Some of the circumstances connected with the eai-ly .settle- ment of this place, which I have learned from some of the/i remainimj first settlers, are rather amusing, and perhaps worthy of record. The first three years the settlers were kindly supplied with provisions by the Government : but as they had no roads, they were provided with two batteaux to each township, in which they used to convoy their provisions from Montreal. Their method of .^^^ving out their rations was PRELIMINARY ANNALS. 11 rather peculiar. Their plan wag, to prevent the appearance of partiality, for the one who acted as commissary, either to turn his hack, take one of the articles, and say, " Who will have this ?" or else the provisions were weighed, or assorted, and put into heaps, when the commissary went around with a hat, and received into it something which he would again recog- nise, as a button, a knife, &c. ; after which, he took the arti- cles out of the hat, as they came uppermost, and placed one upon each of the piles in rotation. Every person then claimed the parcel on which he found the article which he had thrown into the hat. As they had no mills for a long time. Govern- ment provided each township with a steel handmill which they moved from house to house : their first milling was done in Kingston. There was a great deal of simplicity and unanimity among the people at that period ; but they were very little acquainted with true religion. They were much given to carousing and dancing. " The agricultural and commercial advantages" of this part of t^e country are great. The fertility of the soil, and its contiguity to the river St. Lawrence, render it at once one of the most pleasing and prosperous parts of North America. Formerly, it is said, the inhabitants lumbered extensively ; but of late years, since the timber in the immediate vicinity of the river has begun to be scarce, they have turned their attention wore to agrioultura ; and the country seems to profit greatly by the change. Many of the persons in business, however, still lumber largely, and, it is said, successfully, back on the Nation and Ottawa rivers. The roads have been universally bad in the interior of this section, till the legislature began to take the sul^ect into consideration, and to make appropriationB. They are now in a state of rapid improvement. It appears, from the best information I can obtain, that this part of the country was one of the first places in Upper Oanad» ▼isited by a Methodigt Preadier, which, from the Misatee, we I i w .Jl 12 PAST AND PRESENT. ii li- find to be sometime in the year 1792. At that time, Ul t»* r^lw raveUing p,eache« were eent, m, Darin, D„„h«n ^n 7.tT '*'■ ^^' ^ '"^ ^»' f«»" "hat w«, then oaUed the Cataraqne Circuit; the other was sent to this which ^as then jelled the Oswegochie Circuit. This name it derived from an old Indian village, which formerly stood a little east of ,t*!r J^^V^ Ogdensbu,^, on the American side, no, stands What the extent of the circuit then was, I shall not pretend to decide; but it is probable that it included .11 the ^ttlemente in Upper Canada, east of Kingston, excepting Aose on the Ottawa, if, indeed, they were then in existence It appears, however, that notwithstanding the Circuit wag denommated from a place on the other side, that there were Z appomtments on that side: for, in fact, it seems, there were no settlement of white people on the south side of the T Lawrence at that period. The circuit bore the name above menuoned with the exception of one year, when I find it caUed the " Upper Canada Lower Ci^uiC t Ul the yearlgor when .t wa« cabled " CornwaU," from the'town or t^wns fp !f hat name w,th,n ,ts borde,.. The propriety of the chan'ge ■« the name was suggested by the Rev. Joseph Sawyer, Presfding Elder, ,n Canada, for that year, who now, I am pr^ud to say Z^V" "V"""' """^ "^ "'"''' °™»«" and communii: the Gospel m these parts were of the Lutheran order- who came m shortly after the first settlement of the country and ,who, ,t appears knew and preaehed but little concerning the fou,er of religion : for, according to the testimony of thos! who were converted to God, under the minUtiy of the early Methodist preachers, the people were greatly sunken in ignorance and vice It ,, but just, however, to state, and I feel a plet sure in doing it, that it is said of a Mr. Swartsfager who was .then settled in Matilda and WiUiamsburg, that he wai, a penon .of exemplary morals, and that he used to defend the Methodisti PBEILIMINARY ANNALS. 13 «fter their coming into the country, when he heard them unjustly aspersed ; and also, that he was wont to say of their doctrine, that it was the doctrine of the Bible and of the Refor- mation, which had been too much lost sight of; but which had been revived by John Wesley. If I might be again per- «itted to digress, I could tell an amusing anecdote concerning this old gentleman and one of his parishioners. The person m question was an old German lady, whose children had been converted, and joined the Methodists. She thought because she had been baptized, and had partaken of the sacrament, that, therefore, she was a ChristLan ; but her children told her ..s/ home for the weary, way-worn servants of God, in the lower part of Matilda,) which was given to me yesterday by the old lady herself, who survives her hu.band, at present, under another name. Her first acquaintance with the Methodists originated from Mr. Losee's calling at the house, and asking her if she would not like to have the word of God preached in her house.; to which she replied that she would, not being able to understand the Germans. Upon which she asked him what he was called ; and having ascertained that he was a Methodist Preacher, she ran to the barn, to call her husband. Having told him that a Methodist was in the house, he expressed his surprise ; and wished to know *^ how he. iouki-nr To which she replied, that - he looked like another man, but that he wanted an arm." To shorten my story, suffice it to say that the 1 rcacher stopt to dinner ; got acquainted, and left an appointment to preach, on his return from the lower part of his circuit, to which he was then going. And .inder his 16 PAST AND PRESENT. preaching, Mr. Wright, (for so he was called,) who had been a professor among the Baptists, before the Revolution, but had backslidden— and his wife, got awakened, and greatly concerned about the salvation of their souls. One Sabbath evening, having returned from a little quarterly meeting, he summoned courage to take up the cross of family prayer. The exercise of both their minds was great. She formed the reso- lution of spending the " live-long night " in prayer and watch- ing ; for, as she expressed it, " she was afraid of being in hell before morning." She strenuously adhered to her purpose; but spent the night in the most indescribable agon^. She truly " drank the wormwood and the gall." The husband rose early from a restless bed, and asked her if she had found any relief. To which she replied, "No;" but expressed a deter- mination, that if she went to hell, she would perish, " crying out for God." He went to the barn, not, as she supposed, to fodder his cattle, but to pour out his soul to God in prayer; and s?ie repaired to the bed-room, and literally fell upon her face on the floor, and " poured out strong cries and tears to Him that was able to save her," Nor did she cry in vain:, suddenly a flood of light and joy broke in upon her soul— she sprang upon her feet— leaped to the bed-room door— crying out to her eldest daughter to run immediately for her father. ,j,j * . The child instantly obeyed the command; and going to th« stable, found him just getting out of the manger, where he had been at prayer, and coming to tell his wife the joyful news of the liberation of his own soul. His daughter, meeting him, exclaimed,—" Oh, daddy, come quick, I never saw mamma look so before in my life J" The husband and wife met at the resg«^ privilege, depending for its accomplishment notr on the faithfulness of God, who had promised to do it. It was this baptism of the Holy Ghost which fired and filled the hearts of God's ministers at that time, and which enabled them 80 to speak that the people felt that their words were with ' demonstration and power,' and they could not well resist the influence of those ' thoughts which breathe,' and those ' words which burn.' " We are not to suppose that this work went on without opposition. In that country, there was a marked lino of die- tinction 'between the righteous and the wicked,' there being but few formal professors of religion to interpose between the two classes. And such was the general state of society, that those who did not embrace religion felt themselves at liberty ta manifest tlieir hatred to its doctrines by open acts of hostility, I by scurrilous speeches, and, in some instances, by personal violence. One instance among others I will relate. A stout Upposer of the Methodists, hearing that his wife was in a I prayer meeting, rushed violently into the room, seized his wife I and dragged her to the door, when attempting to open it he was himself seized with trembling, his knees failed him, and ho fell helpless upon the floor, and wa« fain to beg an interest in , the prayers of those very people whom he had so much despised and persecuted. IIo rose !iot u.itil the Lord released him from his sms, and made him a partaker of his pardoning moroy. 3 ri n Hi *r« il M h\ ll' /' 22 PAST AND PRESENT. 'Hi! ! This very man afterwards became an itinerant minister, with whom I was personally acquainted, and had the relation of these facts from his own lips." This is, perhaps, the best place to give the Doctor's obituary notice of the orginal instrument in this work, of whom also we have preserved some traditions in another article :— " Hezekiah Calvin Wooster also took his departure to^ another world this year. We have already seen some thing of his character in the notice we have taken of the work of God in Upper Canada. His name is ' like ointment poured forth ' to many in that country, and he was spoken of as an extraordinary messenger of God, sent to declare hia counsels to a fallen and rebellious world. After exerting all his powers of body and mind in beseeching sinners to be recon- ciled to God, he returned home with fatal consumption fastened upon his lungs. But even while in this feeble state, so reduced as not to be able to speak above a whisper, this whisper, being announced to the congregation by another', was frequently attended by suoh a divine energy and unction,' that sinners would tremble and fall under the announcement, while the people of God felt the hol^ annolnting running through their souls. It is said, indeed, that his very countenance exhibited suoh marks of the divine glory that it struck convic- tion into tho hearts of many who beheld it. " ' Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth.' Though Hezekiah Calvin Wooster could not be regarded as a man °of more than ordinary talents as a preacher, yet, suoh was the holy fervour of his soul, his deep devotion to God, his burning love for the souls of his follow-men, that he was the happy instrument of kindling up such a tire in the hearts of the peo. pie, wherever he went, partioularly in Upper Canada, that all the waters of strife and opj)osition have not been able to quench It. This testimony I consider due to suoh departed worth. The grace of God wrought mightily in him, and great was his PRELIMINARY ANNALS. 23 glorying in the cross of Christ— nor did he glory in aught else— for he was as much distinguished for his humility, his deadness to self, and to self-applause, as he was for the fervour of his spirit, and the boldness and pointedness of his appeals to the consciences of the people. " That he enjoyed perfect love was demonstrated not only from the fact of his having recorded the time when he received the great blessing, but also and more especially from the tenor of his life, his constant self denial, his watchings and fastings, and from the fruit of the Spirit^love, faith, meekness, patience,' gentleness, long-suffering and charity, which shone out conspi- cuously in all his deportment, in the temper of his mind, and words of his lips. " It could not be expected otherwise than that such a man should be prepared to meet his ' last enemy with firmness,' and 'rejoice in hope of the glory of God,' when drawing to the termination of his earthly career; accordingly when so exhausted as to be scarcely able to speak, on being asked by his father if his confidence was still strong in the Lord • he answered with holy triumph, ' Yes, strong! strong!' And a short time before his eyes were closed in death, he said, ' The nearer I draw to eternity, the brighter heaven shines upon me !' He thus ' fell asleep in Jesus,' on the 6th of November, 1798, in the 2Sth year of his age, and the fifth of his ministry! Though his race was short, it was brilliant— its brilliancy aris- ing not so much from the splendor of his talents as from the purity of his motives, the fidelity of his private and public life, and the holy and burning zeal with which he pursued his vocation until sickness and death put a stop to his activity. And when he ht^.d sunk under the cloud of death, he left such a trail of light behind him as shall, it is humbly hoped, never be extinguished. Such honour God puts on those who honour him." Of 1832, our historian says, in reference to Canada:— II m A i:i 24 PAST AND PRESENT. "Montreal, in Lower Canada, was visited this year bj Joseph Sawyer. He found a few persons there who had belonged to the Methodist Society in the city of New York, before the Revolutionary war, who received him cordially, and assisted him m procuring a school-room for preaching. A Mr. Maginnis and his sister, both unmarried, were among the first who attached themselves to the society in Montr(«al, and they remained faithful through all the vicissitudes through which Methodism was called to pass in that city until their death." An incident very little known, and never yet in print, was related to the writer by Mr. Sawyer himself, which occurred in connection with his first entrance into Montreal, will show how Methodist preachers were regarded in certain quarters, and the difficulties through which they had cftin to make their way. Mr. S., who was very apostolic in his appearance and spirit, and very urbane and polite in his manners, thought It might be well to call on and endeavour to conciliate the minister of what is called the " Church of England," in the city~the Rev. Mr. M~. He did call; and when he came into the minister's presence, making a polite bow, he addressed him to the following effect :-<' Sir, I am a Methodist minister Bent to labour in this city and vicinity by Hishop AsburyJ and as yourself and I are the only Protestant clergymen in the place, I have made bold to call on you, with the desire tok have some conversation with you relating to the interests of religion in the country." Clergyman (with e mingled look of surprise and displeasure.) " You, indeed ! I would much rather ensourage the Komau Catholics than such as you. Dissenters. No ! Get out of my siprht !" While these words were being uttered, he was side- ling towards the corner of the room, where stood his trusty ■taff,— when he reached to grasp it, with a design of driving the lowly Missionary from his house. Mr. Sawyer, finding himself " in the wrong box," expressed his " regret for the ! ! ^ear hj Josepb ad belonged to rk, before the 7, and assisted ling. A Mr. mong the first real, and they h rough which their death." i in print, was ^ich occurred eal, will show 'tain quarters, ftjn to make is appearance mers, thought conciliate the and," in the rhen he came he addressed dist minister, hop Asbury ; gymen in the the desire to^ interests of displeasure.) 3 the Koman et out of my he was side- >d his trusty n of driving vyer, finding gret for the PRELIMINARY ANNALS. 25 intrusion "—said he « meant no offence "—and, keeping a cautious eye on the cane, " bowed himself out " backwards as deputations do o^t of the presence of royalty, till he got beyond the precincts of the parsonage, when he beat a hasty retreat from the scene of his unsuccessful advance. " The Long Point Circuit, in Upper Canada," the Doctor proceeds, " was formed the latter part of this year chiefly through the labours of Nathan Bangs, who went into the work under the direction of the Presiding Elder of the District In the towns of Burford and Oxford particularly, there was a great work of God commenced under his labours, which even- tuated Hi the conversion of one hundred souls." Of 1804, the same author says —".This year also, Nathan Bangs solicited and obtained the appointment of a missionary to a new settlement on the river Thames, in Upper Canada. 1 his place had long been on his mind as a promising field for missionary labour, and he had frequently offered himself to explore it in the name of the Lord, but his presiding elder objected, on account of the feeble state of his health, and the U'lheaithiriess of the climate. " While at the Conference in New York, this year, he made known his desires and impressions to Bishop Asbury, and he appointed him a n.issionary to that place. He accordingly left the city of New York in the latter part of the month of J.n.e, went into Upper Canada by the way of Kingston, thence up the country, along the north-western shore of Lake Ontario to the Long Point Circuit, and thence on through Oxford to' the town of Delaware, on the river Thames. Here he lod-ed I for the niiri.t in the last log hut in the settlement, and the next morning, as the day began to dawn, he arose and took his departure, and, r.fter travelling through a wilderness of forty- five m;les, guide their homes with earnest prayer for their families and neighbours; and the revival was renewed with great power in Augusta, and many were converted to God. The Minutes for July, 1818, shew an increase of 317. The professors drink deeply into the spirit of the Cxospel-the youth arc making promising improvements. They delight in reading the Bible. At a late quarterly meeting in Augusta, the divine power whs gloriously manifest. Among the hundreds of joyful souls were eight above the age of sixty, who had found mercy during the late revivals : among them was one of seventy-five : another of seventy-two, blessed God that all his family, seven in number, were converted. About the same time, a revival began in the fifth town, Hallowell Circuit. It was at a prayer-meeting, when the divine power rested on the minds of those praying' filling their hearts with peace. Their supplications were heard for sinners, and a number were awakened. And so powerfully did the Lord carry on his work, that in a few weeks, about sixty were brought to rejoice in the love of God. In this good work whole families were rejoicing I In all the east part of the township, there was scarce a family where the voice of prayer and praise was not daily heard ! A great and glorious work of God was also going on in the Bay of Qulnte Circuit It commenced in the township of Fredericksburg, on the 17th of August, 1817. It began at Mr. Cains, where a con.pany of young persons were assembled for the purpose of injproving in singing. At this meeting, a young man, who had lately found peace, addressed the company on the subject of his lato oonverBwn-the joy he felt in the service of God ; and invited n.< ' (! i 36 PAST AND PRESENT. them to come to Christ, and ' taste for themselves that the Lord was gracious.' The divine power rested on all present, and the company were broken into contrition for whom prayer was made, when six young persons were blessed and made happy in the love of God. The news of this meeting brought many together, till no house could contain the multi- tude : numbers were converted at every meeting. It spread like a devouring fire through the neighbourhood ; thence east ; thence north, through the Gein:an eettkmcnt around Hay Bay, sweeping in its course almost every family. From brother Cain's it took a western direction, and spread the width of Adolphustown, leaving a blessing in many a house. Many hundreds assembled at the prayer meetings, when ten or twelve would be converted. From the fourth concession, boat-loads crossed the bay to the meetings in the chapel ; by this means the revival obtained in the north part of the township. 0, it was most delightful to hear the solemn praises from the happy converts, as they sailed across the bay, to and from the place of worship I " This work produced a most happy change in families. On some occasions, while tho father would be reading the Bible, praying or conversing with his family, some one would realise the divine power, and experience a saving change. On these occasions, it would be truly affecting to witness the Christian endearment, when parents and children would embrace each Other, praising God for his mercy, and rejoicing in its mighty comforts. Some who embraced the Gospel when first intro- duced into the country, have lived to see the piety of their children and children's children. So true are the words of unerring inspiration : Tht mtrri/ of the Loni is from ever- lasting to cverfatttiuf/ upon them that fear hinij and hi$ right fou!n>es» niito chilifrens rhi/tfren. — Ps. ciii. 17. " By these revivals, great changes were brought about in the •tate of society. Rude companies, who spent the Sabbath in THE OLD FRAMED MEETING HOUSE. 87 Ives that the n all present, n for whom I blessed and this meeting in the multi- 5. It spread thence east ; around Hay mily. From 3ad the width ouse. Many ten or twelve )n, boat-loads ty this means nship. 0, it )m the happy 1 the place of amilies. On ig the Bible, Konld realize i. On these he Christian embrace each in its mighty n first intro- iety of their the words of s from aver- ni, and hit 17. about in the Q Sabbath la I idleness and revelry, were now seen with their families in the place of worship. Others, who, through the influence of strong drink, had been led to differences and fights, now learned meekness and to forgive. The drunkards song was changed into loud hosannas, and blasphemies into praise I It waa delightful to witness the Christian affection and religious fervour of the people : they seemed to hang on the ministers* lips, as if feasting on every sentence; and as the truths of religion were brought to their believing view, they received them with tears of joy— sometimes with shouts of praise, and " Glory to God," for the wonders of his grace I Our quarterly meetings were attended by such multitudes that no house could contain them. We then had to stand at the door, and to preach to those within and those without,— or divide the con- gregations. " Other revivals might be named, but those were the prin- cipal, at that day • at least in the Bay of Quinte district. The xNiagara country was equally favoured, about four hundred having been added in the Niagara Circuit." The above extracts from Mr. Case's Jubilee Sermon, bring down the annals of Canadian Methodism to the time when my own recollections begin, with THE OLD FRAMED MEETING-HOUSE. n.'fk'i " Mother," said a white-haired urchin of some nine years old, who had juHt returned from an errand, " Mother, when I wjvs in at Mr. Cafrey's store, a man came in and 8aid, they were going to raise the new meeting-house to-day, and that they wanted hands to help ii, putting up the frame. He said they did not mean to have any rum or whisky at the • raisin' but T S-i •!' J i 5 ! I ' ! i 38 PAST AND PRESENT. Ohlj some beer and cakes!" The announcement that there Waft to be no rum or lohi'akej/ at the raising, and orift/ some bbfir, was the declaration of a purpose so singular for the place «nd period, that the little boy's mother, who piqued herself on the possession of some little wit, and who, at that time, had A»yfehing but a good opinion of the Methodists, remarked, Somewhat derisively, " Oh, I suppose they intend to have it like Solomon's Temple, * without the sound of an axe or a hammer ' !" The building referred to was the first Methodist fihapel in the then town of York, the present city of Toronto. li was the second place of worship erected in the capital, and ' must have been erected in the summer and fall of 1818. At thxai time there was not a Methodist in town. The preachers had preached occasionally in private houses, taverns, &c., but the seed sown had been lost. Elder Ryan, for so many years 80 distinguished for his zeal, labours, and heroism in the cause, with his characteristic boldness, determined to have " ground whereon to stand " in the capital of the Province; and, it was said, mm'fg(f'/c(f /i/.s Jnrm for a sum to erect the church, and »fterwarda appealed for indemnification to the Methodist people soatraied throughout the length and breadth of tlic land. One of these, from tlie country, came and built tJie church. He was the person the little boy had seen in the store on the morn- ing of the day on which it was raised. Early in the autumn of that seiiaon, the chapel was used for preaching. Under the second sermon, a man of intelligence and influence was con- verted, who became the first Leader ; and was for many years an eflficient and hearty friend of the cause. And, some few Sundays after it was opened, the woman who had made herself merry at the abstemiousness practiced at the raising, attended ihe jwoaching — was so much impressed that she stopped to th« iAam, and joined the society ; and in a few weeks after- wwds, in that same delightful moans of grace, while a hymn inw l»aing 8uug, ontored into the libeity of the children of God, THE OLD FRAMED MEETLYG-HOUSE. 39 it that there id onlti some for the place led herself on lat time, had ts, remarked, d to have it an axe or a rst Methodist J of Toronto. e capital, and .f 1818. At 'he preachers }rns, &c., but many years in the cause, ive " ground ; and, it was church, and hodist ]^eople G land. One church. He on the morn- \ the autumn Under the nee was ccn- r many years id, some few made herself ing, attended e stopped to weeks after- hile a hymn dreu of God, receiving the Spirit of adoption by which slie could cry Abba Father. The first time the little boy alluded to, in company with many others, entered the house (it was the first time he had been in any place of worship,) was during the following winter, on the occasion of the opening of a Sunday School organized by that indefatigable friend of the young, the late Rev. Thaddeus Osgood. It was the first ever opened in oar Western capital ; and it is likely, the first in Upper Canada. It was a day of no small bustle, among big and little in the new meeting-house. The three gentlemen the most active in conducting and sustaining it— the distinction between superin- tendcnt, secretary, and librarian, was but little known— were. Messrs. Jesse Ketclmm, W. P. Patrick, and the late Dr. Morrison. The writer remembers thnt the new Meeting-house, which stood on the south side of King-street, about half-way between Bay and Yongo-streets, had no house nearer than Mr. Jordan Post's, on the corner of the square, and that gentleman's watch- maker-shop on the other. It was then without a fence avound it-unp linted-and stood up from the ground on some llceks which supplied the place of foundation, while the wind whistled and howled underneath. The Society for several months augmented very fast; but was again diminished by the forma- tion of a rival one in the Masonic IL.ll, by Missionaries from England. The controversy occasioned by this measure, we mny suppose, had no bcnefiei-.d eifect on either society. Hap- pily, this stumbling-block was taken away, by the arrangement entered into between tiie General Conference in America and the English Conference, in 1820, which resulted in the removal of the European preacliers from the Upper Province. Few however, of tlie society they gathered, took tiie advice of their pastors on leaving, which was to connect themselves with the other. The original society soon recovered its loss, and in about eight years afterwards, numbered tx.o huiulnd. And i I'i \\ i'f H » i HI 1 1 i' I i 6.; ' 40 PAST AND PRESENT. the congregation was so much increased as to require an addi- tion of thirty feet to the building. In this interval, the white- headed boy had been converted — joined society — and risen through the successive grades of leader and exhorter, and at this period was sent out to supply a vacancy upon a circuit, as the old Presiding Elder said, " as an experiment to see whether he would make a preacher." About two years after this, the spacious and elegantly symmetrical brick church in Alelaide- street was erected. A decade, recounted backwards from the last-mentioned event, was the most prosperous period connected with the Society in the Old Framed Meeting-house : a period during which they enjoyed the able ministrations of a Richard- son, al Metcalf, a Wm. Smith, an Irvine, and the three Ryer- sons — William, John, and Egerton — then in the zenith of their popularity. The Society, during this period, was the most conspicuous for non-conformity to the world, love to each other, and zeal for God, that the writer had ever the happiness of knowinj?. Although Methodism has passed through several trying scenes from that time to this, it has weathered all the storms ; and the Old Framed Meeting-house is succeeded by five elegant churches, supplied by six Ministers, while the Wesleyan Church in the two city circuits comprises the large number of owe thousoiid five hundred and thirty-nint ..dwi- hers.^ To God be all the glory ! MY SPIRITUAL FATHER. To whom should we apply such an appellation as the one above ? To the instrument of our aicakcning or conver- sion, or earfy eMahUahment in the loai/s of piety f or all * The number at the time the above was written. Mt SPIRITUAL FATHER. 41 these together? Doubtless, he who stands in nil the above relations best deserves such a designation. He who has been the instrument of both convirfwn and ronvrrKiov, deserves next ; while he who only cherished us after our spiritual birth, may be the least entitled to the name. But of the three sepa' rately, he who was the one that effectually pointed us to the Lamb of God, in the hour of uncertainty and distress, best deserves the title. Such was the relation to me of the one of whom I am about to write: a person for whom I have always felt a peculiar sort of attachment, which I never felt for another. The writer had been awakened by reading a rejigious tract —had resolved on securing salvation— had left off outward siu and forsaken evil company— had commenced using all the means of grace— had joined the church on probation— and had been seeking God with all his heart, " with strong cries and tears," but amid many discouragements, doubts and perplexi- ties, for about two months— but, up to the time we are about to mention, had sought in vain. Such was his state of mind when, on one lovely Sabbath morning, he started for the " Old Framed Meeting-house," and took his accustomed seat on one of the forms, peics there were none, which ran sideways of the pulpit, on which " the members of Society" usually sat— the men on the right hand, the women on the left. By the way if a member began to sit off those seats, and further down towards the door, he was immediately suspected of a tendency to backslide. He had not long occupied his seat, when mstcad of the usual circuit Preacher for the day, Mr. Slater » stranger entered the house, and went up into the pulpit. He was very peculiar in his appearance. It is true, he wore the usual summer garb of a Methodist Preacher of that day— a black worsted frock coat, and a broad-leafed grey hat— well worn. He was medium sized, rather stout, but stooped with a sort of groping manner of walking, occasioned by short- '1 ',' f Jit t IM 42 PAST AND PRESENT. ness of sight. His appearance gave him an air of meekness, not without some seeming awkwardness. He was not hand- some, having coarse, lightish hair, not very delicate features, and much freckled withal. He conducted the service modestly, and with great propriety. He read his hymns with emphasis and solemnity — prayed with feeling and power — and preached a sermon which (all glory to God!) led me to Christ! It was founded on Gal. iii. 13: — *' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law heing made a curse for us." It was well arranged, expressed in excellent language, and presented the plan of salvation with a clearness and power i^uch as the writer had never seen or felt before. The whole scheme was unfolded to his vision ; and he thought if he had had a thousand sinful souls, he could have cast them all on Jesus. He drank in the balmy sound of mercy, and ere he was aware of it, faith had sprung up in his poor, anxious heart, and he " rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Oh, how happy was that hour ! In the evening, the stranger preached from the well-known passage, " Except ye be con- verted, and become as little children, &c. :" in expounding which he ffescr b // A converted person. The description so exactly tallied with his feelings, that he said, with liidescrib- able satisfaction to himself, " Now I know I am converted" He had often sorrowfully sung before that happy moment, " 'Tis n point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought, Do I love the Lord or no, Am I His, or am I not?" But now he knew he was His: *' went on his way rejoicing." The Preacher to whom we have referred was the Rev, Rowley Heyland, still alive, but laid by from the active work by age and infirniity. He was then about twenty-eight years of age. Aside from our affection for him, because of the and from that glad hour, MY SPIRITUAL FATHER. 43 good he was th* means of doing us, we ever had a high opinion of his abilities and excellencies. Nor do we now think it was any higher than his merits deserved. In the palmy days of his earlier ministry, there were few if any, more effective preachers in the Province than he was. Blessed with a clear, strong, musical voice, a sympathetic spirit and fervent piety— with ''a ready command of good language— and clear views, with a cogent manner of presenting them, he was, if " eloquence is the power of persuasion," tml,, eloquent. This he was, at times especially, when he seemed to possess the divine afflatus, and spake with an unction and power truly remarkable. On some of those occasions, there were bursts of fiery eloquence, attended with '' shocks of power," as they used to be called, that created marked sensation. We have often been astonished that he did not occupy more prominent places : and could only account for it on the princi- pie of his modesty and diffidence ; his ahort-sightedness from the first, and the total loss of one eye, after some years— and his unfortunate committal, at an early period, to some alleged secular entanglements, joined to a little carelessness of \m personal appearance— all of which conspired to hold him back from positions, which otherwise he would have occupied with distinction. Heyland never became the man he might have been, m view of his vigorous mind, fair education and mighty powers of influencing public assemblies. Had he' pos^ sessed a little more of what is usually called a m6,p-n,eeti„g ray lountenanee of a certain young man; and my soul instant W f ave u, his, like the soul of Jonathln to Dav d Am! tdean^d friendship sprung up between ns, a friendship wHch lover met with the s ightest interruption, which was attended hh nought but profit to me, and which rather increa,sed than ^herwise, up to the time of my " going out to travel,"_nay, " Till he took his last triumphant flight. From Calvary to Zion's height." U-, though ho married and changed his place of residence and bsiness, and we met not sometimes for years, yet I have lason to know, that an ardent friendship, of the purest and ^st heaven y character, subsisted between us mutually to the >t. I shall never forget the heavenly glow with which he sod, when we were walking together in a retired place . ■''J, If I. : i ;■ ( I I'i IIM 4^ PAST AND PRESENT. one starlight night, that whichever should be called away from the toils and dangers of this life first into the world of spirits, should watch over the other, if permitted, as a "ministering spirit;" a proposal to which, in the simplicity of my heart, I assented. And be it enthusiasm, or be it what it may, that promise, so solemnly made on his part, has been often a source of comfortable reminiscence to me, since his death, in my lonely nocturnal rides. Now that he has gone to his account, I may speak of him with freedom ; nor have I anything but what is good to say. I never met him and found him dull or indifferent to the interests of his soul. Our second question, after a mutual inquiry about our health — and sometimes it was the^irs^ — was, " How do you prosper? How are you getting on towards heaven ? Are you happy?" or the like: and I never left his company without feeling that I was made better by it. Our meetings, though not formally so, were practically of the nature of a " Band." We told our faults — we admo- nished each other — ^we encouraged each other — and we prayed with and for each other. We had not even the convenience of an in-door meeting place ; but the fields and woods, under the broad canopy of heaven, were the places of our rapturoug communings. Such was my early class-mate, the thought of meeting whom constitutes no small portion of the anticipated bliss of heaven. " If death my friend and me divide, Thou dost not, Lord, my sorrows chide, Nor fro'Vf u my tears to see ; Restrained from passionate excess, Thou bid'st me mourn in calm distress, For them that rest in Thee. " I feel a strong, immortal hope. Which bears my mournful spirit up, Beneath its mountain load ; AN ELECT LADY. Redeemed from death, and grief, and p»in, I soon shall see my friend again, Within the arras of God. "Pass the few fleeting moments more, And death the blessing shall restore' Which death hath snatched away : For me, Thou wilt the summons send. And give me back my parted friend. In that eternal day 1" 47 AN "ELECT LADY." The person to whom this scriptural epithet is here most deservedly applied, was a member of the first society to which p belonged ; by which I mean, not only the society in the town rwhere I was converted, but its characteristic composition at the tune I joined it and for some years after-a society remark- ible for Its numbers, considering the then population of the *own, Its usefulness, its peacefulness, and fervent piety —but a aciety, which after some years, was fated to pass through a evere ordeal, and to be sadly racked and scattered by Politics by Irvineism, by Mormonism, by Millerism, and by a numbed Bfuntoward circumstances that shall be left unmentioned so js almost to lose its identity. For, though there is now a ourishing Wesleyan interest in the city to which the town ^as grown up yet few of the members of the original society L^T". * r' '''' ^' ''"^"^"•* ^"^ «°^««g ^he rest, i T T . .r '"'*^"^' '^' ^^^y ^^ q"««*i«"- ^he has ^ontmued steadfast amid all the storms and all t he changes, and * This can hardly be said now, in 1860. ' ; ■ i I 1 I. (^ i ■ '! I 48 PAST AND PRESENT. contributed more than any one person, in some of its seasons of greatest prostration, to keep the cause from totally sinking. So great is the good that may be done by a pious lady. We are often challenged for examples of the entire holiness we teach ; and it must be confessed there are too few on whom its defenders might boldly fix as proofs of the truth of their doc- trine. But she was one who might have been pointed out with the utmost confidence. The writer saw her at the moment she sprang up from the midst of a camp-meeting " praying circle," which they were in those days, and otherwise called " the ring," exulting in the pardoning mercy of God. He was acquainted with her while yet unmarried, — when in the conjugal relation — and during the continuance of her long widowhood. He knew her in very moderate circumstances, and in wealth and plenty ; she was the same cheerful, humble, heavenly-minded creature in all circumstances. She had, there is reason to believe, a good natural disposition or temper ; and she had been rendered still more amiable by a superior moral and intellectual training ; but her excellencies were principally the fruits of grace divine. I shall never forget the joy of countenance with which she bounded up from her knees at the time of her conversion, to which I have referred ; and, after giving glory to God, the alacrity with which she commenced praying and labouring with the still unpardoned penitents around her. From that time she went steadily on. She never seemed to falter, or stumble, or even to lose ground. She is supposed to have been, instrumentally, the salvation of her husband. And after he was taken from her, being left in somewhat affluent circumstan- ces, she was " full of alms-deeds." Often was her generosity imposed on. Although she might have excused herself on the ground of very delicate health, yet she literally " went about doing good." In whatever company she was, she was useful. He never knew a person whoso completely united gravity with Qbeerfulnesa ; and who contrived to do so much good with so ^N ELECT LADY. |g little of ostentation or eccentricity. She never spake ill of an absent person. There was nothing sour or morose aj)out her; her piety was bland and inviting. Though a person of grjat endowments, yet she never presumed to preach. The good she accomplished was in visitin^^ awakened persons from house to house, and gathering them together in classes, which she met with great acceptability and profit ; in praying in the prayer meeting, for she had a most lovely and powerful gift in prayer j and by collecting the pour and neglected of her own sex, in some by-part of the city, and labouring for their edifica- tion, by reading a sermon, and superadding exhortation and prayer. Nor was her labour in vain in the Lord.^ He has no doubt many hundreds of souls will bless God in heaven for the good done them through the instrumentality of this angel of mercy. The writer remembers with gratitude how often his heart was cheered by intercourse with hor, to go on in his arduous toil, during a very trying time, which happened at a somewhat advanced perioJ of his ministry, when appointed to the pL.co of h\& spiritual birth. He was about to say that "take her all for all, he ne'er will look upon her like again." But why should he say that 'f The grace of God is sufficient for all ; and what she was enabled to be by the grace of God, all may be. May the earth be filled with such Ohristians. Amen, and amen !* * Since this was written, she has sweetly fallen asleep in Jesus, and rests from her l;iboiirs. :ii 'i'l . if ♦.I ' {■ ■ ■ 4 ' 'i fi it ■ i^kikk 50 PAST AND PRESENT. i ( n "SAMMY" RICHARDSON; or, THE ZEALOUS IRISHMAN. Zeal without talent will effect more good than talent with* out zeal. An instance of the good which may be effected bjr' humble abilities, is to be seen in the career of the simple- hearted, fervent little man, whose name stands at the head of this paper : we venture to give this familiar sobriquet, bccauso it is one wl^ich he would not have scorned himself, and because it was the one by which ho was distinguished by his friends and neighbours, who loved him dearly. He was a native of Ireland, whore he was converted in his youth. Ho oame to this country single, I think, in the fall of '24 or '2.>. It was about that time we ^rstsaw hiui at a Quarterly Meeting in the " Old Framed Meeting-house." We shall never forget his prayer in the Saturday night prayer-meeting, and his experience in the love-feast next morning. A young man, who wa«i in an unhappy state of mind, was so cheered with his prayfir, that he remarked, " If that little Irishman had kept ^=*^A.»*>rf.a^-^A,,«..tfTi^',i>y^'''-fiv?,-^.-- ■T-:rKK ^2 PAST AND PRESENT. i !J ■I! way from a neighbourhood in whicli he taught a school to th« one in which his relatives resided, when, being thirsty, he called into a little house by the road side, in a neighbourhood settled mostly by people from the old country, and in which there was no preaching. After asking for and receiving a drink of water, he inquired if they '* loved Jesus." This soon brought the old man of the house, who was a backslider, from Ireland, first to tears, and then upon his knees. After ^ season of melting prayer, the old gentleman was reminded of his sick son, in a house at the top of the hill, whom he invited what appeared to him the ^ilmost angelic stranger, to visit. The stranger readily complied, and was soon praying by the side of the sick man, who had been a leader and exhorter himself in other day?, but who was then bitterly mourning his " leanness," and crying out, " Oh that it wer& with me as in the days that are past." Sammy made an appointment for prayer and exhortation on his return to- his school on the following Sabbath. He left an appointment for the following Sabbath after that, to be held by a friend of his, a young Irishman, lately out, then very zealous for God, who used 'to fly over the country like a hart, to publish a Saviour's love. The second appointment was duly kept. At the third raeetinjr, the writer was present by invitation, and made his first attempt to exhort. This meeting was kept up by the spontaneous zeal of a few pious lads for two years before a preacher went near them. There were no Local Preachers' Plans in those days. But the sick man was restored in body and soul. An awakening commenced which resulted in a number of conversions, and when the stationed preacher went out from York one Sunday aftenioow, and preached among them, ho had the satisfaction of joining no less than twenty- nine believers in class. '1 hat sick man is now in the evening; of his days a gentleman of a higiily respectable socinl position, and a Local Preacher. And one of the converts in that little " SAMMY " RICHARDSON. t$ Myival, has been for many years a truly efficient Wesleyaa Minister — the Rev. John Lever. Sammy was truly iostant in season and out of season. The writer remembers his being kindly conducted by a young man through a piece of woods, after nightfall, to the house of a friend which he was anxious to reach. The young man was not converted. When we arrived at our place of destination, who should be there but Sammy. It was Saturday night, and he had come thus far, a distance of some miles from his' own house, on his way to his Sabbath appointments. 1 was glad to meet him. Soon an animated conversation sprung up, on experimental religion, sudden conversions, revivals, and the Lord's wonderful doings that he had seen in various parts of the laud. My guide became interested and somewhat impressed ; and when the hour for family devotion arrived, Sammy did not forget to remember him in prayer j and while the writer followed in prayer at his bidding, Sammy walked across the room on his knees, and began to point him to Christ and urge him to seek the Lord with all his heart. I am not prepared to say it issued in the young man's conver- sion at that time ; but if it did not, it was not from any want of fidelity on the part of the hero of my story. An instance of a more successful effort was related tu the writer by Sammy, on the afternoon of the day on which it happened. I had spent four months on a bush circuit to the west of the capital, and was ordered by conncxional authority a hundred and twenty miles to the east. This journey we had to perform on horseback. It was a squally, half-rainy half-snowy aft rnoon in the fall of 18L>8, that we were splash- ing our way through seas of muddy water, in a dreary sort of mood, without an umbrella, for our apology for one had turned completely inside-out by the first gust that swept the street after we left our mother^s door, in the town of York, on which we just rode back, pitched the wreck into the house, and rode ml t i !'■ ' m 1 1.. ■ ■"^'H ' r4 f ^m ■M l. ll l lill . III 14 PAST AND PRESENT. on without it. It was a maxim with us in those days, that as we were neither sugar nor salt, a little water would not melt us. Well, as I was saying, as I rode along, splash, splash, splash, moody enough, I met Sammy's ever joyous face, like ft gleam of sunshine through the surrounding gloom. Sammy withdrew from the raising of the log-house at which he was assisting, and came to " bring us on our jounney," for a short distance at least, after a truly " godly sort." He told me that that morning he had gone to a neighbour's to borrow the use of a yoke of oxen j but forgetting his errand, he had begun to talk to him about his soul, and finding him in distress, they both went upon their knees, and continued to pray till, to use Sammy's words, "the Lord set his soul at liberty." Ho gave us his blessing, and we went on our way rejoicing. To his kind directions I owed my comfortable quarters that night, in the shanty of a pious new settler, in the front of Pickering, where I slept with a pile of corn husks at my head. Soon after this, Sammy married j and the writer had the pleasure of twice enjoying his hospitality in his journeys up and down the country. These were our only interviews with our heavenly minded friend, till he exchanged mortality for life. Our last was in the winter of '37, when the country was in a disturbed state after the rebellion. We arrived at ft kte hour, but met a cordial welcome. We had a season of delightful intercourse throughout the evening. Before the morning light, we rose, poured out our souls together in prayer, and the writer went on his way, never more to see his friend on earth. Peace to thy memory, simple, loving, pray, ing Sammy ! j i II ! I ! i ONE OP MT PIBST PASTORS. 55 ONE OP MY FIRST PASTORS. The mention of the " Old Framed Meeting-house " has suggested the idea of sketching the Preachers who laboured in Canada West thirty years ago, especially" those who preached in the chapel referred to, who have passed oflF the stage of action, and are now where they cannot be afiected by the praise or blame of mortals. The first we shall call up in memorial, is William Slater. He was on the York and Yonge Circuit, at the time the writer set out for heaven, and was present in the very Love-feast in which he joined the church. Mr. S. was then comparatively young, and yet single; nor would lie be among the very old- est if he were still alive. But death, " the insatiate archer," who " loves a shining mark," laid him low in the midst of his days. He was from old England; and a noble person of a man he was — tall and well proportioned, with florid complex- ion, and full, open, strong voice. As a preacher, he was con- siderably above mediocrity for his day, though not very moving. His preaching was plain, lucid and able, but truly practical. Some of the texts he used to preach from are as fresh in the recollection of the writer, as if he had heard them preached on but yesterday. Pardon him for reciting a few of them. They may do us good. « Whom having not seen we love; and in whom believing, though now ye see him not, wo rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." « Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law ! These four furnish a pretty fair sample of the kind of texts on which he loved to dwell ; plain and full of gospel truth. Although by no ' 6$ PAST AND PRESENT, means a canting, long-faced person, but the very reverse j^ yet there is good evidence to believe he was a man of sterling moral worth and piety. The writer being then a boy, never had the pleasure of being in his company but once; on that occasion, he remembers his conversation tp have been intelligent, serious, and characterized by manly sense. He died from home, and rather suddenly, but, he- believes, in great peace. The messenger did not find him unprepared. The friends on the Ancaster Circuit, with a, praiseworthy consideration, erected a tombstone to his memory, which may be seen in the rear of the " old chapel," in the now city of Hamilton ; then one of the preaching places in the above-named circuit, in which Mr. Slater fell. At the time the writer first saw him, and also the following , year, Mr. S. was the colleague of our present [1854] much respected Co-Delegate ; and he has reason to know, he remained his attached personal friend till the day of his release from earth. How joyful will be the meeting of such fellow labourers, in the " reat that romaineth for the people of God." A NATION BORN IN A DAY! , " Shall a nation be born at once ?" Yes, so it was with the conversion of the native Indian tribes of Upper Canada to the Christian iaith ; particularly so with the Ciiippeways. Perhaps, on the whole, there has not been a more extraordinary work since' the apostolic age. It commenced about thirty-one or thirty-two years ago ; and in a very few years comprised all the tribes or bands within the Bcttlemcnts on the borders of the Province. The work took A NATION BORN IN A DAT. St i *;«^;^ Nelson's day, " an excellent place for getting an appetite, but the worst for getting anything to eat." The Indians were miserably poor and poverty stricken, from the failure of their corn crop the summer preceding. So that we were in " fasting," as well as "perils" the live-long day. Nor was there any after remuneration, except what we had in the pleasing reflec- tion>that we had been doing good ; for we had no missionary exoheqfier in^tlwae days, and no brother received anything for missionary labouc isnles» it wa&. exdusimJi/ such. But we never thought of complaining then ;; and do not complain now. The love and gratitude of these- simple sons of the forest were an ample compensation. An invitation to a feast,. the last time I went down, consisting of damaged corn and rusty salt pork, in which the dogs had stuck their noses sundry times while the kettles stood on the hearth during divine serviee, which preo;!ded,tlie dinner, was much the most formidable difl&culty I had to dispose of the whole year. I am sure I would have ohosen. three days' fasting to one spoonful of that abominablo •oup.. But I contrived, to beg off— wrote my name on the blank leaf of a book, at the request of the old chief, that they might not forget it— and left amid their tears and blessings. A CANADIAN CAMP^MEETING THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. This was the jrst one held so near Toronto, and the first ih&, writer over attended. Every scene and circuu.stance wa* i:i;. >*^^-w#» JL CAN-ADIAN" CAWlfEETlXG S5 YEARS AGO. m moTel, and, therefore, made a deep impression on his young and luaceptible mind and memory. It was held in the summer of 1825, near Cummer's Mills, considered at that time, the way the road went round Hogg's Hollow, about twelve miles from town. " York and Yonge Street " were then one circuit ; and «he town society interested itself very much in the coming meeting. Several young men were sent out a week beforehand, to assist in preparing the ground ; and to erect a large board tent, which they did, f/fy feet Inocj^ with every convenience. Pmyer was offered to God for His pra33nc3 an-J blessing on the meeting, for days, if not weeks beforehand. And at sunrise on the morning of the day on which it was to commence, the society of the "Old Framed Meeting-house" were all on the 97^/ iv/Vr, and very won en route to the oan^p-meeting. Between carta and wag. gons, and equestrians and pedestrians, the procession looked quite formidable. We arrived at the place about noon ; and .without wishing to mstitutc any invidious comparison between "niodern" camp-metings and those of former days, farther than is necessary to convey correct information or to impart needed admonition, I nmst say it had an imposing appearance oompared with many encanipmcnts of the present time. This arose from the character and necessity of the times, when there was no law for punishing the disturbers of public worship, or .the Siilo of articles on the Lord's-day. As you entered the ground, it sloped downward from the front gate to tho " Preacher's stand," with " tent " attached, wLicli siood at tho other side of the area. The seats for the eongrogation (of new slabs from the mill) consequently rose with a v-entle elevation from tho stand ; and they were prepared with ,. view to accom- modate a vast nuuiber. The g.-ound, though thoroughly cleared of small trees and rubbish, was delightiully shaded bj the wide-spreading branches and thick foliage of the straight and towering forest trees that were Iclt standing. The wholft. i ; !i f i ■:| 1 .mmiL 4.. ; !■ II. :tf i 1 ;, m u PAST AND PRESENT. of the cleared space was encompassed with a strong fefiC* eight or ten feet high, made of slabs, resting against stake* crossing each other, and driven firm in the ground. The slabs; which were also driven in the ground at an angle of forty-five degrees from the perpendicular, were sharpened at the top, thti# constituting a sort of chevaux de fn'se, which no intruder^ however bold, might dare to scale. Each of the openings Sot egress and ingress, whether for wood, water, or retirement, ae well as the main entrance, particularly the latter, were fui^ nished with gates strongly framed together, and secured by strong pins and massive bars. These were carefully guarded by a strong '• watch," a sort oi' camp-meeting police, that relieved each otheF at intervals, and kept watch and ward the- live-long night. ■ The tents were nearly all of boards, and completely encir- cled the ground. I would not like to attempt estimating^^ the numbers, but the ground was alive with people from early the first day to the last. The Methodists turned out nume- rously from the Yonge Street and from the Toronto Township,' then the nearest circuit, on which a glorious revival was in progress at the time. " The Toronto Methodists" were cele- brated for being all alive in those days. ••' The meeting wiks superintended by the Rev. Thos. Muddeny who combined order with energy. 1 have often thought that he would have made a good general : and so he was, in a mor©. glorious though bloodless conflict. Tlie other travelling preachers were Gatchel, Culp, William Rycrson, Corson, Hey-, land; and W. 11. Williams and J. Richardson, the preacherB' on the circuit. The local preachers who assisted were R. Bofleld, J.J. Nee-'' lands, C. Fliimmerfeldt, and \). Younians, then in the local ranks, and Cllne, a Dutchman. This ujceting was character- ised by the most extraordinary displays of God's power, and- the accomplishment of much good. The work of convcrsioft A CANADIAN CAMP-MEETINO 35 YEARS AGO. M began in the first prayer meeting held after the preaching the first night. The spirit of conviction seemed to rest on all th« unconverted within the enclosure. They might be seen in little groups all over the ground, pleading with God till near the morning light. It progressed with increasing interest and power through the several stages of the meeting to its close- that is to say, from Thursday night to Monday— on which day no less than 140 persons came forward as the subjects of con- rerting grace. The sacramental and farewell services at the dose were the most exciting and intensely affecting that I ever witnessed. And I should think such times are not often seen. The valedictory charge was delivered, at the request of the Pre- liding Elder, by the Rev. William Ryerson, whose preaching at that time was characterized by a pathos and persuasiveness that seemed to bear down all before it. There was much powerful preaching at that meeting. Mr. Madden's will be mentioned in a succeeding sketch. Rowley Heyland was al that period a thunderbolt for energy. He truly preached " with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." May we never forget the obligations we are under to our aged ministers and departed worthies ! It is too much the fashion to discard a man as soon as he begins to fail of his natural force ; but it ie irreverent and ungrateful. The effect of such meetings is to promote acquaintance and brotherly love between all the church, both nnnistersand mem- bers: and to check a tendency to secularism, and to promote heavenly-nundedness. The writer remembers the re-ret he felt at going back into the world after the meeting wa's over Some of his most hallowed friendships were formed at that and ■miliar meetings ; friendships which have solaced him in this vale of tears from youth up to the present time, and friendships which he believes will be cemonted and perpetu- •ted, — ^ i' f! r II lid^Ui 'J lit Jl i ■ I i ea PAST AND PRESENT. " Where all the ship's company meet, Who sailed with their Saviour beneath, W'here, with shouting, each other they greet, And triumph o'er sorrow and death." -w (( FATHER" YOUMANS, Or, as he was wont to style himself sometimes, among his friends, " The Old Hammer,'' was one of the preachers whom I used most frequently to hear in the days of my boyhood, in the " Old Framed Meeting-house." He was then, perhaps, fifty years of age — possibly not so much ; but as he was plain and old-fashioned in his dress and manners, he really appeared older, i\6. was generally known by the name of "Father Youmans ;" or more familiarly still, as a term of endearment, " Ditihh/ Youmans." Ho was of Dutch descent, and originally a blacksmith by trade, which latter fact, with a certain ham- mering method in the pulpit, may have suggested the use of the sohn'quet above mentioned—*' The Old Hammer." He was not a " star of the first magnitude," nor, perhaps, of the snami/ either ; but he was a man of strong sense, which, with the divine teaching of which he was the subject, made him a sound divine. He had also a warm heart, which imparted great fervency to his preaching. His exuberance of good temper prevented all severity m his most earnest addresses, and gave them a genial character. He was beloved of all, and the writer well remembers the smile of affectionate regard that was wont to light up the faces of the congregation when ho made his appearance in the meeting-house, and passed down the aisle attired in his "Quaker Snuff," or "Parson's Grey," and well-worn broad-leafed wool hat in hand. He loved, and "FATHER'' roUMANS. m was the favourite of children. It was not uncommon to sec a dozen little ones around him, pulling and tugging at his hands and coat-skirts, out of sheer fondness for him, and all emulous to " Share the good man's smile." The old gentleman had neither much polish nor learning. He has often put me in mind of Bunyan, to whose portrait, in those days he bore a strong resemblance. His similes were of the most homely character. He has been heard in the pulpit to compare the process of purgatorial purification, taught by some, to that of " burning out an old pipe:" with which operation he was, no doubt, familiar, for he was an inveterate smoker. This was the only habit of a reprehensible kind I ever knew him to be guilty of j and this, I believe, was ren- dered necessary by some asthmatieal affection. Yet he was once heard, in Conference, in a conversation on '' needless self- indulgences," to offer to relinquish it, '' if it were a stumbling- block to any one." Our hero was a lovely singer, possessed of a clear, strong, masculine, and yet soft voice, as well as correct ear, capable of carrying the bass of a tune with enrapturing effect. How much musical Hcicncc he possessed I am not prepared to say. But this I know, he has often enchained the congregation in the chapel by commencing a solo at the close of the senice ; or by singing a select piece, with two or three other practiced, powerful dingers, for the possession of which our society was then distinguished. Oh, with what majesty and what effect I have heard Watts' '< Tempest " sung on those occasions! At the time of writing this, (August 28th, 1855,) my revered fncnd is still alive,- but little known to the present generation, Iwviug been for several years confined to his home, if nU to his bod. I hope to hear, wlicn his death is unnouuced, that tho (•;!. w. PAST AND PRESENT. expectation I once heard him express in claBS-mceting, (a meani of grace in which he delighted, and of which he was the delight,) has heen realized. Said he, on the occasion referred to :— "It will not be long till it is said, ' Old Father Youmani is dead :' and, blessed be God, I expect to go with shouting I" May the reader and writer both of them so leave the world ! Amen. ONE OF OUR SUPPLIES. For many yiars the present City of Toronto methodist- ically stood in c ;finoxion with the Vonge Street Circuit, iind appeared on the iMinutes, not even as York and Yonge Street, but as " Yonjre Street and York." It was so, we know.'in 1823-4, 1 21-5, and in 1825 6; in 1826-7 it was reversed, and Yo iK stood /ir-ff. In 1827-8, it became un independent station. i>uring the whole time, from 1823 to 1827 the Yonj;e Street preachers, two in number, came each only once a n.onth. There were two Sabbaths in every four which they did not supply Sometimes this defect was reme- died by the two Ancaster preacherp, cominpj each once a month. In 1823, these were the Kev. David Gulp, and towjirds the latter part of the year, JoKeph Messmore. then a young man supp'y'n.i under the direeti. n of tiie Presiding Elder. We heard some of his first seriium-', and no ill com. mencement they were to a long course of laborious efforts in his Master's cause. The arranjjement referred to stood alio for the following year. But veiy irequently the alternate Sabbath to that on wlrich the Yonge Street luiniaters were in there, were supplied by local anl locuf d preachcri. Ml ONE OP OUR SUPPLIES. 69 Thd Rev. David Youmans, as we have already seen, was on6 of the latter. Mr. Robert BosEeld, a profound and masterly eermonizer, but very slow of speech, was one of the former. But there was yet another, a great favourite with all, whom we shall make the special subject of the present sketch. He was, we believe, a native of Canada, but of German extraction, as both his family and baptismal name unmistak- ably indicated. He resided in the woods of Scarborough. He had no advantages of education, beyond what tin; country parts of Canada afforded fifty years ago : but he was a man of genius for all that. This ho showed, we are told, by some very clever poetical effusions. During the war of 1812, he was a very active and enthusiastic militiaman, and com- posed several patriotic songs. One, of a military character, ascribed to him, we often heard sung in our boyhood, and it struck us as very clever. He was naturally a man of activity and daring. Traditions of his personal exploits, showing his agility and strength, were often recited to the writer. ° He was then unconverted, and remained in that state until hd was twenty-nine years old. Then, an alarming providence, which took away one of his companions at "a raising," aroused him from the sleep of sin. Happily the voice of God's mcfl- sengersin the wilderness, crying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord I" was there, as also, " the voice of the turtle was heard in the land." His sin-sick soul drank in the balmy sound and was at once made whole. He soon began to exhort and preach ; nor did the tnimnet give any uncertain sound. The preachers knew and appreci- ated him. They had to be absent from the town a Sabbath at % oamp-meeting, and our hero was proposed by them as a supply. To this the richest man in the Society, an old Scotch gentle- man, who did not believe in camp-meetings, and did not go to them, made strong objections. He was to stay at homei and wanted a respectable preacher in the pulpit, if possible ; 7 ''■r\ iW'i : i i m PJLSE. AND PRESENT. ill to the proposed supply was a poor man who had to labour foi his living, and had been in town only a few days before, with a.load of shingles, barefooted. To have such a man, the sturdy Scot thought would not do at all. But there was no other supply ; and, fortunately, the poor man " made a raise " of a pair of shoes before Sunday, and his good wife otherwise "fixed him up," making his " auld claise to look a'maist as weel as new." On Sabbath morning, in he came, and suc- ceeded to admiration. And the first news Mr. C. had to tell the ministers, on their return was, what two excellent sermons Brother F. had preached. He was thenceforth in great request in the town, and none of the travelling preachers stood higher. We well remember our first sight of him. We had been only a few weeks trying to serve God, but long enough to have read the '' Life of Wesley, by Coke and Moore," and a volume of the " Lives of the Early Methodist Preachers." We went on the morning referred to, as was our wont, at an early hour, to the meeting house. The congregation had pretty much all assembled before any preacher made his appearance. They had begun to look inquiringly at each other, when a broad, heavy, masculine-looking man, with plain but agreeable features, and a sunburnt, beardless face — perhaps thirty-four years of age— entered^ dressed in a Vv-ell-worn suit of'dark-coloured homespun — cut-away coat — and an oaten^ straw hat in his hand. I felt to love him at once. He was the beau ideal of one of the early rustic lay preachers, and mif'ht have answered to represent the meek but stout-hearted John Neleon himself. And, oh, what a delightful service we had that morning ! Our preacher was modest, but composed. His voice was pleasant, and his elocution, or " delivery," as we used to call it, good. An impressive reader was he. Then, such a sermon ! So clear, methodical, consecutive, remember- able, and sweetly evangelical. His text was, '' Fear not, little ONE OP OUR SUPPLIES. m flock, for It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom/' He treated it in a way that went to our hearts. To this day we can easily remember his texts and the way he* treated them. He was an easy, natural, ingenious sermonizer The secret of his amplijication was, his always noticing what his text implied as well as expressed. We must recite another incident of our friend and »he town pulpit. At that time there were two well-educated gentlemen, natives of England, who sometimes came to the <^ Old Framed Meeting-House." The first was the son of a Wesleyan Minister, and had been classically trained at Kings- wood school— had been a popular local preacher himself but now seldom officiated, and wore his religion pretty loosely around him. His connection with Methodism ended with the removal of the British Missionaries about 1820. The other, was a man of respectable connexions, the brother of an English Church Clergyman, and a sincere enquirer after truth, who ultimately became a Baptist. He was very par- tial to one of our circuit Ministers in 1825-6, durin<» which year the following scene is laid. We remember the morning well; and of seeing him in the chapel, and the rest that occurred. The Scarborough brother supplied that morning. Ho was dressed in a heavy suit of home-made; and entered with a coarse wool hat in his hand, the binding around the nm of which was in jinglets. His nether extremities were cased in a large, heavy pair of cowhide boots, which were whole enough, only that one of them was minus its heel- leathers. This made his heavy tramp somewhat unequal, and gave his walk a « wabbling " appearance. We observed that Mr. W— m looked fidgetty at the first, but that he staid out the service. Some day that week the following colloquy took place in the streets of " Little York." Two gentlemen meet and exchange the usual greetings. Mr. F-— N.— " Where were you last Sunday ? " ■ ; «'. 72 PAST AND PRESENT. ]VIr. "W" M. — " I was at the Methodist Chape!. I went expecting to hear Mr. R— n. There was no preacher in when I arrived, but I had not been seated long when a great, rough lump of a man came in dressed in home-spun. I was disap- pointed and disgu5,,ed, uiid, if it had not been for the looks of it, I should have taken my hat and left. But I staid ; and I was glad I did. He gave us a beautiful sermon. Sir, he opened up the Scriptures rightly." His text that day was the words of Christ : <' If any man serve me, let him follow me ; jud where i am there shall my servants be : if any man serve me, him will my Father honor." He truly did open this passage of Scripture " rightly.'' Many of his texts and his mode of treating them, after the lapse of thirty-four or five years, are still fresh in our own recollection. He was our only preceptor in Homiletlcs. Some reverses had confined him for a time to the city limits, where he was fain to support himself by making the coarser kind of shoes. We had been called out on to a neighbouring circuit, about this time. One day— the only spare one we had in four weeks, we rode into town to see our friends ; but we never failed to go and see this preaching Crispin. We usually told him of all the new texts we had taken during the month, and how we had handled them ; as also what other texts we had thought of, but did not know how to extract their sweets. He gave us his judgment on the skeletons we had made, always Buggesting some real improvement ; while he taught us how to analyze those passages which we had i eared to broach. Talk of Theological Schools, and Professors of Homiletics— uo man understood sermonizing better than that wax-begrimed child of adversity. And never di(l I spend happier or more profitable hours than in that unfinished loft, by that lowly shoe-bench. Oar seasons of delightful communion were al- ways concluded with prayer. Subsequently, this good man — for he was a sanctified soul— • jh i " THE VENERABLE THOMAS WHITEHEAD." H adjusted his affairs, and went into the work as a " hired local preacher," being too old and deficient in learning to enter in the usual way. After some years, however, the rule was dis- pensed with in his case, in view of his actual preaching abili- ties and successful labors, and he was made a member of the Conference. After laboring for twenty years upon circuits he is now for several years a Superanuate in retirement, not far from the scenes of his early labors. Scores of more sprightly and better educated men have entered the ministry'' and thrown those of his School into the shade ; yet few can think how useful they were in their day, and how really capable they were as preachers. Our hero's general knowledge was not very extensive; the theme of his delighted conversations, therefore, usually was religion and preaching. He might have found it hard to keep up with all our connexional improvements, and may have lacked a little in that case as a Superintendent :' yet a preacher he was, both in the pulpit and by the fire side- in the latter he particularly excelled.. Though our subject is not dead, we are anxious to have his name upon our pages; and hope he will pardon us for bring- ing Cornelius Flumerfelt out of his obscurity and making him to figure as One of Our Supplies, thirty-five years ago*^ in the " Old Framed Meeting House.'' " THE VENERABLE THOMAS WHITEHEAD.' These are the terms of respect and reverence by which the I person named was usually designated for many years before his death, whenever referred to in public. Privately, he was [designated by the ministers and members of the church who 7* - ! 'i i i A. 1 iv t ^ ':ii I i si) si H PAST AND PRESENT. .J 1r: ^new him as " Father Whitehead.' ' He was so called when the writer first became a Methodist, some twenty-five years before Mr. W.'s death. His first sight of him also was in the " Old Framed Meeting House" in " little York," at a prayer meet- ing. Mr. W. was on his way from the lower part of the Prov- ince to his residence in Burford. Turning aside as a wayfar- ing man for a night, he had heard of this social means of gi'ace, and felt it his duty and privilege to attend. We were struck with the peculiar manner of his utterance whenever he elevated his voice, which made him so difiicult to be undestood by hear- ers till they became familiar with its sound. This was the only drawback to his ministry. For his other excellencies were many and great. He was a man of sterling, unbending integrity. He was not ashamed to be singular, and to stand alone, when contending for what he thought to be right. Many of the senior minis- ters will remenber his standing in a minority of one in the great question before the Conference in thirty-three. But he, who always contended so honestly while a measure was under discussion, was equally submissive when it was fairly carried hy a majority. In this respect his conduct was in beautiful contrast to that of another member of the Conference at that time, who, to avoid the difficulty of voting'against what he did not approve, ran out of the house; and yet, subsequently, left the connexion on account of this very measure, and did all in his power to rend it asunder. Whitehead's genuine, truly evangelical piety was the secret of all this. His habits were very°much of the simple, hardy kind, that characterized the early Methodist Preachers on the American continent. He rose early, lived plain, and always rode on horseback. No wonder then, that he usually had excellent health and attain- ed to a great age. It is a curious fact, that Mr. W.'s favour- ite horse, " Sally-John," so called to commemorate the names of the man and his wife from whom he bought bim, although \i\ " THE VENERABLE THOMAS WHITEHEAD." 76 he served his master to the advanced age of twenty-five years, had nsver a harness on his back. Mr. W. was a geat reader and exceedingly well informed on all subjects of general interest. He was partial to our English poets, particularly Young's Night Thoughts, a copy of which he had always about him. He maintained that it was the most replete with thought, and the most suggestive of any book in the language. It was this venerable minister's commendation of it, that led the wri- ter, when a mere stripling, to purchase and give himself to the study of this work ; from which he thinks he derived both pleasure and profit. Mr. Whitehead's healthful flow of spirits, combined with his intelligence, piety, and great conversational powers, made him a most interesting and desirable companion. The writer remembers the pleasure and profit he derived from his com- pany during a visit of his to the circuit he was then travelling in '29. The old gentleman's excursion to the East, as far as HoUowell, had a most salutary influence in counteractin"' an evil leaven, which had begun to work in the connexion. It was during that visit, he first heard him preach. It was in the town of Cobourg, on his favourite theme, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Mr. W. was eminently social, and although not a " epirit drinker," he was fond of " the cup which cheers, but not inebri- ates." And we have been told by an intelligent and pious gentleman, who had the strongest afi'ection for him, that dur- the war of 1812, Mr. W. who wns almost the only Methodist minister that laboured east of Kingston, and whose circuit extended from that town to Cornwall, and as far back as the Rideau : knowing how destitute the people were of that luxury in the interior, he used to carry some tea in his stddle- bags, (as the celebrated Essayist, Foster, did, in his pocket when he went to see the poorer members of his flock); and to share at least, with the " old folks " of the families where h© Ukh ill ijj I I 76 PAST AND PRESENT. : 14 lilr i II ' !: i i 1 in I |i' 1 " I ll'iil lodged. But whether old or young, the visits of one whosQ conversation was so entertaining and improving was hailed by all in those days, when theie were few, if any, books and news- papers, and in many parts of the country no mails, not to men- tion the want of railroads and magnetic telegraphs ! Under such circumstances, how inexpressibly beneficial must the itinerant rounds of such a man have been ? The writer, thus late, at the suggestion of an aged preacher, one whom we might denominate his " companion in arms," has endeavoured to pay a tribute of respect to one of a class of men to whom Canada owes much. As he has not dealt in anything like narrative in reference to Mr. W. he encloses the obituary of him published in the Minutes of Conference for 1846, which it is judged best to publish : " Quest. ly. What Preachers have died since last Con- ference f "Ans. Thomas Whitehead. — He died at the house of his Bon, in Burford, 22nd January, 1846, aged 83 yours, and in the G2nd of his ministry. The theme of his long ministry was embodier! in his last words — " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men !" He was born in Duchess County, in the Province (now State) of New York, lltli December, 1762; was converted and joined the Methodist Church in the 18th year of his age ; commenced his itinerant ministry at the age of 21, under the direction of the New York Conference, and laboured about three years in the neighbour- hoods of Albany and New York, when lie wns sent as a Mis- sionary to the Province of Nova Scotia, and continued there and in the Province of New Brunswick about 16 }cars, when ho returned to New York ; luboiircd two years near Albany, and was sont by Bishop Asbury in Sept. 1806 to Upper Ca- nada, where he continuod to reside and labour during the last forty years of his useful life. While in Nova Scotia, he mar- ried u daughter of Israel and Klizabcth Andrews. At the ■k^'' ■ ' " THE VENERABLE THOMAS \VinTEHEAD.'' 77 time of liis coming to Canada he had a family of six children ; was exposed six weeks in an open boat coming from Albany to Niagara, during the greater part of which time he and his family subsisted on boiled wheat. He laboured two years in the N iagara District — two years in the Long ]?oint country — travelled several years on circuits in the Prince ]<]dwurd, iVJ id- land, and Johnstown Districts, when he removed again to the Long Point Circuit — superannuated and settled in Burford in the year 1815. " Mr. Whitehead's early religious convictions had been deep and strongly marked, and his experience of salvation by faith clear and undoubted. His piety was, in the words of his favourite Dr. Young, as " An even spun thread, alike throughout" fervent, deep, and experimental, during the whole of liis pro- tracted Christian life. His gentlemanly deportment w[.s but cml)lcmatic:il of his gentle and affectionate piety, and his fine physical stature but the index of the noble spirit within. Ho possessed a well cultivated mind, which was richly stored with general knowledge. IHs piil])it talents were superior; and notwithstanding a slight impediment in his speech, which in- creased with age, he was a popular as well as highly instnictivo and animated Preacher. He was industrious and faithful in his public labours, as he was diligent and devout in his private readings and prayers. In all agitations and opjMJsitions, ho remained firm in his connexion and attaelimeiit with the Church in which he had found the Lord Jesus. Clirist cruci- fied was liis favourite theme, atid i)reachiMg his delightful cm- ployment. He loved to preach, as the Discipline directs, ou the occasions of Christian festivals, and preached no less than fifty-three Christnuis sermons on as many successive Christmas days. Ho preached lor the last time in Ids life on Christmas- day, 1845, from Luke ii. 14. While his bodv, litenillv worn .,1 5 •' i! i ,-H 78 PAST AND PRESENT. ill out was gradually sinking beneath the accumulation of years and labours, the vigour of his intellect remained unimpaired— his peace perfect — his hope buoyant. His eye of luminous faith converted the darkness of death into the opening light of Heaven, and transformed its gloomy valley into a highway of triumph ; and while he was giving the sign of assured victory, after speech had failed, he fell asleep in Jesus — having fur- nished a practical commentary during a longer period than any other Clergyman in Canada, on the words of his favourite hymn, with which he was accustomed, for many years, almost invariably to commence public service : "His only righteousness I show, His saving truth proclaim : 'Tis all my business here below To cry, '• Behold the Lamb I" «« Happy if with my latest breath I may but gasp his name ; Preach him to all, and cry in death, • Behold, behold the Lamb I' '' *' After the example of the Bcdeemer himself and his holy Apostles, Mr. Whitehead, wiih his ministerial brethren, was, for many years, maligned and persecuted aa an American Preacher — as not well affected to the Government of his birth and choice ; but he, as well as his fellow-labourers have long since lived down this calumny ; and his mortal remains wcro followed to tho grave by the largest concourse of people, of all ranks and denoniinatiofis, which was ever witnessed in Burford on any similar occasion, " It may be ad'led in this place, that those self-sacrificing Preachers who, l-ko Mr. Whitehead, came into this country at an early period, came hero not b«ioause of their aversion to tho British Government, but because of their preference for it, and because of their willingness to endure any privations and THE TWO SOLDIER PREACHERS. 7# labours in order to preach to tht then destitute inhabitants of Canada the unsearchable riches of Christ. Volunteer Preachers for the then distant and wilderness Canada, were called for in the Conference of the new American Republic, when those who, from hereditary attachment, or from disappointment at the working of the new American Institutions, and from a noble spirit of Christian enterprise to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, offered themselves as labourers in Canada. To them the people of Canada are deeply indebted. Their souls were then cared for by no other class of men. Those venera- ble men have nearly all gone to their reward ; and like Mr. Whitehead, have died in the faith of the Gospel, which they had laboured and suffered so much to preach. It remains for the living members of the Church to serve the present genera- tion as faithfully and as efficiently as their predecessors served the last generation." We want to say in conclusion, to those who never saw him, that the printed portrait of this servant of Christ is a good one ; but it is not so life-like as it would have been, if his hair had been disposed in the meek way he usually wore it. !■ ("8 f": 'I " ' Tt'i ■'? i 1 THE TWO SOLDIER PREACHERS. There is much in the spirit and accompaniments of war in k'cneral at variance with the genius of Christianity. No won- der, therefore, that many good persons should doubt the com- . patability of the soldier's position with the charactei of a chris- tian. Yet we cannot deny that there have been truly devout I and holy men in the army. Perhaps few, if any such, entered -.■•^T^mt (f i ! i ^11 l^lf :hi; 80 PAST AND PRESENT. it • but there can be no question that some have become such while there. We have one remarkable instance at least in the case of Colonel Gardiner. The Gospel has proved itself suffi- cient, under the divine blessing, to subdue the dauntless heart of the soldier. And the Gospel preached by Methodist preachers has won more than its share of trophies from the military ranks. This has been the case from first to last during the whole ca- reer of Methodism. And some of these trophies have become heralds of salvation in turn. Some of the most zealous and successful Methodist preachers have been soldiers in their time. In proof of this we need but transcribe the name of Haime, of Staniforth ; of Captain Webb, of Burgess, and of Bamford of Nova Scotia. Whether it was a ' xoic spirit which led these men into the army ; or whether it was there they imbibed it, certain it is they carried it into their religion and ministry. We have some living instances of this christian heroism in our Canadian connexion in the person of a Harmon, now almost hors de combat, and a Hardy, and others, who were once in the army. Two remarkable men, who had been soldiers, identified themselves with the Methodist ministry, in Canada West, at the close of the last American war, figured largely (the one for a short period, the other for a lovg one) in connection with Canadian Methodism. These were .TaiMES Peel and George Feiiguson. As we have scarcely materials for a sketch of the first ; BO also in the second instance, we have no disposit'on to forestall a work which ought to have been attended to long ago; viz: the publication of the Journal of the Rev. George Ferguson. Why is it not done ? We therefore mention them together. They must have been nearly of the same age, and they served during nearly the same period. They were both preaching Boldiert,. They were both purchased out of the army : at least I think so. Ferguson certainly was, by our people in THE TWO SOLDIER PREACHERS. 81 Niagara and its vicinity; and Peel is thought to have been by friends, if I mistake not, about Montreal and the Ottawa. Be that as it may, they were discharged about the same time— were not unlike each other in point of disposition, being cor- dial and loving— and commenced their labors together on the old Ottawa circuit. It is certain at least that they were there for a time together. Jppropos of this, a curious incident was related of these two simple-hearted, fervent, believing men, by the ftimily concerned, as having occurred while they were in that part of the country. There is a beautiful tract of land in the neighborhood of La Cliute, on the North Eiver, which falls into the Ottawa. This wag originally settled by an interesting class of people from the United States ; from among whom a large and prosperous society was raised up by the labors of a Sawyer, a Luckey, and others. But a succession of blighting frosts had caused such a failure in the crops for several years prior to the time to which we refer, that one flimily after another had left, and sought a home in a more genial climate, till the society was not only much roluced in numbers, but very few homes were left to shelter the hapless itinerant in a place which had always been considered "head quarters" on the circuit; and the occu- pant of the principal one of the few remaining " lodging places for wayfaring men," '• Father Waldron," as he was called by his friends, had also resolved to leave. The two preachers were spending a night under his hospitable roof; but the in- tention of their host to leave, communicated to them, had made them sad ; they did their utmost to persuade him to stay, setting before him the evil that would result to the cause if he left, and the consequent good he would be the means of doinn- if he remained. When the h mr of devotion arrived, both of the preachers engaged in priiyer, one after the other, and made jthe subject which lay near their hearts ground of earnest sup. I plication. Ferguson prayed first, and earnestly besought the 8 :li hi 82 PAST AND PRESENT. Lord to prevent Bro. Waldron from going away. To each petition, Peel subjoined the expressive response, '' Hedge him Mighty God!" And when his time came to plead m prayer he told the Lord they could not afford to part with Bro. Waldron-besought him to induce him to stay-and to reward him for so doing with an abundant crop. He enumerated every kind of produce he could think of by name; and prayed that brother W's hay and potatoes, and wheat, and rye, and oats, and peas, and barley, &c., might be abundant. Mr. W. was induced to stay another year ; and by a very remarkable co-incidence, with Mr. Peel's request, he had an abundant crop the following season, of everything, both in field and garden, ex- ceptuig onions. When this fact was mentioned to the preacher, « Oh," said Peel, " I forgot the onions 1" Though there were so many things in common between these tw°o men, there were also points of dissimilarity. Fer- guson was born in Ireland ; Peel, in England. The former had but poor advantages for education ; the circumstances of the latter had been more favourable in that respect. The former was not distinguished for more than ordinary powers of mind ; we should judge the latter had powers above the com- mon ' Ferguson had never risen above the ranks at all ; Peel was a non-commissioned officer. The former had only served in this, and his native country ; the latter had been through the Peninsular campaigns. Ferguson was married. Peel was single. The former had a long career, the latter a short one. . , , Peel was not personally known to the writer, although he with another was the second appointment to the " framed meeting-hou..," which wa. then included in the Yonge-street circuit; but he his heard him rapturously spoken of by earnesi Methodists iu this and two or threo other circuits he chanced to travel in common with him, a few yean intervening,-thc Belleville, the Ottawa, and the Perth circuits. From those j THE TWO SOLDIER PREACHERS. 83 sources I have learned that he was studious, cheerful and affectionate in his intercourse with the people, by whom he was greatly beloved ; a very acceptable and interesting preacher, and very laborious and faithful in his work, a thorough visitor from house to house. He sported with privation. Kecount- ing to a pious old lady in the Ottawa country, the adventurous incidents of a pioneering tour up the river, and describing the ealt-junk of formidable texture, on which he had dined on one occasion, he was asked by her, " Had you no sass (sauce^ brother Peel?" "Yes, plenty," was his cheerful response. " Why, what was it ?"— Elevating his voice to make her hear,— " Th« love of God, grandmam." " Brother Peel's good sass," became quite proverbial with her ever after. He was well versed in church history, and very clear on questions of church order. He loved to preach from texts in the prophecies, which he excelled in expounding; so said some of his intelligent hearers. The manner of his death was somewhat tragic, brought about by a persevering determination to go through with his work. It was on the old Bay of Quinte circuit. A cold Saturday night, late in the fall, or early in the winter, found him in the neighbourhood of his Sabbath morning's ap- pointment, at Adolphustown meeting house, on the East side of Hay Bay, During the night the ice " took " so strongly as to prevent crossing in a boat, but not sufficiently strong to support the weight of a horse. Still the preacher detc xiined to reach his afternoon's appointment, at Switzcr's chapel on the other siJe of the Bay. Finding tho ice sufficient to sup- port his own weight, he started on foot for the other side, against the dissuasions of his friends, But finding the ice so slippery that he could not possibly walk upon it with his boots on, he took them off and crossed it in his stockings alone, reeking as he was with perspiration from his morning' • labours. This, with the walk some miles on the other side was enough to occasion his death. He felt indisposed during the aft«r. u m\ il r:\'i k ii; 84 PAST AND PRESENT. noon service, and tried to get an old extorter in the neigh- bourhood to do what was then thought indispensable, " meet the class 'after preaching^ The brother, likely from motives of delicacy, declined to do it in the preacher's place. Peel went through with the whole of wh^t he thought his duty- went home to his quarters-and took to his bed, from which he never rose. He died in a few days in holy triumph. The only expression of complaint that escaped him during the sufferings that so abruptly closed the career of this ardent young man, was this, which he uttered in a half upbraiding tone of voice, "Father Switzer might have met the class! He had no relations to mourn for him in this country } but there was one who mourned for him till she became bereft of her reason. For it might be said of him as Wesley laconically said of another lovely young man, Joshua Keighley,— «' He was about the marriage state to prove, Hut death had swifter wings than love.*' The books which composed his small but well assorted library, together with his watch, were sent to his betrothed. And If I mistake not, they are still preserved as precious relics in tho family of her brother, Mr. Caswell, in Elizabethtown, where any of the brethren in those parts may see these interesting memorials of James Peel. Peace to his memory I By a very remarkable providence the friend of Peel, thq weakly and diminutive Ferguson, was spared, <» To linger out below, A few more years in pain." It will be our lot to describe a number of large, fine looking men : Ferguson was the opposite, small, very small • and after some years, much emaciated with his exhausting labors. It was strange that he should have ever been taken for a soldier; for he never seemed able to carry a knapsack. How he was enabled to hold out twenty-six long years in the active work, THE TWO SOLDIER PREACHERS. 8&, such as the work was during the greater part of his time, in all sorts of circuits, from the Ottawa to the Thames, especially considering the way he worked his circuits, it is hard to say. Ferguson preached and laboured in every public 3rvice, very much as we might expect a man to do, who meant to kill him- self before he stopped. He was always very excitable, but if he got into what he called, " one of his gales," the excitement was tremendous. On such occasions he usually preached him- self out of the pulpit, asserting in excuse that he was " a travel- ling preacher." And he had the power of exciting the people, as well as the susceptibility of becoming excited himself. Nor was it mere excitement : there can be no doubt that Ferguson was the instrument of many glorious revivals, of hundreds if not thousands of conversions. But some will say, " How did he effect them ? Was it his eloquence and transcendent ability ? " No, for he possessed neither one nor the other. It was by his zeal and earnestness, and the power from God that rested on him and that accompanied what he said. He prayed much ; and as he thus honoured God, the Great Head of the Church honoured him, and gave him souls, for the salvation of which he constantly travailed in spirit. He had BO injured his once clear and powerful voice, (little men have Bometimes big voices) that for many years his voice in ordinary conversation was a hoarse sort of whisper. In this tone he began his sermons, but so soon as he became warmed with speaking his voice became clear and loud. Hence he was in the habit of notifying his congregations that they would have some difficulty in hearing at first, but he would warrant them to hear before he was done. Our fir^t sight of this diminutive soldier of Jesus was in the summer of 1824, when Bishop Hedding, Dr. Bangs, and a large number of the Canadian Preachers, held a conferencie with the York Society on the agitating question of separation from undor the jurisdiction of the American General Conference. We next saw him and v:i Jli a» n m PAST AND PRESENT. heard him preaxjh for the first time, with power, at the Presque- Isle camp.meeting in '29, celebrated for the presence of the eccentric Lorenzo Dow. After this we saw him frequently and enjoyed the pleasure of his faithful friendship till the time of his happy death. A good and holy man was George Ferguson ; but no adequate justito will be done him till his journal is published. " Servant of Christ, well done I Thy glorious warfare *s past : Thy battle 's fought, thy race is run, And thou art crowned at last." THE REV. THOMAS MADDEN, '■ (8 f ThirtY-five years ago, was one of the ablest and ripest minis- ters of our Canadian Zion. It was on a chilly day in the fall of 1825, that the writer first saw him. It was in the pulpit of the " Old Framed Meeting House," in the town of York, on the Saturday afternoon of a quarterly meeting. The writer had left his work promptly at the hour of meeting, and repaired to the house of God. None pf the congregation had yet arrived ; but on turning his eyes to the pulpit, he observed it occupied by a portly elderly stranger, whom he naturally and rightly judged to be the newly appointed Presiding Elder. He had crossed the lake in one of the sailing packets that then plied between Niagara and York, and finding it was the hour of meeting, had, with the promptitude that characterized him, gone straight to the chapel, without calling on any of the friends, and planted himself at his post. No sooner had the writer risen up from his knees, after performing his devotions on m THE REV. THOMAS MADDEN. 87 entering the house, than the stern looking Btranger who occu- pied the pulpit, said with a firm and decided voice, " Boy, make a fire in the stove." This done, the people began to drop in, and as soon as there were enough to "raise a sin^' " the minister began the service. The whole is as well remembered as if it were yesterday. The prayer was earnest, confident, and short. And the sermon was as short proportionately, not per- haps occupying thirty minutes in delivery. But he said more in those thirty minutes, than many of your wordy, declamatory, showy sort of preachers could say in two hours. The sermon was methodical, clear, concise, and truly profitable. We all felt quickened and blessed. The text was, " Grow in grace !" —just three words. But we had no occasion to say, " What are these among so many ?" for " we had enough and to spare." In the prayer meeting at night— the good old Saturday night quarterly meeting prayer meeting of other days— he was with us in life and power ; but both in that and in the love feast the following morning, (bless the memory of the early love feasts !) in his attempts to innovate on some of our desultory habits, we had an inkling of the love of order, and rigid notions of discipline, which we afterwards found to distinguish the man. These were much displayed in the management of a camp meeting, which in those days was no sinecure, all may be well assured; and which was not then mcagerly attended. The writer had the happiness of attending two where Mr. Madden presided. Every one had to work, and to work by rule. The Presiding Elder always opened them himself, by an appro- priate opening sermon. Each of these sermons is well remem- bered. The text on one occasion was, " Lord help me !" and on the other, " Quench not the Spirit." The compact, ener- getic, direct character of the man, and his preaching, was seen in the very choice of his texts. These were attributes for which he was disliked by all those who hated restraint, who, m 'i.'r'l \ i W IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. i^c 4^ ••v' ^ //„. ^^ ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 fM^ IIIIIM •^ Ih 112.2 1.4 IM 1.6 oS. •vl y ^;. Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WfBSTtRN Y )4S60 (716) •/} 4)03 H'i jfW ^^^< ^ fe ^ t<*- fe J F,A ^^ ill f 1 1 I i '; 88 PAST AND PRESENT. unhappily are a numerous class ; but for which he was truly respected by all who had sense enough to appreciate his wortK As it is likely some of this generation would wish to know more about him, I shall append to this little sketch the obituary notice of Mr. Madden, published in the Minutes for 1834. " Thomas MaddejI was born in Cambridge, N. Y., in 1780. In 1789 his father and family emigrated to Ernest^ town, Upper Canada. In the 17th year of his age he visited his friends in Cambridge, where, under the preaching of the Word, he was awakened, and soon after brought to the saving knowledge of the truth, and under its influence he returned to Canada, happy in mind and deeply pious. For several years he exercised his gifts as an Exhorter, and afterwards as a LocarPreacher, till the year 1802, when he was admitted on ti-ial at the New York Conference. After two years in the travelling connexion, he war. ordained at the New-York Con- ference, by Bishop Asbury, first as Deacon, and at the same Conference a few days after, was admitted to Elder's orders. This was in view of his returning to Canada as a Missionary. " Brother Madden has travelled very extensively through this country, having been appointed to the following Circuits and Stations: Long Point, Niagara, Oswcgcchie, Montreal, Ottawa, Augusta, Bay Quinte, IlalloiuU, Belleville, Smith's Creek, the Niagara District, Rldeau, and Elizahethtown. And, beside these, he travelled the Charlotte and Brandon Circuits, in the State of New-York. He has spent 31 years as an Itinerant Preacher. Our junior preachers will form an idea of the toils of their eld-3r brethren, when they know that the Omegochie Circuit once embraced what are now the Eliza- hethtoum, Augusta, Matilda, and Ridean, including all the country between Gananoque and Cornwall, and extendmg north as far as the Ridcau and the township of Mountain, THE REY. THOMAS MADDDN. 89 was truly his wortlu 1 to know jketch the linutes fof N. Y., in to Ernest- he visited ing of the the saving returned to veral years wards as a dmitted on 2ars in the York Con- at the same er's orders. Missionary. hrough this !ircuits and Montreal, lie, Smith's zabethtown. d Brandon t 31 years as ill form an y know that w the Miza- ling all tho 1 extending lunntaiiu " To perform this, Brother Madden travelled 340 miles, and filled about 30 appointments every four weeks. In these labours he spent a useful life, and died in Christian triumph at his own house in Augusta, the 22nd May, 1834. "As a Preacher of the Gospel, Brother Madden was consi- dered a sound divine. On various subjects which he discussed, he showed a clear and discriminating judgment; and was admired for the promptitude and firmness of his proceedings, whether in his pastoral charge or the deliberations of the Con- ference. These important qualities rendered him peculiarly useful to the Church, and secured the respect and esteem of his brethren. " During a protracted illness of more than a year, Brother Madden was a severe sufferer ; but he endured his affliction with much patience ; he often spoke of it as providential, and was greatly supported by the consolations of the Holy Spirit. These were given by his Saviour with increasing measure as he drew near the close of life. In some instances he was ,«o enrapt'xred with divine things, that he was constrained to praise and glorify God with a loud voice. His last efforts were to deliver a solemn charge to his family, which he did with great composure, and took an affectionate leave of his wife and children, one by one, soon after which he expired." He had a daughter, the precious and now sainted Hester, married to one of our ministers ; and his only son is also a herald of the Cross, in connexion with his father's Church - The remains of this servant of the Lord rest, along with many other worthies of Canadian Methodism, in the interesting old grave yard in the front of Augusta, about four miles above Prescott, which may be easily identified from the deck of a steamboat, as you pass down tho St. Lawrence, by the spire of the *iny church, which peeps from anjong the beautiful pin^a with which the ppot is shaded, 90 PAST AND PRESENT. " may I triumph so, When all my warfare's past ; And dying find my latest foe, Under my feet at last I" THE REV. JAMES WILSON, ' s; ■ ': ■\ At this writing in '54, but recently gone to his reward, was one of the active worthies of the period of which we write. Though but lately deceased, yet living, from extreme age, so long in retirement before his death, those who have come upon the stage of active life since he retired, or who have but lately landed upon our shores might wish to learn something about "He was a native of Ireland, and came to this country about middle life. He entered the itinerant ministry soon sfter ho arrived. We have heard him say, he was converted at the " Methodist Preaching House, Gravel Walk, in the City of Dublin." Although he had only been a local preacher in his own country, ye't being a person of good natural abilities, a clear christian experience, and fair education, he had been very active and useful for many years. He had been, I believe, " a cavalry man," or trooper, during the Irish rebellion ; and brought a good deal of the martial spirit and bearing into his religion and ministry. No man could be more heartily loyal than he was. It was not only a matter of principle, but of sentiment and feeling with him. He had imbibed it in his infancy. I used to delight in hearing him pray for the King and Government- -there was a heartiness about it that was truly refreshing. Perhaps in exercising the discipline of the church, and in his treatment of people in general, there vas more of martial authority than ecclesiastical law, THE REV. JAMES WILSON. 91 The writer remembers well his first sight of Wilson, of whom he had heard favorable mention before. It was a lovely sunny, Sabbath morning. It chanced to be our last quarterly meeting for the year. A number of preachers had arrived on the Saturday preceding (on horseback, as they used then alto- gether to travel) on their way to Conference ; and when the doors were opened for love-feast, a number of them came pour- ing into the church. Among the rest, there was a small sized man, some forty-five or fifty years of age, straight and trim in his build, with a great appearance of determination in his black, fiery eyes, and a most remarkable head, having the crown towering up at an angle of forty-five degrees from the perpen- dicular, not unlike an Egyptian sphinx, covered with a thick coat of black, glossy hair. After the love-feast, which in those days of healthful activity was always held in the morning, and used to commence at half-past eight o'clock, this same dark complexioned, severe looking little man ascended the pulpit and commenced the service. It was Wilson. I thought I t;..d never heard a man read a hymn with such force and propriety. And then his prayer was so copious, confident and powerful. He excelled in the gift of prayer. But no sooner had he taken his text, than jets of fire began to flash from under his dark, shaggy eyebrows. The foundation of his discourse was, Colos- sians, cliap. i, v. 21-4. — " And ye that were sometime alien- ated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in Ms sight : If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which }e have heard." From these words he gave us the whole remedial f heme — as indeed he was prone to do, whatever was his loAt — with a lustre and a power that thrilled through the congregation like electric fire. It was a gracious means of edifying and com- forting my poor soul. Oh, how much good I did use to get i fi r|!i ! i ■'^1! .ii I i; If) i 92 PAST AND PRESENT. under preaching in those days ! The " word " did " profit," '' being mixed with " the most implicit, cordial " faith " in the youthful hearer. It was our privilege, subsequently to that, to hear the preacher of that morning on various occasions, and always with profit. Mr. Wilson used to preach the doctrine of entire sanctifica- tion clearly ; and he professed the enjoyment of the blessing. But, although it is not at all likely his experience was a delusion, yet his mental and nervous constitution and temperament were such, that the fruits of that exalted state of christian attain- ment did not appear to so much advantage as they otherwise would have done. A number of incidents of a somewhat amusing character might be told, illustrative of the peculiarities of the man. On one occasion he commenced preaching at a camp meeting, on the afternoon of Sunday, from Zech. ix. and 9th.—" Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; shout daughter of Jerusalem ; behold thy King cometh unto thee ; he is just and having sal- vation ; lowly, and riding apon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." The meeting had been very dead and powerless, but Wilson had not progressed far in his sermon before he obtained uncommon liberty, and the people were much moved ; and before his discourse was finished by one-third, the power of conviction so descended on the people that their cries of dis- tress, and believers' shouts of praise were so great as to drown the preacher's voice, and forced him to give over. The other brethren on the " Stand " went down and commenced a prayer meeting, in which some of them received the blessing of full salvation ; and, among others, one young man was converted, went home and commenced exhorting the next Sunday. He has been a preacher for many years— was once the Secretary of the Conference— and the Chairman of a District. While the prayer meeting was in progress, Wilson walked the " stand '^ THE REV. JAMES WILSON. 93 exulting in what was going on ; and some friend overheard him to exclaim, clapping his hand upon his tbigh, while his black eyes glistened with joy, " We're the boys I" On another occasion, he had to pass through great difficul- ties in getting to his appointment, and arrived a little late and much fatigued. Observing he was a little out of humor, and wishing perhaps to say some good uatured, soothing word, one of the by-standers remarked, " You have had to come by a very bad road, Father Wilson." *' Yes,'' said he, pettishly, " but not halt so bad as sinners have to go to hell." On one occasion, it is said, while addressing a congregation in the village of Hallowell, now Picton, he was led to branch out so far in the early part of his discourse, that by the time h« had got through his introduction, he had forgotten his text. After several inefiectual attempts to recall it, or to find it, said he, looking around upon the congregation, with the peculiar looking smirk his countenance used to wear, " Brethren, if any of you will tell me what or where my text is, by the grace of God I will try and preach a sermon worth hearing." A brother rose and informed him where it was— Wilson thanked him and went on not in the least disconcerted. He was capable of a sly sarcastic thrust at error and errorists, by way of inuendo. Once when giving an exhortation, after the Presiding Elder, at a quarterly meeting, (something deemed almost indispensable in those days) who had preached on the subject of Gospel Fishing, perhaps, from the text, " I will make you fishers of men." Wilson remarked, " he had known a great many fishermen in his time, both at home in Ireland, and in this country,>nd that, generally speaking, they were a poor despised set of men ; and he had known some of these to make themselves very rich by fishing, but unhappily while they caught vast multitudes of Jish, they let them stink for want of salting:' The reader, perhaps, can make the application as well as his hearers could. 9 w It: \ I m^ I : i fi '\ u PAST AND PRESENT. Preaching one Sabbath, in the " old framed meeting housse," about the time that Dr. Strachan's celebrated " Report," in which he stigmatized the Methodist ministers as incompetent, was exciting no small stir in Upper Canada, on one of his favourite texts—" The priests lips shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of horts"— while describing the " knowledge" which the true spiritual instructor should be possessed of, said that a large share of human learning, however desirable, was not indispensable, but said that of which he should be pos- sessed was a knowledge of God and things divine. "And," continued he, " it is generally thought that we Methodist preachers are an ignorant set of men, but," said he with one of his peculiar leers, while he lowered his voice and emphasised every word " We-know-a-little-and-they-had-letter-let-m-aloner This fling derived point and pungency from the fact that a Methodis°t preacher had been giving the Doctor to feel by a " Review " of his " Sermon " and " Report" that he knew quite enough for the assailants of Methodism. Father Wilson once performed a feat that somewhat non- plused certain parties. He had spent a year on a circuit, where, as usual, he was the pride of the Methodist people, and where he was also a great favourite with the Baptists and Quakers, who were very numerous within the bounds of the circuit. Both of these denominations claimed him as the advo- cate of their peculiar opinions, on which account he thought he ought to speak out before he left. A numerously attended field meeting was the last public service for the year. Wilson mounted the "stand," announced for h^s text the words of Elihu, Job xxxii, 10. " /also will show mine opinion ;" and proceeded to shoio his opinion, and reasons for it, on sun- dry texts of scripture which had been pressed into tho service of these sects respectively in a manner which he thought unwarrantable, and on the subjects of adult baptism, EEV. FRANKLIN METCALP. 95 close communion, final perseverance "silent waiting," denial of ordinances, &c., &c., that could not have been peculiarly flattering to the parties mentioned. How his sermon was received by those for whom it was intended, deponent did not gay. These instances, which might be multiplied indefinitely, showed a sound heart and right meaning lurking under modes of expression, which one that did not know his worth, might think were characteristic of infirmity. Wilson was a most prolific rhymer ; and wrote some clever acrostics and rebuses — but poet he was not — though I am in- clined to think the assertion would not have pleased him very well, or some of his admirers. But he has gone — he has dropped the infirmities inseparable from human nature in the terrestial state, to experience the full development of his excel- lencies and powers in the celestial world. It speaks well for the subject of the above sketch, that all his surviving children are staunch friends of the cause which their father so ably advocated. One of his sons is a talented and influential local preacher. " The saints all in this glorious war, " Shall conquer though they die : "They see the triumph from afar,, '* And faith presents it nigh.'^ REV. FRANKLIN MET CALF, Was one of the company of preachers, who attended our Quarterly Meeting on the day referred to in the proceeding sketch, when I first saw Wilson and heard him preach. Met- calf, although not more than half his age, was so distinguished )ai^ f'.i' ; ! > .1: '[ 96 PAST AND PRESENT. among his compeers as to be selected to preaoh on the evening of the same day. The subject of his sermon also indicated the estimation in which he was held by his brethren. It was the evidence of a Divine call to the Chrtstian Ministry, preached, — I was told by request, — from Isaiah, xlviii. 16, " The Lord God and his spirit hath sent me." In this sermon he vindicated the doctrine of a divine call — pointed out the true marks of such a call, — and concluded with directions and encouragements. . It was a well argued, lucid, satisfactory discourse, expressed in appropriate language, and delivered with a free and agreeable elocution. Such was my first sight of Metcalf He was then youthful and ruddy — tall, and elegant in his carriage, though very meek and humble in his bearing. He was far in advance of most of his brethren of that day, in point of scholarship and general knowledge. He had been educated for a physician, the study of medicine being given up to preach the Gospel, to which he felt he was divinely designated. Besides this, he was naturally a preacher ; or as a plain old brother said of another " It came handy to him." The biographer, however, would perhaps have the same diffi- culty in sketching his moral and naental portraiture, that a portrait paintsr would have had in drawing his personal likeness. I think it is said to be more difficult to paint the likeness of a faultless symmetrioil person, than one whose features are prominent and irregular. He was a harmonious, well pro- portioned character. Bold and faithful, yet mild and bland, intelligent and talented, yet modest and unpretending — refined and .;Ateel, yet plain and condescending. He had the very best taste, and perceived instinctively what propriety required in each emergency. He was a man exclusively devoted to his work — punctual and laborious ; but so easy was speaking to him, and so free was he from all imprudences, excesses, and violent excitements, that his labours did not afiect him as did those of many of his hev. franklin metcalf. 97 more robust brethren. His sermons were very methodical and easily understood, and very easily retained in memory; and yet they were very ingenious. He was decidedly the best sermonizer of his day. We speak of course of our own little world. One, at least, of his compeers had more fire and eloquence than he; but less system and general accuracy. Although far from being a fanciful preacher, he often took a quaint, unusual text, which no one knew how to handle better. We give a few specimens :— " A man was famous, according as he had lifted up axes against the thick trees ; but now they cut down the carved work thereof at once with axes and ham- mers." "And an high head, and a proud heart, and the ploughing of the wicked is sin." " I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people ; and they shall trust ia the name of the Lord." He was a very decided Methodist, and held very profound and determinate views on all theological questions. He was one of the ablest expositors of the vexed baptismal controversy^ the writer ever new — a thorough-going Paadobaptist was he. No person had fewer enemies. He was an almost universal favourite. Though tenacious of all his opinions, he knew how to maintain them in a manner not to give offence to those who differed from him. Habitually correct in his own language, ho loved to tease those with whom he was familiar for their blunders ; and had a way of making them appear ludicrously absurd. An Irish preacher one day bragged up his mare, said " she was a good hand to walk." " What ! " said Metcalf slyly, " Does she walk on her hands f After hearing Metcalf narrate a certain circumstance one day, a young preacher wishing to ascertain the chronology of the event, said inquiringly, " Was that when you rode the Hallowell circuit?" "No," said Metcalf, "I travelled the circuit, and rode my horse." Conversing once with a brother about his Ac/^/t^— Metcalf was tall— the young 9* '1 1 98 PAST AND PRESENT. man using a cant phrase which he had unhappily picked uy aomewhere, said, " But brother Metcalf, you are not six f vet * by a great majority.' " " Why," responded he, " that would make me out only about two feet and a halj.'^ Notwithstanding these sallies of wit and pleasantry, none treated sacrnl things with more reverence. And he has been heard to rebuke his younger brethren sharply for the use of terms in relation to religion, that had a profane allusion. Ho was a man of much and mighty prayer. His devotions were not hurried and formal. In secret he prayed much, and strug- gled long and ardently— often going abroad into the woods and fields to pour out his soul to God, where I have heard of bis being found on one occasion by an irreligious man bowed with his head to the ground, or prostrated on his face, uttering strong cries wHh tears, to Him that was able to save him. He cherished ardent aspirations after purity ; and enjoyed a rich and remarkable unction from above on his ministry. I never heard him make a distinct profession of his own personal en- joyment of " perfect love ; " but I never heard a living preacher state the doctrine so clearly in its experimental aspects. He had too mean an opinion of his own religious attainments. Once riding with him through a long, lonely, forest road, he got into a pensive, somewhat melancholy mood ; and allusion being made to his ofice, he broke out into the subjoined solil- loquy, following each exclamation with a sigh and pause :— " I'm not fit to be a Presiding Elder !— I'am not fit to be a Travelling Preacher !— I'am not fit to be a Local Preacher !— and I'm not fit to be a privnie member of the Church!" No one who knew him would join in any one of the above deprecatory declamations. He punctiliously observed the laws of the Church in the execution of discipline ; and contended for a scrupulous adherence to the constitution of the body in the doings of the Conferencs, both legislative and administrative; in which it were well if he had more imitators. ! . S EZRA HEALT, 99 ' But there was one cloud, and only one, which in some measure obscured the lustre of this moral luminary— that was his pre- mature retirement (in a moment of some agitation, and bodily infirmity) from the active work of the ministry. This the writer has reason to know, he saw and deplored after it was too Ute to remedy the evil. But no retired preacher could ever be more esteemed and influential than he was in a local sphere. His ministerial brethren also continued to love him to the end • and his last and only visit to the Conference after his retire- ment was hailed as a most joyful event. His sudden death, in his field without a single attendant, deepened the feeling of the tenderness and sadness that would have been felt under any circumstance at the event. It hap- pened during the session of Conference. And being informed of it by telegraph, all its members bowed their heads in sorrow, and went into mourning for him. Marching in the most im- pressive funeral procession, I ever beheld, (the Chairman and officers of Conference in scarfs, and all the rest with a weed on the left arm) to the Church, the occasion was improved by the then President^ the accomplished Dr, Richey, The writer had the mournful satisfaction of preaching a funeral sermon for him, two Sundays after, at the head of a circuit the dec3ised had once travelled, and where he was held in tha most fond reinemberanca, to a large assembly from all p irts of the surrounding country. " I am distressed for thee,, my brother, very pleasant has thou been unto me !" EZRA HEALY. This name always seemed to me to have something substan^ tial in it, and to need no prefix to give it dignity. And certain it is, that the bare mention of it will call up in the rccollcctica r 100 PAST AND PRESENT. h [: if I , »*, of many persons in this Province the idea of a portly, muscnlar man, of good proportion, and somewhere in the neighbourhood of six feet, (he did not appear to be quite that— it might be because he was so stout), of handsome masculine features, florid complexion, hair with a little tendency to curl, high full fore- head, and a head largely developed in the region in which phrenologists locate the moral faculties. Indeed it was a fine well-bulanced head in all respect?. And if physical stamina is an important accession to intellectual power, he had this ad- vantage to an extent which few can boast. lie was the very picture of health itself— possessing a powerful frame, and an excellent constitution. The vital organs were apparently pro- portioned in strength to the external members , and he used to say, his '' lunjs would wear as long as his lo(/s." The reader will not be surprised to hear, that he had a strong, clear, musi- cal, reverberating voice, of such great compass that it could as easily command the ears of an assembly of five or six thou- sand as of half a dozen. The " camp-ground " was the appro- priate theatre for this stentorian orator — a place he was wont and glad to frequent, and where he was always a favourite. And orator he was— one of nature's own. But if the waiter were requested to classify his preaching, he would find it very difficult to do so. Few would venture to call it great, yet all liked to hear him. His expositions were not very satisfactory to well educated, reflecting persons, yet many thought them wonderful. He was not methodical either; and often his matter was much confused and jumbled up. Yet Ilealy would be listened to with attention, and often with tears and shouts of joy. The fact is, ho had a warm affectionate heart, over- f.owing with pathos and the '' milk of human kindness ;" and a lively, if not a lofty imagination, with a great amount of religious fervour. These qualifications, with a deliberate, com- manding delivery, without much mental ditcipline or culture, although he waa a pretty extensive reader, made him the truly popular, presence, favourite and furn tion as to Fas so gr people wc pulpit thi Healy I believe some othe would rea dispositioi sometimes tation for pie would his nature duty, and they ^' leai did and u Thewr man so bl sketch. ] doubt sufl early part dure, and pleasantly worth reco the amiabl around hii him (no si return bee itinerancy, till he was EZSA HEALr. 101 popular, impressive preacher. His commanding "port and presence," with his affability and kindness, made him a general fayourite among the people both in and out of our communion; and furnished such an excellent substitute for a polite educa! tion as to cause him to be respected by the most genteel. He Fas so great a favourite as to lead a person to say, " That the people would rather see Father Healy's old white hat in the pulpit than any other preacher there in person." Healy was no doubt a man of sincere and fervent piety, yet I believe he passed current for a man of more moral worth than some other men, who, perhaps in " the balances of the sanctuary" would really weigh him down. Men of his naturally obliging disposition desire to please ; and fondness of approbation may sometimes be brought to compliances, which men of less repu- tation for piety, but thoroughly under the influence of princi' pie would entirely eschew. I do not say that the tendencies of his nature ever warped him from the straight forward course^f duty, and it is certain, that whatever failings he may have had, they " leaned to virtue's side." We wish if possible to be can- did and useful. The writer has not many prominent incidents to relate of a man so bland, and quiet, and kindly as the subject of this sketch. He was laborious and punctual in his work, and no doubt suffered much in the bush circuits he travelled in the early part of his ministry. But he was strong and able to en- dure, and being loving and beloved, he passed quietly and pleasantly through life. About the only thing I can think of worth recording, in the way of incident, stands connected with the amiable in his nature. Healy was wont to love every thing around him. Among the rest, the faithful beast that carried him (no sinecure office) came in for a share, and the animal in return became attaehod to him. The ^rst companion of his itinerancy, " Old Buck," was a great favourite,— he kept him till he was blind. Buck, on one occasion showed an affection 102 PAST AND PRESENT. ' Ti; Ui for his master and a reverence for divine worship, which Healy would sometimes relate in piiblic, as an example worthy of imitation to certain gentry, who avail themselves of the precincts of the house of God, and the hours of Divine wor- Bhip, to regale themselves with cakes and apples. The incident was this : — Healy's circuit comprised the then newly settled- townships between the Rideau and the Ottawa. Arriving at nightfall at his place of destination,— somewhere, I think, in the township of Goulbourn,— the people having no shelter for the animal, put him in the far end of the shanty, and gave him a lock of some kind of provender, which he commenced eating, apparently with a good appetite. But the shanty was not only used as a stable for the horse, and hotel for the visitor, but the place of worship for the neighbourhood. Soon the little congregation was assembled, and the preacher rose to commcnco the sermon. But no sooner did old Buck hear the sound of liis master's voice, as he slowly and deliberately read the hymn, than his teeth ceased their operations, and the sound produced by grinding the eorn-stalks was suppressed, till the solemnities of worship were entirely through. Now whether it was from any sense of the occasion, whether it wa« out of respect only to the sound of his master's voice, or whether it was from the acknowledged power of music on the inferior pjiimals ; or from all these combined, I shall leave for those who are more philo- pophic than I am, to dcternvine ; but of the fact itself, I believe there can be no question. Ilealy's death like that of Dr. Newton, comported with the Oirly associations th it cluster around the mention of the man. There would have been something pitiful, in thinking of the athletic Healy in a e* -te of feebleness and infirmity. He died irith his natural force unabated, in the act of running to the assistance of a neighbor whose house was on fire. He fell sud- denly, like the giant oak uptorn by a sudden blast. Many a generous heart sighed, when it was said " Father Ilcaly ia THE REV. ALEXANDER IRVINE. 103 gone." No doubt he was ready, and " sudden death," to hira, was '-sudden glory." He professed perfect love. His "children are walking in the truth." And it constitutes an additional tie to heaven, to others as well as to them, that Ezra Healy is there. THE EEV. ALEXANDER IRVINE, Exercised a somewhat popular ministry in Canada, some twenty, five years ago; and was stationed in York in 1832 and '33— being the la&t to minister in the " Old Framed Meeting House," and i\\Q first in the new brick church on then "Newgate" DOW Adelaide-Street. Mr. Irvine was born in Scotland— this was something in his favour to begin with— and had received with his brothers thtit good common school education for which Scotland was distinguished long before the countries of much greater preten- tions, which have only lately awakened to the importance of this subject. The family emigrated to America while he ws a yet a very young man, and went first to the United States where he and his elder brother, William, long so favourably known on the old Belleville circuit, as the enlightened and stedfast christian, were converted to God and joined tho Meth- odists, a people with whom they had no acquaintance in their own country. Not long after their conversion the family came to Canada ; where Alexander remained long enough to gradu- ate from the Uatus of a private member, through tho interme- diate office of an cxhorter— a course then thought to bo indis- pcnsablc— till he became an accredited Local Preacher of much / '■% ^w^ 1 l\ 'i i il«j 104 PAST .AND PRESENT. promise, ynhen lie returned again to the United States, where he married. Thousr^ "encumbered" with a wife such was the character of his abilities that he was soon called into the itinerant work within the bounds of the old Genesee Confer- ence. He filled a number of very important stations within the li&its of that Conference, I believe with great acceptability, so far as ability was concerned. But I fear that a considera- tion of his entire course, must extort the confession that there was a fickleness of purpose about him unworthy of a Scotch- man, and that marred what might have been a very useful and even brilliant career. About 1829 he "located," came to Canada, and settled on a bush farm. He and his friends soon perceived that this was not the sphere for him, and he resumed his itinerant labours again in 1830, and was received into the Canada Conference in 1831. It was at the Conference in this year, held in " York" — a Conference memorable to him, and four others on a certain very interesting account, that the writer first saw Mr. Irvine, and heard him preach. So majestically beautiful was his text, I give it entire : — " Happy art thou, Israel : who is like unto thee, people saved of the Lord, the shield of thy help and the sword of thine excellence! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee ; and thou shalt tread upon their high places." Deut. xxxiii. 29. Does any curious person say, "What was the character of his preaching?" We would answci — a chaste and dignified declamation. It was true and correct, and beautiful, and even useful to a certain class of minds ; but if we write to convey right opinions, we think we are bound to say, that it was not so plain, pointed, and adapted to real practical effect as it might have been. The preacher was kind, amiable, gifted, lively in his way, and sincerely pious ; but,like many more of us, he might have been more deepfi/ bo. And it would have done him no harm if he had been more thoroughly baptised with " the spirit from on high." tHE BtY. ALEXAJfDBR IRVINE. 105 " York"— a irvine was not handsome, but interesting-^wQ should pronounce him above the medium height, slight made, thin faced, pock-marked, and very intellectual in his appear- ance. He was a man of a fine and tasteful rather than a strong mind. He would have excelled in the lighter kinds of literature of which he was very fond. He had a good library of cur English classics— Shakspeare, Byron, Burns, and, if I mistake hot, even Sir Walter Scott, (I do not mention this approvingly) had a place on his shelves with grave divines. He could rhyme even faster than " Father Wilson," and there was vastly more sprightliness and poetryi n it. He never took a very active part in the discussions in Conference; but often amused himself by turning the whole of them into very clever verse. Some of the brethren who were on the cele- brated committee that drew up the "Preliminaries of the first « Union," in 1832, and who still survive, will remem- ber how musically he made their names to jingle in the clever jeu d' esprit he wrote on that occasion. Some others will also remember his adroit conversion of the very remarkable defence " dream" and all, of a certain person, how dignified in other relationships, made at the Conference in 1833 into rhyme. Irvine was a man of some scholarship as well as liter- ature. The writer has a classical work In his possession now, which had been well thumbed by Mr; I-^ , and which he procured from his library. This amiable but changing brother " desisted from the work" again in 1835, and ren^nvpd to some one of the Western States (Iowa,) of the neighbouring union, where he settled, and where he died, somewhel-e about 1838 or '9. It is, however, a pleasing reflection that he was preparing to return to the full work of the ministry when he was seized with the illness which terminated his life. His end was peace and joy. Happy, that he made good his entrance into the haven of felicity after all the vicissitudes that had passed over him. ■Ja 106 PAST AUD PRESENT. With this thought the writer would check his pen, and close with the sentiment of our hero's favourite iShaksjpeare : — " Let but your honour know, (Whom I believe to be most strait in virtue,) That in the working of your own affections, Had time cohered with place, or place with wishing, Or that the resolute acting of your blood Could have attained the effect of your own purpose, Whether you had not some time in your life Err'd in this point which now you censure him, And pull'd the law upon you." THE OUTSET. fr'i It was a sunny, lovely afternoon in the month of June, in the year 1828, that a dear friend, a young minister, called in to see the writer start for hh first circuit, and to say " Fare- well!" The friend just mentioned engaged in prayer for our- self in the arduous work on which we were now entering and for the family. It was a time of solemnity to the young can- didate for a minister's life. He had looked forward to the day when he might be permitted to enter the vineyard of the Lord in the character of an authorized laborer, with ardent expec- tation. His opportunities for the cultivation of his mind had been small, and those he had possessed had not all been improved as they might have been. This was partly the result of boyish heedlessness, before his conversion ; and partly from a mistaken or unfounded dread, for some time after that event, that learning would corrupt him and spoil his simplicity. By m THE OUTSET. m tiie time this error was dissipated, he found himself appren- ticed to learn a mechanic art, a situation which left him but httle leisure for mental improvement. The love of God had been shed abroad in his young and ardent heart about the age ofMeen. Impelled by that love he began at once te pray m pubhc-to reprove sin wherever he witnessed it-and in less than a year and a half after this event, to teach in a hum- ble way, in a Sunday school. His first class consisted of four only, two of whom had a coloured skin and curly heads, and the other two, though white, were troubled with an infection which precluded their associating with other children. The more he did for God and souls the more he felt inwardly prompted to do. These convictions of duty were certainly not diminished by old and experienced disciples telling him, ever and anon -you have a work to do." No wonder then, if, when an oppor' tunity presented itself of quitting his trade, with the consent of his employer, and of devoting himself to Uudy, he had availed himself of It. He had at the period when our narrative begins been eighteen months employed in attending school or teaching. This interval, though short, was rendered a highly favored one through the interest shown and assistance afforded by twj or three educated friends, whose kindness (especially the superior kindness of one of the three) will never be forgotten while memory holds ite seat. During this time nearly every Sabbath, and frequently on the weeknight evenings, found him employed in meeting a class, or publicly exhorting and warning his fellow-sinners to flee from the wrath to come. Sometimes, though not officially authorized, he presumed to " smuggle a text," as it then used to be termed. He always thought he could build the better for having a foundation. About a week before the time we are describing, he had received instructions from the "Presiding Elder" to make prepara- tions to supply a vacancy in an adjacent circuit, till the ensu- ing Cuaferenoe. He had been now four years converted, and was U' llJilf .1 1'^.: ' ?l i i ^ 108 PAST AND PRESENT. nearly nineteen years of age. A newly presented pocket Bible and Hymn Book, a volume of Sermons, and a copy of Watt's Logic, constituted his whole travelling library. Having thus cleared the way, we take a fair start once inore. The youth received the parting kiss of a fond and pious mother; bad farewell to an aged and unregenerate father, about whom he was very anxious, and with whom he now ventured, though with a faltering tongue, to leave a few words of parting admonition ; he received a cordial shake hands from the manly grasp of his brothers, to all of whom he was junior, and having strapped on his valice before, and thrown his sad- dle-bags (an indispensable part of an itinerant's paraphernalia in those days) across the saddle, he bestrode the back of his rat-tailed, " Arabian Spot," and turned away with emotion from the door. He rode through the town, at the other end of which was the residence of a talented servarit of Christ, under whose pastorship he had been placed foi the two years immediately preceding. He went up to tht, door to receive his parting ad- vice and benediction. The latter was most solemnly and devoutly given ; and the former the writer will never forget. It related to his personal piety — ministerial conflicts — his behavior in the families he visited — and his manner in the pul- pit, or while preaching. On this latter topic he advised him never to put a chair before him, much less to spread out his pocket handkerchief over its back. Advice which he has religiously adhered to ever since. Again he turned his horse's head, and is soon on the road. But there is one place more at which he must call, before he can leave the town, and that is the house of his Jirst and best beloved class-leader. A man of a most affectionate heart, and rare qualifications for helping on young converts. The young man, however, was denied the pleasure of seeing him — he was »ot at home. But his interesting lady and family came out ! n THE OUTSET. 109 and gave him « tlie parting hand." In a few minutes, he is out of town inhaling the balmy air of the country, the cool- ing influence of which he felt most grateful to his throbbing temples, heated and wearied as he was by the labor and excitement attendant on his morning preparations for depart- ing. His thoughts now became occupied with his purposes of future usefulness. Just this moment, he was joined by a fellow traveller an equestrian also. After customary salutations, the young preacher thinking it his duty to be " instant in season and out of season " broached the subject of personal religion. Unhappily he found the soil on which he attempted to cast the good seed most unpromising, the subject of his exhortations being already very religious. He was of that class of Unita. nans, who call themselves " Christians^ (as if they alone are such) and at the time of the encounter, nearly drunk The writer was not sorry, therefore, when this worthy professor took advantage of the superior speed of his horse and rode away from him, leaving him to his own meditations. These became increasingly sweet as the shades of evening drew on and as the sombre forest thickened around him. It was full four o'clock p. m., when he cleared the suburbs of the town- and, having aboit fifteen miles t3 ride, it was after dark when he got to the nearest settlement in his appointed circuit, He rode to the door of a house occupied by a Methodist fam- ily of which he had some knowledge. The kind and cordial reception he met with was very soothing to his agitated feelinas although he blushed when the mother of the family called out to " Billy" to " come and take care of the Preacher's horse." " A sorry substitute for ti preacher truly," thought he. After a simple repast of mush and milk^ and the delightful exercise of family prayer, the incipient itinerant retircd-^hut not to »leep. The heat of the atmosphere—the pain of his flesh and bones from riding, to which he had been unaccustomed^the 10* ijl •*!d' m 110 PAST AND PRESENT. anxieties of his mind about his future success prevented his taking much rest for that night. Such was the first day of the itinerant life of one who has been thirty-one years in the work. "MY FIRST CIRCUIT." • H Where is the itinerant Methodist Minister in whom the pronunciation of these words — " My first circuit'' — does not awaken varied recollections and emotions ! It is so at least with the writer. The following is an attempt, made some years ago, to transfer some of these thoughts and emotions to paper. My first circuit lay on the North side of one of our great North American lakes, and extended into the interior some forty or fifty miles. It required between three and four hun- dred miles travel, in going from one appointment to another, to pass around it. It composed the whole or a part of each of nine townships, all of which were newly settled, excepting the front of two which were based upon the Lake. With the exception of this " old survey,"^ the oldest part of the remain- ing ones had not been settled above six or eight years, and some of them not near so long. In these new settlements my colleague and self preached each tliirty-two times every four weeks, or eight times a week. This was our '' regular work"— we had many et ceteras beside. And this was all the preach- ing the people in those settlements enjoyed, excepting the labours of a Presbyterian minister, who preached in two or three places ; and an occasional sermon in one place from m fiplsoopalian minister ; or rather, I mean to say, that thos& *»*8t '•MY FIRST CIEClTrr.'' Ill townships were wholly supplied by Methodist preachers with the exceptions I have named. We had seyeral Local and Located preachers, who went far and near on the Lord's day to warn and instruct their fellow settlers, which labors they performed without fee or reward. And the itinerants certainly did not make their fortunes. The writer remembers that his share of the contributions far four months labour was one doU lav and a half in cash, and the cloth for a pair of over-aUs— and a scant pattern it was, for he had to make the waist-bands of something else ! Considering the newness of the country, the settlements were pretty dense; still, we had, here and there, some lon<. rides through unbroken forest. These rides to him were the most delightful that could be imagined. The scenery in other respects was not of the grand or imposing kind. There were no high mountains or deep valleys, nor cliffs nor crags The face of the country was too arable for that. The only diversity was that of a " ridge and swale," with here and there a mean- dering stream, on which clacking mills and busy hamlets were springing up; and now and then you met with a dreary swamp But the sombre, primeval, interminable yores^ had always the greatest charms for the writer. Here he could more directly hold converse with nature and nature's God The soil, as already hinted, was very rich; hence it produced a very thick and heavy growth of forest trees. There was the venerable, rugged oak-the tall and stately pine-the lofty sugar-maple-the "shell-bark hickoiy," which looked like a beggar m his tatters-the majestic eki-the beautiful birch with its school-going associations^the storied beech-the pro! digious bass-wood-and the solemn, hemlock-with a variety of others, generally of a smaller kind, too numerous to mention mixed up m wild and magnifi^cent confusion The forest on that circuit, was to me at once my closet, rtudy, and the place of my hallowed and delightful meditation! /r *l ti ii: lii 3! '!tii 112 PAST AND PRESENT. In those days no "home" was assigned the ''junior preacher," or indeed the senior either, if (as in the case of my colleague, of precious memory) he chanced to be single — they were expected to find a home " wherever night overtook them." A home was a superfluity to preachers when their appointments were daily. The houses in which we lodged often consisted of one room, which served the important purposes of parlor, din- ing room, kitchen, nursery, and bed-room ; and the lest of them were very small, so as to afford, with a large family their usual appendage, but poor conveniencies for study. The writer remembers that his usual practice was, to select his text for the day in the morning — (and be it known he had his whole stock of sermons to manufacture after he began to travel on a circuit)— then to steal out to the grove, where he prayed over it, consulted the parallel passages, and formed his s bemg almoBt universally designated by the endearing derivative of " Johnny ." ° A strange, though amiable specimen of humanity he was surely. He was a native of that " green isle of the sea," which has given birth te so many distinguished men. He was from the County of Wexford , and although a man of in^rngt^ and much refinement, he had not wholly thrown off the peculiar roguerf hat pi.ovi„ee_.A being invariably substituted by d This made m,h '■ wid " in his mouth. This Irish a^ cent, with a certain sharpness or shrillness of voice and quick- nes, of utterance, joined to a style peculiarly terse and laLic made his colloquial and public discourses very remarkable, and to a stranger, even laughable. He was known to throw a whole company into a burst of laughter, by asking the Lord, in his usually hur.-iod manner, as a grace at table, to " bless the prodooctionsof theland, through Jesus Christ !" A comprehen ave request you will say, though short. What added to tl augIit.r-provoki„s quality of what he said, was'the exuber nt flow of wit and humour, especially the latter, by which M spirit was characterized. He was innocent a id playful a a child, yet no trifler. His was the true christian clcrfu Less Ho was a man deeply devoted to God, very faithful in his work, and for many years enjoyed the blessing of "perfect I shall never forget the warm fraternal greeting I ,«cived u™ him when I eame to his help i„ the old T— - circuit- or the pathos with which he teok his leave of me, at the end of our months, when he took his departure for the Confer ncl I was to remain alone with the sheep in the wilderness • and he was about to gallop off and meet his brethreh. We had mel o» horseback in the road. I moved slowly and sad^ onw«L ' 1 rill 0^1 116 PXQT ANb tREJSEii't. towards my appointment for the evening, I involuntarily turned my head to catch another glance of him and his tra^ veiling companion, and observed that he had wheeled his horse around, and waving his hand he pronounced the words " Farewell, Johnny ! " with a tenderness that broke up the fldod-gates of emotion, and I went on weeping. Oh, he had been kind to me. We had long rides, hard labor, end hard fare, with Httk pay 5 but then we met once a fortnight and heard each other preach alternately. And his more than brotherly kindness, sprightly Conversation, With his shrill and animating exclamation— " Fine times! fine times ! "—com- forted me much. No wonder, therefore, that I felt on parting with him. We were destined to meet and labor togetho' again. It was far, far from our former field of united laboui- ; a land of mountains, and rivers, and forests, comprehending a wide extent of country, peopled by an hospitable class of persons, among whom we labored with much satisfaction ; and where we saw some glorious displays of the saving power of God. When I first saw my friend, he was unmarried, and what would be called young, tall, and graceful. At my second appointment with him, he was married, and his wife was one of the most kind-hearted christian ladies I ever had the hap« piness to know. Their home was a paradise to me, a lonely wanderer. I might tell maiiT/ queer things of this amiably eccentric man, but a few must suffice. He was distinguished for the Use of texts appropriate to the time, or occasion, some of which were odd enough. In the spring time you would have heard him— for he was a great lover of nature and viewed it with a poet's eye, and listened to its voice with a poet's car— you would have heard him, I say, dilating on the goodness of the Creator, in sending another vernal scnson, from—" Thou rencwest the face of the carthv" In this sermon, trees nnd i ' \ Mr FIRST COLLEAGUE. 117 woods, and lawns, and birds, and beasts, and flowers, rrere aU brought to perform a conspicuous and useful part. He seemed to act on the maxim that there were " Books in running brooks Sermons in stones, ' And good in every thing." At a time when there was a great commotion in the country because of a bill brought into the legislature, to place all who were not British-born subjects under great civil and social dis- abilities, called the " Alien Bill," he lifted up his voice and reminded the people of a still greater danger they were over- looking—their being « strangers from the covenant of promise, and aliens from the common-wealth of Israel." At the excit^ ing periods of election, he was wont to urge with pathetic earnestness the apostolic admonition, " Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sm*e He was a great admirer of " Thompson's Seasons," and at the appropriate time, often in that poet's words, he did not forget to remind the husbandman, in his usually rural circuits, of the bounteousness of a gracious Providence in giving them' another " golden harvest." His funeral texts were usually striking and appropriate though sometimes unusual. I knew him to preach the funeral sermon of a strong-minded, intelligent old Methodist lady of many years standing, from the inspired testimony to Abigal the wife of Nabal : " She was a woman of good understand- ing." Our second field of joint labor was not less than fifty miles long; and it was often a puzzle to the friends to know where to find us in an emergency. A highly respectable member of the church had died, the motlicr of a Captain S , but neither of us could be obtained to attend to the funeral. However, one of Br. B's appointments falling in 11 mt 118 PAST AND PRESENT. that neighborhood ihe following Sunday, and there being an infant to be interred (for all which it was cufitomary to have a sermon) he disposed of the case of both, from the appropriate ^ordg — « The great and small are if 122 PAST AND PRESENT. « got happy," and uttered Bome earthquake-like shouts thit were perfectly electrifying. His voice was a lion's roar when he gave it scope. His preaching struck me at that time as very original, clear, and cogent. It was no random rant, for he said he would not preach without timely notice. His conversation also, during the meeting, which turned principally on the best method and manner of preaching, and abounded in reminiscences of minis- terial life, was very intelligent and entertaining, to a young man at least. Indeed, the discussions of some of the best minds in our then infant connexion— such as Prindel, Mad- den, Youmans, Richardson, Wm. and John Ryerson, Soveriegn, Messmore, and Anson Green— were to the writer, then a listen- ing junior, peculiarly instructive. When men have less access to books, do they not naturally avail themselves more of the living oracles? Prindel was more attentive to and agreeable in his personal appearance and habits then than he was in after years ; but he was even then most unwieldly in size. I remem- ber on his going to bed one night, which was of course on the floor, he came down with an elephantine crash that made the " Preachers tent and stand" shake on its scantling pillars, on which he gave forth the following utterance in his usually measured style of delivery, " There are two things that mortify me— yea, three— my sins, and my ignorance, and my corpulence. It was not our lot to hear him often after that period. But the few occasions on which we did were sufficient to deepen the conviction that, though he had his education, according to his own account, " in Canada, when there were no schools and no books," yet that his was a mind of a superior order, most discriminating and philosophical. A mind able to grasp the subjects of metaphysical science, and law, as well as divinity. Two of those admired sermons were preached during the sessions of Conference. One in Belleville, in 1830 on this text, from the concluding part of the Lord's AN OLD-FASHIONED QUARTERLY MEETING. m Prayer, " thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen:" the other in 1831, in York, from, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation." He had a profound and accurate acquaintance with Confer- ential usage and our Methodist law in general, and was most expert as a casuist, which earned for him the title of " Attorney General." We need not be more minute on the case of one who has just passed away from amongst us, and whose life and character have been published in the " Minutes of Conference" for the |/resent year (1855) ; but we would just remark, he was one of the many instances which show that the prize of popularity is often wrung from the grasp of originality and genius by those who are incapable of going beyond mere common places by attending to appearances and matters conventional. Yet Prindel had a few friends, who could appreciate his powers and his worth; one only of whom, the Reverend James Spencer J now Editor of the Christian Guardian, was enough to wegih down a legion of those gossamer-loving people who are taken up with mere prettinesses. Prindel was the unwieldly but intelligent, and powerful elephant, among gazels and spring-bocks. " Farewell, old soldier of the cross, " You struggled long and hard for heaven • " All things below you counted dross, ** And now the warrior's crown is given." AN OLD-FASHIONED CANADIAN QUARTERLY MEETING. There is no institution of the Methodist Church, perhaps, which has felt the influence of the transformation our country has undergone more than the quarterly meeting. There are ■\ I ' li "I i *1 V 124 PAST AND PRESENT. possibly a* few of our larger rural circuits in the interior of the country, where the quarterly meeting remains in something like its primitive integrity ; but these I imagine are very few, and in them I think it is scarcely what it was thirty years ago. The writer does not mention this either censoriously or regret- tingly, although he might perhaps the latter, but simply as a matter of fact and history. We have scarcely the elements for them at the present. The circuits are less extensive now than then ; provision is made for the dispensation of the ordinances in the several neighborhoods more generally in this day than for- merly, so that there is not the same motive or necessity for going to a distance ; and the absence of the " presiding Elder" or "Travelling Chairman" — an anomalous phrase— has no doubt deprived them of a part of their eclat. But, whatever may.be urged by the lover of innovation in favor of the changes the quarterly meeting has undergone, perhaps the re- presentatives of a former generation maybe allowed to linger in imagination around the hallowed scenes of past enjoyment and blessing, and " declare to the generation following, the days of the right hand of the Most High." Our friends from the Old Country, by the term Quarterly Meeting, must not, when applied to Canada, understand a meeting for buisness alone, or the convention of the official members merely. That was included in theT ancient Quarterly Meeting, and was called the " Quarterly Conference," a phrase far more just and defi- nite than the one now in use. But the " Quarterly Meeting" comprised the assemblage of the private members fh)m the various parts of the circuit as well, to hear the preaching ; to attend the Love-feast, to have their children dedicated to God ; and to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. In view of this there were chapels erected in certain central posi- ' tions in the several circuits, much larger tljan were required to accommodate the ordinary congregations in their several lo- calities, to the erection of which the circuit generally contri- ■U AN OLD-FASHIONED QUARTERLY MEETING. 125 buted with a liberality which is not common now. There being then but few, if any Leaders' meetings of the descrip- tion there are now j and as the old Deed really empowered the Chapel and Parsonage Trustees to do nothing, except to hold the property for the connexion, all the business that is now transacted by those several courts, was then disposed of once in three months in the Quarterly Conference. • This made its deliberations a matter of considerable importance. No wonder then that it should draw together all the " Preachers, Travel- ling and Local," as they used to phrase it — the Exhorters, a more numerous class formerly than of late — and the Leaders and Stewards, with " all who had business with the Quarterly Meeting." These often consisted of persons who came to pre- fer an appeal from some act of discipline by a committee or arbitration. Fortunately, the number of these appellants has diminished of late years, an evidence that the Methodists are less litigious than formerly. As the business of the Quarterly meeting was so large and multifarious, ample time was pro- vided for its transaction. It was preceded by a sermon from the Presiding Elder, and usually employed the whole afternoon of Saturday. At the close of this sermon, the accommodation of the brethren and sisters from a distance was provided for. And when we take into account that it sometimes comprised hundreds, it might easily be thought, that it would be found an onerous aflFair. But it was never so esteemed, and it would surprise one of the moderns to see how quickly and quietly it was disposed of. If there was any exception in the matter of quietness, jt was in the loving strife among the householders in the vicinity of the meeting who should take most of the guests. And it was surprising to see how many they could accommodate. The venerable Isaac Puffer tells us that the rule used to be that " a man should take as many brethren to lodge as he had boards in his floor." Without the least approach to anything querulous or censorious, we must confess V J s M til i i ll ' li 1: ,r .i< .i' ^ I' Iff-'- k V \\ 126 PAST AND PRESENT. ii; that suoh wholesale hospitality, in a general way, is of very rare occurence now, and is perhaps impracticable. It may he accounted for in various ways ; people were less precise and re- quired less waiting on them than noW ; householders had no carpets to soil or ruffle; and the whole thing was ^more required and customary than now. The quarterly meeting business gone through and supper over, the strangers and those in the neighborhood, comprising usually all the Preachers, not often excepting the Chairman himself, met in the chapel for the great "Saturday-night quarterly prayer-meeting," when a good part of the evening was spent in this exercise. These meetings were usually characterized by power and^glory ; and were seasons of refreshing and sanctification to God's people, and of conversion and salvation to seeking penitents. The prayer meeting was closed at a late hour, only to be suc- ceeded by songs of praise and family prayer in the several houses. The Love-Feast was held in the morning, after an early breakfast, from half-past eight to the hour for public preaching, which was usually at 11 o'clock, a. m. The Great Master of assemblies used to reward the self-denying worshippers for the consecration of their first thoughts and energies to him, Nothing could exceed the interest of an old-fashioned Canadian Love-Feast. The speaking was so thrilling and varied. Several things contributed to this. There was the exciting presence of so many christian friends, many of whom had not seen each other for a quarter ; there was the delightful influence of pre- paratory devotions, and the stimulous aiforded by variety. A Love-Feast in a new country like this, where the persons who compose the meeting are from so many diflferent parts of the world, must necessarily be different from one in an older coun- try. But besides this, the circuits were then so extensive that a greater number and variety of persons were brought together than is possible now. Only think of the Yonge Street Circuit A YOUTHFUL HOMICIDE. 127 comprising the country between the Highland Greek and the Humber, and from the Ontario to Lake Simcoe— Cobourg including all the country from Hope to the Trent, and as far back as Rice Lake, Percy, &c., &c. Nothing could be more touching or graphic than experiences to which the writer has listened in days past in Canada. He deeply regrets that he has not the verbal memory to recite them, or that he did not take the precaution of setting down at the time the terms in which many of these were expressed, the main facts of which have made an indelible impression on his memory.' Some of these perhaps he may try to amplify at some future time. " Haste again ye days of grace, When assembled in one place , Signs and wonders marked the hour, All were fiU'd and spake with power 1" THE LAST NIGHT OF THE YOUTHFUL HOMICIDE. Those who resided in "Muddy Little York," from '25 to '28, will recooUect the state of antagonism and irritation that was kept up between the conductor and friends of a certain periodical, and certain aristocratic families, usually designated the "Family Compact." This paper, for sundry reasons which seemed good and sufficient to its editor, ever and anon kept reciting certain facts and incidents, either real or pretended m the former history of these families, which they would much rather have had remain in oblivion. Not being so thoroughly schooled m the christian doctrine, or rather duty, of forbear- ance as might have been desirable, some of the junior scions iil^ i \\\ I 128 PAST AND PRESENT. of these illustrious houses, proceeded one afternoon, I think in '26 or '27, to the office of the said obnoxious paper and tumbled the press and type into the bay. I need not inform the reading people of Canada the issue of the lawsuit which ensued thereon. But all persons will easily imagine that an tea of this kind was not likely to allay, but greatly to increase the irritation that had previously existed. Sundry squabbles and conflicts took place between the partizans of the two hostile interests, till, at length, one evening in the summer of '28, one Knowlan, a reputed bully for the " Compact," was shot in the street, which resulted in his death in a few hours after. The act was charged upon Chas. French, a very young and a very small man, who had been for some years printer in the office of the newspaper referred to. French with three reputed accomplices, whose names were G , F , and G d. G d turned king's evidence, and saved his neck, although it appears from the dying testimony of F to the writer, he was tlie prime instigator of the deed. The other three were imprisoned together, and, after the lapse of some weeks, took their trial for the crime of murder. G and F were cleared, and poor young French was found guilty, and condemned to death. If I mistake not, only about twenty-four hours intervened between the passing of the sen- tence and its execution. The writer's personal acquaintance with the homicide was confined to that brief but eventful period of his life. We had been brought up within the narrow precincts of the same little town, and knew each other by sight, but had no intercourse. Being accidentally in town for a few days, the writer gladly availed himself of the invitation to accompany the Rev. Jas. 11 ,9one of our ministers, on a visit to the condemned. lie was then far from being in a gracious state of mind. He was alone. His coinpanioiis had V»een acquitted and discharged, and ho was condemned to death. He was quite disposed i li Ml A YOUTHFUL HOMICIDE. 139 to think himself hardly dealt with. Close and searching word, were addressed to him, and he was urged to iu^e ,S few remauung moments in crying to God f„> merey. Ve tht engaged u. prayer, and left him very much subdued. A,d he seems to have taken our advice in flying. t„ a, j, . J' ^ mercy so soon as he was left alone in his ceU. When the writer returned in the evonin..- in an ccellent Local Preacher, now inSnilTa Ih had constantly vtsitcd the prisoners two or three times a wce^ and preached to them, we found him rejoicing inX favourtf a sm-pardoning God Yes wl,n„ *1,„ °' crushmg thought of a death out of Christ in a few hours be fore Inm, had poured out strong cries and tears to HTthat was able to save him; nor had he cried iu vain. And c cry subsequent u.oment only confi™ed the persuasion, that G J had freely magnified his mercy in the justification a pent mg sinner. ^tjptnt- histlf ^^r^'-'-y/™"^ ""^ I «Pont ">o night with him in h.s ce I. The wrUer has often watched with those who wero expected c.p.re in a few hours ; but the scene never culed .u so emn, y that of being locked up with a person in pe ritt heaUh, ,n the full exercise of his powe!. of „,ind, who knew t^^ acertam hour on the following day he must le launch du of tune into eternity, by the hand of the executioner Boes the reader wish to know how we felt or how tho hours "1 that ast night of the youthful homicide were spent/ L a-wcr then, I would say, I never spent a night more lull of i^rest or one on which I have h,oked baek\vitli more pe ! turiblc a thing as we imagine; and, that it may be render,.,! even triumphant by a sense of th^ favour of Ld a d t .0 piuspeet of a blcsscl immortality. ' . ^Vliea the ,„a,«ive doors of the spacious cell wero locked f: . in t'i < (. 130 PAST AND PRESENT. • ill engaged in prayer vocally, and the prisoner as well as we. When we rose, my friend read and expounded a chapter which set forth God's method of justifying and saving sinners. Next, both my friend and I related our christian experience, enlarging on the mistakes and errors that baffled us for a time in our attempts to come to Christ ; this we did for his instruc- tion. We then listened to the recital of the exercises of his own mind, till he came to the point where he found peace to his soul. And we were led to the firm persuasion that he was truly taught of Goi, and had been made a happy though unworthy partaker of his grace. These statements included an account of his whole career ; and he recounted his steps by which he was brought to end his life on the gallows, including a full dis- closure of the facts of the murder. This issue was, in short, the result of not making God " the guide of his youth," and by conseqrenc3, " his going in the way of evil men." Some ill treatment one evening from Knowlan in the market-place, had awakened both his indignation at, and fear of that person. One night subsequently,— the night of the murder— French and his confreres had gone to the theatre, a place of evil resort. Knowlan was there with a pair of tongs in the pocket of his hunting coat ; and threatened to " measure them over French's head.'* The four young men withdrew, and it would have been well, if they had gone quietly home. Pity but they had —two lives would have been saved. Sut instead of going home, they adjourned to a neighboring tavern, where they pre- pared themselves for deeds of violence by liberal potations of alcohol, and concerted their plan of operation. One produced a pistol belonging to luTr^ell^— another loaded it — the third (who was afterwards the King's evidence) gave the pistol to French, and told him, that if lie did not shoot Knowlan lio would shoot him. Thus stimulated and abetted, thisuiihapity man sallied out, fidlowcd at a convonii;nt distance by his coiii- paiiiou.-(, and planted himself by the side of the roud alon;: li'':*l A YOUTHFUL HOMICIDE. 131 which they expected K to pass from t) > theatre, and awaitc-i his coming out. Soon the people, in parties of two three, and so on, were seen coming along the way j and among the rest Knowlan was seen in company with another. When he spied French standing by the side of the road, he drew the tonos from his pocket, and made a run at F , who discharge'd his pistol under the uplifted arm of the other, who immediately cried out and fell. F might easily have made his escape, but a kind of fatality seemed to prevent it. He fled as far as a tavern in the neighborhood of the Blue Bell, where he went to bed, out of which he did not rise till he was aroused from it at a late hour the next morning, by the officers of justice. The rest is known. The premature death of his body no doubt led to the salva- tion of his soul. Of this he seemed himself to have the firm- est persuasion. A large part of the community sympathized very strongly with the unfortunate young man. They consid- ered his youth and the provocations ho had endured; and therefore a petition to the Governor for his reprieve, or a' com- mutation of his punishment, was very numerously signed, con- sidering the short space there was for doing it in.° And as there never had been but two executions in the district before, and those for very aggravated cases of murder, it was strongly hoped that the Executive would be induced to interpose and save him from a cruel death. And while we were employed as has been related, the Governor in Council met in the Court House to deliberate whether the sentence of the law should bo executed or not. But all this tune his fate was in suspense, ho seemed to manifest no anxiety on the subject; but on the con- trary, seemed rather " desirous to depart and bo with Christ." It seemed there wore too many and powerful influences in tlio Council against the prisoner's life; and it wiis decided that the law should take its course. Accordingly, about twelve o'clock at night the Sheiiff came io the door cf tho cell, and knocking •?'«il im ,(^ s,t, 1 : I ' L|i: ,:, . ■■ I 132 PAST AND PRESENT. to attract attention, F'aid " Charles, I am sorry to inform you there is no hope." His ready and cheerful response was, ^' thank God! 1 dont want to live!" And then informed us he would much rather die ; for that he was then happy and ' knew he was prepared, but that if he was suifered to live longer he might forget his Go 1 and relapse into vice and folly. His mind continued in this happy frame to the last ; nor did he seem to have any dread of the struggle of death. " Perfect love" seems to have " cast out fear" of every kind. Indeed he was very cheerful, and in the course of the evening he gave us an account of the prison discipline, and took us, (he was not bound,) into the cells which opened into the one we occu- pied. Finding some fruit in one of them, which he had on hand for some days before, he pressed us to eat, and partook thereof himself, apparently with a good appetite. He and the writer being young, and unusucd to watching, nature seemed to require repose. Wrapping himself therefore in a blanket, there was no bed, he stretched himself by the stove and slept for two or three hours, while the writer reclined upon a piece of carpet with his over coat round him. Our elder friend kept watch for the morning, and summoned us at the early dawn. This was the last time our young friend was to greet the day on earth. He rose with as much alacrity and cheerful- ness as if it were to be his bridal day. And no doubt that day ho met the Heavenly Bridegroom. We hastened to pay our orisons to God, in which we severally cngngcd again in rotation. After this we both left, and the writer spoke to him no more. He embraced me with tender aflfection, and express- ed a confident hope of meeting me in heaven. My friend re- turned after breakfast, and found him in the same delightful state of mind, and continued with him until he was led out to execution. He betrayed no trepidation ; but proceeded to wash and prepare for execution with the same cheerfulness that ho mij^lit have been expected to prepare for a morning A yOUTHPUL HOMICIDE. 133 walk. My friend observed that when he put on the white dress in which he was io be hanged, and reached out his hands to him to have him but.on the wrist-bands, that there was not the least indication of nervous tremor about him. And the writer accidentally passing the jail saw him executed, (the hour had been kept a secret, perhaps from fear of some demonstra- tion in his favor,) and remarked that as he was lead out by the Local Preacher on one side, and the Sheriff on the other, that there was no unusual paleness on his countenance, and that he mounted the steps of the gallows with a firm tread. He did not undertake to address the assembly, which wms not laro-e being totally unused to public speaking. This was done for iiifn at his request, by the llcv. Wm. Kyerson, who had also de- voted much time and atteniion to him. The substance of this addre.«s was this, that his present position was the result of dis- regarding his employer's advice, to which gentleman he expressed himself under great obligaiioos, and of keeping bad company which iiad iirrjed him on to tl)e crime for which he now suffered! This address being hurried through by the Sheriff, who seemed anxious to expedite the matter, a clergyman read the usual praye?3 till he came to the Lord's Prayer, in the midst of reciting which the drop fell, and the quivering, palpitating body of this young and beautiful person was left dangling in the air. I regret to add, that the clumsy manner in which it was done, made his death more like a piece of butchery than an execution. The unnecessarily large new rope, which he had scarcely sufficient weight to straighten, was left in such a position that, as he fell, it caught under one of his arms, which were pinioned behind him, and the executioner had to go down the rope and wrench it off. But a few struggles and the pain and dying were o'er; and Iiis rescued ransomed spirit, no doubt, made its escape from sin and suffering forever. The assembly wept and turned away in sorrow. His relatives being quite respectable, his body received a dcocnt sepulturo. III 'i>i 'ill n \'\i m PAST AND PRESENT. REV. WILLIAM SMITH. Ati : s »-ss A bluff and somewhat comical, but good man, once said to me '" Do you not know that some christians are like young wasps, as big when they are first hatched as they ever are after- wards ?" This was said in reference to a young man a few months converted, who was spoken of as an exhorter of much promise. It seemed to imply the belief that the young man would never be anything more in point of talent and useful- ness than he then was. With regard to him, however, it did not prove true. He afterwards labored for many years in our ministry; and although not one of the most polished, was, nevertheless, one of the most ingenious and forcible preachers among us. Still this odd observation proves true in a great many cases. If applied to their piefi/ and usefulness, it is too true that many are, when first converted, all they are ever after. Surely this is not right ; for if " light is sown for the righteous," it ought, if properly tended and guarded, to bring forth in time a plentiful crop. But on the score of talent and ability for public usefulness, without implying any censure, certainly some attain their intellectual and professional growth much sooner than others. Some very eminent men, instance Dr. James Dixon for one, are reported to have been very slow in rising to their meridian altitude ; others, of whom Dr. Jabez Bunting was an instance, seemed to shoot up to meridian splen- dor at once. Of the last mentioned class, considered as a preacher, must be placed the highly respectable man whose name stands at the head of this paper — William Smith. The writer can well remember what a talk there was in our little Canadian Methodist world during the Conference years of 1827-8, about a young man, connected with a number of respectable families in our church and ministry, who had I I •I! I' !=•■• BEV. WllLUM SMTH. 135 returned from he academy in the States, and was astonbhin. the natives with his powers as a preacher. This young man It w-as our privilege to see, hear, and form the acquaintance of for the first time during the wi.iter of 1820, under the follow- ing circumstances :-During the interval between the two dates above mentioned we had been called out under the direc ion of the Presiding Elder, and were travelling at the date last mentioned on what was Uien caUed the Belleville cir- cuit which not only comprehended the viUage but included the townships of Sidney, Thurlow, Eawdon, aid as mu h of Huntingdon, Hungerford, Madoc and Marmora, as was then .veral days, and a L^ V^Td 1:37^.^ affection, that placed us quite Ao^c^^co^ia. for a time^rd mduced our physician to both bleed and blister us. Being meapaeitated for work, myself and another young man planned an ezcnrsion across the Bay on the ice U, Mis^issauga Point, on the opposite side, for the purpose of hearing the brothe wo was attracting so much notice in the HaLwell cTeuft Prmce Edward District, some thirty-five appointments in the mo e hke horse-racing than anything he could think of." ^e.e soon gliding across the Bay. We arrived at the sihool- house at a somewhat early hour, and took a seat not far fr"„ he huge Are of burning logs that were piled up against the n t"?"-^"'.™ '"'"'»"y <=»«™1'=«1 -J' that was cLriciJ in our habiliments .„ ,ho ample folds of our "fear-nothing coat " A largo congregation soon assembled. There was then a '. ! ' 1'! 13G PAST AND r :!ESENT. numerous clas^ in that neighbourhood, Uiider the care of « Father Vantasfiel/' the old Dutch leader. After Bome time, a middling-siKed, very darli-complexioned young man, some twenty-sir. years of age, wiih Wrck, glossy hair, keen eye, and eharp"^ieatm-es, nose and chin— made his appearance in riding trim, booted, spurred, and gaitcred, with his broad-leafed hat in his hand, and saddle-bugs on his arm'. Having dropped his wrapper, he revealed his white neck clolh and single-breasted, round-skirted coat, and stood forth the preacher of the evening. His text was Galatians iv. and G, '• And because ye are sons, Godh ath sent forth the Spirit of his Son in your hearts, crying, Abba, leather." Surely the " Spirit of Adoption"^ was ably expounded and eloquently commended on that occasion. Mr. Smith's matter was weigluy and importont, but not recondite and far-fetched. He was clever, br.t not profound. His great strength lav in his command of langucge and volublDiy. It was this that carried away the people. His style was chaste and elegant, approaching the florid, and his utterance, though distinct, was unusually rapid. It was the utterance of acknow- ledged truth, in a shaip, dear, shiili vo-ce, with very consider- able force of diction, and youuiM heartiness and energy, that constituted the charm of liis imwsiry at that period. After the lapse of some eighteen or twenty years, and a long Bcason of separation, when on a visit to this country from the States we heard him again on the seme lest. Although a good sermon, it was far from interciiting us as much as when we first heard him. We mry have become more knowing and gomcwhat hypercritical ; and the absence of youthful vivacity in him, and youthful fancy m me, may have made some duTcr- cnce; yet, we aie compelled to think; that he preached as well at twenf>/-sU as he did at/o/Vy. But then we must remember he preached well, almost faultlessly well, according to its style, from the lirst. In this we see the truth of the remark con- cerning him with which we set out. REV. WILLIAM SMITH. 137 We may make our boast of Smith as a native Canadian. His parents, I believe, were Scotch, or of Scotch extraction. He was respectably connected, and his manners, though plain and easy were insensibly polished by intercourse with good society. He had received in early life a respectable business education. His clever abilities developed themselves early, and when quite young he engaged in trade. But being converted to God soon after, and feeling, it is presumed, that a dispensation of the Gospel was committed to him, he gave up business and sought further qualification for his Master's work by the attainm;nt of a more liberal education. He was one of the first to avail himself of the advantages of that useful institution, Cazanovia Seminary, an institution which has conferred a vast amount of good on Canada, as well as the United States. Smith while there made very considerable progress in science, and very respectable attainments in Greek and Latin, reading and trans- latmg the latter especially with great readiness and correctness. ^ His moral and religious character was as elevated as his intellectual and literary. He was of sterling, though not of a long facea, canting sort of piety. He was serious, without gloom or sadness. Without narrow-mindedness, he was a down- right, thorough Methodist of the primitive stamp. A plain hearted, free, unsophisticated man, while the last to make a man ^^an offender for a word," he was a fearless reprover of what he thought incompatible with christian propriety The writer well remembers two instances of his fidelity in this partic- ular. Th.e first occurred on the night of our first interview. Being introduced to him, our hearts ran together at once, and he pressed me to come and share liis quarters, instead of re- turning to my circuit. Is there anything more delightful to the youthful Itinerant, in his long and lonely rounds, than to meet and spend an evening with a kindred spirit ! But to return when we arrived at the house, our host thinking to do us a kmdness, brought his gin-bottle and glasses, and profiered us ! ! ii i u . 138 PAST AND PRESENT. Bometliing to drink. I simply declined, but Smith turned on him with a most withering rebuke, and warned him against what he did not fear to designate " a soul damning evil." In this he showed himself quite in advance of public opinion at that time. No wonder that he proved ope of the most decided advocates of the temperance reformation when it afterwards commenced. The next instance relates to the free, though serious and becom- in"- manner in which he expressed himself against certain frivolities in dress indulged in by the young ladies (members of society,) of a Methodist family in a very respectable social posi- tion. Smith was not one of those who are so much wiser than the fossilated John Wesley, aye, and the Apostles Paul and Peter also, that they regard it as an instance of weakness and narrow-mindedness to give advice on this subject. No. Con- scientiously plain himself, he did not fiul to exhort Christians to " adorn themselves in modest apparel," and '' not with gold and costly array" as persons " professing godliness." Smith was not only an able preacher, but a good pastor- a thorough, systematic, sympathizing visitor from house to house. Having strong natural good sense, with some experi- ence of practical life, he performed the business parts of his circuits well,' and was an enlightened and resolute administrator of the discipline of the church, " without fear or fiivour." No wonder then he commanded the best stations of the day and was made very useful in them. One of the most able and elo- quent of our living ministers claims Smith as his spiritual father. Ancaster, " York," Kingston, Brockville, were among the places he filled with great acceptability and usefulness. We regret to have to add that lie left the country of his birtli, and went to a co-ordinate branch of the jVIethodist family in tk United States. A rising storm, which he thought might have been avoided, together with the ties and solicitations of an American wife, most likely led to this step. But it is pleasing to know that he continued our friend— that he remained fuitli- ^i '•I li turned on LORENZO DOW. 139 fill to his ministerial charge— and that he died happily " at Ms post:' His death occurred in the city of Boston, in which he had been stationed some years. His only sister, his much loved Sarah, shares the joys and sorrows, the toils and consolations of one of our modest and unpretending, but one of our most worthy and truly valuable travelling ministers. Alas, that we cannot use the language of this last sentence any more. Huntington, his brother-in-law is no more ! ' SEVERAL DAYS IN THE COMPANY OF THE ECCENTRIC LORENZO DOW. Who has not read or heard something of this almost world- renowned and perhaps useful itinerant oddity ? Some of my readers have undoubtedly seen and heard him as well as myself but many, especially younger persons, never did, to whom it might not be uninteresting to hear something further about him. None need be informed that he had been for some years in early life an accredited Methodist Preacher in the United States, and continued a Methodist in his doctrinal opinions to the end of his days ; but for many years he was not amenable, at least to the old Methodist body, if indeed to any other but labored pretty much, as he would say himself, " on his own hook." I have not learned from any authentic source that he was ever in Canada West more than once, during which visit the writer had the privilege, if such it might be called, of being in his company, more or less for five or six days ; and might have been longer, but that he got thoroughly satiated with his oddities in that time. It was in the summer of '20, at a Camp Meeting li IK ii .' I tiii 140 TAST AND PRESENT. held between what is now the village of Brighton and the beautifully picturesque Presque Isle Harbor,on the land of James Lyons, Esq., and member of the then existing " Saddlebag Parliament," so called, of which some time or other we may venture some Recollections. The spot was then within the bounds of the Cobourg circuit, which at that time extended from Hope to the Carrying-Place. The preachers on the circuit were the Rev. James Norris and the Rev. Ephraim (now Doctor) Evans, both of them then in their " probation." In order to give the meeting eclat, Lorenzo Dow, then figuring largely in the " Genesee Country," directly across the Lake, was invited to attend. Accordingly on the morning of the day before the one on which the meeting was to begin, with his usual punctuality to his engagements, he made his appearance — ^lie had come across in one of the sailing packets, which then perhaps, more frequently than now, plied between Rochester and Presque Isle —and an odd appearance it was. To begin at the top, the hair upon his head and face had been left to grow till it was some six or eight inches long, while the former was surmounted with a coarse chip hat. He had on a snuff-colored cloth vest- striped cotton pants— coarse cow-hide shoes — and a long white flannel surplice over all, without pocket or buttons: it was fastened around him with strings ; his pocket-handkerchief was tied by one corner to a hole in the breast of it, while it was mainly thrust down one of the sleeves of his outer garment for lack of a pocket. The news of his coming brought together a great many people from the two adjacent circuits— Hallow^U, which then included all the country from the Carry ing-Plac^ to the Fifth- Town Point ; and Belleville, which extended frW the Trent to the Indian Woods, and from the Bay of Quinte to Madoc and Marmora. There were also a goodl;, number of preachers. There were besides those on the circuit the Reverends William Rycrson, the Presiding Elder, George Ferguson, Robert Corsou, LOBENZO DOW. 141 IIam,lto„ B,ggar, whom the writer then saw and heard for the firs t:mo the lamented William Smith, and the veneraMe W,ll.am Case then the President of the Conferenee wUh a large posse of Indians from Grape Island, his then re'sidenee as also several of his .,„/; s„eh as Thomas Hnrlburt, then on h.s way to Muneeytown, where he learned the Indian angua!" and la:d the foundation for his usefulness; and the do™te°d heavenly-mmded, angelic-looking John Benham, afterwards the gnpermtendent of Methodist Missions in Liberia. These two last were only ckorter. then, as was also Conrad Vandusen y,ho gave h,s first exhortation from "the stand," after an at tomptea sermon by the writer, who also was there n the eh^! acter of a preacher. Lorenzo lodged the first night after his a^ival in one of the tents, the only person that did without bed or bed-elothes and every subsequent one he must have slept in the woods, for no person knew where he lodged. This, we were informed, aros! as mueh from neeessity as eeeentricity, he being oppressed aU has hfe by an asthtaatieal affeetion that made aUop^ve to h.m at any time especially a close apartment in summel He was ve.y much by himself-very taciturn when in 00^! pany-he only condescended to converse with the oldest and best mformcd, and that sparingly on the gravest subjects „f n ormatmn. He was ve.y inquisitive in a quiet way And Ui facts he gleaned in his extensive travels, I have reason to eheve were lodged in a most tenacious memory, as it was Z tomshmg to observe the accuracy witli which he would speak with regard to names and dates of the most curious and out-ot the-way occurrences and facts in history,* He was alwavs serious as the grave, but he often made others laugh with hi od d CKprcsBi ons, espcoiaUy in his preaching. let ■1 t i • ) 1 I I; n 142 PAST AND PRESENT. (( what of his preaching ? Was But some are naturally saying, heana&Ze and eloquent preacher? Or what was it like?" We cannot say whether it was able and eloquent or not, for the simple reason that it was not ''like" anything the writer has ever heard froii; anybody else. This will be decided by a little detail. He would not tell the Presiding Elder when he would preach, but said he would do so whenever it suited himself. His first address was an exhortation after the Rev. Robert Corson, who had preached on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Dow's remarks were a series of comments on those parts of the para- ble he chose to take up after the other had gone over them. ^ We may premise that his dialect was the broadest " old Virginia" that could be thought of He said that his brother had re- marked that the citizen of the far country was " the devil," who sent him into fields to feed swine. " Now," said he, " the devil has got a great many swine-feeders now-a-days. There is one character that may be denominated the devil's swine- feeder. He frequents balls, and routs, and assemblies, and gcreeks on an insignificant piece of wood called a fiddle, while the people jump up and down and turn their backs and faces, and cut up their didos." When he came to where the " elder brother was angry and would not go in," Dow exclaims with all the sangfroid imag- inable, " Oh, I guess ho must have been a close communion Baptist !" He hated all exclusiveness and bigotry in religion. He was very catholic himself, and was very hard on those who were not so. Late in the afternoon of Saturday, it was quite evident that ho had a mind to preach that evening. Ho sent some young men into the woods to procure a large, long pole, with which they constructed a rudo " altar" for penitonts in front of the stand. In the meantime he had seated himself on the stand and sang one of his favorite odes, with a sepulchral sort of voice, which made it plaiutivo enough. Only one verso is remembered. LORENZO DOW. 143 i' One night all pensive as I laj, Alone upon the ground, I cried to God, began to pray— A light shone all around." Having thus attracted a large crowd around him, he rose and sounded the horn employed in convoking the assembly, which he held in his hand. So soon as the people saw that it was Dow that was going to preach, they came scampering from all direc tions to the preaxjhing place. The introductory part of the service was very solemn. He gave out the hymn commencing with the lines, ® ''How beauteous are their feet. Who stand on Zion's hill, Who bring salvation on their tongues And words of peace reveal." When he kneeled down to pray, the first petition he offered was for two young men whom he said " stood there talking " He prayed that God would " convert them, that they might go home and serve him." His text was ReveI:>tion, xxii. 2. "And in the street of it.':and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bear twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month ; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." It would take up too much space for us to recite what wo remember of the sermon. Suffice it to say, it was strictly methodical, although that method was ori- ginal enougli, while every part of it was truly unique. He made some very excellent remarks in the commencement on the Revc. lation as a whole. Then he came to the New Jerusalom itself the admeasurement of which he explained, and compared it with several of thejargost cities in the world ; such as London Pans, Canton, kc, with the size and population of which he seonis to have had accurate acquaintance. Indeed, he appeared to have a remarkable memory for matters of that kind. The tree, from the femcnino pronoun "her" being applied to it he '' 1'! i,' 1>S IS .<;if ! if I I t ». ! 11 I AtA Ai fc 1 Bwlj. : H m i 144 PAST AND PRESENT. decided to mean the church. The " twelve manner of fruits," he decided to mean just so many particular graces, which he named, counting them on his fingers, and illustrated in a very able, though, it must be confessed in a very wmmal manner. I need not say that he had fixed attention ; but a spirit of con- viction also seemed to run through the assembly ; and when he gave an invitation for penitents to come forward, which he did £Mb the close of his sermon, there was an instantaneous rush for tke " altar," — a perfect jam. The writer never saw the like be- fore or since. The preachers poured out of the stand into the prayer-meeting. Dow went down himself, passing from one mourner to ar^cther. The battle was truly " set in array," and lasted the most of the night. And " signs and wonders were wrought in the name of the holy child Jesus." His next sermon, I think, was on Sunday night. If I remem- ber right, he began without singing. Certainly he did not sing the second time ; but as he rose from prayer he thundered out the following words of Holy Scripture, " Behold ye despisers, and wonder, and perish ; for I work a work in your day, a work which ye shall in no wise believe though a man declare it unto you." He then made a full stop, and looked around upon the congregation,— But says one, " Where's your text ?" " Go homo and brush the dust off your Bible ; and between the two lids you'll find it. For there are some people, when they go home from meeting, if they were to be damned for it, couldn't tell where the t€xt was." The sermon was of a piece with this rough exordium. In the course of it, he vindicated camp-mcct- ings, and told a number of reni!)rkablc experiences of his own connected with such meetings nnd revivals in general. Many of the objections he took notice of were ridiculous enough, whicli he answered in a manner equally absurd nnd laughable. It would scarcely be becoming to recite some things ho came over, but they had a keen edge for those for whom they were intended. This was more or less characteristio of all his preaching ; and LORENZO DOW. 145 10 came over, those side cuts and home thrusts no doubt were rendcfed use- ful. The fame of his eccentricities brought out vast multitudes to hear. Among these were bar-room loafers, gamblers and horse- raccrs, universalists and other infidels, with all of whom he knew how to deal, and for whom he had ammunition prepared. Instances of this we had on two or three occasions. In the forenoon of Sunday there was an immense congregation, and the presiding minister found it impossible to get some of them to seat themselves and submit to the order of the meeting, observing which, Dow arose and settled them in the following adroit, though odd manner. Said he, " I have travelled a great deal in my life time, in England, and Ireland, as well as America ; and I have remarked that every assembly is made up of three descriptions of characters. The Jir.t is the gentleman ; he behaves well for his honor's sake. The second is the Chris- tian; he behaves well for Christ's sake. The third class I might denominate ' Tag-llag and Bobtail ;' these will neither behave well for God nor the devil's sake. Now if you want to advertize yourselves as belonging to this class, begin with your didos." This was enough ; no one seemed disposed to give occasion for his being put down as belonging to that class, and the best of order ensued. During the course of the meeting, Mr. Evans preached on the judgment from Rev. xx. 12, " And I saw the dead, small and great, &c." At the close of the sermon, Dow rose up and gas o an address, and remarked, that while his brother was speaking on the judgement, a thought struck his mind on the subject of witnesses-, and said it appeared to him, that God was to be witneis as well M Judge. He then quoted Mai. iii. 5, " And I will come near to you to judgment ; and I will bo a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false-swearers, and against those that op- press the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me saith the Lord of Hosts." From this text he took occasion to 13* r ' I ii. Vi'i !i 146 PAST AND PRESENT. dwell Upon each description of character here denounced in a manner as able and searching as it was original. I remember his telling us, when describing the manner in which " the stranger is turned aside from his right," of an instance that happened to himself; said he, " I rode up to a tavern door one day and called for a gallon of oats to feed my horse. • The landlord calls out to the boy, ' Take this horse to the stable, and mind and give him some oats.' Now I didn't like th& way he laid the emphasis on the word * mind.^ So after a while, I went to the stable and found that my horse had had no oats. I, therefore, went to the landlord and ordered another gallon ; and went and saw him fed. I then went and put myself where I could see him, and he couldn't see mo ; and after a little I saw the tavern keeper come and take sway the oats again. I then called for my bill, and took my horse and started." He visited several places intermediate between the camp- ground and Kingston, where I believe he preached in the mar- ket-house : at the Carrying-Place, Belleville, Grape Island, and Hallowell. The Carrying-Place was the last place at which we heard him preach. " Quench not the Spirit," was his text. I think there was more laughter than conviction produced by this sermon. The school-house was crowded with people, who all remained after the sermon in hopes of having a word with so strange a preacher, or at least the privilege of feasting their eyes with his odd appearance. But after waiting for some time in vain, casting their eyes down the road, they saw him some half a mile distant, bundle in hand, making off as fast as he could walk. While they had stood watching the door, he had slipped out of the back window. He hired a canoe and made his way to Belleville that night. We might have heard him there, but we were satisfied, and thouglit we could spend our time as profitable some other wiiy. We don't mean to say his preaching was not useful. We think t was very much fao to certain characters. While preaching in " FATHER MAGRAW." 147 Hallowell on the danger of covetonsness, he suddenly sto«n.^ and screamed in praver « f.nr-A i. euuueniy stojiped in the place !" Eewas air """"^ ™ '"^^ "*''^* »'"' puted./the richest rthHoir t""! Z" ^f ^ a good effect, temporarilv at le„t f ?^ ' P™'''"""' -on, being Quar.lrlu;lr*7: -d^g to the eustoJo, the ^(^ZlslI^'X^Z the village to exercise hospitality to the stranr^.r! !!• ^ ■FATraK MAOUW,. TM Pious BBOMAHK. rs: sir " •"■ "■■"--.":' L r 1 n """"■"'"■"^'"'y of Methodism, become converted to God. He maintained his intemlv in t ,.,f t • .}'"' and under the pressure for « J~ „". dome f'"' '"'""'"' of no ordinate character. He^i::::'; t:^:;'ZZ 9m ft r ti ' /i! 148 PART AND PRESENT. J iitii !l *) i l\ 11 I who first colonized the town of Perth, where he constituted one of the early supporters, as he continued an abiding friend of Methodism till the day of his death. He was known and loved by our venerable Case, by our respected Co-delegate, and especi- ally by the discerning, amiable, and now sainted Metcalf. Ere this, these two friends have hailed each other on the banks of eternal deliverance. It is strange that a man so well known and beloved, and so very useful as Father Magraw, should have never had one line published about him in our connexional journal or anywhere else! Yet so it was. A man whose life, if he had had a biogra- pher as pains-taking and able, would have deserved to have been placed by the side of the " Village Blacksmith," the '• Wall's- End Miner," " William Carvosso," and " Father Reeves." The writer has neither the time nor materials for such a work. All he can pretend to will be a few recollections of one, whose name is yet like ointment poured forth among all classes in that part of the country in which he lived. It was a drizzling, mizzling, rainy afternoon in the autumn of 1830, that we crossed the Rideau Lake at Oliver's Ferry, passed through the intervening woods, and at length found our- selves at the head of the circuit to which we had been newly appointed — " the gude town o' Pa irth." And we are compelled to say, that to the " new preacher," a boy of twentij-one, it looked uninviting enough. We put our horse in the stable of an inn ; walked round by the chapel — a dilapidated old building, made of round logs, some thirty feet by twenty-five in dimen- sions — and went to hunt up the leader of the only class in town. lie proved to be the hero of my story. Father Magraw ; and the cordial reception I got at his hands, and the simplicity, the faith and love that beamed in his countenance and appeared in hi' every word and act cheered my desponding hea t and made mo feel myself at home at once. From that day till the hour of his death, tho writer felt it an honor and a privilege to 'FATHER MAGRAW." 149 rank Maqraw among the number of his friends ]Vf.n,.„ was an instance of the moral inflnenee that m";! wiStd™^ ike good that may be done by simple-minded gtZraC Ho was a man of only ordinary education-he was ZrTl was too unworldly and too liberal to be other.tr a^^"^ a man of no great powers of mind. He was r^ I u"' M, ... .«..»; ..a r -.i-'s :r;- :;*s: was not afraid to sDpak fnr Tii'a M a • , « tnj^ur. ne a»a«.econ«deneentt^Xr^;:-i:t;^^^^^^^^^ respeet that was felt for his character, caused hiSaCs t be hs ened to w.th attention. For several years the Sodist n T"' Tir'" "" "-^ «*'"'*' -d that in the etnin? Th.s allowed Magkaw to accept the situation of Ckr „d Pr^entorin the EpiscopaUan Church, whose service was held .n the early part of the day. He was very cathol spWted and having no great spnmnlnc'f.. i. x fepiritea , on matters of religion till he had him in tea's. He f l" him If mvestcd «th some authority to restrain what he thought ZL the house of God ; and actually pulled.he ears, on o eol s.o„, of a respectable barri,,ter, to recall him from the irrev r nco of laughing ,„ Church. And the bold act of hi prf " kgod, though eecontrie sonant of God, passed off with impnn 1 1 He w.-,s so zealous for God that he ontor,.,) „„ i ™P"f"*y ' csion without reconunonding re i A„; ',"" "T? "" which noneof them ever denied him I 1 '"^'"'-» r""''^S« of the sick ■ ..n^ tl, . ^"^ " constant visitor .nfc h,s v.s,te that they were in frequent rcjuisition, from the ' lil 'Ml 150 PAST AND PRESENT. damp cell of tlie malefactor in the jail, to the bedside of persons of the highest respectability. An instance is well remembered in Perth of a dying lady, who would see no other spiritual ad- viser in her last moments, but the humble shoemaker; and though the fashionable sneered, her learned and intelligent hus- band, though not a religious man, promptly complied with her preferences. She died happy. It is not too much to say that there was a time when Magraw visited more sick than any clergyman in the towji. I had almost said, than all the clergy- men in the town. Many of the wicked who made sport of him while in health sent for him when sick. A very profane young man of a respectable family was heard one day by a gentle- man of my acquaintance making himself very merry with the religious peculiarities of " brother Magraw," as he derisively termed him. The gentleman told him he " might see the day ■when he would be glad to have Magraw pray by the side of his dying bed." He passionately swore he " would rather die and be damned than submit to be prayed for by Old Magraw." That young man brought himself to a premature grave by habits of dissipation. But happily he did not verify his presumptuous boast : in his last lingering illness he gratefully accepted the counsel and prayers of this once despised follower of Christ. It is believed there was hope in the sinner's death. Magraw was a model Class Leader ; punctual, lively, af- fectionate, and one who assiduously pursued the declining and absentees in the most alluring manner. He sometimes went a number of miles, and met other classes with profitable effect. In the early part of his time he went near and far to camp- meetings ; and thereby bccan\e extensively known to the pious. He was never out of a revival spirit, but ever ready to help on Bo good a work. He was an active agent in the revival in tlie time of the Kev. Messrs. Metcalf and Waldron,— the revival to which the first Perth camp-meeting gave rise — and the sea- sons of refreshing and accession in the time of the Rev. James " FATHER MAGBiCW." 151 Cume. Some who are or were able ministers of the word in ourownconnectionenjoyedhisfosteringfriendshipwhe^ such as the lamented George Poole, K. Jones, A AdamsHa; per, Lockhead, and others. ' ''^' Though not possessed of any powers of argument v.t >,,•« mg If thoy wore converted^ One day a hyper-CalvTlt I was very disputatious, and supposed to be v^ clot^ 'Jted on discussing some of the points at issue between hS ZThe Methodists, when Magraw, finding that he eould nr^outof lT"f'-*'^*°"'<*^"Sago in prayer before LyLt: lye'astjfZTt "^ T^ '-"™'' »"' --^ " ^S dZtU '^^' ''i^ ™*"g»"-'- ''hen he had done, no heart fo^ disputing. By faith and prayer he often cut tie Gordian knot which he could not otherwise untie. Wo have already said he was a " privileged character " Thi, appears f^oin the endurance of thafin hi^ wSCany Pe sons, would not have been borne in another. AulTe LdlT Bnj respondi g, shour;K^X;X;S^^^ entiments pf a sermon aloud, were looked for asTmatter of We have said ho was catholic spirited, and perhaps n„^ n was ever more esteemed and loved out of his own Jl„nr He was ready to help wherever he could bo usofj; Id hi o" «es were always acceptable. HeVendered himself of s^ Z IZltJo^ : ,^r'' »"<'"''« greatly esteemed by that ^rvant of Christ. That gentleman's successor, the Eev Mr Bain, stated publicly at the funeral of Ma«eaw that Z "oommunity had suffered a loss," and Uiat hrftl'thaf" L ' fj I IV .'1 H r "* ■ ■' shaU not return unto me void but It shall accomplish that I please, and it shaU prosper in the thing wherounto I sent it." *^ (1) " When I was a very yonng man," said the preacher " I w^ appomt^d to labour on the C. circuit, which extended some {fl tl r T '^ """ "^ "" Sreat North American lakes My Supermtendent was a cheerful, zealous, workin- Cf ™ t1-,™°rf " "' "'"'^"y- The circuit wa^ p tty much dilapidated, when we went on, by a recent division. But God gave us favor in the eyes of the people, and soon a ble^ed reviva took place, almost in every part, hue knndZ and fort;, souls was our net increase for the year. Yet there was one spot, the village of — , where we had a chapel and" sma 1 dead society, where I thought neither of us could boast of any fruity At the end of the year I left ; and for seven lon» years other fields had my labours and occupied my solicitudes! f K . 1 \*' "■""' ^ ™ re-appointed to C. circuit, then much abridged ; but still the place above mentioned was included within Its boundaries, and not very much improved. Yet the htt e society comprehended some gracious souls ; and among the rest, a very ei^emplary pious young woman. Miss W. by name who came forward at once on my arrival and claim J me a^ her .p^runal father," stating that under such a sermon near thecloseof my year she had been awakened and brought to God_ She had immediately identified herself with the church and had con inued a faithful member to the time to which I refer I had the pleasure of uniting her in marriage to a pious youn^ • Td"! 1 Trr*/ f '"■ ^'■^'^'^ "- " Pious'housi ° and the last I heard of them they were holding on their way So here was a healthful plant out of a dry soil." ?\"-^^ ^^^^ ^ '■"''° ^ horse-back from a circuit to the east of Kingston soine one hundred miles, to the capital, whore the Conference sat that year. I travelled in all about 3oi miles and returned by the same conveyance. On my way back, my 154 I*^ST AND ?RBME>ff. •1 i M L , 1 1 ■'. rough-going horse having shaken me very much, I went Vefy slowly and took fi-ecfuent and long stoppages to rest. In the town of B. my friends detained me several hours, and at their request I gjive them a week-night sermon. My subject was, the soul and its loss. I did my best, but was not much inclined to congratulate myself on my performance. I was afraid that it was not of a character to do any good ; but I left it with God, and in the morning went on my way. Eighteen years had passed away, and I had nearly forgotten the week-night sermon in the town of B. I was appointed as the sole deputation to hold the missionary meetings in a large rural circuit. Our previous meetings had been very encouraging, for which I felt very thank- ful. And my pleasure was still more increased, on arriving at a thriving country hamlet, to renew my acquaintance with reli- gious friends of other days and places. I also made the ac- quaintance of an intelligent lady, who I found bore an excel- lent character for active piety, who reminded me of the occa- sional sermon referred to, and said : " I was then a stranger in B., a backslider ; but I Was induced to go and hear the traveller —the sermon was instrumental in arousing me from my danger- ous slumber, and in bringing me back to that happiness which I have enjoyed ever since.' ' How truly did this relation enforce upon my mind that scriptural exhortation, " Sow thy seed in the morning, and in the evening withhold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." (3) " In the winter of 18'— I was stationed in the city of K. Special services were being held in a neighboring village on an- other circuit. At the request of the preachers on that circuit I went out one evening to help them. It was near the time of Easter, and I gave them a Good Friday sermon— on the suffer- ings of Christ. But I was almost inclined to pronounce it unsuitable and useless. And the house was so small and crowd- ed that it was impossible to find out much about the penitents. BBEAD CAST ON THE WATEK8. I55 A young Englishman, however, caught my eye aa one who seemed m deep earnest; and aa it afterwards appeared, by what we are about to relate, found pcaee with God that night. Mvl years after that I was the ■ travelling Chairman' of an extent 7Zfr ' o T '»'"J"«"»S«« love-feast service in the town of G. Several spoke of the dealings of God to their souls. Among ae rest a person arose in a remote part of the house whom I d.d not remember to have seen before, and spoke with abUity and anm,ation. Said he, "Five yea^ ago I wel a giddy young man to a protracted meeting in the vilW of W a stranger came and preached, from ' Christ once suffered for sms the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God-' my heart was broken, I was led to a cruciBed Saviour, and found joy and peace m believing. Since then I have held on my way loften wished tosee that evening's preacher; butlwas denied my wish-I knew not his name, But, blessed be God I he has given me my desire at last. There he is in the pulpit now' I I need not say, this was a season of mutual rejoicing. And I was glad to learn he had been for some time the useful leader of a little class. May we meet in heaven 1" (4) " Not far from that I met with a singular source of en- eouragement the same year. In one of my quarterly rounds I took an appointment for the stationed minister of the eity of K -at one of his outposts It was a little village with a few stores' One of these was kept by a gentleman, who, wid. his .^2 wife were exemplary members of the Wesleyan Church. I called at his house by arrangement, to wait till the hour of service arrived. The time was spent in profitable religious conversation From the relation of which I found that he had been brought up a Komanist-had early misgivings of the truth of that s^s- teai-had been for several years converted intelhcucU!^, but not ZTr^\ ^^™'»'j'^-«''<'f»^''l'°MJoiuedtheMetr. cdist Church, ^ a seekr; but lived without an evidence of . 1-1 L,i ',<• ll ' Pi il r'li / ** .ti 156 PAST AND PRESENT. ! I tl^ ihlm personal acceptance, till about two years and a haJf he/ore, un- der the occasional sermon of a passing stranger in the neigh- boring city, on the ' Throne of Grace,' ho had found peace with God through believing ; and that ' stranger' was the grateful listener to his words. I then remembered to have preached on that subject, on my way from my station to the Conference, on a Sunday evening ; and how I had chid myself after I had done for taking so plain and common a subject in such a place and on such an o°ccasion. I now viewed it in another light ; for had I taken any other there, this inquirer might not have been cm- holdened to come to a ' throne of grace.' " (5) " When stationed in the town of B— lie for the second time—both periods of sojoarn are made grateful to my mind by the rememberance of seasons of gracious revival— I say, during the period of my second sojourn in that place, a camp- meeting took place within twenty miles of the.town. And I had a strong desire to go, but dare not leave my pulpit till after the Sabbath, and the meeting was to close on Tuesday. But when Monday came I was in want of a conveyance. About noon, however, I mounted a farmer's hay waggon and rode some dozen miles to his house, where I refreshed myself with a meal ; and borrowing one of his horses I rode on to the meeting ia time to preach that evening— the last sermon but one. I took a favorite subject, and was much blessed in my own soul ; but could not claim that I had been the instrument of any particu^ lar good. The meeting dosed with a love-feast and farewell pro- cession, and I returned home. Years passed on, and I went a Ion" distance to assist at the missionnry anniversaries in that sanTe town of H—Hc. Just before leaving 1 received a iiole from a person whose name I did not remember to have heard, accosting me as ' spiritual father,' and requesting me to come and see him— ho was indisposed. I had to leave and could not comply ; but the stationed minister informed me that he was a worthy 'pio^f* '^^"' ^^^^ claimed to have been converted at that 3CENE IN A FERRY BOAT. 157 i^tiog under my sermon-that lie had been a useful member of another Methodist body, there being no Wesleyans in his own neighl^orhood-but that having of late come into the town to reside he had attached himself to those by whose instrumen- tahty he had been first brought to a knowledge of the truth " •f? ^r wT f ^«^^«*ioned. " Laiely, on my way to a cir- cuit to which I had been appointed, I spent a Sabbath in a very large city ; and in the evening made my first attempt to preach m Its largest chapel. I took the worth of the soul again I felt awfully solemn myself. And I heard of one other person, who felt solemn also : a young man, who frequented another place of worship. He came there that evening as if by accidents ■expressed nimself as much impressed. The next day he was seized with the Asiatic Cholera j and after a few hours struggle he died, U IS ho2ml in peace. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?" The narrator of the above does not mention these cases as peculiar to himself They have often occurred to his brethren • but they serve to encourage those who mourn the want of visl llc fruit, to hope that that fruit may appear at a time when they least expect. Since the above was written, several other cases have come to his knowledge, but he leaves them untold. May we therefore leurn " To labour on at God's command, And offer all our works to him I" SCENE IN A FERRY-BOAT. ill! fcrtcd at that It WU8 a raw, cold morning in the latter part of November, 18 , after spending nearly a week on a large island, in th ' lliver St. Lawrence, peopled with lumbermen and " squLtters which constituted one of the Wesleyan Missions, at a Quarterly 158 PAST AND PRESENT. h\f !ilir> Meeting, whose services had been protracted for several days, that I had the good fortune to ascertain a ferry .boat would start. at an early hour for the city of K. opposite. I had been for some days most painfully afflicted with an illness, the result of cold and hardship ; for which in that inhospitable region, I could obtain no remedy, and which was becoming worse and worse every day. I had refused to cross on Sabbath, from con- scientious motives ; and every day since it had been so stormy and rough that no craft of the size of the ferry-boat could possibly live^'in the swell that set in from Lake Ontario. But the wind falling on the morning referred to, the horn at the ferry-house was blown, and there was a general rush of the weather-bound, and of those who were anxious to cross over to market once more before the river was shut up with ice. A more motley group than that which was huddled together in the little, dirty apology for a cabin, surely was never assembled. It was such a group of " characters" as the pencil of a Hogarth would have delighted to portray ; and would have furnished ample ma- terials fo^one of the " Pick-Wick Papers" of a " Boz." There were several of the agriculturists and business men of the island, a squad of market-women, young and old— a Romish priest, who looked thread bare and squalid— and the dramatis personse who figure in the following colloquy. The frst was a burly, dis- sipated, audacious-looking Scotchman, a wandering stone-cutter, in a round-skirted drab coat, rather shabby. The second was a poor squalid emaciated-looking old Irish lloman Catholic, in an old flapped hat and fear-naught pea-jacket, worn through at the elbows. The third was a broad-spoken Norlh-of Ireland man, a professed Protestant, but very ignorant, whose garments bespoke his half farmer, half-butcher occupation. We had no sooner pushed out from the wharf than the pe- dantic Scotchman began to enlighten the company on his aiiti- euiperancc, and anti-christian, or iniidol principles. After a lew inelicctual eflfjrts to reason with this impracticable man I gave SCENE IN A FERRY BOAT. 159 place to the old Roman Catholic in the fear-naught jacket. As the mfidel boasted a great deal of his knowledge of " Aliav- bra, the old Irishman took him up on certain mathematical questions (I confess, beyond my depth) on which, to use an Americanism, he " used him up" in about - five York minutes." The wily Scot finding himself worsted in this particular, trans- ferred the debate to religion and objected to the truth of the doctrines and institutions of Christianity. Here the Roman Catholic was not equally at home. He urged the authority of the Chul-ch. The infidel called for proof of its authority. The old Irishman was rion-plussed, At this juncture the greasy butcher came to the rescue, and talked of using striking 2.V.L ments, saying he could " bate a dozen" of the Scotchman and that he would " knock his two eyes into one." Scotchman _ " You'r a butcher, are you ?" Butcher.—" Yes." Scotch MAN.-" Then I don't want to have any thing to say to you or any man that takes the life of living creatures." Butcher — "Don't you ate mate r Scotchman.-" I eat nothing but M' Butcher.-" But don't the Scripture say, ' That ex- cept these days be shortened, there can be no flesh saved ?' " Scotchman.-" What ?" Butcher.-" That if these days are not shortened, there can be no flesh saved." Scotchman — " I confess that that beats me-you arc beyond my depth alto- gether I" At this an uproarious laugh burst from all the listen- ers, who had sufficient intelligence and discernment to perceive the absurd ludicrous character of the whole aff"air ■ and the rest joined in the laugh from sympathy. The boat having neared the quay the most unique scene I ever witnessed was ended It served to divert my mind from pain and sea-sickness during the three hours across a Strait of as many miles, which was occasioned by our frc(iucnt tackings to gain headway against the wind. Tlie kind and skilful treatment of my city friends soon re- stored me to my wontej health. And another thirty-six hours lik if » ; V. 160 PAST AND PRESENT. found me at home with my little family and a brother preacher, recounting the j€rri/-boat scene, at the breakfast table, after an absence of four weeks. '^ 1' '} v*'!i V. I 11 ADMONITORY END OF AN EARLY COLLEAGUE. "We shall not there the fall lament, Of a r^^parted friend." On descending from the pulpit one Sabbath morning in the ^.j^.y ^jf ^ one of our superannuated ministers met me at the foot of the stairs with the inciuiry— '' Did you know that ■ was dead ?" " Dead /" said I, " where and how did he die T' " Died in a tavern, in. , in a most awful state of mind !" Oh ! what a sense of horror this intelligence produced in my mind !"— although it was such an end as I might have expected from what I knew of his history. The character of my feelings will not surprise the reader when I inform him, that the individual alluded to was once an accredited and acceptable minister of our church in Canada West • and once my own superintendent for a year ; a man whom' nature had favored with a vigorous, muscular.body, com- Dianding personal appearance, and possessed of two excellent pre-requisites in .he character of an effective preacher, namely, good powers of annalysis and a pleasing elocution— including ft strong musical voice. Yes, and I had known him to be very successful in the work of saving bouIs. I remember well the first time I saw him — at a camp meet- jn<^ on the old Yonge Street circuit, to which hr had come over from an adjiicent one on which he was then performing his first year's itinerunt labour. Three years after that, having myself in the mean time entered the itinerant work, I was appointed as his colleague on the circuit, then made a ''four weeks ADMONITORY END OP A COLLEAGUE. 161 circuit" for the first time. A great revival of religion had crowned his labors, especially in the town, the preceding year- and a more happy and holy society than it then was I have never known. The extension of the work created the demand for a second preacher, which led to my appointment to labour with him. Our journeys were often through the trackless forest, in which once m particular I lost my way and narrowly escaped one snowy night lodging in the woods ; yet the time passed upon the whole very pleasantly. For though I often thought he was inclined to be indolent and to " shirk " the performance of his work, a good part of which he contrived to put off upon me still I loved my colleague, parted with him aflFectionately • and ever after regarded him as a friend and correspondent up to the fatal day at the Conference of 183' when he withdrew from the body. He went off in a bad spirit ; and I never met with him again, though I often desired an interview to the day when I heard of his death. I had often heard of his bitterness against his former friends— I had heard of his offering, on more than one occasion, to fi{/ht!— I had heai'd of his becoming, if not a drunkard, at least a hard drhiker— one who could pour down raw spitits in a bar-room, an act which in this day must be confessed to evince a great depth of moral debasement. I say I had heard all this and more, and therefore was in some degree prepared to hear that he had died at a distance from his family — in a tavern, and in horror of mind. I heard that he carried a feeling of hatred against some of hi- former ministerial associates into the very jaws of death saying, ''if ho thouglit they would get to heaven he did not want to go there." No wonder his last exclamation should be, " my God, wlicre am I going ?" It may be asked, what was the cause of his lamentable fall ? I answer, uvfalthfnlnfS^ to the grace hrstowed on him, no doubt. But I think I observed several things, more or 'less I4}f^l»ii Ut I'l f ic 'T- l^ i \'' i % IP'S ' « 162 PAST AND PRESRNT. remote or proximate, leading to this unhappy issue. These I will set down for the admonition of all whom they may' concern, myself among the rest :— 1. He had been, even by his own confession, a person of bad moral habits lefore Ms conversion. He had been a frequenter of low company. And it is no won- der that a love of stimulating liquors should follow the profuse use of tobacco to which he was addicted. His conversion and union with a pious and excellent young lady operated as a check on his downward teadencies, in this particular, for a time. 2. The loss by death of this priceless wife, who proved a sheet anchor to his way-ward soul in many a storm, that otherwise would have driven him from the true course of integiity, was an evil event that he deplored on his dying bed. He said, she while alive, kept him from quitting the ministry. 3. A depar- ture from the work of God, to which no doubt he had been Divinely called— to a desire to leave which he had been impelled by a spirit of dissatisfaction with his circuits, which were gen- erally very good, arising frci i i notion that he was qualified for better ones and that his talents were not appreciated— was tk immediate inlet to apostacy and vice. No wonder he mourned the loss of his H 1. The case of this man should teach the young the importance of fostering good moral habits, as a means of giving permanency to their reli"iuus character ; and should warn those of us in the ministry from a spirit of distrust and discontent ; while it should put all on their guard against giving any occasion for it. God in mercy it>rc-fcnd us against these evils 1 MY FELLOW CANDIDATES— WHERE AEE THEY? Twenty-eight years ago, in the then metropolis of Upper Can- ada, sat the Methodist Conference. It had been opened on the appointed day in due form, by the appointment of Ilcv. William I lit i : I I Si lue. These I may concern, n by his own is conversion. d it is no won- iw the profuse onversion and ited as a check or a time. 2. iroved a sheet :hat otherwise integrity, was He said, she 3. Adepar- he had been I been impelled liich were gen- as qualified for iated — was tie ier he mourned the importance ng permanency ose of us in the while it should m for it. God \.EE TIIF.Y? 5 of Upper Can- i opened on the •f Ik V. William MY FELLOW CAJfDiDATES. 163 Case, President, and Kev. James Eichardson, Secretaru. The thmi question asked was, " Who are admitted into full con TfTJ' . ^I" ^"''''' ^ *^^'' *^' °^^*^« °f /^^« candidates, who had labored during the probationary term, were read, and a com- mittee struck to examine them. That was the way they did it m those days, when the " Annual Conference" did not much transcend our present District Meeting. The committee also con- sisted of Jive, Three out of the five are in their graves-theV died well, and in the work : these were Prindel, Poole and Smith. One is in the ministry of another church. One only remains with us, a supernumerary— the Rev. Daniel McMullen a Nova Scotian, whose early piety and very successful labours ought not to be forgotten. Nearly as great changes have taken place with the candidate^ who of course were younger men, as with the ministers of the committee. One of them is no more. One " located," and after sundry vicissitudes moved to the Western States where we are happy to learn, he is useful among his neighbors, a Method dist colony from Canada. One, and he the most respectably con- nected, the youngest, the best educated, and the most promising of us all, after laboring most successfully seven years in tho ministry, went into secular life, made property, and now fills an honorable and useful position in the Legislature of his coun- try. One is " superannuated"— and only one is left on the walls of Zion— the unworthy writer of this article. Of those who departed from the work we may not further speak. But of my deceased and my retired friends I would fam preserve some memorial. They were both natives of the United States, nearly of an age, great peraonal friciKls, and nine or ten years our seniors. Tho brother gone to his reward was the llEv. Simon Huntington. As we were the party who drew up his obituary notice for the '' Minutes," and as that account of him received the imprimatur of the Conference we re-produce it. It is as follows :-"SmoN Huntington i \h\l ii' iil \i < V 164 PAST AND PRESENT. 5 • t ■' m ■H likl. was born about the year 1801 in Norwich, Connecticut, where he was converted at the age of nineteen. His excellent moral habits before conversion, joined to deep and fervent piety after he was brought savingly to God, continued to make him a most consistent and exemplary character throughout. At an early period after his conversion he felt a strong desire to be useful, and " pressed in spirit" to warn his fellowmen. This led him to seek the advantages of two years academic training in the Wilbraham Academy, (then under the principal- ship of the lamented Wilbur Fisk,) in addition to the beneats of an excellent New-England common-school-education, which he ' \ received in boyhood. He began to preach while at the Academy. In 1829 he came to this province, and was received -into the Canada Conference on trial, a close relation . to which he sustained till the day of his death. He died Au- gust 25, 1856, after a few days illness, in the village of St. Wil- Hams. His several fields of labor were, to mention them in the order to which he was appointed to them severall) , Yonge Street, one year ; Westminster, one ; Mississippi, one ; Bonchere Mis- sion, one ; Augusta, (where he married) two years ; Murray, two '; Newmarket, one ; Toronto (township) two ; Whitby, two ; Kemptville, two; Prescott and Augusta, two; Grimsby, two; and Wilsingham, where he ceased to " work and live," before the first year had half expired. Brother Huntington was a plain, sensible, and truly practi- cable and excallent preacher. The good he accompUshed-aud he was very useful— was more the result of a combination of faithful and untiring endeavors in every department of a Wes- levan minister's duty, than of any one excellence or kind of effort in undue proportion. He was an example to all who may come after him in our ministry, of cheerful submission to his appointments, patience and self-denial, pcaceableness, pastoral fidelity and punctuality in attending all his appointments. Be was not favored with any very particular premonition of hisap-i MY FELLOW CANDIDATES. Ui proaching end, or any very rapturous visions of the future in his last illness ; yet death did not find him unprepared but calm and peacefd. Our much loved brother " rests from his labors, and his works do follow him. " To the above we may append a few recollections. He came to us m company with the Eev. William Case, who had been on a visit to New England. He arrived at a time the Connexion was greatly in want of preachers to follow up the openings which presented themselves on every side ; and although he came more as a visitor than otherwise, he was eagerly seized on by the Presiding Elder and appointed to a circuit. His appearance was then very prepossessing. Neat and tasteful in his dress round-faced and healthy-looking, but slight and small of stature' We can well remember the start he gave us at our first sight of him. We had been scarcely a year in the work of preach- mg-we were very young and nervously sensible of our incom- petency-and especially timid of preaching before ministers unless we knew them to be indulgent friends,~when one Sun- day morning we were officiating in the " old chapel" in the then village of Belleville, just as we had taken our text a stranger entered the house in the garb of a preacher and much sleeker looking than those of indigenous growth, and took his seat m front of us. He was so bright and observant looking we could have wished him far enough away. We however stam- mered through; when on remarking according to the custom ci the times, that - if there was a preacher in the congregation we would be glad to have him come into the pulpit and close the service"-giving him an inquiring look the while. To this invitation he responded and concluded the meeting with one of the most richly scriptural and appropriate prayers we thought we had ever heard. This was the beginning of a most (to me) profitable acquaintance and an endeared friendship between us V\ met a few days after this interview at one of the glorious carap-meetings of those days, near Cummer's MiUs. 15 . 'si 166 PAST AND PRESElfT. kit m rh "^^ He spent the balance of the year on the Yonge Street Cir* cuit. The next year in the West on the great rambling, but non-paying Westminster circuit. The next he was whirled away far to the East and stationed on the Mississippi, which covered the ground now included in the Lanark, Carleton-Place, and Packenham circuits. The writer -^^as that year on the Perth circuit, which then exte^^o'eo •"* Jm^ Mississippi river. Our fields of labor, therefore, lay side by side. This brought us acquainted again. And we chose to be as much in each other's company as our duties would allow. What a solace to me in my lonely position in those then rugged wilds was the occasional companionship of that pure-mindeu, agreeable, and well-informed young minister. He possessed books, and had had educational advantages that |had not. And he freely im- parted both of one and the other. .We had a rendezvous at the house of a pious Irish brother on t^ banks of the Mississippi, just where one of the only two rusti^bridges that then spaned its rapid waters was, there we used to\hear each other preach in turn, and spend a rapturous evening in comparing notes and forming plans of usefulness for the future. We often met, and sometimes stood officially related to each other in after years ; and every successive interview only strength- ened our mutual attachment. We shall not now travel the ground passed over in his obituary, only to say, that his worth was not appreciated. Oh, what a shock was the news of his death to me 1 He had always been remarkably, healthy and I ex- pected him to ouUive me ; but he was taken first. Dear, pre- cious Simon ! meeting thee again constitutes one of the antici- pated delights of that heavenly world " where saints and angels join. . As we intimated in another article he married the sister of the lovely William Smith, an estimable christian lady, who still lives to mourn the loss of him. Blessings on the memory of my friend! kk MY FELLOW CANDIDATES. 167 The Kev. Henry Shaler was one of the five who were (one hy one) examined that Slst of August, 1831, in the upper room m the house of Mr. Perry, in the town of York. He, like Huntington, was a native of the United States—the for- mer of Connecticut, the latter, I think, of York State : if we mistake not, from among the Dutch of Scoharie County— him- self also of the Teutonic race. He had come into the country some years before he entered the ministry in the capacity of a school teacher, in which profession he was very efficient and popular. He held the relation of an exhorter in the church, and made his first appearance in public at the field meeting in 1825, in the township of Sidney on the Belleville circuit, re- ferred to in our sketch of the Rev. James Wilson, at which that gentleman set himself right with the Baptists and Quakers and exhorted after Wilson had concluded. His exhortation produced a wonderful commotion among the people. Father Wilson spoke of it afterwards among his friends with surprise. He said " that little squeaking Yankee" had moved the people more with his short exhortation, than he had done with his elaborate sermon. Three years afterwards, when Shaler went inta the work, he was so fortunate as to be appointed with Wilson, who performed a father's part towards his youthful helper, and we have reason to know " bragged him up" among the people. It was when on his way to the old Toronto circuit that the writer first saw Shaler. I had spent four months on that circuit, and was going to Belleville, where he had resided. We met in what was just then " Muddy Little York" truly, at the house of the Rev. William Ryerson, who, thenceforth, was to be our Presiding Elder, where I heard him pray— and it seemed to me with much fluency and power. Surely there is a freshness about the min- istrations of young preachers, which is a fair equivalent for the absence of the greater weight and depth of matter which are ex, pected to characterize men of greater maturity. No wonder ii >i? X68 PAST AND PRESENT. ., ik ' Hi m M they are generally so popular. Shaler made a good dehut, and had he chosen to aim at it, he might have taken a higher posi- tion than he ever did. The following summer we heard him at one of the far-famed Cummer's Mills camp-meetings. He preached with energy and power, and his old superintendent, Wilson, prayed for him, and wept all the time he was preach- ing — the efifect on the congregation was great ; when the service was ended the old gentleman meeting the writer he said with a look of triumph, " Didn't my little fellow do well ?" We hinted that our friend might have become a greater man than he did, had he labored for it harder— and the same might be said of most — ^but, in justice to him we must say, he was great in the art of awakening sinners. His was a very search- ing, arousing ministry. He was, however, more for gathering in, than building up ; and it is well for him who can do either. We shall not stop to describe his " wanderings to and fro," from Trafalgar on the West, to Bell-River on the East ; or from the St. Lawrence on the South to Pembroke in the North, If the reader wishes to see where his fields of labor have been, let him consult that invaluable book of reference, Douse's " Register," and he will learn. Our friend might have been in the active work at the pre- sent time, but for a blow received from a horse Jive years ago, by which he was obliged to forego the pleasure of prosecuting at large his beloved itinerant work. But God has given him a comfortable residence in the midst of kind and appreciating friends, with still a measure of strength to aid his ministerial brethren in their special services in all the region around. We have shared his labors in our own station ; and I know not that I ever enjoyed his preaching more than within a few months past. We trust he is ripening for heaven. Yet, may the Lord spare him to the church below for many years to come ! God be gra- cious to that one of my " fellow candidates," who still remains with the writer in the Wesleyan ministry 1 169 TRADITIONARY RECOLLECTIONS. Pious people are naturally fond of conversation about those who were their ministers in former days, those especially who have gone home to heaven. And so far a« my observation ex- tends I think they are more likely to remember their excellen- cios tlun their defects. Whatever fault they may have had to find with them while present, or how much soever those faith- lul men may have been misunderstood and misrepresented when present, the maturer reflection of all seems inclined to do them justice when dead or gone. And if there had been any charactertsHc eycellency about them (and there always is in every good man) ^Aa^ more especially, would be remembered This may be a stimulus to us all to " patiently continue in well doing knowing that God will "bring forth our judgement as the light, and our righteousness as the noon day." Besides the recitation of these " righteous acts" " to the generation following," may be a means of stimulating others to the imita- tion of their virtuous conduct. The writer has been stirred up a thousand times, and cheered m the prosecution of his work as well as entertained, especially in the early part of his ministry, by hearing many of the fathers and mothers m our Canadian Israel speak of the labors the exposures, the adventures, the wrestlings in prayer, and the successes of the first race of Itinerant Methodist Preachers in ■ Canada, few of whom he had ever the happiness of seeing and none of whom he ever knew during the day that was peculiarly their own. •' Some of the names which he heard dwelt on with o-lowing language were the following :-William Losee, Darius Dunham Calvin Wooster, Samuel Coate, Peter Van-Est, Willbm Jewell' Silvanus Keeler, Seth Crowell, Densmore, and Nathaniel 1 Kifc ;M'i \S' I'i'i 'I > iij!^' rfff i ,U' li< W I 170 PAST AND PRESENT. 1,1 Reader, with some others now forgotten. Of none of these has he any written memorial, save what has been inscribed on the tablet of his memory. In some instances this consists of a single sentence, and that almost obliterated by the defacing hand of time. Still, he has thought it might not be an unpleasing or unprofitable task to decipher and transcribe in a more legi- ble and permanent form the impressions made on his suscepti- ble youthful memory. If memory were our only guide, from what Avas told us by the old people in the Matilda country we should say that LosEE was the first travelling preacher who labored in Upper Canada, at least in the Eastern part of it. We also judge, for a similar reason, that during the first part of his labors he was not a regularly appointed laborer. He seems to have been only a local preacher, who came at his own instance (by God's providence, no doubt) partly t"> see some relatives of the same name who had settled in the Province, and partly with a design of being useful to them and others ; for he was a fearless, zealous man, who would not confer long with flesh and blood, or wait for hu- man authuiization and r.pproval in any cntcrprize to which lie had cause to believe God had called him, and which was likely to redound to His glory. And judging by the result we have no reason to think that he was deceived. His brethren, the Bishops and Ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli in the United .States, seem to have thought the Si.me ; for the second year he was sent in anricd with proper ministerial authoiity to feed and govern the flock he had been made the instrument of collecting. One of his first converts, and if I mistake not, the very first soul converted to God through the instrumentality neighborhoods, and made very instrumental of good te them' And after his family grew up, and were able to provide for them* selves, " Father Keeler," as he was now caUed, extended his la- bors to greater distances from home, carrying the Gospel into the destitute settlements of immigrants beyond the Rideau His last labor of love was that of holding a Quarterly Meeting m the ^' Boyd Settlement"," beyond the Mississippi. His name IS even still like " ointment poured forth" in all the region from the St. Lawrence to the settlement beyond the last mentioned river. And his piety lives in the persons of his descendants who have been the faithful adherents of the Wesleyan cause through every vicissitude. Thus it is, that "he being dead yet speaks" for that Master whose truth he so zealously pro! claimed while living. Mr. Densmore is remembered at a period somewhat later about the Bay of Quinte, as a little man, young, sprightly active, cheerful, and faithful in his work. When he could not get to his appointment by the conveyance he liked, he would cheerfully submit to one he did not like; but go he would if it were within the bounds of possibility. ' Seth Crowel, was the merest hoy in years; but gifted, voluble, and possessed of a flaming zeal, which attracted the admiration and ensured the grateful recollection of hundreds. William Snow was remembered as a simple, open-minded young man, from the States, who sometimes preached with such uncommon liberty and power at camp meetings as to extort an ascription of praise from an old shouter-''' for mow in sum- J 1:4 M 'M- li '" 180 PAST AND PRESENT. wer," and at other times, was so straitened and embarrassed as to lead him to say at the close—" Brethren, I have done, and I am glad of itl" Nathaniel Reader came in at the close of the last Ameri- can War and travelled the first year on the Belleville circuit, which then extended from there westward to Smith's Creek, now Port Hope. He|told the people that the Lord promised him a hundred souls that year; and the promise was more than verified. A glorious revival took place in every pan of the cir- cuit. He subsequently travelled in the Ottawa country, where he was remembered as so remarkably devout and heavenly in his very appearance, as to arrest the attention of even strangers who chanced to see him riding on the road. " Nathaniel, an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile l" "Blessings be on their memory and increase ! These are the moral conquerors, and belong To them the palm-branch and triumphal song- Conquerors,— and yet the harbingers of peace." BEVIVAL COINCIDENCE. By this caption we mean the sudden breaking out of a revi val under similar circumstances in two several places and on two occasions far distant from each other. In the year eighteen thirty-one^ the writer labored alone on the P. circuit. He had been very anxious to see the work of God revived. Still, little good was done, although he labored hard. At length in his youthful zeal and simplicity, he projected a camp-meeting (none had ever been held in those parts) to be convened within a mile of a town where Scotch Prcsbyterianism REVIVAL COINCIDENCE. 181 was in the ascendant. In this project he was eeoonded by a few old simple-hearted Methodists of strong faith. We must not be prolix, but hasten to say, that though censured by our Presiding Elder for irregularity, the meeting was a decided suc- cess. A number were converted, and that work of conversion gave an impulse to all the surrounding societies. Among those converted were two Scotch lads, « Johnny A " and Johnny B." They lived in a neglected neighborhood in the township of D , about seven miles beyond my most dis- tant appointment. They went home in a flame and began to recommend religion to their friends and neighbors. They incur- red a good deal of persecution, but God rewarded their efforts by giving each of them a sister to go with him to heaven. They came out from home seven miles and united with the class at the place above referred to. This, however, did not satisfy them: they wanted preaching in their own neighborhood that their friends might hear the saving truth of God. I was about to leave the circuit for Conference, but sent on word that I would preach to them one sermon before I went. It cost me an extra ride of fourteen miles, but 1 was well re^ compensed for my pains. It is true, on arriving there I felt un- fruitful in thought and depressed in mind, and wished I had not come. But a walk in the woods and earnest prayer to Al- mighty God somewhat assured me ; I returned and found the congregation assembled in a barn ; I took for my text, " How Bhall we escape if we neglect so great salvation," and began. I had scarcely commenced before I began to feel uncommon liber- ty of speech and power resting on my soul. It seemed as if I were pulling the words through the roof of the building. The Lord laid too his helping hand— all the unconverted were struck with conviction and " cried with a loud and bitter cry." My voice was soon drowned. And as Jehovah was now preaching I thought I might as well give over. We went to prayer and all cried amain to God. Soon one after another entered into liberty f . I'i ; ill/ ' I ! i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {./ f/. Y ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ 12.2 |^|98 II 140 2.0 1.8 1.4 11 1.6 11^ ^A /a /. '> > /^ — „^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WtST MAIN STRUCT WHSTIR.NV UllO '!l 182 PAST AND PRESENT. and began to sing praises to God, tiU aU weife made hapfy but one. The whole united in class before I left. They were aU Scotch but one. Now for the coincidence. About ten years after that, nearly a hundred miles from that place, I had gone one evening to a neglected "neighborhood, where an old Irish class-leader had set- tied himself, to fulfil a volunteered appointment. I had select. ed another subject for the evening. But in the course of cou- versatbn after tea, I related the above mentioned occurrence. My host wished I might preach on the same text that night. I feared to promise: the text was never any great favorite with me, or rather, my sermon on it was not ] and the thoughts had gone from me. Nevertheless I turned it over in my mind on the way to the place of preaching. When we arrived there I found the school house filled with people. The preliminary de- Totions were attended to, and I took " How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation," and began. And, strange to say, nearly the same state of feeling, as in the former case, fell on me and on the people. I had uncommon liberty and power ; and the people wept and cried so loud as to drown my voice. I desbted as before, when about two thirds through, and engaged in prayer. They cried mightily to God— many were deliver, ed— and, after continuing the services a few evenings, a lonely class of lwent^>'two was organized. I mention tiie coincidence without any remark by way of accounting for it, giving God all the praise. Would that both these classes had been better handled than they were in after years 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SELF-TAUGHT MINISTEJl Educi*tion is nothing less nor more than the development of powers possessed to some extent by every human being, but ie happy fc^t bey were aU r that, neariy evening to « ider had set* I had select- ourse of con.- i ocourrenoa bat night. I favorite with thoughts had my mind on Tived there I reliminary d«» I WQ escape, if atrange to say, r case, fell on j^ and power ; •wn my voice. 1, and engaged were deliver* aings, a lonely he coincidenod giving God all • handled than MINISTER ievelopment of aan being) but A SELF-TAUGHT MINISTER. 183 existing in different proportions in different persons. Powers which, however, must remain forever latent if they are not drawn out. This work is commenced by others and carried on to some extent by the force of circumstances ; but no person can be truly and eminently educated, who does not set himself about It with a fixed and untiring determination. The advan- tages of a regular school and collegiate education are inealcu- lable ; as such a course furnishes the tools by whieh a man may bttild up the superstructure of a cultivated intellect. There is a sense in which a man who is educated at all, in the true sense of the word, must be self^ducated. Minds of different casts and oaHbre require a development each one peculiar to itself. And many a scholar has not discovered the true direction in which his mind ought to grow till he has left college. But then that collegian from his acquantance with the meaning of words, of language in general, of scientific terms, of mathcmatr ical principles, of logical forms, and of the leading facts of history, besides having a large development of mind already, has the implements for that particular cultivation which his own indi- vidual mind ought to receive. Religion, besides giving always a mighty impulse to that mmd which has been brought under its power, is the only safe guide to the healthy, and useful development of our powers. Every true minister must be supposed to be under its impulses and guidance. The minister's mind, if possible, should be truly and thoroughly cultivated. It becomes his duty, whatever his early advantages, to cultivate his mental powers to the utmost The early Methodist preachers in this Province entered the work with small educational advantages. Their condition resembled that of the mechanic, who has to teach himself his trade, to manufacture his tools, and to perform the contemplated construc- tion at the same time. True, there was one thing they did know, before they under- took to toaoh others. They knew themselves to be ruined ain. ! \ T! ' i t 194 PAST AND PRBBEICT. t. i ! t J: ners tbey knew the true source of consolation and help — they clearly understood the plan of salvation through our Lord Jesus Chrisi; — they had a clear experience of the Spirit's work on the heart, and were qualified to comfort, as well as direct, others with the consolation wherewith they themselves were comforted of God. Nor was this all : they were usually persons of good natural parts — of quick perception and ready utterance— whose gifts had been drawn out and exercised in exhortation and preaching in their own localities before they went into the min- isterial work. This was the reason why they had been urged to enter the field, and recommended by their several Quarterly Meetings. Yea more, if inquiry were made, it would be found that their literary attainments were considerably in advance of the mass of their hearers. Some of them had been School teachers. This gave them a vantage ground which caused them to be respected. Still, with all these admissions in their favor, they felt their great insufficiency for a work which migh em- ploy the most extensive stores of knowledge and the most high- ly cultivated powers of mind. This was felt by the person whose experiences we chronicle. He had learned to read when a child of six years of age, by conning over an old copy of the New Testament with its appended metrical version of the Psalms. The first verse he ever learned to read was this : " Behold the mountain of the Lord, in latter days sha'l rise." The second was — " Now as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdelene and the other Mary to Bce the sepulchre." His schooling consisted of about two years altogether before the age of seventeen, but distributed into pe- riods of one, three, and six months at a time, with nine and twelve months vacation between. The intervals between the times of attending school were filled up with hard work. So that he lost during vacation what he had learned in term time. No wonder that this alternating system left him at the age above indicated (seventeen years and a half) with the bare i t nd help — they iir Lord Jesus s work on the direct, others ere comforted irsons of good iranee — whose lortation and into the min- ■d been urged eral Quarterly ould be found in advance of L been School h caused them in their favor, lich migh em- \he most high- i we chronicle, ige, by conning ended metrical ned to read was lays aha '.1 rise." wards the first other Mary to tbout two years ibuted into po- mth nine and Is between the ard work. So [irned in term left him at the I with the bare A SELF-TAUGHT MINISTER. 185 ability to read ; to scrawl his name with hideous chirography • and with much ado, to count the simplest sum in simple addition. But thank God ! he could read. This art he had possessed from child! hood ; and the exercise of it was always pleasurable to him, and fur- nished him boundless stores of enjoyment. How often were the intervals of his toil, which his companions spent in idleness and en- m, beguiled with books. True, they were not of the most select or proper kmd They were such as fell in his way. The perusal of them gratified his curiosity, and preserved his appetito for mdmg Nor does he now regret the reading of one of them. He has learned> extract the precious metal from the dross Then came conversion at the age of /if teen. This event gave a new impulse to Ms intellectual as well as r>ioral powers, the latter of which had either remained dormant, or were distorted and diseased. A taste for a;new kind of books was now cre- ated and a conscientious principle establisued as to the character of the books he should read. He now learned to eschew l:,l and questionable books, along with injurious com,^. . ons i\ belief that the reading of novels was injurious was the imme- diate result: and although it cost him a conflict to part with this fascinating ^x)rt of reading, to which he had been previouslv addicted he triumphed in the struggle, and never read another. Hia mmd, throwing itself into this attitude of defence, went to an extreme in this direction. He was afraid of every kind of reading, however instructive and useful, that was not directly rehoiom. This shut him up for some years to the Blessed Bible to religious biographies, and to works on practical reli-ion' Contiguity to a kind-hearted Presbyterian minister, gave'him* free access to the parson's old cast off books, which he kept in a passage-way outside his study door. These were all Calvinis- tic. During that period he read " Boston's four fold state"-^ the Works of Brooks-of Doddridge, in part, &c., &o. Alon<^ with these, he read the Life and Sermons of Wcsley-the Lives of nearly aU the Lay Preacher»-and several Doctrinal Tracts K ' 186 PAST AND PRESENT. ii from the pens of Wesley, Fletcher, Olivfr, and Bangs, which neutralizd the Calvinism that his mind might have re- ceived from Boston and others. He has never regretted read- ing any of the Puritan writers, he found a wealth of theologi- cal matter, and expression that amply repaid perusal. And the study of these controversies were not unimportant as a means of mental discipline, and occupied the time which more favored ones spend at Latin and Mathematics, and, to some extent, supplied their place. When midway between seventeen and eighteen years of age, providential circumstances released him from his trade. The time he spent at that, as it comprehended a knowledge of some chemical agents, he does not regard as absolutely lost. Besides, during that period he learned much of the principle and habits of a class of men, which contributed to advance his acquaint- ance with human nature, a branch of knowledge most import- ant to efficiency in preaching, by fiiraishing the key, very often, to the conscience and the affections of the hearers; and of skill in pastoral government, by knowing the prejudices of the people in common life, who are always the majority. His ministerial success in after years was principally among persons of this kind. The best part of a year was now spent at school, save what was substracted by a severe fit of sickness — bilious fever, by which his memory received a shock which it never wholly re- covered. This affliction, however, was a season of healthful moral discipline, which tended to prepare hun more fully for liis coming work. In two months time at school, for which he paid two dollars, he qualified himself to teach the juniors, by doing which he defrayed the expense of his own subsequent tuition. During that year, he went twice through the English Grammar— twice through the Arithmetic— learned Book-Keeping in its simplest form— learned something of Geography— and acquired the ele- ments of Latin and Greek. The want of resources, at the end and Bangs, light have re- Bgretted read- bh of theologi- sal. And the lit as a means 1 more favored some extent, 1 years of age, is trade. The dedge of some lost. Besides, iple and habits ) his acquaint- 3 most import- cey, very often, ; and of skill in 3 of the people [lis ministerial )ersons of this at school, save —bilious fever, lever wholly re- )n of healthful more fully for aid two dollars, doing which he ition. During rammar — twice ; in its simplest cquired the ele- irces, at the end A Self-taught minister. 187 of the space indicated, drew him to adopt the alternative of teaching a country school. Yes, gentle reader, he knows what It IS to teach a country school, of the original type, and to study human nature m its domestic phases in ru^al life, in its newest form, by "boarding around"_that is to say, eating and sleep- ing one week for each pupil in every house or shanty among Irish, Seoteh, Dutch and Yankees, whether tidy or slaternly If this was not a probation and preparation for ministerial life m Its Itinerant form, we should like to know what; would be. There he developed his talent for lecturing by talking to his pupils among whom he was as famous as - Goldsmith's Village Schoolmaster ' In those days a pious teacher was free to pray with his scholars in good earnest. Our hero nerved himself for after pastoral [engagements, by praying in all the families where he sojourned. The weekly class, with its preceding pub- h« meeting for exhortation and prayer, answered our self-tauc^ht m the place of the weekly declamations to which our present expectants of the ministry resort. Only that he had to be his own criticiser, which task he performed with severity or lenity as his mmd chanced to be depressed or elated with his perform- ances. But it was a rule with him in those days to try and im- prove on the last effort at every succeeding one. The only mental advantages of those three months was acquired by teach- mg what he had learned to others [he thinks it very valuable to dternate teaching with school-going] and the perusal of Moshiem s Ecclesiastical History, which he carefully read and on which he made notes. The principal idea that impressed hmi from that reading, was, of the gradual rise of ecclesiastical power and superstitious observances. A prospect of still further improvement now opened bef6re him: the offer of a more paying school in a much more agreea- ble neighborhood with the privilege of boarding in the house- of a well-educated, studious man, who felt a great interest in all young men anxious for improvement, who promised to giva ->«=» ( \\ I \ '.ii 11 f- s H ■HH| 1 188 PAST AND PRESENT. M ■^il * 1^' .'» Mm all the assistance in his power. This person was a plain, un- pretending farmer, but one who had enjoyed the benefit of a New England education, and whose only recreations were intellectual pursuits— a man who beguiled the long evenings of a Canadian winter, far from polished society, with Mathematics, Optics, and kindred subjects. Happily he was pious also. The privilege of this man's society and instructions, this youth, perhaps erroneously, surrendered in obedience to the call of the church authorities, which first designated him to the office of Missionary School-Teacher among the Indians of Scoogog Lake, where had he gone, his career for life might have been very much altered. He might have wandered with Thomas Hurlbert to the far North West ; or with the la- mented HuRD, the Wesleyan student, he might have found his way tr. the college and his grave. This order, however, was countermanded. Hurd went to the Mission School, and our hero to a circuit. Now opened new sources of mental solici- tude and new efforts. As he had to preach eight times a week, his first necessity was to provide the required number of ser- mons. And they had all to be the fruit of thought; for he never had the art of talking without having something to say. He felt ashamed when he found himself rhapsodical. Accord- ing to his day was his strength. He was now shut up to the necessity of thinking, and thinking closely: something in which he had long wished to discipline himself. His first ser- mon was studied on a barn floor. The second and third in the woods ; and so on, very much the same with what followed There was little or no opportunity for retirement in the houses, and no facilities for writing whatever. He wrote no sermon— or nothing but the merest outline and the scripture proofs —for several years. His text was usually suggested by his private or domestic devotional reading in the morning of each day— by the wants of the;people— or by some remark of theirs in prayer or class-meeting. Next ho read the " Brief Com- ii. -\.^.™ as a plain, un- nefit of a New jre intellectual of a Canadian 3S, Optics, and ructions, tHs iience to the ted him to the le Indians of for life might v^andered with r with the la- t have found pder, however, n School, and ' mental solici- times a week, lumber of ser- ro- ^ith the hope ol' preserving his effusions and of helping the author ; but we found the expense of the undertaking more than the subscription list would warrant us to incur. We fear the most of it is now lost excepting some of those printed elegies, which were framed in «ie houses of the surviving friends of the subjects of them. We present one little relic from his Muse~an acrostic :— "double acrostic. " J-ehovah reigns I Let angel hosts adore ; 0-n bis perfections gaze forevermore. H-is houtidJess love extends thro' earth and sky • N-ought can escape his all discerning eye. B.lest are the servants of our Sovereign Lord, E-xpression fails to paint their great reward • U-pheld by Him, who sits enthroned in light L-ost to the utmost stretch of mortal sight- ' A-II dispensations from his hand are good-1 H-elp comes from Him who rules the swelling flood. C-ontentment, here erect thy peaceful seat ! A-nd let these faithful hearts in union beat! R-efining fires within their bosoms glow f R-eturning seasons new delights bestow. 0-bedient to the voice of love divine L-ight in eternal splendor on them shines— L-ife everlasting, to each I say, Ba thine 1" Distance from him at the time of his death prevents the wnter from knowing much of the circumstances under which he left the world, but as he w,s one of the purest of mortals, we have no doubt that this child of loss and want has taken his night to that Heaven of which he delighted so much to speak on earth, and to join in those celestial employments which were whJe here below, so often the subject of his pious meditation. . ( 1 THE BIG SNOW STORM. At tlie suggestion of a frie'JiU whase judgement and taste V Jf { 204 PAST AND PRESENT. I place great reliafice I transcribe from the pages of the Chris. Han Guardian, part of a published journal of a series of Mis-, ,Bionary Meetings, embracing an account of what we all used to call " The Big Snow Storm." "Dear Brother,— Having a few moments leisure in pass- ing through this town, I avail myself of it to transcribe and send youthe>/ ; but with that exoGption, he performed his duties in every part of his work as a minister of Christ as faithfully as any man I ever knew. He was very brotherly and kind to me— often speaking to me in a manner calculated to urge me on to diligence and fidelity in tho great work. When we met in the place of intersection in the route of the circuit, he would occasionally salute me with his favorite exhortation, ' Drive on, brother ! drive on ! Drive the Devil out of the country ! Drive him into the lake and drown him!' The author of the 'Memorial of Methodism' says of this remarkable man : ' He was characterized by an inexhausti- ble zeal and unfaltering energy. No difficulty could obstruct his course ; he drove over his vast circuits, and still larger districts, preaching continually, and pressing on from one appointment to another. Neither the comforts nor courteeies of life ever de- layed him. In Canada his labors were Herculean : he achieved the work of half a score of men, and was instrumental in scat- tering the word of life over vast portions of that new country, when few other clergymen dared to venture among its wilder- nesses and privations. Not only did he labor gigantically, but he also suffered heroically from want, fatigue, bad roads, and the rigorous winters of those high latitudes. Such was the companion with whom Mr. Hedding was to be associated in the labors and privations of the second year of his ministry. He had but little suavity of manner to render him agreeable to his colleague ; but there was a heroism in his during, and an invin- cible ardor in his movements, that rendered him not altogether unprofitable as an associate." The circuit they then travelled is thus described by the Eev. Laban Clark, who had travelled the year preceding : — " Our circuit," says he, " was divided into two parts, nearly like a figure 8 containing a two weeks' appointments in each, and bring- ing us togetlier every two-weeks ; the whole distance about four hundred miles, including all that part of Vermont north of Onion River, and in Lower Canada from Sutton to Missisquoi V llffiiu * 216 PAST AND PRESENT. In; m "if til % Bay, and around the bay to Alsbury and Isle la Motte ; embracing about forty appointments for four weeks ! Being a newly settled country the roads were exceedingly bad,- and to reach some por- tions of the circuit they were compelled to traverse extensive wildernesses, through which there were no roads." Such was Kyan, and such were his labors, before coming to Upper Canada. No history of Canadian Methodism, however fragmentary and sketchey, would be in anywise complete, which did not con- tain some reference to such a leading influence in its early do- ings as Henry Ryan — a man who at one time seemed almost ubiquitous in the country, and had unbounded ascendancy over the minds of the great mass of the Methodist people. He was the first person the writer ever heard deliver a ser- mon. It was preached in that first meeting house in the town of York, so often referred to in these sketches ; and addressed, if we remember correctly to the children of the Sabbath School — they at least were all present. This was as early as the year 1819. He had been in the country from 1805. He entered it in company with the Rev. William Case, whose senior colleague he was in the Kingston, or Bay of Quinte circuit. He must have been in the ministry some time before that, as he had been the apostle of Methodism to the new settlements of Vermont three years prior to his com- ing to Canada ; but our not having a copy of the American " General Minutes" at hand, prevents us from determining when he began to travel. And his dying outside the pale of stand- ard Methodism prevented any memorial of him being preserved in our body. The most we have to say is preserved from tradi- tion, the report of his cotemporaries, and our own recollections. He began in the last century, as he was Bedding's senior, who commenced the first year of the present century. His name indicated a Celtic origin, and he was most likely of Roman Catholic parentage. He was usually supposed to bo an Irishman — a colleague calls him such — and he may have THE REPREHENDED. 217 s; embracing Qcwly settled ich some por- 'se extensive ' Such was pper Canada, fragmentary did not eon- its early do- jemed almost endancy over pie. deliver a ser- j in the town id addressed, the Sabbath ivas as early mntry from V. William ;ston, or Bay linistry some Methodism to r to his com- lie American ■mining when ale of stand- ng preserved d from tradi- recollections. s senior, who IS most likely apposed to be he may have been born in Ireland, but he certainly had acquired his dialect some other place than there. An Irishman never calls endeavor, " indficvor," which was his pronunciation of the word. He was not a highly educated man, as the composition of some printed circulars, published under his auspicies, which we have seen in our time, indicated. He was reported, we know not on what authority, to have been a practiced, if not a professional, pugilist before his conversion to God. And we know of no man who would have been more likely to succeed in that infamous calling than himself, had he turned his attention to it and been trained for it. There can bo no doubt but Ryan was one of the most powerful men the race ever produces. He was prodigiously strong J and quick as he was strong; and bold and powerful as either. When we first saw him he was in his prime. We do not like to hazard an opinion about his height, because men so stout as he are likely to seem shorter than they are. He might have been five feet eleven. He was muscular, but plump and compact. His complexion was dark— head massive fore- head rather projecting— his nose curved a little downward— and his chin, which was a double one, with a dimple in the centre, curved upwards. His face was large. He was very quick in his movement— he used to start from his seat to his feet, when an old man of sixty and beginning to be corpulent, without ever putting his hand to his chair. He has been known to flmg ordinary sized men, who were disturbing the order and solem*^ nity of divine worship at Camp-Meetings, over the high enclo- sure with which it was customary in the early days of Meth- odism to surround them. There was no law for the protection of out-door worshipers at that time, and our hero knew how to protect himself and his friends. His voice was one of the very best. It was flexible, musical, prodigiously strong, and of fabulous compass. His conversa- tional voice would reach the outskirts of any ordinary congre- gation, and its tones were very agreeable. He could speak 19* i:ii' 218 PAST AND PRESENT. \A' without any effort, tlie ordinary weight of his voice being enough t3 carry the sound to the most distant auditor. But when he lifted it up— and he did do it at intervals — " it was as when a lion roareth." We have heard of persons being led to jump from tljeir seats by one of his bursts. He had perfect control of his voice, but being naturally very impassioned, he fre- quently employed it to its utmost extent ; and added to the terrifying effect by vehemently " stamping with the foot and smiting with the hand." Take an example :— In the middle of a sermon he is talking of death as a certainty — but the uncer- tainty of the time. " It matters not what becomes of the body, whether entombed in marble, or buried in the depth of the sea : " But oh — the soul .'" (Elevating his voice.)" But oh,— the SOUL ! !" (Elevating his voice still more.) " But oh, — THE SOUL!!!" (Raising it to a terrific shout, and bringing down his weighty hand on the pulpit with a slap that makes the house to ring.) He has been heard distinctly when preaching in the Kingston market house by persons on Navy Point. By the way, the market house was their only preaching place and a butcher's block their only rostrum, when Ryan and Case first tried to introduce Methodism into this ancient town. They were both powerful singers, and they were wont, as Mr. Case informed me, in order to collect a congregation, to take each otlier by the arm, and walk towards the place of preaching sing ing the hymn beginning — " Come Itt us march to Zion's hill." They sometimes encountered some annoyance from the rabble, which they however treated with a noble contempt. He never removed after this from Upper Canada ; but was one of the very few preachers who remained in the country during the late American war. The Rev. Thomas Whitehead was another. They were Britons by birth and also by preference. Besides, they felt they had an important post assigned them, which they might not abandon, Ryan took the oversight of the whole, being cnougli But -when he was as when ig led to jump 3erfcct control ioned, he fre- added to the h the foot and 1 the middle of but the uncer- .es of the body, pthof the sea: But oh, — THE iut oh,~THE and bringing that makes the vhen preaching vy Point. By hing place and 1 and Case first b town. They it, as Mr. Case 1, to take each ■ preaching sing rom the rabble, opt. He never was one of the try during the 3ad was another, ence. Besides, liem, which they ,t of the whole, THE REPREHENDED. 219 calling out Canadian local preachers to supply the work, of whom Tiios. Harmon, who had performed prodigies at the bat- tle of Queenstown, whose loyalty to his King, and whose zeal for God, ought not to be forgotten, was one. Elder Ryan's dis- trict extended from the extreme West to Montreal, a distance which he traversed to attend the Quarterly Meetings. As his income was very small and precarious, he eeked out the sum ne- cessary to support his family by peddling a manufacture of his own in his extensive journeys, and by bawling with his double team, on his return route from Lower Canada, loads of Gov- ernment stores, or merchandise. Such were the shifts to which Methodist preachers had to resort in order to sustain themselves in a work which they would not desert. Mr. B. by his loyalty gained the confidence and admiration of all friends of British supremacy ; and by his abundant and heroic labors the afiFec- tions of the God-fearing part of community. But these were not his only sources of influence. He had a rough and ready but real oratory, most admirably adapted to his auditors. He felt strongly and could make others feel. We have seen that he could be most terrific when he liked ; and he knew how to ' melt the people into tenderness, while he addressed them with floods of tears. He was communicative and lively in private conversation, interesting the people with the ludicrous aspects of the checkered scenes through which he had passed. He was perhaps a little too fond of that, but still is was a means of en- dearing him to the many. Byan was also witty, and had a ready answer for every bantering remark. Some wicked fel- lows are said to have asked him " if he had heard the news ?" " What news ?" " Why, that the Devil is dead ?" " Then" said he, looking around on the company, " he has left a great many fatherless children." Sometimes his answers assumed more of a belligerent than witty character. On entering a pub- lic house one day, a low fellow, who knew him from his costume to be a minister, thought to insult him with impunity, remarked ' li i III \t 220 PAST AND PRESENT. > . 1 i| ill:: aloud, while he put his hand to his pocket, " There comes a Methodist preacher ; I must take care of my money." llyan promptly resented it, by saying " You are an impudent scoun- drel." "Take care !" said the man. " I cannot swallow that." " Chew it till you can then !" was Ryan's defiant reply. There was often wisdom in his courage. Once in a tavern, he oibserved that the more than usual amount of profane swearing and blas- phemy was evidently perpetrated to annoy him and to draw him into an altercation. He let it .pass in silence, till observing one more officious in the matter than the rest, evidently with the in- tention to elicit his reproof, he turned and accosted him in the following ironical way. " That's right : swear away, my man ; you have as good a right to be damned as any one I know of ! Go on, and you will accomplish your purpose !" This was doubtless more harrowing and effectual than a milder and more direct form of reproof. . But if he could abate the pride of the haughty, he knew how to sympathize with the humble and contrite ones. I shall never forget it of him, that he turned aside into a destitute , neighborhood on one of his long western journeys, about the year 1811, to administer comfort by conversation, singing, and prayer, to my poor disconsolate mother, then in a state of deep religious melancholy. The partial misdirection, to use no Stronger word, in his later years, of energies which had made him so effective for good, may serve as a beacon-light to all who have to navigate the same dangerous strait. May all interested learn the lessons taught by the history before us I While we cherish the hope that this wonderful man, after preaching to others, was not finally cast away himself. THE FATHER OF CANADIAN MISSIONS. This was a title by which the venerable and IIeverend Willi 4.M Case, otherwise known as "Elder Case," was dis- I \ " KLDER CASP:." 221 tinguislied for many years before his death. It may seem too broad a title to some, in view of what was achieved by some who preceded him in the Province as Methodist Itinerants — such as Losee, Dunham, Coleman, Wooster, Jewel, Sawyer, Bangs, and others— in so far as the evangelization of the whitfis was concerned ; also in view of the labors, at some periods and in several places, of ministers of other branches of the Church of Christ. Yet, when we remember that Case entered the Province so early as 1805, and that he continued to labor in it, with the exception otsix years, unremittingly down to the day of his death ; and that he was almost the first Missionary to the extreme western part of the Province ; and when we take into account, that he projected, fostered, and clung to the last to the Indian Missions ; and that the last mentioned Missions have been almost exclusively connected with the Wesleyan Metho- dist Church, we must see that the cognomen might pass with- out much explanation or modification. Were we to write his life, we should probably divide it into — His Pre-Aboriginal Efforts ; and his Indian Missionary/ Career. And what a fruitful subject to one familiar with the political and religious history of Canada, would be the Life and Times of the Key. William Case. " Case and his Co- adjutors," might be its title. He would be a fine central figure, standing out from the rest, while grouped around him might stand the whole array of Canadian Methodist worthies, lay as well as clerical, from one end of the Province to the other, and from eighteen hundred and Jive, to eighteen hundred and fifty - five. Strange that his friends have found no person compe- tent and willing to undertake it. In the absence of such a life, we furnish a slight memorial. Like the novelists, we begin in the middle — namely, at the time we first saw him, in 1824, when he must have been about forty-four years of age. I had heard my mother speak of " Elder Case ". approvingly, as " a very mild man." This hh I { '' 999 PAST AND PREfeKxVT. ■1 I :M was to contradistingaish him from the great majority of Metho- dist preachers of that day, who were in general very boisterous and particularly so "Elder Ryan,' his coadjutor in the Pi,, siding Eldfrsh'p of the Province ; the subject of our last pic- ture, who, as we have seen, was a Boanerges. At length we saw him for ourself. The writer had set out a few months be- fore to seek and serve God ; had joined the Methodist Church, and at the time referred to, was attending a prayer meeting in the house of a Mr. C , when a tidl, somewhat slender, round-faced, pleasant countenanced stranger, genteel looking, in very clerical garb, entered the room ; and at the request of the more active of the only two class-leaders then in the town, conducted the meeting. All the older members pressed around him to shake hands, and were most pleasantly received. The youngest member, who stood behind the rest, was led forward by his leader "to speak to the Elder." He smilingly re marked to our considerate friend, "I see you have some young members." That boy afterwards learned that the good Elder had given his leader a special charge concerning him — predict- ing by the way, that he would yet preach the Gospel. He took a great interest in young men ; and devised measures to bring them forward, often unknown to them, so as not to elate them too much at first. He was the director of the rising ministry of the Methodist Church in Canada before she had a College in which to train them ; and he was the friend of that Institu- tion from the momoat it was projected to the day of his death, watching its progress and doings with the most lively interest. He would souietimos talk about " his boys" in the pulpit in a way that set the young aspirants to usefulness, and to weeping around him. Little children, too, he loved, and took a groat interest in their schools. On this account, he was a welcome visitant in the various families whose liospitaliLy ho enjoyed. The little Indian children, even, would literally pluck his clothes, " to share the good man's smile." Nor did they fail "ELDEE CASE." 223 >rity of Metlio- very boisterous tor in the Pi\ - of our last pic- At length we few months be- lodist Church, y^er meeting in 3what slender, enteel looking, the request of n in the town, pressed around •eceived. The ras led forward 3 smilingly re Lve mmo) young ;he good Elder him — predict- spel. He took isures to bring t to elate them ising ministry had a College )f that Institu- ly of his death, lively interest. he pulpit in a nd to weeping id took a great was a welcome y ho enjoyed, ally pluck liis r did they fail in their object. He would often pursue these tawny little ones, and catching them would kiss them with all the fondness im- aginable. My next sight of him, after the occasion referred to, was two years later, when he and the Rev. TnoaiAs Madden chanced to be together in the pulpit of the Old Framed Meefc- ing-House— two of the strong men of that day. Case preached on '' Justification by Faith," the most doctrinal sermon I ever heard him deliver; and Madden followed with an address in further elucidation of the subject. I thought I had never heard anything so satisfactory. Madden was the clearer in exposition and more methodical in arrangement; but Case was more declamatory and persuasive. Up to this period he had been very popular as a preacher j he became less so after he got absorbed in the Indian work, and some brighter luminaries arose to transcend him. Case in the pulpit appeared to th«» greatest advantage before eighteen hundred and twenty-five. He did not excel in exposition, nor in doctrinal preaching, but in treating historical subjects— the destruction of Sodom' and the caseof Zaccheus, for instance— in preaching on relative du- ties and family religion; in portraying domestic scenes; and in a pathetic sort of declamation, to which his musical voice, his ready utterance, and tearful eyes, all lent their assistance! The intonations of his voice were not unlike those of the In- dians, which we always thought gave his address a peculiar persuasiveness to them. Our subject was born in 1780— converted in 1803— received his first appointment to Canada in 1805. Ho continued in this Province till 1807, when he spent one year in the United States. He returned in 1808, and continued till 1810. Then, after five years spent on tlie other side of the lines, he returned and continued in Canada till the day of his death. Ho was mcnteen yearn a Travelling Chairman, or Presidin,' Kldor of various districts; four ycais the Prc«idcnt of the Conforcnoo \.M! 224 PAST AND PRESENT. and Superintendent of the whole work ; and the rest of his time till within a year or two of his death, exclusively devoted to the Indian work, as Missionary, Superintendent of Transla- tions, and Principal of Alderville Industrial Institute. In his relation as the " Father of the Indian Missions" it will become us particularly to speak of him. But before doing so we must glance at the characteristics of his career among tho whites. His early ministry, by the testimony of all who knew him at that time, was distinguished by activity, tenderness, and prudence. It is said that after preaching one of his per- suasive sermons, he would sing one of those delightful solos, which he knew so well how to manage. Then when the young people were all enchained, he would walk around the room, take each by the hand, or, throwing his arms around the neck of the young men, he would beseech them to be reconciled to God. It was by such means he promoted the great revival in the West in 1808, when the voice of prayer and praise was heard by day and night in the houses and barns, in the fields and woods, all over the country. By his singing he found his way on some occasions into the families of genteel Romanists, to whose children (in one instance a young lady in dying cir- cumstances) he, in that gentle way, communicated the know- led"-e of Christ. Music was his own solace, as well as the means of charming others. He told us, that in one of his long, solitary, bush rides, on a close, sultry day, when the feathered Bon'^sters were mute and all nature seemed to lie in a state of torpor, he was quite disposed to feel dejected ; when ho stopt, descended from his horse, selected the branch of a tree that would " peel," and made a whistle, with which he remounted and began to play : his own spirits were revived, his horse seem- ed livelier, all the birds began to sing, and he went on his way rejoicing. He was an early riser ; and in later years, when greater refinement obtaimul, we have known him to risi? belbro the genteel family with whom ho was sojourning were astir, uud he rest of his sively devoted mt of Transla- titute. 1 Missions" it it before doing reer among tho r all who knew y, tenderness, one of his per- elightful solos, hen the young und the room, 3und the neck e reconciled to ;reat revival in nd praise was 8, in the fields ^ he found his jel Romanists, y in dying cir- ited the know- as well as the 3no of his long, the feathered ie in a state of when he stopt, of a tree that ho remounted his horse seem- cnt on his way 3r years, when I to ris? beforo wore astir, uud " ELDER CASE." 225 call them to see the glories of a rising sun, a d to inhale the balmy oreath of morn, by stealing to the piano and thumbing slowly off some simple, plaintive air. He was " instant in season, and out of season." Once when pursuing his way on the beach of one of our great Canadian Lakes, the only passible road at the early day when the event transpired, he met at a narrow pass a solitary man— stopped him, and spoke to him of salvation till he began to weep, then he proposed prayer— alighted from his horse, and wrestled in earnest intercession in his behalf till God in mercy set his soul at liberty. The two embraced each other, and went on their opposite ways rejoicing, perhaps never to meet till they met in heaven. Of his boldness and adroitness in causing his horse to swim the Niagara River, to avoid the embargo, when he wished to reach his circuit in the West, all our readers have learned from his Jubilee Sermon. Case, though he had none of the sternness and authority of Ryan, and perhaps was less methodical than he, was neverthe- less a real general. The submission which others gained by wakening fear, he gained by exciting jove. He was a shrewd, though silent observer of character ; and knew how to put the right man in the right place. Many of these men were supe- rior to himself in point of talent. When the battle for our pub- lic rights had to be fought, he did not draw the pen himself (although no contemptible writer) but put forth one of the youngest men in the connexion as its champion, because he knew he was the best qualified of any in the body for the task. At his Quarterly Meetings he sometimes employed the stationed minister to preach in his stead, when he thought he was quali- fied to make a better impression on the augmented congrega- tion than himself. If he had circulars to write, he knew what good copyist to put his hand on to do it for him. We remem- ber his coming into the school we were attending in 1828, and eugnging our teacher to write out for each preacher in Lis dis- 20 V 226 PAST AND PRESENT. trict a draft of circular which he left ; the decision of the American G^eneral Conference on our application to be separ- ated from that body. He was " wise as a serpent, while harmless as a dove." He never committed himself by a premature disclosure of his own views ; but he had a quiet, unintentional sort of way of draw- ing out the views of others. He showed his self-control in his Buppressed laughter. That rule of a " Helper," " Converse iparingly, and conduct yourself prudently with women," was oxemplarily observed t^ him from early youth. This was a great achievement, in view of his youthful beauty, and constant arposure to company. He was near, or quite fifty, before he married. In fact, his long journeys and absences from home had nearly ceased before he asked any lady to share his joys and sorrows. Perhaps no person preserved a more prudent single life than he. Some pleasant things are told of his adroit- ness in disentangling himself from the attentions of fair candi- dates for the handsome young preacher's affections, but we shall not particularize them. There can be no doubt but that his interest in the Indian WORK became a real passion. The aboriginal tribes which hung on the outskirts of civilization in this Province, especially the Chippewa Indians, were a most degraded and besotted race. Ignorant, indolent, improvident, filthy, drunken, and licentious to the last degree. No one hoped for their ameliora- tion, or thought it possible. But Case, in his frequent jour- neys through the land, had often anxiously revolved their con- dition in his mind. When, therefore, Peter Jones, a half- Indian youth, whose vernacular was Chippewa, and who knew something of English, was converted at a Camp-Meeting in eighteen hundred and twenty-three, he broke out with the exclamation — " Bless God I the door is now opened to the Indian tribes." And events transpiring in swift succession verified the prophetic character of the remark. There was a ELDER CASE." 227 iecision of the n to be separ- a dove." He ure of his own way of draw- f-control in his '," " Converse L women," wa» , This was a Y, and constant fifty, before he ses from home 1 share his joys more prudent [d of his 4droit- s of fair candi- 3 lions, but we in the Indian I tribes which rince, especially and besotted drunken, and their ameliora- frequent jour- )lved their con- JoNES, a half- and who knew Camp-Meeting roko out with J opened to the wift succesHion , There was a comcidenco of three favoring circumstances which proved the work to be providentially commenced. A zealous young man a local preacher, Seth Crawford, by name, had come from* the United States, unauthorized, except by what he thought to be a divine impulse, and commenced a school among th°e In- dians of Grand River. Coincidently with that, the Rev. A. ToRRi had been appointed a Missionary to the scat-* tered white settlers along that stream. Therefore, when Jones (who now resided with his father near where Crawford had commenced operations,) was converted, and his half sister also, who was a Mohawk, there were experienced and pious men at hand to sympathize with him and to guide and assist him in his efforts for the salvation of his fellow-«ountrymen, which biigan at once. The first conversions took place among the Mohawks, among whom was an influential chief, Thomas Pavis ; but soon the work broke out among the Chippewas of the Credit, to which tribe, or band, Peter Jones, by his mother, properly belonged. For a time the Indian brethren at the Grand lliver gave them a place among themselves, that they might be near the means of graxje and of instruction. This waa before their houses were erected on their own reservation at the Credit. And it would have been well if all the converted Indians could have permanently settled together in one place, and acommu- Qity-ship if not a nationality given to them by which their ef. forts towards civilization and self-improvement might have been more effectually encouraged and brought to some good, produo, tive issue. Even as it wjw, great and glorious things were tcuieved. The Bellville, or Kingston Indians caught tha flame ; and it soon spread to Rice Lake, Mud Lake, Lakb SiMcoE, SciiooGOG, MuNOEY-TowN, and St. Clair. No one can imagine, who did not witness it, how these wondera among the Indian tribes thrilled the souls and animated the aeal and faith of the old Methodists of the Province. Cask specially became absorbed in it, so that hiji attention ta V, hi 228 PAST AND PRESENT. the reoTilar work ever after was only secondary. He labored, talked and prayed for the Indians without weariness. A plea- sant story is told of an interview between him and the renowned Bishop George, in the United States, whither Case had gone as was his wont frequently, to beg for his Indian Missions. George said Case was called on to pray ; and soon began to pray for the " poOT Indians ;" "but soon broke down with emo- tion—recovered himself, and began to pray for the Indians again, till he faltered again— praying for the Indians was alternated with weeping"— " till," said the Bishop, " he forgot the white- man had a soul at all." Though still on a district till 1828, his spare time was spent at the missions, or in begging for them. The latter was certainly no sinecure. There were no funds and no organizations for raising them in those days. Missionary meetings such as we have now were not thought of for several years. The whole was left to fitful spontaneous effort. Case, like Dr. Coke, went from house to house and solicited aid, both here and in \he United States, sometimes striving to en- hance the interest by the singing and recitations of a few chil- dren from the mission schools. Many of the preachers imitated his efforts. We know that Ferguson, of precious memory did for one. But after all that could be done, the support extended to the laborers— for they well deserved the name, working with their hands to teach the Indians agriculture and the mechanic arts, and to raise food for themselves and families, aud to provide mission houses and chapels— was very slender. Happily they knew how to forage for themselves. A pack enclosed in a blanket, slung on the back by means of what was called a tawj.- line across the shoulders, and a gun with a small store of pow- der and shot, constituted an Indian preacher's outfit. I knew Elder Case to pull the socks ofi' his feet to give to one of these extemporized evangelists, while ray own good mother, (peace to her memory !) knit another pair with all posssible dispatch to "ELDEK CASE." 229 replace them. lie adapted him«ielf to the cvuine of the In- dians— -no trifling achievement by the way— and maintained that no white Woman could cook a fish like a squaw. Case's calm, quiet, and yet cheerful manner was adapted to the Indian mind. A blustering, driving, direct man, could not succeed with them. But he had a method of administering I the most effectual rebuke in a way that would not offend. The most defective part of the converted Indian's character is— their indolence and want of management. The good Elder used to hold at Alderville what he called an " Inquiry Meeting.'* Some scripture character or piece of history was first discussed by the missionary. Then the natives were encouraged to ask questions concerning any point which they had not understood, or about which they wanted more information. This method was found entertaining and instructive. One evening the Pa- triarch Job was the subject. His case awakened a great deal of curiosity. He was put before them as an example of indus- try and economy. His great wealth astonished them much. They wished to know again how many sheep he had : and were told " seven thousand." "How many camels ?" " Three thou- sand." "How many yoke of oxen?" " Five hundred." "How many she-asses ?" And were told, '' Five hundred." " Now " said Case in conclusion, " Suppose Job should pay you a visit, and walk around among you ; and look at the way you farm| and look at your cows, and oxen, and pigs : What do you think he would say ?" « Don't know. What you think he say ?" n, ell, I think he would shake his head, and say, ' This catch- ing musk-rat is a small business'!" The men all dropt their heads. They felt its force. They departed without saying a word, but they were not offended ; for it passed into a proverb among them, which they applied to those who neglected agricul- ture for hunting—" Catching musk-rat is a small business." Case's deep interest in the Missions appeared in hia amassing a library of books almost wholly restricted to that subject. 20* !!-.! iili ,1 *-^- m 230 PAST AND PRESENT. m Thus have we presumed to record a few of the incidents of his early career which came to our own knowledge. The rest will be best expressed in the words of the official obituary pub- lished in the Minutes of Conference for 1856 : — " Question IV. What preachers have died since last Con- ference ? " Answer. "WILLIAM CASE. " From the autibiographical part of the venerable deceased Minister's valuable " Jubilee Sermon" we learn that he was born fit Swansea, a town of Massachusetts, on the 27th of August. 1780 ; and he died, soon after a fall from his horse, at the Wes- leyan Indian Mission of Alnwick, in Western Canada, October 19th, 1855,— his departure, which was expected by few persons, universally regretted by his brethren, friends, and the public, though a gracious Providence had permitted him to reaojh the honored age of seventy-five. " The eventful period when he assumed the Christian pro- fession is thus briefly stated by him : " After years of religious impressions, and a sinful course, I was converted in 1803." Under what circumstances this change took place he has not informed us ; but of the fact, so necessary to ministerial fitness, satisfaction, and efficiency, there is no doubt ; for in every sub- sequent year, and in all the vicissitudes of an itinerant life, his character was adorned with those features which bespeak a re- newed mind, and entire consecration to God. He had not re- ceived the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby he cried Abba, Father ; and we believe that spirit was a permanent resident in his soul. At no time was there evidence that the peace he professed was fluctuating, and that the light of his heavenly Father's countenance had become dim. In his exhibition of the graces of the Holy Spirit there was neither uncertainty j^or extravaganpe ; and even to old age 3 incidents of ge. The rest obituary pub- ince last Con- rable deceased lat he was born fth of August, •se, at the Wes- anada, October by few persons, md the public, m to reaojh the Christian pro- iars of religious •ted in 1803." lace he has not listerial fitness, or in every sub- inerant life, his h bespeak a re- He had not re- it the spirit of we believe that ii no time was iuctuating, and nee had become oly Spirit there . even to old age ELDEB CASE." 231 there was in his disposition and demeanor a child-like simpli- city, affection, and uniformity, which elicited the willing testi- mony, " This is a man of God." " His body was never robust, and his habits were always tem- perate. His presence was lignified and prepossessing. His mind, though neyer trained scholastically, was vigorous, search, ing, and tenacious, and by much reading, observation, and ex- perience it became enriched with knowledge as practical as it was adapted for all the purposes which his diversified positions in the Methodist Church required. His acquaintance with Wes- leyan doctrines, discipline, and usages was correct and compre- hensive ; his publication of those doctrines judicious, experi- mental, persuasive — often pathetic ; his enforcement of that discipline in its integrity, while there was no lack of fidelity to our incomparable system, was invariably marked with modera- tion and caution ; his pastoral assiduities for adults and youth, parents and children, were spiritual, fatherly, and unremitting. He was a warm well-wisher of our Ministry, and Connexional Institutions ; and in his entire intercourse with the Ministers he loved, especially at the sessions of Conference, there was a good sense, a prudence, and a heartiness, which made all revere and love him. " A Divine hand led him into the Ministry, and his hallowed charity prompted him to volunteer his services for Canada ; after which some remarkable answers to prayer, and much suc- cess confirmed him in his choice of this magnificent and favored Colony of the British Empire. And his selection of Canada at that time was expressive of a heroic intention, and a burning zeal ; for the recesses of the wilderness had been little explored, and ruggedness, privation, and peril awaited his footsteps; while the scattered settlers were for the most part without stated Gos- pel ordinances, and the Aboriginal tribes were pagan and de- graded : but he entered upon, and discharged with inflexibility of purpose liis arduous duties ; won the esteem of the people III. i il li ; - 232 PAST AND PRESENT. !52dl everywhere ; and brought many sonls to Siniai, and then to Calvary. In 1805 he was received on Trial by the New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, — a command- ing and beloved branch of the great Wesleyan family ; in 1807 was received into Full Connexion, and ordained Deacon ; and the following year was ordained Elder, — when the apostolic Asbury was a bishop of that Church, and had the wide-spread States of the American Union, and Canada for the field of his evangelical and most effective superintendency. The Rev. Mr. Case commenced his itinerancy on the Bay of Quinte, and his first six years were spent under the direction of that Conference. In 1810 he was appointed a Presiding Elder, and for eighteen years he had charge of important districts, — the Cayuga, the Onedia, Chenango, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, and Bay of Quinte. In 1828 he was made Superintendent of Indian Mis- sions and Schools. In 1830, and the two following years he was General Superintendent, pro tern, of the Methodist Socie- ties in Canada. For several years he was a Missionary to the Indians, and Superintendent of Indian Translations. In 1837, and for fourteen years continuously he was Principal of the Wesleyan Native Industrial Institution at Alnwick, until ably succeeded by the Rev. James Musgrove. In 1852 he was per- mitted by the Conference to visit different parts of the work, as his health enabled him ; and, without being superannuated, it was his wish — and his fine social spirit made it a pleasure — to pursue this course until his Master should bid his servant rest. He rejoiced to see Canada greatly elevated socially, morally, and educationally. He rejoiced when the Canada Conference was constituted, and when the Missionary Society of our Church was organized, and the Indians were to be evangelized. He rejoiced when, on acccount of the wisdom and cordiality of the British Conference, and a congenial spirit in the Canada Con- ference, the Wesleyan Methodism of the Canadas and of the Pudson's Bay became one constitutiopall^ an4 affectionately, and then to New York ■a command- ily;ml807 )eacon ; and the apostolic wide-spread e field of his 'he Rev. Mr. inte, and his b Conference^ for eighteen Cayuga, the , and Bay of ' Indian Mis- ing years he hodist S<)cie- lonary to the s. In 1837, ncipal of the k, until ahly 2 he was per- [" the work, as rannuated, it pleasure — to servant rest, ally, morally, a Conference ff our Church gelized. He diality of the Canada Con- .8 and of the iiJBGpctionately, " ELDER CASE." 233 and it is believed, indissolubly. He rejoiced to behold from his death-bed the jurisdiction of the Canada Conference compre- hending 210 circuits and missions, 330 itinerants, and 38,000 members, — an extensive Book Room, and a popular University, and the Missionary Society, which once had a very limited sup- port, cheered with an income of £9000. As an early pioneer, and untiring laborer of our Missionary Society, he was highly respected by his brethren, and by none more so than by the honored President of the Conference, the Rev. Enoch Wood, under whose very able General Superintendency of the Missions for the last eight years he was a faithful Missionary. In the language of our Missionary Notices we record the opinion of our lamented friend, that " however much to be valued in the offices he once filled," " and among his brothers and sons in Conference assembled, when he would rise with coolness and de- cision, and by his deliberate and prudent counsels carry many with him, it is thought that he was best known as our apostle to the Indians ; and for them he lived and died. Here we want space to set forth his early and manly dediqation of himself to their interests, his acquaintanceship with their condition ; the adaptation of his powers, and acquisitions, and means to their necessities ; his influence over them ; hio sympathy, his vigil- ance, his shrewdness, his tenderness, his authoritativeness, hia travels, labors, indofatigableness, success," The efficiency of a Native Agency was his prayer. He witnessed the conversion of a Native with exultation. Many Indians from the wilds of North America, once ready to perish, will be his glory and joy forever ! " At the unanimous request of his brethren he delivered a Sermon before the Conference last year in London, on the com- pletion of the fiftieth year of his Itinerancy, which we heartily commend to our people and the public for its scriptural doc- trine, and choice Methodistic reminiscences. And we have been gratified to receive intelligence of the testimonials of his char- 234 PAST AND PRESENT. ', i f: '4 acter and labors published by the Wesleyan Missionary Com- mittee in England, and by the Managers of the Missionary So- ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, and of a Discourse on his death, delivered by a learned, and sincerely respected former fellow-laborer in Canada, the Rev. Pr. Bangs, of New York. He^had many friends in Canada, and elsewhere on this continent, and his unsullied reputation had extended to other lands. He informs the reader in his Ser- mon, that he was prepared to state the names of two hundred Ministers who were converted in Canada ; and of that number not a few, and some of them Indians, belonged to his own Church, and were allured by him to the Saviour, and into the Wesleyan Ministry, — whose recollections of their Father in the Gospel are vivid and imperishable. The Wesleyan Societies of Canada cannot forget his persoa, and his tender courtesies. They cannot forget his mature christian excellencies, his intel- ligence, sound judgment, and salutary counsels. They cannot forget his patriotism, his pure philanthrophy, and attractive catholicity. They cannot forget his works of faith, and abun- dant labors of love for half a century. He had to suffer hard- ehip, but endured ; he was in perils oft, but God was his pre- server ; he was assailed by the weapons of error and sin, but was triumphant through Christ. '" His Wesleyan survivors would emulate his great virtues, and follow in his path of distinguished usefulness; rendering to the all-wise Head of the Church thanks for perpetuating a scriptural Ministerial succession among them by an unusual ac- cession of laborers this year, when He is calling some of the fathers home; rejoicing exceedingly, that the same adorable Being who gave a Swartz to India, an Eliot to America, and a Barnabas Shaw to Africa, gave also a William Case to this country, — whose name will ever be associated with the past pro- gress, perpetuity, and glorious future of Methodism in Canada." sionary Coiu- lissionary So- United States, learned, and ida, the Rev. is in Canada, 3d reputation der in his Ser- two hundred f that number d to his own , and into the ■ Father in the an Societies of ler courtesies, cies, his ^tel- They cannot md attractive Lth, and abun- to suffer hard- d was his pre- r and sin, but great virtues, 3ss; rendering perpetuating a an unusual ac- ig some of the same adorable America, and a [ Case to this th the past pro- W in Canada." PART IL THE CONFERENCE AND THE CRAYONS. There is not a more genial, sociable, warm-hearted class of men in the world than Methodist preachers— whether found in the conventional society of Old England—the heartiness of Irish intercourse— the orential tendencies of European popula- tion in the East— amid the untrammeled sayings and doings of Yankeedom at large— or the melange of manners and habits which are exhibited in a British American Colony, where all is yet knew, crude, and in a state of transition, such as Canada, taken as a whole, has been, if not still, is a fair example. The theology they hold and teach, which asserts univ^sal redemp- tion, and " offers life to all"— the experience they have had of God's willingness to save the vilest of the vile, which enables them to sing — " Deeper than hell He plncked me thence, Deeper than imbred sin." The perfect level on which they stand with each other in point of allowances and elegibility for offices— their rotation in the same fields of labor, bringing them acquainted with the same places and people— the training they have had and ever continue to have in christian sociality in the class-room, the fellowship meeting, and the lovefeast— a partnership in the same toils and trials, the same privations and sufferings, all tend to endear 235 !■ I-.' ' V, 236 PAST ANL PRESENT. If ' U .11 1 r 1 them to each other ; and to place them on a footing of famill- arity and fraternity not to be found among any other class of men. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if the meeting of two or three hundred of these men in Conference is looked for- ward to, after the responsibilities and anxieties of a year, as a season of welcome relaxation and of pleasurable and profitable intercourse with those they love. Here brothers and sons of the same earthly parents meet, now doubly dear to each other, " both in the flesh and in the Lord" — here old school-fellows, class-mates, or college chums, re-unite— and here former col- leagues, " Old eoldiers of the cross, " Who have struggled long and hard for heaven," embrace each other, shed the t«ar of fond recollection on each others shoulders, or " fight their battles o'er again," in the cozy breakfast room of some indulgent Gains, where the presid- ing genius at the tea-urn, looks as though she felt it to be her highest felicity to make the weather-beaten itinerant happy, and the strained and sparkling eyes of the little ones (God bless them !) betray the wonder they feel at the strange recitals, while some good little boy whispers in his mother's ear, as his lips quiver with emotion, " Mama, J mean tohe a minister I" The pleasure is augmented to the individual when the place of the Conference's meeting chances to be an old and favorite station, where, perchance, many of the now active members arc his personal friends or his spiritual children : and this may be the case with several ministers in reference to that particular place. The scramble for these, and the loving altercation which shall have this or that one of thorn as a permanent lodger during the Conference, give no little perplexity to the current minis- terial incumbents in their endeavors to make out a satisfactory *' billet." Sometimes the parties take the matter into their own hands, the jouseholders writing oif, frequently three months boforo the Conference, to those ministers they wish to be their tHE CRAYONS. 237 gaests. If they consent, the matter is fixed. As all cannot have their choice, the disappointment must be compensated for by the preachers going out to tea, or dinner, whether to meet old parishoners, or former colleagues. But while there is this feeling of equality and fraternity among the men who compose the Conference, there is a diver- sity which is to be found no where else. Methodism has won its trophies and enlisted into ite ministry men from aJ the walks of life, from all professions and trades, and with every variety of early training, both secular and religious. There, is ayoung man whose parents were wealthy and yet pious, who brought him up in the fear of God and gave him a liberal education—all of which advantages of early culture, good habits, polish^ manners, and learned attainments he has brought with him in- to the ministry. Along side of him sits a brother, who perhaps takes his turn in the same circuits and offices, and who seems to sustain himself as well, and speaks with the same boldness in the deliberations of the body— only that there is an idiosyn- cracy about him not observable in the other— one who was born of poorer parents, perchance in the army, or on the mighty deep ; one, who it may be, was schooled among rough men— in the barrack room, the sailor's mess, the backwoodsman's shanty, among lumbermen and raftsmen, who is self taught (excepting that he has taken the " Conference Course" under the direction of his chairman) and who if he hm not been classically trained, has by dint of reading and observing everything that came in his road, picked up a great deal of practical, and a great deal of an out-of the-way sort of knowledge, which the grace of God makes available in the service of religion. The other knows more of books ; this one knows more of men and things. The former has scon the smoother side of humanity ; the latter has seen both sides of it, particularly the rougher. In our Colonial Conferences are Englishmen, Irishmen, now a largo infusion of dootchmon, some Amorioaus, now and then a 21 V 23^ PAST AiJD PRESEifT. I; 3! 1 ; ,'''■ M Dutdhmail,men of Welch extraction, a few Frenchmen, and na-^ tive-born Colonists of all kinds; Our Canadian Conference exhi- bits these varieties in "glorious confusion/* Nor have we merely natives of different countries, but men who have seen ministe- rial life in almost every part of the world and under almost every possible aspect. Men who have labored amid the matured institutions of English Methodism — others who have grappled with the disadvantages and privations which Methodist Minis- ters experience in Ireland — some who have known it in the presbyterio-prelatioal form it has assumed in the United States — several who have labored in two or three other British Colonies besides this — some men who have traversed the frozen snow-banku of the far, far North — and those who have labored for their Master's cause under the enervating rays of a vertical sun within the tropics. These men have " seen life" in all its aspects. They have enjoyed the princely hospitality of the wealthy planter, and have sat down in the huts of his* field hands; they have kept the polished society of foreign British ofiicials, civil and military, and they have held daily intercourse with the peasantry and the poor of all grades and classes. One night they have slept in a bed of down in the mansion of the rich ; another they have turned and shivered on a straw pallet in the cottage of the poor. To-day, they feast on roast beef and plum pudding ; to-morrow it is well if they have a dinner at all. Thej hold frequent and delighted converse with the most gifted and cultivated minds ; but they still more frequently commune with the lowly minds of the uneducated. While, therefore, there is one thing which gives unity cf sim and elFort, and sympathy of feeling to this strangely constituted body ; tliat is, while " The lore of Christ doth them constrain, To seek the wandering souls of men," it is not to bo wondered at if they should view an existing question in very diflfcreut points of light ; and discuss it as va- THE CRAYONS. 239 hmeti, and Ba^ jnferenoeexhi- liave we merely ! seen ministe- under almost id the matured have grappled thodist Mihis- lown it in the 1 the United B other British irsed the frozen .0 have labored ys of a vertical I life" in all its pitality of the its of his* field foreign British aily intercourse i classes. One mansion of the 1 a straw pallet t on roast beef J have a dinner !e with the most loro frequently ted. es unity of sim gely constituted lin, BW an existing disousH it as vu- riously. Years ago, to us it was a source of amusement to sit in the Conference and watch this diversity. Sometimes we have been drawn out on this subject among our friends in the social circle ; and always found that our description of its mem- bers excited interesting attention. Several years ago some of our ministerial brethren requested that we would prepare a vo- lume of Takings. This proposal we always refused to comply with, on the ground of its questionable utility, and because the doing Qf such a deed had once been formally condemned by very high authority. After that condemnation, however, sketch- es of living Ministere, Methodist as well as others, obtained in Europe and particularly in the United States, which publica- tions were sold by our own Book-Room authorities, and eagerly read by both ministers and members. Seeing which, my con- scientious scruples began to relax a little. I thought also, if they portray the outward man on canvas^, why not the inward on the pages of a book? If the inner-man of the morally deformed be portrayed, as it is every day^ why not paint the features of those who are renewed in heart ? And if we read with interest the description of living ministers in Europe and the United States, why would not the description of Canadian Wesleyan ministers be equally, if not more interesting? Be- sides, this pictorial method may be made the medium of con- veying information on the present phases of our Colonial Meth- odism, and of teaching many a grave moral lesson in this agreea- ble way to those who are young, both lay and clerical ? These considerations had nearly converted me, when, on going to the Conference last summer (1859) I picked up at my boarding plaee, for the first time, Watson's " Tales and Takings," of the U. S. Conference. I had had some " tales" by mo for some years which now constitute the bulk of tliia volume. I thought I might hit off a few " takings," and thus produce a Canadian b<¥?k of a similar character to that of Mr. Watson's. A few of those whom I know best were briefly sketehod— published m ^0 PAST AND PRESENT. ■I I ^ a paper for which I sometimes wrote, and handed around among those on whose judgment I oould most rely, as a sort of feeler^ when the verdict rather appearing to he in their favor, I went on and puhlished a large number through the same medium. They have been freely criticised, as a consequence ; some have been cancelled, and most have been revised, or retouched. As the name imports,; they do not daim to be Jinished pictures, but Crayons, or rough pencil sketches. The author has drawn his subjects, not to caricature thom, but to present the moral beau- ty comprised in the contour of each face. His discussing the peculiarities of his brethren and the distinctive attributes of their ministry must not be regarded as setting himself above them. Many a writer presumes to review a Work which he owns he could not have produced. So with us, We feel the worst of these men to be superior to ourself. We have por- trayed them as we would have done the beauties of inanimate nature. Yet all must be aware, that lighta necessarily rec^uire shades, or else there can be no picture whatever. We have used as little shading as possible, except in the case of some particular friends, whom we knew to have sense to perpeive the reason and to make the allowances. Some of those we have sketehed with the boldest hand and made the deepest lines, are precisely the one? we have the greatest admiration of— the Ed- itor of the Guardian and the Chairsian of the Toronto Dis- trict for instance, not to mention any of the others referred to. Some really good and humble men may, on the other hand, object that theirs are too flattering. They must allow othe people to judge for them ; and men who make such an objec- tion, are not much in danger of being spoiled by flattery. We have sketched none we did not heartily approve of on the whole. There may be others we as ardently admire whom we did not sketeh, simply because wo could not describe every one, ai:d did not " get the thought" of those particular ones in time. Some excellent men wou^d have been gladly laid hold of, if wa •. 'I •' H round among ort ^ feehr\ Pavor, I went me medium. e ; some have, ouched. As pictures, but tias drawn his ,e moral beau- liscussing the attributes of limself above irk which he I, V?e feel the V^e have por- of inanimate isarily require r. We have case of some .0 per^seive the those we have pest lines, are n of— the Ed- Toronto Dis- srs referred to. 3 other hand, st allow othe such an objec- flattery. We r on the whole. [)m we did not 2very one, ai;d ones in time, hold of, if wa THE CRAYONS. 241 had not learned that they had decided objections to such free- doms with their names and doings. We freely own we have not said all the good of any one mentioned we might have done, but that would have made them too long. Some of the most superior men have the shortest description. If we have not placed any one in so good a light as he deserved, he must reflect that these claim to be but one person's opinion— and his, we frankly admit, of no great importance. The very minuteness with which we try to stave off every possible objection is evidence that we feel that we, perhaps too recklessly, have ventured on very ticklish ground. If we have erred, or injured any brother's feelings, we humbly ask forgive- ness. There are simply two things that encourage us a lit^ tle--we are ministering to a great many living readers' gratifi- cation ; and we shall have the thanks of posterity for our cc- temporary descriptions of so many of the excellent ministers of this age. And it may be a salvo to others, if they think they have been made too free with, that the " poor author," is at the present moment the most thoroughly criticised man in the connexion. We leave the prefatory note to the editor of the paper in which they were first published, as a farther Gxplana- tion of our views. CONFERENCE CRAYONS. For the Ilastinga Chronicle. Hamilton, June 1st, 1859. Mr, Editor,— I have thought that a few Charcoal Sketches of members of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference now in session, might beguile the leisure moments of my sojourn in this city, and perhaps interest some of your readers, and I trus^ hurt nobody ; for " naught shall be set down in malice." And 21 -K \i ,U,: ■{ Z4§! PAST AND PRESENT* if I take more liberty than some modest n^en would like, they must try to remember that much similar to what I write, is said about them every day, and that public men are public property; also, the consideration of personal characteristics may be useful in a great many ways. Your's considerately, 5jc :{: :i: :{« :K CRAYON FIRST, Having resolved to try and hit off, in an easy manner, a few of the more prominent members of the Canadian Wesleyan Conference, I begin with one of the oldest, one who was super- annuated last year, but who still thinks himself effective,, as he has applied for restoration to the active work. We have heard somewhere, that British soldiers never know when they are beaten. In this respect, as in all others, Father Corson is a true Briton. He thinks he is as capable of circuit work as ever he was ; and physically, I think he is nearly so. But, alas for the dear old man 1 he, as some others of us, is behind the times,— though, like most others in a similar predicament, he does not know it. He never was distinguished for very great intellectual power, although a shrewd man, and his early education was defective, a defect he never greatly remedied by private study, although he has been one of the most volu- minous readers in the Conference. Even yet, he reads more books through in a year than almost any man we wot of. Fur- thermore, he has an excellent memory for the historical parts of what he reads. He is a sort of standing table of reference for facts and dates relating to American Methodism. Not- withstanding the drawbacks above mentioned, he has done good service for the Lord in the woods and wilds of Canada, QRAYONS-tFATHEB cqrson. ?4 )uld like, ih^ hat I write, is len are public characteristics * * * manner, a few iian Wesleyan who was super- ■ effective,, as hp irk. We* have mow when they A.THER Corson of circuit work learly so. But, of US, is behind tar predicament, aished for very n, and his early reatly remedied f the most volu- ;, he rqads more sve wot of. Fur- } historical parts able of reference ethodism. Not- id, he has done wilds of Canada, i during the last thirtytfive or forty years. WjC remember our, first sight of him at a camp-meeting thirty years ago, when hi^ word was like electric fire among the people. And if he is not highly educated himself, he has raised up a family of educated sons, who are an honor to him, while they bear traces of the intellectual superiority of a good and dignified mother. Our hero never filled a City appointment, but he has traversed an<^ re-traversed nearly all the rural parts of the Province, i'roia Kingston to Sarnia, and from Lakes Ontario and Erie to Huron and Simcoe. For preaching often, and visiting he has m equal. He has been known to preach fort^ times in the month, and to visit a dozen families before breakfast. He has never filled any office in the connexion higher than that of Superin^? tendent of a circuit, and has never received any particular mark of his brethren's appreciation, although he lives in the affections of every brother's heart. We know not that he ever published anything beyond a letter in a newspaper, but we once knew him to have written what we wish he had published. No person ever bore toil and lack of honor better. He has sometimes made humorous allusion to his great abilities and high position. Humor is his forte. His is of the most broad and grotesque, yet genial and pious character. How he has " brought down the house'' (for be it known, he Is a celebrated Conference debater,) all acquainted with the deliberations of Conference very well know. In this respect he has answered a valuable purpose in our ecclesiastical discussions, often dissi- pating the acrimonious feelings engendered by a stormy debate, by one of his irresistibly ludicrous speeches. Though ludic- rous, they are not trifling ; he is often most laughable when most in earnest. Father C. holds very decided opinions on all questions, and is not afraid to express them either. He often does the latter by very sound arguments, which would be really yreighty and convincing, if it wero not for the odd and humor- pus way in which they were put. To see him rise in Confer- V 244 PAST AND PRESENT. ence is the signal for a titter of delight to run through the as- sembly, while significant nods, and winks, and smiles, amount to saying, " now for some innocent amusement." The make of his tawny, good natured face, is comical ; and his nod, when he addresses " Mr. President," is formed on the most approved school-boy model of other days, when the urchin was expected to bring ddwn his head to every passing stranger, in the use of the strictly enjoined " bow," with a jerk that was serious to the vertebrae of the neck. But if our hero's arguments are not telling in the ordinary sense, he often makes very lucky hits, which do good without hurting much. We have two of these in our I'ememberance, which were decidedly rich, but hesitate a little for the present in publishing them. Still it must not be forgotten, that though Father Corson often provokes a laugh, he frequently beguiles the people of their tears, as he is by no means parsimonious of his own. ^or are they crocodile tears either ; he has a warm, tender, and pious heart. This old-fashioned itinerant, by an odd juxtaposition, has settled himself at Cobourg, where our rising Ministry are re- ceiving the polish of a liberal education. They may very pro- fitably take some leaves out of his book. May God in mercy give him a serene old age, and the happy death of a " good soldier of Jesus Christ," such as he is ! Amen. CRAYON SECOND. I am about to try my hand on a very diflferent subject from the last. It is said, I believe, that an artist finds it narder to paint the face of a model beauty, than one who has some fea- tures a little out of proportion. It is true, I refer not in this to the personal appearance of my subject. He is no beauty. \ CRAYONS— REV. ENOCH WOOD. 245 rougt tlie as- ailes, amount The make lis nod, when lost approved was expected in the use of serious to the ents are not y lucky hits, two of these but hesitate a ither Corson the people of lis own. (Nor , tender, and position, has listry are re- lay very pro- age, and the ," such as he subject from s it iiarder to Las some fea- er not in this is no beauty. yet a personable, comfortable looking man, — healthy, florid, and bulky without obesity. ' An intelligent Scottish gentleman said he liked to see him on the platform, as one felt, from his ap- pearance, " that there was no danger of his breaking down." Our subject has a well balanced mind. He unites a very emotional nature, with a very sound and sagacious judgment. He is prudent and cautious almost to timidity, which sometimes leads him, I have thought, (though I maybe mistaken,) to lose the most favorable opportunity of effecting some important ob- ject. He is not forward to tal^e on himself responsibility which he thinks belongs to others ; and yet we have sometimes known him to shoulder a great deal. He must be a man of very successful management, or he would not have enjoyed the uninterrvpted confidence of the British and Canadian Conferences so long continuously as he has : having been Chairman of a District in New Brunswick for several years, — Superintendent of Missions in Canada even since the re-construotion of the " Union," — and President of the Conference no less than seven years in succession. He began his itinerant labors in the West Indies, where he published an interesting little work, embracing some affecting matters of pastoral experience. Since then, we have not heard of his publishing anything, excepting his well written Mission- ary Keports. He seems to have had a thorough business edu- cation. As to matters of learning, it would be harder to tell what he don't know, than what he does. He has been offered, and declined, the degree of Doctor in Divinity. His general information is extensive ; he has seen a great deal of what the world calls " good society," but seems to prefer the company of the pious to all others. He can be punctiliously polite when re- quired, or very free and familiar among his friends ; he can in- dulge in or take a joke when it is not out of character. As to public engagements, he rather shrinks from notoriety than courts it. He is retiring and domestic almost to a fault ; ilil'iili : i III i * H-'l . f.' If > 346 PAST AND PRESENT. yet capable of the most successful public effort when he tries, beino" a genial, able preacher, and an eloquent platform speaker. He is English by birth and education, but a Colonist by adoption and feeling. He is Conservative^ ;et progressive. In a word, a great, good, kind, wise man is the Rev. Enocei: Wood. May he long hold his present honorable and useful position I CRAYON THIRD, I turn my eyes to another man of port and presence, who, if a TOod physique be a matter of so much consequence to mental healthfulness and activity, as some psycologists maintain, ought to be the greatest man in the Conference ; for he is large, strong, and well proportioned ; and all who know him must confess that he is no mean man. First of all, he has evidently no ill opinion of himself, and this self-reliance has borne him up in many an emergency, al- ways supposing also that he has had a proper reliance on God. He is a Canadian— a Bay of Qiiinte man. Converted in early life, and faithful to the present— a period of over thirty years— a good part of which has been spent in the Wesleyan Ministry. He went out in 1832. He received an excellent business education, and has a ta§te for secular and commercial matters. This may account for his being chosen to act so often on financial committees. Nor has any man in the connexion subserved the interests of the church's temporalities more than he. He seems to have si penchant for helping every one in the management of his business. I don't mean to say this disparagingly ; it is not done with offensive obtrusiveness. Yet he has done a great deal of thankless drud- gery for others ; but sometimes he has earned and received the deepest gratitude fron^ those whom he has thi^s served, (iRAYONSifeREV. SAiiaBL BOSiS. m Me IS a good pathetic preacher, with a plaintive, tear-extort- ing dehvery ; and I think feels very much when he makes others feel ; a Correct speaker, and fair sermonizen His singing makes hmi interesting in social meetings; his voice undulates and quaverSi He does not make so much impression in his Conference speeches as he would if he did not fidget about so much when he speaks, and wete he a little more lucid in his arguments* We think he is rising above these defects. He has had his share of honor and responsibility ; has been Principal of Mount Elgin Industrial School ; Chairman of two Distncts; and is now the heir-apparent to the throne of the Book-steward, at some future day. His name is as fragrant as a Hose* CRAYON FOURTH; I now sketch a twin-spirit of the last. He is not so stout^ but he makes up in length what he wants in breadth. TaU, straight, strong, wiry, spry on foot, enduring. A fine person of a man is he ; and a man every inch of him, too. Perhaps ' if there had been a little infusion of a softer metal, to modify the stern steel of which he is composed, it would have been better in the estimation of some. Thoughtful and pains-taking, he has strong confidence in his own judgment. This gives him great advantages, with some drawback of unpopularity at times to one who is really a kind hearted as well as honorable man. Pretension aside, he is really a very versatile^ capable, yea^ wonderful man. Few men are so clever in so many things as he! He is a New Englander by birth— a New Brunswicker by education— and a Canadian by adoption. That is, he has adopted our cause and countiy, and we have adopted him. He li a Yi n f ) 1 j^ 1 p 248 PAST AND PRESENT. is one of the fi^st-fruit benefits of our re-union with the British Conference. He has done us good service— as City Preacher and Superintendent— Chairman— Church Builder— and Trea- surer and Moral Governor of Victoria College. I do not know that he is ambitious, I rather think not; but he is so buoyant, he will always keep on top. There is notli- ino- in the way of effort in connexion with the Church's opera- tion, he would not, if called to do it, undertake to do— even if she should confide tO him the task of amputating a leg or an arm. He has any amount of physical nerve or courage^ aad has performed in his time prodigies of adventure— such as floating several miles on a strong-currented river on two inch boards, one laid on top of the other ; driving his cutter a long distance through four feet of water ; and swimming a river holding on to his horse's bridle. He is clear-headed, logical ; debates well, keeps his temper, and exerts a great influence. He will, however, be estimated for all he is worth. Without the grace of God, he would not have been so amiable and interesting as he is — a beautiful ex- ample of sanctified manliness. He is powerful in prayer, and a real revival preacher. He may sometimes do a little harm, unwittingly— but will do a great deal of good on the whole— and will, there is little doubt, get to heaven at last. We want to get ready to meet him there. Amen. Need any one bo told we speak of the Rev. S. D. Rice? CRAYON FIFTH. If we are to have a picture gallery of Canadian Wesleyan Ministers, this one should have stood first in order,— not only by virtue of his office, but also by virtue of the tout ensemble which make up his well-balanced eharaeter, both as a man and trith the Britisli 8 City Preacher der — and Trea- r think not ; but There is noth- Church's opera- ke to do — even mtating a leg or or courage^ and 3nture — such as ver on two inch lis cutter a long dimming a river eeps his temper, er, be estimated >d, he would not — a beautiful ex- al in prayer, and igly— but will do 11, there is little Bt ready to meet we speak of the CRAYONS-DB. STINSON. 249 Qadian Wesleyan order, — not only he tout ensemble oth as a man and a Minister. But the writer, for that very reason, as in another case already mentioned, has felt that diffidence to begin, which an artist would feel in attempting to sketch a faultless subject. But as we are now in for it, we must make a venture. He is a native of England— fair and florid in complexion- medium sized, but symmetrical, compact, and heavy. He has the orator's full chest. We judge him possessed of great mns- cular strength. Thore are traditions of youthful feats of agility and strength, some of which he gave up at a very early age, as incompatible with his religious profession. Judging from 'his active habits and long-continued labours in different parts of the world, it is plain he must have great powers of endurance. Although he began his itinerant career at the age of nineteen and has continued it in "summer's heat and winter's cold," by sea and land, for thirtij-Jioe years, at least, he would easily pass for one whose age was only thirty-five. He is the son, we are told, of an old Methodist Class-leader, (a good parentage) ■ was made a Local Preacher when a mere boy,— and, as we have already hinted, began to labor in the full Ministry at the early age of nineteen. His first appointment was to Lower Canada, theA Upper Canada, then England, then Gibraltar, and was then called home to England again. From Eng- land he came out to Canada as " Superintendent of Canada Missions," on the formation of the first " Union" with the Conference. That office he filled to satisfaction, and that also of President of Conference, for several years, perform- ing some of the most toilsome journeys, on runners and wheels when he could, and on horseback when he could do it no other way. After the " dissolution " he was called home, where he still showed himself the friend of Canada, and exerted no small influence in bringing about a "re-union," when overtures were made for that purpose. In England he received offices and stations corresponding in importance to his previous position and usefulness— receiving in the meantime, the honorary de- 22 Ilia I ) I i i;: iiiiii ■II f in ull 11 If 250 PAST AND PRESENT. gree of Doctor in Divinity from Victoria College, which he well deserves, although he says he has " perpetrated" but one piece of authorship. Two years ago he was the Representative from the British to the Canadian Conference, and one year agx) was appointed its President. He presided in its last Session ; has labored most indefatigably to advance its objects during the year, and is now conducting the business of the Conference with great propriety. He proves to be a much better Presi- dent than we anticipated : serious, yet pleasant ; good tem- pered and patient to a degree ; fair and honorable. He was originally well educated, and has acquired a great amount of various learning since, including the French and Spanish languages, which he speaks as well ?h reads. But there is no subject in which he is more complete than Theology. He is a great reader of his Bible, the words of which he quotes with beautiful propriety. His style in speaking and wriliing is chaste and elegant, but there are no prominences in it. It is " like the words of a pleasant song, of one who hath a pleasant voice, and can play skilfully upon the harp." To listen to him, is like a jaunt through a beautiful, flowery, odoriferous prairie, eo slightly undulating tliat you cannot fix on any particular lo- cality as beautiful above the rest, or as particularly memorable, or even as a way-mark by which you may trace your way over the same ground again. Dr. Stinbon's manners are those of a simple, humble, dig- nified Christian gentleman. His brisk, British-officer-like ap. pearance, and fieiy, restless eye, would make you think him a little haughty at first sight, but all that fades away on ac(iuaint- ancc. He is a true Methodist ^linister, and God is giving him a son, "Joseph H. Stinson," to succeed him in the work. CRAYON SIXTH. Perhaps we are now in the midst of the most interesting Per vico among all the pnidential institutions of our wonderful ), wliieh lie well " but one piece esentatire from le year ago was .st Session ; has cts during the the Conference I better Presi- ant ; good teni- le. icquired a great ihe French and ?H reads. But than Theology. [vhich he quotes g and writing is ices in it. It is hath a pleasant Co listen to him, )riferou8 prairie, ny particular lo- urly memorable, se your way over pie, humble, dig- sh-officer-like ap. you think him a way on acciuaint- i(»d is giving him 1 the work. )t interesting per of our wonderful CR.VYONS-RCV. A .HUHLBURT. 251 / Methodism, not excepting the Class-meeting— the Lova-feast— the Watch-night : What is it ? It is the public reception of the young men into full connexion with the Conference, who have passed through their ministerial probation. Four young ministers have spoken with great propriety and good feeling, relating their christian experience and call to the ministry. The resolution for their reception has been moved by the Rev. Enoch Wood in an impressive manner. The motion is now being seconded by one who has never been called to perform the task before, although some thirty-two year j in the itinerant field ; a man very different in appearance from tb< preceding speaker, who is so rotound that his clothes sit smoothly upon him. Our subject is somewhat tall, rather slight, haggard, and not very handsome, though interesting, whose arms hang loosely about him while speaking as though they were slightly artic- ulated. He has notwitlistanding good health, and seems wiry and enduring. A man of a metaphysical, or rather logical, oast of mind is he ; inclined to receive nothing but on the severest scrutiny, and thus disposed to suspicion of new measures, and by no means disposed to receive strangere at once into unlimited con- fidence. Ho is not, therefore, from the constitution of his mind, the man for prompt decision and energetic measures. A person of his temperament, however, in a deliberative body, which is both legislative and executive, nmy exert a good influ- ence in restraining the intemperate ardor of the sanguine and impulsive. A drag chain may be as useful in its place as the motive power. Jict no one understand us that ho is sour and cynical. No man is more full of snules than he, with sometimea a spice of humor ; his attempts at the facetious, however, are not always siiGcessfiil. Ho is too good and religious to be a triflei . llr is wholly of Canadian growth— the son of a good old Methodist couple, who, though very plain and uuprotenuing themselves, raised a largo fauiily of talented sons-— not brilliant, itiis. 252 PAST AND PRESENT. '(Hi !.q but substantial ; Jive ministers and three lawyers ; with two farmers, one of whom is a highly respectable and useful heal preacher. One of the legal gentlemen is a Doctor of Laws. Our hero is a masterly preacher of his class, but not " popu- lar" in the conventional sense of that term. He is a man to be appreciated by the reflecting and the thoUj^htful, who, alas ! are not the many. For this reason, he occupied rather retired stations at the first, but has worked his way up into notice by dint of solidity and worth. He was once Secretary of the Conference, the highest office now in the gift of his brethren ; also he has "been Chairman of a District for a number of years. He is this year appointed to accompany the two highest officers of Conference as a Representative to the next General Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. He must be a man highly esteemed, or he would not so gener- ally get the President's eye, when many others find a difficulty in catchingit ; and enjoy the patient respectful attention of the Conference to his not unfrequent and not very lively speeches. He is a good speaker ; but better writer than speaker, having written some profound and elegant articles in his time. His f fear^ calm manner of treating (luestions reminds us of the pro- ductions of Doctor Hodgson of the M. K. Church in the United States. It is a pity but he would turn his attention to some work, which would leave a permanent example of his pow- ers, and be a means of usefulness when he is gone from earth Although 'his jicrtinacity sometimes seems a little doggod, the Rev. Asahel Hurlburt is a modest, pious, upright ni.ni, who might be trusted to any extent. We wisli him all the hap- piness his merit deserves. CRAYON SEVENTH. Our present subject is a native of Ireland, but oanie to Low- er Canada ymmg. Ho was converted, when o youth, in Ireland, miAYONS-REV. ^AMES CHOCK. 253 3rs; with two id useful heal TOR OF Laws. ut not " popu- [le is a man to ful, w^ho, alas ! I rather retired into notice by cretary of the [ his brethren ; iniber of years, highest officers general Confer^ United States. d not so gener- find a difficulty ttention of the lively speeches, speaker, having his time. His 8 us of the pro- Church in the his attention to nple of his pow- one from earth a little dogged, H, upright man, him all thehap- it came to Low- nith. in Ireland, by reading Mr. Wesleys 's works, but began to preach in Ca- nada. He is a junior member of a family of respectability, which had met with some reverses. Although a man who claims trt be respected, he can be very condescending and familiar when he likes. Nor is there any extra refinement about him, having never wholly unlearned his broad Irish accent. A high- minded honorable man is he. He married respectably, and was no loser in a pecuniary point of view by the alliance. His personal appearance is good, being compact, strong, well proportioned and healthy— light complexioned and young look- ing. He has a changeable, expressive countenance, which ill conceals his constitutional mirthfulness, lie has all the advan- tages of physique which phrenologists say should accompany a healthy and powerful mind,— unless, indeed, the rather dispro- portionate size of the head be against that conclusioru His perceptions are quick and lively, which, with a spice of wit and humor, make him ready and good at repartee- His naturally good powers have been improved by a fair share of education and private study. He is a man of extensive read- ing, and has a retentive memory. His love of books is shown in the largeness of his library, the pains with which it has bee^ assorted, and the care with which it is preserved. Few per- sons have a larger amount of, and more general and accurate information than he. This, with his constitutional quickness, makes him both instructive and entertaining in private conver- sation. A taste for Medicine and Architecture, to both of which he ha« paid some attention, is sometimes made use of for Ills friends and the Church. He is a voluble, ready instruc- tive preacher ; popular on the platform and very clover in doc- trinal controversy. His stations and conncxional offices have scarcely correspond- ed with his general abilities, although ho seems to have been more noticed of late, and is now in the fifth year of his Dis- trict Clmirmansl^ip. Up is not pow a frequent speaker in Cou- 22* M il ill hi #^^i%^ 254 PAST AND PRESENT. I !!» ference ; nor is he one of the number of those who seem to Bway that body and influence its decisions. His sympathy for the poor, and his skill in settling diffi- culties, in which he combines authority and persuasion, coun- terbalance his want of pre-eminence in some other pastoral pre- requisites. He is very clerical in his appearance ; has high notions of ministerial dignity and the importance of the min- isterial office ; and thinks that ministerial functions should be performed in appropriate and distinctive vestments. Such ves- ments he thinks ought to be assumed by Wesleyan ministers ; and has actually introduced the " gown and bands" into the pul- pits of two of his stations. Although the sun has its spots, it is still a glorious lumin- ary ; and although he may have some peculiarities, the Rev. James Brock is doubtless a wise and good man. 1 CRAYON EIGHTH. I now turn my ejes to the oldest "effective" minister in the Conference ; one who, though of the old school, might have mer- ited attention before this. Although one of the original type of Canadian Methodist preachers, it by no means justifies the application to him of the epithet '■'■ illiterate, ^^ so liberally bes- towed upon hem in former days. He had more than ordi- nary advantages for the day when he commenced, and had been a popular school teacher in early life. That training, we are inclined to think, was received in the United States, where perhaps also he was born. If so, his early arrival in the coun- try with the family to which ho belonged, and his long continu- ance in it, have naturalized and acclimated him to all intents and purposes. He has been one of Canada's most laborious and self-sacrificing pioneer evangelists. Something like twelve out of the thirtj/-eight years of his public ministry have been who seem to settling diffi- suasion, coun- r pastoral pre- ice; has high ce of the min- ons sho^ild be ts. Such ves- an ministers; j" into the pul- lorious lumin- ties, the Rev. L. 1 ttinister in the light have mer- jriginal type of is justifies the liberally bes- ore than ordi- need, and had at training, we 1 States, where al in the coun- is long coiitinu- i to all intents most laborious ling like ticelve Btry have been CU.iyON8-RKV. S. WALDRON. spent in laboring among the Indian tribes, to whom he has a strong attachment. He is one of the few Missionaries to the Indians who have preference for this work. Others go to these heathen from a sense of duty j he from a sentiment of choice as well as duty. The writer well remembers the first sight of this now veteran itmerant. He was then young, and being small of stature, round-faced, and light-complexioned, he looked still younger than he was. It was in our Upper Canadian capital, in the year 1825, as one of a troop of what the English peasantry call "riding preachers," among whom were the then distinguished names of Wilson, Wright, and Metcalf, on their way to the an- nual Conference. The experience of that young minister relat- ed in the Love-feast on the occasion, referred to it, while floods of tears channeled down his cheeks, deeply affected one boyish heart. Our subject was never what is called a ffreat preacher, but he was a lively, gifted, and soul-saving one. His ministry was characterized by pathos, zeal, and unction. Had a very musical voice, suited to the declamatory, hortatory sort of preach- ing which obtained at that time, and that seemed well adapted to reach the Canadian mind of that day— a style of preaOhing this, which seemed to be formed on the model of the Rev. Elder Case, who was considered a standard of perfection by young preachers at that period. Our hero was very pious, and would sing and pray in revival meetings the live-long night. He holds his age well. He is still straight, active, and com- paratively young looking, although he must be now over sixty. Several things have contributed to this : a good constitution originally; very temperate habits; plenty of out-door exercise ; his^not being a slavish student; the absence of disappointment' from his being un-anibitious and expecting little ; and freedom from corroding irritation, being one of the best natured and I i/,i 1 256 PAST AND PRESENT. most imperturbable men in the world. This last item is an element of character which a minister must have to succeed among the Indians. Thou«-h not pre-eminently a bookish man, he has picked up a vast amount of practical knowledge. We know of no class of men whose conversation is more replete with intelligent re- mark than these old itinerants. The application of the wiao man's name to him is, therefore, not wholly inappropriate ; and the Rev. Solomon Waldeon is a modest, -ensible, and ex- ceedingly companionable old gentleman, grccvdy beloved by all who know him. Our subject is on the outskirts of civilization labouring among the Indians of Walpole Island. CRAYON NINTH. An affecting scene now presents itself to us, as we assemble in the last session of the last day of the Conference. It is the night season. The assembly is greatly reduced in numbers, many of the preachers having left since " the final reading of the Stations." The lamps shed their mellow light on the eager faces turned towards the platform, while business is being hur- ried to its completion. The galleries and much of the space below are full of respectable citizens, young and old, listening to the debates. After the reading of sundry Reports, and the passing of sundry Resolutions, it is announced by the President that " Father Wright wishes to address some remarks to the Conference." The occasion is this:— This aged Minister had been " super- annuated" some years ago, and was subsequently returned "ef- fective," that he might be sent to a particular Indiar, Mission, where they wanted their then Missionary to be removed, and Father Wright (an old friend) to be re-appointed among them. Now, after two years of sojourn among them, with the unrea- iBt item is an ve to succeed las picked up w of no class intelligent re- in of the w/sft jropriate ; and sible, and ex- beloved by all of civilization .ND. CliAYONS-FATHEli WRIGHT. 257 ls we assenible ice. It is the i in numbers, nal reading of it on the eager 3 is being hur- ti of the space 1 old, listening iports, and the the Pi'esident remarks to the i been " super- ' returned " ef- idian Mission, ) removed, and 1 among them. nih the unrea- sonable capriciousness that sometimes characterizes even wJiite people as well, '' they wish a change." There he stands, his ample locks blanched to the whiteness of snow with the frost of years, and pleads his former toils— his present health and ability to labor— the success he has had even ^ on this Mission the last year,— with a pathos that draws tears from the eyes of preachers and people. Though our hero is thus introduced under circumstances of tenderness,— and though he himself knew how to be tender, and in the palmy days of his Ministry to draw tears from the eyes of his auditors, yet you are not to associate the mournful and the melancholy with the name of jovial David Wright. His soul was naturally full of fun and frolic. Witty, humorous, and mischievous, he was in boyhood full of pranks and practi- cal jokes. Through mercy he was converted young, and brought all his native vivacity into religion, which gave his piety an active, cheerful, and inviting character. He soon be- gan to exhort and preach and after spending two years under the Presiding Elder, in what he used to call himself "stopping hog-holes," he was received on trial in 1821. The early part of liis Ministry was marked by great success. It was just of the character to suit the genius of most of the population of Canada in that day. His preaching was desul- tory, slai>dasli, and discursive, though powerful. He was won- derfully great in exhortation. Furthermore, he was exactly the man to forage in a new country, and would live well where most other men would starve ; he would get his support by hook or by crook, and not offend the people either. His beaming, handsome face, laughing eyes, and cordial shake^hands, soon won liis way to every heart. Ho was once chairman of a Dis- trict, His former colloiigucs have a lively recollection of the pleasant hours spent in his compnny. He has stood by nnd comforted many « pouI in " tlio swollinsjs of Jordan •" 11: i- 258 PAST AND PRESENT. and when the period may arrive when the Master whom He has loved and nobly served so long shall call for him, how it will delight his old companions who may linger a little longer, to learn that he was as happy in death as ho has often been known to be in Ufe, notwithstanding its cares and dangers. So prays an Old Colleague. CRAYON TENTH. A little dark speck of huma!iity now crosses my mental vision, the original of which most Canadians have often seen ; for though born in England, Canada is proud to claim him. But how shall I portray what is so unique ? He stands some five feet six inches high, with width to correspond ; very dark, and nearly as hardas an Egyptian mummy,— being Jittle but a case of bones and sinews. His hair seems to have a de- cided objection to becoming grey ; for though he is now on the shady side of fifty, its original raven gloss is not much impaired. I believe his eyes are black also, but I will not be sure ; they are such a restless pair of little firy orbs, that it is pretty hard ' to tell. To make some use of another man's figure, concerning another little man of talent and energy — Dr. Abel Stevens— he may be imaiiined to be composed of a piece of Canada's tough- est blue-clay, wet up with lightning. Then, such an organ- ization phrenologically ! The disproportionate largeness of his combativcness, not to mention destructiveness, would render him dangerous, were it not for the very large amount of the grace of God which all give him credit for possessing. But, with this controlling influence, those mental peculiarities only add to his executive energy. Energetic he is. He entered the itinerant field a marn'al man, under many disadvantages, yet he sprang up into notice at once. The testi- mony of Father Prindlc, hia first Superintendent, was, "that ho CRAYONS-HENRY WILKINSON. 259 ter whom He has him, how it will I little longer, to has often been res and dangers. 3sses my mental have often seen ; id to claim him. He stands some correspond ; very my, — being jlittle ims to have a de- he is now on the )t much impaired, lot be sure ; they it is pretty hard figure, concerning A-bel Stevens — he f Canada's tough- , such an organ- mate largeness of less, would render [e amount of the possessing. But, peculiarities only s. man, under many ; once. The tcsti- lent, was, "that he never knew a man who had so much preach in him." What a run of success and popularity he had from that time till the temporary failure of his health a few years ago ! Long Point Belleville, Chairman of the Augusta District,— Kingston, To- ronto East, Toronto District, Hamilton, Toronto West, and London. During this period, he was first President, and'then Secretary of Conference. He is a wonder of mental abiUty, seeing he is wholly self-educated. His sermons are studied with great diligence, and every argument and phrase carefully elaborated, and some of them re-written a dozen times ; yet the matter comes out as liquid as lava from a volcano, and nearly as hot. When he is thoroughly excited with his theme, we can think of nothing but a man shoveling red-hot coals. His, how- ever, is not a creative genius ; but an acquiring, adapting, ap- propriating one. To use his own account playfully given, he " begs, borrows, and steals, from the living and the dead." But then, it is all fused over again, and run into, one homogeneous mass. Though he is n man whom his brethren " delight to honor " he does not take a very conspicuous part in the deliberations, or doings, of Conference, besides serving on most of its impor- tant Committees. He is more of an Executive officer, than Legislator. Two things seem to prevent his being an effective debater : first, his unfeigned modesty ; second, we opine, his inability to command himself in the midst of so much confu- sion and excitement. He does best at a set speech. Several slight productions, such as Sermons, Lectures, Re- views, &c,, have emanated from his pen ; and like everything else about him, they are all su i generis. With returning health, his activity and influence are returning. But his greatest praise is that he is a holy man— a fait liful, laborious pastor— and very successful in promoting conversions and revivals of reli- gion. Who will not recognize in the above sketch the features of our own Henry Wilkinson ? 260 PAST AND PRESENT. It M,i .r*- Uu^i^^ liitMii Hhi i; 1 ml 1 I^^K Ml 1 ^^^^■t CRAYON ELEVENTH. Our present subject is an older Minister than some placed before him, having gone out into the itinerant field in 1826. He was born where more than one Methodist preacher first breathed the vital air, in the British army. I have always thought there was a moral heroisui in ; u^k men, not always found in others. His conversion wa^ one of ihe fruits of a great Re- vival in the Military Settlement in the Townships of Drum- mond and Bathurst, brought about by the instrumentality^ of the sainted Metcalf and colleagues. He is a strong-built, portly, and not unhandsome man. As he has bee.i one ui the hardest workers, so he has proved himself one of the most enduring men in the Conference. Has scarcely been a week laid up from his work in thirty-three years, excepting once from a broken leg. Though fifty-four or five, he looks young, and scarcely uses an eye-glass at all. He has not been often a City preacher, but has been mostly on large rural circuits, and (under the old regimen) on districts. Has been more years a Chairman of a District than perhaps any man now in the active work. Is one of the ex-Presidents, and has for many years sat on the platform till this year, and now is likely to go on to it again, as the Conference, by a va^^ majority of ballot votes, have asked his appointment as the President's Co-Delegate. It is somewhat hard to account for this man's high position. His natural abilities, though good, are not great ; he makes no pretensions to learniiu/, in the highest sense of that term ; and his preaching is not of what is called the " popular" kind. Furthermore, being rather stiff and sturdy, he is not so much beloved by preachers or people, as some others. Yet there is something about him that commands respect. He early took a respectable position, and he keeps it. It perhaps arises from ,n some placed t field in 1826. preacher first I have always ot always found s of a great Re- ships of Druui- trumentality of ng-built, portly, e of the hardest most enduring ek laid up from from a broken J, and scai'cely las been mostly en) on districts. it than perhaps 3 ex-Presidents, II this year, and rence, by a va&t ointment as the s hig;h position. t ; ho makes no that term ; and popular" kind. I is not so nmcli 3. Yet there is Ho early took a aps arises from CRAYONS— UEV. IIICHARI) .JONBS. 261 feir abilities, good character and conduct, hard labor, prudence, and a reputation for being a safe man, acquired by never ven- turing beyond his disciplinary " record." In preaching he begins deliberately, feeling his way along- drawing out .his words a little— till he gets self-command and the mastery of his subject ; he then becomes heated with his theme, when his powerful voice makes the house literally jar, and the sinner's heart to tremble. He preached an excellent sermon, on Christian Perfection, in Hamilton, on the Sabbath preced- ing the Conference, which was attended with a heavenly influ- ence. He is evidently ripening in holiness as he gets older.. To all appearance there are still many years of ministerial toil before him. May he be eminently successful ! From what has been said, all will be able to identify the Rev. RrniART) .Tonks. CIIAYON TWELFTH. Cireumstances having thrown me for .several days of lute into the company of .some of the more junior members of the Con- ference, I am induced to sketch our, if not more, of these. A painter, though he may be able to paint from memory, never- theless requires to have his memory refreshed by a sight of the original from time to time ; and the more recent his contact with the object to be portrayed, the more lively the recollection, or the more distinct tlie impression which the lineaments of that object have left on the mind. Besides, painters, like poets, are "maggoty;" as the one cannot write wiUiout "getting the thought," so neither can the other sketch without it, I have before my mind's eye at the present time, a model young Minister ; he is a native of England, but owes his .spiritual birth to Canada, and is a decided Canadian in his sympathies. He has always liad tolerable opportunities of improvement 23 |i V 262 PAST AND PRESENT. ■ 'i of which he has most faithfully availed himself. He was a beau- tiful example of filial piety when at home with his parents, and a pattern Local preacher. His leisure hours were given to pri- vate study ; the hours of school (for he was a teacher) were de- voted to the acquirement of the means of placing. his aged pa- rents in the possession of a home when he should leave them — and his nights and Sabbaths spent in travelling far and near to preach Christ and to promote the salvation of souls, by holding protracted meetings, in which he has always been singularly suc- cessful. In view of so many engagements, the wonder is that he has become so well read and informed on all subjects. His Min- isterial standing is six years, and his age is a little over thirty. As a preacher, he excels in dealing with the conscience, espe- cially with the consciences of professors of religion. His topics are not hacknied, nor his matter common-place. His sermons are original, and masterly in their conception and structvre ; and if his personal appearance and voice were as commanding as some men's, he would be one of the most impressive preachers amongst us. "Popular," perhaps he would not be ; there is too much searching, disagreeable truth in his discourses for that. His voice is small and plaintive, but well managed, and his utterance distinct. His elocution is not so free and graceful as some, which gives the several parts of his sermons a somewhat angular and interrupted appearance. But continued practice will contribute to wear off the points, and make the variousparts of his discourses flow into each other in a more pleasing way. He is now in the third year of his Superintendency on one circuit, and that a very important one ; and he is proving him- self a sound-hearted Methodist, and a thorough disciplinarian. He is industrious and exact — modest, but bold — mild, but firm and faithful ; and, although his fidelity makes him to be thought punctilious by some, he is evidently winning golden opinions from all the right-minded and reflecting. Should he keep in his present course, and God spare his life, : > = CRAYONS-WILLIAM TOMLIN. He was a beau- is parents, and re given to pri- icher) were de- g.his aged pa- i leave them — far and near to als, by holding singularly suc- )nder is that he 3ts. His Min- 3 over thirty. )nscience, espe- ►n. His topics His sermons and structure; s commanding issive preachers be; there is too urses for that, naged, and his and graceful as ins a somewhat tinued practice he variousparts easing way. mdency on one is proving him- disciplinarian. -mild, but firm Da to be thought ;olden opinions d spare his life, 263 he is destined to render great service to the Church of God. May Infinite Mercy uphold and direct modest, faithful William ToMLIN ! Should any person who has not seen him, wish to know Uow he looks, we have to say, he stands about five feet nine or ten inches high. He is muscular, but lean, being, like Wesley, "without an ounce of superfluous flesh." He is straight, active' and wiry. His skin and eyes are dark, his features sharp, and face almost beardless. The hair comes far down on his fore- head, which, however, is counteracted by a sort of "cow-lick " causing it to stand upright. Such is our hero in mind and body. CRAYON THIRTEENTH. In writing of the last mentioned brother, we were reminded of his last year's colleague, a younger Minister, though he is a somewhat older man. He was born in Scotland, and though brought up mostly in Canada, has a considerable tinge of the Scottish accent, which is rather in his favor than otherwise. His voice is good and well managed; and his manner, though plain and unpretending, is very agreeable and winning. His conversion was rather late in life, and early opportuni- ties for mental improvement were neglected ; but he has made a good use of his time since he came under the influence of re- ligion, and being possessed of active, facile powers of mind, his profiting has been great. We scarcely know a Minister of his years^more desiderated, as a companion, pastor, preacher, and platform speaker. He is amiable — has good sense — and is not without 'poetical genius. He is going the present year where he will not find Jiis re- sponsibilities " all poetry." He is the apostle of Methodism on the^Opeongo Road. A more suitable man for that pioneering enterprise perhaps could not have been selected- -being pre-pos- 5f 264 l»AST AND I'llESKXT. sessiiig, laborious, self-denying, versatile, and capable. He should enlist the prayers of the Church. May God prosper him 1 His career having been short, we dismiss liim with this brief notice, believing that, if spared, the friends of Methodism will hear another day of Jamf.s Masson. CRAYON FOURTEENTH. Now comes a lump of good nature from the Emerald Isle, longer in the M'nistry than either of the two last. His statv^i is fourteen years. He owes a good deal to our College, whert^ he was one of the first probationary students. His age is un- known to us ; he may be forty, and he may be a great deal less. He is strong, stout, and fresh-colored, with curly locks. He i.»i voluble, and rather oratorical as a speaker, — but we should think not very profound and not a very hard student. [Since writ- ing this, we learn he studies more than we gave him credit for.] He loves and serves the people, and they love him. He will get on as pleasantly through life as any one we know, and after doing very considerable good, will get to heaven at last. Then* are not many, the prospect of meeting whom affords us nsore pleasin-o. than that of U(»BKliT RoHlNsox. CRAYON FIFTEENTH. A tall, dark, laak figure now stands up before u.i. His face is flattened, iio.ie prominent, teeth projecting, eyes large, full, and black ; and there is a slight natural deformity in his hands. But still, he is so attentive to his person, and so genteel, that he is rather interesting than otherwise. Though newly ordain ed, he is not young; and may thank the '' sliding scale" for coming into the connexion at his time of life. But he is at. illustration of the usefulness of that .-^ca^r, in allowinir us to capable. He d prosper him ! with this brief lethodism will Emerald Islo, 5t. His status College, whero His age is uii- grcat deal less. J locks. He is re should tliink [Since writ- im credit for.] him. He will :now, and after it last. Thero iffords us more U3. His face yes large, full, y iii his hands. > genteel, that 1 newly ordain ling scale" for But he is :it, allowini; us to CRAYONS-REV. L. WARNER. 265 employ matured talent without too much jeopardizing our funds. Our hero was a studious, popular, and practical Local preacher tor more than twenty years in England. This makes him the profound, well-furnished, deliberate, impressive preacher now ; and his former commercial experience makes him the judicious manager and skilful engineer in church-building, and all the temporalities of the Church. He is Sweet in name, and bj no means sour in disposition. There is perhaps one person in the world, at the present moment, a little anxious to know that this IS the case. That person has decided favorably. CRAYON SIXTEENTH. We turn to the greater lights again. The subject we now propose to consider, we find rather hard to sketch. We know not that we appreciate his character truly. The difficulty arises from some apparent contrarieties. He is a native Canadian, of a pious, respectable parentage Converted to God in youth, at a Methodist Seminary, while prosecuting his preparatory studies for a learned profession Being full of zeal for God and souls, he almost immediately entered the itinerant ranks, as a probationer, in 1831, when about nineteen years of age, and continues to this day. He was one of the last batch of what has been called '' Old Dis- pensation" men. He has the advantage of a fine personal appearance He stand, about five feet ten inches high ; but being rather ntout and heavy, he may not seem quite so tall. He is by no means unwieldly, however ; but straight, full-chested, and trim built His hair 18 dark and abundant, skin clear, head good and face massive, with Grecian nose and features -and to crown all a genteel hand and foot, ' His voice is strong, clear, musical, and manageable, but some- times perhaps^ raised too high. His elocution is easy and ole- tiO V '( i^ J< li I ' t. i mm 266 PAST AND PRESENT. gant, and if he had as many advantages of mind as body, he would have few superiors as a public speaker. His mind was originally good enough, but we suspect he has not worked it so hard as he might have done. He has been rather practical than studious and literary. Thus, while he has not tl?e reputation of being very intellectual, he has the satisfaction to reflect that he has been one of the Church's most enthusiastic pioneers. For many years he was a sort of " Missionary Bishop," and per- formed wonders in the " Huron World " One who was privy to his labors there says, that " He was the right man in the right place." He travelled extensively, revived camp-meetings, was the instrument of forming thirty new circuits, promoted the erection of thirty new churches, and nearly as many par- sonages. For fear I may not have ranked him high enough. I will insert the description of him given by an American piin- istcr who shared his labors at an Indian camp-meeting on the shore of Lake Huron, and published in a New York pa- per : — " The llev. Mr. is a gentleman of a large, robust frame, a broad and full English face, the very picture of per feet luialth. From the cast of his cranium a stranger would accord to him a high degree of intellectual power. There is in his carriage an air of haughtiness ; but this is only in appear ance. If the discourses he preached while amongst us were ;< fair ^>ecimen, he ranks considerably ab(>ve mediocracy as n preacher. They were excellent, not as specimens of pulpit ora- tions, in the popular sense, but as clear, full, scriptural exhibi tions of Gospel truth, pr.ictically applied to the hearers, and accompanied with the jKmer of the Holy Ghost. Blest with uncommon strengtli o*' lungs, he made the encampments ro sound with his thundering appeals to the hearts of sin nor v Nor was he anywhere more at home, or more active than in the prayer-meeting. AVhile in his sermons he cast into tlie deep the Gospel net, by the fervency of his prayers he helped t' draw it ashore and gather up the fishes." nd as body, he His mind wan ot worked it so r practical than >e reputation of ) reflect that he pioneers. For bop," and per- I who was privy ght man in the camp-meetings, juits, promoted y as many par- m high enougli. American piin- -meeting on thti New York pa- ■ a large, robust picture of per stranger would or. There is in only in appear ongst us were a niediocracy iis y ns of pulpit ora- criptural exhibi he hearers, and )st. Blest with incampments ro Darts of sinner- ctive than in the 4t into the deep iT» he help'iti t CRAYONe—aEV. E. B. HARPER. 267 Although our friend has served the Church long and well, m he is now comparatively young, and particularly young with regard to health and stamina, we expect he will be permi^'sd to serve it for many years to come. God grant that he may ! Most of our readers will recognize in this portrait the fea- tures of our genial, good natured friend Warner. CRAYON SEVENTEENTH. We turn to a very opposite character. One not possessed of the same advantages of personal appearance; one not so tall, graceful, and dashing ; but shorter, meek looking, and less at^ tractive. True, he is fair, fat, and comely, and that is enough. But he has superior advantages of mind. Not that it is ori- ginal, philosophic, or marked by strength of genius. Our sub- ject is rather characterized by the powjerof, and desire for, men- tal acquisition. For this he has had great facilities ; and when he had them not, he made them. First, he was favored witli a very liberal dasucal training in boyhood,— then, several years commercial experience was to hife advantage, as teaching him business and accounts, and, what a boy can learn no where so well as in a shop, politeness. During this period he was con- verted, and, being very pious, he improved it in reading muoli In Theology, reading up his classics, and accjuiring the French language. His early call to the itinerant field, and his appoint- ment, for several years to bush circuits, seemed not to hinder his systematic progress in every branch of knowledge. Ho availed himself of his long sojourn in the two Toronto circuits to study in the Provincial University, whore he successively bore oif the prizes in Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, and Syriao. He reads twelve languages. His learning has not marred his piety. He is the same humble, lowly Methodist preacher as at first. Indeed, be is .! Si i Si \i 268 PAST AND PRESENT. I in * ■ lil naturally modest and retiring, — had to be thrust against his will into his first City appointments, Kingston and Toron- to—and instinctively shrinks from ofBce. Still, it is forced upon him. He is not only a Chairman, but holds the highest oflBce in the gift of the Canadian Conference, and fills it well. In ore matter, he is a little stiflF: time to study, he will have ; will not be at the mercy of every invitation to tea ; will not go to see the people any oftener than he thinks necessary ; and be- lieves his subordinate may serve the " out places," in general, quite well enough. This is the true way to gain respect ; for though the people will grumble a little, they will always do more for such a man than for one who slavishly serves them night and day. In one respect Mr. Harper excels all men we wot of,-^iti his desire for, and skill in amassing a Library. Perhaps no person in Canada has a better knowledge of books than iie. For the number of volumes, their rarity, choice of edition, beauty of execution, order of arrangement, and careful preservation, his Library is a sight to be seen. Mr. H. is just such a preacher as you might expect from the description given above of his personal physique, mental calibre, scholarly habits, end pious disposition. Not oratorical and showy — not loud and boisterous ; but evangelical, spirit:ial, ex- pository, rich in matter, and always opportune and appropriate. A workman he is " who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly di viding the word of truth." Is about forty years of age, and has been in the Ministry eiffhteen years. Will some day be no mean author. An Irish-Canadian is he. I CRAYON KIGHTEENTH. And now my noble hearted friend Pollard, bare thy ueck and shoulders for a sketch. Though thy person is small there » '^f» CKAYONS—FRIEND POLLAIU). 269 ust against his m and Toron- t is forced upon bighest office in . well. In ore nil have; will ; will not go to sssary ; and be- )s," in general, in respect; for will always do ly serves them ive wot of,-^iii . Perhapgj no )Ooks than he. edition, beauty reservation, hiis ixpect from the mental calibre, oratorical and i\, spiritual, ex- nd appropriate, aied, rightly di of age, and has »nie day be qo , bare thy ueok 1 is small there arc beauties in thy mind ; though thy body is diminutive, the heart of a christian hero glows in thy breast; though thy face be plain and beardless, thy high expansive forehead shows intellectual power ; and thy large expressive eyes, prominent nose, and wide mouth, show thee to be a man of character and eloquence. The soul of eloquence is in thee. Here is one of the best pieces of stuff we ever saw done up in so small a quantity. Our subject was born and c6nverted in England, but had the discernment, on coming to Canada, which some old countrymen have not, to perceive the true genius and character of the Anglo-Canadian mind, and to adapt himself to it. He is .icntc and discriminating, polite, flexible, and versatile, with good business talents. Unites great sociality and pleasantness with lively, fervent piety. He is a shrewd observer of men -md things, and has a lively, piquant manner in describing them ; excels in personating others. This makes him very entertaining in company. His opportunities for in- tellectual improvement in youth were wasted in gaiety and folly, but since his transformation by the grace of God, he has read extensively, and what is more, iliorougUy ; and has kept the company of none but the best standards of style. He excels in verbal memory— only needs to read a brilliant passage or paragraph twice^ to make it his own. This he has done with all that .suited his taste and genius. Ho much so, that it is hard now to tell what is orujinal in him, and what is not. Nor do we think he very well knows hiniKclf To srhohr.h ip he makes small pretensions, but of generui intelligence he has a large amount ; has a legal turn of mind, and would have made a successful lawyer; but that would have spoiled a soul-savjng preacher. He is not ambitious, but has been lately preferred to the Chairmanship of an important district,— an office for which he has been long (qualified. He knows well how to man - age both men and matters. His prno+ioal turn of mind in shown in his acquiring the French language. ilk I! mM n> P V 270 PAST AND PRESENT. He has been in the Ministry about seventeen years, and has filled our most important City appointments, — Toronto, Hamil- ton, London, and Quebec. He is generally beloved, and many hearts pray for his prosperity. '■{ i CRAYON NINETEENTH. Canadian Methodism has had the honor of bringing up from " the dark and unfathomable caves" of human corruption, "full many a gem of purest ray serene ;" and though she may not have had all the facilities for cutting, polishing, and settinj? them that could have been desired, she has rubbed oflFsome of the rough exterior, and placed them in a position in which corus- cations of superior light have flashed on the astonished gaze of beholders. One of these occupies a place in my mind's eye at the present. A great overgrown, white-headed youth, uncouth in his appearance, and shambling in his walk, and imperfectly educated, some forty years ago, came under the power of the Gospel as preached by the warm-hearted itinerants of that day, and cast in his lot among the Methodists, True, he was not so much of a " green-horn" as our first description might have led the reader to suppose. He was the son of a U. E. Loyalist born in New Brunswick, who had borne a commission in the Revolutionary War, and probably had the best advantages of schooling, and seeing the best society, which a country neigh bcrhood in that day afforded. Furthermore, he had the school ing — for better for worse — of the British army during the lato American war ; in which, though the merest hoy, he was though, worthy to carry a standard, and wear a sword and his Majesty's uniform ; and on assuming the Christian profession, ho proved himself a " good soldier of Jesus Christ," sacrificing his father',* I years, and has Poronto, Hamil- )ved, and many •inging up from iorruption, "full h she may not ag, and setting i off some of the in which c(M118- onished gaze of y mind's eye at youth, uncouth and imperfectly e power of the tits of that day, e, he was not so might have led U. E. Loyalist nmission in the •est advantages country neigh- had the school- during the lato he was though. id his Majesty's sion, lie proved 3ing his father'^ CRATONS-REV. WILLIAM RYERSON. 271 'S house and friendship sooner than give up his religion : an in> stance of fidelity which was crowned with the conversion of a family of brothers. Having married early to provide himself a home, he was not the first of the brothers who entered the itinerant field • but the necessities of the Church, and the fame of his incre'asin abihties as a Local preacher, drew him from his seclusion in ^e woods of Oxford, into the ranks of the regular Ministiy His first efforts proved him naturally eloquent, and earned for him the name of the " Canadian Orator." A more loveable man than he was in the early part of his Ministry could not be found. He was humble and condescending, good-natured and affable,-pious and zealous to a degree,-and one of the most earnest, winning, voluble, pathetic, and persuasive preachers that one could wish to hear. Eloquent he has been and still is, and no mistake. We can remember masses of people moved by his word, like forest trees swayed to and fro by the wind. And even now, there are few localities in Canada where the news that the '' old man eloquent" is to be the speaker, will not bring out multitudes to hear. The elements of his power were a plaintive, agreeable vo^'ce when not unduly strained; though weak— abundant command of Ian guage-vast stores of information-good reasoning powers-strong feehng on his own part— and power to make other people feel andrealize the truth and importance of what he was saying. But if he excelled in anything it was in sarcasm and ridicufe ; and these, in his more serious moods, he made to bear with witherini/ effect against vice and villany. Of these also he made a very fre- quent, and sometimes efficient, use in the Conference debates, in which he took for many years a very prominent par t, in overthrow- mg the argument of an opponent ; this, many a hapless junior or woakhng in that body knows to his heart's content. He and the present Bishop of Huron were antagonists to each other in the celebrated discussion on the Clergy Reserve question and Volun- .1 'i : h rap 'TW 1 fK_ ' j ■ ■/. \'w i ^ 4 i .\ n I > f 272 PAST AND PRESKNT. taryism, held in Simcoe some years ago. Several other talented Ministers too took part in the debate, each characterized by some particular kind of ability ; but the now Eight Rev. Pre- late said that Mr. Eyerson's sarcasm was unequalled, and that it was worth the journey from Lond m to Simcoe to hear it. Sometimes he has exercised his conscious power in this particu- lar too severely, and made an enemy of many a one who would have been a friend, or planted a pang in many a bosom which would nevertheless " earnestly consider him still." True, in course of time, those who knew, learned to make allowances and to join in the laugh which the good cyniQ was raising at their expense. This peculiarity of his orations, is now rather a source of amusement than otherwise. He never did anything by halves ; as when he castigated it was with a vengeance ; so also when he would commend, he eulogised. No ^rson could pay a compliment more neatly, and flatteringly than he. But no person must suppose from the extremes into which he was sometimes hurried in the heat of debate, or of public speaking, that he was deficient in jnchj- ment. Few men had more solidity of judgment than he ; and at this hour I know of no person whose advice I would feel safer in taking on any matter that did not concern his feelings or prejudices, than his. He is a man of some little learning — of most universal gene- ral information — and of a rare order of genius. He has devoured books with perfect voracity. Plan of study he has never had ; but, like the ox, he has gulped every kind of edible that came in his way into his capacious reservoir, and ruminated on it at his leisure. He has a mind unceasingly active ; hence, if he is not in conversation with a friend, or with book in hand, he is usually pacing backwards and forwards, like a chained bear, (he will pardon the figure) working out some of those huge masses of thought which are ever laboring through his in- tellectual laboratory. CRAYONS— THE " TWO PHILPS." 27S al other talented 3haract.erized by Eight Eev. Pre- jualled, and that imcoe to hear it. r in tliis particu- a one who would a bosoiu which Btill," True, in lake allowances, ,s raising at their is now rather a he castigated it d commend, he more neatlj^ and ippose from the d in the heat of sficient in Jndfj- it than he ; and ce I would feel 3ern his feelings ; universal gene- tie has devoured has never had ; of edible that and ruminated y active ; hence, h book in hand, , like a chained t some of those through his in- His conversational powers are extraordinarily good, havino- such stores of information, such accurate recollection, and such a sprightly conception. He has a great penchant for public questions; and is per- haps too much of ^politician, conversing on such topics some times when others more sacred would suit the occasion better" But then we must remember that these tastes have been formed during a long, consistent, {on his individual part) and sue cessful campaign in the warfare for Canada's civil and religi- ous rights. ° On reviewing what we have written, I cannot forbear re- marking how much we have spoken of our friend as relatin- to the past tense. But he is still alive ; and his brethren would still be glad to see him in their midst. That respect which once placed him in the Presidential Chair, and that sent him a a Delegate to England and the United States, still fondly lin^ gers in their hearts for William Ryerson. May his heart be replenished by every grace and consolation of God's Holy Spirit. May his last days be his best ! And may '^his sun in smiles decline, and bring a pleasant night " So prays one who has been his parishioner, his subordinate in the Ministry, and his fellow-Chairman. CllAYONS T\yENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIKST. This is a portrait of two brothers, who are so " lovely and pleasant in their lives," that they ought not to be "divided " even in a picture. Baing tidy little men, they can easily go into one case. They are not twins, but very nearly of an a<.el. p3rliupsyor/y-y?yc and/«r(y-.-a.c«. The elder looks full as youn<^ as the ijounger. He is the younger Minister, though ho is the older mm. These two brothers are pretty nearly balanced tho 24 ' \ ■■) j V: 1 V 274 PAST AND PRESENT. i«i«; one excelling in little matters, the one who exceeds hitti in greater. They say "comparisons are odious," but I can't help it in this case. They are natives of England, and though born into the world in different years, they were born again in the same revival of religion. Samuel knows the more, but WiMiam can make the better use of what he knows. Samuel is the younger man, but William is the handsomer man. The first has a droopino- diminutive appearerjce; the second is straight, aid elegent in his movements. His face is fair and florid, which his abundant hair and beard, prematurely but beautifully white, adorn. Samuel has perhaps the best acquaintance with the original languages of any man in the Conference, without academic trainingi William knows no language but his mother tong-ue. Samuel has the better intellectual and theological furniture for a preacher, — Willianij the better deliveiy. We have ofteil re- gretted that the elaborate, excellent sermons of the former were shorn of part of their effect by a mouthing manner of delivery, which, though it is now natural to the speaker, seems unnatural to the hearers. Again, Samuel, though just as pious as Wijliani, his piety is not so apparent ; and though he is quite as amiable, perhaps more so, by a certain sneering manner and habit of ban- ter, is thought not to be so amiable. The result is, although William would own himself the inferior, he has had the better stations, if any thing, and higher oflices, having filled the Chair- manship in an important District. They are now, however both Financial Secretaries. Two more sensible, pious, laborious, estimable men, it would be hard to find in the Ministry of any Church, Their personal labors have been a blessing to Canada ; and they are likely to leave sons in the Ministry after them who will more than sup- ply their places. They will pardon the liberty taken by one who loves them dearly. May the Lord bless the "two Philps' I" CRAYOXS-" THE TWO COLEM AX3." 275 CRAYONS TWENTY-SECOND AND TWENTY- THIRD. These arc brothers too-Cofnishmeii also-converted in the game revival as the two last. It is well that Lost-withel wag ever/ound again after its submero-ence, for Canada owes much to It. We may have to sketch more Lost^withelians before we have done. Our present heroes are no ^nf/nu'es, nor '' babes m the woods," but a pair of strong, strapping, stalwart men, gome five feet ten or eleven, and stout in proportion. They are very pious and laborious, and Methodists in heart and soul. Their minds, too, are naturally good, which they have labored assiduously to cultivate. Willuwi has the more sense ; Francis, perhaps, the more learning, and probably is the smoother preacher,— William's preaching has the more pith m It. The preacliing of the former would be the more ad- mired, the latter the mo.e fell. The one knows more of books the other more of nature. ' Being modest and retiring, they have neither had a very great run of the more prominent positions. Each has been a Chairman for a short time ; and Francis is one now, by the bal- lot choice of his brethren. Their highest praise is, their eminent sanctity and holiness. If there are any examples of Christian perfection on earth, they are doubtless aiuong them. The curre.it of these men's lives has been so even and quiet, that we find little of incident to lengthen out our notice. They have been in the Ministry severally, trvenfjj-ftco and nineteen years. The older man is also the older Minister. Like iha two brothers sketched before, they are distinguished for attach- ment to each other. They will doubtless meet in heaven. A blessing on '•' the two Colemans !" CRAYON TWENTY-FOURTH. Here comes another LostwiihcUan, ~^one converted in the o3:^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 |50 ™"^ u JIM 25 22 2.0 1.8 U IIIIII.6 y .> ■^ •> ->^y /. /P VA '/ PhotDgraphic Sciences Corpordtion 13 WEST MAIN STREET WEbSTER.N Y I4JI0 (716) iri^soa '^ 4i^ c<*/ C/j M *if ■'. /, 276 PAST AND PRESENT. same revival, some older than either of the other four, and longe/ in the niiuistry. His standing is twenty-eight years ; he is not near so large as the smallest of the others ; a sprightly, wiry little man is he. His voice is clear, and his delivery, despite a " pretty lisp," is good. Little men have often the best stuff in their composition ; this is an example. He is clear-headed, sound in judgment, well informed, bold as a lion, studious, active, adroit, managing (could have made a fortune if he liked, and is not wholly indifierent to what the world calls " the main chance,") and preserving. He has had good appointments, though he has generally shrunk from those where there was frequent preaching in the same pulpit, — and has filled almost every situation of trust in the connexion, excepting that of President and co-Delegate ; has been a Chairman of District a very long time ; was " Jqur- nal Secretary" many years, for which his bold, copy hand, and accuracy, qualified him well ; then, " Secretary" proper. He has been Principal of both our Missionary Industrial Schools, an office he holds at Mount Elgin at present. He is an effective debater in Conference deliberations, when he chooses to take a part, which, however, ho is not overforward to do. He is more active on Committees, to which he is usu- ally " nominated by the chair." He is just radical enough to be backed by all the Juniors, and to ensure the deference of all the authorities. An upright, reliable, faithful, good man is lie, who commands more influence than many a man of more calibre. We wish him well. James Miihurovf. is the man. CRAYON TWENTY-FIFTH. The perusal of our pen-and-ink sketch of the llev. Wni, Ryerson (Crayon nineteenth) since publication, rcmiuds us of CRAYONS-WELLINGTON JEFPERS. 277 [bur, and longei- ^ears ; he is not sprightly, wiry ivery, despite a 1 the best stuff informed, bold >uld have made mt to what the i has generally reaching in the tion of trust in id oo-Pelegate; le; was " Jqur- copy hand, jfnd " proper. He ustrial Schools, Derations, when not ovcrforward rhich he is usu- lical enough to le deference of who commands .bre. We wish the llev. Wni. I, reminds us of another personage, who, in some respects, bears a strong resem- blance to him,— though in other particulars there is a great dis- similarity between them. Our present subject is at least fourteen or fifteen years younger than the other, and was more systematically educated than he. But they resemble each other in being both large men, with massive heads. The younger has much the larger head, though, in other respects he is not quite so large. They have both giant intellects, andthe soul of eloc^uence is in them. Both arc distinguished for breadth of thought, and a philosophic manner of viewing questions ; and they are desultory, both in study and business matters, disdaining the plodding, punctilious pro- cess by which ordinary men bring things about. Our hero has great power of keeping one subject before his mind for a long time ; or rather, perhaps, he is characterized by the want of power to divest his mind from an enticing subject of thought. Though his aversion to the details of business is one reason why he is not oftener put on business committees, yet, like some others, who have the name of 7wt being " busi- ness men," for a similar reason, is capabb of the most^'efficient transaction of business, when he chooses to direct his attention to it, leaving fussy pretenders far in the distance. Hence, thougfh several years left out of that office, when he ought tj have been in it, he is a wise and successful Superintendent of a circuit. Nor, great as he confessedly is, docs he think our Rules too small to be kept. He is a sound-hearted JMethodist, who has stood up for its vital principles when they were in danger. He is a penetrating man ; but I think his habit of reading others, when unduly exercised, is liable to degenerate into sus- piciousness. As he is not much employed in the labor of committees, as his mind is active and his tongue is voluble, and as he has a good deal of nerve withal, it is not surprising that he should be drawn out to take an active part in Conference discussions 24* m 278 PAST AND PRESENT. 1 a ! a V: in which he is very effective, speaking very often. He is evi- dently a favorite with the Conference, for he always gets a hear- ing when even older men cannot squeeze in a word edgewise. He has the requisites for commanding attention — such as a fine person, ready utterance, — ^heavy, commanding, and musi- cal voice, &c. He is also deferential to his hrethren, genial, and polite. His eloquence is senatorial and forensic. As a preacher he is evangelical, earnest, powerful. He show- ers down on his hearers a torrent of exposition, argumentation, and exhortation. He is not common-place, but rather involved and beyond the reach of ordinary minds. He is eminently pure and good, and has of late years become very dignified and polite ; but he can be playful and even very droll, when he likes. These matters, however, principally de- velop themselves in private, where he is a very engaging com- panion. He is willing to talk by the hour with any friend, however lowly, so companionable is he. He has been eighteen or twenty years in the work, and for that length of time he has had no undue proportion of conspicuous positions, considering his eminent abilities. He has been stationed in the cities of Toronto and Montreal, — is now a Chairman for the second time, — and was once the Secretary of the Conference. Incessant thought, or something else, had nearly divested his head of its hair at an early age — which is now not more than 43, A severe indisposition had unfitted him for mental effort for a couple of years, but we are happy to observe that he is rising above it. Such a man ought to give to the world some perpia- nent fruits of his thought ; but, like his prototype, I fear liq will not turn out a writer. Some ephemeral pieces show that he can write if he will. One of his peculiarities is, if I mistake not, he is averse to personal scrutiny and criticism, — on which account, I pray that lie may not visit with his wrath the luckless wight who has pre- iumed to steal the likeness of Wellington Jbpfers. CRAYONS—THOMAS JEFFBR3. 279 We must not omit to say that he is an Irish-Canadian of talented paternity, and respectable connexions. CRAYON TWENTY-SIXTH. As we have initiated the practice in some cases of putting relatives together, the last mentioned gentleman having a brother in the Conference, he might feel entitled to come next. And yet perhaps it is scarcely fair to dwarf this respectable medio- ere Minister by putting him in juxta-position with his gigantic relative. Although Thomas is a little sensative with otherF, he seems in no wise jealous of Wellington's reputation, but is rather proud of him than otherwise. Nor is any person more willing to concede his superiority than he. Thomas is the younger preacher, though a little older man. His personal appearance is good, being younger looking than his brother. We have not heard him often enough to pronounce on the char- acter of his preaching,— it is respectable but we should judge that his sermons are got up with as much hardship as the ac- quirement of the other's is with ease. Diligence distinguishes the lesser preacher ; and by his laboriousness, he effects perhafi more for the salvation of souls than the other. He is sincerely pious. May they both shine resplendent in glory everlasting ! CRAYON TWENTY-SEVENTH. Next to the brothers perhaps should come the brother-in-law, the husband of the talento*! and pious sister of these worthy men. He is a man dissimilar from both, somewhat younger stout and strong, fair, florid, and the picture of health. He is a native of old England, if Yorkshire is in England, which some deny. His spiritual nativity originated in Canada. Hig i \ V 280 PAST AND PRESEN^T. ' I ft ' ' % spiritual father was the Rev. W. Ryerson, who, if he had been the means of no other good, bj this paternity becomes a bene- factor to his country. Our hero in cast and calibre is just the man to be unbound- edly popular with the great mass of our Methodist people, and to get on swimmingly in the large, rich, rural circuits which he usually travels. He is good natured to a degree, which renders it almost impossible to put him out of humor, — pleasant and amusing in private intercourse, — wi+h an ability to describe all the queer scenes and to personate all the odd people which an itinerant meets with in his checkered career ; gifted and lively in preaching, without any profundities to bother any one, and the very life and soul of social religious meetings, — ready to pray, sing, or shout, as the case may require. No wonder that honest Michael Fawcett turns his circuits all topsy-turvy, and makes it hard work to any one to come after him. This difficulty arises from two sources. — his great favoritism with ^le people, and his peculiar mode of doing business, which, while it is perfectly orderly to him, does not always suit other people's notions of order. By rule, or not, he succeeds in doing a great deal of good ; nnd will continue to do it, till he overtakes his much loved Bro. Thomas, " where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." In one respect, he is a genuine Yorkshire-man : he keeps a good horse and knows how to handle him too. His Ministerial status is eighteen years, to which it is not unlikely God may add eighteen more. CRAYON TWENTY-EIGTH. In the year 1841, a precious waif fell into the hands of our Chv.rch authorities, in the person of a youth who looked like CRAYOXS-REV. JOHN GEMLEY. 281 tlie merest boy,-a military local preacher, who had been born and educated m the army, and converted to God in the West Indies (in Antigua), through the instrumentality of Wesleyan Methodism. An opportune improvement of a favorable occa- sion which might not have occurred again for years, transfer- red him from the service of her Majesty to our itinerant ranks • and a more worthy and true-hearted recruit never enlisted among us. He has proved himself a prize worth possessin-^ He IS another instance of a clever little man. His form'Ind appearance are almost femenine,^being slight and smooth- laceed. He is, however, healthy, active, and enduring The mnev man corresponds to the outer. He is naturally amiable genteel, tasteful, and" clever,. Though his rank was not high, he was respectably connected, had influential friends was educated beyond his situation in life, having received the basis of a classical one, and, had he remained in the army would doubtless have been promoted. These prospects and more congenial offers of the Ministry in a Government Chirch he relinquished for a place in the Wesleyan itinerancy. Since his entrance among us he has been very studious,-accomplish- ing his - Conference course" in a highly creditable manner and performing a very liberal curriculum of learned and scien^ tibo study, of his own accord. He is what is usually called a " popular" preacher-pro- nounced eloquent by the many, and sought after by the more aspiring places as an attractive pulpit man. The secret of this attractiveness, we never could exactly make out-unless it is that his personal appearance and manner are good in the pul- pit; his voice is pleasant; his utterance is ready ; his spirit ervent ; and his style what may be called ornate and elevated, A\ith regard to this last-his style-both in writing and speaking, we, for our individual p,rt, have thought ittaulty but as the great majority approve it, we must acknowledge ourselves heterodox in our tastes and opinions. One reason 282 PAST AND PRESENT. ,1 I for Mr. Gemley's great success is no doubt his prudence, amiable considerateness, and indefatigable attention to all the members of his flock, both rich and poor. No minister of his years amongst us, has had more good ap- pointments than he. He has run up the scale after this fashion ; Presoott, Port Hope, Belleville, Dundas, Peterborough, Toronto, Montreal Centre. Last year he was Chairman of this import- ant District (the Montreal), and perfornicd the duties of his office well ; but the adoption of the hullot vote displaced him, at the late Conference, by a very small majority. The one elected in his place is everything that is good, but it seemed ungracious to turn a brother out at the end of a year, who had done his best. This case is a proof that the ballot system will some^ times show the majority of the Conference to differ from a unanimous District. He has, however, an elastic mind, whdoh rises to the level of every emergency. We have been much pleased to see our hero take so active and efficient a part in the deliberations of the Conference dur- ing its last two or three sessions. He is likely to make him- self respected in that body. Being yet young he has by no means reached his culminating point. We wish him abundant prosperity. We had almost forgotten to sny that our subject is one of that class of Ministers, not very numerous, who have the good or ill fortupe, (just as you are pleased to view it), to be lauded in the papers — to be donated, Jded, and testimonialed — and who are summoned a long distance to open churches, to many friends, &c., &c. ; and he is one of the very few of the class who has the good sense and piety not to be spoiled by it. nm: CRAYON TWENTY-NINTH. We pass from on'^ of the " highfalutins," to one still 7in/her, perhaps the most so of any one in the Conference,— if indeed RfiV. LACHLIN TAYLOR. 283 he can be said to be of that body,-whb " by permission of the Conference, spends his time in the service of a public chanty, and in travelling for his personal pleasure arid profit. He IS an unique man, and altogether sui generis. He first breathed the vital air amid the " bonny hills o' Scotland " " that land of rook and glen.'' His mother tongue is Gaelic, which, with all Highlanders, he thinks the most beautiful and expres^ sive language spoken. Ue can and does preach in it when oc- casion serves, and it is when he has a congregation of High- landers before him that he truly fires up. He speaks En..- hsh rather with the rich accent of the educated Lowlanden than that of the Gael. He early got so much of a know* ledge of Latin as would have enabled him to matriculate, but he never went through College. He has, however, been very studious and observing, and his attainments on all sub- jects are very respectable ; has studied Greek and Hebrew But a superior genius done for him what a University edu- cation has failed to do for many who have been favored with it His imagination is gorgeously poetical-delights in towering flights and bold imagery. His descriptive powers are good and there IS a great deal of the historical in his sermons.' These qualities of mind, joined to fervent piety and the most large-hearted benevolence, have earned for his addresses the universal mede of eloquent; although his is rather the elo- quence of poetry, than force of diction; yet hia diction is for- cible enough. His exuberant good nature, ready wit and humor, render him a universal favorite on the platform, where (if in any one particular above another) he excels. His fine personal appearance and stentorian yet musical voice, and free and easy movements, greatly add to his ascend- ancy over an audience. Imagine to yourself a noble person of a man six feet high, straight as a rush, well-proportioned, yet litha and supple, with a mass of coal black hair, coarse and a . •^M*'' 284 PAST AND PRESENT. U Ntt fmm' ■{ =f little inclined to curl, combed back, revealing a fine though not very spacious forehead, while an equal mass in the form of beard, (his head on the whole is very long), embellishes the lower part of his well-proportioned face. Imagine him coming forward to the front of the platform with a light and sprightly tread ; hear him accost " Mr. Chaiiman, Ladies and Gentle- men," in a full, round, musical tone of voice ; wait but a little while till he kindles with his theme and begins to use his arms, those levers of eloquence and argument, till the audience be- come enwrapt, excited, and moved to thunders of applause, and you have some conception of our Scotch-Canadian Wesleyan Orator, Lachlin Taylor, Agent of the Upper Canada Bible Society, and now travelling in the lands of the Bible. Mr. T. is a good Theologian and Expositor of Scripture, but no better than scores of his brethren who do not possess his other advantages. He gets at things rather by a stride of his genius, than the slower process of induction or ratiocination. He excels in pathos — not without a little bathos at times. He was brought up in the bosom of the Established Kirk of Scotland, of which his father was long an Elder and Parochial School Teacher. But being brought to God in Lower Canada through the instrumentality' of Wesleyanism, while he is one of the most catholic-spirited men in the world, he is a decided Methodist. Arminianism seems to suit his large heart and expansive soul. He has been in our Ministry twenty years ; and has been always in demand for the best stations, when he was willing to go, or stop in them, when there — which he never has in any one more than a year at a time. In one thing, he resembles the Rev. Robert Hall — he is too fastidious about his composi- tion to write much for publication. The reader will be sur- prised to hear, after learning that he has so fine an imagination and such good extemporaneous powers, that all his sermons and addresses are painfully elaborated, and that he is foolish CttAYONS-REV. DOCTOR GREEJf. 285 enough to trammel himself with notes. An over carefulness of his reputation has led to this. We are persuaded, if he were to throw away these buoys, and strike out fearlessly into the deep, he would eflFect even more than he now does, much as that IS. He should be more independent of the opinions of his hearers-he could afford to be. He will take this well from an "old crony." The most wonderful thing about this most wonderful man IS, that, with the most captivating sociality of spirits, the truest politeness, and the greatest gallantry towards flie softer sex which make him a universal favorite with the Ladies, he is yet umji'irned, though already on the shady side of forty His public reason, playfully given, is, "he loves thema^/ too well to love any one of them in particu^ ir." Our hero, alOng with his general affability, is one of the most prudent and purest of mankind. A lot among the blessed and holy society of heaven awaits our friend. May we meet him there ! CRAYON THIRTIETH. Well on to forty years ago, two or three young men came over in company from the United States to try their fortunes in Canada. One of them, a large inexperienced youth of about twenty-one years of age, was a Methodist, and bore an " Ex- horter's Licence," as they phrased it then. He was sincerely pious, and had better advantages of education than mostyoun- man in his position in Canada at that day. It was soon dis° CDvered that he had good gifts for public speaking, and was en- couraged by his Presiding Elder, the now sainted Case to give himself to the itinerant work; he consented, and appeared at the Jirst eession of the Canada Conference, held in Hallo- well, August, 1824, accoutred in the usual paraphernalia of a travelling preacher, with horse saddled and bridled, valise and 1 '■'f,i 2m PAST AJJD PREKEJfT. 't I ■l» over-alls* And though not regularly received on trial till tha next year, was appointed to the Smith's-Creek Circuit, which extended from the Carrying-Place on the East, to Darlington on the West ; and from the Lake shore on the South, to the remotest settlements (beyond where Peterborough now stands) on the North. He began at once to attract attention an a. preacher. His preaching was a liittle unusual, being declamatory and florid in its style. It had its defects no doubt^ not being equal, or equable in all its parts — the young orator, as it is said, some- times " going up like a rocket, and coming down like a pole.'* Yet even his failures showed a noble aspiration. And, ere long, he certainly became very respectable as an Expository and Hortatory Preacher; and, being lively, pathetic, and ornate in his style, he was soon very popular. He was a favorite in the pulpit so long as his voice, which was never very strong, (thdugh well managed) allowed of frequent preaching. He went up in all other respects as well. He was the fli- torite protege of the then ruling mind in Canadian Methodism, Elder Case, by whom he was highly valued till the old man's death. He got the best circuits-— was elected Secretary of the Conference — chosen to preach Missionary Sermons — ^placed on ^'Stations" (the preachers on which were beginning to constitute a sort of elite amongst us, when a salutary return to the good old circuit system discouraged the formation of that kind of aristocracy) — made a District Chairman in the eighth year of his ministry — ^which led a punster, in allusion to his ^outh and his name, to say that "we had a green [A. Green] Presiding Elder." His good nature will pass over the indignity of relat- ing this. ^ Such were the antecedents of the famous Doctor Green, many years Chairman of the most important Districts in the Province — once President of the Conference— for many years, as he is now again, our Connexional Book Steward, Treasurer, C1{AY0N&~UEV. DOCTOR UREEX, 287 «r Bursar, of the College-thrice our Representative to the Brit- ish Conference— and thrice to the American General Confer- ence He maniecl respectably-^u^quired some wealth than which nothing could show good financiering more, as his itineracy was confined to the early days, when salaries were small-and has taken a genteel social position. Some years ago, he receiv- ed the degree of Doctor in Divinity, from one of the most re- spectable Methodist Universities in the United States. It may be asked, How has he so wonderfully out-stripped most of his compeers in the matter of honors, offices, and dis- tinctions of all kind. ? This is a question which it may not be very^ delicate for us to answer; but we venture to say, by more than ordinary good abilities, and by unusual skill in manao-e- meut Very learned, in the highest sense of that word he does not profess to be ; for though he is worthy of his de4e many of his brethren, on the ground of attainment, would U equally deserving. He is distinguished by an assemblage of fair quahfications of aU kinds. He ha^ a good practical judg- ment ; and possesses a native sagacity on most subjects, that amounts to genius : and he is so cool and self-possessed as not to betray his designs prematurely. These qualifications have made him the successful diplomatist, in the management of sev- eral difficult matters. Such as the defeat of certain ^,euial talents alone jlf-reliance, com. Q of conventional ition. His com- y a compliment, t as a fitting man i of public build- 3f all bores, to all ; on what may lan in liis own alents for doinu: id to strengthen Option complete, t he is a man of n. Ho is large, ould liavo been blue-cycd, dark- is head is wide, e glossy hair is 289 «ow "silvered over with age." He cannot be far from six- I2 <•■ i 294 1>AST AXD PUESENT, tional nature, and we are safe ia saying, a very devotional one also. He was converted in early life, and " nourished up in the words of faith and holiness'' by pious maternal influence and care. No wonder that he should have early decided in fa- vor of the Gospel against the Law. With all his versatility, it seems a pity that his attention should have been divided and detracted between sacred and secular subjects. Had he de- voted all his attention to law and politics, for which his states- man-like views, his extensive knowledge of history, and his pow- ers of debate, if not of special pleading, so eminently qualified him, he would likely have passed through all the gradations to the highest pinacle of secular eminence attainable to a subject in a colony. And had his thoughts and studies been confined to the Bible, and Theology, and to the various accomplishments desirable in a minister, he would have attained even greater eminence in ministerial ability and usefulness than he has, hi^h as has been his excellence in those particulars. But the pecu- liar circumstances of the country and of all denominations ex^ cepting the then dominant Church, rendered it necessary that Bome^one should step forth in vindication of their rights, while the anonymous review of Dr. Strachan's defiimatory Sermon and Report pointed him out to the leaders of the Connexion as a ehampion, at the early age of twenty-two. Eight boldly did he draw the sword of controversy, and right skilfully and success- fully did he wield it also. But to write the doings of his pub- lic Hfe, would bo, to a groat extent, to write the history of Up- per Canada ; and his Life and Times, it is to be hoped, he will find time to record with his own hand. In point of ability, it is not too much to say that he has proved himself a great preacher, a great writer— this is per- haps his forte— and a great debater. As a preacher, when he does himself justice in the matter of preparing, he is ab|e in exposition, and pointed and powerful in application. His, we eliould judge, is the true style and uietliod of preaching— h9 OlMYO.VS-DOCTOR EGfERTON KYERSON. 296 steers clear of "random rant" on the one hand, and of slavish memonsmg on the other. He uses so much of previous medi- tation as IS necessary to master the outlines of his theme, and then draws on his general resources to fill it up and illustrate it as he passes along. His characteristics as a v,ri.ter are well andTrl^ "1"^ Pf Hc-perhaps strength, and clearness, attributes. The figures he most uses are antithesis, climax and irony. He can be keenly sarcastic when he likes. Both m writing and debate he is not very choice of the means by which he demolishes an opponent, so long as it is done. Whea scientific missiles are not at hand he extemporises ethers which answer his purpose. His onslaughts are like an avalanche of snow and ice from a mountain's brow, which brings every des- tructive thing along With ii.-trees and rocks, and, it maybe a deluge ofmuddy water ifit stand in the way. He has been charged with mystifying an unacceptable sub- ject-.with inconsistency in his public career-and with fre- quently deserting from one side to another. That he knows how to conceal the objectionable parts of his projects, is no doubt true, but that he does more of it than his opponents would Yth., couUl, is doubtful. As to his inconsis^y t maintains that he has never changed his great leading views and principles; and that it is only when others have abandoned hese, that he has seemed to change sides. One thing is time that in nearly every apparent change, he has gone from the « .on., side to the .eak one. It was so when he sacrified his old Tory friends, who were then in the ascendancy, in 1826 when he took scot and lot with those who were moving for equal rights. So when he published his "Impressions" in '33 and was accused of changing, the Ilcform party were the vasi ma- jority; but when he took up his pen in favor of Bidwell, in 3^8, that party was prostrate in the dust, and its leaders ex- patriated. Again, Keform was in the ascendancy when he took \r ' V iti II ' 'i1 296 Past and present. up hia pen in favor Lord Metcalf. We simply refer to these facts of history, and leave them to speak for themselves. We do not pretend to say that he has been without his faults, — we ourselves have often been offended with him, — and it is said that the faults of great men are generally ^rea< faults. Their errors and deviations are more palpable than those whose talents and errors are not so conspicuous. ' His greatest mistakes, in the eyes of Methodists, have been, when he has showed an indifference to their public religious sentiments on the subject of certain fashiorable amusements, and relative to the preservation intact of those institutions by which the life of religion in the heart can alone be preserved. But we ascribe the peculiarity of his views in those particulars to the particular stand-point to which his position, that of Su- perintendent of Education, has for several years restricted him. Notwithstanding the peculiarity of his views in- these respe(^ts, we regard him nn the well-intontioned and ardent friend of Methodism, wbo, while he is distinguished by an enlightened catholicity, has shown the most decided preferences lor the church of his choice. Perhaps we have erred in discussing a subject so generally known, but we could hardly pass so prominent a member of the Conference as Dii. Egerton Kyerson. We must not omit the after thought, that he is very plcasiu"- in his private manners, being very condescending, afiable, and polite. His conversational poweris are great. CRAYON THITY-THIIID. " Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." The truth of this declaration is illustrated and confirmed by the conversion of the subjet of the present sketch, and tlxat of his now sainted brother. Two brother. Two CRAYO.VS-^DacrOR EPHKAIM EVANS. 297 little brothers some forty or fifty years ago used to aecom pany their pious mother (the wife of the Captain and owner of a merchant ship,) to the Wesleyan chapel in the seaport town of Hull, in Yorkshire, England. In its Sabbath School, and undo. th3 Ministry of the Apostolic itinerants who spake the word of lite within its walls, as well as by ma- ternal instracfciou, they were "trained up in the way they should gow" J J While yet in youth, commjrcial disaster and reverses of for^ tnne happened to the f ither,-.the family w^. reduced in cir cumstances,-xud parents and children sought a home in the" woods of Lower C.nad i. Now th3 superior commercial educa- tion of these young m^n begin to stand them instead of other means of support. They betook themselves to teaching in which they were very successful ; and they found their way Into Uppor Canada. U.ihappily their religious training was defeat- ed for a tune by intercourse with a degenerate world. They hved for some years an irreligious life, and even tried to bo sceptical. They endeavored to satisfy the cravings of their immortal minds with literary pursuits ; and they had each a Novel m course of preparation, when their conversion occurred Th^t or James, the elder, took place first; Fphraim^s soon followed. The honored instruments were the never-to-be-for- g3ttea Metcalf and his then youthful colleague, our prospective C.>Delegate, who were the Circuit preachers. This occurred in the Township of Bastard. We speak of the two Evanses James's talent for preaching, though afterwards he became so' eminent as a Missionary to the Indian tribes, did not develop Itself so fast ; but Ephraim, our present hero, was perhaps tho soonest called out on a Circuit after his conversion, of any man amongst us-that is, as soon as his probation for membership was completed. Yes, and after a few weeks' trial in the coun- try, ho was sent to the second station in importance in the Pro- vmoo, tho town of Kingston, and to take tho place of a reject- I \\x V. 298 PAST AND PRESENT. •'•'iM IS ed preacher too. He told them at his first dchuf, that, though he was from the coiaifrj/, " he knew no difference between town and country sinners, excepting this, that toicn sinners were ge- nerally a great deal worse." Let no person say that his introduction to the work of preach- ing was premature. He was a man for age, being twenty-five years old j he was an educated man, and possessed of great natural endowments, and one who had drank in the purest theology in early life. It was only directing his extraordinary abilities in another and the proper channel, and he was the ac- complished preacher at once. Like Bunting, to whom, we should think, he bears a strong moral and intellectual resem- blance, he seemed to preach as well at the first as he does now. And having then the fire and vivacity of youth, with the zeal of a new convert, he was much more popular than he has been of late years. He was always deliberate, argumentative, in d prolix. These, since he has lost his youthful sprightliness, cause his long, correctly expressed, and profoundly argumenta- tive sermons, notwithstanding his beautiful language and musi- cal voice, to be regarded as heavy by many hearers. Canada during the early part of his Ministry was full of isms, some of which were heretical. Methodism had to club its way through much opposition. In the work of controversy he was a champion, and a host in himself,— fearless, cool, and ready to debate by the day with all comers. This he often did litcraUy. He went out in 1827. A person so gifted and so constituted, would soon become a man of mark in the Conference, and take a very decided part in its deliberations, which he did. At first he was a great ad- mirer of E. E., who, though hhjumor hy a year, was his senior in the ministry. The anxious discussions of following yearp, sometimes placed him in antagonism to his early friend. And now that F. M. had retired, he perhaps was jhc only man in the body who was likely to do it, that could fairly cope with CIlAYO.V-i -I):.)(J1\)K El'miAIM EVA>f.S. 29J» liim Still in our humble opinion, he was never quite hia match. L.ans was clear, direct, honest, and able ; but the other could place a subject in that plausible light that would carry the majority with him. Doctor Evans has stood in immediate relationship to the English as well as Canadian Conference j and held two very re- sponsible situations in Nova Scotia under its immediate direc- tion. In Canada, he has been Secretary of Conference Chair- man of District, and Editor of the Guardian. He is a stronc. clear correct, and forcible writer who, however, was not quite provident and plodding enough for an Editor. He lias a law- yer-like mind. He is very versatile, and exceedingly well in- formed on all subjects; he has a good share of what is called learning/, and is, therefore, worthy of his Degree, but he does not seem inclined to incumber himself with the lumbering part of it. ° He has a strong will, and a little tendency to arbitrariness although he designs to be fair and honorable. Such men how- ever, crowd lois tenacious spirits out of the arena of discussion and preserve the floor pretty much to themselves when present ' It 18 somewhat singular that just such a man as we have de- scribed should have offered and been sent to his present position m New Columbia. He seems, however, to be displaying his characteristic resolution, and will doubtless do much °ood Though pretty impracticable with equals, we opine that he is bland and indulgent towards juniors and inferiors in general though there is an air of haaimr about him. He is tall, well made, and graceful ; and when young, was decidedly handsome. His age must be about 57. His private manners are characterized by dignified and simple politeness. A very composed and selfpossessed man is he whether in the pulpit or parlour. We deeply sympathize with him in the bereavmont he has suffored in the death of his vii- tuous only sou ; a and circumstance which will add to his loneli- ■V 300 PAST AND PRESENT. ness in that distant land whither he liaa gone. God be gra- cious to him and his, and support them ! - i In , { CRAYON THIETY-FOURTII. Our present subject Is a sort of cynic jiJiilosopher, mther dh- posed to view things in a morose and gloomy light, not wholly free from severity on erring individuals. He is, however, possessed of good nature at bottom, as we can easily see when his grim and wrinkled features are lighted up with a smile, which we are glad is not seldom. His looks, in their prima facie aspect, are against him; and he seems more cynical than he is, by the grum and oracular manner in which n.tteranccs are made from his deep bass voice. Imagine a man of medium size, rather stoutly built, light com- plexioned, and freckled, and you have some idea of the person. His head is of large dimensions and taurine shape, covered with a light coating of very peculiar hair. He is one of a family of preaching brothers already referred to in these sketches— Canadians. He was the tJiird introduc- ed to the Conference, although the eldest of Jour. He had been several years employed as a local preacher and missionary school teacher among the Indians, before his name appeared on the "Minutes." The way in which he began the account of him- self at his < 3 302 PAST AND PRESENT. '* I '■ about fifty years of age. As we usually phrase it, "he holds his age well," notwithstanding the many hardships throu-h which he has passed. But he makes himself very patri archaUookinr by wearing the whole of his stout, coarse beard, now a little sprinkled with grey, while the hair on the crown of his head begins to wear thin. He is rather light complexioned. He began at the age of twenty, and has been consequently thirty years in the work, the whole of which time haa been spent among the Indian tribes of this continent. After spend ing a few weeks at Grape Island in 1329, he was sent on as Missionary School Teacher to Muncy-town, where he got the first insight into the Chippewa language. Thence, he was sent after being ordained, to Saugeen, on the shores of Lake Huron' There he remained two years. Then ho spent a year at St* Clair and Walpole Island. The next three years he was in ilic Lake Superior country. The next two, namely 1841, and '42 at the Pic, in the Hudson Bay Territory. The next year he returned to Canada and was appointed to Lake Simcoe. From thence, obeying what he thought to be the call of God, he went m 1844, to the assistance of our brethren in the United States where ho was a member and Presiding Elder, in their Indian Mission Conference, stretching, I believe, from North to South through all the States West of the IVIississippi. While there he extended his acquaintance with the Indian dialects. There he continued till 1851, when ho returned to assist hi3 first friends in Canada, and was stationed at Alderville. The next two or three years he supplied the Bice Lake Mission In 1855, the Hudson Bay Missions having been transr.'rred from the direction of the British Wcsleyan to the Canadian Confe- rence, Mr. II. was entrusted with the Supcrintendency of the whole work in that Territory. His own station was Norw-.y House, Lake Winnepcg. Here he iH3rfuniied progidies of labor in preaching, school-teaching, board-sawing and house-buiidin-' REV. THOMAS HlTRLBl|RT. 303 ^po-founding, printing, translating, and studying languages. Wli.le there he added the Cree to his previons stock of Indian aialects. We regret to have to say, that he was forced from this very useful position by the failing health of his devoted wife, who found herself unable to endure the rigors of the climate. He came down to Garden River, where he had the charge of Lake Superior District in 1857. In 1858, he was transferred to tte old and important mission of St. Clair, where he now _ Besides discharging the ordinary duties of a missionary, ho IS hkely to sen-e the cause of missions as a Professor of the Indian languages. The Conference made a commencement the pr<^nt year to train missionaries for the Indian work OKpressly instead of leaving the matter to accident. It was decided to place two young men at once under the tution of Mr. H with a ™w to their spending their lives in that departoent of the Our hero, (for hero he has proved himself) is altogether a a veiy remarkable man. He has been too long among the In- dians to be a very captivating preacher in EngtiA. He has earned the Indian so thoroughly, and has spoken it so much, that he speaks English with an Indian idiom and intonation lie can I i[ ; I. (;^r} li 'I ,; I' ■a (i 306 PAST AND PRESENT. on the foundation so broadly and deeply laid at the Institution. He seems to have little desire for any kind of study, excepting what has a direct reference to his sacred profession. This would appear to be the true method in general. It is undoubtedly so for him ; for it is in accordance with his tastes as well as his convictions. But where a minister's tastes and opportunities lead him to more general and miscellaneous reading and study he may safely imitate the example of John Wesley, who read everything which came in his way, and of Adam Clarke, who " intermeddled with all wisdom." For divinity, and the means of illustrating divine truth, may be drawn from every branch of knowledge, by an ingenious and pious mind. Preachers who pursue such a course are among the most interesting and useful to the mass of hearers. They may not please accurate theologians so well. , Our subject is a neat, clear, sound preacher, with a distinct and deliberate utterance, much esteemed for his preaching abil- ity ia the circuits in which he has been stationed, which, with the exception of one year, have all been ck^ appointments — Mon- treal and Toronto. He has excellent (jualifications to make an able Minister, pleasing in his address ; pointed, and earnest ; und attends to all his work with regularity and fidelity. Ho is rather short of the medium height, but stout-built and healthy. Being very light complexioncd, with a round, rosy face, he looks almost boyish, although he is perhaps 34 or 35 years of age. Ho is a good natured person, with risibles easily excited. Ho has, however, a just perception of clerical pro- priety, which he always preserves. Ho begins to occupy a useful place in the doings of the Con- for«nco, His report as Secretary of the Habbath School Com- mittee last June w;is ably drawn up, and impressively read to the Conference. He has been honored the present year with the Financial Socrctaryship of the district to which he now be- longs — a post for which lie in well " tall, dark probably not 30 old as that and his ges- ; quick and of the Con- much about the late la- very person - md his hair aracter — the similarity of ess of their 3 character-' ized by innocent wit : so is Mr. N. And, to us, there appeal's a resemblance in the kind of it. An example from each may be given : — In the second Conference after the first Union, an eminent minister, who was not always distinguished by his suavity of temper, moved " That the Rev. Ezra Adams and the Rev. T. Turner, as being two of the best natured men in the Conference, be a Committee to wait on the Trustees of the American Presbyterian Church, and thank them for their kind- ness in proffering their Meeting House for the use of the Con- ference, and to respectfully decline the offer," — on the ground that it was not needed. Metealf immediately suggested " the addition of the mover, as being the stationed minister of the town, and also for the purpose of adding to the quantity of good nature P^ In the last session of our Conference, two strong men, leading members of the body, got into a pretty earnest altercation on the sacred and somewhat difiicult subject of entire sanctif cation — in the midst of which Mr. Nelles. stepped forward from a retired seat to the end of the platform, and expressed " a hope that there might be no quarrel between these two brethren on the subject of sanctificationy for he was sure in such a case they could not be justified y The first half of the sentence produced a shade of seriousness on the countenances of all, which soon turned into a laugh, when they discovered the pun in the latter half. It was a piece ef plea- santry, however, which dissipated a rising cloud. Nelles is api incorrigable, yet innocent punster. One might think that such playful sallies were incompajtible with the dignity of his position, and adverse to his ascendancy among the students in the College ; but no man knows better how to maintain true dignity when the assumption of it is re- quired ; and as to his college government, that is a decided suc- cess. He is almost idolized by all under his carp. Men of ex- tra dignity do not always succeed so well. Ilis scholarship comports well with his opportunities and du- 27* V 314 PAST AND PRESENT. ties ; but, if one so much inferior to him in that respect might express an opinion, he is as much distinguished by his literary and speaking talents, and by natural genius, as he is by filling his head with a great amount of learned lumber. There is no pe- dantry about him whatever. We are glad to write that he is a sound-hearted Wesleyan, who has a scrupulous respect for our distinctive principles, while he has the largest catholicity of feeling towards " all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." «, 4 CRAYON FORTY-FIRST. It is said that " comparisons are odious." Or, as that mythi- cal personage, Mrs. Partington, affirmeth, they are "odor- ous" — a pretended mistake which contains a great amount 6f truth, and tends to illustrate the legitimacy of the maxim as litterally expressed. All such maxims are more or less founded in truth, and may be very useful as guides to our conduct, and this one among the rest. Yet there are some things we can only illustrate by comparison, indeed all illustrations imply com- parison. Plutarch resorts to this method in bringing out the peculiarities of the great men of antiquity. We have been led to use it to some extent in illustrating the individuality of some of the men of God whom we have sketched, as well as to diver- sify our mode of treating the subjects. We have not meant our comparisons to be individious. And we are about to re- sort to it once more. In the years 1834, 5, and 6, our present President was sta- tioned in the city of Kingston. During the early part of his pastoral sojourn in that place, a modest, steady youth, who had been trained in the Sabbath school, became converted to God and joined the church. He had a fair English education, and soon gave promise of usefulness, and was made a local preacher. espect might ' his literary by filling his lere is no pe- el Wesleyan, leiples, while " all who love s that mythi- are " odor- tt amount 6f lie maxim as less founded conduct, and lings we can is imply com- bing out the lave been led ality of some 11 as to diver- } not meant about to re- lent was sta- »■ part of his ith, who had arted to God ucation, and 3al preacher. CRAYONS-REV. (}. R. SANDERSON. 315 Next, he entered as one of the first students in Upper Canada Academy, which has grown up to our present Victoria College. In a year's time, however, he was withdrawn from its sacred shade, and sent into the work on the then laboiious Thames circuit, in which work he has continued to this day, a period of 22 years. Immediately on beginning to preach, he showed points of re- semblance to his spiritual father, which some thought might be that imitation so common to young men of those they admire • but to the present, although they have not been much together, that resemblance continues, which we are sure is only accidental^ as it is hui2mrtial First, they are very much of a size, be- ing compact, rotound, handsome men, and light complexioned. The younger, (who is ahoui forty-four) not appearing so much so as to make any material difference. Their voices are very much the same in tone and compass. The elder, however, speaks fluently, the younger with more hesitancy, and always with some, till he warms with his theme. Both are chaste and elevated in their language and illustrations. One is perhaps textual, the other more seemingly argumentative. Our subject is practical and evangelical, and rises sometimes to eloquence. He is not, however, so great a preacher, perhaps, as he gave pro- mise to be when young. Two things may have retarded him. He is, we suspect, a little sluggish constitutionally, which may have prevented laborious preparation ; and he has been entrust- ed with connexional engagements adverse to study and practice pulpit-ward. He was appointed Editor in 1846, in which position he maintained himself no less than/ve t/ears. His style we find ourselves unable to characterize, and leave it undescribed. His taste, however, we may say was choice and delicate. After serv- ing what might be called our collegiate church and the Cobourg district three years, he became the connexional Book Steioard several years, comprehending the period of the late monetary ■J^' 316 PAST AND PRESENT. W'-H crisis. And whatever the knowing ones may say, by vay of criticizing his cotnmercial management, he is no doubt one of our best financial men. He has been the Treasurer of our Church Relief Fund. He does not speak often in the Conference, but when he doea his is usually a set speech of considerable importance. Though courteous and possessed of self-control, he goes through with his measures with great determination. He generally returns left-handed compliments with great punctuality, when a suita- ble occasion offers. He has some learning, and is possessed of good literary talents, although, as yet, he has published no book. Though a little inclined to quiz and tease his familiar friends, he is a serious good christian, and sound in all Wesleyan raat- fcsrs. Notwithstanding he is at present somewhat retired, from observation, his position is respectable, and he will come into notice again one of these days, by some revolution of the con- nexional wheel. We are proud to say that the Eev. G. R. San- PBRSON is a native of Canada. ir( CRAYON FORTY-SECOND. The consideration of Mr. S. reminds us of one to whom ho stands oflScially related as his Superintendent and Chairman, but one very dissimilar from himself in many respects. Our present subject is a native of that "Green Is^e of the sea," so justly celebrated in story and in song. He is a true representative Irishman, A Celt by origin, on his father's side at least, as his name indicates, and with all the wit, vivacity, warui-heartedness, eloquence, and, wo may add, amusing oddi- ty, which are ch;iracteristic of the genuine specimens of that race. His looks also are unmistakably Hibernian. Ho is low of stature, and particularly short in the pedestals on which the CRAYONB— REV. ROBERT COONEY, D. D. 317 ly, by vay of doubt one of a^urer of our when he doea ce. Though uhrough with Tally returns when a suita- j possessed of 3hed no book, ailiar friends, esleyan mat- . retired, from ill oome into 1 of the ooa- V. G. R. San- j to whom he I Chairman, pects. II Isle of the lie is a true 8 father's side wit, vivacity, musing oddi- mens of that I. He is low on which tlie column rests. His strong features make up the tout en- semble of a real old country face. We take a little liberty with him as he often refers with playful irony to his great personal beauty. His appearance ha , however, some redeeming quali- ties—he has a finely developed head, partially bald, skirted, as is his face, with a margin of luxuriant hair, venerably white. He is extra neat and clerical in his dress and person, and though vivacious, very genteel in his manners. He is a trophy won from the Church of Eome, to which Crayon No. II, largely contributed when on the Miramichi Mission, with- in thejpale of which he was brought up, and for the priesthood of which he was educated, being before his conversion, actually in its ecclesiastical noviciate. This transition began in New Bruns- wick, and was consummated in Nova Scotia. Being brought to^the'saving knowledge of the truth, through the instrumental- ity of Wesleyan Missionaries, he naturally cast in his lot with that section of the Protestant church, and was soon in the ranks of its ministry. This took place about 28 years ago. Since then, he has filled some of the best stations in the four provin- ces—New Bruswick, Novia Scotia, Upper and Lower Canada. He received a good classical education, and obtained /irst, the degree of Master of Arts, we believe, from Middletown University ; and subsequently, that of Doctor in Divinity, from Newton University. He placed in its archives, we have been told, one of the best " Latin Theses" the Senate avered, they had ever received. He frequently quotes Latin, and makes a liberal use of classic allusions ; though all his allusions are not classical. No ono can be more droll and familiar when ho likes ; and indeed, he is necessarily often so, whether he likc.i or not. He can hardly open his mouth without saying very unusual things. And by the amount of lauj^hter he provokes, a stranger miglit suspect him wanting in proper consideration. He is one of that class of men who will receive credit for less piety than they possesa. 5 f i i •/ ! I 318 PAST AND PRESENT. 1 I I iiV He is, Ijowever, undoubtedly pious, and of late years, it is evi- dent, he is increasingly so. As a speaker, we may remark, his volubility is without let or hindrance, and his imagination is of the most gorgeous and discursive character. The boldness of its flidits and the odditv of its gyrations, are beyond description — they must be witnessed to be appreciated. These are allowed their utmost latitude on the platform, uut more restrained in the pulpit. Ho is, how- ever, rather brilliant than powerful as a preacher. Specimens of his style and the topics he delights to dwell on, with his mode of treating them, may be seen in the " Autobi- ography of a Wealeyan Missionary," a book which, from the va- riety of its matter, the strangeness of its incidents, and the liveliness of their treatment, will amply repay perusal. Let it be bought and read. He wrote also the " History of Mirami- chi," a work referred to b^; subsequent historians as a standard. ]*art of his pre-ministerial life was editorial, he has, therefore written a great deal, as he writes with facility. He is an unique and popular lecturer, having in former years done a great deal of that sort of work in the several cities where he has been stationed. He is a sound-hearted Wesleyan, and only needs to be known to be loved. Though literary and oratorical, he is more of a business man than he seems to be ; we suspect however, he has no love for its details. With the asssistance of an excellent conjugal co-adjutor, he does not neglect his pastoral obligations. The Rev. Hobekt Cooney, D. D., is probably about ^ixtt/ years of age.. ■I CRAYON FOllTY-THIUD. Our present subject is very much to our notion, nfl a Wesley- an minister. lie is u native of Oanada, with an admixture oj" CRAYONS-REV. I. B. HOWARD. 319 Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic liood in his veins. He is rather tall, straight, slender, and handsome, having a clear skin with dark hair. Age has not yet impaired his beauty, although he IS forty-one or tioo. He has been 19 years in the itinerant work, having gone out into the Canadian ministry at the memo- rable " Special Conference." He egressed from the halls of the " Upper Canada Academy," where he was respectably edu- cated. All his pre-ministerial life was spent in study and teaching. He is somewhat scholarly, but not pedantic— studious but not slavishly devoted to books-genteel, but plain and conde- scending-cheerful, without levity-serious, without niorose- ness— devout, without fanaticism— and earnest, without runt He excels in his ability and tact for working up his circuits— which he always does— or straightening them when needed We scarcely know his equal for nerve and thoroughness in cleansing an Augean stable. He can differ with a man with- out quarreling with him— he is mild, but unflinching— almost to stubborness. He preaches good, thorough, practical, appropriate sermons but none for show or effect. He is laborious and pastoral and unusually successful in promoting revivals. We have often wondered how he brought them about. With no extra eloquence, passion or sanctimoniousness— with a voice not very strong or commanding— and with a peculiar manner of utterance rc^em. bling a stammerer, arising from rapidity and hesitancy com- bined, yet he will fix attention, produce conviction, and keep the people all at work, till the tide of prosperity sets in, and sinners by scores arc brought to God. And he is just as use- ful in building up as he is in gathering in. He carries his re- ligion into everything, and has a family ordered as a christiaD minister's should bo. Our hero has received good appointments, but has had more xoovk than honon. His beautiful chirography and oxactueas J ! i I I X v. "'H i «t -r ■M :^ - 1 &. i mk i wr^ 1 ^H^^^^^^^^^^B, 1 •■ ^^^^^H'' i [i ' Hi ^ f i -4j y.j:? 1 |y m ., 320 PAST AND PRElSENT. in copying have entailed on him the drudgery of " Journal Secretaryship," for a number of years — long enough to have earned the post of principal Secretary before it did. He is in the largest city of the two Provinces, and is now the Chairman of that District — the first year of his Episcopate. His Conference speeches do not produce a very profound impression, owing to want of weight in his voice — distinctness in his manner of coming at a question — and his usually appear- ins after the minds of members are wearied with the discussion* He has too much work on hand to take an early and effective part in the debates, although he sits in a conspicuous place. His baptismal name is after the hero of Queenston Heights, and Isaac Brock Howard is a real Christian hero. CRAYON FORTY-FOURTH. The most of the troubles we experience from others in this world are of our own procuring, as they arise from our want of discretion, litigiousness, pertinacity, or ambition. If any man tells you that all men are leagued against him ; and that, go where he will, they are determined to annoy him, you may rest assured " there is a screw loose" in his own machinery some- where. On the contrary there are others^ who always seem to be sailing in smooth water, just because they so placidly adjust their sails and helm to the varying winds and currents. Such a one we conceive to be the subject of our pencil just now. Without any very large pretentions or attainments — -or with- out any extra zeal or bustle, he has taken circuits of great re- spectability, and has continued to stay in them, with only one or two exceptions, during the longest period possible consistent with our connexional law. The people are not disposed to part with the man, any more than the preacher. He is a native of old Ireland ; and his name is not only V of "Journal lough to have [id. He id in the Chairman e. ^rery profound — distinctness isually appear^ uhe discussion* and effective picuous place, iston Heights, hero. others in this m our want of If any man and that, go you may rest chinery some- Iwaya seem to )lacidly adjust rrents. Such just now. ents — or with- ts of great re- with only one ible consistent isposed to part e is not only CllAYOXS-REV. WILLIAM McPADDEIf. -321 Celtic, but rejoices in one of those honorary prefixes, which in- dicates that the first who bore it, was the son of some person of distinction. He accompanied his father's family to Canada at the early age of twelve yearz ; and like many of the public men of the country, got his only academic training in learning to wield the axe and flourish the handspike. Farmin- and shantying occupied the most of his time till early manhood. Then the voice of God, through the pioneer itinerant aroused him from the sleep of sin, and gave a new stimulus to his pow- ers. He began to bo useful in his own vicinity. And it was no ill augury that the sagacious Madden (the elder) predicted that he would « make a preacher." He did, soon after ; and began his labors on the circuit on which he was brought up. A new and higher course of study was adopted a^the time he commenced his probation (26 years ago.) The satisfactory manner in which he accomplished that course, showed that he had a mind for acquisition at least. Indeed, we regard him as having the power to learn with great ease. We opine that no man amongst us has prepared his sermons with more facility than he. They are methodical, plain, and evangelical, and to a certain class of minds very grateful. He would have become a greater man than he is, if he had not good-naturedly bestowed so much talk on the people, and allowed every "chatterbox" to obtrude on his time for study. His acoessibleness, aflfability, and communicativeness, however, have made him popular. But the people, ought not to require too high a price from their ministers for the favor they ac- cord — the price of moU sacred time. Our friend, though he hjia an easy way of doing it, has been instrumental in promoting several extensive revivals. He is not now " the tall dark young man" ho was twenti/- six years ago, when we first made his ac(iuaintance. Return- ing years, though they may not have much enfeebled his strength iw they have not yet bowed his manly form, have rendered it 2H im'^M i i 322 PAST AND PRESENT. more venerable, in turning his once auburn locks to iron gray^ He is now in the /i/th year of his CJunrmanship. We need not wish him happiness ; for we do not know that it is in the power of any one to take it away, from the mild and pleasant William McFadde.v. CRxiYON FOETY-FIFTII. We have in our mind's eye at the present moment, a strong- ly marked character— one who is no other man's imitator — but one with a decided idiosyncracy of his own. His name is of German origin (or '^.DutcJi,^' as the people call it) at both ends, but we believe there is an infusion of tScotcli blood in his veins, perhaps from his mother's side: our new countries are the places by an admixture of races, for new and unusual types of human kind. This has given the vital current in him a little more warmth and a more rapid circulation, counteracting the proverbial phlegm of the Teutonic race. Religion has been known to give vivacity to the Dutchman ; and his nature is a soil in which religion in the form of Methodism luxuriates. But our subject, who is of Canadian growth, was known to be of a mercurial temperament before his conversion. A more vivacious, droll, and sport-loving and sport-making, young man than he, before he was subdued by the grace of God, is seldor' seen. And though then heir to a considerable estate, and educated quite beyond most of his compeers in the " Fi/lh Toiot" and neighbourhood, yet he was distinguished for the use of cavt or slang phrases, which he has since sometimes pressed into re- ligion. Ho would, at that time, have been just the man to relish the " sayings and doings of Sam Slick," or to have written such a work himself. Iliimorist he is, by nature, no doubt. But in Baying that, it amounts to a declaration, which in true in his i«! CnjAYONS-PtEV. C. VANDUSEX. 323 to iron gray. case, that he is possessed of a warm, generous, and affectionate heart. Aye, and a more honorable one never throbbed in hu- man breast. True, there may be persons who think otherwise, and think ,?o sincerely, but we think they are mistaken. He may have enemies, but if so he has made them unwittingly ; or in striving to befriend some unfortunate acquaintance in difficulty. A sympathizing man, by the very strength of his compassion, is liable to be drawn into offices' of friendship for others, against his own private convictions of fitness, by which he is unjustly charged with want of judgment and discretion. Every part of our friend's history has been unusual. He was married earlier than usual ; and lived without religion till he was twenfjj-f^eceii . Then he goes to a camp meeting, where little or nothing is accomplished— excepting his own conversion. With a joyful heart he heighs him home, " warns out" his neighbors, and holds a meeting with them the following Sab- bath. A revival, I believe, ensues. He speaks in public ever after. Is made first, an exhorter, and then a local preacher, just so soon as ecclesiastical routine will allow. In less than two years after his conversion, he is out on a circuit. A most unusual preacher, at that day, he was. Were we to tell a tithe of his sayings and doings during the early years of his minir- try, we should move the risibles of the most grave : yet, though we think there are many worse things than a smile produced by the contemplation of such honest and original efforts in the cause of Christ, we shall forbear, least we " offend against some of the generation of A/.s people." Our hero '' went out" in twcniif-ninp, and, as he has posses- sed a vigorous constitution and much zeal, ho has lalored ftir and wide, and accomplished much for the Church. He has had his full snare of largo, laborious country circuits — has been once or twice a '' stationed" preacher— Treasurer and Governor of the College, when he devised tlie important " Scholarship Scheme"— Chairm.'in of a District— and Missionary to the In- 324 PAST AND PRESENT. dians. This unpretending man is a beautiful pensman, and was once the Secretary of the Conference. We are sorry to add, he is now among the " Superannuated," but as he is yet young in appearance at least, and his affection is only local, we hope he will soon return to the effective ranks. It must be af- fecting to a mind so active and so evidently social as his, to be secluded and "laid on the shelf." He was noble in person when in the zenith of his strength and there is yet very little appearance of age, or decrepitude,* about him. He stands about five feet eleven inches high • light-complexioned, but with that bilious shade seen also in Germans from the " Fader Land." He is straight, strong, and well-proportioned ; and though not lean and haggard, he has no superfluous flesh— very wiry and muscular, is he. Some feats of personal strength and courage, performed in days of yore, when these accomplishments stood the* itinerant preach- ers in greater stead than they do at the present day, I will not relate. His loyalty and activity during the late Rebellion were conspicuous. He has naet with some strange adventures in his day, and we know of nothing more interesting than to hear him relate them. Whoever dislikes him, which we know the great majority do not, we shall ever feel a strong affection for dear Conrad Van- PUSEN. CRAYON FORTY-SIXTH. We are now about to bring forward the moral portrait of a person the contemplation of which, if we can succeed in pre- senting it correctly, ought to do us good, such is its beautiful symmetry. True, our present subject may not possess a mind of the first order, though we persist in thinking his a good substantial CKAYONS—PEV. J. W. McCOLLUM. 325 mind of ordinary power. Not that he has been favored with large educational advantages—" chill penury" and the exigen- cies of t'>e work, which required his services at the very time he was anxiously desirous of entering on an academical course, cut him oiF from a collegiate training, although none of the young preachers of his day ever more thoroughly prosecuted and accomplished the " Conference course," than he. What his habits of study, of late years, have been we know not ; but if he has kept on as he was proceeding for several years, he must have made no inconsiderable attainments by this time. We know he does not rank high as a preacher with those who are ever craving after the brilliant and the novel; but if a quiet, pleasing manner in the pulpit— if a very happy command of language— if very just notions of exposition— if an easy, intelligible, and just method of sermonizing—and if a yearning compassion for souls, be of any consequence in pulpit minie- trations, then is our brother a good and effective, if not a great preacher. We confess our notions of preaching ability diffei? from^ some persons, who think it consists in the power of rum- maging up something to make people stare and gape ; but he, in our opinion, is the preacher, who has ever something on hand wherewith to feed the flock of Christ. One who does not shine in borrowed plumes, but who has the ability of framing a sermon for each emergency, such as the necessities of the peo- ple demand j and such is the case with our friend. He is remarkably -successful in winning souls to Christ and in building them up in the most holy faith of the Gospel. How does he do it ? Not by making any very confident professions of high attainments himself— not by any vociferous demonstra- tions of zeal : but by evincing the purest love for souls and con- cern for his flock, and by incessant labor all the year round. He is never absent from his circuit ; never seeks what is called " recreation" ; and is unremitting in his exertions. His pas- toral visitations, for system, extent, and thoroughnesss, exceed 28* .< Mi III 826 PAST AND PRESENT. anything we have met in most others. He rather over taxes himself: hence, though he is naturally a stout, strong man, he has several times given alarming indications that he might soon have to give over. His abilities as well as labors begin to be appreciated, and he is now for the third year in a very important station. If some of those pertinacious circuits which insist on choosing their own preachers would sometimes make choice of such a man, it would be no worse for them in any one particular. Our subject is of Scottish parentage, though he himself was born in Canada. Scotch Methodists are rare, but his father was a Methodist and a Class-leader, and must have been favor- ably affected to our church before the birth of his son, as he gave him the family name of the founder of Methodism. I hope I have not shocked the modesty of a very retiring brother in thus dragging him before the public ; but we have little fear of spoiling one who evidently knows his own heart so well. A good man is he. And despite a little thickness of articulation, and absence of a great mani/ flowers of rhetoric, we shall persist in pronouncing Joseph Wesley McCollum & good preacher, as well as & good man. May both one and the other continue to be increasingly true of him 1 Amen ! His ministerial age is eighteen years— his natural age, perhaps forti/. CRAYON FORTY-SEVENTH. Here is a brother whose history and antecedents seem to promise much. He is " an Hebrew of the Hebrews," or a Methodist of the Methodists. The son of an aged Class-leader always steady from childhood— gave evidence of conversion while yet a boy— naturally gifted as a speaker— possessed of a good capacity for accjuiring knowledge— studious and ambitioue sr over taxes rong man, lie le might soon reeiated, and station. If on choosing ce of such a rticular. ! himself was it his father e been favor- is son, as he lodism. ;^ery retiring but -we have is own heart thickness of of rhetoric, McCoLLUM oth one and oa 1 Amen ! age, perhaps nts seem to )rews," or a Class-leader, conversion )ssessed of a id ambitious CRAYONS— REV. N, F. ENGLISH. S27 to excel— and favored with excellent educational advantages being a long while at Cobourg, "where he stood high as a stu! dent and his profiting appeared unto all." His attainments in the Greek and Latin Classics and in Mathematics, are far in ad- vance of most Wesleyan Ministers. His studies in Theology were commenced well, and thoroughly prosecuted. He fur- nished himself with a library of the best standard authors when he entered the work, and studied them systematically. We know of none who in this respect has been more exact. He has been a serious exemplary christian from the first • and though perhaps personally, not so cordial an approver of some of the peculiarities of Methodism as he mignt be, yet he has never betrayed his trust officially. His attention to his work has been most exemplary. If he has not declined of late years, we know of few who excel him m the systematic and faithful manner in which he performs his pastoral work, doing everything by rule, and always doing it. He went off a ready, able preacher at the first blush. And we have reason to believe he has made proportionate improve- ment since. We heard him preach a sermon some years ago-about midway between his commencement and the pre- sent time on a very hackneyed, though very important text : namely. What ,s a man profited if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in ex- change for his soul r And we must pronounce it by tar the most just and forcible exposition and enforcement of those so- lemn words that we ever heard or read. While a junior, he took good appointments-such as Hamil- ton and Toronto; and sustained himself well. Some of his stations, too, since he became a Superintendent, have been very respectable, such as Brockvillc, B^iown, and Brantford ; nor were Chatham and A7. Ihomas, perhaps exceptions to this re- marK. Our subject is medium-sized, light-complexioned, genteel in 328 FAST AND PRESENT. dress and manners, and so straight, that, like the old Indian's tree, " he leans over a little the other way." (He must par- don our playfulness.) This is owing partly to his make — and partly to defective sight, which obliges him to wear spectacles constantly : looking through glasses in the street causes a man to carry his head very erect. This minister's status is fourteen years, and his age perhaps thirty-six. Noble Franklin Eng- lish is a formidable name ; and its wearer is no contemptible man. II ■5 l'(» i- i la 1 'A CKAYON FORTY-EIGHTH. We turn our attention to one of the " Lower Canada Dis- trict" — of yore ; one born in Lower Canada, and who still con- tinues to labor there, though the district aforesaid has now for some years stood connected with Upper Canada Methodism. If we have sketched few of the excellent men who once composed that body, it has not been because we have thought them un- worthy of such a distinction, but because we feared we did not know them well enough to do them justice. But, though we may not be able to do justly by the one now in hand, we are fairly committed to say sometliing. He is a native, we believe, of the Eastern Townships, a por- tion of country not to be surpassed for. natural advantages or the character of its population by any part of United Canada ; but a portion, the excellencies of which, secularly or religiously, are little known in Upper Canada. His name imports that his forefathers may have been foreigners to England at one time. He looks, too, as though he might have some other as well as Caucasian, or at least, Anglo-Saxon, blood in his veins. He is magnificent in person. More than six feet high — large- boned — muscular and athletic ; his general appearance, espe- cially his strong, dark, crisp, and abundant hair and beard, in- dicate a strong constitution and great powers of endurance. He CRAYONS-BEV. R. A. PLANDEns. 329 is one of that sort of men, like John Hampson, who single- handed awed a whole multitude of men who had eome to mal- treat John Wesley, by threatening to "strike the first man dead, who ventured to molest him ; and who, when Mr W expressed his surprise at his conduct, said, " Sir, if God has not given you an arm to quell this mob, he has me !" Which led Dr Clark, to say that the Creator had formed these men of great physical strength as specimens of his own unlimited power. And yet he is no belligerent, but a truly peaceful fol- lower Him who did not " strive nor eiy." He will pardon us for glancing at some of his early adventures He is, however, a pushing man, who will go through with his laudable projects, if the thing is possible ; and he g^ner^ , finds It so. He is said to be a strong, able, lively preachef He .s an excellent financier and business man in general (a Di^ trict Financial Secretary) and very active and laborious He must be very well received in his several circuits, wlii^h are quite respectable, remaining in them no less than u.o, thre. botanti™ ^'''' "' " *'■"'' '"'' *'"'" '"" '"'"' P=^"^^ '''"' '^' He received a liberal education, as he was once a disciple of Esculapius. He turned his phials and piU-boxes bottom up. wards, and went to prescribe for the moral maladies of men Henever speaks in Conference, except on business with which'' he IS personaUy or oflicially connected, but then he speaks to the point, and shows a good degree of determination. He is however, elected to represent the interest of his district on most financial committees, on which he serves effieientlv His active habits, we opine, have often conflicted with the extensive prosecutiou of his early classical studies. He has been .,vcn. teen or e.ghice, years in the ministry, and must be at least forty. !/eano{ age. God has given him a large and lovely family. A sensible, resolute, modest, worthy man is Rufits A. T^lanmrs May the blessing of the Most High rest npon him ! Amen h 330 PAST AND PRESEXT. 1 1 Jij .n(l i'M CRAYON FOKTY-NINE. "With this Crayon we shall cease our sketching, for a time at least; although we may take the privilege of re-touching and re-producing some of the portraits we have published tlirough another medium. But with whom shall we finish ? This is a puzzling question. There are many men of learning, eminent piety, great business talents, and eloquent, effective preachers, among the three hundred and fifty who remain unsketcbed, that deserve attention as much as any of those we have de- scribed. As, however, we have shut ourselves up to unc, we shall take a person who has a great assemblage of opposite ex- cellencies concentrated in hiniself His outer man has not the advantage of towerinc: stature and 'herculean strength of the brother last described. This one is what you might pronounce pelitr. He is some five feet seven inches, well made, and well proportioned in all respects. His hair and beard are dark ; but he is well-skinned and ro- seate. He is graceful and easy in his movements ; these with his natural quickness and vivaciousuess of mind and amiable- ness of temper, give him a very sprightly air and carriage. A handsome little man is he. He excels for tact or ready resour- ces — whatever way he may be jostled or thrown, he is sure to alight on his feet. Our subject is a fine exemplification of the advantages of the Wesleyan system to give impulse and direction to powers that would olherwii-e remain dormant, or misemployed ; and to sequester tliem to the promotion of God's glory and the happi- ness of human kind. He is a native of Cornwall, England, that garden (or rather hof-hef?) of Methodism ; and one of u blessed coterie in tho Canada Conference, several of wlion\ have been alreiuly described. Koligion found him a playful lad, with an ordinary English education, learning a mechanic art, in a country village or small sized town, A thirst for know- CRAYONS— llEV. RICAAKD WHITIXG. 331 ledge and zeal of usefulness were the iiiiniediatc results. His gifts are exercised and his time improved in study. Soon is he "put on the PLAN," as a local preacher. Now a call comes across the broad Atlantic, to come and help on the work of bod m Canada. He comes and finds immediate employment. His labors are made instrumental to the Salvation of souls • and h3 performs his " Conference course of study" satisfac' tonly. ^ No sooner is he ordained, than he is put in charge of a circuit, in which he has been ever since; and he has succeed- cd to admu-ation. He has worked his way up into such appoint- ments as St. Thomas, Brockville, and Port Hope. He proves himself the clever, varied, poetically eloquent, and yet soul- saving preacher ; excels as a pastor and manager, and raise his circuits numerically, financially, and religiously. Is firm and unflinching in the exercise of discipline. He maintains, very justly his pastoral prerogative : and the John Bullsturdi- ness with which it is done, is the only feature about it that ever lays his administration open to exception. " Take him all for all" there are few more valuable ministers than he. His sur- name is identical with that of another member of the Confer- ence-an elderly man, a preacher of Canadian growth, stronc^ and compact in physical structure, very laborious, and succes.^- iul too, hko our present subject : but very dissimilar to this ono in other respects. By this time it will be discovered we arc writ- ing of llrCllAllD WlIiTING. How rapidly does tin.e fly I On looking for his statu. w<> tnd that this brotiier, whom we have always thought of as one ot our >/oju>ff men, has entered thoji/tecnth year of his itiner- ancy His age, therefore, though he does not look so old, must be about thirt^^.scvcn. The church of Christ may yet expect much from hl« labors. May continued prosperity attend ono for whom we have ever felt a great partiality. V fill f U fl i i A. DREDGE, I»ItIN-TER, BOOKBINDER. AND mPORTER OF AND DEALER IN No. 88 WEST SIDE OP YONGB STREET. (A FEW DOORS NORTH OF KINO STREET,) TORONTO, Respectfully info™, Ms Friends and the Public genenUly, sohcts the contmuance of their patronage. His Stock com pnses a large and varied assortment of goods in his line, including FMCy FUCN Hi CEIiMilll SHTWIir, Together with articles of unique and novel descriptions, suitable FOR PRESENTS, &c., &c. Possessing facilities and appliances u„«,uallcd in the Pro- vmce, he .s prepared to execute, at the lowest possible remun- erating prices, KVERY DESCRIPTION OK PLAIN AND OIINAMENTAL PRINTING; ALSO, Bookbinig in erery Style, Plain to Emfiossed, And to amj PatUrn, at the shortest notice. OAX.X. ^ND EXAMINE FO^a YOX7RSEX.VE8. AT 88 Yqnuk uruui.'P ' Toronto, June, 1860. AT 88 YUNOK STBliaT. V N'IDElt, IN REET. ublio generally, nd respectfully His Stock com- s line, including ! iptions, suitable lied in the Pro- ossible remuu- VTING; Emliossed tice, ISBI4VES, !